[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Anchor:] Half a century after Camelot and a treasure trove of John F. Kennedy's personal items are in the hands of JFK fanatics. Thousands of items from birthday cards to family photographs hit the auction block this weekend, and at the center of the auction, Kennedy's famous Air Force One bomber jacket, which sold for a whopping $629,000. It was expected to get about $40,000. Well, yesterday, I spoke with Rice University historian, Professor Douglas Brinkley. He told me more about that extraordinary collection and just what fascinates people with the Kennedy family, even after all these years.
[Douglas Brinkley, Presidential Historian:] Dave Powers was the adviser of John F. Kennedy. He was with him everywhere. It was almost like a brother. And he ended up saving all sorts of items, so I was utterly fascinated by this. And I deal with a lot of auction houses, some presidential memorabilia, being a presidential historian. I've never seen anything quite like the number of different, significant mementos coming out of this collection.
[Feyerick:] Which one really jumped out to you? Because there are some magnificent pictures there. There are also notes and letters. Which one, if you could own one of them, which one would it be?
[Brinkley:] Well, I like the letters that he wrote in 1945 from Arizona when he went out to Benson, Arizona, lived on a ranch for a while. They're letters on stationary from a hot springs castle, hot springs hotel and also at Saddleback. Nobody thinks of John F. Kennedy in Arizona, but these letters from just fascinating. Anybody writing a future book on the young JFK will end up using those letters as a primary source.
[Feyerick:] Also, what are your impressions, just even looking at some of the pictures there? We have seen a lot of pictures of John Kennedy and also Jackie O. But what about you resonates or what about them resonates for you in looking at these older photographs?
[Brinkley:] Well, remember, you know, John F. Kennedy was murdered, you know, 50 years ago this year and but he always stays young. And when you look at these photos, you realize you don't have old images of John F. Kennedy, so there's just this handsome, gallant president, how tan he is in many of these photographs. There is a whole group of ones I hadn't seen before of him playing with his children that are really amazing. And then I particularly like the ones of him on some of his tours that Powers apparently took when Kennedy would travel to the national parks, for example, and he took these candid shots of Kennedy. So, it is a lot of these are faded. Some are almost like a Polaroid quality, but they're just interesting, new material.
[Feyerick:] Eternal youth. Well, Black Eyed Peas star Fergie is expecting her first child. The singer posted a picture to Twitter saying, "Josh and me and baby makes three," with the hash tag, "my lovely baby bump." That's an edited photo of a young Fergie and her husband, Josh Duhamel. Congratulations to the two of them. You may not have heard much from country singer Lee Ann Rimes lately. The Grammy award-winner is suing her dentist for negligence, claiming that he stalled her career by giving her eight, badly placed crowns which she says caused gum problems so severe that she's had trouble chewing and singing. Well, sounds like he saidshe said after a verbal exchange between actor Alec Baldwin and a "New York Post" photographer. A representative for the actor the accusations that Baldwin went on a race rant against the photographer are completely false. Baldwin is accused of making racist remarks to an African- American photographer who approached him outside of his home. The rep says any issues with the photographer, not with the "New York Post." Both sides have filed harassment claims. Forrest Whitaker, accused of shoplifting. The Oscar-winning actor was frisked at a New York deli. Whitaker was stopped by a suspicious employee during a lunch time rush in an upscale market Manhattan market. The employee searched him in front of other customers, but came up empty-handed. The employee later apologized and the actor left without filing charges, but Whitaker was reportedly shocked and angry. Coming up next, we'll talk to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for more on the death of Lakers owner, Jerry Buss.

[Cooper:] Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks remains free on bail in England as he appeals a ruling allowing his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual molestation. Now this Sunday, a "CNN Presents" documentary reveals a side of the former hacker turned whistle-blower you haven't seen. In this excerpt, CNN's Kaj Larsen talks with journalists who teamed up with Assange to expose the innermost secrets of the U.S. military.
[Kaj Larsen, Cnn Correspondent:] So I've come here to London to the headquarters of "The Guardian" newspaper to meet up with some of the journalists who were holed up for weeks in a bunker with Julian Assange as they sifted through the secret cables and documents that were eventually to become known as the Iraq and Afghanistan war box. What were your impressions of Assange the man when you first met him?
[David Leigh, Journalist, "the Guardian":] He didn't behave like earthlings, you know. He would stay up all night tapping away at his laptop. And suddenly he would keel over and there's like the jacket buttoned up to the neck and like crash and go to sleep where he lay.
[Larsen:] The more than 90,000 documents revealed a side of the Afghan war hidden from public view.
[Nick Davies, Journalist, "the Guardian":] We started coming across really interesting information about collusion between the Pakistani intelligence service and the Taliban. So this was rich stuff that was buried in this database.
[Julian Assange, Founder, Wikileaks:] If you want see it on the map, it's easy
[Larsen:] But there was growing tension with Assange.
[Davies:] All of us came across material which was clearly likely to lead to the death of innocent civilians if we published it. All of us had the experience of bringing this to his attention and being told by him in effect in an Afghan civilian helps coalition forces, then they deserve to die.
[Larsen:] Does Assange understand that there are flesh and blood consequences to the actions of say releasing secret documents?
[Leigh:] He has to have it explained to him. He is not a person who is very high on empathy with other humans.
[Davies:] Finally in the last few days before we published, he got it. And he made a rather crude attempt to make the material which he was publishing on the Web site safe by withholding 15,000 documents out of the total of 92,000. But it wasn't enough.
[Assange:] That's a direct quote.
[Larsen:] On the eve of the launch date, names of Afghan civilians were still in WikiLeaks documents.
[Assange:] We go at 10:00 p.m. tomorrow, London time tomorrow.
[Larsen:] On July 25th, 2010, WikiLeaks released over 70,000 classified documents on the Afghan war.
[Assange:] The material exposes an extraordinary range of abuses.
[Larsen:] And all three newspapers published stories about the war box.
[Davies:] Within 48 hours, other news organizations were finding material on the WikiLeaks Web site which clearly was dangerous. And that meant that the political damage was done. His moral authority was reduced. He had made a terrible tactical mistake.
[Cooper:] Kaj Larsen reveals a lot more about the private world of Julian Assange, "

[Romans:] Good morning, Washington, D.C. Right now, the weather is fair, 82 degrees. Later, it will be much warmer, mostly sunny and 97. Before the break, we talked to Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown about the political fight over raising the limit on the national debt. We want to get the Republican perspective now. Joining me from Washington live is Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. He's the ranking member of the Budget Committee. Senator, thank you for joining us here today.
[Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-texas:] Thank you.
[Romans:] You're not very optimistic that you're going to make progress on a deal with the vice president and his group today, are you?
[Sessions:] You know, I'm just I don't think we can count on it. Those groups haven't been so effective. I believe we should go through the regular order process for budgeting in the Budget Committee. But Jon Kyl and some of the members that are part of that are good people. So we can hope that something good will come out of it.
[Romans:] You know, the bond market, when you look at the markets, the markets are telling us that they think that the debt ceiling is going to be raised. The question is the process of how do you get to that. What kind of cuts do you need to see? Do you think we'll be able to raise that debt ceiling and it will buy us time through the end of next year?
[Sessions:] Well, I think the bond market would be awfully disappointed if the debt limit were raised and we did not reduce spending and get a change that trajectory of debt that we're on, which is clearly unsustainable. Last week's economic numbers were really troubling, with unemployment up, manufacturing down. The fed reported just yesterday that a number of their regions had negative growth compared to the last couple of months.
[Romans:] Now, you see now you're saying
[Sessions:] is our situation.
[Romans:] Your friends across the aisle though will use those same statistics to say this is why we can't be cutting too deeply and too indiscriminately because if you cut now, you cut too deeply now, you hurt the economy in the near term and longer term that hurts your chances of deficit reduction, getting the debt under control.
[Sessions:] Christine, this is a key question you just raised and we need to talk about. What we know is for the last 2-12 years we've borrowed and we've spent money we did not have
[Romans:] To recover from a huge, huge financial crisis that nearly took down the American economy.
[Sessions:] We borrowed money we did not have in large amounts from the future to spend today to artificially stimulate this economy and it has not worked. We've had the lowest bounce back we've ever had if a major recession. It's very, very dangerous. We cannot continue to borrow and spend. This is what is threatening the American growth and the economic studies of Rogoff and Reinhart are when you reach 90 percent of your GDP, your economy, the debt equaling that, then you lose one percent of economic growth
[Romans:] Yes You're quote a Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart wrote the fabulous book, "This Time is Different."
[Sessions:] Yes.
[Romans:] They've studied all of these financial crises. But even debt hawks
[Sessions:] But what I'm saying to you so don't you think that that means that we have no choice but to figure a way to have stability in our economy and not continue to run up debt?
[Romans:] So let's talk about the jobs that we've been creating some 50,000 jobs this last time around. The reason why there weren't more created is because, frankly, you have state budgets in crisis, local budgets in cries, stimulus money running out and they are slashing public sector jobs. For each one of those public sector jobs, according to Moody's Analytics, Senator, there's another 1.3 private sector jobs. Can we afford to keep seeing all of these jobs disappear, and will the private sector magically just recover around it to absorb them?
[Sessions:] If we get this economy on a sound footing, the private sector will recover. Mr. Bernanke says we have to have 2.5 percent economic growth to stay level with jobs. Last quarter was 1.8 percent economic growth. The borrowing and spending, the idea of Keynesian stimulation of the economy is not working. We've already spent far too much. This debt will be a burden on us for generations to come and that's why all the economists are telling us you've got to get off this path.
[Romans:] Yes. You know, somehow I knew you'd go back to the Keynesian argument. Why did I know you would go there?
[Sessions:] Well, I mean, it's really a national debate, isn't it, Christine?
[Romans:] It is.
[Sessions:] We're talking about that. Can we artificially, by borrowing money from the future, spending it today, generate growth? Well, maybe sometime you can make a dent with it, but as a systemic policy it's disastrous and it'll put us in a position that we can't the debt becomes so large it begins to pull our growth down, which is happening today.
[Romans:] Yes. And even the budget hawks, I will say, the people who are concerned about budgets and for years who've been saying we've got to get this under control, it's easier to get it under control in good times, isn't it? But when it's really bad times like it is in an economy that's weakening, even now they're concerned about too much slashing indiscriminately and not in a smart way, could be dangerous to the recovery going forward. And what they're worry about, I'll be honest with you, the number crunchers, what they worry about is that politicians are not very good money managers. That's why we have been had to raise this thing over and over and over again and now just happens to be really tricky time, Senator.
[Sessions:] Well, you're right. Politicians are not very good at spending money and we need to send them less and they need to contain our spending and spend less. That's for sure. I think if we do that you know, the International Monetary Fund told the Brits, don't change your policy. There were protests that you shouldn't cut spending as much as they're doing today. But the International Monetary Fund says, no, stay the course. You'll be this is the sound way to get your economy under control.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Sessions:] We increase spending in the last two years, nondefense discretionary spending 25 percent and that does not
[Romans:] And over the past 10 years we've given a lot of money back to people in tax cuts. The 10-year anniversary of the first Bush tax cuts, too. So you'll have your colleagues on the other side of the aisle arguing about how that, you know, how that given we didn't have the money to do that, too. So, we have to leave it there.
[Sessions:] OK.
[Romans:] Senator Sessions, I appreciate it.
[Sessions:] Thank you.
[Romans:] Come back because there's going to be so much more to talk to talk about as we had to August 2nd. Thank you, sir.
[Sessions:] There's a lot to do. Thank you.
[Romans:] There sure is.
[Chetry:] Still ahead, a nationwide fury. Delta hands returning soldiers a $2,800 bill for baggage. They're backpedalling today after a YouTube video goes viral.
[Romans:] Oh, yes. That's a great story. Also, Nasdaq you can tell I'm a business reporter.
[Chetry:] Oh, wait! It is Nascar!
[Romans:] Nascar! It's Nascar! Can you tell I've spent too much time on Wall Street? Nascar goes tailgating. Next hour Nascar royalty Kyle Petty drops by. Forty-nine minutes after the hour.

[Blackwell:] It is a phrase we've heard a lot over the past few days, red lines. Now the line is crossed, that's the one that brings us to war. The U.S. is facing those lines in the Middle East right now in the wake of the embassy attacks. And the line is also staring the U.S. in the face when it comes to Iran, and it's become a bone of contention with Israel. CNN's senior international correspondent Sara Sidner joins us live from Israel from Jerusalem. Sara, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the red line this week. Listen.
[Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Of Israel:] The world tells Israel, wait. There's still time, and I say wait for what? Wait until when? Those international communities who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.
[Blackwell:] OK. So tell us specifically, what is this red light he's speaking of, and if you could clear up those in the international community he's speaking of.
[Sara Sidner, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Victor, it's pretty clear those are extremely strong words, perhaps the strongest words we've heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when it comes to this issue of Iran potentially possessing a nuclear weapon. When he talks about the international community, he's certainly talking about the United States first and then the rest of the community, who has then put sanctions on Iran. Publicly though, the exact red line hasn't been spelled out by Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing the U.S. to draw the line in the sand, so to speak, and the resulting action it's going to take if Iran crosses it. But in a late-night phone conversation this week between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu, reports have leaked out that the prime minister proposed making the size of Iran's stockpile of uranium that is close to bomb grade a reason for a strike by the United States. The Obama administration has been very clear in saying it doesn't want to make deadlines, stoplights or red lines on Iran's nuclear program, because it puts the U.S. in a box. It really forces its hand, and it could give Iran also a timeline as to when a strike might happen, and it could prepare for that. But the administration, Mr. Obama, has said time and again that Iran possessing a nuclear weapon is not an option, so it appears that that is the actual red line for the United States if it discovers that Iran does indeed possess nuclear weapons.
[Blackwell:] And these latest proposals of the red line, these are just the latest red lines because it has been, over the years, a moving target for both Israel and the
[U.s. Sidner:] Yes. Let's go ahead and talk about one thing. We talked about Iran possibly getting a bomb. And some of the Israel has really said, look, if Iran's able to make a nuclear warhead, then it's too late. Iran will be in the zone of immunity, as Israel has called it. But let's look back. Iran's leaders, we have to mention this though, have said time and again that they are not trying to build a nuclear weapon, but only using their nuclear program for peaceful purposes, such as to make energy and medical isotopes. But worry over Iran's nuclear ambitions has been going on for nearly 20 years now, since it announced that it was going to go ahead and work with Russia to build a civilian nuclear reactor. So back in 1995, Israel's red line, if you will, was that Iran should not possess a nuclear reactor. Then a few years later, because it did, it was able to do that, the line moved, and Israel said, OK, it should not be able to convert uranium. Several years after that, after it already has begun converting uranium, it was said that Iran should not be able to enrich uranium to 5 percent. Then we're going down the line here, we're talking about 2000, 2002, 2009. The line moved again that Iran should not have centrifuges, no covert facilities and no ability to make a bomb. So there's a clear progression here, where the line seems to keep moving as Iran keeps progressing. But now in 2012, this rhetoric that we're hearing is really, really heightened with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Iran's nuclear ambition is the biggest threat to the world today, and Israel believes that it could possess a bomb within a year.
[Blackwell:] And now let's talk about what Jay Carney called an encounter between Benjamin Netanyahu and the president. The president's being criticized now for not planning a face-to-face meeting with the prime minister during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. What's the latest on that?
[Sidner:] Here's what we can tell you. The Obama administration sent out a statement after a report came out that he basically snubbed Prime Minister Netanyahu when he's going to be coming there for the U.N. meeting. The White House said that is not true, that they were never asked for a meeting nor did they ever deny a meeting with Mr. Netanyahu. However, this week I spoke to Mr. Netanyahu's spokesperson, who said actually they had wanted a meeting and that they were willing to go to Washington, so you're seeing a bit of information that doesn't match up there. What you're seeing, I think, there is another crack in the relationship between these two leaders, which, frankly, makes people here very nervous. A lot of people are saying that it's really a dangerous thing, and some politicians, by the way, saying it's a dangerous thing to start knocking the United States right now, that Israel depends on the relationship of the United States as an important ally, one of its most important allies. And they have criticized Mr. Netanyahu for the way he's handled this by pushing this relationship, making the cracks even bigger. There's definitely no love lost between these two leaders, it appears, Victor.
[Blackwell:] Yes, it appears to be very cool. CNN's senior international correspondent Sara Sidner, thank you very much. Coming up next hour, we'll talk politics, did Mitt Romney speak too soon? Did the president drop the ball by hitting the campaign trail during the crisis? Maria Cardona and Amy Holmes, they'll be along to break it all down.
[Kaye:] There may be a deal reached in Chicago's teachers' strike. A live report is next on what still needs to be hammered out to make it all final.

[John King:] Good evening and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John King in Washington. In just 30 minutes the president of the United States delivers a nationally televised address on Libya. To make the case America's military involvement there is just and to promises the mission will be brief. He will be speaking from the National Defense University at the U.S. Army's Fort McNair right here in the nation's capital and speaking to a country that has mixed feelings about its third military intervention of the past decade, not to mention a country that is not convinced this mission has a clear goal or a clear exit strategy. The commander in chief will be speaking to the United States Congress that is beginning to ask tough questions about how long this will go on, how much it will cost, and whether the mission is moving past protecting Libyan civilians to taking sides in a dangerous civil war. And President Obama will be speaking to a world wondering not only what comes next in Libya, but whether the decision to intervene there offers any precedent for how the United States and its allies might respond to violence against anti-government demonstrators in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, and hot spots in the Middle East and North Africa. Wolf Blitzer will rejoin us in just a moment in our special coverage before and after the president's big address, includes Anderson Cooper as well as reports from the White House, Capitol Hill and insights from experienced team and great experience team of analysts. But let's begin on the ground in Libya. Come with me. We'll go over and check out the map. One clear result if you take a close look of the allied air strikes we pop the map out and look we move here I want to go back to March 18th. The day before the strikes began, the day before, you see right here in red, these were towns just before, just before the strikes began. Controlled red meaning controlled by the regime. Look at where we are today. You see green. That is controlled by the opposition, so obviously some progress. Now the Pentagon insists it's not coordinating military strategy with this opposition but there's little doubt the effect of the bombing campaign has been to tilt the battlefield more in the opposition's favor. CNN's Arwa Damon is in Ajdabiya. She spent the day with opposition forces who are back in control of several of these key cities now in the east, but perhaps beginning to hit road blocks as they start and try to march west towards Libya. Arwa, what is the very latest and the sense of an opposition that is clearly resurgent, but, but beginning to face obstacles?
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yes, John, it most certainly is. We saw the opposition moving fairly quickly thanks to those air strikes through critical oil towns like Brega and Ras Lanuf, but then today they hit a small town called Omer Algerdio. This is getting closer to Sirte, Gadhafi's home town. These are tribal areas, pro Gadhafi and when they were in this town, they say they began to talk to residents. They say the residents were armed. They are claiming with weapons that were provided to them by Gadhafi himself. They say that residents began to fire on them and there were families in this town as well and they claimed that they did not want to fire back. They beat a hasty retreat. As they were retreating they say they came underneath a hail of bullets. This most certainly, John, adds a very different dynamic to this already complex battlefield. How is the opposition going to handle these civilian centers where there are Gadhafi loyalists willing to put up a fight and in this case what is the coalition going to do? Very big questions and most definitely a very big challenge ahead with grave concerns that this shift, as the opposition moves more towards Gadhafi's stronghold, the shift that perhaps could lead to even more bloodshed John.
[King:] A defining challenge and a defining question for the president. Arwa Damon live for us tonight Arwa will be with us in our special coverage throughout the evening. And here at home President Obama faces a divided and a somewhat skeptical audience. A new Pew Research Center survey out tonight found 47 percent of Americans think it was the right decision to launch air strikes in Libya. Thirty-six percent say it was wrong. Seventeen percent say they don't know what to make of it. Here's another huge challenge for the president. About four in 10 Americans see a clear goal for the military mission but half say there is no clear goal. And 11 percent just aren't sure. Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is live with us now with more on this big test, Ed, for the president of the United States.
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] That's right, John. And you know one thing that senior White House officials say the president wants to do tonight is sort of have a turning point in this conflict, sort of a pivot, if you will, to say look that he's been saying for more than a week now that this would be a short amount of time that the U.S. would take the lead role. Now that NATO over the weekend said they would be in control, in command, this is a pivot point for the president to lay out, but there's one other number in that Pew Research Center poll that you mentioned. When asked how long the U.S. will be in a lead role, be there involved in this conflict, 60 percent saying for some time, 33 percent saying it will be pretty quick. That's just the opposite of the message the president wants to get across tonight. And then second point is what you mentioned about whether or not there is some sort of a Libya precedent now that if the U.S. sees some situation in the Middle East, North Africa, will they intervene if there's a potential humanitarian crisis. White House officials got that question today. Would you intervene in Syria? Well no they say. They are not doing any planning for any military conflict in Syria. What about Bahrain, Saudi Arabia? And so they are saying they're taking this by a case by case basis, but there's going to be more pressure in the wake of with this intervention in Libya for the U.S. to get involved in some of these other conflicts around the world John.
[King:] Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry also will be with us throughout our special coverage in the hours ahead. Let's go a quick thought now from two men well aware of the pressures facing the U.S. commander of chief and well aware of the global stakes in Libya. David Gergen has advised four U.S. presidents and former under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns served in wartime roles in the Clinton and both Bush administrations. David Gergen, to you first, as someone who's been in the Oval Office working on a speech, you know you have a somewhat skeptical American public. You know you have an increasingly inquisitive United States Congress and to Ed Henry's big point and even probably more importantly to Arwa Damon's point, you have a coalition on the ground, an opposition on the ground excuse me that started moving west because of those air strikes. Once it hits a bump in the road, is it this president's moral obligation now to continue to support them?
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Yes, and I think the president's main goal tonight, John, is to go back to the axiom that came out of the Vietnam War for the commander in chief, before you commit the troops, commit the nation. In this case he committed the troops before he committed the nation, tonight he has to build public support for the long haul. In the event this goes badly, in the event there's a stalemate, Gadhafi stays in power, he's got to have the public and the Congress behind him for the longer haul. This is his moment to do that. He does it through a clear speech about what his goals are and what is going to unfold in the next few weeks.
[King:] But Nic Burns, he has said among his goals are absolutely under no circumstances U.S. military boots on the ground in Libya. He has said his goal is to get the United States out of the forefront and into a support role within a matter of days, if not hours. If the opposition on the ground hits resistance, starts getting beaten back by Gadhafi's forces, what does the president of the United States do?
[Nicholas Burns, Former Under Secretary Of State:] Well John, I think there's a contradiction here. This is likely to be a protracted civil war in Libya and the president is obviously going to say we're handing all of this over to NATO, but which country is the strongest military power in NATO the United States of America. And if the European allies and NATO cannot manage to pursue this with the same intensity that the United States military has exhibited over the last week, they are likely to call upon the United States to do more and the U.S. will remain part of this coalition. I think that's part of the complexity of this and the contradictions inherit in his policy that the president will have to address this evening.
[King:] Nic and David will be back with us in just a few minutes. But how has the coalition military campaign changed the balance of power on the ground in Libya? Let's take a look with retired General George Joulwan, who is the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and General, I want to go to the map in a second and look at this
[Gen. George Joulwan, Former Nato Supreme Allied Commander:] When you talk about war I think you're talking about World War I, World War II. We're at many conflicts. This to me is a conflict. NATO really has taken the lead in this conflict, so I would not I would not use the term "war", but the guy on the ground that's getting shot at, it's like war.
[King:] Let's take a look at the stakes here because the president of the United States addresses the American people tonight. I want to close the map and go back here to March 18th. Let me close this one down today and come back here. This is March 18th. This is the day before it all started. And here's you had the opposition you had opposition here let me pull this one out I'm sorry. Here's March 18th. Gadhafi had taken all this back. Remember the opposition had surged this far to the west. Gadhafi took all this back. Then they get the coalition together by March 23rd, you start to see a little bit of opposition Ajdabiya back in play here's where we are today. This is because of the air strikes. And we can show what they look like punishing strikes. Tomahawk cruise missiles, air strikes, the larger the star, the more power has been directed at that site. The opposition gets this far. This is your military that has done this, General. When they hit the wall as they started to hit in Sirte today, what is your obligation?
[Joulwan:] Our obligation is what's been said all along, U.N. Resolution 1973, and I believe what you see here is a more active role for NATO, a more active role for the U.N. and a more active role for the Arab states. That's been missing in this debate.
[King:] I read and reread and reread the resolution today. It talks about protecting Libyan civilians. It talks about stopping a brutal dictator from massacring his own people. It does not talk about softening the battlefield so that the opposition can go this way. Is that not in fact what has happened in the last 72 hours?
[Joulwan:] No, not at least by the United States. I think what has happened is that the rebels have started to get some momentum. How far that momentum goes, it's up to the rebels and up to Gadhafi. I don't really think you're really going to see let me use my term here U.S. direct air strikes in support of a rebel advance. I would be very much surprised to see that. But NATO now, it's a political body is in charge. The NATO command structure is now coming into place and it will be a NATO decision how far to go.
[King:] A NATO decision, yet as the president of the United States addressing the American tonight, in a sentence or two, what do you see as a general as his biggest challenge?
[Joulwan:] His biggest challenge is going to be to convince, I think, the American people this is the right thing to do through NATO and with U.N. support.
[King:] Not an American lead role The general will be with us throughout the program as well, much more of our special coverage just ahead including the tough questions Congress wants answered tonight and back live to Libya for a sense of what Moammar Gadhafi might be thinking. You're looking at live pictures of the National Defense University. That's at the Army's Fort McNair here in Washington, D.C. just moments away from the president of the United States delivering a speech to the American people and of course to the world about the U.S. role in the military intervention now under way in Libya. One point President Obama will stress in that nationally televised address tonight is that the U.S. military role will be limited both in time and in scope, meaning days, not weeks for air strikes and other combat roles and then the president will say much more of a support role helping European and Arab partners in the coalition. Many of you are skeptical. The new Pew Research Center survey just out tonight found six in 10 Americans think the U.S. military involvement will last for some time. How long is just one of the questions posed today by the Senate top Republican?
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell , Minority Leader:] What national security interest of the United States justified the risk of American life? What is the role of our country and Libya's ongoing civil war?
[King:] Two of the many questions there. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joins us now with more on the president's challenge with the Congress Dana.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] Well, John, look, I think it's really without question that the president is giving the speech tonight in large part because of the barrage of criticism that he has been getting from both parties in Congress and specifically the idea that many people think he simply has not defined the mission and offered some contradictory assessments of what exactly the U.S. objective is there. I walked the halls here earlier and talked to senators in both parties and it was actually pretty stunning how similar they told me that the questions that they had for the president tonight, what they want him to answer, things like what is the mission there? You mentioned the fact that he is going to say it's a limited role. Well what is that limited role? What is the U.S. objective in Libya? That's another thing. And the other thing is what is the end game? What is the exit strategy? That is something that members in both parties really emphasized. Even senators who have supported the mission so far, they say look, it cannot be open ended. We want to know what the U.S. commitment is going to be and how long it is going to there. This is a Congress that is definitely wary of campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obviously this is much smaller scale but it's still means manpower and it still means money John.
[King:] A lot of money Dana Bash our senior congressional correspondent on Capitol Hill tonight. Joining me here in the studio, Wolf Blitzer, my colleague, friend and the anchor of "THE SITUATION ROOM". It's fascinating to watch this. Here is a president it's the first time he has launched a military action. He inherited Iraq. He inherited Afghanistan. We're watching him tonight trying to explain to the American people something that is counter to everything he wanted as president of the United States. He wanted to focus on the economy. He wanted to focus on jobs. And now he finds himself in a military intervention but, yes, he will say it will be as short as possible. But once you start, we both know from our days at the White House, you never know.
[Wolf Blitzer, Host, "the Situation Room":] You never know where it's going to wind up because it's easier to get into a war than it is necessarily to get out of a war. I'll be curious to see if he declares almost as he did almost over the weekend in that radio and Internet address, mission accomplished. He's not going to say mission accomplished because the mission has not yet been accomplished. If you believe what he has said repeatedly over these past several weeks, the mission won't be accomplished until Gadhafi is gone, until there is regime change in Libya, even though the U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the NATO, the coalition operation doesn't call for Gadhafi to be gone.
[King:] And so that's what makes the moment so fascinating. The president of the United States wants to say what the United States is doing is right. What the coalition is doing is just. However, his personal and the country's policy now is regime change, but that, as you said, is not called for in the U.N. resolution and yet many make the argument that the coalition, including the U.S. Air Force has essentially been the opposition Air Force in recent days, bombing tanks, bombing military facilities, bombing command and control centers to make it easier for the opposition to move and yet a key U.S. general told you just the other day
[Gen. Carter Ham, Cmdr. U.s. Africa Command:] Our mission is not to support the opposition forces. Our opposition is to prevent civilian casualties. Now, there's a linkage there. Those who are causing civilian casualties are regime forces, so when we destroy or degrade the capability of regime forces, then certainly we are doing that and there is some benefit to the opposition. But we do not operate in direct support of the opposition forces.
[King:] General Ham almost makes it sound like a coincidence you know that well we're bombing these targets, and it benefits the opposition, and I guess the question is, and again, I keep asking it because I don't really know the answer. It hasn't been explained by the leadership is you've chosen sides in a civil war. You say Gadhafi must go. You take these steps to relieve first the attack on the opposition, now to soften the battlefield for them. When they hit as they did today, the wall as they approach Sirte, as they move further west when perhaps the civilians aren't on their side like they are in the east, what does the coalition do then?
[Blitzer:] You know it's a great question. And you know General Ham is an excellent general. I knew him in Iraq in
[King:] A great deal of pressure and we're just moments away from the president's speech. Wolf will stay with us until the speech. And he'll be leading our special coverage after the speech as well. We'll be right back. A live report from Tripoli we'll go there to see what Moammar Gadhafi might be thinking at this moment and as you can see, the National Defense University right here Fort McNair, high stakes for the president of the United States just moments away. Live pictures there of the National Defense University, that's at the Army's Fort McNair right here in the nation's capital of Washington, D.C., just moments away from the president of the United States, Barack Obama, explaining to the American people, to the United States Congress and indeed to a global audience the stakes of the military conflict in Libya and the U.S. role in the days and weeks ahead. As we await the president, let's go live to Tripoli. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is there. Nic, you are out seeing a sense of the changing battlefield today out in Mesrata on a trip in which you were taken by the Gadhafi regime. What is your sense of what the regime is looking for right now as the president of the United States addresses this conflict?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] I think they'd want to hear that the international community is going to back away of coalition strikes here; I think that we're going to see Gadhafi try to ride out this storm. He still thinks he is managing to do it, he's losing territory to the rebels, but when you talk to officials here in the capital, everyone says this is a guy who's willing to take the fight to the end. I think we've learned something very important in the past couple of days. Gadhafi essentially has said that he would go down and the country would go down burning around him. Well guess what the rebels took those important oil and gas towns Ras Lanuf, Brega, took them before Gadhafi or without Gadhafi setting fire to them. That's perhaps an important indication here of the way he's going to play this out. He may not go down in flames as he is predicting, but at the moment there doesn't seem to be any cracks in his leadership. I talked to a top diplomat here last night very familiar with Gadhafi, he admits Gadhafi's got faults, has made plenty of mistakes recently handling this, handling the past few years without reforms. But he says the man is not a guy who's going to back down quickly, readily, and easily John.
[King:] Nic Robertson will be with us throughout the evening. Not back down easily General Joulwan is back with us. General, as a military commander, the president of the United States has said publicly Gadhafi must go. It is not the mandate this coalition is operating under from the United Nations. Does that mixed message complicate your job as a military commander at this delicate moment?
[Joulwan:] Well you always look for my favorite word is clarity. I think we're getting that now. The political decision making has shifted to NATO. That's a very important issue here and those decisions will be made at NATO. The U.S. has great influence at NATO, but those sorts of decisions how far they will go
[King:] But if President Obama, President Sarkozy say Gadhafi must go, but the resolution empowering these troops does not say Gadhafi must go, how do you keep going?
[Joulwan:] Well it's going to be a political decision. Whether that comes from the U.N., NATO, the Organization of African States, it has to be a political decision that has to be made to the military commanders.
[King:] Let's bring David Gergen, our CNN analyst, and Nic Burns, a former under secretary of state back into the conversation and Nic I want to go to you first. You served as the U.S. ambassador to NATO. General Joulwan says you have more clarity now. Do you think you have enough clarity given that the political leadership behind this coalition again says Gadhafi must go? But the generals on the ground say that's not their order so they are not to attack him. And the question now is, as the opposition tries to move west, will they continue to help?
[Burns:] Well John, I think it's going to get complicated for NATO from here on in for two reasons. First NATO is a fractious alliance and if Turkey and Germany have only given grudging support until now, you might see an attempt within NATO to go for a cease fire between Gadhafi and the rebels in the next couple of days or couple of weeks if this war does not finish. And secondly, as I said before, there's going to be an inevitable attempt to bring the United States back into a leading role because our European allies are stalwart, but they don't have the military capacity of the United States. They don't have the strategic commitment of the United States to this part of the world and so I think that it's going to be difficult for the president to say to the American people, we are out and NATO is in when he United States is the backbone of
[Nato. King:] David Gergen, I want you to listen to Bob Gates, the defense secretary, one of the reasons many Republicans in Congress are giving the president a little bit of slack is because they respect the holdover from the Bush administration, Bob Gates. But you have U.S. pilots in the air. You have U.S. ships at sea. You have other U.S. support operations and yet Secretary Gates says this is important to the United States, but it doesn't reach the ultimate threshold for national security.
[Robert Gates, Defense Secretary:] No, it was not it was not a vital national interest to the United States, but it was an interest and it was an interest for all of the reasons Secretary Clinton talked about, the engagement of the Arabs, the engagement of the Europeans, the general humanitarian question that was at stake.
[King:] He also went on to say there have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, both on either side of Libya. David Gergen, is that clarity to you?
[Gergen:] I think it's truth. I'm not sure it's clarity. And I do want to emphasize I have some differences with my good friend, General Joulwan. By handing this off to NATO and making a big deal of this tonight, yes, it does change who leads the operation. But as I think Nic Burns is right, the United States having committed having carried out the 1,600 sorties so far, 1,000 of them by the United States. The United States the United States tomahawks, it really chanted the dynamics of this. The United States cannot simply wash its hands of the outcome now in Libya. If there is a stalemate, the United States is going to have to be involved in a serious way. What happens if Gadhafi leaves office? The United States is going to have to be involved in a serious way. I hope tonight we're not going to hear, well we've done our job, we're out of here. It's over to NATO. Forget about us. I hope tonight we're going to hear actually a more realistic speech about what is likely to happen down the road and what he is prepared what the United States will do under those circumstances.
[King:] And you can see Vice President Biden, Secretary Gates taking their seats in the VIP section. We're just moments away from the president of the United States. That is the National Defense University. It is part of the Army's Fort McNair right here in Washington, D.C. And Wolf, we're talking about the global stakes here. There is an important global message for the president to send tonight as the leader of the NATO alliance, as the commander in chief of the United States, the world's great super power. However, there's a domestic, political message too not only about what is our mission, how much will it cost, how long will it last. They're in a country with nine percent unemployment where he came to office as the guy in the Democratic primaries who opposed the Iraq war, who wanted to get the resources of the government focused back on domestic challenges here at home.
[Borger:] He's got three real audiences that he's addressing tonight. Certainly the American people first and foremost. He's got to explain what the United States is doing. Then he's got the people of Libya, especially Gadhafi, his sons, the Libyan military. He's going to try to convince them it's over. Give up. You know your days are numbered. You can survive if you give up now. Otherwise, it's over. And then the region in the world he's speaking to the entire world. He's speaking to the Arab world, the Muslim world, and he's got some specific points he's certainly going to make to them as well. This is one of those speeches, John, as you know all of us know who have covered presidents they work for hours and days. Every sentence is carefully, carefully weighed for what it could mean, the symbolism, the direct point, and I'm sure this speech will have those nuances as well.
[King:] Reminded of the note, President George H.W. Bush left for Bill Clinton, saying I know you want to focus like a laser beam on the economy. But when you're president of the United States, every problem of the world comes into your inbox." This president of the United States
[Blitzer:] The Middle East is on fire right now. The whole region is exploding.
[Unidentified Male:] You got six or seven other countries that this will set the precedent for. And I think we have to understand that.
[King:] Does it set a precedent? That's an interesting point the general makes, Wolf, in the sense that the government of Bahrain has fired on its people. The government of Syria is firing on its people. The government of Yemen has acted aggressively and fired on its people. And so, in those countries, if you are an anti-government, pro-democracy demonstrator, do you have a right to say, why does the president have a double standard?
[Blitzer:] The ultimate example of that and it would be a very difficult question for any American president to answer, if a similar revolt happened in Iran and the regime there decided that they were going to potentially slaughter thousands of people does the U.S. and the Europeans and NATO and the rest of the region stay on the sidelines and let these people die or use this Libyan example as a precedent?
[King:] Which I think makes it very interesting, as we prepare, just seconds away from the president, as to how big is this speech? Is it just about Libya? Is it just about the U.S. role? Or does he spend some time talking about the changes in the region, the challenges in the region and his approach going forward to a situation that's certainly doesn't a one size fits all solution? The president of the United States is about to speak. This is the National Defense University of Fort McNair right here in Washington, D.C.

[Stout:] Now North Korea has launched a long-range rocket defying U.N. resolutions. Pyongyang says it successfully placed a satellite into orbit. And North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD says the rocket does appear to deploy some kind of object into orbit. U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that his government now recognizes the Syrian opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. An endorsement is expected to be formalized at a meeting of Syrian opposition leaders in Morocco today. The move will be a major psychological boost for the rebels, but it doesn't mean Washington will be supplying them with weapons any time soon. Egypt's main opposition is calling on supporters to vote no in this weekend's constitutional referendum. The country has been rocked by competing demonstrations for and against President Mohammed Morsi over the last few weeks. Egypt's army chief has called for crisis talks between the government and the opposition. South Korea and Japan are leading international condemnation of North Korea's rocket launch. China is often thought to be North Korea's main ally, but now it, too, had expressed regret over North Korea's decision to launch and urged everyone involved to stay calm.
[Hong Lei, Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Spokesman:] China has taken notice of relevant reports on the satellite launch and has noted relevant parties' reactions. We have expressed regret to North Korea's decision to launch, despite concerns among the international community. China has always insisted on bringing peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula through multilateral dialogue. We hope relevant parties stay calm in order to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
[Stout:] The Japanese government says after takeoff, the North Korean rocket passed over Okinawa. Alex Zolbert has the reaction from Tokyo.
[Alex Zolbert, Cnn Correspondent:] The condemnation coming from far and wide around the globe in reaction to North Korea's launching of this rocket. Here in Japan, they were somewhat caught by surprise with this morning's launch, the launch coming just before 10:00 am here in Tokyo. But Prime Minister Noda, who's just four days away from a general election, as well as the country's foreign minister, wasted little time in issuing a stern response to North Korea.
[Yoshihiko Noda, Japanese Prime Minister:] It's extremely regretful and unacceptable conduct. We've made a strong complaint to North Korea.
[Koichiro Genra, Japanese Foreign Minister:] We can only say that this is an act of grave provocation against the stability of the region, which includes Japan and the security treaty.
[Zolbert:] In recent days, we had seen Japan put up a missile defense system that included missiles set up in three locations in greater Tokyo, one actually in the ministry of defense that we looked at late last week, sitting on two baseball fields, basically in the heart of Tokyo, a city that's home to more than 12 million people. There were also missile defense systems set up on Okinawa in four different locations as well as systems on destroyers that were out at sea. But according to the Japanese government, they did not take any actions to attempt to shoot down this North Korean rocket because it seems they did not feel it threatened Japanese citizens or Japanese property Alex Zolbert, CNN, Tokyo.
[Stout:] U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the North Korean rocket launch as a provocative act and clear breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Let's bring in Richard Roth from the United Nations in New York. And Richard, because this launch appears to be a technical success, there must be even more urgency there at the U.N. to respond.
[Richard Roth, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. Ban Ki-moon had urged the North Koreans not to launch. I'm we have video this morning of the North Korean top two diplomats entering their mission here in New York City. They had no comment. This is a ritual we've seen after other launches. Let's listen for a few seconds during this crush.
[Unidentified Female:] [Inaudible].
[Unidentified Male:] Excuse me. Excuse me, [inaudible].
[Roth:] That's the deputy to the North Korean ambassador.
[Unidentified Female:] [Inaudible].
[Roth:] You'll soon see Sin Son-ho, the United Nations North Korean ambassador come in a few shows a few video of him after his deputy got through that gauntlet, a lot of Asian regional cameras here, of course, always having interest. It's unclear whether the ambassador will later be visiting the U.N. That's the deputy again. The Security Council, how many times over the last years, of course, has condemned North Korea launches and warned the North Koreans not to do anything, any testing of any type. Now one senior official in Washington telling CNN that United States ready to, quote, "come with a full head of steam" back to New York with another Security Council resolution to increase sanctions that already exist on Pyongyang. One North Korean analyst, one analyst who has watched North Korea closely, who was recently in Pyongyang told me the other day about the technology that North Korea has and what its goals might be.
[Gordon Chang, Author:] The technology to put a satellite into space is essentially the same as to put a warhead into another country. The North Koreans clearly have been not launching satellites. They've never put one into space, despite what they've said. They are just testing their ballistic missiles. And a launch, whether it's successful or not, advances North Korean technology, which means that the North Koreans and the Iranians are also advancing their technologies because they run a joint missile program.
[Roth:] Various U.N. Security Council sanctions reports always mention North Korea parts, missiles, other things getting to other countries, far across the globe. Kristie, no timetable on any Security Council meeting yet regarding North Korea's successful launch. Undoubtedly in the next 24- 48 hours, there will be some sort of meeting in action here in New York, Kristie.
[Stout:] That's right. Japan has called for an emergency meeting. Now whenever we talk about sanctions, we have to talk about Russia and China. I mean, both countries, they warned North Korea not to go ahead with the launch. But the launch happened anyway. But would Russia and China allow a new resolution?
[Roth:] It may not be that easy, but it won't be as hard as with Syria. In the past, Moscow and Beijing have gone along with Security Council countries such as the United States and Japan when they were on the council to increase sanctions. The atmosphere, of course, has been very poor inside the Security Council among the major powers when it comes to sanctioning people. It appears that North Korea may be the only focus crisis area where the big powers can agree. But it may be tough for the United States to get what it wants. We'll have to see.
[Stout:] All right. Richard Roth joining us live from New York, thank you very much indeed. Now let's turn to the Philippines and lawmakers there in this mostly Catholic country, they are voting on a controversial reproductive health bill. Now it would guarantee universal access to birth control among other things. Anna Coren introduces us to the people who'd be most affected by the legislation.
[Anna Coren, Cnn Correspondent:] In a maternity hospital in downtown Manila, another baby has just been born. After a 10-hour labor, Janet Leopaadas has given birth to a baby girl. This is Janet's 9th child. "I didn't think I would have so many children," the 37-year old explains. It's a story so familiar in this devout Catholic country where approximately 2 million babies are born each year, the majority into poor families. And while contraception is available for those who can afford it, for a third of the population that live below the poverty line, that is not an option. Nor should it be, according to the church.
[Melvin Castro, Catholic Priest:] We have empowered the people, good economy, good education and good livelihood. And contraceptives will never be the answer to that.
[Coren:] The Catholic Church considers contraception to be a sin and the equivalent to abortion, which is illegal in the Philippines. But despite its staunch views, there is a movement underway to change the laws in this country providing free contraception for the poor and family planning clinics across the country, where, experts say, 11 Filipinas die each day giving birth, of which 90 percent are preventable.
[Elizabeth Angsioco, Democratic Socialist Women Of The Philippines:] And it will save women's lives, definitely it will save poor women from dying. And to me that's the most important thing for me as a woman, as a mother. It's the most important thing. No woman deserves to die. No woman deserves to die in the process of giving life.
[Coren:] The reproductive health bill has been before congress for the past 15 years. And despite overwhelming public support for it, supporters believe the church, with its power and influence, has killed this each time. For the women in the Jos, Fabella Hospital, squeezing several to a bed, it's a hard life that's only going to get harder.
[Dr. Joselito Matheus, Pediatrician:] It's quite alarming at times, since you know that they cannot afford to have another baby, and yet another baby comes around. So it's a problem, especially for us.
[Coren:] This hospital is known as Manila's baby factory. Just yesterday, 65 babies were born and that's considered a slow day. During their busiest month, 120 newborns are delivered each day, which means there are not enough beds for these women to stay overnight. At a time when there should be so much joy and happiness, Janet is fearful of her future. And now Janet has another mouth to feed. "I am worried," she says. "I may not be able to feed them all, to send them to school and clothe them. Education is most important." Which, of course, is the key to breaking this cycle Anna Coren, CNN, Manila.
[Stout:] You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still ahead, Bradford should have been no match for mighty Arsenal. Instead, it was a night to remember for the tiny club. Amanda Davies will have that and the rest of the "WORLD SPORT" update.

[Holmes:] Turn the lights out before you head out. The president is saving on electricity while he's gone. That is the White House if you can make it out in that picture. But the lights are out at the White House and the first family is gone on vacation. They made sure they didn't run up the electric bill while they were gone, but, of course, the first family vacationing right now in Hawaii. The president is there. Just like anybody else's vacation, what do you do on yours? Get a little golf in. A few security briefings, you know. Real coaster as you know for the president this past years. Some really high highs and some really low lows. Here now our White House correspondent Ed Henry with a look back.
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] The year is ending on a high note for this president, but there were a lot of bumps along the way everywhere from the political arena to the basketball court.
[Henry:] Maybe it was a metaphor for the year. A simple basketball game the day after Thanksgiving ended with a fat lip and 12 stitches for the president.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] Let me begin by pointing out that although Washington is a town of sharp elbows, it's getting a little carried away.
[Henry:] But as he shifts to golf here in Hawaii, the president is revealing in a series of big wins. Leaving long time friend like former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hanneman predicting come back in 2011.
[Mufi Hanneman, Former Honolulu Mayor:] Because I met when he was a basketball player on a basketball court, he definitely has that athletic ability to come back. Yes, it's been a rough year, but he's bounced back quite well.
[Henry:] But in 2010, nothing came easy for the president who started the year campaigning in Massachusetts to keep the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy in his party's hands only to see Republican Scott Brown score a knock out of the Democrats, almost taking health care reform down, too.
[Unidentified Male:] Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.
[Obama:] Thank you.
[Henry:] In March, the president finally got his health care victory but he couldn't savor it for long. Within weeks, he was engulfed in the biggest oil spill in American history.
[Obama:] I'm shaving and Malia knocks on my bathroom door and she says did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?
[Henry:] It was eventually plugged and there were other big gets too like Wall Street reform that the president campaigned on from coast-to-coast. But with unemployment still stubbornly high, he could not stop a Republican takeover of the House and surged in the Senate.
[Obama:] I'm not recommending every president take a shellacking like I did last night.
[Henry:] But he picked himself off the floor and shocked Republicans with wins on taxes, a treaty and "Don't Ask Don't Tell."
[Obama:] One thing I hope people have seen during this lame duck, I am persistent.
[Henry:] Now aide say he will keep a low profile here getting R&R; for what maybe another brutal year. While Mr. Obama hopes to work with the Republicans on some issues, he's also determined to stop them from gutting health care reform.
[Hanneman:] This is the best place in the world for him to come and recharge his batteries. Sort of bask in the Hawaiian sunshine, the food that he loved.
[Henry:] As soon as he returns to Washington in the New Year, the president is expected to name a replacement for his chief economic adviser Larry Somers. Top aides say the state of the union in late January will be heavy on fixing the economy. The issue likely to decide his re-election battle, which is getting closer and closer. Ed Henry, CNN with the president in Honolulu.
[Holmes:] We are getting closer to the top of the hour on this Christmas morning. We will keep you updated on everything you need to know on this day including a lot happening with the weather today that's going to impact your travel. For some trying to travel today, but also some of you folks trying to get home in the next couple of days. Stay with us.

[Jane Velez-mitchell:] I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, coming to you live from New York City. A man accused of murdering his pregnant wife faces a parade of his mistresses: lovers in court. You`re going to hear electrifying testimony from Jason Young`s ex-fiancee about how you snapped and flew into a violent rage.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, a parade of sultry mistresses takes the stand in the trial of a man accused of murdering his beautiful pregnant wife. Will the steamy details from the secret affairs come back to haunt Jason Young? Plus, will his ex-fiancee`s story of a violent brawl convince a jury he`s capable of murder? Also, as the stars line up to pay tribute at Whitney Houston`s funeral, what`s ahead for her daughter, Bobbi Kristina? I`ll talk live to the daughter of late music legend James Brown. Plus, part two of my Dumpster diving adventure. Believe me, you don`t want to miss it.
[Unidentified Female:] His final comment was "All of this would just, you know, go away if you`d let me have a girl on the side." Were you actually engaged in an affair with the defendant? Yes, ma`am. He asked if he could see my ring. He pretended to swallow it. We ended up having an intimate relationship while he was there. He told me to go look in the mirror, and he had drawn like a face on my face with marker.
[Unidentified Male:] Then the next night when you said that you had intercourse with him on the couch...
[Unidentified Female:] He physically came after me, and we ended up having sex. He threw me down onto the bed but with such force that it just it stunned me. Something inside him snapped.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, we`re un-peeling the onion of an accused murderer`s scandalous double life as appalling secrets are revealed in court. Jason Young`s bevy of mistresses and ex-lovers took the stand at his murder trial today. One sobbed, one smirked, another recalled a terrifying flash of violence. She testified about Jason`s violent outbursts that led her to end their engagement. Listen.
[Genevieve Cargol, Jason Young`s Former Fiancee:] Something inside of him snapped like I`ve never seen before. And he physically came after me to get the ring off of me, off of my finger. He grabbed me by the arms and threw me down on to the bed but with such force that it just it stunned me. And he grabbed my arms so tightly that it ended up leaving bruises in the shapes of his fingers.
[Velez-mitchell:] Capable of violence, capable of cheating, leading a double life. But does it prove that Jason Young is capable of murder? And we`re not just talking about any murder. Prosecutors call this bludgeoning of his pregnant wife a calculated and meticulously planned killing that occurred while their innocent toddler was at home, and ended up walking around in the blood. Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297. I want to hear from you. We`ve got to learn from these horror stories what are the sick, underlying dynamics. Straight out to "In Session" correspondent, Beth Karas. Beth, you were in court today for today`s parade of lovers. What were some of the startling things they said?
[Beth Karas, Trutv`s "in Session":] Well, actually, what you just played, the details, which were more drawn out than the few seconds you had, to have that assault described, was really very telling. This assault went on for about 20 minutes as he was trying to wrench a tight engagement ring off the finger of his ex-fiancee and finally did get it off her. He made light of it the next day. He had a lot to drink that day. She didn`t describe any other incidents of violence, but it was enough for her to say, "Unh-unh, I don`t want a lifetime of this, which could possibly escalate." Whether or not he`s ever done something like this with other people, whether or not he`s ever done something like this with Michelle Young, the jury doesn`t know. But they certainly now know that he is capable of being violent to a woman he`s involved with.
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, yes. Very violent, if you listen to that witness`s testimony. Now, the most emotional witness by far, Jason`s other mistress, Carol Anne Sowerby. She started sobbing the minute she took the stand. Listen to this.
[Unidentified Male:] Ma`am, would you state your name, please?
[Carol Anne Sowerby, Jason Young`s Friend:] Carol Anne Sowerby. Put Cassidy to bed, had some drinks, and we ended up having sex.
[Unidentified Male:] And was that downstairs on the sofa, or do you recall?
[Sowerby:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] OK.
[Velez-mitchell:] She seems tortured on the stand. What`s behind her emotion? Is that guilt we`re seeing? She had an affair with a married man and, Jon Lieberman, as I understand it, didn`t she actually have sex in the marital bed? Tell us about that.
[Jon Lieberman, Journalist:] yes. She actually testified that they actually had sex in the family home on the sofa during a brief visit, and you know, it was incredibly compelling testimony. The way the defense is trying to get around it is, they`re saying, look, Jason is never going to win husband of the year. I mean, they came out and said, the defense, he`s obnoxious. He`s juvenile, OK. He`s cheated on his wife, but it doesn`t make him a killer. That`s what the defense is trying to set.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes, but he`s a cheater who also, with his ex- fiancee, violently attacked her to get his engagement ring back.
[Lieberman:] And that`s the key. What prosecutors are trying to show is and put his ex-fiancee on the stand to show that he does have a history of physical abuse. However, the defense and the prosecutors nobody has ever claimed that he was abusive in this relationship.
[Velez-mitchell:] In the marriage?
[Lieberman:] In the marriage where he`s accused of killing his wife. There were never any allegations publicly of physical abuse.
[Velez-mitchell:] You know yes, physical abuse but emotional abuse, having affairs. Now, it actually is hard to keep this married man`s tangled love life straight. I had to be I literally needed a scorecard. OK? Especially because his wife and one of his mistresses, they`re both named Michelle. So let`s recap and review. You`ve got the blond, Genevieve Cargol. That`s Jason`s former fiancee, the one who says he attacked her to get the ring back. Carol Anne Sowerby, she`s the one who`s crying, the dark-haired one, the mistress whose engagement ring Jason swallowed in a wild act of immaturity. And then there`s Michelle Money, the victim, the dead woman`s dear friend and her sorority sister, who was having an affair with Jason at the time that her good friend from college was murdered. Jason called Michelle shortly before and after the other Michelle, his wife Michelle`s, murder. And people were struck by Michelle Money`s cavalier demeanor on the stand. You check it out and be the judge.
[Unidentified Female:] Did you ever tell Michelle Young that you were having an affair with her husband?
[Michelle Money, Jason Young`s Mistress:] No, ma`am.
[Unidentified Female:] And to your knowledge, did Jason Young tell her that he was having an affair with you?
[Money:] No, ma`am.
[Velez-mitchell:] Unbelievable. Stacy Kaiser, psychotherapist, OK, you`ve got the one there in the middle who seems to be smiling and smirking. You`ve got the other one with the dark hair who`s sobbing hysterically. Either way I don`t know who`s more humiliated. But if we learn one thing from this tragic case, if you want to sleep with a guy, don`t sleep with a married man and don`t sleep with a married man in the married man`s husband`s home on the couch that he shares with his wife.
[Stacy Kaiser, Psychotherapist:] You know, I really very much see the guilt that you`re describing. It also looks like shame. I mean, here she is talking about a man that she was with who is on trial for murder. That`s a very, very heavy burden for somebody. And then we`re talking about his, I guess, current mistress, or the woman that he was with when his wife was killed, and I think she`s very cavalier, because she`s detached. You have to be detached emotionally in order to have an affair with a friend of yours` husband.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. I want to go to the phone lines. But I first want to say is, it`s my personal opinion that, once you start lying to your lover about anything, your intimacy is gone. Because intimacy is about revealing how you really feel. And so if you`re hiding the fact that you`re sleeping with somebody else, right away that is, I think, the death knell for a marriage or a relationship. So if he`s upset about his relationship, he should be upset with himself, because he`s the one who soured it by cheating. Mary, Arkansas, your question or thought, Mary?
[Caller:] I`d like to know if Jason Young wore a haz-mat suit when he allegedly killed his wife and who has custody of the little girl, Cassidy, if you know. Thank you.
[Velez-mitchell:] Very quickly. I couldn`t understand the question.
[Lieberman:] I think she was asking if Jason wore a haz-mat suit during the murder, probably to you know, the caller was intimating to cover up the murder. The reality is this: there`s not a lot of physical evidence. There`s virtually zero, which is why you saw the parade of mistresses and former fiancees, because this guy got off once and he may well get off again.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. And by the way, to answer the question, the victim`s sister has custody of the little toddler who was in the house, who may have been drugged with some kind of Tylenol medicine at the time of the killing. Joey Jackson, criminal defense attorney, he`s a jerk. He`s a cheater. He`s a liar. He`s a buffoon. He`s one of the most grotesque individuals that I`ve seen come down the pike. It doesn`t make him a murderer. And the fact is, they have no blood of Michelle, the wife`s, in the car that he was supposedly driving. There is no that`s why the caller asked, was he wearing a haz-mat suit, because they can`t find any blood or cuts on him.
[Joey Jackson, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Sure. Exactly. See, what`s happening here, Jane, is that this is where the prosecution wants to live. They want to muddy the character. They want to show a cheater. They want to show someone who has a propensity for violence. I`m surprised it was even admitted. However, in the event that it was admitted we see it was they want to show that this is just a bad individual who had a lot of affairs, can`t be trusted, a terrible moral character. Now here, the defendant in this case, you`re going to come back and say the reason that they wanted you to focus on that was for exactly the reason you said, Jane: because there was no physical evidence. There is no blood. There is no scrapes. There are no bruises. There`s no transferring of evidence to show that he did it. Nothing in the van. Nothing anywhere. And so that`s going to be the battle throughout.
[Velez-mitchell:] But this is fascinating, because trials are one of the only venues where we get to find out what`s happening behind closed doors. We get to pull open the curtains and study secrets that many don`t even tell their psychiatrists. So we`re finding out a lot about marriage dynamics and dysfunction. And we`re taking your calls: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297. Later, the stars ling up for Whitney Houston`s funeral but what`s in store for her daughter, Bobbi Kristina? I`m going to talk to someone who grew up in the spotlight: the daughter of the late, great James Brown, who had to deal with his estate. But, first, more steamy secrets from Jason Young`s affairs. More details and your calls coming up.
[Cargol:] He became so enraged that he punched out my windshield.
[Unidentified Female:] That night there was an eerie feeling. I think my sister`s dead. Do you know what happened to mommy? Did she fall?
[Unidentified Male:] She`s got boo boos everywhere. These wounds could have been received while using her hands to defend herself. I found her face to be horrific.
[Unidentified Female:] He said, "My lawyer told me I can`t talk to anyone, not even you," which "what do you mean, a lawyer?"
[Unidentified Male:] I got a trail of blood drops from the bed.
[Unidentified Female:] The other statement was, "I`m going to take a hit on the house." And I`m that was another like what?
[Unidentified Male:] Several lacerations, split teeth, missing teeth. There are no cuts on his hands, correct? No, sir. There are no scratches? No, sir. No bruises? No bruises.
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, boy. We`re talking about this murder case, and we had three ex-lovers of the defendant on the stand. Jason Young`s most recent mistress, Michelle Money, was a close friend of his wife, the victim. They were sorority sisters, in fact. Now, here`s the mistress and the victim at the Youngs` wedding. Unbelievable. When Jason began his affair with Michelle Money, she was also married to someone.
[Money:] We just spent a lot of time talking and hanging out at the house. We ended up having an intimate relationship while he was there.
[Unidentified Female:] And so at that point were you actually engaged in an affair with the defendant?
[Money:] Yes, ma`am.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I have to repeat an old cliche: with friends like this, who needs enemies? I mean, really. This woman testified with a smirk on her face. She didn`t seem to have any shame. She also complained about how the media had treated her. I want to go out to the phone lines. Kathy, Florida, your question or thought, Kathy.
[Caller:] Hi.
[Velez-mitchell:] Hi.
[Caller:] I understand there were approximately 980 cell phone and text messages between Jason and Michelle Money the months preceding the murder, and I`m wondering if there were any allegations set forth that this seems to be very smug and callous woman had potentially plotted this murder with Jason. Has there anybody looked into that?
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I want to go out to Beth Karas, who`s a correspondent who`s been all over this case from the beginning. We`re going to put up, actually, a list of Jason`s phone records around the time of this murder. And tell us what we know about Jason`s conversations with Michelle Money Beth.
[Karas:] Well, Jane, I my recollection from today`s testimony was that it was over 400 communications, e-mail and telephone. Telephone meaning calls and text messages in that month period. That is the weekend when they first had sexual relations, which was early October 2006, until the murder of Michelle Young. So approximately one-month period. Not sure it`s the 980 that the caller just mentioned. Well, it did come out on the stand, as well, that the police said to her, "You know what? If you don`t stop having contact with Jason Young" this is obviously after the murder "you`re going to get implicated in this," because she continued to have contact with him. And they were beginning, I suppose, to wonder whether or not she was complicit in some way. But I don`t believe that it was every taken seriously. She did cut off contact eventually.
[Velez-mitchell:] She`s just somebody who has a smirk on her face. And it`s inappropriate, in my opinion, but doesn`t mean anything more than just water finds its own level. He`s immature and maybe she is, as well. Jason`s friends and exes have testified that Jason`s behavior when he was drinking could become violent and downright humiliating. Listen to this.
[Cargol:] I hate to use the word "always" but it always ended badly for me when he was drinking.
[Unidentified Female:] What do you mean when you say "it always ended badly"?
[Cargol:] His behavior just would just change so drastically, and he typically got real angry with me, usually over just nothing.
[Velez-mitchell:] Stacy Kaiser, psychotherapist, could he be an alcoholic?
[Kaiser:] That was my immediately reaction when I heard that testimony. It`s very common with alcoholic behavior that you literally have a personality change and become another person, and that`s what she`s describing.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes, and he did all sorts of immature things, like swallowing rings, urinating in front of people in somebody`s living room. More on the other side. But first, we`ve got your viral video coming up next. More Jason Young trial in a minute, but first, your "Viral Video of the Day."
[Unidentified Male:] You know that bacon that`s like maple? Maple flavored? The maple kind? Yes. Yes, so... Yes? I took that out, and I thought... Yes? I know who would like that. Me. So I ate it.
[Unidentified Female:] She was historically crying, and she said to me, "You have to promise to keep a secret for the rest of your life. I have to tell you something. I`m pregnant. And Jason wants me to abort the baby, or he said he will resent me and the baby for the rest of our lives."
[Sowerby:] He asked if he could see my ring.
[Unidentified Male:] Did you show it to her?
[Sowerby:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] Did you hand it to her?
[Sowerby:] I don`t recall. I don`t know if I just held out my hand or if I had handed it to him. I probably handed it to him.
[Unidentified Male:] OK. But in any event, was he did he have possession of your ring at some time?
[Sowerby:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] What did he do with it?
[Sowerby:] He pretended to swallow it.
[Velez-mitchell:] And in fact he did swallow some rings and had to pass them. Ew, yuck. I mean, this guy, the immaturity level. That same woman who testified, she said she fell asleep after having sex with him and woke up, and he had drawn on her face with Magic Marker. Jason`s friends and exes testified that his behavior and his drinking could be violent and downright humiliating. Listen to this.
[Cargol:] I hate to use the word "always," but it always ended badly when he was drinking.
[Unidentified Female:] What do you mean when you say "always ended badly"?
[Cargol:] His behavior just would change so drastically, and he typically got real angry with me usually over just nothing. And...
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, yes. OK, so he swallowed rings, drew on sleeping women`s faces, urinated in a friend`s home. And I have to wonder if this guy is just a sociopath on top of being an alcoholic. Is he going to testify? Because this is the second trial. He testified in the last trial. What did he say, and do you think he`s going to testify this time?
[Lieberman:] Yes, well, that`s a great question. He testified the first time, and he came off as very likable, just how he did that`s how he got all these women, is the woman described him as likeable, a good personality. So even though he`s a drunken buffoon and pretty much everybody can agree to that, if he takes the stand again, it worked the first time, because he got a mistrial. And he basically testified, "Look, I was having problems in my marriage, but we were working on it." There`s no real evidence that he was working on it. But he said, "Look, we were working on it and I didn`t kill my wife." And that resonated with the jury the first time.
[Velez-mitchell:] It`s unbelievable. And just the lack of boundaries in this group, it seems like people are sleeping with each other, and they`re all married. And I mean, it`s there`s something going on in this particular circle that is highly dysfunctional. And I leave Genevieve out of it, because she was engaged to him. She didn`t know, and she broke it off. She wasn`t cheating. But let`s go out to the phone lines again. Bobby, Alabama, your question or thought, Bobby? Oh, Bobby`s a little bit we can`t hear her.
[Caller:] Yes, I`m here.
[Velez-mitchell:] There you are, Bobby. What`s your question or thought, Bobby?
[Caller:] Bobby from Alabama?
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes.
[Caller:] Yes. Yes, here I am.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK.
[Caller:] Let me put it on mute.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. I don`t know what`s happening with Bobby. But Beth Karas, what can we expect tomorrow? I mean, these were, for lack of a better word, bombshell witnesses. Has this trial peaked in terms of creating interest or is there even more to come?
[Karas:] Well, there`s more to come, but I`m not sure how much we`re going to hear about the marriage and the relationship of Jason Young. We may have heard most of that by now. But there`s going to be some more forensic testimony. And we still have to hear about how Jason Young did buy a pair of Hush Puppies the year before the murder, consistent with one of the bloody shoeprints, and the police never did find those shoes.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Got to leave it right there. Whitney Houston, the very latest, next.
[Unidentified Female:] I remember being so proud. You know, just so proud of both her singing and her acting. Extensive planning is going on to give Whitney the funeral and the good-bye that she deserves.
[Unidentified Male:] Tears caught in my eyes just thinking about it. Tragic. Such a talented human being; she set the standard for a bunch of singers right now and she`s gone. It`s sad.
[Whitney Houston, Singer:] I loved the lyric. It`s sad. I knew how I could interpret it. And I knew that if I sang it, it would come from my heart.
[George Clooney, Actor:] What a tragedy. What a terrible, terrible tragedy.
[Unidentified Female:] I love you, I love you, and I love you and rest in peace.
[Jane Velez-mitchell, Hln:] Tonight, as Whitney Houston`s family puts the final touches on the superstar`s funeral, investigators are hoping hotel surveillance cameras might help them find out what Whitney was doing in the days and hours before she died. Hotel workers confirm to CNN`s Don Lemon that Houston was quote, "partying the night before her death in a bar. Houston was found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday and police are now trying to trace her movements to figure out what killed her. Tonight, we`re also going to look at what kind of pressure the 48- year-old music icon was feeling. RadarOnline reports Houston tried to get a facelift two weeks before her death but was turned down because she failed a medical exam. The circumstances of Whitney Houston`s death might be uncomfortable to talk about. But a 48-year-old woman doesn`t just die for no reason. It`s our obligation to look into it.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Correspondent:] If she had prescription medication. We know that she had Xanax that is confirmed in her room, and that she was taking Xanax, according to her family. If she`s doing that and drinking, for a known addict, that is a problem. As much as some people don`t want to hear it, that`s the reality. We cannot turn away.
[Velez-mitchell:] CNN`s Don Lemon also reporting Whitney ordered alcohol before 10:00 a.m. A couple of days before her death and her behavior was erratic, jumping in and out of the pool. People were pointing this out. It`s no doubt difficult for Whitney`s family to hear, difficult because they are getting ready for her private viewing tomorrow and her funeral Saturday. Tonight we`re learning Whitney`s "Bodyguard", co-star, Kevin Costner, will speak at her funeral. They made an incredible on-screen couple. Watch this from Warner Brothers Pictures. Her charisma, her moves, her talent. And there she is a picture of her when she was young, before she became world-famous. Whitney`s funeral will be star-studded performances from Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. 1500 coveted invitation only seats. No doubt everyone heavy in heart and wondering how this angel`s song could have fallen so hard. And I want to hear your thoughts. Call me. 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877- 586-7297. Straight out to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" correspondent Nischelle Turner who is live in front of the New Hope Baptist Church where Whitney`s funeral will be held on Saturday. Nischelle, you`ve been all over the story coast to coast. In fact, you and I were there together at the Beverly Hilton just a couple of hours after yes. Into the night after we heard that Whitney had passed while her body was still in the hotel while Clive Davis` party was happening. We could hear the music. So now you`re in Newark, New Jersey. Tell us and show us what is happening there, Nischelle.
[Nischelle Turner, Hln Correspondent:] Well, Jane, I can still hear the music here in Newark, New Jersey. And that`s because I`m in front of the New Hope Baptist Church right now. And inside I don`t know if you can hear, if you can pick up.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes.
[Turner:] But there is either a choir rehearsal going on right now but we did hear earlier that the Mississippi mass choir was going to be performing at Whitney`s funeral on Saturday. So I don`t know if it`s bible study, choir rehearsal but there is this joyous gospel music coming out from New Hope Baptist Church right now. And if you look behind me, the makeshift memorial to Whitney Houston has been growing by leaps and bounds and once again there are fans coming out right over my shoulder there coming out, taking pictures, leaving notes, messages, flowers, cards, candles anything they could to let Whitney know how they felt about her and her music. So that`s kind of what is going on here tonight in front of New Hope Baptist Church. You know, and also the onslaught of media that will be here to cover her funeral. We`re all here too.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. I will be there Saturday. HLN covering the whole thing, you`re going to there.
[Turner:] Yes.
[Velez-mitchell:] I want to ask you just step aside for a second, ask maybe the camera person to push it a little bit. I know it`s dark but maybe we can get a sense of what is going on there because it really is fascinating to see and there it is. You can see all of the balloons and all the flowers and essentially just this very respectful scene. This is the church where the funeral is going to occur. But actually the authorities are saying, don`t go to that funeral home because they are going to rope off I`ve heard up to six blocks in every direction and so they are saying, watch it at home. Very similar to what happened with the Michael Jackson memorial service where they urged people, "Don`t go to the memorial service. Watch it from home." So you can watch it right here on HLN. Kevin Costner will be speaking at Saturday`s funeral. There will also be the big name performances, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, both scheduled to eulogize Whitney in song. Aretha already played tribute to her goddaughter at a concert. Watch this from GMA.
[Aretha Franklin, Singer:] Share this moment with me in acknowledging one of the greatest singers that has ever stood before a microphone. Miss Whitney Elizabeth Houston. I`ll always love you.
[Velez-mitchell:] Also on hand, Chaka Khan, Jesse Jackson, and yes, Whitney`s ex-husband Bobby Brown scheduled to be there, Dionne Warwick, Brandy, her brother Ray J who was romantically linked to Whitney. Jawn Murray, pop culture journalist and expert, some claim there was controversy surrounding whether or not Bobby Brown should attend given some people are blaming him for her problems even though they pre-date her relationship with him.
[Jawn Murray, Entertainment Journalist:] Yes, Jane. You know, I`ve been a stickler for the fact that we cannot blame Bobby Brown for what has happened to Whitney Houston because it is documented; history has proven that Whitney Houston had an issue prior to meeting Bobby Brown and as both you and Dr. Drew have both said on this network, oftentimes addicts seek each other out. You know, when Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown recorded their duet together, "We Have Something in Common", I believe they were telling us the truth. So yes, together they had a lot of tumultuous times in their relationship. We know there was some legal issues and there was a lot of combined drug use but Whitney Houston absolutely had an issue well before she met Bobby Brown.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. And Whitney`s ex, Bobby Brown, of course he has long been a major pop star. Check this out from way back when YouTube and Now, Bobby Brown is not only going to go to the funeral but he`s also scheduled to perform with New Edition in Connecticut this weekend. Some claim Bobby is now trying to ingratiate himself with his daughter Bobbi Kristina. Let`s face it, she stands to inherit a huge estate. It could be worth hundreds of millions down the road. TMZ estimating to night Whitney`s estate currently worth $20 million, but it could easily skyrocket from there to the hundreds and millions. Digital sales of Whitney`s albums jumped over 17,000 percent since her death; individual songs sales up over 5,000 percent. I`m joined exclusively by the daughter of the late great godfather of soul, James Brown, Dr. Yamma Brown. Dr. Brown, thank you so much for joining us. And you can shed light like no other on this situation. What can Bobbi Kristina do as an 18-year-old girl who is grieving our hearts go out to her. But still she has to think of the future to protect the estate. When people are liable to come in and try to befriend her because of how wealthy she`s going to be.
[Dr. Yamma Brown, Daughter Of James Brown:] Absolutely. She`s got so much ahead of her. You know right now, my first thing is to say, you know, our hearts go out to this family. I mean, to Bobbi Kristina, to Cissy. And I mean it`s just it`s a tough time and just looking at the footage that you guys have right now just brings back so many memories of when we had to go through the same thing, three funerals. And right now just you know, for Bobbi Kristina, she`s got to mourn the death of her mom, first of all. You know, a lot of people forget that it is Whitney Houston. She`s a pop icon here. But this is Bobbi Kristina`s mother. Above all of this, she needs to mourn her mom and kind of stay out of the media and
[Velez-mitchell:] But how can she protect herself financially from those who will move in? I know you have to give approval before your father`s songs are used.
[Brown:] Yes. And, you know, she`s got to make sure she has people around her that she trusts. You know, she`s got to make sure that her grandmother`s around her, that Dionne is around her; that the people that her mom kept close to her, she does the same thing. Because like you said, the first thing people are going to do, new people are going to come in. She has to remember, yes, you`re going to mourn your mom but you`ve got a legacy to keep going and you`ve got a legacy that
[Velez-mitchell:] And let me say this, people are already trying to take advantage of the New Jersey home that Whitney shared with Bobby Brown, back on the market for $1.75 million. The real estate listing reads can you believe this "Now is the time to step up and buy this great house. If you own this house, you would always have these incredible stories?" Are you how tacky is that? Has the cashing in on Whitney already begun? As we go to break, we`re going to show you another live shot of the church. We`re all over it. And on the other side, we`re going to talk to Gordon Chambers, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, who worked with Whitney, about the pressures that she was under. And we`re taking your calls. Stay right there more on the other side. Live pictures of the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey where people have converged and they`re leaving balloons and balloons. And there is a rehearsal service going on for the funeral service that we here will be covering live on Saturday. Our coverage begins at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. I`m going to be out there live on the streets of Newark, New Jersey talking to fans as we bid this incredible artist a farewell. And it breaks our heart to have to talk about this. But we have to. We have to uncover the why, the deeper why. Whitney was on the verge of divorce when she and her husband singer Bobby Brown appeared on the reality show "Being Bobby Brown". Check this out from Bravo and YouTube.
[Houston:] We`ve got to live with flies. We`ve got to live with
[Bobby Brown, Singer:] You just watch too much TV. I`m a true American. I`ve been to jail before. That`s American.
[Houston:] Kiss my ass.
[Bobby Brown:] All right. That`s what I`ll do.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Certainly that reality show was ill advised, in my opinion. Whitney Houston was a great artist. She was a fantastic artist. She was a star. And I think that diminished her star a little bit. I want to go to Gordon Chambers, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who worked with Whitney Houston and just get a sense of what kind of pressures a pop icon is under when they hit 48 years old because it is sort of a young person`s business.
[Gordon Chambers, Singer-songwriter:] Well, you know, Whitney, I don`t think, was in competition with trying to fit into trends. I think that Whitney Houston knew that she was one of the greatest singers in the world and was at a point in her world where she wanted to sing music that meant the world to her. And if you listen to her last album, "I Live to You", a lot of the songs on there are spiritual and very spiritually uplifting and we`ve looked at a lot we can`t ignore that the very last live performance was her singing "Jesus Loves Me". So I think that she was looking for music that spoke to her. I don`t think she was in competition with the young ones. I really don`t believe get that sense at all.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I think you`re right. She was seeking spiritually and there are reports that she was talking a lot about spirituality in the days leading up to her death. And, of course, she was a spectacular star who very deservedly made many millions of dollars. Whitney Houston made $36 million off the sound track for her movie, "The Bodyguard" with Kevin Costner, who`s going to speak at the funeral on Saturday. Here`s one of the biggest hits "I`m Every Woman" from Arista Records. Gordon Chambers, you produced some of her songs. You knew her for years. You have a new album out yourself called "Sincere" and I`m going to check that out. But when I watch Whitney Houston, I think she`s one of the greats that will go down in history. Great like Judy Garland, great like Frank Sinatra; she is one of a kind. How do you think she`s going to go down in history and be remembered?
[Chambers:] Exactly that. She`s, by far, I think the greatest female voice of the 20th century. I mean I think even Barbara Streisand and Mariah Carey, you know, tweeted this week just extolling the virtues of her voice. This woman she set the standards. She was the home run. She hits the ball way out of the park. And people are going to remember the good times more than the tabloid times. They are going to remember the great fabulous music that she made and how it made them feel. You know, I have gotten hundreds of phone calls and hundreds of e- mails from people just saying how much they are missing and mourning and grieving this woman. They lost because her music meant so much to them. It meant so much to me.
[Velez-mitchell:] Dr. Yamma Brown, James Brown`s daughter, do you agree that all of this discussion about cause of death is going to give way just in appreciation of her music down the road?
[Yamma Brown:] Absolutely. I mean, you know, her music sales I mean they`re going to go through the roof as they already have; and like we were talking about before all of this is going to be great for her estate in the long run. That, of course, is what Bobbi Kristina has to be concerned about and, you know, be looking about in the future.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. And as I look at these images of Whitney, I do think oh, my gosh her stardom. Let`s not forget her genius and her talent as we discuss I`m going dumpster diving in a minute, but first, you deserve a laugh break, and so do I. Last week I showed you how I went dumpster diving with a group of food rescuers who call themselves freegans to show that perfectly good food is being thrown out on a massive scale. Come on check it out. This is really good. I`m not joking around. Tonight the adventure continues. She got an onion. Are you giving this to me or are you taking it? I`m going to put this in my stir fry.
[Unidentified Female:] Gluten free corn bread.
[Velez-mitchell:] That`s fantastic. One, two, three, four, five, six - that`s about almost a dozen containers of food that look perfectly good to eat. How do you know that`s ok?
[Unidentified Female:] What it`s not it bloats.
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh. When it`s not it bloats. So you think that`s ok. Green olives stuffed with natural red peppers.
[Unidentified Female:] Wonderful.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yum. Look at that, completely new completely new. More bread. And there`s a feeling of like, it`s a prize when you find something. And this is good. This is the kind of bread I eat, sprouts. Look at that. That smells fresh. Smells totally fresh to me.
[Unidentified Female:] In an urban area, in New York City this is the easiest way to feed yourself and it`s there for the taking.
[Velez-mitchell:] Have you ever gotten sick from eating this way?
[Unidentified Female:] No, absolutely not. You do have to be careful. But our food system isn`t clean anyways. Cases of pizza that are being thrown out.
[Velez-mitchell:] This is starting to really bother me. This is starting to really bother me.
[Unidentified Female:] And it could be that the power went out on their freezer or something like that. These are things that you have to be careful with. If it was the middle of summer and it was 90 degrees out, you probably wouldn`t take this home and eat it. But It`s essentially the temperature of a refrigerator out here, and we`re getting maybe an hour after they put it out. This is perfectly fine.
[Velez-mitchell:] Think about the waste here. The waste of the paper, the waste of the food, this is shocking to me. It`s upsetting and shocking to me. Do you have that moment when you`re doing this where you go, oh, my God, people are starving around the world and we`re throwing boxes of what looks like perfectly good food out on the street?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes, it is shocking. And you get immune to it because it`s not an unusual thing. It`s every day at every store that we`re finding this kind of waste.
[Velez-mitchell:] If we could tell you that there`s all this pepperoni pizza. All this pizza, all this food that`s been thrown out looks fine. What would you say?
[Unidentified Male:] I would tell you, anybody that`s home, you should be most grateful because times are hard. You know, I was a construction worker. I`ve been out of work for over a year.
[Velez-mitchell:] You`re taking some of these pizzas that we found right here?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, and I`m going to eat them.
[Unidentified Female:] There are people choosing between paying for their food and paying for their rent and paying for their medical bills and paying for their other needs.
[Velez-mitchell:] You know what I say, even if you don`t want to eat it, even if you`re concerned about eating it for whatever reason, I think it would be good for all of us to go on these little excursions and see what`s out there so we can don`t take our word for it. Go into your community, go into the garbage and see what`s there. In my next installment, I`m going to take my freegan booty and I`m going to whip up a fabulous freegan dinner. And I`m going to show you that it`s perfectly edible. Come to my dinner party. Thanks for coming along on my dumpster diving adventure. I learned so freegan much that`s what they call themselves, freegans about rescuing food discarded by restaurants and stores. I frankly was horrified by the massive amounts of perfectly edible food I found in the trash. And I was happy to eat the food that I found. But if you have reservations about that, that`s ok. There are other ways you can help rescue food that is being thrown away unnecessarily. Watch this.
[Unidentified Female:] New York City is a city where 1.5 million New Yorkers don`t know where their next meal is coming from and City Harvest works to get them the food that they need for themselves and their family.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. City Harvest rescue 33 million pounds of excess food from restaurants. You can go to CityHarvest.org and learn more about it. Next week, I`m going to take the food that I found in the trash, and I`m going to whip up a fabulous meal and I`m going to eat it. That`s right, the food I got right out of the garbage. Next week. "NANCY GRACE" next. END

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin. President Obama lashing out at a surprise news conference this morning. Also, the future of Apple after Steve Jobs. And it is now cheaper to buy a home than ever before. Time to play "Reporter Roulette" on this Thursday. And, Dan Lothian, let's begin with you there at the White House. Dan, we listened to the president this morning answering many questions and not only did he take on Republicans, right? He's taking on, again, millionaires.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] That's right. And what we are talking about here is that surtax to pay for the president's jobs bill, which Senate Democrats are pushing and it's 5.6 percent on those making over a million dollars. We did not see or hear a full-throated endorsement of this from the president. In fact, though, what he said was that he was comfortable and that he thought that this approach from Senate Democrats was fine. The president supporting this as a means of paying for this jobs bill, which, of course, that's been the big issue, how to pay for all of this.
[Baldwin:] President Obama, though-
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Will Congress do something? If Congress does something, then I can't run against a do-nothing Congress. If Congress does nothing, then it's not a matter of me running against them. I think the American people will run them out of town.
[Lothian:] Of course, that was the president talking about how he wants Congress to make some movement on his jobs bill and he wants to see this passed in one piece. But he's also I guess realizing that that's it is possible that that may not happen and so the president says that he will continue to hammer away at Congress until all of those other elements do get addressed, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Yes, that's what I was going ask, if he needs the whole thing or perhaps in part. Dan Lothian, thank you very much at the White House. Next our "Reporter Roulette" we want to talk a little bit about the death of apple founder Steve Jobs. Casey Wian in Pasadena, California, for us this afternoon. And, Casey, Apple customers they are very much so known for their loyalty. But why is that? What makes them so loyal to a man many of us certainly never knew?
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, you know, in the words of one customer we spoke with this morning, it is because the products work. He put it as simple as that. It is very unusual when you see the CEO of a company pass away that you will see that customers that company's customers pour out in tributes as if it was a member of the family or a member of the community has passed away. Over here you can see since Steve Jobs' death last night, people have been leaving flowers, little notes in Apple stickers. Thanks for all the magic. We will miss you, Steve. RIP. Even a quote from Dr. Seuss. Don't be sad because it is over. Smile because it happened. Someone even left a card here for Steve Jobs. Let me read it to you. It is real brief, but it's very, very telling. "Dear Steve, we will all miss you very much. My dad bought me my first Apple II in 1977 when I was 12 years old. Your vision and commitment to the extraordinary is both inspiring and magnificent. God bless you. Love, John S." from an Apple customer. Pretty much says it all, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] It does. It's amazing how much he and his innovations touched so many people. Casey, thank you so much in Pasadena. Still ahead, a pretty stunning report from the group that advised against mammograms for women. Do you remember that news? Pretty controversial at the time. Find out now what the same group is saying about men and what you should not be doing. Plus
[Unidentified Female:] This is my son
[Baldwin:] A mother begs for change after her teenage son suddenly dies. We will tell you what she is demanding. Also, just in to us here at CNN, we are getting word on a major development involving the raid that killed Osama bin Laden what Pakistan is now doing to the doctor who helped lead the CIA to the world's most wanted terrorist next.

[Anderson:] Well, it was the nightmare that never was. But the response to Wednesday's tsunami scare, our top story this evening, shows that warning systems have come a long way in eight years. Just what has changed? Back on the first anniversary of the 2004 disaster, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout returned to the scene to look at what was then a new early-warning system. Have a look at this.
[Kristie Lu Stout, Cnn International Correspondent:] The Indian Ocean tsunami claimed more than 200,000 lives. There was no early- warning system. Onboard the Sonne, a team of scientists is installing a way to warn of a tsunami.
[Udo Barckhausen, Geophysicist:] With everything in place, from the technical side, we can raise the alarm within less than five minutes, which would, even for coastal areas close by, be enough.
[Stout:] And it looks like this. Sensors are placed on the ocean floor to detect sea activity. They're linked to giant buoys that measure surface movement and transmit all the data via satellite to stations on land. But that high-end system of seabed sensors and buoys right off the coast of this beach, here, will amount to nothing unless the warning it picks up is relayed to every person on this beach. Enter the Red Cross. The international aid group is organizing how to get that warning out to the community.
[Virgil Grandfield, International Federation Of The Red Cross:] The early-warning system, which is definitely technology-based, still depends on people on the other end of it. And so, the cartoon teaches people how to rebuild their communities in a safer way, but also how the early-warning system would work at their end.
[Stout:] The cartoon shows how the Red Cross relays the warning. It also shows how the community should respond. A simple but potentially lifesaving message that has been screened to some 100,000 people. Today, Banda Aceh is rattled by quakes sometimes two to three times a week. With every rumble, the people head to the hills. But once the warning system is in place, the locals will know the difference between a false alarm and the real thing. Bustami Anzib is certain a tsunami will come back, but he's ready to heed any warning. He tells me, "Hand, phone, or siren, you can reach me." The call to prayer sounds at dusk in Banda Aceh. Before the next tsunami hits, Bustami should hear the call to run. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
[Anderson:] Well, that system is up and running, and today, tens of thousands of Indonesians heeded that call to get to higher ground. They had a terrible scare but did not have to endure another tragedy. Now, no casualties have been reported. Looks like the early-warning system which Kristie just talked about played a significant part. Let's, though, ask UNESCO's oceans expert, Wendy Watson-Wright, who leads the international effort to set up those early-warning systems. She joins us now from our Paris bureau. We do know that the tsunami was nothing like as significant or as big as the one back in 2004, but whether there had been a bigger tsunami or not, the systems worked, didn't they? Were you surprised?
[Wendy Watson-wright, Assistant Director General, Unesco:] No, I can't say I was surprised. Certainly very happy. But we have done simulation exercises before, the most recent one was on October the 12th of 2011. And during that time, of course, we were happy with the simulation exercise. We always have lessons learned. And we improve. So, it wasn't a surprise, but it was certainly a great pleasure to know that we did not have the destruction and the loss of life that we had in 2004.
[Anderson:] Talk us through these early-warning systems. How do they work?
[Watson-wright:] Well, the early-warning systems are really comprised of approximately three components. First, of course, there is the hazard assessment, detection, and forecasting. Secondly, they also include a threat evaluation and dissemination of the information. And finally, the community preparedness and response, which of course involves education. And the important point here is it's an end-to-end system, and the last part, the education of the public, is so absolutely critical and important.
[Anderson:] Sure.
[Watson-wright:] And in fact, this works. There was self-evaluation evacuation going on in Aceh just after the earthquake.
[Anderson:] You can't stop these tsunamis happen if they're going to happen, but these systems are incredibly important. What have you learned from today? You've been talking about the rehearsals that you've had over a long period of time, now, in eight years. What was learned today specifically, Wendy?
[Watson-wright:] I'm sorry, could you repeat that question?
[Anderson:] We've been watching and hearing about these early-warning systems being set up since 2004. I'm wondering just when you reflect on today, the past 24 hours, what have we learned?
[Watson-wright:] Well, we've learned that it's certainly been worth the effort to set up the tsunami warning systems. Of course, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO has been coordinating the specific tsunami system since 1965, but it was after the 2004 Sumatra earthquake and tsunami that we were asked to also set them up in the Indian Ocean, in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, and in the Caribbean.
[Anderson:] All right.
[Watson-wright:] And in the Indian Ocean, we have made significant progress.
[Anderson:] Good stuff. Wendy Watson-Wright out of Paris for you this evening. We thank you very much, indeed, for joining us this evening. I'm Becky Anderson. Thanks for being with us here on CONNECT THE WORLD. World headlines up next. END

[Baldwin:] Welcome back here to Cleveland. I'm Brooke Baldwin with continuing special coverage here as more details from this house of horrors, that house of horrors, emerge. We're learning that one of the women, Michelle Knight, delivered Amanda Berry's daughter in some kind of plastic kiddie pool, and at one point in time, this little baby stopped breathing. No doctor, no medical personnel there. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now. Elizabeth, how does someone with zero experience delivering a baby pull it off?
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] I know. Really in modern times, right, that sounds like how in the world did she do that. We forget sometimes that women delivered each other's babies for a very long time before doctors and midwives came along, and if it's a pretty easy birth, it's really not such a big problem. Not something you'd ever want, but not necessarily such a big problem. As for the not breathing, doctors tell me that is actually relatively, you know, common. That actually happens with some frequency, and if you pick up the baby, sometimes that jostles them into breathing. We heard that what Michelle Knight did, according to the police report, she put her mouth over the baby's mouth and breathed into the baby's mouth, which was so incredibly smart. Doctors are telling me that was such a smart thing to do. In a hospital, we'd put a mask over the baby if we needed to. She did what she could do in that situation. It was the next best thing.
[Baldwin:] And all of this under this duress from this monster, apparently, according to police, telling Michelle Knight, if this little baby doesn't live, you won't live either. It's stunning and it's amazing that this young woman is now alive and the 6 year old is apparently A-OK, according to police. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
[Cohen:] Thanks.
[Baldwin:] We will take you back to here our special coverage in just a moment, but after weeks of debate and also outrage, we are finally learning what has happened to the body of the Boston bombing suspect. It comes as lawmakers are grilling investigators on possible red flags that were missed. Back in 90 seconds.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Tom, thanks very much. Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight with breaking news on the Secret Service prostitution scandal. We've now got a face to go with it. This is the Colombian prostitute she calls herself an escort at the center of it all. She's the one who says she confronted a Secret Service agent over her fee after a night of sex at the Cartagena Hotel. That quarrel, over the price of her services, has now landed two dozens Secret Services members and military personnel in trouble. It is 24 now, that's a because a 12th military member is under investigation. He was part of a group that provides the White House with secure communications when the president travels. Six Secret Services members have been forced out of the agency. More departures could be on the way. All starting with an argument in the hallway of a hotel in Cartagena, Colombia. And that's where we find CNN's Drew Griffin now. Drew, we're now seeing this woman. You've been down there all weekend. What have you learned? What's the latest?
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Special Investigations Unit Correspondent:] This woman, her name is Dania Suarez, 24 years old, Anderson. Single mother of a young son. The young son goes to school. She herself goes to English-speaking class. We went to the apartment where she lives. It's down a dirt alley, but it's a middle class neighborhood, a gated community. Her neighbors were quite frankly they were stunned that this was the woman involved with this scandal. They called her a model citizen of her gated community and had no idea actually how she made a living. But they do say that this woman that they saw in their local newspaper is the woman who lived in the apartment. A couple of days ago somebody came to that apartment, removed some suitcases. She has not been seen at her home since this news broke Anderson.
[Cooper:] What do we know about what took place that night?
[Griffin:] There's rumors flying all over Cartagena. And that's because there's been no official explanation from the police here, no police report that we could get our hands on. So we are getting our information from hotel security staff, one member of the staff, and a cab driver. Both of them would not go on camera. The cab driver says that he is the one who drove Dania Suarez back to that apartment we just showed you after this event. He says that what she re-laid to him was that there was this dispute in the hotel. She was locked out of the hotel room after this man would not pay either the money she was asking or any money. She had police intervened, Colombian Police, in that hallway trying to reach some sort of settlement. And it was during this negotiation period that other Secret Service agents came out of their rooms, pooled their money together, and gave this money to the woman, enough to basically get rid of her. The agent who hired her, I guess you would have to say, would not come out of that room. So that is how this whole thing began. It was just an argument over pay. She did not get what she wanted and she demanded payment.
[Cooper:] There's also now reports she's trying to sell her story. Is that true?
[Griffin:] Reports only. We've been trying to reach her attorney, his name is Marlin Betancourt. He has not been answering his calls. We know that he is the attorney from associates in his office. They wouldn't confirm or deny that she is trying to sell it. Rumor is well, there's speculation anywhere from $40,000 to $25,000 is being asked. But again we have not had any direct contact with either woman, Miss Suarez, or her attorney involved in this so we can't confirm that for sure Anderson.
[Cooper:] And how common is prostitution in Cartagena?
[Griffin:] It's known for it, quite frankly. The sex tourist trade here is very popular. And I can tell you just from being here the last three or four days, if you walk anywhere at night near a nightclub or in the old city where a lot of these nightclubs are, you're going to be approached just about on every corner. A young man asking you if you're looking for a chica, if you're looking for girls, and pointing you to backdoors here and there in the old city where you could find what you're looking for is what they have told us. We also know that a lot of single scantily clad women hang out in the discotheque to Candela where these Secret Service men were partying. It's very common here. Not shocking at all to the Colombians that Americans were looking for and finding sex. What's shocking to Colombians, quite frankly, Anderson, is what's shocking to the U.S. is that these men assigned to protect the president of the United States were out bringing carousing and bringing prostitutes back to their hotel room just before the president's arrival? Possibly opening the door for a security breach. The White House insists there was no security breach. But certainly opened door for that possibility.
[Cooper:] And then to argue over a price, I mean it just seems so monumentally stupid at the very least.
[Griffin:] It would be nice to get the facts of what the price was. We've heard that she was, quote-unquote, going to charge $800. That seems like an outrageous price. The going rate here is anywhere from $100 to $200. I'm beginning to wonder if there was a communication error. But certainly it's going to be hard to understand or have this Secret Service agent, once he's identified, explain to not only his family and his friends but the other Secret Service agents that were involved just what the heck were you thinking when you decided you weren't going to pay this woman.
[Cooper:] Drew, appreciate the reporting. Thanks. Shocker today in the Trayvon Martin case. Late this afternoon just hours after the city of Sanford announced a separation agreement with the police chief, Bill Lee, that included his offer to resign, Sanford City Commission voted to not accept it. Now this is the same city commissioner, remember, that recently voted no confidence in the handling of the investigation. Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplet called for an outside investigation saying he's neither ready for the chief, Chief Lee, to return nor ready to show him the door. Now others were more outspoken.
[Patty Mahany, Sanford, Florida City Commissioner:] Chief Lee is paying for the sins of past police officers. His police chiefs. He has been here
[Mahany:] He has been in office 10 months. How do you steer a boat that big, Mr. Mayor? How do you steer a boat in 10 months to a complete turnaround? You don't.
[Cooper:] City Commissioner Mahany also saying, quote, "I do not feel that Sanford needs healing." And quote, "You think I'm a racist? Bring it on," end quote. Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump had this to say. Quote, "If Chief Bill Lee recognized that his resignation would help the start of healing process in the Sanford, city leadership should have accepted it in an effort to move the city forward." Now all of this on a day that began at 12:05 a.m. with the shooter George Zimmerman making bail leaving the Seminole County Jail. That's him on the left, obviously. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, accompanied by his bail bondsman. Their destination obviously unknown. This could be the last we see of George Zimmerman for awhile. His attorney today entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. I spoke with Mark O'Mara late this afternoon. So, Mark, your client was released after making bail around midnight last night. How is he doing?
[Mark O'mara, George Zimmerman's Attorney:] He's doing well. He's very glad to be out. Trying to get settled in. Still worried about his safety, but, you know, talking to his family and feeling much better than being in.
[Cooper:] There were reports he'd received death threats, that he was wearing even a bulletproof vest as he as he left the jail. It looks like he's wearing a vest. Can you confirm that?
[O'mara:] He was. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and he has received threats through the Internet. There's been a lot of chatter lately about his release. And that's concerning him and us.
[Cooper:] Is he under police protection now?
[O'mara:] Actually, no. Police protected him while he was in jail. While in Seminole County. But he's sort of on his own with his own protection at this point.
[Cooper:] So I obviously can't reveal where he is nor would you, can you say if he is in the state of Florida and if he plans to remain in the state?
[O'mara:] Really couldn't say. We have actually several locations that we're going to be sort of moving him from just to make sure that we maintain his safety and security.
[Cooper:] And how is that being paid for? Is that money raised from the Web site that he set up? Or how is that being paid for?
[O'mara:] Actually, that's from the family. We've not raised any money or at least I haven't removed any money from whatever accounts are out there. We really haven't gained control of them yet. Will at some point take the time to do that. But whatever money may be it still is.
[Cooper:] Do you know how much money has been raised by that Web site he set up?
[O'mara:] I got a note from somebody who seems to have control over one that says there was $700 or $800 in it. I've heard from another that's a couple of thousand dollars in one. I don't know who's monitoring them or who's handling them or if anyone is taking any money out. I don't think so, but just haven't taken that on yet with everything else that's going on.
[Cooper:] And how are you communicating with him? Are you in person or over the phone?
[O'mara:] Over the phone. He's not here.
[Cooper:] Right. During his bond hearing on Friday, Zimmerman apologized to the Martin family. I spoke to some of the to Benjamin Crump that night, Martin family attorney, who called the apology self-serving. Whose idea was it to apologize?
[O'mara:] Yes. Well, it was George's idea to want to apologize. I tried to coordinate it. I communicated with the family a couple of times to say that he wanted to do it privately and confidentially. Those communications weren't responded to directly so I was a bit frustrated. I now understand better the Martin family position which is that I guess there was a press release within which they said they didn't want to have the apology now. I was never made aware of that. I think it was Thursday night. By the time Friday came around, we made the final decision to have him do the apology. Had I known, had George known the family would not have accepted it or didn't want it, we never would have done it. The suggestion that it was, you know, to get a bond just isn't accurate. We were getting a bond with or without the apology. It was done solely upon the request of mom, Miss Fulton, in a previous appearance she had made.
[Cooper:] A number of legal analysts who watched the proceedings on Friday were very critical of the prosecution and their performance. In fact, Mark Geragos on my program called it abysmal. I just want to play some of something from last week's hearing for our viewers.
[O'mara:] Do you know who started the fight?
[Unidentified Male:] Do I know?
[O'mara:] Right.
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[O'mara:] Do you have any evidence that supports who may have started the fight?
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[Cooper:] I think a lot of people were surprised that the prosecution's investigator has no idea who started the altercation. Do you think the prosecution came off as unprepared?
[O'mara:] Well, it was a bit unique to handle a bond motion in this way. To in effect turn it into somewhat of a discovery process. So in one sense, they may not have been prepared for examination. On the other hand he is the agent so he would know the case seemingly as best as anyone. And I think he was telling the truth. I think today they have no evidence as to who started the fight. And no evidence to contradict George's position that he was going back towards the car. And those are two very, very relevant facts in this case particularly with the second-degree murder charge.
[Cooper:] After what you saw the prosecution on Friday, are you more confident, or less confident, or about the same in your case?
[O'mara:] I'm going to be very conservative. And I'm no more or less confident, I guess the same. They have not shown me their discovery. I'm sure they have a lot more than I was able to sort of glean from the examination of the investigator. So there's a lot more to go through.
[Cooper:] Mark O'Mara, appreciate you being with us. Thank you.
[O'mara:] Sure thing.
[Cooper:] Well, let us know what you think about the case. We're on Facebook, Google Plus, you can follow me on Twitter @Andersoncooper. Be tweeting in the hour ahead. Also tonight, the White House saying it is out of bounds but the issue of Mitt Romney's Mormon family heritage is raised by a leading Democratic governor. Romney's faith itself is questioned by students at a conservative Christian university. We'll take you to Mexico for the true story of Romney's ancestry and we'll talk with the governor who brought it up. Next.

[Malveaux:] I want to follow breaking news story about a plane that landed in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Chad is joining us with more details about the landing.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, we were speculating. We said it is possible that the pilot could still be OK if the plane didn't nose into the water, if it was a soft landing. And in fact, now from the Coast Guard, from the plane that was flying over the plane that went down, the plane did go into the water softly. It did not break up. The nose is in the water. The tail is out of the water. A helicopter is on the way and should be arriving shortly.
[Malveaux:] That is good news. The last we knew about the pilot was that he was unconscious in the plane.
[Myers:] Right.
[Malveaux:] That's what we still know is just unconscious.
[Myers:] To be honest, if the pilot was at 32,000 feet for a very long time, he may have expired anyway. There may be there is so little oxygen up there. If it was slightly pressurized and just lost some pressure and then came down and landed in the water, that pilot may be in the water and waiting for rescue right now.
[Malveaux:] All right. Chad, thanks for the update.
[Myers:] You're right, it's great news.
[Malveaux:] Keep our fingers crossed on this one. Chimps will be charming folks going to the movies this weekend. Disney is debuting the nature film about a baby chimp in a rain forest in the West African nation of Ivory Coast. Brenda Bush, our writer, producer and a mom, recently visited some chimpanzees in neighboring Liberia and is taking us to a remote sanctuary where the former lab animals now face an uncertain future.
[Brenda Bush, Cnn Correspondent:] So it is not "Planet of the Apes, but it is a real life island of the apes. The research chimpanzees were released after years of experimentation. They were brought to this island on Liberia's Farmington River to live out the rest of their lives far from prodding needles and other painful laboratory tests. This is their sanctuary. [on camera]: We have counted about a dozen chimpanzees here. They seemed agitated when we first arrived but now have calmed down considerably and they're watching us as we watch them. [voice-over]: Not many Liberians know about the chimps. We had to travel an hour up river in a rudimentary canoe to get here. I am told there are 60 chimps roaming free on carefully selected islands, and humans better watch out. It was my daughter who insisted I come here.
[Archel Bernard, Daughter Of Brenda:] I have to be honest. I have the same fear I had when I first came to this very island.
[Bush:] This may help explain why the chimps don't like people. They lived in these cages while researchers conducted pioneering studies of hepatitis over two decades. Liberian authorities say the research led to a solvent detergent used to cleanse blood of viruses. Ironically, it was the bloodshed in Liberia that freed the chimps. Years of civil war forced the New York Blood Center to shut down the facility. And now the future of the animals may be in jeopardy. Liberia is demanding compensation from the New York Blood Center for research carried out here during the 1980s. Some of that money would be used to continue feeding the chimps for the rest of their lives. Food is the one thing they rely on humans for even those unwanted visitors.
[Bernard:] We learn if you don't throw food at the chimpanzees, they will throw rocks at you. So we brought plenty of bananas for them.
[Bush:] They can count on food from the few visitors that venture out here but, with the Liberian government and the New York Blood Center in arbitration, the long-term care of the chimps is in question.
[Malveaux:] Brenda Bush joins us now. Brenda, you are just an amazing member of the team. This is like a vacation. I love this. Were you scared at all?
[Bush:] Scared to death. And the fear started right from the before we even left the shore.
[Malveaux:] Really?
[Bush:] Yes. That canoe is hand carved. I am not an adventurer.
[Malveaux:] This seems like a really humane way of retiring the chimps. Do we know if this is a long-term thing, that they are going to be protected?
[Bush:] That's the question. Right now the New York Blood Center is in charge of feeding these chimpanzees. However, the New York Blood Center is being sued. They have told the Liberian government that they can't even afford to keep feeding the chimps. My sources in Liberia say they indicated they don't have the money. The Liberian government is poor. They can't afford to feed the chimps either. It is really not known yet what will happen, how these chimps will be cared for for the rest of their lives. And they contributed so much to humans.
[Malveaux:] You and I talk about how these are different than the chimps you expect from the ones in the movie or the zoo. How so?
[Bush:] Exactly. That was why I was scared, not only getting there in the carved out canoe but also these chimps are big.
[Malveaux:] Thank you so much for bringing us a slice of life and going back to your home country. Really, excellent stories.
[Bush:] Thank you. Thank you.
[Malveaux:] Thank you. I appreciate it. You might not know this about Brenda. She is not only a great journalist, she is a working mom five kids. We saw the little piece there. We want to hear from you what you think about the balancing act of being a parent and a provider, up next.

[Cooper:] We have another "Keeping Them Honest" report for you tonight. You think your kids are safe at school. It may be far from the truth for more than two dozen students at a California elementary school. Take a look at this man. He's 61-year-old Mark Berndt. A 30- year teaching veteran is behind bars tonight in Los Angeles County accused of lewd acts on a child. Not one child, but many. He's accused of taking at least 400 bondage photographs of students in his 3rd grade classroom, at least 400 taken over a five- year period from 2005 to 2010. They show what some call in-class sex games. The images are so disturbing we certainly can't show them on television. We don't even want to go into details of what went on in the pictures. So for 23 students between ages of 7 and 10 have been identified in the photos. Authorities say there are at least 10 others they are trying to identify. Now this investigation began back in October of 2010 when a photo technician at a CVS Drugstore told police he found disturbing images of kids blindfolded. It wasn't until three months later, January of 2011, when L.A. County sheriff deputies contacted school authorities who removed him from the elementary school. Then he reportedly tried to fight his firing and eventually just resigned from his teaching job at school so he could keep his pension. Because he wasn't fired he was able to do that. He gets to keep his nearly $4,000 a month pension and his health benefits. The L.A. Sheriff's Department said allegations were made against him also nearly 20 years ago. But get this, prosecutors decided not to press charges back then because they determined there wasn't enough evidence to prove that a crime had occurred. Decades later there are charges, serious charges and investigators say he took serious advantage of the students.
[Sgt. Dan Scott, L.a. Sheriff's Department, Special Victims Unit:] The children felt this was a game. They didn't realize they were being victimized. They thought they were just being blindfolded and gagged as a game.
[Cooper:] Well, it went beyond blindfolding and gags. Now tonight, there is another troubling case at the exact same school. Another teacher was arrested today at the same school. This man, 49- year-old, Morton Bernard Springer. He's accused of fondling two 7-year-old girls in a classroom. The alleged attacks happened in the past three years, again, at the same school. Joining me now is John Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. I mean, I guess the question on everybody's mind is how could this have happened on school premises in a classroom?
[John Deasy, Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District:] That's why we are investigating it. That's why we are working with the police to try to understand that and how it could have happened over that period of time.
[Cooper:] If school officials, if you viewed the charges against the teacher as grave enough to warrant being fired right away, should parents have been alerted what was going on at the school for more than a year?
[Deasy:] So we followed the direction of the police like I assume you do also and when the police tell you to act and do a certain thing, we follow that. The police were very clear that we were not to be involved in the investigation. We followed everything to the letter of the law that they directed us to do.
[Cooper:] What's amazing to me though is this guy still gets a pension. I mean, that this guy still gets lifetime health benefits, nearly $4,000 a month as part of the pension. That's a pension I think that California taxpayers, even the alleged victims' families are paying for.
[Deasy:] I think it's outrageous. I think that's part of the law that absolutely should be changed in California currently. There are other very high profile cases too that raise this question that you raise. I happen to agree with you.
[Cooper:] Even while this guy has been fired though, he was able to challenge the firing and resign, which allowed him to keep his pension. I have read studies about how hard it is in California to fire bad teachers. Not just teachers who have done committed a crime like this, but I mean, just terrible teachers out there. For you, do you want to see the change? Is that one of the things you would like to see change?
[Deasy:] Absolutely. I mean, there are two other parts of the law, which make no sense to me whatsoever and that is in a case like this, not all cases, in a case like this where someone is clearly being investigated for either being involved in drugs and narcotics or being involved in any kind of criminal act involving a youth that investigation should take place when they are not being paid. The second part is that when a person in California, the superintendent and the board recommend the person be terminated, they are not the last say in the process. There is a whole process involving an administrative law judge and a panel of three teachers who ultimately make the final decision.
[Cooper:] So there are other teachers who are really deciding and the administrative law judge, whether or not a fellow teacher gets fired.
[Deasy:] That's correct.
[Cooper:] I mean, that's obviously I mean, that's just a system that's not tenable. There have been so many cases. I just remember reading about a case in California of a teacher who told a kid who attempted suicide that, you know, you couldn't even do that right and making fun of him essentially. That guy got to keep his job.
[Deasy:] You know, we have thousands of phenomenal teachers, but in the cases like this, I agree with you. That law has got to be changed.
[Cooper:] Several of this person's former students reported him in the early 1990s for inappropriate conduct in the classroom. One said he tried to grope her while two others said he appeared to be fondling himself during class. One of them says she was told by a guidance counselor at the time that, quote, "It's not very good to make stories up." She said it was our imagination. It was never talked about again. Were those earlier allegations not taken seriously by your district?
[Deasy:] Apparently so, I mean, I have not spoken to that person. Clearly, it was only recently as a year in this job. We are looking into every administrator who ran that school over that period of time, everybody who is in charge of the school. Everybody who gave advice to that school and the administration of that to try to understand exactly what could possibly have happened.
[Cooper:] Police have now just arrested another teacher in the same school as this teacher who was taking these photographs.
[Deasy:] That's correct. We were there this morning. We were the individuals who the information came forward to us yesterday. We turned it over to the police. He was arrested today and I trust will be successfully prosecuted.
[Cooper:] He's accused I believe of attempting to molest two girls around 7 years old. Is that in any way connected to this other guy who was taking the pictures?
[Deasy:] It was a separate set of students and it was a separate type of incident. Whether they are connected or not I don't know.
[Cooper:] I guess at this point, how do you reassure parents that their kids are safe?
[Deasy:] By doing the very things that we do. When this administration finds an individual who crosses the line, who at all breaks that sacred trust of having a student in their care, we will remove and fire them.
[Cooper:] Listen, Superintendent Deasy, I appreciate you being on. We'll obviously continue to follow this. Thank you.
[Deasy:] Thank you, sir.
[Cooper:] Let's get a different perspective on this incredibly troubling case. Areva Martin is a children's advocate and disability rights attorney, she joins me from Los Angeles. Does it sound to you like this 1994 allegation against the teacher were handled properly?
[Areva Martin, Children's Advocate:] Not at all, Anderson. I'm really concerned about the fact that the allegations that were made by the students earlier in the 1990-1991 school year were not apparently a part of the 1994 investigation. So you have students complaining about this teacher as early as 1990-91 saying he's fondling himself. He's involved in inappropriate, you know, activity before these students, but yet, no one takes them seriously and that's not a part as far as we know today of that investigation.
[Cooper:] The district attorney's office said there wasn't enough evidence back then to justify charges being brought and if you can't bring charges, you can't fire the guy, can't get rid of him.
[Martin:] Yes, I have a real problem with that, Anderson. You know, the school district is not held to a criminal standard. So the school district doesn't have to have criminal charges before it can say, you know, we have concerned about you being in the classroom. We don't think that you're fit, that you're going to be appropriate. Ultimately, the school district has a responsibility to keep children safe. Just hands down, unequivocally that's their responsibility. This is a case where the system has failed these kids.
[Cooper:] But isn't that one of thing that, you know we just talked to the superintendent who said, I would like to be able to fire teachers more easily, but it's not even up to the superintendent. They have to go through this review panel of fellow teachers and the school districts spend millions of dollars every year just trying to get rid of a few bad teachers and often are unable to do that.
[Martin:] Well, Anderson, you know, there is something wrong with a system that says we can't do anything except warehouse teachers. We take them out of the classroom and we put them in a district office and we go through months and months, you know, of hearing and investigations before we can do anything. Here are the kids, the most vulnerable people in our society. You know, parents entrust their kids to the school. Professionals who are supposedly vetted and who are supposed to be there to protect and teach and it's not acceptable to say, you know, my hands are tied.
[Cooper:] It's also incredible to me that this teacher will continue to get his pension and the superintendent says his hands are tied. There is really nothing he can do from keeping him from cashing in. Health benefits the rest of his life and his pension, $4,000 a month.
[Martin:] You talk about creative lawyering. I would like to see some really incredibly creative lawyer make the argument that this guy should not receive those benefits because he should have been taking compensation for engaging in moral turpitude. He was being paid to teach. Now we know he wasn't teaching. He was doing everything except what he was being taught. There is a provision that says you somehow gained those benefits fraudulently, you are not entitled to them. So I think we should keep our eye on this because there may be some creative lawyering that makes it possible for this guy not to receive those benefits.
[Cooper:] Is the school district, could they be liable from the parents of some of these kids? I mean, that this teacher was able to stay in the classroom and abuse kids for years?
[Martin:] Absolutely, Anderson. I think we are going to see some lawsuits. I think we're going to see of parents filing lawsuits saying that there was negligent supervision. That this guy had a history. That there wasn't proper investigation of some complaints made by the students in the 1990-1991 school year and that the school district knew reasonably were put on notice that this guy his conduct was reprehensible and he was a danger to these kids. I think we're going to see lots of civil lawsuits being filed.
[Cooper:] It's such an unthinkable case and yet but the fact they have now arrested a second person in the same school, whether or not it's directly related is just stunning.
[Martin:] Wake-up call, Anderson, a true wake up for school districts all over the country to take note of this. These kids need the adults. They need protection. We have to do better.
[Cooper:] Areva Martin, I appreciate you being on.
[Martin:] Thank you. Always my pleasure, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Yes, wakeup call indeed. Let's get some of the other stories we are following. Susan Hendricks is back with the "360 Bulletin."
[Susan Hendricks, Cnn Correspondent:] Anderson, we start in Egypt. The health ministry said two people were killed and more than 1,400 injured in clashes between police and protesters. Reports about lax security at the deadly soccer game riot have led to new protests on the street there. The United Nations has declared an end to famine conditions in Somalia citing long awaited rain as well as humanitarian aid over the last six months. Still more than two million people need emergency humanitarian assistance down from four million. To Colorado, blizzard conditions have shutdown 70 miles of interstate and cancelled hundreds of flights at Denver International Airport. Parts of the area could get up to two feet of snow before it starts tapering off about tomorrow morning. Check this out. Dare devil, Bellow Knox soared over a circus tent in Sarasota, Florida performing on a trapeze attached to a helicopter. Why not? The circus said there is no safety net and the only thing holding him up is his own strength and maybe his hair Anderson.
[Cooper:] All right, have a good weekend. Coming up, not familiar with one little piece of baseball jargon and all hell breaks loose around here. "The Ridiculist" is next.

[Velshi:] You simply cannot have it all. There aren't many things the government can cut out of the tax code to boost revenue. Many of those things are relatively small tax breaks, but there are a few big things that do need to be considered. And one of them is the mortgage interest deduction that about 40 million of you have been claiming each year. Don't throw anything at the TV set. I know you like it. But it is expensive. And it doesn't really get the government or the housing market anything all that great. Many developed countries around the world do not have such a thing and they have higher homeownership rates than the U.S. does. Canada is one example. About 70 percent homeownership in the U.S. it's about 65. Canada gives you no benefit for buying a house. Don't worry, you've got the powerful lobbyists on your side, America, protecting this thing with everything they've got. And they may very well succeed in swaying lawmakers to not touch the mortgage interest rate deduction. But you need to know where it came from, who benefits from it and what it costs. So who better to explain that to us than Christine Romans. She joins me now. Christine, lay this thing out for us.
[Christine Romans, Host, Cnn's Your Bottom Line:] All right. It's one of the most expensive, Ali, of those tax goodies in the very dense and complicated tax code in America. We're talking about the mortgage interest deduction. It's the middle class' most cherished tax break. Government spending on this deduction will reach $100 billion by 2014, making it the third largest tax break on the books. But who is it really helping? The Tap Policy Center says it tends to benefit the upper middle class, upper middle class families the most. These bars behind me show income and the circles show the average savings for those with annual income up to $40,000. The average savings is a whopping $91 a year, Ali. But for those earning more than $250,000, their savings is much more significant, about $5500. Now critics say it's not helping to boost homeownership. Sixty-five percent of Americans live in a home that they own. It was up nearly about 70 percent during the housing boom in 2005 and 2006 but now we're back to the same levels we saw in the 1980s. Yes, the great recession is partly to blame but the fact is that we are stuck in this 64 to 69 percent range. Now, Ali, housing industry lobbyists are telling lawmakers, keep your hands off this deduction. You will hurt home prices, you will hurt the middle class. They say home prices would plunge immediately and sales could slow and independent economists, too, have said, look, you could see home process fall maybe 15 percent. This is really important on the coasts like Chicago, places where there are high home prices. Compromise might be the best solution here though, Ali, not cutting it out entirely. But lawmakers might cap it or limit how much you can claim. There is also talk if the president gets his tax increases on the wealthiest, maybe he'll just leave the mortgage interest deduction alone.
[Velshi:] Stay right where you are, Christine. Good setup for this. Christine, I want to bring in Kevin Hassett, he's a senior fellow and director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He was a key Romney adviser during the campaign. Diane Swonk is also with us, she's the chief economist at Mesirow Financial, joining us from Chicago. Diane, let me start with you. The deduction is getting about $10 billion more expensive every year. But this is money in people's pockets. I mean Christine does outline that low-income people don't nearly get the benefit of this that high-income people do or high you know, high value homeowners do. But it is money in the economy. So what's the danger of pulling it out? What does it do to the economy or the housing industry?
[Diane Swonk, Chief Economist, Mesirow Financial:] Actually, at this stage of the game, I think the danger is fairly little. And I would limit the housing market deductibility. I wouldn't eliminate it entirely. One for pragmatic in reality, this is a it is a major transition. But I do think it needs to be major scaled back so that most Americans can benefit from it. But we really would rather have high income Americans investing in our future, in investment markets, in equity markets, things like that rather than in their homes. And if they can build multimillion dollar homes, you don't need a million-dollar deduction or a million one deduction and subsidizing that from the government. I don't think that's the best use of government policy. So there are a lot of arguments on both sides of the issue on deductibility. But I do think for the bulk of middle class Americans to be able to deduct is very important because this is their single largest asset that they hold and they actually do trade it in and hold it for a long period of time. And it is an asset. It is something they actually trade down into a condo once they sell it. So there is some justifications for deductibility there. But let's face it, you know, the high end doesn't neat this extra deduction and it's very distortionary. We don't want to over consume housing in this country.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Swonk:] When we should be consuming and investing in more productive assets.
[Velshi:] Kevin, good to see you, by the way, we haven't talked since before the election. Cutting deductions on the one like mortgage increase will increase the amount that people pay in taxes every year. One way or the other. It won't raise income tax rates. Something Republicans are against and it will hit, as Diane and Christine point out, wealthy Americans a little harder. Where do you think Republicans come down on this?
[Kevin Hassett, Senior Fellow And Director Of Economic Policy Studies, Aei:] Well, really, the mortgage interest deduction is about the worst designed part of the tax code. You know, it's tax candy for "Bobos in Paradise." It doesn't get anybody into a home. It pretty goes to people who are going to own a home anyway and encourages them to instead of investing in the future of America have, you know, an addition to their home or something like. And so I think Diane is exactly right. What we need to do is pair it way back. You know, if you have a big tax giveaway over here, then that means you need to have a higher tax rate over there. And I you know, for me, I think what Republicans would like to do is pair back cuts like this. You know, as Romney proposed, you may recall, and then use the revenue from that to get a lower rate. And I think that the right way to structure the mortgage interest deduction really is to eliminate the deduction altogether but replace it with a refundable credit. So that if you're a low-income person who's actually the true person at the margin of owning a home, you know, then either you might not have a very high tax rate but if we give you a generous tax credit for the first bit of interest then it might get you into a home. That's the way to subsidize homeownership, not to give this big giveaway to rich people who are going to have a house anyway.
[Velshi:] Kevin, I'm disappointed you didn't you didn't cite Canada. You know, we got You always bring up Canada.
[Swonk:] That's right.
[Hassett:] Yes. We do that every time.
[Swonk:] Yes. Yes.
[Velshi:] Some new data shows that home prices are up 3.6 percent from this time, you know, compared to this time last year, the third quarter of this year compared to the third quarter of last year. New home sales did dip a little bit. But that's less than 10 percent of the market. Now here's the concern, if we kill the mortgage interest rate deduction, or scale it back or do something with it, what's the follow on effect to the housing market? That small part of the housing market that is where the jobs are all created because we are really we've talked about the growth in new homes being this golden lining around the economic cloud that we're under.
[Swonk:] Well, I think you need to take it in the context of the current economy. First of all, rents are so much higher than the marginal cost of homeownership even before deductibility. That it is now encouraging people to buy homes to flip to rent for those people who can't get in or qualify on a mortgage rather than just leaving those homes on the market. So it's triggered demand. It's still cheaper even without the deductibility than renting to actually buying. So I think that's very important. So you're eliminating some of that movement and some of that cushion on the housing market at a time that it's not necessary anyway. Because you'll still have a lot of activity. And you still have a lot of pent-up demand. Also, ultimately what really matters here is we need to balance our budget deficit.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Swonk:] We need to reduce the debt in the economy to reduce interest rates. Lower interest rates over the long haul are much more important at holding housing prices high and affordable than mortgage deductibility.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Swonk:] I'd much rather have it coming through responsible fiscal policy.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Swonk:] And giving a boost to housing prices that way and asset prices that way than having it come it through these distortions of over consuming high-end housing.
[Velshi:] Let me ask Christine this. There are some other deductions I want I want to show our viewers and their expected costs by 2014. All right? In a year, in the mortgage interest, about $1 billion. Income taxes, $54 billion, charitable contributions $50 billion, property taxes $27 billion, medical expenditures a little over $26 billion. These are things
[Romans:] You forgot the 401 [k], too.
[Velshi:] And 401 [k]. A huge one.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Velshi:] It'll that's 401 [k] like mortgages all of these things, there are arguments in favor of keeping them because they do certain things. Others will say it's social engineering, right? We have this mortgage tax deduction that's supposed to get people to buy houses. But as Kevin does point out, it's unclear whether it really does.
[Romans:] Well, I mean, the whole tax code is a whole experiment in social engineering, isn't it? I mean, I mean, Diane was talking about the distortions that these incentives make, especially for high-end housing and the like. But I mean that's what it is. And it's been just 86 since the last time we had a meaningful revamp of the tax code.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Romans:] It's really it's a big it's a big, big mess. You also have lobbyists, Ali. What I want to bring here, too, is that we talk we're having this very measured discussion about the benefits and the drawbacks of the mortgage interest deduction. But there are lobbyists who are very forcefully giving a very different picture than what we're seeing right here in Washington. And they do and have had the ear of policymakers for a very, very long time. So I wouldn't count them out. They say a 15 to 20 percent decline immediately in home prices. That's something that most elected leaders don't want to have happen to their constituents.
[Velshi:] Yes. And even if it's It feels bad. Feels bad to take something. By the way, the housing lobby you're talking about has spent $25 million this year in telling Congress don't touch this deduction or bad things will happen.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Velshi:] Hey, Diane and Kevin, great to have you back on the show. Good to see you both. Christine, thanks so much. Listen, maybe we're having the wrong discussion about taxes entirely. I don't think it really should be about what rate you pay as it should be about what return you get for the taxes you pay. Do you think you are getting a good return on your taxes? I think some of you are going to say you don't. But if you don't, don't ask the Europeans for any sympathy because they are paying substantially more, substantially higher tax rates than you are and they're getting less for it. So are Europeans getting ripped off or are you getting a bargain? Think about that. I'll tell you on the other side.

[Lu Stout:] In India, it was a crime that set off protests across the country, now one of the suspects in the gang rape and fatal beating of a woman on a New Delhi bus is dead. Now police say Ram Singh killed himself on Monday apparently using his clothes to hang himself in his cell. He was one of five men on trial for the December attack. A sixth suspect is being tried separately in juvenile court. Now Singh was being held at New Delhi's Tihar Prison. And his parents are claiming that he was murdered. And his lawyers says Singh had no reason to commit suicide and that there was foul play. Now Sumnima Udas is following developments for us from New Delhi and she joins us now live. And Sumnima, was it suicide or was it murder? What do we know?
[Sumnima Udas, Cnn International Correspondent:] Kristie, the home minister of this country has said that preliminary reports suggest that Ram Singh, who is of course the driver of that bus in which that gang rape took place back in December committed suicide, but that an inquiry has been launched and that they will not jump into any conclusions at the moment. And he also said that in the other inmates in that prison are also being questioned at the moment and also that security has been stepped up for the other accused as well. Now as you mention, Ram Singh's lawyer and his family have claimed that this is foul play, did not believe that he, in fact, committed suicide. And they believe it's murder. And a lot of the a lot of questions are being raised at the moment on how something like this could happen in what is otherwise known as high security prison. This is no ordinary prison, Kristie. Tihar Jail is one of the largest jail complexes in the world. It's certainly India's largest. It has a lot of security there. And so there are a lot of questions are being raised as to how this could have happened in such a high security place, Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] And also what next, what impact will the suspect's death have on the trial?
[Udas:] That's right, that's the other question that's being raised here. Remember, Ram Singl is, of course, one of the main accused. It was through his statements that the police were able to identify and eventually capture the five other suspects. So a lot of people are saying or analysts here, at least, are saying that this will certainly have some sort of impact on the case itself. The prosecution has said in the past that they have all the evidence against all five of the accused and that the case will continue in the same manner, but the defense lawyer has said that he will approach the supreme court here to see if the case can be moved outside of Delhi.
[Lu Stout:] And is the reaction in India to this latest development? I mean, officials there are already under so much pressure over the gang rape case. Is the death of a suspect in jail seen as an embarrassment for the government?
[Udas:] Well, it's certainly being seen as a lapse in surveillance. Again, this is no ordinary jail. Tihar Jail was one of the most notorious jails in this country back in the 80s, but over the years it's gone through many reforms. And it's often seen often seen as a model jail here. They have even programs like meditation for all the inmates. They have cooking classes. So these inmates the products are actually sold all over the country. So it's often been lauded for the reforms that have taken place. A lot of people are wondering how this could have happened in such a jail - Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] Sumnima Udas joining us live from New Delhi, thank you very much indeed for that update. Now the Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga says he will contest the results of the presidential election. Now he is set to file a complaint in court later this week. On Saturday, Kenya's election commission announced deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta won outright with 50.07 percent of the vote. Mr. Odinga came in second with just over 43 percent. Now Kenyatta's victory is further complicated by the fact that both he and his runningmate have been facing trial at the International Criminal Court. Now Nima Elbagir is following developments. She joins us now live from Nairobi. And Nima, first, breaking news from the ICC, what can you tell us?
[Nima Elbagir, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, Kristie, the ICC prosecutor has said that within her responsibility to only send cases to trial that she believes she has a good chance of getting a conviction on, she is dropping the charges against Mr. Kenyatta's alleged co-conspirator, the former head of the Kenyan civil service, Francis Muthaura. Now the prosecutor has said that this will have no bearing on the trial against Mr. Kenyatta, a statement that's being met with some surprise here in Kenya, especially as he and Mr. Kenyatta were being charged as co- conspirators. Prosecutors said that this case is being dropped for a number of reasons. One, she says she's been disappointed in what she calls the Kenyan government's failure to assist her with access to witnesses. Two, she says many of those whose testimony was key to Mr. Muthaura's case has either died or have been too scared to come forward with their testimony. And three, she's having to admit that a key eyewitness to an alleged meeting between Mr. Muthaura and Mr. Kenyatta and militiamen accused of agitating and being responsible for the violence that marred that post election period in 2007, that that witness has recanted part of his testimony and now admits to being bribed, Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] Now, the charges have been dropped by the ICC. That decision aside, Kenyatta has a checkered past. What does his victory mean for Kenya's relationships and diplomatic ties with the west?
[Elbagir:] Well, what we should say is that Mr. Kenyatta has an indictment against him for crimes against humanity at the ICC for that 2007 election - post-election period, a charge that obviously he clearly denies. But in terms of the international community, both the U.S. and UK have gone on record that it is their stated principle to have nothing but essential contact with ICC indictees anywhere in the world. And we are all based on that statement, many both in Kenya and abroad have taken that to mean that they will not have anything, but nonessential contact with Mr. Kenyatta. Obviously, Mr. Kenyatta's case is further complicated by the fact that the deputy vice the deputy president-elect William Ruto, his runningmate, is also up at the ICC on charges against humanity. So many have been asking, given how crucial Kenya is to both regional economic, and security stability, who are the international community going to be dealing with if they can't speak to either the deputy president or the president? But this is a very fast moving situation now, Kristie. And I'm sure that Mr. Kenyatta's legal team will be trying, will be seeking to press home the advantage of Francis Muthaura's case being dropped.
[Lu Stout:] That's right, they have promised a legal challenge to the vote result. What is the likelihood that the result could be overturned?
[Elbagir:] Well, Mr. Odinga, Kenyatta's rival, is certainly it will be. But we're waiting to hear from the Supreme Court. We had heard some time this week, perhaps even Wednesday, Mr. Odinga will be taking his case to court. Once that case arrives in front of the Supreme Court, that automatically puts a 14 day block on any presidential inauguration or swearing in while that case is looked at, Kristie. So we're at the moment there's just an incredible amount of scrutiny both domestically and internationally and we're waiting to see how this develops.
[Lu Stout:] Nima Elbagir on the story for us live in Nairobi. Thank you. Now in Afghanistan, the commander of the NATO led forces there says the U.S. and its allies are not colluding with the Taliban. He made the remarks after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the U.S. and the Taliban were holding daily talks. Mr. Karzai's statement followed a weekend bombing in Kabul that killed at least nine people. Mr. Karzai also said the Taliban would prefer that foreign troops remain in the country. Now General Joseph Dunford later called Mr. Karzai's comments, quote, "categorically false," saying the alliance has fought too hard to ever think that instability would be to our advantage. You're watching News Stream. And a world sport update is straight ahead as Tiger Woods turns back the clock with a dominant performance. Amanda DAvies will have all the highlights.

[Holmes:] President Obama's American Jobs Act includes a work sharing plan called "Bridge to Work" that is inspired by a state-run program in Georgia. Earlier I spoke with Michael Thurmond, Georgia's Labor Commissioner when the program started back in 2003. He said he didn't know the president would speak about the program that he initiated.
[Michael Thurmond, Former Georgia Labor Commissioner:] Well, no, I didn't, not specifically. I had been to Washington on several occasions and talked to members of the administration advocating the Georgia work strategy.
[Holmes:] What were they curious about? Did they come to you and say, we heard about this program, how does it exactly work? Could you tell they were always curious and trying to find a way to implement it nationally?
[Thurmond:] Yes. Momentum picked up. President Clinton began to advocate for it across the country and then Speaker Boehner of the U.S. House endorsed it and Reverend Jackson. What it does is six out of ten people who participate get jobs.
[Holmes:] OK, now you explain it. I'll allow you to do so. You explain to our viewers what it does. I know it's paired down for me here. But still, in essence, the program does what?
[Thurmond:] The person is laid off, construction worker. He decides to go into a new career, new job. How he receives unemployment insurance benefits, goes to a potential employer, look, if you will train me, provide me with the skill set need to do this job for six weeks. I can continue to receive my unemployment benefits no cost to you. After six weeks, you can hire me or give me a certificate of completion. What we found is that 60 percent, six out of ten within 90 days have jobs.
[Holmes:] All right. Now, there are some issues with the program.
[Thurmond:] Yes.
[Holmes:] Not everything works perfectly. So if the president were to call you and say, through trial and error, what did you all do wrong with the wrong with the program that we can correct nationally? What would you tell him didn't work so well?
[Thurmond:] Well, first, when I first started it here in Georgia, my biggest challenge was that the employees said it sounded too good to be true. Others say, it's too simple, such a complex problem with unemployment in America, we need a more complex solution. It was too simple. The big thing is to make sure that all employers follow labor laws and make sure the employees are not being abused. Make sure we follow the laws, keep it simple and empower states to be creative.
[Holmes:] A couple of issues that came up, I didn't really make a dent in Georgia's unemployment rate. Georgia has one of the highest in the country at 10.1 percent now and the program, it started off with a bang. But I understand the numbers have gotten down, as far as the people participating now, down to under 100. So why is that the case, with the unemployment rate and the numbers of participants so low now?
[Thurmond:] As you know, I left the Georgia Department of Labor in January. When I left, we had over 5,000 members participating. The commissioner who took over for me changed the program. It was his decision. That was his prerogative. But while I was there, 32,000 Georgians participated, 23,000 completed the program, 16,500 employers provided training and 6 out of 10 got jobs.
[Holmes:] All right, we're just eight minutes and 40 seconds away from the top of the hour. Good morning, Fredricka.
[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning to you. How are you doing?
[Holmes:] I am well, always good to see you. Doing all right this morning?
[Whitfield:] I am doing pretty good. I love seeing Avery and Richard. So you've probably participated in an office pool of a lottery before, right? You put in a dollar or two
[Holmes:] I haven't, actually.
[Whitfield:] You haven't?
[Holmes:] No.
[Whitfield:] You put in a dollar or two or $5. Here's the case of a man who does that over a period of eight years with all his office buddies, then he's out sick one day. They continued to do the lottery. They win $99 million, but he doesn't get any of the winnings.
[Holmes:] On the one day he's out sick?
[Whitfield:] The one day he's out sick. And he says, I want a portion of that and they said, no, you weren't here that day. And he goes, yes, I'm taking you to court.
[Holmes:] How many employees?
[Whitfield:] I'm not sure.
[Holmes:] How much would it break up? They can't come on, let the guy in?
[Whitfield:] He wants in and he's taking them to court. And a judge is actually handling the case and says, OK, no one's going to get any winnings until we resolve this.
[Holmes:] So the money is held up for everybody?
[Whitfield:] That's right.
[Holmes:] So they'd be better off giving him the money
[Whitfield:] Well, that's what he's saying, might as well just give me a piece of it. Anyway, our legal guys are going to tackle that one. We have another lottery case, so lottery ticket, winning ticket goes in the trash. You rifle through the trash, you get the ticket. Do you get all the earnings?
[Holmes:] Of course you do.
[Whitfield:] Well, the store owner says, wait a minute, that was our trash and that winning ticket was in our trash. So we get a piece of it. Once again, the judge has that in escrow until they resolve that.
[Holmes:] Who threw it in the trash?
[Whitfield:] The store owner.
[Holmes:] The store owner did?
[Whitfield:] Yes.
[Holmes:] Threw it in the trash, why?
[Whitfield:] Because they thought it was trash, but apparently the ticket wasn't scratched out all the way, only half way
[Holmes:] Did somebody get it I'm fascinated.
[Whitfield:] Watch it. That's the idea. You have to watch.
[Holmes:] Did somebody get it after it was dumped outside
[Whitfield:] After it was dumped outside so one man's trash, another person's treasure, kind of like that. And then let's talk about buying American. You heard the president earlier this week saying America needs to invent more and buy and manufacture more. How difficult is it to try to buy American? We'll have our financial fix to help you navigate and put your money where your mouth is if you want to buy American.
[Holmes:] Not to say you don't normally, but you've really reeled me in with those two lottery stories.
[Whitfield:] You have to watch. Avery and Richard have some great cases. Those are just two little kernels on the docket.
[Holmes:] Good stuff. Fredricka Whitfield will be with you in five minutes and 45 seconds. You still tweeting @fwhitfield?
[Whitfield:] Yes, I am actually. I haven't done it today.
[Holmes:] Fredricka, that's fantastic.
[Whitfield:] Baby steps for me, but I'm getting there.
[Holmes:] Quick break, folks. We'll be right back.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] And with that, top of the hour, I want to welcome the men and the women watching us right now on American Forces Network all around the world. Welcome to you. We're going to go fast this hour. See if you can catch up and keep up with me. Let's go. First, the Obama administration sending mixed signals about its stance on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the military. Here's the deal. A judge ruled the military can open its doors to openly gay and lesbian applicants, essentially overturning the ban they have had on gays serving openly. But now the White House wants to bring that policy back. The administration says it's in favor of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", but it shouldn't happen right away. I want you to listen to Lieutenant Dan Choi, who discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
[Dan Choi, Discharged Under "don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy:] For the sake of our entire country, our national security, and for the sake of what our country is, I hope that the Obama administration does not appeal, and does not lift a finger to defend discrimination, does not try to resuscitate it and resurrect it from the dead. I think what the Obama administration should do is walk their talk and finally do something in manifesting equality for all people in America.
[Baldwin:] Choi says he has filled out paperwork to rejoin the military. And should any news break from the courtroom in this hour, of course we will bring it to you live here on CNN. So, next, so where will President Obama be stumping just days before voters head to the polls? Hmm, Comedy Central? The White House confirming that he will appear on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." That will be next week. Set your TiVos. This is the first time President Obama appears on the show as commander in chief. Stewart will be in Washington holding, you know, the rally, Rally to Restore Sanity, on the National Mall. That is Halloween weekend. And tonight, we should add, Jon Stewart will be talking to our own Larry King 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN. Next, who opened fire on the Pentagon? The manhunt still under way. We're now learning even more bullets hit the building than had been previously thought. We're told at least six were fired, two of them hitting bulletproof glass windows. Fortunately, no one was hurt. But you remember this thing happened right around 4:30 Eastern yesterday morning, forcing police to lock down the area and a nearby interstate. Next, do you remember this guy? He's sort of shaking it in somebody's backyard. He's a Seattle firefighter who won nearly $13 million from the city after he fell through a hole at a local fire station. Well, the city released this video showing Mark Jones dancing, tossing horseshoes. I guess that's what he's doing, chopping wood as well. Officials insist the video proves he lied about his injuries. But guess what? A judge ruled Jones can keep the money. The judge says the city had time to investigate him before the trial, but failed to do so. Next: a prince in Saudi Arabia now a convicted killer. You remember this video? Take a look at this. Prosecutors say he murdered his servant at a London hotel. They showed this eerie video to prove that the two had an abusive relationship. You can see the prince wait for it kind of slaps the guy in the elevator. There they go. The video shot just weeks before the murder. And a British court today sentencing the prince to life in prison. He will have to serve a minimum of 20 years. Next, ever wonder whether your luggage is safe when you fly? Listen to this, a security screener at Newark Airport now charged with stealing thousands and thousands of dollars from passengers as they shuffled through the checkpoints. He and another guy are accused of stealing up to $700 each time they worked. We're told they, in fact, joked about it, joked about wanting to steal in front of their bosses. One even flipped out on security cameras. And consider this. Over the past three years, nearly two dozen security officers have been fired across the country for stealing from checked baggage. Yikes. Next, gator in the hole. Look at this guy. A couple of 10-foot alligators paid a visit to a neighbor. This is Mississippi. The big boys eventually wandered into a drainage hole and, whoops, they got stuck. Safe to say, neighbors did not pull out the welcome wagon.
[Unidentified Female:] Oh, my God. It was huge. And his paws, this alligator I'm a little-bitty person, and this alligator could have just wrapped his legs around me, ate me up. Am I going to have him for lunch or is he going to have me for lunch?
[Baldwin:] Yikes. The gator did would come up without a fight. We're told it took three long hours to get him come out. And, finally, football players in Canada leave the field and head into the stands to fight, massive brawl, look at it, caught on tape. Watch as this plays out, these guys up in the stands happening during the final seconds of this Ontario football game. They're punching. They're kicking. They're tackling, even swinging some of their helmets. You see they took them off. Went for several minutes. Police say fans were heckling the visiting team, and the players just snapped. On the other hand, the opposing coach said the fans were throwing bottles, hurling insults. But get this. Because no one wants to press charges in this case, the police say they're dropping the investigation altogether. So, what are they calling this? A quote "consensual fight." Hmm. Coming up: a chilling look inside the mind of an accused killer. His co-defendant's alleged journal entries, we have them. They were read aloud in court, calling one of his alleged victims a fighter and one a coward. And next: the incredible untold story of the Chilean miners we have seen all this footage, right, from below the ground and the day of their rescue that only CNN can show you. I see him out of the corner of my eyes, CNN's Patrick Oppmann, just back from Copiapo yesterday with the incredible behind-the-scenes tale that only a guy who spent two months with these miners' families can share. He welcome be here. You will not want to miss this.

[Foster:] Welcome back to you. I'm Max Foster, these are the main news headlines this hour. Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is now in a full coma, according to a government spokesman. His attorney describes Mubarak's condition as very critical. His two sons, Gamal and Alaa have been given permission to be at their father's bedside in prison. Spaniards are protesting their government's request for $155 billion to bail out its bankrupt banks. The protesters want to know why the banks are getting help for their enormous mistakes whilst nothing will go directly to help Spanish people. UN envoy Kofi Annan says he's gravely concerned about the latest reports of violence in Syria, including more new shelling in the flashpoint city of Homs. Opposition groups cited escalating bloodshed all over the country on Monday, with some 61 people reported killed so far. Former British prime minister Gordon Brown testified on Monday before the committee investigating media ethics in the UK. He said one of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers never got his or his wife's permission to run story about their son's medical condition. That's a direct contradiction to testimony from Rebekah Brooks earlier this year. Well, the airline industry's been given a dire outlook for the year ahead. Global profits are staying down and airlines will go bust. That's the warning, given today by the industry group International Air Transport Association. It's especially ominous for European companies. IATA has doubled the forecast loss to more than $1 billion. There are lots of reasons behind the bad news. At top of the list, surging oil prices and the [inaudible] effects of the euro crisis. Well, the euro's biggest regional airlines, Flybe, is feeling the strain today. It announced losses of more than $11 million in the year to March. I asked the CEO, Jim French, to explain why.
[Jim French, Ceo, Flybe:] The loss this year is about 612 million pounds and you know, you usually think that this year the challenge you have seen is the U.K. domestic market, the consumer spend is still being very much restricted. Oil, the annualized cost of oil this year is the highest ever recorded in history, with 12 percent higher than ever before. Departure tax continue to increase and IATA today came out and said that the U.K.'s departure tax is now the highest of any country in the world. So those three things combined made it a real challenge for us this year. But we still grew the business by over 14 percent. The other thing we've got to remember2 million loss is that there were some very big strategic investments this year. We invested just under 4 million pounds in our first year losses on an airline we acquired in Finland in conjunction with Finncomm. A significant number, 65 million pound turnover business this year, which we're forecasting will grow to about 120 million a year, and then [inaudible] the training academy, of course, opened the new training academy, about another million. So the actual [inaudible] was about a 4 million profit to 1 mission loss.
[Foster:] It's interesting, obviously your business is particularly affected by oil and fuel prices, but it seems as there are many businesses being affected more than more by oil prices right now than the euro crisis, which is grabbing all of the headlines. Is that true to say, would you say?
[French:] For us, I would say so, yes. I mean, the crisis in the euro is really southern Europe at the moment, and we have a tiny operation to Spain, really nothing else. We were very [inaudible]. And of course the northern operation is, thankfully for us, Norway, Scandinavia and the Baltic region is less exposed. So we've got very little exposure to any concern
[Foster:] But looking ahead, those countries will also be affected if there is an implosion of some sort in the Eurozone. Have you made preparations for that? Are you concerned about that?
[French:] At the moment, we're seeing we haven't seen any significant [inaudible]. We have a lot of business routes, European routes serving the U.K. regions. We haven't seen any significant deterioration there. But you're absolutely right. There may well be a deterioration during the course of the year, in which case we'd respond. We have high-frequency operations in there. We can cut frequency, et cetera. But there's no sign at the moment of any significant deterioration.
[Foster:] So other British business, it seems, actually you're probably looking more to what's going on in the Middle East right and how that might affect fuel prices.
[French:] Oil's the big issue. I think it's very interesting that somebody said about 4-6 weeks ago, they want to see oil come back to about $100 a barrel. It's come a little bit below that. We thought for about six months it'll probably come to $100 plus or minus $10. At that level, that's fine for us. So that's going to be stabilized. No, I think that, you know, it's quite interesting, you know, as a regional airline, we see some opportunities coming out. The it's quite interesting; Manchester and Birmingham airports are looking to develop now taking some of the overspill from [inaudible]
[Foster:] [Inaudible] growth coming from in regional transport?
[French:] Well, it's quite interesting. At Manchester, we [inaudible] we sort of recalibrated all of our networks into a hub concept. And what's happens, there's [inaudible] having a real hub there with massive [inaudible] from the U.K. through Manchester. The intercontinental carriers from that airport are saying, hey, we can take this speed from you. Some of the carriers at Heathrow currently who rely upon the feed at Heathrow are now looking at British Airways, their primary competitor, as the major supplier, and they're now saying, actually, we need an independent feed and that can be provided by us at Manchester.
[Foster:] [Inaudible] happening across Europe, would you say?
[French:] Well, you've seen this development of a hub strategy, you know, Amsterdam Schiphol was the first, then Charles de Gaulle Frankfurt, Helsinki now. Dubai, I mean, if you look at the services to Dubai from the U.K. now, they are, you know, very considerable number of flights now. So I think that the congestion, the lack of capacity through has been serving these intercontinental European hubs.
[Foster:] Interesting perspective there from a regional carrier. Well, all day we've been following the market reaction around the world to Spain's decision to ask for help to stabilize its troubled banking system. We've seen the markets post early gains and then retreat from those rallies later in the session. Let's to Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, I guess I mean, everyone's just trying to make sense of this, and it's a struggle, isn't it?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] It really is. I mean, you saw that excitement over the bank deal really fizzle out pretty quickly here on Wall Street. Literally within the first hour of trading today, and here's part of the reason why. It's a very narrow solution. It takes care of one problem; it doesn't deal with the broader issues of the European debt crisis. One analyst puts it this way, saying, you know what, there's no growth plan with this. There's no structural reform. And guess what? Spain's economy is still in a lot of trouble. There also are still a lot of questions about how the funds are actually going to be distributed, plus investors are waiting for the next possible bombshell. Greek elections are coming on Sunday. That could ultimately determine whether the country stays in the Eurozone. So maybe it's not too surprising that buying into the market didn't last. Also, remember stocks are coming off the best week of the year. So maybe you're seeing some profit taking as well, Max.
[Foster:] Alison, thank you very much. Watching that all week of course. You're watching QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Coming up, all the latest weather and Warner Brothers brings movie magic to the U.K. for good. We'll go behind the scenes at the new state-of-the-art studios that Harry Potter built.

[Velshi:] Back with a special live edition of YOUR MONEY, covering the S&P; downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt. Ken Rogoff is back with me again. He's a professor at Harvard University and former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund. On the phone is Mohamed El-Erian, he is the CEO of PIMCO, one of the biggest bond dealers in the entire world. They run the biggest bond fund in the entire world. Mohamed, thanks for being with us. I just spoke to David Beers of S&P.; I want to get a sense from you, because it is a question a lot of our viewers who may not be involved in the world of bonds and bond ratings, ask me, after what happened in the financial crisis in 2008 and the errors that the major bond rating agencies made, do serious bond buyers and sellers and traders listen to what S&P; says? Does this matter?
[Mohamed El-erian, Ceo, Pimco:] It does matter, Ali, but not because we invest on the basis of what the rating agencies say. Here at PIMCO, we have our own sovereign credit assessment. We have our own internal ratings. And we make investment decisions based on our own work. However, the rating agencies, who are a record ratings monopoly, are wired into the system. And they are wired into such a way as it gives them enormous influence. So they are reflected in investment guidelines. They are reflected in the way certain people think about risk. And, therefore, we have to pay attention to what other people are going to do based on this downgrade. So strictly speaking, it will not impact how we invest our money, but it does impact how the system responds.
[Velshi:] It may impact how other people invest. And that will be important to you. Let's take a look. I want to put up a list on our screen of the 15 countries used to be 16 by the way, until yesterday the 15 countries that enjoy a AAA credit rating from both Moody's and S&P.; The United States is no longer on that list. But Australia is, Canada is. Mohamed, these countries pay better yields. Is there some reason why they wouldn't benefit dramatically from this downgrade in U.S. bonds?
[El-erian:] They will benefit. But it's not going to be dramatic. The U.S. had two thing going for it in addition to being the AAA. It is the reserve currency, so other countries use the dollar. And secondly, it has the deepest and most liquid financial markets, which means other countries outsource their hard-earned savings to be intermediated through the U.S. system. Now none of these other countries on your list is either able or willing to step in for the U.S. They can do something at the margin, but they cannot replace the U.S. That's both the good news and the bad news. It is the good news which means the system will not change radically overnight. Because you cannot replace something with nothing. But it is also bad news because there is an uncertain element to how a global system operates with the AA as a score.
[Velshi:] So given how plugged in you are to the system, and I just want to remind our viewers who may not be familiar with this, but the international bond market is substantially bigger than the capitalization of the value of the international stock markets. After being whip-sawed this week, Mohamed, many of our viewers were wondering, oh, my god, what happens next week? In the broadest economic sense-I know you are not a stock market prognosticator-but in the broader economic sense, will we wake up Monday with some massive response and reaction to what S&P; did on Friday? Or was this, in some quarters, expected enough that the response will be muted?
[El-erian:] It was expected in some quarters, but it will also come as a shock in others. We're looking at an uncertain and volatile outlook. Certain things I think we know. We know that this is bad news for the U.S. economy. It is a further headwind to growth and job creation. We know that this is going to accelerate lots of questions about the rating agencies themselves. You'll hear the question, who rates the rating agencies? We know that it will put a question mark on other AAA countries, which means there will be concern about Europe. So which ever way you look it a, the risk premium in the market is going to go up. And this was unthinkable, Ali, not so long ago.
[Velshi:] David Beers said it could take-if everything is done the right way and in fact if these budget discussions get a little more aggressive about either raising revenue, raising taxes or cutting spending, the U.S. could regain its AAA credit rating in about two years. You know, the credit rating is not the same as lowering or raising interest rates themselves, Mohamed. And what we saw is that U.S. bonds got more expensive and their yields got lower. Their return got lower. That's counter intuitive to some people. You could expect that this kind of thing would cause U.S. bonds to-would cause the U.S. to have to pay more interest to borrow money. Why is that not happening?
[El-erian:] Two issues: First on the S&P;, they added insult to injury because they didn't just downgrade the U.S. from AAA to AA plus. They put the new rating on negative outlook, which means they're still worried about the possibility, not the probability, but the possibility of a further downgrade. In terms of the impact on U.S. Treasuries, remember U.S. Treasuries reflect a whole host of factors. What has dominated in recent times are two things. First, a recognition that the U.S. and the global economy are slowing down significantly. And that tends to push bond prices up, yields down. And second, we've had a fight to quality out of Europe because of the crisis there. And out of the stock market because of nine sharp days of decline. So the bond market is trying to reflect so many moving pieces. And net-net these two that I've just cited have dominated over the credit risk which was associated with the AAA downgrade.
[Velshi:] And Mohamed, finally, I want to ask you, do you think there is going to be, maybe not on Monday, maybe not in the short term, but what's the overall effect, both psychologically and financially on the delicate economy here in the U.S. of not only this, which happened on Friday, but of the things we've seen unfold over the course of the last nine days. The debt deal, the new numbers on GDP which shows our growth is slower than expected, that manufacturing is slowing a little bit. That demand, the consumer demand had slowed a little bit and our job growth is actually a little better than we expected. When you put all of this into a bowl, what kind of bake do you bake out this?
[El-erian:] Let me tell you my expectation and then my hope. My expectation is when you put thought in a bowl, the analysts will be revising down again the growth estimates for the U.S. and for the rest of the world. And that is not good news for a country that already has an unemployment crisis, and has a housing market that is not functioning properly. This is bad news for Americans, because it means lower growth and fewer jobs. My hope, Ali, and it is a hope, is that this will be a wake-up call for the politicians and the policy makers. This could be our Sputnik moment. The moment in which our psyche, as a country, is shaken so much, that we recognize collectively the need for common vision and common purpose to put this country back on the road to faster growth and more jobs.
[Velshi:] Mohamed El-Erian, very clear, I appreciate you coming here and making some sense for us. Mohamed El-Erian is the CEO and co- chief investment officer at PIMCO. I'm standing by with Ken Rogoff, he is the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. He is a Harvard professor and one of the smartest guys I know. He will help make sense of this, right after our commercial break. You're watching a live special edition of YOUR MONEY. Stay with us.

[Vinnie Politan, Hln Host, "prime News":] Hello, I`m Vinnie Politan outside the Orange County courthouse in Orlando, Florida. Joy Behar will be with you in just a minute. But first, I want to give you the latest on the Casey Anthony story tonight. The headline right now is that Casey Anthony will be a free woman in six days. Judge Belvin Perry making a statement today by giving her the maximum sentence based on the jury`s verdict. But despite getting a four-year sentence today, Casey Anthony will be a free woman this time next week due to credit for time she has already served. She`s set to be released from the Orange County jail on Wednesday, July 13th. There`s still a lot of questions. Where will Casey live once she`s released from prison? What will she do? Live coverage of all the breaking details right here on HLN. Joy Behar picks up our coverage right now.
[Joy Behar, Hln:] Casey Anthony, acquitted of the murder of her 2- year-old daughter Caylee, was sentenced today for lying to the police. Her release date is next week. Watch.
[Unidentified Female:] The defendant was given credit for 1,043 days and at this time, her release date has been calculated as July 13th, 2011.
[Behar:] Here now with more are Ryan Smith, host of "in Session" on TruTV who has been recovering the case in Orlando; Stacey Honowitz, Florida prosecutor; plus Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney. Ok. Ryan, Casey walks free next Wednesday. Why so soon? Walk us through today`s sentencing if you will.
[Ryan Smith, Host, "in Session":] Well, what happened was the judge in this case really wanted to give her consecutive sentences for the lying to police charges. That ended up giving her four years but she`s already served close to three years in prison. That means she gets time served, so she gets credit for the time and she also gets credit for good behavior while she was in prison. He also seemed to let these sentences run concurrently, which means at the same time with her previous check fraud case. And so all of that combined to make it so that she gets out next Wednesday. So in a sense Joy, it`s because she`s already spent so much time in prison and because she got credit for good behavior
[Behar:] Right.
[Smith:] she gets out so quickly.
[Behar:] So is this sentence the most the judge could have done?
[Stacey Honowitz, Florida Prosecutor:] Absolutely.
[Jayne Weintraub, Criminal Defense Attorney:] It absolutely. He couldn`t have given her one more day.
[Behar:] Ok. Now Stacey, her daughter is dead, she didn`t report her missing for 31 days, she lied to the police and now she walks free next week. Is that it? Is that it? Can she be charged with anything?
[Honowitz:] No. She is done. And I know everybody is thinking, what more can we do? Let`s find another charge because everyone is kind of outraged with this decision. But there`s nothing more. She`s been tried on the charges and really that`s the end of it. She`s going to walk out of jail next Wednesday unless somebody brings some kind of civil suit for some kind of investigative cost which she`ll get from the state anyway. She`ll have to pay back investigative costs but other than that, she`s done.
[Behar:] You know, her appearance and her mood in court surprised many. Her hair was down. She was giggling and winking and everything. Ryan, what do you make of that?
[Smith:] You know, a lot of people out there are saying she doesn`t have to impress a jury at this point. She`s in front of a judge. She can dress how she wants. I think in front of a jury a lot of defense attorneys would say, you want to have that hair pulled back. You want to have more of a more conservative appearance. In this appearance she walked in, she was all smiles. She chatted with her lawyers. When Jose Baez walked in she was very friendly to him. And in reality, when you step back for a second, she can do this. This isn`t the first time I`ve seen a defendant come to their sentencing and realize they are not in front of a jury anymore so they can be more of themselves. I think you saw the real Casey there being relieved. I mean she`s very happy that she was found not guilty of those murder charges.
[Behar:] Ok. So Stacey that means that the one we were watching was not the real Casey. This one with the hair down is the real Casey? Stacey.
[Weintraub:] Yes.
[Honowitz:] Well, I mean of course, that would be my opinion. Certainly her attorneys wanted her to look young and no makeup and kind of conservative. And certainly today I think she was dressed all prepared to walk out the door. Maybe her lawyer said to her, we`re going to argue hard enough and you might be released today. But, you know, absolutely people think that they saw a different Casey they see a different Casey now. Even when the jury was in and out of the courtroom people were saying that it was a different Casey. So I have to agree with you.
[Behar:] Jayne, you seem like you`re going to jump out of your blouse.
[Weintraub:] Can she be charged again? No. This is double jeopardy, you know. This is it. We need to learn to respect and preserve the integrity of the system, otherwise we don`t have a system.
[Behar:] Yes. Well, we all know all that but we`re still quarterbacking Monday-morning quarterbacking here.
[Weintraub:] Well, exactly. But even the lawyers have taken the high road. I mean Jose Baez in his statement said there are no winners here. And he`s right. Because think about it. I mean this young woman is going to go out of jail any day and she has to start all over again, with the notoriety, with everything else. She`s been presumed not guilty. She`s been found not guilty. And those 12 people, we just can`t go behind that verdict.
[Behar:] I understand that.
[Weintraub:] Because those 12 people were sequestered, thankfully and kept away from the lynch mob mentality and really evaluated this on the evidence.
[Behar:] Of course. That`s the way the system works and I accept that. I still don`t feel great about her. I don`t feel great about this girl because the child goes missing and she doesn`t report it for 31 days. Come on.
[Weintraub:] There`s nothing to feel good about.
[Honowitz:] Nobody is going to feel bad about that she has to start over. Nobody could really care less and I think Jeff Ashton said it best this morning. He said the smartest thing to do is just to totally ignore her. Don`t show up at the jail. Don`t start protesting. That might even be something that she welcomes. Just ignore it. I mean, you know what, Joy? People are outraged by this verdict. Nobody wants to second-guess the jury but it`s human nature to do that. Because you want to say to yourselves, were they looking at the same things as we were looking at? But it`s the jury system and it`s the best system in the world and we have to abide by it and that`s the bottom line.
[Behar:] Yes.
[Weintraub:] And the bottom line is that the state didn`t have evidence that was proven beyond a reasonable doubt that she committed the crime. And we keep acting and talking about it as if this is a girl who got away with murder. No.
[Honowitz:] That`s not true.
[Behar:] That`s a matter of opinion.
[Honowitz:] That`s not true. That`s a matter of opinion. You as a defense attorney will say that, Jayne and we have gone round and round on this many nights, you know that. I, as a prosecutor, will tell you I thought the indictment was proper and I thought it was proven beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt and I absolutely do.
[Weintraub:] Stacey, wait. When was the last you and I have tried a lot of murder cases in the same place. When was the last time you saw a prosecutor even you wouldn`t do this indict her for lying to a police officer in the same indictment as a murder. Stacey in 27 years I`ve never seen it. Have you?
[Honowitz:] I`m not even talking about the lying portion of it.
[Weintraub:] A little vindictive?
[Honowitz:] We`re talking about the fact that I`m going to rehash the evidence. It`s my belief that jurors tend to think that you have to prove it beyond all doubt, 100 percent. We always are going to have a doubt. We were not there. We weren`t there and that`s the issue.
[Behar:] Give me a second here. Let`s talk about the jurors because they`re slowly starting to speak to the media. Juror Number Three, Jennifer Ford, spoke to GMA defending the jury`s decision. Watch it.
[Jennifer Ford, Casey Anthony Juror:] I`m not convinced she didn`t. But I also couldn`t exclude the possibility of it being an accident. So I can`t find her guilty of a crime if I`m not sure a crime was committed. So it was just that not knowing exactly what happened and not knowing if we made the right choice. We don`t want to set someone free if they killed their beautiful daughter.
[Behar:] Ok. So she`s talking about the possibility, Jayne, that it was an accident. Is that the reasonable doubt that was created?
[Weintraub:] Absolutely.
[Behar:] There it is.
[Weintraaub:] Absolutely. Not only did he create the reasonable doubt he gave you the imagery. He showed the pictures in the pooling. He showed you Caylee with the door, getting ready to open that sliding glass door. In Florida the biggest cause of death, sad to say, still is drowning of kids.
[Behar:] Really. Well, because there`s a lot of pools there.
[Honowitz:] Well, she believes
[Behar:] Go ahead, Stacey.
[Honowitz:] Jayne, of course, I understand that, believes that it was an accidental death. And the fact of the matter is, that`s what Jose Baez said in his opening statement and I think it`s very important for people to realize that what the lawyers say is not evidence. I know we continue to say that. But there was no evidence of an accident. I think the fact of the matter is, they went back there and they discounted any she`s right about this they discounted any involvement she had with this child or else they would have come back with a lesser. They sincerely believe for some reason without any evidence that it was an accident. So that where we disagree on.
[Smith:] Yes. But here`s the thing.
[Behar:] Let Ryan get in there. Go ahead Ryan.
[Smith:] Here`s the thing. Here`s the thing. When you talk about reasonable doubt, the burden is high. That`s not a low burden. That`s a very high burden for people to meet. So what Jose Baez kept pointing out which I thought was very good of him was to say folks, if you see another alternative other than what the state has presented to you. If you think it could have been anything else, if you think it could have been an accident, if you think that somebody else could have done it, anything else that you see here that`s reasonable doubt. And that`s what this jury did. They went back into that jury room and they said, you know what, I get this evidence. Yes, maybe this could work out, but maybe it could be something else. And when you feel that way that`s when jurors start going with reasonable doubt.
[Behar:] Ok. Ryan let`s go to something else. There was a petition today to have the jurors` names released. What happened with that Ryan?
[Smith:] Well, the judge decided that in this case he would give what`s called a cooling off period. Sounds like he`s going to wait about seven or eight days and possibly release those names. I`m not sure he`s ready to release them. It looks as if he was saying that he was going to. But he`s definitely going to give it a cooling-off period of seven or eight days. Now, this was tough for him because in high-profile cases it`s not rare to avoid releasing jurors` names. Why? These jurors are getting threats. He read some of these threats in court and, you know, we`re worried about their safety. I think what he`s trying to do right now is give that cooling off period. I don`t know if he`ll change his mind but it will be at least another seven days before we hear their names.
[Behar:] Ok. Now yesterday we found out that George and Cindy Anthony were getting death threats. Casey is obviously going to be getting death threats. Does the state one of you can answer this does the state have an obligation to protect these people at all?
[Weintraub:] No.
[Behar:] Nothing.
[Weintraub:] To protect Casey? No. They`re not going to protect her, unless there`s an imminent threat like any other citizen and she calls the police and she seeks police protection. I can`t imagine any other protection that she would get from the state.
[Behar:] Wow.
[Stacey Honowitz, Florida Prosecutor:] And I have to say that I have to agree with the judge in one respect. You know, we are 00 I`m upset. I don`t know how Jayne feels. But I know most people are upset at this verdict but the bottom line is, if you allow these jurors to be mobbed, the jury system is not going to work because nobody is ever going to want to sit for jury duty.
[Smith:] Agree.
[Honowitz:] Nobody is going to feel like if they make the wrong decision or if they feel they make a wrong decision.
[Smith:] Agree.
[Behar:] Right.
[Honowitz:] we don`t want to be responsible. So I think there needs to be a cooling off period before anybody talks to these individuals.
[Behar:] Ok thank you very much, everybody. I`ll talk to Casey Anthony prosecutor, Jeff Ashton next. So don`t go anywhere.

[Malveaux:] Few Americans are filing for first-time jobless benefits. The Labor Department reports today that the number fell to 434,000 last week. Now, that is down 21,000 from the previous week, and better than expected. It is the third straight decline, and the lowest level since early July. Now, the economy was just one of the big issues during President Obama's appearance last night on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. The president defends his record. Take a listen.
[Stewart:] So, in some respects, I get your frustration with this idea that, well, jeez, are you never satisfied? But, again, the expectation, I think, was audacity, going in there and really rooting out a corrupt system. Ad so the sense is, has reality of what hit you in the face when you first stepped in caused you to back down from some of the more visionary things, like bringing a guy like Larry Summers
[Obama:] First of all, if you look at how we have handled this financial crisis
[Stewart:] Right?
[Obama:] if you had told me two years ago that we're going to be able to stabilize the system, stabilize the stock market, stabilize the economy and, by the way, at the end of this thing, it will cost less than one percent of GDP, where the S&L; crisis cost us 2.5 percent of our entire economy, a much smaller crisis, I'd say we'll take that, because we saved taxpayers a whole lot of money.
[Malveaux:] Well, everybody is watching to see what happens to the makeup of Washington next week. And, of course, Wall Street is also paying very close attention. That is because there is a direct correlation between elections and the stock market. Alison Kosik is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with details. Alison, are these two related?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] They really are, Suzanne, because what happens on Election Day directly affects what happens right here on Wall Street, so much so that if you go back in history and you look at how things have progressed, you'll see that in the year following a midterm election, stocks have really done pretty well. In fact, markets have really made gains in every year following the midterms of an elected president since 1939. So, what does this mean for you? It means that we could see a gain next year. I want to show you something to kind of broaden out the picture here from the "Stock Traders Almanac." It shows what the S&P; 500 returns looked like in the year after midterm elections, and you're seeing sizeable gains here, anywhere from 9 to 34 percent. And that's because when a president is in office the first two years, the president tries to push through the real tough legislation, the stuff that not everybody agrees on. With President Obama, it was clearly health care legislation and financial reform. Now, the year after a midterm is the president's third year, and that's when the president really tries to kind of build a bridge, make everybody happy, and he tends to try to make more compromises and maybe even push through more business-friendly policies. And that's something that Wall Street likes, and that's why we could see a nice rally after the midterm elections Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] Alison, does the party factor into the stock market? Does it matter if the Republicans take control of the House and the Senate?
[Kosik:] You know, what's funny is conventional wisdom tells us that gridlock really maintains the status quo. But others say this is that gridlock is really good for the markets, that analysts say the division of power is good, because what it winds up doing is breeding compromise. It pushes legislators to the middle, and what you often get is legislation that's suitable for everyone, including right here, investors. And investors do like those business-friendly policies.
[Malveaux:] All right. Alison Kosik, thank you so much for joining us. The housing market is just one reason that the economic recovery is not taking off. Now, did homeowners get caught in the foreclosure red tape? Well, we're getting to the foundation of the crisis, at the bottom of this. One woman is telling her story. That, 20 minutes ahead.

[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A. J. Hammer in New York, and right now it`s a SHOWBIZ exclusive, hanging with Hagar. Now I got together with the legendary Sammy Hagar just before he rocked the House of Blues in New Orleans. It`s part of the big dance concert series. And I learned very quickly that any time that Sammy is around, it`s a party. The man, after all, did launch his own tequila company. But would he trade all of the good times on stage for a gig perhaps as a singing show judge on TV? Well, you got to hear what Sammy told me about that. But first, he tells me why if he`s not performing in Cabo San Lucas at his infamous Cabo Wabo Cantina, there`s only one place he wants to be, and that`s New Orleans.
[Sammy Hagar, Singer:] Well, Cabo San Lucas, New Orleans, Las Vegas, those are party towns. Really, I love playing these towns because it`s like the party is already here. We just go join it.
[Hammer:] I was a little surprised, Sammy, you know, you walked into the bar. I half expected you to just go behind the bar for a second to make sure they were properly featuring. Well, just in case, I checked for you. I did my research
[Hagar:] Thank you, sir.
[Hammer:] and I made sure that the Cabo Wabo brand was represented here at the house.
[Hagar:] I`ve got one in my well, if at worse, I just represent this way. But I`ve got one in my dressing room. So I`m cool. We roll with a bunch of them. But the truth of the matter is I think they have it here part of the time or most of the time. You know, people market things and put their name brand on anything, and then they show me the bottle of tequila. I didn`t put my name on that. I invented that. I put the bottles and put the tequila in them and put the corks in them myself. I mean, I totally started that from scratch.
[Hammer:] That was not a little vanity project. A lot of stars, particularly female stars and some men as well, they`ll come the brand will come up with a perfume with them, and then they go into a factory and they sniff a bunch of perfumes and then slap their name on it. You came up with the tequila.
[Hagar:] No, the whole name, the brand, we built the Cabo Wabo, the whole nine yards. So I didn`t slap my name on nothing.
[Hammer:] You know, you obviously with the kind of career you have had and the longevity you have had, you worked long and hard to get there. It`s not lost on anybody. It`s a much different game now. Fame and success comes much differently and in different ways than it used to. There are people and some quite talented people who get instant fame whether it be because of YouTube or they went on one of these music competitions or reality shows. Anything wrong with that in your mind? Is it just a different day?
[Hagar:] Just a different day. There`s nothing wrong with anything. You know, I`m a firm believer. I even the whole thing about giving the music away, I think it straightened a lot of record companies that had been really tough on artists and they ripped so many people off. They you know, karma comes around. I`m OK with playing music for free, giving music away. I`m OK with all that. You know, you got to find a way that makes people more creative.
[Hammer:] Were you ever approached to be a judge on one of these shows?
[Hagar:] Yes, I was.
[Hammer:] Because it`s I was I just look at you. I`m thinking it`s perfect.
[Hagar:] I`ve done numerous shows. One of the ones I really like a lot, I won`t say who it is, and I turned it down. I was with my management this afternoon flying in here. We were talking on the plane about doing this and doing that. And I just said, you know, I really don`t want to do TV, because I get offered tons of TV. And I don`t want to do it, because it`s hard work. All right. I admit it.
[Hammer:] Everybody always wants to know and you have said not all that long ago that you feel it is inevitable that one day you will find yourself back on stage with Van Halen. My question
[Hagar:] Whoo.
[Hammer:] My question you said it.
[Hagar:] OK.
[Hammer:] But here`s my question. First of all, do you still feel that way?
[Hagar:] So much water would probably have to go under the bridge. I`m really not interested right now, anyway, but I haven`t been asked. So I`m not like saying no, because I haven`t been asked. They`re doing a tour right now, and it`s doing great and I`m really happy that Eddie seems to be on a good foot and healthy, and that`s the most important thing for that band.
[Hammer:] And a lot of fans obviously think it would be really cool to see a Van Halen reunion with Sammy Hagar one day, so never say never. And if you feel really inspired by all of Sammy`s energy and enthusiasm, you might feel a bit more inspired when I tell you he`s 64 years old. That is inspiring. Oh, pretty woman. Tonight brand-new ugly fury against the woman who claims she`s so beautiful other women hate her. Freelance columnist Samantha Brick is speaking out today about the backlash that she`s gotten since writing a column in U.K.`s "The Daily Mail" about the downside of her unrelenting beauty. She tells the "Today" show`s Ann Curry she`s not full of herself.
[Curry:] You use the word "I" at least 60 times in your article. And so I think the question has been to be posed, I mean, are you aware of how narcissistic your piece sounded? And upon review, do you think that perhaps you should have written it maybe a little differently if you really wanted to make your point?
[Samantha Brick, Freelance Columnist:] Well, the piece is a first-person piece. It`s about my experience and my life, so drawing on other people`s experiences, I wouldn`t be qualified to do that. If I was writing a much more generic piece, then of course, I could have done that. Really, it was just a tricorative, A. It wasn`t to have a kind of global vitriolic attack on me as an individual, which is what`s happened.
[Hammer:] OK. Guess this controversy won`t be dying down anytime soon. Moving on now to Giuliana`s cancer confession. Tonight, reality show Giuliana Rancic opens up about her battle with breast cancer and how life has been since having a double mastectomy. Giuliana and her husband, Bill Rancic, right here tonight with an update on how she`s doing. It is a must-see headline-making Showbiz newsmaker interview. And he`s the king of the deep sea. "Titanic" director James Cameron voyages to the deepest point on Earth and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there.
[James Cameron, Director And Explorer:] At a certain point I said, you know what, just stop. Just stop the vehicle and just take a look out the window with your own eyes. I had to just take a moment and kind of bear witness and feel the weight of the water over my head.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes inside James Cameron`s absolutely incredible journey to the bottom of the earth. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN, news and views. Now the SHOWBIZ "News Ticker." These are more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom, making news tonight.

[Velshi:] For those of you political junkies, it is the most wonderful time of the hour. It's time for "CNN Equals Politics" update. Right now, CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger at the CNNPolitics.com desk in Washington, which is apparently the place to be. Gloria, what is going on right now?
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Ali, it's the place to be and I'm so glad you're here with us today, right now.
[Velshi:] Thank you.
[Borger:] It's an increasingly nasty race for governor of New York, as you know. We got a couple of polls out today that are giving us some confusing numbers here. One poll today shows Democrat Andrew Cuomo ahead of the republican, Carl Paladino, by 33 percent. That's a really big lead. But another poll, Ali, shows him only ahead by 6 percent.
[Velshi:] Wow.
[Borger:] So what's the difference here? And this is what's really important to know, the closer you get to an election, the poll that shows 33 percent just is of registered voters, but the poll that shows it closer is of likely voters and that tells the whole story of the enthusiasm gap we're seeing in this election, that likely voters are now more likely to vote republican. And that brings us to our second topic, because that is something that President Obama spoke about specifically at a democratic fundraiser last night in New York. He said the single biggest threat to the party is apathy and he said there are people feeling, quote, "we only got 80 percent of what we want, so we're going to sit on our hands." If that's the case, Ali, the Democrats could well lose control of the House and maybe even the Senate. So that's not exactly what the president wants. And last, but of course not least, there's something from the annals of Biden-speak today. Not too bad, sort of fun. When you see Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, football probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but today he called her his number one pick in fantasy football. I think it was just his way of calling her indispensable. She, of course, pointed out she's the only one in the Senate who gets to call him Biden and se still does, Velshi, because she likes him.
[Velshi:] And, Gloria
[Borger:] And look who's here. Look who's here. Oh, my god.
[Mark Preston, Cnn Senior Political Editor:] It was just two weeks ago where Gloria came on during one of these when I was talking and gave me a hug. I want people to know, I repay my debt.
[Velshi:] Nice.
[Preston:] I've got to give my girl a hug right here.
[Velshi:] Not only "The Best Political Team on Television," but the friendliest. Good to see you both. And, Mark, we'll see you in about an hour.
[Borger:] Come to Washington. Come visit us.
[Velshi:] I will definitely do that. Good to see you both. And, of course, be sure to stay with CNN for complete coverage of the key races and key issues heading into these midterm elections, these critical midterm elections. Mark will be with us for our next "CNN Equals Politics" update just an hour away. We'll be right back.

[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now. And good morning to you. Once again, it's Tuesday, November 9th. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.
[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. I'm John Roberts. Here are this morning's top stories. The man behind one of the most horrific crimes in the past decade now heading to death row. More on one family's night at terror in their Connecticut home and the end of a long nightmare for the sole survivor.
[Chetry:] Former President George W. Bush in his own words. Nearly two years after leaving the White House, the former president is speaking out, giving a series of interviews. Yesterday, he spoke with Matt Lauer. This morning, we're going to hear what he calls the worst moment of his presidency.
[Roberts:] And a man who added three years to the life of people in one city is sharing his tips for healthy living. Tips that he got from the oldest people in the world. And you may be on the list for his next wellness makeover. It's a segment that literally could add years to your life later on this hour.
[Chetry:] First, though, we start with the third time a charm this morning. After canceling two previous trips, President Obama is now in Indonesia. We just heard him speak live a moment ago with that country's president. It's the place where he spent four years of his childhood, and it's the second stop on the president's ten-day trip to Asia. He arrived in Jakarta earlier this morning. He just wrapped up his news conference and his brief two-day visit may be cut short because of that ash cloud from Mt. Merapi, which has been erupting over the past week or more. Our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, joins us now on the phone from Jakarta. We had a chance to listen to the president's speech. What was notable to you, Ed?
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Well, I think, you know, what's interesting right now, the president is getting questioned about his own personal connection to Indonesia. He spent four years here as a boy starting at the age of six, and he was commenting on how the landscape has completely changed. There were dirt roads, et cetera, when he was here in the early '70s. And he's reflecting a little bit on the personal, something he doesn't do very often, because obviously this is the most populous majority Muslim country in the world. And his time here as a boy has helped fuel some of this skepticism about whether he was really born in the United States and raised questions about whether he's Muslim or not. And the president, you know, has obviously struggled with dealing with those questions, which he's called silly, because he's not Muslim, he's Christian. And so he doesn't always talk about that personal side. So I think he's balancing that with the heavy substance of, look, the U.S. trying to expand trade ties with Indonesia, also trying to work together on counterterrorism. There have been terror attacks here and Bali and elsewhere. Obviously it's something the two countries are working on closely. And I think more broadly when you talk to senior White House officials, they say what the president wants to do here on this visit is really highlight the fact that this is a country that's protecting its Muslim identity while also engaging with the west, not pulling back and actually engaging on issues like the economy and climate change. And that's far different of course than the other countries here in Asia and the Mideast. And it's a contrast to China since this is a democracy. And if you notice, all the big countries the president's visiting from India to Indonesia, South Korea next and then ending it in Japan, all democracies around China, a not so subtle hint that we've got other allies in this region, Kiran.
[Chetry:] And also, just practically speaking about the president's trip, I know they were looking forward to in Indonesia. He's supposed to give a big speech at the university in Jakarta. This volcano about 375 miles away, it's been erupting. It could cut the president's trip short. What is the latest on that?
[Henry:] Yes, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told us a short time ago, it looks like we're going to be leaving a few hours early. The president was going to be here in less than 24 hours anyway, but he'll maybe have to cancel a couple of events here. The bottom line is you have experts saying this volcanic ash can be destructive to jet engines. And the last thing they want to do is put Air Force One in an unsafe situation as well as the press plane here that we're going to be on. And there are other planes that are part of the official U.S. delegation. And so we're going to probably leave here a little bit early. And it's sort of a strange circumstance because you'll remember this is now the third time the president has tried to come to Indonesia just this year. The first time was canceled because of the health care debate in Washington, then the Gulf oil spill was overshadowing things. Now the third one, he finally got here, but cutting it short, Kiran.
[Chetry:] Ed Henry traveling with the president in Indonesia today. Thanks so much, Ed. John?
[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] As we watch the president in Southeast Asia, former President Bush is back in the spotlight nearly two years after leaving office. He's written a book. It's called "Decision Points." It comes out today. And in it he writes about everything from waterboarding to the war on terror to Kanye West. Last night the former president sat down with NBC's Matt Lauer, and he spoke about the now infamous photo of him taken aboard Air Force One as he surveyed the damage from hurricane Katrina.
[George W. Bush, Former President Of The United States Of America:] Yes. Huge mistake.
[Matt Lauer, Nbc News:] And it made you look so out of touch.
[Bush:] Detached. And uncaring. No question about it.
[Lauer:] Whose fault was it?
[Bush:] It's always my fault. I should have touched down in Baton Rouge, met with the governor, walked out and said I hear you. We know, we understand, and we're going to help the state and help the local governments with as much resources as need, and then got back on up to Washington. And I did not do that and paid a price for it.
[Roberts:] The president also touched on what he called the worst moment of his presidency when Kanye West said he didn't care about black people.
[Lauer:] You say you told Laura at the time it was the worst moment of your presidency.
[Bush:] Yes.
[Lauer:] I wonder if some people are going to read that and they might give you some heat for that. And the reason is this
[Bush:] Don't care.
[Lauer:] Here's the reason. You're not saying the worst moment in your presidency was watching the misery in Louisiana, you're saying when someone insulted you because of it.
[Bush:] And I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply, as well. There's a lot of tough moments in the book. And it was a disgusting moment pure and simple.
[Roberts:] Chief political correspondent Candy Crowley is also sitting down with the former president. You can see her special edition of "STATE OF THE UNION " Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
[Chetry:] Also new this morning, a jury saying the man must die for the brutal Connecticut home invasion and murder, a case that drew national attention for how shocking and disgusting it was. Steven Hayes convicted of murdering a mother and her two daughters and setting the house on fire before attempting to flee. Hayes also forced Jennifer Hawk Petit to go to a bank to withdraw money before she was killed.
[Roberts:] Some new restrictions on air travel are in effect in the wake of the Yemen bomb plot. Passengers can no longer travel with toner cartridges weighing more than a pound. And high-risk cargo is banned from passenger planes and will be subject to additional screening. In Michigan, a state attorney general is out of a job this morning. In his blog Andrew Cheval called University of Michigan student president Chris Armstrong racist and a liar who threatened a radical homosexual agenda. Cheval's attorney claims his client was exercising free speech. Fears of inflation sent the price of gold and other precious metals soaring yesterday. Gold hit an all-time high closing at $1,403 an ounce. Investors worrying that the Fed's $600 billion monetary stimulus will devalue the dollar.
[Chetry:] Here's a stat that should wake you up. According to AAA, two out of five drivers admit to falling asleep behind the wheel. More than a quarter say they've had trouble staying awake while driving in the last month.
[Roberts:] And passengers who are flying on Air Tran, Delta, and Virgin America will have Wi-Fi in the sky this holiday season for, listen to this, free. Google is partnering with the airlines to offer wireless Internet free of charge on all domestic flights between November 20th and January 2nd. And isn't that a nice holiday treat?
[Chetry:] Yes, get a lot more done.
[Roberts:] Well, he's back, Conan O'Brien returning to the air more than nine months after being booted from "The Tonight Show." His new late night show kicked off on our sister network TBS. O'Brien started the show by revisiting the months after he lost his job at NBC. And as you'll see, he was visited by a familiar face.
[Larry King, Cnn:] Don't do it, Conan!
[Conan O'brien, Late Night Talk Show:] Larry King?
[King:] I'm your guardian angel.
[O'brien:] But you're not dead.
[King:] Never mind that. I have two words for you, basic cable.
[O'brien:] Basic cable?
[Unidentified Male:] Conan, I think you'll find our terms very attractive.
[O'brien:] I think we have a deal.
[Chetry:] Well, Conan's new show is a lot like his last. He kind of monologued. There you see Seth Rogen. And also he jammed a little bit there is Andy Richter, too and he jammed a little bit with White Stripes front man Jack White. They were rocking it. One new feature, an oversized moon. Conan or his side kick can move across the sky with the remote control. See that? And who said there wasn't cool tricks in basic cable? By the way, you can watch Conan's new show tonight on TBS at 11:00 eastern. Tonight's guests include Tom Hanks, Jack McBrayer, and musical guest Soundgarden.
[Roberts:] It can now be said that Conan O'Brien hangs the moon. It's Clinton versus Kardashian, why the secretary of state says the Kardashians aren't exactly the best ambassadors for the United States.
[Chetry:] And in what could be Sarah Palin's first move toward 2012, taking on a major policy issue, the Fed's move to quote "print money out of thin air." It's ten minutes past the hour.

[Anderson:] You're watching a special edition of Connect the World here on CNN with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back. Returning to our top story, the secret documents that expose the inner workings of al Qaeda. I've got here with me in the studio our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson who did much of the leg work on the exclusive reporting that we had tonight. I want to bring in two counterterrorism experts for a reaction to some of Nic's reporting tonight. Charles Allen is a former undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He also served 40 years in the CIA. And Micheal Clarke is director general of the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies here in London. Charles, let's start off with you, your reaction to what you heard from Nic's reporting.
[Charles Allen, Frm. Under Secretary, U.s. Dept. Homeland Security:] I think the documents are genuine. I believe that it shows the change in al Qaeda's tactics, not al Qaeda, but also the affiliated networks. I think we are facing smaller, more disciplined attacks. The attacks in Mumbai in 2008 I think reflect the kind of great psychological damage that was done by that attack. It sort of paralyzed India for several days, shut down the economic and entertainment capital of India. I think that could be replicated in Western Europe.
[Anderson:] Michael, many of our viewers will have been, I'm sure, surprised by what Nic was reporting. Were you?
[Michael Clarke, Visiting Professor, King's College London:] Not really. We've we knew quite a few of the details, but what's very valuable about these reports is it shows how much people like Rashid Rauf were writing down and how much of this was being documented by al Qaeda. For an organization that knew that a lot of their communications were being monitored, that knew that they were being tracked and followed, it's astonishing how bureaucratic they were. And so these reports actually give us a lot of chapter and verse on things that we certainly have a strong belief in. We knew that Rashid Rauf was behind 77 and the 217, the attacks two weeks later, but not quite the extent of it. And this is actually very interesting to see some of the documentary evidence of this and also the airline plots, the Bojinka plots as they're called11. And although they were not close to fruition their intention was absolutely clear. These guys were going to bring down six or eight aircraft over the Atlantic and do as much destruction as 911 had done.
[Anderson:] Let's through this forward guys. Nic is with me here in the studio. The death of Osama bin Laden, of course, may have damaged al Qaeda's core, but loyal offshoots of course are still dangerous it seems. The United States increasingly concerned about al Qaeda's expansion in Yemen, particularly the province of Shabwa and Abyan. Recently the Yemeni government announced a full-scale operation against al Qaeda militants in those areas. Just last week, U.S. drones strike killed the fourth most wanted al Qaeda leader in Yemen. It crossed the Gulf of Aden in Somalia, militants from the al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab are trying to expand their foothold. And earlier this month al Shabaab claimed responsibility for bombing a market in the town of Bidoua killing several people and injuring dozens. Nic, the future.
[Robertson:] Well I think it's not just the future for al Qaeda isn't just a strong footprint in base being able to take advantage of the remnants of the Arab Spring in Yemen as it was, but also kind of take advantage in other places like Libya in the east of Libya where al Qaeda is known to have set up camps, and Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of al Qaeda, sent operatives to establish camps where they can rapidly recruit people and train and that potentially threatens Europe. So it is these offshoots that are working to the sort of core ideals and values of al Qaeda, maybe not under the day by day direction, but under those core ideas and the potential also of al Qaeda exploiting the situation in Syria is very real.
[Anderson:] Charles, does that resonate with you?
[Allen:] It resonates very well. I think al Qaeda was taken aback by the Arab Spring, but I think now it's beginning to catch up. I certainly agree with the point of view that Libya where there's 100 militias and clearly a very chaotic situation is ripe for al Qaeda training camps to be established. It's also ripe for al Qaeda and Islamic maghreb to rearm itself with weapons and materials from the weapon sites that are scattered all over Libya. So I think we have a real problem. I think we have a real problem potentially longer term in Egypt. So things are going finally more directly towards al Qaeda following some setbacks over the last year with the al Qaeda spring.
[Anderson:] Which surprise our viewers. Michael, do you concur?
[Clarke:] Yes. In the long run I think that's true, because al Qaeda were wrong-footed, as Charles said, by the Arab Spring. But the fact is the Arab Spring is all about alienated Arab youth. And most of societies in the Middle East have found that they get 30, 40 percent of the population are under the age of 25, under the age of 30. If these people can be found jobs, then they are a force of prosperity. If they can't, then they are a force of instability. And alienated Arab youth is turning some ways, going to turn somewhere. And so al Qaeda realized not al Qaeda core, but the al Qaeda movement more generally realized, that in the next two or three years a lot of alienated youth will want to turn somewhere and they are thinking about, actively thinking about, how they can manipulate that and use it. They won't be able to use it quite in the way that they did in the 1990s, the early-2000s, but they are nothing if not innovative. And the threat will mutate through several more iterations yet. And I think our security services are aware of that. They're trying to keep up with it and anticipate the trends.
[Anderson:] And how will the U.S. be anticipating this, Charles?
[Allen:] Well, I think we'll continue our current strategy. Our strategy is not to simply put up defenses everywhere, which we've done extremely well, but continue to lead an attack offensively on al Qaeda including the affiliated networks working with our allies in a very close attack comprehensively globally. And that's it has to be global, it can't be just in one country or the other, it has to be a very comprehensive attack. And we work very closely with our closest allies in conducting these kind of continuing offensive operations. Al Qaeda must be kept on the back foot.
[Anderson:] Charles, Michael, and Nic, let me just bring your attention to one point I think is important here, or one sort of constituency, as it were, and that is the so-called lone world tactic. Nic mentioned in his report Mohammed Merah, the self-described al Qaeda follower who admitted shooting dead seven people including kids in France last month. He was killed during a police siege into his apartment in Toulouse. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, dubbed the underpants bomber, he was convicted of trying to bring down an airline with a bomb concealed in his underpants. And Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani American who pleaded guilty to attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square in May 2010. He was sentenced to life in prison. Nic, lone wolves, how concerned should our viewers tonight the security services around the world be of these sort of [inaudible].
[Robertson:] The lone wolf can be very hard to spot, and that's the concern that they self-radicalize, they do it on the internet, nobody really knows about it. So there's a difficulty in stopping them, but the lone wolf will be relatively limited in what he can do. We know the intelligence services watch for people buying certain chemical products that could possibly make bombs. If the al Qaeda new al Qaeda mantra as we understand it to be to go for the Mumbai, the gunmen type attack, all one needs to watch out for, all one needs to be concerned about, is the possibility that this lone wolf could get a weapon and go shoot somewhere up. It is not going to be the old al Qaeda that was so devastating, but that is a concern. And it's a hard one for the security services.
[Anderson:] And Charles, the lone wolf, the unit that is one man, or one woman, how concerned would security services in your neck of the woods be about that sort of terror as it were?
[Allen:] Well, we remain very concerned. The Bureau works extremely hard with state and local police officials, law enforcement to try to identify people who have become radicalized, but it's really it's really going to be very difficult to find these people. We don't know that they're becoming radicalized in many cases. The point is, it's a very tiny minority of American Muslims, or converts to Islam who conduct this very tiny. Most American Muslims are mainstream, middle class and upper middle class. And for that we are very pleased.
[Anderson:] You make a very good point. Michael, the last word is yours.
[Clarke:] Yeah, the lone wolf problem is a genuine problem, because these people have very low trade craft. They're not well trained, but Al- Awlaki Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen urged people to go out and have a go, just have a go. And if enough people try it, then a few of them will get lucky. And that's what the security services, certainly in Britain, are facing more than anything else, people who may be trying something individually. They're not very skillful. They leave trails of forensics, but if enough of them try, some will get through, and the psychological impact is very high. And al Qaeda know that they only need a couple of successes to keep the sense of anxiety high, particularly in Britain in 2012 when you've got the Olympics coming up. The Royal Jubilee, all the rest of it.
[Anderson:] Michael Clarke, Charlie Allen, and with me here in the studio tonight, our senior international correspondent, always a pleasure to have you on the show. Nic Robertson here with me in London. A fascinating discussion. Thank you guys for that. Lots more on this exclusive CNN story online. Head to CNN.com for a special article in what are revelations. That's CNN.com. Your eyeballs there. There's a lot more to come still on Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. Including tracking down one of the world's most wanted warlord, how U.S. troops are helping in that hunt. And saving the world one click at a time, we follow a Lebanese photojournalist from Beirut all the way on his bustling holiday to the Arctic.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Host, "the Situation Room":] Thanks very much, Brooke. Happening now, a date with division. This hour new details on the exchange between the president and the House speaker over Mr. Obama's big jobs speech. It's a new damper on hopes for bipartisanship. Also, a nuclear power plant reveals more fallout from the earthquake here on the East Coast. It's a probably that's never been caused by a quake in this country at least until now. And 10 years after 911 some first responders at ground zero may finally be getting answers about how and why they got cancer. Stand by for Dr. Sanjay Gupta and details of a new medical study. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Right now a lot of American are asking themselves this question how can our political leaders do big things like reduce the debt or fix the economy if they butt heads over a scheduling speech? We're learning more about the dust-up over the president's make-or-break jobs speech next week, and how the date one week from today was finally set. CNN's Athena Jones is covering the story for us. She's joining us live from the White House. Athena.
[Athena Jones, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, the White House said the decision to have the president lay out his jobs plan in this particular venue, a joint session of Congress, was made this week. Now, actually scheduling that speech has turned out to be the hard part.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] What the American people expect the president to do, what they expect their senators and Congressmen and women to do is listen to them and take action. They do not give a lick about what day next week the president speaks before Congress.
[Jones:] The great date debate came to the first public view through a tweet. At around noon on Wednesday White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer the told hi twitter followers President Obama asked to address a joint session of Congress the following Wednesday, September 7, to lay out his jobs plan. In a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, the president cited the nation's unprecedented economic challenges as he called on Washington to put politics aside and start making decisions based on what is best for our country. But in Washington, politics are everywhere. A presidential address next Wednesday night, the House's first day back in session, would have conflicted with the Republican presidential debate, something spokesman Jay Carney called a coincidence during Wednesdays' briefing.
[Carney:] There are factors that go into scheduling a speech before Congress, a joint session speech. And again, you can't you can never find a perfect time.
[Jones:] By 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, "Politico" and NBC News announced the debate would not be postponed. Just after 4:00 p.m., Speaker Boehner responded to the White House's request with one of his own, asking that the president's speech be pushed to Thursday the 8th, to ensure there would be no parliamentary or logistical impediments that may detract from the address. Let's bring it up to speed, Wolf. A little after 9:00 p.m. last night the press secretary here at the White House put out a statement saying the president had agreed to speak on Thursday. Now, that just happens to be the same day as the NFL season opener. It's the Saints versus the Packers. One thing that Jay Carney told us in today's briefing, the president's speech will be completed before kickoff. Last thing I asked Jay Carney, what was the president's reaction to all of this discussion about the speech timing? He said he spent a lot of time this morning with the president, and the subject never came up. Wolf?
[Blitzer:] Athena, thanks very much. Let's dig deeper with our Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley. She's the anchor of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION." I guess the bottom-line question is did the White House deliberately want to poke their fingers in the eyes of the Republicans who for months had that debate scheduled over at the Reagan library.
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Chief Political Correspondent:] It is hard to believe that not a soul in that White House who knew that the president, for who a month said he was going to have a jobs speech, so they had a month to look at the days and say where it's just hard to believe that not a single person in that White House knew there was going to be a Republican debate that night.
[Blitzer:] Isn't that why there's staff members on the White House team and in the House and Senate, so they work this kind of stuff out? Behind the scenes before letters are exchanged?
[Crowley:] Yes, exactly. But having said that, listening to Jay Carney, I totally agree, I don't think anybody out there cares what night the president talks, that the issues override this, although I love they now say don't worry, we'll be done before the football game. Setting that aside, the fact is the net result of this is to have everyone outside this beltway rolling their eyes, thinking, are you kidding me? These people can't agree. Let's forget who did what to whom and who was trying to outflank the other one politically, this nobody comes out a winner on this stupid thing.
[Blitzer:] Because it seems to be the burden is on the White House to get it right, as opposed to Congress. Congress an equal branch, a legislative branch of government, an executive branch of government, they're inviting the president to come up to Capitol Hill. Shouldn't the White House defer to Congress and Congress says no, and the Republicans the majority in the House. Did Boehner do anything wrong in this particular case?
[Crowley:] Listen, I don't think we're a matter of right or wrong. He said
[Blitzer:] Did he snub the president?
[Crowley:] Listen, if you are a Republican at this point, you think the president deliberately tried to override and make himself look presidential on a night when he knew Republicans would probably be firing at one another.
[Blitzer:] But in the end he sort of looks weak.
[Crowley:] Because he had to cave. This is a fight the White House did not need to have.
[Blitzer:] That's why the people who worked for the president in this particular case seem to have failed him.
[Crowley:] Or they meant to do it. Either some bad advice, or they actually meant to do it. My guess is it really did somehow get overlooked, although that's hard to believe, because this debate has been scheduled for so long. But in the end, if you're a Republican, you think the president you know is wrong, if you're a Democrat, you think the Republicans are wrong, except for James Carville. He was saying, you know, this is bad of them to try to do this on the night of the Republican debate. But having said that, I do think Washington itself, as we see those numbers go lower and lower and lower, loses on all of this.
[Blitzer:] One of the reasons why. Candy, thanks very much. Let's bring in Jack Cafferty with "The Cafferty File." Jack?
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Contributor:] Folly is an understatement. Heading into an election year, President Obama has some issues, and they start very close to home. Top black leaders are criticizing the president, saying he hasn't focused enough on the problems that are devastating the African-American community, things like poverty, civil rights, and jobs. The unemployment rate among blacks almost 16 percent, for young African-Americans, almost 40 percent. Nationally unemployment is holding a shade over 9 percent. The Congressional Black Caucus recently challenged President Obama in a series of town halls. Leaders say they don't know what his jobs plan is for the black community. Here's the bottom line if President Obama wants a second term, he must get blacks to come out in record numbers like they did in 2008, especially in states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia. African-Americans are going to vote for President Obama overwhelmingly, but the question will be how high will the turnout be? And that's critical. And it's not just blacks. The president is losing support among another key Democratic voting bloc, women. A new Gallup poll shows his approval rating among women has dropped to just 41 percent, a 30- point decline from the 71 percent that it stood at when he first took office. Overall a recent CNN poll shows one in four Democrats think the party ought to nominate somebody else other than President Obama in 2012. Two thirds of all Americans give him a thumbs-down on the economy. That's the nation's top issue. Like I said, saying the president has some issues is a big understatement. Here's the question. How much trouble is the President Obama in, do you think? Go to CNN.comCaffertyFile, post a comment on my blog or go to our post on the Facebook page. The only good news is the Republicans look like they've been auditioning candidates at Ringling Brothers. So unless they find somebody other than that collections of souls that they have parading around there so far, with the exception of maybe of Ron Paul, who I think doesn't get elected again, maybe the best friend Obama has is the Republicans.
[Blitzer:] Jack Cafferty, with "The Cafferty File." Thank you. Misery on different ends of the country, fire in the west, flooding in the east. Stand by, we're having live reports from both disaster zones. And a new message apparently from Moammar Gadhafi telling his supporters not to be cowards. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

[Costello:] Okay, that is the always impeccably well dressed Taylor Swift except for not in that video. Swift will be performing at this year's Grammy awards Sunday night on CBS, and that full-length pajama outfit would probably get her bonus points from the censors, because CBS is cracking down on showing too much skin. You remember J Lo's infamous Versace dress from 2000? That would be a no-go this year. So, what can and can't celebs wear at Sunday night's show? A.J. Hammer is here to explain the rules.
[A.j. Hammer, Cnn Entertainment Correspondent:] It's always fun, Carol, when people at a network try to tell artists what they can and can't wear but CBS reportedly sent out this memo and everybody's going to be showing up Sunday night on the Grammys. The basic message is cover up. Some of the particulars: buttocks and breasts should be adequately covered. Thong-type costumes are problematic. Bare sides, area under breasts what the kids call side- boob also problematic, and people should generally avoid sheer or see-through clothing. If you're wondering why you have to write this memo to begin with, well you could look back at infamous outfits like that J Lo dress from Versace years ago. Lil'Kim really stretched the boundaries with one of her outfits and look at Lady Gaga, this is from the 2010 Grammys. she came pretty close to crossing the line. Although,I looked through the standards memo and it doesn't specifically mention wearing meat as a violation. But you can understand why CBS might feel the need to have their standards people write a memo like this. Whether it actually accomplishes what it sets out to now is what we'll be tuning in to see. Do we have the Carrie Underwood dress? Because this is something that I think they would actually find acceptable, Carrie Underwood appearing with a plunging backline but from the front everything completely covered up.
[Costello:] Oh, come on.
[Hammer:] I think, actually think I think, Carol, this is going to cause people to want to push the boundaries more if they haven't figured out what they're wearing yet.
[Costello:] I'm just trying to figure out if someone violates the rules, what will CBS do? Will they put little black lines over the offensive area on live television?
[Hammer:] I don't think so. I think they're really just trying to set a standard perhaps raise the bar or in their minds raise the bar for what we've seen in the past but again, this is music's biggest night. It is not the Oscars. This is a chance to be as fashion forward as humanly possible for a lot of these artists.
[Costello:] All right. A.J. Hammer, thanks so much.
[Hammer:] You got it.
[Costello:] So you thought you'd get a break from political attack ads after the election. The political attack ads are back and this time they're targeting Ashley Judd.
[Unidentified Female:] Radical.
[Unidentified Male:] Someone from out of state who understands us hillbillies.
[Ashley Judd, Actor:] I don't know a lot of hillbillies who golf, hillbilly, hillbillies.
[Costello:] But Ashley Judd hasn't even said if she's running for Senate yet.

[Lemon:] The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray gets underway on Monday. Murray's been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Jackson died of an overdose of the anesthesia Propofol and other drugs. To find out what affects these drugs had, I spoke to a doctor who saw Jackson's autopsy report. His name is Dr. Zeev Cain. He is the head of the Anesthesiology Department at the University of California, Irvine. You saw the toxicology report?
[Dr. Zeev Cain, Director, Anesthesiology Department, University Of California, Irvine:] I saw the toxicology repot. I saw the autopsy report.
[Lemon:] You did?
[Cain:] I did.
[Lemon:] What was in Michael Jackson's system?
[Cain:] Several drugs, Midazolam, Diazepam, Lorazepam, Lidocaine, Epinephrine and Propofol.
[Lemon:] That's a lot.
[Cain:] That's a lot of drugs. That's a lot of drugs.
[Lemon:] Enough to kill someone?
[Cain:] Certainly enough to make sure that he stopped breathing, yes.
[Lemon:] Yes. What did the autopsy report show?
[Cain:] Well, overall, Michael Jackson was actually in good health. There was no real problems in his internal organs. It did show, at some point in the past, he did use drugs but, again, overall, he was in excellent health.
[Lemon:] What kind of drugs?
[Cain:] You can't really say that. The only thing we can do is go based on what we found in his blood.
[Lemon:] OK. It didn't show one drug which the defense is saying he was addicted to. What I'm talking about,
[Cain:] Absolutely true. There was no Demerol found there, which means he did not really take Demerol for 40 days before this.
[Lemon:] How many days would it have been in order for it to leave?
[Cain:] Several days. Demerol actually has a pretty long half life. So it stays in the system quite a while.
[Lemon:] Yes. Were you surprised by anything in the report?
[Cain:] I would say I was surprised by what in good shape he was. Based on what I've heard previously, I expected to see more signs of chronic illness in his organs, more signs of an addict. They are not really there. He was basically healthy.
[Lemon:] Yes. Yes. And to have those drugs, you said Lorazepam
[Cain:] Diazepam, Midazolam.
[Lemon:] All those drugs in there together does someone usually take all of those drugs together?
[Cain:] You take them if you want to induce sedation or medically induced coma. Which brings me to the issue of Propofol should not be used in home settings.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cain:] It should be used when you want to medially induce coma or sedation in a hospital. You have to monitor somebody's blood pressure, heart rate, how well they are breathing. You have to monitor their oxygen level. That's the bottom line.
[Lemon:] So, listen, people are this is going to be the issue now with medicine. How much can you get from doctors, depending on how much you pay? Your celebrity status? What you do for a living? All of that, is that at issue here?
[Cain:] Absolutely, it is. Remember, they found four gallons. Four gallons are enough to put to sleep about 500 people. Or it is enough to keep somebody asleep for eight hours for almost two months. Now, that may be a bit misleading, because he may have built resistance in his body already. We have to remember, when somebody does take Propofol on a regular basis, they will build up resistance. So I know some reports say it is a two-months supply. It depends how much resistance was in his body. It may only be a one week supply. We don't know.
[Lemon:] Is there something we should be concerned about? I heard during the testimony that it is usually a doctorpatient relationshipemployer relationship. Is that a concern to society overall in this case and in society, this culture where you see drugs on television and what have you?
[Cain:] To my opinion, there is a fundamental difference in the Western society versus other societies in the relations between doctorpatient. I think we need to go back to the basics and say doctors are here to take care of patients. It's not a question of you paying me for something. We are not the same as lawyers, to my opinion. We are doctors. Our first sworn duty is to take care of you. Money is secondary. We really need to take care your well being, regardless of how much you will pay for me.
[Lemon:] Thank you, doctor.
[Cain:] You're welcome.
[Lemon:] Dr. Zeev Cain. My thanks to him at the University of California, Irvine. Stay with CNN. There's more ahead next hour on Dr. Murray's trial. Legal analyst, Holly Hughes, will join me to explain what we can expect when testimony resumes on Monday. Coming up, the return of skulls to the place they belong gives a morbid history lesson. The first time in the 20th century one nation tried to erase the existence of a people.

[Blitzer:] Amid growing speculation over his whereabouts, Syria's president appears on state TV. Lisa Sylvester's monitoring that and some other top stories in THE SITUATION ROOM right now. What's the latest, Lisa?
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Wolf. Well, it is President Bashar Al-Assad's first TV appearance since the bombing that killed three of his top officials. The video shows him with his new defense minister, but there's no sign of where that video was taken. There have been some reports suggesting that he has left the capital. Violence continues to rage in Syria. Opposition forces say at least 94 people were killed today. Deep sea explorers are celebrating a record bounty. Get this 1,200 bars of silver pulled from a ship wreck three miles under water in the North Atlantic. The haul is from this British cargo ship torpedoed by a German boat in 1941. So far the expedition has pulled more than a million ounces of silver to the surface. And they think there may be a lot more still on the ocean floor. President Obama is getting some big name and big money support. We've learned actor Morgan Freeman donated $1 million to a pro-Obama "Super PAC" last month. In a statement the actor says the president has done a remarkable job in historically difficult circumstances. Hollywood power players like Steven Spielberg and Bill Maher has donated to the same group. And one of the world's biggest spammers has been knocked offline in a global takedown known as the "Grumbotnet." It generated around 18 billion spam e-mails a day. Take last week, it was responsible for about a third of all spam, today, not one single message. Security firms and internet service providers in three countries killed the network with an attack on its main servers. The question though is, is this going to be coming back? Are we going to see some other version of this, Wolf?
[Blitzer:] Spam. I get a ton of spam too. Unfortunately goes to a spam bucket out there. I don't have to deal with it, but there's a lot of spam out there.
[Sylvester:] Yes, it's a big nuisance. I know a lot of folks get tired of seeing that. But 18 billion spam e-mails a day this one entity was responsible for. At least we'll see a little bit of the slowing of that, Wolf, hopefully in our e-mail boxes.
[Blitzer:] That would be good. Thank you, Lisa. Modern technology is catching up with U.S. democracy. Stay there and you're going to find out which state is about to let people use Facebook to register to vote. And the House Speaker John Boehner tells me the election is a referendum on the current president. It's not a referendum on Mitt Romney. We're going to see what our Democratic and Republican strategists have to say about that.

[Berman:] We are minding your business this morning. There is a new study out from the Pew Research Center. It's very interesting. It talks about the middle class and it shows the middle class is falling behind the past 10 years. Christine Romans is here. She's been diving into this very big report.
[Baldwin:] It's big, very big.
[Berman:] What's inside?
[Romans:] It's called fewer, poorer, gloomier, the lost decade of the middle class, the end. No, that's what it is it kind of really quantifies what's happened to all of you and all of you are saying what happened to the middle class in the country. Middle class families are poorer, lower incomes than 10 years ago and that's the first time this happened since World War II. So, what we've lived there here, the Great Recession, with capital letters and has its own name, recessions usually don't. The Great Depression is the only one that did. Now, your Great Recession does, too. Middle class net worth, let's take a look at this. They put this into pretty stark relief. You can see middle class network is down over the next decade. I will keep vamping here and tell you bring up the middle class net worth. I don't see it. It's not there. OK. Well, it goes like this, OK? And then the middle class income also has fallen pretty dramatically, 69,487 is the middle class net income. That's down from a peak above 72 grand. And middle class lifestyle this is what I thought was pretty interesting 85 percent of you say it's more difficult now to maintain your lifestyle compared with 10 years ago, 85 percent saying it's harder to stay in the middle class. Now, who is to blame? This is so interesting as well. Most I mean, almost two-thirds of the middle class blames Congress. Congress and congressional policies over the past decade or so. Congress receives a lot of the blame. Banks and financial institutions, more than half of you say blame the banks. Large corporations and their policies for shareholder value, 47 percent of you. The Bush administration, 44 percent of you say it is their fault. Foreign competition, 39 percent. The Obama administration, 34 percent.
[Berman:] Interesting.
[Romans:] It's interesting. I think this is really interesting politically overall. A couple of things I found really fascinating. Two third of the middle class still say you can with hard work, you can get ahead. You're rewarded for hard work in this country. I think that's important. Also, the number one finding about education, it is the single most critical factor for staying in the middle class is a college education.
[Baldwin:] College, college, college.
[Romans:] You know, and it's hard when you tell this to Gen Y people, because there's all these other studies that show they're working crazy low pay jobs. They're not getting jobs in their field and they're really the lost generation. But over and over, you look at longer term the right investment in a college education is what is so critical, so critical to stay in the middle class.
[Baldwin:] And you were telling us quickly a woman in her early 40s is the
[Romans:] When you look at the demographics, it is like married women with a college education have the most financial security, married couples. Other studies have shown that it is now men who gain the advantage from marrying, not women, which is interesting. For years, it was women who married and got financial security and they were sort of the net beneficiary financially of marriage. Now it is men who are marrying. There is really interesting changes going on. This report, the lost decade of the middle class, it was a rough decade. Inside that report there is I think there's some road some sign posts for how we can try to stay in the middle class and strengthen the middle class.
[Berman:] A lot to know in there. Is there one more thing we need to know?
[Romans:] The one thing you need to know about your money for today, stock futures are trading higher. Minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting show it is weighing options to stimulate the economy. Those big Fed people sitting around that board are very closely watching what's happening and what has been a subpar recovery, trying to figure out if they need to do something. So, we'll continue watching that. Futures are higher.
[Baldwin:] OK. Christine, thank you.
[Romans:] You're welcome.
[Baldwin:] It sounds like a bit of a movie but it was very much reality for one family. How they got stuck in an airport. How? For five days.
[Berman:] Five days?
[Baldwin:] Five days. Their story is next. Also, if you're leaving the house right now, heading off to work, maybe taking the kids to school, you can watch us any time on your desktop or your mobile phone. Go to CNN.comTV. Twenty-four minutes past the hour.

[Alina Cho, Cnn Anchor:] The Kansas City chiefs pull off a win the day after one of their own commits suicide. We have new details about his death, the murder of his girlfriend, and what happens now to their three-month-old baby.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] Massive and widespread. Flooding hits California in a major way. We're going to have a live report straight ahead.
[Cho:] And an entire town is evacuated this morning, but why? We'll tell you in just two minutes. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to EARLY START for a Monday. I'm Alina Cho in for John Berman.
[Sambolin:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. Today is December 3rd. It is just about 6:00 a.m. here in the East. And another pacific storm soaking Northern California this weekend leaving thousands of weary homeowners without power, as well. It's the third storm to hit the region in less than a week, unleashing floodwaters and damaging homes in San Francisco, Sacramento, and several surrounding communities. People who've lived in the areas for decades say they have never seen anything like this.
[Regina Kornbrust, Flood Victim:] I mean, this thing just went up fast, real fast. We have previously where it's gotten up real high, but wasn't gotten this bad.
[Unidentified Male:] You live right here?
[Kornburst:] Right there.
[Unidentified Male:] Right here?
[Kornburst:] Yes, right there. I got my mom out. I took her down to a friend's house down the street. You never know water, at this point, what it's going to do.
[Terry Pohrman, Witness:] People are evacuating out of the park, and as you see in the front of the park you can't get out. I had to park up on the hill and walk down the side hill to get in here. So it's really, really, it's very bad in here.
[Sambolin:] Rob Marciano's been tracking the storms from the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta. Rob, somebody on Facebook was saying it feels like just 5 minutes of a reprieve and then here it comes again. Is there any end in sight for these folks?
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, they're getting a little bit more than 5 minutes today thankfully, but they are going to get another batch of rain tomorrow, but as you've seen and heard the damage for the most part already done. We're seeing some infrastructure damage. Take a look at some of the stuff coming out of Oakland in and around this are, Lafayette, that neighbor inundated with rain fall and some of the hillsides there taking out not only homes, but the under structure of roadways there. So you're talking about serious damage to the roads both primary and secondary and that's going to continue. Also, you know, you get this kind of water over top of roadways, people driving through it, rescues a problem. This area saw a number of water rescues there with the fire department on hand to get their squad out there to rescue folks and Napa Valley also seeing it, north of San Francisco, tremendous amount of rainfall there. Some of the rivers up and over the top of their flood banks, and that will continue today. Sacramento River is still under flood stage, and they're releasing some of the pressure from some of the dams across Northern California, as well, some dramatic stuff there. All right, here's our next pulse of energy that's about to come through, but also look at how much rainfall, can actually fall in the bucket, 17.5 inches in
[Cho:] All right, Rob, thank you very much. The Kansas City Chiefs managed to beat the Carolina Panthers 27-21, but it was a somber victory. They took to the field just a day after police say their teammate Jovan Belcher shot and killed his 22-year- old girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins. Belcher then turned the gun on himself just outside the Chief's practice facility, right in front of the general manager and coaches. He and Perkins leave behind a 3-month-old daughter. Our Casey Wian has been talking to the Chiefs players and coaches, all trying to come to grips with this violent murdersuicide. Casey, good morning, what's the latest on the investigation?
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Alina. The investigation continues. Police know what happened that Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins multiple times at the home that they shared on Saturday morning. And then drove here to the Chiefs' training facility and shot himself dead in front of his general manager, his coach, and other team personnel. They had tried to talk him out of doing that. Of course, what the investigation is now centered on is why this happened. Everyone we've spoken with and everyone who's spoken out publicly about Jovan Belcher said this was something that was very out of character for him. He was not a violent person. He was someone who was a good character guy, according to his agent. So police are trying to find out what drove him to commit this tragic act that has left a 3-month-old little girl without her parents Alina.
[Cho:] Yes, I think that is the big question, obviously, when you think about something so tragic, so terrible. Having said that, these same people who said it was out of character also alluded to the fact that there might have been some recent problems in the relationship between Belcher and Perkins, right?
[Wian:] That's true. There were arguments between the two and there've been published reports saying that there've been weeks of arguments between the two. We did speak to a neighbor who said he hadn't heard anything like that. But those who said that the two were arguing said it was nothing really out of the ordinary, sort of characterizing it as normal couples arguing. The Chiefs did, though, hold a moment of silence before yesterday's game. It was apparently a pre-planned moment of silence, to honor the victims of domestic violence Alina.
[Cho:] Casey Wian live for us in Kansas City, Missouri. Casey, thank you.
[Sambolin:] It is 5 minutes past the hour. Only 29 days to go until the nation risks going over that so-called fiscal cliff. Democrats and Republicans are unable, so far, to agree on how to raise revenue and cut spending to close the big budget gap. On January 1st taxes go up, deep spending cuts kick in, if the two sides cannot reach an agreement. The Sunday talk shows offered an example of how far apart they are.
[Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary:] What we're not going to do is extend those tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Remember those cost a trillion dollars over 10 years and there's no possibility that we're going to find a way to get our fiscal house in order without those tax rates going back up.
[Rep. John Boehner , House Speaker:] Nobody wants to go over the cliff. That's why the day after the election I tried to speed this process up by making the concession to put revenues on the table. And it's unfortunate that the White House has spent three weeks doing basically nothing.
[Sambolin:] I know what you heard there, but Treasury Secretary Geithner said he does believe a deal can be reached by the end of the year.
[Cho:] Member of the U.S. Coast Guard is dead after a suspicious boat rammed his small boat off the coast of Southern California. Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horn was one of two Coast Guard members thrown off on impact. He suffered a traumatic head injury. The other Coast Guardsman was treated at a local hospital. Coast Guard says the suspicious vessel was intercepted, and the two people were detained.
[Sambolin:] We could find out later this morning if the Supreme Court will wade into the controversial issue of same-sex marriage. The court releases its orders list at 9:30 Eastern Time. And there is a possibility justices will hear cases that challenge the federal defense of merge act or DOMA as it's known or California's Proposition 8, which defines marriage as strictly between a man and a woman.
[Cho:] Authorities have ordered folks in parts of Louisiana to get out of town as they work to secure more than 6 million pounds of gun powder, gun powder. Improperly stored M-6 powder was found at Camp Minden on property leased by Expo Systems. Workers are busy moving the powder into authorized facilities on the site. They have safely stored more than 1 million pounds. That is enough to fill 27 18- wheelers.
[Sambolin:] Wow. Well, nine bodies have been recovered from three crushed, burned out cars in a highway tunnel 50 miles west of Tokyo. Officials still don't know what caused a 2000-foot section of eight inch thick concrete to cave in over the weekend. Take a look at these incredible pictures. And they're not saying whether there might be more victims in the rubble.
[Cho:] Malala Yousafzai, that Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban is saying thank you to all of her new friends all over the world. In a message read by Anderson Cooper last night's "CNN Heroes" ceremony in Los Angeles. Malala said, quote, "I thank the people that supported me without distinguishing religion and color." She is now recovering at a British hospital.
[Sambolin:] Dozens of
[Cho:] All right, so if you live around New York City you know that the traffic can be terrible around here around the holidays. Lots and lots of tourists, but nothing compared to this. Listen to this. How about that traffic jam that lasted an entire weekend? We're talking about 155 miles of traffic. We will tell you about it after a quick break.

[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re counting down the top five stories today that were caught on tape. And here`s where we stand. No. 5, Nick Canon`s TMI about making love to his wife, Mariah Carey to Mariah Carey`s music. No. 4, Victoria`s Secret models showing us they can look pretty, decorate and sing, just maybe not all at the same time. No. 3, you thought the fiscal cliff debate was bad. Get a load of the political fight that was caught on tape in the Ukraine`s parliament. That brings us to No. 2 on the "SHOWBIZ Caught on Tape" Countdown. It`s the dancing anchor.
[Music:] BEYONCE`S "SINGLE LADIES"]
[Hammer:] That is cute. She`s a co-anchor at FOX affiliate KTXL. But she was just passing the time during a commercial break and, as you see, dancing along to Beyonce`s "Single Ladies." It became a viral sensation. She says she didn`t even know it was being recorded, but when she found out, she uploaded the video to YouTube, just to show her family. The best part, Tia had all that energy, and it was 4:15 in the morning. I give her a lot of credit. And I`m not the only one. Apparently, Tia has gained a lot of fans, thanks to her dance. She`s even received a few offers from fans who are ready to put a ring on it. From one priceless moment to a priceless moment for one rocker Jon Bon Jovi. The New Jersey was just nominated for a song, "Not Running Anymore," featuring in the new movie "Stand Up Guys" with Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin. Well, I just caught up with Jon, fresh off his nomination earlier today. And fresh off his very long night of rocking for the Sandy benefit concert here in New York City is our No. 1 "Caught on Tape." Dare I? I mean, really. Really.
[Jon Bon Jovi, Rock Star:] Well, that is true. I wasn`t rocking out. I was not at the rock show.
[Hammer:] I want to talk to you about this in just a second. First, huge news tonight about your nomination. So the thing is, some 20 years ago you composed a song for a film. You win a Golden Globe for "Blaze of Glory." And then you take 20 years off from writing another song for a film, and if it gets nominated, why wait so long to write another one?
[Bon Jovi:] Well, I have a bad memory. I enjoyed the morning immensely and I loved the film and I loved the opportunity to write the song. "Stand-up Guys" is that kind of script. That compelling to me, and I`m humbled by it.
[Hammer:] Well, yes. And also, because it`s for a film, because now, this potentially sets you up for some love from Oscar, as well, which is always good. "Blaze of Glory" was nominated for an Oscar, and yesterday you found out that the song for "Stand-up Guys" is now at least now a contender to have an Oscar nomination.
[Bon Jovi:] Well, it feels like I said, it`s wonderful, because I had done it once before many, many years before. And also, you also know how hard it is to write for film and then to be celebrated for it is even crazier. So this is a really humbling morning. Really, it is great. I`d like to have more of them.
[Hammer:] Maybe you don`t wait so long is what I am thinking. All right? What are you doing?
[Bon Jovi:] OK, OK, OK. I have to sleep some time.
[Hammer:] And last night.
[Bon Jovi:] Yes.
[Hammer:] The concert for 12-12-12 and Sandy relief. Listen, you`ve done so many benefit concerts throughout your incredible career. This one, obviously, hits very close to home as a New Jersey cloud, because it is so close to home being a New Jersey guy, but give me a sense of what were you thinking personally, looking around and being a part of this. Different from any other concert you have participated in, I imagine?
[Bon Jovi:] Yes. You know, when many of the same artists came together for what was the 911 concert, and my recollection of that night was that that was the emergency services all coming together, fire, police and all of the service providers. So that was a more somber night, even though we were rocking. Last night felt more like a barn raising. You know, this was a kind of a night where we said, OK, we all came through11. Not that, you know, there`s not a great reason to be incredibly sad at the loss of life or houses, but this felt a little bit more like we`re going to fix this. We`re all going to be better for it. We`re going to meet our neighbors. We`re going to create communities again. We`re going to believe in each other until our differences become one. And you witnessed it politically. You witnessed it socially. And then you witnessed it, especially in the celebration last night.
[Hammer:] Give me a sense of what it was like last night backstage?
[Bon Jovi:] The mutual admiration society. A lot of people like being teenagers. You know, taking pictures and eating cold pizza and stealing bottles of wine. And...
[Hammer:] Who`d you run up and take a picture with? Did you approach somebody and say, "All right, man. We haven`t seen each other in x-amount of years."
[Bon Jovi:] Or ever. You know, Pete Townsend is one, right at the top of my head. You know, I told him it was an honor to meet him, like I was a little kid: "It`s an honor to meet you, sir." So, there was a lot of that. But fortunately, and I`m blessed to say that I`ve known a lot of those guys for a long time. So any time you see Beatle Paul, you`re in awe, and Roger Waters was sharing a dressing room with me, and of course, between Jon Stewart and Bruce and the Jersey connection, everybody knows everybody there. Billy is a neighbor out on Long Island. So we see him often, too. It was that kind of a great get-together.
[Hammer:] Cool. Jon is so humble. Well, coming up, we have our top five most provocative celebrities of the year. Taylor Swift`s headline-making dating life, combined with her songs about love and heartache. May be one provocative star, but can Taylor top two of the most provocative stars in the history of Hollywood? Madonna and Lady Gaga`s feud fueled one of the biggest star wars of the year. But will the dueling divas top the SHOWBIZ Countdown, top five most provocative celebrities of the year. This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, on HLN.

[O'brien:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT. Oscar-winning producer and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is a man behind several movies that scored big at the box office and at awards shows, "The King's Speech," "The Artist," best picture Oscars the last two years in a row. Now he is hoping for another big hit with the movie "The Intouchables." It's about an unlikely friendship between a quadriplegic millionaire and his street smart ex-con caretaker. And by the way, that's a comedy. Oh, and by the way, it's in French. Listen. This movie looks so good. And that man is so handsome. The movie has already broken records in its native France. Harvey Weinstein is joining us, cofounder of the Weinstein company. Nice to have you.
[Harvey Weinstein, Co-founder, Weinstein Company:] Nice to see you.
[O'brien:] Do you think this is going to be a blockbuster? Any expectation of that?
[Weinstein:] Right now in only 90 theaters, we've broken the record for this year's biggest foreign language film, which is the Academy Award Winner "The Separation". We're going after "Dragon Tattoo" next and we're going one after another. I'm actually going to go to France and ask all the people in France who saw the movie to call somebody in America so we can start breaking these records. Because I think in this time, you know, to see a movie that's a true story, that's transformational, that's so much fun, and you watch the relationship between these two unlikely people. You know, these are the people you would never, ever imagine to have a friendship. And they transform each other. They jump out of airplanes. They race cars. They chase girls. I mean if I ever needed a caretaker, this is the prescription for health.
[O'brien:] He's gone on to become a famous actor. You can't have him anymore.
[Weinstein:] Well, he is very famous.
[O'brien:] It seems like it's the summer though sometimes of the big blockbuster. I mean if you name all of the movies that are making big, big bucks, it's you know, you know the bold-faced name movies.
[Weinstein:] But you know what this movie around the world, I mean we released in our French company and our French company released it, it is doing blockbuster business. So everywhere it goes, it starts slow. And then people discover it and because it's not a blockbuster, but it's a blockbuster in spirit. People have seen it, I mean anybody who's seen this movie will tell you, it's so much fun, and it's transformational.
[Hoover:] And it's a happy movie, right?
[Weinstein:] Really happy movie. And you feel good.
[Hoover:] So you go to the movies there's so much bad stuff going on in the world. And you really want to wrap for two hours and you come away and it makes you feel good.
[Weinstein:] And what's amazing these two actors in the movie you know the actors jump out of an airplane. And, you know, they saved it for the last day because the two guys in real life, I mean, this guy was, you know, crippled and the other guy had never jumped out of an airplane. And they went over the Swiss Alps and threw themselves out of an airplane. So on the last day of shooting the actors looked [inaudible] were going to do it and we're just there for the close ups and these two directors threw them out of the airplane. So the look of terror on their face is I can tell you is dead real.
[Lizza:] How did it start, how did you get the script and how did you decide to do this? It seems like if someone you the reputation of the movie like this would be oh Hollywood would never be interested in something like this. So how did you get it off the ground?
[Weinstein:] Well my movie.
[Cain:] Because he's Harvey Weinstein. I mean that's the answer.
[Weinstein:] Well, I mean, I think people know that I have done movies like cinema parodies so where "Life is Beautiful" or "Amelie" you know what I mean. And we've had great success, you know, with foreign language movies and different kind of movies. And as I said last year we won the Oscar for "The Artist" and that had no, you know what I mean, you know no dialogue, no sound. So this is a step up.
[O'brien:] I was going to say what makes your successful because if you look at other people's assessment of you, I think Meryl Streep called you God.
[Weinstein:] She was kidding.
[O'brien:] And the Alec Baldwin Alec Baldwin Alec Baldwin called you something unprintable that I cannot say on
[Tv. Weinstein:] Yes, yes.
[O'brien:] What do you think is the secret to like reading a script and saying, this has no dialogue at all, and yet I think it's going to be a winner?
[Weinstein:] Well, I think you know you could actually tell with "The Artist" script that it was amazing and touching. And I think the same thing is true of this. You know this was a French company who is making the movie, one of our guys intercepted it. You read this story and you realize that it's true, and you say, this is unbelievable and so true and so funny. And these two directors direct comedies in France that are wildly successful. This is, you know, a terrific movie. And I wouldn't go out and promote it myself. As for Alec Baldwin, let's give you the other side. Meryl called me God. And I've said this before the minute she called me God, I had to do an interview on another network at 4:00 in the morning. And Madonna called me the Punisher. She called me God. And the French guys, when they won for "The Artist," call me "Le Boss". So here is the French guys on "The Artist" they don't show up at 4:00 in the morning. They are supposed to be there. They are partying, dancing on tables, drinking champagne and I call them and they go, come on, guys. We promised this early morning show we would all stay up after we won the award and we would be there. They go, we're French. We don't care. So, you know, so what? Let them gone so it's me and the dog. Me and Uggy. So here is God, the Punisher, and the boss. I'm sitting with Uggy and Uggy decides to have a bowel movement during my interview. So and I realize quickly that my you know my 24 hours of fame is up. I mean, as I'm doing this interview. As for Alec Baldwin, I was busy. I couldn't do an interview in Cannes. He wanted me to do an interview for the movie that he is making, and I think he got angry with me.
[O'brien:] He surely he did.
[Weinstein:] Just just to handle it you know I mean, but but you know, one thing that I did. I refused to talk to him or do anything until he apologized. So he came over and gave me a written apology at a fundraiser, at a charity event that he was doing. He is a good guy. He loses his temper all the time. But he's a good guy. Trust me, I know what losing my temper is like.
[O'brien:] Really? Really? Yes, we've heard about that a little. Famous last words.
[Weinstein:] I'm good at that too.
[O'brien:] Let's talk about fundraisers. Because you've got one coming up.
[Weinstein:] Yes.
[O'brien:] And it's not cheap. We we are able to cobbled together $8 to go but I guess that's $35,000 short.
[Weinstein:] You're in.
[O'brien:] So it's $35,000 plus a plate for this.
[Weinstein:] Yes.
[O'brien:] How much money are you expecting to raise you're fundraising for Obama?
[Weinstein:] $2 million. Yes and I think it will be $2 million and it's just in the early stages. And it's funny. You watch some of the people, you know, for the Republicans, for Mitt Romney, write checks for, you know, one of these the Koch Brothers I think they're going to raise $400 million on PACs. I mean, we are so come from behind compared to these incredibly wealthy people who are doing it. But if you're really
[O'brien:] Says the incredibly wealthy
[Weinstein:] No, no. No. No, no, no there is no Democrat in the Koch league of wealth. You know what I mean? But I think the
[Cain:] I think you just offended George Soros.
[Weinstein:] You know what? You're right. I'll probably worry about this
[O'brien:] And talking about the Koch Brothers, not Coca-Cola.
[Weinstein:] But I think the situation is you know it's an investment. I think for the people who can afford it, it's an investment in America. We don't want to go back to the economy that the President inherited, you know, in '08. The President came into office he inherited that economy. He did not make that economy. And I think if the other guys get into office, they are going to do the same old terrible politics, they're going to deregulate the banks. The banks will be you know, it's not that the banks institutionally are greedy. It's that there is always one bad guy or two bad apples. And if there aren't any rules, these guys will take advantage and put the country in worse shape than it is.
[O'brien:] We are out of time. But the movie is called "The Intouchables". It looks really terrific. Thank you for coming and to talk to us about it. We appreciate it.
[Weinstein:] My pleasure Soledad. Thank you.
[O'brien:] We've got to take a short break. We're back in just a moment.
[Weinstein:] Thank you guys.
[O'brien:] You bet. Nice to have you. Thank you.

[Erin Burnett:] Thanks, John. We're on the "Front Line" with Bernie Madoff's wife. Ruth Madoff says she and her husband were so distraught by the exposing of the Ponzi scheme they attempted suicide. And then Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on his intimate "bunga bunga" parties, we can't resist giving you all the details and we have some truly lurid information. And the "Bottom Line" on today's super committee hearing, if they don't cut 1.2 trillion, we could all get hit with a big interest rate hike. Let's go OUTFRONT. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight countdown to another downgrade of America? The super committee held a rare public hearing today. They're the group of 12 charged with cutting the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion. If they don't do it, we could end up on a rate to higher interest rates and a lower standard of living. Here are the dates we need to watch. November 1st, that's when the CBO says the super committee must submit their plan for review. That is five days from now. November 23rd, that is the deadline for the final submission. And then December 23rd, the final deadline when Congress must up or down vote that plan. The committee must come to an agreement, and Congress has to pass it or automatic across the board cuts will be made, half of them coming from our defense budget. The problem is those cuts don't come until 2013. They are too small to prevent more downgrades. Yes, thanks to Congress, America's economic standing in the world is on the verge of another downgrade. Economist Ethan Harris at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch says he expects at least one more credit downgrade this fall quote, "when the super committee crashes." Note he writes when, not if. OUTFRONT spoke with a lot of major investors today, and they all were in the when, not if, camp. None expected the super committee to save America from more downgrades. Today, Republicans on the committee shot down a Democratic plan to cut up to three trillion. But note the word cut is a little bit misleading as you can cut the deficit by either cutting spending or raising taxes. So who are the people charged with coming up with a plan? The team of 12 politicians, six from each side of the aisle, and one of them is OUTFRONT tonight. Representative Dave Camp, Republican from Michigan, and Representative Camp, really appreciate your joining us. And I'm going to talk about your tax plan out today in just a moment. But first, given this whole debate this afternoon, the Dems apparently offering a proposal, obviously some details of that have leaked out of cuts up to three trillion; they say half spending cuts, half tax increases. Republicans shot it down. What happened?
[Rep. Dave Camp , Michigan:] Well Erin, I'm not going to go into all the details that happened within the super committee but let me just say we've had lots of back and forth, lots of discussions. We all think I think take our responsibility very seriously to try to come to a solution of at least 1.2 trillion, which is our statutory obligation if you laid out as you laid out, before the deadline. And we're continuing to work as hard as we can. But I think these discussions are best left to the meetings, and not to try to characterize them in the press.
[Burnett:] Well I would agree with that because I think every time there are characterizations the other side gets angry, so I appreciate that on this show. I think others in the media do as well. But let me just ask you this. Is it fair to say that you are acknowledged that to get a deal done, there will have to be some sort of revenue increase? Is that fair to say?
[Camp:] I think it's important that we not try to box people in or out; that we continue to have discussions. Obviously that's something that many people on the committee think is important to do. Obviously I'm going to look at everything the committee does through the prism of, what is the best thing to grow our private sector economy, to create jobs in the U.S., and whatever policy it is I think that's the analysis we need to take. And ultimately, I think you're right, we need to get a package or I think there will be an overarching issue of can America deal with the problems that are facing it? Can we address our long-term debt deficit problems? And I hope we can do that.
[Burnett:] Because I heard someone recently say something that was pretty disturbing because it doesn't jive with what I hear from people in the markets, the people who control the interest rates we all pay on our mortgages, credit cards and our whole country pays. Someone had said well look, you know if the super committee doesn't do its job these cuts will happen in a couple of years. They can kick the can down the road. You know Bill Gross from PIMCO, the biggest investor in U.S. treasury debt in the world said to me today the U.S. is kicking the deficit can down the road
[Camp:] Oh I think we all feel how important this issue is. And frankly the country spent more than it's had for 50 years. This is just not a new thing. But we're at a crisis point and I think the preview is what we're seeing in Greece and Europe and we don't want to go in that direction, because if we don't manage this issue now, as you point out, in many ways it could be an issue that manages us. And the decisions then that would be made under a crisis situation would not be appropriate. And now we can address some of these issues in an orderly way, in a way that isn't going to cause tremendous dislocation or discomfort. And we need to do it now. So I think we all feel very strongly about that.
[Burnett:] You also came out with a tax plan. I want to ask you about it. You're saying that you would cut corporate tax rates 25 percent and eliminate loopholes. I believe that that is something President Obama has also agreed with as long as that was revenue neutral. Are you on the same page with him on this?
[Camp:] We are saying revenue neutral and he has said positive things about corporate tax reform. This is the first step in putting a concrete proposal out there. This changes our rates are the highest in the world. We're the only country basically left with this worldwide system of taxation. We need to do like other countries and go to a territorial system so our worldwide companies doing business around the globe that are American companies aren't double-taxed when they try to bring investment back to the U.S. We want that investment to come back. We want it to come back to the U.S. to create jobs here, not to be stranded overseas where it's invested there and the jobs are created overseas. So this is the first step to doing that and I think is a big step to getting the entire aspect of corporate and ultimately comprehensive tax reform done in the Congress.
[Burnett:] All right, well Representative Camp, thank you very much.
[Camp:] Thanks, Erin.
[Burnett:] Interesting idea that a support on both sides of the aisle in part because frankly it gets rid of what a lot of people in America are frustrated about. If there's no loopholes, lobbying to get more loopholes or to take advantage of them wouldn't benefit you. So getting rid of loopholes for a lower rate could make a lot of sense. Gloria Borger is CNN's chief political analyst. John Avlon is a contributor. Good to have both of you with us. So John, do you think that those 12 members get it?
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] I hope so because we really can't kick the can down the road. We need them to succeed. The question is whether they've been set up to fail, because the leadership put forward some of their most partisan members. Now but it was interesting, Congressman Camp, when you asked, would you be open to some revenue increases? Whether that can be achieved through lowering rates and closing loopholes, he didn't say no. It's obvious what needs to be done. Everybody knows it, tax reform, entitlement reform and like Bowles-Simpson said, you can lower rates, close loopholes and erase revenue to pay down the debt. The question is whether they'll have the political will to do that.
[Burnett:] And Gloria Borger, what do you think? I mean I have to say it was interesting today that the Democrats came out with a plan, sort of leaked it out, Republicans shot it down. That's exactly the kind of politics we don't want because then they become more entrenched. Exactly.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Here we go again. You know it's also interesting to me that congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle have started meeting privately with their proxies, if you will, on the super committee. Because people who serve on the super committee know that they can't make a move without their leaders. So they're now starting to caucus, if you will, privately so they can figure out what is in the realm of the doable. To me, you've got some people on that committee who are key. One person I point to is Rob Portman of Ohio, somebody who's a conservative, who has national political ambition. He's been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate with anybody who runs and is somebody the Democrats feel that they can talk to. So I think when Senator McConnell appointed him, it was a very important signal that they do want to get something serious done. But again, the tax question is the big question out there. Will they do anything on taxes?
[Burnett:] Right. That is a big question. And of course, it's also the rhetoric that you use around it If you're going to raise revenue, having it not be in class warfare terms would be positive.
[Avlon:] That would be positive
[Unidentified Female:] Yes.
[Avlon:] but it's a question of what's the goal? Is the goal deficit and debt reduction or is tax cut theology going to take the first level? And
[Borger:] You know there really is no center. There is no center anymore. That's you know that's the problem. There is no center
[Avlon:] Not on this committee.
[Burnett:] On this show we're trying to define it. You get sniped from both sides All right, John and Gloria are going to be back with us after this break. We're going to be talking about the latest from baby Lisa the baby Lisa case and what police think they could find from the interviews going on today, plus surprising information in the latest polls. That's what John and Gloria are going to talk about. Some real shock in terms of who's leading in some crucial early states and from the super committee's 12 members to the 12 Caesars. Silvio Berlusconi is in the news again. We can't resist telling you all the lurid details.

[Jane Lynch, Actress:] When I was a little girl, I developed early. By the time I was 14 I had this body you're looking at. Can you imagine that?
[Steve Carell, Comedian:] I don't want to, no.
[Lynch:] Well, needless to say, lot of male attention.
[Carell:] Like that. Yes.
[Lynch:] Especially from our Guatemalan gardener, Javier.
[Morgan:] Jane Lynch stealing the show in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and as all America knows she's also the hilarious Sue Sylvester in "Glee." But if that's all you know about her then you need to watch this interview, because I'm going to get the real secrets out of Jane Lynch because she's got a book out, it's a paperback version of the other great
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] Because we invited you against all my better judgment to come and replace me in a week off I had earlier and you were waringly good. So I needed to send you straight back.
[Lynch:] Well, I'm in my place.
[Morgan:] Where you belong to the guest chair.
[Lynch:] I'm in the yes. Indeed. And thank you very having me. I so appreciate it.
[Morgan:] My staff said you behaved like an impossible diva.
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] Nightmare from start to finish.
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] Ring familiar?
[Lynch:] It's my style, yes. It is. And thank you for matching your tie to my book.
[Morgan:] Well, I thought so. I thought it was going to be a purple gleeful fest.
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] And I thought they're actually our set is kind of gleeful.
[Lynch:] Yes, it is. A lot of the primary colors. I love your set. I think it's the best talk show set on television.
[Morgan:] I like that. Is that a compliment?
[Lynch:] It is a compliment, yes.
[Morgan:] Doesn't mean I'm any good, it just means the set is wonderful.
[Lynch:] No, I think you're very good.
[Morgan:] Tell me about the big story at the moment that's very relevant to your life, I think. The whole issue about gay marriage.
[Lynch:] Right.
[Morgan:] President Obama last week finally coming out to endorse same- sex marriage. Almost as significantly I felt today Jay-Z has come out and done the same thing. To an audience that perhaps wouldn't be overly receptive to that, his fan base. What do you think of what's going on with this whole issue right now?
[Lynch:] Well, this is the first time I've taken it personally. I have I kind of view it as the issue. And when my president stood up and said that he believes that I and my family should have the same rights, it blew me away.
[Morgan:] Where were you when you knew he'd done it?
[Lynch:] I was in the car and Laura, my wife, texted me. She said he did it. He supported gay marriage. And I said, wow. It was pretty immediate then it was it was a visceral thing. And
[Morgan:] Emotional?
[Lynch:] Yes, it was very emotional. It was an emotional moment. Like I said before I hadn't taken it so personally but this was you know, nothing's going to happen because he said this, really. I mean most politics are calculus anyway. But just the fact that he said it and there was a risk in his saying it and I don't know. It's just it's just nice to hear that the guy who's sitting in the big chair in the big White House believes supports me and my family.
[Morgan:] There are various critics of this. There are the let's be honest, the homophobes out there who just don't want under any circumstances they're bigoted in the way they talk about it. Then there are the critics that I have sympathy with. You know I was born a Catholic like you. I understand people who have strong religious beliefs and have been taught a certain way about their religious beliefs, that they feel uneasy. And the president himself said he'd been on a bit of a journey about this. What do you say? As somebody who came from a Catholic family we'll get to your own experience. But what do you say to the people who aren't bigots but who have simply been brought up to believe in a religious matter this is fundamentally not what the bible says is right?
[Lynch:] Well, I don't I personally don't look to the bible as an authority document. It's a flawed document and it's also an inspired beautiful document. I think that if your dogma, and I call it dogma if it's getting in the way of the golden rule, which is to others as you would like to be treated. And I think that when you get to know more gay people and you're sitting in the presence of them and you realize there's really if there's anything wrong with me, it has nothing to do with my orientation. I have a lot of flaws but being gay isn't one of them. It isn't a flaw. It's just
[Morgan:] How much of bigotry how much of bigotry is basically ignorance, do you think?
[Lynch:] Well, there's a lot of smart people who are bigoted. But you can be really smart and ignorant in some areas and you know, I think that when you hang on to, like, a religious belief or a dogma, and you start dividing people and separating people because of that dogma, I think it's just a waste of time. And it doesn't help anybody.
[Morgan:] A lot of people said, why does it matter so much to you to have the same rights with marriage as a straight couple? What would you say to people who say that?
[Lynch:] Well, why shouldn't I, is I would ask the question back to them and say, why should I be different? I used to not care about marriage until I fell in love and wanted to get married. I used to say, oh, that's for straight people. And also, I had I had my own internal internalized homophobia, which said that, you know, like that's for that's for the straight people, it's not for the likes of me. And I have a really strong wife who says, no, it's for us, too. And we have a child. And if we're going to enter into this with a child, I want a piece of paper. And I that made sense to me.
[Morgan:] In the book, you've talked very movingly about your life. I was fascinated by it, because one of the arguments I've had repeatedly about this issue we've discussed it a lot on the show and I have strong feelings about it, very in line with what you've been saying, was I accept there are various levels of tolerance I have for the critics and for the reasons I might discuss with you.
[Lynch:] Right.
[Morgan:] I think that what was fascinating to me was you were about 12 years old when you began to realize that you were different and that you were probably gay. Tell me about that emotional experience for a young woman at that age, a young girl, really.
[Lynch:] The first time I heard the word gay and what it meant, were two of my friends, they were twins, and they were talking about how they go to South Florida and sometimes guys walk on the beach holding hands and they're gay. She said they're gay together. And I immediately my stomach dropped. And I thought to myself, I have that. I have the girl version of that. And I felt like I was, you know, given the diagnosis of a disease. And then I go on to find that, indeed, in psychiatric manuals, it at that time, it was considered a mental and emotional affliction. And, you know, that made me feel different, broken. I didn't know anybody
[Morgan:] Like you were sick?
[Lynch:] Yes, like I was sick. And I couldn't tell anybody, either, because there was so much shame around it. I didn't know anybody else who was gay this is all through high school, too, and I'm sure at my high school there's a lot of people who were gay but, you know, nobody talked about it. And no one would admit to it. So I you know, I felt completely alone in it. So I really understand kids who don't live in Los Angeles or Chicago or New York, who feel so alone and in their own shame and can't say anything about it. I really feel for them.
[Morgan:] And the moment that it all came to you with your parents
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] you were in your early 20s?
[Lynch:] Thirties.
[Morgan:] Your 30s?
[Lynch:] I was in my 32 when I sent my parents a letter.
[Morgan:] So you've waited a long time?
[Lynch:] I waited a long time, yes.
[Morgan:] Did they know?
[Lynch:] No. Well, here's the deal. My mom said that when I sent the letter, my mom read it out loud to my dad. And my dad and said Janie's gay. And he said, is that bad? And she said, well, of course not. And then my parents were very, very close and they loved each other very much. And they never talked about this, but they both said, later on, you know, after the smoke cleared, that they both suspected, but they never talked about it. They were afraid for me. They were afraid for the choices I would have, the life I would have to live and, you know, one of the things I say in the book is that be living a normal life was like up there with, you know, food and shelter for my mother. I mean you want to live a normal a normal life like when I found out I was deaf in one ear and I heard a whispering to the doctor, will she lead a normal life? And so I always had that in my mind. And I think they're worried about it.
[Morgan:] Because like it's the one thing that parents of that generation would instinctively worry about is well, my daughter can never get married or have children.
[Lynch:] Or have children, right.
[Morgan:] You now have both?
[Lynch:] I have both, yes.
[Morgan:] So that is another great reason, I believe, this debate is so important.
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] It removes that fear.
[Lynch:] Right.
[Morgan:] From parents' lives.
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] They don't have to concern themselves about their child forever being deprived.
[Lynch:] Right.
[Morgan:] Of what they see as a natural state of affairs.
[Lynch:] Exactly. But the only who wants their kid to grow up in a world where they are not accepted for who they are? And that's a horrible thing to be worried about for your kids. And I think that that was the biggest thing for my parents, you know, was was when they finally realized that they were afraid for me. But at this point, I was 32 years old and I was living a wonderful life. And I had a nice little career going. So they so worried about it. But had it come out when I was 18, a different story.
[Morgan:] Let's take a short break. I want to come back and talk directly obviously
[Lynch:] I hope so.
[Morgan:] about the best TV show which is only one of my all-time favorite movies.
[Lynch:] Good.
[Morgan:] I loved that, though.
[Lynch:] Oh good.
[Morgan:] It just just brilliantly done.
[Lynch:] Yes, dark. Good. All you saw are the darks.
[Morgan:] My god.
[Lynch:] You got the underjohns.
[Morgan:] Love the dark side.
[Lynch:] Becky, commercials aren't; real life. Advertisers are manipulative alcoholic who use images to play in on our emotions. Haven't you seen "Man Med"?
[Lauren Potter, "becky Jackson", Glee:] No.
[Lynch:] Neither have I. Becky, let's be realistic. You just didn't have the books. For starters your poster send a bit of a mixed message.
[Potter:] But my paintbrush
[Lynch:] And second, and I mean this as a compliment. You're a bitch, Becky.
[Morgan:] Jane Lynch in her Emmy and Golden Globe-winning role on "Glee." You've got the best lines on television.
[Lynch:] Thank you. I am so lucky.
[Morgan:] I mean seriously, you lucked out with this role.
[Lynch:] Ian Brennan, thank you so much. Ryan Murphy, thank you so much.
[Morgan:] Just brilliant lines. That was a classic.
[Lynch:] Yes. Good stuff.
[Morgan:] So you laugh at the role?
[Lynch:] I do. I adore it. I love getting the script every week. Sometimes I'm not in the script and I'm, bereft. I love it. I adore it. And Ian Brennan is just the best writer in the world.
[Morgan:] Now, many Americans look at you and they think of "Glee." I look at you and I think "Best in Show." Which is one of my top four movies ever. I've told you in the break about my others. But I often watch "Best in Show" just to make myself laugh. It brings a because it's a sort of dark comedy
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] It's weird. It's hilarious. But it's just a great movie, isn't it?
[Lynch:] Yes. Oh, I think it is. It's really it's a well made comedy. And it's spontaneous. You know, we don't have any script. I think he Christopher Guest just hit on it with the with his formula. I think it all just really came together in that movie.
[Morgan:] How do you think, looking back, how lucky were you that fame came to you quite late?
[Lynch:] Late, yes. I mean
[Morgan:] Because I was the problem with fame is that when it hits you at 21. And you certainly have all the money you made.
[Lynch:] Right.
[Morgan:] All the drugs available, all the booze, all the rest of it, and you're only 21.
[Lynch:] Right.
[Morgan:] Very different if you
[Lynch:] When you have all the drugs you want when you're 51? Yes.
[Morgan:] Well, I know you went through a few but not
[Lynch:] No, no.
[Morgan:] And I think there is a difference.
[Lynch:] Yes. There sure is.
[Morgan:] Well, what do you think?
[Lynch:] If I had gotten famous at 21 or 31, even I guess I was starting to get famous at 41 I would have been blown by this winds of public opinion. If Twitter and Facebook and the Internet were around, I would probably be scouring it for people's opinions about me. And I would be lifted when they love me and I would be absolutely destroyed if they didn't love me. And you know, that doesn't happen for me now.
[Morgan:] Do you not read any of that stuff?
[Lynch:] Every once in awhile every once in a while I'll look at it. But I'm not affected by it. But, yeah, I kind of know who I am at the end of the day. I think when I was younger, I did not.
[Morgan:] You have been sober how long now?
[Lynch:] Twenty years.
[Morgan:] Do you ever miss it?
[Lynch:] Not at all.
[Morgan:] partying, drinking?
[Lynch:] No. I didn't like partying when I was partying. I'm not a party person, but I was a drinking person. I liked that one on one in a tavern. I'm from the south side of Chicago and I loved going to the neighborhood tavern and getting loaded.
[Morgan:] You addicted, you said. It was more you just felt you were drinking too much.
[Lynch:] I was addicted. No, I was addicted. I'm still addicted. I'm drinking coffee right now. I drink coffee all day long. I'm an addictive person. I know that about myself. And that's why I can't have a glass of wine. And that's why I can't pick up a cigarette. And every once in awhile I do, and I'm always sorry, because it kind of wakes up the monster.
[Morgan:] Is it incredibly hard? Is it a constant battle?
[Lynch:] No, not at all. I've been sober now longer than I drank. It's a habit. It's a habit. Just like drinking was a habit, being sober is a habit. I love being sober. I had debilitating hangovers. And I remember that. We had a part at our house on Saturday and we had a bartender. And he made these kick butt drinks and everybody got loaded. And everybody had horrible hangovers the next day. And I was like I remember that. I completely remember being poisoned from booze. And I don't need that anymore. But it's not hard, no, not at all.
[Morgan:] What do you think of fame?
[Lynch:] What do I think of fame? That's a very good question and it's a big question. But I'll try to answer it very simply. I think that people project things on to other people. Sometimes it makes them feel good to do that. And sometimes it makes them feel bad, and so they want to knock you down. So I take fame with a grain of salt. I love it when people come up to me because they love the show. They love "Glee." I love it when it makes a 14-year-old girl feel really good about herself or a gay kid in Idaho feel really good about himself.
[Morgan:] Does all this make up for the loss of anonymity?
[Lynch:] You know, I'm still pretty anonymous. I mean, I when I walk into a restaurant, people will know who I am. But I don't have that stalking thing that a lot of celebrities have. I live pretty nicely. I still go out and do my errands. I'm not that famous.
[Morgan:] You're keen on your politics. There's an election coming.
[Lynch:] Yes.
[Morgan:] What is your view of the way the battle has been fought so far?
[Lynch:] It's just such a shame we have this super PAC thing, I could almost cry. It was an awful, awful decision by the Supreme Court.
[Morgan:] Were you disappointed in President Obama, having said he was totally against it then
[Lynch:] He has to play the game.
[Morgan:] Does he have to?
[Lynch:] Yes. He does. He does.
[Morgan:] I'm not convinced.
[Lynch:] You're not convinced. Tell me why.
[Morgan:] I just wonder if President Obama stood back and said, I'm not playing this game you can spend hundreds of millions billions if you want, chucking nonsense at me on television. I'm telling the American people, I will not play that game. I think he would get a lot of respect for that.
[Lynch:] I think he's maybe the one politician in history who may have the power to do that. I guess I just don't have as much faith in the electorate to not buy into the terrible ads that would be run.
[Morgan:] Scale of one to 100, how has he done, do you think, if you were being his teacher? I my goodness. I don't know to grade him. I've not sat in the Oval Office. I do not know what he has to deal with on a daily basis. I will say this. I think he's wicked smart. I think he's sane. And I think he definitely wants what's best for the country. I think he probably makes mistakes. So and I know he's done some great things. I have great faith in him. But I think our system is deeply flawed and deeply broken. You know, he's kind of presiding over a sad state of affairs, I guess. Terribly depressing way to end an interview with somebody from "Glee." But you know what, I think it works. It's been lovely to meet you. And come back here and sit in this chair again soon.
[Lynch:] I would love to.
[Morgan:] Everybody my staff absolutely loved you. I preferred was the word some of them used. So it was delightful to have you. And thank you for doing that. Lovely to meet you.
[Lynch:] Lovely to meet you.
[Morgan:] Jane Lynch. Coming up, my prime time exclusive with the man with the golden voice, Ted Williams. His darkest days as a homeless crack addict and how he got a second voice. It's an extraordinary interview.

[Richard Quest:] Good evening, a little later than usual, but a warm welcome nonetheless. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, and tonight, our program is all about the letter B. The three Bs. First of all, the bailout in Cyprus. Secondly, Ben Bernanke of the Fed. And the third B, the budget in Britain. It's been a day of seismic importance for the global economy, and tonight we're going to explain exactly what's happened and where it leaves us all. Join me at the super screen for a moment and I'll show you just how all these areas come together. Let's begin. An hour ago in Washington, we start with the Fed. The Fed has trimmed its growth forecast just a tad at the upper end. But it does also say that employment will unemployment will fall faster than expected. So, the Federal Reserve with its continuing bond purchases very much on the case. And then in London at the budget of the chancellor, George Osbourne, announced that targets were being missed. The growth target for this year had been cut in half, the deficit will be larger than expected, and the chancellor, the finance minister, saying it's all taking longer than anyone had hoped for. He specifically said the UK was being hit by the euro crisis. And then of course, finally, Cyprus. The finance minister is in Moscow, the cabinet's debating a new bailout plan, and everybody's wondering what on Earth is plan B. The banks will stay closed, incidentally, until next Tuesday. Now, Ben Bernanke says Cyprus isn't going to have a major impact on the US economy, but the one thing we can say at the moment is the way the tentacles of this crisis all moves around and then transmits itself over to Russia and into Asia, and then all throughout the globe. Before long, you start to understand why the the US the global economy is in such a fragile mood at the moment. This is the way the markets are trading at the moment. Stocks are gaining ground in the US. That's on the back of the Federal Reserve and not so much on the instability in Europe abating. It is the Fed that's caused that up, it's up just about half a percentage point. There was a new intra-day record set. As for the European markets, London off just a tad. That's on the back of the dreadful growth numbers for the UK, the higher deficit that we saw. And you can tell that, of course, because Paris, Zurich, and Frankfurt both were higher after the speech. So, it was a bleak budget for Britain's underweight economy. The UK finance minister, George Osbourne, cut a penny off a pint of beer. Oh, and then sliced UK's growth forecast in half. He cut the business tax rate to try and coax austerity or growth out of austerity in a weary nation. In his budget speech, the chancellor said the economy will grow 0.6 percent this year. Three months ago, he was expecting double that number. And his trimming debt is behind schedule. Debt as a proportion of GDP won't stop falling until 2017 to 18, two years later than planned. Corporation tax will fall to 20 percent, down from 28 percent when the coalition took power. George Osbourne said that even tough times are challenging, the UK's faring better than its eurozone neighbors.
[George Osbourne, Uk Finance Minister:] While less than we would like, our growth this year and next year is forecast by the IMF to be higher than France and Germany. It is a reminder that all Western nations live in very challenging economic times. And the ABR then expect the recovery to pick up to 1.8 percent in 2014, 2.3 percent in 2015, 2.7 percent in 2016, and 2.8 percent in 2017. Crucially, jobs are being created.
[Quest:] Now, put all this to the test. John Prescott is the former UK deputy prime minister. Andrew Sentance is a former UK monetary policy committee member. They are with me here in the studio. And from central London, Lord Lamont, former chancellor of the exchequer, former finance minister, joins me. I'm going to start with you, Norman Lamont. The budget there seems to be a consensus we'll come to you in a second on this point but there seems to be a consensus that the budget, fiscally neutral, could have been a lot worse. As somebody's who's put these budgets together, what did you make of it?
[Norman Lamont, Former Uk Finance Minister:] Well, I think he was in a very awkward position, his back was against the wall. He had very little room for maneuver. He had to announce these downgrades in forecasts, which quite honestly, I don't think surprised anyone. Anyone who knows what's happening in our main export market, historically
[Quest:] Right.
[Lamont:] knows that that is likely to be the situation. But I thought he had one imaginative innovation, which was the help he's going to give the housing market. There's not a lot he can do about exports. Exports are the reason
[Quest:] All right.
[Lamont:] that our growth has not met the expectation. But he can do something domestically, and the way in which he was going to use the government's balance sheet to help the housing market might actually just do something.
[Quest:] Lord Prescott?
[John Prescott, Former Uk Deputy Prime Minister:] Well, I think you showed this is a global problem. There's a big argument in Britain, well, it was the Labour government or Tory government. It's global, and it's affecting the world. The reality is, in America, your shares you go up. In UK, they've gone down. We've lost our triple rating. And the real problem for the chancellor was that he promised four years ago that he had the solution.
[Quest:] Oh!
[Prescott:] Cut the debt and then be able to get the increase in jobs and prosperity. It just did not happen.
[Quest:] But he has had Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and now Cyprus, all of which have taken their toll.
[Prescott:] Well, of course they've taken, but a lot of other countries, such as Germany and France, that's not the same case. But in reality, what he promised was that he could cut the debt. He hasn't. It's gone up. He could growth factors. It's gone down. He hasn't got the credibility now to present the policy he's got.
[Quest:] Norman Lamont?
[Lamont:] Well, the one thing that has to be recognized that John Prescott is not recognizing is that it isn't austerity that has caused our deficit to go down slowly, it's the fact that these other countries, they've done better on deficit reduction not because they've had growth they've had far worse outcomes for their economies than we have. But they've got it down through absolutely slash and burn.
[Quest:] All right.
[Lamont:] We have actually pursued a more gradual approach, and that is why the domestic economy really has performed in the circumstances not too badly. The economy has broadly flat, but employment has been growing because of the favorable domestic conditions.
[Quest:] OK. MPC former MPC member, you had to make the decisions or were there when the decisions were taken on interest rates and quantitative easing. Andrew Sentance.
[Andrew Sentance, Former Uk Monetary Policy Committee Member:] Yes, well in terms of the budget, I think the situation is the chancellor was hemmed in. He has chosen not to try and claw back the extra borrowing. Actually, that means
[Quest:] Do you welcome
[Sentance:] that borrowing targets are higher.
[Quest:] But do you
[Prescott:] Hemmed in by his own policy.
[Quest:] Do you welcome the change in remit to the monetary policy committee that they're going to have to now justify when they are trading off growth versus employment or inflation?
[Sentance:] I think it's good in the sense that it's making things a bit clearer and more transparent. I think the worry I have about it is it appears to perhaps dilute the focus on the inflation target, and the banks already played fairly fast and loose with the inflation targets.
[Quest:] That's gone out the window.
[Sentance:] And there'll be an encouragement, I think
[Prescott:] They haven't been flat and loose in three and a Monday for their growth, have they?
[Sentance:] through this to
[Prescott:] That's another problem.
[Quest:] What about Lord Lamont, do you agree that it's right that the Bank of England should have this wider remit?
[Lamont:] Well, I really agree with what Andrew Sentance said, and I think it would be a great mistake to think that inflation was yesterday's problem. The Bank has consistently missed its inflation target, and you know high inflation or higher than target inflation is why consumer spending has been squeezed and real incomes have been squeezed
[Quest:] Right.
[Lamont:] and real incomes have been squeezed. If we'd had lower inflation, we'd have had stronger consumer demand.
[Prescott:] Yes, but other central banks have tried to measure this the jobs, employment, and inflation, and that's proper, and I think we get more information by these changes to make a judgment about it.
[Sentance:] Well, as long as the it depends on how it's going to operate. And the problem with the MPC remit, now, it's now an extremely long, complicated document.
[Quest:] It's very difficult, as opposed the Fed's, which is straightforward
[Sentance:] And the
[Quest:] Growth employment, and inflation.
[Sentance:] And the question is, how will the new governor and how will the committee interpret down the scope for quite a lot of different ways of interpreting this complicated remit.
[Quest:] It's a busy night, if you want
[Lamont:] I think we forget, the reason the Bank was given independence in the first place was because it was thought and argued that there was no tradeoff between inflation and employment. And by taking other criteria into account, you're really going backwards
[Quest:] All right.
[Lamont:] and undermining the whole case for the independence of the Bank.
[Prescott:] Well, it's working for America
[Quest:] I want
[Prescott:] it's working for New Zealand. There are other central banks who get a better balance.
[Quest:] I want to pull this together finally with the idea that whatever is happening, the UK has got many more years of austerity and slow growth ahead. Can we agree on that, Andrew Sentance?
[Sentance:] I think we're in what I call the new normal for growth for Western economies.
[Quest:] That's depressing.
[Sentance:] Well, it's interesting that the United States is experiencing slower growth, but it's still getting unemployment down
[Prescott:] And it's still getting growth!
[Sentance:] and what that's telling us is that productivity growth is slower across a range of economies as we adjust the financial crisis and the big changes in the global economy.
[Prescott:] Well, that chancellor's telling us we're not going to get any growth in the next five years, for God's sake!
[Quest:] Isn't that the point, gentlemen? That the US is still growing by 1.5 to 2 percent
[Prescott:] Yes.
[Quest:] Lord Lamont, and unemployment's coming down? Whether it's Germany well, actually Germany, it is Germany's unemployment has done. Whether it's any of the other major European countries, it's exactly the opposite.
[Lamont:] No, I think that's true. America has this tremendous dynamism, this productivity and innovation. But we have many countries in Europe that are in a far, far worse position than Britain. If you take Italy or Spain, they have something like 7 and 8 percent below the peak of output in 2008.
[Prescott:] But how do you explain Germany? How do you explain Germany?
[Lamont:] Germany contracted 0.6 percent in the last quarter.
[Prescott:] On what has growth?
[Quest:] All right
[Prescott:] We have a reduction and no growth.
[Quest:] And there we must leave it, gentlemen, for this evening. Lord Lamont, thank you. Lord Prescott, thank you. Andrew Sentance, would you still like to be on the MPC today?
[Sentance:] I'm happy to leave it to others for the moment.
[Quest:] Thank you very much, indeed. A slightly more truncated discussion than we'd have hoped for, but obviously with the president and the prime minister in Israel, that takes a certain lead of the day. When we come back, Cyprus. We've talked about Britain, but one of the reasons everything's so grim is when you look at what's happening in Cyprus, staggering though one of the worst weeks in its economic history. Certainly one of the worst weeks of the eurozone's history. It's now looking to Russia for help. We are live in Moscow and Nicosia after the break.

[Banfield:] New information now on the U.S. soldier accused of slaughtering 16 Afghan civilians, a lawyer for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales says his client doesn't remember that killing spree that left nine children, three women and four men dead. Bales allegedly shot and stabbed his victims and then set many of them on fire. He has yet to be formally charged. Ted Rowlands is at Fort Leavenworth where Bales is being held.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] Staff Sergeant Robert Bales is meeting with his defense team here at Fort Leavenworth for a second straight day. Yesterday, the defense team met with Bales for more than seven hours on the post here. And after that meeting the lead attorney, John Henry Browne, said to CBS News that he was told by Bales that he didn't remember specifics about the shooting in Afghanistan. Take a listen.
[John Henry Browne, Sgt. Robert Bales' Attorney:] He has an early memory of that evening and he has a later memory of that evening, but he doesn't have memory of in between.
[Reporter:] Bales told you he was not drinking that night?
[Browne:] He said he had a couple of sips of something, but he didn't even have a full drink.
[Reporter:] H was not drunk?
[Browne:] No.
[Mattingly:] Still no formal charges have been handed down by the Army. The investigation, of course, is exhaustive when you take into account there are 16 separate murders in Afghanistan. So they have an investigative team on the ground in Afghanistan. Once all of the information is compiled, an Army commander will make the decision to prefer charges, that's the language they use in the military. At that point, the charges will be released to the public, the formal charges against Bales, and the wheels of justice will start grinding. One question that isn't answered yet is where will he actually go through the proceedings? Will it be here at Fort Leavenworth? Will it be at Lewis-McChord, his home base, in Seattle, or another military installation in the United States? We don't know the answer to that. But we do know that he will be tried in the United States, not overseas. Ted Rowlands, CNN, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
[Banfield:] And a congressional committee is hearing about this case against Bales today. Also, the deadly riots sparked by the burning of Korans at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan. And the deaths of 60 troops from six different nations all killed this year in that war. General John Allen, a top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, admits the last couple of months have been, quote, "trying" but he remains positive.
[Gen. John Allen, Cmdr., Intl. Security Assistance Force:] Each of these events is heart wrenching and my thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this violence, coalition, and Afghan alike. But I assure you, the relationship between the coalition and our Afghan security forces remains strong.
[Banfield:] We'll have more on the story coming up. Also, living with your partner. You may want to sign a prenup and not just if you're married. Not just for couples anymore, folks, at least married ones. We'll explain.

[Costello:] Taylor Swift is just 22 years old but boy did she have a great night at the Country Music Awards and she won awards. I guess she won the same award two times in a row. It was quite a feat for anyone but she is 22. Showbiz correspondent, Nischelle Turner, is here actually she's in Los Angeles and ok, so Taylor Swift won this "Entertainer of the Year" award two times in a row. But there was this really bad joke that was told during the ceremony. Awkward.
[Nischelle Turner, Cnn Entertainment Correspondent:] It was awkward, Carol. I mean this still has some fans buzzing this moment, this morning excuse me. Now hosts Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire joked on stage about Tim Tebow and the rumors that he and Taylor Swift could be a couple and when they cutaway to Taylor Swift during the joke she gave them like a priceless confused reaction. And the consensus seems to be that Taylor Swift and Tim Tebow are not dating but they just had dinner together. But that wasn't the only time her single status came up at the show. She was supposed to go to the show with high school student and cancer patient Kevin McGuire. You may remember the story. His sister started a Facebook campaign to have Taylor Swift be his prom date. She couldn't go to the prom but instead she invited him to the awards show. Well, he had to be hospitalized at the last minimum on it Friday. He couldn't make it. Taylor Swift said hello to him from the stage after she won "Entertainer of the Year". I hope he was watching Carol and I hope that made him feel a little bit better.
[Costello:] I hope so too. That's really sweet. Ashton Kutcher, talk about him now. Has he really been cast to play Steve Jobs?
[Turner:] It seems so, Carol. He is reportedly ready to play the late Steve Jobs in an upcoming bio-pick creatively titled "Jobs". Now, I kind of like the casting but some people may not think Kutcher is the right guy because it is not a comedy after all. But there is a physical resemblance between Ashton Kutcher and Steve Jobs when he was younger and "Variety" says the film will chronicle Jobs' meteoric rise from Northern California hippy to co-founder of Apple. And I should point out. This is not the only Jobs biopic in the works. There's an adaptation of Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs that's also in the planning stages. But I mean listen, Ashton Kutcher is also kind of that hippy, that and he's a very smart guy, so I think he can channel that and do a good job with this.
[Costello:] Maybe so. We'll see. Thanks very much, Nischelle. We appreciate it.
[Turner:] All right. Bye Carol.
[Costello:] Some middle school kids came across an unusual and possibly valuable find while they were doing a good deed. We'll tell you where they discovered this treasure and what happens to it now. As more children are diagnosed with autism, the cost to care for them is also rising. Up next we'll hear about the emotional and financial toll from a family living with autism.

[Kaye:] Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everyone. CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye.
[Blackwell:] I'm Victor Blackwell. Our first morning together, are you feeling all right?
[Kaye:] I'm feeling it. I'm feeling good. Yes, yes.
[Blackwell:] Ok, you're feeling good. Picking it up where I'm putting it down.
[Kaye:] Oh yes.
[Blackwell:] All right, thanks for starting your morning with us. All right, a serious issue now. Most classrooms in America, in the third largest public school system in America, could be empty on Monday. That's because teachers in Chicago are threatening to go on strike if they don't get a new contract. Now the issues are pay and hours and job security. Negotiations are scheduled today. But if there's no breakthrough, this could be Chicago's first teacher strike in a quarter century. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., has checked out of the Mayo Clinic where he was being treated for depression. He's 47 years old and he's not been on Capitol Hill since late May. And asked whether he'll be back at work on Monday, a top aide said, quote, "We hope." In New York City a police officer mistakenly shot a robbery victim. According to officials, 20-year-old Reynaldo Cuevas had managed to escape from three robbers when he, quote, "Became entangled with a police officer whose gun accidentally went off". Remember, this is the robbery victim. Police have been under great scrutiny in New York since nine pedestrians were wounded on August 24th. Police shot and killed the murder suspect but their bullets also wounded the bystanders. To the NFL now and a reprieve for the four players suspended for their roles in the New Orleans Saint's bounty scandal. They can all play this weekend that's the decision of an appeals panel. Now the NFL commissioner is reviewing suspensions of Jonathan Vilma, Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove and Will Smith. After he heard the decision that he can play Vilma tweeted, "Victory is mine". When the monthly jobs report came out yesterday, people called it disappointing and said the economy didn't add enough jobs. Even if you have a job you still may face a lot of hardship of that's the case for one man in Santa Barbara, California. He's got a fulltime job but he still can't afford rent, so he's living out of his van. CNN's Kyung Lah has the story.
[Kyung Lah, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Victor, politicians have been taking jabs at each other over this jobs report. But the numbers only tell you part of the story. Talk to people who are considered the working middle class and they will tell you they can't keep up even if they have a full-time job.
[Lah:] Julius Torrevillas is behind the wheel of the Santa Barbara MTV bus five days a week; a fulltime job that pays $19 an hour to the jovial driver with the unforgettable beard. When his workday is over, he moves from his bus to another vehicle, his van where he lives.
[Julius Torrevillas, Homeless Bus Driver:] A regular full-sized mattress.
[Lah:] This is home, because he makes too much to qualify for public housing but can't afford rent in the high-cost city of Santa Barbara. [on camera]: A lot of people think that if you have a fulltime job in America, you're ok. That's not really the case for you, is it?
[J. Torrevillas:] No. You know I've got a fulltime job and barely making ends meet.
[Lah:] Debt from a failed small business piled up and he and his wife are still digging out. So this county parking lot is where they sleep, joined by more than a dozen others who live in their cars. It's called the safe parking program. A 114 spaces spread out across the county with a waiting list of more than 40.
[Nancy Kapp, New Beginnings:] I have senior citizens, I have couples, I have families.
[Lah:] A third of the people, says the program manager, have jobs but are underemployed like approximately 17 percent of Americans. [on camera]: What do you think it says about America when somebody who has a job, who wants to work, still has to live in a car.
[Kapp:] I think people would be shocked. I think they would be shocked if they would come and meet some of these people. Because I tell you when they come into my office, I want to cry because it reminds me of someone that could be my mother, my sister, my brother.
[Lah:] Or your bus driver
[J. Torrevillas:] Good morning.
[Lah:] who starts his day on the move. Breakfast with his wife Mary is at the doughnut shop.
[J. Torrevillas:] Toothbrush, toothpaste.
[Lah:] The bathroom, a public one; the dressing room, the back of the van.
[Mary Torrevillas, Julius's Wife:] Normal life is watching this, you know, if living in a van is not the norm.
[Lah:] Has the middle class in America changed?
[J. Torrevillas:] I think the middle class has slid down the scale a little bit more towards the lower class and it's a little tougher for the middle class people to survive and to actually pursue the American dream. I love you.
[M. Torrevillas:] I love you, too.
[Lah:] Torrevillas keeps chasing his dream hoping whoever wins this election will be able to shift the economy into gear.
[J. Torrevillas:] Good morning. Thank you.
[Lah:] Torrevillas says he and his wife have considered moving to a more affordable city but he's worried he wouldn't be able to find a new job Victor.
[Blackwell:] Kyung Lah thanks. And this problem is not unique to Santa Barbara. The average home price there is more than $600,000. Now that's a lot, right? Well, it doesn't even rank in the top 100 in terms of cities with the highest average home prices.
[Kaye:] Next the legal case of a convicted murderer who was granted a sex change operation from a federal judge. Why it's affecting your wallet. We'll examine this very unusual case next.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome, everybody. Our STARTING POINT this morning. It is cold. It's frigid. It's bitter. It's stinging. I'm doing my best to describe just how cold it is, freezing temperatures gripping much of the country right now even causing entire buildings to freeze over. Some say the worst is yet to come. Plus it's the testimony that many have been waiting to hear in just an hour. The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, will testify under oath about the attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] New this morning, a whole new take on sleeping your way to the top. Why getting a good night sleep could be good for your career.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] And new details on a mystery disease found in the brains of dead NFL players, including Junior Seau. How doctors may be able to detect it sooner.
[O'brien:] Ahead this hour: we're talking with Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, he's been very critical of the failures in Benghazi. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer will be joining us. CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is with us. And filmmaker Peter Yost is going to take us inside the world of unmanned drones. It's Wednesday, January 23, and STARTING POINT begins right now. Welcome, everybody. Our team this morning: Roland Martin is with us, CNN political analyst, host of "Washington Watch with Roland Martin." Chris Frates is back, reporter for "The National Journal." Connie Mack with us, former Republican congressman from the great state of Florida. "EARLY START" co-anchor John Berman sticks around with us as well. Takes us a whole new direction doesn't it? Our STARTING POINT this morning, though.
[Fmr. Rep. Connie Mack , Florida:] Your guys campaigned against me. I mean, it's just killing me.
[O'brien:] We'll get to that later this morning. First, though, I want to talk about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She is facing a grilling, in just about an hour now, talking about those security failures on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi. Will her answers be enough with the critics though? Foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is at the State Department this morning. So, Jill, good morning to you. What questions are expected, and what do you think is still unanswered that people want to hear?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Well, you know, I think one of the most recent ones, because there have been a lot of hearings, about 30 of them so far, behind closed doors as well. But one of the new ones is a cable that shows that Ambassador Stevens, who, of course, was killed, one of the four who was killed in that attack, had urged at one point that they move that mission, where he died, move it closer to the CIA annex in Benghazi, or perhaps another location for more security. But that was turned down. We're also told that there might be other cables, so you can look for that. And then, I think also, you're going to but what from what we're hearing they're going to want to know what Secretary Clinton herself was doing. She was here in D.C. when it happened. Where, exactly was she, what conversations was she involved in, and what did she do specifically? And then I think you have to talk about those talking points that come up more and more, which is Susan Rice going on TV, why didn't Secretary Clinton go on TV? There are many questions like that.
[O'brien:] Jill Dougherty for us this morning. Thanks, Jill. Let's get right to some of those questions, too. Let's get to congressman from Utah, Jason Chaffetz. He's the chairman of the House Oversight Committee on National Security. Nice to see you, Congressman. Long time no see.
[Rep. Jason Chaffetz , Utha:] Good morning, good morning. Glad to be with you.
[O'brien:] Thank you very much. All right. Let's get right to talking about what you would like to hear if you were in a position to grill the secretary of state, because you have been pushing for answers on Benghazi for some time along time. You and I chatted about that a lot, over the last months. What would you want to know? What do you think is left to hear?
[Chaffetz:] Well, our consulate in Benghazi was bombed in April of 2011. It was bombed again in June of 2011, what did the State Department do about that? Did that rise the level of going to the president of the United States? I would think so, and I would hope so. So what did they do knowing there were security attacks, and that the ambassador himself, the regional security officer was asking for our help, and that those things were denied. And then in the attack itself, what did what was her participation? I mean, she was the one that famously ran the ad against Barack Obama, it's 3:00. The attack comes, what's he going to do? President Clinton and Secretary Clinton were both on watch that might, and we have an ambassador was missing for something like seven hours with no assets brought in to try to relieve the attack. There are serious questions about that. And then, of course, after the attack, why was the American public and the world misled for so long about a video that the Accountability Review Board said had nothing to do with the attack itself.
[O'brien:] The Accountability Review Board also said this. "The board did not find that any individual U.S. government employee engaged in misconduct or willfully ignored his or her responsibilities. Did not find reasonable cause to believe that an individual breached his or her duty so as to be the subject of a recommendation for a disciplinary action." So, they weighed in and said, listen, nothing was done willfully, and nobody should be really disciplined.
[Chaffetz:] Yes, I thought it was interesting that the Accountability Review Board, an internal review, didn't even interview Secretary Clinton. Why is it that the person in charge wasn't even asked a question by this board? And the other thing that's deeply concerning about this review is they took 60 days, they went in there, they found more than dozens systemic failures, they had 60 recommendations, what in the world is going on at the State Department? We have four dead people and in 60 days they can't figure out what Secretary Clinton and the administration couldn't figure out in four years.
[O'brien:] But she already said this, right? She has already said, I'm the head of the department and I take responsibility. I'm going to play that clip for you and we'll talk on the other side.
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] I take responsibility. I'm in charge of the State Department, 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts. The president and the vice president certainly wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals.
[O'brien:] That doesn't go far enough for you?
[Chaffetz:] Well, look, when your consulate is bombed twice, that doesn't rise to the level of going to the president's desk? I would think he would know within minutes that our facility was bombed. And to say that decisions were made by security personnel is absolutely and totally false. And I think the secretary is going to get some very hard questions on that because they repeatedly asked for more assets, assets that were Department of Defense assets, that wouldn't even cost the State Department anything to implement. So
[O'brien:] There are some people don't expect that she's going to be grilled because of the amount of respect that people who would be
[Chaffetz:] Sure.
[O'brien:] on this panel would bring, and I think her reputation. Do you think that's a fair assessment?
[Chaffetz:] No, if she's held in high esteem. She's cleverly figured out how to limit her time before the panels at 90 minutes, which I don't the Congress should have acquiesced to. But nevertheless, yes, we have a great deal of respect for her. But these are the questions. We have hundreds of embassies and consulates. We have thousands of people serving overseas, this push by the State Department to, quote-unquote, "normalize" as soon as quickly possible, saying that al Qaeda was on the run is not true. I mean, you see what's playing out in Algeria. And my concern is, moving forward, we didn't actually involve these problems and that's the deep concern and question for the secretary.
[O'brien:] Can I ask you about a quick question about the House on raising the debt ceiling for three months without the corresponding budget cuts? Is that something that you would support?
[Chaffetz:] I think they're moving in the right direction. I like what the speaker has put forward because
[O'brien:] That's a kind of yes or no question.
[Chaffetz:] Well, yes, I'm saying yes, I would vote for it.
[O'brien:] OK.
[Chaffetz:] And what I want to do is I want a solution. And what we need is the Senate to actually do its job. It's been more than 1,300 days. They've got to actually pass a budget in this country, so we can get to reconciliation and work our differences out.
[O'brien:] Congressman Jason Chaffetz joining us this morning. It's nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us.
[Chaffetz:] Thanks, Soledad.
[O'brien:] You bet. Ahead this morning, we're going to talk about Secretary Clinton's testimony. It's interesting I think when they take up all the things that still are not known. There are a lot of things that have not been answered, as much as we've been discussing Benghazi.
[Mack:] You know, she did take responsibility, but that doesn't wipe away the fact that we need to know what happened, why it happened. Why this apparent cover up? I mean, whether you like that word or not
[O'brien:] Cover up is a strong word.
[Mack:] Whether you like that word or not, there does seem like there's been a lot of dancing around this issue and the American people haven't been told.
[Roland Martin, Cnn Political Analyst:] It's unfortunate that Ambassador Rice was she was getting the kind of questions that frankly only Secretary Clinton really can be answer those questions because as she said, she is
[O'brien:] We've got coverage live of the secretary's testimony. CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper will begin that right at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. We're going to get a preview from Wolf ahead this morning, later this hour I want to get right to John with an update on some other stories.
[Berman:] It is a bitter, blistery, and deadly. We're talking about the cold here. Reports of four deaths link to this bitter cold snap in parts of the Upper Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England right now. In Chicago, more than 300 firefighters had to fight a warehouse fire in single digit temperatures for two hours yesterday. Let's take a look what the building looks like this morning. It is covered in ice. Look at that. Meteorologist Jennifer Delgado is at the CNN weather center in Atlanta right now, tracking this bitter chill for us. Jennifer, is it going to break any time soon?
[Jennifer Delgado, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, you know what? It looks like this cold spell is going to stick around for a while. And you saw that video coming out of Chicago. Keep in mind, firefighters have a really tough job there, because right now, it feels like three degrees. You see the video of the ice covering it. Just imagine being outside trying to tackle that fire. Now, as I take you over to our graphics, we talk about the conditions out there. We're still looking at wind chill readings near minus 10 and minus 17, Duluth. And this is not going to end anytime soon. Across the Northeast, it's the same thing. It feels like minus 25 in Montpelier, it feels like zero degrees in New York. We do have wind chill advisory in places for parts of the Upper Midwest. That is going to last until tomorrow, and then we're also seeing it spreading into parts of New England. Look at this. It's going to field like minus 30 to minus 40 if you're in parts of Vermont, Maine, as well as Pennsylvania, as well into New York. Now, as we go through today, high temperatures are going to struggle to make it above freezing across many parts. For New York, high of 23, Minneapolis, high of eight, and it's going to stay cold al the way through the weekend. Temperatures are going to run about 10 to 20 degrees below average. John, dangerously cold out there. You want to make sure everybody is bundling up if you're heading out the door. Better yet, stay to bed.
[Berman:] Thank you, Jennifer. Thanks. I think a lot of minus signs out there. Ten minutes after the hour. Classes resume today after another shooting at a college campus. A 22-year-old man is now facing aggravated assault charges, following a shooting on a Houston campus of Lone Star College. The suspect Carlton Berry was wounded in the attack and remains hospitalized this morning. Students describe a scene of utter chaos on campus.
[Amanda Vasquez, Student At Lone Star College:] All of a sudden I heard backfiring and people started running in the hallways. And few students even came to our room seeking shelter.
[Berman:] Two other men were shot including a maintenance worker described as an innocent bystander. A vote on the debt ceiling happens today. House Republicans shifting strategy. You heard Jason Chaffetz talking about it. And say they do have the votes to pass a short-term debt ceiling increase today. They look for spending cuts later. The plan would suspend the $16.4 trillion debt limit to allow the U.S. to keep borrowing money to pay its bills for the next three months and then increase the legal limit to that new debt level. In exchange, they're calling on the Senate to pass a budget by spring. All right. The big question everyone is asking this morning: did she or didn't she? And why do we care so much? The Marine Corps Band is backtracking this morning after first saying Beyonce did not actually sing the national anthem Monday at President Obama's public inauguration. They have now released statement, saying, quote, "No one in the Marine Band is in position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded." Here's why it's still a mystery. There's still no comment from Beyonce.
[O'brien:] I don't know if I care. I've been trying to decide, because Beyonce is singing, if she is lip syncing, she's lip syncing to Beyonce singing the national anthem with the Marine Corps Band.
[Martin:] Right. And also, if you look at her expression, she was actually singing. But also, let's remember, all of you folks hating on Beyonce. At the 2009 inauguration, Yo-yo Ma and others who were playing yes, that was a recording you heard. People near them they heard them actually playing, but what was broadcasted was a recording so. So, get mad at Yo-Yo Ma, too. My goodness, folks. Get a life.
[O'brien:] I think if it's
[Mack:] I think it's a ridiculous story.
[O'brien:] Still, everybody is talking about it.
[Martin:] A lot of haters out there. So, haters hate.
[O'brien:] Also ahead this morning, we talk about sex and Sundance. A movie that's very controversial is being released at the festival. We'll take you to Park City next and Zoraida Sambolin should o talk about that. And then, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to talk about a test that could help spot a disease in the brain of NFL players. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back right after this.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes here. Eight a.m. here in Atlanta, 3:00 p.m. in Syria and Israel and that is where we do have some breaking news this morning where pro- Palestinian demonstrators are trying to cross the border into Israel. They're trying this at several points, including at Golan Heights. Not only is the Israeli army waiting for them, they're firing warning shots in the air. Firing warning shots on the ground. There are reports of people being killed. We will take you there live, straight ahead. Also, if you're receiving welfare benefits in Florida well, you could be drug-tested for illegal drugs. Yes. We'll be talking about a new law and we'll be talking about it with a man who signed it into law. The governor of Florida, Rick Scott, here with me live in just a couple of minutes. But let's start with this tense situation that is developing right now in the Golan Heights along Israel's border with Syria. Also, the border at the West Bank. Take a look.
[Holmes:] What they'are chanting here is "Ali Saleh has escaped." That is President Saleh. He is no longer in charge and he is no longer in the country. A transfer of power went from President Saleh to his vice president. Saleh is hospitalized in neighboring Saudi Arabia after a rocket attack on his presidential palace. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom live for us in nearby Abu Dhabi. Mohammed, everybody is wondering this is what the people wanted. They seem to have gotten what they wanted. He gave up power. But is this permanent?
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, that's the big question right now, T.J. And even though there's tens of thousands of people celebrating throughout different cities of Yemen, including Sanaa, and they're very happy that President Saleh has left, I'm hearing from more and more outspoken members of the youth revolution movement there that are saying, you know what, it's still too early to celebrate. Right now, we still don't know what's going to happen with the transfer of power. Yes, the vice president is technically in charge. But we have to remember that in Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's son basically runs the republican guard there and his nephew runs the central security forces. That's the anti-terrorism forces. So, still a lot of power held within the hands of the direct family members of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They're not sure how exactly this is going to shake out and if President Saleh will remain outside of the country. Now, one very interesting developments to report we've heard from two Yemeni government officials in the past 10 minutes who have told us that now, al Qaeda is one of the primary suspects in the attack on the presidential palace on Friday that injured President Saleh. So, how that's going to play out? We're not sure either. But it's certainly increasing worries that al Qaeda will be trying to take more advantage of the political strife and turmoil and chaos throughout that country
[T.j. Holmes:] Mohammed, one more thing here, quickly, what do we know about the condition of President Saleh at this time? "Reuters" is reporting that, in fact, he is in surgery there in Saudi Arabia. But how much do we know about the extent of his injuries?
[Jamjoom:] Well, we're still trying to find out exactly the extent of President Saleh's injuries. The Yemeni officials maintain that he's OK, that he's just getting a checkup, and that he's going to be back in Yemen soon. But we've heard from other officials who've said that he's in surgery. And there's a lot of speculation in Yemen that the injuries sustained by President Saleh are far more dire than initially reported by the Yemeni media. The fact that nobody's seen him on camera, there had been no pictures of him released since this attack really adding to the speculation. And many wondering how tenuous not just his grip on power but how fragile his health is at this moment
[T.j. Holmes:] Mohammed Jamjoom, we appreciate you as always. Thanks so much. To our viewers, I want to get back to what we are watching along the borders of Israel this morning. It's been a breaking situation for the past several hours where a number of people, pro-Palestinian demonstrators, are trying to cross the border on this day into Israel. This is happening in a number of places. This is happening at the Golan Heights at the Syrian border. Also happening at the West Bank. Our chief Jerusalem bureau chief, Kevin Flower, is in the West Bank right now. You have been watching this scene as we have play out for the past several hours. What is happening right now?
[Kevin Flower, Cnn Chief Jerusalem Bureau Chief:] Well, what's going on here at checkpoint is there have been basically pro- Palestinian protesters that have been trying to make their way from this West Bank area to the checkpoint, which is called
[Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, Idf Spokesman:] One of the most difficult areas were the area of
[Flower:] Now, all of these protests are going on to mark what is the 44th anniversary of the Six-Day War the 1967 war in which Israel captured various territories from its Arab neighbors, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Golan Heights. And this is basically this is the second time in a month that mass protests like these have taken place and they're expecting more of these to take place as we get closer to September when the U.N. is expected to hold a vote on the recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
[Holmes:] All right, Kevin Flower today for us from the West Bank Kevin, we appreciate you, as always. You heard him talking about the Six-Day War there, and this is really these demonstrations are to commemorate that war. Take a look at what we are talking about here the borders of Israel before 1967. You might recall it wasn't too long ago that President Obama caused quite a stir few weeks ago when he said that the region should start negotiations for peace with those 1967 borders. Now, here is what the borders look like today 44 years after the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel forces captured all of Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, as well as the Golan Heights from Syria, also the Sinai Peninsula, and Gaza from Egypt. The outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates delivered news pleasing both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. troops stationed there. The secretary arrived in Kabul yesterday, his farewell tour of sorts as he retires later this month, coincides with the proposed drawdown of NATO troops in Afghanistan. President Karzai thanked Gates for his years of service. Gates had this to say about that planned drawdown.
[Robert Gates, U.s. Defense Secretary:] It seems to me that between the successes that we've already enjoyed and the increased capacity of the Afghan forces, we are in a position, based on conditions on the ground, as the president has said, to consider some modest drawdowns beginning in July.
[Holmes:] Secretary Gates' visit was marred by another roadside bomb attack that killed four NATO troops. Those victims have yet to be identified. Well, there is a showdown brewing over airport security screening in Texas. This is going on between the state of Texas and the Department of Justice. And you might be caught in the middle, you, the traveler. The Texas House of Representatives passed legislation last month prohibiting TSA screeners from conducting invasive searches. The Justice Department warning against passage now by the Senate that the lawmaker who introduced that bill and demonstrators at the Capitol yesterday in Austin are urging passage.
[Unidentified Female:] We shouldn't have to have people put their hands all over our bodies because it is invasive, it is sexual assault. We're not asking to be touched in that way and it's really inappropriate.
[Rep. David Simpson , Texas State House:] There is no federal law we're contravening. There was no federal law that requires that they touch us in our private parts as a condition of travel. That's outrageous. Police officers can't even do that.
[Holmes:] Now, the Justice Department contends the ban on searches would conflicts with federal law, says if the law is enacted, the Justice Department would order the cancellation possibly of flights into and out of Texas. Now, we're talking about one state here. But certainly, Texas is not the first state to introduce such a bill. In March, New Hampshire introduced a bill that would make those intimate pat-downs, touching or viewing people's private parts make that a sexual assault. Our affiliate WMUR tells us those convicted would be required to register as sex offenders. New Jersey, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Pennsylvania, they are all considering similar legislation. And in Utah, one lawmaker plans to introduce a similar bill that would limit pat-downs and he says Utah needs to stand with Texas. Well, at 11 minutes past the hour, let me turn to our good friend, Reynolds Wolf, keeping an eye on all things weather-wise. Severe weather this weekend was heat related, but also keep an eye on that mess in Arizona right now.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, I know. Isn't it amazing, watching the flooding, watching, of course, the heat and, of course, the fires in Arizona? The four corners really under the gun right now in terms of rough fire conditions. In fact, 260,000 acres burned in Arizona alone. You see the video, you see those images. Please know that there are many firefighters battling not only the rough topography, but also, of course, the intense heat, the flames, zero contained at this time. Over 200,000 acres burned and, unfortunately, the weather is not going to cooperate. They can expect very low humidity. At the same time, wind picking up this afternoon which will help fan the flames. And there is plenty of fine chaparral and other foliage to cause those flames to continue to burn, a lot of fuel out there. We're going to have some sound coming up fairly soon, give us an idea of what these guys are dealing it on the front lines of the blaze. That's moments away. Plus, we're going to take a look at those flooding conditions in parts of the northern plains, along the Missouri River,
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Reynolds, we appreciate, buddy. We will see you here in just a second. Well, at 12 minutes past the hour now. Florida has a new standard for people on welfare. Beginning July 1st, if you want welfare benefits, then you have to undergo drug testing. Governor Rick Scott signed that legislation on Tuesday. It requires welfare recipients to pay for the drug screenings up front. However, if they pass, they will get a refund for it. But if they fail it, they don't get the refund and they don they don't get the welfare. Governor Rick Scott taking some time out with us here this weekend on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING to join me live. Sir, it's good to see you once again. We do appreciate you being here. This is certainly a topic that's gotten a lot of attention across the country. So, we appreciate you talking about it. Also, we'll be talking with the executive director from the ACLU, which, of course, as you know, is suing you over some of the changes you've made down there. We'll get that reaction in a second. But, I think, Governor, everyone could agree that state taxpayer funds should not be going to fund someone's drug use. I think a lot of people would agree with that. However, do you believe that a great number, significant number of welfare recipients in your state are drug users?
[Gov. Rick Scott , Florida:] You know, T.J., I don't know. But I know it's not right for taxpayer money to be paying for somebody's drug addiction. On top of that, you know, this is this is going to increase personal responsibility, personal accountability. We shouldn't be subsidizing people's drug addiction. And you have to remember, welfare is for the benefit of our children and they shouldn't be the money should be going to take care of them, not for somebody's drug addiction.
[Holmes:] OK. I guess I guess that's one of the points that people have and one of the problems they have. You just said that you don't know if they're using drugs, if welfare users or welfare recipients are using drugs. So, if you don't know, why treat them like you suspect that they are?
[Scott:] I'm not at all. I just want to make sure our taxpayers are not interested in subsidizing drug addiction. I mean, it's no different than think about it, if you apply for a job, they're not saying you use drugs. They're just saying, in that work environment, they don't want you to use drugs. In this case, we do not want to subsidize drug addiction. We want to give everybody an increased incentive not to use drugs. It's better for our families. It's better for the individual, and it doesn't waste taxpayer money.
[Holmes:] And like you said, you don't want to subsidize drug addiction, but I keep going back to this point because this is one people are getting on. You don't want to subsidize it, but what evidence do you have that you are now or you have been? What evidence is there that there are people in your state who are drug users? I mean, it's OK if you just say you believe that plenty of people on welfare are drug users but it doesn't sound like you want to say that.
[Scott:] Sure, T.J. Studies show that people that are on welfare are higher users of drugs than people not on welfare. But the bottom line is this
[Holmes:] Sir, to that point, a lot that would stop people in their tracks. And I don't have whatever study you are referring to, but you're saying that people out there who need this assistance, lost jobs, are on welfare have a higher tendency to use drugs.
[Scott:] Absolutely. Studies show that people on welfare are using drugs much higher than other people in the population. But the bottom line is, if they're not using drugs, it's not an issue. Our taxpayers don't want to subsidize somebody's drug addiction. It's going to increase personal responsibility. It's the right thing to do for Floridians.
[Holmes:] Sir, do you think this is going to cost your state which a lot of states are having all kinds of budget issues and you've certainly gotten some flack in your state for the sacrifices you proposed making there. Do you have the money to pay for this? How much is it going to cost if you have to pay for these drug screenings?
[Scott:] It's an insignificant cost, T.J. The bottom line is
[Holmes:] How much?
[Scott:] we're not going to use taxpayer money we'll see how many people fail the test, and how many people pass the test. But we have the money to pay for that. But the bottom line, we're not going to subsidize somebody's drug addiction. We want more personal accountability. We want the money to be spent on our children.
[Holmes:] Another question here, and you've answered this to some degree there. There is a firm or clinic there or a company that runs a number of clinics in your state of Florida. And those folks do drug screenings called Solantic. Now, you transferred your interest over to your wife, still in the family even though it's some would say it is or is not a conflict of interest. But can you tell us here that Solantic, the company that your wife now has that interest in that does drug screenings will not be receiving any state funds to pay for any of these drug tests?
[Scott:] T.J., you must not have heard. But I agreed to sell that back in April so that's we're just waiting on licensure and it will get sold in the next couple of weeks. So, I will have no involvement. My family won't have any involvement. But this bill, T.J., is the right thing for Floridians. This is a bill that's going to make sure our taxpayers are not subsidizing drug abusers.
[Holmes:] Now again, the sale and all that will go through but again, even though, will Solantic be used at all that company be used at all for any of these drug screenings?
[Scott:] I won't be involved. I won't be part of making any of those decisions. They don't have contracts as far as I know now with the state. So, I have no idea.
[Holmes:] But would you say that they should not? It looks like a conflict of interest even though the interest or the company is in your would be in your wife's name though. Sounds like or a lot of people have suggested you're making policies there, you're testing state employees now and the welfare workers or welfare recipients as well to get drug testing and the biggest one of the biggest in the state that does drug testing is your old company.
[Scott:] T.J., I'm in the process of selling it. My wife won't have an interest. We contract to sell it back in April. We're just waiting for state licensure right now to sell it.
[Holmes:] All right. Well, Governor Scott
[Scott:] There won't be any conflict.
[Holmes:] Won't be. All right. And I know that there is a panel there that ruled there wasn't a conflict of interest on this. Need to say that as well, they ruled as well. Governor Scott, we appreciate you. You've been generous with your time this weekend and also last weekend discussing this. It has the attention of a lot of people all over this country. Other states are keeping an eye on seeing what's happening in your state as well. But, Governor, we appreciate you. You enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
[Scott:] All right. Have a great day,
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. We're at 18 minutes past the hour. Not done with this topic just yet. After the break, we'll talk to the executive director of the ACLU in Florida about the impact of this new law and also a lawsuit that they are getting now getting ready to take on Governor Rick Scott. That conversation, right after the break.

[Holmes:] All right. We just wrapped up the midterm elections. We're already talking about congressional races for 2012? Joining me now from Washington, deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. Paul, are you serious? Can't we just take a couple of weeks off, you know, from campaigning? We're already talking 2012 congressional races?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] I'm really sorry about this, T.J. I promise, Thanksgiving, Christmas, we won't talk of this ok?
[Holmes:] Fine.
[Steinhauser:] But that is out there yet. Let's talk about it right now. Let's look ahead at 2012, a little less than two years from now.
[Holmes:] All right.
[Steinhauser:] Let's look ahead to 2012, less than two years from now. Let's talk about the battle for the Senate, because you know on the House side, you know all 435 seats will be up. But what about the Senate? Check this out. I put a little graphic together. Thirty-three seats will be up in 2012. Of those 33, look at this, this is the trouble here for the Democrats. Twenty-three of those 33 seats will be Democratic seats, T.J. the Democrats were able to hold on to the Senate this time. They lost their bigger, larger majority, they lost six seats to the Republicans, but they did control the Senate. That's a 53-47 majority. They're going to have a tough time possibly in 2012 just by looking at those numbers. And of those 23, you've got some Democrats who could face some real tough times like Sherrod Brown of Ohio; Jim Webb of Virginia; Ben Nelson of Nebraska; Kent Conrad up in the Dakotas; and there's a list of others as well that all could face some challenging re-elections because of the states they're in, which are states with moderate to more conservative voters, T.J. So the numbers are a little bit troubling for the Democrats.
[Holmes:] All right. You're talking about troubling for Democrats, but is there some pressure somewhere for Republicans as well?
[Steinhauser:] Yes, there is. There's only 10 of them, right? So the odds are better for them, but let's talk about those 10. Let's talk about Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. He just won that big upset earlier this year to win Ted Kennedy's old seat. And basically, by winning that election, he's finishing out the last two years of Kennedy's term. That means he's up in 2012. A Republican in a state like Massachusetts isn't the easiest thing to win re-election. He did score that big victory earlier this year, but Democrats are definitely going to have their eyes out for him. Also, you know what? He may face a little bit of trouble from the Tea Party movement, which backed him earlier this year in his big victory. They helped him. But you know what? Since he's been willing to negotiate and actually vote for a couple of Democratic pieces of legislation this year, that could put hip in the bull's eye of Tea Party types. Another person who could be in the bull's eye of Tea Party types, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, very much a long-time conservative senator, but also somebody who is willing to negotiate with Democrats. And he just saw his fellow Utah long-time Republican Bob Bennett get ousted in the Republican primary process this year by Tea Party groups. I spoke to somebody from Tea Party Express that's one of those national organizations that really weighed in big-time in the Republican primaries, and they said they didn't give me a specific list, but they said, you know, watch out to some of these Republicans, we may come after you again in '12 like we did in '10
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Last thing here, have they sorted out the leadership issues on the Democratic side in the House, from the number one Democrat who's going to be the number two? And now we're talking about a number three Democrat? Did they work all this out?
[Steinhauser:] They may have. Some brand-new reporting late last night by our Dana Bash, our senior congressional correspondent, on what's go on there. What's the problem? Well, the Democrats are now going to be in the minority in the House. They means they lose the speakership. So, boom, it's like musical chairs. They just lost a job. We know Nancy Pelosi is going for the minority leader. That means everybody else bumps down one. And here's the problem you have Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the current majority leader, and Jim Clyburn, the Democrat from South Carolina, who is the whip, both going for the same job, the number two job under Pelosi. And that was a problem, because Steny Hoyer is adored by many moderate Democrats. Clyburn, of course, one of the senior African-Americans in the Democratic coalition. There wasn't enough room, right? What would you do? They're both going after the same job. Well, our Dana Bash reporting that it looks like there may be a deal in the works to give Clyburn a new position that they would create. Steny Hoyer would be the minority whip. Clyburn would have a new position which has not been announced yet. So we're going to keep a close eye on this and see if that is settled, because that was a problem for the Democrats in the House
[T.j. Holmes:] Yes. You lose a job, somebody's got to go where there has to be a compromise. They may have worked something out. Paul, good to see you, as always, buddy. Thanks so much.
[Steinhauser:] Thank you.
[Holmes:] Well, abortion was not one of the biggest issues in the midterms for a lot of people, but it's expected to be back in the spotlight in the presidential race. Sarah Palin already hammering away at the issue, attacking President Obama's health care plan. Reporting for us now, CNN's Brian Todd.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Sarah Palin takes on the president's health care plan in very stark terms.
[Sarah Palin , Former Alaska Governor:] The biggest advance of the abortion industry in America has been the passage of Obamacare.
[Todd:] She's hammered on this for at least a couple of months now, and usually to the same anti-abortion crowd. Palin has attacked the Obama team, accusing them of sneaking provisions into the health care overhaul that would make it easier to get abortions. And she says they did it with the help of some willing members of Congress.
[Palin:] But they caved at the last minute, many of them did, in exchange for a non-binding executive order that was promised by the most pro-abortion president to ever occupy the White House. And sure enough, just three months after this executive order was signed, the Obama administration broke its promise by making funding available for high-risk insurance pools in some states that do cover, in some cases, these elective abortions that we talked about.
[Todd:] What's she talking about? We tried several times to reach Palin's representatives with phone calls and e-mails, and got no response. White House officials tell us the health care plan makes no federal government money available for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or if the mother's life is in danger. But there is a provision that gives subsidies to low-and-middle-income people to help them buy insurance through state-based health care exchanges. If those people use government money to buy a plan that covers abortion, then Palin may be arguing abortions covered in that plan would be paid for in part with government money. But the law says abortions in those state plans have to be paid for separately, out of the person's own pocket. [on camera]: Another question has to do with Sarah Palin's political calculation, why she's hammering on the issue of abortion when it doesn't seem to resonate so much with voters this year. A CNN poll in early August showed that out of the issues that are extremely important to voters 15 of them, in fact abortion ranked 14th. Why does she keep hammering on it?
[Susan Page, "usa Today":] Abortion will be important in the 2012 presidential race even though it wasn't so important in the 2010 midterms. And especially in a place like Iowa, that holds the opening caucuses in the presidential process. That's a place that has a really powerful anti-abortion movement.
[Todd:] Then do we take this as a signal that Sarah Palin is going to run for president? Again, we got no response from her side, but Susan Page says Palin sends every sign she can these days that she does plan to run, or is at least leaving that option open. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
[Holmes:] Well, they are sent overseas to fight, but when they come home, many face an entirely new battle.
[Unidentified Male:] A big part of getting back to living is doing therapy.
[Holmes:] For the combat wounded veteran, therapy includes music, and also reaching out to other vets. A new mission, coming up.

[Savidge:] Well, today there could be a breakthrough in the deadliest ever outbreak of E. coli. Test results are expected to determine if bean sprouts are the source of that mysterious strain that has killed 22 people. More than 2,000 people have gotten sick, including several here in the United States. Frederik Pleitgen is in the German town where the sprouts are grown. And, Frederik, they know so far what do they do, I guess, about the source of the E. coli?
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, what they're doing right now, Martin, is they are testing several samples of sprouts that were grown here. Of course, the German authorities are saying is that they believe this could be the possible source of the E. coli outbreak. However, they just got back the first test results, literally a couple of minutes ago, and they say that of the first 40 samples they have taken, 23 have come back negative for E. coli. Now, the other thing that they also say is that it doesn't mean that this is not the source for the E. coli. They think that because a lot of these sprouts that could possibly be involved in this E. coli outbreak were bred about four weeks ago, that possibly all the traces would be gone, because most of the sprouts would be sold off to things like cafeterias and restaurants. But, so far, the results here are negative. But, again, the German authorities say they've traced back the food chain from where people got sick all the way to this food company in the northern part of Germany, Martin.
[Savidge:] And, Fred, didn't the Germans already come out and blame cucumbers originally?
[Pleitgen:] Well, yes, absolutely. I mean, what they say in the beginning is they thought cucumbers from Spain were the possible culprits. And, indeed, there is still a warning in place from German health authorities not to eat things like lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers as well, especially in their raw form. Now, German authorities have come out and they're saying don't eat sprouts at this point in time. They have not taken back any of the other warnings, simply because they don't know what the exact cause of the outbreak is. Now, the good news for consumers in America is, obviously, America doesn't really export any of these foods from Germany. However, we do that there have been some people who have gotten sick in America as well. But so far, those are people who actually visited the northern region of Germany before coming back to the U.S So, again, this health scare here in Germany persists, it's still going on. However, the German authorities think that they might be a step closer to finding the source of this outbreak, and therefore, also, potentially cutting it off Martin.
[Savidge:] Which is why we'll stay in touch. Frederik Pleitgen, thanks very much for the update. The former head of the International Monetary Fund has pleaded not guilty in a New York courtroom. Dominique Strauss-Khan, that is, is charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid. CNN's Deborah Feyerick is outside the courthouse. And, what do we know, Deborah?
[Feyerick:] Well, Martin, we can tell you, they certainly wasted no time the arraignment actually taking place about 10 minutes earlier than expected. Not really a big deal, but clearly, the judge understanding the importance and the high level of interest. We kind of want to show you the scene outside of the courthouse, all of those cameras there. And it was interesting, because when Dominique Strauss-Kahn walked out of his SUV to enter the courthouse, he was almost surprised by the line of cameras that were waiting for him. He was equally startled when a number of hotel employees who had gathered began to boo him, and then chant, "Shame on you, shame on you." He entered the courthouse, went through the security detector. By 9:17 he was in the court. Five minutes later, it was over. So, we're just waiting for him to leave the courthouse. He is with his wife, Anne Sinclair. We're also told a daughter was in the courtroom as well. They are expected to leave any moment now, and then return to the luxury town house that's really just a matter of blocks from here. So, all in all, a very quick morning. But, certainly, a lot of international interest because of the fact many people thought he would become the next president of France, Martin.
[Savidge:] And, Deborah, do we know what comes next in this saga and when?
[Feyerick:] They're going to set a number of key dates. The defense team is asking for proper discovery. They had initially asked for it from prosecutors saying, look, it's been leaked out there. We're certainly entitled to have it. Prosecutors said, whoa, file the right papers and we'll get it to you. So, now, we begin some of the arduous process of getting all the documents, and, of course, Dominique Strauss-Kahn has hired a very high -powered league team, they've got investigators as is the case in these kind of incidents involving men of his stature, there's going to be a lot of due diligence when it comes to finding out exactly who this woman is and what is her background, Martin.
[Savidge:] All right. Deb Feyerick, thanks very much for the update. Checking more of our top stories right now: A mortar attack in Iraq has killed at least five U.S. service members. It happened at a forward operating base that is known as Loyalty in Baghdad. Iraqi officials say that the Americans were asleep in their trailers. The attack was one of several explosions across Iraq. Saudi state-run television, meanwhile, says that Yemen's embattled president, Saleh, has decided to or has had two operations and will return to his country after he recovers. Saleh was wounded last week when a rocket hit a mosque inside the presidential compound. Two leaders in Yemen have expressed cautious support for his vice president. The Miami Heat dousing water on the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki. The Heat behind another standout performance by Dwayne Wade beat the Mavs, 88-86, last night in game three of the NBA championship series. And that is despite Nowitzki taking the Mavs on his shoulders and scoring the last 12 Dallas points. The big guy went for 34 points, but failed to hit his last shot when the Heat Udonis Haslem, excuse me, was all over him. We'll have more sports in about 20 minutes, including a look at one racing fan's great leap of faith. That's still to come. She grew up in a wheelchair, and has never walked. But a high school student in Michigan took her first steps to get her diploma. That story is just ahead. And also ahead, the job market could soon suffer with another major blow. A new study says that state and local governments are preparing to slash jobs as early as next month. We'll go to the New York Stock Exchange for details, next.

[Lemon:] Next week, Penn State takes the field for the first time and for the first football game since former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, was found guilty of child sexual abuse. The legacy of the program has been tarnished by sanctions and by lawsuits and of course, this particular incident. But today we hear from a few of the players who remain on the team. They sat down in an exclusive interview with our Jason Carroll. There he is now. Jason joins us. So, Jason, what's their reaction to what's happened to their program?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, there are so many different reactions. It's depending upon what direction you're going with this, Don. You know, I asked some of the five players who we sat down with, first of all, what they thought of the man, Joe Paterno. And one of the players told me, he said this is a man who I respected for many, many years. Another player told me said this is a man who my father played with. I still respect him even given what happened later on in his career. So it was very interesting to hear from the players' point of view on Joe Paterno. Also to hear their point of view post NCAA sanctions. As you know, Penn State hit with very heavy sanctions here with the university. The team really took a hit because of those sanctions. Nine players decided to leave the team. I asked the players who remained what they thought of that. They said, look, it hurts. But the seniors on the team said that they've reached out to some of the other players. Some of those players on the fence, they talked to them. They said their point now, Don, is to focus on the team members who are here. And one of the points they also wanted me to get across is they really feel as though they are a stronger team now. They feel they are closer given the crisis that they've been through and they say they are ready to take on Ohio come September 1st.
[Lemon:] Jason, so they are getting support obviously. They're supporting each other. Do they feel because there were many people who thought that the program should be shut down altogether, should be shuttered. Do they feel they are getting broader support from outside of Penn State beyond the fans?
[Carroll:] Well, I know you've been following this story very closely, Don. So you've heard critics on both sides. Clearly, there have been a number of people out here not necessarily directly here around Penn State in this community, but throughout the country. They feel as though perhaps the program should be been shut down. The football players that we spoke to today said they were very aware of that. They were very aware that perhaps they would not have a team, that they would not be able to play. But they said that they received e-mails from all over the country. One player telling me that he received e-mails from people who he didn't even know, who found way to contact him lending support. So they feel like they have the support of the community behind them. They feel like they have a stronger team now in place in terms of moving forward.
[Lemon:] All right, and you can see that interview on "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Thank you, Jason Carroll. Just a short time ago, we told you more than 900 people have been killed this week in Syria, but survivors are looking for shelter. CNN's international Jim Clancy has some of their stories Jim.
[Jim Clancy, Cnn International Correspondent:] Don, the death toll continues to soar in Syria with activists reporting more than 150 people killed on Friday alone including large numbers of women and children. Indiscriminate bombing attacks by jets, the rockets fired into civilian areas and tanks moving in on the ground in many places across the country. The battle has centered not only on the large cities like Damascus and Aleppo, but on many smaller towns where the Free Syrian Army has held sway for months.
[Clancy:] All young men have gone. All the young men have been burned this woman shouted. Their voices filled with grief and anger. They trudge along. The smoke from fires smeared the skyline from behind them. Video posted on YouTube purports to show residents of the town leaving their homes, escaping with their lives but little else. Some carried bags with food or belongings, perhaps a single bottle of water. Many cradle children or infants in their arms. Some appear to be injured or exhausted after days of fighting in Hirak. As they appear to abandon their town many curse Bashar Assad or poured out their stories that all of the young men have been killed. Children murdered and burned. The determined drive by Syrian government troops left those who supported the uprising in despair. This man was comforted by passersby, but couldn't contain his emotion. Hirak is located north of Jira where Syria's uprising began 17 months ago. The town not far from the Jordanian border had long been used as a base by the Free Syrian Army. This week, it's 20,000 residents paid the price. Video also posted on YouTube purports to show the burned out shops and obvious signs of damage from tank fire, which may have set the buildings ablaze. A few young men remain where city streets show the deep scars of tank tracks. A handful of apparent fighters hastily carry the badly wounded comrade on a stretcher getting medical treatment won't be easy. Bashar doesn't fear God this woman shouted. All the men were slaughtered. Now refugees and head long flight the people of Hirak scrambled aboard trucks to escape. Some will likely find refuge with relatives in nearby villages. Others may try to leave Syria altogether. Children looked out from one of the trucks, clearly affected by all they had witnessed. The cameraman repeated again and again the world should see what is happening in Syria. The children have seen the ferocity of the fighting between the Free Syrian Army and government troops intent on a crackdown. What they can't see clearly is what kind of a future they're going to have in their own country. [on camera]: It isn't only the refugees from that single town. It's an estimated two-and-a-half million Syrians who have been driven out of their homes. They remain desperately in need of aid. But there are no humanitarian corridors, no safe havens. Clearly, President Bashar al-Assad's military is making a frontal assault on the opposition. And we can only expect the situation inside the country to grow more desperate in the hours and the days ahead Don.
[Lemon:] All right, Jim Clancy, thank you very much.

[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] For allegedly planning to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon. This morning, we're learning more about the teenage and a possible revenge attack on a mosque that he attended.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] And losing John Lennon, all this week, we're previewing a CNN documentary that counts down to Lennon's murder 30 years ago. This morning, an exclusive interview with the wife of killer, Mark David Chapman.
[Roberts:] Looking forward to that, up first, part-Bond movie, part Tom Clancy novel. The whistle blower web site WikiLeaks striking again. The huge document dump revealing conversations between Washington and diplomats stationed around the world.
[Chetry:] Yes, some of the most fascinating parts are about Iran and Jill Dougherty is live from Washington with more on that. Jill, first of all, how damaging is this latest release of documents?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Kiran, you know, it's really hard at this point because it's very early now. Not all of the documents have been released, still more to come. So it's hard to assess what overall this will do. But I did talk to one U.S. official who said that this could be hugely damaging and one of the factors is the number of these documents, 250,000 of them, and as I said, there are more to come. It gets into diplomatic issues, leaders, hot spots around the world. Literally almost everywhere the United States has diplomacy. And it's not just U.S. diplomats that are quoted in this. There are leaders from other countries who are quoted talking about third countries. So the net of this and the impact could be really, really broad. This came out, obviously, over the weekend and now Monday, we should be hearing from around the world some reaction to this. It could certainly at a minimum make life difficult for the U.S. diplomats that are in embassies and missions around the world dealing with people, perhaps, about whom they said very uncomplimentary things. But then it rises in significance when you get into U.S. strategy and vision, what the U.S. has been doing with its diplomacy around the world. And one last thing, Kiran and John, I've been looking at some of the blogs and one person said, well, if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. But that's not really what we're talking about here. It's not necessarily anything wrong, it's things that were done it's the unvarnished truth about things. And that is going to make it very difficult for U.S. diplomats to tell and be honest about what they are reporting back to Washington. It's very, very damaging to the structure of how they do business.
[Roberts:] Sort of like if your private conversations were suddenly printed on the front page of the "New York Times." A lot of chatter too about Iran and its nuclear program, specifically regarding both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
[Dougherty:] Right. Those are some of the most interesting. In fact, you have to say in the Arab world in the Mideast, the most interesting stuff will be those comments by Arab leaders, specifically the leader of Saudi Arabia, talking about Iran, the fear and loathing that they have for Iran, its nuclear program, and for the President Ahmadinejad. Another one is this disturbing report that Oran is getting missiles from North Korea. That's a very serious part that's come out in WikiLeaks. And another aspect of this is how they gather intelligence and the cable purportedly coming from Washington and Secretary Clinton, although not always do they come directly from the secretary even though it's signed by her, telling diplomats to gather information on other diplomats. Things like credit card numbers, frequent flier numbers, and that, of course, would lead to the implication that there's spying. Something that Crowley vehemently denies. He says this is what they do, they collect information and added other diplomats from other countries do the same thing.
[Chetry:] All right, Jill Dougherty for us with the latest on the WikiLeaks. Thank you.
[Roberts:] Thanks, Jill. From the White House, to the Pentagon, to Congress, American officials are saying the leak is illegal and may put lives at risk. Congressman Peter King of New York, the Ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee says WikiLeaks should be declared a foreign terrorist organization and called on the Obama administration to prosecute its founder, Julian Assange.
[Chetry:] Coming up at the bottom of the hour, we're going to speak with the WikiLeaks spokesperson about the accusations and what they think is an organization that this leaks accomplished. In just a few hours, a suspect accused of plotting to set up a bomb at a Christmas tree lighting in Portland, Oregon is due to appear in Federal Court. He's 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohammed, a Somali- American charged with trying to use a weapon of mass destruction.
[Roberts:] A sting operation exposed the plot. Authorities say Mohammed wanted those attending the tree lighting to leave quote, "either dead or injured." CNN Thelma Gutierrez is following this developing story for us. She's in Portland, chilling, particularly when we considered that he really tried to detonate this bomb. Thankfully, it was a fake bomb and nothing real, but the intent would appear to be there.
[Thelma Gutierrez, Cnn Correspondent:] Absolutely. John, Kiran, the police chief here in Portland told us, even though the public was never in any immediate danger because the bomb was fake, it's frightening to think what would have happened after all, on Friday night, this downtown area was crowded with thousands of people. Who is the suspect? Mohamed Osman Mohammed, we followed his trail to the town of Corvallis.
[Gutierrez:] Corvallis, Oregon, a picture postcard college town, an hour and a half outside of Portland, the home of Oregon State University. This is where 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohammed known as Mo to his friends has lived for the past year and studied engineering part-time. Alex Masik, a friend from high school said Mohamed was outgoing, the kind of guy everyone wanted to hang out with.
[Unidentified Male:] He had a lot of friends like he was pretty popular. He seemed like he was friends from people of every crowd.
[Gutierrez:] FBI investigators paint a different picture. They say Mohamed, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia told an undercover agent he'd been thinking about committing violent Jihad since he was 15. According to an FBI affidavit, he plotted for months with undercover agents believed to be Jihadists. To detonate a van filled with explosives at a tree lighting ceremony this past Friday in downtown Portland. In preparation, he allegedly exploded a practice bomb earlier this month and recorded a chilling good-bye tape saying "to my parents who held me back from Jihad and the cause of Allah, nothing you can do to can hold me back." FBI agents are investigating an apparent arson attack on the Islamic Center in Corvallis where Mohamed sometimes worshipped the destroyed much of the front office. These men who grew up in Corvallis worry that Muslims once again will be targeted for the actions of one misguided person.
[Unidentified Male:] They're going to assume that this mosque is what trained him to do such and such item.
[Mohsin Saeed, Grew Up In Corvallis:] My name is Mohamed, and that first thing threw me off. Great, now Mohamed is forever linked with more and more perpetual
[Gutierrez:] Imam Usif Wanley of the Islamic Center says Mohamed worshipped here once every two months. [on camera]: What was your first reaction when you heard that he'd been arrested?
[Unidentified Male:] I was shocked. And the greatest thing, you know, that affects me most is I wish I could have intervened in a way.
[Gutierrez:] It seems as though you're very saddened by this, very emotional time? Why?
[Unidentified Male:] He had the brightest future, you know.
[Gutierrez:] And hurt the Muslim community, as well?
[Unidentified Male:] And put the civilians in threat and the population as a whole.
[Gutierrez:] Now the young student who appeared to have it all could face life in prison for attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He's scheduled to appear in court later today. John, Kiran
[Chetry:] And some of the FBI said they've not made a connection between the apparent attack on the mosque and Mohamed's arrest, but of course, it seems to be more than a coincidence. What are they saying about that?
[Gutierrez:] Kiran, that's exactly what the imam believes. He says this mosque has existed in the town of Corvallis for 40 years, they have never been attacked and now this. He says what has been very surprising to him is that the community yesterday as word got out about the alleged attack, people started coming out and talking to them offering their support. Business people have even told the imam that they will help to raise funds so that they can rebuild that center.
[Chetry:] Thelma Gutierrez for us this morning, thank you.
[Roberts:] Some sad news from Hollywood this morning. Actor, Leslie Neilson has died of complications from pneumonia. Neilson's long career as a dramatic actor took a sharp comedic turn in 1980 with his unforgettable role in the movie "Airplane." Surely you remember that? And of course, he went on to star in the police squad television series and then in three "Naked Gun" movies. The great Leslie Neilson, 84 years old.
[Chetry:] So funny that a whole generation of people that only remember him as the comedic actor not the dramatic actor.
[Roberts:] It spawned so many favorite lines. Have you have a favorite line?
[Chetry:] I still love when he says pudding? And he says no thank you.
[Roberts:] I like that famous line. It's is the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl. Girl finds boy, boy forgets girl. Boy remembers girl, boy loses girl in tragic blimp accident. Goodyear? No, the worst.
[Chetry:] You really had that one of those planned out.
[Roberts:] It's one of those things that sticks with you.
[Chetry:] He was great. He will be missed, but he'll live on in the movies and quotable quotes. About 10 minutes past the hour right now. I know Reynolds Wolf has a favorite line from Leslie Neilson. He's in the Extreme Weather Center this morning. Hey, Reynolds.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] I've got to jump onboard with John on that one. That was absolutely classic. One thing that's not going to be so classic today is your travel. We've got millions of Americans still trying to get home either way you're going to be traveling and it might be that pain for many of you. Check out this map behind you behind me, rather. Delays in Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, Dallas, some of those delays possibly up to an hour or so. The reason why is because this immense storm system right in the middle of the country, top half is going to bringing some storms to the northern plains. Thunderstorms will be a possibility. Very quickly, your temperatures for the day, a bit on the cool side, no surprise for billings, 23 degrees, 71 in Dallas, 53 in D.C., 50 in New York, 85 in Tampa, and 59 in San Francisco. OK, guys, you're up to speed. Let's pitch it back to you in New York. Pretty good day for you guys.
[Roberts:] Yes, and 50 degrees not bad in anybody's book this time of year. Reynolds, thanks so much.
[Chetry:] Still to come on Most News in the Morning, stepping back from the brink of war, China is calling for emergency talks on the crisis in Korea. We're live in South Korea with the latest developments.
[Roberts:] Next week marks the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's murder. We have a special documentary this Saturday that looks into the months leading up to it. And this morning, part of our exclusive interview with the wife of Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman.
[Chetry:] And could it be true? Does Wolf Blitzer really do the dougie? Well, we have the "Soul Train" awards. Got to see more of this video coming up. I love the facial expressions, Wolf. Eleven minutes past the hour.

[Savidge:] It is almost the time of year that time of year a lot of people are looking forward to their tax return refunds. But what if you don't want to wait weeks or maybe months to get your money? Well, financial and business consultant Eric Amado joins us live from Dallas. Good morning to you, sir. Eric, you know, I have seen these ads for refund anticipation loans. Can you tell us just what are they?
[Eric Amado, Tax Expert:] Absolutely. These types of loans are short term cash advances based on anticipated tax refund from the IRS. These loans are predominantly sought in low income and minority neighborhoods and have very, very high interest rates.
[Savidge:] So, when I hear that, almost sounds predatory. So, what are the advantages and what are the disadvantages of these sorts of loans?
[Amado:] Absolutely. Well, the advantage is that, if you need fast cash, a lot of people will go this route. With these types of loans, you can get your money within one to three days. If you are having problems paying your bills, some people will try these loans. Now, the disadvantage is, like you said, it's predatory. The fees can be very, very high a lot of big fees inside. And what makes this very controversial is that a lot of people don't know exactly what they're paying for.
[Savidge:] And, you know, I can see where the anticipation builds into this. You want your money. Of course, you want it right away. You believe you're entitled to it. So, why should you have to wait?
[Amado:] Absolutely.
[Savidge:] But why should you really avoid these refund anticipation loans. I presumed, because just as you described, you're going to pay for it.
[Amado:] Absolutely. It's a very, very bad thing, I think. Let's talk about example I have for the viewers so we can explain what's happening here.
[Savidge:] Sure.
[Amado:] So, basically, let's say, for example, you get a $2,000 refund, all right? Now, you may pay a fee of $75 for a loan fee. You may pay $75 for administrative fee and you may pay $100 for a tax preparation fee. Of course, these fees can change. Now, you might have a total fee of 250 bucks. But you might say to yourself, you know what? I have $1,750, I'm feeling good. But the problem is that you pay the APR of around 300 percent. And might say, Eric, what is APR. Well, APR is the annual percentage rate. And it's the best way to judge a loan if you're looking at a credit card, card note, because it says everything that's
[Savidge:] Those are some pretty staggering figures there. I presume this information is presented to the person before they sign on the dotted line, right?
[Amado:] It is it is presented to them, the information. But in the past, there was problems where people h didn't know exactly what was going on. But you have to understand that some of the people that are getting these loans, they're not very financially astute. And they don't always know what's happening here. So, if I tell you, you're paying this amount of money, you might not always recognize it right now because you need your money. You got to pay your bills.
[Savidge:] Right. And like a lot of us, we tend to just ignore the fine print and sign.
[Amado:] Absolutely.
[Savidge:] What are better tax refund options then?
[Amado:] That's a great question. Some of the best tax refund options out there is the e-file. IRS has done a great job with e- file. About 70 percent of taxpayers are e-filing right now. And you can get your money within one to two weeks. Also, you can look into doing something like a direct deposit. And what that is, is that you can have your money directly deposited into your checking account. You had to have a good routing number and that's very easy as well. Also, you can look into electronic filing. And one more thing you can look into is the pre-paid debit card. If you don't have a checking account, you might have to pay a little money for this. You can have your money go to a pre-paid debit card. But before you get that, make sure you understand the fees associated with that card and using that card.
[Savidge:] Right. The online stuff, really, really does seem to work and it does work very quickly, as you point out. Eric Amado, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
[Amado:] Yes, appreciate it. Thank you.
[Savidge:] A kid sent home from school for showing support for the wrong team. Plus, a 39-year-old is zeroing in on his dream to become starting center on his college basketball team.

[Eliot Spitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening, I'm Eliot Spitzer. Welcome to the program. I'm joined by regulars E.D. Hill and Will Cain. E.D., what have you got for us tonight?
[E.d. Hill, Cnn Contributor:] You know I'm going to look at "the huh" factor. Are we coordinating with the Libyan opposition or not? Are we working under NATO command and they're taking control or not? A A lot of questions. We're going to try to get the answers.
[Spitzer:] All right. Will?
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Brand-new numbers out today from a Pew Hispanic study and it says, guess what? The Hispanic population is booming. But the interesting note, where it's booming. I'm going to tell you.
[Spitzer:] All right. Look forward to it. But first breaking news on Libya. For days the White House has talked about handing off control of the operation in Libya to NATO, but now that it's happening, the question of NATO's exact role is still up in the air. Just hours ago, NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN that America will relinquish military command within in days. But Rasmussen made clear that NATO will only enforce the no-fly zone. NATO will not take leadership of the most critical aspect of the campaign, those elements relating to the protection of civilians which have been the basis for the assault on Moammar Gadhafi's forces that halted their momentum against the rebels. Listen to this.
[Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General, Nato:] We have not decided yet whether we will take on the broader responsibility. This means that right at this moment, you will have two operations. We have taken on responsibility for the no-fly zone while the coalition still continues its activities. But as I told you, we are considering whether we should take on that broader responsibility. However, that decision has not been made yet.
[Spitzer:] In the military, there's nothing more important than clear command and control. This sounds like command and confusion. Is this any way to run a war? General Wesley Clark served as supreme allied commander of the successful NATO intervention in Kosovo and has an insider's perspective on why an international intervention of this type can be such a complicated diplomatic dance. General Clark, welcome, and thank you for joining us.
[Wesley Clark, Former Nato Supreme Allied Commander:] Thanks, Eliot. Well, it is confusing. And especially when you hear it like this, it's probably less confusing for the pilots because basically they're going to be given a mission order, they're going to be given the intelligence, they're going to be told to go out and do something. They'll be given a frequency. There'll be a controller who tells them what to do and they'll be de-conflicted from other aircraft. But yes, it does sound confusing and I think it's temporary because I think within three or four days, NATO will decide to take the whole thing.
[Spitzer:] Well, it seems to me, General, and I may be wrong about this, but it seems to me that the reason for this delay is that there is uncertainty about what the scope of that U.N. authorization really is. What does the U.N. mandate mean when it says protect, use any and all measures necessary to protect civilians? And so let me frame it for you this way. If you were now the supreme allied commander, as you were for many years, and you looked at that U.N. resolution, and the opposition forces were beginning to go on the offense they were beginning to march from Benghazi toward Tripoli would we be able to provide air cover for them in that offensive operation?
[Clark:] Well, you might not exactly provide air cover for them, but if the Libyan tanks were around the cities and still shelling and so forth, you would be probably able to take out the tanks. Eliot, this gets addressed by lawyers. There's
[Spitzer:] Then you've heard me.
[Clark:] Actually there are lawyers in the State Department and in the Pentagon who will look at this in great detail. They'll use the best guidance they can get to the commanders. I think, you know, the confusion for NATO is rather that Turkey, in particular, they have guest workers in Libya. They're very sensitive in terms of their regional role. There is a Muslim member of NATO. And they want to see how the operation unfolds. It will take a few days to get accustomed to it. And once it's clear that it's not using excessive force and not killing civilians, I think Turkey will sign on.
[Spitzer:] Well, where we seem to be right now, and obviously we watched and talked to folks over in Libya all day long, it seems that the massive bombing, clearly the no-fly zone was established, the massing bombing has created some element of momentum for the opposition forces, but the question is, will this be sufficient to actually turn the tide so they can march forward to Tripoli and actually unseat Moammar Gadhafi. What is your take on the military balance of power right now?
[Clark:] The military balance of power is probably still with Gadhafi. But there are that's a material balance of power. If you look at the moral balance, the morale and the sense of inevitability, I think increasingly Gadhafi's forces will fine that inevitably they're going to be run out of town. There are other nonmilitary factors at work here. The International Criminal Supreme Court considering Gadhafi, considering charging him. Once he becomes a war criminal, that further diminishes things. A diplomatic effort to encircle and isolate Gadhafi is gaining momentum. The training of the Libyan opposition forces, their familiarity with the weapons and so forth, that they're doing themselves is gaining. And inevitably they will become more adept at sharing information with
[Nato. Spitzer:] But in an odd way, you're while you are absolutely correct that it seems inevitable that Moammar Gadhafi will end up on the wrong side of a criminal prosecution by the International Court, does that not create certainly for him an incentive to fight to the end? So where is that pivotal moment? When because he has no place to go. He's going to be tracked down and prosecuted, and who knows what the remedy would be. So doesn't that mean we need to tip not just the moral balance that you talk about that's so important but also the military balance and how do we do that given what the constraints are right now on what NATO or the allies can do?
[Clark:] Gadhafi is unpredictable. And we really don't know exactly what the tipping point is. But it's also possible. His people are reaching out, they're trying to figure out what's going on. It's also possible he may decide he wants to cut a deal before he gets indicted in an effort to avoid the worst possible consequences. He's got plenty of money. He may be searching right now, probably is, for a way to get that money out of there. Looking at which government's going to give him protection. And then he may decide to cut the best deal he can. These people don't go down a single course of action. They're not fools. They're very smart candy operators. That's the reason he's remained in power. So he's ruthless, he's saying he'll never give in and so forth. But there's a part of Gadhafi which is certainly working to say what's my next move and what's my best means for survival. We can't really know from his perspective everything about it. But I think it's a it's a mistake to think that the only thing that can dislodge him is boots on the ground and military force. There are other elements at play here, that there's no there's no guarantee of this as there would be if you put in a sizable invasion force. You would definitely run Gadhafi out. But it's possible that we may get rid of him without that.
[Spitzer:] All right. General Clark, I certainly hope you're right because the sooner he is gone, fewer lives will be lost and the better it is for humankind everywhere in this world. All right. General Clark, thanks so very much for your insight. Joining me now is a uniquely independent voice as one of the most senior advisers of the George W. Bush State Department. He disagreed with the decision to invade Iraq and he believes our current policy in Afghanistan is a mistake. Richard Haass is the president of the Council on Foreign Relations. His book, "War of Necessity, War of Choice" is a must- read. I think we should be in Libya. Richard thinks we shouldn't be. Richard, explain why I'm wrong. And you know I don't like to be told I'm wrong. But I have such faith in you. Explain it to me.
[Richard Haass, President, Council On Foreign Relations:] It's a fair question, as always. I'll speak for myself rather than for the Council on Foreign Relations. I don't think U.S. interests are vital here. The economic interests are significant but modest still. Two percent of the world's oil output. But I don't think the humanitarian crisis was automatic or as acute as people thought. I think other issues in the Middle East are more important, more deserving of U.S. focus, Egypt, Bahrain, conceivably Syria, certainly Iran and Iraq, not to mention Afghanistan,
[Spitzer:] Look, I agree with the second half of your statement, we haven't thought this through properly, and we need to do that very rapidly and very clearly. Let me challenge your premise, though.
[Haass:] Sure.
[Spitzer:] You may be correct, Libya is not one of the vital strategic interests. But is aren't you answering the wrong question? Isn't the right question, if we had not gone into Libya, would we not have undercut the entirety of the revolution for freedom throughout North Africa and the Middle East?
[Haass:] Not at all. Not at all.
[Spitzer:] All right. Tell me why I'm wrong on that one.
[Haass:] The fact that you got the Arab League to support this resolution in the U.N. should tell you something. What was the last time the Arab League endorsed an intervention against one of their own? Answer, never. Why is that? Because Gadhafi is a pariah even in the Arab world. He doesn't have a lot of he doesn't have a lot of resonance. Each situation, what's going to happen in Egypt, it's not going to be based on this. Do you think what the Saudis are going to do in Bahrain is going to be fundamentally based on what happens with Moammar Gadhafi? Essentially each boat on its own bottom.
[Spitzer:] Well, if you're correct, each boat on its own bottom, and in fact each nation will be analyzed separately, then you're correct. No vital interest, we shouldn't perhaps be here. But if you believe, as I do, that if we had failed to go in and sent the message throughout the Arab world that when you're as tough as nails and shoot at your own civilians as Gadhafi is willing to, you survive. But we push out a Mubarak and arguably in Yemen, as well. That sends the wrong message and would have had consequences, I think.
[Haass:] Eliot. Eliot, if the next crisis is in Syria, are you going sit here on your show and recommend that the United States do a no-fly zone and more than it should?
[Spitzer:] Then you assess whether it's possible and here we'll see the possibilities and the realty of success will vindicate this decision
[Haass:] Or in Bahrain? Would you take on the sorties in Bahrain?
[Spitzer:] That is the next choice well.
[Haass:] The answer is you wouldn't. So again you've got to take
[Spitzer:] Not necessarily. All right. But anyway, Richard Richard, your arguments are always persuasive. I want you to explain prospectively
[Haass:] Sure.
[Spitzer:] Look, retrospective question, fascinating, but we've gone beyond it. Prospectively what do we now do? How do we take this to a victorious outcome since we're in?
[Haass:] There's four potential ways this goes at the risk of making it too complicated. One is the cease-fire happens. Highly unlikely. Second is a prolonged
[Spitzer:] Stop. Can I stop if there's a cease-fire, does he then survive and maintain, and that's a loss for us?
[Haass:] Well, again, the question is what then happens? I don't think it's sustainable. Civil wars tend not to stop. It's not like a basketball game with the halftime. I think it's very tough. You could have a prolonged civil war, though, in which there's carnage on both sides as civil wars are. Or you can have either side prevail. You could have the opposition prevail over Gadhafi. He could implode, they could do better without outside help, or just the opposite. Gadhafi could prevail against a disorganized opposition. So this could still go in lots of ways.
[Spitzer:] How do you assess not likelihood but whether we should or not since we're in? You can't go in with a toe, because now an outcome would we agree that if Gadhafi is there six months from now that is a significant defeat for the United States?
[Haass:] It is bad for the United States. The United States has specifically called for his ouster. The best at least on the surface outcome for the United States if he's gone. But then we have to think about some other things. What is the nature of the opposition, how did they how did they orient themselves. Also, can they maintain order? It's quite possible that the ouster of Gadhafi could actually lead to circumstances where NATO or the Arab League or both would be pressured to think about introducing some kind of peacekeeping force. There could be boots on the ground.
[Spitzer:] Because of the fear that mayhem would be the other alternative. But if we want the best outcome there is a judgment tell me if I'm wrong the best of the outcomes is the opposition prevails over Gadhafi in a reasonably short time frame. Is that likely to happen without our giving them more military assistance than they're getting right now?
[Haass:] No. They're going to need a lot more military assistance from the outside. And again, it's only a desirable political outcome if they not only have capacity at the end of the day to run their country, but if they have an orientation. And again, my concern is I don't think you, me, or anyone else can speak with confidence about exactly what the opposition would do if it were to come to power. We don't even know what the opposition would be because indeed once they got rid of Gadhafi, there might be an awful lot of infighting. The pattern of revolutions is once they get rid of the old regime, they tend to then start fighting amongst themselves.
[Spitzer:] Dissent breaks out immediately. That will be next week's crisis if we, in fact, get there. But this is then where the mission creep comes from because no-fly zone was easy to state, in fact, reasonably easy to implement. But now we're bombing we're beginning to intervene in a more aggressive military way.
[Haass:] Exactly. We're already beyond a no-fly zone. This is already a so-called no-fly zone plus, and if that isn't enough, then the question is do you simply level the playing fields so fighting can go on forever? That doesn't seem moral or very humanitarian. So you've got to decide then, are you going to let Gadhafi prevail? Probably not. So I think then NATO is then on the hook to essentially try to tilt the playing field in favor of the opposition that will require a lot more use of air power and conceivably ground forces.
[Spitzer:] Right. Look, we're not there just to be referees and neutral arbiters, we're there to get an outcome. And that's what the president has said. I want to switch geography just a little bit.
[Haass:] Sure.
[Spitzer:] You raised Syria and very powerfully said, look, do you go to Syria next, which is obviously much more problematic, much more difficult. But it Syria the next hot spot where we're finally seeing after the Assad family has ruled for decades, again this organic rising up of opposition?
[Haass:] I would hope so, as the Arabs would say, inshallah. It would be a very good thing to see. It's another minority-run country. The Alawites who run Syria are maybe 10 percent plus or minus of the country. We should be thinking, what can we say, what can we do behind the scenes that might weaken the government there or strengthen the opposition. We should do it there. We should do it in Iran. We don't always want to be on the defensive in the Middle East, where essentially it's our friends coming under power. Under sway, rather. We want to look for ways to weaken the countries that are the most problematic beginning with Iran but also Syria.
[Spitzer:] OK. You are the person who wrote the memos to the president saying here's what we can do. If you were writing the memo right now to President Obama about Syria, what would we do? What could we do? What leverage do we have?
[Haass:] Well, I would be looking now to raise the rhetoric, find ways if the opposition needs help, whether it's with technology, whether it's with cash. That's why you have the CIA. It's also why essentially you want to communicate with these people so they can get messages. The government wants to control the flow of information. They don't want oppositions to coalesce. If we can help in places like Iran or Syria with different types of software technology and the social media, we should be open to that.
[Spitzer:] I hate to go back to Libya, but you did your mention of the reference of the CIA. And your articles on this, which are fascinating, you said why didn't we use covert means. You said we could have used covert means. Would that have been successful? Do we have the capacity? Could we actually have ended Gadhafi's reign that way?
[Haass:] The honest answer is I don't know. But going forward we may have to think about it. If we don't want to have a heavy military presence and the president has also ruled out boots on the ground, and if Gadhafi hangs in there for a while, we're going to have to look at ways of ratcheting up the sanctions, ways of perhaps helping but also shaping the opposition.
[Spitzer:] Right.
[Haass:] And ways of weakening the regime and covert means are one of them. You don't want to deny yourself any of the instruments of national security here.
[Spitzer:] All right. Richard, thank you for coming in. You speak with the wisdom of experience, and that's why I hate to disagree with you. Thanks so much for coming in.
[Haass:] Thanks, Eliot.
[Spitzer:] All right. Coalition air strikes launched perhaps its fiercest attacks yet against Gadhafi. CNN's Nic Robertson is on the ground and close enough to hear the heavy bombardment. We'll talk with him coming up next.

[Blitzer:] Delicate work is now underway in the West Bank to exhume the body of Yasser Arafat. French authorities have launched a murder investigation into his death after finding a radioactive substance on some of his personal things. CNN's senior international correspondent Sara Sidner is in Ramallah.
[Sara Sidner, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Security forces are keeping us as far away as possible from the Palestinian presidential compound, where the body of deceased PLO leader Yasser Arafat has been laid to rest. Now you can see below and behind me a huge blue tarpaulin that is surrounding his mausoleum. What we're hearing from a source is the glass that usually surrounds that mausoleum has now been taken down and workers are working on removing the marble tombstone. This is all happening because the family of Yasser Arafat believes he was murdered after polonium 210, the highly radioactive element, was found on some of his belongings, according to a Swiss lab. Now his body is supposed to be exhumed this month and there is a lot of work to be done. A source says that the exhumation could take at least two weeks and probably more because some of the work will be done by hand. When the work of removing the dirt in his grave is done, we're expecting to see scientists from France, Switzerland, and Russia here to watch that process and to take tests. This is all happening just as everyone commemorates the advisory, the eight-year anniversary of Arafat's death. His family very upset and there has always been suspicion that Arafat was murdered when he died in a French hospital in 2004. Sara Sidner, CNN, Ramallah.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Kyra Phillips. Thanks for staying with us through the night and into the morning. Hurricane Irene has already claimed nine lives since making landfall this morning in North Carolina's Outer Banks. More than one million homes have lost power, and it's churning up the Atlantic seaboard as we speak.
[Savidge:] The massive storm is now moving north, pounding the resort town of Ocean City, Maryland. Irene's expected to remain a Category 1, with hurricane-force winds of 80 miles per hour all the way to New York City. It is expected to arrive there Sunday afternoon.
[Phillips:] And for a Category 1 hurricane, Irene is deceptively dangerous. The greatest threat is a crippling storm surge caused by the non-stop wind. And that's because the storm is moving so slowly, barely moving, 13 miles an hour. Some places, that storm surge could be as high as 10 feet.
[Savidge:] We want to check in now with Chad Myers at the CNN Hurricane Headquarters for the latest on the storm.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] The 11:00 o'clock update is here. If you're keeping track at home, 36.9, 75.6. It is still an 80-mile- per-hour storm. And I was just checking some of the recon, which means the hurricane hunter aircraft flying through it, still 100 miles per hour aloft. So this storm, although it looks awful on satellite, it still looks very good on radar. And there's an awful lot of rain still coming down, and that rainfall is saturating the ground. It is running off, and the wind as it goes over that saturated ground will knock trees down from New York City through Philadelphia, Bucks County, back as far west probably and south as Baltimore and even into D.C. I know it doesn't look that great on the satellite, but let me tell you, there's an awful lot of rainfall here. And all these cells that are kind of rotating in here across parts of New Jersey are all rotating. We've had at least five tornado warnings just in the past hour, kind of centered around Philadelphia, but all the way to Wilmington, all the way to the Pine Barrens. And these storms as they come onshore could rotate with tornadoes. We had 30 to 40 homes damaged in Lewes, Delaware, from a tornado at 6:35 this afternoon. And there's the wind. That's our Chris Lawrence cam. That is Chesapeake Beach, right on the Chesapeake Bay. We also have Jeanne Meserve in Ocean City. And the winds are picking up at all those locations because the eye, guys, is still getting closer.
[Savidge:] All right, Chad. Thanks very much.
[Phillips:] Well, let's stay on the note of New York City, shall we? Police commissioner Ray Kelly on the line with us now. Commissioner, can you hear me OK? RAY KELLY, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER Update us. We saw the presser there with the mayor, and basically, concerned about the tornado watch until 5:00 AM, correct? And also driving home the point that if you haven't left, to stay indoors. And that's the final warning.
[Kelly:] Yes, I think that, you know, the message has changed in that regard. The mayor is saying, you know, if you're in those areas that he directed be evacuated, then it's not time to evacuate. It's time to stay there, to shelter in place as best you can. It would be more dangerous now to leave those locations. So that was the mayor's changed message, you might say.
[Savidge:] Commissioner, how high is the concern for lower Manhattan and the potential for flooding?
[Kelly:] Well, certainly, that is a significant concern. You know, it could be as much as a 8 to 10-foot increase in the level of water there. So you know, that would put in jeopardy a lot of significant facilities that we have in that area, and certainly, the power grid if it gets, you know, wet, in a significant way and it's powered up, could do significant damage. So that's why there's discussions about at least the possibility of turning the power off.
[Phillips:] And worst-case scenario, if, indeed, one of these areas, low-lying areas that we have talked about, will flood, what will be your first course of action?
[Kelly:] Well, obviously, if, in fact, it affects the power supply, you know, for Con Ed to do everything they possibly can to return the power. We think that the flooding really has a you know, the greatest risk of flooding is to affect the infrastructure. We don't see it as putting, necessarily, you know, lives at greater risk. It's going to impact on electrical systems, on power supplies. That's going to be of primary concern. Of course, putting those things back on line is a very, very heavy lift.
[Savidge:] And public transportation. Once this storm goes by, how quickly do you think you can get that back up and running?
[Kelly:] Well, the MTA, Metropolitan Transit Authority, are the experts in that regard, but we know it took them eight hours to turn the system off. So it takes at least eight hours and probably significantly more time to re-power the system. You know, the mayor is hopeful that, you know, the system could be restored ideally some time Monday, but I think it you know, it doesn't look good for Monday morning rush hour. I think it's just you know, common sense indicates that that's going to be a very challenging time for us.
[Phillips:] Are you concerned about the panic? If things get pretty hairy, things that we saw in Katrina, like the looting and the violence are you prepared for those scenarios, and are you concerned about that? Are you worried about that?
[Kelly:] Well, sure, we have to be concerned about it. That's our job. We've deployed, you know, a large number of police officers. We'll keep them out on patrol for specifically that reason, order maintenance. That's if, in fact, you do leave your home and leave your valuables, it's understandable if you're concerned about that. And we're trying to allay those concerns by having police resources in place. You know, we're a big police department, but we've devoted a lot of resources in that regard to the areas where evacuation was mandated.
[Savidge:] How about the fact this is a weekend? I presume that is a great help for you?
[Kelly:] Yes. I mean, you know, the fact that people are not going to work, obviously, that lessens the you know, the pressure and the effect on the business community. I mean, we know that businesses certainly are impacted as a result of this, but it would have been much greater if, in fact, it happened during the work week, so you know, there are other businesses, entertainment businesses, that sort of thing, that are affected on the weekends. But I think the effect would have been much greater if it had happen during a work week. So we're thankful for that.
[Phillips:] New York police commissioner Ray Kelly sir, thanks so much for calling in.
[Kelly:] Thanks. Bye-bye.
[Savidge:] We're now going to go check in with our two correspondents, Chris Lawrence and Jeanne Meserve, both in the state of Maryland, but separated by about 80-some miles. And there is Jeanne. Let's and there's Chris. Chris, let's start with you since we're looking at you there. How are things, and how have they changed since last we spoke?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, Marty, it's cold, wet, miserable, about what you would expect to be standing out in the middle of a hurricane, or one that is fast approaching. I think the difference from maybe an hour ago that we've seen here is the strength of some of the gusts of winds has definitely increased a little bit. But the amount of rain has really increased from an hour ago, where it's just a steady downpour. I'm just going to step away a little bit and show you a little bit of the area, again with the rain just continuing to come down and just continue as sheets as that wind starts to whip through the area. The concern here is not so much catastrophic damage from this wind. They don't think that's going to happen. In fact, I remember standing outside about six years ago, down near New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina, and even in the hours before Katrina hit, I remember, there was no way you could stand out like this. You know, the winds were just way too powerful. That's not what we're seeing with this storm. But again, every area is affected very differently. My colleague, Jeanne Meserve, again, is about 80 miles away, but she's on the side of the storm that is getting hit along the Atlantic Ocean. And Jeanne, I'm just wondering, you know, what are you experiencing there in terms of the wind and the rain?
[Jeanne Meserve, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Chris, Chad promised us that it would get worse, and indeed, it has. We're now getting quite a bit of rain in addition to quite a bit of wind. I wanted to bring you a little bit of news. I just got off the telephone with Governor Jack Markell, the governor of Delaware. We've been talking about reports of a tornado touching down in his state. He says there are several other reports of tornadoes touching down, but nothing confirmed at this point in time. He also told me that there is a hospital in Dover, Kent General Hospital, which is experiencing some flooding at this time. There are patients in that hospital, and he says they are working very hard to pump that water out before it affects the electrical system. At this point in time, they do have electricity, but obviously, they want to maintain that because they have patients in that hospital who are in need, I'm sure, of the sorts of machines that require a steady supply of electricity. Even if there are emergency generators there, they want to keep solid electrical power into that facility, if they can. He told me they've had a lot of beach erosion, that there are a lot of roads that are impassable, that there has been some flooding, as well. But right now, the big concern up where he is, these reports of tornadoes touching down. Here in Ocean City, it continues to be very rough. We went down and walked the dunes down here. We did see that at one point, where there was a pathway over the dunes, water had indeed come over at one point, and there had been a little bit of erosion. But the main body of the dunes in this specific area and we can only talk to what we can see the dunes so far appear to be holding fast. Of course, we have many hours ahead of this storm. And Chad, you can tell us a little bit more about that.
[Myers:] Jeanne, the eye of the storm, literally the eye, only about 60 miles to your south, right down here. Jeanne Meserve is right there, just outside of this red box. That's the tornado watchbox. And that's there because all these big cells are coming off the ocean, spinning into now northern New Jersey up here. That's about Long Branch right there, Sandy Hook. And every one of these storms as they come on shore could spin enough to cause tornadoes. It's the same thing that happened in Lewes, Delaware, about six hours ago. Jeanne, the rain is all the way back from about now Wilkes- BarreScranton, down through York and Lancaster, and even into Harrisburg, as far west as Hagerstown, Maryland, and as far west as Charlottesville, Virginia. The rain now raining in Maine. It is raining literally from Maine to North Carolina. This will not be remembered as the windiest storm, but it will be remembered as the wettest storm in a very long time. The wet ground and the wind combined will knock down many trees. And Chris, I know you've already had some debris around you. What are you seeing now?
[Lawrence:] Yes, again, I think when that wind started to pick up, Chad, we did see starting some stuff starting to blow off. You can see some of the debris down here that's just been blowing off, some of the a couple shingles
[Myers:] In fact, yes, the right front quadrant is typically the area where the tornadoes are. Now, tomorrow, that will be Easter, Long Island, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. But for tonight, it's this area that's spinning. The entire body of the hurricane is spinning. That gives all the storms as they come on shore a little bit of a twist. And then as the twist hits the ground, there's something called friction. The friction slows the ground it slows the air along the ground, and that causes the entire storm to spin a little bit. And that spin now, it's not a Tuscaloosa, Joplin, Oklahoma City-type tornado. It's not an F-3, F-4, F-5. But we just showed you some pictures right there. That's what the damage looks like from an F-1 or 2, zero, 100- mile-per-hour hurricane and a 100-mile-per-hour tornado. That's basically what we had. The storm now down to an 80-mile-per-hour storm, but the tornadoes are going to be all night long. Jeanne, what do you have now for me?
[Meserve:] Well, we have a little bit more wind. It's really gusting in here powerfully. We're without power here. We're working on emergency generators where we are and the power that our truck generates. Let me tell you the latest figures I have from the areas where I am. The last I heard from the state of Maryland, there were about 160,000 people, customers, rather, without power, most of those in Prince Georges, St. Marys, and Anne Arundel Counties. Also, the governor of Delaware tells me that there are now 17,000 customers in his state without power. So the power outages are moving north right along with Irene. Now back to Kyra and Marty.
[Myers:] Jeanne, I'll pick it up real quick. Can you see the ocean? And is there erosion going on? Is the beach essentially gone?
[Meserve:] Yes, this beach is probably when before the storm started, there were dunes and then there was a stretch of probably 40 yards of sand. We can't see any real erosion. I can tell you that water is covering that 40 yards. It's coming right up and licking up against the sand dunes, and as I mentioned, occasionally coming over. But in terms of real erosion cuts in the immediate area where we are, we have not seen that, although the governor of Delaware did tell me there had been some erosion, some beach erosion, up in his state.
[Myers:] Jeanne, be careful out there. Chris, you, as well. As the wind picks up tonight in your locations, and also up to Atlantic City, the winds may pick up to 80 miles per hour. That's the center of the eye, still an 80-mile-per-hour storm, and everybody needs to be careful out there. You guys outside for sure, people at home, just stay inside Marty, Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right, Chad. Thanks so much. We will talk more to you, obviously, about the projected path of this storm and check in with all our reporters state by state, in particular, Maryland and New York. Stay with us.
[Savidge:] We continue to cover the story on the network level, but our affiliates continue to cover it on the local level.
[Phillips:] That's right. Let's take you straight to WCBS, reporting live on Hurricane Irene.
[Chris Ragge, Wcbs Correspondent:] ... just a little bit and show you some of what the wind is doing to some of the side streets here. And you can see the leaves blowing around. We've seen some branches down already. Power, as you can see, is off. And if you look over to the right, we've got a branch down here. And then again, I'm just going to have you come right back to the middle
[Maurice Dubois, Wcbs Anchor:] OK, that's Chris Wragge for us in Spring Lake on the Jersey shore. They're barely going 18, 20 miles an hour on the road there. It's really slow going. And the power is out. We'll check back in with him in just a moment. Let's go to the telephone right now. Sheriff Shaun Golden of Monmouth County, what can you tell us tonight about the situation in your county, sir?
[Shaun Golden, Monmouth County, Nj, Sheriff:] Good evening, Maurice and Christine. Yes, well, looking at Chris there traveling through Spring Lake, that's what we're experiencing throughout the county. The winds have really picked up here. We have high winds, some downed trees. Right now, we're reporting about 12,000 residents without power for JCP&L.; So the roads are starting to flood. We have a lot of puddling and floods going on. And you know, that's what we're concerned about right now. Now, our residents have heeded the warning, and you know, the roadways are pretty clear. And as you can tell by Chris's report, law enforcement is on top of those that may be out and about.
[Unidentified Female:] And what are you saying to those folks that still are out and about? I mean, other than just warning them, what other things can you do?
[Golden:] Yes, I mean, obviously, we want them off the road because at some point, it's going to become a rescue situation, and we don't want to waste our resources, quite frankly, on or at least jeopardizing our public safety users to have to go out there when we've been warning people. And for the most part, our residents in Monmouth County have been fantastic and they've really been cooperative in vacating those low-lying areas and seeking shelter and being prepared for the storm.
[Unidentified Male:] Let's talk about those power outages, 12,000 people out of a population of roughly how many? And is this somewhat in line keeping with your expectations for power tonight?
[Golden:] Yes, well, we were expecting it. I mean, we have trees that are just the root system's been saturated. You know, in August we've had double the amount of rain here in Monmouth County in the month of August. We had a torrential downpour last weekend. And we've had areas in the county last weekend that flooded that normally don't. And now we expect 10 to 12 inches of rain. So that combined with the coastal surge and particularly, we're concerned about up in the Raritan Bay area. You know, we expect a 7 to 8-foot tidal surge there at high tide tomorrow morning, along with the storm. So you know, those are all factors that are coming into play. So we expected it to down trees and to affect power. And you know, 12,000 customers we have, you know, 650,000 people in residence here.
[Phillips:] One of the advantages for working for CNN, we have tremendous relationships with affiliates around the country, so we're able to dip in live to all the other stations that are covering storm, as well, on a local level. You were just listening to WCBS out of New York there, Chris Wragge out on the streets of Spring Lake. And as we heard, they were getting an update of how they're already feeling the rain and the hurricane-force winds coming in from Irene.
[Savidge:] Now we want to check in with Gary Tuchman in Newport, Rhode Island. And last we spoke to Gary, he was aboard a 50-foot yacht. So how are things now, Gary?
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, not a yacht this time, Marty. Now, as we await the arrival here of Hurricane Irene, I'm standing on the steps of a Greek Orthodox church. And I'm not just loitering here, I'm here for a reason, to show you when Hurricane Bob came here to southern New England 20 years ago, the water came up to the steps. And the famous hurricane of 1938, when more than 600 people died, the water went even higher. This church was built in 1924. It was only 14 years old when the water went way high on this church. It's now 87 years old, and we suspect it will survive Hurricane Irene, too. This is a very historic city. The street I'm standing in the middle of right now is called Thames Street spelled T-H-A-M-E-S. Now, you may say, Well, I've heard of that, but it's in London, the river. They call it the Temms
[Savidge:] Probably couldn't fit it on the license plate.
[Phillips:] It would be a little too long. In case our viewers didn't know, Gary Tuchman was a history major. That's why we travel him around the world. He gives us all the flavor!
[Savidge:] Gary, when do they expect the worst of the storm to strike where you are?
[Tuchman:] Yes, the worst moment will be between 1:00 and 3:00 PM, they expect. But by around 10:00 AM, they expect the rains to be coming down hard, the winds to be picking up, and they expect it'll go to about dinnertime, 6:00 PM. So right now, it's Saturday night. This is a hopping town, Marty and Kyra. I mean, last night when we were here, I mean, you couldn't even walk on these sidewalks without bumping into people. And you can see there are a lot of people who imbibe in this town, including these two people behind me. But there's not as many imbibers tonight as there were last night. Most people are inside their homes right now, awaiting the arrival of a woman named Irene tomorrow.
[Phillips:] Well, we'll be following it minute by minute. Gary Tuchman, thanks so much.
[Savidge:] And when we come back, we will go back to Maryland, where residents there continue to feel the effects of Irene.
[Phillips:] As we continue coverage for hurricane Irene we can tell you now that the Philadelphia airport has ceased operations. New York's transit system has been shut down. Boston's subway service has been suspended. This is all due to this approaching woman by the name of Irene.
[Savidge:] It is only a category I hurricane but Irene is very slow-moving and that makes it especially dangerous. At least nine people have lost their lives since Irene made landfall this morning, 2 million homes are without power tonight.
[Phillips:] And the hurricane has spun off at least two tornados as well. One has hit Delaware damaging more than 30 homes. Five homes were destroyed in North Carolina by a tornado there. Now a tornado watch is in effect for parts of New York.
[Savidge:] And the center of the hurricane is just off the Maryland coast near Ocean City but the storm is so large that its outer rain dance can be felt from North Carolina to New England. The storm's expected to reach New York City by Sunday afternoon as a category
[I. Phillips:] Chad Myers in the CNN Hurricane Headquarters to update us now on the entire track. Where do we even begin Chad?
[Myers:] Let's go hour by hour or three hour increments and we'll take you up with the wind field because the wind is small but yet mighty enough to push water into New York Harbor. So, I just looked at the tidal gauge at Battery Park. That tidal gauge is two feet above where it should be already. That means there's already a surge in New York Harbor because of the wind and the storm is still 250 miles away. So, for the next 15 or almost hours this storm is going to pour more water into New York Harbor and that's the risk of the flood down around Battery Park. So, there we go, there's the category I. It's just offshore here on Southern Virginia here, part of the Delmarva. The yellow, that's all 60 mile per hour wind or more. We'll view ahead to 3:30. That 60 mile per hour wind is in Atlantic City. There's even some 70 mile per hour winds, that orange, just offshore. New York City will get that. You're already at that point. At 3:30 in the morning you're 40 miles per hour and going up. By 6:30 in the morning, all along Long Island 60 miles per hour and rising. Now, the wind is going away from Norfolk, going away from North Carolina. Down here the wind is just about done but all of this wind is going to be blowing on shore and taking that water and shoving it right into Long Island and right into the New York Harbor where Lady Liberty is and then the water has to go up somewhere and it's going to try to go up the Hudson and up the East River and that's not going to go very well. That's going to make the water rise and we even have some 70, almost 75 mile per hour gusts, right there. That's the end of Long Island and then on into Providence, Rhode Island, and then there will be another storm surge here in Connecticut and Rhode Island proper, right up in Narragansett and right into Providence. This is the Boston wind. Portland, Boston, you get 3:30 tomorrow afternoon you are over 60 miles per hour. In fact, guys, there will be over 55 million people that have wind gusts, wind gusts here, the northeast over 50 55 million people will have the potential for damage at above 50 mile per hour winds. It is an amazing storm. It won't be known for the wind though because it never did get to that category IV like it was forecast to but it will be known for the rain and the flooding and the surge big time. Here's some tornado video that we have. Now, we know about 6:30 this afternoon we had a tornado that touched down in Lewes. This is just south of where the Lewes Ferry would go over to Cape May. Thirty houses almost
[Phillips:] Do you we were talking about Staten Island. You didn't even mention Staten Island, right.
[Myers:] I I didn't mention Staten Island. Do you want me to get to that?
[Phillips:] Do you mind?
[Myers:] No, I don't mind at all.
[Phillips:] They were saying that that could you could get really hit hard.
[Myers:] Sure. We talked about this. We talked about Manhattan and how everywhere that you see orange is going to have some water on it that will be salt water. It's not going to be rain water, it's going to be salt water. But, because of the way the wind is going to blow into New York City we are going to see an area there right on the south side of what's called The Bite and that is here, bring this down, get rid of that, bring this down, and the wind will blow into the Staten Island area. And right now, as the wind blows this way, this is how the water's beginning to pile up and Staten Island being right there, you take that water and you're going to push it right to the Amboys and right where right where the Amboys and Staten Island come together, right there on the south part of of the harbor, you are going to see, I think, with the the four foot tidal surge from the tide itself and the storm surge being almost eight feet, a 12 foot swell on the south side of Staten Island and there are a lot of people that live within 12 feet of the ocean down there.
[Phillips:] Got it. All right Chad, we'll keep talking.
[Savidge:] And when we come back we'll get the latest from our iReporters. It's been a while since we checked in with Amber Lyon. She is in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I think when last we spoke to her things were getting better. And the image is a little distorted but go ahead Amber, give it your best shot. Amber, can you hear us?
[Amber Lyon, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, things have calmed down a little
[Savidge:] Go ahead, we hear you fine, it's just all right, you know, it's interesting we say that the weather has improved but the signal has not, so.
[Lyon:] Hello, can you hear me?
[Savidge:] Yes we can Amber but you're coming and going. Are you there now?
[Phillips:] All right well just we can 600,000 people without power there in Virginia, they got hit pretty hard and, obviously, they still are dealing with conditions there as we can see unable to connect with Amber? Should we take it over to Alexandra Steele, the latest?
[Alexandra Steele, Cnn Meteorologist:] Ok, all right.
[Phillips:] All right, what do we have? Do we have more iReports
[Steele:] Yes, we do. You know, you talked about it. Of course, we're having trouble with seeing her but what we're seeing, of course, the worst is yet to come for areas in Connecticut. Now we've talked a lot about evacuations in New York City. We haven't talked as much though about evacuations in coastal Connecticut where we have seen them. Now, Maggie Hornung is one of 6,000 evacuees from Westport, Connecticut and Maggie your home is just inches from the Long Island Sound. Mandatory evacuations for you. You have left. Have you ever been asked to mandatorily evacuate before?
[Maggie Hornung, Westport, Connecticut Evacuee:] About a year and a half ago we were there was a mandatory evacuation.
[Steele:] And did you go then?
[Hornung:] No, we actually decided to to stay. We thought it might be exciting. We have floor to ceiling windows and, you know, we felt like we were in a pretty solid house but we decided to stay and watch the water lap against the windows. But then it started coming under the sliding glass doors and that's when I think it got a little bit more threatening.
[Steele:] So, this time Maggie you chose to leave. You have four young kids under 13. You're all kind of nestled together inland in a hotel in Greenwich, Connecticut. Is everyone scared tonight?
[Hornung:] You know, they're still waiting, I think, for the worst to come and it's really just windy and there's a lot of we've had a lot of rain. But, you know, everyone...
[Unidentified Female:] Can you hear me? Can you hear me?
[Hornung:] Hello?
[Steele:] Yes, we were hearing you. I think we're hearing someone else also.
[Hornung:] Oh, ok.
[Steele:] All right, so, Maggie, the kids are all there in the hotel. What's the hotel seem like? Obviously, is it crowded or empty?
[Hornung:] It's actually, it's sold out and I know because we tried to get an extra room. It's pretty packed.
[Steele:] Well, there are curfews in areas near you, in New Canaan, for example. So, as you look out and before the sun set tonight, were a lot of people on the roads or were people really heeding the warnings in Fairfield County?
[Hornung:] No, I think people were really waiting and just preparing for their homes and I was out earlier tonight at around 6 p.m. before I got here and the roads were really deserted.
[Steele:] So, what did you do with your home? Again, just inches from Long Island Sound, huge windows there. Did you board them or did you just leave it as is and just see what happens when you return?
[Hornung:] No, we did not board them. It's a it's a newer home. I think we kind of feel like mother nature is going to take its course and, hopefully, the worst that we'll have is like last time with maybe some water under there and we lined the bottom with towels and we'll see what happens.
[Steele:] Yes, it's just a wait and see. All right, Maggie Hornung, thank you so very much and, again, we talk so much about New York City, also the evacuations. Take a look at this iReport from Brian Delzani. You can see this. This is in Connecticut and look at this. There's no bread, there's no milk, the shelves are bare. So, really people have left and just waiting to see as really the worst approaches. We're just hours from it. Back to you guys. Kyra, Marty?
[Phillips:] All right, Alexandra, thanks so much. When we come back, we have reconnected with Amber Lyon live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
[Savidge:] Welcome back. We continue to track hurricane Irene, where it is headed and where it has been.
[Phillips:] And we're going to talk about Virginia Beach, Virginia. Three people have died there. More than 600,000 people without power. That's where we find our Amber Lyon joining us via the beach there. Give us the latest Amber.
[Lyon:] Well, earlier we thought things were calming down but now we're starting to see quite a bit of drizzle and still some wind gusts. It's been pretty consistently like this kind of weather all afternoon and something that we were really worried about earlier is we're about a football field away from the ocean over there and over here at the center of Virginia Beach and there was quite an intense storm surge that kept creeping up here on the Boardwalk and it had a lot of residents nervous that that surge was going to come across here and end up flooding downtown but, as you can see, that didn't happen. We're not seeing a lot of debris out here and things, overall, continue to calm down. But, as you said earlier, about 600,000 people still do not have power tonight and some estimates that that power may not be turned on for about a week. Kyra? Marty?
[Phillips:] A week?
[Savidge:] Wow.
[Lyon:] A week, yes.
[Savidge:] Yes, that's a long time to be without...
[Lyon:] Up here at our hotel we have a generator so so we're doing good.
[Savidge:] ...yes, yes, but for a lot of other people that would be a long time to be without electricity. So, this storm actually is going away from you, right? I mean it is, in theory, supposed to be getting better?
[Lyon:] Yes, it it is overall. I mean, we're just hitting the bottom part of Irene and and, I've got to tell you, what we're experiencing right now is nothing like what we experienced when we showed up here in the early evening and there were times when my producer and I were walking out of our hotel to check out the conditions and we could barely even walk because the wind gusts were so strong. We had to hold onto one another and support each other just to move down the Boardwalk. So, definitely, improved conditions out here now Martin.
[Savidge:] And we know that National Guard troops were put in place. We also know the Navy ships out of Norfolk were were sent out to sea. You mentioned the hotel. Are there a lot of other people in the hotel there with you?
[Lyon:] Yes, there are quite a few residents who were scared to stay in their homes, they just didn't trust the integrity of the structure of their homes so they came here to ride out the storms. We also found people who came down here to kind of do a type of adventure tourism and witness the hurricane because they'd never seen one firsthand so they're sitting at the bar right now, just looking at all the sights and wind gusts out the window and and enjoying themselves and it's quite a lively scene, actually, in our hotel.
[Savidge:] Yes, it usually is.
[Phillips:] Yes.
[Savidge:] It usually is.
[Phillips:] Especially in a time like this, all the reporters usually. Amber Lyon there in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Thanks so much. Well, on its current track, hurricane Irene is going to hit New York's Long Island on Sunday and that's where our Susan Candiotti is.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Hi Kyra and Marty, well, we've been waiting here for the past couple of days on Long Island. You know, Long Beach is about 25 miles or so to the east of Manhattan and this is where impact could come with hurricane Irene. If you look down this Boardwalk here, which is a featured part of Long Island, it runs just over two miles. Population here about 34,000 or so and, obviously, this has thinned out. You saw a lot of people walking occasionally down this Boardwalk to kind of get a look see around. Mainly they come out here to take a look at the ocean here. Of course the surge has been going up quite a bit over the last few hours but not high tide yet until early Sunday morning. But, if you look over here, it's a good idea of what they've been doing in trying to prepare for this, pushing up the sand. You've seen this done in so many other places. This is not unlike those others where they're building this up to try to create more of a barrier to prevent the flooding that you hear about that is affecting so many areas. As you look down this way, we can tell you as well that there are restrictions as to how high they can build buildings along this Boardwalk, only 10 stories is the limit and we're not seeing too many lights on so, perhaps, that's an indication that either people are in bed by now or they've evacuated because as we have heard time and again in these low-lying beachfront communities along this barrier island there's going to be a surge storm surge that's going to come up. There is going to be flooding in low-lying areas and then as the hurricane sweeps around, they're also going to get inundated on the north shore of this barrier island and onto the mainland, no doubt, and low-lying areas of Long Island too on the north shore of the main of this barrier island and also in the Long Island as well. So, we're waiting the storm out, Kyra and Marty, all night long to see as it gets more powerful. Wind gusts not so bad right now. That's going to change. Back to you.
[Phillips:] Ok, we'll keep talking with you. Susan Candiotti there in Long Beach, New York. Susan thanks.
[Savidge:] David Mattingly is in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, part of the outer banks where Irene first came ashore. Let's check in with him now. David?
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Marty, get this. We have been getting rained on here now for 31 straight hours and almost as long we have been seeing tropical storm force winds. This hurricane is not done with the outer banks yet. Tonight, we
[Savidge:] David, quickly, what's the electricity situation like?
[Mattingly:] A half million people in North Carolina are without power. Strangely enough, we are in a hotel right here on the outer banks on the beach and we haven't lost power at all. That's just one of the unusual things about hurricanes. You just never know where the damage is going to be. You know it's going to come. You just don't know how, when, and where.
[Savidge:] David Mattingly. Very true. I mean, you see that when the power goes out in certain areas and yet where he is you'd think the brunt of it he'd have no electricity but he's got it. All right. David, we'll continue to check in with you as we continue to check in with the rest of our correspondents that are strategically placed all along the coastline watching Irene either approach or leave, depending on where they are located, in just a moment.

[Costello:] Get ready for a royal visit. Prince Harry will spend six days touring the United States starting this Thursday. He'll promote some of his favorite charities including one to help returning veterans. He'll also visit Arlington National Cemetery. As part of his crowded schedule, he'll also tour New Jersey towns ravaged by Sandy, play a polo match in Greenwich, Connecticut and make stops in New York City and in Colorado. Prince Harry is actually not scheduled to visit Belmar, New Jersey but it's not for lack of trying on the mayor's part. He is lobbying hard to have the Prince tour his city, which was also devastated by Sandy. Joining me live is Mayor Matt Doherty. Welcome Mr. Mayor.
[Mayor Matt Doherty, Belmar, New Jersey:] Thank you Carol. Thanks for having me on.
[Costello:] Thank you for being here. So I know you have been lobbying hard any success?
[Doherty:] Well, we haven't got confirmation yet but we do know he'll be up and down the Jersey Shore which is helpful for the entire region because, you know, as had as Belmar was hit by Hurricane Sandy so was the rest of the Jersey Shore. So it's important to have an event, you know, like him coming. It means a lot to our residents and our small businesses to have him come.
[Costello:] Yes. And it will also turn media attention back on the areas still in need of help. Have you reached out to Governor Christie?
[Doherty:] Yes, you know, we're in constant contact with the governor's office. His leadership has been outstanding through this process since Sandy came ashore and back in October.
[Costello:] No, I mean to help Harry get to your town.
[Doherty:] Well, yes. We have reached out for that but I think there's several towns also lobbying hard. So I know we're in the mix but we don't have any confirmation just yet. But again, the fact that he is coming to the Jersey Shore really benefits all the towns here.
[Costello:] Your beach and boardwalk are scheduled to reopen later this month. Is that still on schedule?
[Doherty:] Yes, we're looking forward to having a grand opening on Wednesday, May 22nd for a brand new 1.3-mile boardwalk. Again, it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy and just about six and a half months later we have it entirely rebuilt.
[Costello:] So when you look at it now, what goes through your mind?
[Doherty:] You know, just the resolve of the residents in our community and the leadership that we have had from the President all the way down to help us rebuild and have this new rebirth in time for Memorial Day Weekend here at the Jersey Shore. That weekend is so important to us. So to have it done in time was something we had to accomplish and we're going to.
[Costello:] That's terrific. Ok. So of course CNN is seen all over the world. Prince Harry, you never know, maybe watching. Any message you would like to send?
[Doherty:] You know, we love the fact that he is here in the U.S. principally helping our military veterans and we would love to have him walk on our brand new 1.3-mile Boardwalk here in Belmar and we will certainly give him a royal welcome.
[Costello:] I'm sure you will. Mayor Matt Doherty, thank you so much for being with us this morning.
[Doherty:] My pleasure. Thank you.
[Costello:] We'll be right back.

[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Fast and furious, massive storm system bearing down on the East Coast. Homes torn apart, trees knocked down, and the worst may be yet to come. Good morning. Thanks for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Wednesday. It's the first day of December. I'm John Roberts.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We're going to have a lot more on the severe weather in just a moment. First, though, the other top stories. He is now the most wanted man, the man behind WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, being hunted by Interpol, the world police, this morning. But he is in an undisclosed location and still talking, saying in an interview that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should resign. We're live in London with the latest on the search and live reaction from the White House.
[Roberts:] Hopes for a happy ending fading fast in Michigan. Three young boys are still missing. Their father is under arrest for kidnapping, but he's not helping the police out. Insight this morning from an expert on missing kids and why we shouldn't give up just yet.
[Chetry:] And also the next time you give your child medicine, there's a 5050 chance you'll be dosing a child incorrectly. And it's not your fault. Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more on labels that can be misleading coming up in the next hour.
[Roberts:] Up first, though, we've got a big and dangerous storm to talk about this morning. To give you an idea of how big this system is, have a look at this. Rain clouds drenching folks from the Florida panhandle all the way up to New England.
[Chetry:] And here in the east, the weather's been going downhill all night. Tornadoes touching down in Georgia, dozens of homes damaged there. Conditions are ripe for tornadoes. Watches are posted from the Carolinas all the way to Washington, D.C. Our Jacqui Jeras is live on the ground in Buford, Georgia, for us this morning, an area that did get hit. Now that it's lighter outside, Jacqui, how is it looking in terms of damage?
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, it's not looking great. We're not actually able to get into the neighborhood any further than we are right now. But from what I understand, you know, take a look at this home. You can see that one of the walls is off the side, a lot of roof damage here, all the shingles are out and the garage has been blown in, as well. But it's my understanding that there's some homes that are basically demolished and you can't live in them that are down the line. And once it gets a little bit brighter, we're told authorities are going to let us get in there and get a better look at some of this damage. The storms came through with very little warning yesterday afternoon and caught residents off guard. There are 56 homes damaged, 12 of them are basically looking at major, major damage. What's amazing, though, is that nobody was injured in these storms as they rolled on through. Residents say that there was no warning. They were surprised when it came through.
[Unidentified Male:] The wind was pushing really hard on the house, and it was pushing like really hard. And I've never felt it push that hard. And I heard some stuff start ripping. And then the next thing I knew, it sounded like a train was coming through it. Well, it was terrifying at the time. I'm just thankful to be alive.
[Jeras:] And it's unclear at this time whether or not this was a tornado or a microburst or even straight-line winds. The National Weather Service will be out to assess the damage later on this morning. There was also quite a bit of flooding across the area. Record rainfall in Atlanta, more than two inches, and that flooded the streets across much of the area. And this happened, unfortunately, during that rush hour drive home. This is a picture of Interstate 85 where cars were actually getting stuck in the water and just caused total mayhem on some of the interstates yesterday afternoon. Now, this storm system has continued to cause problems at this hour. The severe weather threat is still out there. As we take a look at the national map, we'll show you where we have the watches in effect now. This thing stretches from Montreal all the way down to Florida. The tornado watches from North Carolina on through Virginia, up towards the Delmarva region. And these should expire by about 10:00 this morning as some of the energy from the storm shoots a little further northward. And the wind then will be the big focus and they could be gusting up to 50 miles an hour in the northeast. And that's one of the things that folks here in Buford, Georgia, are going to have to deal with now that they don't have any power. They've got damage to clean up, temperatures in the 30s this morning. But you add in that wind-chill factor as the winds gust up to 20 miles per hour. And it's going to be feeling like 20s throughout the day, pretty nippy for Georgia.
[Chetry:] Absolutely. All right, Jackie Jeras in Buford, thanks so much. Speaking of tornadoes, why would anyone rush towards these storms to record it? We're going to find out when we talk to Reed Timmer of the Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" coming up at 8:40 eastern.
[Roberts:] New this morning, back to class today at the Wisconsin high school where a 15-year-old sophomore took classmates and a teacher hostage before turning the gun on himself on Monday. The gunman, by the way, has died of his wounds. Students revealed they tried to calm him down with small talk about hunting and fishing during their ordeal.
[Chetry:] A drug bust for the ages in suburban Atlanta, more than 900 pounds of meth, street value more than $4 million, all of it seized after the DEA got a tip. Agents then stormed the home. One arrest so far.
[Roberts:] Well, these are desperate hours in the search for three missing boys in Michigan and Ohio. Still no sign of brothers Andrew, Alexander, and Tanner, and a gloomy outlook from Morenci Michigan's police chief. Listen to him.
[Chief Larry Weeks, Morenci, Michigan Police Department:] We continue to talk to virtually all parties involved in this investigation, including Mr. Skelton. Statements that he's made to investigators would indicate that it's not going to be a positive outcome.
[Roberts:] Skelton is John Skelton. He's the boy's father. He's under arrest and charged with parental kidnapping. So what might have gone wrong here, and how unusual is this situation? Joining us now is Ernie Allen, the president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Ernie, good to see you this morning. So he's been charged with parental abduction. Does this sound like a typical case?
[Ernie Allen, National Center For Missing And Exploited Children:] John, it's really not. Parental abduction is certainly not unusual. There are more than 200,000 of them a year in this country. But it's very rare that the abductor actually harms the child. Less than one percent of these cases involve physical harm to the children. So if that is, in fact, what's happened, this is not a typical case.
[Roberts:] What do we know about this situation? My understanding is he was estranged from his wife.
[Allen:] Well, they are going through a divorce process. Obviously there was conflict. He had taken two of the boys previously, which certainly was a signal. But what we know in these situations is that in 80 percent of the cases the motive for taking the child is not love of the child, it's anger or revenge directed at the ex-spouse. So these are very volatile situations that many people don't take very seriously.
[Roberts:] It's a very bizarre story here that the kids were taken by Skelton on the afternoon of thanksgiving. He said he was going to drop them off with a caregiver whom he knew. And apparently police have not been able to find out if this is a real person that he was talking about. But he was going to drop them off with a caregiver because he was going to go commit suicide?
[Allen:] Well, that's not a very positive signal here. We certainly are aware of examples in which parental abductors kill the child, kill themselves with a message that if I can't have them, you can't either. We don't know that in this case. There's still unresolved facts. And we believe that there's still hope. And until we find till we know where these three little boys are and what's happened to them, the public still can help. We really need information about what people might have seen, what people might suspect.
[Roberts:] Yes. There was an APB, if you will, out for anybody who might have seen a blue dodge caravan year 2000 traveling in the area of the home because it was believed he took them for a ride, at least down a highway for a time. So people who might have seen this van are being asked to call police. But you say you believe there's reason for hope. The police chief didn't sound too hopeful in that press conference.
[Allen:] Well, I'm not trying to suggest false hope. Our point here and we say this in every case is until these children are actually found, until we know with certainty what happened to them, there's always some hope. There are a whole range of scenarios under which these children could still be alive. We know that Skelton has not been telling the truth. We know he's been misleading law enforcement. The response of the police and the Michigan state police and the FBI and Ohio authorities has been extraordinary. I'm not second-guessing the Chief Weeks at all. But all I'm saying is these children are still out there somewhere. And somebody knows where they are. Somebody knows what's happened to them. We just need that break, that key piece of information.
[Roberts:] Let's hope you're correct. Ernie Allen from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, thanks for joining us this morning. Good to talk to you.
[Allen:] Thank you, John.
[Chetry:] Such a sad story.
[Roberts:] It really is.
[Chetry:] Well, there's that new twist this morning in the Amtrak situation where you were not able to bring guns on, but there was really no system to check whether or not passengers had guns.
[Roberts:] Yes, since there is no security.
[Chetry:] But they're now saying that they are lifting that ban on passengers transporting guns. It's a policy been in effect since 911. So now passengers will be able to check unloaded firearms and as much as 11 pounds of ammunition in checked bags onboard some Amtrak trains. And the new rules set to take effect December 15th.
[Roberts:] And the weapon has to be unloaded and has to be in checked luggage which goes into a locked baggage car, right?
[Chetry:] On some cars, so hopefully.
[Roberts:] The head of the TSA says they may tweak new airport pat-down procedures. The goal is to be more sensitive when screening certain passengers like those with external medical devices. In the meantime, all passengers will be screened against government watch lists before getting their boarding passes. The TSA hopes that's going to cut down on a lot of the false positives they've been getting.
[Chetry:] Brand new fallout this morning over the huge document leaks by whistle-blowing Web site WikiLeaks. Julian Assange landing on Interpol's most wanted list along with the likes of Usama bin Laden, not for the leaks but for alleged sex crimes. He's also feeling the heat over releasing thousands of classified State Department documents. But even from his hideout, he is still haunting the U.S. government. Atika Shubert is live from London this morning. And in an interview, he took aim at Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
[Atika Shubert, Cnn Correspondent:] This time around, Julian Assange is keeping a very low profile. He's only given out very few interviews, and even then from an undisclosed location. No one knows where he really is right now.
[Shubert:] On the run, the mysterious man behind WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, holed up and hiding out in an undisclosed location this morning. But that's not stopping him from speaking out. "TIME" magazine Richard Stengel speaking exclusively to Assange via Skype, Assange blasting secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
[Julian Assange, Wikileaks Founder:] She should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diploma diplomats to engage in espionage in violation of the international covenant to which the U.S. has signed up. Yes, she should resign.
[Shubert:] No response so far from the secretary, but the State Department is coming to her defense this morning, insisting that Hillary Clinton did not order State Department staff to spy on diplomats as the WikiLeaks document suggests.
[Unidentified Male:] Any document that leaves the State Department has the secretary of state's name on it. She was responsible, but she was not the author of that particular document. The contents of that came from outside the Department of State.
[Shubert:] In the meantime, Assange is now a most-wanted man. The international police organization Interpol issuing a red notice, similar to an arrest warrant, saying he is suspected of rape, sexual molestation, and illegal use of force in August incidents in Sweden. Despite this, Assange is warning of a new document released, this time targeting, quote, "a big U.S. bank." The Web site "Huffington Post" reported that Assange claims he has information from the computer hard drive of one of Bank of America's executives. Bank of America this morning flatly denying and dismissing the speculation. It was thought that WikiLeaks may have information on Bank of America to put out already seems to be affecting in fact, Bank of America stock closing yesterday went down by three percent.
[Chetry:] We'll have to wait and see if, indeed, that is the case when he supposedly releases it, as you said, perhaps after the first of the year. Atika, thanks so much. Also coming up at the bottom of the hour, we're going to hear from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, the diplomatic mess they're dealing with, and the potential fallout in the Middle East.
[Roberts:] And as you can imagine some people have managed to find the humor in all of this. "The Daily Show" had a little fun with all the WikiLeaks drama last night and also stumbled upon another little- known Web site.
[Jon Stewart, Host, "the Daily Show":] The release of many embarrassing and possibly diplomatic cables has introduced the world to a new super-villain, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Am I pronouncing that right?
[Unidentified Male:] WikiLeaks and its founder, this man, Julian Assange.
[Stewart:] Oh, Assange. Thank you. Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks, the site not to be confused with "Wookie Leaks" where for $10.99 a month you can
[Chetry:] That's a paid site, "Wookie Leaks."
[Roberts:] Still to come, the last check in the mail for many Americans, Congress so far failing to extend unemployment benefits. But is there an indication that the two sides might come to an agreement?
[Chetry:] We have an "AMERICAN MORNING" health alert for you as well. An alarming new study this morning about over-the-counter medicines you give to your kids. Well, even if you read the directions, there's a 5050 chance you could be giving your child the wrong dose. We'll explain why and how you can fix that.
[Roberts:] And the new magazine with no pages and no ink. It is for, you guessed it, iPads only. The creator calls it the future of publishing. Does this mark the end of the printed magazine? We'll ask that question. It's 14 minutes after the hour.

[Brooke Baldwin:] Now this. Here we go, hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin. A number of stories we're working for you. First, President Obama making the fight over your money personal this afternoon while Republicans seem divided. U.S. defense officials also saying mistakes were made in a deadly attack. And anyone traveling for the holidays, you have to listen up here. Chad has some breaking weather news for you. Time to play "Reporter Roulette." But, Jessica Yellin, the senior White House correspondent, let's begin with you. We heard from the president not too long ago clearly putting the pressure on House leadership as he is really making this personal, personifying this impasse, playing directly to the American people.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Absolutely, Brooke. In this instance, think about the stalemate the president faced earlier this summer, where he was fighting with Congress over a vague and confusing issue, the debt ceiling that didn't hit Americans in any kind of direct way. Contrast that with this issue which hits Americans directly in their wallet. If this isn't resolved by January 1, your average American family will see $40 less in their paycheck. It couldn't be more simple and a more clear argument for the president to be making, that Congress should get its act together and resolve this one way or another. So it's a very clear fight for the president to be having. And not only that. He has both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate on his side. And it is just Republicans in the House who are in opposition to him. So he couldn't be in a sweeter spot for himself. It is a very easy fight for him to have both on the politics and the policy, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Meantime, in a much warmer climate, you have the first lady and the two daughters, two bad you're not there, I guess, in Hawaii vacationing. They were hoping the president would be there. He is not because of this impasse. Is there any indication he will be taking a vacation?
[Yellin:] The White House isn't saying that the president has any plans to join them. But the last hurdle that was keeping him from going other than this payroll fight was the what's called the omnibus spending bill. That's the big budget that funds the government through 2012 next year. Had not yet arrived at the White House yesterday. It is now here. The president can sign it. So as of the White House has said or administration has said that he will sign it before midnight tomorrow. So we could see a situation where the president signs it either today or tomorrow and gets on a plane, could go to join his family for Christmas in Hawaii and then, in theory, could come back after the weekend to sit here at the White House and once again urge Congress to pass some kind of payroll extension so the American people's taxes don't go up in the new year. We could see him going to Hawaii for a brief Christmas break and then come back if this isn't done, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] We will see. I'm sure members of Congress would like to take vacations as well. Some are of them sticking around Washington. Jessica Yellin, thank you. Speaking of Congress, let's take you now live to Capitol Hill next on "Reporter Roulette." Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joins me now. And, Dana, it's not often you see the number-one Republican on the Senate side and the president on the same side of something.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] It's not often at all. And that certainly is the headline here from Capitol Hill on this stalemate today. And that is, the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, breaking his silence. He hasn't really said anything at all. He's been home and still is in his state of Kentucky, saying that he has what he calls a path forward, which is effectively siding with the Democrats. Let's face it. He says that he believes the Democrats should appoint the so- called conferees or the negotiators to go ahead and start talking about a long-term deal to extend this payroll tax cut for the entire year, which is what Republicans want, but also telling his fellow Republicans in the House, you have got to do a short-term extension. That is something that they have simply not wanted to do, really dug in against doing that. One little important thing here is that it was a carefully worded statement. And the Republican leader did not specifically say that the House Republicans should pass what the Senate passed, which is a two-month extension. He simply said to extend it, gave them some wiggle room to see if they could maybe save face a little bit and find a compromise a little bit short of or maybe longer than, so to speak, a two-month extension.
[Baldwin:] Perhaps intentionally nebulous. Everybody very carefully crafted there on Capitol Hill. I know, Dana, that you have been talking to House Republicans. You know them. You have great sources. Do you think that the House Republicans will cave because of this pressure from Senator McConnell?
[Bash:] Ultimately, it's hard to imagine them not giving in. But in the short term, I'm told from House Republican sources not to see I mean, don't look for something today, for example, and probably not until next week. That could change because this is a fast-moving story. But why is that? Because, look, number one, certainly this is a powerful voice, Mitch McConnell, saying let's get on with it, guys. But House Republicans are really mad at Mitch McConnell, their fellow Republican leader in the Senate, because they feel like he negotiated this short-term deal and it is a bad deal, and that he put them in a bad political position. Secondly, look, on the fundamentals, many House Republicans believe that this is bad policy to extend this payroll tax cut for two months. You finally saw them trying to get their message mojo today trying to explain why they think it is bad policy, talking about it being terrible for small businesses and really costing small businesses a lot of money to figure out the paperwork of this. So getting turning that ship and getting them or at least enough of them to agree to doing this is going to be pretty tough. And it will be a very, very tough move for the speaker of the House, for Speaker Boehner, because so many people in his conference are so mad. Look, he has to protect his power here and he has to protect his interests and make sure that people... Yes, make sure that people don't get extremely mad at him and his leadership.
[Baldwin:] Dana Bash, you picked quite the week to come back from maternity leave. It is wonderful talking to you, by the way, new mom.
[Bash:] Thank you. You, too, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Welcome back. Dana, thank you.
[Bash:] Thank you. It's good to be with you. Next on "Reporter Roulette": new developments here on this deadly attack along the Afghan border. This is an attack that has further complicated the already tenuous relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan. Let's go to Barbara Starr there at the Pentagon. Barbara, according to the investigation by the Defense Department, U.S. troops acted in self-defense that's what we're hearing from them with that airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani troops.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Yes, they say self- defense, but that's like saying, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln? This is a case where back on November 25, U.S. airstrikes were called in on that border when U.S. forces said they were under fire from insurgents. It turned out it was Pakistani troops that they did not know were in the area. The Pakistanis thought they were under fire. Huge firefight ensues. What are we talking about? Bad coordination, bad information, mistrust between both sides, not telling each other the full picture about where they were operating, bad mapping data, so that when they were trying to sort it all out, in fact, some people looking at some of the maps were looking at an area 14 kilometers away from where the firefight was actually happening, all of this the result of a U.S. military investigation into it, saying the U.S. troops are acting under self-defense. But, look, the Pakistanis are furious about this. They remain furious. And relations with this vital ally remain very strained. Experts will tell you, there is no sign of it thawing any time soon Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Given the strain, given the tenuous relationship in terms of next, is there any chance the U.S. apologizes?
[Starr:] Well, this is all very carefully done in diplomatic talk, isn't it? The U.S. has said it regrets the incident. It is very sorry about it. A full-blown apology? The Pakistanis would like to see President Obama come out and apologize, but there may be political ramifications for the president, who may not want the Republicans to see that picture of him doing it. So, I think what you will see, the indications are U.S. will offer payments to the families of those who were killed. It is very typical in that part of the world. That is what is done. Look for that to happen very quietly, but a full-blown apology by the United States government, not so soon.
[Baldwin:] Not going to happen. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon Barbara, thank you. Still ahead: This very minute, 6,000 nurses are on strike, walking off the job. We will tell you why when I speak with one of them live and what this means for patients. Plus, this
[Mike Brooks, Cnn Security Analyst:] From the front to the back of the bus, with people just beating the hell out of you.
[Baldwin:] Wow. We are now hearing what killed a Florida A&M; band member. And the question now, who threw the deadly punches? Also, just days after U.S. combat troops leave Iraq, a devastating attack. One Iraqi leader tells CNN, the U.S. was warned about this. And for days, a college student was nowhere to be found, her family begging for her safe return. Then, all of a sudden, that changed. She is alive. OK. Wonderful, but where was she for a week? What are her family members saying? Stay here.

[Ryan Smith, Host, In Session On Trutv:] Baby Lisa Irwin still missing. Her parents calling off a press conference. Are they hiding something? Police launching a new search by water. Is this now a homicide investigation? And meanwhile, another little girl missing for almost two weeks. Did the media down play the case of Jahessye Shockley?
[Unidentified Female:] I believe it`s because she`s a little black kid.
[Smith:] Or is it of her mother`s criminal past. What is being done to find Jahessye? Plus, was today`s game changer in the Michael Jackson death trial could Conrad Murray walk free based on today`s stunning testimony? And later, one teacher, five students and four years in prison. The crazy story of an educator pleading insanity for sex with minors. [on camera]: Good evening. I`m Ryan Smith, sitting in for Dr. Drew. And tonight, police search a small lake for Baby Lisa. And once again, they turn up nothing.
[Unidentified Male:] Investigators now searching a lake just a short drive from Baby Lisa`s home. It is less than two miles away.
[Unidentified Female:] So police in boats are scouring this lake.
[Unidentified Male:] There`s definitely a continuing searches going on on all fronts to try to find Baby Lisa.
[Unidentified Female:] Baby Lisa`s family is preparing for authorities to question the missing baby`s two young brothers. The boys were interviewed only once before, right after the baby vanished.
[Dr. Drew Pinsky:] The 5-year-old and 8-year-old started in bed with mom, and somewhere after midnight went to an upper bunk bed, like was woken up from something
[Nancy Grace, Former Prosecutor:] They have said they heard odd noises that night. Problem, Dr. Drew
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Grace:] problem!
[Smith:] You know, cops searched a pond near the home of the missing 11-month-old Lisa Irwin and they say the search was not initiated by a tip. So the question obviously then becomes why were they there? Plus, Baby Lisa`s parents pulled the plug on a highly anticipated news conference and they canceled the media walk through that they planned that was going to go through their home. They say they are exhausted. But the story just gets more and more confusing. And here`s another question. Will they also cancel a crucial police interview tomorrow? All these things, police begging for information and they`re getting cancellations. Now, police plan on re-questioning and DNA testing Baby Lisa`s two older brothers tomorrow. They are ages six and eight. They were both home when their sister vanished. What could they know? Straight out to my guest, let`s talk about the story that is so troubling, because everyone is looking for Baby Lisa. But at the same time, it`s frustrating as well. Prosecutor Stacey Honowitz is with us, also CNN Correspondent Jim Spellman. And, Jim, I`ll start with you. They`re searching this lake area. And, Jim, when I hear that, I I start fearing the worst. What are authorities saying about why they searched that area?
[Jim Spellman, Cnn Correspondent:] Ryan, they say they want to expand the perimeter of the areas that they`ve searched. So this is sort of the next thing out from areas they`ve already searched. They used these three dogs that are cadaver dogs. Two of them were on land around the lake and one was actually in a boat. And this is a dog that has the capability of detecting a dead body, even if it is underwater. They have them out here. The dogs didn`t find any hits. They even had a dive team, though, ready to go if they did find anything. You know, police here are just stymied, because they`re not sure quite where to go with the investigation since they don`t have access to freely interview the parents. They`ve had over 900 leads here, Ryan, and they want to be able to run those by the family. They want to clear up timeline issues. Lots of stuff. And the family is still refusing to an unfettered interview with the police here.
[Smith:] You know, and and that`s part of the frustration in all of this, the family saying all along, though, they want their daughter found. And, Stacey Honowitz, let`s talk about these searches, because I think of cadaver dog searching and I fear the worst. But does that necessarily mean that police are leaning that way, or could it just mean they`re doing everything they can as Jim is saying?
[Stacey Honowitz, Prosecutor:] Well, I think by them coming out and saying that it wasn`t a tip that led them to go to the pond, I think they`re basically just doing everything in their power. And when you`re being stone walled by the parents, which is the most ridiculous thing you can ever imagine a missing child investigation, then they have to really search all over and just do what they need to do. When you think about the idea that the parents have cancelled press conferences, have cancelled the media tour, and now we`re waiting to see if they will let them talk to the two children, then something just doesn`t smell right because I know that most of your viewers and probably anybody with any common sense would say if the child is missing, why wouldn`t they do everything in their power to be out there, to have their faces in front of the camera, and not to say I`m exhausted. We could care less if you`re exhausted. Your kid is missing! Buck up, wake up and talk to the police. That`s what they need to do so that this investigation can move along to try to find this child. There might be crucial information that the children have and that they have.
[Smith:] And we know from investigations like this, every minute, every second counts. I understand they might be exhausted, but there`s no time to rest when a child is missing. And, Jim, are police commenting on this supposed exhaustion and the parents not wanting to meet right now? I have to assume they have to be so frustrated, and they want to ask questions, but they can`t unless the parents cooperate.
[Spellman:] Yes. They really are frustrated. We hear that from them over and over as these tips, you know, get get cold, people`s memories dim, and they have so much information that they need to sort of process and they need the parents to be a part of that process, they say. And listen, this exhaustion thing, I`m sorry, is just ridiculous. They have a lawyer in New York, an investigator, local counsel who has a staff that they are so overwhelmingly exhausted that they can`t come and lead this already organized single pool camera on this tour that they brought they came up with the idea, you know, that they`re so exhausted, they can`t do that, it is just ridiculous. I`m sorry. It doesn`t make any sense.
[Smith:] Yes. You know what, Jim, I`m glad you said that because it sounds ridiculous to me. I don`t get it. I don`t understand it. Everybody is working to try to find Baby Lisa, and what are they doing, they`re saying they`re exhausted, I don`t see it. One more question for Stacey here. Stacey, they`re saying the brothers are going to be questioned by a specially trained social worker on this re-interview.
[Honowitz:] Right.
[Smith:] What does that sound like to you? Because that`s a very interesting thing. I wonder why someone specially trained is needed in this kind of case.
[Honowitz:] Well, under normal circumstances the police officers are going to question a child, and most officers that are trained in certain departments, they know how to speak to a child, but you have to remember, these parents objected to the police talking to them. It was kind of under their terms. They said they wanted this type of person to come in because they didn`t want the children to be upset. Now look, I think if you look at an investigation, you have to weigh the pros and cons. Do you weigh your children being upset versus your child missing? It just doesn`t make any sense. So when they`re calling this person in, it`s a person who basically is going to try to bond with the child, to make the child feel comfortable, to not instill fear in the child, which a police officer which is used to speaking to kids would never do that, but again, this is under their terms which raises suspicions once again because they are calling the shots, and they shouldn`t be. This should be an all out, we will do whatever you need us to do. We will cooperate in any way. And so everybody now is thinking that`s it. You know, they`re suspicious.
[Smith:] Jim, one more question for you in all of this. The DNA testing, you know, a lot of times when DNA tests are taken, you know, police are doing an investigation, but it can mean something more. Why the DNA testing? Is there any reason they`ve given about why that needs to happen for these two young boys?
[Spellman:] Sure. Well, they went through this extensive search last week, you recall, 17 hour search here with just dozens of officers. They collected a lot of DNA. So what they need to do is eliminate all of the DNA of family members, people that normally would be in the house to try to eliminate all of that. And if there`s DNA left unaccounted for, that might be where they would focus on trying to see if that was DNA from a stranger or possibly an intruder. So they need to just eliminate as much DNA in the house as they can.
[Smith:] Certainly understand that and they`re doing all they can down there. Jim Spellman, thank you so much. Stacey Honowitz as well. Coming up next, folks, another missing girl, 5-year-old Jahessye Shockley, vanished when her mother stepped out to run an errand. You see her right there. Now, her family believes her case isn`t getting enough media attention compared to the cases that we`re seeing everywhere else like Baby Lisa. Well, you know what we`re going to do here is we`re going to talk a little bit about her case. We`re going to do everything we can to make sure all children out there who are missing are found. And we`re going to talk a little bit about Jahessye with her family members to see what`s being done to find her. We`ll be right back.

[Velshi:] The fiscal cliff we are racing toward is just the latest frightening example of the incompetence of our elected officials. It's also proof of what a small world we live in since people running for office around the world make unsubstantiated claims about job creation all the time. See, for all the things that matter in an economy, jobs matter the most. And in a desperate world outlandish promises can give a candidate traction or even victory. Joining me now from London is my esteemed colleague, Richard Quest, the host of "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" on CNN International and a man who would never make a promise that he couldn't keep. Richard, today's Q & A question, can political leaders actually create jobs or are voters around the world like those in America being lied to and given false expectations? I'm going to go first. Ring the bell, and give me 60 seconds. Presidents don't do as much to fuel jobs growth as President Obama or Mitt Romney would like you to believe, Richard. Dysfunctional legislators have more impact, but it's really about the business cycle. U.S. job growth may have more to do with slowdowns in Europe and Asia than with anything Washington does. The only thing presidents can do is instill confidence in consumers who will feel safer spending their money thereby creating demands, thereby creating jobs. Mitt Romney, Richard, after making a ridiculous pledge to create 12 million jobs in four years a pledge by the way that the Obama camp quickly matched now argues that the way he'll cut taxes without increasing the deficit is that so many jobs will be created under his administration that people will be working and spending the money that they're not paying in taxes. It could happen. I could also become as tall and handsome as you are, Richard, but I don't go around promising to do so. And I'm not asking anyone to vote for me. How much can politicians actually do to create jobs? I guess they can create stability and an expectation of what will happen and low taxes and regulation. I don't know, Richard. What do you think?
[Richard Quest, Host, Cnn's Quest Means Business:] I'm glad you asked. Politicians do not, cannot, and will not create jobs. We agree on that. We also agree on the fact that they create an environment that allows the private sector, men and women who start businesses, to actually go out and create the jobs that we all seek. But here's the important point. There is a no difference this time a big difference this time around because what has happened is the awful deep structural recession. We are slowly but surely crawling our way out of a mess that took years to get into, and we certainly are not going to solve in a matter of a couple of months. That is why politicians who make promises are so disingenuous. That is why politicians who promise jobs are so dangerous. And that is why politicians who promise jobs should be ignored. In the European Union, we have unemployment over 11 percent and it is rising. That is the true disgrace of politicians and jobs.
[Velshi:] The difficulty, though, is when they both make the same both sides make the same promises and you get stuck in the pickle that you're in.
[Quest:] But, but hang on, hang on. I heard you, Ali Velshi.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Quest:] Maybe they can find the moment when you promised this. You promised that if one of those political promises were broken, I think you said you'd wear a dress.
[Velshi:] I if they make it, if they get create 12 million jobs in four years, I'll wear a dress, but I'll be so happy that the economy is doing so well that it won't even matter. We'll erase this tape. Hopefully this doesn't get recorded.
[Quest Means Business." Quest:] I'll pay I'll pay you money. I'll pay I'll pay good
[Velshi:] Somebody cut his mike, cut his mike off right now.
[Quest:] I'll pay good money to see
[Velshi:] Speaking about money, we have to raise some so we're going to take a commercial break. When we come back, investors have cashed out a $5.1 million worth of U.S. stock mutual funds. That's just last week. Since the financial crisis hit, you've been scared, and I don't blame you. But other than me, who's looking out for you? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They've been busy. I'll tell you what they're doing to protect your money. Coming up next.

[Whitfield:] More doping allegations against Lance Armstrong and the heat meet the thunder. NPR sports correspondent, Mike Pesca, is with me for the best in sports today. Good to see you. All right. Let's get straight to Lance Armstrong. This story of the weak Armstrong has accused of doping by the anti-doping agency and now he is firing back saying this is a witch-hunt. He cannot compete in France's ironman triathlon this weekend. Is he being banned from everything pending this new investigation?
[Mike Pesca, Npr Sports Correspondent:] Since the ironman triathlon, and triathlon is one of those agencies that subscribe to the protocols of the U.S. anti-doping agency, then yes there is a temporary injunction against him participating in that event. If he was a professional baseball player that wouldn't be the case. The U.S. Anti-doping Agency is not a government agency. It gets some funding from the government. It can't prosecutor level a charge. And the actual government, the federal government which was looking into Lance Armstrong announced a few months ago it was dropping his case against him. They hadn't done well in their prosecution of Barry bonds. Only got one conviction. Moist of the charges he was found not guilty by the jury. The Clements, Roger Clemens trial has gone on for a long time. So him, the federal government saying all right, Lance Armstrong, we'll let you go. That was seen as a good sign. And then, a few days ago it go and comes out that the U.S. anti-doping agency says we have samples, we have some of your teammates ready to testify against you. We are going to be bringing this case against Lance Armstrong.
[Whitfield:] So, are these new samples or is this revisiting old sample with new technology and testing? Because he has passed hundreds of drug tests.
[Pesca:] Yes, five to 600. Although, you have to realize with a lot of these drugs, there exists no tests for them. So, EPO up until a few years ago, you could say hey, I never tested positive for EPO. There was no test for EPO. So yes, the technology is to some extent catching up with the doping if there was doping in this case. What we heard, what the U.S. anti- doping agency says is they have testimony that goes back to maybe 1996 when he started to be a competitive bike rider. But they also say they have samples from 2009 to 2010 which they said are consistent with EPO and human growth hormone use. We are not sure exactly what that means. Another interesting wrinkle is that four of his former teammates who are likely to go to the Olympics are not going to be on the Olympic team. They withdrew their names from the Olympics and it was a surprised to some. And some are speculating that it might be tied up with his case somehow.
[Whitfield:] My goodness. OK. Let's move on to the NBA playoffs. I know what's your fave. You know, the Heat and even the series. But for those of us, who haven't followed it so closely. However, I did watch Tuesday night's game knowing you and I are going to talk about this. And, you know, what baffled me the most was who was fear the beard? I was just looking, you know, who is the one wearing the beard? Because Lebron James has a little goatee thing. But that's not the fear the beard. Who are they talking about, by the way? James Harden is like the mountain man who comes off the bench from Oklahoma City. Yes, I mean, he is the 6th man and his beard, the 7th. So, yes he is a great player for Oklahoma City. This has been an interesting series. And I know, as a sports journalist, I'm supposed to say it could go either way. And you say that because you don't want to prejudge and sometimes sports journalist But?
[Pesca:] I don't see how you could watch either this two games and say one team is clearly better. And they both, not only play close basketball, but such exciting basketball. Lebron James is attacking the hoop like he hates it. And that's exactly what he has to do. The biggest problem in this whole series is that Oklahoma City starts out slow, which is great news for the network airing the series because it gives you an incentive to tune in to quarter one to see if Oklahoma City has gone behind by 10 or 17 points, a little drama in the early part of the game also.
[Whitfield:] And the other distraction for me OK, explain the whole gold mouthpiece, you know, teeth thing Lebron sporting every now and then.
[Pesca:] Yes. And roman numerals XVI, 16, that's the number of games you have to win. I don't know. You know what, if he needs that kind of motivation, he's doing something wrong.
[Whitfield:] You are right. OK. All right, Thanks so much, Mike Pesca. We'll continue to watch. Thanks so much. And you keep us posted, of course. All right. Today's father's day. And a time to celebrate dads. And Happy Father's day, Mike. But American journalist and author Buzz Bissinger is using this opportunity to celebrate and appreciate the gift of his challenged son. I spoke to Buzz about a road trip the two took together.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed with some breaking news we have. A 20-year-old Saudi man is in FBI custody in Texas today. He is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. They say that targets may have included the home of former president George W. Bush.
[Malveaux:] They are calling eastern Libya "Free Libya" today. Moammar Gadhafi's opponents grabbed even more territory. The opposition now holds cities across the Mediterranean coast in that area in red you see. The Libyan leader has a grip on Tripoli and the west. CNN's Ben Wedeman is one of the first Western journalists to report from Benghazi. Now, the uprising against Gadhafi began in that city just eight short days ago, but unlike Egypt, where journalists faced some angry mobs, Libyan protesters, well, they are welcoming Westerners to tell their story to the world.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] When they saw us arrive, they just exploded with cheers and clapping, people saying, " Thank you, thank you" in English, throwing candy and dates inside the car. I mean, the only thing I can really think of, or I thought of at the time, was it was like being the first American soldier in a Jeep driving into Paris after the fall in 1944.
[Malveaux:] A ferry filled with as many as 600 Americans remains stuck in port in Libya. Officials say it will head to Malta tomorrow. That's if the bad weather lifts. Libya won't let the U.S. land charter flights to evacuate Americans. Police in New Zealand say that the number of dead in Tuesday's earthquake is closing in on 100 today. That is twice that many people are missing under these crumbled buildings in Christchurch. No one has been found alive for 24 hours now, but the families are not giving up.
[Unidentified Female:] I've been trying to text my daughter's phone since I have reception just because I thought the rescuers might hear the ring and dig down and find her.
[Malveaux:] Hawaii is now the seventh state to allow civil unions. The governor signed the bill yesterday. The new law applies to heterosexual and same-sex couples. It gives them essentially the same rights and legal benefits married couples enjoy starting next year. And congressional Democrats are planning a bill to repeal the federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The push comes after the Obama administration announced that it would no longer defend that law in court. Now, the president and attorney general say the law is unconstitutional and discriminates against same-sex couples.
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] What's especially striking about Attorney General Holder's letter to Speaker Boehner on this subject is that if you follow its implications, it really suggests that this administration is about to embrace the notion that gay people should have the right to get married.
[Malveaux:] There are now more than 1,000 hate groups operating in the United States. That is the highest number the Southern Poverty Law Center has seen since it began tracking all of this. So check out the map. The red means there's at least one hate group operating in that state. The darker red means more groups are there. The biggest growth has been in militia and patriot groups. Well, the Wisconsin Assembly is expected to vote on a controversial budget bill in just a few hours. It would severely limit union bargaining powers. Our CNN's Kate Bolduan, she is in Madison with the very latest.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey there, Suzanne. Yes, the assembly is moving towards a vote on this budget repair bill, but all eyes remain on the Senate, which is effectively still remaining at a standstill as those 14 Democrats are still out of state, and they cannot bring this budget bill to a debate and to a vote at this moment. And that's exactly the point, and that's why they fled the state. But as both sides are showing very little sign of backing down from their position, we're starting to get news of people around the state are already starting to potentially feel the effects of the uncertainty surrounding this debate, as well as the uncertainty about the coming budget that the governor has said will probably include a lot of funding cuts to the cities and the districts. We've learned of a school district just about an hour northeast of where we are here in Madison that has already put it's a very small school district put 34 of its teachers, all of its teaching staff, which includes 32 teachers and a librarian and a guidance counselor, all on notice that they could potentially be laid off next year. The superintendent says this is all because of the uncertainty surrounding the debate going on here in Madison, as well as they don't know what kind of funding decrease that they may see in the coming budget. Obviously, it's a very somber mood there, very difficult to be able to do that. And of course they're hoping to not have to lay off anyone, but he says they have to plan ahead, and these are the tough decisions that people across the state and districts across the state are starting to have to take a serious look at. Very ironically, one of the people that has been put on notice for potentially be laid off come next year is the Senate majority leader, a Republican, Scott Fitzgerald. His wife is a guidance counselor in this district. And she herself, we're told, has been put on notice of potentially losing their jobs. So, real effects are already starting to be felt. Of course, these people have not been laid off yet, but they're all starting the process of starting to have to warn people that there is potential for that Suzanne.
[Baldwin:] All right. Kate, thanks so much. A lot of people keeping a close eye on the story you're following there. It's going to impact a lot of folks. Thank you, Kate. Now, here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. As the unrest in the Middle East spreads, there are worries about gas prices, and it is becoming more urgent. Carol Costello, she's in Washington. She joins us with today's "Talk Back" question. Carol, I guess people are going to have to make some sacrifices, but that's pretty tough.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] It is pretty tough. But, Suzanne, as one oil industry expert told me, let the "petronoia" begin. Word is if the turmoil spreads in the Middle East, America's gas prices will head north. Way north. They could rise to $5 a gallon. Already, there are calls for President Obama to get ready to open the U.S. oil reserves just in case. Haven't we been down this road before, like in 2008? Remember, gas prices hit $4.11 a gallon. Americans actually reacted. We drove less. We got rid of our SUVs. We used mass transit. And a new campaign slogan was born "Drill baby, drill." Today, the U.S. is not drilling more. We're driving just as much. Consumers are once again clamoring for SUVs and pickup trucks. As for fuel efficiency, according to TruCar.com, hybrid cars account for just three percent of the market. Bottom line? As an oil expert Tom Collossa put it, "We like our guns and we like our gas." So, "Talk Back" today: What will it take to get serious about actually reducing our dependence on foreign oil? Talk to me on Facebook, Facebook.comCarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] Carol, I'm aging myself, but I remember back in the '70s we had that huge station wagon. I was just a kid, and those gas lines were unbelievable at the gas stations there. It was a time you all remember. It kind of changed our lives.
[Costello:] Oh, yes. Interesting you bring that up, because Tom Collossa says the last time leadership took a really strong role in getting America to reduce its dependence on foreign oil was during the Jimmy Carter era, and we all know how that went. Not well.
[Malveaux:] And we didn't have great hairstyles back then either. That didn't go so well. But we'll see how all of this shakes out, if people actually are going to adjust to the changing time. Thanks, Carol.
[Costello:] Sure.

[Nancy Grace:] Breaking news tonight, live, Michigan. 9:25 AM, Daddy driving along a busy thoroughfare with his 2-year-old little girl, Bianca, when suddenly, broad daylight, the Mercury four-door carjacked by two unknown assailants armed. Daddy frantically calls 911. Within 10 minutes, cops zero in on the car. It`s less than a mile away, the car in mint condition, the baby gone. Bombshell tonight. As the search for the little girl kicks into high gear, tonight we reveal, in the last hours, did Daddy fail a polygraph? His defense lawyer claims the poly is the problem, that it was improperly administered. Tonight, where is 2-year-old Bianca?
[Unidentified Male:] A heartbreaking mystery.
[Unidentified Female:] I believe my daughter is alive.
[Unidentified Male:] Volunteers have been out in full force searching various parts of the city, looking for the little girl.
[D`andre Lane, Father:] My concern is that our daughter comes home safely to us.
[Lane:] I`m telling the truth. That`s all I want, is my baby home safe.
[Unidentified Female:] That someone has her and they`re just they`re scared.
[Unidentified Male:] Lane says it was just he and Bianca inside his car when he says he was carjacked. But cops are not buying the story. What happened to Bianca? Police found the car, and Bianca hasn`t been seen since.
[Lane:] I was enjoying my time with her, me and her. For something like this to happen is a true tragedy. And I just wish that they would just bring baby home.
[Unidentified Male:] Sources say D`Andre failed a polygraph test and that a family member came forward saying D`Andre made up the whole story.
[Unidentified Female:] Please, please to just bring Bianca home.
[Unidentified Male:] But so far, no luck.
[Grace:] Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight, live, Michigan. 9:45 AM, Daddy`s driving along a busy thoroughfare with his 2-year-old little girl, when suddenly out of nowhere, the Mercury four-door carjacked by two unknown armed assailants broad daylight. 9:45 AM, Daddy frantically calls 911. In 10 minutes, cops zero in on Daddy`s car less than a mile away, the car in mint condition, the baby gone. Tonight, we reveal, in the last hours did Daddy fail a polygraph? We are live and taking your calls. Where is 2-year-old baby Bianca? What could be safer than driving along a busy thoroughfare with your dad behind the wheel? This little girl now missing. We are taking your calls. But first straight out to Jon Hewett, WWJ. Jon, what can you tell me? What do you know at this hour?
[Jon Hewett, Wwj Newsradio 950:] Nancy, good evening. The latest information about four hours ago was a press conference from the father, D`Andre Lane, with his attorney, Terry Johnson, at his side. This has been going on since Friday morning, when you mentioned the initial disappearance occurred. And there`s been a lot of follow. It`s been a non-stop story since then in this market. But Johnson prefaced his attorney, Johnson, said that D`Andre Lane would not talk about the day Bianca disappeared. That was his open on this press conference today. But D`Andre Lane did talk extensively. He outlined that he thought police were looking at him as suspect number one. He said he`s the person who described he described as Bianca`s kidnappers were the villains...
[Grace:] Right.
[Hewett:] ... not himself, and he feels he is being targeted for, in part, his past criminal record.
[Grace:] With us, Jon Hewett from WWJ. But everyone, I`m hearing in my ear the father and the lawyer coming on with us live. We`ll be taking your calls in just a few moments. We`re getting their satellite back up. To Alexis Weed. Let`s back it up a minute. I want to go over the timeline that day when Bianca was taken out of the car. Tell me what happened, Alexis.
[Alexis Weed, Nancy Grace Producer:] Well, Nancy, this is just this past Friday. At about 9:45 in the morning, the father calls police and says, I`ve been a subject of a carjacking. There were two men that said there was something wrong with my taillight on my car. He says he gets out of the car, the father, Bianca`s father and that`s when he says that these two men took the car away while Bianca`s in the back seat, strapped in her carseat.
[Grace:] Take a look at little Bianca. There is a nearly $30,000 reward. The reward is mounting. This 2-year-old child allegedly carjacked out of the Mercury four-door, broad daylight, busy thoroughfare. Take a look at the baby girl asleep. As the minutes tick by, crucial time passing in the search for baby Bianca. We are taking your calls. I want to go now to Alisa Zee, news director. Alisa, what more can you tell us about the case? The timeline to me I mean, a busy thoroughfare, 9:45 AM. Give me the description of the little girl, Alisa.
[Alisa Zee, Detroit Metro Networks:] Good evening, Nancy. Thank you so much. As you can see, this is everybody`s nightmare. Little Bianca Jones is 2 foot, 5 inches, about 25 pounds. She`s a light- skinned African-American little girl. And she was last seen wearing a purple jacket with gold trim, pink shirt, pink little tights. You can see her smile, those bright eyes. And the search does continue. The community is gathered together day in and day out searching the area for little Bianca.
[Grace:] Unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight out of D.C., Eleanor Odom, senior lawyer with the National DAs Association, death penalty- qualified, Raymond Giudice, defense attorney, Atlanta, Pam Hayes, renowned defense attorney joining us tonight out of New York. First of all, Eleanor, did you pick up on what Daddy had to say, or his lawyer said for him? They start a presser, where you normally see the parents begging for help, but Daddy`s lawyer kicks it off by saying he`s not talking about the day Bianca goes missing. All right, I don`t like that, Eleanor!
[Eleanor Odom, National District Attorneys Assn:] No, because, Nancy, if you have nothing to hide, why aren`t you telling the cops everything? Why aren`t you out there telling the public what`s going on and what you know? So that looks a little suspicious right from the get-go. You want to hear the facts of that case and get a detailed timeline of what was happening with that father and that daughter right before she went missing.
[Grace:] Do we have the composite that Daddy created? Dana, let`s see the composite. You know, I was taking a look at this composite, and it looks incredibly like the Susan Smith composite. It looks almost identical. Now, there`s the alleged assailant in this case. Dana, let`s pull up the Susan Smith composite. OK, here we go. Raymond, once again, it`s the unknown black male wearing the toboggan hat, wearing the baseball cap. Here we go!
[Raymond Giudice, Defense Attorney:] Although, you know, that does fit a profile of a substantial proportion of criminals. And what I would say to you is this. The lawyer is in a difficult position now that the camel is out of the tent in that the media has word of the, quote, unquote, "failed polygraph" response. Now, I agree with Eleanor, if you`re not going to be able to answer the questions that you know the media is going to ask, the hard questions they should ask, don`t subject yourself to that questioning. It`s only making matters worse. Shut up.
[Grace:] Put Giudice up! OK, Raymond, number one, it`s not that the camel is out of the tent.
[Giudice:] Oh, the camel`s nose is in the tent, right.
[Grace:] It`s that the horse is out of the barn.
[Giudice:] The horse is out of the barn. I remember all those things.
[Grace:] It`s the camel`s nose is in the tent.
[Giudice:] That`s right. Well...
[Grace:] ... and his tail will surely follow.
[Giudice:] ... you
[Grace:] Whatever. Pam Hayes, look, Pam, before you were a defense attorney in multiple jurisdictions, I know for a fact you were a felony prosecutor in inner-city Atlanta, in the same office where I went right after you. I followed in your footsteps, Pam Hayes. Come on! A carjack? The car`s found less than a mile away. And what is it? What what is it, Clark, a `74 what?
[Clark Goldband, Nancy Grace Producer:] It`s a Mercury Marquis.
[Grace:] A Mercury Marquis... Sorry 2004 Mercury Marquis, four-door. Now, you really think you know, Pam, hold on, Pam. I want you to hear this. With me right now is D`Andre Lane. This is Bianca`s father. With him, Terry L. Johnson, both joining us out of Michigan. He is the attorney. Mr. Lane, thank you for being with us.
[Terry L. Johnson, Lane`s Attorney:] Thank you for having us, Nancy.
[Grace:] Mr. Lane, can you give me a description of the assailants, number one? That would be useful in trying to track Bianca down.
[Johnson:] You know, Nancy, again, we`ve given a description of the assailants, and the police have put that out.
[Grace:] OK. Great. Can you give me the description tonight so the viewers can hear it, Mr. Lane?
[Johnson:] Well, again, Nancy, I`m not exactly sure don`t you have a composite that you can pull? Wouldn`t that be better?
[Grace:] I have a black-and-white composite, Mr. Johnson. If he could describe he said there`s two unknown armed assailants. I have a composite of one of them. It`s a black-and-white charcoal sketch. I don`t know what color their outfits were. I don`t know how tall they are. I don`t know what the other one even looks like. All right, I`m going to try again, Mr. Lane. What did the assailants look like?
[Johnson:] Nancy, just you know, we don`t want to start this off on a hostile terms. What we`re attempting to do...
[Grace:] OK.
[Johnson:] ... is do everything we can to get Bianca back. And we`ve given that information to the police and again, we`re...
[Grace:] All right. So you can`t tell me...
[Johnson:] ... asking that the police disseminate...
[Grace:] ... what the assailants looked like.
[Johnson:] ... that information.
[Grace:] OK, fine.
[Johnson:] I think that should be disseminated through the police.
[Grace:] What can Mr. Lane talk about? OK, great. What can Mr. Lane talk about tonight?
[Johnson:] You know, we can talk about pretty much anything other than the events that happened on December 2nd, the unfortunate event.
[Grace:] OK, great.
[Johnson:] He`s given a statement...
[Grace:] Let`s start there, then.
[Johnson:] ... to the police.
[Grace:] Mr. Lane, let`s back it up and go to a moment before the carjack. Tell me about the 2-year-old little girl, Bianca.
[Lane:] My daughter is a beautiful little girl. She has a bright personality. She`s the type of person that lights up a room when she walks in it. She is she`s very intelligent. She`s she`s just a wonderful little girl to be around. I mean, all my children are wonderful. I love all my children dearly. And she is just she is one of those lights in my life.
[Grace:] How many children do you have, Mr. Lane?
[Lane:] I have seven.
[Grace:] Do they all have the same mother?
[Lane:] No, they do not.
[Grace:] Where were you going the morning the car was carjacked?
[Lane:] I was on my way to her mother`s house at the moment the car was carjacked.
[Grace:] I`m sorry, I couldn`t hear you. Repeat?
[Lane:] I was on my way to her mother`s house moments before the car was carjacked.
[Grace:] Now, I read something that you were on your way to see about your financial aid for your student tuition. Is that incorrect?
[Lane:] That is incorrect. That happened prior to all of this taking place. I`ve fully cooperated with the police and given them every bit of information that I could give them. I don`t know where you`re getting your information from, but that was prior, earlier on in the day. When the situation took place, we were on our way to her mother`s to get her more clothes so she could spend more time with her family.
[Grace:] OK. You said you were earlier checking on your financial aid for your tuition. Where was that?
[Lane:] At Wayne County Community College.
[Grace:] Wayne County Community College. What are you studying, sir?
[Lane:] Education.
[Grace:] And what is it that you would like to be?
[Lane:] It was a toss-up between a social worker and a teacher, but as I look at the state of education in my city, I think that there`s need for more black men to step up and become educators.
[Grace:] OK. So you want to be a teacher. Mr. Lane, did you take Bianca into the building when you checked on your tuition?
[Lane:] No, I did not. I never entered the building. As I told police I gave them a full disclosure of all the events that took place up until the carjacking. They have this information.
[Grace:] OK. OK, I couldn`t understand what you said. I think you said you did not take her into the building to check on tuition because you yourself did not go into the building, is that right?
[Lane:] Yes. We did not enter the building.
[Grace:] OK. Then how did you check on your tuition?
[Lane:] I was on my way up there to check on my tuition. I realized that I left my briefcase at home, which had the other paperwork that I needed to file for my financial aid.
[Grace:] OK. Now, does this mean that you were then bypassing the briefcase and bypassing the tuition and going to get Bianca some more clothing?
[Johnson:] You know, Nancy, again I believe these questions have been answered. And our focus here tonight is doing what we can to get Bianca back to her father and her mother.
[Grace:] Well, you know what would really help, Mr. Johnson, is letting the viewers know what area of town you were in so maybe they could figure out who the assailants are that took the little girl. If you would like me to direct the questions directly to you, Mr. Johnson, I`ll be happy to do that because my goal tonight is to get the information about where this girl was taken and who her assailants may be. As a matter of fact, there`s a chance this child is still alive, and I would like Mr. Johnson, and her father, D`Andre Lane, to join me in trying to get our viewers` help in finding this child alive. The tip line, 313- 596-2260. There`s a nearly $30,000 reward. That reward is climbing. With us and taking your calls, D`Andre Lane and his lawyer, criminal defense attorney Terry Johnson. Breaking news tonight. The search is on for a 2-year-old little girl allegedly taken in the midst of an armed carjacking, Michigan. With us tonight, her father, driving that Mercury four-door at the time the baby was taken, and his lawyer. D`Andre Lane and Terry Johnson, lawyer, joining us out of Michigan and taking your calls. D`Andre Lane, you`re very brave for coming on tonight. You`re facing a lot of tough questions, you and your lawyer, amidst claims by the cops that you failed a poly. What happened?
[Johnson:] Well, I`d like to address the poly issue.
[Grace:] Go ahead.
[Johnson:] I`m sure thank you. First of all, as anybody knows, when you take a polygraph, you don`t take it under certain conditions. Number one, Mr. Lane was a victim, a victim of a carjacking in which his daughter was abducted. He`s then taken into custody. He is interrogated. And then he`s asked to draw a picture or I`m sorry to describe the people that did this to him. Following that, they then strap him up for a polygraph after such a heinous act had been done on him. That is not the proper way to take a polygraph. He didn`t fail a polygraph. It wasn`t done properly. So when you talk about he failed a polygraph, no. It has to be administered in a proper manner.
[Grace:] OK.
[Johnson:] Anybody that go ahead.
[Grace:] Terry, what I don`t understand, are you saying that the timing of the polygraph was what was wrong with the administration of the poly? Yes, no.
[Johnson:] That`s a part of it. That is absolutely part it.
[Grace:] OK, because he passed all the other questions except about, did he know where his daughter was. So he passed all the other questions.
[Johnson:] And Nancy, where are you getting...
[Grace:] And would he be willing to take another poly...
[Johnson:] ... this information?
[Grace:] ... now that a period of time has passed?
[Johnson:] Well, here`s the question. Where is this information coming from? Because here locally, that`s not what`s being reported. So again, we have...
[Grace:] Really?
[Johnson:] ... the media...
[Grace:] What about it, Alexis? What have you learned about the poly, quickly, Alexis Weed?
[Weed:] Nancy, "The Detroit News" is reporting that he failed the question, Did you have anything to do with her disappearance? And do you know where she is now?
[Grace:] Breaking news tonight, a 2-year-old little girl allegedly carjacked out of a Mercury four-door with her dad, a busy thoroughfare there in Michigan, broad daylight, 9:45 AM. Daddy`s going to check on student aid for his tuition when two armed assailants take the car. Cops zero in, find the car less than a mile away. The car is in mint condition. The baby is gone. Tonight joining us live, the father driving that car, D`Andre Lane, and his lawyer, Terry Johnson. To Jon Hewett, reporter, WWJ. I noticed that Terry Johnson did not in any way want his client to describe the two assailants. Am I wrong, Jon Hewett? Or when this first started, did D`Andre Lane tell cops there was one assailant? Did I misread that?
[Hewett:] I don`t know, Nancy, if he told police that directly, but I do know that day I spoke with Detroit police chief Ralph Godby directly. And they put out a request for a suspect search in describing what Bianca was wearing and her description, but also that they were looking for a light-skinned black male, unshaven, about six feet tall, dark hat, dark jacket or dark pants, dark jacket, et cetera. No mention at all of two suspects they were seeking. So that does seem to be a big inconsistency here.
[Grace:] Yes, that`s a problem. OK. Mr. Lane, D`Andre Lane, you`re Bianca`s father. You were with her when the car is carjacked. How many assailants were there, one or two?
[Lane:] Like I told the investigators, there were two people in the car. One person got out of the car and aimed the firearm at me. I could not describe to them what the person behind the wheel of the car looked like. I gave them all the information I could give them.
[Grace:] Well, Mr. Lane, let me tell you something. Very often, when people are staring down the wrong end of a gun, that`s all they can focus on. They can`t necessarily focus on anything else. Viewers, think back at the time that you were the scaredest, the most scared in your whole life, and what do you remember, the most upset you`ve ever been in your life. What do you remember about your surroundings? So Mr. Lane, I get it. Now, you`ve given a composite of one of the suspects. Tell me, how did you get to the phone to call police?
[Johnson:] You know, Nancy, again, we`re here to work on getting Bianca back. You want to constantly...
[Grace:] Great. Then just answer my questions.
[Johnson:] And again, as an attorney...
[Grace:] That`d be great.
[Johnson:] Well, Nancy, you`re an attorney. You understand he`s cloaked and that maybe as a DA, you`ve forgotten that, but he`s cloaked with the presumption of innocence.
[Grace:] No, actually...
[Johnson:] And he has been cooperating...
[Grace:] I am here...
[Johnson:] ... with the police...
[Grace:] ... trying to find Bianca. And you...
[Johnson:] Then let`s talk about that.
[Grace:] ... don`t want your client...
[Johnson:] And let`s not talk about...
[Grace:] ... to talk about anything...
[Johnson:] ... what happened on the 2nd.
[Grace:] ... other well, why? That`s the whole reason we`re here. We`re here about what happened on the 2nd and who took this baby!
[Unidentified Reporter:] D`Andre Lane told police he was carjacked and the thieves who took off with his car took his daughter, too.
[D`andre Lane, Father Of Missing 2-year-old Baby Bianca, Claims Carjacker Kidnapped Daughter:] There`s a lot of things being mishandled in this investigation.
[Unidentified Reporter:] With guns drawn, the FBI and Michigan State Police entered the home of D`Andre Lane.
[Lane:] Why go in with guns drawn? My daughter does not need to be subject to someone else coming in and trying to make her father out to be a villain.
[Unidentified Reporter:] A black police SUV parked in the driveway. Police seen removing items from the home and placing them in the
[Suv. Lane:] When I talked to my daughter all she said is daddy, I love you. Daddy, I love you. She sent pictures to my sister`s phone. And her blowing kisses. She doesn`t even know what`s going on. I`m the bad guy right now. Eight years I`ve been working on getting my life together to try to put that behind me. Eight years, trying to get in school, trying to get a job, trying to be a father to my children. Eight years. And you sit up there and tell me now that my daughter is gone
[Grace:] Welcome back. We are live and taking your calls. A 2-year-old little girl carjacked from their Mercury four door. Daddy had the wheel. A busy thoroughfare there in Michigan, broad daylight, 9:45 a.m. We are taking your calls. Back to Mr. Lane, this is Bianca`s father. There`s a shot of little Bianca asleep. How have you been treated since this incident, Mr. Lane?
[Lane:] I mean at first I looked at everything, I was just trying to give them as much information that I could. And then all of a sudden I heard someone say oh, he has a criminal record. Next thing I know I`m thrown into a police car. I`m taken down, I`m interrogated. I`m made to answer questions. I`m tell these people, I don`t I mean I can`t even think straight at the time. You know this I`ve never had anything like this happen to me. There`s nothing like this has happened to my family, to Beliga`s family, I mean this this whole situation is a tragedy and I feel like I`m being pushed around and being put in front of the media as the bad guy and I`m not. I`m not. I`m the father that`s out here
[Grace:] OK. Mr. Lane, at any time tonight did I bring up your criminal record?
[Lane:] I did not say you did, Nancy. I`m now saying you. I`m saying when I was out
[Grace:] Right. So the answer is no. You`re not under attack, Mr. Lane. I`m trying to cull facts from you that could help me and the viewers find your daughter. All right. And I understand that you believe you have been mistreated. But what I want to do is focus on the facts surrounding Bianca`s disappearance. Do you understand this is not about you? This is about her.
[Lane:] That`s what I`ve been saying to everyone, it`s not about me. It`s about her. And that`s why I`m trying to get the message out, please bring my daughter home. That is my only concern. I don`t care about anything else that`s going on right now but my daughter`s safe return home to her family. That`s it. That`s the only concern that any of us have.
[Grace:] Mr. Lane, you say your lawyer says that you have cooperated with police. What have you done to cooperate with police?
[Lane:] I`ve answered every question they`ve given me to the fullest extent that I could. I have done I sat down with a sketch artist. I tried the composite I gave them every all the information I could. I mean the situation everything happened so fast. The I mean there`s a gun pointed at me, my daughter is in the car. I`ve been just trying to give them everything that I could. I don`t know what else they want from me but I`m giving them everything that they ask for.
[Terry L. Johnson, Attorney For D`andre Lane, Father Of Missing 2-year- Old Baby Girl:] And Nancy, let me say this. When Mr. Lane was in custody, he was asked by the police, can we search your house? Mr. Lane consented. He gave them written consent to go into the house.
[Grace:] OK, you know what? Mr. Johnson, I real appreciate that and I give him all the props for having his house searched.
[Johnson:] Well, but there`s more to it than that, Nancy.
[Grace:] But I would do the same. What parent
[Johnson:] What? Do you want to hear the story
[Grace:] But what parent in their right mind
[Johnson:] I mean there`s more to it than that.
[Grace:] OK. Can you give to it me in a nutshell? Tell me.
[Johnson:] Sure. Absolutely. Ever since then they`ve taken things out, that`s fine. He`s given them permission. After that they`ve never come back to him and asked for permission. They knew where he was. They`ve kicked in doors when they knew no one was there. They`ve gone in with guns drawn. They`ve had that house under surveillance. That was for media sensation.
[Grace:] Hold on, Terry Johnson. That`s not altogether fair to the cops because give me that rap sheet. I mean since you guys brought it up.
[Johnson:] Well, you know, I`m going to fair to my client.
[Grace:] That was not my no, no, no.
[Johnson:] And I want them to be fair to my client.
[Grace:] If I were a cop going into Mr. Lane`s house, and I knew that he has a rap sheet for starting all the way back in the `90s for let`s see here.
[Johnson:] And he`s in custody. And he`s not there.
[Grace:] Assault with intent to commit armed robbery. Auto theft. Felony car possession.
[Johnson:] And Nancy, he`s not there. Are you forgetting that point?
[Grace:] Dope. No, I am telling you
[Johnson:] Are you forgetting that he`s not thee?
[Grace:] I`m not forgetting anything, sir. But what I`m telling you is don`t go crying about the cops having a gun.
[Johnson:] And are you forgetting that no one else was there?
[Grace:] Please, don`t make me cut your mike.
[Johnson:] No. You`re missing my point.
[Grace:] I let you finish and I`d like to do the same. No, no, no. For all the cops know somebody else can be there with a gun.
[Johnson:] Sure. If you allow me to finish.
[Grace:] No. You`ve already finished.
[Johnson:] Well, Nancy, here`s the thing.
[Grace:] You said they pulled their weapons when they went into the house.
[Johnson:] They`ve had the house under surveillance.
[Grace:] So?
[Johnson:] And nobody went in.
[Grace:] So?
[Johnson:] So?
[Grace:] So? How do they know who is there or not.
[Johnson:] Wow.
[Grace:] You know, what, all of this is
[Johnson:] Because he was in their jail, Nancy.
[Grace:] Neither here nor there. It doesn`t matter.
[Johnson:] He was in their jail, Nancy.
[Grace:] What matters is the time surrounding the carjack. That`s all I care about.
[Johnson:] Well, here`s a question, Nancy.
[Grace:] I mean I don`t have a problem with your client but what I`m saying is
[Johnson:] We`re giving those statements to the police.
[Grace:] OK, cut his mike. This is not about your client, sir. This is about his daughter. And the fact that instead put him up. Instead of discussing her disappearance you two are whining about how he was treated. No offense, but who cares? All that matters is her.
[Johnson:] We don`t care how we
[Grace:] Now, back to you, Mr. Lane.
[Johnson:] You were right.
[Grace:] I want to hear what your message is tonight.
[Lane:] My message is to whoever has my daughter, bring her back safely to her parents and her family that are waiting on her, that love her, that want to see her brought home safely. That is my only concern. I don`t care about what the media is putting out there about me. I don`t care about the threats that my family and I receive.
[Grace:] OK. Good.
[Lane:] I don`t care about any of that. I just want my daughter back home. That`s it.
[Grace:] All right. Who is it that you believe took your daughter? What did they say when they took the car? Did they say, we want your daughter? We want your car? What did they say?
[Lane:] Like I told the police, I don`t know what was said. I just know that a gun was pointed in my face and they drove off in my car with my daughter. I was yelling, my daughter is in the car. My daughter is in the car.
[Grace:] Were you at a stop sign or a red light?
[Lane:] All I want to I just want my baby home. That`s it. That`s my main concern is that BB comes home safely.
[Grace:] All right. OK. To Jon Hewett, were they at a stop sign or a red light when this happened?
[Jon Hewett, Producer/reporter, Wwj Newsradio 950:] I honestly can`t tell you. I don`t know that specifically.
[Grace:] Alicia Zee, do you know if they were at a stop light or a red a stop sign or a red light?
[Alisa Zee, News Director, Detroit Metro Networks:] Not to my knowledge. I know they were in a busy area, though, Nancy, as you`ve mentioned before on the east side of the city.
[Grace:] OK. You know, Mr. Lane, I don`t under how they came up and got into your car. I`m looking at the thoroughfare. You`re not at a red light. You weren`t stopped at a stop sign. How did they come up and make you relinquish your car.
[Johnson:] Nancy, we`re going back to an area again we`ve given our statement to the police. If you want to know what happened specifically on December 2nd, we should have Ralph Godbee or someone from the Detroit Police Department here.
[Grace:] OK.
[Johnson:] My client has given his statement about that.
[Grace:] Pam Hayes, you`ve heard this. I want to hear your thoughts, former prosecutor, current veteran defense attorney. Pam?
[Pam Hayes, Defense Attorney:] It sound really bad. I don`t think he should be on talking about this. It`s not the proper way to go about this. They have a sketch of a generic black man that looks like Joe Campbell and it`s just no facts or detail. And everybody is just upset.
[Grace:] And, you know, Pam Hayes, when you go on national TV to help find your daughter, I mean you`d think, you describe the assailants or something about what happened that day. What about it Caryn Stark?
[Caryn Stark, Psychologist:] Absolutely. You describe what happened. You really are not somebody who is there and keep talking about how you`ve been wronged, what you did wrong. And here`s something that I don`t understand, Nancy. There are these two people, they take the car, so supposedly they are carjackers. But then they wind up finding the car and the daughter is gone. So now are they child molesters? And if they`re child molesters are they work in tandem? I don`t know stories where two people wind up taking a little girl. That makes no sense to me. So much
[Grace:] With us also Marc Klaas, Marc, help me out. We`re running out of time. Hours are passing. Critical hours in the search for Bianca.
[Marc Klaas, President And Founder, Klaaskids Foundation:] Well, listen. Here`s the problem here. Kidnappers exist or depend upon anonymity. These are kidnappers and apparently that was the goal of the crime since the car was recovered within just a mile. Apparently these kidnappers have no problem letting the world know what their faces look like. That could make it much, much easier to find this child. I think as far as the search goes, the police and the public are doing absolutely everything they can based upon some very, very sketchy information.
[Grace:] Everyone, the tip line in this case, 313-596-2260. We need your help finding baby Bianca. The reward is climbing. Nearly $30,000 and you can help find this child, taken at gunpoint according to daddy. Daddy with us tonight refusing, along with his lawyer, to answer any question about when hi daughter was stolen. Welcome back. We are live in Michigan and the search turned desperate for a 2-year-old little girl carjacked. Her daddy behind the wheel. Now she is missing. Daddy and lawyer with us tonight. To Woody Tripp, former police commander and polygraph expert. OK, Woody let`s hear your take.
[Woody Tripp, Former Police Commander, Polygraph Expert:] You know, Nancy, there`s a saying, a lot don`t care who tells it, a lot don`t care who hears it. This whole thing with the polygraph and it wasn`t right. And you know it`s with this test it shows significant reaction to two of the most relevant, important questions that you could have. Do you know where and do you or did you have any involvement with this? And as you said, and I reiterated it, he didn`t have a problem with the other questions and there were more relevant questions than just those two. So, yes, there`s a problem there. And I think after what we`ve seen I don`t even know if a polygraph was necessary at this point.
[Grace:] To Dr. Michael Arnall, board certified forensic psychologist, could forensics conclusively determine if Bianca was in the car that day?
[Dr. Michael Arnall, Board Certified Forensic Pathologist:] No. There`s a with a child seat there this child has been riding in the car before. And unless the child was picked up on video, some place through the city as the car was driving, there`s no forensic evidence inside the car that would be able to answer that question. Hopefully they can see pictures of the kid in some of the videos that may have picked the car up as it drove throughout the city.
[Grace:] So Dr. Arnall, it`s much harder to fine DNA type evidence in the location where the victim would be normally.
[Arnall:] Right. The presence of the child`s DNA or any other specimen is not going to help. However, I am sure that the FBI has fingerprinted and swabbed the inside of that car extensively looking for fingerprints and DNA on the steering wheel, on the child seat where they removed the child and on the outside of the car.
[Grace:] Back to the lawyers. Eleanor Odom, Raymond Giudice, Pam Hayes. Eleanor, what about the scenario?
[Eleanor Odom, Felony Prosecutor, Death Penalty Qualified:] Well, the scenario overall seems just a little bit difficult to believe. And it`s not unusual to question the person who was last with the child. No big deal. But I`d like to take exception to the fact that he says he was in custody. Nancy, if he was in custody, he would be arrested. He would be handcuffed. He wouldn`t be let go. And he never would have been allowed to walk out of that police station. So this wasn`t questioning under custody whatsoever.
[Grace:] OK. Raymond, what do you think?
[Ray Giudice, Defense Attorney:] Here`s my strategy, I get this client in my office tomorrow. I repolygraph him with my polygrapher. Assuming he passes I give it to law enforcement and I make it public and then I bring him on TV and answer questions.
[Grace:] OK. Ray, do you ask the same questions as in the first poly?
[Giudice:] Exactly. Exactly the same questions. I get a very qualified polygrapher. But I also want to tell you and your audience. If my client fails it`s as if it never happened.
[Grace:] Yes. We all knew that about you, Giudice.
[Giudice:] Well, that`s the way it is.
[Grace:] OK, Pam Hayes, weigh in.
[Hayes:] I just think that he shouldn`t be on any more TV. He should be out there with the police looking for his child and that`s it. It doesn`t get any better for him to talk any more.
[Grace:] You know, that`s a good question. Mr. Lane, have you been helping in the actual physical search for Bianca?
[Lane:] I want to be out there. I want to be helping find my daughter. It`s been told to me by several people that it`s best for me at this time to just just reside with my family because there have been many threats towards my family and myself. I would hate to go out here and be looking for my daughter, if somebody does something to me and my daughter is found, now she`s maybe find without her dad. I mean I just want people to focus on what the real issue is. Finding my daughter and bringing her back home to her mother and father. That is the only thing that we care about.
[Grace:] OK. Let me ask you this, Mr. Lane. In what areas should we look for your daughter?
[Lane:] All over the United States. I don`t know I don`t know where these people are. I don`t know where they took her. Everybody should be looking. I just want everybody anybody. If you have any information anywhere just let us know. Please. We want BB home. That is our main concern. I don`t care about anything else. I don`t care about me. I don`t care about anything going on but bringing my daughter back home to her family. That`s it.
[Grace:] OK.
[Lane:] Period.
[Grace:] You know I`m going to take you up on that, Mr. Lane. Since you`re saying you don`t care about yourself then I`m going to ask you to tell me what happened when Bianca was taken. What happened? Where were you? At a red light or a stop sign?
[Johnson:] Nancy, again, the focus is to get Bianca back.
[Grace:] All right.
[Johnson:] And I`m sure you`re going to cut me off I know you`re going to cut me off and not let me finish, but again we`ve given those statements to the police. You guys are going on information that`s a little leaked here, a little leaked here. He pass this one, he didn`t pass that. He did this, he did that.
[Grace:] Well, here`s your chance to clear all that up, sir.
[Johnson:] And and there I`m cut off again. Well, you know, Nancy, I wish I could just get a point out without interruption, but we`re here today, my client has cooperated with the authorities. We`ve done everything plus more that they`ve asked. We`re willing to continue to cooperate with authorities. But instead what we`re here now everybody is pointing the finger at him, why? Because you guys in the media need somebody to point the finger at and that`s why you and a lot of the panel are doing. We are here to go use on getting that little girl back.
[Grace:] No, actually, sir Mr. Johnson, actually, you are arousing suspicion because instead of answering the questions head on or straightforwardly
[Johnson:] We`ve answered them.
[Grace:] You`re using this as an infomercial for you and your client who claims he doesn`t care about himself.
[Johnson:] No. No.
[Grace:] Frankly, sir
[Johnson:] No.
[Grace:] His story stinks.
[Johnson:] We`ve answered those questions.
[Grace:] It stinks to high heaven.
[Johnson:] Get well, God be on here
[Grace:] It doesn`t makes sense and he won`t answer any specific question. But maybe I can get a question out of Alisa Zee
[Johnson:] Why don`t we have the Detroit Police
[Grace:] Alisa, was there surveillance video? Can you just tell me that?
[Zee:] I know that police have obtained surveillance camera footage and they are trying to corroborate this story. However, there is no official corroboration yet. We know he was seen at the school at some point dropping off his nephew at one school, but they`re looking at other surveillance video trying to corroborate but I have no word of official corroboration.
[Grace:] So long story short, we don`t know if she was ever even in that car.
[Unidentified Reporter:] D`Andre Lane told police he was carjacked.
[Lane:] I`ve never had anything like this happen to me in my life.
[Unidentified Reporter:] The critical missing investigation Bianca hasn`t been seen since.
[Lane:] My daughter is not with her family. She needs to be home.
[Unidentified Reporter:] And police looking at his movements.
[Lane:] We don`t need the sensationalism of kicking down doors with guns drawn on a house that you`ve already had surveillance on and you know nobody is in. I am not the villain here. The villain is the person who has my daughter.
[Unidentified Reporter:] What happened to Bianca?
[Grace:] We are taking your calls. To Dawn in Washington. Everybody, I`m getting worried that at 8:10 that morning, the nephew says he did see the little girl alive in the car with daddy. So the child is alive in the car seat at 8:10 a.m. that morning. OK. Dawn, in Washington, hi, dear, what`s your question?
[Dawn, Caller From Washington:] Hi, Nancy, how are you?
[Grace:] I`m good, dear.
[Dawn:] Yes, I have a question. I was wondering how the relationship is between the father and the girl`s mother and if so could the girl`s mother be involved somehow?
[Grace:] Good question. To Alexis Weed, where`s the mommy and what`s the relationship?
[Alexis Weed, Nancy Grace Producer:] Nancy, the mom is close by. Bianca lives with her mother. The father does not have custody of Bianca, although the mother, though, we`re learning through reports that the uncle has said, the maternal uncle, he is saying that Bianca was with her father for about a month, that the mother had let him visit with her. She is close by, though, and she does takes care of the little girl.
[Grace:] So, Alexis, you`re saying he had the baby nonstop for a month before this incident?
[Weed:] She wept back to her mother`s on November 26th for her birthday party. And the father then picked her up afterwards. So she has been staying with the father for sometime yes, but the mother has seen her on and off.
[Grace:] OK. Has the mother been questioned and poly`d, Alexis?
[Weed:] We know whether she`s taken a poly, we do know that she has talked to police. That she`s also been out there distributing flyers and trying to help in the search, Nancy.
[Grace:] Everyone, the tip line is 313-596-2260. The reward is climbing. Nearly $30,000 in the search for this little girl, 2-year-old, Bianca. Let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant Patrick Stewart, 35, Fernley, Nevada, killed Afghanistan. Also served Desert Storm and Korea. Awarded Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Two Army Achievement medals. Two National Defense Service medals. Two Overseas Service Ribbons. Loved the outdoors, hunting, fishing. Leaves behind parents Steve and Sandy, brother Jason, widow, Roberta. Son Raymond, daughter Alex. Patrick Stewart, American hero. Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. A special good night from California friends Michael and Stephen. Now aren`t they handsome? Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend. END

[Anderson Cooper:] Good evening, everyone. Tonight in Tripoli, families are once again hiding in their homes as gunmen rule the streets and the dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, and his sons continue to oversee the killing of unarmed protesters and continue to lie about what they are doing right now. Gadhafi today telling Libyans they should be singing and dancing in the streets. Well, I want to show you what his people are really doing in the streets and what's being done to them in those streets as protests swept Tripoli today. The Gadhafi regime, which claims it would never kill its own people, is killing its own people. Again, more died today; more will likely die tomorrow. By all accounts, what we are witnessing, what we are watching, what Gadhafi and his henchmen are doing, is wholesale butchery. Take a look at what happened today. People leaving Friday prayers at a mosque in Tripoli were attacked. The call had gone out to protest after prayers, but government forces were there, waiting with weapons. Watch.
[Cooper:] The firing the firing goes on and on. Troops shooting not to warn or wound, we are told, but to kill. You'll hear shortly from a protester who was there in that crowd. There is also new video coming in by the hour, just now we just discovered some footage. We don't know the precise location, but we do know it was taken today, just as the person who took it was hit. We don't know what happened to the person taking those images. We have no reliable casualty figures either from that incident or many others across Tripoli. The terrible truth is we simply do not know and we do not know what happens to the people in these video clips. To the badly wounded protesters like this man here or elsewhere in this to this injured mercenary, this is a remarkable moment, though. You see a mercenary apparently a foreigner in camouflage, the man on top of him, apparently shielding him, covering him with his body; he and a small circle of protesters protecting this mercenary from the angry mob. Protecting a man who just moments before was apparently roaming the streets with orders to kill. "Keeping Them Honest", orders from the man who showed up today in Tripoli's Green Square with his henchmen and promised to open up his arsenals and turn Libya into a red flame.
[Moamma Gadhafi, Libyan Leader:] We are prepared to break any aggression by the people, the armed people. And the time will come when all the ammunition warehouses will be open for the people to defend the country. I came here in order to greet you, greet your courage, and I tell you to repel them. Moammar Gadhafi is not a president, neither a king nor a head of state. Neither any high position but the people love him, because we are the glory, the dignity. Look, America, look. Look to the Libyan people. This is Moammar Gadhafi among the Libyan people, among the masses of the Libyan people.
[Cooper:] He speaks about himself in the third person. That was Gadhafi defiant. There was also Gadhafi the clown.
[Gadhafi:] Here, youth, take your liberty everywhere, in the streets. Dance, sing, live with dignity. Live with high morals. Moammar Gadhafi is one of you. Dance. Dance and sing and be happy.
[Cooper:] Dance and sing and be happy. A killer promises to open up his arsenal to crush dissent. Dance and sing and be happy, he says. He hires outsiders to turn streets into killing grounds and he tells his people to dance and sing and be happy. We hear gunfire echoing throughout the night, and we are told he he says that the people should dance and sing and be happy. It's not just the father spreading lies and threats. It's the son as well, today. His name is Seif, and for years he's travelled in the West in slick suits, giving speeches and shaking hands with dignitaries and well-known singers, pretending to be a man of civilization and reform. He's cast his lot with his father now, and claims everything is normal. Take a look at this new interview he did, the son did, with CNN Turk. Seif first caught by a photographer with a smile and a wink right to the camera. I got to tell you, when we first saw that, we couldn't believe it. There's blood in the streets but after years of living and feasting on millions in oil money, being protected and pampered, this man is cocky and smug as ever. We don't know what is going on in his head but his words are defiant and disastrous.
[Seif Al-islam Gadhafi, Moammar Gadhafi's Son:] We have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. Plan A, is to live and die in Libya. Plan B, is to live and die in Libya. Plan C is to live and die in Libya.
[Cooper:] He continued to blame outside outside terrorists for the uprisings. And most shocking of all, he said the regime would never kill its own people. He lies and he smiles and he winks. Global pressure is starting to build today. There's no doubt about that. The hope is it's the beginning of the end. The fear is what Gadhafi might do between now and then. And just in case there is anyone listening tonight who might believe the Gadhafis when they say they would never kill their own people, although I find it hard to believe anybody would believe it at this point. Tonight, another voice, more proof, a man who says he saw people die today on the streets of Tripoli after Friday prayers. What happened when you left what happened after mosque today?
[Unidentified Male:] People were in groups walking down the streets. The military came and they and they tried to shoot at people. And they they weren't they weren't shooting to scare people off, they were shooting to kill. They killed people in front of my eyes, children, old men.
[Cooper:] You saw people dying?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, I saw I've seen people dying.
[Cooper:] Who was doing the shooting?
[Unidentified Male:] Military, military people. They call them revolutionary committees.
[Cooper:] Were they Special Forces
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[Cooper:] Yes, it wasn't Special Forces it was revolutionary committees?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. It was revolutionary committees. They had AK-47s and they were shooting at people and people were armless. We thought we thought of throwing rocks at them. We had six rocks people had knives and they were shooting with machine guns.
[Cooper:] What was it like for you to see this?
[Unidentified Male:] It was very, very I I couldn't I couldn't believe this. People were running off all the in every direction. We want the we want the United Nations and the United States to to get to the to have a no-fly zone over Libya. That's what we want to do. We don't want any military intervention in Libya. We want we don't want them in our country. We can do this on our own. I know that the United the United States doesn't give a damn about us. I know that the United States, all they care about is the oil, oil prices going up. And I know that all they care is about the oil. I just want them to help these people. They are dying every day. And they are armless. They don't have weapons.
[Cooper:] And you feel a no-fly zone would help you on the ground?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, no-fly zone, because he would not be able to use to use planes. He would not be able to shoot us from the skies. Because he can he can he can destroy the whole city in just minutes with with airplanes. Pilots have landed in Malta. They have they have asked pilots to strike the city, but they refuse, because they couldn't strike their own people. So they landed their planes in Malta. So he's so he's running out of options. People are trying, people more people are joining the revolution every day, military officers, generals in the army are supporting the people. He's losing he's losing his best supporters. It's only a matter of time.
[Cooper:] Thank you for talking to us. I know it's a great risk. We'll continue to talk with you in the days ahead. Thank you. I want to bring in Ben Wedeman now in Libya, foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty and Professor Fouad Ajami of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies as well as the Hoover Institution. Ben, we've seen these remarkable crowds today in Benghazi where you are, rallying in support of people in Tripoli because because as we've heard from the people in Tripoli it is another story all together. Are are people in Benghazi in close contact with people in Tripoli? And can they do anything to influence events on the ground there?
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Very close contact. Well, they're in very close contact. In fact, people are constantly handing me phones of their relatives in Tripoli to talk to them, to gather information. So the cell phones work. So you can actually get in contact with Tripoli very easily. They're doing what they can here. In fact, we're hearing that there is a move to put together some sort of force that might be able to go help help the people of Tripoli in fighting back against the regime. But the problem is that whereas the regime in Tripoli has airplanes, tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers and helicopters, there's very little in the way of heavy machinery, heavy weaponry that could be used against those forces here. It's mostly RPGs, AK-47s, some surface-to-air missiles but not the kind of weaponry they would need to really bring down the regime. And also, it's a very long way. It's more than a thousand kilometers between Benghazi and Tripoli.
[Cooper:] That was going to be my next question. So if it's a thousand kilometers and some forces moving toward Tripoli, I'm assuming the Gadhafi regime would have an advance notice of that and have have an opportunity to to attack anyone on that road.
[Wedeman:] Yes. And let's not forget that right smack dab in the middle of that is the city of Sirt on the Mediterranean coast, which is Gadhafi-controlled territory. We have seen that gradually the cities along the coast have fallen to the anti-Gadhafi forces, but there is a long stretch of very thinly populated territory that divides Eastern from western Libya.
[Cooper:] Jill, tonight President Obama signed an executive order on sanctions which targets the Gadhafi government while protecting the assets that belong to the people of Libya. That's a quote. How is that supposed to work?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] You know, we just got a briefing a few moments ago from treasury official Stuart Levey. And essentially any of the assets that are held first by the regime and the regime includes, and they specifically were named here, Moammar Gadhafi and four of his children, any assets that are held in U.S. financial institutions or U.S.-controlled financial institutions anywhere in the world are frozen. So, again, it has to do with the regime and then also the government; assets by the Central Bank and that Sovereign Wealth Fund, that's where all the oil money goes, that is all frozen. It's held in those institutions and then it will be eventually returned, they say, to the Libyan people. We asked how much money is there? And they didn't say specifically, but they said it is substantial sums by any account.
[Cooper:] Fouad, the sanctions make any difference whatsoever to what's happened in Tripoli?
[Fouad Ajami, Professor, Johns Hopkins School Of Advanced International Studies & Hoover Institution:] No, we've seen this movie before about the sanctions. I mean, we must remember, that Gadhafi endured a generation, 15 years or so of sanctions. We also have another case of sanctions, which our viewers will remember very well, which is Saddam Hussein, who endured sanctions from 1991 to 2003, when President George W. Bush decapitated his regime. The sanctions never worked. Anyone with money, anyone with a huge amount of money as Gadhafi does, can break these sanctions; can bust them with with great ease. And one thing we know about the sanctions, to pass sanctions and if you bring the sanctions particularly if you come to the Security Council and do a round of sanctions in the Security Council, well, there you need the Russians and the Chinese. And the only kinds of resolutions and provisions that would pass in the United Nations are are really mild. These sanctions really don't this is not what this conflict now is about. It's a fight between it's a tale of two cities, if you will. Tripoli is fighting for its life, Benghazi is a relatively free city. And this fight between the new Libya, living on hope now, and the old Libya, living on terror, is a fight to the finish and the sanctions really don't apply to it.
[Cooper:] And you know, I was sitting there watching Gadhafi's son, Seif, who I guess is the most presentable of all the thuggish sons and the most sort of westernized and the most polished, and and who does try to represent himself and has for years tried to represent to the world as the new Libya. But but he is as thuggish in the end, Fouad, as as the representatives of the old regime.
[Ajami:] Well, I think these these people, the House of Gadhafi, they've crossed the Rubicon. It's over for them. They now live in a different world. There are no more meetings for them in New York with the Glitterati. They can't come to universities and and and be wined and dined. This is this is over. They are now fighting for their dominion and the only primitive way they know. And if you allow me, in many ways I think of this fight I've been thinking about this in the last few days. There was this is a kind of this is almost the Spanish civil war in the '30s. This is the Spanish civil war with Gadhafi playing the role of Franco, and a free country, a liberal country, a humane country facing the guns of a very brutal regime, willing to kill its own people to survive.
[Cooper:] And and do you think he is able to hold on for a long time or do you think are we talking days?
[Ajami:] Well, you know, I don't know. I I think this is this is a question that one really can't can't answer with any confidence. You can see that all the the assets of the regime are collapsing around him. You can see his diplomats quitting on him. And we don't know what he will decide. I think sometimes we romanticize these guys, like Saddam, like Gadhafi. We take them at their word. When they say I fight to the finish, I will die on the soil of my own country. We all remember that amazing scene when our forces flushed out Saddam from his spider hole and he came out without firing a shot. And he came out saying I'm Saddam Hussein, I'm the President of Iraq and I'm willing to negotiate. The same may be true of Gadhafi and his and his children. These are not people bred to fight and die. You never fight and die if you have massive accounts and bank accounts overseas. You go back you go and unite with the with the funds and the wealth you you you plundered.
[Cooper:] All right, we're going to have more with Ben and Jill and Fouad in a moment. A quick reminder, the live chat is up and running right now at AC360.com. Up next: Horror stories from Americans who finally got out of Libya. Remember, they were stuck on that ferry. A nightmarish wait, day and night on that ferry in Tripoli harbor, guns crackling all around them. You'll hear directly from them. And later, inside Gadhafi's mind as close as we can get: rare perspective from a man who was by his side for years, worked as a translator for Gadhafi. I talked to him about what that was like and how he says he was constantly living in fear. We'll also talk to a former CIA officer with sources in the intelligence community in Libya and he'll tell us what he is hearing from them.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] All right, 3:00 on the east coast, noon out west. Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A look at our top stories right now beginning with the Vatican and it's hitting back and Italian media reports on why Benedict XVI became the first Pope in centuries to resign. A newspaper and a weekly magazine said, the pope made his decision on the same day he received a report on gay priests and financial corruption. CNN's international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in Rome. So Ben, is the Vatican saying this report doesn't even exist?
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, certainly what they are saying is that it's unverified, unverifiable and completely false news stories. The dossier itself, we do know three cardinals were assigned by Pope Benedict XVI to look into wrongdoing at the Vatican after the so-called Vatileak scandal. That's when his butler, the Pope's butler leaked hundreds of sensitive documents to the Italian press. Now, these two publications, "La Republico," it is the daily newspaper and "Panorama," a weekly magazine are alleging that this dossier, 300 pages, bound in red leather, contains not only reports or allegations of a network of gay priests within the Vatican being blackmailed by a network of male prostitutes, but also that there was serious financial wrongdoing within Vatican financial institutions. Now, according to these reports, the allegation is that people within the Vatican violated the sixth command which is thou shall not steal and the seventh commandment, thou shall not commit adultery. And so, very these reports are really going around Rome like wildfire. The Vatican frantically trying to deny them, but certainly people are paying a lot of attention to this topic just days before Pope Benedict steps down as Pope.
[Whitfield:] And what's the feeling as to how influential this might be on the conclave that will pick the new Pope?
[Wedeman:] Well, Vatican watchers are saying this could be critical, that these allegations, whether true or not, underscore the need for the next Pope to really clean up house, to look throughout the institution of not only the Vatican state but the catholic church itself and take a very hard look at how the Vatican has dealt with pedophile scandals, homosexuality within the church, and allegations that go back decades of financial wrongdoing within the Vatican bank Fredricka?
[Whitfield:] And meantime, Ben, there was some movement or a proposal to try and change the parameters, the dates, the window in which a Pope can be selected. Is there any new development on that?
[Wedeman:] Well, what we're hearing from the Vatican is that if there is any change to the timetable for the conclave, that meeting of 116 cardinals to elect the next Pope, it will come after the Pope steps down on the 28th. There had been talk that the Vatican constitution might be modified to move it up, but at this point, I think the Vatican's attention is now elsewhere.
[Whitfield:] All right. Ben Wedeman, thanks so much in Rome. All right, one of the men who will help elect the next Pope is Cardinal Roger Mahony. He is giving a legal deposition today in this country about alleged sex crimes by priests when he was archbishop of Los Angeles. CNN's Miguel Marquez is in L.A. So, Mahony had he's been deposed before. Why is it different this time?
[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Correspondent:] Different because this is the first time he has been deposed since a release of massive release of documents related to his time in the late '80s as archbishop here and his handling of sex abuse cases, 12,000 pages of documents, hundreds of victims and over 120 priests involved in those documents. He was subsequently stripped of his public duties but not of being a cardinal and not of his duty of being able to go to Rome. The case that they are deposing him on today and we believe that is just about concluded now is on a priest Nicholas Aguilar Rivera who is accused of molesting some 26 people. He fled to Mexico, has been there ever since. But certainly lawyers wanted to know what cardinal Mahoney's role was in protecting him along the way. A member of the citizens, the guy who runs citizens united opposed to cardinal Mahony going to Rome to cast his vote for the Pope had this to say.
[James Salt, Catholic United:] If Roger Mahony participates in the conclave, it will be a major distraction for the worldwide church that should otherwise be celebrating the future of Catholicism. Instead, we will be reminded of the sins of our leaders and their general lack of accountability.
[Marquez:] Now, I should say that cardinal Mahony has apologized for his past transgressions. He has said it was a different time and things were handled differently there. But when you read through these documents that were released by the archdiocese here, it is shocking the level of disregard for what was right and what was wrong, given what the archbishop was facing at that time. We expect that deposition should be wrapped up soon. I have been e-mailing and calling lawyers in there and hopefully we'll have a read out on that fairly shortly Fred.
[Whitfield:] Would it be possible that Mahony would recues himself from the papal vote?
[Marquez:] Church watchers yes, church watchers say it is possible. It is possible that it could get there and the cardinals in the conclave could say thanks, but no thanks you're not invited. But, in the moment, he has said he is going to Rome. He may leave hours, minutes after this deposition is over. Get on a plane, head to Rome. They've all got to be there by the 27th. So, he is going to be there fairly soon if not today, perhaps tomorrow Fred.
[Whitfield:] Miguel thanks so much in Los Angeles. On to South Africa now where Oscar Pistorius is intending his first full day out on bail. But, as part of his bail conditions he is not allowed to go back to his house. He is staying with his uncle in Pretoria instead. He's due back in court on June 4th. The Pistorius family meantime says the twitter account of Oscar's older brother has been hacked. So, they are now deleting all of their social media accounts. Oscar Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Stenkamp. All right, she has made history by becoming the first woman to get the pole position in tomorrow's Daytona 500 putting her in the best starting spot. And now Danica Patrick is focused on another record, being the first woman to win that race.
[Danica Patrick, Nascar Deriver:] As Tony said, I can go out there and treat it like a video game and get after it and give it all I've got and not have to be concerned about, you know, being smart and taking care of the car. I mean, can I win? Yes, absolutely.
[Whitfield:] All right, Danica also says her success is not just for her. She hopes it inspires other young women and girls to compete in sports. All right, now, let's talk about the snow that folks are dealing with across the middle of the country. Take a look at this right there. People in this building in Wichita, Kansas, thought it was an earthquake when sheets of snow started sliding off the roof. Our i-reporter who shot the video described is the sound as a thunderous roar. And then there's the northeast. It's bracing for its turn again. Forecasters expect slushy snow or rain in the northeast and the Deep South. Also, this massive weather system is rolling in toward the Atlantic Ocean, likely to bring a lot of rain. In New England they could see as much as 10 inches of snow. All right, a mystery death at a Los Angeles hotel. What killed a young woman whose body was found inside the hotel's water tank? We will have more on the investigation. And would you be willing to trade in your Smartphone or for rather a pair of glasses? We will show you what life would look like through Google glass. And Danica Patrick, well she has already made racing history at Daytona. Ahead, a look at the unconventional road the NASCAR driver has traveled to get to the pole position.

[Pat Cash:] It's the dawn of a new era for Czech tennis on this edition of "OPEN COURT." Coming up on the show, the Davis Cup drought is over. The trophy returns to Prague for the first time in 32 years.
[Alex Thomas, Cnn Correspondent:] Can you rule out another comeback?
[Kim Clijsters, Former Professional Tennis Player:] For sure, this is it. I'm done.
[Cash:] Farewell to a fan favorite. 'Tis the season for a few unforced errors, courtesy of myself.
[Unidentified Male:] You cannot stop this [inaudible].
[Cash:] No, cut that out, I'm not only joking, I'm joking. The Czech Republic is the first nation to simultaneously hold the Davis Cup for men, the Fed Cup for women, and the Hopman Cup for mixed doubles. Sports fans here love their ice hockey and football, but as Pedro Pinto found out, they are warming to tennis all over again.
[Pedro Pinto, Cnn Correspondent:] The Davis Cup is back in Prague for the first time in 32 years. The last time, this city was the capital of a different country. The Czech Republic was then merely a part of Czechoslovakia.
[Jiri Novak, Former World No. 5:] This is really unbelievable for such a small country like the Czech Republic.
[Marek Vanous, Tennis Journalist:] I think people see it as an opportunity, as a dream come true.
[Pinto:] Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych powered the Czechs past the Spaniards in a three-day drama that left fans on the edge of their seats. It all came to a close when Stepanek won the decider.
[Radek Stepanek, 2012 Davis Cup Champion:] After the [inaudible] he jumped on me, but something really, really remarkable happened today.
[Tomas Berdych, 2012 Davis Cup Champion:] It is going to be really hard to match it or to make it even better, so you know, that's definitely the highlight of my career so far.
[Pinto:] Eight-time Grand Slam winner and Davis Cup champion Ivan Lendl was one of the 14,000 fans who filled the arena. He was joined by members of the class of 1980, the Davis Cup team which reunited to watch the action and reminisce about their own special night more than three decades earlier.
[Ivan Lendl, 1980 Davis Cup Champion:] It is very important for me. I really look forward to it. As soon as the boys won in Argentina in the semis like we did, I said I have to make sure I'm in Prague for this, because it's going to be special. I could have been in Florida playing golf, you better not lose.
[Pinto:] The current crop of Czechs did not disappoint the player who remains an inspiration to them.
[Stepanek:] Seeing Ivan Lendl with little tears in his eyes is something really amazing to happen, and I'm very glad that all the guys were there, because, you know, it gives to this moment something really, really extra.
[Pinto:] The game of tennis has survived the transition from Iron Curtain Czechoslovakia to the Czech Republic. Among the great names such as Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotna, Ivan Lendl and Jan Kodes, very different career paths were chosen. Some defected to the west, or were allowed to travel and based themselves abroad, while others remained at home. Three-time Grand Slam champion Kodes is proud to see this next generation of tennis stars succeed, but he remembers the confines of playing under the Communist regime.
[Jan Kodes, 1980 Davis Cup Champion:] The government, they wanted to control us during the what are we going to do, where we are playing, which countries we are playing, you know? So we had to always put up some kind of schedule, beginning of January, and we were restricted to play in a few countries for political reasons, so we just couldn't play like South Africa, we couldn't play in Chile, we couldn't play in Israel.
[Pinto:] Kodes considered following Navratilova's defection in 1975, but decided to stay, and has lived here ever since.
[Kodes:] I was 28 already. I mean, if I I had a feeling it's too late to do this, you know? And also, I was born in Prague, you know, so this is my country, my city. Had my family here. I had two sisters, my aunts, so it was very, very difficult.
[Pinto:] Kodes was on hand to see the Iron Curtain fall apart, releasing many young athletes to pursue their dream on a global stage for the first time.
[Vanous:] Especially for Eastern Europe, suddenly everything opened up, you know, all the political regime and all these things. Maybe people saw their chance to do what they really wanted to do. All these players who were coming up, they saw what you can do if you believe in yourself and if you show it and if you pump yourself up.
[Lendl:] Part of being a professional athlete, especially in individual sports, you have to deal with the pressure. If you want to be good or great, you have to handle it.
[Pinto:] Stepanek and Berdych handled the pressure and won. Now, the generation that cheered for the 1980 Davis Cup champions is finally getting its chance to see the Davis Cup in Prague once again. A journey that turned out to be more than 30 years in the making.
[Cash:] Before we go any further, it's the ladies who first got fans cheering here in Prague when they won the Fed Cup for the second straight year. It was party time in Prague. The ladies from the Czech Republic defended their Fed Cup final in front of a home town crowd. Lucie Safarova played well above her no. 17 world ranking and won the deciding match, beating Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.
[Lucie Safarova, 2011 And 2012 Fed Cup Champion:] It was one of my best matches ever. When you have this huge crowd behind you and we are really good team, we are all friends, and it was such a great support for me, that I just played amazingly.
[Cash:] Safarova and Petra Kvitova teamed up to win the Cup for the second consecutive year. Czech tennis great Jana Novotna cheered from the stands, while Martina Navratilova sent messages of support.
[Martina Navratilova, 18-time Grand Slam Champion:] Lucie, she played so well. I hope she takes some of that feeling into regular tournaments. And builds on that, the way Novak Djokovic kind of pulled himself a couple of years ago at Davis Cup. When you can come through that much pressure in your home town, play that well and win, and then win the whole thing, not just win your matches but win the whole thing, I think it's going to really turn a corner for a player.
[Cash:] Safarova showed the Czech Republic that she had nerves of steel, and when it was time to celebrate, she was prepared for that, too. She had a victory dance ready just in case.
[Safarova:] We came in the morning to the locker room with Andrea, and she put on this song, and we really liked this song, and then we started dancing, and it was just fun. And then they posted it on our Facebook page, and so many comments that we have to do this dance if we win, that we said, OK, if we win, we will do it.
[Cash:] A huge chapter of tennis history is now in the books. 2012 will be remembered as the year the Czechs won the Hopman Cup, the Federation Cup, and the Davis Cup.
[Navratilova:] It just goes to show how well balanced Czech tennis is, that we have great women and men. Czechs, they're tough, we're tough, you know. [inaudible].
[Cash:] And still to come, I come face to face with Petra Kvitova's lengthy serve. Not a bad shot, that one.

[Burnett:] We have breaking news tonight on one of the filmmakers behind Kony 2012. That's the viral video about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. Well the man behind it has been picked up by police and taken to the hospital today. An official familiar with the case confirms that Jason Russell who you see there just on CNN last week was found in his underwear running through the streets of San Diego yesterday screaming and acting irrationally and it appears it went downhill from there.
[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Correspondent:] It's strange and it gets even more disturbing. The Web site TMZ out of Los Angeles came up with some video of a man that they claim was in fact Mr. Russell who was on the streets there in San Diego. This was yesterday morning, Thursday morning. You can see him there. It looks he appears to be fully naked and pounding on the payment. Police will say that at 11:28 Thursday morning, they had several 911-calls, individuals saying that there was a man in his underwear running through the streets, screaming, interrupting traffic. When police showed up, they said that there was one caller who did say that the man was naked and masturbating. Police say when they showed up, they didn't see any of that and that the man was taken to a local medical facility, that he was not arrested, though, just taken to a medical facility. A statement from Ben Keesey of Invisible Children who worked with Russell on that film says that "he was suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition that he is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday." And as you know that video went viral like no others.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Marquez:] It brought a lot of focus on Invisible Children, a lot of it negative because of their finances and whether or not they oversimplified the situation in Uganda.
[Burnett:] Right, there was a lot of criticism. Interesting
[Marquez:] It is absolutely unclear.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Marquez:] I mean he's described as a Christian and a family man. He clearly has a family because his son is in that video. This is a guy who by all other measures seems to be a perfectly normal guy who traveled overseas, was not afraid to take risks, who did a lot of things in his life.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Marquez:] It is not very clear why he would react in this way.
[Burnett:] All right, so he
[Marquez:] He is getting taken care of.
[Burnett:] All right, Miguel Marquez thank you very much, just a very strange turn in that tale of Kony 2012 tonight. Well apparently there is a war of women. That is what Democrats say Republicans are waging through legislation and debates over contraception and abortion rights. Take a look at this DNC ad which is now running in Illinois, which of course holds its key primary Tuesday.
[Unidentified Female, Political Ad:] Mitt Romney is coming to Illinois and looking for support from women. But here's what women need to know about Mitt Romney. Romney says he wants to get rid of Planned Parenthood, ending federal support for critical health care services like cancer screenings for thousands of women here in Illinois.
[Unidentified Male, Political Ad:] Planned Parenthood, going to get rid of that.
[Burnett:] Well the Romney camp says the governor does not want to get rid of the organization, only that he wants to end government funding for it. But the big question remains, how effective is the argument that Republicans are anti-women? John Avlon joins us, Leslie Sanchez, Republican strategist, and Jamal Simmons, Democratic strategist. OK, good to have all of you with us. Leslie, let me start with you. I mean you are the Republican woman in this conversation, so yes, I am going to I am going to discriminate by going to you first, but do you think that this ad will make people think twice about voting for Mitt Romney that this point that Republicans are waging a war on women will be effective?
[Leslie Sanchez, Republican Strategist:] Not at all. I mean I want to give a tiny bit of kudos to the Obama PR team for trying to think that this you know shift the conversation away from where the real attacks are and that is on Republican women, Independent women, suburban women, Walmart moms who are very much in that contraception debate that we've been having over the last couple of last month any way. This is really a political tactic. The central issue is that the Obama team is losing support among a lot of those Independent voters. They know they need women to be successful. Republicans have just now been competitive in 2010 and it's really going back even onto that contraception issue. It's not the issue what we're finding in focus groups it's like pulling a thread that's unraveling the seam. It's not just the issue of the contraceptive and religious freedom. It's that these are not decisions being made by market forces or ethical reasons. They're made for political reasons and that's the big suspicion that women have.
[Burnett:] And John Avlon, I mean it is interesting this is all coming up now. You've got a contraception law possibly in Arizona, sonogram potential issues in Virginia and Pennsylvania. It is happening in a lot of places right now. I find it hard to believe it's accidental.
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] No, but it's uncoordinated. What you're seeing is the Republican Party
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Avlon:] in different state legislatures they're putting forward these bills, whether it's mandatory or forced ultrasounds, contraception bills, attempts to restrict access to abortion. All these things are happening with conservatives and state legislatures and that's creating a narrative that the Democrats are trying to rip off of saying look the Republicans ran under a lot of libertarian rhetoric last time, talking about small government, but you turn around and they're advancing a social conservative agenda. The question is one of overreach. When you use the phrase war against women, we all know what this is. That's fear mongering and it's no better or based on fact than alleged war on religion that Republicans talked about Obama perpetrating.
[Burnett:] Right.
[Avlon:] The point is though when you start drawing the lines, connecting the dots between these state legislatures, Republicans have a problem, a real problem, not just based on perception, but policy.
[Burnett:] And Jamal, I would imagine the Democrats are going to seize that perception and try to make it a lot stronger, right? I mean why wouldn't they?
[Jamal Simmons, Democratic Strategist:] Oh absolutely. This is a real you know the issues of women in this campaign are going to be front and center. There are major issues. Elections are decided based upon where women vote. I had a Republican strategist friend say to me the other day men decide the Republican nominee and women decide the general election president. And that seems to be sort of true and I think what's really interesting is when you take a look at this, campaigns are not places for nuance, so you end up making statements that might get that might be a little bit overblown and we see in that video, Mitt Romney, if you look at the extended video of his interview he says that he wants to cut Planned Parenthood funding, but if you look at the extended video of the Democratic ad, they talk about Mitt Romney's position on health care reform and a bunch of other things that do also impact women, so again this isn't really a good place for nuance in the middle of a campaign, but it is something that's going to be important.
[Burnett:] In general I just think we all need a whole lot more nuance; I'm just going to say that right now. We need it in campaigns. We need it in cable, 140 characters don't allow for it but that is a separate rant that I will go on at another time. But Leslie, I just want to ask you about something else that's happened because again Leslie, I feel like I'm being discriminatory. Now first it was that you were a woman, now Sanchez, but I want to talk about Puerto Rico and I want to talk about English as an official language. Romney and Santorum seem to be on the same side of this that it's a prerequisite to have English as your formal language to become a state. Is that something that you think is right that will work for them or not?
[Sanchez:] It doesn't work in Puerto Rico.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Sanchez:] I mean the whole argument is really nonsensical.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Sanchez:] Puerto Rico is commonwealth. It has two official languages. For 89 years it had Spanish and in 1991 it embraced English and that was really not the place to make that statement. There was a cry among some Republicans that we had to have English as the official language. There's a lot of different reasons why that particular issue is important in a primary, but the bigger issue is I think it was a misstep on Santorum's part. It's not really an issue. Everybody embraces English as the language of opportunity and it's certainly the language of the United States.
[Simmons:] Erin, when it comes
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Simmons:] Erin, when it comes to this issue, Santorum's wrong with the policy, but I'm going to give him a free piece of political advice. Sometimes when you get yourself in a hole, the best thing to do is just to roll with it and I think if I were him I would make the argument that you know what, I went to Puerto Rico and I said what I believed. And it wasn't popular, but I said what I believed, unlike Mitt Romney who doesn't seem to ever be able to say what he believes. He says what he believes is politically popular and that may help him in other places. It won't help him in Puerto Rico
[Burnett:] Interesting. Right.
[Simmons:] But it may help him in some other places.
[Burnett:] All right, well speaking of Puerto Rico, Rick Santorum I just wanted to show something, you know this is that's Rick Santorum. He found a little bit of time he found a little bit of time to hang out by the pool and I don't begrudge him that. You've got to take some time off the trail, right John Avlon?
[Avlon:] Yes.
[Burnett:] And he took this with a phone. He said look, I guess I need to lose 15 or 20 pounds. He doesn't look that bad.
[Avlon:] You know I give him points for acknowledging there's room for improvement.
[Burnett:] As someone who when I lie by the pool when I go to Puerto Rico, you know when I've been up here for awhile, you know, I look that white.
[Sanchez:] Enjoy the beaches of Puerto Rico.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Sanchez:] I mean that's the point. It's a very innocent thing.
[Simmons:] Good for him.
[Burnett:] Yes, OK, we're all in agreement on that. All right one thing before we go, Illinois. John, must win?
[Avlon:] Look Romney, this really has become his latest firewall state. He's got to show he can do well here. It's a state where he should do well. Polls show him up a little bit. The polls have been underestimating Santorum's strength and it's a Midwestern state as well, so a big battleground coming up on Tuesday.
[Burnett:] All right, well we will see what happens. Thanks very much to all of you. Appreciate it. Well the North Korean government today announced something that could be very important for the U.S. They plan to blast a satellite into orbit they say in the coming weeks in honor of the late President Kim Il-Sung's 100th birthday. Now the international community is condemning the announcement from the untested new leader of the country Kim Jong-Un, who is only in his late 20's and suddenly in charge of one of the largest militaries in the world and of course, a nuclear power. The U.S. said the deal the launch of this satellite would be a deal breaker for the food aid agreement the country struck just weeks ago.
[Victoria Nuland, State Dept. Spokeswoman:] So, frankly, if they were to go forward with this launch, it's very hard to imagine how we would be able to move forward with a regime whose word we have no confidence in and who has egregiously violated its international commitments.
[Burnett:] North Korea has promised to dial back its nuclear weapons program in exchange for food aid, but even at that time, a lot of people didn't take that seriously. North Korea's done that before promised to stop in exchange for food aid and continued anyway. Gordon Chang knows North Korea's politics and military well. He's the author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World" Gordon, good to see you, as always. What do you make of this? And there are some people are saying that when North Korea says it's a satellite, it's really more of a military test.
[Gordon Chang, Author, "nuclear Showdown":] Well a launcher for a satellite and a launcher for a warhead are the same. So clearly, North Korea has shown that it does not really want to talk to the international community with good faith and that's really a problem. We should have known that last month when we came to this deal. But now, we do and I think that means we need new tactics.
[Burnett:] And it well I mean you know it's interesting. A lot of people had said that Kim Jong-Un, the young and untested leader, you were saying he might do something like this, a little bit more dramatic to show he was powerful. Others had hoped it was a real opportunity for diplomacy. This is the first time they've done anything like this I believe since 2009. So does that settle the verdict for what direction he's going to go?
[Chang:] Well you know I think that you know you look at 2006, they tested a long range missile, three years later in 2009, you add three years to that and you get 2012.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Chang:] So they need to actually launch to test all of the improvements on their missiles.
[Burnett:] Well the way you put that it sort of sounds like whatever they promised to stop, they didn't. They're still on their same regular schedule.
[Chang:] Yes, absolutely and basically North Korea wants a long range missile. It's had this joint missile program with Iran for more than a decade. So, it's not just North Korea that we need to be worried about today. We've got to be worried about the Iranians because a North Korean test is an Iranian test.
[Burnett:] And is it is the coordination really that close? Because I mean obviously the whole part of the Iranian conversation is well you know if they make a decision to formally go ahead with the program, they then have to develop all the missile heads. It sounds like you're saying well if North Korea is doing it that would make their lead time, to get a weapon if they choose to do so much shorter.
[Chang:] Yes, you know people say that Iran's longest range missile is about 1,500 miles, which means it can sort of put a dent in a field in southern Europe, but, you know the North Koreans have missiles that are much longer than that. The Iranians have something called a Shahab 6 according to the intelligence community. And if it does indeed have that missile, it can just about hit Alaska. So this is something that is really important for us.
[Burnett:] All right, it certainly it certainly is. Well thank you very much Gordon. We appreciate it, a man who's been studying the nuclear program in North Korea for a very long time. Well there's a verdict in the Rutgers sex cam suicide trial and it was a real shocker. Paul Callan had said that Dharun Ravi, the man convicted, needed to do one thing. He didn't do it. And comedian Russell Brand turns himself into police today following an altercation and he could be facing felony charges. There are a number of things to talk about

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] So, Mitt Romney, the Republican presumptive presidential nominee, delivering a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, going after, not surprisingly, the president of the United States on domestic economic issues, on national security issues, foreign policy issues. And we will continue to monitor what he has to say. There's been some speculation that he may make some a appeal to Hispanic voters out there and across the country. We will check in. We will see what he's saying, much more on this story coming up later this hour. A courtroom drama at a bond hearing for the man who shot the unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman took the stand and surprised everyone as he addressed the Martin family only moments before the judge set a $150,000 bond. CNN's David Mattingly is in Sanford, Florida, for us. David, it was a surprise to folks with Zimmerman on the stand. What did he actually say?
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, that's right, Wolf. We went into the courtroom today fully expecting to learn something new about the evidence that the prosecution has against George Zimmerman. Instead, we heard from George Zimmerman himself and an apology.
[Mattingly:] With his freedom on the line, George Zimmerman surprises the courtroom taking the stand at his own bond hearing and speaking directly to the parents of Trayvon Martin.
[George Zimmerman, Defendant:] I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little younger than I am. And I did not know if he was armed or not.
[Mattingly:] But attorneys for Martin's parents call the apology self-serving, saying Zimmerman had many chances to express remorse before now.
[Benjamin Crump, Attorney For Family Of Trayvon Martin:] All throughout, Tracy Martin had tears in his eyes as he watched the killer of his son. And it was devastating that he got to give a self- serving apology to help him get a bond. They were very outraged at that.
[Mattingly:] Challenged by the prosecutor on the timing of his apology, Zimmerman says he told police he was sorry and wanted to talk to Martin's parents, but couldn't.
[Unidentified Male:] Why did you wait so long to tell Mr. Martin and the victim's mother, the father and mother, why did you wait so long to tell them?
[Zimmerman:] I was told not to communicate with them.
[Mattingly:] Another surprise, the prosecutor's own investigator called to testify by Zimmerman's attorney. He revealed they do not know who threw the first punch during Zimmerman's deadly fight with Trayvon Martin and voice testing has not determined who was heard shouting for help on the 911 calls.
[Mark O'mara, Attorney For George Zimmerman:] Did you do any forensic analysis on that voice tape?
[Dale Gilbreath, Investigator, State Attorney's Office:] Did I?
[O'mara:] Did you or are you aware of any?
[Gilbreath:] "The Orlando Sentinel" had someone do it, and the FBI has had someone do it.
[O'mara:] Is that part of your investigation?
[Gilbreath:] Yes, it is.
[O'mara:] And has that given you any insight to the extent that you're aware of it as to the voice?
[Gilbreath:] No.
[Mattingly:] Zimmerman can go free on $150,000 bond, but safety is a problem. As a security precaution, Zimmerman's father, mother and wife all testified by telephone.
[Shellie Nicole Zimmerman, George Zimmerman's Wife:] I have received hate mail.
[Unidentified Male:] Have you reported that to the police?
[S. Zimmerman:] No, I haven't.
[Unidentified Male:] Have you reported that to my boss, Ms. Corey, or the state attorney's office so that somebody can investigate?
[S. Zimmerman:] No, sir.
[Unidentified Male:] Did you keep those threats?
[S. Zimmerman:] I'm sorry?
[Unidentified Male:] Did you keep that hate mail?
[S. Zimmerman:] Yes.
[Mattingly:] And security remains the overriding concern behind Zimmerman's release. He has to somehow get out of jail and escape the notice of dozens of cameras outside the jail waiting to see any kind of movement there and then go back into hiding, Wolf, where he was before he turned himself in.
[Blitzer:] We have heard from Trayvon Martin's family attorney. Have we heard directly though from the parents and the family?
[Mattingly:] We heard we did not hear directly from the family. The parents walked out immediately after the hearing today and they let their attorney do the talking for them. They were very stoic as they were sitting in the courtroom, sometimes speaking quietly to one another, but again when this was over they left quickly and let their attorney express their outrage.
[Blitzer:] David Mattingly on the scene for us. Thanks very much. Let's dig a little bit deeper right now with legal analyst Sunny Hostin, who contributes to "In Session" our sister network truTV, and our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. Sunny, first to you. Were you surprised that he was released, he is about to be released on $150,000 bond?
[Sunny Hostin, Cnn Legal Analyst:] I was not surprised that he would get some sort of bond package because in Florida, quite frankly, the standard the burden, rather, is very high on the prosecution. It's almost beyond beyond a reasonable doubt. So I suspected that he would be given some sort of bond package. I am surprised at the $150,000 bond. I think that's a bit low considering the gravity of the charge here. I mean, with the bond of $150,000, that means he would have to probably put up about $15,000 in cash. While this is a family of limited means, I think that that could be considered very low. The prosecution asked for about $1 million.
[Blitzer:] A lot of us were stunned to see he actually was up on the witness stand, Jeffrey. What do you make of that?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] I thought today was a home run for George Zimmerman and his lawyer. I thought they really ran rings around the prosecution. They got bail, which is hugely, hugely important, and I think they exposed some weaknesses in the investigation in where things stand with the prosecution, and we will see whether the prosecution can remedy that by the time this case goes to trial, but today this did not look like a very strong case. A long way to go, but today it didn't look that way.
[Blitzer:] Do you agree with that assessment, Sunny?
[Hostin:] No, I actually don't. Bottom line is I think the prosecution did a fine job. They didn't want to tip their hand. It's just a bond hearing. You're not going to put out all of your evidence. All of the evidence they relied upon was in the affidavit of probable cause and in that affidavit it says very clearly that it is not a complete recitation of fact. I disagree with Jeff. I don't think the defense ran rings around this prosecution team. I do think that the defense did a good job, but I think what we saw was two very good attorneys, very skilled attorneys doing what they needed to do for their positions.
[Blitzer:] You want to respond to that, Jeff?
[Toobin:] I just think the bail issue, for starters, is just so important because this will have implications beyond just the fact that Zimmerman is out. The fact that Zimmerman is out means that his lawyer can put this case in slow motion. He is going to want to delay, delay, delay because his client's out of prison and he now can ask for every test under the sun. He can let emotions cool and he will not have a client who is in prison demanding a trial, when are you going to get me out of here? This is an invitation to the defense to slow things down and from everything we have seen so far, that's precisely what the defense is going to do.
[Blitzer:] Based on what I have heard, Sunny, and you know a lot more about this more than I do, second-degree murder, that is a very, very serious charge, and to be released on $150,000 bond, which really means putting up $15,000 or so, it sounds pretty extraordinary to me, very unusual, but go ahead. Give me your assessment.
[Hostin:] It sounded too low to me, but I have spoken with many of the attorneys in Florida who indicate that actually they thought it was sort of high, that that is a high bond for that charge in that area of Florida. But I do agree with Jeff in that this is a win for the defense in the sense that it will put this case on the slow track, no question about that. Defense attorney O'Mara said today to me that this means that the stand your ground hearing, if they're even going have one, is several months down the line. Had Zimmerman remained in jail, that's, I think, a hearing that we would have seen much quicker than that.
[Blitzer:] Sunny Hostin and Jeff Toobin, guys, thanks very much. Mitt Romney and Rice, Condoleezza Rice, what's going on? A surprise pick by Republican voters who say the former secretary of state would make a pretty good vice president. What's going on, on that front? And more Secret Service agents expected to be forced out any moment now details of the latest fallout from the prostitution scandal. New information about the crash of a Boeing 737, at least 121 people killed.

[Baldwin:] Real quickly before we move on, update on the situation in Hollywood, Florida. Big massive water tower. Two guys fell 30 feet in. Here is the update we're getting from SBN, the affiliate down there. First victim is down on the ground transported to a local hospital. Second victim is out but has not been lowered off the tower. That's what we have out of Florida. Now, listen to this.
[Brittany Snow, Actress, Activist:] I'm Brittany Snow. When I was in middle school and high school, I was picked on daily by a bully. I was mistreated and disrespected. It led me to feel alone and hopeless. After years of struggle, I finally overcame it, became stronger. And now I know that love is louder.
[Baldwin:] You recognize her. This is actress Brittany Snow. You may know her from "Gossip Girl" and you will soon know her from her upcoming NBC show "Harry's Laws." Snow was touched by the recent headlines of all these teens who have committed suicide after they were bullied and wanted to do something about it. So she didn't want it to, though, come across as bully- bashing. She wanted a more positive message. So here's what she has done. She has started the "love is Louder" campaign. It's a social networking project to help teens out there cope with what she's calling the isolation and hopelessness that can result from bullying. And Snow has joined forces with MTV and the Jed foundation and as you see there on this Facebook page as we're scrolling through it here there are all kinds of people joining, becoming friends and fans and joining the conversation there on Facebook. And actress Brittany Snow is there in Los Angeles to have a very real and honest conversation about all of this with me. And Brittany, I thank you for being on with me.
[Snow:] Of course.
[Baldwin:] And I'd kind of like to begin with what I heard in that "Love is Louder" video. You talk about how you were once a victim when you were much younger. I look at you. You're this gorgeous, confident TV actress. But if you can, share that experience.
[Snow:] Yes. I mean, I think a lot of people can probably relate to being picked on, being bullied in middle school and high school. I'm not the only person who has been through that. I was bullied daily by a particular person, and it led me to just have many other problems down the line. And I think what people don't realize is that bullying does really affect you long term. And some kids just don't take the severity of that into a factor. And so I went through it, and I know what it's like to feel hopeless and alone. And recently when all these the suicides tragically happened, I decided that I wanted to stand up and do what I could in what little voice I thought I had.
[Baldwin:] And that's the Love is Louder. Love is Louder than what? Tell me about it.
[Snow:] Love is Louder is a movement of people who believe that love is louder than hate, love is louder than pain, love is louder than shame. It's really you can you can put it towards whatever it is that you're going through. And it's a movement of people partnered with other campaigns and other charities that are raising the volume on bullying, suicide prevention, depression, and really putting a positive message out there that, you know, we need to treat each other with respect and love, and that's what's most important.
[Baldwin:] Speaking of raising the volume, we're looking at pictures. This is Boston. And I think within 24 hours, right, Brittany, you'll be launching this Love is Louder, a bunch of kids got together, and they were shouting "Love is Louder" in Boston. Also we know a couple of celebrities, Drake and Trey Songz, two R&B; singers, they're also leaving these messages out of support for your campaign. Let's listen to what they're saying.
[Drake, Singer:] I want to let you know that love is louder than anybody's negative voice. Keep doing you.
[Trey Songz, Singer:] This is Trey Songz. And love is louder than anything imaginable hate, bullying, jealousy, anything. Long can conquer all. If you learn love you learn to live a better love. So I encourage you to do so.
[Baldwin:] Brittany, what kind of feedback have you gotten so far?
[Snow:] The feedback has been amazing. I'm so honored and touched and grateful that people are responding in such a positive way. I couldn't have asked for I mean, I you know, my friend Courtney Knowles from the Jed foundation and I had this little idea to just put a positive message out there. And now, you know, there's rallies with "love is louder" being chanted and celebrities are coming forward and lending their voice as well. And it's been it's been above and beyond where I thought. But I'm so glad people are supporting such a positive message.
[Baldwin:] And we want to make sure we let all our viewers know you have a Facebook page, you can hop on twitter, "Love is Louder." Brittany Snow, we thank you for that. We'll make sure we tweet that out so you can learn more about love is louder.
[Snow:] Thank you.
[Baldwin:] Also, still ahead here, this explosive report. Have you heard about this? This exposes links between American subcontractors over in Afghanistan and the Taliban. We're going to break it all down for you and tell you how the hit movie did you ever see Quinton Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs"? What in the world does that movie have to do with Afghanistan? Wait for it. Also, here's something you've got to see. This dog is not exactly cleared for takeoff. This guy is sprinting across the tarmac. Where is this? What happened? Could flights possibly be delayed? Oh, yes. That's next.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Once again, we want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Anderson Cooper is here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Chris Cuomo is here as well. Chris, as we await the news conference, I think there's a limit to what law enforcement is going to be able to tell us right now, since this is clearly a very ongoing situation, a very dangerous situation.
[Chris Cuomo, Cnn Anchor:] Absolutely, Wolf, and let's be honest. That's not what matters. What matters is the authorities are doing everything they can. Anderson and I are sharing reporting here from a tactical expert who's telling us there's very well cause for a scramble right now on the part of law enforcement. Why? Visibility issues. Darkness is coming there. They're in a remote area. They will have to set up nighttime perimeter for vision. They do have tactics and assets that will allow them to discern if somebody's in the home, infrared scanners and things like that, but they're a little limited because they're developed by proximity. You can't get that close to a place. What we're looking at right now is a secure vehicle. This is from earlier on, but they have vehicles like that that can allow them to get closer and also send a message to people inside that they have serious assets. But right now, Wolf, may well be time of the essence for authorities to set up for darkness and make sure that there can't be escape, make sure that they are in the best position. And that's what matters most, not what we know about the situation.
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Chris mentioned infrared, and that's been one of the difficulties. The weather has really not been cooperating with authorities, especially several days ago, a storm system moving in. They had air assets in place with infrared cameras, but they weren't able to get those choppers in the air in order to try to make the most of the tracking abilities that they had, but clearly, on the ground now, they are able to focus on this one house, if that's where they have him cornered.
[Blitzer:] And you're looking on the left part of your screen the microphones there set up in Los Angeles. We're expecting to hear from the LAPD spokesman, Andy Neiman, who's going to be going to those microphones and updating us on what he can tell us. I'm sure there will be limits on what he can say. We are also, Anderson, being told that the two sheriff deputies who were wounded, injured in this latest shoot-out within the past couple of hours, allegedly with Christopher Dorner, have been airlifted to the Loma Linda Medical Center, this according to the sheriff's spokeswoman. But we have no update on their condition. We just know that two more sheriff's deputies have been injured, have been wounded in this gunfire exchange, allegedly with Christopher Dorner.
[Cooper:] And the initial report seems to indicate that they were actually separate, that they weren't deputies who were together at the time. They were actually separate incidents, physically separate from each other, and that's when they were injured in this shoot-out. Again, you see authorities now walking towards the microphones. So we should be hearing very shortly the latest that they're at least willing to divulge.
[Blitzer:] And we assume, Chris, they're going to also be answering reporters' questions. We will hear what they have to say. It's interesting that this is the LAPD, but San Bernardino Sheriff's, they're really two hours away, but obviously, the LAPD has a huge, huge interest, since Christopher Dorner's a former LAPD cop.
[Cuomo:] Also, it's all family at this point. State, local, municipal, federal. Everybody's working together. As Tom Fuentes, the former FBI guy said to us early on, they are not used to dealing with somebody with this type of tactical know-how, certainly one of their own. He made a point to us that this type of domestic terrorism of cop on cop is almost unprecedented. So, of course, the authorities are taking this personally. And we will see what they have to tell us.
[Blitzer:] Let's listen in.
[Commander Andrew Smith, Los Angeles Police Department:] Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Commander Andrew Smith. I'm the commanding officer of media relations and community affairs group for the Los Angeles Police Department. This is our daily 3:00 press briefing. I have a very small amount of information I can provide to you from what's happening up in San Bernardino County right now. This information is from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office, so let me put a caveat on it that this is very early, very preliminary information. Today, at about 12:22 p.m., San Bernardino Sheriff's were in the hunt for Christopher Dorner up in the big bear area. They received a call of a stolen vehicle in the 1200 block of Club View Drive. When they responded there, they received information from the person reporting that this stolen vehicle was stolen by an individual that appeared to be very similar to Christopher Dorner. They immediately conducted a ground and an air search for this vehicle and they were able to locate it at Highway 38 and Glass Road, where the suspect in the vehicle fled into the forest. Shortly thereafter, this individual barricaded himself in one of the cabins there and an exchange of gunfire occurred. During that exchange of gunfire, two officers were injured. They have been airlifted to a local hospital. Right now their condition is unknown. The Los Angeles Police Department has sent resources out to the San Bernardino County Airport. Our resources are waiting there for authorization from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's to assist them. So this is a San Bernardino County Sheriff's investigation. This is their lead. They have the incident command out there. We are there to support them, only if asked. That is as much as I have on that particular incident out there. A quick update on how the search is going from the JRIC and our side. Right now we have 145,000 clues that our officers are working on. They're following up on all of those clues. Obviously, some of them are panning out. Obviously, some of them are dead ends, but we're continuing to do this search and continuing to work our clues while the events up in the San Bernardino Mountains unfold. I will take a couple quick questions, but again, my information is very, very sketchy.
[Question:  Smith:] Well, we're not positive. And until we get this guy in custody, until he's in handcuffs and in jail, we're not going to know for sure. They said he was similar in appearance. He was up in that area at one time. So, you know, the likelihood is that it's him, but we can't say for sure. I can't confirm the hostage report. I have heard that obviously through media sources. We were listening to the scanner and getting much of our information from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's. I can't confirm that anybody was held hostage at this time. That's part of the San Bernardino side of the investigation and that has not been confirmed yet. I can't give you specifics about what resources we have up there. We believe this individual may be watching TV or may have some access to media, so I don't want to tip our hand as to what we're sending out there. To that end, we have asked also the media that have airships in the area to not have your air units show any live broadcasting closeups of what our SWAT officers, what the San Bernardino SWAT officers are doing up in that area. The reason for that, obviously, it will put our officers at an extreme tactical disadvantage if the suspects know what our folks are doing.
[Question:] [OFF-MIKE] exchanging gunfire with the California Fish and Game Board?
[Smith:] I don't know what the involvement of the California Fish and Game was at this time. My understanding, it's San Bernardino County Sheriff's. That's from their press office, but I don't have an update from the California Fish and Game. I don't know what their involvement is at this time.
[Question:] [OFF-MIKE] This has been a huge manhunt. It sounds like this is him. Can you talk about the sentiments, the feeling among you officers now that it looks like he may be caught?
[Smith:] Everyone is very hopeful that this thing ends without any further bloodshed. We hope we can take this guy into custody and we hope that he doesn't hurt anybody else. We hope none of these officers were seriously injured, which we don't know at this point. The best thing for him would be to surrender and allow us to take him into custody and he can face the criminal justice system. There's a tremendous sense of apprehension among our officers here, concern about the officers that are up there. And until this guy's in handcuffs and until he's in custody, none of the people in our department are going to rest.
[Question:] What about your manpower? You said you guys are waiting. What kind of resources did you send up there?
[Smith:] I can't give the specifics on what resources we sent. We did send some resources. They're waiting at the airport in San Bernardino now and we are waiting to be called in by the incident commander if we're needed. Right now, we haven't been needed. By the way, people have been asking if the chief of police has gone out there. Chief Beck has not responded out there. He's still here.
[Question:] What kind of vehicle did he steal?
[Smith:] I don't have information about the vehicle that this suspect allegedly took. I have seen some videotape from the media members on that vehicle. I don't have the information about what that vehicle was.
[Question:] Commander, if he is watching this, what message do you have for him right now?
[Smith:] If he's watching this, the message for himself is, enough is enough. It's time to turn yourself in, it's time to stop the bloodshed, it's time to let this event and let this incident be over.
[Question:] Commander, your first priority is to take him alive and to put him under arrest?
[Smith:] Well, obviously, our first priority is the safety of the community around there. I'm sure the San Bernardino Sheriff's are evacuating people in that area and making sure that all the citizens there are safe and that area is locked down. Once that area is locked down and all the citizens in that area are safe, then we will let the San Bernardino SWAT team to go in there and do what they do best, which is to get this guy hopefully in custody and hopefully without any bloodshed. One more question and then I have to do.
[Question:] [OFF-MIKE] you guys actively talking or do you have to kind of wait until it dies down? [Off-mike]
[Smith:] A couple things on that. San Bernardino County Sheriff's are in our JRIC. So they're embedded with a team of officers that are all working together to solve this thing. And they have been there since the beginning. We also sent one of our assistant chiefs out there to San Bernardino. He's in their command post. We're getting real-time updates from them to our command, so we know what's going on up there. Probably a very good exchange of information. So we work really well with our law enforcement partners throughout Southern California. OK?
[Question:] What kind of weapons [Off-mike]
[Smith:] I don't know what the weapons that he had. I know he had reports of all different kinds of weapons. I'm sure what he using up there in this exchange of gunfire. That's all we have time for right now. I will be back out again. If anything big breaks on this, we will be back out again, and we will give you a further update and our update will be right here. So this will be the place to be. I have a Spanish speaker here who can answer any Spanish media questions for you and I will turn it over to Captain Rigo Romero.
[Blitzer:] All right. So there you have it, the latest from the commander, the spokesman for the LAPD, Andrew Smith, telling us they are not positive, although they believe it is likely that Christopher Dorner is in this barricaded cabin there in Bear Mountain, outside of Los Angeles, about a two-hour drive. They cannot confirm that there are hostages. They say they don't know whether or not there are hostages. The suspect may be watching TV. As a result, they have asked the media to avoid any live broadcasts from the area, broadcasts that potentially could help the suspect in this particular case. And they say, and Andrew Smith, the LAPD commander, said, enough is enough. Give yourself up if you are watching TV. Enough is enough. Face the justice system right now. Anderson is here. Chris Cuomo is here. Anderson, this is a very delicate situation, because I suspect they really don't know if there are hostages inside.
[Cooper:] Yes, it seems like this cabin is really the second cabin that Christopher Dorner has been in. "L.A. Times" is reporting that for days now, he has been in another cabin, with and he held a couple hostage inside that cabin. That's where he's sort of been waiting it out. As you know, there's been sort of radio silence on his end. No activity that authorities were aware of. This is the first time he's been spotted really, I think, now in two days, maybe even three days. And it seems like this is another cabin he's gone to. "L.A. Times" is also reporting, according to just one source, he fired at a sheriff's deputy from inside the cabin, then tried to leave through the back of the cabin, set off a smoke bomb, opened up fire, shot another sheriff's deputy there, and was driven back inside the cabin.
[Cuomo:] There's good news and bad news in this situation as it develops. The good news is, there are a lot of assets on the ground. Local, state, and federal officials are working together. They have resources to deal with him being alone or with someone else. The bad news is, of course, there is unknown, and we do know there's already been a lot of gunfire today. Earlier, we heard a report from a local reporter on KCBS, who was very close to the scene, before all the authorities were there, when he was being chased because of a stolen vehicle, and this is what we heard in the background. Take a listen. What that tells us, obviously, a lot of gunfire over an extended period. We know that the suspect is suspected to have 30 weapons. We know he's trained. We believe this would have been the gunfire volley that led to the two deputies being injured and now being medevaced for emergency medical services. And that is what took us up to this point, where now the suspect is inside, but we don't know if he's alone. There are varied reports that we're hearing about, about how this happened. But we just really don't know. And we have to take the fact that the authorities are being very cautious to mean that they may suspect there is more potential life at risk.
[Blitzer:] It sounded like a war that was going on, that gun battle that we just heard.
[Cooper:] Yes, and there is certainly a lot of kinetic activity. You could actually hear one person yelling to the reporter, get the F. out of here, and the reporter, apparently his local station tried to make contact with him, wasn't able to make contact with him, but later found out he is doing fine. His name is Carter Evans, local reporter there for the CBS affiliate. Let's check in with our Casey Wian, who's standing by. Casey, in terms of where this thing stands now, just for folks who are just joining us, watching us around the world and here in the United States, can you just kind of give us a sense of what we heard from that press conference, what we know and what we don't know?
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Anderson, the way it started was this afternoon about 12:30 local time, 3:30 Eastern, there was a report of a stolen vehicle near the Big Bear ski lift areas, near the resort areas. We don't know exactly how close to the resorts that vehicle was stolen, but that vehicle was stolen right near the ski resorts. Deputies began a pursuit, also set up a roadblock, because there were indications that this was someone who looked like Christopher Dorner. There was a shoot-out, apparently, at that roadblock. The vehicle was spotted at a place called Glass Road and Highway 38, 27 miles away from where that vehicle was reported stolen, 27 miles around the mountain and down the hill, toward the more populated area of Southern California. Dorner then got apparently into another shoot-out, and then escaped into this cabin where there are reports that he may or may not have hostages. "The L.A. Times" reporting that there were hostages in a cabin that he was holed up in over the past several days. What is clear, though, is that he was trying to escape, trying to get down that mountain, and law enforcement officers have been able to stop him from at least doing that, but right now holed up inside a cabin, very dangerous situation Anderson.
[Cooper:] Yes. You know, we have actually just been given a report from "The L.A. Times," in which a woman named Candy Martin has identified a vacation cabin from the television that's been surrounded by police. She called the authorities to let them know that that cabin is just one in a cluster of seven cabins that she owns along Route 38 near the community of Seven Oaks, which, again, Casey, as you just said, that's Route 38, Highway 38 and Glass Road, that's where that shoot-out occurred in the stolen vehicle. This woman, Candy Martin, has told police that the cabins actually are supposed to be empty on Monday, had no cable, no phone, and no Internet service, which is obviously significant, because authorities would obviously be concerned about his ability, Dorner's ability to monitor what they are doing via television, via radio, or via the Internet. But, again, this is just one source telling "The L.A. Times" that there is apparently no cable, no phone, or no Internet service in there, and also no firearms inside that belong to the owner of this cabin. What Christopher Dorner may have with him, though, we certainly don't know, Casey.
[Blitzer:] These are roadblocks, by the way, that we're showing our viewers right now. Casey, go ahead, but I just wanted to let our views know these are roadblocks that people are checking vehicles. Obviously, they don't want to let Dorner, if in fact he is in this area, escape. You see them opening up the trunk. They're watching all these cars. These, in fact, are live pictures we can show our viewers. These are roadblocks, local law enforcement authorities, Chris Cuomo. They're on the scene. You see the cars backed up. I think each car is going to be checked before that car is allowed to leave.
[Cuomo:] Probably. This is an abundance of caution. You don't know what the understanding on the ground is. You always want to err on the side of caution. That's what they're doing. It's obvious to anybody watching right now they're doing what is a basic vehicle search. Why? We don't know. And again it's not really important that we do at this point. The man who they want the most, supposedly, they know where he is. Maybe they're not 100 percent sure where he is, so they're acting to make sure as well as they can that anybody who leaves the area is not the suspect.
[Blitzer:] As you heard the commander of the LAPD spokesman, Andrew Smith, say, they're not positive, they say it's likely that Dorner is inside that cabin, but he specifically said, and I'm quoting him now, we can't say for sure. So they don't know.
[Cuomo:] Well, he's certainly very well armed, whoever's in that cabin, and he was able to exchange gunfire with two deputies very effectively. So if, by some chance, this is not the man who they believe to be the suspect, he is a very dangerous man, because he's already put two sheriff's deputies in the hospital.
[Cooper:] It's interesting. We have heard a big sort of change from the LAPD just in the last couple of days from when this incident began, talking about Dorner and about his allegations of racism, his allegations of corruption, his allegations of mistreatment by the LAPD. Initially, the LAPD ruled out the idea that any of these allegations needed a second look. And we have now heard from the chief, just yesterday or the day before that, saying, in fact, they will open up an investigation. They will look bank at the initial incident that precipitated Chris Dorner from getting fired from the Los Angeles Police Department. Not in any they wanted to make sure not in any way that it justifies anything that he has done, but just to kind of allay the public's concern, any concern that's out there, because there has been, as you know, Wolf, some sympathy for this man. You have seen it on Twitter, you have seen it on the Internet, Facebook sites popping up, given the history of the Los Angeles Police Department, the incidents of, you know, in Rampart most recently, but obviously the Rodney King incident, the Watts Riots. There's a history with this department and they have made great strides over the last couple of years to try to present a new face, to get a lot more minority officers in the LAPD, but certainly, the LAPD does seem concerned about the public relations problem that they may have and they have been trying to address that by saying that they're going to look at the allegations.
[Cuomo:] They have a real problem. I'm sure you're seeing it online, and I'm getting a lot of it, because I seem supportive of the police, but of course we are. If you have an interest in justice, fairness under law, you have to distinguish about what you believe about a history from a current set of circumstances. It does not matter whether or not police are infallible. Of course they are not. What's going on in this situation, with this suspect, is that claims that were made on a review of the record of his dismissal show them to be baseless. Yes, they are reopening it. That's good. Fresh eyes are always good eyes. Truth is the goal, but people have to be careful that this is not about calling the police perfect. This is about dealing with what is before us. The man who is believed to be a suspect in this situation is a killer. He is targeting police, and that is wrong, no matter what the history involved here. To conflate the two is a mistake. Of course, people are going to be upset. Of course, people will have reasons to be suspicious about the authorities, but let's keep our eye on the ball here. To everybody who wants to assess the situation right now, we have a dangerous man, believed to be in a cabin, and authorities are searching cars. And in this case, there is only one way to see it, and it is that this man needs to be stopped.
[Blitzer:] No justification for killing innocent civilians. You may have some reason for being angry, but there's no justification for going out and killing three people, as he allegedly has done. We're watching the cars being checked as they leave this area of the Big Bear, California, area. They believe they have the suspect cornered, but they're not 100 percent sure. This is what the commander of the LAPD, the spokesman, Andrew Smith said a little while ago, when he was asked to address Dorner directly.
[Smith:] If he's watching this, the message for himself is, enough is enough. It's time to turn yourself in, it's time to stop the bloodshed, it's time to let this event and let this incident be over.
[Blitzer:] The great fear, Anderson, though, is that and we have seen these kind of incidents over the years, and sometimes it ends the way the police spokesman just hoped it would, but very often it doesn't.
[Cooper:] Yes. And certainly, for those who have read his manifesto, so-called, there's been a lot of belief that there's not really many other ways for this to end but some sort of confrontation, that this is not somebody who you know, some people who knew him over the airwaves over the last several days, with the hope that maybe he was watching some of these programs, some of these people who he said he respected, you know, were trying to send out the message that the best thing you can possibly do, if you want to get your message, if you want to get your grievance and your gripe across is to give yourself up. Then you will have a chance to be heard. If you try to go out in a hail of bullets, the chance of, you know, other people hearing your message, it's not going to be heard, given the way you have chosen to end this. Clearly, that message has not gotten through. We now see what appears to be this man cornered in a house, this entire area surrounded, as you see, vehicles being searched in a wide perimeter around this area. And, you know, as Chris pointed out earlier, with night falling, you know, it adds some other challenges, but they have a lot of assets in place. We also heard from the LAPD earlier that they have a number of what he's described as LAPD resources waiting at the airport, waiting to be called in by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. They have not been called in. I assume those resources would be SWAT teams, tactical units. Right now, this is an operation being run by the San Bernardino Police Department or sheriff's department and the LAPD is sort of watching.
[Cuomo:] And what we're watching on screen right now seems to be a routine check of vehicles. But let's bring back Tom Fuentes. He's a former assistant FBI director. Tom, if you're there, is this what it seems to be? What would be the tactical response going on here?
[Tom Fuentes, Cnn Contributor:] Well, right now, they're trying to set up on that cabin and get all of the resources near that cabin that they need and establish communication with him, to see if there's any way to learn for sure that he has hostages or does not have hostages. As far as the roadblock checks that you're seeing now, that would be a little bit further away. They would have established the perimeter around the area and would be checking, you know, if residents returning to their homes. Then they're going to let them in and they're going to check on that and make sure he doesn't have an accomplice coming to help him. Another factor in this is that during this past week, while he's been, you know, loose, you do have the situation where, you know, now we know that he's invaded one home at least. Many of the homeowners in that area are likely to have firearms. They're in a remote, mountain, wooded area, and police response might take a little bit of time. So you would have hunters and you would have sportsmen and people that may have, legitimately have firearms in their home that he may have obtained. So even though he had a lot of weapons to begin with, he could have been in a position to obtain additional weapons, additional ammunition, just from the homes up in that area. Or if he broke into cabins that were unoccupied during this past couple of days, there may have been weapons in those cabins that he obtained. So that's another factor in this, as far as whether he's very heavily armed or not.
[Cuomo:] It's a good point. So how do you deal with that going forward? What do you think the different steps are that have to be gone through by authorities to make sure that this as safe as possible?
[Fuentes:] The steps they're taking is, as the tactical units deploy, they're going to try to get positions of observation from every angle, all 360 view of that cabin, but at the same time, try to keep their tactical officers in as much position of cover and concealment as possible, to not expose them to gunfire from him. So that is going to be the nature of this, is that they know that he's got some weaponry with him. They don't know the current caliber of weapons that he probably has, but he has something, and they're going to try to stay out of that line of fire if he comes out. And you also have the possibility that he could just come running out of that cabin guns blazing. So they do have to be in a position to respond if he tries to do some kind of a one-man cavalry charge coming out of that cabin.
[Blitzer:] What does it say to you, Tom, that they're checking all the vehicles in that area right now? If they believe that he's cornered or he's pinned down inside a cabin, barricaded inside a cabin, what does it say to you that they're going through, checking every one of these vehicles, making them stop, opening up the trunks? They have got a lot of police in the area and long lines waiting to move.
[Fuentes:] They have a number of concerns there. I mean, obviously, they want to make sure that they're screening residents only and that they're safe and that there isn't somebody holding them hostage, driving them back into the location. They want to make sure he doesn't have an accomplice coming up there to help him out, even someone he doesn't know. It could be some sympathizer that's been watching the broadcast for a week and decided that they're on his side and they are going to give him some help. Or it could a vigilante-type situation. He's killed people, he's ruined families. He's committed a terrible tragedy in a number of homes in Southern California, and plus, you have 50 family members that have been in fear and under siege for the last week since the manifesto came out. So you might have somebody coming up there to try to take justice into their own hands. So there's any number of possibilities that could be bad, as far as the vehicles coming to that area. They just want to make sure that the people that are there belong there and are safe.
[Cooper:] Tom Fuentes, we heard a report. Again, the source of this is the "L.A. Times," a source that a woman who believes she owns the cabin that police have now surrounded, the sheriff's department has actually surrounded, she's actually called into the authorities, telling them that that cabin, that there is no cable service, no phone service, no Internet service, and that there were no firearms in that particular cabin. Now, as you pointed out, we don't know how many other cabins he's been over the last couple of days. There was another report from "The L.A. Times" that he actually held a couple hostage for several days in a cabin. We don't know if there were any firearms in that cabin. But in terms of not having phone, not having Internet, not having TV, how important is it for authorities right now to try to actually establish connection with this man, or given the crimes they believe he has committed, at this point, are they just more interested in surrounding this and kind of waiting him out?
[Fuentes:] No, they're going to want to try to get communication with him as soon as possible, and especially if there is a possibility of hostages, which there is. They want to try to verify that as soon as possible. So the police will be trying to get a phone to him, if he doesn't have one in there. They will be trying some method. In the beginning, it's going to be literally shouting on a megaphone from behind a tree, trying to establish some rudimentary communication, until you can get an electronic means to have a more effective or efficient communication method. But that would be the procedure here, is you're going to want to get that communications established with him as soon as possible. And, again, whether he has TV coverage or not, this is somebody who's trained. It's not an ignorant fugitive out there that's never dealt with law enforcement or doesn't know specific tactics. He's been trained by LAPD, he's been in the military, he knows exactly and common sense, as well as training, would tell him exactly what the police are doing up there and how they're going about it and what their positions are likely to be and what their methodology and process would be in trying to resolve the tactical situation. He'd probably be well aware of the differences between how they would handle this if he's strictly barricaded by himself or barricaded and holding hostages who are innocent in this matter. So this is not going to be any mystery or surprise to him what the police are trying to do.
[Blitzer:] Tom, hold on for a moment, because Chris Lawrence, our Pentagon correspondent, is standing by with more on his military training and what kind of capabilities he might have right now. What what is the background on that, Chris?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, in his manifesto, Dorner said he was an expert shot. The top shot in every unit that he's ever been in. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but he is very good. Basically in the military, above the base line that every service member needs to qualify, there are three levels above that that indicate how qood of a shot you are. They are marksman, sharpshooter and the highest being expert. He qualified as a marksman with the rifle, and he qualified as an expert with the 9-millimeter pistol. That's basically the highest level that a normal sailor could achieve with the gun qualification. So he is a very good shot. In addition, he's not a normal sailor like you would think of going out on, say, an aircraft carrier. He's been involved in sort of these riverine patrol, the modern-day equivalent of the brown Navy that we saw in the rivers back during the Vietnam era. He's been involved in security, doing security for oil platforms. So he has had combat arms training, and we also know that as part of that training, as part of his qualifications, he's tested and become somewhat proficient in weak side shooting. That's something that a lot of shooters struggle with. They're very good with their strong arm usually it's the right arm but may have troubleshooting with the weaker arm, the left arm, so to speak. That can come into play if, for example, your strong hand is damaged or hurt, or if you're concealed in such a way that you want to keep your body concealed and not present that big of a target. If you can shoot with the weak arm, it's going to give you more flexibility in terms of staying concealed, because you're able to switch hands and shoot with both Wolf.
[Blitzer:] And we're showing our viewers these checkpoints that have been established for everyone, basically leaving this area, Big Bear, California, where the suspect is believed to be holed up. They're making every car stop. They're going through the trunks. They're looking through the back. They're making sure that there is nothing suspicious. So there are long lines right now. And Anderson, as we see this unfold, you can see there are a lot of local, state, federal authorities and some military personnel, as well.
[Cooper:] Do we still have Tom Fuentes with us, standing by?
[Blitzer:] Tom, are you there?
[Fuentes:] Yes, we am.
[Cooper:] Tom, I'm just wondering from a law enforcement perspective, given your experience, how does it change the dynamic on the ground for these law enforcement officers, given the accusations, the allegations against Christopher Dorner? Given that he allegedly has killed the daughter of a LAPD member, who was who he partly blamed for his dismissal, as well as someone she was involved in a relationship with, the fact that or the allegations that that he has shot at and actually killed one one police officer, at least one, injured another, shot at others, and now we have two more again, just according to authorities two other sheriff's deputies who have been injured, just today alone? How does that change the dynamic for the officers who are right now surrounding this cabin?
[Fuentes:] It actually won't change it, Anderson. Other than the knowledge of how capable he is of shooting first, and, you know, not worrying about who he kills, but that's something that SWAT teams SWAT teams would be trained for, fire discipline, in any event. I mean, you would expect that with barricaded suspects, hostage suspects. They would have dealt with people many times in the past that are like that who didn't have the notoriety, weren't getting the international press coverage that this is getting right now. So from the SWAT team standpoint, this is something they train for, the discipline that, you know, they know what they're doing out there. They know how capable and dangerous he is. And, you know, they're factoring all that in. But I don't think it's going to change how they go about their business at all.
[Cooper:] Tom, are you aware of what kind of SWAT team assets the that the Riverside County Sheriff's Department actually has? Because we heard from the LAPD in their press conference about 20 minutes ago, and we're going to play replay you a chunk of that press conference in just a moment. But they said that they had LAPD resources waiting at the airport, essentially waiting to be called in by Riverside County Sheriff's Department. That those had not been called in at the time of the press conference. Do we know how many, you know, tactical units, what sort of resources Riverside County has?
[Fuentes:] Well, my understanding is that this was San Bernardino County. That's a very, very huge county. That's about the size of a couple of small states. So they have many assets. They would be well trained. One thing about all of the SWAT teams in the U.S., including federal, state, and local, is that the training has been, you know, has been pretty much unified and jointly conducted. So you would have SWAT teams, FBI marshals, state police, county police, city police, all being trained in many cases by the same instructors, under the same philosophy and strategy. So so there's expertise at every level. The reason that LAPD well, obviously, they're involved in this, you know, from their own standpoint but the reason other agencies will be coming in and offering tactical assistance is, if this turns out to be a hostage situation, if this turns out to be a protracted crisis that goes for many days, now you're talking about that they might have to have shift work. They might have to have one team on duty for a certain period of time and then be relieved by another team. Again, reports are that it's going to be below freezing and may already be in some of the mountain areas up there, near Big Bear, and, you know, that's going to be difficult for teams to stay outdoors, deployed, out in the field, laying on the ground for hour after hour. They certainly can't stay there indefinitely by themselves. So there would be some effort for the police to establish a turnover of personnel on a regular basis, to keep them fresh, to keep them healthy and safe.
[Cooper:] And Tom, if this cabin, as the apparent owner of this cabin has told authorities, according to a source, telling the "L.A. Times," that it doesn't have phone, it doesn't have Internet, it doesn't have cable, if it has electricity, is that something that authorities want to take charge of, whether turning off his electricity I mean, do they want to make this difficult for him, or is that something they use as a bargaining chip?
[Fuentes:] Well, it depends. Again, back to the hostage situation. If he's by himself, that's not an issue. They could turn it off and not worry about it. But if he's got hostages in there, you're not going to want to create an unhealthy or dangerous situation for them. You're not going to want to trigger his temper and take it out on them by doing some of that. This is similar to what we saw in the Dykes hostage crisis back in Alabama last week. That, you know, yes, the authorities could have turned off the power and the heat, but they didn't want to do that. They had young Ethan in that bunker. And that becomes the primary concern in these things, is not to let any harm come to a hostage if at all possible. That's their main concern here.
[Blitzer:] Tom, hold on for a moment. We're just getting word there's going to be a news conference at the Loma Linda Medical Center. This is where these two sheriff's deputies were taken. They were injured, they were wounded in this exchange, allegedly, with Christopher Dorner. We're going to live coverage of that Loma Linda Medical Center news conference. You're looking at live pictures right now coming in from there. We don't know the condition of these two officers. We hope they're OK. We'll be watching that very closely. Enough people, Chris Cuomo, have been killed and injured and wounded in this horrible, horrible tragedy.
[Cuomo:] Absolutely, no question about that. Still an emerging situation. We don't understand what's going on, on the ground, and the authorities are coordinating their response. But even at the most recent press conference that just ended minutes ago, there wasn't that much information to go on. Here's what the authorities knew at that point.
[Commander Andrew Smith, Los Angeles Police Department:] Today at about 12:22 p.m., San Bernardino sheriffs were in the hunt for Christopher Dorner, up in the Big Bear area. They received a call of a stolen vehicle in the 1200 block of Club View Drive. When they responded there, they received information from the person reporting that this stolen vehicle was stolen by an individual that appeared to be very similar to Christopher Dorner. They immediately conducted a ground and an air search for this vehicle, and they were able to locate it at Highway 38 and Glass Road, where the suspect in the vehicle fled into the forest. Shortly thereafter, this individual barricaded himself in one of the cabins there, and an exchange of gunfire occurred. During that exchange of gunfire, two officers were injured. They've been airlifted to a local hospital. Right now their condition is unknown. The Los Angeles Police Department has sent resources out to the San Bernardino County Airport. Our resources are waiting there for authorization from the San Bernardino County sheriffs to assist them. So this is a San Bernardino County Sheriff's investigation. This is their lead. They have the incident command out there. We are there to support them only if asked. Everyone is very hopeful that this thing ends without any further bloodshed. We hope we can take this guy into custody, and we hope that he doesn't hurt anybody else. We hope none of these officers was seriously injured, which we don't know at this point. The best thing for him now would be to surrender and allow us to take him into custody, and he can face the criminal justice system. There's a tremendous sense of apprehension among our officers here, concern about the officers that are up there, and until this guy's in handcuffs and until he's in custody, none of the people in our department are going to rest.
[Unidentified Male:] What about your manpower. You said you were waiting. What kind of resources did you send up there?
[Smith:] I can't give the specific of what resources we sent. We did send some resources. They're waiting at the airport in San Bernardino now, and we're waiting to be called in by the incident commander if we're needed. Right now we haven't been needed. And by the way, the people have been asking if the chief of police has gone out there. Chief Beck has not responded out there. He's still here.
[Unidentified Male:] What kind of vehicle did he steal?
[Smith:] I don't have information about the vehicle that this suspect allegedly took. I've seen some videotape from the media members on that vehicle. I don't have the information about what that vehicle was.
[Unidentified Male:] Commander, if he is watching this, what message do you have for him right now?
[Smith:] Enough is enough. It's time to turn yourself in. It's time to stop the bloodshed. It's time to let this event and let this incident be over.
[Blitzer:] So there you have it. Just a little while ago, an update from the LAPD, the commander, Andrew Smith, telling us what we know. Now you're looking at live pictures. There are checkpoints throughout this big California area. We're told there are a limited number of exit routes from the area, but local authorities, state authorities, they're obviously watching every vehicle leave. They suspect that Christopher Dorner is holed up in a cabin. We don't know if there are hostages. We do know that cabin is surrounded. We know there was a huge exchange of gunfire earlier in which two sheriff's deputies were injured, and they were airlifted to Loma Linda Medical Center for treatment. We don't know their condition, these two sheriff's deputies. We do know there will be a news conference momentarily, we're told, to update us on their condition. There you see the microphones being set up at the Loma Linda Medical Center. CNN law enforcement contributor Mike Brooks is joining us right now. And Mike, what do you make about what do you make of this? You've watched these situations unfold over the years.
[Mike Brooks, Cnn Law Enforcement Contributor:] Yes, and I've been involved in a number of many, many barricaded subjects, Wolf, but I have to agree with the commander from LAPD, if he's listening, enough is enough. Go ahead and give up now and no more bloodshed. I have to totally agree with the commander. But right now, the big thing is to make sure that no other law- enforcement officers are injured, Wolf; none of the citizens there, in the Big Bear Lake area are injured. And to make sure that law enforcement keeps a good containment on this cabin, as nightfall moves closer. And, you know, and that's the big thing. Trying to find out, No. 1, is he in there by himself, does he have any hostages? That is going to that is going to kind of drive the way that law enforcement handles this tactical situation. Also, even if he's in there by himself, Wolf, they are going to try to negotiate with him. But, then, again, him being a former law- enforcement officer, he may know a little bit about how negotiators go about their job, trying to trying to get someone out of there. He may you know, there have been times where people have said, you know, "Don't pull that hostage negotiation stuff on me." You know, someone who has a background in that kind of thing, Wolf. So, again, the bottom line is here, no one else gets hurt. That's the bottom line.
[Blitzer:] Yes, but that's easier said than done. This is...
[Brooks:] Yes, it is.
[Blitzer:] ... clearly an extremely dangerous situation, especially once you have not only a former LAPD cop, or rogue cop in this particular case, but you also have somebody who was trained in the military and is well armed, by all accounts.
[Brooks:] Yes, and that's one of the other things, is how much supplies does he have? Does he have food; does he have water? What was inside that cabin? But the big thing is, how many weapons does he have? How much ammo does he have? These are all things that I know investigators throughout the past week, Wolf, have been trying to nail down on how what kind of weapons he does have. What are his capabilities. We know that he is a military officer, an officer or was an offer in the United States Navy, and he knows what the SWAT tactics, how SWAT teams operate when they're confronted with situations like this.
[Blitzer:] Anderson is here and Chris Cuomo is here. Chris, you wanted to make a point.
[Cuomo:] Yes, this tactical expert who's been sending Anderson and I information over here makes a point. There's the low temperatures. It's going to get colder now. It's obviously a cold situation. We see snow on the ground. May work to the advantage of authorities also. Because infrared equipment to find out who else is in that cabin, assuming they know the layout of the cabin, which maybe they know better now that the owner has contacted them, works in their favor. The cooler it is inside that cabin, the more chance they have of deciding if someone else is in there, how many bodies are in there. So hopefully, the environment is a little bit working to the advantage of the authorities.
[Brooks:] And also, Chris...
[Cooper:] Go ahead.
[Brooks:] No, and also, Chris, one of the other things, they do have the technology, even in these temperatures, to see heat signatures, these kind of things. The other thing, as nightfall approaches, is night vision gear. Law enforcement, I know that most tactical teams have night vision gear. Does he have that capability? One of the other things, too, that we have to keep in mind. You know, with social media the way it is right now, Twitter, there's how many people does he subscribe to? Does he subscribe to different media organizations in the Los Angeles area that are Twittering what's going on in and around the cabin? That's something else that the media and other people involved in this situation have to be careful about what they put out, even in social media.
[Blitzer:] You know, I was going to say, we're just getting sad news from the "L.A. Times." Unfortunately, one of the deputies who was airlifted to the Loma Linda Medical Center, we are now told by the "L.A. Times," has died. I assume that's going to be part of the news conference that they're going to be having momentarily over there. Just the last thing, Chris, Anderson, that we wanted to hear, another dead cop, as a result of what has happened here. This is awful.
[Cooper:] And again and again, the early reports on how that went down, one deputy was supposedly shot by the suspect, while he was inside the cabin. We don't know if that's the deputy who has now died. Also, then, according to a source telling the "L.A. Times," Dorner attempted to flee the cabin through the rear of the cabin, set off a smoke grenade or a smoke bomb, and fired upon another deputy in the rear of the cabin, hitting him. Again, we don't know which of those two deputies has died, but that apparently is has been now confirmed. One deputy has died. Both have been airlifted to Loma Linda, and again, we're anticipating that press conference any moment.
[Blitzer:] We hope the second deputy is going to be OK, but we don't know his condition. Chris, this is an awful, awful story. And once again, we don't know whether there are hostages inside this cabin, where they suspect they say they don't know 100 percent that Dorner is inside. They suspect that he is inside, but we don't know for sure and we don't know if anyone else is inside with him.
[Cuomo:] Can't fault their caution at this point. Earlier, I was speculating that one of the reasons that they may be going slowly is because there's someone inside. However, given the information we just got, so terrible, and while we don't know the name, and that's probably good, but everybody's thoughts and prayers, I'm sure, going to that deputy's family. It's terrible that there was more life lost here in a situation where it's so needless. But you can understand their reluctance, the officers that are there. This man is highly trained. He is well armed. And obviously, very proficient, and he can take their lives. So it's just horrible to think what's going through the minds and hearts of those men and women who are outside the cabin right now.
[Cooper:] A little bit of good news from a law enforcement perspective. Again, according to the woman who believes she's the owner of one of these cabins, Candy Martin, who has talked to authorities. She said that the cabin was supposed to be empty on this day, that there was supposed to be nobody there, in addition to no Internet service, no phone service, no television. So, if this is a cabin that Christopher Dorner just burst his way into, it seems, according to the owner, there was not supposed to be anybody inside the cabin. That could be a little piece of good news. Of course, we don't know, did he grab somebody along the way? We don't have that information. Casey Wian is standing by, and Casey, as you've heard, we've just got that terrible word about one sheriff's deputy has died.
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, it is terrible news, obviously, Anderson, bringing the number of victims, fatalities in this case to four. The other the first two victims, Monica Quan, Keith Lawrence, an engaged couple, a week ago Sunday, who were shot in the community of Irvine, California, and then Riverside police officer Michael Crain, 11-year veteran of the Riverside Police Department, also two tours in the Marine Corps in Kuwait. He was shot and killed on Thursday. I wanted to point out one other thing, Anderson. As we were looking at these pictures of vehicles being searched, coming down the mountain from Big Bear, one after the other, there's been the question raised, why are they searching these vehicles so closely? One of the reasons, clearly, is the fact that authorities are very concerned that he could have an accomplice. Michael Dorner, the arrest warrant that the U.S. Marshals Service released just a day or so ago, said that the authorities were tracking the movements of someone identified by the initials of J.Y. He was a known associate of Dorner, and a family member of this J.Y. owns residential property in the Big Bear area. And Dorner's truck was found burning on Thursday, right near that residential property. So, obviously, one of the areas of concerns here, for people coming down that mountain and for law enforcement, is making sure that no one who might have helped Dorner gets off that mountain. One other point I want to make: we've shown the long, long lines of cars coming off of that mountain. Earlier this afternoon, the mayor of Big Bear Lakes, in an interview with Wolf Blitzer, said he didn't think that there was any way that Dorner could escape, that he could get off of that mountain. And that long line of cars shows you why. Once you get on Highway 38 there, you can't do anything but go down or go up. That's what law enforcement has, at least, going for them. There's not a lot of escape routes for Dorner right now Anderson.
[Cooper:] And it is certainly the weather, it looks much better today. Over the last several days, though, Casey, it has not been cooperating. It's made it very difficult for law enforcement to search this area, to get air assets in place, helicopters up in the sky. Early on we were told on Thursday or Friday, I believe it was, that they had air assets in place with infrared, capable of searching for anybody out in the out in the woods, but they weren't able to get those up in place because of a storm system moving through.
[Wian:] That's right. There was a big snowstorm over the weekend in the Big Bear area that grounded all of that aircraft, freezing cold temperatures, wind chill factors below zero. So there were a couple of days where there were no air assets at all. Over the weekend the skies cleared a bit. They were able to have helicopters up in the air with heat sensors, body heat sensors on those helicopters. Obviously, they did not provide any successful results over the weekend, but those helicopters were available today. They were not in the air, at least initially, but once that vehicle was reported stolen, they got in the air quickly, Anderson.
[Cuomo:] As we're following this situation, there's a little bit of a degree of frustration to what we're watching. Nothing's really happening. We're told that there's a suspect who they believe to be Christopher Dorner inside the cabin. We don't have any 100 percent confirmation on that. But of course, the concern here is just that this ends safely, safely, even for Dorner, that they are able to do what the LAPD suggested in their news conference, bring him into custody, allow him to tell his side of what his motivations are. Let justice take its course. But at a minimum, that the killing stops. The most recent news that a deputy involved in a shootout with the suspect today has lost his life punctuates that point. So of course this is frustrating as we watch it and we try to make sense of the tactics that are going on and the procedures. We all want it to end but unfortunately, this is the way these situations often play out.
[Blitzer:] It's a sad, sad story indeed. And let's hope it doesn't get sadder as we watch what's going on. Just want to remind our viewers we're waiting for a news conference from the Loma Linda Medical Center. They will be briefing us on the condition. We have been told the "L.A. Times" reporting that one of the officers who was engaged in this shootout with Dorner has passed away. And our deepest, deepest condolences to his family. Tom Fuentes, we don't know the condition of the other sheriff's deputy. I assume we'll find out fairly soon. But as we watch what's going on, he may not have Internet, he may not have television, but he can definitely have other ways of finding out what's going on if he's creative as he apparently is.
[Fuentes:] Well, I think he's getting to know exactly what's going on even if he was completely without communication. He's a trained police officer. He's going to know exactly what the tactics would be here, the way they're going to deploy a SWAT team, negotiators, sniper observers, other tactical support, logistical support for the teams up there, possible change of shifts, if that comes into a longer time period up there. So I think that from that standpoint, this is a much different hostage taker or barricaded subject, if you will, because it's actually someone who knows the tactics, who has been there and has been trained to deal with it from the outside looking in. Now he's on the inside looking out. So I don't think that's going to be a huge factor here of what he knows or doesn't know. He can assume what the police are doing and that's going to be exactly what they're doing.
[Cooper:] Tom, I'm wondering what you think of his tactics thus far. It seems that in a number of the shootouts that he's allegedly engaged in with authorities, he's really kind of taken the fight to them. He's been very aggressive. It's not as if he's sort of a sniper hanging out at a location just trying to pick people off. He's actually exited his vehicle, approached police officers, firing according to the early reports, and again, these are just early reports. In the incident today, driving a white pickup truck, he actually crashed that pickup truck, exited the vehicle, began firing at officers and then wound up in this nearby cabin. And again, upon trying to exit this cabin, according to one source telling the "L.A. Times" from the rear, set off a smoke bomb, shooting at one sheriff's deputy. What do you make of his tactics thus far?
[Fuentes:] Well, normally that would give him the advantage. If you're on offense instead of defense, then that means the police that are defending themselves have to react to whatever it is you've started. So if he comes out guns blazing, they suddenly have to draw weapons and try to return fire and hope that they're not hit in the interim, which unfortunately, several have been. Secondly, you've got someone that's basically had superior fire power, and that's another issue in this situation. The average police e officer on the street's going to have a pistol, maybe a shotgun in the patrol car. If they're all out expecting him, they might have a little bit more capability, more fire power capability. But generally, the heavy weaponry of police are normally in the hands of the tactical units that are trained on using them every day like SWAT teams and units like that. So now you have a situation where he knows what he's going to do, the police don't know. He can see them and their marked units and uniforms. They can't tell if he's just another civilian or not, and he's got better fire power than the average police officer on patrol. So every one of those situations gives him an edge.
[Cooper:] In terms of the timeline on this, Tom, I mean time is on I assume the side of the authorities in this. If there are not hostages involved, they can essentially wait him out, can't they?
[Fuentes:] They can, but I think that once they determine if they were able to determine that there's positively no one else in that cabin except him, they don't need to wait forever. They can give him a reasonable time, and then they can start launching, you know, gas and other measures into that to literally smoke him out. But in the interim, again, he might have a gas mask and just be sitting there laughing. You know, there's a lot to deal with, but it's much more difficult if there's hostages than if he's barricaded. Barricaded, the police don't quite need the same degree of patience that hostages require.
[Blitzer:] Tom, hold on for a moment. Miguel Marquez is now on the scene. Miguel, where are you? I understand you're near one of those checkpoints?
[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Correspondent:] We are about ten miles from the scene where this is happening. We're on Highway 38 in the town of Mentone at the base of the mountain. We believe that Mr. Dorner is holed up in a cabin just north of here. It is a massive police presence here with tons of other law- enforcement vehicles heading up the hill, speeding up the hill as fast as they can possibly go. All all traffic into and out of the hill right now, this really massive area east of Los Angeles, is now shut down, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] And so basically, it's impossible to get are you saying it's impossible for you to get closer to the scene? You're about ten miles away or so?
[Marquez:] It is impossible for us to get up. And keep in mind this becomes a single lane in and out of the San Bernardino National Forest, in and out of the Big Bear Lake region. The place where we believe Mr. Dorner is held up is a cabin south, about seven miles south of Big Bear Lake, directly south. This road sort of takes a big long loop up into Big Bear Lake, so this road, 38, goes right past that area called the Seven Oaks town or neighborhood in the San Bernardino National Forest up there. That's where he appears to be held up. And it appears, I understand from law enforcement that they may be ready to go in at some point and try to forcibly remove him from that cabin.
[Blitzer:] Well, we'll see what happens on that front. Obviously if he's inside by himself, it's one thing. If there are hostages, if there are innocent people inside with him, it becomes a much more complicated situation. This could go on, Chris Cuomo, Anderson Cooper. This could go on for a while.
[Cooper:] Yes, no doubt about it. You know, as Tom Fuentes said, what they need to find out right now is are there hostages inside that inside that cabin? Exactly what the situation with the layout of the cabin, and then they'll take it from there. As Tom Fuentes, formerly with the FBI, was saying, it's obviously a much better situation for them if there are not hostages inside, and they could very easily start to put in gas, put in stun grenades, and go in after this guy.
[Blitzer:] I just want to alert our viewers also that, of course, the president of the United States will be addressing a joint meeting of the United States Congress tonight for his State of the Union address. That will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern. This particular story, Chris, it's certainly dominated the last few hours. Indeed the attention of the nation and much of the world is focused right now. They want to see this resolved.
[Cuomo:] Absolutely. Hopefully, time is what brings safety to this situation. There's been so much killing already. If the time allows for preparation, allows the suspect, if it is this gentleman, Christopher Dorner, to be brought in safely so that justice can take its course, he can get his fair hearing and nobody else gets hurt, then all the time that it takes, no matter how frustrating, is certainly worthwhile.
[Cooper:] Remember, this all began about three, three and a half hours or so ago, this latest incident, this exchange of gunfire at a roadblock. And so really, authorities have been spending the last several hours just trying to kind of get their hands around the situation, get the entire area locked down. As you see it is pretty locked down right now. There's roadblocks for miles outside of this area, and obviously, the immediate the immediate area around that cabin is surrounded and being tightly controlled, and they are going to, now now that they have it in some sort of order, they're going to plot their next move.
[Blitzer:] They've got a major mission ahead of them. We're going to resume, obviously, we're going to continue our breaking news coverage here on CNN. We're watching what's going on, a dramatic development in Southern California right now.

[Sambolin:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT. A few quick headlines for you. Online attacks against the U.S. are on rise and the man in charge of cyber defense says we are unprepared to stop them. General Keith Alexander says on a scale of one to 10 for cyber-attack preparedness, the U.S. gets a three. A major crackdown on the synthetic drug industry. Federal law enforcement agencies arrested 90 people across 30 states yesterday. They seized nearly 5 million packs of fake pot, about 167,000 packages of bath salt, and $36 million in cash. One of two New Jersey state troopers facing disciplinary action for escorting exotic cars on a high speed caravan to Atlantic City has resigned. The caravan was spotted in March at speeds topping 100 miles an hour. The sergeant first class stepping down after a 26 year career.
[Romans:] Zoraida, thank you. Our team this morning, the STARTING POINT team for Friday, Ron Brownstein, editorial director of the "National Journal," and Roland Martin, host of "Washington Watch," and Will Cain, columnist from TheBlaze.com. We're going to get real, because it's all in the family in the halls of justice. A new report from the inspector general of the Justice Department says eight officials at the department of justice violated nepotism rules and tried to get children and other relatives jobs. In at least one case the inspector general found two senior officials colluded with each other. It's the third report in the past eight years that's found officials broke rules like this. A spokesman says the attorney general made it clear that breaking ethics rules like this won't be tolerated. The inspector general said it was egregious.
[Ron Brownstein, "national Journal":] It is but it is the way the world works in many ways. There's a lot of ways in which class reproduces itself and one of which is the network of contacts available to young people. I did a study talking about even the requirement for unpaid internships has an enormous class bias because young people from low are incomes can't afford to spend the summer working for free.
[Romans:] My parents said you cannot have an unpaid internship.
[Roland Martin, "washington Watch":] At the end it is call the hookup, whether in government or business, it's in hook-up. How many times at the family reunion or whatever can you hook my student up.
[Romans:] Bright young people around here.
[Cain:] They are right, it's not shocking by any measure, we know this exists but it's particularly unseemly when it's done in the public sphere because it's done with our tax dollars and even more unseemly it was done to the justice department, the place we suppose that justice this is the tool of enacting justice.
[Brownstein:] The bigger question is education is supposed to be a ladder of social mobility. The way it works now, reinforcing the existing structure rather than
[Romans:] You think they should or shouldn't be allowed?
[Martin:] You should be allowed to do it. Whether it's public or private sector, this is the reality of business. Every single one of us can tell a story of somebody coming to us trying to stay, can you get my church member, get my friend, get my family member a job where you work.
[Cain:] The difference this it sounds like Politbureau stuff.
[Romans:] There's a widespread common practice of hiring friends and relatives of employees for paid summer clerkships and internships keeping it all in the family.
[Martin:] That's the reality of business in America, unfortunately.
[Romans:] I guess justice department, business, everywhere else, journalism.
[Martin:] Yes.
[Romans:] The Chick-Fil-A clash turning into a national brawl after the fast food chain's president spoke out against gay marriage. Speaking of political fights
[Romney:] The attacks that come by people trying to knock down my business career or my Olympic experience or our success, those attacks are not going to be successful.
[Romans:] Mitt Romney defending his business success and personal wealth. Piers Morgan, live from London with more on his interview with Mitt and Ann Romney. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. Welcome back to STARTINGT POINT. I'm Soledad O'Brien. Updating you on our top story this morning: That cruise ship in Italy is now slipping and the rescue operations, because of that slip, have now been put on hold. There are some developments that come out of this shipwreck. And also this morning, we're talking about Jon Huntsman, who has announced that he is getting out of the presidential race. He's going to get that official in just a few hours. It looks like he's going to be backing Mitt Romney. What does all that mean? Plus, do you guys see this? Mitt Romney reaching into his wallet and gives money to a struggling supporter. We're going to go inside that good deed ahead and see what was it all about? And the Golden Globes. Ricky Gervais was back, almost as mean as he was the last time. It does make the show much more entertaining. Here talking about how the Golden Globes measures up against the Oscars. It's very funny. Listen.
[Ricky Gervais, Golden Globe:] So the Golden Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton, basically. But a bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker, and more easily bought.
[O'brien:] I love that.
[Unidentified Male:] Name one of the foreign press members. Name one.
[O'brien:] All of that. Plus, NFL Hall of Famer quarterback Fran Tarkenton is going to join us. He's going to talk about Tim Tebow and whether or not God does care who wins. STARTING POINT begins right now. OK. We start with our new developments to get to. That cruise ship, now the rescue mission, has been suspended. This all happening in Giglio, Italy, because the cruise ship is slipping. Italian prosecutors are ruling out technical error. That means they are pointing to human error, and the CEO is apologizing. The captain of the ship has been arrested. He's being charged with manslaughter and also abandoning ship. The ship hit rocks, and there is a 160-foot gash in the side. You can see how it's listed over to the side, 2,300 tons of fuel that are onboard. So far, there's no sign of leaking yet. But that's one of the concerns as it slips. Fourteen people are reported missing, including two Americans. There are six people who have been confirmed as dead. The passengers have been talking about what happened. And in their words, it was absolute chaos and confusion.
[Vivian Shafer, Passenger On Board Costa Concordia:] There wasn't anybody to help you. I mean, really, the passengers were loading the life boats by themselves.
[Ronda Rosenthal, Passenger On Board Costa Concordia:] We had to go about four or five gates down before we found a life boat we could get into. And then the people were very angry that we got on that life boat because it was very crowded.
[O'brien:] Captain Jim Staples is a captain with 17 years of experience. And Robert Almeida is the editor of gCaptain.com. He's also a former U.S. Navy officer. They are joining us this morning. Nice to see you, gentlemen. We're going to bring in our panel as well. Why don't you, Captain Staples, start with exactly what could have happened in your mind? When you se a picture of a ship basically on its side and now looks like it's slipping with a massive gash, and everyone is saying the CEO and the cruise line are saying human error. What do you think happened?
[Captain Jim Staples, Was A Captain For 17 Years:] Well, my first concern when I saw the vessel laying on its side is what in the world was she doing so close to the beach? Any shipmaster knows you need to keep the vessel in good water. And to be that close, I said to myself, boy, that's probably a lapse in judgment here. Something definitely went wrong with some decision making.
[O'brien:] So the captain of the ship is a guy named Francisco Schettino, and here is what he told the media in Italy.
[Francesco Schettino, Costa Concordia Captain:] I don't know if it was detected or not, but on the nautical chart, it was marked just as water, at some 100, 150 meters from the rocks. And we were about 300 meters from the shore more or less. We shouldn't have had this contact.
[O'brien:] So it sounds like he is saying that it was some kind of technical error, either the GPS didn't work or the maps were wrong. What do you think of that, Robert?
[Robert Almeida, Editor, Gcaptain.com:] A hundred meters from shore and 150 meters from shoal water, and the ship is about 300 meters long. So, you know, it's an open bay at the end of the day. You know, if the ship was even slightly off course or had any sort of mismatch on the radar systems or if anything really went wrong, they would have immediately been in extremis in that situation. And, you know, they had plenty of area to monitor and leave that bay. So, there's no reason a prudent mariner would have put himself in that situation. You know, if had anything you know, really, if something went wrong, they would have been on the rocks. Or if they had been if their navigation had been slightly off, they would have been on the rocks, which was exactly what happened.
[O'brien:] While we'll be asking some questions, I'm going to throw up a map so people can see. If you look, you can see the sort of yellow line, which is the line that this cruise ship was supposed to take. Show my map. There we go. This is Google Earth here. You can see the yellow line that they were supposed to take and then the line they actually did take is the red one. This is look how close that
[Unidentified Female:] Had they taken this route before? I mean, this is my question. This allegedly is supposed to be a route they had taken before. They should have known that it was rocks and not water there.
[O'brien:] Well, the bigger question to me is the chaos that people describe. Literally it sounds like
[Unidentified Female:] Let's talk about was the crew trained for such an emergency.
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] It's funny. I was just thinking, I spent the last month in Iowa and New Hampshire hearing that the solution to every single problem in society is less oversight, less government. And when something like this happens, the first instinct, the first question you ask is, who was regulating? What were the requirements? Why
[Reihan Salam, Co-author, "grand New Party":] My reaction is the opposite because you have to accept that certain things are dangerous, and that you actually
[Salam:] That's when you decide it's going to be foolproof, that's what's dangerous.
[O'brien:] OK. So, let me get back to my experts. Captain Jim Staples, what the passengers describe sounds like literally out of the movie, like just complete, utter chaos, where they were getting contradictory advice on whether they should stay in the rooms or not. And then I think also the fact that the captain is out doing television when people are still who seem possibly trapped on that ship, what kind of training goes into this? I mean, how off kilter is this?
[Staples:] Well, this is definitely very heavily regulated industry. There are standards in place that the crew has to be trained by. It's through the STCW that there's a standard for certification of watch keeping. Every crew member has to go through it, depending on the level of your job description. But everybody has the basics from abandon ship to fire on boat drills. This is a standard type training that the IMO has put in place. This needs to be done. And what we need to look at is the institutions that are training these seamen to see if they do meet the same standards that we have here, say, in the United States or Northern Europe. A lot of these sailors come from third world type countries. You'll have different ethnic groups onboard, nationalities. You'll have language problems. And this seems to be from what I'm hearing quite a bit of the problem, was the utter chaos. It seems to me that the vessel did not have a boat drill before they left. The crew and passengers
[O'brien:] Don't they have to have a boat drill? Let me ask you a question about that. You're supposed to have a boat drill within 24 hours, apparently, and they didn't have one before they left. But it was within that 24-hour window, I believe.
[Unidentified Female:] I think it was like 5:00 p.m. That's pretty late.
[Staples:] That's correct.
[O'brien:] Why would you have a boat leave at all without the drill?
[Staples:] Well, that's what the regulations are. And if that's what the regulations are, that's what the standard is for the company. We have a code out there called SOLAS, and that came about because of the sinking of the Titanic in 1914. Because of the Titanic, SOLAS came out. And this has the requirements that are mandatory for boat drills. But these are minimal standards. These are not the maximum standards. So there's nothing to say that the company could not put in their procedures, which is under the ISM, the International Safety Management procedures, which came about in 1998, to cover the human element that's involved when sailing ships. So there's nothing to say that the vessel could have had a boat drill prior to sailing. It's common sense that this would make a prudent decision to do something like this with this amount of people onboard. You have 4,500 people onboard a ship that are very unfamiliar with anything onboard a ship, with where the life boats are, and the signals that are sounded. So, you know, it would be prudent to have a drill prior to that.
[O'brien:] Yes, it sounds like chaos.
[Staples:] To my understanding here in the United States, it does happen.
[O'brien:] Yes, it does.
[Unidentified Female:] Captain, has the black box been recovered at this point and what do we know about that?
[O'brien:] And what happens with that boat? When do you get the box?
[Staples:] There's a VDR on board. It's a voice data recorder onboard. This is up on the bridge. And what it does, it monitors not only the voice but also all the data and input that's being put into this box, so-called box. It will take care of the speed, the gyro headings, what the helmsman was doing when he was steering the vessel, the engine order, where the engine was with RPMs. If there was any kind of electrical malfunction with the engines, that will show up. So they'll get a lot of information off this voice data recorder as to what was happening. But one thing they will know is that they will be able to chart exactly where that vessel was and the time that they had the impact with the ledge.
[O'brien:] All right. Captain Jim Staples joining us, and Robert Almeida as well. Thanks, gentlemen. Appreciate your time. Our other top story this morning is Jon Huntsman. He is calling it quits today and he says he's going to be backing Mitt Romney. Let's get right to CNN political reporter Peter Hamby, because he broke that story for us. He's live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Impact of this announcement, do you think, Peter?
[Peter Hamby, Cnn Political Reporter:] Well, I don't think there's going to be a huge impact in the race. Huntsman was not really catching on in the polls especially here in South Carolina but also nationally. And you have to wonder, will this help Mitt Romney? Again, probably not. I mean, maybe around the margins if there are some moderate- leaning voters here in the South Carolina primary. And the race becomes a close one on Saturday, you know, maybe that could help him. But Huntsman doesn't have a big donor network, and there's not a lot of friendliness. They have a frosty relationship, Romney and Huntsman. I think the immediate impact on the race you will see in the debates tonight and our CNN debate on Thursday night. You have a shrinking stage. You have five candidates, and especially if Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum trying to break out of that anti-Romney pack, it gives them more space and more time to train their fire on Mitt Romney. We have been going through all of these debates over the last year. You got sorry go ahead.
[O'brien:] I was going to ask on our panel, what's the likelihood? I mean, it's been really Mitt Romney leading, even the South Carolina polls show kind of Gingrich closing the gap fairly well. What do you think is the likelihood with this dropout of Jon Huntsman?
[Steve Kornacki, Salon.com:] Well, to me, this is this is sort of the perfect microcosm of the Huntsman campaign, because it's going to get a ton of attention today and it will really is going to have no impact on this race. And it's sort of like his entire campaign is
[Salam:] He's a very effective surrogate for Mitt Romney if Mitt Romney wins that Republican nomination. Mitt Romney for John McCain was a very effective surrogate, and Huntsman he might wind up with a seat in the cabinet, something like that. But I think that he actually does appeal to moderates and even some Democrats in a way that other Republicans don't.
[Brownstein:] The bigger development I think is Newt Gingrich finally crystallizing the ideological argument that they probably should be having with Romney starting in October but didn't. The case that he's making now that he simply can't trust him, he's moderate, he doesn't he isn't really with you on the issues, it may be too little, too late. But South Carolina is a pretty conservative Republican electoral vote and has been for the establishment.
[O'brien:] I think we have a clip of Newt Gingrich sort of saying that. Let's listen.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] One, you have a governor who put Planned Parenthood, for example, the largest abortion provider in the country, into Romneycare by law, with no right to life group, somebody who raised $730 million in taxes, somebody who is for gun control, and who had a 400 percent increase on taxes on guns. I think it's pretty challenging for a candidate once you get to the real record for that candidate to arouse the enthusiasm and the excitement of the conservative movement.
[Kornacki:] Where was that in December?
[Brownstein:] And November.
[Kornacki:] The fact that it's come to this, first of all, at this point and that it's Newt Gingrich that had has fallen into to make this case tells you how lucky Mitt Romney has gotten this process.
[Salam:] Gingrich's moderate heresy is going well beyond anything Mitt Romney has done. I think it's Steve is absolutely right.
[Brownstein:] You know, the argument is there to be made, but there's no candidate to make it. I mean, the story of this race has been that the right is ready to find an alternative to Romney and has never been presented an alternative to Romney, and he may be able to achieve what John McCain did in 2008. A plurality win in South Carolina with a very low number among Republicans and conservatives, pulling together enough of those coastal, more pragmatic Republicans and effectively putting a stake in the race right there.
[O'brien:] And we'll talk about what that means for the general election down the road. I want to get to some of the stories that are making news this morning. Alina Cho has got that for us. Hey, Alina.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey there, Soledad. Good morning. Thousands of Syrians are welcoming Arab League monitors in the town of Zabadani. They are even carrying them through the streets on their shoulders. The city has been under siege for weeks. The U.N. secretary general is now issuing a demand to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: stop killing your people. A brand new photo has been leaked on Twitter what appears to be Casey Anthony cuddling with a puppy. Last week, Anthony talked about having adopted a dog in a video diary that also leaked online. Now, a new article in "People" magazine reveals that Casey is living alone in St. Lucie County, Florida. Twenty-four million customers at risk. Online retailer Zappos says it was the victim of a hack attack, and that's how many people were apparently affected. Zappos sent an email to customers yesterday telling them about the security breach. It said critical credit card information was not accessed, but other data like names, addresses, and phone numbers may have been. And a failed Russian space probe has crashed into the Pacific Ocean. It went down about 775 miles off the coast of Chile. The 15-ton probe was supposed to land on one of the moons of mars. Russian officials had hoped it would send back soil and rock samples, but the probe's engines failed to boost it out of the earth's orbit during its launch back in November. Houston, we have a problem.
[O'brien:] Yes, a big old problem, Houston. All right. Alina, thank you. Still ahead this morning: Mitt Romney hands out cash to an out of work voter in South Carolina. We're going to talk to her about just how that happened. Plus, the Golden Globes buzz. Ricky Gervais was meaner than ever, and people loved it. We'll take you live to L.A. in just a moment.
[Gervais:] The Golden Globes are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem.

[Costello:] And welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. When President Obama arrives for the start of the G-20 Summit in France tomorrow, he wouldn't be going to get the rock star treatment he's enjoyed in the past.
[Romans:] With Europe's economy crumbling, the Obama administration has already made it clear that it doesn't plan to offer a hand out anytime soon. Here is Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] When the president meets with world leaders at the G-20 Summit, keep this in mind. What happens in Europe, doesn't necessarily stay in Europe.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] The biggest head wind the American economy is facing right now is uncertainty about Europe, because it's affecting global markets. If Europe is weak, if Europe is not growing as our largest trading partner, that's going to have an impact on our businesses and our ability to create jobs here in the United States.
[Yellin:] France and Germany have just outlined a plan to rescue Europe's debt strapped nations. At the Summit, those leaders will be pressed to fill in more details and explain where they'll get all the money their plan requires. The answers to those questions matter.
[Ken Rogoff, Fmr. Chief Economist, Imf:] If Europe goes into a deep recession, it will hurt us in many ways. Their direct effects, we trade with them. But much more importantly it will shake confidence. It will hurt our financial sector and take our very, very slow growth and possibly push us into a recession.
[Martin Baily, Fmr. Economic Adviser For President Clinton:] If Europe really were to have a continuing crisis or a worsening crisis, it would be very hard for the U.S. to avoid a double dip recession ourselves.
[Yellin:] And a recession would not only hurt the economy, it could wound the president politically.
[James Carville, Democratic Strategist:] If there's a recession if the recession is caused by something in Europe, it's caused by something in Asia, it's caused by something here, people are not going sort through it and sort of go, well, gee, thay's you know what I mean, they'll tend to blame the people in charge and the president who's in charge.
[Yellin:] But given America's economic slowdown and the political stalemate in Washington, there's only so much the U.S. can do.
[Rogoff:] Everyone at the G-20 wants their picture with President Obama. He's the central person everyone is looking to. But I don't think the United States can simply dictate the terms of an agreement the way it might have been able to 30 years ago.
[Yellin:] Expect to hear plenty of questions about what will China, the U.S. or the International Monetary Fund will play in financing Europe's rescue. So far, the Obama administration's position has been Europe has to finance its own rescue. Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.
[Costello:] Just about 30 minutes past the hour now. Herman Cain accuser may want to talk, tell her side of the story. She's telling CNN actually her lawyer is is telling that she wants to share her side of the story. The attorney saying that she has a different view of what happened back in the 1990s when those sexual harassment claims were filed. But, of course, she's bound by that confidentiality agreement. "The New York Times" says one of the two accusers was paid a year's salary in the settlement.
[Romans:] The FBI and federal prosecutors are now joining the investigation of a failure of financial firm led by former New Jersey Governor John Corzine. Sources close to the case say MF Global is unable to account for some $600 million in customer's money. MF Global filed for bankruptcy on Monday. All right. It's 30 minutes after the hour. Here's what's new this morning. A tugboat pilot responsible for a deadly river crash in Philadelphia that killed two Hungarian students had been sentenced to just about a year in jail. You're looking at new video shown in court for the first time showing the barge driving right over the tour boat.
[Costello:] Oh.
[Romans:] Sending 37 people onboard into the river. The NTSB found
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] The family of a spectator killed in a plane crash at the Reno Air Show has filed a $25 million lawsuit. The suit claimed the crash wasn't freak accident and blames the pilot for being reckless and race organizers for an
[Romans:] A Boeing 767 carrying 226 passengers from Newark, New Jersey made a dramatic emergency landing on its belly yesterday. The worst off Poland. The landing gear malfunctioned, but the pilot put the plane down safely. There wasn't a single injury. At 8:40 Eastern, we are going to joined live by Captain Sully Sullenberger here in AMERICAN MORNING. He's going to tell us why it this landing presented a much different challenge that he faced over the Hudson in 2009.
[Costello:] More than 12,000 inmates convicted of crack cocaine offenses could be walking out of prison early. That's because Congress voted last summer to lessen the disparities between the penalties for crack and powdered cocaine. The new sentencing guidelines mean 1,800 convicts are eligible for release immediately.
[Romans:] A major marijuana bust in Raymond, Wisconsin. Police say they found more than 1,800 pounds of pot worth more than $7 million. The suspect in that case is now being held on $1 million bond.
[Costello:] An incredible train track rescue in Missouri. This dash can video shows the train slamming into a car. There it goes. The car was stuck on the tracks. And only moments before, an off duty police officer noticed the vehicle and managed to pull the woman inside and her baby to safety. They are both doing OK. Not clear how the car became stuck, but police say the woman failed sobriety tests.
[Romans:] Now back to the growing Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal. One of his accusers is thinking about going public. This coming as a new poll taken before this story broke. This poll shows he's pulling away as the GOP front-runner. The Quinnipiac poll shows him leading Mitt Romney 30 percent to 23 percent. That's outside, well outside the poll's margin of error. Our Brian Todd picks up the story from there.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Christine, Carol, we may be about to see this story blow up even further than it already has. One of the women who has allegedly accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment is indicating she wants to go public. Her attorney says she wants to break her silence. She's upset about what Mr. Cain has said about this case since the story broke over the weekend and does want to come public with her side of this saying that Mr. Cain is not telling the truth. The attorney for this woman who is not named, the attorney named Joel Bennett says, he is going to approach the National Restaurant Association where both Mr. Cain and the women worked in the 1990s. He's going to approach them to try to get them to release this woman from her confidentiality agreement. This is what Joel Bennett said to CNN's Anderson Cooper "360" last night.
[Unidentified Female:] Does she believe that Mr. Cain is not telling the truth?
[Joel Bennett:] Yes.
[Unidentified Female:] Can you elaborate?
[Bennett:] It's little difficult because there were two women who filed complaints at the time. It's unclear which one he's speaking about all the time. To the extent he's made statements that he did never sexually harassed anyone and there was no validity to these complaints, it's certainly not true with respect to my client's complaints.
[Todd:] And again, Joel Bennett has said he is not formally asked the National Restaurant Association yet to release this woman from the confidentiality agreement. He would like the group to take action on its own. We have contacted the National Restaurant Association for response to this. This is what this group says in a statement quote, "We have seen media reports saying that Attorney Joel Bennett is publicly making requests on behalf of a former National Restaurant Association employee. Mr. Bennett has not been in contact with the association. If we are contacted by Mr. Bennett, we will respond as appropriate." Mr. Bennett has told CNN that he's not contacted them. He wants to wait until he meets with his client. We're told that could happen as early as today. He needs to get a copy of that confidentiality agreement, which he says his client is going to provide him. Now in the meantime, Herman Cain himself has apparently injected the question of race into this or at least he was asked about race and made a pretty strong implication. This is an excerpt of an interview that he did on Fox where this question was raised.
[Unidentified Male:] Do you think that race, being a strong, black conservative has anything to do with the fact that you have been so charged? If so, do you have any evidence to support that?
[Herman Cain , Presidential Candidate:] I believe the answer is yes, but we do not have any evidence to support it.
[Todd:] Of course, Herman Cain leading most polls right now for the Republican nomination for president. In the meantime, we are told that since the scandal broke over the weekend and into Monday, on Monday, Herman Cain raised a record amount of money for his campaign. The campaign says it raised more than $400,000 after a political action committee sent out an e-mail soliciting funds in light of these revelations. So Mr. Cain doing well financially since the scandal broke, $400,000. The single biggest day of fundraising since the campaign began we're told by the Herman Cain campaign Christine, Carol, back to you.
[Romans:] All right, Brian Todd. Still to come this morning in AMERICAN MORNING "House Call," Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines a new study linking alcohol and breast cancer even for light to moderate drinkers. That story, right after the break.
[Costello:] Plus, if you're heading to Starbucks this morning, there is something new on the menu. It has nothing to do with caffeine instead it's all about putting Americans back to work. The CEO is talking to CNN about his jobs plan.

[Behar:] Donny and Marie Osmond come from one of the most successful show business families in history, and they have just released their first album together in 30 years. And it`s called "Donny and Marie." I just had to ask them how they came up with that title.
[Donny Osmond, Singer:] focus groups to come up with that name.
[Marie Osmond, Singer:] I chose all the songs and gave him the job of coming up with the name.
[D. Osmond:] Spit it out, Marie.
[M. Osmond:] Donny and Marie. Took him, you know, about six months. But he was clever.
[D. Osmond:] That is not true at all, at all. I chose all the songs.
[Behar:] You can call it, you know, Abbott and Costello, or something.
[D. Osmond:] Guess what? We just found out we`re number three on the country charts.
[M. Osmond:] Oh, I know.
[D. Osmond:] I just found that out before we went on the air. Isn`t that so cool?
[Behar:] I`m telling you.
[D. Osmond:] The last time we were on the charts was like 1847 or something like that.
[M. Osmond:] I think so. Yes. No, but it`s called good life. We were saying, we`re living the good life. We`re very happy.
[Behar:] And why so long, 30 years?
[D. Osmond:] Well, had to get her to stop playing with dolls.
[M. Osmond:] Had to get him to grow up.
[D. Osmond:] Seriously, Joy, there really wasn`t
[M. Osmond:] We were
[D. Osmond:] There was really no reason because we had our own separate careers and then this anomaly took place in Las Vegas and, you know, we had a six-week deal. Here we are three years later.
[Behar:] But you`re hot again.
[D. Osmond:] It`s unbelievable, Joy.
[M. Osmond:] I like this set. It is hot.
[Behar:] I was reading somewhere that some PR person told you that to reinvest your career, Donny, you should say you have some kind of addiction. Is that true?
[D. Osmond:] What do you think? What would happen if I did?
[Behar:] You would say no to that.
[D. Osmond:] But would it work?
[Behar:] Would people believe that you were an addict?
[D. Osmond:] Would it be a good PR stunt?
[Behar:] Well, it works for so many people?
[D. Osmond:] Exactly. But what would happen years later? How would I talk to my kids? Dad, did you really do that?
[Behar:] No, you could tell your kids it was just a PR stunt.
[D. Osmond:] I don`t I`m glad you`re not my PR lady. Let me tell you.
[M. Osmond:] This is a thinking woman.
[Behar:] And then another thing, maybe this is true of you Michael Jackson said you should change your name?
[D. Osmond:] He did.
[Behar:] To what?
[D. Osmond:] To Ralph Schwartz. Actually, I said he should change his clothes and never mind. Never mind. No, that was a joke.
[Behar:] I mean, these are the things people need to know out there. As a celebrity you get this type of advice all the time. And you have to make your own decisions.
[D. Osmond:] You`ve got to be true to yourself, Joy. You know that. I mean, everybody`s got an opinion. Everybody says you should do this, you should do that. We`re victims of that. But you know? We stand true.
[M. Osmond:] I don`t think victim is the right word.
[D. Osmond:] Well, that`s the wrong word, excuse me. We are recipients of that kind of advice, and then we just have to say I`ve got to look at myself in the mirror in the morning. I`ve got to like that person. You got to be true to yourself and that`s what we`ve done.
[Behar:] Yes. It`s like Osama bin Laden, had to look at himself in the mirror.
[D. Osmond:] Yes. He`s not doing that much anymore.
[M. Osmond:] So, how are we out there?
[Behar:] So, Marie, darling, you got married again.
[M. Osmond:] I did.
[Behar:] Congratulations.
[M. Osmond:] Thank you.
[Behar:] Now, this guy, let me just hear on the set, you were married to him, many, many moons ago.
[M. Osmond:] I was.
[Behar:] And you had a kid.
[M. Osmond:] Yes, I did.
[Behar:] The child you got divorced. Is that allowed in Mormonism to get divorced?
[M. Osmond:] It better be. I`ve been divorced a couple times.
[Behar:] Because, you know, the Catholics don`t allow it. I don`t know
[M. Osmond:] I think they do. Well, what you`re saying is in our faith we get married in the temple, which is not death do us part, it`s an eternal commitment. And so, you know, in order to receive a temple divorce, there has to be, you know, legit reasons and have it be very
[Behar:] So what were the reasons? You want to tell me?
[M. Osmond:] Not really.
[Behar:] OK. That`s fine. You can say whatever you want. But you had a child. Did you get custody of the child?
[M. Osmond:] Well, he`s 28 now.
[Behar:] But he stayed with you, the baby, the boy?
[M. Osmond:] Well, I mean, we shared in visitation and things like that. Yes.
[Behar:] OK. So, now, you`re done with that marriage for whatever reason.
[M. Osmond:] Oh, you`re talking about the second one?
[D. Osmond:] No, the first one.
[M. Osmond:] Oh, yes.
[Behar:] What is his name?
[M. Osmond:] Steve. Same as your Steve.
[Behar:] Same as mine.
[M. Osmond:] Yes.
[Behar:] So then you get married to somebody else.
[M. Osmond:] I did.
[Behar:] You had a couple kids.
[M. Osmond:] For 20 years.
[Behar:] You adopted a whole bunch of kids.
[M. Osmond:] I can`t remember which ones.
[Behar:] That`s good. That`s right. That`s the way it`s supposed to be.
[M. Osmond:] Absolutely.
[Behar:] And then you got rid of him. He`s gone now.
[M. Osmond:] Yes.
[Behar:] All right. On to number three, who happens to be number one.
[M. Osmond:] Number one wow!
[Behar:] Which is fascinating, because I mean, I have trouble with it, to tell you the truth, why I would never remarry my ex-husband. I mean, if I wanted to marry him, I would have stayed married. What happened there?
[M. Osmond:] Well, you know, it`s interesting. I think time, I think we were young, you know, you get a lot of pressure and opinions and all kinds of things that hit you, and I don`t know. Maybe we both just matured, grew up, and he`s phenomenal. He`s an amazing we`ve always just been the same. I don`t know how to explain it other than there`s just a connection.
[Behar:] When did you meet him in the first place?
[M. Osmond:] Through our son. You know, we had kind of gone our separate ways.
[D. Osmond:] No, in the first place, the very beginning.
[Behar:] No, when you first met him.
[M. Osmond:] Oh, like 100 years ago?
[D. Osmond:] Tell me something about through your son you met your first husband?
[Behar:] Yes, 100 years ago.
[M. Osmond:] He played he was a professional basketball, he played, and we met through BYU and I think somebody introduced was it one of you brothers, was it you or Jay. I don`t remember.
[Behar:] Nobody remembers.
[M. Osmond:] It was a long time ago.
[D. Osmond:] Tito was involved somewhere.
[Behar:] Just one more question.
[M. Osmond:] Jermaine.
[Behar:] There was a sexual attraction that had carried over from those years?
[D. Osmond:] Now, we`re getting into the good questions.
[M. Osmond:] OK. So, what you`re asking was, was there always some kind of
[Behar:] Was there a spark?
[M. Osmond:] No, and it was one of those things that really Steven, son Steven, said, mom needs some help. And so, you know, he helped move some things, I was kind of left with all these kids, and it wasn`t initially, he was just always a really good friend.
[Behar:] When he came back into the picture.
[M. Osmond:] Yes. No, I was definitely divorced and moving on with my life, and truly made a decision that I really just wanted to get my children raised. I think that every woman does that. But my feeling is, is that you don`t really you really shouldn`t be looking for a relationship until you feel like your self-esteem is where it should be. I said that on Oprah. You marry at the level of your self-esteem.
[Behar:] You say it on Oprah, you can say it. I`m sorry.
[D. Osmond:] Can I ask you a question?
[Behar:] Yes.
[D. Osmond:] You don`t agree with this. You just said that a second ago. Tell me why.
[M. Osmond:] She was asking
[D. Osmond:] She said you don`t agree. Why?
[Behar:] Who`s interviewing who?
[D. Osmond:] No, I`m turning the table.
[M. Osmond:] I agree with her if it were my second husband.
[D. Osmond:] No. What problem do you have with it? Because it`s true love. I mean, the way I`ve said it the way I said it earlier, it is a Cinderella story with bumps in the road with a beautiful happy ending. What`s your problem, Joy?
[Behar:] Right. No, I don`t have a problem with it, I`m just
[M. Osmond:] Who is he?
[Behar:] I think it`s lovely, I`m happy for her, I`m just inquiring.
[M. Osmond:] Because I think a lot of people would wonder, you know, about it. But we but I would say about two years ago we said, OK, let`s see what`s happened. We didn`t want to hurt our son. We didn`t want to hurt other kids. I didn`t want anybody to know. And I fell in love. I fell madly in love.
[Behar:] Again, with the same guy?
[M. Osmond:] Oh, my gosh, yes.
[D. Osmond:] See, I`ve always had a great relationship with Steve.
[Behar:] Have you? You always liked him?
[D. Osmond:] He`s always been a great guy.
[Behar:] So, you approve of the whole thing?
[D. Osmond:] I not only approved, I condone this whole thing. Oh, yes.
[Behar:] Do you care?
[M. Osmond:] Yes.
[D. Osmond:] He`s been there for many, many years to help out the children, even in another marriage. OK? He`s been there for those kids.
[Behar:] So, he`s a good guy.
[D. Osmond:] He`s a really good guy.
[Behar:] I`m so glad. Really.
[M. Osmond:] You know, I didn`t even know until a year ago I guess my kids like put paint cans up and it spilled all over my basement. I was out of town, they were afraid of what their father would do. They called Steve and he came over and like, you know, cleaned up the paint and did the walls and I didn`t even know this.
[Behar:] What`s the other one? What`s his name?
[D. Osmond:] We`re not going to go there.
[M. Osmond:] No, it was just so funny, I didn`t even know that. But he`s always very supportive.
[D. Osmond:] He`s number two.
[Behar:] The number two husband. What was his name?
[D. Osmond:] Number two husband.
[Behar:] OK. All right. Now, so that`s good. I`m happy for you both. And you have a hit show in Vegas.
[D. Osmond:] Unbelievable, Joy, what`s going on.
[Behar:] And you`re just back to being Donny and Marie.
[D. Osmond:] I like this. Can you do this again?
[M. Osmond:] You didn`t even want to see these.
[Behar:] Yes, those are beautiful. Yes. Very nice. Rings see, rings make my finger itchy.
[D. Osmond:] So, you don`t wear a ring?
[Behar:] Well, I`m not married.
[D. Osmond:] Who`s Steve?
[Behar:] Steve is my
[Bf. D. Osmond:] Oh. Are you going to get married?
[M. Osmond:] She just said rings make her itchy.
[Behar:] We`ll be together this July for 29 years without being married.
[D. Osmond:] What`s his problem? Why doesn`t he pop the question?
[Behar:] Oh, he pops it.
[M. Osmond:] And what do you do back?
[Behar:] What do I do back?
[D. Osmond:] Yes. You just don`t want to get married to Steve. Is that what it is?
[Behar:] No, I love Steve.
[D. Osmond:] Do you like him?
[Behar:] I love Steve.
[D. Osmond:] Why don`t you marry him?
[Behar:] Well, that`s why I don`t want to marry him, because I love him. OK. Sit tight. We have much more to talk about.
[M. Osmond:] I think we have issues.
[Behar:] You`re right about that, Marie.
[D. Osmond:] We`ll be right back here on the Donny and Marie show interviewing Joy Behar.

[Banfield:] A roll of the eyes and a glance of the watch and a one- liner that can make headlines for weeks and months and sometimes decades. That's why presidential debates are absolute must-see TV. You're a voter, so you should be watching this stuff. It's also why the world is watching the University of Denver because it's the site of tomorrow night's face-off between President Barack Obama and his challenger, Governor Mitt Romney. CNN's political director, Mark Preston, could not wait. He's already there in Denver.
[Mark Preston, Cnn Political Director:] Well, Ashleigh, let's talk about the bullet points, what viewers should expect to see tomorrow. Six different segments during this debate, three segments focusing on the economy, which should come as no surprise. Issue number one since 2008. So, one presidential election ago. Talking about health care, which has become a big issue over the past couple of years, with President Obama passing what is now known as Obama-care, and Mitt Romney saying he will repeal that. In addition to that, they're going to spend a segment talking about the role of government, also talking about governing, which is interesting because a lot of this campaign is Mitt Romney and Barack Obama talking about how they would work in Washington. And as we know, the American public are so frustrated right now with how Washington is operating or is not operating at all. So there's a lot on the line for Mitt Romney, Barack Obama tomorrow night. Tens of millions of people will be watching. Of course, a lot here on CNN. There is over 3,000 journalists who are actually credentialed to come and cover this debate. Ashleigh, 700 of them are from other countries. So the whole world will be watching.
[Banfield:] And Jim Lehrer is the moderator for debate number one. Technically, how long do the candidates get to answer the questions, because some candidates are pretty long-winded?
[Preston:] They are, and that's going to be the struggle and one of the challenges for the moderator tomorrow as well as the other debate moderators, including Candy Crowley, who will be moderating a debate later this month. 30 seconds to about a minute to answer a question. And of course there's a rebuttal. If we do see sharp exchange back and forth, sometimes the train can get off the track and the candidates tend to go after that. That's the kind of must-see TV that people are looking for. We'd rather see the candidates engage one another, challenge one another on the issues. But 90 minutes, that's a lot of time for these candidates to try to explain why they should be the president and why voters should vote for them come November.
[Banfield:] So these guys are busy. Anybody who has ever worked on a campaign knows it is one of the most grueling things the human body can go through other than war. And to some, it is like that. Then they have to take a deep breath and do these celebrations amid doing the campaigning and ahead go head-to-head. And there's study, Mark Preston, that's come out about eye blinking. Something called the blink index. It may sound silly, but it's actually been able to predict who the winner of the debate is going to be. What on earth is this?
[Preston:] Well, you know, it was a story in "USA Today," this study that the candidate that blinks the most loses, you know. There's also this long-standing tradition about how the Washington Redskins, whether they win or lose depends upon whether the incumbent president will win or lose in November. It's an interesting concept. I don't think there's much to it. Though I do have to say this, though, body language is extremely important as you said at the top, George H.W. Bush, back in 1992, was seen looking at his watch when one of the audience members was asking a question. That was terrible for him. It looked like he didn't care about the audience member or the concerns that audience member had. So body language will be extremely important. So when you look at these camera angles being shown tomorrow night, not only listening to the words but see how the candidates react because that will be a very, very important part of how they are determined about who won or lost tomorrow night Ashleigh?
[Banfield:] President Obama mentioned that the homework is a drag. And I think we all agree that homework is a drag. When do they find time for the kind of homework they have to do? And is this really the job of the campaign and debate preppers to make sure they have absolutely everything they need? Because they're not really watching a lot of TV right now.
[Preston:] Well, no. But, of course, you know, I think my children and your children would agree, homework is a drag. Who likes doing it? But it's so important they do focus on it. In fact, President Obama had to cancel some of his sessions, at least that's what we're told about his campaign, because he had to focus on some of the issues he had to deal with, including Libya. But the bottom line is it's very important they focus on it. We've seen the candidates doing it. They're not on the campaign trail, they're leaving that up to the vice presidential candidates to do that for them, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] The president definitely got the vote of my 6-year-old if he could vote on that comment about the homework.
[Preston:] Thank you, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Remember here, you can watch the first debate right here. That's presidential debate on CNN. Begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern with our coverage. And if you don't have a TV nearby, you can watch it streaming live on CNN.com.

[Behar:] I`m back with my panel. Lady Gaga spoke out against "don`t ask, don`t tell" at a rally in Maine yesterday saying the real problem in the military is homophobic soldiers. Take a look.
[Lady Gaga, Singer:] I would like to propose a new law. A law that sends home the soldier that has the problem. Our new law is called "if you don`t like it, go home".
[Behar:] I`ll tell you, I find it offensive that she would say that about soldiers. I mean, you`re attacking people who are defending you. Whether you agree with the war, whether you don`t, these guys are out there. I think it`s obnoxious. What do you think?
[Blankenship:] I feel like, is the solution to a law that`s built in hate even to playfully suggest more intolerance from the other side?
[Behar:] That`s a good point. That`s a very good point. I mean, she suggested that she you know, I mean, it`s amazing in a way, but today the senate killed a bill that included a provision for "don`t ask, don`t tell". Do you think that she had anything to do with it? Did she influence them with his crazy talk?
[Blankenship:] I can`t imagine that Lady Gaga is the kind of person
[Behar:] She`s a big star.
[Blankenship:] The thing I think that she maybe did. Every time she`s appeared about this issue, she`s had herself surrounded with soldiers who were discharged under the law. Maybe there`s an impact to be had if she`s got real human beings are affected by the law. I can`t imagine that she, herself, could have that much of an impact. But maybe seeing real people who were affected by it would.
[Craig:] The thing I think that`s good about Lady Gaga speaking out about it, she has a lot of young fans that they don`t pay attention to politics yet and stuff like that, that may now learn what this is and maybe go educate themselves on it and make their own decisions on it. I don`t think it`s a bad thing that she`s speaking out because she has so many fans.
[Behar:] I know. But to take a shot at the soldiers who are there already, it`s a crazy position, I think. Do you disagree with me?
[Balan:] Like you said about one or the other, the whole thing about being gay in the military from the beginning, you know, it all started with men didn`t want to share a locker room with gay men, afraid of harassment. That`s how it all began. I`m thinking, I`m a woman, you know, we`ve been harassed forever.
[Behar:] That`s true.
[Balan:] You know what I mean? That`s what they were worried about.
[Behar:] They were worried.
[Balan:] They also
[Behar:] Other countries don`t worry about it. Israel has
[Balan:] Israel have gay kids. They don`t anybody could fight.
[Behar:] Later in the fight she had this to say. Watch.
[Lady Gaga:] Equality is the prime rib of America, but because I`m gay I don`t get to enjoy the greatest cut of meat my country has to offer.
[Behar:] What is she speaking of? What is her obsession with meat? First she wears a meat dress.
[Craig:] In the meat dress she was like on Ellen or something talking about how the meat dress she wore it for the gays. Everything`s for the gays. I like her. I think she`s very talented but I don`t really understand.
[Balan:] How can you make a policy change if it`s someone who wears beef?
[Behar:] What do you think of her in this case Mark?
[Blankenship:] You mean in relationship to the meat metaphor? I just feel like I feel like that this is a case of someone who`s got great intentions and great ideas but who maybe is trying a little too hard to make poetry out of something.
[Behar:] I know. She needs to take a rest. Thanks, everybody, very much. Be sure to catch Carly in the upcoming movie, "Full Pass" with moi. All the details from Bristol Palin`s "Dancing with the Stars" debut up next.

[Wolf Blitzer, Host, Cnn's The Situation Room:] And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, happening now, late attacks on the eve of the Iowa caucuses. Ron Paul takes aim at rising star Rick Santorum with a very tough word, at least in the minds of so many Republicans. Stand by for Ron Paul's interview with CNN. Plus, Democrats go after Mitt Romney with the help of a worker who got laid off when Romney was his boss. This hour, Romney's credentials as CEO under fire. I will talk about that and more with the Democratic National Chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And Iran tests missiles and fires back at the threat of new sanctions against its oil industry. Tensions exploding in the Strait of Hormuz. We want to welcome our viewers in the States and around the world. Breaking news, political headlines and Jeanne Moos all straight ahead. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Right now, every second counts for the Republican presidential candidates in the final countdown to the Iowa caucuses tomorrow night. Here in the CNN Election Center, we're following the last full day of frenzied campaigning across the state, especially for the Iowa frontrunners, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. All three have rallies in Iowa this hour. We expect to hear from the top Republican contenders live. Also unfolding, Rick Santorum he has five scheduled campaign rallies across Iowa today, including an event in Newton this hour. Santorum's campaign says his surge to third place in the polls in recent days is unleashing a sudden spurt in his fundraising. The new "it" candidate, as they're calling him, also drawing a lot of new criticism from his opponents. Listen to Santorum fire back at Mitt Romney's attempt to portray him as a Washington insider. He never mentions Romney by name, only by his experience as CEO.
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] CEO is a sign of people who work for them. I can tell you, as a senator, I did not work for the president. And Congress doesn't work for the president. The American people don't work for the president. It's the other way around.
[Blitzer:] let's go to CNN's Jim Acosta. He's on the ground in Boone, Iowa, where Santorum was campaigning just a short while ago. What's the latest on that front Jim?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, he's good poll numbers. His fundraising is taking off. And the world media is following his every step. Now the trick for Rick Santorum is to translate that momentum into something meaningful.
[Unidentified Male:] Make room. Make room.
[Acosta:] Welcome to Rick Santorum's moment.
[Unidentified Male:] How are you?
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] Hi. Good to see you.
[Unidentified Female:] We're happy to see you.
[Acosta:] Just one day to go before the Iowa caucuses, the surging GOP contender noted the crush of cameras following his every move wasn't even there a week ago. That might explain why Iowans have their doubts whether any of this is real.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm one of those people here in Iowa that's sitting right on the edge trying to make up my mind.
[Santorum:] Come on over. Come on.
[Acosta:] Santorum's message it's real, all right.
[Santorum:] We've raised more money in the last few days than we have the last few months. And, you know, going from from zero to 60 in the polls, if you will, will help help those resources a lot.
[Acosta:] Now when GOP frontrunner, Mitt Romney, punches...
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I, like Speaker Gingrich, Senator Schumer has has spent his career in the government in in Washington.
[Acosta:] Santorum punches back.
[Santorum:] We are not looking for a chief executive officer for this country. We're looking for a commander-in-chief.
[Unidentified Male:] He is a fine man and he'll do a fine job for Pennsylvania.
[Acosta:] But Santorum has some convincing to do. Republicans remember how he lost his Senate seat five years ago by an astounding 18 points.
[Unidentified Male:] What do you say to those voters who are concerned about that loss you had 2006 and whether you're viable in a general election?
[Santorum:] I lost an election in the worst election year for Republicans in the history of our state.
[Acosta:] A key factor in Santorum's loss was his controversial vote to have the courts intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo, a woman in a vegetative state whose family was at war over whether to remove her feeding tube. Santorum has no regrets.
[Santorum:] What I what I cared about with Terri Schiavo was to make sure that that a that a judge looked fairly at the case. They did. And they made their decision.
[Unidentified Male:] Who has the best chance to beat Obama? Rick Santorum.
[Acosta:] And Santorum is only now running a real ad campaign. His best chance to get on the air in Iowa is to tow the international press behind him. [on camera]: Just to show you how chaotic this is, we're having to go between this very tight space between two buildings just to catch up with Senator Santorum. He is bobbing and weaving his way to the finish line. [voice-over]: While Santorum's rivals have busses, he doesn't. This Santorum bus belongs to Jim Bob Duggar, a prominent backer of Mike Huckabee, who won the caucuses in '08. Duggar is now urging Evangelical voters to back Santorum.
[Jim Bob Duggar, Santorum Supporter:] He has a pretty good track record. He's a Christian conservative that has just always stood for what's right.
[Santorum:] The Chuck truck.
[Acosta:] Santorum doesn't ride in the Duggar bus. He does his campaigning in a pickup truck, a better fit for Santorum's down to earth pitch. Another sign of Santorum's strength, he is now the subject of negative robo-calls. Santorum said this afternoon that those calls falsely accuse him of being against the Second Amendment. And he accused the Ron Paul campaign of being behind those calls and, Wolf, I checked in with the Paul campaign. They're not denying that they're behind those calls Wolf.
[Blitzer:] I assume he appreciates the fact that, just as Newt Gingrich was slammed by a lot of these negative attack ads, as he moves up, he's about to face similar treatment.
[Acosta:] That's right, Wolf. But the advantage that Rick Santorum has versus Newt Gingrich is that Santorum's surge happened right at the last minute. So if that onslaught of negative stuff comes in, it may not have enough time to stick, as opposed to what happened to Newt Gingrich. He knows it it stuck and it stuck for a long time.
[Blitzer:] Yes, but wait until...
[Acosta:] It did a lot of damage.
[Blitzer:] wait until New Hampshire and South Carolina and Florida. There's still plenty of time on those contests.
[Acosta:] That's right.
[Blitzer:] Jim Acosta, thanks very much. Mitt Romney has four scheduled campaign stops today, including a rally in Marion, Iowa this hour. He heads into the caucuses tomorrow night with a narrow lead in the final Iowa polls. It's still a very tough fight for the GOP nomination, but Romney is saving his attacks on the trail today for the man he hopes to challenge in November.
[Romney:] This president's failed. He went on the the "Today Show" shortly after being inaugurated. And he said, "If I can't get this economy turned around in three years, I'll be looking at a one term proposition." I'm here to collect. We're going to take it back. We're taking it back.
[Blitzer:] Romney also played it for laughs. He reminded supporters in Dubuque about a mishap his wife, Ann, had in that city when he was campaigning for president fours year ago.
[Romney:] But the one person I did introduce is a person who has a special a special relationship with Dubuque. As you may recall, this has been a source of lots of good humor for our family, because we were on a stage just like this one four years ago, I standing here, she standing there and suddenly, her half of the stage collapsed, in Dubuque, at the Best Western Hotel. And she went down to the ground, landed on her back side. And I said, "How are you honey?" A little later she said, "Well, I fell on da butt in Dubuque." So...
[Blitzer:] Let's go to our chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley. She's watching what's going on on the ground in Des Moines. You'll be at Romney's headquarters for our election coverage tomorrow night, Candy. How is Romney trying to seal the deal in these, the final hours before the caucuses?
[Candy Crowley, Host, State Of The Union:] You know, Wolf, even though Mitt Romney has probably spent less time here than anybody else, I think as of a couple of days ago, he couldn't even make up to three weeks in this entire election cycle here in Iowa. So he has been here less than three weeks, while you have candidates like Santorum, who have been here for more than a hundred days, on down the line, Ron Paul, somewhere in the 70s. So this was not where he put a lot of human time, at least by comparison of himself. But he had, you know, he ran four years ago. He used that skeleton, that kind of template that he already had in place. And so there's been this quiet sort of campaign. I mean he has people that have been talking him up. And he hasn't so much come in to seal the deal as sort of to try to come in for the kill. Would they love to take the first place out of here? They really would. But at this point in the Romney campaign, they they don't see Rick Santorum as being able to go for the long haul. So if they lost to Rick Santorum, to them, that would be OK, because they think that still fuels Mitt Romney going to New Hampshire, where, as you know, Wolf, he has a very huge lead. So they they would they would love to put this away and begin to end it here in the Iowa caucuses. But they're aware, as everyone else is, that Rick Santorum has lots of momentum going into this final day.
[Blitzer:] Yes. He is surging. There's no doubt about that Candy, Wednesday morning is a brand new ball game. Where will the Iowa winners go from Iowa?
[Crowley:] Well, if it Mitt Mitt Romney is going back to New Hampshire no matter what. That's where he is looking very good. I mean he enjoys a double digit lead there. If Rick Santorum does very well, as he is expected to do, he also has to go play in New Hampshire, even though the best place for a a Christian conservative, someone that can get a lot of support from Christian conservatives, the best place for them to go is South Carolina, which is right after New Hampshire. That's where we're going to see Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry go, is straight to South Carolina, because there's such a commanding lead for Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, that while they will go back for the debates, they're going to spend a lot of their time trying to build that firewall against sort of the Mitt Romney train, if they it goes as expected or as the polls now show, Mitt Romney could handily win New Hampshire. If he won here or did something that was interpreted as a win, he's going to be pretty hard to stop. And South Carolina is going to be the place to do it. And the type of candidate that appeals down there is much the same as here, and that is, the conservative Evangelical wing of the party. So that's why Perry and Bachmann are headed there, although they, too, will come back for debates.
[Blitzer:] Good point. Thanks very much, Candy. Let's give our viewers a little flavor of what's going on on the campaign trail right now, about 24 hours before voting in Iowa begins. Ron Paul is in Cedar Falls. Let's listen in briefly to get a little flavor of what he's saying.
[Rep. Ron Paul , Texas:] bank is that thing that we have in Washington called a Federal Reserve. I believe that we really need to reign in the Federal Reserve. We need to audit the Federal Reserve and we need to get control of the Federal Reserve.
[Blitzer:] All right. Well, we just lost our connection. But you get the point. But but, obviously, Ron Paul speaking about a major issue for him. He hates hates the Federal Reserve in Washington. We're also waiting to hear from Mitt Romney. He's going to be speaking this hour, as well. We'll dip in, hear what he has to say in Marion, Iowa. You can see that a large crowd has gathered there. Romney is focusing, though, right now, on the president. And the Obama campaign is targeting him and his credentials as a business executive. The Democrats are trotting out a new ally against Romney, a worker who actually got laid off on his watch. Lisa Sylvester is looking into that for us Lisa.
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Wolf. Well, Romney is the wealthiest candidate among the GOP field. And Democrats are focusing now on how he made his money as CEO of Bain Capital. The firm has made hundreds of millions of dollars. But critics are lashing out at Romney, saying those profits came with a price.
[Sylvester:] Mitt Romney, co-founder and former CEO of Bain Capital. The investment firm specializes in taking floundering businesses, reorganizing and turning them around. The company has done very well and has made Romney a very wealthy man. The GOP frontrunner is now marketing his business experience and acumen on the campaign trail as the guy to turn around the U.S. economy.
[Romney:] You see, when it comes to jobs in the private sector, I think it helps to have had one if you plan on creating some.
[Sylvester:] But Democratic critics say under Romney's watch at Bain Capital, thousands of Americans were laid off, including Randi Johnson. He worked at a company called American Pad & Paper, but lost his job after Bain Capital bought the company in 1992.
[Randy Johnson, Former Factory Worker:] I really feel he didn't care about the workers then. I mean, go back and look at some of the philosophies. Look at the pattern. Everything was probably done very legal, done the right way, but it was all about profit over people.
[Sylvester:] Johnson's news conference in Des Moines, Iowa was sponsored by the Democratic National Committee. The DNC is also hammering away at Romney in political ads.
[Romney:] But corporations are people, my friend.
[Sylvester:] An indicator Democrats see Romney as the man to beat. Romney responds this way "That's capitalism." Romney insists Bain Capital has ultimately been a job creator.
[Romney:] What I offer to America is the fact that when I was head of that enterprise that invested in over a hundred companies, that if you take those places where we were able to add jobs and subtract those that lost jobs, we added over 100,000 100,000 jobs.
[Sylvester:] But because Bain Capital is a private company that doesn't have to disclose details of its acquisitions, it's difficult to verify his claims or claims of the Democrats. Politically, though, it's the DNC's message which may resonate with middle class voters.
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] Elections are won or lost in this country by the candidate who connects with the moderates and the middle class. And the middle class is really the ultimate swing vote in this situation. So the part of the strategy of the DNC will be to paint Mitt Romney as the candidate of the 1 percent personified.
[Sylvester:] The Romney camp is hitting back. A spokeswoman for Romney's campaign saying, quote, "President Obama and his cronies know that if they have to face Mitt Romney in the general election, they are going to lose, which is why they continue their kill Romney strategy." Well, the fight is certainly on between the two sides. The DNC, in turn, has opened up a war room in Des Moines, calling it their home base for rapid responses Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much, Lisa Sylvester. You heard how the Democrats are going after Mitt Romney. I'll talk to the party's chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, about the DNC's Romney obsession. And Rick Santorum's conservative record under fire will a surprising new dig by Ron Paul stop Santorum from surging past him tomorrow night? We have a new interview with Ron and Rand Paul, both of them, father and son. That's coming up this hour.

[Anderson:] CNN. You're watching Connect the World. Top stories this hour. A final public farewell for Pope Benedict XVI. Huge crowds cheered and waved as the Popemobile made its way through St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. The pope told the crowds he is stepping down Thursday for the good of the church. A late rally on Wall Street helped the Dow soar to a five year high today. It ended up 175 points to close at 14,075. Investors encouraged by upbeat housing data and more indications that the Fed, the Federal Reserve continues to support economic stimulus. And some news just coming into us here at CNN Center. Shares in Groupon, the online voucher site, have plunged more than 20 percent. That's after the company reported a much bigger quarterly loss than expected. Do watch those on the open on Thursday. US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Rome for talks on the conflict in Syria after meeting with the French president and the French foreign minister in Paris Wednesday. During a news conference, the top new top US diplomat says that France and the US are looking at ways to, and I quote, "accelerate the political transition in Syria." An employee killed two people before shooting and killing himself at a lumber plant near the Swiss city of Lucerne. Police tell local media that seven people were hurt in the shooting, six of them seriously. The gunmen had worked for the wood panel manufacturer for quite some time. His motives are still not known. Well, the pope acknowledged stormy waters in his good-bye message to the faithful earlier today, but he says he knew the boat would never sink because God was with them.
[Pope Benedict Xvi:] Dear friends. God leads his church and sustains it always, especially in difficult moments. Let us not lose this vision faith, which is the only true vision of the path of the church and the word. In our hearts, in the heart of each of us, have always the delightful certainty that the Lord is near you, that he doesn't abandon you, that he's close to you and that he shelters you with his love. Thank you.
[Anderson:] Well, it is no secret that the Vatican has been beset by scandals, but they don't stop at sex abuse. The last year, explosive leaks from the pope's ex-butler painting a picture of deep-seated financial corruption within the church. It's led many to speculate that this may be behind the pope's departure. CNN's Jim Bittermann reports at what's being dubbed "Vati-leaks."
[Jim Bittermann, Cnn Senior European Correspondent:] As much as sexual scandals and innuendo have come to a boil in the last days of Pope Benedict XVI's reign, what is proving equally damaging to his legacy are the simmering stories of disarray, corruption, and infighting in the management of the Vatican. The pope himself has repeatedly over past months made references to it.
[Pope Benedict Xvi:] The sins against the unity of the church, of the divisions in the body of the church, living Lent in a more intense and evident ecclesial communion, overcoming individualism and rivalry.
[Bittermann:] The secret documents leaked last year by the pope's butler, according to the reporter who first published them, painted a devastating picture of an isolated pope surrounded by members of the Italian curia who actively impeded his efforts, something that surprised the author.
[Gianluigi Nuzzi, Author:] The pope's loneliness in front of what is happening in the Vatican. A pope that was alone and was left alone. A pope who was a great theologian but who hasn't succeeded in bringing forth his reforms in the battle for transparency.
[Bittermann:] In fact, Nuzzi, whose book is now coming out in English, entitled "Ratzinger Was Afraid," believes the butler took the risk of leaking the documents precisely because he believed making the public would help the pope in his battle to restore order. According to Nuzzi, the corruption that the pope tried but failed to root out including kickbacks on government contracts, money laundering, and influence peddling among other things. And the author paints Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone as the villain in the piece. It was Bertone who very publicly heaped lavish praise on the departing pope at his last public mass, to which the pope dryly responded
[Pope Benedict Xvi:] Grazie. Torniamo preghiera.
[Bittermann:] "Thank you, and let's get back to prayer" Many of the accusations of mismanagement center around the Vatican bank, as they have for decades. The bank, which is not a bank at all but a kind of wealth management fund, which oversees billions of dollars in investments, first attracted attention in the 1980s when an Italian banking official was found hanging from a bridge in London. It was classified a murder, but never solved. The banker had done business with the Vatican institution, and is then director, American archbishop Paul Marcinkus, who Italian police unsuccessfully tried to arrest. Eventually, he was forced to retire. Last year, as the butler's stolen documents came to light, the bank's board of directors fired its president saying he was not up to the job. Early this month, the pope named a replacement, but not until Italian banks, citing a lack of transparency, cut of all services to the Vatican, including credit cards. The problem, experts say, is that the Vatican is not subject to any financial controls other than those set by the Vatican itself, and author Nuzzi is convinced each time the pope tried to change the rules, his attempts were frustrated.
[Nuzzi:] You can keep on believing in the fable that the pope has resigned because he is tired, but I don't believe it.
[Bittermann:] Jim Bittermann, CNN, the Vatican.
[Anderson:] Well, the Vatican flatly denies those corruption allegations, but like it or not, the organization is under the world's spotlight at the moment. Scandals need to be addressed, and Pope Benedict's successor will inherit what can only be described, I think, as a fragile church at this point. CNN's senior Vatican I'm going to get this wrong again. CNN's senior Vatican analyst, whose name is John Allen goodness gracious me, I'm getting tired is with me again tonight. There's certainly a sense that this is a beleaguered organization. But that is that just our sense? Is that the outside? What does it feel like inside these gilded halls, as it were?
[John Allen, Cnn Senior Vatican Analyst:] Well, I think if you talk to most Vatican officials and of course it sort of is my day-in and day-out work to talk to Vatican officials what they will tell you is that on the one hand, they feel a lot of this criticism is unfair or at least the good things they've done have been left out of the picture. But on the other hand, they also recognize they live in a world in which, in many ways, perception is reality. They know that the perception that the Vatican has dropped the ball on the sex abuse scandals, they know the perception that the Vatican is dirty in terms of its financial operations, is a huge impediment, it's a huge blow to the moral authority of the church, and they would like to move beyond that.
[Anderson:] Any organization that had the sort of scandals sort of doing the rounds about it would get some damage limitation in place. It would hire a big PR company and make sure it got its message right. Whoever runs this place going forward, and I'm alluding here to Vatican City, the spiritual and governed seat of the Roman Catholic Church, whoever runs it going forward is going to have to run it with a pretty iron fist. Who's it going to be?
[Allen:] Well, look. First of all, there's an old Roman saying that he who goes into a conclave as a pope comes out as a cardinal, which means trying to predict who this is going to be is a hazardous enterprise. But you asked the question, and I'm sort of paid to give you speculative answers, so let me go ahead. I would say probably right now, if you were going to do a top five list, I like to talk about the four Ss plus one, plus an O. So, Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, who's an Argentinian but a career Vatican official, and Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, a brilliant Dominican theologian from Vienna in Austria. And the plus one would be Cardinal Marc Ouellet from Canada, who runs the Vatican's department for naming bishops.
[Anderson:] Let's talk about the Canadian, because I know you know him, and also you fancy his chances. Why?
[Allen:] Well, for one thing, it's my job as a reporter to sort of do poll averages, as we would do in the Iowa caucuses, try to get a sense of who's in the lead. And if you talk to people in the know, including fellow cardinals, what you will find is that Cardinal Marc Ouellet enjoys enormous respect. He is seen first of all as a brilliant thinker, very much cut from the cloth of Benedict XVI, seen as a deeply spiritual and holy man.
[Anderson:] Can I offer a couple of observations about Cardinal Marc Ouellet as well? Because I know he's spent quite a lot of time in Colombia, so his Spanish is excellent. So to a certain extent, he can if you had a bloc that was moving towards thinking that the Latin American influence might be important, you might get that with this Canadian cardinal. I've also heard talk that because of the problems that have beset the US Catholic Church, despite the fact that the Americans would like to wrest control from the Europeans, who've held onto this place for years, they probably feel it's not going to go to an American this time. Would Marc Ouellet, would he sort of wear all the hats that would fit at least the voting bloc in North America to pursue his eligibility, as it were?
[Allen:] Well, you've named two very compelling hats that he carries. One is his connection with Latin America. The other is that because he's from Canada, he's well-known to the American cardinals, of whom there will be 11 in this conclave. It's the second-largest bloc after the Italians. I'll give you a third, which is, this is the Vatican, where they think in centuries. The New World is still new to them, and so the idea of electing someone even from North America would be seen, in a way, as a step into modernity, which would have a certain appeal.
[Anderson:] That's absolutely remarkable. John, always a pleasure. You'll be with us, of course, tomorrow night, when we'll be at Castel Gandolfo, which is where the pope will just have arrived, pretty much, at this time, and where he will stay for a period of time before he comes back to the Vatican, where he will be in isolation for, I guess, the rest of his time.
[Allen:] "Hidden from the world," in his language.
[Anderson:] You're watching a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. We're live from Rome. Coming up, Prince Harry is in Lesotho. He's been catching up with the locals and checking in on his charity's latest project. All the details after the break, and a humbling story from CNN's Robyn Curnow on meeting this young prince.

[Malveaux:] I want to try to talk again to our guest in Arizona, Glenn Spencer. We had a technical problem a couple minutes ago. We are talking today about the state of Arizona's attempt to keep its tough immigration laws over the federal government's objections. Basically, the state wants to patrol and control the border with Mexico in a way that the federal government says is unconstitutional. So I want you to listen to what folks have to say here. Mostly Latino people in Arizona told me when I was there a few months ago, they say that they are being targeted and mistreated. Take a listen.
[Unidentified Male:] They pull you over and you ask them, how can I help you? And they say they start just asking for your I.D. and stuff, and, yes, I have experienced it. Anybody says that it doesn't happen, they're hypocrites or they just don't want to believe the truth. Always stopping the Latino community or always targeting the low-income community.
[Malveaux:] I want to bring Glenn Spencer back into the conversation in Herford, Arizona. He runs a web site. He says it illustrates that illegal immigration is a big problem there. You're right on the border, Mr. Spencer. First, I do want you to address what some of your neighbors and fellow folks in Arizona are saying that they are targeted and they do not feel comfortable in the community. Can you at least respond to some of their concerns?
[Glenn Spencer, Americanborderpatrol.com:] Well, I think the job was done for me by Senator Schumer yesterday when he held a hearing and he had former State Senator Russell Pearce, who was the father of SB-1070. And I would encourage people to watch that interview and that discussion because Russell really addressed these issues and explained in detail how they were so careful to craft the law to avoid the kind of thing you just heard, and I have every confidence that these kinds of problems will be avoided.
[Malveaux:] So you are confident that your Hispanic Latino neighbors are not being mistreated?
[Spencer:] Well, we would hope that they are not. We are confident that every attempt will be made and is being made in the law and in training to make sure that doesn't happen.
[Malveaux:] OK. Tell us a little bit about these videos you make and post on your web site because I understand you see it firsthand. You have a ranch on the border with Mexico, and you post these pictures. Tell us what we are seeing here.
[Spencer:] Well, we're American Border Patrol, we're a non profit. We have a ranch right along the border. I'm looking into Mexico right now. We've been here for 10 years documenting what is going on. And we have heard many promises of the federal government. Back in 2006, they passed the Secure Fence Act of 2006. By the way, then Senator Obama voted for it, to build 700 miles of double layer fence on the border. We fly the border. We've documented it. If you go on americanborderpatrol.com, look to the left, click on that map, and you can see what is on the border from Texas to California. There are 35 miles of double layer fence that they built and most of what they
[Malveaux:] Explain to us what you see. Can you explain to us what you actually see as somebody who has a unique perspective right on the border? What are you actually seeing? What is the problem?
[Spencer:] What we see and I took your crew flying a while back. What you see is what the United States government calls a fence, you can step right over. Most of the border we flew over 30 miles and didn't see [inaudible].
[Malveaux:] All right, Glenn Spencer. I'm sorry, Glenn. We're just having a hard time with your connection there, but we do get your point. We see the video there, the web site that you are on the border. That you are having essentially you see people who are crossing illegally despite some of the efforts that the federal government has made. It's a very big and important case before the Supreme Court. The Federal Reserve has just made a big announcement on interest rates. We want to go live to the New York Stock Exchange and CNN's Alison Kosik to tell us a little bit about what's happening. What do we know?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Hi, Suzanne. So what we heard from the fed today is a lot of what we heard from the fed in its last meeting in January. For one, the fed said that it's going to keep interest rates between a target range of zero and a quarter of 1 percent. No surprise there. The fed has said it's going to go ahead and keep rates there for several years because of the weak economy. What this means to you and me, it means that we can get loans cheaper. So if you want to get a credit card, car loan, student loans, it's really meant to encourage borrowing. Some other language in this fed statement that just came out that I have in my hands here. A lot like what we saw in January with the fed saying that the economy is expanding moderately. That the labor market is improving, but the unemployment rate remains elevated and that the housing sector continues to be depressed. Now there were a couple different things we heard that caught my eye. With the fed saying that inflation picked up that's reflecting the rise in gas and oil prices, but over the long term the expectation is that that kind of inflation will stabilize and one more thing that caught my eye on economic growth that the fed said. The fed said that it remains moderate, economic growth does, and then will pick up gradually. Now, the language it will pick up gradually, that caught my eye for a couple of reasons, because on the one hand it sounds optimistic. But on the other what does pickup gradually mean? It could take years or it could take months. So it is kind of broad there. Now we may get more insight into what the fed is actually saying in this statement at 2:00. That is when the fed comes out with its economic outlook for the economy and then at 2:15, the fed is going to be holding one of its four press conferences that it holds every year. We will certainly be listening for that.
[Malveaux:] All right, we'll be watching closely. Thank you, Alison. So we're asking you, do you like to eat alone? We have some tips on how you can make it an enjoyable experience.

[Costello:] All right. We want to check back in with these are live shots from Landover Hills, Maryland. That's in suburban Washington, sort of where the Washington Redskins play ball. Their stadium located here. These are community members, union leaders, maybe a few Wal-Mart workers. We don't know. Early this morning, they have gathered in a parking lot very near the Wal-Mart store in Landover Hills, Maryland. According to our own Rene Marsh, these protesters will circle the perimeter of the store. Go into the parking lot. We just don't know. Rene is waiting for them to reach her. When they get to that Wal- Mart, we'll take you back live to Landover Hills, Maryland. Of course, today is the big sales day for big-box stores. But tomorrow is a day to think small. It's the third annual Small Business Saturday, that encourages people to shop at locally owned businesses. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us about Small Business Saturday maybe?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Exactly. That's what they're calling it. That's what it's been called a couple of years, because, you know, the small businesses feel like they're being kind of left behind and saying, hey, we're here, too. Don't just go shop at the Wal-Marts and Kmarts and everything. And there's usually a pretty sizeable turnout. Industry groups said last year, more than 100 million people came out to shop at these independently owned small businesses. So, this is really a big push to shop local. American Express started this whole movement. And now, you know, the government's Small Business Administration, it's now on board. Plus, a number of industry groups are pushing this as well. Now, if you are watching football last night, you may have noticed ads promoting Small Business Saturday. But the funny thing is, that's one of the big obstacles that these small businesses face, getting the word out. These big-box retailers, they've got these big ad networks, plenty of money to spend on circulars and newspapers and TV ads. So, Carol, what you'll see these small businesses are turning to places like Facebook and Twitter to let shoppers know, hey, don't forget us. Come shop at our places, too Carol.
[Costello:] I hope not. They're an important part of our economy, right?
[Kosik:] And that's a good point. Small businesses, they are creating the lion's share of jobs in this country. ADP reports that small businesses added 50,000 employees in October. You look at the October jobs report. The government said private employers added 184,000 jobs. Yes, that's a sizeable number. We're seeing that momentum pick up over the past year. And, you know, and besides the jobs factor, there's also a human element out there. Not only are you keeping local communities afloat by shopping at these local stores, there's kind of a camaraderie when you walk into a locally owned family business and everybody knows your name and they want to help you. You're not just going in, sliding your credit card and walking out and feeling like just a number. You know, you feel like you're actually welcomed into the store and you're helped personally.
[Costello:] Absolutely. That is a good part of being a small business person and relating to your customers in a warmer, more intimate way. Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange thank you. There's a new twist on a very old story. Pope Benedict, his latest book is causing us to take a fresh look at the birth of Jesus like where was he born? Well, the Pope has a new story perhaps. We'll share it with you, next.

[Becky Anderson:] An urgent appeal for humanitarian help as Libya's refugee crisis worsens. The U.N. ramps up its response just minutes ago, ousting Libya from the Human Rights Council. Later this hour, a message from an ousted president to Russia's leaders your fake democracy doesn't work. And an anti-Semitic rant leaves designer John Galliano heading for the door at Dior. Those stories and more tonight this hour, as we connect the world. First up tonight, international diplomats are warning of civil war in Libya if the crisis there continues. Two weeks on, there's no end in sight to the battle between rebels and the Gadhafi regime. We're going to begin this hour at the United Nations in New York, where the General Assembly has just voted to suspend Libya from the United Nations Human Rights Council. Richard Roth joining us with details Richard.
[Richard Roth, Cnn Senior United Nations Correspondent:] Yes, Becky, there were 47 countries on the U.N. General Assembly's Human Rights Council, sitting in Geneva. Now, Libya has been suspended a vote at the General Assembly, a meeting that's going on right now. The session started with strong words from the General Assembly president, from the U.N. secretary-general, who, in effect, said Libya and Libyan leader, Gadhafi, certainly brought upon themselves this issue. And the General Assembly president said the coun the the Assembly has to act for its very credibility.
[Joseph Deiss, President, U.n. General Assembly:] The situation in Libya is deeply disturbing. A failure to consider this issue...
[Roth:] U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the situation in Libya could definitely continue to deteriorate. As for the military situation, well, there's still no talk about it. The U.N. Security Council members would be deeply divided on a no fly zone, even if it was to protect humanitarian deliveries. In Washington, within the last hour, at the Pentagon, Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Gates talking about the military situation. Two more Navy ships being moved to the Mediterranean. The military brass at the Pentagon, though, unable to confirm reports Gadhafi ordering his military forces to fire on civilians. As for the no fly zone, well, it could be complicated, says the Joint Chiefs chair.
[Adm. Mike Mullen, U.s. Joint Chiefs Chairman:] With respect to the no fly zone specifically, that it's an extraordinarily complex operation to set up. It's it has been done. Historically, we did it in Iraq for many years, North and South. And certainly if we were to set it up, if that were something that was decided to do, we'd have to work our way through doing it in a in a safe manner and certainly not put ourselves in jeopardy in doing that.
[Roth:] The French saying today that no fly zone would have to be approved by the United Nations Security Council. Russia and others would have concerns about that. Maybe too soon, whether the U.S. or others is going to seek an international mandate. And, Becky, here at the UN, at the General Assembly meeting that continues right now, after Libya was suspended from the Human Rights Council, sharp words between Venezuela and the United States, Venezuela saying all of this is from one imperialist country pursuing this course. Susan Rice of the U.S. saying such comments are shameful from a nation such as Venezuela, that is sowing hate around the world back to you.
[Anderson:] Yes, one of the countries, Richard, that was noted as a possible place of exile for Gadhafi, if, indeed, he were determined that he would leave. All right, Richard Roth there at the United Nations. Perhaps no real surprise, given what we're seeing in Libya, that the country has been expelled or certainly suspended from the Human Rights Council. We'll do more in this show on the no fly zone, with the Italian foreign minister a little later. Well, the United Nations, though, has called this a humanitarian catastrophe in the making. It says nearly 150,000 people have fled the violence in Libya, crossing into either Tunisia or Egypt. Well, many are carrying nothing but the clothes on their backs and they desperately need aid. Arwa Damon joins us now from Djerbe, Tunisia, near the Libyan border. What's the what's the status there at this point?
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] well, Becky, where we were down at the border, it really was a scene of sheer chaos. The Tunisian authorities struggling, it appears, to try to keep the situation under control. Thousands, if not more, refugees were caught in no man's land, between Libya and Tunisia, so desperate to get across, they were literally, at some points, climbing on top of one another. We saw military, other Tunisian security officials, trying to push them back at some points. They were trying to jump over a wall next to a blue gate that was pretty much all that stood between them and this perception of safety that they were so eager to try to reach. Some of them have been waiting in no man's land for days. They weren't receiving water or food. So were a number of volunteers throwing loaves of bread, water, milk, biscuits up into the air, trying to provide what little relief that they could. But everyone really underscoring the fact that this truly is, as the U.N. put it, as you just mentioned, a humanitarian crisis that, in the next few days, is going to become a humanitarian catastrophe. Just imagine, yesterday, in the span of 12 hours, some 14,000 refugees crossed from Libya to Tunisia. The U.N. was fully expecting that same number to come across today, if not more. And they quite simply are not equipped to deal with the magnitude of the problem. Local Tunisian NGOs the population here has been really rallying to try to provide whatever help they can. But they are increasingly growing angrier toward the international community. In fact, according to many people who we spoke to, because they're saying international aid has just been so slow in coming Becky.
[Anderson:] All right, Arwa, just briefly, when you talk to those at the border who are crossing from Libya, where do they say that they were trying to go to at this point?
[Damon:] Well, right now, a lot of them just want to go home. The vast majority of them are foreign workers, a lot of people from Egypt. So were a number of people from Bangladesh, who actually were not able to cross the border. They're stuck in no man's land. We climbed over a wall to be able to speak to them. They're holding up signs that say, "Help us, please." One man we spoke to on the verge of tears, saying we only have one request and that is that we be saved. The problem is that when the refugees do arrive into Tunisia, there really isn't anywhere for them to go. The evacuations back to their respective countries, if, in fact, they are happening, are happening at such a slow pace, that we're only seeing the numbers increasing. There are tents that have been set up by the Tunisian military. The U.N. has just started setting up housing for these individuals, as well. But many of them were quite simply sleeping on the sidewalk. So now we saw families coming in with small children. And they, too, were telling us they simply don't know where they're going to go Becky.
[Anderson:] All right, Arwa Damon there, with what is the headline out of the region this evening. It's quite remarkable stuff 150,000 people, it's estimated, at the border. Well, the Libyan regime apparently trying to reassert a military presence along part of the Tunisian border. Witnesses say forces loyal to Gadhafi have returned to a southern border post days after leaving the area. With the situation in Libya so fluid, it's hard to pinpoint exactly which side controls what nationwide. We do know that Gadhafi's forces are in charge of the capital, Tripoli, and also reportedly are controlling his hometown of Sirt and Sabrata, shown here in gold. Now, rebel forces are said to control many parts of Eastern Libya and several western towns Benghazi, Misurata and Ajdabiya, shown here in red. Those are among those in rebel hands. The city of Zawiya is said to be contested in port. And that's a big oil area. Now, the government may be trying to change in tactics to win back some rebel areas. Today, it sent an aid convoy packed with food from Tripoli to Benghazi. The government invited the media to document that shipment and our Nic Robertson filed this report.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] As we're taken to a government aide convoy traveling to the rebel- controlled east of the country, there's confusion.
[Unidentified Male:] Please, please. He's ahead of this. Please OK. That's supplies. That's only supplies.
[Robertson:] Well, we've asked if we can see exactly what's on this truck. The driver told us there were tomatoes, other food goods. They're taking the tarpaulin off right now. When I looked at the fuel gauge, the fuel meter on the truck, it was about half full. The driver told me it will take him about 10 hours to drive 1,200 kilometers, about 800 miles or so, all the way to Benghazi. Government officials told us this morning that if we didn't come and cover this aide convoy going to Benghazi, then we wouldn't be able to go to Misurata, the town about 100 miles, 160 kilometers east of Tripoli, where we've heard that there's fighting going on. Well, that truck has got wafer biscuits on it. The other truck we've looked at has got sugar, we've been told about tomatoes being taken there. But what seems very surprising about this is the drivers, even though they've got the green flag on, the green flag that symbolizes they support Moammar Gadhafi and they're going to an opposition area, they tell us they're going to be OK. It seems a little bit surprising, but that's what they're telling us. Almost wherever we go now, whenever the cameras come out, you can almost guarantee there will be a crowd a spontaneous crowd that appears to gather, showing their support for Moammar Gadhafi. Whenever the camera appears now, the crowds do, as well. [voice-over]: So far, despite the aid convoy apparently going through the contested town of Misurata, no trip there for us. Nic Robertson, CNN, Tripoli, Libya.
[Anderson:] All right, so Libya's largest trading partner is Italy. It's suspended a bilateral friendship treaty and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi now says that he will follow the line taken by the international community in dealing with the crisis. But critics say he was too slow to break what has been long time fairly cozy ties with Colonel Gadhafi. Well, earlier, I spoke with Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini. I began by asking him whether Mr. Berlusconi is still hesitant to put pressure on the Libyan leader. This is what he said.
[Franco Frattini, Italian Foreign Minister:] Nobody in Italy, in the political environment in the government, is supporting Mr. Gadhafi. Perhaps you will have noted that my prime minister didn't support any kind of measure in favor of Mr. Gadhafi. On the contrary, he spoke very clearly about Italy supporting all the sanctions decided already at U.N. level, at European level, as well. I said many times that we cannot consider Gadhafi as an interlocutor for the international community, I said also, the game is over with the regime of Gadhafi.
[Anderson:] But is he still hesitant to put pressure on the Libyan leader?
[Frattini:] I think my prime minister was clear enough, to say that we have to help the Libyan population, not the regime.
[Anderson:] So are you saying it is inevitable that he will go or are you specifically saying that he should go?
[Frattini:] Well, when a person keeping a regime in power is that gives orders to kill people, its own people, his brothers, his sisters, in the same country, do actions like that, it cannot be considered, as I said, an interlocutor. So he should leave. But what is very clear is that all the international community is pressing the same opinion Italy does and other European countries do. So we cannot play with words. If I I can say inevitable, I mean inevitable. Sooner or later, he should leave.
[Anderson:] Can you confirm you would allow NATO to use Italian air bases, and, indeed, do you support a no fly zone?
[Frattini:] I think it is a useful instrument, but we need a legal basis. And the legal basis is a political decision to be taken by Security Council.
[Anderson:] Will you follow Britain's lead, for example, and freeze the assets of the Gadhafi family?
[Frattini:] I don't know where there are, the assets in Italy, owned by the family of Mr. Gadhafi. But if, yes, they will be frozen.
[Anderson:] Foreign Minister, just how concerned are you about an influx of both refugees and, indeed, migrants from both Libya and Tunisia?
[Frattini:] I'm concerned. I believe that it is necessary to work together. But it is necessary, absolutely, to help refugees and migrants on the ground in the border areas between Libya and its borders. That's why I'm talking about humanitarian assistance to be provided for by Italy to these camps, refugees that are particularly at the borders between Tunisia and Libya.
[Anderson:] The Italian foreign minister. We don't seem to be hearing a lot from the prime minister these days. But certainly the view from Italy there. Well, we are covering every angle of this crisis in Libya. Coming up in the show, a look at the alternatives. If Gadhafi's regime falls, who will fill the void? Plus, stay tuned for the plagiarism scandal that has cost the German defense minister his job. That story just ahead. And we put your conn questions to our Connector of the Day your Connector of the Day today, Kevin Spacey. Find out what the play the Hollywood star wants adapted to the big screen. That's all coming up here on CONNECT THE WORLD.

[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] It did not take long at all. I'm Ali Velshi. The documents found inside Osama bin Laden's house have already triggered a new alert about security here in the United States.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] Mississippi Rivers still rising this morning. I'm Kiran Chetry. They're dealing with epic flooding. Thousands have had to flee their homes, hundreds are in shelters in parts of the south. And by the time it's all over, this could turn out to be a disaster for the ages.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Christine Romans. Whether you're heading to work or you're just hoping for work, everyone has a stake in the jobs market. We're standing by for the very latest jobs report this morning. What it means for the economic recovery for your economic recovery on this AMERICAN MORNING.
[Velshi:] Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Friday, May 6th. A great deal going on across the country right now, we are carefully watching this flooding that is going on along the Mississippi.
[Chetry:] And this jobs report coming out in just 30 minutes from now.
[Romans:] That's right.
[Chetry:] They are expecting to add 185,000, but that's still not enough.
[Velshi:] Not the pace at which we need. But let's hope we at least get to that. We'll be talking about that in detail this hour.
[Romans:] But up, first, a reminder that the war goes on after bin Laden. The Homeland Security Department has issued an alert by rail security. A law enforcement source says al Qaeda was plotting to attack trains, one possible date mentioned, 9112011.
[Chetry:] And officials say this information came right from bin Laden's own files, those very files that were recovered by the Navy SEALs after the raid on the compound that killed him. The source tells us that other information found in the house shows that al Qaeda was interested still in targeting Washington and New York, as well as other big cities like Los Angeles and Chicago.
[Romans:] Other possible target dates were July 4th, Christmas and U.N. opening day when world leaders are gathered in New York. The first homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, talked about this new threat last night with John King.
[Tom Ridge, Former Homeland Security Secretary:] It's a head's up. It's a warning. I don't think it's necessarily actionable but it's appropriate to send this information out to those responsible for that infrastructure. They just wanted to remind people that there's still a potential target, take notice, but use the information that we have, but don't make any don't make any changes now. There's no necessity for it.
[Velshi:] Also new this morning, Osama bin Laden wife is talking. She is in Pakistani custody and tells interrogators she did not leave her walled-in compound for five years. The woman charged Navy SEALs and was shot in the leg during the raid, according to U.S. officials. But Pakistan took her into custody after Navy SEALs lost a chopper and were forced to live without her. They are reportedly refusing to give her up. Today, President Obama will travel to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to personally thank members of the U.S. Navy SEAL team that took down bin Laden. Yesterday, he was at Ground Zero, meeting with families and first responders.
[Chetry:] Well, to the South now where floodwaters have thousands fleeing and the Mississippi is not expected to crest for at least another week. State police, as well as the National Guard, helping hundreds of residents evacuate in eastern Arkansas. There are three towns under mandatory evacuation right now, McClelland, Gregory and Cotton Plant. Residents there are being told to get out.
[Romans:] Further east in Memphis, Tennessee, floodwaters are threatening hundreds of homes. Emergency officials predict nearly 3,000 properties in this area could be affected by flooding if the Mississippi crests at 48 feet this weekend. I mean, that would be the river's highest level since 1937. Right now, the river is approaching 46 feet.
[Velshi:] So, at least, another two feet to go. David Mattingly is live in Memphis this morning. David, where do things stand right now? And give us some sense, because this is a slow-moving type of flood. Is there a sense of urgency there?
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] There is a sense of urgency. Even though this flood is moving inch by inch, this river is still on the move, a high watermark being set all up and down the river. And now, Memphis is one very large city working very hard to hold back a very large flood.
[Mattingly:] City parks already flooded and water creeping closer to houses by the day. People of Memphis watch the rising Mississippi River and wonder.
[Lee Streater, Memphis Resident:] How high will the water get, you know? Who is most at risk? Which land sits lower?
[Mattingly:] The Mississippi River floods of 2011 are expected to break records to the north of Memphis this weekend, and then continue setting high watermarks as far south as Baton Rouge. The river is expected to crest in Memphis at 48 feet above flood stage, the highest it's been in generations. [on camera]: Memphis hasn't seen that much water since the disastrous floods of 1937. Back then, city officials tell me the river rose all the way to here, where I'm standing, which is four blocks away from the river banks. [voice-over]: But there have been big changes since to keep the river back. A system of flood walls, gates and levees developed since the 1950s should keep the city dry. But it's a system that's never been hit with this much water.
[Bob Nations, Shelby County Emergency Management:] They have never been tested. All of the subject matter experts are telling us, we can have a high confidence level.
[Mattingly:] Army Corps of Engineers blowing levees to divert floodwaters into Missouri farmland slowed the water's arrival downriver. Officials around Memphis are using the time to prepare. A call has gone out to volunteers to fill sandbags for government buildings and hospitals. The hope is they won't be needed. And, right now, the big threat around Memphis is actually in the tributaries, the rivers that flow around Memphis into the Mississippi River, because this river is rising. It's pushing water back up into those rivers. Communities along those tributaries and properties along those tributaries are going to see some flooding. And officials today are going out, making calls, knocking on doors and letting people know in the problem areas that it's time to pack up. Don't wait for this river to get into your backyard before you make a decision to leave.
[Chetry:] Very smart, because it happens so fast.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Chetry:] I mean, we talk about the slow but when it is rising and when it overtakes your home, it happens in what seems like a split second. David Mattingly, thanks so much. So, there are a lot of people, as we said, along the Mississippi River, that are in harm's way. If you take a look this is the map for the potential of flooding, the flood zone.
[Velshi:] Right. These are places in danger.
[Chetry:] Yes, under watches or warnings. Exactly. And you see what it looks like. I mean, it stretches throughout the entire country's midsection from the Upper Midwest, all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of people in homes are threatened. And everywhere you look, you see blue rivers flowing over levees, evacuations being ordered or the floodwaters, as we said, potentially, could hit.
[Romans:] And they seem more like lakes, almost, when we see these reporters and the live shots. You know, there's not a river flowing behind them. It's just a massive water.
[Velshi:] Rob Marciano in Mississippi County, Missouri
[Romans:] Right.
[Velshi:] it looked like he was standing on the shore of the lake. Reynolds is with us following this in the extreme weather center Reynolds.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] You know, you guys are right, you really touched on something. How, if you're not used to seeing that area, it does have a very serene appearance, like where Rob was the other days, as you mentioned it. So, we are going to go back in time with the use of some of these satellite images to give you an idea of how things look before and how they look now and what we can expect in days to come. First of foremost, we're going to go back to April 29th of 2010 easy for me to say here is the Mississippi Valley, you got parts of the Ohio River, even the Wabash and Black River thrown in for good measure. Things are as they should be. Now, as we fast-forward to April 29th, you see things beginning to fill up. Now, the river is swelling the banks, especially along parts of the Mississippi. And then as you zoom in in places like Cairo, you can see rather Cairo, you can see it really spilling the banks, the flood way, of course, crossing some of the
[Velshi:] Can I ask you a quick question?
[Wolf:] You may ask me anything.
[Velshi:] Thank you, Reynolds. We've been told by everybody, our own reporters and others we talk about, talk to, that it's going to crest in some cases, next week, maybe next Wednesday, and it will take a long time to drain. Is there anything that can happen in the environment that can change that?
[Wolf:] That could cause conditions to be worse?
[Velshi:] Or better?
[Wolf:] Worse definitely if you have more rainfall.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Wolf:] If you have a lull that develops in the Gulf of Mexico, comes up in parks over parts of the Delta, that would be a horrible situation. What we need is a nice dry trend of weather. Things are already bad as they are. We need a little bit of a very calming effect on the atmosphere. That looks like that's going to be the case, especially over the next week or so.
[Chetry:] Right.
[Wolf:] At least we got that going for us.
[Chetry:] Yes. I mean, the hard thing is, as you are saying, we are reporting on this, we're seeing it and we're wondering, is there any way to make this better and turn back time. And it just you have to sit here and know that they are saying it might not go down until June. So, that's tough to hear.
[Wolf:] That's very true. But, guys, we need to also keep in mind. I'm not I don't want to sound like I am being callused to the people who are being terribly affected by this. It is heart-wrenching to watch this. But keep in mind that much of this is forming on what is called a flood plain. This is supposed to happen. You are supposed to se it in this part of the world not horribly, obviously. And, obviously, we don't want any cost to human life or property. But this happens to be a flood point. It's occurred.
[Romans:] Before we bottled it up with locks and dams and levees, the Mississippi River used to meander and turn and curve and spill. And that was
[Velshi:] And that's what created that rich farmland.
[Romans:] That's what helped create
[Wolf:] Guys, we have wildfires out in the West, we have earthquakes, we have tornadoes in central plains, and yes, we have flooding in parts of the mid-Mississippi Valley. It happens.
[Velshi:] Nonstop. All right. Thanks for staying on top of it for us.
[Wolf:] Thanks. ROMANS; With the royal wedding and the death of Osama bin Laden dominating the headlines for the past 10 days, the disaster relief efforts for tornado-ravaged Alabama have fallen off of some people's radar screens. That's why some of the biggest names in country music feel inclined to come out. They want to really help out. They want to put it back in there in the public conscious. Hank Williams Jr., Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, these are kind of a headliner, will perform a 90-minute benefit concert next Thursday night. It will air live on CMT at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. And all the proceeds are going to go to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund for Alabama.
[Chetry:] Wow.
[Romans:] You can donate 10 bucks right now to the Red Cross relief fund by texting 90999. Or for other ways to help, you can logon to CNN.comImpact. You can visit our "Impact your World" Web site.
[Chetry:] You know, it just had me thinking last year, I mean, the Grand Ole Opry flooded, right? They had flooding in Nashville.
[Velshi:] That's right.
[Chetry:] And they had relief concerts. I know Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney and all of them were trying to get attention and money to that cause as well. So, it's been a rough couple of years definitely for that area.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Chetry:] Well, a leading conservative voice in the House now running for Indiana governor. We're talking about Republican Mike Pence, who made it official yesterday. He once split with current GOP governor, Mitch Daniels, who famously called for a truce on social issues.
[Velshi:] And former Olympian, Carl Lewis, back in the race for a New Jersey state Senate seat. A federal appeals court issued an injunction allowing Lewis' name to appear as a Democratic contender for now. The case is going to go back to New Jersey federal court to decide whether he meets the residency requirements needed to run. You think they're going to pull Rahm Emanuel's transcripts from it sounds like the same battle was going on Chicago.
[Chetry:] Yes.
[Romans:] Also, you won't see Donald Trump driving the pace car after all at the Indianapolis 500 later this month. Trump's selection came under fire because of his birther remarks. But the Donald backed out of the Indy race on his own, telling race officials he appreciates this honor but time and business constraints will make it impossible for him to attend.
[Velshi:] He's has been busy.
[Chetry:] Yes. Plus, the wind is blowing through your hair, and you know what I mean? As you ride through the track. He likes to keep his a certain way.
[Velshi:] Now, this is one of those stories where do not change the channel when I say this.
[Romans:] It's really important.
[Velshi:] There's been a major, major day on the markets yesterday you need to know about, because the cost of everything going up that we've been telling you about, all those commodities, they took a big hit yesterday. Oil went down, silver, all sorts of things. The dollar got stronger. We're going to tell you how this all matters to you when we come back.
[Romans:] And it's continuing this morning. So, it looks like a bubble bursting in all those high prices.
[Chetry:] Also, how about this for amazing? A 15-year-old girl from New Jersey, she heading to Harvard in the fall, turning down 13 other schools who wanted her. What's her secret? We'll tell you, coming up. Twelve minutes past the hour.

[Blitzer:] This just coming into
[The Situation Room:] New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo has just declared a state of emergency in New York state as this historic snowstorm continues continues to hammer the Northeast. Twenty-five to 30 inches of snow are possible tonight from Hartford, Connecticut, to Boston. New York City is expecting five to 10 inches. Basically, the farther east you live, the more snow you'll get. The incoming head of the National Weather Service tells us there could be whiteout conditions over a large area. The Boston line, this is a very dangerous storm and the worst of it will hit tonight. We're watching all of this unfold. The governor of Massachusetts earlier ordered everyone, except emergency vehicles, off the road. The ban just went into effect right at the top of the hour. Boston could get, once again, more than two feet, more than 24 inches of snow. CNN producer Julian Cummings is joining us on the phone right now. He's in Boston. What are you seeing, Julian?
[Julian Cummings, Cnn Producer:] Hi, Wolf. The roads are getting less and less packed of people in cars. Before, it was a steady stream, looking up for snow, looking around. But roads are getting very, very slick and it's slowly turning into that ghost town feel. In our shot right now, you see plows coming up, a steady flow of plows, which is good when keeping road busy. Not
[Blitzer:] So there's nobody except for emergency vehicles are allowed to be on the road. You're on the road right now. I assume they've given you special permission for the news media?
[Cummings:] Yes, news media is exempt from that. We're going as slow as possible and staying out of the way of vehicles as well.
[Blitzer:] And these are live pictures that you're showing us. Is that Fenway Park over there? What am I seeing?
[Cummings:] That is Fenway Park on your right. They are making sure that it is plowed. Lots of Boston sports fan even though it's the off season, want to make sure fans can get to Fenway.
[Blitzer:] So what are the folks in Boston saying? They lived through a blizzard back in 1978, more than 100 people died as a result of that. Are they taking this seriously? What's the mood there?
[Cummings:] People that we have spoken to, you know, they are saying it's February and it's snowing. You know, they treat today as a normal day, but they are also aware that the city is going to close down early and I think people are respecting that, for the most part.
[Blitzer:] Are they worried about outages, how we are outages as a result, not only of the snow, but of the wind which is going to be intense as Chad Myers was telling us?
[Cummings:] Yes. The people that we spoke to, they are getting supplies ready. I think everyone has Hurricane Sandy in their memory, what happened there. But people definitely were looking at it as a snowstorm and looking forward as well to what happens when it stops snowing and the wind really has not picked up yet, from what I can feel. We're driving and we're slipping a little bit, but we're not being blown around as of yet.
[Blitzer:] We're going to check back in with you, Julian. Julian is showing live pictures from his vehicle that we're seeing in Boston. Just be careful driving there. It's going to get icy, slippery very, very, very soon. Let's go to Poppy Harlow. She is in Rhode Island for us. Poppy, you got the governor, Lincoln Chafee with you. I know he has already declared a state of emergency in Rhode Island.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnnmoney.com Correspondent:] He absolutely has a state of emergency here. The governor is joining us. Thank you for being here. We know it's a very busy day. You have some news about I-95, the road that we just took to get up here. So apparently, we got here just in time, right?
[Governor Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island:] Yes. Those roads are fairly empty right now, but we have imposed a travel restriction on our limited access highway on 95 that you mentioned, 195 and 295. We also added 146 and 24. So those roads have travel advisories on them.
[Harlow:] So you are basically shutting them down along to Massachusetts and Connecticut doing the same thing. I saw firsthand how tough the driving was. We saw jack knifed tractor-trailers and semis falling off the side of the road. It's no joke here. What can you tell us about how prepared Rhode Island is right now? How many plows do you have out there on the roads?
[Chafee:] We couldn't be more prepared because we had so much advanced warning and that's good. Our big fear is power outages. You can see this wet snow. It's about 33 degrees and with that heavy, wet snow, if the wind kicks up and brings down trees and power lines, that's our fear. We're going to clear the streets, but if people get out of power with low temperature, that's what we fear.
[Harlow:] That begs the question, we experienced it first hand, after Sandy in New York City, in terms of power being out for weeks on end and that wasn't even the winter. So how prepared is National Grid right now, your main power provider?
[Chafee:] They are well prepared. I saw a big crew this morning at the hotel that I was visiting. A big crew, they were here from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the men I talked to. And we're ready but you have to clear the roads and then wait for the wind to subside and then get the electricity back on. So with the low temperatures, be as you mentioned, that are forecast, that's our big fear. Let's hope we don't have those high winds and this heavy snow and bring down power lines.
[Harlow:] There have been some early predictions of wind gusts that could hit 60 miles per hour. We're very close to the water. We'll see what happens. Shelters, any availability there if people do lose power?
[Chafee:] It seems we've been through a number of drills here. We've had Hurricane Sandy. We had Hurricane Irene. Before that, we had a number of snowstorms. So we're working with our Red Cross. We're well prepared with our shelters, but it doesn't minimize the challenge we'll have if we have power outages and low temperatures.
[Harlow:] Wolf, if you want to jump in here, any questions for the governor?
[Blitzer:] Yes. Governor, first of all, do you need any federal assistance or do you envision needing any federal assistance and part two of the question, National Guard. I know in Massachusetts, a few thousand National Guards troops have already been activated to help out this weekend. What's going on with those two fronts?
[Chafee:] Our federal delegation, our two congressmen and two senators, we've been on a conference call with them. We've pledged to work with the federal government if we need it. Our national guardsmen are ready if we need it similar to Connecticut. We're all mobilized up. There's been a lot of hype here, which is good. So we couldn't be better prepared.
[Blitzer:] Are the people
[Harlow:] Governor, appreciate
[Blitzer:] I was going to say, Governor, are the people in Connecticut appreciative of how potentially dangerous this blizzard could be, given the fact that in '78 you lived through that period, so did I, more than 100 people died.
[Chafee:] Yes, that was different because it came so fast. We had so much warning on this one I think it's different. There's a lot of preparation here. I think the roads just came up at 95 to do this interview. They were practically empty. I think people are using commonsense, making good decisions. Let's hope that continues.
[Harlow:] Governor, thank you. Appreciate it. Wolf, mass transit has been closed here for hours. Downtown is literally empty, barely any cars on the road. I think that's what we're going to see throughout the night as the storm picks up. We'll be here for you live throughout it all. Governor, thank you. Wolf, I'll throw it back to you.
[Blitzer:] Poppy, just ask him quickly if all traffic has been barred except for emergency vehicles as is the case right now in Boston and Massachusetts?
[Harlow:] Right. This is what we're seeing in Boston and Connecticut, that as of 4:00 p.m. all of the traffic was banned and literally you could go to jail and face a pretty severe fine if you are on the road. I see a few cars here. That's not the case here?
[Chafee:] Yes. Ours is going to take place at 5:00. That's coming up soon. We have a lot of exceptions. Media, official duties, health care workers reporting for work at hospitals and the like. We have a number of broad exceptions. So I advise people to look at that online and see what we have.
[Harlow:] Is there a penalty of jail time if people are on the road?
[Chafee:] Well, I think we'll use our common sense.
[Harlow:] Right.
[Chafee:] We'll be sensitive to the emergency in place here. If somebody is going to be a repeat infractions offender, yes, they could get heavy fines.
[Harlow:] All right, stay off the roads, bottom line. Governor, thank you Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Good time to stay home. Governor, thanks very much. Poppy will be getting back to you. Airport and state officials all take their cue from the National Weather Service. Coming up, I'll be speaking with the incoming director of the National Weather Service, Louis Uccellini. We're going to find out what goes into coordinating a massive response for such a massive storm.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] This hour two American hikers are now facing eight years in prison in Iran. Iranian state run television says Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were sentenced today. The two have been locked up in Iran since they were seized near the Iraqi- Kurdish border two years ago. A third hiker Sara Shourd was released in September for medical reasons. And dramatic new security cam video of what happens on the streets of England and what happened rather during the riots in the UK. British police say the footage showed masked, hooded troublemakers firing at unarmed officers. Police believed the group intended to set fire to a local pub in Birmingham. At least 11 shots were fired at police. And here in the U.S., the so-called West Memphis Three are enjoying their first full day of freedom after 18 years behind bars. The trio were released from prison yesterday after cutting a complicated deal with Arkansas prosecutors. The men were convicted for the brutal killings of three cub scouts in 1992, a crime they have long maintained their never committed. An Indiana community is saying goodbye to a hero. Funeral services are being held today for 49-year-old Glen Goodrich, one of the six victims who died in last weeks' stage collapse at the Indiana state fire. Goodrich's mother said her son saved the lives of a woman and a child who were near the stage when it fell. Goodrich leaves behind a wife and two sons. A thunderstorm hit the Chicago area this morning prompting the city to delay its air and water show. About two million spectators were expected to attend, the big draw, the thunderbirds. Just after the show started, the crowd was told to seek cover. Once the storm passed, the show resumed. All right. Back to that major story out of Iran. The fate of American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. Iran's state run television said the pair had been sentenced to eight years in prison. A journalist, Shirzad Bozorghmer, joins us now on the phone from Tehran. All right. So give us an idea, what information, is there any real confirmation that they have indeed been sentenced? SHIRZAD BOZORGMEHR, JOURNALIST
[Whitfield:] And Shirzad if indeed it is the case that they were sentenced to eight years, given the history of others, including a journalist a few years ago who were sentenced to a rather lengthy time to be served and was released just shortly thereafter, is there a strong possibility that this is really a message being sent to the western community and that perhaps they may not have to serve all eight years?
[Bozorghmer:] Well, as you said, the lady you're referring to is Roxana Farbari who's a freelance journalist
[Whitfield:] All right. Shirzad, thanks so much for your reporting, I appreciate that. All right. We are closely watching developments in Libya as well, where rebels west of Tripoli made a very strong claim today, that they managed to push Moammar Gadhafi's troops out of the last key city before reaching the capital, that as the latest NATO air strikes are still echoing in Tripoli. Matthew Chance is now joining us from Tripoli. It is now after 10:00 there in Tripoli, so we're hearing the U.S. officials say Moammar Gadhafi may be planning his last stand and other rebels are saying it could be any day now, what are you learning?
[Matthew Chance, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, we just have to wait and see, certainly we haven't seen any sign as yet of a rebel advance into Tripoli itself. We have been witnessing of course those very ferocious and low running battles that have been taking place, in places like
[Whitfield:] And Matthew, what is this about conflicting reports that Moammar Gadhafi, people close to him are making arrangements so that he could flee to Tunisia?
[Chance:] Well, there are rumors. Rumors that the Gadhafi regime had put out feelers to other Arab countries to Egypt, to Algeria, to neighboring Tunisia, to Nigeria as well, to see what those countries would be willing to provide safe haven for Colonel Gadhafi's family and even for Colonel Gadhafi himself. The rebels,
[Whitfield:] Clearly a lot of uncertainty. Thank you so much, Matthew Chance, in Tripoli. So let's move now about 30 miles west along the coast to the city of Zawiyah. That's where CNN's Sara Sidner is with anti-Gadhafi rebel forces. Sara, tell us about this firefight that you and the crew were quite witness to, quite frankly right in the middle of today.
[Sara Sidner, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, it was pretty scary. That was though now more than 10 hours ago, and what I can tell you is that city has now been taken by the rebels. We went all the way into the city center today. That's where the massive amount of fighting was happening. Yesterday, when we got caught in the firefight, we got back safely obviously. But what we saw today was a city destroyed, at least in the center of town and towards the east, where Gadhafi forces were pounding the town with artillery fired and with what's known as grad missiles. These are huge missiles that are like seven feet long and they can do massive damage to buildings and that is what we saw in the city center. However we were told by rebels that they had the help of NATO. That a couple of days ago they were all told to evacuate the city center, to move out any residents that were in the area. We do know that the Gadhafi forces had snipers on some of these buildings and eventually NATO came in within the past 24 hours and they actually bombed some of the city center. You can see that some of the buildings have fallen in. But a big mess in the middle of the city though the rebels are celebrating. You can hear celebratory gun fire. We've been listening to it all night. The rebels are celebrating because they have taken this very strategic town, Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] So, Sara, you know, are these rebel forces prepared to take on loyalists to Gadhafi if indeed they advance toward Tripoli?
[Sidner:] It's interesting to note when we asked them these kind of questions, they say, "Well, god willing, we're going to be able to do this." But they're very confident they're going to be able to move up to the city. The question is what will happen when they get or if they get to Tripoli. They believe they will be getting to Tripoli in the next few days, not the next few weeks. They are very, very excited about that and adamant that they'll be able to make it to Tripoli. But as you heard Matthew Chance there in Tripoli, everyone believes that there will be a massive firefight there unless something drastically change, Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right. Sara Sidner in Zawiyah, Libya. Thanks so much. And back here in the states, in case you haven't heard there's a big wedding going on on the west coast today. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian tying the knot. Will take you live to California in a moment.

[Kristie Lu Stout:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And we begin in Syria where violence has spread to the town of Aleppo as government forces continue to attack Homs. Greeks brace for violence as protests show their opposition to more austerity measures for the country. And a winter chill descends over Afghanistan and it is taking its toll on the country's children. "Everyone is waiting for their turn to die," now those desperate words from an activist in the Syrian city of Homs where an opposition group says more than 100 people were killed on Thursday. This footage, it appears to show a rocket attack on the neighborhood of Baba Amr in Homs. And in the same area, the poster of this YouTube video says a mosque was attacked, although CNN can't verify the authenticity of the footage. There are also reports that the opposition is fighting back. And here, a government checkpoint is apparently blown up before a barrage of gunfire. And further north in Aleppo Syrian state television reports that terrorists caused two explosions that killed several soldiers and civilians. Now tens of thousands of people are taking to the streets across Syria today. And protesters are calling the march, quote, Russia is killing our children. It's in response to Russia's veto of the UN resolution on Syria last weekend. And the activists are calling for help from the international community, including Danny who posted this video online.
[Danny", Syrian Activist:] This is one of the houses in Baba Amr. Look at these children. Is this how the Assad regime is supposed to treat our children? Now you see what Assad regime is killing children. What is the UN going to do about this? What is the UN going to do about this? Nothing. They're going to sit and discuss and see what they're going to do going to do this peacefully, they don't solve peacefully with this murderer after what he did to these children. They've been hitting us from 6:00 am until it's 2:00 pm now. We have over 100 bodies, over 200 under
[Lu Stout:] Now let's step back and look at how we got to this stage in Syria. The uprising, it began 11 months ago in the wake of similar movements in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Last March, in the city of Daraa protesters called for the release of children detained for writing political graffiti and the government clamped down on the demonstrations immediately. And then soon after, President Bashar al Assad announced reforms and promised to lift a 48-year-old state of emergency law, but the violence continued. And the momentum grew. And protesters demands became unequivocal calls for the president to step down. Eventually defecting soldiers formed the Free Syrian Army, but opposition groups now appear to be increasingly fractured. Media coverage has been difficult as journalists are only allowed rare and controlled visits to Syria. And CNN and other news organizations have relied in part on amateur video posted online to tell the story. Now UN officials say at least 6,000 people have been killed in the violence. An opposition puts that number at more than 7,000. And as we have reported, western journalists are severely restricted in Syria, but we can get the latest from Ivan Watson who is covering events for us from Istanbul. He joins us now. And Ivan, what is your read on the state media reports of bomb attacks in Aleppo. What's really happening there?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, it's clear that from residents there that we've spoken to that there were at least two major explosions in Aleppo. That is the second city of Syria, a city that has largely been spared the violence that is destroying other opposition bastion cities like Homs, that violence that they are facing. In Aleppo two explosions this morning outside of security headquarters there. State media is saying that at least 25 people were killed and 175 wounded. They are calling these terrorist attacks. We're also seeing violence in other parts of Syria as well. Take a look at some footage that was shot by amateurs posted online. They're describing this as a suburb outside of the capital Damascus where you hear a volley of furious gunfire being exchanged. Residents of Damascus, Kristie, have been telling me about Syria military offensives in some of these suburbs and in the surrounding countryside in recent days. And this video seems to back up those accounts Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] You know, attacks are intensifying across Syria, including of course, Homs. What is the humanitarian situation there as residents, they remain trapped after a week of fighting?
[Watson:] Well, once again the activists are telling us that the morning began at dawn with more rockets, more artillery being fired into this densely populated city of some one million people. Residential neighborhoods with shelling apparently going indiscriminately against for the better part of a week. Another video has emerged, this from a doctor in a makeshift clinic making an appeal to the international community. Take a listen to what he had to say.
[Unidentified Male:] All the cases are gunshot wounds and in critical condition, most of the wounded are in a coma. We are waiting for God's mercy. Look my brother, look at him and him. This man is in a complete coma. This is man is in very bad shape. This man has a complete gash and torn. Come here and see. This man was shot in the stomach. We cannot offer him any treament, except keeping watch. We wait for God's help for us. I appeal to all human rights organizations. I call upon the Red Crescent to enter Bab Amr immediately to stop this genocide.
[Watson:] Desperate pleas for help. Meanwhile if diplomats we're talking to from a number of different governments around the world are indicating that it appears there shall be some kind of a meeting, an international conference of a group that is being proposed, something called the Friends of Syria group that may gather in about two weeks to discuss further measures to try to deal with this crisis, that's proposed perhaps two weeks from now. That leaves a lot more time for killing in the days ahead Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] That's right. Meanwhile, a very dire situation there in Homs and elsewhere. Also wanted to ask you a question, Ivan, about the Free Syrian Army. What is their status? Can they handle an even more drawn out fight against Damascus? And I also understand that there's this debate underway on whether or not they should be armed.
[Watson:] The Free Syrian Army is not a monolithic structure. I mean, I think the name is a little bit misleading. These are pockets, groups, bands of defecting soldiers, in some cases joined by volunteers, who are trying to organize, defense and sometimes offensive operations against Syrian security forces. Today, we've had conflicting accounts from men claiming to be spokesman for the Free Syrian Army as to whether or not they were in the vicinity of the bomb attacks in that city of Aleppo. There are calls for members of the Syrian opposition in addition asking for medicine and blankets and basic supplies, heating oil it's winter in Syria also calling for weapons. And we do know that there is some smuggling going across borders: Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, to try to arm some of these volunteer fighters and defector soldiers. But the Free Syrian Army, I think, it's not clear to us that it is lead by one official, that it has a hierarchical structure, rather it is described to me by one Syria analyst as a group of franchise operations that have sprung up somewhat in parallel to the beginning of the uprising movement itself cells, revolutionary groups that spring up and protest against the government. And by its very nature, because there's not a hierarchical structure, it's hard for a police state like Syria to circle up and grab all the leaders in one fell swoop Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] Some valuable context there, the FSA is a franchise movement, as you put it. Ivan Watson joining us live from Istanbul, thank you very much indeed for that. Now let's take a look right here at just a few of the most powerful images taken in Homs just over the last week. This one, it's an unforgettable image, it shows a wounded girl recovering with her family. This took place on Sunday. And here, blood on the streets is visible in the Khaladia neighborhood. This photo taken on Saturday. And you can see the rest of those pictures in an online gallery. Go to cnn.com. Now Tibetan and human rights groups say that Chinese security forces are brutally putting down protests. Now that is reportedly happening in these two provinces bordering the Tibetan autonomous region. And several ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire in a desperate act against Chinese rule. But the violence has been mostly hidden from the outside world. Now China is restricting media access to these remote Tibetan communities. And that comes ahead of two important dates. Now February 22 is the Tibetan New Year. And March 14 will mark the fourth anniversary of deadly riots in Lhasa. Now Chinese authorities blamed trained separatists for instigating the violence. They've also disputed recent reports of self immolations. Now Eunice Yoon has more from Beijing.
[Eunice Yoon, Cnn International Correspondent:] Seven officials in Tibet have been fired after a bout of unrest in Tibetan parts of China. The Communist Party boss in the autonomous region has reportedly sacked the security personnel for leaving their posts during the lunar New Year holiday. According to the state run Tibet daily newspaper, the officers were dismissed for neglecting their duties and endangering stability. The firings come amidst and upsurge in violence in the region. Human rights groups who are holding vigils, say another Tibetan monk has set himself on fire in western Sichuan province to protest China's policies, possibly the 20th self immolation in the past year.
[Unidentified Female:] This a very difficult situation to
[Yoon:] A U.S. broadcaster reports that two Tibetan brothers have been shot dead by Chinese security forces in the same area for taking part in anti-government protests. The reports are difficult to confirm, because foreigners, especially journalists, have been blocked from traveling to Tibetan populated parts of China, which Tibetan activists say are now seeing their worst protests in four years. Chinese authorities say the protesters are separatists, encouraged by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The Tibet government in exile says it supports the Tibetan people. Regional authorities have been warned that they need to maintain stability in the area, especially ahead of the Tibetan New Year, or face dismissal or criminal charges. Eunice Yoon, CNN, Beijing.
[Lu Stout:] And ahead on NEWS STREAM, Greece comes up with a budget plan, but the EU says it is not tough enough. Right now, violence is breaking out on the streets. And in Afghanistan, displaced by war, killed by the cold, parents in refugee camps say that they are afraid of losing their children, and many already have.

[Hammer:] Big news breaking tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Betting on Madonna, one of the world`s most popular performers is taking on the huge super bowl halftime show this weekend. But why are so many people worried that a pro like Madonna might just fumble it? The brand new evidence of who Simon Cowell should cast on the new "X Factor." It`s a showdown between Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Showbiz dares to ask who would make the better judge. Plus, Snooki`s big baby news? Tonight "Jersey Shore`s" most popular party girl sets the record straight on those shocking baby rumors.
[Unidentified Male Announcer:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York, and we have big news breaking today. I`m talking betting on Madonna. That`s right. Are you excited? Just three days, one of the most anticipated super bowl halftime shows ever will be revealed to the world. The stage is now set and it`s game on for Madonna. But, you know, after dominating the music world for three decades, does the queen of pop still have what it takes to pull this off? With me from Indianapolis tonight, in the heart of all of the super bowl action, there he is, Carlos Diaz, sports anchor of "Morning Express" on HLN, and with me in New York, former "American Idol" contestant, Kimberly Locke. It`s terrific to have you here. Let`s go out to Carlos first. But before I do, I want to play something for you guy. Because juts today Madonna was a guest on Anderson Cooper`s daytime talk show. This was an interview that he and she taped earlier this week. And Anderson asked Madonna if she was in any way nervous about her upcoming performance at the super bowl. Watch with me.
[Madonna:] My God. I`m so nervous. You have no idea. I have to put on the greatest show on earth in the middle of the greatest show on earth. I have eight minutes to set it up and seven minutes to take it down. And 12 minutes to put on the greatest show on earth. OK? That`s a lot of pressure.
[Hammer:] It`s a lot of pressure, obviously. But it`s so funny or interesting to hear Madonna of all people saying, so nervous. Takes us to our showbiz flashpoint, Madonna says she`s nervous for the super bowl Sunday halftime show. Will it be a big success? Carlos, I`ll start with you as you were right there in the thick of things. I`m thinking if anybody can pull this off, it`s Madonna, right?
[Carlos Diaz, Sports Anchor, Morning Express:] Yes, but at the press conference today, she did sound nervous. And she said over and over again how nervous she is. It was very un-Madonna like for her to admit that. But, you can tell, A.J., that she`s not looking at this performance like I`m going to shock the world. I think she`s looking at this performance like this is what I want to be remembered for. You know, it`s kind of a weird thing. She`s getting to that point in her career where she`s closer to the end than she was to the beginning. So, I think she sees this as a pivotal point in her career where she can make an impression for the next 10, 15 years. So she`s really putting a lot of pressure on herself.
[Hammer:] And it`s interesting because Madonna, of course, has always been afraid of failure. It`s one of the things I think has always driven her so, so much. But it is, of course, Madonna. Kimberly, I have to get your take on this. Because we`re talking about Madonna of all people now, even if the performance is a big failure, yes, it will be huge headlines on Monday if something goes terribly wrong. But ultimately, will it really matter?
[Kimberly Locke, Second Runner Up Winner, American Idol, 2003:] I don`t think it will. It`s Madonna. I mean, me, personally as a singer, as an artist, who has looked up to Madonna. I can`t wait to see what she`s going to do because I know she`s going to do something no one else has ever done. And I think that`s why everyone is going to be watching, too, you know. And it`s OK for Madonna to be nervous. And the fact she admits it? Boy! It sure makes me feel good that Madonna gets nervous, too.
[Hammer:] Yes. And let`s face it. Carlos, you know, she is a perfectionist. I actually do have to imagine with all of that pressure going on in the few minutes you have to set up and the eyes of the world watching that she`s actually very afraid of something going wrong because she likes things to be so perfect all the time.
[Diaz:] I was in the front row a few years ago when Bruce Springsteen played in Tampa. And you can`t imagine, A.J., you are running out on to the field and they`re setting up the stage and it is like, OK now, naturally just perform in front of a worldwide audience. I can tell you, that she rehearsed for five hours last night in that building behind me then, another several hours this evening. And we have had reports about her set list. The "New York post" is saying it`s "give me all your loving" "ray of light," vogue," "Music" and "Holiday." Although she said it would be one new song and three old songs. My friends at the "Indianapolis Star" tell me that with rehearsals last night she rehearsed "give me all your loving", "vogue," "music," and "like a prayer." So, there are some discrepancies what her set is going to be. And she said she wants to keep all the secrets until super bowl Sunday.
[Hammer:] Alright, I guess we will have to wait and see. But Madonna, obviously, not the only one with so much riding on this super bowl, we have some brand new reports today that Tom Brady`s wife is so desperate for him to get a win, she reportedly sent around an e-mail asking friends and family to join her in prayer. Let me read to you what this e-mail says. "He and his team worked so hard to get to this point and now they need us more than ever. So, I kindly ask all of you to join me on this positive chain and pray for him so he can feel confident, healthy and strong. Envision him happy and fulfilled, experiencing with his team a victory this Sunday." And I don`t need to tell you this, but this e-mail is spreading like wildfire on the internet. A lot of people have been taking jabs at her because of it. Kimberly, we know that you talk about prayer. It can obviously be very polarizing. Is it so wrong for the husband of this famous QB who`s playing on Saturday to reach out to people and ask them to pray?
[Locke:] Hey, we`ll blame it on Tebow, right?
[Diaz:] Exactly. It`s kind of in that vein.
[Locke:] I think it`s OK, right? It`s OK that she wants this badly for her husband. And, hey, everybody`s on the Internet and I would probably forward it.
[Hammer:] What do you think, Carlos, out there? Is it a mistake when a spouse or a relation of somebody who`s involved with the game makes a bold prayer statement like this so close to the game? Or does it not matter at all?
[Diaz:] I think this is a huge I think it`s a huge statement, A.J. because Tom Brady all week has tried to be laid back and oh, it`s another game. But then Gisele says please, please pray for my husband, pray for my man. And when you`re going against the guy named Elijah, which his name stands for, it`s Elijah Manning. It`s very biblical. Though, I don`t know if the guy up there is going to be going, I`m not going for Elijah. I love to see but it does say this is very important to Tom Brady.
[Hammer:] And listen, maybe some of the prayer will help other performers involved. Madonna, Kelly Clark of course, all eyes on her singing the national anthem. Now, Christina Aguilera have what I thought was basically a great performance last year but for the fact that she flubbed the words and caught flak for it. It`s an immense amount of pressure. I mean, it`s funny we`ve forgotten about it now. But take us on stage with you to let us know what it could be like doing that.
[Locke:] I mean, I`ve never signed to the super bowl. So, that type of pressure, I mean. I`ve been on "American idol" where millions of people are watching. So, that amount of pressure, and that particular song, what people don`t understand, that`s one of the most difficult song to sing. It`s written unlike any other song. It doesn`t rhyme, it doesn`t repeat. Sp, you have a lot, you know, our songs, hey; you get to sing the chorus twice. All you really have to remember is the verse. So the national anthem is so difficult.
[Hammer:] Not to mention the acoustics and the staging.
[Locke:] The feedback, the people.
[Hammer:] I`m nervous right now.
[Locke:] They`re waiting for you to mess up, A.J. OK?
[Hammer:] Kelly not the only former "idol" star making headlines today. Simon Cowell, of course, fired Paul Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger from his new show, the "X factor." And since then, there are a lot of speculations about who the new judges should be. Here are the shocking results I think of our "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" exclusive poll. Who should replace Paula and Nicole? Look at this, 52 percent say Mariah, 16 percent Whitney, 32 percent Seal. So, that`s ahead of Whitney. That`s surprising to me that that`s what people think.
[Locke:] It`s interesting. I mean, I would have voted for Whitney. Just because I don`t know, I think she`s an icon in her own right. And she`s had a rough, you know, few years, we`ll say, but I think she would be great at it. And doesn`t Simon want somebody who can stay and, you know I mean, because I think Simon knows how, you know, having the same judges every year, like the judges become instrumental to the show.
[Hammer:] Sure.
[Locke:] So
[Hammer:] He only has one chance to fix this. We have to leave it there. He better get it right this time. Great to see you, Kimberly Locke, thanks so much Carlos, have a great time this weekend. And tonight, I can`t wait. We have a `70s icon in the house. I`m talking about legendary supermodel Cheryl Teague. She`s on the new season of "Celebrity Apprentice." She`s raising a lot of money for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation. And Cheryl is right here with me for a must see "Showbiz newsmaker interview," all about her good friend, Farrah, on her birthday, she would have been 65 today. Plus, Gwyneth Paltrow`s confession. The Oscar winning actress opening up about a deep, dark pain from her past. This is "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" on HLN "news and views." And this is the "Showbiz News Ticker." More stories from the "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" newsroom making news tonight. Text: Police report shows Leslie Cater suffered apparent overdose. Text: "Idol" contestant Britnee Kellogg is being compared to Britney Spears.

[Rice:] Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have the integrity and the experience and the vision to lead us. They know who we are. They know who we want to be. They know who we are in the world and what we offer.
[Morgan:] Who better to advise Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan on foreign policy than Condoleezza Rice. Her speech in Tampa brought the crowd to its feet, as the former secretary of state defended the pair and the party. Before she addressed the convention, Dr. Rice spoke to me. Dr. Rice, how are you?
[Rice:] I'm very well, thank you. Nice to see you.
[Morgan:] Very nice to see you. Mitt Romney has two big problems, according to all the polls: women and black voters. You are a very high-profile woman and a block voter. How do you feel about that, and in particular, this recent extraordinary poll, it seemed to me, the "Wall Street Journal"NBC poll, that said Mitt Romney was rating literally polling zero amongst black voters in America. I found that staggering. You must have done too.
[Rice:] I do, except I also know that a lot depends on how one asks the questions. And I'm always a little bit suspicious of polls myself. Look, what we have to do is as a party is to explain to people why these issues, which are so prevalent among Americans in general, also speak to concerns for minorities and women. If you are a black person and you're not concerned about the fact that the unemployment rate among young black men is more than twice the national average, then you're not concerned about minority issues. If you're not concerned about the fact that our schools are failing kids in the least privileged circumstances, many of whom are minorities, then you're not concerned about minority issues. And Mitt Romney speaks to those issues. And so we have a tendency to say, what are minority issues? Well, education, jobs, the sorts of things that most Americans are worrying about these days.
[Morgan:] Is he focusing enough, though, on the black vote, on the female vote? Does he need to do more? Because is that going to be a problem? At the moment, there's a perception that Mitt Romney's decided, you know, Barack Obama, I can't beat him with the black vote, so there's no point wasting time and energy chasing a vote I'm not going to get?
[Rice:] Well, look, there was great pride and I shared it in America's first black president. Everybody understands that. Ultimately, one has to ask, are these policies that are helping America and, in particular, are they helping some of the most vulnerable among minorities, kids in failing schools, unemployed youth? And the policies aren't helping those constituencies. So I do think that Mitt Romney is speaking to black voters, speaking to women voters who hold many of the same concerns. But it has to be there has to be receptivity on the other side too. It can't just be a one way transmission.
[Morgan:] One of the problems the party has it reared its ugly head last week with the Todd Akin fury is this percent that because of some of the extreme positions, as many people see them, on social issues like abortion and other, that adds to the fire that somehow the party is anti-woman. What did you make of the Todd Akin thing? You yourself are not as hard line about abortion as many in the party.
[Rice:] No, no. Well, first of all, the way that the party leaders, Mitt Romney and others, responded should tell people how the party feels about that. It was a statement that that really bordered on ridiculous. And I think everybody said that. Now, women, the party and women; you saw a parade of women who are leading this party, governors and senators. And I say, what more do you want? Yes, they are women of conservative views.
[Morgan:] Well, actually, what they really wanted Dr. Rice was probably you as VP to have a real position of power in the party.
[Rice:] First of all, nobody wanted that, especially me.
[Morgan:] A lot of people wanted that.
[Rice:] Well, I didn't want that.
[Morgan:] You really didn't want that?
[Rice:] No, I really didn't want that. We've got a great candidate for vice president in Paul Ryan.
[Morgan:] You've said that you have no desire to be in Mitt Romney's cabinet should he win in November. Not many people believe you.
[Rice:] Well, they should.
[Morgan:] Look me straight in the eye. Are you 100 percent or 99.99?
[Rice:] Piers, I wrote a memoir called "No Higher Honor." There is no higher honor. But I've had that honor. And I'm very happy to be, now, a professor at Stanford. And that's where I'm going to be.
[Morgan:] Far more important than anything has been your appointment as one of the first two female members of the Augusta National Golf Club.
[Rice:] Yes.
[Morgan:] A triumph for women all over the world.
[Rice:] Yes. Well, I'm very honored. I'm honored that the members of Augusta want me to be among their number. It is a beautiful golf course with wonderful traditions. And I said some time ago, you know, the face of America, the face of golf is changing. And I'm very grateful to enter with Dala Moore, who's also
[Morgan:] When you say you're honored, a bunch of old dinosaurs who banned women for over 100 years, it's not that great an honor, is it? It should have happened years ago.
[Rice:] It happened, as it should with private clubs, on the timing of the members of that club. But I am honored. And I look forward to playing there. I've got to work a little bit on my short game, because it's very hard to hold the greens at Augusta.
[Morgan:] Have you chosen your first partner to play with you?
[Rice:] No, but I'm working on it.
[Morgan:] Because I'm available.
[Rice:] You ready?
[Morgan:] Well, I banned myself until they allowed women back, so I've now released my own ban. So I'm available.
[Rice:] I see.
[Morgan:] I can help you with your short game.
[Rice:] I do have a long line. so
[Morgan:] Dr. Rice, it's a great pleasure. Next, Rick and Karen Santorum. I'll ask the former presidential candidate about his now famous hand speech and his advice for Mitt Romney.
[Rick Santorum , Former Presidential Candidate:] Under President Obama, the dream of freedom and opportunity has become a nightmare of dependency, with almost half of America receiving some sort of government assistance. It's no surprise fewer and fewer Americans are achieving their dreams, and more and more parents are concerned their children won't realize theirs. President Obama spent four years and borrowed five trillion dollars trying to convince you that he can make things better for you, to put your trust in him and the government to take care of every problem. The result is massive debt, anemic growth and millions more unemployed.
[Morgan:] Rick Santorum has come a long way in a few short months, from Mitt Romney's number one challenger to a loyal supporter. I sat down with him and his wife, Karen, shortly after his big convention speech. Welcome to you both. First of all, let me see these hands. It was all about the hands tonight.
[Santorum:] They asked me to talk about welfare. And when I thought about that, I just thought about, well, what the center part of welfare reform as I worked on it, because I helped to write the bill, was work. So when I think of work, I think of my grandfather and I think of what he did to work his way, and that he wasn't reliant on welfare benefits, as immigrants don't. So I thought I'd I really felt that that was a sort of theme, to talk about him and his hands, which I had talked about before. And the more I thought about it, it I just thought of all of the people I have met.
[Morgan:] Actually, I thought it was powerful. I like the way you threaded it through. What I didn't like so much is you continuing to make out that President Obama, in some way, wants everyone on welfare to forget about going to work, because you, in your heart, know that is not true. That is not what has happened, is it?
[Santorum:] Well, what has happened is a dramatic expansion of government entitlement programs and programs like and more to come, Obamacare, which is a huge government expansion that is going to, quote, "guarantee people health insurance," which of course, you know, it does not necessarily mean health care.
[Morgan:] But you don't actually believe he wants people on welfare to stop looking for work or being placed. You don't think that is really what he wants, do you? Be honest.
[Santorum:] I think that what the president of the United States may, in his own mind, believe is the way to get America going is the way to dependency and it is a way look, people on welfare I worked with this issue. People on welfare made rational economic decisions not to work, because the government programs were so generous that it cost them money to work. These are things that while he may not say, well, I want does he really believe, oh, I don't want people to work? No. But his policies lead to rational decisions which lead to dependency.
[Morgan:] Right, but that is quite an admission you just made, because if you don't think that is what he really believes, you should be more honest about it.
[Santorum:] No, he believes that the government should do more for I don't believe there is any question that Barack Obama believes that the government should do more and that you cannot trust the private sector. He goes out and uniformly condemns profit, condemns the private sector.
[Morgan:] There are so many accurate things that you could go after President Obama on. Why go after things which just don't really stack up?
[Santorum:] Well, I would make the argument that when you dramatically expand the size and scale of government, when you dramatically expand social welfare programs, when you provide waivers to work requirements, as he did people don't talk about this, but two years ago, he did a waiver to Food Stamp's work requirement, and Food Stamps have exploded. He has dramatically increased the social welfare state in this country. And you can make the argument that he believes that it is a good thing, that government should be there not just as a safety net, but should be there to provide sort of a basic. He is someone who believes in the living wage, that government should guarantee a certain wage. Yes, he believes in a heavier hand of government. And I would make the argument that that leads people to be dependent upon Washington for them to be provided for. And I think that is a dangerous thing.
[Morgan:] Well, it was good to see you up there, back on form, back on fire. I always said about you that whether you agree with you or not, you are a man who is at least consistent. I think that is a powerful thing in a politician.
[Santorum:] Well, thank you. I'd rather use the word I try to be authentic. I just try to be who I am.
[Morgan:] They're similar things. Good to see you. Nice to see you, Karen. Take care. Take care. Next week, I'll be in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the live coverage at the Democratic National Convention. I'll sit down with all the party's movers and shakers. And I'll be in the CNN Grill every night with special midnight editions of PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT. And that's all for us here in Tampa. Goodnight, everyone.

[Dr. Drew Pinsky, Host:] Day nine, Jodi Arias on the stand. She finally testifies about the moment she killed Travis Alexander.
[Jodi Arias, Alleged Murderer:] He was chasing me.
[Pinsky:] She reached for the gun but draws a blank about the most important part.
[Arias:] I have no memory of stabbing him.
[Pinsky:] Her seemingly razor-sharp memory.
[Arias:] He was drinking chai tea. I was drinking a latte.
[Pinsky:] Suddenly foggy about the critical moment.
[Arias:] I don`t know if I blacked out.
[Pinsky:] Jodi`s stories, how many versions are there? Which ones will the jurors and which ones do my jurors believe? Let`s get started. Good evening. Welcome to the program. Joining me, my co-host for the week, Laura Baron. I`ve also got criminologist Casey Jordan. But first, it was the moment we`ve all been waiting for excruciating detail about Jodi`s lattes in 1997 and unbelievably intolerable detail about her sexual encounters. And she finally gets to the moment when she`s going to kill Travis, but she got nothing after that. There`s just nothing there. And, by the way, this is the third version of she said what happened in June of 2008. Take a look at this.
[Investigator:] You`re even denying the pictures of you being there. There`s pictures of you lying on the bed in pigtails.
[Arias:] I wasn`t there. I witnessed Travis being attacked by two other individuals.
[Unidentified Male:] Who?
[Arias:] I don`t know who they were. I couldn`t pick them out in a police line-up.
[Unidentified Male:] So what happened?
[Arias:] They came into his home and attacked us both. As I moved the camera, it slipped out of my hand. Travis flipped out. He lifted me up as he was screaming that I was a stupid idiot, and he body slammed me. I rolled off to my left and began to run down the hallway. I could hear his footsteps chasing me. I remembered where he kept the gun. So I grabbed it. He ran, chasing me. And I turned around and pointed it at him so that he would stop chasing me. I grabbed the gun. I ran out of the closet. He was chasing me. I turned around. We were in the middle of the bathroom, pointed it at him with both of my hands. Like a linebacker he got kind of low and grabbed my waist. But before he did that as he was lunging at me the gun went off. I didn`t mean to shoot him or anything. I didn`t even think I was pulling the trigger. We were struggling and wrestling. After I broke away from him he said
[Pinsky:] Beth Karas covering the trial for "In Session." Beth, I have so many interesting feelings to say. Watching her lined up with her three different stories as we just did, you see what she did on the stand, much more polished, much more vague, much more difficult to sort of attack. I encourage my producers are going to laugh at me and kill me at the same time for what I`m about to say. All day I`ve been listening to a song from the musical "Chicago," the movie "Chicago."
[Laura Baron, Co-host:] Puts you in the mood for murder.
[Pinsky:] I challenge everyone to look up, "Reached for the Gun", and you`ll see word for word in the lyrics it`s the Jodi Arias defense, word for word. And they reach for the gun. She then goes on to tell us about the stabbing and she got nothing. We got as far as reach for the gun and then it all end. So, what
[Baron:] I knew jazz hands were murderous.
[Pinsky:] What were the jurors left with at the end of the day, Beth?
[Beth Karas, In Session Correspondent:] What they were left with was something so anti-climactic, it`s your theme right now. They didn`t get details at all. She blacks out of all of the stabbings. We`re talking about nine in the back, the slash across the throat, 29 altogether, stabs and slashes. Shot to the head is the one thing she remembered. Although what she said didn`t make sense because she said they were facing each other standing and that bullet was going down from here to here. So she was over him when she fired that gun. So that didn`t make sense. She doesn`t remember dragging his body, putting it in the shower. No mention of taking the camera, deleting all those incriminating photos, putting his clothes and towels and the camera in the washing machine. No mention of an attempt to at least clean up. She needed to get out of the house within a half hour or an hour because one of his roommates was due home at 6:00, 6:30. She was killing him at 5:30. So there`s nothing until she`s driving in the desert. She has blood on her hands. There`s blood nowhere in the house but the bathroom. So the jury must have been left with simply scratching their heads, saying, did we just hear her talk about details for eight days, even of that day, until this and we got nothing? This is the key that we`ve got to decide if she was justified in doing it and we`ve got nothing to base it on.
[Pinsky:] And, Beth, you were there in the courtroom. How did the jurors look to you? Mystified? Angry? What was your sense?
[Karas:] They don`t really emote. I can`t see anything in their faces, giving away what they were feeling. But they were all turned slightly to their left, which is facing the witness box. And they`re just intent on looking at her because this is the day, day eight, of her testimony, that everyone had been waiting for. Occasional notes, but just focused on her. Now and then toward the end, I saw some jurors look away from her. Maybe they had checked out. I don`t know. Tomorrow, though, cross- examination begins, and that`s what everyone is waiting for because that`s the true test of her story, how it will hold up on cross.
[Pinsky:] Yes. I wonder how that`s going to go. Casey, I want to have you I`ve got a lot of questions for you. We`ve got a couple blocks with you. But give me your broad strokes on what you take away from the testimony today.
[Casey Jordan, Criminologist:] Absolutely the same thing that Beth said. Now, of course, I`m not in the courtroom. I don`t get to see the jurors, but like everyone else and we`re following the blogs. We`re seeing what people say on our Facebook pages and everything. Everyone has been waiting. Have you ever seen a movie that`s just so bad and you want to walk out of it, so boring, so dull but you keep thinking it`s got to get better, I`m going to stay to the end, maybe there`s a twist, and at end of the movie, it literally fades to black and you`re going, that was it? I should have left this a long time ago. They have been faced with seven, eight days of really such dull, boring, methodical testimony that really seems to be pointless 90 percent of the time, that they were really hoping that it was all leading to an explanation of how things went down. And instead, they were robbed. They ended up with a story of I don`t really remember, I have no memory of 27 stab wounds. Let`s not mention the slicing of the throat. I can`t even tell you if the gun went off, I just remember I woke up kind of in the desert, threw the gun into the desert and proceeded with life. Oh, and sugarcoated everything. None of this helps her. All I can think is that the defense is truly just trying to save her life at this point by making her pathetic.
[Pinsky:] Well, reasonably, that`s their job. But, Laura, isn`t it interesting the cinematic references we keep coming up with? I almost wonder if it`s the defense literally putting those sorts of ideas in our brain, the psycho, Chicago, and now, we sort of feel the whole experience of watching her is like a bad movie.
[Baron:] Yes. And it`s just when you think you can root for the psychotic main character that she`s got some heart, she cuts it off for you. You know, I got incredibly emotional when you I saw Travis`s sister in that front row. And that`s actually, Beth, being in the courtroom, what I wanted to ask you. Is did you see Jodi make any eye contact, or the jurors notice that?
[Pinsky:] Laura, I`m going to have to hold that question until after the break. And also, hang on, ladies, I`ve got Beth, stay with us. I`ve also got more questions for Casey about the memory issue and what we think about that. I also have my own thoughts about the bullet and how it entered the brain. Is it possible he could have kept after her after a bullet in the brain? And did she truly forget or did she just lie? And later, two guys who know the Jodi battle well, who know Jodi. They`re going to bat it will out themselves. There they are. It`s our buddy Abe and our buddy Gus. They`ve got some differences of opinion about how things went down. We`ll be right back.
[Arias:] It was a little hot, but it was still somewhat it was cooler in the shade. He was drinking chai tea. I was drinking a latte, an iced latte. For Thanksgiving I think it was on the 22nd that year. Well, the 26th would have been a Sunday. So whatever the previous Thursday would And at one point we were getting they were getting in line for the zipper. I didn`t want to get on the zipper. I remember, I thought I was driving west because I remember the sun was in my eyes for a while. The parking lot was packed. It was dark, though. Obviously, the parking light lots were on. As I was walking toward my car, there were some skaters. The license plate had bends all over it, and the car that I just rented had bugs all over the grill except where the license plate was. He had installed a doggie door. So the sliding glass door butts up to it but it doesn`t lock. There`s a lot of that day that I don`t remember. There are a lot of gaps.
[Unidentified Male:] Do you remember stabbing Travis Alexander?
[Arias:] I have no memory of stabbing him.
[Unidentified Male:] Do you remember dragging him across the floor?
[Arias:] No.
[Pinsky:] Can a person`s memory really be as fickle as Jodi`s seemed to be? Exquisitely detailed memory in some areas and not so much in others. Back with my co-host Laura Baron. And I want to go to Beth with Laura`s questions before the break, and that was does the jury see the family`s emotions and do they have any read on that?
[Baron:] Yes.
[Karas:] Well, they can if they turn to the right and look at the public gallery. That did happen once when there were some audible sounds from the front row there, from the family and others in the public gallery because the prosecutor had flashed a photo of the gaping wound in Travis Alexander`s throat. That was to not to Jodi Arias. It was to another witness. And they did turn and see that emotion. But during Jodi Arias` testimony I haven`t seen jurors look back at the front row. And the judge did admonish Alexander`s family not to make faces because they were rolling their eyes and smirking at times. Jodi Arias did have a stare-out with them one of the first days she was on the stand but after that she looks at the jury or she looks at her lawyer and she doesn`t seem to be looking at that front row directly across from her.
[Pinsky:] In addition to Beth and Laura I`ve got criminologist Casey Jordan. And now, I`ve got family law attorney Areva Martin. So, Casey, does Jodi`s massive memory breakdowns, let`s call them, they`re these sort of blackouts or brownouts or red-outs. I always say I calmly hear trauma-surviving patients who get involved in re-traumatizing situations will have gaps. I`ve in fact seen videos of my patients that law enforcement has of them doing things extremely uncharacteristic and frankly often embarrassing, but nonsensical. They`re sensical. They can do something like putting a camera in the washing machine. But that`s somebody with a previous history of trauma and dissociation. Do you buy it with Jodi, Casey?
[Jordan:] Not only do I not buy it, I don`t think anybody buys it.
[Baron:] Yes.
[Jordan:] I mean, there are different kinds of amnesia. There are different kinds of blackout memory. But it`s rare you that get an entire gap. Usually, if a CPU fails, as I`m going to refer to your memory, you know, if you are you have such a trauma, and usually this kind of memory loss is caused by an organic or literally a physically traumatic injury, like brain surgery or a blow to the head. None of that happened. It`s extremely rare that you have a shock that would account for an entire blackout. This could happen with drugs or alcohol but not just a shock. Usually, you have kind of an out of body experience. Everything seems to slow down. You have memories that are very bold and memories that are very smoky or smudgy. But you don`t have an entire hours of time that are missing from your brain that you never, ever, ever recover. And I think everyone sees this for exactly what it is. It`s convenient memory loss. In science, we call it lying.
[Pinsky:] Thank you.
[Baron:] That`s a technical word.
[Pinsky:] That`s a term I`m not sure I`m familiar with, particularly during this trial. And I should re sort of phrase or re-categorize what I was saying. And, of course, my patients when they have blackouts are intoxicated also, which, of course, contributes to the memory issues. And there are severe trauma survivors who have previous histories of various kinds of blackout and red-out and rages out. Areva, was he putting Jodi on the stand the right thing to do?
[Areva Martin, Attorney:] I think the defense had to put Jodi on the stand because this is about her life and whether she`s going to get the death penalty or not. So I don`t think they had a choice. But they took a calculated risk by going through six, seven days of this methodical testimony with her recounting every detail of her life. I mean, she has a memory back to things that happened to her when she was 10 years old. And now to, all of a sudden, have this sudden lapse of memory when it comes to the important details of the killing I think cause her to be just an incredible witness. And the prosecution is going to have a field day with this lapse of memory because we`re also going to hear all of these details about other stories that she told, i.e., that there were intruders in the apartment, that she was never there, that she didn`t commit this crime, later to turn around and say she actually did, you know, kill Travis. So there`s going to be a lot she has to answer to. And I think the most exciting part of this trial is really going to happen when the prosecution gets its opportunity to cross-examine Jodi. So many unanswered questions and so many things I think that are going to reveal that she`s just not a credible witness.
[Pinsky:] Beth, let me ask you this. This notion of starting with "I killed him" and then going through exquisite detail and dragging us through barely tolerable, you know, excruciating details about their sex life and stuff, how did that strategy feel in the courtroom?
[Karas:] Well, you know, no one had ever heard her admit to killing him. Because she
[Pinsky:] Isn`t that the first thing she did?
[Karas:] Well, yes, yes.
[Pinsky:] She said I killed him, I killed him, it was complicated.
[Karas:] Right. That was the first time anyone heard that from her. She had all these other stories. We knew she was asserting self-defense. And when you do that, you have to admit to the act itself, but you`re basically saying, look, it`s not criminal, I was justified in doing it. So I think the defense found it important for her to say up front, look, I killed him, I did it because I need to defend myself, I had no choice, and now let me tell you why. And so she went through her life for seven days.
[Pinsky:] Oh, boy, did she. Let me she sure did. Let me take a quick question before we go to break before Jana. I think she`s in North Carolina. Are you there? Janet?
[Janet, Caller From North Carolina:] Thanks for taking my call. I tell you, this girl, she is the queen. She needs to get her Oscar on Sunday. OK?
[Pinsky:] Cinematic. Here we go again. Go ahead.
[Janet:] I don`t think she`s that complex. I think she`s a very easy read, lie after lie, story after story. She gets caught up in her own stories, and she can`t remember exactly how to get out of it. So she stops herself in mid-thought and thinks, OK, wait a minute, how will I derail here? You know, the Oscars
[Pinsky:] Right. Dissembling, obfuscating, crocodile tears. Next up, a pathologist says Jodi can`t have it both ways when it comes to recalling the killing, and he`s going to show us how it went down in his mind. And I have a lot of questions about that. And later, we`ve got a guy who took Jodi back to the scene of the death, the death house. I`m going to ask this man what Jodi hoped to find there, how she behaved. That after this.
[Arias:] I remember I was in the bathroom, and I remember dropping the knife, and it clanged to the tile. It made a big noise. And I just remember screaming.
[Unidentified Male:] Do you remember where he was when you were screaming?
[Arias:] I think he was next to me on the floor. I don`t know.
[Unidentified Male:] Do you remember stabbing Travis Alexander?
[Arias:] I have no memory of stabbing him.
[Pinsky:] No memory. That was Jodi Arias testifying about having shot Travis Alexander. But couldn`t quite remember stabbing him. Back with my co-host this week, Laura Baron. We`re discussing a killing. Remember, this may not be suitable for younger viewers. We don`t have all that explicit sexual material that she was dragging us through all week. Board certified surgeon and pathologist, Dr. Bill Lloyd. Dr. Lloyd, I`ve got a bunch of questions. First of all, about being shot in the head. It appears he was shot through and through in the brain. My understanding is that there was no sort of burn, it was not close range as she assumed, the skin didn`t look like it had been hit at close range, and there was no hemorrhage, no subdural, epidural or intraparenchymal
[Baron:] What is that?
[Pinsky:] Bleeding in the brain.
[Baron:] OK.
[Pinsky:] Meaning the heart may not have been pumping at that point, although again, the body was decomposed. And she said the guy continued the attack. Let me just ask you simply, I guess, is there anyway in your mind that having been shot the way we know he was shot that he could have continued to attack her?
[Dr. Bill Lloyd, Performed 500+ Autopsies:] In theory, Drew, if that was the only injury that he sustained and he was able to maintain consciousness, then it`s conceivable that he could have made his way down the hallway and chased after Jodi. But
[Pinsky:] OK. I`m going to stop you. Before the but. Hold on, before the but
[Lloyd:] There`s one little problem
[Baron:] Do you always carry that knife around?
[Pinsky:] I just want to be clear. Because I think it`s possible, too. Before if he hits no vascular structures and there`s no brain swelling, people can have consciousness for a minute or so after something like that.
[Baron:] But can he be like booking after her like a linebacker? Because that`s what she`s saying he did.
[Pinsky:] Dr. Lloyd?
[Lloyd:] All right. As a trauma surgeon I`ve had experience with many people who have been shot, in liquor stores, law enforcement, the military. It`s remarkable what individuals can do so long as they can maintain consciousness. At the autopsy, and I agree with the reports from the medical examiner, even after the decomposition, there was not significant evidence of hemorrhage, indicating he had to have been bleeding long before he was shot in the head.
[Pinsky:] So he had to have been bleeding from elsewhere and maybe even no pulse or certainly no blood pressure long before that. So bring your instrument back up, Mr. Surgeon, Dr. Surgeon. What do you wow, oh my goodness.
[Baron:] So disturbing. Massively disturbing.
[Pinsky:] One of the things that occurred to me today is your theory about the stem to stern cut across the neck with that little device you`ve got there starting to really look like it was a postmortem cut of some sort of bizarre I mean, what do you imagine motivated her to do that?
[Baron:] What are you saying? She sliced him after he was already dead?
[Lloyd:] Yes. So, it`s an act of intense range. As we know, the 27 stabs to the back, and then her lucky shot to the chest. The tip of this knife was able to avoid the sternum, the breastplate, and get in between two ribs and then push deep enough, deep enough to cross through the chest, the lungs and the heart, to sever the vena cava, which is right up near the spine. So this knife had to go pretty far deep in. Massive bleeding from that.
[Pinsky:] We are back, ladies and gentlemen hold on, Dr. Lloyd. We`re back to the cinematic references again. Today, we`re getting into "Gangs of New York." Remember the butcher. This is exactly his move.
[Baron:] Yes. She went nuts on him.
[Lloyd:] Regarding that cut to the neck, regarding the cut to the neck. A conscious person would not let a smaller individual, even with a knife, get away with that. So he had left the bathroom. He`s bleeding furiously. He makes his way down the hallway, where he collapses. And then she finished the job by making that cut stem to stern and slashing his neck. But that`s not enough. Now she drags the body back to the bathroom and out comes the gun for that final blow to the head that exits the cheek. I`m hoping the movie ends up like "Unforgiven."
[Pinsky:] Very interesting. Well, we will see. Next up thank you, Dr. Lloyd. Stay with us.
[Baron:] Oy!
[Pinsky:] Yes, Laura, oy is right. What did Jodi want on the way to Travis`s memorial service? We have a gentleman who was in the car with her. He had her creepy request. He`s going to tell us what it was, what she said, how it went down. And later, my jury in the courtroom, and the peanut gallery there. There they are. Any of those folks buying memory meltdown? And what do they say about the reactions of the actual jury after this.
[Jodi Arias, Accused Of Killing Her Ex-boyfriend:] There was a memorial service that was church in Mesa. I thought that if I didn`t show up, it would look suspicious because Travis and I were close and a lot of people knew that. The subject of my funeral came up one time. He was going to give the eulogy or something if I ever died. He would have come to mine. And, even if it was in Antarctica.
[Dr. Drew Pinsky:] Back with this week`s co-host, Laura Baron. Joining us, Aaron Dewey, Travis Alexander`s colleague and a former roommate. He drove with Jodi to that memorial service she`s referencing there. So, Aaron, thank you for joining us again.
[Laura Baron, Relationship Coach:] Yes. Sorry.
[Pinsky:] On the way, she asked you to do something. What was that? And what happened?
[Aaron Dewey, Travis`s Roommate:] I`d picked Jodi up from the home where she was staying while she was here in town. And we had plenty of extra time before the memorial service was going to start. So, she asked me if we could take a quick detour and go by Travis`s house to see the home before we went over to the memorial service.
[Baron:] It`s so disturbing. And what was she like when she was in the car with you?
[Dewey:] Most of the time, we were talking about our memories of Travis, our interactions, the good times that we`d had in the home. So, it was nothing nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing unusual for me at the time. But looking back, knowing what she`s done now, it`s pretty creepy that less than two weeks after the killing, she actually wanted to return to the scene of the crime.
[Baron:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] Yes. Now, Casey, I`m glad you`re here. That`s my question. I really don`t know much about that topic, of criminals, particularly killers returning to the scene of the crime. Is that a myth or does that really happen? Is that what she was doing here, do you think?
[Casey Jordan, Criminologist:] Oh, well, it really does happen. And there`s three main reasons that`s happens in various scenarios. The number one is wallowing. We see that with serial killers who go back and emotionally and psychologically relive the thrill or the lust that they experienced. And they`re playing the reel of the killing through their head. I don`t think that applies to Jodi at all. Sometimes, we see, number two, people return to a scene to actually muddy up the crime scene or research it or try to destroy evidence. That isn`t this case either. It`s number three, which is what we call the cover-up. It`s the disingenuous acting like they`re going back to the scene of the crime because a guilty person would never do that. So, she must be innocent. And I think that`s why she asked for that diversion, to go by the house, to again throw him off, somebody who knew Travis very well, from any idea that Jodi could have been involved.
[Pinsky:] Right. She didn`t want to be that kind of person, as she kept saying on the witness stand. She wanted to paint a different picture, which I think that`s how she give people a different picture. I think those are the words she used. Something like that, which is a very strange way to describe how an adult presents themselves to another adult in terms of their genuine self.
[Baron:] And I love how she I love how she tried to keep her word by going to the memorial and saying Travis would go to mine, I would go to his. Like, how about keeping the word we`re not going to murder each other?
[Pinsky:] There`s that. There`s that. I hope they didn`t actually have that conversation. Aaron, do you think Jodi should be sentenced to death? What`s your thought?
[Dewey:] I do. I mean, I think there`s no question that there is significant amount of premeditation here. There`s no question that the crime that she committed was grievous and heinous. It has everything that warrants a death penalty conviction.
[Baron:] And would you feel any sense of of not rejoice but like that she got her due if she died? I mean, would it equal out the stakes for you at all?
[Dewey:] You know, I`ve already made my peace with Travis and with Jodi and how everything happened there. You know, all of us want to see justice for Travis. But at the end of the day, you take her life, it`s not going to bring his back. And nothing`s going to change that.
[Baron:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] And yet, you think she should face the death penalty. Areva, do you think she`s going to get the death penalty or have they thrown up enough doubt and caused, I guess, women lately have been sort of sympathetic to poor Jodi. The men are all creeped up mostly. What do you say, Areva?
[Areva Martin, Attorney:] Well, Dr. Drew, remember Casey Anthony. You know, so many similarities in these two trials. Everyone just knew that she was going to be, you know, convicted for the murder of her child, but the prosecution in that case was so angry, and, you know, the way the trial was conducted people did have a lot of sympathy for her. So, I think it has a lot to do with what that cross-examination looks like next week. Is the prosecutor
[Pinsky:] Areva, do you have sympathy for Jodi?
[Martin:] methodically go through that evidence.
[Pinsky:] Areva, do you have some sympathy for Jodi?
[Martin:] I feel like the friend of Travis. Killing Jodi is not going to bring Travis back. But also, as an officer of the court, if there`s premeditation, the law in the state of Arizona says the death penalty is the appropriate punishment for her crime. So, if the prosecution can prove its case, then death penalty it is.
[Pinsky:] All right. Got to take a quick call. Cynthia in Alabama. Cynthia, what do you got?
[Cynthia, Alabama:] I won`t cuss, but I`m getting
[Pinsky:] OK. Go right ahead. Without cussing. Give me what you got.
[Cynthia:] Dr. Drew. Hey, Dr. Drew. This is Cynthia in Alabama, and I`m so glad to be with you. This is the second time I`ve been on your show. You have got to give me a minute here because I am really disturbed about this.
[Pinsky:] I`ve got 25 seconds. Go.
[Cynthia:] I know you`ve got 25 seconds, and I seem like I`ve got a lifetime here. This girl this thing I`m not even going to call her a girl is making a mockery of the system, the people that are watching, the jurors, and I hope, I hope to God the jurors can see through her, what the criminal defense attorneys are doing to try to make her look little and small, and think about the victim here.
[Baron:] I agree.
[Cynthia:] And if you look into her eyes, the eyes are the window to the soul. Look into her eyes. She is deviant. Look at the window the eyes to his soul. He looks like he`s a very caring
[Baron:] Yes. It`s almost as if she had us, didn`t she, Cynthia? She was getting us. She was getting all of the sympathy from women, and I think she`s just lost it.
[Cynthia:] Please let me say this. I`ve got to.
[Pinsky:] Last thing. Go. Go. Last thing.
[Cynthia:] I just hope she doesn`t walk free like Casey Anthony did and the people in the jurors say oh, my God, I wish I hadn`t let her go, oh, my God, let`s give her the death penalty. Let`s get this crazy psychopathic killer off the street because she`s making a mockery out of the whole thing. And the sexual thing should have never even come into play. That -
[Pinsky:] Cynthia, I hope you sleep Cynthia? Hang on. Cynthia, thank you, my dear, my tender, gentle Cynthia.
[Baron:] Warm milk.
[Pinsky:] I hope you do sleep better tonight after the outburst. I think a lot of people feel just like you do. Aaron Dewey, Dr. Bill Lloyd, thank you guys. Next, it is a he saidshe said between two men who knew Jodi, know Jodi. And later, does my jury believe she had a memory lapse? Stay with us.
[Arias:] I just couldn`t believe what had happened. And I couldn`t take anything back what had just happened.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes or no? Did you believe he was alive?
[Arias:] I didn`t know, but I didn`t think he was because I didn`t no, I thought he was not alive. I wish that it was just a nightmare that I could wake up from.
[Unidentified Male:] Did you still love him? Do you still love him now?
[Arias:] Yes, it`s a different love, but yes, I do.
[Pinsky:] Hmm, Laura. It`s a different love. I guess, the kind of love where you take out a knife
[Baron:] Slice somebody`s throat.
[Pinsky:] Cut somebody`s head off. That kind of love.
[Baron:] The really passionate knife-yielding love. It`s just Drew, this is so angering to me because I was, you know that I was getting on her side. I was having some sympathy.
[Pinsky:] What do you think what switched you? I thought, too, today the women kind of turned a little bit. Is it the fact that there was no satisfaction about the events leading right around the death?
[Baron:] Well, one, it`s like as you`re looking at all of the sex, as you`re hearing all the sex talk, you`re kind of thinking, this is going to lead to something, you`re going to get some payoff. It`s not going to be just this raunchy, naughty thing.
[Pinsky:] Right.
[Baron:] And it turns out that she`s like, yes, we spanked, but now, I forgot after I
[Pinsky:] This is again insight into the mind of women. Men take note.
[Baron:] But truly, it`s really bothersome.
[Pinsky:] I know. I know. And I`m making light of something very, very serious. It`s almost no other way to deal with this a little bit of humor because it`s disgusting.
[Baron:] Of course.
[Pinsky:] Back of course is Laura, Laura Baron, my co-host for this week. We are getting now into a conversation that we had with Gus. Gus on the witness stand a few weeks ago, if you remember, he was very sort of troublesome on the stand, and Abe Abdelhadi, who dated Jodi. Abe, you`ve been an object of discussion in the courtroom all week long. What did you think of today`s testimony?
[Voice Of Abe Abdelhadi, Dated Jodi Arias:] I thought it was fascinating to say the least. I could pick some other words, but this is not HBO. I was amazed that she had remembered pretty much every detail from the ninth grade and completely blanked out and absolutely defied the laws of physics when she was explaining the whole day that that happened. And I thought to myself, gosh, if he got shot in the head and he still charged her, that`s some tiger blood for you, that`s real Charlie Sheen type stuff right there. So, I was just amazed by listening to this. And that she was able to try she was able to do it with a straight face. And I just didn`t buy it.
[Pinsky:] Now, Jodi says she killed Travis with his own gun. Again, this is back to the "Chicago" musical where they reach for the gun. The man who provided some video to HLN that we`re about to watch that video told HLN`s Jane Velez-Mitchell that if Travis had his own gun, he would not have borrowed he would not have had to borrow a gun when they went out shooting. You`re actually looking at him with a friend`s gun shooting. It appears that he might have been somewhat of a gun enthusiast. But he according to his friend, the friend doubted whether he actually had his own gun. Abe, do you know whether he was a was this just a one-off event that Travis was doing or is he a guy that would likely have a gun?
[Abdelhadi:] You know, I think I think he would probably have a gun. I couldn`t speak to that intelligently. He may or may not have had a gun. I mean, you know, people you think would wouldn`t, and some that you think would not absolutely do. I think the more important
[Baron:] You know
[Abdelhadi:] Really quick, just let me finish this one thought is the fact that when you guys had
[Pinsky:] Abe, your phone cut out. Just when you were going to finish that one thought. So, Laura, we`re going to go to some calls.
[Baron:] Sure.
[Pinsky:] Put the call up here. We`re watching there footage of Travis Alexander, himself, shooting guns with his buddies, having borrowed a gun from somebody else. I`m going to go out to Wanda in Florida. Wanda, you wanted to say something to us? Go right ahead.
[Wanda, Florida:] Good evening, Dr. Drew. Thank you for taking my call. First, let me extend my condolences to the Travis and his friends and I hope they get justice.
[Pinsky:] Am I going to get
[Wanda:] I notice Travis`s closet. That it`s a typical businessman`s closet. Shirts hung the proper way, suits, pants, and shoes. Now, is it possible that Jodi took that gun there prior to the killing and then made up the story about cleaning his closet and then said something to that effect to their grandfathers who reported the theft?
[Pinsky:] Abe, unfortunately, you broke up in my ear. We had some sort of weird technical computer glitch. Could you repeat that? See, I can`t hear him again. But Laura, I can hear you, right?
[Baron:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] So, it`s on us for the moment.
[Baron:] Is it just that she`s a complete narcissist?
[Pinsky:] No, this is probably more than narcissism. These are what we call narcissistic clusters where people had, you know, maybe injuries in childhood that result in sort of a narcissistic core to their person, but this is far, far more than just that. I mean, narcissists can be very many people today have sort of narcissistic issues.
[Baron:] It just seems so much about her. And then when she says that she didn`t want to admit it until her family said that they would accept her for anything.
[Pinsky:] Well, that you know, you hear you actually hear him, Travis, in the text messages calling him a sociopath calling her a sociopath.
[Baron:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] And that`s more the kind of spectrum she appears now where nothing really matters except her and what she needs from other people
[Baron:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] to make her happy and satisfied. Next up, I have my own jury, so to speak. They weigh in on Jodi`s bombshell testimony today. Abe, thank you for joining us. I`m sorry we had that technical problem. We were going to pitch you against Gus because he said some stuff that, well, I know you would dispute. Maybe we`ll get you back for that later or tomorrow. Be right back. It`s time for my jury. Back with my co-host this week, Laura Baron. Joining us, my jurors, Katie Wick and indeed Katie, happy birthday, by the way.
[Baron:] Oh, happy birthday.
[Pinsky:] And Carmen Romero.
[Katie Wick, Dr. Drew "juror":] Thank you.
[Pinsky:] So, let`s get right into it, ladies. Katie, are you buying it? She gets all the exclusive detail out. Reach for the gun and nothing. Got nothing after that. Sorry.
[Wick:] No. No. And she just forgot and you know, your caller a few minutes ago, Dr. Drew, said she should win an Oscar. I agree, but she should win an Oscar for best worst actress. This was horrific today, her testimony, or lack thereof, of the actual murder. And once again, it`s all about Jodi. She cried more during the sex tape than she cried explaining the actual murder. It was so and I was furious inside because I don`t believe one thing that she said.
[Pinsky:] Carmen, how about you? Do you agree with Katie or do you have a different take?
[Carmen Romero, Dr. Drew "juror":] No. No, I agree with her completely. I think it was a letdown. No, I didn`t believe anything she had to say. And I expected more. Nothing. She can`t remember anything.
[Pinsky:] Katie
[Wick:] Dr. Drew, it`s kind of like going up a roller coaster and
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Wick:] I was just going to say it`s kind of like going up a roller coaster and there`s no drop. It just goes flat.
[Romero:] That`s how I felt, too.
[Wick:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] It`s interesting that it seems like it disappoints women more than men, strangely enough. Men are like, ah, come on now, don`t be why did you drag me through that? We feel sort of not let down but sort of frustrated and angry. Women are like this is really yes, you guys are really resenting it. I agree.
[Baron:] Yes. I mean, we fell for it. I mean and Katie, we have talked about this, right, where we kind of climbed in the sympathy hole. And now, we`re like, are you kidding me? We know better than this. Yes. I was angry by today`s testimony, too.
[Wick:] Yes, because last week, it was every single detail. I mean, what she got at Starbucks and now it`s nothing. So, it`s ridiculous. And I think the jury is thinking wow, we waited seven days for this?
[Baron:] Right.
[Pinsky:] And Carmen, do you have any sense of how the jury was reacting, the actual jury?
[Romero:] They were quite disappointed. They were at the edge of their seats, and they got nothing.
[Wick:] And
[Romero:] Go ahead.
[Wick:] Dr. Drew, I just wanted to say something. At the end of the day, I was talking to Carmen about this. We had seven days of testimony about sex. At the end of the day, what did that have to do with the murder? Nothing.
[Pinsky:] Well, that`s the part I`m actually sort of offended by that.
[Baron:] I am, too.
[Pinsky:] Yes. We have like you know, this went out on national television for goodness sakes. Abe, let`s get you back into this. I do have you, do I not? Let me check my technical issues here. Abe, are you there?
[Abdelhadi:] Can you hear me?
[Pinsky:] OK. Good. We got you now. Sorry, we sort of lost track of you there for a second. So, we`ve got people, women, particularly, seem particularly let down by this testimony. How do you think men generally the creep factor`s been way up for the last three days for men, I think, Abe. Do you think that that has changed at all?
[Abdelhadi:] No, I don`t I personally don`t see any male or female being let down by this in any way. This was an explanation that didn`t make any sense. My eight-year-old nephews had better explanations when cookies go missing. She didn`t make any sense at all. She wasn`t credible. It was really frustrating to watch her go through every single detail, as I said earlier, and then completely blank out on this and then just the non-sense about him charging after he`d been shot. There`s only one bullet hole in the head, yet that he was able to charge and chase her through the house after she shot him. I`m like, it was amazing.
[Baron:] Drew, I`m curious. What did you think about that whole memory loss thing? I mean, could that be anything about PTSD?
[Pinsky:] Well, as Casey and I were saying earlier, there is such a thing as that, but it just it would seem too convenient. There was no previous history of these kinds of things. It`s not the usual circumstance where we see these absences like this. It`s just too pat. It`s too just so. Abe, it reminds me of when you talked to her after the killing, when you said you had that feeling that she had done it. Remember that conversation you had with her and you were just trying to get something out of her?
[Abdelhadi:] Yes. Absolutely.
[Pinsky:] It feels that kind of slippery, you know, nonsense that you described in that phone conversation. Does that remind you of that same thing?
[Abdelhadi:] The same tone that she was at least a little bit unfortunately, you know, I`m not a professional investigator. I was leading her. I was like hey, did he ever have these parties at his house or did he ever do these things? She says like no, but once in a while, he got these USC football parties, and you know, some people could have come in through that way and met him that way. And oh, my God, this is terrible, and then she starts crying. And, I`m on the phone, so, I can`t really, you know, see physically if she`s really, you know, full of it or not. And then, I feel like the jerk because she`s crying, so I`m just being paranoid.
[Pinsky:] Katie Abe, I`ve got to wrap you up. Katie, last question. The tears on the stand today. Did they feel empty or was there anything there at all?
[Wick:] They were completely empty except for Jodi at the end. It was all about Jodi. And they were I believe the tears, that they were tears for Jodi when she was talking about
[Pinsky:] Tears for Jodi.
[Baron:] Yes.
[Wick:] how she started to confess. It was all about Jodi, still.
[Pinsky:] Right.
[Baron:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] It`s why the lies, why this, why it didn`t work. And there you go
[Baron:] And the embarrassment of what she did.
[Pinsky:] Yes. Laura, that`s when you talk about that sociopathic, narcissistic quality. There it is. There it is in bold relief. Katie, thank you. Carmen, thank you. Abe as well. All my guests tonight, of course.
[Wick:] Thank you.
[Romero:] Thank you.
[Pinsky:] Thank you to Casey and Areva who left us as well. Next up, I want to welcome back Robin Roberts to television. Stay with us.
[Baron:] Oh, that`s so great.
[Pinsky:] Robin Roberts returned to "Good Morning America" today, this, after an absence of six months. I`ve known Robin. Listen, anyone who`s met this woman will tell you the same thing I will. She is one of the most lovely, friendly, delightful there`s just no, nothing you can say that even gets near how lovely she is.
[Baron:] Oh, good, because she seems it.
[Pinsky:] She seems it. And many times, it`s not always that way. She had a bone marrow transplantation for an illness called myelodysplasia. Basically, when she had her breast cancer treatment, her bone marrow took a hit from that, and it causes kind of a disorganized growth of the red cells, platelets, white cells, and things can actually completely shut down. The only treatment is for a bone marrow transplantation. And robin, as is often the case in medicine, we can really treat one thing, and once we think we get it, we end up causing another.
[Baron:] And what I love about Robin, Drew, is that she gives other women that are going through the struggle a very public inspiration.
[Pinsky:] Yes, that`s right. And she looks great. She is great. Laura, thank you for joining us. Her prognosis is excellent. Hopefully, we`ll see you tomorrow. We`re going to do a special on the cross- examination. That`s our hope in any event. And a reminder and by the way, thank you for my guests and callers today "Nancy Grace" starts right now. END

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND. Extreme heat baking half the country. More than 300,000 still without power and at least 30 dead. But while a cold front is on the way, the relief may come at a dangerous price. We'll explain. Plus, it might be cool temperatures at Wimbledon, but it is hot on the court. For the first time in 74 years, a Brit will play in the men's finals. We'll take you there live. And later
[Ringo Starr, The Beatles:] We're still outselling most acts.
[Kaye:] My interview with Beatles great Ringo Starr. His legacy, his birthday, and, of course, his music. It is Sunday, July 8th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. We start with another day of record temperatures across the country. The triple-digit highs being blamed for at least 30 deaths across seven states. The extreme heat has also led to power problems. More than 300,000 people were without electricity and, more importantly, air conditioning. But some relief may be on the way. A cold front is moving down from the Great Lakes, heading south. But a warning the front could bring with it some pretty strong storms with hail, lightning, and damaging winds. Extreme heat and more possible storms, of course, seem to be on the way. Meteorologist Sarah Dillingham joins me now. So where and when is this cold front going to hit?
[Sarah Dillingham, Cnn Meteorologist:] Well, Randi, the good news is, we've seen this drop through Chicago already. Your temperatures are going to be back into the 80s today. But as we looked at that map of the heat advisories, we're already seeing a big chunk of the country with none of those advisories today. Only 12 state now under heat advisories for this afternoon, which is good news. That's about half of what we've been seeing over the past three days. Now that cold front you're talking about, take a look at those temperatures for Chicago today. Eighty-two degrees after a stretch of three days of over 10 degrees for that city earlier this week. So those guys finally getting some relief. Columbus, 93. New York, 92. So some places are still going to be a little bit warm today. And we already did see that front push through yesterday across the northeast, bringing with it some severe storm as well. Take a look, though, by Tuesday. Eighty-one, Chicago, 88 in Lexington, and 89 in Columbus. Even D.C. dropping down to 86 degrees. And that front is helping to break down that ridge. So even though that front doesn't really get all the way into the deep south, it's definitely going to be helping to bring some relief. But those folks in the west, unfortunately, they're going to start to see the heat build there and possible 90s and around 100 as far north as Montana. Randi.
[Kaye:] All right, Sarah, thank you very much for that update. To Tokyo now where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear time is running out for Syria's government. She talked about recent high-level defections from the Syrian military and the growing strength of opposition forces.
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] The future, to me, should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime. The days are numbered.
[Kaye:] Clinton was in Tokyo for a donors conference on Afghanistan, where $16 billion was pledged to help the country's transition. In Russia, flash flooding has killed at least 140 people. People climbed into trees and on to rooftops to escape the rising waters. Russian President Vladimir Putin toured the area and promised to help rebuild the homes lost in the floods. CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney has the incredible pictures of the damage.
[Fionnuala Sweeney, Cnn Correspondent:] Floodwaters rise in southern Russia, sweeping through houses as people slept, unaware and vulnerable. The rushing water submerged streets, ripped out traffic lights, and stranded vehicles. Thousands of people have been affected. Witnesses say they were shocked by the force and intensity of the deluge.
[Unidentified Female:] We lost our property. All we have invested in. First of all, it's a shock, of course. The car has drowned over there. Everything is ruined. It was frightening.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, it happened just when I was driving. I managed to stop the car, but still the landslide was too big. The airbags worked, so neither me, nor the passenger was hurt.
[Sweeney:] Russian officials are calling it the worst disaster in the region in a decade. Several districts have been declared emergency zones.
[Alexander Kozlikin, Krasnodar Regional Emergencies Ministry Dept:] We have the most difficult situation in Kleums. One-third of the houses are in water. Twenty emergency and fire trucks have arrived there already. And the rescue squad from Kopalifka is on its way. Also, the ministry has made a decision to send two planes and three helicopters from Moscow.
[Sweeney:] The flooding is also a major blow to resort areas in the region at the very height of the tourist season. Officials say one town actually got two months of rain in 24 hours. Another town, five months' worth. The Itar TASS news agency says in one community, floodwaters rose seven meters, 23 feet, overnight. Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, Atlanta.
[Kaye:] Back here in the U.S., police broke up a major drug trafficking operation in Tempe, Arizona. Investigators say it was being run by a Mexican drug cartel. Twenty people were arrested and authorities seized three tons of marijuana and more than $2 million in cash. Let's get to new information now on that mystery illness that is killing children in Cambodia. Doctors now think that they may have found a common link. It's called the EV71 virus. In adults, it is usually fought off by a healthy immune system. But for children, it can cause paralysis and death. Also there is no effective vaccine. Sara Sidner is live in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sara, do they know if this EV71 is for sure the cause?
[Sara Sidner, Cnn Correspondent:] No. The answer to that just plainly is no. They've not sure whether or not this is the cause. This is not determinate. They haven't said yes, this EV71 is the culprit. What they're doing right now is they're doing more tests to try and determine exactly what the cause might be. The World Health Organization was very clear in saying that this new information does not solve the problem of this undetermined disease that has been going around what they're calling a mystery syndrome. We did, however, today, speak with a doctor who treated two children who had this mystery syndrome. Those two children, Randi, died within 48 hours of being brought to the hospital. One of them died within 24. What they noticed in these children was that they came in with very high fever. They were having much difficulty breathing. And in one case, the child's lungs deteriorated literally hour by hour. That is the child who died within 24 hours. And so there's a lot of concern not only with doctors who are trying to treat this illness, that they're not sure what it is. But, of course, parents, very worried about their children here in Cambodia because dozens of children have died after getting this mysterious syndrome.
[Kaye:] And what is the situation at the hospital, having just returned from there? Are the doctors overwhelmed or do they think that they're going to be able to deal with this?
[Sidner:] They're doing their best. What's happened is, in Phnom Penh, which is the capital, that's where the majority of the cases have been discovered. Mainly because the children's hospital that is here is well-known around the country and many people would bring their child if they're very sick to that hospital in particular. The hospital we went to was in the southwestern part of the country. Many of these cases are coming from the southern part of the country, though they're not clustered. There's not one area where they're finding lots and lots of cases, but dotted around most of the south. Doctors, right now, are always dealing with other kinds of illnesses, like dengue fever and encephalitis. Dengue fever is a big problem. About 50 children per day are admitted into the particular hospital that we were in during the rainy season, which is now. So they're dealing with that. They've got a lot of patients. But this particular disease has really got a lot of people worried and concerned. And they're really looking just for the answer. What is it that is killing these children? Randi.
[Kaye:] It's a terrible, terrible situation there. Sara Sidner, thank you for the update on that. And now here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're working on for you this morning. A virus infects millions of computers worldwide and now the FBI is going to kick some of you off the Internet on purpose starting tomorrow. Then, a wild scene at this Ohio gas station when a runaway semi crashes near one of the gas pumps. Plus, the family of Nelson Mandela offers a unique tribute to the icon ahead of his 94th birthday. His granddaughters join me live to tell us what it is. And one on one with Ringo Starr. The music legend reflects on his days as a member of the Fab Four.
[Ringo Starr, The Beatles":] They were incredibly, you know, exciting and important days for me. And the music we made is still important.

[Phillips:] Checking stories Cross Country now. Sacramento, California, lots of sour faces at the capital now that the state has cut off paychecks to legislators. Voters passed Prop 25 saying they won't get until they pass a balanced budget. Legislators get about $95,000 a year. In Boston, Nike getting complaints about T-shirts with controversial slogans like "Get High" and "Dope." Nike says the phrases don't promote drugs but are a reference to sports. Boston's mayor sent a letter protesting the T-shirts. And a history making sports event is in negotiations between the NCAA and the Navy. The carrier USS Carl Vincent, based in San Diego could host the first ever major college basketball game between Michigan State and North Carolina. And in Alvin, Texas, a single mom tries to stop three brothers from stealing beer from a local Wal-Mart. So what did she do? She chased them to the car, jumped on the roof and tried to open the driver's door as the car sped off. She's OK. Cops arrested the three after a dramatic chase. The woman says she's tired of people who see crime and look the other way. And there's new intrigue at the Casey Anthony murder trial. As you look live in the courtroom in Orlando, a potential new witness has surfaced. She spent time in jail with Casey Anthony and her same child died the same way defense attorney say little Caylee died. CNN's David Mattingly is live in Orlando. So, if she testifies, David, what impact could the testimony have?
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, it was a surprise yesterday when the prosecution came forward. The jury didn't hear any of this and they don't know what is going on. But the prosecution saying that investigators are pursuing a theory that Casey Anthony may have fabricated her story about Caylee Anthony dying in the family swimming pool, being discovered by her grandfather after hearing a similar story, a real life tragedy from a fellow cell mate while she was in jail. This cellmate, having a very similar experience. Her young child drowning in a family swimming pool. The body being found by the grandfather. Police now want to know did Casey Anthony come in contact with that story there and could she have used it to fabricate the story that's now before the court. In the meantime today, we've got just a parade of experts we've heard from an FBI geologist and an FBI chemist. Both of them called by the defense and both of them saying they did not find any evidence linking Casey Anthony to that crime scene. So far, a parade of witnesses and we're expecting to hear more today Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right, David thanks. Coming up, remember the Concorde jet? Faster than the speed of sound? Now two different airplane makers say they will bring supersonic aircraft back to the skies. Plus
[Jeanne Moos, Cnn National Correspondent:] Who is Jon Huntsman?
[Unidentified Male:] I have not a clue.
[Moos:] Jon Huntsman.
[Unidentified Male:] No idea. I have no idea.
[Unidentified Female:] Good question.
[Unidentified Male:] Oh I don't know.
[Phillips:] Name recognition, not so good for the newest presidential candidate.

[Malveaux:] In Austria today, American skiing sensation Lindsey Vonn airlifted to the hospital after a crash on the slopes. A hospital says Vonn suffered a complex knee injury on opening day of the Super-G event al the Alpine Ski World championships. Christina Macfarlane, host of "Alpine Edge." Tell us, first of all, do we know where she is and how she's doing?
[Christina Macfarlane, Host, "alpine Edge":] Hi, Suzanne. Yes, she's in a hospital, airlifted to hospital from the place close to where the tournament is taking place. In the last 10 minutes, we've been able to confirm from her surgeon treating her at the moment, she has sustained a torn ligament to the right knee. However, no immediate operation will be necessary for her at this time, and apparently, the ski association considering whether or not to take her, fly her back to the United States.
[Malveaux:] what does this mean for her skiing future? Do we know?
[Macfarlane:] Well, it not great for her skiing future. We spoke to her in December, and she was excited about this season, on the cusp of breaking the world record of number of world cup wins. Looking to next year, it's the Winter Olympics, the big one on the horizon, whether she'll be ready to defend the gold medal is another question altogether.
[Malveaux:] When we see the video of that, give us a sense of what was it like on the slopes, conditions that caused this accident. Do we have any idea what was behind this?
[Macfarlane:] Yes. It was a very cloudy morning on the place, I understand, so much so they were deciding whether or not to let the race go ahead. When Lindsey had her crash, there was an outcry from skiers, fellow skiers below that this shouldn't have been allowed to take place, given the conditions. And the ski world, of course, shocked that on the first day of the major championship such an event, that arguably the biggest skier in living history at the moment has sustained such an injury.
[Malveaux:] Do we know if they're continuing their event, the competition, in light of this?
[Macfarlane:] I believe so, yes. I think they'll take the conditions into account in the days to come, but there's a raft of events set to take place over the next two weeks. And the event itself, I mean, it's reported that they've invested $584 million in the event. I think it will continue to take place but without its biggest star, Lindsey Vonn.
[Malveaux:] What a loss there. Thank you very much, Christina. Really appreciate it and we certainly hope that she recovers well. In Syria, Christians are siding with the government of Bashar al Assad. They are helping his forces to fight off the rebels. We're going to explain why and what it means for the bloody civil war.

[Berman:] All right. Welcome back to STARTING POINT, everyone. You're going to want to hear this according to an upcoming book about wealthy New York parents, some Manhattan mothers are hiring disabled tour guides because it allows them to jump to the front of the line at Disney World.
[Romans:] CNN has reached out to Disney. We've reached to a company called Dream Tours Florida which at least one parent claims provided this black market tour service. And neither organization has responded. The upcoming book is called "Primates of Park Avenue," an anthropological memoir of Manhattan motherhood. A beautiful title. The author is social researcher Wednesday Martin is here now. This story has so many people buzzing about this story. The idea of the 1 percent of the 1 percent hiring disabled tour guides to get through Disney. Is that really happening?
[Wednesday Martin, Social Researcher & Author:] It really is happening. And, you know, as you know, I'm a social researcher, and I live in what I consider a pretty exotic tribe. I live among the privileged and powerful parents of New York City. And once in a while, when you're a social researcher in this world, I mean, I live in the world. I'm fascinated by it, and once in a while, I uncover something a practice that's truly surprising. And this was sure one of them.
[Berman:] And you're writing about this in your book which is coming out. "The New York Post" also wrote about it this week and they quoted a mother saying who apparently engaged in this practice with a group called Dream Tours Florida. And this mother said, "My daughter waited one minute to get on it's a small world. The other kids had to wait 2 12 hours. You can't go to Disney without a tour concierge. This is how the one percent does Disney."
[Romans:] Is it a lens into a certain kind of life?
[Martin:] It is absolutely that. You know, as a social researcher, it's truly not my job to judge and I've watched as people talk about this story and the stories become a springboard for conversations. The perspective of the social researcher would be, this is a tribal behavior. When you hire these guides, what you're doing is you're affirming, that you're a member of this group of people that exchanges this quasi-secret privileged information. You're part of that exchange economy.
[Romans:] But you think you're better than everyone. I mean, this obviously you think you're better than anyone. You don't need to wait 2 12 hours.
[Martin:] I think this woman's description of this is how the one percent does Disney was accurate. How ironic she was being, I can't say, but I think it's an accurate description that these people are doing Disney and many other things in a different way.
[Berman:] But look, there are two things going on here. I mean, we're talking about the one percent or the top echelon. They have a lot of money. They can pay for legitimate V.I.P. tours. Why are they hiring this disabled group?
[Martin:] That's right. The way that the parents that I interviewed, and it's not just moms but dads as well, its privileged parents, and the way that many of them described it to me was that the V.I.P. tour guides who are officially with Disney cost more money and only get you speed passes whereas if you hire a handicapped black market Disney guy, you get an additional level of privilege, which is that you get to go to the front of the line, according to them, because this is Disney policy that disabled people and their parties don't wait. So and again, on top of that, the privilege that these people are also getting is that they're sort of demonstrating their affiliation with this exclusive tribe of people who do these things. When they hire these guides, they're saying, I'm one of you. This is the way we do things. We are different from other people. That's part of what's going on here.
[Romans:] It's just so outrageous.
[Berman:] We just say, we have reached out to Disney for a statement. They have not responded to us. Are they aware as far as you know that these outside groups are doing this and that people from Manhattan are doing this?
[Martin:] I would presume that this practice is an open secret in Manhattan, and that it was inevitable that this information would get out and that Disney would try to address it, but I should say this is the tip of the iceberg. This is a town where people have $4,000 birthday parties for four-year-olds. This is a town where we can hire a play date consultant to make sure that our children are doing play dates and learning to play the right way. So, this is a very particular world in which parents like parents everywhere are trying to do what's best for their children, but in Manhattan, what's best is a different animal all together.
[Berman:] You make it sound like such a great place. Wow.
[Romans:] Wow!
[Berman:] By the way, not everyone lives like that here, but it is alarming to hear that some people do. Wednesday Martin, thank you so much.
[Martin:] Thank you for having me.
[Romans:] You're my only play date consultant. I just ask you.
[Berman:] I let them fight and wrestle. That's what I do. That's a play date.
[Romans:] Nice to meet you.
[Martin:] Thank you. All right. Ahead on STARTING POINT, this amazing story. Buried for 17 days under rubble, the teen who survived the deadly Bangladesh factory collapse speaks for the first time. She tells the world what she will never do again. A CNN exclusive is next on STARTING POINT.

[Holmes:] Sixteen minutes past the hour now here on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's been the talk really of the past several days how best to protect members of Congress. They have a meeting going on today. They're going to be talking about security after that attack on Congresswoman Giffords. Some are talking about possibly beefing up security, maybe more guards. Talking about even Plexiglas the House gallery. Some are, however, taking matters into their own hands, deciding it's best for them to make sure they arm themselves including my next guest, Congressman Jason Chaffetz. He is a Republican from Utah joining me this morning. Sir, I appreciate you taking the time out and talking about this. Certainly a sensitive and emotional topic, very personal for you all. So thank you for being here. You had a concealed weapons permit before you were ever elected to Congress, is that correct?
[Rep. Jason Chaffetz , Utah:] Yes, yes.
[Holmes:] Now why did you feel the need to have one in the first place?
[Chaffetz:] Well, it's just a personal security measure on my part. I feel comfortable with it. It's not for everyone. Nobody should rush out because of what happened on Saturday and suddenly start to do something new. But for my own personal security, I just felt comfortable around firearms and I feel comfortable with concealed carry permit. I don't do it all the time but I do it sometimes and I just feel more comfortable doing it.
[Holmes:] Will you start doing it more now after this incident?
[Chaffetz:] Well, I mean, I might do it a little bit more regularly, but I don't think we should overreact to what happened in the tragedy. It was a very isolated incident. Even if, you know, that had happened in Utah, heaven forbid, I don't know that it would have necessarily solved anything. So, yes, I mean, it's something I did before Congress, I've done since I've been elected to Congress and I will continue to do.
[Holmes:] What necessarily is your level of concern or what has it been for your own personal safety? And have you had not necessarily close calls but at least incidents or even threats to you that kind of raised some red flags for you?
[Chaffetz:] Well, I think look, I'm just entering my second term. I've only been here 24 months. But unfortunately, every member of Congress both sides of the aisle I think has had a degree of threats that have come in a variety of different forms. We're going to have to get more serious about some of those threats. I think the follow- through that happens is going to have to be taken a little bit more seriously. I think everybody is on edge. We're praying and rooting for our colleague in Gabby Giffords. But, please, we've got to follow through on some of those that are obviously off-balanced that can't distinguish right from wrong, that can't distinguish reality. Those need to be taken a little bit more serious. But at the same time, I don't think there needs to be special rules or new legislation to do something special for members of Congress. I don't think we need to go that far.
[Holmes:] And you're talking about there certainly a lot of things being thrown out there. I know you're all having a pretty big meeting today to talk about security.
[Chaffetz:] Yes.
[Holmes:] But one of those people going to be at that meeting and you want to be talking at that meeting is the sergeant-at-arms, Terrance Gainer. He was on with me a little earlier this morning, and he said period, point blank and unequivocally, we do not need to have members of Congress carrying guns because that just introduce you introduce more guns into the situation. What is your response to that at least?
[Chaffetz:] Well, it is my Second Amendment right as a law-abiding citizen to go ahead and carry a weapon if I so choose. I do not do it here in the Capitol. There is a huge security force. There would be logistical challenges. But what I do in my own district, in my own state, which is done by a lot of my other residents of my state, I think is something that is a personal choice of mine. And I don't think it creates more of a problem.
[Holmes:] All right. And last thing here, I'll give you a moment here to wrap this up. People may not realize that your next door neighbor in Congress, the person whose office is right next door to yours is Gabby Giffords. Just give me your thoughts on your neighbor and what she appears to be doing right now is remarkable in her recovery.
[Chaffetz:] Well, I think the nation is in shock. And look, we it's the whole spectrum. It's the sadness, then the devastation of seeing that little 9-year-old girl who was shot and the other people that were killed and the grieving that we're going through. We're also rooting and cheering and so excited and praying for Gabby Giffords and her recovery. It's the entire spectrum of emotion around here. And, gosh, God bless her and God bless those who have been affected by this. It's really striking a chord and I know it is with all Americans.
[Holmes:] All right. Well, Congressman Chaffetz, I certainly know you all are going through a tough time. I bet your colleague is your friend and literally in your case
[Chaffetz:] Yes.
[Holmes:] it is your neighbor up there on Capitol Hill. Sir, thank you for taking the time out with us. We'll continue to touch base with you down the road.
[Chaffetz:] Thank you.
[Holmes:] Thanks so much. All right, Alina.
[Cho:] Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, a CNN exclusive. One year after the earthquake in Haiti, we return to an orphanage where children were living in squalor. Now just wait until you see the difference that just $6,000 made. And later, where the jobs are. Companies are hiring out there. We'll show you where to look. It's 21 minutes after the hour.

[Blitzer:] A fresh round of deadly violence across the Middle East and North Africa. In Syria, witnesses say nine people were killed in sniper fire. One group reports that more than 400 people have died since the beginning of the uprising. CNN has been denied access to report from inside the country and we cannot verify witness accounts. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council is holding an openly-televised meeting to address the crisis in Syria right now. In Yemen, sources say 13 anti-government protesters were killed, more than 100 injured in clashes with security forces, making it one of the deadliest days in weeks in demonstrations. And in the besieged Libyan city of Misrata, rebels suffering the heaviest bombardment yet by pro-Gadhafi forces. Three people were reportedly killed, several wounded, when shells detonated near a refugee camp. A startling new attempt to show support for the Libyan government. Gadhafi's fighters, including children, were put on display today by the regime as they got weapons training the kids included. CNN's Fred Pleitgen was taken on the government tour. Let's turn to Fred right now firsthand. What did you see? What was going on, Fred?
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, what the government told us, Wolf, is that these people are, in fact, regular people. Obviously, some of them only teenagers. But they said the others were engineers, shopkeepers who wanted to fight for Moammar Gadhafi. And apparently what's going on is that they're forwarding these pro-Gadhafi fighting forces in some towns. The place that we were taken to is called Tarhuna, which is about 50 miles southeast of Tripoli. And they get about a month of training on things like rocket-propelled grenades, machineguns, assault rifles, and then t hey say they're going to defend Tripoli against what they say is an attack by the NATO crusaders. And they also say that they were willing to fight against the tribes in Misrata. But one of the disturbing things, obviously, that we saw there is, among these people that were getting training were a lot of teenagers. And later, we also went to a school that we were taken to where we saw girls that we believe were around 12 to maybe 13 also getting training on assault rifles, learning to disassemble and reassemble those assault rifles. So that was something that was quite disturbing. But again, Gadhafi is saying that these are regular people who are coming to volunteer, to defend him against NATO Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Are these Gadhafi elements so desperate they need little kids, children, to help fight for them?
[Pleitgen:] Well, I mean, obviously, this comes at a time when there really hasn't been very much in a show of public support quite recently. I mean, you have pro-Gadhafi demos that are obviously organized here in Tripoli. But one of the things that's going on is that many people here are wondering, if the uprising in places like Misrata, in the east, is really elements that are not Libyan, then where are the Libyans who are standing up against them? I mean, Gadhafi keeps saying that the tribes in and around the Misrata area are going to go there, are going to speak to the rebels there. So far, that hasn't happened, and some people are wondering where that public support actually is. So this seems to be somewhat of a show or a campaign to show that, yes, that public support is there. Yes, the people in some places are willing to take up arms for Gadhafi. And it does seem as though there is some support or a lot of support at least in that area that we were in, in Tarhuna, for Moammar Gadhafi, as well as in other places here in western Libya. However, so far, to many people here and many to people around the world, that doesn't seem as though people are not mobilizing in favor of Moammar Gadhafi Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Fred Pleitgen, on the scene for us in Tripoli. Thank you. A big step, at least potentially, toward political reconciliation in the Palestinian territories. Officials of Hamas and Fatah say the rival movements have announced a deal to form a unity government. The move comes amid international efforts to advance the cause of Palestinian statehood. Donald Trump claims to have a new weapon against President Obama. The problem is, it doesn't exist. We'll talk about it in our "Strategy Session." Plus, the actor Matt Damon helping provide people around the world with clean water. In this "Impact Your World" segment, we travel with him to Ethiopia.
[Matt Damon, Actor/water.org:] We're about 60 kilometers outside Mek'ele, Ethiopia. This is a hand-dug well. It services about 6,000 people. The kids behind me, they've come here to gather their water. The bottles you see them drinking, full of that dirty water. That's what they come to fetch to take to school.
[Unidentified Male:] This is a matter of life and death.
[Damon:] A matter of life and death.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Damon:] It's in people's nature to want to step up and do their part.
[Announcer:] Join the movement, CNN.comimpact.
[Blitzer:] Let's get to our "Strategy Session." Joining us now, the interim co-chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Donna Brazile, also a CNN political contributor. And the Republican strategist, Alex Castellanos. Guys, thanks very much for coming in. What do you think, Donna? Why do you think the president decided today of all days to go ahead and release his original birth certificate? A lot of folks have been pressing him to do it for two years.
[Donna Brazile, Cnn Political Contributor:] Well, as you know, he did release his birth certificate two years ago, posted it on his campaign Web site. But, as you know, Wolf, in the last couple of where there's been new allegations that the first the short form wasn't good enough, that some people wanted to see the long form. And so the president had to request, because since the 1980s, the state of Hawaii has an administration regulation that you have to request a live form, the longer form. And so he received it last night and they put it out first thing this morning. Look, I don't believe it's going to stop the rumors. It's not going to stop the distraction. And it won't stop the birthers from going around making up more things. But at least the president has put it out there. And if you want to know what his sign it, he's a Leo and he was born at 7:24 p.m. Thank you, Mr. President.
[Blitzer:] We learned that. Should this now end this whole birther controversy, Alex? Is it over once and for all?
[Alex Castellanos, Cnn Political Contributor:] You know, we certainly hope so, because there's certainly enough serious issues confronting the United States and questions about President Obama's leadership. I mean, if we're going to release a long form, it would be great to see the longer explanation of how the president wants to spend more in Washington while reducing the deficit, how he's going to stimulate the economy while taking tax money out of it, how he's going to win a war in Libya while he's trying to get out of the war in Libya. There's a lot of other things we could talk about other than something I think the president has put to bed today.
[Blitzer:] Donald Trump came out boasting he's responsible for getting the president to do this today, Donna. Should Donald Trump be taken seriously as a potential Republican presidential candidate?
[Brazile:] Look, I think you should take anybody seriously, Wolf, who wants to toss their hat in the ring. And, of course, with his money and celebrity, I would take him seriously. But I want to address what Alex just said, because that's the reason why the president wants to move this conversation out of the Republican caucus and out of the mainstream media, because he wants to talk about how to attack the deficit in a fair and balanced way. He wants to talk about job creation, he wants to talk about giving small businesses the capital they need to go out there and produce the jobs of the 21st century. But you can't have that conversation if all we're listening to is the noise on the far right.
[Blitzer:] Yes. Alex, just quickly, on the Republican field, the presidential field out there, you know, there are a lot of folks in your party, the Republican Party, who aren't satisfied really with any of these candidates. They are looking for someone else from the outside Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida; Marco Rubio, the current young senator from Florida; Chris Christie. Now Paul Ryan's name is being mentioned. What do you think? Is the current field that weak that they've got to find somebody else who isn't even interested in running?
[Castellanos:] Not at all, Wolf. As a matter of fact, this is generally the way the process works. One of the things I've learned in hundreds and hundreds of campaigns over the years is that campaigns don't pick candidates. Campaigns make candidates. They go through this tough process with presidential primaries just like Senator Barack Obama did. Nobody gave him a shot at the start. But they go through this tough process, and it strengthens them. Some get knocked out. We find out they don't have the strength of character or the vision to lead. But others become presidential contenders right in front of our eyes. The Republican field is going to look very different six months from now because they are going to be tested.
[Blitzer:] Can't wait to see it all unfold because I love politics, especially presidential politics. Guys, thanks very much.
[Brazile:] I think Mr. Trump needs to call Alex because he could get some really good advice.
[Blitzer:] Well, maybe Alex will go to work for Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican candidate. You interested, Alex?
[Castellanos:] I just lost him.
[Blitzer:] No, he can't hear me. He just lost us.
[Brazile:] I'll speak for him. Alex will take his call.
[Blitzer:] All right. Thanks, guys.
[Brazile:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] We're studying the president's newly-released birth certificate line by line. Stand by. Tom Foreman, over at the Magic Wall, to show us the fine print. And a CNN correspondent has managed to get back into Misrata to report firsthand on the devastation unfolding by Libyan forces.

[Blitzer:] The Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, showing off a new side in Iowa today. Listen to this dramatic exchange.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] Over the coming decades, going to be able to balance our budget and not spend more that we take in, we have to make sure that the promises we make in Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are promises we can keep. And there are various ways of doing that. One is, we can raise taxes on people. That
[Unidentified Male:] Corporations!
[Unidentified Female:] Corporations!
[Romney:] Of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes? OK. So, number one, you can raise taxes. You can raise taxes. That's not the approach that I would take. Number two, you can make sure that the promises we make are promises that we can keep.
[Blitzer:] All right. A good exchange there. Let's talk about it in our "Strategy Session." Joining us, our CNN political contributor Roland Martin, and Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez. She's the founder and CEO of Impacto Group. That's a communications firm. Guys, thanks very much.
[Roland Martin, Cnn Political Contributor:] Glad to be here.
[Blitzer:] A tough he got into a little fight over there. What did you think of that exchange?
[Martin:] First of all, he should expect a lot more of that. Americans are not particularly happy when you have folks like General Electric not paying any taxes whatsoever, but your average working man and woman, folks who are out of work, having to pay as well. And so he is going to have to confront that, because he is going to be positioned as the CEO candidate. And so he has to address his history with Wall Street, and also running corporations, buying companies, but laying thousands of folks off.
[Blitzer:] Yes, General Electric last year making about $14 billion worldwide, $5 billion here in the United States, and not paying any federal income tax because of losses in previous years.
[Leslie Sanchez, Republican Strategist:] Sure. I mean, I think that's how the Democrats are going to frame it. I think the real issue he's talking about is corporations are made up of people, they are an amalgamation. You raise taxes on corporations, you're going to lower dividends, which affects shareholders, which is our 401 [k] s, our pensions, steel workers, everybody else. It deflates wages, the number of jobs that are there, and it actually doesn't help with a pro-growth strategy. That's what he's trying to say. Did he say it in the best way? No. Does it increase skepticism about people that were already skeptical about Romney? Yes.
[Martin:] But Wolf
[Blitzer:] I was just going to say, does Rick Perry's he's going to make the announcement jumping into this Republican race on Saturday. Does that does he automatically emerge as the major challenger to Mitt Romney?
[Sanchez:] Absolutely. He's a major challenger for everybody, including Barack Obama. This is the campaign that has been on standby, has the resources. It's been quietly, in many cases, talking to so many of those large donors who are out there. And they are increasingly feeling confident that their big donors are ready and available who were keeping their powder dry, so to speak. I think there's a lot of momentum. It will take off like a rocket. But the thing people do not understand a lot of times about Governor Perry is he is in it for the long haul. He's a very hard campaigner. He likes retail politics. He will be going door to door, and that's I think what people expect.
[Blitzer:] He's never lost a race in his life.
[Martin:] He hasn't lost a race. But, Leslie, I think you're jumping ahead of yourself. Before he begins to challenge President Obama, he needs to get the Republican primary first. And so no doubt, I think, stepping in, he also vaults to the top three, if you will, on the Republican side.
[Blitzer:] With Michele Bachmann.
[Martin:] Well, look, Michele Bachmann, we'll see what happens with the Ames straw poll. But the most fundamental thing is he still has to run. And so right now he looks great on paper. I think he will be a strong candidate. I don't think he will be like Fred Thompson was in 2008, Rudy Giuliani in 2008. But again, there's a difference between when you get out there and begin to campaign and then what happens on paper. Huge difference.
[Sanchez:] I think the difference, Roland, that we're talking about is these candidates know where the target is. The target is the economy and the leadership of President Obama. Yes, there's a primary. We're talking about constituencies and social conservatives and where the but he is coming at it with a very strong, proven record in Texas
[Martin:] No, I understand.
[Sanchez:] with the resources, and with a campaign team that has been with him since 1998.
[Martin:] I understand.
[Sanchez:] I talked to his pollster today. They said, should he decide to declare, they are committed, but they are going to be following his leadership.
[Blitzer:] He's got a lot of rich guys who support him.
[Martin:] Of course. But two former Texans who had tons of money and who flamed out as candidates, former governor John Connally, Senator Phil Gramm. Had tons of money, had the resources, but again, you still have to run.
[Sanchez:] Very true. Anything is possible. But let's look at the positives here. And it challenges other candidates. He gets 60 percent of Independent voters in the conservative states.
[Martin:] Right. He will be strong. He'll be strong.
[Sanchez:] The Independent voters being big, Hispanic voters being big, working class voters being big.
[Martin:] I'm saying you've got to run first.
[Blitzer:] Well, he's getting ready to run.
[Martin:] He's getting ready to run.
[Blitzer:] This weekend he'll be in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa.
[Sanchez:] And Iowa.
[Blitzer:] He's running.
[Sanchez:] But Wolf, let's learn we will learn our lesson of anointing a candidate.
[Blitzer:] No one is
[Martin:] But when you say President Obama, ask Senator Clinton. She was anointed the candidate, the inevitable. She didn't win the nomination. You've got to win the nomination first.
[Sanchez:] I think we are far from anointing anybody on the right.
[Martin:] OK.
[Blitzer:] What do you think of this super committee now, this Gang of 12 that some are calling at least I'm calling it a gang Gang of 12? You can see the pictures right behind us. Six senators, six members of the House. You think by Thanksgiving they're going to be able to come up with a deal that would pass?
[Sanchez:] I think it's very noticeable with the Gang of 12. There is none of the Gang of 6. And I think that's what people are talking about, is how can we expect a lot of skepticism if this is the group that can really have compromise, bring people together, do the $1.2 trillion in cuts. I think there is a lot of skepticism right now, and it would have been nice to see more leadership if Minority Leader Pelosi had been on there, somebody who can really negotiate.
[Martin:] No. First of all, you don't need Boehner, Cantor, Pelosi on Steny Hoyer on this particular committee. But people have to remember, all it takes is seven votes. OK? And so we assume that six Democrats, six Republicans, there will be no compromise. No. You do have some hard-liners on this list, but you do have the opportunity for somebody to say, look, I'm not going to sit here and be so hard-lined. I can actually cross the aisle. If you have five Democrats, you pick up a couple Republicans, you've got seven.
[Blitzer:] I could easily see a situation and correct me if I'm wrong where you have all six Republicans not budging on raising taxes because they have signed that Grover Norquist pledge, no new taxes. They're not going to raise taxes, but they will make significant spending cuts. They need one Democrat who's going to cross over and join for a 7-5 vote. Max Baucus, for example, of Montana, could he be that Democrat? He voted for the Bush tax cuts back in 2001, 2003. Could he be that swing vote that would help the Republicans get a 7-5 majority, which would then bring it to the floor and the House, no amendments, no filibusters, and an up-or-down vote?
[Sanchez:] I think that you pointed to the right part of that, and that was the tax cut component. Be looking at a lot of the rates and such, and maybe some of the special loopholes that a lot of special interests have, looking at cutting those kinds of things, something that happened back in the '80s. Those are the kind of reforms I think Republicans and Democrats it's very difficult to make, but getting rid of a lot of those loopholes.
[Martin:] But the Republicans cannot keep talking about no tax cuts when the Bush tax cuts did contribute to the deficit. And so, look, the whole point
[Blitzer:] Could you see that 7-5 scenario?
[Martin:] I see any kind of 7-5 scenario. I don't necessarily see six Republicans saying absolutely nothing in tax cuts. We could sit here and dance all day around it. The CBO says it adds to the deficit. At the end of the day, if they think that they're going to do just
[Blitzer:] You think one of those Republicans might break the Grover Norquist pledge?
[Martin:] Look, I think when you have 12 people who have to be grownups, someone has tell Grover Norquist
[Blitzer:] So the answer is yes, you can see that?
[Martin:] Absolutely. Because
[Blitzer:] Anyone want to guess which Republican would do that?
[Martin:] No. First of all, you can't guess right now because you don't know the dynamics of the negotiation and what happens. I do believe though you will have the Republican who tells Grover Norquist, you are unelected, I am, this is for the good of the country.
[Blitzer:] All right. We'll know by Thanksgiving, guys.
[Sanchez:] We will.
[Blitzer:] Thank you. Jack Cafferty is asking, what does it mean when the British and especially the French governments work harder than America's government? He will be back with "The Cafferty File." And valuable lessons from Apple for businesses around the country after the high-tech giant's value hits a new high.

[Hammer:] Big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT carding the Kardashians. The outrage today over Kim, Khloe and Kourtney`s debit card.
[Anderson:] Hot new Hollywood couples. Taylor and Jake. A-Rod and Cameron. Jessica and Eric. The SHOWBIZ Flashpoint today love them or hate them?
[Hammer:] Outrage today over Justin Bieber`s controversial new performance. Watch this. And the Bieb does the unthinkable. He changes his hair. Whoo! Plus, breaking today from the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker," Willie Nelson gets popped for pot. And Jay-Z now a best-selling author.
[Announcer:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer coming to you from New York City.
[Anderson:] And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood with big news breaking today Kardashian crackdown.
[Hammer:] Yes, Brooke. Kim and her sisters sparked massive outrage today after a high-powered politician called them dangerous to teens everywhere. Now, the big ruckus is over their Kardashian card. It`s a prepaid debit card and it can cost up to $100 to sign up for. And it has so many fees that critics say they are almost impossible to keep up with. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you there has been a surprising new twist breaking late today. Right now, in New York, Sunny Hostin she is a legal contributor for "In Session" on Tru TV. Also, in New York, Midwin Charles. She`s an attorney and runs Midwin Charles and Associates. OK. So here`s the deal. Today, the Connecticut attorney general slammed the sky-high fees associated with Kim, Kourtney and Khloe`s Kardashian card saying in a statement to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this, "This card appears to specifically target young adults in evoking the name and image of the Kardashian family who showcase lives of luxury and extravagance." "Known for their reality show, `Keeping Up with the Kardashians,` the family is marketing a dangerous financial fantasy." Now, late today, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT did learn the Kardashians contacted Connecticut`s top attorney and promised to pull the plug on the card. I`d say that`s pretty good news. Sunny, do you think they avoided some major legal fallout with this last-minute decision?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session":] they did and they endeared parents to them which I think is key, because parents are concerned about their kids trying to emulate the Kardashian lifestyle, the luxury lifestyle. And by pulling the plug on the credit card, I think the parents are going to like them even more. So that`s a big, big move for them.
[Hammer:] Yes. This was the right move. It was a smart move. And let`s face it. You know, regardless of what you may think of them, say what you will, they have made smart, smart, smart decisions about their businesses, clothes, perfume. The list goes on and on. Kim launched a line of watches today. So Midwin, I`m thinking by pulling the plug, they saved themselves some possible damage not only legally but also to their very valuable reputation.
[Charles:] I think they did. Thus far, just about everything they`ve touched has turned to gold. And this might be one of the first things that they`ve done that perhaps had a bit of a backlash. But I applaud the attorney general for kind of stepping out and doing what he`s supposed to do, which is protect consumers
[Hammer:] Yes. Perhaps we can chalk this up to some bad advice handed over to the Kardashian sisters. Well, Kourtney, Khloe and Kim are trying to move past this whole debit card debacle. Today, they happened to be on the hot seat on "The View" this morning, talking about almost everything else. This morning, Kim made a stunning revelation about her love life. Take a look.
[Walters:] Are you dating Halle Berry`s ex, model Gabriel Aubry?
[Shepherd:] Oh, boy.
[Kim Kardashian:] I`m single and I`m dating. And I`m having fun. I decided the entire year of me being 30, I`m going to try to be single.
[Walters:] One whole year.
[Kim Kardashian:] I`m going to try. It doesn`t mean that I don`t meet gorgeous, amazing people. And you know I`m but I`m trying.
[Walters:] OK. All right.
[Hammer:] She`s trying to be single. Now, Sunny, I watched you very carefully studying her face as she answered that question. You were focused in like a laser. A smart move or is it just spin in your mind?
[Hostin:] It`s just spin. I think it`s clear she`s dating him, but that was a wonderful little sort of trick there. She said, "I`m single and I`m dating and I`m having a good time." And that`s really the way that you answer because Halle Berry is loved by so many people. People are upset about the breakup and then, she sort of comes in and looks like sort of the breakup master.
[Hammer:] Yes. I don`t think that`s what happened here. But I do say you know, I`m learning about the Kardashian sisters more and more every day. I did not realize that Kim was never single. She`s always been in a relationship since she was a teenager.
[Anderson:] Serial dater.
[Hammer:] Never had time out, so she`s taking time out. Good move. All right. Let`s move on to breaking royal wedding news. Brooke Anderson, what`s going on?
[Anderson:] Well, there`s a brand-new mystery on both sides of the pond today, A.J. Is Susan Boyle going to sing at the wedding of the century, the wedding of Prince William and Kate? Also, another question is Charlie Sheen`s wife in rehab? New reports today. And Lady Gaga going silent to save lives. It`s all making big news in "The Buzz Today." I think Susan Boyle singing at Prince William and Kate Middleton`s wedding would be an amazing coup. Midwin, do you think the royal wedding planners are working their fingers to the bone today to make this happen?
[Charles:] I certainly hope that they are. Listen, I love Susan Boyle. I love everything that she stands for. I mean, a woman who just didn`t look the part, stepped out on stage after so many years and is now living her dream. I mean, who can`t relate to that?
[Hostin:] I can`t relate, Midwin. I can`t relate. I disagree.
[Charles:] And the millions of albums that she sold say so.
[Hostin:] Her 15 minutes are over. And I think this is a really hip, a really now couple. I just can`t imagine that they`re going to
[Anderson:] But Sunny, her voice is like that of an angel.
[Hostin:] I never liked her voice.
[Anderson:] If not Susan Boyle if not Susan Boyle, Sunny, then who?
[Hostin:] I`m thinking someone kind of hip, kind of now, maybe, you know, Alicia Keys, maybe a little Jay-Z, something just a little hip. We know that his mom, Princess Diana, was on the music scene. She was good friends with Sir Elton John. Maybe Elton John. But Susan Boyle?
[Anderson:] Maybe Elton John. Midwin, could do you Elton John?
[Charles:] I could.
[Anderson:] Or Susan Boyle could do a duet with Elton John.
[Charles:] Yes.
[Anderson:] He was good friends with Princess Di.
[Hostin:] Yes. Maybe. Maybe.
[Charles:] I think Elton John would be a great pick because he did write a song and sing it at Princess Diana`s funeral. So I just thought this would be a beautiful way to kind of round things out.
[Hostin:] I`ll do that one. I`ll do that one.
[Anderson:] Sunny would accept Susan if she had a wing man maybe.
[Hostin:] Yes.
[Anderson:] All right. Sunny Hostin, Midwin Charles, thank you both.
[Hammer:] All right. Moving on now, there are stunning new details today about Hollywood`s new "it" couples. I`m talking about Jake and Taylor, A- Rod and Cameron, Jessica and Eric. Today`s SHOWBIZ Flashpoint love them or hate them?
[Anderson:] There`s big Oscar buzz today. We`re going to reveal right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT who will be hosting the 2011 Oscars.
[Hammer:] It`s not who you think it would be either. Wait until you hear that. And also, Justin Bieber under fire today for this controversial performance.
[Text:] Willie Nelson arrested for marijuana possession in Texas. Usher wins "Best Album of the Year" at the Soul Train Awards.
[Hammer:] This just in today, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has just learned two big stars will be hosting the Oscars this year. It`s Anne Hathaway and James Franco.
[Anderson:] Yes. And neither is a stranger to the Oscars, especially Anne, because she had that song-and-dance routine two years ago with Hugh Jackman when he hosted. And it surprised a lot of people there. It was great.
[Hammer:] Yes. And I actually thought she was really good. Anne Hathaway, by the way, was nominated for an Oscar back in 2008 for "Rachel Getting Married." And there`s lots of buzz for James Franco`s performance in "127 Hours." Franco plays a guy that actually has to cut off his own arm to save his own life, Brooke.
[Anderson:] That`s right. And the Oscars are, of course, on February 27th here in Hollywood. You know SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be right there. A.J., I think it`s an inspired choice. Anne and James they`re hip. They`re fresh. They can sing. They can dance. So Oscar producers are hoping to revitalize that telecast.
[Hammer:] Yes. Keep them fresh. I actually like to call them a very modern choice, Brooke. I think it`s a really smart move. She is simply
[Anderson:] And here`s what we`re asking about their relationship, A.J. love it or hate it? There was big news today about some of the biggest, highest profile couples in Hollywood from Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift to Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez. Right now, in New York, Brian Balthazar from "PopGoesTheWeek.com." Also, right now, in New York, Noelle Nikpour, who is a columnist for "South Florida Sun Sentinel." Brian, Noelle, there has been so much speculation about whether Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift are an actual couple. Is it official? He`s 29, she`s 20. They were spotted together in Brooklyn on Thanksgiving on the holiday. Check out this picture posted today on "People.com" of Taylor and Jake. They were just enjoying breakfast in Taylor`s hometown of Nashville. Neither has officially confirmed a relationship. But really, right, it looks like things are getting serious. I love these two. I think they`re cutie pies. Noelle, what do you think of this couple? Love them, hate them?
[Noelle Nikpour, Columnist, "south Florida Sun Sentinel":] Oh, my gosh, I love, love, love them together. But they are so good together. And you know what? They both had their hearts broken and they`re both really cute. And I think they authentically want a romance and want a really good relationship. And I think it`s about time that both of them find somebody. And I love these two together. I`m so for this two.
[Anderson:] I do, too. And a nine-year age gap is nothing.
[Nikpour:] It`s nothing.
[Anderson:] Some people are talking about that. But Brian, what do you think? Jake and Taylor together, love it or hate it?
[Brian Balthazar, "popgoestheweek.com":] I have to say I love it, too. I think they kept a like those. I think they kept a relatively low profile.
[Anderson:] Those visual effects are nice.
[Balthazar:] Yes. I love it. They`ve kept a pretty low profile which is nice. And the great thing is, when this all falls apart, Jake gets a song written about him. So
[Anderson:] Oh, I don`t know if that`s a great thing for him or not, though.
[Balthazar:] That happens every time. Yes. I think they`re a cute couple and they`re keeping it low key and just doing their thing and I like that.
[Anderson:] Well, we also learned today about another couple getting cozy over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It seems that Cameron Diaz and Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez are back together again, and we`re asking love it or hate it? A-Rod and Cameron sunning it up in Mexico. I really want Cameron to find a good guy. But Noelle, isn`t A-Rod a player? What do you think? Love it or hate it?
[Nikpour:] Well, Brooke, I like this. And the reason I like it is because I think both of them have met their match. She`s a little bit of a flirt. And you know, he`s got a roving eye. So I think this is a pair made in heaven. I like it.
[Anderson:] OK. Well, I can tell you that another one of Hollywood`s hottest couples also spent the holiday together. A.J., what was up with Jessica Simpson and her fiance, Eric Johnson?
[Hammer:] Well, I am here to tell you, Brooke, that they spent their very first Thanksgiving together. Jessica whipped up some of her vegan dishes for her fiance and her family. Now, at first I`m going to be completely honest. I liked Jess a lot but I was worried about her getting involved with another sports star. But now, I have to say I love them. And I can say that without the angelic bells, I guess. But Brian, there`s a lot of love in the room. What do you think of Jessica and Eric? Love them or hate them?
[Balthazar:] I`ve got to say I hate them. First of all, don`t get me started on a tofu thanksgiving. I hate it. And I just feel that Jessica has an air of desperation about her right now. You know, it came a week after her ex-husband drew his engagement. I just feel this is a desperate plea to prove everyone she`s happy and I`m sorry, they just get the thumbs-down from me.
[Hammer:] We did find out, by the way, there was a rumor, you`d be happy about this that they had eaten a tofurkey. I mean, they actually didn`t eat the tofurkey.
[Balthazar:] I mean, listen, I love the vegetarian and vegan people. But I`m not Thanksgiving without meat is insane.
[Hammer:] Noelle, are you really? Oh, no. Are we going to hear the buzzer on you, too?
[Nikpour:] Yes. I`m not real crazy about either one of them. I like Jessica Simpson. I think she`s been through a whole lot, but I think too much, too quick, too soon. And they haven`t even dated a year, you know? Celebrity or not celebrity
[Hammer:] Here`s my theory here`s my theory as to why this is OK because she has been through so much. So obviously, she knows when it`s the real thing perhaps at this point. She`s been through the tough things. She knows she`s got to get it right this time. No? Nobody`s with me?
[Balthazar:] I think she is confused. She`s confused.
[Nikpour:] I think she`s confused. I think she`s wearing the suit of the Riddler. I think she has question marks and she has just jumped into it.
[Hammer:] All right. Fair enough. I do want to talk about this couple Ryan Seacrest and Julianne Hough. Now, he`s 35 years old; she`s 22 years old. They also spent the holiday together. And I`ve got to say, I actually love this couple. I`m just a little concerned about Ryan`s busy schedule. He`s one of the busiest guys in showbiz, so I do hope that he takes enough time from that busy schedule to keep not only Julianne happy, but their relationship healthy. Brian, love it, hate it?
[Balthazar:] Gentlemen, bring on the hearts. I love him. I think they`re great. He`s America. He`s apple pie. And I just think, you know, they`re adorable together. And so they go on a vacation. They went on a balcony and did a little kissy face for the press. They`re giving the press what they want. They`re following them anyway. So I think they had a nice family trip. They were with friends and family and I`ve got to love it.
[Hammer:] And you know what I`m saying? This is a guy with focus.
[Balthazar:] Right.
[Hammer:] And if he`s going to invest his time in somebody he doesn`t have that much spare time.
[Balthazar:] Yes.
[Hammer:] He`s going to hopefully be doing that with the right person.
[Balthazar:] Unlike Jessica, he knows what he wants and gets it.
[Hammer:] Noelle, buzzer or bells? What are we going to hear? Love them or hate them?
[Nikpour:] You`re going to get a thumbs-up, so you get some bells. But I will say I think this is the most normal relationship out of them all. He`s already met her parents. I think they spent time in Paris.
[Hammer:] Yes.
[Nikpour:] So they seem like they`re getting to know each other and they`re doing the day-to-day thing. Not Paris day-to-day. But I`m just saying that they`re getting to know each other and they`re dating. And I think it`s a great relationship and I think they`re two cool cats and I like it.
[Hammer:] Yes. I have felt an awful lot of love in the room and it warms my heart in this the holiday season. Thank you very much, guys. Brian Balthazar, Noelle Nikpour, we appreciate it. And in today`s exclusive SHOWBIZ TONIGHT poll, we`re asking specifically about Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift reportedly dating. Love it? Hate it? You can text us your vote. You can send a text to 45688. Type "SBT1" to vote for "love it." Text "SBT2" for "hate it."
[Anderson:] There`s big Bieber news breaking today. Fans are upset and outraged today at Justin Bieber for his brand-new controversial performance. And that`s not all. People all over the world are shocked over what the Bieb did to his hair. And we`re going to show you. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views.
[Hammer:] That`s pretty rad. Now, it`s time for the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] Jay-Z`s "Decoded" debuts at number three on the "New York Times" bestsellers list. Kim Kardashian`s little sister, Kylie Jenner, makes her modeling debut.

[Johns:] Not a great start for Tiger Woods in his first tournament in three months. He's just finished his third round, and he's 11 shots off the lead. CNN's Joe Carter is there.
[Joe Carter, Cnn Sports:] It seems like there are so many golfers in contention to win this tournament, except for the one golfer most people came here to see, and that's Tiger Woods. He had a great opening round, a very encouraging round, 68 on Thursday, then struggled to find consistency, shooting a 71 on Friday, and today, finds himself deep in the middle of the pack, with more than 30 golfers in front of him. But perhaps the most encouraging sign for Tiger Woods is how encouraged he is about his own game. He says he has this newfound power. His drives are going further than they ever have before. Now, it's a matter of managing that newfound power. But, of course, Tiger Woods, the expectations are always super high. Everyone expects him to win any tournament he enters. But, let's be realistic. At this point, it's simply a tune-up into next week's PGA Championship in Atlanta. He'll never admit it, but this is a point in time where he needs to work on his game because winning a major title next week puts him on track to not only catch Jack Nicklaus but to pass his 18 major wins.
[Johns:] Our top stories, coming up next. A devastating day for the U.S. military. Next, new information from the Pentagon on a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

[Chetry:] Skyscrapers in New York City right now. It's 66 degrees. A little bit later, though, it's going up to a high of 80 degrees and it will be mostly sunny.
[Velshi:] Terrific weekend here.
[Chetry:] Yes. It was a little chilly, actually.
[Velshi:] It was actually a little cool.
[Chetry:] But come Wednesday, we're looking at 90 above 90s.
[Romans:] Really? Whoa, summer is here.
[Chetry:] So it's going to be sweltering yes.
[Romans:] Summer is here.
[Velshi:] Well, we've been talking about the government ditching the food pyramid for a plate.
[Chetry:] That's right. It's supposed to encourage folks to load up on their fruits and vegetables.
[Romans:] And one thing I've heard more and more about this, wait, half of our food is supposed to be fruits and vegetables, that could be a lot more expensive. Well, if you're worried about that, that eating healthy won't be able to fit into your family budget, think again. Turns out, eating healthy doesn't always have to cost a lot of money. It's a message from the very top.
[Michelle Obama, First Lady Of The United States:] Fruits. We're going to do some fruits here, we're going to do some berries.
[Romans:] A call to arms from the first lady. Her Let's Move Campaign to combat high rates of childhood obesity and promote healthy eating and exercise.
[Obama:] We're all here today because we care deeply about the health and well-being
[Romans:] But many people think eating healthier equals spending more money. Not so, says Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan.
[Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary Of Agriculture:] I've been on a campaign, crusade, if you will, a myth-busting exercise, trying to say that actually you can afford to eat fruits and vegetables much more than people think.
[Romans:] The USDA calculates
[Merrigan:] A little bit less for vegetables, a little bit more for fruit. But if you boil it all down, it's 50 cents a cup. So that means for a 2,000 calorie a day diet, you would spend between $2.18 and $2.50 to meet that half a plate recommendation.
[Romans:] It's not always easy, but you can actually save money.
[Merrigan:] We know that in this country, on average, a family of four is spending about $185 a week on groceries. If you follow a healthy diet plan, as we propose, you can bring that cost down to $175.
[Romans:] Buy fruits and vegetables while they're in season. Frozen and canned are also OK. And have a plan when you hit the supermarket. And of course, there's always your own backyard. [on camera]: It's so interesting to see little first graders with their shovels talking about composting and running a household where you're healthy. You pack lunches, you try to pack sustainable lunches where there's no waste. Tell me about that? A no waste lunch.
[Unidentified Female:] It gets a little dicey sometimes. At 7:35, you're trying to make all the snacks and all the lunches for the day. But I find the kids are watching over our shoulders going, oh, you want to make sure, don't put that in a wrapper, put it in a container that we can bring home and wash again. And it means the food that you're backing is better, too.
[Romans:] Now, here's the hard part. So if you're shopping for your family, you can make up the difference with slightly more expensive fruits and vegetables by staying out of the processed lines, the middle of the grocery store. When you're shopping, go around the edges, you stay away from the more expensive processed foods in the middle. But you guys make a very good point. If you are struggling, the 99 cent menu is still a very attractive and that's something that
[Chetry:] And also, if you're working two jobs and you're doing all this stuff to keep your family afloat, it's harder to prepare fresh foods.
[Romans:] But that's why there's this big campaign to get everyone kind of on the same page, to start thinking about this. From school lunches, to how is our family that we're viewing food, to make sure our kids are eating that half a plate that we're eating that half a plate of fruits and vegetables.
[Velshi:] Well, it's I think the issue is the myth is that it's not doable.
[Romans:] That's right.
[Velshi:] It's doable, but it take a little more work. And once you get those fruits and vegetables, as oppose to these 99 cent menus, there's preparation involved, there's getting good at it, there's the fact that we constantly talk about the fact that kids constantly push back against vegetables. So it's a whole re-education campaign and it starts with this new message.
[Romans:] And it also starts with the kids. I mean, that's something we found that kids are the ones who were sort of learning this at school and pushing it back at their house.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Romans:] For more information about budgeting your money, we've got more about all of those sort of subjects in my book, "Smart is the New Rich."
[Chetry:] My five-year-old said, "Is butter at the top or the bottom of the food pyramid?" I said, you don't have to worry about that anymore Our top stories are coming up after the break.

[Malveaux:] All right. Most polls, they have been open across New Hampshire for about six-and-a-half hours now. Voters are expected to hand former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney his second victory tonight. David Gergen is joining us. So, I don't know if a record turnout will make a difference or not. Certainly not in the case of Romney, because we already know he's first place. But what about second place?
[David Gergen, Cnn Political Analyst:] It could make a difference, because you've got motivated Ron Paul voters who could turn out, a lot of Independents. But Jon Huntsman is also appealing to that. And those are the two guys who are fighting for second. So you'll have to see.
[Malveaux:] And what about those all of the undeclared, the Independents? About 40 percent, the polls are showing. Which way are they going to go?
[Gergen:] Well, I think there's a real difference between Iowa and New Hampshire in that there's much more unemployment in New Hampshire and much many fewer Evangelicals, so that the Romney appeal to "I'm the job creator" gives him the inside track, as well as having home field advantage, in effect.
[Malveaux:] Let's talk a little bit about that. Bain Capital, that's going to be very important to Romney. It's already very much a hot- button issue, his role in this company that bought and sold companies, and whether or not he is a job creator or a job killer. Here's how Romney described his own fear about losing his job.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I know what it's like to worry whether you're going to get fired. There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip. And I care very deeply about the American people.
[Malveaux:] All right. So that didn't really square with some folks who thought, oh, come on, really?
[Gergen:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] He's going to be just fine here.
[Gergen:] Yes, listen, he just shouldn't have look, I was the son of privilege, I went to very elite schools, I've been very blessed in my life and I really want to help others. That ought to be his pitch, not, oh, I was worried about getting fired.
[Malveaux:] Yes. And Governor Rick Perry, he took it one step further. I want you to listen to how he responded to this.
[Gergen:] Sure.
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] And I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips, whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out, because his company, Bain Capital, with all the jobs that they killed, I'm sure he was worried that he would run out of pink slips.
[Malveaux:] So, the DNC, David, is already traipsing out these folks who lost their jobs under his reign. How important is this narrative about whether he was someone who helped people and created jobs or someone who killed the jobs?
[Gergen:] It's potentially very, very important. I don't think it's going to slow down the Romney train or derail Romney right now in New Hampshire today, and indeed in South Carolina. But it is potentially the area where he could that's his strength. He's coming from a position of attacking Obama on the economy. If he's shown to be a job destroyer, that will hurt him. But let me just say, I live in Boston now. I have been around, worked with Bain Capital for a number of years. I actually was on the board of a company that we sold to Bain Capital. And I'll tell you, I voted for selling it, too, because Bain Capital had such a good reputation in Boston as a company that could come in and help shore up the companies that bought and invested in them. They were not regarded as corporate raiders. They were not regarded as these sort of tycoons coming in. Just the opposite. And I must say, many of the partners at Bain Capital are some of the biggest philanthropists in New England.
[Malveaux:] So, in your opinion, it's getting a bad rap?
[Gergen:] I think it's getting a bad rap. I have no doubt that opponents can find individual companies where you could make a terrible story, but if you look at the overall record, or look at Domino's Pizza, or look at Staples, I've talked to the CEO of Staples. He told me, "Look, without Mitt Romney, we wouldn't have built this company."
[Malveaux:] Let's talk a little bit about the contest here, because having covered Iowa, New Hampshire, on the Democratic side, with Barack Obama, I was able to see somebody who developed, right, as a candidate who at first was unfocused, uninspiring, to someone who really motivated and ultimately became a historic leader.
[Gergen:] Right.
[Malveaux:] And went on to win. But he had months and months and months of knockdown, drag-out battles with Hillary Clinton. And it finally ended, all in June. Does Mitt Romney by if he goes quickly and succeeds too quickly, by being unchallenged, does he miss out on the opportunity to grow and become a stronger candidate when he goes up against Obama in the general election?
[Gergen:] It's a good question. I think it's a tradeoff. On balance, I would have to tell you he's far better off to wrap this thing up quickly and unite the Republican Party behind him. And he's been out for five years now. He's had a lot of time to prepare. As a debater, I think he's a very good debater. He's having trouble on the stump, just on his impromptu remarks and his speeches. I went to a rally of his in New Hampshire. And I can tell you, Suzanne, having gone up there and watched Hillary and Obama four years ago, there was an electricity in the air. Big crowds, enthusiastic crowds. The Romney rally where Chris Christie spoke was actually a very, very quiet, sort of calm affair. It was nice, it was dignified, but it didn't have any of that punch that you and I remember from four years ago.
[Malveaux:] Right.
[Gergen:] And I do think he's got a lot of work to do as a candidate if he's going to appeal to people, connect with people emotionally.
[Malveaux:] It says something about that enthusiasm factor. And I wonder, too, with these two personalities, if you have a Mitt Romney against President Barack Obama, you know, as a candidate, Obama was very exciting, very passionate, very interesting. As someone who governs, not as much. And so it's going to be interesting to see those two personalities come up against each other. And do they motivate the voters this go- around?
[Gergen:] In very different ways. I think Barack Obama is trying to re-light fires that have gone out for many people. And by the way, I think he's very good at this. He does better at campaigning than he does at governing. That's his strength. So I think he'll be better at it. Romney still has I think he has a lot of work to do. Where I do think Romney will do well is in the debates. They have three presidential debates. And they are often, as you know, especially in a close election, can't be determinative. My expectation is we're going to have a very close election. And I think right now you'd have to say Obama's got a slight edge, but this could change very quickly again.
[Malveaux:] It's going to be an exciting year. All right, David. Good to see you.
[Gergen:] Thank you, Suzanne. All eyes of course on New Hampshire tonight as the new political year is heating up. Make the best choice for politics, CNN's "America Choice 2012." Join my friends and colleagues Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, and John King for live coverage of the New Hampshire primary, CNN tonight, beginning at 7:00 Eastern. But first, free money advice from the CNN Help Desk.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnn.com:] Time now for the Help Desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Donna Rosato is the senior editor of "Money" magazine; Jack Otter is the executive editor of CBSMoneyWatch.com. Thank you both for being here. I appreciate it. Donna, the first question for you comes from Mike in Mesa, Arizona. Mike says, "My wife and I both have good credit scores." They've got a 30-year fixed mortgage, six percent interest rate. What should they consider before refinancing?
[Donna Rosato, Sr. Editor, "money":] It's always worth considering refinancing if you can lower your interest rate at least one percent, by one percentage point. And, of course, if you have a six percent, today interest rates are averaging four percent. So, it seems like a slam dunk, but that's not really the only thing you should consider. It's really important to plan for how long you're going to be in that house. Refinancing costs thousands of dollars, averaging, like, $5,000. So if you're not going to be in the home at least five years, it's going to be hard to recoup those costs. But if you are planning to stay in that home for at least that long, it could be well worth it. Shop around, see what you qualify for. You want to make sure you qualify for the lowest rates, because you're going to save the most money over time. You might even consider resetting to a 15-or-20-year loan. The payments aren't that much more, but you can save really tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.
[Harlow:] That's a very good point. Jack, your question comes from William in Kentucky. William is a 24- year-old grad student with a small income, and he's asking, "How should I start investing for retirement?" Well, props to him, right, for thinking about it this early on?
[Jack Otter, Executive Editor, Cbsmoneywatch.com:] It is fabulous. People don't realize the huge benefits you get from starting the compounding now rather than waiting until he's 30 or 34. So, I would say open a brokerage account at a Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard. It's very easy, because they want your money. So they're going to make it easy. And open a Roth IRA. He can contribute up to $5,000 a year if he's making that much. You can contribute up to your income. And I would invest that money in just three mutual funds: the total U.S. stock market, the total global stock market outside the U.S., and then the total bond market. There are index funds that track those. You can put an equal amount in each. Don't get tricky, try to time the market, or buy individual stocks or any of that stuff. If he can contribute to those over the next 40 years, he will be in great shape.
[Harlow:] Sure, because as history and human nature shows, investors tend to the average Joe tends to buy high and sell low. Don't do that.
[Otter:] Exactly. Don't touch it. Put money in every month, and he'll be beating most of the pros.
[Harlow:] All right. Thank you, guys, very much. If you've got a question you want answered, send us an e-mail any time to CNNHelpDesk@CNNN.com.

[Capt. Steve Young, Kansas Sity, Missouri Police:] If it`s coming out of
[Smith:] That`s Captain Steve Young. He is frantically helping to lead the search for Baby Lisa. Now, tonight, police, crime scene technicians and detectives scoured a wooden area juts east of where Lisa Irwin vanished from her family`s home. They turned up nothing. They thought they had a lead and it turned out it wasn`t her. But we`re hearing reports that baby wipes, diapers also found at an abandoned home where police searched for Lisa. Now, CNN Correspondent Jim Spellman is in Missouri. And, Jim, you know, you did something very interesting. You walked around the area. You`ve got a sense of the home. Tell us what you discovered in walking around, especially in terms of how someone could access a little baby and take her out of that home.
[Spellman:] Two important things. One, you can access the backyard of the house through a small public area with a stream running through it and get back there basically going to the front of no homes. And when you come back out, your car, if you had a car, you`re in an area that really just on the sides of homes, not on the front. The second thing I discovered that I thought was very interesting is walking, you only have to walk nine homes down to the right and turn and you`re into a densely wooded area that we know the FBI and even the National Guard have focused their searches at least two times in this wooded area. So when you really get into the geography of this neighborhood, you start to see some possibilities open up for how somebody could get away from this home. Ryan, I want to bring you up to date on some important information. In the last two or three hours, we`ve seen police cars here in front of the Baby Lisa`s home. We just discovered that`s because the police here have a search warrant to search this home and have barred the parents of Baby Lisa from entering this home again. That explains why the police are here. We haven`t seen them inside. We haven`t seen lights on inside, but we know they have a search warrant to search the home. They have searched it before, but now with the search warrant, not just the consent of the parents, and the parents are barred from reentering this home. They`re staying with a relative a few miles away Ryan.
[Smith:] Jim, how long are they barred for? This is just for the search or are they being kept out until police do everything they need to do in the home?
[Spellman:] We`re not certain how long they`ve been barred. I`m sure that there it could be interventions their legal team could make against that. But, at this point, we know that, for the moment at least, they are barred and we expect a search here at any time.
[Smith:] OK. So Jim, breaking news right here on DR. DREW, police doing another search. The family members, the father, the mother Deborah, Jeremy barred from the home while this search is conducted. Now, Mark Eiglarsh, let me bring you in on this. Tell me about this. Is this common when police are doing a search, keep them out? They can`t go in until police are finished doing whatever they`re doing?
[Eiglarsh:] Absolutely. It would shock me if somehow they allowed the family access to the home during a search. One hundred percent they keep them out. This is an enormous, significant development. They`re not going in there to see, well, maybe we can find something. They got a search warrant. That means a judge signed off on their right to search for specific items. They have something in mind, and hopefully this will lead to further this investigation.
[Smith:] And, keep in mind, folks, you see it on the bottom, just like Mark talked about. They got a search warrant. But they can`t go in, they`re barred. And, Lisa, let`s get some perspective on this. So now that they`re doing the search warrant, the police are looking in deeper, the family hasn`t been cooperating a lot, at least police are saying that. Talk to me about their psychology through all of this, because essentially they know that they`re they`re not suspects, at this point, but they know that they`re being looked at, that police are trying to pursue and, by the way, police could be in that home just trying to look for clues.
[Boesky:] Sure.
[Smith:] So it might not be anything that leads necessarily to Deborah Bradley or or Jeremy Irwin, but still.
[Boesky:] But, well, think about it most people, when their child goes missing, say come in. Come in. Overturn everything, look at everything.
[Smith:] Yes.
[Boesky:] I have nothing to hide. Come in. Turn my place upside down. Come in. They are actually taking it personally and getting defensive that people are looking at them so closely, which statistically we know that`s why people look so the police look so closely, because oftentimes the family is involved. So I think it`s interesting. From a psychological point of view, it is two things. One, my name is Lisa. I`m very sensitive to the amount of times people say the name Lisa. I`m always turning around. Her name is Baby Lisa, but the parents, when you listen to them in an interview, often say she, her, she, her. It`s really interesting, if you listen to interviews, they don`t say Lisa very often.
[Smith:] What does that mean to you? What does what does it say?
[Boesky:] That they`re distancing themselves from this baby. You feel so close to your baby, but I wonder if there`s some psychological distancing they`re doing by not saying her name.
[Smith:] That`s incredible, when you think about that.
[Boesky:] Second thing, psychologically, is more having to do with us as society and as a public and as parents. I think it`s easier for us as the public to think that there might be a messed up mom here or a messed up dad rather than accept the fact that maybe somebody came in and snatched this baby.
[Smith:] OK.
[Boesky:] That is a terrifying effect for the for the it`s a terrifying thought for the public to think.
[Smith:] It`s a terrifying thought, indeed, to think that that could happen. Now, Jim, I want to go again back to what you did. You walked around that area, you got a feel for the backyard and surrounding crime scene. And this becomes very important. Let`s take a look at this.
[Spellman:] This is the back of Baby Lisa`s house. It`s about 50 paces through this public access area, with this small screen right here. You can get to this from a side street without going by the front of anybody`s house, but you are clearly seen from all of the houses that surround it, if anybody were in the backyard or looking out at the backyard. In Baby Lisa`s house, you can see this large, garage-type structure; a swing set; this camper, this blue camper that`s here; and then the house with the deck off of it. So, if somebody were to try to get in this way, they would have some advantages of not being seen. There are no street lights that we can see back here, so it would look like it would be quite dark back here.
[Smith:] Hey, Jim, one thing that stands out to me, I hear a dog barking in the background. You`re there in broad daylight. Wouldn`t that dog be barking or making some kind of commotion if someone came in and took Baby Lisa?
[Spellman:] Absolutely, and it would, one, call attention to perhaps, you know, if there was somebody back there. And, also, if someone had Baby Lisa and she was asleep, that could possibly wake wake her up as well. I think that dog back there would be the biggest obstacle to going into the backyard and back out again undetected.
[Smith:] All right, Jim Spellman, thank you so much for that report. Mark Eiglarsh, Lisa Boesky, stay with us. We`re going to be talking to you about some other issues that we`re bringing up tonight. Now, we`re talking also about the Conrad Murray trial. Now, it may enter the defense phase when it picks up again tomorrow. See what his lawyers have planned at HLNtv.comMichaelJackson. And, coming up next, a mother is found brutally murdered in her home, then her 11-year-old son goes missing. His body may have been found today.
[Chief Tom Manger, Montgomery County, Maryland Police Department:] We believe that William has been here at this location since October 1st. We have camera footage of Curtis Lopez, the suspect in this case, with William at a storage facility. The footage was from the morning of October 1st. The clothing on the body appears similar to what William was wearing on October 1st.

[Romans:] Now, to a story developing here in New York. At least 57 people were hurt this morning when a ferry crashed into a dock in lower Manhattan. You can see it there. Two people are in critical condition right now. Alison Kosik is live at Pier 11 near Wall Street. Certainly a very scary moment for these commuters coming into the financial district.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Oh, you can only imagine. I mean, what a scary ending to a ride that started in New Jersey. This was a ferry that started at 8:00 a.m. out of the northern tip of New Jersey and coming in here to lower Manhattan where the financial district is. It was supposed to come in about 8:45. You can see how that ending happened, over my shoulder, that huge gash in the hull. It's just amazing. By the way, right now, investigators are on the boat taking a look around, including crime scene investigators. Now, when that boat came, this is what the New York City transportation commission happen commissioner says happened, that it appears that the boat tried to dock at a first dock, a Dock D, and then missed it and then hit it, rather, and then it hit a second dock, a Dock B and made what the commissioner calls a hard landing. But if you talk to passengers, they'll call it a crash landing. Fifty-seven people were injured, two critical. You know, some of the passengers that we spoke with said that they were flying through the air. In fact, one woman I talked with said she remembers only flying through the air and then waking up on the ground, a woman shaking her, trying to figure out if she's OK. This is a lot of what other passengers said. We talked to some of them. Listen to this.
[Unidentified Male:] It was a sudden crash. Everybody who was standing fell forward. And people who were in their seats got thrown forward. Basically it was, you know, 60 to zero. So I don't know how fast we were going, but, you know, the
[Unidentified Female:] Well, I was actually sleeping. I all of a sudden we just hit, boom, and people were catapulting forward.
[Unidentified Male:] I was standing up and I went backwards and hit chairs and then people landed on top of me. It was normal approach. But then what happened? Just a sudden crash.
[Kosik:] And such a scary way to end a commute. You know, one passenger I talked with said the biggest problem here that caused the biggest injuries in this incident was that a lot of people, as the boat was getting closer to the dock, a lot of people were standing up. They were eager to get on with their day, to get off the boat. So they stand up as the boat is coming in. The problem is, this is a two tier, a two floor ferry, where there's an upstairs and a downstairs. And on that staircase, people were lining up, getting ready to leave the boat. And that is when that crash happened. And a lot of the people came tumbling down the stairs. The Seastreak Wall Street is part of a private ferry system that provides high speed service for commuters that come into Manhattan. And this particular boat can go up to 44 miles per hour. We are not sure how fast the boat was coming when it did crash into the dock. What we have learned from the Coast Guard records, though, that the Seastreak has been involved in several other accidents in the past. The NTSB is on its way with an investigation team. Christine.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] All right, Alison Kosik at the South Street seaport. Thank you so much, Alison. The U.S. hit the debt ceiling and is only about two months now before it must raise its borrowing limit or risk a default on its bills. So, what should the country do? Economist and comedian Ben Stein joins us next with his answers for Washington, plus a weigh-in on President Obama's expected pick to replace Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

[Blitzer:] And joining us now here in THE SITUATION ROOM, Reince Priebus. He's the new chairman of the Republican Party. Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for coming in.
[Reince Priebus, Chairman, Rnc:] As a guy growing up in Kenosha, it's an honor to be here with you today.
[Blitzer:] Well, good for you, and good for those Green Bay Packers. I know you're pretty happy about that as well.
[Priebus:] The cheese heads have had a pretty good two months.
[Blitzer:] Yes. Let's see how your future months are going to be. You've got a lot of issues on your agenda.
[Priebus:] Yes, we do.
[Blitzer:] Let's go through a couple of little political things. The political season, heating up. Mike Huckabee, when he said we just heard Lisa Sylvester's piece about the president of the United States growing up with madrassas, as opposed to Rotary Clubs. Does he owe the president an apology?
[Priebus:] I don't think he owes the president an apology. You know, he has we have freedom of speech in this country. I suppose he can have his own opinion. I don't think he owes an apology to the president, no.
[Blitzer:] What is Huckabee's agenda do you think right now? Because he knows he didn't grow up in a madrassa. I mean, he went to a school in Indonesia, but that was not a madrassa.
[Priebus:] Well, listen, I can't speak for where Mike Huckabee's coming from. I wouldn't pretend to try. And it's not my position to do that. So I don't think he owes him an apology. He has his opinion, and I would just leave it at that.
[Blitzer:] And let him state his opinion. Let's talk a little bit about the Tea Party right now, the Tea Party movement and the mainstream Republican leadership, John Boehner, the Speaker of the House. The Tea Party nation founder, Judson Phillips, he's suggesting that Boehner is letting them all down. And if he continues to do so, in a statement he said, "The Tea Party movement should find a candidate to run against John Boehner in 2012 and should set as a goal to defeat in a primary the sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives." Wow. That shows a significant split is developing, potentially among your people, the conservatives and the Republicans.
[Priebus:] Well, I don't think so. I mean, I'm not sure what the context is of this statement or where it comes from.
[Blitzer:] That Boehner's not doing enough to cut the deficit, to cut the budget.
[Priebus:] Right. And I'll tell you this, as chairman of this party, and I think speaking as part of a conservative movement in this country to get our fiscal train back on the rails, I'm grateful that we have people like Speaker Boehner, Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, who I think are being very serious about deficits and spending in this country. And thank God that we are, as a party, debating how much to cut right now in this country. And I think that's where the debate needs to be had. I'm grateful we have a caucus that's debating this issue, how much to cut. And I think that's the right debate to have, and I'm grateful that they're doing it. So I don't agree with that particular statement, but I do think that we need to focus our energy on cutting spending, getting our deficit under control, and putting our financial train back on the rails.
[Blitzer:] Do you see a split, though, developing between the Republican leadership, the gentleman you just referred to, as opposed to the Tea Party movement?
[Priebus:] No, I don't. I think we're all on the same page here on what we need to do in this country. We are very shortly going to be, when my son is my age, spending 42 cents on every dollar made in America to run the federal government. Now, that's an America that I don't want to pass on to my kids and grandkids. So I think we're all on that same page. Now, I think, certainly, there will be disagreements on how much to cut, but I think we're having that debate. And I think Paul Ryan is going to come back in April and deliver a very serious budget, and everything is going to be on the table.
[Blitzer:] You've inherited a real financial mess at the Republican National Committee. How much in debt is the RNC right now?
[Priebus:] Well, Wolf, it is a mess. We have a $15 million line of credit that is hocked up to the maximum it can go. We have $8 million, approximately, of unpaid vendors right now from the last election. So we have approximately $23 million in the hole. We're trying to rebuild trust with our donors, rebuilding our party. And that's a big job.
[Blitzer:] So the question that some folks will say, if the Republican Party can't get its own financial house in order, why should they trust the Republicans to get the nation's house in order?
[Priebus:] Well, that's why I'm working like a dog here, Wolf, to get the financial house in order. And that's what I need to do as chairman. That's why I ran for chairman, is to get our finances under control, why we need to pay off the debt, add to the presidential trust so that we can defeat this president who's taking our country in the wrong direction. And that's what I need to do as chairman of this party.
[Blitzer:] We're going to continue this conversation, but a quick question. "Reince Priebus" I've got an unusual name, "Wolf Blitzer." You've got an unusual tame. Tell us about your name, because a lot of my Twitter followers want to know how you got the name Reince Priebus.
[Priebus:] Well, it's what happens when a Greek and a German get married. I mean, I admit, it's a bit of a bizarre name. I'm about as normal as they get, I promise you. And to prove that, my kids are Jack and Grace; my wife is Sally; my dad is Richard, and my sister's Marie. So
[I -- Blitzer:] Look, I totally can relate. I can relate with you. And I'm following you now @ReincePriebus on Twitter.
[Priebus:] That's right.
[Blitzer:] And we'll see what's going on.
[Priebus:] Well, thank you for tweeting that today, too. I appreciate that.
[Blitzer:] Well, of course.
[Priebus:] Any time. Thank you, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Thanks for coming in.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour here. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Deadly tornadoes claim another victim. Also, new acts of revenge over the burning of Korans in Afghanistan and the showdown over birth control health coverage in the Senate. Time to play reporter roulette. We begin with Don Lemon in tornado ravaged Harrisburg, Illinois. Don, we just got word now that a Kansas man as died from injuries he received during a tornado there bringing the death toll from all these different states now to 13. Tell me a little bit about where you are, what you see and how many homes were destroyed in Harrisburg?
[Don Lemon, Cnn Correspondent:] Oh, a lot. And that's an understatement, 200 to 300 homes, destruction everywhere, and everyone you speaking to pretty much when you hear that whole thing where it says it sounded like a freight train, well, it indeed sounded like a freight train to a lot of people. And also they say it sounded like a truck was heading straight for their homes, as I said, destruction everywhere. You look on that ridge up there in that neighborhood, that's where the six people died here in Harrisburg, Illinois. And if you as we come around here, we can show you the destruction, starting with the mall. There's a big Wal-Mart over there. Here is a strip mall here. You can see this was a cell phone store and if you just walk in here, you can see there they are, cell phones, cell phones, all the inventory still here. People still coming back to pick it up. It is well guarded with police help. But, Brooke, I have to tell you, instead of looking at the damage and destruction like this here's what people are looking forward to. They're looking forward to the cleanup, as you can see the workers over there cleaning this town up. They're putting on new roofs. They're securing what they have. And all the things that are not in the good enough condition to withstand a little bit of wind, they're going to bulldoze it and tear it down. And here's the interesting thing, though, that we're hearing, Brooke. And you can talk to Chad Myers about this. Another storm system is brewing, and they're preparing for that one as well.
[Baldwin:] Yes, we're hearing Friday, Don Lemon, Friday. Don, thank you so much. Want to move along here next on "Reporter Roulette." CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Afghanistan for us. Two more American deaths there today possibly carried by America's supposed Afghanistan allies. Nick, what do you know?
[Nick Paton Walsh, Cnn Correspondent:] Brooke, we now have six Americans killed in about the last week by men in Afghan army uniform turning their weapons on them. The psychological impact of this on American soldiers who have to work hand in hand with Afghans every day is bound to be significant. The details from today are still sketchy. ISAF confirmed two NATO personnel killed, one by one of the gunman being an Afghan soldier, the other apparently a language instructor working at this base in the south of Afghanistan. An Afghan official gave a few more details, saying that this language instructor was there to teach the Afghans English, had apparently been there for a year, and they found documentation upon him to suggest links to the Taliban, suggesting perhaps this was a long-planned operation. They also confirmed that both of the dead were, in fact, Americans. Now, I should point out this goes right to the heart of the key point of America's exit strategy here. They have to be able to trust the Afghan soldiers they're working alongside. They're training to take over security across the country. Without that, NATO can't withdraw. And with these instances, three now in just over a week, one of which two Americans were shot dead in the heart of the securest part of Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, are really beginning to erode that trust. And if that happens, that could really put the exit strategy in trouble here Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Nick Paton Walsh, thank you. Next on "Reporter Roulette," CNN Radio's Lisa Desjardins on Capitol Hill for us, where the Senate stopped this controversial birth control health insurance measure. Lisa, I know the vote is very close. Just what happened?
[Lisa Desjardins, Cnn Radio:] That's right. You know, this is a very private matter, contraception, health care, but a very public battle today. By a vote of 51-49, the Senate tabled a Republican measure that basically was trying to block President Obama's contraception idea. What's all that mean? Let's get specific. This was the bill today. It was a measure by Missouri's Roy Blunt that would allow employers to opt out of any health care coverage that they found morally objectionable. That could be anything, but, of course, that, includes contraception. That idea was blocked. It was tabled again 51-49. So that bill right now, Brooke, that's dead. But the fiery words we heard today on the floor, those are still ringing.
[Rep. John Boehner , Speaker Of The House:] The issue here is protecting the conscience clause and the religious beliefs of the American people.
[Sen. Maria Cantwell , Washington:] Every step of the way, it seems as if there is an assault on women's reproductive choice.
[Sen. Orrin Hatch , Utah:] This is tyranny. It is the political bullying of a religious group.
[Sen. Michael Bennet , Colorado:] It would allow any employer to deny any health service to any American for virtually any reason.
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] Having a conscience clause exemption used to be something that Democrats and Republicans all agreed to. Now it's not.
[Sen. Patty Murray , Washington:] We defeated an amendment that would have historically taken away something that women in this country have counted on for decades. And that's the ability to make their own health care choices.
[Desjardins:] You know, Brooke, I'm a very proud CNN Radio reporter. So whenever I hear sound like that of a passionate debate, it always perks my ear up. And I want to tell you about one other sound bite I heard while listening for radio today. Susan Collins, senator of Maine, got on the floor and she seemed to blame everyone. She said this has become nothing but an election year political football. She said there clearly should have been a compromise, could have been, but simply wasn't Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Lisa D., thank you so much live for us on Capitol Hill. And that's your "Reporter Roulette" on this Thursday. And in a culture of heated politics and fire-breathing pundits, he was one of the loudest voices. And now we have learned Andrew Breitbart has died. There is still a lot here in the story that we don't know the yet. But Piers Morgan interviewed him less than 48 hours ago. Piers is going to join me live next.

[Wayne Lapierre, Exec. V.p. National Rifle Association:] Honest people use a gun in this country to defend themselves from criminals the system will not control.
[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] From the '90s to now. Two familiar opponents, once again battle over guns. And, the most expensive home for sale in America has a very famous neighbor. We'll take you inside.
[Announcer:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Baldwin:] Hi, everybody. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And let's begin with this breaking news. Several states right now on alert as storms are ripping across the country. With a lot of video to get to, I want to begin in Georgia, where we are getting reports that people are trapped inside their homes after this tornado touched down. Watch this.
[Unidentified Male:] Tornado right near downtown Cartersville at this moment slashing toward I-75. Again, a tornado apparently about on the ground here in Adairsville. You can see to the right of this funnel some of the debris now coming up. This is only about a quarter of a mile from our location here on Highway 41.
[Baldwin:] So this tornado here you're looking at leveled a small home, flipped over some 10 cars, one person died there after a building collapsed, and a man, we're also told, was killed in Nashville, Tennessee, where a tree fell on his home. You're looking here look at all the colors, the warnings. We're going to talk to Chad Myers here in a minute. But I want to get straight to Miguel Marquez. He has hopped on the phone with me from Adairsville, Georgia, just about 60 miles north of Atlanta. So, Miguel, we saw the picture here of this tornado. Tell me tell me what you're seeing on the ground right now.
[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Correspondent:] A wide swath of damage through Adairsville, it looks like, for the most part. There is a hotel that's been shredded by this storm. There's a
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Marquez:] The temperature was about 66 degrees there. It's dropped to 58 here. So we're getting into that zone where you've got these temperature changes and it's it's a dangerous situation out here. We heard tornado warnings and sirens going off as we drove up here. In Marietta there was tornado warnings and sirens going off. People throughout this area spending much of this day in their basements. It is a very, very frightening day in this part of Georgia right now.
[Baldwin:] Miguel, do me a favor, hang by, stay on the phone, because I want to ask you about these reports of people who are trapped. But, Chad Myers, let me just hop over to you here. Tell me, because I got the note from you and the weather folks. I mean this isn't just Georgia. I'm looking at Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky affected by some kind of weather.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, about a thousand miles north to south.
[Baldwin:] Wow.
[Myers:] And yesterday it was it was Arkansas, Missouri, back in Oklahoma. And that weather that was here has now charged to the southeast, into very what we call juicy air. It's hot. It's humid. And if it's hot and humid where you are, then you are still in the danger zone. Storms can still be coming to you tonight because that's anywhere from eastern Pennsylvania, even into parts of New York, all the way down into Florida. And the cold air is on the back side of it. Let me show you the drastic contrast from 11 below zero in Minot, North Dakota, right now, to 78 above in Miami, 70 above in Atlanta. So from Minot to Atlanta, you're talking 81 degrees. To Miami, look at that, 89. Your I mean, literally, you get up into Canada, you're talking just across our continent, North America, 100 degrees from the coldest spot to the warmest spot. You can't have that kind of contrast without something breaking. And today what was breaking was the weather. Here, I'm going to zoom in for you here because this is where we're most concerned still. Weather coming into Atlanta, Georgia, all the way up here. The tornado watch box all the way up to Winston-Salem, as far south as just about the northern part of Florida. So a wide swath of severe weather still potential for today, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] So, Chad, let me just actually read an e-mail. One of the associate producers on our team here, we are Atlanta, world headquarters of CNN, and so as this is happening basically in our neck of the woods, one of the brothers of one of the folk on my team, you know, actually wrote in and said he's working in Alpharetta, this is part of greater Atlanta if you don't really know our neck of the woods. And he said that the sirens are going off at this huge corporation he works in. Just to echo sort of what Miguel was saying. All these sirens going off because there are fears that tornadoes are approaching. And he told us, everyone was told to move to the center of the building, and to quote this e-mail, he says "everyone is freaking out." Can't say I blame him. Chad, I have more for you in a minute. Miguel Marquez on the phone with me from Adairsville. Miguel, back to these reports of people trapped. Do we know where they're trapped? Are they still trapped?
[Marquez:] We don't. I can tell you we've just pulled up to the Daiichi plant and it is demolished. There's a bank right next to it. This is the Northside Bank. The roof has been completely taken off this. There are lines down everywhere. There is a fire hydrant that has that has been taken out and a stream of water shooting up maybe 50 feet at the plant itself. Much of the plant destroyed. It is absolute destruction here. There was a hotel called the Relax Inn that was damaged very badly. It could be that some are trapped there. I understand that most of them, if not all of them, have gone now. They apparently have also gotten out of this plant, though, OK. But looking at it now, it's shocking. I don't understand how they could get out because it is there's nothing left. It is a pile. It's a pile of rubble at the moment with only part of the building left standing.
[Baldwin:] And the name of the inn you mentioned is the Relax Inn. Miguel Marquez, we're going to come back to you. Hopefully we can establish a picture from you. You can talk to some of these people as far as what they felt, what they saw. Miguel Marquez for us in and around Adairsville, Georgia. Miguel, thank you. Chad, really now to the big question, the why. I mean you look here across the country, folks are seeing, you know, winter one day and spring the next. Take a look with me and you're going to see here, Topeka, Kansas. Topeka, Kansas, people are out and about playing. Record high there about 77 degrees this week, 69 degrees yesterday. Feels like spring. But now, 27 degrees. People are freezing, freezing temperatures there and the hot and the cold temperatures, they're really what's triggering this violent storm system, like the one that has many on alert in Georgia right now. And like this. Look at this. Strong winds in Texas. Tumbleweeds blowing about everywhere. This is Midland, Texas. And then we have this video. This is from Tennessee. Look at what remains. A roof ripped off here because of the extreme winds. Roof after roof after roof. Homes flattened. And a 47-year-old man, as we mentioned at the top of the show, killed in Nashville when a tree fell on his home. Chad Myers, let me just bring you back in. Because as we talk about this, it's like an extreme fluctuation in temperatures, right? Why?
[Myers:] It certainly is. It's because the jet stream has dipped from the north to the south. And if you remember where we were at this time last week, the dip, this cold air was in a different spot. The dip was over the northeast. So people were going, man, it's cold. How did it get so cold so fast? And then this dip moved into the Atlantic Ocean. Everything moves from west to east. It traveled across and now it's cold in the Atlantic. And so now all of a sudden the jet stream is dipping to the west. That's why the cold air is here. But it's rising up over here into Canada. Even warm in parts of Newfoundland, all the way up here into Nova Scotia, and that's allowing the warm air to get here. When it's warm and muggy, in Winston-Salem, or Columbia, South Carolina, like it is right now on a winter day, something is about to break. And that is the break is the cold front you will see storms and thunderstorms all night long, showers even all the way up even into parts of the northeast that could be heavy enough to cause flooding. It's one of those days where there's so much moisture in the air, the cold air won't let it stay in the air. The cold air pushes into the warm air, the rain and the humidity in the air has to fall out. Some of it goes up and makes thunderstorms. Some of it just makes flooding.
[Baldwin:] Chad, don't go too far. We'll continue talking, we'll continue looking at pictures. We'll talk to Miguel Marquez. And also we've got a tornado chaser coming up at the top of the hour. So, don't go anywhere here. But let me get to this. Developing right now. All eyes on the Dow. It is flirting with its all-time closing high. That was 14,164. Alison Kosik, let me go to you. I know you've been watching these numbers very, very closely today. And, of course, for those of us, right, with a 401 [k], this could be great news, right?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Correspondent:] Oh, sure. I'd say it's safe to go ahead and peak at your portfolio at this point when you see the Dow inching toward that 14,000 level. It's about 1.5 percent away, but it is getting pretty close. And, you know, we like to talk about the Dow a lot, but we should also notice the S&P; 500. It's also getting close to its record high as well. So it makes you wonder why. Why does this happen? I'll give you two reasons. For one, the Federal Reserve. What the Federal Reserve is doing is it's pouring $85 billion each and every month. It's buying up mortgage-backed securities. It's buying treasuries. And what this is doing is it's pushing interest rates lower, it's pushing bond yields lower, so that means that investors aren't making such a great return on bonds, so there you know, where's an investor to go? They're going to go into stocks where they're going to try and make more money. That is one reason why you'll see these levels move up higher. A second reason. You're seeing the small investor come back into the market after the small investor pulled out upwards of $100 billion out of the market last year. Just this year, the small investor has come back, pouring $13 billion back into the market. And that's partly because of confidence. You know, the average investor is seeing the economy make small improvements. We're seeing improvements in the housing market, consumer spending is going up. But I spoke with one trader who was a little concerned that this is an artificial rally being stimulated by the Fed. Listen to this.
[Kenneth Polcari, O'neil Securities:] You can say we've already been here. But I think from a more optimistic viewpoint, you could say, listen, we came from the depths of despair. We are certainly much higher. But the thing that will cause people to continue to be concerned is, is it still ahead of itself? Is there a correction coming because the Fed has created this manufactured this rally?
[Kosik:] But, Brooke, you know, think of the market the stock market as a big old rubber band. Just as much as it went down in 2009, March of 2009, the low for the Dow was 6,500, now we're seeing it bounce back almost to 14,000. You know how that is. What goes up, I don't even want to say it, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Darn that economic gravity, Alison Kosik. Alison, thank you very much. We want to keep talking about this because we were sort of thinking, why doesn't Wall Street sort of match what we're seeing on main street. So we're going to talk about that with Steven Moore of "The Wall Street Journal" about why the Dow is up and the economy is still shrinking. That in a moment. But first, more breaking news here. A busy, busy Wednesday. Take a look at these pictures with me as I walk you through what we know. Aerial pictures from our affiliate KTVK. So you see all the cars, you see some fire trucks in the center of your screen. This is the Phoenix, Arizona, area. Police have responded to reports of a shooting. We know of multiple victims. This is a business complex, as you can tell. If you know this Phoenix area, this is 16th Street and Glendale Avenue. The issue with the suspect, this is according to affiliates, we're making calls here at CNN, but affiliates are telling us that the search is underway for the suspect. I want to bring in someone whose on the phone with me. She is Carol Aguilera. She is inside a building just across the street from this Phoenix business center where this shooting happened. Carol, you with me?
[Carol Aguilera:] Yes, I am.
[Baldwin:] Carol, first, let's just begin with your daughter-in-law. She's in this building on lockdown, correct?
[Aguilera:] Yes, that's correct.
[Baldwin:] Have you been in touch with her at all?
[Aguilera:] Yes, I called her as soon as I found out what was going on. I called her. She's pretty shaken up. You could hear it in her voice she was trembling. She says she's hearing a lot of hearsay, but she doesn't really know what exactly happened. That it just happened so fast. And that they're just pretty shaken up.
[Baldwin:] For obvious reasons.
[Aguilera:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] I would be as well. Did she hear shots?
[Aguilera:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] How many shots did she hear?
[Aguilera:] I believe it was just a couple that she she wasn't she's not too sure if it was the shots that she heard, but she said it sounded like some bangs, you know?
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Aguilera:] But she just doesn't want to comment.
[Baldwin:] I won't ask any further. We're looking at pictures here of people being taken out on stretchers. So we know
[Aguilera:] Yes, they're evacuating.
[Baldwin:] Right. We see dogs here. As we mentioned, the search for the suspect, maybe suspects, is on. Let me ask you this because of sort of your perch. Tell me, are you near a window? What are you seeing?
[Aguilera:] Yes, I'm looking out my window and if see S.W.A.T. cars, police cars, fire trucks. It's just the whole street is blocked off.
[Baldwin:] And just tell me about the Phoenix business center. What kind of businesses are inside?
[Aguilera:] Well, there's mortgage companies. She actually works for a mortgage company. So I'm not too sure what other businesses are in there.
[Baldwin:] OK. And from what we can tell, this entire building is on lockdown as again we see some of these units, police, law enforcement, fire, EMS crews on the scene. We're making calls to find out exactly how many people are injured, the extent of those injuries, of course, as this is a fluid situation in these sorts of scenarios. Carol Aguilera, stay close in touch with us, please. We'd love to make sure that your daughter-in-law is A-OK once hopefully they're able to get everyone out of the building. Thank you so much for calling in. Another developing story for you today. This battle underway on Capitol Hill over guns. You will hear Gabrielle Giffords and her emotional statement before lawmakers and the NRA.

[Whitfield:] The number one issues in American homes, getting your financial house in order. Today in our weekly financial fix we are talking about how to negotiate your medical bills. Daria and Ken Dolan join us now from West Palm Beach. Good to see you. It has been way too long.
[Ken Dolan, Personal Finance Expert:] Hi, Fred.
[Daria Dolan, Personal Finance Expert:] Fred, how are you?
[Whitfield:] I am doing great. Great to have you all back. I had no idea your medical costs could be negotiable. In what way, to what degree?
[Daria Dolan:] To the degree that 40 percent of the roughly 15 percent of Americans who have the nerve to stand up to their doctor or a hospital and say, can we do better on this bill, 40 percent of them get a reduction in the price of the medical procedure.
[Whitfield:] You have to ask.
[Ken Dolan:] Yes. It is high. It is important for our viewers to understand these little tips talk both for people that have no health insurance, people who have high health insurance deductibles they have to pay before that, and people who are going into procedures that are either not covered by their insurance company or partially covered. But you know, this segment should be titled, "No guts, no glory." All you can do is ask.
[Whitfield:] So once you ask, might you have a little leverage if you say, I'm going to pay cash, what my health care provider is not covering? I am going to pay cash and maybe you get an additional discount, or does it matter how you are going to try to resolve that?
[Daria Dolan:] If you talk to any doctor or hospital, what's the biggest problem they have? Waiting for the insurance company.
[Ken Dolan:] Medicare, Medicaid.
[Daria Dolan:] the Medicaid to pay them, Medicare to pay them. So as in every other phase of our lives, cash is king. It could result in as much as a 50 percent discount. I'm not guaranteeing that, but that's how important it is.
[Whitfield:] You are talking about the stuff that or the bill that you would get after your provider has covered all these things, because if you are getting a $50,000 procedure and you have insurance or Medicare is going to cover it you are not going to try and cover that first because, a, you don't have it.
[Daria Dolan:] Exactly. But you could also be having a $50,000 necessary procedure and have no insurance whatsoever.
[Ken Dolan:] You know what you want to do, Fred. The first thing to do is go to healthcarebluebook.com. That's what the insurance company is expected to pay for a particular procedure. To get a rough idea, getting an idea of what's the invoice of a new car. I talked to our family doctor today. He encourages people paying cash and, as Daria says, as much as a 50 percent discount. Most people don't realize that most providers have programs, they don't tell you, for people to get discounts who are financially unable to pay or can't pay everything. The program is in place. You just have to ask. Who knew there was a blue book for medical procedures? Health care blue book.
[Daria Dolan:] It gives you an idea of what to ask so you are not way out in left field really trying to get a low ball price on something. Then, if you get that, Fred, it is very important that you get it in writing, because you want to have proof so that somewhere down the line some office manager doesn't look at this
[Ken Dolan:] Or billing manager.
[Daria Dolan:] and say, oh, my goodness, this person owes us a whole lot of money and sends it off to collection.
[Whitfield:] Sometimes you get a bill from your doctor and it is a surprise to you that come to find out there is still a bill that you are incurring even after your insurance may have weighed in and you still need help paying for it. You say you should be able to ask for some sort of payment plan.
[Ken Dolan:] Yes, absolutely. You want to talk to the billing manager. Most doctors and a lot of providers have billing managers. They don't do it in the office. What you want to do as sort of a last report, Fred, is ask for a payment plan that makes sense to you. Don't agree to something that you simply can't pay to shut him up for a month or two, because if you don't pay, it is going to go to collections and you are going to be worse off if you hadn't done it in the first place. So a payment plan that works. No guts, no glory.
[Daria Dolan:] Also in writing, everything in writing so you can keep it straight.
[Ken Dolan:] You have nothing to lose, especially nowadays with money so tight.
[Whitfield:] Fantastic. It is always good to see you all. I have missed you.
[Ken Dolan:] Thank you, Fred. We missed you too, Fred.
[Daria Dolan:] Ken and Daria Dolan. I know you want to hear more. You can actually sign up for a free weekly e-letter from them by going to www.dolans.comsignup. World Food Day is Sunday. Actress and singer Christina Aguilera is on a personal mission to combat hunger. She traveled to Haiti and Guatemala with the World Food Program to impact your world.
[Christina Aguilera, Singer:] Hi, I'm Christina Aguilera, and we can make an impact on world hunger. After I had my son, Max, I realized this was a huge issue. I went on a trip to Guatemala with World Food Program and seeing these women and children living in these dirt huts that have nothing. It is just so crucial and vital for these people to get nutrition. Haiti was devastating because of the earthquake. I got to meet so many young people that were so eager to learn. You would see their faces light up. Every child deserves the chance to dream and hope. Join the movement "Impact your World." Go to CNN.comimpact.
[Whitfield:] To help the country, logon to CNN.comimpact. American troops ordered to central Africa. They have got a specific mission and specific people employed to help track them down.

[Banfield:] He's an outspoken advocate for marriage equality and he also happens to be the kicker for the Minnesota Vikings. Here's CNN's Poppy Harlow with the story.
[Announcer:] Chris Kluwe kicking it away.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnn Correspondent:] There is the Chris Kluwe most football fans know. And this is the Minnesota Vikings' punter posing for a prominent gay magazine. [on camera]: What is this fight about for you?
[Chris Kluwe, Minnesota Vikings Punter & Same-sex Advocate:] To me, it's about equality and human right.
[Harlow:] Kluwe, who is not gay, isn't coming out. He's speaking out, loudly. [on camera]: Where would you say this real passion to defend gay marriage came from?
[Kluwe:] Fact is that there are American citizens who pay taxes who serve in the military who defend the country who are not benefiting under the same legal protections and laws rest of us are. To me, that's flat-out discrimination. That's the same as segregation or suffrage.
[Harlow:] In a state divided over a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, Kluwe's taken his fight to blogs and Twitter.
[Kluwe:] I will defend to the death your right to say or do what you want as long as it does not oppress other people.
[Harlow:] Fellow NFL players certainly don't all agree with him, but Kluwe says attitudes are changing.
[Kluwe:] I think there is a very much more tolerant atmosphere in the NFL now.
[Harlow:] Is America ready for an openly gay NFL player?
[Kluwe:] I don't know. I think until until someone comes out, we never will know.
[Harlow:] You've tweeted that you've like to debate any Minnesota politician on the same-sex marriage issue. I wonder, has any
[Kluwe:] I'm waiting.
[Harlow:] You're still waiting.
[Kluwe:] Still waiting.
[Harlow:] It's not just same-sex marriage that gets him riled up. Ask about other hot-button issues and he goes off.
[Kluwe:] Citizens United, that's a huge issue for me right now. Corporations are not people. Look at the current presidential race right now. We're spending over a billion dollars to determine who our president is going to be. And to me, that says that money has an overriding influence in our politics right now.
[Harlow:] On taxes? You would be part of the 1 percent.
[Kluwe:] I am part of the 1 percent.
[Harlow:] Would you pay higher taxes to help balance the budget?
[Kluwe:] I would, without question. As long as I have my couch and video games, I'm good to go.
[Harlow:] But don't bet on him running for office. He has zero interest. For now, this is his fight.
[Kluwe:] It shouldn't be news when someone speaks out for equality. It should be news when someone speaks out against equality.
[Harlow:] He's not wild about either candidate, but says he'll vote for President Obama, calling him, the less terrible choice. He's not punting this election. Poppy Harlow, CNN, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
[Banfield:] Do you remember the Obama Girl? Now, there is a Ryan Girl, and she's going viral online with a send up of Paul Ryan's "Time" magazine photo shoot. We'll show you the video in a moment.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Want to remind you we will get another political update in half-an-hour. And you can always get the latest news. Hop online at CNNPolitics.com or on Twitter. The Twitter handle is @PoliticalTicker. And with that, here we go, top of the hour. I want to welcome the women, the men watching us right now on American Forces Network all around the world. We're going to hit you fast this hour. See if you can keep up with me. Let's go. We are just now getting details from a federal courthouse in California where a judge today ordered that the U.S. military stop enforcing the so-called don't ask, don't tell policy regarding openly gay men and women. So, that means any investigation or possibly tending disciplinary action against a service member against the policy now on hold. This is the same judge, mind you, who ruled last month that don't ask, don't tell violated military members' 5th Amendment. The government is expected to appeal. Of course, we're watching for developments on that today. To Fort Hood, Texas, now, where the Army psychiatrist accused of gunning down those 13 people there last November, he showed up in a courtroom, but briefly. The hearing for Nidal Hasan didn't last too long. It's been delayed for tomorrow. That is when the investigating officer in charge will consider the defense request to move the hearing to next month. The hearing will decide if Hasan is court- martialed. Hasan was shot and paralyzed during that shooting rampage. And listen to what an NPR reporter saw at that hearing today.
[Wade Goodwyn, Npr:] Well, when they wheeled him out, he has to kind of go over a little ramp they have made to get out of the back room into the courtroom. And he grabs on to the sides of his wheelchair when they are moving him. And he's wearing a knit he's wearing fatigues and a knit camp that is pulled down over his ears. Because he's paralyzed, he can't regulate his core body temperature, so he gets cold a lot. And he is strapped his legs are strapped into the wheelchair to keep him from falling out.
[Baldwin:] Moving to this breaking story we have brought you. This is on that investigation of a man's disappearance from a South Texas lake. We have gruesome news. A Mexican investigator involved is dead, decapitated. His head was delivered to the Mexican military in a suitcase. That's according to a Texas lawmaker. Also, some authorities in Mexico say they are pursuing not just one, but two brothers in this case. We told you about this yesterday. But other officials say they don't know anything about that. Tiffany Hartley, that's the man's wife, told police her husband, David, was shot and killed while they were out and about on a lake, which, by the way, straddles the U.S.-Mexican border. And last night, she spoke to our Anderson Cooper about making this trip back to the lake to honor her husband.
[Tiffany Hartley, Widow:] It was hard because I just replayed the whole entire day from the time I left my house to the time that we got there, to the time that we I came home. That whole day was just a remembrance of what happened. And I wanted to honor David and leave flowers for him, especially his favorite color. But still, it didn't it brought some peace but at the same time it didn't bring closure because I don't have him. He's not here with me.
[Baldwin:] Tiffany Hartley is also being told the divers still out there searching for her husband's body. Now the Ukraine, where at least at least 42 people died when this bus and train collided. It happened at a train crossing. Investigators say it looks like the bus driver ignored those warning lights, crossed the tracks, even though the train was coming. Ukraine's president says tomorrow will be a day of mourning for those victims. And a young Afghan woman, here she is, horribly disfigured by her husband now showing the world a brand-new face. Beautiful. This was 19-year-old Bibi Aisha's husband, who cut off her nose and her ears. He did it under the orders of the Taliban. Hard to imagine how she felt. But I'm going to let her tell you. You are going to hear her voice actually the voice of our reporter, Atia Abawi.
[Atia Abawi, Cnn Correspondent:] "When they cut off my nose and ears, I passed out," Aisha says. "In the middle of the night, it felt like there was cold water in my nose. I opened my eyes and I couldn't even see because of all of the blood."
[Baldwin:] So, right now, the U.S. military and a women's group helped save her. And in the picture we showed you earlier, she's wearing her new that's a prosthetic nose. She will now have reconstructive surgery here in the U.S. George Clooney, Wolf was just talking about this, he wants you to know about Sudan. He's headed to the White House. He's talking about a possible political division in the Sudan that he and others believe may lead to more civil war in the troubled nation. Here's what he said, actually, moments ago.
[George Clooney, Actor:] been enslaved and have been sold and have been raped and slaughtered for generations. And they earned the right to vote for their freedom. In 2005, they earned that right. And they believe they have that right come January 9.
[Baldwin:] And talk about a waste of perfectly good toilet paper here. What you're looking at Robert Rizzo's house. Name ring a bell? That's because he's the former city manager of Bell, California. He was the guy who was making about $800,000 a year running the town when most of the other folks were making a whole heck of a lot less. He made bail last week, facing dozens of corruption charges, but it looks like someone already served him some justice. All right, let the debates begin. Here we go, three weeks until election midterms here, candidates squaring off and telling voters who they are cut and why they're cut out for the job. We're going to break that all down for you ahead. And it doesn't get much more dramatic than this. Man, the clock is ticking on this story here. We're all over it, rescue crews getting ready to pull up the first of the 33 trapped miners in Chile. Live pictures, as we are counting down. Folks, this could happen, we could have a freed miner by the end of the night tonight. That's what the ministry of mining is hoping. We're all over this story. Be right back.

[Baldwin:] Some are calling this politics at its worse. Republicans, Democrats, both on Capitol Hill, seemingly unable and unwilling to agree on extending and funding the payroll tax cut. So check your calendars here and this countdown that the White House is more than happy to provide for you. In 10 days, the White House countdown clock shows 160 million Americans will be on the losing end. That means starting in 2012, your paycheck will get smaller, about $1,000 less a year for the average family. And it looked like maybe relief was in sight when the Senate approved that two-month extension as the parties hashed out a bigger long-term deal, but then yesterday, if you were with us right around this time, House Republicans, going against their own members in the Senate, rejected the extension. We heard from the House Speaker, we heard from the president as well. Now the move is to get those talks started again. Let's go straight to Capitol Hill, to Congressional Correspondent Kate Bolduan. She's back up there with the latest here. And from what we heard I heard Jay Carney in that White House daily briefing saying that the president has in fact recently reached out to House Speaker John Boehner. Do we know what exactly "reached out" means, and does that mean there could be a meeting soon?
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] I wouldn't say that there's any word of any meeting soon, but there were phone calls, and maybe we could read at least that little bit of news as progress, Brooke. The president, according to the White House, did reach out did call, place calls separately to House Speaker John Boehner, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. And in that call to House Speaker John Boehner, according to a readout provided by the White House, President Obama, he reiterated kind of what we've heard from him in the past days, which is that he's committed to working with Congress to reaching a longer-term, a more comprehensive deal, a one-year deal to extend the payroll tax cut, but in the interim, to avoid Americans seeing a tax increase come January 1st. He says the only viable option is to pass the bipartisan compromise that was passed by the Senate. This comes as House Speaker John Boehner met today with Republican members that he has appointed to what he hopes will be a conference committee to hash out differences between the House and the Senate. And on this same phone call, according to an aide to Speaker Boehner, he urged the president to call on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to do the same, to appoint negotiators to kind of get these talks started back up again. But as you well, know, the Senate Majority Leader and congressional Democrats, they have no intention of starting back up talks again even though they all want to get to a one-year deal until the House moves to pass this short-term extension. So, as you can see, they are talking, but a lot of talking past each other right now, Brooke, because neither side is budging. And other than that, there is very little going on up here since both the House and Senate are out and most members are not in Washington.
[Baldwin:] Well, we know some of Congress are still in Washington. I know you've seen some. We're about to speak to one here not too far from where you're standing. But I'm sure you've seen "The Wall Street Journal" today, a fiery, critical opinion piece, essentially going after Republicans. "The Wall Street Journal" doesn't often do that. And I'm just curious, because we've also seen on the Senate side, Senate Republicans critical of House leadership as well, is the House is Speaker Boehner at all feeling the pressure today?
[Bolduan:] Well, I think you can be sure that the pressure is mounting. And you mentioned that "Wall Street Journal" editorial. That seems to be one of the most recent kind of ads to this mounting pressure not only on Congress. This is specifically on House Republicans. Just a little bit from that "Wall Street Journal," if I can read to you. In part, it says, "Given how he" meaning Senate Minority Mitch McConnell "and House Speaker John Boehner have handled the payroll tax debate, we wonder if they might end up re-electing the president before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest." It goes on to say, "At this stage, Republicans would do best to cut their losses and find a way to extend the payroll holiday quickly." Now, this comes in addition to a growing number of Senate Republicans and this does not always happen, Brooke, so it is very noteworthy coming out to criticize their colleagues in the House to say that this move to reject the Senate compromise is irresponsible. And we're also getting a sense, I am, from Republican aides, both publicly and privately, saying that there's a general frustration up here of how House Republicans have played this. One aide saying to me that they are on an island of their own and that House Republicans went all in on what they thought was a good hand, and it wasn't Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Kate Bolduan, I appreciate you. Thank you so much. We should also point out that the White House, taking advantage via Twitter, it's posting this Twitter page, asking Americans, "What can you do with $40?" That's the amount an average family making $50,000 each year would lose in a paycheck if this payroll tax cut is not extended. And joining me now is one of those eight Republicans on that committee, Congresswoman Nan Hayworth of New York. And Congresswoman, we appreciate you sticking around town and talking to me here. And I can only guess that you're staying in Washington not because you like how the Jefferson Memorial lights twinkle, but it's because you're hoping that you're going to be called back to do your job. Yes?
[Rep. Nan Hayworth , New York:] Right. Yes. We are hoping very much, because we're here to fight for the American people. Two months versus one year, you be the judge, Brooke. It's far preferable to have a one-year tax holiday than two months, and then being on a cliffhanger again. And not only that, but we have Medicare, seniors, their patients, their doctors who are seeking relief from what will be a terrible burden, a 27-plus percent cut in reimbursements that will start up two months from now, or two months from January 1st, if we don't act. In the bill we passed through the House, with Democratic votes, we had a two-year relief from that burden. It's going to be hard to make appointments. It's hard to make a schedule. It's hard to make plans when you have got that hanging over your head. So we're fighting as hard as we can.
[Baldwin:] I want to press you on this a little bit, but I do just want to ask as we pointed out, a number of your colleagues are in town. I'm just curious about Democrats. Do you know how many of them are around town right now? And have you at all spoken with any Democrats at this point, the last 24 hours?
[Hayworth:] I haven't spoken with any of our Democratic colleagues since we left the floor yesterday, but would be more than happy to. And I think at least a couple of them are around. And we'd love to join them at the negotiating table.
[Baldwin:] Here's the thing, Congresswoman Hayworth. And I know you talk to your constituents, you know this. Americans are fed up. You've seen the approval ratings for this Congress. They are at an historic low. There is bipartisan I don't even want to use the word "malaise." I think it's beyond that. It's frustration, it's anger. And many saying, including Senate Republicans, it's the leadership in the Republican-controlled who is holding this thing up. Listen. If I may, I want to play some sound. This is Republican Senator McCain speaking with Wolf Blitzer just yesterday. Take a listen.
[Sen. John Mccain , Arizona:] It is harming the Republican Party. It is harming the view if it's possible any more of the American people about Congress, and we've got to get this thing resolved.
[Baldwin:] Harming the Republican Party. Harming your party. Do you agree?
[Hayworth:] Well, Brooke, we were elected overwhelmingly in 2010, the most immediate voice of the American people to actually, then Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The most immediate voice to fight for the American people, to fight for common sense in the way we burden them with taxes, in the way we burden them with regulations. We're trying to lift those burdens. We'd like to lift them for a full year. That's fighting for the American people. That's common sense at work.
[Baldwin:] But a lot of these voters, they certainly did vote for change. They wanted members of Congress such as yourself to hold the government accountable, but yet we're looking at this impasse, and in 10 days we're looking at these Americans who voted for you to serve them to be paying a little bit more in their paychecks if this things expires.
[Hayworth:] Well, Brooke, I think that the firm aim of all of us participating in this conference committee so far designated only by our House Republican majority, it's true, is to assure Americans that they will have that relief. We're not trying to leave anybody in limbo, and we're going to get this done as fast as possible. We are all too mindful, as we should be, of their needs. So we will get the relief that they need.
[Baldwin:] So, straight up, 10 days. What do you tell your husband, your family, who I'm sure are eagerly awaiting you to come home for the holidays? Will you be home for the holidays with a deal?
[Hayworth:] Well, I certainly hope so. And the best Christmas present that someone like me could have, or Hanukkah present, in the case of my combined family, is to be able to work out a longer-term solution for America's taxpayers, for our seniors and doctors who participate in Medicare, and for everybody who needs some certainty that things are going to improve, the federal government is going to be on their side.
[Baldwin:] But if the short-term deal is the only thing on the table, and you've got 10 days, two days, do you take it and walk away, or do you not?
[Hayworth:] Well, you know, Brooke, we're here ready to work. So we're concentrating on that goal right now, and I think that's important.
[Baldwin:] OK. Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, I really appreciate you speaking with me. Thank you. Coming up in a couple of minutes, we'll speak live with Craig Crawford, who says Congress should just go home and never come back. He's fired up over this. Can you tell? Stay tuned for that. Also, it is the holidays. Kids are supposed to be happy and smiling, but when all you want for Christmas is to keep your family together, forget writing to the North Pole. It's the Oval Office that's getting letters, all these letters from kids who don't want to be deported.
[Unidentified Male:] This right here is my life. Here's my town. Here's my everything I have is right here in Georgia. I just don't want to go.
[Baldwin:] Don't miss this. Two minutes away.

[Banfield:] In the weeks since the bombings at the Boston marathon, runners around the can country have paid tribute to the victims of that horrible crime. Some cities have even invited the Boston runners who never were able to finish that race to just come on over and compete in their events. Our Tom Foreman has more in today's "American Journey."
[Tom Foreman, Cnn Correspondent:] Across the country, ever since the bombings, thousands of runners and dozens of races have taken to the roads in the name of Boston, many wearing special signs of their support, offering respect and raising money for victims.
[Unidentified Female:] After I heard what they were doing for the people that didn't finish and then I researched a little bit on what this marathon was for, it just made sense to do something because it is just something special, you know, to be part of something like this.
[Foreman:] It has been a tough year in the running community as two premiere competitions were swept up in events far bigger than any sport. The New York marathon was canceled in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
[Mary Wittenberg, President And Ceo, New York Road Runners:] It is with incredibly heavy hearts today, tonight, that we share that the best way to help New York City at this time is to say that we will not be conducting the 2012 ING New York City Marathon.
[Foreman:] Boston, the most renowned marathon in the nation, ended in a national tragedy.
[Unidentified Male:] I don't understand why anyone would want to do anything like this because it is just a world sport, it is a world spirit.
[Foreman:] But other states invited those who didn't finish in Massachusetts to run in their races, offering free entries, leaving even legendary marathoners like Amby Burfoot who writes for "Runners World" and won the Boston race in 1968, feeling even stronger about the sport and its spectators.
[Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon Winner:] We will be back more and stronger than ever next year to just literally next year will be a race about the spectators. It will be the runners thanking the spectators for being there.
[Foreman:] As more than one runner has noted in recent weeks, if intimidation is the goal, attacking a marathon is a bad idea because runners and those who love running are very hard to stop. Tom Foreman, CNN.
[Banfield:] I like that New York loves Boston t-shirt. Tonight, be sure to tune into CNN as we return to Boston and the images that you will never forget, the photographers that took the pictures tell their incredible stories. "Back to Boston, Moments of Impact" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. And coming up next, America, we are on the verge of a brand-new record when it comes to the Powerball lottery. That jackpot isn't just rising. It's skyrocketing. Here's some inspiration, a man wins the lottery after a surprise and a good old cookie jar. Not kidding. Back in a moment.

[Wolf Blitzer:] And happening now, Rupert Murdoch tells parliament the phone hacking fiasco tainting his news empire is not ultimately his fault. This hour, the riveting testimony about the broken trust, the shattered ethics and those who should pay for alleged crimes. Stand by. Hackers say they've turned the tables on Murdoch's company, tapping into internal e-mail and other corporate secrets. They're threatening to go public with what they found. And President Obama embraces a bipartisan compromise that could potentially, at least be a way out of the looming debt crisis. He's urging House Republicans not to waste their time on a symbolic vote due to happen very soon. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Rupert Murdoch says this is the most humble day of his life. A titan of news business, he called he was called on the carpet before the British parliament today over the phone hacking scandal that shocked and appalled the world. Along with his son and a former chief executive, Murdoch was hammered with questions about alleged crimes that brought down his popular tabloid, the "News of the World."
[Unidentified Male:] Did you close the paper down because of the criminality?
[Rupert Murdoch, Chairman And Ceo, News Corporation:] Because we felt ashamed at what had happened and thought we wanted to bring it to a close.
[Unidentified Male:] People lied to you and lied to their readers.
[Rupert Murdoch:] We had broken our trust with our readers.
[Blitzer:] Let's bring in CNN's Richard Quest in London. He's been following the scandal all day. It was riveting, riveting, the hours that they were before these members of parliament. Give us the the upshot, the headlines, Richard, on what we learned.
[Richard Quest, Host, "quest Means Business":] What we learned is that Rupert Murdoch said and admitted this was the most humble day of his life. He was ashamed, as you just heard. But we also learned that they don't take responsibility for what took place. He said he had been misled by those people he trusted and people who they had trusted. So we were not left with any greater understanding of how the people at the very top of News Corp and News International did not know about this scandal that was growing more and more. Instead, I think what we did get, very much in their favor, both from Rupert Murdoch, from James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks, they sat there for hour after hour taking the questions in good nature, in good humor. And, frankly, that alone, I think gives a certain amount of credit to their benefit, that they did go through this process. Ultimately, though, tonight, as Rupert Murdoch did say, he doesn't take responsibility for what took place, although he will be the man who has to sort it out.
[Unidentified Male:] Mr. Murdoch, do you accept that ultimately, you are responsible for this whole fiasco?
[Rupert Murdoch:] No.
[Unidentified Male:] If you are not responsible, who is responsible?
[Rupert Murdoch:] The people that I trusted to run it. And then maybe the people they trusted.
[Unidentified Male:] Can you name people?
[Rupert Murdoch:] I worked with Mr. Hinton for 52 years and I would trust him with my life.
[Quest:] Now, what I think, Wolf, is interesting in that exchange, the normal phraseology for people doing that is, I was not to blame, but I take responsibility, the buck stops here. And what we didn't get there was that phraseology or some version thereof. We also finally, Wolf, we did get, later on, in his final statement, the hacking was wrong, the payments to the police were wrong, no excuses.
[Blitzer:] And there was an incident there, at one point, where an intruder just showed up with some shaving cream. Tell our viewers what happened.
[Quest:] The pictures don't really tell the full magnitude of the story. As you can see on the screen now, the the intruder, an activist, a comedian, came in with and basically tried to well, he did. He successfully pied Rupert Murdoch with with shaving foam on a plate. What was interesting and if you look at the picture again, you see close up, Wendi Deng, Rupert Murdoch's wife, she launches herself out of the seat, hits the guy with the pie, grabs the plate and shoves it in his face. James Murdoch launches himself out of his seat. And all of this disgraceful that anybody I mean Mr. Murdoch does get hit. Ten minutes later, they do re- restart the hearing. He is without his jacket and apologies all around for what took place.
[Blitzer:] A remarkable day in London in parliament today. We're going to stay on top of this story. Richard, thank you very much. Lots of emotions, lots of tough questions in the Parliament. Was there more heat, though, than light? And joining us now from London, member of parliament, Louis Mensch. She's a member of the Conservative Party. Mrs. Mensch, thanks very much for joining us.
[Louise Mensch, Member Of British Parliament:] My pleasure.
[Blitzer:] Did you get the answers from Rupert and James Murdoch you were looking for today?
[Mensch:] Well, I think we got lots of answers that we were looking for. Some major questions remain to be answered, chief amongst them, if they really didn't know, why didn't they know, which was the thrust of my questioning. But we did get very exhaustive answers to difficult questions over a sustained period of time.
[Blitzer:] What's the biggest question you still want answered?
[Mensch:] I think it has to be if you didn't know, why didn't you know? And that would apply to all three of our witnesses today. Perhaps the single most unconvincing part of Mr. Murdoch, Sr.'s testimony was that he wouldn't have noticed the "News of the World" because it was such a small and insignificant part of his media operation. It may be small in terms of finance as part of News Corp's global balance sheet, but it certainly is not small in terms of reputation and in terms of being a major flagship British paper. And you would think that if there was a threat to its reputation and integrity, it would certainly have been kicked up the line or it should have been kicked up the line to Mr. Murdoch.
[Blitzer:] Do you believe both Murdochs and Rebekah Brooks were telling you the truth during their testimony today?
[Mensch:] I found them to be mostly convincing, with a couple of exceptions. As I've just said, I really don't buy the argument that they didn't know because it was too small, it was beneath their notice. That's one argument I didn't buy. But overall, I have to say I found them to be credible witnesses and the failures that I saw today in News Corp were failures of corporate governance rather than failures of malice. So in that sense, I think I was mostly convinced by the evidence I heard today
[Blitzer:] So where do you, as a member of parliament on this committee, where do you go from here?
[Mensch:] Well, I think I've said to Mr. Murdoch that I hope he will now take matters into his own hands, not rely on other people, the police
[Blitzer:] Do you have suspicions about the prime minister, David Cameron, that he may have known more than he's acknowledging?
[Mensch:] None whatsoever. And even among the most rabid Labour Party supporters, I haven't heard a single question about the prime minister's integrity. People talk about judgment in hiring Andy Coulson. But hindsight is absolutely perfect. And there were many people in the British press at the time who thought it was an inspired appointment. I can remember reading about this. Also, I should say that Mr. Coulson's guilt hasn't been proven so far, either. So, no, the prime minister his integrity is not in any kind of question. And I think you'll see, as you saw when he announced the inquiry, a very strong statement tomorrow and his MPs backing him. Indeed, we've had polling in this country over the last couple of days showing the Conservatives taking a lead over Labour and the Labour Party dropping by 3 points. So this isn't stirring the public.
[Blitzer:] You were asking the questions when that intruder came in with that shaving foam or the shaving cream and and started throwing it at Mr. Murdoch. What was your reaction? What was it like in that room?
[Mensch:] I was absolutely horrified, frankly, that the dignity of our witnesses could be compromised in that way. And I think the parliament's security authorities will have some very serious questions to answer. I know we're going to be referring it to the speaker. I was absolutely furious, because this was a very lengthy, very serious session of parliament, with two of the most important media executives in the world in front of us. And we were asking very serious questions about phone hacking. And I thought, A, the protester was absolutely pathetic. But, B, that Mr. Murdoch, Sr., as I said, did himself no end of credit by being willing to go on and answer my questions, nevertheless. In fact, it was quite hard to to gear myself up to be to make those questions as tough and as hard as I I had originally planned them, because I admired his courage in sitting in front of me after that incident.

[Baldwin:] Trending today, the oldest pitcher in Major League Baseball gets the win of a lifetime. I'm talking about Colorado's Jamie Moyer, 49 years young, beat San Diego last night, making him the oldest pitcher ever to win a major league game. Ed Lavandera caught up with him.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Doesn't get old walking out on a baseball field, does it?
[Jamie Moyer, Mlb Pitcher:] No it doesn't. No, there's no better feeling than this right here.
[Lavandera:] Jamie Moyer first walked on to a Major League Baseball field in the summer of 1986. Ronald Reagan was president, America was dancing to "Walk Like an Egyptian." And "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" had just premiered in movie theatres. Jamie Moyer is 49 years old and pitching for the Colorado Rockies, a team that didn't even exist when he broke into the major leagues more than 25 years ago. [on camera]: You're 49 years old, playing a kid's game, right?
[Moyer:] That's correct.
[Lavandera:] It doesn't get any better.
[Moyer:] It doesn't. Sometimes you have to pinch myself. I've been very blessed to have the opportunities to have a long career. And at 49, still feeling like a kid.
[Lavandera:] Tuesday night, Jamie Moyer became the oldest pitcher in major league history to win a game. Beating the San Diego padres 5-3. Not bad for a man who can only throw about 80 miles an hour and who has three pitching teammates that were born after Moyer started his big league career. He can't avoid the old man jokes. [on camera]: No one has asked if you played with babe ruth?
[Moyer:] I get that on occasion. Sometimes I kid guys that I used to clean his shoes. It breaks the ice.
[Lavandera:] When Jamie Moyer talks, the young baby faced players listen. Moyer says most of his close baseball friends have long retired.
[Moyer:] When I got on the airplane last night, I went back to the bathroom, I'm thinking oh, my gosh, I feel like I'm on we're on a field trip and I'm kind of watching over the kids.
[Lavandera:] Moyer is playing against his oldest son's friends now.
[James Earl Jones, Field Of Dreams:] The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.
[Lavandera:] That was James Earl Jones capturing the timelessness of baseball in the movie "Field of Dreams." Just like Jamie Moyer has been a constant in baseball for more than a quarter century.

[Whitfield:] Coming up, the many interests of hip hop mogul Russell Simmons. But first a check of the top stories. Free democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi plans a major address about her future tomorrow. Myanmar's ruling Marxist regime freed the Nobel Peace laureate this morning. She has spent the better part of the past 20 years under house arrest was freed. It's a weekend of adjustment for former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's family. He was temporarily moved from a hospital to his home yesterday. Sharon may eventually be transferred there permanently. He has been in a coma since suffering a massive stroke in 2006. And a backlash against those full-body scans could mean long lines when you travel this Thanksgiving. Grassroots organizations hope travelers will say no to it and instead undergo the more time- consuming pat-downs. Security has been increased in the wake of recent terror plots. Russell Simmons may be best known for cofounding "Def Jam Recordings," a label that helped bring huge popularity to hip-hop music. But he's had multimillion dollar success through fashion and philanthropy. His latest ventures is a newly launched reality show, "Running Russell Simmons," plus a new book called "Super Rich" due out in January. In a candid discussion, Russell Simmons told me being rich has nothing to do with finances. It's not about money rich, because people see the word "rich" and think, OK, I want to be a billionaire like Russell Simmons. You're saying that's not what this is about.
[Russell Simmons, Def Jam Co-founder:] It's the guide to having it all. The first chapter is "Redefining Rich." It is a tricky chapter, because I don't want people to throw the book out. It talks answer rich being
[Whitfield:] Tricky chapter?
[Simmons:] I'm telling the truth. I want people to be more productive, be greater givers. Good getters are greater givers, that's OK. But the state of being nothing the Christian refers as to Christ consciousness. Buddhists call a nirvana. I couldn't write a book about nirvana or heaven on earth or Christ consciousness. I called it "Super Rich" as the state of needing nothing. The book is about that kind of conscious. Different people are giving different messages with the same aspirations, the same hopes and desires, and they all have different ways of going about it and different voices. This is just another voice.
[Whitfield:] I know you're accessible and you're very approachable, but people do see Russell Simmons and they think, he's a mega guy. He's huge. How can you tell me I can operate with nothing?
[Simmons:] If you read the book it will stick. It's written in such a way that people can digest this idea of operating from abundance with the greatest that work itself is the prayer and there's no payment. That sounds like a lot, but so many rich friends are suffering, rich, in terms of world fame and so many people who don't have a lot who are happy. And we're only here to be happy.
[Whitfield:] What should be at the root of someone's happiness?
[Simmons:] A peaceful state. You know, there's a lot of discussions and meditation in there. And the mind is still, everything surrenders.
[Whitfield:] How did you get there?
[Simmons:] It's a practice, to have faith in the practice. I went to a yoga class and came out just for a minute I was at ease. I thought if I kept doing that I'd lose all my money.
[Whitfield:] Why did you say that?
[Simmons:] It was because I thought that anxiety drove me. But it's the opposite. That I take my half an hour in the morning, my hour and a half in the afternoon, morning meditation, practice afternoon and 30 minutes at night. I take that time out of my day and I'm so much more productive and healthy, because of it.
[Whitfield:] Kind of at peace?
[Simmons:] Well, you know, struggling with that, but more than I have been.
[Whitfield:] Really? Struggling, why?
[Simmons:] Being at peace?
[Whitfield:] Meaning you're at the center because you're using that collectively about two hours to just concentrate on you.
[Simmons:] It changed my life dramatically. In the physical practice of yoga you'll told to smile and breathe in every pose, no matter how difficult.
[Whitfield:] The person who is one of the millions who's unemployed, down on their luck, can't pay their bills, and they're looking for some inspiration. They're looking for, how do I reclaim some of my happiness because it seems like everything else is crumbling around me.
[Simmons:] If you make work your prayer and if you're present as a giver, then the results not only are they more fruitful, but they become less valuable, but they just keep coming and the cycle of giving speeds up which is what people want to do. The cycle of giving speeding up caused them the result, the cycle of getting speeds up. So you want people to be present and awake and focused. That's what the book is about, the basic practices that promote happiness. Money doesn't make you happy, but happy makes you money.
[Whitfield:] All right, Simmons built his multimillion dollar empire without ever making a business plan. That's what he revealed face to face. He tells me his secret to success in the third part of "Face to Face." That is coming up at 4:00 eastern. You do not want to miss that. Do you think classical music is boring? Wait until you see it conducted by a three-year-old. That's just one of the stories waiting for you at the water cooler. And researchers at the University of Southern California are testing a robot that could be the next big thing in education. CNN's Rob Marciano has details on how these pint-sized teachers aides work.
[Rob Marciano, Cnn Meteorologist:] Could this face inspire learning? Researchers at USC think so. Designed with kid-friendly features like big eyes and the ability to blow bubbles, this robot named Bandit is a magnet for children.
[Maja Mataric, Usc:] Kids get really excited and very motivated. We can use it for motivating exercise, for motivating doing homework, motivating studying, learning social behavior. We think of robots at social integrators. You can put a robe but in the playground a lot of kids will flock to it and play with it.
[Marciano:] This robot is guided by art terrible intelligence software, like motion tracking and speech recognition. Researchers believe fully autonomous robots make good teachers one day, especially for subjects that require more memory like languages.
[Mataric:] They can teach them school material and also get them to do jumping jacks.
[Marciano:] While that may be years away in the U.S., Bandit's special talent for patience and repetition is already helping rehab stroke patients and providing a resource for children with autism.
[Mataric:] There are a lot of people, children, adults, who need one on one care and attention, and there are just not enough other people to provide that care. Robots can step in and provide the care for which we don't have human care.
[Marciano:] Rob Marciano, CNN.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] An overnight budget vote on Capitol Hill sets the stage for a bruising battle between Republicans and Democrats that could shut down the government. We're headed there live. Also, breaking news out of Bahrain. Reports of tear gas thrown into crowds of demonstrators as we see no sign of a let up from protesters. We have some dramatic video of the standoff just ahead. It is early and we're on it. From CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's February 19th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your day with us. We start in the Middle East where antigovernment protests are getting ugly in Bahrain. Just moments ago, we saw police firing tear gas into a crowd of protesters. This new violence comes a short time after the country's crown prince ordered the military off the street. Our Tim Lister is in Manama, Bahrain. Tim, good morning to you. What is going on there right now?
[Tim Lister, Cnn Correspondent:] Randi, I'm at Pearl Square. There has been conflict and confrontation over the last week, but now it's a scene of celebration and pure joy. Several thousand demonstrators with more coming to the square all the time swelling the numbers, carrying flags saying peace, carrying the Bahrainian flag, all celebrating, praying, kissing the ground, applauding the ambulance services. They have taken over the center of Bahrain after the crown prince instructed the military to leave. And after the military left, suddenly less than an hour ago, the police detachment that's been here for the last week got in their buses and disappeared. And within seconds, hundreds and then thousands of demonstrators and you can hear them poured into this square. And they are some of them still calling for the downfall of the King Hamad. Others, more moderate, just want a changed government and reform Randi.
[Kaye:] And how large of a crowd are we talking about, Tim? Tell us, are the numbers growing? And I know they're celebrating, but is there also anger among them?
[Lister:] There is anger. There's anger amongst them because of the way they're treated in Bahrain as they see it. Most of them are Shia. The Shia are in the majority here, but they've long felt discrimination by Sunni royal family. The better jobs go to Sunnis here, and a lot of Shia live in very poor little villages; we were in one just yesterday. But there is more a sense of celebration here because this has taken a lot of bloodshed to reach this point. We were at a hospital last night, protesters, scores of them being brought in injured. Five or six of them very badly injured. One died while we were at the hospital. So the scene today couldn't be more different from what we were seeing last night. This is unbridled celebration amongst the people of Bahrain who have converged on the Pearl monument Randi.
[Kaye:] Tim Lister for us this morning in the capital of Bahrain. We will continue to watch this and we'll bring you more from there in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, let's turn to Capitol Hill where it is all about your money. Earlier this morning, the House ended a marathon passed a budget slashing more than $60 billion from this year's budget. The House trying to beat a March 4th government shutdown. CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar in Washington for us this morning. Brianna, a government shutdown would affect benefits for veterans, Social Security checks, maybe even airport security. So how likely is this with that March 4th deadline approaching so fast?
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Well, you know, I think it's really a concern. I thought Candy Crowley put it very well when she said there's only two weeks until March 4th and there's a lot of discord between the Senate and the House. And she actually said that two weeks in congressional time is kind of like a nanosecond. Is that enough time for the Senate and the House, Randi, to really get some sort of agreement on this? I think a lot of people have concerns that there isn't. So what would that mean? Yes, that would mean if they couldn't come to any sort of agreement that there would be a government shutdown March 4th. But I think there's also some concern among House Republicans that this could be politically very dicey. But on one hand, you have House Republican leaders who are also dealing with the conservative contingent in their conference, specifically, these new freshmen who have said we want these spending cuts. We promised the voters these spending cuts, the voters that put us in office. And they're indicating that they're going to be unbending on it. But I did speak this morning with the House Republican leadership aide who said that leaders have been talking now for a week with this freshmen contingent and really trying to communicate to them that maybe the best way to go about this and truly get some of the cuts that they want is to perhaps approve a short-term funding measure that does have some cuts in it, something that would get them by, perhaps, for another few weeks following March 4th Randi.
[Kaye:] And there were hundreds of changes on the House floor. So what exactly did this bill end up even looking like?
[Keilar:] This was amazing. This wrapped up this morning, Saturday, in the 4:00 a.m. hour. This is really unusual for the House of Representatives and this wasn't the only late night that we saw this week, hundreds of amendments. The overall bill cut $60 billion for the remaining seven months of the current budget. And there could be some more cuts in that. We don't have the math yet because there were so many changes. There were also a whole lot of changes, as I mentioned. The most controversial was one, it was a vote that passed to defund health care reform. Republicans had said if the repeal, the outright repeal didn't work, this was something they were going to try to do, defund health care reform. There was also a vote that succeeded to cut Federal funding for the remainder of the year for Planned Parenthood. Republicans saying they didn't want government money going to an organization that provides abortions. Democrats saying that organization also provides very important family counseling, HIVAIDS testing. And there were also a number of kind of offbeat measures. There was one in particular that caught my eye that failed, and it would've told the Pentagon they couldn't sponsor NASCAR race teams. Again, that did fail. So the Pentagon can continue to do that, Randi.
[Kaye:] That's important stuff to be debating. That certainly doesn't mean this is a done deal, right. The Senate has to look at it, the White House of course, they're not real fond of this.
[Keilar:] No, and this is where some of the sticking points are going to be. Of course, Democrats control the Senate, President Obama, you know, has issued really a veto threat on this bill as it stands. And there are a lot of cuts to get to that more than $60 billion that were pushed by House Republicans that Senate Democrats certainly are not going to be fans of. Just a couple off the top of my head. One, it would cut some funding for the nutrition assistance program for women, infant, and children. You may have heard of it, it's called WIC. There are a number one that cuts or there are actually a number of cuts in the underlying bill, billions of dollars worth of cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. You can see Democrats are not going to look favorably upon that. There's this wide chasm that would need to be bridged between the Senate and the House.
[Kaye:] Brianna Keilar, Capitol Hill for us this morning. Thank you, Brianna. Another budget battle, this one in Wisconsin and its impact could have implications for the rest of the nation. Massive demonstrations at the capitol in Madison where Democratic lawmakers yesterday delayed a vote on the governor's budget plan. The plan removes most collective bargaining rights for public workers. Even President Obama is commenting. He calls the governor's proposal an assault on unions. At the bottom of the hour, we'll have a look at why the Wisconsin vote is in the national spotlight. A hijacking on the high seas. Somali pirates this morning are holding four Americans after boarding their yacht in the Indian ocean. U.S. military officials confirm the four were kidnapped Friday when the pirates seized their boat. The identities of the Americans are not known, but a piracy watchdog group identifies the seized vessel as one that does belong to Jean and Scott Adam. They were on a seven-year, around-the-world voyage. U.S. military officials are looking closely at the situation. In Libya, the city of Benghazi, a doctor tells CNN the situation is critical right now. The city is quote, effectively under siege. He tells CNN helicopters are shooting at demonstrators and dozens have been injured. Government forces in Libya have killed at least 84 people in three days of clashes across the country. That's according to Human Rights Watch. Demonstrators are voicing outrage against the country's long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The protest erupted Tuesday after the arrest of a human rights lawyer. Libya has barred international media from reporting in the country. Many of the images coming out of the country are just amateur video. Meanwhile, state-run TV shows images of Gaddafi surrounded by adoring crowds, in fact they're singing to me in some of the videos. Gaddafi has ruled the country for more than 40 years. U.S. President Barack Obama has condemned the government crackdowns in Libya and other Mideast countries where protests are surging. And time now for our weekend wheel, a look at other stories on our radar. A former Pennsylvania judge has been found guilty of a number of charges related to a so-called kids for cash scam that supposedly netted him almost $3 million. Mark Ciavarella allegedly sent juvenile offenders to a for-profit detention center in exchange for kickbacks. Can you believe this stuff? A federal jury found him guilty of racketeering, fraud and money laundering conspiracy, but one mother thinks that's not enough. Her son committed suicide after being sent to one of those centers. She confronted the former judge outside.
[Unidentified Female:] My kid's not here! He's dead because of him! He ruined my
[Kaye:] The maximum sentence for Ciavarella is 157 years. He's also been ordered to forfeit almost $1 million. Fans of racing legend Dale Earnhardt turned out in Mooresville, North Carolina to mark the tenth anniversary of his death. They visited his former race shop and got to see some of his old cars. Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500 back in 2001. Fans of the Intimidator will also remember him at the track during tomorrow's Daytona 500. Well, it is T-minus five days and counting. NASA says the space shuttle Discovery is good to go. It's scheduled to launch Thursday for its final flight. The launch has been pushed back several times because of problems with the external tank. Discovery has made more flights than any other shuttle with 38 missions under its belt so far. Thinking of joining the millions of people who are dating online? A warning you want to hear when we come back. And Reynolds?
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, we've got interesting weather to talk about. Out west, we are watching a mammoth snowstorm that may bring one to two feet of snowfall for parts of the Rockies which is a dream come true for skiers. But for travelers, looks like it might be a nightmare. We're going to talk about that coming up.
[Kaye:] Also next, we know he can sing and dance. But Justin Bieber, the NBA star? Really? What's that about? And, of course, the bleacher put out a list of the top rivalries in sports history. I know Auburn and Alabama are huge rivals, but a big factor in making this list is how long the rivalry has actually been going on. At number five, the Green Bay Packers versus the Chicago Bears. It's the oldest and longest running rivalry in the NFL. Number four, the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Boston Celtics. Most of us remember one of their greatest showdowns in the 2010 NBA finals. And in third place, a head-to-head match-up that's lasted more than a century, the Dodgers versus the Giants. So do you know who are the two toughest rivals in sports history? We'll have that answer for you right after the break.

[Kaye:] In a little over half an hour, President Obama will sit down again with Democrat leaders of Congress on the debt ceiling crisis. And though time has grown shorter since last they talked, the prospects for real action seem greater. Keyword, "seem." Months of behind the scenes work by senators of both parties is suddenly emerging as a possible way out of a standoff that could lead to the first ever U.S. government default in just 13 days. A blueprint from the so-called "gang of six" would aim for $3.7 trillion in deficit reduction over ten years and $500 billion in immediate savings. It would rewrite the tax code, lowering income tax rates, but closing all manner of loopholes and write-offs. It would force down spending on entitlements, Medicare and Social Security. And while there's no way a bill of that size could get passed by August 2nd, just having it out there may be enough to get an increase in the debt limit before the Treasury has to start stiffing its many creditors. Watching all this from a safe distance is former labor secretary, Robert Reich, now professor of public policy at U.C.-Berkeley and author of numerous books, including "Aftershock: The Next Economy & America's Future." Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for your time on the program today.
[Robert Reich, Former Labor Secretary:] Hi, Randi.
[Kaye:] If you were in that White House meeting in just about a half an hour from now, what would you tell both sides?
[Reich:] Well, I would say very simply that a failure to raise the debt ceiling is not a small matter. It means that we are not paying interest on our obligations. It means, therefore, that any further loans and lenders are going to demand huge interest from the United States. It's going to hurt our future faith and credit. In fact, it really would bust the faith and credit of the United States altogether. And every American would suffer as a result. This isn't a matter of just a few people being out of Social Security or out of Medicare. Those checks would not go out, by the way. But all Americans would suffer because of the higher interest rates that would result.
[Kaye:] So many plans, so many numbers it's sort of getting hard to keep track of it all. But we have talked about the "gang of six" plan. But there's two more actually in the mix. We have the House Republican "cut, cap and balance" plan which just passed yesterday, as you know. We also have the McConnellReid Senate plan. That one would actually let the president raise the debt limit in three installments between now and the 2012 elections. What do you think of that plan? Is that a solution or stopgap or worse?
[Reich:] It's a stopgap. It's not worse than a stopgap, Randi. But it certainly is way of kicking the can down the road a little bit. Remember on the mind of most Americans today is not the budget deficit and it's not the debt ceiling. It is jobs and wages. Those are the big issues. And most Americans are saying to themselves according to the polls and also just a little casual empiricism, talk to people around you, and they're saying when is Washington going to get on with the business of getting jobs and wages back on the front burner? Well, Washington presumably has to get by this impasse, this debt ceiling impasse, before it can turn to jobs and wages. And hopefully it will.
[Kaye:] What is the best case scenario, do you think, as you look at all of this on the table? What's the best-case scenario for the country and really also for the president?
[Reich:] Over the long term, we do have to bring down the budget deficit. There's no question about that. In the short term that is over the next year we should not be doing budget deficit reduction because, remember, businesses are not spending. Individuals, consumers, are not spending because they're so worried right now about their own plight. They're having big mortgage interest that they have to pay. Not only that, they also are worried about their jobs and wages. They're still not out of the gravitational pull of the great recession. Government spending whether you like it or not is necessary to make up for the reluctance of individuals, consumers and businesses to spend. Otherwise, we're going to be mired in the recession for years. But I would say once we get by the recession, in fact, hopefully next year, maybe the year after, once unemployment starts coming down, then by all means, let's focus like a laser on getting the budget deficit down.
[Kaye:] Robert Reich, thank you for your insight and your time. Take a look here. This is where it all happened. First, a millionaire's girlfriend is found dead hanging from a balcony. Then his son dies after falling down the stairs. It all happened the same week. So, are the two connected? That story is next.

[Velshi:] Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Gay couples can now legally marry in six states, but "state" is the key word here.
[Romans:] Right. Keep in mind, same-sex marriages aren't recognized by Uncle Sam, the federal government. That means a lot of perks enjoyed by heterosexual married couples don't apply to gay married couples. CNN's Poppy Harlow joins us now with more on that. It's something that that people are finding out as they're getting married
[Poppy Harlow, Cnnmoney.com:] Yes.
[Romans:] in New York, for example, and then they're realizing that there's a little bit of a hurdle there.
[Harlow:] All this excitement, right, that they finally have the right to say "I do" and then they're realizing, oh, what about our finances, we never thought about this before because we just thought we couldn't bring our money together. We didn't have financial rights. But what I was so surprised to find out in reporting this, is that even though gay couples are allowed to get married in these six states, their financial rights are not equivalent on the federal level to same sex married couples. Take a look.
[Unidentified Male:] I pronounce you both married.
[Unidentified Female:] We've been waiting for this day.
[Unidentified Male:] My husband and her wife.
[Harlow:] Not so fast. For many gay couples in New York, the last few weeks have been filled with celebration.
[Ellen Desarno, Axa, Certified Financial Planner:] Marriage equality is very good for morale in New York State. However it doesn't change a lot of the laws that affect us.
[Harlow:] Openly gay financial planner Ellen DeSarno says the biggest road block for gay couples is the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. As a result, many of the federal tax breaks that straight married couples get, same sex married couples don't. Gay couples still can't file joint federal tax returns, share retirement benefits or combine their money freely.
[Desarno:] Heterosexuals that that marry is recognized at a federal level. They have the ability to give each other unlimited gifts and inherit unlimited amounts from each other. I can't give my partner more than $13,000 a year without it being a taxable gift.
[Ralph Gilmartin, Engaged:] Friday.
[Harlow:] Ralph Gilmartin and Bill Herbst have been together nearly 30 years and plan to marry in November. They own their apartment together, but have questions about their financial rights.
[Gimartin:] The state tax question is a bit of an issue.
[Herbst:] And we have to go back and maybe dismantle or rethink or reallocate because we're not sure what these things are going to do.
[Harlow:] We've arranged for our financial pro to sit down with the couple.
[Herbst:] Are there things that we can look at that will save us money or make things easier that we can maybe change now?
[Desarno:] If you're not married and you're partners, there's a $1 million exemption of assets you can pass on to your heirs without any New York State tax. When you're legally married in New York that's unlimited.
[Harlow:] And there are other state benefits. Rights may include health insurance and some pension benefits for spouses. Ralph and Bill say the right to finally say "I do" far outweighs the financial headaches that may lie ahead.
[Unidentified Male:] I think it's an important baby step, but are we there yet? Absolutely not. There's a lot more that we need to continue working on.
[Harlow:] Now gay couples have to also keep in mind once they marry, they're going to assume the debt of their partner and no one wants to think about divorce. But if there is a divorce, it's just like a heterosexual couple, they will have to pay alimony. Those things still remain. But I was shocked to find out that because marriage isn't recognized on a federal level they do miss out on a lot of these financial benefits of getting married. There are some activist groups out there fighting for these rights, but at the same time, even that couple tells me one step at a time. We're just glad we can get married after 30 years together.
[Romans:] Specifically the Defense of Marriage Act on a federal level.
[Harlow:] It is that. That 1996 act signed in by President Clinton, not likely that's going to get overturned any time soon.
[Velshi:] All right, Poppy, thank you for that.
[Costello:] Now 30 minutes past the hour. Time to check this morning's top stories. President Obama wrapping up his three-day Midwest bus tour on his home turf in Illinois. Yesterday, the president sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Wolf asked him about the approaching 911 anniversary and threats to national security.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] The biggest concern we have right now is not the launching of a major terrorist operation, although that risk is always there. The risk that we're especially concerned over right now is the lone wolf terrorist, somebody with a single weapon being able to carry out wide- scale massacres of the sort that we saw in Norway recently.
[End Video Clip) Romans:] All right. The 911 first responders are not invited to next month's ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 911 attacks. New York City officials say there's not enough room. Only families of 911 victims will attend. First responders will have their own ceremony at later date.
[Velshi:] Two Democratic state senators in Wisconsin will keep their seats. They defeated their Republican challengers in a special recall election yesterday. The vote was in response to the bitter fight over new laws that crack down on unions and their right to collectively bargain. Bottom line, status quo, things haven't changed there.
[Costello:] Back to the world of politics, Rick Perry refusing to back down this morning, even after members of his own party criticized him for harsh comments he made about the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Listen.
[Perry:] We would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. I mean, printing more money, to play politics at this particular time in American history, is almost treasonous.
[Costello:] Joining us to talk about this, Gerry Seib, Washington Bureau chief of the "Wall Street Journal" and CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston, he's on the road with Perry in New Hampshire. Welcome to you both.
[Unidentified Male:] Thank you.
[Costello:] So, Mark, let's start with you, Rick Perry used that word treason that's a crime against your country, it's in the constitution, it's punishable by as much as death. But Rick Perry isn't backing down, is he?
[Mark Preston, Cnn Senior Political Editor:] No, he's not backing down, and it's the kind of phrase that is going to play very well with a certain segment of the Republican base. Rick Perry, when he was making that statement, I believe, knew what he was doing. However, what he could run up against is moderate, middle of the road Republicans and independents that are turned off by that remark. We've already seen some former Bush administration officials, including Karl Rove, who we do know is not close to Rick Perry, actually criticize him for that.
[Costello:] Gerald, I wanted to ask you about that. Karl Rove did come out, as Mark said he's not the best friend of Rick Perry, but he said this is not presidential. So why isn't Perry stepping back from the remark?
[Gerald Seib, Washington Bureau Chief Of The Wall Street Journal And Dow Jones Newswires:] Well, I think for starters, you got to remember there's a lot of anti-fed sentiment in the Republican Party, particularly among primary voters. Ron Paul tapped into that. Ron Paul came in second in last week's Iowa straw poll. So he's kind of showing that there's a lot of populist anger about the fed. He's tapping into that whether he did so intentionally or not that's the effect of it. But I also think there's kind of a Rick Perry style of political discourse here that you're seeing and the great question is whether it plays as well in the center of the country as you get beyond a primary into a general election as it does with Republican primary voters. I wrote a column this week and talked about that being the question about Rick Perry, the kind of approach, the rhetorical attack that works in a Republican primary setting work in a general election setting or is it off putting to swing voters in the middle of the electorate. That's the question I think about the Perry candidacy.
[Costello:] And talking about confrontation, President Obama is on this bus tour through the Midwest, and he talked with Wolf Blitzer, not many people are paying attention because it's August. A lot of people are on vacation, but I think that an image people will remember is the president being confronted by that Tea Party leader in Iowa and, of course, Democrats did the same thing to Mitt Romney in Iowa. I mean is this the kind of thing we're going to see all the way through the campaign, Gerald?
[Seib:] You know, look, the campaign is now under way. I think what we've seen in the last week really is the real beginning of a campaign that was slow to get off the ground. It's an unhappy and an angry electorate that shows through in all the polls. You've got a lot of anxiety and a lot of anger at Washington, at the economy, and at Washington's inability to get a grip on the economic problems that really date back to 2008. So you're going to see that play out I think in a lot of the campaign. It's a bad backdrop if you're the incumbent president running for re-election and see President Obama have to confront that over and over again over the next year or so.
[Costello:] Mark, I'll ask you this. How are campaigns combating that because you really don't want to get into an argument? I mean, a lot of analysts say President Obama should not have engaged as long as he did with that Tea Party leader.
[Preston:] Well, no. And look, it's always the peril of being on the campaign trail and being willing to put yourself out there and actually have to take questions from people in events such as the one I'm in right now. I mean, there's business leaders, some of the top business leaders in New Hampshire will be here this morning. Rick Perry will make some remarks. Not sure if he'll actually answer some questions. The question is, when do you engage when you have a heckler? We saw Mitt Romney do that last week. Some thought he handled it poorly. But the Romney campaign thought he handled it correctly. In fact, they're trying to raise money off the whole idea. That he made the comment that corporations are people and by doing so, they think that they can tap into a very conservative fiscal base as well. So it is the peril of being on the campaign trail. If you're running in politics and want to run for office that's something you have to deal with, Carol.
[Costello:] I know, the DNC is using it too. How bizarre. I want to touch briefly on Ron Paul, put out an ad that's quite interesting. In that ad, if we can show a little bit of it, it lumps together Mitt Romney, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and President Obama. I think Michele Bachmann is in there too. So there are both Republicans and Democrats in that ad. What is Ron Paul trying to demonstrate, Gerald?
[Sieb:] Well, look, Ron Paul is the ultimate anti-establishment candidate in a lot of ways. He's almost a libertarian and he's trying show that all regular politicians and his whole campaign is based on saying I'm not a regular politician even though I've been in Congress for a long time, don't understand what the populist anger out in the country is about. That's what I think the point of the ad, to put all the other guys together as the politicians and me, Ron Paul, as the not politician. There's a lot of appeal to that. I think one of the things that frustrate the Ron Paul supporters right now is that he's not getting more attention. He's getting more press coverage than he does, and that he's not being considered a serious mainstream candidate, but a marginal candidate, he's trying to fight back against that.
[Costello:] Yes, because he came in second in the Iowa straw poll and really no pundits were really talking about him, but honestly, he probably doesn't have a he doesn't have a really great chance of being president, but who knows. I guess stranger things have happened.
[Sieb:] Exactly.
[Costello:] Gerald Sieb, Mark Preston, thanks for talking with us this morning. We appreciate it.
[Romans:] Wow, still to come, danger at Yosemite National Park. We're going to tell you what's behind a deadly summer there this year.
[Velshi:] Plus, heart disease affects 30 million men in the U.S. and one of the early indicators may shock you. Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has your morning house call.

[Baldwin:] They're calling it a close shave, a 125-foot wide asteroid passing within 140,000 miles of earth, and the frightening thing, NASA only spotted it hurdling towards us two days before it zipped between our planet and the moon. Chad Myers, here with me now, to talk about this darn close asteroid. How did they miss this?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] There are a lot of them up there that we don't know about and this is going to happen a lot. We're going to see these things zipping by our earth and let's just hope they don't collide because
[Baldwin:] We talk about when they're coming, but I guess you're right. There are so many.
[Myers:] They're bigger than school buses. What we had today, 125-feet wide, that would have hit the earth, would have put a hole somewhere about 800 miles across. Knocking down all the trees, doing an awful lot of damage, something much, much bigger, put the dinosaurs out of work.
[Baldwin:] Out of business.
[Myers:] Out of business and so we're going to see these things flying by. I have a graphic, though, that shows you the ones we actually know.
[Baldwin:] There is one coming in February, right? It's even bigger?
[Myers:] Right. It is o.nly going to be 8.9 lunar distances away, like 20,000 miles away. That's about the width of a little bit more than the width of the earth away. That's really close. Let's hope it doesn't veer off or, you know, a couple hundred feet. This is a big deal. I don't like these. We need Bruce Willis. Where is he?
[Baldwin:] Tell me about the meteor showers for tomorrow.
[Myers:] You bet, great meteor shower, almost 120 of these per hour. So that would be good. You got to be away from the city lights and all that. This is going to be a nice meteor shower.
[Baldwin:] What are those pictures from?
[Myers:] Those are from the old shower coming in a little bit, from last year, a couple of years ago, and it was a very good show. As you run through these belts, sometimes it is a good year, sometimes it is a bad year, this looks like it could be a very good night for us tomorrow night.
[Baldwin:] Think about living in the city.
[Myers:] These are little, not going to affect us. These are going to make shooting stars.
[Baldwin:] OK, pretty sky.
[Myers:] Not holes.
[Baldwin:] Chad Myers, thank you very much.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed. A gay Arizona sheriff is outed, resigns from a position with the Romney campaign. Well, now his ex-boyfriend speaking out. Sheriff Paul Babeu denies allegations that he threatened to have that man deported. The former boyfriend, identified only as "Jose," he's a 34- year-old Mexican national who says he is in this country legally. He spoke to our own Miguel Marquez in this exclusive interview.
[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Correspondent:] At some point you felt "
[Jose," Ex-boyfriend Of Arizona Sheriff:] Used.
[Marquez:] used and then threatened?
[Jose:] Yes.
[Marquez:] Why threatened?
[Jose:] I got a text from him, directly on my phone, saying that I will never have business, that my family will be contacted.
[Malveaux:] In Washington State, an avalanche kills three skiers in the Cascade Mountains. Police say about 12 skiers got caught in a snow slide, but the other nine were able to dig themselves out. The sheriff's deputy tells us that one of those skiers survived because she used an avalanche rescue system which works like an airbag. Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman have been meeting with Egyptian military leaders in Cairo today. They are trying to resolve the case of 19 American workers who face criminal charges in Egypt's crackdown on non-governmental organizations. Now, the trial is set to begin on Sunday. Senators McCain and Graham joined us live just last hour with details on how those talks are going.
[Sen. John Mccain , Arizona:] We have met with the Supreme Council and also the field marshal, Tantawi, who is the head of the provisional government, as you know, the speaker of the parliament. We met with the head of the Muslim Brotherhood and others, and we have emphasized the importance of this issue to the American people, the importance of it being resolved as quickly as possible.
[Malveaux:] This video from Syria said to show men rushing into a burning house to save a child. This is in the city of Homs. CNN can't confirm the authenticity of the video, but Syrian forces, they have launched 17 straight days of heavy shelling in that city. A rebel commander calls the uprising an "Orphan Revolution" because they don't have the international support that was given to other revolts in the region. President Obama's main military adviser says it's premature to decide to help arm those rebels. U.N. inspectors in Iran today for another round of nuclear talks. It comes as Iran cuts off oil exports to Britain and to France in retaliation for new sanctions. Well, Iran insists its nuclear program is for energy, medical research. Western nations believe the Iranians are trying to build a bomb. The decision by Iran to cut off oil exports to Britain and to France, it's already causing oil prices to go up. I want to bring in Alison Kosik. She's at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, this is obviously what folks are worried about. They are concerned. Do we know why this is happening now? Is it related to what is taking place on the ground?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] It really is related to that. And as you're talking about oil prices, sure, they are topping $105 a barrel today. They are reaching the highest level in nine months. And there are several factors at work here, but most of the focus really is what's happening in Iran, what you mentioned. But the rise in prices is really more of a psychological effect and less of a supply issue, because we, here in the United States, we don't get any of our oil from Iran. France and Britain get very little of their oil from Iran. So it's more about the fear, meaning the trade of how oil is trading. It's more about the fear of what if Iran continues to squeeze supply? Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And how would that impact gas prices?
[Kosik:] OK. So higher oil prices, no surprise, will mean higher gas prices. And some analysts say the national average could actually reach $4.25 by late April. Now, remember, the national average right now is sitting at $3.56 a gallon, and it's already $4 in two states, in California and Hawaii. Now, if prices rise, as expected, you're probably going to see consumers pull back and drive less. And if that happens, prices could actually retreat again as demand slows down Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And overall, how would that affect the overall recovery? Are we looking at something that could have a huge impact here?
[Kosik:] It could impact the economy. We spoke with one oil analyst, Peter Butel. He told us that rising gas prices could actually stop the recovery that we're in the middle of right now. It could stop it altogether if prices get too high. But you know what? It's not all bad news. Rising oil prices, they're partly a reflection of a recovery that's actually picking up speed. You know, as oil prices have moved higher, so have stock prices. You look at how the Dow is doing, it's up almost 6 percent for the year. The S&P; 500 is up more than 8 percent. So portfolios are a little fatter. And sure, it may wind up blowing up your budget to pay an extra buck or two every time you fill up the tank, but prices going up could be a good thing if it's because the economy is getting stronger, that jobs are being created, and stock prices have rallied. You know, the potential gaining from a strong stock market and a growing economy more than offset the damage to our wallets from rising gas prices. Ultimately, Suzanne, it's one of those real delicate balance kind of things Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right. Thank you, Alison.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Visibly moved, the governor of this state of Connecticut, Dan Malloy, briefing reporters on what is going on. He, like the president of the United States on Friday, choked back tears. This is a very sad day of raw emotion here in Newtown, Connecticut, as families begin burying the children killed in the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School right down the road from where we are right now. We're watching all of this unfold, and the pain is clearly, clearly evident. While every day here in Newtown is sad, today, it's especially, it's especially sad. This afternoon, the first funerals were held for victims of the elementary school massacre. Connecticut's governor, you just saw him here. He attended one of the services today, and he summed it up this way, and I'm quoting him "You see little coffins and your heart starts to ache." As this town and the nation tries to come to grips with this huge, huge tragedy, the investigation is focusing in on the question why. Some of the answers may come from a computer found in the home where the gunman, Adam Lanza, lived with his mother. CNN's national correspondent Deborah Feyerick is keeping track of the latest developments. She's joining us now live with more. What are you learning, Deb?
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn National Correspondent:] Wolf, we can tell you law enforcement sources are telling us that the computer is being analyzed. That it was found smashed inside the home, and investigators right now gathered up the piece, putting it together, trying to check all the forensics on it, who he may have been in contact with, e-mails, Web sites, anything that may give them some insight into what he was thinking in the days and the moments leading up to this crime. We want to tell you that around 3:00, two unmarked police cars traveled up the long driveway and you can see, this is as close as we've gotten to the home since this all happened. Three people did enter that home. We believe they're investigators. I can also tell you, wolf, something equally sad. And that is on our way here, we noticed there were marked squad cars in the driveways of some of the nearby homes. We've been told by Connecticut police that any home directly affected by this tragedy would have those cars in their driveways. So we're trying to confirm whether, in fact, the homes nearby the Lanzas may have been affected. CNN has also confirmed that Nancy Lanza, the mom, who was shot and killed by her own son, shot in the head, by her own gun, that, in fact, she had confided to friends that this was their last winter here, that they were planning on moving, that she thought about possibly going to Washington state, possibly enrolling her son in a college there. We've been able to trace a little bit of his academic history, Wolf. We can tell you, right now, there is no known connection to the Sandy Hook Elementary School. He first appears in public records as a freshman in high school back in 2007, and at that time, we spoke to a security director, who said that Adam Lanza immediately was identified as a child that needed to be watched. Not because he was a threat to other people, that he was so gawky and so awkward that security officials felt that others may be a threat to him. So not only did they keep an eye on him, but also he was, at that time, assigned a school psychologist. He left that school in about 2008. He enrolled in classes at a nearby university, just about 15 minutes from here. He was taking computer science, macro economics, American history. This is a 16-year-old kid, mind you, he was taking those classes. In 2009, he just fell of the grid, never went back to the school. He took up shooting as a hobby. The ATF telling us he was spotted at a local gun range. And even his mom saying to a friend that it was a hobby, that he enjoyed and he wanted to pursue Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Deborah Feyerick, thanks very much. People across the nation have become fascinated by the stories of the 20 children, the six women, all educators, who died at the school, and they're reaching out to Newtown, sending gifts for the makeshift memorials that are springing up all over this town. CNN's Brooke Baldwin is here. She caught up with a first responder, delivering Christmas wreaths from Oregon. And as Brooke discovered, has quite a story to tell us. Brooke, the story is powerful. And it's a symptom, a symbol of what has going on here. You and I have walked around this town.
[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] People just want to show some emotion.
[Baldwin:] It's pretty incredible. You know, it's been difficult to talk to some of the first responders. You can see it in their eyes what they saw but they don't exactly want to share it to you and we're respecting that. But I just happened upon in the town square where I see box after box after box and I said to them, I said, excuse me, what are you delivering, hanging up, and it was a wreath, 26 wreaths from a perfect stranger, a wreath farm all the way across the country in Portland, Oregon. Here's what he shared with me. How many wreaths are there?
[Jeffrey Thomas, Firefighter:] Twenty-six.
[Baldwin:] So, where did did they get sent to the firehouse?
[Thomas:] They were sent to the firehouse through
[Ups. Baldwin:] Did you know they were coming?
[Thomas:] No, no, they were the truck pulled up and she says, "I have a delivery of 26 wreaths." So, we unloaded them all and we figured we'd come up with a place to put them, try to keep them all together. Got shipped all the way from Oregon.
[Baldwin:] How long have you been here?
[Thomas:] Since Friday.
[Baldwin:] Where are you based out of?
[Thomas:] The Sandy Hook firehouse.
[Baldwin:] How long have you been at the firehouse?
[Thomas:] We're going home at night to sleep but
[Baldwin:] Years? How many years?
[Thomas:] Since high school. I'm 38.
[Baldwin:] Since high school and you're 38?
[Thomas:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] Did you ever in a million years think you'd be experiencing this in your little town?
[Thomas:] Nobody in this town would think that. Yes.
[Baldwin:] Where were you when you heard?
[Thomas:] Working. Working across town. We saw the helicopters.
[Baldwin:] When you saw the helicopters, what did you think it was?
[Thomas:] Not on a scale it was, one or two. We heard, you know, the principal at first and as time went on, we got the reports, and just didn't believe it, and we came down the road, it was just all surreal. Seeing all the cars, all this. It's tough. Yes.
[Baldwin:] Where did you go once you saw the cars, straight to the firehouse?
[Thomas:] Yes, straight to the firehouse. From there, we just
[Baldwin:] Help us around the world understand what you, as a first responder, are going through.
[Thomas:] Sadness, anger, guilt in some aspects.
[Baldwin:] Why guilt? What could you have done?
[Thomas:] Exactly. We were having counseling, as a group.
[Baldwin:] Just, finally, what do you make of the wreaths, just people you don't know sending you al these wreaths to put up in your town?
[Thomas:] I mean, it's
[Baldwin:] What would you say to the people of Portland, Oregon?
[Thomas:] Thank you. It makes us feel warm to know this is amazing that people that far away care about us.
[Baldwin:] A lot of these people have been in that firehouse. It was the same firehouse in which a lot of those parents were waiting Friday morning to learn the fates of their sons and daughters, and to get out and hang these 26 wreaths in the middle of the town square and just those two simple words, "thank you," you can just tell it meant the world to these guys.
[Blitzer:] I just myself walked up to that firehouse and I saw those little trees, saw the toys, the flowers, everything. People are
[Baldwin:] The stuffed animals
[Blitzer:] I walked in, I spent some time, a little time with some of the first responders there who were we're going to show it to our viewers later. But, you know, they all said the same thing they said to you. They never expected that they would be and that's sort of the command center. It's a crime scene because that firehouse is right down the street from the elementary school.
[Baldwin:] From elementary school.
[Blitzer:] And that's where they're reviewing everything, they're checking everything, and I was going to meet with one of the lead commanders over there, but they were busy returning personal effects of some of those who were killed to their parents and just, you know?
[Baldwin:] It's a tough scene at the firehouse.
[Blitzer:] Very tough.
[Baldwin:] Thanks, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] We never expected to be covering something like this either.
[Baldwin:] I never want to cover something like this again.
[Blitzer:] Yes, neither do I. Students at the Sandy Hook Elementary School won't be returning to their school. Stand by. We have the latest on the plans for all the survivors, they're changing schools. Stay with us.

[O'brien:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT, everybody. In just a few moments, we're going to be talking to Olympic hurdler, Lolo Jones. You might recall that she missed out on a medal in London and then got caught up in this really I thought an attack by the media on her personally. She's going to stop by to talk about her critics and the cheers she got when she went to Des Moines. That is straight ahead this morning. Also we're going to talk with former Alabama Congressman Artur Davis, the onetime Democrat is now a Republican. He's going to weigh in on the Congressman Akin controversy. First though, I want to get right to John Berman for a look at the day's top stories. Good morning again.
[Berman:] Hi, Soledad. We have some tropical storm warnings after new depression forms in the Atlantic overnight, a lot of Republicans watching this wondering if it will affect the convention. Let's get right to meteorologist, Rob Marciano for the latest.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Good morning, John. Yes, that is a possibility, but it's a long way off. First order of business is tropical depression number 9. We also have another system just off the coast of Africa that will likely develop into a depression if not a tropical storm before the next couple of days are done. Tropical depression number 9, if it does strengthen, we think it will, Isaac will be its name. Right now, it's moving to the west at 20 miles an hour. So as you mentioned tropical storm watches and warnings have been posted for parts of the Leeward Islands in anticipation of arriving sometime during the day on Wednesday and then strengthening potentially into Category 1 or 2 storm. The column brings it towards Puerto Rico and Hispaniola and potentially towards Jamaica and Cuba, and of course, the Gulf of Mexico or even the east coast in play as we get towards next week. This system in the Gulf of Mexico, we're watching it, but it is not moving very much and it's near the Mexican Coast as opposed to the U.S. coast at this time, mostly heavy rain. Rain across parts of this southeast with this front everywhere north of there, it looks to be a nice day with comfortable temperatures from Chicago to Detroit to Pittsburgh to New York City. John, back to you.
[Berman:] All right, Rob Marciano in Atlanta, thank you very much. A state representative from Minnesota is facing calls to step down after he admits to a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy at a rest stop. Democrat Kerry Gauthier won't face charges in the July incident because the boy was older than the legal age of consent and no money was exchanged. According to the "Duluth News Tribune," police say the teenager responded to Gauthier's ad on Craigslist seeking sex with no strings attached. Still more questions about the apparent suicide of 21-year-old Chavis Carter in Arkansas. The autopsy found Carter shot himself in the head while handcuffed in the back of a police car. Marijuana and meth and depressants were also found in his system. Carter's family believes their son was shot by police. The case is still being reviewed by prosecutors and the police. An "A.M. House Call" now, doctors are more likely to get burnt out by their jobs than the rest of us. A survey found some 7,000 doctors they said four out of 10 were emotionally exhausted by their work. That feeling could lead to depersonalization where physicians treat their patients like objects than human beings. The burnout rate was even higher among emergency room physicians and family practitioners. Doctors say a so-called miracle molecule found in red wine, blueberries and nuts could help improve mobility among older adults. The chemical called resveratrol has been found to improve motor coordination as we age. But scientists recommend the fruit over the booze. It takes a whole bottle of the wine to get the same amount of resveratrol from a handful of cranberries. Now along that same subject matter. What's the ultimate party school? The Princeton Review is out with a list and we have the top five. At five, the University of Georgia. In fourth, the University of Illinois. In third, the Ohio State University. Iowa is runner up and number one party school in America, West Virginia, ladies and gentlemen.
[O'brien:] Just to get the resveratrol. See? Thinking about their future health.
[Berman:] Just healthy, West Virginia, they care about this stuff.
[O'brien:] Well, they are confused. All right, thanks, John. Appreciate it. Today, there is a critical deadline to see whether GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin is going to step down from the race. He's the man who used the word legitimate rape in an interview. He was all set to defend himself last night on Piers Morgan and canceled at the very last minute there. According to two people in his campaign, they said he was working on a new ad. And we have a chance to see a little bit of that. I'll play that in just a moment. Congressman Akin has until 6:00 Eastern tonight to drop out of the race before it gets complicated. And in fact, we've heard many Republicans calls suggesting that he does that, including Reince Priebus. He is the chairman of the party. And the National Republican Senatorial Campaign, they pulled $5 million in ad funding from the congressman. Mitt Romney told Akin to take some time to think about what's best for him and the party. But as of yesterday, Akin was declaring he is not a quitter and said, by the grace of God, we are going to win this race. That is the $64,000 question, isn't it? Artur Davis is a former Alabama congressman. He is going to be speaking at the Republican convention after he left the Democratic Party earlier this year. He is joining us this morning in the studio. It's nice to see you, sir.
[Artur Davis, Former U.s. Representative:] Soledad, good to see you and good to see your panel as well.
[O'brien:] Thank you very much for being with us. So let's talk first with Congressman Akin. He, obviously, is a colleague of yours in the Congress. He says he's not a quitter, lots of pressure to drop out and very blunt pressure from the GOP leadership. Do you think he should drop out? Do you think he will drop out?
[Davis:] Well, what a remarkably thoughtless offensive set of comments, first of all. He's wrong on the substance. He was incredibly wrong and foolish in the way he talked about the issue. And look, I'm a former politician, doesn't have the standing to tell anybody to drop out of anything. But he's not going to win this race and it's very possible that he could cost Mitt Romney the state. So all of us feel sympathy for someone who said something dumb, we've all done that. These comments are beyond the pale and incredible offensive to women all over the country.
[O'brien:] So two things. The first is a lot of people who are not elected officials have been saying drop out. So I don't think your calls are out of any sort of range of the spectrum.
[Davis:] is about the Washington model I fully understand that.
[O'brien:] That is very true, but you just said you think that what him staying in the race could cost Mitt Romney the state. Explain that to me.
[Davis:] Well, he's such an incredible distraction at this point. That Republicans have a wonderful chance to win Missouri. President Obama I believe won Missouri narrowly four years ago. The Missouri economy is not in good shape. Senator McCaskill has voted in lock step with President Obama and that will hurt her. Well, if the next four months are spent talking about the remarkably dumb comments that Akin made a few days ago, that certainly is going to hurt the prospects for Republicans.
[O'brien:] So hold on one second for me while I check in with both John Berman and Ron Brownstein. John Berman is saying, no, no that he thinks Missouri is actually not in a position
[Berman:] John McCain won it narrowly last time, narrowly
[Davis:] See, people make mistakes.
[Margaret Hoover, Cnn Political Contributor:] Is it a question of misspeaking, or do you think the substance of his comment?
[Davis:] I think the substance is wrong and the misspeaking, very clear about this. I don't think there is any state capital in America or any set of politicians in America smart enough to tell a young woman what to do if she's been brutalized and raped. Now that's my opinion. Some people may disagree with that. I think there are many pro-life Americans like the guest you had on earlier
[O'brien:] Miss Kramer for the Tea Party.
[Davis:] There are many prolife Americans who firmly disagree with what Todd Akin said. His position is not reflective of the pro-life community.
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] What he explained yesterday, when he said legitimate, he was reaching for the word forcible, the word forcible is relevant because it was in legislation co-sponsored by a majority of the House. Including Paul Ryan who sought to distinguish between forcible rapes and presumably something else in terms of Medicaid so is that not the party doing exactly what you said Americans should not do?
[Davis:] Well, I think it's Todd Akin doing what his spin doctors told him to do to find a pathway. If you're in a situation like his, your crisis management doctors are going to try to tell you how to talk your way out of it. I give Romney a lot of credit for the statement that he made yesterday disowning Akin's comments. And frankly, I don't know of a prominent Republican official in this country who has come to the defense of Akin on the substance or on the way he talked about it.
[O'brien:] I'm sorry, forgive me for interrupting there. But later as you pointed out, he did say when I said legitimate, I meant forcible. Right, that brings that conversation to a conversation around legislation. When I first heard him say legitimate, I was like what does that even mean? We talked about this yesterday morning.
[Davis:] It's incredibly dumb comment.
[O'brien:] What I meant by legitimate was I meant forcible rape, which is then distinguishing forcible rape from statutory rape or rape where may have been drugged. So do you see delineations between those different kinds of rape?
[Davis:] I don't see any delineations at all because this is what Congressman Akin appeared to be doing to a lot of listeners. He appeared to be saying that there is some scenario in which women can somehow stop this process as he put it
[O'brien:] The medical part.
[Davis:] Seemed to be blaming women, that what made it so offensive.
[O'brien:] That was the second half of the statement.
[Davis:] I don't think he speaks for any class of people here. I go back to what the RomneyRyan campaign has said and what every single Republican senator or leader who has weighed into this has said. His comments don't reflect the pro-life movement. They don't reflect the Republican Party and they don't reflect the RomneyRyan ticket.
[O'brien:] So you could argue that some of the comments do though. And here's how and you can correct me if you think I'm wrong. I think the back end of that comment about the medical and women's body almost spontaneously abort if they are raped
[Davis:] It's a dumb comment.
[O'brien:] Right. So we'll just move off from that. But the beginning part where he talked about legitimate, there are people would say, well, by legitimate, he himself said by legitimate, I meant forcible. So that brings us into a conversation about the nuance between forcible rape between statutory rape and between some kind of rape where maybe the woman is drugged so it's not considered to be an attack, all these different things. So my question would be when you look at the platform of the GOP now, doesn't make a distinguishment between I can read you in fact I think we have it up there. Victims of statutory the federal law prevents Medicaid funds and similar programs from paying for abortions and the law also contains an exception for women who are raped. The bill would now the exception for forcible rape, right. So this is part of that conversation. Let me let him answer.
[Davis:] I think the rape incest exception in the platform for a very simple set of reasons. If you're a conservative, you can't want government intruding into a decision that a young girl makes when she's been raped. That is a decision for her, her God, her conscience and her doctor and her parents parental consent. Absolutely. And given that, if you're a conservative who believes in limited government, I don't think even if you're the most ardent pro-life conservative. You ought to want to see government extend its footprint in that way. I don't think that Akin speaks for the pro-life community and I don't think he speaks for the Republican Party.
[Berman:] Is the party platform, which CNN has obtained a copy of the draft.
[Davis:] Should have an exception
[Berman:] You then are in disagreement with the draft for the party platform that CNN has seen, which does not have any exceptions
[Hoover:] John Berman, 67 percent of Republicans are in disagreement with the Republican Party platform on this issue.
[Davis:] That's a very important point.
[O'brien:] I want you ask you're going to be speaking, you're the guy who really did the introduction of President Obama four years ago.
[Davis:] I think more people have seen that speech in the last week or so
[O'brien:] We have all been looking at it. And now you're going to be speaking at the Republican National Convention. What are you going to say? What's your message?
[Davis:] I'm still working on the speech
[O'brien:] Everyone always tells me that, come on.
[Davis:] That's accurate for most of us, but it's going to be two points. President Obama is a wonderful admirable American, wonderful family. But even if you're the most ardent Obama supporter, I don't think you can make the case he has given us the two things he promised four years ago. He promised to bring a new sense of unity and renewal to our country and that was the big selling point for the Obama candidacy in '07 an '08
[O'brien:] Hope and change.
[Davis:] And promised to turn an economy around. We just finished our 43rd consecutive month of 8 percent unemployment. You're reporting this morning the jobless claims continued to go up. We're almost certainly going to see month 44. We're likely to hit 47 consecutive months by November above 8 percent unemployment and 25 million Americans are out of work or have stopped looking for work. GDP growth was 1.2 percent in the last quarter. We used to know how to create a million jobs a month in this economy, what the Reagan recovery did. Now we have an anemic recovery and for three consecutive years, Washington policies have mismanaged the recovery. Now, some people say you can't blame the president for that. And that's an argument that I get, but when you run on one thing, you're going to be able to turn the country around. You're holding yourself to a pretty high standard.
[O'brien:] It's going to be interesting to hear the speech. We're out of time, Ron Brownstein.
[Brownstein:] Never created a million jobs a month check the stats.
[Davis:] No. Seven months in a row we did a million jobs each month, check stats on it.
[O'brien:] We will check the stats and we'll be able to tell everybody on the next commercial break or so. Artur Davis, it's nice to have with you. Thanks for coming. We certainly appreciate it. We have got lots to get to this morning. New developments on Diana Nyad, going to join us on STARTING POINT. We're rooting for her. Her effort to swim from Cuba to Florida is now over. We're just getting word that she is out of the water. We have planned to check in with her team. But it looks like she has ended her what she had called her final bid. Her fourth try to swim from Cuba to Florida. We're going to talk about that and what happened and what went wrong right after the short break. Stay with us, everybody, with this breaking news, Diana Nyad.

[Kaye:] Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Here are five stories that we are watching this morning. Sad news from the world of entertainment. Actor Larry Hagman has died. His family says it was complications from cancer. Hagman is best known for his iconic performance as J.R. Ewing on the TV show "Dallas." He was the ultimate villain. But today, people are remembering him as much more. Peter Fonda said goodbye to his friend on twitter, saying Hagman brought so much fun to everyone's life. Number two, hundreds came out to protest at Walmart stores across the U.S. on black Friday. The group "Our Walmart" says it's fighting for better wages and better health care. The protestors didn't deter shoppers, though. The company said this black Friday was its, quote, "best ever." Former world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho has died. He was taken off life support at a hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, today after suffering a heart attack. The 50-year-old was declared clinically brain dead earlier in the week after being shot in the face on Tuesday. Police are looking for the gunman and another suspect. The sounds of protests in Egypt's capital, Cairo. Demonstrators are furious at what they say is the president's new power grab. Mohamed Morsi has issued a decree disabling the courts and giving himself unchecked powers. Egypt's Muslim brotherhood is coming to Morsi's support. It's called for nationwide demonstrations tomorrow and a million man march starting Tuesday in Cairo. The body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be exhumed on Tuesday. Forensic experts from France, Switzerland, and Russia will take samples to test for possible poisoning. Mr. Arafat's body will then be reburied in a military ceremony in Ramallah in the West Bank. Palestinian officials hope the test will clear up questions over whether Arafat's death in 2004 was the result of poisoning by a radioactive substance. Let's get back to the Middle East now. There is a ceasefire in place. That is good for now. But the violence could easily spark up again without a long-term solution. Joining me now from Ramallah is Diana Buttu, a former Palestinian negotiator and adviser for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Now she is at the Institute for Middle East Understanding. Diana, good morning to you. What do you see is the most important issue for Palestinians?
[Diana Buttu, Institute For Middle East Understanding:] Good morning. Well, I think if we're going to be honest and move forward, then we're going to have to begin to address Israel's 45-year military occupation, and in particular, it's ongoing siege and blockade of the Gaza Strip. That's with respect to Gaza. But in terms of the bigger picture, it's not just a question of Gaza, but also a question of Israel finally ending its military rule over Palestinians living in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem as well. This is the only way that we're going to begin to move forward in this region. Without addressing this underlying problem, which is Israel's denial of freedom to millions of Palestinians, then we're just going to continue to see violence in the Middle East.
[Kaye:] Many folks in Gaza, of course, want this blockade lifted so they can go in and out at their free will. But if Israel were to abandon the blockade, especially on the Egyptian border, what is to stop the flow of weapons from Iran into Gaza?
[Buttu:] Well, it's important to look back in history and to see how the border was actually operated in the past. And in the past, from 2005 onward, there were European monitors at that border making sure precisely what was coming in and what was going out. It ended up being that in 2006 these monitors ended up being ousted by Israel, not being allowed in, and this is why we now have these tunnels that are in place. If we want to move forward, it's a question not only of ending the blockade of Gaza in terms of the Egyptian-Gaza border, but also allowing Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip to see their families in the West Bank as well. And there are arrangements that can be made, particularly with European monitors and other monitors in place. What is not acceptable is to continue a blockade, a six-year-long blockade over the Gaza Strip with only Israel controlling every aspect of Palestinian life, including down to the very caloric intake that they've determined will prevent malnutrition.
[Kaye:] Certainly many of the businesses there have suffered as a result. But you have said that Israel needs to recognize Hamas if there's going to be any chance at lasting peace. But can't the same really be said then for Hamas, that they need to recognize Israel's right to exist?
[Buttu:] Well, in the past, this is precisely what Hamas has done. The spiritual leader of Hamas came out and said that if Israel ended its occupation over the West Bank in the Gaza Strip that it would enter into a long-term ceasefire, or truce with Israel. He was then assassinated. His successor made similar remarks, was also assassinated. His successor also made similar remarks, was also assassinated. And even the current leader of Hamas has also made similar remarks regarding Israel. So I think if we're going to move forward, it's not just a question of recognizing Hamas, which needs to be done, but also beginning to put into place this idea that we simply can't get rid of Hamas. Hamas is not going to go away and that Israel has and the United States has to now deal with them.
[Kaye:] Can there really, though, be peace as long as the Palestinians are split into these two factions? You have the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in charge in Gaza.
[Buttu:] Well, the fact that there is a split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has certainly hurt Palestinian interests, but it shouldn't be used as an excuse to continue to allow Israel to deny millions of Palestinians their freedom. This is what is precisely been done. Israel comes forward and says we refuse to talk to Hamas. We don't want to talk to Mahmoud Abbas. So the settlements continue. The land confiscation continues, the blockade continues. So rather than the world looking for excuses as to why not to pressure Israel, they should be looking for reasons so as to pressure Israel to finally end its military rule over the Palestinians and let them live in freedom.
[Kaye:] Diana Buttu, thank you so much for your time this morning from Ramallah. Looking for a solution on the fiscal cliff, one senator now bucking the party line. But will that help get a deal done? We'll look into it.

[Holmes:] Welcome back to "Around the World." To Japan, where more than two years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, tens of thousands of people still can't go home.
[Malveaux:] So the mayor of one contaminated town invited Google to capture what his city looks like today. And these images, quite eerie, you see them there. Chad Myers is telling us a little bit about how did Google explain this for us. How did Google get these pictures in the first place?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, it's a grim reminder of what happened there a couple years ago. We have a car. Google drives around in his car and sometimes you may see it in your neighborhood with a big bubble on top taking 3D or 360- degree pictures. Well, for the first time, Google was allowed to drive its car, not unmanned, a manned car, through the streets of Namie, Japan. Fukushima Daiichi there, not that far away where the disaster happened. So all these blue lines now, you can look to see what the town looks like. So I'm just going to kind of give you an idea, an unfortunate idea, of what the town is. And right there, this is a mirror. I found it on the street. This is a mirror to help drivers know if cars are coming, but there's the top of the car. Here's the Google car itself right there, and there is the ball that does take all of the pictures. So we'll get to some of these devastating pictures. Now you have to understand that this was a town with bustling streets, people living through this, and all of a sudden, there's just nothing here, the town a complete disaster, just empty areas here. Even Coke still in the Coke machines here. I've seen a couple pictures where there are still areas where people were selling clothes and the clothes are still hanging on the racks in the middle of the parking lot. That's two years ago. Now you get closer to the ocean and this is where the devastation really occurs. This is where the wave came in. This honestly looks like Waveland, Bay St. Louis, after Katrina. This is what the area looks like, all of the buildings completely knocked down, and it's the same story no matter where you go closer to the ocean. Here, now this is almost a half mile inland. That boat or that ship was pushed by the wave all the way through here. And if you notice, there are foundations of homes here, here, here, and here. Just a grim reminder and you can go online to Google Maps and take a look at this of what happened to those people over there in Japan on that fateful day, which was a devastating earthquake to start with and then the tsunami that knocked all this stuff down.
[Holmes:] Chilling stuff, isn't it?
[Myers:] It is.
[Holmes:] It's like when they went back to Chernobyl
[Myers:] Exactly like Chernobyl.
[Holmes:] Years later and all deserted but still intact. Nothing
[Malveaux:] And he says Katrina. That's the first thing I thought of when I saw those pictures, post Katrina in New Orleans.
[Myers:] Yes.
[Holmes:] Horrible. Horrible. Chad, thanks for that.
[Myers:] You're welcome.
[Holmes:] An amazing look around.
[Malveaux:] So this is kind of a strange story.
[Holmes:] This is bizarre. The pictures are amazing.
[Malveaux:] An invasion of locusts threatening a food supply. This is in Madagascar.
[Holmes:] We're not going to show you the pictures. We want you to stick around.

[Malveaux:] Once again, there is a new prime minister in Japan. He is Shinzo Abe. The Japanese parliament elected him today five years after Abe abruptly resigned from the job. Well, he is Japan's seventh prime minister in six years. Alex Zolbert reports from Tokyo.
[Alex Zolbert, Cnn Correspondent:] A remarkable political comeback is now complete here in Japan. Shinzo Abe is once again prime minister, elected in parliament on Wednesday following his party's landslide victory in general elections earlier this month. He has now taken the reins and unveiled his cabinet as well, which includes former Prime Minister Taro Aso who will now be deputy prime minister as well as finance minister. But, as the 58-year-old Abe returns to the top post that he vacated in 2007, his to-do list this time is very long. Front-and-center is the economy, which has sputtered along in Japan for the better part of two decades and is in recession once again. Many will be watching to see how Abe handling heightened tensions with China, as the two countries spar over disputed islands, as well as North Korea, which defied the international community, recently launching a rocket that skirted Japanese territory. There's also Japan's energy policy, with Abe suggesting nuclear power will remain on the table despite ongoing troubles at Fukushima. One last issue, just staying power. This country has seen a well- documented revolving door of prime ministers with Shinzo Abe now becoming the seventh different leader in just six years. Alex Zolbert, CNN, Tokyo.
[Malveaux:] It appears to be a growing trend in Afghanistan. They are insider attacks. A U.S. contractor was killed in Kabul police headquarters. This time, the attacker is a woman. We've got a live report from the Pentagon.

[John King, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening from the CNN Election Center. I'm John King. Two important stories we're tracking this hour. The Taliban vowed beheadings of Americans to retaliate for the massacre of Afghan civilians allegedly at the hands of an Army staff sergeant. And the horrific violence raises new questions about the decade-long U.S. military mission and about the care given soldiers with traumatic brain injuries. Plus, the Deep South gets its say in the roller-coaster Republican presidential race. Will Alabama and Mississippi cement Mitt Romney as the front-runner or help Newt Gingrich engineer yet another comeback? Let's begin with the latest round of voting. Four contests in all tonight. Hawaii and American Samoa also casting ballots, but most of the attention is focused on Alabama and Mississippi. Late polls in both states showed races too close to call. Our exit polls also suggest a fierce competition in both states with conservative support. Let's look at some of the early exit polling, we will bring this over for you. Here we are in the state of Mississippi tonight. Voters were asked as they went to the polls what's the most important candidate quality. You can see more than four in 10 Republican voters in the state of Mississippi today say their number one priority is beating President Obama in November. About 20 percent say they want a true conservative. About 20 percent say strong moral character matters most to them. Let's move over and look at the state of Alabama. Same question. What's the most important candidate quality? Little lower number there, but about four in 10 say the most important thing they want is a candidate who can defeat President Obama. A true conservative, strong moral character and the right experience about equal, right around 20 percent, a little below that right there. Let's move again to the next question here, who is that candidate? Remember this is not telling you who they voted for. Voters are asked regardless of who you voted for, who do you think would be the strongest candidate against President Obama? Governor Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, 52 percent of Mississippi voters said they believe Romney would be the strongest candidate. Again that doesn't mean that's who they voted for but that's what they think. In the state of Alabama, Romney came out on top 46 percent of Republicans there said he was the candidate they believe most likely defeat Obama. Again, doesn't mean who they voted for 23 percent said that of Speaker Gingrich, 24 percent of Senator Santorum. One last question from the exit polls, are Romney's positions on the issues too conservative, not conservative enough or about right? Well, in the state of Mississippi, more than half of the voters today said his positions are not conservative enough. Remember, this is a conservative Southern state. And in Alabama, a higher number, 55 percent said Governor Romney's positions are not conservative enough. So where did these voters go? Let's take a closer look on this one 42 percent of Alabama voters who said Romney's not conservative enough voted for Rick Santorum 40 percent of those who said Governor Romney's not conservative enough voted for Speaker Gingrich. It shows you not only a fierce competition for the most conservative voters, but potentially a split among conservative voters that conceivably in the end actually could help Governor Romney. We will watch how that plays out as we actually get the results. The stakes tonight are enormous. A win by Governor Romney in the South would significantly bolster his front-runner credentials. And many Republicans argue Gingrich needs a Southern sweep to keep his bid alive. Let's get a first impression from Candy Crowley, Gloria Borger, and David Gergen. For Governor Romney, this is about proving you're a real Republican in the geographic base of the party. If he wins one, is it over?
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Senior Political Correspondent:] I think so. I think if he answers that question listen, whoever thinks that those folks who are going to vote for Santorum or Gingrich tonight will turn around and vote for Obama in the fall, crazy. Let's put that out on the table. But, yes, I think when you look at Mitt Romney has the most to win out of tonight and Newt Gingrich has the most to lose. And Santorum goes on.
[King:] Santorum goes on regardless?
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Yes, I think Santorum continues. His campaign will tell you that they have got some good primaries coming up. They can do Pennsylvania, that this isn't a math problem. But I think the party has a head-heart problem. If you look at the numbers you just showed, their heads are telling them electability. This is what we care about. But their hearts are saying Mitt Romney is not conservative enough. He doesn't share my values. So they're having a real tug-of-war there about who they want.
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] I think Rick Santorum has to win at least one of them to go on as a viable candidate. Anybody gets blanked out of both of these, if it's Newt Gingrich or Santorum...
[King:] It's hard to say that I'm a better conservative alternative to Mitt Romney if you lose two to him in the South, right?
[Gergen:] Exactly. Who thought we'd be here? Who thought Mitt Romney would be competitive at this point in these two states?
[King:] Is he competitive because he's competitive, Candy, or is he competitive because Gingrich and Santorum are still in the race splitting the vote?
[Crowley:] Yes, that's a big part of it. But we have also seen a lot of folks that have looked deeper into the numbers and who's your second choice. And it's not necessarily that if one of them gets out of the race all of those votes then go to the other. It doesn't work that cleanly.
[Borger:] Well, the Romney people say that if Newt Gingrich dropped out they'd get half of those that Santorum would get half of those votes. They'd only get 30 percent. But that 30 percent would be enough.
[Gergen:] But Santorum would also get if Newt Gingrich dropped out Santorum would start getting more money in. He would be a more competitive candidate. It would be a bigger test of Romney in the states ahead.
[King:] Conceivably, as we count the votes tonight, that's tomorrow's conversation. Either Gingrich or Santorum have such a bad night, it's time for them, even though they both insist, no, they're going on.
[Gergen:] If Romney wins one or both of these states, that's the other half of the conversation.
[King:] David, Gloria and Candy will be with us throughout the evening. It's an interesting night in Republican politics. And Alabama's conservative Republican governor made his preference known just this morning. Governor Bentley says he was voting for Rick Santorum. But the governor insists that's not a formal endorsement. Governor Bentley is live with us tonight from Montgomery, Alabama. Governor, explain the distinction for me. I assume that means you didn't call your political organization and say, get out there, turn out the vote, grab people by the ears and get them out for Senator Santorum? Am I right?
[Gov. Robert Bentley , Alabama:] Well, that's exactly right. I was asked last evening who I was going to vote for and I said I was going to vote for Senator Santorum. And that word got out today. And that that is the form of the endorsement. I actually believe it's not good to endorse people because people in this state like to make up their own mind. And I certainly believe they have the right to do that.
[King:] When you look at the voting, you just listened to the conservative we were having with our smart reporters and analysts here, you're a Santorum supporter. Do you think if Senator Speaker Gingrich should get out of the race or if Senator Santorum, say he comes in third or second and loses both these states, should one of the non-Romney candidates get out so that an allegedly more conservative alternative gets a one-on-one shot?
[Bentley:] You know, I don't think you should tell anybody to get out. I don't think it's anyone's right to tell a candidate to get out. they have been working hard on this campaign for a number of months and they certainly have a right to stay in as long as they wish.
[King:] What's your sense? You do see the head heart, as Gloria Borger just put it. A lot of Republicans say the most important thing is beating President Obama in the fall. And a lot of them then go on, in the next sentence, to say they think Governor Romney would be the strongest candidate. But then many of those same people are voting for somebody else, either Speaker Gingrich, Senator Santorum or Ron Paul. But what's the struggle of Republican voters right now that has extended this process and made it so unpredictable?
[Bentley:] Well, I think that any of the candidates would be good candidates. And I think that Governor Romney probably has the best chance of winning the nomination. I mean there's no doubt about that. But, you know, you should also vote your heart, I think. And if you believe that someone is the best candidate, even though you don't think they're going to win, I think you ought to vote for who you think is the best candidate.
[King:] You gave an interview to our former friend here at CNN, Bill Hemmer, on Fox News Channel yesterday, where you said you thought Governor Romney's Mormon faith would be a detriment to some voters in the state of Alabama. How significant do you think that is and does it bother you, sir?
[Bentley:] You know, it really does not. It does not bother me. But I don't think that it is it is a very subtle thing. And and no one is going when you question people, most people will not admit that. But I I do think, not just in Alabama, but I think in many non-Mormon states, I think it certainly can be a a problem for in the primary, in the primary. But now once the general election comes around, if Governor Romney is the nominee, it will not be a problem.
[King:] I assume Alabama will stay red in November. Governor Bentley, we certainly appreciate your time tonight, sir. A fascinating night. We'll watch as the results come in, along with you.
[Bentley:] Thank you.
[King:] Thank you, sir. Now let's shift to today's major international news, the fallout from the massacre of Afghan civilians allegedly by an Army staff sergeant who'd been treated for a traumatic brain injury after an earlier tour in Iraq. Two senior military officials now telling CNN alcohol was found in an area of the base where the suspect lived. And they're investigating now whether alcohol might have been a factor in the rampage. But they also caution us the alcohol may not have belonged to the suspect at all. Also, military officials say the military now reviewing pictures of the soldier leaving the base and then returning later. In eastern Afghanistan today, about 500 people blocked a highway, burned effigies and shouted anti-U.S. slogans, but their demonstrations stayed peaceful. The Taliban, however, promised bloody retaliation, is now threatening to behead Americans. But at both the White House and on the campaign trail, we're hearing calls for the United States to stand firm and resist the temptation for any quick changes in policy. Here's what Republican candidate Mitt Romney told CNN's Wolf Blitzer just moments ago.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] It's certainly time on a regular basis to review our mission there and to see what progress we're making, and not to make decisions based upon some actions by a crazed gunman. We don't determine our foreign policy based on something of that nature.
[King:] At the White House today, President Obama voiced his condolences for the victims and their families, but said the United States must complete its mission in Afghanistan.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] There's no question that we face a difficult challenge in Afghanistan, but I am I'm confident that we can continue the work of meeting our objectives, protecting our country and responsibly bringing this war to a close.
[King:] Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin is here to take us inside the administration's deliberations. Jess, is there a chance, despite what the president says publicly, that this incident could become part of a pressure to move up the withdrawal date?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Well, John, it seems that way, but the White House is adamant that they have absolutely no intention of withdrawing troops sooner than the end of 2014, which, as you know, is what the president has publicly committed to. Now, privately we know there are disagreements within the administration about the rate at which those troops should be withdrawn. That's after the surge troops come out at the end of this summer. So senior military officials, they have made it known that they'd prefer as many troops stay as long in Afghanistan as possible. Now, some in the White House let's call it the Biden faction are believed to want to bring as many troops out as fast as possible. And then there are others prefer a middle option. Bottom line, publicly, the White House has committed to no timetable for that drawdown. All of that is to be announced.
[King:] And you say to be announced. Part of it is discussion with allies. The British prime minister, David Cameron, is here right now for conversations with the president. How important is Afghanistan to this meeting?
[Yellin:] Well, Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama are both major contributors to NATO forces. And NATO will be meeting in Chicago this May. Now, we expect this topic of troop drawdown in Afghanistan to be a topic of discussion there. And no doubt Prime Minister Cameron and the president would want to work something out to be on the same page or close to it in advance of that May NATO meeting. So, this seems an inevitable topic of conversation for these two men, John.
[King:] Our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin. Jess, thanks. We will stay on top of this story. Another very important international story tonight, a former United Nations weapons inspector tells CNN Iran may have conducted explosive tests connected to a possible nuclear weapons program. David Albright, who is now the president for the Institute of Science and International Security, says his group has identified a building in an Iranian military base near Tehran as the possible site of a high-explosive test chamber. It's in the upper right quadrant of the picture you're seeing right there. Here's a closer view. Mr. Albright says the building has its own perimeter security, wall or fencing with an earthen berm separating it from a neighboring building. Very important qualities there for a building that could have a high-explosive testing facility. We will stay on track of that as well. And in just a moment, we will talk to Senator John McCain. He is being quoted today as saying the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is in jeopardy. We will also get more insights tonight on traumatic brain injury from one of the doctors who helped save the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

[Max Foster, Cnn Anchor, Quest Means Business:] An oil spoiler. Tonight the IMF's chief economist and BlackRock's chief exec both tell us we're in a danger zone. Britain's banking balancing act, new rules and regulations are proposed. And a bid to buy Arsenal. Stan Kroenke becomes the major shareholder of the gunners. I'm Max Foster in for Richard Quest. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Hello to you. Boom and bust, could be back in 2011. The International Monetary Fund says a firm hand is needed in emerging economies or they could overheat. Rising prices caused by political upheaval also presents a new danger to the global economy. In its latest world economic outlook the IMF cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth this year from 3 percent to 2.8 percent. The report says the U.S. needs-uh, the U.S. now urgently needs to make spending cuts and reforms or it risks loosing credibility in the financial markets. For other developing economies and especially the Euro Zone. The biggest risks are the moribund housing market and sovereign debt. The forecast for the area still is up slightly to 1.6 percent. China's growth forecast stays strong at 9.6 percent. The IMF says countries with a big trade surplus, like China, should let exchange rates rise. It warns that runaway prices and too much credit are dangerous. The IMF says Japan's earthquake exacted a terrible human toll, but its impact on the global economy will be limited. Japan's economy, itself, will suffer with its growth forecast cut to 1.4 percent. The global growth forecast remains unchanged at around 1.5 percent. But the IMF says the global economy is still running at two speeds, with developing economies in the fast track and developed economies in the slow lane. The IMF's chief economist Olivier Blanchard told me more.
[Olivier Blanchard, Chief Economist, Imf:] The global economic recovery is strengthening, but it is unbalanced. And both aspects are important. I think the best way to show it is to give you three, for the world, for each year, for the next two years, 4.5 percent growth; but if you look at advanced economies 2.5 percent growth. If you look at emerging and developing economies, 6.5 percent growth. So it is really this unbalance, which is the issue.
[Foster:] Pretty good figures, generally, though. And actually you talk there about the emerging economies. You are concerned that they may be doing too well, aren't you? You are talking about them possibly overheating now?
[Blanchard:] No we're getting there. I mean for a number of countries we are-you know, we are back to the old trend. In some countries we are above it. We are starting to see signs of inflation. We are starting to see signs of very high credit growth. So, they have to watch out. They have to be ready to slow down a bit, yes, absolutely.
[Foster:] And how do they do that? Do they have to set up some sort of barriers, this hot money going around the world, is too much flowing into those economies?
[Blanchard:] No, I think they are facing two separate problems. They have to deal with both. But money is just started overheating, which would be there whether or not there were capital flows. And the other is how they deal with capital flows. So, much of what is happening is really domestically driven. They have to use the standard tools of policy, which is to increase the interest rate, do fiscal contraction where needed, that is needed. With respect to capital flows they have to be careful. If they see risk building up they have to use macro financial tools. They may have to use capital controls. But really the issue is overheating comes from the fact that the economies are just doing very, very well.
[Foster:] Unlike some European economies, obviously; those southern economies of Portugal, Spain, perhaps. Tell us about your concerns about the Euro Zone.
[Blanchard:] Well, you know, I think that there are the core countries and there indicate slow growth. They will get out of it. They have to push demand. They have to do structural reforms. Then we have these countries which are in more serious trouble, which are Greece, Ireland, and Portugal. And they have to put in place a fairly ambitious program of reforms. Now, these reforms are going to take-these are structural reforms, fiscal consolidation as well. They are going to take a long time to work out. And during that time it is very clear that they are going to be-they are going to need help on the financing and this is why we have these programs in place, in two countries, and hopefully, in the future, in the third one.
[Foster:] And one problem all economies are facing is escalating oil prices. What is your biggest concern there?
[Blanchard:] The concern is if the prices stay more or less where they are, where the markets think they are going to be, that is not a major concern. I mean, the increase in oil prices is not going to have the effects that it had in the 1970s. It is not going to create major stagflation. So, it will have some impact on inflation, some impact on growth. But things are very different from the `70s. I mean, you have-oil is playing less of a role, you don't have wage indexation, which was a big issue then. You have anchored expectations. So it is going to create a bit more inflation than would have otherwise have been the case. A bit less growth, but nothing major. Now, if the price were to go up to $150, or you know, or more, then clearly that is a different ballgame. But under the current assumptions, the current forecast, that is not a major issue.
[Foster:] OK, and a brief word, if you would on Japan. Obviously, it has had a terrible time of it recently.
[Blanchard:] Right.
[Foster:] How is the economy going to get through that?
[Blanchard:] Well, the economy is going to get through it. It is clearly going to affect growth a bit this year. But, you know, the Japanese economy is a very large economy, so in terms of macro numbers, this immense human tragedy, still is a limited macro event. So we have revised growth down by about 0.2, 0.3 percent. There is uncertainty about it, but of that order. And then they need to rebuild a lot which is going to boost growth, next year. So, in macro terms that is a serious issue, but it is not overwhelming. Again, in human terms, it is clearly.
[Foster:] Well, that is the IMF's view. The head of the world's largest money manager says oil prices are in a danger zone. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, says anything above $120 a barrel will set back the U.S. economy. Felicia Taylor met Fink at BlackRock's New York trading floor to get his thoughts on oil instability and the European debt crisis.
[Felicia Taylor, Cnn Financial Correspondent:] Inside this nondescript office building in Manhattan, the world's largest money manager is at work. BlackRock controls assets worth more than $3.5 trillion, with clients, including the U.S. Federal Reserve. At the top is this man. You may not have heard of him, but CEO Larry Fink is one of the most powerful figures in the financial world. We met on BlackRock's trading floor where I asked about the market impact of global instability. [On Camera] Do you think that Americans have a false sense of this recovery, that things may not really be as good as people seem to think?
[Larry Fink, Ceo, Blackrock:] Actually I think the equity market is properly priced, and in fact, I think it is still undervalued. You know we have great corporate earnings. We have had U.S. corporations were in very good shape before the great recession, before the credit crisis, and they were able to lead the great recession in even better shape. They were able to build huge cash reserves. They were much more efficient. Efficiency means less jobs, by the way, but they are more efficient. And they were actually in a better position to really rebuild. We don't have a perfect picture in the United States, but we have a very prominent growth pattern for the private sector, related to the world. I think Libya is more drama than substance.
[Taylor:] But let's say that tensions escalate. Let's say that things do bleed over into places like Saudi Arabia. How much of a concern is that then?
[Fink:] The area where I'm most concerned about is Bahrain. So, Bahrain is a causeway, a bridge, across Saudi Arabia. A few miles-long bridge. And on the other side of that bride is the oil fields of Saudi Arabia. That area of eastern Saudi Arabia is also where all the many Shiites are. So the problems that you are seeing in Bahrain, which is being funded by Iran, is the most important thing to watch. And could that go over to Saudi Arabia? I don't think so. You saw that Saudi Arabia actually moved military alongside some other Gulf Region countries into Bahrain. So, you know, they are going to do whatever they can to protect their regimes.
[Taylor:] But if it is not manageable and we are already seeing oil prices teetering at about $108 a barrel, where do you see oil prices going in the near term?
[Fink:] In the near term, with the most recent stability you are going to see oil prices probably go back down a little. We don't know yet. So, if oil persists at $108 a barrel, I don't believe it will disrupt the U.S. economy. If oil creeps up and persists at $120, we are going to have some setbacks in the economy. It is a taxation to the consumer, who is already fragile.
[Taylor:] Coming up in June, the Federal Reserve will probably begin to wind down QE2. How much of a problem will that be for the equity and the bond market?
[Fink:] This is not a surprise. It is in the market. With perfect information in three months, the Federal Reserve is going to cease purchasing and, indeed, they begin to sell. And so we already know that. So, what will be the impact? I would say it would put a bias toward higher rates. But rates can't go that high unless there is a persistency in higher inflation, which we are not seeing yet, in the United States.
[Taylor:] Let's go back to European sovereign debt. How much of a concern is that for you? I mean, we still have problems in Greece, in Italy, in Spain, in Portugal. Name all the perilous countries.
[Fink:] Ireland.
[Taylor:] Exactly. Ireland, someplace where you have been very much involved in terms of the stress test. How much of a concern is that?
[Fink:] I think that is one of the most misunderstood problems. I think it is a severe problem. Because who owns these products today? The banking system.
[Taylor:] Uh-huh?
[Fink:] So, if these countries persistently have problems, and they have to be restructured in any way, then we have a real problem in the banking system. They are going to be undercapitalized. And so, to me the most-the biggest question I have right now is Europe, and the role between government and their banks.
[Foster:] One of the most powerful CEOs in the world there, speaking to Felicia. And if that has persuaded you to invest in your stocks, then here is where things stand at the moment. You will be interested, we'll be live on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, coming up. Currently, up 0.2 percent, you can make your own judgment on whether that is overvalued or not.

[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning and thank so much for joining us on this Thursday, 28th of October. Good to have you with us. I'm John Roberts.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] I'm Kiran Chetry. We have a lot to talk about this morning. First for a sitting president. This is a first. Barack Obama making an unprecedented appearance, leader of the free world, last night on "The Daily Show." The White House desperate to reach young voters and reel and core Democrats. So, how did it go for the president? The highlights and the live report from the White House.
[Roberts:] A chilling terror plot to blow up Washington, D.C. area subway stations, investigators say the suspect thought that he was part of an al Qaeda planned attack, but he was working with the FBI instead. Homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, live with the details just ahead.
[Chetry:] She's been dubbed Mexico's bravest woman, taking a job no one else wanted. Now, our Kaj Larsen introduces to the 20-year-old top cop in one of the most violent areas in the world.
[Kaj Larsen, Cnn Correspondent:] Are you afraid of the drug traffickers? Are you afraid of the drug cartel?
[Marisol Valles Garcia, Police Chief:] I have fear. I'm afraid for my security. But this is natural for the chief of police.
[Chetry:] We'll see more on how this young woman is taking on the violent drug cartels.
[Roberts:] We begin the hour with a cable TV first: A sitting president appearing on Comedy Central last night just five days remain before Election Day and the stakes could not be higher.
[Chetry:] The leader of the free world squaring off with "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart, who some called the leader of America's discouraged left.
[Jon Stewart, Host, "the Daily Show":] So, you wouldn't you wouldn't say you'd run this time as a pragmatist? You would not it wouldn't be "yes, we can" given certain conditions and
[Barack Obama, President Of The Uniteds States:] No, no. I think I think what I would say is
[Stewart:] Yes?
[Obama:] Yes, we can, but it's not But it is not going to it is not going to happen overnight.
[Roberts:] Ed Henry live at the White House this morning. So, what's the talk there at 1600 Pennsylvania? How did the president do?
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Well, they realize it wasn't perfect. There were some moments that were difficult for the president. But they feel these type of offbeat venues are good. He was on "The View" recently, reached out to female voters. Now, trying to reach to young voters on "The Daily Show." And it was interesting because it was not full of softballs, there were some fast balls from Jon Stewart, who was basically pressing this president on some of the lofty goals and whether he's really fulfilled some of the promises of change and maybe he was representing sort of that disillusioned left, as you noted. And the president really pushed back hard.
[Stewart:] You ran with such if I may audacity. So much of what you said was great leaders lead in a time of opportunity.
[Obama:] Right.
[Stewart:] We're the ones we are looking for. Yet, legislatively, it's felt timid at times, that I'm not even sure at times what you want out of a health care bill.
[Obama:] And I've and this is Jon, I love your show.
[Stewart:] Well, very kind of you.
[Obama:] But
[Stewart:] Yes?
[Obama:] But this is something where, you know, I have a profound disagreement with
[Stewart:] Right.
[Obama:] and I don't want to lump you in with a lot of other pundits, but this notion
[Stewart:] You may.
[Obama:] You know no, no, look, this notion that
[Stewart:] Yes?
[Obama:] health care was timid, you got 30 million people to get health insurance as a consequence of this.
[Henry:] Some lighter moments, as well. Such as when the president defended his economic team by saying Larry Summers is doing a heck of a job. Jon Stewart stopping him and saying, "Given the "Brownie, heck of a job" deal after Katrina, maybe that's not a good idea, dude," as Jon Stewart called the president. And they had a little laugh about that. But maybe this is an opportunity for the president to humanize himself having that sort of give and take John, Kiran.
[Roberts:] All right. Well, at any rate, that was a whole lot of fun. Ed, thanks so much.
[Chetry:] Thanks, Ed.
[Roberts:] President Obama has made more appearances on TV shows than any other president before him. Here's more in an A.M. extra. He announced his final four picks on ESPN twice. He became the first sitting president to appear in a late-night show this spring when he sat down with Jay Leno. This summer, he became the first sitting president to visit a daytime talk show when he appeared on "The View."
[Chetry:] And don't forget, the Obamas also did Christmas at the White House special with Oprah Winfrey last December and he's not done yet. So, what's coming up next? Well, the president is going to have a walk-on roll on Discovery Channel's "MythBusters" this December. It's an episode about whether or not it's a myth that Archimedes was able to beat back an army by deflecting the sun's rays in almost like a heat ray gun unto the enemy.
[Roberts:] If he had that hotel in Las Vegas, he might have been able to do it. Also new this morning, the Pentagon says there will be extra security at this weekend's Marine Corps marathon after a string of shots were fired at American military buildings, including the Pentagon. Sunday's marathon is one of the largest in the country. Thirty thousand runners expected to participate.
[Chetry:] A Pakistani-American is in FBI custody this morning, accused of plotting to blow up subway stations in the Washington, D.C. area.
[Roberts:] Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is following developments for us from Washington. Jeanne, on the surface this seems very troubling, is it?
[Jeanne Meserve, Cnn Homeland Security Correspondent:] According to the indictment, 34-year-old Farooque Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, wanted to kill as many military people as possible and cased four metro stations near the Pentagon. He was plotting with people he believed to be members of al Qaeda, but it was a government sting. The indictment says he provided video and sketches of the stations, recommended attack between 4:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon when the system would be most crowded, and suggested how to conceal and plant the explosives. Officials say at this point, there is no indication he was working with other extremists in this country or overseas, but the investigation is continuing and sometimes those links do show up later. He will be making a second court appearance Friday. If he is convicted on all three charges, Ahmed faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison. Officials do emphasize that the public was never in danger. The FBI was aware of this individual and closely monitoring him John and Kiran.
[Chetry:] It is troubling, though, because this isn't the first plot targeting U.S. mass transit here in the
[U.s. Meserve:] No. And certainly, isn't one of the most recent. Najibullah Zazi who was plotting to attack New York subway system, and there have been successful strikes in Spain and India, in Britain. It's all caused a lot of discussion here in the United States, especially up on Capitol Hill, where people wonder if enough attention is being paid to securing transit systems. It's a very difficult thing to do because of the number of entry and exit points, but you can bet that this case is going to add to the debate over whether more can and should be done back to you.
[Roberts:] Jeanne Meserve this morning Jeanne, thanks. A devastating storm that rocked the Midwest is still not done yet. Let's have a look at the satellite image from this morning. Parts of the South and Mid-Atlantic were rocked overnight. Dozens of tornadoes reported in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. Time lapse video taken from yesterday outside of a CNN Center in Atlanta shows just how ominous the system looked as it approached. Our Rob Marciano is in Atlanta this morning where it's a wholly different day. And we're pretty thankful for that. Hi, Rob.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Good morning, guys. Yes, we had a couple of tornado warnings that were issued for the Metro Atlanta area yesterday, but thankfully dissipated. But just to the north and to other spots of Georgia, we had some serious weather. In Cherokee County, Georgia, there was wind damage there. The thunderstorms that produced that yesterday are now beginning to slowly push themselves down to the south and east and get offshore. But the chainsaws were out in action yesterday. A lot of tree damage in Georgia and much greater damage in places like Richmond, Virginia, and parts of North Carolina, and as you mentioned, Maryland. Here's where the storms are off the East Coast. So, the Northeast looks good for now and drier, cooler air is moving into this area later on tonight and through tomorrow. And the backside of this would be so cool where we might see some subfreezing temperatures as far south as north Texas. Not frigid stuff but enough to throw on the jacket at least in the morning or evening. John and Kiran, back up to you.
[Chetry:] All right, Rob. Well, you know, we'll be watching, because game one of the World Series went to the Giants and they play again tonight.
[Roberts:] Yes. The San Francisco beat the Texas Rangers 11-7. Battering the Ranger's best pitcher Cliff Lee scoring six runs in the fifth inning to break the game wide open. Game two tonight in San Francisco.
[Chetry:] I wonder if Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff will be wearing what has been dubbed his secret weapon. Apparently, it's glittery red thong underwear that he says are his lucky shorts.
[Roberts:] What?
[Chetry:] We had a pic. We're looking for the picture but, yes, they say remember Jason Giambi? Didn't he do that, too?
[Roberts:] Yes.
[Chetry:] I think he had a gold thong to help him break out of his batting slump.
[Roberts:] Who cares?
[Chetry:] Show the picture. There it is. Aubrey. Who knew that was the trick behind the World Series?
[Roberts:] Well, at least it's just the thong. I thought it was a picture of him actually wearing that. So, we'll leave it at that. Well, check out the new superhero in town talking about tights and other form of underwear fighting negative attitudes in a rough economy. It's "Unemployed Man" to the rescue coming up on
[Cnn. Chetry:] And also, New York City is sufficiently terrified because of this bedbug epidemic. Well, now, the pests are spreading to yet another landmark. Nine minutes past the hour.

[Baldwin:] For "CNN Equals Politics" update, let's go to CNN chief political analyst, Gloria Borger live from Washington. Gloria, the big day. Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, former presidential candidate. We saw him kicking off his campaign today in New Hampshire, throwing his hat in the ring for president for 2012. And you know, he seemed to stay clear of bashing other Republicans, so to speak, and went straight for President Obama.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] He did.
[Baldwin:] And I presume just looking forward?
[Borger:] Yes, he did. First of all, he decided to take on President Obama because, of course, Mitt Romney is now the frontrunner in the race. And when you're the frontrunner, you decide to take on the man you know who is going to be your opponent, Barack Obama. And for a Republican to win, Republicans believe, in this next presidential campaign, you have to actually make the race about Barack Obama, which is what Mitt Romney was trying to do in his speech today. And so the speech was about Barack Obama. He said that the country gave him a chance, and he clearly tried to make the case that Barack Obama did not have the experience he needed to get the country out of the economic ditch that it is in. He said, OK, we gave Barack Obama a chance. He failed. America's broken. I'm the man with the experience enough to be able to fix it. So, that's what you're going to hear from Mitt Romney on the trail.
[Baldwin:] Okay. So, we had Mitt Romney in New Hampshire at this chili cook-off.
[Borger:] Yep.
[Baldwin:] Sarah Palin, I think if I'm correct, at a clam bake.
[Borger:] Right! There you are.
[Baldwin:] Thank you! And she had some criticism for Mitt Romney. Let's listen.
[Borger:] OK.
[Sarah Palin, Former Governor Of Alaska:] Health care plan, in my opinion, any mandate coming from government is not a good thing. So, obviously and I'm not the only one to say so but there will be more of the explanation coming from former Governor Romney on his support for government mandates.
[Baldwin:] So, Gloria, if Sarah Palin gets in, how does that change the race?
[Borger:] Well, it's interesting. First of all, isn't it interesting that she calls it a coincidence, right, that she happens to be up in New Hampshire on her family vacation, which is of course not a family vacation. And as she ends up talking about mandates, which is clearly Mitt Romney's vulnerability. That was in his Massachusetts health care plan. Now, if Sarah Palin gets in the race, however and by the way, Mitt Romney said welcome to New Hampshire, right? Glad to have you there. You know why? Because he would be happy to have her in this race. The reason Mitt Romney would be happy to have her in this race, according to aides, it kind of freezes the field. It would take all of the oxygen away from all of the other candidates who might threaten him, like, say, Tim Pawlenty or Jon Huntsman, and then they believe that Republicans would start looking for somebody who's electable. And they believe that when Republicans look at Mitt Romney versus Sarah Palin and look at her unfavorable ratings, that they will, of course, choose Mitt Romney. So in an odd way, he's sort of saying, jump on in, Sarah Palin. We'll see.
[Baldwin:] Interesting. Gloria Borger, thanks.
[Borger:] Sure.
[Baldwin:] Inside the minds of one of the history's biggest villains. Coming up next, a former American diplomat will tell me about his private meeting with Ratko Mladic, including what the accused murderer did to a pig and what his clothes revealed.

[Lu Stout:] Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching NEWS STREAM. Now, only hours from now, football's governing body, FIFA, is set to announce the 2011 Player of the Year. Among the nominees, Portugal's Christiano Ronaldo and Spanish star Xavi. But neither is expected to beat this man to the honor, Lionel Messi of Argentina. He's shooting for a third straight award, and CNN's Pedro Pinto has more.
[Pedro Pinto, Cnn International Sports Correspondent:] It's the one party this year no player wants to miss. On Monday evening, the great and the good from the world of football will gather in Zurich to crown the best performers of the past year. The top prize on offer is the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or. Lionel Messi of Argentina, Christiano Ronaldo of Portugal, and Xavi of Spain are the nominees. Few are betting against Messi taking home the award for a third straight year. The 24-year-old Barcelona star scored 54 goals in 62 games in all competitions for club and country, while the inspired
[Dwight Yorke, Fmr. Manchester United Forward:] Right now, because of what Barcelona is doing, the way Barcelona is playing, I think Messi certainly was thinking he has the edge over it. But when you look at Ronaldo, what he's doing there single-handedly at Real Madrid is just phenomenal.
[Edgar Davids, Fmr. Juventus Midfielder:] They're great guys, absolutely great personalities. And, you know, as a fan, you just want to see them flourish both, and may the best guy win.
[Pinto:] How tough is it to face a guy like Messi?
[Wojciech Sczesny, Arsenal Goalkeeper:] It's tough. It's tough. But, you know, everyone knows Messi is the best player in the world. I personally think that in a few years, we'll be talking about the best player in history of football.
[Edwin Van Der Sar, Fmr. Manchester United Goalkeeper:] The thing with Ronaldo is, when I met him six years ago, he said, "I want to be the best player in the world." And probably a lot of people say that, a lot of players say that, but he's someone who really worked on it.
[Pinto:] Brazilian superstar Marta is aiming to win the FIFA's Women's World Player of the Year Award for an unprecedented six times. The other nominees are World Cup winner Homare Sawa of Japan and team USA's forward, Abby Wambach. There are other prizes that will be given out in Zurich. Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho will battle it out for the Coach of the Year Award.
[Gabrielle Marcotti, Italian Journalist:] I'll sound boring and I will say Pep Guardiola. And it's not just the football played in winning the champions league so seemingly effortlessly last year. It was also the philosophy that he brought and also that willingness to renew yourself. You know, this year we've seen them move to a 3-4-3 at times, we've seen them use players in different positions. It's almost as if he's not content to sit with what he has, but he's always looking to go to the next level. And he's delivering results as well.
[Lu Stout:] And we will have more sports a little later in the hour. Can Tim Tebow continue his incredible run against the Pittsburgh Steelers? We've got the highlights coming up. And we look at the heady process of the U.S. caucuses and primaries and tell you why some people think the system needs to be changed. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines. Now police in Nigeria have reportedly shot and killed a protester in the city of Legos. Heated demonstrations like this have been ongoing since the start of January when the government stopped subsidizing the cost of fuel. The Reuters news agency says three other people were also injured in the altercation. Malaysia's high court has acquitted opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy. Anwar said that the charges were an attempt to end his political career. And the verdict has concluded a two year trial means that he is now able to run in this year's election. Iran state run media say an Iranian-American has been sentenced to death for spying. Former U.S. marine Amir Hakmati was found guilty of working for the CIA. His family doesn't believe his confession was voluntary. Hakmati was arrested in Iran while visiting relatives in August. And more talks between France and Germany about Europe's debt crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are meeting in Berlin with the emphasis on getting the EuroZone economy growing again. A key part of that is getting EuroZone countries to accept greater supervision of their budgets. And U.S. Republicans still hoping to win their party's nomination have one last day to campaign before the primary in New Hampshire. And the race is now down to six major candidates. Opinion polls suggest that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will win tomorrow's vote. And critics charge that the U.S. voting process flawed. And tradition aside, they say the system as it stands today shows statistical bias. Jonathan Mann has more.
[Jonathan Mann, Cnn Correspondent:] The United States is one of the world's oldest democracies, but many critics say this is no way to elect a president and here is why. The first two nominating contests are in Iowa and New Hampshire. A win in either state can give a candidate momentum. But there's a problem with giving those two states so much power, they're tiny. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Iowa is the 30th biggest state in the U.S. by population, New Hampshire the 40th. Together, they make up less than 1.5 percent of the population and yet they could decide the Republican nominee for president. Another criticism is the state's racial make-up. 94 percent of Iowa residents white, New Hampshire is even whiter, more than 95 percent white. Those states don't reflect a country where fewer than two-thirds are citizens, but they still play a huge role in the process and give the winners a boost they can use in fundraising. Which is the next issue: money. That's Mitt Romney's opinion, and the U.S. Supreme Court agrees. The court has ruled that corporations and unions have the right to free speech, including the right to run ads that address issues without endorsing a particular candidate. That allowed groups known as Super PACs, or political action comimttees, to raise and spend limitless amounts of money. Romney has been a big beneficiary.
[Announcer:] Haven't we had enough mistakes?
[Mann:] Restore Our Future is a Super PAC created to support Romney. It spent $3 million in Iowa to bash Romney's rivals and President Barack Obama too. But it isn't just a Republican tactic. Priorities USA, a pro Obama Super PAC, raked in more than $3 million in the same period. Both groups, by law, aren't controlled by the actual campaigns, but they are led by former aids and supporters. That means a potential third party would need a huge bank roll to even think about running against the Democrats and Republicans. Including congressional races, one analyst believes $8 billion could be spent in the 2012 election, $8 billion. That's $26 for every man, woman, and child in the country. After all is said and done, an American candidate can win more votes than his or her opponent and still lose. It happened most recently in 2000 where Al Gore lost to George W. Bush despite winning half a million more votes. Gore can blame the electoral college, the system designed by the founding fathers creates a winner take all race in each of the 50 states. Then those states cast votes for president regardless of the overall result. States that fell heavily to one party or the other where a candidate knows they'll win or lose can be safely ignored during the campaign. A handful of swing states like Ohio or Florida will decide the election. Carry those two and a candidate can start picking out the drapes for the Oval Office. Jonathan Mann, CNN, Atlanta.
[Lu Stout:] Now this is the fate of a cargo ship that ran aground on a reef off the coast of New Zealand in October last year. The Rena has split in two, spewing containers and other debris and triggering fears of a fresh oil spill. Now hundreds of tons of oil have already leaked form the ship. And New Zealand's environment minister has called the Rena's grounding the country's worst maritime environmental disaster. And this is where the Rena is stuck, it's about 12 nautical miles, or 22 kilometers off the coast of New Zealand's North Island near the resort city of Tauranga. Now this is the Rena this Monday as seen from an observation flyby by the Maritime New Zealand Agency. And the sections of the ship are now about 30 meters apart, but they are still lodged on the Astrolabe reef. And this is the kind of damage that, compounded by the bad weather, saw the vessel split up. And even in this photograph from back in October it shows an already wide fracture on the starboard side of the stranded ship. And then the ship, it was listing badly leading to dramatic images like this showing containers starting to spill over the side. Now Maritime New Zealand now says that 150 containers have since been lost to the sea. And 12 containers, like this one in this image, have washed ashore. Now 40 more are floating in the water, but it could have been worse. Salvage crews have been working for months to remove containers safely from the Rena's holds. And take a look at this, now on the left you can see the Rena as she was in October, piled high with containers. And on the right, just half of the ship is seen today, almost empty. Now, bad weather is still forecasted in the area. Let's get the forecast now with Mari Ramos. She joins us live from the world weather center Mari.
[Mari Ramos, Cnn Weather Correspondent:] Hey, Kristie, those pictures are really amazing when you think about how large that ship was, how many containers were on board, how big each one of those containers is and to have so many of them lost at sea, that is a concern, because some of them could break up and some of that debris could float into those beaches. They say Maritime New Zealand said that 12 container ships have actually rested on the shore already like you mentioned. So that is definitely a big deal. Now we've had worse weather. And of course over the weekend it was worse when ship was breaking up, but we're in between systems, so to speak. We have an area of low pressure that will be coming along. You can see a little bit of a circulation right there over the North Island of New Zealand. If that comes through, we are expecting some more rain across the area. So there's going to be a lot of different things that they're going to have to deal with over the next 24 hours at least. Now the salvage crews can not get on board to actually remove containers off the ship or do any kind of work on any of the salvage operations, because the weather has been bad. Not only do they have to deal with those two meter swells minimum as we head through the next day or so, but also the winds will be quite strong. Anything over 20 kilometer per hour winds, those rescue personnel will not go onboard, because it would be too dangerous. Now there's also going to be rain at times and poor visibility is still a huge concern. They have to make sure that everything is OK before they can actually continue their work not just on the ship itself, but remember on shore as well. The crews are standing by waiting for breaks in the weather. We should see an improvement as we head to tomorrow night. So at least a little bit of a hope here so they can get their work going again. And that's just so painful for people to watch and have to wait. And they wonder why they're not doing more, because the weather is so bad. They just have to wait until it gets a little better. And the weather will be improving across Madagascar here. Here you see the island of Madagascar, there's Mozambique. Here's the rest of Africa. And we had a tropical cyclone that made landfall in the last 24 hours. I did want to show you, though, that we're still expecting some heavy rain with this weather system. So that's still going to be a concern. The threat for flooding and mudslides even as the storm continues to dissipate over the high terrain there. Let's go ahead and move on and talk a little bit about the weather in Asia. I want to start you in South Asia first of all. And let's head to Pakistan over here. Across the north Pakistan, Islamabad, of course a large city, over a million people in population. Well, the city kind of spills over a little bit over into the mountainous areas. And in the mountains, they've had their first snowfall since 2005. This is actually pretty cool. For most people, a welcome sight. But it has caused some problems. Kids overall appeared to be enjoying it, but there have been some problems with transportation, with power outages, and of course it is still so cold over this region. Let's go ahead and check out your forecast next. It's 11 in Islamabad right now. That's not too bad, right? It's of course much colder as we head into areas to the north. This is a picture from Srinagar in India. Talk about breaking the ice there, Kristie. They are trying to get moving through some of these lakes and river systems, but it has been very difficult. A lot of power outages in those areas as well. As we head to east Asia, temperatures remain fairly cold, especially in the north. Bad air quality again, a problem for you in Beijing. And some rain showers expected as we head across through the Philippines, nothing to be too concerned about, but just some scattered rain showers in your forecast. And in Europe, what a flip-flop of temperatures we've had. Still very warm here across the west. And the snowfall will continue in areas to the east. Watch for some heavy snowfall as we head back over into eastern Europe, Turkey, and also through the Alps. Some welcome snowfall again over these areas, but it remained warm here across much of the west. Above average temperatures. It's 11 in London right now, Kristie. Talk about a January thaw. 11 will be the high over the next three days in the city. Back to you.
[Lu Stout:] Well, folks they better enjoy it. Mari Ramos, thank you and take here. Now ahead on News Stream, peace on the peninsula, a new generation of South Koreans tries to break down barriers with the north. We'll get how that is affecting the country's relationship with China. Stay with us.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] It's the top of the hour now. Let's check the big stories for this Wednesday, January 12th. A briefing is set to begin any minute now updating the condition of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and five other victims of the mass shootings in Tucson. Giffords remains in critical condition, but doctors say she is breathing on her own. According to the most recent information, a second person is also in critical condition right now. One is in serious condition. And three others are listed as fair. President Obama will offer words of comfort to the victims and families in Tucson, and to the rest of the country. The president is scheduled to leave for Arizona within the hour. He'll speak at a memorial service tonight and meet with family members. On Capitol Hill, Democrats and Republicans honored Representative Giffords on the House floor to day. Speaker John Boehner talked about the shooting that injured Giffords and 13 others.
[Rep. John Boehner , House Speaker:] Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. This is a time for the House to lock arms in prayer for the fallen and the wounded and resolve to carry on a dialogue of democracy. We may not yet have all the final answers, but we already have the answer that matters most, that we're Americans and we'll make it through this difficult period. We will have the last word.
[Costello:] And Congressman Giffords' office releasing these pictures of her husband, Mark Kelly. As you can see, he's at her bedside and he's holding her hand. That just breaks your heart. It makes me want to call my husband right now. Bracing for a blizzard in the Northeast. Two powerful storms have collided, creating some what call a weather bomb. The system has already dumped heavy snow on major cities of the region,, including up to a foot of snow in parts of New York. Check out these live pictures. These pictures are out of Lowell, Massachusetts. Well, it's not a live picture. It's on tape though. Is this from Lowell? We don't have those live pictures from Lowell, Massachusetts, but CNN photojournalist Bob Crowley these are the pictures you're seeing. He was in the thick of it there, and he joins us by phone from Boston. Hey, there.
[Bob Crowley, Cnn Photojournalist:] Hey, Carol. How are you doing?
[Costello:] I'm good. It looks terrible there.
[Crowley:] Well, you know, it's not as bad right now as it was earlier this morning. I would say the visibility at one point when I drove from near the Rhode Island border up close to Boston, it was down to 100 feet, maybe even less. Mass State Police said that it was like that for a lot parts of the state. But I've seen times when it lightens up, and it definitely seems to be the roads seem to be clearer the more you get towards the city. And as a matter of fact, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, they told me that
[Costello:] Bob, I'm going to have to interrupt you. I apologize. I'm going to have to interrupt you, because the update on the patients' condition in Tucson has started. Let's go there now.
[Dr. Peter Rhee, Chief Of Emergency Medicine, Tucson University Medical Center:] Two are serious and three are in fair condition. One of the patients got upgraded to serious for a little while because they were on a ventilator, a breathing machine, right after we were doing surgery, which is very customary and normal. So that's the reason why. The update on the congresswoman at this time period is that it's going as anticipated. Again, at this time period, things can go very slowly and the progress can occur very rapidly at some particular time, and actually can go in a negative fashion and a downward way as well. And I'm happy to state that none of the downward events have occurred at this time, which is exactly what we kind of wanted to happen at this point. And we have really decreased the amount of sedation that we're giving her, and as a result of that, she's becoming more and more spontaneous all the time. And other than that, there will be no other additional information that I'm going to be giving about the congresswoman at this time. And I will not be taking questions regarding her status, either. At this time period, what I would also like to do is I'd like to introduce two family members who are going to make a brief statement. After the brief statement, we'll open it up for a very short period of questions and answers, and then we'll conclude at that time period. We have the family members of Ronald Barber and Nancy Barber here. Jenny Douglas is going to talk. But we also have Nancy Barber, Chrissy Blake, Jason Blake, and Duane Douglas. I got that right? If you don't mind, I'm going to repeat the names again. If you could just signify who is who. Nancy Barber, Chrissy Blake, Jason Blake, and Duane Douglas. And that will help the press quite a bit. OK. With that, Jenny
[Jenny Douglas, Daughter Of Ron Barber:] Good morning. My name is Jenny Douglas. I'm Ron Barber's daughter. Behind me are my mom, Nancy Barber; my sister, Chrissy Blake; my husband, Duane Douglas; and my brother-in-law, Jason Blake. I have a statement I would like to read on behalf of my family. And we will take a few questions after that. "We would like to let you all know that my dad Ron Barber is doing well after his second surgery yesterday morning. He has been very alert since coming out of his six-hour surgery on Saturday. He was able to see his four grandchildren on Monday, which gave him great pleasure. We expect him to be released from the ICU on Thursday." "On behalf of my dad and the rest of our family, we would like to give our heartfelt thanks to our extended family, friends, and the community as a whole for the overwhelming support we have received. Specifically, we would like to thank all of the UMC staff, doctors, nurses, and patient care technicians who have been lovingly caring for our dad and our family these past days. The level of care, compassion and professionalism is truly exceptional." "We would also like to thank the Tucson Police Department, sheriff's department, and FBI." "We would like to express our deepest sympathies to the families who lost loved ones on Saturday. Dad is so deeply saddened by the loss of his friend and fellow staff member, Gabe Zimmerman, and long- time friend, Chief Judge John Roll. Our thoughts and prayers are with the other victims and their families during their recovery." "We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Daniel Hernandez, whose clear thinking and actions in the midst of chaos undoubtedly helped to save Congresswoman Giffords' life. We would also like to personally thank Anna Balast, who applied pressure to my dad's wounds until the paramedics arrived. We are greatly indebted to her." "My dad has worked in the public sector for this community for almost 40 years. He was with the Division of Developmental Disabilities for 34 years, most of that time as the director for southern Arizona." "He retired in 2006 and began volunteering immediately with Gabby's campaign, where he was the community outreach director. After her successful election, Gabby appointed him as her district director." "We knew he worked tirelessly to give a voice for those who often were not heard in his career with the Division of Development Disabilities. It was hard to imagine that he could actually work even more in his new career with Gabby, but somehow he does." "With such a long career of public service in this community, he has touched many lives, and now we are hearing from many of you who know him well, and some of you who just knew of him. He has friends across the political spectrum and, like his boss, he just wants to do what is best for the people of our community. That is what drew him to Gabby and that is what binds them." "Throughout this ordeal, dad's singular focus has been on the well-being of Gabby, and he asks that we all continue to pray for her recovery and her family."
[Rhee:] This is the son of Pamela Simon, who is a staff member as well.
[Unidentified Male:] Good morning. I'm going to be reading a brief statement from my mother, Pam Simon. Pam Simon is a community outreach coordinator for Congresswoman Giffords. And this is in her words. "I'm incredibly grateful for the outpouring love and support of my family, friends, co-workers and community. The wounds inflicted are healing, thanks to the amazing care of the doctors and staff here at the University Medical Center. And I would especially like to thank Dr. Fretes." "The deeper wounds of needless loss of life, severe injury of co- workers and community members, and the sadness over this act of violence will take much longer to heal. I am touched and encouraged by the tremendous caring and coming together of the community, and I believe that in the days and weeks ahead, that we will work together to solve challenges and promote healing." "I ask for your continued prayers for Gabrielle, my congresswoman and my friend, and that she has a full recovery. She is a leader who is truly needed in this nation." "My special thanks to my wonderful husband, Bruce, for his love and support, and for my children, Fritz and Summer, for being here throughout this time." Thank you.
[Rhee:] OK. We'll open it up for a couple of questions to the Simon family I'm sorry, for the Barber family.
[Question:] Can I ask you obviously you suffered a tragedy [OFF-MIKE]?
[Douglas:] We are very sad about this tragic event. We are grateful that my dad is alive. We are very sad about the people who lost their loved ones.
[Question:] Can you tell us a little more, please, about your father and what he's been saying about Congresswoman Giffords and her recovery?
[Douglas:] My dad wants to see her. It will help him to see her. I believe they're going to arrange that. He's just asking about her every day.
[Question:  Nancy Barber, Ron Barber's Wife:] You know, he's doing as well as can be expected. And day by day, he has to heal. And it's going to take a long time to heal. But he really wants to express to the community, this wonderful community of Tucson, his love and his gratitude, because we are a wonderful community and we are a family. And we all join together. And he's very grateful for that.
[Question:] Can you talk a little bit about what he remembers from Saturday? And does he remember what happened?
[Douglas:] He remembers it all very clearly.
[Question:] Has he talked to you?
[Douglas:] Yes.
[Question:  Douglas:] We can't share that information. But I can tell you he remembers it very clearly.
[Question:] Could you speak a little bit, please, about his condition, how is he physically?
[Douglas:] My sister is a nurse, so that's more her.
[Unidentified Female:] My dad is healing from his wounds remarkably well, and we really think that that's because we have so much love and prayer coming our way right now. He had surgery yesterday to close some wounds that were created during his original surgery, and he is healing incredibly well. His pain is being managed by his nursing staff. And he's expected to make a full recovery. So we're really happy about that.
[Question:] The person who was putting pressure on his wound, could you talk about that person? You said he remembers everything so clearly, so
[Unidentified Male:] We just found out who she was yesterday. And there was an article in today's "Star" about her. A friend at "The Star" helped me identify her, because in the photo in Sunday's paper, there was no identification. I'm sure the photographer couldn't get close enough. And so we were able to find out who she was. And, actually, I spoke with her yesterday. Anna Ballis is her name. And Ron is very keen to speak with her, as he was with Daniel Hernandez. And he is hoping to meet with her in the next day or so.
[Rhee:] Thank you very much.
[Unidentified Female:] Thank you.
[Rhee:] Thank you. I think this is a testament, that these people who are in the hospital after being shot multiple times and healing, are always thinking of others, and especially the congresswoman. So that concludes this press release at this time. Thank you very much for your cooperation.
[Costello:] An update on the conditions of patients still in the hospital in Tucson. Congresswoman Giffords, hanging in there. She's doing as well as can be expected, breathing on her own. It's up to her now, as doctors have said before. Also, the condition of Ron Barber. He's recovering as well. We heard from his family members. Sixty-five-years old, a hero another hero. So many from that day. He actually put his hand over Congresswoman Giffords' head to stop her from bleeding to death, and he himself winds up in the hospital. And we're glad to hear he is recovering. We'll be back with much more after this.

[Harris:] So, first, Haiti is hit by a devastating earthquake. Now, a fast-moving outbreak of cholera. At least 253 people are dead, more than 3,000 sick. CNN's Paula Newton takes us to the heart of this latest crisis.
[Paula Newton, Cnn International Correspondent:] While the death toll has risen here, and so have the confirmed cases, it's interesting authorities are showing some cautious optimism that the situation has stabilized. That's difficult to see from the chaos behind me here at St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc. Still, people receiving at times the most basic of care. But more and more, they are receiving care more quickly, and people are beginning to get the word out that if you have severe diarrhea and vomiting, you need to come to these health facilities. And also that public health campaign, people being told to wash their hands, make sure they're drinking clean water, watch where they are going in terms of using facilities, and also staying away from the river in this area, which is almost certainly contaminated with cholera. Now, going to Port-au-Prince, there they have taken some measures again to come up with hand-cleaning stations, to really try and take the level of hygiene up a notch, as difficult as that is with about a million people still living out in the open in tent cities. But also, they have isolation units for cholera treatment, which is very important. They really only got them up here today, earlier today. And they have people on standby to take people to medical facilities if that happens. But so far, authorities hoping, really praying, that they can keep this outbreak from spreading to the capital. Paula Newton, CNN, St. Marc, Haiti.
[Harris:] Let's do this let's bring in our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. And Elizabeth, for those of us I had to remind myself about the facts behind cholera. Exactly what is it?
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Sr. Medical Correspondent:] All right. Cholera is a bacterial disease, and you get it basically because, to be blunt, sewage ends up getting into food and water.
[Harris:] Right.
[Cohen:] So let's go over some of the symptoms of cholera, because what happens is, is that if you get to it early, when these symptoms happen, it is much more easily treatable and you can stop the spread. So, some of the symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, leg cramps, and dehydration. And Tony, lots of people get cholera, but they don't even know they have it, or they only have mild symptoms. It's a relatively small percentage that end up getting so sick that they can die really very quickly from the disease.
[Harris:] Yes. So what can Haitians do about this situation right now on the ground?
[Cohen:] What they can do is wash their hands often. That's so important, and that's why you're going to see aid workers out there trying to distribute different things that they can do to wash their hands. And the other thing that they can do is they can watch out for those symptoms that I just mentioned. And then the minute you feel them, go and get help, because they can give you oral rehydration salts.
[Harris:] Is that what it is?
[Cohen:] Yes.
[Harris:] OK.
[Cohen:] They can give you something to drink, or they can give you IVs. I mean, they can get you going again, but you have to get to that care.
[Harris:] Now, we are aware of the infrastructure problems in Haiti. Even for a country as challenged as Haiti right now is, is this a situation that that country can control?
[Cohen:] Yes. Public health workers are telling us that they think they can get it under control. And when you think about it, it's kind of amazing this hasn't happened earlier since the earthquake was nearly a year ago. But if you get people washing their hands, and you get people to health care situations quickly once they feel ill, that really can go a long way to getting this under control.
[Harris:] Elizabeth, that's good information. Thank you.
[Cohen:] Thanks.
[Harris:] Elizabeth Cohen with us.

[Kathleen Parker, Cnn News:] Good evening. I'm Kathleen Parker.
[Eliot Spitzer, Cnn News:] And I'm Eliot Spitzer. Welcome to the program. You know what, Kathleen, two weeks to the midterm elections, the politicians are sprinting, the Democrats are panicking, Barack Obama looking for a magic bullet that I don't think exists because you know what? the storyline is set in concrete. Two years ago he was hope and change, now he's the status quo, it's an impossible thing to change that narrative, as they call it. It's getting very, very tough.
[Parker:] Well, he's becoming the thing he campaigned against. And in the meantime, this is how bad it really is, because two of the most prominent candidates out there are campaigning as a witch and a nerd.
[Spitzer:] Or not.
[Parker:] Or not.
[Christine O'donnell , Delaware:] I'm not a witch; I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you. None of us are perfect, but none of us can be happy with what we see all around us.
[Announcer:] We've tried happy talk and we're 50th out of 50, dead last.
[Rick Snider , Michigan:] It's time for a nerd.
[Announcer:] As president he grew Gateway computers. He's nurtured innovative companies to grand success and grown thousands of jobs in Michigan and across America. Rick Snyder for Michigan, he's one tough nerd.
[Spitzer:] The problem that Barack Obama has right now is that he simply cannot persuade people that government is working and whereas two years ago, he could say government was the problem, now he needs to say government is working and I'm doing good things for you. Nobody's going to listen to it or buy it. I'll show my partisan colors right now, I think Barack Obama has given that to us, it is difficult, it takes time. These things don't happen overnight when you're digging your way out of a casm as deep as this one, it's going to take time to get back to where you even see some clawing over the top of that lift and we're not there yet and so, you know...
[Parker:] I'm exhausted.
[Spitzer:] You know, give the poor guy some time would be my plea, but that's not a winning...
[Parker:] Give him some time? He's had two years. That's the problem in it.
[Spitzer:] Yeah, but you know what? That's not a strategy either.
[Parker:] Well, I mean, he's the one that came in with the hope and change, which is not a strategy, it's not a policy, and you said it...
[Spitzer:] To some it's a strategy. It's not a political strategy, because we all know the time line for voters is this, it's one week.
[Parker:] Look, bottom line, Barack Obama came in and did what the most of the American people did not want him to do. He created this problem and now he's got to deal with it. I'm sorry that he did so poorly, because look what we've got.
[Spitzer:] Well Kathleen, you can't say he created this problem. If you were to say he should not have moved on health care first because jobs, jobs, jobs is all people cared about, fine, fair debate about priorities. Creating the problem clearly was not on his watch. You could even say it was Bill Clinton as much as Bush.
[Parker:] Yeah, but he magnified the problem.
[Spitzer:] No.
[Parker:] He absolutely did. Yes, he did.
[Spitzer:] No. No. No. Not at all. The reality, according to most economists, is that the stimulus has in fact had a very positive impact. Not enough. The argument is whether it should have been bigger. This is somebody was using all the economic tools available. I don't think he's done enough. But, the question isn't whether he created it, he clearly didn't.
[Parker:] I didn't say he created it, I said he magnified it. OK? There's a difference.
[Spitzer:] He didn't magnify it, either.
[Parker:] Well, of course he did. I mean...
[Spitzer:] So, what would you have had him do, no stimulus?
[Parker:] Oh, for crying out loud. Are we going to go through this again?
[Spitzer:] Sure we are, because if you're saying he magnified it, the question is, did the stimulus...
[Parker:] I want to go back to the narrative and I want to get back to the ads for a minute, because here is the thing that I think you and I can agree on which is that Barack Obama has done such a poor job that we have now candidates who are emerging and who are probably at least have a chance of taking office in places where they don't belong...
[Spitzer:] I disagree fervently with some things he has done. I've been very clear about my dissatisfaction with his economic policy, hasn't gone far enough. Put all that aside, they have used the tools there as best they could in an economic cataclysm. You can fall over, but this is reality and that's what you got to do.
[Parker:] That is falling asleep.
[Spitzer:] But this is the thing that matters.
[Parker:] Talking points do that to me.
[Spitzer:] They're not talking points, this is a harsh reality, so that when we were in office we needed Democrats...
[Parker:] We? Oh, we?
[Spitzer:] Yeah, we. We traded 23 million jobs and left with a budget surplus. The crass failure of Reaganomics and lower taxes for those who could afford it, and letting the financial system destroy has brought us to where we are. Put all that aside, I agree with you about some of these candidates. Christine O'Donnell should not be in the United States Senate. But, you know what, if she goes there, it won't be a big problem.
[Parker:] I think that if we actually do have a mouse with a fully functioning human brain, we should send them to Washington. We've got rats in already, why not a mouse.
[Spitzer:] I agree with you on that. I don't know about rats, we've got worse than that. We've got vipers.
[Parker:] It's time for our headline interview with the mad genius behind these ads we've been talking about, Fred Davis.
[Spitzer:] Mad genius is right, if Christine O'Donnell does in fact win, he's the guy to blame, he has put the ads on the air that made her respectable and brought her within just a couple points so far, as we've said, she does believe, mice and humans are crossbreeding and there's a mouse with a fully functioning human brain somewhere out there.
[Parker:] And he also has a brilliant idea for Barack Obama, a way for the president to turn everything around. Anyway, we spoke with him just a little bit ago, he's fascinating.
[Spitzer:] Ed Maved and Fred Davis is the creator of those ads we just showed you, including Christine O'Donnell's famous, "I am not a witch" ad.
[Parker:] In addition to trying to rework a O'Donnell's image, Davis has also produce ads for former president George W. Bush, for John McCain and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Welcome, Fred, and thanks for being here. And let me just start with this witch ad. You're not afraid of self-parody, what were you thinking when you came up with that idea?
[Fred Davis, Republican Ad Maker:] Well, the idea was very simple. She was the butt of most national jokes and I found her I had dinner with her one night and filmed her the next day and that was the only time I had to get to know her, so all I knew is what the voters knew and that's what they saw on "Saturday Night Live" and the "Today Show" and "Tonight Show" and all the jokes. And I thought it was important and Christine thought it was important to draw a line in the sand and say OK, that was before, this is after, now let's move on to what's really important to people in Delaware which had very little to do with her being a witch or not.
[Parker:] Well, yeah, when I first saw the ad I thought, oh my gosh, I can't believe this. And when Eliot saw the ad he said, oh my gosh, that's brilliant, so I think you have...
[Davis:] We like Eliot.
[Spitzer:] Well, you know, but here's what I found about it, the "I'm not a witch line" was almost necessary; it did, as you hoped set that issue aside. The line that mattered to me, as a viewer, as potential I'm not a voter of Delaware, of course, was "I am you." No, there's a message you're saying here is, "I am like the rest of you, I'm not one of them up in Washington." That seems to me to be the thematic of your campaign. And it's working, I would observe, you're within, what, 11 points at this point?
[Davis:] We've narrowed the gap by 50 percent in one week and I'll take that any day.
[Spitzer:] And there is an element of her that is still a little bit jarring to most people, and she doesn't believe in evolution and there is that famous tape with her recently, I mean not the witch stuff from 20 years ago, or whatever, where she says that mice and humans are being cross bred and we have a you know, they're creating a mouse with a fully functioning human brain.
[Parker:] Yeah, let's take a look.
[Spitzer:] Let's take a look at this one, Fred.
[O'donnell:] American scientific companies are cross breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brain.
[Spitzer:] That is kind of a remarkable claim for somebody who is now only a couple points away from being elected to the United States Senate to make. Does this worry you at all? I mean, do you ever say, my goodness, this is a candidate who maybe just shouldn't be in the United States Senate?
[Davis:] I honestly did think that, Eliot, before I had the dinner with her. Because I'd seen that, and I'd seen other recordings from the past and I met her in the lobby of a hotel in Philly and within five minutes I'd figured out that I was wrong, and that she's sort of gotten a you know, did she get a bad shake by the press? Not really. She really said those things and it's your duty and job to report those things, but this wasn't the girl that I met and she hasn't if you saw the debate, she has a great grasp of the issues, she has a heartfelt position on every one that will not vary, and believe me, you we're well, I can't give it away, because it hasn't run yet, we're work on a new ad for her that talks about her strength, and so I've been going in the past over some of the strong statements she's made and they're very strong.
[Parker:] When you talk about doing an ad about her strengths, that's what we call an image ad versus a negative ad. What do you think is more effective?
[Davis:] They're both effective and you'll hear people say, well, the only ones that really have moved the numbers are the negative ads or contrast ads, and it's not true. You can "One Tough Nerd," Rick Snyder in Michigan that was nothing but an image ad. No one in Michigan had heard his name, and a few months later he won the Republican primary with a lot of people in the primary, he won it by, I think, five or six points.
[Parker:] That's a great ad that Chris Coons...
[Davis:] ...on pretty much image.
[Parker:] Chris Coons could probably benefit from a tough nerd ad. But, would you explain just a little bit what that ad is? I mean, you have this fellow who's maybe not the most gregarious sort, but he's very smart and has a good record, and you decided to go with the nerd.
[Davis:] Well, I'll tell you, he's very gregarious, but he'd be the first to tell you he's a nerd. I went and met it was another one where I got hired without meeting him. Went to dinner, was going to have dinner one night, filming the next day. That always means I'm up all night writing scripts. So, I walked into the restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and there was a roundtable obviously there was Rick and he looked like a governor and I thought well, this is a good sign. And he stuck his hand out and he goes, "hey, Fred, I'm Rick Snyder," and- he had this really, really kind of nerd-like voice and my heart sort of sank. And we sat down and he was really, really smart and great history, had been the CEO of Gateway computers during their good days and somewhere in the conversation he said, "I bet you've never had a client that's as big a nerd as I am." And I was nodding to myself and I wrote that down and at the end of dinner, his wife Ann was across the table and I thought, well, I'll be fired before I even shoot one foot of film. And I said, "What would you think about really selling yourself as one tough nerd in the context that Michigan's tried this and this and this, and we've tried everything else and nothing's working, it's time for a nerd," and Ann, to her great credit, looked across the table, real sweetly and she goes, "Oh, honey that's you." And so all of a sudden, I'm up all night writing nerd ads, which I really hadn't expected going to Michigan.
[Spitzer:] Having been in the business for awhile and seeing good ads, but mine and others that worked or didn't work. What that means is that in this election cycle, with just two weeks to go, trying to parse out what's going to happen, the problem Barack Obama has, he doesn't have a narrative that fits with the emotions of the public, right now.
[Davis:] I think Barack Obama needs to sit down and look America in the face and his first words would not be, "I'm not a witch," his first words would be, "I was wrong." Now, you and I know that he's not going to say that. So, I'm safe saying it. It would be something like, "I was wrong. I somehow put my issue agenda ahead of yours, that stops today. I'm going to put Obamacare on hold, I'm going to put Cap and Trade on hold. I'm not going to ask senators Kyl and McConnell, and Cornyn to the Oval Office, I'm going to go to their house, I'm going to knock on their door tonight. If they don't answer the door, I'm going to go back tomorrow night and I'm doing to keep going, America, until we put aside Republican and Democrat and we develop an America's agendas that puts you back to work. And then we'll get back to where I wanted to go all along." I don't think that'll happen, but I think that's what he could do to dramatically reverse this.
[Parker:] Well, we started with Christine O'Donnell and we'll finish with Christine O'Donnell. Do you think she can win, and if she does, will you be happy about that?
[Davis:] Will I be happy about that? I'll be elated and jumping up and down. I think she has a very clear shot to victory, believe it or not. I didn't think that a few weeks ago, but when you make up, you know, 10 or 11 points in one week, and I know what the game plan is for the remaining couple of weeks, I think she has a very good chance at victory.
[Parker:] Well, and let's be clear, she's not a witch. So, thank you.
[Spitzer:] That we can agree on.
[Davis:] You didn't ask Eliot, Eliot didn't say that.
[Parker:] Fred, thank you very much for being with us. We'll be right back.
[Davis:] We'll be right back.
[Spitzer:] Rand Paul's idea would be what? Would be to just privatize Social Security?
[Unidentified Male:] Look, you can't at the same time ignore the fact that no one is talking about changing entitlements and then make their idea seem like those spawned from the devil.
[Parker:] I'm glad we were able to work the devil in here, actually.
[Spitzer:] It is expected that billions will be spent on advertising this political season. President Obama and the Democrats are now cast as the insiders and the Republicans have the message of hope and change.
[Parker:] And joining us in "The Arena" tonight to discuss this, Ari Melber, he's a correspondent with "The Nation" and a columnist for "Politico." And Will Cain from the "National Review." Ari, welcome. How are you?
[Ari Melber, "the Nation":] Good to see you. How are you?
[Parker:] I'm beginning to feel like a little family.
[Spitzer:] Will, great to see you.
[Parker:] We see so much of you.
[Spitzer:] Kind of like Thanksgiving, here.
[Parker:] I know, it really is. We just don't have a tur well, I won't say that, I wouldn't go that far.
[Spitzer:] I'm complaining.
[Parker:] We have a turkey. Anyway, we've been talking about poor Barack Obama, the former agent of hope and change, it seems that this is no longer working. Who is now the agent of change?
[Melber:] Well, you know, the Republicans are obviously arguing that any change is going to be good here and they don't have the same pressure that you have during a presidential campaign of do you have the responsibility, do you have the experience. I think inexperience is clearly an advantage, so they're saying change and don't worry whether they can balance the books, they're going to get in the way of Obama's agenda. That's what they've been selling.
[Spitzer:] Ari, can I say this? I'm on your side all the time, it sounds like poor excuse making. I wish I were with you, but we're not making our arguments. I mean, Will, you guys are winning. It's killing me.
[Will Cain, Nationareview.com:] Yeah, logic wins out, often, Eliot.
[Spitzer:] Yeah. This is not logic. This is hope and prayers over logic and experience. But look, Ari, we got to face facts, the public has turned against the Obama message. It may not be because it's wrong, it's just a fact of life right now, and no matter how many speeches he does, he's not going to get their support, right now.
[Parker:] It's not that it's wrong, it's just that everybody hates it. What do you think?
[Cain:] You know, lest we run into the same problem we did two years ago, I think the integral question to ask is, what is it exactly we want to change?
[Spitzer:] That's a good question.
[Cain:] I mean, two years ago we had a message that was put forward and centered around the concept of hope and change, but no one really stopped to ask, what exactly is it that we're trying to change?
[Parker:] Well, they were trying to change George W. Bush.
[Cain:] That's one of the things.
[Parker:] That was his only
[Spitzer:] Will, I think you're exactly right, I think there was this patina that the words themselves were a governing agenda and I think we all know that is not the case. The agenda people did want, and I think that sensible people, you know, all the rhetoric aside, would agree on, is that investments that will create jobs and a tax structure that produces investment, and education, things that aren't nitty-gritty, that aren't the passionate words of a campaign. But, I think the president feels he's been doing that is his frustration.
[Cain:] I understand his frustration. I think he agrees with you, but the problem with this Eliot, and why Barack Obama hasn't been able to find his footing this year, is that concept of change basically brought together an umbrella of three different kinds of people: One who heard change and thought exactly, that it was just a change in Bush. That was the protest vote. Barack Obama can't rely on those people this year, that change has been made.
[Spitzer:] The reason for it is gone.
[Cain:] The reason exactly. The second group heard the concept of change and said, "This is a guy who's promising to change Washington." These are the people that place civility above all of us. They think with the right personality traits, they can magically make Jim DeMint and Bernie Sanders agree.
[Spitzer:] Right. Never going to happen.
[Cain:] Never going to happen. These voters are constantly disillusioned and they'll move from party to party. So we can't count on them. And then there's the final group, and that's the one you referenced, the one that who truly heard his message that he's going to change America. And by that he meant he's going to pass a health care bill that every liberal president since Teddy Roosevelt has tried to pass, has the most successful legislative session since 1966. He's delivered for these people. The problem is, there's not enough of them.
[Spitzer:] Well, I think, you know, that's actually a fair critique, but I think what he has failed to do, and this is where communication does come into play, is explain how he has planted the seeds for a much broader resurrection of the American economy. And that, I think, is what would swamp numerically, if he could persuade people of that, then the first two piece of the stool, and you're right, they may have disappeared, he could get enough people to join him, nonetheless. He
[Parker:] I want to add a fourth leg to that stool and that is that I think we're forgetting a whole group of people who were simply excited about the possibility that this post racial man could transform America, we could get past something once and for all and get on the other side.
[Cain:] I think you're right.
[Parker:] I mean, that was huge. I think that was particularly huge for possibly the baby boom generation, that they wanted to live to see this day when we had an African-American president and be done with it, you know, and no longer have all that baggage.
[Melber:] But, you know, we're also talking in terms categories, what did people want, what did they get? The other dividing like to pick up on what you're saying, Kathleen, is age. Voters over 45 still went for McCain. Voters under 45 went for Obama, and voters under 30 went for Obama by a 34 point margin, largest in the last several elections. And in midterms you have much lower turnout traditionally among lower people, as well as, partly the African-American and minority base that was a part of the coalition. So, when you factor in those turnout rates and the economy, what we're seeing, partly, is a conversation about the universe of people turning out, not necessarily that we're unhappy, and I think that's why most people still would say Obama's going to get re-elected, because that universe changes again in 2012.
[Cain:] I think these, both of your explanations, Eliot, are very good excuses for you, in this respect: One, as long as you say that it's the enthusiasm gap, that people just aren't turning out, people that think like you are just aren't going to the polls, or that people just aren't understanding how great your ideas, Eliot, are. Which basically is what she said, Obama basically hasn't convinced people how great these ideas are. You never have to face the fact that people didn't really like the ideas when they were first presented.
[Spitzer:] You may be right. I'm willing to concede that's a possibility, I really am. But I I think there is a larger issue here, and this is where I have broken with the administration. The reason they became a status quo so quickly, is that they negotiated with everybody in a way that maintained the status quo. And I use Wall Street as the perfect example for that. Had he maintained the impression in the public that he was really fighting against the entrenched financial interests on behalf of the public, which is clearly not what he's done, the banks are still the same, they're making the big profits, the foreclosure mess these days. All of these things have coagulated, to use your metaphor from last week, to persuade people that really things are stuck in the same place, had he instead been breaking down the ramparts of Wall Street, then there would have been a sense he's not there yet, but he's fighting for us, and it hasn't gotten there. I think that message has been given up by his willingness to negotiate with the status quo instead of take it on. And I think that's the emotional part.
[Cain:] And I guess I'm shocked by your shock at that revelation. I mean, Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party had been so enshrined with Wall Street stayed
[Spitzer:] Well, you don't have to tell me that the Democratic Party elite has been enshrined with Wall Street. When I was A.G. and doing that, you will notice how much support I had from the leadership of the Democratic Party zero, zip, nada. Nobody wanted to do it, they tried to subvert me. And so I fully appreciate that, but I think that this president, I was hoping having gone to what we saw the nation go through in '07-'08 there would have done something quite different.
[Cain:] So now with this disillusion it sounds like you're ready to join the Tea Party.
[Spitzer:] No, I'm ready to drink some tea, but I'm not going to join that party, trust me. We are still, because and here's where the difference between rhetoric and governing really emerges, there isn't yet a coherent answer from either Dick Armey or the pledge to America or any of the budget numbers we look at, it takes us further down a path of bigger deficits and no job growth and that's what has me worried.
[Melber:] Yeah, and that's the key is that nine out of $10 in the federal budget go to your nondiscretionary programs, defense and entitlement. Right? So, when you have people coming along saying, well, we're going to go get fraud and waste, it's easy to run against fraud and waste. It's easy to run saying you're not a witch, right? Nobody wants to be a witch, nobody likes fraud, nobody likes corruption. It's harder to put that all aside and figure out, where do the other nine dollars come out. And I haven't heard, and I don't know if you've heard you tell us who we should keep an eye on, but I haven't heard a Tea Party nominee come out with that kind of budgeting yet. So, what we have from them is just rhetoric.
[Cain:] Well, you're not listening, Ari. I mean, Rand Paul, for better or worse, Sharron Angle, Mike Lee, all of these people have talked about making real changes to entitlements.
[Melber:] Well right, Rand Paul's idea would be what? Would be to just privatize Social Security?
[Cain:] Look, you can't at the same time ignore the fact that no one is talking about changing entitlements and then make their idea seem like those spawned from the devil.
[Parker:] I'm glad we were able to work the devil in here, actually.
[Spitzer:] But Ari's right. Do you think privatizing Social Security is the right answer? If you do, I admire you for saying it. I think it's dead wrong and I think it would destroy the safety net for seniors.
[Parker:] Yeah, so do you still believe in it now?
[Cain:] I still believe in it no matter how wrong I really think it is.
[Parker:] Thanks so much for being with us. Coming up, we have finally found the issue that's really driving this election, and it's not the economy or unemployment, it's manliness? We'll be right back.
[Rand Paul , Kentucky:] Run a race as a man, stand up and be a man.
[Sharron Angle , Nevada:] Man up, Harry Reid, you need to understand that we have a problem with social security.

[A.j. Hammer, Hln:] Big news breaking tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT controversy about Penn State`s child sex abuse outrage.
[Unidentified Male:] Where did that coach find his victims? Oh, man. Well, he created a kids charity. Are you kidding me?
[Hammer:] Saturday Night Live`s" devilish comedy about the Penn State sex abuse scandal. Our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint is it too soon for jokes? Tonight, Kim Kardashian strikes back at her former publicist who claims she staged her love life for the TV cameras. She said, "Let me go to a ring store, act as if I`m walking out and Reggie Bush is proposing to me." Tonight, Kim`s big legal counterattack. Our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint, is Kim just making things worse? SHOWBIZ breaks Regis news. Regis Philbin begins his last week ever on "Live with Regis and Kelly." Tonight, Nick Lachey breaks news to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about possibly replacing Reg.
[Nick Lachey, Reality Show Star:] You know what? It`s
[Hammer:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now.
[Jason Sudeikis, Comedian:] So where did the coach find his victims?
[Seth Myers, Comedian:] Oh, man, well, he created a kids charity.
[Sudeikis:] Are you kidding me? What in my hometown are you talking about? Are you hearing this? Are you hearing this? Oh, you know what
[Hammer:] Yes, sure, it got lots of laughs. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has got to ask, was it too soon to joke about this? Joining me tonight from the State College in Pennsylvania, Jean Casarez, who is a correspondent for "In Session" on our sister network, Tru TV. Jean, to be perfectly clear here, "SNL" was not making fun of what happened to the children who were sexually abused. The show was really trying to drive home how despicable Jerry Sandusky is if he did commit these terrible crimes. But it was done against the backdrop of a lot of laughter. Let`s watch a bit more.
[Sudeikis:] You know who I feel bad for? Joe Paterno. You know, to have evil like that in your midst and not even know about it.
[Myers:] Oh
[Sudeikis:] Not another oh. I hate the oh`s. What`s going on?
[Myers:] It turns out the abuse was initially reported to Joe Paterno.
[Sudeikis:] OK. Who went straight to the police, yes?
[Myers:] No.
[Sudeikis:] Ah! Come on. Are you serious? Come on. Joe Pa. Joe Pa. A cover-up? This is college football, not the Catholic Church. Oh, I`m sorry that it happened or that I reminded of you of it?
[Hammer:] Jean, I know you`re right there at Penn State. I imagine nobody is laughing there on the campus, so here`s our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint was it too soon for "SNL" to make fun of the Penn State abuse scandal? What do you think?
[Jean Casarez, Correspondent, "in Session":] Well, you know, being right here in the center of all of it, I`ll tell you, the students at Penn State they don`t like the attention. They don`t like the media here. They don`t want any significance to their university and they`re really concerned with Joe Pa, the coach that is legendary, just out and out being fired, Joe Paterno. That seems to be their focus, not the alleged sexual molestation of young boys.
[Hammer:] So it`s hard to imagine how they are feeling, first with all of the media attention over the last couple weeks. And now "Saturday Night Live," an iconic show, featuring them in this sketch. And I can tell you, the passion over the scandal and the "SNL" skit spilled right over on to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Facebook page today. We were flooded with comments. I want to get to a couple. Jenny V. writing, "Too soon. The victims were just babies. Their lives are forever changed. I don`t think it would ever be the right time for jokes." Stephon M. who tells us he liked the sketch, writing, "If you saw the sketch, you saw that it was basically saying how horrific the situation was, so bad that even the devil himself wouldn`t take credit for it and they did it with humor." Now, clearly, Jean, people are divided over this. The sex abuse scandal has just struck such a universal chord, hasn`t it?
[Casarez:] And the news keeps breaking. I mean, today, the Second Mile, the CEO, is voluntarily resigning. That, of course, is the charity organization that Jerry Sandusky founded in 1977. The governor of the state said today at a high school not far from here that he would have had a larger bail for Jerry Sandusky. And the students, for them, it`s just a day in classes.
[Hammer:] All right. Jean Casarez, thank you so much. It cannot be overstated how much of this scandal has turned so many lives upside down and is devastating the Penn State college football team as well. In fact, today, we learned advertisers are actually pulling commercials from Penn State games on TV as this whole thing rocks the sports world. With me tonight in New York, Adrienne Maloof, the co-owner of a major sports franchise, of course, NBA Sacramento Kings. Adrienne is here with her husband, Dr. Paul Nassif. They both star, of course, in the hit reality show, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Good to see you both. I appreciate you being here. And Adrienne, I`m very curious to get your take on this. We see what`s going on at Penn State. We see how this scandal has ripped this team apart and their franchise, really, virtually overnight. What went through your mind when you heard all about this?
[Adrienne Maloof, Co-owner, Sacramento Kings:] First and foremost, such a horrible, horrible situation. I have three little boys. I can`t imagine how horrific this must be for these innocent children. So I think that being a mother, and being a sports owner, this is absolutely uncalled for. And, you know
[Hammer:] It`s tough to talk about.
[Maloof:] Yes.
[Hammer:] I mean, I find this at the dinner table, we start talking about it because it`s the hot-button issue of the moment, yet we have difficulty finding the words. Dr. Paul, you know, we`re seeing all this collateral damage. We said, as we learned today, they`re losing advertising. The team is going down the tubes because of the incredible actions of these people who were so stupid. How do you react to this?
[Dr. Paul Nassif, Reality Tv Star, "the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills":] Well, I mean, picture if you`re sitting there, and let`s say Joe Paterno is a great coach. However, he really made a serious mistake. He ruined his career. I mean, if you`re sitting there and someone walks up to you and says, "A 10-year- old boy is being sodomized," what are you going to do? The first you want to do is stop it, call the police, do whatever you can. Stop it yourself. That`s ridiculous.
[Hammer:] I don`t understand how people don`t get it. Let`s talk about your show, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Now, of course, the newest episode aired tonight. Just a short time ago we got to see a very tense moment when the housewives confronted Taylor Armstrong about claims her husband, Russell, had abused her. And as we know, Russell committed suicide this past August. All of this made for a very uncomfortable conversation between the housewives. Let`s watch what happened.
[Unidentified Female:] We`re all protecting you. We all protected you. About my marriage? What you told us about your marriage. How could somebody live with somebody that is so horrific? If you can`t be my friend, just please don`t be my enemy. We don`t say that he hit you. We don`t say that, but now we said it.
[Hammer:] Wow. Well, Taylor and Russell`s troubled marriage, as we know, has been a running story line. What we also know that since Russell`s suicide, a lot of people have criticized the show for bringing up Russell and Taylor`s problems, saying, you know what? All of that should have been cut out of the show after his suicide. Adrienne, do you think you and I never had this conversation. Do you think that criticism is fair, especially now that the season is wearing on and we`re all getting to see this?
[Maloof:] I actually think that bravo did the right thing and continued to air the show. People want to see Russell and what happened along the way, so they want to know, they want to see the face behind the story. And, again, it`s not reality TV that`s to blame. It just happened on reality television.
[Hammer:] OK. And you`re saying you think Bravo did the right thing. Dr. Paul, what`s your take? Because you have a different perspective, a husband on the show, with your point of view on this. A lot of people said the whole thing should have been canceled. The season shouldn`t have gone on at all. What do you make of that?
[Nassif:] Well, you know, I absolutely disagree. First of all, I don`t feel hat the show caused any of this. And every time that we would see Russell, always positive how great things were, how everything was actually the show was helping him financially. I mean, behind the scenes, obviously, there were numerous problems, numerous financial possibly some other issues that none of us know about. And I think that Bravo did the right thing by showing this is reality and this has happened. But I don`t feel it`s from the show at all.
[Hammer:] OK. Fair enough. Well, there`s more big news breaking in the reality world outside of your show. This surrounds, who else, the lovely Kim Kardashian. Now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT confirmed today Kim is launching a legal war against a former man in her life. It is not her soon to be ex-husband, Kris Humphries. She`s unleashing her attorney against a guy named Jonathan Jackson. Now, he claims to be her former publicist. Jackson has been saying wild things about Kim as he tries to sell a tell-all book. And he has said things, among other things, that he and Kim cooked up a fake engagement to her then-boyfriend, Reggie Bush. Now, Kim has said she`s had enough. Today, her attorney told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Jackson was never Kim`s official publicist. She barely remembers him. Kim`s going to court, looking for an injunction to shut him up altogether and she wants a $200,000 judgment against Jackson for violating a confidentiality agreement. I can certainly understand why she`d want that. Look, I know if somebody goes after you, the immediate urge is to fight back. But I`m thinking, by going to war with this guy so publicly, Kim is giving him, I don`t know, another day or two or more of headlines. This is our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint is Kim just making things worse? Adrienne, what do you think?
[Maloof:] I think he needs to be held accountable. I can`t imagine my publicist doing something so disgraceful.
[Hammer:] And, again, she`s saying, "I don`t remember this guy and he wasn`t really my publicist".
[Maloof:] And your publicist, you`re supposed to rely on and trust. So I think actually making a point of the situation, I commend her for doing that.
[Hammer:] Adrienne, Dr. Paul, great to have you both here. Thank you so much.
[Nassif:] Thanks for having us.
[Maloof:] Thank you. Tonight, brand-new photos of Jennifer Lopez with a much younger guy. Has J-Lo rebounded after her split from Marc Anthony? What`s going on here? Also, Kat Von D`s astounding new cheating claims against Sandra Bullock`s ex, Jesse James. Kat is saying Jesse cheated on her with nearly 20 women. But you know, should she really be surprised? SHOWBIZ breaks big Regis news tonight with Nick Lachey. Regis Philbin says good-bye to "Live" this week. Does Nick want the job?
[Text:] Rihanna to perform on "The X Factor" results show. Oprah Winfrey gets choked up while receiving humanitarian Oscar.
[Oprah Winfrey, Media Mogul:] It`s unimaginable that I would be standing before you voted by the board of governors.

[Whitfield:] All right. Welcome back to this special hour of the "CNN Newsroom." We're focusing on politics allowing you to hear from the 2012 presidential contenders. The candidates are talking about a variety of issues this weekend in New Hampshire, two days before the state's first in the nation primary. During a debate last night on ABC, the candidates weighed on the religious institution's right to oppose gay marriage.
[Gingrich:] I just want to raise the point about the news media bias. You don't hear the opposite question asked, should the Catholic Church be forced to close its adoption services in Massachusetts because it won't accept gay couples, which is exactly what the state has done? Should the Catholic Church be driven out of providing charitable services in the District of Columbia because it won't give into secular bigotry. Should the Catholic Church find itself discriminate against by the Obama administration in key delivery of services because of the bias and the bigotry of the administration? The bigotry question goes both ways and there is a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is concern on the other side and none of it is covered by
[Perry:] I am for a constitutional amendment that says marriage is between a man and a woman at the federal level. But this administration's war on religion is what bothers me greatly. When we see an administration that will not defend the Defense of Marriage Act, that gives their Justice Department clear instructions to go take the ministerial exception away from our churches where that's never happened before, when we see this administration not giving money to Catholic charities for sexually trafficked individuals because they don't agree with the Catholic Church on abortion, that is a war against religion and it is going to stop under a Perry administration.
[Whitfield:] All right. Joining us now from St. Louis, Missouri, Danielle Belton, editor and writer of the blog, "The Black Snob" and from Washington, Crystal Wright, the editor of the blog, conservativeblackchick.com. Good to see you, ladies.
[Danielle Belton, Editor "the Black Snob":] Nice to be with you.
[Crystal Wright, Editor, Conservativeblackchick.com:] Thanks for having me.
[Whitfield:] OK. So we're hearing the GOP candidates tout their social conservative credentials. So how will the eventual nominee try to transition one's self to the general election and win over the more moderate Republicans in the independence in particular. Crystal, you first.
[Wright:] Well, you know, I got to say that ABC debate last night was kind of like that Spanish inquisition of the presidential candidates on their gay rights positions, on abortion and contraception. And I think Newt Gingrich nailed it when he said, look, this isn't about; this is an assault on Christian values. But at the end of the day, whoever our nominee is, you know Romney is playing it safe because he knows he has to appeal to those all important independent voters. Americans, whether they be conservative or Democrat or liberal, Tea Party, they don't care about these social issues, these wedge issues. You know what they want? They want jobs. This is why governor in Virginia, we saw Governor McDonnell win because he talked about the economy. This is why Governor Chris Christie won New Jersey, because he talked about the economy. I think it was just really inflammatory all the questions that, you know, George Stephanopoulos and Diane Sawyer spent asking these candidates about social issues and people's bedrooms. They were never asked this of Obama and Hillary in 2008. We didn't see any of that. At the same time, I think candidates do need to appeal put those on the sidelines. They don't even need to address the moderators with this crazy talk about people's bedrooms.
[Whitfield:] So you wonder, Danielle, you know so some of these candidates are appealing to a certain electorate when they do say that they are the social conservative. However, we all know that they're also all vying for that independent voter, the moderate voter. So how might you see the strategy changing for these candidates? Is it based on which state in which that primary or caucus is unfolding?
[Danielle Belton, Blogger, The Black Snob:] Well, they're going to have to make adjustments. The reason why you have these issues come up in a debate or even when you have moderators bring them up is because in a lot of cases they are talking about the government being involved with what goes on in people's bedrooms and what goes on in their personal lives. And so they're trying to appeal to a base that wants the defense of marriage act, that wants to talk about whether gay people can get married or not, that wants to talk about whether or not a woman can get an abortion under what way she can do that. So the problem is when you go to a broader audience and you are trying to appeal to a broader base, it gets a little hinkey.
[Whitfield:] Is this issue then this conversation perhaps didn't work, the social conservative issues for us didn't work because it was New Hampshire. But perhaps it might work in a state like South Carolina, which is where Rick Santorum is today.
[Wright:] Most definitely. Most definitely.
[Belton:] And I think
[Whitfield:] Go ahead, Danielle first.
[Belton:] That's OK.
[Wright:] Sorry.
[Belton:] As you go to different states like South Carolina, you go down south, you go to Florida, you go to Texas, you're going to want to appeal to these certain social issues because you have a lot of Republican voters who do care very deeply about it, who are going to make the decision who to vote for about it. They all pretty much agreed with each other on these issues, they tried to one up each other on who was going to stand strong in the defense of marriage.
[Whitfield:] OK, Crystal.
[Wright:] I think that's the point. What I'm saying is that whether it be Romney, and Romney did a good job in not trying to one up everybody else on traditional marriage, and the Republicans need to talk about traditional marriage and then move on and talk about the economy and jobs. I mean I think trying to give the American people a litmus test on whether, you know, their gay rights positions is really ridiculous like today when NBC asked we had the debate today and we saw Santorum ask what he would do if he had a gay son. It is like he should just say, you know what, and we're here to talk about the economy and jobs, that's what the American people care about. I think to Danielle's point, they need to pivot on what is really important. Not shy away from their stances, but say, where we are today is about the economy and jobs and Barack Obama is
[Whitfield:] So here we are focusing on the strategy of the Republican contenders. Yet the White House is watching very closely. And might the White House be trying to decide what is the strategy going forward depending on who that Republican nominee will be? Will it be a more moderate conservative? Will it be a social conservative and so how is that dictating in your view, you know, Danielle, the White House strategy?
[Belton:] I believe the White House wants to see the Republican race go even further and further to the right. So they can paint whoever the eventual nominee is as an extremist. That's the most natural path to take, is to take what happens in these debates, to take what happens on the stump as the candidates hammer out over who should be able to win the conservative base and to appeal to the more issue the social issue conservatives. And the Obama administration will try to hang them on it, try to paint them as a
[Whitfield:] OK. Crystal, ten seconds on that.
[Wright:] Yes, you know, the Obama administration is going to paint any Republican whoever the Republican nominee is as an extremist because President Obama has nothing to run on. And the fact is Romney looks more and more like he's tightening this up. If he wins New Hampshire and he is ahead in South Carolina, he's not running on an extremist agenda, Romney is running on a safe agenda, he is appealing to independents and moderates, and at the end of the day, Barack Obama has zero record to run on. We have 44 million people on food stamps, 13 million unemployed, and, you know, the president said unemployment, if just give me $800 billion and I promise unemployment won't go above 8 percent, well, we all know what that is. Barack Obama should be worried about running on a record which he doesn't have.
[Whitfield:] All right. Ladies, thank you so much. Crystal Wright, Danielle Belton, appreciate it. Just days before the nation's first primary election, the GOP race does heat up. Watch the New Hampshire Republican Debate, a replay of last night's debate on CNN tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. All right. There is a huge conservative voting population in South Carolina, which is where most of the candidates will be midweek. Already a couple are there. We'll talk to our Peter Hamby about how the contenders stack up there in just a few minutes. Plus, the American economy back on track? Many of you are rethinking retirement and the American dream.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Thanks for watching everyone. Tonight breaking news: President Obama laying out a deal with Republicans on taxes and jobless benefits and takes heat from fellow Democrats. Will they go along with him in the end and which will Americans care more about? That he gave up on a campaign pledge to roll back tax cuts for the rich? Or is he just trying to keep his other promise to reach across the aisle. We're "Keeping Them Honest." Breaking news as well on Elizabeth Edwards: She's stopping her treatment for advanced breast cancer. Her shocking announcement tonight, the latest on that and how she's coping. Her estranged husband John Edwards now at her side. We'll talk to 360 MD Sanjay Gupta about the latest. And later "Crime and Punishment," you'll meet a 14-year-old boy who says he's killed four people; a hit man he says for a Mexican drug cartel. We'll show you how he was recruited at age 12. How the cartel used drugs to turn boys into killers until the boys say the killing itself becomes a high. We begin though with the breaking news on your taxes or if you've been laid off your jobless benefits. With the deal President Obama struck with Republicans on both and the backlash to it inside his party. Mr. Obama agreeing to extend the Bush era tax cuts for all Americans, even the wealthiest, which he vowed in the campaign not to. In return, getting a payroll tax cut and 13 more months of jobless benefits both helping the working and middle class. The President tonight signaling he was reluctantly trading one pillar of his campaign, the one on taxes to preserve another, his pledge to get beyond partisan squabbling.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I know there are some people in my own party and in the other party who would rather prolong this battle even if we can't reach a compromise. But I'm not willing to let working families across this country become collateral damage for political warfare here in Washington. And I'm not willing to let our economy slip backwards just as we're pulling ourselves out of this devastating recession. I'm not willing to see two million Americans who stand to lose their unemployment insurance at the end of this month be put in a situation where they might lose their home, or their car, or suffer some additional economic catastrophe. So, sympathetic as I am to those who prefer a fight over compromise, as much as the political wisdom may dictate fighting over solving problems, it would be the wrong thing to do.
[Cooper:] President Obama tonight clearly trying to put his move in best possible light. "Keeping Them Honest," though, this is a complete abandonment of his campaign promise on taxes. A promise he made over and over again. Watch.
[Obama:] I end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. And it means letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire. And rolling back the Bush back cuts to the top one percent. We have to roll back. I'm want to roll back We're going to roll back. I'm going to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans. For the wealthiest Americans. For the wealthiest Americans. For the wealthiest Americans. It is true that I want to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the very wealthiest Americans and go back to the rate that they paid under Bill Clinton.
[Cooper:] Well, that was then. These days though, the fact is, that President Obama simply does not have the support of conservative Senate Democrats for doing what he promised. And now in cutting a deal he's also alienating some liberal Democrats.
[Sen. Sherrod Brown , Ohio:] I'm very unhappy about it. You're right. In essence, it takes $700 billion borrows $700 billion from China, charges it and puts it on our children and grandchildren's credit cards and gives it to the wealthiest two percent of taxpayers. I mean I people say Washington doesn't listen enough. It's clear what the public was saying is give the tax keep the tax cuts going for the middle class. Extend, maintain unemployment benefits for those in my state, 85,000 Ohio families lost their unemployment benefits last week. The Republicans continue to filibuster that. We should just keep going on that and worry and continue to fight for the middle-class tax break. I I'm not at all happy with this. I want to see all the details before I make any kind of commitment.
[Cooper:] Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown tonight on "JOHN KING USA"; and New York Congressman Anthony Weiner tonight not any happier.
[Rep. Anthony Weiner , New York:] Compromise is an advice I mean, I have no problem I mean, we often have to do that that's why we we go to Washington and govern about it. But it seems almost as if I missed the part of the fight, like, where was the fight where he said what he believed in. I think that to some degree he underplays his hand. And as I as I said today it's almost as if he wants to punt sometime on third down.
[Cooper:] Congressman Anthony Weiner, a Democrat on "PARKERSPITZER". The President meeting with Congressional Democrats earlier today behind closed doors urging them to support a deal underscoring the message on camera tonight.
[Obama:] We cannot play politics at a time when the American people are looking for us to solve problems. And so I look forward to engaging the House and the Senate, members of both parties, as well as the media, in this debate but I'm confident that this needs to get done and I'm confident ultimately Congress is going to do the right thing.
[Cooper:] Well, late reaction tonight from the Republican side, the spokesman for House Speaker-to-be John Boehner releasing the following the statement. Quote, "It is encouraging that the White House is now willing to stop all the job-killing tax hikes scheduled for January 1. We look forward to discussing this proposal with the House Republican members and the American people." We discussed it tonight in all dimensions with former McCain and Palin senior campaign adviser, Nicolle Wallace; GOP strategist Ed Rollins; political analyst, Roland Martin; and CNN's Ed Henry. Ed, key Democrats were summoned to the White House to be briefed on this deal. What do we know about what happened at the meeting and is it a sign the White House is worried about the anger the anger on base on the left?
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] They're very worried about it, Anderson. I talked to some senior Democrats tonight; they said it was a very tense meeting at the White House. You had some of the Democratic leaders telling the President in private they don't understand how he could give up such a bedrock principle dating back, as you catalogued there to the 2008 campaign. And they also don't don't understand as Sherrod Brown told John King, how when the public polls show that many Americans believe the rich should be paying more in taxes why the President with all his rhetorical gifts could not engage the public and make a convincing case here? The flip side of course, though, when you talk to senior White House aides here tonight, they say look, the President was staring at the cold political reality, that he doesn't have the votes, particularly in the Senate to get what he wants done which is just passing the middle class tax cuts. And number two, he's staring at 9.8 percent unemployment an unprecedented strength of of unemployment in terms of consecutive months, over nine percent. We're close to double digits now and if he the only other viable option here was to do nothing. Let Congress go home. Let the Bush tax rates expire and then come January 1st, basically, every American would get a tax increase. That was the only other viable option he had. They had all these other symbolic votes on Capitol Hill last week and it went nowhere
[Cooper:] Right.
[Henry:] it was time to move forward in this debate and that's their bottom line.
[Cooper:] Roland, in your blog today, you wrote and I quote, "Frankly, the Republicans are going to play chicken with the Democrats and force them to blink because they know Dems and President Obama don't have the stomach to fight. Is that really fair to say he doesn't have the stomach to fight? Isn't he the guy who got elected saying he wanted to bring all sides together and get people in the room and come up with compromises?
[Roland Martin, Cnn Political Contributor:] Ok, every president says that. I remember my fellow Texan George W. Bush said the exact same thing, when he ran for president. And I was sitting here reading a tweet from a journalist, friend of mine David D.; he said the New England Patriots are whipping up on the New York Jets like the GOP whipped up on the Democrats today when it came to tax cuts. And and when when Ed just laid out what what they felt they didn't have much room, that's because the GOP as I wrote, like I say, look, you're going to blink. What they didn't do is tell the GOP, wait a minute are you going to allow 95 percent of Americans not to get tax relief? Are you willing to sacrifice the middle class to get tax cuts in order for you to extend it for the top two percent of the wage earners? That was never on the table. Not only that, Anderson. Look what happened, you extended the Bush tax cuts for the top tier for the next two years but you only extended unemployment benefits for 13 months? Why did the White House even say, fine, two years for them? Two years for the unemployed.
[Cooper:] Right. Nicolle did did the President blink?
[Nicolle Wallace, Former Mccain Campaign Senior Adviser:] I actually don't think the politics on this are that bad for Barack Obama. With the voters that that made the deciding set over the deciding factor in his election. I think independents will be heartened to see him keep one of his other campaign pledge which was what you alluded to getting everyone in a room and working on a compromise. I think that the disillusionment with Barack Obama, the reason these numbers have plunged from 80 percent the week he was inaugurated to, I think they hover somewhere below George W. Bush's these days is because what people thought they were getting was a guy who could work with the other side and and you know pass reasonable, sometimes moderate, compromises.
[Cooper:] Do you think, though, Ed, that Republicans see this as a sign of weakness? That basically this is a victory for them?
[Ed Rollins, Republican Strategist:] No, I think what they see it as is getting this economy moving again. And I think they basically now see a president, unlike Speaker Pelosi earlier this week, who's willing to work. Has read the tea leaves from the election where they lost 63 House seats and six U.S. Senate races. And basically, he has to deal now not with the weak and the lame, he has to deal with the leadership of the Republican Party and if if he wants to have any government cutting taxes or doing whatever in the future cutting spending they basically have to work together.
[Martin:] And Anderson, one second. First of all, we keep talking about the election that took place on November 2nd. Haven't we heard for the past month from Republicans as well as Democrats, deficit, deficit, deficit. So what happened to the deficit conversation as it relates to this this particular tax break? The deficit will increase not only for unemployment benefits but also for extending the tax cuts. So it seems that easily the deficit argument sort of moves sort of like the wind blowing.
[Cooper:] Roland I understand.
[Rollins:] Just one quick point. Why, if rich people keep their money and spend it in the economy, it's a bad thing? And if the government takes it away from and spends it on run-away spending programs it's a good thing?
[Martin:] Actually you never answered my question.
[Rollins:] You've never been able to make that argument to me.
[Martin:] No, no, no. No. Answer my question.
[Rollins:] And at the end at the end of the day getting this economy moving and the chairman last night, the Federal Reserve on "60 Minutes" said now is not the time to do deficit spending. It's a long term thing. Now is the time to basically get this economy moving that'll benefit the President and benefit them all?
[Martin:] Well, I'm just exposing the fact that this whole deficit discussion has been a fraudulent conversation. It's always a deficit conversation as it relates to the people who are most in need but again, when you talk about the deficit when it comes to those who are making more than $250,000, likely every single person on this panel
[Cooper:] Nicolle what
[Martin:] the deficit conversation goes out the window.
[Cooper:] What about to his point, though
[Wallace:] What?
[Cooper:] obviously, look this will add $700 billion to the deficit by by not by having tax cuts?
[Wallace:] Right, but I I think the political reality, at least for Republican voters is that all deficit spending is not equal. I think Republicans have been engaged in a philosophical debate for the last two years. We were talking about how Barack Obama has done a great job at expanding the tent on the Republican side and the tax cut discussion, I think for many liberals is about the rates at which you tax people.
[Cooper:] Do you argue that this
[Wallace:] to conservatives but it's part of the philosophical debate about the role of federal government in American life. So giving back people's money, no matter how much they make, is always a good thing.
[Cooper:] Roland Roland you could also argue that this is the only form or the only new form of of of stimulus spending that anybody in Washington is going to get this year. I mean, that that any kind of big government stimulus thing is not going to be very popular particularly with Republicans coming in and at least with this, as Ed pointed out, maybe you have wealthy people saving some money and also spending some of this money?
[Martin:] And how did that go for the eight years of the Bush tax cut? We keep talking about how we got ourselves into this economy. I'm simply making the argument how has that worked thus far? When you talk about losing 500,000 jobs a month and all of a sudden now we're scraping by with 30,000 or 40,000? What did it actually get us? It got us higher deficits. I'm just saying, I think I just it's amazing how the deficit conversation has just magically disappeared a couple weeks after the election.
[Rollins:] Spending, spending got us higher deficits, not higher taxes.
[Martin:] Ok, ok.
[Rollins:] Spending got us higher deficits and we continue to do that.
[Martin:] But even even the economists will say, that those same Bush tax cuts contributed to the federal deficit.
[Rollins:] The chairman of the Federal Reserve who really has something to do, not a president, not a Congress, but really the chairman, he basically said last night, if we had not put $3.3 trillion of Federal Reserve money into this economy, it would have been ten times worse. So at the end of the day, there has been spending. There's been plenty of spending. The whole system is not about the tax cuts. It's about the banking system. It's about bad loans that were made and what we got to do is get the confidence back in the business community where they start hiring people again and putting their money back in.
[Cooper:] And and
[Martin:] So you're saying the move by the Obama administration was a good move?
[Cooper:] Ed Henry, does this allow the White House to try to get some stuff done in this in this lame-duck session now with Congress?
[Henry:] You're absolutely right. That's a big part of this. It's to not let this drag on for another week, ten days. Try to get the new START Treaty, the arms reduction treaty with Russia through, also try to deal with with repealing "don't ask don't tell." Those are big, big things this president wants to get done. They're going to be hard enough on their own. If the tax fight has been log jamming everything he never would have gotten any of those other things done. The other point is, long term he has a problem with the fiscal mess in terms of dealing with the debt as Roland is saying. But short term, as Ed Rollins is just saying you have the Federal Reserve chairman saying, look, five or six years, maybe more of this unemployment. So short term, this president has to do something about jobs. It was a difficult choice but he made it.
[Cooper:] Ed Rollins, Ed Henry, Nicolle Wallace and Roland Martin, guys thank you very much. It's a good discussion.
[Martin:] Thanks very much.
[Cooper:] Let us know what you think. The live chat right now at AC360.com, it's up and running. Let us know what you think. Up next, the very latest on Elizabeth Edwards, maybe not a surprise announcement today but shocking, nonetheless. The country has been following her fight against cancer and now comes word she's discontinuing treatment. We'll tell you what her doctors told her and what family sources are telling us. And we'll talk to 360 MD Sanjay Gupta. And later "Keeping Them Honest": Arizona cutting state money for life saving organ and bone marrow transplants. Arizona's Governor Jan Brewer blaming President Obama's health care reform; the vote to cut the funding came before the health care reform even became law. Find out what happened when we asked her to come on the program and defend her position tonight.

[John King, Cnn Anchor:] Rescue miracle is approaching the magical moment. Twenty-eight of the 33 miners are up on the surface. And the families of the remaining five awaiting their turn to celebrate. A live update from Chile in just a moment. Also a dramatic night in midterm election politics. The woman with the best brand in national politics today, First Lady Michelle Obama, hits the trail in two critical races hoping her popularity provides a boost to two struggling Democrats. And tonight is a defining moment for another woman who just recently burst into the national spotlight. Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell. At the bottom of this hour, a live debate, right here on CNN. Our brand-new poll suggests O'Donnell needs a commanding performance if she is to have any hope of a second stunning come-from- behind victory. Politics in a moment. But let's get right to the heroic personal drama that is captivating people around the world. The methodical but magical rescue of the miners who were trapped for 69 days a half mile underground. Rescue operations have sped up. And they're hoping to finish tonight. Crews are now bringing to the surface miners at the rate of three an hour. Five miners are left. Plus a five-member rescue crew that's also gone down into that mine. Right there on the scene for us, CNN's Karl Penhaul live with the latest. Karl.
[Karl Penhaul, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey, John. They've been going at this now I guess for for more than 20 hours. And as each miner comes up, the whole process seems to speed up. In fact, initially, Mines Minister Laurence Golborne believed that it would take one hour per miner between 33 hours in total, right up to 48 hours. But in fact what they're telling us now is that this rescue mission is going so well that it could all be wrapped up by midnight. All 33 miners could be back on the surface after 70 days under ground. And in the course of the day and in the course of last night, and as we go into another night, we have seen some amazing scenes, some emotional scenes. Yes, on the one hand, the technical aspects of this rescue mission seem to be running like they were on rails. Seem to be a matter of routine now. The rescuers have really gotten into their stride. But that's where the routine stops. Because as every miner steps out of that Phoenix 2 rescue capsule, every emotion is different. There are family reunions. Different members of their family, different emotions, all flood out to the fore. Right now, the miner heading up is Juan Carlos Aguilar. He was a mechanic down in the mine. And he was also named one of the foreman of the three work shifts that the miners divided into. They divided into three work shifts to keep some element of discipline and to keep some routine during the time that they were trapped underground. And it's people like him that have helped build a team of the 33 miners so that any personal differences didn't come to the fore. But to make sure all 33 miners worked as a team. And that is really beyond any individual performance and beyond any individual hero that there may have been down there in the mine. The real hero here has been team work. It has been only through team work that these 33 men have fought against death and won John.
[King:] And, Karl, as we as we watch this drama, this miracle unfold, you've been there throughout this more than two-month ordeal. As you see the miners come out of the Phoenix capsule and you see maybe it's a brother or sister, often it's the spouse or the girlfriend. We've seen children in recent hours as well. You have been here through this roller coaster, the fear at the very beginning, the devastation, then the hope, then the wait. Just take us inside the mood and the spirit you feel.
[Penhaul:] Yes, I think you have to really have been here and experienced what they felt when they thought their miner husbands, brothers or lovers were actually dead, and then they figure out that they are alive. And then things move on. Now they are coming back and being reborn. I mean, we only have to look at scenes like the most veteran miner, Mario Gomez, when he came back to the surface. He gave a huge hug to his wife, Lila, and then immediately after that, took a knee and said a prayer to God and the Virgin Mary. And then the number two miner that came up, Mario Sepulveda. He's a bit of a joker. He was known we knew him as the narrator on the videos that the miners sent to the surface. He was hugs all around. He was very cramped in that Phoenix rescue capsule, but somehow he managed to smuggle a bag of rocks into the rescue capsule. And that was the first thing he did when he got out. Hand out rocks to the president of Chile and to the mines minister. Not much of a souvenir, but all that he had at hand. And then he raced across to the rescue workers and led a soccer-style cheer in support of the miners of Chile. Others have come out and given passionate hugs to the people that they most loved in this life. There have been cries of joy. There have been tears of joy. But today, it's very much about a rebirth for these 33 miners and a rebirth for the 33 families. Because all of them say their lives have now been marked by a "before" and an "after" John.
[King:] It's such a breathtaking and remarkable scene to watch it unfold. And we are blessed to have a great reporter like Karl Penhaul on the scene. One of our many reporters there. Karl, we'll get back in touch with you as the hour unfolds. And stay with us right here. We will continue to watch this. But shifting here at home, in 20 days, America holds a midterm election of enormous consequence and is almost always the case, the vote is largely a referendum on the president's first two years in office which means there are some candidates happy to appear with the president. And many Democrats happier if he stays far away. Michelle Obama is something else. Democrats coast to coast are clamoring to share her star power. And today she campaigned in two pivotal Senate races. In Illinois, she's trying to help the Democrats keep the seat once held by her husband. And in Wisconsin, her focus was Democratic incumbent Russ Feingold. Our new CNN"TIME" poll tonight shows Feingold down by eight points. And the first lady's message was that this midterm vote matters just as much as the election that sent her husband to the White House.
[Michelle Obama, First Lady:] It's the chance to continue the progress we've made, the chance to finish what we've started, because this election, isn't it just about all that we've accomplished these past couple of years. This election, Wisconsin, is about all that we have left to do in the months and years ahead.
[King:] Even with the first lady on the trail, Republicans are confident those Illinois and Wisconsin Senate battles, but now less so in Delaware because of Christine O'Donnell's Tea Party surprise. In an unorthodox year, she's perhaps the most unorthodox of candidates. Forced to distance herself from past comments about dabbling in witchcraft. And in tonight's debate, she is certain to be asked about position on abortion and other social issues that place her considerably to the right of the more moderate Delaware electorate. The man the man establishment Republicans had hoped to be their debate will be watching this debate. But Congressman Mike Castle tells me he won't try to help O'Donnell build bridges to the more moderate voters who helped Castle to 12 statewide victories over the past three decades. And while our new CNN"TIME"Opinion Research poll shows O'Donnell trailing Democrat Chris Coons by 19 points among likely voters, 57 percent to 38 percent, Castle says based on his experience in the GOP primary, it would be a mistake to count O'Donnell out in the general election.
[Rep. Mike Castle , Delaware:] No, I'm not going to endorse anybody in that particular race. Not because of the competence of any of the candidates, but because the primary I went through was very nasty and in a variety of ways, both politically and personally. And I've just declined to get involved in that. I will give credit to the Tea Party Express people who backed Christine O'Donnell. They're good politicians. Anyone who says they're not politicians doesn't know what they're talking about as far as I'm concerned. They did an effective job of winning the race for her. And, you know, they're probably going to be very effective in setting up the last few weeks here of the general election as well if I had to guess.
[King:] More from Congressman Castle and the big stakes in tonight's debate in just a moment. And also still ahead for us, we're keeping a very close eye on the mine rescue in Chile and we'll take you back there for every major development. Also when we come back, a closer look at the battles for control of the Senate and how Republicans hope to reach their magic number for capture and control. The Delaware Senate debate will get national attention tonight because of the remarkable surprise candidacy of Christine O'Donnell. But it is way more important than just one candidate. Let's look at the map here. We're looking at some, not all of the Senate contests. There are 37 total. But as you look at this map, these blue states are seats currently held by Democrats. The red states currently held by Republicans. The Republicans need a gain of 10 to get control of the Senate. Let me go through and circle some of the states where the Republicans are confident of picking up seats now held by Democrats. Pennsylvania, they're confident. Again there's two weeks out but they're confident of this one. They are confident as well up here in Wisconsin. Our new poll tonight supports that. In North Dakota, in Colorado, one, two, three, four. How do they get to 10? Well, they're confident down here in Arkansas. That's five. They have to hold these states Florida, Ohio, and New Hampshire. At the moment, they're confident of doing that. But then how do they get the other five? Even if all this goes like they plan and like they hope today, how do they get the other five? Well, maybe Harry Reid's seat in Nevada. Jessica Yellin, we'll check in with her in a minute. Maybe Barack Obama's old seat in Illinois. That would get you to seven. They're confident as well in Indiana. That would get you to eight. This is a hypothetical. How do you get the rest of the way? West Virginia? Even if they win that, that's nine. Well, the Democrats right now are ahead in California, ahead in Washington state. Where does number 10 come? Could it come from Delaware? Could it come from Connecticut? Two very tough states for the Republicans. That's why they had hoped Mike Castle won that primary because they think he would have had a better chance. Let's go around some of the Senate map now. Jessica Yellin is with us from Las Vegas. Dana Bash, our senior congressional correspondent from New York, Ed Henry, our senior White House correspondent with me, and our senior correspondent Joe Johns. Jess, I want to start with you. There was a new poll out today that showed essentially a dead heat. Harry Reid a little ahead maybe out there in Nevada. Last week, we sent a camera crew down because Sharron Angle, in a conversation at a Tea Party event had said that Sharia law was being practiced in a couple of places in the United States. I'm sorry, I need to break out. We need to go straight down and look at these pictures from Chile. The 29th miner coming to the surface there as you watch the applause unfold. This has been methodical throughout. This is Juan Aguilar. He is 49 years old, the mechanic from the mining town of Los Lagos. And a supervisor of one of the three shifts in the mine. He is a father of two and has been mining for 19 years. And there you see another one of these breathtaking smiles as the Phoenix capsule comes up to the surface. Let's just listen for a moment. In this routine play out. Now they're very careful when they bring this up. They ask the miner inside if he's OK. If he has the energy after the ride. Whether he's OK for them to open the capsule. And then you see them open you see them opening the Phoenix capsule. The president of Chile there, family members as well. Juan Carlos Aguilar, again, as we said, he is 49 years old. And a mechanic. He is now the 29th of the miners to make it to the surface. That leaves four miners still down there. They have picked up the pace of this operation in recent hours. And also a handful of rescue workers. So you see the operation continue. Let's listen to this. This is Sixty-nine days these loved ones have been waiting. That's what makes these moments so remarkable. In some ways, this is becoming routine and yet each one of these is remarkable. The miner comes out. They check him at the top of the Phoenix capsule. They let him out. He says hello to loved ones who are waiting. Thanks some of the rescue workers. Gets a handshake from the president of Chile. And then each just as a precaution, they've all seemed healthy and hardy so far coming up. As a precaution, though, each has been put on a stretcher and taken off for medical testing. Sixty-nine days, a half mile deep. The emotions of the moment. Juan Carlos Aguilar, 49 years old. He is the 29th. There has been a carefully orchestrated order of the miners being brought up. Those coming up now tend to be more senior members. The foreman, the shift leaders, 19 years experience in the case of Juan Carlos Aguilar. You see him shaking hands. You see the tearful eyes here. A father of two. He will receive medical testing. And most of all, be reunited with his family. There you see Juan Carlos Aguilar being placed on the stretcher. He will be taken off for testing. So far, though, this has all been precaution. Officials saying on the scene the miners who have come up have been not only in good spirits, but in remarkably good health, considering 69 days, a half mile deep. We'll continue to watch this story. Keeping our eye on important politics as well. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, more of the balance of power in the Senate and a preview of tonight's important Delaware Senate debate which begins at the bottom of the hour. Live pictures there underground, a half mile deep. That is the mine, the San Jose Gold and Copper Mine, and it is a lot less crowded down there, which is a sign the miracle is unfolding above ground. At the moment, they're preparing to send the Phoenix capsule back down for the 30th miner. Raul Bustos is 40 years old. He has been a hydraulics engineer who ironically had never been inside the mine. The day of the collapse, he went inside to repair a truck. He will be the 30th miner brought to the surface. There are 33 miners in all and then a handful of rescue workers who will come up as well. We'll continue to track this dramatic story. We're also just a few minutes away at the bottom of the hour. CNN will bring you a live debate from Delaware where the Republican and Democratic candidate for Senate will take off there. As we continue our conversation here, a bit of an adlib. We were planning on covering a lot of Senate races tonight. Because of the breaking news in Chile, we'll just focus on this big debate coming up at the bottom of the hour. Jessica Yellin, our national political correspondent, is with us from Vegas. That state also has a hot Senate race. Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is in New York. Erick Erickson, the editor of Redstate.com, with us from Atlanta, I believe. And we also have Ed Henry, Paul Begala and Joe Johns. A bit of a crowd here to get through the final few minutes. We look at our poll tonight. Likely voters, Coons, 57 percent, O'Donnell, 38 percent. Paul Begala, you're a Democrat. But I want to talk to you as a strategist, someone preparing a candidate to go into a debate. Christine O'Donnell knows she's down nearly 20 points. She's probably on the issues a bit to the right of her state. But she surprised us once. What does she need to do to surprise us twice?
[Paul Begala, Democratic Strategist:] Debates are all about expectations. You know, here and she's you've got to give her that. She set the expectations bar extraordinarily low. But if I was advising her, I'd say, relax, come out there, be pleasant, show them that as she said in her ad, you're not a witch. She's going to have to show some mastery on a couple of issues but she knows enough to say I'm not for taxes and accuse a Democrat of being for it. So I actually think she'll be just fine. I think it's Chris Coons, the Democrats, who has the harder job. This is very much like the PalinBiden vice presidential debate. Biden ironically held the Senate seat that they're contesting for tonight.
[King:] Erick Erickson, there was a lot of joy in the conservative movement when Mike Castle was toppled by Christine O'Donnell in the primary. But when you look at the hard math of trying to get to a Senate majority, has there been disappointment now as the polls have shown Christine O'Donnell trailing significantly?
[Erick Erickson, Redstate.com Editor:] Republicans who absolutely want a Senate majority, yes, there is. But overall, particularly among conservatives, no, simply because in the Senate there really isn't a great deal of difference between having 49 seats and 51 seats given the 60-seat requirement for filibuster.
[King:] And, Dana Bash, this is your beat. When you talk to Republican sources, you were in West Virginia last week as you track all these races, I assume, and I had a conversation with McConnell where he wouldn't say so quite some time ago, but they seem to think seven or eight, yes, but because of Delaware and a few other places, getting to nine or 10 is pretty tough.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] That's exactly right. And I was talking to a senior Republican official tonight who says that that they are less confident about states like Illinois which they were hoping to do well in and even Pennsylvania. They are still, as you showed earlier in the program, hoping to do better out west. They're pouring now $3 million into the race in California. They're also pouring more money into Washington. But I just want to say that I actually respectfully disagree with Erick. It does make a difference to have 51 votes because that means the Republicans, not the Democrats, will set the agenda. And it may not mean that they're going to be able to pass all the legislation in the world, but they will be able to set the agenda, and that is huge in the United States Senate, absolutely huge.
[King:] We're going to stick one more quick break. The debate coming up at the bottom of the hour. We'll have a little bit more of the pregame in just a minute. We'll set the stakes for it. We'll be right back. At the bottom of the hour, CNN will bring you a live Senate debate from the state of Delaware. Christine O'Donnell is the Republican candidate. You've probably seen her ad in which she starts by saying, "I am not a witch." The Republican ad man who created that is Fred Davis. And I had a conversation with him, asking him, knowing she's an underdog, what does Christine O'Donnell need to do in tonight's debate?
[Fred Davis, Strategic Perception Inc:] I think she needs to show people that she's intelligent and that she's one of us. And I think she'll do incredibly well. I think the bar is really low for her. People aren't expecting her to do well. And I wasn't expecting her to be as charming and as intelligence as I found her to be when I had dinner with her the first night. And she greatly exceeded my expectations and I think she'll do that in the debate. I'm looking forward to it.
[King:] Do you think the questions are more prove you can handle the policy portfolio or the questions are more show us more of your character and who you are so we can see whether or not we're comfortable with you?
[Davis:] I think the latter. I think people knows where she stands policy-wise. She's you know, she's conservative. She's backed by the Tea Party group. They love her. And they love her for a reason. I was amazed at her policy knowledge. I think they'll go for the policy knowledge in a minute. I think they need to be proven that she's substantial. Incredible.
[King:] Republican ad man Fred Davis there. Here's another little nugget for you as we wait for this debate. I'm told that Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, called Christine O'Donnell recently, said prepare for this debate. It's a big moment for you and suggested for her debate perhaps she call on Randy Scheunemann who was a former McCain adviser who helped Sarah Palin out during the campaign. And they became very close. And I'm told that Randy Scheunemann has spent the last several days up in Delaware, helping Christine O'Donnell prepare. Paul Begala, I want to bring you into the conversation because you have a little bit of nugget on how Chris Coons got ready for this debate that's quite interesting.
[Begala:] He called Sarah Palin's opponent. He called Joe Biden, the vice president of the United States, experienced Delaware politician. He watched that tape, I'm told, several times, of the BidenPalin debate. Because Joe Biden a lot of us didn't think Biden could have the discipline to get through that debate without any personal attacks on on Governor Palin at the time. And he did. And Chris Coons' campaign believes that they need to do the same thing. They need to not attack her personally. They need to define the issues. And kind of rise above it. Don't do anything that either patronizes or unduly antagonizes Miss O'Donnell. Because you're 20 points ahead, Chris. That would be my advice to him anyway.
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] So much at stake as well. I was with the first lady today in Chicago. They're worried about losing Barack Obama's Senate seat in Illinois. Tomorrow she's in Colorado. They're worried about that. Next week, she's going to California and Washington because Patty Murray and Barbara Boxer. They have to have Delaware is the bottom line.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] If she succeeds in making Coons the issue instead of O'Donnell, to any degree, she's probably succeeded then.
[King:] My apologies to our other correspondents. Jessica Yellin had interviews with Harry Reid and Sharron Angle today. We will get to those tomorrow, I promise you that. But right now I need to thank everybody here. Remember, CNN is the place to stay. As we watch the mine coverage. But right now, to the Delaware Senate debate and Wolf Blitzer.

[Phillips:] A 20-year gig and Hank Williams, Jr. just won't drop the subject. Entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter joining us now from L.A. So, Kareen, just a week ago the country singer was sacked by ESPN, but Hank Williams, Jr., he is back already.
[Kareen Wynter, Cnn Entertainment Correspondent:] Of course, Kyra. You know, his song isn't being heard on ESPN's Monday night football anymore, but that doesn't mean Hank Williams, Jr. is staying quiet. No, he just released a brand new politically charged song blasting ESPN for dropping him. Listen to this, Kyra. OK, Kyra, it's called "Keep the Change" and on it, Williams Jr. also fires back at the morning show he appeared on and made his controversial comments where he, of course, compared President Obama to Hitler. Those comments led ESPN to drop his iconic, "are you ready for some football?" from its Monday night football broadcast. As for the new song, Kyra, well, he's offering the track for free download on his web site for 48 hours. Not going quietly, is he?
[Phillips:] We'll see how many people take upon the offer. We'll follow up, Kareen. All right, now Chaz Bono got some support from mom last night on "Dancing with the Stars."
[Wynter:] He sure did, and so many people were anticipating her big appearance. Of course, we're talking about Cher. There was an extra diva in the house on last night's "Dancing with the Stars." All eyes were on Cher who came out to, of course, support her son, Chaz Bono, in week four. In fact, Kyra, it was family night for Chaz. That's because the stepmom, Mary Bono. She was also in the audience. Chaz picked "Rocky" as his favorite movie and his performance. Didn't do too shabby there, earned him a standing ovation from a teary eyed Cher. Chaz told "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" back stage how his mom has been reacting to all this dancing?
[Chaz Bono, Contestant, "dancing With The Stars":] It was so great to have her there and to have my whole family there supporting me. It was awesome. Yes. Just you know, just how proud she was, how nervous she was and how proud.
[Wynter:] Look at that proud mama. Well, Chaz, of course, standing there with his partner, Lacey Schwimmer. It earned them their routine at 21, which by the way, ties him with China Philips and HLN's own Nancy Grace, yes, we couldn't leave without talking about Nancy, for second to last place. If you're wondering about Nancy's latest, she had a teeny, weeny awkward mover at the end of her routine. She confessed to us, Kyra, back stage that yes, her foot did caught in her dress when she did a split at the end. And yes, she kind of slipped. So we'll have to see what viewers have to say about that in tonight's elimination show. But Nancy is doing great. No one probably saw that little tripped.
[Phillips:] Exactly, she pulls it off. She just moves right on. She'll continue to sail right through. All right, happy days are here again, shall we say, but for a price this time. People might to want buy a little bit of Fonzie's cool.
[Wynter:] Yes, get ready to pull out the dollars. Look here, no one truly knows where Fonz really got his mystical power of coolness? How was he able to pound jukeboxes into functioning? Was it the hair, maybe the jacket or could it have been that motorcycle? Now, the bike that Henry Winkler made famed the Fonz's in "Happy Days" can be yours for a price. The Fonz's 1949 Triumph TR5 will be auctioned off November 12 at the Pearson Automotive Museum here in L.A., but here's the bad news, Kyra, the motorcycle reportedly has a smashed speedometer, it's a little rusty, the seat is sagging and it hasn't run since the 1970s. The free auction estimate is 60 to $80,000. Not bad for a junker that hasn't run for 40 years. Even though it hasn't run, though, it could be kind of cool to own a teeny weeny part of TV history.
[Phillips:] Don't you call it a junker now. You're going to offend a lot of big cyclists now.
[Wynter:] I know, I know. All those motorcycle experts out there.
[Phillips:] Thanks, Kareen. If you want any information on what's breaking in the entertainment world, just check out A.J. Hammer. He's always got the details every night, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" on
[Hln 11:] 00 p.m. Eastern Time. Joe the plumber becomes the Joe, the candidate. You remember this guy? He became something of a campaign trail celebrity. Talking taxes in 2008. Our "Political Buzz" panel dishes on what it would take to get him elected.

[A.j. Hammer:] Big news breaking tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT amazing mystery. Tonight, a reality show producer who once with worked for "The Amazing Race" found dead in his hotel room in Africa. Disturbing reports he was poisoned. But what really happened? Tonight a must-see SHOWBIZ newsmaker exclusive. Chris Brown`s wrestler smackdown. Tonight, Chris` bizarre feud with wrestling champion C.M. Punk over Rihanna gets raw. Punk`s brand-new video attack revealed today.
[C.m. Punk, Wrestler:] I will make you feel as weak and as powerless and as scared and alone as any woman who has had the misfortune of knowing the sad, cowardly little boy such as yourself.
[Hammer:] Tonight, is C.M. Punk trying to body slam Chris Brown`s big comeback? We will ask him in yet another SHOWBIZ newsmaker exclusive.
[Adele, Singer:] Goodbye.
[Hammer:] Adele`s flip off flip out? Why did Adele give the middle finger on the British version of the Grammys as SHOWBIZ dares to ask, did she really do anything wrong? TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now.
[Unidentified Female:] Here we go.
[Hammer:] On reality shows like "The Amazing Race," adventure and danger are part of the game. But for the "Amazing Race," the danger may have hit frighteningly close to home. Jeff Rice, an American freelance producer who had worked on the current season of "The Amazing Race," died suddenly while working in Africa. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you the death of this behind-the-scenes reality show adventurer is shrouded in mystery.
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session" On Tru Tv:] At this point, we really don`t know what happened.
[Announcer:] Exotic destinations
[Hammer:] Filming the exotic destinations in reality shows like "The Amazing Race" wouldn`t be possible without people like Jeff Rice. He worked as a facilitator who traveled the world making arrangements with local officials before American reality show casts and crews arrived to shoot.
[Unidentified Male:] Let`s see if you have what it takes.
[Hammer:] In addition to his freelance work on "The Amazing Race," Jeff Rice had also done work for the Animal Planet show, "Whale Wars." In this photo obtained today by SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, we see Jeff aboard one of the anti-whaling vessels feature on "Whale Wars." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has confirmed Rice`s globetrotting had led him to the African nation of Uganda where he was doing film production work in the city of Kampala. He reportedly was found dead in his hotel room. A production assistant was found unconscious.
[Hostin:] The first reports that came out said that he may have been poisoned by local thugs because he refused to be part of a shakedown by those thugs.
[Hammer:] But today, a Ugandan newspaper reported that police are refuting that poisoning theory. They say Rice apparently died from a cocaine overdose.
[Hostin:] At this point, details are very sketchy.
[Unidentified Male:] Frustrating challenges.
[Hammer:] Although Rice had done work for the current season of "The Amazing Race" which premiered on CBS on Sunday, he was not working on the show when he died. The executive producer of "Whale Wars" remembered Jeff in a statement to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT saying, quote, "He was amazing, worked incredible magic and he and I have stayed very good friends since then. I`m devastated about his death. Such an incredible person. So heartbreaking." Jeff Rice lived in Africa with his wife,Sally Blackman, and their two young children. On her Facebook page today was this posting, "To my dear husband Jeff tragically, you left this world and only time will heal the void that you leave behind. Rest in peace, my darling."
[Hostin:] This is just a tragedy all around.
[Hammer:] And now, as Jeff Rice`s family tries to come to grips with his death, there are so many disturbing questions tonight. With us tonight for a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive, two friends of Jeff who worked with him. Joshua Gates is the host and co-executive producer of "Destination Truth" on SyFy. And Liz Bronstein is the executive producer of the terrific show, "Whale Wars" on Animal Planet. I want to thank you both for being here, and my condolences on the loss your friend and colleague. I know it must be such a tough time.
[Joshua Gates, Host And Co-executive Producer, "destination Truth" On Syfy:] Yes, it really is. It`s a very difficult story to accept.
[Hammer:] Let me start with you, Liz. I know the details surrounding Jeff`s death right now are pretty sketchy. There are reports of an attempted shakedown, and that he may have been poisoned. And then today, we saw a headline in Uganda`s main newspaper where they quote police there as saying that Jeff died of a suspected cocaine overdose. Does any that make sense to you? Do you know anything more?
[Liz Bronstein, Executive Producer, "whale Wars" On Animal Planet:] That doesn`t make any sense to me. The Jeff Rice I knew was incredibly straitlaced, a family man with two beautiful daughters. I`ve known Jeff for four years. I`ve never known him to take any drugs at all, so that cocaine story just seems completely false.
[Hammer:] It does seem baffling given all the other information that has been coming in. But as I said, it is all still pretty sketchy at this point. Joshua, what about you? Are you giving that report that Jeff may have died from a cocaine overdose any credence at all?
[Gates:] Look, I think it`s important to exercise a little bit of caution right now. You know, my understanding is that we`re just now seeing independent and outside journalists arriving in Kampala to verify the story. There are a lot of conflicting reports coming out of the region about the story. You know, it doesn`t square off at all with the Jeff Rice that I knew, not by a mile. But I think that there are a lot conflicting facts in this case that are going to take some time to sort out.
[Hammer:] Is there anything more you`re able to tell us tonight about what you`ve learned?
[Gates:] No. I mean, you know, look, as you said in the introductory piece, Jeff Rice was a facilitator. We would call him a fixer. And you know, fixers really are the backbone of overseas productions, whether it`s a documentary or reality show or an overseas film. And these are people who have incredibly difficult demanding jobs. They travel often alone or in very small groups, sometimes to challenging regions. And they have an enormous responsibility to smooth the road for these big productions that come in behind them. I`ve worked in almost 100 countries. I`ve never met anyone better at fixing than Jeff Rice. This guy was a real maverick. He was confident and he was cautious. And he was as Liz said, he was a straitlaced guy. He was very good at what he did. I`ve never known him to get into a situation where he was in trouble. He was great at getting out of those kinds of situations. So it`s surprising news to me, obviously.
[Hammer:] Yes. Obviously, it takes a very special individual to do what he does, work in some very difficult places. I imagine you have to have terrific instincts and a pretty thick skin to have to deal with some of the things you encounter. Liz, can you give us a sense of how dangerous this work is, especially on these types of reality shows that you work on like "Whale Wars"?
[Bronstein:] Well, the work that Jeff did on "Whale Wars" I wouldn`t say this was as dangerous probably as the work that he does on "Destination Truth." But I do know that Jeff was just so professional, and so good and so creative at what he did. I remember a story he told me once. He was working in a small African nation and he needed to get a film permit in order to shoot there for the show he was employed by. And none of the ministers of the country were in the same place at the same time, and he needed all the ministers to sign off on this film permit. And he was so charming and creative that he rented a van and drove around the village and got each minister and talked him into coming into the van and drove the van to the ministry and had them all come into the ministry and sign off on the film permit. And they just thought it was hilarious. So you know, it`s part, you know, pure courage and also part creativity and thinking on your feet. And you know, Jeff was the best at that.
[Hammer:] And hearing a story like that, it`s no wonder that he was called the fixer, Joshua. Did he ever worry, though, about being in danger as good as he was, to your knowledge?
[Gates:] I think everybody who works in developing nations in the sort of work that Jeff did worries about that. I think a real testament, though, to his confidence is that Jeff fixed all over the continent. He fixed for "Destination Truth" in the deserts of Namibia. He fixed for us in the back country of Madagascar, in South Africa. And he was able to do that, not necessarily because he had contacts in all those places. He was able to do it because he was so good at bringing people together, at figuring out permissions and permits and how to get people to work together. And so I think that his confidence as a fixer superseded his fear about the work. He was devoted to his family. He talked about them often. And he really believed in Africa, and he was devoted to Africa as a place of great stories and great cultures, and I think his confidence is what drove him.
[Hammer:] Well, it sounds like he will be remembered for being a very strong individual and somebody who really had a passion for what they did. I really appreciate you both taking the time to give us a better sense of who Jeff Rice was and exactly what he did. And hopefully, there will be some answers for the people who care about him. Joshua, Liz, thank you both so much. We move on tonight to going to the mat.
[C.m. Punk:] I will make you feel as weak and as powerless and as scared and alone as any woman who has had the misfortune of knowing the sad, cowardly little boy such as yourself.
[Hammer:] WWE wrestler, C.M. Punk`s raw challenge to rapper Chris Brown tonight. How their twitter war has turned into this brand-new challenge to actually get into the ring. Tonight, C.M. Punk right here in a SHOWBIZ newsmaker interview about his alleged feud with Chris Brown. Also, Adele`s finger flip out? Why did Adele flip the bird at the British version of the Grammys? SHOWBIZ dares to ask, did she really do anything wrong? And star crossed.
[Walters:] The truth about your departure is that when your contract expired, a decision was made for various reasons.
[Jones:] Barbara, are we really going to go there? Do we care at this point, my sister?
[Hammer:] Star Jones` explosive return to "The View" for the first time since that ugly departure. We`re going to show you how that went down. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. This is the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news tonight.
[Text:] Adele`s album, "21," is number one for its 21st straight week. President Obama sings with B.B. King, Mick Jagger at "Red, White and Blues" event.

[Costello:] The debate over gun control is going nowhere. As you know, Friday's movie massacre in Colorado has once again raised the question of whether it's time for tougher laws. Today, we definitely know that's just talk. But, hey, at least the candidates agree on something. They agree to do nothing. Here's Mitt Romney on CNBC and then you'll hear the president.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I still believe that the Second Amendment is the right course to preserve and defend and don't believe that new laws are going to make a difference in this type of tragedy.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I hope that over the next several days, next several weeks and next several months, we all reflect on how we can do something about some of the senseless violence that ends up marring this country.
[Costello:] John Avlon is a CNN contributor. He's also the senior political columnist for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast." Welcome, John.
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] Hey, Carol.
[Costello:] Do you think we'll really reflect months from now on ways we can stem the violence in this country?
[Avlon:] I think if we don't do it now and in the coming weeks, hoping for collective action in the coming months is a bridge too far. Here is the ironic thing: both Romney and President Obama have backed for example assault weapons bans in the past. But because we have a divide over gun legislation in this country that isn't left versus right as much as urban versus rural. In fact, we use our guns differently in urban and rural areas. We have a stalemate when it comes to presidential politics. Principles get put aside, and even practical problem solving gets put aside, all in pursuit of swing voters in swing states. And it really holds a rational political discussion about this issue back.
[Costello:] Well, that's the thing, John. We can't even have a discussion about it, because if you even begin to discuss it you're either anti or you're for. There's no middle ground here.
[Avlon:] That's right. And yet there is. I mean, that's what's so frustrating. It's become politically incorrect to even have a policy discussion about this. And yet, if you look at polling, over 80 percent of Americans believe that there should be perfectly stringent and increasingly stringent background checks before people buy guns. A reasonable debate about why a 100-round magazine cartridge is so readily available, stricter enforcement of current laws. There is common ground on this issue, but politicians have been cowed into not wanting to deal with it because they don't believe that the headache is going to be worth the progress they may or may not make. It takes leadership. And we last saw this in 1994 when Bill Clinton took on the NRA and we got an assault weapons ban passed for 10 years. So it does take leadership. But actually the poll support is there for reasonable restrictions that are consistent with respecting the Second Amendment.
[Costello:] But when you look at other polls, John, you have to admit it's not a top concern that Americans have right now, so why get into it?
[Avlon:] No. Well, that's exactly the rationale. You add that to the 10-1 lobbying split between the NRA and groups like the Brady organization. And that's exactly what politicians say. Look, we have had over 180 deaths because of mass shootings in the last five years alone. But we have 10,000 gun deaths a year in this country. So the real question becomes if not now, when? Can't we have this conversation? Because it's a reasonable rational conversation to have, and there is common ground to be found. The NRA is very fond of saying that guns don't kill people. People kill people. That is true. But it's also equally true that people with guns kill people. Unfortunately, sometimes a lot of people. And we can have a conversation about ammunition, about increased background checks, without artificially polarizing this debate. It's called problem- solving. And it takes a little bit of principle. It takes a little bit of courage, but it's the right thing to do after we honor the victims, moving forward as we reflect on incidents like this.
[Costello:] But it's probably not going to happen. I'm just being a realist. You heard what Mitt Romney said and what President Obama said.
[Avlon:] Yes.
[Costello:] We're not going to have that conversation. In a few weeks, we won't even be thinking about it.
[Avlon:] That's right. And here again it's both these individuals backed assault weapons bans in the past. But it's not considered worth it politically. So it does come with the question you know, after Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot, there was a bill put forward about restricting not guns, not gun sales, but these excessive magazine cartridges that really aren't consistent with the purposes of hunting or self defense, which is what most people use their guns for. Guns are a part of American culture. It is wrapped in the Constitution. We can all respect that. But we shouldn't be kept from having a reasonable conversation, especially in the wake of tragedies like this. And when people in Congress think it's not worth the political headache, the people who suffer gun violence every day should make them feel the heat a little bit more, because this is a real concern for people across this country.
[Costello:] John Avlon, thanks so much for being here this morning.
[Avlon:] Thank you, Carol.
[Costello:] Thanks, John. What was he thinking? That's the question a lot of people are asking after seeing the accused Colorado massacre shooter in court. But should we be talking about him at all? Or even show you his picture now? It's our talk back question today.

[Holmes:] The bottom of the hour here on the CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Welcome back to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could be right here with us. And we are, today, 24 days away from the midterm elections. President Obama is not on the ballot, of course, but, it might be a good thing that he's not. Check out this latest poll we have for you, asking Americans who was the better president, Barack Obama or George W. Bush? Check it out. Forty-seven percent said Obama, 45 percent said President Bush was the better president. But look at the poll. When we did this last year, October of '09 the number was 57 percent for Obama, 34 percent for President Bush. So things are a-changing. And also, poll numbers suggesting that Republicans have a slight edge over Democrats going into this midterm elections. Political observers say they could take back control of the House, and it's a possibility. The Senate is going to be up for grabs as well. There's also a trend within a trend, as our special correspondent, Soledad O'Brien, finds out.
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Special Correspondent:] Retired Lieutenant Colonel Allen West is the face of a new Republican Party.
[Lt. Col. Allen West , Florida Congressional Candidate:] This election cycle, you had about 42 black Americans who are running on a Republican ticket.
[O'brien:] It's I think an unprecedented number.
[West:] It is an unprecedented number because I think that we don't want to be seen anymore as some monolithic group.
[O'brien:] A victory would make West just the fifth black Republican elected to Congress in the past 100 years. This Iraq vet caught fire with a YouTube call to arms, ironically against the first black president.
[West:] The Constitution says promote the general welfare, not provide welfare. It is about setting conditions.
[O'brien:] What happened after that speech?
[West:] I mean, it went viral, and then the next you know, people started paying attention people going to the website, the fund raising really picks up.
[O'brien:] In his bid to represent Palm Beach, Florida, West raised more money in the second quarter of this year than any other Congressional challenger.
[Unidentified Male:] America needs a new way forward.
[O'brien:] Along with Ryan Frazier in Colorado and Tim Scott, who's running strong in South Carolina, the three are the black Republican Congressional candidates given the best chance in recent polls of winning. They have a black chairman of the party.
[Tim Kaine, Dnc Chairman:] Yes.
[O'brien:] They have candidates who are very viable candidates.
[Kaine:] I think that's great. Though, at the end of the day, the face is less important than the proposals and the substance in the policies.
[O'brien:] Those policies may not win over black voters, who traditionally go for Democrats.
[Michael Steele, Rnc Chairman:] So you're saying because there's a black candidate, all of a sudden black folks are going to vote Republicans?
[O'brien:] I think that's probably part of the strategy.
[Steele:] Well, that's not very a very smart strategy, if you think that. I think that I think the number one
[O'brien:] Isn't that what part of the the new face of the party is about?
[Steele:] No, it's not, and I think it's insulting to even think it is.
[O'brien:] But if blacks do vote Republican, it could change politics.
[David Lublin, Political Scientist, American University:] The black vote is growing, and if you got even a fifth or a quarter of the black vote, the Republicans would almost never lose.
[O'brien:] This new wave have something else in common the military. Of the 14 black GOP candidates still left, seven come from strong military background. Data from a "Military Times" poll shows that 12.3 percent of African-Americans in the military identify themselves as Republican. That's more than twice the national civilian average.
[West:] I think there is a relationship based upon the conservative principles and values of limited government, national security, individual responsibility. Sometimes it takes a a little bit more character to swim against the the tide than than to go with it.
[O'brien:] And that could mean changing the traditionally Democratic black political establishment.
[West:] And it's funny because members of the Congressional Black Caucus came out and said how they were coming down here and campaign against me.
[O'brien:] Can you join the Congressional Black Caucus if you win?
[West:] Absolutely. I don't see why not, unless they're going to change the name to the Congressional Black Democratic Caucus.
[O'brien:] Well, you know, they they don't have Republicans in the Congressional Black Caucus.
[West:] Well, I think it's about time they do.
[O'brien:] Reporting for "In America," Soledad O'Brien, CNN, Miami.
[Holmes:] And coming up in the 7:00 Eastern hour, we're taking a look at the increasingly nasty tone of the election. The latest example comes in the race for governor of California where a chance recording caught an insulting word on tape. Also, of course, all the latest political news. Go to our website, CNNPolitics.com. We got a hurricane out there. But, Reynolds, that's not our problem, right?
[Wolf:] That's right. It looks the East Coast is going to be in the clear, but it is the West Coast, specifically the Pacific Northwest, that may be inundated by two big storm systems. We're getting more on that, coming up in a few moments,
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Reynolds, we're not done with you. We got a quiz for you, coming up here as well, so don't go too far. Some things women should never keep from their doctor. We have a list and a rather eye-opening report, coming up in a moment. That, again, as I said to Reynolds, another quiz, the "Fortune 500" list of America's most powerful women. Now, Reynolds, one of these women actually used to be an intern at the company she now runs. So, is it Ursula Burns, who is the head of Xerox? Is it Carol Bartz, who's the president of Yahoo? Or is it Safra Catz, Chief Financial Officer of Oracle Corporation? One of them was actually an intern at the company she now runs. Reynolds, that means we have hope of making it to the 14th floor here at
[Cnn. Wolf:] That's moving on up. Seriously.
[Holmes:] Quick break. Reynolds's answer. It's coming up.

[Lemon:] Let's check your headlines right now. A violent new attack today against the government of Afghanistan; a former provincial governor named Jan Mohammed Khan was killed in his home by three attackers. He was a key advisor to President Hamid Karzai. A member of parliament also died in the attack. The Taliban are claiming responsibility. Less than a week ago President Karzai's half-brother who was also a government official was assassinated. The good news keeps coming out of Los Angeles. Interstate 405 opened up at noon, 17 hours ahead of schedule; this after the dreaded "Carmageddon" did not happen. That's what people were calling the expected gridlock after ten miles of Interstate 405 was shut down for repair. But drivers listened and the mayor is hoping for the same result when another shutdown is planned in 11 months. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy may still be back on the books after a recent court ruling but that's not keeping gay military members from showing their pride. For the first time, an organized group representing all the services walked in a gay pride parade in San Diego. They were not in uniform but wore t-shirts showing their military branch. About 200 active duty troops and veterans joined in.
[Whoopi Goldberg, Actress And Talk Show:] Happy birthday. There's nothing more to say. In case I put on a little weight, Mande and you don't recognize me it's Whoopi.
[Lemon:] Talk show host and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg is among the many celebrities wishing Nelson Mandela a happy birthday. One of the world's best known freedom fighters turns 93 on Monday. To honor its first black president South Africa is calling July 18th International Mandela Day. South Africans are asked to volunteer 67 minutes to service representing each year Mandela fought against segregationist policies of apartheid. I want you to watch this now.
[Unidentified Male:] Is that any idea how to run a newspaper? I don't know how to run a newspaper. I just try everything I can think of.
[Lemon:] Orson Wells in a scene from his 1941 masterpiece "Citizen Kane." Well, it's hard to avoid parallels between Wells' character, Charles Foster Kane and another real life modern day mogul, Rupert Murdoch, both men brilliant, tenacious, commanders of powerful media empires. From there the comparisons become less kind. Murdoch is arguably the last of the media barons a list that extends back in time to include men like William Randolph Hearst, the basis for the character Charles Foster Kane. He took "Citizen Kane" very personally, leading a campaign direct the movie at the box office. He even made an offer to the studio to destroy all prints of it and burn the negatives. But it backfired. "Citizen Kane" became a classic and a dubious and lasting part of his legacy. But what about Murdoch's legacy? Is he about to have his own rose bud moment? Let's add media critic and blogger for buzzmachine.com, Jeff Jarvis. He joins us via Skype. So Jeff, thank you so much. Is this the beginning of the end for Murdoch's News Corp? Is this about to be his rose bud moment?
[Jeff Jarvis, Blogger, Buzzmachine.com:] I think it could be. I think that this becomes a legal story, a moral story that could become a financial story. The fact that in four days last week News Corp lost between five and seven billion dollars of market cap, means that I think that the Murdochs are not going to be in charge of this company much longer and professional management will look at this and say that newspapers are in many ways now a burden and I think they will try to get rid of these news properties.
[Lemon:] Here's my question. Is there someone waiting in the wings to succeed Murdoch, succeed him after he leaves because you said you think this is the end of the Murdochs heading the company. But who is waiting in the wings?
[Jarvis:] Well, I don't know who is waiting in the wings to run the company. News Corp is let's be honest, primarily an entertainment company. And no one expects that entertainment executives are anything other than rapacious. But in the news business they really can't stand the Murdoch name and the pressure that's on them. so the problem is how do they sell newspapers
[Lemon:] Interesting. Who is the next to fall in the scandal?
[Jarvis:] Well, the sewage waters are lapping at the Guccis of James Murdoch right now. Now that Rebekah Brooks and Les Hinton, his trusted allies are gone. James Murdoch here, Rupert's son I think
[Uk. Lemon:] Does this change anything? You said something about a leveraged buyout possibly of Fox News, talking about our competitor here. You think this is going change the way that news is done or that they handle news if what you say, indeed, comes to fruition.
[Jarvis:] Well, I can't imagine News Corp itself can afford to be in the news business anymore or can afford the Murdochs anymore. The next questions that come here are in the UK I think we'll see a lot of efforts to regulate the news more and in the U.S. a lot of questions about gross holdings of a lot of media. And I think it would be a shame to see more regulation come in here as Alan Rusbridge, the editor of "The Guardian" said and they dogged this story better than anyone. Last week was the worst of journalism in the form of Murdoch but also the best of journalism in the fact that "The Guardian" really brought this to fore and brought down Murdoch.
[Lemon:] Yes. I got to take a second here and I just have a very short time Jeff. You can tell us what's going to happen on Tuesday when he speaks and his son, James, speaks in front of parliament when they testify and do you think Rebekah is going to be there as well.
[Jarvis:] Well, Brooks might be there but he might take the British equivalent of the fifth because she's now under arrest but the Murdochs will find themselves very hot under the collar with a lot of very tough questioning and they should well expect that to be happening.
[Lemon:] OK. Great. Thank you very much. Listen we have a bit of developing news here. We're hearing that now Rebekah Brooks now has been released. She has bailed out. Just getting the information now. Reuters is reporting it. But also we're hearing that the 43-year-old woman police are confirming to us that a 43-year-old woman who the Metropolitan Police are not naming have been released on bail to return at a date in October. But again, Reuters is reporting that it is Rebekah Brooks. That she was arrested and has been released. We'll continue to follow this developing story and again my thanks to Jeff Jarvis. An exciting final match at the women's World Cup soccer tournament. It was the U.S. versus Japan and we'll tell you who came out on top. But first I want to tell you about this. You know, the Census Bureau, according to the Census Bureau, more than 10 million Americans are self-employed. Some even become business owners before graduating high school. CNN education contributor Steve Perry introduces to us a couple in tonight's "Perry's Principles."
[Steve Perry, Cnn Education Contributor:] Nia Froome is not your typical 18-year-old. She has met the president. Rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and started her own business, Mama Mia's Vegan Bakery. Her cookies were even served at the an event at the famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. [on camera]: You started a vegan cookie business in high school.
[Nia Froome, Nfte Alumna:] Yes. The summer after 10th grade. My parents became vegan after my mom contracted breast cancer 11 years ago.
[Perry:] As a 15 year old, what do you know about business?
[Froome:] Just what I had learned in that month at
[Nfte. Perry:] NFTE stands for Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. It's a non-profit inspiring low-income students to stay in school by tapping into the interest to create businesses. At NFTE's national competition last fall, Froome's bakery won the $10,000 grand prize. Businessman turned teacher Steve Mariotti founded NFTE in 1987. He was inspired after being mugged by some kids in New York City.
[Steve Mariotti, Founder, Nfte:] If you can start teaching young people particularly those in poverty about basic income statements, record keeping, how to do a sales call, how to save your money, I think that will have a dramatic impact on any property.
[Barbara Campbell, Nfte Alumnae:] This is my logo.
[Perry:] Barbara Campbell is a long term proof of NFTE's success. She grew up in a rough New York neighborhood and started designing handbags at 16. Today her business includes belts, jewelry, purses but the slow economy has been tough on her.
[Campbell:] It affected the stores I was in. It affected my vendors. Once again being part of this great program, NFTE, teaching me how to write a business plan I was able to go back and really strategize a new approach.
[Perry:] Steve Perry, New York.

[Martin Savidge, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. The Safeway store forever linked to one of the country's worst shootings reopens today in Tucson. Crime scene tape is gone. More survivors are released from the hospital, but there are new questions about the accused gunman's state of mind. We have the chilling details and the latest on Congresswoman Gifford's condition. We're also tracking a developing story out of Tunisia. A revolution under way and there are conflicting reports about who is really in charge. President Obama keeps a close eye on this North African ally and a key partner in the fight against terrorism. The waters receding in Australia and some nasty surprises come to light. We have an update on the dangerous recovery efforts under way. It's early and we are on it. From CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's January 15th. Good morning to you. I'm Martin Savidge. Thanks for joining us. We are going to start in Tucson, Arizona, the start, the site rather of that tragic shooting one week ago. Today, it will be the backdrop for that attack as it reopens. I'm talking about the Safeway grocery store. It has been shut down since Jared Loughner opened fire out front. Repairs have been made and in just about an hour from now, they will reopen the store. A wreath laying is planned to honor the victims. There's also going to be a moment of silence to remember those killed and wounded in the shooting. Federal Judge John Roll was killed in the shooting. He was laid to rest yesterday. Mourners packed a Tucson church to say their final good-byes. Roll grew up in Tucson. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was among the mourners. Three of Roll's grandchildren spoke at the service. Nine-year old Christina Green was laid to rest Thursday. Our Susan Candiotti spoke with Christina's father yesterday and he told Susan that some of Christina's organs were donated to a little girl in Boston. But he also said that he and his wife would like to meet that little girl some day to give her a big hug. Among those wounded in the shooting were Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and two of her aides, Ron Barber and Pam Simon. Giffords remains in the hospital this morning. Her doctors say that she is progressing as well as can be hoped. Barber was released Friday and Simon on Thursday. Here is a picture of Pam Simon with President Obama during his visit Wednesday. Our Randi Kaye sat down to talk with her about the tragedy.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Correspondent:] Do you remember when that shot was fired at the congresswoman?
[Pam Simon, Shooting Survivor:] It happened everything happened probably in a matter of seconds. My feeling is that he was whirling. His back was to me. I saw the congresswoman go down. I saw Ron go down. Then I think I must have been one of the next people hit because from that point on, I was laying on the ground.
[Kaye:] Did you ever actually see the gunman's face?
[Simon:] No, no I did not.
[Kaye:] What was that moment like for you when you knew that you had been shot?
[Simon:] It took a few seconds to actually for the reality. I think I was on the ground before I thought this is actually happening.
[Kaye:] Were your scared? Did you understand what happened?
[Simon:] I don't remember the emotion of fear at all. I just remembered kind of survival instincts kicking in. I laid very still and played dead. I didn't know if he was still around.
[Savidge:] Pam Simon was shot twice, once in the wrist, once in the chest. That bullet traveled through her body and is lodged in her thigh. Turmoil in Tunisia this morning. Reuters reporting a fire at a jail in the Tunisian resort town of Monster and saying that it has killed several prisoners and other inmates have fled. There are rumors that the military in Tunisia may take control of the government after the president flew out of that country in the face of growing civil unrest. CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in Tunis, the capital and he joins us by telephone. Now Ben, what are you seeing on the streets? Any demonstrations today?
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] No, no demonstrations today Martin. It appears that the army, at least in this part of town is firmly in control. I saw some troops driving up just a little awhile ago. They are putting up barbed wire. They are not allowing people to mill around this particular area. They are almost completely keeping free of civilians. And so, it does appear that what the army is trying to do is impose control but that's proving to be something of a difficult task. We are getting these reports, not only one prison but several prisons around the country that have been on fire. Dozens of deaths in those fires and of inmates escaping. I'm watching Tunisian television a little while ago. They have like a call-in show. People are calling in from around the country reporting scenes of disorder, of looting, of lawlessness, of gangs roaming the streets. And so it appears that parts of the country are descending into what approached chaos. The civilians and civilian leaders have said that they are going to form a government, that there will be elections within two months. But I think increasingly, the concern of ordinary Tunisians is that nobody is in control at the moment Martin.
[Savidge:] Ben, what are you hearing about how this has spread? How has social media played a part?
[Wedeman:] Well, it's difficult to really say how much of a role it's played because you have to keep in mind that under the old regime, there were very strict controls on the Internet. For instance you could not access through the normal Internet in Tunisia, YouTube. People did figure out ways around it, but by and large, it appears that the real locomotive behind the protest, which really didn't have a clear leader, was simply growing discontent with deteriorating economic conditions, with rampant official corruption. People I spoke to on the streets complained that they spent years going to university to get degrees but then they could never find any work. So, social media played a role, but I think the real role has to be put down to just mounting discontent with a very difficult situation Martin.
[Savidge:] For those of us in the United States, we understand that Tunisia had played a role in the war on terror I guess. What is the concern of the United States at this point as they watch events there?
[Wedeman:] Well, the Tunisians certainly did assist the United States in many ways in the so-called war on terror. But I think the prime American concern at the moment is that the situation slips out of the control of the government, of the military, of the police and you could have a prolonged period of chaos here. Obviously, this is in a country that until very recently was a beacon of pro-western authoritarian stability. The worry is that this country, which was so stable before could become a scene of chaos Martin.
[Savidge:] Ben Wedeman joining us on the telephone from Tunis, the capital of Tunisia where a revolution is under way. Ben, we'll stay in touch. Thank you very much. Here is a name to remember, Reince Priebus. He's the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. He was elected to replace Michael Steele who was as you'll know, plagued by controversy and criticism during his tenure. He also left the committee more than $21 million in debt. Priebus will be in charge of getting the coffers restocked ahead of the 2012 presidential election. Ruffling some feathers with harsh words aimed at the NAACP. Governor Paul LaPage is angry over criticism that he is getting from the group for rejecting an invitation to a Martin Luther King, Jr. day event. Here is the governor.
[Gov. Paul Lapage , Maine:] They invited me to go to the state prison to meet black prisoners. I told them I would go, I would be more than happy to go, but I would meet all prisoners and that wasn't acceptable to them, so tough luck.
[Question:] What's your response in them saying it's more than just one incident, but rather a pattern?
[Lapage:] Tell them to kiss my butt.
[Savidge:] A massive panicked pilgrims triggered a stampede that has killed at least 100 people in southern India. They were attending an annual religious festival that attracts millions of visitors. It apparently started when a truck overturned into a group of people along a narrow stretch near the temple. Clean up, it has started in Brisbane, Australia where flooding forced thousands of people from their homes. They were the latest city hit by massive flooding that can covered an area of northeastern Australia bigger than the state of Texas. At least 16 people have, excuse me, died in the floods. More than 50 others are still missing. Think your kids are too young to be taking drugs? One New Jersey school district is taking no chances using a drug testing plan meant for high schoolers to start testing even sooner. We'll tell you all about it.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] And we're also going to tell you about the possibility of some flooding in parts of the Pacific northwest and improving weather here back east. More can be expected all the way from Florida clear up to New York. More on that coming up in just a few moments. You are watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

[Kaye:] All right. This is no joke. The FBI says it is now investigating a threat against comedian David Letterman. Where is it coming from? A jihadist Web site. That's right. It turns out letterman made a joke back in June about an al Qaeda leader that didn't exactly go over well in the extremist community. Here's what he said.
[David Letterman, Host, Cbs's "late Show With David Letterman":] They picked a successor to Osama bin Laden, and his name was Ilyas Kashmiri. Well, guess what? He was blown up by an American drone. Yes.
[Letterman:] It wasn't going to work anyway. They got off to a rocky start with this guy. He botched up the story of Paul Revere, and then and that ain't going to work.
[Kaye:] Now, that Paul Revere part was referring to a history blunder Sarah Palin recently made. But what angered this jihadist group was what they called Letterman's mockery of Kashmiri. According to the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors terror activity, following Letterman's joke the Web site Shamuk al-Islam called on Muslims in American to cut off Letterman's tongue to "shut it forever." Letterman's publicist has declined to comment, but an FBI spokesman tells us, "In the post-911 world, we take all of these threats seriously." Joining me now is comedian Dean. He's currently heading up the comedy tour "The Muslims are Coming." Dean, what do you make of this?
[Dean Obeidallah, Comedian:] Well, it's ridiculous. I mean, it absolutely has nothing to do with Islam, this guy's threats. He's a radical, he's a terrorist, and he's certainly denounced by us and anybody else who is mainstream Islam. My question, though, is, the joke was told June 8th. The guy got offended August 17th. What happened in between? Was he watching "Glee" or "Jersey Shore" and finally got to his backed-up monologues on the DVR? I mean, it's laughable, this threat, but it's something we deal with. And unfortunately, it kind of tarnishes the image of the average American Muslim or Muslim around the world that, somehow, we agree with this on any level. We don't. Absolutely, it's despicable. We denounce it. It has nothing to do with Islam whatsoever.
[Kaye:] It's laughable, but it's certainly serious in this post- 911 world, as the FBI says. So how far can you go? I mean, when you want to make a joke, you want to be funny, but how do you know when you're going too far?
[Obeidallah:] Well, look at Trey Parker and Matt Stone, in 2009 received threats from some radicals because of their depiction, sort of depiction of the prophet Muhammad on "South Park." Since then, they've had a hit Broadway musical and won nine Tony Awards. I mean, that's the kind of success I want. I want someone to threaten me so I can be trending on Twitter. But in all seriousness, I perform around the Middle East. I perform with Christian, Jewish and Muslim comics. We've joked about almost everything. I've made fun of al Qaeda in the Middle East. I've never been threatened whatsoever. One person in Pakistan writing something on a Web site to me is not a credible threat, especially when the organization that's uncovered this threat is a for-profit group that wants you have to pay to read their article on their Web site. You know, they are making money from the war on terror.
[Kaye:] Right.
[Obeidallah:] To me, the source has so little credibility. I'm not saying to just fluff it off, but I want to make it clear, it's nothing to do with Islam. It's despicable act. It has nothing to do with the religion. It has to do with a crazy guy in Pakistan who wants to get a little press.
[Kaye:] Well, you said you've fun of al Qaeda, you've made fun of terrorists. Why do you think in this particular case, whoever is behind this, latched on to this particular joke by David Letterman?
[Obeidallah:] It makes no sense. They even describe him as being Jewish, this person. Dave Letterman is not. He's Presbyterian. That's what I'm saying. It's just a radical personal who it's actually elevated to the media stature that it did because of this for-profit organization that wants to fight jihad by selling you services. And that's something we get to know about it. If that group was so concerned about David Letterman, why go public? Why do a press release? Why not contact FBI, NYPD and Letterman's people? So there remains the question of the credibility of this source, and then the media taking it and running with it. And sadly enough, it ends up smearing Muslims again, because people go, look what they're about. We're not about this. This has nothing to do with us. And I can tell you, I perform in the Middle East for Muslim audiences, Christians, Jews, sitting together and laughing on stage. This has not been an issue with us at all.
[Kaye:] Just very quickly, yes or no if this was you, if this happened to you and the threat was directed at you, would you continue with these jokes or would you stop?
[Obeidallah:] I'd continue with the jokes, of course. I am not afraid of radicals of any faith whatsoever. We go out there you know, I'm going to live my life. I'm sure David Letterman is going to live his life. And I hope with the success of Trey Parker and Matt Stone and what they did with "The Book of Mormon" on Broadway. So threaten me. I'm ready for it. I have no problem. I'll make jokes about it.
[Kaye:] Well, I hope nobody threatens you.
[Obeidallah:] Me, too, Randi. But seriously, I prefer to tell jokes than be threatened. But I'm not really worried.
[Kaye:] Yes. I appreciate your jokes as well. All right, Dean. Great to see you. Thank you very much.
[Obeidallah:] Nice seeing you again. Bye.
[Kaye:] The damning allegations of Hurricanes' players getting gifts of cash, cars, prostitutes has put the University of Miami at the center of what could be the biggest scandal in college sports history. We are live in Miami with the very latest. Stay with us.

[Blitzer:] Some of his former Senate colleagues and former Republicans or even fellow Republicans, I should say are raising serious concerns about Chuck Hagel's nomination to be the nation's next secretary of defense. Among them, Senator John McCain of Arizona, the ranking member of the armed services committee, which will hold the confirmation hearings. The senator is joining us now from Arizona. Senator McCain, thanks very much for coming in.
[Sen. John Mccain , Senate Armed Services Committee:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] Let's get to Chuck Hagel, first of all. You released a pretty strong statement. Among other things, you wrote this: "I have serious concerns about positions Senator Hagel has taken on a range of national security issues in recent years, which we will fully consider in the course of his confirmation process." So you get a chance to question him. What's your biggest concern?
[Mccain:] Well, my biggest concern is his overall attitude about the United States, our role in the world, particularly in the Middle East and whether we should reduce the Pentagon further, but mainly, his general overall world view. Chuck Hagel and I are friends. I appreciate and honor his service in the Vietnam conflict, and we have worked together on a number of issues. I've noticed over the years that our views on the United States of America and what we should be doing in the world has diverged rather dramatically, and I guess the best example of that is the surge in Iraq. We both knew that we were losing the war in Iraq. Lindsey Graham and I and Joe Lieberman and others said we need a surge, and and the president somewhat reluctantly adopted that the surge, and it succeeded. Now, what the president did afterwards is another discussion. But Chuck Hagel, at the time, made a rather unusual statement, at least to me, and said that the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, and then, somehow, in his statement if the foreign relations committee, compared it to the invasion of Cambodia. Now, that that, to me is and I've never heard him contradict that statement or change his position about the surge. We lost over 2,000 young Americans in Iraq, and we could have succeeded there. As you noticed, it's unraveling now, because the president decided to get out without a residual force. But the surge did succeed, and Senator Hagel, obviously, said it couldn't, and he called it the biggest blunder since the Vietnam War. That is a really a gross misconception of America's roles there and in the world.
[Blitzer:] And in defense of the president, he got out because the Iraqi government wouldn't allow U.S. troops to remain there after withdrawal, to have immunity from Iraqi prosecution. And he said, "We're not leaving troops there if they're going to be potentially arrested by the Iraqis," Senator.
[Mccain:] Wolf, now, you know, that's one of the great myths perpetrated by the Obama administration. Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman and I were there. They were ready to deal. They would not tell the Iraqis how many troops they wanted there. They could have stayed. They cut it way, way back down to around 3,000 troops, where they couldn't have been protected, and the Iraqis said, no deal. But it was because the president wanted out. He never gave them a chance to accept a reasonable number. And it is a huge failure, and we are paying a very heavy price for it. Don't believe that about what the Iraqis said. I was there. I was there and looked Maliki in the eye, and he said," How many troops do you want? I will agree." And he turned our ambassador and General Austin. They said, "We're still working on it." I came back and asked Mr. Donilon, the national security adviser, "How many?" And she he would not give a number. They wanted out; they got out. Now we're paying a very heavy price for it.
[Bolduan:] And back to Chuck Hagel, Senator, take a look back, he and you did seem pretty good friends. I want you to listen to this.
[Sen. Chuck Hagel , Nebraska:] My fellow Americans, I introduce you to a great Republican, a great American leader, my friend, John McCain.
[Bolduan:] That was from the 2000 national Republican convention. And then in 2006, you're quoted as telling "New York Times," "I'd be honored to have Chuck with me in any capacity. He'd make a great secretary of state." So Senator McCain, what happened to the friendship?
[Mccain:] The friendship, I hope, is still there. I mean, just our views began to diverge rather dramatically about the role of the United States in the world, as I just explained. Not only as far as Iraq was concerned; Iran, sanctions on Iran, which he voted against, blocked in one set of sanctions. Basically took a view of the Iranian threat, which I don't think has been justified by events that followed. And several other areas on in national security policy. I respect, admire, and call him a friend, but I have very serious questions about whether whether he will serve in the way that I think serve America's best national interests, but I want to have the hearings. I'd like to hear him make his case, and I will reserve judgment.
[Blitzer:] You also have serious questions about John Brennan to become the next director of the CIA. In the statement you released on his nomination, you say, "I have many questions and concerns about his nomination to be director of the CIA, especially what role he played in the so-called enhanced interrogation programs, while serving at the CIA during the last administration." What do you think? Are you going to be what are you going to ask him about that? He seems to have answered a lot of those questions already.
[Mccain:] Well, I've never heard anyone say that at the time, they heard Mr. Brennan object to the waterboarding and the other techniques, which were in violation of the Geneva conventions, which the United States is a signatory to. Second of all, there are some instance that took place on his watch which have still not fully been investigated. And I also believe that there's also serious questions about the information that Mr. Brennan gave from the White House after the bin Laden raid, such as the identification of SEAL Team 6, a story about how they believed that bin Laden had reached for a gun or a number of statements that he made. So there was supposed to be an investigation of the leaks concerning the bin Laden raid, and is he still subject to that investigation? Is that that investigation is still going on, as far as I know.
[Bolduan:] And your friend, Senator Lindsey Graham, came out today, basically in a statement, threatening to put a hold on Brennan's nomination until he gets better answers or more satisfactory answers on the attack in Benghazi. Specifically, Susan Rice's talking points, when she went on the Sunday morning talk shows. Do you stand with Senator Graham on that? Do you think that his nomination should be held?
[Mccain:] Well, I'm not sure about that, but I do believe that it should be of great interest to the American people, that we still haven't gotten an accurate depiction of how the talking points in a classified fashion then went to an unclassified talking points, which took out the words "terrorist," "al Qaeda," any reference of that and to a terrorist attack and completely changed the impression that people got concerning the narrative of what happened when we lost four brave Americans. So I think Lindsey's point is very well made. We still haven't found out these many months later, who changed the talking points and why? I think that's a legitimate question.
[Blitzer:] One final question, Senator, before we let you go. North Korea. You tweeted this yesterday. It jumped out at me. You're talking about Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., former New Mexico governor; Eric Schmidt, the Google chairman. You said, "Richardson and Schmidt arrive in North Korea today. Lenin used to call them, quote, "useful idiots"." All right, explain.
[Mccain:] Well, you know, he would have people over to the Soviet Union, and they'd take them on the tour, you know, of the model farm and all of that, and they would people would come back and say, "Gee, it's wonderful." What was "The New York times" guy you'd probably remember, Wolf that said, "I've seen the revolution in the future, and it's there in Russia." And they were all fooled. Now, you know, the North Koreans just launched a missile that could have the potential, if they develop a nuclear weapon of the right size, that could hit the United States of America. There are 250,000 people in their gulag. Do you think that that the North Koreans are going to take Governor Richardson and Mr. Schmidt to see one of those gulags? I don't think so. And so what this does, it provides a propaganda kind of success for this young four-star general, with his people: "See, the Americans have come to see us." And finally, how many trips has Mr. Richardson taken to North Korea, and what have been the results of it?
[Blitzer:] Well, I actually went with him two years ago. I covered that trip, and there seemed to have been an immediate effort it was a very tense time, in the aftermath of that trip, a little easing of the military tensions between North and South Korea. The North Koreans have just destroyed a South Korean ship. There is a potential for fighting, and it seemed to ease a little bit as a result of that trip. He's also trying to bring home an American citizen, who's being held captive in North Korea right now. So hopefully, he'll achieve something on that trip, but you obviously disagree.
[Mccain:] Look, Wolf, I think that it's important to recognize what a big propaganda thing this is for North Korean leaders, especially this young man who hasn't proven himself. They have just even our State Department has said that they did not think it was a good thing to do at this time. And again, this is the most repressive, brutal regime on earth. Two hundred and fifty-thousand people are dying in the gulag. We just got a book from a guy that escaped from there. The most horrific conditions. Shouldn't we be condemning this kind of thing, rather than sending people going over there and providing them with some kind of propaganda? To me, it's not appropriate. I think it's a job for our government and our State Department. And again, I think that maybe it eased the tensions a little bit. You may have a point there. But did it deter the North Koreans from the path that they're on, which is to develop a missile which will hit the United States of America, and their continued transfer of this technology to countries like Iran and others?
[Blitzer:] Look, I don't disagree with you. It's a brutal regime, and we were really restricted in what we could see, obviously. They didn't show us any gulags gulags, to be sure. I do think in defense of Richardson, he's going with his eyes wide open. He's not going to come back and be a propagandist, to be sure, for North Korea. But you know what? We're out of time, Senator. We'll continue this. We'll hear what he says when he comes back, and hopefully, he'll say the right thing. I suspect he will. But we'll see. Senator, as usual, thanks very much.
[Mccain:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

[Sambolin:] It is 55 minutes past the hour. We got some shocking statistics. The U.S. now has the second highest rate of child poverty in the entire developed world. A new report from UNICEF and the International Business Ties showing 23 percent of children in the United States are living in poverty. Can you believe that? And that is second only to Romania with a 25.5 percent rate. Iceland has the lowest rate of child poverty at 4.7 percent.
[Banfield:] That's not a badge of honor. Not at all. All right. So, could exercise actually be bad for you? Conventional wisdom would say no. But guess what, a report in "The New York Times" that says exercise could actually increase heart risks in some healthy people. Ten percent of the study's participants who engage in rigorous exercise actually ended up getting worse on at least one measure linked to heart disease, blood pressure and insulin and cholesterol levels. Researchers really don't know why, but they do point out and this is very important that most of the participants saw improvements with exercise.
[Sambolin:] Boy, do I want to know more about that. So, everything you post on the internet lives on forever. You know this. The latest reminder comes from the new website, Politwoops, which tracks deleted Tweeter posts from the politicians. Here's a few, though, "Washington Post" actually re-printed for all of us. Senator John McCain mocking Russian president, Vladimir Putin, quote, "Dear Vlad, surprise, surprise, you won. The people of Russia are crying, too." A re-tweet from Texas congressman, Pete Sessions, quote, "Texas named one of the friendless places to start a small business."
[Banfield:] Oops, bad typo.
[Sambolin:] Yes.
[Banfield:] Bad typo.
[Sambolin:] And California congressman, Kevin McCarthy deleted this re-tweet, quote, "Tips for driving in D.C. Walk towards your car, set it on fire, set yourself on fire, arrive at spiritual destination."
[Banfield:] Oh, congressman, don't think you want to have that out there. And look, it's out there.
[Sambolin:] That's a problem when you try to delete
[Banfield:] Not only does stuff live on forever in Twitter verse, it lives on in video, too. And wait for this one. An Illinois lawmaker losing it on the state House floor. And this video is going viral. When you see it, you'll know why. The Republican state representative named Mike Bost flipping out after Democrats pushed a last-minute bill to reform the state's pension system. Oh, let's listen up live.
[Rep. Mike Bost,  Murphysboro:] the American way. These damn bills all the damn time coming out here at the last second and I got to try to figure out how to vote for my people? You should be ashamed of yourself. I'm sick of it every year! We give power to one person. Enough! I feel like somebody trying to be released from Egypt. Let my people go!
[Banfield:] I have to be honest, the tirade actually went on for a solid minute and a half. And it became kind of entertaining to watch the people exactly. Watching the people's faces behind. The one guy leaning on his elbow as though he's just tired of it all. Anyway, he, at one point, tried to drop the mic, but it was attached to the podium, so he didn't pull that one off.
[Sambolin:] Good gracious.
[Banfield:] Something else.
[Sambolin:] All right. Yes, something. "Starting Point" less than a minute away. We wrap up, as always, with best advice. Here's Christine Romans with that.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] And best advice comes from Suzanne Somers, and she's quoting someone we've never had quoted on this show before. Listen.
[Suzanne Somers, Actress:] The greatest piece of advice I ever got was from my therapist who said you have to demand that people treat you the way you want to be treated, and that was a revelation for me and turned my life around.
[Romans:] People quote their parents, or a teacher or a grandparent. First time someone quoted a therapist for us.
[Banfield:] But you know what, good stuff comes in the best advice.
[Romans:] Good advice. And you didn't have to pay for.
[Banfield:] That's right.
[Romans:] You've got free therapy right there.
[Banfield:] Total freebie. Thanks, Christine. So, that wraps it up for us. That's EARLY START, the news from "A" to "Z". I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
[Sambolin:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. "STARTING POINT WITH SOLEDAD O'BRIEN" starts right now.

[Holmes:] And good morning, everybody. Good morning, New York City. Taking a look at Columbus Circle with Central Park in the backdrop there. Woke up to some snow this morning. You see it there on the ground. But hopefully it won't be piling up, don't think it will be on the roads. But who am I to say, I'm no meteorologist. We'll check in with Rob Marciano here in just a bit.
[Chetry:] Yes, we don't care anymore for a few inches, right? I mean, we've been through so much this winter here in New York. No one even mentioned it this morning when they came in. No one even said a word about the snow.
[Holmes:] I did.
[Chetry:] You did?
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Chetry:] Well, it's 42 minutes past the hour time for a look at our top stories. Schools in Madison, Wisconsin, called off again today. The state's largest union told teachers to go back to work. But they voted against showing up today. They actually had doctors out in the crowd handing out sick notes. Democrats in Wisconsin Senate left the state to stall that bill on a vote that would force state workers to pay more benefits to surrender their rights to collectively bargain.
[Holmes:] Also, anti-government protests continue in Libya. And the government crackdown continues there, as well. The protests which have been mainly centered in the second largest city there Benghazi, now is spilling over to the capital of Tripoli. Some update we're getting this morning that BP said it's going to start pulling some of its employees out of Libya. Also, Moammar Gadhafi's son in a televised address was warning a civil war. Also, the reports of at least 233 people killed in clashes there.
[Chetry:] Gas prices inching higher overnight. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.17. That's more than 53 cents higher than this time last year. Analysts say tensions in the Middle East and North Africa are partly to blame for that rise in prices.
[Holmes:] Also, they're on alert in the Philippines right now because of Mt. Bulusan. That's a volcano there that's been spewing it. It's done it twice in the past 24 hours and it hasn't done it since 1996. So, some people concerned about what's happening. It seems that there's little threat to nearby villages. And so far, most people out of the danger zone. But still, officials are warning residents to stay as far away as possible, and may still some steam and ash explosions.
[Chetry:] The two girls in Arizona are in the hospital after they were thrown from a jumping castle. High winds actually lifted the castle 100 feet into the air. Both girls, a 9-year-old and 11-year-old, were ejected from the bouncer. The 11-year-old was thrown to the ground just as the castle went airborne. She is expected to be OK. And the 9-year-old was tossed as it landed on a nearby roof. She suffered serious head injuries. Authorities say the jumpy castle was installed properly, but the wind was just too strong. Unbelievable.
[Holmes:] Yes, we see these things. Those what they call them, bounce houses or something?
[Chetry:] Yes, the bouncing castles. The kids love them.
[Holmes:] I love those things. Amazing. But the wind could pick one of those things up.
[Chetry:] Well, 45 minutes past the hour right now. We get a check of the morning's weather headlines. The wind was a big deal this weekend, right? Doesn't it also destroy the national Christmas tree?
[Marciano:] Yes, big winds in D.C. on Saturday as that cool front came through, and you're right. That big old Douglas fir got snapped in half right at the base. So, they've got to find a new tree to decorate come next Christmas there on the white house lawn. We have a large system. Actually, it's kind of a double system, one kind of moving through the northeast right now, and then, one still back towards the Midwest and this has brought a tremendous amount of snow already to the Midwest. Eden Prairie, Minnesota, seeing 17 inches of it, Middle and South Dakota 16 inches, and Minneapolis proper seeing 13 inches of snow. So, over a foot there. And they're right now in the top five as far as the snow goes for their season. So, a lot of cities are breaking records or at least getting into historic territory this winter for sure. Boston, a little bit of light snow, but right now, the heaviest snows are in through New York City and is mostly a wet snow. You saw at least in the city streets. It's having a hard time sticking. Just winter weather advisories are up right now because temperatures are right around the freezing mark, 30, 31, 32 degrees in New York City, just above freezing in Philadelphia, and look at temperatures in the 40s in D.C. So, obviously, there's a little bit of a warm front down there. Three to five inches of snow expected in the New York City area up through parts of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, as well A little bit farther north and west of the city, you'll see six to 10 inches, maybe in some cases, up to 12 inches of snow. Going to be some travel delays, of course, especially around the New York metropolitan airports, 30 to 60-minute delays in Boston and Pittsburgh as well. Chicago, Minneapolis, still some leftover snow. The system is so wide in its expanse. Thirty to 60-minute delay is expected in Cleveland and Philadelphia and Atlanta, just low clouds in those areas. Double whammy storm, warm air to the south, so mountain snow out towards the west, and this will this system the back end of it is going to take its time getting through. So, it'll be kind of drawn out, although, not very intense and that's good news. Here we go. Slowly moving across the northeast today and tonight, and the backside of this, thus, bring in some colder air. So, even though you're well above freezing and close to 50 degrees in Washington, D.C., the backside of this, we'll see temperatures drop close to the freezing mark. And I think parts of Virginia will see temperatures that will be cold enough to sustain snow. Temperatures today, though, will be well above freezing in D.C., 55, 37 degrees in New York City, 70 in Atlanta. So, we're still warm across much of the south. Spring comes early for folks who live south of the Mason-Dixon. Sixty-two degrees tomorrow for high temperature in Atlanta. It will be 41 degrees in Chicago and 39 degrees in New York City. So, a little bit of snow, but likely as I mentioned, I mean, considering what you've seen the past season, small potatoes to get three to five inches of wet snow there in New York City. No problem at all.
[Chetry:] Exactly. All right. Thanks, Rob.
[Holmes:] Thanks, Rob. It is flu season, if you didn't know it, it's official. Flu is in all 50 states reportedly now, and it's widespread according to doctors in at least 37 states. Some of the statistics for you. About 200,000 Americans are hospitalized every year with the flu, 40,000 die. The CDC encourages flu vaccinations for people over six months old. You should always consult with your doctor. Good news here is that unlike several years in the past, there is no flu vaccine shortage they say. That plenty of vaccine is available, and it appears to work with the current flu strain that's out there.
[Chetry:] All right. Another language could mean another advantage for you, according to a new study. Researchers were on tested learning a second language can delay Alzheimer's disease. Their study focused on 450 Alzheimer's patients who were bilingual. Those who were, were diagnosed four or five years later than patients who spoke only one language. Being bilingual won't prevent the disease, but it may delay symptoms. Scientists say that the more proficient you are, the better, but then, you don't have to become fluent to see benefits at keeping the brain active is the key. Top stories just a couple of minutes away, including a California news crew attacked by an angry mob. A female journalist pulled to the ground by her hair and kicked. It was all caught on tape.
[Holmes:] Also, coming up this morning, it's a heck of a morning for one young man. The day after his 20th birthday and his second race ever in NASCAR. What does he do? He goes out and wins the Daytona 500. He will be joining us live on this AMERICAN MORNING. We're ten minutes till the top of the hour.

[Sweeney:] Human trafficking is a shocking issue and one that CNN has covered as part of our Freedom Project series. Today, a high level meeting focusing on trafficking is underway at the United Nations general assembly. The first of its kind, the two day meeting will hear from victims of slavery as well as activists. CNN senior UN correspondent Richard Roth joins us now live with more Richard.
[Richard Roth, Cnn International Correspondent:] Fionnuala, this isn't the first time the UN general assembly has discussed human trafficking, but it's at its highest level of a session and it's an assessment, sort of a pep talk also to get governments to focus even more on this scourge. Human trafficking, a $32 billion industry around the world. And half of it occurs in developed countries. President of the general assembly, you see there, Vuk Jeremic of Serbia, while he had some rather strong words on this topic and he told the General Assembly that governments have to do more.
[Vuk Jeremic, Un General Assembly President:] I believe that we must place the victims of human trafficking at the center of our work. No effort must be spared to bring to an end the servitude of millions while helping the survivors rebuild their lives.
[Roth:] CNN has followed and examined the issue of human trafficking and slavery through Freedom Project reports over the last three years. CNN's Jim Clancy is here at the UN to participate in a panel discussion. Also there, Mira Sorvino, UN goodwill ambassador for the UN Office of Drugs and Crime regarding human trafficking. He's been a tireless advocate in this area. And she in part speech, part lecture to the general assembly she said man is an animal and a lot more can be done to help the people and victims involved in human trafficking.
[Mira Sorvina, Actress:] What are we? How dare we call ourselves civilized if a vast economic market flourishes on our watch, trading in misery, dissenting of lives, minds, hopes and dreams from the small to the adult so that we, the consumers, may enjoy cheaply made products and the corporations who have contracted to third parties, the complicit police and even government officials enjoyed massive cash profits off of goods created by slave labor or a falsified or inherited debt bondage.
[Roth:] The executive director of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime said it's difficult to prosecute on the issue of human trafficking. Oftentimes the victim is far away. There are interpretation issues. There are a lot of complications for local police in pursuing this crime. He said things are improving though. The UN still needs a lot more money in its voluntary fund contributions to help in the fight against human trafficking Fionnuala.
[Sweeney:] And in terms of those funding, what is the next step for the United Nations after this special session on human trafficking. Where do they go from here?
[Roth:] Well, they'd like the legislatures in all of these UN countries to ratify important treaties and protocols. The UN Office of Drug Control executive said there are dozens of countries that have now signed on, but there are still a lot more to do a lot more to do. Saudi Arabia announced that it would contribute $100,000. Many of the speakers here, quite frankly, did not give exactly exciting speeches with real insight. It was really recitations of what they might have done inside their own country. It's a global problem. And there's going to have to be much more knitting together on this issue to prosecute the criminals behind this lucrative operation.
[Sweeney:] All right. And as we heard, half of it being achieved in developed countries. Richard Roth at the United Nations. Thanks for joining us. And join us on Friday when CNN takes a look at what this sinister subject looks like in the Philippines. This is a story two years in the making. CNN's new Freedom Project documentary is an eye-opening investigation into an outrageous crime against children.
[Begin Video Clip) Unidentified Male:] Few of us have ever seen evil up close, but the girls in this story all have. They are just a few of the 1 million children believed to be involved in human trafficking around the world. My name is Leaf Korlum. Two years ago, I traveled to the Philippines to cover a story about child prostitution. That's when I fist met a woman named Cecilia Florez Abanda. She has committed her life to protecting children and fighting modern-day slavery. She is hoping to convince the Philippine's favorite son, Manny Pacquiao, to lead the battle. But for those fighting for a better world, nothing in life comes easy. And as I would soon learn, in a country like the Philippines, nothing is ever as it seems.
[Sweeney:] That is a preview of our new CNN Freedom Project documentary The Fighters will be presented in two parts over two consecutive nights. You can see part one on Friday at 9:00 pm in London. Ahead of that, you can find more at CNN.comthefighters. There's a photo gallery from Manny Pacquiao's personal photographer and video clips from the documentary. You can also learn how to take a virtual stand against human trafficking with CNN iReport and the End It movement at CNN.comthefighters. The latest world news headlines just ahead. Plus, he's dead to us. The brothers of Ariel Castro, the man accused of abducting three women talked to CNN in an exclusive interview. A victory parade to say farewell to Fergie. Thousands of fans head to Old Trafford to honor Manchester United's manager. And from space man to rock star, Astronaut Chris Hadfield gives space a rocking farewell.

[Anderson:] Well, the beautiful game is enjoying a resurgence in the United States, where it's long played second fiddle, of course, to American football. Not only did the U.S., though, make it into the finals of the Women's World Cup recently, but America's most storied club is being relaunched after folding in the 1980s. Helping drive the rebirth of the New York Cosmos is one of its biggest stars, an undisputed legend of the game. His name is synonymous with football Edson Arantes do Nascimento, famously known as Pele. The Brazilian star became a national hero after helping his country to World Cup victory in 1958, as a teenager. A prolific goal scorer, he is widely considered the greatest player of all time. [on camera]: The favorite goal you ever scored?
[Pele, Football Legend:] Well, I think, you know, I scored 1,283 goals. All was important to me, of course. The the I think the first World Cup, I played against Sweden in the final, I was 17 years old. I make a beautiful goals. I think for starting my career, these are the ones that were more important.
[Anderson:] Pele's career spanned two decades, ending in 1977 at the New York Cosmos, where he played alongside other global stars, including Italian striker Giorgio Chindalia and Germany sweeper Franz Beckenbauer.
[Franz Beckenbauer, Soccer Player:] I'm the biggest fan from Pele. He is the greatest soccer player in the history of the sport, maybe the greatest sportsman. Maybe you can compare him only, maybe, with Muhammad Ali. So I am very proud to play with Pele together in a team.
[Anderson:] It was the most glamorous team in America before it folded in 1985. Now, the Cosmos are back, their rebirth spearheaded by Pele and French football legend, Eric Cantona. The club will play its first match in 26 years against Manchester United this Friday, the first step in a plan to win a place in the U.S. Major Soccer League. [on camera]: A big game with Old Trafford coming up. Do you think the Cosmos can win that game?
[Pele:] Always you have to trust. You know, I never think before the game, my team is going to lost. Always or we're going to lose. You know, always I have confidence, you know. Of course, it is a it is
[Anderson:] A respected voice in football, Pele's opinions matter. [on camera]: Who is the best player, Messi or Ronaldo?
[Pele:] Well, it is it is difficult to say, but I think Qatar.
[Anderson:] Do you recognize yourself in any players?
[Pele:] Oh, yes. Yes. Not serious. Messi is excellent at, you know, dribbling and he have a nice vision.
[Anderson:] Goal line technology, yes or no?
[Pele:] Well, it is difficult to say. I I am part of the FIFA committee. And though some think it is not possible to use the technology, because the humans, they make a mistake, even if you have the phone, if you have a seat, because they talk about the chip in the ball. Sometimes this doesn't work. Of course, you have a lot of things that you can use as the technology. But not an old player in the game.
[Anderson:] As for the next champions of the world... [on camera]: Do you think England has got a chance of winning the World Cup?
[Pele:] I hope not.
[Anderson:] Who's going to win the World Cup?
[Pele:] Brazil, of course. We are there for that.
[Anderson:] I'm not even sure why I asked that question. Mark McKay is standing by at the CNN Center. What did I expect him to say Mark?
[Mark Mckay, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] Very good point, Becky. I tell you what, you know you've reached superstar status when you can only use one name, like Pele. How about another? Tiger. By this time tomorrow, Becky, borrowing any weather-related delays or unforeseen surprises, we should have a good handle just where Tiger Woods' golf game is. One round into the former world number one's latest comeback, Woods tees it up Thursday at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. The winner of the last major, the British Open, is on record as saying that it's wonderful to have Woods back on the links. Darren Clarke will, in fact, be in the same group with Tiger for the first round at Firestone. Injury has prevented Woods from playing any competitive golf since May, but the Northern Irishman says you can't count out Woods as a contender. If you do so, you do so at your own risk.
[Darren Clarke, British Open Champion:] He was arguably the best player the game has ever seen. You can check on Tiger, and he was arguably the best player that the game's ever seen. I've just won one major, and he's got buckets of them and stuff, and it'd be a little bit presumptuous of me to tell him what to do. But in saying that, he's I've told him what I think about what he's doing and golf swing-wise and stuff, and sometimes he takes it in and sometimes he doesn't take it in. But he has been the best player in the world, one of the best players to ever play the game, and I just hope that he gets I genuinely hope he gets his game back up to the level that it was before, because it was awesome.
[Mckay:] We'll have much more on Tiger in just over an hour on "World Sport," including more from Darren Clarke and his good friend. Becky, I'll see you right after "BackStory."
[Anderson:] Good stuff. Thank you very much, indeed, for that. An hour and Mark will be back here on CNN. You're with CONNECT THE WORLD, me, Becky Anderson, here this hour. Just ahead, the euro zone rattled again. High borrowing costs threatened to drag Italy down. Hear what Prime Minister Berlusconi is saying about that, up next.

[Kristie Lu Stout, Anchor:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong. Powerful floodwaters trigger mudslides in Brazil, killing hundreds.
[Sepp Blatter, Fifa President:] If you ask me, the percentage to play in winter is definitely over 50 percent.
[Stout:] FIFA's president says he expects the 2022 World Cup to be moved to winter, but he's facing dissent from the host nation itself. And man takes on machine. Can a computer beat humans on a popular TV game show? First rain, and now mud. Landslides have buried several towns in Brazil. Local media say more than 500 people have died in Rio de Janeiro state. And authorities warn thousands of families are at risk of being washed away. Southeastern Brazil has been battered by heavy rain for weeks. And take a look at how powerful the flooding is in some areas. Rescuers are having trouble reaching remote villages because the roaring water has wiped out roads and bridges. And right now, CNN's Helene De Moura is traveling to one of the worst-hit towns. She's about one hour away. She joins us now live on the line. Helena, tell us, what have you been seeing out there?
[Helena De Moura, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, I am not exactly at the location
[Stout:] One can only imagine the emotional upheaval of all this. Talk to us about the aid effort. How is aid getting to the people who need it?
[De Moura:] Well, the roads have been impassable for the past 24 hours. I think some of the rescue workers have been able to carry some additional aid, water and food, to Nova Friburgo and Terresopolis and some of these affected areas. But still, the job is very, very difficult, because, again, overnight, they had to stop the rescue efforts due to the treacherous conditions on the road. And I'm hearing right now from the police that there have been several robberies and attacks on the road. As you know, the violence in Rio is people you know, armed bandits are basically taking advantage of this situation of chaos to rob people. So the situation, again, it's very, very chaotic. It's hard to get information on the ground as people are pacing around trying to find water, trying to find their loved ones, trying to find a way to make a phone call, even. So that's the situation that I'm experiencing for now.
[Stout:] So we have chaos, violence. A major disaster here. How angry are people? Are people there blaming state and federal government for a lack of disaster planning, for allowing shoddy construction that has resulted in so many landslides?
[De Moura:] Yes. It's too early to start the political blame game. Yes, I have heard some people angry with the Lula government, saying that he did not live up to his promises to bring sort of a to bring democracy to urban development, meaning to start reaching out to these different franchise communities that have had basically been forgotten by the state, where communities are basically building on top of each other on top of riverbanks, on top of makeshift constructions that are extremely dangerous. But, right now, again, as described by someone who I just saw interviewed on TV, this has been a tsunami falling from the sky, a tsunami that fell from the sky. And people are still in a state of shock, and it's just too much to start on that area, but I'm sure that soon, the blame game will begin Kristie.
[Stout:] A tsunami fallen from the sky. Helena, thank you so much for being there and covering this story for us. Helena De Moura, live from Rio de Janeiro. Now, it is the rainy summer season in Brazil right now. Flooding, it happens every year. But it is the landslides like what you see here that kill so many people. Let's give you a better understanding of where this is happening. Rio de Janeiro lies here, on the southeast coast. Now, take a look at the three towns where those deadly landslides struck. They all sit in the mountains. The rain can make the ground unstable. And some of the houses on those slopes are there illegally. Those rickety structures are no match for the wall of mud and rock that washed down toward them. And more rain is on the way. As floodwaters recede, meanwhile, in Australia, emergency efforts are focused on finding the 53 people still missing after the deluge. Sixteen people have now been confirmed dead in the past week. With the cleanup under way, Phil Black surveys the damage.
[Phil Black, Cnn International Correspondent:] As the Brisbane River recedes, this is what it's leaving behind, this thick, gray sludge. And you can see it. It's inches deep in places, and it's not just on the streets. Along this street, it is through people's homes. Not just on the ground floor, but the first floor as well. It's a massive cleanup effort. And you can see the people have already moved in, and they're really making some progress, dragging out the possessions that have been destroyed and can't be saved, leaving them by the side of the road. We're seeing trucks and bulldozers move through here, picking them up, carting it away. It's really quite frantic activity all along this street, and this is just one of many across Brisbane that are like this. Many of the people that you see working in this neighborhood, they're not locals. They're people that have driven from across Brisbane to lend a hand. Lots of people we've spoken to say that volunteers have just showed up on their doorstep with shovels, brooms, gloves and gum boots, wanting to do what they can to help. And that's actually such a strong phenomenon, that there's a lot of traffic across the city. And many of them are volunteers trying to get to places where they can really help out. So this frantic cleanup effort is just one reaction to the floods of this region. Another one is a search and rescue operation that's taking place west of Brisbane, in the Lockyer Valley, that suffered such severe flash flooding just before the floodwaters hit the main city here. There, they are still looking for around 50 missing people. And the police who are running that operation now believe it's possible some of them may never be found. Phil Black, CNN, Brisbane, Australia.
[Stout:] Well, it's been well documented that this week's floods in Brisbane stopped well short of the levels seen in the record floods of 1974. What that fact does not spell out is the change Brisbane has undergone in the meantime. Now, let's show you the extent of the flooding now and compare it to what the city experienced 37 years ago. Now, the affected areas are practically identical, including the central business district located right here, above a bend in the river. Now, the most obvious difference is here, to the west of the city, where the flooding has actually been worse this time around. But Brisbane is a very different place now. What was a city of 900,000 people back in 1974 is today a city of two million. The population has more than doubled, and the number of buildings flooded has more than quadrupled. Now, still ahead on NEWS STREAM, fighting for an education. We hear from the Pakistani children whose schools have been destroyed by the Taliban. Defending a controversial decision, FIFA president Sepp Blatter talks tactics and timing as the Qatar World Cup debate rumbles on. And this superhuman super computer. Artificial intelligence takes on the quiz show specialists and wins. We've got all the details in the battle of human versus machine.

[Whitfield:] All year we've been introducing you to everyday people who are changing the world. We call them CNN Heroes. I'd like you to meet one of this year's top 10 CNN Heroes. After being diagnosed with cancer, Patrice Millet, dedicated his life to helping children in his native Haiti. His nonprofit youth soccer program gives equipment, coaching and food to hundreds of kids. He is joining us right now on the phone from Port-au-Prince. Well, congratulations, Patrice.
[Patrice Millet, Top 10 Cnn Hero For 2011:] Yes.
[Whitfield:] Well, you know, I'm wondering how being named a CNN hero has changed, improved this program for you.
[Millet:] Can you repeat the question, please?
[Whitfield:] How has being named being named a CNN hero changed your program?
[Millet:] How do the CNN Heroes?
[Whitfield:] Has it made your program better, more popular?
[Millet:] Oh, yes, for sure. You know and I would like to say hi to you, Fredricka, and say thanks to CNN. And, really, since the nomination, I have been I had a lot of small contacts. You know, more people are calling me about my work and I think it will be benefit for the kids, for the underprivileged kids that I've been for four years now and I believe it has been a lot of change for us now.
[Whitfield:] How has this program changed the lives of these young kids?
[Millet:] What?
[Whitfield:] How has your program helped the children? How has it changed their lives?
[Millet:] Does it change my life, the nomination?
[Whitfield:] For your children for the that you're helping, this has improved their life, hasn't it, the soccer program? In what way?
[Millet:] Well, you know, I don't hear you very well.
[Whitfield:] OK. All right. Well, we're wishing you the best. Congratulations on being named a hero and congratulations on being a top 10. And everyone will be watching and many people rooting for you. Patrice Millet, thanks so much. And go to CNNHeroes.com to vote for the CNN hero that inspires you the most. All 10 will be honored live at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" hosted by our own Anderson Cooper, Sunday, December 11th. All right. It's that old age old question that we face each fall. Do you need a jacket if you're heading out? You're going to want to stick around for the forecast to find out.

[Alina Cho, Cnn Anchor:] Hi, everybody. Glad you're with us. It's 3:00 in the East. I'm Alina Cho, in for Brooke Baldwin. And we begin with breaking news in Maryland, where U.S. officials say an unmanned drone has crashed near Salisbury, Maryland. Our Chris Lawrence joins us live from the Pentagon with details on this. So, Chris, just how unusual is this?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Very. You hear about this happening all the time in places like Afghanistan, Pakistan. Drones do go down. But to go down on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, highly unusual. Just got off with some Navy officials who say this was a routine training flight. And we're also getting some new information about how they were able to determine that. Apparently, as soon as they lost contact with this drone, they sent out a manned aircraft and the pilot was able to put some eyes on the wreckage and determine, A., that it crashed, and, B., that it looks like there were no injuries on the ground at the crash site. It's in what has been described as sort of a marshy area of this Nanticoke River on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. But this drone, the Global Hawk, it flies can fly up to 11 miles high. And it can fly for 30 hours at a time. It's used for a lot of reconnaissance because it can fly for so long and it can fly above the weather. Here in the United States, it's been used to keep track of wildfires burning in California. It was used to survey some of the damage after Hurricane Ike. And of course it's been flown overseas as well. In fact, one of the five drones that the Naval Air Station Pax River in Maryland, one of the drones that they have is currently deployed with the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. The other four go through routine training and that's what happened here. This drone was on a routine training mission and it went down.
[Cho:] Unbelievable and again highly unusual.
[Lawrence: Cho:] Chris Lawrence live from the Pentagon, Chris, thank you very much. Also happening now, Spain's bank bailout is expected to give the U.S. markets a big boost. Guess what? Stocks are down with just about an hour to go until the opening closing bell, rather.
[Cho:] Also developing now, the presidential appointee involved in a hit and run is back in Washington, D.C. We're talking about U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson. He was driving in Los Angeles County on Saturday night when the sheriff's department says he rear-ended a stopped car.
[Deputy Tony Moore, L.a. County Sheriff's Department:] At some point after that traffic collision occurred, he got out of vehicle, made contact with the individuals, but for some reason got back into his vehicle and left the scene. And when he left the scene, he struck the vehicle a second time.
[Cho:] And after hitting that car, sheriff's deputies say he drove off and just a few minutes later hit another car before being found unconscious behind the wheel. The Commerce Department says Bryson suffered a seizure. CNN's Brianna Keilar is live for us at the White House. So, Brianna, the commerce secretary, I understand, spent the night in the hospital in California. He's already back in the nation's capital. So, what is the White House reaction to all of this?
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Mostly, Alina, the White House is referring a lot of things to the Commerce Department. And there are still some details that need to be filled in at this point. The Commerce Department says that there was no drugs or alcohol involved in these crashes. And at least preliminarily, that's what the L.A. Sheriff's Department says, but White House Press Secretary Jay Carney sort of talking about this. I asked about the timing of this seizure that the Commerce Department said the secretary had in relation to the accident, because all the Commerce Department has said is that he was involved in accidents and that there was a seizure. Here is what Jay Carney said.
[Keilar:] What was the timing of the seizure in relation to the accident?
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] I would refer you, as I said in the past, to the Department of Commerce for more details.
[Keilar:] I have been asking them for hours.
[Carney:] I I just don't have those details for you. So I think I would refer you to the Commerce Department.
[Keilar:] Can you explain why there seems to be a parsing of it it just seems the Commerce Department is saying he was involved in accidents and he had a seizure, but there's really nothing connecting the dots and it's really an important point.
[Carney:] Well, again, as I have pointed out, there was a the commerce secretary was alone, he had a seizure, he was involved in an accident. I you know, I would refer you to the Commerce Department for more details. Those circumstances I think speak to some of the, you know, difficulty in getting details. But beyond that I just don't know and I would refer you to the Department of Congress.
[Keilar:] Doesn't it seem like it's causal though, the seizure...
[Carney:] Again, I'm not a I'm certainly not a doctor. I certainly didn't... ... was not a presiding doctor on this case, so I would refer you to the Department of Commerce.
[Keilar:] So it appears, Alina, that this may have been very much a health-related accident. But at the same time, the White House is being very careful. We learned from Carney that President Obama has not spoken with Bryson, but that his chief of staff, Jack Lew, has. The White House was informed of this last night. President Obama learned about it this morning Alina.
[Cho:] Well, good for you for continuing to ask, Brianna, even though you weren't getting many answers. But I do want to know did the White House say anything about putting Bryson on medical leave or a leave of absence or is he back to work already?
[Keilar:] No, there was no I wouldn't say he's back to work. There's nothing on his public schedule today. But I think it sort of speaks to the fact that he was able to travel from L.A. back to Washington in terms of where his health is. No, Carney said that Secretary Bryson has served effectively. And in terms of really does this affect his service as secretary of commerce, those questions are very much unanswered, it appears as the White House tries to track down some of these details and decide exactly where they're going, if anywhere, with this.
[Cho:] Well, I know he is facing a felony hit and run charge, but given what has happened in terms of medically with him, it looks like that that charge may drop. So, Brianna Keilar, thank you so much for that update. Appreciate it. And a lot more news developing this hour. Watch. Egypt's former ruler dying. Not long after Egypt's former ruler, Hosni Mubarak, gets life behind bars, his health takes a turn for the worse. Plus, a family of five once made six figures. Now they are living off food stamps.
[Unidentified Female:] I thought for sure that he'd go right back into the corporate world.
[Cho:] The new nightmares facing the middle class. And she's already survived breast cancer. Now an emotional Robin Roberts reveals another health scare.

[Costello:] Violence again erupting in Northern Ireland. It's like a flashback in time, police clashing with rioters in Belfast for a second straight night of sectarian fighting.
[Chetry:] CNN's Zain Verjee is live in London with details this morning. The pictures are really disturbing when you see what's going on there. What caused this flashpoint to erupt?
[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Anchor:] Let's show you some of those dramatic pictures. We've just got these in from our photographer on the ground in Belfast. Just take a look at this video. I mean, it's been years of relative calm between Catholics and Protestants, but now as you can see from these pictures the tensions are up. What's causing it? Well, you know, Kiran, this is generally a time of year between now and kind of the end of July. It's known as "Marching Season," where a group of Protestants known as Orangemen will march through a Catholic area and it does create tensions. But this time, the main thinking is that there was some kind of a renegade commander who's been under pressure for an investigation, and he's kind of upped the ante and ordered this coordinated attack in a Catholic area. And there's been a severe reaction to that and this has been the result. Seven hundred people out on the streets fighting each other, Molotov cocktails, bricks, fireworks and as you can see from these new pictures that we've gotten, this is the result.
[Costello:] Unbelievable. Let's turn the corner and talk about something a lot less serious.
[Verjee:] Yes.
[Costello:] Popular website for beautiful people, infiltrated by ugly people, no.
[Verjee:] I know! Can you believe that? What a scandal! Beautifulpeople.com is outraged because apparently there was this Shrek virus is what they're calling it and it let in 30,000 ugly people, they say, on to this website. And, you know, it's got to be vetted by the other beautiful people on this site and so they were very upset about this and they kicked them out and the managing director, Greg Hodges, told "The Guardian" this, "we have to stick to our founding principles of only accepting beautiful people. We can't just sweep 30,000 ugly people under the carpet." And how did they even realize guys that there was this virus? Well, he says they got suspicious when over only a six-week period all these people suddenly got accepted. He said many of whom, were no oil painting.
[Chetry:] That's so mean. I love that they call the virus Shrek. OK, and they also said that they believe it was a former employee who implanted that virus on the system before they left. Because, I mean, the way it usually works is members of the opposite sex have to approve the people because they feel if they let members of the same sex that there would be jealousy and people would deny people just because they didn't want competition.
[Verjee:] Yes. That's true, but then the other thing they're doing not only that they get rid of these 30,000, they also got rid of an additional 5,000 existing members because over the years they put on weight and became less attractive and became ugly. So out they went and 5.8 million people around the world, guys, were deemed too ugly and they were rejected. You know, I kind of feel strongly about this. I think that beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
[Costello:] I agree with you, Zain.
[Chetry:] She said "beer holder" just so everybody knows.
[Costello:] Don't you agree with her? I think hackers should unite and do something about that site.
[Chetry:] They've been uniting, having a lot of hacking problems with our personal information.
[Costello:] They need to work on beautiful people.
[Chetry:] You know what, get what you deserve. You want to find somebody on that site, you're going to have to live with them if you get together so good luck with that. Hey, Zain, thanks so much.
[Verjee:] Thanks, guys.
[Chetry:] And you can watch Zain every morning 5:00 a.m. on "WORLD ONE" right here on
[Cnn. Costello:] OK. It is a cat with an identity crisis. Really.
[Chetry:] That's a cat that think she's a watchdog.
[Costello:] Yes, she's not coughing up a hairball. She's actually barking at people walking by her home and keeping lookout from the window. But when she realizes she's busted by her owner with the camera
[Chetry:] Then she starts meowing. So, look. She's going to turn. Can you believe it or do you think I think it's fake.
[Costello:] Wow. That's insane.
[Chetry:] That's fake. Come on. They're getting a dog to bark and then she turns around to the camera
[Costello:] Watching that has actually changed my life. I'm just kidding.
[Chetry:] It gave you something to think about, though, didn't it?
[Costello:] It really did. I'm going to think about that all day.
[Chetry:] Speaking of something to think about, we want to know what you want to hear from the president tonight. It's our question of the day. The president's set to address the nation on Afghanistan tonight. What do you want to hear from him? Send us an e-mail, a tweet or tell us on Facebook. And we will be reading some of your thoughts in just a couple minutes.

[Unidentified Female:] Everybody look at this. A missing persons case.
[Unidentified Male:] Las Vegas strip.
[Unidentified Female:] Showgirl Debbie Flores-Narvaez has been missing since December 12th. This is a text message. It`s kind of questionable if it makes sense. That Debbie Flores sent to her mother. She was going through a bad time through a couple things. She says, quite, "In case there is ever an emergency with me." I can`t. Contact Blu Griffith in Las Vegas. A fellow Las Vegas performer.
[Unidentified Male:] She went to visit him between rehearsals.
[Unidentified Female:] He was the last person to see her. My ex-boyfriend, not my best friend. He did confirm to me that she did come by. Police are not calling him a suspect. I did find out she was pregnant. Griffith is accused of beating up Debbie on October 22nd. Look at this girl. She`s missing. She has to be found.
[Jean Casarez, Guest:] We begin tonight with breaking news out of Nevada. We need your help to find a Las Vegas showgirl gone missing, nowhere to be found, and this is urgent. We are learning more details tonight from a stunning police report just uncovered. It reveals Debbie Flores-Narvaez was the victim of a domestic violence incident just weeks before she disappears. In this disturbing development, we learn the beautiful showgirl viciously attacked, elbowed in the chin, pushed to the ground, kicked, and her hair pulled out in clumps, all while she is pregnant. The alleged attacker, her ex-boyfriend, who police say is cooperating. Well, if so, then why didn`t he show up in court this morning? He was asked to. Tonight, the mystery deepens in the search for the missing Las Vegas showgirl. Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" on the truTV network, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. A shocking police report just uncovered reveals a missing Las Vegas showgirl was allegedly pushed down, kicked, punched, the victim in a vicious domestic violence attack, all just weeks before she disappears. Let us go straight out to Alexis Tereszcuk, reporter with Radaronline. Alexis, what`s the latest tonight?
[Alexis Tereszcuk, Radaronline.com:] Hi, Jean. Well, this
[Casarez:] Well, Alex, we`ve got right here the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Report, which states that she was kicked and she was punched. Can you go through it with us, step by step, so we can really look at the facts, according to the police?
[Tereszcuk:] Yes. So according to the police report, Debbie went over to find Griffith. He was actually at his ex-girlfriend`s house. She went over there. She confronted him. They had an argument. We actually spoke with one of her friends at Radaronline, who said she found out that he had been cheating on her, so that may have been what caused her to go over there. So they got in a fight. He took her phone. He drove away. She followed him in the car. When he stopped again, she caught up with him. He got out of the car. That`s when he threw her phone. He started hitting her. He pulled out her hair. The police actually said they found chunks of her hair at the scene. And they got in a fight. That`s when he hit her. And as I said, she was pregnant at this time. So she called the police. They came. He was arrested and he was charged with this misdemeanor and this felony. And he was supposed to appear in court this morning, but he didn`t. The case has been continued until April, and that`s when he`ll appear again. But she`s been missing, and he was the last person to have seen her, is what we understand so far.
[Casarez:] All right, to John Shaffer, program director, Newstalk 720 KDWN in Las Vegas, according to this latest Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrest report, it says that when he initially tried to take that phone away, that she told police later that he said, Look, I`m not going to jail. And when he allegedly pushed her when she tried to retrieve the phone after he had thrown it, she said he again said, I`m not going to jail. Why didn`t he show up the this morning in court?
[John Shaffer, Newstalk 720 Kdwn:] That we don`t know. He was supposed to show up. The case has been continued, a preliminary hearing set for April. There is no word on why he wasn`t in court this morning, or if there will be any repercussions because he wasn`t in court. However, he has denied all of the domestic allegations against him. He says he never kicked, punched, threw the phone or pulled her hair on that day.
[Casarez:] And police have said, repeatedly, as NANCY GRACE producers called him today, that he is cooperating with them in her disappearance and he is not at all a suspect. Let`s go out to the lawyers, Ray Giudice, defense attorney out of Atlanta, Alex Sanchez, defense attorney out of New York. All right, Ray Giudice, you know, I don`t get upset very often. I`m pretty calm, cool. I`m really upset tonight. And I`ll tell you why, all right. I know why he didn`t show up in court today, because his attorney could be his representative.
[Raymond Giudice, Defense Attorney:] That`s right.
[Casarez:] He didn`t have to show up in court. But Ray Giudice, let`s look at the circumstances. His girlfriend of more than a year, who was pregnant with his child, is gone. She`s missing. Why wasn`t he a man to stand up in court today? Go ahead and plead not guilty. That`s your constitutional right. But he didn`t come.
[Giudice:] Well, he listened to his lawyer, who said, I don`t want you walking through a line of reporters sticking a microphone in your face and saying, Why did you kill your girlfriend? Why don`t you admit to it? He doesn`t have to be there. He entered his "not guilty." He`ll be there for his preliminary charges, and he`ll fight the charges.
[Casarez:] Well, Alex Sanchez, why doesn`t he meet those microphones? Why shouldn`t he be asked that question? He can say, Look, I didn`t do it, and I want to ask everybody out there to try to find a wonderful person.
[Alex Sanchez, Defense Attorney:] Because everybody`s already concluding that he is involved somehow in her disappearance and possible murder. That`s why he didn`t do it. So why should he show up, as Ray said, go on TV, be scrutinized by the media, have his face al over the place for everybody to point and say, That guy`s the guy who committed this crime? You know, it just doesn`t make sense. In addition, the police may have even told him, Since you`re cooperating, don`t go on TV right now. Just stay with us. Just cooperate. Stay out of the media for the time being.
[Casarez:] And for everybody, I`m licensed in Nevada, and at the arraignment today there`s constitutional reasons for having it. He is apprised of the charges in the criminal complaint and he is to enter a plea. That was not done today. Back to John Shaffer, program director in Las Vegas, Newstalk 720 AM KDWN. I want to talk more about this Las Vegas Metropolitan report in regard to alleged domestic violence. October 22nd is when this allegedly happened. Charges filed November 4th. A month later, she`s missing. Take it up from where her hair was pulled out and police took a picture of it.
[Shaffer:] Yes, the police say they found clumps of her hair on the ground where this alleged domestic abuse took place. It was outside. It was at her car. Again, he`s denied being involved in any of this while she was pregnant. But there are these allegations. There was the arraignment this morning and will be a preliminary hearing. We will have to face these charges that he is denying.
[Casarez:] Well, you know what? I really read this complaint and I`ve re-read it and re-read it again. And he gave a statement. He was given Miranda. He waived his Miranda rights. And he does say that he grabbed the phone and he threw it down. Well, coercion is the felony that he`s charged with. Ray Giudice, tell everybody what coercion is, in this sense, where he allegedly took her iPhone and threw it.
[Giudice:] It`s an interesting name for the charge. Most states have a charge called interference with telecommunications, interrupting a potential 911 or a police call for help. In most states, it`s a misdemeanor. But if it`s done during the perpetration of another crime, i.e., the simple battery or the assault here, it can be elevated to a felony.
[Casarez:] Thank you. We have got special guests tonight, and I first want to go to a lady that joined us last night. And we thank her so much for coming with us again tonight. It is Celeste Flores-Narvaez, who is the sister of this missing Debbie Flores, a beautiful, educated girl, master`s degree, went to law school but wanted to pursue her dream of the stage. And she went to Las Vegas and became that Las Vegas showgirl. Celeste, did you talk with police today? And what is the latest that they have told you?
[Celeste Flores-narvaez, Sister:] I haven`t talked to police today. I actually spoke to them yesterday. I knew that they were most likely going to do a press release, and they basically had told me yesterday what they released today.
[Casarez:] What about this ex-boyfriend? You knew he was going to court today. Were you there in court, or did you find out that he didn`t show up?
[Flores-narvaez:] I did go there this morning. I was hoping that I would get a chance to meet him and just talk to him, just one on one. But he just didn`t show up.
[Casarez:] You know, I thought I saw you in the gallery in that courtroom feed. You know, we want to show everybody right here look at what you`re watching. This is the ex-boyfriend, all right, or as the criminal complaint says, Jason Omar Griffith, and that is Debbie Flores, right there. You`re watching her. This is a video that was done with the two of them. And it`s a music video. It`s on YouTube. But you know, Celeste, your sister, besides being so smart because I got to hand it to her, many, many young women don`t stay in school. They just pursue dreams. And she did, with a master`s degree. She was in law school, but then because of her artistic talent went to Las Vegas and currently is a showgirl. You know, we want everybody to think about if they have seen her anywhere because the goal, Celeste, is to find her. What is the latest that you`re hearing in Las Vegas? Are people passing flyers out? Is her picture there it is right there is it just plastered around Las Vegas?
[Flores-narvaez:] Yes. She has a huge, huge friend base out here in Las Vegas, dancers and performers. I mean, she`s literally known out here. And they have all come, being very supportive, passing out flyers, calling me, letting me know that they`re there, prayers and thoughts and hopes. And I just love them for it. They`re wonderful for that.
[Casarez:] We can`t imagine what you are going through, the not knowing, knowing they found her car, knowing, as you said last night, a make-up bag, knowing the domestic violence allegations. Did you know that your sister went through that on October 22nd?
[Flores-narvaez:] I didn`t find out any of that allegations until I got here to Las Vegas.
[Unidentified Male:] Seemingly loved by everybody.
[Unidentified Female:] Everybody`s really worried right now.
[Unidentified Male:] Sunday night, Debbie vanished, her car found abandoned days later. We also have to be prepared for the worst. Just what happened to a budding Las Vegas star? Police are not calling him a suspect.
[Unidentified Female:] Mom and Dad miss you.
[Unidentified Male:] Nor are they identifying him as a person of interest.
[Unidentified Female:] Your nephews miss you. I miss you.
[Unidentified Male:] Perhaps it`s just a coincidence that Jason "Blu" Griffith is dealing with legal troubles.
[Unidentified Female:] He is being arraigned today on domestic violence charges.
[Unidentified Male:] Tied to missing Luxor show dancer and rising star Debbie Flores-Narvaez.
[Unidentified Female:] We all know that that often is, you know, the person closest to the victim, is the one who`s involved. Debbie Flores-Narvaez performs in the stage show "Fantasy" at the Luxor hotel. On her way to rehearsal, she goes missing without a trace. Jason "Blu" Griffith. Police believe he was the last person to see her before she disappeared. They`re just going through every possible lead, talking to individuals, and hopefully, gathering more information.
[Casarez:] Prosecutors in Las Vegas tonight are saying that this ex- boyfriend-slash-boyfriend of Debbie Flores pushed her to the ground, kicked her and punched her when she was pregnant with his child in October of this year. Her body, her legs were her profession. They were her life. And prosecutors are saying that amounts to physical violence and coercion, a felony, because he tried to prevent her from calling police to report what was happening. We are taking your calls live tonight. We have got another very special guest tonight, a very close, close girlfriend of Debbie Flores. She`s joining us from Las Vegas, Merriliz Monzon. Am I saying that correctly, Merriliz Monzon?
[Merriliz Monzon, Friend:] Close.
[Casarez:] All right, I`m sorry. Thank you for joining us.
[Monzon:] It`s OK.
[Casarez:] You were with Ms. Flores several days before she went missing. You went shopping together, right?
[Monzon:] Well, actually, it was my birthday, the 26th. And because my birthday is on Thanksgiving weekend, I celebrate the week after also. And she wasn`t able to make my birthday party. And she actually, she was at my birthday last year on Thanksgiving, and my family loves her. When she first came to Vegas, we took her in. She didn`t have family out here. And she loved my family also. We`re really close, and we have a lot of food we love to eat. And she just it reminded her a lot of home.
[Casarez:] But she got a phone call she got a phone call while you were with her. You only heard one side of it, but what did you hear her say? And who was she talking to?
[Monzon:] Well, we were after dinner, she took me back to my car, and we were talking about life and her new show. And it was a beautiful evening. And in the middle of our conversation, she excused herself. And it was obvious that it was a possible significant other who she told me at dinner that she recently ended a relationship with. And she said it officially ended October 22nd, and it was kind of rough on her. And I was there for her. So I didn`t inquire anymore than that. But when our conversation was interrupted by a call, she wanted to take it. And she just she was kind of shaken up, and she kind of she was telling the guy on the other line to wait for her to get to meet up. I feel like he was wanting to discuss something on the telephone, but she just wanted to drive safely. So she just kept saying, Just wait for me, respect me, respect me so I can drive safely, let me just get off the phone with you and let me drive. And...
[Casarez:] And three days later, she was gone. Three days later, she was gone. Let`s go to Wendy in Connecticut. Hi, Wendy.
[Unidentified Female:] Hi, Jean. How are you?
[Casarez:] I`m fine. Thank you for calling.
[Unidentified Female:] You`re welcome. Yes, I have a couple questions here. I would like to know, does this guy that had abused her, disgustingly enough, while she was pregnant does he have any other past domestic violence, you know, arrests or incidents with her? Has it just been the one, or is there any more history of violence between the two?
[Casarez:] Right, criminal background. John Shaffer, program director, Newstalk 720 AM, Las Vegas, do we know anything about a criminal past of this man?
[Shaffer:] As far as we know, this was it. These allegations and these charges are the only ones against him, and the only ones against him dealing with Debbie herself.
[Casarez:] All right. Well, it`s interesting because she told police he said, I`m not going to jail. So if he hadn`t been there before, it was definitely something he feared and could have motivated for that phone to try to not be in her hand to call police. But police did arrive at that scene. To Tom Shamshak, a former police sergeant and private investigator, also an instructor at Boston University, joining us from Boston tonight. You know, when you look at this domestic violence incident, what does that tell you about her now disappearing? Because there were obsessed fans, and she was very concerned about obsessed fans. So I think this is still a mystery and a very much open case because police are saying, he`s cooperating.
[Tom Shamshak, Private Investigator:] Well, we don`t have to go back too far in history, Jean, to see other high-profile cases where there has been cooperation Drew Peterson, Scott Peterson. He`s in their crosshairs. Make no doubt about that. They can say what they want to say up front, but they`re working on him.
[Casarez:] All right. And this man is not a suspect. Jason Omar Griffith not a suspect.
[Unidentified Female:] Let her go and let her be. I can`t let her come home to us!
[Unidentified Male:] A sexy showgirl.
[Unidentified Female:] Las Vegas showgirl.
[Unidentified Male:] Vanishes in Las Vegas.
[Unidentified Female:] This woman was last seen by her boyfriend. Debbie`s ex-boyfriend, Jason "Blu" Griffith.
[Unidentified Male:] Police saying the last person to see her was an ex-boyfriend. They`re not saying there`s any foul play yet. Debbie allegedly texted her mother, "In case there is ever an emergency with me, contact the ex-boyfriend in Vegas, not my friend."
[Unidentified Female:] The way the message was written, it`s kind of questionable if it makes sense, in a way. My concern is bringing her home.
[Casarez:] I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," in for Nancy Grace tonight. We have to find Debbie Flores-Narvaez, 31 years old. She is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 120 pounds, a former NFL cheerleader for the Washington Redskins. She had just gotten what she considered her big break, to be on Vegas, on the strip, at the Luxor hotel. I want to go out to her sister joining us tonight, Celeste Flores- Narvaez. Celeste, you are in Las Vegas. You are there searching, hoping, asking anyone if they have seen her. When was the last time that you spoke with your sister?
[Flores-narvaez:] It was Friday, December the 10th. She called me, wanting to speak to my older son in regards to Christmas and presents.
[Casarez:] Did you have did you have any conversation with her, or was her focus, Debbie`s focus, Christmas?
[Flores-narvaez:] For that entire week, our focus was on my son misbehaving in school and me kind of wanting to take his Christmas away, but you know, her making sure that I wasn`t going to do that. And it was just basically Christmas.
[Casarez:] To Sheeba in Illinois. Hi, Sheeba. Good evening.
[Unidentified Female:] Hi, there. How are you? My question is, how long has she known this boyfriend, and have they ever lived together? And does he have a past of maybe knocking woman around?
[Casarez:] Well, Sheeba, we don`t and we can`t find any other criminal history on him, no. But to Alexis Tereszcuk, reporter for Radaronline, how long were they together?
[Tereszcuk:] They`d been together about a year. You know, he`s an aspiring rapper. She was in his video. They seemed to have a great time. They were very close. They were cross-promoting each other on their social networking sites. But it was until we heard from one of her friends, in fact, that he cheated on her. So it was only about October when things started going badly. They apparently, according to all of her friends, had a wonderful relationship up until then. So they were very close.
[Casarez:] And what you`re watching right here look at Debbie Flores. This is who we need to find. This is Debbie Flores-Narvaez and her ex-boyfriend, Jason "Blu" Griffith, in a music video on YouTube.
[Unidentified Male:] We`re going to look at every aspect into this investigation as if there was foul play. The ex-boyfriend was the last person to see Debbie. He is cooperating with us.
[Unidentified Female:] My concern is bringing her home.
[Unidentified Reporter:] She`s a Las Vegas showgirl. Las Vegas showgirl. Showgirl Debbie Flores-Narvaez hasn`t been seen for more than a week now.
[Unidentified Male:] Everybody`s really on edge and emotional right now.
[Unidentified Reporter:] She was last seen by her boyfriend. Griffith is accused of beating up Debbie on October 22nd.
[Unidentified Male:] Her ex-boyfriend saw her around 7:38.
[Celeste Flores-narvaez, Sister Of Missing Vegas Showgirl, Debbie Flores-narvaez:] It was only a small bag in her car that was found.
[Unidentified Male:] With the license plates removed.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Strange text messages, she allegedly sent to her mother just days before she vanished.
[Jean Casarez, Legal Correspondent, "in Session":] "In case there was ever an emergency with me, contact Blu Griffith in Las Vegas. My ex- boyfriend, not my best friend."
[Flores-narvaez:] I miss you. And just want to give you a hug and a kiss and bring you home.
[Casarez:] I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" on the truTV Network in for Nancy Grace tonight. Debbie Flores-Narvaez, 31 years old. According to prosecutors, she was kicked, she was punched, she was hit. Her legs were black and blue. She`s a dancer. That`s what she uses in her profession, and she was pregnant. This all allegedly happened in October of this year. Straight out to Alexis Tereszcuk, reporter of Radaronline. Go through with us exactly what prosecutors are saying happened to Debbie Flores by this, allegedly, ex-boyfriend.
[Alexis Tereszcuk, Reporter, Radaroline.com:] Well, what they`re saying I don`t know that he was actually an ex-boyfriend at the time. I believe that Blu Griffith was her boyfriend at the time. She went over to confront him. He was with an ex-girlfriend of his. She went over to confront him. He was with an ex-girlfriend of his. They got in an argument, he took her cell phone, he drove away in the car, she followed him in the car. They pulled over at another location, they both got out of the car, they started fighting. What she says happened is he threw her phone and started hitting her and kicking her. She was pregnant at the time. She had bruises on her legs, she even said that he pulled out chunks of her hair, and the police said that they found her hair on the ground at the scene. He said she said that he kicked her car and that`s why she called the police.
[Casarez:] You know you make a really good point, because you`re right, they were boyfriend and girlfriend, and that`s what did it, that night. But to John Shaffer, program director, AM 720 News Talk Radio in Las Vegas. Here`s what I don`t understand. It seems like right when she gets to his ex-girlfriend`s house, and it looks like there could have been a romantic triangle there, he immediately tries to take her iPhone. What`s the motivation, because the alleged domestic abuse hadn`t happened quite yet, or is there more to this story?
[John Shaffer, Program Director, News Talk 720 Kdwn:] We don`t know at this point what made him reach for the phone. She might have been dialing the phone at that time. He as you said, he told her he didn`t want to go back to jail. Maybe she had the phone and was getting ready to call 911, fearing something was going to happen, but it was after he grabbed the phone and threw it that the alleged domestic violence took place that night.
[Casarez:] Or go to jail. I want to go to Dr. Titus Duncan, general surgery physician, Atlanta Medical Center. Here`s one thing prosecutors are saying. That wads of her hair were pulled out during this domestic violence incident. What does it take to pull out somebody`s hair?
[Dr. Titus Duncan, M.d., General Surgery, Atlanta Medical Center:] It takes a pretty good amount of force. Obviously, it depends on the integrity of the hair. But it does take a pretty good amount of force. And you know that the other things that he did at the same time, of kicking her while she was down, causing bruising, even elbowing her in the chin can cause some pretty significant trauma. Now it sort of depends on how hard that trauma was inflicted upon her, but he could have done anything from bruise her to actually broke her bones, and obviously, if he kicked her if she was pregnant, she could have lost the baby as well. We don`t know what the status of the baby was. We don`t know what trimester of the pregnancy she`s in. So a lot of things could happen.
[Casarez:] To Caryn Stark, psychologist out of New York. Why, why does a woman keep going back to a situation like this? Because I don`t think this was the first time, if this is true, as to what prosecutors are saying. Let`s just look at the domestic violence aspect of this. It didn`t happen just once. Why do they keep going back?
[Caryn Stark, Psychologist:] They go back because they don`t feel good about themselves. And whatever makes them fall in love with the person who`s beating on them that starts to come out as soon as they want to leave. So first he`s abusive, and nine times out of 10, once she decides that she wants to leave, he starts to apologize and all the most wonderful parts of him and these guys are very capable of being charming and terrific, Jean. It`s unbelievable how they can win over women. That all comes out again. And each time it happens, she feels worse and worse about herself. Also, there`s the second part of it, which is people will want to know, why was she ever picking somebody like this to begin with? Why was she with a man like this? She starts to feel stupid. And so she needs to prove to herself that she can make this work, that this isn`t going to happen to her anymore. And her self-esteem is gone.
[Casarez:] To Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "The Profiler," you know, the one thing I just can`t get past, Pat, is this text message that she sent to her mother days before she went missing. Let`s show everybody what it says. It says, quote, "In case there is ever an emergency with me, contact Blu Griffith in Vegas. My ex-boyfriend. Not my best friend." We now know that charges were filed November 4th, felony charges against him. She sends this to her mother, December 1st. What does it mean?
[Pat Brown, Criminal Profiler, Author Of "the Profiler":] Well, I have to say one thing, first of all. First of all, I don`t think Debbie was all that open with her family or her friends. She spoke in very veiled manners, and I think a lot of people minimized what was going on in her life. Because I looked back on her Facebook for over a year, and I can tell you, she was very obsessed with Griffith. She had a lot of very you know those little sad faces, over and over and over again, peppered through the year, sad face, sad face, sad face. And people would say, what`s wrong, Debbie, what`s wrong? And she would never really tell them, but she would always say things like, love really hurts, men lie, or she might say something to the effect of one of the big ones she said was, that you have to go with your heart and not your head. So we can sort of see that there was this really was a troubled relationship that she was struggling with. So I`m thinking there`s a lot more going on with Griffith than we`ve been led to believe.
[Casarez:] And what you`re doing, Pat, is exactly what the CSI Vegas is doing right now in this criminal investigation. I want to tell everybody that he is not a suspect. Police are saying that he is cooperating. She did have concerns about fans that were obsessive. This is an open-end missing person`s case, and we need to find her and we need to find her alive. I want to go to the callers. Alice in Georgia. Hi, Alice.
[Alice, Caller From Georgia:] Good evening, Jean. First of all, I would like to send my thoughts and prayers to Debbie`s family. But my question is about the text message. I understand now that it was sent to her mother and it was several days, but is there any way that that text message could have been sent by the boyfriend?
[Casarez:] Very interesting. To Tom Shamshak, former police chief and private investigator, instructor at Boston University. Is that something that you, as a CSI Vegas, is going to look at now? Did she, in fact, send that message on December 1st, or how do you interpret it?
[Tom Shamshak, Fmr. Police Chief, Private Investigator, Instructor At Boston Univ:] That`s a good question. But here`s what they`re doing CSI- wise. The plates were removed from the automobile. He`s been cooperating, so his lawyer has walked him in. They have fingerprinted him. They have taken, no doubt, all of the ridges and the palms of his hands, and they`re going to be comparing somebody took those plates off. He is among the people that they`re going to either include or exclude. So that`s what`s going on in terms of the CSI. Plus, they`ll be scouring the route where that automobile might have traveled to get to that final destination, looking for surveillance footage that can put somebody in that automobile. Jean?
[Casarez:] To John Shaffer, program director, News Talk 720 AM Las Vegas. Did they ever find that cell phone? We`ve heard that it was turned off, but do we know? Alexis Tereszcuk, reporter, Radaronline, do we know if they ever found the cell, or just through electronic means discovered that it was not on?
[Tereszcuk:] From what we understand, they have not found the phone. That it hasn`t been turned and that it is has been turned off. There has not been a single communication from her since December 12th. She hasn`t been on Facebook, she hasn`t been on MySpace, it`s been nowhere. It`s really she just has completely disappeared. So people are really trying to find other ways to find her, but she hasn`t been communicating with anyone, and certainly not through her phone.
[Casarez:] And you know, Alexis, what doesn`t make sense is she had just gotten this break at the Luxor. This is big time.
[Tereszcuk:] Yes.
[Casarez:] The Las Vegas strip. And if that`s what you want to do, to be in the show at the Luxor, she had just gotten an solo dance spot at the Luxor in their show. You just wouldn`t run away from that.
[Unidentified Reporter:] The disappearance of Debora Flores-Narvaez. Things seemed to be on the way up for her. Had a gig lined up for the "Fantasy" showgirl in Sawford just days before she vanished.
[Unidentified Male:] She was actually was excited.
[Unidentified Reporter:] She has a new solo, it`s a promotion for her. Big-time show on the Las Vegas strip. Showgirl Debbie Flores-Narvaez. She didn`t show up for rehearsal.
[Flores-narvaez:] It`s not her.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Where is the showgirl?
[Unidentified Male:] We`re going to look at every aspect as if there was foul play.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Foul play. She didn`t come home that night. Police say she was last seen with her boyfriend.
[Casarez:] The ex-boyfriend.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Tension between the two. Debbie`s ex-boyfriend is a fellow Las Vegas performer. Jason Blu Griffith. Debbie`s car is found, her purse is still inside.
[Merriliz Monzon, Friend Of Missing Las Vegas Showgirl, Debbie Flores- Narvaez:] She didn`t show up. She just kept saying, you know, wait for me, respect me.
[Unidentified Reporter:] An October arrest report alleged he also pushed her down and proceeded to kick her and pull her hair.
[Flores-narvaez:] It`s not her to go missing, it`s not her to go take a small vacation.
[Casarez:] I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" in for Nancy Grace tonight. Well, there was a court date this morning. The ex-boyfriend, Drew Griffin, was supposed to meet and appear in regard to domestic violence coercion charges. He didn`t show up. He had his attorney there for him. The question is, why didn`t he show up, especially since someone who is bearing his child is gone? She`s completely gone. I want to go out to Merriliz Monzon, a very close friend of Debbie Flores. In fact, Debbie is supposed to spend Christmas with you. I want to ask you, what is the normal day in a life of a Las Vegas showgirl, Debbie Flores?
[Monzon:] Well, with Debbie, she it`s kind of rare to actually have some really good quality time with her, and I appreciate it every time I do. She`s really busy with rehearsals. She works Friday, Saturday nights. She told me that`s her priority at the "Playboy," or at Rain at the Palms. She dances for them and then she has rehearsals. So she`s always really tired. And so the time that I do spend with her, it`s really meaningful.
[Casarez:] To the callers. Judy in Illinois. Hi, Judy.
[Judy, Caller From Illinois:] Hi, Jean. Thank you for taking my call.
[Casarez:] You`re welcome.
[Judy:] My question is twofold. Now last night her sister indicated she was no longer pregnant. If she had a miscarriage as a result of the beating, could her boyfriend be charged with more you know, like, more charges? Number two, if she had a procedure to terminate the pregnancy, could he have been upset with that, they got into an argument, and things escalated from there?
[Casarez:] To Celeste Flores-Narvaez, the sister of Debbie Flores. I know this is a very, very sensitive question, but you did tell us last night that you knew your sister was pregnant and you also knew that when she went missing, that she was not pregnant. Do you know how that pregnancy ended?
[Flores-narvaez:] I`m not going to comment on that, but I do want to make sure that everybody knows, my sister did not have low self-esteem about herself. She was very, very, very positive and highly thought about herself. She loved everything about herself. She had a happy life. She just loved and when she loved, she loved hard. That`s a big difference. I just want to clear that up, that she did not have low self-esteem.
[Casarez:] All right. Thank you for saying that. To Alex Sanchez, defense attorney out of New York. If, in fact, this alleged kicking, beating, punching led to the child not being able to be born, is that just an aggravating factor or are there charges out there that she subsequently could face?
[Alex Sanchez, Defense Attorney:] No, there are charges out there he could face, and depending on the degree of the pregnancy, he could face possible murder charges, murdering that child, depending on the state. But something about that case, Nancy, in her absence, this case may be very hard to prosecute. The case where he had assaulted her, unless there`s an independent witness. Or if the police can prove that her absence was caused by him.
[Casarez:] Right.
[Sanchez:] But without those two factors, unfortunately, that case may collapse.
[Casarez:] Right. But what you`re saying, what normally would be hearsay, statements that she made to the police, to her friends, if it can be found by a preponderance of the evidence that he caused her to not be that witness in court for the domestic violence charges, then all of that can come in.
[Sanchez:] Exactly.
[Casarez:] So she can be that witness that maybe isn`t there physically, but testifies anyway.
[Sanchez:] Exactly. But you have to have hearings and you have to take testimony, it has to be sworn testimony. There has to be evidence linking him to her disappearance. If they could do that, they may be able to get that hearsay evidence in and convict him of that offense.
[Casarez:] But at this point, we need to find her. Debbie Flores. The tip line, everybody, 702-828-2907. A beautiful 31-year-old young lady, educated and just beginning the career of her dreams. To Linda in Florida. Hi, Linda.
[Linda, Caller From Florida:] Hi. My heart goes out to the family, first of all, and why I`m so much about this case is because I have a sister that her grace six feet under because of domestic violence. And she died she was murdered at the age of 33. So my heart really goes out to this family, because I believe that man is really guilty, because she`s such a pretty young lady, and I don`t know why she even settled for a deadbeat like him.
[Casarez:] Well we understand what you`re saying, but I guess we can`t be in Debbie Flores` shoes. To Celeste Flores-Narvaez, you can see the people are with you tonight. What message do you want to give to everybody out there, to help to find your sister?
[Flores-narvaez:] I want to say this. I want to say, just because there was a domestic case against him, that doesn`t mean that he did anything to her. Really, right now, I`m allowing the police to do exactly what they are trained to do, and that is to follow all possible leads and question who they need to question. I don`t believe in accusing anybody at all until proven guilty, and anybody watching, if you have any information in regards to my sister, please, just call the authorities, any little small detail could mean a huge deal. You know, just whether you saw her in the street or walking or in her car that night, it can place her in a certain place where we might have not known that she was there. So please, just call and just bring her home.
[Casarez:] Celeste, somebody has to know something and we need her back. To Tom Shamshak, former police chief, private investigator, what Celeste is saying I think is extremely important here. All right. Yes. Domestic violence. And prosecutors are charging that. But police should not discount obsessed fans, other people that she knew, because that could hinder CSI Vegas, right?
[Shamshak:] Absolutely. But again, they`ll follow the where the evidence takes them. And rest assured the primary source of information right now they`re focusing on is that automobile. They`ll turn it upside down and look for any piece of evidence that will help in the prosecution of whomever was responsible for her abduction.
[Casarez:] Because she was last seen in that vehicle.
[Unidentified Reporter:] The missing person`s case is rocking the Las Vegas Strip. A tumultuous past. Recent domestic abuse. Strange text messages sent to her mother just days before she vanished. Debbie Flores-Narvaez is missing. Where is the showgirl?
[Casarez:] Debbie Flores was last seen in her car. That car has been abandoned, but it is a maroon, 1997 Chevy Prism four door. Tip line 702- 828-2907. Let`s go to Arnette in Mississippi. Hi, Arnette.
[Arnette, Caller From Mississippi:] Hi, Jane. Thanks for taking my call.
[Casarez:] You`re welcome.
[Arnette:] My question is concerning the text message. Is it possible that she was telling her mother that her ex-boyfriend was not her best friend?
[Casarez:] You know, that`s how I interpreted it the first time I read it. Let`s show everybody. "In case there is ever an emergency with me, contact Blu Griffith in Vegas. My ex-boyfriend. Not my best friend." Pat Brown, criminal profiler, how do you define that? How do we interpret it?
[Brown:] Well, I think that is a very good way to interpret it. And I want to point out how a person of interest is focused upon. We look at their behaviors in the past. We look at their opportunities that they have and their motive. And we have a guy here who has had this somewhat difficult relationship with the victim, possible victim, and then we see this, all this stuff happening right before he says, I don`t want to go to jail. I don`t want to go to jail. So we have a guy here, the motive is out there and he has the opportunity because he is the last person to be seen with her. Doesn`t make him the guy who did it but that is why they focus on him. But they also have to be careful, you know, sometimes that can look like the person but it could just happen to be something completely different like a carjacking. I mean, so you cannot over focus but you obviously have to follow all your leads.
[Casarez:] And Blu Griffith is not a suspect in the disappearance of Debbie Flores, although he has been charged with domestic violence. Coercion is the actual felony charge facing eight years in prison. Tonight let us stop to remember Army Staff Sergeant Brian Morris, 38 years old, from Centreville, Michigan, killed in Iraq on a second tour of duty. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. He loved Michigan football. He`s remembered for always going the extra mile for others. He leaves behind his mother Leslie, his brother Richard, a retired staff sergeant, his sister, Sherry, his widow, Laurie, and his daughter, Emily. Brian Morris, an American hero. Thank you so much to all of our guests, to you at home. We`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, everybody. And remember, Debbie Flores. END

[Cho:] Welcome back, everybody, to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Alina Cho. T.J. Holmes is on assignment. It's 29 minutes after the hour. Here's what's happening. There's no question that the heart and soul of the civil rights movement was embedded in the black church. One name synonymous with activism is the Ebenezer Baptist Church under the helm of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As our T.J. Holmes tells us in this morning's "Faces of Faith," it's a church known for its leadership and that isn't about to change any time soon.
[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Correspondent:] This image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his passionate, fiery speeches from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church is seared into Americans' memories of the civil rights era.
[Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, Sr. Pastor, Ebenezer Baptist Church:] I like to say that Ebenezer Baptist Church was born to fly. Martin Luther King Jr. is a part of that long tradition. But while Dr. King was freedom's voice, I think it's important to emphasize that he was a part of a long freedom train.
[Holmes:] Dr. Raphael Warnock is only the fifth senior pastor in Ebenezer's 125-year history. Warnock says every one of them has a track record linked to Dr. King's legacy.
[Warnock:] His maternal grandfather the second pastor of this church, A.D. Williams, was an activist in his own right. His father, Martin Luther King Sr., was also an activist. We remember the Voting Rights Law of 1965. What fewer people know is that in 1935, Martin Luther King Sr. engaged a voting rights campaign here in Atlanta.
[Holmes:] Warnock says that sense of activism continues today as witnessed recently by the church's vocal, yet failed, efforts to stop the execution of Troy Davis following a murder conviction based, in part, on testimony later recanted.
[Warnock:] This is Jim Crow in a new era. There's just too much doubt for this execution to continue. If we continue to try to do justice to the great legacy that's been passed on to us
[Holmes:] Ebenezer's flock moved into this now-historic building in 1922. Then in 1999, a new church opened. Like the old building, the new one is a meeting place for the city's African-American community. It was standing-room only the night Barack Obama was elected president. Reverend Warnock was 35 when he took the reins of this historic church becoming the youngest ever to lead Ebenezer, working in the shadows of a man he still considers a role model.
[Warnock:] I'll tell you this. Early on as a child, I was always very fascinated and inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. as an 8-year- old, as a 9-year-old. His words captivated me. I decided to go to Morehouse College because he attended Morehouse College. I pursued a PhD in systematic theology because, like him, I wanted to bring a kind of serious and disciplined questioning to my faith.
[Holmes:] Like King, Warnock is also a Georgia native whose father was a minister.
[Warnock:] Let's pray to our God. Would you bow with me?
[Holmes:] But Warnock says it's his turn now to preserve and extend the legacy of Ebenezer Baptist Church. T.J. Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.
[Cho:] And if you'd like to read more about religion and spirituality, go to our belief blog at CNN.combelief. You can also share your thoughts. Later this morning, the culmination of a dream: for many Americans and frankly, many around the world, a memorial in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be dedicated in the nation's capital. A ceremony is under way right now. The four-acre memorial on the National Mall cost $120 million to build and was 14 years in the making. And you may be surprised to learn I certainly was that one of the early contributors was fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. And Tommy is joining me now from Washington; hey, Tommy, nice to see you. You know, I I have interviewed you many times about fashion.
[Tommy Hilfiger, Chairman And Ceo, Tommy Hilfiger:] Good morning.
[Cho:] But I have to say, when I saw your name on the list of speakers over the weekend, I thought to myself, now what in the world is Tommy Hilfiger doing involved with this effort? How did you get involved?
[Hilfiger:] Well, as an American iconic brand we thought it was important to give back and when we found out they were going to create this memorial, my partner Joel Horowitz at the time told me his parents marched with Dr. King and that inspired me to want to do something. So we gathered everyone in the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation together and we tapped into the Tommy Hilfiger Foundation which we established 15 years ago and said, ok, we want to do something significant to show our respect for Dr. King. And we were one of the first corporations to donate a substantial amount of money. We created the Dream Concert for raising money with Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and a number of stars at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
[Cho:] And I know that was that right that was at Radio City. That was at Radio City I remember that. And and Tommy, I mean, you're not talking chump change here; $7 million you donated and you were as you've mentioned one of the first American companies, if not the first to sign on, 12 years ago. You even have one Tommy Hilfiger employee dedicated to the effort in Washington, don't you? What is he or she doing?
[Hilfiger:] Well, she's a full-time administrator. There's a lot to really get this executed properly. It's been a long time coming so they needed all the hands and all the brains they could possibly get. So we had one of our chief executives go to Washington and work with them. She's been living in Washington, working with them every single day to try to make this dream come true.
[Cho:] Tommy, I know you'll be speaking later on. What's can you give us a preview of what you're going to say? And also, just your memories of Dr. King; I know you refer often to the "I have a dream" speech.
[Hilfiger:] Well, I will say that my father told me when I was a young boy that there were two people who would be important in the world one was MLK and one was JFK. That has remained in my mind for many, many years. And I think it influenced me and inspired me to get behind this project.
[Cho:] Tommy Hilfiger, a joy to talk to you, a joy to see you, as always. I'm sure I'll see you shortly in New York.
[Hilfiger:] Thank you Alina.
[Cho:] Thank you for taking time to be with us this morning.
[Hilfiger:] All the best.
[Cho:] All the best to you as well.
[Hilfiger:] Thank you.
[Cho:] Good luck giving your speech today.
[Hilfiger:] That's right.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] It's Wednesday, June 27th and STARTING POINT begins right now. You know, I like this song. It's just been played and played.
[Margaret Hoover, Cnn Contributor:] It's three chords, three notes, over and over and over.
[O'brien:] And they tend to play it on the radio constantly.
[Hoover:] That's exactly why it's my karaoke song because I can only hit three notes.
[John Fugelsang, Political Comedian:] Yes, it's more like shallow wait nothing. In fact, the irony of this song is it's not about breakfast at Tiffany's. It's about the movie "Roman Holiday." Did you know that?
[O'brien:] Details, details. Come on.
[Fugelsang:] I was a deejay. I know this crap.
[O'brien:] I know you do. Our team this morning, that was Margaret Hoover's play list. Margaret Hoover is with us. She is the author of "American Individualism." John Fugelsang is with us as well. He's a political comedian. You've been busy. You've been traveling a lot.
[Fugelsang:] Just a bit, yes. It's nice to see you again.
[O'brien:] Nice to see you again.
[Fugelsang:] I've been stalking you on airplanes.
[O'brien:] Please don't say that. Will Cain is with us as well of TheBlaze.com. On STARTING POINT this morning, the heated political climate, easy for me to say. Tomorrow, the Supreme Court is going to rule on the president's health care law. The house is planning on holding a contempt of Congress vote against Attorney General Eric Holder. All these issues simmering around the country. President Obama and Mitt Romney are in this tight race, trying really to focus on the swing states. And there's a new BC"Wall Street Journal" poll that shows that 50 percent of people living in those 11 battle ground states prefer President Obama, 42 percent back Mitt Romney. It's all within the margin of error. People who are living in the state of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin were polled. Republican Senator Ron Johnson is a Romney campaign surrogate. He's also from the swing state of Wisconsin. It's nice to see you, sir. Thank you for talking with us this morning. Appreciate your time. Not only that poll is new. There's also a poll that takes a look at it breaks down sort of the voters, and if you look at African- Americans, no surprise, President Obama is leading significantly, 92 percent to 1 percent for Mitt Romney. If you look at women, President Obama is leading 52 percent to 39 percent for Mitt Romney. Voters who are relatively young, 18 to 29, 52 percent to 35 percent for Mitt Romney. Independents, a little bit more of a squeaker there, 40 percent to 36 percent. Really technically neck and neck because there's a sampling error of plus or minus 6 percent. When you look at these polls in total, tell me what the strategy is to try to get, you know, a little more play on the map there.
[Sen. Ron Johnson , Wisconsin:] I think any American that's concerned about having a job or any American that's concerned about the mountain of debt that we heaped on the backs of our children and grandchildren, and really mortgaging the future, I think those people look at Governor Romney and say, here's somebody who will be a leader and actually start addressing the problem. You know, actually propose solutions to save Social Security and Medicare. And I think that's what basically the message and the campaign that Governor Romney I think will be running.
[O'brien:] Do you think that the about immigration, even though we have been having a lot of conversations this week, certainly do you think they are irrelevant Does Mitt Romney support SB-1070, yes or no?
[Carlos Gutierrez, Romney Campaign:] Soledad, it's a little bit more complicated. Let me just say this.
[O'brien:] It's not. It's not.
[Gutierrez:] No. What the governor has said, and he made a statement yesterday, he supports the rights of border states to do what they have to do according to the law to protect their borders.
[O'brien:] And does that and does that include stopping and detaining anyone and checking the immigration status of that person if they have reasonable suspicion if the person is in the country illegally? I'm not just sparring with you, sir. As you know, this is the critical, central, most controversial portion of this bill. And Governor Romney has not said if he supports it or not.
[Gutierrez:] But this is not about Governor Romney.
[O'brien:] It is if he wants to be president. Why is it so hard to articulate his position on immigration?
[Johnson:] First of all, Soledad, this is a very difficult issue. And what Arizona is trying to do is it's basically trying to address a problem that President Obama and the federal government has basically abdicated their responsibility on. These are very serious issues. They are difficult issues. And President Obama said during his campaign that this was such an important issue that he was going to handle the immigration problem in his first year. He has done nothing on it. He certainly has done nothing to secure our borders, which is the first step. And that's a real problem. Because we're not going to solve our immigration issue until we secure our borders. And this is much more than just immigration issue. It's a national security issue as well, as people can come into this country, people that threaten this country, because we've refused to secure our borders.
[Hoover:] You know, Soledad, I wonder if Senator Johnson and the Romney campaign actually look at the numbers, seeing how close they are, and knowing we are not even to July yet, Mitt Romney hasn't garnered the Republican nomination yet. The majority of Americans who are going to be voting in November haven't gotten to know Mitt Romney yet, and whether they take a little bit of hope from the numbers that thinking that maybe when they get to know Mitt Romney then they'll have a more informed opinion that maybe the disparity, since it is so close, is just because they don't know the candidate yet.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] You asked what is the strategy? I'd offer to you, "The Wall Street Journal" wrote yesterday that Senator Johnson's existence is in fact a strategy. That the Republicans can go into what have been reliably Democratic states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota and hope to make up ground. Now, I don't know if that's true or not. But Senator Johnson's office, that he exists and holds it, might be evidence of that.
[Fugelsang:] I'd like to ask Senator Johnson. Good morning, sir. John Fugelsang here. When you consider that the president has sent National Guard troops to the border, has a record number of deportations, and last April we found out that America has had a net zero increase of illegal immigrants, whereas the governor hasn't yet taken a stance on this controversial topic, how does the governor claim he is taking leadership more than the president on this issue?
[Johnson:] First of all, we have seen reports that border agents aren't able or have been discouraged from actually reporting the true extent of the problem on the borders in terms of not actually enforcing the borders.
[Fugelsang:] Net zero increase in illegal immigration as of April.
[Johnson:] That's because our economy is in such dire straits that there aren't the jobs here to attract the illegal immigrants.
[Fugelsang:] So Bush gets credit.
[Johnson:] These are serious issues, but it has to start first with border enforcement. And this administration really has been terrible in terms of actually trying to secure our borders. And that's where it first starts.
[O'brien:] Let's talk about the Supreme Court expected to rule on health care. We are expecting that at 10:00 tomorrow morning. Give me the hypotheticals on this. Let's say in fact that it's shot down. What happens next?
[Johnson:] Well, first of all, that's obviously what I'm hoping. The cleanest decision
[O'brien:] We know.
[Johnson:] The cleanest decision would be to totally, you know, rule the entire law unconstitutional, and then we can start over with an open debate and a step-by-step approach. Republicans are not going to be putting forward a 2,700 page bill, another 12,000 pages of rules and regulations. We're going to take a look at the individual issues. And debate openly. And let's face it. The greatest impediment to access to health care is the cost. And this president promised if we enacted his health care law, the average cost for a family plan would decrease by $2,500 per year. It's actually up by over $2,000 per year. That's making it more difficult for families to access care. And so, you need to reintroduce the free market disciplines into health care, and you start with some common sense tort reforms so that we can get rid of the huge costs of malpractice and defense of medicine.
[O'brien:] There are lots of people I think who think that the individual mandate is not such a great idea. But there are people who are very beholden to the idea of covering people with pre-existing conditions, with the cost of keeping the premiums for elderly people. How much of a political hit will you take if it looks like Republicans are responsible, that's a big if, for killing this bill? I think that people who want their pre-existing conditions covered, that could be some kind of leverage in an election year, don't you think?
[Johnson:] The way you handle pre-existing conditions is how you do it in Wisconsin with the high risk pool. In Wisconsin, in the state of Wisconsin, 95 percent of the population either has coverage or has access to coverage, whether they decide to alas access it or not. Wisconsin did not need a federal solution. We didn't need 2,700 pages. And I think this is far better left to the states on the individual basis to figure out what is the best way of handling people with pre-existing conditions. You can't just force insurance companies to take all comers or you will bankrupt those insurance companies. And, by the way, individuals would never buy health care. I mean, why would you, if you can wait until you're basically on the way to the hospital? So that's a system that doesn't work. And Democrats that passed the health care law even admitted that covering everybody with pre- existing conditions with no penalties does not work without the individual mandate, which I believe is unconstitutional, and I hope that's the way the Supreme Court rules.
[O'brien:] We will see how the Supreme Court is going to rule and maybe we'll get a chance to talk about it tomorrow again, sir. Senator Ron Johnson, Republican from the state of Wisconsin. Nice to have you with us. Appreciate it.
[Johnson:] Have a good day.
[O'brien:] Thank you, likewise. Let's get right to Christine. She's got an update on our top stories. Hey, Christine.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Hi there. It has exploded. New video in to CNN showing overnight homes entirely up in flames in Colorado Springs. Thirty-two thousand people have been chased from their homes. This fire now raging unchecked, spreading to 6,200 acres. It is only 5 percent contained. The largest of the fires in the state, the High Park Fire, has been burning since June 9th. That one has destroyed 257 homes. To Florida, where Debby has now been downgraded to a tropical depression. The storm has dumped a dangerous amount of rain over Florida, more than 25 inches in some parts. People just beginning to return home by boat and finding total loss.
[Jo Graddy, Madeira Beach Resident:] The water was up this high on the doors. Everything inside the garage was floating. There was a walkway in the center, and everything was stacked up on the sides. The water started floating everything, and it collapsed down in on itself.
[Romans:] In Washington, the art of survival. Seventy-eight- year-old Senator Orrin Hatch beating back a Tea Party challenge in the Utah Senate primary. Hatch easily defeated former state Senator Dan Liljenquist. He says he did it by outworking his younger opponent. Hatch is trying for a seventh term in the Senate. Long time New York Congressman Charlie Rangel also survived a primary challenge in his Harlem district. The 82-year-old Democrat was facing voters for the first time since being censured by fellow House members for ethics violation. Rangel is running for a 22nd term in Congress. She touched millions with her words. Writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron is being remembered this morning after losing her battle with leukemia. Ephron was known for romantic comedies, including "When Harry Met Sally" and this classic scene.
[Meg Ryan:] Yes, yes, yes! Oh, oh, oh, oh, God. Oh.
[Unidentified Female:] I'll have what she's having.
[Romans:] Billy Crystal said in a statement, "I'm very sad to learn of Nora's passing. She was a brilliant writer and humorist. Being her Harry to Meg's Sally will always have a special place in my heart. I was very lucky to get to say her words." Ephron was 71 years old Soledad.
[O'brien:] I loved the movie, but I really love "Heartburn." too.
[Fugelsang:] You know, I'm glad you mentioned that because that was Meryl Streep playing Nora Ephron in a film about her divorce from Carl Bernstein.
[O'brien:] Right.
[Fugelsang:] That was her first really big script.
[O'brien:] Yes, that was a great, great movie.
[Fugelsang:] Also a good director too.
[O'brien:] Ahead on STARTING POINT this morning, he has taken some big hits. Now the Saints' Super Bowl winning quarterback Drew Brees talks about his mission to try to educate folks about concussions. And today's "Tough Call," no air conditioning in Texas prisons. Is that cruel and inhumane? Here's Tom Petty, "I Won't Back Down." That's Will Cain's play list. It wasn't Carly Rae. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in a moment.

[Malveaux:] Thousands of postal workers around the country are breathing a little sigh of relief today after the Senate passed a plan to save the U.S. Postal Service, as well as their jobs. The battle not yet over, however. Alison Kosik joins us from New York. Alison, my grandfather, he used to work for the post office. It's a good job. We know the House hasn't voted on this yet, but the Senate plan essentially is going to help people get back on their feet?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Correspondent:] You're talking about the post office. And, yes, this bill, Suzanne, it will help the post office. But critics say the problem with this bill is that it just doesn't go far enough because what the bill winds up doing is making it hard for the USPS to make the cuts that it needs in the first place to save itself. So let me give you the big example here. The postal service says it wants to close almost 4,000 locations. And the Senate bill says, OK, go ahead and close them, but we're going to put restrictions on really whether or not you can close them. Meaning, the postal service first has to prove that these closures are justified with running through lots of studies and public comments. But the thing is, the postal service already looked at these closures. They've been looking at them since last year. They found out that these places are bringing in less than $50 a day. And Republican Congressman Darrell Issa said, you know what, if we keep studying this thing, it's going to mean more and more delays. It's going to cost millions of dollars more. All right, so also what this bill does, it caps executive pay. It authorizes worker buyouts. But it doesn't allow the post office to actually cut that Saturday service that we all rely on. It doesn't allow that cut in service for a few years, saying that really would only be a last resort. Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] Do we know, Alison, how much time the post office has before it just runs out of money?
[Kosik:] And that's a good question. But you look at what's going on here, it's already in such bad shape that it's borrowing money from the government. $12 billion so far. The Senate bill lets the postal service borrow even more money if it needs to. And, if you ask me, I think it needs to. You look at the USPS, it's literally bleeding money here. It's lost $5 billion just last year. It hasn't turned a profit in six years. And now the USPS is kind of caught between a rock and a hard place though. You know, give it some credit here. It needs to make cuts. But the problem with the way the USPS gets its approval approval process goes, they have to go through Congress first. So the USPS can't run itself like a business wood because it's tied up in all those all that politics. So you can't really see it just like a business, any old business, Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And, Alison, I know a lot of people, they look forward to getting their mail on Saturday. Weekend is really important for a lot of folks. And they're going to be able to get their mail for at least, what, on the weekends, another couple years, right? That
[Kosik:] Right. Another couple of years. It shows you just how much we rely on our mail, getting it on Saturday, that the Senate bill did put a stipulation in that that is only a last resort, that the Saturday service would go away.
[Malveaux:] All right. Alison Kosik, thanks. Appreciate it.
[Kosik:] Sure.
[Malveaux:] Baby boomers turn to machines to keep them fit. That is pilates machines. You're going to hear one woman's story of how this exercise kept her medical bills down.

[Blitzer:] A disturbing sight at that damaged nuclear plant in Japan. Black smoke spotted today rising from reactor number 3. Officials say radiation was released, but it's unclear if that release was linked to the smoke. Meantime, concerns over radiation exposure are escalating after Tokyo officials announced radioactive material in tap water there has exceeded the amount that's safe for infants. U.S. officials aren't taking any chances when it comes to potential radiation contamination of military equipment. CNN's Martin Savidge saw the cleanup operations on board the USS Ronald Reagan.
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] Right now every piece of hardware, every aircraft, and every piece of machinery used to move that aircraft is on the front of the USS Ronald Reagan, as is well, you can see a lot of the crew hands. And you're wondering, maybe, why are they all sitting around? Well, we'll show you. Look what's going on back here water. Lots and lots of water just being sprayed all over the deck right now in what is probably the biggest cleanup effort you're ever likely to see at sea. Now, earlier today, as part of this effort, up at the bow, it got even more incredible to watch as the crews went to work with the foam, with the brushes. There was music going. The idea here though is all about safety.
[Unidentified Male:] What we're doing right now is just, like, decontaminating the ship.
[Savidge:] Why all this remarkable effort? Well, you may remember back on the 13th, this aircraft carrier and some of its helicopters passed through the radioactive plume from that damaged nuclear plant, the Fukushima Daiichi plan. As a result of that, there was some limited exposure to the crew and some of the aircraft, and possibly the ship. So this is all designed to clean it, scrub it down, use brushes, use foam, clear every possible surface, then check it with some machines such as Geiger counters while keeping the crew in protective suits. It's extreme measures, but it's always designed to keep the crew safe and to keep the ship operational.
[Blitzer:] Marty Savidge reporting for us. And this just in. Toyota plants here in the United States might be impacted by the Japan disaster. Let's get details from CNN's Mary Snow. She's in New York. What are you learning, Mary?
[Mary Snow, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, Toyota is telling its plants in North America to be prepared for what a spokesman calls a possible scheduled shutdown because of part shortages in Japan. The spokesman from Toyota says workers at 13 plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico were given the news today. And the spokesman also saying that the company wants workers to be aware that there will be an impact to North American operations, but it's unclear the kind of impact just yet, how quickly it will come and how long it will last. Now, Toyota says it continues to get some parts from some of its Toyota factories in Japan and some outside suppliers, but not as many. And, you know, there was impact last week, Wolf, when Toyota announced that it was cutting back on overtime as a precaution to conserve parts from suppliers Wolf.
[Blitzer:] I suppose this is only just beginning, this shortage.
[Snow:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much, Mary, for that. In northern Japan, the death toll keeps climbing, including an elementary school where we found a heartbreaking story of children lost, parents frustrated, and a community in tears. Stand by for that. In Libya, we're taking you to the front lines as rebel forces move farther west.

[Crowley:] Joining me here in Manchester, John Sununu, former governor of New Hampshire and a Romney supporter, and Bob Walker, a former U.S. congressman who's advising the Gingrich campaign. Thank you, both, gentlemen. Big debate last night. Not a lot of fireworks aimed at Mitt Romney, so it seems to me that this is a nod in the direction of he really is the front-runner and this is all about can anybody challenge him? Would you agree with that summation of what happened?
[Former Gov. John Sununu, New Hampshire:] Well, I think they're all challenging him. And that's what the process is all about. Mitt Romney's going a step at a time, recognizing it's going to be a long slog, although, of course, New Hampshire is the most important step in that long slog.
[Crowley:] Thank you, Governor.
[Sununu:] But but really and truly, anyone who thinks this is going to end quickly and early is is mistaken.
[Former Rep. Bob Walker , Pennsylvania:] I would agree with that, that I think that, in New Hampshire, that Mitt Romney is certainly the front-runner. I think that there are a lot of people vying for the number two and three slots, again, in in New Hampshire. But clearly, there are high expectations for Governor Romney here in New Hampshire, and so part of this selection is going to be measured by those expectations.
[Sununu:] Let me talk... Let me talk about this spin that's coming out. Whenever you're losing badly, you move from saying I'm trying to win to lowering expectations. To me, the reference point for what you can do in a New Hampshire primary was the Bush-Dole campaign. I ran the Bush campaign in '88. Bush beats Dole 38-29. It was virtually a two-man race. And and we had a great campaign, got up to 38 percent. This is six or seven people actually eight or nine major ones still on the ballot, including the ones that dropped out. That's the reference point, that you're going to get somewhere, I think, in the middle 30s and you're going to win hopefully by eight, nine...
[Crowley:] ... lowering expectations...
[Sununu:] But but why should it be any better? Why should it be any significantly different than the Bush-Dole margin structure that occurred then?
[Walker:] But the fact is the fact is that the expectations of a lot of the New Hampshire polls that I'm talking to is that he should be in the 40s in New Hampshire. And the other fact is that, right now, we see, for instance, Newt Gingrich moving up in the latest poll and we see Romney moving down a little bit. It's closing up. And that will be a factor in what the final determination will be.
[Sununu:] It it always closes up and that's the whole point. And what you're getting is the spin of the losers trying to salvage something out of the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary.
[Walker:] Well, the fact is the fact is that everybody came into New Hampshire recognizing that, if Mitt Romney would happen to finish second in New Hampshire, it would be a disaster for his campaign. And so everybody else is in fact finding a way to jockey for position. We'll see when we move from here. John believes that this is going to be a long slog. I believe this is going to be a long slog.
[Crowley:] I believe it's going to end in Florida. Do you all say you think it's going to be a long I mean, I understand that the delegates, getting the delegates out there is going to take a while because every state has delegates and has a different process. But the fact of the matter is, if somebody's going to come out of here looking fairly strong as the not-Romney candidate correct?
[Walker:] That could be. It's not it's not clear exactly how that will sort out because some of that is already sorting out on the ground in in South Carolina.
[Crowley:] In South Carolina. So South Carolina then becomes the next battlefield and you you go there and you find the conservative alternative to Mitt. And then it's solved in Florida. What's wrong with that scenario?
[Sununu:] You're right. It it's going to be a long slog. It's going to go well past Florida.
[Crowley:] Right...
[Walker:] Well, we think...
[Sununu:] Isn't it isn't it really a representation of, you know, people trying to overspin this process that we're spending all this time talking about how important a small margin differential might be? We ought to be talking about issues. We ought to be talking about the fact that that the Republican Party has got a bunch of fairly good candidates, very good candidates, campaigning, debating, talking about how to fix America, and Mitt Romney is putting out a message that, right now, has him at the top of the pack. He won Iowa; he's going to win New Hampshire; and he's going to move into South Carolina and Florida, and we're going to see different parts of the country participate in the process. And I'm positive Mitt Romney's going to do well.
[Walker:] And... ... we are talking about process, because the issues that the American people want to hear about is not where the individual candidates are in percentages. What they want to hear is how we're going to produce the jobs of the future, how we're going to make this economy grow, how we are going to deal with a foreign policy crisis that's enormous in places like the Middle East.
[Crowley:] So let me talk about the latest ad from Newt Gingrich talking about economic policy. Take a listen.
[Announcer:] Romney's economic plan? Timid, parts of it virtually identical to Obama's failed policy. Timid won't create jobs, and timid certainly won't defeat Barack Obama.
[Crowley:] So, Romney's plan is timid and very much like Barack Obama's. So let's talk policy.
[Sununu:] Look, the most important thing that you have to do to create jobs in this country is to create a climate that attracts investment. Investment wants to come back to America but most of the private sector is holding cash today because they're scared to death of this administration. You need to flatten the tax; you need to cut corporate taxes. You have to reduce regulations; you have to modernize regulations, and you have to recognize that we are truly in a competitive climate, not a public-sector perspective like Obama has, but a competitive private- sector set of experiences that Mitt Romney can bring to creating the public sector policies that we...
[Walker:] But just so we understand just so we understand, it was not Newt Gingrich calling the plan that Governor Romney has put forward timid. It was The Wall Street Journal. it was The Wall Street Journal that has said that it is a plan that is closer to Obama's than certainly the rest of the people in the field. Newt Gingrich believes that by going to a zero capital gains tax, by lowering the corporate tax to 12.5 percent, that you will get exactly the investment that we need in this country and we will produce new jobs. Moreover, the one-year expensing of equipment for manufacturers and for others will assure that we invest in the most modern technologies and put the workers in the field that will be the most productive.
[Sununu:] Candy, what America wants to know: who is going to cut spending, reduce spending so you can go to a flatter tax, so you can reduce capital gains tax, and so you can reduce regulations.
[Walker:] You have to have growth in order to do those things. You have to... You have to grow the economy in order to do it.
[Crowley:] I'll have you both back, I promise.
[Walker:] Thank you. It's good to be with you.
[Crowley:] After the break, an exclusive interview with Nancy Pelosi on the Republican 2012 race and her biting non-opinion of the front-runner. Have you ever met Mitt Romney?
[Pelosi:] I don't think so. It wasn't memorable if I did.

[A.j. Hammer, Co-host:] Big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT the Courteney Cox-David Arquette confession tour. Their startling new confessions today about splitting up.
[David Arquette, Actor:] I think you`re over it baby. You just need to admit it, and we just need to figure out the next steps.
[Howard Stern, Radio:] Is that true?
[Courteney Cox, Actress:] Wow, that`s heavy.
[Stern:] Is it over? It is over. I told David it`s over.
[Cox:] Here`s the truth
[Hammer:] Courteney and David revealing steamy, intimate details about why they broke up. Our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint today could airing their dirty laundry actually be a good thing? Will Courteney and David be named SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s most provocative celebrity couple of the week? Or will it be Scarlett Johansson and Sean Penn for shacking up? Or "American Idol`s" Pia Toscano and "Dancing with the Stars`" Mark Ballas are they dating?
[Brooke Anderson, Co-host:] Ashton and Demi`s marriage secret. Their remarkable new revelations today how Post-It notes yes, Post-It kept their marriage hot. And Zsa Zsa Gabor, a mom at 94? TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now.
[Hammer:] Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer, coming to you from New York City.
[Anderson:] Hi, there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood with big news breaking today dirty details.
[Hammer:] Yes, Brooke. Talk about TMI too much information. The David Arquette confession tour rolled into "Live with Regis and Kelly" today that`s just one day after David and Courteney did their first joint interview about sex, love and rocky marriage. But wait, maybe it not TMI because SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is breaking news today that although the sometimes cringe-worthy confessions being told publicly about David and Courteney`s split by them, may actually be a good thing. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the dirty dancing around the dirty details.
[Cox:] She`s one of the most honest people I know.
[Hammer:] On "Live with Regis and Kelly" this morning, David Arquette was quizzed once again on what`s become his favorite subject his relationship with wife Courteney Cox since their separation last year.
[Arquette:] I don`t know if we`ll be getting back together.
[Hammer:] It`s all part of the David Arquette post-separation tour. He`s dished to Howard Stern
[Arquette:] My sex with Courteney is kind of you know, it`s scheduled to a certain degree.
[Hammer:] He`s shared with Oprah.
[Arquette:] I want us to be the best people we can be.
[Hammer:] But now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you Arquette has company on his post-separation tour. Now, Courteney Cox is dishing. She actually joined Arquette on Howard Stern`s Sirius XM radio show sharing intimate details about how they`re trying to work things out.
[Cox:] Do you really, really, like, want me to come back and have it exactly the same way?
[Arquette:] No, not exactly the same way.
[Cox:] What on earth is going to be different?
[Jo Piazza, Entertainment Journalist:] This does feel a little bit like a reality show, like reality couple`s therapy.
[Hammer:] Yes. Rather than just sharing their issues with a qualified marriage counselor, like, say, Dr. Phil, David Arquette and Courteney Cox are over-sharing with Dr. America.
[Piazza:] They`re airing so much dirty laundry. This is definitely a yuck factor.
[Hammer:] The biggest yuck factor Courteney and David are sharing this week David`s unsuccessful attempt to seduce his estranged wife during a recent family trip to Disney World. Cox has talked about the attempted seduction on "The Late Show with David Letterman." Mickey, you might want to cover your ears with this one.
[Cox:] He did try to hit on me, yes. He hit pretty hard and I said, you know, "You don`t have the facts all straight now."
[Hammer:] And on the Howard Stern show, the two went into even more detail about that failed magic kingdom hookup.
[Stern:] Why did you reject David`s advances in Florida at Disney?
[Cox:] Well, you see, it`s not really the place for it.
[Stern:] Why?
[Cox:] First of all, it was early in the morning. It just wasn`t the right time and I don`t want to confuse the issue. We were going through a hard time.
[Hammer:] This in-limbo couple also talked about their different personalities.
[Cox:] David likes to do completely the opposite things that I do.
[Hammer:] Their different sex drives. Mickey, your ears still covered?
[Cox:] He could not literally put his arm around me for one second without completely getting a
[Hammer:] What went wrong in their marriage
[Cox:] I would say, at the end, like, he had told the world. I don`t think we tried our hardest.
[Arquette:] Just kiss her as well as I could have.
[Hammer:] And how they`re trying to work things out.
[Arquette:] I think she`s telling me it`s over.
[Cox:] I wish it was that simple. I don`t think we`re ready to actually have taking this to a different level. I get scared. I don`t want to do this again.
[Hammer:] But above everything else, Courteney and David are making clear they still love each other.
[Cox:] David is the most amazing guy. He`s the best heart.
[Arquette:] We have beautiful love. She`s my best friend.
[Hammer:] Not to sound cynical, but Courteney and David`s lovey-dovey sharing and over-sharing does come at an interesting time. Their new movie "Scream 4" opens today.
[Piazza:] Going out there and airing all their dirty laundry on "Howard Stern," which has a huge audience, is a great way for them to promote the movie.
[Hammer:] And even though Courteney and David may venture into TMI territory, we`ve got to say it`s better than what we`ve seen in the typically nasty thermonuclear Hollywood breakups, like Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, Charlie Sheen and, well, every woman he`s been with. So maybe America would much rather see Courteney and David`s everything-is-rosy tour than war of the roses.
[Piazza:] America loves both Courteney and David so their fans would be really disappointed to see them have this very vicious, violent breakup. For as much TMI as we`re seeing in all these interviews, the two seem to have a tremendous amount of respect and love for each other.
[Hammer:] Mickey Mouse would definitely approve.
[Anderson:] Would Mickey approve? The David and Courteney confession tour really does roll on with all this on-air marriage counseling. And that leads us to our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint is it a good idea for them to air their dirty laundry in public? Right now, in New York, is Z100 radio host Trey Morgan. Trey, first, I want to say flat out I think it`s pretty remarkable that they can be so fearlessly forthcoming with the entire country watching, the entire country listening. To our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint could it actually be a good thing that Courteney and David are airing their dirty laundry in public like this?
[Trey Morgan, Z100 Radio:] Well, I mean, it could be a good thing and a bad thing. You know, like in the piece said, it alluded to the fact this could be a good thing because you have "Scream 4" coming out today and it could be a great publicity. But really, to air your dirty laundry like this, these intimate relationship details in front of the world I just can`t see that being a really god idea for either of them.
[Anderson:] Well, it is so rare that celebrities are ever this brutally honest. And you know, if they feel that good for their relationship, if both of them agree about doing this, then I don`t know. Why not? But I want to hear what radio and TV host Amy Scott thinks about it. It`s our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint, Amy good idea or TMI?
[Amy Scott, Radio And Tv:] I think it`s a great idea. Honestly, I think America has become desensitized to a lot of that stuff. And you know, we all love David and we love Courteney. They`re such a darn likable couple, right? We`re rooting for both of them and I think it`s fun to see it live on TV. We love this stuff. Then, again, I am the skeptic, too. And I do think the movie opening may have a little something to do with it.
[Anderson:] I don`t see that at all because the previous "Scream" movies and the franchise made more than $500 million dollars at this box office. So the franchise "Scream" sells itself, don`t you think?
[Scott:] Well, I don`t know.
[Anderson:] They don`t have to do this.
[Scott:] A review I read today said it`s nothing to shout about. So maybe, you know, they need a little help.
[Anderson:] Well, maybe. I don`t know. I think their target demographic will still see it. But we shall see what happens. And speaking of "Scream," the director of "Scream 4," for the first time today, is revealing new details about Courteney and David and what they were like together when they first split up on the set of his movie. Listen to what Wes Craven just told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
[Wes Craven, Director, "scream 4":] I think, genuinely, they still love and like each other immensely, so that`s got to last. Whatever else doesn`t last or does last, we`ll see. But I haven`t seen anything between them that`s anything but loving, which is quite remarkable.
[Anderson:] Trey, so do you believe that they were still playing nice just days after their separation started? It`s incredible.
[T. Morgan:] Well, look, when they first got together what was it 12 years ago, the world was shocked that these two people got together. So I think, really, what they were, just really good friends who got a little confused and even in this breakup, they`re still good friends. Like Courteney said, great roommates. But the relationship I don`t think there`s much more there. So even on set, they were still friendly because they love each other like friends.
[Anderson:] Yes. They certainly have a lot of respect for one another. Well, on Howard Stern`s show, with Courteney sitting right beside him, David revealed that he thinks Courteney is going to leave him. Listen.
[Arquette:] I think she is telling me it`s over.
[Cox:] Oh, god. I wish it was that simple. I just think if I went back right now, I don`t know that I would be I don`t know that we wouldn`t get back in the same pattern and continue to live separate lives. Good roommates, but I don`t know that we`re ready I don`t think we`re ready to actually have taking this to a different level.
[Anderson:] OK. Amy, how long can this back and forth go on?
[Scott:] I don`t know. You know, I feel like it`s almost unfair of her at this point. It`s like, god, the guy he`s pouring out his heart to Howard Stern. He`s pouring out his heart to America. Either, you know, leave him or don`t already because, you know I don`t know. He seems a little too frisky for her, I guess.
[Anderson:] Yes. They split up in October. You`re like, "Make a decision already."
[Scott:] They`ve got to move on.
[Anderson:] Well, today, we`re also learning Courteney insists she is not in the driver`s seat with David just getting taken along for the ride. So Trey, quickly, do you get the feeling that nobody`s in the driver`s seat?
[T. Morgan:] Well, I think actually they`re both in control of themselves. If David really wants to work this out, then he`ll keep trying. If Courteney wants to work this out, she`ll keep trying. They`re both in control. And ultimately, they`re going to have to make this decision together.
[Anderson:] I hope they can reconcile. Trey Morgan and Amy Scott, good to see you. Thanks.
[Hammer:] All right. Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore their marriage secrets revealed today. How Post-It notes yes, I said Post-It keeps their marriage hot.
[Piers Morgan, Host, "piers Morgan Tonight:] Is he romantic?
[Demi Moore, Actress:] I would say so.
[Morgan:] Or is he ruggedly you know, take you over his shoulder
[Moore:] I think he`s a little bit of both.
[Hammer:] We`ve got more what they just told CNN`s Piers Morgan. But is this another case of TMI?
[Anderson:] Zsa Zsa Gabor, a mom at age 94? What? Why her 67-year-old husband says Zsa Zsa wants to be a mother again. Is this just beyond bizarre or what?
[Hammer:] No, it`s perfectly normal. Donald Trump`s incredible spin today. Why he`s really holding off on announcing whether or not he`ll run for president. The SHOWBIZ spin doctor is in. Coming up, is the Donald making a big mistake? This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. It`s time for the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] $100,000 in jewelry allegedly stolen from Jon Bon Jovi`s New Jersey home. Students at Prince William and Kate Middleton`s Alma Mater perform Lady Gaga tribute.

[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] We are beginning with breaking news this morning. A shooting at Quantico leaving three dead at the Virginia Marine Base including the suspected shooter who apparently took his own life after a standoff with police. It is believed all the dead are Marines. Shannon Travis is live from Quantico, Virginia, this morning. What is the latest here, Shannon?
[Shannon Travis, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, Zoraida. We're waiting for about an hour from now, at about 7:00 a.m. for Marine base officials to come out and brief us on what more they have learned. But here's what we have so far. The three that you mentioned, three dead, all believed to be Marines. Two of them, the shooter, and the first victim, believed to be male, and the second victim, gender unclear. Now here's what happened. About 11:00 last night, there was a dispatch put out, basically a 911, that there was a shooting on the base. It happened near the officer's candidate school. The dispatch went out and there was a public announcement made over the P.A. system basically on base telling everyone on base in their homes to stay in their homes, lock the doors, and the base was put on lockdown. From there, police officials began to look for this suspect. Basically apprehend the suspect. They learned that he had holed himself up, barricaded himself, in a barracks, which was obviously where the service members on base actually sleep, barricaded himself into a room. They tried to establish communications with the gunman. Unclear if the gunman was responsive, if they were able to establish those communications. But about two hours after the point where they got the call, the 911, that there was a shooting, and that they entered the room, there was about two hours later. Once they entered the room, Zoraida, more tragedy, the shooter dead of a self- apparently a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Another victim, in the room with the shooter, unclear how that person got in there, again, a lot of this is being investigated right now. Officials tell us that this is an active crime scene. One of the officials that we spoke with has a message, though, for anyone who's listening in the public.
[Unidentified Male:] Just ask for everyone's prayers and thoughts for the families who are affected by this tragedy, and then we ask, also that you give us time to sort out the details and get you guys the accurate information that you guys want.
[Travis:] Now, again, Zoraida, at about 7:00 a.m. we expect to hear some more information. We'll pose more questions to them. One question that we had to clear up, if there's any chance at all that there are any other victims that have yet to be found, officials tell us, no, that these victims, these casualties are limited to those three.
[Sambolin:] I know, Shannon, that you have asked for more information on the shooter and perhaps a motive, as well and we don't have those details as of yet, right?
[Travis:] Correct. We don't have those details as of yet. We hope to get them in this press conference that, as I mentioned, that we'll see at 7:00 a.m.
[Sambolin:] All right, Shannon Travis reporting live for us. Appreciate it.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Police in Colorado are taking a, quote, "strong look" at whether a suspect shot debt by police in Texas is the same man wanted in the killing of Colorado's prison chief. The man was gunned down after a wild chase in a car that was similar to one seen leaving the Colorado home where Tom Clements was shot dead, as he answered his door. CNN correspondent Ed Lavandera joins us live now from Decatur, Texas. What's the latest on this, Ed?
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, hundreds of miles away from where the director of the Colorado prison system was gunned down and killed at his front door, the focus is now on Texas. And specifically, the driver of a black Cadillac that ended that was killed after a wild high-speed chase yesterday afternoon.
[Lavandera:] This is how a high speed chase across North Texas ended, a black Cadillac with two different Colorado license plates smashed by an 18-wheeler. But the crash didn't stop the driver from getting out of the car and firing away at law enforcement officers. He was shot and killed in the fire fight.
[Unidentified Male:] He wasn't planning on being taken alive. I mean, that's obvious that he was trying to hurt somebody and he was trying to hurt the police.
[Lavandera:] The chase started when a sheriff's deputy tried to pull the Cadillac over on a remote stretch of Texas highway. Deputy James Boyd was shot twice in the chest. But he was wearing a bulletproof vest, and is expected to survive. That triggered a long, high-speed chase.
[Unidentified Male:] He came by me. I was say going about 100 miles an hour. Had his left arm out the window and he was just shooting. He shot four times when he passed by my car parked in the median of the highway.
[Lavandera:] The "Denver Post" quoting federal and state officials reports the suspect is 28-year-old Evan Spencer Ebell, a parolee from the Denver area. The "Post" says Ebell is the focus of the investigation into the murder of Tom Clements, the director of Colorado's prison system. In a press release Thursday night, El Paso County investigators in Colorado did not deny the accuracy of the report but instead criticized the leak of the name by law enforcement sources.
[Unidentified Male:] I know there's a lot of rumors going around and people wanting to know if this is connected to the Colorado shooting of the director of the prison system. We don't know that it is or it's not.
[Lavandera:] And in another strange twist, Denver police investigators also say there's a strong connection between the driver of the Cadillac in Texas, and the murder of a 27-year-old pizza delivery driver last Sunday afternoon. Nathan Leon's body was found in a remote area outside of Denver. His family has struggled to figure out why anyone would want to kill a young father of three girls, who was delivering pizzas to earn extra money to support his family.
[Unidentified Male:] Since Sunday, we've just been a total wreck and just when you think you've cried your tears and you can't cry anymore, it's all you do.
[Lavandera:] So not one but two murders that Colorado investigators are now taking a much stronger look at, and trying to see, connect the dots possibly between those two murders. Colorado investigators from each of those different murder cases have flown down here to Texas and are meeting with the investigators that were involved in that high- speed chase yesterday. 'm told by local law enforcement officials here in Decatur, Texas, that there is evidence inside that black Cadillac that those investigators also be very interested in seeing Christine.
[Romans:] All right, Ed Lavandera in Texas. Thanks, Ed.
[Sambolin:] New developments in the gun control debate this morning as well. The National Rifle Association says it will sue over the state's act, which strengthens the existing assault weapons ban in New York State. The NRA's New York affiliate claims the law was pushed through without committee hearings for public input. The new laws include a statewide gun registry, a uniform licensing standard and a seven-bullet limit in ammunition magazines. Vice President Joe Biden isn't throwing in the towel on the prospect of federal gun limits. Joined by Newtown families and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday he vowed to revive the battle to ban assault weapons. And he had a message for lawmakers, as well, including Senate Democrats who dropped the assault weapons portion of a gun regulation package. He said, quote, "Think about Newtown." Here's crime and justice correspondent, Joe Johns.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Crime And Justice Correspondent:] With a ban on so-called assault weapons all but dead in the senate, according to top Democrat Harry Reid, the vice president said he is not giving up.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States Of America:] I'm not going to rest, nor is the president, until we do all of these things, all of these things.
[Johns:] He told the family of a teacher killed protecting children in the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting, that the country needs some political backbone.
[Biden:] You know, it's time for the political establishment to show the courage your daughter showed.
[Johns:] The father of a 6-year-old also killed at Newtown said shame on the Congress.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm really ashamed to see that Congress doesn't have the guts to stand up and make a change and put a ban on these types of weapons and universal background checks.
[Johns:] From New York's Mayor Bloomberg, a call for public pressure.
[Unidentified Male:] If you want to make a difference, you've got to pick up the phone, call your congressperson.
[Johns:] But what happened was no surprise. Conservative Democrats in the Senate, up for re-election, risk riling up pro-gun forces in an election year if they vote for the ban. Democratic supporters like retiring Michigan Senator Carl Levin are frustrated. [on camera]: Do you think it's worth just having a vote?
[Unidentified Male:] Sure. I think it's important that people express their views and have a chance to vote those views and their people back home can judge whether they agree or disagree.
[Johns:] Bad for Democrats, though.
[Unidentified Male:] It's not the politics that I want to get into. It's way beyond politics.
[Johns:] While the pressure from gun control advocates appears to be working, late Thursday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a statement saying he wants to bring a gun safety bill to the floor after the upcoming recess including provisions on background checks. He said he also wants a vote on an assault weapons ban amendment. So there appears to be one last chance for the senate to vote on the ban after all. The NRA saying they've always expected there would be a vote on the ban, and they say they're prepared for a lot of pressure on senators to pass it. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
[Sambolin:] Thanks to Joe, there. Later on "STARTING POINT," we'll talk with Aurora shooting survivor Steven Barton. He's been working with Newtown families in the wake of that massacre.
[Romans:] All right, the U.N. are ask being for unfettered access to Syria as it launches an investigation to find out whether chemical weapons were used in the country's bloody civil war. The Assad regime and rebel forces accuse each other of chemical warfare, but U.S. military officials tell CNN their intelligence suggests neither side has used those weapons.
[Sambolin:] Nearly 200 air traffic control towers on the chopping block. Today, the ax will fall. The FAA is likely to announce that the vast majority of 189 are up for closing today. They will shut down. They're victims of the forced spending cuts. The towers to be closed handle low to moderate amounts of air traffic and use mostly contract workers.
[Romans:] An independent analysis of the blackout at this year's Super Bowl finds fault with both equipment and the lines of communication. The power was cut off to have the Mercedes-Benz Superdome causing a more than half hour delay in the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. A design defect in a recently installed relay device caused the power to trip, and then the utility had trouble reaching the manufacturer to solve the problem.
[Sambolin:] So who had Harvard? The first full day of the NCAA tournament delivering the first big upset, 14 seed Harvard proving brains can beat brawn, pulling off a stunner in Salt Lake City by knocking off third seed New Mexico, 68-62. This happened last night. You know the Ivy League champs were dramatically undersized, but here size did not matter. The Crimson hitting three pointers all night captured their first tournament victory ever in just their third appearance at the dance. And a big scare for top seeded Gonzaga, the Bulldogs holding off southern to avoid becoming the first 1-seed in history to lose to a 16 seed. Check those brackets, folks. Other teams advancing, Louisville, Michigan State, Michigan, St. Louis, Marquette, Syracuse, Oregon, Memphis, Wichita, Arizona, Butler, California, Colorado State, And Virginia Commonwealth. And if you're competing against us on cnn.com, check this out. Who's in first place? John King!
[Romans:] What?
[Sambolin:] Christine is second.
[Romans:] What?
[Sambolin:] Berman is second to last. I love this. Where am I? I have no idea.
[Romans:] I'll get you, King. I will get you John King.
[Sambolin:] Can somebody tell me where my bracket stands?
[Romans:] I love Berman is second to last.
[Sambolin:] Count me down there. No, that is not good. I'm not going to say. I'm not I'm in the middle.
[Romans:] I did it just like I would pick stocks. I went through I don't know a lot about basketball. I analyzed these teams. One of my producers looked at the coach, the history. I picked them just like I would pick a stock portfolio.
[Sambolin:] Let's see how you do. Maybe you're on to something.
[Romans:] Right now, President Obama wrapping up his mission to the Middle East and headed to his last stop as we speak. A live report coming up.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] It's a rare behind-the-scenes look at gotcha politics. Candidates are recruiting people to track down their opponents to try to get them to say something controversial. But is it right? And is it working? I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
[Unidentified Female:] Businesses will leave this state quicker than Carl Paladino at a gay bar.
[Baldwin:] The gloves are off.
[Unidentified Male:] It doesn't make sense.
[Baldwin:] Two weeks to go until Election Day, and it seems characters are welcome.
[Unidentified Male:] Rent, it's too damn high.
[Baldwin:] And that was before the two main candidates in the New York gubernatorial race took their turns. Wait until you see what happened.
[Donna Parks, Mother Of Brandon Cox:] And they handcuffed my son when he went to them to tell them he had been shot.
[Baldwin:] College students hit by police gunfire outside a bar. One student is dead. His best friend's mother tells us a shocking side of this story. So, how are police responding? You will hear it. And from coffee to cocktails, why you may need to start showing your I.D. at the Starbucks counter. Got all of that for you and a whole lot more. Hi, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. CNN NEWSROOM rolls on right now. Let's talk election, shall we? Fourteen days and counting until the big midterms, and this neck-and-neck Nevada Senate race really reaching a boiling point today. And in case you thought it couldn't get any hotter, it has. This afternoon, we expect to hear at any moment during our program from the Democrat in this race. I'm talking about the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, any moment in this program. We're going to of course bring that to you live as soon as we see him step foot on a podium. Meantime, he is expected to respond to this latest controversy in the hard-fought campaign. Let's back up. This all started with this ad from the candidate backed by the Tea Party movement. Talking about Republican Sharron Angle. Things got a little hot over the weekend after Sharron Angle spoke to a group of high school students, but not just any high school students, Hispanic students at a high school in Las Vegas. And she was asked essentially to explain the images in that ad, images showing what appeared to be dark-skinned men crossing the border. She began with these students saying she's not sure all of those were Latinos in that ad. But she went on. Here's what she told the students next.
[Sharron Angle , Nevada Senatorial Candidate:] So, that's what we want, is a secure and sovereign nation. And, you know, I don't I don't know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me. I don't know that. What we know about what we know about ourselves is that we are a melting pot in this country. My my grandchildren are evidence of that. I'm evidence of that. I have been called the first Asian legislator in our Nevada State Assembly.
[Baldwin:] So, let's talk about this ad or this these remarks, specifically, because of a particular ad, and we will push it forward here with senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash. And, Dana, I have a lot of questions for you, but I want to start with the first two. One and good to see you, by the way. One, hearing hearing from Sharron Angle, she mentions her her grandkids of mixed ethnicity, part of this melting pot. So, I'm curious, number one, if you could extrapolate. And, number two, in Nevada, you have this make-or-break and not just Nevada, by the way, elsewhere this make-or-break Hispanic constituency that really you know, this has become a race about race.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] That's right. Well, to answer your first question, Sharron Angle does have a daughter-in-law who is Mexican, and her grandchildren are Mexican- American. So, that does answer that first question. But on the politics of the Hispanic vote, there is no question that it is a big issue across the country this year, and it is a very big issue in the state of Nevada, because about a quarter of the population is Hispanic. And so that voting sector is absolutely critical. Having said that, Brooke, I have spoken to some senior Republican strategists who are really monitoring and involved in that race, and they say, look, the hard truth is that the ads that Sharron Angle are running, like like the one you talked about, it's very clear that she has made a decision kind of to give give herself a wedge, and that the Hispanic population is not likely to vote for her. So she's going to try to gin up those who are perhaps on the other side of the divide with regard to the immigration and illegal immigration battle.
[Bash:] And, Dana, we know from all your reporting that you've been doing, you are intimately familiar with a lot of these attack ads this this election season. And, in some cases, they're not just using you're not just hearing this big, booming voice of the narrator. It's also the candidates' words themselves being used against them. Mm-hmm. That's exactly right. We you just played Sharron Angle. That wasn't used in an ad. The Democrats didn't have to, because it's flying all over the Internet and we're playing it on TV. But every year we do see a new trend in ads. And this particular one is using something like this, a BlackBerry or a cell phone, a flip-cam, to try to catch candidates saying something that can be used against them.
[Unidentified Male:] Ms. Moore, in this election, would you support Nancy Pelosi for speaker?
[Bash:] That's not a reporter asking the question. It's someone with Kansas House candidate Stephanie Moore's opponent.
[Unidentified Male:] Would you support Nancy Pelosi for speaker? This is Dakota. He follows me and asks me that question.
[Bash:] Dakota is what's known as a tracker, an opposing campaign's aide or supporter who follows candidates to events, looking for gotcha moments to turn into 30-second ads. Here's an ad in New Hampshire where Democrat Carol Shea-Porter is caught making what Republicans think is a politically unpopular admission.
[Rep. Carol Shea-porter , New Hampshire:] I think I have a 90 percent rating with the president. 93 percent with the House. All along, I have said, you know, this is what I believe.
[Bash:] It's an exploding trend in political ads this year, using candidates' own words against them, often with video captured by trackers.
[Evan Tracey, Chief Operating Officer, Campaign Media Analysis Group:] It's that candid camera, gotcha moment. Any time you can get your opponent on film saying something that is not popular with voters and you can put that in your ad and feed it out 30 seconds at a time, it's a much more effective way to run a negative ad.
[Bash:] Remember Republican Senator George Allen's 2006 infamous macaca moment?
[Sen. George Allen , Virginia:] This fellow here, over here, with the yellow shirt, macaca, or whatever his name is, he's with my opponent. And he's following us around everywhere.
[Bash:] A tracker shot that, and what appeared to be a racial slur by Allen helped sink his campaign. Now, four years later, flip cams, cell phones and advances in technology make this brand of negative campaigning much easier.
[Tracey:] This is the macaca moment on steroids this election.
[Bash:] And it's a bipartisan phenomenon. Colorado voters see it from both Senate candidates. [Begin Video Clip, Ad]
[Unidentified Male:] Are you pro-life? And I will answer the next question. I don't believe in the exceptions of rape or incest.
[Announcer:] Ken Buck, he's too extreme for Colorado.
[Begin Video Clip, Ad) Unidentified Female:] Reckless spending becomes a habit. Bennet voted for Obama's failed stimulus.
[Sen. Michael Bennet , Colorado:] I voted for it, and I'm glad I did.
[Baldwin:] And, Dana
[Bash:] And there you have it, Brooke. I mean, we
[Baldwin:] Go ahead. You go.
[Bash:] You go ahead. I was going to button that up by saying let's that that it's very, very clear that this is an exploding trend. Talk to people who watch ads and monitor them and talk to people who make these ads, they say that this is incredibly powerful, much more powerful, to have the candidate's words, the opponent's words, than just have a narrator saying it.
[Baldwin:] Yes. And the fact that he said that this this is a macaca moment, macaca moment on steroids this election. And I think case in point, and you You showed just a snippet of it, and I want you to just take it a little further. The ad out of New Hampshire, Carol Shea- Porter, what strikes you about this? She's talking about her voting record. What about this strikes you?
[Bash:] Well, I think we actually have the whole ad. And I would and I would like to play it, because I want to play it for our viewers and then talk about it on the other end.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Bash:] Let's listen.
[Baldwin:] Let's listen. [Begin Video Clip, Ad]
[Shea-porter:] I'm not going to pretend that I'm voting with the opposite party half the time. I'm not. I'm not. I think I have about a 90 percent rating with with the president. And maybe that's
[Shea-porter:] Ninety-three percent with the House. All along, I have said, you know, this is what I believe. This is what I believe believe believe believe believe.
[Narrator:] Call Congresswoman Shea-Porter. Let her know if what you believe is what she believes when it comes to spending your tax dollars.
[Bash:] Now, Brooke, here is why I think that this is one of the most classic case of one of these ads out there. It is because you see ads across the country, the number-one message from Republicans, trying to tie Democratic candidates to Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership in Washington. Well, there you have Carol Shea-Porter, a Democratic congresswoman, doing it for them.
[Baldwin:] In her own words.
[Bash:] And it was I have got to tell you, I talked exactly I talked to a Republican by the way, that is one of those ads from an outside group. We don't know where the where the where the donors are are coming from. We don't know who funded that. But I talked to a Republican who was involved in making that ad, and he was giddy, really giddy, for that reason, because they just couldn't believe that they had her saying what they were trying to say all along. Now, I will tell you, I spoke with Carol Shea-Porter's campaign up in New Hampshire, and they say, look, you know, it is what it is. She was at a town hall. She was asked a question by someone who they think was a legitimate voter. And she's honest. She said, look, I'm a Democrat and I'm voting with my party. So, they make no apologies for it, but they also are telling me in New Hampshire, just like everywhere else and this is what is so fascinating about the dynamic out there is that they know that there is a tracker from her Republican opponent's campaign always with them. And guess what? The Democratic Party in New Hampshire, they always have a tracker following her opponent. So
[Baldwin:] Yes. And you mentioned
[Bash:] it's the state of play. It's
[Baldwin:] You mentioned
[Bash:] It's what is going on.
[Baldwin:] the guy you spoke with was giddy. And you also brought up an excellent point, the fact that, you know, we don't know, and we don't have to know legally, who funded it. I want you to explain what these 501 [c] s
[Bash:] Mm-hmm.
[Baldwin:] and the Supreme Court ruling, that's not necessarily new, right? What's new is the fact that it's the funding can be unlimited.
[Bash:] That's exactly right. It is these these kinds of groups have existed, these kinds of groups that are allowed to to run ads and do political activity without disclosing their donors. What is what is new now, after the Supreme Court decision earlier this year, is that corporations and unions are allowed to give to these groups in in an unlimited way from their general treasuries. So, that's why we think that these groups are spending a lot more money and getting a lot more money. But, you know, it's sort of important to underscore the point we should say we think that. We don't really know, because we aren't seeing their roles. We're not seeing exactly where this money is coming from.
[Baldwin:] All right, Dana Bash for us, senior congressional correspondent in New York, appreciate it. Thank you, Dana.
[Bash:] Thanks, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Remember, we are all over these breaking stories from the campaign trail, so you can stay informed, not just rely on certain ads, right, to make your choices. CNN equals politics right here on TV and on the goal. Check out our new elections app. Go to CNN.commobile to download it to your smartphone. Here's a question. What is going on at the Pentagon? Early, early this morning, someone fired shots at this building. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but there are a whole lot of questions here, many of which have yet to be answered. That is ahead. Also, there are shocking allegations against a firefighter in Georgia. The story is unbelievable. This this man is accused of videotaping the graphic aftermath of a car accident, including the body, the daughter of two parents here who was killed in the accident. The outrageous details are next.

[Stout:] Welcome back. Now, the United Nations says more than 3,500 people have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests began there in March. The U.N. says there are reports that Syrian troops have killed dozens of people this past week alone. That's only days after the government signed on to an Arab League peace plan and pledged to end the violence. CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this amateur video, but it seems to show uniformed security forces on a main street in Homs. And that city has been an epicenter of protests, and the situation appears to be escalating.
[Rima Maktabi, Cnn International Correspondent:] The battle for Homs, now a critical trial of strength for the Assad regime and its opponents. This city of nearly one million people has seen almost daily protests for nearly six months. But recently, that unrest has turned into organized and sometimes armed resistance. Many neighborhoods now look like urban battlefields. This video was uploaded to YouTube by activists and residents in Homs, but CNN can't verify when and exactly where it was shot. The Syrian authorities have not allowed CNN and other international media to report from inside the country. Despite heavy shelling and troops going house to house in search of protesters, the regime has been unable to pacify Homs, Syria's third largest city.
[Hayatham Al Maleh, Human Rights Lawyer/activist:] The people in Homs, maybe they are more stronger than the others. Maybe they take more important steps because they don't want to stop their revolution to see this regime is finished. But really, they are brave.
[Maktabi:] Syria's first military academy was established in Homs in 1932, and it has always been a source of recruits for the army. But more recently, defecting soldiers named the Free Syrian Army have begun to organized armed resistance here. But human rights activists say that Homs is also seeing growing sectarian strife between the majority Sunnis and minority Alawites, who traditionally support the regime. The U.N. High Commission for Human Rights reported that the Syrian government's brutal crackdown on dissent have claimed 3,500 lives. Sixty of them reported killed over the past week, even though the Syria government signed a peace plan sponsored by the Arab League that would include pulling the Syrian army out of restive cities. [on camera]: But the latest evidence from Homs is that the army and militia are tightening their grip on some neighborhoods, rounding up young men alleged to have been involved in the protests. The international community continues to condemn the Assad regime's clampdown on protests, but is offering no blueprint for resolving the crisis, and has consistently rejected the idea of enforcing a no-fly zone. So, what happens in Homs may mark a turning point in the battle for Syria's future. Rima Maktabi, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
[Stout:] The Thai government is telling people to stay out of Bangkok's stagnant floodwaters. Ahead, we've got the latest on Thailand's worst flooding in 50 years.

[Behar:] We make a lot of jokes about plastic surgery. But I think a lot of people forget it is surgery. There are risks. Just ask Marilyn Leisz who says that due to botched surgery, she cannot close her eyes anymore. Here to talk about her experience is Marilyn Leisz along with her attorney, Roy Konray. Welcome to the show. Marilyn, you cannot close your eyes?
[Marilyn Leisz:] That`s correct.
[Behar:] How long has this been going on?
[Leisz:] Since Dr. Paul Parker`s surgery, since 2005.
[Behar:] Oh, my God. That`s a long time.
[Leisz:] Yes.
[Behar:] How do you function?
[Leisz:] My daily life is not a typical person`s life. I have to at night time when I take a shower I have to put in gel into my eyes to protect them from the soap and the water running in there. And then at night time I have to put the vaporizer on, put more steroid creams and put gel into my eye and then put a sleep mask over my eye to protect my eye.
[Behar:] It`s a nightmare.
[Leisz:] Yes it is.
[Behar:] So do you can you sleep? You sleep with your eyes open.
[Leisz:] Correct. Exactly.
[Behar:] Is that sleep, though?
[Leisz:] It`s not really sleep. You kind of just like fade away. I mean, I need medication to sleep at night.
[Behar:] Well, who doesn`t?
[Leisz:] But I mean, it`s like
[Behar:] We all do a little something Ambien is popular these days. But this is a whole other level of not being able to sleep. How uncomfortable for you.
[Leisz:] Yes, it`s very uncomfortable. My whole life has changed. I feel that Dr. Parker has stolen my life from me. I`m no longer the person I once was. I don`t have self-confidence, self-esteem or any self-worth left. When I go to sleep, I just pray that my eyesight will last long enough for me to remember doing things with my grandchildren like making cookies, taking them to the park, reading stories to them. Most importantly, I pray to God that my eyesight will last
[Behar:] Why? Is there a threat of blindness?
[Leisz:] Yes, there is. I have a threat of constant threat of eye infections, glaucoma, corneal ulcers and blindness.
[Behar:] Ok. It sounds pretty bad. You went in for just routine eye surgery or what?
[Leisz:] Actually the surgeon who did this I actually went in to see him for a face and neck lift. And he brought and I had had a prior
[Behar:] And you bought it? You believed it.
[Leisz:] Yes, I did, because he`s the doctor. He should have told me that -
[Behar:] Did you get a second opinion?
[Leisz:] No, because I trusted him. I heard he was a very good doctor.
[Behar:] I can understand. We like to trust our doctors and he sounds like he was just a bad doctor.
[Leisz:] He was proven negligent for deviating from the standard of care. I mean, once that at that point, it doesn`t matter whether I`ve had one surgery or 100 surgeries, or whether he told me about the risk of the surgery or not. The risk only applies if you do not deviate from the standard of care. I feel the jury was very unfair to me.
[Behar:] Why was the jury unfair?
[Leisz:] I think the only word they heard was I had prior plastic surgery and I should have been aware that this was going to happen to me. And I don`t think
[Behar:] The doctor Dr. Parker told us that all patients get pre-surgical counseling. Did you?
[Leisz:] I don`t believe that was pre-surgical counseling. I was only told I was not going to feel myself. I was going to be bruised and be swollen for a few days after the surgery.
[Behar:] So ok. So now, the jury did award Marilyn $115,000.
[Roy Konray, Attorney For Marilyn Leisz:] Correct.
[Behar:] which doesn`t sound like a lot of money considering the pain and torture that this woman is in.
[Konray:] It fell far short of our expectation, that`s for sure.
[Behar:] So what happened? Why not.
[Konray:] I think there`s a tremendous prejudice against cosmetic surgery cases. I mean normally I run the other direction. The only reason I even considered this case was
[Behar:] What do you mean you run in the other direction? You don`t want to take the cases?
[Konray:] Cosmetic surgery cases, it`s easy for the jury to blame the patient because the patient really didn`t have to have it. It`s not cancer surgery or anything like that. So I usually run the other way. In this case I said to Marilyn, you`re at Will`s Eye Hospital. If your treating doctor will back you up on this and say that this was caused by malpractice, then I will take it. And sure enough her treating doctor at Will`s Eye Hospital who lectures around the world said the problem here is they removed too much skin from the eyelids.
[Behar:] You probably didn`t have enough skin to take in the first place so you didn`t really need an eye job.
[Leisz:] That`s exactly right.
[Behar:] He shouldn`t have done it but I guess he just they just want to make some money in the next segment I`m going to talk to a surgeon about this. Thank you very much for doing this. I wish you best of luck. I don`t know what to say to you. It`s terrible. I`m so sorry.
[Leisz:] Thank you.

[Hammer:] Tonight, Justin Bieber`s New Year`s horror. Today we learned some disturbing new details about a paparazzo who was killed on New Year`s day in Los Angeles while tailing a Ferrari that Justin owned. Now Justin wasn`t driving, and the person who was driving the car wasn`t hurt. But there are new details about this tragedy tonight. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Nischelle Turner is in Hollywood. But what have we learned about this sad story, Nischelle?
[Nischelle Turner, Cnn Entertainment Correspondent:] Well, A.J., you know, this story is an example of why I believe paparazzi can be a danger to themselves and others. So here`s the deal. TMZ is reporting that a freelance photographer had been following Justin`s white Ferrari for hours on New Year`s Day, believing that he was about to break a big scoop about Justin. Justin`s friend, rapper Lil` Twist, was driving the Ferrari and got pulled over by a California Highway Patrolman. The photographer, still hot on what he thought was Justin`s trail, pulled over his car, ran across the street, and started snapping away at the Ferrari. Now, he got his pictures, and he started running back across the street. That`s when he was hit and killed.
[Hammer:] This is so absolutely senseless in my mind.
[Turner:] Yes.
[Hammer:] Obviously, it is very upsetting on so many levels, and there are reports that this photographer was just in his 20s, a young guy.
[Turner:] Yes. Exactly. And you know, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that Justin`s friend didn`t even know that he was being followed by the paparazzi. As we said, Justin was not driving the car. But you know, A.J., he did release a very poignant statement to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, saying that, "My thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim. Hopefully, this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders and the photographers themselves." And I hope, you know, that the powers that be are listening.
[Hammer:] Yes, we hope that, but we`ve been through this before. And somebody tweeted today I think it was Miley Cyrus you know, wasn`t Diana a lesson to all of us, and how many years ago was that? How come nothing has been done so far? I don`t get it.
[Turner:] Well, yes, you know, and that`s a good point. This, I think, though, is a little different than that whole Princess Diana situation, because this wasn`t a chase. This was where he came, he got his photographs. And it seems like maybe it was just a case where he didn`t look when crossing the street.
[Hammer:] Yes, but it`s still at the end of the day, it`s just a big mess. All right. Hopefully something will get done.
[Turner:] I hear you.
[Hammer:] Nischelle, thank you so much. I do want to turn right now to some pretty incredible news right here at HLN. Of course, you know Ty Pennington. He`s the host of ABC`s "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," one of my favorite shows. Well, Ty has got a new home. He`s going to be hosting an amazing new show right here on HLN called "American Journey." He`s going to travel all around this great nation and talk to people who are redefining the American dream for the 21st century, from giving up a home, to living in a yurt to heading down to the delta with Morgan Freeman to explore the birth place of the blues. Let me let Ty tell you a little more about his exciting new show.
[Ty Pennington, Host, "american Journey":] Honestly, I`m I`m really flattered to be part of HLN. I mean, what`s great about that is you`re providing information. You`re also storytelling, but you`ve also got some great storytellers. To be part of that, to be part of a network that is informing people about how they can improve their lives, is something I love doing. Whether it`s about your finances, about your home, it`s about your future, it`s all of that. And I think what`s great about HLN is they`re really trying to make sure that we all live a better life by being informed.
[Hammer:] I have already set my DVR. You should, too. Ty Pennington`s "American Journey" debuts 8 p.m. Eastern January 12 here on HLN. So excited about that. And coming up, we kick off the new year with a super-sized SHOWBIZ Countdown, "Love, Marriage and Mayhem." Taylor Swift`s big New Year`s smooch with Harry Stiles. But could Harry just become another sad love song for Taylor by next year? Speaking of the splits, what about Bethenny Frankel`s divorce shocker. Which couple will be No. 1 on the Top Ten SHOWBIZ Countdown, "Love, Marriage and Mayhem"? This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, on HLN.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] And you're in the SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, on this, the eve of round two. We have new information showing why this next presidential debate is so critical. How it could make a difference in a very, very tight race? And as the candidates continue intensive debate rehearsals, we'll get the inside scoop on Mitt Romney's strategy from one of his advisers, the former New Hampshire governor, John Sununu. And while the president may be huddling with his debate team, the first lady is out on the campaign trail right now. We're going to hear from Michelle Obama live this hour. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the SITUATION ROOM.
[Blitzer:] All right. With just a day away from the rematch between President Obama and Gov Mitt Romney, and our latest survey shows just how crucial the debate will be. A CNN poll of polls averaging results from seven national surveys of likely voters shows the presidential race is in a dead heat right now, 48 percent favor Romney, 47 percent favor Obama. Our chief national correspondent, John King, is here. He's taking a closer look. What do you make of these numbers? It's about as tight as could be.
[John King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] It's tight as can be nationally, Wolf. As we talked last week, we went through a bunch of battleground states. What's happening nationally is also happening in the key battleground state. Well, more evidence of that today. Let's go to the state of Iowa, big Part of President Obama's victory in 2008. A brand new American research group poll out in the state of Iowa. Look at this, doesn't get any closer than that, 48 to 48. Last week, we told you Colorado was a dead heat, Nevada was a dead heat. Now, add Iowa to that list, as well. We've been closely watching Virginia, a state President Obama carried four years ago. It's crucial to Governor Romney's math. That got closer to last week. Now, we have so many new polls, Wolf, out of Virginia. We can do a poll of polls. This is taking several brand new polls, averaging them all together. What do you get? A dead heat, a president at 48, Governor Romney at 47, you know, our poll of polls. And now, it's also getting more interesting. As I said, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Florida, all dead heats, president or Governor Romney up a point or two, but we're beginning to see some evidence that this race could get interesting outside of the battlegrounds we've been focusing on these past many months. Here's yet another poll out of the state Pennsylvania showing a very close race there. This has been a state that's been in the president's basket. There's no Romney campaign ads. No Romney campaigning really in the state of Pennsylvania. He went there to raise some money, but this Muhlenberg College morning call poll, 49 for the president, 45 for Governor Romney. Now, Wolf, I want to show you why the Romney campaign is increasingly confident going into the second debate and why this debate is so important, because I just mentioned, Virginia and North Carolina, the numbers there are getting better for Governor Romney. Florida, the numbers are getting better for Governor Romney. Even Ohio where the president still leads getting better for Governor Romney. Ohio, getting better for Gov. Romney. Colorado, and Nevada now dead heats, improvements in the last week or so for Governor Romney. Why do they like this in the Romney campaign? Because this is the 2008 map. All of those states were carried by President Obama. Let's go back in time, 2004, all one
[Blitzer:] Yes. What do you think, John? How much will this second presidential debate affect each campaign strategy of getting that magic number of 270 Electoral College votes?
[King:] The stakes are enormous, Wolf, because of the timing of this. You're getting to the point where you have to make resource decisions. Should Governor Romney, for example, starts spending time and money in Pennsylvania? George W. Bush wanted to win Pennsylvania twice, never really came close. Got sort of close, but do you take time and money and put it in there? Michigan has now become a four-point race somewhere in that ballpark. The Republicans spend money in there. Watch over the next several days, especially in the first moments after that second debate, Republican Super PACs to go in here to try to soften up the territory. They'll also poll, as well, because the question is, with time so short, you're running late out to buy ad time even because there's so many other campaigns out there, not just the presidential race. So, will the president have to play defense in places like Pennsylvania and Michigan? Will the president decide to pull out of one of these other states? The Republicans are increasingly feeling confident about the west. Will the president pull out or scale back to dump resources into Ohio or Florida, because they know this in the OBAMA campaign that if they can win either Ohio or Florida or if they can win both of them, they almost certainly block Governor Romney's path. So, Wolf, after the second debate, this is a very complicated game of chess. Time is running short to spend your money and decide where to spend your money. Watch the campaign shifting ad strategy and watch for those planes to start touching down.
[Blitzer:] Second debate tomorrow night, and the third and final presidential debate a week from today. John, thanks very much. And this note to our viewers, you can create your own path to 270, just go to CNN.comraceto270. Both candidates have been hunkered down for intensive debate preparations. Romney has been rehearsing in his home turf in Boston. President Obama's in Williamsburg, Virginia, where his team is going all out to make sure the president is ready for a round two tomorrow night. Our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, is working this part of the story for us. What are you learning?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Hi, Wolf. There have been some changes to the president's debate prep this time around. He's not taking the same long public breaks each day. The moderator is now played by Anita Dunn, his former communications director who has years of experience critiquing him.
[Yellin:] President Obama on a break from study hall.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] What's going on?
[Unidentified Female:] All right.
[Obama:] Good to see you.
[Unidentified Male:] How are you, sir?
[Obama:] How are you doing, man?
[Unidentified Male:] Pleasure.
[Yellin:] This time aides say, he'll be more
[Unidentified Male:] Aggressive in making the case for his view of where we should go as a country. Be more energetic. I think you'll see somebody who's very passionate about the choice that our country faces.
[Yellin:] The president's number one goal, to make his case on the economy. Campaign manager, Jim Messina, told me after last week's debate, Vice President Biden did it successfully. Will you talk a little bit about next week?
[Jim Messina, Obama Campaign Manager:] Sure.
[Yellin:] What does the president have to do?
[Messina:] On the economy, we saw a very clear difference tonight. And that's what we've got to do on Tuesday, as well.
[Yellin:] And it sounds like the president's primed for the event.
[David Axelrod, Obama Campaign Senior Adviser:] Look, Jessica, he he's watched the tape of the last debate. He has some strong views about what he wants to do in this next debate. And I can just tell you he's very, very eager to see Governor Romney again.
[Yellin:] But a new format creates new challenges for the president. This debate, a town hall.
[Tad Devine, Democratic Consultant:] These town hall meetings really voters expect that you're going to answer their questions. And they're not looking for, you know, a food fight between candidates.
[Yellin:] Tad Devine is a debate expert for democratic candidates. He says the president can't only play offense. The model for a good answer in this setting, then Governor Bill Clinton's "I feel your pain" approach in 1992.
[Bill Clinton, Former President Of The United States:] I've been the governor of a small state for 12 years. I'll tell you how it's affected me.
[Yellin:] It's a balance.
[Devine:] So, you have to have a plan that says when someone asked me a question from the public, I'm going to answer that question, I'm going to deal with them. After you've done that, you then have to look for the opening, OK, the opening to pivot against your opponent.
[Yellin:] So, what is their strategy?
[Axelrod:] Jessica, you've got to watch the debate.
[Blitzer:] And both of them are under a lot of pressure to actually release more details of what they would do over the next four years.
[Yellin:] It is a huge challenge in this whole campaign. Neither man has been very clear about what their agenda would be in the second term for the president or in the first term for Governor Romney. We'll see if they'll do it. I'd be surprised if either man really gives much detail tomorrow night.
[Blitzer:] They waited this long. They probably will wait a little bit longer.
[Yellin:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much. All right. Jack Cafferty is also looking ahead to tomorrow night's second presidential debate. Jack's joining us now with the "Cafferty File" Jack.
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Contributor:] Tomorrow night is make or break for the president of the United States. After the dismal showing in the first debate against Mitt Romney, the consensus is the president better bring his A-game if he wants another term in office. Writing in "The Daily Beast," Obama supporter, ardent Obama supporter, Andrew Sullivan, says the president's main challenge for re-election in the final stretch is "Obama, himself." That's quote. Sullivan suggests that Obama threw away the momentum after the first debate calling the president's performance "so lazy, so feckless, and so vain, it was almost a dare not to vote for him," unquote. Remember, this is somebody who likes him talking. But he's on to something, Sullivan is. Romney is seeing gains in both national polls and battleground states since the first debate. Momentum has clearly shifted to his side. Romney now leads the president, 48%, 47% in CNN's poll of polls and perhaps even more telling after the months of voters finding President Obama more likable than Romney, now they're tied according to a new poll with Romney actually over 50 percent, I think, for the first time. According to Andrew Sullivan, it's going to take a lot of quote, "intelligence, fire, and argument," unquote, for the president to turn this thing around. And it still might not be enough for Obama to just breakeven with Romney in the remaining two debates. That brings us back then to tomorrow's debate, tomorrow evening, moderated by CNNs Candy Crowley. While the president insisted the debate preparations are going great, the town hall format could make it even tougher for him to win. No teleprompter and all of that. No doubt the president will have to come out strong against Romney, but he also has to show that he can connect with the voters in the town hall and those people watching at home. It's all a very tricky balancing act. And above all else, Mr. Obama will have to avoid the long, boring, professor-like answers that he is sometimes prone to. Here's the question, what's the president's greatest challenge at tomorrow night's debate? Go to CNN.comCaffertyFile, post a comment on my blog or go to our post on the SITUATION ROOM'S Facebook page.
[Blitzer:] Jack, thanks very much. Our special coverage of the next presidential debate begins tomorrow night 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN. Just about everyone says he won round one, so why would Mitt Romney change his strategy for tomorrow night's debate. I'll ask his advisor, John Sununu. And she risked her life defying the Taliban by attending school. Now, this Pakistani teenager is fighting for her life far from home.

[Baldwin:] We are committed here at CNN to telling the story of Syria. Want to get you caught up on what's happening there today. Activists say another 72 people have been killed. Seventy-two. And that is just today. A United Nations panel is now accusing Syria of crimes against humanity. And you've seen the pictures. You hear the screams. The fighting continues. But, reportedly, there are talks going on behind the scenes for a temporary cease fire to let people who are wounded get treatment. We are also learning about two injured western journalists. They have taken their pleas for help to YouTube. This French reporter says she needs urgent medical attention, is asking to be evacuated and quickly. Also, activists have posted footage of a British photographer. Here he is.
[Paul Conroy, Photographer, "sunday Times":] I was wounded in a rocket attack yesterday. And three large wounds to my leg. My colleague, Marie Colvin, was also killed in the same attack. I'm currently being looked after by the free Syrian army medical staff who are treating me with the best medical treatment available. And it's important to know that I am here as a guest and not captured.
[Baldwin:] I want to bring someone who is all too familiar with treating the injured in Syria. He is Dr. Amer Sayed, who just until just about a month ago was in Syria working to save lives. Dr. Sayed, I just want to welcome you and point out you are now in Chicago. Syria is your home. Was it a tough decision for you to leave? And why did you do it, sir?
[Dr. Amer Sayed, Syrian Refugee:] I could not stay there anymore. It was too dangerous. I was I went out on a lot of demonstrations, peaceful demonstrations, and I helped a lot and a lot of local medical centers. And like a lot of people told me that my name is in the security forces. And as you know, like being a medical field and help the injured demonstrators, it's a crime in Syria. Assad regime will not let me continue what I'm doing. So I decided just to leave and save the word.
[Baldwin:] Wait, you're saying you're saying being in the medical field in Syria is a crime according to the Assad regime, yes?
[Sayed:] If I'm helping the injured demonstrator, yes, yes.
[Baldwin:] Ah. Well, let me ask you about this then, because as we were just reporting, we're hearing that there's sort of these talks behind the scenes, you know, that perhaps they're going to allow those who were wounded get treatment. Do you buy that? Do you believe that's true?
[Sayed:] Can you repeat the question about that?
[Baldwin:] We're hearing we're hearing there are reports that there are talks behind the scenes that perhaps the Assad regime will allow those who are wounded receive treatments, perhaps get help outside of where they are.
[Sayed:] No, absolutely.
[Baldwin:] You don't you don't
[Sayed:] Absolutely.
[Baldwin:] Given the brutality of this regime
[Sayed:] Absolutely not. Absolutely not. All the doctors I know, they are working in the medical field and trying to help the people under the fire, under the tank fire, the heavy weapon fire. They are all in dangerous they in danger. They can't they can't move from town to town. Their names like they are treating them like criminals. They don't want the injured people to and I was in government hospital and anybody injured in the demonstrations, the Assad army and Assad forces come and take them to unknown destination. And I witnessed that.
[Baldwin:] I want to play something just for our viewers. Doctor, just stand by for me. One of our colleagues, Arwa Damon, she just returned from reporting within Syria and she filed a report on this makeshift medical facility. And I just want our viewers to see what doctors in Syria are fighting against there. But just a warning, this is graphic.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn Correspondent:] Babami, a neighborhood that's endured constant shelling, where civilians are killed and wounded every day. A 30-year-old man lies on the brink of death after shrapnel hit him in the head.
[Damon:] He had brain matter that actually came out of the wound last night. "I couldn't really do anything for him," Dr. Muhammad says. "I just stitched him up to keep the brain matter in and inserted a tube. It's actually a nasal tube to suction the blood."
[Baldwin:] A nasal tube for this man's head. Arwa also tells us, though, that that man we saw there did later die. And she spoke with another doctor, you know, who through tears, you know, basically told her, without this help, you know, people will continue to die. Is that corroborate with what you experienced? What did you see? What types of injuries did you see?
[Sayed:] It's typical for what I have seen. All what we have, all the instruments, all the medical equipment that we have is very simple. We can do nothing about the injured people. And we can't take them, as I said, to the government hospitals. And all what we can do is just
[Baldwin:] Do you
[Sayed:] I truly believe that.
[Baldwin:] Do you and I understand, you know, you told one of our producers that you were fired at by members of the Assad security forces. That's what you're saying. I know you had to leave because of the violence. Do you, though, sitting there in Chicago, sir, do you feel helpless? Is there anything you can do? Is there anything we can do?
[Sayed:] Actually, I was in big peaceful demonstration. It was like 300,000 people in Idlib. And I was in the front of that demonstration. And they opened fire. And the guards bombed. And it was very horrific. The bullets, the live bullets, were just coming through us. And like for around four to five persons get died at that time. And we opened a lot of medical centers with, as I said, simple equipment. So and a lot of injured people. Going out from Syria, like being inside Syria was suicide for me. It's just a matter of time to be a number on the TV. And I couldn't I couldn't stay there. And can we do something about that? I guess I want everybody to know what's happening in Syria. In this world, we can't just watch and feel bad for a few minutes. We just take actions to stop the crimes. And
[Baldwin:] Sure.
[Sayed:] So I hope the big countries and all the civilian world can help and take action to stop killing in Syria and deliver the human humanitarian aids to the people there.
[Baldwin:] The aid, the help that
[Sayed:] The board
[Baldwin:] Right, that's precisely what Arwa and Ivan, two of our correspondents within the country have said, so many Syrians say to them, why aren't people helping. Dr. Amer Sayed, thank you so much for your firsthand account there, now safely in Chicago. Thank you so much.
[Sayed:] Thank you.
[Baldwin:] And now a nine-year-old girl allegedly run to death by her own grandmother and stepmother. Police say the little girl was being punished for eating a candy bar. That story after a quick break.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone. I'm Fredericka Whitfield and you're in the newsroom. Right now we're waiting on President Obama. He's about to give a campaign speech in about 20 minutes or so from now, maybe earlier than that in that location, Urbandale, Iowa, just outside Des Moines. The president has been hitting the campaign trail hard in the run up in the Democratic convention that gets under way Tuesday. Our Athena Jones is in Urbandale. Athena, it looks like a sizeable crowd. What is the president hoping to accomplish here that perhaps he won't or maybe it's the warm-up to the convention?
[Athena Jones, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Fred. That's exactly what it is. Today launches what the campaign is calling their "road to Charlotte," which is, of course, the road to the big speech he'll be giving on Thursday night in Charlotte at the Democratic National Convention, accepting his party's nomination once again. His goal is to continue to draw contrasts between the plans he has and what he's already done to help the middle class in terms of tax cuts or affordable access to health care and college and what he says his opponents do, which is offer plans and proposals that will favor the rich, tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class, and we expect to hear some of that today. I should mention this is his third trip to Iowa in the last three weeks and the state has six electoral votes and it shows you how important it is for them to fight for the state and to keep those six votes in a race that could be very close, Fred.
[Whitfield:] And so what is the real objective, I guess, at the DNC where we saw the RNC, they wanted to really humanize the Republican nominee, Romney. In the case of the president is there, like, one collective goal, a mission?
[Jones:] Well, certainly, if you talk to the campaign officials, they believe that people know about the president. They know what President Obama stands for. They don't feel they need to reintroduce him or, as they put it, reinvent him. Their plan is to make an affirmative case for his reelection and talking about his record and everything from ending the war in Iraq to again, health care, and also this idea that he's going to fight for the middle class. It's not really a new theme, but that's what they plan to continue hammering home, this idea that he's going to look out for everyday people unlike the Republican ticket. One thing they did say is this is going to be a working convention. That's how they described it. They'll work on getting people registered to vote, work and knock on doors, canvass, and in doing so earn a ticket to fill that huge stadium that he's going to be speak at. So we don't have too much of a preview of the speech, but we know he'll try to contain and make the case that he's the one that will give him more time to keep the economy back on track, Fred.
[Whitfield:] Athena Jones, thanks so much in Urbandale. We'll take the president live when he arrives there in Iowa. So let's talk about the Democratic National Convention which starts Tuesday, Charlotte, North Carolina. That's the place right there. Some of the high-profile speakers include the first lady, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, and actress Eva Longoria, who is expected to focus women's issues. The president's big speech is at an outdoor stadium, so party leaders are keeping an eye on the weather and having a contingency plan just in case. The Romney campaign, meantime, is hitting the road, hoping to build momentum from the Republican National Convention. The presidential nominee is holding rallies in a couple of battleground states today. This morning it was Ohio, and in just a couple of hours he'll be taking to the stage with running mate Paul Ryan in Florida. Jim Acosta joining me live from Jacksonville where a crowd is gathering there. So, Jim, the president or not the president, that's going to be in Iowa, but in this case in Florida, the Republican nominee, Romney, he'll be solo or will Ryan be along with him?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Political Correspondent:] Well, you can just look right over my shoulder, Fredericka. They have the big banner there, "America's Comeback Team." That should give you an indication right there, Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney will be at this event in Jacksonville, Florida. In a few hours from now you can see the crowd gathering behind me and we're on the St. John's River in Jacksonville, Florida. I am told this river flows northward, so a unique site, a unique setting for this campaign event that will be kicking off for a few hours. And speaking of kickoffs, this is college football game day and kickoff game day and he was out on the campaign trail when he was in Cincinnati and drawing sports references and going after the president basically saying it was time for a new head coach in the White House. Here's what he had to say.
[Mitt Romney,  Presidential Candidate:] Measure us. Hold us accountable. Do the same with the president. Look, you're making a choice as to who the servant will be of the nation, who is the person, who are the people who will lead this country and do what you want to be done. You listen to the last guy running for president and he laid out what you wanted to do. He was unable to do it. It's time to give someone new a chance.
[Acosta:] Now Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan was in another part of the state in Ohio and he was in Columbus attending a college football game. The Ohio state University Buckeyes were taking on Ryan's alma mater and the Miami University of Ohio. Last time I checked, Fredericka, Ohio was in the lead and not so good news there for Paul Ryan and he'll be coming on later this afternoon for the man at the top of the ticket. And just to give you a little bit of news that you gathered earlier in the day and we are told by a Romney campaign source that Mitt Romney during the week of the Democratic convention would be in debate prep with Rob Portman, the Ohio senator who will be playing the role of Barack Obama.
[Whitfield:] Jim Acosta, thanks so much from Jacksonville. Keep us posted. Isaac is now a tropical depression and is deep in the Midwest. The storm is dumping much needed rain. Farmers there have been dealing with a severe drought for months now. Back along the Gulf coast the Mississippi River has reopened to barge traffic. But some communities are still flooded and the storm's death toll has risen now to four. Isaac also has left lingering power outages. Almost half a million homes and businesses across three states still don't have electricity. In Louisiana, officials say many will be in the dark for two more days. Isaac has had a lot to do with rising gas prices as well. Right now the national average is at $3.83 for a gallon of regular unleaded. That's up eight cents over the last week, but some stations in the south have seen a 20-cent bump in the past week. A lot of it is because of the closure of oil rigs and refineries that were in the path of Isaac. All right, you know what else is going up? Food prices, up by a whopping 10 percent. That's according to a new report from the World Bank. The drought farmers here in the U.S. are experiencing is partially to blame. National correspondent Susan Candiotti has a look at the reality right now in the fields.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] With cornstalks crunching under his feet, Richard Detring goes to harvest. But thanks to this summer's drought, his field corn in Farmington, Missouri is fried to a crisp. In blistering, 90-degree heat, not much else to do but climb into his combine and mow down the stalks.
[Richard Detring, Farmer:] You put a lot of money, time and effort into it and then you see no return. It's a hard thing to do.
[Candiotti:] Hard for every farmer in the Midwest whose crops are virtually a total loss. [on camera] This is so brittle. I mean, what is left in here? What is left in here?
[Detring:] There's essentially nothing. This one has it has basically died right before reproduction.
[Candiotti:] It's like dust, practically. [voice-over] He'll salvage what little he can and maybe five Bush else of green an acre compared to the usual 120.
[Detring:] I'll turn the cows into this field the next few days and they can eat some leaves and stuff like that, but they won't get much. It will keep them alive for a few more days.
[Candiotti:] Here in Missouri, rain is nine to 15 inches below normal. Even if Isaac delivers three to five inches of rain as predicted it won't wipe out the drought, but every little drop will help. Isaac's rain is coming too late to help some ranchers who already threw in the towel.
[Unidentified Male:] It really hurts when you see a producer come up to the counter who said I just sold my cattle today. He would be crying there at the counter, is there any help out there? And there's nothing we can do.
[Candiotti:] No rain means cattle are grazing on brown pastures. No rain means the price of feed has skyrocketed. And no rain means ranchers are giving their cows hay now, way before they usually do in the fall. Detring's son Brad won't let hard times get to him. He's fifth generation. Farming's in his blood.
[Unidentified Male:] This is just farming and that's the way it is. You take the good with the bad.
[Candiotti:] So what's your message to Isaac?
[Unidentified Male:] Come take a visit. I'll grill. I'll have some drinks in the cooler. Come on, set up shop.
[Candiotti:] You've been staring at that sun all summer long. The rains are coming. What do you think?
[Unidentified Male:] Great. I can't wait just to walk in the rain once.
[Candiotti:] Just to feel it.
[Unidentified Male:] Just to feel it come down.
[Candiotti:] And start walking in greener pastures.
[Whitfield:] All right, Susan joining me live from Farmington, Missouri. So that rain, you've got your rain jacket on. Has it arrive the yet? Is it close? What?
[Candiotti:] I'm afraid the farmer and his son only had a very brief walk in the rain since last night. You know, they've been waiting all summer for the rain gauge to fill up. They have received in the last oh, 12 hours or so, just under two inches of rain, Fred, so they didn't get very far. But, like they said, every little bit helps. They're just trying to green those pastures a little bit. All right, so, you know, at this point since so many of those pastures are bone-dry. We saw the corn that is so tiny. You can't really pick it. What good will that rain really do right now or is it that they're thinking about the future crops? Well, I'll tell you, for a lot of people around here who have just cattle, they have some of them have had to sell them off because they just cannot get by. Feed is too expensive. However, this little bit of rain will green those pastures so they can send the cattle back out again. The soybean crop these are soybeans they'll be OK. There's the soybean right there, but the thing is this is about two feet long. They're normally twice this size. They're getting something out of it. You see that soybean crop over my shoulder and at least other farmers are also starting to plant their winter crop a bit early as much as a month early now with a little bit of rain that will help soften the soil a little bit. So they are forecasted to get maybe a couple more inches today and tomorrow. More rain, thunderstorms they're expecting. So that again, every little drop, literally, will help them get by.
[Whitfield:] Thanks so much. Susan Candiotti, appreciate that. All right, 50 years in the making, apologies from the makes of a drug that caused severe birth defects. We'll tell you how the victims are reacting.

[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Our STARTING POINT, a new year and a new agreement on the fiscal cliff. The bill as amended is passed.
[Berman:] Just hours ago, the senate reaches a deal to avoid major tax hikes and spending cuts after some serious back and forth on Capitol Hill.
[Sen. Harry Reid , Majority Leader:] I'm disappointed we weren't able to make the grand bargain as we tried to do for so long, but we tried.
[Unidentified Male:] No deal is better than a bad deal and this looks like a very bad deal.
[Berman:] And with the deal headed to the house floor for a vote, will it survive? This morning, what's in this agreement, and what does it mean for you and your taxes. We have a packed two hours ahead. Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings, Kansas Congressman Tim Huelskamp, Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett all three of them will get a chance to vote on the bill likely today, and Sheila Bair, former chair of the FDIC. Good morning, I'm John Berman.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning and happy new year, I'm Christine Romans.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Ali Velshi. Soledad O'Brien is off. It's Tuesday, January the first. Special fiscal cliff edition of STARTING POINT begins right now.
[Berman:] And our STARTING POINT this morning is breaking news. The Senate strikes a deal on the fiscal cliff, but not before we've officially fallen off the cliff. We are off it right now. Here is where things stand right now. A bill crafted by Vice President Joe Biden And Minority Leader Mitch McConnell passed overwhelmingly in the Senate by a margin of 89-8. That happened just after 2:00 in the morning. The Republican- controlled House has agreed to consider this later this morning, but it is anyone's guess how this will turn out. Now, if the House votes yes, the measure would generate about $600 billion in new revenues over the next 10 years. Here is how the Senate leaders sized things up overnight.
[Reid:] I've said all along that our most important priority is protecting middle class families. This legislation does this.
[Mcconnell:] This shouldn't be the model of how we do things around here. But I think we can sigh we've done some good for the country.
[Berman:] Again, if it passes the House, here is what the plan means for you and your family. Bush era tax cuts would stay in place for individuals earning less than $400,000 a year and couples earning less than $450,000. If you make more than that your taxes are going up. Unemployment benefits for 2 million Americans would be extended for a year, and the alternative minimum tax would permanently be adjusted for inflation. But when it comes to spending cuts, lawmakers defer for two more months. That's a nice way of saying kicking the can down the road. So we can expect more finger pointing and fighting in 2013. White House correspondent Brianna Keilar has been up all night, joins us to talk about what's going phone in Washington, in the White House. This is a wild card. We know they will take it up, but we don't know what it means.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] It does get tricky, John, because some House Republicans have been the ones that said throughout the whole process, we don't want to move forward on certain things. Granted, now we've gone over the cliff. Tax hikes, technically are in effect. So any vote in the House will be a vote for tax cuts, not for tax hikes. That helps. But also what John Boehner needs to do here is take this deal struck in the Senate that presumably has some buy in from him if not from his rank and file, because Mitch McConnell did not negotiate this is a vacuum and this is a pretty overwhelming vote. He will take this to his conference today and see where they are at. The expectation is there are two directions this could go. Either a vote on the bill or House Republicans propose changes so they can amend the Bill more to their liking and send it back to the Senate. But I think this is expected to move along here.
[Berman:] There could be amendments. Once past, they could vote on amendments, could fail, and then vote on the full measure. Isn't that true also?
[Keilar:] Yes, that is true, and the other thing is once anything goes to the floor, it's not just up to Republicans, it will and the think the expectation all along, whatever ultimately passes the house as we saw in the Senate will require Democrats and Republicans.
[Berman:] We were talking to Congressman Phil Gingrey, a Republican, a short while ago. He seemed to be leaning no on this. But this time, Speaker Boehner does no need all the Republican votes.
[Keilar:] And what struck me listening to Congressman Gingrey is that even though it seems like he is probably leaning no, there may be many Republicans are leaning no, but not necessarily saying this is this is a deal that should not go through. In a way, they may vote no, but they also sort of acquiesce to it moving forward and seeing the need for it to move forward even if they don't go on the record to say yes for it.
[Berman:] That's right, voting no and whipping no and trying to generate more no votes are two very different things. Brianna Keilar in Washington, thank you very much.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] All right, so let's break down some of what's in the deal. We've been telling you about the so-called dairy cliff. In addition to dealing with the fiscal crisis, the Senate deal would extend federal farm policies through September. That means milk prices, milk prices will not double. The deal also nixes a set pay raise for Congress. The White House scored an agreement to raise the tax rates on larger estates from 35 percent to 40 percent, but Republicans successfully insist that the exemption should be adjusted annually for inflation and that provision would increase the exemption to $7.5 million for independent and $15 million for couples by 2020. Those households would also pay higher rates on investment assets, the rates on dividends and capital gains rising to 20 percent. For taxpayers earning less than $450,000, the deal with restore limits on personal exemptions and itemized deductions. Those benefits phasing out for couples earning more than $250 a year, single people more than $200,000. Now, the deal calls for a permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax, which otherwise would hit about 30 million taxpayers for the first time filing their 2012 returns. And this deal would extend tax credits for college tuition and the working poor for five years.
[Velshi:] The AMT fix is important, it was really going to kick that number up.
[Romans:] That was another yearly crisis manufactured by Congress. It was designed to get rich people to make sure they made more taxes.
[Velshi:] It didn't work out. To Capitol Hill, Jonathan Allen is the senior Congressional correspondent for "Politico." Did you sleep there last night?
[Jonathan Allen, Senior Congressional Correspondent, "politico":] I didn't sleep in the capitol, no. I make a rule not to do that. Once you start, it's a slippery slope.
[Velshi:] There you go. Brianna made a good point. There may be some people, like Phil Gingrey from Georgia, who will vote no. Is that the same as a conservative movement, or for that matter, a liberal movement on the Democratic side to defeat the bill that they will face in the house today?
[Allen:] I think what Brianna said is right. She used the term "acquiesce." On the right and the left, I think they will acquiesce. Some voices will come out and say it's a bad idea. Tom Harkin, Democratic senator from Iowa, was one of them last night. He torched this whole plan. But it's interesting. When it comes down to the last minutes here, how much less energy and vigor some of the no voters have. They would like to at least be able to go home for a day before the new Congress starts on January 3rd.
[Velshi:] They want to tell their constituents, I wasn't all that into this, but that had nothing to do with me. Here is the problem, as we get further and further. This could have amendments and setbacks. Does that give energy to interest groups who started last night politicking and lobbying both senators and congressmen to say this is a bad deal that gives too much to the other side?
[Allen:] Sure, this absolutely gives an opportunity for opponents to make arguments this is a bad deal. Of course this legislation not available to anybody publicly when the Senate voted it on last night. There were early returns from Heritage Action Group telling folks to vote no on it if they could. But basically this is the opportunity the no crowd will have over the next 12 hours, 24 hours to make their arguments. This is the way Congress does business in the dark of night without any transparency to what they are doing, and I think ultimately that's one of the reasons the American public has such little faith.
[Velshi:] You can't blame them, Jonathan. They only had 517 days to work this out at some point it will take to you the middle of the night. John, good to see you as always. Continue that habit of not sleeping in Congress. Jonathan Allen joining us at the Capitol.
[Romans:] I say that about
[Cnn. Velshi:] I've done it. In that room once and it is hard.
[Berman:] I'm you didn't lose it for 2013, the dripping sarcasm. There is a lot of football to watch today, but we should say it's not the only game in town. This fiscal cliff debate, the discussion is not over, not even close. The House still needs to vote on this, so please stay with CNN all day for all of the developments. The House back in session at noon. This is not over yet. It could be a lot more.
[Velshi:] That's very compelling. I'm totally not watching football today.
[Berman:] Do not watch football, watch us. In other news, Hillary Clinton's doctors revealing new details about the blood clot that landed her in the hospital. Doctors say Mrs. Clinton did not have a stroke or suffer any neurological damage. They also say they are confident that the second of state will make a full recovery. CNN's Jill Dougherty is live at the state department this morning. Jill, what is the latest on the secretary's condition?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Correspondent:] John, the latest is as the secretary is in that New York hospital, she's being treated with blood thinners, that's the main thing. They have to get blood thinners as they say treated properly so they give her enough, not too much, and be able to be released. It won't happen until they do that. It's really a turnabout. I was sitting here in a quiet state department this morning. It's a holiday, very few people around, and thinking how things have really changed this is a secretary who has traveled a million miles. She's traveled to more than 100 countries. And here in the waning days, we have a few weeks before the end of this administration, this part of the administration, and, you know, she's in the hospital. It's quite striking. It's good they are saying that she is talking with her doctors, talking with her family, and they expect her to make a full recovery. But in a broader sense, it's really quite amazing what has happened at the end of a very vigorous, vigorous position of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
[Berman:] It's such an interesting juxtaposition, after such an eventful for years in the position, the end is fairly quiet. We're all thoughts with Mrs. Clinton as she recovers and doctors expect her to make a full and complete recovery. Thanks, Jill. Amid Secretary Clinton's illness and the fiscal cliff, Americans rang in the New Year in spectacular style. One million jammed into Times Square welcomed in 2013. And in Atlanta, the Georgia peach, a giant peach was lowered as the New Year arrived there. In Las Vegas, where everything is big and over the top, it was an amazing fireworks display over the Vegas strip. Just in case anyone missed the point that it was 2013, the fireworks telling them that it had officially begun. Very cool.
[Velshi:] They think big there.
[Berman:] They know how to throw a party time to time. Two planes were damaged at Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood International Airport last night when the wing of a taxiing Spirit Airlines flight clipped the tail sections of a parked United Airlines jets. There was a gash in the tail section of the United plane, but no fuel leak from either aircraft, and luckily no injuries were reported. Off the coast of Alaska, the Coast Guard and tugboat crews are trying to pull an oil rig into safe waters. Lines were reattached yesterday, but 60-mile-an-hour wind and 28-foot high waves were in the forecast for today. Officials fear a fuel spill if that rig is grounded. And those were wedding bells ringing in the stroke of midnight in Maryland. That's when same-sex marriage became legal there. Voters approved the new law in November. Seven same-sex couples got hitched at 12:01 a.m. with Mayor Stephanie Rawlins Blake presiding. Ahead on STARTING POINT, how the House handles the deal won't just affect us, it could take an effect on the global economy. Our own Richard Quest breaks it down for us next.
[Romans:] And Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings joins us live. Does he see the fiscal cliff agreement getting through the House? And we leave you with London's New Year's celebration. There it is. You're watching STARTING POINT. Happy New Year.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Ben Baltz plays sports like any other 11-year- old. He even competes in triathlon. Nothing seems to stop Ben even though he lost part of his right leg to cancer. But something did stop Ben in his last race in Florida: his prosthetic leg broke in half. A group of Marines was watching the triathlon. The Marines lifted Ben up and carried him across the finish line. Ben's mom said everybody was crying and cheering on Ben and the Marines. Very nice, very nice. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM begins right now. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM, Congress gets ready to grill State Department officials and others about the deadly terrorist attack in Libya. And we're learning more about the security situation in Benghazi. One of the world's largest carmakers issuing a huge recall. There's a problem with nearly 7.5 million cars, trucks and SUVs. Is yours one of them? And the running mates get their turn in the spotlight. Joe Biden, Paul Ryan preparing for tomorrow night's vice presidential debate. It is a must-win. Is it for Biden? And a North Carolina man is incredibly lucky. He's nailed by a hit- and-run driver and he walks away. The NEWSROOM starts right now. Hello again, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Carol is off today. After last week's face-off between President Obama and Mitt Romney, the effect of debates on the campaign can no longer be denied. Just take a look at these poll numbers. In a new CNN poll of polls, Mitt Romney edges out the President by one point, 48 percent to 47 percent. And in key battleground state Ohio, a new CNNORC poll shows the race tightening with President Obama at 51 percent and Mitt Romney at 47 percent. That is a significant post-debate bump for Mitt Romney. Take a look now, live pictures inside that debate hall where the debate we will soon. Will take place between Vice President and his challenger, Paul Ryan. The showdown happens tomorrow. But until we get those pictures, why don't we go to our national correspondent. We had him and then we didn't. It's live television. He is in the critical swing state of Ohio this morning. So John, good morning to you. Vice presidential debate tomorrow night how critical will this be in this election?
[John King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] I think it's very important, Don. Look, Americans pick presidents. They don't pick vice presidents. So if you go back in time and look at these in past years, there's great theater. It's hard the day after the election and say, "Aha, that moment in that vice presidential debate changed the election." But this one is important for a number of reasons. Number one, you just mentioned, Mitt Romney has a bit of a breeze at his back right now. Can Paul Ryan turn on a strong performance and keep that momentum going? That is the number one concern of the Romney campaign. They have momentum now. They want to keep it. If you're the Democrats, you're probably mad at the President, probably disappointed he didn't bring more energy and passion to the debate the other night and you're hoping you're hoping that the President comes in the Vice President comes in with an emphatic performance. That's what they want. Will it matter in the end? Don't know. But at this moment it's very key for the Republicans to keep their momentum and for the Democrats to try to stop it.
[Lemon:] Mitt Romney's already started to downplay, you know, what to make of this whole game, downplaying his game. What do you make of that?
[King:] Well, look, expectations. You want the viewers at home to think if Paul Ryan turns in a really strong performance, wow, he wasn't ready for that. How did he do that? He's never been on this national stage before. Joe Biden, he is the sitting Vice President, he's run for president twice. He has more experience on the national stage. He was 36 years in the United States Senate, the chairman of a committee for a long time. So, sure, if you look at the history and the resume, he has more experience. But Paul Ryan is no newbie here. He's the Chairman of the House Budget Committee. He has debated in these congressional elections. He stood up directly to the President of the United States in meetings before between the President and House Republicans. But every campaign tries to get any advantage they can heading into the debate. The expectations game is kind of silly. It's a subplot both the candidates and we in the media play. From an issues perspective, this is important. They're going to fight over who best would help the middle class. Expect Joe Biden to be very aggressive about criticizing the Ryan budget and how it would change Medicare and entitlements. Expect Joe Biden to have the passion that the President lacked the other day about how all this would affect the social safety net if you're going to cut government spending. Look, you have a conservative that many say is the heir to Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. You have a progressive vice president who the Democrats and liberals are looking for passion. Don, let's be honest, you also have two people who could factor into 2016 presidential calculations. If Mitt Romney loses, Paul Ryan is an early frontrunner for Republicans. If Barack Obama wins, Joe Biden is telling people, yes, I might be getting up there in age, but I feel great. I might run.
[Lemon:] Let's talk about Joe Biden for a minute. Remember, last time they said you don't want to come off as condescending to Sarah Palin or even sexist. Does the same thing play here? Obviously, not the sexist part, but condescending to someone younger than him, for a Paul Ryan who seems to be new? Does that challenge exist in this particular debate?
[King:] Well, I think that challenge exists in every debate. Certainly, it was different to have, you know, you're having a man debating a woman. That's a different calculation. But you don't want to be smug in any debate. It was interesting, you know, a lot of people after the first presidential debate thought the President was disinterested. The President was detached. I was interviewing suburban women yesterday. One of them said, you know, Mitt Romney won on points, but I thought he was smug. I thought he was disrespectful to the President. So viewers pick up on these things. It's different, you know, Paul Ryan is a House chairman. Joe Biden was a Senate committee chairman. Now he's the Vice President of the United States. So there's a generational there's an age difference, these a generational difference, philosophical difference. Both sides, you want to make your case passionately and effectively. You don't want to seem mean or smug or certainly not condescending.
[Lemon:] Absolutely. John King, thank you very much. We want to go to Capitol Hill now and a high-stakes high-noon showdown a potentially heated hearing on the deadly attack at the U.S. Consulate in Libya. A Republican-led hearing is demanding to know how security failures led to the deaths of a U.S. ambassador there and three other Americans. And were warnings ignored for political reasons, and did the White House have any motive in first denying it was terrorism? Depending on which party you ask, today's hearing is either election- year grandstanding or an effort to better protect American lives in the future.
[Rep. Jason Chaffetz,  Utah:] What clearly didn't happen is, Libya was not a priority. I believe what I've heard is that it's because they wanted the appearance of normalization. That's what they wanted. That fit the Obama narrative moving forward.
[Rep. Elijah Cummings,  Maryland:] You know, it's one thing to make allegations that are backed by facts. It's another thing to make allegations and then search for the facts. And we've heard a lot of allegations flying around. And Erin, today in depositions, we've heard things that are contradictory to some of the allegations that have been made by Chairman Issa and Congressman Chaffetz.
[Lemon:] Elise Labott is CNN foreign affairs reporter and she joins us from Washington. OK, many have said that this is a partisan investigation. Others are saying they just want to find out exactly what's going on here. So, then, Elise, what is it? Do you get a sense that heads will roll once answers start to come out from what happens at these hearings?
[Elise Labott, Cnn Foreign Affairs Reporter:] Well, Don, I think you need to separate the political from the serious investigative as to what went wrong. I mean, the Democrats, Representative Cummings we just heard from, are charging that the way that this hearing is being investigated is in a political way that the Democrats on the committee are not being given witnesses, not being given testimony or documents and basically are excluding the Democrats because they want to run this through right before the elections. What the Republicans are saying is, listen, something went very wrong here. There were warnings that were missed. Some documents have been leaking out, some of them obtained by CNN, that show that senior security officers did send warnings and messages to the State Department asking for additional security for Benghazi, for Libya, in general, and those requests were ignored. We're going to hear today from a few key people. We're going to hear from Lieutenant Colonel Andy Wood, who was head of a security support team in Libya. He was trying to get that team to stay beyond its mandate in August. It was pulled out. Eric Norstrom, the senior security officer in Libya, also says he asked for requests additional security in Benghazi. He was not answered. And we'll also hear from some people at the State Department. Key among them is Deputy Assistant Secretary Charlene Lamb. It kind of seems as if the buck stopped here. These requests went to her and my understanding is they never went up the chain of command so lots of questions. It is very politicized. It is a political campaign season. Election just weeks away. But I think that there are some serious questions as to whether the embassy the consulate was fully protected, whether warnings were missed and whether whether this is a political reason for hiding what really happened. Don.
[Lemon:] And it is Washington. What in Washington is not politicized? Thank you very much. We appreciate it, Elise Labott. The man accused of making the anti-Islam film that incited so much violence in the Middle East is due in court today. Mark Youssef has been in federal lockup since last month. Prosecutors say he violated his probation for a bank fraud conviction and the judge ruled he was a flight risk. The Egyptian-born U.S. citizen does not face charges related to the film or the protests that swept through more than a dozen countries in the Middle East and Africa. Happening next hour, the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments on what could be the biggest case of this term, dealing with diversity on college campuses. Joe Johns gives us the details of this case.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Crime And Justice Correspondent:] Abigail Fisher dreamed of going to the University of Texas at Austin for most of her life. After applying, she didn't get in. Attending Louisiana State University instead, but the rejection from UT led Fisher to file a lawsuit against the school claiming she was squeezed out, unfairly denied admission because of her race. She's white. She said in a statement, "There were people in my class with lower grades who weren't in all the activities I was in who were being accepted into UT, and the only other difference between us was the color of our skin." She declined an interview with CNN. Whether race should be part of the application process at the University of Texas is the issue that will come before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Edward Blum recruited Fisher to file the lawsuit.
[Edward Blum, Project On Fair Representation:] The most important question is should a university judge a student by his or her skin color when it comes time for admission? And the answer is no.
[Johns:] Here's how the admissions process at UT works. The top 10 percent of each high school class statewide gets in automatically. For those below the top 10 percent, like Abigail Fisher who was in the 11th percent, the university uses what it calls a holistic review where race is one of many factors considered, one that University President Bill Powers says doesn't get much weight and didn't play a role in Fisher's rejection.
[Bill Powers, President, University Of Texas At Austin:] We take ethnicity as one of many, many factors to make sure that the three quarters coming in under automatic admission, that we add to that with a quarter coming in where we can look for these other characteristics including diversity.
[Unidentified Male:] I think she's fighting the wrong fight.
[Johns:] Minority student leaders on campus like Bradley Poole agree with Powers that the process is fair despite Fisher's claims.
[Bradley Poole, President, University Of Texas Black Student Alliance:] Seeing as race is probably one of the least parts of the holistic review process, I feel like it's harping on one of the things on the easiest thing that she could have a win against.
[Johns:] Others take offense that the lawsuit implies some minority students are less deserving of admission than their white counterparts.
[Catherine Rodarte, Student, University Of Texas At Austin:] To hear people saying that some of us Latinos got in here easily and the only reason we got in here is because of our race, that's really disappointing. We work just as hard as anyone else did to work to get here to
[Ut. Johns:] Conservative groups say it's not just about getting in. The U.S. Civil Rights Commission says studies show that using racial preferences can hurt minorities by starting them out near the bottom of their classes.
[Gail Heriot, Member, U.s. Commission On Civil Rights:] If they're towards the bottom of whatever class they go to, they are much more likely to give up on an ambition to major in science and engineering.
[Lemon:] Joe Johns is live outside of the Supreme Court for us. So Joe, will this decision it probably will have implications on all college campuses?
[Johns:] Well, it certainly could. And you know, I have to say, this is such a hotly contested issue even now, and it has been over the years. Just that last statement from the commissioner is disputed, you know. The academic mismatch, as it's called, is disputed among people on the other side who say it is unsound science. So just about every single point you look at across the board on the issue of affirmative action and preferences is disputed here in this courtroom right now. What does it come down to? Perhaps a very even split. And we do know that Justice Elena Kagan has recused herself. So there's potential for a 4-4 tie on the court when they get around to making a decision on that. In that case, by the way and I don't think we can say this enough in the case of a tie, Don, the previous precedent would stand. So there wouldn't be any change in the law in the United States.
[Lemon:] Joe Johns, thank you. Lucky to be alive. That's the best way to describe a North Carolina man hit by a car that keeps on going.

[Phillips:] The U.S. soldier accused of a shooting rampage that killed 16 Afghans is meeting with his lawyer for the first time today. That meeting is taking place at Ft. Leavenworth's military prison in Kansas where Army staff sergeant, Robert Bales, is now in custody after being transported from Kuwait. Sergeant Bales is expected to be formally charged sometime this week. And as Sergeant Bales sits with his attorney and begins to build his defense, the killing spree that Bales is accused of committing and the fallout from his alleged actions have evolved into a military, political, and diplomatic nightmare that reaches far beyond prison walls. Ted Rowlands is there on the ground for us in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He is joining us live. So, Ted, this is the first time Sergeant Bales will be meeting with his lawyer. What more can you tell us about their get-together?
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, it'll also be, Kyra, the first time they really talk about the case. John Henry Browne, the attorney from Seattle that you mentioned has not wanted to talk to his client about the case during their phone conversations. He said he wanted to make sure he was face to face before discussing it. So, we've heard some things out of John Henry Browne about different ways the case could go. I think after today's meeting we'll get a better understanding of what at least his client is telling him, if he shares it with us. Now, he's been talking a lot. That may change after he meets with his client and he talks about the facts of the case with that client.
[Phillips:] Now, it seems like Bales' attorney is using PTSD to build a case. Is that right?
[Rowlands:] Basically he's speculating in the media at this point saying that, yes, this is a young man that had a brain injury. He did three tours in Iraq, went to Afghanistan, did not want to go back to Afghanistan. So, throwing that out there to garner some public sympathy, obviously, like a good lawyer would and does and I think, if you listen to what he's saying, so far, I think you'll see maybe a change after he finishes with his meeting inside Ft. Leavenworth, maybe not. We'll have to wait and see.
[Phillips:] All right, Ted, we'll keep talking throughout the afternoon. Ted Rowlands, thanks so much. So who exactly is Army staff sergeant, Robert Bales? We've told you a lot about his past tours in Iraq, his traumatic brain injury, but in the week that's passed since the killing spree in Afghanistan, we're getting agent clearer but complicated picture of this man who's been accused, including details from otherwise own wife. His wife, Karilyn, talked openly about her husband and military life on her blog. It was titled "The Bales Family." Now, her blog has since disappeared following the shooting rampage, but "The New York Times" was able to get some screen grabs of the blog. Here they are. Her posts give us an insight into her husband's personality, their life together, their hopes, their disappointments, and according to "The New York Times," Karilyn mostly paints Bales as a caring dad. She talks about giving birth to their first daughter, getting a call from her husband in Kuwait. She also blogged this. Here's a quote. "It was so good to hear his voice. He got to hear Quincy squeaking in the background. He'd be home in only two days. I was so excited." Now, she also writes in the Bales family blog about the staff sergeant failing to get promoted last March. She went on in the blog about turning that disappointment into an opportunity to move beyond Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington and then she posted this. "Right now, I would classify our top five locations as, number one, Germany, best adventure opportunity. Number two, Italy, second best adventure opp. Hawaii, "nuff said. Number four, Kentucky, we would be at least near Bob's family and, number five, Georgia, to be a sniper teacher, not because it's a fun place to live." But perhaps the most poignant part is this comment that she made about the family's hopes despite Bales" failed promotion. Here's what his wife wrote. She says, "This is such an unknown path for us. I'm hoping to blog about it and look back in a year to see how far we have come from right now." How is this a far cry from the reality that her husband faces now. He's accused of a brutal killing spree. Well, straight ahead, a teenage boy gunned down holding a pack of Skittles and a can of iced tea. Now, the parents of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin are asking the FBI and Justice Department to investigate why their son was killed. Coming up next, the 911 calls from the neighborhood watchman who shot the boy. Wait till you hear what the dispatch told him just before he pulled the trigger.

[Baldwin:] All right. Breaking news, we're now learning there is a hearing under way regarding the man who was caught just about 24 hours ago in a town in Pennsylvania Indiana, Pennsylvania. His name, 21- year-old Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez. Police Pennsylvania State Police and the Secret Service were able to track this guy down. They believe he is the guy connected to the shooting from last Friday night at the White House. I want to go to Athena Jones, she is at the White House for us. And, Athena, you're now learning what charge this young man will face.
[Athena Jones, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right, Brooke. The U.S. attorney just announced that they're going to be charging him with attempting to assassinate the president. This is according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Kitchen Robert Kitchen or Jimmy Kitchen who just said this in court a short while ago. We're getting all of this from our CNN producer, Carol Cratty, who was there in the courtroom giving us kind of a play by play of what's going on. They're going to be charging him with attempting to assassinate the president. Of course, President Obama was traveling at the time. But the presumption is the suspect didn't know that. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise though, because you'll remember back in 1994, Francisco Martin Duran was charged with coming up and shooting at least 29 rounds through this front gate here on the North Lawn. He was convicted of attempting to assassinate the president. So it is not a surprise these charges, we don't know what other charges could come. We're still watching and still waiting to hear more Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Also we're learning today a little more about this man. The fact that Friday was his birthday. He had hate for the president. What else do you know?
[Jones:] Well, as you know, the authorities have talked to the friends and family who believe he had this intense interest in the president or the White House. We do know that his family had reported him missing way back at the end of October, on October 31st. This is his family in Idaho Falls, Idaho. They were concerned about him. And so slowly things are beginning to come out and we'll certainly be paying more attention as the story continues.
[Baldwin:] All right. Athena Jones, thank you so much, for us at the White House. Now a grilling on Capitol Hill today. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was in the hot seat. He defended the $535 million in federal loan guarantees he approved for the failed solar energy company Solyndra. In this fallout, an investigation was launched to find out if political favoritism played a role in funding this particular company. I want to bring in our Jessica Yellin, our senior White House correspondent. She has been following the developments. Tell me about the hearing.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Hey, Brooke. Well, it has been pretty testy, as you might imagine, with Steven Chu, the energy secretary, in that chair for more than four hours today so far. The Republicans on the panel have focused their questioning on whether he takes responsibility for this loan beyond simply saying that he feels that it was unfortunate but whether he'll actually apologize for making this investment to begin with. Here is what the energy secretary said to the larger questions at stake in this investigation. Listen to Secretary Chu.
[Chu:] As the secretary of energy, the final decisions on Solyndra were mine and I made them with the best interests of the taxpayer in mind. And I want to be clear, over the course of Solyndra's loan guarantee, I did not make any decision based on political considerations. My decision to guarantee a loan to Solyndra was based on the analysis of professional experienced professionals, and on the strength of the information they had available...
[Steven Chu, Energy Secretary:] loan guarantee, I did not make any decision based on political considerations. My decision to guarantee a loan to Solyndra was based on the analysis of professionals, experienced professionals and on the strength of the information they had available to them at the time.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] As you might imagine, Brooke, over the course of four hours he was pummelled on that statement. So he fought back in his own sort of quiet soft- spoken way. But it was, it's been ongoing and it's not done yet. They're just taking a break for the moment.
[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Taking a break. Jessica, what about the initial charge that this was all about doing a favor for an Obama donor?
[Yellin:] That's what is sort of interesting about all this, Brooke. That's where it started. What it has moved to is that has not been the focus of today's hearing. So today, the critics have accused Secretary Chu of not having a staff that properly vetted Solyndra before giving them so much money. And then also pumping more money into the company later and letting taxpayers sign up for a deal that if they went bankrupt gets taxpayers paid back before private investors. So it sort of as you can see in the weeds. And you've moved away from that original charge that there was a political possible scandal about political favoritism. It has kind of creped away from the original accusation.
[Baldwin:] What about Democrats? You talked to a lot of Democrats here in Washington, what do they say about all this?
[Yellin:] Well, this is interesting. So even the Democrats on the panel are saying today that this is a manufactured scandal by Republicans who are hiding a political interest of their own. The Democrats are saying Republicans are doing this because they're defending oil and gas interests who don't want to see green energy take off. Because oil and gas interests, the Democrats argue, donate to Republicans more than to Democrats. And so therefore the Republicans are trying to stop this green energy industry, which this loan program supports. It's just such a political football right now, Brooke. It's going to keep going.
[Baldwin:] All right, well, we trust you. We'll keep our eye on the ball and if it gets testier, let us know. Jessica Yellin for us in Washington. Thank you. Now to this. Tunnels under the U.S.- Mexico border. They're so common. It's such a big problem. Did you know San Diego actually has what they call a tunnel task force? Yes, a tunnel task force. On Tuesday, a major pot bust led this task force to this tunnel in a warehouse that connected to another warehouse in Tijuana, Mexico. Tons of marijuana were transported into the U.S. this way. Rafael Romo following this. So many questions for you. First, let's begin with the fact that this had a pretty sophisticated tunnel.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Correspondent:] Very sophisticated. It had everything they need to make it a very sophisticated, efficient and fast operation. We're talking about a total of anywhere from 15 to 16 tons of marijuana just to put in it context, anywhere from $20 million to $30 million street value and it was very long. It was the size of four football fields, 400 yards running across the border. They went 20 feet into the ground. It was four feet high by three feet wide. And when agents went there, they saw all of the sophistication that we're talking about. Structural supports so there were no accidents. Ventilation, everything needed to have it as a smooth operation for these drug traffickers.
[Baldwin:] Peeking over your shoulder just so I can see the images. You can see it on the ground and one of the warehouses. How did agents find this to begin with?
[Romo:] It started in a very simple manner. There was a small cargo truck leaving a nondescript warehouse near the border that looks suspicious. Agents stopped the truck and they found three tons of marijuana and so one thing connected to the other. And they found five tons on the Mexican side and six and a half in the warehouse on the American side. But the bottom line, and this is what agents want to say. They want to send a message to drug cartels that this is going to happen every time they tried to do this. Let's listen to what they said.
[William Sherman, Dea Agent:] I'm confident if these cartels want to continue to smuggle their drugs into the United States in this fashion, we're going to find them and we're going to find them faster than they can build them.
[Romo:] The thing is that, Brooke, they're very resilient.
[Baldwin:] Who is they?
[Romo:] The drug cartels. Unfortunately, the drug cartels, in the last four years, 75 tunnels have been found across the U.S.Mexico border mainly in California and Arizona. Three in the exact same area we're talking about last year. One of them had even a rail system with carts so that the drugs could just be push
[Baldwin:] Made a little easier. Well, that's why they have a tunnel task force. Rafael, thank you so much. Coming up next, we're going to get you back to the "Occupy Wall Street" story. We'll talk to a woman who is weighing in on future of this movement. She said this is just getting started. But it has a bit of growing up to do. That's next.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with T.J. Holmes. T.J., hello!
[T.j. T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Oh, all right. That's a heck of an introduction there, you should do all my intros from here on out.
[Malveaux:] I will do your intros. Very good to see you.
[Holmes:] Good to see you, dear lady. Thank you so much. And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in for Ali Velshi today. Thank you for being here. We are talking about presidential election. You know, the next election is still more than a year and a half away but look at it this way, the first presidential primaries in the Iowa caucuses, well that's actually less than a year away. That's why so many eyes are on so many of the potential contenders. We know the Democratic side who is the contender, President Obama. But on the other side, the Republican side, a lot of people wondering what's going to shake out there and one name keeps coming up. What is that name, folks? Yes, Trump. He is, of course, a world famous real estate mogul, he's a reality TV star, but you know that part, but we also know him because he has teased us in previous years. He's teased us with his presidential aspirations, toyed with a run back in 1988, did the same thing in 2000. This time though he says he is, quote, "very serious." Being famous not necessarily hurting him at this point. Check this out, brand-new poll from the few research centers shows voters, in general, especially Republicans, have heard more lately about Donald Trump than about all other possible candidates combined. Well, our phone rang today, folks, here at CNN. We looked at the caller I.D. and it said Donald Trump. He called in to "American morning" this morning, kind of a surprise here. He didn't necessarily want to talk about poll numbers but he did want to talk he wants to talk about his bottom line. Listen to this.
[Donald Trump, President, Trump Organization:] Forbes says $2.7 billion, I can tell you that's a very low number, it's much more than that. And if I decide to run, which I very well may surprise people, but if I decide to run, I will give a net worth statement essentially we have to as you know, we have to fill out very detailed forms for the federal government. I think people will be extremely impressed. Not only is it much higher than that, but I'm extremely liquid and I have very, very little debt.
[Holmes:] Well, his credit score must be off the charts. I want to bring in now about this possible trump campaign, Gloria Borger, always good to see you. She's a CNN senior political analyst. Hello there. And Lloyd Grove, editor at large at "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast." Gloria, I'm going to start with you, because Donald Trump is the subject of one of your latest columns at CNN.com. And you asked the question does he have something to say or does he have something to sell, which is it?
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Sell, and I think it's largely about selling himself actually. Whether it's for TV ratings or whether who knows he's -who knows whether it's books, television, whatever and I think the problem here is that in talking to serious Republican strategists who are actually trying to win a presidential campaign against Barack Obama, they're worried because they're worried that Donald Trump's talk about birthers and sending detectives to Hawaii to figure out just where Barack Obama was born, et cetera, et cetera, is taking the Republican conversation out of the mainstream. Seventy-four percent of independent voters and those are the voters you have to get if you want to win a presidential election they believe that Barack Obama was born in the United States so it's clearly a conversation they're not really interested in having.
[Holmes:] OK, Lloyd, let me bring you in here. Take the polls out of it for a second. You know trump has come on top in some polls that have been taken in some states. But given how much exposure he's gotten, the interviews he's doing and just, quite frankly, the big microphone he has, would you call him the front-runner right now, whether he decides to get in or not, he hasn't said, but would you call him somewhere in the front-runners for the Republican nomination right now?
[Lloyd Grove, Editor-at-large, Newsweek And The Daily Beast:] No, I would not. I would call him the buzz master. But I don't think he's a front-runner, I think he just has a gift for getting publicity. And I have to say that his temperament is also quite interesting. He's not your father's president. We're used to presidents sort of being diplomatic and kind of above the fray. But I was just thinking, what if Donald Trump were in charge during the Cuban missile crisis and sending letters to Khrushchev. You and I well, all of us might be broadcasting from a post apocalyptic wasteland right now.
[Holmes:] I want to put something up here and I ask you another question about his favorable and unfavorables. Another CBS poll, "New York times" poll says the top five presidential potential Republican candidates, Trump has the lowest favorable rating and the highest unfavorable rating. That doesn't bode well. Gloria, let me bring you back in on the point you talked about the birthers, that's what it seems like everyone wants to talk to him about. But has he taken on this issue so much in taking the lead of this issue, if he comes out and says, you know what? My investigation wrapped up, I believe President Obama was born in this country. Do you think that would help squash some of this birther movement?
[Borger:] Yes, I think it would. And I think what we're seeing right now is that Republicans themselves, particularly ones who were serious about running for the presidency against Barack Obama, don't want to have this as an issue anymore because they understand that they're only speaking to a slice of their own base, so they would be thrilled if Donald Trump having sent his troops out there to figure out where Barack Obama was born finally said, OK, enough of this. Because there are serious Republicans out there who have important things to say about how to solve the deficit problem, how to get jobs back in this country, how to fix the economy, and they'd like to be talking about that rather than birthers. Not enough of them have been saying this is nonsense but I think a lot of them would like to get rid of it.
[Holmes:] Lloyd, last thing to you here. Do you see anything in his behavior given some of the appearances he's made, the interviews and more so the appearances, I'm talking about Florida at a tea party rally, he has New Hampshire on the schedule again I do believe, do you see him behaving as a possible presidential contender or you didn't take him seriously, doesn't sound like either one of you all do, but what have you seen him do that goes, OK, make he's acting like a potential candidate?
[Grove:] There's very little that the way he's behaving where I see he's acting like a potential candidate. I mean he's winging it. He's having a great time but he doesn't even know why Roe v. Wade was decided, he doesn't never even heard of a group called the Club for Growth which is a major Republican group that's attacking him now. He's outside the box in a big way.
[Holmes:] All right, Lloyd, Gloria, we shall see if, like some would say, he's making just a fool out of a lot of folks in the media. We're taking the bait. Or let's see if he actually throws his hat
[Borger:] We are.
[Holmes:] Oh.
[Borger:] And I think you've got to take anyone who says they're thinking about running seriously.
[Holmes:] Got to take them seriously.
[Borger:] You do.
[Holmes:] All right then. Lloyd, Gloria, good to see you guys. Thanks so much. We shall see down the road. Well, to our viewers, we're going to move on to some other stories making headlines. Sad news out of Texas right now. A second firefighter has died. There where massive wildfires are spreading across that state. His name is Elias Jaquez, he died 11 days after getting trapped in a fire and suffering serious burns. Another firefighter died on Friday. After some rain, some cooler temperatures, still hot, dry and windy conditions are back today, that is intensifying the fires. Especially true in west Texas where some of the biggest fires are burning right now. The forest service says crews have responded to four new fires across more than 1,000 acres since yesterday. Since January, the wildfires have scorched more than 1.4 million acres and damaged some 5,000 homes and businesses. Well, the federal aviation administration has fired two air traffic controllers for sleeping on the job. You've heard a lot about this over the past few weeks. One of these air traffic controllers worked in Knoxville, the other was in Miami. The two were cut following a wave of controllers getting caught sleeping on duty on those midnight shifts. After those sleeping incidents came to light, the FAA added more controllers to overnight shifts and changed a number of rules such as requiring controllers to be off a minimum of nine hours between shifts even though that's just up from the previous rule which said they had to be off eight hours. We turn to Canada now where police have arrested a man suspected of killing a Chinese exchange student who was attacked in her Toronto apartment as a friend in China watched on a Webcam. Police have now charged 29-year-old Brian Dixon with first degree murder. He made a brief court appearance this morning. Investigators say 23-year-old Qian Liu was chatting with a friend in China through a Webcam when a man knocked on the door asking to use the phone. The friend saw them struggle before the attacker turned off that Webcam. Police later found her partially nude body in the apartment. Investigators have not said how they tied Dixon to the student's death. Also, the mother who drowned along with three of her children after driving her minivan into the Hudson River is being laid to rest today. The funeral Lashanda Armstrong just started a few minutes ago in Spring Valley, New York. She's being buried separately from her three children. Armstrong's 11-month-old daughter, her 2-year-old and 5-year-old sons will be buried not with their mother, they'll be buried on Monday. Her baby girl would have turned one yesterday. Her oldest son, 10 years old, managed to escape from that van and survive. Well, that iPhone of yours, it may be able to know every single move you've made since last June. New this hour, you are hearing from one of the men who stumbled across the secret tracking device.

[Costello:] Good morning, Denver. It's 29 degrees with cloudy skies but later today, pretty darn nice day, 43 with partly cloudy skies.
[Romans:] It is beautiful, isn't it, Carol?
[Costello:] All right, married three times and has admitted to adultery. Now GOP presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich is stepping up efforts to overcome his past and appeal to evangelical Christians. Gingrich has even pledged personal fidelity. Here's what he had to say about it this past weekend.
[Newt Gingrich,  Presidential Candidate:] I have made mistakes at times. I've had to go to god for forgiveness. I've had to seek reconciliation. But I'm also a 68-year-old grandfather, and I think people have to measure who I am now and whether I'm a person they can trust.
[Romans:] That, of course, is his wife you see there as you hear Newt Gingrich on the stage. Let's bring in Dr. Richard Land live in Tennessee. He's the president of the ethics and religious liberty commission of the Southern Baptist Commission. Also McKay Coppins, a reporter from "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast." Dr. Land, let me start with you and talk about this discussion that is being had about evangelical Christians, top evangelical leaders in the country, about whether Newt Gingrich is sorry enough, whether he should be, you know, forgiven, as is the evangelical tradition, or whether he needs to do more to appeal to women, in particular, who aren't quite so ready to forgive this in their political leader.
[Dr. Richard Land, President, Southern Baptists Ethics Commission:] Well, first of all, I think he's taking the right steps. I think the letter to the Iowa family group where he pledged personal fidelity and where he endorsed virtually everything in the pro-family platform helps him a lot. The question of forgiveness, you know, forgiveness and redemption and second and third chances are in the genetic code of evangelicals spiritually. That is part of our theological DNA. So I think most evangelicals are ready to forgive Newt Gingrich. The question is whether they're willing to trust him with the presidency. And there I think there is a gender gap. I think what I find is I talk to evangelicals around the country is that men are more willing to let bygones be bygones and give him the benefit of the doubt. Women want to hear more before they're willing to trust him with the presidency.
[Romans:] What do they want to hear from him? We hear Ronald Reagan, for example, he stood up and said that his marriage was a failure, and it wasn't of his choice. His wife left him. There have been other leaders who have had to come up and get through this and then have been able to appeal evangelical women.
[Land:] Well, I think something along the lines of what John McCain said would help. You know, John McCain told Pastor Rick Warren, he said, the greatest regret of my life was the failure of my first marriage, and it was my fault.
[Romans:] And that was
[Land:] I know that impacted my 85-year-old mother who for the first time felt comfortable voting for McCain.
[Romans:] OK, so has Newt Gingrich done that well enough to suit your 85-year-old mother, for example?
[Land:] Well, I think so. I think so. Look, I think that he has, he still has some ground to plow and some work to do with evangelical women. And I personally think if he's going to be president, he's going to need all their votes. And so I would encourage him to, you know, not do mea culpas all the time, but signing this statement and when asked making the kind of statements that McCain made and the kind of statements that he's been making will do a lot to help restore trust and make people comfortable trusting him with the presidency.
[Romans:] I want to bring in McKay Coppins, because what it sounds like for evangelical voters in Iowa, their choice, McKay, is between a Catholic, a well-known Catholic thrice married, has admitted adultery, so that's one choice, and a Mormon who has been married to his wife for 69 years and has never by any stretch of the imagination strayed in his marriage. Those are their two choices and this is what they're struggling with.
[Mckay Coppins, Reporter For "newsweek" And "the Daily Beast":] It's really interesting because if you're looking for family values Mitt Romney is sort of a poster boy for evangelical family values. But at the same time his Mormonism is viewed with some suspicion because it is so unfamiliar to so many people.
[Romans:] You are a Mormon.
[Coppins:] I am. I am a practicing Mormon myself, and we're used to having people kind of view us through kind of asking, what is this religion, because people don't know that much about it, so, whereas everyone kind of knows somebody who has had marital problems in the past, so, that's sort of a known quantity. Mormonism is not so much, right?
[Romans:] So, this e-mail, this e-mail chain that is going on around evangelical leaders where they want to feel he has repented enough, along those lines do you think he has repented enough for the evangelical voters?
[Coppins:] I'm no minister, so I won't judge his heart, right. But I think politically speaker Dr. Land is right on. He has to, you know, prove to the voters that he is a changed man. And I think by all accounts his marriage is very good now and he's doing a good job of kind of putting forth this very wholesome, in-love image. It's just a matter of whether evangelical voters think he is enough of an embodiment of their values to deserve the presidency, right?
[Romans:] He swiftly dismissed a campaign staffer in Iowa for a comment he made apparently before he worked for him that Mormonism is a cult. That is something that still pops up and resonates I don't know if resonates, but it pops up in evangelical circles.
[Coppins:] I think it resonates with a certain subset of evangelical Christians. To Mormons, it's just baffling. It's this worldwide religion of 14 million diverse Mormons. The label of "cult" is a very bizarre Mormons are a lot of things, we're not cultists, right?
[Romans:] Dr. Land, do you think that was the right approach for the Gingrich approach around that remark? Does it resonate among some evangelicals that this idea of Mormonism is a cult?
[Land:] It does. But I don't think it's the right way to describe Mormonism. We need to use words to communicate. And when you say the word "cult," you think Branch Davidians and you think Jonestown. Mormons are your children's little league soccer coach, the president of the rotary club. As an evangelical Christian I would describe Mormonism as another religion. I would describe it as the fourth Abrahamic religion with Joseph Smith playing the role of Mohammed and the book of Mormon playing the role of the Koran. Orthodox Christiania it's not, but it's an American religion.
[Romans:] Is it Christian? Would an evangelical say it takes the lord Jesus Christ as his savior as a Christian?
[Land:] No. Evangelicals would say the Jesus Christ of Mormonism is not the Jesus Christ of orthodox Christianity. They would not accept the Mormon definition of god the father, god the son, or god the holy spirit.
[Romans:] So would they accept a Mormon to be their president?
[Land:] Well, this evangelical thinks that being a Mormon should not disqualify a person from running for president, and actually the irony here is that one of the problems that Mitt Romney is having with evangelical voters is that perhaps he's not Mormon enough on the issues that matter most to them, because if he had consistently during his political career been as pro-life as Mormons are and as pro- traditional family and traditional marriage on the same-sex marriage issue as Mormons are, they would have less doubts about whether he's really the conservative.
[Romans:] Yes and that's sort of politics and religion all mixed up in one. McKay Coppins, I want to give you the last word there because you are you were sort of nodding when he was talking about the fourth religion, not Christianity.
[Mckay Coppins, "newsweek":] Well, you know I understand the theological argument, although Mormons will fiercely defend their right their right to be called Christians. It's the name of the church, the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and they believe that Jesus Christ is their savior and and yes we we want to hold on. We're certainly have certain different beliefs than some Evangelicals but we want to hold on to that Christian title just as much as our Baptist friends and Methodist friends do.
[Romans:] These are conversations people are having in Iowa right now Evangelicals I'll tell you right now because they're looking they're looking at two candidates and trying to decide who they are going to support. More than two candidates actually; who they are going to support when they head to the caucus. Dr. Richard Land, thank you so much for joining me, And McKay Coppins, really just a wonderful conversation.
[Coppins:] You bet.
[Romans:] Thanks to both of you.
[Land:] Thank you.
[Romans:] Still ahead, back in the day she was Hollywood's queen of bling. Now, Liz Taylor's stunning collection of jewels is hitting the auction blocks, smashing records. Its 46 minutes after the hour.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] All right. President Barack Obama there wrapping up his comments there in Lisbon, Portugal and wrapping up this NATO summit he describes as being extremely productive. He's received, quote, "overwhelming support" on many issues. They came to agreements on a few. They have nailed down Afghan security transition, and also modernizing defense capability, and the development of a missile defense system. You also heard the president commenting on air travel in this country as we're embarking on one of the busiest air travel seasons of the year. There's a lot to be said about the TSA security measures now in place. The president defending it, while in Lisbon. Saying our TSA personnel is under intense pressure to keep the planes flying safe. We'll have more on the latter in the NEWSROOM. "TSA Security Myths Versus Reality" after this.
[Whitfield:] Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. You're in the NEWSROOM now. There's so much talk about the pat downs and full body scans that we'll be seeing at airports this holiday season. In fact, President Obama just talked about it moments ago, in Lisbon, saying TSA is under pressure to keep planes, and you, safe. Still there seems to be a lot of confusion about what is fact, what is rumor. To help us answer all of these questions, CNN's Kate Bolduan joins us from Reagan National Airport, just outside Washington. So, what's taking place there and what are the grumblings. What are people saying?
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey there, Fredricka. You set up the debate really well. It seems to be there's a big question of what's thorough and too thorough. You have everyone from privacy rights advocates, civil rights advocates, to pilots and passengers, themselves, complaining and criticizing the security procedures, that they are too intrusive and excessive. At the same time TSA has come out to defend the security policies saying they are both necessary and safe. There's been a lot of talk about it. A lot of stories, a lot of headlines. We wanted to clear up a few questions for viewers as they get ready to head to the airport for this very busy holiday travel season. One of the things people should probably know is, they ask if everyone is going to encounter these full-body scanners. The answer is actually no. There are many places they don't actually have scanners quite yet. There are 400 machines, of these full-body scanners, according to the TSA, in about 69 airports, commercial airports throughout the airports. That's 69 airports of the more than 560 commercial airports there are in the country. Only about 12 percent of commercial airports have these scanners in them. If you encounter one of these full-body scanners, many are asking, are they safe. This coming from complaints and concerns that there is a health risk, to the exposure of low-level radiation that could be coming from machines, both pilots unions and professors in California asked to suspend the program until further testing can be done on the health risks. The TSA, Fredricka, says these machines are safe. There's less radiation exposure in one scan than one encounters in two minutes of being on a flight at attitude. They are trying to dispel that saying they are absolutely safe from their type of testing. If you opt out from these scanners, there's the other thing raising eyebrows, right now and getting a lot of attention, these enhanced pat down techniques. That have been put in place since November 1st. Does everyone get a pat down, people are wondering? No, they actually do not. You will encounter and be subject to these enhanced pat downs, if-as I mentioned, you opt out from one of these full-body scans, from going through the technology, or if you go through the full-body scan and metal detector and the alarm goes off and there's a need for secondary additional screening. There's also, Fredricka, a chance for random selection in terms of randomly being selected to have one of these pat downs. That being said, the TSA says a small percentage of people actually are subjected to these enhanced pat downs. But the people complaining about it, that sure doesn't make them feel any better.
[Whitfield:] So, Kate, I'm looking at the line behind you as folks get ready to go through security. Is the line particularly long? Is it impacted at all by the changes here, the options people have?
[Bolduan:] We've been talking to a few people. Right now it seems like a normal security line, 100 percent. It is actually, it's been going, you know, Saturdays I don't think are the busiest travel days in general in terms of the weekly travel schedule at an airport. But the line has seemed nothing to really complain about in terms of we know what a security line can look like. We've been talking to some people and we've heard really every side of the debate, Fredricka, people saying it's completely intrusive, they don't think that they need to be-it's excessive. They don't think they need to be groped, in their words, to be safe on a plane. Others saying as long as it gets them to their destination safely they are fine with full body scans and the pat downs. But it is definitely something people are talking about and wondering about these days.
[Whitfield:] OK, even those who flying for a living are talking about it. Kate Bolduan, thanks so much from Reagan National Airport, there in Washington, D.C. OK, speaking of which, two pilots who refused the body scans and the more intrusive pat downs are suing over a violation of their constitutional rights. Our legal guys are standing by, Attorneys Avery Friedman and Richard Herman. There they are. And they will be sounding off on this topic and others, right after this. All right. The first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in civilian court is acquitted on all but one of 285 terror-related counts. Let's get right to our legal guy, civil rights attorney Avery Friedman, in Cleveland, and criminal defense attorney Richard Herman, in Las Vegas. Both professors, I might add. Gentlemen, good to see you. What happened here? This has to be an incredible defeat for the Obama administration that wanted to try these detainees in civilian court. First up acquitted on almost everything except one. Richard, how did this happen? Was it a matter of evidence that's admissible in a military tribunal that isn't in a civilian court? What happened?
[Richard Herman, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Why don't we celebrate our system in the United States? Why don't we celebrate the fact we're a civilized nation unlike the majority of nations in the world. This guy got a fair trial in the United States. Anywhere else it would have been a kangaroo court. He would have been convicted before the trial began. And that is what opponents of the president were seeking here. They wanted a conviction without any evidence, with nothing. Judge Kaplan ruled that the evidence that was obtained to present in this case was obtained illegally, which meant it would not be allowed to be used; i.e., it was obtained through torture. That's bedrock in United States criminal law, civil and federal. If you obtain evidence illegally you can't use it. That's what happened here. The government got their hands tied. They could not use evidence that they obtained through torture methods, and therefore this courthouse, which has about a 93 percent conviction rate, he got acquitted on almost all the charges.
[Whitfield:] So, Avery, you're in agreement with some of this but not all, just based on your nods, and your level of exasperation.
[Avery Friedman, Civil Rights Attorney:] Well, listen. I actually 100 percent agree with Richard. The fact is that this is getting spun the wrong direction. We got Ahmed Ghailani. We got him convicted. He's going to spend the rest of his life in the penitentiary. The fact is that if it went to a military tribunal they couldn't do any more than that. It's nonsensical
[Whitfield:] And that one conviction, that is guilty on the conspiracy charge, being involved with the planning of the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.
[Friedman:] Exactly right. And the fact is, it will be the most extreme penalty. He will spend the rest of his life in jail. Congratulations to the Department of Justice. The commentary from the left and right this is not the way to go, they are both wrong. It's exactly where this case belongs.
[Whitfield:] OK. Now let's talk about something impacting whole lots of people right here in this country as they get ready to travel for this big holiday season. You've got two pilots that say, wait a minute, this TSA, these increased security measures, they are a violation of my rights, my privacy rights. So Richard, where does this go, especially since now we hear pilots won't be subjected to the same security measures as regular flyers. But where does this case go, if anywhere? Does it take off?
[Herman:] It's a case and it is going and it will probably go on appeal. These pilots said there was no suspicion of wrongdoing, they should not have been requested to do these types of pat downs. Fred, just because the TSA says low-level radiation won't affect you, come on. We're not going to be that naive to believe it, just because they say it. There are scientific reports to say that that level of radiation is not healthy. Are you going to put your children through that scanner? I don't think so. I'm not.
[Whitfield:] The pilots' argument, they travel, go through these screenings a lot more often than the regular traveler. That's at the crux of their argument. Beyond the fact they are saying this system is forcing travelers to decide between the lesser of two evils, as it is for these pilots or any other personnel?
[Friedman:] I studied their lawsuit Fredricka, it's basically a Fourth Amendment on unreasonable search and seizure. I think, I'm the first guy to say it. It doesn't violate the Fourth Amendment. The fact is this lawsuit will be dismissed by Judge Henry Kennedy in the District of Columbia. The fact is now pilots are exempt so they don't even have a claim here. Most importantly, most importantly, the issue is whether or not a violation of Fourth Amendment. You're going to find federal courts throughout the country will rule that this enhanced pat down and full-body scanners does not violate the Fourth Amendment.
[Whitfield:] All right. Avery-
[Herman:] Fred.
[Whitfield:] Yeah?
[Herman:] Look at the progression. Fred, look at the progression. First it was the show bomber, so now we take our shoes off. Now it is the underwear bomber so we getting full pat downs. What happens on a full body cavity search, what is going to be next? Is that going to be next? I don't think so.
[Friedman:] Come on!
[Whitfield:] All right. We're going to see what's next. Hopefully- maybe we won't. We don't want to see what's next. Maybe we just stop right here.
[Friedman:] That's right.
[Whitfield:] All right, Avery, Richard, thanks so much. Good to see you all. Have a great weekend. Am I going to see you next weekend?
[Friedman:] Happy Thanksgiving, Fred. To you and to Richard.
[Herman:] Happy Thanksgiving, Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right. Happy Thanksgiving, gentlemen. Appreciate that.
[Herman:] Absolutely.
[Whitfield:] Thanks for being with us in our truncated version of our legal segment. All right. Russell Simmons, he is credited with bringing hip-hop into the mainstream. I asked him "Face-To-Face", what he thinks of today's performers. Are there ever moments in today's hip-hop where you think certain risks are taken in the lyrics that perhaps weren't taken in the early '80s?
[Russell Simmons, Hip-hop Entrepreneur:] No, we took risks. We set after police when they are abusive to the community.
[Whitfield:] He doesn't end up talking that loud, it was just an audio problem. So, Simmons also tells me why he thinks hip-hop artists face more criticism than other performers. "Face-To-Face" with Russell Simmons next. All right. Man's best friend is going bionic. A British veterinarian is giving some pets prosthetic limbs with technology that rivals what's used on humans. Rob Marciano explains in today's "Edge Of Discovery".
[Rob Marciano, Cnn Correspondent:] Mitzi Davis is walking again. After being trampled by a horse in June her owner was left with a tough decision.
[Viv Davis, Mitzi's Owner:] The options were three legs, euthanasia, or give her a chance to walk. We had to give her a chance to walk.
[Marciano:] Mitzi is just one of the few dogs in the world that can be labeled bionic. On this day, the Noel Fitzpatrick is taking off the Mitzi's bulky leg brace and replace it with a sleek, permanent prosthetic foot.
[Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, Fitzpatrick Referrals:] Down, down, down, down.
[Marciano:] He did this using a revolutionary device called ITAP, a custom-built metal rod place inside Mitzi's leg.
[Fitzpatrick:] It's a permanent fixture, it is part of the dog's body. The dog just gets on with life. Before ITAP came into being there was no way to give an animal a prosthesis.
[Marciano:] ITAP technology has also been tested on humans. Fitzpatrick says traditional prosthetic devices for humans can sometimes be painful and difficult to use. He says ITAP could be remarkable alternative for people and pets.
[Fitzpatrick:] If what I do helping patients in their needs, help other patients that are animals, or human, excellent. I think it is the future, yes.
[Marciano:] Rob Marciano, CNN.
[Whitfield:] Russell Simmons, a business mogul who does it all, conquering not one but several industries. Right now he's out with a new fashion line, a new book, and a new reality TV show, "Running Russell Simmons." But his roots are in hip-hop. He co-founded Def Jam recordings and is credited with bringing hip-hop into the mainstream. I asked him "Face-To-Face" what he thinks of the music today. In music, there are messages. I know you're not as involved in hip-hop in particular, as you once were. But you are still-
[Simmons:] I still love hip-hop and artists. I still work with the hip-hop audience.
[Whitfield:] So, I wonder do you like how hip-hop has evolved? Do you like the product of hip-hop today versus
[Simmons:] It's the same.
[Whitfield:] Is it the same?
[Simmons:] It is the same voice for people. Here we are 20 some-odd years later, 30 years later, they still got a voice. [Hip-hop Music] Still people who were being shut down and shut out are still talking. And now they're talking to the kids, if you live in the suburbs or White House, you've got to hear it. That's great.
[Whitfield:] So, the hip-hop of the '70s, when-
[Simmons:] Well, '79 was my first record.
[Whitfield:] Yeah. You think there are strong parallels between those late '70s and 2010 hip-hop?
[Simmons:] Yeah, the same thing.
[Whitfield:] So you like it?
[Simmons:] I don't listen to as much hip-hop as I used to.
[Whitfield:] That would be because?
[Simmons:] I listen to different kinds of music more often than I used to. I don't have the time. I'm not in the music business, I'm not as invested. Unfortunately, I miss that joy, that additional joy I had.
[Whitfield:] Are there ever moments in today's hip-hop where you think certain risks are taken in the lyrics that perhaps weren't taken in the early '80s?
[Simmons:] No, no, we took risks. We said F to police when are abusive to the community.
[Whitfield:] We're not talking about social issues, I just mean language.
[Simmons:] Language?
[Whitfield:] Example, N word. N word used a lot more now.
[Simmons:] They always said the N word sine I was a kid. We always said N word in rap records, and in rap, before they were records. I don't remember them not saying it. That's just language.
[Whitfield:] Doesn't matter?
[Simmons:] It doesn't matter to me. I recommend bleeping it before. They made a big thing that I was against it, the language. Say what they want. They are poets. I don't want to tell them what to say. They are more insightful than we are in most cases. I don't judge the poets for what they say. I'm more concerned with the way they vote. They never liked the poets no matter what century you pick up in, they will never like the poets reflection or their truth
[Whitfield:] Who is "they"? I mean, I'm just talking about-
[Simmons:] No, no, the gatekeepers of culture are never going to like the poets and they never have, in history.
[Unidentified Male:] We are inherent carriers of the words of the earth. For what it's worth, y'all call us poets.
[Simmons:] The poets, are the progressive thinkers. The poets are concerned with the animals, the abuse of the environment. They are concerned with the lack of compassion. They are concerned with the lack of love that we give each other. They are concerned with subjects we go cold on, that we get numb on. It's interesting that rap has stayed in the hands of those people who normally would never have had a voice.
[Unidentified Male:] Other cats who claim our vibe view they subscribe superficial with selfish needs. See behind the mic our soul believes life lessons-
[Simmons:] I hear old records are sometimes are more inspired and I kind of don't want to grow old. I like to say when people say what's your favorite record, I like to say the one on the radio. I like to say that.
[Whitfield:] More "Face-To-Face" with Russell Simmons at 3:00 Eastern Time today. He tells me about his latest fashion venture and why he coaxed a retired supermodel, look familiar, to get back front of the camera. Next week, "Face-To-Face" with Salman Rushdie, the highly acclaimed author is now living a full and very public life after spending nearly a decade in hiding. It was the result of a fatwa, a death wish being put on his life, for writing the "Satanic Verses" back in 1989. Rushdie has penned a new children book, it is a second one. And this one about a dangerous, at times, scary journey into the world of magic. This interesting approach you have in this children's book, 12, 13, the ideal age group you're thinking of. It does need to be a sophisticated young reader. The language, you have hieroglyphics, you have these very imaginative characters. They are kind of framing them, in terms like the Jaguar Man.
[Salman Rushdie, Author, "luka And The Fire Of Life":] Yes, but frightening is good. There's no kids out there dressing up as Luke Skywalker. They are all dressing up as Darth Vader. It's just a fun fairytale. You know what I mean? People are so used to fantasy writing these days, there's so much of it around. This falls into that kind of category. The thing that I liked about the first book in the sea of stories which I hoped would happen is that grownups came and got a lot of pleasure from it from one direction.
[Whitfield:] "Face-To-Face" with Salmon Rushdie next weekend right here in the NEWSROOM. In such a struggling economy every penny counts. A financial expert joins us with tips on investing in 2011 that is at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Then at 3:00, Chef Anthony Bourdain travels the world tasting all kinds of exotic foods. I'll ask him about the strangest meal he's ever had, and find out what he is planning for Thanksgiving. I'm Fredericka Whitfield, "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] Hi, Suzanne, thank you very much. How many times have we talked about the opening of the flood gates? Usually with less than desirable results, well here's what it looks like for real. This is the Bonnet Carre Spillway less than 30 miles upstream from New Orleans. And the water spilling out is from the vast and swollen Mississippi River. One and a quarter million cubic feet every second. The water is heading into Lake Pontcharttrain and then the Gulf of Mexico, lowering the threat of devastating floods in New Orleans even as the Mississippi surges past its banks and some levees farther north. Well, in and around Memphis, the river is heading toward its second highest crest on record, that's 48 feet. That should happen sometime tomorrow but water levels might not fall below flood stage for two more weeks. And what Memphis is dealing with today, many other river towns are bracing for and defending against. Take a look at this right here, you have Vicksburg, all right, that's going to crest on may 19th, Vicksburg, Mississippi, that's about ten days from now, more than 14 feet above flood stage. Then you have Natchez, May 21st the crest, 16 feet above. Look at Baton Rouge, May 22nd will see the crest, more than 12 feet above flood stage. And here in New Orleans, May 23rd, two and a half feet above flood stage, that's all thanks to the Bonnet Carre Spillway. Let's get back to Memphis now, and CNN's David Mattingly. David, this flood is being compared to the region's all-time worst flood back in 1937, but the defenses are a lot better today, aren't they?
[David Mattingly, Cnn National Correspondent:] That's right. We've got flood walls and levees that they didn't have back in the '30s. In fact, it was that flood that inspired all the flood protection that we have now. Here in Memphis, they've they're watching their levees very closely. They have a great deal of confidence in them. And look at this massive amount of water. This staircase goes down to a parking lot over there for tourists to go to the paddle boats but look at out here, it's all just a big sea of water right now. The Mississippi is usually about a half mile wide here at Memphis, and it's now six times bigger than that, and this water is not going anywhere any time soon. And this is just a preview of what's going to be happening down river. They did not set a record here in Memphis. That crest is going to happen just a few inches from now, and it's going to happen sometime tomorrow, but that's going to be short of a record that they set here back in the '30s. This water is going to combine with other water and set records all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico now. So, this disaster is very slow moving but everybody's watching it and it is not surprising anyone. So far it's behaving exactly the way they thought it would. The water levels are right where they thought it would be, and now all that flood protection that they've built, they're using every tool in their tool box, so to speak, to make sure this water does the least amount of damage possible Randi.
[Kaye:] So David, how desperate is the situation for homeowners? Are people out of their homes? Have they lost their homes?
[Mattingly:] Well, the problem here in Memphis hasn't been so much on the water front where the Mississippi is, it's around the city where they have these other rivers, these tributaries that empty water into the Mississippi. With this water so high, their water has nowhere to go so it's been backing up. And low-lying areas in spots around the city, those areas have been seeing some flooding, get into some residential areas. We've seen predominantly several trailer parks in low-lying areas have been hit by this water, people forced out of their homes, there's 300 to 400 people are living in shelters right now and they're probably going to have to stay there for a while because it's probably going to be sometime in June, Randi June, before the Mississippi goes back to where it's supposed to be.
[Kaye:] And when this does does the crisis actually end, though, when the crest moves on?
[Mattingly:] Well, that just means that the water is not going to encroach anymore, but because this water level is going to stay so high for so long, there's concerns about are the levees going to be able to take it? They're doing fine right now but over time they're going to be watching them very closely to make sure there's not any sort of erosion problems or any sort of leakage that they may have to address. But they're watching them, everything's fine so far and they say they are prepared to move in just in case there are any problems.
[Kaye:] David Mattingly for us in Memphis. David, thank you. Our "Sound Effect" is a star spangled mix of motherhood, marines and a marathon bike ride. After a year-long tour of Afghanistan,. Major Bill Connor is cycling 3,300 miles across America raising money for the Semper Fi Fund that helps wounded vets. He made sure his round included Tulsa, Oklahoma on mother's day. I don't have to tell you who was waiting for him in Tulsa.
[Mary Ann Conner, Mother Of Marine:] Oh, my god, I'm so happy. Hurry up and get here. I haven't seen him since how 2009 and I just want to see what he looks like. I couldn't wait, I haven't seen you. I love you. I love you so much.
[Unidentified Male:] I know.
[Conner:] Oh, my god! I'm so happy! Oh, just unbelievable. And my husband's in heaven looking down at all this. I just can't describe it in words. I just I'm speechless and I'm not a woman who normally is speechless.
[Unidentified Male:] I didn't know she could run that fast.
[Kaye:] That is so sweet. Major Connors is almost half-way through his ride which is scheduled to end in Ocean View, Delaware, on Memorial Day, and if you'd like to contribute, click on www.semperfifund.org. At another airport, two imams heading to a conference on Islamophobia were kicked off their flight. You can see the moms who were prominent in the Memphis area were wearing Islamic attire. They had already undergone an additional security check and were on board an Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight heading to a conference in North Carolina on prejudice against Muslims. The plane was taxiing towards the runway but the pilot returned to the gate. The two Imams went through a secondary screening process but shortly after the plane took off without the men.
[Mo Idlibi, Attorney For Imams:] The only reason that the pilot had cited is that some of the passengers didn't feel comfortable but when the passengers were asked whether anybody felt uncomfortable, none of them indicated that they were.
[Kaye:] Atlantic Southeast Airlines said it is investigating the incident and apologizes, quote, "for any inconvenience." The airline did not say why the two men were taken off the flight but it says the men were given a chance to fly on a different flight. This story has many of you talking, so in the next hour, we'll speak to a retired pilot and a couple of experts about whether the pilot was justified in this case or if this was a simple case of profiling based on appearances. In Arizona, Governor Jan Brewer is expected to announce what's next, now that a judge has stopped its controversial immigration law from taking effect, she will speak in just about an hour or so. The legislation would have required law enforcement in the state to arrest and help deport illegal immigrants. The justice department sued arguing that only the federal government has that authority. Brewer's legal team could ask the appeals court to revisit the case or take it directly to the supreme court. Hunters found a Canadian woman after she had survived for seven weeks in the Nevada wilderness. Her husband ventured off to get help three days after their minivan got stranded. The woman survived on hard candy, trail mix, books and clothes she had packed for their trip to Las Vegas. She was rushed to a nearby hospital and spent mother's day with her children, but the search for her husband now continues. We have an update now about the Libyan woman who captured the world's attention when she told foreign journalists she had been raped. Eman Al-Obeidy has fled Libya fearing for her safety. Al-Obeidy tells CNN she crossed into Tunisia on Thursday with the help of a defecting military officer and his family. She said she left Tripoli in a military car wearing a head cover that hid everything except one of her eyes and she crossed into Tunisia using her refugee document. Diplomatic sources say European diplomats are giving Al-Obeidy sanctuary while she considers her future. Administration officials say we got a treasure trove of files from Bin Laden's compound last week, but what about people inside the compound, specifically Bin Laden's wives? Are they the missing intelligence link? A look at one of Bin Laden's elusive wives is next.

[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] We spoke to her aunt last night. Anderson Cooper interviewed her and her aunt says that she is in good spirits, but that she is still readjusting to this new reality.
[Sandra Ruiz, Gina Dejesus' Aunt:] She's in great spirits. You know, finally some people listen, and she spent an hour and a half outside and I've never seen her I mean, it's just exciting.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, Cnn's "ac 360":] What I mean how is the family doing, to have her back?
[Ruiz:] Words cannot express, cannot express, the joy that we have.
[Brown:] And we have noticed that authorities have been parked outside this house 247, ever since Gina Dejesus came home here. So it's clear that the family wants their privacy so that Gina can re- acclimate to her new life along with Amanda Berry and Michele Knight who remains in the hospital.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] Pamela you have some details on some writings, maybe a diary reportedly written by Castro back in 2004. What was in those writings?
[Brown:] That's right, Zoraida. I've been talking to sources, and we learned that these writings are basically justification from Ariel Castro for his actions with these women. This letter was written in 2004 after he allegedly abducted the women, and in the letter we're learning from WOIO reporter, Scott Taylor, that he said they are here against their will because they made a mistake of getting in the car with a total stranger. He goes on to say in these letters, I don't know why I kept looking for another. I already had two in my possession. So it really just gives you a chill learning about what he allegedly wrote in this note, justifying his actions. And also he talked about being abused by a family member and how that basically helped him rationalize his behavior toward these women.
[Sambolin:] That's really disturbing that he writes that they made a mistake. Pamela Brown reporting live right outside of Gina DeJesus' home. Thank you very much for that. And a clearer picture this morning of how all of this happened. The man who was engaged to Ariel Castro's former wife says there were signs throughout the years that he could be a monster. CNN's Brian Todd has more.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Looking down and despondent, Ariel Castro hears the words from a judge indicating he won't get out of jail any time soon.
[Unidentified Female:] The bond is set at $2 million on each case.
[Todd:] With four cases against him, that means his bond is $8 million. His defense attorney says he doesn't have any money. Castro doesn't respond as she speaks to him. The prosecutor has plenty to say about how Castro allegedly treated Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight while they were held in his house.
[Brian Murphy, Cleveland City Prosecutor:] While in captivity there were repeated beatings. They were bound. They were restrained. Sexually assaulted, basically never free to leave this residence.
[Todd:] The details get more horrifying in a police incident report obtained by CNN. One of the women held captive, Michele Knight, said she was pregnant at least five times, but was starved and punched until she eventually miscarried. According to the police report, Amanda Berry said the 6-year-old girl she gave birth to inside the house is Ariel Castro's child. A source familiar with the investigation tells CNN when Berry went into labor, Castro ordered Michele Knight to deliver the child. The baby was delivered in a plastic tub, or pool, to contain the mess. [on camera]: And the source says once the child was born there were moments of horror and panic. The child stopped breathing according to the source and everyone screamed and Ariel Castro allegedly threatened to kill Michele Knight if the baby didn't survive. [voice-over]: According to the report, Michele Knight said she breathed into the child's mouth to keep her alive. The revelation that the women were bound, that chains and ropes were in the home is consistent with the accounts of Fernando Colon. He was engaged to Grimilda Figueroa, Ariel Castro's ex-wife, until her death last year. Colon told me Castro would beat Figueroa mercilessly, sometimes with barbells.
[Fernando Colon, Former Fiancee Of Castro's Ex-wife:] She told me that she was locked in the house. He had tinted the windows. He had padlocked the doors. The only time she was able to come out was for her appointments, that was it.
[Todd:] But Fernando Colon could have motivation for accusing Ariel Castro. Colon was convicted of molesting two of Castro's children several years ago. He has long said he's innocent. Claims Ariel Castro orchestrated the charges against him to deflect attention from Castro's own alleged crimes. Colon is now planning to appeal his conviction. The three kidnap victims said they never left Ariel Castro's property, but there are counts that Castro did take the little girl out. Moses Cintron says he occasionally saw Castro with the 6-year-old in a neighborhood park. The girl, he says, wouldn't play with other children, but would pet his small dogs.
[Moses Cintron, Saw Ariel Castro Recently:] She was well-dressed, you know, and well cared of. Slightly slender, but, you know, she was also kind of white.
[Todd:] Cintron now says he'd like to take one of his dogs to the girl to let her play with it so she won't have to come back to that park. Brian Todd, CNN, Cleveland.
[Sambolin:] And we are also hearing for the first time from the mother of Ariel Castro. Lillian Rodriguez made a very tearful plea for forgiveness to the young women and their mothers saying I suffer because they suffered.
[Lillian Rodriguez, Ariel Castro's Mother:] I have a sick son who has done something serious. I'm suffering very much. I ask for forgiveness from those mothers. May those girls forgive me. I suffer the pain they suffered. I'm suffering for my son's pain. My son is sick and I have nothing to do with what my son did.
[Sambolin:] Ariel Castro's daughter is also speaking out. Angie Gregg spoke exclusively with CNN's Laurie Segall. She says the accusations leveled against him took her by complete surprise.
[Angie Gregg, Ariel Castro's Daughter:] The Ariel that I knew, that if you would have asked me this last week, I would have told you he's the best dad, and the best grandpa, and he was very kind and loving, and he did for me and he did for his grandchildren. I just I would have never saw this coming ever until I saw it with my own eyeballs.
[Sambolin:] Angie Gregg also said that she is so disgusted with her father that she never wants to see him again. And joining us now from Washington to talk more about this investigation, former FBI Special Agent Jim McNamara. Thank you so much for being with us, Jim. Premeditated, deliberate, depraved, these are the words a prosecutor used yesterday to describe Ariel Castro's alleged actions. What can you tell us about the psychology of a man that is capable of confining and repeatedly abusing three women for 10 years?
[Jim Mcnamara, Former Fbi Profiler:] Well, you're dealing with a psycho path and a psycho path doesn't understand simple regular emotions that regular people do, like empathy and sympathy. And with this offender you're also dealing with a sexual sadist, who enjoys the suffering of his victims. Along with that comes a pretty strong streak of narcissism. It's all about him.
[Sambolin:] You know, we heard in the writings that he actually wrote that these girls made the mistake of getting into the car with him. What does that tell you?
[Mcnamara:] That's a pretty common trait among psychopaths. Laws are written for suckers, they're for other people, not for psychopaths, and they tend to project and rationalize. They project onto the victims it's their fault. It's never the psychopaths fault for committing the crime.
[Sambolin:] This is supposedly the case of a monster who was hiding in plain sight. He allegedly had regular interactions with neighbors. Even his brothers claim to have absolutely no knowledge of what was actually going on inside of this house. You know, we've spoken to one of his daughters who is incredibly close to him who also was inside of that house and had no idea. So how is it possible that he led this double life for so long?
[Mcnamara:] A lot of these sexually motivated offenders are very good at compartmenting [sic] their lives. People such as Dennis Rader, DBTK in Wichita case we worked on. So he compartments his life. He doesn't share the illegal things he's doing because he knows it's not acceptable to people around him in society.
[Sambolin:] All of these girls have said that they were lured. Is there a special type of victim, a guy like this who preys in that particular way?
[Mcnamara:] Sexually motivated offenders are fantasy driven. They target their victims in three different ways. First is desirability. What he wants in the victim then he'll look around the area that he lives in or works in, and call that desirability availability. Who's available in the area that fits what he wants. Thirdly he'll look for the most vulnerable victim and that's what he's done with these victims. He's chosen young, petite teenage girls, and with his communication skills that he's got, he's able to talk them into the vehicle.
[Sambolin:] You know, I want to focus on one of the victims in particular. She's still in the hospital, her name is Michele Knight. And she told investigators that Ariel Castro starved, beat her until she miscarried each of her five pregnancies. Yet he is the assumed father of Amanda Berry's 6-year-old daughter. So does this indicate that Castro was treating his alleged victims differently? Why would he do that?
[Mcnamara:] It's his personal choice. What he's enjoying is the suffering of his victims. One of the popular misperceptions is that these types of offenders enjoy torturing people. The torture is a tool. He enjoys the suffering of his victims. So if he's got multiple victims, it's his choice as to what he does with them.
[Sambolin:] You know, one last question for you. What do you think is going through his head right now?
[Mcnamara:] The only thing going through his head right now is he's sorry he got caught. The only remorse he feels is for himself.
[Sambolin:] All right, Jim McNamara, we really appreciate it, former special FBI agent. Thanks for your time this morning.
[Mcnamara:] Great talking to you.
[Sambolin:] John Berman has breaking news in New York. Thank you.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Our breaking news this morning, really a miracle from Bangladesh. An amazing story of survival, after being trapped for 17 days, 17 days, a woman has been found alive, inside the rubble of that collapsed garment factory in Bangladesh. CNN Monita Rajpal is live in Hong Kong. She is following the story for us. What is the latest, Monita?
[Monita Rajpal, Cnn Correspondent:] John, incredible pictures that you're just showing there on the screen. The rescue recovery workers were brought to a standstill when they heard a faint voice coming from within the rubble screaming, I'm alive, I'm alive, please rescue me. You can imagine the recovery workers were there to pull out dead bodies. That's what they've been doing for the past 17 days. Instead, hearing this faint voice they were able to pinpoint exactly where she was, and they pulled her out, as we see there on the screen there right now, amazing. Hundreds of people gather on the scene, including military personnel, and officials who then put her on a stretcher, and rushed her to a military hospital. The Bangladeshi military official and the chief coordinator also rescue operation has told CNN that he believes she may be in her 20s, and this is the incredible part, John. He doesn't think she has, from what he was able to see, initially, that she doesn't appear to have any major injuries right now. As there was no bleeding on the outset and she was able to communicate with people. In fact, the prime minister of Bangladesh even was able to call her and she spoke to the prime minister. So incredible, incredible story of survival there, 17 days without food and water, and she is alive John.
[Berman:] More than 1,000 people killed in that disaster. This morning learning that one woman apparently did survive. Monita Rajpal covering that story in Bangladesh for us. Thank you so much this morning. Really appreciate it. We have a glorious picture of a much different kind to show you right now happening in Lower Manhattan. The final piece of One World Trade Center being put in place, again, this is a live picture, high up above a beautiful morning here in New York. The last section of the spire was brought up to the top of the building last week. When completed, One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the western hemisphere at 1776 feet, that work again going on live this morning, simply beautiful pictures here in New York. We have some new developments this morning in the Jodi Arias murder case. Arias something held in a prison psychiatric ward under constant supervision in the psych ward at the lower Buckeye jail in Phoenix. HLN's Dr. Drew Pinsky says he doesn't believe that Arias is faking it.
[Dr. Drew Pinsky, Host, Hln's "dr. Drew On Call":] If somebody's in a psychiatric ward, a clinician takes that responsibility just to meet criteria to be there. That's not just a manipulation. On top of that, Christi, I would say if I were the warden and had somebody doing a news interview where she just said I want to die, boom, that person goes in a locked facility.
[Berman:] The sentencing phase of arias' murder trial has been postponed until next Wednesday. Wild shoot-out to show you at close range caught on camera. Surveillance footage of this fierce gun battle last July outside a suspected marijuana grow house. This was shown in a Miami courtroom yesterday. The video shows one of the suspects getting out of the car and shooting police officers and also shooting at FBI agents. A detective was seriously hurt. The suspect Gerard Delgado was killed when police returned fire. Police say they found 80 pounds of marijuana inside that house. So ahead on STARTING POINT, Prince Harry taking the United States by storm, and making some fans along the way, as you can imagine. Not just John McCain, by the way. We are live in Arlington, next, with what we can expect from the prince today. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Feyerick:] And dramatic new video from May's deadly tornado in Joplin, Missouri. Cameras at Joplin high school recorded the terrifying moments as the storm just blasted its way across the campus. The tapes are just now being released. The storm heavily damaged the school and destroyed a big part of the city of Joplin and it killed more than 150 people, including several students from that school. Reynolds Wolf joins us now. And Reynolds, the heat we're moving away from tornadoes but the heat right now really the big story.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Absolutely. Heat is a tremendous story. Unfortunately, I've got to just jump right back and get back into tornados, because believe it or not, I know this just popped up a second ago. Part of this boundary you see here, this warm front will
[Feyerick:] And heat is so hard, because you can't really every time you go out you can't escape it. There's no wind. There's no breeze.
[Wolf:] Precisely, absolutely.
[Feyerick:] It's like walking in soup. All right. Reynolds Wolf, thank you so much. Really appreciate that.
[Wolf:] You bet.
[Feyerick:] Thank you. We are now going to turn to our breaking news story, which is that helicopter in Afghanistan that crashed. Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent, on the phone. It's a tragic day for coalition forces in Afghanistan; a U.S. official saying that more than two dozen U.S. troops killed when that copter went down. Barbara, what are you hearing?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Deborah, at this point, the U.S. Military is absolutely reeling at the news. Several U.S. government officials now tell CNN that the majority of those killed in this incident are believed to be U.S. Navy SEALs. That's U.S. Navy Special Forces, the very types of troops that, of course, conducted that raid against Osama bin Laden. One official saying this is a big loss for the U.S. Navy. The information is that it is Navy SEALs, of course, could not be more sensitive, because at this hour, the U.S. Military is moving very rapidly to try and contact and notify as many of the military families impacted by this as quickly as they can. And as you know, often, military families are spread across the United States, so what we are going to be seeing or learning about over the coming hours is casualty officers will be spreading out to hometowns, to bases, trying to track down all of the family members and give them this very sad news. We don't believe that all of them were Navy SEALs, Deborah. There were some other forces on board. It was a Chinook helicopter being piloted by the U.S. Army, is our understanding. And there may have been some other special forces on board from other services. But this may, in fact, become, sadly, a historic loss for U.S. Navy SEALs. The military is saying that there were reports of enemy fire in the area at the time this helicopter went down last night in eastern Afghanistan Deborah.
[Feyerick:] And, Barbara, obviously to underscore, the U.S. Navy SEALs, they get so much training. They are this elite tactical force. To think that so many have been lost and that families now waiting to see whether that knock on the door comes. What do you know about the circumstances? Was the helicopter shot down, as the Taliban is claiming, or is that right now under investigation?
[Starr:] Well, that's a really good point, Deborah. It is absolutely completely under investigation by the U.S. military. The Taliban often make these claims. It is interesting to note that the coalition has said there were reports of enemy fire in the area at the time. But there will be a very thorough investigation to find out what happened and how this came to be. I think we just want to circle back one more time and say that, you know, we know how sensitive it is at CNN to put out the information that it is Navy SEALs, but in the interest of transparency, multiple government officials are now saying this. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put out a statement just a little while ago about all of this. He, of course, a longtime senior Navy officer, asking people to be very sensitive to the notion of reporting information that will catch these families off guard. But they are clearly aware that this has happened, the families. And, sadly, so many of them now really waiting to see how and if it affects them. That news should be emerging for them in the coming hours, Deborah.
[Feyerick:] And, obviously, the U.S. Navy SEALs critical to this some of the tactical stuff that goes on there because they are so highly trained. Recovery right now, is that that's what's going on now? At least is the site secure?
[Starr:] Right. For the last several hours, U.S. units have been in the area recovering those who have those who have been lost, bringing them back for very quick, immediate identification, as soon as they can. This is a very specific process that the military goes through. They, you know, even if they think they know who's on the helicopter, they will do forensic medical identification and then move quickly to notify the families. But I think you also made a very important point. It is U.S. special forces that have been doing so many of these extremely risky raids and assault missions across Afghanistan. To a large extent, however, in the east, close to the Pakistan border, where the insurgent buildup has been rather significant, it was just a few days ago that the four-star head of special operations command, Admiral Olson, talking about the fact that hundreds and hundreds of these raids happened night after night after night in Afghanistan. The world came to know about them, perhaps, through the Osama bin Laden raid over in Pakistan. But this is what U.S. special operations forces have been doing in Afghanistan. And even as the drawdown begins for the conventional forces, for the regular forces, if you will, there is every indication special forces, special operations forces, will stay and continue to conduct these missions. But make no mistake, this is perhaps one of the most significant losses ever today for the United States Navy SEALs Deborah.
[Feyerick:] Yes. And, Barbara, that's such a critical point that you make because these really are the strike teams. They are tight. They are very unified. They know when they're going in. Sort of what's expected of them. And they're so efficient and so effective at carrying out these missions, really, in such an effective way. And they're the ones who are going to sort of be there when the majority of the troops are pulled back. But they're really interrupting or trying to interrupt the rise of the insurgents in that area.
[Starr:] Oh, absolutely. This is what they do. Typically, these missions are not very visible to the American public. Very little is said about them. But they generally go the same way the Osama bin Laden raid goes. Helicopter-borne assaults. Helicopters fly into a compound or a target, they assault into the target by helicopter, always very heavily armed. And, of course, using a variety of their handheld machine guns, assault rifles. This is close combat. This is as nasty and tough as it can get. They are face to face with insurgents. This is not, you know, precision weapons dropped from 40,000 feet from an airplane, as tough as that may be. This is close combat on the ground. Dirty, nasty. The most dangerous business that they can be involved in. I would remind you, you know, it was just a few days ago we reported that an Army special forces master sergeant, very sadly, was killed in a firefight. He was on his tenth tour of duty in the war zone. These guys are deploying six, eight months at a time, year after year after year. And you are seeing these special forces troops not on their third or fourth tour. Again, we just saw one who lost his life on his tenth tour of duty, Deborah.
[Feyerick:] Oh, my gosh. Well, Barbara Starr, really, it takes a very special person to be a Navy SEAL and this is just a sad, sad day and a great loss for everyone. Barbara Starr, thank you so much for bringing us up to date with the latest information. We appreciate it. Well, more news next. We're going to be right back.

[Berman:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT, everyone. A sharp rise in the number reported of sexual assaults in the military points to a growing crisis. President Obama bluntly calls it "shameful, disgraceful and a danger to national security." He met yesterday with Pentagon officials and he ordered them to take action. This comes amid a series of high-profile cases of alleged sexual abuse involving service members assigned to prevent those very crimes. Here is our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Reporter:] Another embarrassment for the U.S. military, this time at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, home of the 101st Airborne Division. Lieutenant Colonel Darin Haas, the officer in charge of sexual assault prevention, was removed from his job after being arrested for violating a protective order to stay away from his estranged wife.
[Lt. Col. Darin Haas:] HI this is Major Darin Haas from Bagram, Afghanistan.
[Starr:] He had sent greetings to his wife while serving in Afghanistan in 2010. The incident came to light just hours after President Obama met with top brass about sexual assaults in the military.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] There's no silver bullet to solving this problem. This is going to require a sustained effort over a long period of time.
[Starr:] The Ft. Campbell firing was the third in two weeks of personnel assigned to military sexual assault prevention jobs. At Ft. Hood, Texas, a sergeant 1st class is under criminal investigation by the Army for pandering. A Pentagon official says he may have forced someone into prostitution. Other allegations, abusive sexual contact and maltreatment of subordinates. And last week Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski was arrested on sexual battery charges for allegedly groping a woman near the Pentagon where he worked in sexual assault prevention. On Capitol Hill, pressure is mounting for historic changes in military law. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is introducing legislation so in sex assault cases where there may be jail time the decision to prosecute is taken away from commanders and given to military attorneys. Many feel prosecutors from outside a unit will be more vigorous.
[Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand , Armed Services Committee:] We believe enough is enough. It's time to change the system that has been held over since George Washington. That is simply not working today for the men and women who are serving.
[Starr:] And Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is warning if this problem of sex crimes in the military isn't solved, it could get to the point where parents and young people simply will not want to join the military, John, Christine.
[Berman:] Yes, a big problem, reaching this crisis level in Washington right now. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you so much.
[Romans:] OK. Ahead on STARTING POINT this Friday morning, a hatchet-wielding hitchhiker, who found Internet fame, now accused of murder. We've got the details behind this bizarre story just ahead.
[Berman:] And then Abercrombie & Fitch CEO responds to the man who is rebranding the company by giving the company's clothes out to the poor. What he's now saying, coming up.
[Romans:] Plus, what are the odds that you will win the more than half a billion dollar jackpot? We're going to tell you. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone, and welcome to AROUND THE WORLD. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Suzanne Malveaux.
[Michael Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for being with us. We'd like to welcome our viewers here in the U.S. and indeed around the world.
[Whitfield:] Let's begin in Jordan. There, President Obama meets with King Abdullah as the president winds up his trip to the Middle East.
[Holmes:] Yes, the two leaders are scheduled to hold a news conference. Actually that's meant to take place pretty soon. We'll be listening in, of course, and update you on the latest developments. Now Jordan, of course, an important strategic ally for the U.S. and partner in the region.
[Whitfield:] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today apologized to Turkey for a 2010 commando raid on a flotilla bound for Gaza. You'll remember, eight Turks were killed in that attack.
[Holmes:] Yes, the Israeli leader apparently phoned the Turkish prime minister, Erdogan, during a meeting with President Obama. This is a pretty significant development. And it comes from two senior administration officials. Prime Minister Netanyahu apologizing for what happened and admitting to operational mistakes. Apparently relations are going to be normalized now.
[Whitfield:] In Egypt, hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood today. They through Molotov cocktails as police surrounded the building.
[Holmes:] State-run Nile Television says supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, well they held a counterdemonstration. The police, you can see clearly there, acting as a buffer.
[Whitfield:] And big decisions, tough dilemmas. Cyprus says the next few hours will be crucial.
[Holmes:] That's right. The island nation trying to save its very banking system. Now, lawmakers there are working on a new proposal to raise money for a bailout.
[Whitfield:] The deal can't come soon enough for Cypriots. Banks have been closed all week as Cyprus sorts out its financial mess. And for many people, the situation really is pretty dire.
[Holmes:] Yes, think about it. What would you do if you didn't have any cash and you didn't have a credit card and you didn't have a debit card and things like that? Well, Nick Paton Walsh has a story now of a Russian maid in Cyprus caught up in this crisis.
[Nick Paton Walsh, Cnn Correspondent:] Olga, a Russian single mother who taught herself Greek just to get work in an upscale hotel, has always lived on a budget, but never like this. She has no ATM card, so closed banks mean there's no more money now for food. Here, how much is left in her purse for her family to live off.
[Olga, Cyprus Resident:] Not even five euros. I took a loan from friends to get through the weekend, but I don't know when the banks open again. My son gets paid tomorrow with a check, but he can't cash it anywhere. We have money, but can't get at it. Maybe even for a week.
[Walsh:] Her eldest two have grown and work to pay for school, but little Elena always has questions.
[Olga:] Mom, what will we do now, she asks. At school, even the little ones talk. She hears stuff in school and that's a problem. I can't put adult problems on a baby's shoulder. I explain, I say we can get through this. We will wait and something good, I believe, will come of this. I feel hopeless. Fear, not just for my future, but for the future of my children. What can we do?
[Walsh:] Across Nicosia there is that sense of despair. Streets like this that would normally be bustling, now barren and empty. So many Cypriots waking up to hear that the solutions their government offered the day before have now been cast aside. During Thursday, queues grew at ATMs. Gas station asked only for cash. Shops stayed shuttered. Panic built. Olga says her 1,000 euro savings, a two-year's work for her, not something she can lose even 2 percent of.
[Olga:] I feel like it's a million because I worked for it, sweat for it. I saved this money. I'm not scared. I'm not angry. It's desperation that grips your soul. A desperate situation. And you cannot find your way out.
[Walsh:] She jokes her life is like a fairy tale. It gets scarier the longer it goes on. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Nicosia.
[Holmes:] Well, of course, world financial markets are waiting and watching all of this unfold.
[Whitfield:] We're watching very closely. We have reporters in Cyprus and here in the U.S. tracking the latest developments. Let's bring in our Jim Boulden, who is in Nicosia, and Zain Asher in New York. So, Jim, you first. What is the latest about a plan?
[Jim Boulden, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, I wish I could tell you that plan b was being debated here in the parliament, but I just walked into the chamber itself to look and there's nobody in there. Six hours ago they were supposed to start to debate these bills to try to fix the financial system, but the talks are still going on behind the scenes. We still haven't heard whether Europe will agree to anything that Cyprus is trying to come up with. So plan b has not been agreed to. As we know, the money will be cut off from the banks on Monday. They're supposed to open again on Tuesday. There's still no plan. It's now the sun going down on Friday night. People are at the gate protesting to find out what parliament's going to do, guys, and they still don't have a plan that we can tell you about.
[Holmes:] It's extraordinary. Zain, I want to bring you in now to talk about the markets. It's interesting the Europe markets were up earlier. I think they ended up on the day. The American markets, they seem to be shaking it off. But, you know, what would it take for that situation to change?
[Zain Asher, Cnn Business Correspondent:] OK. Well basically if that situation would change, basically we'd have to see this rippling out to other countries. So if depositors in periphery countries, for example Spain, right, felt that their money wasn't safe and did a run on the bank, then obviously the global economy would be in jeopardy and that obviously includes U.S. markets. And, naturally, Europe is one of our biggest trading partners. But for now, you know, investors don't seem to be too stressed. It is a very tiny country. It doesn't have the same impact as some place like France or Germany. Plus, you know, we have seen a huge rally in the stock market since the start of the year. Major averages up 7 to 10 percent. And, you know, it would take a lot to change that. Michael.
[Holmes:] You see it half a percent up on the day already. Yes.
[Whitfield:] Right. And, of course, big frustration. People can't get to their money from the banks. But then, Jim, maybe you have some encouragement. Any signs that perhaps banks will reopen as early as Tuesday perhaps?
[Boulden:] That can only happen if there's an agreement here to save the banks. The restructure, shutdown, whatever you want to call it and reorganize these banks and then Europe says, OK, we'll allow the European Central Bank think of that like the Federal Reserve, putting money into these banks just to keep them alive for a few more weeks. The Federal Reserve of the European Central Bank says, we will shut that money off come Monday night. So it's really, really tight. People simply aren't able to do day-to- day operations because they can't get access to the money. As we were hearing earlier, taxi driver telling me they just want five or ten euros, no change, and they're rounding things up so they can get the bills in their hand. They're not going to be giving change because they need to keep that money as much as they can get their hands on.
[Holmes:] All right. And, Zain, just finally, too, I mean from an American standpoint, we've got our Americans viewers with us, of course, what happens in Europe matters in the United States. Europe, the biggest trading partner. It all does it's all interconnected now.
[Asher:] Yes, absolutely. And, you know, there are huge protests in the streets in Cyprus, just to show you just how riled up people are over there. But I just want to emphasize that this could never happen here in the U.S. Here, the FDIC insures deposits over $250,000. In Cyprus, they do have deposit guarantees as well, but they're willing to override that law because of the dire straits they're in. Also in the U.S., you know, as banks get into trouble, the U.S. does have the authority to borrow money or literally print money to bail them out. In Cyprus, it's not that simple because they're part of the Eurozone. So they don't have that kind of economy. They have to lean on the shoulders of the ECB. So it does seem to be relatively contained over there.
[Whitfield:] All right, Zain, Jim, thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.
[Holmes:] OK. Here's more of what we're working on this hour for AROUND THE WORLD. Got a Mexican politician we're going to show you now. She's saying she was not a call girl.
[Whitfield:] She only worked as a model and posed in lingerie as a favor for a friend, she says.
[Holmes:] We're going to look at that. Also, a nude baby picture of the universe from billions of years ago. It is beautiful, isn't it.
[Whitfield:] Uh-huh.
[Holmes:] And even the pope has to get things in order now that he's moved house.
[Whitfield:] One thing he can check off his list now, canceling his newspaper subscription.

[Kaye:] The latest developments now in Egypt. A natural gas pipeline in the Sinai town of El Arish has been set on fire. State run TV quote, the Sinai governor as saying, "the fire was an act of sabotage." It's unclear if it's related to the political unrest sweeping the country. The pipeline is expected to be closed now for at least a week. That could pose a real problem for Jordan, which relies heavily on its fuel. Opposition leaders and intellectuals held talks today with Vice President Omar Suleiman. They discussed ways to ease President Hosni Mubarak from power. One of the groups called the Committee of the Wise says Suleiman was willing to listen. Members call for protests to continue at Tahrir Square every Tuesday and every Friday until Mubarak resigns. The protest there today have been largely peaceful, there was a standoff between anti-government protesters and the military. You are looking at live pictures there of Liberation Square in Cairo. Demonstrators formed a human chain earlier to stop military tanks from crossing through barricades into their enclave in the Square. Witnesses say the scuffle broke out when soldiers knocked down the barricades. Demonstrations supporting the uprising are planned today across the United States and Europe. One is happening outside the Egyptian embassy in Washington this afternoon. CNN's Sandra Endo is there and joins us now live. Sandra, what is the scene there at this hour?
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Randi, it's supposed to start off at about noon here in front of the Egyptian embassy at the nation's capital. You can see the barricades set up and some protesters starting to gather with signs in hand. And this is all, as you mentioned, in solidarity for the uprising in Egypt. This is actually a group of grassroots organizations coming together. And now I'm joined by Sarah Sloan who is part of the organization of this whole demonstration we're about to see today. Tell me what the message is and what you're trying to say.
[Sarah Sloan, Protest Organizer:] We're trying to show our solidarity with the people of Egypt who have been in the streets every day opposing the U.S.-backed Mubarak dictatorship. We have a special obligation to be protesting here in D.C. and around the United States because every day the U.S. government gives over $5 million, amounting to over $2 billion every year to prop up this dictatorship that the Egyptian people have made clear they want to see gone.
[Endo:] Are you happy with what you're hearing and seeing from Egypt, the mass protests sometimes they're violent, but also the message you're hearing from President Mubarak?
[Sloan:] Well, we believe the message of the protest is clear that Mubarak and his entire regime has to go immediately and it has to be replaced by a government that serves the interests of the Egyptian people not of the U.S. government. OK. Thank you so much, Sarah Sloan. Again, Randi, this is going to kick off at noon. Their plan is to protest in front of this embassy and then march to the White House for further demonstration Randi.
[Kaye:] All right. Thank you, Sandra. It starts, I guess, about 45 minutes from now. Thank you. You've been watching events in Egypt unfold right before your eyes. Journalists including some from CNN have been on the frontlines from the very start of this uprising. But in recent days they've become target of people who don't want the world to see what's happening. Journalists rush to cover the uprising in Egypt and bring the story to people around the world. But they were quickly silenced.
[Unidentified Male:] Get down.
[Kaye:] On Wednesday CNN's Anderson Cooper and his team were attacked in Tahrir Square while covering the protests.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, "anderson Cooper 360":] I've been hit now like ten times.
[Kaye:] That same day CNN International correspondent, Hala Gorani was also roughed up covering the story. A stranger escorted her to safety.
[Hala Gorani, Cnn International Anchor/correspondent:] This is a little chaotic. I have someone helping me out here.
[Kaye:] On Thursday when Anderson Cooper ventured out again to capture the protests, his car window was smashed. He tweeted, "Vehicle I was in attacked. My window smashed. All OK."
[Cooper:] We were all OK. We, you know, immediately started screaming to the driver, "Go, go, go, go, go." And we were able to get out of there. The car was pretty badly damaged. But again that was a minor incident compared with what had happened to numerous journalists today.
[Kaye:] Anderson had to broadcast his nightly program "AC 360" from an undisclosed location Thursday due to safety concerns.
[Cooper:] I can't tell you where we are frankly for our own safety.
[Kaye:] And it wasn't just CNN. Reporter Lara Logan from CBS was marched back to her hotel at gunpoint. An ABC producer and cameraman were carjacked at a checkpoint and driven to a compound where they say men threaten to behead them. A Fox News Channel correspondent and producer attacked so severely they were hospitalized. All it seemed a coordinated effort to instill fear, destroy camera equipment and stop the story from spreading. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took notice.
[Clinton:] We condemn in the strongest terms attacks on reporters covering the ongoing situation in Egypt.
[Kaye:] Who is to blame for the attacks on the press?
[Dougherty:] Senior State Department officials say they have information that shows that there was some type of connection between the ministry of the interior and those attacks.
[Kaye:] But the Egyptian ambassador told CNN the government condemned the attacks and was not behind them. Still, in a televised address, vice president Omar Suleiman singled out international TV reporters.
[Omar Suleiman, Vice President Of Egypt:] I actually blame certain friendly nations who have television channels. They're not friendly at all.
[Kaye:] Meanwhile, on Friday the attacks continued. The Arabic network Al Jazeera reported its office in Cairo had been attacked by, quote, "a gang of thugs". The office and all of the equipment inside burned. The Al Jazeera network's office had been closed days earlier after it broadcast video of anti-Mubarak protesters. The only media it seems that is free to broadcast is state-run Nile TV, a pro-Mubarak network. Early on Nile TV called the protests, quote, "riots", and accused protesters of violating the security of the country.
[Salma Abdelaziz, International Assignment Editor:] Well, since the beginning they've been covering the protests, but they have mainly been focusing on pro Mubarak rallies rather than anti-Mubarak rallies.
[Kaye:] Nile TV has since backed off a bit, telling the protesters to go home, that their message has been heard. Still, their coverage apparently too slanted even for a Nile TV anchorwoman, who walked off the job this week in protest.
[Shahira Amin, Former Nile Tv Correspondent:] I don't want to be part of the propaganda machine of this regime. I'm on the side of the people.
[Kaye:] The people and the protesters who want their story told by journalists who now find it too dangerous to do their job. Today, Egypt's new prime minister said there has been no concerted effort to hinder journalists in and around Tahrir Square adding that he has, quote, "made clear that they have full freedom to do anything they want". Just ahead of the Super Bowl, a dangerous situation at the stadium where the Steelers will tangle with the Packers. We'll go live to Arlington, Texas for the latest on the snow and ice that slammed the city this week.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, President Obama is about to make a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations. We're going to bring it to you live as soon as it happens. And Newtown responding to the NRA's controversial call for armed guards in every school of the United States. We're going there live. We'll be there live emotions very, very high right now. One parent who made her cry with laughter. We're remembering Newtown's young victims and we're keeping their memories alive. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Looking at pictures of the White House right now as it gets dark here in Washington, D.C. We were just alerted the president of the United States will be in the briefing room momentarily. You can see reporters already standing. They're getting ready to hear from the president. He's about to deliver a statement on where the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations stand right now. We'll, of course, have live coverage of the president's statement. Let's bring in our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin right now. Jessica, set the scene for us. This is, obviously, a very sensitive moment in these negotiations where at so much is at stake for almost every American.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] That's right, Wolf. It's just days until we hit that so-called fiscal cliff where taxes for all Americans go up and spending cuts astronomical spending cuts kick in. It's also a time when already members of the House of Representatives have left town. So, time is running out for a deal to be reached and I can report right now, as Dana Bash has already broken that the president is in a meeting, has been meeting with Senate majority leader, Harry Reid. That's the top Democrat in the Senate. And peculiar that the two would be meeting because you'd think he would need to sit down with Republicans. But now, that Speaker Boehner has not been able to get his members on board a deal, the president is now faced with cutting a deal with Democrats, and he'll have to figure out a way to get this done with Senator Harry Reid push something through the Senate after Christmas probably, and then turn around and try to push that through the House of Representatives. So, it's running a little late, but when he does come in here, maybe he'll have something to report out of that meeting and tell us if they've made any progress on that front, Wolf. Well, I also expect that he will make an appeal to the American public and probably say something we've heard them talking about, that they have gone more than halfway, that the Republicans need to take on their own base, that the Republicans need to meet them part way and it will be a messaging opportunity for the president to argue that it will be not on the president's head, they'll try to say, if the nation goes over the cliff. We will see it will also be interesting to see if he'll acknowledge the NRA's statements today and talk about gun violence at all as he's done for the past few days.
[Blitzer:] Are we expecting he will answer reporters' questions, Jessica?
[Yellin:] I haven't gotten an indication that he will, but we he will, of course, try to get him to.
[Blitzer:] He's in the White House briefing room. You go into the briefing room. I've said this often. You're the president of the United States. You should expect reporters to ask some questions. And, you want to make a statement without questions, do it in the Roosevelt room, the east room, plenty of other rooms in the White House. But if you go into the White House press media room, you should answer reporters' questions. That's just me, former White House correspondent. Let's go to Capitol Hill right now. Dana Bash is standing by. Dana, this has been a pretty bad week for the speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] Not a great week, that is for sure. And it was really a stunner what happened to him last night, the fact that he was so far away from getting votes from his own Republican caucus that he didn't even bother to put this plan "B" idea for the fiscal cliff on the floor after he spent 48 hours making the case that not only could he pass it, but it was politically the right thing for Republicans to do to prove the to the American people that Republicans don't want American's taxes to go up, particularly, those making up to a million dollars. But on the meeting that Jessica just talked about, I was told that Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate majority leader is, at the White House one-on-one meeting with the president and that really is indicative of where we are right now. Jessica was alluding to this. The speaker, given what happened last night, given what that illustrated which is that it will be very difficult for him to get Republican votes right now for any kind of effective tax increase. The ball is in the Senate's court. Republicans say that, but it happens to be true. Democrats around the Senate know that very well. So, they're clearly discussing a way forward, and as we talked about in the last hour, one leading contender, if you will, for the way forward might be to go off the cliff. To go off the cliff, have everybody's taxes go up, come back in the next Congress, which starts on January 3rd just two days after that cliff happens and have a piece of legislation that will do the opposite of what they're trying to do now, which is cut people's taxes, which is much more politically palatable than raising people's taxes which is so hard to get votes for right now, especially from Republicans.
[Blitzer:] I want to play a little clip, Dana. This is the House speaker, John Boehner, describing what happened maybe more appropriately what didn't happen last night when he couldn't even have a roll call because he didn't have the votes.
[Rep. John Boehner,  House Speaker:] While we may have not been able to get the votes last night to avert 99.81 percent of the tax increases, I don't think they weren't taking that out on me. They were dealing with the perception that somebody might accuse them of raising taxes.
[Blitzer:] Here's what I don't understand, Dana, and maybe you can help me out with this a lot of these conservative Republicans who refused to vote in favor of what Boehner and Eric Cantor, the majority leader, what they really wanted, by refusing to vote in favor of that, they are seeing they're about to see a huge tax increase, maybe the biggest tax increase in U.S. history for 99.81 percent of the American people who pay federal income tax because all of the tax rates are going to go up January 1st if legislation isn't passed. Why isn't that seen as a violation of their no new taxes pledge?
[Bash:] It's such a great question. What you're seeing are a group of politicians standing on principle, and what they want is being forfeited because of their principle. And that really is the argument that the speaker made to his rank-and-file Republicans. Listen, guys, I'm trying to save you from yourselves here. He understands that politically, for that reason, even when it comes to the process, Republicans will very likely get the blame if everybody's taxes go up. So, that's why the speaker was trying to push this, but it just comes down to the fact that there are a lot of rank-and-file Republicans who feel that they were elected to do one thing, which is cut spending and not raise taxes. So it's one thing, from their perspective, to allow taxes to go up. It's another thing to actively vote to increase taxes. They insist that it is a distinction with a difference, which is why we might be headed for the fiscal cliff to sort of change the process and change the prospects of these votes which could make a very big difference politically voting to cut taxes rather than to raise taxes.
[Blitzer:] Jessica, I know you've been well-briefed over there at the White House and where the president stands on some of the most sensitive issues. He had, for a long time, said no new tax rates for those making under $250,000 a year. He went up recently to $400,000 a year. Boehner's position was a million dollars a year. Is it reasonable to think that maybe between 400,000 and a million, maybe there's some compromise in the works, 600,000, 700,000 that both sides could live with?
[Yellin:] More wiggle room but not a lot. Their feeling, the Democrat's feeling is that they have given a lot that they have compromised and that, frankly, they have leverage. And that Republicans have to give more. So and as you know, Wolf, a lot of the Democrats, I'm sorry, believe that they have the political advantage. If the nation does go over the cliff, Americans will end up blaming the Republicans. Now, we could argue look at that and say, in the short term, that may be the case. You know, when the history books are written, it might be the president who's blamed in the long term, who knows. But that's the argument for the short term and that's the calculus that's being made. So, a little bit of wriggle room on more cuts by Democrats and different rates. Somebody just came out and put some remarks on the podium, I should point out. So, I think we might be getting close to the president coming in.
[Blitzer:] Have they given us the two-minute warning yet, Jessica?
[Yellin:] They have not, but we are seven minute after his appointed time to speak. So, we're well passed our two minutes. Perhaps, he'll be coming out shortly.
[Blitzer:] All right.
[Yellin:] So, the bottom line is, they've indicated there's a little bit more wriggle room, not a lot. And they think they have the upper hand when it comes to both political leverage and public perception, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] I'm going to play a little clip right now while we await the president of the United States. Here's what he said the other day about his willingness to compromise on these very sensitive issues.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] This is not a situation where I'm unwilling to compromise. This is not a situation where I'm trying to rub their face in anything. I think anybody who looks at this objectively would say that coming off my election, I have met them at least halfway.
[Blitzer:] So, the bottom line right now, as we await the president, he's going to tell us where these negotiations stand and make a statement and, Jessica, do we expect I asked you this earlier. I don't know if you got any more information. I know that he and his family were hoping to spend Christmas and New Year's at his home state of Hawaii. That may be put on hold a little bit. Maybe the family will go out there, the first lady and the daughters, and he'll meet up with them. Is that a possibility?
[Yellin:] We'll see what he announces here. I wouldn't be surprised if he's able to go out there and open up his gifts, have some sort of celebration with his family in Hawaii and then come back and wrap up this try to wrap up some sort of a deal, if it's possible, after Christmas is done. But, we'll wait and see what they announce about the details of his travel, if he acknowledges that when he speaks, Wolf. It does look like maybe those of us who live in Washington and cover this will have a quiet Christmas but a busy New Year's eve. I'm not so confident that we will be resting on the days leading up to New Year's New Year's day and New Year's eve, itself. It could be very busy around that time.
[Blitzer:] It could be very busy, indeed. Let me go up to the Capitol Hill, Dana Bash is still with us. Dana, I take it the House and the Senate, they've sort of recessed until next Thursday. Is that right?
[Bash:] The House is gone until next Thursday. The Senate is on its way, if not, already gone. They were wrapping up a final vote just before I came on with you. But you know, one thing that I think is interesting to point out is that the big reason why the speaker had such a bomb with his plan "B" last night is because Democrats in the House held the line. They all agreed that they would not vote for it. So, he was relying solely on Republican votes that he simply couldn't get. What you're looking at in the future, if there is any kind of bipartisan plan or any hope to put any kind of package, small or large, through the House and the Senate, it is going to very likely be with majority Democratic votes picking off enough Republicans in the Senate and enough Republicans in the House. But what I was told earlier today that Harry Reid who, again, is meeting with the president, maybe that's why he's a little bit late. The Democratic majority leader has made it very clear he is not willing to force his Democratic senators to take a vote that's not going to pass in the House. Whatever they agree to do, if they agree to do anything before December 31st, that fiscal cliff deadline, he wants to make sure that all the votes are lined up to make sure it goes through because he saw what happened last night with the speaker. Another reason they didn't want to take that vote is because they knew it wasn't going to go anywhere. So, it would have been a politically difficult vote to take for not a lot of giveback.
[Blitzer:] Dana, I want you to listen to what the president said the other day, because he seemed to be suggesting that there's so much dislike of him among so many of these conservative Republicans. It doesn't matter how far he goes in making a proposal. They're going to reject it because it simply has his name on it. Listen to this.
[Obama:] They keep on finding ways to say no as opposed to finding ways to say yes. And I don't know how much of that just has to do with, you know, it is very hard for them to say yes to me. But, you know, at some point, you know, they've got to take me out of it and think about their voters, and think about what's best for the country.
[Blitzer:] So, Dana, how much of this is the dislike, the anger towards the president coming from a lot of these Republican lawmakers in the House?
[Bash:] Some of it might be. I asked a number of Republican House members about those comments if that was part of it, and you know, the underlying dislike for him, I don't think it's so much it. It is the underlying, very deep philosophical divide between what a lot of these Republicans came here to do and what the president believes. It may not really is when you get down to it. Certainly, there are politics involved and anything that goes on the Washington. But on this big issue, Republicans, I talked to several of them this morning even say that, look, they feel like this is their moment. This is their moment to achieve what they've wanted to achieve philosophically with regard to government spending, cutting government spending, with regard to taxes, keeping taxes low. That this was their moment that was ushered in with the House Republican House and they're just very, very low to give that up. even though, at the same time, they understand even the most ardent conservatives, fiscal conservatives who I've spoken with in the hallways here, understand that the president has the political leverage. They get it, but they just feel that it is their responsibility to stick to principle when it comes to votes.
[Blitzer:] All right. Hold on for a moment. I want to go back to Jessica Yellin over at the White House. She's in the briefing right now awaiting the president. He should be coming out fairly soon making a statement on where these negotiations to avoid the fiscal cliff stand. The Republican leader in the Senate, Jessica, Mitch McConnell, he made it clear that it's up to the president now to come up with a new plan. Listen to this.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell,  Minority Leader:] This isn't John Boehner's problem to solve. He's done his part. He's bent over backwards. Mr. President, how about rallying your party around a solution? How about getting Democrats to support something? I've said it many times before, we simply cannot solve the problems we face, unless, and until the president of the United States either finds the will or develops the ability, the ability to lead. This is a moment that calls for presidential leadership. That's the way out of this. It's that simple.
[Blitzer:] A lot of people have made the point, Jessica, that if there is a collapse of these negotiations, tax rates go up for everyone. Maybe they'll blame Republicans in the short-term, but in the long-term, they'll say this happened on the president's watch, and he needs to show what McConnell says over there is more leadership to get everyone together. What did they say at the White House about that argument?
[Yellin:] Well, there is a human dynamic to all of this, Wolf, as you point out. The Republicans, when I talked to them, not just in public, but behind the scenes, very frustrated. They argue that President Obama can't offer them, doesn't know what to offer them to give them the cover they need to get the most conservative element of their base on board a deal to get this over the finish line. At the White House, when I bring that up, they sort of shrug their shoulders, roll their eyes, and laugh at me and say, you know, when they put out a very what they viewed as a recent compromise during the debt talks of 2011, they were ridiculed and mocked because it was considered a compromised position that they led with their final offer first. And then, Republicans rejected that and then they had nowhere to go. And so, now the President is taking, you know, essentially a more aggressive posture and as somewhere to move in a negotiation, and he's criticized for that. So, you know, they feel, you know, in essence, Democrats broadly feel that the failure of plan "B" is evidence that Speaker Boehner cannot wrangle his conference and it is the failure of leadership is on Speaker Boehner's side. The bottom line is, there's a lot of finger pointing when it comes to who is leading and who is failing to lead. And there's a lot of bitterness and maybe bitterness is the wrong word, but there's a lot of frustration on both sides that there's not a partner to deal with on the other end. A partner who can actually get the deal done. And so, this human dynamic is sort of fascinating. The bottom line of what really matters to Americans is that this is a Washington- generated problem. The fiscal cliff is not some natural disaster. It's not a hurricane that's hit. This was created by Congress and by the tax plan that George Bush passed and then by the last year sequester. And it didn't have to exist, and now, Congress and Washington cannot solve it. So, they can't wind themselves out of their own pretzel. And it's a little bit confounding to everybody who's dealing with it, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Jessica, still no two-minute warning?
[Yellin:] No two-minute warning. And I keep asking what's going on, what's the holdup. No response yet. So, I'm sure we'll find out soon.
[Blitzer:] All right. We'll find out soon enough. You know what, while we're waiting for the president, let's take a quick break. Resume our coverage from the White House right after this.

[Velshi:] Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. A night of bloodshed in Syria. Government troops and civilians clashing again in the City of Hama. Reports of violence in several other cities as well. At least 24 more people reportedly killed overnight. Fifty-two died on Sunday, including four children. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling on the United Nations to take action against Syrian President Assad saying he has lost his legitimacy to rule. A major concession this morning from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that could lead to statehood for Palestinians. Netanyahu announcing that Israel is now willing to negotiate with Palestinians based on borders that existed in 1967. In exchange, the Palestinians would have to drop efforts to get the U.N. to recognize them as a state and it would have to publicly recognize Israel as a state. Leaders on both sides are indicating that they are willing to accept those conditions.
[Costello:] Back here at home, the extreme heat, it just wouldn't let up in the Midwest and Dallas. Today will mark the 32nd straight day of triple-digit temperatures. Excessive heat advisories in effect from Texas to parts of Kansas. Also, right now, 12 percent of the country experiencing extreme drought conditions. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center in Atlanta. So, any end in sight?
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, what we need is a tropical system to come onshore. That's what we were begging for last week in Don. It completely fizzled and brought virtually no rain to Texas. So that's strikeout number one. We're hoping Emily brings something to the southeast which it can use the rain. But there's a chance that it may be strikeout number two. Here's where it is. Tropical Storm Emily in the Eastern Caribbean, this one already larger than Don, but still has some obstacles to undergo. There's some dry air out here. We've got islands that that are going to may get in the way of this thing. Here's the forecast track. It will skim San Juan. There'll be some rain there, maybe a little bit of wind. It will get over Hispaniola and that may tear it apart, at least limit its its development because of the mountains there, and they get somewhere into the Southern Bahamas. Florida is in the realm of possibilities, as is the Carolinas and Georgia as we get towards the weekend. So this is going to be of great concern. Obviously, if it develops stronger into a Category 1, 2 or 3 hurricane that wouldn't be good, but a weak tropical system we'll take that. Here's your heat advisories as you mentioned all over the place 109 the expected high temperature today in Dallas; 111 in Oklahoma City. Is it cooler tomorrow? No. Does it get cooler on Thursday? No, similar numbers. So the heat continues. And this system, guys, it doesn't look like it has much of a chance of getting to Texas. So they've got to have to get their cool rain from another source. Right now, it looks hot and dry. Guys, back up to you.
[Costello:] I don't really think that's possible, but maybe they'll think of something.
[Marciano:] Yes. That's right.
[Velshi:] It's I mean, that purple on that map just confounds me.
[Marciano:] Yes.
[Velshi:] The heat in the shade in Oklahoma City and Dallas, places like that, wow.
[Marciano:] It's been quite a stretch.
[Velshi:] We'll check on the weather later on with you, Rob. Thank you so much.
[Marciano:] Right. You bet.
[Velshi:] This might just be the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. The people of Somalia in the grips of a deadly drought and famine, nowhere in the world are people more malnourished. But getting the help to these struggling people in this African nation is next to impossible because of another ongoing crisis, attacks by Islamic militants. CNN's Nima Elbagir joins us live from Mogadishu, Somalia, this morning. Nima, what's the situation there?
[Nima Elbagir, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, Ali, the Shabaab Militant Group have now announced their Ramadan offenses, the Muslim Holy Month started yesterday and annually every year, what will Shabaab do is they try and use this as a rallying cry for their supporters around the world. We've been told by intelligence associates that three weeks ago they received a shipment of weapons from across the Red Sea in Yemen. They couldn't confirm 100 percent, but believe that was coming from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in preparation for this offensive. That offensive has now begun in earnest bringing with it huge concerns for the already impoverished aid that is reaching these people. The worry is that now that this offensive has kicked off, that those aids deliveries are in even more danger as meager as they were, Ali.
[Velshi:] Nima, what is the likely ability to to head off the continued famine? And I ask you this because "famine" is a specific word. It's not sort of thrown around normally. It means something specific. How long does this likely go on go on for if they can't succeed in getting food to these people?
[Elbagir:] And that's the huge issue here. If they can't secure the corridors to deliver the aid, then we're only going to continue to see this humanitarian catastrophe grow. Initially, the United Nations had said that famine and you're right, it is a very scientific term, and it talks about a very specific malnutrition rate, initially the U.N. had said that that was only in two areas in South and Central Somalia. Now it's warning that the whole of Somalia is becoming a famine zone. And the problem really is, Ali, is this really hasn't crept up on the world. For years now, year on year, we've been having drought warnings for Somalia and people have been aware that the security situation, the stability situation needs to change here and then, you know, this was coming. This could have been foreseen. And yet, now we have tens of thousands of people at risk of hunger, starvation, death, and it doesn't really look like there is an easy answer to this on the horizon. Many aid agencies are trying it to ratchet up their delivery of aid. But it's all well and good to get that to Mogadishu. The issue is how do you get it to the people who need it the most, Ali.
[Velshi:] All right. Nima, thanks very much for covering this for us. We'll we'll stay in touch with you on this important and tragic story that's unfolding.
[Costello:] Still to come this morning, the triumphant return of Gabrielle Giffords.
[Velshi:] Did this give you shivers? I mean, I really
[Costello:] Brought me to tears.
[Velshi:] It was unbelievable. I was so amazed.
[Costello:] Why the wounded congresswoman said she felt compelled to come back to the Capitol last night. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. Your business headlines up, too, after a quick break.

[Unidentified Male:] Did you want to feel like you were raped?
[Arias:] No.
[Unidentified Male:] Was it your ultimate goal in life to be Mr. Alexander`s whore?
[Arias:] No.
[Unidentified Male:] He calls you a three-hole wonder?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And a slut?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And a whore?
[Arias:] Yes. He calls me a bitch. He tells me I`m worthless. And he tells me I`m [EXPLETIVE DELETED.
[Nancy Grace:] And so she killed him! Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. After Jodi Arias tells a jury murder victim Travis Alexander was a pedophile, with no one in court to challenge that, we learn Arias in the weeks before his murder buys a gun, dyes her hair, then tape- records herself luring Travis into phone sex. In the last hours, Arias continues the attack on murder victim Travis Alexander, describing now X-rated text messages. But where are the e-mails or the text messages about pedophilia? Did they conveniently disappear? Arias goes on to say Travis actually broke her left ring finger. But tonight, busted! We confirm Arias tells two other completely different stories about the alleged injury. Arias talks the talk on direct, but where`s the beef? We are live at the courthouse and taking your calls. Jean Casarez, bring us up to date.
[Jean Casarez, "in Session":] Oh! There are so many dates and so many text messages between Travis and Jodi, and the defense is trying to show the control and the power that Travis had over Jodi, even after she moved back to Yreka, the names he would call her, the fact that she was friends with a guy and he would make her send e-mails, she testifies, to this guy to say, We can`t be friends anymore, and then she would forward it on to Travis so he would know. This is the pattern that the defense is trying to show of control and power that leads one to become a victim of domestic violence. This is what they`re trying to show. But it`s taking hours, Nancy.
[Grace:] OK, question. Are they introducing those e-mails, as they describe them?
[Casarez:] Yes, many are being entered into evidence, but conveniently, just as you said, the one where she asserts herself saying that he is a pedophile is nowhere to be found. But also, in that e-mail, Nancy, the prosecution gets a win here because she says that he texted her that she was her psycho ways, that he was sick and tired of her psycho ways. The jury has heard that.
[Grace:] Interesting about that, Jean. Everybody, there camped outside the courthouse, Jean Casarez and the rest of our team. Interesting about that. The jury is probably going to be disallowed from ever hearing that she slashed his tires, the degree to which she stalked him. But in my mind, the defense has opened the door to that because they`re the one that brought in this conversation. I mean, I could see on cross saying to her, Now, you said Travis Alexander threatened to expose you for all of your psycho ways. What did he mean by that? Because they have opened the door to what was previously inadmissible evidence.
[Casarez:] That`s exactly what I thought when I heard it because I think it was a bombshell statement. She said it. She was just reading through and reciting what these e-mails included, these text messages. And I think it opened the door, too.
[Grace:] Out to Alexis Weed, our team member, also there with Jean Casarez at the courthouse. Weigh in, Alexis. What else happened in court?
[Alexis Weed, Nancy Grace Producer:] Yes, Nancy, so this statement where Jodi Arias claims that she was threatened by Travis, that Travis said to her, You know, I`m going to expose you because I`m going to tell about all of the psycho things that you`ve done and Arias says, Well, you know what, Travis? She says she calls Travis back, that it begins by Travis bullying her over a text from 1,000 miles away, mind you. She says she calls back, and that`s when she says to Travis that, no, her threat is that she`s going to expose Travis as a pedophile.
[Grace:] Interesting she didn`t text that or e-mail that. And another thing, I want to talk to you put Alexis up. I want to talk to you, Alexis, about this Spider-Man boy underwear that we keep hearing about that he allegedly, according to her, makes her go buy and wears during sex encounters. All right, I have seen photos of everything from what is purported to be his erect penis to her booty hole. Are you telling me that there are not photos of her wearing the Spider-Man underwear?
[Weed:] Right. Right. And Nancy, it`s Jodi Arias`s word. It`s her word that says that she received these as this Valentine`s gift from Travis. And she goes into great detail, describing how these underwear were packaged, that there were three of them in the package and how they were labeled and...
[Grace:] Hold on. Hold on. Not those, Liz. I don`t want to see the ones that she sewed on Travis Alexander. What was that, right before she was going to get arrested, she takes a picture of those underwear? Defense
[Weed:] No.
[Grace:] All right. Amazing. Now, I know that she claims Travis sent this to her. But Jean Casarez, are there her usual prolonged I mean, this woman can`t shut up. Are there any prolonged e-mails, texts about, Oh, I love the little boy`s underwear, because you know that`s what she would say. Do we have that?
[Casarez:] Or the "Spideys," as she calls them in court, the "Spideys." No, I have not seen them in a text or in e-mail and no picture at all, just her word.
[Grace:] So hold on. So he sends her this present of boy`s underwear, and she never texts him or e-mails him back or takes photographs, nothing?
[Casarez:] No. And you know, even more than that, Nancy, the T-shirt that says "Travis`s" and then "Alexander`s," the little shorts he gives them to her on Valentine`s 2007. Wouldn`t there be a picture when he gives them to her or of her in them because it meant so much to him? The only picture, Nancy, that was taken of those was after Travis was killed. That`s when she took a picture of those, the T-shirt and the shorts.
[Grace:] This is so "Fatal Attraction." And today, the attack on Travis Alexander, the murder victim, goes on. Liz, let`s go into court.
[Arias:] He`s waking me up in the middle of the night with a whole bunch of text messages. They`re all unkind. He`s threatening me. I just felt like he was being a complete bully at that point, and I was tired of being bullied. So I called him up and I said after he said, Time to spit it out and he just felt like he was trying to reach through the phone and still exert control over me and it was and I`m at my sister`s house and I`m sleeping. So I just I think I just got fed up. And I called up and I said, The only thing I`m going to be spitting out is the fact that you`re a pedophile with a past and something like that. And I was saying I don`t know. At the time, I characterized what I saw as child pornography, but I realize it wasn`t child pornography. It was just a picture of a young boy. So I think I said something to that effect. And he got very quiet. I didn`t want to leave things that way, but I knew that we`d he`d call me or I`d call him and there would be apologies because that was always the cycle. So I felt unsettled leaving things that way. But you know, I just thought we`ll talk about it later because we were both too upset. So I left. I walked down the block, got into the U-Haul truck and started to leave. And I thought I pulled up to the house one more time just to see, you know, if maybe if anything and I called him and he came out on the front porch, and he came around to the side and we were talking a little bit more. It seemed like things were going to go well, but then he was still upset. And so then he left I was still crying. And he went over to the front porch and he was going to go inside, and I was watching him before I pulled away. And he turned around and flipped me the double bird, and then walked in the house and shut the door. So I just drove away crying.
[Grace:] So she says he shoots a bird at her, that he bullies her in text messages and e-mails. So to you, Dr. Janet Taylor. Why does she continue to pursue him? Why does she drive 1,000 miles to be with him? Why does she stalk him? Why does she slash his tires? Why does she go onto his e-mail and go onto his bank account to find out where he is and what he`s doing?
[Dr. Janet Taylor, Psychiatrist:] Nancy, this couple put the "D" in dysfunction, clearly. She goes back to him, back to him. She had many opportunities to get away. And if he was a pedophile, she could have reported him. Clearly, she was dependent on him and wanted to that that need for her, that the fighting drove her some way, sexually or emotionally, and she needed that fuel for this dysfunctional relationship.
[Grace:] Everyone, joining me tonight out of Odessa, Texas, a special guest. This is a friend of Jodi Arias. We`re going to hear her side. This is not a love interest. This is a young man that has repeatedly visited her behind bars. And he believes her fully, and I want to hear why. With me, Bryan Carr. Bryan, thank you for being with us.
[Bryan Carr, Friend Of Jodi Arias:] Thank you. You`re welcome.
[Grace:] Bryan, how did you first connect with Jodi Arias?
[Carr:] Yes, actually, my sister I live in, actually, Prescott, Arizona, and my sister, she was a victim of domestic violence. And I wanted to reach out to her so I went to go visit her in jail. And after that, we just got to know each other. I got to know her personality. And like I said, I do believe her. I mean, she`s a great, talented person. And a lot of people say there`s that she`s a liar. She did lie three times. She`d never been in trouble with the law, ever been in trouble with the law. She`s scared. She would lie. Now and fear brings out the truth. So no one is there to defend Travis besides the prosecutor. All they have is witnesses on the stand that know their personality, but no legitimate witnesses. So no one really can say that Jodi didn`t do it in self-defense.
[Grace:] Well, Bryan, I`d like to hear your theory about how it could be self-defense when Travis Alexander was stabbed in the back nine times. How could that be self-defense?
[Carr:] He was in the shower. A lot of people say that Travis was in the shower. And no one knows if he lunged at her. She claims that she`s been mentally abused like, he`s been mentally abusive, physically abusive, and no one can prove that different. I mean, because I mean, I have all the remorse in the world for the Alexander family, Travis Alexander, but no one can prove that...
[Grace:] I want to go back to my question. If it was self-defense and I`m very open to what you believe happened. I would like to hear it. I never turn away from facts, whether I believe them or not, but I never turn away from evidence. And my question to you is, since he was stabbed nine times in the back, stabbed a total of 29 times and shot in the head, but specifically the nine stab wounds to the back, how is that consistent in your mind with self-defense? I`m very anxious to hear this.
[Carr:] You know, I mean, when people lose their temper, they might they might snap, or when when they when they get to that certain point from being abused. So if he did lunge at her, she did she probably did consistently stab him. I mean, that`s where the nine stab wounds come from in the back. It doesn`t mean that`s where they started at. If he lunged at her...
[Grace:] No, no, no! Wait, wait! No. Hold on, Bryan. It is proven in autopsy that they were inflicted into the back. They didn`t come from anywhere else. They came he was stabbed directly in the back 9 of those 29 times, 9 repetitive stab wounds to the back. Now, how is that consistent with self-defense?
[Carr:] Well, I want to go you don`t have to totally be physically abused, either. Mentally abused I think sometimes is worse. Like I said, it comes to a certain point where she snapped. I mean, if she...
[Grace:] Well, snapping does not equal self-defense. If you are angry and you perform a killing in the heat of passion, anger, that is sometimes voluntary manslaughter, but anger or snapping is not a defense. You can`t kill someone and say, Oh, I was angry and so I killed him. That`s really not a defense to murder.
[Carr:] OK.
[Grace:] But I want to get back to self-defense. How can it be self- defense when she stabs him nine times in the back?
[Carr:] You know, I mean, Jodi is the only one who knows that answer, I mean, really. I mean, I understand it doesn`t look good on Jodi`s part. But to put that she say that she murdered him in cold blood, and for me to know Jodi, is ridiculous. I mean, she`s not a cold-blooded killer whatsoever. There`s a story behind it. She`s the only one that knows the story. I know a lot of people that don`t understand the story because they think that she`s a liar, which she did lie three times, but...
[Grace:] I`m not so convinced because of just her stories. I`m more convinced because of the physical evidence. Welcome back. We are camped outside the courthouse, bringing you the latest in the Jodi Arias murder one trial, on the stand all day long, now introducing sexting, text messages that Arias claims went between herself and Travis Alexander. Out to the lines. Heather in Washington. Hi, dear. What`s your question?
[Unidentified Female:] Well, I think you would be the person to answer this, but my concern is every day, I turn on your show and I see another thing the defense does that hurts her case. I`m wondering if she will have any type of recourse at the end of this for inadequate counsel.
[Grace:] Actually, if she is convicted, there is almost always a claim, no matter how great your lawyers were, of ineffective assistance of counsel. And that can actually be a reversible point on appeal. But I will say that the largest torpedo to the defense, in my mind, is her on the stand, and that was her decision to take the stand. So I don`t know how far that`s going to go. But Heather in Washington, you`re absolutely right. If she believes that her conviction, if there is a conviction, was because of her lawyers, that is a very a venerable claim it`s been around a long time ineffective assistance of counsel. Welcome back, everyone. We are camped outside that Phoenix, Arizona, courthouse, bringing you the very latest in the murder one trial of Jodi Arias, on the stand in her own defense. And tonight, a friend of Arias who has visited her many times behind bars. He says it is not romantic in nature. He is supportive of her and believes her claims. With me is Bryan Carr, and he is not afraid to take your calls, as well as answer my questions. Now, Bryan, you and I were discussing how this could possibly be self- defense since the victim was stabbed nine times in the back. And your response was you believe that she snapped and began stabbing him after a period of abuse at the hands of Travis Alexander.
[Carr:] Right.
[Grace:] OK. What do you make of the photographs of him in the shower while she is fully clothed? And we know that she attacked him with both a knife and a gun, and that within 60 seconds of the last, let me just say, provocative nude photo of him in the shower, he`s dead. The attack has begun. So I guess my question is how in about 40 seconds can he attack her, and then she runs out and gets a knife and a gun and comes back, and he`s in the throes of death? I mean, it clearly indicates she came into that room with a knife and a gun.
[Carr:] Well, I mean, she loves photography. So she went in there I mean, if he lunged at her, she might have got away and she went and got the weapon. I I I knowing her, I just don`t see that she is a cold- blooded murderer. I don`t see it at all. And I mean, no like I said, I can`t say it enough. Like, no one knows exactly really what happened because...
[Grace:] Well, I know that. No one knows because she was there, and the other witness is dead. That`s why we have juries to try to figure out what happened. Now, what I`m saying to you is, where would she have a knife and a gun that she could get and start the attack in 40 seconds? She either had it on her, or she had to run and go get it, a knife and a gun. Now, that says to me, Bryan, that she came into the room prepared to use that knife and gun, which completely defeats self-defense or a snap. She came in the room with the weapons. Is there any other explanation to counter the physical evidence?
[Carr:] I mean, obviously, she had obviously, she had the weapons on her. And from Jodi`s aspect, Travis convinced her to come from down to his house, so she didn`t just come on her own free will. Travis convinced her. And she claims that he was very abusive and he was very aggressive. She obviously got the weapon for she didn`t know what what the course of the meeting was at his house, so she got the weapons to protect herself. He obviously must have lunged at her. That`s...
[Grace:] Well, they obviously had sex all day long. I think that was the nature of the meeting.
[Unidentified Male:] Is this the
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And a slut?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And a whore?
[Arias:] Yes, and many other things.
[Unidentified Male:] What other things do you recall him calling you during that conversation?
[Arias:] He calls me a bitch. He tells me I`m worthless. And he tells me I`m [EXPLETIVE DELETED.
[Grace:] Well, if all that is true, why did she continue going back to him, even pursuing him when he tried to break up with her and see other people? Everyone, with me tonight, special guest Bryan Carr, a friend of Jodi Arias behind bars. He is taking your calls, along with our whole team. Out to the lines. Linda in California. Hi, Linda. What`s your question?
[Unidentified Female:] Well, I just wondered if anybody has ever checked her psychologically or if that`s part of it. She reminded me, and it scared me, when I first watched it, it was "Rainman" and
[Grace:] Well, unless, Linda, unless she`s making the whole thing up. That`s a viable alternative. Joining me right now senior reporter Radaronline.com, Alexis Tereszcuk. Alexis, what do you make of what`s going on in the courtroom in the last hours?
[Tereszcuk:] Well, Jodi is now coming up with this is her big day. It`s right before she`s going to talk about the day she killed Travis, but she`s trying to establish that she was controlled by him, but it is failing. She has not given one instance where Travis told her to come and see her, and, in fact, she does everything he wants in fun. She enjoys it. She says, oh, OK, I`ll send you a naked picture but you have to delete it. And it`s all flirting. There`s nothing that she`s ever said to him that is I don`t want this to continue, and so he has free rein over this. And so the defense is just putting her out there to be cross-examined when they`re going to hit her back on everything that she is saying as not being the truth.
[Grace:] Unleash the lawyers. Joining me now, Eleanor Odom, death penalty qualified prosecutor. Also with me Peter Odom, defense attorney out of Atlanta. Eleanor, what do you make of the defense decision to put her on the stand?
[Eleanor Odom, Death Penalty-qualified Sex Crimes Prosecutor:] Well, I think it`s a bad decision, Nancy, because she can`t keep any of her stories straight and she`s going on and on. I think maybe a day of testimony might have worked, but now it`s gone on so long, we`re all bored with all this sex talk. All the prosecutor has to do now is come at her in cross- examination and concentrate on the facts, the fact that she was at Travis` apartment, the fact that she had a knife, a gun. The fact that she did kill him. So they just need to stick to the facts.
[Grace:] All right. Peter, who ever knew sex could be so boring? You know, by now, the jury is like this, oral sex, anal sex.
[Peter Odom, Defense Attorney:] And that`s the strategy, Nancy.
[Grace:] Oh, I`m totally desensitized. It means absolutely nothing to me at this point, and, frankly, all the stuff she`s coming up with, I just find it too fantastical.
[P. Odom:] I think that what the defense is doing, Nancy, and some may criticize it and I appreciate that, but they`re trying to humanize her to the jury. The more the jury knows her as a human being, even if they dislike her, the less likely they are to put her to death.
[Grace:] OK. Back to
[P. Odom:] Let`s not forget.
[Grace:] I am going to follow up. You know, second verse same as the first, every time I get you in a corner, Peter Odom, you start saying this is a death penalty case. I know that. We all know that, all right, thanks for the chorus. I`m going to go to someone that she has absolutely convinced, someone that has had access to her, that has visited her multiple times behind bars. Bryan Carr is with us, a friend of Jodi Arias, he believes her hook, line and sinker. All right, Bryan, question, did you ever actually question her about the physical evidence?
[Bryan Carr, Friend Of Jodi Arias:] No, no. Actually when I go to visit her, we don`t even talk about court. I try to keep her positive, and I talk about light, me, Willy, believing that the outcome is going to be good for her. We never, ever talk about her court.
[Grace:] What do you talk about?
[Carr:] We talk about like that I`m praying for her. We joke around. We have a good time in jail. I mean, it`s anything that makes her positive, because she right now she is going through so much stress. I mean, that`s all we really talk about. We never, ever talk about her case or evidence, nothing.
[Grace:] Mm-hmm. You said she was very talented. What are those talents?
[Carr:] Art. I mean, she is great at art. That`s one thing she loves doing. She loves photography. But her main talent in there, I mean, it`s art. She loves drawing. She loves painting.
[Grace:] I assume that would include the pictures of Travis Alexander`s erect penis and her booty hole, those pictures?
[Carr:] No, I mean I`m not going to go into details of what she likes taking pictures of. I mean, I don`t know where those pictures came from. Obviously her, but, no, I don`t know if she gets into that kind of thing.
[Grace:] Well, to spare you, just to spare you, I will tell you that, yes, in fact, she does. But that, frankly, in my mind is neither here nor there, what pictures she likes to take, whether she engages in this kind of sex or that kind of sex I really could not care less. All I care about is what happened the day of the killing. Out to the lines, Selena, New York. Hi, Selena, what`s your question?
[Caller:] Hi, Nancy. I have a quick statement and a question. My statement is that I`m a really kind-hearted person, very open-minded person. And I have a heart for everybody. But when I see her on the stand with her head down and her face in her hair, it aggravates me. It doesn`t make me feel bad for her. I felt like if she was abused and there was a time to be strong, it`s right now, on the stand, not to have her head down and look weak. But my question is that the phone sex tapes, I don`t understand why she recorded it. It didn`t start off sexually where she was like, oh, my God, I have to record this. It started off as a regular conversation. Did she ever mention why she decided to record that conversation [inaudible]?
[Grace:] Good question. Jean Casarez, I want to go to two guests, Jean Casarez and Janine Driver, president of the Body Language Institute and author of "You Can`t Lie to Me." First of all, I am going to go to Janine. Janine, I agree with Selena in New York. It`s irritating me when she sits there like Cousin It with that hair all pulled in over her face. What`s that all about?
[Janine Driver, Body Language Inst. President:] We saw the same thing, Nancy, with Casey Anthony, in the beginning of the Casey Anthony trial, she had those mousy brown bangs always pulled in front of her face. This is what we call eye blocking or facial blocking. We tend to do this when we don`t want people to see who we really are. We saw this even with other people, notorious, Tony Heyward who was in charge of BP gas or BP gas spill. He was in front of Congress answering questions like this. These mousy bangs help her disappear a little bit. But you know, we keep saying that there`s no affect with Jodi Arias. It`s not the same today, Nancy. If you know what to look for, we`re seeing some smiling here, and this appears every now and then when I think she is being deceptive. We call this duping delight. She is saying something with her words, but saying something different with her face.
[Grace:] You know, I noticed that. I noticed that at the oddest moments during the testimony. With me one of the renowned body language experts, Janine Driver. And, Jean Casarez, let`s go back to that question of Selena in New York. She should be a detective, for Pete`s sake. She says, all right, why did she record this conversation? If Travis Alexander said let`s record phone sex, that wasn`t in the conversation. This was surreptitious recording, Jean.
[Casarez:] No, it wasn`t in the conversation, but she did testify that Travis wanted it recorded, that he wanted to be able to listen to it later. She did testify to that. As far as her demeanor in court, I see her emotions are varied. They`re up, they`re down. There`s points where she`s very sullen and soft, there is other times when she is stronger and she testifies with more confidence.
[Grace:] Jean, a couple of quick yes or nos. Can I please see Jean Casarez outside the courthouse? I`ve seen enough of Jodi Arias` hair like Cousin It.
[Casarez:] You`ve seen enough?
[Grace:] Jean, Jean, here are my questions. No. 1, she says Travis Alexander wanted her to record this sex tape. All right. Is there any evidence, yesno, that she sent the phone recording to Alexander?
[Casarez:] No.
[Grace:] Is there any evidence that he ever listened to this conversation after the conversation?
[Casarez:] No. Not even foundation for the conversation, really.
[Grace:] Is there an e-mail or a text in which he asks her to record phone sex?
[Casarez:] No.
[Grace:] Thank you. Welcome back. We are bringing you the very latest straight out of the Jodi Arias murder one courtroom, and we`re taking your calls. But I want to talk about to Bryan Carr, friend of Jodi Arias. Did Arias ever describe to you the incident where she broke her left ring finger?
[Carr:] She has, yes. She actually showed it to me when I went to visit her in jail. And I will say one thing, her finger is not pretty. It`s going to be damaged for life. I mean, there`s no fixing her finger. I`ve seen it up and close. Yes, she [inaudible] her finger.
[Grace:] What did she tell you? What did she tell you?
[Carr:] Yes, that was the only time she talked about Travis when I went to visit her in jail, and she said the same thing that she said on the stand. Like he had shoes on and he kicked her hand and it broke her finger, and she showed it she showed the finger right to me, and I have no reason not to believe her about that.
[Grace:] Well, I think you have on an earpiece in your ear, so listen very carefully. Could you roll that sound, Liz, please?
[Arias:] They didn`t say a lot. They were white Americans from what I could tell. They had what do you call those things they`re like beanies but they cover your whole face. They`ve got holes for your nose or your mouth and your eyes. And they were one was black and I think they were both black or maybe dark blue or something. Can you see? It`s probably purple in color.
[Unidentified Male:] Right on the crease.
[Arias:] There`s a man in this one maybe. I don`t know.
[Unidentified Male:] This one here?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] Just a small one? Or was it pretty deep?
[Arias:] I don`t know how deep it was. My finger hurt for a long for a while. Across the room and he started shaking me, and he said [EXPLETIVE DELETED] you, and he was screaming real loud, and some of his spit got in my face and he wasn`t spitting on me, but as he was talking, and he body slammed me on the floor at the foot of his bed.
[Unidentified Male:] What did he do after he slammed you on the floor at the foot of his bed?
[Arias:] Well, it startled me. It didn`t hurt, but it startled me, and so I kind of let out an unexpected sound. I guess it could be best described as a yelp sort of. I can`t really explain it. It just was unexpected. So it startled me.
[Grace:] And then, of course, there was the story told by Ryan Burns, the new boyfriend. Do we have a picture of Ryan? There he is. Who describes on that very same finger after the murder it being bandaged. Then she gave the excuse, Bryan Carr, that a cat had scratched her hand. That she had cut her hand, hurt her hand with glass at a restaurant where she claimed she worked. So that`s a lot of different stories about injuries to this one particular finger. Why have you decided to believe that Travis Alexander did that to her finger?
[Carr:] I did not even know Travis Alexander in general. If she told me that she hurt it by cutting her finger on the glass, I wouldn`t have believed the story. There is no way. Looking at her finger there`s no way she hurt it by a glass, or you said a cat scratching it. I mean, I wouldn`t even have believed that. I can believe someone kicked her in the hand because her finger is broken. So I guess that`s the reason I believe about her finger being broken.
[Grace:] OK. And you discount the whole ninja story, too, that she told police, right, about the same finger?
[Carr:] You`re talking about when she did the investigation with the detectives?
[Grace:] Yes.
[Carr:] Yes, I mean, that goes back where she has never been in trouble before. People are going to lie, and then eventually the fear is going to bring the truth out.
[Grace:] Why? Why are you saying people are going to lie? Why are people going to lie? If this was truly self-defense, why would she lie?
[Carr:] She was scared. She had never been in trouble a day in her life. I mean, she`s a very emotional person is what I get out of it, and she`s going to lie. She wanted the and then finally the fear brought the truth out in her.
[Grace:] I notice you keep saying the fear brought the truth out in her, but my question is why would she travel to see Travis Alexander with her tags on her car turned upside-down, in a rental car that she asked to be nondescript so no one would notice it? Why would she do that?
[Carr:] On that one, I wouldn`t have a good answer for that. I mean, but her going to Travis` house, I can say is that Travis convinced her to come to the house. She didn`t just go to Travis` house of her own free will. Travis convinced her.
[Grace:] OK, all right, to Jesse MacPherson, a friend of Travis Alexander, also knows Jodi Arias. Jesse, I`d like to hear you weigh in on what we are learning tonight.
[Macpherson:] The whole thing is just completely preposterous. The character that she is being coached to play in front of this stage that she`s on compared to what we know Jodi as, and I met Travis in 2003, and six months before he was murdered I actually spent a week in his house in his bed staying with him for a week not with him. He basically gave up his room for me to stay in and showered in the shower, so seeing the crime scene investigation photos and knowing that the same place I was in for an entire week was the place that she murdered him, it`s it`s probably one of the craziest experiences that I`ve ever had in my life. But seeing her lie after lie after lie, it`s just gross. And it`s like I`ll make up anything to save my life. You know, oh, this is this and boys, and what else could I make up that could maybe give me a defense here, and that`s it? So it`s crazy.
[Grace:] Beth Karas also with us at the courthouse. Beth, I feel like Alice in Wonderland, that the rules of evidence have just been turned upside down. What is your impression of what happened in court?
[Karas:] I was very surprised that these text messages to and from Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander were introduced. There had been a lengthy sidebar conference at the lunch break after the jurors left, and I suspect it was about this. In any event, this appears to be some corroboration for what Jodi Arias said was Travis`s abusive behavior. But, for the most part, it`s long distance. She`s talking about things that happened after she moved to California. And I am scratching my head a little bit about why he continued to have contact with her, because according to some of his friends, he was very happy when she left. He was happy to get rid of her basically, he didn`t have to worry about her stalking him allegedly anymore. So she has a totally different spin on things, and we`ll just have to wait for the true test, which will be cross-examination.
[Grace:] Tell it, Beth Karas. Beth Karas, legal correspondent, "In Session," in court from the very beginning. Back to a friend of Travis who also knows Jodi Arias, Jesse MacPherson. Jesse, what was your impression of Jodi Arias when you met her back in 2008 at a prepaid legal event?
[Macpherson:] I actually spent two days sitting next to her and Travis in March of 2008 with my wife and I, and we talked for a long time about Travis, and when they were apart or separated, she had many conversations - or he had many conversations with my wife about them kind of separating, going in different directions and not quite sure if it was going to continue. But she was somebody who always dressed very provocatively.
[Grace:] What do you mean by that? Everybody says that. But what do you mean by that?
[Macpherson:] She wore very tight clothing at all times that revealed her chest and her behind as much as possible. And she showed it off and she walked in and she had this presence about her. It`s why like, when you see the pictures of her, that is what Jodi she showed up as in. When you saw her eyes, she was just so distant. And she it was crazy.
[Grace:] We remember American hero Marine Lance Corporal Jeremy Kane, 22, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Purple Heart, Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Mother Melinda, brothers Daniel and Benjamin. Jeremy Kane, American hero. We are taking your calls. Out to Patty in Minnesota. Hi, Patty, what`s your question?
[Caller:] Hi. When she was on the stand today and the prosecutor objected in reading the text messages, so she couldn`t read them anymore to figure out what they were supposed to have said, and I noticed she went back every so often when they told her to look at the date and recall what she said. It was almost like she was re-reading them to figure out what she needed to say.
[Grace:] Interesting about your assessment of her demeanor on the stand. What do you make of that, Janine Driver?
[Driver:] Nancy, I`m glad this question was brought up. When she begins to think of an answer, make up an answer and lies, what Jodi Arias does are a lot of start-stop sentences, and she also uses the wrong tense. Nancy, she said he`s waking me up in the middle of the night, he was being a complete idiot. He`s waking me up is current. He was being a complete idiot. That`s like me saying nana is making my cupcakes on Valentine`s Day. She was a great grandmother. She died eight years ago. We don`t talk like that. She mixes up her tenses, she does start-stop sentences. And when she`s making up information, when she`s having that extra thought, she says things like this, Nancy. I`m going to tell your friends and family basically about the psycho things you`ve done. You have this start- stop sentence. About the what? When we have these pauses, it usually means she`s thinking about how psycho she really is, keying the sides of the car, really being crazy. We see the pauses. And your caller is dead on. This is when Jodi is lying to us and lying to the jury.
[Grace:] Matt Zarrell, we haven`t even gotten to the stabbing yet.
[Zarrell:] Yes, and we need to see how detailed she`s going to get, Nancy. She has been descriptive before, is she going to be descriptive now?
[Grace:] Everyone, as we go to break, a special good night. North Carolina friend Eric, 18 years old. He survives a random shooting at age 12 that leaves him a quadriplegic, and now his dream is to finish college, go to law school, and be a prosecutor. Eric, you inspire all of us. Stay strong. And happy birthday tonight to Oklahoma friend and animal lover Carol. Here she is with daughter Tracy. Dr. Drew up next. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend. END

[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Anchor:] Good afternoon, everyone. So glad you could be here. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in for Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get you caught up on some of our top stories. In North Carolina, tornado devastation that hasn't been seen in a quarter century. At least 23 deaths are reported across the state from the powerful storm system that started Thursday in the southern plains. Across the states, the death toll now, more than 40 people. A state of emergency is in place across North Carolina. Among the hardest hit areas, Bertie County, where at least 11 deaths are now confirmed. CNN's Catherine Callaway is one of those devastated neighborhoods. Catherine, you've been driving around. You've been touring. What are you seeing?
[Catherine Callaway, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. We are in Bertie County in North Carolina, near a little community called Colerain. Take a look behind me, Deborah. Can you believe it? There were several homes here, a couple of mobile homes, and a workshop. You can't even tell where the homes were located now. And we have been touring this area with the county manager. His name is Zee Lamm. And Mr. Lamb, we have 11 fatalities in this area alone.
[Zee Lamb, Manager, Bertie County, North Carolina:] Yes, the community is devastated. We've had tornadoes in the past, we've had hurricanes, we've had floods, but we've never seen the loss of life that we're seeing here today.
[Callaway:] You don't expect the death toll to rise, you say, but you have a number of people that were injured as well. You can tell by these homes. It's hard to believe just in this area that we had two or three survivors from these homes here, but they are in the hospital now.
[Lamb:] Right. Two of the residents from this area are in the hospital right now. We had over 50 people transported to hospitals. Some of them were then transported to a trauma center in Greenville, North Carolina, and they're in serious condition.
[Callaway:] It's difficult to try to describe the devastation here, and the width and the length of the touchdown on this tornado. We're seeing about a half-mile wide. And how long?
[Lamb:] It was estimated about a half-mile to three-quarters of a mile wide, and it lasted for about six to eight, 10 miles through the county from a little town called Askewville to Colerain.
[Callaway:] Well, we are sorry for your loss here, sir. I know it's been a long night for you. Thank you for joining us.
[Lamb:] Thank you.
[Callaway:] And we want to tell you that this area behind us, a large part of this property, was owned by a gentleman named Charles Bond, and he said that he actually received a phone call, Deborah, from his mother as the tornado was hitting. She did survive. She is in the hospital. You can't even tell where his home was. This here is actually the floor of what used to be a home over here behind me. Behind that is a workshop. And if Tim Wall, my photographer, will follow me, we want to show you this, Deborah. Look at this car. This is actually a piece of wood that has lodged itself into the front windshield. That describes and shows very well the strength of the storm. And I wanted to show you also something that we found here. One of the only things that we found that wasn't broken, we thought it was a bit ironic. It says "Home Sweet Home."
[Feyerick:] Unbelievable.
[Callaway:] So, some of the people we've talked to said they would rebuild, believe did or not, but there's nothing left. Like I said, the only thing I found was this plate.
[Feyerick:] And that's what's so amazing, is just the randomness of these tornadoes. You never know which direction it's going to go, what's going to get hit, what's going to survive. Do you have any sense, Catherine, that the hospitals able to manage that kind of patient surge that happened? Everybody being taken care of pretty well, as far as you understand?
[Callaway:] Absolutely. And this community is very small, it's very rural. But as Mr. Lamb tells us, and as some of the owners told us here, they were here right after the tornado hit, helping each other, trying to salvage what they could, trying to get those to the hospital, even though it is rural. They were able to get them and that is not an easy task to the hospital, because you can imagine, many of these roads here were blocked by fallen trees and, as you can see, debris that was traveling and lodging itself into things. So, complete devastation. Two Iraqi veterans here told Mr. Lamb that they had never seen devastation like this, even in Iraq, and it stretches for miles. Back to you.
[Feyerick:] Wow. Catherine Callaway, thank you so much. And we're looking forward to checking in with you a little later on. I know you've got a lot of great video. And we'll be back in touch with you in just a short while. Thanks so much. Well, both Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg sustained damage in the storms in North Carolina. We'll speak with Camp Lejeune's public affairs director in live interview just 20 minute from now. Emergency crews are racing against the clock to save a trapped miner in northeast Idaho. The man was one of two working in a mine called Lucky Friday outside Mullan, Idaho, when part of the roof collapsed Friday. The other miner escaped. Special digging equipment is being brought in to help the rescue effort. The trapped miner hasn't been heard from since the collapse. And remote-controlled robots has entered one of the damaged reactors at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant. These are picture of the robots, you can see there, opening the inner door to reactor 3. They're being used to gather the latest radiation, water and temperature readings. And back in this country, the budget debate shifts to raising the debt ceiling. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said today that responsible lawmakers on both sides of the aisle realize that rejecting an increases could cause major problems.
[Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary:] I want to make it perfectly clear that the Congress will raise the debt ceiling.
[Christiane Amanpour, "this Week With Christiane Amanpour":] You're sure about that?
[Geithner:] Absolutely. And they recognize it, and they told the president that on Wednesday in the White House. I sat there with them and they said we recognize we have to do this and we're not going to play around with it, because we know that the risks would be catastrophic. And it's not something you can take too close to the edge.
[Feyerick:] The debt ceiling now standing at $14.3 trillion. Well, another air traffic controller caught sleeping on the job just as the FAA says enough is enough. Today, the government announced new air traffic control rules that will go into effect immediately. Sandra Endo is following this from Washington. Sandra, I'll tell you, I fly through airports several times a month. The thought that an air traffic controller could be sleeping, are we just seeing the tip of the iceberg?
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Very disconcerting, Deborah, especially with so many travelers flying the friendly skies, supposedly. And there are a slew of new changes to tell you about today, and these changes are all an effort to crack down on controllers falling asleep on the job. The FAA and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are making immediate changes to the schedules for air traffic controllers to combat fatigue. Now, under these new guidelines announced today, controllers will now have a minimum of nine hours off between shifts instead of eight. They will no longer be able to swap shifts unless they have nine hours off in between, and controllers will not be able to work an unscheduled midnight shift following a day off. And there will be more FAA managers covering early morning and late night hours. Now, in a one-on-one interview, Transportation Secretary LaHood vows to put an end to the problem.
[Ray Lahood, Transportation Secretary:] This is outrageous. As soon as I heard about these controllers sleeping, I expressed my outrage and talked about the fact that I wanted the controllers suspended, I want an investigation, and I want the public to know we will not allow controllers to sleep on the job. We simply will not. And I'm steamed about it.
[Endo:] Now, tomorrow, FAA officials and the Air Traffic Controllers Union are starting a nationwide tour in Atlanta to talk to controllers to hear their concerns and to really hammer home the issue of safety Deb.
[Feyerick:] This is such a grueling job when you think of the number of planes coming in and out of various airports, but it is striking to me that one of the changes is to put a second controller into the tower, especially on the overnight shift. That seems like something that you would just expect, and yet 26 airports didn't have that. Now they do. Again, are these going to be measurable changes? Are they really going to make a difference? And why hasn't it been done sooner?
[Endo:] Well, that's certainly the goal here. The transportation secretary is steamed over the issue. He is outraged, he says, that this happened so many times, reportedly seven times, since the start of the year. And he says there are going to be changes in place, and if those changes don't work, Deb, he says there will be more on the way. But as you mentioned, this is not a new problem. In 2007, the National Transportation and Safety Board even recommended ways to combat fatigue that air traffic controllers have felt during their shifts. They recommended these shift changes as well. So, as to why these changes didn't happen sooner, or why they haven't worked, that is the big question. But the real thing the secretary pointed out is that changes are happening right now.
[Feyerick:] All right, Sandy Endo. Thank you so much. A lot of good men and women working as air traffic controllers, but certainly a little bit disconcerting, those who are falling asleep on the job, shall we say. Thanks so much.
[Endo:] Sure.
[Feyerick:] Well, should drug cartels be classified as terrorists? One congressman thinks so. We're going to sit down with him and talk to him in the NEWSROOM. That's coming up next. You'll want to hear it.

[Malveaux:] Thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators are marching to the Supreme Court right now. You are seeing live pictures there. They are protesting the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision upholding a woman's right to an abortion. This week marks the 40th anniversary of that ruling. Roe v. Wade was a case brought on by a woman in Texas back in 1973. At the time, Texas law prohibited abortions except to save the mother's life. Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, returned to the state where it all began and spoke to both sides.
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] Roe v. Wade originated in Texas and, 40 years later, the situation here and in much of the U.S. is complex. On the one hand, the governor has made this vow.
[Rick Perry, , Governor Of Texas:] My goal and the goal of many of those joining me here today is to make abortion at any stage a thing of the past.
[Cohen:] On the other hand, this is the reality. [on camera]: It's Elizabeth at
[Cnn. Unidentified Female:] Come on in.
[Cohen:] I'm at the Whole Woman's Health Clinic in Austin where seven women will have abortions today.
[Amy Hagstrom Miller, Ceo, Whole Woman's Health Clinic:] Do we have anymore of the ultrasounds?
[Unidentified Female:] I don't think we have anymore. I think they just did the last.
[Cohen:] Amy Hagstrom Miller started Whole Woman's Health 10 years ago and her business has grown. Now she has five clinics in Texas, offering gynecology care that includes providing abortions to 9,000 women a year.
[Hagstrom Miller:] My main goal is to provide an oasis where she feels safe, where she feels comfortable, where she can feel at peace.
[Cohen:] In the entire state, 72,470 women received abortions in 2011. In the U.S., nearly one in three women will have an abortion before the age of 45, according to the nonpartisan Guttmacher Institute. Elizabeth Graham is the director of the anti-abortion group, Texas Right to Life. [on camera]: You have a lot more work to do?
[Elizabeth Graham, Director, Texas Right To Life:] We do have a lot more work to do. Because we continue to miss this many women in Texas and in other places, we double our efforts.
[Cohen:] Anti-abortion groups like hers have been hard at work. Texas cut off funding to Planned Parenthood and women in Texas have to see a doctor and then wait 24 hours before having an abortion. Plus [on camera]: before a woman is allowed to have an abortion, she has to come here to the ultrasound room. The doctor has to ask her do you want to see the image? Do you want to hear the heartbeat? She can say no, but she does have to listen to the doctor describe the image. Are there internal organs? Are there arms and legs? Is there a heartbeat? [voice-over]: These restrictions haven't stopped people like Amy Hagstrom Miller, who provide abortions. [on camera]: The anti-abortion movement here is so huge. They are so strong. Have they won?
[Hagstrom Miller:] I don't think so. We've had all of these attacks from the outside and we're able to manage to provide not only access but really good care for women.
[Cohen:] Like in many other states, anti-abortion groups in Texas are working to pass legislation to make it even harder to have an abortion, which means a new fight in a state where both sides have vowed to never rest.
[Malveaux:] Elizabeth Cohen joins us. It's fascinating and surprising, actually. I learned a lot from your piece. These ultrasounds, I wasn't aware that was part of the process there. Does that make any difference? Do people change their minds because of that?
[Cohen:] I asked that question of the head of the clinic. She said, in her experience, not at all. She said women know what they're coming in for. They know they're pregnant. She said 70 percent of her patients are moms. They have had children. They know what's inside of them. They know what they're doing. But the people who are against abortion, those activists say, oh, yes, the ultrasound makes a difference. They say women do get up off the table and say, wow, now that I heard the heartbeat, forget it. I'm going not through with it. The answer depends on who you ask.
[Malveaux:] Does it surprise you that it is so dramatically different from state to state?
[Cohen:] The laws, right. The laws are dramatically different from state to state. In states like Texas, you have this waiting period. You have to come in, get the ultrasound and wait 24 hours and come back, which is the director of that clinic that does, she thinks, limit the number of abortions because some women can't do those two visits. Whereas, other states, there is not a wait at all. It depends on the politics of that particular state.
[Malveaux:] You are all things medical. Put on your other medical hat for a minute. Tell us about this as a nasty stomach virus going around.
[Cohen:] That's right. I won't get too graphic.
[Malveaux:] How do you know you have it?
[Cohen:] For those people, they'll never know they have it. They have the virus but they don't get sick.
[Malveaux:] Any way to protect yourself from this?
[Cohen:] Wash your hands a lot. I know we say that all the time and that's boring and really that's the big way to do it. In this case, use soap and water. You can use hand sanitizer if you want but don't replace soap and water. Still use soap and water.
[Malveaux:] Another thing we always hear about, eat fruit and veggies. There's another reason why that's a good thing.
[Cohen:] Right. This is a new study that came out that says, for one type of breast cancer, eating fruits and veggies seems to help. It seems to decrease the chance you'll get breast cancer. Yet another reason you should do it, for your heart, for your breasts, for everything.
[Malveaux:] Wash your hands and eat fruits and veggies.
[Cohen:] It all boils down to what mom said.
[Malveaux:] What your mom said. All right. Thank you, Elizabeth.
[Cohen:] Thanks.
[Malveaux:] It's winter and it's supposed to be cold. But folks in the east not adjusting too well. We've heard, Tennessee, under a state of emergency due to freezing rain, icy conditions. We'll look at the weather across the country.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] The president says he needs more time to fix the country's problems. Did the speech hit the mark? We'll look at this that this morning. Also, the August jobs report. It's being called the most politically important jobs report in history. We're going to have those numbers for you, and tell you what they mean. And a crowd brought to tears with this.
[Gabrielle Giffords , Former U.s. Congresswoman:] With liberty and justice for all.
[O'brien:] Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords makes an emotional return to the political stage as she leads the Pledge of Allegiance. Joining us this morning, Beau Biden, he's son of Vice President Joe Biden. Also, Governor Romney's foreign policy adviser, Mario Diaz- Balart is with us. It's Friday, September 7th. And STARTING POINT begins right now. Welcome, everybody. Our team this morning, starting from the very end as she puts her microphone on, Dana Bash is with us. She's the senior congressional correspondent. Ana Navarro is a Republican strategist. Anthony Foxx is the mayor of Charlotte. We give him a thumbs up for the time here. We appreciate it. And also we're joined by Beau Biden, who's the attorney general of the state of Delaware. But also we want to talk a little bit about the speech that you had introducing your dad. Very emotional as well. Today, of course, is the first day of the rest of the campaign obviously. Team Obama eager to seize on post-convention enthusiasm, heading for three battle ground states this morning. Last night, the president accepted the Democratic nomination, made his case for four more years, says he needs time to finish what he started. Let's start with Dana on this speech. Thumbs up or thumbs down?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] Well, I think that you're going to probably get that answer from this panel. But I think my personal view of it, as somebody who's covered a lot of speeches, is that it was safe. It was a speech that President Obama knew that he had to give to try to convince people that he is somebody who has had a tough go of it. He's had a tough economy. And he feels that he just simply needs more time.
[Bash:] Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination with a kind of soaring rhetoric that got him elected four years ago, except hope and change were replaced by a reality check.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention. Times have changed and so have I. I'm no longer just a candidate. I'm the president.
[Bash:] "Yes, we can", now, a plea for patience.
[Obama:] America, I never said this journey would be easy and I won't promise that now. Yes, our path is harder, but at least to a better place. Yes, our road is longer, but we travel together. We don't turn back. We leave no one behind.
[Bash:] But he still sprinkled in that familiar Obama oratory.
[Obama:] Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place, and I'm asking you to choose that future.
[Bash:] The Obama campaign ripped in to Mitt Romney for not offering enough specifics at his acceptance speech last week. The president took that a step further.
[Obama:] They want your vote, but they don't want you to know their plan. And that's because all they have to offer is the same prescriptions they've had for the last 30 years. Have a surplus, try a tax cut. Deficit too high, try another. Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regular races and call us in the morning.
[Bash:] He offered new promises for a second term.
[Obama:] I'm asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country, goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit.
[Bash:] Some specifics, a vow to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs. Cut growth of college tuition in half over the next 10 years. And cut oil imports in half by 2020. Vice President Joe Biden took on the role of eyewitness to the president while he made tough decisions.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you what I think you already know. But I watch it up close. Bravery resides in the heart of Barack Obama and time and time again I witnessed him summon it. This man has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart, and a spine of steel.
[Bash:] And Biden delivered the bumper sticker line he loves.
[Biden:] We can now proudly say what you've heard me say the last six months Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.
[Bash:] Though the night belonged to the president, the Democratic nominee from 2004 offered one of the most memorable one liners of the night.
[Sen. John Kerry , Massachusetts:] Ask Osama bin Laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago.
[Bash:] And when it comes to the lasting images from this convention, it is this moment, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords shot through the head just last year and now walking without a cane on stage to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
[Giffords:] Liberty and justice for all.
[Bash:] And whether or not the president gets his wish that the American people give him more time could depend at least in small part on something that happens about 25 minutes from now, and that is a very, very important jobs report.
[O'brien:] We'll talk more about that in just a little bit. Less than an hour after President Obama left the stage last night, the Romney camp released 15 new television ads that are going to run in eight critical battleground states, in Colorado, in Florida, in Iowa, Nevada, in New Hampshire, in North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia all of those considered to be toss-up states in the CNN election map. Each ad ends with a pledge that Mitt Romney will create new jobs in that particular state. A pledge ranging from 59,000 for New Hampshire or 700,000 in the state of Florida. Other we're going to talk to the rest of our team in just a minute. First, I want to get an update on some of the other stories that are making news today. Alina has got that for us. Hey, Alina.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey there, Soledad. Good morning again. And good morning to you. As we mentioned, in less than 30 minutes, the Labor Department will release its August jobs report. There are signs that hiring may be picking up, and economists surveyed by CNN Money expect that 120,000 jobs were added last month. We will have the numbers and what they mean for you and the presidential race at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Hurricane Leslie spinning in place in the open Atlantic right now. But the storm is veering toward Bermuda. Leslie is a category 1 hurricane, expected to remain stationary through much of the morning, 430 miles southeast of Bermuda. Boaters and swimmers along the U.S. East Coast are being warned to look out for dangerous swells. Leslie is expected to intensify later today and pass just east of Bermuda on Sunday morning. And by then, it could be upgraded to a category 2 hurricane with 105 mile per hour winds. Lab results now prove that oil found on Louisiana's beaches after hurricane Isaac did come from the 2010 BP oil spill. Louisiana state university conducted those tests. A 13-mile stretch of shoreline remains closed this morning. BP is promising to help clean up the mess. In fact, it says it was already working on cleanup in the area before the storm. And the most coveted award at the MTV Video Music Awards Video of the Year goes to
[Unidentified Male:] The VMA, the Video of the Year Award, goes to Rihanna!
[Cho:] I love that guy. That's funny. Rihanna won for "We Found Love," sporting a fabulous gown and a short haircut. The other night's big winners, One Direction with three awards, including best new artist. Rihanna's ex, Chris Brown, won two. Nicki Minaj and Drake were also big winners. You know what, whenever I talk about this kind of stuff, it makes me feel old, you know? I've heard of some of them.
[O'brien:] No, no.
[Cho:] It makes me feel old.
[O'brien:] Let's talk about the dress. She looked fabulous. What I loved the most, when she won, then she does the turn to show the dress has no back. It's like, oh, did I win?
[Cho:] She is a smart girl.
[O'brien:] See the whole dress before I walk up. Yes, very smart girl. All right. Alina, Thank you.
[Cho:] You bet.
[O'brien:] It was a very emotional moment last night for the vice president, Joe Biden, when the convention moved to nominate him for a second term. He choked up, he teared up. Listen.
[Unidentified Male:] We have a motion to suspend the rules and nominate Joe Biden by acclimation as the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate. Is there a second? All in favor of the motion say aye.
[Crowd:] Aye!
[Unidentified Male:] All opposed? The ayes have it. The motion is adopted pursuant to the convention rules. Joe Biden has been invited to make an acceptance speech.
[O'brien:] Joining us this morning, the man that made that motion, Joe Biden's son, Beau. He is also Delaware's state attorney general. We also should mention joining our team this morning, David Frum. Hi, David. Good morning. And Ron Brownstein. Nice to have you guys. Let's talk about your nomination. Your dad seemed so moved. And I thought his speech where he talked about, you know, Jilly, as he likes to call her, light of my life and love of my life and life of my love. I mean, it was really a wonderful speech. What was different the second time around than the first time in the nomination? It seemed more emotional this time around, surprisingly.
[Beau Biden , Delaware Attorney General:] Yes. You know, the whole convention seemed more emotional to me. There was a great energy obviously in 2008. It was a whirlwind for our family. We'd just kind of gotten the call. My dad had. And talking my mom rebuilt our family. I mean, we had like every family, everybody up here has gone through something. And we went through something in 1972. My mom came along I have two moms now who came along in 1977 and rebuilt our family, and helped my dad rebuild our family. That's why you saw my dad spent so much time talking about my mom who was so incredibly proud of, who if she had her way, she'd be a full-time teacher that she is, and helping raise my kids. She's an incredible mother.
[O'brien:] His speech was a strong and fiery speech.
[Biden:] Yes.
[O'brien:] Do you think he what was the goal in his speech? What did he have to accomplish, your dad?
[Biden:] You know, to give people an insight to what Barack Obama is all about, incredibly difficult decisions that he's made. But he's made those decisions at every moment thinking about what the average American thinks around their dinner table. And to give Americans an insight to his perspective on that, because no one has been closer to watching though decisions being made than my father. And he picked two prime examples. One is authorizing the mission to go after Osama bin Laden and taking him out. And two, is making a very difficult decision to save the automobile industry, which is more than just an industry. It's jobs. It's dignity. It's hope. It's hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of jobs. As Jennifer Granholm really articulated
[O'brien:] Shouted.
[Biden:] shouted and connected at least in the hall and I think on TV. She is one of the best speakers I have ever seen.
[O'brien:] Your dad gets some flak for some of the things he says that range from inappropriate to I think his opponents would say idiotic. And a poll says that almost evenly divided, 43 people interviewed said they would use the word good to define your dad, and 40 said they would use the word "idiot."
[Biden:] Just in the last three and a half years, my dad has travelled 37 countries, put over 500,000 miles in Air Force II, met with every world leader, respected by every one of them, respected by every leader in the United States Congress, Republican and Democrat. Mitt Romney goes to our greatest ally, and within 24 hours he not only offends the prime minister but offends the entire United Kingdom. So, you know, there's a lot of talk about you heard the president talk about the 24-hour news cycle and what's focused on. My father has respect. He had respect we see here in North Carolina the mayor knows this in North Carolina. One of my dad's closest friends, Jesse Helms. That's not a name you necessarily talk about at a Democratic convention, but they got things done. They got things done like the Chemical Test Ban Treaty, paying back our debt to the U.N. Just south of here in South Carolina, one of his closest friends, Strom Thurmond. My dad went to the Senate to continue the civil rights movement. Strom Thurmond ran as a Dixiecrat in 1938. But my dad eulogized Strom Thurmond in Columbia, South Carolina.
[O'brien:] Is that hurtful to you and hurtful to him?
[Biden:] Oh, no. Because, you know, it's just the kind of the way it is right now. And the other part is, Soledad, they wouldn't be howling as much as they are, the other side, if my dad wasn't scoring points on Mitt Romney. They wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't cutting and scoring points. And that's why they say it. Do you think they you know, the Bill Kristols of the world and John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are really trying to help the ticket? Why are they attacking him? They are attacking him because they know he is the most effective person to speak to the middle class and connect with the middle class and make sure that the president the American people know that the president has their back.
[O'brien:] Beau Biden, it's nice to have you this morning. Thanks for talking with us.
[Biden:] Thanks, Soledad.
[O'brien:] You bet. Still ahead this morning with STARTING POINT, you've heard President Obama's appeal to the nation. Now, Mitt Romney's campaign launching an aggressive Republican response. Up next, Romney's foreign policy adviser, Florida Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart. He'll sit down with us to talk about that. You're watching STARTING POINT coming to you live from Charlotte, North Carolina. And we're back in just a moment.

[Berman:] Welcome back, everyone. We are live in Boston where the intense manhunt for two terrorists. It really grabbed the world's attention but there is no forgetting about the devastation and the heart ache in West, Texas after that massive fertilizer plant explosion that leveled parts of a small town. Listen to this.
[Unidentified Male:] Are you OK? Dad? Are you OK? I can't hear. I can't hear.
[Romans:] That little girl, her family, the family that shot that video they are OK but 200 others are injured. At least 14 lives lost including five volunteer firefighters. CNN's Martin Savidge is live in West, Texas. Martin, we know those first responders, some volunteer firefighters went rushing in after that fire, then the explosion. We know there are still some who are missing. Is there hope at this hour that they will find people alive?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] No, I think, Christine, that officials have finally realized that any hope of finding survivors alive has passed now, that's why they refer it to as a search and recovery effort that's under way and they are just about complete with that. Governor Perry was here last evening, the mayor as well, informing us that they are pretty certain that 14 is what they know the number of people they've recovered so far. The number of missing is really low, so if this number goes up it's not expected to go up by a lot and they have searched about 90 percent of the devastated area. So it should be completed today. On top of the numbers we've been talking about, there are hundreds of people who remain evacuated because the entire area around that plant is considered a crime scene and part of the investigation. Many people, now that the shock has passed and the grieving is starting, want to go home, and they want to see what's been done to their homes and what remains. So they're getting more and more anxious. The hope of authorities is that today they can begin to shrink the boundary around that plant to allow some people to go back home. And as I point out the grief here, the names have not been released of those who have been killed and most of them are the first responders, but this is a small town and everybody knows one another and you can bet by now everybody knows who is on that list, and for many of them, there are people they saw every single day and now it's sinking into them that they will never see them anymore, and that's really striking for this small town. Christine and John?
[Berman:] It is such a tragedy and so much of the focus over the last few days has been on the search and rescue operation but what about the investigation into itself and into what caused this blast?
[Savidge:] Yes, there are a lot of groups that are here both on a state level and on a federal level that are looking to try to answer that very question, John. Much had been made about the anhydrous ammonia, that is a liquid kind of fertilizer and it was worried, people worried because of its toxicity. That is not thought to have been what exploded though. So the question is what was it? Another fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, which many people are familiar with because it was used in the explosive of the Oklahoma City bombing. There was a lot of it that was potentially stored there as well. In fact, there had been some accounts that said 100 times the amount that was used to blow up the Murah Building in Oklahoma City, what was inside or had been stored inside that facility there. So tremendous amount of that potential explosive. That does not mean that was the cause. It's going to take a while to figure out, John.
[Romans:] Certainly an industrial accident that will probably change how people consider zoning laws around some of these towns that have these sorts of plants and also will really cause the chemical industry to look very hard at what happened there and make sure it doesn't happen again. Martin Savidge, thank you so much, Martin, West, Texas. We'll go back to you again and continue to follow that story.
[Berman:] And we do have this breaking news and for that let's go to Pamela Brown here in Boston. Pamela? OK, Pamela? We do have some news we are told about the charges that the suspect may face, we're trying to get Pamela back on the line so she can explain to us exactly what's happening. We'll bring that to you the minute we have that.
[Romans:] And we know that he hasn't been charged yet but he is in federal custody. He is at the hospital where he was in serious condition. They brought him there last night, of course, he suffered gunshot wounds in the first fire fight with police the day earlier but he may have had other injuries from the last moments, the last volley of gunfire before they actually got him out of that boat after he got out of that boat where he'd been hiding and went to the hospital. So serious condition was the last check we had of his status there and we're waiting for news on exactly what sort of charges he will face and that's what our Pamela Brown has been following there from the hospital.
[Berman:] Yes, that's right. He is being kept right in the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, which is one of the fine facilities here in the Boston area. That is where his brother who was also fatally injured in the shoot-out the night before was taken. That is where his brother ultimately died and also where the victims, a number of his victims have been kept over the last week. The victims at the initial bombings and they are being treated there in the very same hospital that he is right now. Again we understand that Pamela Brown does have some information about possible charges. We will get to Pamela as soon as we can. In the meantime
[Romans:] Yes, this is an international story as you know, Dagestan is where the father of these two suspects lives, that is where they come from and we have news this morning, an exclusive interview with the father of these two men, CNN's Nick Payton Walsh caught up with Anzor Tsarnaev, in the Russian province of Dagestan. Nick, what did you learn. You say he was angry in your conversation with him. Tell us more about the reaction of the father of these two suspects.
[Nick Paton Walsh, Cnn International Correspondent:] Anzon Tsarnaev has been driving occasionally past his house just behind me there, on two occasions. He stopped, a woman got out of his car, went into the apartment behind me. We didn't approach the car. The first questioned I asked, the answer is obscure on microphone. I asked him if he thought his sons were involved in Boston, his response was never, ever. Let's hear what else he had to say. So during that conversation, he made it clear to me that he will be going to the United States very soon. He also said that he had a meeting with Russian Special Services. He made it absolutely clear, he maintained, defiantly disbelief in his son's role in anything to do with the Boston attacks and clearly was very frustrated, very angry at the attention he was facing. Let's just hear now exactly what it was he had to say.
[Walsh:] I'm with CNN. I'm so sorry, sir, we just wanted to hear your story and that was all. This is a very difficult time for you. We just want to give you the chance to tell people how you feel about this. We just feel so we don't really have a chance to properly hear all you have to say about the terrible circumstances you're in.
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[Walsh:] Are you going to America?
[Anzon Tsarnaev, Father Of Suspected Bombers:] Yes.
[Walsh:] When will you leave? You will forgive me, sir. I know it's a difficult time for you. I'm simply just trying to do my job here. I understand. When was the last time you spoke to them? Had you been in touch with the special services here, what did they have to say to you? OK, I understand. I understand. Clearly during that conversation a man greatly under strain of course, the news only recently reaching him that his second youngest son is now in custody and most likely facing charges as you just clearly heard, under intense pressure, great media spotlight here, dozens of journalists passing past his apartment here. A man also briefly detained by Russian security services trying to go to America, presumably hoping he might declare his son's name despite the constant drumbeat of evidence provided by U.S. officials John.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] All right, Nick Paton Walsh for us reporting from Dagestan this morning. Thank you so much, Nick. In the meantime, we do have Pamela Brown now. She is at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital with news that was just getting in about the possible charges faced by the suspect Pamela.
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, John, we have learned from a DOJ source on background that even though charges have not been filed yet that they may be coming very soon, even while the suspect is still recovering here at Beth Israel Deaconess. We've learned that federal prosecutors have been here since last night working on the possible charges and that he will face terrorism charges according to a DOJ sources. And now once those charges are brought forward he will be arraigned from their preliminary hearing will be set and he will be indicted on grand jury. Also he will be facing federal charges, right now. He's in federal custody and will be facing federal charges. He could also face state charges of murder but from there a deal should be worked out between federal authorities and state authorities. Again so far no charges have been filed but we're hearing from sources that those charges will be brought soon.
[Romans:] Hey, what kind of differences in penalties are there for the state and federal charges? Clearly that's what prosecutors are going to want to look at very carefully.
[Brown:] Absolutely. On the state level, because we are in the state of Massachusetts, he would not be able to face a death penalty. There is no death penalty here in Massachusetts, but because of federal charges supersede the state charges he could still face the death penalty on the federal level.
[Romans:] All right. Pamela Brown there in front of the hospital with us, where we are told he is still in serious condition. He has not been charged yet but he is in technically in federal custody and we are awaiting those charges, state and federal charges.
[Berman:] And Pamela says the federal prosecutors have been there all night working up these charges that could come soon, Pamela tells us. Stay with us, we are getting more and more news about the developing story here in Boston. The suspect now in custody in the hospital, more news just ahead.

[Malveaux:] All right, NFL season heating up. It was a close call for the Green Bay's attempt at history, but Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers led a last-second drive to set up the game-winning field goal. The Packers beat the Giants 38-35 and improved to 12 wins, no losses. Only one team in NFL history has ever gone undefeated. And Rodgers' play hasn't gone unnoticed in Wisconsin. You've got to check this out. This survey by Public Policy Polling. Eighty-nine percent of people in Wisconsin have a favorable view of the Packers' quarterback. That ranks him higher than George Washington and Santa Claus. Just a couple of people in the survey ranked higher than Rodgers. They are Abraham Lincoln and Jesus. All right, many expect the Packers to make the Super Bowl, and now we know who's going to be singing during the halftime of the big game Madonna. Yes, she's going to take center stage with Cirque du Soleil performers. The game is on in Indianapolis on February 5th. I bet you a lot of folks are going to watch that. Yet again, southern California bracing for powerful and dangerous Santa Ana winds. In the past week, Santa winds, they have caused considerable damage. We're talking about toppling trees and power polls. Today there is another round of this. I want to bring in Jacqui Jeras to talk a little bit about what are we talking about when we say these winds, how strong they are?
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, you know, the winds today are not what they were, you know, the middle of last week. So these are a little bit better, but they're still strong enough that they're going to cause some tree damage and potentially more power outages. This is the range that we've been seeing since last night. Somewhere between 30 and 50 miles per hour. But as we head into the late hours tonight and into tomorrow morning, we think those winds are going to intensify again and we could be looking at gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour. Things will look better by Wednesday in southern California, but this is just another powerful blast of winter weather that's been pushing the area and really bringing those winds sloping down those mountains, accelerating them and causing all of that damage. Now, in addition to that, we're also seeing snowy weather across parts of New Mexico, in particularly getting hit very hard, there you can see some video from early this morning. The winds you know, the snowfall hasn't been all that bad in Albuquerque itself. Just a couple of inches. But look how the wind is blowing all of that snow across the street and just making things very, very icy. A live picture of Albuquerque right now where the temperature is 20 degrees, but those winds making it feel like 5 above. So this is really the first big blast of winter for you in Albuquerque. But north of there, certainly has seen plenty of snow so far this season. And there you can see the winter storm warnings estimating somewhere between eight and 12 inches in the high country before all is said and done. Now that big high is finally going to push out our rainmaker here across the Ohio Valley and down towards the Mississippi Valley. We've had flood problems over the last number of days, all weekend long. It's still a slow mover. Eventually it's going to be making the East Coast by tomorrow. But be aware that those rivers are going to stay very swollen in the upcoming weeks ahead. Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right, thanks, Jacqui. I want you to check out this picture here. This is an unbelievable scene out of Japan here. I mean you're talking about this car pile-up. And the cars, too. I mean you're talking about eight Ferraris, three Mercedes, a Lamborghini that all crashed on this expressway in Japan. There were a couple Toyotas as well. This was like 14 cars involved in this thing.
[Jeras:] Wow.
[Malveaux:] Fortunately, Jacqui
[Jeras:] They were all going to an auto show, right? Because you would never see that many Ferraris at one time, would you, normally?
[Malveaux:] I wouldn't think so really. But, you know, who knows. Maybe it's just, you know, a lot of people got a nice ride there. But, fortunately, there were 10 folks, they were injured, but not major injuries.
[Jeras:] Not seriously.
[Malveaux:] So they walked away.
[Jeras:] Just their hearts broken after they lost all that money in those cars, right?
[Malveaux:] Hearts broken, exactly.
[Jeras:] Ouch.
[Malveaux:] Like, how much does something like that cost?
[Jeras:] Oh, my gosh. We could
[Malveaux:] I can't even imagine.
[Jeras:] That's a lot of money. Millions of dollars, I'm sure.
[Malveaux:] Yes. Yes. Millions and millions of dollars. Those are some sweet cars and they look kind of nice, but now they're all banged up. Oh, well.
[Jeras:] It's a shame.
[Malveaux:] You know, OK. I'll see you, Jacqui.
[Jeras:] OK.
[Malveaux:] So, we've heard a lot about bad behavior from teenagers, especially when it comes to sexting. But are they getting a bum rap? New research says, not so fast.

[Blackwell:] America's public education system is getting some Hollywood attention. Protests have popped up at theaters across the country as the new movie "Won't Back Down" hits the big screen. I spoke with CNN entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner about the controversy surrounding the film and its growing popularity.
[Nischelle Turner, Cnn Entertainment Correspondent:] It started out as a little movie that's got a lot of big buzz. So, it's turning into a big movie, Victor. We're talking about the movie "Won't Back Down", and that's a movie about school choice parents, trigger laws, it's kind of based on actual events. A Hollywood depiction of when a parent and a teacher decide to fight a failing school and take over to do better for the kids. Now, the reason why this is getting so much buzz and gotten so much attention is because this issue of school choice and parent trigger laws is a big deal right now. This movie was shown at both conventions, the Republican and the Democratic National Conventions. One of the things that's been a big sticking point is, some people are saying that it's an anti-union movie and that it makes the teachers look like they're the bad guys.
[Blackwell:] I see the two big stars here, Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal, what are they saying about this?
[Turner:] Well, by the way, the reviews for their acting in this movie, very good. The movie in itself is getting some kind of mixed reviews. But both of them are saying they did not make an anti-union film. Maggie Gyllenhaal said she is a from a very pro union family, from a very leftist family. She said she wouldn't be able to go home for thanksgiving if she made an anti-union film. Viola Davis simply said, she wasn't even aware of all of this school choice. Let's listen to a little bit of what she told us.
[Viola Davis, Actress:] I really did, I thought it was evenly represented all sides, and I think that I really didn't know what a hot bed subject education was. I knew that everybody was on fire about education, pro-education, but I didn't know that there was just so many different kind of inner turmoil with charter schools and public schools and unions.
[Nischelle:] And so, there you have it from Viola Davis, Victor. You know she talked about the fact that she wasn't aware that education in this form was such a hot button issue. So, she actually learnt something from making this film too.
[Blackwell:] Yes, an issue that people on both sides are very passionate about. Now the Teachers Unions and the teachers, are they planning any type of like formal boycott or protest?
[Turner:] Well, there have been protests already, you know at the screening of this film in New York. There were protests by the Teachers Union, and why this is such a big deal too, especially with the election coming up, Victor. Is that usually the Democrats and the unions kind of work hand in hand a lot of times. And so the fact that a lot of Democrats are starting to embrace school choice and parent trigger laws, the unions aren't looking too kindly on that. So, it's becoming kind of a play in this upcoming election as well. So, expect to see some protests and to see some people not too happy with this film.
[Feyerick:] Well, if you're looking to improve your health or just drop a few pounds, if you have a few pounds to drop, we've got just what you need. Fitness and nutrition expert Mark McDonald is here to show us how to work out smarter, not harder. And Mark, I think working out smarter is a lot better because then
[Mark Mcdonald, Expert, Fitness & Nutrition:] Yes
[Feyerick:] You're more efficient.
[Mcdonald:] Yes
[Feyerick:] So, where do you start if you're just beginning?
[Mcdonald:] It's a great question Debb. And the biggest thing is that beginners just want to dive in and they never get going because they get it's so overwhelming. So, just start doing three to five days a week, 30 minutes of any type of activity. Now, how do we get smarter? Simply look at Victor here. Victor is leaning back, let's bring him up
[Blackwell:] All right
[Mcdonald:] Bring his shoulders back
[Blackwell: Ok -- Mcdonald:] Hiding his core. See, stable blood sugar with your right nutrition, you release your stored fat, that fat is burned up in the muscles. And your goal of exercise, activate your muscles. So, by just walking like this, walking upstairs, taking
[Blackwell:] Walking like this?
[Mcdonald:] Out the trash can?
[Blackwell: Ok -- Mcdonald:] You feel strong right? And tightening the core
[Blackwell:] I do, I've gotten learned how to breathe
[Mcdonald:] And then instead of sitting in a chair, you can just sit in the ball.
[Korsi:] Right.
[Mcdonald:] Or sit on the ball and that's going to activate your core, makes you burn more muscles. You just got to get going as a beginner.
[Feyerick:] OK, so, how do you think it's fun because I think that's also part of it. It becomes this thing that you kind of want to do, maybe you want to do it, maybe you don't have time to do it
[Mcdonald:] Yes
[Feyerick:] If you wait until at the end of the day, you just don't have the energy to do it. So, how do you really make it fun so you're looking forward to even 30 minutes, let's say.
[Mcdonald:] That's one of the greatest questions, because if you don't like your exercise, you're going to not do it. No one wants to dread it. So, find things you enjoy, maybe it's tennis, maybe it's racquetball, maybe it's playing basketball. Maybe a simple but what we do as a family, we do once a week. We go to an indoor trampoline park and play indoor dodgeball, with my son Archer who is seven, my wife Abby. So, we make it fun, we go on a walk in the neighborhood, make it enjoyable. When I do, when I do my cycling or treadmill, find like Netflix, or watching movie while you do your exercise. That's the key, make it fun.
[Blackwell:] There're a lot of people who only have the 30 minutes, right?
[Mcdonald:] Yes
[Blackwell:] If they spend 15 minutes getting to the place and 15 on the way back, they're not going to make it. So, what can you do at home?
[Mcdonald:] It's a great question. So, with home, for less than a $100, you can get a ball that's going to help you, you can do all of your exercise on it. You can get some push-up handles, you can do a plank, you can get some bands, you could simply get a little four pinball, carry that around. You can get a weighted vest, you can get an ab wheel, you can do very simple things that educate you on it. And in body confidence, the both, you can really learn in chapter six, how to optimize your body and optimize your muscles so you make your exercise the best. Working smarter and not harder.
[Feyerick:] And one of the things you also mentioned Mark is also eating small, more smaller meals so that your body is constantly working to burn off the fat.
[Mcdonald:] It's the key. Nutrition with stable blood sugar you release your stored fat with those small, frequent meals. That fat thing gets burned up in the muscle, we turn your body into a fat-burning machine, right?
[Blackwell:] I'm sorry
[Mcdonald:] Just sit up!
[Blackwell:] I'm going to sit up
[Macdonald:] Full tight.
[Blackwell:] Suck it in
[Feyerick:] I can keep hanging here for the rest of the show. I'm just going to keep testing those
[Blackwell:] I'm getting used to this. All right, Mark
[Mcdonald:] Thank you.
[Feyerick:] Thanks, my friend, appreciate it. Well, what do President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney plan to do about illegal immigration and just how different are their plans? We're going to be breaking it down for you in about 20 minutes.

[Baldwin:] Breaking news we mentioned at the top of the hour. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will resign. His parliament just approved several budget reforms in a contentious vote. I want to take you straight to Rome, to Matthew Chance. And Matthew, we have been hearing that he might resign. They were shooting that down. Now we know in fact he is leaving. Tell me what you're learning.
[Matthew Chance, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] Yes, it's been a dramatic few hours, actually, here in the Italian capital. Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, under so much pressure, of course, because of the country's economic problems. The financial markets really hitting Italy's situation. Meeting with the Italian president. After discussions there, agreeing to resign, finally, after so much pressure, but only after the country's 2011 is approved by the parliament. That means that he won't be stepping aside until least next week, at least Tuesday next week, is what we are hearing, because the way the scheduling works. But nevertheless, it's likely to be welcomed by the international financial markets, not least because Silvio Berlusconi, his very weak coalition inside Italy has been seen to be not credible, not able to push through the kind of economic reforms that Italy so badly needs to get its economy back on track. And so, in general, it's a positive, I think, in terms of the financial markets, but for Silvio Berlusconi, obviously the end now coming to the end of an era of his period in office Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Matthew Chance for us in the Italian capital. Matthew, thank you so much. Back here at home, check your calendars. It's Election Day. So, all of these people that we have in some video here, take a look at this. They must be queued up to cast ballots, right? Not so fast. These people were actually customers waiting at the crack of dawn for video stores to open so they could buy the latest of "Call of Duty," "Modern Warfare 3." OK. So, voting maybe won't make your heart pump like stimulation of combat. Maybe I don't exactly get it, maybe you do. But there are some key races we think you should know about today. First, I want to start in here you go, Mississippi. It's a long shot, but Johnny Dupree could be the state's first black governor if he beats Republican Phil Bryant. Another issue we want to point out for you in Mississippi, voters are expected to say yes to Amendment 26 supporting personhood. That would mean that a fertilized human egg will be a person under the law, making abortion equivalent to murder. I'm going to take you West to California. San Francisco may see its first elected Chinese-American mayor. Interim Mayor Ed Lee is seen as the favorite in that city. Next, we want to take you to Kentucky. The Democratic incumbent governor, Steve Beshear is expected to keep his seat despite the Tea Party stronghold in the state of Kentucky. And finally, let's go to Ohio because politicos are watching. The Issue 2 ballot measure, this passage would uphold the law, we covered this extensively in the spring restricting collective bargaining rights for public workers. Many believe how voters decide on Issue 2 in Ohio would be the pre- cursor for the presidential election. Both parties have spent a lot of money campaigning here in Ohio. Finally, in our election roundup, I want to take you to Arizona. We've talked a lot about SB 1070. The state law cracking down on illegal immigrants ignited demonstrations, boycotts, arrests plus really this nationwide divide about how to deal with the problem. So now for some paybacks, protesters are relishing this recall election today for the state senator who supported SB 1070, but get this. His challenger is another fiscal conservative. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has the story.
[Thelma Gutierrez, Cnn Correspondent:] It's one of the most contentious state legislative races in Arizona history. Republican versus Republican, a recall election in the most conservative district in the state just outside of Phoenix. The incumbent, president of the Arizona State Senate, Russell Pearce. The self-proclaimed father of the anti-illegal immigration movement who has pushed some of the toughest immigration laws that Arizonans and the nation has seen. The challenger, Jerry Lewis, a long time businessman and educator in Mesa, Arizona and it gets more interesting. Both candidates say their fiscal conservatives and are members of the Mormon Church but there is a major difference, immigration.
[Unidentified Male:] Politicians who continue to talk tough, but never do anything. Arizona, we're going to do something.
[Russell Pearce , Arizona State Senate:] I'm all for securing the borders. I'm all for the rule of law. We need to do it in a humane way.
[Gutierrez:] Lewis, a leader in the LDS Church says he doesn't believe in mass deportations or separating families. He says Pearce's tough anti-illegal immigrant policies do not line up with the teachings of their faith.
[Pearce:] I had no political ambitions that I was asked by some good Republican friends of mine to do this, but I felt for a long time that we need better representation of our city and our state and our party.
[Gutierrez:] But Republicans in the district are split between the candidates. Polls show they are in a dead heat.
[Daniel Ortega, National Council Of La Roza:] Latinos are being asked to support another Republican in order to recall Senator Russell Pearce. I think what is going to tip the scale is going to be the Latino vote.
[Gutierrez:] Latino voters and Democrats who could turn out for a Republican, not a common practice in these parts, but that's how close it is. Senator Pearce says with Sheriff Joe Arpaio campaigning by his side, he's on the right side of the law. The Lewis camp says they're candidate just wants to move toward the center.
[Baldwin:] Thelma Gutierrez live for us now in Phoenix. We saw the man in your piece. He says Latino vote will tip this overall. Let me just ask how likely are Latinos to vote for a Republican in the district?
[Gutierrez:] Well, Brooke, that's a good question. Short answer is very likely to do so. This is the most conservative district in the state and Latinos typically vote democrat. But, you know, given the choice between Russell Pearce who has been a very tough against illegal immigration and Jerry Lewis who is more a moderate and polls are showing that Latinos are likely to go with Lewis. And not just Latinos, Brooke, but also Democrats in this district as well.
[Baldwin:] Thelma Gutierrez in Phoenix. Thelma, thank you so much. And crime fighters tracing guns from the U.S. all the way to the hands of Mexican drug cartels. What could be wrong with that? A lot.
[Unidentified Male:] This should never have happened and it must never happen again.
[Baldwin:] Today, Attorney General Eric Holder answers the tough questions about "Fast and Furious" even in face of those who want him to resign over the poorly executed program. You're going to hear what happened there, some pretty intense testimony on the Hill today. Plus, we're going to show you that incredible video again of a tornado that swept through Oklahoma just last night. Stay tuned for that.

[Candy Crowley, Cnn Anchor:] Politics, policy, and theater. It's State of the Union season in Washington. Today, President Obama readies his State of the Union message, a chance to lay out details of an aggressive second-term agenda.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] And our economy grows when everybody is getting a fair shot and everybody getting a fair shake and everybody playing by the same rules.
[Crowley:] A prequel with Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky who will deliver the Tea Party response to the president. Then an independent voice in a partisan senate.
[King:] The Fifth Amendment is pretty clear: no deprivation of life, liberty or property without due process of law, and we're depriving American citizens of their life when we target them with drone attacks.
[Crowley:] Our exclusive with Senator Angus King of Maine and former Bush and Obama Defense Secretary Robert Gates with the case for drones and the future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
[Robert Gates, Frm. Defense Secretary:] I strongly believe 3,000 is too little and 30,000 is too many.
[Crowley:] Then our political panel on the State of the Union watching and the new chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee. Plus, the high price of a penny. I'm Candy Crowley and this is State of the Union. Joining mow now from his home state of Kentucky, Republican Senator Rand Paul. Senator Paul, thanks for joining us morning. You are going to deliver the Tea Party response to the president's State of the Union. Why is that needed? You have got an R behind your name and so does Marco Rubio, who is going to deliver the Republican response.
[Paul:] I think it just shows that there is a movement in the Republican Party, that has been very vocal, I think particularly in the 2010 election, there was a big movement that helped us win elections. There's a lot of energy that still comes from the Tea Party, and while they consider themselves mostly to be Republican, they occasionally will chastise even the Republican establishment. So they want an independent voice.
[Crowley:] Well, is that what you intend to do, to chastise the Republican establishment?
[Paul:] No, but I think really there are some things that I will emphasize maybe Marco doesn't.
[Crowley:] Like what?
[Paul:] Doesn't mean that we necessarily disagree. I don't know. I haven't heard his speech yet. But I would say that there are things that I will talk about you know, the president likes to talk about a balanced approach for things. We'll talk, for example, about a balanced budget and how that would be good for the economy. The president likes to say everybody needs to pay their fair share, which means he wants to raise taxes. I'll talk about the Republican message which is we believe you stimulate the economy by reducing taxes, not revenue neutral, I mean really reducing taxes, cutting corporate tax in half, cutting the personal income tax, and the fact that you actually sometimes bring in more revenue when you cut tax rates.
[Crowley:] Well, as you know, you are joined by fellow Republicans, some of whom are not particularly associated with the Tea Party in your quest for what they call real cuts and not just cuts in the growth. I want to get back to Senator Rubio, again because you're both delivering these responses to the president. He was on the cover of Time magazine as the new face of the Republican Party. He has Tea Party support. I wonder when you look at that and you look at the Republican Party, do you and he represent different parts of the Republican Party? Are you therefore rivals? Who is the face of the Republican Party right now?
[Paul:] I don't think anybody gets to choose who is the face is or say you or someone else is the face. I think we do the best to promote what we believe in. One of the things I have talked a lot about that there haven't been many other Republicans talking about is that we shouldn't send foreign aid or money to people who are burning our flag and chanting death to America. So I think I do represent a wing of the Republican Party who doesn't want to send good money after bad to Egypt, or to several of these countries. I would put strings on the money that goes to Pakistan. I would say to Pakistan, you don't get more money until you release the doctor who helped us get bin Laden. So there are things that distinguish a lot of different Republicans. It doesn't make them bad, or me right or them wrong, what it means is that there is a Tea Party wing that is interested in not sending money to people who are not acting like our allies.
[Crowley:] Does it also give aid and comfort to Democrats who see what is clearly a split in the Republican Party, so much so that it requires two responses to the State of the Union?
[Paul:] You know, I think to me I see it as an extra response, I don't see it necessarily divisive. You know I won't say anything on there that necessarily is like Marco Rubio is wrong. You know, I don't always agree, but the thing is this isn't about he and I, this is about the Tea Party, which is a grassroots movement, a real movement with millions of Americans who are still concerned about some of the deal making that goes on in Washington, they're still concerned about the fact that we are borrowing $50,000 a second. None of the things I ran on as part of the Tea Party have been fixed. We're still going down a hole as far as the debt crisis looming. And so we really have to still talk about spending and we want to make sure there is still a voice for that.
[Crowley:] One of the things that is always sort of looked for in the State of the Union Address is the fill in the blank question, the State of the Union is what? What will you say the state of the union is?
[Paul:] Well, I think it's still robust in the sense we still have greatness as a country. But there's a lot of things that beleaguer us, and I think the debt is the number one. I think the debt is costing us a million jobs a year. The economy slowed in the last quarter. I really that think we have to do something about how enormous government is. And the way Tea Party folks see this, is we see it like our family budget. I have to balance my budget at home, why shouldn't government? We don't understand these other explanations. We don't understand all these people -the president is now caterwauling about the sequester, so are many Republicans. Tea Party people are saying the sequester is a pittance, it's just a very much even the beginning. $1 trillion and we're increase spending $9 trillion. So really even with the sequester, spending goes up $7 trillion or $8 trillion over the next 10 years. We're not getting close to scratching the surface of the problem.
[Crowley:] Let me ask you about some Kentucky politics. You have said I believe that will support Senator Mitch McConnell who is up for re-election in 2014. Do you believe he will face a Tea Party challenge?
[Paul:] I think it's unlikely. I haven't heard any Republican challenger come forward. I don't know, but I haven't heard of any challenger coming forward.
[Crowley:] And I want to play for awe an ad that American Crossroads, this the Karl Rove group, a Republican group, released February 6th. And it's about Ashley Judd, the actress and the activist, she was quite active in the president's campaign. And she has been mentioned frequently as perhaps a Democratic challenger to Mitch McConnell. Here is part of the ad.
[Announcer:] Ashley Judd, an Obama following radical Hollywood liberal who is right at home here in Tennessee, I mean Kentucky.
[Crowley:] When you see an ad this far out from a Republican group, it says to me that maybe Senator McConnell, who is a Republican leader in the Senate, is in a little trouble. Is he at this point looking weak?
[Paul:] You know, when I heard Ashley Judd might run for office, I thought maybe it was parliament, since she lives in Scotland half of the year. But no I think really that part of politics is making sure people know who you are running against. Ashley Judd is a famous actress, she's an attractive woman, and presents herself well and from what I understand is articulate. But the thing is, she doesn't really represent Kentucky. I mean, she was a representative for Tennessee last year, she lives in Tennessee. So, yeah, I think you do need to make sure people about know that so people don't think she's really from Kentucky or lives here.
[Crowley:] And a couple of questions just on we have got some confirmations coming up. We have the Lew confirmation for Treasury secretary, Hagel for Defense, as well as Brennan for the CIA. Are you going to vote against any of those men?
[Paul:] I'm most concerned about Brennan. And I'm going to demand answers this week. Senator Wyden asked can they do drone strikes in the United States? And Brennan went on for five minutes talking about optimizing transparency and never answered the question. Until I get an answer...
[Crowley:] You mean drones strikes...
[Paul:] ...whether or not you can an American citizen in America in America, that's what Wyden can you kill an American in America with only the president's word? And he never answered the question. So I'm going to demand an answer to that question. But I also don't think I think it's very unseemly that a politician gets to decide the death of an American citizen. They should answer about the 16- year-old boy, Al Awlaki's son who was killed not as collateral damage, but in a separate strike. They've never answered that. I think you should be tried for treason. If you're an American citizen, you go overseas, you take up arms I'm probably for executing you, but I would want to hear the evidence, I would want to have a judge and a jury. It can be fairly swift, but there needs to be a trial for treason. The president, a politician, Republican or Democrat, should never get to decide someone's death by flipping through flash cards, and say do you want to kill him? I don't know. Yeah, let's go ahead and kill him.
[Crowley:] All right. So we'll put that as a question mark for John Brennan at the CIA and yes for the other two?
[Paul:] Well, I haven't decided really. Hagel has been really struggling, and...
[Crowley:] Thanks. We will check back in with you later on then on those. Thank you so much, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. We will look for you Tuesday night. Our next guest is one of two independents in the senate. He has been called a bridge builder and problem solver, he has questioned both John Brennan and Chuck Hagel during their confirmation hearings. Not bad for a guy who has been in office 38 days. Angus King of Maine is up next.

[Kaye:] Joshua Komisarjevsky, convicted in a brutal home invasion in Connecticut, was sentenced to death just a short time ago. In 2007, he and another man raped and killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit, then tied up her two daughters and set the house on fire, leaving them to die. He now joins his accomplice, Steven Hayes, on death row. The only survivor of the attack, Dr. William Petit, said in court today, I lost my wife and my home, my wife, my friend, my partner. We were robbed of this in a heinous manner for what? Money. So why did Komisarjevsky do it? I got some insight when the murders first happened back in 2007 from one of Komisarjevsky's friends. A hint of violence. A disturbing prediction of what might come buried in this letter from prison.
[Unidentified Female:] I need someone like you who knows a little about my past to keep me grounded in the future when my criminal demon starts to wander.
[Kaye:] Days after the attack, we interviewed this woman who told us she was a close friend. She asked us not to show her face, but shared the letter he says he sent her from prison years before.
[Unidentified Female:] Prison was a hard pill for me to swallow. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't get angry. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel the pain of being taken from my daughter.
[Kaye:] He writes about his dreams of becoming a real estate developer.
[Unidentified Female:] My daughter needs me and I can't accomplish my goals when I am locked up.
[Kaye:] Police say Komisarjevsky followed Mrs. Hawke-Petit and one of her daughters home from the grocery store in July 2007 and chose them as his next victims. Neither suspect has ever been arrested for murder before, though they are hardly strangers to crime. In fact, between the two of them, they've been arrested nearly 50 times. On Hayes' rap sheet, 27 arrests, including illegal possession of a firearm, burglary, and forgery. Komisarjevsky's past is just as ugly. Twenty arrests for burglary and larceny. Police say he sometimes used night vision goggles. Both have served time in prison. But it was here at the Silliman halfway house in Hartford, Connecticut, where they first met. They were roommates for four months. What might have driven them to sexually assault and strangle Jennifer Hawke-Petit and leave her two beautiful daughters to die in a fire they had set? Forensic psychiatrist Helen Morrison has studied cases like this.
[Helen Morrison, Forensic Psychiatrist:] It appears that both of them were really consumed with rage at the unfairness of their lives, so to speak.
[Kaye:] Komisarjevsky was adopted as an infant. His grandfather was a leading Russian theatrical director and the son of a princess. His grandmother, a well-known modern dancer. A family friend told us his parents, born again Christians, had trouble controlling him. His friend told us that just five days before the murders, Komisarjevsky was distraught over a breakup.
[Unidentified Female:] He was really, really depressed.
[Kaye:] She said, if he did kill Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her girls, something snapped.
[Unidentified Female:] He put the terror into these poor girls hearts and he was the person that they spent their last hours in fear for their lives. And he left them to burn.
[Kaye:] A senseless act, not even a history of crime can explain. Now let's go straight to the Connecticut court where Komisarjevsky was sentenced. Our Brian Vitagliano is there. Brian, I covered this story, as you just saw there, you know, all those years ago. It was so disturbing. So I can hardly imagine what that atmosphere was like in that courtroom today. Can you tell us?
[Brian Vitagliano, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, Randi. Hi. Yes, the courtroom ran high with emotion. Obviously it was a very somber hour and 45 minutes. Joshua Komisarjevsky at 10:00 a.m. was led into courtroom in an orange prison jumpsuit and shackles. He had to sit there and listen to Jennifer Hawke-Petit's father, and mother, and sister speak via video for victim impact statements. And then Dr. Petit got up and spoke. And it was extremely, extremely emotional. Afterwards, Dr. Petit and the entire Petit family and friends left the courtroom. They did not want to hear anything that Joshua Komisarjevsky had to say. And he did, in fact, speak for roughly about eight minutes. He said that he, quote, "was honest in my confession, then and now." He knew that the result is the same one that they that he did it and he was going to spend his life in prison. He didn't want those innocent women to die. And he didn't need 12 people to tell him what his motivation was. So, I've covered the Steven Hayes' verdict as well and it was extremely emotional. When you sit in court and listen to a judge basically say your fate is now in the hands of others, may God have mercy on your soul, it's extremely powerful.
[Kaye:] Do you think the family you know, I don't like to use the word closure, and I know Dr. Petit certainly didn't, but this is sort of finally coming to an end for them. How much would you say that means to this family?
[Vitagliano:] I think it means a lot. I mean they have they've had to endure two trials now and sit through evidence and sit through horrific testimony about what happened to his wife and seventeen year old daughter and 11 year old daughter. And see photographs of the remains of charred and burned bodies. And it's just you know, that is taxing on anyone. And, you know, during last October, when Dr. Petit came out, someone asked him about closure and he says, quote, "it's not clear to me that time heals all wounds, but you form some form of scars." So, you know, there is a sense that he's moving on. He just recently did get engaged over the holidays. So, you know, he seems to be moving on. But this, by no means, will ever be forgotten for the family or the people of Connecticut, in Cheshire.
[Kaye:] Yes, certainly not. Not a crime that brutal. Brian Vigtaliano there in court for us in Connecticut. Brian, thank you. We've been talking about the impact of concussions all week. Coming up, we'll explain how brain injuries are detected. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is even going to put me to the test. Really?
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent:] I am.
[Kaye:] All right.
[Gupta:] I'm here for it.
[Kaye:] You'll see it live, next.

[Blitzer:] A new book reveals if U.S. Navy SEALs had captured Osama Bin Laden, President Obama would have put him on trial in a civilian court rather than in front of a military tribunal. "Vanity Fair's" excerpts from the new book entitled "The Finish" he says the president told him and I'm quoting now "My belief was if we captured him I would be in a pretty strong position politically here to argue that due process and rule of law would be our best weapon of al Qaeda in preventing him from appearing as a martyr." That's a direct quote from the president in this new book. Lisa Sylvester's monitoring some of the top stories in THE SITUATION ROOM right now. What else is going on, Lisa?
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, there, Wolf. Well, Turkey has struck back at Syria after a cross-border mortar strike. The office of the Turkish prime minister says, quote, "Points in Syria have been hit by artillery fire." A mortar strike from Syria killed five people in a Turkish town near the border. A NATO meeting to discuss the clash is underway now and it comes on the same day that three car bombs hit a popular square in Aleppo, Syria's biggest city. At least 40 people were killed in that strike. That city has become the epicentre of the battle between rebels and the forces of President Bashar Al-Assad. And a home burglary has left a Denver man without the last photographs taken of his 6-year-old granddaughter, a victim of the Aurora theatre shootings. This is one picture of Veronica Mozar Sullivan, the youngest of the 12 people killed at the movie theatre in July. The "Denver Post" reports that Robert Sullivan lost four cameras in the burglary and one of those cameras contained a memory card with the last photos ever taken of Veronica. Her mother was wounded in the shooting and is still recovering. And an 84-year-old woman is alive today because of the heroism of the bystanders in Portland, Maine. Ursula Nixon broke her leg after she crashed her car into the harbor. Several people you see in the pictures there they jumped into the water as the car slowly sank below the surface. Nixon's family says she faces weeks of recovery, but she's grateful to her rescuers. Looked like about five people or so there, Wolf, jumped in that water. I'm sure that water wasn't very warm either talking Portland, Maine.
[Blitzer:] They saved her. Good for them and good for her. Thank you. Gloria Borger also sat down with Ann Romney. Her national exclusive interview that's coming up, but first, our unsolicited advice panel is standing by. They're going to preview some key questions you're going to want to listen for in tonight's debate.

[Becky Anderson:] Seemingly the land of difficult options.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Knowing that potentially chemical weapons have been used inside of Syria, doesn't tell us when they were used, how they were used...
[Anderson:] Well, as Obama's red line on chemical weapons appears to shift, tonight I ask a former army general what western powers led by Washington do next.
[Announcer:] Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
[Anderson:] Also ahead this hour...
[Unidentified Male:] It's a misnomer to call them lone wolves, because even though they are physically alone, of course they're interacting with other people online.
[Anderson:] Following the digital footprint of terrorists. A closer look at the role of social media in online jihad. And, he's an Oscar winning actor, a Prada model and now a judge. Red carpet eye candy Adrian Brody is my guest this hour from New York Tribeca Film Festival. First up this hour, U.S. President Barack Obama says the world cannot stand by and allow the use of chemical weapons against civilians. But he also says the U.S. will act, quote, prudently and deliberately before responding to intelligence reports on Syria. Now Mr. Obama says assessments that Syria had used chemical weapons are preliminary. But during a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, he again warned it could be a gamechanger.
[Obama:] We're going to be working with countries like Jordan to try to obtain more direct evidence and confirmation of this potential use. In the meantime, I've been very clear publicly, but also privately, that for the Syrian government to utilize chemical weapons on its people crosses a line that will change my calculus and how the United States approaches these issues. So, you know, this is not an on or off switch, this is an ongoing challenge that all of us have to be concerned about.
[Anderson:] Well, you may remember the United States announced last week that it's sending up to 200 more troops to Jordan. They would be ready for military action in Syria is President Obama orders it. Well, Mr. Obama says there are still a range of questions, quote, about how, when, and where the Syrian regime used chemical weapons. He's promising, and I quote again, a definitive answer as soon as possible. Let's get more on this. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr looking now for you at the evidence gathered so far.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] March 19, Aleppo, Syria, there is talk civilians here have been attacked with chemical weapons, but no confirmation. Now, suddenly, defense secretary Chuck Hagel traveling in the Middle East.
[Chuck Hagel, U.s. Defense Secretary:] The U.S. intelligence community assesses with some degree of varying confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin.
[Starr:] The White House sent letters to congress responding to questions about chemical weapons use and calling for UN investigation. After the debacle over Iraqi weapons, Hagel says the U.S. needs to confirm exactly what happened.
[Hagel:] We need all the facts. We need all the information.
[Starr:] Senator John McCain told CNN's Jake Tapper it's not the response he wants.
[Sen. John Mccain,  Arizona:] Disappointment, but not surprise. The president has not wanted to engage in Syria in any way, any meaningful way, for a couple of years.
[Starr:] McCain wants a no-fly zone, weapons provided to the Syrian opposition, and chemical weapons secured. President Obama had promised action, but was never specific.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] A red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized, that would change my calculus.
[Starr:] A senior U.S. official says the Syrians continue moving chemical stockpiles, causing even more worry. Hagel is sending the first armored divisions headquarters from Fort Bliss, Texas to Jordan. The official tells CNN it will spearhead securing Syria's weapons if ordered.
[Andrew Tabler, Washington Institute For Near East Policy:] We could use air strikes, drone strikes. There could be teams of special forces who go into the country.
[Starr:] But the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is reviewing military options, says troops aren't the answer.
[Mccain:] You have confidence that we could secure it?
[Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman, U.s. Joint Chiefs:] Now as I sit here today simply because they've been moving it and the number of sites is quite numerous.
[Starr:] The U.S. is adamant there will be no go it alone military action for American troops, but many allies are still reluctant to get involved. And it's raising questions about where all of this is headed. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
[Anderson:] Right. We're going to discuss where this is headed shortly. Firstly, just from the Syrian government. It says it doesn't have chemical weapons and wouldn't use them if it did. Well, today it strongly denied the allegations saying they lack credibility. Syria's information minister told Russia TV, quote, it's baseless and it's a new tactic to put political and economic pressure on Syria. So, after several warnings about red lines and gamechangers, what will it actually take for the United States to act, if at all? We're joined by a special guest tonight, Major General James "Spider" Marks now retired. You've spent more than three decades in the U.S. Army, ending his career as commanding general of the army's intelligence center. Sir, you will know more about intelligence than I will ever know at this point. The president wants the facts, does he have what it takes at this point? Certainly his red line seems to be shifting. What happens next?
[Maj. Gen. James Marks, U.s. Army:] Well, a red line Becky, you know, a red line is defined as immutable. It shouldn't shift. But apparently the administration is very concerned. They really don't want to have to face this problem, but they must. The Secretary of Defense has come out and said with some degree of confidence we our intelligence community has assessed that Syria the regime in Syria has used chemical weapons against its own population. That, by definition, falls into the category of weapons of mass destruction. We address those as we would chemical as we should nuclear, any form of weapon of mass destruction. So the thing that the administration has to do is it has to galvanize and international body, and it could be very narrowly defined. As long as it includes elements from the EU, the United Nations must be the lead element. The United States cannot. And maybe even countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council to get involved and be prepared to help separate the warring parties. There needs to be more, Becky, than a no-fly zone. There needs to be a no-move zone so we can get in and start getting our arms around the inventory. That's the biggest challenge.
[Anderson:] Yeah. Let me put this to you. Do you think he misspoke when using this red line criteria? Because at this point to many, many people around the world it looks like President Obama is prevaricating, not necessarily for me, but I'm just suggesting to our viewers around the world it looks like prevarication. It's not now whether there are weapons of mass destruction, but how and where they might have been used. I mean, it doesn't look good, does it?
[Marks:] No, it doesn't. When the truth changes, you always have a problem. You never want to take options off the table and you never want to completely stick options on the table and say this is what we're going to do and our administration now is kind of wringing its hands that we're confronted with this. Now, there is an element of command and control coming out of the First Armored Division. And what that really means is that will be the element around which we can galvanize other enablers to keep things from spilling over and if the and if an international body...
[Anderson:] What do you mean sorry, let me just stop you there. You're saying we'll get other enablers to help us out what do you mean by that in sort of clear language that I can understand.
[Marks:] Well, and again, I'm trying to prevaricate, and I'm not trying to beat around the bush here, what I'm saying is, is there are a number of government agencies and international bodies that need the support that the military can provide to get into Syria and begin to...
[Anderson:] ...something around in Jordan, right?
[Marks:] Absolutely. If you're on the ground in Jordan, we also have a presence up in Turkey. We've got to be able to try to contain that. And then if you need to get inspectors in there, if you need to get vehicles in there, there you know, you have to create a humanitarian corridor to get innocents out of there. And that can only be done with the military. And so there are a number of missions here that we've got to...
[Anderson:] ...war zone yep. I get it. Let's just have a listen to a couple of bits of sound I want our viewers to hear today. One from Carney, who is the spokesman for the White House and that's going to be followed immediately by David Cameron, the prime minister of the UK. And let's see if we've learned anything from what we hear from these two strategic players. Let's have a listen.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] The president wants the facts. And I'm not going to set a timeline, because the facts need to be what drives this investigation not a deadline.
[David Cameron, Prime Minister Of England:] Use of chemical weapons, probably by the regime, it's extremely serious. This is a war crime. But we need to go on gathering this evidence and also to send a very clear warning to the Syrian regime about these appalling actions.
[Anderson:] Walk me through the difficulty of any boots on the ground and indeed the idea of operating a no-fly zone. And is it any clearer at this point at this hour whether we are any closer to military action being triggered? Two questions for you there.
[Marks:] Becky, there are several approaches to this, and embedded in that are a bunch of different facts. Tell me if you think I'm getting off base here. First of all, no-fly zone. No-fly zone only accomplishes one thing. Number one it really accomplishes nothing Syria is not flying anything essentially to arm its population, but what that can do is that can help you establish this corridor so good people and citizens and civilians can get out. That would be very beneficial. Boots on the ground I would hazard to say is not likely, only because it is so messy at this point and there has to be a number of diplomatic initiatives and efforts that bring a body together, not the United States exclusively. And we all understand that. So getting boots on the ground has to take a number of nations, the local population i.e. the GCC and the regional leaders need to step up and say this is unacceptable. We don't know, as your prime minister indicated, that we need to tell the Syrian regime that this is bad, my goodness, they know it's bad.
[Anderson:] More importantly, you've got to get Russia and China on side, right, because otherwise they're just going to ignore the UN security council.
[Marks:] They'll completely get in the way. They'll barricade it, absolutely. They will get in the way and they'll not let this happen. So the United Nations is a place where you at least need to talk about it, but you don't have to rely exclusively on that body in order to establish a body in order to solve this problem that we've now acknowledged exists. And we can't qualify it. You can't take intelligence and start backing off from what you identify. Look, we've had the Sec. Def, the secretary of defense came forward and said we've got a problem. If that's not true, then we have an internal issue within our administration.
[Anderson:] Sir, it's always a pleasure having you on. You make a lot of sense. And I've been calling you striker, which is just an added name for you this evening is General James "Spider" Marks, of course as I say forgive me, always a pleasure. Still to come tonight, people are still being pulled out alive from Wednesday's huge building collapse in Bangladesh. We're going to find out where rescue efforts stand now. Africa's rhino's lives are under threat because of demand for their horns. We're going to take a look at what's being done to curb this crisis. And he apologizes and accepts the ban as Liverpool's Luis Suarez takes his punishment for biting another player. We're going to look at the fallout and the reaction.

[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] That's right. Good morning, to you. We are following breaking news on this Thursday, January 27th. The latest on an explosion in Davos where the World Economic Forum is taking place right now.
[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] And we want to turn right to our Sanjay Gupta. He is there, has been covering that World Economic Forum. And Sanjay, things were going along. Meetings were taking place. And now we're told about a little explosion. Do we know yet if this thing was set by someone? Was it a criminal act? Or could this possibly have just been an accident?
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] Well, we're just getting some more information along those lines, T.J., and pretty convincing that there was some sort of criminal activity here because e-mails were sent prior to this detonation device, as it's being called e-mails were sent to people affiliated with the hotel and then to an organization that's part of a Swiss media organization. So, they threatened specifically to attack this hotel. The e- mails seem to have come from an anti-World Economic Forum group, anti- WEF group, as they are called. And they were threatening this exact thing. And, obviously, it was called a small detonation device. It was in the back entrance of a large hotel very close to where all of the meetings are taking place called the Posthotel. You couldn't tell if it was thrown into the back entrance or the detonation device was already there. It blew out a window. We're not hearing of any injuries. But this is a hotel, an important one, T.J. A lot of the sort of base of the Swiss government stays at this hotel during this World Economic Forum here in Davos. And, also, tonight, there was a party planned that was going to have the special guest, the former President Bill Clinton. That was scheduled for 6:30 this evening. We think it's still going to go on, we're hearing. But, again, it just gives you an idea of the context of just how important it is. We're at the specific Congress Center where the meetings are being held. The hotel is a half a mile away from here, T.J. I was walking down the street and heard police in the area. The small town of 13,000, police started to talk about the Posthotel when this first happened and we got a sense that something was happening. Even over the last half an hour or so, you see evidence of increasing security now, above some of the hotels now immediately adjacent to the Congress Center. You're seeing people on top of the roofs much these hotels, increasing security presence. So, no injuries but it seemed to be a criminal element, T.J., to your point.
[Holmes:] All right. Sanjay, we appreciate the update. We'll continue to update our viewers on that story. But thanks to our Sanjay Gupta covering that for us. Criminal activity but, again, it looks like there was no injury associated with it. We'll turn to the weather situation right now and it is a situation. The roads are a mess. The sky is going to be a mess for while today as well. You see this video. Folks are trying to dig out and still trying to get around. But several cities right now have at least a foot of snow. We can tell you that the schools are closed in D.C., Philly, New York, Boston today. The federal government is going to be opening two hours late in D.C., and the major airports in the Northeast right now are struggling to get up and running today.
[Chetry:] We also announced a snow emergency. That means they need to get cars off the road in places like New York and Boston so the plows can get through. They've closed schools, as we said, in all of those cities. And since mid-December, it has actually snowed eight times in the New York City area, about once every five days. In Boston, they have gotten 50 inches and counting so far this season, gobbling through their snow removal budgets. Reynolds Wolf is standing by this morning. And, Reynolds, also, just one other note. We got word from Amtrak that they have suspended their New York to Boston service as well because of the weather.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] No surprise. I mean, we have seen some very heavy snow as you mentioned around the region. South Boston, 11.5 inches of snowfall, and certainly standstill at the airport. They've had over 300 flights canceled, either coming in or departing. I'll tell you, though, one mode of transportation that has been working pretty well, at least since 7:00 last night, is due to these these cleaners that we have on the sidewalks. I want to take a look at something. Bob? Bob Crowley is our CNN photo journalists. Let's walk over and show them the condition of the sidewalks. I mean, we're talking picture perfect. They've got this down to a science. Got a little bit of salt that they put down, but they also have cleaning this stuff off and as clean as can be. Now, something else they've been working on the streets. Let's hop out over here and give you an idea of what we've got. Some places, obviously, where the plows have been coming through, it's been stacking up in a few places. They still advise that if you don't have to be on the roadways, don't. I mean, use this as a good excuse to stay home. But, again, you see a lot of cars over there. Certainly, these streets are certainly passable for the time being. City services are working and we have seen taxis. And we've seen vans, we've seen buses. We've seen all kinds of stuff. Speaking of the city all city government offices are going to be open for today. Everyone is expected to come into work. So, have fun with that. But, in terms of school, kids, all Boston public schools no kids have to go to school for the day. Community centers are going to be open. In fact, they've been opened since about 7:30. They'll be opened through 6:00 tonight. And, of course, some of Boston's finest are making their way on through working with no issues. Guys, this could have been a lot worse. Thankfully, this area of low pressure that caused a lot of this ruckus came through very quickly and it slowed down just a little bit, just a fraction or two. We might be talking about maybe six to eight more inches of more snowfall. But as it stands, the highest point we've seen in this area, 11.5. Let's kick it back to you, guys, in the studio.
[Chetry:] So, Reynolds is telling, consider ourselves lucky. It could have been worse.
[Holmes:] It could have been worse.
[Chetry:] Six more inches. Go ahead, Reynolds. What?
[Wolf:] Absolutely.
[Chetry:] All right. See you soon.
[Wolf:] You bet. It could have been far worse than this, guys.
[Holmes:] Yes. Let's turn to the airports right now and give you an idea of what's happening up in the Northeast. Here's a look where we are right now. This is a changing situation, but you see Reagan National right now open. Boston Logan open. JFK is closed but they're trying to get up and moving over the next couple of hours. Newark closed right now, but they're going to reopen to departures in about an hour and open to arrivals around noon time.
[Chetry:] All right. Well, Rob Marciano is in the extreme severe weather center with a look at all of this playing out for us, breaking records right and left today with the snow.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, just the totals in New York City, that puts you over the top for the month of January to break a record with over 32 inches of snow. The snow for the most part has stopped but the damage has been done and just digging out and trying to clear those runways. These are airports we think will see delays even after the airports you just mentioned open on later today. New York, Philadelphia, obviously, and Boston as well, over an hour delays expected there. Baltimore and D.C., a bit of a head start as far as getting out there early because the snow stopped earlier to help you folks dig out. In Chicago and Minneapolis and Detroit and Cleveland actually, back end of this, actually the next system, there's a little snow coming in as well. Here's the back edge of it. Providence to Boston starting to see things wind down. You saw the live shot from Reynolds Wolf. It doesn't look like it's snowing there. We did have wind gusts 40 to 50 miles an hour with this system. So, a number of power outages across the board and a lot of folks, this wasn't just confined to one area, from D.C. through Delaware, up to Baltimore and Philadelphia, up through parts of Jersey and through Boston, everybody getting a piece of this. And temperatures hovering right around the freezing mark, not drastically cold air behind this. And for the most part, it's been a pretty high water content event. Meaning, the snow has been very pretty wet and that makes it even more difficult to snowplow, but there's more in the way of snow coming in behind this system. But check out some of these totals. And these totals are actually come rising as we get out there to actually measure this stuff. Clifton, New Jersey, 19 inches; Norwalk, Connecticut seeing 17 inches; Jersey City, 16; Staten Island, 15 inches; and Milford, Connecticut, 15 inches. I think New York City's Central Park will get over 16 inches before this is done because that last was measured at 1:00 in the morning at 15.3. Here's your next system coming in from the Great Lakes. This doesn't have nearly the punch that this system does. Maybe an inch or two with this come tomorrow and another quick system coming in on Sunday. But it is accumulation of several storm systems over what has been a very long winter and we're not even into February yet. So, T.J., Kiran, kind of just bear with us here. Spring is not really right around the corner, but it will be here eventually.
[Chetry:] Yes, exactly. All right. It can't come soon enough for us. Thanks, Rob.
[Holmes:] Thanks, Rob.
[Marciano:] All right, guys.
[Chetry:] The storm sent the federal government home early yesterday and grounded Marine One, in fact. The president was forced to ride in a motorcade from Air Force One to the White House instead of the usual helicopter ride. He was on his way back from Wisconsin. So, even the president had to deal with the D.C. traffic in the snow, which is not fun. Ride that usually takes about 20 minutes, it took an hour.
[Holmes:] And this snow is not just causing headaches for you and trying to travel but it is doing a number on city budgets. This is expensive stuff. Take a look in D.C. They've spent about 39 percent of their $6.4 million snow removal budget. Here in New York City, they've reportedly burned through their entire $38.8 million budget. In Boston, they have gone through about 66 percent of their $16 million budget.
[Chetry:] And the Dow is opening this morning at its highest level in nearly three years. Right now, just 15 points shy of the 12,000 mark. The Dow actually crossed that milestone yesterday, but then retreated slightly later in the day.
[Holmes:] Also, coming up, some scary video to show you of a very popular singer taking a tumble off a stage at a concert and knocked unconscious.
[Chetry:] Also a little later, why President Obama did a double take yesterday in Wisconsin when he met the local mayor.

[Foster:] Now the U.S. Senate has passed President Obama's tax compromise just a short while ago; 81 senators voted for the controversial bill, 19 against. The deal extends federal unemployment benefits and Bush- era tax cuts for even the wealthiest Americans. It still needs approval from the House of Representatives before becoming law though. At least 27 House Democrats signed a letter Tuesday urging acceptance of the bill without any changes. House Democrats decided in a closed-door meeting last week they wouldn't even consider it in its current form. A lot of politicking has gone on since then. Speaking before the Senate vote President Obama said there is no room for delay in passing the bill.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I know there are different aspects of this plan to which members of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, object. That is the nature of compromise. But we worked hard to negotiate an agreement that is a win for middle-class families, and a win for our economy. Now we can't afford to let it fall victim to either delay or defeat.
[Foster:] Now a Laura Tyson is a member of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. She is also a professor of business administration and economics at the University of California at Berkeley. She has also served on a number of corporate boards and she joins us now from Berkeley. And we appreciate you coming on the program.
[Laura Tyson, University Of California-berkeley:] Thank you.
[Foster:] You are one of America's top economists and you are hooked into the Obama administration, and of course, involved in this recovery. A lot of people criticizing the tax cutting plan, whilst, in a way, more is being spend benefiting the economy at the same time. It doesn't seem to achieve anything, this plan by the Obama administration, this bill. But what do you-how do you defend it?
[Tyson:] Well, I defend it as an economist would defend it. I think if you look at major forecasters around the country, independent, private, non-partisan, have all stated that this is a second form of fiscal stimulus, in a recovery which has been too weak to really bring the unemployment rate down. And the assessments are this package will, itself, perhaps add as much as a percentage point to GDP growth. And we really need that. Because the unemployment rate is stuck at around 9.6 percent; it rose actually last month. And we really have to boost the recovery.
[Foster:] But the debt mountain is getting bigger all the time. And if you look at the Treasury market it does seem as though investors are starting to get concerned about the amount of debt America is in. How sustainable is this?
[Tyson:] Well, let me say two things about that; first of all, I think the reaction of the debt market to the announcement of the tax agreement is actually a sign of belief that the U.S. economy is strengthening. If you actually look behind that increase in interest rates what you'll see is not an increase in inflationary expectations, it is an increase in the real interest rate, which is usually associated with an expectation that economic growth will be stronger. So, I think the increase in long-term interest rates actually is a sign of validation for the package. I do, however, think that the Congress must move with the president next year on a long-run deficit reduction package. Now economists have said that really what the economy needs is some additional stimulus now, combined with a long-run deficit reduction plan. That is what the commission, that President Obama appointed on fiscal stability, said last week. That is what a number of private commissions have said. So, these are problems that must be dealt with together and I hope that the first order of business in the new Congress is to work with the president on a long-run deficit reduction package.
[Foster:] Are you concerned that you are working with a president, though, who can't act politically with the power that he could before? And as an economist you can't sort of get him, or advise him, to do the things that you really want him to do. You have to compromise on everything with all the other politicians?
[Tyson:] Well, here is some good news here. You know the commission that he reported on fiscal stability and a long-run deficit reduction package, got 11 out of 16 members supported the proposal. And that included Democrats and Republicans. So there is some bi-partisan support on the deficit reduction issue. I also think there is going to be some momentum coming from the agreement on taxes between the president and the Congress, some political momentum to do more when the new Congress comes back. That is my form of optimism. When I'm pessimistic I worry that many members of Congress see the deficit as a problem, but don't see that cutting taxes contributes to the deficit. It is as if an increase in spending contributes to the deficit, but a decrease in taxes does not. And that is not arithmetically correct. So we have to find a way to convince enough members of Congress that we're going to need a package which has spending in it, but also has revenues in it. And perhaps the best way to do that is going to be in the context of some meaningful tax reform. Again, the commissions have all agreed, the commissions on deficit reduction, have all agreed that taxes need to-revenues need to be increased, the best way to do that is through tax reform.
[Foster:] OK, we're talking here about the world's biggest economy. The whole world has a stake in it. Just talk to me about your concerns, though, about this hot money that is being created by the monetary policy easing in the U.S., effectively, a lot of hot monies are rushing into emerging markets and causing them problems. Causing bubbles in those markets, isn't it?
[Tyson:] Well, I think that Chairman Bernanke was very brave this summer. When people were-when the debate about what to do in the U.S. was essentially not moving forward. He said, clearly, the U.S. economy needs more stimulus and a strong U.S. economy, growing faster than it was growing in the middle of the summer, is good for the world economy. And he proposed his QE2 policy as part of that. But he also said, clearly at the time, we will monitor this. We will look at what happens to the growth of the economy. We will look at the effects and we will make adjustments. Now, as far as-
[Foster:] OK.
[Tyson:] -the hot money is concerned I would say the following: Some of that is pressure on currencies that in fact should appreciate. I go to the issue of China here. China is grappling with its own inflation problem.
[Foster:] Yes, Laura Tyson, I'm really sorry. We're going to have to interrupt you. Eminent economists, and we would never do it normally.
[Tyson:] Sure.
[Foster:] We have some breaking news coming to us from Washington. Thank you so much for joining us on the program. This just in to CNN, the U.S. Justice Department is suing BP, and other companies, over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April. A Justice Department statement says the government wants a court to declare the company is liable for costs and damages caused by the spill. Now, we are hoping to hear from Eric Holder. He is the attorney general in the United States. That is where he is going to be speaking. We understand that he is going to have a press conference any moment now, uh, which is linked to this story about BP. It would be a major story. Not just for BP but also for the American legal system, because it would start off a whole process of legal wranglings in the United States, which could last for months, if not for years. These are live pictures coming to us from the Washington Justice Department. Eric Holder, the attorney general, due to speak at the podium, just in front of us any moment. Just to remind viewers, the U.S. Justice Department is suing BP, and other companies, actually, over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April. We do want to understand the nature of this legal action. What is it actually they are holding against BP and where are the costs. This will be a huge story for BP. We will get a sense of what kind of legal costs they will face in future. BP shareholders around the world will be interested. And of course, pension funds heavily invested in BP around the world. So it does affect everyone. I am told we can speak to Stephanie Elam. Oh, there he is, Eric Holder. Let's listen in now.
[Eric Holder, Attorney General, U.s. Justice Department:] Good afternoon. I am pleased to be joined by the administrator from EPA, Lisa Jackson; assistant attorney general from the Civil Division, Tony West; and assistant Attorney General Ignacia Moreno, who heads our environmental and natural resources division. In the wake of the largest oil spill in our nation's history, Tony and Ignacio helped to lead the Justice Department's efforts to build-to hold accountable any and all parties found responsible for this disaster. Today we are here to announce the initial results-the initial results-of our civil investigation. Now this investigation began shortly after April 20th of this year, when an explosion and fire destroyed the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig that was located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 50 miles from the Mississippi River Delta. This incident claimed the lives of 11 rig workers. And it marked the start of a massive oil spill that would take more than three months to contain. And it set off a chain reaction of devastating consequences for the people, for the environment and for the economy of the Gulf Coast, a region still struggling to recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Now, while oil spill response efforts were underway the Department of Justice launched both criminal and civil probes into this matter. We dispatched dozens of top attorneys to the Gulf Region, and members of the department's senior leadership have also made multiple trips to the area. For months department lawyers and investigators have been working night and day and in close coordination with the local U.S. attorneys offices as well as our colleagues in the state attorneys general offices as well. As a result of this work, today, the United States has filed a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court in New Orleans against nine defendants. The defendants named in the lawsuit include: BP Exploration and Production, Incorporated; Anadarko Exploration and Production, L.P.; Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; MOEX Offshore 2007, LLC; Triton Asset Leasing, GMBH; Transocean Holdings, LLC; Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Incorporated; Transocean Deepwater Incorporated, and QBE Underwriting Limited, Lloyds Syndicate 1036. Now, in the complaint the United States alleges violations of federal safety and operational regulations, including failure to take the necessary precautions to secure the Macondo well, prior to the April 20th explosion; failure to utilize the safest drilling technology to monitor the well's condition. Failure to maintain continuous surveillance of the well and failure to utilize and maintain equipment and materials that were available and necessary to ensure the safety and protection of personnel, property, natural resources, as well as the environment. Now we intend to prove that these violations caused or contributed to the massive oil spill and that the defendants are therefore responsible under the oil pollution act for government removal costs, economic losses, as well as environmental damages. We are also seeking civil penalties under the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the unauthorized discharge of oil into the nation's waters. We allege that the defendants named in this lawsuit were in violation of the act through the months that the oil was gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. And we intend to hold them fully accountable for their violations of the law. Over the past year, I myself have visited the Gulf Region multiple times. I have seen the devastation that this oil spilled cost throughout the region, to individuals, and to families, to communities and to businesses, to coastlines, to wetlands, as well as to wildlife. Even though the spill has been contained and even though it no longer is the focus of around-the-clock news coverage that we saw, and the subject of front page headlines, the department's focus on investigating this disaster and preventing future devastation has not waivered. While today's civil action marks a crucial first step forward, it is not, it is not a final step. Both our criminal and civil investigations are continuing. And our work to ensure the American taxpayers are not forced to bear the costs of restoring the Gulf area and its economy goes on. As I have said from the beginning, as our investigations continue, we will not hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary to hold accountable those who are responsible for this spill. The civil investigation into the Gulf Coast spill is being handled by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement. And I want to thank all of these partners for their tremendous efforts. Now as our investigations move forward Justice Department attorneys will continue to- [End Live Feed, In Progress]
[Foster:] Eric Holder there, in the Justice Department of the United States, announcing that the Obama administration is actually suing BP, its- and several other companies involved in that Gulf of Mexico spill, back in April. We were listening out for some level of damages they are seeking. We haven't got that. That is what investors wanted to hear. So we are going to cross to Stephanie Elam, who is in New York monitoring market reaction there. What have they made of it there? This has a huge impact on a lot of companies, doesn't it?
[Stephanie Elam, Cnn Financial Correspondent:] Yes, well, you know, Max, right when the news broke and you first mentioned it, I took a quick look at BP stock here and it was off about a 0.25 of a percent. Now it is off about 2.33 percent at this time. So, obviously investors don't like what this means, probably, for BP stock, even though there wasn't a monetary number that was mentioned in there. Overall, the markets have turned negative since this news came out, too. I'm looking at the Dow now, on the downside, a slightly larger loss here for Nasdaq as well. It wasn't like we were going gangbuster to begin with though, so it is worth pointing out at this point. I don't know if necessarily this was much of a surprise to people on Wall Street that there maybe more lawsuits ahead after we saw the severity of what was going on this spring.
[Foster:] The problem, I guess, Stephanie, is that we don't have any idea about where the costs will end. Because Holder is basically saying that the American taxpayer isn't going to foot the bill for this. And the legal process will continue until all the companies are made accountable. But they can't make any calculations based on this, can they?
[Elam:] Yes, no, it is very murky waters that we're going into-and that was a pun I wasn't even trying to make, but after I said it, I realized it. But it is true. At this point, if there is not a monetary number to put on it, and when you think about, well, what is the exact cost of what happened? How do you qualify or quantify how much it is for someone who maybe lost their job, or for someone whose business was put out? Business because of the fact that people weren't coming to visit the Gulf of Mexico? All of these things that were affected and people who went then for government aid, after that period. How do you quantify that amount of money? And that is what makes it so difficult. And that is probably why didn't actually hear a monetary number in this case. Because I bet you they don't want to limit it at this point, Max.
[Foster:] OK, Stephanie, thank you very much indeed. Back with you as you get more market reaction in the next hour, to that press conference still continuing. If you are still in a gambling mood the odds of Spain avoiding economic meltdown might just have gotten narrower. Confidence in Spain could be slipping, but will it be the next domino to fall here in the Euro Zone. We'll bring you an update in just a moment.

[Max Foster, Cnn Anchor:] The euro or nothing. Greece's prime minister says his country must accept austerity. A lender of last resort, Ireland's European affairs minister tells me it is time for the ECB to step up. And Boeing for gold, a record deal for the plane maker at the Dubai Air Show. I'm Max Foster in for Richard Quest. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Hello to you. Governments are taking shape here in Europe and the onus is on Italy and Greece to prove this really is a fresh start. So far, frankly, hasn't worked. Stocks have fallen from Berlin to Wall Street. Bond yields are rising. And tonight, Ireland's European affairs minister tells me the only credible solution left is to call in the European Central Bank. Well, first, Greece's new prime minister says the country's only choice is to stay in the euro. Speaking in the last hour, Lucas Papademos announced that the country is at a crossroads. And that swift reforms are needed to correct a worsening recession.
[Lucas Papademos, Prime Minister Of Greece:] Important sacrifices of the Greek people cannot, should not be, lost. Two basic prerequisites so that we win this battle is the truth, and the restoration of trust, confidence. The truth where we are, about where we are, and where we can go. And the trust in our strength and our powers to tackle the-
[Foster:] Elinda Labropoulou joins us now from Athens, via Skype. Elinda, any surprises there?
[Elinda Labropoulou, Journalist:] Not so much. But a very clear message from Lucas Papademos, in terms of what the priorities of his interim government will be. He did say that the first, the top, priority for his government will be to ensure that Greece is able to get the sixth traunch of a bailout plan. He even gave a date for that. He said that the money must be released by December the 15th, in order to cover Greece's needs. The Greek government had already previous said that unless that money is in at that time, Greece could default on its debt. Apart from that, another priority for the government that he did outline is that the final details must be worked out to ensure that Greece goes ahead with a second bailout plan agreed in the end of October. And so Mr. Papademos strongly urged all sides to ensure that by the end of the year these two things have been done. His speech, which was in Greece seen as optimistic, focused a lot also on development. And he did outline a number of plans of how Greece can get out of recession. He did say that Greece will go into recession next year. But he did sort of say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, by the end of the year, 2012. So, a lot of plans for development that he outlined; how Greece will use its funds from the EU and its lenders, but also he did say that the government will push ahead with the necessary reforms. A number of structural reforms that include a number of austerity measures already decided that have been very unpopular until now, here. But he did say that that is the only way forward for Greece.
[Foster:] Elinda, thank you very much, indeed. Well, though he is not officially in the job yet, the man nominated to be Italy's next prime minister has started work on selecting his government. A former European Commission member Mario Monti is speaking right now, in Rome. He is expected to conclude talks with political parties tomorrow before presenting his new government to the Italian president. Well, even with an internationally respected economist taking charge, investors are still on edge about Italy's precarious debt situation, which we were hoping to show you here. But suddenly a blank screen. Today Italy paid a high price for all of that uncertainty. At its five-year bond auction, here it is, it sold $4 billion worth of notes at round 6.3 percent. And that is the highest rate it has had to pay in more than 14 years. Right now, the yield on Italy's 10-year government bond is sitting at an uncomfortable 6.7 percent. While that is down from last week's record of nearly 7.5 percent; still dangerously high that figure. And all of Europe's major indices fell on all of this news today. Milan's MIB index was one of the worst performers, with heavy losses in the banking sector. Banca Popolare di Milano had-and Unicredit actually-each lost around 6 percent. A downgrade by Moody's was the trigger for Banca Popolare's slide in the share price. And for Unicredit it was a record $14.5 billion Q3 loss. Unicredit says it scrapped it's dividend for the year and plans to cut more than 5,000 jobs by 2015. The bank is planning a $10 billion share sale to boost its capital now. CNN's Matthew Chance joins me now from Rome. Matthew, where are we with Monti's appointment? This is a given, right?
[Matthew Chance, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, he has formally accepted the offer, the nomination, by the Italian president to try and form a government. The situation now, Max, is that Mario Monti, this distinguished economist, and former EU commissioner is in consultations with the various political parties to try and hammer out an agreement on the make up of his cabinet. He is actually speaking right now to reporters outside the government offices, in the center of the Italian capital. He's been making the point that, first of all, the consultations are not yet over. He has been saying that, you know, he has spoken of the sacrifices that have to be made, in the country to the various political factions and that there are lots of things that the country has to do to get through this situation. He said that the leaders of the political parties with whom he spoke understood the gravity of the situation. He said he also believed, and he is continuing these comments now, that the technocratic government that he is trying to form could go through until the spring of 2013, but he also made the point that it was clear that at any point the parliamentary majority, that it would need to stay in power, could be withdrawn and the government might fall earlier. As I say, what has been spoken about throughout the course of the day is the make up of this cabinet that is going to steer Italy through these very difficult economic times. What Mr. Monti did say is that he does want politicians in his cabinet as well. Perhaps an attempt to give him the kind of political support he is going to need, if he is to get any meaningful reforms through in this country, Max.
[Foster:] And Matthew, he also needs to convince the public, doesn't he? Is there a sense that Europe is in effect installed a bureaucrat in charge of the government. Is that why politicians are also involved there? So at least there is some form of democracy within it?
[Chance:] That, perhaps, perhaps, it will give it some kind of democratic fig leaf. But who know? Because the point is, is that you know the measures that Italy needs to institute to get its economy back on track are going to be very painful, very deep, indeed. They are going to have a real impact on people's lives. We are talking about trying to bring down that massive public debt; $2.6 trillion. It is going to mean huge public service cuts, public spending cuts, rather. It is going to mean huge tax rises. It is going to mean trying bring areas of the gray economy in this country, which is significant, back under government control. And so that is going to mean enormous changes and reforms in this country. And inevitably that is going to mean pain; inevitably in this country it will mean public disorder of some kind. And so those are the sort of public challenges that this government-if it manages to be formed by the end of the week, which is the plan-those are the kinds of challenges that is going to face in the months and possibly the year ahead, Max.
[Foster:] OK, thank you very much. Matthew reporting there, that Mario Monti has accepted that nomination as prime minister. Now the ECB is still trying to do its bit to calm the bond markets. It brought up more than $6 billion of sovereign debt last week. Although that is less than half the amount it bought the week before. We have already heard that analysts have told this show that the ECB is the only institution which can save the day. But it might lack the ability to do so. There are some things it has to do right now. Obviously, it can set interest rates and it can lend money to help liquidity. In the past it has even done that on an unlimited basis. It could also buy bonds, both government bonds and covered bonds, which are a kind of corporate bond, with an extra layer for protection for investors. There is one thing that the ECB can't do right now, though. Not at the moment at least. It can't print money to service public debt. At least that is what the president of Germany's central bank says. Jens Weidman also sits on the ECB council. That would apparently rule out something along the lines of quantitative easing, like we saw in the U.S., and here in the U.K. Well, Angela Merkel is meeting with the Irish Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, on Wednesday. His cabinet is already telling Germany to face facts. Earlier Ireland's minister for European affairs told me it is time to accept the ECB is now Europe's only hope.
[Lucinda Creighton, Irish Minister For European Affairs:] I think it has become more and more apparent over recent months, but specifically since events have begun to unfold in Greece and Italy, in the last two weeks that, you know, unfortunately, it is an enormous challenge to try to beef up the EFSF in the way that was envisaged on the 26th of October. And it now looks like it will require a much more dramatic intervention and that means the ECB. And we would be of the view that the ECB's role has to become more formalized and a much more substantial in all of this. And ultimately I think it is essential that the ECB would be become the lender of last resort, which I think is something that the majority of member states would agree with at this point.
[Foster:] So the European Central Bank effectively underwriting sovereign debt in Europe?
[Creighton:] Which is the function of central banks in most modern economies and I think, you know, what we have seen over the last 18 months, or more, is the very clear manifestation of the reality that the European currency, the euro, has effectively a design flaw. In that it wasn't supported by the kind of architecture that it should have had. And we are now paying the price for that. So, I think it is essential that we get this right. The first priority is to save our currency. Then we need to talk about building an architecture to sustain it in the future. But I thin the obvious step at this stage is that the ECB has to directly intervene. And that will require the support of the member states. Because it is effectively a shift in policy, even though these ECB has buying on the secondary market and has been very important in the role id has played over the last number of months. But that now needs to be formalized and it needs to be stepped up.
[Foster:] Finally, if Germany doesn't agree to allow the ECB to change its role to get more involved. What future for the euro?
[Creighton:] There has to be a future for the euro. The obvious institution that can play a role is the IMF. But it goes back to the point which we have been hearing all along, which is why should members or countries who participate in the IMF support a currency if we are not prepared to do so ourselves. And I think there is a fair question in that. But, I mean, there are other avenues but I think that the only obvious one and the only credible one, really, is that of the ECB.
[Foster:] Well, still very much all eyes on Europe as far as Wall Street goes. Let's check on the number right now, on the Dow. And we are off slightly, at the moment, as you can see, down two-thirds of 1 percent. And it is banking stocks amongst the poorest performers there. They have been some of the most volatile shares lately. And we'll take a longer look at those numbers a little later on in the show. But when we come back we'll hear from Boeing's CEO on striking the biggest deal in that company's history.

[Feyerick:] So we asked before the break, do you know how many gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico because of the BP oil disaster: 180 million, 195 million, 205 million, or 215 million? Well, the answer, 205 million gallons. We'll take you to the Louisiana coast in just a moment, but first, let's get you caught up on some of our top stories here. Well, devastating scenes across North Carolina as powerful storms pounded that state. At least 23 deaths are reported.
[Unidentified Male:] I just told everybody to get down, cover up, get into your cubbyholes, get into a tight space, and make sure to get away from the windows. That's the best thing to do.
[Feyerick:] Those storms were part of a system that formed Thursday in Oklahoma. More than 40 people have been killed across six states. And 10-man crews are working around the clock to save a trapped miner in northeast Idaho. The miner has not been heard from since part of the roof of the mine called Lucky Friday outside Mullan, Idaho, collapsed Friday. Another miner escaped. Special digging equipment has been brought in. Crews are trying to cut through 25 feet of debris. They've stopped to reinforce the roof. A national church held a special service today for a missing nursing student. Twenty-year-old Holly Bobo disappeared from her home last week. Police say her brother last saw her being led into the woods by a man dressed in camouflage. The pastor today said attendance was down because a lot of parishioners are helping with the search for the young lady. This is a long, long overdue military honor for a U.S. Army officer who went missing during World War II. The remains of 2nd Lieutenant Martin Murray were buried yesterday in Massachusetts, 68 years after his B-24 crew crashed on a Pacific island. The Pentagon positively put his name to some human remains found there in 2007. Pope Benedict XVI ushered in Holy Week today with a Palm Sunday blessing at the Palms and a procession in a jam-packed St. Peter's Square. Later, the pontiff presided over an outdoor mass. And all Toyota plants in Japan will be back on line starting tomorrow, but the automaker only plans to operate them at half capacity until early June. It's still having a lot of trouble getting parts to build new cars. A lot of Toyota plants shut down after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. [Begin Video Clip, "rio"]
[Unidentified Male:] Your macaw is a very special bird. Lou is the last male of his kind.
[Unidentified Male:] I have a kind? [End Video Clip, "rio"]
[Feyerick:] The new 3-D animated movie "Rio" flew off with the box office this weekend. The film about birds on a Brazilian adventure took in an estimated $40 million. It's the biggest opening weekend for any film in the U.S. this year. The sequel "Scream IV" came in second, with just over $19 million, and "Hop" took third with just over $11 million. Nearly a year after the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf, much of the oil is gone. Heavy machinery and workers have cleaned beaches for months, so how did they do? Well, CNN's Rob Marciano gives us a progress report from the Gulf.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] It was a year ago this week when the deepwater horizon rig exploded about 15 miles southeast of the Louisiana coastline, spewing over 200,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It's been a long 12 months working on that spill, cleaning it up. That job is not done. [voice-over]: The U.S. Coast Guard leads a reduced, but still formidable clean-up force.
[Commander Dan Lauer, Deputy Incident Commander, Uscg:] The height in July, we were approaching somewhere around 48,000 responders. Today we are just probably under about 2,000 responders.
[Marciano:] Now, after a long year, progress is visible in the water and on the shore.
[Unidentified Male:] This auger picks up the sand from the beach at a prescribed depth.
[Marciano:] In Alabama and Florida, these land sharks have been deep- cleaning the sand all winter long. [on camera]: It's amazing how clean that is.
[Tom Mahan, Florida Director Of Operations, Bp:] It's beautiful. Florida beaches are spectacular.
[Marciano:] The goal is to get the beaches back to their pre-oil spill beauty. But layers of oil still exist deep in the sand, and these machines are only allowed to dig down six inches in this wildlife-protected area. [on camera]: So there's a lot more going on in the sand.
[Mahan:] It is. It's very alive. It's a very active substrate. It's very diverse. What we can see is a lot of other critters, literally, that are below us that will dry this whole system.
[Marciano:] These shores are also nesting grounds for some protected shore birds and endangered turtles. I got to handle a few sea turtles rescued from the oil spill last year. They are truly remarkable creatures. [on camera]: Turtles that are born on this beach, do they come back and nest on this beach?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, it's pretty amazing. They imprints in this area by virtue of when they hatch.
[Marciano:] So they don't really have a choice. This is their nesting ground oil or not, they're going to come back here?
[Unidentified Male:] This is their habitat and home absolutely.
[Marciano:] The beach is also shared by tourists who will see less of everything this summer.
[Mahan:] The visitors who come to the beach will see beach and won't see people in vest and equipment and shovels coming along and cleaning. We will do enough inspection to make sure the beaches are clean, but that's all they'll see.
[Marciano:] The heavy equipment will be pulled, too. Environmentalists are somewhat encouraged.
[Jason Case, Florida Environmental Coordinator:] I do feel good about the partnership and the progress that we've made. I don't think the job is done, though, by any means.
[Marciano:] Nowhere is that more evident than in Louisiana's marshes at the heart of this fragile ecosystem. Here thick oil still remains and the cleanup will go on for months, if not years. [on camera]: These beaches looked phenomenal compared to a year ago, but the story on wildlife, the impact from the oil spill, that continues. Just this January 1st, there had been a huge number of dead dolphins and turtles that have washed up on these beaches possibly linked to the oil spill. What's going to happen to wildlife in the next 12 months, the next decade? We still don't know. Rob Marciano, CNN, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
[Feyerick:] And as the nation prepares to mark the first anniversary since the disaster, CNN is going to bring you an in-depth look at the Gulf oil spill. Look for CNN's special reports throughout all of our programming this week. Well, have you ever been waiting for flying cars and space tourism to enter the high-tech decade? Get ready. The future is now.

[Sambolin:] The creator of McAfee anti-virus software is wanted for questioning in a murder case, if you can believe it.
[Berman:] This is a weird one, too. Police in Belize say they want to talk to John McAfee in connection with the shooting death of his neighbor. So far, they say McAfee is nowhere to be found. Richard Roth following the developments from New York. Richard, there are reports of tension between McAfee and the guy who is dead, McFall. What more do you know about that?
[Richard Roth, Cnn Correspondent:] It may come down to dogs, although there could be other reasons. Look, he's not the main suspect yet. This is John McAfee, the pioneering anti-virus software millionaire, sold it out in the '90s to Intel. And his neighbor Gregory Fall had reportedly complained about the barking of McAfee's dogs and that they come on to his property. He turns up face up in a pull of blood, gunshot victim. McAfee in hiding, the police are saying they want to question him. He wasn't exactly living a suit and tie life down there, goatee, eccentric, entrepreneur type, allegedly had hidden in a cardboard box when police came looking for him in April in Belize, according to a police spokesman in Belize, Central American nation. This is an island situation, off the coast in Belize. He had hidden in a box, put sand on top of him, so they couldn't find him. They found a lot of drugs, a lot of guns on his property.
[Sambolin:] And some questionable dealings there as well in Belize. What do we know about that?
[Roth:] Well, he may be linked to people who the police want to question. He really had a lot of hobbies. He liked to fly in low altitude open cockpit planes. He was very into yoga. He had a mansion in Colorado. He had a lot of different interests. But one reporter or friend who talked to reporters back here and someone who talked to Wired.com said they thought he was very likely to possibly end up dead within the year. They didn't get guy vibe from him, McAfee.
[Sambolin:] Wow.
[Roth:] But again, no charges yet.
[Berman:] A strange, complicated life of his own, no doubt. Richard Roth, thanks for being here with us this morning.
[Sambolin:] Thank you.
[Berman:] It is 15 minutes after the hour. A lot of news going on this morning, Christine Romans here with that.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] A lot of news, indeed. Thanks, you guys. A new twist this morning to the David Petraeus sex scandal. The Pentagon says General John Allen, the top American commander in Afghanistan, he's under investigation for sending potentially inappropriate e-mails to a woman named Jill Kelly. Jill Kelly is the woman in the Petraeus case who said to have received threatening e- mails from Petraeus' biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell. A massive and deadly explosion in Indianapolis remains a mystery. There are new pictures of the neighborhood homes that were destroyed in that blast over the weekend simply devastating. Dozens of other homes were damaged. Two people were killed, seven others injured. A bomb has been ruled out. And authorities say there were no reports of a gas leak prior to that explosion. The puppeteer behind Elmo on "Sesame Street" taking a leave of absence over allegations he had an inappropriate relationship with a teenage boy. Kevin Clash, his accuser, who is now 23, claims he had, quote, "a relationship" with Clash started when he was 16. Clash issued a statement saying they did have a relationship but it was between two consenting adults. Monday night football, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime, 16-13. The Chiefs tied the game in a field goal at the end of regulation. But a Matt Cassel interception sent the Steelers up set them up for the game winning three pointer in OT. The win could be costly. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger left the game with a shoulder injury after being sacked in the third quarter.
[Berman:] Yes, Pittsburgh holding its breath on the wellbeing of Ben Roethlisberger shoulder, no doubt.
[Sambolin:] All right. Thank you, Christine. It's 16 minutes past the hour. It is time for your "Early Reads", your local news that is making national headlines. First, eyes wide shut. Vernon Loeb, "The Washington Post" reporter who co-wrote Paula Broadwell's book about General Petraeus, says he was dumbfounded by their affair. Loeb who spent 16 months working on the book with Broadwell wrote an op-ed that was posted last night, saying, quote, "On rare occasions, her good looks and close access would prompt a colleague to raise an eyebrow about their relationship. But I never took it seriously."
[Berman:] It feels like there are 1,000 more shoes to drop on this story. Man. "The Seattle Times," rescuers will continue their search for two stranded snowboarders on Mt. Rainier. That's the Washington state. They say they spotted the men last night but because of darkness and bad weather, they were forced away. Derek Tyndall and Thomas Dale had to spend the second night on the mountain. They call 911 on Sunday to report they were trapped in a blizzard. Here's hoping they're OK.
[Sambolin:] Yes, indeed. And for an expanded look at our top stories, head to our blog CNN.comEarlyStart.
[Berman:] All right. How about this no gas? No problem. Coming up: a first for Motor Trend's Car of the Year Award.

[Banfield:] We're keeping an eye on two different weather extremes that are unfolding now. Explosive there's really no other way to explain this other than explosive wildfires out west. And the rain, where it needs to be, isn't. It's over there on the Southeast Coast. The big concern is the fast-moving wildfire. It's called the High Park fire. It's raging in Northern Colorado, just 15 miles west of Fort Collins. So far, bad news to report here. One person has already been reportedly killed. It has burned 43,000 acres. Think about that for a minute, 43,000 acres. It's destroyed more than 100 buildings, all of this in a few days. Five hundred firefighters are now on the ground trying to get this monster under control. Chad Myers monitoring all of this. You would have to work 48 hours straight to really get the story of this fire, but 48 hours, Chad, that's not a lot of time to get to the size it is now.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Right. Forty-eight hours ago to 24 hours ago, the fire doubled in size. It went from 18,000 all the way up to 36,000 acres. That was one night, a 24-hour period, 18,000 acres. Last night, the 24-hour period starting from now over to about this point in time, it was only 7,000 acres worth of growth. So it's slowed in growth, but that's only because the wind died off a bit. It is still growing. It is relatively not contained. They're saying some containment, which means they have probably put out some of the fires around some of the buildings. That's it. The fires in the forest, not contained at all. Making fire breaks right now. But look at those pictures. They are stunning. Me and Colorado go way back because I lived in Nebraska for so long. There are beetles in these mountains in Colorado and Utah and New Mexico that are literally killing the forests and these dead trees are fuel to the fire. It hasn't rained for a long time there and, when you get winds to blow like we had over the weekend at 40 or 50 miles per hour, there simply was nothing the firefighters could do. It's called a Type One fire, which means Larimer County and I talked to Larimer County, Colorado, yesterday, last night around 8:00 they said that they asked for federal assistance. It's almost like a flood area asking for FEMA. When ask you for federal assistance, you get federal firefighters, you get federal planes, you get some money. You also get men and women on the ground that really know what they're doing, fighting these fires. They are specialized fire jumpers and that's what you get. Forty-three-thousand acres, as you said, divide that by 640, that's about 70 square miles. The wind shifted yesterday. That was some good news, but take a look at this. This is what the fire looks like. This is the fire line from Fort Collins right here, Denver way down below here. Look at how ragged it is. Think about how many miles it must be to try to fight all of that fire, all the way up and down all these relatively rugged mountains here. So you have fires in the valleys, you have fires going downhill, you have fires going uphill and then you have wind blowing the fires back on the firefighters. What a dangerous situation. Not as bad today as it was yesterday, not as bad yesterday as it was over the weekend, so we're getting better, but I don't see any rain in the forecast. In fact, this lightning that caused this fire could actually maybe have a partner later on in the week as more dry lightning occurs with more thunderstorms possible. What that means is that there's so much lightning coming down that it can't rain enough to put those fires out and so it's called dry lightning. It could cause more fires.
[Banfield:] Yet, Chad, all of that rain is deluging the Southeast.
[Myers:] That's right.
[Banfield:] They're really suffering.
[Myers:] That's a secondary story, isn't it? We talked about this yesterday. Get rid of this. There we go. All the way down to New Orleans, it was...
[Banfield:] What a mess.
[Myers:] ... across parts of Florida over the weekend, they had 20 inches of rain. Now, it hasn't rained there in 48 hours, so that flooding is essentially gone. Damage is still there, but the flooding, the waters are gone. It's the water, it's the rain, it's the heavy wind. Three hundred wind reports of damage yesterday from Arkansas through Missouri and Louisiana and now that damage is heading down into Louisiana, Baton Rouge, all the way down to about Sulfur, maybe even towards Beaumont, Texas. We'll have to see.
[Banfield:] All right. Chad, keep an eye on things. Obviously, that fire story seems to change by the hour. If there's a change in that, make sure you bring it to us, if you would. Thank you, Chad Myers. OK, so, if you feel like you're a bit poorer than you used to be, you are, more than likely. This is just one of those unfortunate stories. Federal Reserve saying the average American's net worth has fallen sharply since the 1990s. Ready for this? Alison Kosik reporting from New York. We are way behind where we should be. So if we feel that it's true, tell me what the actual numbers are, Alison.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Yes. This is what is interesting. We feel it, right? But these are the numbers that are so stunning that the typical American family, Ashleigh, lost almost 40 percent of its wealth between 2007 and 2010. This was during the recession, so that means a family's median net worth, meaning what the family owns minus the debt, in 2007, was somewhere around $126,000. Guess what? By 2010, it fell to $77,000, back to a level we have not seen since the 1990s. So guess what? The recession managed to wipe out almost decades of savings and investments for families. And this is because we've watched home values tumble, massive layoffs took away our income and this affected everybody from the young to the old, whether you were educated or weren't educated. But here's a little bit of good news. It is getting a little better. Americans net worth has recovered a bit since 2010 because people are finding work again. Housing prices, housing values are bouncing back just a little bit. But any way you look at it, Ashleigh, a typical American family is poorer than before the recession. Ashleigh?
[Banfield:] So, Alison, most of this having to do with houses, which makes me wonder, those people in the southeast and Nevada, California, where they got hit hardest, some people are doing well in housing, but how bad is the lag for those who suffered worst?
[Kosik:] And income factors into this a great deal, not just housing. This fed survey shows the decline was biggest among the highly educated families in the south and the west regions of the country. What causes income to go down? Unemployment does. The jobless rate was 5 percent at end of 2007. It was 9.4 percent at the end of 2010. Today, it's at 8.2 percent. The fed also saying incomes fell for families who run farms or small businesses or who are self employed. This is a result of the economic downturn we are still recovering from Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] One of these days, you and I will be on the air together laughing and enjoying the good times, won't we?
[Kosik:] One day.
[Banfield:] I'm tired of this.

[Whitfield:] South Carolina's primary is exactly one week away. It's the first contest in the South and one that could dramatically change the presidential race. The candidates are all over the state today. CNN political reporter Peter Hamby is live in Greenville, South Carolina. So Peter, a new American Research Group poll shows Gingrich running neck in neck with Romney in South Carolina, Gingrich just four points behind Romney right now. So is it, I guess, too early to say that the Lowcountry is becoming kind of Gingrich country as well?
[Peter Hamby, Cnn Political Reporter:] You know, there's a lot of people in South Carolina frankly saw this poll and wondered if you know, how spot on it was. Polls have been kind of all over the place here in South Carolina. Our CNN poll last week, which is an eternity ago in politics, had Romney with a much larger lead. Look, I think Romney is probably lower than polls some polls show him to be. He's still the frontrunner here. Gingrich and Santorum, Rick Santorum, are those two conservative candidates vying to be the challenger. If Gingrich becomes that person and beats Romney here, it could have a profound impact on the race because, look, voters Republican voters against Romney have been looking for someone to beat Romney at some point and be that viable anti-Romney challenger. If Gingrich does beat him here in South Carolina, maybe it becomes a two-person race between Romney and the anti-Romney down the road and maybe conservatives can find a way to derail Mitt Romney, Fred.
[Whitfield:] Is it that social conservative vote that's going to make the difference here?
[Hamby:] I think it probably will. In a six-person race someone like Mitt Romney can win with 25 percent of the vote, but six in 10 voters here call themselves Born Again Christians or Evangelicals. I'm here in the upstate of South Carolina, in Greenville County, which is the biggest Republican county in the state. Rick Santorum was here earlier today campaigning, and he made the case that conservatives really need to get behind him to stop Mitt Romney. Take a listen.
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] The problem is, the person who's leading in the polls in the in the primary is someone who can't make that case because he passed a bill similar to Obamacare, and said and still says today it was the right thing to do. Well, if it he said it was right for Massachusetts. Well, what do you think Obama's going to do with that? Oh, it's right for Massachusetts, and and he said at times it was it would be right for the country. They're going to destroy him. That issue will be gone.
[Hamby:] So that's the case to social conservatives that Rick Santorum is making, and again, it's a compelling case to a certain segment of the Republican Party. The problem for Santorum and for Newt Gingrich is that social conservatives like both of them and by consequence are dividing up the conservative vote, again giving Mitt Romney the space to possibly cobble together a win here without getting a majority of Republicans as he did in the other primary and caucus states, Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right. You know, Peter, let's talk about what's going on in Texas today. There's a big gathering of Christian conservative leaders there. What is this two-day meeting all about?
[Hamby:] Yes, this is a similar topic. You have some anxiety among conservative leaders, among religious leaders, among party activists about Mitt Romney. Is he conservative enough for us to get behind? A lot of conservatives feel burned by John McCain last time. They thought he didn't represent a bold enough contrast to the Democratic nominee and he couldn't really rally the Republican base in a general election and that's why they lost. So in Texas you have people like former Focus On the Family leader James Dobson, Don Wildman a host of conservative leaders gathered there to kind of strategize about should we get behind a single candidate in the race. They say this isn't against Romney. We're just trying to find the best candidate for conservatives to get behind. But again, we're still looking to see whether these conservatives might pick either Santorum or Gingrich. They seem to be the two candidates that they're talking about.
[Whitfield:] All right, Peter, you're covering a lot of ground, but this is, you know, really do or die in this stage of the presidential race. Let's talk about Virginia now and a judge's ruling, a federal judge's ruling against four GOP candidates that want to be on that ballot on March.
[Hamby:] Yes. This is my home state, Virginia, and they have very, very tight ballot rules there. You need 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot, 400 signatures in each of the Congressional districts in the state. Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum did not make the cut. Most of them submitted the petitions but they were thrown out because there were some flaws in their signatures. Basically this means that on Super Tuesday Virginia has 46 delegates at stake and the only two candidates on the ballot are going to be Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. And there were jokes on Twitter all day yesterday that, well, it looks like Mitt Romney just won the Virginia primary because, you know, he's he's the frontrunner in that state and most other states and frankly, compared to him and if you compare him and Ron Paul, more Republicans view Romney as electable than Ron Paul. So it could be a walk in Virginia on March 6 for Mitt Romney, Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right, Peter Hamby in Greenville, South Carolina, thanks so much. Appreciate that. And of course you want to join us every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 Eastern Time, when we dedicate an entire hour to the presidential contenders in this 2012 election. All right, meantime, coming up today at 4:00 Eastern Time, we'll talk to Tony Perkins. He's the moderator of that big conservative Christian gathering in Texas. We'll ask him which candidate the group just might be backing for president. And straight ahead, race, religion and the removal of a body from a cemetery. Our legal guys will be weighing in on that case, straight ahead. Next, how to tackle credit card debt. Our Christine Romans has an action plan to help you.

[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] And it's not clear how much control he has Wolf.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Fascinating, fascinating information. Brian, thanks for that report. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now: Cars and people crowd the streets of Gaza to celebrate the new cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but how long will it hold? I will ask a Hamas spokesman what he expects in the hours and days ahead. And a reminder that many Israelis are still in danger. A public bus in Tel Aviv bombed just hours before the truce was announced. I will ask the Israeli prime the Israeli president, I should say, Shimon Peres, if a cease-fire might give Hamas more influence in the region. Stand by for our interview at this historic moment in the Middle East. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're keeping a close watch on the situation in Gaza right now as well as the situation in Southern Israel four hours into the cease- fire between Israel and Hamas. Here's a look at the situation in Gaza first. People have been celebrating the truce agreement, a break in Israel's deadly eight-day air offensive against Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's trying to give the cease-fire a chance, though Israel says militants in Gaza have fired at least five rockets since it went into effect. Netanyahu warns a ground war of Gaza is still an option if if the truce fails.
[Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:] I know there are those who expect an even more intense military response, and that may perhaps be needed. But at this time, the right thing for the state of Israel is to exhaust this opportunity to obtain a long-term cease-fire or an ongoing cease-fire. As the prime minister, I have the supreme responsibility to take the right steps to safeguard our security. That is what I have always done and that is what I will continue to do.
[Blitzer:] The cease-fire was announced by Egypt's foreign minister and the visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Cairo. Both Egypt and the U.S. played critical roles in these negotiations. The agreement was reached despite the bombing of a public bus in Tel Aviv earlier in the day; 24 people were injured. No one was killed. Western leaders strongly condemned it as a terrorist attack. I have been talking to top Israeli officials about the cease- fire. Now let's get the Hamas point of view. We're joined on the phone by the Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan. He's in Beirut. Mr. Hamdan, thanks once for joining us. You joined us yesterday before there was an agreement. Is Hamas now prepared to stop all shelling of rockets, missiles, firepower into Israel?
[Osama Hamdan, Hamas Spokesman:] Well, thank you very much for this question. In fact, we have agreed on
[Blitzer:] So there's no more shelling, no more rockets going into Israel. What other commitments were you asked to make by the Egyptians, who acted as the mediator?
[Hamdan:] Well, in fact, if the Israelis continue fulfilling their commitments, respecting what they have agreed on, not attacking Gaza, lifting the siege
[Blitzer:] Have you made a commitment it's a little unclear to me to stop some of these weapons, the rockets that have been smuggled into Gaza through those tunnels, especially missiles coming in from Iran?
[Hamdan:] Well, I think the commitments are clear, the commitments of both sides are not going to attack the other side through the borders. And that's clear. If you want to talk about other commitments, I think this is something to be negotiated another time. This time, we have negotiated the cease-fire. And those were the commitments, no attacks, both sides, opening the crossing border, lifting the siege. That's it. So if anyone is asking about any other commitments, we didn't negotiate that. No one has negotiated this. If that was on the table, to clear, there is a statement in the agreement if there is anything to be discussed, it's supposed to be put on the table and discussed later on. So we did not discuss the points which you have mentioned.
[Blitzer:] We heard from a spokeswoman for the Israeli military say that there were five what she described as relatively minor incidents, rockets coming in, since the agreement went into effect. But I want to make it clear, does Hamas completely control all of Gaza, or are there other splinter groups that might be launching some of those rockets that Hamas perhaps doesn't necessarily control?
[Hamdan:] Well, in fact, the movements who participated in the negotiations or
[Blitzer:] There was a terrorist bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv today; 24 Israelis were injured. No one was killed. I know that Hamas issued a statement earlier praising this, although denying any responsibility. What, if any, role did Hamas perhaps have to play in this incident in Tel Aviv?
[Hamdan:] Well, as you have mentioned, someone else proclaimed the responsibility of this operation. We are in the situation that the Israelis are bombing us and the Palestinians are resisting that. Now we are in a different situation. And according to this new situation, we have to see if anything has been part of the agreement or not. And I think that asking such questions will not be useful, because the agreement was clear. And we are saying more also clear we will not break down or violate this agreement. If someone else who was not part of that violated that, I think that will bring the blame on him, not on any other parties.
[Blitzer:] One final question, Mr. Hamdan, before I let you go. If the cease-fire holds over the next several weeks, do you hope it will lead perhaps to real peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, leading towards what is called a two-state solution, Israel alongside Palestine?
[Hamdan:] Well, I hope that cease-fire can maintain itself and we can maintain it for the needed time in order to make real change in the situation. In fact, the Palestinian people are looking forward to have their rights and to achieve their goals of creating their independent sovereign state. And they are trying to and they are hoping to do that and the minimum rights which is supposed to be big. And I assure you, if they can do that by the help of the international community more easier, they will do it. But at the same time, they are ready to resist, to fight, to strike
[Blitzer:] Osama Hamdan is a spokesman for Hamas. Mr. Hamdan, once again, thank you for joining us. Let's hope this agreement, the cease-fire works and eventually this peace process can get back off the ground. Appreciate it very much. The White House is making it clear that President Obama strongly encouraged the Israeli prime minister to agree to the cease-fire. In fact, they have just released these photos of the president on the phone with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, as well as a picture of him talking to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about sending her to the Middle East. Let's bring in our foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty. She's over at the White House watching this story for us. Jill, you have learned more about the president's direct role behind the scenes. What are you picking up?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Yes. Wolf, the White House of course is praising Secretary Clinton, saying she did exceptional work on or all of this. But they are also making it clear that the president, as one senior official told me, was involved in this shuttle diplomacy, not actually physically, of course, the way Secretary Clinton was, but certainly with those phone calls, as you pointed out. In fact, this official said that it was really the last two phone calls that the president made, he would argue, that clinched the deal, that made the difference. And those were the phone calls to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and also to the Egyptian president, Morsi. They also point out they gave some background details that during this trip, even though we were initially told that the president was being briefed by Secretary Clinton and his national security adviser, we're told now that he was on the phone a lot, of course, almost every day, as one official put it, to Benjamin Netanyahu, a lot of conversations, three in fact in the last 24 hours, with President Morsi. And that Morsi relationship is of course very important. It's a burgeoning relationship and they say based a lot on trust.
[Blitzer:] Certainly is. Beyond the cease-fire, which is critically important people are going to stop dying if this cease-fire holds what about each side? What else did they gain?
[Dougherty:] I think starting with Israel, you would have to say they got the agreement to help stop getting allowing those weapons into Gaza, especially the weapons that come from Iran, and then also the extra money pushing for extra funding for Iron Dome, which has saved a lot of lives, and other systems. Then if you looked at let's say the Egyptians, I think this role that White House is stressing a lot, the relationship with Morsi, his personal role, Morsi's personal role, is going to be very important in the future. There was a lot of criticism of Egypt on Capitol Hill. That could help to salvage money certainly. And then also for Hamas, you would have to say not targeting individuals, that would be very important for Hamas Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Very important, indeed. Jill Dougherty at the White House for us, thanks very much. For the first time in several years, there's been a major terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. We're going live with the latest on the bus explosion right in the heart of the Israeli commercial center. Plus, my interview with the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, and his take on the idea of making the former U.S. President Bill Clinton the next special envoy for the Middle East.
[Shimon Peres, Israeli President:] I have the highest regard for President Clinton. I think he's an outstanding person. He's the most sunny president I can think of.

[Costello:] Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. I'm Carol Costello live in Boston. A look at the headlines now. A 41-year-old Mississippi man will appear in federal court tomorrow, charged in connection with poisonous letters sent to President Obama and two others. James Everett Dutschke was arrested yesterday in Tupelo, Mississippi, charged with making and possessing the toxin ricin as a biological weapon. A foggy day turned dangerous fast as floodwaters took over the roads in Texas. Fire officials in Houston had to rescue 150 drivers whose cars got stuck. "The Houston Chronicle" says some areas got as much as eight inches of rain. And words some words, I should say, for air travelers. Air traffic control staff will be back to work in full force by tonight, hopefully ending those long delays at some airports. The FAA calling off the employee furloughs after Congress approved a bill. The president has been unable to sign the document, though, because of misspellings. But the president does plan to do that as soon as the spelling error is fixed. Twenty four thousand runners hit the streets this morning for the Oklahoma City Marathon. The race started after a moment of silence for the victims of the Oklahoma City bombings in 1995 and as you might expect, security was really tight after the attacks here in Boston. Many runners wore t-shirts and Red Sox to show support for the victims and some who didn't finish the race in Boston, they did cross the finish line in Oklahoma City. For some, a big event like that, like another marathon, is the way to heal after Boston, but for others, it could be terrifying. How can we stay safe at special events when thousands of people pack into arenas, parks, and cities? Nick Valencia has more for you.
[Nick Valencia, Cnn Correspondent:] Almost two weeks since the Boston bombings, a new Gallup poll reports half of the Americans believe a terrorist attack in the United States could be imminent. Forty percent worry that a family member will be the victim of an attack. With the anxiety of another attack still fresh in the minds of many Americans, exactly how security may change at major U.S. events is as relevant a question as ever, and while total security cannot be guaranteed, especially in large crowds, experts say the risk of an attack can certainly be reduced.
[Unidentified Male:] It's all about risk management.
[Valencia:] As the director of the National Center for Spectators Sports Safety and Security since 2006, Lou Marciani has trained thousands of first responders and universities to increase sports security awareness. For him, the Boston marathon bombing was a lesson learned in preparedness.
[Lou Marciani, Director, National Center For Spectator Sports Safety And Security:] We work so hard in this country, as I said, and to harden stadiums and arenas, so people look at maybe softer targets. And if you look at access to events like marathons, cycling, et cetera, it's hard to maintain a high level of security.
[Valencia:] And as tens of thousands prepare for this weekend's New Orleans Jazz Festival and next weekend's Kentucky Derby, that's exactly what officials will try to do, but even with the tightened security making the crowd feel totally safe post Boston may be the biggest challenge.
[Costello:] Nick Valencia joins us live now. Nick, tell us some more of the precautions that officials are taking at sports arenas and other venues across the nation.
[Valencia:] Well, according to Marciani, who we featured there in that report, he says he expects there to be a tighter perimeter at the start and finish of these races and marathons across the United States. He tells me, Carol, that the most difficult thing to secure are these outdoor events where there's no controlled access. For that reason, expect there to be a conversation very soon about how to better screen backpacks at these events Carol.
[Costello:] Nick Valencia reporting live today. And as you know, I'm live here in Boston at this spontaneous memorial. That just popped up in Copley Square. And take a look at all of the people, thousands and thousands of people have flooded the area this weekend. I think Boston officials are a little surprised by this. They didn't expect this to be an area of such great interest. One of the people who is visiting the memorial is my new friend. Tell me your name.
[Unidentified Female:] Kim.
[Costello:] Where are you from, Kim?
[Unidentified Female:] Waltham.
[Costello:] And why did you come down today?
[Unidentified Female:] Just to pay tribute to all of the families who lost someone or had someone injured.
[Costello:] And when you look around at people signing the wall that spontaneously sprung up or the flowers and the teddy bears and running shoes left here, what goes through your mind?
[Unidentified Female:] It's really sad, really sad.
[Costello:] Does Boston feel kind of normal to you now or will it take some more time?
[Unidentified Female:] I think it's getting back to normal. You can see from the crowds here that everybody is making an effort to come out and walk down the streets, that all of the stores have been closed and they're trying to make them come back to live again.
[Costello:] I know the mayor was urging Bostonians to come out to Boylston Street and frequent these stores that have been closed down for the past several days because of the bombings and spend some money and show a real I don't know, I guess consumer support, a good idea?
[Unidentified Female:] Very good idea, very good. You know, just to bring the money back into the stores that were closed. You know, for about a week, you know, bring the business back into Boston.
[Costello:] Thank you very much, Kim. I'll let you get back to it. I appreciate that. You know, some of the businesses that were closed, especially some of the larger restaurants lost $2.3 million because of the closures. So they appreciate any monetary support that people can give. I have walked around this area, and you would not believe the people. You're walking shoulder to shoulder. It's a beautiful sight, and it's a beautiful day in Boston. When we come back, we're going to talk about all things legal including what is in store for the suspect who is now in a medical facility in a federal prison. We'll be right back.

[Quest:] Welcome back to Berlin. Angela Merkel says she is still searching to find what more can be done to settle and solve the eurozone problems. Now, the ESFS has been downgraded, the question will be whether the German government has to stump up more money so that the fund can get back its Triple-A rating. There have been calls for her to show greater solidarity with Europe. What is quite clear, Angela Merkel is probably now, the single most important politician in Europe, and so much of the continent's future economic success relies on the views that she has, as our correspondent in Berlin, Diana Magnay, now explains.
[Magnay:] As the Michelin starred chefs get ready for another night in Berlin's hottest new pop-up dining experience, Pret a Diner, over by the bar, a face gazes heavenward with sacral serenity, seeking divine guidance, perhaps, on monetary matters. Recognize the German chancellor? Her third eye, the same symbol you'll find on the US dollar bill, fitting as she's gracing the walls of Berlin's old mint. Olivia Steele runs Pret a Diner and commissioned Portuguese street artist Vhils to create the project's signature piece in Berlin.
[Olivia Steele, Creative Director, Pret A Diner:] Coming from Portugal, he's not very fond of her. We had this discussion, and he asked if he could do his interpretation of her, which was half Angela, half skull.
[Magnay:] And you said no.
[Steele:] No. Not in Germany.
[Magnay:] That's because whatever the feeling in Europe's south, many Germans not naturally predisposed to her party's social conservatism are giving Frau Merkel the thumbs up. Like curator Johann von Lanzenauer, also involved in the Pret a Diner concept.
[Johann Haehling Von Lanzenauer, Circle Culture Gallery:] I have a lot of respect for her work, and for her attitude, especially at first to be a woman, to go so far and with so much strength. I think she's a very sustainable politician, as she is like her research person from her former profession.
[Magnay:] So, who is the woman who's calling the shots in Europe, the stronger half of the Merkel-Sarkozy power duo, at least the one with most of the cash. Her actual other half, chemistry professor Joachim Sauer, shows up rarely. She's said she likes to make him breakfast in the mornings in the modest home they chose over the chancellor's official residence. Simple, unpretentious, and fiercely bright, say journalists who've traveled with Mrs. Merkel on foreign trips.
[Andreas Theyssen, "financial Times Deutschland":] She's thinking in long terms, that's the reason why she, in current affairs, she's very often keeping quiet. She doesn't say anything when everybody's expecting her to say something, but she first wants to see what could be the outcome of a process.
[Angela Merkel, Chancellor Of Germany:] Today, you can trust me to do everything in my power to strengthen the euro.
[Magnay:] And it seems that most Germans do. In the latest poll from German broadcaster ZDF, 66 percent of Germans felt she was doing a good job in the euro crisis, up from 45 percent in October last year.
[Unidentified Male:] Just one word to describe her qualities? Consequence. Brilliant.
[Magnay:] Yes?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Magnay:] "So, I would just like to say that Mrs. Merkel is OK," this woman stops to say.
[Theyssen:] She wants to give them the impression "I'm not like Helmut Kohl did, I'm not giving away money to Europe without any reason. I'm saving German money, but only when they are doing their job, then we give them our money."
[Magnay:] A committed European, but not at any price. Santa Angela to the Germans, perhaps. Maybe more like a punishing angel to the rest. Diana Magnay, CNN, Berlin.
[Quest:] Diana joins me now to talk about this and to put it into some wider perspective. The question not only of what Mrs. Merkel does outside Germany, but also what she does inside Germany. She was very unpopular at one stage.
[Magnay:] Well, exactly. I think the public, the electorate is always fickle, and last year, she was a lot less popular than she is now. People haven't been particularly impressed by what she's doing domestically, and it really has been the euro crisis and her handling of it and people's feeling that she is defending Germany's interests and the German taxpayer against a Europe who doesn't feel good about her. She's working in their favor, basically.
[Quest:] Is there nobody here who, though, puts the other point of view that suggests actually she might be driving the bus over the cliff.
[Magnay:] The kind of point of view that Standard and Poor's just put out there that her policies are exactly the root of the problem. Sure, there are.
[Quest:] There's a lot of people out there who do say the austerity in German the austerity being imposed, more people on countries like Greece, is actually the wrong way to actually get the crisis solved.
[Magnay:] Which is why you're now seeing Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy at their last press conference start to talk about growth. But you do wonder whether they're just beginning to pay lip service to it, whether this is something that they it's new rhetoric, basically, all this growth talk.
[Quest:] Toward me to what we might expect to hear her say when she opens the speech opens at the world economic forum on next Wednesday. She's going to be giving the keynote speech. She's got to set out an agenda of why the eurozone is not a lost cause.
[Magnay:] She's got to try and restore confidence from investors worldwide, say, "We do have the situation under control." So, she's going to be talking about this fiscal pact that they have to have sealed, essentially, after Daraa. She's going to be talking about the fact that hopefully by that time they will have secured some kind of deal on Greece. Those are the two big factors that she's got to make sure that she's got nailed.
[Quest:] If there was an election tomorrow, would she win?
[Magnay:] Right now, she'd be looking good, yes.
[Quest:] Which is extraordinary, bearing in mind from where she came. Diana, many thanks, indeed, for joining us. Diana Magnay here in Berlin with me. If you can hear the wind blowing, I assure you, it's very windy and rainy here in Berlin tonight, a bit like the economy in the rest of the eurozone. More QUEST MEANS BUSINESS after the break.

[Anna Coren, Cnn International:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. Hello. I'm Anna Coren, in Hong Kong. Walking into a diplomatic mission in Myanmar. As the famously closed nation prepares to host the U.S. secretary of state, it's also opened its doors to CNN. Psychiatrists conclude that the Norwegian gunman who killed 77 people in July is criminally insane. And voters line up again on day two of Egypt's historic elections. We'll go live to Tahrir Square. Well, Myanmar, one of the most politically isolated countries, is about to welcome U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton is due to arrive in the country on Wednesday. Few details of her visit have been disclosed. But she'll spend about three days in the country, and during that time, she is scheduled to talk with the president and others, including democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Well, ahead of Clinton's visit, Myanmar's government has opened access to some members of the international news media, including CNN. Well, our Paula Hancocks has been taking advantage of the opportunity to speak with people we don't normally hear from, and she joins us now from Yangon. Paula, tell us exactly where you are and what you have experienced so far. It seems we have lost connection with Paula Hancocks. We will try to reestablish that and get back to her shortly. Well, Myanmar's flickers of progress are credited to the new civilian government. This man, Thein Sein, became president in March after controversial elections. Well, since then, the country has seen some significant changes. As we've mentioned, Myanmar has eased media restrictions. CNN, it is in there, and we will cross to our Paula Hancocks. And last month it released 200 political prisoners, although 2,000 more are believed to still be behind bars. The government has also started talking with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The military junta kept her under house arrest for many years. Well, now her National League for Democracy says it will re-register as a political party and participate in the next election. Well, Myanmar's neighbors have also acknowledged its progress. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will let Myanmar chair the group in 2014. Let's now turn our attention to Iran. And protesters in the Iranian capital, Tehran, stormed into the U.K. Embassy on Tuesday. The group broke down the door and took down the British flag, replacing it with an Iranian one. They also threw stones at the embassy's windows. On Sunday, the Iranian parliament voted to expel the ambassador and reduce diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom. Well, now to Egypt and the elections. You are looking at live pictures from Cairo's Tahrir Square of people queuing to vote. It is the second day of polling in the country's landmark parliamentary elections. Citizens are voting for members of the lower house of parliament, which will draft a new constitution. Logistical problems and illegal campaigning caused some problems on Monday, but the head of Egypt's election committee is promising a smoother voting process on Tuesday. Egyptians have dozens of political parties and thousands of candidates to choose from in this election. For the very latest on the polling, we're joined now by CNN's Jim Clancy, who joins us from Cairo. Jim, tell us about voter turnout today.
[Jim Clancy, Cnn International Correspondent:] Anna, we're right here in the middle of Tahrir Square, and we've been watching a very calm day. You can see people are relaxed, and they feel like they've accomplished something. No, the turnout today is not as heavy as it was yesterday, but the reports that we're getting back from election officials indicate that it has been heavy, indeed. Turnout, much greater than in years passed. And little surprise. As you noted there, you've got more than 6,000 candidates, you have more than 40 political parties, all vying for a part in this. But the question in Tahrir Square today is a little bit different, Anna. The question here, as things are going very calmly, is it time to pull back from Tahrir Square? There's a lot of people inside here, and we just talked to some of the activists that are living inside these tents, and learned from them there's a sense that the whole thing has been infiltrated, that some people inside are revolutionaries, still, but not all of them. And it's creating problems. They're having problems with theft. We saw somebody frog-marched off the square a short time ago. People stopped him from stealing cell phones. And a lot of them missing. We talked to one activist today who said he's lost two cell phones in the last week alone. So, they're wondering, would it be better to pull back? Would it be better to calm things down and give what the government is doing a chance to work, give the elections a chance to work? There is a lack of trust, Anna. They admit that. But they say we'll wait and see perhaps what the government decides to do, what the supreme council of the armed forces decides to do next. Will it release political prisoners? What would be its response? That is going to be discussed among all the various groups that are inside here in the coming hours. A very important decision that could be taken here in Egypt. So, for now, back to you. I'll let you know what the topic is. A lot of people still gathered here, but it's been absolutely calm today, and that's a good thing. Back to you Anna.
[Coren:] Yes, Jim, I mean, that is quite extraordinary, isn't it? Because this was a scene of protests and violent clashes with the military last week. Do you think the fact that the election is running smoothly, that this perhaps validates the military's role and their role in this transition period?
[Clancy:] Well, look, the protesters inside feel like they've taken a lot of blame. There's some people many people in Egypt that think that they're part of the problem, not part of the solution. But you've got to remember here, the clashes that have happened in Tahrir Square, it's as if somebody pressed a button to this violence. The last two days, there's been no violence whatsoever. And as a result of that, they wonder if they pull back, what will be the response of this military council that is running affairs? They do not believe that the military should be the one leading the transition to democracy. That, they say, really belongs in civilian hands. But a big question today, what do they do? How do they respond? Can they make things better? Back to you Anna.
[Coren:] All right. Jim Clancy, joining us from Cairo's Tahrir Square. As always, thank you. Well, the Muslim Brotherhood is expected to do well in Egypt's elections. It would follow other Islamist victories in the region. The Justice and Development Party is poised to lead Morocco's new government. Known by its French initials, the PJD, it won the most seats in last week's parliamentary vote. Tunisia held the first Arab Spring elections back in October. The moderate Islamist party that won was previously banned. Well, like the PJD in Morocco, it had to team up with secular parties to form a ruling coalition. Votes are being counted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Monday's presidential and parliamentary election was the second since the country's most recent war officially ended back in 2003. Violence erupted at some polling stations in the strongholds of the two presidential front-runners. The country's election commission called the process "satisfactory." The first results are expected on December 6th. And in Norway, court-appointed psychiatrists say the man who confessed to July's terrorist attacks is insane. Well, Anders Behring Breivik is accused of killing 77 people in a bomb and gun rampage. Police say he'll still stand trial to determine whether he committed the mass murder, but under Norwegian law he cannot be sent to prison, though he could be confined to a mental hospital for the rest of his life. Well, the psychiatrists say Breivik suffers grandiose delusions and found him paranoid and schizophrenic. Tomm Kristiansen from Norway's NRK is on the line from Oslo. And Tom, tell us about this recent finding. What does it all mean?
[Tomm Kristiansen, Journalist:] No, they say he existed in his own universe of delusion where all thoughts were actually controlled by this universe. And he said he didn't kill, but he executed these young people. All in all, it was 77 who were killed, first by bombing the government headquarters, including five ministries and the prime minister's office, and then to the island of Utoya, where he killed one by one of the
[Coren:] Tom, we know that this news broke not so long ago, but what has been the reaction from the families of the victims?
[Kristiansen:] No, they are very disappointed, because they had looked forward to see him getting a sentence for the rest of his life for the act he has committed. And now the psychiatrists say that he is not responsible for it simply because he is insane, and criminal insane, and as such, you can't be judged for an act you have done. But he will probably be kept off the society for the rest of his life, but he will not go and the case will go on, but he will not get a sentence. He will be put into an institution and remain there.
[Coren:] Journalist Tomm Kristiansen, joining us from Oslo, Norway. Thank you for that update. Well, in the past hour, the parent company of American Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. AMR Corporation says the move is being made so it can reduce costs and debt. Well, it's the last large full-fare airline in the United States to seek court protection from creditors. American Airlines and American Eagle say they'll continue to operate as normal through the bankruptcy filling process. Well, ahead on NEWS STREAM, taking the stand. The Leveson inquiry prepares to hear from the men who exposed the phone-hacking scandal that brought a newspaper to its knees. And beyond borders. We take you to Syria, where the foreign media is all but banned as government supporters rally against Arab League sanctions. And tackling climate change. A new report suggests the planet is heating up, but delegates in South Africa are still divided on a solution. Those details coming up.

[Quest:] Fashionistas the world over are training their sights on London this week. Hot on the heels of New York, the five-day fashion week is expected to bring in orders worth more than $155 million. Sir Philip Green's top shop teamed up with Google to showcase its latest collection at the Tate Modern, and Becky Anderson spoke to the British fashion mogul about the tie-up.
[Philip Green, Owner, Arcadia Group:] The young generation, you're going to rest on this, all of them, five of them, six of them, having dinner, and whether they're talking to each other I'm not sure, but everybody's got at least two gadgets in their hands. It's that's where the world's going. So, as a choice, we've got to be involved with the best technology companies, Google.
[Unidenetified Male:] The friendship with Topshop came about in the fall, where Justin Cooke, the imaginative, creative behind Topshop, came in just for a general chat. And the ideas became so concrete and so fast that literally the day after we decided to target the Tate Modern Topshop show as kind of the coming out party for Google Plus and Topshop, showing off what brands can do with the tool set.
[Becky Anderson, Cnn International Correspondent:] Listen, I still want to get behind the scenes. I want to get behind the
[Unidentified Male:] Let's do it.
[Anderson:] scenes for real, so come on, let's do this.
[Justin Cooke, Chief Marketing Officer, Topshop:] I was very fortunate to work on the first-ever kind of live Twitter images from backstage. We've really taken it on a level, so we're going to have live video, you're going to see all the girls are going to be filmed and projected back in the space for the finale. But this is really this is advanced. This is like a film set, so the girls are everything's being captured. And it means you're capturing it here, but you can share it with people wherever on different ways, on topshop.com, when the products arrives in stores six months later, you have all this content, all this excitement, this is what it's about.
[Anderson:] There's an allure about fashion shows that, quite frankly, you'll lose if you let everybody in behind the scenes. Are you worried about that at all?
[Cooke:] No, I think I think
[Anderson:] The magic, that's what we're talking about.
[Cooke:] Yes. But I think, for me, it's I'm looking from the other way. I want to take the magic outwards and share it with everyone, because you don't lose what's in the room. The people still have that. But why would millions of people not get to experience that? Because not everyone can be at the show. I think that's really what we're talking about. I think great brands make an emotional connection with the customer, and there's so much emotion in the room, when the lights go down, when the music changes, and we want to share that with everyone.
[Anderson:] How does this tool set work, and what sort of investment goes into providing the sort of technology overall that will work today?
[Unidentified Male:] The tool set is astoundingly simple. We started to sort of trickle out really this river of content, where you've got the models, Cara and Jourdan, and Topshop themselves sort of just posting photos and videos through the Google Plus stream. You will have a Hangout app that shows people every single look that was shown on the catwalk and have them tell Topshop's buyers, hey, this is what I recommend to you as an everyday consumer what you should put in the store for your fall collection.
[Anderson:] Europe's a tough market at the moment. We all know that. How tough?
[Green:] I wouldn't want to be the chancellor, let's put it that way. It's not simple. When you've had ten years of spend, it's tough. There's no easy solution. So, I think you've got to keep it tight. We've got to be smarter, cleverer. If you talk to any retailer around the globe, everybody would like to have less stores. So, everybody knows in the mix sort of the marketplace itself is changing.
[Anderson:] So, you tweet, you do Facebook, right?
[Green:] Well, they're teaching me.
[Anderson:] Can we just see your phone?
[Green:] No.
[Anderson:] Come on, bring the phone there you go!
[Green:] I wouldn't know how to turn it on.
[Anderson:] That's not his.
[Green:] That's mine, you see? Old-fashioned.
[Anderson:] You run.
[Green:] But I promise you this. I bet these answer more than anybody else in my company. I was on the phone at 5:00 AM to LA this morning to find out how the store numbers were.
[Quest:] Now this is absolutely fascinating I not going to tell you which CEOs, but more and more CEOs tell me that they are using those old Nokia and Sony phones, those old type, because they say they can use them quickly, they can just simply send texts, and they're not as available for hacking and things like that. So there you are. Philip Green, Sir Philip Green is not alone. Would you go back to an old phone? Are the old phones better than the new ones? @RichardQuest. The old Nokia brick. Coming up next, a victim of changing times. The magazine maker RDA Holdings is finding its debts difficult to digest, and this is the Digest that they're going to take us to in a moment.

[Kaye:] Welcome back. Hope you're hungry this morning because we have a whole lot of fast food.
[Blackwell:] Yes, we do.
[Kaye:] We've got quite a spread here. Are you a fast food guy?
[Blackwell:] I try not to eat fast food but every once in a while I get weak.
[Kaye:] Yes, you and everyone else.
[Blackwell:] Yes, every once in a while.
[Kaye:] So but the question is what if the calorie counts were posted, would it make a difference for you?
[Blackwell:] Probably.
[Kaye:] Yes. So a little bit.
[Blackwell:] Except when it comes to fries.
[Kaye:] Oh, the weakness.
[Blackwell:] Probably, yes.
[Kaye:] The weakness.
[Blackwell:] Yes.
[Kaye:] Well, starting Monday, McDonald's is going to be posting the calorie count on menus nationwide and under the new U.S. health care law, actually, all restaurants with 20 or more locations will soon be required to do the same thing. So, we have gathered our fabulous producer, Troy, has put together this lovely spread and he didn't even eat any of it.
[Blackwell:] No, he didn't. Well, you know, we don't know what was here before, so maybe.
[Kaye:] No, I watched him. I watched him with a close eye.
[Blackwell:] OK.
[Kaye:] All right. So let's start with burgers. OK? We're going to take a look at some of these popular burgers. This one here is the McDonald's Big Mac, favorite of yours, maybe? Not really?
[Blackwell:] Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, mayo, pickles.
[Kaye:] You're going to sing the song and everything? All right. So, what do you think? I mean, we know it has 1,000 milligrams of sodium.
[Blackwell:] Oh, my goodness.
[Kaye:] But in terms of calories, what is your guess?
[Blackwell:] I would put it at 515.
[Kaye:] 515 OK, we have to pick it up to find out: whoa, 550.
[Blackwell:] 550, that's a lot for one sandwich. But I was close. I was close.
[Kaye:] All right. Burger King Whopper next.
[Blackwell:] Whopper. OK.
[Kaye:] Shall we guess?
[Blackwell:] More meat, bigger sandwich, I think, so, I'll put it at 625.
[Kaye:] 625 oh
[Blackwell:] Whoa!
[Kaye:] oh, my gosh, 1,200.
[Blackwell:] 1,200.
[Kaye:] And that's not to mention the sodium, which is 1,450.
[Blackwell:] Yes, that's
[Kaye:] Not good. OK, next, the Wendy's Baconator. Now, if my husband saw that, that would not even be here anymore. It would be gone in about a split second.
[Blackwell:] Everything is better with bacon.
[Kaye:] That's what they say. I wouldn't know, but
[Blackwell:] Yes, the number really to me doesn't matter when it comes to bacon. I am going to say 800.
[Kaye:] 800 calories?
[Blackwell:] Yes.
[Kaye:] 970.
[Blackwell:] 970. And I thought I was going high for that one.
[Kaye:] Yes. And guess how much sodium there is in that one?
[Blackwell:] How much?
[Kaye:] It's ugly.
[Blackwell:] How much?
[Kaye:] 4,040 milligrams of sodium.
[Blackwell:] Wow. Yes, that's a lot.
[Kaye:] OK.
[Blackwell:] Now we've got shakes.
[Kaye:] What do you want to look at next? Yes.
[Blackwell:] You want to do the salads or the shakes?
[Kaye:] Let's do the salads.
[Blackwell:] OK. Because people think salads are great, that salads are a good idea, but some of these salads really have a lot once you add the dressing and you add all that's here. We have got
[Kaye:] McDonald's grilled chicken salad, Caesar salad. So let's see. This, you think, would be a light alternative, a healthy alternative
[Blackwell:] 400.
[Kaye:] fast food oh, 190.
[Blackwell:] Oh, 190, I could live with that.
[Kaye:] [Inaudible] lift it too high or we're going to spill it out.
[Blackwell:] OK.
[Kaye:] Another one here, the Burger King grilled chicken a lot of these are all grilled chicken Caesar salads.
[Blackwell:] Yes, which I like.
[Kaye:] Burger King
[Blackwell:] 490.
[Kaye:] 490 versus 190.
[Blackwell:] That's a lot for that one. And then the Wendy's grilled chicken Caesar salad here has 770 calories. So, if you think you're getting a light lunch you're doing the right thing, 770 right there.
[Kaye:] Yes, but the problem is, I can see it. I'm looking in
[Blackwell:] Fried chicken.
[Kaye:] It's fried. It's fried
[Blackwell:] Cheese and all that.
[Kaye:] that's the problem. OK.
[Blackwell:] OK, shakes. Let me get to shakes because I love a good shake. McDonald's chocolate shake, 12 ounces, small, 550 calories.
[Kaye:] Wow. That's oh, my goodness.
[Blackwell:] And you know people add that on to a meal. We've got the Wendy's chocolate Frosty, love a good Frosty.
[Kaye:] Yes, it looks nice and small, 10 ounces.
[Blackwell:] 300 calories.
[Kaye:] What a deal.
[Blackwell:] Yes, so enjoy that one. You'll work that off on the treadmill. And then the Burger King chocolate shake, 12 ounces, 500 calories, again, for a small.
[Kaye:] No way. I'm dropping things all over the place. These are the Taco Bell cinnamon twists. You get a whole bag of these. I'm not even going to tell you what they are, I'm just going to let you eat them.
[Blackwell:] Let's see. They bought these last night.
[Kaye:] Yes, they're not very fresh, 170 calories. a little note there.
[Blackwell:] Thank you for that.
[Kaye:] So there you go, interesting. It'll certainly make a lot of people think twice.
[Blackwell:] I'm sure they're great when they're fresh, but
[Kaye:] I'm sure they are.
[Blackwell:] All right.
[Kaye:] We'll be right back.

[Lemon:] Mitt Romney has new momentum heading in to Tuesday's Illinois presidential primary. CNN projects he won an easy victory today in Puerto Rico. There, you can see the results as on your screen. Mitt Romney won 83 percent. CNN also projects that Romney will get all 20 of Puerto Rico's delegates. Romney was endorsed by Puerto Rico's governor and he also campaigned there on Friday and Saturday. By CNN's estimates, Romney now has 518, more than double Rick Santorum's 239 delegates. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are trailing. All eyes now turn to Illinois which holds its primary on Tuesday. Full coverage right here on CNN starting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night. Rick Santorum made multiple campaign stops in Illinois over the weekend and he even told one audience a victory could propel him to the Republican nomination. Earlier today, Candy Crowley interviewed Santorum on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" and she asked him about his strong criticism of the president's policy towards Iran as well as an entry on his campaign Web site pledging a crack down on corn.
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Host, State On The Union:] Something that's been on your Web site that's gotten a lost buzz. And it's your position on pornography. One of the things you say in promising a tougher crackdown on pornography is that quote "the Obama department of justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families." I just need to ask you to back that up. Do you honestly believe there people at the department of justice who favor pornographers over children and families? Do you believe that?
[Santorum:] You have to look at the proof is in the prosecution. Under the Bush administration, pornographers were prosecuted much more rigorously than they are under existing law than they are under the Obama administration. So, you draw your conclusion.
[Crowley:] But, what's your conclusion?
[Santorum:] Whether the administration has not put a priority my conclusion is they have not put a priority on prosecuting the cases. And in doing so, they are exposing children to tremendous amount of harm. And that to me said they are putting the un- enforcement of this law and putting children at risk as a result of that.
[Crowley:] I want to play for the listeners something that you said at a rally last night. This was in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, talking about the president.
[Santorum:] We're need a president who will go out and person to nominees can go out and draw clear contrasts between President Obama and his failed policies at home and of course his failed policies where he has been the weak horse, the appeaser in chief around the world. With evil.
[Crowley:] Appeaser in chief around the world with evil. Where is a for instance for that for our listeners? Where do you think he is an appeaser with evil?
[Santorum:] Iran is the principal place. That is the principal problem we are facing on the national security front. A nuclear Iran. And he has repeatedly sided with the government of Iran in the green revolution in 2009 when people were pleading on the streets holding signs of asking President Obama to help overthrow this theocracy that's develop in a nuclear weapon that is killing our men and women in uniform with improvised explosive devices made in Iran that is attacking American troops through their surrogates and terrorist organizations. And yet, we had an opportunity over thrown
[Crowley:] There's new sanctions coming up. He gathered world opinion. Isn't that better than, you know, going in with troops or whatever what is it you are suggesting he should have been doing?
[Santorum:] Well, first off, he should have been aligning himself with the Persian people and the pro democracy movement in Iran to topple this regime, this radical theocracy that is developing a nuclear weapon and spreading terror around the world. And he did not do that. And here he said, you know, I'm going to impose tough sanctions after he denied that and tried to stop the sanctions from going into place. Only his own party got him in the Senate and the house. Got him kicking and screaming to impose impose the sanctions. And what has he done since then? There's U.N. resolutions to say there will be no negotiation with the Iranians until they stop processing the nuclear material and what did the president do? He overstep those things. He ignored that precondition and he is now been negotiating directly with Iran as Iran continue to develop nuclear weapons. He is buying time and doing exactly what the Iranians want to do. This is the weak horse that is in this region and the Israeli people, Benjamin Netanyahu came to this country and said Mr. President, time is up. We need your help. And he, the very next day, he started negotiating with Iran without preconditions and allowing them the opportunity to continue to develop nuclear weapons. That is weakness.
[Lemon:] Rick Santorum on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. And be sure you join us on Tuesday night with the complete coverage of the Illinois primary that kicks off at 7:00 Eastern with Erin Burnett, then complete live coverage of the primary results begin at 8:00 with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper and the entire CNN political team. What can you expect from the White House and wall street in the coming week. We will give you a rundown of what's on tap, next.

[Blitzer:] President Obama is taking his new outreach campaign directly to Capitol Hill just as leading Republicans are reviving parts of their agenda from the 2012 presidential campaign. His former rival, the House Budget Committee chairman, Paul Ryan, unveiled a new budget proposal today, sounding a lot like he did back out there on the campaign trail last year. Our chief Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, is joining us live from Capitol Hill right now. Dana, what's the latest that's going on because there's a lot of activity.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Chief Congressional Correspondent:] There sure is. And you know, Wolf, one of the main reasons Mitt Romney says that he picked Paul Ryan as his running mate in the last campaign season is because Ryan is considered one of the smartest minds and best spokespeople on the issue of Republican economic principles. And today, Ryan doubled down on those ideas.
[Bash:] If all this looks familiar, it should.
[Rep. Paul Ryan,  Budget Chairman:] The House Budget Committee Republican majority putting out yet again a budget that addresses America's needs.
[Bash:] There are some differences between this Paul Ryan budget and those in years past. The biggest, the Election Day smackdown Ryan and Mitt Romney got four months ago. He pushed the same economic policies in that campaign and lost.
[Ryan:] The election didn't go our way. Believe me, I know what that feels like. That means we surrender our principles? That means we stop believing in what we believe in? What we believe in this divided government era, we need to put out our vision.
[Bash:] What's in that vision? Cutting spending by $4.6 trillion over ten years and cutting taxes for everyone, especially the wealthy, revamping Medicare into a new system of government subsidized private health plans for those 55 and younger, eliminating the federal Medicaid program for the poor and disabled and replacing it with lump sum payments to the states.
[Ryan:] This is a document, a plan that balanced the budget in ten years.
[Bash:] But to reach that new ten-year goal, Ryan incorporates money from tax increases he campaigned against, but Obama won as part of the fiscal cliff deal.
[Ryan:] Watch out middle class, the tax bill is coming to you. [on-camera] You say that you balanced it in ten years in part by using $600 billion in new taxes that you oppose. Isn't that disingenuous? Not at all. We're not going tore- fight the past because we know that that's behind us.
[Bash:] He also assumes Obamacare is repealed which has no chance of happening in the near future. At the same time, he still counts $760 billion in Obamacare cuts and Medicare, the very cuts Ryan spoke out against in his vice presidential acceptance speech.
[Ryan:] $716 billion funneled out of Medicare by President Obama. An obligation we have to our parents and grandparents is being sacrificed.
[Bash:] Democrats from Capitol Hill to the White House were quick to call Ryan's budget a bunch of gimmicks and misguided policies. But the White House is in the midst of a charm offensive so they also say this.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] The president certainly believes that Congressman Ryan is sincere in what he believes his budget represents in terms of policy priorities, and he commends Congressman Ryan for the effort.
[Bash:] Now we're going to see a stark contrast and approach to the nation's fiscal woes tomorrow, Wolf. Senate Democrats are going to unveil their budget, and no surprise, it is going to follow along classically Democratic principles. For example, instead of tax cuts, we're going to see a proposal for one trillion, trillion with a T, dollars in tax increases. And I should also note that this is the first time Senate Democrats will release a budget in four years.
[Blitzer:] And the president will then release his own budget in early April. So, there'll be a lot of stuff floating around there. What is the hope that before that debt ceiling has to be raised at the end of July, they'll come up with some sort of grand bargain, if you will?
[Bash:] You know, it is going to be a very different kind of scene than we've seen in years past in that we are seeing the way it's supposed to work here. The House unveiled its budget and we're going to see a vote there. The Senate unveiled its budget, we're going to see a vote there, and then, they're going to try to come together and negotiate in public as opposed to a private between the president and the speaker and, you know, we know from recent history that has not gone well. So, it will be very, very different and we'll see if that helps to bring them together, but as you just saw, they could not be further apart where they stand right now when they're just laying out their political, philosophical principles and how to deal with this.
[Blitzer:] In our next hour, we'll speak with Sen. Patty Murray. She's the chair of the Senate Budget Committee. We'll get an inside into her thinking on her budget proposal that will be released tomorrow. Thanks very much for that, Dana Bash, up on Capitol Hill. Paul Ryan and House Republicans aren't the only ones stealing at least some of the president's thunder up on Capitol Hill. A senior White House official now reportedly criticizing the outreach campaign in a pretty shocking new article.
[Ron Fournier, Editorial Director, National Journal:] Thanks for having me.
[Blitzer:] Your piece today caused quite a little stir when you quote a senior White House official who you obviously don't name. He requested or she requested anonymity. You quote this official is saying about the president's so-called charm offensive, "This is a joke. We're wasting the president's time and ours. I hope all of you in the media are happy because we're doing it for you." That quote, obviously, surprise a lot of us. Give us some context of what was behind it.
[Fournier:] I think what's behind it, as you know, Wolf, you were part of this, is a lot of the senior staff and the political people around the president spent a lot of time these last few months very aggressively and derisively pushing back on suggestions that the president get more engaged in negotiations. So, once he very abruptly last week began the so-called charm offensive, I think a lot of people around him felt kind of hung out to dry and a little upset and kind of pushed it back on the whole narrative. And I think that's what you saw there was a little bit of anger.
[Blitzer:] So, was this official angry or irritated with the president?
[Fournier:] No. More, I think, irritated with us, irritated with what they called the narrative that supposedly it was the press that built up this narrative that the president has to be more involved, and now that the president is getting more involved, I think, there's some pushback internally.
[Blitzer:] Listen to what Jay Carney, the White House press secretary said today in response to a question from our own Jim Acosta. Listen to this.
[Carney:] I have no idea who said that, but I can tell you that opinion has never been voiced in my presence, in the president's presence, in the west wing. It does not represent president's view. It does not represent the White House's view. And it does not represent the administration's view.
[Blitzer:] Now, you don't want to release the name of this individual.
[Fournier:] No. But I will say Jay Carney is a very honorable man and I take at his word that something like this wasn't said in his presence. I also write my piece that I don't know the president's state of mind. I'm not a mind reader. I do know, though, that there are some officials in the White House who feel this way.
[Blitzer:] Another unnamed source in your article said this. Even more jarring than Obama's lack of engagement was his public protestations that there was nothing he could do to strike a deal with the GOP. It made him look weak said the democratic strategist with close ties to the White House. It made him look, can I use the word, "impotent." Give us some context for that. This is a different source than the other.
[Fournier:] This is a democratic official close to the White House who was watching the news conference last week when the president said, hey, there's nothing I can do. I can't wave a magic wand. I can't do a Jedi mind trick. There's nothing I can do to bring these Republicans around. Well, that's really isn't a strong politicalization for the president of the United States to take, according to people even close to him. That he has to at least look like he's trying, that he can't be giving up on the idea of bringing the parties together and solving this generational debt problem that we have.
[Blitzer:] You've covered this president, other presidents as we go back to covering Bill Clinton. You've covered this president. What do you think? Do you think that he is serious about this reaching out to Republicans, and potentially, there can be a grand bargain or is it just for show, if you will?
[Fournier:] I don't know. That's the question I raise in my story. I do think he's a very serious man. He's a very skilled man. I do think if he really puts his mind to it, he can get a lot done. It's amazing that he's gotten been elected which, as you know, is pretty remarkable in modern history. He's a very skilled politician. I might take him at his word and it's going to be very interesting to see what happens, because he's going up against, as you know, very
[Blitzer:] Common sense caucus as he likes to call it. We'll see if he can come up with that. Hey, Ron, thanks for coming in.
[Fournier:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] Later this hour, I'll get reaction from the senior White House adviser, Dan Pfeiffer. He'll join us live from the White House. Coming up, a day after tweeting about her, quote, "very uncomfortable pat down," Sen. Claire McCaskill talks to CNN why she says it's important that it happened to her. And a round of golf is supposed to be relaxing, but not if you end up in a hole that's not supposed to be there. A very scary moment for one foursome. That's coming up. We have details.

[Baldwin:] It is the week before Christmas, and a few places are busier than normal. I'm talking about the airports on the east coast and the west coast. They're full of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines and airmen lucky enough to be sprung from duty to be home with their families for the holidays. I want to bring in Casey Wian who is at the marine corps base in Camp Pendleton, California. A busy day there for a lot of military families. Casey, hang tight for me. I want to hear from CNN's Reynolds Wolf. He's been at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. And Reynolds, to you.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Brooke, the scene here today has been incredible. We've been seeing one group of soldiers after another come up these escalators. They walk right past here. Here's a group of them. They go right past this USO desk and through those doors. We're expecting about 2,000 today. Another 2,000 tomorrow. Then as we fast forward into Sunday, possibly another 5,000 service people right through these doors. And when you think about it, an entire year, they have half a billion that will step along the same steps we're walking now. Obviously it is all decorated, the great holiday things. Also here, which I love looking at this, a check-in sheet, your sign-up sheet. If you look carefully, psych the states them come from places like Texas, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, as far away as even Alaska. And they're from all branches of the military, from the air force, from say the army, the marines, the Navy, coast guard. And when they come in, they get the opportunity to kind of kickback, watch some TV, enjoy some game, check out the Wi-Fi or get a bite to eat. They got a little of everything from muffins to cookies to hotdogs. Great hotdogs, aren't they?
[Unidentified Male:] They're great hot dogs.
[Wolf:] The best hotdogs.
[Unidentified Male:] Especially made for our troops.
[Wolf:] There you go, especially made for everyone. It gives them a chance to kickback a bit. Here you can see the guys enjoying video game and who wouldn't? Even a chance to get away from that excitement and go to places where it is a little more quiet, say back here. We've got some office space where they can just enjoy a little bit of solitude. Catch up on their e-mail. That's the latest we've got. Brooke, let's kick it back to you.
[Baldwin:] Reynolds, thank you. Now to the west coast. I hear the screams. Casey, want to go right to you. Camp Pendleton, talk to me about what we're about to see.
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Brooke, behind me you can see alpha company, the first battalion, fourth marines. They're just returning. And over here, you can see their family members waiting for their arrival. We've been seeing reunions happening all morning long. And it is just one of the most incredible experiences that you can witness, seeing some of these marines reunite with their families. In many cases they've seen their babies for the first time. This group of marines has been deployed overseas for a little more than seven months. And during their tenure, they have provided close air support in Afghanistan. They've also provided flood relief to victims in Pakistan. And back in September, you may remember when a group of Somali pirates captured a German cargo ship, this group of marines, they are the marines that actually recaptured that commercial cargo ship from those Somali pirates, rescued the civilian crew. So they provided many important operations that we often don't think about. There's been so much focus on Iraq and Afghanistan. But the U.S. military, obviously, is deployed all over the world. And you can start to hear the screams of these family members who are just anxiously awaiting the arrival, their reunions with their loved ones.
[Baldwin:] Casey, let me jump in and ask. Some people may be saying, why aren't these kids and mothers and husbands running toward each other? Explain the process. They have to hang back momentarily.
[Wian:] Well, the process is fairly involved. They landed, they were on ships offshore. And they came to shore in smaller boats and rode over to the Camp Pendleton base in buses. And then they have to go check their gear and store their weapons. And so many of them have been here for several hours. And the family members have been waiting anxiously for them to actually reunite. But it is quite a long process that they have to go through. Let's just listen to this.
[Baldwin:] Deal. Here they go.
[Wian:] Welcome home. Can we talk to you for just a second? Tell me your name, your rank, and who you're with.
[Unidentified Male:] Lance Corporal Ibarra. This is my wife Sarah and my daughter Alexandra.
[Wian:] How old is she?
[Unidentified Male:] She's 15 months, sir.
[Wian:] So you've been away from her for how long?
[Unidentified Male:] About seven months, sir.
[Wian:] What has it been like?
[Unidentified Male:] It's tough, sir. I miss them a lot. Communication is not so good all the time, so it is good to finally see them, sir.
[Wian:] And what is it like to have your husband back?
[Unidentified Female:] It's amazing. It's so amazing. I was so excited to make sure he was back by Christmas. I can't tell you how excited I was.
[Wian:] That's going to be a pretty good Christmas at the Ibarra house.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, sir.
[Unidentified Female:] Yes.
[Wian:] Thanks for your time. Thanks for your service. Brooke, it just doesn't get any better than that.
[Baldwin:] It really doesn't. It was just total serendipity that they were able to catch this at this precise moment. Thank you so much. And please pass along our gratitude to these men and women for all of their duty, their duty overseas. What a wonderful moment to share with everyone.
[Wian:] Will do. Will do.
[Baldwin:] Casey, thank you. Now moving on how about that? Amazing. I want to remind you, we're also waiting for more live pictures. Not more of that though perhaps we will see more. We're waiting for President Obama. He is expected in to sign a tax cut deal into law minutes from now after weeks and weeks of fighting back and forth between the Democrats and the Republicans. So who will be standing by him when he signs that bill into law? And is this really a defining moment in Mr. Obama's presidency? That is next. Don't move.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] The National Weather Service has just issued a flash flood warning for much of the Chicago area. Jennifer Delgado has more from the Severe Weather Center. Jennifer, what can you tell us about these flash flood warnings.
[Jennifer Delgado, Ams Meteorologist:] Hi Christine. Yes, we are talking but flash flood warning in place because three to five inches of rainfall is already coming down through parts of Chicago as well as various parts of central Illinois. Now as we show you in the radar, you can see for yourself, for Chicago, yes, heavier bands are on the way. This is going to make certainly for a messy commute and and you can see more of that heavy rainfall is still out to the west. Now what we're dealing with is a flash flood warning. This is in place until 2:00. Anywhere in red we're talking for Chicago, down to Quincy, anywhere in red that means if you are driving on the roadway, it doesn't take much of course to lose control of your car, so make sure you're taking extra precaution out there. And also I want to talk about a big area that's going to be under the gun for flood warning. And then includes a good part of the Midwest. You can see even for areas like Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, so a lot of big cities are going to be affected by this. Again as I said we've already seen three to five inches falling in the last 24 hours for Chicago. So certainly a dangerous situation there. As we go throughout the afternoon we are setting up for another day of severe storms. A moderate risk category, that includes Chicago, Detroit, all the way down towards Memphis. And of course, we'll continue to follow the storms moving through parts of West Texas. We'll send it back over to you, Christine. A very busy day weather wise as well.
[Romans:] Ok Jennifer Delgado thank you so much. Let's head back to Boston now, where John Berman is standing by. Hi, John.
[Berman:] All right. Thanks so much, Christine. So much news. New developments in what authorities are calling a possible breakthrough here into the investigation into the Boston Marathon terror attacks. The focus right now this morning is on two men, caught on surveillance cameras right near the finish line. Their pictures coming from cameras at a Lord & Taylor Department Store roof near the site of the second blast and also from a local television station. Now in these images, one of the men is reportedly seen carrying a black backpack. You'll remember, three people were killed in these blasts of the 178 injured, 66 are still in the hospital; 13 still in critical condition. Later this morning, the public will get a chance to gather, to pray, to grieve together at an interfaith prayer service here in Boston at the Cathedral at the Holy Cross. President Obama and the First Lady traveling to Boston later this morning. They will they will attend this memorial service, which will honor the victims of the bombings here in Boston. There will be other dignitaries there. Former Governor Mitt Romney, former Governor Mike Dukakis, Willy Well. Pamela Brown, CNN's Pamela Brown is live outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross right now with more on today's service. Good morning Pamela.
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning to you John. Members of the public began lining up right outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross at around 4:30 this morning. That line continues to grow. It's several blocks down as far as the eye can see. We spoke to members of the public in that line, people are here for different reasons, but there is a sense that everyone here is united in grief. Some saying they are hoping for a message of hope comforting words for President Obama. But everyone we spoke with says that they are here to show their compassion for the victims of Monday's tragedy and that is expected to be a big part of President Obama's message focusing on the victims and their families. Late yesterday afternoon, Boston University officially released the name of the third victim killed, a 23-year-old graduate student and Chinese national by the name of Lingzi Lu, who is studying mathematics and statistics at Boston University. She was known as excellent student with a bubbly personality who had a love for the city of the Boston. Lingzi joined three friends to the marathon Monday. She was standing at the finish line when the bombs went off. One of her friends suffered injury and was taken to the hospital. After that, a frantic search erupted on social media from friends looking for Lingzi reporting she was missing. That of course was followed by a wave of sympathy Tuesday after it became apparent she had been killed. Her loss has sent shock waves throughout the BU campus which has a strong international community. Here is what one student who helped organize a memorial service for Lingzi had to say.
[Jack Cao, Student:] She is just like one of us. I am a student from China. I am a master I'm a grad student here. So I was just think if I was killed in this bomb, because I was really close to that bomb blast. I was like 200 meters away from it, so if I was the one, how my friends would feel, how my parents will feel.
[Brown:] Students at Boston University we spoke to, calling Lingzi's death devastating. Some are seeking counselling after her death and also we have learned this morning that Lingzi's parents may be en route to the U.S. from China and that they received an expedited visa, that's according to a State Department source. Now along with Lingzi, we're expected to hear from President Obama talking about the other two victims that were killed, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell and eight year-old Martin Richard, really the face of this tragedy who has captured the hearts of so many people. President Obama will not only talk about the victims also the first responders who were there during Monday's tragedy. So we are expected to hear a strong message from him, a message of compassion.
[Berman:] All right, Pamela Brown, thanks so much from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross where that interfaith prayer service will begin at 11:00 Eastern Time. The President will be there leaving Washington shortly for the service. Just one of the events we are covering today. Again there is so much going on in the world. We've been covering the breaking news all morning from that town of West Texas about 18 miles away from Waco. The massive explosion at a fertilizer plant there. Ammonia gas, possibly a threat still, the fire smoldering in this town still. The search and rescue continues, we'll bring you the latest, when we come back.

[Candy Crowley:] A week of a lot of heat inside a lot of meetings which produced no debt deal.
[Crowley:] Today, dodging default with White House Budget Director Jacob Lew and Republican Senator Lindsay Graham. Then, Rudy Giuliani on the president, the Republican field and gay marriage.
[Rudy Giuliani, Former Nyc Mayor:] And I don't know what the heck the Republican Party wants to do getting involved in people's sexual lives and personal lives so much for. Stay out of it.
[Crowley:] And the politics of red ink with former Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain and former Republican Congressman Tom Davis. I'm Candy Crowley and this is "State of the Union." The president said he wanted a deal by Friday, so lawmakers met with him at the White House day after day after day. They took a break Friday, and the president pushed again.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] If Washington operates as usual, and can't get anything done, let's at least avert Armageddon.
[Crowley:] Joining me now, White House Budget Director Jacob Lew. Thanks for being here this morning.
[Jacob Lew, Director, Office Of Management And Budget:] Good to be with you, Candy.
[Crowley:] We are told by Hill sources that since the last White House meeting on Thursday and this morning, there has been no progress. Do you concur?
[Lew:] I think quite a bit has been going on since the meeting at the White House on Thursday night.
[Crowley:] There has been activity, but has there been progress?
[Lew:] Well, there has been activity and progress I think on two fronts. First, there are substantial discussions going on in the Senate between the two leaders to make sure that at a minimum, Congress has a way to take action and avoid default on the U.S. debt. It's critical. We don't think it's enough. We think that the president said clearly we should do as much as we can to reduce the deficit, but we have to avoid the kind of chaos that would result from default.
[Crowley:] So you're talking about the McConnell-Reid-
[Lew:] Correct.
[Crowley:] way out of not having a it cuts 2.5 1.5 actually and then there's-
[Lew:] My understanding is what they are working on right now would simply provide a mechanism for extending the debt and provide for a committee, a joint committee of the Congress, to take action on the deficit. The president has been clear that we need to do more than that. We need to get as much done to reduce the deficit now, and the time to act is now. I think in addition to that, there have been a lot of conversations going on amongst parties. The president at the end of the meeting on Thursday said that each leader should go back to their caucus, they should talk to each other, they should be back and forth with the administration, and that has been going on since Thursday.
[Crowley:] So you have been talking to folks as well about the grand deal and the medium deal and the small deal?
[Lew:] There have been a lot of conversations going on, and they will continue to.
[Crowley:] Again, conversations aren't exactly progress. So where do you think you have made progress?
[Lew:] You know, I think it's not insignificant that all the leaders understand that it would be irresponsible to get to August 2nd and not extend the ability of the United States to pay its obligations.
[Crowley:] Do enough members of Congress understand that?
[Lew:] I think that as we approach it, more and more seem to be coming to it. There will be a fringe that believes that playing with Armageddon is a good idea, but I don't think that's where the majority will be.
[Crowley:] Any White House meetings today with any of the principals?
[Lew:] You know, I have not been to the office yet this morning. I think I will find out when I get there.
[Crowley:] When you get there, OK. So you seem fairly confident that at the very least there will not be default on the 2nd?
[Lew:] I have confidence that ultimately the responsible leadership in Washington will not fail to take an action where failure would mean interest rates that would amount to a tax on all Americans when they buy a home or a car, it would undermine our recovery, that would create chaos in the U.S. and world economy. I am confident that the responsible leaders of Congress know that that is not an option.
[Crowley:] More immediately, you would have to make some spending priorities, payment priority decisions. Social Security benefits, federal worker pay, defense contractors. What are your priorities should you not have the debt ceiling raised on the 2nd, when you have these bills that sort of immediately become due? Social Security checks, federal worker pay, defense contractors?
[Lew:] Our plan is for the Congress to do its work and for the president to sign into law legislation that will make it possible for the United States, as it always has, to keep the obligations. We will be ready to deal with whatever happens, but there is no plan other than meeting our obligations.
[Crowley:] Surely you must have discussed priorities, though, we have to pay this?
[Lew:] Well, the truth is that that this is a different situation than the United States has ever faced. We have never gone into a situation where we didn't have enough money to pay our bills. We borrow 40 cents on a dollar right now. If the time comes when we lose the ability to pay our bills, there will be a cash flow issue that is very real, and that's why it's critical that Congress take action before August 2nd.
[Crowley:] Would you actually allow it to happen, that those Social Security checks would not go out? Will you allow that to happen?
[Lew:] I think as the president has indicated, it's not a question of what we allow and what we don't allow.
[Crowley:] But you get to decide priorities. There will be some money
[Lew:] There won't be enough money to pay all the bills.
[Crowley:] Of course not, that's why I'm talking about priorities.
[Lew:] I think that once one gets into the business of trying to ask about setting priorities, it misses the fundamental question, which is that it's unacceptable for the United States to be in a place where whether it's a Social Security recipient or a soldier or somebody who is just owed money by the government can't be paid because we have not done our job.
[Crowley:] Let me play something interesting, talking about everything on the table. One of the things, as you know, that some Republicans are pushing is a balanced budget amendment, a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget under certain circumstances. Here is what the president had to say the other day.
[Obama:] I think it's important for everybody to understand that all of us believe that we need to get to a point where eventually we can balance the budget. We don't need a constitutional amendment to do that.
[Crowley:] But apparently you do need something to do that, because we're facing a meltdown, you all keep saying, and yet there isn't a deal, and yet we don't have a deal that will raise the debt and forego a meltdown. What is so wrong with a balanced budget amendment?
[Lew:] Just to be clear, and as the president has said a number of times this week, if not now, when? Congress needs to act. It is a question of will. There is plenty of time to make decisions now.
[Crowley:] But to this constitutional balanced budget amendment?
[Lew:] What these these ideas do is say let's kick the can down the road so that others will deal with it. The challenge is for Washington now to do the job the American people sent us here to do. The form that this constitutional amendment takes is actually quite draconian. What these amendments do is not just say you have to balance the budget, but it puts in place spending limitations that would force us to cut Social Security and Medicare more deeply than even the House budget resolution did.
[Crowley:] What about the-
[Lew:] That's not what the American people want.
[Crowley:] principle of the balanced budget amendment?
[Lew:] You know, I think the principle that really should be governing right now is that Congress do the job that it was sent here to do. The president wants to work with Congress. He has shown a willingness to move substantially. We need a partner to work with. We need to get the job done. We need to get the job done now, and we need to as much as we can do, because the whole world is watching. This is not just a question of Washington politics. The U.S. credit rating is at stake. Our place in the world is at stake. We need to act now.
[Crowley:] Let me ask you something about what the debt most needs is a growing economy, and in that nature, I want to read you something, and our source here is Reuters. This is from a Goldman Sachs report that went out last night in which Goldman Sachs said, "Following another week of weak economic data, we have cut our estimates for real GDP growth in the second and third quarter of 2011 to 1.5 percent growth in the third quarter, 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter. We now expect the unemployment rate to come down only modestly to 8 34 percent at the end of 2012." This is higher unemployment and lower growth than you all were predicting. What that means, of course, is that you can't make a substantial effort towards the debt, as opposed to the deficit, with growth that low, can you?
[Lew:] Look, it has been a difficult few weeks in the economy. There have been some external factors from the nuclear accident in Japan to other things that made the growth slower. And there's still a consensus that we will return to growth, but it's not enough growth, and the president has made clear we need to stay focused on growing the economy and creating jobs.
[Crowley:] Do you agree that growth is going to be lower than you all thought?
[Lew:] I think that it's clear that recent weeks have been slower than have been expected. We are still confident, as are most forecasters, that we will return to growth, and that we will remain a growing economy. But the challenge is-
[Crowley:] But more than you had hoped, though, you think, now looking at it?
[Lew:] There are a lot of things that we can do now that would make a difference. We have done quite a lot in the first two years, with the recovery act. The president and Congress took action, that without which we would have millions more people out of work. We have pending proposals on the Hill which would do a lot to grow the economy and create jobs. Congress should pass the trade agreements that are up there. It should pass patent reform. The president has made clear that we need to take a look at extending the payroll tax deduction. The average American family has $1,000 in their pocket. There are things we can do and we need to work together to get them done.
[Crowley:] Thank you so much, Jacob Lew.
[Lew:] Pleasure to be with you.
[Crowley:] Director of Office of Management and Budget. We appreciate your time. Go to the White House and let us know what is going on. We appreciate it.
[Lew:] Thanks, Candy.
[Crowley:] Up next, we will talk to one Republican who says his party should consider negotiating with Democrats over tax increases or closing loopholes. Senator Lindsey Graham right after the break.

[Lindsay Lohan, Actress:] I know that I was ordered to go once a week, and I wasn`t you know, I wasn`t missing a class. I`m not doing anything like that. I was working mostly in Morocco. I was working with children. It wasn`t a vacation. It wasn`t some sort of a joke. And I respect and am taking it seriously.
[Velez-mitchell:] What a drama plea. Tonight, new outrage over Lindsay Lohan`s legal drama-rama. Even though she was just given another break by the courts, Lindsay has the nerve to claim she is the victim of a witch hunt. When you pose for a whopping five mug shots, you can`t go throwing the word "victim" around. A judge actually reduced Lindsay`s theft charge from a felony to a misdemeanor on Friday. She was also sentenced to 120 days in jail for violating her drunk-driving probation by getting arrested for that alleged necklace theft back in January, but Lindsay posted bail and, poof, she was out in just a couple of hours. Again. Sounds like another case of Hollywood justice to me. Straight out to Dylan Howard, senior executive editor for "Star" magazine. Lindsay`s attorney is appealing the probation violation. I`ve never heard of anybody appealing a probation violation actually. What can we expect next with Lindsay?
[Dylan Howard, Senior Executive Editor, "star" Magazine:] Well, she`s almost certainly, Jane, headed back to jail. That`s the bottom line. Despite the fact that her high-powered attorney, Shawn Holley, has appealed this sentence of 120 days and community service, as handed down by Judge Stephanie Sautner in a court last Friday, it seems unlikely that that appeal will halt anyway. So Lindsay Lohan, despite not being convicted of this crime of misdemeanor theft, remains free on bail that was posted, $75,000. And she was released on Friday night from a jail here in Los Angeles after spending five hours behind bars. But it`s a means to an end, because she will end up behind bars, unless Shawn Holley can pull something out of the hat.
[Velez-mitchell:] And so when might we see her actually go to jail? This appeal probably won`t take very long, right? And she could end up going to jail any day?
[Howard:] Well, some are suggesting that this appeal could take some time, up to months, in fact.
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh.
[Howard:] So it remains to be seen how long this probation violation how long this case will drag out. But of course, that`s not the end of the road for Lindsay Lohan. She still faces this misdemeanor theft charge, stemming from the theft of a $250,000 necklace from a Venice Beach, California, jewelry store.
[Velez-mitchell:] Let me jump in with this question.
[Howard:] And of course, she says that she was borrowing it.
[Velez-mitchell:] The judge the judge said Friday she thinks that Lindsay intentionally swiped this necklace, $2,500 necklace from the jewelry store. The also said that the actress, quote, "thumbs her nose at the court," which I agree 100 percent. Justice never arrives for this drama queen. Exhibit
[A:] the "F. you" manicure from last summer`s hearing. So why on earth, Dylan, did the judge reduce the theft charge to a misdemeanor? Why did she get another break?
[Howard:] Well, there were some serious questions about the actual crime itself, including one of those being the value of the necklace. Now, it was appraised as being less than the two and a half thousand- dollar market price, and that doesn`t constitute a grand theft felony charge. So that was reduced in that element. But at the same time, the judge who quite rightly pointed out there, Jane, was on record as saying that the video evidence was quite compelling. The first time Judge Sautner saw that video evidence. And it showed Lindsay Lohan leaving the store with that necklace on. So Lindsay Lohan`s almost certainly headed back to jail for that probation violation and must face this misdemeanor charge.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. We`re going to see you in a minute. We`ll be talking about the royal wedding, coming up. Next, culture of violence out of control.

[Malveaux:] The FBI has now joined the search for a man who was killed the Good Samaritan in New Orleans. The 44-year-old Mike Ainsworth was shot in the chest while rescuing a woman from a carjacking. His two young sons lay next to him as he was dying. David Mattingly joins us now. Tell us are there any leads about the killer, the suspect and why is the FBI is now involved?
[David Mattingly, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, Suzanne, the police chief in New Orleans was speaking to a public gathering just last night. He was trying to reassure them saying that the investigation was going well. He's not giving up a whole lot of details about what kind of leads they have or where this investigation is taking them, but he was clearly trying to let this neighborhood know that they are doing everything they possibly can. Right now, there is a composite of the suspect that has been released. He's described as in his 20s between 5'6" and 5'8" between 140, 150 pounds. There's a $5,000 reward out for any information that might lead to his arrest. Expect to see that go up as this investigation goes on much longer. But Suzanne, as you said, the FBI is involved and it starts with this case because carjacking is a federal crime. Listen.
[David Welker, Fbi Special Agent In Charge:] Initially carjacking is a federal crime so we have reached out to NOPD and offered our assistance in the investigation. They have NOPD has taken up us on our offer. And right now, I have some agents over working hand in hand with NOPD to see if we can identify the perpetrator and hopefully further this investigation.
[Mattingly:] Got some more details talking to the FBI today. They actually had agents going door to door in the neighborhood with homicide detectives trying to gather information in this case. This is not a one-time thing for the FBI and the New Orleans Police Department. They've had such a spike in violence there recently that the FBI is routinely involved, assisting the New Orleans Police Department trying to get a handle on this wave of violence Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] David, thank you. There are big bucks at play in the race for the White House. So where do all those millions come from? Our Tom Foreman follows the money.

[Costello:] Exactly 15 minutes after the hour. Checking our top stories now. John Edwards' former aide Andrew Young will not face contempt charges. Young was accused of providing investigators sensitive secret material in Edwards' federal corruption investigation. Edwards' former mistress Rielle Hunter had filed a lawsuit trying to reclaim sensitive materials. To Syria's largest city, Aleppo, where opposition activists report fierce shelling and more bloodshed. This comes a day after Syria's prime minister defected. The opposition also says dozens of people have been killed across Syria today. In money news, American Airlines is offering to deliver your bags to your home, office or final destination. The charge, 30 to 50 bucks depending on the number of bags. The airline says it will deliver your bags in one to four hours if the destination is 40 miles or less. To sports now, where Yahoo! is reporting the perks of winning an Olympic gold medal. One of London's trendiest nightclubs is offering a free $3,000 cocktail. The drink contains 24-carat gold leaf champagne with a set of handmade 18-carat gold rings. You're going to run right out, I know. And in Japan, who wants a Wendy's baconator if you can buy a lobster burger. Wendy's, the fast food chain, is reportedly offering a bun stacked with lobster claws, mustardy mayonnaise and sprinkles of caviar, or you can get the lobster surf and turf burger. Each sells but only in Japan for about 17 bucks apiece. Let's get serious now and turn back to the gunman who opened fire at the Sikh Temple in suburban Milwaukee. One civil rights organization had been watching Wade Michael Page, the suspect, and tracking him for years. And the Southern Poverty Law Center says Page is just one of many right now. There are more than 1,000 hate groups in the United States. That number nearly doubled from the year 2000. The hate movement has been growing since Barack Obama was elected Barack Obama, rather, was elected president. Heidi Beirich leads the group's intelligence project and is an expert on various forms of extremism. She joins us via Skype from Montgomery. Welcome, Heidi.
[Heidi Beirich, Southern Poverty Law Center:] Thanks for having me.
[Costello:] I want to center on Page's bands, the bands he played in. One was called Welcome to the South. This particular song that we're going to hear is called "Definite Hate." Let's listen.
[Unidentified Male:] What has happened to America that was once so white and free? Now our mission is overrun by
[Costello:] Apparently I've read he had some sort of record label. Does this stuff get wide play?
[Beirich:] Yes, you'd actually be surprised at how much of this is and how many people listen to it. I mean it's a subculture certainly, the white supremacist movement, but there are many, many bands and many, many labels. Sometimes they put this out for free and distribute it at schools, if you can believe it. It's used as a recruiting tool for the movement.
[Costello:] Wow. In an interview Page said he started another band, his band, called End Apathy, because it would be, quote, "The start towards moving forward." What did he mean by that, do you suppose?
[Beirich:] Well, I mean, it sounds particularly ominous now in the wake of the shootings. I mean, there are certain people in the movement who begin to feel like their leadership isn't really doing anything to bring on white revolution. And the band name End Apathy sounds like what Page was thinking is that it was about time to take action, to maybe become a lone wolf and do something to bring that revolution to fruition. And I just I think that's what the band name means, as we look at, you know, what happened the other day.
[Costello:] Page attended a music festival called Hammer Fest. This festival is held all over the country. Like you say, these songs are used to recruit. Is this festival used to do that, too?
[Beirich:] Yes, I mean, they really are like lollapaloozas or Oz fests of hate. They bring bands from all over the country together to get and skinheads literally come from around the world to hammer fests to dance, to be in the mosh pits, to fight. I mean it's a really violent subculture, and it's the number one way skinheads get to know each other, get involved in the movement. And they're pretty regular. I mean they happen every few months across the United States.
[Costello:] How many people attend these festivals?
[Beirich:] You know, it depends. It can be in the hundreds in some cases, a little more in others. They're really restricted events. I mean usually you have to know somebody in the movement who's willing to tell you where to go. It's not like these things are advertised in public. And then they give you the coordinates and you show up at these venues which tends to be on private land. But usually a few hundred people at each of the events.
[Costello:] And, you know, they have First Amendment rights so I suppose cities can do nothing to keep them out, right?
[Beirich:] Yes, that's absolutely right. Everybody has the right in the United States to say the horrible things like the End Apathy band said, Page said. So there's nothing to be done about that. What happens, though, oftentimes at these events is the violence spills over. These people get so enraged, they, you know, drink a lot of alcohol and we've had hate crimes occur after hate music events. And that's a real problem for law enforcement and for all of us.
[Costello:] Your organization kept an eye on Page for, what, 10 years? Did you ever inform authorities of his existence?
[Beirich:] No. I mean, look. We track literally thousands and thousands of extremists. We collect all this kind of data on them from Web sites and publications. And there are a lot of people in our files that are just like Wade Page with the tattoos, the connections to skinheads or other extremist groups. It's a relatively rare few who step over the line and perpetrate violence.
[Costello:] So apparently this guy bought a gun legally. You kept an eye on him. Authorities were aware of him. So that kind of brings you to the question, what can you do to stop these kinds of shootings?
[Beirich:] Yes. You're right. This is a really difficult situation because of First Amendment protections which we're all proud that we have in this country. It's it really is nearly impossible for law enforcement other than to keep a wary eye on people involved in extremist movements to know when someone's going to step over the line from saying hateful things about other populations into doing something. It's a definitely tricky situation. And I know that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are constantly concerned about this. We do trainings with law enforcement to make them aware of the potential dangers. But to know when one individual is going to take action is just nearly impossible.
[Costello:] Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
[Beirich:] Thanks for having me.
[Costello:] Some believe the Sikh Temple shooting in Wisconsin may have been inspired by anti-Muslim sentiment. So what can be done about Islamophobia in America? It's part of our "Talk Back" question today.

[Blitzer:] All right. Let's get to our strategy session. Joining us, the Democratic strategist James Carville and former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. Both CNN contributors. Guys, thanks very much. There's going to be another huge fight in the coming weeks over raising the nation's debt ceiling. There's going to be a battle between the president and John Boehner, the Republican leadership in the Senate, Mitch McConnell. Here's a "Washington Post" poll that just came out. Do you approve of the way budget negotiations to avoid the fiscal cliff were handled? Fifty-two percent approve of the way president handled it, only 31 percent, John Boehner. Ari, who has more political capital going into this next round?
[Ari Fleischer, Cnn Contributor:] Well, on a poll like that, remember, John Boehner is not known by 100 percent of the country. And so, it's not as indicative of that poll. But no question, the president has the upper hand. The president is more popular than the Congress and the president has more leverage than the Congress does. At the end of the day, though, we are all in one nation and we all have to do something about this debt to save our children from it being such a burden. That still requires everybody to come together. But no matter how you slice it, the Republican hand is a weaker one, the president's is a stronger one.
[Blitzer:] Does he have any hand right now when it comes to raising the nation's debt ceiling? I'm talking about John Boehner and the Republicans giving the enormous consequences of failure to do so for the overall U.S. economy, James.
[James Carville, Cnn Contributor:] You know, I mean, you don't know. There's a lot of talk about letting it happen and, you know, this is one of these things, I never saw it in the fiscal cliff that actually go over the cliff. On this one, I'm a little less certain and a lot of times an event has to happen to sort of wake people up to it. Ari will remember this well. Remember, TARP first went down and the stock market lost 770 points and they came back in and it went up. I'm beginning to sense obviously I don't know this that something bad might have to happen in order to get this reconciled. It sure does like from a distance, both sides are digging in pretty hard here.
[Blitzer:] Boehner in "The Wall Street Journal" the other day actually said this, I'll read it to you, Ari. He said, "It wasn't until literally last week that the White House brought up replacing the sequester. They were always counting on us to bring this to the table. The sequester is as much leverage as we're going to get." How big of a deal is this going to be? In other words, sequestration, the forced domestic and social cuts, they delayed it for two months but they'll go into effect in a couple of months unless something is done.
[Fleischer:] I think that's a pretty astute observation by the speaker. "The Sequester" is the issue that Republicans can use to their maximum advantage in order to make the decisions that need to be made, more so than the threat of default. Default is too much of a threat. On the other hand, the problem is, if we keep raising the debt limit forever, we're acknowledging that the debt is so far out of control, there's nothing we can do about it, there's a debt without limits. "The Sequester," on the other hand, is more sensible. It allows Republicans to say, we do have a spending problem. We need to do something about spending. Let's not target only the Pentagon and hospitals and doctors, which is what "The Sequester" targets. But let's make smarter spending cuts to affect everybody from all walks of life, including corporate world and therefore we can do something to give our children a better future with less debt on their shoulders. That's the smarter card for the Republicans to play.
[Blitzer:] Let me shift, James, to you, on the Chuck Hagel nomination to be the nation's next defense secretary. There's been some quiet murmuring, some complaining among Democrats, not unusual, I should say. You've heard it as well. Why can't a Democratic president ask a Democrat to be defense secretary? They go back to the Clinton administration when President Clinton invited William Cohen, a Republican to be defense secretary. Then the Obama administration, President Obama asked Robert Gates, a Republican to be defense secretary. Then there was Leon Panetta. He is a real Democrat, but now another Republican, Chuck Hagel. What's wrong with Democrats being defense secretary?
[Carville:] Rright. Actually, just as an historical footnote, Leon used to be a Republican. You know, I think that there's a sort of feeling that each one of these can be justified. I think President Clinton and Senator Cohen had a very good relationship, as does President Obama and Senator Hagel. In Gates' instance, that made a lot of sense. So much was going on that you didn't want to have an immediate change in the defense. But that is true, that it looks like Democrats always want to appoint Republican secretaries of defense. Also if you look at the history of the independent councils, they have almost all been Republicans. And as a Democrat I sometimes get frustrated, too. We can't find an independent council or defense secretary in our own party. I can understand the frustration, but the president is entitled to pick who he wants and he thinks Hagel is a good guy so it's good enough for me.
[Blitzer:] And he can pick whoever he wants, you're absolutely right. I thought there was a good candidate, at least on my short list, Jack Reed, the Democratic senator from Rhode Island. Like Hagel, a veteran himself, somebody who knows a lot about national security and military matters. But the president decided to go with Chuck Hagel. That's his right. That's his decision. Now there will be a battle to be sure. Guys, thanks very much for coming in. It was so recently the massive scene of change and hope and a lot of optimism, but there's been a lot of change in Egypt since the Arab spring. We're going to talk about those changes. More of my exclusive interview with the president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsy. We spent a lot of time together in Cairo this weekend.

[Blitzer:] The vice president, Joe Biden, is shedding some new light on all those rumors way back when that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will take his place as his as President Obama's running mate in 2012. Here's how he explained it all to CNN's
[Larry King Live.  Larry King:] The White House shot down the rumors that you and Hillary Clinton were going to do a switch.
[Joseph Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] I tried, but it didn't work.
[Biden:] No,
[I -- King:] Because you wanted State, didn't you?
[Biden:] No. No, no, no, no, no.
[King:] OK. All right.
[Biden:] No, no. Look, here here's the deal. The president and I there was never any serious talk ever that anyone ever heard about me not being on the ticket with him or her not staying at State.
[King:] Woodward started it, though.
[Biden:] Well, if you look at it, even Bob backed off a little bit on that as he what he said, as I read it and I read his book. What he basically said was when she was being considered for secretary of State, it was suggested by one of her pollsters she should take it because maybe there would be the opportunity to be vice president. Hillary has made it clear right from the first time I came out, Joe, I don't want to be vice president. The president has made it clear, Joe, I expect you to be on the ticket, I want you on the ticket. So it was really kind of, you know, sort of a Washington parlor game.
[Blitzer:] The vice president also weighed in on the woman who potentially could pose a threat to the ObamaBiden ticket. [Begin Video Clip From "larry King Live"]
[King:] Sarah Palin has apparently now confirmed that she's thinking about running for president. How does that make Joe Biden think?
[Biden:] Well, you know I look, I think Sarah Palin has turned out to be and she is a real force in the Republican Party. And I think Sarah Palin is I were I a Republican senator, I would or a Republican political leader, I would look and say, wait, she's got a good chance of getting the nomination. But, look, it's hard enough for us to figure out our side of the aisle, let alone go over and and sort of handicap whether she can win or lose.
[King:] What do you think of her?
[Biden:] Well, I like her.
[King:] You do?
[Biden:] I mean, no. No, I personally like her. I I mean if you've met her, she she's an appealing person. When we campaigned
[King:] You debated her.
[Biden:] Yes, we we debated. There was not a harsh word. I mean we have a fundamentally different outlook on the world. And I think that would be a really a really interesting race.
[King:] Would that be a race you'd like to take on?
[Biden:] Well, you know, I my mom used to have an expression, be careful what you wish for, Joe, you may get it. So I never underestimate anyone. And but I think in that race, it would be a clear, clear choice for the country to make. And I believe President Obama would would be in very good shape.
[Blitzer:] All right, let's talk about that, what the vice president is saying on that issue and other issues, with our senior political analyst, David Gergen David, thanks very much. Quickly, if the economy is still not great, unemployment is hovering around 9 percent, how much of a threat would Sarah Palin, if she were the Republican nominee, pose to President Obama?
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst, Former Presidential Adviser:] Well, he would certainly be vulnerable then, Wolf. I think that would be a period of maximum vulnerability and a strong Republican could definitely win the White House, but she would have to overcome her negatives before she got there. You know, those negatives have grown well over 50 percent now. She's got a big, big following, but she also has a large anti-Palin following.
[Blitzer:] Listen to this other exchange that Larry had with the vice president last night and we'll discuss. Listen to this.
[King:] Should, frankly, the president had been doing a better job in the area of you know, what's reality and what's perception? Did he do a poor job in perception?
[Biden:] Look, I don't think he he didn't misunderstand at all the dilemma we faced, but he knew, for example that again, this is our responsibility. It's not the other guy's. The buck stops with us.
[Blitzer:] The buck stops he went on to say the buck stops with the president of the United States, as usual. I'm sure they're doing a lot of postmortems at the White House, but what's the single most important lesson they should learn, looking ahead to 2012, from what happened in these midterms?
[Gergen:] Wolf, I don't think it's a question of communication, which they keep coming back to is the excuse. I think the president fundamentally, in trying to solve the economic problems and then pushing on with the rest of his agenda, especially health care, threw too much big government at the country too quickly and people just weren't willing to follow it especially when it didn't seem to produce results on jobs. So, I think the big lesson was pivot back to the center, take things more methodically and get more things done to solve the jobs problem.
[Blitzer:] Obviously easier said than done. They've got a huge challenge ahead of them, David.
[Gergen:] They do. They do. It can be done. Well, you know, Bill Clinton could do it. They can do it. Take care, Wolf. Have a great weekend.
[Blitzer:] No doubt about that. All right, thanks very much. We're following some other important top stories here in THE SITUATION ROOM, including some desperate efforts under way right now to rescue at least 29 miners missing after an explosion in New Zealand. We'll have the latest. And he's the Penn in the legendary duo Penn and Teller. He says he's had some bad experience of airport security pat-downs and now he is weighing in on the controversial methods. My interview with him, that's coming up.

[Baldwin:] A couple months away from November, race for the presidency is heating up, Latino voters fast becoming one of the most sought-after groups here on behalf of both the president and Mitt Romney. Right now, in Florida, this huge showdown over these voters, over this particular voting bloc playing out at the country's largest Latino convention. It's the gathering of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, NALEO. President Obama speaks tomorrow. Mitt Romney finished up just this afternoon. And I just want to play a little bit of what Mitt Romney had to say.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I will prioritize efforts that strengthen legal immigration and make it more transparent and easier. And I'm going to address the problem of illegal immigration in a civil and resolute manner. We may not always agree, but when I make a promise to you, I will keep it.
[Baldwin:] I want to go to Suzanne Malveaux. She is covering the NALEO convention for us in Orlando. And I know, Suzanne, Mitt Romney's been very much so criticized for lacking specifics on any kind of immigration plan. What did he offer up today to this crowd?
[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Well, you know, first of all, he said he wasn't really going to offer a lot of specifics, that he was going to basically put forward a long-term plan. He slammed President Obama for what he called was really a stopgap measure when it comes to immigration. There were a few things that people did kind of hang on to, however. One of them was the fact that he said if you were in the military, served in the military, there would be some sort of path to potentially becoming a citizen. Something else he also said, he was going to attach what he said a green card to any kind of degree, an advanced degree, meaning that there might be a way for those who have something to offer in the country to work here on some sort of basis. And he said that he also wanted to strengthen and promote families. That was somewhat of considered a dig to President Obama as well, because under the Obama administration, it's been the largest number of deportations in the history of any presidency over the last year or so. So those are just some of the highlights. But I have to tell you, Brooke, a lot of people, as you can imagine, very skeptical of what Mitt Romney has to offer, because they don't believe that he has gone far enough when it comes to the specifics on immigration and they are still quite concerned about some of the things he said in the past.
[Baldwin:] Yes. Yes, just some quick poll numbers I just want to pass along and I want to get back to your point here. The latest poll gives President Obama 66 percent check it out 66 percent of Hispanic voters, Romney trailing way behind with 24 percent. I watched and listened to that entire speech today from Mitt Romney, and I never once heard, really, just this huge applause as we have certainly heard before when he's been speaking at other conventions or in front of other groups. And I'm just curious, I'm sure you talked to people after he spoke today, how did they feel about what they heard?
[Malveaux:] Well, it was really kind of a very polite response to Mitt Romney. There was not any booing or anything, but certainly no standing ovations. They're really looking for a number of things. Of course, he was focusing on the economic conditions of Hispanics. So he said, you know, 11 percent unemployment, two million Hispanics who are actually living below the poverty line. So people were honing in on that, but they also wanted to know, beyond the economics, beyond immigration, they want to talk about education, they want to talk about health care. And, Brooke, I had a chance to talk to a woman. She's a city councilwoman and she is a Republican. She is a strong member of this organization. And she says, look, we're not a monolithic group here. We have a lot of issues that we want you to speak to. And here's what she told me.
[Luz Urbaez Weinberg , Aventura, Florida, City Commissioner:] I really hope for both candidates, actually, to come up with some realistic plans on the immigration reform. It's not the number one priority issue for Latinos, as tends to be the misconception, but it is of great concern.
[Malveaux:] And, Brooke, another person who I actually had a chance to talk to after the Romney speech, her name is Hilda Mira Hidalgo, and she's 20 years old. She's an undocumented illegal immigrant here in this country, and she had an opportunity, and she said she wanted to do this, to confront Mitt Romney after his speech to ask whether or not she would support Obama's policy, his plan to allow some young illegal immigrants to stay in the country. Mitt Romney did not answer her question. She was shooed away by the Secret Service. She made it a point to come up to us to tell her story, because she really wants to push Mitt Romney on that specific issue. So you have a lot of people who are really quite demanding of Mitt Romney to see more specifics and more change.
[Baldwin:] Right. People want to know, if he is elected, you know, would he uphold what the president and Department of Homeland Security did last week. Final question to you. Let me just play a little sound. This is Mitt Romney talking during the FOX News"Wall Street Journal" debate. This was back in January.
[Romney:] And I have indicated I would veto the DREAM Act if provisions included in that act to say that people who are here illegally, if they go to school here long enough, get a degree here that they can become permanent residents. I think that's a mistake. I think we have to follow the law and insist those who come here illegally, ultimately return home, apply, and get in line with everyone else.
[Baldwin:] Would veto the DREAM Act. Does he still stand by that?
[Malveaux:] Well, one of his policy advisers told our own Jim Acosta earlier during the day that this is something that he's not necessarily changed his mind on, that they are reviewing what they say are the undocumented college students in this country, that they are also considering or looking at Senator Marco Rubio's plan that is in Congress that might look similar to that, but not quite the DREAM Act. So he is not backing down on those original statements. But you can say, Brooke, that there is some nuance here. Certainly, that would be not surprising considering the group that he spoke to before today.
[Baldwin:] Absolutely. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you. Again, just a reminder, the president speaking at that same convention at NALEO tomorrow. F-bombs, nudity. What you watch on the TV is all about to change thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down today. It involves Cher and Bono. Plus, frantic moments as a couple gets swept over a waterfall. Look at this. We will show you how it ends.

[Nancy Grace:] Breaking news tonight, live, Salt Lake City. The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young stockbroker, a mother of two, 28-year-old Susan Cox Powell, last seen when Daddy suddenly announces at midnight on a Sunday night he`s taking the boys, ages 4 and 2, camping in the snow. They get back home, Daddy says Mommy`s gone. She`s never seen again. Then more tragedy for Susan`s family. Husband Josh Powell`s home explodes in a towering burst of flames. Inside, Josh Powell, and in a bitter twist, Susan`s beloved little boys, Josh Powell inflicting the greatest pain ever on Susan and her family in a suicide-double homicide of the two little boys, just 5 and 7. Bombshell tonight. After outrageous claims from the father-in-law Josh Powell`s father that he was having an affair with Susan Powell, we obtain the father-in-law`s private journals. Tonight, police release part two, revealing his twisted sex obsession with his own daughter-in-law, Susan, the diaries complete with undercover photos of Susan, some of them so graphic, we can`t repeat them in their entirety on the air. Tonight: Did the sex-obsessed father-in-law mastermind Susan`s death and the murders of her two little boys? He`s only behind bars for a few more months before he`s released, on another charge. Are police on the move? Will there be charges against Josh Powell`s father-in-law? As I said, police just releasing another round of the father-in-law`s sex diaries. And tonight, with us live, Susan`s father taking your calls.
[Unidentified Male:] "It`s been almost two years since I`ve seen her." "Fantasies keep me going every day. I`m not exaggerating. I fantasize about her every day." "I would love to dress and undress her." "I would love to play peek-a-boo games with her."
[Steven Powell, Susan Powell`s Father-in-law:] Susan was very, very sexual with me. There`s no question in my mind that the feelings were mutual.
[Unidentified Male:] "I masturbated in her presence twice, while we were alone at the kitchen sitting at the counter." "The first time, she actually watched me in the reflection in the sliding door."
[Powell:] That`s kind of the way she interacts with the opposite sex.
[Unidentified Male:] "Did she tell Josh about which of our body parts rubbed against each other on the couch a few weeks ago?"
[Unidentified Female:] Do you think a part of you started falling in love with Susan?
[Powell:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] "I thought Susan was dead." "I now believe she is alive." "I am 99 percent certain Susan absconded." "And she was alive when she
[Grace:] Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Live to Salt Lake City, the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young stockbroker, a mother of two, Susan Cox Powell. After bizarre and outrageous claims by her father-in-law that he was having a torrid affair with her, we get our mitts on his private journals. This is really round two released by police, these private journals that reveal his twisted and sick obsession with his own daughter- in-law, Susan Powell, now missing. Tonight, with us live, Susan`s father taking your calls. Also with us, the family`s lawyer, Anne Bremner, also taking your calls. Another round of the journals. We`ve now picked through them relentlessly. Take a listen to part of what Susan Cox Powell`s father-in- law had to say about Susan, now missing.
[Unidentified Male:] "One time, she came in after taking an evening shower, and I asked if I could smell her hair. She came over to my chair and bent over my lap, her face looking directly down my huge
[Grace:] All right, this is her father-in-law. And did you hear at the beginning of our program his other entry into his diary that said that he had masturbated in her presence twice, one of those times being in the kitchen? And he was sure he was sitting at the kitchen bar, which means she could not see him from the waist down, and that he`s convinced she saw him in the reflection of the window, which means think about it, reason this through her back was turned to him. She had no idea what he`s doing right there in her own kitchen. Now she`s missing. And isn`t it true to Jim Kirkwood, joining me out of Salt Lake City, KTKK that the father-in-law is absolutely in town from another state the weekend Susan Cox Powell goes missing?
[Jim Kirkwood, Ktkk:] There is evidence from cell phone records, his disappearance from work. There seems to be strong evidence he may have been in town, Nancy.
[Grace:] Joining me right now exclusively this evening, Chuck Cox. He is Susan Cox Powell`s father, his family dealt the greatest blow, not only losing their daughter, but then in a horrible, horrible turn of events, DFACS family services takes the boys over for a visit with the dad, Josh Powell. They`re only in the home a few moments before an inferno an inferno explodes inside the home. The two little boys were killed by their own father but not by burning. They were actually chopped in the neck with a hatchet by their own father, a homicide-suicide, stealing the last piece of Susan Cox Powell. Chuck Cox, having been a tangential victim of murder myself, it`s hard enough to deal with that. Now that I have children, I don`t know how you bear the pain of losing those two little boys in that fire. And now these ridiculous and offensive diaries comes to light. What is your response?
[Chuck Cox, Susan Powell`s Father:] The diaries are strictly Steve`s own twisted view of reality and clearly have no credence whatsoever. He clearly is just he`s sick.
[Grace:] You know, she made it very clear to you during her life and I say that because I`ve got no doubt in my mind that Susan is, in fact she`s dead. She`s in heaven now. There`s no way she ever would have left these children with Josh. There`s no way she would have run off with some other guy. She was deeply religious. That would never have happened. Didn`t she communicate to you how creepy the father-in-law was, how she didn`t want to be alone with him?
[Cox:] She did. She did communicate that to us.
[Grace:] So Chuck Cox, if she were having some surreptitious affair with the father-in-law, why would she bring attention to him and her feelings about him to you?
[Cox:] Absolutely, she wouldn`t. And that there was never anything. It was all in his mind.
[Grace:] You know what I`m really worried about? I`m going to go to Anne Bremner, high-profile lawyer out of Seattle, who is there in the studio with Susan`s father, Chuck. Anne, the father-in-law, Steven Powell, is behind bars right now. And he`s behind bars on what charge?
[Anne Bremner, Cox Family Attorney:] Voyeurism, Nancy. He was convicted by a jury of 14 counts of voyeurism. And then the judge dismissed a few counts at sentencing. It was involving two little girls that lived next door that he was surreptitiously photographing, filming for about a year. And he`ll be out get this in May of 2013.
[Grace:] Well, let`s get right down to it. Let`s not mince any words, Anne Bremner. He`s behind bars because he was taking photos and possibly more with a long-angle lens of an 8 and 9-year-old little girl...
[Bremner:] Right.
[Grace:] ... urinating in their bathroom in their home, all right? So when all of us go to the bathroom, we can worry about people like...
[Bremner:] Yes.
[Grace:] ... Steve Powell taking a long shot of us tee-teeing, all right, in our own home.
[Bremner:] Right.
[Grace:] An 8-year-old and 9-year-old little girl. So he`s behind bars on that. And what`s so significant is unless police finally do the right thing and investigate him as part of the homicide of Susan Cox Powell and of the two little boys, he`s going to get out and walk free. And yet another tragedy will have taken place. Another case will have slipped through the cracks there in Salt Lake City. We`re taking calls. To Marlene in South Carolina. Hi, dear. what`s your question?
[Unidentified Female:] Well, I want to know why they`re not digging more into the father-in-law`s whole thing with Susan Powell. I mean, I really think he`s the one that killed her.
[Grace:] You know, back out to you, Chuck Cox. Have you spoken with police about investigating this pervy father-in-law? Right now, he`s not named a person of interest or a suspect.
[Cox:] We have. We talked to the police about Steve Powell early on in the investigation. And we still feel he knows where my daughter is. And you know, although we can`t give up on our daughter until we find her.
[Grace:] For those of you that don`t understand the depth and the magnitude of Steve Powell`s obsession with his daughter-in-law, take a listen to this.
[Unidentified Male:] "I was hugging a pillow and saying her name over and over, hoping she would think of me and feel something, even though she is hundreds of miles away. In the last few days, I have laundered a lot of clothing that belonged to my mom. She will not be using it. And some I would love to see on Susan. Maybe when she comes, I will be able to talk her into trying some things on." "I sent the Valentine to Susan. I sent her two pair of pantyhose. I would dearly love to see them on her body, not just her legs. I gave her a different kind than usual. I have always given her nude-colored with regular panty. This time, I gave her off-black with high-cut panty. I`ve wondered what she thinks about my giving her something so intimate, but I love to do it and she doesn`t seem to mind. I`m pretty sure she likes it." "What I really hope is that putting them on makes her think of me and arouses her sexually as she recalls our close encounter on the couch. If this non-affair we are having affects her even half as much as it affects me, she will be thinking of me every time she sits or lays on that couch where we were feeling each other in intimate places. She will think of me when she slips on pantyhose since she only seems to be wearing the ones I have bought her lately. And she will think of me when she puts the "Friends" DVDs in to watch her favorite program." "That hamper had some nicely soiled panties. The bottom line is that it`s nice to have her scent to enhance my fantasies about her. I have over a dozen articles of her underwear soiled with her bodily fluids and odors. I have stacks of pictures of her, early age to present. For the record, I have 12 pairs of Susan`s panties, four of her tops, two pantyhose and one pair of socks. Although Susan is definitely at fault for starting me lusting for her, I am clearly carrying the ball now."
[Grace:] For those of you that have just joined us, these are portions of just-released diaries, sex diaries by Susan Powell`s father-in-law. He`s behind bars now for only a few more months. Right now, he`s behind bars for taking long-angle lens shots of an 8 and 9-year-old little girl tee-teeing in the bathroom in their own home. He`s in jail for voyeurism. But many court watchers believe he had something to do, if not the mastermind, to Susan Cox Powell`s death and disappearance, as well as the death of her two little boys, ages 5 and 7. Clark Goldband on the story Clark, these diaries it`s another round of diaries that we have just gotten our mitts on and are sifting through. What do we learn?
[Clark Goldband, Nancy Grace Producer:] Nancy, we learn more of this sexual pleasure that Steve Powell gets from writing about his daughter-in- law. He speaks many times of masturbating in front of her. He speaks about hugging a pillow as tight as he can, hoping she feels it a few hours away. And also, Nancy, there`s a time that Steve Powell writes about that he is taking footage of Susan, and Susan sees him and tells him to stop and put the camera away. Now, you can contrast this with other times that we`re read about where Steve Powell would drive to the parking lot inside of the mall and shoot Susan entering and exiting her car. He would then watch those films later and write about the activities he would do after watching those films.
[Grace:] To Dana. Do you have the shot that Steve Powell took of himself? It`s on page 696 out of his his diary. And wait until you hear what he writes underneath a photo of himself. With me tonight is Susan`s father, Chuck Cox. Chuck, is there any way to put a fire under the police to get them to investigate the father-in-law as it relates to Susan`s murder?
[Cox:] Well, I don`t know. I think that`s what they have to be doing. They`re still continuing the investigation. Who are they investigating? Josh is gone.
[Grace:] What about it, Anne? What can we do? What do we have to do?
[Bremner:] Well, I`m flying to Utah after this, Nancy. I`m going to go to West Valley city council. I`m trying to get all the records so we can see what they`ve been doing. This is my third part of an appeal. And we`ve also given more information
[Grace:] Let`s take a look at that shot, Dana, you found for me. Thank you. Here`s Steven Powell, and as he writes in his diary, Steven Powell demonstrating a massage position. "Here I am demonstrating the position I was in directly from behind her as I held her. My calf was under the thigh. My foot was under her" I`m just going to say behind. "I took this clip of myself getting ready for bed and recounting my exotic experience on the couch with Susan." Bottom line to Dr. Leslie Seppinni, clinical psychologist he had his foot on her thigh, sitting on the sofa, and he`s turned it into an "exotic experience"?
[Leslie Seppinni, Clinical Psychologist:] Well, clearly, this is a person who`s escalating and escalating. And oftentimes, sexual predators like to keep sexual trophies. And as they escalate, those trophies turn them on so much and arouse them so much that, yes, it wouldn`t be uncommon for him to ultimately kill the person of his affection or his obsession. He can`t have her, then nobody else can.
[Unidentified Male:] "If she didn`t see my
[Grace:] For those of you just joining us, we`re not playing portions of Steven Powell`s sex diaries for the fun of it. We want tonight for him to be investigated in the death and disappearance of his daughter-in-law Susan Cox Powell, with whom he had an insane obsession. Reading his sex diaries all about her, they`re sickening. She`s dead. Her body has never been found. Her children are dead. Nothing was ever done! Isn`t it true, Chuck Cox with me, her father police kept telling you a move was going to be made. A move was going to be made. Somebody was going to be arrested. And then the next thing you know, the boys are dead.
[Cox:] Yes. I we lived with this for the whole time our daughter is missing, and she`s still missing now. We still don`t know where she is. And we`ve been promised, encouraged every step of the way that, you know, just a little bit longer. Don`t worry. It`s coming. We`re going to arrest Josh. We`re going to do this. And now we`re being encouraged, Well, our investigation isn`t over. We`re still working on it. We`re going to we`re going to find your daughter. And that`s what we`ve lived with forever.
[Unidentified Male:] "I know Susan is watching the hubbub surrounding her disappearance and must be wondering what is going on with us, since we have avoided contact with the media. Her parents are constantly in contact with the media, and we ignore all the stupid things they say, including accusations against Josh and veiled accusations against me."
[Grace:] She never had a chance. This was written by her father-in- law, who she completely tried to avoid. She was afraid of him. He was sexually obsessed with her. She`s married to Josh Powell, who then later kills his own two boys, ages 5 and 7, her children, the only thing she had left in life of that marriage. They are dead. Her body has never been found. Do you think you`re disgusted by these sex diaries? We are, too. But let me tell you something. The portions that you are hearing, State`s exhibit number 1 of her father-in-law`s sick obsession with her. State`s exhibit number 1. And his involvement in her death and disappearance. Why aren`t police moving on this? Right now Steve Powell, behind bars on voyeurism. He was taking long lens shots of a little 8-year-old girl and her 9-year-old sister urinating in their own home through the window. He mysteriously shows up from out of state the weekend she goes missing? You don`t think he knows where her body is buried? Right now a call for justice. With me tonight, her father, Chuck Cox and the family lawyer, Ann Bremner. We`re taking your calls. Lori in North Carolina. Hi, Lori. What`s your question, dear?
[Lori, Caller From North Carolina:] I have quite a few. The first thing I want to ask is, how come they cannot charge him with voyeurism or whatever they call it for videotaping her without her knowledge? And I also think that the days that he disappeared after, you know, while she first disappeared, that I think he has her body somewhere. Because you know how he liked to collect her hair and stuff. You know, it would be like a trophy. We don`t know what he has hidden on her. I think he is so guilty. And I think he is in on this.
[Grace:] Lori in North Carolina, a lot of crime analysts agree with you. OK. Dana, do not show the photo I`m describing on page 1672. In that photo unleash the lawyers, Jennifer Smetters, Kirby Clements, Steve Perkel. Jennifer, family law attorney out of Chicago, in this photo, I`m sure you`ve seen it. He says and I`m reading. He`s got these photos pasted into his diary. Repeat, do not show the photo, Dana. He`s got a photo of her getting ready, getting dressed and getting ready in her bathroom. Now, we know he took long lens shots of this 8- year-old and 9-year-old little girl in their home, I guess across the street. Here he is, he`s getting her, changing clothes in the bathroom. And he writes, "She was so beautiful, that day was particularly memorable for me because it was the only time I watched her inserting a tampon." And he`s got these shots of her getting ready in the bathroom. Then it shows a shot of her in her underwear and bra. And he is saying he writes, there is an actual photo of Susan in her white panties that allows for a good idea I can`t read the rest on the air. It says shots of her face and, yes, her eyes with no makeup. This is all clearly being taken without her knowledge. So what about Lori in North Carolina`s question regarding at least a charge on voyeurism? Let the state put it up as a charge. And let a jury decide whether she knew she was being watched or not. Because the defense is going to claim, oh, you can`t prove it because she`s dead now, thanks to her husband and probably her father-in-law. She`s dead now. She can`t claim she didn`t see him taking the photos. But let a jury decide that. What about that, Jennifer?
[Jennifer Smetters, Family Law Attorney:] He preserved the evidence. This man is so twisted in his head that he was bragging about these vile and vulgar thoughts and actions he took against the mother of his grandchildren. I hope those prosecutors go after him and quick.
[Grace:] To Kirby Clements and Steve Perkel. Steve, defense attorney out of New York. Why not just charge as Lori in North Carolina suggests of voyeurism on Susan Cox-Powell?
[Steve Perkel, Defense Attorney:] Because right now, Nancy, we have nothing to prove that there was any voyeurism.
[Grace:] You haven`t seen this diary? We sent it to you.
[Perkel:] That`s his
[Grace:] You haven`t seen these photos?
[Perkel:] Nancy, that`s his personal notes.
[Grace:] So?
[Perkel:] We don`t know if that`s his fantasy or if that`s actually what occurred.
[Grace:] Steve, Kirby, there are photos of her that I just described to you in detail. All right? Why can`t we go forward with a charge of voyeurism on her?
[Kirby Clements, Defense Attorney:] Well, when did the statute of limitations run on that particular charge, number one? Number two, you`re just mad at him because the police didn`t do their job and arrest Josh for murdering the daughter. That`s about
[Grace:] Yes, I am mad. I am mad. But that doesn`t preclude a voyeurism charge.
[Clements:] Well, no, there`s nothing to charge him with. The statute of limitations, we don`t know when it ran, and you know what, we don`t know whether she knew about it. Unfortunately she is
[Grace:] Please stop.
[Clements:] we believe she`s dead.
[Grace:] To Anne Bremner, what`s the possibility of at least a voyeurism charge so Steve Powell who has not been named a suspect, not been named a person of interest in this case, in the death and disappearance of his daughter-in-law, what about at least a charge on voyeurism based on these photos alone?
[Anne Bremner, Defense Attorney:] Nancy, we`re mad, too. But we`ve been told that they and the police in Pierce County and in Utah had these journals from the search warrant that was executed through Utah. We`ve been told statute of limitations has run. They think they can`t go four of those charges because they can`t show that Susan knew what she knew
[Grace:] What about calling the statute from the time of discovery of the diary? Could the statute be told to start running at the time of the discovery of the diary?
[Bremner:] Exactly. Exactly. And we`ve actually argued that, both Chuck and I have done argued this with authorities from Pierce County saying, you know, bring it, go do it. And they said that that wouldn`t be sufficient for them to show enough under the discovery rule to go forward or get past the statute of limitations. I disagree, of course. I have said that to them.
[Grace:] You know what? I want to hear from Chuck Cox. How many more excuses is the police department and the D.A.`s office going to make in bringing a charge?
[Chuck Cox, Father Of Susan Cox Powell:] And that`s why we have to find out what they really knew. That`s why enough is enough. It`s been long enough they`ve had all the chances they need to get something done and they are not doing it. That`s why we have to know what they know so we can take action on our own, if possible. To a private investigator, whatever. We have to do something here.
[Grace:] Everybody, our family album back show casing your photos. Here are North Carolina friends, the Harris, Phyllis and Maberry, 49 years, about to celebrate their 50th with daughter Bobbi, grandchildren Trip and Meredith. Share your photos through iReport family album at hlnTV.comnancygrace then click on "Nancy`s Family Album."
[Unidentified Male:] All I want to do is think and write about Susan. I think I will go lay down and fantasize about her a while longer. She is the most wonderful, beautiful, and feminine image that has ever come into my mind. I would even have enjoyed it if she had called me Satan incarnate for trying to lead her into sexual sin. It is hard and painful emotionally to want Susan so bad. But she continues to make my creative juices as well as my sexual juices flow. My whole body still cries out for her.
[Grace:] We are taking your calls right now. Susan Cox-Powell missing, believed to be dead. The husband, Josh Powell announces he`s taking the boys camping on a cold night, subzero temperatures in the snow. It`s a Sunday night at midnight. He says they come back home the next morning and Susan is gone. After that, he blows up his own home in a towering inferno. With their little boys, ages 5 and 7 inside. Tonight, we want justice. The father-in-law, the author of these repulsive sex diaries, these fantasies about his own daughter-in-law, investigated in the disappearance of Susan Cox-Powell. Police say he`s neither a suspect nor a person of interest. There is one shot of her well, there`s many, there`s hundreds of shots. To my understanding that we`ve just gotten a whole new round of diary entries. It says, "The above shot turns me on mainly because when I look at the image I imagine Susan is giving the camera a mischievous smile because she`s not wearing underwear. The dress buttons down the front. So I would like to slip my fingers in between buttons." And it goes on and on. There is another shot of just her knee. There are shots where she`s trying to go into work. She obviously doesn`t know he is stalking her, taking shots of her going into her office. We are taking your calls. Out to Aaron Brehove, body language expert. Aaron, you have observed video of the father-in-law, Steve Powell, speaking. What is your observation, Aaron?
[Aaron Brehove, Voice Analysis And Body Language Expert:] Well, when we see him on "Good Morning America" we see that it`s a very unusual exuberance, excitement of him when he`s talking about his daughter-in-law being missing. And he says that he`s in love with her. And it`s so low. And it`s so odd to see this excitement, this genuine happiness during this period where she`s missing and he`s talking about his grandchildren`s mother. And then also we look at when he`s not really truthful with himself in his diaries when he talks about her calling him a pedophile and then saying that she probably loves him. We see that he`s not even truthful with himself much less do I expect him to be truthful with anybody in the public.
[Grace:] To you, Dr. Michelle Dupre, medical examiner, forensic pathologist, joining us out of Columbia. Dr. Dupre, the little boys, her children, before their death, before their murders at the hands of their father, stated that mommy was in the car trunk, that mommy was in the mines, all right, looking for crystals. If her body had been placed in a mine shaft what would the condition of the body be now and could DNA be found on it such as Steven Powell`s DNA, the father-in-law?
[Dr. Michelle Dupre, M.d., Medical Examiner And Forensic Pathologist:] Well, there is a good chance that the DNA could be found. It really just depends on the actual condition of the body. If this is a warm environment, the body may have actually mummified preserving some of the DNA and as well as perhaps other trace evidence. But if it`s not, if the body is mostly skeletonized, DNA would be very difficult to find.
[Grace:] Back to Chuck Cox, this is Susan`s father joining us tonight. And taking your calls. What was it that the boys said or drew regarding mommy being in a car trunk or that mommy being in a mine shaft?
[Cox:] Well, Braden drew a picture of the family on an outing and he drew a van with three people inside. And he told the people he was at day care. And that he told the people there that that`s that`s me, that`s daddy and that`s Charlie. And he said, mommy`s in the trunk. And then he`d later volunteered that they stopped and mommy and daddy got out but mommy didn`t come back.
[Grace:] And Anne Bremner, police have that statement. Police have that drawing, correct?
[Bremner:] Absolutely. And it did nothing.
[Grace:] To Steve Moore, former fed with the FBI, author of "Special Agent Man." Steve Moore, look, I`m guilty, I`m always on the side of the police as a former prosecutor. As a crime victim myself. But I really believe they have dropped the ball on this case.
[Steve Moore, Former Fbi Agent, Investigator, Author Of "special Agent Man":] Well, it would seem that they have. They should be a little bit more aggressive. They should be a little bit more imaginative. That`s my guess.
[Grace:] A little bit more aggressive, Steve Moore? The two little boys are dead because the father was never arrested.
[Moore:] Right. And they had this diary which, frankly, is so gross I wish it hadn`t been aired, especially with dramatic reading. But they really, really have to ask themselves why they didn`t go forward with it.
[Grace:] Well, you know, cops are the ones that release these diaries. Out to the lines, Sandra in Ohio. Hi, Sandra, what`s your question?
[Sandra, Caller From Ohio:] Yes, Nancy. Don`t you think that Josh knew all along that his father was writing these things down and maybe he was helping him along?
[Grace:] Good question. To Alexis Weed, our producer on the story. As a matter of fact, Susan Cox-Powell brought her father-in-law`s unwanted advances to the attention of her husband Josh Powell. We know that for a fact.
[Alexis Weed, Nancy Grace Producer:] She did, Nancy. That`s one of the things that she complains about according to these diaries, according to Steven Powell`s diaries. She complains to Josh Powell that he`s making these advances. They`re unwanted. And Nancy, they moved hundreds of miles away specifically to get away from Steven Powell.
[Unidentified Male:] I would give anything to see her, touch her, feel her, look up her skirt. Even just look at her legs, massage her feet, rub her shoulders and most of all
[Grace:] Out to Jim Kirkwood, host at KTKK, joining us tonight in Salt Lake City. I`m looking at other photo diary photos in his diary. They are of her in her car, they are of her petting a little parakeet. He is obviously taking all these photos and masturbating to them without her knowledge. When were these diary entries as opposed to compared to the investigation and her disappearance, Jim Kirkwood?
[Jim Kirkwood, News Show Host, Ktkk:] Well, it`s our understanding that they were made all through when she was living there and then after she left. He has a complete record of his obsession with her. It`s disgusting but it certainly should give the police a lot of information.
[Grace:] And this goes on right up until the time she goes missing?
[Kirkwood:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] I am burning with desire for her. I feel like a wounded animal, crazed with the pain.
[Grace:] Even with the release of these diaries by police still no charges against the man that wrote them. Sex-obsessed father-in-law, Steven Powell. With us tonight, Susan Cox Powell`s father and the family lawyer. Jim Kirkwood joining us from KTKK there in Salt Lake City, he keeps up these entries up until the time she goes missing. My question is, where was he just before she goes missing? How far did he travel and do we have any idea why he suddenly showed up from out of state the very weekend she goes missing, never seen again?
[Kirkwood:] That is the really interesting question, because he takes off work, apparently he is in the state van on his travels and there are cell phone records that he was at least in a city north of Salt Lake, Brigham City, so this is very damning and again, why didn`t the police work on him, why didn`t they call him a person or interest, these are the questions that no one over here can answer.
[Grace:] You know, to you, Anne Bremner, lawyer for Chuck and Judy Cox, also with us tonight, Chuck Cox, he was there suddenly unannounced from out of state when she goes missing. What`s the theory about his out-of-state trip? Coincidentally, when she when she`s never seen again?
[Bremner:] Well, I think a lot I have had witnesses contact me that went to the police, and said they had more information than that that would connect them to the disappearance. And the only theory that he was involved, he had no other reason to be there, he said he went on that camping trip, quote-unquote camping trip at midnight in the snow. Called in sick after this appearance and then of course the records show he had phone contact with Josh during all of this so there`s a lot more to be investigated involving Steven Powell.
[Grace:] Chuck Cox, please tell what do we have to do, what can we do to start an investigation regarding the father-in-law, Steve Powell, and your dear`s disappearance and death?
[Cox:] I think we`re doing it. I think Anne is taking the action that needs to be done. And my biggest concern is, not to keep Steve prosecuted for the voyeurism against my daughter is, how would you like this guy out to be your neighbor? He gets out in May. He`s going to be a neighbor. He`s going to be blend be put back on that face and trying to blend in but he is still the sick, sick person. He can`t be let out.
[Grace:] Tonight, we are airing portions, the portions that are not so graphic we cannot air them, in a call to justice regarding Susan Cox and her children. Let`s stop and remember Army Private First Class Bryce Scott, 22, Eugene, Oregon, killed, Afghanistan. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, loved his family, children his whole life. Leaves behind parents, Steve and Carol, stepfather, Peter, an army vet brother Logan, daughter Selena and Mia. Bryce Scott, American hero. Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. Dr. Drew up next. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern and until then, good night, friend. END

[Quest:] Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment. This is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first. The Venezuelan vice president and the acting leader, Nicolas Maduro, has delivered an emotional eulogy for President Hugo Chavez in Caracas. The funeral lasted about two hours and included appearances by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the American Baptist preacher Reverend Jesse Jackson. President Chavez died on Tuesday after a long struggle with cancer. A hundred and fifteen cardinals will begin their conclave to elect a new pope on Tuesday. All the cardinals are now at the Vatican, and they're holding general meetings and preparing for the conclave. The Vatican says they will go into seclusion after a special mass to be held on Tuesday morning. As you heard on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, US unemployment rate fell two tenths of a percent and now stands at 7.7 percent. More than a quarter of a million new jobs were added last month, with construction, hospitals, and manufacturing sectors all reporting strong gains. A son-in-law of the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been arraigned in a New York courtroom. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to kill US nationals. Twenty-one UN peacekeepers being held by civilian rebels near the Golan Heights may soon be set free. The head of the UN peacekeeping force says the Filipino peacekeepers could be released during a brief cease-fire. However the Syrian National Coalition is calling on the International Red Cross to evacuate the soldiers as well as wounded civilians. Anyone who had any interest in the business world, particularly equities, knew that global stocks soared and that they've been boosted by monetary easing, cheap money and now a better jobs report. I insist that you join me in the library as we just look at a week that saw the Dow, the DAX, the Nikkei all have such strong sessions. The Nikkei remember the all-time high for the Nikkei was back in 1989. But it closed at a 412-year peak, up nearly 6 percent this week. Not only is there a new head of the Bank of Japan, who's committed to more easing to get rid of deflation and to restore growth, revised Q4 showed Japan escaped recession. The yen is weakened around 20 percent against the dollar. That boosts this incredible exporting nation and puts it more competitive. As for Germany, where we were last night, 8,000 on the DAX, in trade first time in five years. And the crucial comment by Mario Draghi yesterday, that not only will he keep he will keep his long-term refinancing and he will keep the open-ended allotment, it all shows that it will keep going on an open-ended basis, hence of course why the DAX and other markets have been strong. But this was this was the star. The Dow has now hit the fourth straight intraday record; it's up 2 percent on the week. And if you look at how it's gone absolutely like a rocket. Alison Kosik is on the floor of the stock exchange. Alison, you and I in our relationship of years have seen the highs and the lows of this market. So tell me
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] We have.
[Quest:] what's the move? Never mind the numbers; never mind the reason. What do they think there?
[Kosik:] You know what, the mood is really good, although today it's a little more cautious. You're seeing the Dow for one. Let's talk about the Dow for one. It's at record highs. As you say, they've hit the trifecta of highs - at least, at the close, three days in a row, it's going for a fourth right now. How could that not help the mood, right? Well, now guess what the focus on? The focus is on the S&P; 500. You look at the S&P; 500, it's at 1,549. Everybody's looking for 1,565. You're seeing a little caution, Richard, because we've seen the S&P; 500 hit a little more resistance. And so you're seeing it back down. I know all the focus has been on the Dow. But this trading floor is really focusing on the S&P; 500, which is a broader measure of the stocks, Richard.
[Quest:] So since it's a Friday and we have this extra second or two, where do you stand, Alison, at two views in CNN at the moment, some people are some of our colleagues saying the Dow is not important. It's 30 stocks. Others, like Ali Velshi, reminding us, yes, but they're the big 30. And they're vast parts of the economy. Where do you stand on it?
[Kosik:] I think I stand in the corner of the Dow really isn't representative of the economy anymore. I mean, you see how all this how many stocks have come and gone. Actually, the Dow these days is very tech- heavy. We're already got a lot of tech stocks. Think about the Nasdaq. I'd go with the S&P; 500. I say let's watch the S&P; 500, see what that does. Now if you think the S&P; 500 break through that resistance, I'd say the sky is the limit, because what would ultimately probably happen is, if the S&P; is able to break through that resistance level, you're going to see the Dow fall as well and keep going higher. So I like to watch the S&P; 500. How about you, Richard?
[Quest:] I still like the Dow. I'm a Dow man because I still believe it's got that psychological point. Alison, good to see you. It's been a good week for equities. And let's face it; unless you've really shorted the market, most people are long in their pensions funds, in their retirement accounts and then when you do see the market when you see these sort of numbers that we have seen during the week, you've got to admit that it is a pretty powerful message. So when we come back on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS
[Unidentified Male:] [Inaudible].
[Quest:] I assure you, the family viewing you don't want to know what was behind the beeps. But it is Justin Bieber. He walked out of his hotel and into an enormous amount of.

[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Huge wildfire in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, mostly out, thanks to heavy rains which helped firefighters douse those flames. Unfortunately, the destruction was already done and fairly extensive. More than 60 buildings damaged or destroyed. Many are just charred shells. 200,000 acres of the mountain resort community was burned. There will be a public memorial service tonight near Tampa for Jeffrey Bush, he is the man who vanished into a giant sinkhole that opened up under his bedroom. The home has torn down, the hole filled, Bush's body was never recovered. So, entrepreneurs in Washington state are looking at the prospect of mixing tourism and marijuana, with the possibility of dinner cruises, jazz festivals, social clubs. Pot is now legal there, but that does not mean it's an easy way to make a living as far as the federal government is concerned. Marijuana is still an illegal drug. Seattle's tourism board thinks pot would be a good fit for the city, eventually.
[Tom Norwalk, President And Ceo, Visit Seattle:] I think we're a little cautious and conservative with now in terms of what the federal approach will be, but without a doubt it plays a role and has a part in the future of tourism.
[Berman:] The state's liquor control board is drawing up plans for growing, processing, and selling marijuana and marijuana-based products that could take place next year. So, Seattle has coffee and marijuana.
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] That's so interesting. Because he's from visit Seattle, right? That's the tourism board there. Have to wonder if doing that, marketing that, also drives away some people too. I would certainly not bring my children to Seattle on that marketing campaign.
[Berman:] You wouldn't want to go on the pot dinner cruise with your children, probably.
[O'brien:] Right, but I wonder if it would make people think twice about visiting the are there implications that bleed into other parts of that.
[Berman:] It'll be interesting to see. What, to me, is so interesting is that the government are intertwined so closely with the sale of marijuana. They want to make tax dollars off of this.
[O'brien:] Right, right. Well, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says women need to be called to action. She's got a new book called "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead." And it takes a hard look at what is holding women back from leadership roles in the workplace. It sparked lots of debate. I recently sat down with Sheryl and we talked about some of the obstacles women face when getting ahead, including likability.
[Sheryl Sandberg, Coo, Facebook:] Until literally a few years ago, I never said the word woman in the workforce, right?
[O'brien:] But now with her new book, "Lean In," Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is not only talking and writing about women in the workforce, you could say she's preaching about it, and the barriers that women face.
[Sandberg:] Women are held back by lots of things. Women are held back by institutional barriers, lack of flexibility, terrible public policy. Our country trails most others, sexism, discrimination. But we're also held back by things that exist within us. You know, we are taught as children that girls behave one way, and boys behave another.
[O'brien:] You talk a little bit about you use a word relentlessly pleasant. You should be relentlessly pleasant or delicately honest is that just another way of saying worry about your likability without saying likability?
[Sandberg:] You know, I want the likability penalty to go away for women. I think the way it goes away, is if you get more female leaders, because we assume men will lead and women will nurture, because it turns out 86 percent of the men are leading. The leaders are men and women are nurturing. If we can change those numbers, we change it I don't want to tell women to be relentlessly pleasant and I don't want to tell women you don't need to use "we" in negotiation instead of "
[I." O'brien:] You tell that. That's exactly what you tell them to do.
[Sandberg:] In the book I say I want to change all of this. We have to work together to change this. But if you're negotiating for a raise today? Use "we," not "
[I:] because it will work. It's practical. It's not advice I want to perpetuate in the workforce which is why I wrote the book.
[O'brien:] Right, but realistically, don't you have to have I mean, you talk about it in the book, you give tips on how to have an engaging personality to realistically be successful. I don't know that people give men tips on an engaging personality.
[Sandberg:] Yeah. The cards are stacked against women and I'm clear on that in the book. What "Lean In" is trying to do is open people's eyes to the way cards are stacked. If we stop calling our little girls bossy. If when we say bossy, we say my daughter has executive leadership skills, we're going to stop telling women in the workforce that they are too aggressive, when they do things that men do all the time. It's not that every behavior a woman does is fine. And I'm not telling women to be like men. I'm telling us to evaluate what men and women do in the workforce and at home, without that gender bias.
[O'brien:] Sandberg says one of the reasons she wrote the book was to bring gender bias out of the shadows.
[Sandberg:] Men get to be both successful and likable. Powerful and likable. Women have to pick. We can change that if we change the numbers. We're holding people to stereotypes. If more women start leading, that will become part of our understanding of women. I said publicly, I cry at work. It's not a best practice. I'm not suggesting if you want to get promoted today, go sob to your boss. But it's happened to me, and I've admitted it publicly because I know it's happening to other women, and I don't want the to spend the two weeks worrying about it like I did.
[O'brien:] But the reality is that you'll be penalized. You're not penalized because you're Sheryl Sandberg and you're crying on the shoulder of your boss who you're close to who said let me give you a hug.
[Sandberg:] Except the women the women who came before me could never have said that. Think about the way the women dressed in the 1970s in corporate America.
[O'brien:] A fluffy bow.
[Sandberg:] And look at what you and I are wearing, right? Things are changing. Are you allowed to be a woman in the workforce now. That's because we're not first.
[O'brien:] We asked Sandberg about another famous female CEO. Yahoo!'s Marissa Meyer and her decision to end telecommuting, something many women to do to balance work and child care. Is she helping or hurting the revolution?
[Sandberg:] I don't know exactly what happened Iahoo!. I haven't seen statements from her. I don't thin anyone quite knows. I think she's proving the point that there are too few female leaders. Try to stereotype of extrapolate from a male leader to all men CEOs. Not possible. There are so many. So, men are allowed to be individuals. Women need that freedom to be individuals as well. That looks amazing.
[O'brien:] This week, Sandberg celebrates her five-year anniversary with Facebook with the stock from last year's infamous IPO launch still not reaching the original price, she says there is still much work to do at the company. But she won't rule out that there may be a time when she leans back. What does your future look like? You dodge this question every time. Have you been asked so many times and every time you dodge. What do you think down the road? When? When your children are preteen? What do you want to do?
[Sandberg:] I really love my job. We're in the Facebook office. Look at this place. It doesn't get better.
[O'brien:] So you're going to have to say. Five years down the road, what will you be doing?
[Sandberg:] I think I'll still be at Facebook. My five-year anniversary at Facebook is next week. And Mark and I do long-run planning together.
[O'brien:] Ten years down the road?
[Sandberg:] Yeah. We'll see. I really love my job and really love being a parent. I love being a parent. I'm not running for office. I don't know how many times to say that, but, no, look, I love my job. I would like to always have the following: I would like to always make sure I'm doing something I believe in. I really believe in Facebook, I will work there if I believe in it, work here, here in the office, if I believe in it. I really believe in "Lean In." I'm passionate about doing this and I'm a really passionate mother. I love being with my kids. I don't do it all perfectly as a mother. I don't think we ever quite know what we're doing. I feel guilty sometimes, but I love my time with my children.
[O'brien:] And there it is, the ultimate debate. She has said that she hopes this book will start a conversation and help the revolution. Certainly started a conversation, maybe debate is a better word.
[Berman:] Mission accomplished if that's what she was after.
[O'brien:] Number one on Amazon and I think it's because people are really trying to figure it out. Really struggling to figure out, how do you have success in the workplace and make sure your family is not falling apart.
[Chris John Farley, The Wall Street Journal:] The comment she made about "bossy" that I though very interesting. I hear people around my 7- year-old daughter say all the time about other little girls. She's bossy. I never heard my 10-year-old son describe anyone as bossy. Because bossy seems to be a good among his peers.
[O'brien:] You know, and one of the challenges I think is that she'll say let's call that great leadership skills. Not bossy. Tell that little girl she's got a great CEO executive skill. The problem when she's 28, 29 or 30, up for a promotion, everyone's going to be like yes, you're bossy, and you won't get the promotion. I think that that's the rub. That's the challenge. I'm not bossy. I look at you, see what you are thinking. I'm a little bit bossy.
[Berman:] I would tell each kid that you are annoying. Don't tell the girls, great leadership skills, don't tell the boys great leadership skills, tell them they are being bossy in the preschool classroom, they're pains in the neck.
[Farley:] I think we want to encourage people being bossy. In fact, next time my daughter's being bossy I'm going to give her a corner office in my house, just so she realizes later on it will pay off.
[Father Edward Beck, Cnn Contributor:] You never had nuns, did you?
[O'brien:] Oh.
[Farley:] Speaking of bossy.
[O'brien:] Father, carry on.
[Beck:] Well, I'm just saying the untold secret is that laywomen and nuns do a lot of leadership in our church, they run parishes. Now, again they're not in leadership positions that we see, but there is a lot of strength of women in the church. I know this is a big issue, like women's ordination is a big issue. Let's not underestimate the power and persuasion of women in the church right now. It's huge.
[O'brien:] But part of that debate is exactly that, right? Which is they are already in leadership positions but to get to the ultimate leadership position, it's not open to them. And
[I -- Beck:] If you see priesthood as that as the ultimate leadership position.
[O'brien:] Maybe that's part of the answer too. What is the ultimate goal? Maybe for everyone the top leadership position is not leaning into something you don't particularly want, is not necessarily a victory.
[Beck:] Maybe the pope will make appointments that will symbolically and really speak to that.
[O'brien:] I love the way we circle us back around to the big story of the morning. Well done, Father. Well done. Up next, talk about the ten-year anniversary of invasion of Iraq. We'll talk to actor and motivational speak J.R. Martinez who served in the army in the war. He was severely injured by a road side bomb. He's our guest ahead. And of course, you want to be sure to watch "The Lead." It's hosted by Jake Tapper, that's today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

[Harris:] If it is trending online, we are tracking it for you. Well, in fact, in all honesty, Sandra Endo is tracking it for us. She is following what's trending. Good to see you, Sandy.
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Tony, hi there. Trending today, OK, check it out. On CNN.com, this is a pretty serious story. Congress, after a lot of debate, finally passed a health benefits bill for 911 first responders. And this would provide them free health care and compensation, as you know, Tony11 emergency personnel who responded that day and now are having so many health issues. Well, the issue is actually stirring up a lot of passion on the blogs. And hear what some people are saying on CNN.com. From Shouter Guy, he says, "Denial of benefits was coldhearted and calculated." Another comment from European Dude writes, "The ones that opposed it andor voted against it should be fired. Taking care of our own people should be the number one priority. Why did it take 10 years?" And one more. Miked2003 wrote in, "Too little, too late." And the total cost of this bill, Tony, $4.2 billion. At issue was that Republicans wanted the price tag to be a little less than that.
[Harris:] Yes. You're right.
[Endo:] So, always a political debate, right, in Washington? All right. One more thing, Tony, I have to tell you that's trending. You know, pretty bad timing for Skype. This is what you're going to see when you log in to the Internet phone service.
[Harris:] Whoa.
[Endo:] And basically, they are having technical problems. People can't log on to the service, and it all started yesterday. They are still trying to fix the problem. And this is a really popular way to communicate, especially around the holidays. People want to log in, see their family across the screen from them with these video-type chats. And people can't log in, so Skype tweeted their problem. And this is what you're going to find. And they are basically working out all the kinks, but hopefully people can get connected during this holiday season.
[Harris:] I haven't read it, but how long is it going to take? Will folks be able to get connected before the holidays?
[Endo:] Yes, hopefully. They have identified the problem.
[Harris:] OK. All right.
[Endo:] But clearly, they're still working on it.
[Harris:] Well, that's the first step.
[Endo:] Yes.
[Harris:] All right, Sandy. See you next hour. Thank you. And a developing story overseas for you now. Bombs exploded at two embassies in Rome today. The first was a package bomb that went off at the Swiss Embassy. Police say the person who opened it was seriously wounded. A second bomb exploded at the Chilean Embassy. One person was injured. Police are checking all of the embassies and consulates in the city. On the phone from Rome is "Newsweek" correspondent Barbie Nadeau. And Barbie, the explosions at these embassies in Rome come amid, as you know, growing concerns in Europe over possible holiday season attacks. After the recent suicide bombing in Stockholm, Sweden, and raids this week in Britain that, as you know, netted a dozen suspects, are any of the dots being connected here?
[Barbie Nadeau, "newsweek" Correspondent:] Well, I think the authorities here in Italy are really focused on this being an act of the anarchist resurgence that we've seen in parts of Europe lately. Since last week, when Silvio Berlusconi won a confidence vote and remained in power, there have been a lot of anarchist attacks, infiltrations of these violent groups in the normally peaceful protest. And the Italian government right now has announced that they aren't looking far beyond that as the sources of these two bombs. They're most concerned right now that there are bombs in other embassies. And because this is the Christmas holiday, and today is really the last day of work tomorrow is a holiday here there could be more of these parcel bombs in the mail rooms at some embassies. That's their focus right now, to really take a good look, door to door, at all the embassies.
[Harris:] Yes. And Barbie, while I have you on the phone, have you learned anything more about Tuesday's bomb scare in one of Rome's subways? A suspicious package was found under a subway seat. Correct?
[Nadeau:] That's correct. That bomb hadn't been completed. The police, at the end of the day, came to the conclusion that someone was still building that, that they had accidentally left it. It hadn't been planted on the subway. And that bomb most likely was going to be used in the protest that was held yesterday. There were lots of students who had these sort of handmade bombs and all sorts of hand-thrown bombs that they used in protest across Italy yesterday. So that bomb wasn't related to this. The police right now really aren't giving a lot of information until they have done a sweep of all the embassies. And, of course, Rome has embassies for both Italy and the Holy See. So they got twice as many embassies as any other capital city.
[Harris:] "Newsweek" correspondent Barbie Nadeau on the phone with us from Rome. Barbie, appreciate it. Thank you. If the trend holds, retailers are looking at their best holiday season numbers since 2007. One thing helping people spend, around- the-clock shopping. Here is Alison Kosik.
[Kosik:] We're out here on Long Island, just outside of New York City, at this Macy's. It's 1:00 a.m., but guess what? This Macy's is open. In fact, it has been opened since the Tuesday before Christmas, and it's not closing until Christmas Eve. So who would come out here in the dark of night, in the freezing cold, to do their last-minute Christmas shopping? We're going to go in and take a look.
[Unidentified Male:] Well, I figure, it's the best time to shop. Nobody is here.
[Unidentified Female:] I am working all day, so I don't have any other time to shop. I mean, I know I'm tired, I'm like sleepy. But if I don't get it done at 1:00 in the morning, I just won't get it done tomorrow in the day.
[Kosik:] So surveys even show that almost a third of consumers actually leave their Christmas shopping up until the last minute. And retailers like Macy's know it, it's why they keep their stores open around the clock in the final days till we get to Christmas. And look, even people are here at 1:00 in the morning still shopping.
[Unidentified Male:] I come here usually the last four or five days and I usually show up around 11:00 and shop.
[Kosik:] Do you still have a lot of shopping to do?
[Unidentified Female:] Oh, yes. I got four kids, so you can imagine. We purposely waited until the 24 hours to come. We wait until the last minute so we can come in the middle of the night when no one is here.
[Kosik:] And how long do you plan on being here?
[Unidentified Female:] I don't know. Whenever we're done. I have travel clock alarm, travel umbrella, Juicy sweatshirts. Ugg boots is on my list, a rechargeable phone, hair straightener we're looking for.
[Kosik:] And it's not just Macy's staying open around the clock in the days leading up to Christmas. Toys "R" Us is doing the same, so is Old Navy. And you know, this phenomenon is growing in popularity as the economy improves.
[Unidentified Female:] We did it last year and then this year. So And we'll do it next year. And we are doing it next year. It'll be our new tradition.
[Harris:] All right, CNNMoney's Alison Kosik joining us live from the New York Stock Exchange. And, Alison, is it really worth it for retailers to stay open past midnight? Does it really help their bottom line that much?
[Kosik:] You know, you got believe it does, because, if you think about it, Macy's started this around the clock shopping thing back in 2006 with one store. Now it's happening in 14 stores in major cities. Toys "R" Us is doing this this year nationwide. Old Navy is even kind of doing a version of it for 36 hours. They are obviously doing well. They are continuing it year after year Tony.
[Harris:] And what was the commotion we heard down there on the floor earlier?
[Kosik:] Oh yes. You heard what was going on? That was the traders. They actually stop working for about, I don't know, 30 seconds to sing the song. It's called "Wait Until the Sun Shines, Nelly." If you want to take a listen, if we can get the video.
[Harris:] Yes, yes. We got it.
[Kosik:] Let's listen. So this is a tradition at the New York Stock Exchange. It happens on Christmas Eve, the last day of trading, which is December 31st. It's a song about better times ahead, of hope. This tradition began back in the Depression, in the Great Depression in 1934, which is kind of fitting for our economic times. Here you have kind of an upbeat view for next year. So there you go.
[Harris:] Absolutely. All right, good stuff, Alison. Appreciate it. Thank you. CNN's Wolf Blitzer on the streets of Pyongyang. We open the door on North Korea's closed capital.

[Banfield:] Just want to get you up to speed on some breaking news that CNN has been following. We have confirmation from U.S. Airways that flight number 787 that was on its way from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris to Charlotte here in the United States did not make its intended destination. It was diverted. The airline is telling us the reason, quote, "a security issue." Now we're told by the TSA that that large capacity Boeing 767 jetliner has actually landed in Bangor, Maine and it has been met by law enforcement officials. That is the kind of plane we're looking at on your screen, it's not the plane, but it is the kind of plane, the 767. Again, large- capacity plane, but we don't know how many people on board. We also don't know exactly what the security issue was. But we do know this from the TSA. Apparently, a passenger was exhibiting some suspicious behavior. I can't tell you anything more than that because the TSA is not telling us anything more than that. Hopefully, law enforcement will be able to get to the bottom of that. We will continue to collect details and bring you that, as well. In the meantime, a lot of people coming in, political gut check today. This is your late breaking injection of the political news driving tomorrow's headlines. Our political director, Mark Preston, is joining me live now from Washington. Colin Powell getting into things kind of, I think we can say. He's got a book, making the talk show rounds, and not saying the things that he said back in 2008. I'm talking about an endorsement. Why?
[Mark Preston, Cnn Political Director:] Well, you know, remember, Ashleigh, back just a few weeks before the November election in 2008, Colin Powell made big news when he came out and endorsed Barack Obama for president. Colin Powell, the Republican, you know, and still is, endorsing the Democrat. That was very big news. But today he wasn't so willing to get right behind President Obama. In fact, let's listen to what he said on the "Today" show.
[Colin Powell, Former Secretary Of State:] I always keep my powder dry, as we say in the military. I listen to what the president says and what he's doing, but I also have to listen to the other guy. I've known Mitt Romney for many years, a good man. It's not just a matter of whether you support Obama or Romney. It's who they have coming in with them.
[Preston:] Then you have Colin Powell just a few hours ago on the "Today" show saying that he's not ready to make an endorsement for the presidential race. I went back and I listened to the interview he did with "Meet the Press" when he made that endorsement. A couple things struck me at that time. First of all, he said that the Republican Party was going too far to the right at the time and that brought him a lot of concern. He also didn't like the fact that John McCain chose Sarah Palin, who he said wasn't ready for the job. And also at the time, he described President Obama, then Senator Obama as a transformational figure. So now you have to ask yourself, does he no longer think that President Obama is transformational? And is he really looking to see if Mitt Romney can take the Republican Party and keep it more in the center instead of having it go a little bit to the right? It will be interesting to see what Colin Powell does over the next couple months Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Right, or, Mark, maybe he's waiting to find out who Mitt Romney is going to choose as his VP candidate before he decides to weigh in on that since it made such reverberations last time.
[Preston:] Yes, no doubt. I mean, certainly going to have some kind of role in who he decides to pick.
[Banfield:] OK, let's move on to Cory Booker, the now very famous Newark, New Jersey, mayor who some say stepped in it and others say was telling it like it is when he criticized both not only the Obama campaign, but Mitt Romney's campaign for getting I'll just throw the word in there too dirty. He was not happy about it. I don't know. The dominos seemed to keep falling. Is this thing over? Is it going to go away or are we going to continue to see more ads using bits and pieces of what people say on "Meet the Press"?
[Preston:] Well, we're going to certainly continue to see Cory Booker in the news. This is something that we wrote about yesterday, which it's really bad for a candidate when one of his top surrogates goes out and becomes the news of the day. And that's what Cory Booker has been now for a couple days since he went out and criticized really the negative tone of the campaign, not only being directed by the "Super PACs," which is the independent expenditures, but also the candidates themselves. By doing that, the Republicans immediately seized upon that and they said that, look, even Cory Booker says that Mitt Romney's campaign should not be going after the whole of private equity and investment in America. Now we are going to continue to see this. We already saw just an hour ago. We saw the Romney campaign doing another conference call with reporters to try and hammer home this message that President Obama is not good for business and is not good for creating jobs. And then, look, look what happened less than 24 hours ago at the NATO Summit. President Obama is up there trying to talk about international issues and he's being forced to talk about this campaign specifically about Cory Booker's comments. It's not very good for a candidate to have to do that. You know what, Ashleigh, it's not going away anytime soon.
[Banfield:] Boy, it feels like aeons ago we were talking about social issues and same-sex marriage, but now it seems to be all about the economy and of course, Bain, and the fallout from Booker. I want to talk about the new poll that's come out that shows there's an absolute split between these two candidates when it comes to who Americans think is more likely to be able to fix the economy. That's a dead heat, folks, 47 percent to 47 percent. President Obama and Mitt Romney coming in dead even. So I guess the question is, is this a philosophical debate now for Americans between, you know, the government intervention and free market capitalism or is it who's campaigning better about those issues?
[Preston:] I think it's both. And, look, it's something that has been talked about for the last year or so. We just haven't heard Mitt Romney being able to come above the fray, so to speak. He's been engaged in the Republican primary trying to fight back the attacks on his right from his primary opponents at the same time, fighting back the attacks from his left from President Obama. So what we're seeing now is a whole discussion about how can you turn the economy around. That "Washington Post" poll, which was just out this morning, really hits it home. The fact of the matter is we've known, Ashleigh, all along this is issue number one. The fact of the matter is people are out of work, they're losing their homes, and they want to know how it's going to be turned around. I got to tell you. The most fascinating number that came out of this "Washington Post" poll is that 17 percent of Americans in their poll now said that the economy was either excellent or very good. I have to ask you, who do you think these 17 percent is? You know, who are these people that think we're doing very well right now with our economic conditions?
[Banfield:] Always great to talk to you. Just a wealth of knowledge. We have to have coffee sometime.
[Preston:] Absolutely.
[Banfield:] On me. Mark Preston, nice to see you. Thanks very much. Also want to let you know, if there's breaking political news you'll hear about it first on CNN's "Political Gut Check." You can get the information straight to your inbox every afternoon. Just e-mail mark at gutcheck@cnn.com. He reads all your e-mails and responds, I'm told. Are you having a hard time getting those creative juices flowing? We'll talk with "The New York Times" best-selling author whose new book aims to put the power of creativity right into your hands.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnnmoney.com Correspondent:] Good to see you. Well, here on the "Help Desk" today, we are talking about retirement planning that matters for people at any age. With me some great experts, Ryan Mack is president of Optimum Capital Management, Stacey Francis is a financial adviser and president of Francis Financial. We've got an e-mail from Dennis in Virginia. He's 64 years old. He'll retire in two years. He said my wife and I have around $1.3 million in savings. How should we divide the money in terms of stocks, bonds, et cetera so obviously a little more risk averse at that age.
[Stacy Francis, Financial Adviser:] A little bit more risk averse and often it will start off with a 60-40 allocation, 60 percent stocks, 40 percent bonds, and then it deviates based on your goals, risk tolerance and when you need the money. They may not need to touch the money immediately. If they need the money immediately then we want to take a year's worth of their living expenses they'll pull from their portfolio. Keep it in a high interest savings account and take the rest for the longer-term savings and diversify.
[Harlow:] What do you think the best time, Ryan, to start planning? Really when you get your first job.
[Ryan Mack, President, Optimum Capital Management:] Right out of college. Everybody goes through different stages of live. You have your accumulation phase, conservation phase and distribution phase. Accumulation, you're starting your job. Learn and read as much as possible. Get that 401 k. Read the benefits package. You'd be surprised how few people know what is in their funds. Make sure you're having a good analysis of your financial adviser if you choose to have one.
[Harlow:] Absolutely. There's so much free online as well. Thanks, guys. If you have a question, send us an e-mail anytime to CNN "Help Desk" at cnn.com. Back to you.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn:] Erin, thanks very much. Good evening. We begin tonight with breaking news. Potentially the spark that ignites a powder keg. At a very least, a very tense moment in a very tense part of the world tonight. A Turkish warplane is down. Syria says it shot it down. Turkey lost track of the warplane reportedly an American-made F-4 phantom over the Mediterranean not far from the Syrian border. The Syrians state television claiming that the fighter was shot down after crossing into Syria at high speed and low altitude. Warships from both countries now searching for the crew, which would be a two-man crew, if indeed the missing plane is an F-4. Turkey also flies Americans F-16s, most of which carry a single pilot. The Turkish government now on emergency footing. The prime minister tonight meeting with cabinet members and his top military commanders. The prime minister's office say that Turkey would respond decisively once all the facts are established. This is, as you'd imagine, a very fast-moving story. Ivan Watson is following it tonight for us from Istanbul. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Also with us, Fouad Ajami, senior fellow at Stanford University Hoover Institution, national security analyst, Fran Townsend as well who presided over plenty of tense moments as homeland security adviser to president George W. Bush. A lot to cover. Fouad Ajami, you say there's little doubt Syrians knew this was a Turkish plane?
[Fouad Ajami, Senior Fellow, Stanford University's Hoover Institution:] Absolutely. And I think this is a message being sent by the Bashar regime to Turkey. Turkey's four times larger. Turkey's a NATO member. But Turkey has stepped into the Syria entanglement if you will. And weapons are being shipped given to the army T3 in army now through the mediation of the Turks. And I think Bashar knows what he's doing. And I think this would be done deliberately. It would be done to show that Syria's not afraid. And Bashar knows that no cover has come to the rescue of the Syrian opposition. And I think it shows you a sense of invulnerability on the part of the Syrian regime.
[Cooper:] Fran, do you agree with this, this was a calculated act on the part of Bashar Al-Assad?
[Fran Townsend, Cnn International Security Contributor:] And I think not only do they have the sort of air be sent capability to be able to identify this, of course what we don't know, once you identify an incursion in your airspace, just assuming for the moment it's accurate there has such an incursion. What are the Syrians to do, given their capability to identify the threat, understand the intention, as opposed to just hitting the button and launching the missile and taking down this aircraft? And their statement, Anderson, is also very calculated. When the Syrians say this was a low flying and very fast aircraft that were incurred, what they're telling you is that they're trying to defend themselves against what if this had been a civilian aircraft? Of course, a civilian aircraft wouldn't have been that low, wouldn't have been traveling that fast. And so even their words and their statement are very calculated. Their defense is they want to be clear, but I think it is true to say, we have to assume they were sending a message not only to Turkey but to the alliance. Because we know of course Turkey has, earlier this spring, threatened to go to NATO and invoke article five. That is the defense of is the, you know, incursion against one required the action of all. And so I think this was, in fact, a very calculated move on the fact of Bashar Al-Assad of Syria.
[Cooper:] Ivan, the Turks have not confirmed the plane was shot down till after midnight. They didn't confirm it till after midnight. Are they trying to bury the story? I mean clearly, it puts them in an awkward situation.
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, that's the impression I'm getting because the plane had already been missing for more than 12 hours by the time the Turkish government finally announced it had, in fact, been shot down. Another interesting point is the Turks have also said they're working together with the Syrians on the rescue operation. So despite the fact that it has been weeks, if not months, since the Turks pulled their diplomats out of Damascus, there does seem to be high-level coordination going on between the two militaries in this case. I would interpret this as the Turks and Syrians not wanting this incident to escalate further. And there has been a pattern, a very provocative moves by the Syrians in the past. It's not too long before the last time you were here, Anderson, the Syrian troops in one border area fired across into Turkish territory, into a refugee camp, and wounded at least one Turkish police officer. The Turkish prime minister, who is well known for his fiery temper, especially against Israel, did not explode in this case. And in this case of a Turkish warplane shot down and possibly two dead crewmen, he has deliberately calmed the situation down, buried the story after midnight on Friday, on the Turkish weekend, and seems not to want to let this to escalate out of control, Anderson.
[Cooper:] So Barbara, what response has the Pentagon had so far about this?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well look, you know, Friday night here at the Pentagon, no official response. But behind the scenes, make no mistake. Growing concern, Anderson. We've now seen two days of what you can think of as instability in Middle East airspace. Yesterday, the Syrian pilot defecting to Jordan across the boundaries of another country. Tonight, this situation with the Turkish warplane. Middle east airspace is very tight. Dangerous at the best of times. And now you have two incidents in two days. You can bet behind the scenes Turkey, Israel, Jordan and the U.S. Navy in the eastern Mediterranean literally have their radars up tonight watching all of this. The next question I think will be, what does the Turkish government ask the White House for. Will they ask for more radars, more surveillance, more help in monitoring that very tight airspace in the Mediterranean? And if the Turks ask for it, what about Jordan, what about Israel?
[Cooper:] Fouad, if Ivan is correct, and Turkey is trying to kind of ratchet this down and not escalate it, is that a positive message for Bashar Al-Assad? Did he, then, make the correct gamble on this? In fact, if he is the one behind shooting down of this plane, then basically it allows him to look tough without having repercussions from Turkey?
[Ajami:] Well, I think that's absolutely right. But what's interesting about this, when you think you have to think about the position of Prime Minister Erdogan. Prime Minister Erdogan has blown hot and cold over Syria. Prime Minister Erdogan has threatened intervention in Syria and then pulled back. And I think this is almost reckoning time for him because of the time we went to Turkey, when I went with you, and we were in Turkey, and I stayed behind, and you hear discussions within Turkey, intellectual and political circles. They're very, very upset with Prime Minister Erdogan because he thinks he hasn't really clarified Turkey's position. But willy-nilly now I think this is a larger crisis than ever before. And I think the Obama policy in itself in many ways involved here. Because there's always been assumption in Washington that this could burn out without any intervention by the United States, and I think once Turkey is involved, there is a wider involvement.
[Cooper:] Yes. Fouad, appreciate you being on. I should also point out, Fouad has written a remarkable new book, "the Syrian Rebellion," which I highly recommend. It's a great account of what has been going on, what we have been witnessing and broadcasting about for the last 16 or so months and also the history of Syria. It's again, "the Syrian Rebellion" just out now. Ivan Watson, thank you. Barbara Starr, Fran Townsend as well. We are going to continue to follow the story throughout the hour and throughout the night. Let us know what you think. We're on facebook. Follow me on twitter @Andersoncooper. I will be tweeting tonight as well. Up next, why doesn't this powerful congressman want to answer our questions? Could it be the four congressional and federal investigators examining his business practices? We will tell you who he is and what he's being investigated about. We are "Keeping Them Honest."

[Blitzer:] You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, deadly chaos in Pakistan as NATO supply trucks headed for Afghanistan from Pakistan come under explosive attack. Plus, it's been almost two years since a massive terror siege in Mumbai, India killed more than 100 people. Now there are serious fears it could happen right here in the United States. We're going to show you what New York City is doing to prepare. I'm Wolf Blitzer, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. But first, let's go to Arkansas where right now a man convicted two decades ago of a brutal child murder is waiting for a new verdict. The U.S. Supreme Court reviewing whether he and two other men should get a new trial. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has more on this gut-wrenching case.
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Correspondent:] With tales of brutal satanic rituals, the murders of three boys have haunted West Memphis for 17 years.
[Unidentified Male:] We the jury find Damian Echols guilty of capital murder.
[Feyerick:] Now the story continues, possibly turning on a hair like this found at the grisly crime scene. [on camera]: What is it that you hope that you get from the Arkansas Supreme Court?
[Damian Echols, On Death Row:] What I want is a new trial. I want to go back in front of a jury and in front of the state of Arkansas and present all of the evidence that we have now and show where the mistakes were made during the original trial. I want to be vindicated in front of everyone.
[Feyerick:] We meet Damian Echols at the supermax prison about an hour's drive south of Little Rock, Arkansas. He's almost 36 and has spent half his life on death row. Two friends also convicted of the murders are serving life sentences. [on camera]: You were asked at the trial did you kill Christopher Buyers and your was then?
[Echols:] No.
[Feyerick:] And your answer is now?
[Echols:] No, absolutely not.
[Feyerick:] Michael Moore?
[Echols:] No, absolutely not. Even though it's been 20 years, you never get used to being asked that. It's the kind of thing that screws with your head for the rest of your life, to have people that constantly ask you that question, it's like being kicked in the stomach over and over and over again.
[Feyerick:] Chris, Michael, Stevie, best friends found naked in the woods where they played, their hands and feet hog- tied with their own shoelaces. [on camera]: Those sterile images of those little boys down by the creek, how did those images affect you?
[Echols:] I didn't see those all the up until it was during the trial. So it was still sort of abstract to me. They were just names. That's when it really hit me and it does something to you when you see something like that, it cracks you inside.
[Feyerick:] After the boys were discovered here, police searched the area, and yet they found no physical evidence linking Damian Echols and his two friends to the crime scene. There was no DNA, no fingerprints, nothing even suggesting a satanic ritual which prosecutors allege was the motive for the murder. Since being convicted, all three have maintained their innocence. Police and prosecutors stand by their case saying the convictions speak for themselves. Echols' defense team claims it has new information pointing to someone else. That has in many this small Midwestern town questioning whether the verdict may have been wrong.
[Echols:] We have come up with a lot of evidence now that wasn't available at the time I went to trial.
[Feyerick:] For Damian Echols, life or death now could come down to a single hair found in the shoelaces used to tie up one of the boys. DNA testing suggests the hair could belong to the stepfather of another victim Stevie Branch. The stepfather Terry Hobbs has denied involvement. Police have closed the case and did not consider him a suspect. [on camera]: Why would police come to you? What was your alibi?
[Echols:] I didn't fit in the town where I lived. I only dressed in black. I had, you know, pretty outrageous hairstyles. At the time that the police say the murders took place, I was actually on the phone with three different people. The problem was the attorneys I had at the time, the public defenders never even called them to the witness stand. Never even ask them about this kind of stuff.
[Feyerick:] The Arkansas attorney general now on the case now tells us, "We take the utmost care in handling the appeals of death sentences handed down by Arkansas jurors. We're committed to fairness and justice." The family of one of the victims is among those who believe justice was done. [on camera]: Is it just enough for you to be found innocent or do you need for somebody to be found guilty?
[Echols:] I guess I don't absolutely need it, I'll survive without them finally putting someone else on trial for this. But it would be a tremendous sense of closure for me. If they don't, then you're always going to have people looking at you, wondering.
[Feyerick:] It's a loose end.
[Echols:] Yes, it is.
[Feyerick:] A loose end, possibly tied up Echols hopes if he is granted a new trial. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, West Memphis, Arkansas.
[Blitzer:] What a story. The future of hundreds of NASA workers now up in the air after what happened to them today. And a disturbing discovery in the deadly fight against drugs on the border with Mexico.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] CNN NEWSROOM with Don Lemon begins right now. We'll see everybody back here tomorrow morning.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Inch by inch and mile by mile, a massive winter storm burying records and taking aim at Washington, government agencies shut down. Snow piling up. Power outages spreading. Banned since September 11th, now the TSA changing the rules. Small knives, some sports equipment will now be allowed on airplanes. We'll talk about it. The newest member of Britain's royal family could be, well, a princess. Why the British tabloids are betting it's a little girl. Plus.
[Unidentified Male:] See the sky, who created you. Lord.
[Lemon:] "The Bible," who knew, better than a best seller, now a television hit, God is beating zombies in the TV ratings. I'm going to talk to the producer. You're live right now in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Carol is off today. Snowfalls and records are tumbling right now. The same powerful winter storm that buried much of the central U.S. now slogging east, up to 20 inches of snow blankets the region, and this morning nearly, get this, 100,000 homes and businesses are now without power. That same wet, heavy snow could bring down even more power lines in and around Washington. Live look now from Washington, there's the nation's capitol. Federal offices closed today and the temperatures swinging just a few degrees. Could make all the difference today. Joe Johns slogging it out for us. He is northwest of the capital in Winchester, Virginia. Joe, it is going to get bad. Just how bad is it going to get?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Crime And Justice Correspondent:] Well, pretty bad. I can tell you it's actually picked up since we started around 5:00 this morning Eastern Time. And, Don, it's not just the volume of the snow, it's also the weight and the heft of it, and the fact that it's moist. I mean, if you look at this, you can see the way the snow just is prone to stick on the limbs, of course, so much weight can bring limbs down, can bring trees down, power lines, as you've already said. It's been a long day across the country and this is going to go on for quite a while.
[Johns:] In Chicago the afternoon commute was an icy, snowy mess.
[Unidentified Female:] It doesn't make for good driving but at the same time, you know what? It's beautiful out. The snow, the quiet.
[Johns:] The 10 inches of snow at O'Hare Airport set a record for most snowfall on that date. More than 1,000 flights in and out of Chicago were canceled. Overnight, the snow started piling up in Indiana.
[Unidentified Female:] It was scary. It just felt like I was on ice and it was just really slippery.
[Johns:] And Ohio. But amid the misery, there is a bright side.
[Unidentified Female:] It's pretty sweet.
[Unidentified Male:] It's just like being on a mattress or a cloud.
[Johns:] Now that big monstrous cloud is bearing down on Virginia, has Washington in its sights and it's still far from being over.
[Unidentified Male:] If you have to get on the road use extreme caution, drive slower than you normally would.
[Johns:] So as you can see, it's very easy to make a snowman out in this kind of weather. Of course, that's great for the kids. I did that during the package insert, believe it or not, pretty impressive, right, Don?
[Lemon:] It is impressive. You know, you bring your thermometer to the heat stories. Did you bring your ruler to the snow story? How many inches, do you know?
[Johns:] Yes. I did not I did not bring the ruler but I can tell you just by looking at it we're probably somewhere between four and five inches right here in this part of the Shenandoah Valley, that's very unscientific survey if you will.
[Lemon:] Yes. And seriously a lot of our viewers are traveling, Joe, and watching us from the airport. How many flight cancellations? Do you know? We're seeing a lot of you checked on that?
[Johns:] I'm sorry, Don, would you ask me that again? You're kind of garbled.
[Lemon:] Flight cancellations in the region.
[Johns:] Yes. I do not know, I do not have a current number on the flight cancellations. I know the number was in more than 1,000 as of yesterday, and that certainly wasn't counting the East Coast.
[Lemon:] All right. You're out in that. We can check it back here. We have computers. Joe Johns, thank you, stay warm, my friend. Appreciate it. We want to turn now to your money. The Dow heads into uncharted territory this morning. It will open at an all-time high of 14253. What does that all mean? And now one Wall Street analyst is predicting the Dow will hit 20000. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, 20,000. That's an incredible number. I mean, what does this mean? What what's behind this?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] OK, so that Dow 20,000 just remember that theory is coming from one lone bull. This is from a strategist from JPMorgan Chase who says yes, the Dow could hit 20,000 in about four years and here's his rationale. He says that he thinks that corporate America is going to come in with strong profits this year and that will then be reflected in earnings and he thinks that earnings power is going to catapult stocks up to that 20,000 level within four years. He says, look how the market's been acting lately, that it's been able to kind of shrug off the pressure of what's been going on just in the economy and the world economy and it still continues moving forward and he says with help from these stronger earnings he believes he thinks the Dow could hit 20000 Don.
[Lemon:] All right. So that's what the bullish folks, as they say, that's a bull's argument. What about the more reserved bears? What are they saying?
[Kosik:] Yes. And most and most everybody else is a bear and they say, you know, they are actually expecting a pullback because they say for one reason actually this time of year it's kind of slow for stocks, that you're not going to see the volume really push stocks that high. Also the end of government funding. That's going to kick in at the end of the month, not to mention the big debt ceiling debate? Yes, that's going to be happening in a couple of weeks as well. It may seem that the market is kind of numb to that now but many believe that that could lead to a pullback. Now of course the one savior could be the Fed. The Fed continues pumping money into this market, pushing basically pushing investors to the best investments in town, and that seems to be stocks at this moment. But then you also look at history as your guide and you look at what happened to the Dow after it hit these record highs. So yes, in 2000, you see that the Dow peaked then in just over two years it tumbled. That's after the dot-com bust. Then in 2007 the Dow peaked yet again. But about a year and a half later it tumbled because of the recession. And in both cases the tumble was a biggie. Was 40 to 50 percent and yes, now, now, we are at a record high again, Don. The good news is most market watchers think that if it does pull back you won't see a huge pullback like that 40, 50 percent that we've seen in the past, if only we had a crystal ball Don.
[Lemon:] Yes. Absolutely. Just not so long ago people were pulling their money out of the stock market investing in other things.
[Kosik:] Yes.
[Lemon:] It's going back up.
[Kosik:] Now they can't wait to put it back in.
[Lemon:] Yes. We'll check back. Thank you, Alison. Appreciate it.
[Kosik:] Sure.
[Lemon:] These are the stories to tell you about right now that we're following this morning. Crews are looking into why an enormous crane made a giant splash into a bay near Portland, Oregon. Look at that. The structure fell while lifting new support towers to carry high voltage power lines. The new towers also fell into the way. Luckily no one was hurt. Attorney General Eric Holder is not ruling out a case where a drone strike could target Americans on U.S. soil. He made the comments in a letter to Senator Rand Paul. Holder says in a hypothetical and unlikely to occur case the president could authorize the military to use lethal force within our borders. Holder says the U.S. has not carried out such an order and has no plans to do so. Starting April 25th, the TSA will allow listen up. Will allow to you bring small knives and certain sports equipment in your carry-on. The items have been banned from aircraft cabins since the 911 terror attacks. Passengers also will be able to carry on pool cues, lacrosse and hockey sticks, golf clubs and whiffle ball bats. Officials say the change will align the U.S. with international rules. The duchess of Cambridge may have let a royal secret slip out. It happened as the former Kate Middleton was greeting well-wishers. CNN's Zain Verjee is in London with the latest Zain.
[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Anchor:] Hey, Don. It was the mother of all hints and a major oops for the duchess. What did Kate almost say? Well, yesterday during a royal visit a well-wisher gave her a teddy bear. According to someone who was there, Kate said, "Thank you, I will take that for my," and then she broke off without finishing the word. So what do you think that mean? As you can imagine, the papers are all buzzing this morning, she's on every single front page, almost, and the main message is this. It's a girl. Sources are saying that after the slip, Kate blushed and said, "We don't know," but now we have a clue, her baby could be the future queen Don.
[Johns:] All right, Zain, thank you very much. Martha Stewart means big business to Macy's. The domestic diva's brand brings in millions of dollars. That's why Stewart finds herself in court right now defending a new deal with the department store rival.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. President Obama is postponing plans for the Keystone Oil Pipeline. He's blaming Republicans, and says Congress gave too short of a deadline for review of the plans. CNN's Christine Romans is showing us what the pipeline is all about now. Hey, Christine. Good morning.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Good morning. Let's talk about what it is. It would be the biggest infrastructure project underway in the United States, some $7 billion worth. This is what it looks like, this drawing of this building this pipeline here. It's actually connecting some existing infrastructure, connecting the oil sand fields of Alberta, Canada, to the refineries on the gulf coast of the U.S. The controversy, Soledad, is really the kind of oil. It's unconventional. It's sticky, heavy-like oil stuff mixed with sand, clay, minerals. It takes more energy to turn it to fuel. And it requires extensive refineries. The part of this giant pipeline everybody is fighting about is this, these two extensions that are 16,061 miles of new pipeline. Environmentalists are worried about the fragile sand hills of Nebraska right here. Then there's this connection. This connection right here that goes down to Houston. Critics say that TransCanada could actually maybe export oil to refining to other countries, like China, Brazil, cut the U.S. out. There's also concern, quite frankly, that this is all just going to lock us into this fossil fuels. It's a deeper commitment to oil sands refining, a difficult job that creates more pollution, other types of oil production. Environmentalist, they worry that that pipe could leak. What do supporters say? It's about jobs. The builder says it would create maybe 20,000 jobs. It would add $20 billion for the U.S. economy over 100 years. It's worth noting, Soledad, the State Department says it would only create 5,000 or 6,000 jobs. Others have said they would be temporary jobs, maybe just a couple of thousand. Plus Canadian oil though, it's a stable trading partner, right? It helps avoid the conflict oil of the Middle East. As our colleagues at "CNN Money" put it, Soledad, this is really a debate about national security, jobs, the economy, the environment, and energy. Oh yes, and presidential politics, too.
[O'brien:] I think politics plays a very big role. We'll get to that in a moment. Christine, Thank you.
[Romans:] Sure.
[O'brien:] Let's get into that debate. Arthur Berman joins us this morning, a geological consultant. He is on one side of the issue. On the opposite side is Jane Kleeb. She's executive director of Bold Nebraska. She fought against the pipeline. Nice to have you both. Thanks for being with us. Mr. Berman, I'm going to start with you. You said this is a perfectly awful decision by the president. Why?
[Arthur Berman, Geological Consultant:] Let's talk about the environmental part of this first. The assumption a lot of people make is that the aquifer, the beds that carry the water, is right at the surface and it's an underground cavern and, if there is a spill it's going to go into the water supply. That's completely wrong. The Ogallala, the high plains aquifer, is a rock. It's not a cavern. It's buried several hundred feet below the surface. The likelihood of any spill getting to it is minimal. And there's been evaluations to that fact.
[Jane Kleeb, Executive Director, Bold Nebraska:] That's actually not true, Mr. Berman.
[O'brien:] The president has said essentially hold on, Ms. Kleeb. Hold on. Hold on. Stop for one second. I want to ask you a question. The president has said he's rejecting the bid but he says let's study it more. What's wrong with the take of let's study it a little bit more, sir? Then we'll get to you Ms. Kleeb.
[Berman:] It's already been studied. The State Department's looked into it. There have been independent analyses. I'm not here to say that having a pipeline doesn't present certain risks of oil spillage. All I'm saying is that the concerns about it getting into the drinking water and the aquifer I think are overblown and based on a fundamental lack of understanding of geology.
[O'brien:] All right. Ms. Kleeb, why don't you hop in and tell me what your concerns are. Are they overblown and based on a fundamental lack of understanding of geology?
[Kleeb:] I don't think Mr. Berman is going to be drinking the water in Nebraska, but I am and my kids are. He's not true that the water is not at the surface. In the sand hills, if you stick a pipe in the ground, water will come out. That's often how they feed cattle up there. So, you know, I don't really appreciate his arrogance, saying that we don't understand what we're talking about in Nebraska. We have a lot of concerns about the water, but we also have concerns about the risks of this pipeline to our energy security. This is an export pipeline. Quite frankly, I don't think us, in middle America, want to be used as a middleman for Canada to make millions of dollars.
[O'brien:] When you look at what the president said, Ms. Kleeb, he didn't say, "This could be an environmental catastrophe. This is why I'm going to not allow it to happen." What he said was, really the deadline, the calendar that means that it sounds like, politically speaking, it's still on the table. Some people said that this is going to happen. We know that the company that wants to put the pipeline, in fact, will go back and re-apply for it. Do you worry about the president's support?
[Kleeb:] No, I don't worry at all. I think the president is committed to American-made energy. This pipeline is not American-made energy. This does nothing to get us off oil and move us to a new energy economy, which is exactly what we need to do. And I can tell you that Nebraskans are not done fighting this pipeline. If TransCanada decides they are going to resubmit for a permit for the pipeline, we will be there fighting every step of the way. This is about protecting our land and our water. And this is about protecting our family's heritage, which is why you saw us on, both the Republican and Democratic side, standing shoulder to shoulder to fight this thing. It's not good for our country. It's not good for our state. It's not good for our family farmers and ranchers.
[O'brien:] Mr. Berman, the oil will eventually go out of Canada. They're going sell it. What's the expectation of what happens with that oil?
[Berman:] The great expectation is that they'll export it to China. People who are worried about the environment, putting this oil on tankers has a much higher probability of spills and other environmental issues. This oil is coming from Canada. I hope that the Canadians make money, as we like to in trade. When they sell, it's also going to go to U.S. refineries where Americans will make money. Some of it'll be exported. Exports are good. We have a bad balance of trade. So I think in the long run, the concern is, it's great to say we're going to get off of an oil economy. The reality is that we're not going to get off of an oil economy any time in the next few decades. We're going to need this oil. At the moment, at the rate that China and India are increasing their oil demand, they're going to use 100 percent of existing net exports over the next 20 years. There simply won't be any left for the rest of the world. So I think there is a security issue here. I'd rather get my oil from a neighbor and a friend in Canada than have to worry about the security of supply from somewhere in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world. Plus, we're giving it to competitors so
[O'brien:] Mr. Berman
[Berman:] So there are some real issues here.
[O'brien:] Mr. Berman, I thank you for your time this morning. He's a geological consultant. And Jane Kleeb, who is the executive director of Bold Nebraska. Nice to have you both. Appreciate your time.
[Kleeb:] Thank you so much.
[O'brien:] Ahead this morning in our next hour, we're watching breaking news out of Iowa, a recant recant recount
[Unidentified Male:] You or Sarah Palin.
[O'brien:] Rick Santorum in the recount thank you my annoying panelists for jumping on my mistake
[Unidentified Male:] No, no.
[Obrien:] Now show Rick Santorum in the lead. We'll talk about what the implications of that could be. Also, we'll talk about the new book. It's called "The Real Romney." Two veteran political reporters who wrote it will tell us who they thing the real Romney is. You're watching STARTING POINT. Short break. We're back in just a moment.

[Quest:] The IMF's chief economist says the debt crisis in Europe is a complex puzzle. He actually had something in mind rather like this. Very complicated indeed. You get one side right, and then realize the rest is a big mess. Take this yellow bit, for example. I've nearly got it. And but well, you can imagine. You've pinned these things, Rubik's Cube. For our new series, Make, Create, Innovate, we sent Nick Glass to meet the man behind one of the best-selling products and, I might add, a product that I've singularly failed to ever manage to make any progress with at all, in history.
[Nick Glass, Cnn International Correspondent:] This is a stainless steel sculpture of the world's best-selling toy here in a park in Hungary. We know it better from the handheld version. And hundreds of millions of these can be found around the world.
[Glass:] It's named after the professor who first dreamt up the puzzle in 1974, although against his wishes. Erno Rubik didn't really want to be famous.
[Erno Rubik, Inventor, Rubik's Cube:] I was not keen to promote my name, but made a few more interesting than myself.
[Glass:] The Rubik's Cube, the toy of the 1980s, is now enjoying a revival, with 7 million sold last year.
[Rubik:] The relationship between people and the cube as an object, it remained the same.
[Glass:] A professor in interior design, Rubik first used the cube as a teaching aid.
[Rubik:] I believed the most characteristic part of the cube is the contradiction between simplicity and complexity. Personally, I loved geometry, because geometry is the knowledge of how the whole universe is structured.
[Glass:] The three-by-three cube consists of 27 cube faces. Color- coded, these can be arranged in 43 quintillion different ways. But there is only one solution. Did you think you had a marketable toy?
[Rubik:] I had the feeling. It's something that is very simple. It can be manufactured easily and can be a product that's available for others.
[Glass:] It went international in 1980.
[Rubik:] The cube made some kind of very exceptional height in the first two years, sold more than 100 million cubes. That is a very, very unusual thing in the toy market.
[Glass:] What is the internal mechanism? What makes it possible to rotate like this?
[Rubik:] The best thing is to discover, take it apart.
[Glass:] It's kind of magical, but it's also it has a mechanism.
[Rubik:] Yes. And a very simple mechanism. And because of that, there was potential to have mass production. So, it's a cheap product. Simple.
[Glass:] It has a beauty to it.
[Rubik:] Yes, it is.
[Glass:] The last few years have seen a rise in speed cubing competitions, demon cubers racing against each other and the clock. It's been proved that every cube can be solved in surprisingly just 20 moves or less if only it was that easy. Erno Rubik himself cannot compete with the young guns. It took him a month to crack it way back in 1974. And now? Are you a good Rubik Cube player?
[Rubik:] It for me, it was about one minute of my time when I was practicing. And the actual world record is 5-point-something seconds. Speed cubers usually are not my age. They are younger than I was when I made the cube.
[Glass:] Most toys come and go, but not Rubik's Cube. It's now almost 40 years old, and it's here to stay.
[Quest:] In that report, you heard the phrase "quintillion" used. That is 18 zeroes. I can honestly say I've never completed one of these at all. Erno Rubik, famously media shy, and if you'd like to read a transcript of that interview in full or watch it again, you can find it at cnn.commakecreateinnovate. I told you earlier what the IMF's chief economist called the debt crisis in Europe. We'll have Olivier Blanchard's full interview with CNN after the break.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] We're following the breaking news in the presidential race. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Mitt Romney getting ready to publicly announce the biggest decision of his campaign so far, his new running mate and that will be Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the chairman of the House Budget Committee. The Romney campaign has issued a written statement already calling the Romney-Ryan ticket and I'm quoting now, America's comeback team. Many conservatives are certainly cheering this decision as a bold move by Romney that will help energize the base and show voters that Romney is really serious about economic change. The two men will appear together for the first time as running mates in Norfolk, Virginia with the U.S.S. Wisconsin, the old battleship as a backdrop. Then they will begin a bus tour that will take them toward the Republican national convention in Tampa. That begins in about three weeks. Of course, we will bring you Mitt Romney's announcement live. We're standing by for that from Norfolk, Virginia. Let's bring in our own Jim Acosta who's on the scene in Norfolk for us right now. You're there. That crowd is getting bigger and bigger. Folks are showing up to hear history unfold.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Political Correspondent:] That's right, Wolf. I just got confirmation from a senior Romney adviser this is not earth shattering. It's obviously a given. But Paul Ryan will be here for the announcement later on this morning. We can also report that a new Twitter handle has been set up for the Wisconsin Congressman. It is now @paulryanvp. So the Romney campaign is starting to lay the groundwork for their vice presidential pick. And Wolf, I will tell you that getting to the methodology, the rationale for why they settled on Paul Ryan, it's interesting. I had a conversation with Stuart Stevens, a senior Romney adviser a couple of weeks ago. And I was asking him about these questions about Bain Capital and Romney's business record, that the Obama campaign was really hammering the GOP contender on. Stuart Stevens said to me at that time, he said this race will be about big ideas. It will be about big contrast. I don't think he was tipping his hand and suggesting it was Paul Ryan at this point. But this Paul Ryan pick really confirms that, Wolf. It's going to be very difficult for the Obama campaign to go after Mitt Romney on those personal issues on his business background on Bain Capital when really Mitt Romney has thrown down a marker here to say, no, this is going to be about fiscal issues. It's going to be about the national debt. It's going to be very much about this vision that Paul Ryan has been working towards his entire political career. It's sort of interesting to see, Wolf, typically when you see a candidate running for president it's the vision of the top of the ticket that becomes central to the campaign. But you could argue that it is the vision of the bottom of this ticket, Paul Ryan's vision, that's going to be at least the central focus of this campaign as it rolls on here. But yes, you're right. You can see this crowd is getting very big behind me. You see the U.S.S. Wisconsin also behind me. Still at this point Wolf, no signs of Paul Ryan physically or in the signage here on the site at this campaign event. It is a sign that all of this is still a work in progress at this point, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Stand by, Jim Acosta. He's in Norfolk, Virginia right near the U.S.S. Wisconsin, the battleship, that's the backdrop for this announcement. Forty two-year-old Paul Ryan will be the vice presidential running mate to Mitt Romney. John King is here with us watching all of this unfold. You had a chance to go in-depth, take a much closer look at who this young man is.
[John King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] It's a fascinating choice. When Mitt Romney started a short list, we started with Rob Portman, the senator from Ohio. Then, we heard a lot of buzz about Tim Pawlenty, the former governor from Minnesota. But in the end, he turned to a 42-year-old guy, a House member from southern Wisconsin that many conservatives said he very much needed to shake up the race.
[Rep. Paul Ryan , Wisconsin:] We want to give you that scalpel.
[King:] For Paul Ryan, debating Joe Biden might feel like a demotion.
[Ryan:] So my question is, why not freeze spending now and would you support a line item veto and help get a vote on it in the House?
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Let me respond to the two specific questions, but I want to just push back a little bit on the underlying premises, about us increasing spending by 84 percent.
[Ryan:] The discretionary spending and the bill Congress signs into law, that has increased 84 percent.
[Obama:] We'll have a longer debate on the budget numbers then, all right?
[King:] Ryan is the GOP numbers guy. The chairman who is not afraid to say in his view the only way back to fiscal sanity is to dramatically shrink government and fundamentally change Medicare.
[Ryan:] If you don't address the issues now, they're going to steam roll us as a country. And the issue is, the more you delay fixing these problems, the much uglier the solutions are going to have to be.
[King:] In short, he's a lightning rod. And if Mitt Romney tops Ryan to share the ticket, he will dramatically reshape the 2012 race.
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] It would be a bold, it would be a risky choice. It's hard for me to see Mitt Romney who has played it safe all the way through this campaign making that kind of gamble.
[King:] There are upsides. It would energize the GOP base sometimes suspicious of Romney. Ryan is an energetic debater and campaigner, and at just 42, he would add youthful vigor to the ticket. Close friends like former House colleague Mark Green say Ryan would help Romney in Wisconsin and across the Midwest.
[Mark Green , Former U.s. Congressman:] He gets that sort of blue collar conservatism that is the heart of the Republican Party.
[King:] But tapping Ryan is a gamble because of the House GOP budget that bears his name. Up until now, Romney has done everything to make this campaign a referendum on the incumbent.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] The president's policy are not creating jobs.
[King:] Add Ryan to the ticket, and there is no escaping this.
[Sen. Charles Schumer , New York:] Ryan plan to end Medicare as we know it must be taken off the table. Other potential downsides, Ryan has never run statewide. He has no foreign policy experience. And some will question whether a 42-year- old House member is ready to be commander in chief.
[Gergen:] One of the stars of the Republican over the next 10 to 20 years, whether he is ready at this moment only a campaign trail can tell. He's going to get a real beating.
[King:] Ryan says family history makes him a fitness fanatic, leading House colleagues in grueling cross training workouts.
[Ryan:] My dad died of a heart attack at 55, my grandfather at 57. So, I've always had this incentive to stay healthy.
[King:] And an avid hunter, as Green learned one day when he sent an e- mail from his post as ambassador to Tanzania.
[Green:] I got this response saying, "I'm sitting in a deer state. It's hunting season. Leave me alone."
[King:] He is a self-described nerd, but don't under estimate Ryan's ambition or his competitive streak. It's clear, if he had his druthers, he'd rather debate the president.
[Ryan:] I love the idea of Barack Obama, I love the fact that we have elected an African-American man as a president. I think that's just really say cool thing. I just don't like the ideas is coming from Barack Obama.
[King:] But it is Romney who will share the biggest fall debate stage.
[Ryan:] Governor Mitt Romney, hopefully the next president of the United States of America.
[King:] We now know it is Paul Ryan. He won't get to debate the president in the fall. He will get to debate Joe Biden. Maybe he'll come up and say, hey, can I call you Joe? And this is a cruel process. Tim Pawlenty who was on the short list as he said, he has some events with Mitt Romney in New Hampshire today. He says he'll go forward with those. Rob Portman, who was leading the list at one point, he's doing a 100 mile bike ride today to raise money for cancer research. Wolf, when we make the announcement, I was just told by a campaign official, you will not only see Paul Ryan on the U.S.S. Wisconsin but as you saw in the piece in the picture there his wife Katy and their three children, they're on hand as well.
[Blitzer:] Three children, Liza, Charlie and Sam, his wife Janna. We'll see the whole Ryan family. These are live pictures, by the way, where they are getting ready for this announcement. So what does Joe Biden, the vice president of the United States, think of Paul Ryan and his ideas? Last month, this is what Vice President Biden said.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] These are decent honorable men and women. I'm not playing a game these guys are bad guys. They just have a different value set as to what is the most important thing that we should be doing. Just look at Congressman Ryan, a bright, bright guy, an honorable man. His budget, which has been embraced by I believe every member in the Republican side of the House of Representatives. You might remember the first Ryan budget last year, there was nothing subtle about it. It dismantled Medicare and would have turned it into a voucher program over a 10-year period.
[Blitzer:] A little preview of what's in store for a debate potentially between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. Let's bring in our CNN contributors John Avlon, he's a senior political columnist with the dailybeast.com, the former Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, and Democratic strategist James Carville. Let me start with you, John. What do you think of what Joe Biden said about Paul Ryan in that little clip and that was only a few weeks ago?
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] Sure, it's a preview of things to come, no question. Up to this point Mitt Romney has pursued a general strategy of attack and distract. He hasn't proposed new policies. Now with Paul Ryan, maybe the first nominee in history to outsource in effect his policy shop. And that Ryan plan he has been rewarded for his courage into put a specific policy plan on the table, 73 pages, 37 footnotes. But I'll tell you this, all that now is attached to the nominee. So we really have at this point a choice election. It is a very different vision. I think this pick invigorates the Republican base. Paul Ryan is one of the smartest Republicans nationally. He's been the intellectual leader of the Congress for all time. I think it's a bold pick but it's a risky pick also though and that Biden clip is a sign of the debate to come in the country, a healthy debate I think.
[Blitzer:] I think it's going to be a healthy debate, because two very different economic visions for the future of the United States. James Carville, you're here with us. I want to play another clip. This was about a year or so ago after a special election in New York State. The Democratic person won for a Congressional seat. At that moment, there was sort of a meeting, if you will, a chance meeting between Paul Ryan and your former boss, the former president of the United States Bill Clinton and what they said was caught on camera. Watch.
[Bill Clinton, Former President Of The United States:] Paul Ryan. How are you?
[Rep. Paul D. Ryan , Wisconsin:] I'm doing great.
[Clinton:] It's good to see you.
[Ryan:] Good to see you, too.
[Clinton:] I'm glad we won this race in New York but I hope the Democrats don't use it as an excuse to do nothing.
[Ryan:] It's going to sink into paralysis is what's going to happen. You know the math. We knew we were putting ourselves out there, but you've got to get out there, got to get this thing moving.
[Blitzer:] You hear the former president saying to Paul Ryan if you want to talk about it, give me a call. He said, sure, I'll call you. They both lamented the fact that there could be paralysis in Washington James. But guess what, in the year that has followed that little exchange, there's been paralysis here in Washington.
[James Carville, Cnn Contributor:] I think that Ryan, as the vice president pointed out, he's a bright guy. He's an engaging guy. He's interested in policy. President Clinton is obviously a bright guy who's engaged in policy and will probably have a really interesting discussion here. My sense here is that the Democrats are going to hit this thing pretty hard and pretty early. It's going to be interesting to see how it gets framed, how it plays out. There's some stark contrasts between what Governor Romney has proposed and what Congressman Ryan has proposed. Governor Romney has pledged to not let defense spending go below 4 percent of GDP and Ryan wants to keep defense spending and all the discretionary spending I think at like 3 or 4 percent of GDP. So the Democrats are going to hit that hard. They are going to hit all the distribution tables pretty hard. It's going to be an interesting time between now and the convention to see what happens here.
[Blitzer:] Let me bring Ari Fleischer in for a moment. Ari, you know Paul Ryan. You've worked with him over the years. He's obviously a very, very smart guy. Is he going to on these economic issues, is he going to dominate? Is he going to overshadow Mitt Romney?
[Ari Fleischer, Cnn Contributor:] No. Vice presidents never overshadow the president when it comes to policy and this type of thing. When you look at the Romney plans, so many of them are actually based both on Medicaid and Medicare on big significant reforms to stop the red ink. From a policy point of view, it's been one of the least focused on parts of the campaign. What I think this fundamentally does, is it changes the race into a four word summary. Three of the words are Latin, reform versus status quo. If you're Mitt Romney, that is a strong new position to be in in that race. Because what it does is it reenergizes the race and makes it much more like 2010 excitement model the Republicans had when they swept Washington as opposed to the way this race seemed to be going of late, big decision, big choice. Some controversy downsized to it as well. I think this is a fabulous choice for Mitt Romney.
[Blitzer:] A lot of Republicans will certainly agree with you. We'll see what happens over the course of the next 87 days between now and November 6th. We have dug deep. We're taking a closer look to see what Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate has actually said in recent weeks about his now known running mate Paul Ryan. We'll play some of the clips for you. Stand by. We're awaiting this announcement from Mitt Romney. The vice presidential choice has been made. Momentarily, you're going to see the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his now known vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan go up to those microphones over there. Romney will make the official announcement that Paul Ryan will be his running mate. The campaign issued a press release about an hour or so ago making it all official. We've known though for several hours that it is, in fact, Paul Ryan. It will be a Romney Ryan ticket. We've got full analysis coming up here on CNN. I want to play this little clip because back in June, Mitt Romney had a little rope line conversation with reporters and they spoke about a vice presidential running mate. Let me play this for you.
[Question:] What's the best piece of advice on those rope lines that you think you received from somebody?
[Romney:] Stop trying to be like yourself. Be someone else. Just don't be you, just kidding. Again, I didn't get any of it today on the rope line today in Iowa. But in Wisconsin I get a lot of people saying Paul Ryan is your VP. In Ohio I got Rob Portman. I got a very myriad of ideas depending on the state I'm in, which should not be surprising.
[Blitzer:] If you can read along, that was on the plane talking about rope line experiences. When he's in Ohio a lot of folks like Rob Portman, the senator from Ohio. When he's in Wisconsin, a lot of folks like Congressman Paul Ryan. Let's bring in David Gergen who's watching all of this unfold. Give us a little historic perspective on this bold decision by Mitt Romney to select 42-year-old Paul Ryan, David.
[Gergen:] This is a decision that is very contrary to most historic positions about the vice presidency. First, normally you announce the vice presidency on a day when you're going to get maximum prime time exposure. Here he is on Saturday morning when you often minimize things by announcing at that hour. Typically, the candidate historically, the candidate who goes to the center when he chooses his vice president. Here Mitt Romney has gone to his right. Typically a presidential candidate tries to choose a safe choice. One would have thought that Mitt Romney of all people, who has run an extraordinary safe, cautious campaign would try to play it safe but he has rolled the dice. As everyone is saying, this is a big gamble for him. It's going to revive the Republican Party, the spirits of the Republican party. They were worried that this campaign was starting to drift downhill. They are going to be fired up about it. The real test is going to be over time. Whether in fact this is going to be an opening for the Democrats to change the subject away from jobs yet once again and now go after Medicare, Medicare proposal from the Republicans.
[Blitzer:] Didn't necessarily work out, David, all that well for the Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections. They tried to do that in a lot of these House races and they got walloped.
[Gergen:] They did. They wanted to come back to this issue. Nancy Pelosi has wanted to come back to Medicare. I do think that there is a CNN poll, Wolf, from last summer asking about Republican Medicare proposals that was pretty soundly rejected. The numbers were something like 58-35 against the Republican Medicare proposals. We'll have to see how it plays out, but there's no question for Democrats. This opens up a new fresh line of attack they have been going after using their ads to go after Romney all his personal stuff, his background which he has not handled very well. They were starting to run out of ammunition on the Democratic side. Now they've got some fresh ammunition to lob. We'll see. In the short-term, I don't think there's any question. I think the Republicans are really going to be revised but we'll have to see how it plays over time.
[Blitzer:] I agree, certainly coming on the heels of these most recent national polls, not only our CNN ORC poll but other polls this week released as well, the We've got breaking news. You're looking at live pictures. That's the podium where Mitt Romney momentarily will show up, announce that Paul Ryan is his running mate. It will be a RomneyRyan ticket versus an ObamaBiden ticket, 87 days to go until the November 6th election here in the United States. We know that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have established a close personal relationship and that was underscored on April 1st of this year, April fool's day when Paul Ryan played a practical joke on the Republican presidential candidate and then later Romney spoke about it. April Fool's joke. You see Paul Ryan over there laughing. They bring Mitt Romney into a room over there. They are getting ready for a big crowd. You know what, there are three staffers standing by. That was very funny, a little practical joke.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Right. You know, Romney himself, particularly when he was younger was considered quite a prankster, so he probably appreciated that. People in the campaign have told me that they have established a really good personal rapport. Romney also established a personal rapport with Tim Pawlenty, though, I might add. One Republican strategist close to the campaign said something really telling to me, which is that he said that Paul Ryan is the kind of guy that Mitt Romney would have hired at Bain Capital, that he's a smart, young thinker with new ideas. Those are the kinds of people that Mitt Romney used to like to bring into Bain Capital and he just hired him to be on the ticket.
[Blitzer:] There you see the former governor of Virginia, George Allen. He's running for the Senate. The Republican he's already there in Norfolk, Virginia awaiting the arrival of the motorcade. I think the motorcade has just arrived bringing Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan presumably to this event. Candy, you wanted to weigh in.
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Chief Political Correspondent:] First of all, yes, I think this is a bold choice as a number of people have said. But the idea that Mitt Romney can't make those sort of defies what he did for a living and that was risk. He took high risks in some of these investments that he did. Some of them paid off, some of them didn't. So he is a risk taker when he needs to be. Clearly, he thought he needed to be. I just wanted to read you one quick e-mail I got back with a Democrat around the Obama campaign. Said how do you argue this, Ryan, same argument, favors the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. Just add in seniors in the fore. It's the same argument now; we're just on steroids.
[Blitzer:] All right, guys. Stand by for a moment. When we come back, Bill Bennett is going to be joining us. He was Paul Ryan's mentor when Paul Ryan finished college. One of the first jobs he did get was over at Empower America. He worked with Jack Kemp, the late congressman from New York state and Bill Bennett, Bill Bennett standing by to share some thoughts about Paul Ryan. told that the motorcade carrying Mitt Romney to this event here in Norfolk, Virginia, right near the U.S.S. Wisconsin, the battleship commissioned during World War II is there. Now we're going to be hearing from Mitt Romney soon. He'll announce that Paul Ryan the Republican Congressman from Wisconsin is, in fact, his vice presidential running mate. Our own Candy Crowley had a chance to reflect with Paul Ryan not that long ago about what it was like growing up, why he went into politics. Listen to this.
[Ryan:] My grandfather was a doctor; uncle I had some doctors in my family. I always looked up to them. And then I got into, you know, chemistry and physics and biology and it really wasn't my aptitude. And I didn't want to take years of that. And I fell in love with economics. And so I wanted to go into the field of economics and I am a big skier. I was really into skiing at that time. I was really into freestyle skiing, mobile skiing. And my mom was worried that I after college I went to go to do skiing, that it would take two years it would turn into five, ten, whatever years. And so I was offered a job as an economic policy researcher for my home state Senator Bob Kasten at the time. And she really gave me a big nudge to take that job. Because she was worried I would become a ski bum. And that's when I got involved into economics and politics. Jack Kemp, I ended up working for and he was really my mentor along with Bill Bennett. And that's what got me into public policy and kind of is why where I am today.
[Crowley:] Economic policy versus skiing. Did you ever regret that decision?
[Ryan:] Sometimes.
[Blitzer:] Skiing might be a little more fun but he loves economics. Bill Bennett is joining us on the phone right now. He was what, a 23- year-old kid when he came to Empower America, your think tank. And you began working with him. You gave him some advice about running for office. Didn't you, Bill?
[Bill Bennett, Cnn Political Contributor:] I did. I did. He called me when he thought about running, Wolf. And he said, I've got to ask you first, does this pass the laugh test if I run for Congress? I said absolutely. And I said you'll do well. That you'll win. And he's a very hard worker. He worked for Jack Kemp in the economics area but he did a lot of work with me, too. We worked a lot on that welfare issue leading up to 1996, Wolf, which you've been talking about lately. But a year ago, and almost to the day we were together in Colorado last year hiking. And I was trying to encourage him to run for president. He said he wouldn't do it, there's a bunch of committee work and family. But he said that I supposing you're offered the second spot, he said I would think very seriously about that. I probably would would accept that.
[Blitzer:] Why would he do that? Why would he not run for the Republican presidential nomination but he would in fact, accept the vice presidential second slot if you will. What was his explanation for that, Bill?
[Bennett:] Well, other commitments, the budget committee work he's done. Again, family was an issue. But I mean, look at the time factor, Wolf. You know look how long we've been looking at Mitt Romney and the other candidates for president as opposed to the vice president schedule. Here it is mid-August. It's a matter of two months, two-and-a-half months of hard work on the campaign trail as opposed to more than a year, a year-and-a-half. And again, that work on the budget committee would have been sacrificed. That's very, very important to him.
[Blitzer:] A lot of us who knew Jack Kemp unfortunately he passed away prematurely obviously thought of him as what we used to call a compassionate conservative. How would you compare Paul Ryan and Jack Kemp?
[Bennett:] Well, I think they are very similar. And look, people have written articles about Paul saying he is the the next Jack Kemp. If you listen to Paul's approach, his style, it's not bare teeth. You know he's he doesn't do brass knuckles, or bare knuckles. He is without guile. He's straightforward, he's agreeable. You see him in these debates with Chris Van Hollen and other people. You played a little excerpt of you conversations of pictures with President Obama always polite, always courteous. He said I very much like the idea of President Obama, this man becoming the President of the United States. But I just don't like the ideas of President Obama. He is an extremely reliable person but also I think an extremely decent person. A lot of goodwill in what Paul Paul Ryan says. It's strong stuff. And I think this choice represents I'll agree with the panel a bold move, a strong move. And an important decision by the American people about whether to do the responsible thing. And I think the theme of Paul Ryan is do the responsible thing. And he is the guy who has been the herald of fiscal responsibility.
[Blitzer:] And very briefly, Bill, what does it say about Mitt Romney his decision to not go, let's say, with the Marco Rubio, not go with Chris Christie, not go with Tim Pawlenty or Rob Portman but to go with Paul Ryan?
[Bennett:] It's a decision about the critical choices the country has to make. It's a strong decision. It's a responsible decision. It's a bold decision. I'm glad he made it. And I think he's got the right guy. And I think as this country gets to know Paul Ryan, they are going to really, really like him as I do.
[Blitzer:] And we're only moments away from the official announcement in Norfolk, Virginia, right near the U.S.S. Wisconsin, the battleship over there. All right, stand by. And also this note to you, what matters is what you think of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's choice to be the vice presidential running mate. Here is a chance for you, go to facebook.comCNNPolitics. Register your vote in our CNN Facebook Q&A.; We're going to bring the results later in this broadcast. Stand by. We're only moments away from Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan together the running mates. Right here on CNN. We're only minutes away. You're going to see them both together. Other speakers are beginning to warm up the crowd in Norfolk, Virginia right now outside the USS battleship. The U.S.S. Wisconsin but pretty soon for the first time as running mates we will see them together, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, Paul Ryan the vice presidential running mate. Paul Ryan will speak obviously. Mitt Romney will speak. They will both make important statements. But the Romney campaign already has just released some excerpts of what Paul Ryan will say. And I want to preview a little bit of what we are about to hear from Paul Ryan. Here is here is one excerpt. And then I'm going to have Gloria, John and Candy read excerpts that they like as well. I'll pick this paragraph because it's the first paragraph that the campaign released. Here is what he says about Mitt Romney Paul Ryan. "Mitt Romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at a crucial time in history. Following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have inspired the world, are growing dim. And they need someone to revive them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment. And he and I share one commitment. We will restore the dreams and greatness of this country", that excerpt from what Paul Ryan will say. Candy, give me an excerpt that you like.
[Crowley:] I think something that addresses what we have seen sort of contingent anecdotally when you're out there and also on the polling that idea that America's best days are done that there is just something fundamentally different about America now. And Ryan will say "I hear some people say that this is just the new normal. High unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. It's the result of misguided policies and next January our economy will begin a comeback with the Romney plan for stronger middle class," et cetera, et cetera.
[Blitzer:] That's a good excerpt. Gloria, you've got an excerpt that you like?
[Borger:] Well, I think this excerpt speaks to the sense that this election is about the future. And that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are actually going to lead on the issues. He said, "We won't duck the tough issues. We will lead. We won't blame others. We will take responsibility. And we won't replace our founding principles. We will reapply them." So that speaks to the conservatives, the Tea Partiers in the party but also saying, look we're going to take on Medicare. We're going to take on Social Security. We need to fix them and the time is now.
[Blitzer:] And certainly not he's not ducking the tough issues, Paul Ryan, he's face like Medicare, a tough issue, very directly, John. Give me an excerpt.
[King:] I want to continue on that theme because this is the challenge for now the RomneyRyan ticket. Because as you heard from the Democrats say. They're going to say cut spending, cut the social safety net, cut student loans, hurt Medicare. Here is what they're going to say back and here's what Paul Ryan says. "We need we can turn this thing around. Real solutions can be delivered but it will take leadership and the courage to tell you the truth." Their point is going to be essentially that you had this man elected President Obama is a transformational leader who promised to change Washington, who promised to deal with the big issues. And they are going to make the case, whether it's Medicare, whether it's Social Security, whether it's the budget deficit, whether it's immigration that the President has been in office now for three and a half years, where is his plan. So this is going to be a if you think our proposals are controversial, Mr. President, why haven't you dealt with it yourself.
[Blitzer:] All right, everybody stand by. You're seeing George Allen; the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Virginia is warming up the crowd. He will be facing Tim Kaine the former Governor of Virginia himself, a tough race over there. We're going to try to find out when exactly Mitt Romney decided that Paul Ryan should be his running mate; why he went against some of the others who were front-runners at least for the time being. We'll take a quick break. We're getting ready to see Paul Ryan standing next to Mitt Romney, the Republican ticket momentarily.
[George Allen , Senatorial Candidate:] to our national defense and devastating job losses here in Virginia. Yet some see it
[Blitzer:] All right, you're watching there live pictures from Norfolk, Virginia; George Allen is warming up the crowd right now. He's the Republican candidate for senate. He's facing a tough challenge from Tim Kaine; Virginia key battleground state. One of the reasons why Mitt Romney has decided to make his dramatic announcement for his vice presidential running mate in Virginia is because it is so important in this electoral contest Electoral College contest. Let's go to Jim Acosta. He's in Norfolk watching all of this unfold. We're getting more information I think Jim, on when Mitt Romney decided Paul Ryan is the man.
[Acosta:] That's right, Wolf. And it's very interesting to report this. A senior Romney adviser just confirmed to me a few moments ago that Mitt Romney made this choice, decided to pick Paul Ryan as his running mate on August 1st. So that was nearly two weeks ago he made this decision. Obviously the former Massachusetts governor has a heck of a poker face because he was able to keep it secret for so long. But what is also interesting about that August 1st date, it's the day after his foreign trip, which by a lot of people's estimates didn't go spectacularly well. So perhaps Mitt Romney came back and was starting to think ok, it's time to change the narrative away from that foreign trip and back to what he wants this campaign about, which his campaign advisers say will be about big ideas and big contrasts. Another Romney adviser also tells me, Wolf, about the timing of today. Why today? They say, yes, the Olympics that is going on this weekend. A lot of people are going to be watching on the Olympics. But they also wanted to capitalize on that moment. They thought, well there are going to be a lot of people watching TV and so perhaps they might flip over and watch what is going on with this vice presidential selection. Also they wanted to dominate the news cycle of the weekend, this adviser tells me, and dominate the news cycle heading into next week. They say in this 247 news cycle sometimes Wolf, you have to pull some surprises to get a lot of people's attention. And I think it's safe to say that's what they did here this morning. I can also tell you that Paul Ryan will be here with his family when this event gets started. We're expecting that at the top of the hour. But as you know, this was a big audible that the Romney campaign pulled in terms of putting this together this morning. And so it's possible that this may happen maybe a little bit after 9:00. But we think at the top of the hour Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Very soon only moments away. It's a pretty huge crowd, a lively crowd there. Tell us a little bit about what we're seeing. We see a lot of people. But give us your thoughts Jim.
[Acosta:] Wolf, this is definitely one of the most energetic crowds that I've seen covering the Romney campaign so far. And just from a stagecraft standpoint there's not much better that you can do at this point than having a U.S. battleship behind you the battleship Wisconsin is positioned there. The Romney bus is there just in front of the battleship. And on that bus, this is a brand-new wrap on that bus, says the "Romney plan for a stronger middle class". As James Carville has been telling us, this campaign will be about the middle class. And then just at the bottom of the bus, it talks about "More jobs, more take home pay". That is the message that the Romney campaign is trying to drive home. That voting for Mitt Romney, voting for Paul Ryan this fall will help you in your pocketbooks. It will put more money in your wallets. Now how is that going to happen? The Romney campaign says it's all about tax cuts. Mitt Romney is talking about tax cuts as part of his big economic plan. I think we're going to be hearing more about that this morning as well as paying attention to the national debt. Now Democrats will say, hey, wait a minute, the two don't go together. You can't have massive tax cuts the way the Romney campaign is talking about it and reduce the deficit at the same time. The Romney campaign says yes, you can. And that is a contrast, that's a debate we're going to be having this fall. But yes, this is one of the larger events we've seen in some time. And the crowd is certainly excited. They had a whole slew of Virginia officials come through just a few moments ago including, as you mentioned, a few seconds ago the former United States senator George Allen, who, of course, is running in a hotly contested race this fall Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes. Against Tim Kaine in Virginia; that's a real battle under way, you know. And it's a big crowd but there is some space if folks still want to try to get in and see history unfold. There is some space right there. You can see it in Norfolk and watch what's happening live. You can obviously see it right here on CNN. We'll take another quick break the breaking news coverage. The RomneyRyan ticket will be displayed momentarily. All right. We're waiting for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to get up on the stage. There are some preliminary speakers, I believe the governor of Virginia, Bob McDonald, he's going to be speaking next. But let's go to the White House right now. Our own Brianna Keilar is standing by. Brianna, you've been speaking with Democrats close to the Obama campaign. What do they think about this decision by Mitt Romney to name Paul Ryan as his running mate?
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] They are salivating, to put it in a term from one Democrat that I spoke with. We're waiting to hear officially from the campaign. The campaign the Obama campaign waiting until the announcement is made. But all along as Mitt Romney has considered his possibilities for a vice presidential pick, the sense was that with Paul Ryan there was a big vulnerability, obviously, because of the Ryan budget. And talking to Democrats, one of the things they point to is that special election in upstate New York last year that got so much attention. It was a seat in the 26th congressional district that was won by a Democrat, Kathy Hochul. It was normally pretty safe for Republicans and that race ended up being almost entirely a referendum on the Ryan budget. So what we're expected to see once the announcement is made and the Obama campaign really starts to message is micro targeting. They will be looking at constituencies that really matter and they'll be making the case that if you look at the RomneyRyan budget as they put it, this is going to hurt you, women; this is going to hurt you, the youth vote; this is going to hurt you, the Hispanic constituency. This is going to be the message that they will be taking. And the other thing, the sort of caveat here Wolf, is that come September when President Obama has to start detailing what some of these spending cuts might look like because of the spending cuts that are set to kick in at the New YearRyan budget Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Right. They're studying they're studying Paul Ryan closely over at Obama campaign headquarters, certainly at the White House, Democrats all over the country. This is going to be a fascinating debate between Joe Biden, the vice president and Paul Ryan, the vice president want-to-be. Brianna, stand by.

[Malveaux:] All right, here's what happens when you take traditional songs from Zimbabwe, you blend them in with Scandinavian jazz, you get Monoswezi. Take a listen. Monoswezi hails from countries all over the globe, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Norway and Sweden. The group's newest album called "The Village" hits stores today. Well, we've got three members in the house of Monoswezi joining us via Skype from Oslo, Norway. Hallvard Godal, Hope Masika and Calu Tsemane. I hope I got all of your names right. You guys look so happy, first of all. I've got to tell you. In the video, I've never seen a group happier to play a song. Just tell me how you got together in the first place. I mean you guys are from all over the world.
[Hallvard Godal, Saxophonist, Monoswezi:] Yes. It started in 2008 where I lived and worked in
[Malveaux:] So you guys all met at an exchange program, a cultural exchange program, and ten you figured out that you had this love for music. Tell me how that happened. Did you start playing music for each other or how did you actually fuse all these different types of musical selections together?
[Godal:] When I came to Mozambique, I started listening to traditional music from Mozambique. And
[Malveaux:] And what about the other two? What about you guys? Jump in. Don't be shy.
[Hope Masika, Singer/percussionist, Monoswezi:] OK. Well, jump in. When I was in Norway and I was in
[Malveaux:] And tell me about the instrument you play, because it's very unique. It's the
[Masika:] Well, you would be amazed. Now it's getting quite fashionable, actually, to find young women playing this type of
[Malveaux:] All right. Well, we know that the band name, it translates into "one world" and that you that that your music reflects that. We'll be looking for your album that drops today. We appreciate your time. And congratulations to all of you. Thanks again. Good to have you.
[Godal:] Thank you.
[Calu Tsemane, Monoswezi:] Thank you.
[Malveaux:] Baseball, not just an American past time. We're going to take you to Cuba, of course, where former major leaguer was finally allowed to return to his native land, after being banned for a decade. Hear what he has to say about seeing his brother for the first time in 10 years.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. You're watching STARTING POINT, in the city that never sleeps, trying to get moving again after the aftermath of Sandy. Some New York subways, most buses are up and running again this morning. They're free. That's good news. The bad news is, it's limited service. There's a carpool requirement, three people per car, if you want to come into Manhattan. The Jersey shore, which has been battered beyond recognition, new heartbreaking pictures of the damage there this morning. Governor Chris Christie says, "The Jersey shore of my youth is gone." And the storm's death toll now reaching 124 people, 56 in the United States, at least 28 in New York. Nearly 5 million customers are still waiting for power to come back on. National Guard troops have been transferring more than 700 patients out of New York City's flagship public hospital, Bellevue Hospital Center. They're dealing with power outages after flooding wiped out the basement fuel pumps, which of course, power the generators. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following the transfer since it began. He's at Bellevue this morning. Sanjay, good morning.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] Good morning. Good morning, Soledad. Let me just give you a little bit of background here. I think that the evacuations over here are complete, if not nearly complete. You see a few ambulances coming in here. Just a short time ago, we saw the National Guard about 50 troops come out and walk out to talk to them a bit. They said their job inside the hospital was done. So I think the evacuations are probably near complete, ahead of schedule. It's been a very busy couple of days, Soledad. We talked a little bit about this yesterday. But simply trying to keep those generators running, that required a lot of work. Because those fuel pumps were not working, there were essentially these bucket brigades, up 12 flights of stairs. People taking up fuel to these generators, it requires about 40 gallons an hour. That's what was going on, to keep Bellevue sort of up and running to the extent that it was. Once they realized that these fuel pumps were really beyond repair, that's when they announced, officially, that the evacuation, which as you mentioned, began yesterday, 700 some patients, to all these various hospitals around the city. I should point out one thing, Soledad. I was talking to some of these ambulance drivers here this morning. These ambulances come from all over the country. There's sort of this national resource network that comes together. So from Nevada, from California, Texas, Ohio, they come here to do exactly what they're doing, transport patients in situations like this Soledad.
[O'brien:] Yes, I was told by a friend who was in the hospital that the ambulance she was transported out of, she was taken out of NYU Langone, she said, from Ohio, and they were prepositioned before the storm by FEMA and she felt it went very well I should mention. So NYU Langone which is the one we talked about earlier where there is evacuation is actually right next to Bellevue. They're right, very close to the water, a block from the water. I want to bring in, Sanjay, Dr. Irwin Redlener. He's the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and a professor at Columbia University, the school of public health there. You and I have talked a lot about hospitals in the wake of Katrina. Why do people put the power in the basement? It seems to me the first thing that's going to go in a flood or any kind of, not even a major a storm, but a minor storm, is your basement's going to flood.
[Dr. Irwin Redlener, M.d., Director, National Center For Disaster Preparedness:] Well, this has been a little bit of a technological whack-a-mole here, because we realized years ago after Katrina, and also even after the blackout of 2003, we had to do something about functioning generators, backup generators in hospitals. But it ended up that we moved the generators upstairs, but left the fuel pumps downstairs in the basement. So it's like we fixed the initial problem and now we have a secondary that no one seems to have thought about.
[O'brien:] OK, so is that just complete stupidity, or is that, listen, it's financially expensive and people make the gamble that we're not going to invest the money and hope for the best.
[Redlener:] Well, in this case, I do think it was not paying attention to all of the details. You know, I think people were well meaning. I don't think there was any sort of gross negligence here, except that somebody forgot an essential detail, in a situation that requires extraordinarily excruciating attention to every detail. So it seems to me somebody along the lines should have thought about those fuel pumps because they have to work also and be resilient with respect to flooding, those hospitals that are right on the river.
[O'brien:] Let me ask Sanjay a question because he's still with us. Sanjay, I'm going to assume that transfer of patients and I believe the NYU Langone as well went smoothly. There have been no major problems. But the risk to patients is huge. Isn't that I mean, the way you bring a patient out of a hospital on a top floor is to kind of slide them down at times, right. Walk us through how that works.
[Gupta:] Yes, even transfers within a hospital can be challenging at times, and here you have no power and very little light and these stairwells, as well. It's tough, Soledad. As you mentioned, I mean, if you consider a patient who has IV lines, for example, may be on a breathing tube, you usually have people manning those things so they don't get pulled out during a transport. If they require bagging, that needs to be continuously, throughout the entire transfer. And in this case, that transfer could involve carrying a patient down several flights of stairs. So there was a lot that could go wrong. And in hospitals, a transfer is highly coordinated thing, again, even within the hospital, to go get a CAT scan, for example. Here you're taking someone out into the elements. One thing I want to add about the generators, I've been asking a lot of people about this, for example, here at Bellevue, they do have these large tanks close to the generators, 250-gallon tanks, for example, to try to hold excess fuel close to the generators, up high. But that's about six hours' worth because they take about 40 gallons an hour to fuel these things. So they had the pumps again downstairs, but some of the tanks upstairs.
[O'brien:] All right, thanks, Sanjay. Sanjay, appreciate it. Dr. Redlener, so what did we learn from Katrina? You and I spent many, many hours talking about the aftermath of Katrina. So what's the big takeaway and when do we implement that across the country?
[Redlener:] Well, first of all, there's one big takeaway and it has to do with the general condition of infrastructure of the United States, and a small part of that, though a critical part, is the condition of hospitals and vital health care facilities. Have we paid enough attention to the lessons from the past about how to make sure that the equipment has enough power, how the generators work, have we tested them properly? In this case, we tested generators, but we didn't test the fuel pumps. We didn't know whether they would function under conditions of flooding and apparently they don't. It's not you know, obviously, we're learning these lessons now under extreme duress, as Sanjay said. We have to now expose patients to extraordinary risk, take them out of their relatively safe environments in intensive care units and sliding downstairs in the dark. It's an unfortunate, bad scene, and we should have learned more. But, you know, a lot of these things are called wake-up calls, but they turn out to be snooze alarms. We get a lot of coverage right now, but the question is, what are we going to do when the acute storm issues die down? Are we going to go back and fix all of the problems that we need to fix in order to keep our
[O'brien:] I hope so. I had all my kids at NYU Medical Center.
[Redlener:] It's a good place with good people too.
[O'brien:] I would agree with that. All right, Dr. Irwin Redlener joining us. It's nice to have with you us. We appreciate it.
[Redlener:] Thanks.
[O'brien:] All right, John's got an update of other stories making news.
[Berman:] Thanks, Soledad. The Coast Guard says some 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel has spilled at a New Jersey facility during Superstorm Sandy. Officials say most of the spill has now been contained. It happened after floodwaters rushed through a refining facility in Seaware, New Jersey and damaged two diesel storage tanks. In today's "A.M. House Call," another recall related to the fungal meningitis outbreak. Ameridose which is sister company to NECC, the pharmacy at the center of the outbreak, is now voluntarily recalling all of its products. Ameridose says it has not received any reports of negative reactions to its products, but simply complying with the FDA's call to improve its sterility testing procedures. The fungal meningitis outbreak has killed 29 people. New research into autism suggests that beginning specialized therapy as early as possible can significantly improve outcomes. A particular type of therapy called the Early Start Denver Model is credited with improving autism symptoms, normalizing brain activity, and controlling social behavior. The Centers for Disease Control says one in 88 children is currently diagnosed with autism, including one in 54 boys. Some one million people packed the streets of San Francisco to celebrate the Giants and their World Series title. Letting it sink in right now. The crowd was some 50 deep in some places along the parade route, which was downtown. San Francisco swept the Detroit Tigers Sunday for their second World Series title in just three years.
[O'brien:] Yay for them. All right, still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, the emotional toll of Superstorm Sandy keeps growing. Fifty six people were killed as a result of the storm here in the United States. Coming up next, we're going to take a closer look at some of the victims. We're back in a moment.

[Malveaux:] A New York family who lost everything after Superstorm Sandy are struggling to make a new life. And one of the biggest challenges is for this 13-year-old star student in the family to just get to school. Poppy Harlow has the story.
[Harlow:] The sun isn't up for breakfast time for the Panettas. [on camera]: How tired are you?
[Ryan Panetta:] Very.
[Harlow:] Tim, Ryan, Christian and Carly are now living in a borrowed one bedroom apartment with their parents. [on camera]: How long is your commute to school now?
[Ryan Panetta:] It feels almost like two hours.
[Harlow:] What did it used to be?
[Ryan Panetta:] 15 minutes.
[Harlow:] Wow. [voice-over]: 6:30 a.m., and they're out the door. A long car ride
[Karen Panetta, Ryan's Mother:] Have a good day.
[Harlow:] then a bus to Ryan's temporary school, PS 13.
[Karen Panetta:] It's unreal how much our life has changed, and we're trying to make the best of it.
[Harlow:] He is an eighth grade honor student, one of 5,400 New York students still in different schools because of Sandy.
[Carrie James, Teacher:] he is the one that I think was probably impacted the most, and yet, he has the strongest will to be here every day.
[Ryan Panetta:] When something brings you down, you got to get up.
[Harlow:] You OK, buddy? What makes you so sad?
[Ryan Panetta:] I honestly don't know.
[Harlow:] Everything?
[Ryan Panetta:] Yes. It's everything.
[Unidentified Male:] Stop at the VFW for hot meals.
[Karen Panetta:] Have a good day, Ryan.
[Harlow:] Every day after school, Ryan returns to Broad Channel to help his dad try to put their home back together.
[Joe Panetta, Father Of Ryan:] Everything I owned, everything I worked hard for, everything that was there, and it's gone. There's nothing.
[Harlow:] Joe was working overnights and Karen was home with their four children when Sandy hit.
[Karen Panetta:] It was unbelievable how quick it came out.
[Harlow:] The water rushed into their one story house. Ryan swam to a neighbor for help.
[Ryan Panetta:] I jumped out.
[Harlow:] You jumped out here in the water?
[Ryan Panetta:] Yes. I wasn't even thinking that, like, a log would hit me or anything.
[Harlow:] Or the electrical power lines?
[Ryan Panetta:] Yes.
[Harlow:] You swam to this house?
[Ryan Panetta:] Yes, right here. And they took us into their second floor.
[Harlow:] The neighbor helped bring the rest of the family over, and they watched as the water engulfed the only home they had known. [on camera]: What did you think when your 13-year-old son jumped in the water?
[Karen Panetta:] You know, I was panicking. I was panicking.
[Harlow:] Did Ryan help save your family?
[Karen Panetta:] Absolutely.
[Harlow:] No question?
[Karen Panetta:] Absolutely.
[Christian Panetta, Ryan's Brother:] I was thinking that the rain is going to come.
[Harlow:] Do you feel like your brother helped save you?
[Christian Panetta:] Yes.
[Harlow:] Now all the Panettas are working to rebuild their home, and erase the bad memories.
[Ryan Panetta:] After what I have just been through, like, I don't hope I have to see anything that terrifying again.
[Harlow:] Poppy Harlow, CNN, Broad Channel, New York.
[Malveaux:] We wish them the best. Medical marijuana doctors don't recommend it for children, but for one 6-year-old boy it brings new meaning to life.

[Holmes:] It's 11 minutes past the hour. We have all been there, folks. You go on vacation and come back and you're scared that your job is going to lock you out. Your badge doesn't work anymore. Well, that happened to the president, too. For just a moment. Check this out. He was returning from that five-day Latin America trip. Check him out here. Walking. Trying to get back into the Oval that door is locked. No problem. He didn't knock. He keeps on whistling. He tries another door. Not a problem at all. That's what you have to do when you're a leader of the free world. You have to make those quick decisions under pressure, under fire. He's whistling the whole time. He knew the cameras were on him, but that was just kind of a funny moment we saw today. Another moment, we're going to see today in Washington, the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Everybody loves this thing and the pictures you see there. There they are, of course. It begins this morning, runs through next month. They are the blossom scene around the nation's capital this week. You are invited to take a look. Please, do not touch, however, and you might want to grab a jacket. Is that right? Even though this signifies springtime is here, winter is holding on for dear life.
[Bonnie Schneider, Ams Meteorologist:] For sure in Washington, it will definitely be cold in the 40s today for those cherry blossoms, but they'll hang on. Before you know it, it will be nice and warm and you can enjoy the beautiful weather. Well, it's not so beautiful this morning in the south. We're seeing a lot of severe weather, strong thunderstorms rolling across I- 40. You'll see some heavy down pours on I-20 as well if you head from Huntsville into Atlanta, Georgia particularly north of the city. That's where we're seeing some of the biggest storms. Snowy conditions across the plains states. Temperatures are dropping in Omaha where the snow is really working its way in. There's a freeze watch for parts of Missouri, and possible snow for St. Louis. One to two inches mixing with sleet at times. That's going to make for tough driving conditions tonight if you're heading out. Also watch out for wet and windy conditions through San Francisco. The Bay Area facing a lot of rain today plus gusty winds and mountain snow. So it's going to be pretty difficult for those of you looking to fly out. We're expecting a lot of delays out west in Seattle as well. And the New York City also look out for some windy weather. Travel slowdowns. No delays yet, T.J., but it's still early.
[Holmes:] All right, we do appreciate you. Bonnie Schneider sitting in again for Reynolds Wolf today. Thanks so much. Well, cheap motels, not really a place for kids would you say, but all too often that's where we're actually seeing more and more kids because their families are struggling with the bad economy, trying to keep the roof over the kids' heads. This week's "CNN Hero" offering some help serving up his solutions one plate at a time.
[Bruno Serato, Anaheim White House Restaurant:] I came to this country 30 years ago. I love to cook but to be in the restaurant business, you must love the people. How's your lunch ladies.
[Unidentified Female:] Bene, bene.
[Serato:] In 2005, my mom was in the kitchen from Italy. I said, Mom, let's go to the Boys and Girls Club. There was a little boy 5 years boy eating potato chips for his dinner. He was a motel kid. I find that a poor family has nothing else, you live in a motel. The motel environment is extremely bad: drugs, prostitution, alcoholics. It's horrible. When they go back after school, there's no dinner, there's no money. My mom said, Bruno, you must feed them the pasta. I'm Bruno Serato, I listened to my momma. Now my mission is feeding hungry children. Six years ago, we start feeding the kids. When the recession came, customers dropped and the children doubled. Oh, mama mia. I don't give the kids leftovers. I prepare fresh pasta.
[Unidentified Male:] Bruno brings a tray and all the kids are expecting it and excited.
[Serato:] Are you hungry, are you hungry? Right now we are between 150 to 200 kids every week. Who likes pasta? My mom, she made me start. Now I could never stop. I'll see you soon. They're customers, my favorite customers.
[Holmes:] Bruno, you see there, has served more than 270,000 dinners to date. Remember, every one of this year's CNN heroes chosen from people you tell us about. So to nominate someone you know who's making a difference in your community, you can go to cnnheroes.com.

[Costello:] Ever watched a political ad and asked is that really true? I bet you have. Well, it's going to be easier to find out now because there's a free iPhone app released today that can fact check ads, who paid for the ad, how much they're spending on the candidate's campaign and so forth. It's called Super PAC Ad. Joining me now is HLN Digital Lifestyle Expert, Mario Armstrong.
[Mario Armstrong, Hln Digital Lifestyle Expert:] Hey.
[Costello:] We wondered, does this thing really work?
[Armstrong:] Yes, it does actually work. I was impressed. Last night I downloaded the app. And it is a free installation on your Apple devices so iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad and essentially what it does is once you download this free app, you then basically just tap the button on here that says "I want to listen to the TV" or "I want to listen to a YouTube ad" and point it at the computer. It then uses audio fingerprinting to listen to the ad and then will give you information like you see here on your phone. You'll see who's responsible for the ad, what the claims are being made in that ad and the money that was spent. So you get a lot of transparency from the ad itself right inside of the app.
[Costello:] So, who's behind this?
[Armstrong:] Students. Go figures. Students at MIT's media lab were doing this as a class project. This isn't foreign. We have had other apps that can sense audio like Shazam. It's a music app where you can point it at your radio or anywhere you are and you're listening to songs and you don't know the name and artist and the title of that song, you can get the same thing. Well, this is doing the same type of technology. It's just more getting the information about politics and whether or not these claims are factual or not right in the palm of your hand.
[Costello:] Ok. So do you think that this will make politicians more accountable?
[Armstrong:] You know, that's a really good question. I think politicians are still not with it on the text spectrum to some degree. I think they may misunderstand or maybe just assume that this is not as big as it is going to be. I do believe that this will have a level of transparency that we have not had before and technology is making that possible. So, I think right away, no. They aren't paying attention to it. They're going to pay attention to their ads. Most of these things from the Super PACs are unlimited dollar amounts that can be spent. They are spending a lot of money on negative and attack ads and I think they're going to continue to do that and not worry about the technology of it.
[Costello:] But maybe in the future, who knows. Good for those MIT students.
[Armstrong:] Yes.
[Costello:] Mario Armstrong, thank you so much for joining us.
[Armstrong:] You're so welcome.
[Costello:] Talk about picking the wrong house to break into. LL Cool J, oh, what he did to a burglar.

[Lu Stout:] Welcome back. Now Australian sports fans are celebrating the country's first ever winner of the Masters golf championship, and we can cross live to Augusta, Georgia where Patrick Snell is ready to tell us just how he did it Patrick.
[Patrick Snell, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] Yeah, thrilling weekend. Thanks, Kristie. Adam Scott, the pride of Australia, but he'll tell you he's done this for himself as well. In honor of Greg Norman, too. Greg Norman tweeting how proud he is of Adam Scott. This was a moment, his occasion not just for Aussie golf, but also Adam Scott as well finally fulfilling all that potential we've been talking about for so many years. Let me just replay quickly how it all unfolded. First up, how he got that incredible birdie at hole number 18. He sank a dramatic putt. That took him to nine under for the championship. Only problem for him was Cabrera followed suit with birdie. So they go to the sudden death playoff. This is Cabrera trying to win it on his own, but it just doesn't drop for the South American former champion. So Scott to win it. Adam Scott on the brink of history. That is one special moment. And afterwards, he told our Rachel Nichols that 13 years after turning pro he finally gets his hands on a first major.
[Adam Scott, 2013 Masters Champion:] It's an amazing journey, the whole golfing career. And I've played a lot of majors. And to finally get one means a lot. I've knocked on the door a couple of times recently. And to get over the hurdle, hopefully it's the start of something to come.
[Rachel Nichols, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] What do you see when you look at this guy?
[Scott:] That's a happy man right there when I look at that. It's quite a feeling to make a couple of putts to win a tournament. It's what every kid dreams about. So for it to finally happen is amazing.
[Snell:] He's a popular young man. And many people feeling for him after his British Open meltdown last year at Royal Lytham and St. Anne's when he blew a four shot lead down the stretch. He had four straight boogies. But he is happy now. And he can now focus on adding to this. At 32 years of age, Kristie, he is potentially entering the prime of his golfing career.
[Lu Stout:] And other than Adam Scott finally getting the chance to put on the green jacket there, what else will you remember about the Masters?
[Snell:] Yeah, a couple of things. First of all, Rory McIlroy failure to really get his game and his season going at this Masters tournament, but also Tiger Woods, I think. Unequivocally that two shot penalty that was assessed on him Saturday morning following the incident on Friday when he admitted that he dropped from the wrong place. That, and then of course the big question which remains, shouldn't he have disqualified himself? He chose not to, citing that he was still within the rules of golf, which he was. But again, many people feeling that he perhaps should have given further thought to that particular issue. And also the fact now that we are going to be five years since Tiger Woods last major when he heads to the U.S. Open in June, Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] Yeah, that two shot penalty, a brutal setback for Tiger. And what about the Chinese teenager that we've been following so closely?
[Snell:] Guan Tianglang, for me the human interest story of this season's first major. What an achievement. He just seemed to keep rewriting the Masters history books, not just the youngest ever to play in this coveted tournament, but the youngest player to make the cut at a major. And he handled himself so well. He played decent golf throughout this tournament. Four straight round without a double boogie on this monster course? Incredible stuff. He finished at 12 over par, which is very, very respectable indeed. I really do hope we see plenty more of him. He is a breath of fresh air, Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] And the kid is just 14-years-old, incredible. Patrick Snell joining us live from Augusta, thank you. Now let's get the rest of the sports news now. And Alex Thomas joins us from CNN London Alex.
[Alex Thomas, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] Hi, Kristie. Yeah, Manchester City's football manager Roberto Mancini says his side should not be regarded as overwhelming favorites for next month's FA Cup final against Wigan. The Italian admitted it'll be another tough game after they got past Chelsea in their last four match at Wembley on Sunday. Samir Nasri opened the scoring for City in the 35th minute. And then just two minutes into the second half, City doubled their lead when Gareth Barry's chip was headed past Chelsea keeper Petr Cech by Sergio Arguero. 2-0 down, the London teamed out of contention, but they pulled a goal back thanks to an acrobatic effort by Demba Ba. The Senegal striker's bicycle kick was placed to perfection and almost inspired a Chelsea comeback, but their sustained pressure towards the end of the game didn't yield another goal and it finished 2-1 to City. The Los Angeles Lakers are one win away from the NBA playoffs after a crucial victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Dwight Howard stepped up with a game high 26 points in the absence of the injured Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. A three from Antawn Jamison put the Spurs ahead at this stage in the fourth. And Tim Duncan, top scorer for San Antonio with 23 points on the night as they try to stay in touch with the home team at L.A.'s Staples Center. However, Howard and the rest outscored the Spurs by five points in the final quarter to clinch a 91-86 win that gives them the edge in their battle with the Utah Jazz for the west's final playoff berth. That's the latest for now. Much more from Augusta on World Sport in just over three hours time. See you then.
[Lu Stout:] All right, Alex Thomas there, thank you. And today is the 117th running of the Boston marathon. It's said to be the world's oldest annual marathon. And there will be some special heroes taking part. Paul Burton of CNN affiliate WBZ reports.
[Paul Burton, Wbz Correspondent:] These are the real heroes of the Boston marathon, they're called the Achilles Freedom Team, wounded warriors who will be hand cycling the 26.2 miles.
[Michael Frazier, Achilles Freedom Team:] Doing the Boston marathon, I mean it's one of the oldest marathons. And I'll tell you what, it's a privilege to be here to do that.
[Jake Murphy, Achilles Freedom Team:] Just to be able to do a marathon is going to be a dream come true.
[Burton:] 26 year old Jake Murphy is from Wesley. He's so happy to be home. In July 2011, his entire life changed while on patrol in Afghanistan.
[Murphy:] The IED went off, took both of my legs, and consequently I was also in a coma for about six weeks. So I suffered a traumatic brain injury also.
[Burton:] But today he's doing much better and is proud not only to serve his country, but take part in the Boston Marathon.
[Murphy:] My first Boston after years of walking down the street and watching them go through Wesley.
[Burton:] Each one of these servicemen arrived in Boston on private jets and greeted by local authorities.
[Frazier:] The welcome here is just absolutely amazing. I've been in a lot of cities and this is probably the first city that you get off the plane and firefighters and police are outside just there to welcome us.
[Burton:] And it certainly is inspiring to watch these heroes step off the plane one by one on their own power.
[Unidentified Female:] It's breathtaking. They're so inspiring. And they're part of our family now.
[Burton:] Each one knows they have a long road to recovery. And while getting through the marathon will be challenging, it is something each one of them knows they can accomplish.
[Christoper Hancock, Achilles Freedom Team:] It's a new adventure for me. I see how far I can push myself.
[Frazier:] The biggest message is that never let anything get you down. You can accomplish anything that you want to. Me and all the rest of the guys are here living proof of that. There's nothing to stop us.
[Lu Stout:] Paul Burton of affiliate WBZ reporting on that inspiring story of the disabled military veterans running the Boston Marathon. You're watching News Stream. And up next, a security consultant claims he has invented a mobile app to hijack airplanes, but is there really any reason to panic? We'll have a reality check right here on News Stream.

[Phillips:] Checking stories cross country now. In New York, two men implicated in an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. have been indicted. Arraignment for one of the accused is set for Monday. A co-defendant remains at large. In Los Angeles, the prosecution is expected to rest its case against Dr. Conrad Murray later today. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Yesterday, a prosecution witness testified that Murray should have realized that Jackson had stopped breathing. And Steven Slater, the former JetBlue flight attendant who earned instant fame from his dramatic exit from an airplane last year was sentenced to a year of probation. Slater must also pay $10,000 to the airline to repair that emergency evacuation chute that he used during the incident. All right. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange following a big glitch at Wells Fargo. Alison, we're hearing customers bank statements were mixed up. What exactly happened?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Oh, yes. You're exactly right about that. You know, you can say it's a big oopsie for Wells Fargo because Wells Fargo has sent out bank statements to the wrong people. More specifically, it says that some September statements were actually mixed up with statements from other customers. Now, the bank is not confusing news reports that thousands were affected, but only seems to be hitting accounts that were open in Florida and South Carolina. Our Jacksonville affiliate WJXT talked with one customer.
[Unidentified Male:] Account number, name, my whopping balance of $16.45. Flip it over, different account number, different transactions. I gained, oh, about $115,000 overnight.
[Kosik:] Ah, can you imagine that? Well, Wells Fargo is blaming a faulty printer for this big mess up. And if you're wondering, they have taken that printer out of commission, not using that printer any more. Now, for customers who were affected, Wells Fargo is going to be offering a one-year free of identity theft protection and the company is also saying, Kyra, that online banking statements are not affected in this mess Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Well, opening bell just a few minutes away, what are you expecting today?
[Kosik:] It looks like we're going to be of to a stronger start in about five minutes. The Dow futures right now are pointing up about 100 points. This follows a rally happening overseas. The markets are pretty optimistic about Europe at this point. European leaders now are saying they're going to be meeting a few times over the next week. France and Germany are saying a plan to resolve Europe's debt crisis will be adopted by Wednesday. There's also some talk happening that the U.S. Fed is thinking about another stimulus to boost the housing market. It's a stimulus that could also boost stocks and that's why you're seeing stocks much higher right now Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Alison, thanks. Well, the death of Moammar Gadhafi means some long overdue payback for people like Brian Flynn.
[Brian Flynn:] It's too bad they couldn't kill him more than once.
[Phillips:] Brian Flynn lost his brother in the Lockerbie bombing. Maybe now he and the other families can get some peace. Plus, the Arab spring claims another leader, but will he be the last? We'll take a look around the region.

[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] Breaking news right now near Tokyo, a powerful earthquake hit off the coast. A tsunami warning is issued. We're going to go live to Japan, straight ahead.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Plus, talk about your deadlines. Today, we are seven days from Congress going on holiday and 25 days from plunging off the edge of the fiscal cliff.
[Sambolin:] And "The New York Post" photographer who took the picture of the man in the subway tracks before he was hit sits down to tell his side of the story. We're going to hear from him this hour on
[Cnn. Romans:] Good morning and welcome to EARLY START this Friday morning. I'm Christine Romans. I'm in for John Berman today.
[Sambolin:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. It is Friday, December 7th, and it 5:00 a.m. in the East. We begin with breaking news of a massive earthquake in Japan. It happened off the coast of Japan, about 300 miles northeast of Tokyo you can see on the tower cam that we are going to buildings swayed for several minutes there. So, let's go straight to Alex Zolbert. He is live in Tokyo. What can you tell us?
[Alex Zolbert, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Zoraida. This happened on Friday evening here in Tokyo, about an hour and a half ago. It was quite an unnerving scene here. This is a 7.3 magnitude earthquake. You mentioned a bit about it. As we understand it, this essentially came along the same fault line that triggered that massive tsunami in March of 2011. We've been watching all the local stations, trying to gather all the information we can. Here's what we know at this point in terms of a tsunami. We have seen several small waves come in, about four waves. The biggest one being about one meter or about three feet. The other waves were only about eight to 16 inches. So, no sign of a major tsunami at this point. But it is quite unnerving. There's reports of the trains stopping up there, some of the roads being closed. But in terms of injuries and in terms of deaths, we are only hearing reports of a few injuries at this time. One other thing you mentioned, you'll remember there was the crippled Fukushima plant in between that region and where we are in Tokyo. According to TEPCO, which is the company that operates the nuclear plants in Japan, all is fine at this hour. But, Zoraida, we are still waiting for the all clear when it comes to the tsunami waves. We will keep watching and we will keep you posted.
[Sambolin:] Alex, we're looking at the camera there. It's still shaking. Are those aftershocks or is that what was happening during the earthquake?
[Zolbert:] I would say if you're looking I can't see the monitor at this time. If you're looking at the this was in our office, in the CNN Tokyo bureau here, really what it is, you se that plant shaking, it doesn't look like much, but what grabs you is the noise you hear. You can hear essentially the whole building shaking. Let's see if we can recue it and maybe you it take a listen. Some people in the United States, certainly, know earthquakes quite well. Myself, I'm relatively new to it. Obviously if you haven't experienced one before, it suddenly feels like you're sea sick. This one lasted about 90 seconds, but again we're talking about a 7.3 magnitude quake. And we'll keep watching for any signs of any waves coming into the Tohoku region, which was the region that was hit hard in March of last year Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] Have any evacuations been ordered?
[Zolbert:] Well, we've been on the phone with people up in that region, in the Tohoku region, which is again about 300 kilometers north of where we are here in Tokyo. People, it was definitely definitely sent a chill through their spine. People along the coast have evacuated. But we're calling, checking to see, but it appears for now everyone is OK.
[Sambolin:] OK, all right. Alex, I know this is just happening, and it's very early. You mentioned there were some roads closed, but you haven't heard anything about any injuries, right?
[Zolbert:] We've heard just as I was coming out here to this position, I heard a report of several people being taken to the hospital with minor injuries. In terms of where we are in Tokyo, I should mention, people are heading home. It's now after 7:00 in the evening on Friday and they're going about their business. So, it doesn't, and early indication, appear to be anything major, but more waves could come in. So, that's what we're watching for now.
[Sambolin:] All right. Alex Zolbert, live in Tokyo for us thank you.
[Romans:] It's now down to two men left standing between all of us and the fiscal cliff. In 25 days, America goes over the edge. That's when severe tax hikes and spending cuts begin if the deal isn't reach. And Congress breaks for the holidays in seven days. According to "The New York Times," John Boehner has asked Democratic leaders to step aside so he and the President can attempt to negotiate a deal one-on-one and no one is objecting. CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser live from Washington. Paul, good morning. You got some new polling for us. What do Americans want to see in a deal?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] It's interesting what they want to see and what they don't want to see. One of the biggest sticking points between Democrats and Republicans over averting the fiscal cliff is raising taxes on those making over $250,000 a year. Take a look at this from Quinnipiac University. It came out in the last 24 hours. And question was asked are you OK with that? And look at that, 65 percent say they support such a move to avert the fiscal cliff. This is the third poll, Christine, over the last two weeks to show the same thing, that most Americans are OK with raising those taxes on incomes over $250,000 a year. But go to the next screen, there's a partisan divide here. This really kind of explains why most Republicans are dead set against this. Democrats yes, they are fine with that move. Independents, 23 of them as well. But, only a minority of Republicans are OK with raising taxes on those making over $250,000 a year. What don't Republicans like? Well, when it comes to cutting spending, yes, they are OK with that, definitely OK with that. But they don't want entitlements touched, especially Medicare. Look at this question: are you OK with raising the eligibility for Medicare going up from 65 to 67? A majority in the Quinnipiac poll opposed, as with two other polls that came out over the last two weeks, Christine.
[Romans:] Wow. OK. Big surprise yesterday in your town when South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint announced he's resigning. He explained the reasoning to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
[Steinhauser:] Yes, this was a big surprise
[Sen. Jim Demint , South Carolina:] After this last election, it's apparent that we need to do more as conservatives to convince Republicans that our ideas and our policies are going to make their lives better. This will give me the opportunity to help take our case to the American people and to translate our policies into real ideas.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Host, "the Situation Room":] So you think you can be more influential within the conservative movement as the leader of the Heritage Foundation as opposed to a United States senator?
[Demint:] There's no question about it.
[Sambolin:] Wow. Paul, what do you make of the timing of this? I mean, he's saying he could be more effective outside the Senate.
[Steinhauser:] You know, advisers to the senator told me he always said he was only going to do two terms in the Senate. The thing is, though, Christine, his second term isn't up for another four years. So, this timing is interesting. I guess he was quietly, obviously, making a deal with Heritage to go over there. DeMint is somebody that we all know that was a kingmaker over the last two election cycles, a kingmaker on the Tea Party side. He is probably the person responsible for getting five Tea Party-backed members now into the Senate, including the most famous would be, of course, Marco Rubio. He was backing Marco Rubio when established Republicans were all backing Charlie Crist. You heard him talk to Wolf Blitzer there. He feels he can do more as an ideas guy over at Heritage, which is the probably the oldest and the most important think tank on the conservative side. One other thing, Christine, keep your eyes now on the governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley. She's a Republican. It's up to her to pick a replacement who will serve for two years. But who will she pick? That's what everybody wants to know Christine.
[Romans:] All right. Paul Steinhauser, have a great weekend, Paul. Thanks.
[Steinhauser:] Thanks.
[Romans:] In Egypt this morning, opponents of President Mohamed Morsi are expected to take to the streets again. They were out in force last night in Cairo, chanting that it was time for their president to resign. Their anger was sparked two weeks ago when Morsi issued a decree granting himself sweeping powers. At a televised last night, Morsi refused to rescind that decree, despite calls to do so from his opponents. We're going to go live to Cairo for the latest on this, this half hour.
[Sambolin:] Eight minutes past the hour. The photographer who took the now infamous picture of a New York City man standing on the subway tracks as a train approached insists he was trying to alert the driver of the train. That photo moments before his death made it on the front page of "The New York Post" that's sparking outrage of both the paper and the photographer. People are asking why Umar Abbasi did not do more to help the victim. He told CNN's Anderson Cooper he was too far away on the platform to do anything else.
[R. Umar Abbasi, Freelance Photographer:] The only way I thought at that moment was to start clicking away, releasing the shutter that will fire the flash and maybe
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Host, "ac 360":] You thought that might warn the conductor?
[Abbasi:] Yes.
[Sambolin:] The victim was pushed on to the tracks. Abbasi said the only thing he would have urged him to do differently is to out-run the train.
[Romans:] The mayor of Trenton, New Jersey, and two co-defendants indicted by a federal grand jury on seven new counts of bribery and extortion. Mayor Tony Mack, his brother and a business associate, implicated on a kickback scheme to sell city-owned property to investors for less than the assessed value. The charges stem from a two-year FBI investigation and to informants who cooperated with the feds.
[Sambolin:] George Zimmerman is suing NBC. The man charged with shooting and killing Trayvon Martin is accusing the network of editing his 911 call to police to make himself sound racist. Zimmerman claims because of those actions, the public wrongly believes that he used a racial slur while describing Martin to the police dispatcher. Three NBC employees have been fired for their role in producing that story.
[Romans:] Could kickoffs get the boot in the NFL? Commissioner Roger Goodell telling "TIME" magazine that he has considered doing away with that part of the game in an effort to reduce player injuries. The league already tinkered with kickoffs, moving them up five yards which has limited kick returns. By all accounts, those typically frantic plays present the most risks to players. Next hour of the EARLY START, we're going to talk to a former linebacker Chris Draft of potential sea change in the NFL. And actor Steven Baldwin arrested and charged with failing to file New York state income tax returns from 2008 through 2010. He allegedly owes more than $350,000. Baldwin pleaded not guilty yesterday. He claims he left his personal affairs to paid professionals during the team he was on an island shooting the reality TV show, "Survivor." His lawyer says Baldwin even produced the $100,000 to show good faith.
[Sambolin:] After heading D.C. to ask for aid for Superstorm Sandy damage, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie explained his change of heart to President Obama in the days after the storm and before the presidential election. Check out what he told Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show."
[Gov. Chris Christie , New Jersey:] People have different skill sets at different times.
[Jon Stewart, Host, "the Daily Show With Jon Stewart":] I see. So he wasn't a leader until you need leadership.
[Christie:] Maybe until maybe until he was presented with a stark opportunity to lead.
[Stewart:] Yes, opportunity. All right.
[Romans:] Critics call it a step towards union busting. Protests against a proposed new labor law in a state known for organized labor. We are live from Michigan, next.
[Sambolin:] And call it man versus python. The state of Florida needs your help to kill thousands of massive reptiles. Why does this sound like it may not end well?

[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] It's all over the place Carter sees the bright spot. We'll be back with him. He's coming back tomorrow morning, 5:00 a.m. Eastern. Catch him on cnnmoney.com. That's it for us on "WAKE UP CALL." AMERICAN MORNING," cheery as ever starts right now.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] I like what Carter said too. Good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello. Tears and cheers on Capitol Hill not for the debt ceiling deal, but for Gabrielle Giffords, the wounded congresswoman bringing down the House last night.
[Velshi:] Funding fight over the FAA. I'm Ali Velshi. The agency forced to partially shut its doors. What it means for your safety and the price of your next airline ticket on this
[American Morning. Costello:] Good morning, everyone. It is Tuesday, August 2nd. This is AMERICAN MORNING. Christine has the day off because boy, she's a little under the weather yesterday.
[Velshi:] She's trying to fight that cold and it keeps coming back.
[Costello:] Those kids, little germ incubators.
[Velshi:] I know that's why I keep none of them around me. A lot going on today. This debt debate it's just not over. It was supposed to be over last night and it didn't end.
[Costello:] Well, it's almost over because the Senate votes on it and goes to the president and we'll still be talking about it. Anyway, welcome to D-day, the day America hits the default deadline. Right now you look live at the capitol. Later today, the entire world will be watching when the Senate votes on a compromised debt ceiling deal. And what a moment this was. For a brief moment last night, Republicans and Democrats put aside their differences to embrace a surprise visitor, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. For the first time since being shot in January, Giffords returned to the House Chamber to vote in favor of the debt deal. It was a moving sight that brought everyone to tears.
[Representative Nancy Pelosi , California:] Throughout America, there isn't a name that stirs more love, more admiration, more respect, more wishing for our daughters to be like her, than the name of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Thank you, Gabby, for joining us today.
[Velshi:] Giffords closest friend in the House, Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz got a call from Giffords' husband yesterday. He told her Gabby felt she had to be in Washington if her vote could keep America from slipping into default.
[Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz , Florida:] It was just the most overwhelming, I mean, it would be hard my heart was all of our hearts were so full and you have had some grizzled hardened members with very hardened hearts that everybody had melted when she walked in the chamber. It was so incredible.
[Velshi:] By the end of the night, the House voted 269 to 161 in favor of the deal. Afterward, our own Kate Bolduan got a rare interview with House Speaker John Boehner about the painful process that got us here.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] How do you feel, sir?
[Representative John Boehner , House Speaker:] I feel great.
[Bolduan:] What do you think of the vote this evening?
[Boehner:] It was a strong vote, but first step in many steps yet to go.
[Bolduan:] What do you hope the American people take, what do you think the message is for the American people tonight?
[Boehner:] The process works. May not be pretty, but it works.
[Costello:] You heard him. He says it works. It is a deal that no one seems to like.
[Velshi:] He was right about the fact it wasn't pretty.
[Costello:] No, it was really ugly. There's only hours to go before this default deadline kicks in, a deal we kind of have to live with if it makes it through the Senate today, which it's expected to do. It will.
[Velshi:] I'm sure it will, but everything is moving slowly than you would expect it to. Joe Johns joins us live from Washington this morning. Sixty votes are needed for the measure to pass today, Joe. Do you even know why it's 60 as opposed to just 50 and are they going to get the votes necessary?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Anchor And Correspondent:] Well, it's the issue of somebody trying to filibuster or somebody trying to hold up debate or whatever and that's the rule in the United States Senate, unless you have a 60 vote majority, you may have to come up with 60 votes to get anything through. You know, the question is, is this going to be a slam dunk? The people in the Senate who should know, think they have the votes to pass it. I mean, this is a compromise that was fashioned in the Senate over the weekend. You can make the case this is their product, that given the alternative, which is pretty ugly, they got the best deal they could get. I don't think anybody got all of what they wanted, but for the most part, Democrats and Republicans were able to hold on to their bottom line priorities. The president's party was able to get the debt ceiling increased and a way to extend borrowing authority out through 2012. Republicans got a promise at least of no new taxes and huge reductions in government spending. Some said it wasn't as much as they wanted. You know, this is one of those hold your nose kind of votes where nobody says, I like this thing completely.
[Velshi:] All right, Joe, we're going to be watching it very closely to see how this actually develops and whether any more wrinkles show up. In your view, we're done with the road bumps and wrinkles? I'm not asking you to prognosticate, but there's nothing obvious at this point?
[Johns:] No, I mean, there's nothing obvious. There's a group of very conservative senators and, you know, they're a little bit, you know, concerns about what they might do. One of them walked past me in the hall over in the senate side yesterday, Jim DeMint. And I asked him are you going to hold this thing up or whatever and I mean, he just kept walking. He didn't give me a peep. So, again, though, we're told that the Senate people think they actually have the votes and that's the important thing.
[Velshi:] Joe, thanks very much. We'll check in with you later. Joe Johns in Washington. If you're not already furious with your elected officials for the way they've handled this debt ceiling crisis, this may push you right over the top. Because Congress couldn't stop bickering and this deal came down to the wire instead of getting done two weeks ago, for instance, American taxpayers are now on the hook for $1.7 billion more. That's how much additional interest the government had to pay investors to get them to buy treasury bills now that the risk is a little bit higher, Carol.
[Costello:] It's always something, isn't it? If Congress passes the debt deal, a special bipartisan committee will be created to come up with a plan for even more cuts. That's going to be called the Super Committee. I knew I wouldn't do this right, but the Super Committee will consist of six Democrats and six Republicans. Those six Democrats and six Republicans will be selected by the Senate leadership over there and the House leadership. Once they're in place, they will begin debating what to cut and what not to cut. They're going to try to figure out $1.5 trillion in additional cuts. They have to do that by a certain deadline and that deadline will be Thanksgiving. Once they get all of that into place and we're certain they will because things are working so well in our government, their plan will go to the entire Congress, to the House and the Senate and then, of course the House and the Senate will vote yes or no. They'll have to do that by Christmas time. If they vote yes, all will be well. I think I went one too far. Yes. See, Ali, I should have had you come over and do this. Anyway, if the whole Congress votes yes, all will be well. If they vote no, then the president then that will all of these triggers will go into place and things will be cut like defense and entitlement programs. We don't know, but those kicks will go into place and that will allow the president to raise the debt ceiling. Also, when the Super Committee makes its decisions, there will be no amendments allowed, so the entire Congress will have to vote on this plan whether they like it or not. So we'll keep our fingers crossed and hope all will go well.
[Velshi:] So they've got to vote up or down on this thing. I like when you did that. When it moves too slowly, everybody gets bored, whatever I'll come back when it's finished. You made me watch.
[Costello:] Thanks, Ali. I appreciate that.
[Velshi:] It was excellent. The one danger a lot of people warn is if they don't come to a deal, then those automatic cuts could be very haphazard. They're automatic. They may not be the best thing for the economy. So you know this means, Carol, you and me are going to be working Christmas, is what it means.
[Costello:] Probably so, but I'm used to that, that's OK.
[Velshi:] It would be fun hanging out with you. All right, the fight over the debt ceiling isn't the only showdown in Washington. The House adjourned for the summer recess last night and failed to approve a bill that would fund the Federal Aviation Administration. The only possible resolution is if the Senate approves the bill, but that is unlikely. So what is this all for you. First, the federal government is expected to lose an estimated $1.2 billion in taxes on air fare. Four thousand workers will remain furloughed. These are mostly administrative positions, meaning air traffic control personnel are still on the job and passenger safety should not be affected. Also construction projects are on hold. Because the government stopped collecting certain taxes on ticket sales, Delta says it will now give refunds to passengers who paid those taxes, but then flew during the partial FAA shutdown. The refunds only apply to people who bought tickets before July 23rd. So Carol, just let me make this let's bring this map back for a second. The $1.2 billion in revenue is what the government loses because they're gone now and they can't authorize this FAA bill. The $1.7 billion is what we paid in extra interest because we had to refinance and now we're up to $3 billion just because of delays. Just because they weren't that's real money. It's nothing in terms of the national debt, but that's $3 billion we didn't have to pay.
[Costello:] When you hear a figure like $1.7 billion, now you're thinking that's nothing, it really is. It's just the principle of it. It's ridiculous.
[Velshi:] If you had to pay extra money, it's like these dumb things you pay because if you don't pay something on time. It's real money.
[Costello:] Maybe they will learn not to wait until the last minute the next time.
[Velshi:] I'm sure that's the lesson
[Costello:] The struggling Rhode Island City of Central Falls filing for bankruptcy as part of our continuing look at states in crisis. The city of 19,000, which is just north of Providence has been drowning in debt and it was forced to file after unsuccessfully asking police and firefighter retirees to give up 50 percent of their pension. Here's a member of the firefighters union and the city's mayor with an example of a 12-year-old retiree of a 42-year-old retiree rather, who's now draining the system.
[Mayor Charles Moreau , Central Falls:] Collect for 40 years almost $2 million. A lot of money wasn't paid into that pension by that employee.
[Unidentified Male:] Retired firefighters worried about their pension long term they may get even less than half? Everybody is concerned about what's going to happen. Just going to try to work our way through it and do what we can.
[Velshi:] Last year, by the way, Central Falls is the same city that fired all of its teachers at its high school after a failed agreement between the city and teachers union. New developments this morning in the Casey Anthony saga. A Florida judge ordering her to return to Orlando ASAP to serve a probation sentence for check fraud.
[Costello:] And you thought it was over. Yes. It's unrelated to Anthony's recent murder trial. Casey Anthony's lawyers say they will fight this judge's order. Joining us now Sunny Hostin, legal contributor for "In Session" on TruTV. We really did think this was over.
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session" On Trutv:] Just when you thought you would never see me again to talk about Casey Anthony again. She is back. Apparently the judge who sentenced her in the check fraud case, that was going on even before she was tried for the death of her daughter, he thinks that he made a mistake and instead of writing on the release papers probation papers "upon release" he sort of wrote she would serve probation and then the clerk thought she should serve probation while in jail awaiting trial. And that was so interesting. I mean, I've been a lawyer for a long time. I have never heard of anyone serving probation while they're sitting in a jail cell. I mean, that's the premise of probation. You want to have someone out of jail and make sure they do the right thing.
[Velshi:] Right. I see. OK, so you wouldn't consider your jail time probation.
[Hostin:] No.
[Velshi:] Doesn't serve the purpose.
[Hostin:] It just doesn't serve it's never done.
[Costello:] Does she have to serve probation in Orlando necessarily though?
[Hostin:] That's the question because the judge wrote she has to go back to Orlando in 72 hours and basically go to probation. So many people are saying well, that means she's got to stay in Orlando. Usually someone does serve their probation in their home state, the state where the crime occurred, but I just don't think that's going to happen because typically exceptions are made for the safety of a person. And I don't think that Orlando really wants Casey Anthony to come back, right. So I don't think she's going to serve it in Orlando if she serves it at all.
[Velshi:] Now the her lawyers are challenging this order. The judge as you said thinks he may have a made mistake on what he wrote. What's likely to happen?
[Hostin:] You know, I think the defense team has a really good argument that a double jeopardy argument she already served the probation, even though she serve is it in jail, she did already serve the probation. And so my sense is perhaps they'll have a hearing. Casey Anthony may or may not be present for that hearing. Everybody wants to see her so, perhaps, she will be there. Then we'll find out whether or not Casey Anthony is going to serve probation.
[Costello:] If it lives.
[Hostin:] It lives, Carol, it lives!
[Costello:] Well, that's too bad.
[Hostin:] I'm back.
[Velshi:] It's always a pleasure to have you here. That's not the problem.
[Costello:] Thank you, Sunny.
[Velshi:] If you don't bring us more Casey Anthony stories, we'll happily have you back.
[Hostin:] Thank you.
[Costello:] Thank you, Sunny. It is question of the day time. Being the ultimate tough guy may work for Captain America, but not necessarily for the leaders of the free world. Remember when President Bush taunted insurgents in Iraq four months after shock and awe.
[George Bush, Former U.s. President:] There are some who feel like that, you know, the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is bring them on.
[Costello:] Some believe the president's words increased violence against American troops taunting the enemy isn't the best idea. President Bush later said he regretted saying that. But acting tough feels good and it's quintessentially American. It's one of the reasons why the Tea Party resonates. It's why Republicans are controlling the agenda. This debt deal fiasco, in the modern political world tough is in, compromise is weak. Last year on "60 Minutes" House Speaker John Boehner made that clear.
[Boehner:] When you say the word compromise, a lot of Americans look up and go, they're going to sell me out.
[Costello:] That's what he thinks of it. Back in the day powerful Democrats and Republicans were able to make mutually beneficial deals. Think of Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill in 1983 working on a deal on Social Security or President Clinton compromising with Newt Gingrich on welfare reform in 1996, but that was then. So, question of the day time. Is compromise a sign of weakness? Send us an e-mail, tweet or message us on Facebook. We will read some of your responses throughout the hour.
[Velshi:] And still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, relief for an Alabama town ravaged by a tornado. A new plant, new jobs are on the way.
[Costello:] Despite a pledge not to market unhealthy food and drinks to kids, a new study says they still get a heap and help from advertisements through product placements.
[Velshi:] And on a hunt for roadside bomb used to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, we've got a firsthand look at the delicate and dangerous mission. It's part of Jason Carroll's series "A Soldier's Story." You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. It's 15 minutes after the hour.

[Kaye:] Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Bottom of the hour now. Here are some of the stories that we're watching this hour. In Syria, the violence rages on. Rebel fighters and government troops battled today for control of a state-run TV and radio building in Aleppo. Opposition forces reportedly took control of the building before they were pushed back by sniper fire and shelling. An opposition group says at least 45 people have been killed across the country today. In medical news, a major spike in cases of West Nile virus. So far, we've seen 241 cases across the country with four deaths. The CDC says most of the cases have been centered in Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma. The virus is carried by mosquitos. It can be especially harmful to people with compromised immune systems, like young children or the elderly. After hitting parts of the Windward Islands, tropical storm Ernesto is heading for the central Caribbean. Forecasters say Ernesto could become a hurricane. Meanwhile, tropical depression six is now a tropical storm. Florence is currently tracking about 330 miles west of Cape Verde islands. The one and only David Hasselhoff doing what he does best, running to save a life on the '90s classic TV show "Bay Watch." But here's one thing that probably never happened to the Hoff, a hospital Bill after the rescue. Well, that's exactly what happened to my next guest. And 17-year-old John Clark said he had a headache after saving a boy from drowning, saving a boy from drowning, all right? So, he has this headache, jumped on an ambulance to get it checked out with the boy he saved, and this all cost him about $2,600. Checking out the ill now, according to Oregon affiliate KOIN, more than $400 for the ER, more than $200 for the physician and nearly $2,000 for that 15-mile trip in the ambulance. John Clark joins me now from Portland, Oregon. John, good morning. Thanks for joining us this morning. Take us back to the rescue. How did this all happen? You weren't even working, right? You were just on a trip in that area?
[John Clark, Lifeguard:] Yes, my family and I were just vacationing in the area. That day I was on the beach flying kites with my girlfriend and my nephew, actually, and I heard some screaming and I looked out towards the water, and there was a young boy floating out in the breakers, probably 50 to 100 yards off the beach. And I mean, I didn't really think about it, just kind of took off my shirt and went out there and swam out to the boy and he was panicking, and he clinged on to me at the time. So one thing they taught us in lifeguard school is that if they're panicking, before you can do anything, you have to calm him down. So, I pushed him away, I started to talking to him and I calmed him down. I got that his name was Robert and he was 12 years old. And from there, he was almost too tired to swim anymore, so I kind of helped hold him up with one hand while treading water. And the currents just kept pushing us outlook farther and farther. Every time a wave would come, I'd tell him, "Robert, ready? Hold your breath."
[Kaye:] But you eventually helped get him or got him to safety, right?
[Clark:] Yes. Rescue crews eventually got out to us about 15 minutes later on a jet ski, but the waves were so big, it flipped their jet skis. Luckily, we were able to make it back.
[Kaye:] When he was safe on land, he was put in this ambulance and you climbed into the ambulance as well. Did anybody tell you there would be a charge because you had a headache and you wanted to go in the ambulance as well?
[Clark:] No, I didn't really think about it at the time. I thought it was kind of standard procedure for both of us to get in there and go to the hospital.
[Kaye:] So, this $2,600 bill that we're talking about, you never saw that coming?
[Clark:] No. I mean, I figured there would be some expenses, but nothing like this.
[Kaye:] I want to ask you about your thoughts, because was this fair, do you think? I mean, do you think that you should be charged? You just saved this little boy's life, or certainly helped save him.
[Clark:] I mean, I don't really see a problem with it. Everyone was doing their jobs, but I think it's more of a problem within the system of there should be a system there should be some system in place to help out these situations.
[Kaye:] But do you think you should have been charged $2,600?
[Clark:] Probably not.
[Kaye:] Well, I'm sure you're aware, obviously, since hearing about this, dozens have offered to cover the bill? What do you think of that?
[Clark:] Yes. I mean, that's absolutely amazing. I mean, our family couldn't be more grateful. It just makes me feel ecstatic inside that everyone has been so generous.
[Kaye:] It is nice to see them reaching out. And the boy that you saved, he's doing OK?
[Clark:] I actually haven't been in contact with him. All I know is his name and his age, and I haven't spoke to him, but I'm pretty sure he's doing good.
[Kaye:] Well, I'm sure his parents are thankful that you were in that area on that day. John, thank you very much, John Clark. Appreciate it.
[Clark:] Thank you.
[Kaye:] One man's tax bill is big news in Washington. I'm talking about Mitt Romney's. Senator Harry Reid says Romney is a cheat, but Romney is blasting back. So, who needs to show their hand? We'll find out.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] There is a disturbing new report out now on the deadly drug war in Mexico. It says that a large number of weapons taken from the cartels came from the United States. How large a number? Try 70 percent. This is what we're talking about, take a look here. Yes, you see all the rifles? At least two-thirds probably came from the U.S. It's been a bone of contention in talks between the U.S. and Mexico on stopping the flow of illegal drugs going north. The guns come from legitimate sales, smugglers running guns into Mexico and even from the military. The Mexican military is supplied in part by the U.S. So when a soldier defects to the cartels, well, he takes his American-made taxpayer funded weapon with him. And what's the effect of the guns in Mexico? Death. Drug violence killed more than 15,000 people just last year, and nearly 35,000 over the past few years. Stopping the flow of guns is a rough game for ATF agents near the border. Our Ed Lavandera road along on one of their patrols last year to see the challenges they're facing to stop the guns, the drugs and the Mexican cartels.
[Unidentified Male:] The number of firearms that somebody's purchased.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn National Correspondent:] We're driving the streets of Houston with an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, ATF. We can't tell you who he is because he's in the midst of the biggest case he's ever worked, battling lethal Mexican drug cartels on American streets.
[Unidentified Male:] We started seeing them popping up in Mexico, and then further down into Guatemala is where it really opened our eyes, and we're like, OK, we're on to something that's pretty big here.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn National Correspondent:] What they found was a trail from Houston to Guatemala littered with almost 340 guns purchased by so-called straw buyers, 23 Houston area residents, all of them with squeaky clean records, and legally allowed to buy guns. Investigators say almost a hundred of those guns have since turned up at crime scenes south of the border in the hands of the drug cartels.
[Dewey Webb, Atf, Special Agent In Charge:] They're fighting each other for turf in Mexico and, unfortunately, many law enforcement and civilians are being killed in that fight.
[Lavandera:] The man in this undercover photo shared exclusively with CNN is John Philip Hernandez. Investigators say he was at the center of the elaborate straw purchasing scheme.
[Unidentified Male:] He doesn't stand out in a crowd, a regular guy in his 20s.
[Lavandera:] According to ATF investigators, Hernandez recruited a crew of 23 people to purchase firearms for the drug cartels at gun shops across Houston. [on camera]: Court documents show Hernandez bought six weapons and ammunition at this gun shop. One of those weapons was later connected to the kidnapping and murder of a Mexican businessman. [voice-over]: Hernandez also admitted to buying weapons used in the infamous 2007 Acapulco massacre where seven people, including four police officers, were slaughtered by a dozen armed drug traffickers.
[Webb:] It has very long range capabilities.
[Lavandera:] ATF special agent in charge Dewey Webb showed us some of the group's favorite hardware.
[Webb:] There's probably over a dozen different versions of each of these weapons on the market today.
[Lavandera:] According to court documents, Hernandez purchased four weapons here at this shop. We spoke with the owner. He didn't want to go on camera, and he told us a few weeks after that, Hernandez returned, flashing $20,000 in cash and ready to buy 20 more weapons. The owner says he rejected the sale. [voice-over]: Investigators say the cartels paid Hernandez $100 to $200 each time they bought a firearm.
[Webb:] People that are buying drugs in the United States have just as much blood on their hands as the people pulling the trigger in Mexico.
[Lavandera:] John Phillip Hernandez is now serving an eight- year prison sentence after pleading guilty. But this ATF agent says as one ring is broken up, new rings can quickly emerge on Houston streets on the gun trail from America to Mexico. [on camera]: ATF investigators also tell us that they didn't realize how big this group was until they sat down one day and compared notes. And that's when different investigating teams who had been looking into different members of this group realized that this group was all working together.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] And that was CNN's Ed Lavandera reporting for us. As you saw, it is a growing problem, and some senators say it must be addressed right now. CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins me now from Washington. Jeanne, 70 percent seems like a very big number. So how many guns though are we really talking about here?
[Jeanne Meserve, Cnn Homeland Security Correspondent:] Well, we're talking about a pretty large number, in fact. This report, another one this one from Congress substantiating claims that, in fact, guns from the U.S. are fueling the Mexican drug wars. Not every weapon recovered in Mexico is traced, but according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, in 2009 and 2010, of the 29,284 firearms that were traced, 20,504, or, as you say, 70 percent, were sourced in the United States. The report also says that most of the firearms traced to the original owner in the U.S. came from three states: Texas, California and Arizona. The three Democratic senators who released the report are urging Congress to do a couple of things. One, reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, and require background checks for all firearm purchases, including those at gun shows. As you know, Randy, those are both very controversial steps. They've been fought hard by the gun lobby, and they have failed before. Back to you.
[Kaye:] So, I would imagine though, Jeanne, that the U.S. has already been taking steps to try to stop the flow of guns to Mexico. So is that just not working and now they're going to try this?
[Meserve:] Well, not as effectively as people will like. The ATF has spearheaded something called Project Gunrunner, which attempts to intercepts weapons and ammunition headed for the Southwest border. It has had some success, but it's also been criticized for failing to target high level traffickers. And the ATF is under fire for allegations that it let gun smugglers purchase hundreds of weapons so they could be traced. Senator Charles Grassley says ATF then lost track of hundreds of them. There is a congressional hearing on that matter scheduled for tomorrow Randi.
[Kaye:] All right. Jeanne Meserve. Thank you very much, Jeanne, for the update. And now to the Caribbean, where President Obama is making a rare presidential visit to Puerto Rico right now, speaking there with leaders and citizens about jobs and their status as a U.S. possession. He is the first president to make an official stop there in 50 years. President Ford was actually the last president to visit Puerto Rico while in office, but he was there for an international economic conference, not to meet with Puerto Rico's leaders. As you know, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but they can't vote in presidential elections. They also don't pay any federal income tax. But their citizens can serve in the U.S. military. And that's a fact the president highlighted during his first stop there. It's also our "Sound Effect."
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] For decades, Puerto Ricans like Juan and Ramon have put themselves in harm's way for a simple reason. They want to protect the country that they love. They're willingness to serve, they're willingness to sacrifice is as American as apple pie, or as arroz con gandules.
[Kaye:] Yes, he had to practice that one just a little bit, I think. We'll have much more on Puerto Rico and the statehood debate later on in our show. Seven Republican contenders battled it out last night during the first big GOP primary debate in New Hampshire. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann delivered the first surprise of the debate, announcing on stage that she had officially filed the paperwork for a presidential run. The Republican candidates squared off on a broad range of issues from the debt ceiling to abortion to foreign policy. Front-runner Mitt Romney leads most of the candidates by double digits in most polls. But surprisingly, he was not the target last night. In the end, the attacks went straight to the White House.
[Rep. Michele Bachmann , Presidential Candidate:] President Obama is a one-term president.
[Tim Pawlenty , Presidential Candidate:] This president is a declinist. He views America as one of equals around the world.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] Any one of the people on this stage would be a better president than President Obama.
[Kaye:] On the winners and losers of the debate, CNN political analysts agree Romney and Gingrich gave strong performances, and Michele Bachmann was the biggest surprise of the night. He was not at the debate last night, but you can add Jon Huntsman to the roster list of GOP presidential hopefuls. A Republican source telling CNN the former ambassador to China will formally announce his bid for the White House next Tuesday in New Jersey, with the Statue of Liberty as his backdrop. Harold Camping, the minister who inaccurately predicted the end of the world last month, has suffered a stroke. An employee of the preacher says Camping had a mild stroke last Thursday and was recovering at a California hospital. For months, Camping predicted Christ would return to Earth on May 21st for the rapture. But when that day came and went, Camping said during his radio ministry that he had miscalculated and that the world would actually end October 21st. The Casey Anthony trial, now back under way. Right now you're looking at live pictures. That is Casey Anthony's mother on the stand there testifying. They had the morning off, but now it is back under way, as we just said. We take you inside the science behind the prosecution's case right after this very quick break.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Good Wednesday morning. I'm Christine Romans.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm John Berman. Our STARTING POINT this morning: a vote of no confidence. Thirteen out of 14 deputies calling out Boston's fire chief for his handling of the Boston marathon bombings. What they say he didn't do in a live report.
[Romans:] Then, we're getting word Cleveland kidnapping and rape suspect Ariel Castro may plead not guilty. Does his case stand a chance?
[Berman:] Plus, this honestly is hard to believe. Wealthy parents accused of hiring disabled tour guides to give them an advantage on amusement park lines. How does this happen?
[Romans:] And is Coca-Cola's secret out? We'll talk with one man who thinks he found the top-secret recipe. It's Wednesday, May 15th. STARTING POINT begins right now.
[Berman:] And we have some new developments this morning in the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombings. The chief of the Boston Fire Department is being criticized now for his handling of the crisis. CNN's Jason Carroll is live in Boston with the very latest on this story. Good morning, Jason.
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] It basically has to do with this. A lot of infighting that's going on between the fire chief and some of his deputies within the department. Basically, what happened is the deputy chiefs, 13 of 14, wrote a letter to the mayor of Boston, saying they basically had no confidence in the fire chief because of the way he responded to the Boston marathon. Basically, he's saying that when he got here, got to the scene, he did not officially assume command. But, of course, that's because of a change in policy that the fire chief made back in September. Let me first read you part of the letter. The letter says in part, "At a time when the city of Boston needed every first responder to take decisive action, Chief Abraira failed to get involved in operational decision-making or show any leadership. You can unequivocally consider this letter a vote of no confidence in Chief Steve Abraira." Once again, I spoke to the chief early this morning, called him at home, John. Spoke to him about this, this whole situation. He basically feels as though the deputy chiefs have never accepted him because he is an outsider. He came into the city from Dallas about two years ago, made some changes in policy within the department, he says, that were not popular, and he says this is a result of that. He gave me a quote and it says, "In their estimation, they believe that if you don't assume command, you don't have responsibility there for what goes on. I tried to explain to them, if I'm on the scene, I'm still responsible. That's it. But they simply do not believe it." And one thing that he points out that I think a lot of people in the city or in Boston also realize, this has nothing to do with the first responders. The first responders were generally and wildly I can say supported for how they came out here, were here at the scene. So this has nothing to do with the rank and file, the first responders. This is basically an internal argument, if you will, with upper management. Basically, the mayor is also weighing in on this, basically saying that he has full confidence in the fire commissioner. The fire commissioner, of course, is the one who appointed Abraira and whatever he decides to do. But, basically, what you're looking at now, sadly, is a lot of infighting and bickering going on within the Boston Fire Department John.
[Berman:] Jason, you make a great point. The first responders in Boston, law enforcement, medical personnel, they save countless lives. There is no doubt about it.
[Carroll:] Absolutely.
[Berman:] And now, these disputes within the fire department very, very public and scathing as well. Jason Carroll in Boston for us this morning, thanks so much.
[Romans:] All right. As the FBI opens a criminal investigation into the IRS's targeting of conservative political groups, members of Congress are demanding answers and action. And they're demanding action. President Obama says the IRS behavior is intolerable and inexcusable. And those responsible for it will be held accountable. Attorney General Eric Holder can expect questions from lawmakers about the IRS controversy when he testifies in the House in just a few hours. CNN's Brianna Keilar is following developments for us live at the White House. Good morning, Brianna.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Good morning, Christine. Last night after President Obama had a chance to review that inspector general report about the IRS, he issued a statement. The White House put out a statement from him saying that the IRS must apply the law in a fair and impartial way. And the report shows some employees failed that test. He promised he'll have his Treasury Secretary Jack Lew hold accountable those who are responsible.
[Keilar:] The Internal Revenue Service is facing a criminal investigation after a watchdog report found the agency targeted conservative groups starting in 2010. The agency's inspector general found the IRS used inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status, based upon their names or policy positions, instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention. After reading the report Tuesday night, President Obama called the practice "intolerable and inexcusable", after promising action Monday.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] People have to be held accountable, and it's got to be fixed.
[Keilar:] IRS officials told investigators they acted on their own, without influence from outside groups. The report says managers were ineffective in overseeing lower level IRS employees who didn't have sufficient knowledge of the rules governing tax-exempt organizations. It's not the only controversy the Obama administration is facing. Expect fireworks when the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee grills Attorney General Eric Holder over the Justice Department's subpoenaed phone records of journalists at "The Associated Press".
[Eric Holder, U.s. Attorney General:] This administration has put a real value on the rule of law and our values as Americans. I think the actions that we have taken are consistent with both.
[Keilar:] Tuesday, reporters questioned Holder in a Medicare fraud event and peppered White House Press Secretary Jay Carney with questions at a White House briefing.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] The president is a strong defender of the First Amendment, and a firm believer in the need for the press to be unfettered.
[Keilar:] Republicans are seizing on these new controversies.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell , Minority Leader:] But we do know this. We can't count on the administration to be forthcoming about the details of this scandal, because so far, they've been anything but.
[Rep. Kevin Yoder , Kansas:] It lies at the president's feet. These are things going on in his administration targeting opponents.
[Sen. Orrin Hatch , Utah:] I've never seen anything quite like this, except in the past during the Nixon years.
[Carney:] I can tell you that people who make those kinds of comparisons need to check their history.
[Keilar:] The White House is also plagued right now by questions about whether it downplayed the role of terrorism in that September attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, as the president was on the campaign trail as were his surrogates talking about making claims. This administration had decimated al Qaeda. That recently has turned from a bit of a Republican obsession to mainstream news but I will tell you, Christine, this White House is much more concerned about these current controversies involving the seizure of these phone records from "The A.P." by the Department of Justice, and especially the IRS scandal. These are things that very much concern this White House.
[Romans:] All right. Brianna Keilar, live this morning at the White House for us thank you, Brianna.
[Keilar:] Lawyers for Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro insisting their client is not a monster and they are now revealing how they plan to launch his defense. Pamela Brown is tracking the latest developments on this case. Pamela is live for us from Cleveland this morning. And, Pam, we hear you have new details this morning.
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. That's right, John. We've been talking to sources and we're learning new information about the treatment of Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina DeJesus. According to sources I spoke with there were varying degrees of treatment in that Ariel Castro's behavior toward the women evolved over time. We've learned that Amanda Berry the woman who fathered his child was treated slightly better than Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. And we've learned that, you know, all the girls were treated poorly, but that there were varying degrees of treatment and that this is all relative considering the conditions that they were living in. Also, we've learned from a source that they were all under weight but that one of them, Michelle Knight, was Castro's punching bag, and that she suffered vision loss and joint and muscle damage as a result of the abuse she endured. According to my sources, it is clear, though, that all of these women have a long road ahead and a long road of treatment ahead of them.
[Berman:] All right. Pamela Brown in Cleveland for us this morning thanks so much, Pamela.
[Romans:] We're expecting a ruling today whether there is enough evidence to bring the murder case of 6-year-old Etan Patz to trial. Patz vanished back in 1979. Investigators say 52-year-old Pedro Hernandez confessed last year to killing him. His attorney told "The Associated Press" Hernandez is schizophrenic and bipolar and made false claims during seven hours of police questioning. An Army sergeant at Fort Hood, Texas, is suspended this morning, accused assault. And get this the unnamed soldier was assigned to a program designed to prevent sexual assaults in the military. And CNN has learned prostitution charges in the case are a distinct possibility. The sergeant is under investigation for pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault, and maltreatment of subordinates. A big day in court for O.J. Simpson. He will testify today in an attempt to get out of prison. The disgraced football star is trying to get his robbery, assault, and kidnapping convictions thrown out. Simpson claims his old lawyer Yale Galanter was ineffective and told him he was within his rights to take back property he believed had been stolen from him as long as it was done without trespass or physical force. Simpson did not testify during his 1995 murder trial or the 2008 case that landed him in prison.
[Berman:] It will be fascinating to see him on the stand.
[Romans:] Yes. And one of the co-counsels testified yesterday that he really wanted O.J. Simpson to testify in the 2008 case.
[Berman:] Interesting. All right. Ten minutes after the hour. Ahead on
[Starting Point:] They gave rich people a bad reputation. Wealthy New York City moms allegedly hiring disabled tour guides all so they can skip the long lines at Disney World. Next, honestly, the astonishing cost behind what many are calling this despicable behavior. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Velshi:] Nineteen days until the election. Highly charged race in Nevada. Senator Harry Reid and his challenger, the Tea Party- backed Sharron Angle. CNN's national political correspondent Jessica Yellin in Las Vegas for us. Jessica, what's it looking like there?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn National Political Correspondent:] It is an incredibly close race here, Ali. And, as you can imagine, all eyes are on Nevada because this is where the Senate Majority Leader, the man who leads the Democrats in the Senate, is facing off and could lose his seat. This race is tied in all major national polls. And Ali, it is one of the nastiest races you can imagine. He has accused his opponent Sharron Angle, essentially the campaign says she's crazy, basically, not fit to be a senator. Their adds accuse her of things like not supporting mammograms, not believing in autism, wanting to privatize Social Security. On the other hand, she's going just as angry accusing Harry Reid, saying that her supporters are motivated by hatred of Harry Reid, saying that he wants Viagra for sex offenders. And watching TV here is like continuous political ad interrupted by occasional TV programming, Ali.
[Velshi:] Tell me a little bit about how what can happen in this race in the next two and a half weeks that could have a major impact?
[Yellin:] Well, first of all, tonight is a big day. They will have their one and only debate. Of course, this is the Senate Majority Leader, who is very skilled at speaking publicly. He's an unusual fellow but he does know to speak publicly. He makes occasional gaffes. And has been making very frequent gaffes on the trail. So it will be interesting to see what happens tonight. She rarely speaks to the press. I happened to get a rare interview with her yesterday and one of the big fights back and forth between them, that Harry Reid says she's irresponsible, that she would try, as I say, to privatize Social Security or once supported that. She says that's mischaracterizing her position. Here's a little taste of what we can expect between the two of them.
[Sen. Harry Reid , Senate Majority Leader:] I also think it's important for the people of Nevada to understand long standing positions of my opponent. Phasing out Social Security. Killing Social Security. She believes that Medicare is unconstitutional. Remember, it was passed in 1964.
[Sharron Angle , Nevada Senate Candidate:] I didn't change my position. What I have had is more information on that position. I used to think that Social Security and retirement privatization was the only way that we could have personalized accounts. But, as you know, Harry Reid and many of his staff and government employees have what we call a "thrift savings plan," which is a personalized retirement account. So it occurs both in the public and private sector.
[Yellin:] So, some moving positions. They will debate the specifics. And Ali, early voting here begins Saturday. So tonight's debate could really tip things one way or the other.
[Velshi:] All right. Jessica, we will be watching closely. Good to see you again, as always. Thanks for being on the show with us. Jessica Yellin, our national political correspondent. OK. An American shot and killed while jet-skiing. The lead investigator beheaded. Are they victims of a Mexican drug war? We'll tell you the latest in Globe Trekking.

[Griffin:] The U.S. women's soccer team had several opportunities to bring home that World Cup, but they were up against a team that just would not quit. Our Kyung Lah picks up the story from Japan.
[Lah:] From the urban sports bars of Tokyo, to the gymnasiums of rural Japan, the sound, the same, jubilation. A team of underdogs against a stronger team they'd lost to 25 times. More than a sports team, they carry the prayers and hopes of a badly damaged nation, moved to tears as they watch. "I think we witnessed something historic," says this fan. "I was so moved." [On Camera] Hours after that incredible win, the game is being replayed across Tokyo. It's not just soccer fans, but an entire nation desperately in need of a feel-good moment, and some heroes. [Voice-over] Coming four months after the tsunami, Japan continues to reel from the disaster. Fukushima nuclear plant remains a crisis, still spewing radiation and months away from a cold shutdown. Japan's economy has struggled in the wake of the epic disaster. The lawmakers, locked in partisan bickering and trying to oust the prime minister, while in the tsunami zone, nearly 100,000 remain in evacuation centers of temporary housing with years of rebuilding ahead. "This game happened at the right time for us," says a tsunami victim. "This victory gives us the strength to keep going." The morning papers for once blared upbeat news, snatched up by eager readers. "There's been so much bad news from Japan," says this commuter. "This is good news and it encourages us." The sports world is already calling the women's team the comeback kids for how they refused to yield in the World Cup, but to their home nation, they are a potent symbol, a reminder, to never give up. Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
[Griffin:] Back here in the U.S., let's take a look at the stories our affiliates are covering. In Upstate New York, two people have died, 35 others injured when that tour bus crashed into the woods some 60 miles from Rochester. The set from Washington. It was going to Niagara Falls. Police believe a tire may have blown out. Next stop in Iowa, a robber picked the wrong house, that's for sure. Congressman Leonard Boswell was home with his family when a robber pushed his way in at gunpoint. Boswell wrestled the guy, tried to grab the gun, but it was his grandson who went for a shotgun in another room. That was enough to send that robber hightailing it out of the front door. Police say nobody seriously injured. In Phoenix, a 61-year-old woman is accused of groping a TSA agent. Police say she refused to go through screening and then reached out and grabbed the agent's breasts. She was arrested and charged with a felony. Kevin Robb is a metal sculptor who by all accounts reached the height of success in the art world, but a stroke in 2004 cost him his career and nearly his life. Now he's creating art again. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has his remarkable story in today's "Human Factor."
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] Kevin Robb's sculptures can be found in museums, parks, and private collections all over the world, but for the past seven years this Denver artist hasn't been able to sculpt.
[Diane Robb, Kevin Robb's Wife:] I was teasing him about, what, you think that sculpture looks better from the ground up? And then I took a look at him and I could tell that there is something seriously wrong.
[Gupta:] What Kevin's wife Diane didn't know is that her previously healthy husband had a blood clot which had travelled to his brain and caused a massive stroke.
[D. Robb:] He was on life support for 13 days, and then from there, he was in rehab hospitals for seven weeks.
[Gupta:] When Kevin finally came home, he had lost his memory, his ability to speak and most of his movement, but when he was taken back up into his studio, something inside him lit up.
[D. Robb:] He stood here, walked over and touched some of his machinery, and for the first time since his stroke, there was life in his eyes.
[Gupta:] Kevin continued his rehabilitation, and over time he learned to walk on his own. Bits of his memory came back and he can now speak more than 100 different words. All of that led him to be able to make art again.
[D. Robb:] Kevin sketches, we have staff that understands what he wants, and Kevin is back in full swing in creating sculptures.
[Gupta:] None of it has been easy. Diane and Kevin have to speak in a sort of complicated type of charades.
[D. Robb:] You want to go someplace.
[Kevin Robb, Sculptor:] I want Tom, keys
[D. Robb:] He wants the keys to the truck so he and Tom can go someplace.
[K. Robb:] Yes.
[Gupta:] And Diane says Kevin's love for his family and his fierce determination to get better brought him and his art back to life. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
[Griffin:] Well, she rose from a secretary to a CEO in Rupert Murdoch's media empire, but Rebekah Brooks has fallen on her sword. Arrested over the weekend in the ever growing phone hacking scandal. We're going to look at her rise and fall next.

[Cuba Gooding Jr. Actor:] Sign up, you have shiny boots, a uniform. And that would be the end of 100 years of bigotry. You're colored men in a white man's army. It's a miracle you're flying fighters in Italy and not mopping latrines in Milwaukee.
[Morgan:] That's Cuba Gooding Jr. in "Red Tiles," the extraordinary story of the Tuskegee Airmen heroes in World War II. They were the first ever black U.S military pilots. Joining me now is Cuba Gooding Jr. and his co-star, Terrence Howard. Welcome, gentlemen. I love this story. Because what I love about it are the parallels to actually the making of this movie.
[Gooding Jr:] Right.
[Morgan:] Because here you had George Lucas, a very famous, very white, Hollywood legend.
[Terrence Howard, Actor:] Has a little bit of a tan.
[Morgan:] With a tan, almost playing the role of this very brave colonel, Noel Parish, in the movie, who decides to break the mold, to put black pilots into the military, into the air. George Lucas I think, Terrence, you've said this very eloquently recently about this movie the parallel is similar. He's put a lot of well-known black actors into this movie and Hollywood instinctively was like this isn't going to work. And he's saying, I'm going to back my judgment. I'm going to back my money. I believe this will work. Exactly the same kind of audacious move that Colonel Noel Parish took. When you made the movie, did you feel that, as you were making it, that this was life coming forward? In a different way, but a similar kind of struggle?
[Howard:] One of the things that he said when he first arrived in Prague, he said, remember, I'm not making a civil rights movie right here. I'm making a film about heroes. This is not about victims. This is a film about heroes. That was what he impressed us with.
[Gooding Jr:] It's an action movie with an all black cast, you know. And it is there's an audience for it.
[Morgan:] But that shouldn't matter, should it? Why are we still saying things like that? There's a black president, for God sakes.
[Gooding Jr:] That's right.
[Morgan:] Why would that even come into the equation? But it has. And the battle goes on. The movie's coming out. It's a 58 million dollar movie.
[Gooding Jr:] Oh, it's more than that. Visually, it has 16,000 visual effect shots in it, OK. It's a huge budget.
[Morgan:] Cuba, tell me what you feel about George Lucas in doing this.
[Gooding Jr:] I would kiss him right in the mouth. I'd be one man kissing another man right in his mouth. I'm serious.
[Morgan:] A big thing for this man to do.
[Howard:] What he lent himself to I mean this was a 23-year-old 23-year passion project.
[Gooding Jr:] That's right.
[Howard:] And then after making this film and taking it to the first studio and then they say no, he goes to the other six studios and hears the same thing.
[Morgan:] For people watching this who haven't seen the movie and don't know much about the Tuskegee Airmen, tell me, in a very short way, why they are so important.
[Gooding Jr:] They're so important because they represent African-American's contribution to the war efforts of World War II. They did bomber bomber escort over the skies of Berlin.
[Howard:] And they ultimately had their own bomber squadron.
[Morgan:] But the significance was, until they went up, there had been no black U.S. military pilots.
[Gooding Jr:] At all.
[Howard:] Ultimately this led to the integration of the U.S. military.
[Gooding Jr:] That's right. They kicked off the civil rights movement.
[Howard:] What was so good the Tuskegee Airmen, whereas most white pilots, they would have three months of training before they would be shipped out into the middle of a fight. But the black pilots, they didn't have anyone that would take them. So they had 2.5 years of training.
[Gooding Jr:] Years.
[Howard:] So the moment that they got into the air, they were aces.
[Morgan:] They shot down 100 German planes.
[Gooding Jr:] That's right.
[Howard:] Mind you, they didn't go into the war thinking they didn't go into school thinking, I'm going to become a pilot. They went to school to become doctors or lawyers. They just happened to, for the sake of contributing to the country decided to become pilots and happened to be marvelous
[Morgan:] Let's watch another clip from this remarkable film.
[Unidentified Male:] We count our victories by the bombers we get to their targets, by the husbands we return to their wives, by the fathers we give back to their children. What has not changed, what will never change, from the last plane to the last bullet to the last minute to the last man we fight, we fight.
[Crowd:] Yes, sir.
[Morgan:] That's "Red Tails." I hope everyone goes to watch this, because I think it's important they do. Does it shock you that Hollywood is still so antiquated? I would say even borderline racist in the way that it has treated this movie so far? Is it shocking?
[Howard:] No, it's par it's par for the course. Anytime you're trying to change barriers, break barriers, you know, and break a fiduciary established means of trading money or saying who should receive money
[Morgan:] I guess in the case of this movie, an excuse to not take the risk.
[Gooding Jr:] That's exactly right.
[Morgan:] And the easy excuse is we can't sell a black movie. Let's be honest, that's what they're basically saying.
[Gooding Jr:] Because no matter what color you are, being American is cool. It really is cool. And our history these boys explained how something like a Barack Obama President Barack Obama can happen. A lot of time we were saying this earlier
[Morgan:] Actually, I'll tell you what, hold that very thought. Let's have a quick break and come back and talk about Barack Obama. Because his anointment as president of this country should have been an incredible transformatory move. Was it? That's what I want to know after the break.

[Blitzer:] Here's a look at this hour's "Hot Shots." In Turkey, a young boy looks through the fence of a camp for Syrian refugees. In India, railway porters rally for better wages, housing and pension plans. In Beijing, hostesses greet delegates on the last day of a leadership conference preparing for a handover of power in China. And in Australia, check it out, a Rugby player feeds a rhino during the visit to the zoo. "Hot Shots," pictures from around the world. There's new back lash to the controversy over women's contraception. One lawmaker wants to turn the table and put some new regulations on men. CNN's Lisa Sylvester has the details for us. Lisa, what is this all about?
[Sylvester:] So Wolf, this has been as issue on the state and national level, a focus on contraception and abortion. But one Ohio lawmaker says if you're looking to have new legislation focusing on women's reproductive health, well, let's take a look at the men and whether they should have access to Viagra. Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, these erectile dysfunction drugs have taken the world by storm. But if Ohio state senator, Nina Turner, gets her way, a man's access to these medications in her state would be restricted. Men would not be able to get a prescription without a signed affidavit by their sex partner. They would also have to sit down first with a sex therapist to determine if the issue is medical or psychological, and be screened for underlying health issues.
[Nina Turner , Ohio State Senate:] It is patently unfair in this country that we simply only focus in on a woman's reproductive health. We have to show men that we care about them, too and for far too long female legislators have abdicated their responsibility to tell men what they need to do with their bodies.
[Sylvester:] There's more than a hint of sarcasm in Turner's voice, but she insists her bill is a serious piece of legislation. Turner is one of at least five state lawmakers who have recently introduced bills affecting men's reproductive health. It's in direct response to a significant uptick in state legislation governing a woman's access to abortion and contraception. In 2011, there were 1,100 provisions introduced in the 50 states, up from 950 in 2010, according to the institute, which tracks the data.
[Unidentified Male:] To protect the life of the unborn baby
[Sylvester:] One such bill has been offered in Ohio by State Representative Lynn Watchman. His bill would ban an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. That's usually about six weeks into a pregnancy.
[Lynn Wachtmann , Ohio State House:] Up to 90 percent or so of the babies currently aborted would be saved due to this legislation. So the very short and quick goal of this is to protect the unborn babies here in Ohio.
[Sylvester:] Wachtmann is a member of the Ohio Right to Life Society.
[Turner:] Even if cases of rape and incest, and only if she's on her deathbed
[Sylvester:] But Turner sounds off on his bill and others like it.
[Turner:] Women should have the right to choose. Whether it's contraception or abortion, it is between them, their God, and their doctors, and they should not need a permission slip from the government.
[Sylvester:] Getting her Viagra bill passed is a long shot, but Turner says that's not the goal, it's having the debate. Now Turner is a Democrat, her party is in the minority in Ohio's House and Senate. She has found though a co-sponsor on the House side, and they're hoping to have hearings on these bills a little later this year Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Lisa, thank you.

[King:] In this half-hour of "JOHN KING, USA," jurors will hear closing arguments in the Jerry Sandusky trial tomorrow. They will not hear though from the former assistant coach charged with 51 counts. This senator says he is dumbfounded by President Obama's use of executive privilege. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is my guest. And blunders from both the Obama and the Romney campaigns the "Truth" about which candidate is having the worst week. Let's get back to our top story, the dramatic showdown between the Obama White House and the Republican House. The House Oversight Committee voting this afternoon to hold the nation's highest law enforcement officer, Eric Holder, the attorney general, in contempt. President Obama earlier today invoking executive privilege, saying the administration did not have to turn to a House committee documents they have been demanding from the attorney general for months. But the president's action did not stop the vote.
[Unidentified Female:] Twenty-three ayes, 17 nos.
[Issa:] The ayes have it, and a contempt report is ordered to ordered reported to the House.
[King:] Let's go now to Capitol Hill. Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and they have also been closely tracking and investigated the Fast and Furious issue. Senator, the attorney general tonight says this is unnecessary, unwarranted and he says of the House committee vote to hold him in contempt. "It is election-year tactic intended to distract attention and as a result has deflected critical resources from fulfilling my responsibilities, my top priority at the Department of Justice, protecting the American people." Answer the attorney general.
[Sen. Charles Grassley , Iowa:] If it was last February or March, when we started this, he might have credibility when he says that. But after 18 months of being stonewalled by the attorney general, I think that's intellectually dishonest.
[King:] Your chairman, Pat Leahy, on the Senate side this vote was on the House side but Chairman Leahy says this tonight: "The Bush Justice Department was not nearly this forthcoming and never tried to reach a reasonable accommodation in response to our oversight efforts." Chairman Leahy trying to make the case that Attorney General Holder is trying. Is he?
[Grassley:] I can tell you this. When the Democrats were investigating the U.S. attorneys that were accused of responding to political pressure, that I joined Senator Leahy in efforts to get transparency of all of the documents. I have not had that support of the Democrats in the Senate in my investigation.
[King:] You mention the U.S. attorneys firing investigation. When the House committee looked into that, Darrell Issa said this when President Bush invoked executive privilege. Darrell Issa, now the change, said quote They didn't need explaining to the public." Is it possible now because of his past statements on executive privilege issues, the Democrats could say right now he is being partisan or he's being a hypocrite?
[Grassley:] They can say that about anybody they want to say it about, but they can't say it about Chuck Grassley's investigations and oversight work for the past 25, 30 years.
[King:] Well, let me read a bit of the statement you issued today when the administration did claim executive privilege. You said this: "How can the president assert executive privilege if there was no White House involvement? How can the president exert executive privilege over documents he's supposedly never seen. Is something very big being hidden to go to this extreme?" Senator, what do you think they're hiding?
[Grassley:] Well, throughout 18 months of investigation, I never had any idea whatsoever that the president was involved, and I never accused the president of being involved. I always wondered for the most extent how high up in the Justice Department it went, and I could only trace it up to the assistant attorney general. Beyond that, is the attorney general involved in approving this? But now it raises the question of whether what does the president know and when did he know it by the claim of executive privilege.
[King:] Do you see this going do you see any path to a resolution, sir? Or do you think the House will vote on its contempt citation, and if it does, what happens on the Senate side?
[Grassley:] Well, listen, a contempt citation does not come to the Senate, so it will go from the House of Representatives to the U.S. attorney, District of Columbia, with possible charges against the attorney general, and if those charges would stand, he could be subject to a misdemeanor with up to a jail term andor some fine.
[King:] I understand it doesn't go to the Senate, sir. My question was what happens to the Senate investigation?
[Grassley:] Oh.
[King:] Did the investigation go forward or do you try? It's the Senate side, as you know. It's supposed to be the world's most deliberative body. It's will there be some effort, with Chairman Leahy and you as the ranking member, to try to find a circuit breaker here before the House takes such extraordinary step?
[Grassley:] Well, Senator Leahy's never offered to have a hearing, and and you know, when there's a vacuum out there, that vacuum is filled by somebody. And I think I filled that vacuum over the last 18 months. And so far Senator Leahy said that he wouldn't have a hearing until the inspector general of the judiciary, or the Justice Department got done with their work. Then he said he would have a hearing. But that's going to be too late. I think this this isn't just in the Senate a stall. This is a stall in the Justice Department, I think, to get by 'til the next election, because I think there's something embarrassing politically to this administration that they want to keep out of the public's minds, and that's why we've been stone walled.
[King:] Senator Chuck Grassley, appreciate your time tonight, sir.
[Grassley:] Yes. Thank you.
[King:] From day one of Jerry Sandusky trial, there has been this question: would the defendant take the stand? Well, today we got the answer. It won't happen. The defense rested today. CNN contributor Sara Ganim has been on this case since day one. Sara, take us inside the decision. Jerry Sandusky's defense team deciding he would not go on the stand. Why? Having audio problems there, obviously, with Sara Ganim. We'll try to get back to her if we can. But let's get some perspective on where this trial might be headed next with the former prosecutor, Wendy Murphy. Wendy, Jerry Sandusky does not take the stand. You would you said you would advise when we talked last about this, you would have if you were his attorney, you would have kept him in the seat and not allow him to. How does it change the case going forward in the closing arguments, for example, tomorrow. Does the defense lawyer have to explain why the defendant didn't take the stand to the jury?
[Wendy Murphy, Former Prosecutor:] You know, John, he doesn't have to, but he'll probably make some reference to it being his decision, because he doesn't want them to think badly of Jerry Sandusky. And he promised them in his opening that he would testify, or he at least implied strongly that that would happen. So I think he has to take responsibility for it, but he won't focus on it for long. And the jury will be instructed not to consider that, and you know, hopefully, the jury will do the right thing. Constitutionally speaking, they're not allowed to take it into consideration. As a theatrical matter, this man who so many witnesses for the defense testified under oath that he was the greatest since sliced bread, wonderful man, generous and loving to children, sat quietly and said nothing after eight victims took the stand and all of this evidence was presented against him? The jury can't help but think, "Hmm, if that were me, I'd testify if I were innocent."
[King:] But help me break down the case. First from a prosecution standpoint, you go back through the testimony, it's a pretty quick case. You had the alleged victims testify, but moved through it pretty quickly. What in your mind stands out? Did the prosecution in your mind meet its test or did it leave an opening?
[Murphy:] Well, I'll tell you, the burden of proof is tough. Beyond a reasonable doubt is the toughest burden of proof in law. And yet this case went in so quickly, in my opinion it was under- prosecuted. The only thing I can infer from that is that the prosecutor feels very, very confident. For example, John, one of the things you would typically see in a case like this is an expert witness testifying about something like child abuse accommodation syndrome to help explain to the jury why sometimes kids stay friendly with their abusers for years after the fact, and why they don't tell for, you know, many, many years. Often jurors don't understand that, and they think that cuts against victims' credibility. The prosecution didn't offer up such a witness. So you have to believe the prosecutor sees this case as so strong and that the victims themselves were so good on the stand that they didn't bother with anything beyond the basics, and that's why it went in so quickly. You know, I don't want to overstate it, but I can imagine the prosecution's case tomorrow is also going to be very short, very tight. And one of the arguments they're going to say, one of the arguments they're going to make and something they're going to focus on, is, look, the defense would have you believe that all eight of these victims would submit themselves to risk of felony perjury prosecution. And you saw them. You looked in their eyes. You saw them crying. You saw their demeanor on the stand. Was that the testimony of a liar, as the defense would have you believe? Or was that a truthful young man taking the stand? And consider all of the corroboration in this case. You know, Mike McQueary, the janitor's testimony, the documentary evidence, the so-called love letters. Would you honestly discount to the point of reasonable doubt the strength of the prosecution's case? Because the defense, defense has no burden of proof, but they have done nothing, nothing to undermine the prosecution's case. That's the kind of closing we're going to hear tomorrow, and I think it's going to be very short. Because they don't have to explain away much of what the defense put on in its case, because they didn't really make much of a dent.
[King:] And do you agree with that, when the prosecution gets up there and says, you know, the defense proved nothing, that always is a challenge for a defense lawyer, prove at least at a minimum reasonable doubt if you can't attack the facts of the prosecution's case. Did they come close?
[Murphy:] No. I mean, the odd thing in this case, John, is that some of the defense witnesses actually became good for the prosecution. Even Dottie Sandusky, as much as she tried to be supportive of her husband, ultimately testified as a witness for the prosecution during what was supposed to be a cross-examination and wasn't. She said, "I know of no motive to lie for these kids," and she confirmed that Jerry was often down in the basement, without her, all alone tucking the kids in. You know, there was so much about the defense case that actually added to the prosecution's case, I don't know what to say, except that I think the defense is going to have a very difficult time. I hope and expect that one of the things they're going to do is emphasize only those counts where there were real weaknesses, like where the investigators made suggestions about the kinds of testimonies they had already heard from other kids, and you know, the possibility of a money motive. One of the victims and a parent was reportedly saying things like "I can't wait to buy a new House after I cash in on my lawsuit." You know, that kind of stuff resonates with juries. They don't, you know they don't want to over-believe just because they feel a lot of emotional reactions to this case. And so I do think he'll probably win some of the charges. But again, 50 charges he's facing. Even if he wins ten, you know, instead of 500 years, it's 400 years. There's not there's not a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for Jerry Sandusky.
[King:] Former prosecutor, Wendy Murphy. Appreciate your insights tonight. Let's get back now outside the courtroom, Sara Ganim. She's back with us. Sara, sorry for the audio glitch here at the beginning. Take us inside the decision by the defense team. I assume Jerry Sandusky, given the fact he did so many media interviews, in his heart, he probably wanted to testify. Why didn't he?
[Sara Ganim, Cnn Contributor:] John, the short answer is that we don't know why. The defense attorneys did not say, there's a gag order on the case. But you know, they spent the whole week trying for small victories, really trying to chip away at the prosecution's case. And I think that they were able to explain, give alternate explanations for some of the strange behavior that Jerry Sandusky has been accused of. And so the only thing that I could guess is that, you know, they didn't want to potentially mess that up by putting him on the stand. You know, he's spoken publicly several times, and every time he does, he's widely criticized for what he says. And putting him on the stand would give prosecutors an opportunity to really go after him. Dottie Sandusky, his wife, testified on his behalf yesterday and pretty much explained you know, she was pretty forthright with her husband's innocence and tried to give, I think, what might have been his side of the story. You know, one, that he was very busy; two, that this was their lifestyle, that they brought kids into their home and mentored them. And she she went after the credibility of some of these accusers, as well. So I think that maybe in some ways they believe that she gave his side of the story and really didn't endure much cross-examination and might have been satisfied with that.
[King:] Sara Ganim outside the courtroom. She'll be there again tomorrow as the closing arguments take place in front of the jury. Sara, thanks very much for your help. We'll stay in touch. Up next here, the truth on who's the worst week, and remember, it's only Wednesday. Mitt Romney or President Obama?

[Anderson:] Thousands filled Benghazi's main square on Friday to mourn Abdul Fatah Younes, the leader of the Libyan rebel army. He was shot dead on Thursday in mysterious circumstances. Mourners at his funeral chanted that he was a martyr for the rebel cause. Before defecting to the rebels in February, Younes was a key figure in Colonel Gadhafi's inner circle, serving as his interior minister for a period of time. Now, questions are now being asked about whether his old ties to Gadhafi are the reason for his killing. Let's get an update for you from Ivan Watson, who's joining us from Tripoli with more. Ivan?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, the big question here, who killed Abdul Fatah Younes? Where did it happen? What were the circumstances? And depending on what the answer to that question is, this could have immense consequences on this conflict, on this civil war that is now going into its sixth month, Becky. And some of the mystery here is because the head of the rebel Transitional National Council, when he initially made his statement, announcement, about 24 hours ago that General Younes had been killed, he also went on to say that they were still looking for the general's body. A lot of questions unanswered in that initial statement. Moments after he made it, some of General Younes's supporters showed up in Benghazi outside the hotel where the press announcement was made and began opening fire and even accusing the head of the rebel council of having some role in the killing of their leader. Now, why is this such a big deal? Because it suggests it could lead to bigger schisms within the rebel council. That could be a big boon to Colonel Gadhafi's forces, who have been grinding on in a conflict on three fronts against the rebels. Becky?
[Anderson:] Ivan's on the ground for you in Tripoli, tonight. Ivan, thank you for that. So, was General Younes's assassination a signal of a widening rift in rebel ranks? We can get the inside word, now, from a representative of Libya's interim government. Ali Suleiman Aujali is Libya's former ambassador to the United States, but he's now on the side of the National Transitional Council, which has now been recognized by many countries around the world as the legitimate government in Libya. Sir, what do you understand to have happened?
[Ali Suleiman Aujali, Us Representative, Libyan Transitional National Council:] Well, what I understand that General Younes was killed
[Anderson:] By whom?
[Aujali:] he was assassinated by some militant, which really, I don't know much about them. And but the things I'm very sure of, that there is no conspiracy behind that. We don't know
[Anderson:] That's interesting, can I just stop you there, sir? Let me just stop you there for one second. You say "by some militant." I'm not quite sure and all our viewers be sure what you mean by "some militant" as opposed to a rebel, somebody who's fighting against Gadhafi? Who are you talking about here?
[Aujali:] Well, that until now, I believe nobody can confirm exactly what happened to Mr. Abdul Fatah Younes after he'd been called. Who was behind that? But to what we are sure of, that either some of Gadhafi's infiltration to the force designated to Benghazi, that he used his money and his some loyal to interrupt what's going on in Libya for the last few days after the shooting has been done
[Anderson:] Yes, that would be more convenient. That would be more convenient for the Transitional Council, let's face it, wouldn't it, than if he'd been assassinated by somebody within his own ranks? Certainly there is narrative which suggests that there is a rift amongst the ranks of the rebels. How do you respond to that, if at all?
[Aujali:] Well, I don't think so, it will come to that point. Of course there are different views between the officers of high-ranking and the national army of the plan to get rid of the regime of Gadhafi. But the difference of views, this is kind of democracy, which we're supposed to practice since February this year. And what's happening? It's a really great loss, of course. Abdul Fatah Younes, he resigned from Gadhafi's government the same day I did, the 21st of February, and he's been doing very well, very well. We do understand that there are differences between some officers, yes. But that doesn't mean that will the assassination is the result of that
[Anderson:] Right,
[Ok -- Aujali:] I think this is just a stupid action if it has happened from inside the eastern part, from the one who is really accountable of the revolution. But if it has happened from Gadhafi's regime, which I believe that's what's really happening, because the media of Gadhafi, for the last few weeks, they've been talking about Gadhafi about Abdul Fatah Younes assassination.
[Anderson:] All right,
[Ok -- Aujali:] If it was the media of Gadhafi that has been saying this for the last few weeks.
[Anderson:] You've made your point, let's move on. The Transitional Council, the rebels' cease-fire is effectively over, so far as they are concerned. That was last week. There's a stalemate so far as who is winning or winning out in this war. NATO continues to drop its bombs, the Europeans are beginning or certainly the West is beginning to suggest that, listen. As long as Gadhafi stands down at this point, he can stay in the country. There was a sense that NATO members are looking to the endgame here. What's going on? Are you on the up or not at this point?
[Aujali:] Well, to me, there is only one option and one solution. There is no peaceful negotiation or political solution with Gadhafi. To me, it's Gadhafi must leave the country and must leave power. Without Gadhafi's presence, Libyan people, they will never enjoy anything. No reform, no democracy, no freedom
[Anderson:] But you haven't got the support of even William Hague at this point. He says, now, the British Foreign Minister now says, listen, if he has to stay in the country, he has to stay in the country. He's not any longer calling for Gadhafi to leave the country as he was with Hillary Clinton about two or three months ago.
[Aujali:] Well, I think I do respect what Mr. Hague said, but this is his own view, and he's expressing the view from his point of view. But for the Libyans, to me, any compromise with Gadhafi or his family to stay in Libya, that all of these people have been killed and sacrificed for the freedom to and for the democracy to come to this country, that will be really in vain. We are not fighting just to at the end, we come and sit to Gadhafi and tell him, "OK, you can have a place to sit in Libya." This man you cannot we cannot endure anything with him. Gadhafi, put him in the desert, you give him a cell phone, you give him a big card of $15, he will make trouble for you, believe me that.
[Anderson:] What
[Aujali:] Gadhafi is not the man who will enjoy his retirement on a nice house in front of the beaches and he can read and he can walk around. This is not this kind of people who can do that.
[Anderson:] What happens on Monday? It's the start of Ramadan, of course.
[Aujali:] Of course, Ramadan is coming, and there is no cease-fire for me. Cease-fire with Gadhafi, that means giving him more time to get more munition, he'll get more weapons, and he'll get more mercenaries. This is a problem. Gadhafi we should not give him any rest at all until he's out.
[Anderson:] With that, we're going to leave it there, sir. We do very much appreciate you joining us here on CONNECT THE WORLD this evening. We'll speak to you again. Libyan ambassador there in the US. Well, the Libyan woman who became the face of the struggle against Colonel Gadhafi's regime is starting a new life in the United States. Eman al-Obeidi touched down in New York on Friday. She came to international attention, remember, in March, alleging she'd been gang raped by members of Gadhafi's security forces. Well, she fled the country and, after seeking refuge at a UN facility in Romania, she has now been granted asylum in America. Forty-four minutes past 9:00 in London this Friday evening. You're with CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Becky Anderson. Still to come, shedding new light on what has long been an aviation mystery. Air France offers more answers about doomed flight 447. Stay with us.

[Piers Morgan:] Tonight, sex
[Cynthia Nixon, Actress:] There are a lot of myths about gay people.
[Morgan:] Love.
[Jennifer Love Hewitt, Actress:] I dated great people.
[Morgan:] And basics. "Sex and the City's" Cynthia Nixon defending gay marriage and taking on Mitt Romney and the right.
[Nixon:] I don't think we've seen an attack on women's health like this in the last 40 years.
[Morgan:] Also, Jennifer Love Hewitt's racy new role, a sultry suburban mom, on her hit show, the "Client List." Tonight, she talks love, fame, her figure and her scandalous billboards. Plus, anyone for tennis? Serena Williams like you've never seen her before, in the Olympics, her emotions, her men, and heartbreak.
[Serena Williams, Pro Tennis Player:] I think that's tough to be in love, and then it, you know, it might not work out. And that's life.
[Morgan:] And talking of heartbreak, only in America special, Serena and I hit the court with the Wimbledon champ in for a bit of a nasty surprise. This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT. Good evening. Our big story, the race for the White House kicks of probably tomorrow when President Obama's re-election campaign launches in Ohio. It's a crucial battleground state for him and Mitt Romney. Social issues are front and center in the fight. And tonight we have the feisty Cynthia Nixon as she slams Romney on same-sex marriage and abortion. But she also has strong words for the president. That's coming up. Also, some risky business for Jennifer Love Hewitt. The turned as Texas mom in "The Client List," offering more than the odd massage to make ends meet. I'll ask her about that controversial role and the uproar over a certain poster campaign.
[Love Hewitt:] Living in L.A. for a really long time, I thought the idea was always to have bigger boobs
[Morgan:] Yes!
[Love Hewitt:] not smaller. It's quite shocking.
[Morgan:] And then match point with Serena Williams. My candid interview from a spectacular court inside Grand Central Terminal. We talk tennis, temper, and why she claims she'll never date again. Then, it's game on in a match that Serena may want to forget. Cynthia Nixon is best known for her role as Miranda Hobbes on "Sex and the City." But early this week, she received a Tony nomination for her role in Broadway in "Wit." And she joins me now. Cynthia, welcome. Congratulations.
[Nixon:] Thank you so much.
[Morgan:] It's not like you haven't had a few awards two Emmys, two SAGs, a Grammy, now a Tony may be heading your way?
[Nixon:] Well,
[I -- Morgan:] Give me
[Nixon:] I have one from before, so I'll
[Morgan:] Oh, you do?
[Nixon:] I'll treasure that. Yes, I have one from before. Yes.
[Morgan:] Is there anything you haven't won?
[Nixon:] No, no Oscar. No Heisman.
[Morgan:] It's a great role that you play in "Wit."
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] It's an incredibly powerful role. At one stage, you're completely bold. You play a cancer victim
[Nixon:] That died.
[Morgan:] who who dies. You know, you're naked on stage.
[Nixon:] Yes, I am.
[Morgan:] It's very raw and visceral, isn't it? And the parallel with your life
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] and your family, in fact, because your your mother suffered from cancer three times
[Nixon:] Three times.
[Morgan:] but is still, thank God, with us.
[Nixon:] She's still with us. She's almost 82.
[Morgan:] Amazing. You
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] you had this battle with cancer in 2006. Tell me, how much of your battle with it did you bring to the role? Does it actually work like that?
[Nixon:] It can work like that. But I have to say that my you know, you call it a battle with cancer. To me, that seems such a big word. I mean, I feel like I I had a cancer diagnosis. I had a very small operation. I went through some radiation and then I was on a a particular pill for five years. So to me, it's not a battle. To me, it was like a a medical bump in the road that is not fun, you know, but you kind of grit your teeth and you get through it.
[Morgan:] It's scary, though?
[Nixon:] It's scary. It's scary, but having had my mother go through it, you know, at this at that point a couple of times previous and I saw how well she dealt with it. No, to me, I didn't other than my experience of being in the hospital, I didn't draw on anything. I I really, you know, I've had some friends who have died of cancer and I've had some friends who have died of AIDS. And so I called on those things much more. And also, strangely, childbirth.
[Morgan:] Really?
[Nixon:] Yes, because there is a point later on in the play when my character, Vivian, is in incredible, incredible pain. And my only experience with being in
[Morgan:] Was childbirth.
[Nixon:] incredible pain was childbirth. So, yes.
[Morgan:] "The New York Times" described your performance as "large and lucid and delicate." A great phrase, I thought.
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] You must be very proud of the plaudits you're getting and now that the Tony nomination is up.
[Nixon:] Yes. I mean, it's it's an it's an amazing role to be given. And it's such a it's such a big canvas, as an actor, to paint on. And also, you get through you know, she has so much time on stage where she's hilariously funny, like bringing down the house kind of laughs. And so even though it takes an enormous amount of energy and focus, the you get fed so much by that by that audience response. It really it energizes you.
[Morgan:] And talking of energizing things, you've been quite active on the political front. Let's play a little clip from a promotional ad you've done for President Obama.
[Nixon:] 2011, times were tough. Recession. Joblessness. So many of us struggling to make ends meet. But for women, times were about to get a lot tougher.
[Rep. Mike Pence , Indiana:] The time has come to deny any and all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America.
[Rep. Doug Lamborn , Colorado:] I rise in support of the amendment to remove taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood.
[Nixon:] We remember who turned their backs on us, and who voted to keep us healthy. November is just around the corner. Soon, it will be our turn to vote.
[Morgan:] I mean, the pretty clear message from that was, look, you know, if you're a woman and you're thinking of where to vote in November, you should be voting for President Obama, not the Republicans.
[Nixon:] Absolutely. Certainly not Mitt Romney. Certainly not Mitt Romney.
[Morgan:] Do you think he's anti-woman, Mitt Romney? With the
[Nixon:] That's a very strong thing to say. But I think he doesn't have a sense of of women's health, and I think particularly women living in poverty, about how difficult it is to have access to not just contraceptive health care, but general health care. And I think that President Obama said recently, it was so he said women aren't a special interest group. They're they're more than half of the population. And it's not like women are children, you know? Women are half the population and they know how to take care of themselves, if they are only given access to health care. We shouldn't be making these decisions
[Morgan:] But will you
[Nixon:] for them, but we should let women make their decisions for themselves.
[Morgan:] Right. I mean, were you a bit staggered, like many people, by the way the Republican race went in its rhetoric about women's issues?
[Nixon:] Absolutely. I don't think we've seen an attack on women's health like this in the last 40 years. Yes, I mean, I think these people certainly are they're they're we know they're anti- abortion, but they're also anti-contraception. But I think this attack on Planned Parenthood, you know, about 3 percent of what Planned Parenthood does is abortions. Ninety-seven percent is women's health. And like right now in Texas, Rick Perry is trying to shut down and stop all federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Well, 40 percent of the women living in poverty in Texas are served by Planned Parenthood. That is their primary doctor. So what you're saying, then, if you cut all this funding, half of the poor women living in Texas have no medical care.
[Morgan:] Being dispassionate, has Barack Obama done enough for women's health issues? I mean, it's obvious that the Republicans have taken a rather strange look at this. But has he done enough as president?
[Nixon:] You know, there are certain issues on which we can never do enough. But
[Morgan:] Where would you like to see him being bold? If he gets reelected, where do you want to see a bit more grit?
[Nixon:] Well, I certainly would like to see a bit more grit in terms of gay issues, in terms of LGBT issues. I would certainly he has said repeatedly that he'll repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. And I think that that is something whose time has come. That is overdue.
[Morgan:] So do you think it would be quite nice to see the president now with eight states legalizing gay marriage, given this clear bandwagon heading that way, it's quite a moment for the president of the United States to stand there and say I support gay marriage. Do you think he's going to do that
[Nixon:] I don't know if he
[Morgan:] if he gets reelected?
[Nixon:] I don't know if he's going to do that. And that would be, certainly, an amazing thing if he would do that and I would applaud and I think people all over this country would applaud. But I the thing that I really want from him is the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which he has said is unconstitutional. And I think that that is something that is very in his in his control. And that's for me, that's his task.
[Morgan:] You are engaged to be married.
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] Now, you were with a man for a long time.
[Nixon:] For 15 years. We have two children together.
[Morgan:] Two children?
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] And now you're going to be marrying a woman?
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] And that's created a lot of interest and, as you would expect. You said this, which I thought was fascinating: "The fight for gay marriage is often portrayed in political terms, Democrat versus Republican, liberal versus conservative. But for couples like us, this is about something simpler and more personal. I want to be married to my girlfriend. I want us to have a ceremony. I want all our friends and family to come. I want our kids to be there, just like that historic night last month from the subway platform, I want it to be a moment I will always remember, from death us do part." I like that.
[Nixon:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] It kind of took all the politics and the stigma away from the whole thing and said, you know what, we just want to do what other people do.
[Nixon:] Yes, I mean certainly it is a it is a political issue. But when you break down why gay people want to get married to each other, they want to get married for the same reasons that anybody wants to get married. They want to celebrate their love. They want to make a lifelong commitment. They want to gather their friends and family around them and and say this is the person I'm going to be with for the rest of my life.
[Morgan:] How have you found all the scrutiny on your life? Because you've been, I think, quite brave in the stuff that you've said.
[Nixon:] It's not been so bad.
[Morgan:] You've copped a little bit of flack, but a lot of praise, too. I mean it's one of those things, isn't it, where you you put your head over the parapet. Did you expect what was coming your way?
[Nixon:] You know, when when news of Christine's and my relationship broke, there was this tremendous, you know, we were on the cover of two New York daily newspapers. She had, you know, British her parents, who live on a little island off of Seattle, had British journalists in SUVs on their lawn. I mean, it was it was a wild explosion. But there was not really too much to say. And so, it sort of came and went pretty quickly. It the flame burned very high and then it pretty much has been a kind of a slow ember since then.
[Morgan:] When you look at the debate and I've had a lot of people in here. We had Kurt Cameron famously came in here and said some pretty outrageous things, I felt, using Christianity as an excuse. How do you wrestle with people who've got religious convictions about it?
[Nixon:] Well, you know, I think that the thing is that gay people, that there are a lot of myths about gay people, that they are they're sick, or they're they prey on children, or they're harmful to children, or they're causing the destruction of the of traditional straight marriage. And I think as people personally and on television and all this reading the newspaper, come to see more and more gay families and gay couples, I think that these myths are disappearing one by one, which is great. And now, we have a whole generation of children you know, they say that there are two million children living in the United States who have been raised by gay couples.
[Morgan:] I I had one of the leading, Zack Wahls came in
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] who's an extraordinary young man. And he had both his moms sitting in the audience, which I thought I thought was great. And as he said, you know, Kim Kardashian's marriage lasted, I don't know, however many hours it was.
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] And he listed a whole lot of other things in his book, which I thought was a smart point to make
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] that, actually, it's respecting the sanctity of marriage is much more important, I think. Are you as happy as you've ever been in your life?
[Nixon:] I am definitely as happy as I've ever been. Happier, I would say, than I've ever been. So, yes.
[Morgan:] Life is pretty good for you, isn't it
[Nixon:] Life is pretty good.
[Morgan:] I can't let you go without a quick mention of "Sex and the City." Let's take a little watch of you in action. This is great, this bit.
[Unidentified Female:] So this is a big apartment to buy for just you.
[Nixon:] I have a lot of shoes.
[Unidentified Female:] Oh. Maybe the boyfriend will move in?
[Nixon:] No, no boyfriend. Just me.
[Unidentified Male:] I have a son who owns his own business.
[Nixon:] No thanks. I'll take it.
[Morgan:] I loved that character.
[Nixon:] Yes. She's great.
[Morgan:] Have you seen "Girls," this new
[Nixon:] I haven't, but I I am I want to very much. It sounds amazing.
[Morgan:] Everyone says it's the new "Sex and the City."
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] I've read that a few times.
[Nixon:] Yes.
[Morgan:] But it's getting a bit of traction.
[Nixon:] It sounds amazing.
[Morgan:] What do you think "Sex and the City" gave American women? What what would you like its legacy to be to American women, do you think?
[Nixon:] I think that "Sex and the City" showed that it was OK to be single, even if you were in your 30s, even if you were in your 40s, even if you were going to be single for the rest of your life. But that didn't mean you were sitting at home pining by the phone, hoping that somebody would call; that you could have a rich, full life. You could have a rich, full sex life. You could have fun and adventures and work and great friends. And just because you didn't have a ring on your finger didn't mean that your that you weren't happy.
[Morgan:] And you are living proof that it can all it can all come crashing to glorious utopia.
[Nixon:] Yes. Yes.
[Morgan:] Star of Broadway, blissfully happy in your life. The Tony Awards are on June the 10th, 2012. It's been a real pleasure, Cynthia.
[Nixon:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] Best of luck with it.
[Nixon:] A pleasure for me, too.
[Morgan:] I hope you win.
[Nixon:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] Good luck.
[Nixon:] Thanks.
[Morgan:] Coming up, my interview with the woman who's heating up "The Client List", Jennifer Love Hewitt.

[Hammer:] Now, a Showbiz first look at the powerful new man of steel. I can tell you this is not your father`s superman. Yes, he flies to the air to save today, but there are some very dark moments first. You got to watch this epic new look at man of steel. It is truly putting the super in superman.
[Russell Crowe, As Jor-el:] Goodbye my son. Our hopes and dreams travel with you.
[Ayelet Zurer, As Lara Lor-van:] He`ll be an outcast. They`ll kill him.
[Crowe:] How? He`ll be a God to them. What if a child dream of becoming something other than what society had intended? What if a child aspire to something greater?
[Unknown Female:] My son was in the bus. He saw what Clark did.
[Kevin Costner, As Jonathan Kent:] You`re the answer to `are we alone in the universe.`
[Dylan Sprayberry, As Clark Kent At Age 13:] Can I just keep pretending I`m your son?
[Costner:] You are my son. I have to believe that you were sent here for a reason, and even if it takes the rest of your like, you owe it to yourself to find out what that reason it.
[Amy Adams, As Lois Lane:] How do you find someone who has spent a lifetime covering his tracks. For some, he is the guardian angel. For others, a ghost. He never quite fit in.
[Crowe:] You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall. But, in time, they will join you my son. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.
[Michael Shannon, As General Zod:] Do you believe your son is safe. I will find him.
[Henry Cavill, As Superman:] My father believe that if the world found who I really is, they would reject me. He was convinced that the world wasn`t ready. What do you think?
[Adams:] What the "S" stands for?
[Cavill:] It`s not an "S". In my world it means hope.
[Adams:] Well, here it is an "S." How about Super
[Cavill:] Excuse me.
[Hammer:] Very cool. "Man of Steel." Opens June 14. I know I will be leaving my quarters of solitude to check it out the moment it opens. Well, from your first look at "Man of Steel" to the revolutionary new ad that is trying to change the way women see their selves. The viral dove ad that exposes women`s distorted images of themselves. This is going to give you a goose bumps. Watch for the big reveal on our stunning "Showbiz Countdown" body image buzz makers. But, could this body-bearing photo spread top the list. The new "Allure" photo shoot that`s revealing the naked truth about some of Hollywood`s biggest stars. Which body image buzz maker is going to grab the top spot on tonight`s showbiz countdown? This is "SBT," "Showbiz Tonight" on HLN. It`s time now for showbiz say what. Here`s Harrison Ford. He`s throwing out the first pitch at the PadresDodgers game. What do you think Harrison is really thinking? Share your thought bubble with us by heading to hlntv.comshowbiztonight. Fill in the thought bubble, so we can share our favorite answers tomorrow on "Showbiz Tonight."

[Blitzer:] Thousands of people hit the streets of Cairo today both for and against the government. It's facing huge tests this week. Voters are deciding whether to approve a new constitution. That happens on Saturday. Reza Sayah is joining us on the phone now from the Egyptian capitol. Huge crowds out there, what is going on, Reza?
[Reza Sayah, Cnn International Correspondent:] Right now there are still some people outside the presidential palace, but the crowds are starting to thin out, Wolf. I think a lot of people are relieved that there were no clashes, no violence tonight because there was a potential for an ugly night. That's because both of these sides of this conflict once again calls for mass demonstration. The opposition faction and opponent of President Morsy called for marches that culminated outside the presidential palace. In about 15 minutes away from that location, there's the Muslim Brotherhood, supporters of the president who gathered in mass. The big question was, would these two sides clash like they did last week? It was an ugly scene last week outside the palace. These two sides brawled it out, nearly 700 injured and several people killed. Thankfully tonight there was no violence. The opposition came out because they still reject the process by which the constitution was done. They don't want the vote on Saturday. The president's supporters saying the best way to solve this conflict is to go out for the vote on the constitution on Saturday Wolf.
[Blitzer:] So that referendum will definitely take place on Saturday despite all of the protesters who wanted to be delayed or never wanted it to happen at all.
[Sayah:] All indications are that this referendum is going to go on its plan and I think the opposition is looking to tomorrow. That's when the opposition leaders are scheduled to announce their decision whether they are going to take part in the referendum or not. If they come out and say yes, we'll take part, there's certainly the potential to diffuse this conflict. If they say no, if they continue to reject this process, certainly the conflict can go on.
[Blitzer:] Reza Sayah on the scene for us in Cairo, thanks very much. Earlier this afternoon here in the United States, the U.S. Air Force launched a secretive new drone into space, we know what the X-37B looks like, but it's a mission that is shrouded in mystery. CNN's John Zarrella is joining us now from Miami with more. What do we know, John?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, it did launch this afternoon about 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on top of an Atlas 5 rocket inside the faring there, the top third of that rocket is where the X- 37B was encased. It looks very much like a mini-space shuttle, about a quarter of the size of a space shuttle. In fact, it was originally designed by NASA and was going to be flown inside of a space shuttle's cargo's base until it was taken over by the Defense department and then the Air force. Every time one of these things flies, two m them have flown before, one in 2010 and one in 2011, there is a huge amount of speculation that comes up. People believe that one of the things they say is this thing could be an anti-satellite weapon, a weapon in space that could shoot down satellites. Others think it could be an on-demand satellite itself. In other words, the military needs to move a satellite into a specific area of the globe to get a quick look somewhere, this could do it. The Air Force says none of that is true, that this vehicle is just an airborne platform. It flies about 200 miles up, orbits the earth, the same way that space shuttles did, but they are testing new technology, everything from command and control to avionics, the heat shielding, things that the Air Force says will be used in military applications but down the road. The problem is, Wolf, a lot of those folks out there that are the conspiracy theorists are not buying it. They think that the X-37 is a lot more than that. In fact, the last one that flew, flew for 469 days, 15 months in space before it landed autonomously back at the Air Force base out in California Wolf.
[Blitzer:] We have no idea how long this one is going to stay up there?
[Zarrella:] None at all, Wolf. No idea if it's going to be a longer or shorter mission or what exactly. But you know, Wolf, there are a lot of countries around the world whose intelligence agencies sure would like to know about it as well.
[Blitzer:] So let the speculation continue, John Zarrella.
[Zarrella:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much. At the top of the hour, by the way, we're getting new information on a missing American citizen in North Korea right now. But first, a lighter look at the day's news headlines.
[Unidentified Male:] Al Qaeda's number two man has been killed by an American drone in Pakistan, al Qaeda's number three men announced he's stepping down to spend more time with his family.

[Cooper:] And welcome back. We are live from Ground Zero. The breaking news from just a few moments ago that Wolf Blitzer was reporting that we've confirmed that there is some sort of a tape, what supporters of bin Laden would call a "martyr's tape" that he had taped in advance to be released if and when he was killed. We're not sure whether it's an audiotape or videotape. We'll try to get more details on that. Also, just in to
[Cnn:] a U.S. official telling CNN's Pam Benson that the U.S.'s code name for Osama bin Laden was Geronimo. Let's get the latest from the Pentagon. Barbara Starr is standing by at the Pentagon. This Osama bin Laden had a code name "Geronimo." How what do we know about that?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, you know, very little, Anderson. That's just coming to light as facts continue to unfold every hour since this all emerged last night. I think what people are watching very carefully, Anderson, is to learn more about how the attack itself unfolded against that compound. What is so extraordinary, really, is the fact that everybody got out safely in terms of the U.S. troops. You know, you'll recall over the years, there was the failed mission in Iran to rescue the hostages. There was the failed mission in Somalia. U.S. Special Forces really revamped how they did business. It's all about training and practice practice, practice. They practiced against a mock-up of this compound. This was never about getting into Pakistan. This was about getting out of Pakistan safely once you got your target. And that's what they achieved here. Very few details really coming to light, but this helicopter assault, by all accounts, really went off absolutely flawlessly because everybody did get out. You know, they found Osama bin Laden basically in an upstairs room in this compound. That's when the firefight broke out. And, you know, to put a fine point on it, that's when Geronimo met his fate Anderson.
[Cooper:] Barbara, obviously, there are facts that we don't know at this point. But I just want to ask you a bunch of different questions. And if you don't know, just say you don't know. Do we know how many U.S. forces were actually involved in the operation?
[Starr:] Well, you know, if you that's a really good point, because if you start counting the team and the backup, it was fairly extensive. We don't know exactly how many, but certainly not insignificant number of Navy SEALs on the ground, several helicopters, helicopters flying overhead as support helicopters, and what we know, of course, is that there were a number of other aircraft overhead at some distance, fixed-wing fighter jets, Predators, drones monitoring the situation, other helicopters to engage in search and rescue. Everybody was ready to move in with significant firepower and force if something had gone wrong. And that's what John Brennan was talking about when he watched that one helicopter go to mechanical failure really, I think it's fair to say everybody took a deep breath because they didn't know what was coming next, and they had everything to move in and engage in a very significant military operation with significant force pardon me to get the team out if they had to, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Do we know how many people were killed inside the compound and was anybody taken alive?
[Starr:] No. No one was taken alive. There were a number of women and children there that were basically taken to a safe area while the U.S. troops were there. And they were left behind. They were deemed to be noncombatants. We know bin Laden is dead. We know a woman said to be his wife is dead. And a couple of other men that engaged in the firefight. That woman was said to be used as a human shield by bin Laden, hiding behind a woman as U.S. forces basically came through the door. And that firefight erupted, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Do we know for a fact that he was using her for a shield or that she was trying to protect him of her own accord? Do we know the details on that?
[Starr:] Well, we I'll tell you that we don't. But we do know that U.S. officials have described her as being used as a human shield. So, I think there was probably some indication in this final end game. She really wasn't doing this of her own volition. It may have been a combination of both. One of the women there is said to be bin Laden's wife. So, these are people that he was living with on this very secure compound.
[Cooper:] And just two other very quick questions. Did they take any intelligence, any documents or anything that might be of value? And was the courier who was the end point to this, was that person killed as well?
[Starr:] I think the courier was. I think that's the assessment at this point. But you raised something very significant. They wanted to get in and out very fast, 40 minutes on the ground. But indeed, they gathered a significant amount of intelligence, basically computer material, other material on the in that compound and the CIA now is establishing a task force to review all this intelligence material, to see what they have and see if they can find any of the other bin Laden associates, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mullah Omar, is there anything in all of that that tells them where these other al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are hiding. That's something that they want to move on very quickly, if there are clues in everything that they gathered up.
[Cooper:] All right. Barbara, thanks. We'll continue with that reporter. Let's go to Wolf in Washington Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much, Anderson. I want to bring in retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ed O'Connell. He's joining us from Los Angeles. He spent 20 years in the Air Force as an intelligence officer with chief of targeting for the U.S. military central command during the war in Afghanistan, worked for then-General Tommy Franks. This looks like a very, very risky but sophisticated operation. How much rehearsal goes into something like this?
[Lt. Col. Edward O'connell, U.s. Air Force:] Oh, extraordinary, Wolf. I think, probably, you're talking about months now. Unlike what we had in Tora Bora where you had a quick reaction situation, this was more of a preplanned situation, where you had target intelligence packages that we call tips, for instance, of showing people what door to turn, what door to go into, what wall to climb. So, quite a bit of operation.
[Blitzer:] Well, talk about Tora Bora. You were there at Tora Bora. That was the last time that U.S. intelligence suspected they were closing in on bin Laden. So many years later, almost 10 years later, now, they finally get him. Why did Tora Bora failed and this particular mission succeed?
[O'connell:] Yes, I think there a lot of differences good question. I think there, we had very difficult terrain. Remember, we're at 15,000 feet. So, to move people from Task Force 11, who is the Delta Force, on site there, to another location to sort of chase bin Laden and his over watch people was very difficult. This was quite different terrain. This was more of an urban setting, large compound. There you had a number of sort of rat mines, as we call them, very difficult to track. Also, very difficult to pick up signals intelligence, which is all we really had to track bin Laden. And I think what happened is in Tora Bora, we got into a tangled web of good intentions, you might say. It was CENTCOM, CENTAF, General Franks' folks. We had Task force 11 and who is Delta Force, who took over at some point. You also had CIA members in there. Everyone thought his death was imminent. I think we had a little bit of overconfidence at the time. And then, of course, he slipped away.
[Blitzer:] These U.S. military helicopters, they brought the Special Operations forces, the intelligences operatives from Afghanistan into Pakistan. I assume that's the way they came in because they flew out back to Afghanistan. Would they have U.S. military insignia? Would they be painted like U.S. military helicopters? Would they have something neutral? Or would they pretend to be Pakistani helicopters, based on your experience?
[O'connell:] I think they were probably blacked out. That's what we called it. You'd probably black out the insignia before you went in on the mission and or you would have some deception going. But I think that we didn't want to get to tricky here. Let's stick with the playbook. This has been pre-rehearsed. So, it was clear cut in that case.
[Blitzer:] In this particular case, there were two helicopters that were going into the compound. One of them failed. They had to destroy that helicopter. But we're told there was a third helicopter that came in and assisted in getting the U.S. military personnel, the intelligence operatives and bin Laden's body out of there. That was pretty smart to have a backup. They may have had more than just one backup helicopter?
[O'connell:] Absolutely, Wolf. We learned a lot from Desert One which was a failed Iranian hostage mission. Also, we learned a lot from Roberts Ridge, which was some problems that we had earlier on, Operation Anaconda, which was after Tora Bora that next spring. So, yes, we always want to have helicopters in reserve and not knowing the exact details right now. But I can tell you what we probably had a couple observation points there from our CIA folks outside the perimeter of the compound. Very likely, we had on site eyes on watch, probably positive ID by Predator hovering above. And there's no doubt in my mind we had a gunship standing off at a certain range, and the gunship very good at nighttime operations.
[Blitzer:] This was happening at 1:00 a.m. And 40 minutes on the ground. I assume all of the U.S. personnel had night equipment so they could see what's going on at night. It's not an easy operation at night. But they had the advantage certainly of surprise coming in as they did, having the helicopters come in at 1:00 a.m. although those helicopters, as you know, Ed, they are very, very noisy.
[O'connell:] Absolutely. Absolutely, Wolf. Probably had the HH- 53s we used there. But, yes, very noisy, so you have to minimize the surprise time. So, you've got a very short window that you're operating in. Almost when you're over the walls or near the walls, you're going to start hearing tremendous reverb from those blades. So, absolutely, a very difficult mission and very precise situation.
[Blitzer:] Do you believe I know what John Brennan, the president's counterterrorism adviser, said that they did have a contingency plan to bring bin Laden out alive. Although my suspicion always has been, I don't know what yours is, that they didn't want to bring him out alive, they didn't want to take him to Guantanamo, they didn't want to start a trial for Osama bin Laden and give him a lot of publicity. That if there was any opportunity to kill him and kill him in a firefight, that was that was the goal. But based on your experience at Tora Bora and over the years, what do you think?
[O'connell:] I think you're absolutely right. I think the probably mission one was to kill him if we had positive ID. But, look, we learned a lot from Saddam. Remember, as you well know, all these months we had Saddam on trial. I think that's where I link up with Anderson. I first met him I think at Camp Cropper. And remember them bringing Saddam back and forth every day and all the international media and so forth. So, it turned into quite a circus. Also, we were a little afraid of making him a martyr. Now, in my view, though, that's a little bit of faulty reasoning because I think this is fascinating what we're seeing right now in history, we're seeing a double scoop of history almost. You've got sort of the "Arab Spring" and you've got the "U.S. Spring" these sophisticated people around the world that are not going to fall for this sort of mass- murdering propaganda machine we call al Qaeda anymore. So, really fascinating events taking place.
[Blitzer:] Lieutenant Colonel Ed O'Connell, retired, United States Air Force Colonel, thanks very much for joining us.
[O'connell:] Thanks, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Anderson, we've been reporting now for a while that there is a tape, either a videotape or an audiotape of bin Laden that have been prepared maybe years ago that was going to be released upon his death. He's now dead and we're now told that the tape is about to be released. Here's an ethical question that we at CNN and journalists indeed around the world are going to have I'm getting, since the last 20 minutes or so since we've reported this, a lot of appeals to us from my Twitter followers and others please, please, CNN, don't play that tape. Don't let bin Laden and al Qaeda have the satisfaction of playing that tape, report about it, but we don't want to see him. We don't want to hear him, we've had enough of him, we don't want to play into his hands. We certainly don't want to let people be energized, crazy people out there, fanatics who support bin Laden and al Qaeda be inspired by his words if they are released. It's just an ethical question that I think most news organizations are going to be facing in the coming minutes and coming hours. Do we play the tape or just report about the tape? There's no clear answer, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Well, I can tell you my answer and on my and any program that I'm associated with, I would not play that tape. I see no reason to do it. Obviously, throughout much of the world that tape will be played and if people want to hear that tape, they can they can get it. They won't certainly be hearing it from me. I think this guy is a mass murderer and there's no reason we should hear his voice ever again. Pakistan's former military chief is criticizing the U.S. for the raid, targeting bin Laden. That's right. He's criticizing the U.S. for the raid. I spoke to the former President Pervez Musharraf. You'll hear his candid about the raid coming up in just a moment. That's next.
[Brennan:] Al Qaeda is something in the past. And we're hoping to bury the rest of al Qaeda along with bin Laden.

[Kristie Lu Stout:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And we begin in Egypt, where unbelievable scenes of violence at a football match leave 79 dead. And we'll hear exclusively from the head of the Arab League on the ongoing violence in Syria. And Facebook is going public. We'll take a look at some of the staggering numbers revealed by the social networking company. Now, it's one of the bloodiest events in football history. At least 79 people are dead and more than 1,000 injured after riots broke out following a match in the Egyptian city of Port Said. Fans stormed onto the pitch as the game ended 3-1 in favor of the home side, Al-Masry against their visiting rivals, Al-Ahly, from Cairo. Supporters from both sides attacked each others and the players with rocks, chairs and knives. Some people died from stab wounds and others were suffocated trying to escape. As fears rise of further unrest, crowds have gathered in Cairo, and some have been chanting, "Down with military rule!" An emergency session of the Egyptian parliament has been called and three days of national mourning are now under way. The police's handling of the disaster is facing heavy criticism, and Port Said's head of security has reportedly been sacked. These pictures appear to show dozens of riot police lining up before the match, and this is after the trouble began, where the police appear to be closely watching the stadium seats rather than the fans running on to the pitch. And later, the police are seen here. They're running after the battling fans, but they appear to be outnumbered. Forty-seven people have been arrested, and Egypt's Premier League has been suspended indefinitely. The European Union has called for an external investigation into what happened. Let's get the very latest now from Ben Wedeman, who joins us live from Cairo. And Ben, after last night's violence in Port Said, more unrest today in Cairo. What are you seeing?
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] Well, so far it seems that a lot of the Al-Ahly fans are outside of the club headquarters, and they plan on marching to the Ministry of the Interior. So far, however, there hasn't been any notable instances of violence. It's still, by Cairo's standards, fairly early in the day. But people are angry. And, of course, we are in Ahly country here in Cairo. It is the biggest team, very popular here. Many Egyptians wildly enthusiastic about this team and now very angry after what happened in Port Said last night. Many people, of course, here in Cairo are saying not only did the police not provide adequate security, but accusing the police of actually facilitating attacks, the Ahly fans. It's worth noting that these Ahly fans, many of them were participants in clashes with the police last year. They have been in many ways politicized since the resolution and, therefore, not surprisingly, they are also calling for the military rulers of Egypt, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, to step down over this incident Kristie.
[Stout:] Now, an emergency parliamentary session is under way. What are Egypt's MPs saying about the violence?
[Wedeman:] This is really a fascinating session of parliament, an emergency session called after these events. Now, what happened was that after an opening statement by the speaker of parliament, he called for the live broadcast to be cut. But just as the picture went down, you could hear loud protests from the members of parliament. And just moments later, the picture went up again, obviously as a result of the demands of these parliament members. Now, we've heard one after another calling for the resignation of the interior minister, putting them on trial, holding an investigation, and really going after those security officials they say simply did not do their job in providing security at these matches. But we're also hearing a lot of criticism of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Increasingly, Egyptians are worried that the army simply is incapable of managing the affairs of this country. And it's worth pointing out that over the last few days, there have been a series of high-profile armed robberies in Cairo indicative of deteriorating law and order Kristie.
[Stout:] All right. Ben Wedeman, joining us live from Cairo. Thank you very much indeed for that. Again, Egypt is on edge following these riots. Let's get more now from our Ian Lee, who is in Port Said. He joins us now. And Ian, are you seeing more protests, more unrest there today?
[Ian Lee, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, Kristie, the scene right now in Port Said is pretty calm. We got a chance to go into the stadium though and see what happened yesterday, and it is quite a sight. There's trash everywhere. Things are broken. But I think there's a couple things that really stood out to me. First of all, was seeing blood on a lot of chairs all over the place. There was a lot of blood. The other thing was there were shoes everywhere. People were running out of their shoes, trying to get away from the onslaught. And the third probably most amazing thing I saw was huge steel doors that were cemented and tied into the walls were broken down as the surge of people pushed them down to escape the stadium. It was quite a sight to see, the stadium the aftermath of the stadium and seeing all these things that showed just what happened there yesterday.
[Stout:] Yes, you detail some frightening evidence of violence from last night. Have you been able to talk to eyewitnesses? And what are they telling you about what happened and, namely, how the police responded when the riot broke out?
[Lee:] Well, I talked to several eyewitnesses, and what they were telling me was that the police just stood by as the surge went towards the Ahly soccer fans. And a lot of the people who I talked to said that these weren't people from Port Said. There's a lot of conspiracy theories that this is something bigger, this wasn't the fans from the club, that this was planned, and that these were not people from Port Said, that there was some sort of hidden agenda, something else happening. And they're using the example of the police allowing these thugs to go pass them by without trying to stop them, as well as the gate being shut, that the fans couldn't escape. They were essentially trapped in their stands.
[Stout:] Just now we heard from Ben Wedeman, who was reporting on a very stormy session of parliament, an emergency session that's currently under way. A lot of blame being placed on the ruling military council for the violence, for not doing enough. What is the general mood there in Port Said? Who are people there blaming for last night's violence?
[Lee:] Well, people are definitely blaming the government for what just happened. They're saying the police didn't act, there wasn't security. How could these people bring weapons into the stadium is something that a lot of people are asking. They're essentially blaming the government and the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces for not providing enough security and not checking people for weapons. And this happens. Right now we're at a protest, and people are definitely looking for answers of how something like this could happen in this town.
[Stout:] All right. Ian Lee, joining us live from Port Said, the scene of the disaster that took the lives of at least 79 people. Now, as the U.N. Security Council struggles to come to an agreement on a possible resolution on Syria, violence there rages on. Opposition activists say at least 70 people were killed on Wednesday. And members of the U.N. Security Council, they met to discuss how to respond to the ongoing crisis. Diplomats say that they're optimistic that an agreement can be reached, but there are still major points to work out. Russia and China, which both hold veto power, are adamant that they will oppose any resolution they view as meddlesome. Meanwhile, Western diplomats are supporting a draft that calls for President al-Assad to hand over power to his vice president, but Russia opposes it. Now, that is part of a proposal set forth by the Arab League which calls on Syria to form a new unity government in the next two months. And Hala Gorani sat down with the head of the Arab League, Nabil El-Araby, in an exclusive one-on-one interview.
[Hala Gorani, Cnn International Correspondent:] What is exactly the language that's bothering Russia right now when you're in discussions with Russian representatives at the U.N.? What is bothering them and what can be removed as far as you're concerned to satisfy them?
[Nabil El-araby, Arab League Secretary-general:] Well, I'll tell you what they say. I mean, and they have said it already. They don't want any reference to military intervention and no one is speaking about that.
[Gorani:] Right.
[El-araby:] We don't want any reference to sanctions, and no one is speaking about sanctions as such. They don't want the Arab peace plan which says that the president delegates power to the vice president. We didn't ask that the president should step down, but only to delegate powers to the vice president, which actually, according to their constitution
[Gorani:] And you know, there is a joke now that says Bashar al-Assad is going to demote himself to vice president. Yes. Because that's how seriously people are taking this, you know?
[El-araby:] I didn't
[Gorani:] Right. They're saying it's just toothless, it's going to lead to nothing. This regime is going to continue to employ violence because it's the only way it knows to deal with opposition. Do you think that's true?
[El-araby:] Well, up to now, it's true, but you have to refer that to the world we are living in.
[Gorani:] And if this resolution is passed, and Russia removes every little reference to possible sanctions, possible intervention, possible pressure, then what good will that resolution do?
[El-araby:] It will still put pressure on the Syrian government, because they realize that Russia cannot stand up forever. And they are under great pressure now. And, you know, Russia does not want to be against the people.
[Gorani:] Time is running out. I mean, today, 70
[El-araby:] Yes, yes, people are dying. And even one if one person dies, our conscience cannot take that.
[Gorani:] But in a country of 23 million, 6,000 people have died. This is just a shocking
[El-araby:] It's awful. It's awful. But you tell me, what can be done more than that? You are going to a universal organization which is responsible for world peace. The Security Council is the organ vested with the primary responsibility for peace and security in the world. You cannot go further than that.
[Gorani:] People will say, why was Libya a case that the international community thought required intervention because a massacre was about to take place I'm quoting people. Whereas Syria is a country where a massacre is taking place, and there is no intervention. Why?
[El-araby:] Well, I'll try to answer but it's not my view, personally, but I'll give you some examples. First of all, at one time, Gadhafi's Saif al-Islam threatened that he was going to wipe out the whole city of Benghazi. And they had the means to do that. Secondly, you can say that the as I said to you, political location is different here and there, between Syria and Libya. Thirdly, in Syria, there is a regular strong army. In Libya, there was no army, and some militias headed by Gadhafi's sons, which, I mean, is completely different. And maybe there is no oil in Syria.
[Gorani:] So what are you saying when you say maybe there's no oil in Syria? That the economic motivation was there?
[El-araby:] Could be. Could be. But anyhow, we can add to that that this is an election year in the United States and there are elections in France. And Europe is not in the I'm not going to say bankrupt, but is not in the best economic situation to enter into such a venture.
[Gorani:] When you look at Syria, what do I mean, you say you have hope, but what then gives you hope? What aspect of what's happening right now is giving you hope?
[El-araby:] The fact that such I mean, the regime itself is under pressure from the international and they cannot go on forever. And once the people go to the street anywhere and actually, I told I am saying this in public because I told the leadership in Syria, that once the lesson from Egypt and from the others, but I speak as my own country at that time I was foreign minister, as you know that once the people will go the street, you have to yield to their demands.
[Stout:] And that was the Arab League secretary-general, Nabil El-Araby, speaking exclusively to Hala Gorani. Now, rescue teams, they're continuing the hunt for dozens of people who are still missing off the coast of Papua New Guinea. A ferry believed to have been carrying around 350 people ran into difficulties about 16 kilometers off the coast early on Thursday morning. And officials say 238 survivors have been plucked from the water so far. These photos were taken from one of the helicopters that went into help, showing survivors in escape rafts waiting to be rescued. And these photos, they were taken by Jurgen Ruh, chief executive of Manolos Aviation, which sent two helicopters to the scene. A little earlier, he spoke to CNN about what he saw.
[Jurgen Ruh, Ceo, Manolos Aviation:] So we were out at the scene about 11:00 local time. By the time one container ship and one carrier were in attendance already. We had found about 10 life rafts with approximately 10 people each in the vicinity. And we have identified further ships to go further out and look for those survivors as well. We then went to a few, and when we came back in the afternoon, there was an aircraft from Australia. And the rescue efforts in the total of container ship and two carriers. And we, again, were doing a search advised by the rescue coordination center. And at that time, we were not able to find any further survivors afloat.
[Stout:] Now, the cause of this disaster is still not known, but Jurgen Ruh said that the area is notorious for bad weather at this time of year and strong winds. Coming up next on NEWS STREAM, the U.S. now says it plans to end its combat mission in Afghanistan next year. We'll look at whether that prediction is likely to become reality and, if it does, what it means for Afghanistan. In neighboring Iran, the continuing nuclear program is causing mounting concern in Israel. Have tensions reached a boiling point? And Facebook hopes to update its status to public. That's if Wall Street investors like the look of its friend request.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.
[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you, Suzanne. Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield, live in New York City. And I want to start this hour with a disturbing case. A rape case that happened in Steubenville, Ohio. One of those relatively small towns where just about everybody knows everybody else and Friday night football is king. The alleged victim in this case is a 16-year-old girl. She was reportedly drunk and reportedly possibly unconscious when she was allegedly raped by two high school football players. The alleged rape came to light through some shocking tweets, a cell phone photograph that reportedly shows the limp victim being carried by her arms and her legs, and online video that shows young people callously laughing about it all.
[Unidentified Male:] What if that was your daughter? But it isn't. What If that was my daughter, I wouldn't care, I'd just let her be dead. Listen to yourself. I'm listening to myself fine. In about 10 years, I'm going to come back to this video. Ten years. My daughter's going to be getting raped and dead in 10 years.
[Banfield:] The two 16-year-old football players are set to go on trial next month. The lawyer for one of them says that the images in this case have been taken out of context. And in a town the size of Steubenville, there are certainly concerns about at least the impression of conflicts of interest. So, Ohio's attorney general is now leading the prosecution in this case. And I asked him all about it.
[Mike Dewine, Ohio Attorney General:] I hope people believe that we bring an impartiality to it. Our goal as prosecutors is not just to get convictions. Our goal, frankly, and the ethical job of a prosecutor is to seek justice and find out what happened and to seek the truth. And that's what we're trying to do.
[Banfield:] Dr. Drew Pinsky is going to be here in a moment to help us sort through some of the more disturbing aspects of this story. The morality of it all. But first, CNN's Poppy Harlow has much more on this troubling case and the impact on the community.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnnmoney.com:] On the night of August 11th, teenagers in Steubenville, Ohio, gathered to celebrate the end of the summer. The first day of school was just two weeks away. By many accounts, there was heavy drinking going on for most of the night, spread out over several different parties. But there may have been more than that. Far more. Tweets, photos and videos possibly document a crime from that night. An alleged sexual assault of a seemingly intoxicated unconscious under aged teenage girl by members of the high school football team. An assault that other party goers allegedly watched and later shared details online. This tweet from a party goer reads, "song of the night is definitely rape me by Nirvana." Other tweet call the girl sloppy and talk about a dead body, referring to the girl's state of unconsciousness. One tweet even refers to the fact that the girl may have been urinated on, though police say there's no evidence that actually happened. Three days after the party, the girl's mother came forward to the police and filed a report alleging sexual assault. She came with a computer drive showing a Twitter page and other possible evidence, according to police. Many of these postings were soon taken down. The police chief in Steubenville told CNN he asked for any witnesses to come forward with details of what they saw that night, but initially only two did.
[Unidentified Male:] That's how the first two arrests were made within the first two weeks. We have witness statements there that, I mean, as far as anybody else being involved, nobody else has come forward.
[Harlow:] On August 22nd, two 16-year-old members of the football team, Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond were arrested. They were later charged with rape and Mays was also charged with disseminating photographs of a nude minor. By December, the incident had created a fissure in the community. Some came to the boys' defense, saying they were unfairly and to quickly accused. Others were relieved, tired, they said, of the anything goes culture for the popular football players.
[Unidentified Male:] You're a football player. You get to do what you want as long as you've got a winning season.
[Harlow:] Mays' lawyer denied a rape occurred, saying he will challenge whether any possible sexual activity was consensual. Alexandra Goddard, a blogger and former Steubenville resident, started looking into this story after hearing that high school football players were involved. Goddard found most of the online postings and reposted them to her website before they were taken down.
[Alexandra Goddard, Blogger:] I found I, you know, went through the Twitter accounts and I found, you know, very disturbing messages basically laying out a timeline of what happened that evening and found the cache of the YouTube video. Just found all of the social media which told the story of what happened that night.
[Harlow:] Mays lawyer told CNN it's his client who has been tried unfairly online and that he will be exonerated once all the facts come out.
[Unidentified Male:] Greeting citizens of the world, we are Anonymous.
[Harlow:] On December 23rd, the Internet hacker group, Anonymous, got involved, threatening to release information on the high school football players involved in the incident unless a public apology was made to the alleged victim by January 1st.
[Unidentified Male:] We will not sit idly by and watch a group of young men who will turn to rape as a game or sport got the pass because of athletic ability and small town luck. You now have the world looking directly at you.
[Harlow:] Anonymous posted this picture online showing a girl whose face is blurred who is seemingly unconscious being carried by her hands and feet by two males. It's not possible to verify the photo is of the alleged victim, but the defense attorney for one of the accused, Ma'lik Richmond, confirmed to CNN his client is in the photo, but said the image is taken out of context.
[Unidentified Male:] That young lady is not unconscious. That young lady was capable of walking and her friends are individuals who indicated that information to the police.
[Harlow:] This 12-minute video also surfaced online, where teens appear to talk about the alleged assault and continually joke about the girl's condition, even at one point saying she must have died because she didn't move during the alleged rape.
[Teen 1:] Hey, what if that was your daughter?
[Teen 2:] But it isn't.
[Teen 1:] What
[Teen 2:] If that was my daughter, I wouldn't care. I'd just let her be dead.
[Teen 1:] Hey, listen to yourself.
[Harlow:] The trial for the two boys accused of rape is scheduled for mid February. Poppy Harlow, CNN, Steubenville, Ohio.
[Banfield:] Dr. Drew Pinsky is an expert on human behavior. In fact, his show, "Dr. Drew On Call" is on every weeknight on our sister station HLN. So, Dr. Drew, I think most people who see this story see the headlines, see any aspect of it, first question would be, how could this happen?
[Dr. Drew Pinsky, Host, Hln's "dr. Drew On Call":] Well, that to me, frankly, Ashleigh, is the scariest question anybody can ask themselves right now. This is a cautionary tale. This is a cautionary tale for every one of us. We are entering into a new world here in this country where people walk in with machine guns and kill little kids and boys treat girls like this. It's disgusting. And if we say to ourselves, man, that couldn't be my kid, watch out, caveat emtor, that could be your kid. And unless we are actively parenting against this, the world that these young men live in where images and objectifications of women are pouring down on them through the Internet since they are pre-teen, should we be wondered should it be any wonder to us that they treat young women like this. So much of this story for me is about how young males are treating young females and it's disgusting and we have got to, as parents, be aware of this and parent against it.
[Banfield:] None of us none of us as parents think that we actually have to sit our boys down and say, you know rape is wrong, right?
[Pinsky:] That's right. That's right.
[Banfield:] I mean what kind of a conversation do I have to have with my kid?
[Pinsky:] Listen, Ashleigh, listen, here's what you have to have. If you're with a young lady and she's under the age of 18, you don't get that you can't have sex with her, even if you're 16 in many states. If she is intoxicated in any way, that is a rape. I find it stunning that the attorney in this case says, oh, well she can walk. She can walk. She doesn't have to be carried. So, therefore, it wasn't a rape. The fact is, certainly in the state of California, if you are in any way intoxicated, you are not in a condition to render consent. If you are under the age of whatever the age is in your state, you're not of age to render consent. And we must educate our young males about this. And think about that 12-minute video where the young males are laughing
[Banfield:] Oh, that's my next question.
[Pinsky:] About a young woman being dead and raped and thinking that's funny. This is not a woman. This is some sort of rag doll that they play with.
[Banfield:] Well, help me get into the minds of a group of young boys as they get together. Does something happen to them when they're in a group
[Pinsky:] Yes, sure.
[Banfield:] That homogenizes a whole lot of other things that otherwise they would be mortified by?
[Pinsky:] Yes. Yes, of course. And there is a bystander phenomenon that's been well documented for adults, too. And, again, adults are guilty of this, not just young people, but this is a young person story, so it's so much about parenting. There's things we can do as parents here. But, yes, of course, group process, group pressures, particularly for young males, can affect how they behave. But what's interesting to me in that video, if you really watch it, there are males within that video going, hey, whoa, hang on a second here and they're sort of laughed down and teased down by the other males. This is very similar to the phenomenon we saw in the subway victim that was pushed in front of a subway and nobody did anything. We are less likely to act in let's say morally creative and appropriate ways when we're in a group than when we are by ourselves. These might be, some of these kids, sucome to the group pressure and have a good moral compass of their own, but not good enough to be able to speak up. And, again, parents out there, co-mission, meaning participating in something, and omission are very not stopping something, are very close relatives. And, again, if you don't parent about that, kids aren't going to get that. Be careful, guys. There is there is pornography raining down on these young males and there is social media where they feel entitled to act out on real people and not understanding or empathizing or developing empathy with the consequences of what it is they're doing.
[Banfield:] So, you know, you know as well as I do, and people who have been following this story, that the tweets have been horrendous.
[Pinsky:] Horrific, yes.
[Banfield:] That this girl has been attacked by young people and older people alike. I think one of the tweets that went out about her called her a train whore.
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Banfield:] And then others even went so far as to say, what else are you going to tell your parents when you come home like that. You've got to make something up. And now our football program, you know, might be blown up because of this. I mean, these are grownups doing the same things as the children in this case.
[Pinsky:] Well
[Banfield:] Instead of saying, let's all step back and let the law play out before we comment.
[Pinsky:] Ashleigh, I hope that is not a global symptom of that poor little town. I hope that is just some isolated parents that are representative of parents throughout the country. Again, I think there's a a bigger a bigger lesson to be learned here than really tightening the screws on that town. I think all of us need to pay attention to this. And, again, how these young women are being treated. This is an alcohol story too. If your teens are drinking, they are at risk for every adverse outcome you can possibly measure. Whether it is a rape or an unwanted pregnancy or an STD or an accident, you always find drugs and alcohol. The mortifying piece of this story is, there's rumors, and admittedly these are just rumors, that adults may have been aware or even providing rumors, substances in this case. And they would be held accountable certainly in this state if that were the case.
[Banfield:] Yes. A lot of
[Pinsky:] And what we have to do as parents, hold our peers accountable.
[Banfield:] I asked the Ohio attorney general about that. He said the investigation is going further, but he would not commit to me that they're investigating that angle of what you just listed out, and that is people who are a part of the
[Pinsky:] A rumor at this point.
[Banfield:] The bigger ancillary part of this individual crime. There could be other crimes, as well. Dr. Drew Pinsky, thank you.
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Banfield:] Thank you for your insight.
[Pinsky:] Thank you, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] I want to remind you all that you can watch Dr. Drew, his program "Dr. Drew On Call" is on weeknights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN. Want to switch gears now. There's a lot of news today. Employers didn't seem to be in any big rush to add workers, even as Congress strolled up to that big old fiscal cliff and peered over the edge, kind of went over a wee bit and then scrambled back up on top. The employers still created 155,000 jobs in December, leaving the unemployment rate at 7.8 percent. Private companies hired 168,000 new workers, while governments eliminated 13,000 positions. Jill Schlesinger is an editor-at-large for CBS MoneyWatch.com. Still beating expectations, those numbers?
[Jill Schlesinger, Editor-at-large, Cbs Moneywatch.com:] Yes, we're a little bit better. I mean for the whole year we averaged 153,000 jobs a month. It's a wild coincidence. The exact same number as 2011. All in all, it's a good year.
[Banfield:] Yes, that was weird.
[Schlesinger:] That is wired, right? It's the same number. It's a good, but not great year for job creation.
[Banfield:] So since you went back to 2011, let me take you back three more years and maybe you could give me the Christine Romans always says the trend is your friend. So give four years and create for me what we need to take out of this chart.
[Schlesinger:] Well, let's take a look at this and we can see that basically we know the recession started in December of 2007. So we had two brutal years of job losses. 2008 and 2009. Eight million jobs vaporized in this country. We crawled back out starting in the beginning of 2010. We see the bottoming of February of 2010. And then we see some job spikes. There was some government hiring from the census. And then sort of sideways job growth. So here's the trend that you can take away, at least in the last two years. Growth in this country has been OK. Two percent growth is about, eh. We want 3 percent growth. With 2 percent growth, we're only going to get 150,000 jobs a month or so. We're not going to get 200,000 to 250,000. We're not going to get enough of those 12 million people back to work. So in a sub par growth world, it's hard to see how employment really ratchets up from here.
[Banfield:] So I'm not going to suggest for a minute there's one thing to blame for that, but I know a lot of people blamed uncertainty and what Congress was doing was creating so much uncertainty leading up to the end of the year. That doesn't look to be going away anytime soon, Jill.
[Schlesinger:] No.
[Banfield:] So here's my question. When the speaker of the House and the president say, I'm done negotiating, and it looks like Republicans want to hold the debt ceiling as, you know, as leverage to get those spending cuts that they so desperately want and, you know, many say this country needs, what's that going to do for uncertainty and jobs in 2013?
[Schlesinger:] Jumping off the fiscal cliff is nothing compared to blowing through the debt ceiling. And here's why. The fiscal cliff was something that was created out of Congress. It was sort of a manufactured crisis. Now, the debt ceiling is for real. We come up against a borrowing limit and the government has to stop paying bills and it's a blunt instrument. So, I don't think either side wants to blow through the debt ceiling and they don't want to have the economy crater. That said, I think we've got to take a little bit of this blusterer with a grain of salt. They are positioning and renegotiating. What we really want to take away from this whole period of time is, remember something important. When the government pulls back on spending, it has a negative impact on growth. We may be addressing the debt and the deficit, and that may be a really good thing long term, but in the short run it hurts growth. If you look over in Europe, you look at austerity measures, governments pull back, not so good for economic growth. So when we say we want to fix the debt and the deficit, we have to be very careful how soon and how quickly that occurs.
[Banfield:] Kind of like after the holidays when you're feeling a little heavy, you can't just stop eating.
[Schlesinger:] No, you can't.
[Banfield:] You've got to keep eating.
[Schlesinger:] You've got to keep going.
[Banfield:] You've just got to be more careful. Nice to see you. Thanks for coming in. good to see you in person finally.
[Schlesinger:] Absolutely.
[Banfield:] All right, Jill, thanks very much. So Jill Schlesinger gave us that news. And I've got other news for you, too. Republicans attacking their own after Speaker Boehner refuses to hold a vote for aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy. Well, today, the vote. And my next guest says this fight is a sign of, quote, civil war in the GOP. Don't miss it. Back after this.

[Baldwin:] And now to one of my favorite parts of the show. When we're looking for answers that just aren't getting answered, we turn to our guy in D.C., who's inside the Beltway for just about three decades, Joe Johns, for "Political Pop." And Joe, let's talk about this spending bill. It is loaded with all kinds of earmarks. Seems to be the word of the day here. But correct me if I'm wrong, didn't we hear it was Mitch McConnell, the GOP, voting to ban these earmarks?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, a bunch of people. I mean, it's almost Christmas, I guess this is in honor of the Christmas season or something. The Congress has loaded up this giant catch-all spending bill the call it an "omnibus" but it's just a great, big, old bill with all kinds of stuff in it. And they've got so many earmarks, it looks like a Christmas tree decorated with every kind of gift, trinket, bauble, bangle imaginable for folks back home. And Taxpayers for Common Sense Brooke, you've heard of these guys, right?
[Baldwin:] Yes. Yes.
[Johns:] This is a watchdog group. They track this stuff. And they say the bill has 6,700 earmarks worth about $8.3 billion. And Senator John McCain's been railing against the stuff for years, made another one of his trips out to the Senate floor to point out some of the wacky-sounding things that got in the bill. Listen up, Brooke.
[Sen. John Mccain , Arizona:] One of my favorites that pops up all the time, $349,000 for swine waste management in North Carolina. Another one of my all-time favorites that's always in there, $413,000 for peanut research in Alabama, $247,000 for virus-free wine grapes in Washington, $208,000 for beaver management in North Carolina, $235,000 for noxious weed management in Nevada. One of my another all-time favorites that is always on here every year, $300,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii. Now, some people are watching and thinking I'm making this up! I'm not making it up $300 had,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii.
[Johns:] The Polynesian Voyaging Society I still haven't been able to figure out what that is. It's like
[Baldwin:] Nor have I. I heard that.
[Johns:] That's in there every year.
[Baldwin:] Nor have I. And look, maybe some people in Washington say it's very important to have virus-free grapes, and maybe, you know, a senator or congressman say it was very important. But here's the here's the thing. I thought a lot of members of Congress were supposed to be swearing off these earmarks. I thought that's, you know, that the voters wanted. That was the message that the voters sent this past election, no?
[Johns:] Yes, well, some of these guys were sort of how do you say
[Baldwin:] Wink, wink, nod, nod?
[Johns:] for earmarks before they For earmarks before they were against them, you know? I guess what you can say, this is kind of putting them in a tight spot, a lot of people up on the Hill. Senator John Cornyn of Texas he was one of the people I talked to just a couple of weeks ago, two or three weeks ago, who said he was swearing off of earmarks. At the time, he said it was the right thing to do. But here's the problem. Cornyn has about $100 million worth of earmarks in the bill. So how is he going to handle that? Well, he says he is going to vote against his own earmarks, he says. Listen to this.
[Sen. John Cornyn , Texas:] I think that's, to me, the context. And we've said very clearly we voted for an earmark moratorium. We will abide by that. And we will reject any earmarks requested by us or anyone else because that's what the American people told us they want.
[Johns:] So put them in the bill, and now he's going to vote against the bill. OK. We're looking forward, obviously, to the coming Congress, when Republicans who swore with off all these earmarks start seeing what the world of politics really looks like when they can't take pork back home anymore Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Real quickly, Joe, talk to me about the White House Christmas tree.
[Johns:] Oh, yes, yes. This is we've been trying to get this on TV for so long.
[Baldwin:] Today is the day, Joe.
[Johns:] Yes. I'm really excited! Let's just sort of roll the tape so you can look at it. This is time-lapse photography. The White House photographers wanted to show just what goes into putting up the White House Christmas tree. These guys have much better access, obviously, to the White House than any of us do. That's the only reason they can set up a camera in there like that. And there you see it, pretty cool stuff, frankly. I was told it took hundreds of people to do this. I don't see hundreds of people in the video, I don't think, but it's certainly a lot of people.
[Baldwin:] Just a couple people working really, really, really fast.
[Johns:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] That looks like the Blue Room. Is it the Blue Room?
[Johns:] You got me, Brooke. I mean, I've been in there, but I don't know the Blue Room from the Yellow Room from the
[Baldwin:] I'm just cheating by looking at the wallpaper.
[Johns:] There you go.
[Baldwin:] I've only been there once. There you go. That's kind of cool, Joe Johns. Thanks for bringing us that video. We've been wanting to get that on the air. Joe Johns, thank you, with today's "Political Pop," always the stuff we never really get to from Washington. Joe, thank you. We'll see you tomorrow.
[Johns:] You bet.
[Baldwin:] And have you ever used who hasn't? public wifi, right, especially if it's free? But be careful because hackers may be targeting your information. The warning you need to hear. That is next. Plus, what is happening now with Aretha Franklin? There are some concerning reports about her health, and now her camp is speaking out today. Also, the death of a Hollywood legend. "The Pink Panther" will never be the same. "Trending" next.

[Blitzer:] Here in the Washington, D.C., area, new information about a stunning scheme at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Annex that ended with a small fortune being stolen from the parking garage. Our own Lisa Sylvester has details.
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] While tourists were flocking to see the Shuttle Discovery at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum Annex in Chantilly, Virginia. Authorities say three parking attendants there were stealing thousands of dollars in parking fees. Just how much did they make off with?
[Jason Brooks, Tourist:] How much did they say? Like $400,000? Good God, that's ridiculous.
[Sylvester:] Actually, it was more than $400,000 over a three-year period, according to the U.S. attorney's office and the Smithsonian's office of the inspector general. [on camera] Every vehicle that passes through here is actually counted. The way these people were able to do this is by disabling the electronic vehicle counter, and that allowed them to steal as much as $4,000 in a single day. [voice-over] It costs $15 to park at the Air and Space Museum Annex near Dulles Airport. The parking booth attendants worked for a private company, PMI, which has a contract with the Smithsonian Institution. According to the court affidavit, closed-circuit television cameras caught the three workers in action. The news was shocking to museum visitors.
[Glynis Collen, Tourist:] I just think that's really, really sad. It's a wonderful institution. It's sad to hear something like that happened.
[Eastland Collen, Tourist:] It's really sad that people would do that. I hope they get prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
[Sylvester:] The Smithsonian has been under financial pressure in recent years, confronted with the threat of funding cuts. And $400,000 Could go a long way toward bolstering its programs. Claire Brown is a spokeswoman for the Air and Space Museum.
[Claire Brown, Spokeswoman, Air And Space Museum:] Well, very upset. Of course, we're very upset to have learned about it.
[Sylvester:] Has anything like this ever happened before?
[Brown:] Not to my knowledge has anything like this happened before.
[Sylvester:] Each booth attendant faces a maximum of ten years in prison if convicted. Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Chantilly, Virginia.
[Blitzer:] From air and space to just space. We have some new pictures coming in from Mars. That's next.

[Amanpour:] Well, each day brings more astonishing images from Syria. And this one has been no exception. Take a look at what happened at a rally in the town of Rafsan on Friday.
[Anderson:] An activist says these people were shelled by the Syrian military. At least 16 people were killed there. Meanwhile, in Homs, aid groups were told they would be allowed into the hard hit neighborhood of Baba Amr. But right now, they are still on stand-by. In the last half hour, ICRC's spokesman, Hicham Hassan, gave this reaction to not being allowed in.
[Hicham Hassan, Spokesman, Icrc:] It's extremely disappointing to see that after families have been waiting for weeks now, affected deeply by the violence, with a lot of needs and urgent needs, not just any needs, have still not gotten their necessary assistance. We are still there now in Homs with the Syrian Red Crescent. We will attempt to go inside Baba Amr while now assessing families who have fled the violence-stricken neighborhood. This is why we renewed now, through our president, our appeal for a cessation of fighting as soon as possible, all over the affected areas, and for two hours a day. It's very important today and it's unacceptable that people still don't have help.
[Anderson:] The ICRC spokesman, speaking to us just moments ago. And we'll have much more on the situation in system later this hour. A look now, though, at some of the other stories that are connecting our world tonight tonight. And it's not yet legally binding, but most EU leaders have now committed to an agreement which sets up new rules requiring European governments to balance their budgets or else face what's being called an automatic correction mechanism. Twenty-five of the 27 leaders signed the accord in Brussels on Friday. They will now take it back to their own parliaments for approval. Britain and the Czech Republic opting out of that accord. An extra 6,000 police officers have been called in to Moscow to help keep the peace before and after Sunday's presidential election. Russians will be choosing from five candidates, including the current prime minister and strong favorite, Vladimir Putin. Now, be sure to join me Sunday for live coverage of the Russian presidential election Sunday night, starting at 5:00 p.m. London, 6:00 in Berlin or you can probably work it out, the times locally to you, right here on CNN. Well, Prince Harry, third in line for the British throne, is due to arrive in the Central American country of Belize shortly. He'll be there on behalf of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations later this year, the prince's first solo tour representing the British monarch, who is head of state in Belize. Well, CNN's Max Foster is covering the trip for us. He's at the airport awaiting the prince's arrival amongst, I believe, a bevy of international media. What is it about the prince that warrants this interest, Max, do you think?
[Max Foster, Cnn Anchor:] Well, there is a lot of interest in him, I think. And people like him. He seems like a fun-loving. We see him throwing himself into everything that he does. And this is, as you say, his first overseas tour representing the queen. So it's a really big deal. And it's a pivotal year for the queen. It's her Diamond Jubilee year, 60 years on the throne, she's celebrating. So everyone very interested to see how he does in this public role. It's kind of a coming of age, really, for him, I guess you could say. You can see a red carpet literally just been rolled out. His private jet is going to come in here. Then he's going to head off to a street party. And he's going to try the local brew, we're told, and some brandy. And then he's going to get some dance moves. So we're going to get a real sense of his character. It's going to be quite funny. He's going to try some local delicacies, Becky. I'm told one of them is cow's foot soup, which is exactly what it sounds like. Then tomorrow, he's going to climb an ancient Mayan pyramid and take in some of the culture there. It used to be a palace, but not quite Buckingham Palace. We'll see how he does there. But he's going to throw himself into all of these events, Becky. So it's going to be fascinating to see. We'll bring you all the reporting.
[Anderson:] Just up in I expect so. And I expect you to tell me what cow's foot soup tastes like, because we expect you do to exactly what Prince Harry is doing on that trip. Max, thank you for that. A British photographer wounded in Syria says what is happening there is and I quote him systematic slaughter. Still ahead, Paul Conroy speaks from his hospital bed now here in the U.K. about the sheer scope of the crackdown. Clinging on for dear life how social media shows the true horror of Japan's devastating tsunami this time last year. That coming up and your sports headlines after this.

[O'brien:] And welcome back. In our "Get Real" today, one of our panel members, a guest on "Saturday Night Live's" Weekend Update. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, Arianna Huffington, prepare to be very flattered. Here it is.
[Seth Meyer, Actor, "snl's Weekend Update":] Let's talk about what Rick Santorum said yesterday concerning women in combat, namely the women are in danger because women will react too emotionally with them in harm's way.
[Michaela Watkins, Actress, "snl's Weekend Update":] If Rick Santorum doesn't like men worrying about women, then he should quit the race and endorse Newt Gingrich. When Newt sees a woman's life in danger, he abandons her as fast as fast as he can...
[Huffington:] The accent.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Huffington:] The accent was perfect. The hair, I don't know.
[Unidentified Male:] Quite the parody of Arianna because her voice is so indistinct very difficult.
[O'brien:] Is it fun to watch that or do you get mad?
[Huffington:] No, I don't get mad at all. I think I mean, Tracey Allman so far has done the best accent imitation. I think this was even better. The hair the hair and the jacket, I thought the jacket exactly what you would wear.
[O'brien:] Yes, exactly. Next time you can weigh in. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, tear gas, grenades being thrown. Greece is literally in flames this morning. We'll go to live to Athens with the very latest on the riots over big cuts from the government. And then we'll talk to Jesse Jackson about losing a legend. He helped comfort Whitney Houston's mother over the weekend. He's going to join us live this morning. You're watching STARTING POINT. Short break, we're back on the other side.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, New York. As the clock strikes 5:00 on the East Coast, welcome to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Christine Romans for you this morning. Zoraida is off again today. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East. Let's get started. Al Qaeda's attack plans found hidden in porn. Police uncovering embedded files on a memory card meant only for senior leadership to see. We have exclusive details of future plots, including taking over a cruise ship.
[Banfield:] May Day protests all around the world. Occupy Wall Street trying to regroup and calling for a day without the 99 percent no work, no shopping, no banking. Hoping for a nationwide disruption.
[Romans:] And rescue 411. A 4'11" firefighter just the right size to save a little baby who fell 20 feet down a drain pipe. We'll be talking to the hero.
[Banfield:] Up first, though, this morning, pure gold. It's how intelligence officials are describing over 100 internal al Qaeda documents that detailed past attacks and future terror targets. And here is something incredible: the information was embedded in a porn movie. It was uncovered by German authorities after they arrested an al Qaeda operative last year and that operative was searched. And that's when police found his underwear and inside his underwear, a memory card. The microchip had a pornographic video on it. But when the authorities went further and dug deeper with be, they found a treasure trove of information embedded in the film. Our Nic Robertson is live in London this morning. Nic, you had so many exclusive breaks because of this veritable trove of information. Talk to me first, if you will, about this very frightening situation, detailing how cruise ships could end up being targets.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, there were 141 secret al Qaeda documents and some of those documents, according to U.S. and German counterterrorism officials, they believe, were written by very senior al Qaeda members. And one of those documents was al Qaeda's future plans. And part of the future plans, according to a journalist who has also seen and had direct information about those documents, indicate that al Qaeda want to start targeting cruise ships.
[Yassin Mursharbsh, Die Zeit Newspaper:] It says that we could hijack a passenger ship on the sea. And then use it to pressure to pressurize the public. And what he most likely means is that they, you know, would then start executing passengers.
[Robertson:] And that they would dress these passengers in orange jump suits, similar to the prisons in Gitmo, and they upload those executions to the Internet. That is just one type of attack al Qaeda wants to move to. They want to move to Mumbai, shoot 'em up style attacks like we saw in India, 2008, 164 people killed by 10 gunmen. A twin track strategy to have big operations like 911 if they can, but because they can't pull those off, they have lots smaller, low-cost operations as well, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] So, Nic, these are the things they may want to do but we all know that many of the missions that this country has been involved in in the last decade has made things difficult for al Qaeda. So, do they have the capability anymore?
[Robertson:] Well, even they are concerned about that. In this sort of range of 141 documents, there are documents that detail some of the past attacks, the 7721 liquid airlines plots, which all emanated or happened here in London. They provide a valuable insight. But what al Qaeda is saying in the future works document is they are concerned morale is slipping because they are losing key operators to drone strikes. They recognize the counterterrorism officials are able to spy on them better, know better what they are doing. So, even, they say, some of their own operatives are not even plotting or planning to do anything because they're so concerned about being caught. But what we have seen is, laid out in these future plans documents, over the past couple of years, al Qaeda continues to try to achieve those same goals they stated, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] All right. Nic Robertson, live for us in London thank you for that. And just a reminder to our viewers as well, over the next two hours, of course, in this program, we're going to bring a lot more information to you, courtesy of the material that Nic Robinson has been poring through, just remarkable stuff from that treasure trove of intelligence.
[Romans:] Yes, it sure is. OK. One year ago today, President Obama made a heart-stopping announcement that changed the world.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda.
[Romans:] Fast forward one year, and Osama bin Laden is still influencing U.S. politics. In fact, the raid that killed him is fast becoming the number one topic on the campaign trail. The president touting his role in the operation and questioning whether his rival Mitt Romney would have achieved the same result.
[Reporter:] Would you have gone after bin Laden?
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] Of course.
[Reporter:] Would have given the order, Governor?
[Romney:] Well, of course. Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order.
[Obama:] I said I'll go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him and I did. If there are others two have said one thing and now suggest they'd do something else, then I'd go ahead and let them explain it.
[Romans:] Romney may Romney may get a chance to do just that when he visits a New York city firehouse to mark the one-year anniversary of bin Laden's death. He'll be joined by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
[Banfield:] May Day protests kicking off right now all over the world. Today is International Workers Day. Labor groups are protesting for better working conditions, more jobs and higher wages. Several thousand workers marched in Japan earlier this morning and tens of thousands in Russia. President-elect Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev are taking parts in demonstrations there. And here in the United States, mass protests are expected in more than 100 cities. The Golden Gate ferry will shut down this morning because of a strike by workers. Officials say the service will restart at 02:15 this afternoon. And Occupy activists called off a plan to take over the Golden Gate Bridge. The groups are planning other demonstrations and calling for a nationwide strike, a day without the 99 percent.
[Romans:] Remember the night when lions, tigers and cheetahs ran wild in Ohio? Well, now, a widow is get back five of the exotic animals her husband set free before he allegedly committed suicide on that night. Husband Terry Thompson released more than 50 animals back in October, remember including wolves, lions and bears. Most of them were killed by authorities, but five survived two leopards, two monkeys and a bear. They had been kept in quarantine but now, state officials have cleared the animals of dangerous or contagious disease. Thompson's widow plans to keep them on her farm. Ahead at 6:30 this morning, we're talking to the man who took care of those animals while they were in quarantine. Find out why he says it's not a good idea for them to return to their old conditions.
[Banfield:] Chris Christie is insisting that he is not exactly vice presidential material. Yet he is not ruling it out, either. The New Jersey governor was speaking to a group of high school students yesterday when one of them, very brave, asked if he would consider being Mitt Romney's running mate?
[Gov. Chris Christie , New Jersey:] What I said before is I really have no interest in being vice president, but if Governor Romney calls and asks me to sit down and talk to him about it, I'd listen because I think you owe the nominee of your party that level of respect and who knows what he's going to say. And he might be able to convince me. He's a convincing guy.
[Banfied:] That cameraman knew to zoom in right away on that answer. Chris Christie has consistently been mentioned as a top candidate for the number two job, along with Ohio Senator Rob Portman, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.
[Romans:] He's heard that question before. He'll hear it again.
[Banfield:] Yes.
[Romans:] A gut-wrenching day on the witness stand for Cheri Young, the wife for former John Edwards' aide Andrew Young. She broke down in tears as she testified how the former senator asked her family to hide his affair for the good of the country. After taking a break, the judge then dismissed the jury early. Cheri Young is expected back on the stand this morning.
[Banfield:] In Georgia, a 1-year-old boy falls 20 feet down this storm drain.
[Romans:] Wow.
[Banfield:] Firefighters are called into the scene. But they're just too darn big to fit down that drain. So they called in their special weapon. That's her in the middle. Look at the size of her. She's 4'11". Her name is Rosa Tullis. She's a firefighter. She just got rid of her gear and she squeezed down into that one-foot opening and she rescued the boy.
[Rosa Tullis, East Point Fire Dept:] It was kind of hard to manipulate him. He was afraid and just grabbing. I couldn't bring him up. I had to push him up over my head. I have boys. So it's kind of personal and it just makes it all worth coming to work and being dropped down a hole to hand them their baby back.
[Banfield:] Ms. Tullis, you are a hero. Little Darnell Brown is OK today. Look at that 1-year-old. He escaped with just minor scrapes and a couple of bruises and one heck of a story to tell. And we should let you know, too, lucky us, firefighter Rosa Tullis is going to be one of our guests. She's going to join us at 5:30 this morning Eastern to tell us just what it was like to do what she did, squeeze down into a one-foot opening and rescue that little baby boy.
[Romans:] It was hard Gas prices, they keep going down. The new national average stands at $3.81 a gallon, down about 10 cents over the past couple of weeks. Gas prices affect everything, particularly airlines. We're going to have a good story for you in 15 minutes about Delta Airlines and what it's doing to make sure it keeps its jet fuel flowing, no matter what happens to prices or supplies in the Northeast.
[Banfield:] And here's a hint. This one on her way home from work just doesn't go pick up milk, she stops by a refinery to see what's going on.
[Romans:] I was hearing something could happen, so I went to the refinery.
[Banfield:] It's 10 minutes past the hour right now. And ahead on
[Early Start:] the White House is defending drone strikes to take out suspected terrorists and get this even if they're U.S. citizens.
[Banfield:] And decides to get high and comes crushing down. Horrified concertgoers thinking they witnessed a fatal fall. You're watching EARLY START.

[Baldwin:] A student is thanking those who risked their lives to save his from a fiery crash. We have shown you this video. It's amazing video. Brandon Wright was that 21-year-old who was trapped underneath the fiery car covered in gasoline. A group of these good Samaritans, looks like 10 or so of them. They come by. They lift this 4,000- pound car pulled right to safety. Here was what Wright who's now speaking up about this. This is what he remembers about that accident.
[Unidentified Male:] I blacked out and I came to for about five seconds while I was under the car. I just screamed a couple of times and I threw up some blood and it was lights out again.
[Baldwin:] The 21-year-old is there recovering in a hospital in Utah. Got a little choked up yesterday as he thanked those total strangers who saved his life.
[Brandon Wright, Motorcycle Accident Victim:] I just wanted to thank all the heroes that put their lives on the line to save mine. I'm forever in debt. I can't thank them enough. I just hope they know how much they mean to me.
[Baldwin:] Wright has burns. He has several broken bones, but says the crash will not stop him from riding again. And now, let's get a quick check from Wolf Blitzer. See what he was coming up on "THE SITUATION ROOM" in a matter of minutes. Wolf, what do you have?
[Wolf Blitzer, Host, Cnn's "the Situation Room":] Lots going on. There could be fireworks at the United Nations. Next week as you know, I'll be reporting live all week from New York next week, Brooke. But the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, he spoke out today. We're going to hear what he's saying about the creation of a Palestinian state. Some sort of declaration that he expects the U.N. to pass next week. We'll get reaction from the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Orrin. He is here in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We'll talk with him live. Also, Thomas Friedman of "The New York Times." He's here, got a brand new book out, a powerful new book. We're going to talk about a book, the Arab Spring, a lot more. Got a big show as I say every single day, but it happens to be a really big show every single day.
[Baldwin:] That's just how you roll. Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much. We'll see you in a couple of minutes. Meantime, this is a tough story coming up. Listen to this.
[Unidentified Male:] And the time that I've been with Hendersonville for 17 years now, this is the only time that I've seen a crime such as this.
[Baldwin:] Here's the story. This woman doesn't tell anyone she's pregnant. She gives birth to twins, what police say happens next is both horrifying and it's baffling. Coming up next, where they found these lifeless newborns and why, why, this may have happened.

[Coren:] Welcome back. I'm Anna Coren, in Hong Kong. You're watching NEWS STREAM, and these are your world headlines. The European Union and the International Monetary Fund have reached agreement with Greece for Athens to slash its budget deficit by $40 billion. Well, the deal paves the way for new bailout money to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt, but that will only happen if the Greek parliament backs the cuts in a vote next week. At least 11 people have been killed and more than 40,000 forced out of their homes by storms in the Philippines. Well, flash floods and landslides are being reported in a number places, but there is some good news. Tropical Storm Meari is rapidly moving north and the weather is expected to improve. Officials in Turkey say almost 12,000 Syrians are now seeking refuge in the country. Well, the latest influx [inaudible] tense standoff near the border. And activists tell CNN government troops in tanks inside the village of Kabut. It's a situation the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton describes as worrisome. Well, the execution of an Indonesian woman in Saudi Arabia is drawing a strong reaction in her home country. Well, these protesters say Jakarta must do more to protect its citizens working abroad. Well, the kingdom beheaded a maid who was convicted of murdering her employer's wife. Indonesia now plans to ban its citizens from working as laborers in Saudi Arabia. Well, Indonesia's foreign minister says the moratorium will not be lifted until such a time that we can be assured that our workers would enjoy the necessary protection that they deserve. Well, more than 1 million Indonesians work in Saudi Arabia. A researcher at Human Rights Watch says there are reports the convicted maid was prohibited from returning home to Indonesia. Nisha Varia spoke with my colleague Zane Vergee about the ways domestic workers can be abused.
[Nisha Varia, Human Rights Watch:] There are a range of problems that domestic workers in Saudi Arabia are facing. One problem is poor treatment in the criminal justice system where they might be executed without anyone knowing about it. But they're also subject to labor exploitation, often not getting paid for months or years. In many cases confined to the workplace, having their passports confiscated, and sometimes subject to physical and sexual abuse. We would like the Saudi government to cover these workers under the labor law and make sure that they have access to the police and to their embassies if they need help.
[Coren:] Well, Nisha also says cases of abuse happen fairly frequently in Saudi Arabia. One truly horrifying incident happened late last year to this Sri Lankan house maid. Well, doctors removed 18 nails and metal particles from her arms, legs and forehead. Well, they were allegedly hammered into her body by her employers. The couple were reportedly arrested, but it's unclear if they were punished. Well, other cases also made headlines last year. This Indonesian woman died in November. Her body found on the streets of a Saudi town. Human Rights Watch says her body showed signs of physical abuse. Well, this woman, also Indonesian, said she was tortured by her Saudi employer. Officials reported she was severely beaten, had cuts to her face, and possible burns from an iron. But she received justice. In January, Saudi media reported her unidentified female employer was sentenced to three years in prison for the abuse. Well, some called it a first for the kingdom. Well, a former Rwandan government minister has been convicted of genocide by a UN court and sentenced to life in prison. Well, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko was one of the first women to be charged with genocide. She was the minister for family and women's affairs in Rwanda when 800,000 people were killed back in 1994. Well, they were mostly ethnic Tutusis. Nyiramasuhuko was also convicted of incitement to rape. Well, her son and four other officials are also charged. Well, Roland Amoussouga is with the UN International Tribunal for Rwanda and joins us live from Arusha, Tanzinia. Roland, tell us how significant is this sentence?
[Roland Amoussouga, Un Tribuna For Rwanda:] Indeed, this sentence is extremely significant, because this is the first time that a woman has been charged with genocide before [inaudible] and were therefore convicted on all counts except three. So this is a very important milestone in the [inaudible] existance. And along with her, we have also five other accused persons who were convicted today.
[Coren:] Roland, as you say, she is the first woman to be charged with genocide, I should say, and incitement to rape. Explain her role back in 1994 during the genocide.
[Amoussouga:] Yes, according to the trial chamber today, she was found guilty for entering in agreements with members of the entering government to kill two chief in the Butare prefecture. As you Butare was the second important city in Rwanda. Secondly, the trial chamber found her guilty for ordering the killings of tutsis taking refuge in that same office. And also, with respect to the rape as crime against humanity, the trial chamber finds her guilty as a superior of the [inaudible] who raped the tutsis, those are the [inaudible] who were raping tutsis taking refuge at the Butare prefecture office. And this, she was also held guilty for many crimes that she was she was involved in with her son, Arsene Ntahobal, who was also today sentenced to life.
[Coren:] Well, then why has it taken so long to convict and sentence these people?
[Amoussouga:] Yes, in this this is one of the most important case. It started in 2001 in Arusha. And it involved six people. And as you know, the tribunal has to investigate these matter. And most of the investigations were carried out elsewhere and also in Rwanda. And witnesses came from all over the world. And today it was important to note that even the decision that was rendered today is about 1,500 pages. And many witnesses came to testify before this court. And the process is extremely long because it takes extremely long time to get the evidence induced and to have also all the parties cross examine the witnesses.
[Coren:] Well, and what does it mean for the people of Rwanda. Does this reopen old wounds, or does it provide some sort of a closure?
[Amoussouga:] No, I believe this although this decision is not yet a final decision, because the parties will certainly appeal, we can hope that this decision of today will bring a good closure to the victims and to the people of Rwanda. And also it is important for those who have been held in detention to have their day in court and to receive a decision. And from there they can see how they can manage to beat that decision before the [inaudible]. Otherwise the ICITA right now has almost fulfilled its mandate, because 90 percent of the work has been done. And the people who can look and see that ICITA has been a great contributor in the restoration of justice, to the restoration of peace in the mind of the people. And this is a step forward toward the healing process that the people of Rwanda have embarked on.
[Coren:] Well, that is great news. A step forward in the healing process. Roland Amoussouga from the UN International Criminal Tribunal joining us from Arusha, Tanzania. Thank you so much for that. Well, coming up on News Stream, the price of crude takes a tumble after the International Energy Agency decides to intervene in the oil markets. We'll explain shortly.

[O'donoghue:] Welcome back to "Living Golf." Now in 1951, something unique happened in the Open Championship. It left mainland Britain. Royal Portrush was the venue, and over the past few years, a campaign to bring it back here has been given new impetus by the remarkable success of Northern Ireland's McDowell, McIlroy and Clarke, who followed swiftly on from Padraig Harrington's Irish triple major haul. So what are the chances?
[Unidentified Male:] This golf course is way beyond good enough to host an Open. And the roads here are as good as the roads in [inaudible], so I don't see why not, you know? It would be as tough as [inaudible], probably tougher.
[O'donoghue:] This year's Irish Open drew 100,000 fans to Portrush, but a century ago, this small fishing town on the top of Northern Ireland was more renowned for its giant [inaudible] than its golf. Then, in 1951, not unlike today, the successful staging of the Irish Open in the '30s and '40s coupled with some homegrown talent persuaded the R&A; to bring the Open to this patch of stunning June land.
[Ian Bamford, Portrush Golf Historian:] There was huge buzz in the town, 8,000 to 9,000 spectators walking the fairways in most cases. Robin [inaudible] past captain, I can remember distinctly, he was the chief marshall. And he used a megaphone to keep the crowds in check and to admonish the [inaudible] for not keeping the crowds in check. I saw the last round that was on the first tee and Max Faulkner had shot 71, 70, 70, and it was a very wet day. Rumor has it, and I think it's actually true, that when he was signing autographs, he had the audacity to put "Open champion."
[O'donoghue:] But the Open Championship never returned. From the late 60's, Northern Ireland became drawn into decades of sectarian violence. Reminders of those dark days remain, but in the week of the Irish Open, the Northern Irish Peace Process delivered a scene unthinkable just a few years ago. On the very next day, guess who came to Royal Portrush?
[Peter Robinson, First Minister Of Northern Ireland:] We've got political stability, and we've got peace like we've never had before, and these are the benefits of peace, being able to bring international tournaments into Northern Ireland, being able to showcase Northern Ireland to the world. This is what normality means.
[O'donoghue:] The phenomenal interest from these Northern Irish golf fans has made this Irish Open the first ever sell-out event on the European tour. But despite the obvious passion for golf here, would this course, and indeed this area, really be able to host a modern-day Open Championship with 160-odd thousand spectators during the week, sponsors, merchandise, and absolutely everything else?
[Alan Clarke, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Tourist Board:] We know there will be infrastructure requirements, we know there'll be transport requirements, we know there'll be accommodation requirements. All those things can be done if you have five years to plan for it, you know, a different scenario. And I'm confident that given the success of this event, if we know what's required, we'll deliver on it.
[O'donoghue:] So logistics play their part, because the three musketeers of Portrush and Ireland's most successful golfer who are paving the way for an Open return.
[Graeme Mcdowell, Professional Golfer:] It'll be something pretty special, but we'll soon learn quickly if the golf course can handle it, if the logistics can handle it. And, like I say, hopefully we can showcase it well to the R&A;, and who knows.
[Rory Mcilroy, Professional Golfer:] You know, the golf course is certainly to hold the Open Championship. You know, it's just everything else that goes into making an Open you know, a major tournament. But, you know, the Open's still played at [inaudible], and you know, that's a very small place with not a great infrastructure around it, and they manage to do it well there, so I don't see why there's be no reason to not play it here.
[Padraig Harrington, Professional Golfer:] As far as I'm concerned, we've already had a winner here. They've exceeded all expectations, they've done everything they should have done at this stage, and you know, I wouldn't judge them past that.
[Peter Sinclair, Chairman, Golfing Union Of Ireland:] We want to prove that we can run a tournament that's second to none around this course, and hopefully be able to attract other people to come here and hopefully down the line bring the British Open, which is our [inaudible].
[O'donoghue:] And away from stars and the cameras, the Northern Ireland authorities are working to develop the area as one of the leading golf destinations in the world. A fact that was suddenly thrown into the spotlight when Portrush's defending Open champion chose his press conference to lambast those blocking a proposed new golf development near the giant's [inaudible].
[Darren Clarke, Professional Golfer:] It's been in planning for 12 years, and it's a 100-million-quid project, and you know, hopefully at some stage, they'll come to their senses and let the course be built.
[O'donoghue:] But one thing's for sure: throughout the week, key figures from the R&A; were mingling with the players, crowds and organizers at Portrush, assessing how the course and infrastructure coped with the huge numbers. And if there ever was a signal that something really has now changed, surely this is it.
[Martin Mcguinness, Depputy First Minister Of Northern Ireland:] Those people who are the decision makers in terms of the Open are now very, very serious. They're looking at the prospect of the Open that will come here. In fact, I think we can protect with a fair degree of certainty that it's not too far away.
[O'donoghue:] Still to come on "Living Golf," the best bunker player in the business, Luke Donald. And we talk Royal Lytham and St. Anne's with a man who's been there, seen it and done it.

[Malveaux:] We have three stories, but only one of them will air this hour. Which one do you want to see? We want you to vote by texting 22360. Vote 1 for U.S. companies helping Middle Eastern governments censor the Internet. Vote 2 for Acapulco child sex trafficking and what is being done to stop it. And vote 3 for what your TV knows about you and who's getting information on what you watch. The winning story will air in the next hour. So who is exactly the U.S. helping in Libya? A NATO commander says that there are, quote, "flickers of al Qaeda among the Libyan rebels." Our Michael Holmes is here to discuss the possible risk of the terror group gaining influence in Libya. That is today's "Global Tracking." Michael, good to see you.
[Michael Holmes, Cnn International Anchor:] Good to see you. Yes.
[Malveaux:] It seems that people around the world, they want to help the Libyan rebels, they want to help the opposition overthrow Gadhafi. And yet there could be al Qaeda among them, we are learning.
[Holmes:] Almost certainly there would be elements of al Qaeda or individuals. You
[Malveaux:] How real is that?
[Holmes:] Well, you could follow it under sort of shades in gray. You know, there's nothing in Libya that's black and white right now. That's for sure. There is obviously a humanitarian crisis that's going on in Libya, no one really is arguing that Gadhafi should stay, but let's talk about if Tripoli falls, Gadhafi's regime crumbles. And you know there's a lot of pretty justifiable fears about what a new Libya would look like. Now as you said the U.S. NATO commander Admiral James Stavridis, he told the U.S. Congress yesterday that the intelligence about the rebels is showing that most of them are responsible men and women. You know good folks fighting for a cause, they want their own freedom, they want tyranny gone, et cetera. But another unnamed official is backing up Stavridis' statement and says that while there are a sprinkling, let's say, of extremists, nobody should think that the opposition is being led by al Qaeda.
[Malveaux:] Is there a real risk here, Michael, when you think about it?
[Holmes:] Well, you know there's a real risk any time you get an impoverished country like we see in Libya in the Arab world and it becomes unstable. Al Qaeda is expert at beating on that hopelessness. There are people who are poor, angry, disenfranchised, people who see no other way out. Al Qaeda can step into that breach and say, well, look to us. No one is saying that Osama bin Laden is leading the assault here, that there's you know, but there is a distinct possibility that if tumult enthuse after Gadhafi, stability and some brand of democracy doesn't replace him, then anything is possible. And that outcome is very possible. The thing to remember about al Qaeda is it's not so much an organization as it is an ideology, which is what makes it so hard to fight. You've got various groups around the world who buy into the ideology then they become al Qaeda, and that's partly why, as I say, it's so hard to battle. There's no al Qaeda HQ. Very little structure there. It's just about
[Malveaux:] So when we talk about the rebel groups here, they are very different. Doctors, teachers, volunteers.
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] Former military generals, all kind of a hodgepodge, if you will, of folks. How do we make how do we understand how influential this group is and who really makes up the rebel?
[Holmes:] Yes. You know that is right. It s very much let's call it a melting pot, if you like. Mixed in there, you could have elements of al Qaeda as well, or al Qaeda leanings. You know just one more example of how complex and layered the situation is in the Arab world right now. And there's one final thing, too, that's worth pointing out here. Al Qaeda documents that were recovered in Iraq and studied and verified at West Point showed that one in four, 25 percent of the foreign jihadists fighting Americans in Iraq guess where? Came from Libya, mainly eastern Libya where these rebels are based. It wasn't a massive number, but I think the percentage is significant and that's what's worrying a lot of people.
[Malveaux:] All right, Michael. Thank you for your perspective. Still a lot of questions about who these folks are and whether or not they should be supported.
[Holmes:] Absolutely. Yes.
[Malveaux:] OK.
[Holmes:] We don't know what's next.
[Malveaux:] Thank you, Michael. Another country in conflict that we are watching very closely, that is Syria, where after weeks of protesting and violence, Syria's president is doing all he can now to cling to power. Stan Grant has more on the fascinating character of Bashar al- Assad.
[Stan Grant, Cnn International Correspondent:] He was the second son, a man deep in the shadow of his father. Bashar al- Assad was never meant to rule, but his older brother's death in the 1994 car accident thrust him into history's crossroads. Now scenes like this posted on YouTube in recent days are defining his rule. Bloody bodies and violent protest fast becoming a daily event in southern Syria. CNN can't authenticate this video, but human rights groups say it shows Syrian's security forces firing on their own people. State TV disputes these claims. With revolts spreading across the Middle East, political analysts say force has worked in the past, but not this time.
[Prof. Anne-marie Slaughter, Princeton University:] The government is going to try to continue to use the tactics that it has used for a very long time which is just to snuff out any protests. But what we just heard, which I think is most important, is the wall of fear is coming down.
[Grant:] Syrians have suffered in fear of political repression for decades. Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez first ruled with an iron fist. In the 30 years before his death in 2000, Hafez al-Assad ruthlessly put down dissent, dissidents were jailed, opposition crushed. Some estimates from human rights groups put the number of those killed into the tens of thousands. Critics say his father's security machine still holds a grip on the country and even the president himself, speaking to CNN in 2005, Bashar al-Assad rejected those who suggest he's not in control.
[Assad:] But at the same time, they say that I'm a dictator. That's
[Grant:] He denies he's a dictator, seeing himself as a modern leader, trained as an ophthalmologist, married to a Syrian woman born in Britain. A young, attractive first couple. This was meant to be a new era of reform, transparency and democracy. [On Camera] There has been some change, some economic reform, but largely the promises have not been delivered. Human rights watch call the 10 years of Bashar al-Assad's rule, the wasted decade. The media is monitored, the Internet monitored and censored, and dissidents still fill up the prisons. [Voice-over] And now the protests. Activists in Syria say the president cannot look away.
[Wissam Tariff, Executive Director, Insan:] He has to start listening. It's the time to start listening and acting. He doesn't he can't afford any more promises.
[Grant:] How he responds will answer the question, is Bashar al- Assad truly the son of the father? Stan Grant, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
[Malveaux:] There are new worries today for Japan. The country orders immediate safety upgrade at all of its nuclear power plants. And a troubling concern at a second plant near the crippled one. We're going to go live to Tokyo.

[O'brien:] And welcome back to STARTING POINT. Let's get right to the headlines. Christine has those for us. Good morning.
[Romans:] Good morning, Soledad. The president says Israel is still considering military strikes against Israel. The president told NBC he hopes to solve the tensions over Iran's nuclear program, though, through diplomacy.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I don't think that Israel has made a decision on what they need to do. I think they, like us, believe that Iran has to stand down on its nuclear weapons program. And we have mobilized the international community in a way that is unprecedented. And they are feeling the pinch. They are feeling the pressure. But they have not taken the step that they need to diplomatically, which is to say we will pursue peaceful nuclear power. We will not pursue a nuclear weapon.
[Romans:] Ex-Panama dictator Manuel Noriega goes from prison to the hospital. He is being treated for hypertension and possible stroke this morning. The 77-year-old Noriega is serving time for crimes committed while in office. Noriega returned to Panama late last year, nearly 22 years after U.S. forces forcibly removed him from office. General Motors says it can make more than $10 billion a year. It may be close to reaching its goal. The "Wall Street Journal" reporting GM is expected to report a net income of $8 billion for 2011. GM received a federal bailout of course in 2009 after filing bankruptcy. "Minding your Business" now, Concerns about Greece's debt problems pushing markets lower this morning. U.S. stock futures for the DOW, NASDAQ, and Steve Hayes, senior writer for "The Weekly Standard," 500 all pointing to a lower open right now after a stellar week last week. The CDC is now recommending that boys get an HPV vaccine. It's aimed at preventing cervical cancer in women. But since women get infected from women, doctors say it makes sense for them to receive the vaccination as well. The new CDC guidelines call for routine vaccinations for boys 11 and 12 years old, and three-dose vaccinations for young men 13 to 21. And our own Soledad O'Brien honored by the United Negro College fund Friday at its annual leadership conference. Soledad was awarded the national legacy award for outstanding service to higher education. Soledad, congratulations.
[O'brien:] Thank you very much. And Roland is killing my joy by saying, oh, that trophy looks familiar. Didn't I win one of those? I'm teasing. I'm teasing. Thank you, Christine. All right, we have some poll numbers to give you, a new national ABC-"Washington Post" poll of Republicans. In that poll, Mitt Romney has a commanding lead, 39 percent, to Newt Gingrich's 23 percent. You can see how the rest of the folks come out under that. This is following Newt Gingrich's loss in Nevada this Saturday. Tea party leader Dick Armey says that Newt Gingrich's time may have come and gone. Listen.
[Dick Armey,  Former House Majority Leader:] South Carolina was an aberration because Newt Gingrich had what is likely to be in final analysis his best moment in South Carolina. He had just one masterful moment where he transformed himself from perpetrator to victim, attacked the media, which as you know, is always popular with our base, and just sort of took that momentary surge.
[O'brien:] Tom Lucero is the Colorado campaign chairman for Newt Gingrich. Colorado holds their caucuses there tomorrow. Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for being with us. We appreciate it. As you heard Dick Armey say, and others have said, when the slide starts it's very hard to reverse that slide. Is this a downward trend? And Newt Gingrich made it clear he's not getting out of the race, so what do you do about a downward trend?
[Tom Lucero, Colorado Campaign Chair For Newt Gingrich:] Well, all I can do is speak to the state of Colorado tomorrow night as caucus night as you mentioned in Colorado. And it begins the first phase in electing delegates that we're going to send to the national convention. And we actually select our delegates April 13 and 14, and we're just receiving tremendous support from grassroots leaders, liberty leaders around the state of Colorado. And we feel tremendously confident that of the 36 delegates that Colorado is going to send to the national convention, the majority of those delegates are going to go on behalf of Newt Gingrich. But you hit on one point, and tomorrow night we do have a nonbinding presidential straw poll. And chances are Mitt Romney is going to do very well in that presidential straw poll. And it creates a perception that he's doing very well in the state of Colorado. But I can assure you the majority of the delegates for Colorado are going to ultimately go for Newt Gingrich.
[O'brien:] When you look at the state of Florida, Newt Gingrich did very well among people who identified themselves as very conservative or strong tea partiers. That was South Carolina and Florida. But then when it came to the state of Nevada, actually those same categories all went to Mitt Romney. How do you get them back? I mean, I've got to imagine that's got to be important to the strategy any kind of strategy to win.
[Lucero:] Well, the one thing I know, and I don't know about Nevada, but I know here in the state of Colorado when you look and you show up at events where it's the grassroots, hard core party Republican party activists, Newt Gingrich is doing very well. Mitt Romney's people are not the grassroots leaders in the Republican Party. You see a lot of people from the Republican establishment, and you will see those people show up on caucus night and vote in the nonbinding presidential straw poll for their guy. But the people who are actually doing the work, who are going to become delegates, who are going to take this all the way to Florida and to the convention, are the Republican grassroots activists. And here in Colorado, those people are solidly behind Newt Gingrich.
[Martin:] Tom, Roland Martin here. How do you keep your candidate on message? He goes to Florida. He is talking about landing on the moon and putting a colony there, possibly making them the 51st state, when the real issue comes down to the economy and jobs. So what about keeping him on message and disciplined?
[Lucero:] I think that's a great question, Roland. And that's part of it the reason I love Newt Gingrich is because he has a vision for restoring America's greatness. I served for 12 years, and it was great because I was hearing you guys talk about higher education. I was on the board of regents at the University of Colorado for 12 years. And one of our main focuses in Boulder was on NASA space exploration, because we get it. We understand the role that higher education plays in making America great. When you talk about innovation that takes place, that innovation takes place and that research and development on college campuses all around this country. You said a vision about exploring space that is a public private partnership and critical to that public partnership are America's colleges and universities. You want to talk about an infusion of physicists, of engineers, of the technology that will be developed, you are by the very essence of that defining jobs in the economy as part of that public private partnership between the private sector and government. But it takes a big vision to define that vision for America and to restore America's greatness.
[O'brien:] Tom, I want to ask a question to Congressman Poe, who is sitting here with us as well. That vision was mocked on "Saturday Night Live" in a very funny piece. Does that have any impact, number one? And number two, are we seeing the signs of the great coalescing, which I think were the words from the "Wall Street Journal," saying that Mitt Romney is gathering up all the pieces now even though some people say no one really likes him?
[Rep. Ted Poe,  Texas:] Well, we still have this issue between Romney and Gingrich. That's where the focus is. Most folks in the Republican Party are divided, and Ron Paul and Rick Santorum of course at the end. Romney is trying to make sure that this whole issue of who's the presidential nominee does not go to the convention. That he gets enough delegates before the convention so that the convention stays out of the process. But, yes, there are two different philosophies between Newt Gingrich and
[O'brien:] And which side are you on?
[Poe:] Well, of course, I'm a conservative, and I believe more the conservative philosophy. But I have not endorsed anybody. Every time I get on somebody's side, they drop out of the race. And I was zero for eight last time. Every time I endorsed someone, they were out of the race.
[O'brien:] Tom, we can spare you that. The congressman will not endorse because apparently he is like kryptonite. You don't want his endorsement. Let me ask you a serious question, though. He is talking about sort of staying Mitt Romney not wanting this to be an issue when you get to the convention. Can Newt Gingrich afford to stay in through March, to super Tuesday? Which he's said he's going to, but can he afford to? Michele Bachmann says money is kind of the big issue. Listen.
[Unidentified Male:] When do you think the nomination will be settled?
[Michele Bachmann,  Presidential Candidate:] I think it could be fairly soon. But Ron Paul has said he will go all the way to the convention. Newt has said he will also. Rick Santorum has said he will. But the practicality is money is a big part of it. And it would be up to the candidates what they can pay.
[O'brien:] Final quick question to you, Tom money. Can he really stay in until Super Tuesday and beyond?
[Lucero:] Well, as long as the grassroots stays energized just like they are here in Colorado, those small dollar donations will keep rolling in to the campaign. And if we can win delegates every state we go, we have a legitimate shot at ending up in Florida at a brokered convention just like the congressman mentioned. And if the other two candidates remain in the race as well, and we see a dilution of the delegate pool, we get to Florida anything is possible. And if the congressman would please throw his endorsement to Mitt Romney, the Newt Gingrich campaign would be absolutely thrilled.
[O'brien:] Tom Lucero is the campaign manager for Newt Gingrich in Colorado. Nice to have you with us. Thanks for being with us. Still ahead this morning on senator, Ford, GM, is there a feud? The ad war launched during the Super Bowl with this ad here which some people really felt this ad was inappropriate. Me too, kind of. I didn't like this ad. Plus, there is this new book is out. "The Reveal" this morning, a teenaged mistress said she had an affair with a sitting president. And she goes public 50 years later. You're watching "STARTING POINT. We'll dig into that straight ahead.

[Lemon:] Some big changes are coming to the "X Factor." Record executive L.A. Reid says he's not coming back for another season. A.J. Hammer of "Showbiz Tonight" is in New York. Hey,
[A.j. A.j. Hammer, "showbiz Tonight":] Hey, Don. Yes, another shakeup at "The X Factor", and the show, of course, has had quite a few shakeups over the past year. So, judge and mentor L.A. Reid is going to be leaving Simon Cowell's singing contest after the season wraps up. They're in the second season. Now, they're up for the finals next week. This was confirmed by a spokesperson for Epic Records. That's where Reid is the chairman and CEO. We're basically told he made the decision so he could concentrate on his responsibilities with the record label. Obviously, it's a pretty big job and it keeps him very busy. So the label tells us Reid really needs to turn his full attention to his day job. Now, the show has seen quite a few other changes over the past year, some turnover with Britney Spears and Demi Lovato. They replaced first season judges, Nicole Scherzinger and Paul Abdul, of course. Two new hosts come onboard. You have Khloe Kardashian Odum and Maria Lopez, replacing Steve Jones who hosted the first season. But Reid really seemed to be enjoying last night. It was the final broadcast and I guess it was really good news for him as he's winding things down to see country singer Tate Stevens being voted by fans into next week's finals. So, Don, the third season of "X Factor" firing up without L.A. Reid and at this point, it's anyone's guess as to who's going to replace him.
[Lemon:] Why do they have so many changes? I mean, is the show not doing well? What's going on?
[Hammer:] Well, from the very beginning, it never up with Simon Cowell's expectations and what he put out for the hopes for the kind of ratings that the show would see. And I think L.A. Reid, you watch him on the show and sometimes you wonder, does he really want to be doing this?
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Hammer:] He's a great judge, I think he calls it like he sees it but he has a big day job. He's running a record label.
[Lemon:] Yes, it was interesting when they brought him on, it just seemed like an odd fit. Oh, well. Let's move and talk about Harry Potter, back in the news. Apparently, the highest grossing franchise of all time, A.J.?
[Hammer:] Yes, this is a pretty great title. "Forbes" just released its list of the highest global box office franchises, and you have Harry Potter on top, ranked number one, earnings of $7.7 billion. As you see, it's followed by "Star Wars" $4.5 billion. The third is the James Bond films, also the longest lasting, according to Forbes, in the span of 50 years, they've done 24 films staring seven dashing action heroes. That's followed by "Pirates of the Caribbean", that's in fourth place. "Batman" series in fifth place. Even though "Harry Potter" is the highest grossing franchise, "Lord of the Rings" is a serious contender. They, of course, have new films on the way. The "Lord of the Rings" franchise currently ranks ninth, earnings of almost $3 billion. But "The Hobbit" three-part series which hits theaters today has the potential to make "Lord of the Rings" one of the most lucrative franchises of all-time and I certainly know they're going to do huge box office, it will be an easy win for number one this weekend, Don.
[Lemon:] Goodness gracious, we're in the wrong business. My goodness. All right. Thank you, A.J. Next hour, A.J. has the story of a man caught trying to break into Taylor Swift's home and he was armed with a knife. Checking our top stories right now: The deejays who pranked the hospital where Prince Williams' pregnant wife was staying say they are not getting death threats. So the deejays and 10 station executives have hired bodyguards. And some reports say the deejays have been moved to a safe house. The nurse who answered the prank call committed suicide last week. A U.S. veteran says he's been put on the FBI's no fly list and doesn't know why. Saddiq Long and the Council for American Islamic Relations held a press conference in Oklahoma City. They said the FBI and law enforcement officials have followed and harassed Long and his sister. In a statement, the FBI says it does not violate anyone's civil rights. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal says birth control should be sold over the counter. In a "Wall Street Journal" op-ed, Jindal writes the political battle over health insurance coverage for contraception wouldn't be repeated if women could buy it without a prescription. He also said, "As a conservative Republican I believe that we have been stupid to let the Democrats demagogue the contraceptives issue and pretend, during debates about health care insurance, that Republicans are somehow against birth control." The Twinkie and other Hostess brand treats could be back in your lunch bag they're hoping. Bloomberg News reports Wal-Mart and Kroger are among the bidders for the iconic brand. But the company declined any comment. Hostess began to wind down its operation last month after failing to resolve a contract dispute with its bakers' union. Hostess will auction brands like Twinkies and cupcakes early next year. A new report says just because there are fewer airlines, that doesn't mean air fares have gone sky high. Maribel Aber is at the New York Stock Exchange at the NASDAQ I should say. Market site is following this story for us. So Maribel what did the report find?
[Maribel Aber, Cnn Correspondent:] Well Don here's the thing it may feel like you're paying more but there's this report you just brought up here. It's from Price Water House Cooper. It says that you're not actually there have been a lot of mergers over the past few years. Now think back Delta and Northwest, Continental and United, Southwest and AirTran. And whenever we've heard about an airline merger, people think you know what less competition and higher prices, right? Well "USA Today" says the dramatic price increases that people that some people expected they just haven't happened and now yes prices are higher. The thing is not that much. Domestic ticket prices have been rising only 1.8 percent a year so that's less than the rate of inflation. Also I want to point out when a carrier moves out of the market another one usually moves in and so that's maintaining the competition Don.
[Lemon:] All right, thank you, Maribel. The Angels made Josh Hamilton the $125 million man. But can this huge off-season signing lead to post season success? We'll talk about it.

[Velez-mitchell:] OK, Sheeba, Illinois. OK. A woman gets pummeled by a cop after leading him on a high-speed chase. Did he cross the line or was this suspect asking for it? You`ve got to ask yourself, why do these people run? Let`s take a look at that car chase last week. I mean, here`s a high- speed chase. We`re going to show you this video. This one ends up, take a look at this. OK, this guy just risking so many lives. There is nothing more dangerous than a high-speed chase in terms of putting innocent civilians at risk. It`s right up there with walking around with an Uzi sub machine gun. This person then ends up running, and why he runs we don`t know, because they always get caught. And this guy runs into a McDonald`s. All right. That is such a such a bizarre end to a chase, but of course as they always do, he gets caught. So my question, Pat Brown, criminal profiler, why do these people run? Why do they drive off when a cop stops them when they have to know they`re in so much more trouble the second they put their foot on that accelerator?
[Brown:] Well, they don`t want to go to jail, Jane. That`s the No. 1 issue. They think they can get away. Remember these guys are psychopathic. They`re very impressed with their own abilities. They think they can press on that gas pedal. They can speed out of there. If nothing else they can ditch the car and run like heck. And I have to say, sometimes they do succeed and get away, because I`ve seen that with ride- alongs, as I`ve done that occasionally. Yes, they do get a way, I`m sorry.
[Velez-mitchell:] Really? Because I I mean, for I don`t know how many at least 2 12 decades well, maybe they didn`t have chases back when I started. But ever since they had choppers with live cameras and I`ve been covering news, I have covered so many car chases. And I can tell you, I have never covered a car chase where I have seen the suspect get away, especially by the time that the TV choppers get above, because they have an aerial view, no matter where the guy goes.
[Brown:] Well, it depends where you are and who has these great choppers. Because I know in my town, I don`t see the choppers coming out with every with every police chase. They just simply chase them down. Or lose them, one or the other. And they do their best, but they don`t always catch them, and they know that. Especially if they can run into the next district, across from like Maryland into Washington, D.C., with their stolen vehicle. And you know, that`s what they`re trying to do.
[Velez-mitchell:] I respectfully disagree. I would say not at least 99 percent of the time they get caught. I mean, John Lucich, what do you think?
[Lucich:] No, I`ve been in many chases, high-speed chases, and a lot of times they do get away. And I`ll tell you why. There`s so much pressures on pressure on police officers today to end that chase, because the longer it goes on, people die. We`ve actually seen people run through a red light, hit a family of four, kill a family of four. And it goes on and on and on. And all of a sudden everyone wants to come back to blame the cop.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well...
[Lucich:] And the cop has a reason to chase this guy, who`s taking off. God forbid we have another little girl in the trunk or something like that. That cop had no idea why they`re running. He wants to stop them.
[Velez-mitchell:] Let me say this. OK? I worked as a news anchor in Los Angeles for 12 years, and I covered I don`t know how many police chases, and never once, by the time the cameras and the choppers got to that chase, did anybody ever get away.
[Lucich:] You`re talking about...
[Velez-mitchell:] I think maybe we`re talking about chases that didn`t get police attention. Because once the police know that that televised chopper is there, they`re not going to let that person run away. And never once have I seen a televised chase end with a suspect getting away.
[Lucich:] That`s few and far that`s few and far between, Jane, and the reason being is that not every department has resources such as a helicopter. I worked in Jersey. We`ve been involved in many chases and never on any of the chases I`ve been involved in in my whole career has a chopper ever showed up to help us.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Well, I was talking, actually, about TV news choppers. But, yes, it`s a police chopper and the TV news choppers, eitheror. Sheba in Illinois, your question or thought, ma`am?
[Caller:] Hi, Jane.
[Velez-mitchell:] Hi.
[Caller:] My thought on this is I would much see him have to slap her around a little bit to get her attention like you have to a mule than for him to be laying out on that pavement with a bullet in his head.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I agree with you 100 percent. Now yes, I want to say flat off, I am a huge fan of police. They put their lives on the line, and they really risk their own lives and go to very dangerous situations every single day. My hat`s off to them. But here`s my big issue. There is an adrenaline rush factor. Officers in high-speed chases get their juices flowing. Any human would. They get worked up. I imagine it would be incredibly hard to control yourself to keep from jumping out of a cruiser and and racing up to the person feeling aggressive when this is the person who caused you to risk your life in this chase, possibly risking other people`s lives. Check out this suspect that we`re going to show you in a second on a motorcycle. All you see is the cops` fists flying in his direction. We`ll try to show you that one more time. This chase had ended at this point and this individual was on the ground. And yet you see in this case, the cops pummeling the guy. So my question to Rikki Klieman is where exactly do you draw the line between justifiable force and brutality when a chase has ended?
[Klieman:] Well, of course, Jane, it`s always an adrenaline rush. I mean, everything is teaming at that time. What you do have now in almost all police departments are very, very good use of force investigations. As you noted, you were in L.A. I was married to the former L.A. police chief, and they had, probably, some of the best use-of-force investigators in the country. And there are a lot of high-speed chases. So the question is, was it in protocol? Was it within the training? Is it an appropriate response? They not only review the videos; they re- enact them. They have models of them. They go look, it takes six to eight months to come to a conclusion of whether something like this was in protocol.
[Velez-mitchell:] Thank you. Got to leave it right there.
[Klieman:] And this may well have been just fine.
[Velez-mitchell:] Thank you, Rikki, and when that conclusion comes in, we will bring it to you, ISSUES viewers. All right. Thank you, panel. She says her 4-year-old grandson got herpes after he found a used condom inside their hotel and put it in his mouth. And now she is suing. I`m going to talk to her live.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Let's get you up to speed for this Friday, February 4th. It is wall-to-wall protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square right now. The crowd is calling today "Departure Day" for President Hosni Mubarak. There is no sign there of government supporters or rent-a- thugs, as they've been called. They're widely blamed for two days of violence. Egypt's health minister says about 5,000 people have been hurt in the unrest. He says 916 of the injuries happened Wednesday. That's when Mubarak supporters stormed Tahrir Square with clubs and machetes. Al Jazeera says that thugs stormed its offices in Cairo today and burned television equipment. The Arab language network says it's the government's latest move to stop coverage of the protests. Authorities ordered Al Jazeera to halt operations in Egypt last Sunday, but it hasn't. Egyptian state TV reports soldiers have freed most detained journalists. They're now in what the report calls a safe place. Journalists from CNN, the BBC, "The New York Times," "Washington Post" and other organizations have been attacked or otherwise harassed. Now, we don't know which journalists are now "in this safe place." Well, a high-profile reporter for state-run Nile TV says she feels liberated after walking off the job. Shahira Amin says she was forced to report one side of the story, the government side. She says she felt suffocated.
[Shahira Amin, Fmr. Reporter For Nile Tv:] I was only allowed to air the pro-Mubarak rallies that were going on, as if nothing was happening in Tahrir Square. We weren't allowed to reveal any figures. There was a near total blackout. And I feel that this is hypocritical at this time, and I just don't want to be a part of it.
[Malveaux:] There are protesters on the streets in Jordan today. Several hundred people gather outside the Egyptian Embassy in Amman to demand that President Mubarak go. A small demonstration compared to last week, perhaps because of the heavy rain. Jordan's king fired his prime minister this week and pledged political reforms. The unemployment rate fell to 9 percent in January, down from 9.4 percent the month before. But the Labor Department reports that the economy created just 36,000 new jobs, far fewer than expected. Now you're up to speed in the CNN NEWSROOM. Want to go back to the tens of thousands rallying right now in Egypt's Tahrir Square. They have optimistically dubbed this a "Day of Departure" for President Hosni Mubarak. Our Frederik Pleitgen, he is joining us by phone from Cairo. Frederik, you have been down there in the crowd today. Give us a sense of the mood. Is it different than what we saw yesterday?
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn International Correspondent:] Oh, absolutely. It's a 180 degree turn from what it was like yesterday, Suzanne. There are tens of thousands of people still in Tahrir Square. I'm actually overlooking it right now. I was there before, and it was really a very cheerful atmosphere, where a lot of people were sort of sitting there almost having picnics with the food that's being smuggled in through these checkpoints. A lot of them, of course, chanting the anti-Mubarak slogan, and a lot of them telling us that they say they're going to stay there until Hosni Mubarak goes. And they certainly feel that that should be today. As you said, they call this a "Day of Departure." There's one bridge over the Nile where many of these people are still flocking into Tahrir Square. I would say it's still a good 7,000, 8,000, maybe 9,000 people who are there right now. And there really was absolutely no violence there today, and part of the reason for that is, Suzanne, that the Egyptian military is just doing a better job of asserting itself and prying the two sides apart. I'm actually overlooking an area that yesterday was an absolute battlefield between these two sides, where protesters were throwing Molotov cocktails, rocks, and anything else they could find at each other, and beating each other. And today it's just absolutely quiet. And there's more foot soldiers on the ground. And I spoke to the soldiers, and they seem to be sort of more elite troops than we've seen in the past. They say they're part of an airborne division, and certainly not the young conscripts that we've been seeing over the past couple of days Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And Frederik, we saw that, obviously, there were a lot of journalists that were coming under attack just within the last 24 hours, 48 hours or so. Is there any new evidence of this government crackdown on the media to actually cover these kinds of protests?
[Pleitgen:] Well, I mean, think it was pretty clear that a lot of this seemed to have been government motivated. You know, one of the things that really was sort of a sticking point in all this is that I was attacked with a crew a couple of days ago as well. And it seemed as though it was just an angry mob that was after us. But, you know, it's the way they go after your camera. They know exactly what they are looking for, they know exactly how to try and take the tape out of the camera.
[Malveaux:] Right.
[Pleitgen:] And this country has a history of repression against media as well, where these plainclothes government thugs would try and do that, would try and harass media. And certainly it appears as though a lot of that is what's happening right now.
[Malveaux:] OK.
[Pleitgen:] We had a crew earlier today that went into some of the neighborhoods that are just known pro-Mubarak areas, and they got harassed again. It wasn't as bad as in the past couple of days, but still, you know, it's not a nice atmosphere to work in, to say the least. And yesterday, of course, was really a very, very dodgy day for media organizations. And I was down there a couple of times as well, and we got into the wrong area once or twice and sort of had to talk our way out of situations. So it really was very, very difficult. A lot better today though Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] Frederik, please be safe. And obviously we'll come back to you as more developments happen there where you are in the midst of all of those crowds. Thank you so much, Frederik. Well, here is your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. That is right, the Super Bowl. More than 100 million people are expected to watch the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers, and that begs the question from Carol Costello Carol, we want to know, what are people doing? Everybody's going to watch.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] It's crazy. We wanted to lighten the mood it's Friday and get you away from all the serious stuff happening in the world. But Suzanne, you are right, an insane number of you will be worshiping at the altar Sunday not that altar. I'm talking about worship of another kind, and that would be football. I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but Sunday means football, and maybe church if you can fit it in. The NFL is enjoying a fine TV season. The 2010 regular season reached 207.7 million viewers. That's the most in history. I don't care if you love Sarah Palin or if you love Nancy Pelosi. Chances are, if you root for the same football team, you are sitting together. It got me wondering, what is it about football that draws us together? I give you Mark Waller, the guy in charge of marketing for the NFL.
[Mark Waller, Nfl Chief Marketing Officer:] It's America's lost campfire. So if kind of were imagining a Sunday and looking from above, you'd see the glow of the stadiums and the 70,000, 80,000 people in each of those, and then you'd see the glow of the television, the glow of your mobile phone now and your laptop, and how people are huddling and congregating and telling their stories around that.
[Costello:] And you thought it was all about beautiful men in tight pants tackling each other. Oh, hmm. Sorry, I was a little distracted, Suzanne. Anyway, let's just pause, shall we? No, it's not about that. It's really not.
[Malveaux:] Come back to us. Come back to us, Carol.
[Costello:] I know. I'm back. I'm back.
[Malveaux:] Come one, "Talk Back."
[Costello:] What is it about football that unites Americans unlike anything else in this country? Let us know what you think on Facebook.comCarolCNN. We'll have some of your answers in the next hour, and more pictures of that really cute guy.
[Malveaux:] Carol, how many people do you think are going to say it's those beautiful men in those little tight pants?
[Costello:] At least 50 percent of them.
[Malveaux:] If you're honest. If you're honest.
[Costello:] If you're honest.
[Malveaux:] If viewers are honest. I think that might come in high.
[Costello:] Exactly.
[Malveaux:] All right. Thanks, Carol. We'll see what people have to say. Well, here is the rundown on what's ahead this hour. Dallas tries to dig out before the Super Bowl, but the weather grounds hundreds of flights before the big game. Also, $3 million for 30 seconds? That's the bottom line on what companies are getting out of those big Super Bowl ads. And for you adventure lovers, this is a preview of a water- powered jetpack. You're going to want to see that. And Finally, your turn to "Choose the News." That's a favorite segments of a lot of folks now. We're going to tell you about three stories, and you pick the one that you'd like to see.

[Banfield:] A judge has issued a legal reprieve to the only abortion clinic in Mississippi. The Jackson Women's Health Organization was just about to shut its doors today because it hasn't been able to fulfill some requirements of a brand-new state law that's gone into effect. The law is called HB-1390. It's a law that requires that Mississippi abortion providers have to do two things. Number one, they have to be OBGYNs. OK. Got that. But number two, they have to have privileges at an area hospital, lawmakers saying just in case the patient has to be admitted. That's where things get tricky. On Sunday, a judge issued a restraining order blocking that law until a hearing can be done on the 11th of July, when the clinic's petition against the law can be heard. The lawmaker behind the bill says he's disappointed.
[Sam Mims , Mississippi State House:] The bill was signed April 16th, over 70 days ago, so the facility has had plenty of time to be in compliance. But again, this is a health issue, in my opinion. And I just wish that it would have become law it is law, but I wish it would have been enforced on July 1st.
[Banfield:] Well, it wasn't enforced on July 1st because of this restraining order. And joining me now is the clinic's owner and president, Diane Derzis. Ms. Derzis, thanks so much for being with me today. So break this down for me. What is the problem with these two requirements? Why is it difficult to fulfill, A, being an OBGYN and B, having privileges at the are hospital?
[Diane Derzis, Clinic Owner:] Ashleigh, actually, our physicians are all board-certified OBGYNs, so that's not the problem. One of my physicians has admitting privileges at a hospital and certainly has the ability to admit a patient. That's not what this is about. Admitting privileges have nothing to do with safety. They have a that's a financial relationship between a doctor and a hospital. My doctors are not local. They have no patients to see them. I am not of interest to a hospital. But nevertheless, we have done everything we can to apply for privileges. We're in the process of doing that now. It's a lengthy process. So that's where we were. We were not finished with that, and that's why we had to file the temporary restraining order.
[Banfield:] So Ms. Derzis, those who support this law say this is all about safety. This is not political. It's about making sure that if something goes wrong at the clinic, the doctor who's performing the abortion can go right with the patient over to the hospital and be by that patient's side and do everything they can to make sure a catastrophe doesn't happen. And to that end, I got a response from Mississippi's governor, Phil Bryant. Through his spokesperson, Governor says this. "Governor Bryant believes HB-1390 is an important step in strengthening abortion regulations and protecting the health and safety of women. The federal judge's decision is disappointing" that being the one to block this law from going into effect "and Governor Bryant plans to work with state leaders to ensure this legislation properly takes effect as soon as possible." Well, on its surface, that doesn't sound like a problem. That sounds like it's all about the safety of the patients. Why is that anything other than it sounds like?
[Derzis:] Well, it's actually actually Governor Bryan has not ever used the words "safety and health of the patient" until now, when it has been pointed out to him he's using the words "can't wait to put the only abortion clinic out of business." This is not about safety. Abortion is the safest medical procedure done in this country today. It's 9 to 14 times safer than childbirth. My physician has admitting privileges. This clinic has a transfer agreement with the local hospital. That is not the option. There's not a problem here with complications. We are in excellent standing with the health department. We have been issued our 2013 license. This is a political maneuver only. And these guys haven't even been subtle about it. Throughout this entire ordeal, safety has never been mentioned. Putting the clinic out of business has been. Now that they've been aware that safety is actually part of a process, they're trying to catch up. But it's obvious here what's going on.
[Banfield:] OK. Well, let me ask you this. You've got nine days until the next hearing on this issue. That's how long this order blocking this law is in effect. And I'm just curious as to why you might not be able to actually meet the requirements. I know a lot of those doctors are from out of state, but can you get through the red tape? Can you get them privileges at the hospital? And no harm, no foul. You can go back to business.
[Derzis:] Ashleigh, the application itself was 50 pages long. You know certainly what bureaucracy is involved in any hospital process. Now, add to that the hundreds of phone calls these hospitals and the CEOs are getting daily about not giving the only abortion clinic in Mississippi privileges. Couple that with the thought of a hospital having picketers in front of it every day, and I can assure you these hospitals are quaking in their boots. So you know, you might want to put a call in to a few hospitals and see what kind of response you get for that. This is frightening that you're talking about women's health care, and you're a woman. Think about what that means to you, that intimidation and fear alone is what they're using under the guise of safety. This is political.
[Banfield:] Well, I'm also trying to play the devil's advocate against you because there are two positions here. You've had 70 days up until now. You got another 9, 79 days. Is it impossible to fulfill these requirements?
[Derzis:] Well, why don't you call the hospital and ask them.
[Banfield:] I'm asking you. Can you fulfill these requirements in 79 days?
[Derzis:] It depends on whether a hospital is willing to do that. I don't know what the answer is. I can tell you that we've been calling them weekly and have not received a response, so perhaps CNN can call and find out what is the normal time period on that.
[Banfield:] All right, Diane Derzis, I'm very appreciative of you coming on and talking with us. And we'll follow the story, find out...
[Derzis:] Thank you, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] ... what shakes down on the 11th. And we'll look forward to a follow up with you. Thanks for being with us.
[Derzis:] Thank you.
[Banfield:] And joining us live with us from that state of Mississippi. And look at this state of Colorado, firefighters gaining ground, yes, but look at what the fires have left behind. Look at what people are coming home to. Yes, this was home. CNN's cameras taking you up close and personal in a moment.

[Holmes:] All right. Thirty-six minutes past the hour. A live picture here from D.C. They are just getting going for another rally. It seems like we've seen a few rallies and a lot of coverage of some rallies in D.C. here lately, but this one billed as the One Nation rally kicking off today, kicking off this afternoon. It is billed as "The Antidote to the Tea Party." Those words coming to us from the NAACP president, who was talking about this, and one of the many groups helping to organize this. The demonstration is officially called One Nation, but the organizers say it's promoting better education, more economic opportunities ahead of the midterm elections. The speakers will include, as I mentioned, Ben Jealous, the NAACP president; also Reverend Al Sharpton. And again, several hundred groups that are helping to sponsor this event. One person who is there, Haroon "Boon "Saleem. He's there, a blogger. He's been on a cross-country trip blogging across America about some of the hot-button political issues. I asked him why exactly he thought it was important for him to be at the rally.
[Haroon "boon" Saleem, Blogger:] I'm part of 400 other groups that are here. I think we're all here to bring people together, talk about the issues that are of concern right now in the country. I think when you look at what's been going on not just in the past eight years, but the last couple years, there's a little bit of frustration. I think there's a need to move beyond divisive politics. And that sort of brought all these organizations together. I see a ton of people from the NAACP right around the corner right now. They're one of 400 groups here. And the hope is that people on the Hill, our representatives, will notice that we have concerns and we have something to say, and that we want them to refocus what's going on in the country.
[Holmes:] Now, Haroon, you said upset about what happened in the eight years of the previous administration, but you also mentioned what's been happening the past couple of years. Is this rally meant to send a message directly to President Obama that some of you all, you may be in particular, are not happy with what you've been seeing the past couple of years?
[Saleem:] I'm not going to say me in particular. I do think there are people that are just concerned, would probably be the right word. I think other people would say frustrated. For me, I think it's just an opportunity to say hey, we still there's still things that need to be done. I think two years is a short amount of time. I'm going to give the administration a little bit of credit. I think they've done a lot of great things. But I think the administration knows themselves, there's still work to be done. I think this is geared a little bit more towards the Hill, though, not necessarily the administration. That's my personal feeling.
[Holmes:] That's your personal feeling. Haroon, is there a feeling as well that this rally needs to in some way compete with, at least match, or maybe outdo what we saw several weeks ago when Glenn Beck had a huge rally there, or with some of the huge Tea Party rallies.
[Saleem:] I should have seen that question coming.
[Holmes:] Is there a feeling that you have to compete in some way?
[Saleem:] I wouldn't necessarily say compete. I think it's just the for everyone here, it's an opportunity for us to just we want our voices heard. I wouldn't to me, competition, et cetera, you know, look, Tea Partiers have a right to speak as well. That is the that's what's written in the Constitution. So I wouldn't necessarily say compete at all.
[Holmes:] And CNN's Kate Bolduan also at the "One Nation" rally. She'll be joining us live in the next hour with Fredricka Whitfield. Live reports from the rally. They are just getting started with the official program, and then things really kick off in a big way at noon Eastern Time.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, welcome, everybody. Our starting point this morning: surviving Sandy. Recovery begins in the wake of this superstorm as nearly 7 million people remain in the dark. Thirty-three Americans killed; entire communities under water. Desperate for help, thousands rescued from the floodwaters. Many more of them still need help even as those waters begin to recede. Eighty homes gone. A fire rips through a quiet community in Queens, New York, leaves nothing but ashes. Now there's danger from methane gas. At a standstill, New York City's subway system remains shut down. Could be days before many northeast transit systems are able to get back to normal. Touring the damage this morning, President Obama heading to New Jersey to see the destruction for himself. Alongside him will be Governor Chris Christie. The election just six days away. And Sandy unfortunately is not done yet. The superstorm is currently over Pennsylvania and heading towards Canada. CNN covering the story like no other network. Rob Marciano reporting for us this morning. Deb Feyerick here in New York. Sandra Endo, Brian Todd are reporting from New Jersey for us. And Dan Lothian is at the White House. It's Wednesday, October 31, and STARTING POINT begins right now. Welcome back, everybody. Our starting point is breaking news this morning in Breezy Point, Queens where we've soon showing you some of these pictures yesterday, that massive fire that burned 80 homes to the ground when hurricane Sandy hit New York City. A CNN crew on the scene is reporting to us a strong smell of methane gas. A utility pole spontaneously burst into flames earlier this morning. FDNY Officials are now assessing whether the gas levels there are excessively high in this neighborhood, and that could force those fire crews to evacuate. Right now, 6.6 million people still without electricity across 15 states and Washington, D.C. Nearly 2 million of them are here in New York where flooded subways has transportation at a virtual standstill, not to mention all the property damage and destruction, including those 80 homes that were consumed by that fire in Queens. Recovery from super-storm Sandy could be, as Mayor Michael Bloomberg is calling it, a massive, a mammoth job. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in Chelsea, New York, this morning with the latest on the damage there. Rob, good morning.
[Rob Marciano, Meteorologist:] Good morning, Soledad. Well, some of the damage behind me, one of a few buildings that were ripped off. Nobody hurt miraculously. Lower Manhattan is still in the dark. Day two now and it could be several more before it's all said and done. The estimates are between two and four days before places south basically of about 30th street will be back online. You go outside of the city and up towards Westchester County, it could be as much as ten days. Just down the street from us the Con Ed headquarters, yesterday we chased down the incident commander there up in the war room or situation room as they call it. We got his thoughts on the storm in general, and the system that he has to supervise.
[John Miksad, Senior Vp, Con Ed:] Substations are only part of the problem. We had the luxury of an underground network in Manhattan. There are no poles. No wires. It's very reliable, most reliable system in the country. But it's not designed to mixed with salt water, sea water. So that's something we're going to have to look at, especially if these things start happening more frequently.
[Marciano:] So the substation that pretty much controls all lower Manhattan is on 14th and 1st Avenue. So that got flooded. It was built to withstand a 12.6 foot storm surge, that would be historic. That's what we're dealing with. There've been several people coming in across our area without power. You have been without power for a couple of days. You're going to go to work today. You're going to walk. How many blocks?
[Dennis Beslic, Local Resident Without Power:] Walking, about 40 blocks to get to work. Been without power since Monday night. Spent all of yesterday just trying to get uptown to where they do have electricity to buy food, batteries, got a pizza to bring home.
[Marciano:] People go without power outside of New York all the time, but is this different in New York for some reason, elevators in the buildings, for one. How are you and your neighbors reacting to this in general?
[Beslic:] I mean, we are lucky in that we are on the second floor, so it's not too big a walk up. And you know, you just try to get by. For me, kind of the scary thing was seeing the side of this building fall down. We saw the pictures Monday night while the storm was still going on. So that was a little scary. But yes, you get your supplies to make do with what you have and you hunker down. That's what we've been doing.
[Marciano:] Trying to get back to normal. Good luck. That's the message. Yesterday was kind of a, you know, a bit of a shock, now we're getting to recovery and obviously the message is try to get back to normal as much as you can. But with the infrastructure shut down, with electricity out and mass transit still, you know, crippled, it's going to be a problem. Isn't it?
[O'brien:] Yes, it's hard to say get back to normal. Thanks, Rob. Appreciate that. President Obama is going to be touring storm-ravaged New Jersey today along with Governor Chris Christie. They're both getting an eyeful in Hoboken across the river from Manhattan. They've called in the National Guard to assist with evacuations there. In Bergen County a berm breach left hundreds of homes submerged. About 1,000 people have already been rescued. More could be trapped. And in the Atlantic City area, where Sandy made landfall, entire neighborhoods are now buried in sand and debris. Sandra Endo is live for us in Atlantic City this morning. Good morning, Sandra.
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Soledad. The rescue and recovery effort is under way here in Atlantic City. We're on a main street here in Atlantic City. Several blocks from the waterfront of this bayside community, and to give you an idea of just how far that flooding was in effect here, look at this kayak that was washed ashore right here on this main drag. And also take a look at this. This is a small houseboat that was ripped, torn apart from the pier. You could see it was tied on to a piling right here and this was basically washed ashore, and is stuck in the middle of this intersection. And this is the kind of damage that President Obama will see firsthand when he comes here later this afternoon. He will also talk to first responders here and victims of this storm. As you mentioned, Soledad, he will be joined by a Republican Mitt Romney supporter, actually, Governor Chris Christie. And the Governor said this is not about politics. This is time to get New Jersey back on its feet. Six people died here, 2.6 million people lost power because of this storm. President Obama took three days off of the campaign trail because of the storm, and now he really has to straddle that fine line of coming here to console families, to look at all this devastation, while trying not to make it look overtly like a photo-op. So certainly it will be interesting to hear what he has to say and that image of him with Republican Governor Chris Christie later here this afternoon. Soledad?
[O'brien:] I have to imagine both will say this is not the time for politics. This is a time for rescuing those who need to be rescued and rebuilding those who lost everything. Thank you, Sandra. In a few minutes we're going to be talking with Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker. John Berman has a look at some of the other stories making news this morning. Good morning.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Thanks, Soledad. We have some breaking news this morning. These are pictures you're going to be looking at of fires burning on that barrier island. Fire crews working to reach the island to put out the fire. We don't have any retails yet on how it started. You'll want to stay with CNN for all the breaking details on this story. Again they're having a hard time getting there. Other news, 12 tons, 250,000 pounds still dangling 90 stories up, you're looking at live pictures in New York City. It could take weeks to secure this huge crane boom left dangling by Sandy. And the plan may involve getting a new crane up there, in order to secure it. This you're looking at here is video of the moment the boom collapsed. There it goes. And when asked how secure it is right now, Mayor Michael Bloomberg responded, nobody knows. Reassuring. New York City police airlifting six people off their rooftops in Staten Island to safety. Five adults and one child were stranded by rising floodwaters. The helicopter used in the rescue is named 23, in honor of the 23 NYPD officers who died on September 11, 2001. Six days now until Election Day and new polling out this morning from three critical battleground states, the latest CBS"New York times"Quinnipiac Poll has the President with a five-point lead in Ohio, with Virginia and Florida much higher but also ever so slightly in the President's favor. A new CNN poll of polls shows Mitt Romney holding a one-point advantage over the President nationally. The Romney campaign hits the reset button today after being idled by super-storm Sandy briefly. The Republican challenger makes three campaign stops, all in Florida, attending rallies at Tampa, Coral Gables, and Jacksonville. His campaign was buoyed by an endorsement from "The Telegraph" in Nashua, New Hampshire. The editorial board writes "We are confident Romney is the candidate who would tackle serious issues facing this nation starting with jobs, the economy and the debt. In the end we couldn't say the same about the President." That paper endorsed Barack Obama in 2008. And we're getting late word that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will kick off a four-day tour starting on Friday. They'll be joined by their wimps and some 100 other surrogates will be standing out around the country, among them secretary of state Condoleezza rice, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
[O'brien:] Talk about a final push.
[Berman:] We guarantee it for Barack Obama, too, we just don't have the details yet. And Tuesday is election night. Finally you will want to join CNN's live coverage of election night in America beginning at 6:00 p.m. eastern time. It's upon us next Tuesday night.
[O'brien:] In the dark with candles. Hopefully not. Back to our STARTING POINT this morning, states from North Carolina are still dealing with power outages from super storm Sandy. Cory Booker has been out on the streets of Newark, New Jersey, helping residents there, also taking requests. He joins us by phone now. What do you think the biggest problem is in your state? Is it power outages?
[Mayor Cory Booker,  Newark, New Jersey:] Well, definitely the power outages. We're starting to get back to many residents but we still have tens of thousands of people without power. That poses a lot of challenges. We've had some carbon monoxide problems. We've had, unfortunately, fires. Firefighters doing a lot of work right now in power outage related incidents. And then you have people who rely on power for medication refrigeration, for medical devices, elderly trapped in high rises who really can't get down ten, 15-plus flights of stairs. So we've been scanning out around the city doing our best to service people, from delivering hot meals, to just keeping our medical personnel up and down in high rises, checking in on people, transporting people who need it. But this is going to be, you know, difficult days ahead as the power slowly gets restored.
[O'brien:] We've been looking at pictures while you've been talking from not only Newark but also from some of the cities and towns around Newark where they've had massive damage. You can see seaside where there's tons of sand in people's homes, the flooding that's taking place. Really, New Jersey has been hit very, very hard. How many folks do you have still in shelters?
[Booker:] Well, you know, first of all, I just want to say that you know, as I go around the city and my sentiments are the same, the sections of New Jersey were hit so much harder than Newark, really a devastating impact on entire neighborhoods, towns, displacing thousands, hundreds and hundreds of thousands without power. So our hearts and prayers are with our fellow New Jerseyans as they deal with this difficult time. I've been in and out of our shelters a lot the last 24 hours. We've had hundreds of people coming in and going out. Tonight we still have in our main shelter between 100 and 200 people. It's going to be a challenging time. We know we have difficulties ahead in Newark. Upstate right now is the worst crisis we've seen in a long time and all of us here are just praying as the challenges continue that families and communities are able to pull through. We just faced a very, very strong storm. But I know here in the state of New Jersey we are strong.
[O'brien:] Many politicians, frankly, don't really want to talk about politics at this time because you've got citizens you're trying to help or rescue in some cases. But I want to ask you a political question. Many have been talking about the New Jersey governor Chris Christie who's been praising the President for his response to helping out in New Jersey. I want to play a little bit about what governor Christie told me yesterday and ask a question on the other side.
[Gov. Chris Christie,  New Jersey:] I have to say, Soledad, right now I'm much more concerned about preventing any other loss of life, getting people to safe places, and then we'll worry about the election. The election will take care of itself. I spoke to the President three times yesterday. He's been incredibly supportive and helpful to our state, and not once did he bring up the election.
[O'brien:] You know governor Christie has, you know, I don't need to tell you this, he's sort of "I call it as I see it" kind of guy. Many people have found this surprising. Do you find that surprising?
[Booker:] Not at all. We are in a state of crisis all across this state. And you know, when you're in a crisis, you don't stop and ask your fellow New Jerseyan, your first responder, you don't ask if they're Republican or democrat, you don't ask them how they choose to pray to their god. You just pull together and do what's necessary. And when it comes to responders, we advocate in New Jersey, federal, state, county and local people all working. And let's call it as it is. President Obama has been really hands-on in this. The Governor's heard from him numerous times. I've been on calls with him numerous times. He's taking a personal interest. He's been reaching out to the head of PSE&G;, talking directly to that CEO. So he's been doing an incredible job, cutting through red tape, connecting directly to those affected. And I saw it late last night in one of our public housing authorities, the floods, power outages, the challenges, looked him in the eye and let them know that the President I talked directly to the President. He has a direct concern about what is happening right here on the ground. So this isn't politics. Right now this is just people, human beings, facing human tragedy, and pulling together to do something.
[O'brien:] Mayor Cory Booker joining us this morning by phone. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Appreciate your time. Good luck with all the cleanup, not only in your city. Still ahead this morning, we're going to talk about these homes that were burned to the ground. This is the "Daily News" this morning. Take a look at this picture. Look at this. It's a little tough to see but these are homes that have been burned, this entire swath in Queens, New York. We're going to talk to a man that lost the house he lived in for 35 years in this deaf stating fire that consumed breezy point Queens. And the fury of super storm Sandy. You may not believe your eyes when you see what happened to this tree. That's ahead. Christine has a look at what's coming up in business news.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Until Sandy hit it had been 100 years since the New York stock exchange was closed for two days because of weather. In 1888, a blizzard back then. What does today have in store? Markets open today. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Chetry:] Welcome back. The Most Politics in the Morning now. Twelve minutes past the hour. And there could be an upset looming in the Wisconsin Senate race. Three-term Democrat Russ Feingold faces a major challenge from the ultimate Washington outsider. That's Republican businessman and Tea Party favorite Ron Johnson. With the election fast approaching, Feingold is making his own pitch to the Tea Party. Jim Acosta is live in Milwaukee with a closer look at this race. And what makes it so unique this year, Jim?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, what makes it so unique is that you have a total outsider in Ron Johnson who could take this race away from Russ Feingold. And, Kiran, if this is going to be a wave year, then some establishment Democrats are going to be swept away in the tide. And to understand why Russ Feingold is fighting right now to keep his head above water, you have to get to know the man who might beat him. A Tea Party-backed Republican named Ron Johnson.
[Ron Johnson , Wisconsin Senate Candidate:] I'm just a guy from Oshkosh.
[Acosta:] It doesn't get more outside the beltway than Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson. [on camera]: Have you been to the Congress before? Have you lobbied on Capitol Hill yourself?
[Johnson:] Absolutely, I've never been to Washington,
[D.c. -- Acosta:] You've never been to Washington, D.C.?
[Johnson:] until this election. I've gone three times just to familiarize myself, you know, meet with some groups. That's it.
[Acosta:] Suddenly this 55-year-old millionaire businessman is favored to take down three-term Senate Democrat Russ Feingold.
[Sen. Russ Feingold , Wisconsin:] As of this moment, I am no longer behind.
[Acosta:] He disputes the latest CNN poll showing him eight points behind. [on camera]: What would you say to all those Democrats all over the country who are shaking their heads and saying, my goodness, Russ Feingold might lose? What's going on here?
[Feingold:] Well, it's not going on anymore. See, Washington always has to catch up with the reality on the ground in Wisconsin.
[Acosta:] For Johnson, it all started when he picked up the backing of the Tea Party movement.
[Johnson:] America needs to be pulled back from the brink of socialism and state control.
[Acosta:] You don't think that was overstating the case? That we're on the brink of state control?
[Johnson:] No, I don't. Take a look at what they're trying to do in terms of taking over one-sixth of our economy. They've taken over
[Acosta:] Health care reform?
[Johnson:] Yes, health care reform.
[Acosta:] Johnson wants to repeal health care reform and he isn't sold on climate change.
[Johnson:] The point is it's unsettled science.
[Acosta:] Which may explain why this liberal with the occasional independent streak is making his own appeal to the Tea Party.
[Feingold:] He's for the Patriot Act. I'm the only guy that voted against the Patriot Act. He's for these trade deals that shipped the jobs in Wisconsin overseas. I'm against them. I was always
[Acosta:] So you're with the Tea Party movement?
[Feingold:] I agree with them on many key issues.
[Acosta:] They really don't like the health care reform.
[Feingold:] That's something they'll like. You know why? Because they weren't told the truth about what's in it.
[Narrator:] Russ Feingold wants it both ways.
[Acosta:] But this one-time architect of campaign finance reform is getting slammed by attack ads and billboards run by outside groups. Not to mention the millions Johnson has spent on his own bid. But ask any voter like small business owner James Ferrell and all of that takes a backseat to one issue, the economy.
[James Farrell, Small Business Co-owner:] It's hard to be in business. You can't afford to be in business anymore. Something's got to change or a lot of people won't be in business.
[Henry:] That's putting pressure on Feingold to save one job in particular, his own. [on camera]: Are you going to win this race?
[Feingold:] Yes, I am.
[Acosta:] And you could not have a sharper contrast on the issue of health care reform. Ron Johnson at a speech yesterday said this was the greatest threat to freedom that he's ever seen in his entire life. Russ Feingold, on the other hand, is running ads in this state touting his support for health care reform. He's one of the only Democrats in the country, one of the few Democrats in the country who's actually doing that at this point Kiran.
[Chetry:] It's also interesting, he didn't seem to want to say to you that he was behind in the polling. Has that changed?
[Acosta:] No.
[Chetry:] Interesting.
[Acosta:] Well, as far as we can tell, it hasn't changed in any of the national polls. No, it is interesting, and we asked his campaign about this. How can Russ Feingold go out in public and say well, we're moving ahead in the race? They're talking about internal polling that they've seen inside the campaign that they say shows this race tightening and perhaps showing Feingold ahead. But until all of us see that reflected in some kind of national poll, Russ Feingold is going to have to fight to come back from behind in this race Kiran.
[Chetry:] It's one we'll be watching closely. Jim Acosta, great introduction to the new candidate. Thanks so much. Well, a familiar face will be back at the White House today. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be sitting down in the oval office and she's going to be meeting with President Obama.
[Roberts:] Yes.
[Chetry:] Scheduled for 3:45 this afternoon, a White House spokesman said that Rice happened to be in town promoting a book. She'll be discussing a variety of foreign policy issues with the president.
[Roberts:] Right. She's not going to throw her book at the president to get him to read it, is she?
[Chetry:] Probably hand it to him.
[Roberts:] Probably hand it to him. Yes. That's a good thing. Michelle Obama hard at work in the campaign trail making the stop in her hometown of Chicago where she campaigned for Democrats and cast an early ballot yesterday. The first lady then flew to Denver for a fundraiser last night and will meet up with her husband on Sunday in Ohio for a rally.
[Chetry:] It's been an ugly campaign for governor of California. Republican Meg Whitman says she has now accepted the apology from her Democratic opponent Jerry Brown. You may remember he had to apologize after a staffer was caught on tape calling Whitman a, quote, "whore," implying that she sold out to special interests. Whitman telling CNN Californians deserve better than the traditional politics of slurs and personal attacks.
[Roberts:] And still a little more than two weeks to go. Still ahead, he's an 11-year-old crusader, an anti-bullying activist standing up for his friend and everyone who has autism. They call him a hero, but he just wants to raise awareness. You'll meet this remarkable young man just ahead.

[Lemon:] As we mentioned at the beginning of this show, the war in Afghanistan enters its tenth year today. The battle rages over vast areas of the country. No end is in sight. So, the question is, what happens next? What does the year 10 look like? CNNs Ivan Watson has covered this war from day 1, and he joins us now from the Afghan capital. What does the tenth year look like, Ivan?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, it's dramatically different from what it was nine years ago, Don. Nine years ago, the first shots of the U.S. war on terror were fired here in Afghanistan, beginning with the series of air strikes on Taliban positions. The Taliban ruled more than 90 percent of the territory in this country. And within a month, the combination of U.S. air strikes, a fair amount of CIA dollars to buy off Taliban commanders and a rebel rug tag army of northern alliance troops were able to shatter the Taliban government. Well, fast forward to today. There are some 150,000 foreign troops on the ground here, nearly 100,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground here. This has been the bloodiest year yet of this nine-year conflict, for not only the U.S. troops with more than 300 American soldiers killed over the course of this year, but also for Nato forces as well. Meanwhile, the Afghan government is once again trying to give in to the Taliban to sit down for peace talks. It launched what it calls a high peace council, a council of elders, and they are being assigned the task of trying to find somebody within the Taliban movement who is willing to sit down at the negotiating table with them and trying to reach an end to this bloody conflict Don.
[Lemon:] So, here's the question. There are many people in this country who believe, whether it is true or not, that the U.S. and NATO forces can't trust, really, the Afghan government or the Pakistani government, because they believe in some way that they are harboring the Taliban and other insurgents. So, even after nine years that there is no progress because of this or little progress.
[Watson:] Well, certainly there are a lot of accusations thrown against the Pakistani government. And if you need evidence, Afghan and western officials will say, well, we know that serious Taliban commanders have been captured on Pakistani territory. The Afghan government, it's lost a lot of lives due to insurgent attacks. There are governors and high-level officials who are assassinated every week here. So, it's unlikely that they are actually harboring any Taliban militants or Taliban commanders. I think there's some distrust also from the side of the Afghans toward the U.S. government, believe it or not, which is providing a lot of money here, because of some criticism of U.S. policies to supply money andor weapons to certain war lords which are viewed to subvert the authority of the central Afghan government as well. What we can point out are a couple of trends here, Don. As we've ramped up the number of U.S. troops, of international troops and international aid coming to Afghanistan, for some reason, the violence has only continued to spread. And I don't have an answer for why that is happening Don.
[Lemon:] Ivan Watson, thank you very much. We appreciate your reporting. Straight ahead here on CNN, what women are not telling their gynecologist could end up hurting them? Elizabeth Cohen tells you what you should never keep secret.

[Blitzer:] We'll get back to Libya in just a few moment. Also the dramatic announcement from the president that the war in Iraq is about to end. But there's some other important political news we're following here in THE SITUATION ROOM, including Herman Cain. He certainly shot to the top of the polls with this 9-9-9 tax plan. It turns out his math might not necessarily add up. The Republican presidential hopeful says he's dropping a nine at least for some Americans. CNN's Joe Johns is here in THE SITUATION ROOM. He's working the story. 9-9-9, all of a sudden, maybe not.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] That's right. It's very interesting, Wolf. Make no mistake, Herman Cain's announcement today is being called just a tweak, but it represents an enormous change in direction in his so-called tax 9-9-9 policy.
[Johns:] One thing to be said about Herman Cain, he makes eating crow look delicious. After fending off furious attacks on the biggest policy idea of his campaign, Cain finally broke down and admitted that his one size fits all idea to throw out the tax code and replace it with income tax, business tax, and sales tax at nine percent was actually not for everybody.
[Herman Cain,  Presidential Candidate:] If you at or below the poverty level, your plan isn't 9-9-9. It's nine-zero-nine. Say, amen, y'all nine-zero-nine. In other words, if you are at or below the poverty level based on family size because there's a different number for each one, then you don't pay that middle nine tax on your income.
[Johns:] Cain also proposed creating economic opportunity zones to help depressed areas and made his announcement using a depressed area in Detroit as a backdrop, all in response to the beating his 9-9-9 plan has taken since he started looking like a top tier candidate in the polls, like at the debate on Tuesday.
[Rick Santorum,  Presidential Candidate:] The facts are, reports are out that 84 percent of Americans would pay more taxes under his plan. That's the analysis.
[Johns:] This is one of the guys who did that analysis. Roberton Williams of the non-partisan Tax Policy Center talking to us via Skype, he says Cain's original proposal would have placed a huge tax burdens on poor people, and the latest tweaks make it better but don't solve the problem entirely.
[Roberton Williams, Urban Institute:] He was very explicit a number of times, saying there would be no special provisions for people at the bottom, no special provisions for the poor. Everyone should pay some tax. Yet he changed that. He said that the poor would be except from income tax. They still have to pay the sales tax.
[Johns:] And that's the other highly controversial piece of the plan, because there's no reason why a national sales tax starting at nine percent couldn't be increased.
[Michele Bachmann,  Presidential Candidate:] And anytime the federal government needs revenue, they dial up the rate.
[Johns:] The other thing that makes Cain's announcement so important today is that he also rolled out a sweeping view of how to revitalize urban areas and economic zones. He's questioning whether minimum wage laws keep people from getting jobs, proposing more tenant control of HUD properties, reviewing local permitting properties and zoning laws, just a whole range of things that are going to get him a lot of attention and controversy, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Maybe that's what he's looking for. It certainly hasn't hurt him so far. He's going up in the polls.
[Johns:] That's right. And people listen now.
[Blitzer:] Joe Johns, thanks very much. Let's talk about what's going on in our strategy session. Joining us, the Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor James Carville and the Republican strategist, former Michele Bachmann campaign adviser, Ed Rollins. Guys, thanks very much for coming in. Ed, let me start with you. What do you think about a tweak, as they say, in the 9-9-9 plan becoming now the nine-zero-nine plan, at least for poorer Americans?
[Ed Rollins, Republican Strategist:] It doesn't matter because it's not going anywhere. I think it go so battered and bruised in the debate the other night, there wasn't one other Republican on stage that supported it, and they certainly won't support it now that it's a zero. I think it was a plan that was more of a gimmick than it was really thought through as an economy policy, and it's not time for gimmicks. We've had too many gimmicks in the past, some from this administration, some from the Congress. We now need a stable overhaul of our tax system and one that makes sense.
[Blitzer:] How do you explain, James, that he has do so well, not only in the national polls, but you look at some of the most recent polls in Iowa and South Carolina, he seems to be atop.
[James Carville, Democratic Strategist:] The guy's not changing plans, just area codes. That's one way to look at it. He's goes from 9-9-9 to nine-zero-nine. This happened with Trump. He shot to the top. Then he didn't go. Then the next thing you know Bachmann shot to the top. Then she didn't go. Then Perry shot to the top. He didn't go. Then we got Herman Cain shooting to the top and he's not going to go either. But it shows the level of dissatisfaction you have with the frontrunner Mitt Romney. That's what this entire thing is indicative of.
[Blitzer:] Let's talk about the major news of the day right now, the president's dramatic announcement. He shows up in the White House briefing room and says the war in Iraq will be over at the end of this year when he brings home all U.S. troops. Is it wise, though, and I'll start with you, Ed, for the president to open remarks by saying I promised when I was running for president during the campaign I'd bring the troops home from Iraq. Was that simply smart, because he's getting a lot of heat for opening up his remarks with those words?
[Rollins:] I always believe a president who lives up to his promises is doing well.
[Blitzer:] I asked the question because it makes it sound political as opposed to a substantive national security decision.
[Rollins:] He's going to be charged as politics, but at the end of the day, here's the bottom line. All of us Americans, James, me, anybody else, we want our troops home. We're tired of this war. The critical thing here is, is it going to work? We've now basically held their hands and rebuilt their country and we've turned their government over to themselves. If the Iraqis can't swim, we're not going back to save them. And I think the bottom line here is as long as this decision works and there's no chaos in the six months after our troops are out of there, it's a good decision. If there's chaos and three months after we're out of there, there's a big request for us to come back, then it's controversial.
[Blitzer:] James, weigh in.
[Rollins:] I for one applaud the decision.
[Blitzer:] James?
[Carville:] He kept the campaign promise. I guess there nothing wrong with pointing that out. If it's chaos, we're not going back. We're leaving. I don't know why we're waiting to the end of the year. They're in there with Iran helping Syria. This thing is just a big mess. And hopefully they turn into some Garden of Eden democracy in the Middle East, but even if that fails, we're not going back to Iraq. Bob Gates we'll never get involved in another land war in the Middle East. And I think he's the Republican secretary of defense. I suspect he knows more than me. But we're done. We're out of there.
[Blitzer:] Because the nightmare scenario, James, as you know, forget about politics right now. The nightmare scenario is that this enormous sacrifice that America made in Iraq in terms of blood and treasure could be for naught if the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki totally aligns itself with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran and Bashar al Assad in Syria.
[Carville:] Aren't they doing that now? It's my understanding that they're helping Iran help Assad stay in power.
[Blitzer:] They certainly aligned themselves on the Syrian issue. It's, I mean, people are saying, why did the United States spend almost nine years in Iraq if this is going to be the end result?
[Rollins:] Well, this may be the end result if we stay there another six months or a year. I think the tragedy of this whole thing is it was ill thought through when we first started it. A lot of Americans have paid a heavy price. I think our military has been superb through it all. It's been Republican and Democrat, both administrations have stayed there. We didn't have necessarily good partners. I think at the end of the day if it becomes chaotic and not a good place, Iraqis, it's their fault, not our fault.
[Blitzer:] Let me change subjects, because this really caught my attention. A new book coming out from a "Washington Post" reporter entitled "Ten Letters." let me read an excerpt from the book, and they we'll discuss. "A few times during his presidency Obama admitted he had written a personal check or made a phone call on the writer's behalf, believing that it was his only way to ensure a fast result. "It's not something I should advertise, but it has happened." Many other times he had forwarded letters to government agencies or cabinet secretaries after attaching a standard handwritten note that read "Can you please take care of this?" This reporter referring to 10 letters the president reads every night from individuals who write the White House with their own personal stories, their own personal appeals. What do you make of this, James, this revelation that on occasion he has written a personal check to an individual that seems in great need?
[Carville:] He's a human being. I mean, he's a terrific father, by anybody's definition. And I think it's nice that he reads these letters and I guess he's overcome with tragedy that's happening to people out here. I'm sure to some extent he wishes he'd do more and it's probably somewhat of a human reaction to do something like that. In a huge sense, I guess it's not going to make much difference, but at least to the person who gets the letter back, a small check, it might make a little difference and maybe helps them feel better. I'm sure that he's not the most emotive guy in public ever, but I'm sure that he feels this and he understands the pain that people are going through. And it's sort of nice to know that me spends time reading these 10 letters.
[Blitzer:] It certainly is. What do you think, Ed?
[Rollins:] Ronald Reagan, the president I worked for, he did the same, similar. He read a lot of letters. He sometimes made personal contributions. I think this guy used to be a community organizer. He took care of people. I think it's one of the nicer things I've heard about him, and this is one time I won't take issue with any of his policies. This is a nice gesture.
[Carville:] I'm glad to know that President Reagan read those letters, too. Like President Bush would write a letter to parents of fallen soldiers. I applaud all of that.
[Blitzer:] We are showing a picture to the viewers of the president reading some of those letters. He has made that point. He reads 10 letters a day from individuals, and he's moved by what he reads, and you can clearly see that on his face right there. All right, guys, thanks very much.
[Carville:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] Moammar Gadhafi's final moments caught by amateur video. Was the dictator executed? We're examining the brand new tapes. Stay with us.

[Tyson:] After I left prison, I have to admit I was scared. You ain`t going to believe this
[Hammer:] Right now an Iron Mike "SHOWBIZ Newsmaker." Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson has traded the ring for the stage with his one-man show. It`s a no-holds-barred account of his wild and controversial life. The drugs, the violence, the fame. Well, tonight I am one-on-one with the boxing legend to get all of the secrets about his remarkably revealing show. Plus, I`ve got another epic newsmaker interview for you tonight. Fantasia just make her stunning return to "American Idol", the place, of course, where everything started for her. She brought down the house. And tonight Fantasia is in the "SHOWBIZ" house. She is revealing how she turned her life around after years of pain and struggle. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" continues right now. Welcome back to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And tonight I`m so excited to bring this to you. Mike Tyson, unplugged. You have got to hear what he just told me, just this afternoon, in the headline making SHOWBIZ Newsmaker interview. Former heavy weight boxing champion was once known as the baddest man on the planet. He went through some really hard times. But now his life has taken a dramatic return. And he has swapped out the gloves and boxing ring for the national stage. Taking his hit one man real life show on a national tour. Next stop is this Sunday, in New York, and to be considered: the name of the show, "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth." Terrific to see you, Mike.
[Mike Tyson:] Thank you.
[A J:] Thanks for spending some time with us.
[Tyson:] A.J., I have been seeing you over the years and it`s just awesome stuff.
[Hammer:] Oh, thanks. Look. Now I`m blushing.
[Tyson:] Oh,
[A.j.! Hammer:] You`re making me blush. Well, let`s talk about you. Because that`s why we are her. Let`s talk about this amazing show, I mean, it is remarkable, Mike, that you get up on stage for two hours and you just put it all out there. Such raw talk about everything in your life. The good, the bad, the ugly. And you deal with some pretty difficult things that you have had to deal with in life including, of course, the very tragic loss of your four-year-old daughter. I want to take a look at a clip of you talking about that.
[Tyson:] And when they saw me, [inaudible] babies were dying, they ran to me like I`m some special guy like because my baby died. I`m special. They grabbed me and ran and started praying with me, and they couldn`t speak English. And I realized that, I was a member of a club that I didn`t want to join.
[Hammer:] Wow. So Mike, I see you getting so raw, and you`re doing it night after night. I got to wonder why are you doing it? Why are you putting yourself out there like that?
[Tyson:] Well, you know, A.J., I want to do something with my life. I like entertaining people. Through boxing, I`ve learned I loved entertaining people, but even though I had done it through boxing, this is what I still like to do, even though I can`t box anymore. So I`m just here to entertain people. That`s what I want to do.
[Hammer:] So, you`re actually feeding off of that energy?
[Tyson:] 100 percent.
[Hammer:] That you get from...
[Tyson:] A 100 percent. A.J. And it`s just shocking. I have to say, Michael, when we see you putting it all out there, you`re talking about those raw moments in your life, how hard is it for you to relive all of that on a big stage in front of a big audience every night? Well, I don`t know. Most of the people there, they know what they have lived through it with me. Because most of the issues that I speak about are just headline issues. It`s something that people would they saw it in the papers before, they just never heard it through my perspective, you know, through my eyes. It may be different to my marriage and my wife, anybody else that was involved with me back then, but through my eyes and my perspective, I`m just giving them a chronological idea of how I lived my life till now.
[Hammer:] And in a way setting the record straight about some things that people may have a misperception about.
[Tyson:] I don`t know if it is setting the record straight, but it`s from my view. I mean, coming from my view. They may have different perceptions of it.
[Hammer:] And how you lived it. And of course, everybody loves hearing about your incredible famed boxing career. You hold that record, Mike. At 20 years old, the youngest heavyweight champion ever. That`s still your record, that`s pretty cool.
[Tyson:] I also hold the record for being the fastest knock-out in the [inaudible].
[Hammer:] And here you are all these years later, and they are still yours, which I know is pretty great to you.
[Tyson:] I am just happy to be alive. I am very grateful that I can actually entertain people by just telling them about my life, which is something that everybody knew about, but they still want to know about.
[Hammer:] I have to imagine you miss being in the ring? As much as you love being up on stage?
[Tyson:] No way.
[Hammer:] Not at all?
[Tyson:] No way. That`s over. And to be that guy, the Mike Tyson, the baddest man on the planet, whoever the hell I was back then, I have to be a totally different than I want. Just because I have a family. Just this was I don`t know if my kids would like me if I`m that person. But this person, I can get along with my kids and we`re friends, and my wife loves me and I love her. And I don`t care how much I love somebody, if I`m in that state of state of constant combat and competition and war, there is no way I`m going to get along with my loved ones or even my close friends.
[Hammer:] So [inaudible] probably it`s been no good for you.
[Tyson:] No doubt about it, because this is where it is right now. The gregarious, happy, non-threatening black guy. This is where I want to be, right here.
[Hammer:] Listen, there is no question that boxing made you an incredibly wealthy man. You talk very candidly about that. You made, I don`t know, $300 to $400 million, and then it went away. Is losing all that money, Mike, one of the great regrets of your life?
[Tyson:] No way. Listen, I had an awesome time. And even though I had a lot of money and had a great life, it can`t even it doesn`t even stand the chance it does not even stand the test of time against the life I`m living now. And that`s what I realized. It`s an inside job. Basically, A.J., I don`t care, if you are looking for happiness from the outside world and all this materialism and all this, just the world that we live in, it`s going to be disastrous. It`s all an inside job. If you`re not happy from within, if it`s not working from in here, it`s not going to work.
[Hammer:] You talk about your mom in the show.
[Tyson:] Yes, yes, I do.
[Hammer:] I want to read a line that stuck out to me. You said, "they said my mother died of cancer. I think she died of a broken heart." What exactly did you mean by that?
[Tyson:] My mother is just I have a lot of characteristics, my mother was a constant depressed, my mother was totally a depressed woman. And she didn`t take any medicine for it, she just drank alcohol and smoke cigarettes. That`s what happened to my mother. And I think I suffer from those things. I could be champ of the world, and then all of a sudden within [inaudible], I`m depressed.
[Hammer:] That still happen?
[Tyson:] Not as much. No, no. It`s just who I am. It`s just going to be it`s going to be in my life to the day I die, not so commanding like it was before, but it`s just a part of me.
[Hammer:] And we have seen you re-invent yourself through this one-man show, and we have seen you re-invent yourself, Mike, as a movie star now. And I know everybody must want to talk to you about your appearances in "The Hangover" movies, because quite frankly, you were fantastic. I mean, the producers of this movie, the writers, they took your love of tigers and they turned it into a great punch line in "Hangover" one. And in "Hangover Two," we got to see it, showing off your fantastic singing chops. Shall we take a look at that?
[Tyson:] Please do. I like this part of the show. One night in the Vegas and the world`s your oyster. [inaudible] but the pearls ain`t free.
[Hammer:] First of all, Mike, please tell me you actually sing in real life a little better than that?
[Tyson:] No. As a matter of fact, it was pretty good. I got paid more than most professional singers get paid.
[Hammer:] I think Murray Head was the guy who originally had a hit with that song back in the 1980s. I think you made more money that was his one hit. I think you made more money singing "One Night in Bangkok." I think you probably made more money singing it than he did.
[Tyson:] One night in Bangkok, and the world`s my oyster.
[Hammer:] All right. We get it. I`m kidding. So listen, "Hangover III" is about to come out, we`re all very excited about that. We know you`re in it, but I haven`t really heard what you`re doing. So would you break a little news? Come on, Mike, give me something. What are we going to see?
[Tyson:] Hey, the executives said, Mike, don`t say anything.
[Hammer:] And you listen to those executives?
[Tyson:] Big time.
[Hammer:] So you`re a movie star. A Broadway star. You have obviously come such a long way and clearly you`re in a much different space than you were some 20 years ago.
[Tyson:] No, five years ago.
[Hammer:] Well, that as well, but talking about what happened some 20 years ago, you went to prison for three years after being convicted of raping a beauty pageant contestant. And I know you still maintain your innocence in that case. But if you would, take me back to the moment. You step into that cell. The door closes behind you. What`s going through your mind at that time?
[Tyson:] I`m very depressed. I really prepared for it. So I was prepared to go through the situation. But I just wanted to live my life, every day. That`s what you had to do. Everything you had outside, you have to check it at the door and go into this place a different person.
[Hammer:] Well, it`s been an absolute pleasure sitting here and talking with you, Mike.
[Tyson:] Thank you, brother AJ.
[Hammer:] It really was. My thanks to Mike Tyson. Mike`s next stop on his national tour is going to be this Sunday at the famed Beacon Theater in New York City. And I am ready to fire up yet another high wattage news maker interview tonight. All right. Fantasia just blew everybody away with her incredible return to "American Idol." Wow, can she sing. And Fantasia is right here tonight to tell me how she got herself back on top with an amazing new album after years of gut-wrenching struggle. Fantasia is not the only one who is revealing all tonight. Oh, no. I`m going to show you the real face of Hollywood. Some of entertainment`s top stars going without make-up in "People" magazine`s fascinating most beautiful edition. You have got to see your favorite stars totally bare. And wait until you see what we have named tonight as our moment of "SHOWBIZ" awesomeness. This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, on HLN.

[Blitzer:] My recent interview with the American Alan Gross imprisoned in Cuba cast his name back into the limelight. Now the daughter of Raul Castro is proposing a prisoner swap. She spoke to CNN's Christiane Amanpour. Christiane is standing by. She'll join us live for a moment. But, first, listen to what Mariela Castro told Christiane.
[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn International:] As you know, there are many issues that caused problems between Cuba and the United States. One of the issues right now is Alan Gross, who you knew very well. You know obviously about his case. You've been asked about it many times. Let me play you something that he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
[Mariela Castro, Raul Castro's Daughter:] Alan Gross has been granted everything he asked for. He's been able to see his wife. He's been able to have matrimonial conjugal visits and he has been treated with respect and dignity the way we always treat prisoners in Cuba. We haven't received the same treatment on the other hand for our five prisoners who have very long sentences that must be right. I think that the six must be released, both the five Cubans and Alan Gross.
[Amanpour:] Is that what you're saying, that Alan Gross should be released and the Cuban five?
[Castro:] Of course, I'm referring to the five Cubans and Alan Gross. I believe this would be the happiest solution for all involved.
[Blitzer:] Christiane is joining us now live in New York. Christiane, did you get a sense she was speaking on behalf of her father, speaking on behalf of the Cuban government, just throwing out these ideas on her own?
[Amanpour:] Well, look, I don't think she was throwing out ideas on her own. She made it perfectly clear that she's speaking to an international, a U.S. audience and she's here if not officially, which she was not. She's not representing the Cuban government. But she obviously has the ear of the president, I mean, he's her father. And so, what she's saying is clearly going to have been at least run by Raul Castro. And that is their position. I asked her about a humanitarian visit, humanitarian dispensation, she said, you know, we're not talking about partial solutions, you heard what she said. But she kept saying, I want to see all of them released, that would be the best thing.
[Blitzer:] Well, the U.S. government, as you know, State Department, including the secretary of state, they've rejected any swap, any exchange of these five Cuban prisoners held in United States for Alan Gross. I don't know if that's going to have an impact, at least they're talking about it to a certain degree. Another part of your interview, Christiane, was really fascinating when you spoke to her about not only U.S.-Cuban relations, but also the impact of President Obama. Let me play this clip.
[Amanpour:] Did you expect more from President Obama or has he gone as far as you expected him to go on the Cuban issue? Do you think he wants to lift the embargo and that there could be proper relations between Cuba and the United States under a second Obama term?
[Castro:] I believe that Obama is a fair man and Obama needs greater support to be able to take this decision. If Obama counted on the full support of the American people, we could normalize relationships. We could have better relations than what we had under President Carter.
[Amanpour:] Do you want Obama to win the next election?
[Castro:] As a citizen of the world, I would like him to win. Seeing the candidates, I prefer Obama.
[Blitzer:] Did she give you any sense of what Cuba would do this is by the way an endorsement, I suspect, the Obama campaign is not thrilled necessarily to have. But did she give you a sense of what might happen over the next five months if the Cubans wanted to do something to improve their relationship with the United States?
[Amanpour:] Well, look, I think like many people around the world, nobody really expects anything to get done about these massive significant issues anytime before the election. So, just about everything, as you know, is on hold in that regard. However, we pressed her not necessarily on what might happen between the U.S. and Cuba, although she said that she thought that the parameters were there to improve relations and frankly to mend relations. She put everything as many Cuban officials do in the parameters of the embargo, this 50-year economic blockade that the Cubans use as a reason and a justification for just about everything. So she says when that is gone, and as you know that policy has spectacularly failed if the idea was to get rid of the Castros, it hasn't worked. And, as you know, the demographics are changing so much in the Cuban-American community and younger people don't have the same hard line attitudes of the old people, but I also pushed her on what's going on inside Cuba, the space that she's opened up in gay rights. And remember, in Cuba, gays used to be put in reeducation camp. During the AIDS crisis, gays were put into quarantine and isolation. And so, this machismo culture in Cuba has changed, to accept gay rights now. And she says that for instance, the idea of civil unions and accepting that is going to be brought up by the Cuban parliament. But I asked her about democracy and political pluralism and dissent, and again, she said these are the things that we need to be working on. She point to what Raul Castro has done since he became president, which is open the economic sphere to a certain degree, a little bit of free enterprise, ability to buy your farms and properties and vehicles and things like that and have small businesses, but on the political side, saying that that too needed to be worked on and to be expanded. Interesting also in the issue of travel, as you know very well, Cubans can't leave without special permission to leave and come back, she said that too needs to be changed and this immigration ideas she thinks is going to come up in the Cuban parliament this year. So, it's interesting.
[Blitzer:] Very interesting, I think behind the scenes, some stuff is unfolding, especially in connection with the Alan Gross case, but we'll stay on top of that. Christiane, thanks very, very much. Christiane Amanpour here in THE SITUATION ROOM. The war on terror and the soul of the Obama presidency. We're going to talk to the author of a brand new book about the president's willingness to go after bad guys around the world and we're also go to ask him his shocking account of an alleged fight, almost a fistfight that broke out between the Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder and the top Obama official in the White House, David Axelrod. What happened? What really happened? Stand by.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Most of the morning there has been new violence in Syria and it has overshadowed high-stakes diplomatic efforts to stop the country's bloodshed. Bashar Al-Assad sat down with former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Damascus today, and Nic Robertson is monitoring the developments from neighboring Beirut, Lebanon. Syrian state-run television calling today's talks positive. But was there any real progress?
[Nic Robertson, Senior International Correspondent:] Certainly no indication of progress in those talks. And the progress on the ground was the Syrian military continuing to shell citizens in the northern town and Homs and arresting citizens in other parts of the country. Activists say about 30 tanks have been seen advancing on the town. One activist said that the city there has been circled, it is under siege. People are too afraid to go out of their homes. The government has been shooting and shelling it throughout the day, 19 people killed in that town alone in the north of the country, 16 of them killed in an ambush, according to activists. We don't have a way to independently confirm that. So while the government on the one hand says the talks in Damascus with Kofi Annan and president Bashar al-Assad are positive, the reality on the ground is something different. And Bashar al-Assad, according to Syrian state media, is saying that he will do everything to make sure there's a positive solution to the situation inside Syria. But it seems his troops on the ground are not getting the same message that he's giving the U.N. diplomat there.
[Whitfield:] So underscoring that real contradiction, Nic, some are alleging that the assaults being leveled by the government is actually intensifying while these talks were taking place.
[Robertson:] This is what the activists fear. They think that while the international community tries to engage President Assad in some kind of talks and what Kofi Annan has gone there to do today is to call for a cease-fire and get political talks going. And the activists fear Bashar al-Assad will just use this as a smokescreen to continue his military advance on the ground, that what he is looking for here is time to sort of continue the maximum sort of most deadly part of his campaign so he can sort of wrap that up and sort of push down the opposition, if you will, around the country, so that, from now on, in the future, the death toll will be much lower and people will say, oh, the situation is getting better, whereas he's really using this time to sort of go after the opposition in the most aggressive way possible.
[Whitfield:] Nic Robertson, thanks so much, from Damascus. Well, there is more on Syria. CNN's Arwa Damon and her team were inside the besieged Syria city of Homs. It is one of the most dangerous places in Syria right now. Join us tomorrow night as Arwa gives us an eye-opening account, a CNN special "72 Hours Under Fire," that's tomorrow night, 8:00 pm Eastern time. All right. Now to Gaza, where Palestinian medical officials say Israeli rockets killed at least 15 Palestinians. Twenty-two people were injured in the series of attacks. Israeli forces say they are targeting people who are part of a terror infrastructure. They say they are responding to several Palestinian rocket strikes in southern Israeli communities. One of the men killed has been identified as a Hamas military leader. In Moscow now, thousands of people turn out to protest against the man who will be their new president again. Vladimir Putin won his third term as president last weekend, but the opposition says the vote was rigged. Military police and security officials are keeping close watch on the demonstrations. Putin will be inaugurated come May. Here in the U.S., the last group of prisoners pardoned by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour are set to be released today. The state supreme court upheld the controversial pardons of more than 200 convicts, including four murderers. The justices said the decision to pardon the prisoners rested with Barbour. Mississippi's attorney general, who had challenged the pardons, expressed sympathy for the prisoners' victims.
[Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood:] I feel for them. Having had a first cousin murdered in 1976, and gone through a trial and understanding how victims feel, you know, I think they have been victimized twice. and the criminal justice system has let them down.
[Whitfield:] All right. Meantime, the presidential race is picking up speed, as more states hold GOP caucuses this weekend. Voters in Kansas are casting their ballots right now, and we could know the winner in just a couple of hours. CNN political reporter Shannon Travis is live at a caucus site in Overland Park, Kansas, now. It looks like a full house. That's good. So, Shannon, the contest in Kansas, well, it hands out delegates proportionately, so which candidate is expected to do the best, to take the bulk of the 40 delegates?
[Shannon Travis, Cnn Political Correspondent:] A lot of people here in Kansas believe that Rick Santorum, that he's the favorite to win this contest. You know that Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, they pretty much ceded the state to Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. They were supposed to campaign here this week. They actually skipped campaigning here, so a lot of people believe that Santorum has the momentum going into this. He has been campaigning across the state or he did yesterday. Ron Paul as well today. I just want to show you a little bit about what's going on right here. You'll notice that at this table right here you've got some caucus workers basically handing out ballots. The ballots, Fred, I've got one right here. I can't fill it out. I promise not to slip this in the ballot box, but you've got all the candidates on there pretty much. They go from this table, they walk along this path right here. You'll notice that there are some people who are sitting, listening to some speakers. That's the lieutenant governor of Kansas right there, Jeff Collier, he's speaking to the crowd right now. But after they hear from the lieutenant governor and some other campaign workers, this ballot right here goes into that box over there, Fred. There's a ballot box where they're walking, dropping it in. We're told that about two hours away from now they expect for to open to crack open those boxes and to start to count some of these ballots. And we'll be on hand to see who actually wins here and who wins the state of Kansas. Of course, obviously, on Tuesday we've got some other important contests in Mississippi and Alabama. But today all eyes are on Kansas, Fred.
[Whitfield:] OK, results [inaudible] early [inaudible] today, Shannon. There are other caucuses this weekend, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam. OK, so maybe the candidates are not necessarily, you know, giving up a whole lot of face time in those places, but I understand in Guam, Romney's son, one of his sons will be there representing him. Is that still the case?
[Travis:] Yes, I mean the candidates can't make it, as you said, to all these places themselves. So what they do is they send their high profile surrogates. Newt Gingrich's daughter is supposed to be here. As you mentioned, we've been watching Mitt Romney's son go to different places. I was in Idaho on Tuesday; Mitt Romney's son was there. So, yes, they basically farm out or fan out their surrogates to a lot of these different places. But Mitt Romney won the nine delegates in Guam. Again, a smaller contest, but a delegate is a delegate. And he also won the nine delegates in the Northern Mariana Islands earlier this morning, Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right. Very good. Thanks so much. Shannon Travis there in Overland Park, Kansas. We'll check back with you directly after this. And of course you want to join me every Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock Eastern when we dedicate an entire hour to the presidential contenders in this 2012 election. All right. Also coming up, a high school valedictorian avoids being deported, but her fight to stay in the U.S. is far from over. Also, might it be a sign of similar cases to come? A man is ordered to pay child support to twins conceived after he separated from his wife. Our legal guys weigh in straight ahead.

[Malveaux:] U.S. and Afghan have reached a deal on the controversial night raids by American troops. It gives the Afghans effective veto power over those raids. Our Barbara Starr, she joins us from the Pentagon to explain a little bit more about how this would work. Barbara, what do we know.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, Suzanne, this is an agreement that had been in the works for some time. Very controversial. What you basically have here is Afghan forces will now be in the lead on all of these controversial nighttime raids, largely conducted by them and U.S. special forces. There will be an Afghan review panel that will have to look at the proposed raid and give a thumbs up before U.S. and Afghan forces can go into action. That's going to be controversial, of course, because a lot of times they don't have all the intelligence, they don't have all the information way ahead of time and they do these things very quickly on a very quick turnaround. And what we don't know is the very point you raised. Is this now, for the first time, going to give the Afghan government essentially veto authority over U.S. military action in the war? Not a lot of clear answers on all of it, but the agreement was signed over the weekend and it's being hailed, at least here at the Pentagon, as a real step forward in cooperation with the Afghans.
[Malveaux:] And, Barbara, set the scene for us here. Why was this agreement so important?
[Starr:] Well, you know, for many years now, even though Afghan forces have been in the lead, these night raids into private Afghan homes, compounds, often in very remote villages, are extremely controversial. Look, in this very conservative culture, these people understandably do not want troops busting into their homes in the middle of the night, potentially searching women and children, and having them come outside and be subject to even any interaction with U.S. military forces. So it's the night raids that were the most controversial. And now at least it is set down that it will be Afghan forces that mainly go in and do those. But the parameters still seem to be sorted out, Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And, Barbara, is this in part, they're doing this agreement now, because the relationship, the United States and Afghan, is so tense right now on the heels of some of these incidents that took place
[Starr:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] The soldier that shot the Afghan civilians and so forth, the Koran burnings?
[Starr:] You know sure. I think that it added certainly impetus to it. The discussion over an agreement had been in the works for some time and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, following all of these events that you've mentioned, had made it very clear that stress and strain with the U.S. relationship was really reaching all-time high levels. So they at least wanted to get this done, get this off the list of controversial items to be dealt with while they're working on all these other investigations. But again, I think we need to be very clear that there's a lot of uncertainty on the ground how this will actually sort out for U.S. troops. Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right, Barbara Starr. Thank you, Barbara.
[Starr:] Sure.
[Malveaux:] Last month was the warmest March on record. I loved it. We're going to break it down and pull out our crystal ball to see if there's going to be a really scorching summer. We'll see.

[Whitfield:] Well, we're waiting to hear from one of two women who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment. She could release a statement today. The Republican presidential candidate says he never sexually harassed anyone. CNN's Jim Acosta is with us now from Washington. So, where Cain will be speaking, at the Defending the American Dream Conference where will he be? Well, that's where you are, actually next hour. Give us an idea of exactly what he is expected to say.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, he's going to be giving a speech here to a big Tea Party organizer, Americans for Prosperity, has been one of the leading groups organizing the Tea Party movement. And it is known because it has been partially funded by the Koch brothers. So we are expecting some Occupy Wall Street-type protesters out here at this conference. But getting back to the event at hand, this is going to be really a chance for the Republicans to look at their two leading contenders right now, Herman Cain, who has obviously had a bad week. He's been really clamping down on his public appearances, only doing conservative media in the last day or so ever since those allegations broke that he sexually harassed some women at the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s. Cain, as you said, Fredricka, says he did nothing wrong. In his speech in about two hours from now, he's expected to talk about his 9-9-9 economic plan, which obviously he hasn't been spending a whole lot of time talking about lately, and national security. He's going to lay out some national security principles. That's according to his campaign. We're also going to be hearing from Mitt Romney. He talks in about 45 minutes from now. So it's going to be interesting to hear from Mitt Romney as well. But Cain, as I said, has been doing conservative media. He was on the Sean Hannity talk radio show yesterday, and he was asked about these allegations and whether or not it would derail his campaign. And Cain said no, there will be nothing there if these alleged accusers ever come forward. He says that his campaign is moving right along.
[Cain:] But I can assure you this, Sean this will not deter me. This businessman is not going to be deterred in his drive to basically do what I feel like I'm supposed to be doing, which is to win this nomination and win the presidency.
[Acosta:] Now, obviously, Mitt Romney has something to say about that. He's going to be here giving his speech. We have a sneak preview of his spending cut plan. This is something that the Romney campaign is really putting out there today. He's talking about $500 billion in spending cuts for the budget year of 2014. So it's a little ways off, but he is talking about something pretty dramatic that may go over well with this Tea Party crowd, Fredricka, talking about sending Medicaid back to the states, talking about really changing Medicare the way the program is run right now, giving seniors vouchers to buy into the Medicare program, cutting funding for Amtrak, cutting spending for foreign aid, and of course eliminating the president's health care law. So this is going to be a very sort of bold and in-your-face speech from Mitt Romney today on the economy, on spending cuts. And I think he's probably also looking to get some of the limelight away from Herman Cain and get it back on to what he would like to talk about, which is the economy and the president's handling of the economy.
[Whitfield:] All right.
[Acosta:] But as you were saying at the very start of this, Fredricka, this has been a tough week for Herman Cain. So obviously all of us are going to be watching Herman Cain to see what, if anything, he has to say about this week, about these allegations, at this speech today. He probably won't say anything, but we'll be watching.
[Whitfield:] OK. Jim Acosta, thanks so much in Washington, at the Defending the American Dream Conference. And of course we'll all be listening to see what Herman Cain has to say. So, all week long, as Jim just underscored, he has been in the hot seat. With us right now from New York, CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen. So, David, while Herman Cain has been in the hot seat, you wouldn't know it if you look at the latest polling, if you would look at his fund-raising efforts. He is surging in both. How is this happening?
[David Gergen, Cnn Sr. Political Analyst:] Well, it sometimes happens, that there's a rally-around effect, especially among close supporters. I mean, he has a hard core of supporters who really like him. He is an inspirational figure, he's a motivational speaker. He's clearly motivated a lot of people.
[Whitfield:] I guess the fascination though with that question is, despite the fact that there are these rumors, and despite the fact that there are these allegations, he seems to be going along swimmingly with this kind of Teflon kind of approach.
[Gergen:] I don't agree with that. I actually don't think that is the larger picture. I think these polls are they are following polls. They're not early indicators. As time goes on, what we know from other stories like this and we've seen a ton of them this year, haven't we? is that they have a corrosive effect on a candidate. And over time, their numbers start coming down. The shine goes off. They can't get their message out. I think if we have a woman who comes forward and puts a name and a face on the allegations, and people have a chance to hear her, and if she has and if she in fact has a story and it may not be much here, but if she has a story of someone who was overly aggressive, we're going to be off to the races with three or more days of news stories comparing her to him, he saidshe said. And the main thing he needs to do is to end this story, not to have it continue, because the longer it goes on, the more corrosive it is.
[Whitfield:] And how does he do that? Is it up to him to put an end to it, or does it all rest on this statement that may come today?
[Gergen:] Well, I was really struck by the fact that even though the polls are holding out, Richard Land, who is a major evangelical figure, a Southern Baptist who has been the kind of person that Herman Cain depends on, said he must get this story behind him. He ought to call for full transparency, and that means he ought to ask the National Restaurant Association to release this woman from a confidentiality agreement. Let all the facts get them all out there. Let everybody look at it. Yes, there may be a couple of embarrassing things, but if there's nothing serious, then his campaign goes on. As it is, he's in this drip, drip, drip process. And yes, it hasn't shown up in the polls. Yes, he's still getting more money. But I guarantee you, over time, if this story continues for much longer, it will be very corrosive for his campaign. Everything in politics tells veterans that's what happens over time.
[Whitfield:] So Cain, you believe, is still in the driver's seat. It is up to him to kind of put this to rest. It's gone on for a very long time, in large part, in your view, because he hasn't addressed it head-on?
[Gergen:] I think that Herman Cain looks to me like a very fine fellow who probably is a little he's a motivational speaker, he puts his arms around people, calls a woman "sweetheart" at the first meeting. He just comes out of that tradition. And I'm not sure he did very much that was wrong. I don't know that. But what is clear is he's been terrible hand-fisted in dealing with it. I mean, his campaign has made a hash out of the defense. They've let this go on now. We're in the fifth day. This should have ended two or three days ago, and it's likely to go through the weekend now if a woman comes forward. So this is not what a campaign wants to do. You want to cut these things off, boom, as quickly as you can, get all the facts. And the fact is, they had 10 days to be ready for this and they weren't ready.
[Whitfield:] Yes. So if anyone stands to gain from this kind of impasse of lack of information, or kind of these holes in this in these allegations, would it be a Mitt Romney?
[Gergen:] Well, it could give life to Rick Perry to become the alternative to Romney. Right now, Herman Cain has gotten up in the polls. It looks like he's the alternative. If he falls, Rick Perry may be able to put his campaign back together. He had a good interview yesterday with John King. He was more impressive in that than he was in the debates. But if Perry does not catch fire, then there is no question that Perry and Cain have cleared the field for Romney, and that maybe somebody else will catch fire, like Gingrich. But you'd have to say that the solid front-runner in that situation would be Mitt Romney, and we'll have to wait to see what he says today. But, you know, he's been relatively in the background, but I think that's been smart by Romney, to be a little in the background. You know, he doesn't want to be out there every day between now and Election Day, a year from now.
[Whitfield:] David Gergen, thanks so much. Always enjoy your viewpoint.
[Gergen:] Thank you.
[Whitfield:] All right. Are you paying for income taxes than some of the country's biggest corporations? A new study says you may be because some companies aren't paying any at all.

[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome to our special coverage of Facebook. I'm Ali Velshi.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Christine Romans. Facebook. It's the most anticipated tech stock in history. A company that represents a new paradigm shift on the web. But for all the hype and for all of that anticipation, Facebook's stock debut today came out with a bang before retreating with a whimper. I've been calling it a fizzle.
[Velshi:] And that's where it is now. In the next 20 minutes of trading, we're going to cover the story of Facebook's first trading day as only CNN can. Alison Kosik at the Nasdaq, where Facebook's stock has just momentarily dipped below the IPO price of $38 and it is now just a few cents higher than it right now. All the other social media stocks are down with it. Felicia Taylor is live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. She's been talking to traders all day. Dan Simon is at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California, where thousands turned out to see Mark Zuckerberg remotely ring Nasdaq's opening bell and turn a page in history. And from Boston, Ned Riley, who was nervous from the start about all the attention Facebook was getting and he does this for a living. We'll get to all of you in a second. Christine, this is largely it's not impossible that a stock doesn't go up on the first day of the IPO, but on one of the most talked-about stocks and IPOs of all time.
[Romans:] It certainly is a it certainly is a surprise. And there was a lot of concern that small investors were going to jump in here and then get in the way of a runaway freight train. And this has not been a runaway freight train.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Romans:] You could almost argue that maybe it's been priced perfectly, quite frankly, because the stock came out, debuted at $38 and right now it's unchanged $38.01. We'll see in the next 20 minutes exactly what happens. But there's 400 million shares of stock trading today that wasn't available the day before. And this is the market process that.
[Velshi:] It's accelerating right now. So keep in mind, Microsoft, on a given day, might trade 50 million shares. Apple, a very heavily traded stock, might trade 25 million.
[Romans:] Right.
[Velshi:] We're probably at about 500 million shares trading hands. And that caused a major, major problem at the start of trade and all through the trading day. Alison Kosik is at the Nasdaq MarketSite. That is where this stock is listed. Nothing but trouble for much of the day when it came to trading, Alison.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Correspondent:] Oh, you said it, a messy debut for Facebook. As you can see, shares are flat. We are seemingly ending the day where we began, that "unchanged" word sitting there on the board behind me. You know, but it was a mix of it was a mix of technical difficulties here at the Nasdaq and lackluster demand. And that bled over to other social networking stocks, including Zynga. Zynga shares actually were halted during trading today because so many people sold those shares so fast. Zynga shares down 13 percent right now. Others shares down as well. Yelp down 10 percent. Pandora down 5 percent. Groupon down 8 percent. And Linkedin shares down 6 percent. This is usually you see this happening when a strong company in one of these sort of sectors doesn't do as good as planned. You see these other shares that are sort of in this same realm fall like that. But, you know what, one analyst says, you know what, the overall long-term trend for these social networking sites, for some of them at least, it is positive. Analysts say, you know what, people are using social media. Advertisers are spending money even though GM pulled out of its advertising on Facebook. So there are advertisements. People are spending money. And they are using those social networking sites. And not every social networking site does as good as the next. And one day of trading, by the way, Ali, before I throw it back to you one day of trading for Facebook doesn't mean this is how it's going to be for the long term.
[Velshi:] That's a very important point. So we've been talking, Christine, about whether this is bad for Facebook. This might be the best deal a retail investor ever got. Because we always say that on a big IPO, the retail investor can't get in on the IPO price. Look at that price. 38 bucks is exactly the IPO price.
[Romans:] And it is the first day of trading. This is the beginning of the new chapter for Facebook. Let's go over to Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange. Felicia, traders there as well watching what's happening on the competing exchange.
[Felicia Taylor, Cnn Correspondent:] You have no idea how much attention there is on this stock. I've been talking to traders all day long. And listen, I want to tell you something that's really interesting about what's actually keeping the price of this stock around $38 where it was the IPO price. That is a lot day traders getting in at the last minute and trading it up and down. Just a fraction. A few pennies here and there. That is what's hampering the stock right now. It likely will and of course, the underwriter comes in at that $38 price range and keeps that price. The expectation, or at leas the speculation, right now, is that it could possibly trade even lower than the IPO price next week. Next week is going to be a focal point for Facebook stock. Right now, though, it's the day traders that are keeping it in a very tight range. Probably in the next 20 minutes or so, you're likely to see this stock close at exactly where it opened. Although there is the one speculation out there that this is exactly what the underwriters wanted, you know, a little bit of a pop at the open, up about five or 10 percent, that too is out there. But frankly, right now, this stock is being traded and traded heavily.
[Romans:] All right. Thank you, Felicia.
[Velshi:] All right. Dan Simon is at Facebook headquarters. This was an amazing regardless of what's going on with the stock, which is very unusual, it was an amazing day at Facebook. They rang the opening bell
[Romans:] Lots of new millionaires
[Velshi:] Lots of new millionaires
[Romans:] big millionaires, no matter what happens today.
[Velshi:] Mark Zuckerberg, the whole thousands of people came out to kick it off on the first trading day. Dan, does this matter, the stock price thing out there? Does this matter to them? Or are they not following the stock all that closely?
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] They are watching it. But, you know, I spoke with a Facebook executive a short time ago, and I asked him about the stock price and he didn't really have much of a reaction. Sort of picking up on what Alison said look, it's the first day. This is a marathon they are running here. But I can tell you that he told me that the energy level in that courtyard when they rang the bell was tremendous. All night when they had the hackathon, when people kind of get together and come up with some new ideas. There was so much electricity in the room said it felt like a rock concert. That said, right now it's a bit more subdued. These guys pulled an all-nighter. And so a lot of them actually went home. They are taking a break. Some of them actually did go back to work. But earlier today as Mark Zuckerberg rang that bell, obviously, so much enthusiasm in there. And of course, they are watching the stock price closely, but at this point, obviously, not much concern.
[Velshi:] All right. Dan, thank you very much on that. Dan makes a good point. They are tired. They worked all night. Here's something interesting. You're seeing the price at, $38, $38.01. That is not necessarily a natural place. It's not that it all of a sudden came to $38 and it's jockeying around there. My suspicion is that the underwriters, Morgan Stanley it looks bad very for a company that advises a company that is going for an IPO to price the stock incorrectly. So the fact that it gets to around $38, I wouldn't be surprised if there is what you call intervention in the market. That Morgan Stanley and its friends are buying the stock so that it does not close below $38.
[Romans:] And, as Felicia said, there are a lot of people who thought they never had a shot, and then suddenly now they are day trading in the afternoon, thinking, "Wow, I can get it at $38." One man who is not surprised about all this is Ned Riley, the CEO and founder of Riley Asset Management investment company. Ned, you didn't buy the stock, and you told people not to touch it. You were not buying into the hype. So Ned, we talked about the failure to launch today. Was the hype unjustified?
[Ned Riley, Founder And Ceo, Riley Asset Management:] Yes.
[Romans:] Just yes. It was unjustified. So many people thought it was going to go up. They thought this was a company that everyone understands, $900 billion, Mark Zuckerberg is a genius, Sheryl Sandberg is the best COO in America. Are you surprised it's only $38 a share right now?
[Riley:] I am surprised that it's $38. But there are several reasons for it. And Ali hit it right on the head there, too. The syndicate has got to keep that price at $38 a share for the end of the day, anyway. So they are in there buying stock other people are selling. Because nobody wants to carry a long position over the weekend. The second thing I'm encouraged about, is that people paid attention to some fundamentals, I hope. That was the fact that the company itself said it could not convert to the mobile concept successfully at the moment. It's hurting their short-term earnings. It could hurt their long-term earnings. You've got to come up with a pretty big platform that is going to figure out how to put advertising on the iPads and rest of the devices out there. Third thing I had a problem with, too, is what they call in the business oversubscribing.
[Velshi:] Right. If you don't think you're going to get your 100 shares, you can order 300 shares. Well, what I heard this morning was, an institutional manager had put in for a million shares Got them.
[Riley:] and got them.
[Velshi:] That's exactly right
[Riley:] So that's rocked the heck out of him.
[Velshi:] So, what happened, Ned we're trying to piece this together but what happened between maybe 10:30 when this thing was supposed to open for trading, and about 11:30 when it did, we were hearing, was that traders were trying to cancel orders. Which is very suspicious on a brand-new IPO. But here's the thing, Ned. We had people saying it was going to be $90, $60. You were at the low end. I think you were talking about $50 maybe? So does that mean that you think
[Riley:] Maybe open at $50.
[Velshi:] You think it's got some space to ride? If you are the retail investor watching us, the average joe, and can you actually buy a stock at the IPO price of a major company, should you?
[Riley:] See, $50 I threw out was purely on the hype and the speculation. Remember, between the time we met before and now, they increased the size of the offering by the selling shareholders so you actually provided more supply for that demand out there. The second is that, after the initial hoopla of the whole thing, people decided that the demand wasn't as great as it looked before, so they're all selling in. And that $38 price that hit this morning, that too was the syndicate coming in there and saying, "Whoa, wait a minute, we can't break that price so we're going to support it until it starts to go back up again."
[Romans:] Ned, don't go anywhere. We're going to go back to the New York Stock Exchange right now. Felicia Taylor is there. And she's got Ken Polcari with her, someone who understands very well the trading problems. I was saying earlier, it was like an anaconda trying to swallow a goat. 400 million shares into the stock market. There were some problems.
[Taylor:] That's a great analogy, Christine. I wouldn't have come up with it myself but I love it. OK, the point being is that this was a $420 million offering. I mean, you can't really compare this to anything else. And the valuation of $100 billion, that's the first company ever to go public like that.
[Ken Polcari, Managing Director, Icap:] That's right. So from that point of view you can't compare it to anything else that's out there so it is difficult. But beware this morning the opening wasn't 400 million shares. The opening was 78 million shares. Yes, it's a lot of volume, but it's not enough volume that it should have caused a technological breakdown at Nasdaq. Which is actually, when that started to happen, what cause some of the nervousness in that whole social media group.
[Taylor:] The fact they weren't able to fill some of these orders, how concerning is that?
[Plocari:] Well, the issue about not filling orders is the technological failure. So that's what caused part of the problem is that the system got overwhelmed and when they went to open it, what happened was, the reports were not going back automatically. So people who had orders in there to buy or to sell did not know whether their order was represented, was it executed, did they get a completion or not. In fact it took Nasdaq almost four hours to get the reports out. In fact, it is interesting but they were going out giving manual reports.
[Taylor:] Which is not what they normally do.
[Polcari:] Clearly not. They're the technological exchange.
[Taylor:] Not like the New York stock exchange. There was a little humor here.
[Velshi:] Kenny, Kenny.
[Polcari:] Ali and Christine are well aware.
[Taylor:] As the day closes, we're seeing a lot of day traders jumping in right now. Are you surprised about this? I mean, I mean this is heavily traded right now.
[Polcari:] No, I'm not. But listen, it's not nearly going to have this volume next week once it settles down. And don't forget Ned and Ali actually made a very good point. The $38 bid right now is a syndicate bid. This stock is not trading below $38 today. Monday or Tuesday might be a different issue. I would think probably not Monday, maybe Tuesday they'll let it go on its own. But it's certainly not trading below $38 today.
[Velshi:] I'm going to pick up on that point. That's a brilliant point, Kenny and Felicia. Syndicate bid let me just explain that to our viewers. The group the stock is underwritten. When you want to go public, you find a bunch of bankers. In this case, Morgan Stanley was the lead banker. They get other banks. These are the people who advise the company on what the price should be, and they want there to be enough demand. So they it is bad for business for Morgan Stanley and the syndicate if this thing sells for less than $38, so they are supporting it, they're getting in and buying it. But as Kenny says, at some point this gets old. They might do it for a few days.
[Taylor:] That's right. Watch what happens next week. See, everybody clapping down here on the floor? They're watching this stock hitting $38 and even dipping below it. They're surprised about this.
[Polcari:] Listen. It won't dip below today. No matter what happens with the market I would be very surprised if Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, or First Boston let this thing trade below $38 no matter what the broader market does. Now, Monday, like Ali said or like you said, Monday or Tuesday will be a very different story. It's got to jump, it's got to run on its own two feet.
[Taylor:] You can hear the whooping on the floor. They are watching this, every single trade that happens. You can literally do that on some of these monitors because of electronic trading. It is highly traded right now.
[Velshi:] All right. Felicia, Kenny, good see you, as always. Ken Polcari is an old friend of ours. Hey, so, we're watching this thing, $38, $38.01. Did you see it flash $40 a minute ago
[Romans:] I did, I did
[Velshi:] So this is very volatile trading.
[Romans:] Look, I want to be clear here. We've said from the very beginning that this is -there's excitement around Facebook, something that 900 million people around the world use. You all understand it. We always say, you know, buy or invest in what you understand. But this is the first day of the next chapter for Facebook. Right? Facebook as an investment. We're going to learn a lot more about how this company earns money and what it is going to do next. What, Ned bringing you back in what, Ned, does Facebook have to prove right now to hold on to $38 a share in the stock market?
[Riley:] Well, I'm not sure they're going to prove it right away because the platform, new business platform that they have to work on is going to be very difficult. I am shocked that Facebook hasn't already thought about this and developed it. They pointed it out in the second quarter report that the revenue was not coming along with the conversion of people from laptops and desktops over to the mobile devices. So, you know, if you hadn't thought about it before, I'm a little nervous that they're going to suddenly develop the idea and here we can put the advertising next to the on that mobile app.
[Romans:] So many people are excited and inspired about stock market investing all of a sudden. People who don't even know how to log on to their 401 [k] are asking me, you know, how do I get Facebook shares. Is this a moment to maybe think about how you should be invested?
[Riley:] Christine, I thank you for that question. I have had a problem with these social media stocks for a while now. And selling at multiples that are ridiculous and the frenzy around them. Everybody saying look, this is it, this is the new generation. The new technology of the decade that comes. I heard that about 15 years ago. The problem we've got right now is one that they've created such a size of an audience and yet they are living off the ad revenue that's generated from it. These are going to be great companies and they still are great companies, but you know, it's duplicated, it can be replicated. This stuff is not without its competition. And Facebook's got it to.
[Romans:] All right. Thanks Ned. And we're going to keep talking about this for the next hour. Thank you Ned Riley. We're going to take a short break now. When we come back, the closing bell with Wolf Blitzer.

[Unidentified Male:] Jimmy Hamilton gave me over a century. He said he didn't need it any more. It was a gift. I'm not a thief. But hey, if you guys are looking for stolen time, maybe you should arrest everyone here. I see.
[Whitfield:] Justin Timberlake now the leading man. It's called "In Time." so much buzz. Is it because of Justin Timberlake or is it a good movie?
[Matt Atchity, Editor In Chief, Rottentomatoes.com:] Justin Timberlake is really good in this and the rest of the cast is great. Kelly Murphy is good. But the movie is really dopey and I was really disappointed.
[Whitfield:] Really?
[Atchity:] It's got this interesting premise in that people have people stop ageing at 25 and only got a year to live. But the time they have left is transferrable as some kind of money. So in this world time literally is money, and it starts to become satire about the disparity of wealth and some people have all the time and some have no time. But the difference is if you go broke you literally drop dead. So it could be this really interesting film. But they start putting all these unnecessary chase scenes and fight scenes. It gets so ham fisted too much action, and I hate to say that. The action doesn't serve the story. It gets so ham fisted about the point it's trying to make it loses you, and that's unfortunate, because it could be this really sharp, great subversive satire, something the Occupy Wall Street crowd would love. But it's just dopey.
[Whitfield:] It's very timely this "In Time," however, you're going to give it, I have a feeling, not a very flattering grade.
[Atchity:] I would give it a
[D. Whitfield:] D?
[Atchity:] Unfortunately I give it a D. Yes.
[Whitfield:] OK. Maybe this next movie will be a little bit more uplifting. It's awfully cute. Who doesn't love animation to some degree, right, "Puss 'n Boots," a prequel to the "Shrek" movies.
[Atchity:] Yes, Antonio Banderas returning as Boots. He's fantastic.
[Whitfield:] Let's listen to him.
[Banderas:] I'm not looking for trouble. I am but a humble cat in search of his next meal. Perhaps you gentlemen can help me find a simple score.
[Unidentified Male:] Perhaps if one of us were to tell the law you're in town we could spread the reward.
[Whitfield:] And Selma Hayek is in this one, too. We'll hear her voice.
[Atchity:] Yes, you know, reuniting them from "Desperado." This is a fun movie. I took my step son to it. He really enjoyed it. Kids in the theater had a great time. The movie starts out strong. It slows down a little bit as kind of they go on their quest an it lost me a little bit. For the most part I thought this was a really good movie and definitely something to take the kids to. If you got kids and have to take them to a movie, you'll be OK sitting through this. It's not so bad.
[Whitfield:] Because it really is adult humor just like in "Shrek"?
[Atchity:] Yes.
[Whitfield:] It's probably more fun for adults than kids.
[Atchity:] They don't overdo it as they did in the last two "Shrek" movies. In fact I'd say this is as good as the first two, but not as heavy handed on the topical references. It's a little bit more timeless, which I think works really well here.
[Whitfield:] So, your grade for that bad kitty.
[Atchity:] My grade, I give at it B. I think it's definitely worth seeing.
[Whitfield:] Nice, a good B movie for the whole family.
[Atchity:] Yes, exactly.
[Whitfield:] Just one time for Halloween weekend. What will it be? With ComiCon, we got to see you dressed up in costume, so what are you going to do for Halloween?
[Atchity:] I haven't decided. I may go easy, grab a sheet and put on a toga, so to speak.
[Whitfield:] Toga always works or a ghost. Interchangeable.
[Atchity:] Exactly.
[Whitfield:] Thanks so much. Happy Halloween.
[Atchity:] You too.
[Whitfield:] All right. Bathroom snobs may find Chicago is their kind of town. A company that sells bathroom supplies did an online poll and the accommodation at Chicago's field museum were rated the finest in all of the land. First of all these bathrooms are huge. That's always great. They are automated and eco-friendly. The women's restroom has a tot area. Kids won't want to leave. Smaller toilets for the little ones and looks playful there too. There's a nursing lounge with a comfy sofa for moms. The museum's rest rooms are cleaned every hour. All right, you've heard a lot about corporate greed and CEO salaries lately from the Occupy Wall Street protest. So how much money do you think fortune 500 corporate board of directors were making per hour last year. Might it be $154 per hour, $313, or perhaps $934 per hour? We'll have an answer for you after this.

[Costello:] He changed his name to Snoop Lion and embraced a new reggae style. Now the artist formally known as Snoop Dogg has released this brand new video that couldn't be more at odds with his old gangster rapper persona. Here is A.J. Hammer from New York to explain to us what this new video is all about.
[A.j. Hammer, Anchor, Showbiz Tonight:] Carol, it's a really powerful video from Snoop, singing with his daughter on the track, and as you see, they cut the video up with clips from shootings in the U.S. and around the world. Let's watch a bit more of it. Obviously some really strong images there. And if you're looking at this and wondering yes, why is the former Snoop Dogg singing a mostly reggae track about guns, well, snoop, the gangster rapper, the man who was acquitted of murder, says he has changed his ways. Snoop Dogg embraced the Rastafarian lifestyle after he took a trip to Jamaica. That's when he changed his name to Snoop Lion and there's been a lot of skepticism in the music business and among his fans about this change. But Snoop says he has evolved as he's gotten older and he feels his music should reflect those changes. After all when you think about it he broke on to the music with his album "Doggy Style" back in 1993. So that's some 20 years ago, he's certainly a changed guy. And he's been pushing a gun control message as Snoop Lion. Listen to what he told Piers Morgan about that last month.
[Snoop Lion, Rapper:] It affected me to where I wanted to say something, I wanted to make some music to try to help the next person who was thinking about loading a gun, going to a school and then shooting, maybe helping him put that gun down and think about what he was doing or what she was doing before they did that.
[Hammer:] Yes he's always struck me Carol as a very thoughtful person, and I think that Snoop speaking out and singing about this issue does have the potential to really make a difference in how some people think about it.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] I hope so. A.J. Hammer, many thanks. Hold the phones. Facebook is making a big announcement today. The social network giant wants to change the way you get in touch of all of those Facebook friends.

[Malveaux:] Danica Patrick out to make more NASCAR history this weekend. She is the first woman to win the pole position, which is the front spot in Sunday's Daytona 500 race. No matter how she does, Patrick getting a lot of attention. Joe Carter is in Daytona.
[Patrick:] I think there's an opinion that I'm probably kind of hard or tough or too serious maybe. But I can tell you I'm probably like the opposite of that at home. Number one, I'm very girlie. I mean I like to do I like to go shopping. I lake to go get pedicures. I like to wear high heels and dresses. So I'm definitely a lot softer than I am at the racetrack where I'm doing my job.
[Joe Carter, Cnn Correspondent:] Love, as it turns out, has no caution flag. In November she announced the end of her seven-year marriage, but just weeks ago it was revealed she had a new love. Fellow rookie driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and her happiness couldn't be more apparent.
[Patrick:] We're enjoying it and I think that we both kind of laugh a lot when we get asked about each other. So I think that's a good thing.
[Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Rookie Nascar Driver:] Yes, I'm not going to go crash somebody because they crashed her or you know, I mean, I'm going to go out there and drive hard every week.
[Carter:] Being in the spotlight is nothing new for Danica. She's garnered worldwide fame for her provocative photo shoots and record 12 Super Bowl commercial appearances.
[Patrick:] How hot is too hot?
[Carter:] Danica is among NASCAR's top earners and biggest stars. But over the years she has been a lightning rod for critics who point to her failures so far to win a race or accuse her of focusing more on self-promotion. But for racing, she brings a tremendous amount of exposure and popularity to a sport that could use an attendance and TV ratings boost.
[Steve Phelps, Nascar Chief Marketing Officer:] It's really created significant added interest from a fan base standpoint. She's got this large and engaged fan base. Some who are NASCAR fans before and some who are not. So for us to have her bring that fan base to us and then be able to cultivate it and grow it, it's important for us.
[Carter:] Patrick struggled in this spotlight last year. Her first racing with NASCAR after seven seasons with Indycar. Just two laps into her debut at the Daytona 500, she crashed and finished 38th. But now, after making history as the first woman to win pole position for this year's race, it's clear that her years of working to make it to the front row are paying off on the biggest stage.
[Bev Patrick, Danica Patrick's Mother:] I think when you have a clear mind and you're happy in your personal life, everything shows, you know. And you can do your job well.
[Patrick:] I have a lot to learn, too. I understand that. I mean, I've got, you know, Jeff Gordon starting next to me and I've got, oh, my god, a herd of them behind me. So hopefully at the end of the 500 we're rolling and we have a chance.
[Malveaux:] Thanks, Joe. Of course it's going to be CNN that will be there as the checkered flag waves Sunday at Daytona. For more on the race, visit CNN.com. And some of the biggest movies ever made known for their music as much as their storyline. So think "Jaws," "Star Wars." The composer behind those films again nominated this year for his work in "Lincoln." This marks his 48th nomination. Kyung Lah reports.
[Kyung Lah, Cnn Correspondent:] "Superman", "Indiana Jones", "Harry Potter." You don't even have to see them, you know their music. Composed by John Williams, the most Oscar nominated man alive. This year for "Lincoln."
[John Williams, Film Composer:] Forty-eight nominations is it's a hard thing to get one's mind around, I think. Because I think things like, how could anybody be that old?
[Lah:] Oscar is a very old friend to 81-year-old Williams. They've had a courtship since the 1970s.
[Williams:] What made it a good tool for me in the film was that the two notes could be played note, note, or note, note, note, note. Or very fast, very soft, or very loud, in your face.
[Lah:] Two notes in "Jaws," five notes in "Close Encounters."
[Williams:] Those five notes.
[Lah:] It is an outer space where Williams soared. "Star Wars" is the best selling film score of all time and still celebrated in his live performances.
[Williams:] It's a wonderful sight at the end to turn around and see them all waving these light sabers. You couldn't plan it. You couldn't say, I'm going to write something today that 30 years from now people will be celebrating in some fashion. Impossible.
[Lah:] The five-time Oscar winner credits hard work and the fortune of a good friend, a 40-year partnership with Steven Spielberg that persevered even when Williams felt he couldn't match the director's work in "Shindler's List." [On Camera] You asked Spielberg to find somebody else.
[Williams:] I said to him, Steven, this is a great film. And you really need a better composer than I am for this film. And he sweetly said, yes, I know, but they're all dead.
[Lah:] How do you keep the energy, the creative juices going?
[Williams:] It's better not to keep your eye on the finish line so much. Better to keep your eye right from what's in front of you at the moment.
[Lah:] A life philosophy that keeps him enhancing those cinematic moments. That soar into movie history. Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
[Malveaux:] I love this. The "Harlem Shake" number one on Billboard's Top 100 music charts. The dance craze going viral online. Jumped to number one since Billboard added YouTube video views to its formula for ranking the top 100 songs in the country. Composer Bauer released the song last year. Recently skyrocketed to viral video fame. CNN couldn't resist getting in on the "Harlem Shake" action, doing our own little "Harlem Shake" video earlier in the week. There you go. That's what I'm talking about.
[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] What about you? Are you in there?
[Malveaux:] Hey, I missed that opportunity.
[Whitfield:] Darn.
[Malveaux:] You are going to have to it It's all right. It's pretty simple.
[Whitfield:] All right. We could do it.
[Malveaux:] Yes, weekend. Thanks, Fred.

[Hodson:] Ryanair has hit the headlines over its latest push to drive down costs. The papers say that the crew has been urged to lose weight to help cut fuel bills. We'll investigate whether that's true. There's also the added incentive of appearing in the rather racy Ryanair calendar. But while Ryanair agrees that every little bit counts, the crew's waistline is not its biggest concern. Stephen McNamara told me what the airline is really doing to cut costs.
[Stephen Mcnamara, Spokesman, Ryanair:] Where this came from is that we have recently cut the size and weight of our in-flight magazine, which will save us around half a million euros a year in printing costs alone. And then we go into the wider debate of the knock-on effect, as in the weight of the magazine is less and therefore, there will obviously be a small amount of fuel saving. And we got into the debate, then, on what else we might be looking at in terms of cutting the weight on the aircraft to save fuel. So, things like the we serve less ice, the carpets are lighter, the seats are lighter. We were considering getting rid of armrests, that type of thing. And then it came onto the debate about passengers and passenger weight, and while there's absolutely no way to control passenger weight, we obviously got onto the debate, then, of cabin crew. And with cabin crew, of course, they have to be fit, but their weight really isn't that much of a consequence on the overall weight of the aircraft. So while the headline said we were absolutely demanding our crew go on diets, that simply isn't the case. But our crew do have to stay fit for the duties, but hopefully, they'll be enjoying a few Easter eggs this weekend as well, though.
[Hodson:] Well, you did suggest, though, that your cabin crew like to keep their weight down in order to get themselves into the company calendar.
[Mcnamara:] Absolutely. We have a very dynamic, professional, and young cabin crew, and most of them see the calendar every year, and they want to try and get into next year's calendar. So, in terms of the weight of the cabin crew, it's not really an issue for us at the moment. But we do, of course, ask our crew to maintain a certain weight so that they can carry out their duties. It's nothing over the top. They just have to be fit and healthy to make sure that they can - they can assist passengers if required. And in terms of the weight aspect for fuel saving, it's not really there. But if you do a lot of small things in terms of cutting the weight of the magazines, cutting the amount of ice, cutting the weight of the trollies, then you can bring the weight of the overall aircraft down slightly.
[Hodson:] Sure, but one really wonders whether some of these measures make that much difference. I mean, having a slightly lighter magazine or a slightly lighter carpet, if you compare that with the overall weight of the aircraft and its engines and, indeed, all the passengers and the crew onboard, it seems this is pretty marginal and you might as well save yourself some of the bad publicity that you're getting out of this.
[Mcnamara:] We don't think it's really bad publicity. I think all of this with highlight yet again that Ryanair in particular will always look at costs, stripping back costs, making things lighter so that we burn less fuel so that our costs our lower so that our fares are lower.
[Hodson:] We're looking at the moment at some pretty steep fuel prices. You look at the price of a barrel of oil in $120-odd per barrel. Do you think that there are going to be some nasty surprises in terms of your having to ramp up your fares, your fuel surcharges, if you charge them, by the end of this year? Because frankly, fuel is going to cost substantially more than it has in the years of expansion, which you had just behind you.
[Mcnamara:] Well, I think well, we don't have a fuel surcharge, first of all, and we very much believe that airlines that are charging fuel surcharges is absolute con. In terms of the fuel prices, we have a fairly good hedging policy in place. I think we have a bit of an advantage over the other airlines. But all of the airlines will face the same problems going forward. Fuel prices are historically high. So, we are encouraging passengers to travel with less baggage. We want people to bring a cabin bag only. If you want to bring a check-in bag, we're going to charge you for that. So, it is about trying to get the price right and get the weight right. And if you get both right, and if you've a good hedging policy in place, then you can protect your fares and keep the fares low.
[Hodson:] Stephen McNamara, there. Well, we've crunched the numbers, and using the rough averages of fuel costs, this is how much money an airline would save in a year on a daily flight between London and New York. Now, let's assume that a crew member weighs about 100 kilos. That's about 220 or 4 pounds, actually. I'm about 80 kilos, if you need a comparison. Now, it costs the airline almost $10,000 a year in fuel to fly them, assuming that they show up for work every day, of course. Now, here, here's the clever bit on this graphic. If they were to lose weight. You can you can see how quickly the airlines start saving money. So, for example, let's try moving this all the way down to, let's say, about 50 kilos. So, that's actually, by comparison with 100 kilo, quite skinny. But look at this number here. They will have saved their employers nearly $5,000 every year. But it's a fragile situation, because roughly speaking, every kilogram that you put on is another $100 in fuel costs. So, you'd have to pick and choose your in-flight meals carefully. I'm going to sneeze. Sorry about that. But that's not to be sneezed at, I think. Now, after commanding the skies for almost 40 years, the first of the true wide-bodied jets is going into retirement at Singapore Airlines. The company has taken the last of its Boeing 747s out of service to make way for a new generation of planes. I should say so. I remember them flying when I was a teenager. Our Ramy Inocencio was at the gate for the final farewell.
[Ramy Inocencio, Cnn Asia Business Analyst:] This is what the retirement party of a queen looks like. As of today, Singapore Airlines is decommissioning its entire fleet of Boeing 747s. And here at the Hong Kong International Airport, there was no shortage of sentiment.
[Unidentified Male:] I was a bit sad, because it was the first flight I ever caught over 30 years ago. I think it's very sad because maybe this is my last time to fly with the Boeing 747. I'm very, very sad about the retirement of the 747. My first 747 flight was in 1971.
[Mak Swee Wah, Executive Vice President, Commercial, Singapore Airlines:] For many, it will be difficult to say good-bye to this great aircraft after nearly 40 years of service.
[Inocencio:] Mak Swee Wah explains why everyone is waxing nostalgic. He's an executive vice president of Singapore Airlines.
[Mak:] We would not be where we are today without the 747 because it was really the backbone of the long-haul fleet. It enabled us to mount a number of groundbreaking flights. For example, the first nonstop to London and back, and also across the Pacific.
[Inocencio:] Right now, ground crew is prepping this plane for its return flight to Singapore. It came here as SQ flight 747. It returns as SQ flight 748. From there, it will be decommissioned. After more than 38 years, many agree the writing was on the wall.
[Unidentified Male:] The newer aircraft are much quieter, and they are more comfortable to fly in.
[Unidentified Female:] We all talk about economy and green, so it's about time that the queen of the skies maybe to retire.
[Inocencio:] That's got as much to do with the 747's advanced age as it does with advances in technology. Many say this, the new Airbus A380, viewed as masculine, spacious, and modern, is the clear replacement for the old, elegant queen.
[Unidentified Female:] Like an enduring nana. Something to look back on fondly.
[Unidentified Male:] I'd call it a Picasso that's gone into retirement and there is hanging up in an art gallery somewhere in France.
[Inocencio:] The last Singapore Airlines 747 flight is now pushing back from the gate, but 70 other airlines are still using the warhorse, from Cathay Pacific to British Airways and to Qantas, so there's no reason to be sad. But perhaps the only thing that I'm sad about is that I am not on that plane. Ramy Inocencio, CNN, Hong Kong.

[Whitfield:] Making news overseas now, activists say another 166 people died today in Syria's civil war, and the violence is spreading. There are reports of fighting between government forces and rebels near the SyrianLebanese border and the U.S. is on alert as fresh anti-American protests erupt overseas. In a rare sight, hundreds of women and children take part in peaceful protests in Islamabad, Pakistan chanting we love our holy process. The demonstrations are over the independently produced film mocking the prophet Muhammad. But demonstrations over the same film in Bangladesh's capital city turned violent today as several protesters were arrested. Protests are planned in at least four other countries today. On to Canada now, the parents of a 2-year-old girl are mourning her death. Canada's highest court overruled her parents and pulled the child off life support at an Edmonton hospital. The baby who was brain dead died Thursday. The parents had applied for an emergency stay after doctors recommended ending the girl's life. Jonathan Mann with us now. So John, how unusual was it for the court to have this ruling that really defied the parents' wishes?
[Jonathan Mann, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, it is a precedent setting case in Canada. It would be here in the United States. It would be practically anywhere because Of course, the care of the child is the responsibility of the child's parent. In this case, the doctors treating baby M decided she was so sick that damage to her brain was so profound and permanent that there was no point taking extensive and invasive measures to prolong her life. The parents said that it was a matter of love. It was a matter of faith, as you mentioned, that the child should be kept alive. And they went to court. They went to court in Edmonton, Alberta. They went to court, to the Supreme Court of Canada, and ultimately the court decided the child's interest was not in having her life artificially prolonged. The judges heard the case and decided against the parents. It is a strange case. All the stranger, because the reason that baby was so sick was because of the parents themselves.
[Whitfield:] And so these parents, 34 years old, they are charged with assault and negligence for failing to provide the necessities of life. Might there be other charges that are going to be more severe that are down the line?
[Mann:] That is what this case really turns on. The child was not sick because of natural causes. Paramedics arrived at the home back in May and found this baby girl and her twin sister, 2 12 years old, one weighing in at 13 pounds, the other 16 pounds. The smaller of the two was already unconscious. Both children were badly beaten about the face, arm and their older brother was malnourished and unwell. The parents are charged with leaving the children in that kind of state. They told the paramedics, oh, the girls had fallen down the stairs when they were playing. But essentially what we are seeing is a terrible case of child abuse. And the parents have been charged with child abuse, neglect, endangering the life of a child. So much so that the courts say they can no longer speak for their children. And so baby M is now dead and the expectation is even though she died while outside of the parents' care, even though she died as a result of the authorities' decision, they may be charged with second degree murder.
[Whitfield:] Oh, my goodness. Sad, very tragic. All right, thanks so much. John Mann, appreciate that. All right, police pull over 19 cars looking for a bank robbery suspect, all the adults are handcuffed and some children have guns pointed at them. Did law enforcement go too far to nab their guy?

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, you guys. Well, take a look at what we're talking about for the next couple of hours. Your pockets for one. You're going to have to dig deeper for stuff that you just can't live without. Groceries.
[Unidentified Male:] Like a WWE. I gave him my help to go ahead first into the floor with his head and shoulders.
[Phillips:] A teen thief picked the absolute wrong fast food place to rob. He had no idea that this customer, busy munching on a sandwich, would turn into a some kind of super hero. And if there were a statue of Shaquille O'Neil at Harvard, this is what it would look like. Shaq shows Boston what a poser he is. And a woman puts her feet on the ground and walks toward her parents. Why is this such a big deal? Because she's been in a wheelchair for 23 years. Faith or fate? We want to hear from you today. Good morning, everybody. We begin with the Democrats fighting to keep control in Congress. Republicans going all out to grab the majority. Now with just 11 days until the midterm election, the pressure is on both parties. All 435 House seats and 37 Senate names on the ballot. And CNN is covering all the races for you. President Obama is out west stumping for two big-name senators with big targets on their backs. And White House aides are finally revealing where the president will make a final push in the last weekend of campaigning. Ed Henry traveling with the president joining us now from Burlingame, California. So, Ed, what's the message as he tries to save these Democratic incumbents?
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Well, it's all really about the president trying to close that so-called enthusiasm gap. We've heard so much about how the Republicans are going to be more motivated to get out to the polls. That they're angry, they're frustrated with the president's policies. He's pushing back on that and what I have seen over the last couple of days has been very interesting. As he's really turning out his people. Much larger rallies, Portland, Seattle, the last couple of days than we've seen much earlier in the campaign and that's all about trying to make sure that two things happen. That people get to the polls on November 2nd but also that others actually get their votes in earlier. A lot of these western states actually have that early voting. The president wants to make sure they turn out. In terms of message, it's all about trying to show a contrast with the Republicans while also acknowledging that maybe he's made some mistakes along the way. Take a listen.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I take some responsibility for that. I mean, our attitude was to get the policy right and we did not always think about making sure we were advertising properly what was going on. But I think that we have the opportunity now that the economy is more stabilized to be as clear as possible with folks about what we've done.
[Henry:] Now, the Republicans have jumped all over that president saying that maybe if he had just advertised better on the stimulus is what he was talking that maybe things would have gone better. They're saying, look, it is really all about his leadership and his policies. It's not about the advertising of these policies and that this is a referendum on his leadership, this election. White House rejecting that notion. Their bottom line out here in the west and all around the country is that they say it's not a referendum election. It's a choice election and that the Republicans are elected, they're going to go backwards, in the president's words, on health care reform, Wall Street reform, et cetera. That's really where the battle is drawn Kyra.
[Phillips:] Well, and the president has another battle today. I mean he's out stumping for Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid.
[Henry:] Yes. And these are two incumbents that obviously Democrats wish they had wrapped this up long ago. I'm here in California where Barbara Boxer you know, this is a state the president won handily. Then on to Nevada and Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader. You know, Democrats had hoped that he wouldn't be struggling this badly. But here it is. We're getting new details about what the president is going to do in the final days. There'll be more defense beyond just today's California and Vegas final weekend before the election. He's going to go to Pennsylvania, a state he won a couple of years ago. Democrats struggling there. He's also going to be going to his home of Chicago. Big Senate race there. His old Senate seat still up for grabs. A dramatic example of how much Democrats are playing defense that on a final weekend of this campaign the president's going to have to go to his home of Chicago just to try to bail Democrats out Kyra. Ed Henry, we'll be tracking everything campaign news, that's for sure. The president's return home next weekend shows how critical the battle is for his old Senate seat. CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar joining us from Chicago. So, Brianna, this race has gotten pretty saucy. A mob banker versus a serial fibber?
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Yes. To hear what Democrats are saying, they are you know, aiming at the Republican candidate here calling him a serial liar. And then Republicans, that's exactly what they're calling the Democratic candidate Alexi Giannoulias, a mob banker. And you're seeing that even in ads that feature Tony Soprano, one does. So Republicans really taking aim at the Democrat over years that he spent as an executive in his family's bank, and this was a bank that made a loan to a convicted bookie and then this bank actually failed and was seized by regulators earlier this year. Alexi Giannoulias hitting back on any sort of suggestion of wrongdoing here, though, Kyra.
[Alexi Giannoulias , Illinois Senate Candidate:] I say that's offensive, hurtful, wrong, inaccurate and shameful. No one has ever, ever even suggested the bank has ever done illegal, illicit or improper and I'm very, very proud very proud of the business that my father started, a community bank that my father started 30 years ago.
[Phillips:] Now, Brianna, for the Republican in the race, the misstatements that he made about his military service, sort of ironic considering the military service is usually an asset to a candidate.
[Keilar:] No, that's exactly right. We're talking about five-term Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, and he spent 21 years as a Naval intelligence officer. This normally would be an asset. You're right, Kyra. But in the past years he's made statements saying that he was shot at in Iraq, that he served in the Gulf War. That he received the Naval office or the Navy's Intelligence Officer of the Year award, and these things are not true. So I asked him that all of these statements. Here's what he said. Were you careless in your remarks?
[Mark Kirk , Illinois Senate Candidate:] Absolutely. And you correct that. That's right. And I misstated parts of my military record but in the Navy we're trained to take responsibility and be accountable for your people, for your unit and for your mission. I am accountable.
[Keilar:] And Kyra, here's why we're watching this race so closely. Because this is one of three Senate races where whoever wins doesn't have to wait until the new Congress. They don't have to wait until January because they are replacing somebody who is appointed to fill a vacancy. They could take the seat soon after the November 2nd election. If the Republican wins here, really, you're looking at something to affect President Obama's agenda almost immediately. Of course, that's probably why he's here campaigning next weekend trying to shore this up for Democrats Kyra.
[Phillips:] Brianna Keilar, thanks. Those suspicious powder and drawings of two swastikas were sent to an Arizona congressman's office. Now the FBI is on the case. The powdery substance and drawings were found inside an envelope at the Tucson office Representative Raul Grijalva. The fire department confirmed the powder was toxic. It's the third security issue at the district offices for him this year. All right. A pretty severe storms in the plains today. Reynolds Wolf all over it for us. Good morning.
[Reynolds:] Let's send it back to you.
[Phillips:] Reynolds, thanks. Well, coming up next, we're going to talk about faith healing. I bet your skepticism alarm just went off. But a woman who spent about 23 years in a wheelchair has walked up to her parent's porch to actually give them a hug. She claims that a faith healing put her feet on the ground again. We're going to get your input on this one and tell you what the critics are saying.

[Whitfield:] Straight ahead, face to face with long time entertainer Debbie Allen. The icon does it all, dance, act, direct. She even has a skill few people knew about. What are your specialties?
[Debbie Allen, Actress:] I make great honey-baked lamb. My husband likes that. I make great ginger garlic lobster rice. I make really good fried chicken. I make a really good lemon pound cake. I make great vegetables. I can almost taste anything and make it.
[Whitfield:] She's one of the chefs that just throws things. Her husband and son are there. We're in her kitchen with her in her Santa Monica home with Debbie Allen. And we sit down and we talk about a whole lot of things, her enduring career, including her time on the hit TV show "Fame." We also see what keeps her busy these days between television productions and dance performances. But first, it is the number one issue in American homes, getting your financial house in order. Today in our weekly Financial Fix, five easy ways, easy, to save money. Ken and Daria Dolan joining us now. Good to see you all.
[Ken Dolan, Dolans.com:] Hey, Fred. Fred, I want to talk about Debbie Allen's fried chicken.
[Whitfield:] I woman can burn, I mean she can cook.
[Ken Dolan:] Absolutely.
[Whitfield:] She made some incredible smoothies there for us while we were at her home. But you'll hear a lot more from her. You two teach us so much about how to save money, so let's begin with how people can save a little money especially as it pertains to the phones, the landlines they may have in their house.
[Daria Dolan, Dolans.com:] Yes. First of all, get rid of that landline. Hello, we all have cell phones now.
[Whitfield:] But sometimes you have to have one, right, for your home alarm, et cetera?
[Daria Dolan:] Well, for your home alarm, but you certainly don't need to pay for the long distance service. If you don't have we live in a condo, so we have security, we don't need that extra alarm on our place. And so consequently by getting rid of a home phone line, which costs us regularly 63 bucks a month, we can save over $700 a year. That's some real savings.
[Whitfield:] That's a big savings. And you say you can also save when you make purchases for airline tickets. It's a certain time of day and day of the week in which should you do it, right?
[Ken Dolan:] Now, listen to this, Fred. Many people know that the airlines post their sales Monday night at 8:00 and they run until Thursday night at 8:00.
[Ok, 8:05, 8:] 10, I'm on the phone to the airlines because they just opened the sales. No. Don't do it.
[Daria Dolan:] First off, don't be on the phone. Do it online, because you pay more by phone.
[Ken Dolan:] That's another story. Because here's why, Fred. On Tuesday morning when all the sale prices start floating around either on the airlines who didn't offer sales or even the ones that did, a price war can begin. So we say, some people disagree, Tuesday at 3:00, Fred.
[Daria Dolan:] It's at 3:00 p.m., not a.m.
[Ken Dolan:] All the price wars have settled by then and you might get a better price than 8:00.
[Whitfield:] OK, fantastic. And then a lot of us got gift cards for the holidays, and you say if you're not that satisfied with it, you need to sell it? That sounds so ungrateful.
[Daria Dolan:] Well, the fact of the matter is hopefully you were gifted the card because somebody cared enough to think that maybe you would enjoy it. But, to be perfectly honest, what am I going to do with a home depot card except make work for him? So consequently, if there's no reason to send him off there because they've asked me not to allow him in the store anymore
[Ken Dolan:] All right, we don't need to hear all this.
[Daria Dolan:] It's just smart to get the cash take evolved in that card so that you can spend it on something that you will appreciate, and then say to the person, look what I got with your wonderful gift.
[Ken Dolan:] Two good websites GiftCardGranny.com and PlasticJungle.com. They're both very good.
[Whitfield:] And number four and five we can't get to because we're running out of time. But raising your auto deductibles, then you save on your overall premium. And then you say consider withholding federal tax all year long. Ken and Daria, thanks so much. We're out of time. And next year, we have to make plans for our Valentines weekend to have you all involved because you all have had this incredible working relationship and loving relationship for so long.
[Ken Dolan:] It's been 40 years.
[Daria Dolan:] And we're both alive.
[Whitfield:] All right, good to see you. Thanks so much. Of course more money tips, maybe relationship tips, too. You want to sign up for the Dolan's free newsletter, go to Dolans.com.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Carol Costello in for Kyra Phillips. This morning two Libyan rebels killed in an airstrike. Right now NATO is thinking this was a coalition mistake because Gadhafi has almost no air power. Another air traffic controller accused of sleeping on the job. Authorities think he might have snoozed for five hours as planes try to land. And the weekly jobless numbers are out. The number of Americans filing for first-time benefits fell by 10,000 from the previous week. The budget drama is going down to the wire. No deal overnight. Fewer than 39 hours until the deadline and a possible government shutdown. President Obama says he will call congressional leaders this morning to urge them to hammer out something. If there is no movement, he will call for another White House meeting. There is some hope, though, if you measure it in images. Bitter political rivals, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stood shoulder to shoulder. And that is a rare sight. Both men and President Obama are holding on to optimism.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I remain confident that if we're serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete a deal and get it past and avert a shutdown. But it's going to require sufficient sense of urgency from all parties involved.
[Sen. Harry Reid , Majority Leader:] I have confidence that we can get this done. We're not there yet. But hope lies eternal.
[Rep. John Boehner , House Speaker:] There is an intent on both sides to try to continue to work together to try to resolve this. No one wants the government to shut down.
[Costello:] President Obama also said it would be inexcusable not to get a deal passed because there is such a narrow difference between the two parties' plan. So let's go to the White House and talk with Ed Henry. Ed, I know it is difficult to tell exactly how negotiations are going especially when the Republican leader is saying, let's get a one-week extension to hammer out some remaining differences. That would keep the government fully open for business. Would the president be receptive to that?
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] No, he is not, Carol. And here's why. There is some politics being played because the Republicans have a one-week short-term spending measure as you mentioned that would cut $12 billion in spending, more cuts that Democrats on the Hill largely do not want and would also make sure that while the wider government is funded for one week, the Pentagon and U.S. troops are funded through September 30th. And so basically Republicans are saying, look, Democrats, do you want to make sure, you know, military folks are not paid? And so Democrats believe that this is a political ploy. The president has rejected it so far saying we can't keep doing this one week at a time and throw inside issues like, let's pay the Pentagon but not pay the rest of the government. So they are rejecting it because the Democrats are worried on the Hill also about losing some ground in these negotiations if they keep allowing John Boehner to cut $12 billion at a time without some broader budget deal. It's really going to hurt the Democrats' position. And Republicans are going to get a lot more.
[Costello:] And you know what Americans are really upset about? I mean essentially, we hired these people to keep the government running, to put a budget into place. And they can't seem to do that. And it's been quite a while now. So there's political damage all around, isn't there, already?
[Henry:] Well, that's why when the question is with the finger pointing, about who would be to blame, there are real lives here at stake, real livelihoods at stake. The president himself last night mentioned there are people who, for example, waiting for their tax refunds from the federal government. They may need that to pay their bills, pay their mortgage. And here they are waiting as these games are played back and forth. So I think the bottom line is, there are a lot of people who would be hurt, would be impacted by this. That's why you saw the president taking the extraordinary step and Republican Speaker John Boehner taking that step as well of coming here so late last night at the White House. Very rare meeting for them to come together, especially so late to try and work it out. They are not there yet. But it looks like they are inching closer to a deal Carol.
[Costello:] All right. Ed Henry, live at the White House. Thanks as always. So much could happen in a shutdown. You heard Ed mentioned that. The fragile housing market could suffer, too, because the FHA would come to a halt. That could spoil mortgage deals and give private lenders the jitters. We told you how the EPA has extra air monitors to watch for possible radiation from Japan? Well,
[Lindsey Knapp, Government Employee:] If I don't get to come to work on Monday, I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills. And are they going to pay my bills for me? Or are they going to pay the late fees on my bills if they pay me retroactively? Well, I guess they just want me to tell my 3-year-old daughter in the meantime that she can't eat. That she'll have to eat retroactively when I get paid again.
[Costello:] Let's talk more about this with Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara, a Defense Department official says the troops will earn money but not get it. You know, it might be delayed. But come on. Military people are not paid what they should be anyway. Missing a paycheck is a big deal.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Yes, you know, Carol, I don't think anybody puts it out on the line more than the active duty, military forces, especially those young men and women in the war zone on the front line. Bob Gates, Defense secretary, is in Iraq right now. And it was one of the first questions he got when he landed. The troops wanted to know right away what was going to happen. They are very aware of this situation and their families back home. The impact it will have on them. Gates told them if the government shuts down, in fact, yes, their pay will stop. They'll get back pay. But as you just saw from that person on that air, a small comfort, the troops really do live paycheck to paycheck, many of them.
[Costello:] Yes, how much do they make? I mean how much does a typical soldier make?
[Starr:] Well, we have a graphic to show you on that. A typical army private 1st class who's been in the U.S. Army for two years we'll put up the numbers makes a staggeringly small amount of money, about $20,000 a year. They get some extra money for housing and other allowances. But these folks live paycheck to paycheck. And Defense Secretary Gates had some gallous humor about the whole thing.
[Robert Gates, Defense Secretary:] As a historian, it always occurred to me, the smart thing for government was always to pay the guys with guns first.
[Starr:] Yes, a little a little gallous humor there. But this will affect everyone from General David Petraeus to troops on the front line and yes, Carol, to the wounded troops still lying in their hospital beds trying to recover Carol.
[Costello:] It would be the last thing I'd want to worry about on the battlefield, is whether my family had to pay late fees in their mortgage payments or not go grocery shopping for that week. Those are things that really the military shouldn't be worrying about. So that's really a concern to many Americans. Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon. Thank you.
[Starr:] Sure.
[Costello:] The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is usually the most visited national park in the country. It's an easy trip for millions of Americans. We'll go there in a few minutes to tell you what a government shutdown could do. And today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern in the CNN NEWSROOM, we turn the microphone over to the voters all across the country for their comments on the potential shutdown of our government. Watch "Countdown to Shutdown", a CNN NEWSROOM special that begins at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Now let's head to Libya where at least three people were killed and 10 wounded in a strike on an opposition forces today near the eastern town of al-Brega. It's unclear whether the aircraft was from NATO or pro-Gadhafi forces. CNN's Nic Robertson in Tripoli where there have been blasts as well. Nic, what can you tell us about this?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, as far as Tripoli is concerned, on several occasions today, at least two occasions, we have heard aircrafts flying overhead. And on both of those occasions, we have heard what sounded like heavy explosions coming immediately after or just before we've heard the aircraft. It's not clear exactly what is being targeted sin and around Tripoli. But this is the first time we've heard explosions here that sound like a bombing raid. The first time we've heard this in six days. Unusual as well to have a bombing raid during daylight hours. What has happened with what appears to be an airstrike on rebel forces in the east of the country, the details of that still remain unclear. However, I just had a discussion with former Congressman Curt Weldon, who was in a meeting with the prime minister here in Tripoli just a few minutes ago. And he told me that the prime minister took a telephone call in the middle of their meeting and the prime minister told former Congressman Weldon that there had been an airstrike in which there were 50 civilian casualties. Now former Congressman Weldon couldn't verify that. The prime minister offered him no evidence of that. And this is in line with what we've heard from government officials here before of saying that there have been a huge number of civilian casualties but without offering any evidence of it. And it later proves to be at the very at the very least a fabrication and at the worst just blatant lies Carol.
[Costello:] You mentioned Curt Weldon. He just spoke on "AMERICAN MORNING" about this potential meeting with Moammar Gadhafi which of course hasn't happened yet. So listen to this, Nic, and then we'll talk.
[Curt Weldon, Former U.s. Congressman:] Nothing is clear. There is a lot of uncertainty here. I know there are a lot of concerns about the security of Colonel Gadhafi because of all the turmoil. Outside of our hotel last night, we saw traces of weapons fire and there are some planes that flew over and attempts to shoot them out of the air. We heard some rifle shots. So there is uncertainly here. And they're concerned about security. And in my previous meetings with Gadhafi, you never know until the last moment
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Right.
[Weldon:] That you're going to have the meeting.
[Romans:] Right.
[Weldon:] We are here and we are available.
[Costello:] So two questions. Who was the guy standing beside him? Maybe I should know that but I don't know that. And number two, why hasn't this meeting with Gadhafi taken place?
[Robertson:] Well, the gentleman
[Costello:] Nic Robertson, live in Tripoli. Thank you. In Afghanistan, the rhetoric was heated but the demonstration peaceful. Hundreds of people turned out in Kabul today to demonstrate against the burning of the Quran. Protesters are demanding a Florida a Florida pastor be sent to an Islamic country to face punishment for the burning. Pastor Terry Jones sparked the protest when his church burned the Muslim holy book last month and demonstrations in Afghanistan last week took a deadly turn because of that. In West Africa, the bloody fight over who will be the president of Ivory Coast. The Red Cross says a fierce gun battle is taking place at the home of the former president who refuses to admit defeat in last November's election. We're getting word this morning that several African countries are offering a safe retreat but there is no sign he plans to surrender. New Jersey's governor, speaking his mind. What else is new? Governor Chris Christie is calling leaders of a teacher's union political thugs. And that tops our "Political Ticker." Mark Preston is at the CNN political desk in Washington. So why the renewed rhetoric?
[Mark Preston, Cnn Senior Political Editor:] Well, you know, Carol, there's a lot to talk about. Chris Christie, a lot of people want him to run for president. But just so you know people are probably wondering what's happening behind me right now. All this talk about the government shutdown. Well, here at CNN obviously we've got to prepare for it as well. We actually have Brett, Dave and Michelle here getting this all ready. If the government shuts down, Carol, what you see behind me is very likely to be one of the command centers for CNN to report what is going to happen. Of course we all hope that there is some kind of deal reached. And we don't see a government shutdown. But if that's the case, that whole scene right there will be put in place. It's something you often don't see behind television. But you know something, Carol? You talk about Chris Christie and a lot of people are running asking him to run for president. You know they like his tough talk, especially when he talks about budget cuts and when he talks about unions. Specifically teachers unions. Let's hear what he had to say in an ABC interview regarding the New Jersey teachers unions.
[Gov. Chris Christie , New Jersey:] I believe the teachers in New Jersey deserve a union as good as they are. And they don't have one. And they should start demanding to get a union as good as they are. Because I believe the teachers in New Jersey and the Maine are wonderful public servants and care deeply. But they are union. The union are a group of political thugs.
[Preston:] And there you go, Carol. It's that kind of tough talk that a lot of people want Chris Christie to run for president. He was again asked in that ABC interview, why don't you run? Are you going to run? He said absolutely not. He says he doesn't feel it in his heart to run. So not only a little bit of tough talk there, Carol, but a little bit of straight talk from the New Jersey governor.
[Costello:] Let's talk about some poll numbers on possible Republican presidential contenders, because Donald Trump just moved up.
[Preston:] He just moved up. In fact, he continues to do interviews. Let's look at this new poll from NBC and "The Wall Street Journal" just out. It shows that Donald Trump has widespread support amongst Republicans, more support than most people think. In fact, he comes in second place. He ties with Mike Huckabee, which a lot of people think would be a fantastic candidate to run for the Republican presidential nomination, if he decides to do it. Of course, at the top is Mitt Romney. Some people say he's the front- runner. But all the talk behind Donald Trump is, would he be a good president, because he's been a good businessman. Well, a lot of people think that he's been a great businessman, we're not sure if he'd be a great president, but he has garnered a whole lot of headlines, though, Carol, because he continues
[Costello:] Well, let's look
[Preston:] to talk about President Obama's
[Costello:] Right. Well, let's look
[Preston:] birth certificate.
[Costello:] Exactly. Let's look look behind those numbers, because I was reading Erick Erickson's blog, and he said the reason that Donald Trump has that percentage is because Republicans really aren't jazzed about the entire field.
[Preston:] There is something to be said about that. But we really haven't seen the field gel together. Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich are really the two well-known names who have officially taken steps to run for president. The other ones haven't done so. Republicans are looking for somebody to emerge from the field. I think that we'll start to see that happen over the next month or so. In fact, Donald Trump says he'll make a decision about whether to run for president right before June. He has the "Celebrity Apprentice" on NBC right now, and he says that he can't run for president. So, Erick Erickson, who's one of our CNN contributors, a very-well- known voice in the conservative blogosphere, he's absolutely right. Nobody is excited yet. But still, there's a long way until the first contest in Iowa in February of 2012.
[Costello:] Point taken. Mark Preston, many thanks.
[Preston:] Thank you.
[Costello:] Also, a program note for you. Later today in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump, will he or won't he? He answers questions about his presidential plans this afternoon with Suzanne Malveaux. That will come your way at 12:15 Eastern. And we'll have your next political update in one hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, go to our website, cnnpolitics.com. One group watching the potential government shutdown with intense interest, government workers. The president of the American Federation of Government Workers joins me next with his take on the talks and a warning. He's ready to sue.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] You're in the SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, caught in the middle of a bloody rampage. They were average citizens, but they became heroes. And they have saved many more lives in that Tucson massacre. I'll speak with a retired U.S. army colonel who helped tackle the gunman. Also in shackles, his head saved, the alleged shooter makes his first court appearance. And we're going to hear the federal charges against him. He's speaking out as well. Stand by. And he was known as the Hammer, once one of the country's most powerful Republican politicians, now the former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay facing prison. Want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Breaking news, political headlines and Jeanne Moos all straight ahead. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. The Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff's Office just released this picture of the Tucson gunman, head shaves and grinning. Late this afternoon, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner talked during his first court appearance, answering to federal charges, including murder and the attempted assassination of a member of the United States Congress. Doctors say Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is holding her own. She's being kept asleep by doctors, is in critical, but stable condition. Doctors say they're quote "cautiously optimistic." We have all of the angles on this major story covered for you. But we want to begin with Loughner's first court appearance today. Let's go straight to CNN's Ted Rowlands. He was inside the courtroom, only a couple of feet away from this accused killer. How did it go, Ted?
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, as you see in that mug shot, he came in with his head shaved. We'd seen photos of him with a lot of hair. So that was a little bit dramatic, as he came in a side entrance to the courtroom. He first was seated with his lawyer. And then, when the judge took the bench, he went up to a podium and answered questions of the judge. When he was first seated, he was looking around a little bit, looked at the ceiling, and then stared straight ahead and seemed to be quite nervous. But when he got to the podium and the judge engaged him, he answered every question the judge had. He repeated his name for the judge. He had a very strong voice. And then the judge started reading the charges one by one to Loughner, starting out with the first count he was faced with, which was the attempted assassination of a member of Congress. Counts two and three were attempted murder or the murders of Gabe Zimmerman and John Roll. Gabe Zimmerman of course was a staffer of the congresswoman's. And John Roll is a U.S. was a U.S. federal judge. And when the judge in this case read that charge against that had to do with the death of John Roll, you could feel in the courtroom he seemed to pause, because he was obviously talking about the death of one of his colleagues, the murder of one of his colleagues. Then the judge went on and read the two remaining charges, attempted murder Pam Simon and the attempted murder of Ron Barber, also members of the congresswoman's staff. The maximum sentence for the attempted murders, 20-plus years. The maximum sentence for the assassination attempt on a congresswoman is life in prison. And then, of course, the maximum sentence for the other two murders is the death penalty. Periodically throughout this proceeding, which only lasted about 15 minutes, the judge would ask questions. The judge at one point held up a document and asked the defendant, did you fill this out? Did you sign this? I can't read this signature. The judge or the defendant said, yes, I did. Yes. Then he said, did someone help you with this? He said, yes, Ms. Clarke helped me with this. Ms. Clarke is his public defender. We just heard the piece about her. She was next to him throughout this entire proceeding. Again, it lasted about 15 minutes. He exited the courtroom. He didn't look around the courtroom. He was focused on the judge. But clearly he understood everything that was going on around him, and he understood every question the judge had. He was articulate, and he had a strong voice with all of his answers.
[Blitzer:] And you were only a few feet, two feet or three feet away from him, I take it, Ted. Some of his classmates at that community college in Pima County were saying he would stand up, start rambling, start saying ridiculous things. But you saw none of that. He seemed normal to you, well aware of what was going on, not crazy by any means?
[Rowlands:] Yes. When he first came into the courtroom, his eyes were darting back and forth very rapidly and he was walking right towards me as he took his seat. I was in the front row. So we were about two to three feet away from each other. And at that point, I was thinking, well, I wonder if he's going to start in with a ramble or not, because he seemed very nervous. But then as soon as the judge took the stand and as soon as he started to communicate with his lawyer and the judge, it was clear that he was understanding he understood exactly what was going on. And he was very clear in all of his answers. And he had a very strong voice, which a lot of times you don't see in this situation. You see someone up there who is very emotional, has a weak voice. He was stiff and he had a strong voice and answered every question that he was asked by this judge.
[Blitzer:] Ted Rowlands was an eyewitness in that courtroom today. All right, Ted, thank you. The horrific shooting in Tucson did produce several heroes. President Obama says we should focus on the extraordinary courage displayed during the tragedy.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] A 20-year-old college student who ran into the line of fire to rescue his boss, a wounded woman who helped secure the ammunition that might have caused even more damage, the citizens who wrestled down the gunman. Part of what I think that speaks to is the best of America, even in the face of such mindless violence. And so in the coming days we're going to have a lot of time to reflect.
[Blitzer:] Retired U.S. Army Colonel Bill Badger is one of those citizens turned heroes at Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' meeting outside that Tucson supermarket.
[Col. Bill Badger , U.s. Army:] I went down and registered and was standing in line. And it was less than two minutes after I stood in line, why, shots were fired. And it was just one shot right after the other, just bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. And as soon as I heard the first one, I thought that somebody had threw a bunch of firecrackers. And but then I could see that he actually was shooting a gun. And that was a gun. And he'd already shot the congresswoman, Judge Roll, and a little 9-year-old girl. And then he was shooting right down the line. He was not walking. He was just aiming at the people that were sitting in the 12 chairs. I could see that as he was you could see some of them, he was hitting, they were falling. Others were diving for the ground. And I could I was at the end of the row of chairs, so I knew I better hit the ground. I turned to my left and went to hit the ground, and I heard felt this terrible sting right in the back of my head. And I knew that I had been hit. But I went right on down to the ground. And he fired approximately, you know, 18 to 20 shots and then stopped shooting. When he stopped shooting, why, I stood up. And when I stood up, I didn't realize that this individual was walking right in front of me with a within a foot of stepping on my toes. And he was going to my left. And he just got past me when some other individual that was there to meet with the congresswoman took one of the chairs that they had been sitting on, folded it, and hit him over the back of the head. Actually, he saw it coming. He ducked and it hit him right on the shoulders. But when he did that, his left hand flew out. His gun was in the right hand. And I had the opportunity to grab his left wrist. And I grabbed his left wrist, and with my right hand I hit him right, you know, between the shoulder blades. And he was going down. At the same time that this was going on, there was a woman that was she was sure she was going to be shot because he was walking right towards her with the gun. But when he got you know, right before he got to her and when he was right in front of me, why, he took the clip, another clip out of his pocket. And she reached up and grabbed the clip and threw it to the ground, just because she wanted to. And this happened at exactly the same time we were taking the individual to the ground. And so, when he hit the ground, his gun was laying about 6 inches in front of his left hand. And another individual that was there to see the congresswoman reached down and grabbed the gun to take it away from him, to get it away, so he couldn't get it. And as soon as he picked the gun up, why, I said, drop the gun, drop it quick, because I was afraid that some law enforcement person would see this individual holding this gun and would shoot him. And as soon as I told him to drop it, he dropped it. The real hero here is the individual that picked up the chair and hit him and the other individual who helped me take this individual down to the ground.
[Blitzer:] Did he say anything, the gunman, during the time you pounced on top of him and were holding him down?
[Bill Badger:] The only thing he said was I asked him, I said, what in the world did you do something like this for? And he didn't answer me. And I had my left hand. I was choking him. And the other individual had his knee on the back of his neck. About that time, the other individual put a lot more weight on his neck. And it pushed his face right into the sidewalk. And he hollered, ow, ow, ow, ow. And that was the only thing he said.
[Blitzer:] Did you realize at the time that you yourself had been hit by one of these bullets in the back of your head?
[Badger:] I knew that I had been hit, but I didn't know how serious it was. And while I was holding the individual down we had to hold him from five to 10 minutes before the first deputy got there with the handcuffs to take the individual. And while I was holding him down, why, there was a massive amount of blood running down the side of my face, you know, down my arm, all over him and all over the sidewalk. And I I really didn't realize that it was coming from me until this woman who had knocked the clip out of his hand said, you're wounded bad, Bill. Or she didn't say Bill, because at that time she didn't know my name. She said, you're wounded bad. She ran into the Safeway, got some paper towels and water and brought it back out and put it on the back of my head and started, you know, treating the back of my head.
[Blitzer:] So how seriously injured how seriously wounded are you right now?
[Badger:] Well, the wound is about three inches long. It's about a half-inch across and about a quarter-inch deep.
[Blitzer:] Do you what is the prognosis for you? What are the doctors saying about your recovery, the healing of this wound?
[Badger:] They they took me in the ambulance and took me to St. Mary's Hospital. And right away, they did an MRI and a CAT scan. And the doctor everybody very professional there, too. But Dr. Brown, she read the MRI and she said there was no damage, you know, to the brain or to the inside of this scalp.
[Blitzer:] Colonel, how are you dealing with this? What are you feeling? What's going through your mind?
[Badger:] Well, you know, as far as the head is concerned, it's just numb. You know, I'm taking quite a few aspirin for any pain. But the first 24 hours, the adrenaline was running so much, that it you know, I was pretty steady the first 24 hours. I'm a little bit more nervous now than I was then.
[Blitzer:] Colonel, do you own or carry a gun?
[Badger:] No. I have got a 21-year-old son. And when he was born, my wife made me get rid of.38. I had one up until that time. But, you know, if I could say something right now, that something is drastically wrong with what's going on in our United States right now. And when an individual is turned down to get into the military and then can be is able to go out and buy a.9-millimeter Glock pistol, and he had one of the or his clips were the extended clips that were limited to law enforcement only, and, you know, that or somebody has to put a stop to that.
[Blitzer:] Colonel Bill Badger, retired U.S. Army, thanks so much, not only for joining us. Much more importantly, thanks for doing what you did Saturday morning in Tucson. We appreciate it very much.
[Badger:] Wolf, and thank you. And keep up the great work.
[Blitzer:] A remarkable 74-year-old man. These are live pictures from Tucson right now, the vigil continuing there, the vigil in memory of those who died, six individuals. Six lives were cut short by this gunman. The youngest victim was 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green. She was born on September 11, 1991 [sic]. She was a third-grader, a student council member who was at Congresswoman Giffords' constituent meeting because of an interest in government. She was the only girl on her little league baseball team. Her father is a Major League scout. Her grandfather, by the way, was a Major League manager. John Roll, 63 years old, was Arizona's chief federal judge who had been speaking with a Giffords aide before the shooting. Phyllis Schneck was a 79-year-old grandmother who had retired to Arizona from New Jersey 76-year-old church leader Dorwin Stoddard died shielding his wife from the bullets. She was wounded, but is expected to recover. Dorothy Morris was also 76. Her husband and high school sweetheart was wounded. And 30-year-old Gabe Zimmerman was a Giffords aide and organizer of the event. He was engaged to be married. She was born in 2001, the little 9-year-old little girl. She was born in fact on 911. Just want to make that clear. She was not in 1991. She was born in 2001. That was Christina Taylor Green, 9 years old. So, what would cause a gunman to go on a shooting rampage at a political rally? Jack Cafferty is here with "The Cafferty File." Jack, what a horrible story.
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Anchor:] Indeed. Maybe, maybe, it was only a matter of time. For the last two years, the political rhetoric in this country has gotten more hateful and angry and divisive. We have seen guns at rallies and signs with nasty racist slogans. And now we have this tragedy in Tucson. Is there a link between this inflammatory rhetoric and the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others? Bet on it. Several lawmakers from both sides of the isle are now calling for the political rhetoric to be toned down. They say politicians need to cool it and to think about how our words affect people. There's an idea. This is happening at the same time that some of them are deciding to start carrying guns. We talked about that in the last hour. Many are pointing fingers at Sarah Palin, who makes incendiary and irresponsible comments with some regularity. Palin once tweeted concerning the health care debate quote "Don't retreat. Instead, reload." She posted a map online before the midterm showing crosshairs of the kind you would see looking through a telescopic rifle sight over 20 contested Democratic districts, including Giffords' . At the time, Congresswoman Giffords said quote "When people do that, they have got to realize that are consequences to that action" unquote. Well, since the shooting, Palin has expressed her condolences and says she hates violence. The Tea Party movement, which has also been a cauldron of inflammatory rhetoric, is also distancing itself from the tragedy, condemning what happened. But even if there's no direct correlation here, people like Palin could bear some indirect responsibility for the mind-set of the shooter and others like him. Here's the question. What can be done to tone down the hateful rhetoric in this country? Go to CNN.comcaffertyfile. Post a comment on my blog Wolf.
[Blitzer:] I'm anxious to hear what our viewers think. Jack, thanks for the question. The Arizona massacre could have been worse if bystanders hadn't jumped into action. But is there something they should have done differently? And what would you have done? Also, he was in the hospital with Representative Giffords when she made her first movements. A member of her congressional staff is standing by the join us. And you're looking at a live picture from outside the Tucson hospital where the congresswoman is recovering. Flowers, candles, balloons, they are all marking the site. We will have much more on the tragedy, the aftermath, and the political fallout. That's coming up.

[Erin Burnett, Cnn Anchor:] OUTFRONT, next on the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion, 55 people killed in Iraq today. Why is al Qaeda rising? Plus, police find a bag of explosives found next to the body in a college dorm room and we have the video the cops found as they went in. And CVS demands employees to submit to health tests. If not, you pay a lot of money. Is your employer next and is this fair? Let's go OUTFRONT. Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. And we begin with breaking news tonight, first heard here on CNN, the chairman of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees telling our Wolf Blitzer just a short while ago there's a I want to quote their words, "high probability that chemical weapons have been used in Syria."
[Rep. Mike Rogers , Chairman Of Intelligence Committee:] I have a high probability to believe that chemical weapons were used. We need that final verification, but given everything we know over the last year and a half, I, Mike Rogers, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, would come to the conclusion they're positioned for use and ready to do that or, in fact, have been used.
[Burnett:] Or, in fact, have been used. The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein echoed that warning with a stark message to the president and I will quote her. She said, "I think the probabilities are very high that we are going into some very dark times and I think the White House needs to be prepared." Both committees now have been fully briefed. All right, I want to bring our guests tonight and talk about what this means. Seth Jones joins us now along with General Wesley Clark. Thanks very much for both of you. You both know a lot about this issue. General, let me start with you. This is something the president has set as a red line, I'll play what he said in a moment, but he has said if chemical weapons are used, that's a red line. What does the U.S. do if they have been? GENERAL WESLEY CLARK
[Former Nato Supreme Allied Commander:] Well, first of all, both secretary of state and the president have looked very closely at this issue of what assistance can be given to the Syrian resistance, the rebels there. And the Syrian rebels are getting increasingly well organized. They're right now just representatives. Pretty soon the government will be formed. People will have positions so I think what you are going to see is more and more U.S. assistance to directly get rid of the Assad regime. And I think the additional line is that we're going to go really hard back at Moscow because Moscow's assistance has been pivotal in keeping Assad in office.
[Burnett:] And how do we go hard back at Moscow?
[Clark:] Well, I mean, first of all, you go at them diplomatically. Secondly, their interests where the United States and Russia have certain parallel interests and you work those interests. The Russians believe in linkage. Everything with the Russians is about linkage. So what does Putin get from continuing to support Assad? One thing he might get a higher oil prices because there's a risk premium on oil. This is important for Russia.
[Burnett:] Absolutely.
[Clark:] You know, the United States is going to be a big factor in Russia's future because we increase the oil production and the predictions are predicting more than Russia or Saudi Arabia in five or six years. That's a mortal threat to Russia if it affects the price of oil.
[Burnett:] All right, and Seth, what damage could be done with these chemical weapons? You know, if we're hearing and this rhetoric out of Dianne Feinstein, Mike Rogers is different. This is they're using them. What could they do?
[Seth Jones, Rand Corporation:] Well, it's worth noting that the reporting coming out of Syria right now is a little confusing. The Syrian government accused the rebels of using poisons or chemical weapons so both sides are now accusing each other of doing it. If, in fact, the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its population, against Syrian rebels, this is a serious red line. I think there are a range of options including what the Israelis have already done, trying to target facilities producing the kinds of chemicals. But this goes back to Saddam's gassing of his own population about a decade or two ago and so I think this really changes the dynamics of the discussion in the
[U.s. Burnett:] Let me just play you mentioned the words red line. We've been talking about that. Here's what President Obama has said. Here's why this news, not just from a humanitarian perspective, but whether or not the United States military will get involved, this is why chemical weapons is so important. Here's the president.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also, to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical movement around or utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.
[Burnett:] General, does he make a mistake when he set so clearly what red lines are? People want them. Once you put one out there, if someone crosses it, you are forced to act.
[Clark:] I don't think it's a mistake. I think it was a clear warning, both to Assad and to his Russian supporters that they can't do this. Now, if the Russians have an influence with Assad, they better rein him back in. As far as the U.S. could do, we talked about diplomacy and linkage with the Russians. But, you know, I didn't talk about the military option, but there's clearly a range of military options here that could be used.
[Burnett:] All right, that brings me to the other top story tonight that we want to talk about. That's al Qaeda rising because al Qaeda is a big part of the opposition in Syria and why this is so complicated. Violence rippled across Iraq today. It was 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion. No group has yet claimed responsibility. Signs though point to al Qaeda. The decade-long war in Iraq has caused 4,488 American lives, more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and more than $800 billion. Today, another 55 Iraqis lost their lives, 200 more wounded. There were 17 car bombs, seven roadside bombs and two shootings that ripped through mostly Shiite neighborhoods. Arwa Damon has been covering the war since it began and she is in Baghdad tonight. Right before the program, I spoke with her and I asked her how much strength al Qaeda has gained since the U.S. invasion?
[Arwa Damon, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, there was a point in time when there were huge swaths of the country that were in fact controlled by al Qaeda. Now, that is no longer the case. And at one point, al Qaeda's capabilities in Iraq were, in fact, significantly diminished. What's been especially disturbing that we have been seeing over the last few months is the re-emergence of al Qaeda, especially in Iraq's Al Anbar Province predominantly Sunni to the west of the capital. There have been, for example, ongoing demonstrations there. People demanding certain things, legitimate things from the Iraqi government, but at the same time, we have also been beginning to see over the last few weeks al Qaeda's flag raised, as well. You can just imagine the ripple of fear that's causing for the population in of itself and not just today's attacks that bear the hallmarks of al Qaeda. Last week, a coordinated complex attack on the justice ministry located in what's supposed to be one of the safest parts of the capital. So we're most certainly now seeing al Qaeda beginning to regain quite a bit of its strength.
[Burnett:] General Clark, is America safer or less safe?
[Clark:] Well, we built I mean, we got rid of Saddam Hussein. That's good. Everybody understands that, but we gave an opening for al Qaeda to come in to Iraq. To sink roots in. To have tar gets of Americans and now they're feeding on the schism between the Sunni and the Shia population and that's it's more than the Iraqi security forces, which are Shia dominated can handle. So are we safer? Very complicated question. We've learned a lot of things as a result of our experience in Iraq. We got great capabilities in our special forces and so forth. But if it had been up to me, I wouldn't have done it in the first place.
[Burnett:] You wouldn't have done it in the first place?
[Clark:] I wouldn't have gone in there.
[Burnett:] Seth, what's your point of view? Are we less safe? It's not just Iraq where al Qaeda has now gotten another stronghold. It is, of course, Syria and why you can go and support the opposition in Syria and you might actually be, yes, supporting a lot of al Qaeda- linked groups.
[Jones:] Well, I think General Clark is right on the range of positive aspects including political freedoms now in Iraq right now, but when it comes to the terrorism problem, I think there's no question right now that the terrorism problem is worse. If you look at the number of al Qaeda in Iraq attacks, they're averaging about 30 attacks per month, which is a 50 percent increase from 2011. It's a last year that the U.S. military was in Iraq. And then in neighboring Syria, one of the most significant and powerful terrorist groups is in al Qaeda in Iraq affiliate. They have heavy weapons now, which they have accumulated from a range of attacks against Syrian bases. They have got inroads in to networks in Europe right now. So I think on the terrorism front, things are not looking good in this area right now.
[Burnett:] All right, thanks very much to both of you and we appreciate your time tonight. Still OUTFRONT, the assault weapons ban proposed by a Democrat has been shelved. Is Harry Reid the person to blame? Plus, Washington State has finally found a pot czar, the state's high commander comes OUTFRONT, of course. And a chilling new video of a would-be killer, we are going to take you inside the Florida college dorm room full of explosives and weapons with the video that the cops took when they went in.

[Whitfield:] And now back to our top story. U.S. officials say discussions are taking place about issuing some kind of advisory to Americans in Europe in light of new terror threat information. I want to bring in our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson into this discussion, who is in Hamburg, Germany. And no warnings have been put out as yet, just discussions because as we heard from our producer with the State Department, there has been chatter about some sort of activity. What kind of chatter?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, right now Fredricka, I'm standing outside of the mosque in Hamburg that was attended by a man called Ahmed Zadiki. He was captured in Kabul this summer and is in U.S. custody. He's a German. But while he's been in U.S. custody, he's the one that's been talking about the possibility of a Mumbai style plot to attack various cities and countries in Europe, Britain, France, and Germany. He's the one that's been therefore getting this sort of threat, a possibility of an imminent threat in Europe, bringing that sort of up the stakes, if you will. Now, while I've been here I've been talking to sources here and they tell us, Hamburg terrorism sources, they tell us that there is no imminent threat that they see. But despite the fact that Zadiki is a German, they say that he is in U.S. custody and that they understand he is providing new information to U.S. officials every day. That's what they tell us, new information every day. They also talked earlier on today with Ahmed Zadiki's sister and she told me that the family had been in touch with him in Afghanistan shortly before he was captured and she said at that stage he was planning to come back in the very near future. What has intelligence officials here concerned and on alert is what happened to the other members of this mosque that traveled with him to Pakistan, where are they? What are their plans? Do they plan to come back sooner? This is feeding in to an atmosphere of a possibility of a threat. But they say no imminent threat here right now.
[Whitfield:] All right. Fascinating stuff. Thanks so much. Nic Robertson from Hamburg, Germany. All right. Back to this country now. When you think of missionaries, you probably think of people working in poor, far-off countries. With hard times here at home, the need for domestic missionaries is growing. CNN's Soledad O'Brien introduces us to a man whose mission is to rally black Americans to serve in their own communities.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm the Jackie Robinson of missions, you know.
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Correspondent:] Leroy Barber is a man with a calling and he's the president of Mission Year.
[Unidentified Female:] We do not see through our eyes or hear through our ears.
[O'brien:] It's a year-long ministry and volunteer program for Christian young adults in the United States.
[Leroy Barber, Mission Year President:] There is a goal for people to know Jesus. There is probably another strong goal of things are not right in the world, and I want to be a part of making them right.
[O'brien:] How many African-Americans are involved in Mission Year's missionary work?
[Barber:] About five percent a year or less sometimes.
[O'brien:] What does it matter?
[Barber:] I don't think it's good for a kid growing up in an urban neighborhood to only see white faces coming to serve.
[Unidentified Male:] This is where I'm staying right now.
[O'brien:] 22-year-old Harold Boyd left his Chicago home to spend the year in Atlanta. He lives on $12,000 but he has to raise that himself.
[Harold Boyd, Mission Year Participant:] I do believe that with every relationship that I build, that I'll be showing people that I'm in the same struggle as you are.
[Unidentified Male:] I don't have all the answers.
[O'brien:] He's the only minority on his team. It's not surprising when you consider the vast majority of missionaries are white.
[Jim Sutherland, Reconciliation Ministries Network, Inc:] In terms of the missionary percentage of African-Americans, it's far less than one percent.
[O'brien:] Jim Sutherland studies missionary work and the black church.
[Sutherland:] Many black churches do a fairly good job of taking care of their own local communities, but the vocation of the missionary in the African-American church is essentially off the radar, it's basically not there.
[O'brien:] So why are there so few African-Americans who are involved in missionary work?
[Barber:] I think the way missions is traditionally done is you raise support to do it
[O'brien:] Money.
[Barber:] Money, how you work out, taking a year off, which means not working, not earning an income. It's a hard deal.
[O'brien:] For many African-Americans, it's difficult to make this enormous financial sacrifice, especially during a recession. For Harold Boyd, it's worth the sacrifice.
[Boyd:] What really inspired me was the work of missions of being able to see what's out there and se what people need. I don't think I can stab anybody with the gospel. Here, have it. But I'm called to serve here and I'm going to serve.
[O'brien:] Reporting for "In America," Soledad O'Brien, Atlanta.
[Whitfield:] And be sure to join Soledad O'Brien for her upcoming special about fighting financial crisis from the pulpit. "Almighty Debt" a "Black in America" special coming Thursday, October 21st at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN. From simple student to media mogul, meet the face behind Facebook. Movie reviews are next in the
[Cnn Newsroom. Whitfield:] A look at our top stories right now. For the second time in two days, Osama Bin Laden has apparently released an audiotape message. In a 13-minute tape today, the Al Qaeda leader urges Muslims to help flood victims in Pakistan. CNN cannot verify the voice of the tape, and that it is indeed of the terror leader. In the Middle East, Palestinian leaders meeting in the West Bank today reaffirm their stance on Israeli settlements. They support a halt to peace talks with Israel if it does not stop settlement construction. And a deadly train crash in central Indonesia. 36 people were killed when one train rammed another from behind. At least 26 people are hurt. Both trains were headed to Jakarta. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. All right. It's already getting quite the Oscar buzz out there. We're talking movies now and we're talking the movie called "The Social Network," it's hitting theaters this weekend. And we're going to talk about another movie with some big suspense. Jen Yamato is in Los Angeles to break it all down for us. Good to see you again.
[Jen Yamato, Film Critic, Movies.com:] Good to be back. Thank you.
[Whitfield:] All right. Let's begin with "The Social Network." We're talking about, you know, the discovery of this social network or the discussion among friends, one runs away with the idea, and now there is a little bit of fallout as a result. Let's take a quick peek at the clip.
[Unidentified Female:] What are you doing?
[Unidentified Male:] Checking into see how it's going in Bosnia.
[Unidentified Female:] Bosnia? They don't have roads but they have Facebook. You must really hate the Winklevosses.
[Unidentified Male:] I don't hate anybody. The Winklevi aren't suing me for intellectual property theft, they're suing me because for the first time in their lives things didn't work out the way they were supposed to for them.
[Whitfield:] OK. Jen, what do you think? Did you like this movie? Because there has been a lot of buzz, but we only care about what you think.
[Yamato:] As it should be. Well, "The Social Network" is certainly a compelling portrait of ambition in the digital age. It's about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who the film would like you to believe back stabbed his way to the top. I would say it's a good movie. I didn't love it as much as a lot of people seem to have loved it so far. Part of my problem with "The Social Network" is that the vilification of Zuckerberg feels a little too constructed. It could very well be a serial killer movie, only instead of murdering people, Zuckerberg is a computer programming sociopath. That vilification didn't quite work for me. It feels a little too constructed and a little too conveniently contrived for the sake of drama. And on top of that, the female characters overall are really shortchanged. The performances for me
[Whitfield:] What do you mean? Meaning they don't have real characters that have been developed or shortchanged in what way?
[Yamato:] Right. Well, I would say the only interesting female character here disappears after two scenes. The other female characters are really boring throwaway characters or are reduced to stereotypical promiscuous characters to serve the main character and didn't get to do much on their own. This is a very male-driven movie. I felt that the female presence wasn't as strong as it should have been.
[Whitfield:] So overall, what is your grade? Sorry about that.
[Yamato:] I give it a B plus. It's solid, but I didn't love it though. But it is still one to keep an eye out come award season.
[Whitfield:] OK. Now let's talk about "Let Me In." An alienated and bullied 12-year-old builds a friendship with a mysterious new neighbor who would only socialize apparently at night. Let's take a look at this little peek.
[Unidentified Male:] Are you a vampire?
[Whitfield:] Hence the night part.
[Unidentified Female:] I need blood to live.
[Unidentified Male:] How old are you? Really?
[Unidentified Female:] 12. But I've been 12 for a very long time.
[Whitfield:] Oh, no, I don't care if you give it an "A," I don't do freaky movies with evil children. That just scares me too much. And a vampire movie can't have a happy ending. So what's your
[Yamato:] It's a really lovely story.
[Whitfield:] Really?
[Yamato:] Yes, this is based on a Swedish novel, called "The Right One In," which was previously adapted in 2008 into an excellent Swedish language film called "Let the Right One In." This is "Let Me In." The story has been transported to New Mexico in the 1980s. It's about a little boy who befriends, like you said, a girl vampire. It's at times really, really hauntingly beautiful. Very handsomely made and well acted, especially by the kid actors, Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee. I will say that the score is a little bombastic, a little too bombastic and distracting. CG effects that director Matt Reeves includes are also distracting. And the overall, my biggest problem here is that if you've seen the original film, the 2008 Swedish film, this version, the Americanized version does not differentiate itself enough to justify its own existence. I say go with the original film. It's excellent. I'm in the camp that subtitles do not deter me. But I know a lot of people need the English language story told.
[Whitfield:] OK.
[Yamato:] I would recommend it. I give it a B. I would definitely recommend the original more, if you're daring enough to try subtitles.
[Whitfield:] Yes. I think that kind of movie works if you don't have a kid but as soon as you have a kid, I'm sorry, you just can't see these little, you know, scary, freaky stuff going on with kids. OK. Let's move on. "Case 39." I'm sure it's a lovely movie, I'm just not seeing it. "Case 39." Let's talk about this one, a social worker taking a 10-year-old girl out of her apparently abusive home, and while she shelters the little girl, and searches for a foster family, she realizes that her new case is protected by a dark, threatening force. This too is also a little eerie. All right. What do you think about this one? We're not going to look at it. You just have to tell me about it.
[Yamato:] Well, I got to say if you don't like scary kid movies, you're not going to like "Case 39." Because it's the latest in the sub-genre of evil little kid movies and in horror. Renee Zellweger
[Whitfield:] Renee Zellweger, you know, we haven't seen her in a while.
[Yamato:] Yes. Haven't seen her in a while. This movie was actually filmed in 2006 and it's been shelved and reshuffled and moved around for years. I would have to say with good reason. It's not particularly good. It's the kind of horror movie that relies a lot on loud jump scares, but here the jump scares aren't even scary. And overall, the premise is so silly that it's not even frightening. I will say that Jodelle Ferland, who plays the little scary girl is excellent and gives a really incredibly eerie performance for having been 11 years old at the time. But again for certain folks like you and honestly myself, who are scared of evil children, avoid. Avoid this movie.
[Whitfield:] Yes, something tells me you don't want to see a movie with me, because I think your eardrums would be blasting. I will be screaming. You don't think that was scary but the trailer right there. It made me kind of shrill a little bit. So I'll pass on the scary stuff with the kids. All right. Jen Yamato, good to see you. Thanks so much.
[Yamato:] Thank you.
[Whitfield:] OK, so speaking of kids, anyone with teenage boys knows that they will eat you out of house and home if you let them. Even if you don't let them, they will keep consuming and eating. So how do you fill them up without straining your budget or their waistlines? Keep it right here for our family food makeover.

[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Nuclear crisis in Korea. Secretary of State John Kerry on the ground in the South right now as U.S. intelligence suggests the North may indeed have the power to make good on its threats.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Explosives mailed to the man who called himself America's toughest sheriff. Was this a plot to take out Joe Arpaio?
[Berman:] Nature's raw power caught on camera. New this morning word of more storm deaths with the threat continuing at this hour. Look at that.
[Romans:] And fight on the field, benches clear in San Diego after one of baseball's best pitchers out of action for weeks.
[Berman:] That was a nutty fight.
[Romans:] Wow. Good morning, welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. Zoraida is off today.
[Berman:] And I'm John Berman. It is Friday. Friday.
[Romans:] Friday.
[Berman:] April 12th, it is 5:00 a.m. in the East. And happening right now, Secretary of State John Kerry touching down overnight in Seoul trying to diffuse the missile crisis on the Koreaan Peninsula just hours after the dramatic and unexpected revelation that some U.S. intelligence sources believe that North Korea has the technology to make a nuclear weapon and put it on a missile. With so much at stake, Kerry will make three stops on this trip, Beijing and Tokyo are up next. And the secretary of state is expected to lean very hard on China to help rein in the North Koreans. Here's Kyung Lah.
[Kyung Lah, Cnn International Correspondent:] Secretary Kerry is in Seoul this morning. It's a trip that's being built as a getting-to-know-you trip. But he is getting to work very very, quickly because there is a lot on his plate, it is a whirlwind 18-hour tour in South Korea. He has already met with top U.S. commanders in the region, he's already met with the president of South Korea and he is now on his way to meet with the foreign minister. He has a two-part mission here. First, it will be to reassure South Korea that the United States will protect the country, that they are bound by treaty and that they are important allies, but the other is to seek some sort of diplomatic off-ramp with North Korea, to try to send that message to try to find a new solution to an old and what is recently become a more threatening problem in this region. From here he will head to Beijing and Tokyo throughout this region. What will follow him is this Pentagon intelligence assessment that North Korea may be able to deliver a nuclear weapon via ballistic missile, a very stunning report, especially for the United States and this region. Kyung Lah, CNN, Seoul.
[Romans:] Let's go now to the Pentagon for new details on that intelligence assessment of North Korea's nuclear capabilities. Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence joins us now. Chris, it appears the Obama administration attempting to do some serious damage control over the release yesterday of that information.
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Yes, it's right, Christine. I mean, just this morning a U.S. official was saying that they do not believe that North Korea is as far along in their nuclear program as was suggested in that first assessment. This is coming after the director of National Intelligence had to put out a statement late last night basically saying this was one assessment in that other intelligence agencies didn't necessarily come to the same conclusion. But I think the bottom line is North Korea has clearly moved the ball and is continuing to make progress.
[Unidentified Male:] They demonstrated their willingness to invest in missile technologies in violation of their international obligations. And we do think that over time they might develop a greater capability.
[Lawrence:] The one thing that the assessment does say is that the North Koreans still have problems with reliability. That means when you push the button, does that particular missile actually fire and can you hit what you're aiming for?
[Romans:] All right. Do we have any more information, Chris, this morning on how that piece of information got declassified?
[Lawrence:] Yes, this is what you don't see publicly, Christine, and a Defense official told me basically that this was a mistake. And another official told CNN that normally in a classified report like this you don't see one sentence of a classified report unclassified. Again, they are saying it was a mistake on their part. They are not blaming Congressman Doug Lamborn, but he says, look, he felt it's something the American people need to know.
[Rep. Doug Lamborn , Colorado:] And I do that properly in that this was declassified, whether it was a mistake or not, I can't answer that, but this is given the seriousness of the threat, Anderson, this is something that I think people do need to know about.
[Lawrence:] Yes, again, he put in the word out. And again, the officials here saying it was a mistake Christine.
[Romans:] , So, Chris, what about the weapons that we do know North Korea has, how long of a range do they have? Give us a little sense of what we know they do have.
[Lawrence:] We know they've got missiles, some of them have been tested and proven to work, others haven't. Take a look at this map. Basically they've got Scud missiles, they got the Nodong, those can reach, you know, 500 to 1,000 kilometers. We believe that they have missiles that can reach as far as Japan, they tested missiles that can go a lot further, but those tests haven't been successful. Take a look at this other map, the Musudan missile that is believed to be the subject of this launch, that may have the ability to reach Guam but again it has never been tested Christine.
[Romans:] All right. Chris Lawrence, thanks. And, you know, we're awaiting a press conference live from Secretary Kerry live from Seoul. We're going to bring that to you when it happens.
[Berman:] New this morning, explosives mail to a controversial Arizona sheriff. Authorities in Flagstaff intercepted a suspicious package addressed to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix. The test confirmed the package did have black powder. Experts blew it up, no one was hurt, now they're trying to figure out who sent this package. Arpaio has received many threats for his controversial and outspoken ways. The government sue him for allegedly for violating the civil rights of Latinos.
[Romans:] New this morning in Colorado, 31-year-old Thomas Guolee is under arrest in connection with the murder of state prison chief Tom Clements. Police took him into custody as a person of interest. Clements was shot to death at his home last month. Guolee is said to be an associate of Evan Eel or Evan Eel, rather, the suspected gunman.
[Berman:] New developments this morning in the Senate where a debate on gun control legislation is underway. Sixteen Republicans joined Democrats in pushing aside a filibuster that attempted to stop debate from taking place. A number of senators, both Democrat and Republican, thank relatives of the victims of the Connecticut school massacre for lobbying senators to at least bring legislation to the Senate floor for discussion.
[Sen. Chuck Schumer , New York:] Darkness, 20 years when it comes to gun control. Darkness. The lies, the misinformation, and when people see you, it means much more than when they hear me or anybody else. So we've made a huge difference.
[Berman:] The amendments that will be debated include expanding background checks on gun buyer, separate amendments on banning assault weapons and also banning high-capacity magazines.
[Romans:] Another day, another record high for the Dow and the S&P; 500. The Dow now within reach of 15,000. Yesterday the final official closing numbers, 14865, that's two record-high finishes in the last two days for the blue chip. The S&P; 500 also closing at an all-time high yesterday now less than seven points from the 1600 mark. But the bulls could be taking a breather this morning. The Dow, the NASDAQ and S&P; 500 futures for those all pointing lower this morning. It signals a possible pause at the Opening Bell.
[Berman:] All right. Brace yourself, baseball fans, it's a very costly bench-clearing brawl during last night's DodgersPadres game in San Diego. Yes, take a look at this. That's Zach Greinke, the $147 million right-hander, he hit Carlos Quentin with a pitch. Greinke says something, you see Quentin charging the mound.
[Romans:] Whoa.
[Berman:] Greinke breaks his left collarbone in this process here. That's really, really bad for a pitcher. Once the order was restored, Greinke was unable to continue. Not clear how much the pitcher will have to sit out, how much time he will use. He won the Cy Young in 2009. One of the best pitchers in baseball. Here's a little subtext here. It's the third time that Greinke has hit Carlos Quentin over the years.
[Romans:] Oh really?
[Berman:] They have a little bit of bad blood there. Still, you know, you don't charge the mound with a bat. He did drop the bat, but not many people are looking on Carlos Quentin's actions fondly right now.
[Romans:] Wow, look at that.
[Berman:] Again the third time, the third time, Greinke has hit Quentin over the years. So he's never hit anyone as much as he's hit Carlos Quentin. That's some more history right there.
[Romans:] All right. Round one of the Masters is in the books. Four- time champ Tiger Woods posting a respectable two under par 70. He's lurking four strokes off the lead. How about 14-year-old Chinese phenom here, Tianlang Guan. Five bogeys and four birdies in his first competitive round of Augusta for an impressive one-over par 73. He's ahead of last year's champ, Bubba Watson. Here's your leaderboard after 18 holes. Spain's Sergio Garcia and Australian Mark Leishman on top at six under. One shot better than American Dustin Johnson and tied for fourth the 1992 Masters champ, 53-year-old fan favorite Freddie Couples.
[Berman:] Couples looked awesome yesterday. You know, a lot of players had some really, really low scores yesterday. Tiger was fine but he left a lot of shot out there. He could have been doing a lot better than he actually is.
[Romans:] You're sports consumption
[Berman:] I have all afternoon to watch the golf now.
[Romans:] And we are awaiting a news conference our of South Korea. Secretary of State John Kerry to talk to reporters in Seoul amid rising tensions with the North. We'll be right back.

[Richard Quest:] It is a shot across the bow as the EU threatens Hungary over its new Cardinal Laws. President Obama says we want more jobs at home than abroad. We`ll talk to a chief exec meeting the president. And they`re getting thinner and faster. The latest gadgets are in Las Vegas. I`m Richard Quest. I mean business. Good evening. Europe`s patience with Hungary is wearing thin. The European Commission today said Hungary`s new Cardinal Laws could violate EU rules. And the Commission said in a swinging attack, "We reserve the right to take any steps that deems appropriate." That`s political speak for taking legal action in the European courts. The Commission`s concerned that the new measures compromise the independence of Hungary`s judiciary, its Central Bank, and its data protection authority. Hungary`s budget arrangements also drew fire. The Commission`s ruled Hungary has not done enough to correct its excessive deficit. It says Hungary`s relying on unsustainable one-off measures to mask it. The budget sustainability progress is in sufficient. Meanwhile, the other side of the view, Hungary`s economy ministry says the deficit will be under the EU`s three percent threshold this year. Two sides of the argument, both political and economic. Let`s talk more about this. Viktor Szabo is an investment manager for Aberdeen Asset Management, formerly head of Market Analysis for the National Bank of Hungary. Viktor, we need you
[Viktor Szabo, Investment Manager, Aberdeen Asset Management:] Good evening.
[Quest:] to analyze this for us. Let`s start with the economic situation, then we`ll come to the what`s happened today. How bad, actually, is the economic situation in Hungary?
[Szabo:] The economic situation is pretty bad. Actually, the government had two big objectives. One of them is to reduce the overall debt, and the second one to boost growth. We can see, now, that none of them worked.
[Quest:] But you say that, but as I just outlined there, they say that the deficit will be under three percent soon. That`s mastered debt.
[Szabo:] Formally, it is. But the committee looks behind the numbers, and the underlying deficit is much higher. So, Hungary is under excessive deficit procedures since 2004, and in last region, the Commission asked Hungary to reduce their structural deficit by half a percentage point. And, in fact, the last two years, the underlying deficit increased by three percentage points.
[Quest:] Right. But then you take the debt to GDP, it`s only 80 percent. Britain`s got a higher debt to GDP than that. So has Italy, and we`re not suing them.
[Szabo:] Yes, definitely, but those countries are big, they have huge savings, strong economy. Hungary`s a small, open economy, no savings, relying on foreign investment. They cannot do that.
[Quest:] So, when the government says it`s all just a big bunch of criticism from external markets you`ve head the arguments, it`s all a plot, basically what do you say to the government or to the officials?
[Szabo:] The hard data tells a different story, because the deficit is larger than it should be. Well, formally, it is in line, but basically, all the underlying indicators are showing that there is no improvement on the fiscal side. The debt level is higher than it used to be before this government, so basically and in the meantime, they spent almost 10 percent of the GDP on nationalized the private pension funds to 10 percent of the GDP, and it`s gone.
[Quest:] OK, now let`s talk about the political side, as much as you`re able to in your
[Szabo:] I`ll try to.
[Quest:] in your role. So, it does look as if we`re heading to a situation where the Commission is basically, from what you read on this paper, it`s telegraphing it`s going to sue them eventually. It`ll take legal action.
[Szabo:] Actually, I think that`s not exactly what the Commission would like to achieve. They would like Hungary to make the changes before the whole legal procedure starts, because it is a long and nasty legal procedure. So, it will give Hungary some time, not much, a little time to modify the laws on the question.
[Quest:] Right. And the and what we`re talking about, here, is the Central Bank rule, the fiscal rule, the appointment of judges and prosecutors, and a media law, aren`t we?
[Szabo:] So far, yes, these are the issues. There are other issues, but legally, it`s quite difficult to attack them. These are the points where the Commission is sure that they have legally, they can sue Hungary and have a positive outcome.
[Quest:] Let`s go back to the financial side, finally, Viktor. A very senior banker said to me last week that basically no one in the city in the financial world has much confidence in Hungary at the moment. Was he being exaggerating and just being too much, too much fume?
[Szabo:] No, just look what the price is. The high-risk premium that the markets are now pricing, they clearly show there is a lack of confidence on the market, and that more problem is that confidence is waning in Hungary, as well. So, people now are starting to take money out of the bank and converting it to foreign currency. And so many people open accounts abroad.
[Quest:] Is it beyond the possibility that Hungary goes bankrupt?
[Szabo:] It`s not beyond possibility, but it`s not our baseline scenario. At the end of the day, they will have to surrender and accept the all the conditions of the IMF and the European Union. No other way.
[Quest:] We`ll talk more about. Many thanks, indeed, for coming in
[Szabo:] Thank you.
[Quest:] and talking about this. Staying in Europe, Mario Monti says Europe no longer has to worry about contagion from Italy. The Italian prime minister met with Angela Merkel in Berlin. The German chancellor praised Italy`s austerity measures, which she says will help stabilize Europe.
[Angela Merkel, Chancellor Of Germany:] Both in terms of the speed and the substance of these measures, I believe they will strengthen Italy and will improve its economic perspective. We have followed with great respect how quickly the measures are being implemented.
[Quest:] Now, Prime Minister Monit`s imposing $40 billion of austerity. He said the cutbacks aren`t just to please Europe, they`re in his country`s best interests, too.
[Mario Monti, Prime Minister Of Italy:] This was a very mature attitude by Italians, and it merits not a reward from Europe, because the measures we adopted were adopted in the interest of the Italian people. But it merits a recognition by Europe that it doesn`t have to fear anymore that Italy is a possible source of contagion for Europe.
[Quest:] It`s amazing what a bit of austerity does to your stock market. The main index was one of the few gainers in Europe. If you take a look at Italy`s numbers, banks led the gains. Banca Popolare di Milano at more than nine percent. The markets in a falling market of the FTSE, DAX, and CAC. The actual MIB in Milan rose a quarter of one percent. Total was down one percent, Shell down three. Germany`s economy is slowing, and that took its toll on that economy. GDP for Q4 down one quart fourth one quarter of one percent. That will teach me to translate that fast. You get the idea, Germany`s slowing down. Out with outsourcing. Let`s have those jobs back in. Barack Obama wants businesses to come home and relive the American dream.

[Unidentified Female:] The presidential race has been won by Governor Ronald Reagan of California.
[Unidentified Male:] Governor Clinton is now President Bill Clinton. Too close to call. George W. Bush re-elected. Barack Obama president-elect of the United States.
[Unidentified Male Announcer:] This is CNN.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] Tonight a new region of the country weighs in on the Republican presidential race.
[Unidentified Male:] Tonight a western warm-up for the biggest event of the Republican presidential campaign.
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] Here in Washington State, you can reset the election again heading into Super Tuesday.
[Unidentified Male:] All four candidates trying to tap into a new gold mine of delegates.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I just need you to go out and vote. You will you do that for me?
[Unidentified Male:] Who will get a shot of momentum heading into the Super Tuesday slug-fest? It's Washington choice. Mitt Romney avoided an embarrassing defeat in Michigan. Now, he and Rick Santorum are taking the grudge match into new territory.
[Romney:] Rick Santorum is a nice guy. But he's not the guy that will fight me.
[Santorum:] I think Governor Romney's MO has just going out and try to savage and beat up on the other opponent and it's wearing thin on my Republican voters.
[Unidentified Male:] Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich are refusing to be ignored.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] We have a real chance to win next Tuesday.
[Ron Paul , Presidential Candidate:] Still winning a lot of delegates and that's what counts.
[Unidentified Male:] Will an underdog seize the day or will one of the frontrunners chock up a new victory?
[Santorum:] I'm not writing off any state right now.
[Romney:] Your voice is going to be heard.
[Unidentified Male:] The tension is building, the stakes are rising and this is just the start of a frantic sprint to Super Tuesday.
[Blitzer:] I'm Wolf Blitzer. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Mitt Romney has the lead of the early results coming in from the Washington caucuses. But it's a very tight race for second between Rick Santorum and the Texas congressman Ron Paul. We're expecting more numbers any moment now. Voters across the state gathered this afternoon. You're looking at a live picture right now, the Republican parties' headquarter where they're busy tabulating the votes and set to announce the totals. Let's take a look at the early numbers, not so early right now, 29 percent of the vote in Washington state and the caucus now in. Mitt Romney with 36 percent, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are tied for a second, virtually actually, exactly the same 24 percent, Newt Gingrich a distant fourth with 12 percent. Only Ron Paul chose to be in Washington State tonight. He's planning to address his supporters this hour. Our reporters tracking the Republican candidates have been busy all day as well as the Washington state parties headquarters and the caucus sites. Here with me tonight are chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, and our chief national correspondent, John king of CNN's "JOHN KING USA." They're ready to assess and analyze the results. We'll also get perspective from our contributors, Ari Fleischer and Hillary Rosen. Let start out with CNN'S Paul Vercammen. He is over at state Republican Party headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. Well, set the scene for us, Paul. What's the latest?
[Paul Vercammen, Cnn Producer:] Well, we just had three more counties trickle in. I'm going to bring in the GOP. This is Kirby Wilbur. And from what I understand, we have 26 now of 39.
[Kirby Wilbur, Washington State Gop Chairman:] 26 of 39.
[Vercammen:] Washington County is reporting we should node the big counties not in yet. Tell us what the last three counties were and what the count is in them.
[Wilbur:] OK. We had Woodman and Calles at and I can't remember the third one that was
[Vercammen:] I believe its Franklin.
[Wilbur:] Franklin. What we have now total. We have Mitt Romney at 36 percent, we have Rick Santorum and Congressman Paul tied to the vote 42.56 percent, and then Newt Gingrich behind at 12 and about 3 percent undecided or other. And we are our record attendance, we have got 17,100 votes in already and these are the smaller counties. We had a total of 14,000 people, roughly 14,000 in 2008. So we've got record attendance without counting the big counties. I think this shows a high level of enthusiasm and excitement and it also shows how important the straw poll has been. We moved it before Super Tuesday to get the excitement going. We've had incredible press. The candidates have visited for the first time ever. The candidates have been out here and it shows off with this turnout. This is incredible for us.
[Vercammen:] Characterize this for us though. If I'm not mistakes, Paul and Santorum, do better in the rural counties and perhaps the numbers aren't as great as they would have liked.
[Wilbur:] I think that's probably true. And in the big counties, I mean, Ron Paul has his pockets of strength in King County. We know, so, that come advantage of him. Also, Spokane County has been known as Ron Paul country. So, those should help him. Rick Santorum really didn't have much of an infrastructure here. But he did visit this folks here and tries cities. And there are still a couple of counties and inherit to turn in. So, they should do better or they should do hope to do better at least. But I tell you, Mitt Romney I think is showing surprising strength in the outside areas. We thought he would do well in the population centers, but he's shown pretty well outside. So, we'll wait to see. But, he has a pretty solid lead. But you know, Paul and Santorum close for the second place. They're tied to the vote.
[Vercammen:] And you have a rare insight into some of the voting in King County because you had a caucus at your house in five precincts.
[Wilbur:] We did.
[Vercammen:] How did it go?
[Wilbur:] We had five precincts, we have 56 people in our house and we did found room for all of them, most of these people never been involved before. It went overwhelmingly for Mitt Romney. They want to get involved. They are concern about the country. They all have the chance to come and to have a say. And they're very enthusiastic. And you know that should be the kind of exciting to see these new people involved in the process for the first time.
[Vercammen:] We appreciate you taking the time out.
[Wilbur:] You bet.
[Vercammen:] We are going to check out with you throughout the night.
[Wilbur:] We will be here.
[Vercammen:] OK. Kirby, thank you so much.
[Wilbur:] Thanks very much.
[Vercammen:] Well, you got it there from the GOP chairman, 26 of 39 counties reporting. The numbers are just starting to come in. We're waiting for the populous counties, Wolf, and some indications that it could take maybe more than an hour. We'll have to see. Back to you now, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes. But we are expecting 100 percent or nearly 100 percent of the vote in within an hour, is that right?
[Vercammen:] Well, I'm not positive about that. The chairman has said that they expect 100 percent but I checked around with some of the counties and I'm not sure they'll all be able to make those calls and have all of those I's dotted and T's crossed. So, let's hope for that. But as you know, Wolf, as we saw in Colorado and other states this season, sometimes what's promised doesn't always exactly comes true right at the time that we want.
[Blitzer:] Yes. To paraphrase somebody else, stuff happens. All right, we'll see what happens. Thanks very much for that. Paul, who is right on top of the situation in Washington State. Unlike the secrecy of primary elections, the caucus process is wide open. Cameras and reporters, they are allowed in. They can watch everything. And there's give and take as voters explain their choices and try to persuade others to change their mind. Here's some of what our caucus cameras saw during today's meetings.
[Shannon Travis, Cnn Political Reporter:] These fine folks are getting ready to caucus just a few short moments from now. They're expecting between 400 and 600 people. But I want to draw your attention to something that is different in this caucus than in other caucuses that we have seen. The people who are basically at this table now, they're walking through the door and immediately casting their ballot for who they want to win in this caucus in Washington State. After that, they'll go just a few short feet back to a cafeteria where the caucus process will continue.
[Unidentified Male:] Pleased to see this great turnout.
[Travis:] And finally, one of the most important parts of this caucus process here in Lakewood, Washington, electing delegates, those prizes that all four of the presidential candidates are after here. Take a look around at these different tables. They're basically people separated into different precincts. These delegates that they're electing right now, they are non-binding. By the end of the night, once this caucus is over, CNN will be estimating which candidates, how many delegates that they each get.
[Unidentified Male:] They want the president, whoever is president to focus on the deficit and get Americans back to work.
[Travis:] Oliver and Shannon Travis earlier in the day out at the caucus site. Let's find out why Washington State is such an important state in this Republican race for the White House. Our Chief national correspondent John King is joining us. He is over at the magic wall with a closer look. John, Washington state very important in this contest, not only for the Republican nomination but in November especially as well.
[John King, Chief National Correspondent:] Could conceivably be battleground state in November. The Democrats have had good luck in Washington State in recent cycles. But if you go back a little bit, how Washington used to be a swing state in presidential politics hasn't been that way in a while. But, Mitt Romney for example says if he wins the nomination, he would take a good look at Washington State. Let's just look at the map. Watch the state as it lit up Romney at the moment because of the early results. That's not final. But, what Governor Romney is hoping for tonight, Wolf, this is to springboard into Super Tuesday, ten contests on Tuesday. Governor Romney at the moment has some momentum. He just won Michigan. He just won Arizona. He just won Wyoming. He has momentum now. Remember, it was senator Santorum, the purple state; Santorum had the momentum not long ago. Romney hopes now to have a spring board and he hopes to get it more of Washington State. Again, that's 30 percent of the results in, Mitt Romney leading, Ron Paul in second place, tie for second place, an exact tie at this results, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. This would be number one, a big disappointment for Ron Paul. We keep saying caucus states are his strength states. He hasn't won one yet. And a lot of people thought just a few days ago, Washington State could be his first win. Now, let's watch and see. He has time to come back. Why do I say that? Well, if you look here, King County is almost 30 percent of the state population. That's the big county where Seattle is. This is the biggest most populous county in the state. This is critical in any election in Washington State. So, we're waiting for the results to come in there. If you come across to the other side of the state, Spokane as well, Wolf, a major population center. So, we've got a ways to go. You see the state filling in at the moment. But if Governor Romney can win again, he thinks he has momentum going into big day on Tuesday.
[Blitzer:] And it's your assumption, I think a lot of people just believe the big county, King County, where Seattle is, that's Romney territory. So, he could extend his lead once that county start reporting. They haven't started reporting yet.
[King:] They have not reported yet. And look, what we may be finally seeing this race, as a lot of people have said, you know, where is this vaunted Romney organization. Senator Santorum has won with passion in another state. Well, as results start to come in, you see some results coming in a little bit error in the wall right there as data comes into the wall. Now, just not that long ago, people who said Ron Paul might win Washington State. But we're beginning to see organization matter. He came back in Michigan late, turned out to vote. Has he done that in Washington State as well tonight? It could be a big question. And if he proves it, Wolf, two or three states in a row, then we'll watch it on Tuesday night.
[Blitzer:] And told, building up towards Tuesday. Ten contest this coming Tuesday. John, stand by. Let's bring in our political team. Joining me now are chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, our CNN contributor, Hillary Rosen, a Democratic strategist along with our CNN contributor, Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary for President George W. Bush. Set the scene, Gloria, for us. First of all right now, assuming and it looks like Mitt Romney is in pretty good shape now.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] Assuming he wins, this will give him momentum going into Super Tuesday.
[Borger:] Absolutely. First of thought, we're waiting for Spokane county which has got a lot of Ron Paul supporters. The interesting question to me is if Romney wins, who is going o be number two, will it be Santorum or will it be Ron Paul? But this is a very important win psychologically. Let's put the delegates aside for the Romney campaign because what they believe is that this shows, for the first time that they're actually getting a bounce out of their previous wins. And that there is something called momentum in this campaign, and that voters may be paying attention to something called electability. And that finally, you know, you see in the caucuses and primaries, that where Mitt Romney has done very well with voters who believe that he is the most electable candidate in the fall. And so, I think that maybe his calling card here, because nothing succeeds like success. So the more you win, the more you win.
[Blitzer:] And Ari, one thing that's been a bit surprising, I guess to some is Newt Gingrich. He's probably at least he's ahead of the polls in his home state of Georgia, which votes this coming Tuesday. But he's a distant fourth in Washington State. He's not doing well in these other states. What happened?
[Ari Fleischer, Cnn Contributor:] You know, Wolf, it's increasingly looking like what propelled Newt Gingrich were the debates and his performance taking on reporters. Absent that, I'm not sure who would have won South Carolina. And Newt may have won it but certainly by a smaller margin. But that's really what propelled him and that was it. Otherwise, Newt has been the thoughtful grandfather of the lot of the other debates, the person a lot of Republican said. He's been more thoughtful than I thought. But fundamentally, Newt was a candidate who very few people took seriously enough to think he has presidential mettle. And I think that's why you see him wasn't able to go on, on the basis of his name, his ideas, his new solutions of things he says he's for. He faded a long time ago. And it's very hard to see him coming back.
[Blitzer:] You know, as we take a look, Hillary, at what's going on from the democratic perspective of another win, three wins over the past few days, if he wins in Washington State going into Super Tuesday that really does propel Mitt Romney in a significant way.
[Hilary Rosen, Cnn Contributor:] It gives him momentum. I don't think Democrats are particularly worried about Washington State. President Obama won it handily in 2008. I think he would again in this year.
[Blitzer:] In November, you're talking.
[Rosen:] In November. But, you know, the thing that we should talk about with Mitt Romney is the point that John made which is really he has an organization and he has paid for it. He has spent about over $60 million to the next biggest spender as Rick Santorum at $8 million. That's where money comes in. The super PACs are paying a lot of money for ads on TV. Romney's organization and the funding he is doing on the ground, he is powering through his party's unhappiness with him. And he's powering through it with that kind of organization with money.
[Borger:] When you talk to people in the Romney campaign though, about Washington State. They say that if they win tonight, it was actually unexpected for them. This isn't one of their target states. Yes, they spent some time in Washington State after they won the last primaries because they saw it as an opportunity. But it's not a place they really expected to win. So it may be the start of some kind of a snowball effect.
[Rosen:] Inevitability.
[Borger:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] Ari, this is the first contest we've seen we've had something, obviously in Arizona, but in Washington State, it moves it to a different level really out west to northwestern part of the country. And there are indications that we'll learn from what happens tonight.
[Fleischer:] Yes. New region of the country and that's the interesting thing in the primaries overtime. It forces the candidates to have a national appeal not just regional appeal. I think that's a good thing. But, here's something else to keep an eye on tonight, and that's turnout. If turnout is low, it will favor Ron Paul. As you pointed out earlier, he's supposed to do well in a caucus state because he has such a passionate following. But, if a lot of people turn out other because Mitt Romney organizing or because they're just motivated by excitement in the race, then turnout is higher and that's going to favor Mitt Romney. So, the numbers actually are coming in so far are even better for Mitt Romney than they first indicate because they're coming in from the western part of the state. I'm sorry, the eastern part of the state first. It would be surprising that Mitt Romney is doing that well in the eastern part of the state. But it looks like he is. I expect Mitt Romney to do much better in King County and some of the eastern counties, the big populated counties. So, right now, I got to say. This is looking like a strong night for Mitt Romney. And I think turnout is heavy. You heard the chairman say it.
[Blitzer:] Yes, 30 percent of the population in King County where Seattle is. All right, standby. Everyone stand by. We are going to be going back to Washington State to the caucuses. We'll hear from the Republican Party chairman. It will be announced the final result from the podium. We'll have live coverage. You're looking at the cameras of the podium where the announcement will be made. We expect it to be made within the hour.

[Costello:] It is 34 minutes past the hour. The widow of the man who sent Zanesville, Ohio into a panic last week after he released 56 exotic animals will not get back the six animals that survived the killing. The Ohio Department of Agriculture issued a quarantine order which means the animals will stay at the Columbus Zoo for now. When asked if conditions of the woman's property were safe enough for the animals, this is what animal expert, Jack Hanna, told Anderson Cooper.
[Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus, Columbus Zoo:] There's no way, over my dead body, it might be that pretty soon, those animals are going to go back there to the same conditions, and I'd wake up tomorrow morning saying, what and let's say they got out of here or something happen. Can you imagine what they'd think of not just the zoo, but the state of Ohio? Are we crazy?
[Costello:] There have been reports the animals were malnourished and diseased. A spokesman for Ohio's governor says that could pose a public health threat. Health officials in North Carolina say eight cases of E.coli have been confirmed in the state, and now, 13 more possible cases are being investigated. Four of the confirmed cases are children. They're being treated in hospitals for kidney failure. While the source of the E.coli is unknown, officials believe that most of the victims attended the state fair that began on October 13th. And students at St. Mary's College in Maryland will be cruising through the rest of the semester, literally. Starting on Monday, 240 students will be relocated to a cruise ship because the school is dealing with a mold problem. Florida senator, Marco Rubio, has been eyed as a potential vice presidential candidate, but could questions about his family history get in the way? And you're looking again at these live pictures. NASA just about to launch a new satellite mission. Minutes away, that thing will blast off,and we'll show it to you live. But first, time for your "Get Smart" question of the day. President Obama unveiled his plan this week to try and help people pay off student loans, but the price of higher education continues to rise. Which state school system had the highest tuition hike from last year to this year? Was it A. New York, B. Arkansas, or C. California? We'll have your answer in two minutes. It's 36 minutes past the hour.

[Costello:] Fourteen minutes past the hour. Welcome back. After Herman Cain made interesting comments about China and nuclear weapon, some people, like Stephen Colbert, are questioning how much he really knows. Here is your punch line.
[Cain:] I do view China as a potential military threat. They've indicated they've tried to develop nuclear capability.
[Stephen Colbert, Host, "the Colbert Report":] Nation, we cannot allow China to develop nukes, especially since they developed them in 1964. I am telling you, if you don't act fast, they might end up building a wall to keep foreigners out. What? No!
[Cain:] You think I'm dumb enough not to study up on these issues? I've been studying up on these issues for months.
[Colbert:] Exactly, he has been studying up on these issues for months. He just hasn't worked his way up to the chapter on the 1960s yet. First, I can't wait to hear his plan on how to get us out of Vietnam. So, stay strong, Herman Cain. If you get stuck in a next interview, remember, the answers are in the back of the book.
[Costello:] Wow. Not a good time for Herman Cain. Now, it's time for your Political Ticker with Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS live from Washington. Good morning, Tim.
[Tim Farley, Sirius Potus:] Bonjour, Carol.
[Costello:] Thank you.
[Farley:] I was in Cannes. I take, why not, why not?
[Costello:] I know, in the G-20 Summit. Let's talk about Herman Cain though because he's having one bad week. I mean, things have gotten so bad, he's openly showing frustration and getting testy with reporters who again asked him about these sexual harassment allegations. This is what happened yesterday in Virginia.
[Cain:] Let me say one thing. I'm here with these doctors, and that's what I'm going to talk about. So don't even bother asking me all of these other questions that you all are curious about. Don't even bother.
[Reorter:] But are you concerned about the fact that these women do want
[Cain:] What did I say?
[Reporter:] Are you concerned about
[Cain:] Excuse me. Excuse me! What part of "no" don't some people understand?
[Costello:] So, Tim, my guess, it's likely that conservatives will kind of like Cain's expression of anger at reporters because he told them, I'm not answering any questions about that. Of course, on the other side of the aisle, people are saying, oh, my gosh, Cain is losing it.
[Farley:] Yes. It's still a better way to handle it. It reminds me, Carol, and you've worked in Washington, D.C. and you understand what the culture is like around here. But you've also been on earnings calls with CEOs. And Herman Cain is acting like one of the CEOs. He's sort of saying, I answered your questions, don't ask me anymore about this, or he changes the answer and says he seems to be playing with facts here and there. I think the big question right here is what's going to happen politically. We have polls that have been out. You mentioned the Quinnipiac poll that was taken prior to this whole series of events taking place. Who is to gain right now? We'll see in some of the polls. My guess is Rick Perry is the beneficiary. Long term perhaps, it will probably be Mitt Romney because eventually, I think, he's got what it takes to beat Rick Perry, too. But the sniping has not made the Republican Party look good. We've seen some reaction. Michele Bachmann has already been on the road saying we need no surprises with our candidates. Jon Huntsman has been attacking Mitt Romney and Herman Cain on policy, not so much on what's happening here. Newt Gingrich says if there's somebody to blame behind all of this, if there's somebody in one of the camps that made this come about, that person should be fired. So, it looks kind of childish right now for the Republicans. My guess is that Herman Cain should figure out a way to either go quietly for a few days and just let this rest and hope something else takes over or have some big statement that just sort of lays it all out there and then say I've answered the questions, let's move on. It doesn't seem like he's looking at doing either right now. We'll see how it plays out.
[Costello:] Well, you know what's going to happen on Thursday. One of the women who accused him all those years ago will put out a statement. She won't appear in person. She said she doesn't want to become another Anita Hill. So, she's going to put out this statement, not detailing exactly what happened, but at least saying, hey, in my mind these things did happen 12 years ago.
[Farley:] Yes. And one of the big problems here is that we keep seeing it's like the Imelda Marcos story, the shoes keep dropping. And we've seen that happen. And we have the accusation by yet anonymous another anonymous person, another woman "A.P." reporting yesterday that had been part of this. Again, Herman Cain has to figure out a way to be able to definitively state what happened and so that people are satisfied. Now, there will be people that will try to ask questions. I think Bill Clinton effectively did this with the Gennifer Flowers incident in 1992. These are the kinds of things that will dog people. And it's not that there's so much substance to it. It's just the way Herman Cain and his campaign are playing it, blaming whoever it's taking away from whatever message he has to deliver. And he just has to do a better job of managing the situation. That's a key part of it right now. He's looking less presidential every day, which is one the biggest problems for him.
[Costello:] Tim Farley, host of "Morning Briefing" on Sirius POTUS Radio. Thanks for joining us live this morning.
[Farley:] Au revoir.
[Costello:] Au revoir. Speaking French, friends in France, the G-20 are meeting on the French Riviera among other things, trying to map out the future of the global economy. The U.S. and French presidents set to speak in just a couple moments. Of course, when they begin speaking, we're take that live. But let's head around the world now with Ali Velshi, because he is live in Cannes, France, the site of the G-20 Summit. Good morning, Ali.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Chief Business Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. Stormy around here. All cloudy, heavy winds, sort of setting the tone for the G-20 which, by the way, is just getting under way right now even though all the excitement was yesterday in the meetings between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Sarkozy with the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. We have just now heard that Papandreou has called an emergency cabinet meeting for 10:00 local time, which is 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time. They look like they're going ahead with this referendum for December 4th. Basically the rest of the Europeans have said to them, if you go ahead with this referendum, understand that it is a vote about whether or not Greece remains in the Eurozone even though that's technically not what the referendum is about. It's about this bailout, this European rescue plan that was passed by the European Union on October 27th. So, all of that other stuff about mapping out the global economy that the G-20 was supposed to be about has sort of taken a back seat to this whole issue of this European deal and Greece, and whether Greece is going to go along with it and the uncertainty this is providing to investors and everyone else around the world. So, that's the backdrop we have of what's going on. But from moments from now, we're going to hear the president of the United States and Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy is the host country. France is the host country for the G-20. They meet about twice a year. The G-20 has been around since 2008, since the financial crisis, basically the world coming together to try to have coordinated responses to bad things going on around the world Carol.
[Costello:] I want to tell you to take cover because the weather looks bad. It's starting to look like the Wizard of Oz out there, Ali.
[Velshi:] Yes, it's a bit like hurricane coverage out here, I'll tell you. But, you know, just across over there is the place where the Cannes film festival is held. That's where they're having their meeting. So, everybody is sheltered except for us because that's what we reporters do, we like to stand outside when the weather is bad.
[Costello:] I expect you any moment to say "anti em." Thank you, Ali. We appreciate it. We'll check back in with you when the president begins speaking.
[Velshi:] All right.
[Costello:] Again, President Obama and President Sarkozy are expected to speak any minute. Once they start, of course, we'll bring you their comments live. Coming up on A.M. WAKE-UP CALL, the jury hears closing arguments today in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's former doctor. Hey, missed any of it. We got your lightning speed recap, next. It's 23 minutes past the hour.

[Baldwin:] Three more accusers testified today against former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. One alleged victim, identified as Number 10, testified that Sandusky sexually abused him, threatened him and then apologized and professed his love for him. Jean Casarez was in the courtroom. She's a correspondent for TruTV's "In Session." And I know you were in there for accuser Number Seven. What did he say?
[Jean Casarez, Trutv's "in Session":] You know, this young man, he's 25-years old now and he testified much like the others have testified. There are basically three places where these take place in the car of Jerry Sandusky as he's driving them somewhere; in the showers at the Penn State University's coach's locker room; and then also in Jerry Sandusky home while his wife is there. And this accuser said that he's in the car and he's in the front seat. Jerry Sandusky puts his hand on his thigh and then works his way up the pants. And he said that he would just move over to the side of the car as hard as he could to get away from him. At the home, he would be going to bed, Jerry Sandusky would come and give him a hug, cuddle with him and he would just struggle to get away and say I have to go to sleep. And then in the showers, he said at least it happened once, that Jerry would come and try to lather him with soap and he would just break away and go to another shower. Well, this young man suddenly didn't get the tickets to the football game anymore, he testified. And he didn't know what he did wrong. He felt he did something very, very wrong. Hard cross- examination on him, though.
[Baldwin:] So in 30 seconds, you have Jerry Sandusky listening to this testimony. Is he shaking his head throughout or what?
[Casarez:] No. But when his defense attorney said you didn't say any of this to the grand jury. In fact, you said he never touched you without clothes on and never touched you inappropriately. Jerry Sandusky seemed very satisfied as the jury left for the break at that point. Sandusky looked at every single juror as they left the room.
[Baldwin:] Jean, we just got some news as you've been talking to me here outside the courtroom that the judge has now said that the prosecution will rest by Friday. By Friday. Jean Casarez, we appreciate it, outside that courthouse in Pennsylvania. Thank you for being with me the last two hours. I'll be right back here tomorrow. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

[O'brien:] College football fans are all fired up for the January 7th showdown between unbeaten Notre Dame and the crimson tide of Alabama. The winner will take home the BCS championship. Fighting Irish are top ranked in the nation. They're hoping to win their first national championship since 1988. Alabama is trying to become the first team to ever win back to back BCS titles. Ted Rowlands is live for us in South Bend, Indiana this morning. Joe Carter, he joins us from crimson tide country in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Let's get the rivalry started on air live right now. Ted, get this started for me. How are the Irish feeling about this?
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, as you can imagine, Soledad, very excited. You know, tradition is everywhere here in South Bend outside the stadium here you see it. Inside you see all the national championship banners being hung. Outside you have all of the coaches that won national championships. They all have a statue here. Bottom line, though, it's been 24 years since Notre Dame fans have enjoyed a national championship. So as you can imagine, fans across the country who cheer for Notre Dame and students here in South Bend are absolutely thrilled at another shot at a title.
[Unidentified Male:] Super excited. Campus has just erupted. Everyone's, like going nuts on campus right now. Everyone's worried about getting tickets to the game right now because they're doing a lottery. So it's going to be pretty tough to get tickets. We're all just worried about getting to Miami, I think.
[Unidentified Female:] Especially after coming back from Thanksgiving break. There's just so much excitement. You just hear so much about, oh, are you going to Miami? Yes, everyone's going to Miami whether they have a ticket or not.
[Rowlands:] Those will be tough tickets to get. Notre Dame a ten-point underdog here, but this is a team that has persevered throughout the season. They're undefeated. They have a linebacker on their team. He's a Heisman trophy candidate. He lost his girlfriend to leukemia and his grandmother in a 24-hour period during the season. The way that he has reacted to that, Soledad, has inspired people across the country. He's really one of those special players that does not come along very often and he is the rock of this team.
[O'brien:] All right, let's turn to Tuscaloosa, now. Joe, tide, defending champs, how are folks there feeling?
[Joe Carter, Cnn Correspondent:] Feeling great. I know Ted and I both wish we were in Miami right now because it's a little cold out here. We're standing in front of the stadium, the cathedral here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A 101,000 fans are screaming on the Saturday there and where we're actually standing is what they call the walk of champions. What it is, is all the coaches over the years, over their storied program, that have won national championships. You've got five coaches here. They've collectively won 14 national championships. The statue that I'm standing closest to is the current Alabama head coach, and that's Nick Saban. It's funny because it's the only one of the statues that dons tennis shoes and a golf shirt. Everyone else is in suit. Nick Saban is a much more casual coach. In his tenor he's won two national championships. The students here believe he'll win one in 2012. They've written it in chalk. Students here say Alabama football is more than just a sport. It's a culture. It's a way of life. Fans we talked to last night, they start cheering for the crimson tide as a very young age.
[Unidentified Female:] Been an Alabama fan all my life. Matter of fact, my children. I've got a daughter, she's 30. She's been to 31 homecomings. My son is 21. He's been to 22 homecomings.
[Unidentified Male:] I think it's incredibly special Alabama earned the opportunity to play again. You know, I look forward to Alabama beating anybody, but particularly anybody that's not in the SEC.
[Carter:] Alabama fans and this program certainly used to being here. This is obviously their third opportunity to win a national championship in four years. First time ever in the BCS era for a team to win back to back national championships, Soledad, you know what? It's a hot ticket already. Over 100,000 ticket requests have been put in for the national championship game and it's still 35 days away.
[O'brien:] If you were reporting on it, though, you could go for free and not need a ticket. Are you guys are you rooting for someone? I mean, do you have like who you'd like to win? Go ahead, Joe, what do you think?
[Carter:] You know, this is old fashioned football here. Two storied programs over 100 years apiece. Good old fashioned football that's going to
[O'brien:] Which means what?
[Carter:] Two great power houses colliding. I would like to see I'm not going to pick. Notre Dame would be nice to have a new champion. A new champion would be nice.
[O'brien:] Ted, you agree?
[Rowlands:] Absolutely. I've touched on Jesus staring me downright here outside the stadium so Notre Dame all the way for me.
[O'brien:] All right, we'll see what happens. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, a potentially explosive situation forces the evacuation of an entire town. We'll tell you the source of that danger coming up. Plus, the story of the homeless man who received a pair of shoes from a selfless police officer, but now there's a twist. When reporters caught up to him, the boots were nowhere to be seen. We'll tell you why. That's straight ahead on STARTING POINT.

[Banfield:] Hi, everybody. Wake up with us. It's 6:29 and you're almost late for work. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
[Sambolin:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. I hope not. Welcome back to EARLY START. On the agenda in the next half hour, five days to New Hampshire. Romney picking up a huge endorsement. Santorum picking up the fund- raising big time. Not bad. And we're waking up Joey Pants. And you would only know who that is if you watch us. Well, now you know because we're putting a picture up there. But we try calling him I think on day two of our show, was it? Or was it the other one?
[Banfield:] Oh, yes. Total bust.
[Sambolin:] Yes.
[Banfield:] Yes. It didn't work. That phone call
[Sambolin:] He's going to answer the phone today.
[Banfield:] How do you know that?
[Sambolin:] Because I feel it. I feel good about this, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] I think he would have answered. I think it was our problem. We were dialing and getting, you know, these numbers not in service anymore and I thought maybe he's just given me a bogus number to be nice to get rid of me.
[Sambolin:] Fair enough.
[Banfield:] But it really is it's still a good number. So we'll give it another try and see what's Pants has to say about he's huge into politics. He may be a former "Soprano" cast member, but this guy loves his politics. So we're going to find out what he thinks about what happened in Iowa. Thirty minutes past the hour now. It's to get you up on the big stories of the day. U.S. military may not longer be able to fight two ground wars at the very same time. The president and the defense secretary are going to unveil a new Pentagon strategy today. It includes cutting a whole bunch of troops to cut defense costs.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] The accused Hollywood arsonist, Harry Burkhart, a German citizen is now charged with 37 counts of arson. Police alleged he set more than 50 fires in an arson spree triggered by his anger over an immigration hearing last week for his mother.
[Banfield:] And I don't know if you missed it, but it's fun. Ron Paul slamming Jon Huntsman with this tweet. "We found your one Iowa voter and he's in Linn precinct five. You might want to call him and say thanks." Last night, Ron Paul tried to explain this to CNN's Piers Morgan. And Mr. Huntsman responded.
[Rep. Ron Paul , Presidential Candidate:] Well, you know, that was done, you know, through staff. It was supposed to be good humor. And, I mean, I I just didn't think that was a big deal.
[Jon Huntsman , Presidential Candidate:] You think he would have learned the perils of ghost written subject matter by now. But I have to tell you at the end of the day, I actually found it to be pretty humorous.
[Banfield:] I love that they are being nice about it. I was expecting at least one of them, maybe the governor, to go like oh, snap, no, you didn't. But we didn't get that much out of him.
[Sambolin:] I don't know that I was expecting that one. All right. So, next stop here is New Hampshire. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are ramping up for round two now. Romney is already in the Granite State and picked up a big endorsement for John McCain. Did you see that?
[Banfield:] Yes. It was kind of found to watch, although I have to admit, John McCain didn't seem like he was on his game. He is such a great campaigner. I just used to love watching the campaign rallies. But I almost fell like he was a bit, I don't know, just a little different.
[Sambolin:] Tired.
[Banfield:] It could have been. He had a lot of travel to do. So, here you go. We got more news about the politics story, too. If you were watching, Michele Bachmann some people called this emotional, I didn't think it was emotional. I thought she was very straight to the message. She was very thankful to her God and to her supporters, but said, I'm stepping aside. So I'm out. Goodbye, Ms. Bachmann. And hello, New Hampshire. We still got more to go, folks. Let's hear what's ahead with our politics panel. In New York, Will Cain, columnist of "The Blaze," getting up early for us. And in San Diego, Ruben Navarrette, syndicated columnist with "The Washington Post" writers group. And in Chicago, conservative commentator, Lenny McAllister. Gentlemen, I got to talk about Rick Santorum for a moment because, well, everything has been all about the money that he's been raising. I want to talk about pork politics because it's very rare that you get to hear someone defending pork, earmarks and he does. He's been under a lot of attacks and probably going to get sharper, those attacks, for his defense of pork. Let's listen and talk on the other side.
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] All I said is what the constitution provides is that Congress appropriates funds. And that's what we do. We appropriate funds and as Ron Paul did, as Jim DeMint did, it is about every member of Congress did when you go to Congress, you make sure that when taxes go from your state to Washington, D.C., you fight to make sure you get your fair share back.
[Banfield:] OK. Will Cain, I don't know. Is that going to pass mustard with Tea Partiers and people who just hate pork no matter how you explain it?
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Depends on if they want to think or not. If they're going to continue voting on emotion and style, and how they perceive somebody to be, then no. But if we are going to continue to look into these candidates and see what they think, yes, it should matter. You add this to the fact that Rick Santorum voted against NAFTA. He's basically anti-free trade. He advocated for varying corporate tax rates on different industries, picking winners and losers. And you come up with the conclusion I don't see how Rick Santorum checks the boxes at these conservative purists at least on economic issues.
[Sambolin:] All right. Lenny, let's switch to you and talk about Rick Perry. He's out. He's in. Romney apparently is happy. This is what he tweeted yesterday. He said, "In the next leg of the marathon is a Palmetto State. Here we come, South Carolina." What do you make of this?
[Lenny Mcallister, Conservative Commentator:] You know what, if I were Mitt Romney, I wouldn't necessarily want Rick Perry getting back into this race. I think it was very good move for Rick Perry because, again, we have seen every other anti-Romney candidate make a flub that makes the Tea Partyfar right wing of the conservative movement move away from that candidate. And you've already seen it with Rick Santorum and the earmarks statement. We'll see how he does with these debates as a front-runner now. But if he starts sliding down the polls, who has the money and organization, the volunteers, to get back into this race? Rick Perry. If his floor was Iowa, if his floor was the early debate performances and can move up from here, he has the structure to get back in this race, I think it is a very good move not to quit now.
[Banfield:] Money, money. I'm glad you said that because, Ruben Navarrette, jump in on this with me, some people thought that was not a reassessment of Rick Perry's campaign. That whole nanosecond he was back in Texas, but that it might have been actually met with some additional bucks, that that was, you know, propelled him to jump right back in. And to know he really could make it through South Carolina and Florida. Do you think that was really the key to the reason he decided to jump back in after the reassessment? Was it a reassessment or was it sort of a re-juicing?
[Ruben Navarrette, Cnn Contributor:] Yes, rebooting. Another trip to that ATM in Texas. It's possible that this was really a trip to Texas to see how long will you be with me, going back to his donors and saying I intended to go to South Carolina, to go on, to make it to Florida and Nevada. Will you be with me all the way? That may have been what is at work here. What Mitt Romney it's double-edged sword because I almost think Romney needs the field to start thinning out because to some degree, yes, you want to keep them fighting among themselves while you stay up on top. But at some point, he's got to unify the party and why not to begin the process earlier as opposed to later. So, the sooner the Republicans can center in on Romney as their candidate, if, in fact, that's going to happen, the better it is for Romney.
[Banfield:] That old 25 percent thorn in the side of this candidate. He just can't push that glass ceiling. Will, I'm going to ask you about this in a little bit but I got to move ahead because we got Soledad's show coming up as well. And we want everybody to keep it here because we have the best political coverage on television. If you didn't see it there Senator John McCain is going to join us live on "STARTING POINT" with Soledad. That's coming in the 7:00 hour.
[Sambolin:] And Soledad has a big show for you this morning. She'll also be talking to Christine O'Donnell. That is scheduled for the 7:00 hour. The Tea Party darling has endorsed Mitt Romney. But will the rest of the Tea Partiers go along with her is the question.
[Banfield:] So, you know that song actually, that's not the one I was thinking. That's our music.
[Sambolin:] That's our music, right.
[Banfield:] I thought we were bogey to hear the song of "The Soprano," the theme song, woke up this morning. Joey Pants, this dude loves his politics. And he has no idea his phone is about to ring. So, we're going to hear how he is first thing in the morning. Does he sleep and think politics? Is he good when he first wakes up? Can he react to what happened in this week in Iowa? You're going to find out in a minute.

[Baldwin:] Brutal crime prosecutors say was racially motivated. And this is not something that happened in Mississippi's troubled past. No, this happened just a couple of months ago. A 49-year-old black auto worker was repeatedly beaten and mowed down by a group of teenagers. The horrifying attack and killing was all caught on a security camera at a nearby hotel. Our Drew Griffin with CNN's Special Investigations Unit looks into what the district attorney is calling a hate crime. But a quick word of caution some of the video you're about to see is tough to look at.
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Investigative Correspondent:] He is just 18 years old facing a possible double life sentence for the senseless murder of a man he never now. Deryl Dedmon is thin, short, with straggly blonde hair, accused of leading a group of white teenage revelers on a mission to find and beat up anyone who is black. [on camera]: They discussed, let's go get let's be honest here, "let's go get a nigger," right?
[Robert Shuler Smith, District Attorney:] That's exactly what it will show.
[Griffin:] District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith says the evidence and witness accounts tell a story of a crime that would seem to come right out of Mississippi's troubled past. On June 26th, a group of white teens, seven in all, leaving an all-night party in the white, middle class enclave of Rankin county, Mississippi in search of a black person to, quote, "mess with." [on camera] Out of hate?
[Smith:] Out of hate. That's exactly
[Griffin:] No doubt in your mind, this was a racially motivated, hate-motivated, let's go kill a black guy crime?
[Smith:] Absolutely. There's no doubt. They were looking for a black victim to assault and even kill in this instance.
[Griffin:] They drove 16 miles on a freeway heading west. At 5:00 a.m. that Sunday morning, the teens in two vehicles took the Ellis Avenue off ramp leading to a predominantly black section of Jackson. Just as they were exiting, an unsuspecting 49- year-old auto worker named James Craig Anderson was standing by his car at this local motel, and he was black. [on camera] So literally, they found the first black person they could find and that person was in this parking lot?
[Smith:] Yes. This is the first business that you get to coming off of the highway. And so that was the first person that apparently was out here and vulnerable.
[Griffin:] According to witness statements, at first James Craig Anderson was beaten and taunted with racial slurs. Surveillance video shows white teens going back and forth in what prosecutors say was a continuous beating of the victim. As one of the teens walks back to the cars after beating Anderson, he pumps his fist in the air and shouts "white power," according to a motel security guard. Then some of the teens got in the white SUV and drove away, leaving Anderson beaten and lying on the ground. [on camera] Deryl Dedmon apparently wasn't through. He had two girls in his truck as he was leaving this parking lot, a big F-250 pickup truck. James Craig Anderson, the man who was beaten almost to a pulp was stumbling down this curb. That's when police say Deryl Dedmon hit the gas, jumped the curb, and ran right over his victim, smashing him. What he didn't know was the entire episode was being caught on a surveillance camera on the corner of this hotel. [voice-over] This is what was caught on that tape obtained exclusively by CNN. We warn you, it is disturbing, a video capturing what prosecutor Robert Shuler smith says is pure racial hatred and murder.
[Baldwin:] Drew Griffin, let's pick up where the piece left off. We have the video because you got it exclusively from this motel. And walk us through what we see next.
[Griffin:] What prosecutors say this video shows is Deryl Dedmon in that large pickup truck. He pulls out like he's going out on to the street, then slightly backs up, takes a turn and then hits the gas right into his victim, who as you can see, walking on the side of the screen there and runs him over.
[Baldwin:] Right there.
[Griffin:] At that moment the victim was heading towards death. He died right there on the side of that curb. This was a deliberate attack according to the other witnesses. Remember, Brooke, two females, two teenagers in the front seat with the teenager, who told police this is what happened.
[Baldwin:] Also looking in that video, it's a parking lot full of cars. You mentioned the motel security guard reportedly hearing or seeing one of the teens with his fist raised. Why didn't that security guard run over there, do anything?
[Griffin:] These are question the investigation is looking into. And I'm breaking some other news. This group of teenagers is now being investigated for other similar type crimes in this area, and there could be more charges coming.
[Baldwin:] The two teens so far charged?
[Griffin:] That's right.
[Baldwin:] Possibly more charges coming. Where are they now?
[Griffin:] The one teen is in Deryl Dedmon, this man right here is being held. He's awaiting his indictment that is expected to come. The other man has been released. He was not there at the moment that Deryl Dedmon drove him over. But he was alleged to have participated in the beating. He is free on bond and awaiting the preliminary hearing.
[Baldwin:] How does the defense make the case that this was not a racial hate crime?
[Griffin:] The defense for both of these kids have not answered any of our questions, have not returned any of our phone calls. We just have one statement when one attorney who said that, in court, I don't see where the prosecution can call this a racial crime. Obviously, the testimony of the witnesses who were there all point to the fact that this started out as an attempt to go out and find a black guy to beat up and mess with. That was their words.
[Baldwin:] Let us know what happens to those teens. Drew Griffin, thank you.
[Griffin:] Just a couple of minutes here left before the closing bell. What are we, 12 minutes away? The Dow is up 103 points right now. But you ever wonder what is happening in these final moments on the trading floor? Take a look at this.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnnmoney.com Correspondent:] You're hearing a lot of traders now yelling buy everything, buy everything. We've got five minutes left in the trading day.
[Baldwin:] There she goes. Poppy Harlow behind the scenes of the frenetic and frantic final moments of trading. Back in a minute.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Here we go, full table this morning. Our panel today: we have Mr. Richard Socarides, writer for the NewYorker.com and former senior adviser to President Clinton. Also, Chrystia Freeland, digital editor, "Thomson Reuters". Welcome. And Will Cain with a tie.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] That's right.
[Baldwin:] We've all been talking about it at the commercial.
[Cain:] New Year.
[Baldwin:] Dressing for us this New York.
[Unidentified Female:] He's got a court date.
[Baldwin:] Yes. We'll talk about the speeding ticket later, just kidding. Christine Romans joining us here at the table as well. Welcome, everyone.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome, everyone. Our STARTING POINT this morning: we are back from the fiscal cliff abyss. We are in detox from our fiscal cliff addiction, as the case may be. Tens of millions of taxpayers and small business owners exhaling this morning because late last night, the House passed that Senate bill that temporarily brings us back from the depths of that cliff. The final vote: 257 for, 167 against. And you might be interested to know this, House Speaker John Boehner voted yes. So did Paul Ryan, by the way. Here's what the deal means for you and your family: couples earning less than $450,000 a year are spared an income tax hike. Itemized deductions are capped for couples making more than $300,000 a year. Unemployment benefits are extended a year for 2 million Americans. And that awful, thorny alternative minimum tax gets a permanent adjustment for inflation.
[Baldwin:] There are all kinds of battles ahead. We can think of three that we know of that are sort of on the docket. You know, the biggie, raising the debt ceiling. That happens in February. So, of course, the U.S. doesn't default on its debt. And billions of dollars in domestic and defense cuts have only now been deferred. This is the so-called sequestration that happens now two months ahead of us. Two thank you. So Democrats and Republicans are forced to dare we say it, compromise again.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] We can settle this debate, or at the very least not allow it to be so all-consuming all the time that it stops us from meeting a host of other challenges that we face. The one thing that, I think, hopefully we'll focus on in the New Year is putting a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinksmanship, not scare the heck out of folks quite as much.
[Baldwin:] I want to bring in White House correspondent Brianna Keilar live this morning from Washington. And, you know, Berman kinds of ran through what's in the bill. I want you, Brianna Keilar, to talk about what's not the biggies that are not included in this deal.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] The biggies and the things that Congress will have to deal with. Well, let's break it down. Some of these things Congress absolutely has to deal with. You've got the debt ceiling, which technically, we've already hit, but the Treasury Department was able to move some money around. So, the U.S. can pay its debts. And the ability to do that expires late February, maybe early March. Congress has to increase the debt ceiling or we will default, the U.S. will default on its obligations. That can't happen, obviously. The other thing is the spending cuts that you mentioned. They're only now averted for two months. So, Congress has to deal with that. And then the other thing is there's sort of a chunk of things that Congress wants to deal with that the president wants to deal with that they'll attach to the things that have these hard and fast deadlines. And that is dealing with long term, the long-term fiscal health of the country through entitlement reform, Social Security and Medicare, and tax reform. It is a lot to accomplish in the next couple of months.
[Baldwin:] OK. So, as we look toward, down that long road, tell me, Brianna, just some of the winners and losers from this whole thing.
[Keilar:] Well, this is obvious. Some of the losers are obvious here, Brooke. If you are earning as a couple, $450,000, or more than that, then you'll be seeing your taxes take a hit, $400,000 for individuals. If you itemize deductions and you're making as a couple $300,000 or more, or as an individual, $250,000 or more, you will see your tax you will see you pay take or your income take a hit there. You'll see that. But there are also some winners that maybe you didn't know about. For instance, the milk, sugar and peanut producers, they have a tax break that they will get to hold onto. Also, unemployed Americans, long- term will see their benefits extended, very key. And doctors who were set to see Medicare payments reduced to them, that won't affect them anymore. And then also, the alternative minimum tax. Brooke, when you cover Washington, you're always talking about the AMT fix, a tax that was supposed to hit the wealthy but because it wasn't indexed for inflation, it would always start creeping up on the middle class, people who didn't make a lot of money. And so, Congress would have to be constantly fixing it. Well, they permanently indexed it for inflation, so I don't have to talk about it anymore and middle class Americans don't have to worry it.
[Baldwin:] Hallelujah for you.
[Berman:] That's the Brianna Keilar carve-out.
[Keilar:] I'm a winner.
[Baldwin:] Brianna, thank you so much.
[Berman:] Obviously, there was so much political drama late last night twists and turns in this whole thing. It looked like the whole thing was going to fall apart. And, finally, it didn't. So why didn't it? We're joined now by Chris Frates. He's a reporter for "The National Journal." He's in our Washington bureau. And, Chris, "The Journal" has put the other tic tac of what was going on behind the scenes during this whole thing. Walk us through it.
[Chris Frates, Reporter, "national Journal":] Well, John, what we're going to report a little bit later this morning is a really fun anecdote. We saw the talks fall apart in the Senate between Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell felt the Democratic leader was slow-walking him towards the cliff, to try to get more political leverage. And we learned that when the Republican leader called the vice president, he left them a message and got on to the Senate floor to vote and got a note he had a phone call waiting for him. He walked into the Senate cloak room off the Senate floor, sat down at the phone booth and made a pitch to Vice President Biden to work with him. He said, I'm frustrated, I need a dance partner here. And he essentially said, look, Joe, you know the trip wires here. I'm working with smart people but they don't know how to negotiate and have your experience. Will you help me? Biden said to him, let me get back to you with an offer. That was the first offer that kicked off the back and forth that 30 hours later led to the deal that we have today.
[Berman:] So fiscal political history being made in a phone booth. Crazy. So that's where the late deal actually started. It ended last night with the House vote in that meeting behind closed doors with house Republicans. What one of the Republicans that ended voting for this I think surprise a lot of people. That's Paul Ryan, who was a Republican choice for vice president. Any intelligence on what put Paul Ryan on the yes side of this ledger?
[Frates:] Well, I think, you know, for both, it was interesting that Paul Ryan yes, and Marco Rubio no split. We had, you know, two folks who looked like they might be running for president in 2016 take different tacks on this plan. So, that's something they'll sell to primary voters. And I think for a lot of conservatives in the House, a majority of the House Republicans voted against this thing, and I think there was a frustration that there weren't the spending cuts that they were looking for and Boehner had and relied on the Democrats to put this over the edge.
[Berman:] All right. Chris Frates of "The National Journal", we have the first talking point of the 2016 campaign. Thanks very much for joining us this morning.
[Frates:] Thank you.
[Baldwin:] Thank you.
[Berman:] I want to turn to Christine Romans now to talk about what this means for paychecks.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Well, for most people, the vast majority of Americans your tax rates will not rise but your paychecks will be a little smaller anyway. Here's why: For two years, you've had a break on how much you pay into Social Security, to fund Social Security. That payroll tax holiday is over now. Here's how the increase affects your paycheck. If you're earning $30,000 a year, you'll surrender $50 more a month in those taxes, those payroll taxes. If you're earning $50,000 a year, you'll contribute about $83 more a month towards Social Security, funding Social Security. And if you earn more than $113,000 a year, you'll pay an additional $189 a month in payroll taxes. Now, this was I never thought this was going to survive, last summer, we started talking about we don't think the payroll tax holiday is going to survive the fiscal cliff and it didn't. It was a focus on the rates, the rates you pay, it was the focus on investment taxes, the payroll tax holiday, two years stimulus for the economy, it's over now.
[Berman:] Party's over.
[Romans:] The party is over. Plan accordingly. I hope you have a budget because you're going to two fewer lattes a month, Ms. Baldwin.
[Baldwin:] Christine, thank you very much.
[Berman:] Wow.
[Baldwin:] Moments after the House passed a bill to avert a fiscal cliff, President Obama looked ahead to the next fiscal fight here on the horizon, this congressional vote, as we've been talking to raise the country's debt ceiling. And Jen Psaki served as a traveling press secretary for President Obama's reelection campaign. Jen, good morning. Good to see you.
[Jen Psaki, Traveling Press Secretary, Obama 2012 Campaign:] Good morning. How are you guys?
[Baldwin:] We're well and I think you're well as well with the White House and this thing going through.
[Psaki:] I am.
[Baldwin:] Let me just ask you, because we were sort of asking on the House side, you know, take me behind the closed doors, what the question to you is what happened in the White House? You know, last night, they're hearing, you know, that this vote was going to happen one hour, then another hour, might they amend it, might they pitch it. What was happening?
[Psaki:] Well, look, I think there's no question that everyone in the White House, the president included, is happy to have this vote in the rearview mirror. As you've mentioned this morning, there are a number of other obstacles they have that they also want to get behind them because, you know, avoiding the fiscal cliff, you know, making sure that the country votes, that Congress votes to increase the debt limit is not the president and the White House's idea of a second term agenda. So, you know, I think they were watching closely, they were optimistic. They've been very careful in how they've handled this because they want the will of the American people to remain behind them as they emerge from these obstacles they have to go through over the next couple of months.
[Berman:] So, Jen, John Berman here. One of the things the president said yesterday and he said repeatedly over the last several weeks, that he's not willing to negotiate on the debt ceiling. Explain to me what that means. So, if Republicans then say we're not going to vote for it unless you give us spending cuts he's going to say, "Sorry, we're going to default"?
[Psaki:] Well, look, there are a couple of opportunities, which you have mentioned, over the next couple of months, and Republicans believe they have a couple different bites at the apple. Of course there's the debt limit. They've made no secret of the fact they want to use that as a negotiating tool for spending cuts. But there's also the funding of the government, there's the two-month extension of the sequester. What the president was saying was: I'm not going to play chicken with the debt limit. I've learned my lesson in 2011. This is something that impacts businesses. It impacts markets. It impacts the view of the world of the United States' economy and this isn't something we should be fooling with. And again, he has been very tough in negotiating and making clear to the American people this is what the stakes are, this is what's happening. And right now, he still has them behind him and that's a very powerful thing.
[Berman:] You say he's been very tough. There are people on the left, though, who say he has not been tough. Let me read you a quote from Adam Green, who is particularly angry with the president. He's from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. He wrote this, he said, "The president remains clueless about how to use leverage in a negotiation. Republicans publicly admitted that they lost the tax debate and would be forced to cave, yet the president just kept giving stuff away." Your response?
[Psaki:] Well, unfortunately, for Adam Green, laws are not made by simply waving a wand, and making it so. It involves compromise. It involves negotiation. And that's what happened here. There's a lot that progressive Democrats, including Adam Green, should be excited about in this package. You know, it's the extension of unemployment insurance, college tax credit, child tax credit, making the middle class tax cut permanent. Of course, it wasn't perfect. But, you know, Democrats have to be careful about not letting perfect be the enemy of the good. And this package is good.
[Baldwin:] Quickly, Jen, do we know we know the president is back in Hawaii with the family after this whole debacle.
[Psaki:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] Do we know when he might be signing this?
[Psaki:] I don't have an update on that. I'm sure he'll want to get it signed as quickly as possible, given how hard they fought, and they'll move on to the next fight.
[Baldwin:] All right. Jen Psaki, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
[Psaki:] Thank you.
[Berman:] Happy New Year.
[Psaki:] Happy New Year.
[Berman:] Checking other top stories right now. Doctors say Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's blood clot could have been fatal, caused a stroke or may be even led to seizures or epilepsy. She's being treated with blood thinners. She should make a full recovery. Former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea, they were both seen visiting her at New York Presbyterian Hospital yesterday.
[Baldwin:] Also, the governor of Pennsylvania going after the NCAA here. Later this morning, he'll be announcing this lawsuit over the stiff sanctions it imposed on Penn State University, of course, in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. He's the former assistant football coach convicted of sexually abusing all those boys. The NCAA fined Penn State some $60 million, stripped the football program of 14 seasons of its victories under its late head coach, the legendary Joe Paterno.
[Berman:] A sad story of Los Angeles this morning. A photographer was killed last night trying to get a shot, a photo of Justin Bieber. Police say the man snapped pictures of a parked sports car he thought was the pop star. He thought Justin Bieber was sitting in it. The photographer was struck and killed while crossing a freeway to return to his own car. In a statement, Bieber said he was not in the sports vehicle but he sends his condolences to the victim's family. Police have not yet released the photographer's name. Did you guys hear about this? The fact that this guy was killed crossing the street and again, we were sort of talking before the show, it's like here's a member of the paparazzi. But at the same time, so many people, they buy the magazines, right?
[Cain:] That's exactly right. It's like anything like panning for gold or oil, people are going to go where the market is and there's a market for these photographs. They're going to take the risks for the payoff. There's a big payoff for these photos.
[Berman:] We'll talk about that more in a bit.
[Baldwin:] Still ahead this morning here on
[Starting Point:] the lawyer who planned on suing Connecticut over the Sandy Hook school shooting has withdrawn his suit at least for now. He's going to join us next with why he filed it in the first place.

[Kaye:] A spectacular failure, an epic embarrassment. That pretty much sums up global reaction to North Korea's botched rocket launch Friday morning, the one that hardly got off the ground. In fact the rocket broke into pieces after just 90 seconds in the air eventually ending up in the sea. In response, the United States has suspended food aid to that country, the White House calling the act a violation of international law. Joining me now an expert on this issue, former U.S. ambassador to the UN and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Governor, good morning to you.
[Bill Richardson, Former Ambassador To Un:] Good morning. Nice to be with you.
[Kaye:] Thank you. Listen, aside from the fact that this was a total failure, did we actually learn anything from this?
[Richardson:] Well, yeah. We learned several things. One that their intercontinental ballistic missile system still has some real technology gaps. So I don't see how they could eventually shoot something the distance of the United States. They're years away from that. Secondly, we did learn that in the past, they've had two unsuccessful launches they never admitted to. This time they did admit to it because I think there is more technology, more cell phones in North Korea. What we don't know is what are they going to do next? The danger is that they will pursue an underground nuclear test to atone for this failure, which is a blow to the new leader, Kim Jong Un.
[Kaye:] North Korea of course has said all along that this was just a satellite launch, a weather satellite, but it is still military technology. So do you think, as many have said, that this was a cover for something bigger, maybe even a future plan?
[Richardson:] Yes, yes, I do think it was a test of ballistic missile technology. It was very clear in the United Nations Security Council that this was prohibited. The North Koreans, when they negotiated with us, with the United States in exchange for food aid, they would not pursue additional nuclear technology. This test clearly was a violation of that, although there is a dispute in the understanding. So, yeah. I think mostly it was a strong, symbolic celebration of the new leader exceeding the power as the supreme leader of North Korea celebrating the hundred years of Kim Il-Song who was the founder of North Korea and also to demonstrate to the population of North Korea that they had a new leader, that he was powerful, prestigious. So this has obviously affected them. I think where we go from here, we got to be very careful. We can't gloat about this. We can't provoke them. I think it's important that we keep our cool. The six-party countries try to negotiate, put pressure on North Korea, especially China that has leverage over them because they provide food and fuel to that country.
[Kaye:] The U.S. has certainly announced it is suspending the food aid, but really is that enough? Should there be more sanctions? What would you advise the president?
[Richardson:] Well, I would pursue Security Council condemnation resolution. That should be coming very soon. I don't think you can pursue any additional sanctions. Maybe there are some potential sanctions that you can pursue that deal with them having access to sensitive military technology. But outside of that, they're sanctioned to death. I think what is important is keep the food aid in suspension. Don't cancel it. Let them make the next move. If it's a hostile move obviously, there's not much you can do for now. But I think history has shown that if you isolate them, if you just punish them, this gives them opportunities to react negatively, so I think we need to keep our cool. Kkey players are South Korea, Japan, Russia, but especially China that has leverage over North Korea.
[Kaye:] And given your experience
[Richardson:] I think the administration is acting
[Kaye:] Given your experience, sorry to interrupt you there, how soon might you think that we'll see another test from them?
[Richardson:] Well, I think the odds are pretty high that they will do something else like an underground nuclear test. I think internally they have to recover from this blow. That's what I think they will do. But they keep you can't predict what North Korea does. I've been dealing with them for years. You don't know what their next step is. The problem, though, is that they have at least six nuclear weapons. They've got ballistic missile technology, a million point two men in arms. We've got close to 30,000 troops in the DMZ between north and South Korea. We have an alliance with South Korea. So that whole area is a tinder box. So you have to watch it. You have to be careful. You can't provoke them, but you got to be tough with them.
[Kaye:] Governor, appreciate your insight, a pleasure to have you on the show this morning. Thank you.
[Richardson:] Thank you.
[Kaye:] Tony Laurach is not like most people. When tornado sirens sound, most people run for cover right. Well Tony chases the storm. Tony shot this video yesterday of a tornado touching down in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Tony is on the road again today. He's in Kansas now heading to Nebraska with more severe storms expected there. I spoke to him just a short time ago.
[Voice Of Tony Laurach, Storm Chaser/meteorologist:] We are in Shawnee, Kansas heading up to Nebraska today. Today looks very, very potent, very reminiscent of many of the outbreaks that we saw back in 2011.
[Kaye:] How many storms is this something that what are we expecting today in terms of the storms? Are you expecting to find what you might call a super outbreak?
[Laurach:] Today has the potential to be a super outbreak with tornadoes possible from Nebraska all the way down into north Texas. Many of those tornadoes could potentially be very, very strong, impacting a lot of people from Lincoln, Nebraska down all the way down to Wichita Falls, Texas.
[Kaye:] What kind of gear do you take with you on a trip like this when you're going to take on a tornado?
[Laurach:] We are equipped with satellites and mobile Internet for radar services. We also have a GPS. All of our camera equipment and of course a trusty vehicle to ensure that we're able to get in and out of there safely.
[Kaye:] I know when you spoke with one of our producers you said you have more food and mellow yellow than you can shake a stick at, so I guess you have pretty good supplies.
[Laurach:] Yeah. I've been on the road for the last seven days and food and drink on the road is very handy to have in the back seat and we'll make sure I never run out of that.
[Kaye:] How do you know when it's too dangerous? Is there ever a time where you won't chase a storm?
[Laurach:] My goal is to try to tell the story, not become the story. So I try to keep a safe distance in front of the storm so that I don't end up in any kind of trouble.
[Kaye:] Pretty brave guy. We plan to have Tony back on the show tomorrow for CNN Sunday morning. He'll have the latest from the storm that he was chasing. Do you know what your online reputation is? You might want to because your boss might want to know as well. We're doing some social media spring cleaning, next.

[Phillips:] Delta Airlines took heavy fire this week after hitting U.S. soldiers headed home from Afghanistan with are you ready for this? Excess baggage fees. Almost $3,000 which the soldiers had to pay out of their own pockets. Well, it's been such a PR nightmare that the airlines beaten into a retreat. Marty Savidge reports.
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] The Pentagon likes to say the U.S. has the best trained soldiers in the world. Turns out, they're also pretty media savvy. While on their flight to Atlanta, two of the soldiers recorded a video about their frustration and posted it on YouTube.
[Staff Sgt. Robert O'hair, U.s. Army:] So you're saying that our military travel orders authorized us to carry four bags, correct?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, that's correct, sir.
[O'hair:] All right. So what happened to the soldiers that actually had four bags?
[Unidentified Male:] We had actually ended up paying out of pocket, our own money, to allow that fourth bag to be taken on the plane.
[O'hair:] How much did you pay?
[Unidentified Male:] $200. Per bag.
[O'hair:] All right, so
[Savidge:] Close to 200,000 hits later and Delta was issuing an apology in the form of a blog, implying the soldiers had simply been misinformed they could check four bags. "We would like to publicly apologize to those servicemen and women for any miscommunications," the statement went on. "We are currently looking further into the situation and we'll be reaching out to each of them personally to address their concerns and work to correct any issues they had faced." The statement appeared to do little to stem the withering fire of public outrage.
[Krochalis:] It's unforgivable that Delta couldn't make an exception and cut these boys some slack.
[Savidge:] Less than 24 hours later, Delta was in full retreat, abruptly changing its military baggage allowance announcing the move in a press release. "Delta Airlines today increased its free checking baggage allotment for U.S. military traveling on orders in economy class to four checked bags." And that is how two U.S. soldiers fought off an entire airline to win the battle of the bags.
[Staff Sgt. Frederick Hilliker, U.s. Army:] Thank you. We are actually happy to be back to America. God bless America.
[Phillips:] Unbelievable. Thousands of dollars. And Marty, you know, you and I know our soldiers fly commercially all the time. So why all of the sudden is this checked baggage issue coming up now?
[Savidge:] Well, you know, in Delta's defense, they had in their Web site, and it's been stated by the company for a long time that they had a three-bag limit and you know, if you have beyond that, you had to pay for the fourth one. But really, you know, Kyra, this all could have been solved at check- in because if you had somebody who had the power with the airlines to just say, look, normally, guys, it is three bags. But you know what today, it's four. Welcome home. That would have ended it. No black eye. None of the media would be camped out here talking about this story today. Unfortunately, it turned into a nightmare P.R.-wise for Delta.
[Phillips\:] Yes, it just seems like such a no-brainer. I mean, come on, give these men and women a break.
[Savidge:] Yes.
[Phillips:] All right. Well, it's resolved itself. Marty, thanks so much. We're checking other stories cross-country now: Police in Oakland, California, searching for this man. They say that he burglarized a woman's home Tuesday morning before sexually assaulting her. Investigators hope that the 13 seconds of video the victim was able to capture will actually help get him. Seventy-seven Air Force ROTC cadets are recovering after a lightning bolt struck their camp near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We're told that none of them were hurt, but four of them or four were close to that lighting actually when it struck. And in West Virginia, people lining up along the side of the highway to see the so-called miracle plane make its move. The jet, as you know, famous for the 2009 emergency landing right into the Hudson River is being transported from New Jersey to an aviation museum in North Carolina. And in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the relocation of a local museum and library is getting lots of attention, not to mention videotape as the move is actually being recorded. Time lapse, as you can see here it's always cool to watch. And all the entire move could take anywhere from four to eight weeks. Still ahead, no more twisting and turning to see how your butt looks in those jeans. A new product could revolutionize your shopping experience. You'll want to see it.

[Holmes:] In New Orleans, the Super Bowl began with Alicia Keys giving a moving rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner." Have a listen.
[Alicia Keys, Musician:] Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light.
[Holmes:] The 14 time Grammy winner played on a white grand piano in the middle of the field. Some of the players tearing up as they listened to her. Now, the audience cheered when a live picture was shown of soldiers from Camp Courage in Kabul, Afghanistan, who were listening to the national anthem and watched the game from there. Well, the rest of the world loves soccer like Americans love their own brand of football. In fact, it's called football everywhere else in the world. So you can imagine the impact of learning that hundreds of international soccer matches may have been fixed. The European law enforcement agency, Europol, is investigating what is a huge corruption scandal. Don Riddell here with the details. You know, Don, the thing about this is, the style of this has never been seen before. You've got hundreds of players and officials allegedly taking bribes from organized how does that happen? We're not talking about backyard pickup games either.
[Don Riddell, Cnn International World Sport Anchor:] No. These are real games. I mean this we've known for some time that some games are fixed. And in some parts of the world, they're perhaps more likely to be fixed than others. But I think what is really surprising here is the number of games and where these games have been played. We're talking World Cup qualifiers, European championships qualifiers. These tournaments don't come any bigger and more prestigious than this. Champions league games, which is the top club competition in Europe. We're talking about 680 suspicious games involving 425 match officials, club officials, players, known criminals from some 15 countries around the world. I mean this is absolutely massive. And just to put it into context. Rob Wainwright, who was giving these details earlier, he works for Europol, he's the director, he said, "it is clear to us, this is the biggest ever investigation into suspected match fixing in Europe. It has yielded major results, which we think have uncovered a big problem for the integrity of football in Europe. We have uncovered an extensive criminal network."
[Holmes:] Integrity of football is sort of the key thing there because, you know, if you're going to ask the question, well, what could be the fallout from this? Once people start doubting results, that's it, isn't it?
[Riddell:] Yes. I mean, I've been to some games. I've seen some incredible turnarounds.
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Riddell:] Some incredible performances. And you're amazed by it. You are wowed by it. You will tell your grandchildren about those games once you know, one day in the future. I mean take last night with the Super Bowl.
[Holmes:] Yes. Yes.
[Riddell:] San Francisco coming back in the third quarter, scoring 17 points. We all want to believe that's real. I'm sure it was. But once you start thinking, well, maybe not, then, you're not going to bother watching, you're not going to bother going to the games any more.
[Holmes:] And who do they think is behind it, you know?
[Riddell:] Well, I mean, in this particular case
[Holmes:] To pull something off like that, either, and keep it quiet, but, yes.
[Riddell:] Well, you know, it's interesting. When you look at the amount of money that was that they apparently have made out of this, we're not talking about billions of dollars. It's kind of, you know, millions and low numbers of millions. But I guess, if you're just putting small bets on here or there, perhaps it's going to be a lot harder to get caught. But, I mean, it they're looking at an operation that's based in Singapore that has tentacles going absolutely everywhere.
[Holmes:] Staggering stuff. Good to see you, Don.
[Riddell:] Yes, and you, Mike.
[Holmes:] Don Riddell joining us here with some sporting news. Well, here's some other news. He hasn't been out in public for more than a glimpse in years. But Fiddle Castro, well, he was out and about in Havana yesterday. We'll tell you why when we come back.

[Richard Quest, Host, "quest Means Business":] Hello and welcome to MARKETPLACE EUROPE. I'm Richard Quest. This week, we're focusing on transport and the growing need for infrastructure that could help or hinder economies and businesses become more profitable. We hear from the EU transport commissioner, who says he wants a network, not a patchwork. We visit Siemens, makers of high speed trains. Making them as fast as they can. and the chief executive of easyJet tells us she's giving high speed rail a run for its money.
[Quest:] Let's talk about Europe just and because you're a European, you're a pan-European carrier.
[Carolyn Mccall, Ceo, Easyjet:] We are.
[Quest:] You compete against other airlines. You compete against high speed rail now
[Mccall:] Yes, we do.
[Quest:] Do you consider high speed rail to be a competitor?
[Mccall:] Absolutely. Yes. It's much more expensive than we do, but we absolutely compete with them. We run ad campaigns against them.
[Quest:] In Europe, do you see more consolidation coming along? And if so, are you going to be part of it?
[Mccall:] And when you think about the cost headwinds for this industry, you know, we've had unprecedented high fuel for a very sustainable period of time. That's going to cost us 220 pounds more, year over year. Emissions trading schemes for the first time ever. That's going to cost us money. So we've got some really severe headwinds. In addition to that, we have a Eurozone in crisis. So I think consolidation is going to be inevitable in some way over the next three to five years. EasyJet's entire strategy is based on its organic growth, not on M&A.;
[Quest:] St Pancras Station in London it cost more than a billion euros to upgrade this station, the high speed rail and the Eurostar. The EU transport commissioner, Siim Kallas, now wants to have a trans- European core transport network that would involve more than 80 ports, 15,000 more kilometers of high speed rail and, supposedly, would help European business become more profitable.
[Juliet Mann, Cnn Correspondent:] Let's talk about the plans that you've got. You you've got a huge new project for infrastructure all around Europe to to change the road road map. What what's the the the main new thing we're going to learn there?
[Siim Kallas, Eu Commissioner For Transport:] We we have designed a regulation which then then gives birth to a probably better functioning European transport network.
[Mann:] You said better functioning. Where are we going to see improvement? Are you talking about...
[Kallas:] Yes.
[Mann:] the network getting bigger? Are you talking about particular stretches of of track becoming faster?
[Kallas:] We have a patchwork of of national projects. We want to create more network. The missing links are the east-west connections, interoperability and less fragmented investments. These are the most important things.
[Mann:] As you said yourself, there's a lot of talking to be done. And that all takes time. You know, if if a government itself wants to do something like this, they get on with it. Look at the French. They want to expand their high speed rail network. They found the funding. They make it happen.
[Kallas:] Um-hmm.
[Mann:] They aren't with you getting involved like this, aren't you slowing down the process? Aren't you already creating more stumbling blocks?
[Kallas:] No, I don't think so, because that's a big meant big problems. If one member state develops this network, the high speed train, inside this country, it cannot run to another country. Now, this particular example is one of the biggest success stories. You have Brussels-Paris. You have Brussels and Paris- London. You have Brussels- London. A well functioning network. And it is, of course, intergovernmental. It is it is a pan-European project. So we try to facilitate these types of projects.
[Mann:] So how...
[Kallas:] We...
[Mann:] how do you know if your expectations, to to be realistic, bearing in mind the the economic situation in Europe at the moment?
[Kallas:] That's that's interesting. You see, the member states mostly, the governments, they have not got so much investment projects, because everybody understands that the investments into transport infrastructure and other infrastructure greatly facilitates growth.
[Mann:] Talk me through some of the other key pillars, if you like, and of the future of transport plans.
[Kallas:] We have, in my view, two main main problems. One problem is this congestion, which is a very serious problem in Europe. On roads, but though not only roads, also airlines or or air space. And second, the dependence of oil. So if we want to reduce the dependence of oil and reduce the congestion, we must learn some structural changes. One better alternative is to create a better functioning railway network.
[Mann:] Are you saying railway is good, roads and air bad?
[Kallas:] No, we are not saying so. We we simply say, see that if we rely only on aviation and roads, we will be in troubles, because these will be so squeezed and we don't don't have enough space to to airplanes and and cars and trucks.
[Quest:] Passengers getting ready to board one of the 27 Eurostar high speed trains that run every day between London, Paris and Brussels. These trains have been in service for some years. And when we come back after the break, a sneak preview of the new Eurostar engines.

[Phillips:] The Annual Sundance Film Festival is getting underway today in Salt Lake City. And Robert Redford is already making news. Not for his directing but for his drama political drama. "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer is joining us. What's he up to, A.J.?
[A.j. Hammer, "showbiz Tonight":] Well, Kyra, as you well know, the fact is Robert Redford has always been one to speak his mind when it comes to politics. So, he used some of his time during the Sundance Film Festival's opening remarks to get a bit political. He actually tweaked Republican front-runner Mitt Romney and his, as Redford put it, mushroom cloud of ego. Well, "Showbiz Tonight" sat down with Redford at Sundance. He told us he is extremely frustrated at how he thinks the Republican Party is parlaying the political process. Listen to what he told us.
[Robert Redford, Founder, Sundance Institute:] What I was taught to believe from a child is that there are two parties representing America's view of itself, Republicans and the Democrats, OK? So those two parties fully developed are supposed to be working together to make something happen. So that's what politics is supposed to be the art of compromise.
[Hammer:] And I think, Kyra, there are a lot of people who might say Robert Redford is on to something.
[Phillips:] A.J. all right. Let's talk about "American Idol," shall we? This has always been a big ratings giant. But apparently, the premiere show didn't do as well as last year?
[Hammer:] Yes. Let's keep in mind it's all relative when it comes to "American Idol." These are in fact the lowest ratings for the show since its premiere back in 2002, lowest premiere numbers. 2002 is when the show day debuted. "Idol" attracted around 20.5 million viewers for its debut, which was certainly enough to be rated the top show on the air on Wednesday night. But I'm thinking that has to be some kind of disappointment of sorts for the people behind the show. At its height, "Idol" saw more than 37 million people tuning in for premiere episode. That was back in 2007. The FOX Network had actually been trying to manage expectations. They publicly admitted that they expected ratings to be down. And the truth is if you want to watch a singing competition show these days, you know, we have "The Voice" on NBC, we have "X Factor." They just wrapped their season on FOX few weeks ago. And we have a few weeks ago. And we have a few others. So, Kyra, there may be some fatigue among viewers for these kinds of shows. Honestly, I don't think, at least from my perspective, they did the same kind of advanced press that they normally do. I don't think people were as generally aware that "Idol" was firing back up. But, wow, if you didn't see the show, there's serious talent on it to be reckoned with this season.
[Phillips:] And they're young, too. Oh, my gosh.
[Hammer:] Real young.
[Phillips:] There are so many teenagers that are doing incredible auditions.
[Hammer:] Yes. I think it's going to be quite a season. And I think there's going to be a lot of drama, too, particularly given the age of some of these contestants this year.
[Phillips:] We'll keep following it, A.J. Thanks. If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J.'s got it. Every night, "Showbiz Tonight" on
[Hln, 11:] 00 p.m. Eastern. While Romney is getting hammered on releasing his tax returns, Newt Gingrich releases his. He posted them online as the CNN debate got underway last night. CNN Money's Poppy Harlow has been going through them, sifting through them and crunching all the numbers for us. What did you find out, Poppy?
[Poppy Harlow, Cnnmoney.com:] You know, first of all, that he's a pretty wealthy guy. What strategic timing right before the commercial break in the debate. Everyone tuned in, by the way. Newt Gingrich releases his tax returns. Let's take a look at the numbers, folks. Almost 3.2 million. That's what Newt brought in in 2010. He paid a relatively high effective tax rate, almost 32 percent. Look at his tax bill for 2010. Almost 1 million bucks. I dug into that a little bit more. He got about $218,000 in deductions. He gave a little over 80 grand to charity. But now, let's take a look where this places him among other millionaires, other people in his bracket. He paid almost 32 percent. Folks that made between $2 million and $5 million a year in this country on average pay about 26 percent. So, he paid a lot more than that. And here is this important 15 percent, because we all heard this week, Romney say that he paid about an effective tax rate of 15 percent. We won't know for sure until he releases his tax returns come April, which he said last night that he would do. But 80 percent of Americans pay under 15 percent in terms of their effective tax rate. More than 40 million Americans, Kyra, pay no federal income tax. So, this is very interesting. This puts Newt Gingrich in a very, very high tax bracket, above even some of his peers.
[Phillips:] Well, how did he make the majority of his money?
[Harlow:] That was so interesting $2.5 million came from something from his businesses. A large part of that came from something called Gingrich Productions. So, I Googled it, looked into it. This is where all of his 20 plus books, his wife's book, all of their speeches, where all of that money goes. He gets speaking fees. He said on the campaign trail, up to $35,000 per speech, board of director's fees, he made 10 grand from that. Rental property, financial investments. But, again, you have to compare this to Mitt Romney who makes the majority of his income off of financial investments. So, his money from those investments is capped at a tax rate capital gains tax rate of 15 percent, Kyra. Legally in this country, they can't pay any more than 15 percent on capital gains, Kyra. So, that's a big difference you're going to see, I think, when we get those numbers from Romney.
[Phillips:] Poppy, thanks. All eyes on the Q.B. But our next guest says, hold on a second. There's a lot more to watch in Sunday's playoff game. We've got a preview right after the break.

[Malveaux:] In Ohio, a search is under way right now for dangerous animals that are now on the loose. Lions, tigers, bears, other animals escaped from a preserve after the owner turned them loose and then killed himself. Dozens of the animals have been shot and killed, but some are still roaming free. Will Travers, he is with us from New York. He is the CEO of Born Free USA. It is a group that rescues wild animals around the world. This story from Ohio, essentially. What do you think? Do you think that this is proof that folks should not own these wild animals privately, that that should really never be allowed?
[Will Travers, Ceo, Born Free Usa:] Well, the truth is, Suzanne, that the legislators in Ohio and in other states like North Carolina, South Carolina, they're playing Russian roulette with animals' lives, and, frankly, with people's lives. Thank goodness no one has been hurt by this recent incident, but animals have died in significant numbers, and it could have been prevented.
[Malveaux:] How so do you think? I mean, do you agree with the sheriff who said he's had to kill and put down these animals because they are a danger to people if they're running out there like that?
[Travers:] Well, I think the sheriff and his police force are between a rock and a hard place. I mean, if one member of the public is killed by one of these escaped animals, he's going to be blamed, although it's not his fault. The fault lies at the door of the legislators who have not put in place the regulatory process that would mean that a guy who's been previously convicted for cruelty to animals, he's still allowed to keep animals. That seems insane to me.
[Malveaux:] You have evidence that he was previously convicted for being cruel to animals? Is that true?
[Travers:] Yes. In 2005, he was convicted for cruelty to animals. And the state has had many warnings about this kind of issue before. Only last year, a young man, 24 years old, was killed by a bear. The then-governor put in an emergency executive order, but that actually ended in April this year on the promise that the new administration would put in proper measures to deal with this issue. They haven't done so. Born Free USA provided model legislation to help do that, but here we are. And we're in October. The animals have escaped. This guy has committed suicide. When are we going to see some action in this state and in all the other states where people's lives are being put at risk and animals are suffering?
[Malveaux:] Will, so, just to be clear, you're putting the blame squarely on the government, on the state, for not providing the kind of legislation that's necessary to make sure that these animals are protected?
[Travers:] Yes, Suzanne, because we know it can been done. States like Massachusetts have very good legislation which broadly prevents private individuals from keeping animals like this. I mean, either the facility should have a USDA license and be open to the public, or it should be a sanctuary, meeting the standards of the Global Federation for Animal Sanctuaries such as the Born Free sanctuary in Texas. We need proper legislation to protect people from animals, but frankly, animals from people.
[Malveaux:] All right. Will Travers, well put. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.
[Travers:] Thank you.
[Malveaux:] So, for some, it's easy to see why polls show Herman Cain is the most likeable of the GOP presidential candidates. A lot of it has to do with his sense of humor. But Cain's whimsical answers also raise some questions about whether or not he is ready for the White House. He's giving comedians a lot of material.
[Stephen Colbert, "the Colbert Report":] There are many reasons why Cain is surging, like his great grasp of foreign policy.
[Herman Cain , Presidential Candidate:] I'm ready for the gotcha questions. And when they ask me, who's the president of Uzbeki-beki- stan-a-stan, I'm going to say, "You know, I don't know. Do you know?" And then I'm going to say, "How is that going to create one job?"
[Colbert:] It won't create one job, because all of our jobs have been outsourced to Uzbeki-beki-stan-a-stanians. And I just hope that Herman Cain did not offend their president, Chafalopadipindopadee.
[Malveaux:] All right. So Cain says that America needs to lighten up a little bit. So here's what he said when he was asked what he would bring to the White House if elected.
[Cain:] I would bring a sense of humor to the White House, because America's too uptight.
[Malveaux:] Too uptight. Joining us from Providence, Rhode Island, to talk about Cain, and the comedian versus Cain, the serious candidate, is Robert Traynham. He is the D.C. bureau chief for the Comcast Network. So, Robert, Herman Cain has definitely captured the spotlight. He's risen dramatically in the polls. But there are some folks who are asking, you know, is he running for comedian-in-chief or commander-in- chief? Do you think that his kind of folksy humor is it helping or is it hurting?
[Robert Traynham, D.c. Bureau Chief, Comcast Network:] I'm not sure. I think, really, the jury is still out as to whether or not people are taking him seriously or not. But, then, that's the question. If we're talking about Herman Cain's his personality, or his sense of humor, as opposed to the 14 million people out there that are unemployed, the 17 million people out there that are living paycheck to paycheck, I think something's wrong with that conversation. So, you know, I think most people out there would say, you know what? It's nice that he has a sense of humor, but more importantly, where is his plan to create more jobs in this economy? That's what most people want to hear.
[Malveaux:] Well, let's take a listen to when he first raised some eyebrows over a rather serious issue, when he made some flippant comments around tackling illegal immigration.
[Cain:] When I'm in charge of the fence, we're going to have a fence. It's going to 20 feet high. It's going to have barbed wire on the top. It's going to be electrified. It was a joke, John. And yes, I haven't learned how to be politically correct yet. It might be electrified. It was a joke to the extent in the context that it was used in that speech. It may not be electrified. That was an exaggeration, hyperbole.
[Malveaux:] So, now he's a front-runner. Does he run the risk of not being taken seriously?
[Traynham:] Absolutely. And listen to the Freudian slip that he said there a few moments ago, Suzanne. He said, "electrocuted." So, you have to be very careful, obviously, when you're running for office. And this is also an insight to Herman Cain, who has never run at public office before, at least not at this level, who has the intensity of the spotlight on him. Look, you're looking for president of the United States. You have hundreds, if not thousands, of reporters that are covering you on a daily basis, either virtually, or obviously in person. So he's learning the hard way that you really need to keep your personal comments to yourself and obviously focus on the policy at hand.
[Malveaux:] Robert, he wrote in his memoir that if he were president, his code name given by the Secret Service should be "Cornbread." That comment has really irked some black leaders who believes he's now playing off racial cliches or stereotypes to win folks over. Do you think that's true? Do you think that's part of his strategy?
[Traynham:] I don't know. I honestly don't know. But in the age of President Obama, someone that was obviously a transformational figure on so many issues, but just as importantly on race, who really never talked about race, who never really brought it to the forefront, because, quite frankly, he wanted to be judged on his policies, Herman Cain has taken us down a road that I'm not sure America wants to go down in terms of having this conversation about race, having this conversation about racial stereotypes. It's just very unfortunate. It goes back to my original point about, now that he's in the spotlight, he needs to be a little bit more careful in terms of how he phrases things.
[Malveaux:] That seems to be an understatement, because last night at the debate, Cain raised some eyebrows again after telling earlier our Wolf Blitzer that he would be willing as president to negotiate with al Qaeda. Well, then he was confronted with those comments at the debate and he essentially said that he misspoke. Does he run the risk now of not really thinking things through before he speaks? Does he seem to have that kind of problem?
[Traynham:] Yes, it appears that way. There's no question about it. Look, al Qaeda obviously was in charge of September 11th. They were in charge of the Yemen bombings. They were in charge of the USS Cole bombings. I mean, you go on down the list. And in terms of negotiating with terrorists as our commander-in-chief, I'm not sure that's a very smart move. So, again, it speaks to Herman Cain's judgment and whether or not he is thinking things through. And look, if this is his position, this is his position. It's probably a very ill-informed position, and obviously the voters will take that into consideration when they vote for him, if they vote for him, during the primary process next year.
[Malveaux:] All right. Robert, thank you so much. Appreciate it. It was a fascinating debate to watch last night. So thanks for your insight.
[Traynham:] Indeed, it was. Thanks for having me.
[Malveaux:] Well, it is a story that has outraged China, as well as the world, really. A young toddler run over by a van, and then a truck. Nobody did anything to help her until one woman stepped in. We're going to get an update on how that little girl is doing.

[Kaye:] Top stories now: the House has passed a Republican spending bill that calls for $60 billion in cuts. The measure now heads to the Senate where it's sure to meet heavy opposition from senate Democrats who call the cuts extreme. If lawmakers fail to agree on a budget and don't pass another temporary spending extension, the federal government faces a possible shutdown next month. Four Americans were on board a yacht hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The yacht is owned by Jean and Scott Adam, a retired couple from California where they were on a worldwide voyage. It's unclear though whether they were actually on the boat that was taken. Protesters continue to demonstrate outside the state capitol in Wisconsin. Teachers and other state workers are upset about the governor's proposed budget. Among other things, it would cut public workers benefits and most collective bargaining rights in an effort to reduce the state's deficit. The protest isn't just about Wisconsin. The stakes are high for other states facing serious budget problems as well. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry explains.
[Ed Henry, Senior White House Correspondent:] Randi, House Speaker John Boehner raised the stakes on Friday by charging President Obama and his allies are whipping up, what he called, Greece-style protests. And the Republican leader said this is undermining bipartisan efforts to solve these budget crises, not just in Wisconsin but all around the country.
[Henry:] Think this is just a narrow budget fight in one state? Think again.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where you're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions.
[Henry:] The president knows Wisconsin is just round one in the national battle for control of the budget message. So he sent his outside political team Organizing for America to help build even larger crowds. And union officials are vowing to keep up the fight in key 2012 political battlegrounds. [on camera]: And this is beyond Wisconsin, it seems?
[Unidentified Female:] Absolutely. It is beyond Wisconsin. It is, quite frankly, throughout the country, whether it's in Ohio, New Jersey, New Hampshire. You see these attacks on workers.
[Henry:] Labor officials charge teachers in Wisconsin are being unfairly targeted for deep cuts. They get smaller raises, pay more out of pocket for pensions and health care and lose collective bargaining rights for both. Wisconsin's Republican governor Scott Walker staring at a $3.6 billion state deficit says he needs to cut somewhere. And he's getting air cover from House speaker John Boehner, who, like the president, knows Wisconsin is really just a proxy for their own showdown coming March 4 when funding for the federal government runs out and a possible shutdown is looming.
[Rep. John Boehner , House Speaker:] He was elected to lead not to sit on the sidelines.
[Henry:] Boehner aides privately tell CNN they believe Democrats are trying to stop Walker because they're worried he and other governors will be able to, quote, "pull a Chris Christie" as in the Republican in New Jersey who faced down unions.
[Gov. Chris Christie , New Jersey:] We have two choices, to either stand up and do the right thing, to speak the truth and speak it bluntly and directly, or to join the long parade of leaders who have come before us and failed.
[Henry:] White House aides note that in his interview with the Wisconsin station, the president did say leaders at all levels will have to make tough choices.
[Obama:] Everybody has got to make some adjustments to new fiscal realities. We had to impose, for example, a freeze on pay increases for federal workers.
[Henry:] The Republicans say the president started this week at a White House news conference saying he wanted, a, quote, "adult conversation" with Republicans to figure out how to pay for all these government programs. And now he's ending the week trying to expand the protests that may make it harder for both sides to come together Randi.
[Kaye:] A little different story for teachers in Syracuse, New York. Teachers, teaching assistants and even school administrators in West Genesee School District say they will accept a wage freeze for the 20112012 school year. That will save the district about $900,000. The teachers union says the pay cuts were necessary to help stem layoffs and keep smaller class sizes. Dramatic scenes all across North Africa and the Middle East as protesters take to the streets to demand a bigger voice in their lives. Let's take a look now at the breakdown. The countries where the unrest is taking place and how it affects you.
[Miguel Marquez, Abc News Correspondent:] I only said thugs because when four or five or six guys are beating you with sticks, it feels a heck of a lot like thugs within three to four minutes of them pulling up, they unleashed everything they had.
[Kaye:] At the heart of the anger, discrimination, unemployment and corruption. Protesters are calling for the removal of the royal family which has led Bahrain since the 18th century. Bahrain is an important U.S. ally. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th fleet.
[John Woosley, Former Cia Director:] You could see region-wide war come about as a result of a miscalculation between, say, the Israeli navy and the Iranian navy or something like that.
[Kaye:] In Iran, trouble has been brewing since the 2009 election when people filled the streets to denounce the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as fraudulent. Despite the military crackdown, thousands marched against the government this week. In response, members of Iran's parliament chanted for the execution of key opposition leaders. The battle lines have also been drawn in Libya. In Benghazi, Libya, Friday tens of thousands of protestors marched carrying the bodies of those killed earlier in the protests. The issues, poor housing conditions and high unemployment Human Rights Watch says demonstrators were killed in clashes with security forces. Meanwhile, state television showed these images of men chanting pro-Muammar Gaddafi slogans and singing around the Libyan leader who has been in power more than 40 years.
[Prof. Fouad Ajami, John Hopkins University:] We gave him a reprieve several years ago because supposedly he turned over his weapons of mass destruction. He hasn't changed. This is a monster. And the Libyan people are suffering from this.
[Kaye:] In Yemen, sticks and rocks were the weapons of choice as anti-government demonstrators clashed with pro-government gangs in the capital city of Sanaa. Protesters want long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. They blame him for lack of jobs and political freedom. [on camera]: While all of these countries may sound very far away from your home, that doesn't mean the unrest won't hit close to home. Some experts suggests this unrest could result in oil hitting $147 a barrel again, like it did two years ago. If the revolution continues in Bahrain and throughout the region, you could feel it at the gas pump. [voice-over]: In Egypt, even with Hosni Mubarak out of the picture, the situation is still tense. Victory celebrations in Tahrir Square Friday sent a message to the military. Protestors are still watching and waiting for reform. Easing tension in the Arab world may require reform instead of repression. But if the rest of the region is hoping to accomplish what those in Egypt did, they better gear up for what is already a bloody battle. Be sure to stay with CNN for up-to-the-minute coverage of all the unrest. An extreme sport on the slopes. Our Reynolds Wolf tries his hand at snow biking. Yes. You've got to see this. Let's just say one word here, wipeout. We'll be right back.

[Tony Harris, Cnn Anchor:] And good morning, everyone. Live from studio 7 at CNN World Headquarters. The news and information you need for this Tuesday, November 23rd. North Korea lobs heavy artillery at South Korea, and the South Korea
[Unidentified Female:] I think it's ridiculous. And I think the pat downs have gotten if he did it to me, he'd go to jail.
[Harris:] And a Tennessee soldier returns from the war in Afghanistan astonishing his shocked family.
[Unidentified Female:] A surprise two-week leave.
[Harris:] The surprise homecoming goes down at an NFL game. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM. But we begin with breaking news. We are standing by now awaiting news out of Aruba. As you know, there was a jawbone fragment found on the island. That bone fragment was sent to the Netherlands for analysis. We are waiting for a determination from the prosecutor's office. The prosecutor's office to tell us what the results of the testing have indicated, and this is the critical question. Is that jawbone linked to the Natalee Holloway case? Our Martin Savidge is on the island, and when we get any indication of any news when this press release, this statement is released, we will, of course, get to Marty, and we will bring you that information as soon as we get it. And we begin with the escalating tension between North and South Korea, two countries technically at war. This latest flashpoint comes on the hills of North Korea showing off its nuclear facilities. According to South Korea's defense ministry, the north fired artillery toward its disputed sea boarder, shelling an island in the yellow sea. South Korea was conducting military exercises at the time. Officials say the attack killed two South Korean troops and wounded 15 others. South Korea fired back and deployed fighter jets in response. The U.S. has more than 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea. Let's do this. Let's bring in our Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence. And Chris, let me get the story here correct. North Korea says its territorial waters were violated by South Korean shells which landed essentially in their pond? Is that why it attacked?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Sort of. The South Koreans, Tony, were in the middle of a training exercise. I spoke with a defense official here at the Pentagon who said this exercise has been planned for some time and the South Koreans informed North Korea before they fired the first artillery shell. So, he says, you know, the firing of this artillery should not have come as a surprise to North Korea. But again, as the south started to conduct this drill, that angered the north, and the north with three separate barrages started shelling this island in South Korea. You mentioned, South Korea then responded. Now, hundreds of rounds were fired between the two of them over the course of about an hour, hour and a half, and again, I was told that Defense Secretary Robert Gates just got back from an overseas trip around midnight. He was briefed on the situation, and he was scheduled to speak with his counterpart in South Korea by the end of this morning. The reason Americans would be, you know, worried or concerned about this is because the war between the two Koreas never officially ended. They signed the armistice, but the U.S. is still pledged to defend South Korea, and there are tens of thousands of American troops there, more than 50 U.S. naval vessels there. So, that's why, obviously, the American people have a stake in what happens over in that area.
[Harris:] OK. So, Secretary Gates is getting briefed on this. Aside from that, has there been an official response to all of this from the Pentagon as of yet?
[Lawrence:] No. If you're talking about any sort of escalation of force or moving more naval vessels to that area, nothing like that. They're talking with their South Korean counterparts of this toll. The phrase is "taking stock of the situation."
[Harris:] Yes.
[Lawrence:] Again, you know, they were saying, look, this just happened. They're still trying to fit the pieces together in like that, but as of right now, nothing that would escalate the situation any further.
[Harris:] Got you. OK. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon for us. Chris, appreciate it. Thank you. A quick reminder here for those of you who don't necessarily remember your Korean War history. Here's a bit of reminder. Korea was divided into the north and south at the end of World War II. Five years later, in 1950, North Korea invaded the south hoping to unite the entire peninsula under communist rule. Two days later, President Truman, authorized U.S. forces to defend the south and stop the spread of communism. Three years later, in 1953, an armistice was signed ending the fighting, but there was no peace treaty, and technically, the Korean War is still not over. OK. Let's get back to Aruba now. And our Martin Savidge is there on the phone with us. And Marty, my understanding is, we may be close to getting some kind of a statement from the prosecutor's office?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] That's correct, Tony. Yes, we've been told that it could be momentarily, that there is a statement that's going to be coming from the prosecutor's office. We understand that it will come in two ways. One, it could be transmitted electronically by e-mail. We'll also get a hard copy of some sort, and then we anticipate that the solicitor general will then come out for Aruba and deliver that statement, and also, perhaps, take some questions from reporters. You know, of course, all of this dates back to the jawbone that was discovered on about the 12th of November by tourists. It was turned into a hotel front desk that was DeVry Phoenix Hotel
[Harris:] OK. Martin Savidge there. And Marty, when you get anything on this, just give us a heads up. Let's take a break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[Kyra Phillips, Anchor, "cnn Newsroom":] And good morning, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. It's 11:00 on the East Coast, 8:00 on the West. Our first look at the movie theater massacre suspect since his arrest. James Holmes facing a Colorado judge this hour. Live cameras in the courtroom. Penn State football escapes the so-called "death penalty," but the punishment just handed down by the NCAA may be even worse. And Drew Peterson goes on trial for the murder of his third wife while the disappearance of wife number four is still an open case. We begin with a "death penalty" for Penn State football. Well, not so much, but this is definitely going to hurt. Just this morning, the university got slapped with a massive penalty that will last for years to come. Among the most brutal, a $60 million fine, a four-year post- season ban and a forfeit of all football wins since 1998. You know what that means? Joe Paterno loses his title as winningest coach in major college football history. All of this in the wake of that child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky. Rumors of the massive fine trickled out on Sunday, the same time Paterno's iconic statue on campus was wrapped in plastic, covered with a blanket and hauled away. The NCAA just made the announcement in Indianapolis. Mark McKay was there for it. So, Mark, this is a huge blow to this school.
[Mark Mckay, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] A huge blow, certainly, to Penn State university, Kyra, but NCAA President Mark Emmert said that his organization needed to act and need to act quickly. He also added that no one feels good about this. You touched on the sanctions handed down just a couple of hours ago here in Indianapolis on Penn State. Let me bring them out. You mentioned the $60 million fine. That will be paid in $12 million installments by Penn State University over the next five years and cannot come at the expense of other sports programs. That money will be paid into an endowment for programs that serve victims of child sexual abuse. Penn State also vacating all wins by the football program from the years 1998 to 2011. The NCAA saying that 1998 is the year that the university's failures began. A four-year ban on post-season play. No bowl games for the next four years for Penn State and scholarship reductions from 25 to 15, capped at 65 for the football program. The president and the NCAA believes they have done the right thing in this case, all the while, remembering the victims.
[Mark Emmert, Ncaa President:] This is just an unprecedented, painful chapter in the history of intercollegiate athletics.
[Mckay:] NCAA also saying today, Kyra, that everyone needs to be reminded, especially the universities themselves, that the presidents and the chancellors are the ones in charge.
[Phillips:] Final thought, Mark, explain how these penalties are even worse than a "death penalty?"
[Mckay:] Well, you think about the "death penalty," which the NCAA president Mark Emmert said was on the table, it was being considered. The "death penalty," of course, being the football program being banished, disappearing for a while. He said, though, the sanctions here needed to reflect a change of the culture. He said, in addition to that, they do not want to bring harm to those that had nothing to do with the Jerry Sandusky case. So, it's a sense of moving on. But, yes, this university has been hit hard over these past three months. They're hit even harder today, Kyra.
[Phillips:] Yeah. Mark McKay, thanks so much. And not only do the penalties mean that Joe Paterno has lost his title as winningest Division I coach, it also means that some players lost their own bragging rights. Take a look at this. Evan Royster, who started playing for Penn State in 2007 and now plays for the Redskins, tweeted out, "Oh, crap, so I lost every college football game I ever played in?" Twelve dead, 58 wounded and at least 17 people still hospitalized as the community of Aurora, Colorado, and the nation still grappling with Friday's movie theater massacre. In less than 30 minutes, that gunman believed to be behind the carnage will make his first appearance in court today. Twenty-four- year old James Holmes will likely face first degree murder charges. Police say Holmes spent months planning out his alleged rampage, gathering his arsenal, executing his plan and pulling the trigger with, quote, "calculation and deliberation." His court appearance will come just a few hours before his family is expected to break their silence, as well. Let's get straight to Don Lemon who is just outside the courthouse where Holmes will be facing a judge in half an hour. Don, this will be the first look at Holmes since his arrest.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Correspondent:] It certainly will be. And, you know, even covering this story for days now, Kyra, it's just hard to believe as you were reading about the suspect, about what happened. Yes, it will be the first time we'll get to see him. He has that red hair, as police say that he had when he was arrested. This is where he is now, they believe. That is the Arapahoe County Detention Center. He's going to be moved from this Arapahoe County Detention Center underground. There's an underground tunnel and then he's going to be brought just over here to the right to the Arapahoe County Courthouse and that'll be the first time we get to see him. Kyra, we should tell you that there are family members that are inside that courtroom now. Some in a courtroom, some are in a room that has been set aside for them. They're going to get to view it, view this hearing via closed circuit television. Members of the media will get to find out exactly what happens to him and what his frame of mind was, possibly. So, the first time we'll get to see him and possibly hear from the people who are defending him.
[Phillips:] I'll tell you what, Don. We're taking hits on your live shots. We're going to try to figure out what the technical problems are. So, stay with us because we're going to be talking to you a lot throughout this hour. I apologize, Don. We just don't want to take a risk of breaking away from you again, so we'll come back to Don Lemon from just outside the courthouse as we await suspect James Holmes and his arrival there. Meanwhile, President Obama is waking up in San Francisco this morning. He changed his original campaign plan so he could visit the mourning community of Aurora, Colorado, actually, on Sunday. The president briefly addressed the media after visiting with the families.
[President Barack Obama:] I come to them, not so much as president as I do as a father and as a husband.
[Phillips:] And Mitt Romney called the Colorado visit the right thing for the president to do. Romney also addressed the tragedy Sunday evening, saying, quote, "Our hearts are with the many people who have lost loved ones in Colorado and other places, but particularly, we are thinking of the people in Aurora, Colorado."

[O'brien:] Time for "Bleacher Report." Joe Carter joins us with today's sports. Good morning, Joe.
[Joe Carter, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] Good morning, Soledad. Andy Enfield, the head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. This guy, Andy Enfield, virtually unknown last week, and seems a lot of people are talking about him and his team this week. Of course, they're the Cinderella story of the NCAA Tournament. Enfield and his wife, Amanda, who is a former cover girl model, sat down with CNN's Rachel Nichols yesterday and it's clear during their discussion that their three kids also enjoying dad's basketball success this week.
[Unidentified Female:] My oldest daughter's focus is to go to Target, buy dinosaur from the dollar bin because that was the that was promised after we got back from the tournament.
[Unidentified Male:] I told her if she won the first game she could get a dinosaur, and my other daughter would get a Barbie.
[Rachel Nichols, Cnn Correspondent:] What do they get if you win game three?
[Unidentified Male:] They get more. I've already agreed to that.
[Carter:] All parents can definitely understand that kind of bribery. The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles shocked the sports world. They are the first 15 seed to advance to the sweet 16. They will play Friday night against third seeded Florida. That game is at Cowboys Stadium, tip- off time 10:00 p.m. Eastern. The story getting the most buzz this morning on bleacherreport.com has to be Manti Te'O, the linebacker made up for a disappointing performance from the NFL Combine by running a faster 40 yard dash at Notre Dame's pro day yesterday. Some experts say his new time greatly improves his draft status, up to a possible first round pick. Others are saying we're not quite convinced he's an NFL star quite yet. Chicago native, Mr. T., yes, Mr. T. was at a Black Hawks game last night. The legendary '80s actor had this to say before a shoot the puck competition.
[Unidentified Female:] What is your prediction for shoot the puck?
[Mr. T:] Pain! I pity that puck! I pity it!
[Carter:] Mr. T. was involved in a slap shot contest during an intermission of the Blackhawks game. Look at that. He took three shots, made the third one. Crowd went wild. I don't know what's better, Soledad, the prediction or the shot itself. I pity the puck.
[O'brien:] Equally good. And you know, that's a man who has taken a line and just run with it for his entire career. We celebrate that. He's working that.
[Martin:] Work your brain, baby. Work your brain.
[O'brien:] Thank you, Joe. Ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, he starred in the hit show "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Now Courtney b. Vance is back on Broadway.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone, I'm Randi Kaye. It's 1:00 on the east coast, 10:00 on the west. We've got a busy hour ahead, so let's get you in the zone. Almost two days after Whitney Houston's death in a hotel bathtub, one day after an autopsy turned up no signs of trauma or foul play, the assistant chief coroner for L.A. County says we do not know yet how Houston died. Here's what we do know. The coroner's office is denying reports on TMZ that officials told the entertainer's family Houston likely died of a combination of alcohol and prescription drugs. A spokesman also says it's too early to rule out drowning or to rule it in. And toxicology results won't come back for weeks. My colleague, Don Lemon, is outside the coroner's office right now. Don, you were at the briefing. What else did we learn?
[Don Lemon, Cnn Correspondent:] We learned that Whitney Houston was seen an hour about an hour before her death by someone in the very hotel room where she died, according to Ed Winter, the assistant coroner here. The person left the room and then came back about an hour later and then found Whitney Houston's body inside the bathtub. And then Ed Winter said her body was removed from the bathtub. Randi, they tried to revive her. They couldn't revive her. And of course, at 3:55 a.m. Pacific time she was pronounced dead. And then, as you know, you had been covering, you know, these beats when stars die, when people die. They want to do toxicology reports. And usually, they have some sort of idea just from doing the autopsy which, by the way, has been completed. They might have an idea or a suspicion about how that person died. But using the toxicology reports, that's the final word. And I posed that question to Ed Winter a short time ago during a briefing, and I spoke to him a little bit afterwards, as well. Here's part of our conversation at the briefing, and I'll tell but our conversation afterwards.
[Lemon:] The toxicology report is just a confirmation, but you have some idea, usually, just from the initial look and see
[Ed Winter, Assistant Chief Coroner, L.a. County:] No, that's not true. You can look at a body and not know what the cause of death is. You might have a suspicion but the person could have suffered a heart attack or an embolism or something. And no matter what medications they're taking, until we run a tox and see the level and what's in the system, we're not going to speculate.
[Lemon:] Yes. So, what he's saying in that, if you read between the lines, is that they have their idea about what it is, but until they're 100 percent sure, Randi, they don't want to say, well, we think it's this. They want to be absolutely sure, because this is very high profile, as you know.
[Kaye:] Yes, of course. And one of the things that there's been a lot of talk about is prescription drugs, of course, given Whitney Houston's history. Are officials saying anything there, Don, about prescription drugs, what might have been found in her hotel room?
[Lemon:] Yes, they are. And as you said, there have been reports that it was a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol, right? Well, the coroner won't go that far. But what he will say, Randi, and what he is saying, is that, yes, there were prescription bottles found, and initially, the coroner's office did not release the information. And that's what he said when I spoke to him afterwards. He said, there were prescription bottles found in the hotel room, but it wasn't anything that out of the ordinary or that would make them go, huh, what's going on here. And quite honestly, he said, I have more prescriptions, meaning the coroner, at home than was found in the hotel room. But as you know, if those prescriptions are taken in the wrong way, right, they could lead to someone passing out, being unconscious, and if they're in a bathtub, maybe they pass out and go under the water. Who knows. That's just speculation. And Randi, you and I talked online a little about those photographs. You've seen the photographs, haven't you? Of Whitney Houston leaving that club on Thursday night?
[Randi:] Yes, the scratches and the blood on her leg.
[Lemon:] You know, with Kelly Price when she was singing. Yes, yes. And so, and so and Kelly Price, the last person that she performed with, talked about that. She said, hey, listen, we were having a good time. Yes, there was champagne flowing. Whitney had some champagne. She left the club 2:00, 3:00 in the morning. Anyone who would leave at 2:00, 3:00 in the morning, if you've been dancing, it's hot. You would be sweaty, and maybe you know, you may be a little bit tipsy. So but we don't know how much she had to drink and if there was interaction with the prescription drugs. But again, yes, you do see the pictures and you see that Whitney they're not flattering pictures of her leaving a club, Club True on Thursday night which was one of the last times she was seen publicly, Randi.
[Kaye:] Yes. Just so tragic. Don Lemon for us there at the coroner's office. Don, thank you very much for your reporting. And we also want to pass along word from a source close to Houston. The star's body, we're told, will be flown to her native New Jersey for a funeral on Friday or Saturday. More details on that as we get them. We'll have much more on Whitney Houston, but we're also focused on the president's $3.8 trillion budget which he announced this morning. Among the goals, cut spending to reduce the deficit. That includes defense cuts, but it would spend more on education and infrastructure. And to raise revenue, the rich get hit with a Buffett rule that would tax millionaires at 30 percent. Still, by the end of this fiscal year, the deficit would stand at $1.3 trillion. Republican leaders want more spending cuts and promised a fight over raising taxes. Live pictures now of a large fire in Long Branch, New Jersey. Take a look at this. We're told one of the four buildings burning is an apartment building, but we're not sure which one or if anyone might be trapped inside. But you can see the amount of smoke there, and the apartment does house 30 to 40 people. Smoke is so thick, you can barely see what's happening there on the ground, but of course, we'll keep our eye on the fire and update you when we get more information. Much of Athens looks like a war zone today after violent protests and clashes with riot police. Protesters went on the rampage after the Greek Parliament approved a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by the country's foreign lenders. The hugely unpopular deal aims to keep Greeks from defaulting on its debt. Protesters battled police for hours, yesterday, throwing Molotov cocktails, setting fire to more than 45 buildings and looting numerous others. Police fought back with tear gas. Scores of people and police were injured. Most of Jerry Sandusky's grandchildren will now be allowed to visit him at his home. A judge in Pennsylvania issued that ruling today. Sandusky, who's been under house arrest since December asked the judge to relax the terms of his bail last week. The former Penn State assistant football coach is awaiting trial on child sex abuse charges. Under today's ruling, Sandusky can visit now with 11 of his grandchildren but not three others involved in a custody dispute. Next hour, Washington's governor will sign a measure legalizing same-sex marriage.
[Unidentified Male:] In Gross Substitute Senate Bill 6239 is declared passed.
[Kaye:] The bill passed the House and the Senate last week. Governor Chris Gregoire says the state will, quote, "no longer deny our citizens to the opportunity to marry the person they love." The law is set to take effect in June but could be put on hold if opponents gather enough signatures to put the question on the November ballot. Somebody in Rhode Island is a big winner today, we just don't know who. The winner of the $336 million Powerball jackpot hasn't come forward. Whoever it is matched, the five winning numbers and the Powerball. The numbers are 1, 10, 37, 52, and 57, and the Powerball number was 11. Coming up, we're going to return to the death of Whitney Houston, specifically to the investigation and to what happened to her in those final hours. Did she drown in the bathtub as some reports indicate? Or could it have been an accidental overdose? We'll get into the scenarios investigators are exploring today when I talk with a forensic scientist. But first, the cloud of grief looming over last night's Grammy show was hard to miss. But there was a ray of sunshine and her name is Adele. In case you missed it, the British singer swept the night winning six trophies, including record, song and album of the year, especially impressive considering she couldn't even talk a couple months back after undergoing vocal cord surgery. So, choosing today's Rock Star was a no-brain for us. Congrats, Adele.

[Roberts:] Twenty-five and a half minutes after the hour, and Christine Romans here this morning, "Minding Your Business". And if you have noticed that the prices of things, including food, have been going up, you're not wrong, because they have.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] That's right. I mean, we've been talking about it here just about every week, talking about commodity prices rising and and that continues. And the latest news is I think that gas prices are going to go up maybe 10 or 15 cents a gallon. So watch for that.
[Roberts:] Yes. They're creep they're creeping up.
[Romans:] Creeping up because, you know, the Fed injecting all that money into the system is making commodities go up, and they already had been going up. I want to talk about Thanksgiving, though, because you better stuck your wallet. It sounds like sorry. You better stuff your wallet.
[Roberts:] See? There's a problem with your microphone. So you can't leave us. You you're tied you're tied to us.
[Romans:] I was going to walk to the Wall, but
[Chetry:] Where is your microphone?
[Romans:] I don't know.
[Roberts:] Oh, are you sitting on it?
[Chetry:] The problem is, she doesn't have one on.
[Romans:] Well
[Chetry:] All right. Go fishing. Go for it.
[Romans:] No. Look, we're looking for turkey prices, up about 32 percent so far this year. We're expecting them to continue to rise. Aha! We found it.
[Chetry:] Voila!
[Roberts:] What was it doing in your ear?
[Romans:] No, it wasn't in my ear. It just fell down the anyway alas.
[Roberts:] OK. Now you can go.
[Romans:] Let's talk about turkey prices. They're up about 32 percent so far this year, about $17 a pound. That means you're looking at about a $17 $70 price for a a 16-pound turkey. And why? It's because the feed prices have gone up. I told you about these commodity rallies. We've been talking about it a lot. The feed prices for turkeys is up. That means the price for you to feed your family turkey is likely to go up. Fewer turkeys produced also. That's that's part of the problem here. Corn and wheat prices are up. They have been rallying sharply all year. This means bread, meat, the things that you use corn and wheat to make or to feed, are also going up. That's going to result in higher prices for meat, pasta, and bread. One thing here, there's some other staples that are costing less, though. Celery, green beans the consumer price index that the government puts out shows that some of these vegetables actually are are not going to cost you more. But the price for your Thanksgiving turkey is going to be bigger this year. Your turkey dinner is going to be bigger this year. And comes, you guys, at a time when everything is going up. Oil and gas I told you about that. We've got coffee prices going up. Coffee is at a 13-year high. McDonalds has said it's going to raise prices. Gas prices expected to rise 10 or 15 cents a gallon. Home heating bills should be another $124 extra this year. So all of this is is it's your pocketbook, but it's an international issue. It's because all of the money rushing into the system is going into hard commodities, in many cases, and because it's safe. The dollar is weak, commodities have been rising. My mike still sounds a little funny, doesn't it?
[Roberts:] No, no, no. It's fine. It looks a little weird, but it sounds just fine.
[Romans:] All right. So, there you go.
[Roberts:] Does anybody know that the economy is still bad out there? I mean, people can't afford to pay more for things.
[Romans:] I know, but you're just going to have figure out you have to dig deep and figure out how and the irony here is that the senior citizens are not going to get a social security increase
[Roberts:] If you dig any deeper, we're not going to have to worry about trade with China, because you can just drop your stuff down the hole and it will come out the other side in China.
[Romans:] Right. There you go.
[Roberts:] All right. Thanks.
[Chetry:] But people on fixed incomes, it is going to be tough.
[Romans:] It is going to be tough. That's right.
[Chetry:] Christine, thank you.
[Roberts:] Well, we're crossing the half hour now. It's time for this morning's top stories on this Monday morning. President Obama about to deliver a message to more than a billion people. In about 30 minutes, he'll be speaking with India's parliament. He's expected to focus on America's partnership with the Asian nation. Stay with us because we're going to bring you the president's remarks live when they happen.
[Chetry:] And a fleet of Qantas Airbus 380 jets will stay grounded for at least another 72 hours. Oil leaks discovered in the engines of three planes. This was during an investigation into what caused last week's mishap that forced a Qantas flight to make an emergency landing in Singapore when one of the engines blew. Meanwhile, Emirates Airlines is announcing its superjumbo A380s will make their much anticipated return to New York today just days after the airline launched those daily flights to Houston and Los Angeles.
[Roberts:] And Vice President Joe Biden reaffirming America's support for Israel. In a speech on Sunday to the Jewish Federations of North America, Biden said ties between the two countries are, quote, "literally unbreakable." Biden addressed the group in New Orleans, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, looking for ways to get Mideast peace talks going again.
[Chetry:] Well, the U.S. effort to win hearts and minds in Afghanistan is much more than just a military strategy.
[Roberts:] This morning, in the first part of her special series "The Other Afghan Offensive," CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty takes a look at what the United States is doing to help Afghan farmers rebuild a critical part of the country's infrastructure, and she joins us now You wouldn't think that farmers would have a big role in bringing stability to that country, but they do.
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] But they do. And it's an interesting story. We saw in these imbeds that we went on in Afghanistan. And, you know, over and over, John and Kiran, you hear it in Afghanistan that the war can't be won by bullets alone. We've all heard of the military surge, but there's also a civilian surge happening as well experts of law, government, economic development, agriculture, working with Afghans through the State Department, USAID, and other agencies. And as we saw during our imbed there, it's a very different kind of battle.
[Unidentified Soldier:] All right. Integration team, I'll be with you guys.
[Dougherty:] We're in Wardak province, eastern Afghanistan, with advisers working for the U.S. Agriculture Department. Eighty percent of Afghans are farmers so boosting the country's agriculture industry is crucial to the U.S. strategy here.
[Gary Soiseth, Usda:] And I'm an orchard manager for my folks back home.
[Dougherty:] Twenty-four-old Gary Soiseth, he's far from his farm in Turlock, California.
[Soiseth:] That's kind of my real life job. But for right now, I'm focused right here.
[Dougherty:] He's teaching old farmers new tricks.
[Soiseth:] The elders get a little rambunctious sometimes. They kind of say, hey, kid, what can you teach me? And you know what? You know, I know this stuff. And I say, you know, I agree, I defer. One main solution just to make sure your orchard floor is clean, keep your weeds down and to also make sure all of your fruit that is infected is removed.
[Dougherty:] Did you learn something today?
[Unidentified Male:] Limit the outflow.
[Dougherty:] Some new ideas on how to keep insects at bay this man tells me.
[Soiseth:] A lot of times, you know, the father passed on to the son. Well, if this father is a mujahedeen or the father, you know, died in some war, that knowledge doesn't get passed down.
[Dougherty:] Why would you pick up from sunny California and come to sunny Afghanistan?
[Soiseth:] I just kind of had to look at myself and say, what do I really want to do? As an American, as a farmer, where can I serve?
[Dougherty:] Gary's dream is to help Afghan farmers to move from living off their crops to selling them, in Kabul, Pakistan, maybe even India or Dubai. It could take a while, he says. So he's signing up for another year in Afghanistan. Helping farmers grow enough crops also helps wean away from poppy, and that is an industry, as we all know is controlled by the Taliban who makes millions of dollars from it.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] So, these civilian programs to teach them how to farm more effectively and away from opium is it making a measurable difference? I mean, is this something they're taking to?
[Dougherty:] You know, in all of these programs that we saw throughout the country, they make a difference in the local area. But the question is, can you knit these all together throughout the country? Because otherwise, you know, it's a little here, a little there. And that's the question. And it's really crucial because if the people of Afghanistan don't believe that they can get something from their government and that's the key thing then they are going to turn to the Taliban for a lot of stuff.
[Chetry:] Amazing. Well, it's very interesting. And tomorrow, we're going to get to see part two of Jill's series.
[Dougherty:] Right.
[Chetry:] She's going to be taking a look at how some Afghan women are really trying to make the most of their situation, new opportunities to work and earn a living. So, we'll see you back here tomorrow. Jill, thanks.
[Roberts:] Good to see you, Jill. Thanks. Coming up next on
[American Morning:] a series of high-profile plane mishaps as we head into the busy travel holiday season might have you asking the question: Is it really safe to fly? We'll ask aviation analyst Peter Goelz coming up next.

[Savidge:] We have all heard about high schools moving toward random drug testing for students. But on one New Jersey district, they are planning to test kids even younger. CNN's Mary Snow has more.
[Mary Snow, Cnn Correspondent:] The school board Belvedere, New Jersey voted to implement random drug testing for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. It's an extension of a program already being done in the high school. But many are questioning, are these kids too young? A lesson in math conversions is what you might expect in sixth grade. But for these 11-year olds in Belvedere, New Jersey, learning real life lessons may come earlier than most kids in their state. School officials want to randomly test middle schoolers for drugs and alcohol, something that is usually reserved for high school students.
[Sandra Szabocsik, Oxford St. Elementary School:] When parents call or even when we get anything from the police, it's very general.
[Snow:] Principal Sandra Szabocsik says she gets calls about weekend parties involving marijuana and alcohol in this small rural community. She can't pinpoint a specific drug problem at her school, but says there are realities that can't be ignored. They include a 2009 drug best in a nearby town involving teachers arrested as part of a ring selling prescription drugs. Szabocsik hopes the random tests will serve as a deterrent in keeping middle schoolers away from drugs and alcohol.
[Szabocsik:] I'm hoping that because they know they could be tested come Monday, maybe they'll just say no. I can't do that. I'm afraid and I also look at it as a way they can no to their peers.
[Snow:] In order to conduct testing, both parents and kids have to agree to participate. We spoke with several parents ready to sign up.
[Christina Tauriello, Parent:] I think it's great.
[Snow:] Why?
[Tauriello:] Because the kids you don't know what they are doing, performance enhancement drugs, things like that. Even regular drugs that kids are not as open to come home and tell their parents.
[Snow:] But others question the need to expose kids this young to random tests saying it can backfire.
[Greg Casterline, Parent:] What's the message being sent to them that there have to be random drug tested? There's a question then about the integrity of every kid.
[Snow:] The ACLU has been critical of these random drug tests for kids, saying they are not a good civics lesson and they don't deter drug use. But schools involved say they do. In this particular program, if students fail the drug test, they won't be punished. School officials say they will be offered counseling.
[Savidge:] Wow, 2011 has barely begun and some folks are already focusing on the 2012 presidential elections. Some interesting poll numbers out this morning about who is leading the pack in the race to become the next president of the United States. When we come back, details on how President Obama stacks up against potential GOP candidates.

[Cho:] Welcome back. It's 42 minutes after the hour. It's that time of year again. The Salvation Army bell-ringers are back, and they are bringing in big donations, more than just hard cash. People are dropping gold coins, even diamonds into the little red buckets. We're joined by Major George Hood, the national community relations and development secretary for the Salvation Army. Major Hood, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
[Major George Hood, Development Secretary, Salvation Army:] Oh, thank you for having me.
[Cho:] I understand you've been a bell ringer since the age of 10 and have been doing it every year since then. Congratulations. That's quite impressive. We hear every year about bell ringers finding the strange but incredibly valuable items in the kettle. So what types of things have you found this year?
[Hood:] Well this year already we've seen from a $20 gold coin in Ft. Myers Florida, which, by the way is the seventh straight year that someone has dropped one of these gold coins into a kettle in Ft. Myers, to five South African krugerrands and a $5,000 diamond ring. All sorts of things will appear in the red kettles, and it's kind of fascinating to watch.
[Cho:] The gold coin that you mentioned that's worth $1,400 based on gold prices these days, the note there said "In Loving Memory of Mimi," which is such a nice gesture. A lot of people are wondering what you do with all these valuable items. Do you sell them then for the cash?
[Hood:] We do. It's very important we liquidate them into real cash, take them to jewelers and coin dealers and have them evaluated, and they tell us what it's worth, because it's important to understand the money that's raised in the red kettles, in every local community across the United States, that money stays in that community to meet the needs of families there. We can do a lot more with a gold coin by liquidating it and getting it the cash than looking at it in all of its beauty.
[Cho:] Obviously we don't need to remind people that the economy, you know, we're facing tough times with the economy. Has that impacted you in terms of donations this year?
[Hood:] Well, we've seen a very interesting thing take place over the last three years with the struggling economy. The American people are so generous and have placed so much trust in the salvation Army, we have seen a growth in the amount of money we raise in the red kettles three consecutive years.
[Cho:] Do you know how much you've raised so far?
[Hood:] Last year we raised $142 million in the red kettle program. So and I looked at numbers yesterday, and we're about two percent ahead of where we were a year ago at the same time. so it's obviously that the American public still believes in that red kettle program.
[Cho:] It's nostalgia, too, to a certain degree. I found this really interesting. I remember reading recently that you well, I know that you've been accepting online donations for about seven years, but this year you're testing something out new with mobile devices that the kettle ringers actually carry with them in part so that there's no excuse anymore if you don't carry cash with you, right? How does it work?
[Hood:] That's right. We're trying to stay on the cutting edge with technology and the device you're referencing is called The Square, and it's a very simple little postage stamp-sized device that you put into your mobile phone, your Smartphone, and you can swipe a credit card through it and make a donation.
[Cho:] Wow.
[Hood:] You have to get the app, of course. The app with the Salvation Army Donation Page. When you fire it up, it says how much do you want to donate. You enter the number, swipe your card, and in a matter of seconds the transaction is complete.
[Cho:] You know, I I know that some people know this but some people don't. So just remind our viewers who don't know just a little bit about the programs that these donations will support.
[Hood:] Well the program has really fund first of all, the Christmas programs that we do all across the country. We want to make sure that during this very special time of the year that families have food on the table, children have toys under the Christmas tree and that they are able to celebrate Christmas the way most of us do. The funds that are left over stay in that community, and those moneys are used to fund utility bill payments, making sure that people are eating healthy foods, warm coats for children during the winter, housing, seniors being taken care of, a variety of ministries and programs that we operate throughout the year.
[Cho:] Well, I wish you the best of luck for the rest of the holiday season. You still have some time to donate, of course. Major George Hood of the Salvation Army, we thank you.
[Hood:] Thank you.
[Cho:] Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, Former President Bill Clinton talks to me about his wife Hillary's plans for the future and whether she may run for president. Also, what he thinks about Chelsea's job as a network correspondent Forty-six minutes after the hour. That interview is next.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT. I'm Christine Romans. Minding your business this morning, stock futures mixed amid a big week for corporate earrings. Reports this morning, we'll get them from Johnson & Johnson, DuPont, and Verizon, and this afternoon, Google, IBM and Texas Instruments. Apple reports tomorrow. All right, it's probably your biggest asset or your biggest debt. It's your house. We're going to get a read on existing home sales at 10 a.m. Eastern. The housing news has been good. Home sales and home prices are forecast to rise this year. And Deutsche Bank's chief economist, he is going to call 2013, the year of the house, he says. Real estate tracker Zillow says home values will rise more than 3 percent this year. Remember that iconic video game, Pong? It's creator, Atari, is filing for bankruptcy. Atari is trying to split itself off from its unprofitable parent company in France. Atari lost its dominance in video games decades ago to rivals like Nintendo. Its assets include the Atari logo and then the company's games. They will be up for sale in the next few months.
[Berman:] I have my Atari at home in working order. My 1982-era Atari and it still works.
[O'brien:] I thought Atari had gone under. They haven't been part of the growth of video games. They've been completely out of it.
[Bredesen:] Nothing better than space invade invaders.
[Romans:] Sometimes you get a rejuvenation out of bankruptcy.
[O'brien:] You're all dating yourselves. Right now, some of the biggest names in Hollywood are in the mountains of Park City, Utah, for the 35th Annual Sundance Film Festival. This year, some of the films generating the most buzz are documentaries. Zoraida Sambolin is live for us in Park City this morning. Hi, Z. Good morning.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Anchor, Cnn's "early Start":] short films that were submitted here. And out of that, 190
[Robert Redford, Founder Of The Sundance Film Festival:] I'm prejudiced to documentaries, have been most of my adult career life.
[Sambolin:] Four of the five documentary features now in the running for an Oscar were launched at last year's festival. The only one that didn't is on this year's program. Now a new crop of documentarians is hoping for similar success.
[Unidentified Male:] My second favorite is Garfield.
[Sambolin:] "Linsanity," the movie, a project that began long before the phenomenon.
[Evan Leong, Producer, "linsanity":] Everyone knows how he reacted. The story, it's not the ending, it's the whole journey up to this point, all the things that had to happen to make this perfect.
[Unidentified Male:] If you want to be loved, go be a movie star.
[Sambolin:] A former vice president is also in the Sundance spotlight, "The World According to Dick Cheney."
[Rj Cutler, Producer, "the World According To Dick Cheney":] Dick Cheney is a man who love him or hate him, agree with him or disagree with him is certainly one of the most significant, nonpresidential, political figure this country has ever known.
[Sambolin:] "The 99 Percent" is well represented here too, a unique production resulting from the collaboration of nearly 100 filmmakers.
[Audrey Ewell, Producer, "99 Percent": The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film":] We're not activists, we are filmmakers and for us, this is about capturing a moment in our collective American contemporary history that we didn't feel had necessarily been really explored.
[Sambolin:] Documentaries not typically in the spotlight, but here at Sundance, they are among the stars. Soledad, I want to share with you what's coming up today, some of the interviews that I am going to be conducting. So we're going to stick with the documentaries here. Muriel Hemingway has her film that's coming out. It's "Running From Crazy," we sit down with her and with her daughter, Langley Hemingway. Basically, it is a history of mental illness and depression in her family. You know, she follows the history and she says what she is trying to do is to make sure that this never happens in her family. We also have Shia Labeouf and we have Evan Rachel Wood, "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countrymen." And then we have January Jones of "Mad Men Thing," and she is actually doing a reverse swag. Around here, they give a lot of swag to celebrities and she is actually going to be donating that back. So we're going to follow her this evening and share that with you.
[O'brien:] That sounds really nice. All right, Zoraida, thanks. Ahead this morning, he is a gay American who made history as the inaugural poet. Richard Blanco will join us live to talk about his big day yesterday. That's coming up next.

[Cooper:] Well, in a conference call to his supporters today, President Obama was blunt, saying there's no way to sugar coat it; last night was tough for Democrats. He warned that they most likely face even tougher days ahead. The voting map has been dramatically redrawn, and we're likely to see the emergence of a new generation of Republican power brokers, along with current GOP leaders like Sarah Palin and others who will try to unseat the president in two years. Back again now to John King.
[King:] Anderson, you know how it works: once one election is over, everyone says what does this mean for the next one? So what does 2010 mean for 2012? Well, first, let's get a sense of the scope, the drama of the Republican victories here. Look right up here. This is the map coming into the night last night in terms of the House of Representatives. See all the blues? That's blue House districts across the country. That's how we began the night. That's how we ended. You see all that red one more time. That's before; that's after sweeping, stunning Republican victories all across the country. And that's just the House. Let's go to the Senate races. Here's how we began the night. We began the night here. Remember all this up in the Midwest, right up here, the industrial heartland right up there. Began the night, all that blue, ended the night with all that red. The governors' races also critically important in 2012. Again, look at all this blue. Look at all the blue, especially in the big Rust Belt states. Those are critical presidential battlegrounds. There's how we began. There's where we ended. Why does that matter to the president of the United States? Well, Barack Obama carried Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan; I could go on and on. These are all states the president carried. He also carried Florida, which kept its Republican governor. If you're the president of the United States and you are looking at this map, the electoral map has changed so dramatically today from where it was not only yesterday, but when he won that big victory in 2008. So that is a challenge for the president. This is based in the economy, among winning back support among independent voters and rural blue-collar white voters for which among which this president has always had a problem. So what about the Republicans? Who does this map help? Well, for one, we saw Sarah Palin, she has Tea Party support. She is in a commanding position coming out of this election. Who else? The Republican governor of Florida, the Republican governor-elect, Rick Scott; he is now a power broker in Republican politics. Watch him in the years ahead. Right here in Ohio, John Kasich is the new governor there. He's a close friend of Newt Gingrich. We'll see if that friendship cements any 2012 presidential alliance. And again, look at this. A Republican governor of Pennsylvania, Michigan, on and on, out in Iowa. Iowa? How about Iowa? Terry Branstad is about to be the most popular Republican in the United States of America as all the 2012 contenders try to make friends and get his endorsement. A very different map today than when the president won in 2008 and a very troubling map if you're Barack Obama looking ahead to 2012 Anderson.
[Cooper:] Yes, John. It's amazing the difference that two years makes. Back again with our panel: David Gergen, Gloria Borger, Erick Erickson, Ari Fleischer, and Cornell Belcher. It's interesting, Erick, we were talking. It does seem now all of a sudden the Republicans have a new and very deep bench.
[Erickson:] Yes, very much so. Remember that whole line we said for the past several years, Republicans can't win in New England? Guess what? The entire Maine legislature and governor is now Republican. New Hampshire, the entire legislature is Republican. They went from almost a 5050 split to, like, 75 percent of the New Hampshire legislature. What's happening at the ground level in the states for the Republicans is very significant because after 1994, a lot of people went to Washington, many of whom were flukes. They really didn't deserve to be there, but they just did because the wave was so big. And the Republicans never replenished the bench at the state level. This year they're replenishing them. The first two non-white female governors in the nation were elected last night. They're both Republican.
[Borger:] You know, don't forget, you have 19 state houses that have now gone Republican. You've got redistricting coming up, and this really sows the seeds for the future for the Republican Party.
[Cooper:] You were talking about Marco Rubio as a potential vice presidential candidate.
[Borger:] Oh, yes.
[Gergen:] One of the real problems the Republicans have had is the people who have been circulating, speaking for the Republicans, have seemed a little stale. And I think this is going to freshen up the Republican voice. To have someone like Rubio out there getting Christine O'Donnell off the screen and getting Rubio on the screen is a big step forward for the Republicans. They've got these young guns in the House who are very interesting. I think they're going to get more and more air time. And you can actually have an engaged debate in this country, which I think would be helpful for the Republican Party, and give people and by the way, I think it's also going to open up the ranks for the 2012 nomination.
[Borger:] I do too.
[Gergen:] Because we've had a crowd the working conventional wisdom in politics is, Barack Obama's going to win in part because it's a pretty weak field running against him. Apparently, yes. But there may be new people coming under this.
[Belcher:] Let me say this, I know I'm always partisan, apparently, taking off that hat.
[Erickson:] Not apparently.
[Fleischer:] Now, you're going to take it off?
[Gergen:] Now you're going to take off the hat?
[Belcher:] Look at what Rubio did in Florida. It becomes really interesting, because he split I mean, he got he basically got among Hispanics and Latinos, in Florida what we what Barack Obama got. And which takes away a key Democratic sort of part of that electorate there, so splitting that up. Given how close that race was, if he can't run with Democrats' performance, like Barack Obama did with the Latino vote in Florida, she'd be governor now. So it becomes really interesting. And when you look at
[Cooper:] So what do Democrats do to rekindle I mean, how do they get young voters back? How do they get African-American voters back?
[Belcher:] You put Barack Obama back on the top of the ticket. I mean, one thing two things that will get him back on. One is people are comparing sort of the young vote and the black and brown vote to '08, which is false which is false. I mean, in the battleground states, the African-American vote did turn out, and the youth vote did turn out. So comparatively what it was is typically is in midterms. However, when you go out when you go out west and when you look at sort of what do we do to win that race out west, look at how he blew away with the Hispanic vote out west. Look at the ground operation that he put together out west. When you look at Colorado, again, we are becoming a blacker and browner country, particularly out west. And with Republicans to compete there, it becomes awfully important.
[Erickson:] I have to say this. This is the sixth election where the Republican death has been declared because of demographics. And yet they've gotten another reprieve.
[Fleischer:] There's one there's one riding issue on all this, and that's the state of the economy. If jobs don't get created and the economy stays weak, it's going to be terrible for Barack Obama and deservedly so. If on the other hand, jobs come back, I think you're going to see also a sense, and the media's going to help, that so much of what Barack Obama did now is being vindicated, proving it was the right thing to do.
[Borger:] But he now has an opponent.
[Fleischer:] That's the shape of what's to come. We all have to fasten our seat belts, not worry about 2012 yet. Focus on 2011. See what happens in the economy. That drives everything.
[Gergen:] I agree. There's this
[Borger:] And both of the parties have a real stake in that for 2012. So there may be I don't want to be Pollyanna here, but there may be some ray of hope that in fact, because they both need to work towards that, that they can do some things to try and get it done. Although obviously, philosophically, they have differences about how you go how you go about it. But it's in their own self-interest.
[Erickson:] The only sure thing that I can guarantee about 2012 is the conventional wisdom between now and the end of this year
[Cooper:] David Gergen, Gloria Borger, Erick Erickson, Ari Fleischer, Cornell Belcher, many thanks. Up next, how paint and sand are the key to cheap electricity. It seems strange we're going to explain in tonight's "One Simple Thing" report.

[Blitzer:] You're looking at live pictures from Dubuque, Iowa. The president of the United States will be speaking there. he has got a rally going. We are going to go there live to hear from the president. Stand by for that. Mitt Romney and the president are making their final three-day push to the finish line. Supporters on both sides, they are fanning out across the country. They are making the case for their respective candidate. Let's bring in our chief political correspondent Candy Crowley and our chief political analyst Gloria Borger. Candy, you just taped an interview for tomorrow's "STATE OF THE UNION" with the Chicago mayor Rohm Emanuel, the former chief of staff for the president at the White House. I got a little clip. Let me play it.
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Chief Political Correspondent:] The vice president Joe Biden has been tough to Pennsylvania doing a couple of early weekend stops. You had Bill Clinton is one of your biggest assets as you know, is being used in Pennsylvania on Monday. It tells me that you all are a little worried about that or worried about the race in general. Are you saying no?
[Mayor Rahm Emanuel , Chicago:] No. I think, look. I think, Candy. Ready? It's a close election. B, you nail everything down. And c, I think Pennsylvania is secure but you don't take anything for granted. And that means, there's going to be a lot of people going back to Ohio in the next 96 hours. Multiple times they'll go to Pennsylvania. But Pennsylvania is going to be on both the Philadelphia, the surrounding counties around Philadelphia and then in Pittsburgh and in Harrisburg, that's where you have a Democratic vote and you do go to secure it. But that doesn't mean it's flipping. It just means the natural tiding of a race.
[Blitzer:] So, bring in Candy. Candy, if they are spending a lot of time in Pennsylvania at this late stage, it suggests to me they're worried about Pennsylvania.
[Crowley:] Well, It did to me and that's about the fourth time I put this question to him because he veers off nicely into talking points. But, the fact is that the Romney people went in there for a couple of reasons. One, they said listen, Mitt Romney hasn't been beaten about the head in Pennsylvania on the air as he has in so many of these other states. Two, it's down to a four-point race according to some of these polls. And three, they have got as much up in some of these swing states as they possibly can put up in terms of ads. They have got the ground game covered, they figured. And they took a look at Pennsylvanians and realized that over 90 percent of Pennsylvanians will vote on Election Day.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] I agree. I mean, I talked with the senior Romney adviser about this yesterday and I said wait a minute, Pennsylvania, what are you doing in Pennsylvania? And look, if they didn't feel they were covered in every other state, that they spent all the money that they could spent, you know, we are used to campaigns sort of allocating resources saying we're running out of money. That's not the case this time. There are extra resources. So if you look at their, at internal polls which show the race sort of three to five points somewhere, it would be malpractice if they didn't actually just go in and as someone said, it's like buying a lottery ticket, right?
[Blitzer:] Yes.
[Borger:] You might as well and see.
[Blitzer:] Look at where they're spending. Both of these candidates tomorrow and Monday. Obama is going to New Hampshire, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Wisconsin, Ohio again, Iowa. Romney going to Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire. I guess where they are underscores what they need to do.
[Borger:] Sure. It doesn't exactly look like your summer vacation, does it? They're all in Ohio multiple times.
[Crowley:] And that one extra hour we will get tonight, they will probably go to Ohio. Let's face it. But Obama needs they both need Ohio. Let's stipulate that. But he's got the sort of Midwestern strategy. If he can do Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa, he believes he could put it away. Romney of course Ohio. But he needs Virginia and Florida. Needs, if he is going to get his path to 270 and that's why you see him in these two states.
[Blitzer:] You know, one thing I mentioned this to Jessica Yellin earlier, they point out all the people for the Obama crowds in these final few days are nowhere near where they were four years ago. They were huge four years ago. I don't know if that's a concern to them or not. They got this notion out here. But the crowns, they only want to get votes coming out. I don't necessarily buy that. I think they would love to have tens of thousands of people show up as they did four years ago. That's not happening.
[Crowley:] Right. I think you will see it in the final, final day. I think probably Monday or maybe even Sunday night. But the fact is, remember how four years ago it was all about the movement. If this was a movement and then all these throngs of people would come in. This is now about governance. This has been a hard slug. It takes some work to get tens of thousands of people into an arena after four years of governing because that's reality as opposed to hope and change.
[Borger:] Now they're focusing on trying to get their people to the polls. They say that they have contacted 125 million voters, and that the Romney campaign has only contacted 50 million and so there's a huge disparity there. What they would say they're more interested in that than in the crowds. I think they would like to have both.
[Blitzer:] All right, guys. Thanks very much. This programming note for our viewers. You can see Candy's full interview with Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel tomorrow morning a special edition of "STATE OF THE UNION" beginning at 9:0 a.m. Eastern. Once again, we are standing by to hear from the president of the United States. He is campaigning in Iowa. You are looking at live pictures. There is the word "forward!" with the exclamation point. They added the exclamation point, this is just be a theory, but they got an exclamation point now. It's been like that for the last several days. We will hear from the president. We are going to Iowa when we come back.

[Cooper:] The "Crime and Punishment" tonight, the Jodi Arias murder trial. She is accused, of course, of shooting ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, stabbing him dozens of times, cutting his throat. Now if she is found guilty, she could be sentenced to death. Today the defense relied on expert testimony. More on that in a moment. Arias herself, as you know, spent 18 days on the stand, testifying she doesn't remember much of the attack, which she calls self-defense. The prosecution calls it premeditated murder. Her testimony ended in a face-off with the prosecutor. Here's Randi Kaye in Phoenix.
[Unidentified Female:] Please stand for the jury.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Correspondent:] On her final day on the stand, Jodi Arias was schooled in mathematics. Do the math, the prosecutor attempted to show. Her story doesn't add up.
[Juan Martinez, Maricopa County, Arizona, Prosecutor:] At some point in your life, people have watches, right? You know about time. And you know that movement takes time, don't you?
[Kaye:] Martinez says Arias simply would not have had enough time given the evidence to first go searching for the knife she used to stab Travis Alexander nearly 30 times and slit his throat. He says she must have had the knife with her in the bathroom when she was taking these digital pictures of a naked Alexander in the shower.
[Martinez:] It would have taken time to actually look for it, wouldn't it?
[Jodi Arias, Accused Of Murder:] I guess under that theory.
[Martinez:] Sure under that theory. It would take time, right?
[Arias:] Yes, I guess.
[Kaye:] To prove his theory of premeditation, the prosecutor showed these two photographs, taken just 62 seconds apart, according to their time stamps. Arias says this accidental photo of the ceiling was taken after she dropped Alexander's camera, when he was still alive. That's when she says he lunged at her.
[Martinez:] In the 62 seconds between that photograph and Exhibit 162, you are body slammed, you get away, you get the gun, you shoot him, and then after you're able to get away, you go get the knife and he ends up at the end of the hallway, all in 62 seconds. That's what you're telling us?
[Arias:] No, that's not what I'm saying.
[Kaye:] Regardless of what Arias is saying, the photo time stamps say something else. In this second photo taken just over a minute later, Arias' foot is seen next to Alexander's bleeding body in the bathroom. By now he's been stabbed and shot. With just 62 seconds between the photos, have been enough time to support Arias' scenario that a chase and a struggle occurred?
[Arias:] I don't know.
[Kaye:] More than a month into her trial, on her 18th day on the stand, Jodi Arias offered a brand new scenario for how the knife came into play. Listen to this.
[Martinez:] You needed to go get that knife at that point, correct?
[Arias:] No, it's possible Travis grabbed the knife first.
[Martinez:] You never told us that he had any knife there, did you?
[Arias:] No. I wasn't asked.
[Kaye:] Jury members also had questions for Arias about the knife. Seems they, too, were trying to make sense of her changing stories.
[Judge Sherry Stephens, Maricopa County Superior Court:] You said you remember putting the knife in the dishwasher after killing Travis. But you also say you don't remember anything after dropping the knife on the bathroom tile. Which is correct?
[Arias:] I have a vague memory of putting a knife in the dishwasher. I'm just not sure if that's the memory from June 4th.
[Kaye:] And there were more questions about the gun Arias used to kill Alexander. Was it in a holster or not when she said she grabbed it out of Alexander's closet? Just last week she told the jury she believes the gun had been in a holster. Now suddenly, she's not so sure. And this is key because the state believes she brought a gun with her to kill Alexander and never really grabbed the gun from Alexander's closet. [voice-over]: Arias seemed to get tripped up again on this question about whether or not the gun was loaded.
[Juan Martinez, Maricopa County, Arizona, Prosecutor:] Did you tell the jury when you were talking about the attack in response to one of their questions that you believed the gun was unloaded? Do you remember saying that? Yes or no. That's all I'm asking. Yes or no. Do you remember saying that?
[Arias:] I don't know.
[Kaye:] After that, the prosecutor let her have it.
[Martinez:] What were you going to do with the gun, throw it at him?
[Cooper:] Randi joins me live from outside the courthouse in Phoenix. The defense put an expert on the stand today to try to explain her memory loss. How convincing was he?
[Kaye:] Well, Anderson, as you know, memory loss for Jodi Arias has been such an issue at this trial. She says she remembers shooting Travis Alexander, but she doesn't remember anything after that. She doesn't remember stabbing him 29 times or cutting his throat and she doesn't even remember what she did with the knife. So today the defense put a psychologist on the stand to try and explain that, and he said that amnesia can occur after acute stress. He said he met with Jodi Arias 12 times. He said he believes she has PTSD and he has no idea when her memory will actually return. It may come back in bits and pieces, which she says it's already doing. But here's the thing, the defense lawyer asked him could anyone fake this, could she be faking this, and the psychologist said absolutely not. You can't fake this, you have to know the ins and outs of the tests they run for this, you would have to know the answers for the tests they do. So it's impossible, he said that Jodi Arias is actually faking a memory loss Anderson.
[Cooper:] Well, we'll see what the jury decides. Randi, thanks very much. Let's dig deeper now. Our legal panel joins me, senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and criminal defense attorney, Mark Geragos, co-author of "Mistrial, An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works and Sometime Doesn't." So Jeff, the prosecutor made a lot of the 62 seconds that the crime would have had to have been committed in, saying basically it was impossible. Why was that such an important point?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] Well, because it's the key to her whole story. She has an explanation of how this crime unfolded, and the photographs are weirdly, that's one of just the weirdest things about this case, are basically a time stamped version of how the case unfolded. Her version does not seem to make any sense. I thought Martinez was so effective today in pointing out just how absurd it is that she could have done all of that in 62 seconds.
[Cooper:] Mark Geragos, what did you think of the expert that the defense had talking about memory loss? I just want to play some of what he said for our viewers who didn't watch it.
[Richard Samuels, Forensic Psychologist:] People who suffer from stress producing trauma will frequently not recall what happened for a certain period starting at the beginning of the trauma until sometime thereafter, which could be measured either in hours or in days, sometimes even weeks.
[Cooper:] Mark, what do you think about how he did?
[Mark Geragos, Criminal Defense Attorney:] I think it's something that you see or at least I see in the practice all the time. It was exactly what I expected. My theory has always been
[Cooper:] You said this would happen.
[Geragos:] Yes. This is exactly what you expect, that this was when we're trying to analyze her testimony, before we've heard the expert testimony, it doesn't quite make sense. Once you see it in context, now you'll understand what it is, the kind of narrative the defense is telling us.
[Toobin:] I thought this Dr. Samuels was one of the best expert witnesses I ever saw.
[Geragos:] Really.
[Toobin:] I thought he was clear. He was conversational. Now, it may be total hocus-pocus, it may be the jury doesn't buy it at all. But if the jury is looking for a reason not to give her the death penalty, Samuels did it. I thought it was extremely effective.
[Cooper:] Nark, do jurors buy so-called expert testimony? I mean, they know I assume he's being paid by the defense, he's supposed to be impartial, but they must take that into account.
[Geragos:] Well, one of the trends recently in recent years is to get experts who are appointed by the court as opposed to being a defense expert or psychiatric expert for the prosecution. Having said that, I think Jeff is right, at least so far, every account that I've seen, he seems to have come off extremely well. I think there is a tendency amongst jurors to use the expert in the following fashion. If he says something that you agree with, that kind of resonates with you, I've used that word a lot in this trial, you tend to adopt his argument and that's what you say to others or the argument you make to others when you're in the jury room and you're deliberating. In this case, I think if there's anybody there who wants to cut her some slack, that this expert combined with her testimony will certainly give them the ability to do that and argue she shouldn't be put to death.
[Toobin:] He's not saying the expert is not saying that she's legally insane. All he's saying is that she has PTSD, she doesn't her memory loss is understandable. I find that frankly very hard to believe. But I do think that as Mark said, if someone's looking for a reason to cut her a break, he certainly provided it.
[Cooper:] The idea though that she couldn't fake memory loss, I mean, do you buy it? Frankly, her explanation of the memory loss and it seems kind of shifting. I'm not sure how effective it is.
[Toobin:] That certainly is a weak point in her testimony. Mark, I'm sorry. Go ahead.
[Geragos:] Yes, I was going to say the same thing as Jeff. I've seen people feign memory loss, not just defendants. I've seen cops frequently feign memory loss whenever you catch them. So I'm not so sure that it has to be PTSD or anything else. I think sometimes people conveniently lose memory when they get cornered.
[Toobin:] The problem here is also that her memory loss is so convenient. It's always the incriminating stuff she remembers and the exculpatory I'm sorry, incriminating stuff she forgets and the exculpatory stuff she remembers.
[Geragos:] The expert had a pretty good explanation for that today, I think, and what I expected, I think, that basically that is the trauma, the things that are the most traumatic are what will produce this reaction, the psychiatric reaction that will cause somebody to lose memory.
[Toobin:] See, I don't want to get convicted syndrome. Is that what it is?
[Geragos:] Well, that's the prosecutors will call it that. The defense will say that it's trauma.
[Cooper:] But the prosecution can bring in their own expert who can say, you know, this is contrived, you can try to fake this and she's clearly trying to fake it.
[Geragos:] And that's exactly I think back to your other question, Anderson, a lot of times what will happen is the psychiatric expert by the prosecution is really good, then a lot of times you'll see jurors just say we'll cancel it out, a pox on both your houses.
[Cooper:] The prosecutor seemed really concerned that the defense was trying to get into the jurors' heads with this defense expert. Is there a line on this?
[Toobin:] Not really. That's why they call them. That's why he's there. Again, it's a subtle thing and particularly in a death penalty case. The task of the defense in a death penalty case is very different than in a guiltinnocence case. Because, you know, PTSD might not even be relevant at all if this were simply a case where life imprisonment was at stake but because her mental state and her testimony is so important on the issue of death, it really takes on a much more outsized importance. Also, just another reminder of why death penalty cases are so much more expensive than other cases because you have testimony like this that the state has to pay for.
[Cooper:] Yes. Jeff Toobin, Mark Geragos, guys, thanks very much. Up next, freefall. Take a look at this.
[Unidentified Male:] I felt that this was it. This was how I was going to die.
[Cooper:] His chute fails and he lives to tell the tale. We'll tell you how. Another Carnival cruise with yet another big stinking problem at sea.

[Gary Tuchman, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everybody. Right now Whitney Houston's family and friends are arriving at a Newark, New Jersey, church, getting ready to remember the singing legend. We have just learned who will perform at the funeral. We'll share that with you in just a moment. And we'll talk with Chilli from the group TLC. Other musical artists, and also Whitney Houston's, Whitney, that is, her elementary school principal. We'll talk with him also. He's tell what the famous singer was really like. From the CNN center in Atlanta, this is CNN Saturday morning. I'm Gary Tuchman. Well, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, and Stevie Wonder are just a few of the people who will sing at Whitney Houston's funeral today. We're two hours from the expected start. So let's check in with our Jason Carroll who is there in Newark, New Jersey, right now. Jason, what else can you tell us about the program that will be taking place today?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, a friend of the family gave me a rundown on what we can expect to hear and see when the funeral gets underway. That expected time, 12:00 noon. So let's start off from the very beginning just to let you know. First it will start off with the New Hope mass choir and the New Jersey mass choir. Today they'll be singing "The Lord is my Shepherd." Following that will be Pastor Joe Carter. I spoke to him earlier this week. He will be reading a scripture. He told me, look, we'll be acknowledging the hurt, there'll be a lot of tears, but we will also be celebrating the musical life that was Whitney Houston. That will be followed by a solo by Donnie McClurkin who will be singing "Stand." Then there will be remarks by filmmaker Tyler Perry, a friend of Whitney Houston and the Houston family. That will be followed by a solo by Bebe Winans singing "Home," followed by remarks by Bishop T.D. Jakes. Then we will hear from Kim Burrell. She has known Whitney Houston for some 13 friends. Kim Burrell well known in the gospel community. She will be singing "I Believe in You and Me." And, Gary, that was a song actually chosen by the Houston family. Then we will hear remarks from Kevin Costner, "Bodyguard" co-star. Many know the actor Kevin Costner. Then we will hear from the queen of soul herself. Aretha Franklin will be singing "The Greatest Love of All." Then we'll be hearing remarks from Clive Davis. Obviously a lot of folks know that name in the music industry. He was mentor for Whitney Houston for many, many years. Then there will be a solo from Stevie Wonder. And Stevie Wonder will be singing "A Ribbon in the Sky." Then there will be remarks by Ricky Minor, the band leader, a medley from Alicia Keys. That will be followed by a solely by R. Kelly. He will be singing "I Look to You." Then I'm told we'll be hearing from Houston's family. First up will be Patricia Houston, Whitney Houston's sister-in-law. And then we'll be hearing from Dionne Warwick. She'll be giving the closing remarks. So a lot of emotional highs and lows we'll be hearing about when the service gets underway. It's expected to last about three hours, and I'm told Whitney Houston will finally be laid to rest tomorrow. Gary?
[Tuchman:] Jason, thank you very much. There is a lot of movement right now around the New Hope Baptist Church. CNN's Don Lemon also joins us live with the latest from his vantage point. Don?
[Don Lemon, Cnn Correspondent:] I just want to show you people are starting to arrive here. This is the ground shot. They're arriving in this parking lot and they walk in. Some of them who are high- profile guests will get out on the other side of the church there. And I want to bring in someone here, the reverend DeForest Soaries, who I think it's important. People underestimate how well you knew the family, how much you know about this community, how well you knew Whitney Houston. She was you're very close to her family. And today is really a tough day not only for you, not only for the family, but for people here in the Newark, New Jersey, area.
[Deforest Soaries, Family Friend:] Well, first of all, don, this whole family has meant so much to this community. First African-American mayor of Newark was elected in 1970. John Houston, Whitney's dad, was a part of that movement. He worked in his administration. He worked in community development. And that's how I met the family. But then Dionne Warwick is around icon, and her father started a gospel record company right here in this community and they attended that church right there. This family and this community inextricably linked, so as a young activist, even before I was a preacher, I came to know the Houstons as just good folks. I grew up two miles away from where she lived in East Orange. And as her talent emerged, we saw a star in the making.
[Lemon:] Look this way. Is this surreal to you standing here? We've got the media and the satellite trucks. There's the abandoned housing projects behind you, and in front of us, we're standing here looking let's go over this way at the New Hope Baptist Church where Whitney Houston sage, her mom was a choir director they're getting some dignitaries through here. For you to stand here and look at this, can you believe that this is happening?
[Soaries:] No. I told my wife this morning I don't want to go. I can't believe what's happening. This church is so significant to this community. This is one of the first churches to begin building affordable housing for low income people. This church right in this building had a job training program.
[Lemon:] This big building here.
[Soaries:] After the riots. This church was one of the first churches in America to have jobs for people in the neighborhood.
[Lemon:] Newark riots.
[Soaries:] In 1967. This pastor of this church was one of the first ministers in the area, mainline church, to be on the radio. Every Sunday at 12:00 New Hope Baptist Church came on the radio.
[Lemon:] Is that why it was so important for the Houstons to belong to this church?
[Soaries:] There were four or five Baptist churches. Most African- American churches in New Jersey are Baptist. There were four or five churches, Metropolitan Baptist church, Zion Baptist church, and this church. This New Hope Baptist church is really foundational to black people not only around New Jersey but around the country. The former pastor of this church who really built it, C.E. Thomas, was on the board of SELC. When Dr. King came to Newark, he would come to this church. The undertaker is the founder of New Jersey's only black bank, City National Bank. And these two families go back to the 1960s.
[Lemon:] And the Houstons were part of that John Houston, Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick.
[Soaries:] Yes, all of that history comes out of this church. Then of course you had Lawrence Roberts who was not from this church but connected to the family. He now is deceased, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Nutley. He helped Cissy and Dionne with their music. Doris Duke belonged to his church. The wealthiest woman in America belonged to a black Baptist church.
[Lemon:] Here's the interesting thing. Everybody is saying, reverend, no Prudential Center, I can't believe they're not going to have fans, because they feel that Whitney Houston was part of them as well and they feel ownership. Now you've given us context in why Cissy Houston said her home-going is going to be at this church, and I don't give a darn. We're going to send Whitney home, Nippy home, from this church which means so much to this church and this community.
[Soaries:] Well, it's about being able to control the spiritual and cultural depth of the moment. The Prudential Center would be an event, a spectacle, but it would not be consistent with the values of this family, this tradition, and the values of Whitney herself. This was the best way to articulate within the cultural and religious context how we feel about Whitney Houston.
[Lemon:] Take us forward, please. What are we going to see? We're going to see some crying, some sadness, but we're going to see some shouting and happiness and celebration.
[Soaries:] We're going see worship, first of all. Worship is a human expression to the divine. And so this is not a performance. This is a worship experience. And Pastor Carter with whom I just spoke is determined to lead a worship experience to ensure that god is pleased with the celebration of one of his children. And then we're going to see praise that hopefully will bring some comfort to the family. There is an unusual level of pain. But praise can overcome pain.
[Lemon:] Reverend, thank you for putting that into context. As we stand in front of the New Hope missionary Baptist church where Whitney Houston will be memorialized and have, as they say, a home going.
[Soaries:] Not homecoming, home going.
[Lemon:] And be laid to rest tomorrow. Back to you, Gary.
[Tuchman:] Don, thank you. Thank the reverend for us, and thank you to you also. We do want to mention that while Don was talking we got our first live look inside the church. People are starting to go inside the church, and we saw the casket of Whitney Houston that was already garnished with flowers in front of the church. One other point I wanted to make about Newark, they were talking about the history of the Newark area. Fascinating city. It lost 40 percent of its city between 1970 and 1990, and that came after the 1967 civil rights riots. But between 1990 and now it's actually gained some of its population back. About 275,000 people live there. It's New Jersey's largest city. And our coverage of Houston's funeral will continue throughout the morning. Soledad O'Brien and Piers Morgan will anchor our special report that begins 50 minutes from now at 11:00 a.m. We have great stories to share about Whitney Houston. Coming up next, the pop queen's former elementary school principle joins me live.

[Kristie Lu Stout:] And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet. We begin in London where the latest politician to answer questions about his relationship with Rupert Murdoch's media empire is also the most high profile British Prime Minister David Cameron. As Aung San Suu Kyi speaks outside Myanmar, we speak to a UN envoy about violence inside the country. And Lance Armstrong says he has never failed a doping test, but now he is facing new allegations. Now British Prime Minister David Cameron is a star witness at London's Royal Courts of Justice. He has been testifying at the Leveson inquiry into media ethics. Mr. Cameron said the relationship between politicians and the press has become a bad one and lacks trust on both sides. And he testified that he has never made a deal in return for favorable media coverage. Now the Leveson inquiry has featured a who's who of some of the most powerful figures in Britain as it probes the relationship between politicians and the press. In addition to David Cameron's appearance today, three former British prime ministers have also taken the stand recently. The first was Tony Blair who testified last month. He said he came under political pressure during his time in office from Rupert Murdoch. But he denied that his government ever acted on behalf of Murdoch's business interests. Now Mr. Blair's successor Gordon Brown testified on Monday. He said he was, quote, shocked and surprised that Murdoch claimed that Mr. Brown declared war on Murdoch's company and the influential press tycoon did not endorse his Labor Party in the 2009 elections. And then former Prime Minister John Major, he testified on Tuesday. And he told the inquiry that Rupert Murdoch warned him back in 1997 to change his policies on Europe he would lose the backing of Murdoch's papers. Now Major's Conservative Party subsequently lost the 1997 election to Labor. Now Rupert Murdoch himself appeared before the Leveson inquiry in April and he insisted, quote, "I have never asked a prime minister for anything." Now let's hear some of the testimony.
[David Cameron, British Prime Minister:] It is very important alongside, you know, the appalling things that happened to entirely innocent people [inaudible], the huge problem we have in terms of police relations with media is absolutely right. We get to the bottom of the political-media relationship and how to put it on a firmer footing. But what I'm saying is not only was there no covert deal, there was no overt deal, and there wasn't nods and winks. Policies that I produced that I'm very proud of came from our beliefs, values, my history, my beliefs, and they weren't dictated by anybody else.
[Lu Stout:] Now Prime Minister Cameron launched the Leveson inquiry last year in response to the phone hacking scandal which engulfed Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid. Now Dan Rivers is monitoring Mr. Cameron's testimony. He joins us now live from the Royal Courts of Justice in London. And Dan, we heard what David Cameron had to say about his relationship with the press in general, but give us more details about his ties with the Murdochs and in particular Rebekah Brooks.
[Dan Rivers, Cnn International Correspondent:] Absolutely. It was on the specific question of how close he was to Rebekah Brooks that things really did feel very awkward for David Cameron. He was asked how often he was seeing her, you know, what is it every weekend, was it most weekends. He was really squirming at that point. But I think the headline grabbing moment was just a few minutes later when Robert Jay, the lawyer for the inquiry, revealed a text message from Rebekah Brooks to the prime minister on the 7th of October, 2009 which she sent just a week after the Sun newspaper had switched allegiance from the Labor Party to the Conservatives. I think we have a clip here of Robert Jay reading out that text message and the prime minister's response to it.
[Robert Jay, Leveson Inquiry Attorney:] Just the phrase but because professionally we're definitely in this together. What was your understanding of that?
[Cameron:] I think that is about the Sun had made this decision to back the conservatives, to part company with Labor. And so the Sun wanted to make sure it was helping the Conservative Party put its best foot forward with the policies we're announcing, the speech I was going to make and all the rest of it. And I think that's what that means.
[Rivers:] But just to give that text message some context, it was on the eve of David Cameron making a very important speech to his party here in the UK. And Rebekah Brooks texting him I'm so routing for you tomorrow not just as a proud friend, but because professionally we're definitely in this together. The speech of your life, yes you can. It gives an idea, Kristie, of just how close they appeared together, that Rebekah Brooks was able to send text messages directly to him giving the impression that there was this kind of symbiotic relationship, that because now the Sun had decided to back David Cameron that they felt they were in it together and that has given rise of course to people claiming that in return he gave them an easy ride on laws over media regulation and so on. Now that's something that later on David Cameron, you know, aggressively denied that there was any kind of quid pro quo or grand bargain or covert or overt deal with the Murdoch newspapers, but that text message alone, I think, it is pretty damaging. And it will definitely grab the headlines here in the newspapers this evening and tomorrow as an example of the over close relationship, perhaps too much influence that was being brought to bear by Murdoch's chief executives in those years before the 2010 election.
[Lu Stout:] Yeah. That and the mention of these country dinners that they shared underscoring the nature of their relationship. And Dan, also David Cameron, he was pressed about why he hired Andy Coulson as his communications director. How did he handle that line of questioning?
[Rivers:] Again, another difficult area for him. But his line was basically was that he hired him because he would do a good job. He was asked repeatedly, well, you know did you ask him about his knowledge of phone hacking and you know what was the answer? And basically he would say, well, you know, Andy Coulson insisted that he had no knowledge of phone hacking. And it was because he had no knowledge of phone hacking as the editor of the paper, i.e. he didn't have a grip on the paper that was why he resigned. Now we know, of course, the story may have been different, that phone hacking was much more widespread than just one rogue reporter as they thought as David Cameron thought at the time. It was systemic inside the News of the World. And questions now about how much Andy Coulson knew and ordered and presided over that phone hacking, that's all subject to a police inquiry. So we won't get too much into that. But again it's an awkward, difficult issue for David Cameron. He hired this tabloid journalist just a few months after he'd been forced to quit from the News of the World in a phone hacking scandal. Now of course that very same spin doctor Andy Coulson has been arrested and charged for lying in court. And Rebekah Brooks, the friend that he used to share country suppers with and exchange text messages with has also appeared in court, charged with basically trying to cover up the extent of phone hacking, trying to hide boxes of evidence from the police. The two things obviously fit very awkwardly. And he was doing his best to try and explain the reason why he got so close to both of those characters.
[Lu Stout:] All right. Dan Rivers, thank you for that wrap up. Dan Rivers joining us live from the Royal Courts of Justice. Let's get more analysis of David Cameron's testimony today. And Peter Jukes is the author of "Bad Press: The Fall of the House of Murdoch." He joins me now live from CNN London. And Peter, what do you think was the most politically damaging detail that we've heard so far from the hearing? Is it Cameron's close ties with Rebekah Brooks or his decision to hire Andy Coulson and the thinking behind that?
[Peter Jukes, Author:] Well, both. But I mean the glaring headline is going to be that text from Rebekah Brooks that, you know, we're all in it together. That's not going to go away. It's a this is what is the problem, I think, for politicians is not the evidence they give. I mean, I think he's done a very good performance. He had me schooled. Cameron's presentation has been fine. It's the evidence you can't control. These emails, I think there's another one come from News International. Oh, this is a text, rather. So as to how the Leveson Inquiry, it's the revelation, the slow culmination of detail of the level of these interactions. And that's very awkward. 1,400 meetings with the members of the press in the four years of opposition halving while he was prime minister. That does look like something very close to the press, fascinated by PR, and then specifically close to Rebekah Brooks and hiring one of her proteges Andy Coulson.
[Lu Stout:] So he's performing well so far, but the evidence stacking up against him. David Cameron, he took an interesting position early on, saying he doesn't really pay attention to newspapers, or rather television is a more powerful medium. And I'm just thinking why would he say that given the controversy over the BSkyB takeover? What was his thinking behind that?
[Jukes:] I think they were trying to divert away from the obvious line of newspapers, which is Coulson and Brooks these close associates. I think you're right. I mean, I think Jay made this very good point that actually if there was any implicit or explicit deal with these corporations it would have been about the BBC, about Ofcom. And I think that hasn't really paid well I mean, Cameron's background was in TV. He was head of public affairs for Gordon. And it's a more heavily regulated part of the media in the UK and therefore more point governed legislation. I think it was an attempt to get away from the bad odor around the press. I don't think it's particularly succeeded.
[Lu Stout:] Now David Cameron, he said that the inquiry which he said up is a, quote, cathartic moment and a chance to reset relations. But is it really? I mean, what will it change in terms of policy at the end of the day?
[Jukes:] This is very difficult. I mean, the battle has yet to come or the press regulation or self regulation will be. And that will be a big battle, because [inaudible]] if you follow the reaction to Leveson, some called it a witch hunt, others say long overdue. You know, the government and politicians were appeasing media proprietors all the time. There's no consensus over this. It will be a battle royal. And a battle royal over the press who also report this battle royal. So I think that's problematic. What they there's already a slight schism between Cameron and Ed Milliband, the opposition leader. And they have they came together to form the Leveson inquiry over ownership. Cameron has said it's not really an issue. Ed Milliband says that nobody should own more than about 25 percent of the newspaper market, which, you know, Rupert Murdoch owns 35 percent. So already we have some divisions there.
[Lu Stout:] I also wanted to get your thoughts on the legacy of the Leveson inquiry. And just how optimistic are you that press abuses like phone hacking or cozy relationships between those in power could be prevented in the future?
[Jukes:] I well, in a way, daylight has been the best cleanser. It's been an amazing process to see just the level of connection these 1,400 meetings over four years, forgetting the texts and emails. I think, at least when it comes to News International, clearly nobody is going to have that level of contact again. I don't think there will be another, for a long time in a newspaper group, which will be quite so powerful on Fleet Street. In that respect, yes, it will do good.
[Lu Stout:] All right. Peter Jukes, thank you very much indeed for joining us and for your insights. You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, for the first time in more than two decades Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi is in Europe. Here what she has just told a UN agency. And no less than seven Tour de France titles are on the line as former U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong denies new doping allegations. And it is a place where the president and Speaker of the House are both women, but the UN says it is the most dangerous place to be born a girl.

[Amanpour:] Welcome back to the program. There are grim new warnings about another potential massacre underway being planned in Syria. As the Assad regime escalates its offensive using helicopter gunships in the town of al-Hafa. The United States and the U.N. say they are gravely concerned. The mass killings of civilians in two villages over the last two weeks left nearly 200 people dead, many of them women and children. NPR's Deborah Amos is one of the few journalists inside the country and I spoke to her on the phone just a few moments ago. Deborah Amos, thank you for joining me from Syria. I want to ask you about what you have witnessed in the countryside, particularly the latest massacre and the aftermath.
[Deborah Amos, Npr Correspondent:] We went with the U.N. to this isolated farming hamlet called Kubair. The scene there was horrific, Christiane. The buildings, two of them, were filled with the aftermath of a massacre, blood-soaked carpets, a wall where the children were killed, low down, these children, obviously were crouching as they were killed. You can see the blood splatter up the wall, dead animals, fresh graves at the mosque, bodies burned, still body parts inside some of these houses. It is unimaginable, the horror that that must have been in that village as they were attacked by apparently, as we were told by people who came to us, when we were there, from villages surrounding them, people who were their neighbors before this started. And that was also part of the horror of what happened in that village. This is neighbor against neighbor.
[Amanpour:] Deborah, some senior Syrian insider has described what is emerging to be a pattern of ethnic cleansing to try to get rid of the Sunni villages and for Assad to carve out for himself a sort of mini-Alawite romp state. Does this fit with what you're seeing?
[Amos:] I can't say if it's that organized. But it is certain that these militia, these people called the shabiha, the ghosts, can act with impunity. We've had two terrible massacres in the last two weeks. There will be and there has been a price for those massacres. For example, in Damascus for the first time ever, you had merchants, Sunni merchants, the backbone of this regime go on strike in the old souk, the old market downtown, unprecedented for business men to take that kind of position. And people here talk about before Houla and after Houla. And that was the first big massacre, that that changed so much about how Damascus is reacting to the regime and the underpinnings of the regime are crumbling over these kinds of massacres. It is at a price to have that kind of sectarian cleansing.
[Amanpour:] You're talking about the underpinnings of the regime. Of course, everybody is looking at the capital of Damascus. You're seeing the fighting approach the capital, if not entering the capital already.
[Amos:] It was in three neighborhoods, not in the suburbs, where we have seen it for almost a year, but now in neighborhoods that are close to the center of the city. And when I say see, I mean I saw as we drove into town, coming out from the village up north. We could see smoke billowing on the skyline. You can hear it and you can feel it, 1:30 in the morning, something will go thud, and you know that that's been an explosion somewhere in the city. I was here six months ago. That was not happening then.
[Amanpour:] And you even said that you could have conversations about what was going on that you couldn't have some time ago. Do you think people are getting more emboldened against Assad in his heart of power in the capital?
[Amos:] You know, I spoke to an opposition man today, and he said I believe that most Syrians feel in their bones that the regime is over, it's only a matter of time. And what Syrians understand in the capital is they can't arrest everybody. It was extraordinary to watch people break through that wall of fear here in the capital. We've seen it outside of this capital, but we haven't seen it here where the security is very, very tight. So it feels like a new phase, even though the offensive from the Free Syrian Army was, in fact, a military failure. But it changed the tone of this city.
[Amanpour:] Incredible to have your eyewitness report from there in Damascus. Deborah Amos, thank you very much.
[Amos:] Thank you.
[Amanpour:] And now we turn to Nobel peace laureate and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, who's become a leading moral voice in our world today. Nineteen years ago, he challenged then President Clinton to do more to stop the atrocities in the former Yugoslavia, in Bosnia.
[Elie Wiesel, Holocaust Survivor And Author:] Mr. President, I cannot not tell you something. I have been in the former Yugoslavia last fall. I cannot sleep since for what I have seen. Some as a Jew I am saying that. We must do something to stop the bloodshed in that country!
[Amanpour:] And today, Wiesel is challenge President Obama to do something in Syria. Elie Wiesel, thank you for joining me.
[Wiesel:] Thank you, Christiane.
[Amanpour:] You have written a very powerful piece recently, as well as everything that you've said publicly, calling what's happening in Syria not just a tragedy but a scandal as well. What do you mean by the scandal?
[Wiesel:] Scandal is that the world is not doing enough to stop it. I invited the president a few weeks ago to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington and in my introduction I already mentioned Syria Syria was then as it is now a symbol of mass murder. And the fact that we know, the fact that we can see from television, the fact that we can speak about it and nothing is being done, that is a scandal.
[Amanpour:] I am fascinated by what you said specifically in that regard. You said that the Holocaust, even that could have been stopped because people knew in '39, '40, '41, even '42, and you said particularly that each time in Berlin, when Goebbels and the others always waited to see what would be the response in Washington or London or other capitals, and they were emboldened when there was no response.
[Wiesel:] No doubt about that. When you read the memoirs of those men who committed the murders, who gave the orders to commit murders, they speak about it, that the world doesn't care, and they mention Washington. And they mention the White House. And they mention really all those people who were supposed to be the descendants of democracy, the great heroes of moral values and saviors of victims. They did not do anything. Oh, yes, there was a war going on. Let's be honest. Of course there was a war. But the words, the words were missing. They spoke about war, but they did not speak about what Hitler has done to the Jewish people. Day after day, at one point, when Hungarian Jews were targeted, I, one of them, 12,000 a day were gassed and murdered, every single day. And now look, the look at Syria. It's part of the same thing. I never compared any tragedy to that tragedy, of course. But it's happening. And thank you for mentioning it again and again. And it reminds me, really, of Sarajevo
[Amanpour:] Yes.
[Wiesel:] when both of us were also involved then in trying to alert the world
[Amanpour:] It does
[Wiesel:] what has happening.
[Amanpour:] And it reminds me of we played what you said, and challenged President Clinton then, and I want to play what President Obama said in response to your introduction at the Holocaust Museum this spring.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] "Never again" is a challenge to nations. It's a bitter truth too often, the world has failed to prevent the killing of innocents on a massive scale. And we are haunted by the atrocities that we did not stop.
[Amanpour:] Are they words? Do you believe that that's going to be put into action?
[Wiesel:] I don't see. I don't see it happen yet. And it should. Look, I don't have the information that we should have. Maybe [inaudible] how many people do we need to send to Syria? Must we send what, whom, what troops, with whom, with what other country? I've been assured that the White House knows, the Pentagon knows, the State Department knows what to do. We don't. One thing we do know, the something must be done to stop that tragedy, that mass murder. It's only one man for the moment, who's a symbol of all that, is Bashar al-Assad, and this man, what does he want? What does he want? He's afraid of death? It cannot be, because he is inflicting death to so many people, his own people, after all. And we are supposed not to do anything?
[Amanpour:] One of the things President Obama said, he said that I am the first president to make this declaration and to declare that preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest. And he launched an Atrocities Prevention Board. What does that mean to you? It sounds very bureaucratic to me.
[Wiesel:] Oh, the president is listening. He's a very good listener. But I know him as a very good listener. And I am convinced that he wants to do something. And my idea is that he together with some other Western leaders will come up with a plan, at least a plan, a warning, as I said in my piece that to warn Assad that once this is over, he will have to face the heart, international core.
[Amanpour:] And The Hague, yes.
[Wiesel:] And The Hague, charged and indicted for mass murder and crimes against humanity. It will happen. It will have to happen.
[Amanpour:] When you look out and you see this and you remember your own experience, I don't know what lesson do you take for the condition of us, of humankind?
[Wiesel:] Look, you speak to millions. I speak to my classes. I'm a teacher. I love teaching. And really, when it comes to that, I'm so discouraged because now, again now we know and some of us have access to people who have power and could do something and if all this, and with passivity, [inaudible] and every day, while we talk here, how many people are being killed? How many children are being massacred in Syria, how many? Many. Too many. Every one is too many.
[Amanpour:] Well, your voice is exceptional and powerful and loud, and you keep spreading that voice. Thank you for being in.
[Wiesel:] Thank you.
[Amanpour:] Thank you. An impassioned appeal indeed for action. And when we return, a journalist's view of man's inhumanity to man, the images may change but the face of evil remains the same.

[Costello:] The man who once said he was the right man and the right job may soon be out of a job. Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is at risk of facing a serious revolt in the Italian parliament on this AMERICAN MORNING.
[Velshi:] Welcome back. It's 30 minutes after the hour on Tuesday morning. Time for this morning's top stories: A single mother from Chicago is going public with sexual harassment cases. She claimed Cain groped her 14 years ago after she asked him for help finding job. Cain plans to counter her accusations at a news conference later today.
[Romans:] Legendary heavyweight champ Joe Frazier has died of liver cancer. Smokin'Joe was 67 years old. He was the first fighter to defeat Mohammed Ali, landing what maybe the most memorable left hook in boxing history. It came in the first of their three classic fights. In a statement Ali says of his longtime nemesis, the world has lost a great champion. I will always remember Joe with respect and admiration.
[Costello:] Dr. Conrad Murray behind bars. He's been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on the death of Michael Jackson. The judge denying bail and ordering Murray to stay in jail until his sentencing at the end of the month. He faces four years in prison and will likely lose his medical licenses in three states. He was already suspended in California.
[Velshi:] Now, the sex abuse scandal that's rocking the Penn State campus. Two school officials have now resigned and face criminal charges for failing to report alleged sexual abuse by former coach Jerry Sandusky. Now, he is charged with assaulting at least eight young boys. Prosecutors are calling on any unidentified victim to come forward. CNN's Jason Carroll is following the developments. He's live in State College, Pennsylvania. Good morning, Jason.
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] Good morning to you, Ali. You know, late yesterday, Penn State released a statement saying that Joe Paterno would not answer any questions about the sex abuse scandal. We'll have to see what happens at that press conference later on today. Meanwhile, this all coming after two school officials posted bail late yesterday and their attorneys lashed out at the attorney general.
[Carroll:] Two Penn State officials charged with perjury were each released on $75,000 bail. Athletic director Timothy Curley and senior vice president, Gary Schultz, resigned in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing eight boys. The attorney general says Curley and Schultz failed to report one of the incidents of sexual abuse to police and lied to grand jurors. Their attorneys say the charges are bogus.
[Caroline Roberto, Attorney For Timothy Curley:] It is a distraction in this case, the charge of perjury, and it is unconscionable that the attorney general's office would level such a weak case against a man of integrity like Mr. Curley.
[Thomas J. Farrell, Attorney For Gary Schultz:] This is disappointing, because rather than follow the law, the attorney general has fabricated a fiction.
[Carroll:] The attorney general stands by the accusations laid out in 23-page grand jury report which alleges Sandusky used his position as a former coach and founder of an organization to help troubled youths to befriend young boys so he could sexually assault them. Sandusky maintains his innocence. Prosecutors say that Penn State official reported the allegation of abuse to police, which is required under Pennsylvania law, it would have stopped Sandusky from allegedly finding more victims. Eight boys are described in the report but prosecutors say their investigation is not over.
[Unidentified Female:] I don't think it would be beyond the realm of possibility that there are other victims that exist here.
[Carroll:] Head football coach Joe Paterno is not charged in the case. In 2002, a grad student reporting seeing Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in the shower at the university. That student reported the incident to Paterno and who in turn told his immediate supervisor Timothy Curley. Prosecutors say, in the eyes of the law, that was enough.
[Frank Noonan, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner:] I wouldn't characterize how I feel about Joe Paterno or another individual in this case. All the sympathy I have is directed towards the children.
[Carroll:] Sandusky, once celebrated as a hero, he was carried off the football field during the Alamo Bowl in 1999. Now, he's out on $100,000 bail and facing life in prison if convicted on all accounts. And Sandusky is expected in a court appearance tomorrow. As for Paterno, well, you know, he's a legend here, Ali, you know that. But there's been a growing number of students at Penn State who are calling for his resignation Ali.
[Velshi:] What's a sense of how this is going? Because this is obviously a side debate and it's certainly not as important as the boys and the victims and finding out exactly what happened. But the debate surrounding it seems to be what should happen to Joe Paterno? What's likely to happen? Will that lucrative program protect him or will he resign, will he be forced out?
[Carroll:] Well, you know, when you look at the situation with Paterno, you can look at it two ways. I mean, when you look at it from the legal aspect of what's going on here, Ali, you heard from the attorney general's office, you heard from police. They feel as though legally he did the minimum of what was required. So, that's why legally he's not facing any charges. Morally, there seems to be a question as to whether or not he did enough. You know, he knew about this allegation and there are some who are simply saying, why didn't someone here call the police? Whether it be Paterno or these other school officials why didn't someone reach out to the police? That is why you see a number of students here at the university and, quite frankly, throughout the community, at least on one side of this issue, who say it is in fact time for this man to step down. But having said there, there are still a number of people who support Joe Paterno, make no mistake about that Ali.
[Velshi:] Thanks very much, Jason Carroll, in State College, Pennsylvania.
[Costello:] Also this morning, it appears Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi's days could be numbered. As we speak, Italy is trying to get its finances under control. The Italian parliament is now debating a proposed budget plan and it's unclear whether Berlusconi can muster enough votes to pass the bill. Matthew Chance live in Italy this morning, in Rome. Matthew, bring us up to date.
[Matthew Chance, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] What you say, within the past few minutes that parliamentary session has apparently gone under way with the Italian government debating what should be a very mundane budget bill. But it's become much more important because there have been reported, perhaps a dozen or more defections from Silvio Berlusconi's ruling coalition. It means that, you know, the prime minister may not be able to have a majority in the parliament. And if he can't do that, the pressure is really going to be on him to step down. The newspaper is full of speculation that Silvio Berlusconi, of course, has been dogged by legal scandals, sex scandals, charges of corruption and misuse of power, will fight to the end. He's a veteran trader. He's been trying to attract these rebel parliamentarians back to his side. But, you know, things looking very touch and go for the Italian prime minister. Before the day's out, we may have perhaps a new Italian government or at least some clarity on what Silvio Berlusconi intends to do.
[Costello:] Matthew Chance, live in Rome this morning thank you.
[Romans:] Mother Nature piling on in Oklahoma. The Sooner State shaken by an earthquake, a 4.7 magnitude quake centered about 17 miles from the town of Shawnee. At the same time, at least one tornado touched down in southwestern Oklahoma, near the Texas border, with reports of several more there. The twister damaged some buildings, but no reports of injuries. Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center for us. They've had quite a couple of days over there, Rob.
[Costello:] Yes, poor Oklahoma.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, not to mention their record breaking heat in the summer and the cold and snow from last winter. Here's another shot at that twister. We are in severe storm season. We'll get another round in the fall, not quite as intent or as long as the spring. But you get monster twisters like this. My goodness. Look at that thing. Like a blender and a drill bit just scooting across the Oklahoma landscape. Luckily, just some structures damaged, and as you mentioned, no injuries. We have a threat for severe weather today across parts of Texas. This line of storm is moving toward Dallas. Severe thunderstorm watches or tornado watch have been allowed to expire. A lot of that rain is getting up into towards Wisconsin, will get into Chicago as well. And some of this will turn to snow in places like northern Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Red area here, including Louisiana, parts of Arkansas, that's where your severe weather threat is. East of there, we're in for mild and beautiful weather again. Temperatures will be in the 70s in many spots, 68 degrees in New York City and 72 degrees expected in Dallas. All right, briefly, what's going on with this thing, which is the asteroid that Ali mentioned? Yes, it is going to miss both the moon and the earth. This is a two-dimensional vision. If you were to look at it three-dimensional, actually, it will be in the different points. So, there's really no chance of it hitting either one. It's going be scooting across the atmosphere at around 6:30 tonight. And here's what it looked like yesterday with the high- powered radar telescope, 8,000 miles away. So, you know, it's not really that impressive. Nothing really worth looking at. You'd have to have a high-powered telescope to see it as well. Just something of interest.
[Velshi:] At a time in our life, is there going to be an asteroid that actually just hits us like a big one, like the movies?
[Marciano:] Are you hoping for that?
[Costello:] I know.
[Marciano:] This thing would have created
[Velshi:] If you told me there's zero chance then I won't get excited every time we do these stories because Christine teases that there's going to be an asteroid and it's going to be closer than the moon and thinking, oh, my do I need a well? Is anyone going to be around? I just want to know if it's going to happen in my lifetime. My kids' lifetime?
[Marciano:] This could happen in your lifetime. You know, we can't keep track of all these asteroids.
[Velshi:] What is it you're busy you're doing than keeping track of an asteroid that's going to destroy the earth is there something more important than the little weather pattern over Japan?
[Marciano:] Are you tracking that toward me.
[Velshi:] Just a little frustrated.
[Marciano:] We have severe weather. We have a tornado. Who's going to man the Doppler, Ali? You? You, Romans? Costello?
[Costello:] I have no part of this.
[Marciano:] I have a greater possibility than you can possibly fathom.
[Velshi:] All right. You just keep your eye on that lake of moisture that's coming in from the South. Don't worry about the asteroid.
[Romans:] It kind of looks like a moldy pea that's been under the couch for a long time, you know?
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Romans:] If it hit the earth it would be like a 7 magnitude earthquake.
[Velshi:] Really?
[Romans:] If it hit the ocean, it would be like a huge tsunami. So, there you go. If it did hit, it would be
[Velshi:] I would have thought it'd be bigger than a 7 magnitude earthquake. Won't you? All right. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Still to come this morning, with unemployment at 9 percent and the price of college education rising, is that college degree still worth the price? Interesting data for you. Find out on the other side. Forty-two minutes after the hour.

[Cooper:] We have got breaking news tonight: new subpoenas from the North Carolina grand jury believed to be investigating former presidential candidate John Edwards. Wade Smith, who is Mr. Edwards' attorney, told us quote "There have been a sizable number of subpoenas issued." He says, however, he does not know who issued subpoenas or to whom they were issued. John Edwards, you will recall, hasn't been seen much since revealing first that he had had an affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter, and then earlier this year admitting that he had lied about not having fathered a child with her, and admitted he in fact did father a child with her. Former aide Andrew Young has already talked to the grand jury. He tells the Associated Press that he testified about vast sums of money that changed hands to keep Ms. Hunter in hiding. Now, grand jury proceedings are supposed to be secret, of course, but, in practice, they're never airtight. Joining us now, CNN producer Raelyn Johnson, who was embedded with the Edwards campaign, and legal analyst Sunny Hostin, an "In Session" anchor from our sister network truTV. Raelyn, what do we know about what this investigation is? It's it's basically following the money trail that that may or may not have gone to Rielle Hunter.
[Raelyn Johnson, Cnn Producer:] Right. So, the issue here with John Edwards is that he's he's still in trouble. And that's because his political action committee, One America, you know, because it's a PAC, it's it has to adhere to very strict federal regulations. And some of that involves what money goes in and out of those accounts. And it is illegal he illegally gave money, funneled money from his campaign through those PAC into payments to Rielle Hunter for her videographer services, which some say are were very expensive and not sort of not worth of quality of those videos.
[Cooper:] Right. I think there was a payment of $100,000 from his PAC to Rielle Hunter, and then later I think another payment of some $18,000 that they said were some were for some some old tapes.
[Johnson:] That's right.
[Cooper:] Andrew Young has said that a lot more money was funneled from other sources and from other donors...
[Johnson:] Mm-hmm.
[Cooper:] ... to to basically put Rielle Hunter in hiding and and her child in hiding. I think the child at that point was was unborn and then later was born. I want to show one of the the Webisodes that Rielle Hunter was allegedly hired to to put together, because, I mean, they're sort of fascinating, because, clearly, there's a lot of chemistry between the two. And it's a side of John Edwards you don't normally see. Take a look.
[John Edwards , Former U.s. Senator:] That is a great speech.
[Rielle Hunter, Videographer:] I'm so glad you like it.
[Edwards:] I like it. Wait until you hear me give it live.
[Cooper:] Well, that's all we have of it. But, I mean, it's a beaming John Edwards. It's not the traditional John Edwards. Clearly, there's, you know, some sort of chemistry between these two. Why now are we just hearing about these subpoenas? And why do we know so little about it, Sunny?
[Sunny Hostin, Former Federal Prosecutor:] Well, because the grand jury is secret, and it's supposed to be protected. But we now know that there are subpoenas being issued. And and that's one of the things, Anderson, that I miss about being a prosecutor. I can't force anybody to talk to me now. But grand jury subpoena power is very serious. A prosecutor can force someone to to talk.
[Cooper:] And John Edwards himself cannot be subpoenaed for this?
[Hostin:] No, because you can't be really compelled to testify against yourself, because he's clearly the target of this investigation. But these things take a long time. It's quite possible that these prosecutors are digging and digging and digging. They need to know the who, the what, the where, the when, not necessarily the why, and they need to find that out, and it's very difficult to prove a campaign fraud case, but they're obviously still on the case.
[Cooper:] Allegations were that two big donors to John Edwards had given money at I guess at his request to Rielle Hunter through through Andrew Young.
[Johnson:] Yes. Mm-hmm. Bonnie Mellon, and she's one of them, an old famous New York socialite and philanthropist.
[Cooper:] Right, I think wife or daughter of Paul of Paul Mellon...
[Johnson:] Right.
[Cooper:] ... very, very rich man.
[Johnson:] Right. And then another prominent lawyer, a Fred Baron from Texas, who...
[Cooper:] And he passed away last year.
[Johnson:] Passed away literally to talk about the drama about this story, he literally passed away in the heat of, like, the Democratic Convention, just as John Edwards was being nailed again and on the cover of "The National Enquirer."
[Cooper:] And we see Rielle Hunter here with her team of attorneys going into I guess to the grand jury.
[Johnson:] Mm-hmm.
[Cooper:] This was probably last year.
[Johnson:] The first grand jury investigation.
[Cooper:] Right. Andrew Young has said there there was also a sex tape of these two that is now in the hands of the grand jury, that the grand jury had requested, that he I guess Rielle Hunter had, and then he got hold of. And, I mean, it's such a bizarre story, that this man who was so close to running for president or who ran for president, was so could have theoretically gotten it, was at the time having an affair, and not only that he lied to the American public. When he made his confessional interview, he said that the child wasn't his. He basically lied in that confessional interview...
[Johnson:] Yes.
[Cooper:] ... and then later on said it was his. Where does he do we know much about his life now?
[Johnson:] I think he lives a secluded life in North Carolina. He and Elizabeth Elizabeth Edwards do have a relationship with their children.
[Cooper:] They have separated, though.
[Johnson:] They have separated.
[Cooper:] After 30 years.
[Johnson:] And there's even been a you know, I talked to some sources tonight who even said that there's been a recent family vacation to Japan. So, clearly, they're co-parenting. And I hear that Elizabeth Edwards is doing really strong, and has come to come to some sort of peace, whatever peace you can get.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Johnson:] I don't know what you can about sort of the dissolution of her marriage.
[Cooper:] Yes. We're going to continue to follow it. Raelyn Johnson, appreciate it, Sunny Hostin as well. Thanks for coming in. Still ahead on 360: We knew the Obama administration had underestimated the BP oil spill. We have been talking about that for months this summer. Well, today, the panel appointed by the president to investigate blasted the administration. We have details on that ahead. Also, a fascinating e-mail sent by Sarah Palin's husband, Todd, blasting Joe Miller, the Republican the the Tea Party candidate she had supported for for Senate from Alaska for allegedly not endorsing Sarah Palin for president in a TV appearance. It's a leaked e-mail. It may provide a hint about Sarah Palin's presidential ambitions. We will show you the e-mail and also the television appearance which prompted it. And, also, we continue our weeklong series on bullying tonight, cyber-bullying and text-bullying, how it led a Florida girl to take her own life. We will also hear from Dr. Phil McGraw on what parents should know about kids' lives online.

[Holmes:] Well, just past the bottom of the hour on this Thanksgiving Day. Give you a look at some of the stories we are following. An attorney for Jerry Sandusky says the former Penn State assistant football coach is denying the two new allegations of child abuse against him. The cases were reported to authorities within the last couple of months. It involved allege victims who are currently under the age of 18. One of those alleged victims is a member of Sandusky's family. Jerry Sandusky's attorney says his client denies any inappropriate contact with a family member. Also, three U.S. students now free in Egypt. And the students had been arrested on suspicion of throwing Molotov cocktails during a protest against the military leaders in Cairo. Joy Sweeney, who's the mother of one of those students, she talked to us a short time ago.
[Joy Sweeney, Freed Student's Mother:] It was confirmed officially he is they are all three of them have been released and the attorney general is not going to appeal and as I was speaking to Mr. Powers, the boys were being taken to a physician for a medical examination. And from there, they were going to be taking the boys back to the police station for them to be officially, all the paperwork being process for them to be released and then, from there, somehow either the university or the consulate, somebody was going to get them back to their dorm rooms and at that point and time we would probably hear from them.
[Holmes:] Now, Joy Sweeney says it may not be safe for the three students to remain there in Egypt. We will return now to London and that British phone hacking scandal. Well, celebrities are now striking back, they are testifying about the media invading their privacy and the paparazzi hounding them. And just this morning, CNN's Piers Morgan who is a former British newspaper editor confirmed to us he will be called to testify. Our Atika Shubert is following this from London. What's the point of this probe? What are they supposed to get at, at the end of it?
[Atika Shubert, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, it's an entire inquiry of media ethics. And it's going to go for at least a year. And at the end of it, the judge, who's leading it, Judge Levison will make some recommendations that could turn in to regulations for the media. But frankly we it could go much further than that. While this is ongoing there are still three police investigations into phone hacking, computer hacking and police bribery all by the tabloid press. So it could go for quite a while and it could dig up a lot of dirt yet.
[Holmes:] And Atika, how has it been going. We were we know when the story first broke we were hearing about Hugh Grant's name an awful a lot but he is not the only celebrity. It seems like several are lining up if you will to testify.
[Shubert:] That's right. I mean, as you can imagine, celebrities were the main target for many of these tabloid threats and so there's a lot of grudges to be had here and they're really airing it all out. We heard from Hugh Grant on Monday, today we heard from Sienna Miller and, of course, she was in the press a lot because of her on and off relationship with Jude Law. She talks about how she was terrified by the paparazzi as they surrounded her car, how they doctored photos of her to make her look like it's a much worse situation than it was. And she also talk about how she blamed her friends for leaking information when in fact what had happened was that her phone had been hacked and the tabloid press was listening in on her voice mails and that's how they were able to find out information. So this is the kind of stuff that's being dug up and aired in court today.
[Holmes:] All right, Atika Shubert with the update for us from London. Thank you so much. Well, 35 minutes past the hour now and one company in Georgia has a new policy, "Kick Obama out of office, then we'll hire." We'll tell you why the company is sending this strong message. Also you may be going out tomorrow Black Friday. Beware though, the crowds may be the least of your problems. Somebody or something may be following your each and every move. Stick around for that. But first I got a Thanksgiving Day message for you.
[Unidentified Female:] Hi. This is Captain Met. And I'm in Kuwait. I'd like to give a shout out to my family in Chester, Virginia. I'd like to say Happy Thanksgiving to my husband Xavier and my kids, Leila and Ariane Beth. I love you guys, I miss you and try not to eat too much turkey.
[Holmes:] All right, 38 minutes past the hour. Don't you wish you were there, Bonnie Schneider?
[Bonnie Schneider, Ams Meteorologist:] We were bundling up and watching the parade.
[Holmes:] You did?
[Schneider:] Yes. We went every year. It was fantastic.
[Holmes:] OK how bad is it up there? I'm talking of course to Bonnie Schneider here, our meteorologist. She's giving us an update about the weather on your Thanksgiving Day. But you know, how many people did he say, 3.5 million or something show up for this day.
[Schneider:] It's incredible. And the weather turned out to be great, T.J. Because there was a lot of concern earlier that the winds may be a factor, but now we are looking at fantastic weather. You can see the sun is shining, the crowds are happy. It's not raining. That's the worst to be sitting out there in the winds and rain.
[Holmes:] But it is a crowded city, no matter what, New York City. But on a day like this, you say you've gone all of your life for the most part, does it get annoying quite frankly to battle the crowds?
[Schneider:] No. No.
[Holmes:] You are used to it.
[Schneider:] Well, I was a child it was so exciting to see those clips, I just want to have great memories of it and it looks bigger and better every year. Just the main thing is the wind that's what you always watch for. Because then they have to take precautions. But this year, so far so good, it looks good, nice weather. Temperatures will be climbing into the 50s throughout the afternoon in New York City. So you will be seeing some good weather. Now a lot of people are still traveling, believe it or not today. I know we've been talking about travel yesterday but Thanksgiving morning, still some people not quite where they want to be. San Francisco there is an airport delay. And I expect more of that as we go through the afternoon. Actually there's been rain in the Bay Area. So look for rain and wind in Seattle and San Francisco. But the rest of the country, most of these delays will be under an hour. And they are anticipated really for the morning hours only. So that's some good news. We have fog in Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kentucky. It is burning off and we will look for better weather. Another thing we like to do on Thanksgiving, besides eat turkey and watch parades and watch some football and maybe play football. So here's a look at your forecast. For M&T; Stadium, the 49ers versus the Ravens. In Baltimore the weather looks really good, 49 degrees. That's not bad at all. And Ford Field in Detroit just slightly colder but notice that south-southwesterly wind; that will make it feel a little bit more pleasant, so a mix of sun and clouds in Detroit for the Packers versus the Lions. Both games facing good weather. If you like the cold weather for football, I'm sure in the weeks to come, we'll be getting that for certain. But out west, look what's happening, we've got low clouds over much of San Francisco. A lot of that rain is pushing further to the east. So it may be a problem as we go through much of the day today. We already reported that one airport delay, we may see more. Across the country the rain is also going to be a problem in the northwest. We are monitoring that as well as the mountain snow. But really mild, lots of sunshine for today. High pressure dominating the eastern half of the country and that's going to make for some very fair conditions for this Thanksgiving Day. And temperatures reflect that. You can see the numbers soaring: 55 in Chicago, that's nice for Thanksgiving; 64 in Kansas City; and Memphis 64 degrees; Boston a little cooler at 46; New Orleans 72 and 68 in Atlanta after kind of a chilly weekend in the southeast. But for those of you that are just, you know, going through your Thanksgiving, you will have your turkey, watch some football, relax a bit and then tonight you are gearing up to head to the stores. This is what you can expect for those of you heading out there at midnight, I know some of the stores are opening at 10:00 at night. Temperatures will get a little colder this evening but not by much. It's actually going to be pretty mild. There are some places you'll have to bundle up if you are an early-morning shopper for tomorrow for Black Friday. 27 is the low in Denver, so that's where it will be cold. But most of the country is facing mild condition. And for your more traditional Black Friday, we're looking at nice weather, in the 50s and 60s, just a few 40s out west. But good shopping weather and good Thanksgiving weather
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. It's all good then. Bonnie Schneider, thank you.
[Schneider:] Sure.
[Holmes:] As always. We are about 42 minutes past the hour now. And this campus cop in California. You have seen this video probably now and people were outraged, many were when they saw it. He is pepper-spraying protesters, pretty nonchalant about it when he is doing it. Well, a lot of people got upset when they saw this but others decided to get a little creative about it as well. We will show it to you.

[Wolf Blitzer:] President Obama gears up for his make-or-break jobs speech after a horrible August unemployment report. This hour, the proposals he's likely to unveil and whether they'll actually put Americans back to work. Also, infighting within the Tea Party Movement, and a congressman's explosive charge that elements of the movement would like to see him hanging from a tree. And we'll take you inside the archives of Moammar Gadhafi's brutal regime and uncover secrets that massacre victims took to their graves. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. There is little to celebrate this Labor Day weekend here in the United States for millions of Americans who want to be working, but simply can't find a job. And there's no comfort for them in the government's latest labor report, which shows the economy basically added no jobs in August, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at a dismal 9.1 percent. It all puts even more pressure on President Obama as he gets ready to unveil his highly anticipated jobs plan later this coming week. Our Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin is joining us now with details of what potentially we could expect. You're digging, Jessica. What are you finding out?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Wolf, this plan is likely to focus on jump-starting short-term jobs growth with some longer term infrastructure investment. Now, that means government spending, which Democrats consider essential, but Republicans are sure to attack as more stimulus.
[Yellin:] Even during a speech to the American Legion in Minnesota, the president couldn't resist a preview of his highly anticipated jobs plan.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Next week I'll be speaking to the nation about a plan to create jobs and reduce our deficit. A plan that I want to see passed by Congress. We've got to get this done.
[Yellin:] It's an effort to jump-start the economy and shore up his dwindling poll numbers. A recent CNNORC poll shows only 37 percent of Americans approve of how the president is handling unemployment. So next week, he's rolling out a package that's likely to include an extension of a payroll tax cut for workers, which is set to expire at the end of the year. Also possible in the plan, businesses could get a tax break for each new worker they hire, or even an additional credit for hiring the long-term unemployed. Outside policy makers consulted by the White House say other possible ideas include a program that gives the long- term unemployed job training experiences with local businesses. And new spending on infrastructure; it could bring back Build America Bonds, which can make it cheaper for cities and states to build roads and bridges, or fund school renovations and programs to make low- income housing more energy efficient. Wolf, the White House is tight-lipped on the final product, no surprise, they don't want it to leak. But they have made it clear that the president will propose that Congress offset all new spending in this package with additional cuts, which he plans to recommend to that congressional super committee. So, the White House says that they view this the package as revenue neutral in the end. No doubt Republicans will see it differently, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] But are you getting the sense, Jessica, that they want a package that could actually pass the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, that could deal with a potential filibuster in the Senate? Or is this simply a blueprint for the president's re-election campaign?
[Yellin:] Wolf, it's a little bit of both. Because they're adamant that the proposals that will be in this package are elements that have had bipartisan support before. For example, these payroll tax cuts have had Republican support in the past. But they're not naive inside the White House and realize that because of the political environment, there is a high likelihood that this plan will not ultimately pass and could just become political fodder in the election year.
[Blitzer:] We're already deep into election year politics. There's no doubt about that. Jessica, thank you. Let's dig deeper right now with our chief political correspondent, the "State Of The Union" host, Candy Crowley, and our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger. We're looking ahead to the president's big speech, Candy, Thursday night, before a joint session of Congress. But hovering over all of it, these latest numbers we got this week, unemployment remaining 9.1 percent, effectively zero job growth for all practical purposes. That does not bode well.
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Host, "state Of The Union":] No. And a forecast, by the way, that they put out, the OMB put out, that doesn't forecast much more throughout next year.
[Blitzer:] At 9 percent, continuing unemployment for next year.
[Crowley:] Yes, so what does the president need to do? He needs to listen, 9 percent unemployed is going to stick with him through the whole year. He's got to convince the 91 percent of Americans, that are employed, that they're not going to lose their jobs. He's going to convince the people who do have a home that they're not going to lose their home. Because now it becomes for him trying to convince Americans that things will get better. Because we already know they're not going to get that much better next year, at least in terms of the jobless rate. So he's got to get that consumer confidence thing, and by the way, that voter confidence thing going.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] And the other half of that is that he has to convince people that what the other guys are proposing would take you down the wrong road. So he's going to try and say, look, if you vote for them, if you listen to just them, the economy will get even worse. Now, didn't work for him so well in the 2010 midterm elections.
[Crowley:] And he doesn't have just one guy now, is the problem.
[Borger:] That's right. But he's saying, their economic theory, he will say, is going to fail America if you're looking to create jobs.
[Blitzer:] And the Republican presidential candidate's wasting no time blasting the president for this anemic jobs report. Listen to Mitt Romney.
[Mitt Romney,  Presidential Candidate:] Obama is not working. And he is disappointed the American people. And this morning, very bad news. Did you see the numbers that came out on job growth? Look, there is zero faith in Barack Obama, because he's created zero jobs last month.
[Blitzer:] All right. Having said that, the president does have the year, plus, before November 2012, which is a long time to get the country's act together, at least moving in the right direction, and his own act together.
[Crowley:] And in convincing the country it's moving, because if your forecast is, we're going to have kind of anemic growth, and that's their forecast. And unemployment's not going to get much better, and that's their forecast. He has to buck history, number one, a president with that kind of high unemployment rate has never been re- elected at 9 percent. And he has to convince people, as Gloria said, that whatever is being proposed on the other side is worse. The problem is, that a re-election bid is about the person in office. And somehow, he has to buck that as well.
[Borger:] Well, and Barack Obama doesn't really want this election to be a referendum on his performance on the economy, because if that's the case, then, actually, he doesn't win. What he does want is to turn it to whomever is going to be opposing him and say, what would he do that would have gotten us out of or she, that would have gotten us out of this ditch? And so we haven't gotten to we haven't gotten to that point in the campaign yet. But at the White House, they are looking to history. They're looking at FDR, they're looking at Ronald Reagan. They're saying these two fellas got re-elected
[Crowley:] Ronald Reagan at 7.2.
[Borger:] And unemployment was going down, not up with Ronald Reagan.
[Crowley:] It's hard to tell trajectory. But let me tell you what President Obama has on his side. Like no other candidate I have known, and even now as president, there is this in the ground water, in the electorate groundwater, there is a hope that he will succeed. They're mad at him, they don't like his policies, as we've seen in all of these but there's some kind of resonance there that he still has, that if he can recapture some of that hope, all his opposition made fun of it, but if they can recapture it, then he's onto something.
[Borger:] Right.
[Blitzer:] Candy has a good point. Because if you look at the polls and you dig deeper in all of these polls, whether it's our poll, or any of the other polls, the job approval number on the economy may not be good. The overall job approval number may not be good, but likability.
[Borger:] They still like him.
[Blitzer:] Americans still like this president.
[Borger:] They still like him.
[Crowley:] And they want him to succeed.
[Borger:] Unless you're part of sort of the hard-core base of the Republican Party, which really does not like Barack Obama, but for independent voters, there's still a sense of giving the guy a chance.
[Blitzer:] I think the latest numbers I saw do like the president, in the 60s, 65 percent of the American public say yes.
[Crowley:] That's what I'm talking about. There's this in the ground water, in the electric ground water, there is some place that he can grow, but he's got to tap into it.
[Borger:] And the big question is, does he care about people like me? And that number's been going down for Barack Obama. So it will be interesting to see if he can get it going in the right direction to convince people he cares about them.
[Blitzer:] Big speech Thursday night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll have live coverage, obviously, of the president's address before a joint session of Congress. Ladies, thanks very much. This additional programming note: I'll be the moderator when CNN hosts the Republican presidential debate in Tampa, Florida, along with the Tea Party Express and several other Tea Party groups. Monday night, September 12th, 8:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN. Trouble at a nuclear power plant in the wake of that earthquake that rocked the East Coast. We're going to show you what some activists are alarmed about. Plus, flood victims left high and dry. Many will be starting from scratch, because they don't have Flood insurance. Plus, a Democratic lawmaker's racially charged slam against elements of the Tea Party Movement. It sparks a heated debate between Donna Brazile and Mary Matalin.

[Randy Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND. A murder-suicide stuns the NFL. What made the Kansas City Chief's linebacker kill his girlfriend and take his own life. Women in war. Only a few country allow women on the battle lines and now some servicewomen here are suing for that right. Our legal expert weighs in. And he's the first person to visit 200 countries without ever getting on a plane. Wait until you hear how he did it. It is Sunday, December 2nd. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. We begin this morning in Afghanistan where five people are confirmed dead and at least 18 others wounded after suicide bombers and six gunmen attacked a joint U.S.Afghan base. It happened near the Jalalabad Airfield in eastern Afghanistan. There are no immediate reports of any casualties. And the Taliban is claiming responsibility for the attack. Joining me now by phone from Kabul is journalist Ben Farmer. Ben, the attack is being described as, quote, "complex." Can you walk us through what happened?
[Ben Farmer, Journalist:] Well, it does seem to be complex and ambitious. It began at about 6:00 local time this morning, just after dawn. It began with two suicide car bomb attacks, attacking the gate of Jalalabad Airfield. The vehicles were packed with explosives and driven towards the gate and detonated. That followed a wave of suicide attackers armed with assault rifles. Some also wearing suicide vests. They started to attack the gate guards and the guards on the walls. It was a two-hour fire fight. During that fire fight, helicopters took off from Jalalabad Airfield to join in the battle to fire down on the attackers. The fire fight took about two hours, at the end of which all the attackers were dead. We believe there were about nine in total, including those in the suicide car bombs. Now, the coalition here has said that none of the attackers managed to breach the perimeter defenses and get inside the base.
[Kaye:] And officials say that these three Afghan soldiers and two civilians were killed on this base, which is located in an area that NATO recently turned over to the Afghan forces for security. How could this affect security, do you think, moving forward?
[Farmer:] Well, this handover of security really is what everyone's looking at, at the moment. The strategy is we build up the Afghan army and the Afghan army takes over security duties, combat duties, and that allows all the NATO troops, all the American troops, the British troops and so on, to go home. Now, this attack shows that despite NATO saying that they've reversed the momentum of the insurgency, the Taliban is still more than capable of attacking these big bases, launching well-coordinated, ambitious attacks like this. Does this mean that the strategy will change? I don't think so. This hand over of security duties has been going on for two years now. It really is the main focus of everything that's being done here. The coalition doesn't have a plan "b." I think what this attack shows, though, is that even after things are handed over, they'll be handed over to Afghan forces who are going to have to continue to fight. Certainly after we go home, the Afghans will look like they still will have to fight a lot.
[Kaye:] Ben Farmer for us in Afghanistan this morning. Ben, thank you. Just seven hours from now, the Kansas City Chiefs will play the Carolina Panther. The team deciding not to reschedule today's game after linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend in front of his mother yesterday and then driving to the Chiefs' training facility where he killed himself in front of the head coach and the general manager. Casey Wian is in Kansas City, Missouri, for us this morning. Casey, good morning. Local media is reporting that the two had a fight of some sort following a concert on Friday night. What do you know about that?
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, we don't know much about the concert that "The Kansas City Star" is reporting about, but we do know that police say there was some sort of an argument either late Friday night or early Saturday morning before this tragic these two tragic shootings happened. We spoke last night with a next door neighbor of Jovan Belcher and of his girlfriend. They had been living in that house for about a year the neighbor told us. The neighbor did not want us to use his name. But he said that the two appeared to have been getting along very, very well. They had a baby just three months ago, born on September 11th. They were both proud parents, very happy by all outward appearances. The neighbor tells us that he heard no fighting overnight. He was up at the time of the shooting, when the girlfriend was shot. He said he heard noises, didn't immediately identify them as gunshots because it's not something they hear in that neighborhood. It's a very nice, upper middle class type neighborhood. He said that he then looked outside and saw Jovan outside of his front door pacing back and forth talking to himself. He then got in his car and drove away and apparently drove here to the Chiefs training facility where he shot and killed himself just a little while later. Randi.
[Kaye:] So it sounds like, Casey, according to that neighbor, that they had a pretty good relationship and hadn't turned violent before. We know that he spoke with his coaches before he shot himself. Do we know what they talked about?
[Wian:] We don't know what specifically they talked about. We do know that police say that head coach Romeo Crennel and the general manager of the Chiefs, Scott Pioli, both say they never felt like they were in danger. Apparently they were trying to talk him out of harming himself. We spoke with Jovan Belcher's agent last night, who is also the agent for the Kansas City Chiefs' head coach. He said he spoke with the general manager last night very, very briefly. Of course, these men are very distraught about what happened. He says they will press on. They're both very strong men. Absolutely shocked, though, the agent said, who knew Jovan Belcher for a long time. Back into the years when he just got out of college in Maine. He said he was a very strong family man, had a close relationship with his family. He said he wasn't some he wasn't the type of agent who speaks with his players all the time, but he gave us a story about how Jovan was such a caring person. He said during Hurricane Sandy, the agent lives in Connecticut, Jovan texted him to make sure that the agent's family was doing all right in the hurricane. So he says it's absolutely out of character for something like this to happen. No previous run-ins with the law that anyone's aware of. So just a lot of shock here, Randi.
[Kaye:] And the child, the couple's child, that child was home at the time, right? And where who's caring for that child now?
[Wian:] Yes, the child was at the home with Kasandra Perkins and Jovan at the time of the shooting. His mother was actually, according to the neighbor, his mother had actually been in town for a couple of weeks for the holidays, and we understand that the child and the mother witnessed the shooting, called 911 after Belcher shot Kasandra Perkins and she is now with the child at another location there. Of course, they're away from the home now, Randi.
[Kaye:] What a tragedy. Casey Wian, our thanks to you. Appreciate that. The Kansas City Chiefs released a statement following the incident yesterday. It reads in part, "the entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today's event, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy. We will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities and work to ensure that the appropriate counseling resources are available." It's been a month since Superstorm Sandy ripped through the northeast, but it seems like an eternity for residents who are struggling to clean up and who say the response from FEMA has been too darn slow. Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti traveled to Staten Island to see if a FEMA-backed program, designed to get homeowners back on their feet, is really working.
[Robert Ribaudo, Homeowner:] If we were here when the storm had ended, everybody here would be under water standing straight up.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn Correspondent:] Weeks after Superstorm Sandy flooded his basement, Robert Ribaudo is one of the first 150 homeowners getting his home fixed as part of a rapid repairs program run by the city and mainly funded by FEMA. The repairs aren't fancy, just a basic fix to restore electricity, heat, and hot water to make homes livable. Thousands wait in the wings hoping for similar repairs. At a town hall meeting, frustration was everywhere.
[Unidentified Female:] We are extremely, extremely frustrated. This is what you need to understand.
[Candiotti:] How do you think the program is going so far?
[Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway, New York:] I think so far the program is going well.
[Candiotti:] But New York City Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway is well aware emotions are high.
[Holloway:] Some of these frustrations go beyond the fact that a repair person maybe isn't showing up as fast as they want them to. I think it just has to do with the magnitude of what people have been through. And it's a lot.
[Candiotti:] New York officials say they have thousands of contractors and supplies beginning to deploy with hopes of eventually repairing at least 200 homes a day. And if contractors don't measure up
[Holloway:] We're just going to take work from them and give it to the best performing contractors.
[Candiotti:] FEMA hopes the rapid repairs program, something new for the agency, will turn frustration around.
[Michael Byrne, Fema Coordinating Officer:] Government agencies don't change fast. We changed on the dime on this one to do things that had never been done before.
[Candiotti:] How would you sum up what happened at that town hall meeting?
[Allison D'amico, Homeowner:] Nobody knows what they're doing. They have no idea what to do. They're learning as they go along. That's why people were so angry.
[Byrne:] The storm causes the anger, OK. And we're used to that. What we want to do is get past the anger to solutions. And that's what we're working with people to do.
[Candiotti:] With his power restored, Robert Ribaudo is feeling better. You're satisfied?
[Ribaudo:] Yes.
[Candiotti:] You think they did a good job?
[Ribaudo:] Yes. For a big city of 8 million people and you got service within a couple of days to a week, literally, that's fast.
[Candiotti:] As the rapid repair program enters its second week and contractors fan out, officials hope more homeowners will be as satisfied in the weeks to come. Randi.
[Kaye:] Susan Candiotti, thank you. Well, then there were two. This weekend Alabama rolled over the Georgia Bulldogs 32-28 to earn a spot against undefeated Notre Dame in a big-time battle for the coveted BCS title. The Crimson Tide looking to win back-to-back titles and their third title in four years, which would be an unprecedented achievement. If you thought the campaign season was over, you'd be wrong. Politicians are taking a cue from November's playbook to get their message out about the fiscal cliff. And a highway tunnel comes crashing down while cars are inside, igniting a fire. Several people may still be trapped.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] They have questions, he has no answers. I'm Christine Romans. New York's Congressman Anthony Wiener losing it with reporters. It's the latest fallout from a lewd photo sent from his Twitter account to a female college student.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] Cell phones and cancer. I'm Kiran Chetry. This morning, new questions about the safety of cell phones after world health experts say they might increase your risk of brain cancer.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] And only one more shuttle mission to go. I'm Ali Velshi. Space shuttle Endeavour is now home and will never fly again on this
[American Morning. Romans:] All right. Good morning. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Wednesday, June 1st and there's one more mission but this one will never happen.
[Velshi:] Right. I always planned I could do it. There's one more shuttle mission. Space shuttle Endeavor, though, coming in for a perfect landing to end an era. After traveling more than 122 million miles over 25 flights, the shuttle Endeavor landed safely overnight at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is always beautiful when that happens.
[Chetry:] I know. Just dramatic pictures and knowing we are seeing that for the last time. And as it was touching down, Atlantis was rolling out for the final, final flight in the history of the space shuttle program. John Zarrella is live for us at Kennedy Space Center. Certainly, bittersweet for a lot of people. I mean, this is very sad, especially because we wonder, you know, what's next. How are we going to space now?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. And, you know, it's sad from an economic standpoint probably much as anything here at the Kennedy Space Center where 6,000 to 8,000 workers who have spent the better part of their lives on the space shuttle program are going to be out of work. That's the bottom line. And that's just one of the realties of this program basically being over in about a month and a half. It's hard to believe we're saying a month and a half. But that's it, when the last shuttle flies in July. But last night, this morning, very early in the morning, 2:35 Eastern Time, a very grand and glorious return to Earth by the space shuttle Endeavour, making that approach to the Kennedy Space Center. And you can see with the thermal imaging cameras still, you know, white hot from re-entering the Earth's atmosphere there, the underbelly of the shuttle's tiles, and then the touch down and flaring out over the runway and the parachute coming out. Of course, after the shuttle Endeavour came to a complete stop, the crew did get out and they walked around the vehicle, inspected it. And Commander Mark Kelly, he was very pleased with how the entire mission went.
[Mark Kelly, Commander, Shuttle Endeavour:] I want to thank my crew members who did such a spectacular job on this flight. I could not have done this without them. They all, every single one of them, just performed flawlessly.
[Unidentified Male:] Our commander, we want to thank him, too.
[Kelly:] So, thanks for coming out. Great to be back. And have a good have a good morning. So long.
[Zarrella:] As you folks mentioned, you know, that Atlantis rolled out to the launch pad and was still on its way out to launch pad endeavor was landing back here at the Kennedy Space Center, certainly a sight that will not be repeated in our life times. And, again, in just about five weeks from now, the shuttle Atlantis scheduled to lift off from here at the Kennedy Space Center pad 39A, in what will be one momentous event. A million people expected here to watch that final launch in the history of the space shuttle program. A vehicle that, let's say it, none of us will ever see fly again Kiran.
[Velshi:] John, Kiran and Christine and I we were just talking about this, this space program, this idea of shuttling things into space, going to the International Space Center and orbiting, that's sort of being taken over by a commercial a group of commercial enterprises. That will be taken over by companies. What does NASA do after this?
[Zarrella:] Well, that's just it.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Zarrella:] and being able, with the limited money they have, pursuing those deep space missions and asteroid mission, perhaps 2019, and then eventually Mars or one of the Martian moon or maybe back to Earth's moon. So, that's the grand vision for
[Nasa. Velshi:] All right. John, we'll keep you out there the whole time watching all of it as it developing.
[Romans:] All right. Now, it's politics now, and the fallout from a lewd photo sent to a college student a photo from New York Congressman Anthony Weiner's Twitter account. Now, Weiner claims his account was hacked. This was some sort of a tweet that was a prank. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Weiner snapped as he was pressed for direct answers. At one point, he went off on CNN producer, Ted Barrett.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] You're here, which we appreciate. But you're not answering the questions. Can you say why you haven't asked law enforcement to investigate what you are alleging is a hack?
[Rep. Anthony Weiner , New York:] You know, Dana, if I was giving a speech to 45,000 people and someone in the back of the room threw a pie or yelled out an insult, would I spend the next two hours responding to that? No. I would get back.
[Ted Barrett, Cnn Producer:] This is not that situation, though.
[Weiner:] I would get back. You want to do the briefing? Do you want to do the briefing, sir?
[Barrett:] You sent from your Twitter account a lewd photograph was sent to a college student. Answer the question: Was it from you or not?
[Weiner:] Do you guys want me to finish my answer?
[Barrett:] Yes, this answer. Did you send it or not?
[Weiner:] If I were giving a speech to 45,000 people and someone in the back threw a pie or yelled out an insult, I would not spend the next two hours of my speech responding to that pie or that insult.
[Bash:] But you are the one that said you were hacked. And that's a criminal potential crime
[Weiner:] Dana, let me I am going to have to ask that we follow some rules here. And one of those, you ask questions and I do the answers. That would be reasonable?
[Bash:] I'd love to get an answer.
[Weiner:] That would be reasonable. You do the questions. I do the answer and this jackass interrupts me. How about that as the new rule of the game?
[Romans:] Clearly, a frustrated Anthony Weiner. He was making his point about if I'm giving a speech to 45,000 people and there's a heckler in the back or someone throwing a pie, the 45,000 he has 47,000 followers on Twitter. I guess. He is trying to show, you know, the similarity between the 45,000 people who listen to him and this is just one voice in all of that.
[Velshi:] And the jackass he was referring to was CNN producer, Ted Barrett. President Obama inviting Republicans to the White House today to discuss increasing the government borrowing power. The meeting comes just one day after the Republican-controlled House rejected a bill that would raise the debt ceiling. Republicans insist they will not raise the debt ceiling without spending cuts. The White House however saying there are two sides to this and they're both making progress.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] We are committed to reducing the deficit. That's we move so aggressively and seriously with these negotiations. Why we're encouraged by the fact that they have produced positive results so far.
[Velshi:] Senate Democrats now say that if Congress fails to boost the debt ceiling by August 2nd, they want Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to stop paying Congress.
[Chetry:] All right. Well, military prosecutors recommend new charges be filed against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the 911 attacks, and four alleged co-conspirators. It will allow them to be tried before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay. The move comes after the Obama administration scrapped a plan to prosecute them in federal court in New York City.
[Romans:] The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating yesterday's deadly tour bus crash on I-95 near Richmond, Virginia. Four people were killed when the bus ran off the road and rolled over. Investigators blame the accident on driver fatigue and say unspecified charges are pending. The bus was on its way from Greensboro, North Carolina, to New York.
[Velshi:] All right. Here's a story I continue to not fully understand. The number of people stung by jellyfish on Florida's Atlantic beaches now ballooning to more than 1,600 in the past week. Most victims are being treated with vinegar. In fact, officials say they've already gone through about 25 gallons of vinegar. Scientists say these small but potent species often appear in large numbers after climate changes. OK. Here's why I don't understand. We've been reporting this. Have 800 more people. We reported it was 800 people. Have 800 people now reported that they were also stung or have 800 people been newly stung. Because if it's the latter, then I don't have a lot of sympathy.
[Romans:] You're saying, if they know a lot of people are being stung, why not there.
[Velshi:] There are a whole lot of jellyfish in the water.
[Romans:] He has no sympathy for jellyfish victims.
[Velshi:] No, I have no sympathy for jellyfish victims who have been warned.
[Chetry:] They also come out at different times. I mean, there are more of them at different times of day. So, you think it's safe. You get in.
[Velshi:] I'm just telling, I'm not getting stung by jellyfish. I am 100 percent sure I am not going to get stung.
[Chetry:] The question I have, there are 1,600 people lining up and there are some sort of vinegar stations. I mean, who go where do you go? I mean, if you get stung by a jellyfish, you usually taking care of it on your own, right?
[Velshi:] The whole thing is really crazy.
[Chetry:] Line up and get vinegar dump on you.
[Velshi:] All right. Unto another topic which I understand a little bit more.
[Chetry:] Yes, this question about cell phones a lot of people have asked over the years, is this dangerous? And I'm on the cell phone all the time. Well, now, the World Health Organization is coming out with a report saying that there is a cancer risk associated with cell phone use. But what does that mean for us? Do we change our habits? And how big of a concern is it? We're going to talk about it, coming up.

[Sambolin:] It is 50 minutes past the hour. Time to check the stories that are making news this morning. Here's Christine Romans. Good morning.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Thank you, Zoraida and Ashleigh.
[Romans:] Special K-9 dogs from the FBI are being used in the search for a missing six-year-old girl in Arizona. Isabel Mercedes Celis was reported missing Saturday morning. Investigators think she may have been snatched from her bed in the middle of the night. Police say that a scream that was removed from a window at the time at the home appears to be suspicious. A key figure in a British media scandal testifying under oath this morning. James Murdoch insists he was not aware of the scale of the illegal phone hacking at the now defunct "News of the World" tabloid.
[James Murdoch, News Corp. Executive:] I wasn't in the business of deciding, you know, what to put in the newspapers. So, it was really there, and then, I was given, you know, assurances by them that sometimes proved to be wrong, that I'm sure we'll go into with respect to the risks that they were taking.
[Romans:] Murdoch's already appeared twice now before the judicial inquiry. His father, Rupert Murdoch, is scheduled to testify tomorrow. Shocking photos of a horse that looks like it's being dragged behind a truck, but the horse's owner says that is not what happened. He says he was trying to get this horse back in its barn after it got loose. When the horse resisted, he tied a rope to its neck and tied that rope to the truck. The owner says the horse bucked and fell over.
[Culver Modisette, Horse Owner:] It was a bad moment. You know, I'm sorry it happened. It wasn't premeditated. I had really no choice. I had no other way to get it up.
[Romans:] He went on to say neighbors chose to take pictures rather than help him get the horse back in the barn. The horse is now back safe at home suffering only minor scratches and cuts. Police are, though, considering filing criminal charges. Wild video. A truck slams into a gun shop in Richland County, South Carolina. A police looking for the people who rammed a vehicle into a gun shop, and then, they took off with half of the store's inventory. Deputies say the bandits stole 30 assault weapons and pistols and caused $100,000 worth of damage. And actress, Lindsay Lohan, is set to portray a Hollywood icon in a Lifetime TV movie. Lohan will star as Elizabeth Taylor in the film "Liz & Dick" based on Taylor's roller-coaster romance with actor, Richard Burton. Can you see the resemblance? Filming begins in June. It's expected to premiere in the fall. Two very famous women, one who had a very long career. Lindsay Lohan, it will be interesting to see if her career will be as long as Liz Taylor's.
[Sambolin:] Change her hair to black and spitting image.
[Romans:] It really is.
[Banfield:] I don't see it at all. Isn't that interesting? Maybe because the story behind the women is so diametrically oppose. Christine, thank you.
[Romans:] You're welcome.
[Banfield:] Up next, they advertise it's a burger to die for. Apparently, another close call, too, at the heart attack grill. Get it, burger to die for? You won't believe what happened. You're watching EARLY START.

[Cooper:] Well, flu season is hitting early and hitting hard. Government health officials say the number of people seeking treatment for the flu has spiked over the month. Forty-one states are now reporting widespread cases. Eighteen kids have died so far and keep in mind, the flu typically kills as many as 50,000 people every year in the United States. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now. I didn't realize it kills that many people. And it certainly seems worse than last years. I know a lot of people have gotten sick. Is it in fact worse than it's been in recent years?
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] Well, you know, looking at this point in time and how the season has transpired so far, it is worse than last year. Last year was considered a relatively mild season. But this is probably as bad as we've seen in about 10 years, Anderson. The question that a lot of people are asking is, is it going to stay bad throughout the entire flu season, or is this just sort of an earlier peak? We're seeing a lot more cases than normal this time of year. Is it going to peak earlier and then go down and just be a normal light flu season? We don't know the answer to that yet.
[Cooper:] And I mean, how does someone know if they have the flu versus a regular cold?
[Gupta:] Well, you know, it's funny because you and I have both experienced this, I know. But the thing with the flu is the symptoms are going to be more severe, but I think it's more than that. When you think about the sore throat, the headache, the chest tightness, the muscle aches, usually with the flu, it comes on all at once. You may be feeling fine on Tuesday. By Wednesday, everything sort of hits you. That's much more likely to be the flu. Whereas with a cold, you can get any of those symptoms I described. They come and go, some overlap a little bit, but not a big push, and the flu is longer, about seven days on average.
[Cooper:] I'm just remembering what you're referring. I got really sick with the flu in Afghanistan. I think I caught it from you and you claimed I wasn't sick or something. What was that? It was like
[Gupta:] That was swine flu.
[Cooper:] Swine flu, that's right. I had swine flu. You're like, no, I think you're fine.
[Gupta:] It did seem a little out of context. We were in Afghanistan covering the conflict over there and you came to me looking pretty terrible. I didn't think at that point swine flu had made its way to that part of the world.
[Cooper:] Yes, it had.
[Gupta:] I know, look, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not sure it will. I was right there with you.
[Cooper:] You were worse off than I was. You were smart enough to get an IV drip, as I recall.
[Gupta:] As you recall.
[Cooper:] What about the flu shot last year for the first time in my life? Do they work because I've hear you can still get a flu even if you get a flu shot?
[Gupta:] They do work. I do encourage people to get a flu shot. I know there are a lot of people watching out there right that may say, look, it doesn't work. It even made me sick. It doesn't work every time. This year, they're saying about 60 percent effectiveness. It's not 100 percent. But it's better than nothing, and there's something else I want to point out as well. A lot of people say they get the flu shot and that makes them get the flu, a couple things to keep in mind. It takes about two weeks after you get the flu shot to have immunity. It's not going to protect you right away. And the other thing, and this is really interesting, Anderson, when you get a flu shot, you're getting a dead virus so it can't give you the flu, but what it's doing is activating your immune system. That's what it's supposed to do. It's teaching your immune system to recognize that as a problem so when it sees it again it attacks it. When your immune system is ramped up like that, you feel kind of cruddy. It's not that you have the flu. It's that the flu shot is doing its job making your immune system activate.
[Cooper:] I haven't gotten my yet, but I will. Sanjay, appreciate it. Thank you. Good advice. Let's check on some of the other stories we're following right now. Isha is here with a "360 Bulletin" Isha.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn Correspondent:] Anderson, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went back to work today after being sidelined for weeks by a series of health issues including a blood clot. She met with some of her senior staff and got a warm welcome back. She also got gifts, including a football jersey with the number 112 for the number of countries she's visited since taking the job. A spokesman says former President George H.W. Bush is on the mend and watching football, but didn't say when he might go home from a Houston hospital. He was admitted more than a month ago. In an interview with I-TV, Prince Charles got personal, saying he wants to leave the world a better place for his first grandchild, expected later this year. He also talked about what it's like having a son, Prince Harry, deployed in Afghanistan.
[Prince Charles, United Kingdom:] If you are a parent or a relation, or someone is away like that in these incredibly dangerous and challenging things, I know you worry all the time. Certainly every night, I worry. And you know, he loves doing what he's doing. He's brilliant at it.
[Sesay:] Surprisingly candid Prince Charles there.
[Cooper:] Very sweet. He's a dad. Isha, I have heard some great news. You have become engaged, correct?
[Sesay:] I am engaged.
[Cooper:] Congratulations. When did this occur?
[Sesay:] I can't believe this is happening, that you're doing this to me. It happened on Saturday night in front of lots of friends.
[Cooper:] How did it happen? No, I'm just kidding. That's great.
[Sesay:] Yes, thank you. Thank you very, very much. We are engaged and getting married in a couple months.
[Cooper:] Wow, that's very exciting.
[Sesay:] Hope to see you on the dance floor, Coop.
[Cooper:] I await the invitation.
[Sesay:] It's on its way to you and the 360 family.
[Cooper:] All right, thanks very much. Still ahead, an unbelievable crime that we want you to know about, you should know about and there's outrage over it, a sexual attack on a bus by multiple men who attacked a woman and her boyfriend, who they lured onto the bus. The woman has died. Five men now stand accused of a brutal attack. They're facing justice behind closed doors. We have someone at the trial. We'll have the latest on the trial ahead.

[Malveaux:] Time to reveal today's "Choose the News" choices. Text 22360 for the vote, the story you'd like to see. First, shining shoes may be a dying business, but one New Yorker is trying a unique way to keep the industry alive. See his unique hard sell that is turning heads and feet his way. Second, it is called the 787 Dreamliner. It's supposed to revolutionize air travel. The plane was recently unveiled, and we'll show you why it's drawing so much attention. Or third, 13,000 miles, 14 countries, an ultra marathoner attempts to run from the North Pole to the South Pole. So you can vote by texting 22630. Text 1 for "Shoe Shine Worker"; 2 two for "Dreamliner Unveiled"; or 3 for "Ultra Marathoner." Our winning story is going to air later this hour. Well, Texas authorities have just released a new mug shot of Warren Jeffs. He is the polygamist leader who was sentenced yesterday to life in prison, plus 20 years. He was found guilty of sexually assaulting two girls he claimed were his spiritual wives. In New York, a legal battle that you might not expect. Caught in the middle of this is a Golden Retriever named Rosy. She is a therapy dog, and she was allowed to be in the witness box to comfort a teenage girl who was testifying that her father had raped and impregnated her. The man was convicted, and now his lawyers plan an appeal, claiming that the dog may have influenced the jury. Sunny Hostin, she is a legal contributor for "In Session" on CNN sister network truTV. She joins us from New York. Sunny good to see you. You know, first of all, I've never heard of a dog being allowed to be present at a court proceeding other than a guide dog. How common is this? Is this something new?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, Trutv:] It is not something new. I wouldn't say it's unique, but it isn't uncommon. This started about in 2003, and that's about the time, Suzanne, that I left the U.S. Attorney's Office. And as you know, I used to try child sex crimes, and there was a movement when I was at the U.S. Attorney's Office to try to figure out a way to make child victims, witnesses, more comfortable, because one of the most difficult things when you are prosecuting these kinds of cases is to get a child victim on the witness stand, in a courtroom, to face the person that has been abusing them sexually and physically. And so, typically, there are child victim witness advocates in the courtroom, but they are not seated right next to the witness, they are seated in the courtroom. And many children have reported that that made all the difference. Well, this, I think, is probably a natural extension of it. So, it is used in a lot of courts. It's used in Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana. And it started in around 2003. And it's sort of that natural extension of victim witness advocates. And also, believe it or not, there have been court cases about children holding teddy bears. And in 1994, a court said that that was OK. And so while I think this is probably news to so many of our viewers, it is a growing trend.
[Malveaux:] Sure. And Sunny, does the lawyer who is appealing now, does he have a case, do you think, when he says this might have influenced the jury, sympathy from the jury in some way?
[Hostin:] I think he really does, actually. And this is the first time that a therapy dog has been allowed in New York. As I've mentioned, it is allowed in other jurisdictions, but courts have grappled with this, because a defendant's constitutional rights when accused are typically paramount. And there have been some studies done that viewers rather, jurors do have some empathy towards victims when they see this sort of dog therapy, a therapy dog with a witness. And so there is I think a valid legal argument. Who knows how the court will decide? But I will say this this is an extremely important, important case for victims, victims' rights.
[Malveaux:] Well, let us know how it turns out. Thank you very much, Sunny. Appreciate it.
[Hostin:] I will.
[Malveaux:] Well, turning to tough budget decisions. We now know the names of nine of the 12 members Congress' new debt super committee. We're going to talk with former Republican senator Alan Simpson about whether he thinks that the bipartisan group is going to be able to find a compromise. But first, what if the super committee fails to reach agreement or Congress fails to pass whatever the committee recommends? Well, then what happens? We're going to tell you.

[Gary Tuchman, Cnn Anchor:] From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, Sunday, January 8th. It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in Nashville, and 5:00 a.m. in Tucson, Arizona. Good morning, everyone. I'm Gary Tuchman. Republican presidential candidates duking it out on stage again. Ron Paul and Rick Santorum engaged in a heated exchange. Rick Perry says he would send U.S. troops back into Iraq if he were president. We'll give you all the highlights if you missed the New Hampshire debate. Plus, you may not know it, but you are killing your credit score with simple things such as renting a car. We'll explain coming up. We start with politics and the race to be the Republican presidential nominee. The New Hampshire primary is now just two days away, the first in the nation primary. So, you could have expected fireworks you may have expected it because there's been lots of fireworks in other debates, at last night's debate in Manchester. Well, if you wanted fireworks, you might have been disappointed in this one. There were just a few shots fired. But maybe surprisingly, front-runner Mitt Romney wasn't generally the target. CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser has the highlights.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] Good morning, Gary. Round one this doubleheader of debates this weekend up here in New Hampshire is over. And guess what? Front-runner Mitt Romney is still the front-runner. The former Massachusetts governor who's way ahead in polls here in New Hampshire really remained unscathed in this debate as a lot of his rivals for the Republican nomination didn't really attack him but rather went after each other. Take a listen to this exchange between Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas, and former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who's really been surging in the polls.
[Rep. Ron Paul , Presidential Candidate:] He's a big government person along with him being very associated with the lobbyists and taking a lot of funds. And also where did he make his living afterwards? I mean, he became a high-powered lobbyist in Washington,
[D.c. Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] It's a ridiculous charge. And you should know better than to cite George Soros-like organizations to say that they're corrupt. So, that's number one. Ron, I'm a conservative, I'm not a libertarian, I believe in some government.
[Steinhauser:] Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman is placing all his chips right here in New Hampshire. He didn't really campaign in Iowa and he's hoping for a strong finish here in Tuesday's primary. Huntsman was touting his experience as U.S. ambassador to China. But Mitt Romney had an answer.
[Jon Huntsman , Presidential Candidate:] It's nonsense to think you can slap a tariff on China the first day that you're in office as Governor Romney would like to do. You've got to sort through the issues of trade like you do with North Korea, like you do with Iran, like you do with Burma, and Pakistan, and the South China Sea. They're all interrelated. And to have a president who actually understands how that relationship works would serve the interests of the people of this country from an economic standpoint and from a security standpoint.
[Rick Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I'm sorry. Governor, you were the last two years implementing the policies of this administration in China.
[Steinhauser:] Texas Governor Rick Perry had a disappointing fifth place finish in Iowa. He's hoping for a strong comeback. He appeared to make a little news at the debate.
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] I would send troops back in to Iraq, because I will tell you
[Moderator:] Now?
[Perry:] I think we start talking with the Iraqi individuals there. The idea that we allow the Iranians to come back into Iraq and take over that country with all of the treasure both in blood and money that we have spent in Iraq because this president wants to kowtow to his liberal leftist base and move out those men and women. He could have renegotiated that time frame. I think it is a huge error for us.
[Steinhauser:] Those comments sure generated a lot of buzz online and on social networks. And they were a talking point in the spin room after the debate. This debate only round one. A few hours from now, another showdown between these six candidates as we get closer and closer to Tuesday's primary Gary.
[Tuchman:] Thank you very much, Paul. We still want to talk about the debate. So, joining me live from New Hampshire's largest city of Manchester is Patricia Murphy. She's the founder and editor of "Citizen Jane Politics." Thank you very much for joining us, Patricia. We appreciate it.
[Patricia Murphy, Citizen Jane Politics:] Thanks for having me.
[Steinhauser:] Now, Mitt Romney, the clear front-runner in New Hampshire and in South Carolina, and probably in Florida after that as of now. Did his rivals miss the mark last night by not going after him?
[Murphy:] I think what we saw his rivals doing, they were going after whoever they thought was between them and the nomination. And at this point, Mitt Romney is not really a lot of these guys' biggest problem. There's a huge battle up here in New Hampshire for second and third. Everybody knows Mitt Romney is going to run away with this. He's lived here forever. He's been campaigning here forever. He was the governor of a neighboring state. He's going to win New Hampshire, no doubt about it. So, there's the battle for second and third. And so, you saw this sort of dog fight between everyone who wanted get ahead of each other in any way possible. So, we saw Newt Gingrich mixing it up with Ron Paul, who mixed it up with Rick Santorum. That's what they were doing. Did they miss an opportunity? I think so. If nobody goes after Mitt Romney, he's going win the whole thing. They need do something soon. We'll see if they do it this morning.
[Tuchman:] I mean, you raise an important point. There's a situation where you want to come in second because you want to be at just a one and two race between Mitt Romney and yourself. You think you could coalesce and get those conservative voters and them maybe beat him. But still, you would expect to hear criticism of Romney even if they weren't that wasn't the most important goal. You heard Rick Santorum last night come close to directly criticizing Romney. Listen.
[Santorum:] I'm talking about yes, in the case of you know, the manager, as you're talking about, as far as the commander-in-chief or the manager part?
[Unidentified Female:] The manager
[Santorum:] The manager part. Yes, well, of course, I was talking about Governor Romney. I was talking about someone who brings to the table, he says, I'm going to be you know, I've got business experience. Well, business experience doesn't necessarily match up with being the commander-in-chief of this country. The commander-in- chief this country isn't a CEO. It's someone who has to lead. And it's also, being the president is not a CEO. You can't direct, you know, members of Congress and members of the Senate as to how you do things. You've got to lead and inspire.
[Tuchman:] Patricia, we knew that Santorum wasn't going to win in New Hampshire, not necessarily come close. But after the Iowa caucuses, he lost by eight votes. It he would have gotten nine more votes, he would have won the Iowa caucuses. We anticipated perhaps maybe some kind of significant jump in the polling in New Hampshire over the last few days, which we haven't seen as of yet. So, do you think he's capitalizing on his momentum?
[Murphy:] I think he's doing everything he can to capitalize on his momentum. We know that he's raising a lot more money this week than he was last week. So, that's a good way to get started. We know also that he's going to start going into South Carolina. New Hampshire isn't really fertile territory for Rick Santorum, but he's here just to play, just to be on the field and just to finish top three. I think you're going to see Rick Santorum's biggest move come in South Carolina. That's where he needs to wrap up the conservative vote, coalesce it behind him. And then he can become the anti-Romney, try and make it a two-man race.
[Tuchman:] So, at this point, what does it look like as far as the two-man race scenario goes? Do you think by the time we get to Florida, we're just going to have two people left?
[Murphy:] I think South Carolina's going to give us a huge indication of that. If Mitt Romney wins South Carolina, then he will he's most likely to have won the first three states. They all have a huge, diverse ideological breadth. So, if he wins one, two, three, it looks like he's going to be coming away with it in Florida. But if he doesn't win in South Carolina and if he doesn't do as well as expected in New Hampshire, it could still be anybody's race in Florida. So, look at how big the margin is Tuesday and look at what happens in South Carolina. If Mitt Romney doesn't win South Carolina, this is not his race to win because we still know that about 75 percent of Republicans are not on the Romney bandwagon yet. And South Carolina's going to give us a big sign of whether or not that's going to happen.
[Tuchman:] Well, Patricia Murphy, just like you advised, we will be looking and paying attention. Thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it.
[Murphy:] Thank you.
[Tuchman:] Be sure to stay with CNN for all of the news on the New Hampshire primary. Our special coverage kicks off Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Now for some other headlines: Around 100 soldiers are locked down right now at Lewis-McChord Army Air Force Base in Washington state. Commanders there are reacting to a report of missing military equipment including night lasers and gun scopes. The restricted soldiers are all part of the Fourth Brigade Second Infantry Division. Officials are telling us there is no threat to the public. Police in Denver, Colorado, trying to figure out why an area couple were the targets of a package bomb. The two people, a man and a woman, were injured when the bomb exploded in their car. It had been left at the front door. According to local reports, investigators are looking at a possible suspect, but there's been no word on a motive in the attack. Mt. Rainier National Park is now open to the public once again. The park was closed down after a park ranger was shot and killed last week. A former soldier is blamed in the shooting. He was found dead a little while later. A memorial service for the ranger who was killed, Margaret Anderson, is planned for Tuesday. A container ship grounded off the coast of New Zealand has broken into two. Big swells battered the helpless ship these are amazing pictures knocking a couple hundred containers off the deck. Only 15 containers have been recovered. Inside, one of the containers had ton of milk powder which spilled into the water. The ship has actually been stuck on a reef off northern New Zealand since October. So you're talking about three months the ship's been there. Officials say they are ready to clean up any oil that spills from the broken ship. But right now, it's nine minutes past the hour. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele has a sneak peek of your Sunday forecast Alexandra.
[Alexandra Steele, Ams Meteorologist:] Hi. Good morning, Gary. Hi, everyone, good morning to you. New York City, an April day yesterday feeling like it anyway with temperatures in the 60s. Is that heat over? And where's the rain and the fog? Talk a little Chinook action, some Santa Anas and some snow out west. All those details coming up in the full forecast in a few minutes Gary.
[Tuchman:] I love the word Chinook. And when we come back, I want to ask you, what does that mean?
[Steele:] All right. Chinook-y.
[Tuchman:] OK.
[Steele:] I'll give you a little Chinook-y.
[Tuchman:] A Snooki Chinook wind?
[Steele:] You got it.
[Tuchman:] All right. I'm going to ask you about that shortly. Meanwhile, an iced-in Alaskan town is just months away from running out of fuel. But help is now on the way in the Bering Strait. More on the historic mission in a about minute.

[Griffin:] What is that music? New York City is foggy, 66, thunderstorm wait a minute attracting sharks. Isn't that what the sharks like? Columbus Circle a little damp at the moment.
[Romans:] Looking like
[Ac/dc. Griffin:] I think that they I don't know what that is.
[Romans:] Really, this is a
[Griffin:] I know it's classic something or other. Guns N'Roses are they, right.
[Romans:] I knew this one. Anyway, some people the reason why we play that song is some people stressing out about living in the big city; others, they like the noise. It's all because of how our brain works. A new study found people who live in the city have a higher activity in a part of the brain that controls stress.
[Griffin:] That compares to those living in rural areas. It's the first study linking city living with high stress levels. No word on how long you have to live where you live for the effects to kick in.
[Romans:] Well, you just walk down the street in New York City or Chicago or any big city in America and you see all of these tourists looking around and saying I could never live here. Well that's why. So we want to know, is city living worth it even if it's more stressful or possibly harmful to your health? It's our question of the day. And here are some of your responses. DNELSON1980 on e-mail say, "I was born and raised in the country on a farm. Still living there after 49 years and would not trade it for anything."
[Griffin:] Yes, Ronald Wall, "Beep no."
[Romans:] You can say that one.
[Griffin:] We can?
[Romans:] Yes.
[Griffin:] "Hell no. That is precisely why I live in the country. But then if everyone lived in the country, it would just be another big city."
[Romans:] That's very true. You keep your city, folks, you stay in the city.
[Griffin:] That's some smart dude.
[Romans:] We didn't we don't see it that often. Democrats and Republicans coming together but they did it last night for a good cause. No, not raising the debt ceiling, beating the Washington Press Corps in softball. It was the Third Annual Congressional Women's softball game. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was she's a big Yankee fan by the way, she threw out the first pitch.
[Griffin:] Yes but not like a Yankee. From there the lady lawmakers beat the press 5-4, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz got the winning hit. There it was. The game drew a bipartisan part by the way. Look at this, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with John Boehner. The game benefited the Young Survival Coalition, a group that assists young women facing breast cancer.
[Romans:] All right. Meantime, a world away. First Lady Michelle Obama was delivering her message about health and fitness in South Africa and she enlisted Archbishop Desmond Tutu. They were doing sit ups and push-ups for the group in in Cape Town, Mrs. Obama pretty good at doing real sit- ups.
[Griffin:] Great move.
[Romans:] Yes, Bishop Tutu he is just there for moral support, I think.
[Griffin:] Yes, some kind of support. All right. This guy is one of the greatest Olympians of all time, right?
[Romans:] Right.
[Griffin:] Swimmer Michael Phelps, 16 Olympic medals and 14 of them solid.
[Romans:] Gold.
[Griffin:] That's right.
[Romans:] And he's not done yet by the way. Phelps say he's going to compete in the 2012 London games and through his foundation he is helping kids find that same passion for swimming. This week, I sat down with him and asked him about his motivation to succeed. A lot of people were telling you that you couldn't do it or a lot of people were kids maybe picking on you a little bit about, what? About your ears?
[Michael Phelps, Olympic Medalist:] Ears, shaving my legs, whatever. Wearing a Speedo.
[Romans:] You've got to have some kind of self-confidence, to get over that.
[Phelps:] I just I think I got to the point where I just didn't care. You know I was happy. And and I love what I do.
[Romans:] Right.
[Phelps:] You know? It's just I have goals that I want to accomplish in the sport before I retire and I didn't care what anybody else said. And, you know, when people doubt me now, it just fires me up and gives me more motivation.
[Romans:] Can you tell me what those goals are? Because you have so much metal around your neck and I can't imagine you could even hold your neck up. And what are those goals?
[Phelps:] Everybody wants to know and you'll find out in 15 months after the Olympics if if I were successful or not and it's going to be hard, but I think it's something that's doable and something I want.
[Romans:] So his mom made sure he learned how to swim for safety reasons and then, you know, she thought it was a good thing to do as a parent.
[Griffin:] Sure.
[Romans:] She's pushed him all along the way and he brought her home 16 medals. Nice right? Much more on my conversation with Michael Phelps on "YOUR BOTTOM LINE". That's the show I do Saturday mornings, 9:30 Eastern Time right here on
[Cnn. Griffin:] Interesting guy, he looks very, very largish.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Griffin:] Like he's not huge like a football player.
[Romans:] I think the guy goes in the pool and every part of his body is made for scooping the water. I mean, he's he's one of our crew guys said that guy is like a swimming freak of nature, you know.
[Griffin:] Right. Hey, coming up on 54 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.

[Cuomo:] In just about two hours from now, jurors in an L.A. Courtroom will hear opening statements in the Michael Jackson wrongful death lawsuit. Jackson's mother and children are seeking billions from the promoter of his ill-fated comeback tour. The issue is whether AEG Live hired or supervised the doctor convicted of killing the pop icon. CNN's Casey Wian has more.
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Michael Jackson was in the last weeks of rehearsal for what was to be his grand comeback. The exhausted 50 year-old insomniac died in 2009 from an overdose of sedatives and the surgical anaesthetic Propofol. Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving Jackson the fatal dose in an effort to help him sleep. He's in prison. Now the company that promoted the comeback tour, AEG Live, is fighting legal claims by Jackson's mother and children that it shares responsibility for the singer's death because it hired and supervised Murray.
[Piers Morgan, Cnn Anchor:] What do you think as his mother caused his death?
[Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's Mother:] I don't know. All I know is they used Propofol and they shouldn't have used it and they use it in the wrong setting. That's all I know and that's what caused his death.
[Prof. Jody Armour, Usc Law School:] The gist of the playing a claim against AEG is that you controlled Dr. Murray and you used your control over Dr. Murray to pressure him into taking unnecessary and excessive risks with his patient Michael Jackson leading to Michael Jackson's death.
[Wian:] AEG Live's attorney says there was never a signed contract with Murray and that Jackson was the only one who controlled him.
[Marvin Putnam, Aeg Company:] He was chosen by Michael Jackson, he'd be there at Michael Jackson's behalf. He would be Michael Jackson's doctor alone. But this was only being done because Michael Jackson asked for it. Michael Jackson was the only person who could get rid of him as well.
[Wian:] Potential witnesses include Jackson's teenage children, Prince Michael and Paris. Producer Quincy Jones could testify about the billions of dollars Michael Jackson would have earned if he had lived, money his heirs now want from AEG a multi-billion dollar sports entertainment and real estate conglomerate. Now, opening statements are expected to begin in a little more than two hours. Already you can see behind me photographers are beginning to line up outside the courtroom. That's because this is expected to be a very star-studded trial. In addition to Michael Jackson's siblings who are expected to be here, on the witness list includes celebrities including Diana Ross, Prince, Spike Lee they'll all be part of this case potentially which could have billions of dollars at stake
[Cuomo:] A lot of stars and a lot of money. Casey, thank you very much. When we come back, we're going to go back to Boston. The youngest bombing suspect was read his Miranda rights three days after his arrest. Some lawmakers, they say that was too soon. Interrogation was needed. We'll tell you why and balance it out after the break.

[Savidge:] President Obama is in Ohio today talking about innovation and jobs and he's hammering home key points from his State of the Union address. Today he's focusing on small business. But the trip comes while many are watching another fight over jobs. And we are talking about, of course, the union protests in Ohio and Wisconsin. CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins us every day at this time for our "Stakeout." And, Ed, what's the president's message today?
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Well, it has nothing to do with the protests, and that's what's interesting is that he's steering clear, talking about protests. And as you know, they're not just happening in Wisconsin. Also now happening in the very state where the president is as we speak, in Ohio. He's in Cleveland. The protests are in Columbus. About an hour or so away. But, nonetheless, the White House is fully aware that that's going on because the Republican governor in Ohio, just as the Republican governor in Wisconsin, has been sort of going after collective bargaining rights for some of these government employees. But the White House wants to steer clear of that. Let that play out on the local level. They're very sensitive to this being seen as a sort of White House interference story. They don't want it to look like they're joining up with the labor unions and others that have been helping to stir up some of the protests. They want to keep an arm's length and try to keep, and I stress try to keep the message the president on message about jobs and the economy and not get mired in some of the politics of what else is going on. Martin.
[Savidge:] It could be tough for him to do. But does the president have other job stops, so to speak, planned?
[Henry:] Oh, they're they pretty much are doing one a week. And that's what's been interesting since the State of the Union and the new chief of staff, Bill Daley, something with his fingerprints on it, making sure that the president is not just here in Washington, which is a pretty toxic, political environment, but getting out there in the heartland. Helps him in the short term try to sell this economic message. Today, as we noted, in Cleveland, he's focusing on small businesses. They create two out of every three new jobs. So he wants to try to reach out to these small businesses and say, I hear you coming out of those November midterm elections where there was a message that maybe the administration was not listening enough. He wants to get out there and make sure that he is listening. But let's not forget, it's not just about the short term. It's about the long term and that 2012 election that is getting closer and closer. It's not really that far away. Ohio, a critical battleground state. He's been in Michigan. He's been in Pennsylvania lately. All of these states are going to be critical states he wants in 2012. It's no accident that a lot of these so-called winning the future events on policy, on substance, also played pretty well for him politically, Martin.
[Savidge:] These are also states, of course, that are facing the challenges of many of these kind of protests that are either there or likely to happen in those states.
[Henry:] Big time, yes.
[Savidge:] So at some point is it possible that the president will have to speak? And if he does, what is the line he walks? I mean he obviously has talked about cutting deficits, but then he was also supported by many of these labor organizations.
[Henry:] You're right. You know, and he walked that exact line the only time he's commented on these protests. Last week he did an interview with a local TV station in Wisconsin. Most people picked up one part of that interview, which was the president saying he believes that what's going on in Wisconsin is an assault on unions. And that got the unions happy and angered a lot of Republicans. But a lot of people missed the other part of the interview where the president said something else important, which is where he said, look. I do understand, however, that people in the local level have some tough choices to make with these budgets. It was not like he was supporting the Republican governor in this case but he was saying I can sympathize with him because the president noted he, himself, has been trying to institute this federal pay freeze for federal employees. That's obviously a state, local issue. But federal employees saying, look, I've got to make tough choices. Some of these governors have to make tough choices. So that's how he's going to walk that line. He's certainly you're right he's going to stand up for those unions that supported him in 2008, will be critical in 2012. But the president has also got to be honest about the fact that we've got a budget deficit right now. He's in the middle of that debate here in Washington. And some of these governors on a local level, they don't have easy choices. And that's why we're seeing some of these protests pop up. There's a lot of controversy surrounding it, but there's also some tough issues that they're grappling with and they're trying to face, Martin.
[Savidge:] And the days of easy choices are long gone.
[Henry:] That's right.
[Savidge:] Ed Henry, thanks very much.
[Henry:] Good to see you, Martin. Did an NFL player take his own life with a greater purpose in mind? His son is now speaking out about his father's last wishes.

[Whitfield:] Among the people cheering the end of the Moammar Gadhafi era, those who lost loved ones on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that was the terrorist bombing many believe was sanctioned by Gadhafi. The brother of a Lockerbie victim tells CNN his reaction to the news surprised even himself.
[Brian Flynn, Brother Killed On Pan Am 103:] I was thrilled. I didn't expect to have that reaction. I had been dreaming about this for more than 20 years. But it was always with the sense that you don't want to be the vengeful one that think, I want my brother's murder killed. But in a way, you do.
[Whitfield:] Two hundred seventy people died when Pan Am flight 103 was blown out of the sky over Scotland in 1988. The bombing was pinned on Libyan intelligence officials. Alright, let's turn to the Republicans running for president. Many had been sharp critics of President Obama's actions in Libya. With the recent death of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, the candidates are now responding. CNN's Joe Johns takes a survey of their positions.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Correspondent:] Pattern perhaps, Republicans running for the White House praising the elimination of yet another bad guy in yet another country. But so far, this time at least, they were kind of quiet about whether the guy they want to run out of office should get any of the credit.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] The world is a better place with Gadhafi gone.
[Johns:] Rick Perry, when asked about Gadhafi, talked about what's next, the need to move to elections and democracy in Libya and securing Gadhafi's weapons. Jon huntsman called it positive news but just one step though he was once sharply critical of the administration's decision to get involved.
[Jon Huntsman , Presidential Candidate:] There's no financial security strategy in place. No defined exit strategy. I say, what are we doing?
[Johns:] As for Michele Bachmann, seems incredible for a member of the house intelligence committee. But she suggested in the CNN debate this week that she didn't know where Libya is. Though she took issue with all the money the U.S. has spent there.
[Michele Bachmann , Presidential Candidate:] Defense spending is on the table. But, again, Anderson, now with the president he put us in Libya. He is now putting us in Africa. We already were stretched too thin and he put our special operations forces in Africa.
[Johns:] Libya is in Africa by the way, North Africa. But when Bachmann was speaking gears she was apparently talking about the administration's recent decision to send 100 troops to Uganda in West Africa to deal with a notorious gang of thugs called the lord resistance army. But putting geography issues aside, Bachmann was also sharply critical of the administration's position on Libya from the very start.
[Bachmann:] Our policy in Libya is substantially flawed. I believe that it was wrong for the president to go into Libya.
[Johns:] Sentiments echoed by presidential candidate Ron Paul who even asked how many dictators the president is planning on helping to take out?
[Rep. Ron Paul , Presidential Candidate:] There are a lot of bad people in the world. Does he want to do that in every dictatorship around the country?
[Johns:] Herman Cain tweeted after the death of Gadhafi that the question now is, what's next? Rumor House speaker Newt Gingrich has both supported and opposed the administration's Libya policy on occasion. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
[Whitfield:] And join us every Sunday afternoon, 4:00 Eastern time, when we dedicate a special hour to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election. And a bit later this hour, movie reviews including a scary one on the big screen "Paranormal Activity 3." And of course it is October, Halloween right around the corner. So, do you know what the top haunted hotel in the U.S. is? Could it be the Queen Mary, Stanley Hotel, Hawthorne Hotel, or the Bourbon Orleans? The answer, after this break.

[A.j. Hammer, Host:] Right now on a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers." The rock stars who totally shocked us with what they did, what they said and even what they wore.
[Brooke Anderson, Host:] The incredible head spinning BieberGaga battle. Who`s the bigger star, the Bieb or Lady Gaga?
[Hammer:] The rocker that shocked you the most. John Mayer, his explosive sex confessions about Jessica Simpson.
[Jo Piazza, Entertainment Journalist:] I think he might have stopped seeing his therapist and just decided that the American public would be his therapist.
[Hammer:] Taylor Swift singing about her exes. Leann Rimes defending her affair. Who`s the most shocking? You decide with your votes.
[Anderson:] Shocking star splits. Sandra and Jesse, Courteney and David, Eva and Tony. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals the most shocking breakup.
[Hammer:] A special edition of TV`s most provocative entertainment news show "Rockers and Shockers"
[Anderson:] Starts right now!
[Hammer:] Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer coming to you from New York City.
[Anderson:] Hi there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood with this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers," the rock stars who have taken shock to an incredible new level with their actions and with their word.
[Hammer:] And we start off with the raging battle between the hottest stars in music, the ultimate star showdown. It`s Lady Gaga versus Justin Bieber. It`s a smack down like no other. The SHOWBIZ TONIGHT lets two powerhouse superstars do get out with the title of "World Domination." Let the war begin. He has the single most watched video in YouTube history. She was the first to pass a billion collective views. His was the most mentioned name on Facebook in 2010. She has more Facebook fans than any living person. He`s performed for the president of the United States. She`s performed for the Queen of England. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga are officially music royalty, but between the two, who out reigns the other?
[Keith Caulfield, Billboard Magazine:] Who`s bigger pop star just in terms of sheer music sales, easily, Lady Gaga.
[Hammer:] Keith Caulfield is the associate director of charge in Billboard Magazine.
[Caulfield:] Gaga has sold 5.4 million albums to Bieber`s about 4 million. And in terms of track sales, Gaga has sold about 30 million tracks, and Bieber has sold about 10 million tracks. She`s made over a hundred million gross at, you know, on tour over the past year, over a hundred shows. Bieber has made something like 30 million on the road the past year, has played 50 something shows, still a very good number, but Gaga is clearly, you know, a monster on the road.
[Hammer:] Of course, it takes more than iTunes and ticket master to call this fight. 24-year-old Gaga pounded the pavement for years in New York City before catching her break in less than half the time 16-year-old Bieber went from a YouTube wanna-be to having music icons Usher and Justin Timberlake fighting over him.
[Justin Bieber, Singer:] They kind of both saw me, and they saw my talent, and they were like, wow, I want to sign this kid.
[Hammer:] In the end, Usher won, became Bieber`s mentor, and in the process, gave his protege, a priceless amount of street creds. One example, Bieber`s appearance on "Saturday Night Live" helped generate more than 7 million viewers while Gaga only hit 6.7 with the same gig.
[Nick Lachey, Host, "the Sing Off":] I admire what Lady Gaga has been able to do. It`s not my cup of tea, if you know, music wise, but, you know, I think, Justin Bieber seems like he`s got legitimate talent. He`s got a, you know, pretty good handle on it.
[Hammer:] In fact, there is little that Justin Bieber isn`t handling. He`s already written an autobiography, has his own doll, a 3D movie, and of course, perhaps, the most famous hair cut in the world.
[Lachey:] I think they`re two, you know, great examples of, you know, the opportunities that are out there. So, you know, instead taking advantage of each and every one.
[Hammer:] Merchandising aside, it`s Gaga`s seemingly incessant attraction to controversy which even overshadows Bieber fever. Bieber cancelled a mall appearance. Gaga flips off an entire baseball stadium. Bieber breaks out a water gun on fan. Gaga wear a dress made from raw meat. Bieber sparks some P.G. gossip with Kim Kardashian. Gaga launches an ROBERTS-rated lesbian rumor with Beyonce.
[Beyonce, Singer:] Bad, bad girl, Gaga.
[Hammer:] While both stars` every move seems to make headlines, earn money or start an avalanche of activity on line, even Gaga and Bieber would agree it`s their fans that matter most.
[Bieber:] You know, I have a lot of great people surrounding me.
[Unidentified Male:] Bieber`s fans would probably fight you tooth and nail over their tandem, but Gaga`s fans are legion. They love their mama monster.
[Hammer:] The big question of supremacy still remains in the battle of Gaga versus Bieber and that brings us to our "Showbiz Flashpoint," Gaga versus Bieber, who`s the bigger star? Joining me right now from Hollywood, Rachel Zalis is the contributing editor for "Life and Style" magazine, and right now in New York, Shelley Wade who`s a radio host for Z100 in New York City. Let the battle of the mega stars begin now. And the first battleground today, of course, has to be Facebook. They were both very involved with this. Bieber won the honor of being the most mentioned name on Facebook, but Gaga has more Facebook fans than any living person. So, Rachel, off to you first, do you think in this instance who can claim the Facebook frontier? Is it Gaga? Is it Bieber?
[Rachel Zalis, Contributing Editor, Life And Style:] First of all, there is no contest between these two. Gaga is seriously going to be one of the most powerful people in pop. It will go down in the books. And in terms of Facebook, she`s the first person to have 10 million fans. I mean, she`s caused so much traffic on the site. Mark Zuckerberg should be cutting her in for a piece of that pie. One more person to add to the list.
[Hammer:] All right.
[Zalis:] I mean, she`s just a worldwide phenomenon. It`s unbelievable.
[Hammer:] OK. Hold on a second. Don`t get ahead of yourself, Rachel, because we`re still making our case here. This just sort to battle it out in other ways, as well. Controversy, of course, is among the different ways. One example of Gaga stirring the pot. You remember, she flipped off an entire stadium of Yankees` fans. Bieber raised a lot of eyebrows with all that speculation about his relationship with Kim Kardashian, the thought of which really upset a lot of his young fans, but some of our fans on the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Facebook wall say Gaga does have this category sewn up. I want to get to this comment. It`s Jan M. writing, "Lady Gaga all the way because she always comes up with some crazy idea. For example, the meat outfit. Shelley Wade, in the category of controversy, Jan M., in my mind, is right here. The Bieb can`t top the meat dress. Gaga wins this one, right?
[Shelley Wade, Radio Host, Z100 New York:] I think Gaga wins as far as being more controversial. Of course, we`re talking about Gaga all the time, whether it`s her outfits, or you guys were talking about earlier, the revelation that she uses drugs, you know? And the revelation that, wow, she`s got a meat costume or what is she doing with her hair, you know? She always causes controversy, and we`re always talking about Gaga.
[Hammer:] All right. Well, as the battle of the Biebs and Gaga continues, let us now go to this category. It is pure fan power. Of course, Gaga has legions of fans, all her little monsters out there. And Bieber, the tried and true pack of screaming girls with Bieber fever. In fact, his fans so fierce, he actually had to break up a fight between a few of them after he threw one of his sweaty towels into the audience. Take a look at this.
[Bieber:] Stop, stop, stop, stop. No. You can`t fight over it. Let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go.
[Hammer:] All right. Rachel, hear me out now. Sure Gaga has all the little monsters, but Bieber has all the screaming, raging hormonal girls. So, who wins the battle here over pure fan power in your mind?
[Zalis:] Oh, come on. It`s absolutely gaga. Those screaming girls have nothing on the monsters. That army has a mass, and they are taking over the world. I mean, this woman`s rich in influence far surpasses any fan that Bieber has.
[Hammer:] OK. I see where you`re going with all this. The SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Facebook wall, by the way, has been blowing up over this topic, over this flashpoint, who`s the biggest star. This comment coming in from Shay T. on our wall. "Justin Bieber, no questions. Walk into a junior high and those groups of girls will be talking about Justin Bieber and his new hit song, not how hot Lady Gaga`s plastic dress was." I know, Shelley Wade, a lot of your fans from your radio show are huge Bieber fans and huge Gaga fans. For your money, who, when it comes to fan power, wins in this category?
[Wade:] I have to tell you, I interviewed both of them like about a year before they both hit really big. And both of them have really passionate fans, but I have to give this one to the people with Bieber fever. When I interviewed Justin a year before he became famous, there was girls, throngs of girls, outside with Bieber fever shirts on. They are all about him. I give this one to Bieber.
[Hammer:] All right. And I`m going to stay with you Shelley Wade because I already know Rachel Zalis in the flashpoint who`s the bigger star is going with Gaga. Who do you go with?
[Wade:] I go with Gaga at the risk of offending I`m sorry, Bieber fans. I love him, too, but I go with Gaga.
[Hammer:] Fair enough. We`re going to live it there. Rachel Zalis, Shelley Wade, I thank you both.
[Anderson:] Now, to more unbelievable `Rocker and Shocker" revelations. Keith Urban`s dramatic confessions about how his wife, Nicole Kidman, saved his life.
[Keith Urban, Singer:] The love in that room in that moment was just right, and I was fully I was like put the cuffs on, let`s go.
[Anderson:] The country star opens up to Oprah and let me tell you what his wife did for him was remarkable.
[Hammer:] Losing Lennon. The explosive new confessions from the wife of the man who shot and killed John Lennon. Mark David Chapman`s wife breaks her silence. It is a not to be missed new interview coming up next. Also this
[Piazza:] Sexual napalm was a conversation at dinner party for months. My mom asked me what it was. It made me very uncomfortable. Thank you, John Mayer.
[Anderson:] Hmm-hmm. I could not believe it when John Mayer blabbed about his sex life with Jessica Simpson calling her sexual napalm, but is he the rocker that shocked you the most? You vote, you decide.
[Hammer:] Here`s a rocker shocker. Partridge Family star in 1970`s rocker, David Cassidy, pulled over by the Florida highway patrol in suspicion of driving drunk, and when a trooper asked Cassidy if he had any problems with his eyes, Cassidy offered up this story.
[David Cassidy, Rock Star:] I do, however, I had a wandering eye as a child.
[Unidentified Male:] OK.
[Cassidy:] I had a surgery at 12 years old, I deformed muscle which is associated with farsightedness.
[Unidentified Male:] All right. I`m not obstetrician. That`s all right.
[Cassidy:] That`s OK. I`m not asking you to be. I`m just telling you what you asked me about my eyes. My right eye still wanders sometimes.
[Hammer:] The old wandering eye story got him arrested after he failed a sobriety test. You`re watching a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers" on HLN, news and views.
[Unidentified Male:] Good evening. If you`ve been anywhere near a television set or a radio these past few hours, you already know that John Lennon of the Beatles is dead.
[Anderson:] On December 8, 1980, time seemed to stand still as the horrifying news echoed around the world. Beatles great, John Lennon, murdered in front of his New York City apartment. Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers." I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood, A.J. Hammer in New York. And now, the shocking loss of one of the most beloved rockers of all time. Thirty years ago, John Lennon was gunned down outside of his home in New York City by Mark David Chapman.
[Hammer:] And Brooke, over the years, we have learned a lot about Chapman but not as much has been revealed about his wife, until now. Gloria Abe Chapman has broken her silence in a remarkable CNN documentary called "Losing Lennon: Countdown to Murder" reported by CNN`s John Roberts.
[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] It was a remarkable press conference, December 10th, 1980.
[Gloria Chapman, Wife Of Mark David Chapman:] Being a Beatles fan, I mourn the death of John Lennon and feel great sadness for his wife, Yoko, and his son, Sean.
[Roberts:] Two days after her husband shot John Lennon, Gloria Chapman appeared oddly disconnected. Her answer to one question shocked many people.
[Unidentified Male:] Gloria, do you still love him?
[Chapman:] Yes, very much.
[Roberts:] In this exclusive interview, she reflected on those days saying she couldn`t comprehend the enormity of what had just happened.
[Chapman:] For, I guess, the first few weeks, I was just in a dream kind of thing. I mean, it just didn`t seem real, you know?
[Roberts:] As reality sunk in, it left Gloria wondering what happened to the life she had dreamed of when she first met Mark David Chapman in 1978. She saw him as sort of a knight in shining armor.
[Unidentified Male:] She did. She did.
[Roberts:] Jim Gains is one of the only reporters to have interviewed Gloria Chapman. He says she spoke lovingly about her engagement.
[Unidentified Male:] They were walking on the beach and Mark said to Gloria, would you marry me? And she was just ecstatic. And she described it to me as the happiest day of her life. Mark never did.
[Roberts:] Perhaps, that was a glimpse into the misery and, she says, abuse that soon followed.
[Chapman:] I don`t remember what I said, but I must said something sarcastic, and he hit me real hard like on my ear, and it really kind of sent me, you know, my ears were ringing and stuff. I had to sit down it was so bad.
[Roberts:] Gloria`s naive dreams of happily ever after vanished all together.
[Chapman:] The only place I could go for privacy was in the bathroom. I`d just go in there, lock the door and just cry. You know, I can`t take this. How long will it be like this, you know? This is miserable.
[Roberts:] Why do you think she stayed with him all these years?
[Unidentified Male:] She was faithful. It was a virtue. You obeyed virtues. She was trying to be a good wife in an impossible situation.
[Hammer:] Really, an amazing documentary. That was CNN`s John Roberts. And we move on now to another big rocker shocker. Keith Urban`s emotional addiction confession to Oprah. Urban opened up in a big way to Oprah about how he checked in to rehab just a few months after getting married to Nicole Kidman. Urban sat down with Oprah and revealed what he was addicted to and choked back tears when he talked about how Kidman literally saved his life.
[Oprah Winfrey:] What was the substance?
[Urban:] Everything.
[Winfrey:] Oh, OK.
[Urban:] Alcohol and cocaine predominantly. And it wouldn`t have mattered what it was. It was a huge hole in my life that was going to be filled by the right thing eventually or it was going to be always filled by the wrong thing.
[Winfrey:] Yes. I`ve heard you say or read that you said that Nicole saved you.
[Urban:] Absolutely. Well, I mean, that`s the point right there where she really should have just walked. I mean, not should have, that`s not the right word but
[I -- Winfrey:] Would have understood if she had?
[Urban:] Of course.
[Winfrey:] Yes.
[Urban:] I`m just so glad she didn`t. And she made a decision to turn around and initiate ultimately this intervention.
[Winfrey:] For you?
[Urban:] Yes. And it was done in such a way, and the love in that room in that moment was just right. And I was fully I was like put the cuffs on, let`s go.
[Hammer:] Such a powerful story. Now, Keith says he`d never experienced that kind of love before, and that the intervention had such a profound impact on him. Yes, he actually checked into rehab the same day.
[Anderson:] All right. Now, on to the rocker who shocked you the most. Could it be Leann Rimes?
[Unidentified Female:] When she did her interview with "Shape" magazine, she said, oh, staying in shape, exercising, it saved my life while I was going through this very difficult period of husband stealing.
[Anderson:] Leann admits to her affair and defend what she did.
[Hammer:] Also, the shocking star splits revealed. Sandra and Jesse, Courteney and David, Eva and Tony. Also this
[Unidentified Female:] Look at a shot gored by the buffalo.
[Unidentified Male:] Back, back.
[Unidentified Female:] Back away from it. Ooh!
[Anderson:] Oh, a shocker caught on tape. A bison charges. Watch out.
[Hammer:] Well, she may have kissed a girl but that`s not what got pop star, Katy Perry, in trouble on "Sesame Street." What did get Katy in trouble was what she wore when in a music video with Elmo. Kidde Elmo bit was yanked after fans of the show complained about Katy`s cleavage. I want you to watch and see, too, if you think that Katy was too hot for "Sesame Street." You`re watching special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers" on HLN, news and views.
[Unidentified Female:] Look at a shot gored by the buffalo.
[Unidentified Male:] Back, back.
[Unidentified Female:] Back away from it. Ooh!
[Hammer:] Caught on tape. When bison attack. Now, imagine getting this close to such a large, wild animal and it charges you while the cameras are rolling. I think it`s safe to say that all bison are bigger and stronger than humans, so when you see one coming at you, for everyone`s sake, just get out of the way, OK? I wish the tourists from Utah who were walking around Yellowstone National Park realized this when they spotted a bison roaming around, because instead of walking away, they walked right up to the big guy. And as you see, boom, the woman holding the camera told CNN, the bison actually tossed her up into the air. Luckily, she only suffered minor injuries. She says the bison was gone as quick as it came which is a good thing.
[Anderson:] Yes, A.J. A really good thing for them. and a very lucky thing for a couple who is sailing off the coast of South Africa. Listen to this, it is a miracle this duo did not get swept into the sea after a big old whale jumped out of the ocean and landed on their sailboat. Here`s a shocker for you, the couple, though, surprised, were not injured. And authorities say the whale may have only sustained a scratch or bump. The couple contends that these amazing photos of the incident were not doctored. And believe it or not, the boat had only minor damage, too. All right. Now, the showbiz line-up. Here`s what`s coming up at the bottom of this hour on this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Usher gets kicked in the face by a fan, and it`s all caught on tape. Also this
[Piazza:] Sexual napalm was a conversation at dinner parties for months on end. My mom asked me what it was. It made me very uncomfortable. Thank you, John Mayer.
[Anderson:] John Mayer, his explosive sex confessions about Jessica Simpson. Yes, you remember how he called her sexual napalm. Is he the most shocking rocker? You decide. Shocking star splits. Sandra and Jesse, Courteney and David, Eva and Tony. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals the most shocking break-up.
[Hammer:] Well, we all know Susan Boyle has the voice of an angel, but even angels get a frog in their throat once in a while. During a live performance on "The View," that`s exactly what happened to Susan Boyle. Take a look at this. That`s no good when that happens. Now, Susan did ask if she could try it again, but sorry, Susan, you know, on live TV, there are no do- overs. You`re watching a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers" on HLN, news and views. Right now on this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers," the rockers who totally shocked us with what they said and did.
[Unidentified Female:] When she did an interview with "Shape" magazine, she said, oh, staying in shaping, exercising, it saved my wife while I was going through this very difficult period of husband stealing.
[Hammer:] Shocking star splits like Leann Rimes. She defends her affair. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals the most shocking star break-up.
[Anderson:] Usher, uh-oh? Usher gets kicked in the face by a fan. The mind-boggling, shocking video. Plus this.
[Unidentified Female:] Sitting in the front seat. It was a big bear.
[Hammer:] A bear taking a ride in a car? You betcha. A special edition of TV`s most provocative entertainment news show, "Rockers and Shockers" continues right now. Welcome back to the special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers." I`m A.J. Hammer coming to you from New York City.
[Anderson:] And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And let`s face it, being shocking is kind of part of the rock star job description.
[Hammer:] That`s right. But there are times when rockers do something so incredibly shocking it deserves a special mention, like, John Mayer, Taylor Swift and Leann Rimes. They`re all super famous, of course, and they all did some incredibly shocking things. Now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking which rocker shocked you the most? Artists can shock with their music, their bad behavior, and sometimes, with their wardrobe. But these three rockers repeatedly shock us with something else their mouths.
[Piazza:] Pop starts just couldn`t seem to keep their mouth shut.
[Hammer:] And now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ask which oversharing musician gave us the biggest rocker shocker? The first rocker shocker, perpetual oversharer, John Mayer.
[Piazza:] I think he might have stopped seeing his therapist and just decided that the American public would be his therapist.
[Hammer:] In a "Playboy" interview, Mayer shared intimate details about his sex life with ex-girlfriend, Jessica Simpson, saying, quote, "It was like napalm, sexual napalm."
[Piazza:] Sexual napalm was a conversation at dinner parties for months on end because no one else knows what the hell it means. My mom asked me what it was. It made me very uncomfortable. Thank you, John Mayer.
[Hammer:] Jessica Simpson and plenty of others weren`t amused at Mayer`s "Playboy" interview during which Mayer also used the N word.
[John Mayer, Singer:] So, maybe, I need to take a break from trying to be clever.
[Hammer:] The week news of his "Playboy" story hit, Mayer shocked us again with a tearful on-stage apology.
[Mayer:] I quit the sound bite game. I quit the media game. I`m out. I`m done.
[Hammer:] Mayer pretty much kept his promise. He was quiet for a while after that, but sorry, John, you`re still one of the biggest rocker shockers. Another rocker shocker, Taylor Swift, who writes songs that seem to be aimed right at her famous exes.
[Piazza:] Taylor`s just an open book. You want to know anything about her love life, just listen to her songs.
[Hammer:] One of Taylor`s songs seemed to be a friendly ode to ex-boyfriend and Twilight star, Taylor Lautner. But another of switch songs called "Dear John" appeared to be about another reported ex, fellow rocker shocker, John Mayer. That song wasn`t quite as nice.
[Piazza:] She pinned him against the wall, talking about his lies and his own indiscretions.
[Taylor Swift, Singer:] That song kind of is what it is.
[Ellen Degeneres:] OK. Great. We know the answer now. It`s about him.
[Hammer:] When Swift appeared on Ellen, she refused to confirm whether "Dear John" was about this John.
[Swift:] I guess, people are going to continue to speculate about it, and I`m going to continue to never tell them.
[Piazza:] Taylor doesn`t like to admit that her songs are about the people we all know they`re about. We know that she`s reading John Mayer text messages being like, yes, this is going to make an awesome refrain.
[Hammer:] And the third rocker shocker, LeAnn Rimes.
[Piazza:] Not only the overshare, but she upset a lot of people in the process when she talks to Robin Roberts about her affair with Eddie Cibrian.
[Hammer:] Rimes, who spent months being slammed as a home wrecker didn`t do herself any favors when she and Cibrian did a shockingly, unapologetic interview with ABC`s Robin Roberts.
[Leann Rimes, Singer:] You had two couples whose marriages didn`t work, who really stumbled upon each other and fell in love.
[Piazza:] She, obviously, had no idea that she was coming across as a totally heartless wench.
[Hammer:] A shockingly big mouth, a shocking music payback, and a shocking lack of sensitivity. Rockers give up the biggest shockers.
[Anderson:] It`s going to be a question in this big battle of shocking rockers leads right to our "Showbiz Flashpoint," Taylor versus Mayer versus Rimes, which rocker shocked you the most? With me right now from Miami, Eugene Ramirez who`s an entertainment journalist, and here in Hollywood, Tanika Ray who`s also an entertainment journalist. OK. Eugene, Tanika, I got to say with John Mayer, I almost expect him to overshare his personal life, well, that`s because he is notorious for that. But Tanika, I think he should have stopped short a divulging sexual details about his relationship with Jessica Simpson.
[Tanika Ray, Entertainment Journalist:] And saying the N word. That`s an unacceptable.
[Anderson:] Yes, exactly.
[Ray:] Here`s what it comes down to. He`s always been a D-bag, that`s the theme of the show today, and I think his D-bag crown is a left over from 2009. So, it`s not a shocker exactly what you said. So, I knocked him out of the running. Then, there are some issues with Taylor Swift, but it`s still PG-13 kind of, right? Yes, she`s lashing out at boys that have done wrong to her, not that shocking, but LeAnn Rimes.
[Anderson:] Right. We`ll get to her. Save that for a second.
[Ray:] Girl
[Anderson:] Yes, I know. We`ll get to that. I feel strongly about that one, too, but I do want to talk about John Mayer for a second more because I hope for his sake that he wants to be a little bit more sensitive so that women won`t pick up and run for the hills when they see him coming. And you know, some of our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Facebook fans agreed with us on that point. Callie from Texas wrote this on our Facebook wall, check it out. "I pick John Mayer because not only is he both the absolute worst example of a boyfriend, he`s also a big-time blabbermouth." Eugene, let me ask you this, as a guy, would you follow the John Mayer formula for being a good boyfriend?
[Ray:] Be careful.
[Eugene Ramirez, Eugeneonthescene.com:] Listen up. I`ll tell you what
[Ray:] That`s red lightly. Careful.
[Ramirez:] Girls love a bad boy. Girls love a bad boy. And we all know that`s what John Mayer is and that`s part of his appeal. He is a wolf in sheep`s clothing, and the girls are digging in. Nobody`s running away from this guy.
[Anderson:] Not to "Playboy" magazine. I guess, that`s the big difference. Not in public. I think John Mayer has potential, and he`s learning the hard way. He needs to kind of watch what he says.
[Ray:] Shut up.
[Anderson:] OK. We did also get a ton of Facebook comments about none other than LeAnn Rimes. I want to take another look at that ABC interview where LeAnn equated her affair with Eddie Cibrian to so many other people out there unhappy in their marriages. Watch.
[Rimes:] It happens every day to so many people. You had two couples whose marriages didn`t work, who really stumbled upon each other and fell in love. And never, ever, was I thinking of hurting someone.
[Anderson:] Really? Tanika, she seemed so
[Ray:] I do, but this is what happens with people when they want to justify it for themselves and they want to soothe their own guilt, they find any way they can to make it sound OK. And I think that`s what we`re dealing with right here. Remember, she`s really young. She`s emancipated from her parents really young. She married a very, very young age. So, I think her sensitivity chip is a little off kilter. And as far as we`re all concerned. It looks gross from our prospective. We don`t know what position their marriages were in when they found each other. And I`m such a fan of love. If you can find it, go for it. Just, unfortunately, people got hurt in the long run, and I think she was a little off
[Anderson:] That`s a terrible way to do it. Well, our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Facebook wall exploded with comments about LeAnn. To Grace M. wrote this on our wall. "There is no defending having an affair with a married man, especially when she is married, too. Shame on her. I thought she was better than that. I think what LeAnn did was the most shocking out of all of these, but Eugene, to the "Showbiz Flashpoint," which rocker shocked you the most?
[Ramirez:] I got to agree, LeAnn rimes. You know, this is a girl who is as American as apple pie, a country music star, she`s blonde, she`s pretty, she`s America`s sweetheart, and then not only is she unfaithful, but she`s a home wrecker, and wait, there`s more, then she didn`t discreet about it. And you know that if you`re a good American girl, you have to be discreet about your indiscretions. Something that she definitely was not to go on "Shape" magazine and go ahead and say, call yourself a husband stealer. What are you thinking? This is the definitely the most shocking rocker of them all right.
[Anderson:] Tanika, which rocker shocked you the most? Quickly.
[Ray:] A 100 percent definitely LeAnn Rimes. Here`s the thing, she got that hot man now, so, she`s like screw everybody else out there. I got myself a high hand.
[Anderson:] As we were watching Tanika kept saying, well, he is pretty hot. All right. Eugene Ramirez, Tanika Ray, thank you both.
[Hammer:] All right. I want to show you something totally shocking that happen to a rocker that was all caught on tape. We all know Usher, the smooth operator on stage, but he was no match for one fan who kicked him in the face.
[Anderson:] Shocking star splits, I`m talking Eva and Tony, Sandra Bullock leaves her no-good, cheating ex-husband, Courteney Cox and David Arquette. We are revealing the most shocking breakup and talk about shocking, watch this.
[Unidentified Female:] On the car, and there`s a huge bear just sitting in the front seat.
[Unidentified Male:] It was a big bear.
[Hammer:] Lock your doors and watch out for the car stealing bear? Wait until you hear this unbearably shocking story. Well, we all know Adam Lambert burst on to the music scene as a shocking rocker contest on "American Idol," and now he`s a major rock star selling out shows all over the world. Well, while Adam was on tour in Amsterdam, he gave fans quite the shock. He lit up on stage, and trust me, this had nothing to with Adam singing but with what he was smoking. Watch this. A shocker indeed. You are watching a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers" on HLN, news and views. I know Usher is a hit maker, but did you know he`s also a hit taker? When he was singing his hit "Trading Places" to one lucky fan, Usher may have wished he could trade places with someone else. Usher got a sweet kick in the kisser. Can you imagine? If that woman had on high heels or some of those sky high platform heels, ouch. Usher was a real good sport about the whole thing. Welcome back to the special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Brooke Anderson is in Hollywood. And right now, heartbreak in Hollywood. You know, it happens all the time. Still, there are some star couples that shock and totally blindsided us when they called it quits.
[Anderson:] Yes, A.J. from Eva Longoria and Tony Parker to Sandra Bullock and Jesse James. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is ready to reveal the most shocking split of 2010. Right now, in Hollywood is celebrity couple Giuliana and Bill Rancic. Giuliana joins us from E! where she`s the anchor and managing editor for E! News. You can watch them together on their reality show "Giuliana and Bill" on the Style Network. Our first shocking split of 2010 that I want to address is Sandra Bullock and Jesse James. Remember, just days after Sandra won the Oscar for best actress, reports of Jesse`s infidelity surfaced. Jesse later admitted in an interview. "I took a pretty amazing life and marriage, and I threw it away. The SHOWBIZ TONIGHT staff called this one of the most shocking star splits of the year, but here`s the thing, they were considered an odd couple from the get-go. So, Giuliana, why do you think their breakup was so shocking?
[Giuliana Rancic, Stars In Reality Show, "giuliana& Bill":] You`re absolutely right, though, Brooke. I mean, I think from the beginning, everyone thought this is an odd pairing. But then you thought, you know what, maybe opposites attract, and it is going to work out, and especially when you saw them at the Oscars right before the huge news broke. You saw him looking at her lovingly on the red carpet, and she delivering that speech saying he was her rock and they just seemed like this odd pair that really made it work. And then, suddenly, bam, it hit us like a ton of bricks that he was cheating on her and this whole scandal broke out. And you really had to final this one under what the heck was he thinking. He has this amazing girl.
[Anderson:] Yes. What is he thinking? Yes.
[Giuliana Rancic:] He blew it.
[Anderson:] Yes. And she is America`s sweetheart. So, I think people were shocked and really angry at him for this. But a runner-up, you guys, I got to move to this, for most shocking star split of 2010 is Eva Longoria and Tony Parker. I did not see this one coming. After three years of marriage, Eva was the first to file for divorce. Eva and Tony had a long distance relationship. She`s got a busy Hollywood career. He`s an NBA star, spends a lot of time on the road. Bill, you and Giuliana somehow have managed to successfully juggle long a long distance relationship while both being very busy, but can you see how that would test a couple like Eva and Tony?
[Bill Rancic, Stars In Reality Show, "giuliana& Bill":] Without a doubt. I mean, you know, this town is tough as it is, and both those people have busy schedules. And let`s face it, the NBA does not have the best record for having successful marriages, you know. These NBA players have a pretty tough task with the marriages. So, it`s tough, but you got to put effort in. And that`s the one thing Giuliana and I always do is, you know, we make an effort to see each other. We never go more than 4 or 5 days without seeing each other because the road can really wreak havoc on a marriage.
[Anderson:] Yes. You got to make each other a priority. OK. We got to move next to this next shocking star split, it`s Kelsey and Camille Grammer. They told it quits after 13 years of marriage. Now, I`m guessing it wasn`t part of the plan to have the end of their marriage documented in a way for the reality show, "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," but it was. Watch.
[Camille Grammer, Star Of "the Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills":] I`m an individual, and I`m not just in the shadow of Kelsey Grammer. I am my own person. I`m really upset that my husband`s leaving to go to New York for a year. It`s going to be hard.
[Anderson:] Fast forward a few months, Camille filing for divorce, Kelsey goes public with a new relationship. Giuliana, you and Bill have your own reality show. You`re doing fantastic, but do you think there is a down side for couples like Kelsey and Camille who put their relationships under the spotlight. I actually think they had other issues well before the reality show.
[Giuliana Rancic:] They certainly did. I mean, it`s kind of amazing to me they lasted that long. They lasted 13 years together. But, yes, absolutely, I think that reality show is what they do to a couple is they accelerate the process. So, I think that if you are going to eventually split up, being on a reality show can accelerate that process, and you split up sooner because you`re under this very harsh spotlight in Hollywood. So, Bill and I, what we do, honestly, is at the end of shooting, we come together and we go OK, this is the real world, that was reality TV. You know, you have to kind of get into a real space and just be a normal couple.
[Anderson:] OK. I do have to move this because this list of most shocking star splits of 2010 certainly would not be complete without mentioning Courteney Cox and David Arquette. Courteney and David announced their separation after 11 years of marriage. In a statement after their split, they said they remained best friends and still loved each other deeply. Giuliana, breakups, of course, can be amicable, but it can`t help matters when one part of the couple, David Arquette, blabs intimate details to Howard Stern, can it?
[Giuliana Rancic:] I mean, this relationship has always fascinated me, you know, the beautiful, conservative Courteney Cox and quirky, kind of odd David Arquette. So, nothing shocks me anymore. But I have to say I was surprised because, you know, it seemed like they were so off that they were actually going to work because they had lasted so long. Eleven years in Hollywood is like 70 years in the real world. So, you know, it was a little shocking that they broke up. But yes, the most shocking thing about it was the way he did blab his mouth afterwards and shared all these intimate details, which was such a no, no. And the fact that they`re over that and they`re still amicable and friends after that, really is a testament to Courteney and her patience for David Arquette.
[Anderson:] I was just going to say that. Yes. Very mature of Courteney Cox to handle it that way. You know, not only for her sake but also, I`m sure, for the sake of their child together, their lovely daughter. All right. Giuliana and Bill Rancic, thank you both. Great to see you. Moving on now to what could be the most shocking YouTube video. Check this out. Tens of millions of people have watched it. It`s called the "Bedroom Intruder Song." It`s about a guy whose sister was a victim of an attempted rape.
[Hammer:] Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith`s daughter, Willow, is a young rocker that shocked. Willow Smith may be new to music scene, but she`s showing everyone she knows how to rock and she certainly knows how to rock her hair. Watch this. You are watching a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers" on HLN, news and views.
[Anderson:] Check out this shocker at a rock concert. Grammy winner, Kings of Leon, were on stage for a big concert, but before they could really get started, a bunch of pigeons started pooping on them. Apparently, lots of pigeons enjoy the music at this venue in St. Louis, Missouri, because they hang out in the rafters above the stage. Well, this was all just too much for the Kings of Leon who later cancelled the concert. Can you blame them? The band did know about the pigeon problem, but obviously, they underestimated the power of the pigeon poop. All right. Well, from that pigeon problem to bears that break into cars? I think this qualifies as a shocker, right? A Colorado teen named Ben Story has quite a story. Ben says the bear broke into his car and took it for one wild ride. Listen to ben`s story and his family.
[Unidentified Female:] We look in the car, and there`s a huge bear just sitting in the front seat.
[Unidentified Male:] It was a big bear. And in a little car like that, it looks pretty funny. He couldn`t get out. He sure tried. There`s a peanut butter sandwich on the back seat.
[Unidentified Female:] I guess he smelled the peanut butter sandwich.
[Unidentified Male:] He has smelled something. I think that`s what it was.
[Unidentified Female:] He opened the back door and climbed right in.
[Anderson:] The bear was stuck in the car for several hours. I can tell you that the bear was safely removed to return to its home. The car was trashed, and the bear left a smelly present on the front seat.
[Hammer:] From intruding bears to a scary intruder. Antoine Dodson became an instant star to do a very unfortunate situation for him and his family. Antoine`s stunning reaction to an attempted rape of younger sister was actually auto tune and then set to music. Antoine Dodson`s "Bed Intruder Song" has been viewed over 60 million times on YouTube. That makes it the most watched YouTube video. Check it out. Shockingly good, isn`t it? Well, YouTube separated out the most watched regular video from the most watched music video. That title goes to Justin Bieber`s "Baby." No big surprise there. So, here`s another shocker for you. The second most watched regular video behind Antoine. It`s a spoof of Kesha`s "Tik Tok" by That`s pretty funny. And there were more than 50 million views for that particular video. Well, thank you for watching this very special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Rockers and Shockers." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
[Anderson:] I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
[Hammer:] Now, don`t forget, we are TV`s most provocative entertainment news show seven days a week at 11:00 p.m. eastern and pacific here on HLN.

[Jane Velez-mitchell, Host:] Tonight, it`s like something out of a horror movie. Cops say a 33-year-old woman murdered a pregnant woman a month from delivery and then stole her baby from inside her womb. What was this woman`s demented thinking, and what happened to the innocent infant? Also, it happened again: another little kid given a full-body security pat-down in an airport. This time, an 8-year-old boy on his way to his dream trip to Disneyland. I`ll talk one on one with this child`s furious mother, and the little boy himself is going to tell us about this traumatic experience. And restaurant serving booze to toddlers twice in two week, margaritas and sangria? Margaritas and sangria are not made for kids. I`ll talk with both mothers about how these shocking mistakes keep happening and who is responsible. Plus...
[Unidentified Female:] He got out and, you know, in his own mind that he would have be able to have time to save them. But unfortunately, it was too late.
[Velez-mitchell:] A mom drove herself and her four kids into the Hudson River, killing all but her heroic 10-year-old son, who managed to climb out. Now the little boy goes back to visit his family`s watery grave. I`ll show you the emotional video. ISSUES starts now.
[Unidentified Female:] I just want people to know that Jamie was a very bright, optimistic, young lady. She had a bright future ahead of her. She was robbed of motherhood.
[Unidentified Male:] Now because of this heinous crime, our son is going to have to grow up without a mother.
[Velez-mitchell:] Breaking news tonight that is right out of a horror movie. Cops say a baby is stolen, ripped right from his mother`s womb. That beautiful, young mom to be, almost 8 months pregnant, is murdered and left in the woods just off a Kentucky highway. The grim discovery came after this woman, 33-year-old Kathy Coy, walked into a hospital, carrying a newborn baby boy, and she claimed the baby was hers. But it didn`t add up. Officials just didn`t buy it. They immediately called the cops. The cops charged Kathy Coy with kidnapping and murdering a pregnant woman. Her alleged victim, 21-year-old Jamie Stice, was due to give birth May 24. Her son, who she planned to name Isaiah, miraculously survived. Cops won`t say how they think this suspect removed the baby from the mother`s womb. Here is the mother. Look at that beautiful girl, dead tonight. In fact, they won`t even confirm that the baby belonged to Jamie until the DNA comes back. That`s why the suspect is going to be arraigned, i.e. formally charged, next week. Jamie`s family says the last time they saw her, she was going to buy baby clothes with her alleged murderer. Jamie`s mother says the two met through a mutual friend and they were also friends on Facebook. And the suspect had been hanging around her daughter a whole lot in the past three weeks, pretending to be not only pregnant herself, like oh, two pregnant ladies together, but also pretending to be a caregiver from an organization that distributes diapers and bibs. So oh, I`m somebody coming bearing gifts. Meantime, a neighbor of the suspect says she chatted with Kathy Coy last week and had absolutely no reason to be suspicious of her. Listen to this.
[Darla Mueller, Neighbor Who Chatted With Suspect:] This is very shocking. She has been telling everyone that she was pregnant, and we had no reason not to believe otherwise. And I baby sit. I have children around here constantly. And this is just real scary.
[Velez-mitchell:] That same neighbor also says Kathy Coy had blond hair when she last saw her. But take a look at this mug shot. Do you see any blonde hair? No. This woman has now suddenly dyed her hair black. Hmm. Very bizarre, twisted stuff here. HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks, this is one of the sickest cases. When I read this story this morning, I really almost got ill.
[Mike Brooks, Hln Law Enforcement Analyst:] Well, I want to go back and read it again, because I said, you must be kidding me. But apparently, Wednesday afternoon, Jane, this woman, Kathy Coy, walked into a Bowling Green medical center with this baby. The hospital staff said, "Something`s not right here." They called Kentucky state police and said that they had a suspicious birth. The police came out, interviewed Coy, and as part of their investigation, led them to a wooded area not that far away, where they found the body of 21- year-old Miss Stice. Now, today, Jane, the coroner says Stice had had, excuse me, multiple homicidal sharp force injuries. Now, they won`t say much more about any of the injuries or how the child survived. But she now is charged with murder and kidnapping.
[Velez-mitchell:] Now, wait a second, Mike. Are you telling me that when you talk about sharp force injuries...
[Brooks:] Yes.
[Velez-mitchell:] I almost don`t want to say this. But are you saying that this child may have very well been cut out of this woman`s body?
[Brooks:] The coroner the coroner will not elaborate any more on the injuries. But you can kind of read into this. When he says he calls it multiple homicidal sharp force injuries. That`s what it seems like.
[Velez-mitchell:] Unbelievable. Imagine. Imagine the scene. It boggles my mind. Every time I have seen the worst crime that I can possibly handle and I go home just in a daze, wondering what is going on with the human race, something proceeds to shock me even more. A neighbor of the suspect said that she was running around pretending to be pregnant, and nobody had any reason to doubt her story about being pregnant. Because this suspect, apparently, acted like a real mommy-to-be. Listen to this.
[Mueller:] We had a yard sale, and she actually came over and purchased baby items. She actually told me that someone gave her a baby bed and purchased a baby bumper for that baby bed.
[Velez-mitchell:] Now, here`s what is really scary, Dr. Judy Kuriansky. On the suspect`s Facebook page, she claims to already have two children. Since she`s obviously a major league lunatic, I don`t know if she does have two children, but wouldn`t the normal motive for doing these kind of unbelievably mind-bogglingly vicious things be that "Oh, I could never have children, and I wanted a child of my own"?
[Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Clinical Psychologist:] That definitely sounds like something that would be practical, but actually, sometimes these women who do this, because there have been other cases, do have other children. They feel unfulfilled. They feel empty. Some of it, at times is a cultural thing that you must, for a woman, you must be pregnant. But clearly, this these women are con artists, because they take a long time in planning this. They cozy up to the women. They pretend that they`re a nurse. They pretend that they`re a friend, as we see in this case, and it is very heinous. They are psychopathic murderers, too, as you can tell now. The coroner hasn`t said how they do this, but I`ll tell you from other cases they use box cutters. This is horrific. I`m sorry to say this. They use knifes. They use scissors, sometimes, to perform caesareans to take that baby out. And so they are vicious murderers.
[Velez-mitchell:] Unbelievable. Now, this is not, as you just heard from Dr. Judy, the first horrific case we`ve heard about where a woman murders or allegedly murders a mother to be and steals the baby from the womb. But of course, we are all asking how could anybody even comprehend the idea of this, much less carrying it out? Here`s my big issue. Are these women insane or are they just evil? There is such a thing as evil in this world. Let`s check out these old cases. Veronica Deramous pleaded guilty to first-degree assault after she kidnapped a pregnant homeless woman and used box cutters to cut out the homeless woman`s baby, right out of her stomach. Likewise, Peggy Jo Conner hit a woman with a baseball bat, kidnapped her, and tried to cut the unborn baby from the victim`s womb as she pleaded guilty, as well. In both of these cases, we are happy to say the mothers and the child survived. But in this case, Mark Eiglarsh, criminal defense attorney, the mother was found murdered in the woods off a road in Kentucky. What, when this woman is formally arraigned on Tuesday, is she likely to face in terms of formal charges?
[Mark Eiglarsh, Criminal Defense Attorney:] No question it would be first-degree murder. But here`s the question, Jane. There`s no question that, based on the facts, it looks like she was involved, but what we`re missing right now is any forensics that ties her to the body. We`re missing eyewitnesses. We`re missing any statements. In fact, her statement was, as bizarre as it might be, that someone gave her the child. The question is, what ties her to the actual homicide? Right now, legally we`re not talking about common sense or what people might infer. But legally, there would not be enough to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. There`s certainly going to be more that we`re going to hear about and it`s probably enough to prosecute or charge her charge her with murder.
[Velez-mitchell:] Look at that face. Look at that face right there.
[Eiglarsh:] That face doesn`t do it.
[Velez-mitchell:] The baby`s father is devastated, obviously, about the murder of the mother of his child. He spoke about his son. Listen to what he had to say.
[James Reynolds, Child`s Father:] When he first got there, he was not too good of a shape, but the great people there were able to nurse him back, and he`s doing pretty good right now.
[Velez-mitchell:] I can`t imagine how this father`s ever going to, one day when the child is older, discuss how he came into this world in the process of the act, it would seem, of murder. Thank you, fantastic panel. Again, absolutely boggles my mind what people are capable of. Mother drives a minivan speaking of unbelievable acts, a mother drives a minivan into the river, killing herself and her three kids. And now the one son who survived through heroic action visits the watery grave. You`ll see the video next. But, first, another kid gets a full-body pat-down at the airport. I`m going to talk to this little boy and his livid, furious outraged mother in an ISSUES primetime exclusive coming up.
[Daniel Amos, Traveler:] During these times, they have to do that because some people do use their children in a way that is horrible.
[Spencer Sheahan, Patted Down By Tsa:] I was confused. I did not know anything what they were going to do to me.
[Velez-mitchell:] Little did that handsome young man know that his trip to Disneyland also included a full TSA body pat-down at the airport. Surprise: tonight the boy`s mother is outraged that her child was subjected to such an invasive search going through airport security. And tonight, in an ISSUES primetime exclusive, Heather Sheahan and her very handsome 8-year-old son, Spencer, join us to tell us about their ordeal live in just a moment. Spencer is the young man who had the captain`s shirt on there. Spencer was singled out for a pat-down at the Portland airport. His mom was so appalled by this, she took out the camera and started taking some photos. Smart, fast thinking, mom. She says her mom was scared to death, that the little boy thought he was in big trouble. Look at the size of this guy, who`s patting him down. OK? That`s kind of scary right there. I mean, that`s a big guy coming at you with gloves and saying, "I`m going to pat you down." He thought maybe, "Oh, my gosh, I might not be going to Disneyland. I`m in trouble." That wasn`t the worst of it. Listen to this.
[Heather Sheahan, Spencer`s Mom:] They went up his leg into that area, down the next leg, up here, felt all over.
[Velez-mitchell:] Spencer joins the likes of this little girl who got the same treatment at the New Orleans airport very recently. Her parents were so outraged they took some video and posted it on YouTube. Look at this, patting down her little bottom. It`s safe to say, both children were traumatized by these body searches. And their parents say it`s too much. There should be a different set of rules for kids. What do you think? Straight out to Heather Sheahan and like I said, her very handsome, dashing son Spencer. Heather, I want to start with you. Describe what happened. You`re going through airport security. You`re on the way to Disneyland. You`re excited; you`re happy. What happened?
[H. Sheahan:] Well, we were going through, and everything was going just fine. It was normal. And I had already gone through. And next thing you know, it was Spencer`s turn to go, and he came through, and it was a beep that sounded. It wasn`t like a beep that he had metal on him. It was more like a beep that I had never heard before. And the next thing you know, the TSA official took him by his shoulders and pushed him into this glass room and said that he was randomly chosen for additional screening. This glass room had three walls in it. I was separated from him, and I was trying to reassure him because he was near tears. He was almost crying and looking at me, like, "Are they going to let me on the plane? What`s going on?" And I said, "Honey, it`s OK. Just try and stay calm." And then he was brought out to be searched, and the gentleman, the TSA official, put on his rubber gloves and started the pat-down, almost like a criminal like a police officer would frisk a criminal. He was very nice, but and doing his job, but there`s got to be a better way.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes, I mean, there it would seem that that could be very, very frightening to a youngster, especially this whole idea of "Am I in trouble?" So I want to ask you Spencer, when this big man came up to you and started putting on had his gloves and started patting you down, what were you thinking? What did you think was going on, Spencer?
[S. Sheahan:] I was thinking that he was going to check, like, something like my pockets and shoes, so right then I had a feeling that I don`t think I`m quite going to be on a plane. I felt like I`m in trouble or am I this is funny. I think, because I know this, because they`re go to check my pockets but it turns out, that was all wrong. He actually did a pat-down.
[Velez-mitchell:] Now do you know what a pat-down is and why they do it?
[S. Sheahan:] Yes. Because you might have metal.
[Velez-mitchell:] What, honey?
[S. Sheahan:] Because they might you might have metal. You might be carrying metal.
[Velez-mitchell:] Metal. Yes. Very good. Very good. Well, I`ve got to say, you have a wonderful and articulate son, and I think that he`s come through this with flying colors. But I could still see how he might be scared. Did you want your mommy? When that man was patting you down, did you feel scared? Did you say, "I want my mommy?"
[S. Sheahan:] No, I felt a little frustrated, and I wanted my mom. But it tickled, too.
[Velez-mitchell:] It tickled a little bit. How cute. Now, let me ask you, Heather, were you kind of traumatized and saying, "I want to be with his son. I don`t want him to get this wall and separated from him. I want to be able to hold his hand or something"?
[H. Sheahan:] Yes. I was very concerned for him, especially when he was in the glass house, as you would call it, and then when they walked him out and I asked if I could take pictures, and the said I could. But the most traumatizing part about it was when we walked away, he asked, "Mommy, do they think I`m a bad guy?" And I`m said, "Oh, no, honey." I said, "You`re not a bad guy." And I told him, "You were just special, and they picked you to do that."
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Great parenting. Great talking to you.
[H. Sheahan:] Thank you.
[Velez-mitchell:] Thank you.

[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Hello everyone. I am John Berman in for Ashleigh Banfield today. And from Capitol Hill to the courthouse and maybe to prison Jesse Jackson Jr. is not the first law maker to make this journey but he's the one pleading guilty as we speak. No bail yet for the blade runner but the defense scores some points as new details emerge from the death of his model girlfriend. This used to be the place to see and be seen in Kansas City. Today it is a smoldering ruin and a woman is still unaccounted for. But we begin at this hour at the D.C. courthouse where Jesse Jackson, Jr., son of the civil rights icon, former Democratic congressman from Chicago is pleading guilty to skimming actually, make that shoveling money from his campaign coffers for personal luxuries. We're talking $43,000 for a Rolex watch, another five grand for furs and cashmere clothing, eight grand for two hats once owned by Michael Jackson, almost $10,000 for children's furniture, five more for a football autographed by U.S. presidents. That's a lot of money, $750,000 in all illegally diverted and due to be paid back. And you know what? That's not all. CNN's Lisa Sylvester is outside the courthouse. We're not just talking money, Lisa, here. We're talking about the possibility of jail time.
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Yeah, that's right, John. In fact, the proceedings are still going on as we speak. I just came out minutes ago. They are all inside the courthouse. He is in the process right now of pleading guilty. He faces one charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements. That carries a maximum of up to five years in prison and also a $250,000 fine. And I can give you kind of a sense of what is going on right now in the courthouse. First of all, his father, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Jr., is also in the courthouse, also arrived today. His wife who is also facing charges for filing a false tax return, she has her own separate hearing this afternoon, but she is also in the courthouse as well as Judy Smith. And this is a name that is quite familiar here in Washington. She's the crisis manager, famous for cases like the Monica Lewinsky case, many famous cases where, essentially, she comes in and helps the defense. So, we're going to see what happens as far as how much time he actually ends up getting. It's going to be ultimately up to the judge. But the judge did he came in. He was sworn in, so all of this was under oath. And the judge wanted to get a sense of his state of mind. He asked him questions, for instance, have you been seen by a doctor, which, as we do know that Jesse Jackson, Jr., has been seen by a psychiatrist. And, so, they went through this whole process essentially to get to his state of mind. He acknowledged he was fully aware of what he was doing, fully aware of the court proceedings. And from here we're going to continue on and see what happens next. Another interesting little tidbit I can tell you, John, is during the court proceeding which lasted about 20 minutes before I had to come out here, so it is, as I said, still ongoing, but there was at least four times during those 20 minutes where Jesse Jackson, Jr., looked back and it looked like he was looking directly at his father, at one point even giving a little, small smile to his father. So, we're going to see how this looks at the end of the day. It's not clear if the judge is going to sentence him today. Typically, the judge will take a few days. And like I said, Jesse Jackson's wife will be back here in the courtroom for her own proceeding around 2:30 Eastern time, John.
[Berman:] You brought up Jesse Jackson, Jr., the congressman's state of mind. Of course, he took a very long leave of absence for what he called bipolar disorder. And then he ran for re-election. He won, but then he quit two weeks later. This has been quite a year for Jesse Jackson.
[Sylvester:] Really. And it's been more than just a year. You know, if you look back it was actually remember the Blagojevich, the whole scandal of whether or not the seat, the Senate seat that was vacated by then-Senator President Obama. So, he was wrapped up in the investigators first started looking at Jesse Jackson, Jr., related to that and then, from that, came this broader investigation that led to the misuse of campaign funds which is why we are here and where we are at today, John.
[Berman:] This seems to be the end of the story in some ways. Lisa Sylvester in Washington for us today, thanks very much. We're going to talk about this case with our legal experts, Carrie Hackett and Darren Kavinoky, later this half-hour. Meanwhile, a massive explosion blows the roof off a popular Kansas City restaurant during happy hour. At least 15 people were hurt, and this morning the search is on for one person still believed to be missing, a woman who worked there. Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] The explosion, which witnesses say could be felt blocks away, instantly engulfed J.J.'s restaurant, sending debris, including glass and bricks, flying through the air. Flames towered into the sky and black smoke could be seen for miles.
[Beth Shelly, Witness:] We just live two blocks down and we just felt our building shake and we thought that a car had really ran into our apartment.
[Rowlands:] There were reports of the smell of gas an hour before the explosion. Fortunately, several people inside the restaurant were evacuated just minutes before the blast. The cause is still under investigation, but according to the gas company, a contractor doing underground work may have struck a natural gas line. After the fire was put out, dogs were brought in, in case there were additional victims.
[Chief Paul Berardi, Kansas City Fire Department:] I would always fear there are fatalities in a situation like this. When we got to the scene, we had a fully involved restaurant that had patrons, probably several patrons, inside at the time of the incident, and so that's why we're here searching as we are.
[Rowlands:] The injured ranged from people who were hit by flying debris to those who suffered severe burns and are now fighting for their lives. And, John, this morning, as you mentioned, they continue to search for this female employee who is still missing. They are moving some material away from the scene. You can see them up in that cherry picker there, getting an observation, a high-look at the area, and then they're doing to bring in some cadaver dogs once they've cleared some debris searching for this woman's remains.
[Berman:] Ted, they're just extraordinary pictures of the flames. It was so hot they had to call off the search at one point overnight?
[Rowlands:] They did. Because they first searched the perimeter of the area and what they could on the actual ground of the what was left of the restaurant. They said, as it became dark, it became too dangerous to have the dogs there, so they suspended the search until this morning when the sun came up and now they're back at it.
[Berman:] All right, Ted Rowlands, thanks for that, in Kansas City for us today. Meanwhile, gas prices are up for the 34th day in a row. The new national average is $3.77 for a gallon of regular unleaded. Analysts say there is no relief in sight, higher oil prices, refinery closings and optimism about the global economy, all helping to push those prices up. China's military says it did not carry out cyber-attacks against the United States. The denial comes a day after a Virginia cyber-security firm released a report about a hacking collective it claims has ties to the Chinese military. So, it claims this non-descript building in Shanghai is the home to some of those operations. This is what happened when a CNN camera crew tried to get some shots of that building, chased away by security guards. Interesting, to say the at least. One of the pope's final acts could be changing the rules on succession. A spokesman says Pope Benedict is considering a change in the Vatican constitution to allow cardinals to vote for his replacement sooner than March 15th. The pope is stepping down at the end of this month. So, hardcore gamers, listen up. You probably already know what's coming. Sony unveils the Playstation 4 today. It has been more than six years since Sony debuted the groundbreaking PS 3. You know, since then, the company's been losing market share to competitors. The PS 4 reportedly will stream games, online. All right, you have to get ready for another blast of wintry weather. Snow and ice are accumulating right now from California all the way to Wisconsin. By the time its over, the Plains could see up to a foot of fresh snow. Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center. He has the latest. Chad, we've been talking about a lot of snow lately. Anyone talking about the "B" word, blizzard, this time?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Not yet, but I think it's certainly going to be there. There will certainly be blizzard conditions. We just don't have warnings out there just yet. We're going to have a lot of snow on the ground. Winds are going to be blowing 30-, 40-miles-per-hour, so ground blizzards, very low visibility, I-70, I-80, I-35, maybe even 29 and 25 here in the Plains. A lot of snow coming down from Salina back toward Goodland. This entire pink zone right through there, that is a foot of snow or more and, to the south of here into Arkansas and parts of Oklahoma, we will have a pretty significant ice storm, as well. The triple threat, the third part of this threat, is the chance of severe weather. This happens in the winter-time. We're almost we're moving into spring. You have spring-type weather on the south side of the storm and blizzard-like weather on the north side. That's just how it happens. It's warming up down here. We're already getting into February, almost into March. That severe weather starts to pump up. The warm air starts to come in from the south as the cold low comes in, snow on one side, severe weather on the other. We'll watch the severe weather for you. Even for tomorrow, there may be a few tornadoes in the forecast, John.
[Berman:] We will keep watching. Moving into spring, Chad, we will have to take your word for that. Chad Myers, thanks very much.
[Myers:] You're welcome.
[Berman:] New revelations in the Oscar Pistorius hearing, information the defense says will prove the "Blade Runner" acted in self-defense, so will he get bail? We'll have that in just a moment.

[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn:] Hello again, everyone, I'm Christiane Amanpour, and welcome to the weekend edition of our program. It's a week that's been dominated by the tragic and violent events shaking the Arab world following the release of an obscure film that was made here in America. Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, called that film disgusting and reprehensible. Nonetheless, she said, the violence that it triggered was totally unjustified. The attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, left four Americans dead, including Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador, who had dedicated his life to building a free and democratic Libya. As the violence and the protests escalated, scores of people have been injured and there have been deaths reported in Yemen and in Lebanon. On the fourth day of protests, attacks spread to other Western targets. In Sudan, the British embassy was attacked and the German embassy was set on fire. The violent protests first broke out in Egypt on Tuesday night, and many in the U.S. asked whether the country's new government had done enough to condemn the attacks. But the week ended with all these governments in the region condemning the attacks and reaffirming their relations and responsibilities to the United States. After a phone conversation with President Obama, the Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, made his first public comments about these protests while he was on a trip to Brussels.
[Mohammed Morsi, President Of Egypt:] Those who made up their small movie that defames the prophet, we condemn strongly that. We assured President Obama that we will be keen and we will not permit any such event, any such occurrence in our country against the embassies present in our territories.
[Amanpour:] With me to discuss all this is Tariq Ramadan, Islamic scholar and author of "Islam and the Arab Awakening." Tariq, I'm going to get to you in just a moment. But first, I want to turn to Jihad Haddad in Cairo. He's senior adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party. Mr. Haddad, thank you for being with me again. Let me get to you straightaway about the protests and what we can expect from the Egyptian authorities. We've got live pictures. They're still carrying on. What is the aim of the Egyptian government and security personnel regarding these protests?
[Jihad Haddad, Sr. Adviser., Muslim Brotherhood:] I think the aim is clear and as President Morsi reiterated it, it's to protect the embassies, the vicinities, the physical building and the staff. I think that the police force on the ground has been up considerably since the past two days. They are being they are escalating in numbers in order to counter these violent actions that are happening. And I think that if they keep this going and if all embassy staff and buildings remain safe, they should be in the clear.
[Amanpour:] I can hear a little bit of what sounds to me like perhaps gunfire or rubber bullets; I'm not sure whether I'm accurate. But clearly it's still tense and there is a big protest planned for Friday by the Muslim Brotherhood. What is the purpose of that? Could that not inflame the situation?
[Haddad:] Certainly. Well, the situation started in flames since that movie reached the Arab public opinion and the Arab mass media, which is unfortunate that it did, because it strikes a lot of anger. Now the problem is it has already ignited in flames. These flames, when they started with the angry mob protests on last Tuesday, which the Muslim Brotherhood did not either participate with in the beginning or the end, they resulted in vandalism and violent action, which we all condemned. Thus, the Muslim Brotherhood is resetting the scene and getting the proper direction of how Egyptians should express their anger within a peaceful context that does not abuse international law and that protects the- and that or protects the laws of civil, peaceful expression of opinion. And thus, the marches that were called for and the demonstrations by the Muslim Brotherhood will happen tomorrow, Friday, distributed across all mosques in Egypt, much more controlled and peaceful in nature, because this is a slogan that we never jeopardize.
[Amanpour:] And as we still hear that gunshot, I mean, I know you're talking to me and you probably don't know what's going on, but if you do, let me know. I want to ask you what about this
[Haddad:] I can explain to you what's going on now, if you need to.
[Amanpour:] Yes, go ahead.
[Haddad:] Well, at the moment, there's between 100 and 500 scattered individuals, unrelated to any of the political parties or social grassroots movement in Egypt. They are currently throwing stones, throwing the smoke bombs back at the police forces and trying to penetrate the barricade leading into the U.S. embassy. What we don't know is their motives. They're the Egyptian authorities have arrested six individuals last Tuesday, but no details have been released about who they are or what how they're related to it. But what we understand is that they were part of the vandalism that happened at the U.S. embassy. And I think that they made sure that these protesters did not penetrate the barricades and they should be investigated afterwards and how this escalated to this level, we should be able to give a clearer picture on the motivations that escalated this from a peaceful demonstration into such violent and vandalism actions.
[Amanpour:] Well, we will we'll go to you, hopefully, when you know more about what motivated them. But let me ask you, finally, this business about whether Egypt is an ally or not, you heard me say the White House told me that this does not signify a change in U.S. policy. Does the does Egypt worry about whether the United States is going to, I don't know, downgrade relations?
[Haddad:] Well, I think that the effort, the very positive effort that has been pushed in the past couple of months between U.S. diplomats and Egyptian diplomats on rebuilding and redefining the U.S.-Egyptian relationship is working in the right direction. It's very unfortunate that all of these events happened specifically on the night of 911, which is very symbolic in its nature, and also specifically after the leave of the delegation of the United States businessmen. Unfortunately, all of these accumulation of events have, let's say, destabilized the image of Egypt in the international world's eye. But we also, as much as we understand President Obama's comments in their own context as he stated, I think that the understanding also extends to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Freedom and Justice Party's comments in the context of Egypt. And we cannot let any type of lunatic individuals on one side or angry mobs that turn into violent, active mobs dictate how the strategic relationship between two very significant countries in the world, like Egypt and the U.S. define it.
[Amanpour:] Jihad Haddad, that was a very strong affirmation of what you hope will happen. You've certainly got your work cut out for you and we'll be watching closely. Thank you very much for joining me. And I want to turn now to Islamic scholar, Tariq Ramadan, as I said, author of the book, "Islam and the Arab Awakening." You've heard all that's going on. You've heard what the United States has said, too; this has got nothing to do with the U.S. government. Actually, I just want to play what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today about this movie.
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] To us, to me, personally, this video is disgusting and reprehensible. It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose, to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage. But as I said yesterday, there is no justification, none at all, for responding to this video with violence. We condemn the violence that has resulted in the strongest terms. And we greatly appreciate that many Muslims in the United States and around the world have spoken out on this issue.
[Amanpour:] It's categoric. There's no room for wiggle there. She's very, very strong about denouncing this video and denouncing the violence. Is this situation that has erupted now going to put the Arab Spring and the United States on a on a difficult path? Is it derailing the Arab Spring?
[Tariq Ramadan, Islamic Scholar And Author:] You know, I am not always in agreement with American policies. But I should say that what I heard from Hillary Clinton on this is clear and this is exactly the right position. Has nothing to do with their American administration and nothing can justify what we are seeing in Libya or in Egypt. And we have to condemn this. And it's very important for us as Muslim scholars and intellectuals to be clear, that there is an accepted diversity in Islam, but there are things anti-Islamic. And this is not acceptable to start with. The second point is, yes. We can see people nurturing this and pushing in that direction. And we see that, at the beginning, the people who were demonstrating were mainly Salafis. And we know now the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt are in a kind of a competition as to the religious credibility. Are we or is the West or are we more Islam? The Salafi are pushing. They are pushing in Egypt. They are pushing in Libya. They are pushing in Tunisia. And this is what I'm trying to explain in the books. One of the main challenges for the Muslims is really this internal discussion. So if now we have these groups pushing, and it's out of control, because now we don't have the Salafi. We have people who are coming, young people, they are coming. And they want to show that we are against the West. We are against the Americans. And it could be out of control and change the whole thing. The answer to this, as to the Arab awakening, is to say, don't confuse these people with millions of Muslims, not only many millions of Muslims, who took into the street peacefully, non-violently, against dictatorships. And they are Muslims, and this is a stand.
[Amanpour:] Absolutely. But how to your point about this challenge of this internal war, if you like, how will these millions, who demonstrated peacefully for democracy, and how will the governments that have come out of that, rein in the hardliners? Or is it a perpetual struggle? They don't want democracy. They don't really want what these governments are [inaudible].
[Ramadan:] This is very important, and this is why, for example, when dealing with all this and trying to understand what was happening, and trying to come with the current challenges after the uprisings and after the dictators were removed, as we are now, what I'm trying to study in the book and coming to the point here, is really to say, OK. What are the challenges? One of the challenges is really this relationship between the Salafi that were yesterday not involved in politics and over the last three years, now we want we see them involved in democratic process, has been now in Egypt, in the in Tunisia. It's very important for the Muslims here to clear this, to take strong position, not to enter into a position. This is why I can't understand what is said about, you know, having a demonstration today, led by the Muslim Brotherhood. I don't think it's the time. It's a message that it sent to the Salafi by saying we also care about Islam. But it's very sensitive
[Amanpour:] But they say they're trying to take ownership of these demonstrations, and leach out the violence.
[Ramadan:] But
[Amanpour:] But let me just ask you
[Ramadan:] that's very difficult.
[Amanpour:] we should say you're no ordinary scholar or intellectual. Your grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood, you know, defied so many expectations by basically coming into power around the Arab world right now. There are constitutions that are going to be written. Is the Muslim Brotherhood going to be the face of democracy that you can live with, that we can live with, that the majority of people in the Arab world can live with?
[Ramadan:] Once again, we have to look at what happened over the last 50 years. They have a bold and now they are saying that we are we want to promote a civil state. We want rule of law and all this. Ten years ago when Erdogan came to power, many people
[Amanpour:] The prime minister of Turkey.
[Ramadan:] many people were asking the same question. And we saw that he was dealing with the secular system and promoting now something which is mainly accepted by the world, even though it's not
[Amanpour:] So you're saying Egypt could be a Turkey?
[Ramadan:] Egypt could be Egypt and with the Muslim Brotherhood, it could be a democracy. Now what we want to see is the true challenges. I don't care myself about, you know, Islamists telling me a civil state. What I want to know now, what how which type of Islamic preference are we going to have? Which kind of transparent democratic processes are we going to have? What are we going to do for education? And the main question is about education, job market, unemployment. It's not about these very silly, superficial discussions that we have between the secularists and the Islamists. It's deeper than that. It's political and economic policies that have to be [inaudible].
[Amanpour:] How do you see it playing out, briefly?
[Ramadan:] So far, I'm not very happy; I think that we are very far. Me, exactly with what we are seeing now, and this is why, from the very beginning, when I was talking about the Arab awakening, I was saying we have to be cautiously optimistic. This is what could happen when, you know, we have this kind of polarization. Let us hope that coming from Egypt, coming from Libya and Tunisia, we have a political vision which is transnational, promoting democracy, but also referring to Islam in an open way.
[Amanpour:] Tariq Ramadan, thank you so much for being here.
[Ramadan:] Thanks a lot.
[Amanpour:] And when we come, the U.S. and its allies help Libya throw off 40 years of dictatorship, from the top reaches of government to the people on the street today, tears and apologies to the United States for the death of a beloved diplomat. But will this violence affect U.S. relations in the post-Arab Spring? Our panel of experts weighs in. Welcome back to the program, where we've been talking about how this week has become a seminal moment for the emerging Arab democracies, how those mostly moderate governments and also the United States and the West can deal with extremist Islamist minorities. It's a question being posed from Egypt to Libya and, indeed, across the Arab world. This week, I spoke to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, author of "Moving the Mountain: Beyond Ground Zero to a New Vision of Islam in America;" and Jamie Rubin, former assistant secretary of state under President Clinton, and also my husband. Thank you both for being here. Let me ask you this question that all Americans want to know, and obviously people in the region as well. This attack, does this mean that the Arab Spring, its fundamentals are in jeopardy? Could it subvert what happened?
[James Rubin, Former Assistant Secretary Of State:] I don't think so. I think it's a major blow to the American diplomatic community. There hasn't been an assassination of an American ambassador in some 40 years like this, particularly this individual who really was someone associated with the uprising in Libya, was a great friend of the rebels in their early days. And the making of him as ambassador was the crowning moment for the U.S.-Libyan relationship. I hope and expect that, because of his commitment to the U.S.-Libyan relationship, that there will be a pause before Americans, American officials, American political figures somehow throw the Libyan success of overthrowing Gadhafi out with the bathwater of this terrible event.
[Amanpour:] So you have better sources than me. What do you make of these reports that are coming into CNN, that it wasn't necessarily a spontaneous protest launched by the anti-Islamic film, but that it was planned and that it could have been by an offshoot of Al Qaeda, and it was really a call from the second in command of Al Qaeda?
[Rubin:] I from my understanding, I have spoken to someone who would know; we don't yet have evidence that this is connected to the protests about the film in the United States. The real Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, the real Al Qaeda affiliate in Algeria and in Mali and in this area is not believed to be part of this. But there are small pockets of extremist groups in this part of Libya. And in a sense the fact that the embassy the consulate really wasn't a fortified compound and the fact that this was an RPG suggests that this wasn't a subject of elaborate planning with a massive explosive, but rather a target of opportunity, where a rather limited defended building was hit by the kind of weaponry that is now rife throughout Libya.
[Amanpour:] But let me ask you, then, because obviously what happened in Egypt, it's a very strange series of coincidences. In Egypt, you had these protests about this film, that is, by admission of the filmmaker himself, designed to be inflammatory, it's condemning Islam and it's mocking Islam. What is happening in the United States and what should happen in the United States in terms of trying to put a stop to that? Or can it be such a thing?
[Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Founder, Cordoba House:] Well, this is why I've said repeatedly that the real battlefront is not between America and Islam or Muslims and Christians, Muslims and Jews, but between the all of the moderate, justice-loving people, the good people, devout people against all the extremists, because we have extremists in all in all religions, and even atheists as well. And what happens that when an extremist commits an act, it fuels this kind of a response. And you have this vicious circle. So we, the moderates of all faith traditions, have to band together to coalesce together, build powerful coalitions on all fronts, governments, civil society, et cetera, to combat and stand as one against the extremists of all faith traditions. This is a this is the most powerful way to go forward. I also want to point out to those who claim to that all this is done in the name of Islam, that Islam is very explicit. The Koran states explicitly that no soul shall be responsible for the sins or the crimes of another. And while this film is indeed offensive, and those who have done this have done this deliberately to offend Muslims, we should not kill innocent people. And the majority of Arabs and Muslims in the world are grateful. As you know, we had the ambassador, we have an ambassador say how the government, the Libyan people are grateful to America for having gotten rid of Moammar Gadhafi, having gotten rid of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. And for these images to me as an American, as an American Muslim, of our embassy and our flag being desecrated is just the wrong message that we have to send.
[Amanpour:] Secretary Clinton was very strong in her condemnation, as you said; no justification for this kind of violence whatsoever. And President Obama also talked about America as a land of tolerance. Let's play what he just said.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence none. The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts.
[Amanpour:] So we sort of
[Rauf:] Another point that I could say, Christiane, you know, for those Muslims, when attempts like this are made to make us angry and provoke us, that's exactly what these extremists want. So
[Amanpour:] Plays into their hands.
[Rauf:] You're playing right into their hands by getting angry. The right response as a Muslim is to ignore them, to ignore these provocations. And the Koran says, whoever tries to wrong you, the best response is to respond by a good action.
[Amanpour:] Jamie, obviously what's come out of Libya and Egypt and elsewhere has been a pleasant surprise in terms of the democracy, in terms of the elections; by and large, they've been called free and fair. They were more successful than anybody hoped for in Libya; they've brought moderates to power, the same in Egypt and in Tunisia. But there are these groups of Salafis. There are these radicals who don't want this Arab Spring to emerge democratically. What can be done, if anything, to neutralize them? These are the people who are fanning all these flames.
[Rubin:] Well, ultimately, the United States has limited influence over the political debate within these countries. But we can help on the margins and we can certainly support those who believe in what we just heard, and that is that in Libya, we need to work more closely, perhaps with support that we haven't provided before to the Libyan government, who really are our friends. And I really suspect are really frankly not only embarrassed but horrified that their friend, Ambassador Chris, their the person who was with them at the most difficult moments has somehow now is dead.
[Amanpour:] From the U.S. point of view, we've got all sorts of statistics of Islamophobia that's on the rise in this country, unprecedented number of attacks, for instance, during the recent season of Ramadan here in the United States. Does the United States also have to combat the extremism here?
[Rubin:] Well, of course, I mean, we are a country where the word tolerance is built deeply into our system, and we have to make that true, both through law enforcement, through education, through we can defend somebody's right to speak, but that doesn't mean we can't condemn what they say. And we have to be very, very clear on that. And we can't let the Arab Spring be hijacked by the extremists and remember that it's a good news story, positive development for the people of the Middle East.
[Amanpour:] On that note, Imam Feisal, Jamie, thank you very much indeed. And when we come back, more on those American diplomats who were caught in the crossfire between reprehensible prejudice and inexcusable violence. One of them, a fallen warrior in the fight for religious tolerance. We'll explain when we come back. And as we leave you, this final thought, imagine a world where a warrior against religious intolerance gives his life in that struggle. Since Wednesday's attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, most of the world's attention has been focused on U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and information officer Sean Smith. Now another of the four victims has become known. His name is Glen Doherty, a former U.S. Navy SEAL. He was part of the security detail that was protecting Ambassador Stevens. He was also an advocate for religious tolerance within the United States Armed Forces as an adviser to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. He and the others were caught between two extremes, the film that Hillary Clinton and many others have called disgusting and reprehensible, and the violent, inexcusable reaction that followed, which she and many others have condemned with equal fervor. As we remember the dead, the struggle for understanding among all religious goes on. That's it for our program. Thank you for watching and goodbye from New York. END

[Kathleen Parker, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening. I'm Kathleen Parker.
[Eliot Spitzer, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Eliot Spitzer. Welcome to the program. Tonight, we begin with an exclusive. CNN's Jim Acosta has the first interview with Christine O'Donnell, the controversial Republican running for the U.S. Senate seat in Delaware, first interview she has done in quite some time.
[Parker:] O'Donnell, of course, is famously known for having dabbled in witchcraft as a much younger woman. And Jim Acosta asked her all about that, Sarah Palin, Obamacare, you name it. Let's take a look.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Your latest ad says, "I'm you."
[Christine O'donnell , Delaware Senatorial Candidate:] Right.
[Acosta:] It's as if you're trying to reintroduce yourself to voters.
[O'donnell:] Yes. Yes.
[Acosta:] Why is that? Is that what you're trying to do?
[O'donnell:] Absolutely. My goal has been, since the primary, to go out and meet as many voters as possible, so that they can get to know me and I can get to know them. I have got to hear what's on their minds, so that I can know how I can help in Washington, D.C. My goal, my whole candidacy is about putting the political process back into the hands of the people. I'm not a career politician. I'm not someone who's been groomed by groomed for office. I'm not someone who's been handpicked by her party elite, by the party bosses, obviously.
[Acosta:] Right.
[O'donnell:] I'm an average American citizen. I'm an average Delawarean. I want to go to Washington, D.C., and do what most Delawareans would do. I would not have voted for Obamacare. I would not have voted for the bailouts. I would not have voted for more of the spending bills that are putting us into bankruptcy. And neither would you.
[Acosta:] Right.
[O'donnell:] That's what my message "I'm you" means. I want to do what you would do in Washington,
[D.c. Acosta:] Let me ask you one more thing about these video clips that have surfaced. Have you been embarrassed by those clips?
[O'donnell:] No, I haven't been embarrassed. And I'm not saying that I'm proud. It's you know, obviously, what they're trying to do is paint a picture of who I was 20 years ago. You know, I I have matured in my faith. I have matured in my policies. Today, you have a forty- something woman running for office, not a 20-year-old. So, that's a big difference.
[Acosta:] You said last night at your event that you would vote to extend the Bush tax cuts. Now, I have covered a lot of Tea Party rallies, and they're all about cutting the deficit. How do you extend the Bush tax cuts and cut the deficit at the same time, because the experts say it's impossible?
[O'donnell:] It is not impossible. First of all, any time taxes have decreased, revenue has increased, because what you're doing is, you're putting money back into the private citizens, who then go start businesses and create jobs based on the private sector, not government spending. They go spend that money on those new businesses that are starting. So, it happened under Kennedy. It happened under Reagan. When you decrease taxes, revenues increase.
[Acosta:] Should creationism be taught in public schools?
[O'donnell:] That doesn't have anything to do with what I will do in Congress.
[Acosta:] But do you think that it should be taught in public schools?
[O'donnell:] That has nothing to do with what I would do in Congress. My opinion on that is irrelevant.
[Acosta:] Let me ask you about Afghanistan, the president's timetable for withdrawal. A good idea or a bad idea?
[O'donnell:] We need to make our foreign policy decisions based on their effectiveness, not based on time. So we need to be looking we need to take a serious look at what's going on over there, and before we make any decisions, we need to examine whether or not it's weakening our own security.
[Acosta:] Is is Sarah Palin qualified to be president?
[O'donnell:] Is she running for president?
[Acosta:] I don't know. You tell me.
[O'donnell:] Well, again, hypotheticals. I don't know if she's...
[Acosta:] I have heard you talk on the phone with her. Does she advise your campaign?
[O'donnell:] She does not advise our campaign.
[Acosta:] Does she give you advice?
[O'donnell:] She gives me "You go, girl" advice. "Don't listen to them." If any anyone really..
[Acosta:] Does she really tell you to speak through Fox News?
[O'donnell:] Well, I heard that through she didn't tell me personally...
[Acosta:] OK.
[O'donnell:] but I heard her say something like that on "O'Reilly," you know, because, you know, if anyone knows about the politics of personal destruction, it's it's women candidates, women politicians like Sarah Palin.
[Acosta:] If the Republicans take the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or Jim DeMint?
[O'donnell:] I don't know yet, because what I would need to what I would need to see is Jim DeMint running?
[Acosta:] You tell me.
[O'donnell:] I honestly don't know. I I love Senator DeMint. I love what he does. He's a you know, he's a principled man. But what I have said, when people have asked me who I would support in leadership, I don't know that as an outside outsider right now I am a candidate, not a U.S. senator.
[Acosta:] Is the unemployment...
[O'donnell:] Senator DeMint...
[Acosta:] Is the unemployment problem in this country Barack Obama's fault or George Bush's fault?
[O'donnell:] It's a combination of politicians in Washington losing their way. Like I said, whether it's Republicans or Democrats, our so-called leaders in Washington have lost their way and are no longer in touch with the needs of the Delawarean an any citizen, not just Delaware. So I think what we need to get our country back on track is to replace career politicians with citizen politicians.
[Acosta:] Let me make this the last thing. Your staff was very reluctant to have us ask you about these past statements that you made in the past. And I I wanted to ask you, why is that? Because aren't they...
[O'donnell:] I think...
[Acosta:] aren't they your statements?
[O'donnell:] This campaign is about the future and not the past. This campaign is about what each candidate is going to do to address the needs of the people in Delaware, how we're going to get private business jobs back in Delaware, how we're going to get our economy back on track, how we're going to empower the individual and the entrepreneur to open up those ma-and-pa businesses back on Main Street. That's what's important to the Delawareans and that's what should be important to both candidates in this race.
[Acosta:] So you're never going to talk about your time with Bill Maher?
[O'donnell:] No. Why? What I did what I said or did on a comedy show, you know, over a decade ago is not relevant to this election.
[Acosta:] All right. Christine O'Donnell, thank you for your time.
[O'donnell:] Thank you.
[Acosta:] I appreciate it. Nice talking to you.
[O'donnell:] Thank you. Anytime.
[Acosta:] All right. Good talking to you.
[O'donnell:] Thank you.
[Acosta:] Let me ask you about the health care reform law, because there are protections in there for consumers that a lot of people, even some Republicans, say are very important, such as, the law would deny would would ban insurance companies from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions. Would you scrap that, as well?
[O'donnell:] What I want to do is create real health care reform. Things like that are absolutely crucial. We have to make sure that people with with preexisting conditions get the coverage and care that they need.
[Acosta:] So you would keep that?
[O'donnell:] But what this I want to scrap the bill and start over, with real reform, piece by piece. Nobody is disputing that we need health care reform. But this bill is a massive government takeover of the health care system that gives the government way too much power. Uncle Sam has no business coming into the examination room, getting between you and your doctor. And that's what this bill does. We need to repeal it, so that we can re reenact real reform.
[Acosta:] Is that even realistic, because I know the Republicans say we want to repeal the bill, but the president would have to sign any bill that you pass through the Congress? So, isn't repealing health care reform really unrealistic?
[O'donnell:] That kind of throw-in-the-towel mentality is what got us to this mess that we're in the first place. Repealing Obamacare is absolutely realistic. I heard a statistic this morning that one out of four Democrats are for full repeal of Obamacare.
[Acosta:] So you think...
[O'donnell:] What this...
[Acosta:] ... you could get Democrats to go on board and perhaps...
[O'donnell:] Many...
[Acosta:] ... override a veto, is what that's what you're saying?
[O'donnell:] Well, not even just necessarily here's why I think it's realistic, a couple things. Number one, a lot of Democrats are coming forward, saying, we want to start over. We want to scrap this bill. We all made a mistake. We didn't read it. We didn't know about the unintended consequences. As elected officials, our first priority needs to be taking care of the most vulnerable in our society, so we do need real health care reform. But if if the House and the Senate passes a bill to fully repeal Obamacare, so that we can clear the way to start over with true reform that helps the most vulnerable, and then the president goes and vetoes that bill, when the will of the people have been has been made very clear, if Barack Obama vetoes that the year before his reelection, he's setting himself up to be very vulnerable. And I have seen many Hillary-for-president ads running. So, if if he chooses to thumb his nose at at the will of the American people and ram this this unrealistic, unconstitutional bill down America's throats, then there will be consequences, politically, for Obama.
[Spitzer:] I think, when we look at the substance of what she says here, a lot of people are going to say, you know what, we are not so sure she's ready for the Senate.
[Parker:] You know, I happen to I feel for the girl a little bit. She was a sweet girl when was on the Bill Maher show, right? She was 20 years old. And she actually if you look at some of those tapes, she had a lot of personality. She was spunky and cute. She was just saying things I don't think she intended to be taken terribly seriously. And now that's taken on a life of its own.
[Spitzer:] Look, I agree with you on that. I think all that is not only fair to her, but accurate. And I even defended her with that sort of crazy ad, "I'm not a witch," because you know what? She is trying to defuse a tough situation. But then when you step back and as you get closer to November 2 and you say, wait a minute, there are some serious issues here.
[Parker:] Well, sure.
[Spitzer:] I don't think she passes that threshold.
[Parker:] No, there are a lot of people who are cute and spunky that I don't want running the country.
[Spitzer:] Or good TV fodder. But here's the other question. Why there are so many folks like her who seem to be taking over the Republican Party? I mean, this is not Bob Dole's Republican Party anymore, thoughtful, serious people. this is people who are kind of, I hate to say it, but kind of from the fringe.
[Parker:] Careful there, Eliot. You know, I think what we have to be very cautious of here and this is an important point that you almost hit there's a sense out there. We have talked about this. There's a sense that there's this elite core of people who are designating they have designated themselves as in charge of how Americans are going to live their lives. And you have people like Christine O'Donnell and others who identify with her who feel very much left out of the conversation and marginalized. And so they're we have talked about this sort of anti-elite movement. And we are both in favor of elites, meaning smart people, sitting down at the table. But you can't be elitist. And I think that's she and others have responded to.
[Spitzer:] Look, I am not only sympathetic, but I agree with her core notion, which is that the so-called elite people in this country, in Washington, in New York, in the so-called academic centers have failed us miserably over the last decade. And so when she says in her ad, "I am you," when she says in the interview today, "I am an average person," I say, yes. I sympathize with that. We want real, genuine people. Now, there's a difference between that and I think that is wonderful, and that's why I have defended those ads and that sort of notion of her getting into politics. But there's a difference between that and policies about economics and other serious things that, frankly, just don't work and don't add up.
[Parker:] Right. Well, that ad was done by Fred Davis, as you know, and he's a brilliant ad-maker. And he kind of latched on to that Zeitgeist. And he said, the thing you need to do is look in that camera and say, it's them. They're the bad guys, and I'm just like you. And I'm going to go to Washington and fix things for you. That's a very effective message right now. And it's resonating with the Tea Party people. That's what is driving is.
[Spitzer:] It is amazing to me that the Democratic Party has not filled that enormous chasm, that void in the middle of our political that doughnut hole, where nobody from the Democratic Party has said, we are the ones who actually speak with that voice and with that empathy and that energy. Bill Clinton, as we have all been saying, would have done it. But, anyway, we're going to talk about these ideas with some extraordinarily smart people. It's time to go into the arena.
[Parker:] Smart, but not elitist.
[Spitzer:] Absolutely.
[Parker:] And joining us tonight, James Traub from "The New York Times" Magazine" and Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
[Spitzer:] Welcome to both of you. Great to see you back.
[Parker:] Hi, Ralph. Nice to see you again. Nice to see you.
[Ralph Reed, Republican Strategist:] Eliot, how are you?
[Spitzer:] Ralph, thank you.
[Parker:] Welcome, welcome.
[Spitzer:] Well, in case you haven't heard, CNN broke the spell, and we got this remarkable interview, Jim Acosta of CNN, with Christine O'Donnell. She kind of came in on her broomstick and gave an interview. And it's amazing what she said. I want your view of this. She said she wants to and she, of course, being the Republican Tea Party candidate for the United States Senate from Delaware. And she said, we are going to extend our should extend the Bush tax cuts, because it will both solve the deficit problem and help our economy expand.
[Parker:] Grow the economy.
[Spitzer:] What do you think?
[James Traub, "the New York Times Magazine":] Well, what's wrong with that? That is the official Tea Party position, isn't it?
[Spitzer:] You have been cast under the spell as well?
[Traub:] No. I mean, look, it's become, I think, Republican Party doctrine not only in the Tea Party that the Bush tax cuts should all be extended. You're right. This is a particularly hyperbolic version of what I would say is a ridiculous view in the first place. But that's the direction the party is going in right now.
[Parker:] Well, Ralph, what do you think? I mean, she obviously was not prepared for this interview and has been saving herself for FOX News and others, not meaning to go into the other news outlets. What do you think of her handling of that interview and that comment?
[Reed:] Well, I think she's doing fine. You know, I mean, she's obviously under vicious assault. I'm fascinated by the media's fixation with this woman. There's 37 governorships up or something like that, 37 U.S. Senate races, and everybody beating up on this one woman in one state. And I understand that.
[Parker:] Well, but, Ralph...
[Reed:] That's politics. But to say that lowering marginal tax rates produces more revenue is not only economically sound; it is an established historic fact.
[Spitzer:] Well... ... can we just probe that for a second?
[Parker:] I want to just back up a minute, before you get to the economic issue. The reason people are fascinated by her with her is because she is fascinating. When you have someone stand up and say, I'm not a witch, I'm you, and it's got this black, you know... ... odd background.
[Reed:] Well, but that ad followed a pillorying that went on for weeks after she won the nomination.
[Parker:] Well, Bill Maher started that. And I am sympathetic.
[Spitzer:] Let's be frank with one another. You have been in politics. I have been in politics. Neither one of us is surprised that she gets all this attention. She is a remarkably fascinating personality. She has made herself a quixotic and interesting person. But let's put that aside for a minute, because there are real issues here. David Stockman, who was the budget director for President Reagan, after President Reagan came into office on this same theory, the Laffer curve, as it was called for many different reasons, said it was all a sham, and he said, we knew it was a sham. No serious economists believe believes that you can cut rates the way they want to without expanding the deficit, doubling it or tripling it, and damaging our economy. Nobody serious believes that.
[Reed:] Well, look, we would pine for the roughly $160 billion deficit that Bush had in his final fiscal year. OK, this president has given us a deficit which in the first year was $1.4 trillion and this year is $1.35 trillion. He's doubling the national debt in five years. He's tripling it in 10 years. And they left town without even giving America's 26 million small businesses and hundred million households any understanding of what their taxes are going to be in the calendar year 2011. It is totally irresponsible and that's why they're losing at the polls.
[Traub:] The spin that this is an act of fiscal recklessness or something, the fact is, we're talking about something rather small. The Obama administration has actually agreed, I think wrongly, to extend the Bush tax cuts, save for the top tax rate. And so the issue here is...
[Reed:] Which is saving $100 billion over 10 years.
[Traub:] Which, alas, is not as much money as it used to be. But the fact is, the idea that we would be having this political pitched battle not over the large question of, do you repeal the Bush tax cuts, but do you repeal the tax cuts for the smallest number of extraordinarily wealthy people, to whom a huge fraction of the additional revenue of the last 10 years is gone, I can't believe there's a fight about that.
[Reed:] Well, here's my question. If you had both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue for two years, you have the president and you have the House and the Senate, the largest margins since the Great Society, at any point in the last two years they could have extended the Bush tax cuts for everybody making less than $250,000 a year. They didn't do it.
[Spitzer:] Let's set the table so that it's real. What was inherited here was an economic cataclysm the likes of which we haven't seen since 1929, a direct and absolute consequence of policies that were born during the Reagan administration and metastasized during the Bush administrations, both of them. And that is what brought us down. Recovering from that, which the Obama administration has been desperately trying to do, is what's taken us to the point of the precipice.
[Reed:] Not true.
[Spitzer:] Then to go back to the same policies would be economic suicide.
[Reed:] Absolutely not true. Eliot, it was the Clinton administration in 1999 that directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to underwrite 50 percent or more of the loans in every single zip code in America for people at 50 percent or below the average income in that area. They deliberately made them, by executive order fiat, underwrite loans for people who couldn't make the payments.
[Traub:] Can I raise a less exotic question, which is, the first question is, why are we so interested in her? We have to remember, she beat Michael Castle.
[Parker:] Well, there is that.
[Traub:] The entire professional Republican Party, not the whole party, but the professional party, was banking on this guy as, this is how we're going to get to a majority Republican Senate. Nobody thought this was going to happen. So she became a poster child and I think rightly so, whether you like her or not for the immense transformation inside the Republican Party.
[Parker:] That's right.
[Reed:] I think the left and the media are making a huge mistake strategically. And I think Christine O'Donnell is the greater decoy in American politics.
[Parker:] Absolutely.
[Reed:] While they're firing all their artillery at her, Sharron Angle is beating now Harry Reid, not in one, but two polls this week. Nikki Haley is going to be the governor of South Carolina. Susana Martinez is now up in New Mexico by eight. These mama grizzlies, these women candidates who are attractive and tough and smart and able are going to win from coast to coast, and Christine O'Donnell may surprise some people and win, too.
[Traub:] I don't deny that. I think that may be so.
[Parker:] There's no question, though, that, when people gang up on an individual like Christine O'Donnell, it has the opposite effect. I mean, there's a lot of sympathy for her.
[Traub:] Though it hasn't so far. The last poll showed her doing quite badly behind Coons, the Democratic candidate.
[Spitzer:] Right, the Democratic nominee.
[Traub:] So, she may be a casualty. But I think Ralph may well be right about the trend that she is a representative of.
[Parker:] Yes.
[Spitzer:] Look, there is no question when you offer candy to kids sometimes it works. The question is, having lived through the Reagan administration, with David Stockman I think being the most honest articulator of what those policies really did, we know what it does. And now, of course, we have that on steroids. The numbers are that much bigger. The economy is at much greater risk. And the failure to recover and balance our budgets, whether you're a Paul Krugman or Niall Ferguson, is going to take us to a very dangerous point. And I think that's why many of us saying, look, Christine O'Donnell I happen to like her. I admire her for what she is going through and how she is handling it. But I think the substance of it is going to be very damaging to us long term, because it doesn't add up.
[Reed:] Well, what doesn't add up is raising taxes in the middle of the deepest and longest recession of the post-World War II period, punishing small businesses. Between 50 percent and 60 percent of the income that they want to tax at the above-$250,000 level are small businesses that create 80 percent of the jobs. And here's the other thing. Even if you were to take Jim's argument and repeal all of the Bush tax cuts, you have got a $1.35 trillion deficit. You would save $100 billion this year. So you're punishing the job creators. You're punishing the people who are creating the jobs, and you're moving the deficit number an infinitesimal small amount. It is a crazy economic theory. And that's why it's going down the tubes.
[Traub:] I want to go back to Michael Castle-Christine O'Donnell difference, which is Michael Castle was a professional, not even a politician. He was a professional legislator. He was a serious guy. He thought about this stuff a lot. You may think he's right or wrong. But it also strikes me that there's a kind of war on competence and professionalism going on here. And these insurgent candidates, one of the biggest things they have to advertise is, they have never done it before.
[Parker:] Right.
[Traub:] And sometimes even they don't know anything about the subject. That makes them preferable. I find that really disturbing.
[Reed:] Mike Castle voted for the Bush tax cuts as a member of the House. So, is he a nut, too?
[Traub:] No, of course not. That's not my point at all.
[Reed:] What about the 37 Democrats who said that they would not vote for extending the tax cuts only to those making under $250,000?
[Traub:] I don't think you have to be a crank to think that. I just don't agree with it.
[Reed:] Pelosi couldn't even hold her own caucus. So, apparently, you've got people in your own party, Eliot, who you think are nuts.
[Spitzer:] No. I think anybody who buys this economic theory has not studied economics...
[Reed:] Thirty-seven Democrats in the House, Eliot.
[Spitzer:] ... has not studied our history, and in fact...
[Traub:] They haven't studied economics.
[Reed:] OK.
[Spitzer:] .... and in fact
[Reed:] So that's the strategy, insult people with whom you disagree.
[Spitzer:] No, no, no, we're not insulting them. What we're saying, Ralph, is that...
[Reed:] But you're saying they're dumb. They're basically what you're saying.
[Spitzer:] No, no, Ralph, you're trying to put words in my mouth. And I think you shouldn't do that. What I'm saying is that the historical record that we look at from the Bush presidency is one where these tax cuts without corresponding cuts in spending, which we had Dick Armey sitting here the other day, and Dick Armey said he was going to cut National Public Radio and the National Endowment for the Arts. You're not going to balance a budget based on that.
[Reed:] Fair point, OK?
[Spitzer:] And, so, if that's the counterpoint, we are going into a deficit structure that is going to take us over the cliff. And, more importantly, all of these deficits that you are talking about were used to bail out the major financial institutions that took us over the cliff because of the deregulatory philosophy of President Bush.
[Reed:] No, look, it's a fair point. And the response is twofold. Number one, from 1981, when the Bush tax cuts were passed, until Reagan left I mean, the Reagan tax cuts were passed, until he left office, federal revenues doubled. So the lower taxes didn't lead to less revenue. They led to more revenue. We had a spending problem. It wasn't that we didn't have enough revenue, number one. Number two, to your point on how are we going to deal with the fiscal time bomb, everybody in Washington knows that the elephant in the room is entitlements. We have got $50 trillion in unfunded entitlements in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. They actuarially do not add up.
[Spitzer:] Hold on, more fireworks in a second. We will be right back.

[Chief Justice John Roberts, U.s. Supreme Court:] So help you God?
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] So help me God.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everyone. And welcome to this very special edition of CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is Saturday, January 19th. Look at that gorgeous shot at the Capitol there. I'm Randi Kaye, coming to you live from the National Mall, as we gear up for the 57th presidential inauguration. And all morning, our CNN political team will be bringing you the very latest on all the preparations for the big day on Monday and the biggest challenges facing President Obama in his second term. But first, let's bring in my colleague, Victor Blackwell, who's back in Atlanta. Victor, I know you have some of the latest news on some of the other stories that we're watching this morning.
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Anchor:] Indeed, Randi. Thanks. So, we're starting with this really bizarre story about the Notre Dame linebacker, Manti Te'o. In it, he denied an interview, he denied having any part in the fake girlfriend story, except being the victim of a cruel hoax. Te'o spoke with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap off-camera about the ordeal.
[Jeremy Schaap, Espn:] I would say during the entire two hours that we spoke, he was completely composed, self-assured. He betrayed no nervousness. He had maybe full command of the story suggests that it's a story rather than the truth. But he had a full command of everything that I posed.
[Blackwell:] ESPN Te'o told ESPN that a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo admitted to being behind this hoax. Now, he showed them a tweet, supposedly an apology from Tuiasosopo. CNN has not confirmed the tweet or Tuiasosopo's involvement. We went to Tuiasosopo's home in California, but the person there would not comment. Let's stick with sports, though. In part two of Lance Armstrong's confession did you see this? with Oprah Winfrey, he teared up when he recalled telling his son not to defend his record anymore. He also told Oprah how surviving cancer in 1996 helped him cope in the wake of that damning 1,000-page USADA report.
[Lance Armstrong, Former Professional Cyclist:] I've been to a dark place that was not by doing, I've been to a place where I didn't know if I was going to live, a month, six month, a year, five years, 10 years. It's helped me now. I mean, this is not a good time. But it isn't the worst part of my life.
[Blackwell:] Ed Lavandera joins us now from Armstrong's hometown of Austin, Texas. Ed, Armstrong, as you saw, talked about these dark places and going to these dark places. He told Oprah that he's in therapy now. We've seen in social media, in traditional media, the backlash. What else is he seeing in terms of fallout?
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, I think many people are still trying to figure out exactly what to make of the two-night interview and whether or not Lance Armstrong is truly apologetic for what he has done over the last 15 years. And then trying to figure out whether or not he was truly contrite in what he said. But it was interesting to see, in the wide range of questions that Lance Armstrong faced, he said, you know, he understands people's anger at him and that he will spend the rest of his life, trying to make amends. But at the same time, not all of that cut very well with many people. And especially when he talked about losing the sponsorship over the course of a couple of days, when companies like Nike and Giro all started calling and essentially bailing out on Lance Armstrong. He said that was a $75 million loss.
[Armstrong:] It's terrible.
[Oprah Winfrey, Tv:] Do you feel disgraced?
[Armstrong:] Of course. But I also feel humbled. I feel ashamed. Yes, this is this is ugly stuff. Nike called. And this isn't the most humbling moment, I'm going to get to that. And they said, basically, cliff notes here, that they're out. OK. And then the calls started coming, Trek, Giro, Anheuser-Busch. They just
[Winfrey:] In the same day? Same couple of days?
[Armstrong:] Yes, a couple days. Everybody out.
[Lavandera:] And, Victor, Lance Armstrong says that he lost all of that endorsement. He doesn't think that he's he also thinks that he's lost all future income, which is probably one of the reasons he wants to get back into athletic competition. But he's got a lifetime ban. He's looking and hoping that that can be reduced some way, but it's not exactly clear to what length he will be able to, or is willing to help investigators with the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the world anti-doping agency Victor.
[Blackwell:] All right. Ed Lavandera in Austin, Texas, for us. Thank you for that. And, of course, Twitter has been on fire all week with the reaction to Armstrong's confession. David Walsh, the journalist who first raised questions about Lance Armstrong in 1999, has been tweeting up a storm here. He tweets this, "Oprah pressured him. The apology was, I thought, hesitantly promised. I didn't ask for it or expect it, but, yes, if it's offered, I accept." T.J. Quinn of ESPN asks, "This is the emotion many were wanting to see. But here's my question: Do you feel like you've finally seen the real guy?" And, of course, comedians had a field day. Steve Martin is even aspiring to fess up to cheating himself, quote, "I'm ready to go on Oprah and admit doping in 1968." OK. Well, for an in-depth look at the disgraced cyclist, watch "The World According to Lance Armstrong" right here on CNN, tonight at 10:00 Eastern. Overseas now, this hostage ordeal is getting into its fourth day in the Sahara Desert. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vows the U.S. will do everything necessary to protect its citizens. And this morning, Algerian special forces are trying to secure the release of a number of people. The number, unknown right now, including Americans who are unaccounted for. Militants stormed a gas facility in Algeria, it happened Wednesday. They took hundreds of people captive. Then on Thursday, one American, 11 other hostages were killed when Algerian forces fired on those militants in a really controversial rescue operation. But 650 others, including six Americans, were freed or escaped. Now, Algeria is defending that rescue operation. It says the militants were planning to kill all the hostages and blow up that gas facility. Well, first, they were grounded. And now, deliveries are on hold. Boeing is suspending deliveries of its new 787 Dreamliner jet until a battery problem is resolved. And the FAA says it's in compliance. The aerospace company's entire global fleet of Dreamliners has been taken out of service. And regulators want to make sure the plane's lithium ion batteries are safe. So, let's go back now on another topic, to Washington, where our Randi Kaye is at the National Mall Randi.
[Kaye:] Good morning, again, Victor. We are staying warm here. Don't you worry about us. We saw record crowds here on the mall four years ago, of course, for President Obama's first inauguration. And now officials aren't expecting a repeat, though. But still, they know that hundreds of thousands of people will be here, and that is a big challenge, of course, for security. CNN Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, is on Seventh Street, keeping an eye on security there for us. Chris, good morning to you. So, how many people do they have guarding the city right now as we prepare for the upcoming inaugural?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Randi, it's hard to put an exact number on it. We know most of D.C.'s 4,000 cops will be on duty. They've also pulled in about 2,000 to 3,000 other police officers from all around the country and about 6,000 National Guard troops as well, who will be helping a lot of the federal agencies. So right there, doing the math, that's 12,000, 13,000. That's not even counting the ATF, FBI, and Secret Service agents who will really be running this security plan. So, a lot of people in place, you know, for this crowd, expected to be coming in the next couple of days or so.
[Kaye:] Yes, and certainly here on the Mall, it's going to be standing room only. Hard areas to get through and get around. But are there any credible threats that security officials are watching or just taking some extra precautions here?
[Lawrence:] No credible threats. There have been no real security incidents last time, and from the sources we spoke, in some of the federal agencies here, just in the last couple of days, so far they don't have any credible threats for this one. A big difference this time will be the crowd. I mean, last time, there was about 1.8 million visitors here, by some estimates. That's been revised down. The numbers I'm hearing from folks here in D.C. now, it could be as small as 500,000, 600,000, which admittedly doesn't sound that small, but compared to 1.8 million, it makes a big change in the security program. A lot of the bridges into the city last time, I remember, were closed down, because they had to be used for the police, for the emergency responders, for all those tour buses that were pouring in. They expect a lot of those bridges will stay open this time, so it may actually be a bit easier to get around in the city and have a little breathing room this time around.
[Kaye:] Yes, I'm with you on that. I was here in 2009 as well, and it already feels different. It's not nearly as crowded, the streets are still open. Chris Lawrence, thank you very much. Nice to see you this morning.
[Lawrence:] Sure.
[Kaye:] Well, we have got much more ahead this hour. With inauguration just days away, many are wondering what President Obama's legacy will be. Will it be his push for tighter gun laws or his effort to repair our financial problems? And she dazzled us four years ago in this gown. What will she wear to this year's inaugural ball? A look at Michelle Obama's fashion as our special coverage continues this morning.

[Erin Burnett, Cnn Anchor:] OUTFRONT next, we're in Mobile, Alabama, tonight, where the disabled cruise ship, the "Triumph," is set to dock. More than 4,000 people have been stranded at sea for five days on the ship, and tonight, we're going to hear from the passengers, we're going to bring you updates on the horrible conditions that some of them have faced on board. We have finally come to the last act of this drama. Let's go OUTFRONT. And good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. And OUTFRONT tonight, in Mobile, Alabama, we are waiting for more than 4,000 people to arrive, after being stranded on a Carnival cruise ship that lost power after an engine fire on Sunday, 3,142 passengers and 1,086 crew members have been stuck on the "Carnival Triumph" for five day. They've had no hot water, they've had limited food, they've had few working toilets. Here is the latest. At this moment, we understand that the ship is about 25 miles away from the dock where I'm standing. It's traveling at about six miles an hour and according to Carnival, it's scheduled to arrive between 10:00 tonight and midnight. Now, it's currently about 55 degrees here in Mobile and that temperature is dropping. Most of the passengers don't have clothes for this climate. They were going on a Caribbean cruise. A lot of them are very cold. And even after they arrive, Carnival says it's going to take from four to five hours to disembark every passenger from the ship. That's going to happen behind me. There's a gangplank. They're going to be coming off of that gangplank. They're then going to go and finish clearing customs, which apparently they have started to do already on the ship, to try to speed up this process. Then they're going to head right over here, straight from that gangplank, into this garage. And that is where all the buses are waiting. In fact, the cruise line has about 100 buses right now, ready to go. They have rented 1,500 hotel rooms in New Orleans and have multiple charter flights reserved to fly people back to Houston on Friday. Now, every passenger is also going to be compensated for the inconvenience. Here's what we understand Carnival has offered. They're giving every passenger $500, a free flight home, a full refund for the cruise, which was scheduled to be a five-day cruise, as well as a credit for a future cruise. Throughout the day, we have been getting a look at life aboard the ship and what passengers have been experiencing. Some of it isn't pretty. We see passengers sleeping in hallways, out on the deck. There have been buckets of sewage, power strips full of cell phone charges, and people desperate to have some sort of contact with their families. And there are people out on the deck at night, who have been trying to escape from the horrible smells and the heat. And this is just a small glimpse of what life is like aboard the ship. We're going to bring you more throughout the hour, as we await the "Triumph's" arrival. Now that the ship is closer to shore, many of the passengers are out on the deck and our Sandra Endo has been in a helicopter above the cruise ship with exclusive images all day. And Sandra, I know you've seen a lot of people on the ship. They've been making signs and waving as it's been making its way closer and closer here to the dock here in Mobile. What have the passengers been doing?
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Right, Erin. We've been hovering and circling the "Triumph" all day long here from the sky, providing live aerial pictures as the "Triumph" has been approaching the port of Mobile. And when we first approached the ship earlier this morning, you could sense that there was just a spiritless motion on the ship. A lot of passengers just looked disheartened. And as they saw land, as they saw more vessels coming to support the ship as well as more helicopters in the air, you saw life come back to this ship. And a lot of passengers now are excited. They're seeing the lights on the land, and they are dancing, they're actually making signs, celebrating Valentine's Day, of all things. They made a heart ring of life vests and they put strobe lights on to that their spirits are up that they are approaching the port. But these are the first live pictures of the ship at night and you can see that there are lights on the upper deck. There are spotlights on the lifeboats as well. And people may wonder, look, they have power. This boat is run solely on electricity and because of the engine fire, the emergency generator did kick in, but that is only powering the necessary systems to keep this ship afloat and that is why these passengers, the thousands of them on board, are in these horrid conditions. So the electricity you're seeing now are only available to those systems that are really needed to keep this afloat and to keep the ship safe. And also, you may think, why not off-load the passengers on the lifeboats? Well, maritime experts, Erin, say that that is dangerous on open sea. That's why they didn't off-load these passengers on to another ship. The only safe option for them was to stay where they are, even in these bad conditions, and tow them to shore. Obviously, we know that along the way of this towing process, one of the tug boats, the line snapped earlier in this process. That was fixed and now it looks like a very secure line, from what we can see at this vantage point, in the air, and it looks like it's making some progress. But again, it's very slow moving. This ship is more than 100,000 tons. It's nearly the size of three football fields long. And clearly, though, passengers are getting excited. We can see them dancing on the upper deck, waiting to dock. But, again, it's still several hours away until they reach land Erin.
[Burnett:] All right, Sandra, thank you very much. And I want to bring in cruise ship passenger Dee Tucker now. She's joining us on the phone. She's on the ship with her sister, Audra, and a group of friends. And Dee, I want to bring in your fiance, Joe Eckert, as well, he's on the phone right now from Florida and so eagerly awaiting your arrival. Dee, you heard our reporter say that people are now out on the decks, there was some dancing, some celebrating getting ready for land. How are you feeling right now?
[Dee Tucker, Passenger On Carnival Triump:] We are just exhausted. We're tired. This has been a very long journey and we're trying to keep our hopes up, keep our spirits up. We had some people who put banners up that said, you know, say strong, God is with us, you know? And we've had some get-togethers to try and boost some morale. So we're doing what we can to survive.
[Burnett:] And I know you're going to be arriving I mean, we're not sure exactly when, within the next couple of hours. What are you hearing from the crew about when you're going to arrive and the process to get off?
[Tucker:] Well, the communication to us seems to be a little slower that it is to the families. They told us between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m., but I just heard you say it's between 10:00 and midnight. So I don't know. We're always finding out a day late, you know? It's slow communication.
[Burnett:] Have you been frustrated with the crew on board or is this just more a communications frustration that you have with Carnival?
[Tucker:] You know, our steward has been absolutely amazing. The crew here worked time and a half, endlessly. They were awesome. They're not going to get paid enough, whatever it is. They just they did the dirtiest work that they could. Shoveling, working into the night, you know, doing things I wouldn't do. So it's not with the crew. They've been awesome. Yes.
[Burnett:] That's wonderful to hear. And Joe, I know you and Dee haven't had a lot of chance to talk, but obviously you can talk to her now. And it's Valentine's Day. I know you've got to be incredibly eager to see her soon.
[Joe Eckert, Fiance Of Carnival Triumph Passenger:] Yes, I am. I just can't wait to see her. Happy Valentine's Day, honey. I know it's
[Tucker:] Hi, honey bunny! I miss you!
[Eckert:] I miss you, hon. I love you so much!
[Tucker:] I'm making my way back to you!
[Eckert:] Well, here I am. I can't wait to see you. It's going to be so wonderful. I can't wait to hold you and kiss you and tell you how much I love you and how much I was worried about you.
[Tucker:] I have a sign here that says "I love you." I don't know if they caught that, but I'll save it. Keep the shower warm. I need a warm shower.
[Eckert:] You can take as many showers as you like.
[Tucker:] All right, honey.
[Burnett:] Dee, can you tell us a little bit about how tough conditions have been? I know we've heard some horrific stories, some people have said it isn't as bad as that. Others have talked about raw sewage, and some really horrible images. What have you experienced?
[Tucker:] They were lying. I stood in line 3-12 hours to get a burger. Every line for every meal is at least an hour, hour and a half, every line. In fact, we're missing dinner right now because we didn't get in line. But we had to use the bathroom in hazard bags and put them in a hallway. We had to hand scoop, you know, some of the bathroom items just to take a shower, it had accumulated in the shower. We're doing all of this in the dark. There's no hot water. You know, there was water building everywhere. The boat has listed at least 6 percent to 18 percent for days. So water has drifted from one side to the other. So we have to walk on cardboard boxes. The smell has accumulated. It's making us sick. I mean, it's just it's horrid. And you know, the last day I know for image, they need to look good, so we got a better breakfast today. But we've had, you know, just the same food for days. And so I'm just I just can't wait to get off of here. It's just horrible.
[Burnett:] Well, Dee, we are all everyone, I think, watching, feels the same way and looking forward to you all getting back here safe and sound and happy Valentine's Day to both of you. It will be one to remember. I want to bring in Victor Blackwell now and tell you exactly where he is. As you can see right there, the "Triumph," it's a live picture you're looking at next to me. Victor Blackwell is in a boat traveling right alongside the "Triumph." So he can see the ship from where he is right now. And Victor, what are you seeing?
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, the most important thing over the last hour is that nightfall has come here over Mobile Bay. And I've been able to do some reporting in the last 90 minutes. I spoke with the director of the Alabama State Port Authority, and he told me that if this had been an empty cruise ship coming in for repairs at the shipyard or a cargo ship, he would not have allowed it inside the bay and into the port. But because he so sympathizes with the 4,000 people on this ship and he knows how badly they want to make it home, he allowed this. Now, he also said, there are no safety concerns, because the winds have died down. The waters have calmed. It's a clear night. So he says, he's pretty confident that it will make it safely to the port. Now, why is it late? Well, there have been some challenges and mishaps throughout the day, the big challenge, the wind and the current. We saw, in the Gulf of Mexico, "Triumph" kind of spin around, do a 180 out there before it was able to be towed into the channel. Also, Sandra Endo mentioned a few moments ago, that line that snapped on the tug at the front of this ship, but we also learned tonight about the tug at the stern. There was a problem, even before that line snapped. A tow from Mexico came to support this mission and a bit broke. So neither of the tugs right now towing this ship were the original tugs in these places. Both have been traded out. Also, there was one passenger who had to be rushed from the ship to shore because of a medical mishap. We've gotten no official confirmation of what that mishap or that problem was, but those kind of added up over the day and that director told me that that pushed this trip back four hours. Now, if you think about four-hour delay, we're told that it's somewhere around 11:00 p.m. Eastern that it's expected, give or take an hour. Well, take four hours off that, it would be about 7:00 p.m. Eastern and they would be pulling into port right now. Instead, this journey continues Erin.
[Burnett:] All right, Victor, thank you very much. And Victor talking about all the delays and the difficulties, but as you just heard from Dee Tucker, the passenger, we were talking to, passengers on the ship have been getting all kinds of conflicting reports. And you can only imagine the frustration of thinking you're going to be coming to land after this ordeal and then finding out it's another six hours, it's another eight hours and how awful that must feel. Still to come, our breaking news coverage of the crippled cruise ship continues. When we return, we're going to talk to a man celebrating his 40th birthday on the "Triumph." It was anything but happy.

[Baldwin:] Got some news here just into CNN. Here is what we know right now. An American Airlines flight headed from Miami to San Francisco was forced to make an emergency landing in Las Vegas earlier today. According to an airport spokesperson, the plane was diverted, simply precautionarily, after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. The plane landed safely, no injuries reported. We are making phone calls. As soon as we get more information, I will pass it along to you. Also, concern is rising, right along with the flooding there, on the Mississippi River. Look at these pictures. Today, the Coast Guard announced it is closing parts of the river to commercial traffic. It could remain closed, they say, for at least a week. But, obviously, this this flooding has huge economic impacts here on farmers, manufacturers who rely on the Mississippi River each and every day to get their goods to market. Also today, more people are being told they have to leave, they have to evacuate. I want you to listen to what the head of the Mississippi River Commission has to say.
[Walsh:] There is a report from the National Weather Service that this event, this rain event that we have had in the last two weeks is 600 percent more than normal.
[Baldwin:] In Memphis, Tennessee, they are filling sandbags to try to hold back the rising river. The water level there is expected to reach nearly 48 feet next week. Folks, that is 13 feet above flood stage. CNN's David Mattingly is in Memphis, where people are obviously very closely watching the river rise.
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] City parks already flooded and water creeping closer to houses by the day. People of Memphis watch the rising Mississippi River and wonder.
[Lee Streater, Memphis Resident:] How high will the water get, you know? Who is most at risk? Which land sits lower?
[Mattingly:] The Mississippi River floods of 2011 are expected to break records to the north of Memphis this weekend, and then continue setting high watermarks as far south as Baton Rouge. The river is expected to crest in Memphis at 48 feet above flood stage, the highest it's been in generations. [on camera]: Memphis hasn't seen that much water since the disastrous floods of 1937. Back then, city officials tell me the river rose all the way to here, where I'm standing, which is four blocks away from the river banks. [voice-over]: But there have been big changes since to keep the river back. A system of flood walls, gates and levees developed since the 1950s should keep the city dry. But it's a system that's never been hit with this much water.
[Bob Nations, Shelby County Emergency Management:] They have never been tested. All of the subject matter experts are telling us, we can have a high confidence level.
[Mattingly:] Army Corps of Engineers blowing levees to divert floodwaters into Missouri farmland slowed the water's arrival downriver. Officials around Memphis are using the time to prepare. A call has gone out to volunteers to fill sandbags for government buildings and hospitals. The hope is they won't be needed.
[Baldwin:] David Mattingly, thank you in Memphis there. And, you know, the water is getting so high along the Mississippi River that many casinos are forced to close. Take a look at Harrah's Casino. This is Tunica, Mississippi, right along the river. Every day, the floodwaters keep creeping up and up and up. And it finally had to close this week, other casinos following suit as well. In fact, at one point, a SWAT team armed with a machine gun showed up at a casino just to help Brink's security guards remove millions of dollars in cash. I want to bring in Valerie Morris. She is with Caesars Entertainment, the owner of some of those Mississippi casinos. And with all the money in-house, all the jobs dependent on casino business there, Valerie, this this may not have been a very light decision for you.
[Valerie Morris, Regional Vice President, Caesars Entertainment:] No, actually, it has been very difficult for Tunica County, because it is $87 million worth of gross gaming revenue during the month of May that is going to be lost. And for local and state governments, it is close to $10 million in taxes. So, it definitely was a very difficult decision to make, but the safety and the security of our employees, of our guests are what utmost importance. And that is where the decision had to be made.
[Baldwin:] How high is the river around your casino?
[Morris:] It's around 41 feet right now.
[Baldwin:] And as you watch
[Morris:] And we actually have three casinos.
[Baldwin:] Three casinos, and as you are watching the river rise and rise and rise. I mean, put in perspective for us, I know you talked the dollar amount already, but this is big business for your part in town. So, when these casinos if the casinos were flooded, what happens?
[Morris:] Well, actually, it's just lost revenue. But what I can say is that Caesars Entertainment has made the commitment to pay our employees, both toke and tip, for the duration of the closure through May. So, that is a huge commitment that we've done so our employees are not affected. From a gross gaming revenue, obviously, that is a loss to the entire state, the county, and, of course, to our own company. So, in all actuality, what we're trying to do is mitigate any damage we possibly can so we can get open as soon as possible.
[Baldwin:] What about, though, the security issue, and the millions of the dollars inside of these casinos? You mentioned you have three. I mean, talk to me just about the security effort to get the money out of there safely?
[Morris:] Well, it's a standard procedure because we do drops all of the time when the casinos are open, based on the moving money. It's just a matter that all of the money needed to be removed from Harrah's and the Horseshoe and the Tunica Roadhouse casinos, our three properties, and it's just millions and millions of dollars that needed to get off of the casino barges to insure their safety to put them back in the bank and so that when we're ready to reopen, that we have those dollars safe and secure.
[Baldwin:] And what is next? Does you I know you are in Memphis right now, but, as you and your employee who you say that you're still, you know, paying as you watch the water levels rise is there anything that you can do?
[Morris:] All we can do is to mitigate as much as possible of the damage. We had over 200 employees the day before yesterday, sandbagging all of the casinos at Horseshoe and Roadhouse. It's over 20,000 sandbags to try and mitigate any damage. We also are having our employees out volunteering and working with all the other disaster relief programs that are possibly out there. So, all we can do is to wait for Old Man River to tell us what is going to happen, and do the best we can with what we're given.
[Baldwin:] Old Man River, go down. Valerie Morris, thank you very much.
[Morris:] Absolutely.
[Baldwin:] Live for me in Memphis. And they are known as the SEAL Team Six, the Navy's elite of the elite, and it's the group that carried off one of the nation's most secretive commando missions. So, have you wondered what it would actually take to be one of these guys? I will speak to a former Navy SEAL commander, former member of Navy SEAL Team Six. That is next. Also, we want to remind, we are awaiting President Obama. He is in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In fact, we've learned that he's been speaking with some of the members of that elite SEAL Team Six today. Although, of course, we won't get to see who they are, certainly, the president does. But we will be seeing him speaking in front of some 220 troops there, members of the 101st Airborne what did say? Twenty-two hundred troops there, members of the 101st Airborne Division there in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. We will bring you live pictures as soon as we see the president, coming up.

[Kaye:] Time now for a CNN political update and decision time is just about here for some possible Republican candidates. Joining me now from Washington is Wolf Blitzer, anchor of "THE SITUATION ROOM." Hi, Wolf.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor, "the Situation Room":] Hi, Randi. You remember four years ago at this time there were dozens of candidates running for president of the United States. I remember some of those early debates. Right now there are a few in the exploratory committee mode, but more are expected on the Republican side right now. Haley Barbour has suggested that by the end of this month he will be ready to decide whether to go forward. There are signs he will in fact go forward. Donald Trump, he says by the end of May after the season is over for "celebrity apprentice," he'll make up his mind. But he says he a's very, very serious. Don't be surprised, he says, if he runs. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, she says if she runs she'll form an exploratory committee in June. Tim Pawlenty, he's already formed an exploratory committee. Later this spring he says he'll decide whether to run. But he's got that exploratory committee. Newt Gingrich, he's exploring right now whether to form an exploratory committee. He says he's serious about doing so. Mitt Romney, he's created that exploratory committee already. He'll announce in the coming months whether he's going to go forward. All indication are Mitt Romney will. Somebody who's on the fence right now, the Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. He says he remains muddled in his decision making process as whether or not to run. He told "The Washington Post," "I don't want to leave a misimpression. If we get in, we will go all out. We know a little about how to do that. So reluctance or hesitation about running doesn't mean we would be a reluctant candidate if we got there." So Mitch Daniels still on the fence right now. A lot of people are waiting to see if, in fact, he does run. Rick Santorum who apparently is running, he's created that exploratory committee. He's going forward with this process. He does acknowledge now that a vote as a U.S. Senator back in 2003 that he cast was a mistake, a vote in favor of the Medicare prescription drug benefit for seniors. He says the mistake was wrong providing a universal benefit and not paying for it at the time it's very expensive as you know for U.S. taxpayers to go it's a popular program but it's very expensive and given the budget deficit problems right now, he says that vote was a mistake. So presidential politics very much in everyone's mind right now here in Washington. On the Democratic side, Randi, as you know, the president of the United States is running. He's formed his re- election committee already. It doesn't look at least right now that any serious Democrat wants to challenge him for the party's nomination Randi.
[Kaye:] All right, Wolf. We'll see you today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern for "THE SITUATION ROOM." Thank you. And your next update from the Best Political Team on Television is just one hour away. In Syria, an eruption of gunfire and death. Thousands of security forces crackdown on anti-government protesters in the southern city of to Daraa and other areas. Witnesses say troops fired indiscriminately, in some cases shooting into homes as the people slept. Unconfirmed reports say at least seven civilians were killed. Witnesses also say numerous people were arrested. The government blamed the violence on armed criminal groups saying they killed 12 martyrs. The White House condemned the violence and says it's considering sanctions against Syria. And Britain and three other countries are calling on the U.N. Security Council to condemn the attacks on civilians. Turning now to Asia. A young woman risks her life fleeing North Korea in hopes of freedom in neighboring China. Instead of freedom she's forced into a nightmare world of slavery. Just one victim of China's slavery gulag. Stan Grant has the story, part of CNN's yearlong Freedom Project aimed at helping to end modern day slavery.
[Stan Grant, Cnn Correspondent:] I'm Stan Grant in Beijing. I've been covering stories about slavery, about kidnappings, about women being forced into prostitution for some years now, from the Thailand- Myanmar border, to China and the border with North Korea. And it was there a few years ago I met a lady we can identify only as Miss Kim. Now, she escaped that repressive regime in North Korea, fled across the river into China. But it was then that her real horrors just began. Have a look at this. [voice-over]: If I die, I die, she says. if I survive, I survive. [on camera]: Picture this. A woman afraid comes down to the river's edge under cover of darkness. She knows she must make it from there, North Korea, across to this side, China. [voice-over]: In the darkness she is seized by people poachers waiting to kidnap women crossing the border. They are sold to the highest bidder as wives or maids. Miss Kim was once planning to marry. She was pregnant but forced into an abortion. She says her husband dumped her when she became sick. [on camera]: Well, what became of Miss Kim? I really can't tell you. She is one of the potentially tens of thousands of women each year who are sold into slavery or forced to work as sex slaves. It also happens to the mentally ill or the tens of millions of migrant workers who flood across China every year. Some of them forced to work in appalling conditions, hour after hour for little or no pay, effectively as slaves. They've also been rescued on occasion. It is something the government has to be vigilant about. Slavery is not a new issue to China. It dates back thousands of years. It wasn't until the early part of the 20th century that it was actually outlawed. But as we've seen with the case of Miss Kim and others, that is just riveted underground.
[Kaye:] To find out more about the CNN Freedom Project, be sure to check out our Web page at CNN.comfreedom. All right, we have all been there. Right? Stuck in traffic. And there are apps to help get us out of those jams. But let's face it, that up-to-the-minute info often comes in too late. So, what if you could avoid jams before it's too late. Well, guess what? There may just be an app for that. Yes. So, you know all that red stuff which shows you where the really gnarly traffic is? Well, you might actually be able to predict it with this new app. We'll explain in our "Big I," next.

[Costello:] Good morning to you. It is Thursday, September 15th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. Good morning. I'm Carol Costello, joining you live from New York. It is just about half past the hour. I just want to update you now on this earthquake in southeast Cuba, a 6.0 magnitude. Apparently, it was offshore. We know of no damage to the mainland and there are no tsunami warnings. So, it seems like the damage has been limited to out in the ocean where there's nothing but Rob will have much more for you on this when we hit the weather segment of our program. Let's catch you up on some of the wildfires, too, raging across the country. In Minnesota, cooler temperatures, calmer winds and a bit of rain helped firefighters there yesterday. Still, some 100,000 acres have burned covering the region in a smoky haze.
[James Schugel, Reporter, Wcco:] This fire actually started way over there in the west. And then it headed through this area where we are. And you see all the smoldering areas right here, and then it headed east. Take a look right there in the distance, five or six miles away, you see the hazy sky and smoke, and that's where the fire is right now.
[Costello:] In Texas, at least 35 new fires started in the past couple of days, burning some 10,000 acres. Since Labor Day, more than 1,900 homes have been destroyed, but there is progress. That huge Bastrop complex fire near Austin is now 70 percent contained. The SAT scores are in for 2011 for the graduating class, and they're not so great. Scores on every measure, reading, writing, and math fell. As a matter of fact, their reading and writing scores were the lowest ever, and only 43 percent of those taking the exam met the S.A.T. readiness benchmark. A California father who allegedly threw his seven-year-old son from a tour boat is now charged with felony child abuse. Sloan Briles claims he and his son were just joking around last month when he says the boy jumped into the water. Authorities say Briles had been drinking and threw his son overboard after an argument with his girlfriend. He faces up to six years in prison if convicted. White House party crasher, Michaele Salahi is assuring investigator she was not kidnapped as her husband suspected. It turns out the "Real Housewives of D.C." star ran off with Neil Shawn, the guitarist for the band Journey. The Warren County, Virginia sheriff's office says Salahi is just fine and is apparently where she wants to be.
[Sheriff Danny Mceathron, Warren County, Virginia:] Ms. Salahi advised that she did not want Mr. Salahi to know where she was. Mr. Salahi advised that she was very sorry that the sheriff's office had to be involved but did not want to go home right now.
[Costello:] Salahi's husband reported her missing on Tuesday. The couple gained notoriety when they crashed a White House state dinner back in 2009. We have some pretty amazing pictures to show you this morning. Check out what happened inside this California bicycle shop. Police say an elderly woman oh! You can see she drove her car at full speed through the front door and narrowly missed several customers. Watch it again from a different oh! Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt. Police believe the driver may have confused the gas for the brake or the brake for the gas. You know what I'm saying. Wow! New technology can be tough, fiddling around with new gadgets, not quite knowing what you're doing. So, we feel for Bruce and Ester Huffman. Their grandparents who unwittingly recorded a video of themselves while trying to figure out how to work their webcam.
[Unidentified Male:] Look at that monkey.
[Unidentified Female:] Did it capture? I put it on capture.
[Unidentified Male:] [singing] Hello my darling. Hello my baby.
[Costello:] This goes on for a full three minutes. The couple's granddaughter took the video and posted it on YouTube. A clip called webcam 101 for seniors. It has more than a million and a half views so far.
[Unidentified Male:] When I was eight years old, my uncle paid me five cents if I'd make a monkey face.
[Unidentified Female:] He's doing it very well.
[Unidentified Male:] And I've been working out all these years.
[Unidentified Female:] Never knew it would make you famous.
[Unidentified Male:] I never knew it'd make me famous. He's up and head and he'd be amazed at what's going on right here, right now.
[Costello:] Seems the Huffmans are good sports about their accidental fame. Stocks ended the last session sharply higher. So, will the rally hold today? That's coming your way in 60 seconds. It's 33 minutes past the hour.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning to you all. If you are in the Midwest, it is frigid and potentially dangerous this morning with the weather. Minneapolis, under a winter storm warning at this hour. Other states are bracing for blizzard conditions as well. If you are not in that area, it could still impact you, because what's happening there could have some effects on travel around the country. So, you need to hear what's happening. We will explain it all for you, coming up. Also, it was a half-hour show-stopper at the White House. President Obama brings in former President Clinton to help him sell his tax plan to the public. But he ends up leaving the job to the former president, all together. We'll show you this extraordinary moment at the White House press room. From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING for December the 11th. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Also coming up today, we're just a few hours away from people paying their final respects to Elizabeth Edwards, the wife, of course, of the former presidential candidate John Edwards. She passed away Tuesday after battling breast cancer. At times, you know as well, she had to battle some pretty embarrassing revelations in the headlines. She was 61 years old. Of the headlines, though, some more headlines could be coming out today. And that's really a concern for a lot of people who loved and admired her. They are concerned the headlines might be about the protests and demonstrators who'd be outside of the funeral. A lot of people are wondering why in the world would she be the target of hate and anger an angry protest. Well, the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, they are the ones that are going to be demonstrating, or plan to demonstrate outside. They say Elizabeth Edwards is, quote, "in hell" for certain views and the way she lived her life. The church has been classified as a hate group by others, including the Southern Poverty Law Center. Now, Westboro Baptist Church, that might not sound familiar to you when you hear the name, but you'll know some of their acts. They are the ones who protest outside military funerals. They are the ones who say soldiers are being killed and America is being punished because it's tolerant of homosexuality. A lot of people would love to just ignore them, but it's hard to when they have chosen now this high profile place and this time to protest at the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards. Supreme Court is actually taking up the case of Westboro. They have heard arguments in the case against the church who was brought by the dad of a Marine who was killed in Iraq. The church protested at his funeral. Decision is expected before the summer recess. Now, counter-protests also expected today. They are going to try to counter what Westboro is doing. Two of the people who are organizing these counter-protests spoke with our Anderson Cooper.
[Ben Requena, Westboro Counter-protest Organizer:] This isn't about us. It's not about the thousands of people from the local community and abroad that are going to come over and help protest and spread the love. And it's certainly not about the Westboro group. This is about human decency and common courtesy. Our freedom to go there and counter-protest takes care of their freedom to protest in the first place. Like I said, if they are there and we aren't, they're the story. So, we want to be the bigger story, better story.
[Holmes:] Elizabeth Edwards will be buried next to her son Wade who died in a car crash back in 1996. The funeral for Edwards is happening in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1:00 Eastern Time today. It will take place at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church, where the family worships. We'll have live coverage of Elizabeth Edwards' funeral, again, starts at 1:00 Eastern Time right here on CNN. Turn to politics now and political insiders can't remember anything like what we saw yesterday. Two presidents standing at one podium, Barack Obama and former President Clinton together. They are in the briefing room, the totally unexpected, unscripted moment. These are the two biggest names, really, in the party. They had the same job yesterday though. They were selling the administration's tax cut deal which many in the president's own party don't like it. The two men met earlier at the White House to try to come up with a strategy, but then they stepped out in front of the cameras. An extraordinary television moment, the current president handing things over to the former president.
[William J. Clinton, 42cd President Of The United States:] I think this is a net plus. And you know how I feel, I think the people that benefit most should pay most. That's always been my position not for class warfare reasons, for reasons of fairness in rebuilding the middle class in America. But we have the distribution of authority we have now in the Congress and what we're going to have in January. And I think this is a much, much better agreement than would be reached were we to wait until January.
[Holmes:] There's another extraordinary moment that a lot of people are talking about today, a lot of political insiders. They're really breaking it down. Now, the current president, President Obama, actually stepped in for a moment as Clinton kind of got going there in front of the podium and he stepped out. President Obama said, hey, I got to go. I've kept my wife waiting. I'm going to take up and I'm going to leave this in his hands. And the former President Clinton stood there for about 20 to 30 minutes, taking questions there at the podium from the reporters, an extraordinary moment. He was certainly still basking in the glow of the White House, certainly enjoying himself there. He did give good support for, of course, the president's deal he made with Republicans, calling it the best bipartisan agreement we could reach to help the largest number of Americans. The president's deal with Republicans over the so-called Bush era tax cuts continues, though, to stir up controversy. Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser examines what the American people think about extending the tax cuts.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] Hey, good morning, T.J. The battle resumes Monday here in Washington over President Barack Obama's deal with congressional Republicans to extend those Bush era tax cuts. In the past few days, we've seen a lot of pushback on Capitol Hill against the plan by members of the president's own party, as well as by some conservatives. So, what do Americans think? Two new polls out in the past few days give us a clue. A survey by Gallup indicates that two-thirds of the public supports the part of the plan that extends those tax cuts for all Americans for two years, and an equal amount give a thumbs-up to the part of the proposal that extends jobless benefits for another year for the long-term unemployed. But six out of 10 question in Bloomberg national poll favor eliminating tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Other recent polls from other organizations indicate the same thing. Remember, if there's no agreement here in Washington, the current tax cut rates disappear at the end of the year T.J.
[Holmes:] All right. Thanks as always to our Paul Steinhauser. Speaking of D.C., take a shot of Washington, D.C. this morning. Lovely picture as always, live picture of the capital where work is always going on, even on the weekend. Well, coming up, no matter where you are today and what you're doing, if you have anybody traveling in your family or maybe you're traveling yourself, you need to see what's happening in weather today. We have some winter weather warnings taking place. And it is going to cause chaos in some places as far as the travel schedule goes. It's six minutes past the hour. Stick around.

[Amanpour:] Now to Pakistan. When Hina Rabbani Khar was appointed foreign minister, she was the youngest and the first female ever to hold that position. It is a critical job and she took it at a critical moment. Osama bin Laden had just been found and killed inside the country and Pakistan's relations with its key ally, the United States, had just hit rock bottom. We turn right now to Pakistan and Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. Thank you for joining us. Welcome to the program.
[Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistani Foreign Minister:] A pleasure to be here.
[Amanpour:] Foreign Minister, there's been months now of investigation into what happened in Abbottabad, where Osama bin Laden was hiding and also into the crucial question of how he could have been in Pakistan for nine years, hopscotching from house to house, apparently hiding in plain sight. Can you tell us today what you have learned, who was responsible for hiding him?
[Khar:] Christiane, this is a process which is currently ongoing in Pakistan. As it happens, only yesterday, I appeared in front of what we call the Abbottabad Commission, which is looking into the presence of the unexpected presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistani territory. And they are still at it. So I think we have to, from our side, at least, wait for the commission to come out with its analysis, with its report on what happened and how it happened.
[Amanpour:] So let me just ask you a little bit further. You know, obviously, that this commission has been meeting and investigating for months now. And even your own people, particularly your own newspapers, are saying, we need to know who was responsible for facilitating the most wanted man in the world hiding in our country, apparently safely. Was it ordinary citizens? Was it law enforcement? Was it the military? Can you give us any details? I know the commission is still investigating, but anything you know.
[Khar:] Christiane, I think one thing which is beyond doubt by now is - and it's not only coming in from our sources, this is coming in from the many, many sort of volumes of stuff which was taken in from his hideout, that there was no complicity in on the part of anybody within the Pakistani administration. And when I talk about the Pakistani administration, I talk about the whole of government.
[Amanpour:] Minister, as you know, many in the United States, even in your own country, doubt that very much, that somebody of such a high profile could have existed under the nose of the military, under the nose of the intelligence. You are right, the documents, as yet, do not prove any complicity or point to any. But the question is still out. The jury is still out. And why do you think the U.S. has such a hard time believing that the most wanted man in the world could somehow be sheltered by ordinary citizens and his own network?
[Khar:] I think there will be lessons learned from this. There will be tough lessons learned from this. And this is not something that Pakistan at all is proud of. This is not a legacy that this government wants to leave behind at all. So I think we are, like the rest of the world, waiting to learn lessons from this, from the presence of Osama bin Laden inside Pakistani territory. But I want to also say that initially in the press, especially in the Western press, there was an impression given that he was living right under the nose of the military academy, for instance. And I want to clarify that the military academy does not mean military presence in or hard military presence within that area. A military academy has a it's like a military school, like any other school, so it doesn't mean that under the nose of the military itself. But as I said, this is something which concerns us as much as the rest of the world. We are on the same page on this. And we want to learn from the commission's report as to what happened, how it happened and what are ways and means of we of us strengthening our intelligence network, what are ways and means of us being able to strengthen the political network and ensure that this type of, you know, thing doesn't happen inside Pakistan anymore.
[Amanpour:] I just want to let you know that your scarf has slipped off your head. If you if you care, you can put it back on right now. Otherwise, I can continue.
[Khar:] Sure. Please continue.
[Amanpour:] OK. Perfect. Foreign Minister, it has caused really a plummeting, as I said, rock- bottom relations between Pakistan and the United States. One of your foremost authors and experts, Ahmed Rashid, has written a new book, in which he says that the United States and Pakistan could possibly be on the brink of war, go to war because their relations are so bad. Your own parliament has just put through a very robust series of new measures. I know you call it a reset, but it does seem to slap the U.S. around a bit, for instance, saying no drone attacks anymore onto Pakistani territory.
[Khar:] Christiane, as you have pointed out, the parliamentary process has, indeed, pointed out that there should be a complete stop to drone strikes. But they have also pointed out that foreign militants, if they exist on Pakistani soil, must be rooted out completely. So as far as the strategy is concerned, we are together. We are on the same page. We want to root out terrorism, because Pakistan suffers more from terrorism than any other country in this world. I can say that clearly. Now, however, it is also emphasizing that it must be respectful, that this relationship must be based on respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and for the interests of Pakistan.
[Amanpour:] Let me ask you about going after the militants. You are saying that this no-drone strike is going to be implemented and that you will go after the militants yourself in Pakistan. But here is the crux of the issue. Many people watch the relationship between Pakistan and India. They look at it as the most serious problem in the region, because what Pakistan and its obsession with India is drawing all its security resources away from the fight against the militants. So as you know, there are still sanctuaries. The United States has just said the latest attack in Afghanistan was by the Haqqani network. If Pakistan is unable to go after its own militants because its resources are so stretched towards India, you're now saying that you're going to deny the U.S. its most effective weapon in terms of going after these militants.
[Khar:] OK, again, let me take this opportunity to correct a few perceptions. First of all, Pakistan's policy toward all regional neighbors, to its immediate neighbors, has been consistent. This government's policy has been consistent, that we need to find peace and stability within. And the way to do that is to find a friendship or to improve our ties to improve ties which are based on trust with each one of our neighbors. We cannot afford to be selective about it, so be it India, be it China, be it Iran, be it Afghanistan, we do not have a choice. We cannot be selective about it. We have to improve our relations. And I hope that you have noticed the recent trend in our relations with India. Pakistan has been very consistently following a dialogue process to bring India back to the dialogue table. They are back on the dialogue table. And we have moved through this dialogue process and trying to solve our problems on the negotiating table. That is the Pakistani approach, as we speak. Now, in Pakistan, you have seen a reaction to the drone strikes. You have seen that they are considered to be in violation legally. They are seen to be counter-productive, because what they do is that they put the militants and the tribesmen, who this government has taken great pains to separate, back together in their hostility toward the United States. Now, that's not a good long-term strategy.
[Amanpour:] So in that case, the parliamentary commission also demanded an apology from the United States for the killing of Pakistani troops the last time the U.S. was going after militants. Is it important to get that apology? Have you gotten it yet? And will you demand it?
[Khar:] Christiane, I again, important to clarify, while the government had never formally asked for the apology, now the parliament has, indeed, asked for an apology. And we would certainly hope that the U.S. would, you know, be respectful of the will of the people of Pakistan. And please, too, remember, that these were 24 of our soldiers who died at the hands of what we considered to be friendly fire, because we are in this war together, because we have been partnering with the international community in Afghanistan. Now let me ask you this very simple question. What would it feel and what would it do to the U.S. citizens' sentiment if they were to receive 24 body bags in the United States, saying this was done in accident by the Pakistani troops, who did not lose a single limb? What would be the reaction of the United States?
[Amanpour:] Madam Minister, can I switch subjects just for a moment, because another issue that is very prominent and causes quite a lot of angst in the United States, and, actually, in the West, is the issue of acid burning and the violation of women. And I know the system in Pakistan is trying to put punitive measures against people who do that. Now, you know that there's been this case of this young woman, Fakhra Yunus, who was a prominent acid victim. She committed suicide by jumping from her building. Acid was thrown in her face by her husband. It's also her husband was a relative of yours. He was a cousin of yours. And he's been accused by her of having done that. What do you have to say about that?
[Khar:] Even before this suicide took place, the government has passed what I consider to be historic legislation against acid burning, which will mean that any more people who do this will not be able to go scot-free at all, that the system will resist it, that the system will have walls around it which will discourage people from using this as a tool for domestic violence and others.
[Amanpour:] If it does turn out that your cousin is responsible and that he's charged and found guilty, should he face the same penalties that any ordinary Pakistani perpetrator would?
[Khar:] Absolutely. Absolutely. In order to make the case that nobody is above law, the government that's in has already committed to reopen the case. And I think that once all the work is done, in terms of the investigation, et cetera, anyone, whether who whichever background he may be from, must face the law and must face the results that come out of that action.
[Amanpour:] Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, thank you so much for joining us from Pakistan.
[Khar:] A pleasure.
[Amanpour:] And the issue of acid burning was the subject of a film that won the Best Documentary at the Oscars this year. And coming up, an English mystery that Sherlock Holmes would love, a case of disappearing ink and dashed hopes solved by brilliant police work. It's elementary, my dear Watson, when we come back.

[Griffin:] I feel like we should be talking football. But here we go. For the first time ever, dads from across the country came together for a summit. What are they talking about? How the Internet can help make them better dads. Our Josh Levs met up with the group.
[Josh Levs, Cnn Contributor:] Hey, give them a shot. You know, look they're all dads. We're all dads here, right? And what I found that I didn't know is that this is a new burgeoning business. That more and more guys are actually focusing on these blogs that are about being fathers. And they had this summit, the first-ever summit, where lots of them came together. So I got a group of them together, and I asked them: What are guys looking for online?
[Eric Elkins, Datingdad.com:] They're really looking for other dads who are going through the same things they are and looking for some support, looking for some funny stories and and really wanting to share the magic that it is that is being a father.
[Paul Banas, Greatdad.com:] Guys are responding the same way that a lot of women have traditionally responded. They look for articles on on potty training, on how to get the baby to sleep, how to name their baby. And and then they end being a lot on on relationship issues. Because there are a lot of things that guys just don't talk about with anybody after the baby is born. And we get the fair amount of traffic of is on articles about sex after after pregnancy, because the relationships change with that first baby.
[Levs:] And you don't hear about this stuff a lot, right? They these issues don't come up a lot. Yes, go ahead.
[Unidentified Male:] This role is being completely reinvented. And lots of men are out there wanting to talk about it, because there's not a previous generation you can go to. You can't go to your dad, because his form of fatherhood was completely different than what we see today. And so it's new media; it's new fatherhood. And that's what we're talking about here.
[Levs:] So on your blog, you find that this is a place where you can present information about it, ideas about it, have a conversation with other dads about it, where they're sharing their experiences. Because they need that what? that sense of community? They need to know there's other guys out there going through the same thing.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, we're not the Peter Griffin or the Homer Simpson that we're often portrayed as. We're involved in our family; we're working; we're trying to provide, or we're working at home in a lot of cases. And our role in the family is be being real men.
[Levs:] And what "real men" means, right? I mean, that's part of what it what it means to be a real man now. You know, guys who get together and have poker night and can talk. Guys can just, like, call each other. What is it specifically about being online that is offering dads something? What do they want from the Web?
[Unidentified Male:] We're not out, you know, going to the PTA meetings necessarily or going you know, we're not meeting the other guys in in the neighborhood as often as as we should, you know? The nights of poker night are not that easy and they don't happen as much. And that's a one core group of guys. But with the Web, you get to talk to guys all around the world that you may never actually meet in person. And you can share these ideas and have this conversation.
[Levs:] When are they getting on blogs? Because my day is so busy. And if you have a job, and then you get home and you have your kids, are they are they getting are they staying up late, at 2 in the morning because they couldn't have sex?
[Unidentified Male:] We're finding that they're saying, you know, I'm on in the computer at work. But they're also saying, there's a huge segment of time between 30 minutes and two and a half to three hours when they get back home where they're actually going online.
[Levs:] What are the biggest things that you think in general people in society don't understand about dads?
[Unidentified Male:] You know, dads are so active in their kids' lives, whether it's I mean, I work for home. I've worked from home for four years. My kids come home; I have to help them with their homework. You know, it I'm the one doing it. I'm the one going signing their forms and going to the play, and I love it. I I would have it no other way. And I think that's the biggest thing people seem to miss, is that it's not you still all the advertisements, all the the literature. Anything, it's always with the mom slant on it. And it it it is a slight. Not only are we active, but we're confident. We're really good fathers, you know? I like changing my my baby's diaper. And I like getting the milk at night or whatever, because there's a it's a very human thing, whether you're a woman or a man, caring for a a little baby is a very human emotion. So we wanted to promote that same feeling or that acceptance of that to other men, to promote men being involved dads who felt uncomfortable as well, but also to the, you know, larger society to see us that way.
[Levs:] And just to give you guys a sense of how fast this is growing, a couple of these guys have dropped their jobs, their other jobs, and they're doing these blogs full time. And they're getting enough traffic, enough advertising on it, that it's keeping them more than busy enough for a full-time job. They're doing really well. I've posted all the links for you at the page, up at Facebook and Twitter. I got my page here for you. You can check them out. You can post ideas. And you can tell us what you think about this. But I know I mean, Reynolds, you were just saying
[Wolf:] And then you fast-forward to the Wolf house
[Levs:] I know.
[Wolf:] -my life, and it's Dora the Explorer. It's it's we've got Sesame Street full blast. The the the place looks like a hurricane aftermath. That's how our place looks like you know, with the kids all over the place.
[Levs:] There's no exposed rug on the floor because there's toys everywhere.
[Wolf:] Because we both have little kids, yes.
[Levs:] No, look I mean, my a friend of mine the other day, he's my age. So and his his dad is well, my around my dad's age. And never changed a diaper in his life.
[Wolf:] Wow.
[Levs:] His dad has never changed a diaper in his life. And this is a reminder of how much things has changed. And it's also a reason why, as you're seeing in these blogs, why dads are reaching out to each other.
[Wolf:] Mm-hmm.
[Levs:] Because they need ideas, because they want advice. And you look like you're just completely in shock.
[Griffin:] Well, I guess I had different experience. Because, I mean, my father was there. My father changed the diapers. You know, I grew up with three boys; we all learned how to cook and do the laundry. So I had a kind of a different experience.
[Levs:] Did you grow up cooking in your house?
[Griffin:] Oh yes.
[Levs:] Wow.
[Griffin:] But what what I I just want to know who actually is visiting this site? Because as I'm looking at it, I'm thinking, Mmm, I bet there's more women checking up on what guys are doing
[Levs:] There are.
[Griffin:] -on what guys are doing, than guys checking up on what other guys are doing to raise their kids.
[Levs:] There are. And that's actually something interesting. I asked them about that. I said, how much of the time is it really women wanting to know, like, 'Hey, what should I be expecting out of my husband?'
[Griffin:] What's the secret here?
[Levs:] Or, how did how did you guys out there start doing these things when I can't get my husband to do that? They do get a lot of traffic there. But they also do know in a lot of cases who they're talking to, whether it's over Skype or people who otherwise have a presence online. And there are guys who have for some reason, have not felt comfortable going other places. But maybe, secretly, are comfortable they're more comfortable when they're on their own in a room with a computer, reaching out to these guys online saying, "Look, I need help. I want to maximize my bonding time with my kids while I'm here. What do I do?" And it's every situation. It's divorcing; it's dating all of this stuff. And they're reaching out to the Web.
[Griffin:] And my advice would be: Get off the Web and go see your dang kids.
[Levs:] Hopefully, they're asleep by that hour.
[Griffin:] All right. Well, that was great.
[Wolf:] Good stuff, man.
[Griffin:] Certainly interesting.
[Levs:] Hey, it's all a window into our world.
[Griffin:] Brought us something new. That's for sure. Thanks, Josh.
[Levs:] You got it.
[Griffin:] We'll have the top stories coming up next.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer are returning to the United States tonight. They were locked up in Iran for two years on charges that they were spies. Since Wednesday they have been free in Oman, where they made their first public statement just a short time ago. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is in Oman. So, Mohammed, what did they say?
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, Fredricka, it was just a short while ago,
[Whitfield:] So, Mohammed, did they say anything about how they're feeling? They must be incredibly exhausted.
[Jamjoom:] They did look as though they were still tired, not as tired as they looked when they first got here a couple of nights ago. They certainly looked happy to be with their families. At one point Omani officials in the room presented bouquets of flowers to Josh Fattal, to Shane Bauer and to Sarah Shourd. They were sitting along with their families, everybody beaming, looking very, very happy to be back together. And we've been told the past few days that both men have undergone medical tests here in Oman, that they were also spending a lot of quality time with their families after having been separated for so long. And we do know also that last night that there was an official long awaited engagement ceremony between Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer. They had gotten engaged originally while they were both in prison in Tehran, notorious Evin Prison, but last night it was made official. And Shane Bauer gave a ring, an actual ring, to Sarah Shourd, and and they got their official engagement, finally, underway. So now they're making their way home and looking forward to to finalizing the wedding plans that they've been wanting to do for so long Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right. Now those hikers now U.S. bound. Thanks so much, Mohammed Jamjoom. In Italy now, prosecutors are defending the DNA evidence used to convict American Amanda Knox of murder. Today was the second day of closing arguments in the appeal of Knox's conviction. She and her former boyfriend were found guilty two years ago of killing fellow college student Meredith Kercher. The defense contends the evidence was mishandled. Knox's mother says she is cautiously optimistic.
[Edda Nellas, Amanda Knox's Mother:] I am. But none of us, you know none of us let us go to that it's for sure place because it's not for sure. You never know what could happen. You know, the first trial here, we were sure that she would be acquitted because there was no evidence, and that obviously didn't happen. But we're you know, I think we'll all a little less stressed.
[Sen. Susan Collins , Maine:] Business owners are reluctant to create jobs today if they're going to need to pay more tomorrow to comply with onerous new regulations. That's why employers say that uncertainty generated by Washington is a big wet blanket on our economy.
[Whitfield:] During her address Collins claimed federal agencies are drawing up more than 4,200 new rules. And President Barack Obama's weekly radio address also focused on the economy. He says if the U.S. is going to get serious about jobs, we would it's necessary to get serious about education.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Education is an essential part of this economic
[Whitfield:] The president says his $447 billion jobs bill will help modernize and rebuild schools. America's jobs crisis is hitting some groups particularly hard teens and young adults without high school diplomas. There's a program in Washington that's helping prepare them for full time jobs or college by putting them together with senior citizens. Athena Jones has more.
[Athena Jones, Cnn Correspondent:] This is not your typical school.
[Taylor Cunningham, Foster Grandparent:] Let me show you how to do that dough.
[Jones:] And 81-year-old Taylor Cunningham is not your typical instructor.
[Cunningham:] Good. You're doing it good, baby.
[Jones:] Here at Potomac Job Corps, low-income youth ages 16 to 24 can study to get their high school diploma or GED; become computer literate; or learn a trade like culinary arts, carpentry or cosmetology.
[Cunningham:] They call me "Pop-pop".
[Jones:] "Poppa"?
[Cunningham:] "Pop-pop".
[Jones:] "Pop-pop"?
[Cunningham:] Yes.
[Jones:] A group of low-income senior citizens like Cunningham, who used to be a cook, serve as foster grandparents, helping teachers train the youth. The southwest Washington Job Corps campus houses some 480 students, many of them considered at risk. Ronnie Taylor is a rarity among the participants. He has a college degree, but he couldn't find a good paying job and wasn't making enough money to get by. Taylor is nearing the end of the program and he has a job at a local restaurant. This Job Corps site is one of 124 nationwide funded by the Department of Labor at a cost of about $1.5 billion a year. The program places 90 percent of students who complete the typical two year course in full time jobs, college or the military. Cheryl Christmas, who runs the Washington Foster Grandparent Program, says it helps the seniors who take part stay active.
[Cheryl Christmas, Foster Grandparent Program:] Low income often comes with it a lot of health issues. The idea of volunteering, getting out, being connected, it reduces the isolation of these seniors, so they get that health benefit.
[Jones:] The seniors get a commuting allowance and $2.65 per hour tax- free stipend in return. It's money they can use.
[Cunningham:] It's a big help.
[Jones:] For the teenagers at this site, the program is a chance for a good life.
[Taylor:] For me, finding my passion in cooking again, it's made me more motivated to get out and become more successful. So, I tell you, it's changed me for the better.
[Jones:] Officials say the Job Corps Program is expensive, but worth it.
[Jane Oates, Assistant Labor Secretary:] It's not a feel good program. This is a program that is an investment in these young people.
[Jones:] Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.
[Whitfield:] The FBI is rewarding the folks who helped them catch James "Whitey" Bulger. He and his girlfriend were arrested this summer after eluding police for 16 years. The FBI says more than $2 million was paid to at least two tipsters. Bulger, an alleged Boston mob boss, is accused in 19 murders. A dead satellite is now out of the cosmos. NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell out of orbit overnight over the North Pacific Ocean. No one knows for sure where any of the pieces may have landed, but a news photographer in San Antonio, Texas captured this image, convinced that that could be a piece of that debris of that satellite. All right, endurance swimmer Diana Nyad is not giving up on her dream. Last night she began a new attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida. Nyad was forced to abandon an earlier attempt last month. Well, this time the 62-year-old briefly got tangled up with jellyfish and she was treated for stings, then she took off again. She hopes to make to it Florida by Monday. And the house of Gadhafi has fallen, and that's not just a figure of speech. Literally his houses have been destroyed. Our Ben Wedeman took a stroll through one of Moammar Gadhafi's once opulent palaces in Libya, now just broken glass and smashed up figures. You're going to see all of that next.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, flight scare. Sewing needles, yes, needles, found in sandwiches on Delta planes flying into America. One passenger was hurt. This morning, find out what the airline is doing about it. Big bus. Two continents, three tons of cocaine, and 200 pounds of marijuana. A major haul by the Coast Guard and the Navy and It's happening right now. CNN will take you on board that ship. Caught on tape. Breathtaking rescue as a 7-year-old dancing on a third floor window air conditioning unit trips and falls. Hear from the guy who caught her. And how would you like to lose a few pounds? A new weight loss pill is about to be approved. It's called
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, good morning, Carol. That's certainly something authorities are looking into. The FBI and local law enforcement in the Netherlands are trying to find out how those needles got into those turkey sandwiches. Two of the needles were found by passengers, and one was discovered by an air marshal. When Delta found out about the needles in the food, the airline says it notified all 18 flights from Amsterdam to stop serving the sandwiches. Here's what one passenger who got one of the contaminated sandwiches said when he spoke to station KSTP.
[Unidentified Male:] I bit down on it so that I wasn't biting down on the on the sharp side but on the flat side. It could have been, you know, a bad injury. Orally. But had I taken a big swallow and swallowed that down, I'd have a needle inside. And that would be very concerning to me.
[Endo:] Gate Gourmet is the company which provided the sandwiches to Delta and a spokesperson for that company says the sandwiches were prepared in Amsterdam. In a statement, she goes on to say, "This is a terribly upsetting situation. First and foremost is the safety of the traveling public. There's nothing more important to us at all than the safety of the passengers and crews." Now the Transportation Security Administration says it's closely monitoring the investigation into what happened as well as the security protocols being conducted by the air carrier and the airport authority Carol.
[Costello:] So the company that makes these sandwiches says it also provides food to other airlines. Is there a concern about food on those other flights?
[Endo:] Yes. That's a good question. Gate Gourmet said it's fully cooperating with the FBI and local authorities in the Netherlands and it's also conducting its own full-scale investigation. Now the company says it does provide food to other airlines but have received no other reports or complaints.
[Costello:] Let's hope they don't. Sandra Endo reporting live in Washington this morning. Also this morning, no sign of two missing Iowa girls. One family member says it's as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight. Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook are cousins, and they have not been seen since going on a bike ride Friday. Their bicycles were found by a lake, but the mother of one of the girls doubts they would have gone there on their own.
[Unidentified Female:] It's not an area that they frequented. They didn't go far from home, either of the girls. They mainly stayed around the Evansdale area that my sister lives in. So it's just it's just not kind of like them to go that far. Definitely out of their character.
[Costello:] CNN's Jim Spellman is covering the search effort in Evansdale, Iowa. Any luck yet?
[Jim Spellman, Cnn Correspondent:] Unfortunately no, Carol. Take a look at this lake, it's called Myers Lake. They began draining it yesterday. They think perhaps by late tomorrow or Thursday, they'll have all the water drained out of here into the river. It's really grasping at straws, though. I spoke to an investigator a few minutes ago who told me it's like these girls evaporated. They don't have any sign of foul play. But they had about a thousand volunteers out here over the weekend searching through fields and trails, everything they can think of around here, with absolutely no sign of these girls except those two bikes and a purse found near the bikes. No sign of any kind of struggle near there. So they want to be sure they drain the lake just in case. They don't think that they're going to find anything else in here. But without much else to do, that's their focus today Carol.
[Costello:] So they have no witnesses who saw the girls, you know, on their bicycles getting off at the lake, or no clues like that?
[Spellman:] Yes. No clues like that at all. Take a look at this, Carol. This far corner of the lake over here is where the girls were. And it's such an unlikely spot for somebody to be abducted from. There's a bike path that runs along the edge of the lake, and you can see an interstate just on the other side of it. You can clearly see most of the bike path from the interstate. And just along the side of the lake here people are are people's homes. And there's people all around here. If you were to take somebody from that wooded area where the bikes were found, you would have to walk about 15 minutes just to be able to get out of this area. And so it's just a very unlikely scenario that somebody would be able to just, say, snatch them off of the bikes. So they're really they're looking for a new way to approach this case. But without any clues to go on, it's going to be tough. They have brought the FBI in to try to bring their resources to bear and try to make some sort of progress Carol.
[Costello:] Jim Spellman live in Evansdale, Iowa, this morning. George Zimmerman, he's facing new accusations. He's already charged with second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin. You know that. Well, now a woman claims Zimmerman sexually abused her for about a decade and says the abuse started when the two were children. A Florida judge has released an audiotape of her accusation.
[Unidentified Female:] It started when I was 6. He's about almost two years older than I am. He would reach under the blankets and try to do things. And I would try to push him off, but he was bigger and stronger and older. It was in front of everybody. And I don't know how I didn't say anything. But I just didn't know any better.
[Costello:] The woman identified as witness number nine said the abuse went on for years. CNN has reached out to her father, who said the family would not be speaking to the media. In the meantime, Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, spoke exclusively to CNN's Piers Morgan.
[Mark O'mara, Attorney For George Zimmerman:] Well, on the face of it, you're right, they seem damaging. Of course, as you've mentioned, my frustration is that they are absolutely not relevant to anything that is at hand in the true case. They are not admissible. They're not can't get it into a courtroom nor will it get before a judge in any way. So the frustration that I have is these allegations which George contends are untrue. Now we need to spend our resources and time rebutting them, and actually we're in a difficult if not delicate position of deciding how much we attack the source of this story, or just leave it be and move on to what really counts.
[Costello:] The judge says Zimmerman can disclose the nature of his relationship with witness number nine, but her identity cannot be publicly revealed. The actress Jada Pinkett Smith is on a personal mission to give voice to victims of human trafficking and sex slavery. In about 20 minutes, she'll be testifying about the problem on Capitol Hill. Pinkett Smith says she used to think of human trafficking and sex slavery as an over-there problem, wherever there is. But her daughter Willow saw the Kone 2012 video about a Ugandan warlord, and she did some research, and then she told her mom the trafficking problem is also happening here. And she's right. The State Department says as many as 27 million people are enslaved worldwide, and the FBI estimates 15,000 to 18,000 of them are right here in the United States. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding the hearing. The panel wants to develop a strategy to try to stop human trafficking over the next 10 years. Pinkett Smith went on CNN's "STARTING POINT" before she headed to Capitol Hill.
[Jada Pinkett Smith, Actress/activist:] I think at this point it is about educating yourself and realizing how it exists. And today we'll be talking about the TVPA, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which has not been reauthorized on a federal level quite yet. And so we want to push to make that happen. And then of course we have the case act in California for this November. We'll be pushing to make sure that that bill gets passed. It will be the toughest anti-trafficking law in this country. And so those will be our two actions.
[Costello:] You can see her daughter, Willow, beside her. We'll bring you some of Pinkett Smith's testimony live. We expect to hear from her in just about 20 minutes. We are all suffering through record heat this summer, and a drought is already gripping more than half the country. The end result, fewer crops making it to harvest, and all of us likely will be paying high food prices. Higher food prices, I should say. The Agriculture Department says only 46 percent of Iowa's corn crops are in good condition. Compare that to 82 percent just a year ago. This problem is front and center in Iowa. In less than an hour, Iowa's governor, Terry Branstad, will meet with local farmers in several state and federal agencies. Our own Chris Welch joins us by phone. He is in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Tell us what it looks like there.
[Chris Welch, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Carol, a lot of people, and primarily farmers right now, are really on edge of their seat. You mentioned the heat
[Costello:] So, Chris, can the crops be saved? Are we past the point of no return?
[Welch:] Well, you know, most farmers here I spoke to in Iowa say all is not lost. I spoke to one who said, you know, in a good year, he can get, say, 200 bushels of corn per acre. This year, he still thinks he'll have a harvest but it will be reduced by about 25 percent. And that hurts him, you know, in a few ways. Take a listen.
[Derek Mullin, Farmer:] This is our personal business. It's right out our back door. As soon as we walk out of our house, we see our investment. And when it goes downhill, it does take a toll out. You know, when the hardest part about this is that you can do everything just right planning dates, work hard at putting in a good crop, have a good stand established, and when mother nature works against you, then it all seems like it was for nothing.
[Welch:] And that's farmer Derek Mullins' saving grace is the fact that he does have federal crop insurance. But Carol, he says that really only goes so far.
[Costello:] Yes. Chris Welch reporting live from Iowa. Thank you. Cronyism. That's Mitt Romney's new line of attack against President Obama. But would Mitt Romney bar donors from his administration?

[Johns:] We're standing by for a press conference by the mayor of Virginia Beach and navy officials. We'll go straight to it when it starts, but right now, let's get a little bit more with Rob Waldman who is a decorated former air force fighter pilot. And Rob, as we wait for this news conference in Virginia Beach with the mayor, I'd like to ask you to give me some idea what it's like to fly a jet like this, this two-seater F-18.
[Lt. Col. Rob "waldo" Waldman, Former F-16 Fighter Pilot:] It's intense. And it requires an amazing amount of training. I think what you saw today was a perfect example of how training can be put to use. I mean, you're dealing with multimillion dollar machines, complicated weapons systems, just tough situations to operate in, and when they have that malfunction which will be reviewed and they'll discover the source of that, they'll have to act instantaneously, and the training was put to use. And I think it really save lives, and ultimately, will save money and improve the reputation of the military in the long run.
[Johns:] We've heard so much about the checklist that pilots go through in situations like this. What would be going through your mind if you started seeing a malfunction on the job?
[Waldman:] Well, what happens is before you strap into that plane with the wingman behind you or solo, you've rehearsed it. You've chair flown it. You've in a simulator in a chair going through the systems over and over and over again. Now, in the heat of battle, in the heat of an emergency, you will likely forget something, but the key is when you train with intensity when the emergency happens, you respond, and
[Johns:] All right. Rob?
[Waldman:] Yes, sir?
[Johns:] I'm going to have to jump in. Let me jump in on you right now because the mayor of Virginia Beach is starting his news conference right now. Let's listen.
[Captain Mask Weisgerber, U.n. Navy:] heroic acts. I've gone far to help reduce the impact of today's crash and tragedy. And finally, to make it clear that the navy is offering all resources to the city of Virginia Beach to help it in the aftermath of today's incident. I wanted to give a brief a brief summary of what happened today. Shortly afternoon, we had a training flight. They had two seat F-18 hornet take off from Naval Air Station Oceana. Shortly after takeoff, initial indications are that that aircraft suffered a catastrophic, mechanical malfunction, the specifics of which I don't want to speculate on. However, it resulted in the forced ejection of that air crew. Both of those air crew ejected safely. The front seater was a student pilot. The back seater was an experienced instructor. It resulted in their forced ejection and the loss of the aircraft which impacted over my right shoulder here, and with that, I can take a couple of questions.
[Unidentified Male:] I've heard that a bird may have been sucked into the engine of the aircraft upon takeoff. Did the pilots give any indication of anything like that occurring?
[Weisgerber:] No, sir. This time, we have no indications of a bird. And again, all we know is that there was a mechanical malfunction shortly after takeoff, and that's really all we know at this time.
[Unidentified Female:] Is this a training mission?
[Weisgerber:] Yes. Most of the flying that we do here at Naval Air Station Oceana is directly related to training in preparation for the efforts that we do have in this week.
[Unidentified Male:] There were reports of eyewitnesses that they saw a jet fuel coming from the plane. Was that designed? Did they let go of jet fuel early in order to prevent this apart from being bigger when the plane crashed?
[Weisgerber:] No. The indication of that jet fuel is one of the eyewitness accounts that we heard as well and that's one of those indications that there was a mechanical malfunction that's leading us down that road. Again, that's initial assessment. There will be a full investigation, as always, as there is in any aircraft mishap, and we will very thoroughly determine what happened today.
[Unidentified Male:] How is the crew?
[Weisgerber:] The crew is doing well. They suffered some minor injuries, and the latest report is that they're up and about and both coherent and doing well.
[Unidentified Male:] Are they local?
[Weisgerber:] They do both live here in Virginia Beach.
[Unidentified Male:] Is this the first crash locally involving an FA-18 aircraft?
[Weisgerber:] It's the I'm not fully prepared to answer that. It's the only one in recent history in the local area over land.
[Unidentified Male:] Can you define student pilot? When you say student pilot
[Weisgerber:] The squadron now was involved, the strike fighter squadron 106. They're one of the navy's three fleet replacement squadrons. This is where the navy teaches, our F-18 pilots, essentially, for very first time in the fleet with the representative aircraft. So, their syllabus goes from basic flying to advanced tactics.
[Unidentified Male:] You guys train very much for a scenario like this, and you do it with Virginia Beach first responders quite a bit. You had an exercise easily. Certainly, a lot of that must have come into play today and helped out here. Certainly, in fact, some month and a half ago, we had a full Virginia Beach Fire Department company in service and coordination with our military DOD assets here in the area, and we ran every company through how we would operate in this sort of incident, and obviously, that training has paid off for us. Chief, how far have your firefighters been able to get into the damaged buildings? We made access into every building for a primary search, we call it. We are now making sure that we've mitigated the debris field as best we can, and we're going to do a secondary search operation from there. Obviously, first priority was fire control at some 40 units burning and got that fire under control in roughly an hour. Are you reasonably confident at this point that there are no fatalities in this incident? We have none reported to us that we're aware of at this point? Any people missing? Have any missing persons reports? Certainly, with the number of occupants in this size of a complex, there are people that we're still trying to track down. The fuel, the fire, the wind, what was the biggest challenge to firefighters today? Obviously, fire spread and exposed buildings. Correct. There have been added little complaints that, perhaps, maybe these planes are flying too close to civilian areas. How would you respond to some of the folks that have been concerned about that?
[Weisgerber:] I would not comment on that. Today's focus, really, is to talk about the events of the mishap today. And again, to express our the gratitude of the navy and the continued cooperation between the United States navy and the city of Virginia Beach to keep something like this from happening again in the future.
[Unidentified Male:] Your view on that, because I know you worked a lot with the navy here recently to try to prevent encroachment upon the facility there.
[Mayor Will Sessoms, Virginia Beach:] Right.
[Unidentified Male:] What is your assessment right now of the proximity of all of this population to businesses and residents to the air base?
[Sessoms:] The navy has always been a tremendous part of our city, and it is a vital part of our city and that is going to continue to sit back and see how the navy and the city have worked together through this tragic situation. It's very, very impressive. What I'm thinking about now is that we don't find any victims. So far, we've been very lucky. We got to go through a few more buildings that the chief said, and that's what's on my mind right now.
[Unidentified Male:] And there are private citizens of Virginia Beach who stepped up, actually helped to rescue the piles
[Sessoms:] Let me say to you, you know, out of all bad comes some good and never have I ever been so proud of our police, fire, EMS, the navy, the state, the citizens of Virginia Beach out here helping to move fire hoses. That shows you the quality of the people in the city and that they really care and they're helping each other, and for that, I am most grateful.
[Unidentified Male:] Can you give us any idea of what you do in the circumstances
[Weisgerber:] We go through extensive emergency procedure training and certainly is a part of a continuum that goes on throughout our entire career. In the case of catastrophic malfunctions, we do have emergency procedures. There's no indication that the air crew were able to do anything other than have a forced ejection today. And again, that will be part of the full investigation that goes on both from the safety and the legal round from today's
[Unidentified Female:] Are you aware of how many times the student pilot had actually been in the air? We have one more question. Are you aware of how many times the student pilot had actually been in the air?
[Weisgerber:] I am not. However, the instructor pilot was extremely experienced.
[Unidentified Male:] Chief, as an experienced first responder, you just had a jet fighter crash I think we're truly blessed by that. I think, in fact, the folks doing the right thing before our assets got here, and we hope they will continue to do the right thing. If they find pieces of the aircraft, we would ask that they not touch them, that they will call our 311 line here in the city. We'll partner with our naval partners, and we'll make sure that it's rectified. We with would like people to stay away from the area if at all possible, and if anybody has residents that live in these Mayfair apartments, we would ask that you certainly call the 311 number as well so we can track those folks down.
[Johns:] So, there you go. A news conference in Virginia each giving us just a bit of new information, probably, the most significant piece of information there is a representative of the United States navy on the scene essentially calling this a catastrophic mechanical malfunction of the aircraft. This was a two-seater F-18, we're told, and we're also told that there was a pilot in training in the front of the aircraft and an instructor in the back. The mayor, there you saw, of Virginia Beach saying they've been very, very lucky there, so far, with the reports of casualties and injuries. Now, let's talk a little bit to Lt. Col. Rob "Waldo" Waldman. I was just talking to you before that news conference began. They're describing this as a catastrophic malfunction. That much seems clear. What did you take away from this news conference?
[Waldman:] Well, I definitely took away the community and the training. I mean, in a situation like this, obviously, the pilots have got to react to avoid as much damage and as much possibility of a casualty. When the accident happens, you're low altitude, the first thing you do in your training is you turn that altitude or that airspeed into altitude. And you maintain the aircraft control. You analyze the situation. You take proper action, and then, you land as soon as conditions permit. Now, in this situation, they didn't have a landing strip to land on so they had to make a choice. Either stay with the plane or eject, and as we're trained we have to eject in the area that will minimize casualties, and as I said, it's a very, very populated area. I am sure the pilots were very, very confident that they were putting it down in the best area where it would minimize any extra casualties. If they could have taken it out into the ocean they would have, but quick actions, I guarantee save lives, and it's great just to watch the community come together, as the mayor said, be a bunch of great wingmen and serve without having to be in uniform, obviously.
[Johns:] Now, this was a training flight. They've admitted that. And, as I just reported, we had the training pilot in the front, the instructor in the back. Describe for our viewers how typical that is with a new pilot learning how to fly.
[Waldman:] It's very, very typical now. Mind you, the folks that are flying in the plane, there's a very experienced instructor pilot in the back and a student in the front. They already have their wings. They're already qualified to fly. Now, oftentimes, they're getting checked out in that particular aircraft, getting what we call M.R., mission ready. Now, before they even step into the plane, they've gone into simulators. They've practiced it on the ground. They rehearsed it in their mind over and over again. The instructor pilot has questioned and challenged that individual. And if they aren't ready on the ground, they don't fly. So, ultimately, because this was a student, that individual in the back, the man or woman that was a commander of that aircraft had to make decisions. They make split second decisions. They follow through and they react just as they trained on the ground.
[Johns:] In that kind of a scenario, does the instructor pilot have the power to take over control of the plane if, say, the student pilot is doing something wrong?
[Waldman:] Absolutely. They are trained and that that discipline, that in-flight discipline is critical, and if that student doesn't follow those procedures and have the discipline, they don't make it through the program. So, these are pre-qualifications before you step into that jet. And as an instructor, in particular, during very dangerous situations on takeoff and landing, when you're close to the ground, when split-second decisions need to happen very fast because the ground will kill you, obviously, the training has to be very, very, very strict and comply with it at all times.
[Johns:] Now, obviously, we'd be speculating just a bit, but I do have to ask you, given what we know about this and also the fact that there were flames seen coming out of the right side of the plane, how likely is it, based on what we know, that this was operator error?
[Waldman:] You know, one thing about the military, we have to keep in mind, is that you have to be very, very careful not to draw conclusions. They're going to have a safety investigation board, a lot of smart people are going to break this whole scenario apart from beginning to end, they're going to look at the machinery, look at all the wreckage and find a solution to this problem. There is always a possibility of operator error. This is a human being or human beings flying aircraft. But for example, with flame, the aircraft may have been an afterburner trying to gain thrust to get out of the area, then there have been a fuel problem. There may have been something else going wrong. So it's very, very important to let the safety investigation board do their job with the first responders, put together a great solution to this puzzle, and I guarantee the training and the discipline will come to fruition and we're going to see a good answer to this tragic event.
[Johns:] Lieutenant Colonel Rob Waldman, thanks so much for coming and we appreciate you insights and for hanging around through that news conference.
[Waldman:] Proud to be here. Thank you.
[Johns:] Much more ahead. We're going to talk to a woman who actually witnessed the crash. She saw the plane nosedive, quote, "with flames under the right wing."

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] And it's 10 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out West. I'm Kyra Phillips, thanks for joining us. It's a new day and new beginning for Newt Gingrich. A mass resignation takes place in his senior campaign staff. Today, he faces questions about what went wrong. In Arizona, firefighters finally gaining ground on the massive wildfires. It contained 5 percent of the worse blaze and hoped to make even more progress with weaker winds today. Bean sprouts grown in Germany now confirmed is the cause of the worst E. Coli outbreak in European history. At least 23 people died, more than 2,300 sickened. Newt Gingrich, he's looking for a new presidential campaign staff this morning. Just about his entire senior staff is leaving. Still, Gingrich says he'll soldier on. Our Paul Steinhauser live in Manchester, New Hampshire. So Paul, big shakeup. What's the deal?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] You know, Kyra, I think of the seven people on the stage Monday night at our debate right here in Manchester, New Hampshire. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, he may be the one with the most to prove. I mean, this was a very big deal yesterday, as you said, nearly all his top staff. His advisers, his officials of his campaign jumped ship. They said they had differences with the former House speaker over how committed he was to the campaign. Over how he was fund raising and probably over some policy issues maybe as well. Also some talk that maybe Newt's wife, Calista Gingrich was not too enthusiastic about Newt Gingrich spending that much time on the campaign trail. Gingrich has responded very quickly. Yesterday, he put on his Facebook page that he was committed to this campaign. That he would be at our debate. That he would also be at an event this Sunday night in Los Angeles to give a speech. And I learned that he will also be next week, next Thursday at an event for the Republican candidates in New Orleans and Gingrich this morning telling reporters also that he remains committed. Now Kyra, this may also open the door to Rick Perry. The governor of Texas is thinking, thinking about running for the White House. Two of the top people who resigned from Gingrich's staff yesterday, are two people who advised Perry, in his successful re- election run last year. So stay tuned and keep a close eye on Rick Perry as well. Kyra
[Phillips:] You're keeping a close eye on Mitt Romney too. He's in Iowa today.
[Steinhauser:] Yes, and big news about Romney in Iowa. He announced he will not be partaking in the Aims' straw poll. That's a big event out there in Iowa. It's a major straw poll. He was there four years ago. He won that one. He put a lot of money and effort into it, but Mike Huckabee came in second and kind of grabbed all the spotlight. We know what happened after that. Romney did not win the Iowa caucuses. He did not win in New Hampshire and South Carolina. It seems this time around for the former Massachusetts governor, as he makes his second dip for the Republican presidential nomination. He's not going to concentrate as much in Iowa, maybe more right here in New Hampshire. Kyra
[Phillips:] All right, Paul Steinhauser, thanks. Join us as Republican hopefuls face off the debate the big issues, the New Hampshire Republican presidential debate, Monday night 8:00 Eastern only on CNN. President Obama's defense secretary slamming NATO for its mission there, war planes repeatedly bombing Moammar Gadhafi's Tripoli compound reducing it to rubble, but the dictator still reigns. Secretary Gates, not impressed. Earlier this morning, here's what he said, quote, "The mightiest military alliance in history is only 11 weeks into an operation against a poorly armed regime in a sparsely populated country yet many allies are beginning to run short of munitions, requiring the U.S., once more, to make up the difference." Nic Robertson has been following this war closely. So Nic, what's the deal? Is NATO not striking hard enough?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Or it's not getting the right targets, Kyra. I mean, Germany said, if you want to overthrow Gadhafi, you need to kill him or force him from power, which mean focusing pretty much all your efforts towards him. Because it doesn't matter how much you beat his army to protect the civilians in the country as U.N. resolutions calls for, Gadhafi is quite happy to see his army hit and to stay in power himself. So everything has to be about Gadhafi. We've seen NATO step up from not aircraft, jet aircraft, bombing, drones added into that mix, UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles, now helicopters, attack helicopters are patches flown by the British- French attack helicopters so the effort has stepped up. But 11 weeks into this, Gadhafi doesn't seem to be any further moved at this stage to leaving. So there is a frustration. There's a growing feeling amongst the international community that Gadhafi's days are numbered. But nobody is willing to put a time on it. So I think what we're hearing here is a level of frustration that the job isn't done, despite all of this effort, expensive effort, nobody quite knows when the tipping point is going to come, Kyra.
[Phillips:] We're waiting. Nic Robertson live in London. Nic, thanks. New demonstrations and violence in Syria, the Arab country that's been embroiled in anti-government protests. The tension there is building and thousands of residents fleeing to the border with Turkey. They are afraid that a government crackdown will lead to slaughter of civilians and those concerns rippling across the world now. CNN's Max Foster in London with our international headlines. Facts.
[Max Foster, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yes, this is really difficult because foreign journalists are banned from the country so we're having to rely on Syrian state TV. But very clearly today, Syrian TV talking is about operations to restore security in Jshr al- Shagur. Read into that what you will. The Turkish certainly very worried about the situation. The prime minister, is has been pretty reluctant in the past to criticize Syria. This is what he told the news agency, he said that the Assad regime was committing atrocities against antigovernment demonstrators. The Irish independent talking about this today, saying the west fails to impress in wanting real change from Syria. Saying that while the U.S. and its allies want to raise pressure on Syria to end its violent crackdown, there are a few signs the west let alone the Arab world is ready for robust action that might make a difference. They're not getting involved basically. Gulf News talks about divisions over al-Assad's future, talking about the leader of the country, focusing on the president. Despite the most repeated cliche in every Arab country facing protest, Syria saying this case is different because all parties do not leave al- Assad is weak enough to be overthrown yet. So you were talking there to Nic about Libya, a lot of anti- Gadhafi feeling there. You don't have the same sort of anti-Assad feeling in Syria. So it's a different situation, one very delicate for the west to deal with.
[Phillips:] Max, thanks. Still ahead, Americans in battle, civilians at risk and a horrible mistake now under the microscope.
[Kaj Larsen, Cnn Correspondent:] So, if they did everything by the book, is there something wrong with the book? BRIG. GENERAL MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY
[Phillips:] Haunting questions brought to life by whistle-blowing web site, Wikileaks. We'll take a look one tragic incident and the bigger issues that are demanding answers. Also ahead in just a few minutes, a rocket set to blast off carrying a satellite into space to observe the salty seas. Rob Marciano is going to tell us why this is so cool and so important.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Thanks for watching, everyone. Tonight: Sarah Palin attacking a "Wall Street Journal" reporter for not having his facts. The problem is, it's Palin who doesn't have her facts. We're "Keeping Them Honest." Also tonight: bracing for a blizzard of subpoenas, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa promising to hold hundreds of hearings to investigate the White House when the Republicans take control of the House. Now he seems to be scaling back his tough talk from the campaign. Is he flip-flopping? We're "Keeping Them Honest." And later, "Crime & Punishment": a horrific murder that shook a New Hampshire town to its core. Prosecutors called it a thrill kill, and today the killer was convicted and sentenced. The judge says he belongs in a cage. Find out where he will be sent. We will take you inside the trial. We begin, as always, "Keeping Them Honest," with a politician who has made a mistake, but, instead of just admitting it, has chosen to attack the reporter who dared point it out to her. We're talking about Sarah Palin, who lashed out at a "Wall Street Journal" reporter after he correctly pointed out a factually incorrect statement she had made in a speech. Now, on the face of it, you would think it's not a big deal. After all, everyone makes mistakes. But, rather than just admit her mistake, Palin doubled down, using her Facebook page to attack the reporter. Let's go over to the wall now and show you just how all of this began. Yesterday, in a speech Palin made in Phoenix, she blasted the Federal Reserve's recent decision to buy $600 billion in long-term U.S. Treasury bonds over the next eight months to help jump-start the economy. It's known as quantitative easing. It's also called priming the pump. Palin said that it deeply concerns her, and she went on to say: "Everyone whoever goes out shopping for groceries knows that prices have risen significantly over the past year or so. Pump priming would push them even higher." Now, "Wall Street Journal" economics blogger Sudeep Reddy posted an article titled "Sarah Palin's QE2 Criticism Includes Inflation Hyperbole." Reddy wrote in that article: "Grocery prices haven't risen all that significantly, in fact. The consumer prices the consumer price index's measure of food and beverages for the first nine months of this year showed average annual inflation of less than 0.6 percent, the slowest pace on record since the Labor Department started keeping this measure back in 1968." So, not a big deal, right? I mean, he pointed out a mistake. But confronted with Reddy's facts, Palin chose to attack, firing back on Facebook and Twitter, saying about the reporter this is what Sarah Palin wrote "Mr. Reddy takes aim at this. He writes, "Grocery prices haven't risen all that significantly, in fact.'" Sarah Palin says: "Really? That's odd, because just last Thursday, November 4, I read an article in Mr. Reddy's own 'Wall Street Journal'titled 'Food Sellers Grit Teeth, Raise Prices: Packagers and Supermarkets Pressured to Pass Along Rising Costs, Even as Consumers Pinch Pennies.'" Sarah Palin goes on, saying: "The article noted that an inflationary tide is beginning to ripple through America's supermarkets and restaurants... Prices of staples, including milk, beef, coffee, cocoa and sugar, have risen sharply in recent months." She goes on to say: "Now, I realize I'm just a former governor and current housewife from Alaska, but even humble folks like me can read the newspaper. I'm surprised a prestigious reporter from 'The Wall Street Journal" doesn't." Now, it's the kind of attack on the so-called "lamestream" media that Sarah Palin relishes and that her supporters love. The problem is the "Wall Street Journal" article that Palin mentions by name in this posting actually supports Reddy's take, not Palin. And Palin actually must have known that, because see the ellipses that she added? Come over here. Just take a look at these ellipses that she added into this sentence, the dot-dot-dot there. She intentionally cut out part of the sentence that proves she's wrong. The actual sentence from "The Wall Street Journal" reads let's take a look "An inflationary tide is beginning to ripple through America's supermarkets and restaurants, threatening to end the tamest year of food pricing in nearly two decades." This is the part that she cut out and added the ellipsis, "the tamest year of food pricing in nearly two decades." Palin's original statement, remember, was that the grocery quote "prices have risen significantly over the past year or so." Now, Mr. Reddy responded to Palin's attack by simply pointing out where she was wrong, saying the article that she referenced quote "does indeed report that supermarkets and restaurants are facing cost pressures that could push their retail prices higher, but it hasn't happened yet on a large scale." So, "Keeping Them Honest," you would think, after mocking this reporter, saying he doesn't read his own paper and is wrong, and being incorrect about it, then Ms. Palin would, if not apologize, at least just admit her mistake, correct herself. She hasn't. And, see, there's a pattern here. Often, when a reporter challenges a statement Ms. Palin makes or writes something she doesn't like, she lashes back, attacking the messenger, attacking the reporter, the lamestream media giving them advice on how to do their jobs. It is kind of a constant refrain.
[Sarah Palin , Former Alaska Governor:] Don't get sucked into the lamestream media's lies. This B.S. coming from the lamestream media lately.
[Cooper:] Now, supporters of Sarah Palin will say this story is nitpicking, much ado about nothing, a gotcha attack by both "The Wall Street Journal" and I guess now by me. It is a small matter in the grand scheme of things, but all the more reason to just admit the mistake. And as for not being worth reporting on, well, politicians' words do matter. Fact do matter. There are good arguments to be made against what Fed Chairman Bernanke is doing, but you don't need to base them on a mistaken fact. We all make mistakes. The difference between the so-called lamestream media and politicians, however, is that responsible media outlets have an obligation to correct their mistakes. Responsible politicians should do the same thing as well. Joining me now, senior political analyst David Gergen, and also Dana Loesch, editor of BigJournalism.com and radio host at KFTK 97.1 FM. David, is this much ado about nothing?
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Well, Anderson, I'm very torn on this. I think your whole series about "Keeping Them Honest" is extremely important to journalism. It's been very effective. On this particular one, I have to say, she was the one who was attacked by "The Wall Street Journal" first. And she responded.
[Cooper:] But attacked by he pointed out a mistake.
[Gergen:] Well, he said well, he said, you know, she made a mistake.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Gergen:] And, as you read the article, I think it did say that inflation was coming back.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Gergen:] So that she wasn't entirely incorrect in saying that there was higher inflation in groceries on groceries.
[Cooper:] She had been saying that food prices had been going up the last several years...
[Gergen:] Yes.
[Cooper:] ... which is not correct.
[Gergen:] I think that's where she was incorrect.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Gergen:] I think it was partially correct and partially incorrect.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Gergen:] And, you know, in in all honesty, she should have just sort of said I don't think she should have taken the bait and gone after him. And I think it would have been better to go ahead and admit it. And, you know, there was a fellow named Dickerson today from "Slate" went on on her Facebook page and pointed out the in corrections. And they wiped him out. Twice, they wiped him out. And I think that's sort of silly. But I have to say, I I have a hard time getting really excited about this. I do think that the larger significance is that Sarah Palin has gone after the Federal Reserve. I mean, a lot of her critics would say she doesn't know what the Federal Reserve is, and yet she's been willing to take on this thing. And she's gotten favorable in "The Wall Street Journal," she got a favorable editorial today, saying she was right on something that was fairly sophisticated. And I found that very, very interesting. It will be interesting to see what kind of how she answers questions when she doesn't have a script in front of her.
[Cooper:] Dana, I'm pretty sure you also think this is probably much ado about nothing or nitpicking?
[Dana Loesch, Organizer, St. Louis Tea Party Coalition:] Well, it is, yes and no. I think that the larger point is is being missed, Anderson. And thanks for having me back. And I also have to echo what what David said as well. "The Wall Street Journal," also, the editorial board came out with a column sort of affirming some of the things that that Palin was saying. And it seems to me that it's kind of an argument between, well, which adjective was the best one to use, significantly or moderate? All the while, everyone is ignoring the bigger problem, the bigger thing that needs to be addressed, the fact that the Fed wants to print more money, and she's calling them out. So, I think it the whole the whole point got lost in semantics.
[Cooper:] I do find it interesting, though, that she, like a lot of politicians and it's not just her, and it's Republicans and Democrats people don't admit when they make a mistake. And I don't get I think I think, frankly, people, the voting public, would like it if somebody just said, well, look, yes, look, I OK, I made an error, we all make errors, rather than attacking the messenger.
[Loesch:] Well, right. And we see that from our our government almost daily, especially with some of the the stimulus estimates. But this I mean, this this whole situation with with Palin calling out the Federal Reserve, calling out Ben Bernanke, that, to me, is supremely important. And it got completely lost. And whether or not she should have said moderate or significant, the bottom line is and I think that this is relayed as well in "The Wall Street Journal" article that she criticized is that food prices have been increasing. But I think she was more or less talking about the fact that you're talking about increasing deliberate inflation from the Fed, which is going to have an effect on consumers, who are already hanging on to their dollars, and it's already giving grocers headaches and making everyone scared. So, I think the bigger point was missed.
[Gergen:] I on that, I disagree. I Dana made some very good points. But Ben Bernanke is not and he's not really trying to lift the inflation rate very high. What he's trying to do is to get this economy moving. He's trying to get long-term interest rates down. And he's trying to get the value of stocks up, sort of asset prices, as they're called, in order to give people more confidence both to buy long-term and to borrow long-term, as well as people give more confidence in the consumer. So, I you know, there is a legitimate argument about what he's doing, but I don't think it's fair to say and I don't think Sarah Palin would be fair to say he's deliberately trying to sort of inflate our way out of this.
[Cooper:] Dana, do you do...
[Loesch:] Right. Well, I...
[Cooper:] Go ahead.
[Loesch:] I disagree with his approach. I was just going to say, I disagree with Bernanke's approach on this, because I think it it further contributes to the environment, the the economic environment that we are currently in, where businesses are terrified, investors are terrified. Thus, we see growth stunted.
[Gergen:] Yes. And I want to go back to your fundamental point, Anderson. There there is in this country a very deep reluctance on the part of politicians to admit error. And that's because they somehow think, if they admit it, it's going to be they're going to get killed. You know, their opponents will run ads about it, one thing and another.
[Cooper:] And which is a fair argument. They will probably will. I mean, their opponents probably would run...
[Gergen:] Yes. And I think we have gotten to the point where you can't the the public increasingly doesn't think people are telling the truth. And when they don't tell the truth, they won't admit they're not telling the truth.
[Cooper:] Do you think Sarah Palin, if she was running for president, is too thin-skinned? There are those who say, well, look, she she goes after the media every time. And Politico writes an article with with you know, unnamed sources and she attacks the Politico...
[Gergen:] I think backing-and-forthing like this in a presidential campaign would would really hurt her campaign a lot. I think it's just it would to go to Dana's point, it took the focus tonight off her argument. And we got off into this sort of you know, this this side thing, which is actually you know, it's sort of fun and interesting, but it took the focus off her more substantive point. Yes. And I do think, if she's going to run for president, she's going to have to have a much thicker skin and she's going to have let some of this stuff go. I found it interesting that she would make a speech about the Fed, because, for the first time, I thought maybe she is running for president. To give a speech like this, I thought, wow. You don't give a speech like this, you don't wander into this terrain, which is very complicated stuff, unless you are getting you want to grab get more gravitas. She's been accused of not having gravitas.
[Cooper:] Yes. Dana, do you think she's running?
[Loesch:] I don't know. I don't know if she's running or sort of solidifying her position as a kingmaker, because she's sort of batting.900 right now in terms of her endorsements and the people who won on November 2. But it is very I mean, it's a very interesting criticism that she had, because she sort of went above normally what she what she typically goes after. But I also agree with the fact that I don't believe in fighting down.
[Gergen:] Yes.
[Loesch:] And I think that what she demonstrated in this particular instance was fighting down. And it sort of gave leverage and gave greater importance and distracted from her whole criticism of going after Bernanke, going after the Fed.
[Gergen:] That's that's a good way to put it. Fighting down is exactly the right way to put it.
[Cooper:] David Gergen, Dana Loesch, appreciate you being on. Thanks very much. Let us know what you think. Join the live chat right now at AC360.com. Still ahead: Republican Congressman Darrell Issa has promised to hold hearings, hundreds of hearings, targeting the White House. But just how tough does he intend to be when he takes over a powerful House committee? Some say he's sending mixed messages. We're "Keeping Them Honest." Also ahead: President Obama delivering a big speech to the Islamic world tonight, as he wraps up his trip to Indonesia his message to Muslims ahead.

[Costello:] 42 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now live pictures from Jekyll Island where tropical storm Beryl is pounding the southeast coast of Georgia. Farther south in Jacksonville, Florida, a dozen flights had to be canceled at the airport because of some minor damage there. So far up to three inches of rain have fallen in some areas and about 15,000 remain without power. To Michigan's upper peninsula, where there is some progress to report on the so-called Duck Lake fire, but not much. Containment still stands at 48 percent. The cruise say they've bulldozed lines that should keep the fire from growing. So far more than 22,000 acres have burned. Let's head out to National Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. This is the U.S. Army Band. It's playing at the ampitheater there and you can see all the people there waiting for the President to come out. He will be out in about we're thinking about 15 minutes to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. When the President and the First Lady does that, of course, we will have it for you live. Now to Italy, where a 30-year-old mystery may soon be solved. 15-year-old Emmanuela Orlandi disappeared in 1983. Since then, her case has instigated conspiracy theories blaming everyone from the Mafia to the Vatican, including a top Vatican exorcist official who claims the teenager was kidnapped for sexual reasons. Earlier this month Italian authorities opened the crypt of a mob boss, buried at a church owned by the Vatican. And what they found was shocking dozens of boxes containing remains that did not belong to that mob figure. Those remains are now being tested for a possible match to Orlandi. Now, her family is urging the Vatican to open a serious investigation. CNN's Barbie Nadeau is live in Rome. This just doesn't even sound real.
[Barbie Nadeau, Rome Bureau Chief, "newsweek" And "the Daily Beast":] No, it's a very complicated case. That's definitely there's no question about that. You know, the mobster, the member of the Italian criminal gang was buried in the church in 1997, for reasons nobody really is clear about. There are allegations that perhaps his family gave a huge sum of money to the Church, to the Vatican to ensure that he was buried in this protected place so that his tomb wouldn't be desecrated if they weren't in a public cemeteries and things like that. But the family of Emmanuela Orlandi believes that there is something more to it. They want answers. They believe that the Vatican is holding back information, and that they know a lot more than they have been forthcoming with at this point.
[Costello:] Why hasn't the Vatican agreed to get more involved?
[Nadeau:] Well, because they don't have to. You know, the Vatican is a own sovereign nation is its own city state. It's basically what happens there stays there. They don't have to be accountable to everyone else. There are only about 220 people who live inside the Vatican; only a handful of those people are non-clerical people. And you know, usually they can take matters into their own hands. They have their own criminal justice system. They have their own judges. They have their own method of dealing with things. So until now, they have not had to be very transparent with these things. There is so much pressure though outside of Italy outside of the Vatican City within Italy because this case is really underscores that difference in that wall between the Vatican and the country. And, you know, for 30 years people have wanted to know the answer, and it's really getting, I would say gaining steam now. They are really making progress in terms of getting the Vatican to agree to open the tomb, in terms of listening to the family members and things like that. There was a demonstration this Sunday, the brother of the missing girl marched with a number of followers to St. Peter's square, carrying signs of the girl hoping that The Pope would make a reference to her. Of course, he could see those signs from his window when he gave his Sunday blessing. He did not say a word about the young girl.
[Costello:] When will the DNA test come back?
[Nadeau:] Well, we're expecting, you know, the next week to 10 days that there should be some information coming out of those tests. They were able to determine that many of those bones were ancient, were very old. They had been buried perhaps in a previous era in that crypt. But some of the bones were recent. Some of the bones and those are the ones that were retested so see if they are matched to Emmanuela Orland, and of course, who are they if they are not hers? Whose bones are they is another question they want to know the answer to.
[Costello:] Barbie Nadeau reporting live from Rome this morning. Back in the United States, we are breathing a little easier at the bump. We are not at the $4 gas range analysts expected by now, but why? We'll break it down for you.

[Dr. Drew Pinsky:] All right. Here we go. Casey caught in lies and more lies. We`re hearing for the first time the shocking full interrogation tapes and jailhouse recordings of a vain and callous Casey, laughing and pouting. And later, the agony of grieving in the spotlight. Rusty Yates lived that tragic nightmare when his wife Andrea killed their five kids. I`m talking to him, tonight, about this case. Let`s get started. It is day eight of the Casey Anthony trial, and we have some intense new audio of cops trying to break Casey down. Take a look, and then we`re going to talk.
[Unidentified Male:] Detectives, they`re tired of Casey`s lies. I know that everything that you`ve told me is a lie. It`s recorded. The jury, all of us, will get to hear it. She`s out there somewhere, and her rotting body is starting to decompose. She doesn`t crack there at all.
[Unidentified Female:] That`s some of the best evidence that this prosecution has so far.
[Unidentified Male:] Police had already busted Casey on the fictional Zanny the nanny. The stuff about Zanny, it`s not the truth. There`s another lie. Universal Studios, she took them there. She`s coming up to the security gate with two officers in tow. And then she finally fesses up. Puts her hands in her back pocket and said, "I don`t work here." What would inspire her to lie? So many lies, folks. I can`t figure it out.
[Pinsky:] Yes, I can`t figure it out either. I`ve got to tell you, I know there`s evidence coming, but so far all I`ve seen is the following: lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies. That`s and in my world, I deal with that a lot with patients because they`re addicts. And addicts, that`s their history very often. But I don`t see evidence that Casey is an addict, even though there`s reports of her allegedly having done drugs. I don`t see addiction here. So it`s really like that examiner was saying, it`s hard to make sense of this. I actually read the transcripts of the interrogation tapes this morning, and it was a strange experience, I must tell you. It was sent to me on my phone, and I was reading I was literally coming downstairs first thing in the morning, and I did not make it down the stairs until I read the entire 40-page document. It`s the craziest thing. And so I know all of us must be we`re sort of taken by this how bad these lies are, how much her sense of reality seems to be her own little world. But you wonder if it`s coldhearted lying, so to speak, and how frustrating it must be for those interrogators. Now, you kind of want to bang your head into the wall and go, what`s the reality here, where is the truth? And how can somebody buy their own stuff, buy their own nonsense so thoroughly? And it makes no rational sense. And, in fact, I must tell you, I`ve gone from thinking about child abuse and personality disorders and that kind of stuff as we tried to speculate and float theories about what`s going on here. I`m starting to wonder if she had head injury as a child and maybe she really can`t tell truth from reality. I don`t know. I don`t know yet. Or she`s just a cold-blooded killer? We`re going to talk about those possibilities tonight. Now, is she going to ruin her own defense? In a conversation with her parents behind bars, Casey scoffs at the theory that Caylee drowned in the pool, her very defense. Check it out.
[Casey Anthony, Defendant:] Dad`s blowing up at the media.
[Cindy Anthony, Casey Anthony`s Mother:] Yes, I heard.
[Casey Anthony:] Well, someone just said that Caylee was dead this morning, that she drowned in the pool. That`s the newest story out there.
[Cindy Anthony:] Surprise, surprise.
[Pinsky:] All right. So she lies about her defense, she lies about the nanny. The jury hears endless lies. Now, Casey juggled a web of these intricate, made-up stories that the police I actually felt sorry for these guys as I heard their tape and read the transcripts they got more and more frustrated. They couldn`t get their head around this just like the rest of us. Watch this. Listen.
[Casey Anthony:] I as a mom, I know in my gut, the feeling as a parent, you know certain things about your child. You can feel that connection. And I still have that feeling, that presence. I know that she`s alive whether you have a bucket load of evidence downstairs that contradicts that and says otherwise, or all you have is speculation.
[Unidentified Male:] We have more than speculation.
[Casey Anthony:] Has every tip and every lead been followed up?
[Unidentified Male:] We have more than speculation. We have a lot, or else we wouldn`t be to this point.
[Casey Anthony:] Uh-huh.
[Unidentified Male:] A lot.
[Pinsky:] I must tell you, I`ve dealt with patients like this, where their lies become you almost start believing them yourself, and it becomes mind-bending. It`s wild. We have much more of this intense interrogation as the detectives try to get at what`s going on here and find the little girl. Let`s go straight to my guests. I have criminal defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh. He joins us from Florida. We also have criminal profiler Pat Brown. She`s here with us. And Ryan Smith, host of "In Session" on truTV. Ryan, of course, is also an attorney. Ryan, let`s go to you first with an update on what happened today.
[Ryan Smith, Host, "in Session," Trutv:] Oh, Dr. Drew, when you mentioned the lies, that was front and center, because not only was there the conversation that the police had with her at Universal Studios, where they kept saying, everything you told us is a lie, but Casey did not back off that Zanny the nanny story. Now, when she met with George and Cindy in the jailhouse, it was the same thing. They had two big concerns where`s Caylee, and who is Zanny and where can we find her? Casey gave such intricate details, it was almost like it was two different people there. But the main thrust of all of this, George Anthony you just mentioned the defense there. George Anthony was there saying, where`s Caylee, how can I find her? And remember, this is the same person the defense is saying tried to cover up the accidental death. So this really hurts the defense, because there he is saying, how can I find my granddaughter? Casey, please help me find her.
[Pinsky:] Wow. I agree. I watched that, too, and I started thinking about the dad, the granddad, thinking, well, he knows he`s being filmed. Could he be manipulating us, too? So, for the first time we heard what went on inside the interrogation room. The lead detective in this case took the stand today, and the jury heard him putting the pressure on Casey to tell the truth, something that evidently didn`t work. Listen to this.
[Det. Yuri Melich, Casey Anthony Interrogation:] Everything`s that`s coming out of your mouth is a lie, everything. And unless we start getting the truth unless we start getting the truth, we`re going to announce two possibilities with Caylee. Either you gave Caylee to someone and you don`t want anyone to find out because you think you`re a bad mom, or something happened to Caylee and Caylee is buried somewhere, or in a trashcan somewhere, and you had something to do with it. Either way right now is not a very pretty picture that you paint. Either way either way right now with everything that you`re telling us, you`re painting yourself as a very bad person. Your family is going to suffer for this, your friends are going to suffer for this. And remember what I told you about all these people coming out there and crucify you for this because of all the lies you`ve been telling us. We need to stop that right now. Everything you told us is a lie. You`re looking me in the eyes. Everything you told us is a lie, every single thing. And you can`t keep sitting here and telling us the same thing and getting constantly over an over and over again, we`re disproving everything that you`re telling us. You`re telling us that you`ve lied to us, you`re telling us that you`re giving us misinformation. Everything you`re telling us, OK? It needs to end.
[Casey Anthony:] The truthful thing is I have not seen my daughter. The last time that I saw her was on the 9th of June.
[Melich:] And what happened to Caylee?
[Casey Anthony:] I don`t know.
[Melich:] Sure you do. You need to listen.
[Casey Anthony:] I don`t know.
[Melich:] Something happened to Caylee. We`re not going to discuss the last time you saw her. I`m guessing something bad happened to her some time ago and you haven`t seen her, so that part is true if you say you haven`t seen her, because she`s somewhere else right now.
[Casey Anthony:] She`s with someone else.
[Melich:] No. She`s either in a dumpster right now, she`s buried somewhere. She`s out there somewhere, and her rotting body is starting to decompose because of what you`re telling us. And here`s the problem. The longer this goes, the worse it`s going to be very everyone. Everyone. The worst it`s going to be for everyone.
[Pinsky:] Pat Brown, profiler, does the manner in which she lied tell us anything about her or tell you anything about what`s going on in this young woman?
[Pat Brown, Criminal Profiler:] Absolutely, Dr. Drew. I`m not surprised at all by what she`s doing, because Casey to me seems like a full-blown psychopath, and she`s doing what psychopaths do, which is tell - they make up a pack of lies and they get a real good they get them down pretty good because they`re going to manipulate. They`ve been doing this all their lives. They know how to put together a package of lies, a good story. They`ll stick with that story unless you can prove to them that you have something that`s going to blow their story out of the water. So she might sit there and say, A, B, C, D, and E happened, and they could say, no, we just found her body. Oh, OK. Then maybe well then maybe B, C, D, but A didn`t happen. She`ll have to change something when you corner her because she knows you have something, or you have to fake it out real good so she believes you have something you don`t have.
[Pinsky:] All right.
[Brown:] But she`s going to lie as long as she can get away with it. That is a psychopath.
[Pinsky:] All right. Interesting. Very interesting. Now, later in the show you need to stay with me, because I`m later in the show going to define the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath, all these terms that you`re seeing tossed around. I want to finish with Mark very quickly, though. Mark, is it getting tougher to defend this case?
[Mark Eiglarsh, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Absolutely. Today was like a homerun for the prosecutor. You`re looking over at Casey, thinking now we`ve narrowed it down to one of two theories. One, she either did commit first-degree murder, like they`re alleging, or, as Jose Baez, tells us in opening statement, she knew while she was lying to law enforcement that she had watched her daughter drown, essentially. Either way, what sick, manipulative, abhorrent behavior to waste law enforcement resources the way that she did?
[Pinsky:] All right. Thank you, Mark. Coming up, Casey gets caught in her own lies. We have more brand new audio from inside the interrogation room.
[Unidentified Male:] When you got out of the room you actually spoke with Cindy Anthony? Yes. OK. And it was at this time that you first heard the incident with the pool ladder? Yes. I believe it was at that time where I first heard about the ladder being found down in the pool and the gate being found open, sometime in June. Did you find that to be important information, and do you recall giving the answer yes? I won`t doubt that, yes.
[Unidentified Female:] She spins tales, which not all the time are tales, but all these crazy stories about all this stuff. She also made up a story about her parents, her dad cheating on her mom.
[Unidentified Male:] This is going to be the point where you stop all the lies and you stop all the fibs and you tell us exactly what`s going on.
[Cindy Anthony:] We need to have something to go on.
[Casey Anthony:] Mom, I don`t have anything. I`m sorry.
[Unidentified Male:] I know and you know that everything you told me is a lie. Correct?
[Casey Anthony:] Not everything that I`ve told you.
[Unidentified Male:] Not a bit of useful information has been provided by Ms. Anthony as to the whereabouts of her daughter. I would point out that the truth and Ms. Anthony are strangers. Is there anything about this story that you`re telling me that`s untrue, or is there anything that you want to change or divert from what you`ve already told me?
[Casey Anthony:] No, sir.
[Pinsky:] How frustrating? Tonight, Casey Anthony`s endless lies. And the jury is hearing tapes of investigators banging their heads against the wall trying to get kind of rationalize with her to get something like the truth out of her. Listen to this.
[Melich:] We need to find Caylee. I understand that right now Caylee may not be in very good shape. You understand what I`m saying? She may not be way we, or your family last remembers her. We need to find out from you where Caylee is. This, right now, is just this is going so far downhill, and this has become such a mess, that we need to end it. It`s very simple. We just need to end it.
[Casey Anthony:] I agree with you. I have no clue where she is.
[Melich:] Sure you do.
[Casey Anthony:] If I knew, had any sense where she was, this wouldn`t have happened at all.
[Pinsky:] Mark Eiglarsh, defense attorney, I can just imagine how frustrated these detectives must have been knowing this little girl was out there somewhere. Is this an uncommon scenario that detectives have to beat themselves against the beat their heads against the wall to get something out of a person they`re interrogating?
[Eiglarsh:] It`s not uncommon, and those who have records dating back to the disco crisis, they`re the ones, the career criminals, who lie, they stonewall, and they go right into jail knowing that that`s the best defense. Keep your mouth shut, and the fish doesn`t get caught. She surprises me. It`s amazing how not only did she lie, but then when confronted with her lie, she lied about lying.
[Pinsky:] It really is it`s almost if it weren`t so tragic, it would be comical.
[Eiglarsh:] Right.
[Pinsky:] Pat Brown, profiler, I want to go to you. You said you that you think she`s a psychopath, right?
[Brown:] Absolutely.
[Pinsky:] And so my question is, why isn`t the prosecution building a case like that? Because psychopaths have sort of a life-long pattern, do they not? And tell us about that.
[Brown:] Exactly. A psychopath, it usually shows about by the time you`re 5, 6, 7 years old. It`s quite frightening. And from that point on you can`t do much about it because they`ve already learned to manipulate everybody. They already have gotten people into a category you`re either useful or you`re in the way, you`re just an object. They could care less about anybody else at all. So everything that they do has to do with making themselves feel good and having an amusing time, whatever they think is necessary. So, yes, I think the prosecution should be batting home this thing. This woman is a psychopath. That`s why she could cold-bloodedly chloroform her daughter, put tape around her face, and watch her die, then package her up, put a little heart on her face, ha-ha, throw her out there in the animal burial ground, and then go out and Party, because she was finished with Caylee. She was no longer useful to her. She was getting in her way. That`s a psychopath. And then she would lie about everything, because no matter how much you cajole her or encourage her to tell the truth, she doesn`t want to do it because she doesn`t care about anybody else but Casey. And they should be pushing that home.
[Pinsky:] Well, I`m surprised that they`re not really showing evidence of things like harming animals or being, you know, aggressive toward her peers. But let me just ask another question though.
[Brown:] Well, that`s kind of overdone in mythology. Serial killers, quite a few of them, have actually killed animals or set fires and that kind of thing, bedwetting. That`s a little trio of things they talk about. That`s because when you`re little, the only places you can get some kind of power is in your home, in the bed, as a child, and then, you know, you can`t go out and kill people yet, so you grab the neighborhood animals, and you can burn down your neighbor`s shed. It`s really easy. So that`s where you get your power and control. And then you go out to people. She`s not a serial killer, at this point at least. She just manipulates people and gets rid of people that in her way. So it`s kind of a different thing.
[Pinsky:] All right. Let`s do a little more profiling on people that lie. Are there any other sort of theoretical possibilities here other than psychopathy, from your standpoint?
[Brown:] Not with Casey Anthony. Now, we`ve seen that from the other Anthonys. I think the other Anthonys haven`t told the truth. They`ve obstructed the investigation. And that can be caused by that can be a defense, it can be fear, it can be a narcissistic personality disorder. In other words, all of us will lie under a circumstance or under a few circumstances either to protect someone or protect ourselves. But when you get to Casey`s level, that`s just psychopathic lying. She actually enjoys lying because she likes to watch everybody squirm and not be able to figure out what to do with her. And it`s fun for her. So that`s one reason she does it, because she can get away with it. Ryan, I see you trying to jump in. Go ahead.
[Smith:] Yes, because, Dr. Drew, when we see Casey in court, we get kind of a conflicted picture. On these tapes, she is saying, I want to find Caylee. I`ll do anything I can to find Caylee. Let me help you find Caylee. But what I found really stunning was the way she describes Zanny the nanny. Now, at this point we know that Zanny never existed. But she describes her parents, her eye color, even the fact that her sister goes to college in Florida and what she`s studying. She has such a level of detail when she talks about this fictional Zanny the nanny, that it`s just stunning. You almost believe her as she`s saying it. And she just keeps adjusting the details as she goes forward. It`s really unbelievable to see.
[Pinsky:] It is. And like I`ve said, I`ve been in a room with patients like that where you start doubting yourself. You start going, well, wait a minute the conviction with which they lie makes you start to believe it yourself. And you start thinking they do believe it. And I`ve got to say, I`ve seen patients with certain kind of brain disorders and certain kind of personality disorders do that kind of lying who aren`t murderers. So, they still have to make the case, do they not, Mark, that this is a connect her to the actual death of the child?
[Eiglarsh:] Absolutely. That`s the greatest challenge for them, is to prove that it was first-degree murder. I disagree with what you and Pat were talking about earlier, that maybe the prosecution should bring in that she`s a sociopath, a psychopath, suffers from lyingitis, whatever it is. They have a tough enough burden as it is. To start getting into what`s in her mind, the abstract, motive, that`s too much. They don`t have to take on that burden, and they shouldn`t.
[Pinsky:] All right. Ryan, where is this going today? How is this day going to end up for us?
[Smith:] Well, today, so far, I mean, what you`re seeing are the jailhouse tapes. They may continue with that tomorrow. But the key for the prosecution is to continue to show the lies. They`re going to keep going to the timeline, but they want to show the jury is that every stage, Casey Anthony was saying she wanted to find Caylee, but, really, at every stage there was always a lie, always something that didn`t make sense. And that`s the way they`re going to use their circumstantial evidence in here. Because if you think Casey is lying, the jury will say to themselves, well, she`s saying it was an accident. But where do the lies end and where does the truth begin in this case?
[Pinsky:] Well, that`s the constant. For me, that`s what`s becoming so fascinating. That`s why I can`t stop reading the interrogation transcripts. Thank you to my panel. Thank you, Mark. Thank you, Pat. Thank you, Ryan. Coming up, we`re going to take some of your questions and comments on the case. And I want you all to remember that, ultimately, this is about finding justice for an innocent little girl. I want you to listen to her singing "You Are My Sunshine." This is the person that really suffered the most here.
[Caylee Anthony, Casey Anthony`s Daughter:] how much I love you. Please don`t take my sunshine away.
[Lee Anthony:] She told me that she had not seen Caylee in 31 days, that she had been kidnapped, and that the nanny took her.
[Pinsky:] That`s another moment we just saw there from Lee Anthony`s testimony in the Casey Anthony murder trial. In the meantime, we are receiving thousands and thousands of your comments through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. Of course, there`s phone. So let`s take some calls up first. Here`s Dawn in Florida. What`s on your mind?
[Dawn, Florida:] Hi, Dr. Drew.
[Pinsky:] Dawn.
[Dawn:] I`m the mom of a 19-year-old daughter whom I raised by myself. And at 19 years old, if she was missing an hour later than she told me she would be, I would be out of my mind. Any mother who doesn`t report their child missing immediately is simply guilty in my opinion.
[Pinsky:] Well, reasonable. Vickie, what`s up, Florida?
[Vickie, Florida:] Hi, Dr. Drew.
[Pinsky:] Vickie.
[Vickie:] I guess if there`s any truth about Casey`s claim of incest but I haven`t heard anyone talk about the fact that when a person has been sexually abused, they often turn out to be very promiscuous. I think she was looking for the love that she wasn`t getting at home.
[Pinsky:] Well, when someone has been sexually abused, they either become averse to sexuality, or they can develop sexual addictions. Particularly young females will develop sexual addictions and promiscuity and stuff. So, yes, connecting those dots, I haven`t seen that either in this case. Clay in Georgia, what`s your thoughts?
[Clay, Georgia:] Hi, Dr. Drew.
[Pinsky:] Clay.
[Clay:] When Casey talks about taking care of Caylee, she`s making reference to sedating her with benzodiazepines, particularly Xanax. And you may have speculated about this. It`s "Xanny" the nanny with an "X." I`ve counseled adolescents, mostly those with substance and this would be the kind of slang reference they might make.
[Pinsky:] I completely agree with you. I brought this up last night. I was wondering if I was the only one sort of that heard that, that, yes, Xanny, Xanabars, Xanax. Now, it`s kind of weird that she would pick up "Zanny the nanny." I don`t know if that`s what she was referring to, or just a name that she had been exposed to in high school or something, because there`s some evidence that she knew some people with this name earlier in her life. But it certainly is more lies. Again, what do we know about this case? Lies, lies, lies. Here`s a Facebook question from Liz. "If you were sexually abused by someone, you are not going to leave your child alone with that person. Your thoughts concerning the Anthony trial?" Well, the unfortunate and really the crazy reality is sometimes abuse victims do leave kids with the perpetrator, or they even bring perpetrators into their lives. It`s a very common thing that people that have been a victim recreate these patterns for their children. So that`s not necessarily something for us to hang our hat on. Candy writes, "I can`t see Casey ever admitting anything to anyone. Are there just some people who aren`t capable of telling the truth?" And boy, that`s sort of the theme of the night, isn`t it, that the lies here are just stunning? For me, the lies, themselves, are captivating. You wonder just, how can you how can this be? How can your reality be so different than what the rest of us know to be true? And I have dealt with patients like that. And there are some and I`ve convinced myself that they really believe at least the patients I`ve dealt with, I`m not saying necessarily Casey that they start really believing their lies. That is their sense of reality. Coming up, what are the Anthonys really going through? What`s it like facing the fact that someone you love could be responsible for killing your child? Andrea Yates` husband is here to discuss just that.
[Operator:] 911, what`s your emergency?
[Cindy Anthony:] I called a little bit ago, the deputy sheriff. I found out my granddaughter has been taken. She has been missing for a month. Her mother finally admitted that she`s been missing. Can you get someone here now?
[Operator:] OK. What is the address that you`re calling from?
[Cindy Anthony:] We`re talking about a 3-year-old little girl. My daughter finally admitted that the babysitter stole her. I need to find her.
[Pinsky:] Drama
[Unidentified Female:] I got number one.
[Pinsky:] The mystery. The tragedy. We are talking to the most avid observer, the first man in line on the first day of trial. But first up, Rusty and Andrea Yates had a big, beautiful family fit for a Norman Rockwell painting. Andrea was gripped by debilitating postpartum depression, but no one could have guessed how tragically it would end. Andrea drowned all five of their children in the bathtub of their suburban home. Rusty`s anguish, grief, and confusion played out in the public eye. He knows the pain of parents suffering in the spotlight.
[Unidentified Male:] The new theory that Caylee might be dead, it might be an accident? Shut up, shut up, shut up.
[Pinsky:] Boy, this is a grandfather`s hell. Sadly, my next guest can relate to George Anthony`s grief. Rusty Yates is joining us now. Also back is criminal defense attorney, Mark Eiglarsh and Pat Brown, she is a criminal profiler. All right, Rusty, I want to go to you. Watching this unfold. You`ve been in those seats. What is this family going through?
[Rusty Yates, Wife, Andrea, Drowned Their Five Children In 2001:] It`s terrible. I mean, you know, I think their life would probably be normal. They`d be, you know, leading an anonymous life, and then, you know, suddenly, you know, maybe there were a few little warning signs, but certainly nothing that would add up to the, you know, loss of their grandchild. And then, you know, suddenly, there`s all the media, the legal battles, the loss of their child. There`s so much to deal with at one time. it`s
[Pinsky:] Is it
[Yates:] Nothing I`d wish for anyone.
[Pinsky:] Is it really truly that much worse it being such a public event?
[Yates:] I`m sorry. I didn`t understand your question.
[Pinsky:] Well, the question is, you know, the fact that we`re all watching this and it is such a public event. I mean, it`s already shattering. It`s hard to imagine.
[Yates:] I see what you`re saying. Does it make it
[Pinsky:] That much worse?
[Yates:] Does it make it that much worse? Yes. Yes. Yes, it does, because, you know, you know, we tend to live in anonymity, you know, we have friends that know us, you know, folks in the neighborhood, you know, and then all of a sudden, especially with national coverage like that, it`s, you know
[Pinsky:] Just overwhelming. It must just be overwhelming. There`s been a lot of heart wrenching emotion in the courtroom as we all know, including Cindy Anthony`s breakdown on the stand earlier this week. Watch this, and I want to hear your thoughts on it.
[Cindy Anthony, Caylee Anthony`s Grandmother:] I called a little bit ago, the deputy sheriffs. I found out my granddaughter has been taken. She has been missing. My daughter finally admitted that the baby-sitter stole her.
[Pinsky:] Rusty, your own mother, the grandmother of your children, had to go through something like this. What`s it like for you and what do you think is going on with Cindy Anthony crying in the courtroom? What is your sense of what she`s going through given what your own mom went through?
[Yates:] It reminded me a lot of what my mom went through, and you know, it`s just terrible. So much to deal with it once. You know, you lose your she lost her grandchild, I`m sure who was very precious to her. And then, she`s got her daughter, you know, on trial who`s also precious to her. And then, you know, she has the loss of privacy. She`s got, you know there`s a feeling of helplessness because the whole courtroom scene is it`s like a show that you just don`t understand. You know, the judges and the attorneys and the witnesses, they handle everything. And you really have limited input and control, and it`s also slow and that makes it worse, but it`s like a slow, torturous process. And I really feel for the family, and, you know, we don`t know what all the facts were, who`s to blame, who`s not here, but, certainly, a good number of the families not to blame. This is just awful. I mean, I really
[Pinsky:] Rusty, let me ask you something because only you can answer this. What is it like going home every night from the courtroom? I mean, what do you the Anthonys say to each other? You know, what did you do when you went home? Who did you talk to? What was it like walking, I guess, back into an empty house that went from a family of seven to one? What`s it like? Take us through that.
[Yates:] It`s terrible. I mean, the whole every day`s like that. You know, you leave the courtroom and you`re surrounded by cameras. And all the while they`re, like, bumping into my mom, you know, or one of the cameramen might backwards and trip accidentally, but you can`t laugh, because that`s what would end up on the TV that night. And like you said, you come home and it`s very sad, especially immediately after the loss. You know, I don`t know that it would change much during the trial, but especially immediately after the loss, you know, you come home and our house is very busy, very loud, and I turned I had to turn the TV on. You know, I had it on 247 because I needed some noise in the background. And I just encourage them to, you know, cope however best they can. I mean, if it I had to take pictures down. It was too much for me. I had pictures of our family lining the hall. I had to take them down because it was too much.
[Pinsky:] All right. Let me take people through a little bit the differences amongst the different kinds of mothers that murder. Now, in Andrea`s case, she was what we call a psychotic depressive, right? She had postpartum depression with psychosis. Is that correct, Rusty?
[Yates:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] OK. So, we`ve been tossing around a term earlier called psychopath. Pat Brown, you brought that term up. Psychopaths are really the monsters in our society. They tend to be monsters. Their violence is planned and premeditated, and it`s emotionalist and they have no remorse. That is in someone would people make distinction between that and sociopaths. These, in my opinion, tend to be that`s psychopaths, but now, we`re going to go to sociopaths. They tend to be somewhat more insidious because they are superficially if you would change that to sociopath there we are. Superficially, they tend to be more charming. They have controlled behavior, and the shallowness and disconnection of their emotion can be missed by people and, again, they manipulate and they use people as objects. Now, in Andrea`s case, she had what`s called a psychotic depression where they`re in a delusional state. They become so severely depressed that they really disconnect from reality, and they will often kill their children not realizing they`ve done it, often killing the most loved child first. Often, they`ll walk into the street or call the cops, tell them they`ve done it. And if I remember right, Rusty, in your case, Andrea didn`t realize that the children were gone for quite some time. Is that correct?
[Yates:] Well, I don`t think that`s entirely correct. I mean, did she appreciate it for a while? No. She didn`t, because she stayed in a psychotic state for some time after she was arrested. Slowly came back to reality and has had to deal with that ever since, but she remembers it, and, you know, which is sad. I mean, it`s very hard for her to deal with. I`ve never heard that about killing their most loved first, but she did have a I think she may have taken Noah`s life first, and she had a really special connection with him. So
[Pinsky:] Yes. That is that pattern. All right. Pat, I want to turn to you and ask, does Casey fall somewhere in the spectrum I was just referring to you? You said psychopath. Did you mean psychopath or sociopath or do you see a distinction there?
[Pat Brown, Criminal Profiler:] I don`t see a distinction. I think that`s kind of just lots of fancy terminology. I think when people talk about sociopaths, they`re simply talking about maybe people have had a better education or have grown up in a family that`s taught of some better communication skills. They`re more financially stable, perhaps, they can actually stay in a relationship. I don`t think there`s a difference. I just think it`s just like any of us. We could be lower class, higher class, more or less educated, but our personality is the same. Psychopath, sociopath, it`s the same exact thing. You just have no feeling for other human beings, and everything is just about what you want, and you`re willing to do anything to get it as long as you think you can come out ahead.
[Pinsky:] OK, Pat, thank you. And Rusty, again, I want to make a distinction between what Pat and I are talking about here, which is, again, degrees of psychopathy or sociopathy versus what Andrea had which was an acute severe psychiatric condition which is more often what we hear about in women that kill their mother, but this one has captivated us. Thank you, Rusty. Coming up, jailhouse videos show a vain and selfish Casey on tape behind bars pouting and yawning. How will the jurors react to the callous behavior? We`re going to talk to a jury selection expert who worked on the O.J. Simpson trial after this.
[Casey Anthony, Caylee Anthony`s Mother:] Can someone let me come on.
[Cindy Anthony:] Casey, hold on, sweetheart. Settle down.
[Casey Anthony:] Nobody`s letting me speak. You want me to talk, then give me three seconds to say something.
[Lee Anthony, Casey`s Brother:] Do you remember the last time that she may have had her there or had her to where they could have seen her?
[Casey Anthony:] Wow, um
[Lee Anthony:] Prior to her prior to the day she went missing?
[Casey Anthony:] Yes. Um, Jesus. Maybe around mom`s birthday.
[Pinsky:] Tonight, the jury watches these jailhouse video of people visiting Casey Anthony behind bars. Now, my question is, how will the jury react when they see Casey acting sometimes like a spoiled brat while her daughter is still going missing? Take a look.
[George Anthony, Casey`s Father:] Hey, gorgeous, how you doing?
[Casey Anthony:] I look like hell.
[George Anthony:] Well, you know something? You really need to keep your spirit high for all this.
[Casey Anthony:] I have. I haven`t been crying while I`ve been in here.
[Pinsky:] Her baby`s missing, and she`s worried about how she looks. We have a jury selection expert with us. Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, she has worked on high profile cases like the O.J. Simpson murder trial. And still with us is criminal defense attorney, Mark Eiglarsh. Jo-Ellan, how is the jury going to react to all this? You know, that video of her sort of being bratty but also lies, lies, lies, lies, lies. Isn`t that going to affect them?
[Jo-ellan Dimitrius, Jury Selction Expert:] Oh, of course it is, because, you know, jurors don`t leave their common sense at the front door when they walk in. And all any criminal case is all about how the defendant reacts. They`ve now seen videos. They`ve seen her lie. They`ve seen just an amazing amalgam of emotions that are displayed by her. The fact that she lied all the way through the jailhouse interview, the fact that they`ve seen all of these various emotions from her, I think, at this point, they`re very clear that there is definitely some sort of sociopathic behavior going on.
[Pinsky:] Right. Something here. And so, she`s already suspect in their minds. You know anything about the makeup of the jury? Has that been released? Is there any way we can
[Dimitrius:] Yes, there has been evidence, not evidence, there have been information released about the jurors, and we really have quite an eclectic group in terms of ages and backgrounds.
[Pinsky:] Do you think they`re going to be able to use their common sense to really find their way through this trial?
[Dimitrius:] Oh, absolutely.
[Pinsky:] OK.
[Dimitrius:] Absolutely.
[Pinsky:] All right.
[Dimitrius:] There`s no doubt in my mind.
[Pinsky:] OK. Here I want to show you some of the footage of Casey being interrogated by the lead detective. Listen to this he said I think he`s going to say this in this tape. He said he could tell just by looking at her that she was lying and that she knew where the child was. His instinct, his experience led him to that conclusion. Listen to this.
[Voice Of Det. Yuri Melich, Casey Anthony Interrogation:] And I can tell you for certainty that, right now, looking at you, I know that everything you`ve told me is a lie, including the fact that, you know, your child was last seen about a month ago and that you don`t know where she is. I`m very confident just by having talked to you the short period of time that you know where she is.
[Pinsky:] Is that something the jury is likely to respond to, that cops have their experience just kind of tells them something?
[Dimitrius:] Oh, of course. They welcome experience that they have from doing their investigations and talking to defendants over the years. Certainly, that is something that they`re going to be keying off of.
[Pinsky:] The jurors will?
[Dimitrius:] Absolutely.
[Pinsky:] Is it usually the case? And I`m going to ask Mark to respond to this in a second. I`m sure he`ll have something to say, but is it often the case that cops kind of do know what the answers are to the questions they`re asking?
[Dimitrius:] I think that that is true, because I think that they have a, you know, some sort of evidence behind them before they actually do begin to talk to the suspect. Then, again, we all know that there are officers out there that, perhaps, I think to use a term I`ve heard before, test a lie.
[Pinsky:] Oh, interesting. Well, Mark, would you dismantle all this as a test a lie? I imagine you`d have a field day with some of this. So, what is from the defense perspective, when a cop says, it`s just my feeling, it`s just my experience, what do you do with that?
[Mark Eiglarsh, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, that doesn`t mean anything. That`s not evidence of anything, but you`ve got 12 it isn`t. I mean, that doesn`t prove anything, but worse, you`ve got 12 people, and they all have the requisite pulses and hearts, and they can look over, and they can see the abhorrent behavior. That`s going to absolutely hurt her both in terms of if she ever chooses to testify, which is the only way they`re going to get all this defense theory in. Or number two, if the defense is going to try to sell her as some compassionate individual who`s been victimized and that`s why she did all this, they`re not buying it at this point. And how do I know that? Because they`re alive.
[Pinsky:] And Mark, you see particularly disturbed that she lied about her lies. That really got through to you somehow. When she was just lying, it was OK, but when she couldn`t keep it straight, lied about her lying, that`s where you drew the line.
[Eiglarsh:] Yes, that`s correct.
[Pinsky:] OK. So, Jo-Ellan, you know, you must have seen cases like this over the years. Yes?
[Dimitrius:] Yes, of course, a lot of them.
[Pinsky:] So, you help me make I`m really, you know, as a clinician, I see people that lie all the time, and they have certain personality disorders and they have drug addictions and things, but this is really even stunning to me. I`m fascinated. To me, I`m trying to understand why we`re all so attach to this case, but one of the things that has captured me is the I just like the lies. It`s hard to you can`t stop reading about it, watching it. It`s just stunning.
[Dimitrius:] Well, it is, and it`s the lies. It`s not just the person`s demeanor and how she`s reacting with her different emotions, but it`s the content of what they say. When you look at a serial liar, generally, they get caught up if they`re not that good, which obviously she`s not good at all. They get caught up in what it is that`s being said, and I think that`s one of
[Pinsky:] They get caught up emotionally in it?
[Dimitrius:] No.
[Pinsky:] They get caught up in their lies.
[Dimitrius:] They get caught up in their lies. They don`t remember what they said
[Pinsky:] She seems actually connected to her lies. Like, she`s believing them and emotionally connected to them. Like, oh, my poor girl, I haven`t seen her in so long. Mark, I think that would really how would you use that? How do we make sense of that?
[Eiglarsh:] Well, it would just show look, don`t kill the messenger, but if I`m the defense lawyer, I continue on this theory that look what she`s done here. Only someone who`s been abused, only someone who`s come from a traumatic childhood and a broken home would ever go through the lengths that she went through. That`s evidence there. And thus, dot, dot, dot, good luck with that one, Jose.
[Pinsky:] I know. I know. Because I`m saying, and Jo-Ellan, you`re shaking your head when Mark says that is that, you know, somebody that is severely destroyed characterologically and doesn`t have any appreciation of other people`s feeling states at all usually has chronic severe abuse across their early childhood. They`re not suggesting that even.
[Dimitrius:] They`re not suggesting it at all. And I think, you know, I guess somewhat kudos to Baez for coming up with this theory because he doesn`t have much else to work with. You know, I look back at, you know, I look at it from a logical progression of the skeletal remains of Caylee are found with a tape over her mouth. Well, if somebody accidentally drowns, you don`t put tape over their mouth.
[Pinsky:] I`m going to disagree with you. If you`re a law enforcement officer, you know that contents of the mouth, the fluid continues to come out for hours and hours afterwards and if you don`t want to make a DNA trail, you put tape over their mouth, but Casey wouldn`t know that. But the dad might have known that. So, now, I think, oh my God, is he lying, too?
[Dimitrius:] OK. But how did Caylee get into the pool if grandma took the ladder away?
[Pinsky:] Yes, listen, I don`t know. This is the this is why this is what compels me to keep looking at this story and takes me to the next day to want to see what goes on in the courtroom because
[Dimitrius:] Well, you know, I have a theory about why we`re also fascinated
[Pinsky:] Tell me.
[Dimitrius:] And that`s because of our economy and the things that have happened in our country over the last two years, people have been in various financial straits. And acting isn`t so good these days. I think, personally, on soap operas. This is a live soap opera. This is a way to get away from your troubles.
[Pinsky:] I absolutely agree with you. Thank you, Jo-Ellan and Mark. I`m not going to give you any last word here. I`ve got to go out to break, but thank you for joining us.
[Eiglarsh:] Fair enough.
[Pinsky:] OK. Yesterday I agree, it`s a soap opera. And watch this. Yesterday, I showed you a mob rushing the Orlando courthouse for a front-row trial seat. Today, there it is. The people, that inspired passion of people. Today, I`m talking to the very first man in line on day one. He tells me about the drama, the atmosphere, and most importantly, what it`s like to be up inside the courtroom during those intense moments of this soap opera we`re all seemed to be glued to.
[Unidentified Male:] You loved your granddaughter more than anything in the world?
[George Anthony:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And you would have done anything to help find her?
[George Anthony:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And you love your daughter more than anything in the world.
[George Anthony:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And you would do anything to protect her?
[George Anthony:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] She is your baby?
[Joy Behar, Host Of "joy Behar Show":] Check out my show tonight, Drew. We`ll be talking about the Casey Anthony trial with judge Alex Ferer, host of the "Judge Alex Show". You know, we`ll ask him if he thinks Casey Anthony should take the stand and what the consequences might be if she doesn`t.
[Unidentified Male:] Well, here we are at 4:00 a.m., the big day in the Casey Anthony trial. And guess who`s number one standing in line at 4:00 a.m.? Me. See you.
[Pinsky:] Spectators waiting in line all night. Welcome back. We are covering the Casey Anthony trial for you tonight. That video was given to us from, perhaps, the most dedicated Anthony trial spectator. His name is Brett Schulman. He joins us right now. He was the first person in line to get a seat inside the courtroom on day one. He braved this. Chaos, fights, running of the bulls. I swear to goodness. That`s what it is. Look at that. Those people are animals. They`re all trying to get a firsthand look at the Casey Anthony trial. Let`s get started with Brett. So, Brett, what was it like inside the courtroom? What`s different about being there?
[Brett Schulman, Snagged First Anthony Trial Spectator Seat:] Emotions of individuals that you can actually stare into their eyes. And an incredible impact on the individuals sitting and actually watching instead of watching on TV. You could feel the power and the passion inside the courtroom.
[Pinsky:] Interesting. Well, you, yourself, you`re a professional poker player. So, I love that you`re the subject I`m talking to here, because you have a sort of unique, I suspect, ability to read what`s going on in the people involved in this trial. What is your take on Casey Anthony? You see her sitting there day after day. What`s going on there?
[Schulman:] First of all, I would not want to play poker against Casey Anthony because she is stone cold.
[Pinsky:] Interesting. Interesting. So, you feel you feel is that could it be that that`s something the attorneys are sort of encouraging her to look like? Just to retain that stone face? Or do you think that she is just disconnect and a cold-hearted criminal?
[Schulman:] In my own opinion, I believe that she is cold-hearted, and all she does is stare all day long straight ahead. She doesn`t look at anybody. Once in a while, she`ll look down at a piece of paper and that is it.
[Pinsky:] Do you have any sense of how the jurors are responding to her?
[Schulman:] Well, I watch the jury, too, and I watch them look at her. And I will just make one observation. A lot of the jurors do not take notes. Very rarely do I see them take notes, but they`re always watching her, and they`re watching George Anthony and Cindy.
[Pinsky:] Interesting. They`re going with their gut, I bet. And then, one other thing, you had reported earlier that it`s 10-1 in the spectator booth, women to men. Mostly women. Why are women so captivated by this?
[Schulman:] Well, I`m going to say because it`s a motherdaughter issue. I say 95 percent of everybody that`s attending every single day is a female. And the men are probably attached with the female, but that`s OK.
[Pinsky:] Well, interesting. Brett, thank you so much for your insight. It gives us a feeling of what it`s like inside that courtroom, because I tell you what, I`m still trying to make sense of this thing. As I keep saying, the only thing I really know for sure, so far, is there`s just stunning amounts of lying and

[Anderson:] Two exhibitions of world renowned artist Ai Weiwei opened this week in London without him. Ai Weiwei, he was also an activist, was detained by Chinese authorities in Beijing more than five weeks ago. He hasn't been seen or heard of from since. As Atika Shubert reports, his art and his absence are speaking loudly.
[Atika Shubert, Cnn Correspondent:] In the 18th century courtyard of London's Somerset House, the animals of Ai Weiwei's "Zodiac Heads" installation are a silent testament to the artist. He was supposed to be here for the opening, but he is in jail, arrested in April by Chinese authorities for alleged economic crimes. It has been more than a month. No one has heard from him.
[Gwyn Miles, Director, Somerset House:] This is a sort of bittersweet occasion. We're terribly proud of this installation, but we fully expected Ai Weiwei to be here to unveil the sculpture, and we were going to have public lectures and we were going to do a lot of work with him. And so we're very, very upset that he's not able to be here. And we're also upset because, actually, to have someone taken off the street and no contact with them for over a month is a very upsetting thing to happen.
[Shubert:] But his arrest simply seems to have fueled more demand for his work. Here in London, there are now several art spaces featuring his installations, and these posters with his quotes on it will be plastered across the city. And at each of these exhibitions, there is the same demand. Release Ai Weiwei. Ai Weiwei's themes of political and social change run throughout the Lisson Gallery, since 1967, a showcase for young artists with attitude. These Han Dynasty vases are more than 2,000 years old, but covered in modern industrial paint. This surveillance camera is crafted from a single piece of marble and presented like a classical bust, as are these discarded doors, modeled after demolition sites that Ai Weiwei witnessed in Beijing.
[Nicholas Logsdail, Lisson Gallery:] In a way, they become like monuments to the past. Monuments to something that has been a symbol of this extraordinary process, incredibly fast process of change in China, where whole towns and villages have been demolished and rebuilt.
[Shubert:] But it was the Tate Modern's vast "Turbine Hall" that first introduced many in London to the Chinese artist. One hundred million sunflower seeds of hand-painted porcelain, each one unique. In an interview with CNN late last year, Ai Weiwei admitted his outspoken views and provocative art put him on a collision course with Chinese authorities, but with no regrets.
[Ai Weiwei, Artist:] Art is not just decoration. Art is not just atoms of the collector's habit. Art is about social change. It's about how we define our time and our culture.
[Shubert:] As the audience for his work grows, however, it seems any attempt to silence the artist simply gives more voice to his art. Atika Shubert, CNN, London.
[Anderson:] Well, TV viewers in China won't have seen that report. Earlier, we filmed our output in Beijing, and well, just take a look at what happened.
[Monita Rajpal, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome back. The art world is calling for galleries and museums around the world to shut their doors for a day in support of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Ai Weiwei, who's also a political activist, was detained by Chinese authorities in Beijing more than five weeks ago and
[Anderson:] Blackout. Coverage of Ai Weiwei is censored in China. Well, many international artists are coming out in support of Ai Weiwei. British sculptor Antony Gormley tells Channel Four News Ai's detention is a "disaster" for the art world and says "state barbarism will not be silenced." Well, Danish sculptor Jens Galschlot has petitioned his own government to officially demand Ai's release with signatures from other Danish artists, as well. And British sculptor Anish Kapoor has called on museums around the world to close in protest. He has dedicated his latest installation in Paris to Ai. Earlier, I got the chance to talk to Anish Kapoor. Here's his reaction to the detention.
[Anish Kapoor, Artist:] I think it's important that there is a solidarity amongst artists. I don't know Ai Weiwei at all. But I feel that it's important that I that I show my hand.
[Anderson:] What do you think as the art world you can do?
[Kapoor:] China will baffle us all in the sense that its economic power is so enormous that it will win in the end. So why it feels the need to silence an artist is beyond me. I mean, of course, he's not alone. There are writers and other artists who have been taken away as well. We have to, I think, try and persuade the Chinese government that there is another way.
[Anderson:] Some will say that Ai Weiwei should know better than to go up against a regime that doesn't, to a certain extent, quite know what to do with him at this point.
[Kapoor:] Well, what has he done? Let's just look at that for half a second. He has recorded the deaths of children, mostly, and some adults through neglect, let's say, or administrative complication, perhaps corruption. What he's done, I the way I see it is to let us know that every life matters, that it matters that people die for inconsequential reasons. He hasn't even asked for things to be taken into account. He hasn't brought anyone to book, so to speak. But to just to record. Now, this is the kind of thing artists do all the time. Artists, fundamentally, are not dangerous. What we do is act as a kind of conscience of the nation, of the world, or whatever that is.
[Anderson:] The deputy foreign minister called the recent protests about Wei's Weiwei's incarceration "condescending." How would you respond to that?
[Kapoor:] Did he really say that? Condescending to whom? I find that hard to believe, really. I think we have to record our protest at the sad disappearance of our fellows everywhere all the time.
[Anderson:] Anish Kapoor speaking to me earlier from his studios in South London. And after that interview, he told me that he in no uncertain terms would be reticent to show his own work in China anytime soon if Ai's detention continues. Well, for millions across Europe, it's a must-watch program. I'm talking, of course, about Eurovision, the song contest you either love or despise.
[Edward Grimes, Jedward:] Behind every successful person is a pack of haters!
[John Grimes, Jedward:] And you've got to realize that you've got to go out and do it for all your fans.
[Anderson:] These guys star in it, but will they win it? We take a look at this year's favorites up next.

[Gorani:] Once again checking news across the country, Occupy protesters in Alaska they are battling big government but they're also battling Mother Nature with temperatures dipping below zero. City leaders have asked them to remove the heated tents that are keeping them warm. Three University of Georgia graduates have created a unique fragrance. It's called Moonshine Gentleman's cologne. But what does it smell like? One of its creators says, there are hints of black pepper, gin, tobacco and leather. The cologne is in stores in select cities. And Michigan is home to the only man in the country to be awarded the ultimate prize from Mary Kay, the Pink Cadillac. He began his career as a Mary Kay consultant in 2001 and he worked his way up to sales director. Congratulations. CNN will bring you live coverage of the next Republican presidential debate tomorrow tonight. If television existed in 1860 would Lincoln have won? Could Dewey have defeat Truman if he sent out tweets? We'll never know but it's fun to think what could have happened had voters had the same information that modern voters have or if they could have accessed it in the same way. Bob Greene is a CNN contributor and all the GOP presidential debates inspired him to write about our untelevised presidents for CNN.com. Let's talk then, about some of these historical examples of candidates who ran against each other decades ago in the United States. How would TV have changed anything do you think?
[Bob Greene, Cnn Contributor:] Well, 70 percent of all the presidents we've ever had were never televised. More than 60 percent never appeared on radio and almost a quarter, 25 percent of all the presidents never had their photograph taken while in office. So it's almost like for earlier generations of Americans, they literally could pass a presidential candidate who they may vote for on the street and not recognize him.
[Gorani:] Right.
[Greene:] It was as it was as if the campaign was a was a distant and indistinct rumor and yet as always they were asked to take that leap of faith and roll the dice.
[Gorani:] But how much does television really have an impact? I mean on the ground campaigning in the end and studies have shown this is almost just as important, isn't it? It's not just a question of being on television. It's a question of using it well. Which candidates are using it well?
[Greene:] Right. Well, the ones who use it well are the ones who project better, who look best, the things we always know about. But it was pointed out to me. I spoke with a man named John Gehr, who is the head of the Political Science Department at Vanderbilt University. He said that, of course, now today candidates want to look great on television, come across authoritatively. In the radio days you wanted to have the warm, comforting voice. But it was always the technology of the era that posed the challenge. For example, he said there weren't always microphones. So in the early days of this country if a candidate had a big booming voice at least the people in the crowd could hear him. Before microphones a candidate with great ideas and thoughtfulness who had a soft voice, he wasn't even heard.
[Gorani:] Well I mean, also the interesting is if you look at someone like Eisenhower, bald; if you look at someone like FDR who had a physical, a visible, physical disability.
[Greene:] Yes, yes.
[Gorani:] I mean these things, had they been televised, would they have obviously, Eisenhower is right over us but I mean, these are the kinds of things that perhaps candidates now think about more, but is it a good thing? I mean, is it a good thing?
[Greene:] It's never it's never a good thing to have to get past the technology to reach the people. It was suggested to me that if every person in this country could somehow magically have five minutes alone with a candidate, just the voter and the candidate, five minutes one on one, that would change everything. But it's not going to be that way, and you wonder if 100 years from now if people look back to now and say, how did they make their choice? We only had television.
[Gorani:] Bob Greene, thanks very much. You can read Bob's comment at CNN.comopinion. CNN wants to know what you are thankful for this year. Send us your iReports all this week and we'll share them on air to get a sense of what is most important to you. Visit the new iReport at cnniReport.comthankful to submit yours today.

[Costello:] Reese Witherspoon's apology tour has gotten off to a rocky start. She says she's really, really sorry for her drunken tirade against an Atlanta police officer. But now dash cam video that shows she and her husband being arrested is going viral. Here's the video from TMZ.
[Reese Witherspoon, Actress:] I'm an American citizen.
[Unidentified Male:] Stop. I told you to get in that car and stay in there, didn't I?
[Witherspoon:] This is beyond this is beyond.
[Unidentified Male:] If you fight with me, I promise you
[Witherspoon:] This is harassment. You're harassing me as an American citizen. I have done nothing against the law.
[Unidentified Male:] Reese, can you please Yes, you have. You didn't obey.
[Witherspoon:] I have to obey your orders?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, you do.
[Witherspoon:] I do not.
[Unidentified Male:] Reese.
[Witherspoon:] Absolutely nothing.
[Unidentified Male:] Reese, Reese. Relax.
[Witherspoon:] I am now being arrested and handcuffed.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Witherspoon:] Do you know my name, sir?
[Unidentified Male:] I don't need to know.
[Witherspoon:] You don't need to know my name?
[Unidentified Male:] Not quite yet. I'll get that information
[Witherspoon:] Oh really? Ok. You're about to find out who I am.
[Costello:] Later Witherspoon's husband Jim Toth tried to make clear he had nothing whatever to do with his wife's rant.
[Witherspoon:] I am obstructing your justice.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Witherspoon:] Really. I'm being anti-American.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. Go ahead and sit down.
[Witherspoon:] Wow.
[Unidentified Male:] Sit your butt first. It will be a lot easier on you.
[Witherspoon:] Interesting. Arresting me.
[Unidentified Male:] I tried. I'm sorry. I absolutely I have nothing to do with that. I know.
[Costello:] Witherspoon has been in damage control mode as I told you including this apology on ABC's "Good Morning America" just yesterday.
[Witherspoon:] I had no idea what I was saying that night. I saw him arresting my husband and I literally panicked. And I said all kinds of crazy things. I told him I was pregnant. I'm not pregnant. I said crazy things. You only hear me laughing because I have no idea what I was talking about and I'm so sorry. I was so disrespectful to him. I have police officers in my family. I work with police officers every day. I know better.
[Costello:] Witherspoon paid a $213 fine. Toth pleaded guilty to drunk driving. TMZ reports he will serve 40 hours of community service. All right. Checking our top stories now at 53 minutes past. This massive fire at a Louisiana oil tank has forced the evacuation of more than two dozen homes in Denham Springs. Not clear why the holding tank ruptured and burst into flames just about 11 hours ago. Officials say there are no injuries and the leaking oil has been contained. Former Green Bay Packers [inaudible] Leroy Butler says his support for Jason Collins cost him a speaking appearance at a Wisconsin church. After the NBA player came out as a gay this week, Butler tweeted "Congrats" to Jason Collins. Butler said the church pastor told him that if he removed the tweet, apologized and asked for God's forgiveness, he could speak at the church. Butler said no. This morning the FBI has a woman on its most wanted terrorist list for the first time ever. Joanne Chesimar escaped from a U.S. prison and fled to Cuba nearly 30 years ago. She was convicted in the killing of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973. She was a member of the Black Panther Party and later the Black Liberation Party. Construction workers cheered as the final two pieces of a spire were hoisted to the top of the One World Trade Center Tower in New York City. The 408 foot spire is on a temporary platform and will be moved into a permanent position at a later date but when completed the tower will be 1776 feet tall a nod, of course to the birthday of the United States of America. Nice. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "CNN NEWSROOM" continues after a quick break.

[Quest:] Japan's new central banker is going to start printing money on a vast scale. The new man at the helm of the Bank of Japan is Haruhiko Kuroda, and his aggressive strategy took the financial world by surprise. The hope in Tokyo is massive money creation will rid Japan from the scourge of deflation. The bank says over the next two years, it will double the money it makes available in the economy, the so-called monetary base. Pumping cash in will generate price rises and wage increases. It is the exact opposite of what central bankers normally try to do. The bank's going on a bond-spending spree in the private sector, with a target of $70 billion a month through the end of next year. It's shopping for a wider range of assets, like longterm debt. Even other kinds of investments: real estate trust, exchange-traded funds. Almost anything in the old car boot sale they seem to be able to purchase. The governor's inflation target is 2 percent within 2 years. Some of it are calling it "Abenomics" after the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who's been putting pressure on the central bank.
[Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor, Bank Of Japan:] We can expect this monetary easing in quantity and quality would bring about a drastic change of the market expectation. It will support positive momentum beginning to show in the real economy and financial market and push up the consumer prices, leading to the end of Japan's deflation that has lasted nearly 15 years.
[Quest:] Now, contrast the efforts to jump start the economy with what's happening in the US and Europe. Join me in the library and you'll see what I mean. Let's begin with the ECB and the rate decision. The ECB kept rates at a record low of 0.75 percent. Mario Draghi says he's ready to act to boost the eurozone economy. In his press conference afterwards, the interpretation is not now, but he's leaving the door open to a rate cut as early as next month.
[Mario Draghi, President, European Central Bank:] Weak economic activity has extended into the early part of the year, and a gradual recovery is projected for the second half of this year, subject to downside risks.
[Quest:] Now, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, the MPC, rejected more QE, keeping rates firmly on hold at 0.5 percent. The governor, you'll be aware, of course, in the past has been in a minority wanting to increase QE. The rest of the committee saying no, not yet. And in the Fed in the US, Ben Bernanke says some stimulus measures will stay in place until unemployment will fall to 6.5 percent. Inflation exceeds 2.5 percent. These are the forward-looking statements, the "intermediate forecasts" is the phrase that we use to describe that, or the qualitative measures that are taking. Putting these policies into perspective, joining from New York, Nathan Sheets is with me. The global head of international economics at Citigroup. Nathan, by any definition, any standards, aiming to double the monetary base and naught in just two years, particularly in a country like Japan, which has been so slow to do major moves, what did you make of it?
[Nathan Sheets, Global Head Of International Economics, Citigroup:] I really believe that this is a historic day in Japan and, frankly, an unprecedented day amongst central banks. I don't know of another example where a major central bank has committed to double the size of the monetary base in a two-year period. Basically, the BOJ is saying that after 15 years of seeing the Japanese economy grapple with inflation, now it's ready to do, to use Draghi's phrase, whatever it takes to defeat deflation over the next several years.
[Quest:] I suppose we don't and we can't and we will not know whether it's going to work because normal monetary transmission mechanisms have they're working in a fashion. They're preventing things from getting worse. But there's not the evidence that they're making things much better.
[Sheets:] You are absolutely right. When we look at the traditional channels through which monetary policy would influence inflation, like output gaps and exchange rates, those channels are very muted for Japan. And this means that if this policy is going to be successful, it's got to work through so-called animal spirits. It's just got to be so aggressive that the Japanese citizen says I believe that Kuroda is going to be aggressive, and one way or another he's going to make
[Quest:] Right.
[Sheets:] inflation rise to 2 percent.
[Quest:] That's the qualitative aspect to this monetary easing that we've been talking about.
[Sheets:] Exactly.
[Quest:] But now let's but now let's put this into the global context. Mario Draghi says "I'll do whatever it takes," and he's got his OMT and he's ready to do outright monetary transactions. Well, people like yourself must be saying, to use the old Tom Cruise line, "show me the money." You want to see cuts in interest rates now.
[Sheets:] So, I've seen Draghi be very aggressive to address financial stability roughs in Europe. He's done the LTROs and he's promised an OMT. But what I haven't seen Draghi do is be equally aggressive in trying to support a recovery in the euro area. And I think that's where he's been fundamentally different than what we've seen in the United States and what we're seeing today in Japan.
[Quest:] Finally, Nathan, you heard I think you could hear most of the my discussion with Cyprus's new finance minister. Cyprus is now on its own. Do you believe that there is another country and everyone's talking about Slovenia. Whether it's Slovenia or somewhere else, do you believe there's another eurozone country that's going to fall like a domino?
[Sheets:] I certainly hope that that is not the case. But what I'm worried about is that the events that we've seen over the last few weeks in Cyprus have increased the probability of spillovers and contagion in Europe. And specifically, if I'm a deposit holder in Greece or in Italy or in Spain or some of these other countries and I start seeing signs of economic stress, I don't know whether I'm going to wait around to see what happens next. I may very well be inclined to hit the bank and get my money out.
[Quest:] Right.
[Sheets:] And when you're in a world with bank runs, things become very unstable. So, I'm more worried than I was.
[Quest:] Nathan, good to talk to you. We hope to have you on the program many more times. Thank you very much.
[Sheets:] Thank you.
[Quest:] Nathan Sheets joining me from New York. The markets in New York, let's stay there, up 42 points, just about a third of a percent, 14,591. First-time jobless claims were up last week, a bit of a nasty surprise. The Dow's trading close to its all-time high. The euro markets now, a bleaker picture in Europe. They were all down. And I want to let's look up FTSE and just look and see how the FTSE traded during the course of the day. Yes, there's New York kicking into operation, so obviously those jobs numbers were not the were the sort of things. They were rattled, obviously, by Mario Draghi's ECB comments as well. So, to tonight's not currency but Ethics Conundrum for you. These are all questions based on real-live examples and they're set as a test for bankers by the UK's Chartered Institute. Imagine your firm is bidding for a contract with an ink cartridge company, OK? Now, one day, they notice your company's e-mails with the words "do not print this e-mail unless absolutely necessary." It's because your firm backs a charity with environmental concerns nominated by the stiff. The ink cartridge company says get rid of the message or the deal's off. In other words, one of your companies that you do business with says you get rid of that or we won't do business with you. What do you do? You talk it over with your staff? You scrap the message and give in to the client? Or you tell the cartridge company to forget it. What's the answer to the question? Now, to the currencies themselves. The markets, and the yen has absolutely collapses against the dollar as a result of the announcement in Japan. The pound is a little bit stronger. Those are the rates this is the break.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] Thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Kyra Phillips. It's 11:00 on the east coast, 8:00 on the west. We've got a really busy hour. Let's right to the news. After more than a year of violence, the Syrian government has accepted the peace plan offered by U.N.Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan. Shortly after we learned that, Syrian state TV aired this. That's right. That is President Bashar al-Assad walking the streets in Baba Amr. That's the neighborhood that activists say al- Assad's forces have relentlessly attacked and shelled. But even with the news of this peace plan, opposition activists say at least 53 people were killed today alone. Meanwhile, Annan is in China rallying support for the peace plan today. Both China and Russia have opposed previous attempts to take tough actions against the Syrian regime. Well, we are now in the second hour of the second day of historic Supreme Court arguments on the Affordable Care Act, health insurance for all. Four separate issues are taking up six hours of court time over three days. But today, the biggie, whether Americans could be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. Critics say it's unconstitutional, but supporters say getting everybody in the pool is the only way to spread out the risk and manage costs. Besides, they say, everybody consumes health care. The only question is who pays. Today's session ends at noon, Eastern. We should hear audio recordings shortly after that. And never before seen details on the police report of Trayvon Martin's killing paint a very different picture of that deadly encounter. The "Orlando Sentinel" reports that the neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, was bleeding from the face and head when police arrived. And they claim that Trayvon attacked him before shots were fired. Up until now, accounts from witnesses and Zimmerman's own phone calls to police strongly suggested Zimmerman was the aggressor. The fact that he hasn't been arrested has set off a nationwide outcry. A march in Washington is set to begin next hour and Trayvon Martin's parents are due on Capitol Hill. Well, act like a thug, die like a thug. A New Orleans police officer is suspended without pay for posting that quote online about Trayvon Martin. The police superintendent says he's furious and right now the city's NAACP is holding a news conference. We'll bring you the comments soon as we get them. Well, the self-proclaimed al Qaeda jihadist killed after a standoff in southern France has left behind gut-wrenching evidence of his alleged killing spree. We are talking about 25 minutes of video that actually document the shootings as they're happening. Al Jazeera received that tape in the mail. The suspect, Mohammed Merah, was wanted for killing seven people, including a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school. Al Jazeera says that the edited footage shows images of the seven victims along with music, religious singing, and readings from the Koran. The network says it will not broadcast the video, citing its code of ethics. A massive wildfire in Colorado has now turned deadly. It's killed one person and right now is threatening hundreds of others. The fire is in a mountainous area just southwest of Denver where flames have already scorched more than 3,000 acres. And dry, windy conditions right now are not helping firefighters. You're looking at live pictures via our affiliate, KMGH. Local fire crews called for backup and more than 450 firefighters are being ordered to the scene today. Air support was also called in. Emergency crews have contacted 900 households. Many have been evacuated already, but that wildfire is moving fast and it's torched up to 25 homes. And the Defense Department is denying reports that a controversial malaria drug may have played a role in the killing of 17 Afghan civilians by Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. The Defense Department says, quote, "The department-wide review of mefloquine prescription practices has no connection to the Staff Sergeant Robert Bales investigation. Assistant secretary of health affairs, Jonathan Woodson, requested this review in January to ensure each service conducts proper screening, patient education and medical documentation. Mefloquine, also called Lariam"New York Times" survey show that a large majority believe we should not be involved. Less an quarter think we are doing the right thing. Numerous presidents have done it before. Now, it's President Obama's turn as the open mike and these remarks to the Russian president.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.
[Russian President Dmitry Medvedev:] I understand you. I transmit this information to Vladimir and I stand with you.
[Phillips:] Well, the two leaders were having a supposedly private chat during the nuclear security summit in South Korea. Here is what Mr. Obama had to say about it today.
[Obama:] Are the mikes on? Look, what I said yesterday is, Ben, I think something that everybody in this room understands. Arms control is extraordinarily complex, very technical and the only way it gets done if you can consult and build a strong basis of understanding both between countries as well as within countries.
[Phillips:] Well, the president is now on his way back home, due back in D.C. tonight. A beauty contestant booted from Miss Universe Canada after organizers find out she was born a boy. Twenty-three-year-old Jenna Talackova, a transgender, was one of the 65 finalists, but got disqualified. The Miss Universe organization says she lied on her application and did not meet the requirements of being born female to compete. Talackova says that it's discrimination and plans to consult with a lawyer now. Well, listen up if you drive a "Beemer." BMW is recalling 367,000 cars because a battery cable cover in the trunk may have been incorrectly installed. BMW says it could lead to electrical problems and fire in extreme cases. Five- and 6-series from 2003 to 2010 model years are involved. If you're affected, you'll be notified by mail and BMW will fix it, no charge. Senseless killing or self-defense? That critical question still looming large over the Trayvon Martin tragedy. Now, new reports about what George Zimmerman says happened that day and why he says he was forced to pull the trigger. Plus, Trayvon's parents head to Washington. Stay with us. We've got more. But first, her courage is simply impossible to forget. Stephanie Decker is finally going home after three weeks in the hospital. You may remember Stephanie's the mom who lost her legs while saving her kids from not one, but two massive tornados by using her body as a shield. And, when she finally got home, she was overwhelmed by the kindness of others.
[Stephanie Decker, Tornado Survivor:] They stocked my cabinets. They have done absolutely I'm getting choked up they have done absolutely everything for me. And I'm very, very appreciative for what everyone has done for me.
[Phillips:] And nothing is slowing this mom down either. Stephanie is adamant she'll be walking soon. Stephanie, you're not just a hero to your kids and your family. You are our rock star.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Hey there. Good morning, folks. From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. It is April the 23rd. It's 6:00 A.M. where I stand, here in Atlanta, Georgia, but it is 5:00 A.M. in St. Louis, and that's where we're going to have to start this morning. There's been a massive storm there that has ripped through part of the city, but look at the airport. That airport this morning is shut down indefinitely. Reports of windows blown out, people bleeding, kids crying. We will be talking to the people who were at that airport and who had to be evacuated even from their planes as this was believed to be a tornado by some. Not confirmed yet, but believed to be hit last night. Also, the streets of Syria, getting violent more violent, some would tell you. Demonstrators continue to protest against their government and the government firing back. Now, President Obama has issued a stern warning, a stern statement to the government of Syria. You will be hearing that. But let me get back to St. Louis right now where the airport there has been closed indefinitely this morning. No arrivals, no departures. Why? The airport was hit by high winds last night. You're looking at a van there that is teetering on the edge of a parking garage. It was pushed there by the wind. Now, imagine if that had fallen on people. This could have been a lot worse than it was. Still, witnesses say it was a tornado that swept through, hasn't been confirmed yet, as I mentioned a moment ago. But even if it was just a bad storm, it doesn't matter, this is a lot of damage, no matter what. It tore apart part of one of the terminals there. About half of the windows in one terminal, we're told, blown out. Planes were rocked on the tarmac. Some of the people were on those planes at the time. A few people injured by a lot of flying glass. A few people reportedly had to be taken to the hospital, some of them treated on the scene, but we're not getting word of any serious injuries. We're also getting stories of people having to huddle inside bathrooms. The police chief says he's amazed that more people were not hurt. It's not just the airport. The airport is about 11 miles outside of downtown St. Louis. But homes also in some neighborhoods in the area were damaged, roofs torn off, gas leaks as well that we're told about. Also some downed power lines. I want to turn now to our Karen Maginnis who is keeping an eye on weather for us this weekend. Not a tornado. We have to wait for those official words. But what is our guess right now?
[Karen Maginnis, Ams Meteorologist:] Exactly. To me, this damage looks like either an EF-0 or EF-1 due to the damage. If it were flattened, we'd be talking about a different situation. That is my estimate. They're going to send out survey crews to look at the damage and just kind of assess what kind of winds were associated with it and does the damage look like it was caused by a tornado? Usually what you see is debris that is swirled around as much as 360 degrees, if you will. But they're saying out of that main concourse area, just about all of the windows were blown out, the roof was lifted off of a portion of one of the concourses. And you can imagine just how terrified folks were when this severe weather rocked this region. Now, could it have been a tornado? Certainly, it could have because we're even seeing some very strong storms erupt across extreme Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. This is the core area right now that is seeing the most severe weather. I just checked St. Louis. St. Louis is seeing just a few light showers, overcast skies, but the main threat of severe weather for today let's just go ahead and show you what that is expected to be. This is our possibility or probability of severe storms for today. You've got this warm, moist air which is coming out from the gulf, and, indeed, it is quite warm. Temperatures all across the southeast are expected to be more summer-like rather than Easter-like. There is definitely much cooler air behind this, and then this dry air, this these are just key ingredients for severe weather enhancement. And, indeed, this is going to lie all the way down through the Ark-La-Tex region, all the way into West Virginia. After last week, and we saw all the way from Oklahoma, into the Carolinas, the devastating damage and the fatalities, about 45 fatalities. This is going to be another interesting weekend, and it's very typical of Easter weather.
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Maginnis:] It can be so violent.
[Holmes:] All right. Good to have you, as always. Karen Maginnis, keeping an eye on things for us.
[Maginnis:] Thank you,
[T.j. Holmes:] We'll talk to her plenty. I do want to get back to St. Louis, some of those pictures amazing pictures from the airport. Just a a harrowing night for a lot of people there, and some of them were actually on planes, getting ready to take off when all of this was going on. One of them is Brett Knewitz. He is joining me on the line right now. Brett, thank you for taking some time with us. Tell me, you were sitting on a plane? When did you knew know something was certainly not quite right, but it was this bad?
[Brett Knewitz, Evacuated From Plane:] Well, I suppose that it was about the time that the plane started rocking from side to side.
[Holmes:] Wow.
[Knewitz:] And I thought, well, we're not really supposed to have turbulence on the ground.
[Holmes:] Well, Brett, how far had you gotten away from the actual gate? Were you out on the tarmac? Were you getting ready to take off? Where was the plane?
[Knewitz:] No, we were actually still at the gate. The ramp had been closed because of the the lightning storms. And then, the like I said, the plane started rocking side to side. And then they told us to leave everything and go, go, go. Get off the plane.
[Holmes:] Did they the way, I guess, they were telling you to get off the plane, were people panicked or was this fairly orderly?
[Knewitz:] They were pretty freaked out, actually. I I think everybody was an American, and the TSA were doing a great job. But, as you might imagine, it was it was a pretty panicked moment.
[Holmes:] But they get you off the plane. Where do they take you?
[Knewitz:] Well, at first we were just put into the Jetway, and but then, after we all got in there, they at first they wouldn't allow us into the terminal, and I my thought was
[Holmes:] Wow.
[Knewitz:] you know, the Jetway, this isn't really safe.
[Holmes:] Stable. Yes.
[Knewitz:] But the reason being was because the the roof was going to collapse inside.
[Holmes:] How long did all this take place from the I guess that that rocking and the shaking of that plane that you were on until, I guess, things calmed down? How how long would you say all this was?
[Knewitz:] I would say about 30, 45 minutes.
[Holmes:] Oh, wow. So this storm, you're getting rocked for quite some time. Well, anybody that you could tell injured as far as the passengers, fellow passengers or any of the people once you finally did get back inside the terminal?
[Knewitz:] Once we got back in, I saw an American Airline gate agent who was bleeding pretty badly. And, again, when we got inside, all of the windows had been blown out of the C Concourse, and it was it was very, very frightening.
[Holmes:] All right, last thing, Brett, when are you getting home? When are you getting to where you're supposed to be going?
[Knewitz:] Well, I was visiting my parents in Illinois. I'm supposed to be going back to Albuquerque. I hear that I may not be leaving St. Louis till, oh, Sunday-ish.
[Holmes:] Oh, wow. OK. Well, yes. Right now, the airport, we're told, closed indefinitely. We'll see when they start getting things back up and running. But Brett Knewitz, we appreciate you taking some time, sharing your story with our viewers. Thanks so much and good luck getting home, buddy.
[Knewitz:] My pleasure. Thank you very much.
[Holmes:] All right. Again, we're keeping a close eye on that. Our Karen Maginnis, keeping an eye on the weather. Again, just a rough night for folks there in St. Louis. I do want to turn overseas to Libya right now, where an airstrike on a parking lot outside Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli has killed three people. That strike presumably from NATO forces. A government spokesman said he does not yet have the identities of those people who were killed in that air strike. The government also announced that forces loyal to Gadhafi will withdraw from the coastal city of Misrata, the third largest city in Libya, and allow tribal leaders to deal with opposition forces. But an opposition spokesman just laughed off any suggestion that tribal leaders will now intervene and possibly try to order an attack on the rebels. Meanwhile, yesterday, Senator John McCain visited Libya, met with key leaders of the opposition. He is pushing for greater involvement in helping the rebels overthrow Gadhafi. Get more now on what's going on in the key cities of Misrata and Benghazi. Our Fred Pleitgen is in Tripoli for us now. Fred, hello to you, as always. What do we know exactly about what is going on in Misrata right now?
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, that's a very good question. We know that the Libyan deputy foreign minister, T.J., yesterday told us that in fact the forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi would withdraw completely from that city, and he said that this was basically an initiative that was brought on by the tribes themselves. Apparently the tribes contacted the Libyan military and said that clearly they weren't making any headway in trying to take back Misrata and therefore the tribes would take the matter into their own hands. Now, according to the Libyan foreign deputy foreign minister, the tribes are on the side of Moammar Gadhafi and they would negotiate with the rebels there in Misrata, and if the rebels don't come to a conclusion with them, then they would attack the rebels. The rebels themselves, as you noted, have laughed off that notion. They say that this is not something where the rebels are holding siege the city but it is in fact uprising by the whole people of Misrata, and therefore the tribes are actually with them rather than with the Gadhafi military. We're going to have to wait and see whether or not that's actually the case. But, of course, this announcement comes at a very interesting point in time in that the rebels last night also told us that they'd effectively taken back the city center of Misrata from Gadhafi's forces militarily. There there were snipers on the buildings there. There are were tanks in the streets there. They say they've pretty much taken all of downtown Misrata back, and so, therefore, they're saying that Gadhafi is trying to make what is effectively a retreat from Misrata look as though it were a responsible withdrawal, looking for a solution,
[T.j. Holmes:] Fred, I was talking to your colleague, Nic Robertson, yesterday, and he was talking about how McCain's visit, to have him sitting down with opposition leaders, kind of legitimizes them, helps their cause. He'll go out into the international community now and kind of spread that message back here in the U.S. as well. How is his visit being viewed there in Libya by all sides? And do we really have any reaction to the Gadhafi and his and his administration to the visit by by McCain?
[Pleitgen:] Well, we certainly have reaction by Gadhafi's administration in the form also of the Libyan deputy foreign minister who yesterday at the press conference obviously brushed off that visit by Senator McCain, saying Senator McCain is someone who in the past has actually spoken to Gadhafi himself, that he was very disappointed by Senator McCain's visit, but, at the same time, said that he in no way feared that Senator McCain's visit could in fact drum up more support for the rebels. Now, if you go to Benghazi, obviously the reaction is a very different one. They were absolutely thrilled to have Senator McCain there. They welcomed him as a hero of sorts, if you will, and Senator McCain, in return, of course said that the rebels to him were heroes as well. And, as you said, also called for more intervention and more more involvement of the U.S. there with the rebels, to try and help them overthrow Moammar Gadhafi's regime. And, certainly, it looks as though internationally, the simply the fact that he came here, that's such a high level representative of the United States, even though he's obviously not acting on the part of the U.S. government. His trip certainly was sanctioned by the U.S. government, and that alone lends the rebels more credibility than they had before,
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Fred Pleitgen for us in Tripoli. Fred, we appreciate you, as always. I want to turn now to Syria, where more deadly violence from anti-government sentiment is taking place there. At least 43 people killed in a bloody day of confrontations in several cities. Take a look, take a listen to this. This is happening on the streets.

[Cooper:] I want to update our breaking news, the massive wildfire in Colorado we told you about at the top of the program. Additional resources who tackle flames from the air, the ground are being called in right now. Federal crews are stepping in to try to take over management of the firefighting effort. Now, the fire has nearly doubled in size just since yesterday. Damage estimates jumped from 13 structures to 100 have already burned. The flames now cover an area of over 57,000 square miles and by some estimates it is spreading at a rate of 40 feet per second, fast moving. Now, all of this is forcing thousands of people obviously to leave their homes. No guarantees are going to be still standing when they return. The question, of course, is can firefighters expect the weather to cooperate? I want to check in with meteorologist Chad Myers. Chad, what's the latest?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, you know, the best case scenario, Anderson, would be rain. That's not going to happen. The next best thing is for the wind to stop. Yesterday, winds were blowing 40, 50 miles per hour. Today, they are blowing 30. Tomorrow around 10 so yes, that's helpful. That isn't going to get in the way. Won't hamper the firefighting efforts like all the winds did over the weekend. It is a scattered fire. Look at the fire lines, how do you fight something that has a shape that looks like this? All over the place in every canyon, up every valley, with a bunch of dead trees out there. There was a huge problem with beetles killing these trees. All of these trees, you're seeing some on the pictures that are green burning, but so many of them, the underbrush are dead, and that is the fuel to make all these fires out here in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, really bad this year. It's a bad season so far.
[Cooper:] That was the fuel. Do we know what sparked the fires?
[Myers:] This one they believe was a lightning strike. Believe it or not, one person in New Mexico was test firing a gun. The gun bullet hit a rock. The rock sparked. The spark started a fire. That went 15 acres before they could put that out.
[Cooper:] That's crazy. That's amazing. I mean, is it is it completely out of control at this point? You saw that fire line, it looks it.
[Myers:] Yes, it's completely out of control. Zero percent containment. There's not one part of that fire that's not growing tonight. Now, the firefighters are surrounding houses. They're really trying to protect structures. They are going to let the fire burn. At this point in time, they can't stop especially with the winds at 30 right now. They can't stop the trees from burning, but they can protect the structures. They can protect the homes and businesses that are in those valleys.
[Cooper:] We wish those firefighters the best and all those people with their homes. I hope they're OK. Chad, appreciate it. Thanks. If you want to see more images of the fire, go to ireport.cnn.com. There's more stuff there, some remarkable images. We're following a number of other stories. Isha's here for the "360 News and Business Bulletin" Isha.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn Correspondent:] Anderson, we're getting reports of Syrian government forces firing on residents from helicopters during an assault in the town of Jabal Alzouwya. Human rights groups say 32 people died in the 6-hour long raid. While 93 people died in the violence going on across the country today. The State Department called the use of helicopters desperate and a serious escalation. An unmanned drone crashed in a Maryland marsh today. The Navy says the "Global Hawk" went down during a routine training flight. There are no reports of injuries or damage to property. An appeal was filed on behalf of the former Rutgers University student convicted in the webcam spying trial. The 20-year-old Dharun Ravi began serving his 30-day sentence on May 31st. Prosecutors say they will also appeal for a longer sentence. And Anderson, the wild west hit the auction block. Big spenders got the chance to own personal items that once belonged to Annie Oakley. It included a portrait of the gun slinger along with her hat and gun. Oakley's 12-gauge shotgun alone brought in more than $143,000.
[Cooper:] Wow.
[Sesay:] I know, some calling her America's first female superstar.
[Cooper:] Pretty cool. How did they know it was her gun?
[Sesay:] They you know what, don't make me lie to you.
[Cooper:] I don't know. There must be records. Some sort of
[Sesay:] They were put up action by her great grand nieces so they've been in the family. See, I did know the answer. Just had to dig deep.
[Cooper:] Is that how you dig, like a chipmunk there?
[Sesay:] You got your answer.
[Cooper:] I did. I'm very impressed. Isha, thanks. We're going to check back a little bit later with you for some stories. Really sad news today, "Good Morning America" anchor, Robin Roberts made an announcement. You know, she's already beaten breast cancer. She is now facing a very dangerous new medical battle. We certainly wish her best. She revealed the condition on "Good Morning America" this morning. We are going to talk to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the condition. Because, frankly, I'd never heard of it nor have a lot of people. We'll tell you about it next.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, Soledad. And good morning to all of you. I'm Carol Costello. Happening right now in the NEWSROOM. My life in your hands. A 70-year-old American kidnapped by al Qaeda now pleading for help from President Obama saying if you accept the demands, I live. If you don't accept the demands, I die. The new video straight ahead. Plus off-script and outspoken. Joe Biden reportedly sending the White House scrambling after his comments on same-sex marriage. This morning, the meeting as team Obama tries to get on message. Death at the derby. A track worker found dead in a barn at the world famous track. New clues and new questions as we are expecting to hear from police this morning. And middle class talkback. Today we kick off a series built around you. Your concerns. Your issues. Your questions to the candidates. Today, we connect you to them and get answers. NEWSROOM starts right now. And this morning, we begin with a man's desperate plea for President Obama to save his life. On a videotaped just released by al Qaeda we hear from 70-year-old Warren Weinstein, the American who was snatched from his home in Pakistan back in August. He begs President Obama, make a deal with the terrorists or they will kill me. CNN's Reza Sayah is in Pakistan's Capitol. He joins us from Islamabad by phone. Reza, bring us up to date. What's the latest?
[Reza Sayah, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, for eight months, Carol, we weren't sure about Warren Weinstein's condition but when you look at this video, it looks like he is in relatively good condition. He speaks clearly and coherently. He doesn't seem to have any visible injuries. Now we should note that we don't know when this video was shot, where it was shot, so it's impossible for us to verify that he is OK today. But, you know, based on the video, he seems OK and U.S. investigators and Pakistani investigators have something to work with in this investigation.
[Costello:] Hey now, as far as al Qaeda go, kidnapping a 70-year- old man? Come on.
[Sayah:] Well, look, it's the world of Islamist militants, Carol. It's very murky and shadowy. It's very difficult to glean much from this video. And it's even impossible to verify who has Weinstein. The video was spotted on an al Qaeda Web site but it's impossible to independently verify if, indeed, this is al Qaeda or if this is some other militant group who is looking to make quick cash off ransom and using al Qaeda's name. And we of course heard Ayman al-Zawahiri, the al Qaeda's leader today, mentioning Warren Weinstein. It's not clear if he's using this kidnapping to hype al Qaeda's name in a time when they're desperate and weaker than ever. But what's clear is he's kidnapped and must be a terrible time for his family.
[Costello:] Definitely so. That videotape released of that man pleading for his, we're going to have that for you in the next hour of NEWSROOM. We're having some technical difficulties. Reza Sayah, from Islamabad, thank you so much. We're also following the mysterious death of an Army captain in Afghanistan. Bruce Kevin Clark died on a Skype video link as his wife watched helplessly 75,000 miles away. But that's only part of this bizarre story. How he died is stirring all sorts of intrigue. The military says there are no wounds on his body but his wife says that when he was suddenly knocked forward she saw a bullet hole in a closet behind him. Today, his family is trying to make sense of it all.
[Mariana Barry, Clark's Sister-in-law:] He loved being in the military. And he loved serving his country. He was absolutely willing to make any sacrifice and it's just horrible that this is the sacrifice he ended up making.
[Costello:] Clark's wife says it took two hours of frantic phone calls for a military personnel to finally reach her husband's side. One official tells us Clark's death is ruled as a as noncombat related but says the official cause of death is pending an autopsy and toxicology results. And we hope to learn more in the next hour about a possible murder mystery at the Kentucky Derby. A worker found dead in a barn at Churchill Downs just hours after the big race. Police are investigating the death as a homicide. This morning, they are awaiting autopsy results. Deborah Feyerick is following the story for us. Deborah, any leads at all?
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, that's what they're looking into right now. The victim is being identified as a 48-year- old stable worker originally from Guatemala. He was working at Churchill Downs with his 19-year-old son who identified the body. That's according to the chief deputy coroner. Now the victim, Adan Fabian Perez, was found dead by a security guard making rounds just before dawn Sunday. That is hours after the famed Kentucky Derby. Perez is believed to be a groom for trainer Cecil Borel. He was not found he was down in the barn not far from where the winning horse "I'll Have Another" was being kept. It does appear the stable worker got into a big fight. The question is with who and why. And police are now questioning some of the 400 people, Carol, who live and work behind the track. That area is called the backside and it's described by police as really a mini- city. A 24-hour city. It's got 48 barns, multiple stables, dormitories and trainer apartments. And this is not the first time the derby has been overshadowed a bit. Last year's race was also clouded by the accidental overdose of jockey Michael Baze. He was found dead in a vehicle near the stables just a week after the Kentucky Derby. But right now a bill murder mystery at Churchill Downs Carol.
[Costello:] Yes, and you have to wonder, do police believe the alleged do police believe this death is somehow connected to the race?
[Feyerick:] Well, yes, that's what's so interesting. The death is being investigated as a homicide. Yesterday, police were saying it didn't appear connected to the racetrack. When I called this morning and really pressed for clarification on that the spokesman said that while the derby was over. So technically it wasn't connected to the race itself. But, still, you have this occurring, you know, within a 12-hour period. So everybody who was there at the time that this murder may have taken place is in the process of being interviewed by police. So we'll see, we'll see exactly what the connection really is.
[Costello:] Deborah Feyerick reporting live for us this morning. Mitt Romney is in Cleveland this afternoon. He is going to talk about jobs and the economy. His speech comes with the release of a new Web video attacking President Obama over the latest jobs report.
[Unidentified Male:] Tonight, new evidence that economic recovery is slowing. The unemployment rate 8.1 percent.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Over and over again, they will tell you that America is down and out.
[Unidentified Male:] The unemployment rate did drop
[Costello:] The Romney video called "Silence" includes a graphic with the words "Millions of Americans are suffering in silence." Mitt Romney is in a dead heat with the president. In a new poll from "Politico" and George Washington University the poll questioned 1,000 likely voters from across the nation. Romney has a 10-point lead over the president among independents. Bill Clinton is calling on North Carolina voters this morning to reject a ballot initiative on a same-sex marriage ban. If the initiative passes tomorrow the policy defining marriage as the union of a man and woman would become state law. In a robocall, Clinton warns the passage would harm the state's economy and its families.
[Fmr. Pres. Bill Clinton, United States:] Its passage would also take away health insurance from children and could even take away domestic violence protections from women. So the real effect of the law is not to keep the traditional definition of marriage. They've already done that. The real effect of the law would be to hurt families and drive away jobs.
[Costello:] Clinton's physician puts him at odds with evangelist Billy Graham who endorsed the initiative last week. Vice President Joe Biden has political at Twitter today, debating whether the vice president endorsed same-sex marriage. It sure sounded that way. Especially when Mr. Biden asserted the TV show "Will & Grace" has prepared Americans to accept same-sex marriages.
[Joe Biden, Vice President:] I take a look at when things really begin to change was the social culture changes. I think "Will & Grace" probably did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody has ever done so far.
[Costello:] Seriously? We're going to show you a clip from "Will & Grace." Do we have that clip or we're still having technicality problems. We do have it. OK, so seriously, I say again?
[Unidentified Male:] I know this guy. I think he might be a gay. But I don't know for sure. A gay? What makes you think he might be a gay, Officer? Well, he wears shorts. He's always working out. He's got really defined biceps, tight abs, rock hard thighs.
[Costello:] It would have worked better if we didn't have that technical difficulty. But any who, seriously, Mr. Biden has put President Obama in a tough spot since the president's views are the president's views on the issue were still evolving. Much to the chagrin of gay rights groups. We'll talk more about that in 20 minutes. This is not something you want to see when driving in your car unless, of course, you're a storm chaser. Meteorologist Rob Marciano will be along to tell us if this twister left behind any major damage.

[John Berman, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, everyone. I'm John Berman.
[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning. Happy Friday. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Soledad is off today.
[Berman:] Hello, there.
[Baldwin:] Hello!
[Berman:] Our STARTING POINT today is a CNN exclusive. Conservative Ohio senator, Rob Portman makes a stunning reversal on gay marriage, and he's talking to only our Dana Bash.
[Baldwin:] And then, not just one, but two Carnival cruise ships in trouble this morning. Folks, this is the fourth time the company has had problems in a month. This morning, we're asking, are the ships safe? Also, a developing story, a suspect in that deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi from last September, this morning, behind bars. Could we finally learn more about what sparked the violence that killed four Americans?
[Berman:] And a disturbing video of a four-year-old attacked by a dog in a terrifying moment all caught on camera.
[Romans:] Plus, it's now a 10-day winning streak for the Dow. It's not just markets seeing a boost, it's turning more Americans into millionaires.
[Berman:] It is Friday, March 15th, and STARTING POINT begins right now. And our STARTING POINT this morning is a CNN exclusive. The gay marriage movement getting an unexpected lift from a most unlikely backer, one of the leading conservative voices on Capitol Hill. Republican senator, Rob Portman of Ohio, is reversing his position on the issue after his son revealed that he is gay.
[Baldwin:] CNN's chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash landing this exclusive TV interview with the senator. She joins us live from Washington this morning. Dana bash, a lot of questions for you. Dana Bash, let's just begin with the fact that this wasn't easy for the senator, I imagine.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Chief Congressional Correspondent:] It was not. I can tell you that for sure it was not easy. But this kind of thing happens all over America all the time. Even in conservative homes. Sons and daughters come to their parents and reveal that they're gay. The difference here, of course, is that this father is a U.S. senator with a megaphone and a vote to try to give his gay son more rights. He invited us into his office yesterday to tell us this dramatic news.
[Bash:] You probably recognize Ohio Senator Rob Portman from his tireless campaigning for Mitt Romney. Even on Romney's short list for vice president. He's been a leading Republican voice on the economy for four decades.
[Sen. Rob Portman,  Ohio:] We need to spur economic growth and create more jobs.
[Bash:] Now the prominent conservative from Ohio will be known for something else, changing his hardline position against gay marriage, which he revealed to CNN, and the very personal reason behind his reversal.
[Portman:] I'm announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about. And it has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry. I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and the stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years. I want all three of my kids to have it, including our son who is gay.
[Bash:] That unexpected revelation came from Portman's 21-year-old son Will two years ago.
[Portman:] My son came to Jane, my wife and I, told us that he was gay. And that it was not a choice. And that, you know, he that's just part of who he is and he's been that way ever since he could remember.
[Bash:] What was your reaction when he told you?
[Portman:] Love. Support, you know, 110 percent.
[Bash:] Surprised?
[Portman:] Surprise, yes.
[Bash:] You had no idea?
[Portman:] No idea. Yes. And, you know, again that launched a process of rethinking the issue.
[Bash:] Until now, all this was secret to most, but not everyone. You were vetted to be a vice presidential candidate. Did you tell Mitt Romney that your son was gay?
[Portman:] Yes, of course.
[Bash:] And how did he react?
[Portman:] I told Mitt Romney everything. That process is intrusive, would be one way to put it. But no, yes, I told him everything.
[Bash:] You think that was a deal breaker?
[Portman:] No. No. I really don't.
[Bash:] How can you be sure?
[Portman:] Well, because, you know, they told me.
[Bash:] Portman was never outspoken on gay marriage, but he consistently voted against it, supporting a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, the Defense of Marriage Act, and a bill prohibiting gay couples in Washington, D.C. from adopting children. What do you say to a gay constituent in Ohio who says I'm so glad that he changed his position but why did it take him learning that he has a gay son? Why didn't he as my representative care about my rights before that?
[Portman:] Well, I would say that, you know, I've had a change of heart based on a personal experience. That's certainly true. I'm on the budget committee, the finance committee for reasons. Those have always been my primary issues and my focus. So, now it's different. You know, I hadn't expected to be in this position. But I do think, you know, having spent a lot of time thinking about it, and working through this issue personally, that, you know, this is where I am for reasons that are consistent with my political philosophy, including family values, including being a conservative who believes the family is a building block of society. I'm comfortable there.
[Bash:] You know, a cynic might look at this and say, he's a politician. Why is he doing this now, when he found out two years ago?
[Portman:] Well, two things. One is I'm comfortable with the position. And it took me awhile to, you know, to rethink things and to get to this decision.
[Bash:] The second reason, the Supreme Court. Which will soon hear a pair of gay marriage cases, and Portman expected that to generate some questions about his position.
[Portman:] And I thought it was the right time to let folks know where I stand so there was no confusion so I would be clear about it.
[Bash:] I asked senator Portman whether he is going to go beyond this public announcement and actually become an activist lobbying his Republican colleagues to support gay marriage, too. He said probably not. He'll probably stick with the economic issues that drove him into public office. But, Brooke and John, he also said that he may not have to say much more than he has. At least to make his conservative colleagues think twice about their opposition to gay marriage.
[Berman:] This was so interesting. Rob Portman is a senator, really one of the best on his feet in the entire Congress. But he looked a little uncomfortable there, even nervous talking about it, and I understand he has spoken to many people over the last two years, sort of helping him through this evolution, including Dick Cheney?
[Bash:] He did. Dick Cheney, of course, famously has a gay daughter. He was the highest ranking Republican ever to have a gay child. And, the two of them have been friends for a long time. And I asked him about that. He said not only did they speak he went to go see Dick Cheney, talk to him, ask him for advice, and Cheney's advice was follow your heart. He said that's exactly what he's doing.
[Baldwin:] We talked a lot recently about the evolution of different members of Congress, and also recently Bill Clinton on a different, you know, when do you ever have a former president asking the Supreme Court to overturn something you signed being DOMA, and he cited the interview how Chelsea Clinton and her gay friends helped him evolve in his stance. And here you have Senator Portman with his son who you mention two years ago came out so this is really personal for a lot of these politicians.
[Bash:] It is. It just is a reminder that politicians are people, too. But also the fact that, you know, that society obviously is evolving. And frankly, in the past couple of years, it sort of happened in warp speed, obviously people in the gay community think that they have a lot of work to do, still. But the fact that you have somebody like rob Portman, who you mentioned he's a little uncomfortable. He was. He not with talking about how proud he is of his son but just talking about such a personal issue. He is a Midwestern guy with Midwestern sensibilities, and the idea of talking about anybody's sexuality, never mind his son's, in public, was something that was very odd for him and you could tell. He's very press savvy and he was he was nervous, understandably so.
[Baldwin:] Dana Bash, great interview. We thank you so much. We'll talk a little bit more about it at the top of the next hour.
[Berman:] Great interview. Seven minutes after the hour. Our other top story this morning, not one, but two Carnival cruise ships having trouble this morning. Can you believe it? At this hour the carnival Legend is experiencing propulsion problems in the Caribbean and cannot operate at full speed.
[Baldwin:] And the carnival Dream is stranded at port, this is in St. Maarten, with generator problems there. Those passengers are waiting to be flown home. Cristina Puig live in Miami with the developments there. Cristina, good morning.
[Christina Puig, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Brooke. That's right. Delta chartered flights are scheduled to begin flying out of St. Maarten with 4,300 of those passengers on an hourly basis. One of the first flights scheduled to land in Orlando around 10:00 a.m. And, as you might imagine, many of those passengers are just anxious to get home.
[Puig:] For some passengers, it was a cruise that didn't live up to their dream. And to some of us their plants sounded a note of deja vu clogged toilets, interruptions to elevator service, power outages. It was the same cruise line, Carnival, but a different ship than the one that left passengers at tea for several days with no air conditioning, and unsanitary living conditions. But the problems on the cruise liner Dream were nowhere near as nightmarish as those aboard the Triumph just a month ago.
[Kris Anderson, Carnival Dream Passenger:] Our toilets weren't working and the water rose up, like you would at home, if the toilet was clogged. The water would start to rise up to the top of the bowl.
[Puig:] The carnival says the Dream got stuck in port in St. Maarten's when the backup emergency generator malfunctioned during a routine inspection. The company issued a statement saying at no time did the ship lose power and the ship's propulsion systems and primary power source was not impacted. The statement also said all guests are safe and comfortable with only periodic interruptions to elevators and rest room services for a few hours.
[Anderson:] They thought it was something minor, ended up being something more complicated, which is why we're still here. As far as the power outages go, I mean, I didn't notice at first.
[Puig:] The latest aborted voyage comes on the heels of the debacle involving carnival's Triumph cruise liner that spent five days adrift at sea. Attracting worldwide attention as passengers posted picture after picture of the unsanitary and altogether unpleasant conditions on the ship.
[Christopher Muller, Boston University:] This is a management problem. They're doing something wrong with preventive maintenance. Carnival has so many working ships that to say that the fleet is in distress is maybe a little bit broad. But clearly something is not working right.
[Puig:] Ironically, just one day before Dream's problems, carnival had announced it was conducting a comprehensive review of its entire fleet. The cruise line was quick to offer its Dream guests a refund for the three days the cruise was cut short, and 50 percent off a future cruise. Now this makes four ships altogether that have had problems in the last month. As we mentioned the Legend and the Dream on Wednesday, and on Saturday, Elation apparently had some steering problems. And of course we all remember the Triumph watching it be towed back into mobile, Alabama, after those passengers were stranded at sea for five days. Now Carnival's CEO Gary Cahill said yesterday that they do have comprehensive programs in place to inspect all of their flights, which consist of 23 ships. Brooke?
[Baldwin:] Christina Puig, thank you. As you point out, at least it's stuck in St. Maarten.
[Berman:] I guess it's not the worst place to be stuck in. But four ships, that sure seems like a lot in a month. The question is, what is going on with these Carnival vessels? We're going to be joined by maritime lawyer Jack Hickey for his perspective on all these cases.
[Baldwin:] Now a Jumbo-tron collapses at a popular festival? Christine Romans has that and the rest of the top stories. What?
[Romans:] This happened during preparations for the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Two people in critical condition this morning after that Jumbo-tron fell on top of workers trying to hoist it. In all four people were hurt. The festival is still scheduled to go on this afternoon. But part of the park will be closed as investigators look into exactly what went wrong there. Developing this morning, sources tell CNN a man suspected of being involved in the September 11th attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi is now being held in Libya. The FBI has reportedly interviewed the suspect in the presence of Libyan authorities. We're told the suspect's name is Faraj al Shibli. He was detained within the past two days and had recently returned from a trip to Pakistan. President Obama says Iran is more than a year away from developing a nuclear weapon but that doesn't mean he's going to let it happen. In an interview with Israeli television the president downplayed differences with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran's nuclear program. Obama will meet with Netanyahu next week during his first visit to Israel since becoming president.
[Barack Obama,  President Of The United States:] What we're going to be doing is continue to engage internationally with Iran, understanding that we've set up the toughest sanctions ever. It's having a significant effect. If we can resolve it diplomatically, that's a more lasting solution. But if not, I continue to keep all options on the table.
[Romans:] Meantime the Pentagon says an Iranian fighter jet targeted an unarmed U.S. predator drone over the Persian Gulf this week. All right, intense moments in a Senate debate on a possible assault weapons ban. California Senator Dianne Feinstein taking on Texas Republican Ted Cruz after he lectures her about the constitution.
[Sen. Ted Cruz,  Texas:] It seems to me that all of you should begin as our foundational document with the constitution.
[Sen. Dianne Feinstein,  California:] I'm not a sixth grader. Senator I've been on this committee for 20 years. If you want to lecture me on the constitution, I appreciate it. Just know I've been here for a long time. I come from a different place than you do. I respect your views. I ask you to respect my views.
[Berman:] Senator Feinstein later appeared on "THE SITUATION ROOM " to discuss the situation.
[Feinstein:] Well, I just felt patronized. I felt he was somewhat arrogant about it. And you know, when you've come from where I've come from and what you've seen, and when you found a dead body and your put your finger in bullet holes you really impact the realize of weapons.
[Romans:] A reputation for feisty behavior in committee hearings says no one doubts Senator Feinstein's sincerity or her passion. You're looking live inside the Vatican where Pope Francis is meeting with the full College of Cardinals including those who were too old to take part in the conclave. The Pope offered a message of encouragement to his spiritual brothers.
[Pope Francis:] In these days we have noticed the effect and solidarity of the universal church, and also the interests of so many people who may not share our faith. Nonetheless, they respect it and admire the church and the Holy See.
[Romans:] The event included a misstep, literally. Pope Francis stumbled as he walked down steps to thank the dean of the college of cardinals, cardinal Angelo Sodano. The pontiff quickly recovered though.
[Baldwin:] That was a great
[Berman:] I've done that like 10 billion times.
[Romans:] Last night the papal apartment was unsealed after Francis celebrated a mass at the Sistine chapel. There you go. Every step, every step is being watched these days as he begins his first days as pope.
[Berman:] Christine Romans, thank you. Ahead on STARTING POINT, the Triumph and the Dream, Carnival Cruise facing a nightmare. So how liable is the company for all the growing troubles on these ships?
[Baldwin:] We're going to talk about that. Also a tenth record day for the Dow with the blue chip index soaring today. Should you start buying or selling? We'll ask. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Christine Romans:] The haves versus the want-mores. It's at the heart of this presidential election. Good morning, everyone, I'm Christine Romans. Forget campaign cash, the new politics of money is about what you think about the wealthy. When it comes to jobs, President Obama wants you to focus on Governor Romney's time at Bain Capital, a private equity firm. But what is private equity? It's big investors like pension funds, university endowments, and wealthy people who pool their money together to invest in anything that can make them a profit. Often they zero in on failing companies to fix them or break them apart or sell them. And as this Obama campaign ad shows, that can mean layoffs.
[John Wiseman:] A paying job that you can support and raise a family on is hugely important.
[Unidentified Male:] That stopped with the sale of the plant to Bain Capital.
[Unidentified Female:] I thought that I was going to retire from there. I had about two-and-a-half years to go. I was suddenly 60 years old. I had no health care.
[Romans:] You're going to be seeing a lot of that. No surprise Governor Romney has a different take. He claims to have created 100,000 jobs, at least. These are the investments Bain made in Staples, Sport Authority, Domino's, there's a lot of others. These are their success stories. And Romney is counting jobs created even after Bain was out of the picture, because that's what private equity does, it comes in, cleans up a company, sells it, or moves it forward. It's hard to measure though how many jobs Bain and Romney created in their private equity investment, it's from 1984 to 1999. Bain tells us they don't record payroll numbers for deals and private equity is private. Once a company is no longer publicly listed, the books are closed. But today, with a painfully slow recovery, should we even be talking at all about Bain?
[Newt Gingrich , Former Presidential Candidate:] How can you be the president with the worst unemployment record since the Great Depression, the longest period of deep unemployment since the 1930s, and pick a fight over job creation?
[Romans:] Will Cain is a CNN contributor who has been jumping off of his seat for the past minute.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] I'm so excited to talk about this.
[Romans:] As a conservative are you happy to see this election focused on this record as opposed to the president's record on jobs?
[Cain:] Do I look happy? I am thrilled to have this conversation over Bain. I agree with the president 100 percent. This is not a distraction. This is what the election is about, because this is nothing short of an indictment of profits and capitalism. That is the truth, Christine.
[Romans:] All right. Roland Martin is a political analyst. Roland, we talked about the anger of the middle class, it's because of numbers like these we're about to show you, the Congressional Budget Office found income for the top 1 percent jumped 275 percent between 1979 and 2007. The middle class saw income grow by just 40 percent during that same time. When the president chooses to bring his jobs argument back to Bain, Republicans claim what he really wants you to hear is that these numbers show guys like Romney have rigged the game against the middle class.
[Roland Martin, Cnn Political Analyst:] And of course he wants to have that conversation, because what Will also does not want to admit is when you talk about a lot of these private equity companies, there's a difference between folks who actually want to buy a company, build it up, invest it, grow it, as opposed to go in, pile on lots of debt...
[Romans:] Now wait a minute, I want to go back Roland, hold on. Let's go back to the steel mill, though, the president's ad about the steel mill. Steel, I mean, it wasn't really that much of a bet that steel was going to go out of I mean, steel and paper are the two big companies that he gets nailed about. Those were failing enterprises, many of them. And steel and paper had a really bad 20 years. Not because of Bain, way before Bain.
[Martin:] But no, no, I understand that. But, look, I can look at any number of companies. What I'm saying is the average person out there, what they're looking at is when these guys come in, and how they do business has a direct impact on somebody who is just a regular worker, who's trying to feed their family, pay their mortgage, and send their kid to college. And so I get the Wall Street argument Will wants to make. But when you're one of those folks who they put out of a job, trust me, you're not sitting here going, I'll fatten your pockets but I'm the one who don't have a job.
[Cain:] All right. I get it. I get your argument, too, Roland, because it has been made about 100 times now that you'd like to argue that private equity and Bain Capital in particular has made money magically somehow by destroying companies. And you synthesize that by suggesting what they do...
[Martin:] That's not what I said.
[Cain:] ... is they go in hold on. They go in and they load companies up with debt, they fire employees, and suck it out of the profits. So you have to answer one simple question if that is your premise. If Bain Capital did that, if that was their modus operandi, why have they been in business since 1987? No debt lender in the world would continue to fund a guy like that.
[Martin:] First of all, we are looking at a variety of companies in terms of how they operate. And again...
[Cain:] We're talking about Bain.
[Martin:] ... it's what exactly no, no, but here's the deal, though. OK. We're talking about what he did in terms of various companies. And what the president is saying, which is a valid argument, is that when it has been a problem, it is open for criticism, it is open for interpretation, it is open for analysis. And so
[Romans:] OK.
[Martin:] It's a whole different job description.
[Romans:] Let me bring in "Joe the vice president" crossing "Joe the plumber," when the vice president, Joe Biden, weighed in on the Bain issue this week. Listen, guys.
[Joe Biden, Vice President:] Your job as president is to promote the common good. That doesn't mean the private equity guys are bad guys. They're not. But that no more qualifies you to be president than being a plumber.
[Romans:] All right. Will, private equity firms like Bain, they're not about creating profits. They're about creating or not about creating jobs, rather, they're about creating profits. That's what private enterprise does and then the theory I guess is that at the end of that there are jobs that are created.
[Cain:] It's more than a theory.
[Romans:] Why is Romney's time at Bain Capital relevant to this election?
[Martin:] Well, first of all, let me explain this also. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. OK. Jobs are not the intention of private equity. Profits are. And jobs are the by-product. Why does that qualify Mitt Romney to be president? Well, if you listen to President Barack Obama, and then we'll use Joe Biden to back him up, what does a president do? President Obama said he creates an equitable tax structure, he creates clusters for manufacturing bases. It's a laundry list of things that no human being is qualified to do when you lay it out like that. However a man that has played in the private market successfully to net job growth I think is pretty qualified to go in and get the economy on the right track.
[Romans:] I'm going to ask you each one question, and I want a succinct answer. Roland, what kind of capitalist do you think these two candidates are? How is their capitalism different?
[Martin:] I would say that Mitt Romney is a 100 percent red meat-eating capitalist, whereas President Obama, as the vice president said, looks at it from the common good, say what how can I be concerned with a person at the top, but also the person in the middle, and the bottom, because you want to bring them up.
[Cain:] I unfortunately am not as committed as Roland is to believing that Mitt Romney is a dedicated adherent to pure market capitalism. But I think he's better than President Obama, because the answer to your question is I think he is at the very least a social democrat in the European form, which is...
[Romans:] Really? The president.
[Cain:] Which just means you have a very tenuous relationship with capitalism.
[Romans:] Hmm. That's as close as you can get to actually saying... All right. All right. We're going to leave it there guys.
[Martin:] Those are called silly talking points.
[Cain:] No, no, no, that's called understanding the ideologies.
[Martin:] "Social democrat," "European model." What are you going to say next, he wears Armani all day?
[Cain:] That's you, Roland. We all know that's you in this family.
[Romans:] Oh man. All right, guys, have a great weekend.
[Martin:] No, actually, I wear Sean John, American company.
[Romans:] OK. You guys keep fighting it out during the break, because I've got something for the college kids that's really important here. Coming up in YOUR BOTTOM LINE, just what does that diploma get you? Some harsh advice to the class of 2012 and to America from a former labor secretary. And Governor Romney says American students are getting a third-world education, calling it the civil rights issue of our time. An issue largely absent from this campaign finally surfaces.

[Cooper:] We mentioned the top of the hour, we're following breaking news. Late word tonight we just got about Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.'s medical condition. The Illinois Democrat, son of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, has been on medical leave from Congress for more than a month now. Just before airtime, his office released the following statement from his doctor quote "The congressman is receiving intensive medical treatment at a residential treatment facility for a mood disorder. He's responding positively to treatment and is expected to make a full recovery." Today's statements followed weeks of speculation today, calls on the Jackson family from fellow Democrats to go public. Kate Bolduan is following all the fast-breaking developments and joins with now. Kate, do we know what that means? A mood disorder?
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] It seems to be vague. It's a vague detail. We don't really know. That could fit into many categories, Anderson. There's more detail to come on that, we hope, but there has not been a lot of information surrounding the congressman and his condition to this point. That's why the rumors and speculation have been flying for weeks now since he's taken his leave of absence really from Capitol Hill all the way back to Illinois in his district, so much so that even following the doctor's statement that you just read, his chief of staff, Rick Bryant, made a point to add, he says, in addition, the rumors about him being treated for alcohol or substance abuse are not true. He's really trying to tamp down the rumors that have really been flying about what has been going on with the congressman. As you mentioned, the pressure has been mounting, even among fellow Democrats for the congressman and his family to come forward and disclose more detail about what the congressman has been facing because it's been pretty much an information blackout. Listen here to two Democrats who themselves said it was time to come forward. Listen here.
[Rep. Steny Hoyer , House Minority Whip:] People get sick. And when people get sick, they miss work. Everybody in America understands that, but I think the family would be well advised to give his constituents as much information as is appropriate.
[Sen. Richard Durbin , Majority Whip:] His health is the number one priority. As a public official, though, there reaches a point where you have a responsibility to tell people what you're facing and how things are going.
[Bolduan:] And as you see right there from the senior senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, you're not going to find anyone who isn't sympathetic and feeling for the congressman and his family. But obviously everyone is just wishing him the best and for a full recovery, but this information is really big news coming out that they're finally disclosing what he's dealing with.
[Cooper:] Yes, members of the Congress take medical leaves all the time. I guess this is different just because there was really no information on what it was and he's been gone since June 10.
[Bolduan:] Absolutely. It's just really the mystery surrounding it all. Not only has he been taking the leave of absence since June 10. I have been talking to people on the Hill and he hasn't really even been seen in committee meetings since late May. So it was really this information blackout that we were hearing from Democrats. I mean, you know, Capitol Hill is leaky like a sieve, so the fact that absolutely no one was hearing any details was very concerning a and a real mystery. I mean, even senior House Democratic aides were kind of critical of this information blackout and the fact that no matter what you're dealing with, you do need to tell your constituents how you're dealing with it, right?
[Cooper:] Yes. Kate, appreciate the reporting. Thanks for the update. "Raw Politics" now. Mitt Romney's bid for the African-American vote, he went looking for support at the NAACP's convention today in Houston. Members welcoming with applause, but turning sharply skeptical at some of his claims that if elected he would do more for African-Americans than President Obama has. Listen.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you're looking at him. You take a look.
[Cooper:] Well, the crowd taking I guess you could say mild exception to that claim, you can interpret it for yourself, but getting worked up a lot over this comment.
[Romney:] I'm going to eliminate every nonessential expensive program I can find. That includes Obamacare. And I'm going to work to reform and save...
[Cooper:] I wouldn't characterize the reaction. You can describe it for yourself. On FOX News, Governor Romney Claimed he has got hidden strength among African-American voters.
[Romney:] I spoke with a number of African-American leaders after the event and they said, you know, a lot of folks do not want to say they will not vote for President Obama but they are disappointed in his lack of policies to improve our schools, disappointed in urban policy, disappointed in the economy, 14.4 percent rate of unemployment among African Americans today.
[Cooper:] He says he found hidden support. If you look at the poll numbers, it is hard to find any evidence of hidden support among African-Americans. For perspective, John McCain got 4 percent of the African- American vote in 2008. Latest polling shows just not much difference today, just slightly more frankly for Mitt Romney. Let's dig deeper now on how this may play out in November. Here's John King at the magic wall.
[John King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] Anderson, imagine you're running a race at the track and you get to run a lap or two before your opponent gets to start the race. Or the game is football and you're spotted 15-, 16-point lead before the game even starts. That is essentially what is happening because of President Obama's lopsided advantage among African-American and other minority voters. Let's take a look at African-Americans, the key battleground today as Governor Romney went to the NAACP. Look at this from 2008, 13 percent of the electorate, African- Americans. It's the most solid part of the president's base, and 95 percent of the African-American vote voted for then Senator, now President Obama. Only 4 percent for John McCain. Governor Romney is doing a bit better, but even his team would concede not good enough among African-Americans. Why does that matter? Let's go down to North Carolina and take a look. Because the African-American vote is critical in many of the most important battleground states. Nearly a quarter of the electorate in North Carolina, 20 percent in Virginia, double digits in Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan and Ohio. If the president is getting 95 percent of this chunk of the vote in those states, guess what? It puts Governor Romney at a big disadvantage in very important states. Now add in other minorities, this is where you see how this is such an advantage for the president, 13 percent of the electorate African-American. The president is getting 95 percent of their votes, 10 percent Latinos, that will even be higher. That's the 2008 number. The president gets two-thirds. Others, Asians, Native Americans, the president is getting two-thirds. If you add all of this up, 28 percent of the electorate, that's where essentially you get a 15 or 16-point lead for President Obama. The only way to offset that is for Governor Romney to try to dent those numbers a bit, but then to win huge among the white vote, limiting the president to say 38 percent at most among whites to have a chance to win Anderson.
[Cooper:] All right, John, thanks. Interesting to look at that. Let's turn now to Cornell Belcher. He's a Democratic strategist and a pollster for the Obama 2012 campaign. Also Romney campaign adviser Tara Wall. Appreciate both of you being with us. Tara, I want to go back to the governor's speech at the NAACP. He said afterwards he had expected a rocky reception from the crowd. Obviously Republicans haven't always gotten a warm welcome from the NAACP. But John McCain used a very different tone in talking about candidate Obama four years ago. He got a pretty good reception from the crowd then. Do you think if the governor had taken a similar approach, his policy message may have gotten a different or frankly better reaction?
[Tara Wall, Romney Campaign Spokeswoman:] Well, his policy message actually got overall a good reaction. There were snippets, as you played, that did elicit negative reaction in one or two occasions. But overall there were a number of occasions where his policies actually did elicit applause, an ovation and general consensus of agreement. So I think he absolutely has a message that appeals. I think the bigger question or the bigger headline that should be addressed and that is the stark kind of elephant in the room, if you will, is the fact that President Obama wasn't there to address the crowd. And I think there was disappointment that he wasn't there to address some of the issues that Governor Romney did, such as an unemployment rate in the black community of 14.4 percent, that just jumped last week, in this last week alone and in fact, since 2008, has increased by 40 percent. So when you have Governor Romney, who as the NAACP welcomed and accepted and admitted that he was walking in he was very courageous for coming and presenting, I think that he was absolutely strong and solid and assertive and at the same time, listened and made sure that all Americans, should he become president, all Americans including the black community understand how he is and his message and his policies are distinct and will help to kick-start this economy, grow jobs again, and get us back on track.
[Cooper:] Cornell, I have read some, you know, African-Americans worrying the president may be taking their support for granted. As Tara just mentioned, you look at unemployment rate, much higher than the country as a whole. The national rate held steady last month. The African-American rate rose. Could that dampen support, and do you think Mitt Romney made any inroads?
[Cornell Belcher, Obama Campaign Pollster:] Well, let's go back to Governor Romney at the NAACP. Look, NAACP is one of the most storied and oldest civil rights organizations in this country. Every American today, America is better today because of the NAACP. You know, you had a lot of not just Democrats but conservatives after Mitt Romney's speech saying that Mitt Romney seemed to be purposefully antagonistic towards the
[Naacp. Wall:] That's absolutely not true.
[Belcher:] And when you look at sort of what he said... Well, it's not me. It's David Frum. I didn't interrupt you. Please don't interrupt me. So, he was purposefully antagonistic towards the NAACP. The question becomes, you know, why was Governor Romney using the NAACP as a prop to have a conversation or to prove a point with conservatives who still don't trust him? Because clearly he wasn't there to give a conversation to try to reach out and gain more support among that civil rights conversation.
[Wall:] That's absolutely false.
[Belcher:] He was there as a prop and he was antagonistic toward that organization in a way that was...
[Wall:] Absolutely false.
[Cooper:] Let him finish, and then you can talk.
[Wall:] Sure. But it is false.
[Belcher:] Going to the point that John made, it's also from a strategic point untenable. I mean, if you look at these sort of states, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, and you go out west to Nevada, New Mexico, it's untenable, what is going on with the Republican Party right now, where they're ceding in CNN's polling, 63 percent of minorities are breaking for Obama. Long term, it is suicide what Republicans are doing. So what Republicans are going to have to do sort of, you know, for their Tea Party base is absolutely suicide long-term when you look at the growth of the minority populations, particularly in these battleground states. It makes no strategic sense.
[Cooper:] Tara, there are those to Cornell's point who say that getting booed at the NAACP might help Romney among some conservatives. Do you think, to Cornell quoting David Frum's point, that he was being intentionally antagonistic?
[Wall:] First of all, I think it's insulting that President Obama himself did not come and address the crowd and address these very stark numbers that are impacting the black community, whether you're a Republican or Democrat. There are Republican NAACP members who are lifetime members, who are also there, who also have positions, who also want to hear from Governor Romney, who also want to hear from President Obama. That is what is insulting. I'm not sure what issue you take insulting with. If you're talking about the phrase Obamacare, Obama himself, President Obama himself has used that phrase and, in fact, says he has no problem with it. The point was to say that when Governor Romney was spelling out his policies, we fully acknowledge and acknowledged ahead of time that we're not going to agree 100 percent. That's not the point to go there...
[Cooper:] Right, but you were very eager to jump on Cornell...
[Wall:] The point is to address the community, and he did that.
[Cooper:] Tara, you were very eager to jump on Cornell to say what he was saying is not true. I'm giving you the opportunity to just reiterate that. You're saying he was not being intentionally antagonistic?
[Wall:] No, absolutely not.
[Cooper:] OK. Tara, I appreciate it. Cornell Belcher...
[Wall:] I would like to know, I mean, how was he being intentionally antagonistic? Absolutely not...
[Cooper:] Cornell, how was he being intentionally antagonistic?
[Wall:] In fact, he drew a lot of applause when he talked a lot about how he helped bridge the gap as governor between the education gap as governor of Massachusetts, how he brought down crime, how he worked across the board, how he worked in a bipartisan manner, how he talked about and agreed with how historic and important having the first black president elected to the United States. He talked about a number of things where he did draw...
[Belcher:] I think you're mistaking this with what John McCain talked about a couple of years ago.
[Wall:] The headline is misplaced in that if you want to focus on how many I would like to ask, how many applause were there? How many times were there applause? You know, I think that's an irrelevant point to make. That's not the point that you go to address the crowd. The point is, he showed up, President Obama did not. I hope the media also will ask Vice President Biden tomorrow to explain that and to talk about why President Obama...
[Cooper:] Yes, you made that point. Cornell, why is Obama not going? And to Tara's question, how was he antagonistic? How was Romney antagonistic?
[Belcher:] Wow. Well, again, it's not just me who saw him being antagonistic. Let's start with this. You go there and you attack Obamacare, something that is wildly popular among African-Americans, something that is going to have seven million African-Americans access to health care. I mean, don't play us stupid like we don't know that you're being antagonistic and you're talking about sort of tearing away social net programs that have been historically important to this community.
[Wall:] Absolutely not. Replace it is what he said.
[Cooper:] OK.
[Belcher:] Can I finish? And act like you're not being antagonistic. Look, he wasn't there this afternoon to have a conversation with the NAACP. He was there this afternoon to have a conversation with his Republican base. And here's the problem. He's the one who has to change the dynamic. You know, when you're losing minority voters by 60-some points in this country, he's the one who has to change the dynamic.
[Cooper:] Why shouldn't President Obama be there?
[Belcher:] Not President Obama. President Obama is not the one who has the change the dynamic there. He's winning minority voters by 63 points in your own CNN polling. But the vice president is going to be there.
[Wall:] I think there was a question there for me. Actually, I think there has actually been support lost. Look, President Obama does not own the black vote. He doesn't Democrats don't own the black vote. I think it behooves any presidential candidate to not take any vote for granted. And, in fact, I don't believe that President Obama can count on the same support he once had. Certainly, he will still get a majority, absolutely. And we acknowledge that, but at the end of the day, you know, I think that the point is to show up and he has lost some support. I hear from these folks all the time. We see Democrats and Republicans who supported him at one time... ... that aren't going to support him this time.
[Cooper:] Let Cornell, one more point, and then we got to go.
[Belcher:] You can filibuster the conversation all you want, and that's what you have tried to do. You can filibuster the conversation all you want.
[Wall:] No, you're just not used to being challenged, unfortunately.
[Belcher:] The truth of the matter is I'm challenged every day. The truth of the matter is, the economic policies of Mitt Romney not only would be disastrous for middle-class Americans, but it would particularly be disastrous for African-Americans.
[Wall:] He'll help all Americans. He will help all Americans.
[Belcher:] And unless he can change that dynamic, he's going to continue to lose he's going to continue to lose his vote.
[Cooper:] OK, let's not talk about we've got to...
[Belcher:] Sixty-three percent of minorities give Obama a positive job approval in CNN's own polling. Those people aren't foolish. They know exactly what the president's doing for them.
[Cooper:] OK. I appreciate both of your perspectives. Tara Wall, thank you. Cornell Belcher, thanks, as well. Starting new details tonight startling new details tonight about an apparent courtroom suicide of this man right here. You just see him right there in that video putting something in his mouth. Well, we now believe we know what he swallowed. We'll tell you how we know that ahead on the program.

[Kaye:] Welcome back. Big news this weekend related to cancer. MD Anderson Cancer Center has announced an aggressive program to eliminate certain cancers.
[Dr. Ronald Depinho, Md Anderson Cancer Center:] We're in a position to make dramatic impact on cancer mortality in this decade.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent:] You're saying if we do everything right, in five years from now, there will be far fewer people dying from cancer, right?
[Depinho:] Correct. I think that with the existing knowledge, and the application of what we now know, we can begin to see dramatic declines in mortality that would accelerate in years five through 10, and beyond set the stage for ultimate control of the disease.
[Kaye:] The goal of the so-called Moon Shots program is to speed up and reduce the number of cancer-related deaths while promoting conversations around new discoveries and clinical studies. Scientists are focusing on a handful of cancers. Those include melanoma, lung, prostate, breast, ovarian and leukemia.
[Blackwell:] And here's more good news. There are some things you can do at home to lower the risk of cancer like making the right food choices.
[Kaye:] Fitness and nutritious expert and the author of the great book, "Body Confidence," Mark McDonald's here to tell us a little bit about this. Good morning
[Mark Mcdonald, Fitness Expert And Author:] Good morning.
[Kaye:] So you have some good news here. We have a whole bunch of really healthy stuff. But let's we're going to talk about some of the facts and the myths. Let's start with soy. Because you and I have talked a lot about soy, whether we should be eating it or not eating it. Fact or fiction, soy is a good source of plant-based protein and has no effect on cancer?
[Mcdonald:] So it's both fact and fiction.
[Kaye:] [Inaudible], OK.
[Mcdonald:] So it's a really good source of plant-based protein. So that's a positive thing. The negative thing is that soy actually increases your estrogen level. So when you talk about breast and ovarian cancer, that increases estrogen; that's not great for that cancer. So a better choice would be whey protein or hemp protein if you're a vegan so that you're not having that estrogen effect. But soy in moderation would be fine from a protein [inaudible].
[Kaye:] Like a few times a week maybe.
[Mcdonald:] Yes. With the cancer, though, you probably want to avoid soy completely.
[Kaye:] Completely. OK. All right, we got that sort of sorted out.
[Mcdonald:] Yes. Well, it's a good protein, just not great from the cancer side.
[Kaye:] I hear you. I got it.
[Blackwell:] Fact and fiction. All right. So we've got fruits and vegetables here. Let's go starting here with the blueberries. Fact or fiction, blueberries really don't help much; they're just full of sugar.
[Mcdonald:] Total fiction.
[Blackwell:] OK.
[Mcdonald:] So your body needs sugar to create yes, exactly, right, Randi?
[Kaye:] Yes. [Inaudible].
[Mcdonald:] Your body needs sugar to create energy. When you look at a blueberry, it is the low-calorie, it's full of fiber
[Blackwell:] I knew you could [inaudible] blueberries sit there, I knew. I knew.
[Kaye:] [Inaudible]
[Mcdonald:] And it's natural sugar. That's fantastic. And it provides anti-oxidants. One of the biggest things with cancer is free radicals. They're little molecules in your body that are a natural part of metabolism. But when left unchecked they cause havoc to your cells. The way you counter free radicals is fruits and veggies. Blueberries provide powerful anti-oxidants that destroy those cells.
[Blackwell:] Have one.
[Kaye:] Get [inaudible].
[Mcdonald:] [Inaudible] neutralize the free radicals.
[Blackwell:] Does one help?
[Mcdonald:] Yes.
[Blackwell:] Am I doing anything with one?
[Mcdonald:] Everything helps.
[Blackwell:] OK. [Inaudible].
[Mcdonald:] And the average person takes less than two servings of fruits and veggies a day. You need up to 12.
[Kaye:] That's crazy, right? Right.
[Mcdonald:] Yes, so you have to make sure you get these focus on colors.
[Blackwell:] I could eat all of this and still not meet the requirement for the day?
[Mcdonald:] If you eat all of that, you'd be OK, because when you look at serving size, this is about the 12 servings.
[Blackwell:] OK.
[Kaye:] All right. So let's talk about red wine.
[Mcdonald:] Yes, ah.
[Kaye:] Fact or fiction, red wine doesn't have any benefits. This can't be true.
[Mcdonald:] That's a fiction!
[Kaye:] All right. Good thing.
[Mcdonald:] So obviously alcohol I don't want anyone emailing
[Blackwell:] Yes.
[Mcdonald:] All right. So alcohol in moderation but red wine does provide antioxidants that helps counter free radicals and research has shown it helps lower stress levels at the end of a day. Now ideally you're better to get your antioxidants from here and you're better to lower your stress just from managing your stress levels better with some good exercise and lifestyle.
[Kaye:] OK.
[Mcdonald:] But in moderation, fine.
[Kaye:] Like one cup a day or one glass a day?
[Mcdonald:] Maybe one glass three times a week.
[Kaye:] I thought you were going to say three times a day.
[Blackwell:] I was going to say, we'll make that work.
[Mcdonald:] One glass is six ounces, not one of those big [inaudible].
[Kaye:] [Inaudible] it's all about the portion, too.
[Blackwell:] I can't walk around with the hurricane glass and just [inaudible] all day?
[Mcdonald:] I wrote about that in "Body Confidence." [Inaudible].
[Blackwell:] [Inaudible] went to a friend's house and she had this big glass.
[Mcdonald:] [Inaudible] was doing 24 ounces and thought that was a glass.
[Blackwell:] I read the book. So you mentioned exercise, because all of this is great, but exercise helps.
[Mcdonald:] Yes. Huge. So when you look at exercise, it causes a hormone, endorphins, to release, which are your feel-good hormones. It helps your circulation. It helps your stress management. So just getting active helps make your body work better for you. And that's really when we look at preventing cancer. And just living a higher quality of life. So maybe about three to four days a week, up to five days, at least 30 minutes of any type of activity. Once you get there you, you can increase it up to 60 minutes.
[Kaye:] And it's so good for the brain, too, right?
[Mcdonald:] Oh, it's huge. And just, you know, when you're stressed, things feel just better when you exercise compared to when you don't exercise.
[Blackwell:] Yes.
[Mcdonald:] It just makes you feel better. It's so good for your body.
[Kaye:] So bottom line, lots of greens, lots of veggies, lots of colors, which is what we have here.
[Mcdonald:] Yes. And so nutrition, stabilize your blood sugar, eat a balance of protein-fat-carbohydrates, that's why you have yogurt, nuts, some good oatmeal, drink your water, manage your stress, manage your sleep. And just make it a lifestyle. And that's how we're going to be cancer.
[Kaye:] What is it about the yogurt?
[Mcdonald:] So yogurt's just a good balance. So like when you look at Greek yogurt, a lot of yogurt has a lot of carbs and not a lot of protein. Greek yogurt has more protein, so there's an equal balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates in Greek yogurt. It's fantastic.
[Kaye:] All right. You taking notes?
[Blackwell:] Yes, because I'm glad you have the ones with the fruit in it, because I just can't do the plain.
[Mcdonald:] Yes
[Blackwell:] I can't.
[Mcdonald:] the plain is a little healthier
[Blackwell:] I can't.
[Mcdonald:] but once again we got to do what's realistic. So then we have a solution for you.
[Blackwell:] So then we add the blueberries.
[Mcdonald:] Exactly.
[Kaye:] But these are my blueberries.
[Blackwell:] All right. OK.
[Mcdonald:] And some nuts.
[Blackwell:] A little territorial over the blueberries?
[Kaye:] No, but I mean, you can mix in, you know, not into the yogurt, but there's broccoli. There's all kinds of things. Green tea even is also really good for helping to fight cancer.
[Mcdonald:] Huge. We were going to talk about green tea. So when you start looking at it, food tastes good. You've just got to get creative, get educated and really enjoy it and understand how you can make it a permanent part of your world and lifestyle. And together, you know, we're going to change the world. We're going to really teach people how to live the life that they want.
[Kaye:] Yes.
[Blackwell:] Lots of great information, Mark. Thank you. We've got wine three times a week, blueberries every day. All right. So how do you turn serious topics like jobless numbers and negative campaign ads into gut-busting jokes? This political season, it may be easier than you think. We'll show you how the pros do it.

[Phillips:] All right, grab your passport. We're heading around the world. First stop: Milan, Italy. Of course, we've got to talk about playboy Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi and his prostitution trial on the fast track. Bunga-bunga, Zain Verjee is following us with more from London? That sounds like cave man talk. Cave man behavior, that's for sure.
[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Anchor:] Hey, Bunga-bunga.
[Phillips:] Yes, I forgot, ok, I got to get it right. Meanwhile, I'm confused.
[Verjee:] Yes everyone is puzzled by the word but that's what's being expressed all over Italy and resonating around the world. These sex parties that Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister of Italy is alleged to have had. Now, he is going to be on trial charged with the abuse of power and having sex with a 17-year-old dancer. Now, Kyra, he had a press conference today, and he said, when asked about it, he said, "For the love of God, I will not talk about this. All I can say is I am not worried". He is facing a panel of three judges, Kyra, all female and that trial is going to start in a few weeks. I want to take you now to Japan. Kyra, I have been watching a story about goblins. I think you may like that one. Basically, what they're doing over there is they have this annual ritual. I mean these three guys they dress up as goblins and they are running around as you can see in this video dressing up and they flinging around these iron bars and then what happens is these monks kick them out. So, why are they doing this? Well, it's a ritual, and the idea is they drive away the bad luck represented by goblins, and they invite good health and good fortune. You don't do that at home, do you? Kyra?
[Phillips:] It's a lot easier just to hang up an evil an evil eye versus having a goblin run around my house with a torch.
[Verjee:] All right, good. Well, that makes one of us. So anyway now, in Canada, I'm following this other story where $1 million worth of pot was seized in downtown Toronto. Basically there was this pizzeria and police were monitoring it, and they noticed that people would go in for pizza pizza and then come out with nothing. And so they had this raid and it turns out that they got a $1 million worth of drug, and that's dangerous because you know what Kyra, it could fuel bunga-bunga.
[Phillips:] And also too, I thought when you smoked too much pot then you got hungry, you would think they would be coming out with even more pizza than
[Verjee:] More pizza, right, right. Exactly, yes.
[Phillips:] Zain, thank you.
[Verjee:] You're welcome, Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go and check in first with Stephanie Elam.
[Stephanie Elam, Cnn Business News Correspondent:] Kyra, there's going to be a monopoly makeover. No more money, no more chance, no more community chest; it's going to look a lot different. I'll tell you how different, that's coming up in the next hour.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] And I'm Rob Marciano, in the CNN Severe Weather Center. The West Coast continues to get pounded with rain, wind and heavy snow; meanwhile, the eastern two-thirds starting to warm up and feel like spring. But don't get used to it. It won't last long. The full forecast in the next hour.
[Phillips:] All right, thanks guys. And love and marriage go together. Well, you know the song. But what about love and living together? I think we need a new song because apparently it's the new way to go. Ditch the altar, just get a great pad, shack up. Why the change? We're talking about it in the next hour.

[Berman:] Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. So you do know what they say, of course. You have to be in it to win it. And this weekend you can turn $2 into half a billion.
[Sambolin:] The jackpot for the Saturday's Powerball drawing has grown to $550 million. It is the second biggest Powerball prize ever. And CNN's Zain Asher is live in Passaic, New Jersey, where they expected to sell lots of lottery tickets between now and tomorrow night. Have you bought your own?
[Zain Asher, Cnn Correspondent:] I have not, Zoraida. But a lot of people here are lining up to buy theirs. What happens when the jackpot gets this big is people who don't usually play start to buy tickets. And people who do play start to buy more tickets. They start to buy 10 tickets, 20 tickets. Obviously, it is important not to spend more money than you can afford. As you mentioned, the jackpot right now is $550 million, the second largest in Powerball history. And, by the way, if you walked away with the lump sum you're still going to net $350 million, basically enough money to give a dollar to every single person in this country and you would still be a millionaire several times over. What I want to emphasize, though, is the chance of winning. You know, we hear this all the time. But the chance of winning is 1 in 175 million. Certainly far from being a sure thing. It was previously, by the way, 1 in 195 million. Now it's 1 in 175 million. So, we are getting closer. I did actually speak to the store clerk at this BP gas station right behind me. He said people are coming in by the droves. He expects sales to increase tomorrow as the deadline draws closer. I also asked people as they were walking in and out, hey, you know, if you woke up tomorrow and you suddenly had $550 million to your name, what would you do with the money? A lot of people say they would spend it on their family which I thought was quite sweet. One woman said is he would not quit her job. She's an EMT. She loves it. She told me that she would work part-time, that she would put the money towards her kids' college plan. I don't know. I think she would still have money left over at the end, Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] Oh, I think so, toward the college plan, she could play for college for all of our kids. It seems like
[Asher:] Mine, too.
[Sambolin:] Yes, it seems like we are constantly saying this is the biggest jackpot, a huge jackpot. Are they really increasing now?
[Asher:] Yes, what happened is a year and a half ago, they actually redesigned the game, right? So, previously, the tickets cost $1. Now they cost $2. And, of course, if more people are putting money in, then, of course, the jackpot grows larger and larger. Also, what happened is that they changed the rule so that if you get five numbers right, you get $1 million instead of $200,000. Also, there are fewer Powerball numbers to choose from. It's 1 through 35 now. Previously, it was 1 through 39. So, you have bigger jackpots at stake, and also, a bigger chance of winning something Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] I love it. I feeling kind of lucky. I say buy us a bunch of tickets over there while you're there. Thank you, Zain. Appreciate it.
[Asher:] No problem.
[Sambolin:] It is 45 minutes past the hour. Bracing for severe weather this weekend. This time the center of the country may be under the gun. Meteorologist Jennifer Delgado joins from the CNN weather center in Atlanta. Who should brace for what, Jennifer?
[Jennifer Delgado, Ams Meteorologist:] Parts of the Midwest as well the plains. That will fire up as we go into the weekend. And we are talking about tornado potential. Just like what we saw yesterday. Let's go to some video coming out of Granbury. There was an EF-4 tornado there. And we're talking about an EF-4 winds 166 to 200 miles per hour. That's why we saw so many homes off their frames. In Cleburne it was an EF-3. As I take you over to the radar, to make matters worse this area doesn't need any rain. There is a recovery and the search effort going on. Pointing out there are storms moving through parts of Cleburne right now as well as into Granbury. Our reporter mentioned hearing thunder as well as lightning. That will end around noon and then will clear things out for the weekend. On a wider view, boundary system all the way up towards the north. This is where we'll see some storms. For the northeast, today is going to be beautiful. Bad weather today potential looks like for areas including northern Mississippi as well as into Alabama, but for Saturday, Sunday and Monday we're talking a really good chance we could see some of these super cells developing and producing tornadoes. We are talking areas like Kansas city as well as St. Louis. Very highly populated regions. On a wide view, you will see sunshine in the central part of the U.S. for areas over to the east it will be beautiful out there. High pressure is in control. We are talking Boston, New York, even into D.C., highs in the lower 80's and lower 70's. Have a nice weekend. Back to you.
[Berman:] I think we will. Thank you. Appreciate it. We have dramatic video to show you this morning of a raging inferno following a car accident and rescue in Kansas. Two men who were unconscious inside a corvette that crashed through a truck, they were rescued by a guy just passing by. Jim Russell started recording video of the scene just seconds after he and another man pulled the victims out.
[Unidentified Male:] Just helped pull this guy from the car. And his major truck this car's on fire. The semi truck is on fire, it's all burning. I just pulled two guys we pulled two guys out of this.
[Berman:] Wow. Some fire. Both vehicles were completely engulfed by the flames. The accident victims are doing okay this morning.
[Sambolin:] I'm so glad he had the presence of mind to do that. How many times do people just pass by and not want to get involved. Good for him. Up next, an incredible surprise for a precious little girl. She was throwing out the first pitch last night. Wait until you see who is behind the catcher's mask, coming up next.

[Lemon:] Flesh-eating bacteria. Let that sink in for a moment. Now, think about being forced to watch it ravage the body of someone you love. It's a reality for the Copeland family right here in Georgia. 24-year-old Amy is fighting to stay alive. Her life and the lives of her family turned upside down 12 days ago. That's when Amy and some of her friends went to the Little Pewsa river about 50 miles outside of Atlanta. Amy was on a homemade zip line when it snapped and gashed her leg. That's when the violent bacteria entered her body. She has lost the leg and part of her abdomen to the tissue-destroying bacteria. And I spoke with her father this evening and found out what he is not telling his daughter.
[Andy Copeland, Father Of Flesh Eating Victim:] She actually does communicate with us through a series of head shakes and nods. We just basically kind of have to also do a little bit of lip reading, so she's actually holding up very well. She is, of course, medicated throughout this period. And, you know, occasionally she will remember things. Sometimes she won't, but I think that's just a process of the medication.
[Lemon:] OK. So she lost a leg, part of her abdomen. She is fighting. You said she's medicated, and she just to breathe it's really hard for her. But because of this bacteria, she may also lose her hands and her remaining foot, but she doesn't know that yet, and you're not telling her?
[Copeland:] Well, you know, no, we haven't. Probably if we were to tell her, she would probably forget it by the time she woke up the next day. I understand, you know, that in fact I believe when the time comes, it will be revealed. I really am leading to the experts here. Leaning on the experts to let them make the determination for when the time is right. But and there will be. There's some good therapy here. They have a good psychiatrist on staff. There's good support groups, and I have every confidence that Amy will be able to overcome this.
[Lemon:] At this point it's really not necessary. Why even add that extra degree of burden on her. She's already in pain.
[Copeland:] Absolutely.
[Lemon:] You've been chronicling your daughter's fight with posts online, and you're counting down to what you're calling Amy day.
[Copeland:] Yes.
[Lemon:] Tell us about it.
[Copeland:] Well, I I believe Amy day is the day that we get to hear Amy speak. To me, Amy day is the day that they pull the tube out of her out of her chest and basically she is allowed to breathe on her own. When her lungs are fully repaired and healed, I think that's just a day that we can all join together and rejoice because that's really the first step toward I think what I would what I would call full recovery.
[Lemon:] Thanks to Andy Copeland. After 70 years a world war II fighter plane turns up in Egypt. That's one mystery down. Next, trying to figure out what happened to the pilot and how it went unnoticed for so long.

[Nancy Grace:] Breaking news tonight, live, Maine. 8:00 PM, a 20-month-old baby girl goes to sleep in her own crib. 8:50 AM, baby Ayla gone, snatched from her own crib. Bombshell tonight. Just hours before the baby disappears, Mommy secretly goes to court to get full custody. She never sees her baby again. Tonight, where is baby Ayla?
[Unidentified Female:] this child is named Ayla Reynolds. Through the woods and down the streets, search parties still looking for 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds.
[Unidentified Male:] Two feet, 9 inches tall, she was wearing last seen wearing some green pajamas with white polka dots.
[Unidentified Female:] Police say Ayla`s father, Justin DePietro, was home.
[Unidentified Male:] The father who reported his 20-month-old daughter missing from the home.
[Unidentified Female:] And he wasn`t alone. They aren`t saying who else was in the house, and they haven`t ruled out an abduction.
[Unidentified Male:] She also had a sling with a soft cast that was wrapped in a white bandage.
[Unidentified Female:] Waterville police are now working with the fire department, state police, the FBI, and the wardens service, coordinating efforts to find that little girl.
[Unidentified Male:] In finding little Ayla and bring her home safely. That`s the goal here.
[Grace:] Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Live to Maine. 8:00 PM, a baby girl goes to sleep in her crib. 8:50 AM, baby Ayla is gone. Bombshell tonight. Just hours before the baby disappears, Mommy secretly goes to court to fight for full custody, but she never sees her little girl again. Tonight, what happened to baby Ayla? Straight out to Ken Altshuler, WGAN "Morning News With Ken and Mike." Ken, what do we know about the circumstances leading up to the baby`s disappearance around 9:00 AM, just before 9:00 AM?
[Ken Altshuler, Wgan:] The dad said he put the child to bed, checked on her the next morning at 8:50, and Ayla was gone.
[Grace:] You know, 10 `til 9:00, Ken I mean, at that time of the morning, you would expect the baby to be up, wanting to be fed. I mean, a baby at just 20 months old maybe my experience with the twins is wrong, but this baby wasn`t waking up during the night, wanting a bottle, wanting something to eat? This baby was already sleeping through the night, Ken?
[Altshuler:] No 20-month-old goes 12 hours without making some sounds. There were other people in the house. We don`t know what they heard. The police are being very quiet about it.
[Grace:] Parents being very quiet. We are taking your calls. With me right now is a special guest, Trista Reynolds. This is baby Ayla`s mother. Trista, thank you for being with us.
[Trista Reynolds, Missing Child`s Mother:] Hi.
[Grace:] Trista, I know just literally hours before baby Ayla goes missing, you go to court to fight for full custody of your baby girl. And as of right now, you have not seen her since. What are police telling you about her disappearance, Trista?
[Reynolds:] They`re telling me nothing. They`re telling me that we`re in the same place that I was on Saturday, that they don`t know what happened to her. They don`t know where she could be. And all that`s running through my mind is, I know my baby girl. I know Ayla, and Ayla doesn`t sleep through the night. She normally gets up once or twice for a diaper change, to have a bottle, to just, you know, like like, I would check on her all hours of the night. All hours.
[Grace:] Well, Trista, I mean, mine are now 4. And you know, last night, they both got up. Lucy got up once, then got up again. John David got up a third time. So between them, I was up with them three times in one night. And they`re 4 years old. Your baby is 20 months old. So I find it very hard to believe that she goes a whole night and doesn`t make a peep. And another thing, Ms. Reynolds everyone, with me is baby Ayla`s mother. If the night goes by, and say, I wake up around 2:00 or 3:00 o`clock and I haven`t heard from them, I go check on them because it`s so abnormal not to have heard from them by 3:00 o`clock in the morning, OK?
[Reynolds:] Right.
[Grace:] So that`s how typical it is for children that age to wake up during the night. Now, let me ask you this, Trista. Another thing that`s concerning me. At the time baby Ayla goes missing, her arm was in a sling. Why?
[Reynolds:] A few weeks ago, Justin had given me a call and said that he was holding Ayla and they fell up, like, two or three little steps, and he fell on top of her and her arm was broken. And he waited over almost 24 hours to bring her to the emergency room. I want I want reasons I want to know reasons to why why do you wait almost 24 hours to bring a child to he himself told me she screamed bloody murder when they fell, so you wait almost 24 hours to go have her checked out?
[Grace:] Everyone, with us, baby Ayla`s mother, taking your calls. She is not afraid of the spotlight of the camera, or your uncensored calls. Out to the lines. Cassandra in Maine. Hi, Cassandra. What`s your question, dear?
[Unidentified Female:] Hi. My question is, have the police ruled out any kind of abuse as far as the cast and the falling incident?
[Grace:] Well, Cassandra, I`m trying to find out about that right now. With me, Marc Klaas, president and founder, Klaas Kids Foundation. Marc, I`m very, very concerned that Daddy says he falls on the baby on the stairs and breaks her arm, and then Daddy is the one when the baby goes missing.
[Marc Klaas, Klaas Kids Foundation:] Yes, well...
[Grace:] Daddy is not a suspect. But what I`m saying is, all this is happening while Daddy has the baby.
[Klaas:] Yes, this is very troubling. And I think another aspect of that is that if this were a stereotypical stranger abduction, I think the last thing somebody would want to do is take a baby with a broken arm because toddlers tend to look very similar to each other, but one with a cast on their arm is an absolute standout. And anybody that is aware of this case, that sees a baby in such a situation, is going to immediately contact the authorities. Therefore, I think that we need to look at a much smaller population of suspects, that population being the people that were in the house the night that she disappeared and any registered sex offenders that live within close proximity to her address in that community.
[Grace:] With me, in addition to Marc Klaas and our all-star panel, taking your calls is baby Ayla`s mother. To Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter, Radaronline.com. Alexis, thanks for being with us. What do we know about the structure, the home? Was it two-story, one-story, ranch? Was the front door locked? Was the baby on the first floor? What do we know, Alexis?
[Alexis Tereszcuk, Radaronline.com:] Nancy, it`s a one-story home. There`s actually a garage. And people have been focused very intently on this home. They`ve brought the police dogs in. They`ve had helicopters overhead. They`re looking in house and in the garage. They seem to think that all of the evidence is right here in this home. And they haven`t put out an Amber Alert, either, because they don`t have a suspect. They are looking just in this house.
[Grace:] Now, I don`t like the sound of that, Alexis Tereszcuk. What did you say about the garage and upstairs? TERESZCUK They are looking in the garage, which is seems a little strange, like, maybe they thought the baby would wander away, but she doesn`t wander away. She`s very little. She can`t just wander away. So they`re looking in the garage really for evidence that maybe somebody had her in there and had taken her out of there. OK, wait a minute. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Alexis put Tereszcuk up, please. Alexis, just because cops are looking in the garage does not mean they suspect someone in the home of wrongdoing. They may think someone took her out of her crib and went through the garage. Now, more concerning to me, Alexis, is your report that they`re looking up in the attic. Did you say the attic? TERESZCUK I did not say the attic, but you are absolutely right, Nancy. They are looking in the attic. It`s a two-story Because an intruder obviously, Alexis, would not go up to the attic with a baby. TERESZCUK No. So the fact that they`re looking in the attic is very troubling. What were you saying? TERESZCUK I was going to say, there were a lot of people in the home. It wasn`t just the dad. It was his parents. But there were also strangers that weren`t related to the family. So there were a lot of people in this home that they want to question, and that they have been questioning, that they want to talk to. But they won`t release who they are. OK, hold on. Ellie Jostad, chief editorial producer, strangers in the home?
[Ellie Jostad, Nancy Grace Producer:] Well, Nancy, there are non-family members, supposedly, in the home that night. And police say they have tracked down everybody who was in that house on Friday night. They say they have interviewed them. But we still don`t know who those people are, what they were doing there, what was going on, what those people saw that night.
[Grace:] Well, Alexis, why did you say strangers? Strangers means some freak off the street. This sounds like family friends, Alexis. TERESZCUK I did mean that they were not related to the family, so "strangers" may have been the wrong word. But these are not people that were related, so they were not the baby`s relatives. Sorry. But you`re right to bring it out. You`re right to bring it out. So Ellie, Alexis`s report that there were non-family members there you`re telling me they`ve all been questioned? Have they been cleared?
[Jostad:] We don`t know if they`ve been cleared, Nancy. We just know that police have talked to them. We don`t know if they`ve been cooperative. We don`t know what information they`ve been able to provide.
[Grace:] But another thing to Steve Kardian, a former police detective. Steve, how likely is it that somebody`s going to be in the home the evening before, and they`re going to steal the baby that night? That sounds a little outlandish to me.
[Steve Kardian, Former Police Detective:] Yes, it does, Nancy. And when we look at the Newsmark study, we see that less than one half of 1 percent of all childhood abductions are your stereotypical non-custody abductions. So we have to look directly at the family. We have to look directly at whoever was in that house. And law enforcement`s holding it close to the vest, if, in fact, they have anything. And we know that they brought in the FBI, likely the childhood abduction rapid deployment team that has a lot of experience in this area.
[Grace:] I want to go back to the mom. Trista Reynolds is with us. This is baby Ayla`s mom. Everyone, there is time to save baby Ayla. There`s time! That`s not always the case. This baby missing out of her crib in Maine. Trista?
[Reynolds:] Yes?
[Grace:] I`m saying "crib," but at this home, did she have a crib or was she sleeping on a bed?
[Reynolds:] No, when she started staying with Justin, she was actually sleeping in, like, a toddler bed.
[Grace:] So a bed right on the floor that she could easily get out of. Can she walk around? Can she open a door?
[Reynolds:] Ayla knows how to open doors, but I also have taught Ayla that we don`t walk outside without Mommy or an older adult. And Ayla never once had ever tried getting outside, unless I was right there by her.
[Grace:] When we get back, we`ll unleash the lawyers and go to a chief forensic pathologist. Take a look at baby Ayla. She`s only 20 months old. Just hours before she goes missing, Mommy goes to court in secret, trying, fighting for full custody. Now the baby is gone.
[Unidentified Female:] As those search parties continue, state police are still calling this, the family`s home, the focal point of the investigation as K-9 units search inside the home and also inside the garage. Police in Maine are searching frantically for a 20-month-old girl.
[Unidentified Male:] I suspect that probably someone out there may know where the little girl is.
[Unidentified Female:] Searchers have scoured several blocks surrounding Ayla`s home.
[Unidentified Male:] We canvassed the neighborhoods. We`ve talked to the neighbors. Trying to get the neighborhood to help us out.
[Unidentified Female:] Fire department, state police, the FBI, and the wardens service coordinating efforts to find that little girl, but without any luck.
[Unidentified Male:] So far, we have not located the young girl.
[Unidentified Female:] Ayla Reynolds`s dad reported her missing. How do they account for not seeing her for 12 hours? For a 20-month-old to go missing in our area.
[Unidentified Male:] That is our primary focus, folks, is to find a 20- month-year-old
[Grace:] Where is baby Ayla? At the time she goes missing out of her own crib, she`s wearing a sling. Unleash the lawyers. Eleanor Odom, senior attorney with the National DAs Association out of D.C., Renee Rockwell, defense attorney, joining us out of New York, Peter Odom, defense attorney joining us out of Atlanta. OK, Eleanor, weigh in.
[Eleanor Odom, National District Attorneys Association:] Well, Nancy, I`m very concerned because, first of all, if she did just walk out of the house on her own, it`s still negligence against the parent because you should have the door secured so that a child can`t get out. So that`s a problem right on the very top. But if somebody abducted her, you have to look at those people in the house because they`re the last people who were even around that child. This is very concerning, especially with the fact that she has a broken arm. Now, maybe the story will pan out. A doctor can look at that break and say whether it`s intentionally inflicted. But there are a lot of problems with this case, Nancy, and a lot to look at.
[Grace:] Well, another thing, they can determine to Dr. Joye Carter, chief forensic pathologist, author of "I Speak for the Dead" Doctor, isn`t it true you can look X-rays and determine if there have been prior breaks or fractures?
[Dr. Joye M. Carter, Forensic Pathologist:] That is very true. You want to be sure that it`s an accidental injury when the child`s brought into the emergency room. So what that caretaker says and how they react is very important, as well as a full examination of the child with appropriate X-rays.
[Grace:] I`m going to come back to Dr. Carter. But very quickly, Trista Reynolds is with us. This is Ayla`s mom. Trista, you went to court in secret just hours before Ayla goes missing, 20-month-old baby girl with a sling on her arm. Did you prevail? Did the judge suggest to you that you were going to get full custody?
[Reynolds:] I haven`t even gotten that far. All I have done is file the paperwork, and that was it. I haven`t seen a judge. I haven`t talked to a lawyer. I have done nothing but file...
[Grace:] So you went all on your own without even a lawyer to help you, trying to get custody. Why, Trista, were you trying to get full custody?
[Reynolds:] Because her father has never had anything to do with her up until I needed to go and get a little bit of help for myself. And then when I left my daughter with my sister, that`s when he decided, You know what? I`m going to take Ayla. And I want to put it out there that every time my daughter has gone with Justin, she would always come back with bruises on her or she had come back with a pulled muscle. And in the 18 months that I had had my daughter, not once did she ever end up missing, did she ever end up with a broken bone, did she ever miss a doctor`s appointment. And since she`s been with Justin, she has missed four appointments for shots. And this past Friday, she missed her bone specialist appointment.
[Grace:] Everyone, you`re taking a look at 20-month-old baby Ayla. Liz, put that up again, where you can see the sling she`s wearing. As Marc Klaas pointed out, if she`s still wearing this sling, I mean, who could miss this child? Tip line 207-680-4700. Back to the lawyers, Eleanor Odom, Renee Rockwell, Peter Odom. What about it, Renee?
[Renee Rockwell, Defense Attorney:] Well, I`m hearing a child in the background. I tend to believe that the mother still has custody of a 10- month-old. Is that correct? So I`d be interested if DFACS has come in and wanted to know how that 10-month-old child is being cared for. Also interested in when the first call was to the police when the child went missing? Was it at 2:00 AM? Was it at 8:50 AM? It tells me that the parents or the people in the house looking after the child are not on top of their game.
[Grace:] You know, yes you know, Trista, another question. I want to follow-up on what Renee Rockwell just said. Who all was in the home, Trista? And have you talked to the father?
[Reynolds:] No, Justin and I have had no contact.
[Grace:] Well, Trista, can`t you put your hard feelings aside and have a powwow with the daddy? I tell you what. I`d be laying on that front porch, begging for answers! With me is baby Ayla`s mother. Where is this little girl, wearing a sling with a broken arm? Who can miss that?
[Unidentified Male:] From a father who reported his 20-month-year-old
[Unidentified Female:] Search parties still looking for 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds.
[Unidentified Male:] Were not successful in finding little Ayla. And that is our primary focus, folks, is to find the 20-month-year-old
[Grace:] We are live and taking your calls. Baby Ayla gone out of her crib there in Maine. And she`s wearing a sling from a prior injury. Straight out to the lines. Pamela in Maine. Hi, Pamela. What`s your question?
[Unidentified Female:] I have a couple of questions.
[Grace:] OK.
[Unidentified Female:] One is, I have been told it`s pretty hard to break a child`s arm because their bones are soft. And exactly what was the excuse on how that happened?
[Grace:] Well, the mom has just told us and I`m going to tell you, Pam, you know, at that young age I`m going to go to Dr. Joye Carter, too children`s bones are very malleable. And it`s I thought it would be more difficult to get a broken bone with a child, but the father said he`s walking up some steps, stumbles, falls on the child and breaks her bone. What about it, Dr. Joye Carter? Is there a difference in children`s bones and adults` bones?
[Carter:] Well, there is a difference. And children`s bones are softer, and this is why you actually chart how a child grows by looking at their bones. But it is important to look back at that emergency record, what the father said, how the child presented. Were the injuries consistent with fall? And why is it just on one arm if you`ve fallen on top of a child?
[Grace:] I`m sorry, I couldn`t hear you there at the end. Repeat.
[Carter:] Why is it injury to one arm if an adult has fallen on top of a small child? Are the injuries...
[Grace:] Yes, I don`t understand that.
[Carter:] ... consistent with a fall.
[Grace:] I don`t understand that. We`re getting to the bottom of it, and taking your calls. What do we know about the injury? Back out to Ken Altshuler, WGAN, "Morning News With Ken and Mike." Ken, what do we know about that broken bone?
[Altshuler:] Well, it`s interesting, Nancy, but police are saying that it`s not suspicious. But then again, according to Trista`s account, the father says he fell on the child. That in itself would be suspicious.
[Grace:] To Ronald Reynolds, also joining us today. This is baby Ayla`s grandfather. Ronald, I don`t understand how the baby got that broken bone with Daddy to start with. Explain to me again, Ronald, how that supposedly went down.
[Ronald Reynolds, Missing Child`s Grandfather:] I said I`m sorry, ma`am. I don`t know. Honestly, I don`t know. All I know is what was told what happened with her arm, and that she went to the doctors, got it checked out, and apparently, it was broken from the fall.
[Grace:] With me, the mom and grandfather speaking out. Where is baby Ayla?
[Unidentified Female:] A 20-month-old girl. 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds. Who was last seen tucked into her bed in pajamas. For a 20-month-old, still missing in our area.
[Unidentified Male:] Described as about 2`9" tall.
[Unidentified Female:] Ayla Reynolds` dad reported her missing.
[Unidentified Male:] He had last seen her the previous evening, approximately 8:00 p.m. when she was put down for bed.
[Unidentified Female:] How do they account for not seeing her for 12 hours and reporting her at 8:00 in the morning?
[Unidentified Male:] She was in her own bedroom and everybody went to bed.
[Unidentified Female:] Searchers have scoured several blocks surrounding Ayla`s home on Violet avenue.
[Unidentified Male:] Today, we`re checking every match.
[Unidentified Female:] So far, we have not located the young girl.
[Grace:] We are taking your calls. We are live, in Maine, in the search for baby Ayla. A 20-month-old baby girl, wearing a sling with a broken arm goes missing out of her own crib. The whole story is fantastical, but those are the facts that we have tonight. Tipline: 207-680-4700. Taking your calls is mommy, Trista Reynolds, and her father, Ronald Reynolds. They were not with the baby at the time she went missing. The baby was with the daddy. We`re taking your calls. Daddy not a suspect, but tonight we want answers in the search for baby Ayla. Straight out to Peter Odom, renowned defense attorney, joining us out of Atlanta. OK, Odom, let`s hear it.
[Peter Odom, Defense Attorney:] Nancy, I`m troubled by the fact that Trista went to a court on Friday and the baby went missing on Saturday. Now, I just don`t believe in coincidences. I`m very skeptical about them. I believe those two events have to be related. I would ask Trista whether there`s any way that the father could have known that she was seeking permanent custody of that child.
[Grace:] OK, Peter, are you trying in your roundabout defense attorney away to say that Trista took the baby? Because she was
[Peter Odom:] No, no, no.
[Grace:] Or are you saying that dad found out and retaliated by hiding the baby?
[Peter Odom:] Yes
[Grace:] I`m not an interpreter! All right?
[Peter Odom:] I don`t believe that it`s a coincidence. They`re related.
[Grace:] I think I understand what you`re saying. With me is the mom and the grandfather. Trista Reynolds, did the dad have any idea that you went to court, on your own, no lawyer, nobody helping you, to seek full custody of the baby?
[Tirsta Reynolds, Ayla Reynolds` Mother:] No. I did not tell Justin that I was going to the court to file. Now, me and him had had the discussion within that week that he told me himself that he was going to file the custody papers against me. So I decided to go and file against him.
[Grace:] All right. So he did not know, then? In your mind, he did not know that you had filed the papers?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] No, I wanted him not to know that I was filing
[Grace:] Why? Why didn`t you want him to know?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] Why didn`t I want him to know?
[Grace:] Right.
[Tirsta Reynolds:] Because he`s vindictive. He`s very verbally abusive towards me and anything that I say or do, he refuses to let me see my daughter, he`s refused to let me talk to her. I mean, he has never, like, once since he`s had her, since October 17th, had let me have her for one single day. So, I decided that it was time to do this the legal way and let a judge say who this child should be with. And my daughter does deserve to be with me. I`m the one who`s raised her for 18 months.
[Grace:] And, without this without saying, risk your life to give birth. OK? Let`s just throw that in there with the kitchen sink. OK, Wendy Walsch, psychologist and co-host on "the Doctors," you know, Wendy, I know that a lot of people have marital problems, all right? Over 50 percent of Americans have marital problems, all right? So let`s just take that as a given. But, when you have a baby, when you have a custody argument, and when you have verbal abuse, and I`m not saying that every argument constitutes abuse, all right? I`m concerned about all of these troubles being taken out on the baby.
[Wendy Walsch, M.d., Psychologist, Co-host, The Doctors:] Exactly. I mean, this is a kind of attachment trauma for a child of this age. You know with your own children, Nancy, that it`s very important that they have consistent caregivers in the first few years of life. Because it can lead to major personality problems and anxiety and depression and everything else. So, do this using the baby as the pawn and the back and forth and back and forth is really hurtful to a child. But, you know, I haven`t seen the court documents, but I`d be curious to know why the child was removed from the mother, why the father got full custody when he wasn`t in the picture for 18 months, and I`m not sure that this couple was ever married. So, it`s not about marital problems, it`s really about child care here.
[Grace:] When I say marital problems, I`m referring to any relationship
[Walsch:] Relationship.
[Grace:] that appears to be meretricious resembling marriage, living together, having children together, the whole kit and caboodle. In the legal world, when we say marital problems, we`re referring to marriage- issues relationships or marriage-like relationship. We`re taking your calls, out to Joe in Florida. Yes, and one answer, Wendy, to your question is that mom had put herself in rehab to get over some problems she was having. So that`s why the dad had the baby for a period of time, so mom could go to rehab. OK, Joe, what`s your question, dear?
[Joe, Caller, Florida:] Hi, Nancy. I`m so glad I got through to you.
[Grace:] Likewise!
[Joe:] Thank you. Has the husband ever had any kind of criminal record or other type of record? And has he or will he take a polygraph?
[Grace:] Good question! Ellie, first to you. Any criminal history with daddy?
[Elli Jostad, Producer, Nancy Grace:] No, no criminal history for either parent, as far as we know.
[Grace:] OK. I`m going to go back to mommy. Trista Reynolds is with us, as well as her father, the grandfather, Ronald Reynolds. 20-month-old baby Ayla is missing. And let me tell you, no baby at 20 months that I know has ever slept through the whole night, 12 hours, without wanting a bottle or having a wet diap, right? So, I find that very, very odd. Trista, can you tell me, one of the callers asked why the dad had the baby to start with. I told them, as you heard, that you were briefly in rehab. You put yourself in rehab to get past some problems you had, but the night the baby goes missing, which is what I`m concerned, I don`t care what anybody did before that, where were you the night the baby goes missing, Trista?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] The night that my daughter went missing, I was at the Maine motel in South Portland.
[Grace:] And you have fully cooperated with police, is that true?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] Fully cooperated. And Nancy, there`s one thing I want to clear up with you.
[Grace:] OK.
[Tirsta Reynolds:] Someone just said that it was said that Ayla had her own bedroom at her father`s house. She does not have her own bedroom. She sleeps in the same room with her cousin, who is, I think, two months younger than her. So, if so why wasn`t she taken? If my daughter went missing, why didn`t her cousin you know, at least make a noise or scream or be taken as well.
[Grace:] So you`re telling me that, Trista, that there would have been somebody else sleeping in the room with her?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] Yes! Like, I`ve been to that house myself, and I have been in the bedroom to where Ayla sleeps, and she sleeps in the same exact room as Justin`s sister`s little girl.
[Grace:] And how old is the little girl?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] I think she`s exactly I think she`s like two months younger than Ayla.
[Grace:] I`m just wondering if both of them would have slept through the night. Because, for instance, to you, Wendy Walsh, last night Lucy was sideways in the bed and John David was upside down. I went and put them both straight, covered them up, changed the lights, opened the door. They both slept through the whole thing. So I don`t know if one would necessarily wake up.
[Walsch:] No, the other child may not have waked-up. I mean, my kids always say, how come you wake up so early, mom. I say, the alarm`s blaring. They never hear it. So definitely that child may not have been disturbed if somebody and took Ayla.
[Grace:] Tonight, where is baby Ayla? A 20-month-old girl wearing a sling over a broken arm goes missing from her own crib.
[Unidentified Female:] Search parties still looking for 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds. Who was last seen tucked into her bed in pajamas.
[Unidentified Male:] She was in her own bedroom and everybody went to bed.
[Unidentified Female:] State police are calling this the family`s home, the focal point of the investigation. But they`re also considering the possibility that she was kidnapped.
[Unidentified Male:] They`re checking everything. And the outbuildings. We are not successful in finding little Ayla.
[Unidentified Female:] Police say that she may have wandered out of the house.
[Unidentified Male:] This is a 20-month-old, again, who was nowhere to be found.
[Unidentified Female:] She has a broken arm, from when she fell a few weeks ago. I feel like its part of our duty to go ahead and help any way we can.
[Unidentified Male:] Time is of the essence. We`d like to get her back home.
[Grace:] We are taking your calls. Where is baby Ayla? Out to the lines. Lisa in Iowa. Hi, Lisa, what`s your question?
[Lisa, Caller, Iowa:] Hi, Nancy. It`s great to get through. My heart goes out to the mother. I just was wondering why was the mom and dad separated and was there any, you know, domestic history there?
[Grace:] OK. Trista, when you agreed to come on our show, you knew you were going to be on the hot seat. I want to clear up. You were nowhere near the home the night the baby disappeared. As a matter of fact, just before that, hours before that, you`re in court trying to get full custody of the baby. So, Trista, can you answer that question from Lisa in Iowa?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] OK, well, let me clear one thing up.
[Grace:] OK.
[Tirsta Reynolds:] Justin and I have never been in a serious relationship, ever.
[Grace:] OK. So that means that there was never any domestic abuse, because you never lived together?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] No. We`ve never lived together, we`ve never been together. We were just two mutual friends.
[Grace:] I want to go right now OK, hold on, I`m getting another question OK, another caller has another question, Trista, about a bone specialist. Did the baby see a bone specialist when she broke her arm?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] Yes, we took her to Maine orthopedics, right in Portland.
[Grace:] And what did they say?
[Tirsta Reynolds:] They said that at first it seemed to be suspicious, and then they said the way that her arm was broken, it may not have been suspicious and it could have been accidental.
[Grace:] OK. Good to know. To the lines, Susan in Maine. Hi, Susan. What`s your question?
[Susan, Caller, Maine:] It`s the doctors are supposed to report to the department of human services anything suspicious, and was this reported? And was the family checked out for a history of drug abuse?
[Grace:] Good question. What do we know, out to Alexis Tereszcuk.
[Alexis Tereszcuk, Senior Reporter, Radaronline.com:] We know that the department of children and family services was involved, because they`ve given the dad custody of the little girl, but there have been no claims whatsoever at all of any drug abuse.
[Grace:] Unleash the lawyers, Eleanor Odom, Renee Rockwell, Peter Odom. OK, Renee Rockwell, daddy is not a suspect. But, I mean, common sense makes you look at whoever is inside that home.
[Renee Rockwell, Defense Attorney:] I can tell you something, Nancy, daddy is a suspect, so is everybody else in that house. Everybody`s a suspect. Nobody`s a suspect. I promise you one thing, no one has been cleared yet. Everybody`s going to get separated and their stories will be compared.
[Grace:] Eleanor?
[Eleanor Odom, Senior Attorney, National District Attorneys Association, Death Penalty Qualified:] I totally agree. Everybody is a suspect, because we don`t know what`s happened now. I think you`re naturally going to focus more on the father, who didn`t have the child living with him until just a couple months, a few months before the child went missing. So you are going to look at him probably a little more closely than you would anyone else.
[Grace:] And another thing, based on what she`s saying, Peter Odom, you know, you`ve raised two children, and if you`re not used to raising a child, then suddenly you have a child that is waking you up all night long
[Peter Odom:] It`s difficult, even when you`re used to it.
[Grace:] It is! It`s very hard. I mean, but especially when you get the child and you`re not used to the routine, and then suddenly, you find out you`re up two or three or more times a night, that there`s problems, that you can`t reason with a child. It`s hard for a beginner to handle it.
[Peter Odom:] One thing that is clear to me, from everything the police are gathering, is that this is very unlikely to have been a stranger abduction, because no stranger is going to walk into a house, it seems as if this house was wall to wall with other people that were staying there and there was another child in the room. Just this is not a stranger abduction. There`s a lot more here than meets the high. To Ken Altshuler with WGAN "Morning News with Ken and Mike," thanks for being with us, Ken. I`m trying to understand, has daddy taken a lie detector? Do we know about that? And who else was in the home Ken?
[Ken Altshuler, Radio Host, Wgan Morning News With Ken And Mike:] We know that Justin was in the home. Family members and some non-family members. The police have not identified anyone and there`s been no report that they`ve asked them to do a lie detector test or they`ve taken one.
[Grace:] OK. I didn`t understand what you said. Daddy is or is not going to take a lie detector?
[Altshuler:] The police have not reported whether they`ve asked him to. He`s certainly there`s been no report that he`s taken one. My assumption is they have not gone to that extent yet and that they`re treating this as more of an abduction from a stranger than something that Justin is doing.
[Grace:] Ken, do we know if there was any forced entry? Were any of the doors or windows unlocked at all?
[Altshuler:] They inquired of Justin whether or not doors were unlocked. They have not revealed his answer on that. The assumption is that it was not, but even so, Nancy, as you know, with this cast on Ayla`s hand, she would not have been able to open a door, even if it was unlocked.
[Grace:] You know what, Ken, that`s a good point. Was it her right arm? Was she right-handed, Ken? Do you know? No, it was her left arm, and they have not stated whether she`s right- handed or left-handed, but the police are saying that it would have been very difficult to open this door with any hand, let alone not using two hand. And Ayla could only use one hand. I`m hearing in my ear right now from our control room that a stream is being searched. A stream is being searched right now. To Ellie Jostad, Ellie, what do we know about a stream being searched?
[Jostad:] That`s right, Nancy. This is the Messalonskee stream. It`s just about a few blocks from the father`s home. The warden service has flown over on a plane. They are out to searching the banks which are wooded. One of the dive instructors, David Vidalia that we use on the show often, he is familiar with this and he says it`s fairly shallow. Right now they`re just searching the banks. Don`t know if they plan to put divers in that water yet.
[Grace:] OK Ellie, do we have any idea what`s led them to this stream, the Messalonskee stream?
[Jostad:] We don`t know yet, Nancy, why they are searching whether it`s the proximity to the father`s home or if it`s something specific that led them there.
[Grace:] OK Ken, how cold is it in Maine right now?
[Altshuler:] It was six degrees on Saturday night, Nancy. It was above nine degrees last night. There`s no way a child`s going to survive outside in that temperature in a Maine winter night.
[Grace:] And Ken, how far is this Messalonskee stream from daddy`s house?
[Altshuler:] It`s about I would say about 50 yards behind the father`s house, Nancy.
[Grace:] You know, to Trista. Trista, I just don`t see a baby wearing a sling, a 20-month-old walking that far, Trista Reynolds.
[Tirsta Reynolds:] My daughter I don`t see Ayla doing it either. And Ayla would never wander off unless there was someone with her.
[Unidentified Female:] Police say Ayla`s father, Justin Depetro was home and he wasn`t and wasn`t alone. For a 20 month old to go missing in our area.
[Unidentified Male:] Canvassed the neighborhood, talked to the neighbors. There`s not much wooded area there. This is a 20-month-old again who was nowhere to be found, very cold yesterday.
[Unidentified Female:] They aren`t saying who else was in the house. Haven`t ruled out abduction. As I said, she was only in a pair of pajamas, it was imperative to bring the resources.
[Grace:] We are hearing in this hour a stream is being searched, Messalonskee stream about 50 yards from daddy`s home. Ken Altshuler, is that correct? Did you say 50 yards?
[Altshuler:] That`s correct. It`s behind the father`s house down the road a little bit, but a stream, but it`s got water with it and it`s fairly fast moving.
[Grace:] OK. Ellie Jostad, we don`t know why the cops are there, or why they brought in divers?
[Jostad:] Well, we don`t know they brought in divers yet. It may be in the future. But, we do know that they are searching the banks and they are flying overhead.
[Grace:] OK. Eleanor Odom, Renee Rockwell, Peter Odom. Eleanor, when you have got helicopters are overhead, that`s not a good sign.
[Eleanor Odom:] No, it`s not a good sign, Nancy. Sounds like they`re looking for a body. The other concern is the next thing are the cadaver dogs. So, it is all very scary and all very sad.
[Grace:] Renee?
[Rockwell:] The thought I am going to leave with is the fact she said the father was very vindictive. That concerns me.
[Grace:] Peter?
[Peter Odom:] The fact this is a Maine winter, I used to live up there, Nancy. This is freezing cold. If the kid is not in the house, if that kid is exposed to the elements, it can`t have a good ending.
[Grace:] And to you Mark Klaas, final thought?
[Marc Klaas, Founder Klaas Kids Foundation:] This is absolutely nauseating. The fact there`s another child in the bedroom totally changes the complexion of this story. A houseful of people, nobody goes in to check on either of the children for 13 hours, makes no sense to me at all.
[Grace:] Tip line. 207-680-4700. Help us in this search for baby Ayla. Let`s stop and remember army corporal Christopher Sitton, 21, Montrose Colorado, killed in Afghanistan. Awarded bronze star, purple heart, National defense service medal, army service ribbon, an eagle scout. High school track star. Loved outdoors and music, had an infectious laugh. Loved helping others. Leaves behind parents Steve and Judy, a grandfather, a sister Laura. Christopher Sitton, American hero. Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. Everyone, see you tomorrow night. 8:00 sharp Eastern, for we in our own way will be seeking justice. Until then, good night, friend. END

[Acosta:] Mitt Romney is out with his first campaign ad of the season. It takes a hard swing at the president's economic policies. One line in particular is getting the White House and its reelection campaign all riled up. Take a listen.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I am confident that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. Who's going to be in charge if we need a rescue plan for the idle class? We need to provide people with homes. It's going to take a generation. If we keep talking about the economy we're going to lose.
[Acosta:] That last line, in particular there, is key. Our Joe Johns is in Washington at the sight of tonight's CNN Republican debate. Joe, that is not the way we remember the president delivering that line back in 2008. Tell us what's going on here.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Well, that line is a real source of controversy right now, Jim. The point of it is the Obama people out of Chicago are saying he was not making that statement as a personal belief. Rather, he was attributing that statement to someone else, specifically the campaign of John McCain, who went on to be the nominee. So let's listen now to the full statement by then-Senator Barack Obama that wasn't all included in the spot by Mitt Romney.
[Obama:] Senator McCain's campaign actually said, and I quote, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose."
[Johns:] The McCain campaign actually said it. This, according to Senator Barack Obama. So a real dust-up right now. And the people over on the Obama side are pretty upset about it. It's interesting that they've actually finally now been drawn into the fire between the candidates on the Republican side, and they are actually responding, Jim. I have a statement that they put out and here's part of it: "Just last week, fact checkers scalded Mitt Romney for distorting a comment the president made about creating American jobs. And now Romney launches a deceitful and dishonest attack rather than outline his own record or plans for the future." So pretty harsh words. And now the Obama people are engaged and talking to the Romney campaign Jim?
[Acosta:] How about team Romney, are they apologizing or withdrawing the ad? I'm guessing not?
[Johns:] No, you're absolutely right.
[Acosta:] And Joe, probably not bad strategy on the part of the Romney campaign to get this out there on the eve of the Republican debate tonight and create this kerfuffle between both sides.
[Johns:] That's really important now.
[Acosta:] All right, well, Joe Johns
[Johns:] That's important to say.
[Acosta:] That's right.
[Johns:] Oh, I was just that's important to say because Romney has always has some sense of inevitability about his campaign, if you will. Now he's engaged in a debate directly with the president of the United States. To that extent, it helps Romney. Whether it was honest or dishonest, that's up to the voters.
[Acosta:] That's probably exactly where he wants to be, having that debate with the president. Joe Johns, thanks so much. We appreciate it. The Republican contenders go head to head tonight on CNN. Wolf Blitzer puts the main focus of the debate on national security but you know the economy will come up. He and the GOP candidates will be live from Constitution hall in Washington tonight at 8:00 eastern on CNN. This story is going viral and not in a good way. This is a story a lot of parents can relate to. Two toddlers got their hands on a five-pound bag of flour and, for them, it was time to show off creativity. Here's Jeanne Moos.
[Jeanne Moos, Cnn National Correspondent:] Mommy is not feeling well so she stays longer a little longer than usual in the bathroom. When she comes out
[Mary Napoli, Mother:] what are you doing?
[Moos:] stay-at-home mom, Mary Napoli, stayed eerily calm.
[Napoli:] Oh, boy.
[Moos:] The boys are 1.5 and 3.5.
[Unidentified Boy:] Uh, oh. What's the matter, Mommy?
[Moos:] What could possibly be the mater with having flour all over your house?
[Napoli:] As soon as I stopped recording, I sat in the middle in the floor in the living room and started crying.
[Moos:] Talk about floor power, the entire mess was caused by one five-pound bag.
[Napoli:] Oh, my gosh. What am I going to do? I think I'm going to throw up.
[Moos:] Instead of throwing up, Mary kept regurgitating one phrase.
[Napoli:] Oh, my gosh.
[Moos:] From the chair seat to the window ledge on the door.
[Napoli:] Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.
[Moos:] We counted at least 27 "Oh, my goshes."
[Napoli:] Oh, my gosh. Not fair.
[Moos:] Mary had just gotten home from the grocery store and says she forgot to lock the cup board.
[Napoli:] My god, it's like a snowman has puked all over my living room.
[Moos:] It reminds us of the dogs-get-in-the-trash video, where the culprit is identified by an incriminating clue.
[Unidentified Male:] I wonder if Tank had anything to do with it. Can you tell me what happened?
[Moos:] The flour kids weren't talking either.
[Napoli:] What happened, Zack?
[Unidentified Boy:] What.
[Moos:] Mary called her mother-in-law for help. By the way, those who say the video is fake or Fakey McFakeovitch, you don't know how flour flies. [on camera]: Mary and her mother-in-law used a Shop-Vac to remove most of the flour, but there were two items that were beyond salvaging. [voice-over]: She had to throw away this rug and light bulb emitting a burning flour smell. Hardest to clean? The couches.
[Napoli:] We haven't even paid off those couches yet.
[Moos:] During cleanup, Zack slipped and cut his lip so Mary left the kitchen sink and came running. [on camera]: Unfortunately, the faucet was overrunning and the sink overflowed and flooded the kitchen. [voice-over]: Next time you think you had a bad day, remember Mary
[Napoli:] I told my mother-in-law that I feel I've inhaled so much flour, I'm going to start to rise.
[Moos:] At least Andrew was dressed for bad behavior, like a prison inmate. Jeanne Moos,
[Cnn -- Unidentified Boy:] See? See?
[Napoli:] Yes, I see.
[Moos:] New York.
[Acosta:] That came from one five-pound bag of flour. Which by the way, I did not fill out this label here. That is not my handwriting. I want to make sure that credit goes where it's due I'm kidding to our executive producer, Jen. Anybody have a pair of scissors. Just anybody? Just thought I would have fun with this during the break? No, guess not. We'll be right back.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] And hello, everyone. I'm Carol Costello. I'm in for Kyra Phillips this afternoon. It's 11:00 o'clock on the East Coast, 8:00 o'clock on the west. We've got a busy hour ahead, so let's get straight to the news, shall we? Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is going to have a little more time to think about his thoughts on Fidel Castro. He has been suspended for five games by the team for his comments to "Time" magazine where he said he respected the former Cuban dictator. Guillen has apologized repeatedly and had another chance to apologize a few moments ago.
[Ozzie Guillen, Manager, Florida Marlins:] It is not what happened today. It is what happens in the future. Hold on one second. It is what is going to happen in the future. I expect to be here for a long time. I live in Miami. My family is in Miami and I will do everything and I will do everything to try to make it better. I will help Cuban community, Latino community, like I always do. I hope I get better and people understand me and my situation, but I will be willing to do everything in my power or the Marlins' power to help and believe I will help this community like I always do.
[Costello:] Guillen had come under criticism in the Miami community for his Castro comments. Remember, the Marlins' new ballpark is in Little Havana. His five-game suspension starts immediately. President Obama is on his way to Florida. On his agenda when he gets in will be an economic speech on the so-called "Buffett Rule." The president is expected to talk about how it will make for a fairer tax code and make it harder for the very rich to find tax loopholes. It's, of course, based on billionaire Warren Buffet who famously said that he pays less in taxes than his secretary. Former President, George W. Bush says the Buffett rule is a bad idea. He spoke at a Bush Institute economic forum in New York. Mr. Bush said increased taxes on the very rich are an attack on job creators. He also talked about the Bush tax cuts.
[Former President George W. Bush:] I wish they weren't called the Bush tax cuts. If they were called somebody other body's tax cuts, they are probably less likely to be raised. If you raise taxes, you are taking money out of the pockets of consumers. It is important for policymakers to recognize all the data about taxes causes capital to stay on the sidelines.
[Costello:] The Bush tax cuts are set to expire at the end of the year. Marine Sergeant Gary Stein said he will fight his discharge. A military board recommended an other than honorable discharge for Stein after he posted comments on Facebook critical of President Obama. This is what he told Soledad O'Brien earlier this morning.
[Sergeant Gary Stein, U.s. Marine Corps:] I am here to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I never disobeyed an order. I was never told not to take down Armed Forces Tea Party. I was never told not to do media interviews. I was never told not to write on redstate.com. I was never told not to do my own personal I was never told that.
[Costello:] Stein is asking a federal judge to step in and stop the discharge, saying it violates his free speech rights. And weeks of protests, rallies and debate over Trayvon Martin's death and George Zimmerman's fate could come down to one prosecutor's decision, Angela Corey. Corey will decide whether or not Zimmerman will face charges for shooting Trayvon Martin. Corey ruled out presenting Zimmerman's case to a grand jury, but is expected to move quickly and could announce her decision at any moment. And for the first time, Zimmerman is speaking out on his Web site, therealgeorgezimmerman.com. Zimmerman posts, "I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately my entire life." And he is asking for donations for his legal fund and living expenses. A stunning confession in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the shooting rampage there. The suspects, 19-year-old Jake England and 33-year-old Alvin Watts, according to police reports, England has confessed to shooting 3 of 5 victims. Watts to the other two. The two allegedly gunned down apparent strangers at these four locations. Three were killed, two wounded, all of the victims were after African-American. Police are not saying whether they believe last week's shootings were racially motivated, but prosecutors say they are reviewing whether hate crime charges are appropriate. Another government worker is in hot water for that Las Vegas conference spending scandal. David Foley, a top official of the General Services Administration has been placed on administrative leave. Foley is the eighth GSA staffer to be disciplined. He appears in a video, joking about the lavish spending at a 2010 Las Vegas conference. There is also video of GSA workers mocking President Obama's clean energy campaign. More than $800,000 of taxpayer money was spent at that conference on mind-readers, clowns and music videos. Heavy shelling continues in Syria on the day the government had promised to withdraw their forces from all cities and towns. Opposition groups say at least 45 people have been killed. At least 160 died yesterday. President Bashar al-Assad had agreed to a U.N.- Arab League deadline to withdraw his troops today and a full ceasefire on Tuesday. In the meantime, U.N. special envoy, Kofi Annan, who brokered the peace plan, arrived in Turkey today to visit a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian. Accompanying him are Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman. A live report from the border in just about 30 minutes. An Afghanistan suicide attack today killed at least 18 people and wounded 27. Targets were police officers and local government officials. Among the victims, at least seven police officers and a police chief was among the wounded. The attacks were carried out in the western and southern parts of the country. In Norway, the man accused of killing 77 people was sane at the time of the massacre. That's the assessment of two court-appointed psychiatric experts in a report out today. It says that Anders Breivik was not psychotic at the time of the attacks last year and does not suffer from a psychiatric condition. Breivik is charged with killing eight people in a bomb attack in Oslo and gunning down 69 other people on a nearby island. He has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to start next Monday. Turning now to medical news, a new study is raising questions about the safety of dental X-rays. The study published this week in the journal, "Cancer," shows that people who have had dental X-rays frequently in the past are more likely to develop a type of non- cancerous brain tumor. This is not prove that X-rays cause tumors, but supports previous research about that connection. However, in a statement, the American Dental Association noted potential flaws in the study and encouraged further research. Smartphone theft is on the rise. Now, the FCC and lawmakers are stepping in. They met last hour and announced a national plan to stop thieves from using your smartphones. Here are some details. Wireless providers will work to initiate a database that will help prevent stolen smartphones from being used. The database will also help make sure smartphones reported stolen are deactivated. The FCC says the wireless industry's working with law enforcement to show consumers that they have their backs. Watching and waiting. All eyes on Sanford, Florida where charges may come down today on George Zimmerman. Martin Savidge live next. But first, it was like something out of a movie, a bus driver and a teen working together to stop a hit-and-run driver. Take a look at this surveillance video just into CNN. A car driving on a road in Pennsylvania hits a cyclist and flees the scene, but fast-acting witnesses come to the biker's rescue. You will see it there, including the bus driver who cuts the hit-and-run driver off. You see the bus there? And it stopped that car in its tracks.
[Unidentified Male:] The biker stood up and signaled to me to follow the guy to I assume to get his license plate, so that's what I tried to do. At that time, I blocked the bridge with the bus and he couldn't get around the bus.
[Costello:] The cyclist was left bruised, but just happy to be alive. Thanks to the bus driver, Richard Govish, and the other witness, Judd Small, this hit-and-run driver was charged with two traffic violations. So for your heroic moves on the road, you are today's rock stars.

[Costello:] Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Checking our top stories, at just about 30 minutes past the hour, right now Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress are behind closed doors at the White House. President Obama summoning them for an 11th-hour meeting just before this much talked about forced spending cuts kick in and we understand the meeting has begun. It officially began at 10:18 Eastern Time. In Vatican City, the pope's department now officially closed. The traditional seal covers the former home along with the elevator used to reach it. Tradition says the seal will not be broken until a new pope is chosen. General Motors thinking green and hoping to make some green in the process. "Bloomberg News" reports GM will increase production of the Volt and other plug-in cars by 20 percent this year. The Chevy Volt had big sales gains last year while the new Cadillac ELR could also boost plug-in profits with its higher sticker price. Governor of Michigan will soon announce Detroit is in a financial emergency and that means the state is one step closer actually it's a millimetre away to the state taking over the city's finances. Detroit as you well know has fallen on hard times. It's at least $14 billion in debt according to a state report and residents are simply fleeing. Detroit has lost 25 percent of its population in just a decade. What about crime? Last year, Detroit was one of the deadliest had one of the deadliest years in decades with more than 400 people the victim of homicide. CNN's Poppy Harlow has followed the sad story of Detroit. She joins us live now. Good morning, Poppy.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. This announcement expected in about an hour and a half that Michigan's Republican Governor Rick Snyder will say that he agrees that Detroit is in a financial emergency is critical because I'm told by a source close to the governor that means he will install an emergency manager in Detroit. That person will have sweeping powers within the city to override the mayor of Detroit, to override the city council, to break union contracts, throw them out if needed, to lay off more government workers if needed, whatever is needed to get this city back on sound financial footing.

[O'brien:] The man behind the Travel Channel's successful series "Man Versus Food" is at it again. This time he has a new quest, which is to find the best sandwich in all of America. In his new series, Adam Richman travels to 10 different regions tasting 30 sandwiches and has one goal in mind, to find the number one sandwich worthy of the ultimate title. "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America". Take a look.
[Adam Richman, Host, "best Sandwich In America":] For months, I've been on a road trip, traveling countless miles from coast to coast. All in search of my best sandwich in the nation. I sampled 30 amazing creations from 10 different U.S. regions. And in every region, I subjected each sandwich to my trademark BITE scale, declaring one the champ.
[O'brien:] Oh, that looks so good. The season finale of "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America" airs August 15th. How did you just focus on sandwiches?
[Richman:] You know what; every culture has a sandwich. Every income bracket has a sandwich. And you know I've been saying it a lot, but I do mean it in earnest. I really think the sandwich at its best is really just your imagination bound by two pieces of bread.
[O'brien:] What's the BITE scale?
[Richman:] The BITE scale. Well, we figured there should be one kind of judging tool. So it's an acronym for Bread, Interior, Taste and Eating experience.
[O'brien:] Ok so you're going to on Wednesday pick the best sandwich in America a little pressure.
[Richman:] My right, and it's completely biased. Yes, exactly.
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Richman:] No but truly it's it's my best sandwich. Because I think that you know every human being has their own. This is my pick. But I just solely wanted to at least showcase 30 of the great ones out there and hope that people go on their own journeys.
[O'brien:] You've got 10, and then you added two wild cards.
[Richman:] Correct.
[O'brien:] So if this is your own list, do you sort of self-select just all the interior, for example, that you like?
[Richman:] You know, what I did was I select two of the sandwiches per region. One came from a celebrity pick. So that way in each region, with the exception of one, because I didn't in fact try it, the celebrity pick is brand-new to me. And it was a chance for the audience to discover something as I did too.
[O'brien:] Stretching stretching your bounds.
[Richman:] You've got to grow a little bit every day. My shirt is stretching as well.
[O'brien:] I'm happy to help you here. So tell me what you brought today.
[Richman:] I brought two of my favorite sandwiches in the New York area. The New York classic. So we have Katz's Pastrami, Katz'Deli obviously classic, classic New York Deli on rye bread in their house cake Pastrami.
[O'brien:] Hey I'm going to start with this one.
[Richman:] It's pretty magnificent.
[O'brien:] There really isn't enough mustard on this for my taste.
[Richman:] Mustard, go for it.
[O'brien:] Oh my God yes, ok.
[Richman:] Good stuff, though, right? I usually do the Russian and slaw on the pastrami.
[O'brien:] Yes, it's amazing.
[Richman:] And this one here is a a sandwich that unfortunately I wasn't able to include in the show. This is a Vietnamese sandwich called a "Banh Mi" from Hanko's.
[O'brien:] What's a "Banh Mi"? Where's Hankos?
[Richman:] Hankos is on Smith and Bourbon Street in Brooklyn. I think they maybe opening another one. But it's only rice flour baguette and it's roasted pork, pickled [inaudible], pickled carrot.
[O'brien:] Oh that is so good.
[Richman:] Isn't yummy?
[O'brien:] What else is it?
[Richman:] Cilantro, a little bit of sriracha, some pate. And they grind their pork there. And I find it surprisingly light, even though it looks like it could be a really substantial sandwich.
[O'brien:] I love shows where I just eat through the entire thing while you do all the talking. So is it going to be really, really hard at the end to pick do you think?
[Richman:] I think so.
[O'brien:] Yes.
[Richman:] I think so, I think again, you know people have such fierce hometown associations with sandwiches. And I think that's also why I loved it. It's that you can't talk to someone from Pittsburgh and not mention Pronanti Brothers. You can't talk to someone from Los Angeles and not mention Bay City's or Phillips' , of Son of a Gun, or any of these great sandwiches. So it was difficult. But again, I picked the one that is my best sandwich. But you know, it's a delicious world out there waiting for people like you to eat it.
[O'brien:] It is delicious world right in here. You know if you need an assistant for the last couple of days of the show, let me know.
[Richman:] You got it anytime.
[O'brien:] I'm happy to help you out.
[Richman:] You bring style and class to it.
[O'brien:] I just want to eat. That's all. Adam Richman nice to have you. Thank you.
[Richman:] You bring style. Thank you. Enjoy the sandwiches.
[O'brien:] Mind if I finish these? Is it ok.
[Richman:] Please, go ahead. Eat don't be afraid. It's a sandwich.
[O'brien:] We're back in a moment.

[Baldwin:] This case is really, really big. It's ripping apart this tiny town in Texas. It's called Cleveland, just about 50 miles north of Houston. Eighteen men and boys have been arrested, thus far, in this alleged gang rape of an 11-year-old girl inside an old abandoned mobile home. Now, this case came to light when cell phone videos of the attacks started trickling around, circulating around the girl's school. The case is so hot that child protective services is actually keeping the girl at a safe house. She can't even live with her family right now. Cindy Horswell, a senior writer for "The Houston Chronicle" newspaper, she also spoke exclusively with this 11-year- old's mother. Listen to what Cindy told me.
[Cindy Horswell, Senior Writer, Houston Chronicle:] Her mother is saddened because she's prevented from being with her daughter as is her brothers and sisters and father.
[Baldwin:] Why is that?
[Horswell:] They are separated. She's in a you know, children's protective services will not discuss the case because there's a gag order, but but they;ve had some hearings, and and the parents tell me that she's been put in foster care as a safe house because as these names come out, as the trial goes on, that it's going to become, you know, dangerous for actually them, too. They should move from the area, they believe, because there could be there are people calling the house and just saying, you know, like where is she, and they don't believe the mother that she's not there and then they cuss and get upset, and they're worried it could become worse than that, and so, they just kind of don't want any more pressure on her or the family.
[Baldwin:] Understandable, understandable. I know you spoke with an attorney representing three of these young men. What did he say? What is his defense?
[Horswell:] Well, he believes that, you know, you can't he's not trying to say anything that whatever happened that anything would be good for an 11-year-old, but he said the little girl is not, you know, it wasn't like she was totally completely innocent in this case. It wasn't like she was kidnapped or something, and whether he was indicating that she might have been a willing participant.
[Baldwin:] Yes. At age 11, as you point out, an 11-year-old cannot legally give consent.
[Horswell:] Right, and I and I do believe, at some point, a police affidavit says she was not that she was balking, and there were threats made.
[Baldwin:] Now, two of the gang rape suspects did appear in court this morning. Two more are scheduled for court this afternoon. I promise we're going to stay on that story and follow that for you. Also coming up here, there's brand new video of the attacks from September 11th, 2001. The never-before-seen footage shot from a helicopter circling the World Trade Center. That is ahead. Plus, could American troops be on the ground in Libya? Might they be sent there? The White House says it's possible. "Globe Trekking" is next.

[Blitzer:] Machines filled with candy and stuffed animals probably every child's dream come true until they get stuck inside. It happened to one child recently on a quest for gumballs but it isn't the first time. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
[Jeanne Moos, Cnn Correspondent:] This 2-year-old wanted to chew some gumballs. Instead the gumball machine swallowed his hand or as his dad put it
[Terrell Parks Sr., Father:] I turned my back for one minute, they were trying to get some gun out of the gum machine, and his hand was stuck up in there completely man.
[Moos:] His cheeks were wet with tears as the Texarkana Fire Department came to the rescue of Terrell Parks Jr.
[Vincent Johnson, Texarkana Firefighter:] Initially we did not have a plan. We were hoping that we would come in and it would be as simple as putting some oil or something on it and sliding it out. It wasn't that simple.
[Moos:] Turns out they had to break the plastic and disassemble the mechanism. [on camera]: You mean there were gumballs all over the floor?
[Unidentified Male:] All over the floor.
[Moos:] All over the floor, not counting the ones in Terrell's hand. At one point during the rescue the kid got some gumballs in his fist but he refused to open his fist and give up the gumballs. [voice-over]: Firefighters had to coax him so they could get his hand out.
[Unidentified Male:] Open your fist. Open your hand. Let the gumball go.
[Moos:] Which he finally did.
[Unidentified Male:] There you go, buddy. Great.
[Moos:] No injuries to the hand.
[Unidentified Male:] Does that hurt?
[Moos:] But the best kid stuck in a toy machine video ever features a girl who climbs head first into the door where the prize normally comes out in one of those claw machines like the one in "Toy Story".
[Unidentified Female:] I have been chosen. Farewell my friends. I go on to a better place.
[Unidentified Male:] Gotcha!
[Moos:] Once the girl disappears up the hole, another kid tells mom and his mom goes for help. The little girl pops up amid all the toys. Mom spends some time trying to retrieve her by the feet and knocking on the window but the girl keeps climbing the mound of toys. [on camera]: Whatever you do, mom, don't try to shake her out. [voice-over]: Actually this isn't so uncommon. There are other photos of kids trapped in the belly of a toy machine. Eventually this little girl came out exactly the way she went in, exiting feet first with a little help from her mom. It was as if the vending machine gave birth. Did she leave without taking home a prize? The gumball kid got to keep a few to help him chew over the experience. Jeanne Moos,
[Cnn -- Unidentified Male:] Are you ready to go home?
[Moos:] New York.
[Blitzer:] He's ready to go home. That's it for me. Thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. The news continues next on CNN.

[Holmes:] We saw some 400 different groups come together yesterday representing the spectrum of liberal causes. They organized the One Nation Working Together rally in the nation's capital. They were trying to get people enthused about the upcoming election. But the people that were trying to fire up were supporters of Barack Obama, many would say. CNN's Kate Bolduan was there for us.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] The rally here at Lincoln Memorial was organized by a coalition of liberal and progressive- leaning groups, including union groups and civil rights groups, among them. Talking about a range of issue, but really focusing on the need for job creation, improving public education, also touching on immigration reform all of this setting as the backdrop of the upcoming midterm elections.
[Al Sharpton, Political Activist:] We got to go home and we've got to hit the pavement. We've got to knock on doors. We've got to ring those church bells. We've got to get ready for the midterm exam! We can't stop in '08. We've got to get ready in '10, from '10 too, to '11 too we go passed the midterm exam.
[Bolduan:] With polls showing that Democratic members of Congress are in trouble in the upcoming election, people turning out here said they wanted to present a show of force and to have their voices heard. Why did you, guys, coming out here today? What what's the motivation? Why did you, guys, show up?
[Unidentified Male:] We're in solidarity with everybody out here, I guess, and the agenda to make America a more progressive place. We want America to be something that represents every kind of diversity in this country. We're here we want to show that we have a presence and we want America to head in the right direction.
[Bolduan:] A major theme here today was, as they call it, One Nation, organizers trying to rally the Democratic base, rally voters with a get-out-the-vote message with an aim today, really, of trying to stir same emotion and the same energy that they've already seen amongst conservative groups, among conservative rallies, right here at the Lincoln Memorial, like the Glenn Beck and the Tea Party rallies over the summer, all of this with an eye toward the upcoming election one month away. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
[Holmes:] Well, it seems like it's been the year of rallies in Washington. We did see it, conservative Glenn Beck and the Tea Party gatherings there. Now, this one, the One Nation rally, a liberal, as you heard, kind of a left-leaning, progress-leaning groups getting together there. Thousands came together. This is at the Lincoln Memorial. You're seeing this video again. Again, the focus, they say, was on jobs and education and a pledge to support Democrats in November. Well, joining me on the phone now is National Tea Party Federation spokesman David Webb. Mr. Webb, thank you for hopping on the line with us this morning. After seeing what happened yesterday, would you have liked to have been there at that rally yesterday? Do you think there was something you and other Tea Party movement folks could have contributed to it?
[David Webb, National Tea Party Federation Spokesman:] Well, I think the more important message is not that we sit and counter each other, which this is being kind of set as the rally versus rally atmosphere.
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Webb:] They don't reflect the majority of Americans. Well, the liberal progressive agenda has been rejected by America, we have seen it fail, stimulus and 15 million people out of jobs, and they want to continue this entitlement mentality. Plus, when you look at groups involved in this, like La Raza and other groups that have had hateful messages against other Americans, playing the race card, playing the race game this is about getting voters to come home for the elections.
[Holmes:] Well, Mr. Webb, would you say on some issues, though, whether that's education, jobs, that there are some issues that the folks at the rally yesterday, folks we saw at Mr. Beck's rally, folks we see the Tea Party Express tour that goes across the country aren't those a couple of issues, the jobs and education, that no matter what we think on some of the other things, that we clearly, a lot of folks disagree on, that everybody can come together at least on some things?
[Webb:] Well, it would be great if we did more than agree on the headlines. What we don't agree on is the approaches. Education is a major civil rights issue. It has been mismanaged. Throwing money at it has not fixed it. So, why continue a failed policy? We need to have that choice in our education system that helps especially urban communities regardless of the ethnic makeup.
[Holmes:] And, Mr. Webb, you said there that you don't agree on the approaches, even though yes, we want more jobs. Yes, we want better education. You don't agree on the approaches. But does that preclude us all, and I say "us," I'm just talking about Americans, does that preclude us all from being able to have civil conversation and debate? It sounds like you're saying, hey, we don't agree on approaches so it's us against them.
[Webb:] No, it's not about us against them. And we should be civil on the debate. But what we have seen is a pervasive hateful response from the left. When someone on the right does something and look, there are people on right that have made that that have done things wrong also, to be fair. On the extremes, neither one belongs in the discussion. But they don't have discussions. The ones on the extremes simply come out and use invective and stir up emotions. We need to sit down and figure out what's needed in America what needs to work from a policy point of view, not an ideological point of view.
[Holmes:] Well, on that point there, I was talking to Ben Jealous, the head of the NAACP, yesterday, head of the rally and I want you listen now to what he told me about the rally yesterday and what it was in response to. And I do want to give you an opportunity to respond to it. So, let's take a listen.
[Ben Jealous, Naacp President & Ceo:] We're not the answer to the Tea Party. We're not the alternative to the Tea Party. But we're very much the antidote to the Tea Party. We're a different response to the same situation. Some folks see tensions going up and prosperity going down and they want to inflame tension. We say, let's push up on prosperity. Let's create a tie that lifts all votes.
[Holmes:] You know what? I will just not even ask a question, I will just let go ahead and respond to what you just heard.
[Webb:] Well, Ben Jealous has little credibility with me. This is a man who is the head of an organization, and there are great local chapters of the NAACP. But the national chapter would not answer a lie told by them in their own press release to me on "LARRY KING." So, his credibility is shot. The problem is that we don't have a discourse going on, as you mentioned earlier, in the country about need solutions. What we have is a constant attack by the left and when they are in the minority, which they are, and when they are in trouble for the elections, they play the race card for the black community, they play the immigration card for the Hispanic community, they play the anti-war card for the anti-war activists. They're not looking for American solutions. They're looking to get their agenda through, regardless of whether the policy is good for America or not.
[Holmes:] Mr. Webb, I hope we can find a time, find a day, where that conversation you and I are speaking of can take place and accusations don't continue to fly and some of that nasty rhetoric doesn't continue to fly. Mr. Webb, I appreciate you hopping on the line with us, hope to have you part of the conversation here with us at least over the coming days, weeks and months ahead. Thank you so much for your time.
[Webb:] Thank you. I would love to have that conversation.
[Holmes:] All right. Well, we look forward to it. And I want to remind viewers out there, you can always get the latest political news by going to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com. Sixteen past the hour. Quick break, we'll be right back.

[Hendricks:] U.S. security officials tell CNN terrorists may have explosives surgically implanted inside of their bodies to conduct suicide attacks. As CNN's Brian Todd reports, new intelligence points to the possibility of human bombs, but nothing appears imminent.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Security officials tell CNN of a chilling tactic terrorists might try next Targeting commercial aircraft by surgically implanting explosives or bomb components inside the bodies of attackers.
[John Pistole, Tsa Administration:] We see this as the latest iteration or the evolution of what terrorist groups are trying to do to circumvent our security layers and to perhaps defeat our societal norms.
[Todd:] Officials say there is fresh intelligence showing terrorists have a renewed interest in planting bombs in bodies but there is no specific or imminent let. One U.S. official says man suspected in involvement in this effort is Ibrahim Asiri, bomb-making mastermind for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Asiri is believed to have planned the 2009 plot to kill Saudi Arabia's interior minister by placing a bomb in the rectal cavity or underwear of his own brother. Asiri's brother was killed, but the minister escaped. I asked Rafi Ron, Israel's former top aviation security official, about surgically implanted bombs. [on camera] What does this tell you about where the terrorists are versus where security officials are right now?
[Rafi Ron, New Age Security Solutions:] Well, it tells me that we have exhausted the capabilities of the technology available to us because there's no way we can take the next step after the body scanners to figure out when a person carries a device inside his body.
[Todd:] Ron and other experts say those full body scanners, which we once tested out, can see through clothing, can find prosthesis, breast implants, contours, but cannot detect bombs inside the body. I spoke with Dr. Jack Sava, chief trauma surgeon at Washington Hospital Center, about how terrorists might try to pull this off. [on camera] Do you need a hospital to do this, or can you do it in some kind of a terrorist field camp? What kind of training do you need?
[Dr. Jack Sava, Chief Trauma Surgeon, Washington Hospital Center:] I think, again, the fundamental question is how well do you want to do it? If you want to do it to have 20 people 19 and have 19 die and one success you can send on their mission, that would be easier. You can do that sloppy. But if you wanted to do it well and expect them all to remain sterile, not cause infection, I think then you're largely going to be talking about a hospital or at least a clinic sections.
[Todd:] Explosives, he says, could be placed in the abdomen or elsewhere. [on camera] Dr. Sava says an explosive could be planted in a prosthetic device like a fake hip, a breast implant. He says a non- sophisticated implanted bomb might last three to four days inside the body before complications set in. But if it's a sophisticated surgery and implant, it could last weeks, months, or even longer. [voice-over] Experts disagree on whether a bomb inside a body would need an external detonator to ignite or if it could be set off with a timer. It's also not clear if the body itself could blunt the impact of an explosion. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
[Hendricks:] Our thanks to Brian Todd. Appreciate that. Coming up, NASA has big plans for the future, including new vehicles, robots, and a mission to Mars. We'll take a closer look at those post-shuttle plans, next. Here's something to think about, how many shuttle missions have taken place in the last 30 years. I'll have the answer right after this.

[Whitfield:] The Pentagon is warning today of drastic civilian cutbacks under the automatic budget cuts set for March 1st. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is standing by with more on that story. So, Barbara, what are they saying?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, you know, Fredricka, we've been hearing for weeks about this fancy word around Washington called sequester. What are we really talking about? Layoffs at the Pentagon, cutbacks in military spending, but it is the layoffs that are going to start if this budget cut problem is not solved, if Congress cannot avert mandatory spending cuts. What the Pentagon did today is notify Congress some 800,000 civilian workers are facing one day of furlough for the next 22 weeks. It is going to start hitting an awful lot of people right in the pocketbook. I want you to have a quick listen to one of the Pentagon officials that explained some of the impact today.
[Jessica Wright, Acting Undersecretary Of Defense:] The effects of sequestration and the continuing resolution on our military personnel will be devastating, but on our civilians, it will be catastrophic. These critical members of our workforce, they work in our depots. They maintain and repair our tanks, our aircraft, our ships. They teach our kids. They care for our children. They provide medical treatment to all of our beneficiaries. They take care of our wounded warriors. They provide...
[Starr:] So, there you have it. That's some of the impact, losing one day of pay every week for the next 22 weeks. And just think of this. There are 84,000 military children enrolled in DOD schools around the world. If their teachers are furloughed one day a week with no resolution, these kids may not be able to complete a full accredited school year, so the impact just keeps growing, Fred. It's a very tough situation. But before I go, I want to say, welcome back. And we want to see baby pictures.
[Whitfield:] Thank you. I've got lots. I'll share. Maybe not everyone wants to see them, but I'll send them to you.
[Starr:] OK. I'm looking forward to it.
[Whitfield:] Thank you so much. Great to be back. Appreciate it, Barbara.
[Starr:] Thank you.
[Whitfield:] All right, surveillance video of a Canadian woman adds to the mystery around her death. This take a look is 21-year-old Elisa Lam riding an elevator at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. So, she peers out the doors, runs back in and then presses several buttons. Strange behavior, but what happened afterwards is even more bizarre. Several weeks after she was last seen, Los Angeles fire crews pulled Lam's body from the hotel's water tank on the roof. So, let's turn now to CNN's Kyung Lah in front of the Cecil Hotel right now. A very gruesome find, very perplexing mystery here, what more do we know about this case?
[Kyung Lah, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, let's start with the actual murder the actual case itself. I can't call it murder because what the LAPD is saying is they're treating this as a suspicious death. They are not calling it a homicide. What they will tell us is that Lam, a resident of Vancouver, Canada, came down here as a tourist. She arrived in Los Angeles on January 26th. On January 31st, she went missing. She was last seen here at the Cecil Hotel. You've seen that surveillance video. We've seen pictures that the LAPD has sent out of her. Then, yesterday, the maintenance worker responding to some concerns about some water problems at the hotel went and checked the rooftop's water tanks. There are four of them. When he looked in one of them, that's when he made the gruesome discovery. The fire department investigators have been here. They did identify her through body markings. At this point, the autopsy is still being conducted, Fredricka, still waiting for that.
[Whitfield:] And so what kind of role did the hotel guests play in all of this? Apparently, they were very concerned about the water pressure and, you know, then, once they learned why, did the hotel guests know about this? How were they enlightened, so to speak?
[Lah:] Well, some of them learned by watching the local news. You may notice that the front doors of this hotel are open. The hotel has not closed. It has stayed open. It is on a flush order, meaning that all the people who are here, they can only use it to flush the toilets, no showering, no washing your hands, no definitely no drinking of the water. So, we've spoken to some residents here who say that the hotel has not been honest with them, not been forthcoming, and here is what one couple from the U.K. told us.
[Sabina Baugh, Hotel Guest:] The water did have a funny taste.
[Michael Baugh, Hotel Guest:] It wasn't right.
[S. Baugh:] There was something wrong. The pressure in the water was terrible. The shower was awful. The water and when you turned the tap be on, the water was coming black first for two seconds and then it was going back to normal. In the U.K., we drink water from tap and it has completely proper, nice taste.
[M. Baugh:] Clean.
[S. Baugh:] But the water here we never thought anything of it.
[M. Baugh:] We thought it was pollution.
[S. Baugh:] We thought it was just the way it is here.
[Lah:] So, when they found out they said they felt absolutely sick to their stomachs. They feel psychologically twisted. They really feel quite disturbed about this. The hotel is having them sign waivers saying, yeah, you can stay here at the hotel, but it's not our fault if anything happens to you. We do want to add, Fred, that we did call the Department of Public Health. The Public Health Department is thoroughly testing the water now.
[Whitfield:] Oh, my goodness. All right. Kyung Lah, thanks so much. A mysterious story. All right, a new report says the Chinese government is responsible for hacking into scores of U.S. Web sites and stealing information. Our reporter in Shanghai went to the building pinpointed in this hacking scandal and was literally chased down, as you see right there, by Chinese authorities. We'll tell you what happened next.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] We are at the top of the hour. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes in today for Kyra Phillips. This morning, this hour we need to begin in Iraq. The flag is lowered and the U.S. military mission formally ends in Iraq nearly nine years after "shock and awe," a small, somber ceremony paying tribute to America's sacrifice.
[Leon Panetta, U.s. Defense Secretary:] We remember the nearly 4500 brave Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country as well as the more than 30,000 wounded warriors, many of whom still struggle with serious life-altering injuries.
[Holmes:] Right now, just a few thousand U.S. service members remain in Iraq. They're streaming out of the country. CNN's Martin Savidge has been with these service members on this long and dangerous road to Kuwait. He joins us now from Camp Virginia. Hello to you. So what is the schedule, if you will, for getting all those few thousand out of Iraq, getting them to Kuwait and then from Kuwait back to the U.S.?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] Hello, T.J. Well, yes, the schedule pretty much is kept under wraps at this point. They are not going to announce when the final pullout will take place other than what's already been announced by the president of the United States, that December 31st is the deadline. Beyond that, they consider any other time line to be operational security and so they're not saying. But we do realize it's going to be fairly soon. There are a lot of troops that have, of course, already left and Camp Virginia here is the first stop and the first step on the way back home. One of the things when you talk to the soldiers here, whether it's their first deployment or for some of them it's their fifth, maybe their sixth time coming to Iraq, they have been here from the beginning. They definitely are here at the end. They know that's an important part of history, and many of the soldiers have spoken about that. We talked to some of them. Here's what they had to say.
[Sgt. Fernando Barboza, U.s. Army:] Being part this part of history for the U.S., to be part of this big moment of pushing out, it being over, it's awesome. I think it's going to be a good way to finish my military career, saying that I was here from the beginning to the end.
[C.w.o. Jill Renee Spohn, U.s. Army:] I am proud to be a part of that. I have thought about it a lot, especially when I left Iraq. I was like, wow, this is going to be the last time that I'm actually entering this country. I'm happy to be going home, but I also have a lot of fond memories with people I've served with before and as well as those that we have lost.
[Savidge:] How do you feel about the mission?
[Spohn:] The mission? We finished it. That's how I feel about t. We finished, went there, did what we have to do, now it's time to go.
[Savidge:] You know, that's a complicated question, actually. It may sound simple, how do you feel about the mission, but they realize that the U.S. has been there for nine years almost now and that that mission has been at times very controversial, very difficult. But the American soldiers will say they have done the very best to prepare the Iraqi police, to prepare the Iraqi military, to help plant the seeds of democracy so that this government and the nation can move forward. So they know there's still a lot in question about Iraq, but they also know they've done the best they can
[T.j. Holmes:] All right, Martin Savidge, there for us at Camp Virginia. Thank you. Meanwhile, it was yesterday that President Obama paid tribute to the troops. He was in North Carolina at Fort Bragg.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] We're building a new partnership between our nations, and we are ending a war not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home. This is an extraordinary achievement. Nearly nine years in the making, and today we remember everything that you did to make it possible.
[Holmes:] I want to turn now to our Zain Verjee who's in London for us keeping an eye on really how the world is reacting to what we're seeing in Iraq today. Hello to you once again, Zain.
[Zain Verjee, Cnn Anchor And Correspondent, Cnni:] Hi, T.J. all eyes on Baghdad today for this historic moment for which there has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears on both the Iraqi and the U.S. side. Let me give you a snapshot of some of the headlines, OK? Let's take a look at "The Guardian." This is the headline, the U.S. troops are pulling out, but what of the people left behind? It says, Iraq has readied itself this week for a moment big on symbolism, but like so much of the war and subsequent occupation, what appears to be big in symbolism is subject to claims that it is lacking in substance. From the United Arab Emirates, "The National" says the future of Iraq will not be built on empty words. Iraqis will no doubt cheer the moment when the last U.S. service member boards the plane and latches the door. But glossing over the challenges ahead will not see them vanish. Finally, "The Washington Post," a man of the shadows. It's an article that talks about Nouri Al-Maliki, the prime minister and whether he can really do the job well and run the country. It says America's greatest mistake in Iraq was not toppling Saddam, but detonating the infrastructure of the government, the army, the educational and social institutions that made civilized life possible. So the big question is can this government fix it. Can they run things properly in the country? There's still so much corruption. Can they get the basics up and running again, which is things like electricity for all people. Get the garbage picked up on time. A lot of analysts, T.J., are worrying, too, that once the U.S. pulls out and the Iraqis are running the show will it leave a lot more room for the Iranians to jump in and meddle
[T.j. Holmes:] All right, our Zain Verjee for us from London. Thanks you so much. We'll have a whole lot more on the end of the war in Iraq. It's coming your way at the bottom of the hour. We'll take you back to Baghdad where CNN's Arwa Damon will bring you the story of an Iraqi war widow who is not so sure Americans should be leaving the country. Again, that story coming your way in just a bit. Turn back to this country and some optimism coming out of Washington, D.C. yes, optimism that you may be able to keep that thousand dollars in your pay check it at the beginning of the year. Democrats and Republicans may be inching, inching toward a compromise to extend the tax break before it expires on January 1st. Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill for us. Kate, I talked to you an hour ago, any movement in the past hour?
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Other than me coming over to Capitol Hill, not quite yet. I'll tell you that, T.J. you have to offer the appropriate amount of caveats as we're speaking about this. They may be inching, but they are far from there yet we have to caution. Now what we're talking about in terms of where is the inching, where is the movement, well, yesterday Democrats as well as the White House made a major concession in terms of this ongoing battle over how to extend the payroll tax cut extension. Democrats and the president dropped their demand for including a millionaire surtax as the way to kind of cover the cost of this payroll tax extension. This is significant because they have been insisting on this all along, that it needed to be part of any final deal. Republicans clearly opposed to a surtax to a tax on income over a million dollars, but again I'll caution that while a development it's not clear that leaders are any closer to that final end game, to a final compromise. Leaders for the first time during this battle, they did sit down face to face last night to kind of, it was described by one aid, as a gut check as to where things stand. I'm told there are no leader meetings scheduled, but on the staff level they will be meeting and discussing possibly how they're going to try to find a path forward. Add to this that Congress is now staring down another government shutdown come tomorrow because of massive spending bill that's been negotiated for months, T.J. has now been caught up in this end of year battle. I think it's safe to say it's gotten a little messy, but it's no surprise as we're talking about Congress. So what we're going to be watching very closely today is to see where there is any movement and how congress is going to be able to avoid, if they are, going to be able to avoid a government shutdown as it's coming very close. The most recent spending bill runs out Friday night. So they need to make some decisions and make some decisions fast.
[Holmes:] All right, Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill. We'll check in with you again. Thanks so much. Let's turn back to politics in Iowa in particular. With just 19 days to go until the Iowa caucuses. This is kicking off the whole primary season. His lead, they're slipping a bit. Newt Gingrich has been stumping around the state trying to win people over and his critics are out in force as well, including a couple of hecklers.
[Unidentified Male:] And I think that you have
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] How would you know?
[Unidentified Male:] been cheating on your wife.
[Gingrich:] Other than personal hostility.
[Unidentified Female:] We're protesters today.
[Holmes:] Well, along with Gingrich's infidelity, the guy criticized his rich book deals. Carol Costello asked him about his big outburst on AMERICAN MORNING.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] You were criticizing Newt Gingrich's three marriages. Is that really important, you know, in a president of the United States that he you know, is faithful to his wife?
[Mario Heck, Occupy Iowa City Protester:] Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, 1994, 1995, he was cheating on his wife and he he wants to the Congress like he's a saint and try to get Clinton impeached while he's, you know while Clinton was having a little affair with Monica. He was cheating on his wife and being a big hypocrite about it.
[Holmes:] Coming your way tonight, Gingrich joining other Republican candidates for the last debate before the Iowa caucuses. Indeed, you have seen Gingrich surge over the past few weeks. He's at the top of a lot of those polls out there. So that popularity is going to make him the target tonight.
[Mitt Romney , Presidenial Candidate:] Zany is great in a campaign. It's great on talk radio. It's great in the print. It makes for fun reading. But in terms of a president, we need a leader and a leader needs to be someone who can bring Americans together.
[Holmes:] Let me bring in our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. Paul, this is Mitt Romney trying to take on Newt Gingrich. As far as one and two at the top of many of these polls, but you all don't sleep on the man, Ron Paul, over here.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] Yes, Ron Paul also critical of Newt Gingrich. We've seen that. He's got ads up in Iowa that are critical of Gingrich. T.J., as you mentioned, this is, I guess, show time tonight as you said, the last debate before the January 3rd caucuses in Iowa. Of course, those caucuses kick off the primary and caucus calendar, the first contest in that battle for the nomination. It could be a re-prize. There may be a sequel to Saturday night, the other debate in Iowa. We saw Gingrich come under attack from the other candidates. Stay tuned to see if that happens and how he responds. But as of now he's staying positive he says. He's not really responding much other than to defend himself from these attacks. 'S not going on the attack or is he? Take a listen to this new ad out in Iowa.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] These are challenging and important times for America. We want and deserve solutions. Others seem to be more focused on attacks rather than moving the country forward. That's up to them.
[Steinhauser:] Staying positive, but maybe also a little dig there at his other rivals for the GOP nomination
[T.j. Holmes:] Yes, and we talk about the criticism. We expect him to get it from the left and we expect him to get it really from some of his fellow candidates. It's left, right. I mean, people are coming out of the woodworks coming after Gingrich right now.
[Steinhauser:] Yes. You just showed those protesters yesterday at that event in Iowa City where Gingrich got heckled. But also come on the right, you know, some conservatives still not crazy about Newt Gingrich. The "National Review," pretty influential. Check out what they said right here. This is an anti-endorsement. They write, Gingrich has always said he wants to transform the country. He appears unable to transform or even govern himself. He should be an adviser to the Republican Party. Not its head. They also gave an anti-endorsement to Texas Governor Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman for Minnesota and to Ron Paul
[T.j. Holmes:] All right, Paul Steinhauser, thank you. As always we will continue the conversation about Iowa, which of course is the center of the political universe right now. That's coming your way after the break talking to influential Congressman Steve King about who he could possibly endorse. He hasn't endorsed anybody yet and here we are a few weeks away from the Iowa caucuses. Also a little later, a student who says she was brutally hazed at Florida A&M; is breaking her silence. Also breaking his silence, the university president.

[Costello:] Good morning to you. It is Tuesday, October 25th. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Carol Costello, joining you live this morning from New York. It is just about half past the hour. Rescue workers are using shovels, machines, even their bare hands to search for survivors following that deadly earthquake in Turkey. Overnight, we learned the death toll now stands at 366 with more than 1,300 people injured. More than 2,000 emergency workers are doing their part to help. Many of the victims have lost everything they own.
[Nezihe Cicek, Survivor:] I have no house left or furniture left, she says. I only managed to save my children's lives. I came outside and saw I have nothing left.
[Costello:] Sunday, the 7.2 quake hit one the regions poorest areas. And with near freezing temperatures, some are collecting wood from collapses buildings to burn for heat. A moderate Islamic group is claiming victory in Tunisia's historic election although official results are not expected until later today. The North African country was the first to overthrow its long time ruler following the so-called Arab Spring. Voters waited for hours in lines that looped around polling stations. The turnout rate: 80 percent. And Tunisia's the first national election since it became independent in 1956. It is day two for the defense in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray. CNN's Ted Rowlands has more for you from Los Angeles.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] When court resumes, a nurse who treated Michael Jackson will be on the stand. Her name is Cherilyn Lee. And she is testifying that at some point in the year 2009, the year that Michael Jackson died, he asked her to give him Propofol. Before she took the stand, we heard from another health care provider, one of Michael Jackson's long-time doctors, Dr. Allan Metzger. And he, too, told the jury that in February of 2009, Michael Jackson was looking for somebody to give him Propofol.
[Dr. Allan Metzger, Jackson's Physician:] He asked me about intravenous sleep medicine.
[Unidentified Male:] Did he happen to mention the name of this medicine?
[Metzger:] I think he used the word juice.
[Rowlands:] Also today, we're expecting to hear some character witnesses that's the defense is hoping will build up Dr. Conrad Murray's reputation which took such a beating during the prosecution case. We're going to hear from a couple of witnesses that we have met in year's past. Ruby Moseley is a woman in Houston, Texas, who was a patient of Dr. Conrad Murray. She'll say that Murray has helped her community in Houston by serving in underdeveloped area. Then, we'll hear from a guy by the named Jerry Cause. He says he had a heart attack ten years ago, and Dr. Murray saved his life.
[Gerry Cause, Dr. Murray's Patient:] I had a heart attack ten years ago, he saved my life. And he's been my friend ever since.
[Rowlands:] Janet Jackson has cancelled a few of her tour days in Australia to come back to Los Angeles to attend portions of the rest of the trial. She was not in court yesterday. We do expect to possibly see her and the rest of the family in court later today. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
[Costello:] Thank you, Ted. Medical experts are expected to vote later today on a proposal that boys should get the HPV vaccine. It's already on the Centers for Disease Control's vaccine schedule for girls. Today's vote will decide if boys ages nine to 18 should get it, too. The vaccine helps prevent cervical cancer, genital warts, and other cancers. HPV is spread through sexual contact. Time to wake up now to today's morning Monday news. The Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis, says that it will cut 2,000 jobs over the next two years. The majority of those cuts will happen here in the United States and in Switzerland. Profits for Novartis were up 12 percent for the third quarter. The job cuts are said to be part of its $300 million restructuring plan. FedEx is marking its calendar for December 12th. The shipping giant predict that will be the busiest day in the company's history. FedEx is also planning to hire 20,000 holiday workers to help with the holiday rush. It expects to handle roughly 260 million shipments between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a 12 percent increase from last year. More trouble for Netflix. Final numbers show the company lost 800,000 subscribers in the third quarter. You will remember this past July, Netflix outraged customers when it decided to increase prices for its DVD and video streaming services. Then, things got worse when it looked to rebrand its movies by mail services as Qwikster. They expect to lose more customers by the end of the year. A tough talking campaign ad for Herman Cain, but wait until you see how it ends. We will play this ad for you. This is an ad. You got to see it though, and we'll get reaction from our deputy political director, because I don't know what this ad means. Maybe, you can figure it out. Maybe, Paul will help us. We'll have more on that after this. But first, it's time for your "Get Smart" question of the day. The U.S. government is in a huge deficit, and a new study shows one way to save money is to phase out the dollar bill and replace it with a dollar coin. So, how much money would that save over the next 30 years? Is it A. $500 million, B. $5.6 billion, or C. $1.2 trillion? We'll have the answer in two minutes. It's 33 minutes past.

[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Happening right now. A key ruling in a murder case against Olympic icon Oscar Pistorius as he breaks down in court pleading for bail.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] And a possible motive for Adam Lanza. Was the Newtown gunman trying to outdo another shooter?
[Berman:] Hacker headquarters. This Shanghai office tower said to be where Chinese hackers carried out attacks against the United States.
[Sambolin:] And a career move by Michael Jackson's son. He's going into the entertainment business, sort of. He's sort of going into our business. Welcome back to EARLY START. Nice to have you with us. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
[Berman:] And I'm John Berman. It is 30 minutes after the hour right now.
[Sambolin:] And we have new developments right now in the case against Olympic Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius. Pistorius now charged with premeditated murder. We're still waiting for a decision on bail. The hearing is on a lunch break right now and is expected to resume soon.
[Berman:] Joining us now is CNN legal contributor Paul Callan. He's a criminal defense attorney and a former New York City homicide prosecutor. And the news we're just getting in it's just happening this morning is a judge in South Africa has determined that they can go forward with this case as a case of premeditated murder. What does that mean for Oscar Pistorius?
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Contributor:] Bad things for Oscar, because if it's a premeditated murder case, he faces life in prison under South African law. They don't have the death penalty there, by the way. He could be out after 25 years. But he's unlikely that he'll get bail if there is substantial evidence that this is a premeditated, planned murder.
[Sambolin:] So, you are part of his defense team. How do you move forward now?
[Callan:] Well, the interesting thing is that press reports have said his defense is going to be this was accident, that he thought maybe there was a burglar who had broken into his house and he fired shots through the bathroom door. By the way, what came out at the hearing today, very interesting, the bathroom only 10 by 10 x 10. He gets up, he puts his blades on, his artificial limbs on, gets his gun, walks 20 feet, 22 feet to exact, to the bathroom and then opens fire. Of course, his girlfriend is in the bathroom, she's hit by three shots, three of the four shots. Now, if the girlfriend was staying with him that night, and he wakes up in the middle of the night, isn't he going to assume the girlfriend is in the bathroom?
[Sambolin:] Well, there were
[Callan:] I'm sure that's what prosecutors will say it.
[Sambolin:] There were some reports that she did arrive between 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. and she was in her night gown. So, how do you argue that?
[Callan:] Well, I don't know. Unless she got into the burglary field as opposed to the modeling field, I would say Blade Runner has got a little problem here. However, there could be another fact pattern that we don't know about. Maybe she left. Maybe there was a fight. Maybe he's going to claim, I woke up in the middle of night, I heard noises, I thought a burglar was in the bathroom and I fired shots in protection.
[Berman:] One of the most interesting thing that you have both brought up in the last minute or two is the reports in the press about this or that. One of the most interesting things about the South African legal system is it's so different than ours. No jury. Explain to me the significance of that.
[Callan:] Well, it's a radically different system. It's a judge-based system. They use magistrates. And as a matter of fact, if this case goes to trial, eventually, there could be a plea, of course. But if it goes to trial, a judge single judge will hear the case and he'll have two civilian advisers who will sit in on the trial and they can give him their opinion, but he's not bound by it. So, it's a very, very different than the American jury trial system. And, of course, the police are leaking a lot of information in this case.
[Sambolin:] Incredible.
[Callan:] I mean, we see that happen in cases in the United States as well. So, that's not surprising, but it can deprive someone of a fair trial.
[Sambolin:] And there's also no death penalty.
[Callan:] There is no death penalty in South Africa. It was eliminated a long time ago. So, that's off the table here. But the difference between a premeditated murder and an accidental murder, huge difference under South African law.
[Sambolin:] How long before this goes to trial do you think?
[Callan:] Well, a normal case would take a very, very long time. You know, there are inefficiencies in the South African justice system that caused people to think it's a bad system. But I think with a celebrity involved, it will move quickly. You know, it reminds me of a famous athlete in the United States that got charged with murdering his ex-wife, O.J. Simpson. Very, very similar to this South African case.
[Berman:] Paul Callan, thanks very much again. Again, they're having a lunch break right now in South Africa. We are awaiting news about whether Oscar Pistorius will get bail, with this premeditated murder charges, highly, highly unlikely. Paul Callan, thanks very much.
[Sambolin:] Great talking to you. Thank you.
[Callan:] OK. Always nice talking to you. All right. Another developing story this morning. CBS News reports Newtown, Connecticut, gunman Adam Lanza may have been trying to outdo another notorious killer, if you can believe it. Anders Breivik murdered 77 people in Norway. That was back in 2011. Law enforcement sources say Lanza was motivated by violent video games and a strong desire to kill more people that Breivik. Twenty children and six adults died in the Newtown shooting. Connecticut police dismiss the CBS report. They are calling it speculation.
[Berman:] So, new information just this morning that a secret unit of the Chinese military is behind a massive computer hacking campaign against the United States. A report by the computer security firm Mandiant says a division of the People's Liberation Army is responsible for sustained hacking attacks against American interests and may be operating out of this nondescript 12-story tower in Shanghai. Sandra Endo is live in Washington. This is pretty startling news, Sandra. So, how did Mandiant obtain this information?
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, absolutely, John. The fact that America has been hacked by the Chinese military, that's according to a new report by the American cyber security firm Mandiant. It says it has linked one of the world's most prolific groups of computer hackers to the Chinese government. And the security firm traced the activity of four networks near Shanghai, with some operations taking place in a building, housing a secret division of China's military. Now, the report claims over a six-year period, hackers have stolen large volumes of intellectual property, blueprints, and business plans. The report does not list, though, the companies that have been hacked. The Chinese government, on the other hand, dismisses claims, saying China is also the victim of cyber crimes and claim most of their attacks come from the United States.
[Unidentified Male:] Internet hacking is an international issue, it should be dealt with through international cooperation based on trust and mutual respect. Making baseless accusations based on premature analysis is irresponsible and unprofessional. And it doesn't help solve relevant issues. China resolutely opposes any form of hacking activities.
[Endo:] Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last year, cyber attacks could cripple Wall Street or disrupt the power grid. It's certainly a big concern now. President Obama addressed the threat of cyber crimes in his State of the Union speech last week and signed an executive order to strengthen the nation's cyber security network John.
[Berman:] All right. Sandra Endo in Washington no doubt we will be hearing more about this in the coming days. Thanks, Sandra.
[Sambolin:] Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. We're checking the stories trending on CNN this morning. New York City news anchor Rob Morrison will appear in a Connecticut courtroom today to face domestic violence charges. Morrison, an anchor at WCBS TV, was arrested early Sunday morning in Darien, Connecticut, after allegedly choking his wife, CBS business anchor Ashley Morrison. Police say Morrison made verbal threats against his wife while he's being processed.
[Berman:] So, Burger King clearly not having it their way lately. First, traces of horse meat found in European beef supplier and now, the company's Twitter page has been hacked. Someone substituted the golden arches of McDonald's for the Burger King logo, and made it seem like Burger King had been bought out by its rival.
[Sambolin:] I know this is terrible, but I laughed hysterically because they were actually very clever when they did this. It's funny.
[Berman:] It's funny.
[Sambolin:] All right. Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. Michael Jackson's oldest son Prince may be the next king of entertainment news. The 16-year-old has become a guest correspondent on "Entertainment Tonight." His first segment, he'll be interviewing the stars of the upcoming film "Oz: The Great and Powerful."
[Berman:] So, years of journalism school, no doubt, paid off for Prince.
[Sambolin:] Chaos inside a Laundromat. One customer caught on camera unloading on two others. That story is coming up.
[Berman:] Plus, a first-hand look at what it's like to be caught in a ferocious blizzard. We'll tell you all about that, coming up.

[Wolf Blitzer:] Happening now: Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman slamming his rival, the front-runner Mitt Romney, for alleged flip-flopping, calling him and I'm quoting Huntsman "a perfectly lubricated weather vane." Also, a fugitive son of Moammar Gadhafi wanted for crimes against humanity now talking to international prosecutors about a possible surrender. And while the U.S. faces record deficits, one oil company, major oil companies, I should say, major U.S. oil companies, are raking in near record profits, so why are they still getting huge taxpayer subsidies? I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. He skipped the last presidential debate and he sidelined himself in Iowa saying he wants to focus on the first-in-the-nation primary state. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman is betting almost everything on New Hampshire, but he is trailing in that critical state, while rival Mitt Romney is enjoying a substantial lead. And now Huntsman is joining some of Romney's sharpest critics in questioning Romney's conservative credentials. Jon Huntsman is joining us now from Salt Lake City. Governor, thanks very much for coming in.
[Jon Huntsman , Presidential Candidate:] Thank you, Wolf. It's an honor to be with you.
[Blitzer:] Let's first of all talk about Mitt Romney a little bit. George Will, the conservative columnist, writing in an upcoming edition of "The Washington Post" says this about Mitt Romney. He says: "Romney, supposedly the Republican most electable next November, is a recidivist reviser of his principles who is not only becoming less electable. He might endanger GOP chances of capturing the Senate. Republicans may have found their Michael Dukakis, a technocratic Massachusetts governor who takes his bearings from data." You agree with George Will on that?
[Huntsman:] Those are pretty tough words, Wolf. All I can say is this is a time when this nation wants leadership. We have been looking for leadership for some time in the White House. We haven't found it. This is when the candidates need to stand up and show a little bit of leadership. You can't be a perfectly lubricated weather vane on the issues of the day, whether it's Libya, whether it's the debt ceiling, whether it's the discussion around the Kasich bill in Ohio where Governor Romney has been missing in action in terms of showing any kind of leadership. I do believe that the electoral this go-around will be looking for clearly defined presidential leadership and I'm not sure that we're seeing it. We're putting out our own economic proposals, our foreign policy proposals. Next week, I will have an energy speech that I will be giving in New Hampshire. We're calling for clear-cut leadership positions for the United States to be taking that will get us back on our feet and secure the American century for the people of the United States.
[Blitzer:] So, when you say he's a perfectly lubricated weather vane, or when George Will says he's a recidivist reviser we're talking about Mitt Romney basically, you're both saying he's a flip-flopper on some of these most important issues.
[Huntsman:] Listen, you don't get any more important than the issue of life. That is central to a lot of people's core beliefs and political philosophy. And when you have an epiphany on something that central to one's world view, that's going to strike a lot of people as being highly political.
[Blitzer:] You're talking about abortion rights for women.
[Huntsman:] That's right.
[Blitzer:] What is your exact position on abortion rights for women? Are there any exceptions from your standpoint for a woman getting an abortion?
[Huntsman:] Incest, rape and the life of the mother are the exceptions that I can live with.
[Blitzer:] Let's move on to talk about New Hampshire because you're basically ignoring Iowa. You're throwing all your eggs into that New Hampshire basket. Our most CNN"TIME"ORC poll has Romney way ahead. He's almost living there. He's got a second home there. He's at 40 percent. Cain, 13 percent. Paul, 12 percent. You're at 6 percent. But Herman Cain, he's intriguing. He's basically spent very little time in New Hampshire or Iowa, for that matter, but he is doing pretty well in both of those states, even better in Iowa. And he comes up with these crazy ads, including this one. Watch. [Begin Video Clip, Herman Cain Campaign Ad]
[Mark Block, Herman Cain Campaign:] We can take this country back.
[Blitzer:] All right, that's his chief of staff who had a little puff of his cigarette there. But he's at 13 percent. You're at 6 percent in New Hampshire. You spent a lot of time there. He hasn't. Why is he doing so well?
[Huntsman:] Well, oftentimes, you can spike for the moment. You're the flavor of the week or the flavor of the month. I remember when Governor Perry was at 20 percent in New Hampshire. He came in with great fanfare. Now he's in the low single digits. We're just trying a steady, gradual, substantive rise in New Hampshire based upon real support, based upon 80 events we have done so far. Wolf, we did a telephone town hall meeting yesterday. We had 3,000 people on the line. Our town hall meetings are packed these days. So I say we have got a couple of very, very important months ahead in New Hampshire and the vibe that I'm getting, the way in which we are connecting with our message about rebuilding our manufacturing muscle in this country and getting people back to work is resonating with the all-important people in the first primary state.
[Blitzer:] Would you feel comfortable if Herman Cain were the Republican presidential nominee?
[Huntsman:] I think Herman Cain is an outstanding person. I have gotten to know him. He's a friend. He has a lot of the right prerequisites for understanding how the free market works. Beyond that, that's why these early primaries are so very, very important, because, ultimately, the people get to decide. And whoever they decide is the nominee for my party, I will stand behind that person.
[Blitzer:] So, you would feel comfortable if Herman Cain, on national security issues, because he's stumbled on many of these questions so far you would feel comfortable?
[Huntsman:] Well, as I say, anyone who gets through this very rigorous primary process, I think our chances are excellent for getting through this primary process I'm going to stand behind. They deserve it because it's not an easy process to endure. You have got to win over the will of the people and by the end of that process, you're pretty much up to speed on a lot of issues that matter.
[Blitzer:] You have got, among other thing, a business background, the economy still struggling, but 2.5 percent growth in the last quarter. The stock markets are doing well, above 12000. It was what 6500, 7000 when President Obama took office. Do you see a trend that a double-dip recession now is unlikely and things are at least beginning to move in the right direction?
[Huntsman:] Wolf, I think we're going to muddle along until such time as we're smart enough to actually put forward some bold, visionary proposals that attack the structural elements that are standing in the way of knocking the cover off the ball of our economic growth. And when I say that, I look at the jobs proposal package put forward by the president and it amounts to half-steps and half-measures. It's going to be incomplete, it's going to be a temporary fix. We need a long-term fix and that means tax reform. That means regulatory reform and really hitting on the issues that the investor community is looking at being cleaned up, like health care reform, Obamacare and like Dodd-Frank and ensuring that as we go forward, Wolf, we can begin to build manufacturing plants and power plants in this nation that will be able to fuel our manufacturing revival. It can be done, but until you get to the structural fixes, you're not going to have the confidence in the innovator class, in the entrepreneurial class, in the investor class, and indeed in the global economy to be able to get this to be able to get this country moving in a direction that is long-term sustainable.
[Blitzer:] We're almost out of time, but very quickly, you're the former U.S. ambassador to China. China's played a very important role in the U.S. economy. They have a lot of U.S. debt. Most recently this week, they played a significant role helping the Europeans bail out Greece and some of that enormous debt crisis there. Our viewers in China our watching. We have a lot of viewers in China as you probably know having lived in Beijing. Say something to the people of China in Mandarin right now, then translate it for us. What would you say to them given this opportunity? Governor, thanks very much for coming in. Your Mandarin's pretty good, I must say, not that I understood what you said, but it sounded pretty good.
[Huntsman:] Thank you, Wolf. It's a pleasure to be with you.
[Blitzer:] Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah, the former U.S. ambassador to China, and now wants to be the Republican presidential nominee. Thank you. Let's talk about what we just heard from Jon Huntsman with our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger. A perfectly lubricated weather vane, that's what he called his rival Mitt Romney. Those are pretty strong words.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Do I have to answer in Mandarin or can I answer in...
[Blitzer:] No, in English.
[Borger:] It's clear that, first of all, that's not a phrase that just comes to you off the cuff, perfectly lubricated weather vane. This is this campaign now has to differentiate between themselves and Mitt Romney and they're going to do it by talking about how Mitt Romney is a flip-flopper, blows in the wind, whatever you want to say. They have just put out an ad minutes ago, Wolf. I just looked at it on my computer, a new Web ad called "Backflip," which has a mechanical monkey doing backflips.
[Blitzer:] This is a Huntsman ad?
[Borger:] Yes, and clips Mitt Romney changing his opinion on things. Look, he's 34 points behind Mitt Romney in our poll in New Hampshire that you showed him. And that's a lot of ground to make up. So he's now got to go on the attack and that's exactly what he's doing.
[Blitzer:] But it's not just Jon Huntsman. I quoted earlier George Will, the conservative columnist. He called him a recidivist reviser, a fancy phrase for flip-flopper as well.
[Borger:] I have to tell you this is all grist for the Barack Obama campaign because they can take a look at these clips. They can read George Will's column, a conservative Republican, and say look at what Republicans were saying about Mitt Romney if he becomes the nominee.
[Blitzer:] His tax plan, his economic ideas were praised by the editorial page writers at "The Wall Street Journal," but his campaign really hasn't gotten much traction. The question is, why?
[Borger:] Well, it hasn't gotten much traction because those conservative voters, while they may like the tax plan and "The Wall Street Journal" certainly did, they don't believe that he is conservative enough. For example, Wolf, he was the only Republican presidential candidate to say he actually supported the debt ceiling agreement. He supports civil unions and then he's got one other big strike against him, which is that he used to work for Barack Obama, and not some time way back in the past, but actually until last spring, when he was the ambassador to China. So, of course Republicans are kind of looking at him and saying, can we trust you? Big problem.
[Blitzer:] He's got a lot of work ahead of him if he's going to be able to survive this campaign. We will see what happens. Thanks very much, Gloria, for That's right.. This note, by the way in our next hour here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we will speak with another Republican presidential candidate, Michele Bachmann. She will join us live here in THE SITUATION ROOM. We will talk about her campaign and also some calls from some Tea Party activists for her to actually drop out of the race. Michele Bachmann here in THE SITUATION ROOM in the next hour. They're not ready for prime time, they're not even meant for TV. These campaign Web ads are getting away with things no traditional commercial can, so why do they go viral? Stand by. Also, details of talks between the fugitive son of Moammar Gadhafi and prosecutors who accuse him of crimes against humanity, and now a surrender, yes, a surrender may be in the works. We will go to Libya. And in our next hour, CNN's Erin Burnett, she will join us as well. We will talk a lot about what's going on much more in THE SITUATION ROOM when we come back.

[Joe Johns:] You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, thousands of people in Florida are knee deep in water and misery. And Tropical Storm Debby isn't done with them yet. This hour, a new hurricane advisory on the storm, the flooding and the danger ahead. Plus, a powerful U.S. lawmaker and Republican fundraiser the target of at least four high level investigations. Now a witness against Congressman Vern Buchanan is speaking exclusively to CNN about allegations of a money laundering scheme and cover-up. And some people say Chicago has become more dangerous than the war zone in Afghanistan. We're taking a hard look at gang violence and the teenagers who are doing the shooting and the dying.
[Unidentified Male:] They might want to kill me and then they end up killing you, you and you and not killing me.
[Johns:] Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Joe Johns. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. People who live along Florida's Gulf Coast are used to rain, they're used to hurricanes, but they haven't seen a downpour quite like they've gotten from Tropical Storm Debby. This is what happens when you get hammered by as much as two feet of rain, some of it falling in just a matter of minutes. Mandatory evacuations were ordered today for 2,000 homes along a flooded river in the Tampa Bay Area. Parts of the main interstate across Northern Florida were closed today, as Debby hovered offshore. This very slow-moving storm has weakened, but that's not much consolation for folks who are bailing water out of their homes or those who may get hit when Debby crosses land. John Zarrella and George Howell are standing by in the flood zone. First, to our severe weather expert, Chad Myers. Do you have that new advisory from the National Hurricane Center now Chad?
[Chad Myers, Ats Meteorologist:] Brand new in my hands, Joe. Now, still a 40 mile per hour storm, which means it's still a tropical storm. But the latest here, the big breaking news here, the just in, is that it is now on land. It did cross over land west of Gainesville. And so that's now going to allow the storm to begin to weaken even more. I would say the center will be right about there and it's going to travel probably just to the south of Jacksonville. But the problem has been north of that area, right along the I-10 corridor. That's where the flooding has been today and that's where it was yesterday, all of that flooding here south of Tallahassee. We'll show you pictures in a minute. You might not believe what you're going to see here with those pictures, how much water in the streets of some of those towns there just to the south of Tallahassee. There it goes. There's the rain. There's the thundershower activity. Here's the rain we're talking about, Joe. We talked about this yesterday, where, at times, five inches of rain per hour were coming down right near the town of Sanborn. It's probably more like a crossroads, not even a city. But 25 to 26 inches of rain in 48 hours. And it just continues to rain in some of these spots. And the flooding continues, as well. We have an onshore flow where John Zarrella is. We could see a little bit of thunderstorm activity, maybe even a small waterspout coming onshore. But the big threat with this is not that kind of weather. The threat is inland, rainfall. We call it fresh water flooding rain that comes down, gets into the creeks, valleys, streams, and all of a sudden, your car, house, whatever you're on, underwater. We're also seeing, on the I-10 the I-10 Interstate there that goes out of Jacksonville and goes west, a sinkhole right on the interstate. The interstate is closed right along the I-75I-10 Corridor. The I-10, nobody going east to west because of flooding. And now we have reports of that sinkhole Joe.
[Johns:] So ready to say the worst is over for some people at least?
[Myers:] Yes, absolutely. The worst is over. Although it takes time for the water to go down. Even though the rain stops, that doesn't mean your flood is over. Sometimes it rains upstream, too. And all that upstream water has to come downstream. And so you think it's over because the rain stops, but there's still more water to come.
[Johns:] Chad Myers, thanks so much for that. Some Florida officials have had to get used boats to get residents trapped by flooding. More than 50 people were rescued from their homes in the city of Sopchoppy in the Florida Panhandle. CNN's George Howell is there. What kind of damage are you seeing there George?
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] Joe, we are seeing homes underwater. We are seeing fast rising rivers here in Wakulla County, one of the hardest areas hit here in the state of Florida from this storm. In fact, we were on the other side of this bridge just a few minutes ago, talking to a family, covering this story. And crews forced us to evacuate, to move here to this side, concerned that water would, as it did, overtake this bridge. So even though the sun is out, we found many residents still dealing with the fallout from this tropical storm.
[Larry Pesek, Sopchoppy Resident:] When it's your own place, you know, of course, that's that's a little different.
[Howell:] Dodging power lines and low-hanging branches, we took a boat ride with Larry and Crystal Pesek, as emergency crews took them through what used to be their neighborhood.
[Crystal Pesek, Sopchoppy Resident:] That's our road going to it leads to our it leads to Seminole Lane.
[L. Pesek:] I just can't believe the current through here. I mean the current is really, it's ripping.
[Howell:] After passing several homes...
[C. Pesek:] It should be down just down here on the left somewhere. I don't recognize anything now.
[Howell:] The reality of what's left became painfully apparent.
[C. Pesek:] So we're kind of
[Howell:] This is all you've got?
[L. Pesek:] Yes. We have a a utility trailer underneath that house. Who knows where that is?
[Howell:] The Peseks evacuated. But officials in Wakulla County say crews had to rescue dozens from their homes.
[Major Maurice Langston, Wakulla County Sheriff's Office:] The amount of rain that we had, the water levels came up so fast, some of the folks didn't have time to actually pack their things and move out. So they're having to do it after the fact.
[Howell:] On the other side of the county, some residents were luckier than others.
[Paulia Rose, Sopchoppy Resident:] I'm praying that it's OK. I'm praying God's taking care of it.
[Howell:] These are pictures of Paulia Rose's house when the floodwaters were rising. She returned to find her prayers had been answered.
[Rose:] Yes, nothing got ruined. Even though the water I didn't think we was going to get out yesterday.
[Howell:] No one expected the water to rise as fast as it did. The water rose to the second floor in some homes. But the Peseks are determined to start over, though, they can't help look back a little regretfully at all the hours they put into their house that they now have to rebuild.
[L. Pesek:] We're OK. But it's just it's a lot of investment in time and and, you know, where you could have been doing other things. So that's kind of disappointing.
[C. Pesek:] All those sunny days, we could have been fishing, honey.
[Howell:] People are keeping an optimistic attitude, but a live picture here back in Wakulla County, where you see the the water over this bridge. And keep in mind, it is the convergence of all of the different rivers, also, the flow of floodwaters flowing out into the Gulf. And many of these rivers are still rising Joe.
[Johns:] You know, I look at that video and the first thing I think of, George, is gators and snakes. I would assume that could be a bit of a problem there, too.
[Howell:] I will tell you, when we were out on I would say river, what used to be a street, but what seemed to be a river that was definitely a concern when we were dodging power lines. You're also looking for those things out in the woods, the snakes that could be a problem.
[Johns:] And you bet. All right. Thanks so much for that. Stay safe. I hate gators and snakes. Now to Tampa, where the flooding and storm damage is raising concerns about what might happen in a couple of months when the Republicans come to town. Our John Zarrella is there John, what's the flooding situation there right now?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, you know, Joe, what a difference a few hours makes. This is Bay Shore Boulevard. And it's the main artery here in the Tampa area. And you can see it's dry. Now, you were talking with with Chad, you know, and with George all about inland flooding. What we had here was tidal flooding. And for two days, all of Bay Shore was closed because of that flooding, up until just a few hours ago. That's Tampa Bay behind me there. The water coming across, coming because of the onshore flow that they have had constantly, just building up and pounding over the shore over onto the roadway and closing it entirely down. But now, even though high tide is just a couple of hours away, a good sign, a silver lining, the water has actually receded here along Bay Shore. And you can see, they're going to start to probably reopen this area pretty soon. But again, earlier today, just like six hours ago, Joe, all of where I'm standing was under probably six inches to almost a foot of water Joe.
[Johns:] Now, John, you are not far from the site of the Republican National Convention, which is going to go on there in August. The city obviously is getting ready. And the thing that comes to mind here in Washington is, what are they going to do if another big storm hits during the convention?
[Zarrella:] Yes, and, you know, that's a gen genuine concern. Let me show you. We're about 400 yards, where we are now, from where the convention is going to be. That building in the distance, the convention center, right next to that is the forum, where they will also hold many of the activities for the convention. And I had an opportunity to talk to the mayor earlier today, because the convention is right at the height of hurricane season, the end of August. And he told me you know what, when we bid for the convention, we took that into consideration.
[Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Madeira Beach, Florida:] We actually calculated the odds when we bid on the Republican National Convention. And it is probably less than a 1 percent chance that a hurricane will hit, based on history. That doesn't mean we haven't stopped training, because we have. I don't want to be the mayor when that 1 percent odd occurs. But if it does occur, we're going to make sure that we get people out and we we deploy.
[Zarrella:] What would you do? I mean what are the contingency plans? Does the convention get canceled, delayed? What do they do?
[Buckhorn:] Well, I think that depends on the track of the storm and the track of the storm. Obviously, the decision to evacuate the community is mine. The decision to cancel the convention is the Republican Party. We will get together if that situation presented itself. We will make the decision that's in the best interests of everybody here, whether they're residents or guests. But ultimately, that decision will be in terms of saving people's lives and making sure we get people out of harm's way, not the politics of the convention.
[Zarrella:] Now, the mayor was telling me that if they had a storm like this hit in in August, and the power doesn't go out and it's a tropical storm, most likely, the the convention will go on. That's not going to interfere. The question would be, if you had a severe storm, a more serious hurricane, for instance, a Category 2 or Category 3, what would they do then? And you heard the mayor say they do have contingency plans. But life is of the utmost concern. And that would be the consideration that they would have to to take at at the highest level, as far as whether the convention would actually go on or not, if they were to have a storm that bad Joe.
[Johns:] Less than 1 percent odds that a storm will hit during the convention. Boy, we're going to hold onto that video and see what happens when we get to the convention.
[Zarrella:] Yes.
[Johns:] Thanks so much, John Zarrella, for that. They could use some of Florida's rain in the Colorado fire zone right now. A raging wildfire is spreading closer to some of the state's popular tourist sites, including the U.S. Air Force Academy. CNN's Jim Spellman is near the front lines of the blaze in Colorado Springs.
[Jim Spellman, Cnn Correspondent:] Take a look at this. They're working hard from the sky and on the ground to make sure that stays the case. This is the edge of the fire nearest the city. They're dropping retardant from planes and they're using helicopters to drop water on it to try to keep all of the homes safe. They've only got 5 percent containment. And the really difficult operating conditions here high temperatures, high winds, low humidity are making the fire incredibly active here during the afternoon and incredibly difficult for firefighters to try to get the upper hand on. They've called in more crews and more equipment, though they say it can take up to three weeks before they have this fire fully contained. Jim Spellman, CNN, Colorado Springs.
[Johns:] Tensions between Syria and Turkey just keep ratcheting higher. Could it lead to another conflict in a region already reeling from bloodshed? Plus, a powerful U.S. Congressman and Republican fundraiser is being accused of a money laundering scheme and cover-up. Now, the key witness against him is speaking out, in an exclusive interview with CNN. Plus, Jerry Sandusky's adopted son, Matt, on tape talking about being sexually abused by the convicted child rapist when he was a boy.

[Blitzer:] In Syria, dozens of people reportedly were killed in a northern city today, the third straight day of violence there. State television blaming attacks by armed gangs for the death of 120 security forces. Opposition groups say civilians were killed as well. CNN can't verify reports because the government has restricted access to Syria. They will not allow international journalists into the country. New urgency and uncertainty, meanwhile, over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Today, the White House says President Obama hasn't decided on the size and the scope of the pullout due to begin next month. But he's under enormous pressure to bring more American troops home as soon as possible to save lives, to save money, especially now that Osama bin Laden is dead. Let's bring in our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence. He's working this important story for us. What's the latest, Chris?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, the latest is that the number of troops coming home from Afghanistan in July, that announcement initially thought to only be minimum, maybe 3,000 to 4,000 would get announced. But now there's a growing pressure to make that number bigger and to bring the troops home faster.
[Lawrence:] There's a fight about to go down that could impact every soldier and Marine fighting in Afghanistan. On one side, those that say starting next month, President Obama should bring a significant number of troops home faster. The other side arguing it's too risky.
[Robert Gates, Defense Secretary:] Nobody wants to give up the gains that have been won at such a hard cost.
[Lawrence:] Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Afghanistan. He favors a staggered drawdown and urged officials to keep combat troops as long as possible.
[Gates:] I would opt to keep the shooters and take the support out first. But the numbers are such that it's going to have to be both.
[Lawrence:] In 2009, President Obama sent another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. But it's not 2009. The national debt has soared. There's political pressure to make spending cuts. And it costs $1 million per man to fight in Afghanistan.
[Caroline Wadhams, Center For American Progress:] We are spending about $120 billion per year, $10 billion per month, and we there's no end in sight.
[Lawrence:] And the head of al Qaeda is dead. Some see what intelligence agents and a Special Operations team were able to accomplish as proof a smaller strategy can work.
[Wadhams:] I think that the counterterrorism proponents, people who want a more reduced presence, their voices are more powerful now, they're getting more traction.
[Lawrence:] That includes Vice President Joe Biden, who opposed the surge. He lost that argument to Gates two years ago. But look at this Biden is still here. And the new national security adviser, Tom Donilon, was said to be leery of the surge, too. Leon Panetta will likely replace Gates, and his time running the CIA has shown him what drones can do without huge numbers of troops. General David Petraeus will no longer be in the military when he shifts over to the CIA. The secretary of state sided with Gates then, but on withdrawing troops, she has not tipped her hand on what she thinks now.
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] Because we are still gathering our best assessment.
[Lawrence:] Now, President Obama will have a video conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday. I'm sure troop withdrawals will be a part of that discussion. Also, Gates isn't going just yet. He will be back from Afghanistan, and he said that's when the real talks will get down to the nitty- gritty of trying to decide and make recommendations to the president on this number. So he's going to get at least one more chance to weigh in Wolf.
[Blitzer:] A hundred and fifteen billion dollars this year alone, and more that $2 billion a week to keep all those troops in Afghanistan. Obviously, the financial stake is enormous right now as well. By the way thank you, Chris. Thanks very much.
[Lawrence:] You're welcome.
[Blitzer:] You can read more of my thoughts on the Afghan troop withdrawal at our new SITUATION ROOM blog, cNN.comsituationroom. Check it out. A new series of explosions across Iraq today. At least 25 people were killed, including five U.S. troops. Iraqi officials say the Americans were sleeping in trailers at their base in Baghdad when a suicide bomber struck. The attacks coincide with a deadline set for Iraqi cabinet ministers to make reforms or be fired. This violence is renewing questions about Iraqi security once almost all U.S. troops withdraw at the end of the year. About 50,000 U.S. troops are still in Iraq right now, but they are all supposed to be out by the end of the year. It was one of the most shocking and bizarre news conferences we've seen in a while. We're talking about Congressman Anthony Weiner. We'll bring it to you at the top of the hour, extended excerpts. Stand by in case you missed it. And the race for a cure as a super deadly toxic strain of E. coli keeps spreading.

[Velshi:] At half past the hour, here's what's happening right now. The legality of California's ban on same sex marriage is being put to the test this moment in San Francisco. A three judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will decide if a lower court was right to declare California's Proposition 8, banning gay marriage, to be unconstitutional. In France, a court has ruled that the Concorde crash that killed 113 people was caused in part by the criminal negligence of Continental Airlines and one of its mechanics. A piece of metal allegedly fell off a continental D.C. 10, which took off just before the Concorde, causing the Concorde to blow a tire. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says he's authorizing significant actions related to the criminal investigation of WikiLeaks for publishing U.S. diplomatic cables. Holder says American lives have been put at risk. All right. Google launches eBooks today. I want to talk to you about this. Jessica, one of my producers is here. She's been sort of studying it carefully. Google is launching these eBooks basically to allow you to not just to download books to a typical reader, but it's sort of like it exists in the cloud. It's not just about your reader?
[Jessica Kay-king, Segment Producer:] Exactly. You can take them wherever you go. You can download them from home and then put them on your Android, put them on your iPad, excuse me, iPhone, and you can just take them everywhere. The other really cool thing is that three million of these are public domain, which means they're free. So that's kind of a big step. A lot of them you don't have to pay for. Some you do. But that's the real kick here.
[Velshi:] Jessica's here, by the way, because she's scared I'm going to break the wall. I don't have the best relationship with the wall. Here's another thing everybody's talking about. The Facebook. The new Facebook applications that are out there. Some of them are really interesting. But one of the issues that comes up is, we've pointed to you and Ali, who's our famous floor director over here. And what you do is you can your homepage, if you choose to use this new model, is going to start to show you relationships that you have with people and the history of those relationships.
[Kay-king:] Right. It's kind of cool. You can see with my friend Ali, that we've been Facebook friends since April. It's one of the new things. If we have any pictures tagged together which we don't they'd be right here.
[Velshi:] Right. And then your mutual friends are listed here.
[Kay-king:] Exactly. So that's really neat. The caution there, what people should be weary of is if you have potential job prospects. That sort of thing. Things you've written five years ago that could be incriminating, could be on this history. So that's something you really need to think about when you're putting things on Facebook, which we always talk about.
[Velshi:] Right. You have to be careful with what you're putting on here. This is something that's still not entirely common to people who use Facebook. Some because they're not as familiar with the privacy settings and some because a younger generation is just used to putting more stuff out there. So what has happened now is it's become easier for others this could be a good thing or bad thing for you to see a lot of your history with people.
[Kay-king:] Exactly.
[Velshi:] You might have told Ali something a year ago that you don't even remember saying, but may not want everyone else being part of.
[Kay-king:] Exactly.
[Velshi:] All right. Well those are some changes to Facebook. By the way, when you go to Facebook, you can go on to the site. Click on it. Take a look at your privacy settings. Get a feel for this new thing. Do not assume that is all well. This might be something that suits you tremendously. You might really like it. It might be something that doesn't suit you. Check your privacy settings. All right. A sad, shocking story out of the New York area. Sixteen-year-old Thomas Adams loved baseball. He was a catcher. He'd been playing since he was nine-years-old. He was practicing with his school at a high school gymnasium in Patterson, New Jersey, over the weekend, when a pitch hit him in the chest. He was wearing protective gear, including a chest protector, but he collapsed with a heart attack. He was taken to the hospital and he was pronounced dead. His friends, his family, and his teammates are in a state of shock.
[Thomas Adams, Son Killed By Pitch:] The heart and the ball hit at the wrong time and just sent his heart into a severe cardiac arrest. You know? So they couldn't get it back.
[Velshi:] Wow. Doctors say this kind of thing does happen on rare occasions when a fast-moving ball hits the chest at a certain point in the cardiac cycle, the heart literally skip a beat. Doctor David Atallcheck a sports medicine and a team physician for the New York Mets told WCBS-TV that in cases like this quote, "A chest protector seems to make no difference at all." And that's the part that's really scary. A 14-year-old boy arrested in Mexico, says he was a hit man for the drug cartels. He may be a U.S. citizen. Globe Trekking up next.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome, everybody. Our STARTING POINT this morning, Middle East erupting, bombs over Gaza, rockets crashing in Tel Aviv, more troops on the move this morning. We're live in the Middle East on the the possible full scale eruption there of war. Plus, General Petraeus on Capitol Hill right now. It's the first time that we've seen him since he resigned over an affair. Will he put those questions to rest about Benghazi?
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] And stirring clear of the fiscal cliff. President Obama welcomes congressional leaders to the White House this morning. Same people, same ideas on the table. Is there a new willingness, though, to compromise?
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] A tragedy in Texas. A freight train crashes into a parade float carrying veterans. And now, the question is: what went wrong?
[O'brien:] Packed show for you this morning. The former Director of the Budget Office, Peter Orszag, is going to join us. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is with us. The actress Jada Pinkett Smith will join us and actress Kelly Reilly from the movie "Flight." It's Friday, November 16th, and STARTING POINT begins right now. Welcome back, everybody. Our team this morning: Richard Socarides is with us. He's a writer for NewYorker.com. He's a former senior advisor to the president, President Clinton. Zanny Minton-Beddoes is with us. She's an economics editor at "The Economist". Will Cain is a columnist at TheBlaze.com. "EARLY START" co-anchor John Berman is with us, helping us out with news. Christine Romans is sticking around, helping us out with business. Packed table, packed show. STARTING POINT, of course, is the fiscal cliff 46 days and counting, we'll fall of the fiscal cliff. Although some people have talked about it now being a gentle slope.
[Romans:] Don't believe that. There's nothing gentle about it. If it's a slope, it's like a black diamond slalom course.
[O'brien:] So, a gentle slalom black diamond slope.
[Zanny Minton-beddoes, Editor, "the Economist":] No, a blue, a blue maybe.
[O'brien:] A blue. Nanny says maybe blue. But we're still talking kind of steep slope here. This morning, in their first post-election face to face, President Obama is going to host Capitol Hill top Republicans and Democrats and look for any room for compromise in the fiscal abyss, slope, stairwell, cliff. CNN's Jill Dougherty is at the White House for us with more. Good morning, Jill.
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Hey. Good morning, Soledad. Well, one thing is that sure, that if they don't do something, everybody is going to end up paying a lot more taxes. So, that's a good spur. But right now, everyone is looking for the tone of this, what the President will do, how both sides come into it. And at first glance, it looks as if they're sticking to their positions but there are some cracks. You can so some hints of things that maybe they could compromise on. So let's start with the person who seems to be taking the strongest view from the Republican side and that is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell,  Senate Minority Leader:] We don't happen to think the government needs more revenue. Government spends too much as it is. But if Democrats are willing to reduce spending, strengthen entitlement programs which we all know are on an unsustainable path that threatens our own long term viability and the economic well-being of our children and grandchildren, then we'll be there. What we won't do is raise tax rates.
[Dougherty:] OK. So raise tax rates that's a very specific phrase. They don't want to raise the rates. They are, the Republicans, talking about things like cutting loopholes, cutting deductions, things like that. The Democrats, on the other hand, say if you do the math, that doesn't add up to what is needed. And then from the Democratic side, you have that quandary of wanting to defend the entitlements that a lot of Americans depend upon. That's where you get people like Nancy Pelosi saying you can't simply do that on the backs of middle class taxpayer. So, that's essentially a lot of the debate right now.
[O'brien:] Jill Dougherty for us this morning thank you, Jill. Let's get right to Peter Orszag. He is the former director of the Office of Management and Budget for the Obama White House. Today, he's going to appearing at a forum at the museum in Washington with other economic gurus, like Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker and Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. It's nice to have you with us. So back in September
[Peter Orszag, Former Director Of White House Office Of Management & Budget:] Good to be here.
[O'brien:] Thank you. I appreciate that. Back in September, you said, you're talking on CNBC, you said it's most likely that we're going to go over the fiscal cliff. And it seriously raised if that unless there is then there's that deal cut in January or mid-January, something like that. So you said first the cliff, then there will be some deal. Do you still think that's how it's going to happen?
[Orszag:] I hope not. But I think there's still a significant risk. I mean, you just heard Mr. McConnell say that he would not support raising tax rates at all. Mr. Boehner has said similar things. The administration seems to be open to perhaps tax rates not going up quite as much as they initially proposed but they're still absolutely insistent on those tax rate increases of at least some size. So, you know, there's a lot that has to come together in a short period of time in order to get a deal. It's not impossible. But I think the risk of at least temporarily going over this cliff is significant.
[O'brien:] So, Zanny Minton-Beddoes is with us this morning. She says it's not a cliff. It's like a blue slope on a ski slope. Christine says it's a cliff like a black diamond.
[Romans:] Big black diamond.
[O'brien:] Other people have said it's a gentle slope like a sunny day slope down the hill. What is it, do you think?
[Orszag:] Well, I guess the problem is we're going to start going downhill and not know exactly whether it's a blue slope or a double diamond. You don't know exactly what's ahead of you, because we don't know how quickly a deal will come together. And I think that's the problem. If, you know, on January 2nd, the leadership of the Congress and the President say, don't worry. We've got a deal coming together, then that's kind of like the gentle slope, no big deal. If they're yelling at each other and throwing grenades at each other, anxiety and lack of confidence that will create makes it a much more challenging downhill adventure at that point.
[Romans:] And we don't want it to snowball. We can really go crazy to explain it in ways that people can understand. All these things are bad. And, you know, remember Congress designed it to be bad so that we wouldn't be sitting here, talking about it. I mean, that's what I try reminding people.
[Orszag:] Yes.
[Romans:] Can you tell me a little bit from the perspective of the White House and the administration? Tim Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, he does have some leeway of telling companies they can keep their tables the same at the beginning of the year. You could you could try to defer at least what workers would feel in the fiscal cliff for a few days or weeks if they wanted to. What leeway does the White House have to try to blunt this if there's no deal?
[Orszag:] Sure. That's not actually I don't think the withholding tables for the 2013 taxes are the problem in early to mid-January. There are two other problems, though. One is that we don't have a fix for the alternative minimum tax for 2012, which is this alternative tax system that rests aside the regular income tax and without a fix, you've got tens of millions of people that will be thrown on to that alternative minimum tax. The IRS can't even tax refunds for the 2012 calendar year in early 2013 without knowing what those parameters are. So, one of the big problems here is, you know, people go Christmas shopping often in anticipation that they're going to get their refund in January or February. And IRS won't really be able to do that without knowing what the AMT was for 2012. That's just one example. There are many others. But I don't think the withholding tables are at the top of the list.
[O'brien:] Zanny?
[Minton-beddoes:] Yes. The one other Peter, the one other problem that people talk about after the fiscal cliff is the debt ceiling. You know, there is this other unknown out there, which is the some point we will reach the debt ceiling and Congress will have to agree on raising the debt ceiling. Do you think that's going to come into these negotiations and are we going to have to mix our metaphors and talk about cliffs and ceilings?
[Romans:] Oh, no.
[Orszag:] Look, I think the administration would be making a huge mistake to reach an agreement over the fiscal cliff without also wrapping in the debt limit into that agreement. It makes no sense to have all of this drama play out in December and then have new drama in, say, February. What we should do is whether it's in one stage or two stages, we should have a comprehensive deal here that addresses both the fiscal cliff or slope or whatever you want to call it, and the debt ceiling at the same time.
[O'brien:] So what's the deal? I mean, this is the $64,000
[Orszag:] Sure.
[O'brien:] Everybody sounds nice and conciliatory. I think it's because the election has just ended. So, they're not screaming at each other.
[Orszag:] Right.
[O'brien:] But when you listen to l the actual words, they're very inflexible. I mean, you heard McConnell.
[Orszag:] Right.
[O'brien:] What we won't do is to raise taxes. You heard the President say, I have you know, I campaigned on this so we're going to make sure we do that. What's
[Minton-beddoes:] There seems to be a bit of leeway in the sense that can you raise tax revenue without raising rates? There's a lot of talk about limiting deductions. I'd love to hear what you think about how much scope is there to raise money about limiting deductions. What kind of deductions will go?
[O'brien:] The President didn't run on that, right? The President ran on making people who are wealthy pay more. So, I feel like we have a nice tone but actually the positions seem pretty intractable to me.
[Orszag:] Look, a deal here has to involve two components. One is on revenue and there is revenue that you can get from cutting back on deductions and exclusions. But I think, to my mind, the deal here is that marginal tax rates go up a little, maybe a percentage point or two. And maybe you raise the $250,000 threshold up a bit. So, will the House Republicans really blow up a deal if the threshold is $1 million to make it up in the marginal tax rate increases one or two percentage points? You couple that by broadening the tax base by cutting back on exclusions which and deductions, which is admittedly a lot easier to say than it is to do. But it is possible to do. And then the second component is there is going to have to be some kind of entitlement reform in order to get that debt limit increased. And to my mind, the most promising avenue for action is Social Security. Not because that's the biggest part of our fiscal gap. It's not. But because the parties are so far apart on Medicare and Medicaid, everyone you want to talk about happy talk, people say we have to address health care costs and their ideas for how to do so are so diametrically opposed
[O'brien:] Right.
[Orszag:] that there's little room for a deal there. On Social Security, on the other hand, at least the sort of span of options is not quite as wide and I can imagine, hypothetically, at least, imagine a deal coming together on that.
[O'brien:] We'll see. Well, Peter Orszag, nice to talk to you about it. We appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
[Orszag:] Good to be with you.
[O'brien:] Thanks. The stories making news. John has got that.
[Berman:] Thanks, Soledad. Israel may be on the brink of war this morning. The violence in Gaza intensifying overnight, Palestinian militants launching hundreds of rockets into Israel territory, targeting Tel Aviv now. The Israelis countering with air and artillery strikes in more than 300 terror targets in Gaza, while calling up thousands of reservists for a possible ground war with Hamas. Ben Wedeman joins us live right now from Jerusalem. What's the latest, Ben?
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] John, within the last hour and a half, air raid sirens did go off in Tel Aviv. According to one police spokesman, there was an explosion, but it probably was out at sea, not actually hitting the town itself. Now, there was a relative respite in the bombardment going both ways in Gaza while the Egyptian prime minister, Hesham Kandil, was in the strip for a brief visit. However, as soon as he left, it appears that the amount of rockets being fired out of Gaza, the Israeli air strikes into it, ratcheted up. And, of course, Israel does seem to be preparing for some sort of ground invasion into Gaza. They called up 16,000 reservists for that. We know there are a lot of tanks being stationed on the outside of Gaza. What we see is similar to what we saw in 2008-2009, several days of intense air strikes followed by a ground incursion John.
[Berman:] All right. Ben Wedeman, things showing no signs of letting up right now in the region Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem. A parade honoring veterans ends in tragedy in Midland, Texas. At least four people were killed when a train slammed into a float packed with veterans and their spouses yesterday. More than dozens of other people were taken to the hospital yesterday. We don't know what caused this crash. Union Pacific says the track's lights and crossing gates were working and the train sounded its horn before the crash. President Obama touring Hurricane Sandy devastation in New York, flying over ravaged neighborhoods in Queens and comforting devastated homeowners in tents and in the street of Staten Island yesterday. The President also assigned a new point person for the Sandy recovery effort, New Yorker Shaun Donovan, who is the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Another prominent Republican is ripping Mitt Romney. New Mexico governor Susana Martinez says his claims that President Obama won the election by giving gifts to young and minority voters sets back the Republican Party. The GOP's most prominent Latina member went on saying her party has "to start electing people who look like their communities. We have to make them part of the solution, and the way you do that is by listening to them." Now, "The Daily Show" was also getting a piece of this action over the whole gifts comment. Take a look.
[Jon Stewart, Host, "the Daily Show With Jon Stewart":] How on earth did Mitt Romney find out about the extraordinary bag of gifts that we got show them to everybody in this? What did Obama give us? Oh, bag of weed. That was nice. Oh, food stamp cozy. Contraception variety pack!
[O'brien:] Very funny.
[Berman:] There you go.
[O'brien:] Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, has the coverage of the David Petraeus scandal gone to far? We'll debate that with Howard Kurtz and Lauren Ashburn. That's coming up next. And new information out moments ago about Hostess. We're about to lose those Twinkies and those Snowballs. Is it forever? We'll talk about that.

[Baldwin:] I cannot believe this was 20 years ago, 20 years now after the first grainy night vision images flashed across our TV screens when we were tuned into CNN. The first president Bush says he has no regrets about going to war with Iraq. George H.W. Bush and his former top men Dick Cheney, James baker, Colin Powell, Dan Quayle all of whom are gathering in Texas to reflect on operation desert storm to drive Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. It was not an easy way to try to cover a war back in those days. Watch this.
[Unidentified Male:] If you're still with us, you can hear the bombs now. They are hitting the center of the city.
[Tom Johnson, Former Cnn President:] I went to Ted Turner's office. And I said, Ted, for us to own this story in the event of actual war, we need to spend perhaps $5 I think to $35 million more in expenses than we're authorized to spend in our budget. And I said, how much am I authorized to spend? I'll never forget his answer. He looked back at me and said, and these are his exact words, "You spend whatever you think it takes, pal."
[Ingrid Formanek Cnn Producer:] It was a very surreal scene because Iraq had never had that much press there before. It was a very repressive regime. For the first time they allowed a large amount of media to come in. And we managed to establish a simple device like having two open phone lines. They gave us permission after a lot of hard work and trying to get permission. And then bypass a telephone exchange, which is one of the first things bombed the first night of the war. All the phones in Iraq went out. We had the four wire which enabled us to broadcast that first night of the war.
[John Holliman, Former Cnn Reporter:] Our camera man just came to the window. What does it look like through your view finder? On the other side of the hotel, we have some of the buildings that have incredible damage and also a lot of anti-aircraft batteries.
[Mark Biello, Cnn Senior Photojournalist:] I was terrified. I mean, I thought this was fortunately for all the accuracy of the technology of the weapons, we did survive. Rashid was not taken out. But we were certainly in harm's way.
[Rich Brooks, Senior Photojournalist:] It was eye-opening to me because had I traveled the region quite a bit before that covering the first Gulf war between Iran and Iraq. And so to go there and see suddenly the United States mobilizing to go to war over a very small country was quite something to see. After the first night of the gulf war, everyone around the world knew who CNN was.
[Baldwin:] That was 20 years ago. So this next story had a lot of us around here in our morning meeting wanting to know more. So we're bringing in an expert who's going to join me in just a minute. But first, remember Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? He is the self-described mastermind behind 911 and the senior Al Qaeda leader suspected of beheading "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl. That was back in 2002. In fact, he's confessed to this and told authorities he did it. Al Qaeda released a video of Pearl's beheading. But you never see the face of the decapitator, only his hand. So here's the part we wanted to know a little bit more about. It seems the FBI and CIA have used this forensic technique called "vein matching" and were able to determine the hand in that video was that of KSM, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. That brings us to Lawrence Kobilinski. He knows his stuff. He's joining me from New York. Lawrence, obviously we all remember the video. 2002. Tough to watch then, absolutely no need to replay it right now. But my question to you is this. How in the world did investigators use the image of the killer's hands to corroborate with KSM's confession he did it, he beheaded Daniel pearl?
[Dr. Lawrence Kobilinski, Forensic Scientist:] Well, brook, this is not a routine standard procedure in the arsenal of criminalists. What it is based upon is the fact that the major vessels in the hand or any other place on the body remain in the same position throughout one's lifetime barring some kind of clinical intervention so that if you can capture an image of the position of the veins from that video, you can then compare it to a known image. In other words, you're doing what we call biometrics making measurements based upon the position of the venous structure in the hand, and if the two patterns match, you can then say, well, it's the same person. It's very easy to exclude. It's a little harder to include a person as the source.
[Baldwin:] How in the world can you look at somebody's wrist? I'm looking at my wrist, my wrist looks like your wrist. Aren't our veins in similarly placed positions? How can you tell my vein is the vein in the picture?
[Kobilinski:] It's not only the veins but the branching of the veins, the position of the veins relative to landmarks on the back of the hand. There have to be mathematical algorithms worked out. This is not something this was based on science and mathematics. But it is still a question in the courts, is this going to be admissible in the courtroom. It may be reliable scientifically but that has to be proven. Then the judge has to decide whether at federal or local level whatever, the judge has to decide if this is reliable science or not.
[Baldwin:] That was my next question. We know he's in Guantanamo Bay right now. We don't know if he'll be tried in New York. There's debate over that. Even if he goes to trial, but if he does, ultimately, would this help in the prosecution's case? Would this be additional evidence potentially? How does that work?
[Kobilinski:] Indeed. We never look at any one item of evidence. We look at in conjunction with other items of evidence. We have a confession obtained in ways that might not be acceptable to the courts but this would basically support the confession and put together, you haven't ruled him out based upon the science. I think it's pretty strong evidence that they've got the right person, the person who killed Danny Pearl.
[Baldwin:] Lawrence, one other question before I let you go. You've worked on high profile cases. Has this vein matching been used in other high profile cases before?
[Kobilinski:] I got to tell you, I am not familiar with any major or even minor cases where this technique has been used. It's just it's brand new technology. That's why it's got to be tested in the courts. As far as the science is concerned, it needs a lot more research. And let me tell you the hand is not a flat surface. The image is grainy on the video. There are a lot of problems with this kind of science. So we have to wait and see how this all falls out.
[Baldwin:] It is fascinating nonetheless. Lawrence, thank you so so much. Lawrence Kobilinski. Thank you.
[Kobilinski:] Pleasure.
[Baldwin:] Coming up next, less than a year after Jesse James divorced Sandra bullock, now word he may be getting hitched again. Who might he be marrying? We're going to have more with that after the break. Also, everyone is talking about the dress did you see this, she was gorgeous Michelle Obama wore to the state dinner last night. We'll tell you who designed it and was our good friend Monty Durham from "Say Yes to the Dress" Atlanta has to say about it next.

[Erin Burnett:] OUTFRONT next, a Republican Senate candidate in hot water after comments about legitimate rape. Will the chairman of the party call for him to drop out? And an autopsy just released in the case of a handcuffed man who was shot and killed while in the back of back of a police car in handcuffs. Do findings add up? And Maria Sharapova, one of the most recognizable faces in tennis, the highest paid female athlete in the world, and she has a big plan off the court? She tells us about it. Let's go OUTFRONT. Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, a migraine for Republicans.
[Unidentified Male:] I was calling you and letting you know that I'm announcing today that we are going to stay in.
[Burnett:] Not what a lot of Republicans wanted to hear today. That's a little known congressman from Missouri. And he's thrown his entire party for a loop because instead of talking about jobs or Medicare tonight, the Republican Party is talking about abortion. Republican Congressman Todd Akin who's running for Senate against Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill says he will not step aside despite widespread outrage over this
[Unidentified Male:] What about in the case of rape, should it be legal or not?
[Rep. Todd Akin , Missouri:] From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something. You know I think there should be some punishment but the punishment ought to be in the rapist and not attacking the child.
[Burnett:] Today, Akin tried to backtrack.
[Akin:] I used the wrong words in the wrong way. What I said was ill-conceived and it was wrong.
[Burnett:] It's hard to think how you could come up with a statement that specific and tortured if you didn't actually believe in it. And even if it was a mistake, it's hard to know which word he was talking about when he apologized. Rare, legitimate, when it comes to rape? Rape, of course, is never legitimate. And the FBI says one forcible rape actually occurs every 6.2 minutes in the United States of America. And as for pregnancy, a study published in the "American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology" estimates that 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year. Now both parties have jumped on Akin's comments. Mitt Romney said this late this afternoon.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] His comments about rape were deeply offensive and I can't defend what he said. I can't defend him.
[Burnett:] That was an CNN affiliate WMUR. The president also agreed.
[Barack Obama , President Of The United States:] The views expressed were offensive. Rape is rape.
[Burnett:] Now Democrats were then quick to make this about the coveted women's vote. The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman Schultz said, quote, "The real issue is a Republican Party led by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan whose policies on women and their health are dangerously wrong. I'm outraged at the Republicans trying to take women back to the dark ages." So seizing one comment and turning into something about the entire party, but the thing is, is this isn't a small problem for Mitt Romney because he currently trails President Obama by eight points among women voters. So if this gets traction among them, it could matter. So take a look at this. In 2008, women made up 53 percent of the electorate and they voted for President Obama 56 to 43 percent over John McCain. You move that by a few points and you can win the entire election. I'm going to show you those numbers in a moment. But now Democrats are trying to link Akin's position on abortion to that of Paul Ryan and this is where it gets dangerously close to home for Mitt Romney. Paul Ryan, along with Akin, co-sponsored the Sanctity of Human Life Act. It's a so-called personhood amendment and he did so as recently as 2011. Now that bill made no exceptions for rape or incest or anything else. Now Paul Ryan himself in terms of his personal views on abortion has long said he is opposed to abortion in all cases, except for when the life of the mother is at risk, meaning he's opposed to it in the cases of rape and incest. This is not something that Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney want to have become a major issue. Never mind that Ryan and Akin are now linked by the fact that they were co-sponsors of the bill on this topic. So what will the Republican Party do? OUTFRONT tonight, Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee. Good to see you, sir. I know not what you want to be talking about right now. But let me just say, so Senator Scott Brown, Senator McConnell they've all come out, called it outrageous or saying that Mr. Akin should step out of this race within the next 24 hours. Tea Party Express has urged him to step aside. Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee is saying get out. We're not going to give you more money. He could get out by the by Tuesday before the general election. That's tomorrow. Should he get out?
[Reince Priebus, Chairman, Republican National Committee:] Well, certainly, you know first of all, if it was me and I wouldn't say anything that dumb as he has. But if it was me and I had an opportunity to let someone else run to actually give ourselves a better chance of winning, I would step aside. And so, listen, what he said, Erin, was biologically stupid. It's something that nobody on either side of the aisle agrees with. It's a bizarre statement and it's something that I think he needs to seriously think about. And like I said, if it was me, I would step aside and let someone else run for that office.
[Burnett:] All right, so I mean you're making that pretty clear. The answer is, yes.
[Priebus:] That's pretty clear, Erin.
[Burnett:] Yes, I think all right
[Priebus:] Pretty clear.
[Burnett:] I just want to make it loud and clear. It's my job, make it painfully obvious. But let me ask you this then so what can you do? I mean you've heard him say you know he's saying now he doesn't plan to get out. Obviously he's got 24 hours. He can still do it. But what are you going to do to get him to make the right choice? Who's going to make those calls to him?
[Priebus:] Well I mean ultimately he has to make these calls, I mean right? I mean we all understand that. I mean and so we're hopeful that he hears these things that people are saying on both sides of the aisle and that this is not mainstream talk that he's referring to in his descriptions of whatever an illegitimate rape is you know that's not even something that we could conceive of.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Priebus:] So we're hoping he hears these things and you know so we're here down for our convention. Obviously we're getting ready for a big election and this is not what the election is going to turn on, Erin. This is going to turn on the president's promises, what he delivered, where this economy's at and these are the things that people care about. But in the meantime, we've got to deal with this situation and we are.
[Burnett:] All right, so let me ask you this because I want to make the point first of all, something you know painfully well. But I want to put it up here. The latest Gallup poll registered voters' choice for president, and this is broken down by gender. So right now, the president leads among women 50 percent and trails among men. So women, 50 percent plan to vote for President Obama, 42 percent for Governor Romney. Now, when you just do the math on this, it comes out to statistical edge between women and men that this election would go for Barack Obama. If you move the women vote by one percent, statistical edge goes to Romney. If you move it by two, he wins the whole thing. So women really matter, right? I mean this issue of abortion I mean this
[Priebus:] Oh of course
[Burnett:] I know you don't want the whole thing to revolve around this. But if it did, it could mean the whole election.
[Priebus:] Right, but, Erin, I think you're making a false assumption here. And that is that you're making the assumption that women are pro-abortion. And I don't believe that. I actually think that most women are pro life. And so I happen to believe you can be pro women and pro life. And so I think you're making sort of a logical leap that isn't really based on fact. Maybe there are other reasons for the outcomes of these polls. But you're assuming that it's because of abortion and I just don't believe that.
[Burnett:] OK, well let me let me hold on.
[Priebus:] So I think you can be pro life, pro women and at the end, what women really care about is the economy and where we're going in this country.
[Burnett:] All right. I agree with you, you can be pro life and pro women. But let me give you this
[Priebus:] Sure.
[Burnett:] because I do have more numbers for you. Paul Ryan co-sponsoring with Akin the amendment that said abortion should not be allowed in any case. And Paul Ryan has made it clear, right that he thinks only in the case of the life of the mother. So not in the cases of rape or incest that's what we know about Paul Ryan. Gallup poll taken in June of last year, abortion in cases of rape or incest, 75 percent of Americans think that should be OK, so that means
[Priebus:] Listen
[Burnett:] in this dramatic case, most people, 75 percent of Americans of whom I'm sure a lot are women, do not agree with Paul Ryan.
[Priebus:] Well first of all, that's not true. Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney's position is that they're pro life with the exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother, but
[Burnett:] Well that's Mitt Romney and I know
[Priebus:] the bill that you all keep
[Burnett:] Ryan's on the ticket
[Priebus:] No, no, no that's not true
[Burnett:] But Paul Ryan's position historically has been, according to CNN's reporting
[Priebus:] No, that's not true
[Burnett:] that he does not support it in the cases of rape or incest.
[Priebus:] Well first of all that's not true. But the point that I'm making is that what you're referring to and what these reporters are referring to in this bill is the question of whether or not you should be able to use taxpayer money to fund abortions. That's a totally separate issue. And on that issue, that's an 80 percent winner for us. And so you know you can pick and choose all these numbers all day long. The fact of the matter is most women are pro life. This election is not coming down to this particular Todd Akin issue. We're very proud to be a pro life party and we are and I'm pro life. And I think it's a winning issue. But the problem with Todd Akin is that he's taken it to a level that no one in the mainstream is in agreement with. And you're seeing both parties say that.
[Burnett:] And so the bottom line is you say that I understand your point on Todd Akin, that you think that he is not is not something that anyone would support in the mainstream and I would imagine he's not welcome at the Republican Convention where you are right now either.
[Priebus:] Well listen, if it was up to me, Erin, I will tell you, I would prefer that Todd Akin do the right thing for our party and our candidates and I would prefer him not come.
[Burnett:] All right. Well thank you very much, Chairman Priebus. I appreciate taking the time. Hopefully next time we'll be able to talk about the economy which I know is what you wanted to talk about. OUTFRONT now is John Avlon. So this is interesting and especially given the tension that we had there over the position. They don't want to talk about the specifics of when someone supports abortion or doesn't support abortion. That is not something the Republican Party wants to talk about.
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] No and you could feel the force of the pivot with Reince Priebus' word right there, dumb, biologically stupid, bizarre, that ain't subtle language from the RNC chairman. He wants to get off this topic as fast as possible and just saying
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Avlon:] look, he wants this to be in yesterday's papers because he knows at the end of the day that the longer this is in the headlines, the more of a loser it is. But the real question is, as you said, the real implication of the position of oppositional abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Now today, the RomneyRyan ticket came forward with a statement making it crystal clear that that ticket opposes is pro life with exceptions for rape and incest. That is not
[Burnett:] Right, which is what Chairman Priebus was trying to say, that's the ticket.
[Avlon:] As of today, but historically what he was saying hadn't been accurate. Paul Ryan throughout his career
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Avlon:] had opposed abortion even in cases of rape and incest and that's what difficult for them today is this bill he co-sponsored with Todd Akin that introduced the phrase forcible rape and that is what's raising a lot of question marks. It's not the conversation Reince Priebus wants to have. It's not the conversation that the Romney ticket wants to have.
[Burnett:] Right.
[Avlon:] But until and if this guy gets out of the race tomorrow and that was a less-than-subtle nudge by the chairman of his party this is going to be in the conversation. They don't want to have this conversation because of those pivotal women voters. They want to have a conversation all about the economy.
[Burnett:] Well if legitimate and illegitimate rape are words that they think are biologically stupid, forcible rape would go in the same category all right thanks very much to John Avlon just to be you know using your words and inconsistent. Ahead, why the president is afraid he could lose to Mitt Romney. Just one of the surprising details to emerge from a new book on the Obama reelection campaign which sort of reads like the "Us Weekly" of the campaign, which is why we really enjoyed it and a new record tonight for Apple. But the achievement may not be as good as it sounds. And a man who was shot and killed while handcuffed in the back of a police car, the autopsy report out late today. Does it add up?

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] You're in the CNN NEWSROOM this Saturday March 3rd. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. So much damage from a deadly storm system crossing a whopping 15 states. The destruction spans from the Gulf of Mexico to the great lakes and beyond. And 97 tornado reports are coming in from 11 of those states. More than 30 people have been killed in this monster storm. Rescue crews are combing through the rubble looking for survivors. Don Benton is one of those who made it through the storm in Tennessee. His house did not.
[Don Benton, Home Destroyed By Tornado:] Definitely I thank the lord for sparing as many people as he had. And I know these things can all be replaced. But like everyone else here, it's going to take a while. It's going to take a lot of construction to help out.
[Whitfield:] It's important to note that this destruction storm system is not over yet. It's hitting parts of the deep south right now. We'll have more on that in a moment. All right, in the meantime, BP will pay about $7.8 billion to settle lawsuit with victims of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of fishermen, hotel owners, and Gulf coast residents will get a payout. In April of 2010 the Deep Water Horizon oil rig exploded killing 11 people and causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history. And gas prices are going up again. The average price of a gallon of regular jumped more than a penny and a half in the last 24 hours. It's now nearly 3.76 a gallon, almost 30 cents more than last month. AAA says today's surge marks the 25th straight increase. The Republican presidential candidates hope to build some momentum today that will carry them into Super Tuesday. Washington state is holding its caucuses right now. Ron Paul is the only candidate still campaigning there. The other three hopefuls have moved on to Ohio. It's one of 10 states holding primaries or caucuses on Tuesday. All right, back now to our top story, the trail of destruction left by suspected tornadoes and severe storms. Josh Levs joins us now with pretty incredible video that's coming into us right now.
[Josh Levs, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi there, again, Fred. It's just into us in the NEWSROOM. We have been following images throughout the day. This is some of the most dramatic we have seen at all. Let's first take a look at this video clip and I'll tell you a little bit about it.
[Levs:] OK. So this is the set-up. This is inside a gas station in Henryville, Indiana, as tornadoes were coming through the area. There's a man who you'll meet in a moment who was inside that gas station at the time. Certainly he was not aware there were going to be tornadoes. And he saw that from inside. Then he steps outside and you and I will now watch the next video together. Take a look. Absolutely amazing. We're going to stay on this and I'm going to tell you a little bit about it. So Mike Kaiser was inside this gas station. He said there had been some tough weather throughout the week. He was not aware there would be tornadoes there that day. He had just gotten inside the gas station when he saw the tornado that you and I saw just before, what looked like from the inside. Then he steps outside afterwards and sees this wreaking havoc, bringing so much destruction. And, folks, Henryville, Indiana, is one of the major places we have been talking to you about that was stricken by this. When he stepped outside, that is what he saw. It's absolutely stunning. And here's a little bit of what he had to say about that.
[Mike Kaiser, Resident Of Henryville, Indiana:] The vehicles on 160 were being turned over in front of us. We saw the marathon station across the street completely leveled. Nothing left of it. It then kept moving to the east and then you could tell with all the turbulence.
[Levs:] And he also mentioned if he had been in the gas station directly across the street, he wouldn't have survived because it was flattened. This is a good example of the randomness we hear about with the tornadoes. The gas station he happened to be into was affected but people there survived. He said the one directly across the street had very much the opposite effect. And as we know, Henryville took the brunt of the storm. This is one of the places we're talking about. I have some pictures. I also want to remind folks that we're looking at devastation throughout the entire region. This picture behind me up at CNN.com looks at Madison County, Alabama, on Friday. And I'll go through a few of these quickly. And as you know, we have been getting images throughout the day. We're seeing destroyed homes, businesses, roads impassable. People's livelihoods are gone in a great many cases. Obviously this is the kind of thing we see in the wake of storms, but rarely, Fred, do we see the kind of thing we see in that video.
[Whitfield:] Wow, those images are extraordinary. And images from that gas station point of view, I can't believe he had the wherewithal to stand there and take that remarkable video. He was still and he seemed like he remained calm throughout. I'm glad he's OK. Thanks so much, Josh. In the meantime, let's take a look where the storm system might be right now and where it may be headed next. That storm system stretches in a line from north Florida through Georgia to the Carolinas. Take a look at the damage left behind already in Charlotte. The National Weather Service says a tornado ripped through part of that city. According to a fire department official at least three people were injured. Let's get a check in on where this system is heading next, Jacqui Jeras, because we're not completely out of the woods as yet. It still has more potential for damage.
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, there's a lot of danger out there still today for wind damage, which they think will be more of an issue today than actual tornadoes, and the other threat today is going to be flash flooding. We're getting a tremendous amount of rain with these storms. First and foremost, we have a new tornado watch. This was just issued at the top of the hour. Here you can see it across northern parts of Florida into southern Georgia, just south of Savannah, including Brunswick, over toward Jacksonville, Florida, and stretching toward Tallahassee. And this is the main line we're going to be concerned about in the upcoming hours. This is going to last all afternoon long. This is going to go into the evening, and this watch doesn't expire until 8:00. But I do think today is a different animal so to speak than what we dealt with yesterday. We're not expecting the large destructive long track tornadoes. But these tornadoes will very often what will happen today, they're very difficult to see. You may not know they're there. So when the sirens go off and the warnings are let out, make sure you take cover. And take a look. We've got a couple of warnings right now. One includes Waycross. These are Doppler indicated tornadoes. We're seeing rotation within these storms, but haven't seen any spotters on the ground. But they could drop at any given time. It's a serious situation and you need to be seeking shelter. And a reminder, this is the lowest level of your home, put on your bike helmet, get into your bathroom if that's your safe place and make sure you're going to be there for the next 30 minutes or so. This will be the line we're watching over the next couple of hours. More of these storms that are developing behind here could intensify and also produce rotation. So that's going to be the area that we're watching, and then the whole line itself will eventually be advancing on down to the south. Now, I just want to kind of show you the convective outlook as we see it and who's at threat for today. I think that threat is diminishing here. So the big focus will be then South Georgia into north Florida, could be inching down toward Orlando late today. So keep that in mind if you have plans. And just kind of an overview, Fredericka, of what we've been seeing over the last 24 plus hours is we've had so many reports of tornadoes, long track tornadoes, 11 different states being impacted by this outbreak. No tornado reports today. Nothing confirmed on the ground that we've had those warnings and that could change. So we're going to be watching Georgia and Florida to possibly bring that number up.
[Whitfield:] So with those warnings, some other advice I thought was really instructive. If you're at home I love the baby seat that you mentioned for protection. But if you have a bike helmet, any of that, you may want to wear that, put that on if you have to take cover in that a safe place in your home because people forget about the potential for head injuries with things falling down.
[Jeras:] Right, research has shown that most of the fatalities, unfortunately, in most situations are from debris or getting knocked around. You feel kind of foolish, people think I'm not putting on my bike helmet, I'm going to look like a fool. But there's no shame in it. Whatever you can do to save your life or your kids' lives, do it.
[Whitfield:] Thanks so much. That's a look ahead. Let's take another look at what this storm system has done. Hard-hit area of Henryville, Indiana, about 20 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky, a tornado it is confirmed did flatten homes and threw cars and buses into buildings. Fourteen people are dead in southern Indiana. The governors of Kentucky and Indiana sent National Guard troops to help search for survivors and also provide some security.
[Gov. Mitch Daniels,  Indiana:] Lucky it wasn't worse. As awful as this has been heartbreaking, of course, we're trying and will continue to up the track of this storm. It's a long storm. Somebody later will tell us whether there were multiple tornadoes or not. It may have been 50 miles from here to Chelsea and we lost lives each point along the way.
[Whitfield:] While the governor tries to console his community, we're hearing amazing stories of survival from Indiana, just like this one. Rescuers found a 20-month-old baby girl in a field after an outbreak of tornadoes there. She was all alone and injured, but alive. She is now in a hospital, and a spokesman says the little girl is in critical condition but has been reunited with her family. And we'll have much more on the storm throughout the afternoon. Also today, Prince Harry, the ambassador. British royals hit the road in honor of the queen's 60-year reign. Details on that, next.

[Roberts:] It's 26 minutes after the hour. We are already hearing names that we haven't heard since Bush v. Gore in 2000, major election draw right now in Alaska where incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski is on the brink of an historic comeback as a write-in candidate. Right now, the write-in votes presumably for Murkowski lead the race at 41 percent, Joe Miller is six points seven points behind at 34 percent. Miller is not backing down this morning.
[Joe Miller , Alaska Senate Candidate:] We want to make sure that there is a legal and proper process, not the suggestion that, oh, two days ago, we're going to have the ballots counted on the 18th and then suddenly moving it forward by a week.
[Roberts:] Our guest now says that we may not know who won until this Thanksgiving. Joining us on the telephone is Matthew Felling. He's the anchor for local affiliate KTVA Anchorage. It was thought, Matthew, that they were going to start counting absentee ballots on the 9th and then the write-ins on the 10th. Where does that stand?
[Matthew Felling, Anchor, Ktva Anchorage:] Honestly, that is exactly where we are as of as of this moment. The time line though that we thought were dealing with at the beginning of the week was that the write-ins were going to start being dealt with on November 18th. So in terms of the arguments that the Joe Miller camp has made about trying to get their legal ducks in a row, we just put the game on speed. We hit fast forward from the Alaska lieutenant governor who is the guy that makes this sort of decisions. And there's a there's not only that, but yesterday he also said and this is probably just a rounding error worth of a story, but it was notable that he said when asked that if somebody inadvertently I don't know why they would do it, but if somebody filled in a bubble and wrote in Joe Miller as a write-in candidate that those would get tossed out since he was not a he was not a credited write-in candidate, which I took a look. It actually looks like it goes against Alaska State statute. So that's one more battle that Joe Miller people think that they already have a very, very steep if not impossible hill to climb. They don't need to get any more difficult by
[Roberts:] Yes.
[Felling:] you know, rearranging where we thought we were 24 hours ago.
[Roberts:] There's one one thing is is certain, though, and that is the high-powered lawyers have been assembling on both sides. How nasty could this fight get? How involved can it get?
[Felling:] You know what, John, I was I've been thinking about it, it's going to get nasty. I mean, one lawyer in a town goes broke. Two lawyers in a town keep each other busy and keep each other, you know, flush. But we're going to have a lot of people up here. It's not going to be BushGore. It's not going to be Frank and Coleman. Sorry, media people. It's not going become that acrimonious because these are two Republicans. I mean, we're not going to have the national Republican people coming up from D.C. tearing down one or the other, because those they're eventually going to have a Republican that they're sending to Washington, D.C. It's not going to get that nasty. But in terms of the individual campaigns, the money they're putting out, it's it's probably going to get down and dirty and we know that the lieutenant governor, the guy running this, that he's going to beunquote, "lenient" when it comes to people spelling the word "Murkowski." We don't know exactly what lenient is.
[Roberts:] Yes.
[Felling:] And the lawyers are going to have a field day with, are you allowed one misspelling, two misspellings. What is the threshold and you know that they're going to have two different sets of standards when it comes to what I can tell with this person was going for and the other side says absolutely not.
[Roberts:] Yes. You know, it's all about measuring voter intent. And we remember that all too well from the 2000 election campaign when we had the hanging chad controversy in Florida. But when it comes to spelling and I know Fox News spelled her name wrong, Lisa Murkowski's own campaign spelled her name wrong on one of their ads. I mean, this could make the hanging chads scandal look like child's play.
[Felling:] You're looking at the highest political stakes spelling bee in potentially the history of the United States, so at least we have that going for. And the Murkowski people, it must be said, yes, they they had a couple of slipups with regards to the spelling. They have the name recognition, though, in the state.
[Roberts:] Yes.
[Felling:] We've had Frank Murkowski, Senator Lisa Murkowski's father in office for a long time before her. This is not your run of the mill long odd named write-in campaign that nobody's ever heard of before. And plus, we had over a million of dollars $1.2 million for a TV commercial ad campaign spent exactly teaching people how to fill, how to spell, getting that getting that lesson across.
[Roberts:] And there's one historical point of reference here, too. The last time that a Senate candidate was successful as a write- in was in 1954. And that happened to be the year that the Giants won the World Series. So, maybe lightning strikes twice. We'll see.
[Felling:] You know, the Murkowski people sent that out as soon as the final pitch was thrown in the World Series. And I thought, that was
[Roberts:] Right.
[Felling:] write-ins could be anybody. And write-ins could be a very botched attempt at spelling "Murkowski." In which case, we're looking for a lot of votes to get tossed out. But a 13,000-vote difference, which we are now at 100 percent in is going to be tough for the Miller campaign.
[Roberts:] All right. Certainly probably will be. Matthew Felling, good to talk to you this morning thanks for staying up late for us.
[Felling:] All right. Now worries. Thank you.
[Chetry:] All right. Still ahead: our top stories. More than 1 million people in Haiti left homeless after the earthquake are now bracing for a hurricane right now. They're hurricane warnings in Haiti right now with Tomas intensifying again. And even it doesn't turn into a category one storm. We're talking major threat of mudslides because of heavy rains. We're going to have much more on that coming up.
[Roberts:] A Qantas Airbus 380 forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore after one of its engines failed in mid air. The cowling was ripped off. The wing was damaged. Debris fell on in Indonesia. All 459 people on board are fine, though. Qantas has grounded its airbus super jumbos just as a precaution.
[Chetry:] And General Motors is hoping to raise an estimated $13 billion when it returns to the stock market later this month. The automaker is looking to sell its shares of common stock for about $26 to $29 a share. GM still owes the government $40 billion from the taxpayer bailout.
[Roberts:] Well, here's a troubling story investigators in Washington have a serious problem on their hands, it would seem. As we told you yesterday, shots were fired at a Coast Guard recruiting station in Virginia on Monday. Well, now, that shooting has been linked to four other shootings at Military buildings, including the Pentagon. Jeanne Meserve is live in Washington with the latest on the story. This could be harkened back to the D.C. sniper story. But thankfully, no one has been hurt in any of these shootings, but it's still pretty darn frightening.
[Jeanne Meserve, Cnn Homeland Security Correspondent:] Yes, five shootings over the span of 17 days. As of now, the FBI won't say if it has any suspects.
[Meserve:] FBI ballistics tests have now linked the shooting at a Coast Guard recruiting station in Woodridge, Virginia, earlier this week. Two bullets fired at other Military facilities in northern Virginia. Since October 17th, bullets have been fired at the Marine Corps Museum near Quantico, Virginia, the Pentagon, a Marine recruiting facility in Chantilly, Virginia, the Marine Museum again, and then the Coast Guard recruiting station in Woodridge. A former FBI profiler says investigators should not concentrate on one type of suspect because a narrow focus might exclude other possibilities.
[Gregg Mccrary, Former Fbi Profiler:] Could be a former Military guy, could be active, could be somebody who didn't get into the Military who wanted to. Someone that was phased out. They feel unfairly. Could be a family member of a Military person. Could be a would-be terrorist who has no association with the Military.
[Meserve:] The FBI believes the shooter has likely suffered a personal crisis in the recent past.
[John Perren, Fbi Washington Field Office:] This event may have been the loss of a job or status, divorce, financial hardship, death of a loved one.
[Meserve:] All the shootings have taken place overnight. Nobody has been injured. But security around last Sunday's Marine Corps marathon was increased as a precaution.
[Mccrary:] Certainly, it would be easy enough to shoot people if he cared to do so. But he seems to be making a concerted effort not to do that.
[Meserve:] The FBI isn't releasing any information about the type of weapon involved. But Greg McCrary, a former FBI profiler, says by using the same weapon each time, the shooter appears to want authorities to link the crimes to one another. But who he is and why he's doing it are for now a mystery John.
[Roberts:] But when you listen to them, they say it could be anybody for any reason. It really sounds like they're basically starting from scratch.
[Meserve:] Well, I mean, one important clue, McCrary thinks is the fact that all of these have been taken place in northern Virginia. And although a couple of the targets, the Marine Museum and the Pentagon, are very well-known and iconic buildings. The other two, the recruiting stations, are relatively unknown. So, they think somebody with probably familiarity with the geography of the area is involved.
[Roberts:] All right. Jeanne Meserve for us this morning Jeanne, thanks.
[Chetry:] Coming up: we're going to be talking about a topic that a lot of people care about it because we see it more and more food allergies in children, especially among especially peanut allergies.
[Roberts:] I was on a plane the other day and they said, aren't you serving peanuts? They said, we've got somebody on board with a peanut allergy. So, no peanuts on this flight.
[Chetry:] Yes, it's unbelievable because years ago, we didn't hear about this as much. And the numbers also say there have been there has been a spike, the number of people dying with these allergies. Now, they're wondering could it have anything to do with what the mother eats during pregnancy. A little bit of a correlation. And we're going to be talking about it with one the experts in the field, Dr. Scott Sicherer. He's a professor of pediatrics at Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mt. Sinai. We're going to talk to him about this new study still ahead.

[Baldwin:] All right, welcome back. You are looking at live pictures here inside. That's looks like the forum. You can see live pictures inside, that's the CNN Grill. That is where I am sitting coming to you live from Tampa, just off the convention. Just off the forum where we're the nucleus of Tampa and the Republican National Convention is right now all week long. It's officially been called to order. So let's just continue on because part of this story here. Here are more pictures from inside that forum. Called to order at the top of the hour by RNC chairman, Reince Priebus. But on the minds of so many people here in Florida and the gulf region is Isaac. Here is the latest we have. Isaac is still technically a tropical storm. It is moving at 14 miles per hour and gathering power over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Remember you heard earlier that Isaac could turn into a strong Category 1 hurricane as it intensifies across the water there in the gulf. You know, wherever Isaac may land, you could be feeling its impact when you fill up your gas tank the next time. So the storm is very much so threatening oil refineries in the gulf. So I want to talk about that with CNN's Maribel Aber. She is live at the New York Stock Exchange for us today. When we're talking prices at the pump and everyone is sort of, you know, we don't like to hear that I suppose, Maribel. How high could prices go?
[Maribel Aber, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Brooke. Well, you know, one analyst says if refineries start shutting, down we could see gas prices jump 10 cents in the coming week. You know, at this point, we are seeing mostly evacuations offshore. About a quarter of gulf oil production is suspended. As you said earlier here, 39 platforms have been evacuated in eight rigs. But four refineries in Louisiana are in the process of closing down. The gulf coast is key, of course, to oil production in this country. So to put that all in perspective, 40 percent of the nation's petroleum refinery capacity is located along the gulf coast and there's also a huge network of pipelines that funnels it to other parts of the country. So any disruption to supply in this area could send oil prices higher. So we've been seeing volatility today jumping at first, now slipping, but as you know, Brooke, gas prices have already been rising. The national average is $3.75. It's gone up five days in a row. So as we watch this tropical storm, we'll see this as it continues Brooke.
[Baldwin:] We'll watch for it unfortunately, Maribel. Thank you so much for me in New York today. Now to a story that seems half a world away. Something that we are committed to covering for you at CNN, Syria, the civil war there, new violence. Look at this. This is the suburb of the capitol city of Damascus where more than 240 bodies have been found.

[Velshi:] A lot happening overnight. Let's get you caught up. Our first look at the fighting between rebels and Gadhafi forces in the streets of Misrata. Some incredible pictures we've got to show you. And is Gadhafi working on an exit strategy from Libya? We're live in Tripoli just ahead.
[Chetry:] And I'm Kiran Chetry. It's April 1st, but it's not an April Fools' joke. There's snow in the northeast today, up to a foot on the ground in some areas. And this is the same system that spawned tornadoes in Florida. We've got some amazing pictures for you. And Rob is watching the weather. We'll check in with him.
[Romans:] I'm Christine Romans. She has 200,000 Twitter followers and people want her to host "Saturday Night Live." Now the zoo keepers have found that deadly Egyptian cobra. What's her next move? We'll ask the director of the Bronx Zoo live on this
[American Morning. Velshi:] Good morning, and welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Great to be back with both of you guys.
[Chetry:] Where were you? On the hunt for the snake?
[Velshi:] I left town. As you know, I left town until we found out. I got back on. I heard that the snake was back yesterday evening. Got back on a plane and I'm back here.
[Romans:] And meanwhile, the hunt for Gadhafi is on too. And there may be reports this morning that he's trying to negotiate some sort of departure. We're going to keep a very close eye on that. But Libya really tops the news today.
[Chetry:] Yes, and this is so interesting. One of our reporters got a first-hand look at what it's like in one of the rebel-held areas, Misrata. They're still trying to stall the advance of Gadhafi forces in Brega. His rebel fighters as we've been reporting have been on the retreat for days. And now we're getting our first look at the devastation inside the city of Misrata after weeks of fighting. Our CNN's Frederik Pleitgen had remarkable access to rebel fighters on the front lines. Here's a look.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn International Correspondent:] Weeks of urban combat have taken their toll on Misrata. Badly damaged buildings, streets littered with wreckage. Libya's third largest city, the fight is a stronghold in the west is under siege by pro- Gadhafi forces. [on camera]: We're extremely close to the front line right now. We're with a couple of the fighters from the opposition forces. And this is in downtown Misrata. There's a lot of destruction everywhere. Most of the buildings here have some sort of damage to them, pock marks. There's a lot of destroyed cars in the streets, as well. And we can also see that the people that we're with, the fighters that we're with are very, very tense at this moment. [voice-over]: A celebration on a destroyed armored vehicle, a step too far for pro-Gadhafi forces nearby. And the scene turns ugly.
[Unidentified Male:] As you see, that all is destroyed by Gadhafi's forces. Building, gas stations, schools, restaurants, police station, even fire station, they're destroyed.
[Pleitgen:] Most residents have fled downtown Misrata as pro- Gadhafi forces have positioned snipers on tall buildings and used tanks and artillery in the city center. The anti-Gadhafi fighters badly outgunned fight back with the few weapons they have. They provided us with this video saying it shows a man disabling a battle tank with a rocket-propelled grenade.
[Chetry:] Amazing pictures. And that's Fred Pleitgen on the front lines in Misrata. He is now safely out of there, and that's why we're able to show the video this morning. But meantime, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates reassuring Congress that no U.S. troops will be used on the ground in Libya. He also said that supplying arms to the rebels is putting the cart before the horse. And we'll play a little bit more of that for you later. But very interesting words from our defense secretary when it comes to exactly what we may do strategically in Libya. Meantime, Moammar Gadhafi remains publicly defiant. But there are some signs that his inner circle may be crumbling. Two top lieutenants have defected amid signs that the regime may be looking for an exit strategy. "The Guardian" newspaper is reporting today that an envoy is reportedly in Britain for secret talks. Mohammed Ismail is a top aide to Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam, who's shown there. Ismail reportedly visited Britain within the past couple of days.
[Romans:] Americans being warned, don't travel to Syria unless you really have to. The U.S. now telling citizens to put off non- essential travel to Syria. It also urged people in the country to think about leaving because of violence that has reportedly killed more than 70 people there. This comes as protesters called for marches across the country today dubbing this a day of martyrs.
[Velshi:] Well, March, out like a lion with severe weather from Florida all the way to Maine. Storms causing significant damage down south. A tornado ripped through Lakeland, Florida, flipping over small planes at an air show. And the northeast gets some April Fools' snowstorm, up to a foot in some places. In Cleveland, Progressive Field was a sea of white yesterday. Workers have been busy getting it clear in time for the Indian season opening game today. The northeast getting some of that snow right now. Rob Marciano is here with us in New York tracking the storm. Hey, Rob.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Hey, Ali. Good to see you guys again. Yes. How about that first day of baseball?
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Marciano:] We've got some snow to talk about. We said it might happen, but you know, when you see the pictures of them actually shoveling snow off a baseball field, that's a little bit surreal. A little bit of snow across the northeast right now. Here are some of the totals. Sterling, Massachusetts, 5.1. Still snowing in places like Worcester, Massachusetts. Five inches there. Yes, it is April 1st and this is not an April Fools' joke. We do anticipate a little bit more in the way of snow as we go through the next few hours. Radar showing just that. Winter storm warnings are still posted from Albany to Boston. We might have a live shot from Boston. Let's check it out there. Probably some snow falling out of the skies there. There you go. All right. WHDH, thanks for that shot there. A little snow on the ground. Not snowing down but commute will be hard for New Englanders. But nonetheless, a little bit of a slick go out there so just be careful. This thing is not over. As a matter of fact, where it's been raining in New York and parts of I-95, the back side of this will bring in a little bit of cold air and we'll probably see a little bit of snow flurries. As a matter of fact, snow showers, at least, still for the Cleveland's second game and maybe some wrap around for Philly as well. But here's where the most significant snowfall is expected later on today. Northern New England and parts of New Hampshire could see up and over a foot of snow. So April 1st, yes. Feeling like, I don't know, January, February 1st, as well. And we had that severe weather down across parts of Florida. Rough weather for them the past two days, but looks to be a little bit more calm today. See, when Ali shows up, everything gets starts to calm down.
[Velshi:] There you go. The snake's back.
[Marciano:] Snake's back where it should be.
[Romans:] That's what you were doing yesterday. On assignment. He's actually a snake charmer.
[Velshi:] I was a snake charmer. Hey, it's interesting, though, because a lot of opening days including yesterday's a lot of opening days are going to be wet, windy and rainy.
[Marciano:] Yes. And then, Yankees' opening day yesterday was cold and damp. I got to spend the day with an amazing hardcore Yankee fan. We're going to have that story for you in about 10 minutes.
[Chetry:] All right.
[Velshi:] Thanks, Rob.
[Chetry:] Thank you. We'll turn to the nuclear crisis in Japan right now. Alarming radiation levels are now being detected in the beef in Fukushima Prefecture. This is triggering a ban on sales of beef now. Workers, meantime, cannot seem to get the upper hand on the deteriorating conditions at the Daiichi power plant. You're looking at pictures now from a mounted camera on a concrete pump that's being used to spray water on the damaged reactors. The remote-controlled crane is typically used to pour cement into high-rise buildings. And the U.S. is sending Marines in now to help with the efforts in Japan. A 155-member response force could arrive in Japan today. And these Marines are specifically trained to operate in chemical, biological and nuclear environments. The Defense Department says that the unit is bringing equipment for agent detection and also identification, casualty search, rescue and personnel decontamination and emergency medical care to stabilize contaminated personnel. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people who've evacuated that 12- mile zone surrounding the plant are now being told that it will not be days or weeks, but months before they can return to their homes.
[Romans:] New this morning. Gas prices are up by more than a penny. The average for a gallon of regular gasoline now $3.62. Can't talk gas without talking oil, of course. And this morning, oil prices are at a 2 12 year high, you guys. Carmen Wong Ulrich is here "Minding Your Business."
[Carmen Wong Ulrich, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Yes, it is. And rising. Now we have two-and-a-half year highs for oil at $107 a barrel today. Let's look at how this uptick happened for this quarter. Oil most recently passed $100 a barrel in February with protests and unrest in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, of course. Then it dipped mid-March after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. But now, with continued fighting in Libya, which has shut down an output of 1.6 million barrels of crude a day combined with the decline of the dollar, oil is up 16 percent for this quarter. Now in other big business news today, later this morning, U.S. Department of Labor is set to release the job report. This is private job growth for the month of March and it's expected to continue growth of an additional 180,000 jobs. This according to a CNN Money report and it's going to keep unemployment at about 8.9 percent.
[Velshi:] And we're going to hope that it's mostly private sector growth, but it's actually the net of the government jobs
[Romans:] Right.
[Velshi:] what will be the government jobs lost.
[Romans:] Right.
[Ulrich:] Well, that's the thing
[Velshi:] And the private sector jobs.
[Ulrich:] And that's what's in danger.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Ulrich:] We've seen growth in the private sector.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Ulrich:] But government jobs, a lot of them on the line.
[Velshi:] That's what we've seen most of the losses. And in a good economy, you want more private sector jobs and government jobs, but the reality is we continue
[Romans:] I know.
[Velshi:] It just hurts when you continue to see right.
[Ulrich:] We can use both. We really can use both.
[Romans:] I love to see high hopes for the jobs reports. And it is high hopes. High hopes that it's only 8.9 percent.
[Velshi:] That's right.
[Romans:] When you think about that, even 10 years
[Ulrich:] After what we've had, let's just keep it going and growing.
[Romans:] I know. It's all relative. All right.
[Velshi:] Thank you, Carmen.
[Ulrich:] Thank you.
[Velshi:] Also new this morning, she tried to throw them off with her tweets, but they got her. After searching for days, for four days, zoo keepers found a potentially deadly Egyptian cobra in the reptile house exactly where they said she would be at the famous Bronx Zoo in New York.
[Jim Breheny, Director, Bronx Zoo:] We wanted to create an environment where the snake felt comfortable coming out. So we kept the lights dim and we tried to keep as much noise and commotion down so she would feel comfortable coming out. And as I said, we were fairly confident that she would come out and she did.
[Velshi:] Coming up at 6:50, we're going to speak to the Bronx Zoo director. He has has all this fame gone to this cobra's large head? We'll find out about that a little later.
[Chetry:] Large head, the poor thing is three ounces. After she's safe and sound, people are like, oh, yes, the size of a pencil.
[Velshi:] I thought this thing was huge.
[Chetry:] Me too. With a huge hood ready to strike at any moment. Deadly.
[Velshi:] How big is it?
[Chetry:] Three ounces.
[Romans:] Just a little baby.
[Chetry:] She's about the size of a pencil.
[Velshi:] All right. Well, we'll be on top this morning.
[Chetry:] Now I'm wondering if this whole thing was a ruse to get people to the Bronx Zoo.
[Velshi:] Most famous Egyptian cobra in history.
[Chetry:] Well, up next on AMERICAN MORNING, you've probably seen drivers speeding past you. Did it make you nervous? Well, actually the roads are a lot safer. In fact, safer than we've seen in decades. We'll tell you why.
[Romans:] And a candy bar in a dream. How a craving helped a group of I.T. workers win the mega millions jackpot. This is a story of karma, boys and girls. It's really interesting. Eleven minutes after the hour.

[Kaye:] Stocks are in positive territory right now but where do they stand for the year that ends this weekend? Alison Kosik joins me now from the New York Stock Exchange. Hi, Alison. So where does the S&P; 500 stand for 2011?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent::] OK, Randi. So the S&P; 500 is back in positive territory for the year but just barely. And you know what? It looks like it's really going to come right down to the wire on this one. But either way it goes, up or down, it's really likely to be the smallest yearly change for the S&P; 500 since 1970. Now as for the Dow, it's done better. It's up about 6 percent year- to-date, but we like to look at the S&P; 500 because it's the broader index, Randi, the one that investors really should focus on because it's the index that most closely tracks our 401 [k] s or our retirement accounts. So chances are those are looking pretty darn flat this year. So to peek or not to peek at that portfolio at the end of the year, that is the question Randi.
[Kaye:] Yes, I'm sure and I'm sure you're also keeping a close watch on the stock winners and losers?
[Kosik:] Yes. So we put together some of the winners and losers. The best performer in the S&P; 500 is actually Cabot Oil and Gas. Now that stock has more than doubled in price this year and here's why. Because the natural gas industry is booming in the U.S. El Paso Corporation, that's also a natural gas company. That came in at number two. MasterCard comes in at number four. And that's kind of an encouraging one because it shows that consumer spending is up as the economy recovers. You just hope that everybody is going to go ahead and pay their bills on time. All right. So you flip the coin over, we get the worst performers. First Solar. Solar stocks, they've taken a beating. Some solar companies have actually gone bankrupt as the price of solar panels essentially collapsed. MEMC comes in fourth on that list. It also got caught up in the solar decline as well. And then who can forget Netflix. Yes, Netflix took quite the beating this year following its PR disasters over the summer. Netflix stock was trading above $300 in July. Guess how much it's trading today Randi.
[Kaye:] What? Do we even want to know?
[Kosik:] Under 70 bucks, under 70 bucks. I know.
[Kaye:] Wow.
[Kosik:] It's tough if you own that stock. It's tough to take, yes, it's trading under $70.
[Kaye:] Wow. Not good. How are the markets doing right now?
[Kosik:] Markets are holding their own. The Dow is up 100 points. All the major averages are in the green. That's after of course the big sell-off from yesterday. But you know a lot of these moves are being accentuated by the fact that few people are trading so, you know, a lot of the trading right now is kind of kind of holiday time trading. But at least we're in the green in a strong way Randi.
[Kaye:] All right, well, here's to 2012, as we say good-bye to 2011.
[Kosik:] Yes.
[Kaye:] Thank you, Alison. Well, it's been a gloomy few years, we don't have to tell you that, for the economy. But will 2012 get any better? Here are some of the brighter economic signs. Holiday online sales surged 16 percent over last year. Overall sales rose 4.5 percent. Twenty leading economists surveyed by CNN now say we have only a 20 percent chance of falling into a second recession next year, whereas three months ago they were estimating it was 30 percent. And despite today's increase in first-time jobless claims, we've had several weeks of claims falling. In fact the week before or last jobless claims were at the lowest level since 2008. Joining me now is the president of Optimum Capital Management, Ryan Mack. Ryan, nice to see you. So what do you think? How will the economy fare in 2012?
[Ryan Mack, President, Optimum Capital Management:] I think that 2012 is going to be defined by an economy of less risk projecting a small rate of growth in GDP. But you know what? I'll take a 2 to 3 percent growth rate in GDP as long as it's sustainable. We've had for quite some time now an unsustainable norm that was essentially individuals over-borrowing, over leveraging themselves on a personal side and corporate side and the government, essentially not being able to pay that debt off so now it's less risk. Corporations are taking less risk and hiring individuals and they're doing it by keeping more capital reserves. We had the even the government is trying to figure out ways to cut spending. And even individuals. I mean despite what we saw with the retail sales numbers, which did uptick a little bit, we still have a slightly higher savings rate than we've seen over the last few years. So I do think less risk and being able to mitigate these risks was going to lead a slower growth rate in the economy is going to be better for the long run but is going to lead to a slightly slower than what we're used to seeing.
[Kaye:] Let's talk about housing prices. A lot of people focused on that. Some economists are saying that housing prices will finally drop a few more percentage points than stabilize next year, maybe even hit the bottom. But others are saying it may be another two to five years. Where do your sources telling you.
[Mack:] Well, I definitely feel that housing we're in it for the long haul in terms of seeing any uptick in prices. We're seeing the level of shadow inventory is still relatively high. We're seeing the excess in supply. We still have one out of four individuals that have homes under water. One out of five individuals essentially in 2007 have been over 90 days late on their payment so we still have a very dismal market in the economy. But on the other side plus tighter credit requirements, look at Fannie and Freddie, they are still requiring individuals to have a about a 762 FICO score just to get into a piece of property. But we're buying homes more responsibly. I think the days of that no zero money down on a piece property where we just think that we could just buys homes and flip homes and try to have capital appreciation getting in and out. Those days are over. Those days are behind us. So it's going to lead to slower rate, but we're going to be more responsible and more people who purchase homes today are those individuals who more likely to be able to keep those homes for the long run.
[Kaye:] So when we look at, trying to get back on track, getting the economy back on track, I mean, what's the most important thing that you think needs to happen?
[Mack:] I think right now individuals need to try to retrain themselves into different industries that are hiring. In the optics industry, it is about 2.5 percent unemployment rate. Mathematics jobs are increasing four times the rate of unemployment. However, the U.S. is about out of the 29 developed countries, we're 27th in terms of bachelor's degrees that have been awarded to science, technology and math. So if you've been laid off, now it's time for you to try to find a new industry that you can get re-trained and re-certify to get back into the job industry, create your own company, try to create your own business and create your own opportunity. And then mitigate your risk in the most responsible way. It is going to be slower, but we will get back on track.
[Kaye:] Yes, we're chugging along. Ryan Mack, thank you very much.
[Mack:] Thank you.
[Kaye:] A war story of sorts from Afghanistan, but the victims are not on the battlefield. Why girls and women are being tortured and what some are doing to try and stop it?

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Live from Washington, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed for this Thursday, December 8th. We're going to begin live in Pittsburgh. That is where attorneys are about to announce a civil lawsuit against Bernie Fine. He is the fired Syracuse assistant basketball coach. Zach Tomaselli claims that Fine fondled him in a Pittsburgh hotel room back in 2002 when he was 13 years old. Now, Tomaselli plans to discuss these allegations very shortly. We're going to bring you his remarks live. We should also note, however, that authorities are questioning Tomaselli's credibility based on records from the Syracuse basketball team's travel, as well as hotel. Also, Tomaselli announced this week he is going to plead guilty to sexually assaulting a boy in Maine. Well, the Syracuse district attorney says he can't prosecute Bernie Fine for allegedly molesting two former ball boys. That is because the statute of limitations has now expired. Bobby Davis and Mike Lang claim that they were sexually abused during the 1980s. The D.A. does say that he believes both of these guys are telling the truth. He told our Gary Tuchman a nanny who worked in the Fine home had suspicions.
[Bill Fitzpatrick, Onondaga County District Attorney:] She didn't physically witness any molestation, but clearly body language, affect, the way they talked to each other, the way they acted around each other, the conversation she had with Laurie Fine, there's no question that
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] Like, for example, when it came to Bernie, what did she say about the way Bernie Fine acted that made her know that they were having a sexual
[Fitzpatrick:] The way they would do things, the way they would watch TV, the way they would eat food together, the way they would suddenly disappear together.
[Malveaux:] Now, Bernie Fine's attorneys have not yet responded to the accusations allegedly made by the nanny. Meanwhile, Jerry Sandusky could be getting out of jail this afternoon. The former Penn State assistant football coach was arrested again yesterday after two more young men came forward to accuse him of sexual abuse. Now, this brings the total number of alleged victims to 10. Sandusky could be released on a $250,000 cash bail. Attorney General Eric Holder, he is in the hot seat on Capitol Hill this morning. A House committee is investigating possible wrongdoing in a gun sting operation known as Fast & Furious. It allowed illegally purchased firearms to be taken from Arizona to drug cartels in Mexico. Some House Republicans say that Holder should resign, but the A.G. is now standing his ground.
[Eric Holder, Attorney General:] The use of this misguided tactic is inexcusable and it must never happen again. Soon after learning about the allegations raised by ATF agents involved with Fast & Furious, I took action designed to ensure accountability.
[Malveaux:] So, also set to take some heat on Capitol Hill, former U.S. senator and governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine. He was chief executive officer of the investment firm MF Global when it collapsed in the eighth largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. So, lawmakers want to know what happened and why an estimated $1.2 billion that's billions in client funds are now unaccounted for. In prepared testimony today, Corzine apologized for his firm's failure, but says he doesn't know where the missing money went. Politics, all about momentum, mojo. Well, Newt Gingrich, clearly, he's got his wind at the back right it in the race for the Republican nomination. A new CNN polling shows the former House Speaker surging now to the front of the pack in critical first primary states. What are we talking about? Iowa, South Carolina, Florida, all by double-digits leads. And he is nipping at Mitt Romney's heels in New Hampshire. As Gingrich tells our Wolf Blitzer, this is quickly becoming what he says is a two-man race.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Too early to say that it's yours to lose?
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] Yes. Well, I mean, it's either Romney or mine. Those are the two in a sense, the two front-runners.
[Blitzer:] What about the other candidates?
[Gingrich:] We're the two front-runners. I think it's a fair thing to say without diminishing anybody. Both of us have different kinds of strengths, but Romney's a very formidable opponent.
[Malveaux:] All right. He's going from governor to inmate. Rod Blagojevich has 90 days to report to prison. The former Illinois governor was sentenced yesterday to 14 years for corruption that included trying to sell President Obama's old Senate seat. In court, Blagojevich said he was unbelievably sorry. But the judge said the apology came too late. So, Rod Blagojevich just got sentenced to 14 years in prison, but does the time fit the crime? Carol Costello joining us from New York with today's "Talk Back" question. Hey, Carol. A lot of people are raising their eyebrows about this one.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] Fourteen years is say long time, right? It's safe to say, Suzanne, the judge threw the book at Rod Blagojevich. Fourteen years for, among other things, selling a Senate seat for personal political gain. Make no mistake, U.S. District Judge James Zagel made an example of the man of a million hair jokes.
[Patrick Fitzgerald, U.s. Attorney:] Today's sentenced of 14 years on former governor Blagojevich sends a strong message that the public has had enough and judges have had enough. This needs to stop.
[Costello:] Not many would disagree with that, but 14 years? Dr. Conrad Murray only got four years for causing Michael Jackson's death. DePaul law professor Len Cavise told "The Chicago Sun-Times," "I think it's outrageous." Cavise likened the sentence to cruel and unusual punishment. He says, "I think it's outrageous. The judge and the prosecution went off the deep end on this one." After all, former congressman and majority leader Tom DeLay appeared on "Dancing With the Stars" while charges of money laundering swirled around him. Congressman Bob Ney got 30 months for conspiracy. Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham got eight years for accepting bribes and tax evasion. Richard Nixon, he got zero time. Clearly, Mr. Blagojevich is not happy to be the example the public has had enough.
[Rod Blagojevich , Fmr. Illinois Governor:] We're going to keep fighting on through this adversity and see you soon.
[Costello:] Yet, he and many other politicians have violated something that ought to be sacred your trust. So we want to take the conversation one step further. The "Talk Back" question today: Should politicians be subject to harsher punishments for wrongdoing? Facebook.comCarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
[Malveaux:] All right. Great question, Carol. Thanks. Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering. First, a former assistant coach at Syracuse University avoids criminal sex abuse charges. Well, now an alleged victim is finding a new way to seek justice. And the families of dozens of women who took this birth control pill say they died because of it. Now the company stands accused of hiding evidence. Then, New Jersey's former governor tells Congress he doesn't know where the money went. Jon Corzine forced to talk about the millions of investor dollars that his company lost. And later, rare, amazing video of a Marine firefight in Afghanistan captured by the lens of a Marine photographer.
[Unidentified Male:] You hear about people being battle-tested. This one tested the voice.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] And that's got the homeland security officials on the defensive. In Florida, there are nearly half-a-million foreclosure cases, half-a-million. Judges have been hired to cut through the backlog, but critics say they're giving many of those cases just two minutes and giving the edge to banks over homeowners. And grizzly bears, dogsleds, and freshly caught salmon. Sarah Palin's new reality show is bringing in the viewers. Will it also bring her closer to a 2012 presidential run? We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world, breaking news, political headlines and Jeanne Moos all straight ahead. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. As we move toward the busy holiday travel season, many air travelers are already furious over the revealing body scans and intrusive body searches now going on at the nation's airports. Homeland security officials today defending the stepped-up security measures, but hint that some adjustments may be made. Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is here. She's looking into this for us. What's going on, Jeanne?
[Jeanne Meserve, Cnn Homeland Security Correspondent:] Wolf, a full-blown grassroots revolt is under way against TSA body imaging machines and the new more intimate pat-downs being conducted at airport checkpoints.
[Meserve:] Traveler John Tyner didn't want to go through the advanced body imaging machine at the San Diego Airport last Saturday, but the option of an enhanced pat-down galled him even more. Audio of his face-off with the TSA has become a YouTube sensation.
[John Tyner, Air Traveler:] If you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested. OK, I don't understand a sexual assault can be made a condition of my flying.
[Unidentified Female:] This is not considered a sexual assault.
[Tyner:] It would be if you were not the government. I would like only my wife and maybe my doctor to touch me there. They have explosives detective equipment or explosives detecting equipment that's capable of detecting very minute traces of explosives. So, if that's the major concern, why aren't we using those machines? Why do we have to view people's naked bodies?
[Meserve:] Some pilots, flight attendants, and travelers rights organizations are up in arms over what they regard as invasive, offensive, over-the-top security measures. One group is telling members to opt out of the full-body scanners during the busy holiday travel period and insist on a private screening with witnesses.
[Kate Hanni, Flyersrights.org:] Well, many people have concerns about radiation and they're very concerned about the impact, especially of cumulative radiation, and even more people are concerned about having their naked bodies witnessed by a TSA agent in a back room who they can't see and they don't know who they are.
[Meserve:] But there's a flip side to the story. This is what PETN can do to an aircraft. PETN is what the Christmas Day bomber had sewn into his underwear. The secretary of homeland security says the best available way to find something similar is to use body scanners and enhanced pat-downs.
[Janet Napolitano, U.s. Homeland Security Secretary:] You know, we're not doing this just to do it. We're doing it because we need to keep powders and gels and liquids off of planes that are unauthorized, just as we need to keep metals off of planes.
[Meserve:] The TSA has not been able to tell us how many complaints they have received about these new screening procedures, but the U.S. Travel Association says since last Wednesday, it's gotten over 1,000 unsolicited comments from travelers complaining about the new screening protocols. Today the secretary of homeland security and the head of TSA said they are listening and they may adjust protocols in the days and weeks ahead. Meanwhile, the TSA is investigating John Tyner for refusing to complete the screening process. He could face a civil fine of up to $11,000. Their concern, Wolf, that people may come to screening checkpoints and probe them and see how far they can get, that terrorists could do that. That's why they have those fines Wolf.
[Blitzer:] But if somebody doesn't want to go through the procedures, they don't have to let them go through the security gate, right?
[Meserve:] No. And he didn't. He turned around and left the airport. You have to go through some kind of screening. Now, the TSA says a very small number of people are getting subjected to these pat-downs, these intensive pat-downs.
[Blitzer:] The new, more robust pat-downs.
[Meserve:] Exactly. It's the people who either refuse to go through the body imaging machines or they find an anomaly in the body imaging machines or people who set off the metal detector or people who are picked for random screening. They say the number is relatively small. It is not every traveler.
[Blitzer:] A lot of people are going to be flying on Thanksgiving holiday, Christmas. How worried should they be that the lines are going to be horrendous?
[Meserve:] We just don't know. It depends on these opt-out campaigns that are being conducted telling people not to go through the imaging machines, to take a pat-down. These pat-downs, because they're more intrusive, will take a little bit longer. It depends how many they have to do. There's the possibility it could mean longer lines over what will already be a very crowded holiday travel season.
[Blitzer:] Yes. All right. It's not too pleasant. Thanks very much for that, Jeanne. He's been in Congress for four decades, but his political future is on the line. Charged with a long list of rules violations, Representative Charlie Rangel today walked out of the ethics panel trial. His colleagues deliberated for hours over his fate, before adjourning just a little while ago. Let's bring in our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar. She was watching what was going on. It's not pretty, what's going on, Brianna.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] No, it's not. And it's going to continue. The Ethics Subcommittee will continue deliberating tomorrow, Wolf. But today, Charles Rangel's flare for the dramatic was on full display. He walked into this hearing room. He was smiling and he was all by himself, no lawyer by his side, because he was there representing himself. And he told the committee in essence he wasn't sticking around. Here's what he said.
[Rep. Charles Rangel , New York:] I object to the proceeding. And I with all due respect, since I don't have counsel to advise me, I'm going to have to excuse myself from these proceedings, because I have no idea what this man has put together over two years.
[Keilar:] Now, Rangel said that his lawyers withdrew their representation when he made it clear to them that he may not be able or wouldn't be able to guarantee that he could continue to pay the legal fees. But a spokesperson for the law firm that had been representing him, Zuckerman Spaeder, told a different story in a statement today, saying, "This law firm did not seek to terminate the relationship and explored every alternative to remain as his counsel consistent with House ethics rules prohibiting members from accepting pro bono legal services." Meantime, this trial continued, what's really the prosecution here, the Ethics Committee lawyers detailing the charges against Rangel. And he's facing 13 alleged violations of House rules. One of the most serious has to do with not paying taxes on rental income from a villa that he owns in the Dominican Republic. We have a picture of him on vacation there. Also failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets on his congressional disclosure form. Also misusing a rent-controlled apartment as a campaign office and using congressional letterhead and staff to solicit donations for a college center bearing his name. And some of those companies, Wolf, had some business before his committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, which he did chair before stepping down amid all of these allegations, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] If the House Ethics Committee, Brianna, finds him guilty, what's the potential punishment?
[Keilar:] The worst one, of course, would be expulsion from the House of Representatives. It's seen as unlikely because it normally would happen to a member if they have already been convicted in criminal proceedings, and obviously Rangel has not. But then there's other varying degrees of rebukes from censure to reprimand perhaps to a fine. What this committee will do is it will determine first if they believe that Rangel is guilty. If so, then they will go to the sanctions process. And they can recommend what the rebuke should be. The full House would have the final say on that, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Brianna, thanks very much for that Brianna Keilar from Capitol Hill. One of the rallying cries of the Tea Party movement has been a ban on earmarks, those pet projects, spending items which are routinely added to bills in order to get them passed. House Republicans have already pledged to stop the practice and now one of the chief defenders of earmarks, the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, is certainly feeling the pressure. He says he thought long and hard about it. Now he's joining that campaign. Listen to this.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell , Minority Leader:] Banning earmarks is another small, but important symbolic step that we can take to show that we're serious, another step on the way to serious and sustained cuts in spending and to debt. Earlier this month, voters across the country said they are counting on Republicans to make tough decisions. They gave us a second chance. With this decision, I'm telling them that they were right to put their trust in us.
[Blitzer:] Senate Republicans are set to vote tomorrow in a nonbinding moratorium on earmarks. Meantime, the president says he's all for this trend. In a statement released, he says and I'm quoting "I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to not only end earmark spending, but to find other ways to bring down our deficits for our children." How President Obama should spend the next two years in office, that's a question that's on Jack's mind. And Jack here is with "The Cafferty File" Jack.
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Anchor:] Did you just say they're going to vote on a nonbinding moratorium?
[Blitzer:] Correct.
[Cafferty:] So what the hell is the point?
[Blitzer:] It's a symbolic gesture, a statement, a nonbinding statement.
[Cafferty:] It doesn't mean anything.
[Blitzer:] It means that they're on record.
[Cafferty:] Oh, please. To be a great leader, President Obama should not seek reelection in 2012. That's according to a "Washington Post" piece by two pollsters who worked for Democratic presidents, Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen. They write that Mr. Obama needs to decide how he wants to govern for the next two years, and they think the only way he can attempt to fix the serious problems facing this country is by putting national interests ahead of his personal or political ones. By announcing that he won't run again, Mr. Obama quote "will be able to unite the country, provide national and international leadership, escape the hold of the left, isolate the right, and achieve results that would be otherwise unachievable" unquote. Caddell and Schoen write President Obama would not be a lame duck if he foregoes a second term. Instead, they believe it would give him much more leverage with both parties. If the president showed more bipartisanship, the Republicans would be forced to meet him halfway, and Mr. Obama wouldn't be constantly worried about pleasing the Democrats' base either, people like senior citizens and the unions, in order to convince them to vote for him in two years. Could make it a whole lot easier to accomplish something meaningful on the tough issues, like the debt and the deficit. The writers do believe President Obama can be reelected if he chooses to run, but in order to win, they say he will have to carry out a scorched-earth campaign, the kind of divisive campaign President Bush ran in 2004 and that Mr. Obama completely rejected in 2008. Here's the question. Should President Obama not run for reelection in 2012? Go to CNN.comcaffertyfile. Nonbinding, my foot.
[Blitzer:] All right, Jack, thank you. A lot of nonbinding stuff going on. He's a former secretary of state, a retired four-star general. Some people want Colin Powell to add White House chief of staff to his resume. Powell is now speaking out about that. We're going to hear what he's saying. And why hundreds of outraged people escorted a student to middle school.

[Phillips:] Well, it is too soon to know whether Florida is backing down from "stand your ground," but in the firestorm arising from the killing of Trayvon Martin, the self-defense statute that Florida pioneered in 2005 is getting a second look. As we mentioned Florida's governor naming members of a task force on citizens' safety and protection right now. They'll try to make sure that the laws protect the innocent and not shield the guilty. Let me read you the Florida statute verbatim. Quote, "A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has the right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony." You don't have to be a famous trial lawyer to grasp that, but we've got one anyway. Paul Callan joining me from New York. So, Paul, how do laws like this change the equation for prosecutors when one person kills another?
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Contributor:] Well, Florida's law is especially strange, Kyra, because, of course, in every state in the United States you have the right to defend yourself. You can act in self-defense in your home or even outside of your home if you are in fear of death or if you're in fear of serious bodily injury. You can meet force with force. That's standard, old- fashioned self-defense theory. But what Florida did was they added this what's called a "stand your ground" law and, as part of the law, they created what's called an immunity hearing and what that says, basically, is that when you're charged with killing somebody, you have the right to a hearing well in advance of trial in front of a judge and, if you assert self-defense, the judge has to dismiss the case. In almost every other state, that's a jury question as to whether force was appropriate under the circumstances. You have a trial and there's a big fight about it, but Florida says, no, we'll let a judge decide that first and only then will there be a jury trial. So they really put self-defense on a pedestal, that it's not on in really any other state in the United States.
[Phillips:] Let's take a look at these laws and I want to ask you a bit of a broader question here and we've got some maps so folks can see exactly where these laws are in place. Florida may have been the first, but it certainly isn't alone in having a "stand your ground" law. We can see that and then even more states, Paul, have this so-called "castle doctrine." You touched on it, allowing deadly force against threats inside the home, the car and even the workplace. Do you think we're becoming a society that shoots first and asks questions later?
[Callan:] I don't think we've seen a radical change in that, at least in the "castle doctrine" cases, because you have to understand this castle doctrine, which basically means you can defend your home using any necessary force. This is a doctrine that goes back to King Henry VIII in England and, you know, if you broke into a peasant's hut, the peasant could kill to protect the interior. But when he went outside into the village then it was the job of the king's men to enforce the law, so that's why you had the duty to call the police and retreat, not use deadly, physical force on somebody yourself. So what has happened in the United States since about 2005 when these states started passing "stand your ground" laws, they said now, you know, you don't have to call the police. You can turn and fight and meet force with force. So we've now seen that law being used in a lot of states in a way that's never been used before, but the real question is yes, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Kyra.
[Phillips:] Do you foresee any of these laws going away?
[Callan:] I think a lot's going to depend on this Trayvon MartinGeorge Zimmerman case. This is the first time we've seen a very public display of what happens with these laws. And you also have to understand that the Florida law is very, very unusual. It has this immunity hearing that a lot of the other states don't have. A lot of the other states just have a law that says, at the time of the jury trial, you can tell the jury you acted in self-defense and you don't have this duty to retreat, to run and call the police, but Florida has this special immunity hearing. So the Florida law is especially strange and, I said, it puts self-defense on a higher pedestal than really any other state that I know of, but I do think everybody's going to be taking a second look at "stand your ground" laws.
[Phillips:] Paul Callan, thanks very much.
[Callan:] OK, nice being with you.
[Phillips:] One of the prostitutes at the center of the Secret Service scandal is talking. What she said, next.

[Harris:] So, hundreds of people in San Bruno, California, are waking up today surrounded by destruction and devastation. They were allowed to return to the San Francisco suburb yesterday for the first time since Friday's deadly gas line fire. CNN's Ted Rowlands joins us now from San Bruno. And Ted, I really want you at some point to describe what people there are waking up to this Monday morning, but I know you've got a guest with you.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, Tony. We have Christopher Hart. He's the vice chairman of the NTSB, the lead agency in the investigation into this explosion which took place last week. And obviously, you guys are focusing, Mr. Hart, on this piece of pipe. We saw a chunk of it, if you will, get hauled out of here this morning. What can you learn from actually analyzing the pipe? And what have you learned so far that you can share with us?
[Christopher Hart, Ntsb Vice-chairman:] We'll be taking that piece of the pipe, as well as the two pieces immediately adjacent to it on both ends, back to Washington, to our metallurgy labs, where we will do a detailed examination of them to determine what caused the breach of the pipe.
[Rowlands:] One thing that people are concerned about across the country is that these transmission lines are everywhere. There's miles and miles of them, and having this blow the way it did, and its age, should people be concerned about the future in the coming years and decades, about the infrastructure and this possibly happening more frequently?
[Hart:] One of the systemic issues we'll be looking at, in addition to the specific issues related to this event is the fact that pipelines it's not uncommon that pipelines that were installed many, many years ago, as this one was in 1956, at that time they were in areas that weren't densely populated. Since then they have become densely populated. We need to address that and look at that in sort of the macro picture that we're addressing with this accident.
[Rowlands:] Specifically, in the days and weeks leading up to this, have you found anything of note in terms of people smelling gas? Have you been able to determine whether those reports are accurate? And there's also some reports that there was some construction on top of that area? What can you tell us about what may have triggered this?
[Hart:] We didn't find any contemporaneous construction, but we will be looking at the history of this pipe to see over the years, not just over the weeks, but over the years, has there been any construction that could have resulted in damage to the pipe that might have created this problem? In addition to that, we're following up on the rumors we've heard about people who smelled gas and called it in. We have not yet been able to verify that, and so we have asked people, anyone who smelled gas and called it in, please let the authorities know or let us know so that we can follow it up.
[Rowlands:] All right. Mr. Hart, thank you. I know you have a lot of work to do here. Tony, basically, the investigation is ongoing. And the NTSB has said that it may take them months before they come to a final conclusion in terms of their final report, but they will update the public once they do find anything that is of note to this explosion that really has a lot of people nervous, as you might imagine, especially here, but really around the country.
[Harris:] All right. And so, Ted, that takes care of where we are in the investigation. If you would, describe that scene and what people living in that neighborhood are getting up to and waking up to today.
[Rowlands:] Yes. It's hard to we always say you have to be here to appreciate it. That really is the case here because, literally, the area where this explosion moved forward, it just flattened 37 houses, basically in an instant. And we came in yesterday with a family that was here when it happened. They shared with us some amazing home video. A gentleman was out on his porch, and it really makes you step back when you see the intensity of the flames in that video, and then you go out on his porch after and look at the aftermath. Basically, people are coming back to their homes. The ones that are coming back, their homes are intact, but their neighborhood as they knew it, obviously, is just completely blown away.
[Harris:] Right. All right. Ted Rowlands for us in San Bruno, California. Ted, good to see you. Thank you. Getting a job is certainly hard for everyone in this economy, but for one group in particular, it is especially difficult. We will tell you why in a moment. And the market's open for coming up on two hours now. Let's take a look at the numbers. We are in positive territory. How about that for a Monday? Up 83 points. We are following these numbers for you throughout the day, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[O'brien:] That's Alison Krauss, "When You Say Nothing At All." That's Congressman's Jim Cooper's playlist, joining us this morning. You can see our entire play list on our Web site at CNN.comstartingpoint. Nothing has been played of mine yet. If you talk about Congress people, $174,000 a year is what you get as a paycheck. It's minimum that you make if you work in Congress. That's a time when congress' approval rating among American is at an all-time low. I believe it's at nine percent. It was 10 percent, down to nine percent now. This morning though we are hearing there are hearings in Congress to change that, no budget no, pay bill. It cuts off paychecks for members of Congress if they can't pass a budget by the fiscal end of the year. They haven't passed a budget since 2009. Latest idea from the group called No Labels and has bipartisan par bipartisan support. The Democratic representative from Tennessee Jim Cooper proposed the House version bill. He and Tom Davis, who is a former Republican Congressman from Virginia, are co-founders of No Labels. They're going or testifying at a hearing today. Good morning. Congressman Davis, nice to see you. You had a chance to come visit with us. I know what is behind the bill is a frustration. And I'll get to that in a moment. First, I want you to walk me through the specifics of the bill that's proposed.
[Rep. Jim Cooper,  Tennessee:] All we do is to say that Congress has to pass its budgets and appropriation bills on time. And on time means by the beginning at fiscal year which is October 1st every year. Congress has largely failed to do this in the past. We think it's high time that Congress did its job this year.
[O'brien:] Or what?
[Cooper:] Or Congress would not be paid. And the signs are that Congress could, you know, be a few days late or even a week late but I think eventually Congress would do the job on time and Congress would want to get paid.
[O'brien:] Congressman Davis, you have cosponsors, 34 in the house, 36 in the Senate. Several hundred people have a vested interest in the Bill who may not be so inclined to sign on. What's the likelihood a Bill leak this would pass?
[Tom Davis,  Former Virginia Congressman:] It's got a hearing in the Senate. I suspect there will be hearings in the house at this point. Look, the key here Congress has not passed the appropriation bills on time since 1996. That means the government agencies can't start doing their work because they didn't know what budget they're going to have for the year. It means contracts aren't let, people aren't hired, innovations don't take place. So this is borne out of frustration. The Senate passed a resolution last year that said if there was a shutdown senators wouldn't get paid. I think there's a frustration among the members that they want to get this stuff done. They just want been able to do it. A year ago it was May before you got the appropriation bills done for a fiscal year that started October 1.
[O'brien:] Catherine, is this legal?
[Crier:] Sure. Governors have done this and it's occurred in state houses. Absolutely, the legislature should do it and they should do other things this organization is talking about. The notion that we're not getting a five-day workweek, the notion these guys can show up on a Tuesday afternoon and go home on the Thursday afternoon and get the kind of recesses they get
[O'brien:] You're talking about insider trading?
[Crier:] Insider trading and we won't bet into the manipulation of rules and the processes but I think this is a great step. If you can get a bipartisan passage of this, that would be absolutely extraordinary. But we've got to do something because they're stalemating the entire process.
[O'brien:] Ultimately I'm sure this is about frustration and trying to stave off the public frustration with this system. Is internally frustration in Congress as well? You must be I'm embarrassed and horrified by those low approval numbers, right?
[Cooper:] What this bill is about is about aligning interests. Today there are some members of Congress who benefit from these delays. We want to make sure that no one benefits.
[O'brien:] But do they benefit?
[Cooper:] Some of them get publicity and publicity in politics is like gold. Some are able to favor certain special interests without having a cut taking place as soon as it would have. There are other ways to manipulate our system. Everyone back home understands if you don't do the work, you can't get people.
[O'brien:] The medium net worth of a Congressperson is just under a million dollars. Do you think really ultimately withholding a salary at the end of the day is going to be a huge disincentive to sit around and basically run to open mikes and run to press conferences?
[Davis:] I've been out for three years. Retired, undefeated, unindicted. Just happy to get
[O'brien:] We love when you say that, by the way.
[Davis:] But there's tremendous frustration among rank- and-file members who come to Washington to get things done only to find out they don't get the choices they want on this. I think the theory behind this is, if the members are saying let's get on time, they will prevail on the leaders to get the votes up in a timely manner.
[O'donnell:] Why not add the word "balanced" to the board budget, too. And then you get your pay.
[Cain:] Baby steps. Baby steps.
[O'brien:] Brett, don't go crazy. All right, nice to see you. We're going to follow up and see how this goes when you do your testifying today. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, Dick Cheney is not going to be visiting Canada any time soon. He says it's too dangerous. We'll tell you why he says that. But our "Get Real," a band blindsides a school where they've been invited by an assembly that went a little bit off the rails. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in just a moment.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] If you have not reached the conclusion that convicted child rapist and polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was a sexual predator, well, some newly released audiotapes just might convince you. And then there's this, this picture from inside Jeffs' temple. Look at this. This is after that raid on his compound back in 2008. It's on this very white bed here where prosecutors say Jeffs forced his underage wives to have sex with him. Pictures like these disturbing audiotapes helped this jury convict Jeffs of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old girl. I want to play you just a portion of those audio recordings. You can hear Jeffs preparing young girls to, I guess, as he was thinking to physically become his wives.
[Warren Jeffs, Convicted Sex Offender:] You'll always come in my area always showered, already ready, in case you are called to assist.
[Baldwin:] Ed Lavandera in Texas. This gives me the chills. I can only listen to so many of niece audio recordings.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] And there's three hours of recordings. Just from the outset here, Brooke, just to give people an understanding, the most graphic of these tapes we won't be playing. But in hearing Warren Jeffs talk to them, it really gives you a clear indication of how he approached these women. Remember, prosecutors say they believe he had some 79 wives, two dozen of those believed to be underage wives, of course. These three hours of testimony you mentioned off the top there saying it went a long way in helping this jury convict him. Many of the jurors when they heard the audio tapes were crying as they heard Warren Jeffs. Let's play a little bit because it really gives you the sense of the kind of control that Warren Jeffs had. In one of the moments he was talking about, "I can't allow people to be present who are not ready, who have selfish feelings or are fearful." Clearly, you can get the sense that Warren Jeffs puts himself in control of the situation.
[Jeffs:] Now, I will reveal to you what the lord is required of me and this family, that the fullness of the law of Sarah is for quorums of wives to be with me, to assist me, to be a comfort, yes, even physically, where more than one woman is with me at a time. My ladies at the right moment are called to assist me. And through their tenderness, and in their wifely, womanly ways are able to revive me. I am not to go into the hands of the medical people or they will destroy me. The lord has appointed that my wives who are filled with the holy ghost can help revive me. This takes place in such privacy people don't know anything about it.
[Baldwin:] OK, so we listened to the tapes. I'm sitting here thinking, though, why is the court releasing these tapes? We know Jeffs has gone away for a very long time. What's the purpose of the public hearing this?
[Lavandera:] Well, this was requested through various salt lake city news media outlets. This was evidence that was presented in court so this is considered public information at this point.
[Baldwin:] And do we know I know it was emotional from what I remember us reporting within the courtroom when the audio recordings were played for the jury. Do we know how Jeffs reacted in the courtroom?
[Lavandera:] You know, this is the interesting part about this. Remember, he wanted to represent himself. He essentially acted as his own defense attorney inside the courtroom. He really had no reaction. He simply, this type of testimony, this kind of evidence he argued to the court that this shouldn't have been used in court because it should have been protected, should have had a religious protection. Obviously that went nowhere with this jury. And a defense attorney, perhaps a seasoned defense attorney would have at least tried to create some doubt. It's interesting as you hear the tapes, sexual explicit words are never used. There's never anyone totally describing what's going on in the situation. Warren Jeffs uses this loaded vocabulary. He talks about the sessions as atonement issues, and as you heard him in the tape, talking about the women coming over to assist him. Obviously very loaded vocabulary, but it's nothing that tells you exactly what's going on in there.
[Baldwin:] I remember the jury deliberated for all of four hours. They asked to hear some of the recordings again. Once they were finished, they convicted him like that. Ed Lavandera in Texas.
[Lavandera:] Absolutely.
[Baldwin:] Thank you. And a horrific crime caught on camera, teenagers pumping their fists in the air shouting white power as a black man lay bloodied in a parking lot. But the worst was yet to come. CNN's Drew Griffin is going to join me here to talk about his chilling investigation out of Mississippi after the break.

[Whitfield:] All right, this race for the White House is coming down to the electoral votes in the battleground states. And Florida takes the cake. It has 29 electoral votes. A poll taken before the last debate shows Romney leading Obama by just one percentage point in Florida. So every Florida vote is crucial. But an investigation is underway after some Florida voters received letters questioning whether they are legally eligible to vote. The letters claim to be from the county election supervisor saying this. Quote, "failure to submit this form within 15 days will result in the removal of your name from the voter registration rolls and you will no longer be eligible to vote. A nonregistered voter who casts a vote in the state of Florida may be subject to arrest, imprisonment andor other criminal sanctions," end quote. I'm joined right now by one of the voters who actually received that letter. Bill Bishop is the president of the Jacksonville City Council. So, Mr. Bishop, you received one of these letters in the mail. How did this strike you when you received it? Did it look authentic?
[Bill Bishop, Received Bogus Voter Intimidation Letter:] Well, when I received the letter, at first blush it looked like just another piece of political junk mail. But then after closer inspection of the outside of it, it had just enough officiality to it that made me open it up. But even then it didn't quite look exactly right.
[Whitfield:] So given you work for the city, you probably are a little bit more astute as to what kind of mail looks official or not. Do you know anybody else who received this kind of letter and, if so, what was their reaction? How have they responded?
[Bishop:] Well, I don't know anybody personally who else received it. I do know there were several in Jacksonville that did. And after further conversations with our supervisor of elections, there were many throughout the state and in multiple counties that received them.
[Whitfield:] All right, Joe Johns, our correspondent out of Washington, is also with us now to join in on the conversation. Joe, you recently did a documentary about voter fraud, intimidation and, you know, voter ID changes in laws. Is this this kind of campaign, where these letters are going out, is this kind of in sync with a wave of confusion that is sweeping many jurisdictions across the country leading up to this election day?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Fredricka, I think that's exactly the word you need to use. It's we're talking about confusion here. And there's a lot of confusion around the country, certainly there in the state of Florida. And I think Mr. Bishop is one good sort of representative of it. And the question is, why? Why would somebody create confusion? In this case, the authorities say they're looking at it as, you know, plain and simple, mail fraud. The FBI, we're told, has just announced that they have launched an investigation, joining up with United States Postal Inspectors and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, all to try to take a good, hard look at why letters like these coming from Seattle, Washington, going to the state of Florida, would actually have been put in the mail. For what purpose? Confusion, yes. But the thing that's interesting is that if you look at Mr. Bishop, there are a lot of others, we're told, who are people who are very politically active, who received these letters. So it doesn't appear that the objective was just to quietly make people not vote. Whoever did this appears to have wanted it to become public and to become known and for people to talk about it, Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] OK. So, Mr. Bishop, you know, Joe underscoring there, you know, many of these letters actually targeted, you know, city officials. Many also targeted registered Republicans. And when you look at a postmark from Seattle to some of these Florida addresses, what does this tell you about this campaign or who might be responsible? Who is behind this kind of letter campaign?
[Bishop:] Well, as far as who's behind it, I have no idea. I mean this is something that just doesn't make any sense. All it could potentially do is just tie up various time of the employees of all the supervisor of elections office because it doesn't ask anybody to do anything other than contact your supervisor of elections. So all it the end result is, it just becomes a major distraction of everybody's time and I think, as it was described as voter confusion, is probably about the only thing you can fathom out of all of this, because otherwise it just doesn't make any sense.
[Whitfield:] Just 13 days before election day. Joe, you mentioned there's an investigation underway. But there are a lot of investigations on so many different levels and so many different jurisdictions. Is it possible that these investigators who really get to the bottom of anything by November 6th?
[Johns:] Now, you know, that's the million dollar question. And the question for voters out there is, what do I do? And I think that underscores the importance of staying attuned to your media, reading your newspapers, keeping up with what's going on in the elections so that you know if there's a scam out there or somebody suggests you're not supposed to vote or somebody says vote on a different day or whatever it is, be aware. It's more important for the American electorate to be aware and sort of prepared for anything because a lot of people think this is a very unusual election, but, Fredricka, I have to tell you, to some degree this is about social media and the ability to move a message around, so more people are actually finding out about the underbelly of elections and the strange little things that go on in the last few days leading up to a hotly contested election.
[Whitfield:] All right, Joe Johns, Bill Bishop, thank you to both of you gentlemen. I appreciate it.
[Bishop:] Thank you.
[Whitfield:] All right, up next, the comments that are giving Mitt Romney's campaign a big headache today. A U.S. Senate candidate, who Romney endorsed, said pregnancies from rape are intended by God. And you're about to hear Richard Mourdock's response to his critics.

[Unidentified Male:] Jane Velez-Mitchell has got new developments in the Iowa case. She starts now.
[Jane Velez-mitchell:] We`ve got new information as the nation asks where are 10-year-old Lyric Cook and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins? The FBI sending divers and sonar to the very lake where the two missing girls` bikes were found. This frantic search unfolding against a backdrop of family drama. Are the criminal pasts of missing Lyric`s parents distracting cops from looking elsewhere?
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, shocking new allegations in the case of 8- and 10-year-old cousins who vanished on a bike ride in Iowa. You heard it here first: claims that 10-year-old Lyric`s dad has been heavily involved with methamphetamine and that he`s charged with conspiracy to manufacture the powerful drug. And tonight we`re now learning that Lyric`s mother, Misty, has a serious criminal drug history as well. We`ll bring you the details. And we`ll also tell you why family members say Lyric`s parents feel harassed and targeted by police and think all the focus on them is taking time away from finding the missing girls. We`re taking your calls. Plus, new outrage in the wake of George Zimmerman`s first TV interview. You won`t believe what the accused gunman says when asked if he regrets the night he killed Trayvon Martin. The dead teen`s family is furious. Was this a brilliant PR move for Zimmerman`s defense? Or could it be a gift to prosecutors in his upcoming murder trial? And a major feud erupts inside the Jackson clan over the late superstar`s fortune. Michael Jackson`s daughter, Paris, faces off against his brother Randy in a Twitter war. What`s this all about? Follow the money. We`ll bring you brand-new information tonight. A story that is gripping the nation.
[Misty Morrissey, Mother Of Lyric Cook:] We just desperately want them home.
[Velez-mitchell:] Two young cousins go missing together in Iowa. Their bikes found by a lake.
[M. Morrissey:] If you`ve taken our kids, just bring them back.
[Daniel Morrissey, Father Of Lyric Cook:] Everything just kind of caving in on me.
[Tammy Brousseau, Aunt Of Missing Girls:] He is addicted to meth.
[Unidentified Female:] Did it make you feel like a suspect?
[D. Morrissey:] It made me feel like, yes, they were looking at me like a suspect. I know the truth. I mean, I know I`m telling the truth.
[Velez-mitchell:] I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live. The parents of a missing 10-year-old in Iowa say they have now hired a lawyer, and they are not going to do any more media interviews. That is after family members complained that a police investigator pounded on their hotel door last night, accusing the dad of harming his daughter Lyric and her 8-year-old cousin, Elizabeth Collins, who have been missing for six days now after going on a bike ride. Misty, the mother of the missing 10-year-old, said they got a hotel room last night we`re talking about these two I guess to get a break from the media. A family member says the investigator who questioned Lyric`s dad, the gentleman in the orange, banged on their hotel room door and started spewing accusations at him. Lyric`s parents have come under intense scrutiny as their criminal records have surfaced. Here`s what Lyric`s aunt told me last night about the child`s dad.
[Brousseau:] Yes, Dan has a history, a long-term history of meth use. He`s battled with it off and on since a teen. Yes. You know, the facts are out there. They`re public record. Would Dan ever do something like this? Harm his children? Absolutely not. He`s cooperated 100 percent with the police. He`s given them all the information.
[Velez-mitchell:] The family has talked openly about their problems. Now Lyric`s parents worry that all this focus on their criminal history is distracting police investigators from going after the real culprits. Lyric`s dad insists he had nothing to do with the girls vanishing. But he still feels like he is being treated like a suspect.
[D. Morrissey:] I`m telling the truth, and they say you`re holding something back and you`re not, what more do you have to talk about? You know? You can go over and over and over it. You know, so, I don`t know.
[Unidentified Female:] Did it make you feel like a suspect?
[D. Morrissey:] It made me feel like, yes, they were looking at me like a suspect.
[Velez-mitchell:] Their new attorney says if police had any evidence linking him to the girls` disappearance, he would already be under arrest. We are now learning that Lyric`s mom, Misty, also has a criminal record. Misty went to prison for manufacturing and distributing meth. She just got out of prison in January and got out of a halfway house only two months ago. That`s what the feds tell us. Do police believe the parents` criminal history has anything to do with these little girls vanishing? Or is this focus on their past taking time and effort away from the desperate search for Lyric and Elizabeth? Call me. I want to hear from you: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586- 7297. We`ve got a lot of new information for you tonight. Straight out to CNN correspondent Jim Spellman, who is on the ground in Iowa near where the girls vanished. Jim, what about these reports we`re hearing that Lyric`s dad stormed out of a police interview? And also, what happened at the hotel last night where they were staying?
[Jim Spellman, Cnn Correspondent:] Before we get into that Jane, I want to tell you some new information we just discovered. Investigators here have asked all of the core family members to assemble right now as we speak at the school that they`ve set up as their command center. We don`t know what kind of information they want to share, if they want to ask questions. We don`t know the content; the family doesn`t know the content. But as we speak right now, according to Wilma Cook, the girls` grandmother, the family is on their way right now to meet with investigators.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Well, that`s excellent information. And I have to stop you right there and then go to Bryan Claypool, criminal defense attorney and child advocate. To me that would say that, hey, they`re cooperating with the family. They`re bringing the whole family in. I certainly hope it`s not bad news. All of our hearts and our hopes and prayers are with these girls and finding these girls. But that certainly sounds like the police and these family members are cooperating.
[Bryan Claypool, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, Jane, it sounds like the family`s cooperating, but I think this new information that you`ve developed, which is great for the public to know about, about the prior criminal background of these two parents, this broadens the investigation dramatically. Because you now have to start looking at all the people that these parents were associating with. Who were they interfacing with? Were they involved in any drug deals? Were there people that are unsavory in that community that might be out to exact revenge against this family? You now have to start looking at a whole broader depth of people here. And I think that this father, Daniel, he`s complaining about being interrogated and investigated. I`m a single parent of a 6-year-old girl. I`ll tell you right now, if my daughter went missing, I would expect the police to be knocking on my door. And I would expect to be a suspect.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, here`s what federal authorities are telling us. In 2003 Lyric Cook`s mom, Misty, who we`ve been talking to on the show for a couple of days now, was sentenced for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. Now, last September they say that she violated the terms of her supervision and then served another five months in prison. She was then sent to a halfway house and got out just two months ago. Now, has she cleaned up her life? The girls` aunt told me that Misty actually separated from Dan because Misty couldn`t tolerate his involvement with drugs. Listen to this.
[Brousseau:] They`ve been separated some time because of the meth use. You know, Dan had a real issue with it. Misty wanted no part of it in her life anymore.
[Velez-mitchell:] So Howard Samuels, addiction specialist, founder and CEO of the Hills Treatment Center, it`s possible that Misty has gotten sober and was making a better life for her children and that whatever is in her past is in her past.
[Howard Samuels, Hills Treatment Center:] Well, I agree and I disagree. I mean, her drug use their drug use was, you know, just a few months ago. And you have to understand, the world of crystal meth is a very sick, dangerous world to be involved in. And if their parents if these girls` parents were distributing and dealing this drug at one particular time, along with being addicted to crystal meth I mean, crystal meth is a sick, dangerous drug, Jane. I mean, the paranoid delusions, the hallucinations. It`s prone to violence. I mean, these girls could have been in major, major environment of violence and trouble along with the people that were associating with these parents. I mean, I if I was the police, that would be the first thing I`d be looking at.
[Velez-mitchell:] I want to go back to Jim Spellman, CNN correspondent on the ground in Iowa. Again, I want to go back to this report we`ve been hearing that Daniel, the father of missing Lyric, the 10-year-old, stormed out of a police interview, and then the scene later at the hotel where they were staying to get away from it.
[Spellman:] That`s right. Two nights ago Daniel was polygraphed and was being interviewed at this makeshift command center that authorities have set up here. He tells me on the phone, he told me personally, that they were accusing him of hurting Lyric somehow. Of knowing what was going on. He said he got sick of it, he got up and he left. Last night the families decided they needed a break from all of the media. They checked into a hotel for a night. They say the same investigator banged on their door and again was accusing Daniel, saying, "You know something. Tell us what you know." And then we so that`s really frustrated them, because they feel like, look, we`ve agreed to everything. We`ve been polygraphed. You haven`t need search warrants for anything. Leave us alone. Move on. Look elsewhere. You`re not going to find your answers here. That`s what the family says. I want to add a little bit more detail, too, about the investigation into possible drug connections. The authorities here took Daniel`s cell phone. And the grandmother, Wilma Cook, just told me that they returned the cell phone to him, and they wanted information on a series of numbers inside that phone. So clearly they want to know who was calling Daniel and who he was calling.
[Velez-mitchell:] Wow. That`s new information. They confiscated Daniel`s cell phone, and they`re looking at the numbers in his phone. Excellent reporting. Thank you so much, Jim Spellman. Now, somebody who knows very much about what Elizabeth and Lyric`s parents are going through, is one of my heroes, Diena Thompson, her daughter was killed by a neighbor while walking home from school. Tragically little Somer`s body found in a Georgia landfill. And here`s the monster who took her, Jarrod Harrell, who is serving life in prison. Diena Thompson, activist and mother of Somer Thompson, I want to ask you what the parents of these two missing children are going through right now. I know obviously you have no kind of past that is any way similar to the past that we`ve been talking about of Misty and Daniel. But what are they enduring? What are the parents of Elizabeth, who`s the 8-year-old, enduring and what should they do?
[Diena Thompson, Mother Of Murdered Girl:] I`m sure they`re enduring, you know, magnitudes of grief and all different kinds of emotions. As far as Misty and Daniel, you know, it`s unfortunate that they feel like they`re the suspects. But like the other guest had said, I would invite them fully into my home and let them do whatever they need to do. If you`re truly innocent, then all of this is not going to matter at the end. As far as the other girl`s parents, I`m sure they`re just mortified, since I`m assuming one of them was visiting. They just need to hold tight and cooperate as much as they possibly can and put aside the fact that the police think that they`re the suspects. Because unfortunately, a majority of the time it is someone that the child knows.
[Brousseau:] Dan`s cooperating 100 percent. His relationship with Lyric was a good relationship. Would Dan ever do something like this? Harm his children? Absolutely not.
[Velez-mitchell:] Now, one of our senior producers, Selin Darkalstanian, has been speaking at length with the various family members involved in this tragic disappearance, this double disappearance. So I want to bring you in, Selin. Explain the back story here, the family dynamic. You`ve got little Elizabeth who`s 8, that`s her right there. That`s 10-year-old Lyric. And you`ve got Elizabeth`s parents and then you`ve got Lyric`s parents. Lyric`s parents are the ones with the criminal histories who have become the focus. What is the family dynamic?
[Selin Darkalstanian, Producer:] Lyric and Elizabeth`s parents are sisters. And Lyric`s parents have been in and out of jail for years on drug charges. So Elizabeth`s mom has raised these kids, basically. Lyric has been staying with Elizabeth`s family. And Heather is like a mom to Elizabeth because, you know, she`s been - her mom has been gone in and out of jail. So we know that they`re more than cousins; they`re more like sisters. They`ve grown up together. And, you know, this is that family dynamic due to the drugs.
[Velez-mitchell:] The families of these missing girls say please don`t be distracted by this one aspect of our past. Focus on possible suspects. Police were asked if they tracked down all the sex offenders in the area. Listen to their response.
[Unidentified Male:] What can you tell us about the registered sex offenders in the area? I know that they`ve been talked to. And everyone has been cleared. So we have no concerns with that.
[Velez-mitchell:] Now, Steve Kardian, former police detective, how there`s 241 registered sex offenders in this small town of Evansdale, Iowa, and the surrounding area. How in the world can police say so quickly and this was a couple of days ago they said that, that they`ve tracked down each and every one of these sex offenders and made sure they had absolutely no connection? How is that possible?
[Steve Kardian, Former Police Detective:] It doesn`t sound possible, Jane. You have 200-something registered sex offenders in a population of just 4,000 plus. So it`s virtually impossible. It`s something that they can`t put away, they can`t put it away yet. They are focusing on the father. The first thing we do in a police investigation after we take the initial report and speak to the parents is we run a criminal history. And that criminal history that he has is raising many red flags. That`s why they`re focusing on him. And they will continue to focus on him. And hopefully branch out into other areas, should he not deem to be the one.
[Velez-mitchell:] But I understand their point. There are so many other possible leads. Take this example. Two days after these girls vanished on Friday there was a very troubling arrest in Cedar Rapids, which is just 40 miles away from where they vanished. Now, a 59-year-old, Robin Gelson, is accused of impersonating a police officer. He was, according to cops, driving an SUV and tried to get a mother ordered her in saying he was a cop. Now, he`s been arrested and released. But oh my gosh, T.J. Hart, co-host of "Des Moines Morning News," you`re in the area. Are they getting too narrowly focused with all this focus on the parents and talking to the parents and knocking on their hotel room door?
[T.j. Hart, Co-host, "des Moines Morning News":] Well, one could justifiably say, perhaps, if you were someone just looking into this, this has so many similarities to other stories that we`ve covered here on this show as a matter of fact over the past couple of years. But, no, the parents you`ve got to really go through this with a fine tooth comb with them because you just don`t know what you might be missing. And when a child goes missing, chances are the parents or the family have some kind of connection to whether they might know something or know someone who could possibly be involved in that. That`s your best scoop right there as far as getting information, your best pile of information right off the bat. And then you go out into the other branches. We have 241 sex offenders in a short time, I remember in Satsuma, Florida, covering another situation a very similar to this where the child is yet to be found. They had a great number of child or sex offenders, period. And it took a little bit longer to get through with them, but within a matter of days they had those all cleared up. But they actually had one man that was not where he was supposed to have been and they kept him in jail for a good long time.
[Velez-mitchell:] I`m sorry, T.J.. Let me go to Kenny in Indiana. I want to go to the phone lines. Kenny in Indiana. Your question or thought, Kenny. Hey, Kenny?
[Caller:] Yes.
[Velez-mitchell:] Hey, your question or thought, Kenny in Indiana?
[Caller:] OK. I guess you`re thinking about what your question or thought is. Get back to us when you figure that out. Listen, I want to go back to Howard Samuels. You`re an addiction specialist. Here`s what occurs to me. First of all, why would the judge send Misty to a halfway House. And what sort of people might she come in contact with at the halfway House?
[Samuels:] Well, first of all, I think the judge sending her to a halfway house was a very good move. I mean, all addicts if they get arrested and go through the criminal justice system need to go to treatment in halfway houses. That should be a requirement. Secondly, the people she`s going to meet at the halfway house are going to be other newly sober addicts and alcoholics. Some that will be serious about the recovery, but others that are just there biding their time until they can go out and use again. So there`s going to be a mixed kind of population at the halfway House, some good, some bad.
[Velez-mitchell:] Take a look at this. We`re talking about a possible abduction with these two missing girls. This is an actual attempted abduction that was caught on surveillance camera. This happening in Philadelphia right on the streets of Philadelphia. Watch it again as a man attempts to abduct a 10-year-old girl. She reportedly kicked and screamed and bit him. And her little brother screamed, as well. And he just got scared and raced away. There was an arrest later. Thank God for surveillance video. A man was arrested and is being charged. But Diena Thompson, activist and one of my heroes. A woman who has shown such incredible grace in the face of the unimaginable, the abduction and murder of her own precious daughter, Somer Thompson, these parents that are going through this, OK, the one family they`re not perfect. They`re separated. They`ve had these drug issues. But that doesn`t mean I want to emphasize, that doesn`t mean it had anything to do with their child`s disappearance. And I can only imagine the hell that they`re going through losing their child and then to have their entire life the most embarrassing aspect, secrets of their life spilled before the world Diena.
[Thompson:] You know, everything you said is true. It takes me back to October 19, 2009, all over again. It`s really hard to be the focus. It`s such a private thing to go through, but it`s so very public. But unfortunately, when you`re put into these boats, if you will, into these situations, you`re going to just have to roll with the punches and just do and cooperate with the police however you can.
[Velez-mitchell:] Steve Kardian, former police detective. Yes, obviously, they it takes a couple of computer searches. They found out that the parents, the mother and the father of the oldest girl, have this criminal history involving methamphetamine. And that`s a very serious drug. In fact, we can show you this, what`s called "The Faces of Meth." It shows you how people change when they become addicted to meth often. And take a look at, because it`s horrifying. But, these are people not connected with this case. They`re just meth addicts and you see before and after, hopefully in recovery. They`ve got to follow other leads, as well, Steve.
[Kardian:] Yes, Jane, they should be following other leads. They likely know something that we don`t know that is leading them to press the family, the husband and the wife, so severely. We know that people that are on meth in my 30 years of law enforcement this is the worst drug. It is the worst people on this drug that I have ever dealt with. They would prostitute their children. They would kill their family. They would sell their children for money for the drugs. So, yes, law enforcement likely has information that they`re not sharing with us at this moment in time.
[Velez-mitchell:] But I want to say this. Misty, I`ve talked to her for several days. I would everything I know about human nature tells me that she is not a bad person. That she is a woman who is in a very bad spot. There but for the grace of God or he who is without sin cast the first stone. I say that as a recovering alcoholic with 17 years of sobriety. We must show compassion to this family. And never assume.
[Unidentified Male:] George Zimmerman`s first TV interview.
[Unidentified Female:] George Zimmerman actually went on Fox News last night to tell his side of the story.
[George Zimmerman, Charged With Trayvon Martin`s Murder:] I`m not a racist. And I`m not a murderer. He apologized to the family of Trayvon Martin, but also said he has no regrets.
[Daryl Parks Attorney For Trayvon Martin`s Family:] The state attorney is going to see this interview as a gift.
[Zimmerman:] I feel like it was all God`s plan.
[Sybrina Fulton, Mother Of Trayvon Martin:] God did not have a plan for Trayvon to die.
[Zimmerman:] I do wish that there was something, anything I could have done that wouldn`t have put me in the position where I had to take his life.
[Unidentified Male:] Why did he even get out to call? Why was my son so suspicious?
[Velez-mitchell:] We have breaking news just into the newsroom on this case. Just minutes ago an all-new George Zimmerman video came out. We`ve put it through our process and we can show you a tiny tidbit. That`s how recently it came in. Jane Velez-Mitchell back with you live. Now, here it is. His first message to the public straight from his Web site. Take a look at this.
[Zimmerman:] Hello. This is George Zimmerman. First and foremost I want to thank you all for visiting the realGeorgeZimmerman.com. We`ve re- launched this Web site to once again thank you, my supporters. My intention was and still is to personally and individually thank you all. However, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, the masses. This is our Web site. It`s not my Web site. It is our Web site where you can personally communicate with me. And I hope to be your Web site to provide facts.
[Velez-mitchell:] Ok. I`m watching that as you`re watching that. This case has gone off the rails. What the heck was that? A defendant who is in a safehouse. You know what; it reminds me of the Casey Anthony videos, the video diary she sent out. I got to go to Daryl Parks, the attorney for Trayvon Martin`s family. That`s the family that`s the family of the young man gunned down, the unarmed teen who`s going to get Skittles and ice tea. Did you see and hear that new video? Oh my gosh. We just got it in.
[Parks:] I just listened to it. But I`m not really surprised by that because some of the information that I have read this week indicated that, one, they were trying to solicit funds. Number two, I saw a very interesting piece of data that said George Zimmerman was maintaining editorial control of that Web site as he re-launched it. So, I`m not surprised by him coming out. I figured there was some reason for him maintaining editorial control of that Web site.
[Velez-mitchell:] But do you think it`s appropriate?
[Parks:] Well, I don`t think it`s really up to me to judge the appropriateness of him, you know, doing a Web site. Everyone has a right to freedom of speech. He has a right to speech. He has a right to his own strategy. And so that`s a decision he and his advisors must make. And that`s a decision I guess they`ve made.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, that`s a very gracious response. To me it`s like, what? What is happening to criminal cases that defendants are now basically plugging themselves on the web and saying, hey, basically come to me and come to this Web site? I mean, this is like a commercial. This involves a dead young man. That was by the way from the realGeorgeZimmerman.com. We`re going to play it again in a second. Zimmerman of course, awaiting trial for shooting and killing unarmed teen Trayvon Martin; he`s been out of jail for just a few days. But now he`s breaking his silence to Fox News. And essentially last night in their exclusive interview he blamed God for what happened. Of course, Trayvon Martin`s parents were outraged by that statement. Watch this.
[Zimmerman:] I feel that it was all God`s plan. And for me to second- guess it or judge it
[Fulton:] I think it`s absolutely ridiculous. God did not have a plan for Trayvon to die and for George Zimmerman to shoot Trayvon for no reason.
[Velez-mitchell:] That wasn`t Zimmerman`s only attempt at getting on TV. He also met with Barbara Walters for a sit-down interview, but the interview never happened. Today on "The View" Barbara explained the whole thing.
[Barbara Walters, Co-host, "the View":] I was wearing a T-shirt. That should have been my first clue. And then said he would not do an interview. No matter what we said, but he would if there were one condition. It was a condition that being a member of ABC News I was unable to grant.
[Velez-mitchell:] And what was that condition? According to Zimmerman`s lawyer, Mark O`Mara, George wanted shelter and security for his wife, Shellie, seen there, for a month. What does that mean? Zimmerman wanted ABC to spring for 30 days in a hotel room? Does all of this hurt or help George Zimmerman`s case? Give me a holler. 1-877-JVM SAYS. All right. I want to bring in Michelle Suskauer, criminal defense attorney. You`re down there in Florida where all this is going on. First of all, your reaction to this new video on the Internet; correct me if I`m wrong, but is this some kind of new phenomenon that we are seeing here tonight together for the first time. Defendants in high profile cases actually appealing directly to the public with a web interview or a web statement?
[Suskauer, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, normally we don`t especially as a criminal defense lawyer, when you have a pending case, you really don`t want your client to speak. But this is a very, very unusual situation where it was really one-sided information slamming him for a very long time with really without any response. It was really one-sided. And so this is his opportunity, I think he listened to it, listened to it. And even his counsel is saying, "Listen, don`t speak." He wants his opportunity to have his say because he may not testify at trial. And certainly everything that he says could be used against him. So this is his opportunity to speak and to have his peace, good or bad.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. I want to play this video again. Again, we just got it in. I heard it the way you did, but it`s fascinating to me. Look at the palm trees in the background. We`re cueing it up because now this is at least the fourth time he`s spoken. Once after he was taken in by police, not officially arrested but taken in. Once when he gave his re-enactment, once to Hannity and now this let`s listen.
[Zimmerman:] Hello. This is George Zimmerman. First and foremost I want to thank you all for visiting therealGeorgeZimmerman.com. We re- launched this Web site to once again thank you my supporters. My intention was and still is to personally and individually thank you all. However, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, the masses. This is our Web site. It`s not my Web site. It is our Web site where you can personally communicate with me. And I hope to be your Web site to provide facts.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, to me it`s got to all be about money, about raising funds for his defense. Because I heard that there was a spike, there`s been a spike in donations at key times in this case when he`s spoken out, et cetera. Bryan Claypool, criminal defense attorney and child advocate, is it just me or is this bizarre? I mean, we have now entered a new dimension in terms of high-profile criminal cases. I personally have never seen something like this.
[Bryan Claypool, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Jane, I haven`t seen anything like it either, but this is a by-product of Mr. Zimmerman having lied at his bond hearing. If you recall, Judge Lester came down and chastised him greatly and said that he was making a mockery of the court. He was manipulative. His attorney, Mark O`Meara, came back and said, look, I want to try to recuse this judge because you shouldn`t be attacking my client like that. So what`s happening now is Mr. O`Meara makes a decision, "Hey, I`ve got to get my guy out there. I have to do some PR work. I have to do some damage control here." And I got to tell you, I think it`s a big mistake because when you have a criminal client defendant, Jane, picture it like a noose, like you have a noose that big. And when you allow your client to start talking the way that Zimmerman`s talking, that noose starts tightening and tightening and tightening. Because when you let a client talk in interviews like this, it`s almost like what`s that movie Tom Hanks was in a few years ago? "Forrest Gump", remember that comment he made about life`s like a box of chocolates? Well, y our clients no matter how much you prepare them to testify, witnesses and clients are like a box of chocolate. You never know what you`re going to get. And what you got here was Mr. Zimmerman saying things
[Velez-mitchell:] Ok. I think that`s an interesting analogy. Daryl Parks, I want to give you the last word. Just ten seconds. Do you think this is going to backfire all of this George Zimmerman in court?
[Parks:] Without question. This case is about credibility. And all the inconsistencies that came out just in that interview alone was certainly going a good ways towards helping in the conviction of George Zimmerman.
[Velez-mitchell:] Thank you, sir. Thank you fantastic panel for staying on top of that story. You know you`ll always get the latest on George Zimmerman right here. Now for our "Shocking Video of the Day"; you might want to fasten your seat belts because this one`s a bumpy ride. After seeing this driver going the wrong way on a Mississippi highway, this person caught this head-on crash on his cell phone. Watch as you see the whole moment unfold like it`s straight out of a movie. After quite a few misses, the driver just slams head-on into another car. Thankfully everyone was able to walk out of this ok but what a terrifying ride. Do we have a tight shot of this where we can zoom in and see exactly what`s happening? Oh, ok. Well let`s see, right there. Let`s concentrate. And we`re going to see it. Boom wait, no, it`s going to happen in a second. Take a look. It`s worth waiting for because you can see how dangerous it is to go the wrong way on a freeway. It`s coming up. It`s coming up. It`s coming up. It`s coming up. It`s coming up. Whoa. Where is it? Hold on. Whoa. There it is. Wow. That is a rare, rare event to catch a head-on collision from somebody going the wrong way on tape. Your "Viral Video of the Day". A fisherman jumps into the ocean and almost lands on a giant shark. But let me tell you, sharks should be more afraid of humans because we are decimating sharks with our horrible practices, killing literally up to some say 70 to 100 million a year. So let`s not demonize these beautiful creatures. They are God`s creatures.
[Unidentified Male:] Some of Michael Jackson`s brothers and sisters believe that his will is fake, and they say the men who control his estate are only after fame and fortune.
[Unidentified Female:] I will do anything for Michael. Bar none. I will do anything.
[Unidentified Male:] Five of Jackson`s siblings sent a scathing letter to the executors of his will claiming that it`s, quote, "Fake, flawed and fraudulent".
[Michael Jackson, Sincer:] This will be it. This is it. When I say this is it, it really means this is it.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight the famous Jackson clan goes to battle with each other. It`s an ugly Twitter war between the late superstar Michael Jackson`s 14-year-old daughter, Paris versus in the other corner, Michael`s brother, Randy. Wow. On one side what I`m calling the new Jackson five, five of Michael Jackson`s brothers and sisters: Janet, Jermaine, Tito, Randy and Rebbie wrote a letter to the executors of the Jackson estate saying the will is, quote, "fake, flawed, fraudulent". Could the king of pop`s will really be a forgery or are Jackson`s siblings bitter because they were all left out of the will while Michael Jackson`s young children are in the will and could rake in hundreds of millions of dollars. The Jacksons claimed the will`s powerful executors had tarnished the family name with dubious projects. One project the rehearsal film "This Is It" from AEG. Straight out to Alan Duke, entertainment editor for CNN Wire. Alan, you`ve got on one side Katherine and the kids. They are the beneficiaries of this will, which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. On the other side, all of Michael Jackson`s brothers and sisters who don`t stand to get a cent. Is this really a family divided?
[Alan Duke, Cnn Wire:] Well, there are, what Katherine Jackson`s lawyer described to me this afternoon as a complex family dynamic. And he said that these children, we`re talking about Prince, Paris and Blanket, are having to sort through this family dynamic. And he said just as their father did, they`ll make appropriate decisions about how to deal with the situation. Well, how did Michael deal with the situation? Apparently he wrote them out well, he did he wrote them out of his will. So what`s happening here, this split, this earthquake in the Jackson family could affect these children and their relationships with their uncles and aunts for some time. It`s very I can tell you Paris is very upset this week because of what`s happening with her grandmother.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, you had some new information. What is it?
[Duke:] Well, I can tell you that on Sunday Rebbie, Janet and I believe Randy was also involved in this, picked up Katherine from her home in Calabasas and took her on a vacation. And she`s at a spa resort near Tucson, one I think that some celebrities go to. And the reason that Paris is so upset is she called there wanting to speak to her grandmother on vacation. Of course everybody needs a vacation. But they didn`t allow her to talk to her grandmother.
[Velez-mitchell:] Wait a second, aren`t these the same people who said that Katherine had a mini-stroke?
[Duke:] Katherine didn`t have a mini-stroke according to everybody I`ve talked to. That was actually
[Velez-mitchell:] But didn`t they claim that? Didn`t they claim that?
[Duke:] Yes. And they put her on a plane and took her to Tucson, Arizona. That`s where she is this week and apparently won`t return for a few days. And so Paris especially is upset that she`s not able to talk to her grandmother now. This is a child who three years ago lost her father. And Katherine Jackson since then has been the person most close to her. And she can`t talk to her is what I`m told.
[Velez-mitchell:] Time for our "Pets of the Day". Want to see your pet on TV? Send your pet pics to JanehlnTV.comJane. Look at that. It`s hot out there, isn`t it? Look at that beautiful, beautiful, beautiful photo. Domino, you`re rocking, what are you, surfing the web? That is Janet Jackson from YouTube, "Love Will Never Do". She is a superstar in her own right. Jen Heger, RadarOnline, why on earth would she lead the charge when she`s so successful and so wealthy in her own right?
[Jen Heger, Radaronline:] You know, Jane, there`s a lot of questions about this letter that this media outlet published. There`s numerous errors in the letter. First and foremost, Tito Jackson`s name is spelled incorrectly in that letter. Secondly, as Alan Duke referred to, Katherine Jackson never had a mini stroke. So there are questions about why this letter was written, who actually wrote this letter, and when and if Janet Jackson really did sign that letter. And you also have to ask yourself, why is this letter being written now? Well, we know from the law, statute of limitations, no one can contest Michael Jackson`s will now. It is the time limit; the statute of limitations has expired. I`m told sources tell Radar that Katherine Jackson`s wrongful death lawsuit that she has against AEG, which her son Randy Jackson put her up to finally, she`s been deposed in that matter, and the depositions for her are grueling and it is going very, very poorly. So I think that the Jackson siblings
[Velez-mitchell:] You need a PhD in Jacksonism in order to understand all this. Jen Heger, thank you so much for joining us. Alan Duke, wow. Here`s something to smile about a remarkable rescue. A desperate search in Colombia for a 3-year-old boy who was missing for 24 hours; this boy was playing with his brothers at a construction zone, vanished. Search teams scoured the area and they couldn`t find the child. Then they came around again and lifted a manhole and saw this little boy clinging to life. Look at that. Unbelievable. That is wonderful. The mother running, or a relative, running hysterically to paramedics to try to make sure the child`s ok. But the good news is the child, absolutely fine, absolutely fine. So we love to end with some good news. Look at that little innocent. And this happens all the time. Remember Baby Jessica? There are so many ways for kids to get into trouble, and we`re just happy to end with a happy story of one young boy rescued. Nancy next. END

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Well, it's the top of the hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We have been telling you about these updates in Japan, where a crack in the concrete in one of those damaged nuclear reactors in Japan allowing radioactive water to flow into the Pacific Ocean. The race now is underway to seal that leak. Also, government troops are taking aim at protesters, bullets flying in Syria. Also, in Libya, Moammar Gadhafi's government says an opposition cease-fire offer is just plain silly. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING for April 2nd. Glad you could spend some time of your weekend here with us. I'm T.J. Holmes. We do want to start, though, with that the Southwest plane. It's now has a sunroof, an unexpected sunroof. It's a three to four-foot piece that was torn away on a flight yesterday. This is above the skies of Arizona. Share with you a few pictures here that were taken inside this particular airplane. Investigators now want to get a look at it for themselves. Again, to give you an idea, this plane took off yesterday. It was heading from Phoenix, supposed to go to Sacramento. When they got up into the air, passengers report hearing explosions and then a hole opened up in the top of that plane and they were sitting inside, folks, and could look up and see the sky. The plane had to be diverted. It landed at a military base in Yuma, Arizona. I spoke to one of the passengers about this scary flight a short time ago.
[Debbie Downey, Passenger Aboard Southwest Flight 812:] My husband looked up and said, oh my gosh, it's a blue sky. We looked at each other and thought, oh, my gosh, this is not a good sign. Immediately put our head down and looked up. The air masks fell down immediately within seconds. So, we grabbed our masks and started to kind of look out the window. And as soon as I tried to look out the window and put up the shade screen, the airport went into a complete nose dive fast.
[Holmes:] Wow. On their Web site, Southwest Airlines saying that they have now taken 80 similar 737s out of service this morning. They say they will undergo an aggressive inspection. I want to turn to what's happening in Japan, a new development there and kind of a scary one here. New explanation for the rising levels of radiation detected in the seawater near that crippled power plant. Utility officials say they discovered an eight-inch crack, an eight-inch crack in a concrete basin outside the number two reactor at that Fukushima facility. It's leaking it's believed to be highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. They are uncertain exactly where this leak is coming from and all the water is coming from. They are trying to install a camera now to figure this out. This discovery comes as Japan's prime minister makes a visit to that area. He tried to console evacuees, thank utility workers as well, and soldiers for helping during this crisis. It could be a while before people are allowed to return to their homes that are around the plant. And here we are now three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear disaster. Take a look at this picture. A dog being rescued from the roof top of a demolished home that was found floating off Japan's Pacific coast. Meanwhile, I can give you the updated casualty numbers now coming to us from Japan's national police agency, put the number of dead at 11,828. More than 15,000 people are still missing. We turn now to Afghanistan where new anti-American protests are happening, the second day of demonstrations there. In Kandahar, today, provincial officials say at least eight people were killed during protests today. A school was also set on fire. This is all comes a day after protesters attack a United Nations compound in northern Afghanistan. Twelve people died in that attack. Seven of those killed were U.N. workers. Protesters stormed the compound there. So, what was it that sparked all this violence? A Florida pastor who says he burned a Koran. You remember him as the same guy who was going to burn the Koran last year, but then changed his mind. He was going to do it around September 11th. Now, here's what he had to say for himself. He says, "We must hold these countries and people accountable for what they have done, as well as for any excuses they may use to promote their terrorist activities." We will have much more on this story coming your way in the next hour. We turn now to Libya where opposition forces are battling government troops in several cities. Among them, Misrata, essentially what we've been watching here cities changing hands, going back and forth between pro-Gadhafi forces and rebel troops. Opposition leaders offered a cease-fire plan, but the Taliban excuse me, the Libyan government called their conditions silly and said they had no intention of pulling the military out of the cities. Also, there had been talk about a possible political solution to the conflict. A British newspaper reports that secret negotiations are underway in Britain. But sources close to Gadhafi tells CNN that any deal to get the long-time leader out of power would have to include a transition of power to his son. Looking at the scene and the sounds in Damascus, Syria. Protesters there are gathering just after Friday prayers. But in a nearby suburb, witnesses say seven people were killed when government forces opened fire on the crowd. The protests weren't confined just to Damascus. Thousands gathered in a number of other cities as well. An Ivory Coast's bloody battle could be nearing an end with forces loyal to the new president taking over the state-run television station. They've also attacked the residence of the former president, Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to give up power. He hasn't been seen in public in recent days. But a U.N. spokesman says they have been in contact with both sides trying to negotiate a peaceful end to the violence. Well, it is springtime. It is April and we got snow. Take a look at what the folks are seeing in the Northeast right now. It's gorgeous. But is this the right time for it? It's six minutes past the hour.

[Banfield:] South by Southwest's Texas's Annual High-Tech Festival prides itself on its internet activity, getting people connected in brand new way, but there's one program that's really standing out. It's labeled not only innovative, but somewhat insensitive. It's called homeless hotspots. A band of homeless people wearing special devices that provide a 4G signal and they're approaching anyone at South by Southwest offering their clear connection for a suggested fee, $2 for 15 minutes.
[Dusty White, Homeless Hotspot Participant:] I'm with a company here it's a hotspot for the homeless. This is something they just did. You guys having problems with your Wi-Fi or anything like it. I've swallowed my pride. At first I was kind of embarrassed about it, but being homeless has changed me to a different outlook about people.
[Banfield:] Depending on how it goes, the "New York Post" is reporting that homeless hot spots could be headed here to New York. Just wanted to show you the cover of the "New York Post," just in case you were curious. So if the homeless people involved are on board, why are some people walking away with a bad taste in their mouth about all of this? To talk about it, I've got with me Emma Cookson, chairwoman at BBH New York, the marketing agency that created homeless hot spots. I'm glad you came to talk to me about this. My first inclination, Emma, when I saw this, was, my God, how could you exploit homeless people like this? But there is a lot more to it. Tell me, why is it not exploitation?
[Emma Cookson, Chairwoman, Bbh New York:] Well, I suppose the first thing I would say is it's not exploitation in the eyes of the people taking part who have been, all of them, the homeless guys it was mostly guys, one woman all of them has been heartwarmingly positive, enthusiastic and into it. We did share with them, in the midst of all the comments and the negative feedback as well as positive feedback, you know, if you feel uncomfortable about this, stop doing it.
[Banfield:] Who started this whole thing in the first place?
[Cookson:] The article came from a group of people inside the agency. I work for a communications agency, and inside the agency there are a lot of people who are just very interested and passionate about the homeless issue generally. We are a communication agency, so a lot of us are always looking out for new ways that maybe we can create awareness or create support, so honestly, it wasn't like a person, it was a group of people.
[Banfield:] And did anybody at the time of the genesis of this say, yes, I can sense some blowback on this one?
[Cookson:] Nothing like the scale of attention that has subsequently come our way, no. We knew, but obviously it's different and it's unusual. So we certainly thought, yes, some people will comment, some people will notice, but we didn't think it would be quite such a deluge that it's been.
[Banfield:] It's huge. As I was reading some of the tweets from the people at South by Southwest, let me read a couple for our audience because they probably had the same reaction I did right off the mark. Celine said, as if the homeless aren't demeaned enough, now they're being used as Wi-Fi hot spots at South by Southwest. And from Austin Annie, this tweet, anyone else finds using homeless persons as homeless hot spots at South by Southwest disturbing, dehumanizing, offensive? And then from Melissa Geera, I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing that one right. It's just kind of right to the point, horrifying. Ultimately, the tweet was horrifying. So why is it not horrifying? Is there some great benefit? What do the homeless people get out of this that makes this actually
[Cookson:] Absolutely, yes and obviously, there have been quite a lot of tweets and other forms of support.
[Banfield:] Some of them we couldn't put on the air. You know that, right?
[Cookson:] There's been some that were a lot more positive than the ones you read on the air. But anyway, I suppose explaining where it comes from explains what's in it for people. We've been long admirers of the street newspapers battle. You know, the yes, exactly. So people sell the newspaper. So the whole thing was conceived, OK, we're in a digital age now. Is there a more modern digital version of that because the great thing about that model that we really, really admire. And lots of people admire is not that it's just a source of revenue for the people selling the papers, but also that it's a source of connectivity, personal contacts, and personal talk. So with this program, the idea was they're selling connectivity as opposed to a piece of content or a newspaper, and we did the whole program through the shelter in Austin. The thing they talk about most that they've most been proud of is the fact that they're based in Austin, and when the conferences come around each year, usually the conference goers just pass them by. They don't stop to talk to them. Because of this program, people are having loads and loads of conversations about their background, about their situation. They're getting money, they're making cash
[Banfield:] They get money from people who pay.
[Cookson:] Every single dollar that comes in from this program is going direct to the person using the Wi-Fi device, 100 percent, absolutely no financial benefit to anyone else.
[Banfield:] So in essence, they're working?
[Cookson:] They're working. One guy referred to it as his temporary little business. It's homelesshotspot.org. If anyone would want to make a donation, we would be grateful.
[Banfield:] But if I want the Wi-Fi, it's about what, $2 and so for
[Cookson:] That was just a suggested price. We made it clear. It's a free service. You don't have to pay, and certainly no cash exchanges hands. We gave guaranteed minimums to these guys.
[Banfield:] It is intriguing no matter how you slice it, but I think you're not done with the conversation yet. There is a lot of conversation out there. Emma Cookson, thanks for coming in. Appreciate it.
[Cookson:] Thank you.
[Banfield:] And still ahead, it's no secret that many Americans are not saving money. But I've got a new report for you, and it is really disturbing. It is bad, folks, especially when it comes to your retirement. We're going to have a little peek-see into America's bank accounts and find out where your friends, your relatives, your neighbors and you stand. It isn't pretty.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, breaking news. Under intense pressure, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak makes an extraordinary announcement, saying he will hand over power when his term is up in September. But for so many Egyptians on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria, that's not soon enough. An extraordinary shift by the Obama administration, which urged President Mubarak to make a public pledge to his people that he wouldn't run for president again. And a monster storm brings snow, ice, brutal cold from New Mexico to Maine. Thirty states facing warnings. Thousands of flights already canceled. We've got the latest on this life-threatening event. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in
[The Situation Room. Announcer:] This is CNN Breaking News.
[Blitzer:] Let's begin with the breaking news this hour. Egyptians erupting after hearing President Hosni Mubarak announce he will not be a candidate in the next election. Mubarak's broadcast statement follows intense pressure from his people to simply step down in what they called a "march of millions", countless thousands took to the streets today demanding change. But Mubarak also felt that heat from the Obama administration, sources telling us the White House made clear at the highest levels that it wanted Mubarak to publicly promise he wouldn't run for reelection. CNN's John King, David Gergen, and Gloria Borger, they're all standing by, but let's go to Anderson Cooper. He's joining us now from Cairo with the latest. Anderson, a lot of folks thought that Mubarak's statement was simply too little, too late.
[Cooper:] Dr. ElBaradei, what is your reaction to President Mubarak's address tonight?
[Mohamed Elbaradei, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate:] Well, Anderson, this is clearly an act of deception. It is a person who doesn't want to let go, a dictator who doesn't want to listen to the clear voice of the people. Anderson, you are in Cairo. You have seen what the city looks like, what the people want. And to continuously try to play tricks, he is unfortunately going to extend the agony here for another six to seven months. He has continued to polarize the country. He continues to get people even more angry and could resort to violence. Whoever gave him that advice gave him absolutely the wrong advice. He just has to let go. And not only is going at best to be a lame-duck person; he's going to be a dead man walking. And I don't really understand what is behind that, other than a further six, seven months of instability, rather than the ground for a new regime.
[Cooper:] That was Mohamed ElBaradei. And I will have more of that conversation tonight on 360, Wolf. But it's interesting. I'm a few blocks now from Liberation Square, and you can hear people still shouting out, shouting into the night, very angry at reaction to what President Mubarak had to say.
[Blitzer:] Anderson, we're awaiting President Obama. He's getting ready to address the nation on the situation in Egypt, having met much of today with his top national security advisers. From the conversations you have had all day and the past couple of days what do you think they want to hear President Obama say?
[Cooper:] Well, look, the people we're hearing from most are protesters who have a very clear message, which is nothing short of President Mubarak stepping down immediately will be acceptable. That's the message we hear from Dr. ElBaradei, from Muslim Brotherhood, from other groups as well. They say you can't have a transition to democracy while Hosni Mubarak is in power. There are still people in prison. There are people who have been killed in the last eight days, some 300 people, according to the U.N. There are people, large numbers of people who have been arrested, that the idea that, you know, that there's a Parliament here which is completely subservient to the whims of President Mubarak, so you cannot have a transition to democracy. They want President Mubarak that is the first step, for him to leave, and then they want to have some sort of caretaker government that will transition to democracy to free and fair elections down the road.
[Blitzer:] And they're promising that they're going to not only continue these demonstrations, but they're going to become even more assertive in their demands tomorrow, the next day, certainly on Friday, which is a day of prayer in the Muslim world. They have already made those declarations. Is that what you're hearing?
[Cooper:] They certainly have. It remains to be seen, though, whether a statement by President Mubarak tonight does satisfy some people in Egypt. There are large numbers of people who maybe are not protesting and large numbers of people who we haven't heard from, some of whom may still support President Mubarak, at least his regime, some of whom simply are frightened by the notion of instability and want the idea that he will be leaving down the road is enough for them. It will satisfy their desire for change, even if it's eight months from now. So it remains to be seen whether this will weaken the momentum that the protests have had and have been building over the last eight days. We'll certainly be looking for that tomorrow. We will certainly stay in close touch with you, Anderson. Anderson will have a lot more obviously 10:00 p.m. Eastern on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" live from Cairo. It's an extraordinary shift in policy for the White House. Can this U.S. pressure on President Mubarak help ease tensions in Egypt? In a taped statement broadcast just a little while ago, President Mubarak said he will finish out his first finish out his term working for the reforms that the protesters are demanding.
[Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian President:] I have spent enough time in serving Egypt, and I am now careful to conclude my work for Egypt by presenting Egypt to the next government in a constitutional way which will protect Egypt.
[Blitzer:] Let's bring in CNN's John King, our senior political analysts Gloria Borger and David Gergen. John, first to you. Based on your reporting, what you're hearing at the White House, what's going on over there? What can we expect the president of the United States we're waiting to hear his remarks what are you hearing he's going to tell us?
[John King, Cnn Anchor:] It will be fascinating to hear exactly what the president says. Because this is not everything they wanted, Wolf, and yet, at the White House they believe it's a significant step in the right direction. Because a President Mubarak who was stubbornly trying to cling to power just days ago has at least now, A., not only said he Would not run in the next election, but, B., said he would work with the Parliament on speeding up the election. And what you just heard from Mohamed ElBaradei in that interview with Anderson is quite significant. The White House had hoped President Mubarak would agree to leave soon after a transitional government took place. They still think that is a possibility down the road. But what they had hoped is that this is largely a revolution without a face. And they thought perhaps Mr. ElBaradei with his history as the diplomat might step in and say OK not good enough, but at least we can start a negotiation now. His decision to flatly say no negotiation, not good enough, obviously complicates the situation and puts even more pressure on the United States to answer the big question, what next?
[Blitzer:] Yes, because at least in my mind, the street, the Arab street in Cairo, David, senses weakness on the part of President Mubarak. And they don't want to stop. If he would have done this a week or so ago, maybe even a few days ago, it might have worked. But now it's too late.
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] I think that's right, Wolf. And President Obama clearly is not playing this just for the street protesters. He's balancing it off against America's national security interests as he sees them. And that is he doesn't want to precipitously pull the rug out from a person who has been an ally of the United States in the region for 30 years. Because that would send a signal to every other ruler of every other country, you get a few protesters out there, you got protesters going and we're going to turn against you. So he's trying to avoid that, but in the process he's not communicating, he's not showing the kind of solidarity with the protesters and the people who are going to be really are taking charge in Egypt for the future and I think he's got himself in a real dilemma. He essentially has nudged Mubarak. And what the protesters wanted him to do was to shove Mubarak.
[Blitzer:] And it's interesting, Gloria, he sent Frank Wisner, a former U.S. ambassador to Egypt, as a special enjoy, someone who is well known in Egypt, well known to President Mubarak and the entire military and political establish there. And he went in to see President Mubarak today with a message from President Obama. I'm not sure what that message was, but he's a tough guy, Wisner, and he probably delivered it with diplomacy but also with force.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Well, but I think it was probably the nudge rather than the shove, as David was talking about. I also believe that the White House would really have rather seen some kind of caretaker government or some kind of transitional government, some notion of that, so that perhaps Mr. ElBaradei could help out with a transition. He's a known figure to Barack Obama. The State Department has reached out to him. But you heard his response from Anderson Cooper, saying that this was a deception, so that's not going to work. What I was told by an administration source is and I think this jibes with what David is saying, is that, look, they do not want to get too far out in front of the events on the ground. And there is some sense that this could still continue to unravel, and you may well end up with some sort of transition or caretaker government, but we will have to wait to see what Barack Obama says in a few minutes.
[Blitzer:] And when he speaks, John, it's going to be fascinating. Because he's got a domestic American audience. He has got an international audience who will be watching here on CNN International as well, but he's got an audience in Egypt that he's going to be addressing. And this is going to have to be a carefully crafted statement on his part.
[King:] And he has and you're right, Wolf. He has an audience in Egypt. He has the current government and the future leaders, those people on the street of Egypt listening to him. He also has the Jordanian government, another longtime U.S. ally that reshuffled its deck today that has a sense of the jitters, not on the level of Egypt, but a sense of the jitters. He has an Israeli government looking around wondering what is going on in the neighborhood and how much worried do they need to be, and then he has everyone else in the region, including people who frankly do not hope the United States comes out looking good here like Iran and others who will stir this up. And so the president has to deal with the people in the streets of Egypt, his longtime ally in Hosni Mubarak. But he also has to deal with, Wolf, a neighborhood you know very well. It is perhaps the most complicated, the most dicey neighborhood in the world.
[Blitzer:] Yes. I know... Very quickly, David.
[Gergen:] Sure. I'm surprised he's speaking. I'm not sure what he can do to help in this situation.
[Borger:] Right. Absolutely. I totally agree with that. I was sort of stunned he was going to come out right now.
[Blitzer:] Well, it's going to be momentarily, we're told. We will go to the White House and hear what he has to say. I would like you guys to stand by. We will get your reaction and assessment, analysis once we hear from the president. I want to bring in Jack, though, right now. He's got "The Cafferty File." Jack, this is an historic moment in the Middle East right now.
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Anchor:] The question this hour is: Should the U.S. withhold any of the $1.5 billion in annual financial aid that we give to Egypt? Deaddin writes from California: "As an American of Egyptian descent, I think that the U.S. should withhold all aid until elections are called, elections that are inclusive of all parties and all candidates interested in running. By withholding the aid, you will see the fastest results." Michael in New Mexico: "No. We have to honor our treaties and other agreements with Egypt. We need to use their airspace, the Suez Canal. What is the cost of peaceful relations? A billion and a half in financial aid is a bargain for what we get in return. And considering that Egypt uses that money to buy U.S. military equipment from us, it really isn't aid at all." Karen in Missouri says: "Living in Egypt for four years as an American, being a part of an Egyptian family and their culture, I know that Egyptians view any support given to Egypt and its people as a positive reflection on the U.S. To take away that aid would be regarded as a lack of direct support to the people of Egypt. To use the aid as a punishment would only hurt the people and our image in that country." Mike writes: "Just as sports, hamburgers and french fries are a given in our country, bartering is as strong in most if not all the Middle East countries. The art of the deal is manifest in all negotiations, especially Mideast politics. Putting pressure on the military's income stream will transfer up the political chain from the Egyptian military leadership to Mubarak. It will ultimately define who really has the power in Egypt. Their military is more likely to make a better deal with Mubarak then any U.S. attempt to reason a new paradigm. We need to learn how to play their brand of hardball, in which friendship takes a side seat when push comes to become shove." Steve writes: "If funds should be withheld from Egypt until a democracy is formed there, then funds should be withheld from Israel until a two-state solution is found and there is peace with the Palestinians. The double-standard should not apply yet again." And Paul writes: "Stop all foreign aid altogether. Please show me the logic of paying out huge sums to anyone when the U.S. is broke and has to borrow the money, absolute madness." If you want to read more on this, you go to my blog, CNN.comcaffertyfile.
[Blitzer:] Will do, Jack. Thank you. Remember, we're standing by to hear from President Obama. He's getting ready to address the nation, indeed the world on the situation in Egypt. His remarks live here in THE SITUATION ROOM coming up. Also, escape from Egypt. Americans who fled the chaos tell us what it took to get out of the country. And countless Egyptians took to the streets today. We're taking you right into the middle of the "March of Millions," as it's called. Plus, a monstrous storm across the United States. We're going to Oklahoma, where the National Guard has now been sent out to rescue motorists.

[Lemon:] We're going to check your top stories right now. Americans are getting out of Libya. A ferry carrying about 300 people left the north African nation this morning heading for the island of Malta. They should arrive there next hour and you'll see it here on CNN. And Libya's defiant leader says he will fight to the death. Gadhafi addressed supporters in the capital of Tripoli during an appearance on state TV today. They have been protesting for more than a week now in Wisconsin over plans to strip public workers of their collective bargaining rights. Now, Governor Scott Walker says layoffs may start next week if a budget isn't approved. He had set today as the deadline. In a new segment, "The Price We Pay," we're examining the changing prices of important goods and services. So today, we're looking at the rising price of oil and gas. Oil hit $97.28 a barrel at yesterday's close and prices went as high of $103 earlier in the day. Wednesday was the first time in more than two years prices went above $100 a barrel. Yikes. Christine Romans joins us now from New York to help us break it all down. And that's right, I said yikes, Christine. Why are we seeing oil and gas prices rising and what does it mean for our wallets? Not good news.
[Romans:] No, it means fill her up today, top off the tank on your way home, Don, because probably gas prices are going to keep moving higher because gas is made out of crude oil and crude oil prices have been moving up. Now, right now, they're up by about 25 cents, 97.50 here in the U.S., but there are a lot of analysts who are saying they are expecting a return to above $100 oil. And that's because you're still having concerns in the Middle East. Libya is a producer of oil. We know there are satellite pictures showing that its oil infrastructure is at work. It is pumping oil still, but we generate about 87 million barrels a day of oil; we use about 88 million barrels a day of oil. So you can see, every drop that's coming out of the ground is accounted for. Libya has the largest oil reserve in Africa. It exports to the United States, but more importantly it exports to Europe, which is now scrambling to make sure that they have the right kinds of supplies. Gas prices up last night six cents overnight, Don. In one night, up six cents, so you're feeling it right away. And there are analysts who are telling me they expect prices to keep rising over the next week or two. The last time we had $100 oil, we had gas prices at $3.64. So think about that, we're even below where we were last time we had $100 oil. And every penny increase at the gas pump takes $4 million out of our collective pockets every single day, that's according to Peter Beutel from Cameron Hanover. Listen to his explanation.
[Peter Beutel, Energy Analyst:] The 30-cent increase that I expect we will see between next week and this week, there you're talking about $120 million each and every day that it remains in place out of American consumer's pockets.
[Romans:] Did you catch that, Don? He said 30-cent increase. He's expecting a 30-cent increase. Now, the price of everything we pay is going up. It's not just oil, but gold is going up. Grains are going up. Meat prices are up 10 percent year over year. A lot of money has been flooding into these commodities as interest rates have been low. So you're hearing people talk about the fact that there are investors who are helping drive things up as much there are consumers and geopolitical risk. All of these things coming together here, Don.
[Lemon:] And it's all doubly so because we're in the middle of a global recovery, at least we're trying.
[Romans:] Right.
[Lemon:] And if it was good economic times, it would be a different story, but this has the possibility to drag the entire world economy down. So we're paying close attention to it. Thank you, Christine Romans. Have a great weekend.
[Romans:] You're welcome, Don. You, too.
[Lemon:] By plane and ferry, Americans fleeing Libya as witnesses report fierce fighting in the capital of Tripoli. The latest on the revolt against Moammar Gadhafi right after this.

[Gaga:] I would like to propose a new law. Our new law is called "If you don`t like it, go home."
[Hammer:] Big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. The incredible political power of Lady Gaga: Gaga rallies her little monsters over a major gay rights issue. Is Gaga political powerhouse or a powerless pop princess? Paris` big new problem. Paris detained in Japan today after she pleaded guilty to cocaine possession charges. Plus, a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive: Paris versus Lindsay Lohan, who is more likely to stay out of trouble? The incredible new way "The Situation" is cashing in today. And will J-Woww score a big paycheck by posing nude? Plus, breaking today from the "Showbiz News Ticker," Lindsay Lohan settles a battle with a baby. And a shocking "SNL" split.
[Unidentified Male:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer, coming to you from New York City.
[Anderson:] And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And now a blockbuster showbiz special report. Lady Gaga power princess? There`s no question that Gaga is one of the most powerful, influential female singers out there. She`s definitely the queen of music right now, but does anyone listen to her when it comes to controversial political issues?
[Hammer:] Well, Gaga put on a full-court press. She tried to get the "don`t ask, don`t tell" policy, keeping gays from openly serving in the military, repealed. She rallied tons of her little monsters. Well, there was a setback today for Gaga. A vote in Washington did shoot down this latest attempt to change the law. So SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has got to ask, is Gaga a political powerhouse or a powerless pop princess? Here`s "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s" Kareen Wynter.
[Kareen Wynter, Hln Correspondent:] Outrageous outfits, sexy music videos and shocking public behavior, like flipping off photographers at a baseball game. Even outfitted in an outlandish meat attire at this year`s MTV Video Music Awards.
[Gaga:] I never thought I`d be asking Cher to hold my meat purse.
[Wynter:] Lady Gaga has our attention, and she`s pushing a message she`s fired up about, but is the public listening?
[Gaga:] I`m here because "don`t ask, don`t tell" is wrong.
[Wynter:] The Grammy winner spoke out at a rally in Maine Monday, lashing out at the government`s "don`t ask, don`t tell" policy. It`s about gays in the military.
[Gaga:] We`re going to war for you and you and you and you and you, but not you because you`re gay.
[Wynter:] And just last week, the politically provocative Gaga posted this video on her Web site, urging Congress to put a stop to the hotly debated practice.
[Gaga:] I am here to be a voice for my generation.
[Wynter:] And that generation is listening, says music and pop culture expert Steven Smith. He tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT her shift from controversial icon to social activist hasn`t hurt her cause.
[Steven Smith, Music And Pop Culture Expert:] The transformation, I think, is something very, very calculated. Whatever message Lady Gaga is putting out there, anything she can do to be controversial is going to help.
[Wynter:] Even if it means inspiring Ellie and Lauren. They are two college kids in Colorado who produced this video.
[Elie:] Lady Gaga could die if you don`t vote.
[Gaga:] Do you want me to die?
[Elie, Lauren:] No, we don`t want you to die.
[Wynter:] The liberal outreach voter group, Campus Progress, just posted this video on their Web site to encourage young people to vote.
[Sarah Haile-mariam, Campus Progress:] Ellie and Lauren aren`t politically active, they`re not even registered to vote yet. But they`re getting registered to vote as a consequence of all the activity that`s occurring over "don`t ask, don`t tell."
[Wynter:] Campus Progress Sarah Haile-Mariam tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that it was Gaga`s passion that actually inspired the video.
[Haile-mariam:] What Lady Gaga was able to do was to challenge us to take that passion and to take our creativity and to utilize it. And it`s really incredible to see how celebrity and activism and the Internet are interacting in a way that makes young people more impactful than we`ve been able to be in years past.
[Wynter:] And the pop star who`s at the political forefront wants the public to take action, instead of just watching from the sidelines.
[Gaga:] I would like to propose a new law. Our new law is called "If you don`t like it, go home."
[Smith:] So when you see a young pop star get excited by activism and realizing, yes, there are problems in the world, things we should attack, then, yes, definitely, it can get people more devoted to a certain cause.
[Wynter:] When it comes to devotion, Lady Gaga isn`t just using her voice to rock the music world. She`s inspiring young America to make some political noise of their own.
[Gaga:] Can you all hear me?
[Hammer:] Well, Lady Gaga may be able to create a political spectacle, but some people doubt that she packs a political punch. And that leads to today`s "Showbiz Flash Point": Lady Gaga, political powerhouse or a powerless pop princess. With me in New York is Sunny Hostin, who is a legal contributor for "In Session" on TruTV. Right now from Hollywood, Hyla, who is an entertainment journalist with 5DollarPrep.com. Ok so the repeal of "don`t ask, don`t tell" did fail to move forward today, but to me, even if the vote didn`t go her way, there`s no doubt that Lady Gaga got everyone`s attention. Hyla, to you first for our "Showbiz Flash Point," is Lady Gaga a political powerhouse or a political pop princess?
[Hyla:] I think she has potential to be a powerhouse, absolutely. The difference between her and a lot of other celebrities is that they usually talk in talking points and they don`t really necessarily have a point or they`re fully educated. When you watch this speech, if you watched the entire 15 minutes, she speaks with conviction, with passion. She made great points. She speaks with facts. I would put her up against a Glenn Beck or Bill O`Reilly any day. I think she could hold her own. She came across like that.
[Hammer:] Well, I have to tell you I agree with you on so much of that. I think she came across terrifically, and I`m a Gaga fan. But the problem I have, Sunny, is it`s one thing to rally your fans. You`re preaching to the choir, basically. But if you want to have political clout, doing things like showing up wearing a dress made of meat doesn`t really help your cause. So to our "Showbiz Flash Point," a political powerhouse or a powerless pop princess?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session" On Trutv:] I think she`s a powerless pop princess right now. I have to agree with you, I mean, she certainly has the reach. And I commend her for putting herself out there with the message, which I think is a wonderful message
[Hammer:] Yes.
[Hostin:] that we can`t tolerate discrimination in any form. But I don`t think that the Senate was going to listen to her, especially in the way that it was delivered. The message was wonderful; the delivery, eh, not so much.
[Hammer:] Well, I`ve got to say, Gaga working for positive change, I completely agree with you on that. So we give her a lot of credit for that. Let`s talk about Paris Hilton, on the other hand. She seems to be disrupting international relations today, Brooke. What`s going on?
[Anderson:] Yes. All right, A.J., Paris is making big news today in Japan. And this just one day after she pleaded guilty to cocaine possession charges in Las Vegas. Here`s the story. Paris was reportedly stopped today from entering Japan on a business trip. Paris was supposedly stopped by immigration in Japan because of her guilty plea. Sunny, if this happened on day one of Paris` year-long probation, what does that say for the remaining 364 days? Is her nightmare just beginning?
[Hostin:] It is just beginning. I mean, this is going to be difficult for her. It`s one year of probation and she could end up in jail if she gets into trouble. And a lot of people sort of took issue with the fact that I said, you know, this wasn`t just a slap on the wrist type of sentence. She is going to be held accountable. And we`re seeing it happen already. She goes to Japan and she`s held prisoner basically in a hotel airport, because she pled guilty to possession of cocaine and the Japanese don`t take kindly to cocaine possessors.
[Hammer:] And that`s not the only bad news today for Paris Hilton. I`ve got more bad news for both Paris and Lindsay Lohan. They have she has a court date of her own, and that`s happening on Friday. An arrest warrant was just issued after Lindsay failed a drug test during her probation. Take a look at this. It`s our exclusive SHOWBIZ TONIGHT poll where we asked, who is most likely to turn her life around? And look at these results, just in late today, only 13 percent say Paris Hilton. Seven percent say Lindsay Lohan; 80 percent say neither one are going to turn their lives around. Hyla, do our viewers have it right? Neither of these two have a shot?
[Hyla:] It it depends. Basically, I think Lindsay is in control of her fate here, because if she can get her friends and her family to really step up and call her out on the things that she`s doing, then she really is going to make a change. She has the best opportunity, because Lindsay has a career in the movie business. She`s a great actress. Paris, I think she likes this attention. This is what she does for a living is to have her name in the press so I think she feels she`s being successful, but Lindsay has the best chance only if her friends and family step up.
[Hammer:] Yes, well, the problem here is we keep hearing both of them saying, ok, all of that is behind me, that`s in my past, and now I`m turning things around and they keep showing us that it isn`t happening. Sunny Hostin and Hyla, thanks, guys, I appreciate it.
[Anderson:] I`ve got to say, I`m not sure if Mel Gibson has a lot of friends nowadays, ever since those awful reported tapes of him came out, he allegedly beat up and threatened to kill his ex. But Jodie Foster is standing up for Mel today. That story is coming up. Also those "Jersey Shore" kids cashing in again big-time today. Maybe they`ll be able to buy the Jersey Shore. "The Situation`s" wallet is getting bigger than his abs for an incredible new reason. And will J-Woww collect a supersized paycheck for posing nude? Ok, maybe the "Jersey Shore" cast isn`t as rich as this crew, yet. I`m talking about the best-paid women on prime-time TV. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN News & Views.
[Hammer:] Time now for the "Showbiz News Ticker"; more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom, making news today.
[Molly Ringwald, Actress:] I think the issues haven`t changed. I think it doesn`t matter that technology changes, we have Internet now, we have texting now. All of the issues behind it are all the same. You know, kids wondering how they fit in and the insecurities and you know all of that. I think it just never changes. And that`s why they`re so timeless.

[Berman:] All right. At this very moment, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her way to Israel to join the effort to broker a Mideast ceasefire. From more on U.S. response to this conflict, we turn to foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty right now. Jill, what do we know about the Secretary's travel plans?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Well, this is pretty dramatic, John, because after all, remember, Secretary Clinton is on a big Asia trip with the President of the United States. He is just abruptly sends her to the Middle East. She jumps on a plane and heads off from Cambodia to the region. Now, she's going to be meeting, of course, with the Israelis, with Benjamin Netanyahu, we believe. And then she'll also be going to the Palestinian Authority to Ramallah. That is kind of a question mark because actually Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, really has been sidelined in all of this. There's not a lot that he can really do because after all, Gaza is controlled by Hamas. And that is considered by the United States a terrorist organization. And then finally, you have Egypt, and that's really the key. She'll go to Cairo. Egypt is playing the crucial role in this. That new government of Mohamed Morsi who himself is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. There's a lot of sympathy in Egypt for Hamas. But on the other hand, Egypt does want to play a constructive role because they know that they need the help of the United States, the help of the E.U., the help of the international community for their economy. So it's a very delicate type of balance. Hillary Clinton knows the players. She's met several times with Benjamin Netanyahu. She's met with Mahmoud Abbas, and she really knows the issues, so she's the perfect person to do it.
[Berman:] Jill, it is speculation, but it seems to me that the Secretary of State would not be on her way to the Middle East at this moment if a ground invasion were imminent. That is not a split-screen picture that the U.S. would like to see, no doubt. But as you said, a lot of what she'll be doing is working the allies. That's what the President's been doing, on the phone with Turkey, with Egypt, with countries in the region trying to stabilize the overall area. Why is that?
[Dougherty:] Well, absolutely. In fact, Secretary Clinton has been making even more phone calls than the President, as you can understand. The President has a lot of things that he was trying to do on this Asia trip which has been overshadowed by all of this. But she has been on the phone to all of the key players multiple times. I mean, I counted at least three times she's been talking with the Egyptians. The President, too, talked about three times with the Egyptians. So, she this is really a continuation of that diplomacy, trying to, at this point, bring some type of diplomatic solution. They feel they have a little bit of a breathing space, but I think you're right, there's not a lot of time here. She has to move fast.
[Berman:] All right. Jill Dougherty in Washington, thanks so much.
[Baldwin:] Eighteen minutes past the hour here. You're watching EARLY START. Let's go to Christine Romans with the day's top stories. And with everything happening in the Middle East, we were just talking oil prices. Are they
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] I watched oil prices. They were up almost 3 percent yesterday. They were down a little bit this morning. We'll continue to watch the markets and their reaction to what's happening in the Middle East. Meantime, a new poll from the Pew Research Center finds that more Americans are concerned about the fiscal cliff than the scandal involving former CIA Director David Petraeus 36 percent of Republicans, 35 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of independents say they are following the debate on the fiscal cliff very closely. How does that compare with the Petraeus affair? Well, only 28 percent of Republicans, 21 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of independents are following the investigation, quote, "very closely". Florida Senator Marco Rubio didn't give an answer when asked by "GQ" magazine how old the earth is. His response? "I'm not a scientist, man." Scientists estimated the Earth to be more than 4.5 million years old. Rubio tells "GQ" there are, quote, "multiple theories out there on how the university is created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all." Conservation experts are teaming up with federal agents to investigate the violent deaths of bottlenose dolphins along the northeast of northern Gulf Coast, rather. One of the dolphins was shot. Another was stabbed with a screwdriver. The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies says at least six dolphins have died from foul play since January. After spending six years in Los Angeles, soccer superstar David Beckham will be leaving the L.A. Galaxy after the MLS Cup Game on December 1st. Monday's announcement comes just 10 months after Beckham signed a new two-year contract with the team. Beckham says he wants to, quote, "experience one last challenge before the end of my playing career."
[Berman:] What is the challenge?
[Romans:] Mystery.
[Berman:] It's money. It's China. It's Dubai. There are rumors of Brazil. You know, his best days, David Beckham does a lot of things well and represents a lot of things well, but his best playing days are behind him. He's looking for one last big payday.
[Romans:] But how much longer will he look like this?
[Baldwin:] That's what we want to know. Thank you, Christine Romans. Question for you: is the value here of your home, is it finally going up? We do have some good news for you this morning here on the housing market. We're going to tell you all about that coming up next. Twenty minutes past the hour. You're watching EARLY START on CNN.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks for being with us. We begin this hour with a story that's shaping up to be nothing short of a national tragedy. An historic superstorm that covers a thousand miles and impacts millions of lives. At least 16 people are dead and floodwaters are washing across the most populated corridor in the United States. The region largely paralyzed this morning. Airports, trains, bridges shut down. In New York, the head of the century-old subway system says it has never faced this kind of devastation. We'll join a news conference from New York's mayor at any moment now. In the flooded borough of Queens, at least 50 homes continue to burn. Electrical fires and power outages are only adding to the misery in the eastern United States. To give you an idea of just how massive Sandy still is, fierce winds are blowing in from Canada all the way to Georgia. This morning, some seven million homes and businesses are without power and heat. Sandy is also whipping up huge amounts of snow from Maryland to Tennessee and West Virginia, a blizzard could dump three feet of rare October snow. CNN's crews are scrambling to bring you all the latest information on this epic disaster that's continuing to unfold. Our reporters are at some of the worst points of the superstorm and breaking down the details on how all Americans could feel Sandy's impact. Right now, we're following rescues and evacuations under way across much of the region. In northern New Jersey there's been a breach in a berm and several communities are now flooded. One police chief says there's up to five feet of water in the streets of Moonachie and Little Ferry. And rescues are also taking place in Carlstadt. CNN's Maggie Lake is on the scene. She'll join us once she has the latest actually she's having trouble getting to the scene because the roadways are so bad. When she arrives on the scene, she'll bring us much more information. Sandy's trail of devastation goes beyond flooding. A fire has destroyed at least 50 homes in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, New York. CNN's Deborah Feyerick is covering that part of the story. Good morning, Deb.
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, good morning. We want to tell you, the damage out here is extraordinary. Some 50 homes, more than 50 homes, burned to the ground over night. Over on this side of the bay, homes, missing their faces, the faces just sheared off. This gentleman and his family, they were here overnight. And I want to this is Steve and his wife and his daughter. First of all, tell us, you stayed overnight. What was it like?
[Unidentified Male:] There was nothing you could do. There was water surrounding the house.
[Feyerick:] Why did you decide why did you decide to stick it out?
[Unidentified Male:] Well, I was actually helping out the community. I'm a volunteer firefighter, and trying to give a helping hand. And we couldn't get out. We got trapped. Even you know, can't even help anybody. I couldn't help myself.
[Feyerick:] Were there moments where you thought this is it, we're not going to make it out?
[Unidentified Male:] Absolutely. Absolutely.
[Feyerick:] I mean you are clearly shaken by this. The waves, the water, as
[Unidentified Female:] Yes. Water came inside the house. Came into the basement first and then uncontrollably it started to come up to the first floor. We went up to the second floor. I was hoping maybe it would stop. And it eventually did. And then looking out the window, we saw the fires and we couldn't tell if the fire was 100 yards or a mile away. It's just so bright. I couldn't tell I couldn't tell where it was. We thought we were going to have to go jump in the water. It was terrible.
[Feyerick:] You were able to pack up your car. When did you realize you had a window to get out?
[Unidentified Male:] Well, I put the car on higher ground the day before, obviously. And not until just now. We realized that the car started and hundreds if not thousands of cars over here that probably not starting. They were under water. Houses are destroyed. As you say yourself, there's over 50 houses have burned down. So it's unbelievable. It's like a war zone.
[Feyerick:] You're going to go to Brooklyn now and you're going to try to figure out
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, we're going to stay with some friends and family and see what we can do.
[Feyerick:] What is the hardest what is the hardest thing for you right now, you and your family?
[Unidentified Male:] Well, leaving our home. But, I'll be honest you know, just getting out here at this point, there's nothing here. You know, a home can always be rebuilt, we only have our lives and we're safe.
[Feyerick:] All right. Steve, thank you very much. All right. Take care. Thanks for stopping for us. And so you can you can see just how shaken people are. There were a couple of people who they wanted to ride out the storm. And we asked them why, and they said, well, they were going to pump out their basement, they could stay ahead of the water. But what ended up happening is that once the water came in, it came so fast and it was so powerful that it knocked out all electricity so the generators couldn't work. And by that point, that was sort of the moment when they realized that there was going to be no way out. We were trying to get down to those homes, 50 homes that were burned to the ground. Take a look. This is just some of the devastation here. We're seeing just patios that were ripped up. Furniture everywhere. There are trees that have jammed themselves under cars. And this is all we're seeing. The water, we were walking down in places knee-high, just boulevard or street after street after street. Because the homes are so close to one another. Right now, a lot of these people, they say, look, we got out with our lives but this is certainly something that they are not going to forget, not for a very, very long time Carol.
[Costello:] Deb, I want to talk a little about the fires. Because these fires have been burning out of control for much of the morning. Why are the firefighters having so many problems putting these flames out?
[Feyerick:] Yes. And Carol, I'm hearing bits and pieces of your question. But let me tell you what I do know about these fires. You know, the homes are wooden. They're very, very old. What we understand happen in some cases, wires came down, ignited some fires. But also once the homes flooded, what we're hearing is that the electrical boxes people left without turning them off. So once those got under water, you had sort of surges and there were fires. And again, these are what we're being told about people who are riding this out. There were 200 firefighters. This became a six-alarm blaze. One man described it like the World War II, the blitz, just truck after truck, and the flames so huge and so big. Imagine more than 50 homes that have completely burned to the ground. So an area that really got hit hard. And ironically, I mean, you can feel right now the wind that's coming. I'll tell you, 40 minutes ago, Carol, we saw the most magnificent rainbow that just physically framed this area. So maybe it's a sign.
[Costello:] Wow.
[Feyerick:] Who knows. But anyway, we'll keep you updated from here Carol.
[Costello:] I hope it's a sign. Thanks for leaving us with a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Deb Feyerick reporting live in Queens for us this morning. We want to head back to New Jersey, to Moonachie, because there's been some sort of breakage in a dam, a levee or a berm. We've heard all three terms. Joining us right now is Jeanne Baratta. She's the chief of staff at Bergen County. And Jeanne, first of all tell us exactly what broke in New Jersey.
[Jeanne Baratta, Chief Of Staff, Bergen County:] Well, at this time we're really not sure what broke, whether it was a problem with a levee or if it was just because of the surge of the tide that was all over New Jersey and New York that could have just pushed that water over that levee in Moonachie. And what we're seeing now are the three towns that have just been devastated. The town of Moonachie, the town of Little Ferry and the town of Carlstadt. And some of the other towns but not so much. Within a half an hour, and this happened after midnight last night, a surge of water rushed into those towns. The town of Moonachie, every single street in Moonachie was covered with five to seven to eight feet of water. It's just devastating for them.
[Costello:] We also heard word of people on top of their homes on roofs, waiting to get rescued.
[Baratta:] Yes. We've got an area of Moonachie that houses a trailer park. We've had people going up to their second floor of their two- family homes. But yes, we have people on the roofs and we were doing water rescues. We've been doing them since 2:30 this morning and we continue to do it. We're lucky, we've got resources from the state. We've got the National Guard here, we have the state police. We have our Bergen County Police Department, Sheriff's Department and all the municipalities in Bergen County have been giving their assets, boats. We need large trucks that can go through that high water. And everybody should just comes together. And we're all praying for the people in those towns.
[Costello:] It's great to hear. You know, Americans draw together in times of need. I love that about this country. The cold must complicate this for rescue workers, though, because they're already wet. It's sort of still drizzling. Lots of water. I just can't imagine how miserable they must be.
[Baratta:] You know what? The rescue workers, they're phenomenal. I mean they're pulling together. We've got another group coming in from Virginia that's going to take over later this afternoon. They're working for a common goal. These are our neighbors. And we're working to get them
[Costello:] Jeanne, we're losing you. I think we lost the connection. Jeanne, can you still hear me? OK. She's gone. But you heard what's going on in Moonachie, and Little Ferry and Carlstadt in New Jersey. A breach in a levee maybe. But something called a huge caused a huge surge of water. Every street in the town of Moonachie flooded this morning. And as you heard Jeanne Baratta, the chief of staff in Bergen County, telling you, there were rescue workers coming in to Virginia to help. Everybody is drawn together. And so far we've heard of no loss of life. And that's the best news about that area this morning. Massive flooding and a 90 percent power loss at NYU Medical Center sent staff members and police rushing to evacuate more than 200 patients early this morning. That picture is so touching. Nurses had to help babies from the ICU, the intensive care unit, breathe as they carried them down the stairs because the elevators went out. They had no electricity. In some places flashlights were the only lights hospital workers had to get all of those incredibly sick people out. They're trying to effort someone from the hospital to tell me if things are up and running. If we get someone on the line, of course, we'll share the information with you. It was a scary night along the Jersey shore. Now with the morning light we're able to see the first signs of destruction. Rob Marciano is in Asbury Park. What do things look like this morning, Rob?
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, Carol, it's hard to believe that we just hit high tide and the water is as far back as it is compared to where it was last night. There you see
[Costello:] I think you're right about that. Rob Marciano, reporting live from Asbury Park, New Jersey, this morning. Millions of people are hoping for some sunshine. Please make the sun come out. I think they're going to have to wait for a while. Alexandra Steele is tracking the superstorm. Deb Feyerick said she saw a rainbow. We're hoping that means good things?
[Alexandra Steele, Ams Meteorologist:] That does. Well, things are only on the improve. You know, we've seen the devastation of the superstorm, Carol. The flood and the fires. Meteorologically the most important thing now, where is this going. Right? So there's two numbers up here. They're both going down. One is a good thing and the other is not. Right now it's moving west- northwest at 15 miles per hour. That is coming down. And that is not a good thing. This storm expected to weaken but is expected to slow down. The winds now maximum sustained winds at 65. So still potent, no doubt. But those winds are coming down because it will weaken. Center of circulation right now, you can barely see it right there, it's about 90 miles west of Philadelphia. So where is this going? Again, right now it's moving at 15 miles per hour. That expectation will flow. Here it is. Can you believe the energy of this superstorm? Eastern portions of it, of course, the hurricane, the tropical elements, nine inches of rain in Delaware. Western portions, that cold portion, more of a nor'easter, nine inches of snow at least in West Virginia, and expecting potentially another foot. There's the rain and the snow that is still happening. Here is the movement. So right now you can see Tuesday morning, here's the center of low pressure. By tonight we're going to see it move and be in only western New York. And then by tomorrow, it moves from western Pennsylvania just you can see just west of New York around Toronto. So very slow to move. So even by Wednesday and into Thursday, New York and Washington have 25 and 35-mile-per-hour wind gusts. So still a potent storm. So the difficulty with this destruction, trying to clean up. This hurricane did not come in and go with certainly not a one-day quick hitter. We will still be doling with it as we head from Thursday and even into Friday. Gusts like this in the 90s, from Islip to Sandy Hook, certainly, Carol, are not the picture anymore. But still, 50s and 60s today and then dropping, maybe 10 to 15 miles per hour as we head to the next few days. We're talking Friday still, 35-mile-per-hour wind gusts from Washington to New York City.
[Costelo:] It's a whole lot of misery for a long time.
[Steele:] Yes. By the weekend, finally, it will be in Canada and really clearing up.
[Costello:] Thank goodness. But poor Canada.
[Steele:] O Canada.
[Costello:] O Canada. Thank you, Alexandra. You heard Alexandra mentioned the snowfall in West Virginia. Well, we're going to take you to West Virginia. You won't believe it.

[Baldwin:] OK, you have to see these home videos. They show the home where Jacyee Dugard was held captive for 18 years. Sunny Hostin's "On the Case." And Sunny, we'll look at these videos here because not only do they show the home of convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido, but we also see a visit from his parole officer. Let's look, and we'll talk on the other side.
[Officer:] OK, and this room here.
[Nancy Garrido:] We've been sleeping in there.
[Officer:] OK, why is this door locked? Can you move that out and open the door?
[Garrido:] Because she's convalescing and so we use this bathroom.
[Officer:] All right. This door right here.
[Garrido:] That's where we sleep.
[Officer:] Turn on the light on.
[Baldwin:] So we see them, Sunny, going, opening the doors, going room by room. But now we know the officers never went actually into the backyard where he kept Jaycee and her two kids. Who is at fault there? I mean, is that a breach of someone who should be checking in or should have been more thorough consider he is a convicted sex offender?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session" On Trutv:] Well, he did certainly, this officer search the entire home. And, you know, hindsight is 2020, but I wonder if anyone imagined that he had this backyard tent home that, you know, where he had Jaycee Dugard. I will say this. The El Dorado district attorney released these videos because he wanted to highlight the gravity and the mistakes that were made. So I think we can all agree that perhaps mistakes, grave mistakes were made. But at least we see that someone was visiting the home. Apparently, there were I think approximately 60 home visits over a 10- year period. Were they doing their jobs? They were doing what they need to do, but just not enough.
[Baldwin:] Not enough. So many people are talking about how do you know the system really failed Jaycee Dugard who we have been hearing from for the very first time this week? I mean, her story of survival is absolutely incredible. We know it, you know, she was taken as a child and held captive by this, you know, monster, this convicted child molester who then, you know, forced himself on her. She had two children. Let's just play a portion of this interview. ABC's Diane Sawyer talk to Jaycee about what life was like.
[Jaycee Dugard:] You know, he would dress me up for hours because he was taking methamphetamines and speed. He called it speed. He would get focused on one thing for long periods of time. And then it usually went to him with his little books that he would cut out for hours and paste on little girls from magazines and porno magazines. I mean, it didn't take sense to me at all, but that's what he did.
[Baldwin:] It is sick, but it helps us. I suppose, you know, learning more. Thank goodness, you know, she's brave and she's speaking out. What can we learn? What can people learn about her story and about what happened going forward?
[Hostin:] You know, I think we will learn a lot. On August 3rd, there's going to be a public hearing, an open hearing in Sacramento and we're going to go over what went wrong in this case and what we can learn and perhaps reform the system. Because as we mentioned before, Brooke, there were home visits, but they just missed it. They didn't do enough and we don't want this to ever happen to any other child because remember she was 11 years old when this happened. And we now know that Phillip Garrido had four other victims before this. So what do we learn from Jaycee Dugard's story? I think we're going to learn how to do this better, how to prevent other children from being subjected to these monsters, as you called him. And so August 3rd, something to look out for, it's going to be a Sacramento public hearing and my hope is that some reform will come from that hearing.
[Baldwin:] OK, August 3rd. Let's talk about that then. At least we know as you and I have talked about before, Phillip and Nancy Garrido in prison for a long, long time. Thank you. Now this.
[Unidentified Female:] My God! My God! My God!
[Baldwin:] OK, that's not me squealing, although I may have a similar video when I got to see this in person, but one woman did share the same excitement over the launch. You have to see this. I tell you what it's amazing to see him in person. Also, listen to this. Dozens of women and I'm talking grandmas in their 70s, taking it all off. Their photo is about to go public. Why you ask? Find out next.

[Baldwin:] Back to our breaking news. Back to Cullman, Alabama. It is a frightening, frightening situation for folks on the ground. Take a look at this video. Look at this tree! You and I looking at this for the first time here. We've just turned this video around. Obviously trees fallen, looks like a mobile home sort of twisted about. Here's what we know. One of the hospitals or I should say the only hospital in this town has issued a code D, D as in disaster. They believe a tornado has hit them. We have now heard from the Freddy Day from Cullman police. Obviously reporting some of the damage in the city. You see there power crews are out trying to restore some of the power. They say the tornado came through right about 20 minutes ago. So, this is fresh stuff. We're hearing houses according to the police chief, houses like this one, this is a church, some businesses damaged. There were also gas leaks in the city. This is now Waterloo, Alabama. So, multiple towns here. And the path of this, at least one tornado. Chad Myers is there. How many reports of touchdowns do we have?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] I would say we probably have right now at least six tornadoes on the ground, many of them very large. We know that a marshal grove, in Union Grove, not very far from the Cullman storm. It's a mobile home park was completely destroyed. We've been told that Hackleberg, Alabama, the downtown just had a tornado go right through Cullman storm that was on ground that did a lot of damage at the hospital is now on its way to grant, Alabama. And Phil Campbell in northwestern Alabama has a tornado on the ground just to the west of the city. We have 25 separate pink boxes, which are all tornado warnings. Twenty-five separate tornado warnings, all with rotating super cells. All could have tornadoes on the ground at some point in their lifetime. This is a very dangerous situation. The Weather Service saying that this is possibly the biggest outbreak they have seen in many very years, and it's just started. We're just to the heat of the day now. This will continue all night long.
[Baldwin:] I know it's maybe too early to tell, but are we hearing at all about folks being injured?
[Myers:] Yes, there are injuries.
[Baldwin:] Yes. I do want to speak with someone from that hospital. When I spoke to the emergency woman, she was telling me that's the one and only hotel [sic] in Cullman, Alabama. And if that took a hit and you have folks injured you know, that's a recipe for disaster.
[Myers:] I know we are focused on Cullman. There are many other towns that have already been hit.
[Baldwin:] Waterloo, Alabama. Guntersville, Alabama. Couple of others
[Myers:] Big-time tornadoes on the ground.
[Baldwin:] OK, Chad Myers. 25 tornado warnings?
[Myers:] Right now. If you see a storm headed to your house today, if you're anywhere near it if you hear it, if you see it, whatever, you need to take cover. Even if it's not a tornado, that's what happens with wind damage. And if a person was in that mobile home or in that little trailer, there's obviously going to be injuries and damage there. This is a big time problem today.
[Baldwin:] We're going to stay on it. Chad Myers, stand by for me.
[Myers:] Absolutely.
[Baldwin:] I want to move to this. A big shuffle coming in the president's national security team. And Ben Bernanke goes where no Federal Reserve chairman has gone before. And we get a glimpse of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as she heads off to watch her husband lift off into space. Time to play "Reporter Roulette." And I want to begin at the Pentagon or in Washington with Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr with some big, big changes, a big shuffle there. What is behind, Barbara, this whole national security shake up?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Defense Robert Gates made it clear, Brooke, he wanted to step down. It now looks like he will step down in June. The CIA director, Leon Panetta, will replace him. General David Petraeus will leave Afghanistan, replace Panetta at the CIA. But take his uniform off, he'll be the director of the CIA as a civilian.
[Baldwin:] Who takes the job in Afghanistan?
[Starr:] Ah, that will be a man that not too many Americans know yet about. That is General John Allen, United States Marine Corps. Right now, he serves as the deputy at the U.S. central command. Alan, General Allen, General Petraeus, Leon Panetta, Bob Gates. These are men who know their counterparts over the world's heads of state and the heads of intelligences all over the world. A very capable team, everyone says so far, being put into place.
[Baldwin:] All right. Barbara Starr, thank you. Next on "Reporter Roulette," history is made involving the American economy. Alison Kosik is live in New York. And Alison, we had a first today! First time the chairman of the Fed ever held a news conference. What's behind this transparency? What happened today?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Exactly. Well, I've got to be honest with you, Brooke, nothing earth shattering happened. But he did speak in plain language. A lot of times people joke that these Fed chiefs kind of talk in code. Just mere fact that he's having this press conference is historic. It's the first ever press conference after an interest rate meeting. Now, the Fed has been around almost 100 years. Think about that. And Ben Bernanke said the goal with this is to really pull back the curtain and be more transparent, let people know what the Fed is thinking. Now over the past few years, Bernanke has been getting ready for this. He's appeared twice on "60 Minutes." He even wrote an op-ed in "The Washington Post." And by the way, these pressers are going to be happening about four times a year, so he could make history at least four times a year. Brooke?
[Baldwin:] Alison Kosik, thanks for that. But also, gas prices. Apparently, Chicago of all places, the most expensive spot to buy gas. How much?
[Kosik:] Yes, the next time you're grumbling, think of this. You're not in Chicago. Because when you're in Chicago, you pay more for gas than in any other city in the continental U.S. You can blame taxes for it, federal, state, and local taxes. The average price you're paying in Chicago, Brooke, for a gallon of gas, $4.34. And in Honolulu, keep in mind, it's $4.46. But in Illinois, it's one of the few states where you're going to pay sales tax and then on the local level, the city also has a flat tax on gas and then on top of that, you get the tax from Cook County. So, you add it all up, Brooke, and one analyst says the privilege of living in Chicago costs you 50 to 60 cents per gallon. Lucky duck if you are in Chicago paying for that.
[Baldwin:] Note to self, take the L. Take the L train. Alison, thank you.
[Kosik:] There you go! Thank you.
[Baldwin:] Next on "Reporter Roulette," senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in Houston, Texas. She's back down there following the progress from Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, her trip to Kennedy Space Center. And Elizabeth, we know she was able to walk up those stairs, hop on the plane today. But is the trip is it a wise move considering her recovery from a gunshot wound? I mean, she's still missing a piece of her skull.
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] That's right. Her doctors have been very clear, Brooke, that she was ready for this trip. They told me that weeks and weeks ago. They knew that she would be OK. It's a short trip. They are not letting her go for very long. The walking you saw, mostly, we're told, is not walking. She's walking short distances still. And, yes, she's missing a piece of her skull. I know that sounds crazy someone is traveling without a piece of their skull. But actually people do that. That piece of skull will, by the way, be replaced we're told sometime in the near future. Brooke?
[Baldwin:] And also amazing, given her injuries, she's only traveling with one nurse. Isn't that right?
[Cohen:] Right. It's amazing. She arrived here in Houston in January with several doctors, several nurses, an air ambulance all decked out with high-tech medical equipment, and she left with just a nurse. That's it. Just that one nurse. There is no special medical equipment in this plane. It's not even an air ambulance. She will be coming back here when she comes back in the same thing, we're told. So, it really is amazing the progress she's made in just a couple of months.
[Baldwin:] All of these little steps, that's all a great sign for her. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you from Texas. And that is your "Reporter Roulette" for this Wednesday. A woman, she is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband. But now as the trial begins, there's a bizarre twist in this case and it involves, of all things, a reality TV show. Also, better check your credit card statements because hackers possibly making off with the personal information of more than 70 million people. Sunny Hostin is "On The Case." We'll dig into both of those, next. And we're still keeping a close eye on this tornado outbreak there. Chad was saying and you look at the pink boxes 25 different tornado warnings. We're focusing here on Alabama. More on the breaking severe weather when we come back.

[Phillips:] The Miss USA contestant, who claims the pageant is rigged, is sticking to her story. Former Miss Pennsylvania, Sheena Monnin, called the contest fraudulent and lacking in morals. Monnin claims Miss Florida told her she had seen a list of the top-five finalists before the top 16 had even been announced. Donald Trump, who is a co-owner of this pageant, has now threatened to sue her for trashing his competition. Here is what Monnin told the "Today" show this morning.
[Sheena Monnin, Miss Pennsylvania:] I feel disappointed that he has made some statements he has said about me. And I feel prepared to continue to pursue the truth. I know what I heard, and I know what, in turn, witnessed, come true based on what I heard. The contestant said she saw he list, so I'm prepared to continue to march forward.
[Phillips:] Monnin said she gave up her crown because the results were fixed. Miss USA organizers say an e-mail she sent this week said she quit because she disapproved of allowing transgender contestants into the pageant. "American Idol" winner, Phillip Phillips, has undergone surgery to remove several kidney stones. "Entertainment Weekly" is report that he had a 6.5-hour surgery to remove them. The singer endured excruciating pain during his run on the show. A source close to the show says the surgery went well though and he's looking forward to the idol tour in July. After serving five years behind bars for a rape he didn't commit, NFL hopeful Brian Banks is getting the shot that he always wanted, an offer to try out for a team. 26-year-old Banks was 17 and a high school football standout when he was charged with the rape and kidnapping of a childhood acquaintance. His accuser eventually admitted that she had lied and Banks was exonerated last month. Yesterday's workout with the Seattle Seahawks went so well that Banks was invited to a formal tryout next week during the team's off-season mini camp. Thanks for watching, everyone. You can continue the conversation with me on Twitter, @kyraCNN, or Facebook. CNN continues with Fredricka Whitfield.

[Blitzer:] He is certainly one of the most popular players in the NFL especially among Christians but can Tim Tebow keep his faith in the city that never sleeps? Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
[Jeanne Moos, Cnn Special Correspondent:] America's most Christian quarterback headed for Sodom and Gomorrah?
[Jay Leno, Host, "the Tonight Show With Jay Leno":] Tebow in New York City? Talk about throwing a Christian to the lions. Oh my god.
[Moos:] Amen. The tabloids are already making god-puns. "God- him." And just when New Yorkers thought the whole pun thing with the Knicks Jeremy Lin had been exhausted
[Kelly Ripka, Tv:] Lin-explicable.
[Whoopi Goldberg, Co-host, "the View":] Lin-sanity.
[Moos:] Now it's Tim-sanity. Tim Tebow facing so much Tim-tation in sin city.
[Unidentified Female:] This is not a sin city. We got a lot of Christian people here.
[Moos:] So am I talking to one of them?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes, you are.
[Unidentified Male:] I think he's going to get adjusted to all these beautiful women out here.
[Moos:] It sort of reminds us of Buck in "Midnight Cowboy."
[Unidentified Male:] I am heading on to New York City, ma'am.
[Moos:] Except instead of taking a bus, Tebow flew in on a private jet. Instead of a hustler, Tebow has said he's saving himself. That didn't stop TMZ from asking, who would you rather, Tebow or the Jet's first-string quarterback, Mark Sanchez? Tebow won. But he's not winning with former Jets quarterback, Joe Namoth, who said of the Jets
[Joe Namoth, Former Quarterback:] I don't think they know what they're doing over there right now.
[Moos:] Sports commentator Stephen Smith called Tebow the worst quarterback in the
[Nfl. Stephen Smith, Sports Commentator:] Not only that, he has a low football
[Iq. Moos:] But fans tend to be more forgiving.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm glad he's here. He is positive. We need positive. He's not cocky.
[Moos:] He's humble, he's nice and New Yorkers can go for that?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, I think so. They have a choice?
[Moos:] One fan chose this, suggesting it be the Jets new logo, while another tweeted, "MetLife stadium is now prolife stadium." Tebow will be working under a coach known for salty language and a fetish for feet. A year or so ago intimate videos surfaced
[Rex Ryan, Jets Coach:] Wow, they're like really soft.
[Moos:] But at least they were Coach Ryan's wife's feet. Remember, Tebow is saving himself for marriage.
[Unidentified Female:] He is pretty cute. I think there is something wrong with him. But he's cute. Yes, that's what I don't like about it. You know?
[Moos:] Why, that he is a virgin?
[Unidentified Female:] Who really knows that's true. Only God knows, Tebow.
[Unidentified Male:] He does it like this.
[Moos:] Meanwhile, New Yorkers who don't usually get on their knees for anybody, prepare to dip for late-night comics to cartoonists taking liberties with Lady Liberty. These Denver fans want Tebow back. Jeanne Moos,
[Cnn. Unidentified Female:] Here's to you, Tebow.
[Moos:] New York.
[Blitzer:] Tim Tebow, only, only the best in New York. Good luck, Tim Tebow with the new New York Jets. That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. The news continues next on CNN.

[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Anchor:] It's 2:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 11:00 a.m. out West. Thanks for joining us. I'm Miguel Marquez in for Fredricka Whitfield. We're learning new information about a horrifying hostage situation in Alabama now in its fifth day. Police are in constant communication with a man who is holding a five-year-old in an underground bunker. This is all happening in Midland City, Alabama, the southeastern corner of the state. CNN's George Howell is there. George, police came out today with new details what items the suspect Jimmy Lee Dykes is giving the child. What are they?
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] We just heard from the sheriff here, Wally Olson. He said a few interesting things. We learned first of all that Mr. Dykes has electric heater and blankets. Certainly it's cold in the bunker, about a constant 50 degrees in that bunker underground in that bunker. They're still able to get the young boy medications he needs. He suffers from Asperger's syndrome and ADHD. Also able to get him the crayons and coloring book, but also toys, Miguel. We learned that today. And there was another interesting thing that I noticed in this particular press conference when the sheriff said that he wanted to thank Mr. Dykes. Listen to this.
[Sheriff Wally Olson, Dale County, Alabama:] He's told us that he has electric heaters and blankets inside that he's taking care of him. He's also allowed us to provide coloring books, medication, toys. And I want to thank him for taking care of our child. That's very important.
[Howell:] Again, he wanted to thank him for taking care of their boy. You can tell this is a very personal. It's something that they're paying very close attention to, everything they're able to glean from communications with Mr. Dykes. Miguel, remember, this all started back on Tuesday when investigators say that Mr. Dykes boarded a school bus and allegedly shot and killed the bus driver, then abducted this five-year-old boy taking him back to this property here where he has an underground bunker, and now, Miguel, in day five of the standoff.
[Marquez:] Interesting that they thanked him. It clearly indicates they're trying to communicate with him in every way possible. What do we know about Mr. Dykes? Are police revealing anything about a possible motive here?
[Howell:] Not at this point. They are very tight-lipped about any communications they're getting from Jim Dykes except to tell us that the negotiations are still ongoing. Again, remember, they say that the young boy is physically unharmed. That's all we've got to go with at this point, Miguel.
[Marquez:] We hope this works out for everyone in the most positive way. Thank you very much for keeping tabs on it.
[Howell:] New details today in the case of a lead prosecutor in Texas who was gunned down in broad daylight Thursday morning. A friend of prosecutor Mark Haas tells CNN he feared for his life and carried a gun with him to work days before he was ambushed and shot multiple times walking from his car. Haas was killed in an employee parking lot a block from the cough man county courthouse. Witnesses say one or two gunmen wearing masks and black clothing jumped in a getaway car. Authorities still have no leads. California's parole board is recommending freedom for one of Charles Manson's convicted followers as 70-year-old Bruce Davis was sentenced to life in prison in 1972 for the murders of two men. He was not involved in the more infamous murder of actress Sharon Tate. California Governor Jerry Brown now has 30 days to decide whether to release David. If freed, he would be the first convicted Manson family member to leave prison. A massive manhunt for a convicted murderer mistakenly released from prison it's over. Illinois police captured Stephen Robbins last night about 60 miles outside of Chicago three days after he went on the lam. Robbins is serving time for a murder 11 years ago in Indianapolis. It's still unclear how he went free Tuesday following a court hearing. Now to some new allegations of doping against New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod is being accused of taking performance enhancing drugs from a Florida clinic, but this is not the first time. The 37-year-old has admitted in the past to doping but says he's been clean since 2003. National correspondent Susan Candiotti is live for us in New York. Susan?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Hi, Miguel. A-Rod is again trying to distance himself from this week's controversy involving PEDs and a Miami clinic. Now there's another report alleging Alex Rodriguez got home visits to his waterfront mansion from main who ran that clinic. ESPN quoting unidentified sources says that is man, Anthony Bosh, injected A-Rod with performance enhancing drugs. Once Bosh was reportedly kicked out after Bosh allegedly had trouble with finding a vein. Similar drug claims were leveled earlier this week in the "Miami New Times" newspaper which says it has a diary containing notes from bosh detailing drugs including human growth hormone given to several athletes. CNN has been unable to independently see the documents in question. We did go to the clinic days ago, but it's been shut down. Bosh denies all allegations. Through a spokesman he tells CNN he did not treat nor is he associated with players, including A-Rod. In an earlier statement to CNN A-Rod also says none of this is true and through his lawyers calls the documents about him, quote, "illegitimate." His lawyers add this, "In regards to the new allegations made in ESPN's outside the line story, we can say they are not true. Alex is working diligently on his rehabilitation and is looking forward to getting back on the field as soon as possible." Remember, A-Rod has repeatedly said he stopped taking performance enhancing drugs back in 2003. Miguel?
[Marquez:] Susan, if Major League Baseball's investigation into this clinic goes anywhere, what impact might it have on A-Rod's contract with the Yankees?
[Candiotti:] That's the big question, is this going to go anywhere. Think about this. Under a collective bargaining agreement, teams cannot discipline players for this kind of thing. Our CNN legal analyst Paul Callan tells us his main worry would be a suspension possibly from the baseball commissioner and that could affect his contract with the Yankees.
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Contributor:] Obviously, if he's not showing up to play baseball because of a suspension, they would have certain rights under the contract then to pay him nothing or considerably less money but it gets complicated because of the multiple agreements in question.
[Candiotti:] We're a long way off from that. No idea, of course, where Major League Baseball's investigation is heading at this point. Back to you, Miguel.
[Marquez:] Susan Candiotti, thank you very much. It's Groundhog Day, the day where we find out if we'll ever, ever have an early string or six more weeks of miserable winter. Who better to predict that than the legendary prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil?
[Unidentified Male:] So you faithful, there is no shadow to see, an early spring for you and me.
[Marquez:] I don't know if I buy it. You heard what he had to say though. But what about Chuck the groundhog? He's the furry prognosticator at the Staten Island zoo. He also predicted an early spring. The Super Bowl isn't just about touch downs and penalty flags. There's controversy surrounding the big game. Find out what deer antlers, doping, and Ray Lewis have in common.

[Costello:] It is 15 minutes past the hour. Time to check our top stories. Olympian and accused murderer Oscar Pistorius can leave South Africa provided he gives a week's notice. The track star can also go back to the home where police say he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and he can drink alcohol again. All this after a judge reset his bail term. Pistorius was not in court. New court documents reveal suspected Colorado theater shooting James Holmes wants to plead guilty and spend the rest of his life in jail if he can avoid the death penalty. Prosecutors have not accepted his offer. Holmes is accused of killing 12 and wounding 58, in the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday. A terrifying video shows the moment a security guard is swallowed by a massive sinkhole. This happened in southern China. The man was rescued but he later died in a hospital. Chinese media say the sinkhole is 52 feet deep and 16 feet wide, and heavy rainfall may have led to its formation. After weeks of speculation, an attack ad by at least one potential opponent, Ashley Judd says she will not run for a Senate seat in Kentucky. The actress said in her Twitter account, quote, "I have decided after a serious and thorough contemplation, I realize that my responsibilities and energy at this time need to be focused on my family. Regretfully, I am currently unable to consider a campaign for Senate." The newest airline will also be the world's largest. A federal bankruptcy judge has now approved the merger of U.S. Airways and American Airlines, but did not approve a $20 million severance for the CEO of Americans parent company. The merger still needs the approval of U.S. Airways shareholders and the Justice Department. We have new details this morning in the tragic killing of a baby, shot in the head while his mother was walking him in his stroller. Two teenagers accused in the shooting have now been indicted by a grand jury. Some of their family members are in trouble, too. Joining us now from Brunswick, Georgia, CNN's Victor Blackwell. Good morning, Victor.
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. And a bit of breaking news this morning, we have just learned that the sister of one of the suspects, the boy actually charged with shooting this baby, she has been arrested in connection with this crime. Now, five people as part of this 15-count indictment.
[Blackwell:] Seventeen-year-old De'Marquise Elkins and 15- year-old Dominique Lang both now charged as adults in the shooting death of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago one week ago. Each faces five felony counts, including felony murder and cruelty to children. Elkins faces an additional charge of malice murder for allegedly firing the shot at the baby's face.
[Sherry West, Mother Of Victim:] I found an outfit that my baby was wearing before he was killed, and I can't seem to let it go.
[Blackwell:] Something else little Antonio's mother can't let go? A question. Why?
[Chief Matt Doering, Glynn County Police:] We believe that the location and the victim were both random.
[Blackwell:] Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering's department is investigating this as a botched robbery. Elkins' attorney does not buy it.
[Kevin Gough, Attorney For De'marquise Elkins:] It seems odd, two individuals, whoever they are, so desperate to rob someone who wouldn't have appeared to have any money, and go into the trouble of shooting two people, would then leave the object of their attention at the crime scene.
[Blackwell:] Not left at the crime scene? The murder weapon. According to the indictment, Elkins sister Sabrina Elkins and their mother Karimah Elkins ditched the.22 caliber revolver in this marsh, miles away from the crime. Tests will determine if a gun pulled from the marsh was the gun used to kill little Antonio.
[West:] I had to watch my baby die, and I want him to die a life for a life.
[Blackwell:] That's West's wish shared with Piers Morgan. But under Georgia law, not possible. Elkins and Lang are both under 18. If they are convicted of the new charges, these boys could spend the rest of their lives in prison. I understand we now have the photograph of Sabrina Elkins to put up on the screen for you. This, again, is De'Marquise's sister, who is charged with working with his mother to get rid of the so-called murder weapon. One other thing, De'Marquise Elkins was charged as part of this indictment with attempted armed robbery, using that same gun to try to rob a man a few days before the shooting here in Brunswick, Carol.
[Costello:] Victor Blackwell, reporting live for us this morning. Still to come in
[The Newsroom:] do you think the highest performing employees at your office are also the happiest? Well, a new study might surprise you.

[Becky Anderson:] Crammed into a cell in fear of their lives the African migrants accused of fighting for Gadhafi. Tonight, with fears that Libya could be spiraling into chaos, I'll ask the U.N. whether it's time to put foreign boots on the ground. Plus, find out why this player is getting football fans across the globe in a frenzy. And battling their way into the 21st century, we'll reveal how some of the world's biggest comic book heroes are getting a makeover. These stories and more tonight as we connect the world. Well, we begin tonight with breaking news out of Libya. Two of Moammar Gadhafi's sons are speaking out this hour, both of them still in hiding. And they are giving very conflicting signals. Saif al-Islam was extremely defiant, promising that the regime forces are coming soon to liberate Tripoli from the rebels. He also warned them not to attack his father's hometown of Sirte. A Syrian-based TV channel aired his audio message just minutes ago.
[Saif Al-islam Gadhafi:] There's concern. We told them we can tell them take Sirte if you just go in, there are more than 20,000 armed young people and they are ready, well trained, ready, willing and able. Our we are going through stages in Aziza, Eastern Aziza yes. We are struggling and we're fighting. This is no more than propaganda, media propaganda in order to distort the public opinion. And the leadership is fine. The leader is fine. And we are fighting. And we are drinking tea and coffee. And we are sitting with our families. And we are fighting. However, there is also another message to all our
[Anderson:] He sounds like his father, doesn't he? Well, Saif al-Islam, his brother Saadi Gadhafi, meantime, delivered a quite different message when he spoke to Al-Arabiya. He says he has been negotiating with a rebel commander on ways to stop the bloodshed. Let's get right to Nic Robertson, our correspondent there in Tripoli for the very latest. And remarkably different narratives from two brothers, neither of which we know where they are, of course, nor do we know where his father is at the moment.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, Saif al- Islam and his message said that he was in the suburbs of Tripoli. But I think one of the important issues here is, is Saif al-Islam really speaking for the tribes of Bani Walid, as he said? Is he really speaking for the tribes of Sirte, as he said? We haven't heard from the National Transitional Council yet, who say they've been negotiating elder to elder, elder to elder in both those places. The the town, the important town 400 kilometers along the coast, Sirte; and and Bani Walid, about 200 kilometers southeast of the city here. So is Saif really, really speaking for those tribes or not? And why has he chosen to speak out right now, which is several days before the deadline the government has set for an answer, or the National Transitional Council has set for an answer? So it then goes on to pose another question. OK, so that really is the real answer, then does the NTC start its attack now on Sirte and Bani Walid. So it it certainly raises the stakes. Why is why are these messages so different? Interesting. Saadi has been saying this for a number of days. Has been talking to the NTC. The military command said he has been trying to negotiate a cease-fire, that he speaks for the former government here and that his father and Saif don't. And they've both been coming out with completely different messages. It does seem that they are beginning to realize that their time is running out. I think that's the overall impression here right now Becky.
[Anderson:] And Libyans certainly celebrating the fall of a brutal regime. There are, though, growing concerns, Nic, about retribution at the hands of the rebels. And I know that you filed a report on exactly that tonight.
[Robertson:] You know, what's happening in and around Tripoli is that a lot of people are being arrested on suspicion of being Gadhafi forces. And what we found on a visit to a jail here is that the vast majority of those being arrested are African migrant workers.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] They are frightened. Up to 15 crammed to a cell. The stifling heat amplifying their fear. They are Libya's new despised African migrants, rounded up in their droves, accused of being Gadhafi loyalists. In this rebel jail, they are disproportionately represented, the vast majority of 300 inmates. This Ghanaian prisoner says he was on his way to his day laboring job when he was picked up.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, I'm afraid because what are they saying? They're saying we have worked with Gadhafi. We do we are not working with Gadhafi. We are here struggling to get money and go back to our country.
[Robertson:] They all have similar stories.
[Blasmina Dawali, African Prisoner:] I feel sad. I feel sad every day. Because I look at my voice, I cried. And I don't want too much sympathy, that's all.
[Robertson:] Dawali, a Nigerian, says her husband was arrested a week ago and she was picked up when she went out to buy food.
[Dawali:] They took everything from us. They collected everything from us. I had my money inside my palm. They took the money
[Robertson:] The man in charge of the jail, a computer sciences graduate with no experience at managing inmates, admits half the prisoners are probably innocent.
[Alaa Al-ameen About Rass, Prisoner Manager:] I'm not allowed to to leave them, because I didn't bring them here. Someone else bring them here and he signed for this. So he's that that's the one is responsible about to release them or not.
[Robertson:] A few hours later, he's replaced by professional jailers. But prisoners say nothing else changes. [on camera]: The shambolic situation here is symptomatic of the chaotic transfer of power across the country. But amidst it, there is an undercurrent of retribution that runs rife. Many believe the Africans here are Gadhafi's mercenaries, where, in reality, hundreds of thousands were in the country before the war, working as simple day laborers. You only have to look at how the Libyans are being treated to see the difference. [voice-over]: Their conditions almost luxurious by comparison. Fewer to a cell. More space to move around. Better access to the scant water supplies. This Libyan prisoner picked up when he went to see his family.
[Firas Salaheddin Mustafa, Libyan Prisoner:] Right now, this evening, it's good. But some people come here and they call us zogs and they call us, you you worked for Gadhafi or something. But most of us don't.
[Robertson:] Regardless of nationality, what unites the prisoners here, however, is fear.
[Mustafa:] I don't know if they'll kill me or I don't know what will happen. They might shoot me. I don't know what's going on.
[Robertson:] Their jailers promise justice. But amidst the appearance of prejudice, it may be hard to find. And it could be a long time before any of the people inside those jails actually get some real attention by judges and the legal system here Becky.
[Anderson:] And so it goes on. Nic, we thank you for that. Nic Robertson is in Tripoli for you this evening. Now, I want to bring you an update on a story that I know has touched many of you around the world. We told you about Shweyga Mullah, a nanny who was working in the home of one of Gadhafi's other sons, Hannibal. She was found severely scalded and burned. And she says it was done to her by Hannibal Gadhafi's wife. Now, her story has struck a chord with many of you, I know. We've been receiving many requests for how you might be able to help out. Now, CNN is helping to arrange some treatment for Shweyga. She will need months to recover, I've got to say. And you can now help yourselves, CNN.comimpact. There you'll find a link to a page that's being set up by Anti-Slavery International specifically to help Shweyga. That is our Impact Your World page. That's CNN.comimpact. Well, Eid, the end of Ramadan, is traditionally a time to feast and exchange gifts with loved ones, of course. This year it comes as people in Tripoli are struggling with a shortage of food and water. Well, the EU giving about $40 million for emergency humanitarian operations in Tripoli. Now, earlier, I talked with Mark Choonoo, who's a UNICEF emergency specialist who's in the Libyan capital. And I asked him whether the influx of those sort of numbers like that from the EU that's been allocated, will be enough. And this is what he said.
[Mark Choonoo, Unicef Emergency Specialist:] Currently, with the water system, for instance, for us to be able to adequately respond, we need 1.5 million liters of water per day for each day of the crisis. There's been no water in the water pipes since Saturday. So, if we are going to respond at these levels, there's a much larger budget that's required. And we need to be able to respond to crises that we are not really used to at these camps.
[Anderson:] A representative of UNICEF on the ground there in Tripoli for you this evening. Well, world diplomats are gathering in Paris for a major conference on these and other challenges facing Libya. Representatives from 60 countries will discuss the funding and rebuilding of a new, democratic state. That is on Thursday. Ian Martin is among those who will be attending that meeting. He's a U.N. special adviser on Libya. And I spoke with him before he caught his flight out to Paris, asking him, first, what he thought of the rebels' deadline for surrender. That, of course, being Saturday, they say. Saturday or else.
[Ian Martin, U.n. Special Adviser:] Clearly, that is a military threat. But the strong hope of the international community is that that can be avoided by the Gadhafi loyalists ceasing to to to consider a further military stand rather than a peaceful transition.
[Anderson:] There's a big meeting in Paris Thursday. What is your number one priority on the list for that meeting, which I know you will be attending yourself?
[Martin:] It's a key moment for the international community to overcome some of the decisions there have been and be united in support of Libya for the future. That was certainly the mood in the Security Council yesterday. And I'm certain it will be the mood in Paris. And there seems to be a strong wish from the Libyans and from the international community as a whole that the United Nations would play a leading role in the post- conflict period.
[Anderson:] Libya needs money. It needs assets and it needs them fast. They have frozen around the world some $200 billion worth. Some $3 billion or so have been unfrozen by the U.N. Security Council. Who's standing in the way of more money being unlocked at this point?
[Martin:] Some members of the Council have put a hold on the immediate requests that they were after unfreezing and are concerned about what the arrangements are going to be for the the spending of those assets when unfrozing unfrozen, from the point of view of the the secretary- general, and particularly the humanitarian needs, it's really important that the period of of humanitarian dependency is as short as possible and that funds are available. And, of course, in the longer-term, it's important that Libya turns the page toward transparent, accountable handling of its very considerable assets and and resources and avoids the corruption that has marked that in the past.
[Anderson:] Come on, Ian, who are the members standing in the way?
[Martin:] I'm not sure at the moment which of the members of the Security Council have are retaining what is called a hold on the particular request.
[Anderson:] Can I suggest Russia and China?
[Martin:] China certainly has been has put a hold on it at some points. But I'm I'm not simply not sure which countries, at the moment, are sustaining holds on which requests.
[Anderson:] What are you going to do short-term?
[Martin:] It's very clear now that the Libyans don't intend to ask for any military deployment from the United Nations and that the possibility, in the context of a cease-fire of some unarmed military observers is no longer relevant in the present scenario. But what we have to do first is precisely engage with the Libyans at the leadership level, but also on the ground in Tripoli, as we will be doing very soon, to understand their situation, to understand what they want to ask for and to see who in the international community, the U.N. and others, can be helpful as they restore security and build a a democratically accountable public security force for the future.
[Anderson:] And you've been listening to the voice of the UN's special representative on post-conflict resolution ahead of that big meeting in Paris on Libya Thursday. More on that, of course, here on this show tomorrow evening. Well, coming up, the storm has moved on, but restoring power, well, that is a struggle. Why Hurricane Irene is still wreaking havoc on East Coast Americans. And then football frenzy the latest deals and steals in the last 90 minutes of the transfer window. And dramatic makeovers for iconic comic book characters we're going to show you all the new looks a little later on in this show. You're watching CNN. It's 15 minutes past 9:00 in London. I'm Becky Anderson. Stay with us.

[Blitzer:] The Boy Scouts of America is announcing a major decision on its policy to ban gays. Lisa Sylvester's monitoring that and also some of the other top stories in THE SITUATION ROOM right now. What's the group saying, Lisa?
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, the group is emphatically reaffirming its ban on gay members. In a statement today, the organization says the decision to continue to exclude gays, quote, "remains in the best interest of scouting." The boy scouts conducted a two-year review of the ban. The group has faced numerous protests over this policy. NASA's latest rover is in for a rocky landing on Mars in the coming weeks. NASA officials call it 7 minutes of terror because the landing is so complicated. The curiosity rover is about the size of a small SUV. So NASA's using parachutes and a rocket's backpack to slow it down enough to make the landing. It is scheduled to touch down on Mars on August 6th. And the mayor of one Alaska community is celebrating you are looking at him, Stubs, the cat. Yes, I said a cat. When residents weren't happy with the options, he knows what he likes including drinking water from a wine glass with catnip. And his popular with the town's 800 residents and he even has his own Facebook page. Somehow I would guess he probably has a Twitter account as well and probably a number of followers, too, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Very high-tech cat indeed. Thanks, Lisa, for that. During the Arab uprisings, thousands of lives were put on hold to join protests and Olympic athletes were no exception. Many of them had to stop training, others suffered injuries and some even lost family members. CNN's Mohamed Jamjoom has the story of Tunisian gymnast who was told by the former regimen he would never compete again.
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn International Correspondent:] Wajdi Bouallegue's finally getting the global recognition he deserves. A major photo shoot for "Sports Illustrated" and what has become one of the symbols of the revolution. This is the former home of the toppled Tunisian president's brother- in-law. After he fled the country it was gutted and covered in graffiti. Now it houses rubble and revolutionary art. For Tunisia's star gymnast and Olympic hopeful, it's a strong statement. Bouallegue's one of Tunisia's leading athletes, known to be one of the best floor exercise performers in African and Arab history. He makes the sport look easy combining physical strength, poise, flexibility and balance. He competed in the 2004 Olympics and now set to be the only Tunisian gymnast at the 2012 games. During Tunisia's revolution, the scenes of protest not only took over his athletic dreams, the violence hit home.
[Wajdi Bouallegue, Tunisian Gymnast:] I was here downstairs with all the neighbors here ready to protect our city.
[Jamjoom:] Bouallegue decided to defend his community during the uprising as part of a neighborhood watch. [on camera]: So this is where you guys would sort of patrol?
[Bouallegue:] Yes. This is where every residence over here have their own groups and every head of family right here of every home. And our wives and our sons are at home and right here to communicate with us if there is something wrong happening we communicate quickly. We were really scared. Sometimes we was like 200, 300 people. Then we just heard some noise like, come on, come on, go to fight, go to fight and we run, we run, we run.
[Blitzer:] That report from CNN's Mohamed Jamjoom. Coming up, President Bill Clinton, he is visiting Nelson Mandela on the eve of his 94th birthday. In our brand new 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour of THE SITUATION ROOM, President Clinton sits down with CNN in South Africa. You're going to hear what he has to say, what he's learned from the South African leader and more. The interview with Bill Clinton in the 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour. Also, there were heated President Obama's victory in 2008, but what will the president need to do to get young voters really excited this time around?

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] And you're in the SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, just released information in the trial of former presidential candidate, John Edwards, including voice messages he left for his mistress, messages he was trying to hide from the world. Also, Rupert Murdoch now admits there was a cover-up from the phone hacking scandal that he calls a black on his reputation. Stand by to hear how the media mogul's bombshell testimony went down. And the creator of "Girls Gone Wild" telling us how he bought a summer internship, he alleges, with the United States senator or at least he thought he did. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, and you're in the SITUATION ROOM. This just coming into the SITUATION ROOM. Key evidence against for presidential candidate, Democrat, John Edwards. It was released only moments ago, and it includes picture, phone records, new details on the messages that Edwards left his mistress. So, let's go right to our senior correspondent, Joe Johns. He's covering the John Edwards trial in North Carolina. Joe, what happened?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Wolf, well, the court, for the first time, today releasing transcripts of voice mail messages between Andrew Young and Senator Edwards. This is going all the way back to September 2007, December 2007. In fact, there's one voice mail message from December 14 of 2007, right after Edwards had been photographed with his mistress, Rielle Hunter. He calls Andrew Young, his longtime aide and tells him he's going to call back, but if his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, is standing there, he's going pretend that he doesn't know what's going on, and he'll ask on the phone, how did this happen? What's happening? All of this to try to conceal the affair, of course. This, as the cross-examination here in Greensboro continued today.
[Unidentified Male:] Good morning, Mr. Edwards.
[Johns:] Thursday, for the first time, the court began releasing some of the prosecution exhibits entered into evidence, pictures of one of the houses in North Carolina where John Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, stayed after she moved away from the New York area to escape hounding by the media, phone records, transcripts of phone calls, and there was more painful cross- examination with prosecution star witness, Andrew Young, on the stand. A former right-hand man to Edwards who helped to conceal the former senator's affair with Rielle Hunter and wrote a book to tell about it. Edwards' defense lawyer, Abbe Lowell, continued to try to chip away at Young's credibility and his recollection of dates, times, places and conversations he had with Edwards. Young often sparring with Lowell saying he was not able to recall certain specific dates and times or even the sequence of events, not able to remember whether he wrote a check to buy a car for Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, or paid for it some other way. Lowell asked if he used Hunter as a way to get money for himself. Young said no. Most of the money in question was given by a wealthy Edwards benefactor, Bunny Mellon of Northern Virginia. Mellon's check released publicly Thursday by the court had been endorsed by Young's wife and deposited in the Young family account. Mellon ended up giving $725,000, though, the larger amount she had promised is in dispute. The Edwards' defense team needs a clear timeline to try to support its claim that Young was enriching himself while he was paying for living expenses, travel expenses for Hunter and the baby girl fathered by Edwards. The cross-examination was painful at times. At one point, Judge Catherine Eagles warned the defense she might have to exclude certain evidence because it was confusing the issues or wasting time. A North Carolina law professor observing the trial defended Lowell's line of questioning.
[Mike Rich, Elon University Law School:] I think he's dealing with a hostile, difficult witness to get answers out of, and so, it's taken a long time, but it doesn't seem like he's been going around in circles and really wasting the court or the jury's time.
[Johns:] The questioning this afternoon continued to drill down on the question of how much Andrew Young actually may have cashed in, may have actually benefitted from this cash that was coming in ostensibly to pay for the support and welfare of Rielle Hunter? More testimony from Andrew Young tomorrow Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Do we expect Senator Edwards to take the stand?
[Johns:] We've actually heard there's a lot of doubt as to whether he'll take the stand. Nothing official. Nonetheless, we do expect to hear from Rielle Hunter. There are attorneys around this courthouse, quite frankly, Wolf, who would said a defense attorney would be crazy to put John Edwards on the stand given all the things he could be cross-examined about.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much, Joe. Joe Johns reporting for us from North Carolina. We're also learning more today about allegations that representatives of the United States government consorted with prostitutes and held wild parties while in other countries. The scandal that began in Colombia with the U.S. secret service appears to be exploding into something much, much bigger, but now, incidents being reported in El Salvador and Brazil. Brian Todd is putting all these pieces together for us. Brian, what are you finding out?
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] The incident in Brazil, Wolf, involves military and state department personnel, not secret service, but we are also getting information that secret service agents have been involved in incidents beyond Cartagena.
[Todd:] A Congressional source tells CNN reports of misbehavior by secret service agents beyond the Colombia incident have been brought to Congress. KIRO TV, a CNN affiliate, cites a U.S. government contractor who worked extensively with the secret service advance team saying he was with about a dozen secret service agents and some U.S. military personnel a few days before President Obama's visit to El Salvador last year. The source says they were at a strip club where members of the American team drank heavily, that most of them paid extra for access to a V.I.P. section where they were provided sexual favors in return for cash. This is from one unnamed source, and CNN cannot independently confirm the allegations. Contacted by CNN, the secret service also cited this as coming from an unnamed source and issued a statement saying "Any information brought to our attention that can be assessed as credible will be followed up on in an appropriate manner." I asked veteran Washington criminal defense attorney, Jeffrey Jacobovitz, if he was head of the secret service or any other security agency Are you nervous right now something's going to blow up?
[Jeffrey Jacobovitz, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, sure. If you're the head of the agency, you're very nervous, because this is the kind of publicity you do not want in your agency.
[Todd:] "The Washington Post" reported that an unnamed source says such behavior is part of the culture at the secret service, not a one- time occurrence. Barbara Riggs, the first woman deputy director in the agency's history, denies that.
[Barbara Riggs, Former Secret Service Dep. Director:] Throughout my career, I have been on advance teams. I've supervised advance teams. And I've worked, you know, on presidential detail on two different occasions, and I have never witnessed anything of this magnitude.
[Todd:] And the secret service is hardly alone. In December of last year, in the Brazilian capital, three U.S. marines and a state department employee were involved in an altercation overpayment with dancers and prostitutes from a club. One woman allegedly started a fight inside a marine's vehicle and was injured when she was kicked out of the vehicle and tried to get back in.
[Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary:] Those that were involved have been punished and held accountable.
[Todd:] The marines were reduced in rank. The U.S. embassy staffer removed from that post. I called and e-mailed Lawrence Berger, attorney for some secret service officers investigated in the Colombia case to ask for response to the latest developments regarding the secret service. I never heard back. Former secret service officers have told us the agency drills it into its recruits when they're training, not to place themselves in these situations, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] But if it was tolerated in other occasions, secret service agents going on advance trips or whatever and meeting and dealing with prostitutes, could they use that as an excuse now, these 12 secret service officers and agents as an excuse, if you will? You know, we just assumed it was OK because it's been tolerated so often in the past?
[Todd:] I asked that of Jeffrey Jacobovitz, the defense attorney said no, you basically cannot use that as a defense. He says even in the foreign corrupt practices act it says that that you can't just say in court. Look, everybody is bribing a foreign official, so we're doing it, too. The same thing applies here. You cannot use that as a defense that everybody's doing it, really, in any context. So, it doesn't fly.
[Blitzer:] I think the story is going to explode. Thanks very much. Already exploding. Now to the phone hacking scandal that has certainly tarnished Rupert Murdoch's media empire. The News Corporation chief publicly admitted today there was, in fact, a cover-up within his organization. CNN senior international correspondent, Dan Rivers, is covering Murdoch's testimony at a media ethics investigation in Britain.
[Dan Rivers, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Amid a frenzy of flash bombs, the news tycoon who now is the news is whisked into London by court where he implied some of his executives tried to cover up the scale of phone hacking.
[Rupert Murdoch, Ceo, News Corp:] There's no question in my mind that maybe even the editor, but certainly, beyond that, someone took charge of a cover-up which we looked into and I regret.
[Rivers:] It was this man, Collin Myler, who was editor of "The News of the World," when the tabloid was closed down. Rupert Murdoch claimed Myler failed to tell him about widespread hacking.
[Murdoch:] The new editor was appointed with specific instructions to find out what was going on. He did, I believe, put in two or three new steps of regulation, if you like, but never reported back that there was more hacking.
[Rivers:] Myler now works for a competitor, and his lawyer says they have no comment. But Murdoch also sought to spread the blame for the hacking cover-up to other people.
[Unidentified Male:] From where does this cover-up emanate, Mr. Murdoch?
[Murdoch:] I think from within "The News of the World" and to one or two very strong characters there who I think had been there many, many, many years and were friends of the journalists. The person I'm thinking of is a friend of the journalists, drinking pal, and is a clever lawyer.
[Rivers:] Taken to be a reference to this man, legal affairs manager, Tom Crone, who hit back with an angry statement saying, "His assertion that I took charge of a cover-up in relation to phone hacking is a shameful lie." As a former deputy editor of "The News of the World," Paul Connew knows Tom Crone well.
[Paul Connew, Former Deputy Editor, News Of The World:] He's a lawyer, a very experienced lawyer. He's, obviously, very upset. He, obviously, feels that he's being or attempts are being made to make him culpable, a fall guy. I don't know, you know, how involved he was in the cover-up. All I believe is that the buck has to go higher than Tom Crone.
[Rivers:] But Rupert Murdoch's troubles aren't yet over. A powerful committee of politicians will issue their report on the whole phone hacking affair on Tuesday Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Dan Rivers, thanks very much. Meanwhile, a new fight brewing here in Washington pitting the White House against the House Speaker John Boehner, and college students are caught in the middle. Plus, an Israeli general, not just an Israeli general, but top Israeli general, suggesting Iran does not necessarily want nuclear weapons. Is he right? I'll speak with a key member of the House Intelligence Committee. And brand new details emerging right now on what Osama Bin Laden did only moments before U.S. military personnel killed him.

[Chetry:] Glass half empty, glass half full. That's what we're talking about today, as we figure out whether or not our economy is heading in the right direction. It may not feel like it to a lot of Americans, but apparently there are some good news on the economic front because leading economic forecasters now say that there will not be another recession what they call a double-dip any time soon.
[Velshi:] But if things aren't getting worse, the question a lot of people have, are they getting better? If they are, when are we going to start to feel like it's getting better? So let's bring in Lakshman Achutan. He's the economic analyst and managing director with the Economic Cycle Research Institute and, of course, Christine Romans with us, as well. Welcome to you both.
[Lakshman Achuthan, Economic Analyst:] Good morning.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Good morning.
[Velshi:] So Lakshman has told us
[Achuthan:] Yes.
[Velshi:] and you've written an article that is on on Money.com that your research and you do this for a living and you have for a quarter century, your company indicates no double-dip recession. That's the part we're celebrating?
[Achuthan:] Yes, the news is, the forward-looking longer leading indicators of the economy. So not what's going on now but what's going to happen in the future. We've been able to rule out this fear of a double dip. And we've been talking about it for months now. All summer, people have been worried as the economy has faltered that we might have a return to recession.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Achuthan:] And what we're saying here is categorically that is not going to happen. We're not slipping into recession now or any time soon. And so that is one part of this whole kind of nightmare scenario that we can push aside.
[Velshi:] Why does Christine look so stern?
[Achuthan:] Yes.
[Romans:] Because it means that if you're not moving forward in the economy right now, it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to start moving forward. It means we're not going to, according to your research, have another recession or double dip, but it means that if you are sitting at home and it feels like a recession to you, there are no indications that things are getting better tomorrow or next week.
[Chetry:] And that's the question, Lakshman, that we're wondering about as we keep reading these stories piece meal. I mean, one, of course, is the unemployment. The high unemployment that we haven't seen tick down at all.
[Achuthan:] Yes.
[Chetry:] The other one is this reporting that, you know, you have companies sitting on extremely large amounts of cash. $1.3 trillion, one of the estimates, in cash, yet they're not hiring and it doesn't seem that, you know, we're doing the things that will bring us back to prosperity.
[Achuthan:] Well, OK, so to Christine's point first. We are going to continue slowing. We started to slow a couple of months ago. That's going to continue this year and into next year. So saying no recession is very good
[Velshi:] continue to slow, not go backwards.
[Achuthan:] Exactly. So we're still making progress. We're still in the recovery room. We're not going back into the operating room. OK. So it's not going to get really bad. But we're still in the recovery room, we're not out of the hospital. And when you talk about businesses holding on and hoarding all these cash, it's a lot, it's about confidence. A lot of it is about the fear of a double dip. Because the companies that are hoarding the cash today are the ones that didn't fail during the recession and they're scared. In a way, the good news if we're not having a recession, they're going to still have the demand coming in the door. You're still going so we're going to see GDP and production numbers. They're going to get weaker, jobs numbers may even get a little weaker. They're not going to go negative. That is the key take away from all of this.
[Velshi:] OK.
[Chetry:] The scariest thing for me, Christine, and I brought this statistic to show you, this federal report earlier this month showing that one out of 34 Americans who had a job in 2008 earned zero income in 2009. And when you take it altogether and you take into account all, you know, underemployment, et cetera, you could be looking at a 22 percent or higher unemployment rate.
[Velshi:] We're going to have a chance to make those decision next week. A lot of people will cast their ballots based on whether they should be extensions to the unemployed. And there are choices to be made. You can look at how the U.K., the conservative government in the U.K. has decided that they're about austerity, pulling back, government not spending as much versus the Obama administration, which is saying this is the wrong time to be pulling that back. Stimulus versus austerity. A lot of people don't know that's the decision they're going to be making at the ballot box. But it kind of is.
[Achuthan:] Well, it is and you know they're making this gut emotional decision and they don't feel good, right? because we haven't recovered what we made from the recession. So they want to react to that. However, even if you were to implement either of these policies now, it wouldn't make a difference in the coming year. It changes the contours of the playing field. The economic playing field years down the road, not any time soon. So you know, we have our emotional
[Velshi:] That's a good point. You're going to the ballot box mad because somebody told you they're going to cut deficits and cut taxes or continue spending, but the ultimate effect on the economy immediately is
[Achuthan:] Nothing. Pretty much nothing.
[Velshi:] Lakshman, good to see you.
[Achuthan:] Thank you. And at least good news, glass half full at this point.
[Romans:] No double dip.
[Achuthan:] No double tip.
[Romans:] Lakshman.
[Chetry:] Maybe that'll help with the confidence and help bring us the cash.
[Achuthan:] Exactly.
[Chetry:] Thanks, Christine, as well. 33 minutes past the hour. Right now, time for a look at our top stories.
[Velshi:] Florida Senate candidate Kendrick Meek denies reports that former president Bill Clinton tried to convince him to drop out of the race. We spoke to Meek last hour, he insists he is in the race to win it.
[Chetry:] Also developing now, the North Koreans reportedly firing two rounds at a South Korean military unit near the border, which separates the two nations. The DMZ on the South Koreans fire back, according to news reports out of Seoul. No word of any casualties.
[Velshi:] President Obama may be softening his opposition to same- sex marriage. Earlier this week he told a group of liberal bloggers "attitudes evolved including mine." The White House spokesman said the president has been discussing the issue with colleagues and co- workers who share their stories about being singled out for being different.
[Chetry:] Well, on the CNN security watch now. It's an alternative to those revealing full-body scanners. Airport security procedures will be more hands on. The TSA currently phasing in new procedures calling them enhanced pat downs. Some people say the new searches are too invasive, that they allow contact with body parts that are previously off limits and it's not sitting well with some. Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is live at Reagan National Airport for us this morning. First of all, explain what they mean when they're talking about these enhanced pat downs, Jeanne?
[Jeanne Meserve, Homeland Security Correspondent:] Well, probably, Kiran, the best way for me to describe this is to tell you the story of Rosemary Fitzpatrick, who says she felt humiliated and violated by this procedure. Rosemary is a CNN employee. She is also a frequent traveler. She was flying through Orlando on Wednesday night when her underwire bra set off a metal detector. They didn't have advanced imaging technology, those body scanners, so screeners told her she would have to undergo this new pat down procedure. She said "they touched her breast area. They ran their hands over her buttocks, through her inner thighs and even briefly touched her crotch." Here's her thoughts.
[Rosemary Fitzpatrick, Flier:] Just the thought of having my parents who are in their 70s be subject to this type of behavior and screening is appalling to me. Even children who are traveling alone. I can't imagine children having to be put through this type of a process.
[Meserve:] The Transportation Security Administration says this is about security. They issued a statement saying pat downs are one important tool to help TSA detect hidden and dangerous items such as explosives. Think, for instance, about that underwear bomb carried by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab sewn right into his underwear. The thought is that perhaps a pat down like this might be more apt to detect an explosive like that. Kiran, Ali, back to you.
[Chetry:] All right. Who is going to be getting these enhanced pat downs?
[Meserve:] Well, the TSA says a very small number of travelers in the end will end up getting these. There's some specific categories that would be subject to them. Specifically, they'll be used on people who refuse to use those body scanners, the advance imaging technology. They'll be used to resolve anomalies that show up when someone goes through one of those body scanners. Also, to resolve alarms that go off when people go through metal detectors. And also they'll be used on people picked for random screening. So they say the percentage of fliers going through this will be relatively small. They'll always be done by same-sex screeners. And if a passenger wants to, they will be done in a private screening area. That wasn't much comfort, however, to Rosemary Fitzpatrick, who says she will be doing a lot less flying because of this new pat down procedure. That's how discomforted she was by this. Back to you.
[Chetry:] All right. Jeanne Meserve for us this morning at Reagan National. Thanks so much. I love this e-mail we just got from one of our colleagues who shall remain nameless. He goes, "here's your choice, guys, the porn x-ray or fondling."
[Velshi:] Right. It's somehow they're going to find out more stuff about you. And you make that choice.
[Chetry:] Yes. Friendly skies get even friendlier.
[Velshi:] Yes. No kidding.
[Chetry:] Well, coming up. Politics, Comedy Central style. We're going to preview this weekend's dueling D.C. rallies headlined by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Oh, sorry, Ali, I forgot

[Pinsky:] Nicolas Cage once raked in $40 million a year, and he now faces serious money and personal problems. Over the weekend, he was charged with domestic abuse and disturbing the peace, apparently after a fight with his wife. Here to talk about this are Dylan Howard, "Star" magazine senior executive editor, and Mark Haushalter. He is back with us. He is a criminal defense attorney. I want to ask Dylan first about what seems to been be an escalating series of problems for our Mr. Cage. What`s going on there?
[Dylan Howard, Sr. Executive Editor, "star" Magazine:] Yes. Dr. Drew, he returned to the set of his current project in New Orleans today, but he`s facing three very serious criminal charges.
[Pinsky:] What did he do?
[Howard:] Well, he was involved in an altercation with his wife, his third wife, around about midnight, the early hours of Saturday morning.
[Pinsky:] This is in New Orleans, right?
[Howard:] In New Orleans, at the French Quarter. He was noticed by some eyewitnesses as being involved in a confrontation with his wife which actually escalated to the point where he tried to, according to eyewitness, dragged her into a property he believed that they were renting. Of course, they weren`t. It was somebody else`s property.
[Pinsky:] I see.
[Howard:] They were involved in an incident then with a taxi driver. Nicolas Cage then was confronted by police. He goaded them and suggested that if they wanted to arrest him, then they should. And, of course
[Pinsky:] They did. They obliged him.
[Howard:] the New Orleans police, they obliged, and they did. And now he`s facing public drunkenness, disturbing the peace, and also domestic violence charges.
[Pinsky:] There`s some TMZ video right now. I guess he showed up partway along the way in a tattoo parlor. That was part of the escapades of that evening. But we sort of get the big picture here. My question is, he`s now had very, very serious financial problems. We see something going on behaviorally here, where he`s now starting to have legal consequences. Does anybody know what`s going on with poor Nicolas Cage?
[Howard:] Well, you know, just a month ago, at a New Orleans restaurant, he was escorted home by police after something happened and a window ended up getting broken. So I think we`re seeing the signs here of a career imploding. He was once a bankable star, as you mentioned at the top of the program, who was earning $40 million a year. And now he has mounting tax debts and he`s had homes foreclosed, some six or seven homes foreclosed.
[Pinsky:] But what is that we`re watching? For the average viewer at home, and for myself included, you look at that and you go, he made $40 million a year, he had all these assets, and he couldn`t manage that? Or did he squander it? I mean, what was that?
[Howard:] Well, he says it was a former business adviser who he`s currently embroiled in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit with. But, on the other hand, the former adviser says that he squandered the money and was frivolous with the money. But it`s very interesting that, clearly, those incidents are being fueled by alcohol use.
[Pinsky:] Do you think? Do you people I don`t know Nicolas Cage. You don`t know Nicolas Cage. But are people worried about his alcohol use?
[Howard:] In Hollywood, absolutely. People are very concerned. But he`s gone from being a bankable star to no longer being a bankable star. His current films have been flops, and he`s really gone away from the likes that won him an Academy Award. So there is genuine concern for him.
[Pinsky:] Mark, is he in big legal trouble? And what does he need to do what would you do to defend him?
[Haushalter:] Well, I`ll tell you, a few things pop out at me right away, is, one, if the police didn`t want to arrest him initially, it sounds like he just failed the attitude test and the police decided to arrest him.
[Pinsky:] That`s exactly right.
[Haushalter:] And now
[Howard:] He had a bad attitude.
[Haushalter:] And now we have got the media
[Pinsky:] Is that a problem from a
[Haushalter:] It seems like the problem for him right now. But he failed the attitude test. If he was doing something, such illegal conduct, and he was battering his wife, why didn`t the police act sooner? Why didn`t the police immediately arrest him? And right now we`re saying, oh, he kept pushing the police, he kept taunting them.
[Pinsky:] So he`s got to and God knows, in New Orleans, people sometimes so he has a defensible position. We have 10 seconds.
[Haushalter:] He absolutely has a defensible position. One, I don`t think there`s any marks.
[Pinsky:] OK. Last word, Dylan.
[Howard:] She doesn`t want charges laid, but the cops will push at this.
[Pinsky:] All right. When we come back, you asked for it, you get it. More on our debate, can you pray the gay away? Your comments, your questions for our guests, coming up next.

[Tuchman:] Some companies dish out a lot of perks like free food and game rooms to keep workers happy. Fortune Magazine just named the best companies to work for after interviewing more than 250,000 workers. Here's a look at the top five. As you see, number one, Google. Boston Consulting Group, number two. Edward Jones rounds out the top five. SAS Institute as number three and Wegman's Food Market, a number 4. There's a Wegman's in Syracuse, New York. It's indeed a good store and happy employees. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that 62 percent of Americans say their top financial goal for 2012 is paying down debt. But where should you start? Earlier I got a little help from financial analyst Clyde Anderson. A lot of us racked up some bills last month.
[Clyde Anderson, Financial Analyst:] Yes, a lot of bills.
[Tuchman:] Yes, a lot of bills. And January comes along and you look at these credit card bills and you figure out how do you pay them off? Should you pay them all off right away? Is that the smart thing to do?
[Anderson:] It is. That's the very smart thing to do. But you've got to have a strategy and you've got to be smart about how you do it. A lot of people just want to go and start paying maybe the highest balance or pay the lowest balance. What you really need to do is tackle the one with the highest APR. This is a smart strategy because what you're doing, you want to eliminate the one that you're paying the most interest on. By doing that, now when you get that down and then you go to the one with the next highest interest rate. And that's smart because you don't want to be paying more on these high interest rate cards just because you paid off one with a $100 balance. So you want to be strategic about that and hit those first. That's the first thing.
[Tuchman:] Should you be consolidating when you have a lot of different bills?
[Anderson:] Yes, I mean definitely. It depends on how many bills you have. So if you've got a few if you have four or five different credits with balances on them, the best strategy, again, just to go ahead and hit the one with the highest APR first. You know, it's not necessarily a lot of people consolidate when they've got massive amounts of debt which they just can't control, they want to kind of lump them all into one with one interest rate. I wouldn't recommend that until you get to that point where you're just it's out of your hands and you can't control it.
[Tuchman:] What other strategies would you recommend?
[Anderson:] Well, I've got a couple of different ones. One that people are kind of not recognizing, we have a little bit of a stimulus that we can do ourselves. Right now we have a break with payroll taxes from 6.2 to 4.2. To a lot of people it doesn't seem like a lot of money but the little things mean a lot.
[Tuchman:] I think most of us don't think about that.
[Anderson:] They don't think about it.
[Tuchman:] We say, oh, it sounds good. But we don't know how significant it can be.
[Anderson:] Exactly. That's what I'm saying. Break your calculator out. Now really kind of do the math. For the average household it's about $992 if they extend it for the rest of the year. Right now we know it's going through the end of February; February 29, 2012. If Congress can come to some terms, it's probably going to extend to the rest of the year. So there's a good chance of that happening and that's what I've been saying. Take that money and apply it towards your debt.
[Tuchman:] So, is it as smart strategy when December comes, December of 2012
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Tuchman:] which is still 11 months away
[Anderson:] Correct.
[Tuchman:] Maybe not to spend as much if it's problematic figuring out how they consolidate or how to pay off these debts.
[Anderson:] Right. I mean that's the best strategy. I mean the best strategy is to really not use so much of the credit cards. I'm one for cash use as much cash as much as possible because you pay in the end. It seems good and fine and dandy at the beginning that you're using the cards and it's easy to swipe them. We swipe until the back's gone but now, you're going to pay for it. And a lot of times you pay two times what you want to pay for cash. What's that saying here.
[Tuchman:] Speaking of cash, you know. A lot of us don't like to carry around a lot of cash. You go to a store and you're going to spend several hundred dollars for gifts and you're not going to take several hundred dollars out of your pocket.
[Anderson:] Right. Right.
[Tuchman:] The question is maybe it's smart to carry around more cash so you don't have to worry about these credit card bills. Is that something you advocate?
[Anderson:] I think for a lot of people, that's a smart strategy. And what you have to do is you have the cash in your pocket. You know exactly how much you need and then you use that cash. You won't use more. When you see the cash coming out of your handing, it's a lot different than swiping that card. It's real money.
[Tuchman:] Good advice from Clyde Anderson. Well, can you imagine getting paid for answering work e-mails when you're at home. One country's new law could mean lucrative news for its work force.

[Holmes:] Good morning Washington D.C., waking up to a little Maroon 5, "Harder to Breathe." We hope that it's not going to be harder to govern next year after the elections results we just saw. Changes are coming to Washington, D.C. But here we are four days after the midterm Election Day. We still don't know who won the Senate contest in Alaska. So what's the hold-up? Well, they may need to do a spell-check on thousands of ballots. The incumbent Lisa Murkowski has claimed victory, if you will, after her write-in candidacy. She launched that write-in campaign after losing the Republican primary to Joe Miller.
[Lisa Murkowski,  Alaska Senate Candidate:] They said they said you can't do it, you can't win a write-in campaign, not in Alaska, not anywhere. They said we can't do it. Do they know Alaska? Do they know Alaska? Yes, we can.
[Crowd:] Yes, we can! Yes, we can!
[Holmes:] Well, not Joe Miller. He's saying, oh, no, you department. The official counting of the write in ballots was up to next Wednesday, a week before actually planned. And so Miller, he's got a problem with that.
[Joe Miller,  Alaska Senate Candidate:] We're not asking it to be pushed. We're asking that the original date be honored. We think that it's improper to suddenly foist upon the Alaskans to move it up a week. Obviously it's going require volunteers on the ground, 81,000 ballots. And they all do have to be examined. Each one has to be examined to make sure we know who's on that write-in.
[Holmes:] OK, deciding the winner not as simple as counting ballots. Libby Casey is correspondent for Alaska Public Radio. She joins me know. You just flew in on the red eye to D.C. from Alaska. We appreciate you do that. Your state now has the potential to make Florida look like child's play with this thing. So tell us, first of all. We just heard Lisa Murkowski there. She certainly sounds victorious. What makes her so confident she's the win wither?
[Libby Casey, Alaska Public Radio Reporter:] The write-in slot on the ballot got 13,000 more votes than anyone else, and so Lisa Murkowski guesses that most of those votes will be for her. She was the woman going out there, educating people about how you had to fill in the oval and write out her name. They had all these jingles and they solicited help from Alaskans about how to spell her name, and so she says I'm likely the winner. Joe Miller says, wait, we haven't seen any of those write-in ballots. And so it ain't over till it's over.
[Holmes:] So, Libby, is that a fair argument? She is making, common sense I guess would tell you, this is a write-in campaign. She was the one that's the head of the write-in campaign. That's a fairly logical argument.
[Casey:] It is logical, but we need to see what all those ballots say. Counting and reading those votes on Wednesday, they guess it will take three to four days. Now, there were a bunch of other people who ran as write-ins as well. In Alaska you have to register ahead of time to be a viable write-in candidate. But Joe Miller, not Joe Miller himself, but supporters encouraged Miller supporters to do what one blog called "Operation Alaska Chaos" and register as write-ins as well to confuse both voters at the polls when they asked for a list of candidates. Where's Lisa Murkowski's name among these 160 other candidates? And also confuse things potentially when the count starts. You mentioned the Florida race and the hanging chads. We're going to see some of the same players in Alaska because one of the lawyers Lisa Murkowski hired worked for Bush his team in 2000 and worked in the Minnesota count for Norm Coleman. So everybody is lawyering up and getting ready for what may be a big event.
[Holmes:] He's a heavy hitter. If he gets called in, they're serious. But what's going to have to happen? It's not just counting these ballots. They have to look at each one and confirm whether or not the intent of that voter was to write "Lisa Murkowski" or L Murkowski. They have to do a spell check.
[Casey:] That's right. And the division of elections hasn't said yet exactly what they will accept and what they won't accept. They said voter intent, that's what they'll be looking for. There will be 15 teams going through all of these ballots starting next week, And the folks who have a lot at stake in this, Lisa Murkowski's camp and Joe Miller's camp, the Republican as well, there are allowed to have observers. So there may be three to five observers in the room at one time challenging the ballots, saying that's not quite legible. Did they spell Murkowski or someone else?
[Holmes:] One other note. There was a Lisa M that was running as well. I can't remember her name, but she too could add to the confusion. There's a Lisa M. out there. Unless they're absolutely clear about Murkowski, that could create issues. Libby, thank you for taking the long flight. Thank you so much. We look forward to talking to you maybe months down the road. Thanks so much.
[Casey:] Thanks again.
[Holmes:] As many of you know, things didn't go so well for Democrats on Election Day, losing some 60 seats in the House. The Democrats who won were clearly happy to hold onto their jobs, really happy. So happy he is literally turning cartwheels. That is Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter. He was doing cartwheels after his close reelection win. But this wasn't just a celebratory tumble he was taking. He was kind of rubbing it in the face of his Republican opponents who actually used during the campaign video of him doing a cartwheel in a parade last year to attack him in a campaign ad. So that was his response. In California, a Democratic state senator won her re-election by a landslide. There's just one problem. She's dead. Jenny Oropeza won with 58 percent of the vote, but she died two weeks before the election after battling cancer. Her name stayed on the ballot because she died so close to the election and Democrats encouraged people to vote for her anyway in hopes of keeping the seat out of Republican hands. Now there's going to have to be a special election and Democrats will be able to find another candidate. Meanwhile, the former President George W. Bush said he personally Okayed waterboarding of accused 911 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohamed. That's according to his new memoir "Decision Points" coming out next week. In it the president said when he was asked by the CIA if they could proceed with waterboarding, his response was, quote, "damn right." Also, a warning out there to any country that is about to get a visit from Hillary Clinton. Brace yourselves. It seems anywhere she goes, an earthquake follows. Just as she was landing in Christchurch New Zealand, Friday, the city got an aftershock from an earlier 7.0 earthquake. Two days earlier she was wrapping up a visit in Papua, New Guinea. It got hit with a 6.0 magnitude earthquake. We could go back to February of '09, minor quake while she was visiting Japan. June of '09 a minor quake in Honduras. October of '09, several quakes while she was in Pakistan. Also days before she was to visit Chile in March, the country got hit with an 8.8 earthquake. So if she's coming your way, be warned. Also we need to give you a warning any time Reynolds is coming up.
[Wolf:] I'm here, man.
[Holmes:] Are you OK?
[Wolf:] Any chance nothing against Secretary Clinton, but any way we can keep her from CNN center maybe?

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] All right. It's 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 out west. Right now, we are watching Australia. People in northern Queensland woke up in the biggest storm to ever hit the region. Cyclone Yasi. The storm has lost power but it's pounding the interior with rain and wind. Norwegian politician has nominated WikiLeaks for the Nobel Peace Prize. He cites the web site's contribution to democracy and freedom of speech. And an apartment fire in Dallas forced people into 17 degree weather. Some of them barely had time to grab a bathrobe before heading into the cold. No reports of injuries. The ice making it hard for firefighters to gain footing as they fight that fire. We begin in Cairo this morning where CNN correspondents are reporting a uptick in violence. This past hour anti-government protestors and supporters of embattled President Hosni Mubarak have thrown rocks and had occasional clashes. But at least for now, it's nowhere near the level of yesterday's massive explosion of violence. Among the groups, guns, rocks, machetes, even Molotov cocktails. Five people killed, more than 800 wounded. The images so terrible and stakes so high that President Obama called attention to the crisis in his National Prayer Breakfast this morning in Washington.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] We're also mindful of the violence that we're now seeing in the Middle East, and we pray that the violence in Egypt will end and that the rights and aspirations of the Egyptian people will be realized, and that a better day will dawn over Egypt and throughout the world.
[Phillips:] Well, Egypt's soldiers are being credited with restoring peace in Cairo, at least temporarily. But yesterday they stood impassively as thugs beat protesters, turned on reporters covering the protest. Even our Anderson Cooper was among those who was targeted. Here's his view from inside the bloody free for all.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, "ac360":] I was shooting this video on my Flip camera so as not to attract too much attention. Suddenly a man jumped out of the crowd and tried to grab Neil's camera. That's when all hell broke loose. [on camera]: Hey, calm down. Calm down. [voice-over]: We only had about a block left to go when another guy came up and punched me in the head. [on camera]: I've been hit now like ten times. The Egyptian soldiers the Egyptian soldiers are doing nothing.
[Phillips:] Well, U.S. State Department is now condemning those attacks on journalists. And CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us live on the phone with more. Not only our crews but all types of journalists attacked, even some sent into the triage with head injuries Fred?
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Correspondent:] Absolutely, Kyra. I mean, we've been seeing it almost everywhere we go, journalists being attacked, especially actually almost exclusively by the pro-Mubarak protesters. It is really a dangerous walk that yuou make when you try to cover these protests. Certainly if you get into the hands of the wrong sides, you are very likely to be beaten, just the way Anderson was. And I've had similar things happen to my crew, as well. We've, of course, also had people smash our cameras, we've had people threaten to take our cameras away, confiscate our equipment. We've seen a lot of reporter's equipment confiscated. There's also a lot of sort of make shift checkpoints where you don't really know who it actually is who's asking for your I.D., who's asking to search your stuff. So right now, yes, it is a very, very dangerous situation for foreign journalists covering this. We were hearing of journalists being detained by sort of semi-militia especially on the pro-Mubarak side and also by the military allegedly for their own safety Kyra.
[Phillips:] So right now, at this moment, Fred, from your vantage point, how do things I mean, it's quite a switch from yesterday, right?
[Pleitgen:] Well, it still is very violent. It's just less people doing it. I mean, right now, there are still street battles going on with people throwing rocks at each other. It's sort of sticking with that right now. We're not hearing very much in the way of gun fire except for soldiers firing into the air. But it is still quite a scene. It is sort of a pitch battles in the street, people throwing rocks at each other, people shooting those flash bangs that the military normally usually uses at each other. So it is still a battle in the street going on here. What we're seeing the anti-Mubarak protesters seemingly, increasingly gaining the upper hand as they are pushing back the pro-Mubarak people, if you will, further and further away from Tahrir Square, where, of course, the mass of these protests have been occurring, Kyra.
[Phillips:] And the big question is, will Hosni Mubarak continue the last number of months in his term, or will he be pushed out sooner like the anti-government protesters want. Fred, we'll keep following it with you today. Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much. Anti-government protests have boiled up in six Arab states now. And new concerns turn to two countries. Opposition groups in Syria and Jordan are planning big rallies there tomorrow. In Jordan, the protests are planned despite big concessions by King Abdullah already. Earlier this week he actually dissolved his government and ordered the new prime minister to launch swift reforms. That massive winter storm is loosening its grip on the U.S. today, but it leaves behind mounds of snow, frigid temps in Texas and parts of the deep south, as well. The Arctic cold front is also complicating cleanup efforts and spurring freeze warnings through much of the nation's midsection. We've got something developing, actually, near Miami, Oklahoma. Jacqui, you're watching these live pictures coming to us from our affiliates KOTV and KWTV. What's going on?
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes. Well, what happened is the roads here continue to be very treacherous and a car slit off the road into the river here. This is in northeastern parts of Oklahoma. There you can see the car actually breaking through the ice a little bit. They've had to shut down the interstate there so they could land a helicopter and try and get crews there and help these people. Apparently there are about eight people that are trapped there. This is I-44, the westbound lanes which are closed at this time. You know, Kyra, sometimes in these kinds of situations, the blizzard stops, the snow stops and people think everything is OK out there. But these roadways continue to be very hazardous. You know, they've had over a foot of snow in this part of the country and you see just how much ice already is on the interstate there. There you can see somebody, I'm not sure if that's somebody they rescued or is that one of the divers there along with an ambulance. So this whole area right now, they're trying to help those people and get out of there. But you can imagine, if that car's submerged in that water, you know, they have to break through the ice.
[Phillips:] It looks like they were saying eight people were in that vehicle, Jacqui. And that it looks like Miami Fire and Rescue, also, the Oklahoma National Guard came to assist because the number of people and the conditions that they were in. They said they lowered a basket over the bridge.
[Jeras:] OK.
[Phillips:] Six people were on top of the vehicle. Two were still inside. So I think one of the individuals that you just saw is one of the individuals that was on top. And it looks like there might possibly be still two people trapped inside that vehicle.
[Jeras:] OK. There you can see a boat, too. Did you see the boat along the side of the car
[Phillips:] Right.
[Jeras:] Trying to help those people and get them out. The air temperature, by the way, about nine degrees below zero.
[Phillips:] What is that close to? That's not far
[Jeras:] Well, it's in northeastern parts of the state.
[Phillips:] OK, got you.
[Jeras:] If Shawn or Monica, if you guys are listening, here's our map. This is I-44. I think Miama is somewhere up in this area Miama somewhere up there in the northeastern corner.
[Phillips:] Got it. All right. So we're watching this Spring River rescue that's happening in Ottawa County, Miami, Oklahoma. And as Jacqui mentioned, the westbound lanes of I-44 there on the Will Rogers Turnpike just east of Miami, are closed due to this vehicle that slipped on the ice, drove off the turnpike into the Spring River. We're told that Life Flight just came down on the ground. So Jacqui, it may not be good news for those two people that are still trapped inside. But, boy, there were eight people inside the truck. Six of them got out.
[Jeras:] It's amazing six people got out of there when you think about it, Kyra.
[Phillips:] That's pretty incredible.
[Jeras:] In these type of conditions when the air is so frigid like this, if you get wet, it really could be a matter of minutes before
[Phillips:] For hypothermia, right?
[Jeras:] Exactly.
[Phillips:] Apparently we've got a connection with our affiliate. They're doing a live broadcast. Let's listen in. Let's listen to the chopper reporter.
[Unidentified Male:] In bound calls. Some have gone to Freeman, and some have gone to St. John's.
[Unidentified Female:] Well, the belief is, is that they may all be transported to Springfield. So that is the information that St. John does say they are St. John Hospital out of Joplin, participating in this. Those are their helicopters. But they'll be taking them to Springfield. We're looking at one of the divers, Will. That is a hero. Can you imagine? This is from Newton County, the dive team out of Missouri, called to this scene in these type of temperatures. An accident that happened potentially two and a half hours ago and them being in that water, obviously being tended to by the ambulance and emergency crews there on the scene.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. This is where we need to stay. You know, as we saw, there were two gentlemen there. I believe one was a diver, obviously, who headed to the ambulance, and beside him may have been a part of the fire department, as well. He was not in a dive suit. But, Alan, if you were out on that weather, just on the bank, doing the work on the bank, you may be in a position where you're going to have serious issues of hypothermia yourself whether in the water or not. In this particular area, they have wind-chill warnings that are underway right now. The Tulsa Metro has wind-chill advisory. Wind-chill warnings across extreme northern Oklahoma and their wind-chills this morning, have been on average from minus 15 to near minus 25.
[Phillips:] All right. We're going to continue to follow that rescue that's taking place in Miami, Oklahoma. Thanks to Ed Lavandera there, writing me in from Texas. It's near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here's what we know now. Basically this truck slid off I-44 there on the Will Rogers Turnpike and it closed down the area so this rescue could take place. There were eight people inside that vehicle. Six of them got through the sun roof, were on top of the vehicle, and were able to get hoisted out of there to the ambulance. Right now, though, they're still working to get two more people out of that vehicle. We're going to volume it for you out of Miami, Oklahoma. Well, wanted: three Arab men with possible links to 911. Their identities revealed in recent online documents released by WikiLeaks. We're going to have full details in a live report in just 15 minutes.

[Costello:] And you're looking at live pictures in New York City. These are pictures of protesters from the "Occupy Wall Street" movement earlier this morning, about 1:00 a.m. Eastern Time to be exact. New York City police asked protesters to clear out of Zuccotti Park so they could clean it. The protesters did that. But thousands of protesters have joined the cause because they fear they will not be allowed to go back to Zuccotti Park. So, this, I believe, is at Pine and Broadway. Protesters gathered there, thousands of them, although you can't see them in this picture. Police are pushing them out of that area to get them out of the street so that traffic can move. We're following the story. Poppy Harlow is on the scene. She says there's been dozens of arrests. She sees protesters in handcuffs. We'll check with Poppy in just a few minutes. But just to keep you updated, no reports of violence, but we have reports of arrest. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. Here's what's all new this morning: Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky speaking out, says he's not a pedophile and that he simply around with the boys. Sandusky's charged with 40 counts related to sexual abuse. These are his first public comments since the scandal broke. A promising new study is out. Researchers found that heart damage may be reversible with stem cell therapy and without dangerous side effects. Sixteen patients underwent the procedure and showed major improvements in their heart functions. In money news, the Transportation Department is cracking down on lengthy tarmac delays. The agency slapped American Eagles Airlines with a $900,000 fine for keeping hundreds of passengers on 15 flights stranded on the runway for hours in May. A new rule caps tarmac delays at only three hours. It's the first time this rule has been enforced. In sports, no deal for the NBA, and this could mean no season at all. The players' union turned down the league's latest offer in a dispute over collective bargaining, calling it unfair. The union says they're planning to file an antitrust suit against the NBA. Now, let's get a check at today's weather. Meteorologist Rob Marciano in Atlanta. Good morning, Rob.
[Marciano:] Hi again, Carol. Threat for severe weather today across Texas, moving into Louisiana and points to the East, but mostly staying down to the South. Here it is highlighted graphically for you. We have one report of a tornado yesterday across Illinois and several reports of some wind damage and some hail. But the focus today will be across southeast Texas. We do have a severe thunderstorm watch that's posted for parts of the Hill Country in south central Texas. But damaging winds and large hail possible across the I-10 corridor eventually moving east of New Orleans. Here is the watch I spoke of, south of San Antonio, or west, I should say, of San Antonio, as that cluster of thunderstorms makes its way off towards the east, most of some heavier rains, and some hail and some gusty winds with those. And the north side of this front stretches all the way to the Northeast. And that's going to bring eventually some rain to the I-95 corridor, although right now for the most part is dry. Low clouds, though, in New York City later on today. Expect some delays because of that action. D.C. and Philly, if you are traveling, rain as well. So, yesterday, we were all clear as far as travel conditions are concerned. Today, a little bit more of a mess. And as we mentioned earlier, some cooler air coming in behind this. On average, 10 to 15-degree drop as to what you're seeing right now. So, cool down coming, Carol. Be prepared.
[Costello:] We're ready for it. We are. We have the winter coats out.
[Marciano:] Atta girl.
[Costello:] Thanks, Rob.
[Marciano:] You bet.
[Costello:] A first in the Arab world. Jordan's king appears to urge the embattled Syrian president to resign. King Abdullah saying that's what he would do if he was in Bashar al Assad's place. This comes during Syria's bloody crackdown on antigovernment protesters which the United Nations says has claimed more than 3,500 lives. Zain Verjee joins us live in London with more on this. Good morning, Zain.
[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Anchor:] Good morning, Carol. Dozens more have killed in yet more clashes in a brutal crackdown by the Syrian government. This comes a day after the king of Jordan, King Abdullah, said that Bashar al-Assad should step down. This is a really big deal. This is the first Arab leader that's come out and said something like this so explicitly. He said this: "I would step down and I would make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo that we're seeing." Now, that comment was preceded by the Arab League taking action. A lot of people thinking this is an organization that's essentially toothless. But they surprised everyone over the weekend by moving to swiftly temporarily kick out Syria from the group. At the same time, Carol, the European Union is pressuring Syria and targeting sanctions on at least 18 senior leaders of this country. So, the heat is on. And the question is: what will Bashar al- Assad do? Will he step down? Is this going to be the writing on the wall? And will more Arab leaders jump on the bandwagon here and ask for him to step down Carol.
[Costello:] Well, what we're all thinking: this is sort of how Libya went. So, everybody is worrying, if this if Assad refuses to step down, might some sort of military action be taken?
[Verjee:] Well, it's interesting because Syria's foreign minister, Walid Moualem actually spoke at a press conference. And he said essentially that Syria is no Libya. He also said that over at the Security Council, you've got the Chinese and the Russians that would never support military action against Syria. So, you know, that's what he says. Who knows what will happen. Everything in the Arab Spring has been so unpredictable. We all say, won't happen, can't happen, and then it does. So, we'll just have to wait and see.
[Costello:] Zain Verjee live in London, thanks so much. Still ahead, what would you do if your boss said you had to work on Thanksgiving? Well, one worker is mad he's launched an online protest and he's not alone. Tens of thousands of people have joined him.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn:] Where does the time go? Hard to believe Twitter turns 7 years old today. 200 million followers post 400 million tweets every day. We've seen the rise and fall of trends, celebrities, and major news events all in 140 characters or less. Like this photo of survivors of the U.S. Airways flight that crashed into the Hudson River back in 2009. Remember that? It was snapped by Janice Krumm, a commuter on a nearby ferry. One of the first images the world saw of the crash. Then famous iconic voice of the AFLAC duck was fired for tweeting jokes about Japan weeks after the tsunami hit. This was the tweet, "I was talking to my Japanese real estate agent, I said is there a school in this area, she said, not now, but just wait." May 2, 2011, an I.T. consultant inadvertently tweeted helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1:00 a.m. is a rare event. Anthony Weiner famously stepped down as a Congressman after tweeting this shirtless photo and more to a female follower. At first, he said his Twitter account was hacked, but eventually 'fessed up. And President Obama posting this photo with the first lady with the words "Four more years," after he won reelection just last November. It was the most retweeted tweet. All right, rumors of Jimmy Fallon taking over for Jay Leno had the late night war talk in high gear now. Jimmy Kimmel weighs in on "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper today at 4:00 Eastern Time, but first "CNN NEWSROOM" with Don Lemon begins right now. He's tweeting right now, too.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Live during this show, a man convicted of killing a rabbi could walk free and prosecutors say it's the right move.
[Nikki Taylor, Supermodel:] I was a passenger on an extremely devastating one-car accident.
[Lemon:] Supermodel Nikki Taylor thanks the people who saved her life. Plus, the CEO of Xerox suggests women should marry older men to succeed at work. My hot topics panel weighs in. And curing cancer, find out why dream teams of scientists are closer than ever. Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. In one hour, a New York judge may free a man convicted 22 years ago for a murder many believed he did not commit. Among the believers, not just defense attorneys, but the Brooklyn D.A., who is going before the court today to ask for the release of this man, David Ranta, who was convicted in 1991 for the murder of Rabbi Chasco Warsburger, who was 58 years old, a reporter survivor of Auschwitz and champion for Jews in Brooklyn. The rabbi was at the wrong place at the wrong time when a robber gunned him down and got away in his car. Detectives say they had Rantas' confession, eyewitnesses, and more. But as the D.A. began digging, he determined Ranta was the wrong man. Let's got to CNN's Mary Snow now, she is in Brooklyn. Mary, how did this case fall apart?
[Mary Snow, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, really, Don, the turning point and what set this in motion was an eyewitness who identified David Ranta in a police lineup came forward two years ago to say that he was told by police who to pick. He was 13 at the time of that lineup. He phoned David Ranta's attorney two years ago to say it was weighing on him and a that a police detective had told him, this is his words, to pick the guy with the big nose. The attorney for David Ranta then went to the Brooklyn D.A.'s office relaying this information to the Conviction Integrity Unit. They were looking to review cases. They took up this case, and in their investigation, they say they found two other witnesses who admitted lying, and they found holes in the police work. Now, the chief detective in the case at the time, his name is Louis Scarcella, and he is now retired. We caught up with him a short time ago to ask him about claims David Ranta was framed. Here's what he had to say.
[Louis Scarcella, Retired New York Police Detective:] Ma'am, I didn't do anything wrong. I stand by my investigation, and I don't know what else to tell you.
[Snow:] He would only speak to us briefly, Don, but he says that he secured a confession from David Ranta at the time. He says he stands by that, but Ranta and his attorney said that Ranta never made any confession and always maintained his innocence Don.
[Lemon:] OK, then the obvious question, who do investigators think killed Rabbi Werzberger?
[Snow:] They have a lead, but the bottom line is we may never know with 100 percent certainty. Here's why. A woman came forward in the 1990s and said that her husband had confessed to killing the rabbi, but her husband was killed in a car accident shortly after the murder. The police investigators and prosecutors say that they have no evidence to contradict what she's saying, but no evidence to prove what she's saying. And that information that she came forward with was used in a hearing in 1996. There was some credibility, questions that came into play, and the conviction of David Ranta, obviously, wasn't overturned there and his lawyers said he thought David Ranta was going to die in prison and believed him all the way along that he was innocent.
[Lemon:] Mary Snow in Brooklyn, thank you very much for your reporting. At any minute now, President Barack Obama will be honored by the Israelis at the state dinner in Jerusalem. It is just beginning and this comes on the heels of a very frank address to the Jewish state as a whole where he seemed to be speaking as an older brother, dispensing advice to a sibling. Over and over the president said, I'm with you, have no doubt about this. But this was his bottom line.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] The only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine.
[Lemon:] The president said the Palestinian people must have a state of their own, just as the Jewish people do. And for that, he got a sustained applause. In Jerusalem, CNN's John King is with us now from Jerusalem. John, it was a very interesting talk. It seemed the president selected his audience well.
[John King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] Smart politics, Don. The president bringing to Israel some of the personal style we've seen on the political campaign trail and the policy campaign trail, if you will, back home. Traditionally, an American president visits here when he wants to speak to the Israeli people. He goes into the Knesset, that's the parliament. What would be in Knesset? Older people, right? Older people, no offense to older people, but the president's trying to put pressure on the politicians. He said flat out in that speech, trust me, I'm a politician. We don't do risky things unless we get pressure from the people. So he's trying to rally the younger generation of Israelis, who as you noted, was interesting. The president was saying the Israeli government mistreats Palestinians and he was getting applause from young Israelis. He's trying to get them to put pressure on their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a conservative, somebody unwilling to say stop settlement building. One of the obstacles to peace talks to say, rise up to your government and said, we want a new Israel. We want a different Israel. Don, we could talk an hour about the obstacles of peace, but nudge your side to move forward, hopefully young Palestinians will nudge their side. So many people have tried at this and failed. You might say the president trying a new grassroots approach here in Israel.
[Lemon:] A new approach, I want you to listen to this, John, again to the president. He spoke of a meeting he had with a group of Palestinian youth.
[President Obama:] Talking to them, they weren't that different from my daughters. They weren't that different from your daughters or sons. I honestly believe that if any Israeli parent sat down with those kids, they'd say, I want these kids to succeed. I want them to prosper. I want them to have opportunities.
[Lemon:] John King, that's all well and good, lovely words, but let's talk about actions, specifically this. Iraq has fired at Israel from Palestinian soil today during the president's visit. Fired, in fact, from Gaza, whose Palestinian leaders refuse to accept Israel's right to exist so despite the applause the president got, his new offensive, as you said, new approach is use offensive. A lot of Israelis will say this is our reality, correct?
[King:] They would, Don. They would say this is our reality. Rockets fired in from Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, a Palestinian faction that frankly says Israel has no right to exist. So that's what Israelis would say is their reality. Palestinians would say, you keep building settlements in the west bank, that's way beyond Israel's 1967 borders. You keep building highways that go right through our communities so you connect Jewish communities. So the Israelis point to rockets, Palestinians point to construction and other offenses. Both sides have their reasons, some would call them excuses, some would call them, whatever, but both sides have their objections to getting back to the bargaining table and making the concessions necessary for peace. So what is the president trying to do? Not talk to the politicians, but talk to the parents. Again, will it bring a peace process about tomorrow, no, next week, no, next month, probably not, but the president's trying to change the dynamic and get people to stop talking about it in a political terms. Land for peace, settlement, rockets that have dropped progress in the past to try to start a new conversation about what is this tiny little neighborhood going to look like in 10 years, 20 years if we don't change the way we think about it.
[Lemon:] All right, John King in Jerusalem. John, thank you very much. Let's go to politics now. Politics gave way to raw emotion today as Vice President Joe Biden, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the families of the victims of the Newtown massacre pushed for tighter gun control.
[Neil Heslin, Father Of Newtown Victim Jesse Lewis:] My son Jesse's life was taken by a cowardly deranged person with an assault weapon. No child deserves to be murdered or brutally slaughtered the way these children were. And quite honestly, I'm really ashamed to see the Congress doesn't have the guts to stand up and make a change and put a ban on these types of weapons and universal background checks.
[Lynn Mcdonnell, Mother Of Newtown Victim Grace Mcdonnell:] In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, there was a sense of what happened in our town might be a tipping point, and that real meaningful progress in the area of gun safety might result. And we know that a lot of good people are working very hard to try to make this happen, and we thank them for that. We'd ask everyone who has power to influence legislation in this area and, of course, those whose job it is to vote on the legislation to ask themselves if they are doing enough to bring about real and meaningful change, and if they are not, to ask themselves, why not?
[Lemon:] Well, the White House has been urging Congress to pass an assault weapons ban, but Senate Democrats dropped it this week from the gun control package that will be debated on the Senate floor next month.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States Of America:] Three months ago, a deranged man walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School with a weapon of war. That's what we walked in with, with a weapon of war. And that weapon of war has no place on American streets. And taking it off American streets has no impact on one's constitutional right to own a weapon. No less than Justice Scalia acknowledged the government has a right.
[Lemon:] The vice president says that the will of the people will prevail and he reminded the room that the original 10-year assaults weapon ban had long been written off long before it eventually had been adopted in 1994. Days after a judge convicted two high school football players of rape, another town, another case of alleged rape. And this time the victim was called a whore and a snitch. We're on the case next.

[Dr. Drew Pinsky:] Here we go. Swan song for a sweet voice. Whitney`s funeral is tomorrow, but the fight is onto end prescription abuse. One lawmaker gains ground in Florida. Another follows suit in California and both join me tonight. And L.A. schools sex abuse scandal, the father of an alleged victim speaks out. And later, if you struggle with weight gain, Oprah`s fitness guru says it is about your childhood. Not just yours but your kids as well. Let`s get started. Welcome. Thanks for joining us tonight. We have an interesting, diverse program this evening. But we are starting with the investigation into Whitney Houston`s death. Family and friends are preparing to lay her to rest tomorrow in New Jersey. Take a look at this.
[Pinsky:] Flags fly at half staff in the garden state as family members attend a private viewing of Whitney Houston`s body one day before her funeral. The star studded, somber service will pay tribute with performances by the likes of Alicia Keyes and Stevie Wonder. Movie novel, Tyler Perry and actor, Kevin Costner will be there. And as police in L.A. ramp up the investigation, support now for new laws to stem prescription pill abuse. It isn`t clear yet that prescription drugs took Whitney from us, but the fact she was tormented by addiction is clear. Reports continue to surface that prescription bottles were found in the hotel room. How many were there and what exactly was in them, finding that out is key to honoring this American icon. And Whitney Houston spoke about Michael Jackson`s problem with prescription medication and pills during an interview with Oprah in 2009. It is rather chilling. Just take a look.
[Whitney Houston, Singer, Actress:] He was on painkillers at one time. I didn`t know how far and how deep it was. I just remember doing the anniversary special, 30th anniversary, and I remember looking at Michael. I remember looking at myself.
[Oprah Winfrey, Talk Show:] That`s when you were so bone thin, you were frail.
[Houston:] I was, yes, I was getting scared.
[Winfrey:] Looking at him.
[Houston:] Yes. And then I could see, looking at myself, going I don`t want it to be like this, this can`t happen, not both of us with Mike.
[Pinsky:] And that I need you to understand is what`s so common with prescription medication, both the opiate analgesic pain medication and with the benzodiazepine, anti-anxiety medication, sleeping pills, these people when they are in it don`t realize they are in it. They don`t see that they are destroying. They don`t see that they`re not functioning normally. They lose that insight. Now, we know the sources claim at least one of the prescription pill bottles discovered in Whitney Houston`s hotel room contained the anti- anxiety medication, xanax. And we are also hearing lorazepam and valium. And I am saying if you have history of addiction or someone you love does and they are given a prescription for xanax or clonopin, you people should not be on this. I mean, there may be some extreme reason they take it for the short term basis. But when they take it, they`re in harm`s way, the disease will activate. Remember this. Last year, doctors of United States wrote 44 million prescriptions for xanax alone. I mean, it`s and listen, I`m not saying the medication is bad. It is an outstanding medication properly used. But for people with a history of addiction, for young people that are experimenting, drinking and using xanax, this is a potentially lethal product. Joining me to discuss this, two guests who are leading the fight against our pill epidemic. Pam Bondi, she is Florida`s attorney general, and she successfully passed legislation in her state to combat this problem. Representative Mary Bono Mack is here, congresswoman from California. And your mission is really very personal as well. Can you tell us why?
[Rep. Mary Bono Mack , California:] Well, I`ve experienced addiction in my family, almost my entire life. You know, I`ve had alcoholism and addiction around me, so I`ve been through it. But most recently, I had high school age children, watched not only them go through it but their friends go through it. And you can`t help but realize this truly is an epidemic in America. So as a mother, when you see it firsthand and see people suffering with the terrible addictions, you just really realize you have to stand up and fight against it. It is time our country wake up and recognize this is a very fast growing epidemic, and it is going to take way too many lives. As you know, prescription drug overdose deaths are the leading cause of accidental death in America.
[Pinsky:] They are for young people especially, and I keep seeing this one bit of data, 2500, 12 to 15-year-olds I think the data is, will abuse a prescription drug illicitly for the first time today and each in every day. Mary, what do we do about this? I you know, I know Pam is there on the screen next to me had great success closing down pill mills, but Whitney`s death has reminded us she wasn`t doctor shopping, she was just getting it as prescribed, and somebody prescribed it and didn`t understand what it can do for an addict. What do we do with that, Mary?
[Mack:] Well, that`s a great question, and it is one of the many questions we do have to ask. Why was she prescribed if she was a known addict. I don`t know sometimes, and you would know, I talked to you a long time ago about this question. You brought up prescriber education, doctors needed to understand truly the addictive qualities and understand addiction a little better than they did. I have been working on that in congress. But you, Dr. Drew, it starts with the very basic premise that Betty Ford taught us so well. You begin by admitting there`s a problem. In our country we need to admit there`s a problem, and recognize, you know, that prescription drugs are the problem right now.
[Pinsky:] I completely agree. And I think we have to add a corollary to that, which is that addiction drugs are a problem, abstinence is the goal. Pam, you had great success in your state. Tell us what`s going on there.
[Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General:] Well, and we have, first, let me say, we are blessed to have Mary Bono Mack in Congress fighting for our teens and for everyone with an addiction. The two of us have talked about it at length and she`s doing great things. And you know, Dr. Drew, what we did in Florida is we passed extremely tough legislation to shut down what we call our pill mills, which are basically drug dealers wearing white coats, just sitting back there prescribing oxycodone, prescribing prescription drugs. So we have tough criminal penalties and tough administrative penalties, working with the department of health and board of medicine to put these bad guys out of business because we all know it`s so easy to get. Other than marijuana in this country right now, prescription drugs are the drug of choice among our youth, and in Florida we were having seven people overdose a day and it had to stop.
[Pinsky:] And you guys mention cannabis, marijuana. I want to slip in a quick story here. We all hear that Demi Moore was exposed to something called k-2 or spice. Mary, I understand, you`re looking up this prosthetics so-called very carefully.
[Mack:] Well, there are a number of people in Congress are looking at synthetics. My biggest focus has been on prescription drugs. You know, again, we have an FDA that is in place, supposed to protect the American people and our children from the dangers of prescription drugs. We have a DEA in place, supposed to protect the American people and our children. So, I really have been focused on this first and foremost. Synthetics are especially troubling, but for me prescription drugs like Pam said are the drug of choice. It is where the American people are going now. And I have to applaud Pam Bondi who has been one of the biggest warriors I`ve ever seen on this front in America. She has truly taken on the pill mills in Florida and done an amazing job. And in congress, when you recognize, let me say really fast, Florida feeds the entire eastern seaboard with the pill mills. So she is not only saving lives of those in Floridians but people throughout the eastern United States of America as well as throughout the country. So, my hat is off to Pam Bondi.
[Pinsky:] I am mostly glad both of you are fighting the good fight. Pam, I talked to you before. Mary, it`s the first time we appeared something like this. And I will get you back here to keep sending this message out loud and clear because we all three agree this is probably the health problem of our time and if we don`t do something about it, yell about it, and take action, I don`t want to think how many more are going to die. So, thank you very much.
[Bondi:] That`s right. Thank you.
[Pinsky:] Also, you can watch to remind people, Whitney Houston`s funeral on HLN starting 9:00 eastern time tomorrow morning. I will probably ring in a bit, and then let that be something people watch and think fondly of her life. Welcome back. Tonight, we have a very important story. An update on the child sex abuse scandal in Los Angeles. Please watch this. The lives of students and teachers at California`s second largest elementary school have been turned upside down and parents are besides themselves since news broke that dozens of students were allegedly violated by two teachers at Mira Monte elementary school. The entire staff has been replaced including the principal.
[Dolores Palacio, New Principal, Miramonte Elementary School:] We are totally transparent. We are totally open. I welcome them to the school any time. This morning, I invited them to stay in the classrooms as long as they felt comfortable. If their children were uncomfortable, stand at the door and wait until they`re comfortable, see their friends and join them.
[Pinsky:] Now the school district itself may be in trouble. Los Angeles times reports one of the suspect teachers was paid $40,000 in effect to resign. The accrediting organization for teachers says the school district broke the law waiting a year to inform them it was in the process of dismissing that same teacher. So I want to get into this deeper, how did this happen. Was there some sort of combination of fear on the part of the kids, maybe a toxic silence? Joining me to discuss this, Pia Escudero, director of school mental health services at the Los Angeles unified school district. Jaqueline Hurtado, a CNN Espanol reporter who has covered this story from the start, and Keith Davidson, attorney for three families allegedly victimized at the school in Los Angeles. So Keith, thank you for coming back. You were here before to update us on the story. You actually represented a family in 2004, is that right, same school?
[Keith Davidson, Victims` Attorney:] Same school.
[Pinsky:] Here we are again. Is there a bigger story going on here?
[Davidson:] Clearly. Clearly. I mean there`s been a pattern of abuse at Miramonte since 2002 with allegations against the prior teacher Mr. Guevara who is now serving 15 to life. We now have two current teachers at Miramonte in jail. One is being held on some $30 million bail, another has been released on I believe $300,000 bail.
[Pinsky:] Pia, you`re a social worker, you supervise mental health services at the schools. Saw your shoulders going up when Keith was talking. What`s your response to that?
[Pia Escudero, Director, School Mental Health Services, Lausd:] Well, I think it is easy from the outside to make it look like there`s something that`s
[Pinsky:] Something`s in the district going on.
[Escudero:] Right.
[Pinsky:] Were you have you been involved with the school since 2004? You have been a long time inside Miramonte?
[Escudero:] I have. Actually about a year before when a teacher committed suicide, I supported the school. And we talked to the staff about their feelings so that they can continue and supporting recovery after that event.
[Pinsky:] Recovery of the entire community. How is the community doing now?
[Escudero:] I think today the community has taken a tremendous toll with all of the events and the changes, but for the most part it is a resilient community. The children are coming back to school.
[Pinsky:] So things are going well there, except I imagine for the people that were victimized, things may never go back to normal for some of them.
[Davidson:] And even the victimization in the current case, take one of the cases, the Berndt case, that`s been going on for years. And some of the students have left Miramonte, and now in junior high school and looking back on their elementary years with fear and disdain.
[Pinsky:] Were there hints there was trouble there or just came out of the blue?
[Escudero:] It really is the opposite story we hear at the school. We hear he was a very loved teacher. He participated in many community events. Went to birthday parties, he attended the local church. People saw him as a mentor.
[Pinsky:] Is that why it took so long to get him out because people didn`t believe what they were hearing?
[Escudero:] Well, actually, what I understand as soon as they learned and they filed a police report, attempts were made immediately by then superintendent to fire him. So from there, what happens with law enforcement and the investigation is beyond our control.
[Pinsky:] So it is not the L.A. unified, it is law enforcement doing the investigation that took so long?
[Escudero:] That`s right.
[Pinsky:] Ok. Jacqueline, this is where you come in here. So, a teacher, going to [inaudible], going to the church, going to the parties, that`s a little boundary problem in many communities. Not so where these guys lived?
[Jaqueline Hurtado, Cnn Espanol Reporter:] No. I can relate to these students, especially growing up in Mexican household. All we know is parents and our teachers. And so, we rely on these teachers. These parents work long hours, they work from 8:00 to 6:00. And so, many of these kids are left with these teachers according to the parents. And you trust them and you built a relationship. And in the Hispanic community, we`re taught that you listen to the teacher, you listen to authorities, you listen to the principal. So there was this relationship that many of the families created.
[Pinsky:] You mentioned earlier we talked on the program that there`s even a physical boundaries aren`t as carefully maintained, I don`t know if you`re aware of it, there`s a lot more touching with teachers, it is considered normal or appropriate.
[Hurtado:] Yes. Many of the parents showed me some pictures that they have with Mr. Berndt and they`re hugging their children, they`re dressed up, they`re at parties. And this is normal for them. They didn`t think anything of it.
[Pinsky:] You`re a social worker, though. Not good to violate physical boundaries.
[Escudero:] Well, I think what`s interesting, as you see one picture, and we didn`t get a chance to see these hundreds. They`re actually coming from the community to us. And now, that`s why there`s so many pictures to see.
[Pinsky:] Let`s I want to get that opinion though. Not OK for teachers to touch students physically.
[Escudero:] Well, I think that teachers know the good touches and bad touches and there are physical boundaries and absolutely, and we train staff and they know not to to respect those boundaries.
[Pinsky:] And Jaqueline, these pictures are coming from all throughout the community. Is there any chance these aren`t all horrible documentations of abuse?
[Hurtado:] Well, see some of the parents I saw where the children are eating the alleged cookies that have semen. You see them, there`s nothing wrong with the cookie.
[Pinsky:] Normal cookie, just eating a cookie.
[Hurtado:] Just eating a cookie.
[Pinsky:] There`s no blind folded, no cockroach on the face, all these crazy stuff we are hearing about. Just
[Hurtado:] A normal kid eating a cookie. And then there`s the teacher feeding the cookie. And the parent said no, I think this is normal. I never thought anything of this picture. And they have seen these pictures the last couple years and they never really thought anything of the pictures.
[Pinsky:] You also mentioned to me briefly that there`s some suspicion by law enforcement that some may not be truthful?
[Hurtado:] Yes. I talked to some detectives who are investigating the case, and they said that they`re really analyzing each case, just because there`s so many allegations that they want to make sure that victims that are involved in the case are really victims and that people are not just coming to try to take advantage of the situation.
[Pinsky:] What would the advantage be for them?
[Hurtado:] According to the police, some of these would qualify for new visa to be able to stay in this country legally with a residence.
[Pinsky:] If they were a victim.
[Hurtado:] If the child was a victim. If the child was a victim and they want to avoid.
[Pinsky:] Speaking of victimization, Keith, is there also a fear on the part of the community to come forward, fear of deportation and consequences such as that?
[Davidson:] Of course.
[Pinsky:] So there are so many levels to the story, it is wild, Pia. I don`t know. I`m glad it is you managing, not me.
[Escudero:] I see a different part. I see that our families, we had meetings, we opened up our doors, we see attorneys coming in, we see them preying also on our families. We don`t get involved when it becomes a school activity, it is parents only, but we see the opposite as well, so
[Pinsky:] So you don`t think there`s a culture of fear, of being somehow thrown to the wolves of immigration?
[Escudero:] I really don`t, and the school system does not ask for documentation. They know that it they have
[Pinsky:] Do they know if they get attention if something horrible happened, Keith, is that a possibility?
[Davidson:] There are 600 some odd photographs, and search warrants that have been executed at teachers` homes and at CVS where their film was processed. There`s photographs of kids eating spoonfuls of semen. There`s just a complete disregard for supervision at a troubled school in a troubled community and that led to the abuse.
[Pinsky:] OK Guys, I have run out of time. It`s my head is spinning a bit. I must tell you guys. And I hope we keep on top of the story. To the extent kids were victimized, it is a story I can`t let go off. So, I appreciate you all being here. Jaqueline, Keith and Pia. Thank you. When we come back, words of a father who says his grade school daughter was a victim of abuse at Miramonte elementary school. And later, Oprah`s fitness guru is here. And David Allen joins us for doctor`s order. Again, I want to remind you. We are talking about a story I just can`t let go of, it`s about what maybe is a toxic environment that allowed teachers to sexually abuse children at an elementary school in Los Angeles. Reporter, Jaqueline Hurtado spoke to a father that said his daughter was abused by teacher Mark Berndt. Watch this, we`ll discuss.
[Jesus, Father Of Alleged Victim:] You know what happened, he gave something bad to eat. What bad? I asked another daughter. Too bad I cannot explain to you. I know I need to know what bad, what`s that. That`s true, he gave me something, that`s true. Then, then she cry. Then momma come to her, tend to my daughter. It is OK, it is OK. You are OK. Did you eat something bad? Now you have nothing inside of you. OK. Take it easy. But she cried around a half hour.
[Pinsky:] Jaqueline, she is here with me. She conducted that interview. Jackie, that story, the whole story is so sad to me. I mean, I feel like these people feel helpless and victimized by the people they trusted. Is that the right sense of this?
[Hurtado:] Yes. When I spoke to this father, it was hard for him to open up and tell me what his daughter had gone through.
[Pinsky:] Was he ashamed?
[Hurtado:] He was ashamed but confused at the same time. He said because his daughter has been effected psychologically. He still can`t tell his daughter what was on the cookies. He said. how do you explain to an eight-year-old what was on that cookie?
[Pinsky:] Eight-year-old, how do you explain to anybody what that was? And how did he find out about it?
[Hurtado:] He said he found out because he went and looked at those pictures. He had seen those pictures two years ago of his daughter eating the cookie. So, he said when he saw the news and this is what they said were on the cookies, he said he just froze. He didn`t believe his daughter had been eating these cookies for so many years, and he doesn`t know if all the cookies contained, you know, semen allegedly.
[Pinsky:] We just heard Pia from L.A. unified saying the community is coming together, I think settling down there, from your perspective, are they or are they reeling after this?
[Hurtado:] It is just a lot of confusion. Especially because these kids are still asking, where is my teacher. Many of these parents have said that their teachers are on vacation, because it is a trust system, and they`ll be back. But still don`t tell the kids what`s going on. But they have hope it is going to change, and many of the parents I talked to said they`re getting more involved with the
[Pta. Pinsky:] That`s good. I asked you in the field are you angry about this, and I won`t put you in that position again. Is the community angry though?
[Hurtado:] Yes. The community is angry because they say that this is a community who is vulnerable.
[Pinsky:] It is. That`s what`s so sad about this story. So, they think of themselves that way.
[Hurtado:] Yes, as vulnerable. They listen to authority, and they never thought that this was happen in the community. They trusted the teachers.
[Pinsky:] Are they elected some of the advocate on their behalf? Are there leaders emerging from this?
[Hurtado:] Yes. There are community leaders who are helping them organize, how to get their voice heard. They are starting to sign petitions to create change and have all of the other teachers that were there before come and try to fix the situation and kind of give the kids a little comfort.
[Pinsky:] All right. Well, Jaqueline. I want to keep on top of this story. Because I think it is not going to go away. And people talk about how sexual abuse and various kinds of abuse these days are something that`s uncommon, no, it is common and happens in all populations. That`s what Pia and I were discussing during the break, it is not just limited to schools where you don`t think it is going to happen in your community, it can. But thank you for keeping on top of this story. It is an important one. Next up, I take your calls. So, please stay with us. I`ll be back after this. Coming up, Oprah`s fitness mentor and friend Bob Greene, is here. We`ll talk about the effects of abuse on weight, health, and general well-being. Then, why would someone stab his brother over a brownie? Broadway star and comedian, David Alan Grier, helps me with "Doctor`s Orders." But first, I want to return to the very serious issue of addiction. A couple of reminders. One is that I want to expand this on-call segments tonight to include any topics you guys want to talk about. You can ask me anything medical, interpersonal, a lot of stuff. I`m sort of used to answering questions for people. So, I hope you will continue to e-mail us, Facebook, Twitter us. And we will take your question and answers and calls and continue to sort of expand the topics on this segment. But tonight, we`re returning to the difficult issue of addiction because that`s what`s flooded in our gates for tonight. I also want to remind you first, you can watch the funeral service for Whitney Houston tomorrow on
[Hln, 9:] 00 eastern. Now, again, as I said, many of you want to talk about prescription drug abuse. Here is what you`re saying. Facebook question first from Jones, I believe it is, who writes, "How ironic to see a commercial for medication during your show discussing Whitney Houston`s death. One of the reasons Americans use so many prescription drugs, the drug companies advertise heavily to consumers. It`s being suggested that doctors prescribe drugs to make more money. Drew, keep putting out facts to educate the public." Yes. As I said last night, as physicians, people don`t seem to realize this, we have three things. We have a prescription pad, we have a scalpel, and we have our relationship, OK? You know, psychologist and psychiatrists use the relationship to heal people. I don`t cut, I don`t find that interesting. I don`t like doing that. I like the relationship and the prescribing part. So, medicine is something we`re used to using. The medicines that are being advertised on our show are not addictive. No addictive drugs. I`m talking tonight about addictive drugs, the benzodiazepine, the opiates, the psycho stimulants. Understand that. By the way, even addictive medicines are not in themselves bad. If used in the wrong setting, they can be a problem. And my concern is my peers are using them in the wrong setting, and now, the people are dying, and that we have to raise awareness about this. That`s what I`m talking about. That`s why I`m getting so upset about this topic. That`s what Mary and Pam were talking about in that first segment. Mary Beth is calling in. Mary, how can I help there?
[Mary Beth:] Yes. Hi, Dr. Drew.
[Pinsky:] Hi, Mary Beth.
[Mary Beth:] Seven years ago, my husband was treated as an alcoholic, drowned in our bathtub.
[Pinsky:] Oh, my God! I`m so sorry.
[Mary Beth:] I was blamed by family and friends for his death. It angers me with Whitney Houston to have so many people blame everyone but her. It has taken me time, but I have finally realized I could not control my husband`s actions.
[Pinsky:] Right.
[Mary Beth:] It has taken years, but now, I know.
[Pinsky:] That`s right. That`s the nature of alcoholism and addiction. And, you know, I had Mike Catherwood on here last night talking about how his love and passion for drugs exceeded everything when he was using. And as even in more pernicious part about prescription drugs is when you`re using them, you lose insight to what`s happening to you. And alcohol tends to do that also over long, long periods of time. And, you know, when you try to confront people, sometimes, they just don`t hear the message, and all you can do is take care of yourself. Again, if you do take care of yourself before something horrible happens, sometimes, that gets through to the alcoholic addict. It changes the dance you`re doing with them. So, programs like Al Anon exceedingly important. Go. Go regularly. Get a sponsor. You`ll be surprised what impact it has on the loved one. Sheree writes, "A positive for Xanax. I have responsibly taken this medication for anxiety, panic disorder for 24 years. It allowed me to have a life. Not everyone abuses it. Please note the benefitpositive effects. Yes, medications kill, yes, but it can also heal." That was my point at the beginning of this little segment. Reminder also, if you are feeling again, medicines in themselves aren`t bad. It`s the relationship that can be a problem. And remind people also, if you have issues with pharmaceuticals, advertising direct to the public, that`s a separate topic for a separate day. Brittany is on the line. Go ahead.
[Brittany:] Hi, Dr. Drew.
[Pinsky:] Hey, Brittany.
[Brittany:] Both my parents died last summer from prescription pill overdoses.
[Pinsky:] Can I stop for a second? So, this thing with Whitney must be deeply significant for you.
[Brittany:] Yes. It`s actually a lot like Bobbi Kristina, considering the fact that I was with my grandmother, and you know, I look at her like my mom.
[Pinsky:] Yes. Yes. And did you have a particular question tonight or comment?
[Brittany:] Just a comment. I wanted to let, whether Bobbi Kristina or anybody out there know, whether it`s an addict or family member, that I found one thing is completely consistent, and that is drugs are always number one. And even though the addict, you know, they love you, but drugs always come first.
[Pinsky:] And that`s you have to understand, it`s not in their soul, although, there`s a spiritual malady here. It`s in their brain. That`s how the brain disorder does its evil deed. That`s how it distorts all their priorities. That`s the nature of addiction, and not everyone gets that. I`m not saying get it in the sense of understanding it. I`m saying it actually has the genetic potential for that to happen to their brain. You have to be set up for that to happen. Then, the switch gets thrown, then the trouble starts. I am so sorry for you. I`m sorry, Brittany, right, Brittany?
[Brittany:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] My heart goes out to you. And, thank you for helping raise awareness about this on a night like this when we`re putting Whitney Houston to rest. Thank you. Patty writes, "I would like to see Dr. Drew address how quickly and easily it is to become dependent to benzodiazepine. It only takes weeks, but doctors will prescribe them for years. The withdrawal from benzo is extremely uncomfortable and takes much longer than typical stays in rehab. I switched to alcohol to relieve those symptoms. I believe this is why you see so many people mixing the two." I absolutely agree with you. In fact, some of the reports we`ve heard about Whitney, the ways she was behaving in days prior to what horribly happened to her, that sounded like benzodiazepine withdrawal that she was trying to treat with alcohol. That`s exactly what I thought about that. And you were right. If you have addiction, you take this substance more than about two weeks, you`re going to have withdrawal symptoms. Everyone will have withdrawal symptoms, but if you`re an addict, you will also have drive to keep going with it. Anyone will get some withdrawal. Non-addicts will kind of go through to withdrawal, let it be. An addict will be changed. They`ll keep pursuing it. They`ll keep going after it. And the other point you made is extremely important. No one pays for the treatment of this stuff. It takes at least two weeks of inpatient to get off this. It`s very hard withdrawal, as you say. And I fought with insurance companies for years. I`m pushing people out the door in three days That`s a whole other story we hope to tell. Maybe too much for tonight. And but, you know, something I feel very passionately about as well. Tonight, let`s just raise awareness about how problematic this stuff is so you and your loved ones don`t end up where poor Whitney ended up. I have to take a moment here and say something to you all. Tonight is my last program for my senior producer extraordinaire, Quinn Brown. I hope you can see him. Let`s get a picture of him. You possibly can. There he is. He`s been sitting at that desk. He is command and control of this program. He also was with Larry King for how many years, Quinn? How many years? Eight years with Larry King, and he set up this show. The on-call segment was something that he delivered. The "Doctor`s Orders" was his idea. We say thank you to Quinn. Did I do this wrong? I can`t even do this. You pop it back at me. Quinn, we will miss you. You really were an integral part of this. I got to go. He`s telling me to wrap. There we go. Quinn, seriously, dude, you will be missed. And for the rest of you that meeting him for the first time, he`ll be out there in the television world Why are we so fat in this country and why are some of us, on the other hand, starving ourselves to death? We`re in nation that eats too much or eats obsessively or count every calorie or pays no attention to the calories while this. All right. Well, tonight, I want to expose explicitly the link between childhood trauma and weight. Joining me to discuss this is Bob Greene. He`s an exercise physiologist, founder of The BestLife.com, and he`s also Oprah`s personal fitness guru. So, Bob, let`s I want to get our definition squared. People are screwed up about eating, how to eat, what to eat, when they`re good, when they`re bad, when it`s healthy, when it`s not. How do you define a weight problem?
[Bob Greene, Fitness Expert:] Well, a lot of people go to a chart, say 20 or 30 percent of ideal body weight.
[Pinsky:] BMI is whatever.
[Greene:] Yes, and that`s a very clinical way to say it. I like to say what is the mental health of the person or the emotional health of the person. It`s a problem. It`s not necessarily related to the weight. It`s how the person feels about themselves.
[Pinsky:] So, I want to be sure I`m clear. There`s got to be a threshold where weight is a medical problem in your way of thinking.
[Greene:] That`s true.
[Pinsky:] That`s one way of looking at it.
[Greene:] Yes. That`s close more to 25 to 30 percent above an ideal body weight.
[Pinsky:] The more common thing, I guess, what you`re saying is when somebody is just not happy with their body weight or involved with their body weight in unhealthy ways? Is that way to say it?
[Greene:] More of a self-esteem. In fact, an overweight issue, in my opinion, is almost always self-esteem issue.
[Pinsky:] OK. So, an esteem is built in an interpersonal context. We build our esteem from other people, would you agree with that?
[Greene:] Other people would be a primary way. Yes.
[Pinsky:] What`s the secondary way?
[Greene:] Well, just things you do yourself or you do something that pleases yourself, you can build your self-esteem. So, it doesn`t involve necessarily another person.
[Pinsky:] My experience, oftentimes, had involved service to other people at least, if not doing something for yourself or you`re creating something, for instance, another way. OK. So, self-esteem. And one of the key, in my experience, ways of the self-esteem gets destroyed is in an interpersonal context between people when there`s trauma. Would you agree with that?
[Greene:] Absolutely.
[Pinsky:] Yes. And you must deal a lot with trauma.
[Greene:] I do. And what I find really fascinating is when the trauma occurred in someone`s life, also kind of signifies it significance. A younger age is a much more difficult, say, client to work with.
[Pinsky:] Right.
[Greene:] And that could be a generality, but I have found that at the earlier the trauma is that it occurs in someone`s life, the more difficult the situation.
[Pinsky:] We actually know a lot about the brain and how it`s affected by trauma. The way I like to explain it to people, it`s more sort of plastic. The brain is more affected by experience earlier in life, and the biological changes can be more profound and more sustained when they happen earlier. I want to define, since we`re talking about trauma, I want to define the kind of trauma we`re talking about tonight. It`s we called interpersonal trauma. So, I`m not talking about an earthquake or a war. I`m talking about something that happens between people, and I`ll call it an experience of terror and powerlessness, this is my definition, you`re looking out up there. Terror or powerlessness under the age of 12, and again, I`m going to specify as young person`s trauma, often at the hands of parents or important caretakers. That`s what makes it so shattering. And then, when people come out of an experience of trauma like that, they can`t regulate their emotions. They can`t feel good about themselves, and they gravitate to behaviors that are dysfunctional like the relationship with food.
[Greene:] Absolutely. Food, alcohol, in a way, they pass on this trauma or abuse either to themselves or another person.
[Pinsky:] Now, I want to point out to my viewers some of the people that have been very open about their traumatic
[Greene:] Well, I also think what sometimes is ignored is how prevalent this is. And I think we grossly underestimate how much of this trauma is really going on.
[Pinsky:] How much do you think?
[Greene:] That`s a shot in the dark. That`s a loaded question, but I think it`s prevalent, much more than we think. We think of the Penn State, current Miramonte scandal. I think these things occur, and we get wind of them when it comes to the forefront, but it`s
[Pinsky:] Very common. Some people say up to 30 percent. Now, we, at HLN, tried to get confirmation of what Demi said about her mom. We`ve contacted her people, had no contact, no return comment as of yet. Now, I want to also point out Lady Gaga recently admitted that she struggled with bulimia as a teen. She told a group of Southern California high school students, quote, "I used to throw up all the time in high school, so I`m not that confident. I wanted to be a skinny ballerina, but I was a voluptuous little Italian girl whose dad had meatballs on the table every night. Weight is still a struggle." So, it really goes, overeating, under eating are probably also more connected than people realize.
[Greene:] Yes. In fact, I`ve seen it before, and I`ve had people that would read a book of mine that`s about weight loss, but they were anorexic and they identified with the things you`re saying which I find very interesting. And I`ve seen people that struggled with their weight most their life, they get hooked and compulsive maybe about the exercise and the restrictive eating, and then, all of a sudden, they become anorexic or have bulimia.
[Pinsky:] Or exercise with bulimia, which is so many people don`t talk about. You can exercise too much. People get so rewarded for excessive my trainer thinks I`m doing a great job, and they`re spending all day at the gym. That`s not healthy either.
[Greene:] The truth is, what you do as a trainer professionally, you know that when you`re seeing someone that may have had this trauma or struggled with weight to a severe degree, you`re always replacing a kind of an addiction to food with maybe an addiction to exercise, and you head into that sometimes knowing that`s the case, and eventually, you`ll have to cross that bridge to a more normal life where you`re not addicted to the weight loss or the exercise.
[Pinsky:] Right. You have to find balance or something. I want to know what the something is. I`m going to say that 20 to 30 percent of people experience trauma of some type
[Greene:] I think it`s higher.
[Pinsky:] Well, I want to say, overt trauma to some people that I would characterize as causing enough brain effects to cause real signification emotional disregulation, but there`s intermediate traumas also like, you know, the moms that harp on their daughters or
[Greene:] I`m glad you brought that up.
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Greene:] Because there`s all degrees. I experience it in different levels, but I see some of the same situations maybe without the same amount of trauma, like as you say, a parent that is, why are you wearing your hair that way, why did you get a C on your report card. When it`s constant, that`s a trauma as well.
[Pinsky:] And it`s going at the thing that you said is critical and all this that`s eroding their self-esteem.
[Greene:] That`s correct.
[Pinsky:] which is the thing that`s what do you do to get over this?
[Greene:] Well, why I think it`s so much more prevalent, I think there is an epidemic of these feelings of unworthiness. Now, obviously, if you take a young child who was abused, you know, thin odds of overcoming that in a relatively quick or even at all in that person`s lifetime. But I think it`s an epidemic, and it`s reinforced by someone in authority, typically a parent, a teacher, a coach, and that`s why I see it every day. I see some form of it in almost everybody that`s struggling to lose weight or has been on that diet roller coaster.
[Pinsky:] And like you say, addiction fits in the same category. They`re either cutting or vomiting, or overeating, or doing drugs, whatever it is, or sex, all kind of that same solution category for feeling unregulated emotionally, not Ok in your own skin, right?
[Greene:] Well, I think it`s almost recently that people are speaking about it in the terms that you are, that these are all addictions, there`s not necessarily one versus another. They`re all the same thing. It`s kind of picking your poison.
[Pinsky:] We see the trifecta becoming with eating disorder, cutting, and addiction that was sort of the standard case these days. That`s the combo. And one thing that we find is that one of the results of trauma is the inability to trust. And so, people can`t enter any kind of closeness with other people to rebuild their self-esteem or rebuild their frame. How do you get people to trust you and enter into that frame?
[Greene:] What`s always you always want to say that what comes first is someone`s emotional foundation, and there are so many people that I see right off the bat that I know hands down need to see a therapist. So, that`s the first thing you would like to say. However, the reality is you usually start them just taking care of themselves, hoping that they connect with feeling better.
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Greene:] And when someone exercises, one of the great advantages is not just getting thin, it`s really it`s a great way to build self- esteem. And then, the foods, the same way. When you feel like you`re nurturing yourself, that`s the first step, in my opinion. A person needs to identify less with the weight, almost kind of throw it out the window, and identify more with I`m going to nurture myself. My parent didn`t, my teacher didn`t, but I`m going to.
[Pinsky:] That`s a really important first step. Bob Greene, everybody, founder of TheBestLife.com. Stay with us. More after this. It is time now for "Doctor`s Orders" where I present some of the most interesting stories of the week and offer prescriptions for how to deal with them. Helping me out tonight is David Alan Grier who I recently saw starring as Porton Life, finally typecasting for him A sociopath drug addict in the "Porgy and Bess" right here on Broadway. And I`m telling you, go see this, this is a sensational production. Why do you think this thing is creating so much controversy?
[David Alan Grier, Star, "porgy And Bess":] First of all, I like it, just in the sense that
[Pinsky:] You must be wrong.
[Grier:] No, no, theater is supposed to engender impassioned response, you know, right at a point where I thought like no one cares about theater, then they do. You know, those people, there are some people who think that "Porgy and Bess" should only be presented as a grand
[Pinsky:] Well, I will tell you, the audience I was gave you a ten- minute standing ovation. And he says it`s all the time. So, go see this production. Go to our stories, the Pennsylvania man stabs his brother after the brother cut a brownie in half, then the man grabbed three knives and slashed his brother on the forearm, shoulder, and wrist. So, you understand the brother
[Grier:] What kind of brownie was it? Did he make the brownie?
[Pinsky:] So, you`re going right down the path I`m going on. Here are my "Doctor`s Orders." Chocolate is allegedly addictive, but it is the other ingredient that lead to stabbing. So, if you`re making the brownies, as David says, keep the brownies away from brownie lovers, please. OK. Next story, a man in Vermont was arrested for writing insults on his girlfriend`s car, an insult. He thought he put the word slut on the hood, but he actually wrote the word salt. Police who questioned him busted him when they had him write the word on a piece of paper, and he misspelled it again.
[Grier:] Dyslexia, perhaps.
[Pinsky:] But David, come on now, can`t even spell slut. Where is our educational system going?
[Grier:] Can I have the two stories together, maybe he didn`t want to be with this woman because she cooked with too much salt. Call and saying salt, you know? You`re such a salt.
[Pinsky:] You`re such a salt. There you go. My "Doctor`s Orders" on this one again are that education matters.
[Grier:] Reading is fundamental.
[Pinsky:] Reading is fundamental, even for vandals. There you go. Finally now, residents of a Spanish village, all of them except one, check this out, David, ponied up for the country`s lottery El Gordo. The prize was $950 million and they won all except for the guy who wasn`t around when they collected the money for the ticket.
[Grier:] He`s a filmmaker.
[Pinsky:] Seriously?
[Grier:] Perhaps a documentary on himself, my miserable life. Yes. I saw the guy. I heard him interviewed. And he`s very kind of zen about the whole thing. He was not freaked out. He just said he was really happy for all of the towns` people. He seemed like, you know, it happened. They came to his door. He was running errands. He missed the lottery.
[Pinsky:] In this country, there`d be a lawsuit.
[Grier:] Lawsuit? There`d be a stabbing. There`d be brownies. There would be the word salt scrawled on everyone`s door.
[Pinsky:] So, here are my "Doctor`s Orders," which is basically just listen to dag, David Alan Grier, and go see him in "Porgy and Bess," the Gershwin`s "Porgy and Bess."
[Grier:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] It is a sensational production, generating some controversy that I can`t understand.
[Grier:] Well, they can watch our production twice, then it will be four and a half hours long.
[Pinsky:] There you go. David, thanks for joining us. Thanks you all for watching. I will see you next time. END

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning! The president has found something to dance about on his 10-day tour of Asia. We'll tell you that he's not just dancing. He's got some contract deals to tell you about that he says will bring tens of thousands of jobs to the United States. Also, we want to say good morning to New York City! In just a short time, about 45,000 people are expected to hit the streets of New York City for the New York City marathon. We will take you back there live. Beautiful shot of New York this morning. But from the CNN Center, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Give you a look at some of the things we are keeping a close eye on: One thing, first of all here, I need to just give you an update on and remind you about, if you have not done it, if you are watching us right now, you haven't set that clock back an hour, you need to do it. Just go run and do it right now. Keep the TV on right here to CNN SUNDAY MORNING, of course. So, for you, let's do the time check. It is 8:00 a.m. on the East Coast right now 8:00 a.m. in New York City and Atlanta. So, 8:00 a.m. Seven a.m. for you folks in the Central Time Zone, including you folks waking up on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago this morning. Also, Mountain Time, 6:00 a.m. out in Denver for you folks. Beautiful shot courtesy of our affiliate KUSA. And for you folks on the West Coast, Seattle in particular, 5:00 a.m. for you people, just possibly rolling in from your night out, your Saturday night out. So, wherever you may be, get those clocks right. Glad you to be here with us. Some of you iPhone users may be having a few issues right. There's a software bug, a glitch that means if you have one of those recurring alarms on your iPhone or some of those iPod touches, it won't reset the way it's supposed to, and some places around the world actually has people waking up an hour late. So, what you need to do is go cancel out your recurring alarms. You need to set a new one. Everything will be fine after today. But still, if you had that recurring alarm, some of those phones did not readjust at the end of Daylight Savings Time. So, just a heads up there that some people are actually having problems and yes, it's causing them to wake up late, even though we are falling back an hour. Also, scientists have found evidence of damage to deep sea coral near the site of the BP Gulf oil disaster. Coral reefs, of course, vital link in the food chain, important for the survival of the ocean environment. We'll be certainly keeping a close, close eye on that. But go back to New York now those long distance runners in New York City getting ready for one of the world's premiere marathon events. We want to take to you New York now. Look at the streets right now, you don't see the runners yet, there's supposed to get underway the competitors here in about 30 minutes or so. They have several different waves that will start throughout the morning, but it attracts no doubt some of the best runners in the world. It also attracts people who just who just want to go out there for personal goal of running this thing, a lot of celebrities participate as well. Our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, is there, and she joins us with more and has more now on some of the famous faces that will be a part of today's race.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] The celebrity king of this year's New York City marathon is Edison Pena, himself a huge fan of the King of Rock "n" Roll, Elvis. The rescue Chilean miner shined on "David Letterman" and appears to be getting a kick out of all the attention.
[Edison Pena, Rescued Miner:] I have to take advantage of it in case I can, and I would be an idiot if I didn't do it.
[Suzanne Zuckerman, People Magazine:] It does actually seem like the Chilean miner is going to upstage any of the other stars running in the New York City marathon on Sunday, yes.
[Candiotti:] Star gazing is half the fun of watching about 45,000 runners over 26 miles. Actors Anthony Edwards and Mrs. Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes; rapperentrepreneur P. Diddy; rockers Alanis Morissette and David Lee Roth former Governor Mike Huckabee and TV chef Bobby Flay have all crossed the finish line. This year, Howard Stern's sidekick and new jogger Robin Quivers is challenging herself.
[Robin Quivers, 15foundation.org:] Runners always hit me after I stopped.
[Candiotti:] For stars, running a marathon is hardly for laughs.
[Zuckerman:] When celebrities are doing this, they're not just sort of running for their own glory, it's often to shine their spotlight on a cause close to the stars.
[Candiotti:] Quivers who has her own foundation is running for two children's charities. Last year, actor Edward Norton raised more than $1.2 million for charity.
[Jared Fogle, Subway Spokesman:] Come on, how good is that?
[Candiotti:] Good stuff. [voice-over]: Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, famous for dropping 245 pounds on an all sub diet, put the marathon on his bucket list. [on camera]: When you go over the finish line, what do you think you're going to say?
[Fogle:] I'm going to say, it's done. It's over.
[Candiotti:] Quivers' boss Howard Stern told her, don't expect a day off Monday.
[Quivers:] I was like, come on, I'm running 26 miles. He said, don't die, but make sure you get to work.
[Candiotti:] For Edison Pena,
[Holmes:] Oh, all right. Sorry to our Susan Candiotti there, having some issues with her shot going in and out. Of course, there's a lot of activity, a lot going on in New York today. A lot of people, a lot of activity, a lot of signals going on all over the place. You got a lot of runners down there. You got a lot of news organizations covering this thing. But, again, live pictures here from New York. We'll continue to keep an eye on them, but the competition, the New York City marathon, Reynolds, expected to get underway here in about half an hour or so. And then they'll have several other waves over the next couple of hours of runners taking off. How is the weather going to treat you? Here we go.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Bring it.
[Holmes:] What is good running weather in the first place? I'm not a runner. What do they prefer?
[Wolf:] Depends what you happen to be. I did do some running a long time ago, the nightmares, the cobwebs in my mind.
[Holmes:] OK.
[Wolf:] You know, it depends on what you like. I mean, there are some people who really prefer the warmer conditions, some people like a cooler weather. To mean, I mean, I think it's going to be ideal. You got temperatures that will be in the 40s and 50s. Right now, still, 40 degrees in midtown Manhattan, maybe a little bit warmer near some of the buildings, but you're going to have clear skies, no precipitation in the forecast, which is certainly some great news. Very quickly, let's shift out a little bit. If you happen to do some traveling, we're not just talking about traveling on foot, we're talking about flying or driving, some of the worst weather in the country, go out towards the West, especially along the I-5 corridor. Anyone tuning in who may be listening by satellite radio to CNN, well, I'll tell you what? If you're making a drive on I-5, you look out to your window and look out towards the east, you're going to see some heavy clouds hitting up the mountains of the Cascades, and heavy snow there if you're back in Eugene or Bend, same story for you. But farther down the coastline we go and the rain is going to be really popping up in earnest in the San Joaquin Valley and then as you get back towards parts of, say, the Sierra Nevada, that rain is going to switch over into some snowfall, especially when it interacts with that cool air in the higher elevations. Now, speaking of your temperatures across the nation, pretty comfortable in a lot of places 62 degrees your expected high in Minneapolis. Enjoy it while you can because winter is going to be coming on very soon. We've got 73 in Miami, 70 in Dallas, 62 in San Francisco, 52 in Portland and wrapping up where we started, New York City with 52 the expected high, with mostly sunny skies. T.J., you're up to speed.
[Holmes:] Reynolds, appreciate you always. And always a good reminder I always forget about the folks who we have listening to us on satellite radio.
[Wolf:] Yes, a lot of people all the place.
[Holmes:] Yes, need to keep them in mind. Thank you for that as always. Reynolds, thank you so much. The president, as we know, is on a mission, a 10-day mission trying to help bring more American jobs, bring more jobs here to the U.S., also spur some economic activity between Asia and the U.S. But on the trip, the president found a little something to literally dance about. I'm not sure what you call that move, but we'll go in it. The president there with a group of school children at the major religious festival in Mumbai the student celebrating Diwali. That's the festival of lights. But if there's any question who the better dancer in the family is now, this was yesterday, the first lady getting involved with some schoolchildren at Mumbai University. She told them she liked to dance when she was speaking to them and they took her up on it and they pulled her in and she took them up on it having a good time with the kids there. Also got one more bit of video, do you recognize this one? Who can forget? This was back in 2007, President George W. Bush, he was dancing at a malaria awareness event happening in D.C. He got a little drum solo in as well. But just on the topic of presidential dances, we decided to bring that back and show it to you. Now, it wasn't all fun and games. Certainly not fun and games, and not just dancing on the president's trip even though he might have a little something to dance about. He's meeting with heads of state discussing billions of dollars in trade deals that should lead to thousands of jobs here in the U.S. Our Sara Sidner joining me now live from New Delhi. That's where the president is now, it's his second stop on his trip. Sara, hello to you. The president now able to announce something that says will literally translate into tens of thousands of jobs right here in the
[U.s. Sara Sidner, Cnn Correspondent:] T.J., it is certainly by design that the president is really emphasizing the deals that have been announced here, the business deals between U.S. companies and India about $10 billion worth and he says that that will create somewhere around 50,000 jobs back in the U.S. How, you say? Well, basically, he says that some of the products being built in the U.S. will create jobs there that will then be sold to India, including a big deal with Boeing that will be making planes for one of the local Indian carrier SpiceJet. And so, that has been a big focus of this trip and he did explain to an Indian audience exactly why that is.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] The United States has gone through probably the toughest two years economically as we've gone through since the 1930s. And this was a profound financial crisis and economic shock, and it spilled over to most of the world. India weathered it better than many countries. But, you know, most of the work that I did with Prime Minister Singh in the first two years in the G-20, we were focused on making sure that the world financial system didn't collapse.
[Sidner:] He is also pushing India to open its markets to the U.S.? It's agricultural and retail markets. And there's a reason for that. Right now, India has some very, very, very high import duties. I'll give you an example. Harley-Davidson is here. They're selling bikes that are made in America. But the Indian consumer has to pay 100 percent more to buy the bikes here because the import duties are so high. President Obama is really pushing to get those taxes, those tariffs down
[T.j. Holmes:] And, Sara, one more thing. We saw the president and what he was up to yesterday, but now, he's made his way to New Delhi. What does he have on his agenda today?
[Sidner:] He came by the U.S. embassy and then he went to a predominantly Muslim neighborhood where there is this fantastic, beautiful tomb in there Humayun's Tomb built in the 1500s. He went to see that. We were able to speak with some who live in that neighborhood and they were excited to see that the U.S. president had chosen to the neighborhood of Nizamuddin. So, we went to see that. He said it was beautiful, which it very much. A lot of people are saying that was a precursor to the Taj Mahal
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Sara Sidner, we appreciate you, as always. We'll continue to follow you as you continue to follow the president on his trip. Thank you so much. Well, it's 12 minutes past the hour now. Usually here in the U.S., most people most casual horse racing fans don't pay attention until it's time maybe for the Kentucky Derby. But so many people in this country had their eyes yesterday on a horse race for a different reason. Zenyatta, the prized filly, is going for a 20-0 perfect career record. Well, she's 19 and won and you wouldn't believe how close it was to her making history. Stay with us.

[Joe Johns, Cnn Anchor:] From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's January 2nd. Good morning. I'm Joe Johns. Thanks for starting your day with us. There's a crisis in Australia where floodwaters have submerged an area the size of France and Germany. Electricity has been shut down; 22 towns in dire need of emergency and relief. An Ohio sheriff's department is mourning the loss of a deputy shot and killed in the line of duty. She never even had a chance to defend herself. The firefight that followed and the colleagues' valiant attempt to rescue her all caught on tape.
[Johns:] More now on that widespread flooding in Australia. Monsoon rains have drenched an area the size of France and Germany, worst hit Rockhampton and Queensland, where 1,000 people are forced to evacuate ahead of rising water. The flooding has directly impacted nearly a quarter million people. The water is slowly starting to recede in places. Back in the U.S., an Alfred Hitchcock drama playing out in real life in a small town in Arkansas more than a thousand dead blackbirds fell from the sky Friday night in the town of Beebe. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission collected about 65 of the birds for testing. Officials say the flock may have been hit by lightning or high altitude hail. Police in Bethesda, Maryland, are on the hunt for the killer. The beaten body of a hospital staffer was found at suburban medical facility yesterday. Police searched the complex but did not find the killer. The hospital was on lockdown for several hours, turning patients away and not allowing anyone to leave. Next, a story of courage and sadness in Ohio, where the Clark County Sheriff's Department is making plans to honor one of its own. A female deputy, Suzanne Hopper, a mother of two, answered a call about gunfire at a trailer park outside Springfield, Ohio, yesterday. Investigators say she was taking photos of footprints when a man came out of his trailer, pointed a shotgun at her and fired. She never had a chance. The gunman then fired on other deputies and officers as they arrived, setting of a gun battle in which an officer was wounded. You'll see that as it happens and we want to tell you, the images you'll see are graphic and disturbing. The other deputy who was shot is in serious condition, but expected to survive. Here's how the tragedy played out. [BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, WDTN]
[Gene A. Kelly, Clark County Sheriff:] The suspect inside opened fire and struck a German Township police officer. He's currently in Miami Valley and it appears to me right now that he's in serious condition, but they tell me that he's believed to be he will be OK. It appears that the door of the trailer opened and the person inside fired one shotgun blast, striking the deputy and fatally wounding a deputy. They did enter the trailer. The suspect was deceased apparently from the exchange of gunfire with deputies. Our deputy never had the opportunity to return fire or take cover. The deputy was an outstanding deputy and is married and a parent of two children. This is the worst day in my 24 years as the sheriff of Clark County.
[Johns:] Police have identified the wounded officer as Jeremy Blum of the German Township police. They have not identified the gunman. Utter devastation, that's how Missouri Governor Jay Nixon's reaction as he toured two tornado-damaged neighborhoods around the greater St. Louis area yesterday, as Nixon witnessed the destruction firsthand. A seventh storm-related storm fatality was reported in Rolla, an 80-year-old woman succumbing to the injury she received in Friday's twister. We're told at least 25 homes were damaged in Phelps County, Missouri alone. In northwest Arkansas, a similar site, where at least a dozen buildings were either destroyed or seriously damaged in Friday's pre- dawn tornado. All three of the storm deaths reported statewide were here in rural Washington County. It looks to be much calmer in the heartland today, but the East and West Coast could see more stormy weather. Reynolds Wolf, you're telling me it's not just California that's getting slammed?
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] It looks like California is going to get the brunt of it. You know, it's kind of one of those hit or miss kind of things. California is finally you know, they had a couple of days a bit of a respite. But, today, it's going to back to the rain, the sleet and the snow. But the rest of the country does appear it's going to get a little bit of a break especially parts of Southeast. So, we do have some good news. But for our friends out the west, get the rain gear ready, it's coming. You've got some scattered showers mainly in the San Francisco Bay area, over to Sacramento also, and you'll notice the areas that we have shaded in look at the orange and yellows, that's where you have the heaviest precipitation this time. So, in San Francisco proper, right along parts of the I-5 corridor, if you're tuning in from Freemont and maybe over towards Stockton, the rain is going to be coming down, everything coming directly from the south all the way to the north, all due to that area of low pressure that is right of the coast. But I'll tell you, with the low off of the coast and the rain in the valley, you're going to have something different in the mountains, you could have anywhere from one to three feet of snow, some gusts could be stronger, anywhere from 25 to 35 miles an hour, maybe something topping 40 later in the day. You could have some tough travel especially in parts of I-5, hitting the grapevine going into the L.A. basin. Meanwhile, the rest of your forecast looks pretty good for some parts of the nation, especially here in central Texas. Austin is going to be fine. Along I-35, southward into San Antonio, basically the same deal, highs into the 50s. And St. Louis, 36 degrees, the mix of sunshine and clouds; 41 in Denver. Out west, I mentioned the rain, you're going to have it in L.A. with 55 degrees; 30 in Boise, with the mix of sunshine and clouds; 16 in Minneapolis; 46 in New York; and 51 in Atlanta. You might have some delays in New York later this afternoon. But it looks like your best chance of delays it's going to be out to the west. San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, all due to the rain anywhere from 30 minutes to a full hour. And in Reno, the snow could keep you grounded from about 30 to 60 minutes. So, enjoy that time on the tarmac but hopefully, the terminal. A little bit easier than sitting in the airplane, nothing more frustrating than just sitting there and just waiting, waiting, waiting, and waiting as they deice.
[Johns:] You got that right. Seven hours, 12 hours that's a crazy stuff we've been hearing about.
[Wolf:] I think it's nuts. Absolutely.
[Johns:] Yes. Of course, we're supposed to have the Passengers Bill of Rights.
[Wolf:] There you go.
[Johns:] That's what they say. All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
[Wolf:] You bet.
[Johns:] Security is tighter today at Egyptian places of worship following an apparent suicide bombing at a church in Alexandria that killed 21 people. Seventy-nine others were wounded in that attack, including four police officers posted outside the church to protect the Christians worshipping inside. Forensic testing confirmed that the explosive device was homemade and contained nails and ball bearings. Officials believed the bomber was killed in the blast. Brazil's first female president begins her first full day on the job. Dilma Rousseff was sworn in yesterday amid cheers and tears from supporters. Many have followed her rise from a freedom fighter who was brutally persecuted by the country's military junta in the 1960s. Rousseff says she's committed to honoring women, protecting the most vulnerable and governing for all. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shook hands with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the inauguration ceremony during a time of diplomatic tension. President Obama and Congress are back at it this week, after the holiday break. And it's a new Congress, the challenges facing the president as he tries to push through his agenda, plus Josh Levs with hot new videos you just got to see.
[Josh Levs, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. You know, this is our weekly dessert. We get to pull some of these together and show them to you now. How about this? What happens when you put a camera on the end of a sword? I'm going to show you that. I'm going to show you a pizza acrobat, too, a little girl's brilliant speech and this a video all about snow that has gone viral. We'll be telling you the story behind it, coming right up.

[Richard Quest, Cnn:] Hello, I'm Richard Quest. More QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. This is CNN and, on this network, it is the news that will always come first.
[Quest:] President Obama and his political challenger, Mitt Romney, are gearing up for their first debate ahead of the election. It'll be held tonight, Wednesday, at the University of Denver in Colorado. It is domestic issues that's the focus of the first debate. This will only be the fourth time the two men have actually met face to face. A Syrian opposition group says a series of car bombings has killed dozens of people in Aleppo on Wednesday. Activists say most of the casualties were government troops. State media blame what it calls terrorists for the violence. The apparent targets were a military officers' club and the Chamber of Commerce. NATO says it's greatly concerned over an attack on a Turkish border town. The town's mayor says at least five people were killed when a shell fired from Syria struck a house. Ten others were wounded. It's not clear what military force or group is responsible. Iranians are protesting outside the country's biggest bank as their country currency plunges. Demonstrators clashed with the riot police at a bazaar in central Tehran, where several exchange bureaus are located. Iran's currency has lost more than a third of its value in the past week or so. Nigerian troops are hunting for the people who carried out a massacre at a student dormitory near a university in the northeast on Tuesday. The attackers killed at least 25 people using guns and knives. Ethnic tensions related to a recent student election may provide some clues as to the motives for the attack. Barack Obama has only met Mitt Romney three times before. Tonight when they debate it'll be the fourth meeting. Our next guest knows just how good a debater he is. Shannon O'Brien ran unsuccessfully against Mitt Romney in the race to be governor of Massachusetts in 2002. Shannon O'Brien joins me now live from Boston. Wonderful to have you with us, to give us some insight. What would be well, first of all, have you been asked to give the president or anybody any tips on how to handle a Romney debate?
[Shannon O'brien, Former Massachusetts State Treasurer:] No, I haven't been asked to give any advice to the president. But I certainly have had a lot of experience. I had about five debates with Mitt Romney, several of them one-on-one. And I think I'm the last person who's had a one-on-one debate with Governor Romney almost 10 years ago.
[Quest:] So and I love a debate. I was I did debating in college and so on. I know it's a different type of a debate rather than a this house believes type of debate. But when what is the sort of what's his stock in trade? What with Romney? What does he do?
[O'brien:] Well, the most important thing for Mitt Romney and I think folks all around the world have seen some of his gaffes, whether it was when he went to the London Olympics or recently in the United States, where he made, you know, these off-the-cuff remarks about betting $10,000 with one of his Republican opponents. When Mitt Romney is sort of freeforming, he can make mistakes. And so this is the most important debate of the campaign. It's probably the most important point in the campaign as to whether or not he can come back and possibly beat President Obama. So he will leave nothing to chance. He's practicing and practicing. He will be well prepared for tonight.
[Quest:] So what does Obama have to do and what did you do that got him to freeform, that got him off the script? Do you needle him? Do you attack him? Do you belittle him? What's the technique?
[O'brien:] Well, in my first and I think in my situation was very different, Richard. I came across very aggressively in the first two debates, and ultimately I think that was not a good thing for me as a candidate. But what I think President Obama has to do to keep him, you know, off- kilter is to make sure that he continues to focus on the fact that it is President Obama who will support the middle class, will support the majority of Americans and who has the right plan. Mitt Romney has been all over issues. You know, they won't tell us what his tax plan is. That's a secret. He won't really come clean about whether or not he really will support tax deductions that are very important to the middle class. So I think that Obama can keep him off his feet by focusing on the different positions that Mitt Romney has taken over the course of this campaign and over the 10-15 years he's been running for office.
[Quest:] I heard one comment about Mitt Romney from somebody who knew him well, talking about the London Olympics gaffe that he made. And actually, what this person said, is, no, that answer was classic Romney. Romney is a consultant from Bain Capital and therefore he will give an honest albeit unpolitic [sic] answer because that's the way he's built. He thinks like a consultant.
[O'brien:] Yes, and the problem is he has made so many he has so many positions in his head that aren't really coming from his heart, that that's what makes it so hard for him to be genuine. It's why the numbers have shown in the polls that he's really not very popular with voters. And it's why in this difficult economy in the United States that President Obama is doing so well. Romney
[Quest:] Whoa, whoa, whoa
[O'brien:] because when he wants to tell the truth, he can't tell the truth. It's not popular.
[Quest:] Finally, when all is said and done, no president I mean you know the statistics 8 percent unemployment; it's a very it's a serious uphill struggle. Surely, really all Mitt Romney has to do or one of the things he has to do with the president would find it very difficult to rebut is simply say, "You failed."
[O'brien:] And the fact is President Obama has helped create he came into office during one of the most difficult times in our country's economic history. We have 5 million new jobs. The stock market is up. People are feeling more confident. We're not where we need to be. But he has made progress. And Romney would take us back to the policies that got us in this mess in the first place. That's ultimately where the president goes and ultimately I think the argument that's going to win the presidential election.
[Quest:] Shannon, would you like one more chance to debate him, if you had the chance? Would you like a rematch against Romney?
[O'brien:] I don't know if I'd like a rematch. But I just hope that President Obama, who I'm a Democrat; I hope President Obama does well tonight. But Romney's been practicing. He's going to be a tough opponent. This is going to be the debate of his life. I think all of America will be watching and it'll be exciting.
[Quest:] [Inaudible] America watching, we'll all be watching. Thanks very much, Shannon O'Brien; joining me from the U.S. And of course, [inaudible], I mean, we make no bones about it. Shannon O'Brien was, of course, a Democrat and, well, she doesn't wish Mitt Romney personally ill, she wishes him political massacre tonight, I suspect, by President Obama, at least in the world of politics. CNN's your destination for full coverage of all the debates. We're live in Colorado for tonight's first head-to-head battle between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. It is a debate and stay with us and watch it live starting early Thursday at 1:00 in the morning 1:00 in the morning; we'll all be up late 4:00 am in Abu Dhabi, 8:00 pm in Hong Kong. If you miss that, then we'll be replayed, four replays throughout the times right here on your screen, and we'll probably need an abacus to work out what time it is where you are. In a moment, the breakfast revolution and the battle to ban the bland breakfast [inaudible]. And not a moment before time.

[Kaye:] Welcome back, 10 minutes past the hour. All morning we have been talking about murder in America. Crime trends and now the latest technologies that could free thousands of wrongly convicted felons. This week the FBI and Justice Department announced it will review criminal cases dating back to 1985. In all cases the guilty verdicts were based on forensic methods that no longer stand up to scientific scrutiny. The Justice Department did not estimate how long it will take to get through, but even with the frantic breakthroughs and technological advances, there are still countless gruesome murders that have never been solved, cases like Princess Doe. In 1982 her body was discovered beaten beyond recognition in a cemetery in a rural farm town of Blairstown, New Jersey. This is a sketch of what investigators believe she may have looked like. Police determined she was between the ages of 14 and 18, but that's really all they know. In 30 years they've never discovered her identity, background or who might have killed her. Joining me now is Lieutenant Stephen Speirs, the lead investigator on this case, and Christie Napurano, author of "The Untold Story of Princess Doe." Good morning to both of you.
[Christie Napurano, Author, Untold Story Of Princess Doe:] Good morning.
[Kaye:] Now, I know you have something new, never-before-seen information that you hope will crack the case and you're going to share that with us, lieutenant, in just a moment. Let me ask you, lieutenant spears, can you tell us more about the story of Princess Doe?
[Lt. Stephen Speirs, Warren County, New Jersey Prosecutor's Office:] Princess Doe's body was discovered in the cedar ridge cemetery in Blairstown, New Jersey, which is in warren county northern part of New Jersey. At the time she was discovered she was beaten severely. As a result of that her identification has not been something we were able to do. Throughout the years there have been a number of investigators involved in this case. I took the case in 1999. And my focus then and continues to be trying to identify Princess Doe. And we are trying to do that now that we are armed with a DNA profile of Princess Doe.
[Kaye:] One of the first things you actually did back in 199 was have the body exhumed. Why was that? What were you looking for?
[Speirs:] At the time I needed a reference sample from the victim. And speaking with experts in 1999, they indicated to me I need a femur bone or long bone from Princess Doe at the time. Of course she was interned at the Cedar Ridge cemetery. So I had to exhume her body in order to retrieve that femur born.
[Kaye:] And, Christie, you were born in 1982 shortly before Princess Doe was found. What drew you to this case?
[Napurano:] I think what drew me most to the case was the fact it happened in my hometown.
[Kaye:] And then you've had unprecedented access to the case files and inspired you to write this book about her life. Why write the book?
[Napurano:] The reason I wrote the book was twofold actually. The first was because I felt that just like everyone else, Princess Doe deserved a life. She deserved a name. She deserved an identity. And the second reason was because I hope that this book will help raise awareness on the case and finally, figure out who she is.
[Kaye:] Lieutenant, have there been any key suspects over the years? I mean, anyone that you've looked seriously at? And is there a person of interest at all at this point?
[Speirs:] Throughout the case even prior to me being assigned the case there were persons of interest. There were several persons of interests developed since I've had the case. The unfortunate thing is we do not have any physical evidence at this point to connect any of those persons of interest to the case. And quite honestly, without the identity of Princess Doe, it's quite difficult to connect the dots, so to speak, with any persons of interest. So we need to identify her.
[Kaye:] And still no leads in finding Princess Doe's identity. But after your research, Christie, do you have theories of your own about who she might be or what happened to her?
[Napurano:] I do have several theories. Just from doing the research, I think that what's what I wrote in my book, that's what my theory is.
[Kaye:] Do you want to share that theory with us?
[Napurano:] Yes. My book follows the life of a girl who was from long island. And she just had a family tragedy and fell in with the wrong people, which ultimately led to her demise.
[Kaye:] All right, certainly a lot of theories out there trying to get this case solved. Thank you very much. Princess Doe has been nameless for decades, as we said, but thanks to the latest techniques and forensic science, investigators now have new information that may just help finally close this case. We're going to show you some images of what Princess Doe looked like before her death. They've never been seen before, and we have them first right here on CNN. And Detective Speirs will be back with us right after this.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Instead of keeping the peace, the U.S. Army soldier accused of going on a deadly house-to-house shooting rampage in Afghanistan. Afghans are outraged, so is President Obama. And many now worry about retaliation. Here at home, a better jobs picture and improving economy. Now what for GOP rhetoric on the campaign trail? And the people juggernaut film "Kony 2012" join me to talk success, strategy and criticism, even for the people they say they're trying to help. That and more ahead in the next two hours here on CNN.
[Lemon:] Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us. We're going to begin with the alleged murder of 16 Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier accused of acting as a one-man death squad. Afghan officials say the shooting spree took place in two villages in Kandahar province in the district known as the birth place of the Taliban. Sara Sidner joins us with the latest on this story. Sara, what do we know right now?
[Sara Sidner, Cnn Correspondent:] President Hamid Karzai has released a statement saying 16 people have killed, that includes nine children, three women, and four Afghan men. He's called this a deplorable act, saying that it's an act of terrorism that is absolutely unforgivable, and he is has been talking about what has to be done going forward. Now, there is a full investigation going on, as you might imagine, from NATO officials as well as Afghan officials, both looking into this incident. What we're hearing from the international security assistance forces officials, they're saying that there's one soldier, an Army staff sergeant who acted alone, who went off base around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, went out to the villages and opened fire on civilians and then came back and turned himself in. They are saying this is absolutely only one person involved in this, and though we've been hearing from also Afghan officials on the ground there saying questioning that, wondering if there are more soldiers on the ground. Some of the witnesses saying they saw more soldiers on the ground. What we do know is that there are five people who are wounded that are being taken care of at coalition medical facilities in that area, but this is certainly a situation that has caused fear that there will be some sort of violent reprisals. This comes on the heels just last month of U.S. troops burning the Koran mistakenly. But that created a lot of pressure on U.S. forces here because it exploded in protests that turned violent and ended up killing U.S. service members as well, Don.
[Lemon:] Yes. And, Sara, you said there were other soldiers on the ground it is believed, but was there any indication that any other operations were going on in this area?
[Sidner:] Well, ISAF was saying there was absolutely no official operation going on in the area, that this was not a part of any kind of operation that had been set forth. This again, an individual had done this on his own accord and then turned himself in and now the Army staff sergeant is in detention and is being questioned in all of this. And so, they've disputed the claim by the Taliban who on its official Web site has said that this was a part of a raid by U.S. forces. ISAF saying, no, this was just an individual acting on his own. There's got to be an investigation into how this individual was able to leave what normally are extremely secure bases where you just can't go in and out without somebody seeing you. But at this point, they're looking into all those aspects. There's a lot of concern, Don, as you might imagine, that this is going to really make things difficult for foreign forces that are here in Afghanistan. This has very, very bad timing. If you ask anybody on the ground here, they say the timing couldn't be worse. And there will certainly be more pressure to move U.S. coalition forces out of this country sooner than later Don.
[Lemon:] Sara Sidner, as you said, it comes not long after that accidental burning of the Koran. Sara Sidner joining us from Afghanistan thank you very much for that, Sara. President Barack Obama called the incident tragic and shocking. He offered condolences to the victims' loved ones and said it doesn't represent the character of the U.S. military. And, of course, it probably isn't enough for most Afghans. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins me now by phone from Washington. So, Barbara, how is the Pentagon handling this tragedy coming so shortly after that Koran incident?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, you know, Don, I have to tell you, you know, I don't think it would surprise anybody. The official word is that this will not deter the mission, sad and criminal as it is. But behind the scenes, you can hear the slumped shoulders in the voices of the military officials I've spoken to throughout the day. They are this is just a punch to the gut for them. They are both angry and furious that anybody in a U.S. military uniform could have done this, and they are absolutely heartsick. It does come right after the Koran burning incident. They felt they were barely getting past that and now this. It just really couldn't be more disconcerting at this point. They're trying to take a very moderate attitude in public, not say anything that could incite any violence, but they are deeply, deeply upset about this, Don.
[Lemon:] I have to ask you this before I ask you about this particular individual who, you know, they said turned himself in for this. What about the push for peace with the Taliban? How will it impact, if at all, that?
[Starr:] Well, you know, what people have always said about those discussions with the Taliban is I think it was Defense Secretary Robert Gates who said all wars end by negotiating with your enemy, don't they? There's generally always some sort of political settlement. But, look, if the Taliban perceives vulnerability on the part of the U.S., on the part of NATO, and they get the sense they just have to wait it out a little bit longer before the U.S. packs up and goes, before NATO packs up and goes, it could add a lot of problems to those talks with the Taliban. It sort of takes away their incentive to talk. And especially the top two, the Karzai government, it just adds to the mix of how difficult this all is right now.
[Lemon:] Absolutely. Let's talk about the soldier accused of this rampage. Do we know anything more about him?
[Starr:] We are told, Don, that he is a U.S. arm staff sergeant. That his unit has been serving in this area called Panjwai, which is a district in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. It is a place where here's certainly has been a good deal of combat over the years. We don't know how long he's been there. Of course, U.S. troops generally serve a one-year tour nowadays. He is not, we are adamantly told, he is not Special Forces, not Special Operations Forces but rather belongs to what you would think of as the conventional Army unit.
[Lemon:] And they're not giving a name?
[Starr:] We do not have a name yet. It's certainly known to the Army and the Pentagon. They're not releasing it.
[Lemon:] Barbara Starr reporting Barbara, thank you very much. We're going to continue to follow this developing story here, the alleged murder of innocent Afghans is far worse than other missteps by U.S. forces. But it's not the only mistake as we have been talking about. The U.S.Afghan relationship was already under stress, severe stress from the recent controversy over the burning of Koran. Afghans were enraged by the desecration of Islam's holy book. Riots left dozens dead, including six U.S. troops when there was this first incident first incident. And we must warn you that the video is graphic. Pictures posted on YouTube showing what appears to be a group of marines urinating on several bodies. Remember that happened? These pictures infuriated many Afghans. The video only added to many Afghan civilians' loathing of the U.S. military. These incidents make the mission to win hearts and minds even more difficult. Now, the alleged massacre in Kandahar province, in a district no less considered the birthplace of the Taliban. More news now overseas. We go to Syria where a U.N. special enjoy Kofi Annan and Syria's president, Bashar al Assad, met for a second time today in attempts to bring peace to the troubled nation. Opposition groups reported that violent attacks had killed another 32 people in cities across the country. But Annan remains hopeful that a peace deal can be reached. CNN's Arwa Damon has more now.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] At the end of Kofi Annan's two-day trip to Damascus, after meeting twice with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, there is no deal, just a series of proposals meant to bring about a ceasefire, the release of detainees and unhindered humanitarian access, food and much-needed medical supplies in the hardest hit parts of the country. Mr. Annan saying that if these proposal proposals were in fact agreed to, they would lead to some significant change on the ground.
[Kofi Annan, U.n. Arab League Envoy:] It's going to be tough, it's going to be difficult, but we have to have hope. I am optimistic. I'm optimistic for several lessons. First of all, I have been here for a very short period. Almost every Syrian I have met wants peace. They want the violence to stop. They want to move on with their lives.
[Damon:] Of course, the big question is how to put together a real plan to establish that peace. The Syrian government continues to say that it is targeting these terrorist-armed gangs. It says that it will not give that up and that it blames them for the violence in the country. And the opposition for its part says it will not even entertain the notion of sitting down at the negotiating table until the violence ends. The violence seeming now to be centering on a province of Idlib where activists are saying there was an intense shelling of he province's capital, the city of Idlib. And in the town of Binish, not far from the border with Turkey, residents were saying that they received a phone call from a Syrian general telling them to hand over members of the Free Syrian Army, hand over their weapons, or else face intense bombardment. Arwa Damon, CNN, Beirut.
[Lemon:] All right, Arwa. And a programming note for you join us tonight as Arwa Damon and her team, they're going to will give us an eye-opening tour of the besieged city of Homs, one of the most dangerous places in Syria right now. It is a CNN special. It's called "72 Hours Under Fire." That's tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN. And next, we're going to discuss three provocative topics, money, politics, and Sarah Palin. L.Z. and Will are going to join me live. Plus, U.S. vets and mental health. More and more veterans are coming home from war zones needing special attention. Straight ahead, we'll profile a former soldier's efforts to get the help he needs.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. The White House may consider changing a controversial contraception plan. At issue is a rule that would require employers to offer free birth control in their health care plans and that includes Catholic universities and charities. And it's been prompted debate about religious freedom. We'll start this morning with Democratic Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal who supports the plan. Morning, sir. Nice to talk to you. Thank you for talking with us.
[Sen. Richard Blumenthal, , Connecticut:] Thank you.
[O'brien:] There was some confusion yesterday, when you saw David Axelrod talking about the desire to, quote, "respect the prerogatives of religious institutions." That sent a lot of people into a dizzy. They thought the White House is now backing away from this. The White House tried to clear up the confusion, saying that the president wanted to find, quote, "appropriate balance between religious beliefs and convictions." What does this all mean? Where does this stand this morning?
[Blumenthal:] Where it stands is the essential principle is that the costs of birth control really should be covered. It's about $500 a year for every individual woman. Because it respects the rights and opportunities for women to make basic choices. And that rule was recommended by the Institute of Medicine, an unbiased scientific group, as a matter of health policy. Politicians and politics should, in effect, not be interfering with those rights and with good health policies. So 28 states respect that rule. They have respectful, balanced laws that require coverage for birth control. And the effort now to take away that right or revoke it or restrain it is simply unfounded. I'm hoping that the administration will stick to the rule.
[O'brien:] I know you know that religious institutions have said politics should stay out of our business. Politics should restrict that so that we are exempted from this rule because it goes against what we believe. Archbishop Timothy Dolan said it's un-American. The Boston archdiocese is talking about dropping health care coverage for employees. Was this impact of this decision not foreseen, that Catholic organizations would come out against it very strongly?
[Blumenthal:] The rule does exempt
[O'brien:] Narrowly.
[Blumenthal:] all churches, 335,000 churches.
[O'brien:] Yes, churches, not universities and the institutions that are run by those churches. Those are not exempt.
[Blumenthal:] And individuals who are employed or students who go to those institutions can make those individual choices based on their religious convictions or conscience or other principles. Those individual decisions are to be respected. And, remember, that the institutions are not required to provide services, only coverage for services that individuals can make a decision to use or not use. And we're talking about basic health policy, good, preventive health care recommended by the Institute of Medicine because it is cost effective.
[O'brien:] Does it become a political issue? When you look at the map of sort of the states where there are not those 28 states that you talked about. Those are states that are the swing states. And those are the states that are in white where the provision has not been passed. So do you worry about that as a political issue?
[Blumenthal:] The main point is that politics has no role, should have no role in health care policy. And the outpouring overwhelming across the country when the Susan Komen Foundation for the Cure decided to ban grants to Planned Parenthood I think shows that people generally feel that politics should not be interfering in those individual choices. Remember, 99 percent of all women use birth control at some point in their lives. The polls show that people generally think these decisions ought to be made by individuals as a matter of their own conscience and religious convictions. This rule basically strikes a respectful balance. The effort, ideological base to take away that right I think is really unfounded.
[O'brien:] Senator Blumenthal, I thank you for your time. We'll get right to Senator John Hoeven who is a Republican from North Dakota. Nice to see you. You just heard what the other Senator said. What do you think of his position?
[Sen. John Hoeven, , North Dakota:] Look, our country has been founded on the principle of religious freedom. This decision goes counter to that founding principle. And in essence, religious organizations and their affiliates now have to provide services through their health insurance program that go against their moral beliefs.
[O'brien:] Provide options, right? They're providing the option. If the person decides they don't want to have birth control pills, they certainly don't have to purchase them, but in terms of insurance, they have to provide the option.
[Hoeven:] Under the Obama health care plan, they're required to provide insurance that includes things like contraceptives, sterilization, things that go against the teachings and the beliefs, the value system of that religious organization. And they're required to provide that through their affiliates, whether it's a school or a hospital.
[O'brien:] They're required to provide the option for it. The person who has the insurance could decide if they actually wanted to go ahead and get the service or not. But let me ask you a question about this poll. I know you've seen this. Senator Blumenthal talked about 99 percent of women in their lives who are sexually active have used contraceptives. That number in the high 80s for Catholic women. 55 percent of Americans agree, in this poll, employers should be required to cover contraception plans. Contraception is really expensive. It's like 600 bucks a year. 58 percent, so higher than overall-Americans, 58 percent of Catholics agree. Isn't the issue really between Catholics who want to use contraception, in a way, the employer should stay out of it and offer the choice?
[Hoeven:] It's not just Catholics, it's any religion. It's requiring any organization to provide services that violate their belief system. Look, our Constitution, our whole system of government provides for freedom of religion. This is a clear infringement. And this is an example of what we're going to get with government-run health care. It's not just the Catholic Church that's pushing back. You will see it you see it already on a broad basis across the country. This is it's the wrong approach. And I think you're going to see a very, very strong push back until the administration does do the right thing and reverse it. Matter of fact, myself and others have legislation to do just that.
[O'brien:] Senator John Hoeven joining us. He's a Republican from North Dakota. It's nice to have you, sir. We appreciate your time this morning.
[Hoeven:] Thank you, Soledad.
[O'brien:] Thank you. Ahead, Santorum sweeps, but what about Gingrich? Can he stay in the race until the convention as he's been promising? We're going to talk to someone from his campaign at the top of the hour. Plus, the first lady is on Jimmy Fallon.

[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] College students pepper sprayed at a school board meeting. Some of them were hospitalized. They say they didn't get a warning that the pepper spray was coming. Were they an angry mob or did the cops overreact big time? An investigation is now under way.
[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] The Augusta National Golf Club still just for men this morning as the Masters tournament gets under way at least officially just for men. Traditionally sponsored CEOs have been giving memberships to Augusta National, but the sponsor IBM's new CEO is a woman, Virginia Rometty. So, will she be the club's gender barrier and will it finally be broken?
[Sambolin:] Conflicting stories still emerging about the night Trayvon Martin died and the racially charged shooting continues to spark harsh words and a lot of protest. Trayvon Martin's parents were among the many people who gathered in Miami to mark the 44th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination as well as to remember the death of the unarmed Florida teen.
[Banfield:] In the meantime, George Zimmerman's father is defending his son's actions in a prime time television interview. And Zimmerman's attorneys also spoke with CNN's Piers Morgan where things got pretty tense. Alina Cho is here now with all of the developments and they just come day by day, don't they?
[Alina Cho, Cnn Correspondent:] They most certainly do and a lot of people have spoken. A lot of sort of key players in this case in the past 24 hours. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. You know, the father of George Zimmerman and his lawyers are speaking out, as Ashleigh and Zoraida just said. So, what happened on the night in question, the night of February 26th inside that gated community in Sanford, Florida? The night, of course, that Trayvon Martin was shot and killed? We do know that George Zimmerman called 911 after seeing someone he thought was suspicious. The operator told Zimmerman he did not need to follow the unarmed teen. So in an interview with Fox's Sean Hannity, Zimmerman's father, Robert, who spoke in silhouette, said that's when his son started walking back to his car.
[Robert Zimmerman, George Zimmerman's Father:] Trayvon came from his left side, asked him, did he have a did he have a problem. George said no. At that point, Trayvon said, well, you do now. He punched him in the nose, knocked him to the concrete and started beating him. George was there, yelling for help for at least 40 seconds. It's clearly him on the tape. There's absolutely no doubt about who it is.
[Cho:] All right, so, that tape that Robert Zimmerman is referring to is a 911 call made by a neighbor. On it, you can hear someone yelling, but nobody has been able to determine for sure whether the person yelling was Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman. Meanwhile, Martin's family attorney, Benjamin Krump, told our Piers Morgan that he had a different take of what happened. Watch.
[Piers Morgan, Host, Cnn's "piers Morgan Tonight":] Could it be that he did attack, jump on George Zimmerman?
[Benjamin Crump, Attorney For Trayvon Martin's Family:] Well, I don't think we could say attacked. We could say he defended himself, because Trayvon Martin had every right to defend himself against George Zimmerman, who approached him. And think about it. George Zimmerman didn't have a badge or anything official. He had on a sweatshirt and some jeans. We've all seen the video now. So, we believe Trayvon Martin went to his death not knowing who this strange man was that was approaching him.
[Banfield:] In the meantime, Alina, George Zimmerman has a new lawyer and his legal adviser now, as well as that lawyer, are doing their best to get that side of the story out on
[Tv. Cho:] That's right. And some harsh words again, Zimmerman's lawyer accusing civil rights leaders Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton of race baiting, saying that everything changed once they came to Sanford, Florida. Watch what they say.
[Hal Uhrig, George Zimmerman's Attorney:] On the morning of February 26th, we had a peaceful town where everybody sat together in multi-racial congregations. They stood in line in the grocery store. And we didn't have a seething town of civil unrest because of race relations. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton brought that to town. They turned this into a racial event when it never ever was one. Once all the evidence is out and you understand how the law works and what the facts are, this is a pretty clear case.
[Cho:] And some reporting from the "Miami Herald" this morning really got our attention. They are reporting that a white separatist group plans to conduct patrols in Sanford now to ensure that, quote, "white citizens will be safe from racial violence." The group says that that is meant to counter threats from the new Black Panther party that has offered a $10,000 bounty for George Zimmerman's capture.
[Sambolin:] And Alina, I know earlier you had an enhanced version, yet another, of the 911 tape.
[Cho:] You know, we've called on a couple of experts and decided to go in house again. So we actually spoke to one of our senior audio engineers right here at CNN. His name is Brian Stone, expert in this field. He enhanced the audio, using a plug in that really cleans up the ambient sound you hear in the background. We want you to listen again as we play that controversial portion of the 911 call. Watch.
[Zimmerman:] Let go! Let go!
[Cho:] It's so hard to decipher what's being said. It is widely believed that the very first word you hear is the "f" word. What is unclear is what the second word is. Now some people believe that Zimmerman used a racial slur. Another audio expert we spoke to earlier in the week suggested he was saying f-ing clothes. But our CNN audio engineer believes that Zimmerman was saying f'ing cold. Now that is important because it was unseasonably cold and rainy on the night that Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida. It was in the low 50s. It was raining, which is why it has been widely reportedly that Trayvon Martin wearing a hoodie, of course, to stay dry. So Again, there is yet another version of what we believe was said on that call. It's all so hard to hear, quite frankly.
[Banfield:] Jeffrey Toobin may have said this best on CNN last night. This just speaks to the issue of not jumping ahead of the facts and letting investigators do their work before every analyst in the books jumps on television and says this is what was said.
[Cho:] I think it's important. That was the one takeaway that I took from Zimmerman's lawyers, when he spoke when they spoke out saying, listen, this case has already been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. And I'm not going to feed into that. Let's not rush to judgment. Let's wait for the facts. I will try this case, if it goes to trial. I think that's an important point. You're right, Critical.
[Banfield:] Alina, thanks.
[Cho:] You bet.
[Banfield:] It's great work. Thank you. And we also have some new details for you this morning about final hours of Whitney Houston's life. So much has been talked about, about the singer's death. The L.A. coroner's office is finally releasing the full autopsy report. Saying that the singer drowned, face down, in a tub of hot water that was only about a foot deep. Detectives found a white powdery substance and a spoon and other drug paraphernalia in her hotel room in the Beverly Hills Hotel. The report does not identify the powder as cocaine, but the drug was found in her system.
[Sambolin:] It's 7 minutes past the hour. Former Penn State Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky is due in court in a few hours. Sandusky faces 52 counts for sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period. He's pleaded not guilty and is currently on house arrest while out on bail. Sandusky's attorney, Joe Amandola, is asking the court to dismiss many of the charges. CNN's Jason Carroll is live in Pennsylvania, where the hearing will take place today. How likely is that to happen, Jason?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, I think a lot of legal analysts, who are at looking at this case would say, would agree, extremely unlikely. Basically what's happening during these pre-trial motions, Zoraida, it's really the opportunity for both sides to legally say what they need to say or forever hold your speak hold your peace, so to speak. So this is basically an opportunity for Joe Amandola, Jerry Sandusky's attorney to get everything out there. But basically what he's trying to say is that seven of the accusers he says that the information and the evidence that's been provided by the commonwealth, by the prosecution is not specific enough in terms of when the allegations of abuse happened, where it happened. So, he says with regards to those seven accusers, he says the charges should be thrown out. As you say, there are ten accusers here. He says with the other three, Joe Amandola says the evidence that has been provided is not specific enough, so he says those charges should be thrown out as well. Essentially he's asking for all the charges to be thrown out. For the prosecution's point of view, they say they have provided enough information and that this is still an ongoing investigation and that if there is more evidence, more information to be presented that will, in fact, be turned over in a timely manner. In all likelihood, what will happen, Zoraida, is that the judge will look at what the argument is and rule at a later point. The trial, as you know, is expected to get under way at least scheduled to get under June 5th.
[Sambolin:] Jason, also in the past we heard from Jerry Sandusky, at least outside of court. Do you think we'll hear from him again?
[Carroll:] Well, you know, we do know that Jerry Sandusky is expected in court today, his wife, Dottie, expected to be at his side and at least one of his sons as well. You remember during one of the earlier proceedings when Joe Amandola came outside this courthouse, followed by Jerry Sandusky, who proclaimed his innocence. We don't know at this point if Jerry Sandusky will speak outside the courthouse late on today, but I am told that Joe Amandola, will, in fact, speak later on this afternoon.
[Banfield:] All right, Jason Carroll live for us. Thank you very much. As angry as people are about that story, there's good point that is lawyer brings up. Believe it or not, according to the law, there's very good points that Jerry Sandusky's lawyer makes, in terms of statute of limitations, who these victims are?
[Sambolin:] So do you think he'll win some of this today?
[Banfield:] You know, look, I thought O.J. would be convicted and I thought Casey Anthony would be convicted just because of the arguments and evidence in court. I was wrong in those. You never know what a jury is going to do. When it comes to the judge who follows the law, there could be grounds on which this judge actually does toss out those charges. They don't have several of the victims. Pinpointing exactly what happened and exactly the date that it happened the date is critical, right? You got a statute of limitations. You got to know when it happened. So there are some issues there. I think it will be fascinating today.
[Sambolin:] That's just me getting all
[Banfield:] Geeked up. Here is another thing. Is it geeky for women to watch golf?
[Sambolin:] No.
[Banfield:] Well, the world's best golfers are preparing to tee off at the Masters today. It's the home course and it's finding itself in the rough. Pressure building on Augusta National again to change its long-standing membership policy that excludes women like Zoraida and me because we're women. But IBM is one of the tournament's chief sponsors and traditionally the CEOs of the chief sponsors have been granted a membership to Augusta. Now that's a woman. IBM's CEO is a woman named Virginia Romett. So everyone wants to know if she will be the first female to wear the iconic green jacket. The club chairman, not saying so. Have a listen.
[Bill Payne, Chairman, Augusta National Golf Club:] Well, as has been the case, Mike, whenever that question is asked, all issues of membership are now and have been historically subject to the private deliberations of the members and that statement remains accurate and remains my statement.
[Christine Brennnan, "usa Today" Sports Columnist:] Why wouldn't if you're Augusta National, all those guys, why wouldn't you want the CEO of IBM be a member of your club? That's the dilemma for them. More and more women in the next 10, 20 years, will become CEOs and these guys want to keep this un-equated views and ways. It's going to less than the value of the membership of their club if they keep this going.
[Banfield:] Augusta National's men only policy has been in effect since it opened in 1933.
[Sambolin:] And coming up at 8:10 Eastern on "STARTING POINT," Soledad talks with former LBGA great, Hollis Stacy.
[Banfield:] It's 12 minutes now past 6:00. Still ahead on EARLY START, the campus cops are taking some heat. Questions over whether pepper spraying students at a protest, was unnecessary?
[Sambolin:] And no, they didn't move Old Faithful to Washington. So what's behind this gusher at the White House? You're watching EARLY START.

[Rajpal:] A warm welcome to our viewers across Europe and around the world. Hello, I'm Monita Rajpal and these are the latest world headlines from CNN. The United Nations and Arab League's new special envoy to Syria is soon to address the UN's General Assembly. Algerian diplomat Lakhtar Brahimi was appointed to the role last month following the resignation of Kofi Annan. A record number of Syrians have fled the fighting. More than 100,000 refugees crossed the country's borders in August, almost doubling the number of Syrians seeking shelter in neighboring countries. A suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan has killed at least 25 people and wounded 50 more. The blast occurred during the funeral of a local elder. A district chief was among the wounded. No one has claimed responsibility. A fresh perspective on the US presidential race. A new CNNORC poll says Mitt Romney only got a slight bounce after the Republican National Convention last week. The one percent boost puts him in a dead heat with President Barack Obama, both pulling 48 percent of the voters. Well, let's break down the numbers in that poll in that new poll. Isha Sesay joins us again live from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Isha.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn International Correspondent:] Hi, there, Monita. Yes, thank you. And I'm pleased to say I'm joined by Paul Steinhauser, CNN's Political Editor, to take a closer look at this CNNORC poll. Always good to have you with us, Paul. I want to start with the main talking point out of all of this, this issue of the bounce or the lack thereof that Romney got after their convention. Give me some perspective on the numbers.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] Well, let's take a look at them right away. And remember, our poll, CNNORC National Poll, was conducted Friday through Monday, through yesterday, entirely after the Republican Convention. Take a look at the numbers among likely voters. It was 49 percent President Obama, 47 percent Mitt Romney last week before the convention started. Now it is an actual tie, 48 percent, 48 percent. Did Mitt Romney get a bounce? Not really, just one point, there, really is not a bounce. But you know what? You look back over the last couple of cycles in the last 10, 12 years, there has not been much bounces. Those bounces of yesterday, of many years ago, really don't happen anymore.
[Sesay:] Why is that?
[Steinhauser:] There's so many reasons, including these conventions are now back-to-back and they're kind of just right on top of each other.
[Sesay:] All right. I want to move onto another question posed to likely voters. Did the Republican Convention change perceptions of Romney? Give us your take on those numbers as they came out.
[Steinhauser:] And this is maybe the more interesting number, because Republican officials told us last week they didn't the horse race numbers would change, but they wanted Mitt Romney's favorable rating among Americans to go up. Did it? Our poll indicates it did go up a little bit. Back last week, Mitt Romney's favorable rating was 50 percent, his unfavorable was 46 percent. Now, it's 53 favorable, 43 unfavorable. So, he's a little more likeable, it seems, in the eyes or the minds of Americans. And I guess for the Romney campaign, they will say that's a victory.
[Sesay:] Yes, but it's such a again, within the margin of error
[Steinhauser:] Exactly.
[Sesay:] when you look at those numbers. And the goal of the convention, one of them was to make him connect with American viewers. So, the fact that you get such a statistic statistician, to get the word out, would say paltry increase, was it really a failure?
[Steinhauser:] I think the Romney campaign would say no, it's not a failure. In fact, they will point to some numbers on leadership and on how he relates to women and middle class, and those numbers did see a bump. He still trails women and middle class to President Obama, but they're happy with it. But one other number, I guess would say it is a failure, and that is, did the Republican Convention make people more or less likely to vote for Mitt Romney? 36 percent saying more likely, 46 percent saying less likely, and 13 percent said made no difference. That's not a great number for Mitt Romney.
[Sesay:] And just before I let you go, any official statements coming out of the Romney campaign since we got these numbers?
[Steinhauser:] Not yet. These numbers are so fresh, they probably haven't even seen them yet.
[Sesay:] They will. I'm sure they will. Paul, thank you for joining us.
[Steinhauser:] Thank you.
[Sesay:] Monita, some important perspective on this CNNORC poll. As Paul said, they are hot off the press. Back to you.
[Rajpal:] All right. Isha, thank you very much for that. You talked about connecting. At these conventions, the role of the conventions is to connect with the electorate, and a lot of the time that falls on the shoulders of the first lady. And the first lady Michelle Obama headlines a list of tonight's speakers at the Democratic Party National Convention, and she'll take on the same roll played by Ann Romney at the Republican Convention last week, seeking to humanize her husband. Here's a reminder of part of her speech.
[Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's Wife:] It's true that Mitt's been successful at each new challenge he's taken on. You know what? It actually amazes me to see his history of success being attacked. Are those really the values that made our country great?
[Crowd:] No!
[Romney:] I can only stand here tonight as a wife and a mother and a grandmother, an American, and make you this solemn commitment. This man will not fail. We're the mothers. We're the wives. We're the grandmothers. We're the big sisters. We're the little sisters, and we are the daughters. You know it's true, don't you? I love you women! I read somewhere that Mitt and I have a storybook marriage. Well, let me tell you something. In the storybooks I read, there never were long, long, rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. And those storybooks never seem to have chapters called "MS" or "Breast Cancer." A storybook marriage? No. Not at all. What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage.
[Rajpal:] Ann Romney, there, speaking at the Republican National Convention last week, and of course, Michelle Obama will be taking the stage a little bit later on tonight or today in the in Charlotte, North Carolina. So, the question is, what's the life of a political life political wife really like, and how do the two candidates' wives each see their roles? I'm now joined by "Newsweek's" senior writer Allison Samuels, author of "What Would Michelle Do?" and Anita McBride, former chief-of- staff to first lady Laura Bush. I'm going to start with you, Anita, thank you very much, again, for being with us. We heard there in Ann Romney's speech, she talked a lot about she used the words "mothers," "wives," "sisters," "grandmothers." In fact, at the inauguration speech for Barack Obama last in 2008, we heard Michelle Obama use the same kind of terms of "wife," "mother," the roles that they play. What is it about the role of a devoted mother and wife that appeals to the American electorate?
[Anita Mcbride, Former Chief Of Staff To Laura Bush:] Well, I think it is such a unique vantage point, of course, for the first lady, which will be Mrs. Obama tonight, making this speech. And then, of course, for Mrs. Romney last week, it's a unique vantage point to talk about this very personal side of life together with the person who's running for the most important position in the land if not the world. So, they they really have an opportunity to share with us from their unique vantage point, really, the character of the person. And it is hard when this is the person you love most in the world, and you know there's a lot of criticism for them out there. You have to persevere, and you have to be positive and connect with people all across the country and let them see this person from through your eyes.
[Rajpal:] Allison, some have described the Michelle Obama that we see on the campaign trail as a highly-edited version of this Harvard-educated lawyer. How different is the Michelle Obama we see today from the one we saw just prior to the 2008 election?
[Allison Samuels, Senior Writer, "newsweek":] I think Michelle Obama today, she pulls back a little bit. She holds back a little bit, and I think that is intentional. I think she wanted to make sure that she did not overshadow in any way or distract from her husband's presidency, and I think that was probably a smart move on her part. Many people will tell you, she's smarter than he is in many ways. And that's something that she had to sort of make sure that that didn't, again, become the topic. That didn't need to become the conversation. And she's savvy enough to have been able to do that without it looking forced. She looks still very natural, very genuine on camera. She's been able to really become, I guess, a great supporter of him without, again, becoming a distraction. And that's something, I think, that took a lot of savvy and smarts on her part to do.
[Rajpal:] How could how much could she contribute to this potential bounce that Barack Obama could see after this week's convention?
[Samuels:] I think she has a great chance of getting people revved up again. She is such a personable person. She's so genuine, she's so sincere when she's on stage, when she's talking to people. All of that comes through, that authentic love that she has for him, the passion that she has for him and her family. And I think that will resonate with people. She'll be able to say, look, I have this passion, I believe in my husband. You should believe in him as well. And even though he's had four years, he needs for more to compete what he started.
[Rajpal:] Anita, how how would Ann Romney appeal to the female electorate through who are looking for a strong role model? Remember, it is the female electorate that Barack Obama really connects with.
[Mcbride:] Well, first, I want to comment to something Allison just said. I absolutely agree on Mrs. Obama. Any of the unease or missteps from 2008 are gone. She has had a solid platform as a first lady. She's quite comfortable in the role. As far as Mrs. Romney, she has to tell the American people a lot more about herself. And I think if you listen very carefully, there's this quite a list of challenges that she has faced in her life, too, and a life that they built together. The health challenges are something, raising a big family and raising them mostly alone without help. That's a strong example as well. And remember what she said when, back in April, when she was criticized for not having had a quote-unquote "real job," she did remind people, this is about women making choices. This was her choice and also it was hard work. So, I think she has to try and paint her life and have people try and connect with that.
[Rajpal:] And what do you think about this? Is the American public voting for the individual? And right now in America, it is a man? Or are they voting for the couple?
[Mcbride:] That is such a great question, and actually gives an opportunity to really remind people this role of first lady is an unofficial role. It has no position description and has no salary. It's what you make it. More and more, we expect a lot out of the first ladies, and we do get it. But we don't elect them, and that is really important for us to remember.
[Rajpal:] Allison, your thoughts on that?
[Samuels:] Well, I agree with that. But I also wanted to add, what I like about what Michelle will probably have to say today Ann Romney, obviously a mother of five boys, great role model. But Michelle has a different reality, which is she had to go back to work after each child. And I think so you'll hear a different because she needed the money. The family needed the money. So, that becomes a different narrative that she will tell that I think will resonate with a different group of women and a different group of people. So, I love that you have the stories of these two women that are very different. Both women, both very real stories, very relatable stories. But I think Michelle's story tonight will be slightly different, and it'll be interesting to see how the audience responds.
[Rajpal:] All right, Allison Samuels and Anita McBride, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Well, CNN has extensive coverage and expert analysis for you from the Democratic National Convention. We'll be back live in Charlotte, North Carolina in around 20 minutes for the official opening of the convention. That's 10:00 PM here in London, 11:00 PM in Berlin, as Wolf Blitzer hosts "The Situation Room." All of it part of our America's Choice coverage of the 2012 US presidential election. Still to come here on CONNECT THE WORLD, she has overcome race and gender boundaries to get to the top. We introduce you to this month's Leading Woman after the break.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Hello to you all. Once again, from the CNN Center, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you can start your day right here with me. We're going to be getting into plenty of politics throughout this half hour, also throughout the day. This one could go down in history. Hello to you all, once again from the CNN Center. This is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. I'm glad you could start you day right here with me. We are going to be getting into plenty of politics throughout this half hour and also throughout the day. But first, we're going to turn to a story we are keeping an eye on. This drama playing out right now in Chile where those 33 trapped miners are still trapped, but we're told literally we're minutes away, could be minutes away from rescuers finally cutting through and breaking through to the area where those miners are. Our Patrick Oppmann is there for us. He is live for us where this is Camp Hope they have called it now, but first, just give us the update. We heard just a short time ago they were literally feet away from breaking through.
[Patrick Oppmann, Cnn All Platform Journalist:] Meters away. Meters away and this is this breakthrough is imminent though after months of waiting. Very, very close. Drillers tell us, plan B drillers, this is the drill that is going to make the break. So today we are expecting that they're only six meters away. This is out of 624 meters so just a matter of feet like you said and that breakthrough could come in the next hour or two. They have been drilling all night long. We were told a breakthrough could come today. Expecting now this morning, it will an incredible moment here at this camp. I'm already seeing smiles, people patting each other on the back. A lot of excitement. They have been waiting so long for this day. Really the the beginning of a rescue operation when the mine shaft is drilled down to the 33 men who have been waiting in days and days of darkness and confinement, this is the beginning of the rescue.
[T.j. Holmes:] Yes, it's important to note here, this is just the beginning. Just because they breakthrough to the shaft where the men are, it doesn't mean they are coming up quite frankly anytime soon. Explain why we may have to wait until at least Tuesday before the first man starts coming up or even later.
[Oppmann:] Tuesday at the possibly at the earliest. You know, still a lot of work after the breakthrough happens today, still quite an ordeal ahead for these men. What will happen after that is rescue officials will have to look and see how stable this hole is, whether or not they could put a rescue capsule down or whether it needs to be re-enforced. That re-enforcement could take days or it could much longer. Regardless after that, a capsule will be lowered down with rescuers. We'll start the rescue operation, hoisting these men one at a time up to the surface even that process of bringing 33 men up to the surface could take a day or more.
[Holmes:] One more thing and you kind of hit on it, Patrick, but just the mood out there. Can you feel it? At Camp Hope as it's called, the people, there's an anticipation now that this is finally going to be over sometime soon?
[Oppmann:] It has been building for days. You see tension and excitement, people know that something is changing, a very positive development after so many setbacks here. They know their relatives will be coming back to them now. They feel they will be back much sooner than expected. Remember, they were told they may not see them until Christmas. Well, Christmas came a little bit early for these people. They're very excited. Also a little bit tense because they know this is the most dangerous part of the operation. Still thing that is could go wrong. They are keeping their fingers crossed, but a lot of smiles, a lot of excitement. When the breakthrough happens in the next few hours, it's just going to be an explosion of emotion here.
[Holmes:] All right, Patrick Oppmann on the scene for us. We'll continue to check in with our folks there live. Patrick, thank you so much. Also ahead here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, we are going to be talking to a professor of mining. He's going to focus on the difficulty of the rescue operation. He's talking about it from an engineer's perspective and also the potential dangers that still remain. Yes, there's a lot of hope and optimism as you heard Patrick talked about, but still there are some dangers that could still put these men's lives at risk. We'll continue to follow throughout the morning. Also, 24 days, folks, 24 days until one of the most contentious midterm and important midterm elections we have seen in some time. CNN asked likely voters out there, which party is their choice for Congress. Take a look, 52 percent said the Republican Party is the choice, 45 percent said the Democratic Party is the choice right now. The CNN Opinion Research poll also shows Republicans with big leads over Democrats. Among independents, men and blue collar whites so much at stake. Again, 24 days. We are counting down now. We always see campaign seasons turn ugly. It's turned a little dirty on the campaign trail on this one as well. Are voters going to be turned off by that or will that all ugliness work? Brian Todd has more on what's becoming a no holds barred race to the finish.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] A conversation that was never meant to be heard publicly. Jerry Brown, Democrat running for California governor talks with his aids about support his opponent, Meg Whitman, might get from police unions.
[Unidentified Male:] They know Whitman will cut them a deal, but I won't. She's a whore.
[Todd:] It's not clear who made the whore comment. The Brown campaign later apologized. That conversation was inadvertently taped, but other personal attacks in campaign ads are proliferating on the air. [on camera]: Darrel West of the Brookings Institution has written a well-known book called "Air Wars" about campaign ads. He says this year unlike in previous election cycles, candidates are just not holding back on vicious personal attacks on their opponents. We are going to go over some of these ads with him now.
[Carl Paladino , Candidate Governor New York:] When somebody went after my 10-year-old daughter, I got angry.
[Todd:] New York Republican gubernatorial hopeful Carl Paladino rails on the media for tracking his young daughter. Then for reports about his extramarital affair then the kill shot on the sex life of opponent, Andrew Cuomo.
[Unidentified Male:] Andrew is legendary.
[Todd:] Do you ever seen anything like that in an ad talking about someone's prowess?
[Darrell West, Brookings Institution:] This is such a cheap shot. It's hard to imagine voters are going to be affected positively by this. They are going to view it as unfair, going beyond the grounds of fair play.
[Todd:] Cuomo's response, a statement from a spokesman saying of Paladino, New Yorkers know he is unfit to be governor with his unstable outbursts, smears and total lack of substance. [on camera]: Some political experts though argue that that actually does work. That going negative is effective.
[West:] Going negative works in the sense of you can raise the negatives of your opponent, but if voters tune out and people stay home, you may end up losing support from people who otherwise might have cast votes for you.
[Todd:] No one insulated. Right-wing commentator Rush Limbaugh levels this broadside on President Obama during his radio show.
[Rush Limbaugh, Talk Show:] He's a jackass. He's an economic illiterate. He's an economic ignoramus.
[Todd:] Does it reflect a certain mentality on the campaign trail and on political discourse overall this year?
[West:] It reflects a mentality of mean spiritedness. That people are not focusing on the issues. They are insulting the opposition.
[Todd:] Why is the nastiness at such heightened levels right now? Darrell West says, a few factors are unique to this year. Candidates and commentators clearly sense the voter anger out there and they want to tap into it. They realize the stakes are especially high for the balance of power this year. He says candidates sense the media is not doing as much fact checking on ads and public statements. They don't think they will be held accountable.
[Holmes:] Despite what you heard there from Jerry Brown, that recording with an one of his aids calling his opponent, Meg Whitman the word that rhymes with bore, a prominent women's group has announced though they are endorsing Jerry Brown. The California's National Organization of Women, this is what they had to say about the Democratic gubernatorial nominees as quote, "For California women, actions speak louder than words. We know Jerry Brown's record and we know Meg Whitman's record. The choice is clear. We strongly urge California women to vote for Jerry Brown for governor." And of course, you know where to go, all the latest political news, our web site, CNNPolitics.com. What does your spouse do for a living? We have a list of things you hope your spouse does not do because if they do these particular occupation occupations, your marriage could be in trouble. Divorce rates are high for certain occupations. Can you imagine which ones? Should I give a hint before I go? If your spouse mixes drinks you might be in trouble. It's eight minutes past the hour.

[Stout:] You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines. Now two large convoys reportedly have crossed the border from southern Libya into Niger. A Nigerian military captain is telling CNN that one convoy is on its way to the capital. And an interior ministry official says another rolled into the capital city yesterday. Now the investigation into the phone hacking scandal that led to arrests, high level resignations, and the end of a 168 year old British tabloid, The News of the World, is far from over. News Corp. CEO Ruperb Murdoch and his son James were questioned by UK lawmakers in July. And today, another round of questioning has begun. Now four former executives from the company's UK arm, News International, are testifying. Now Turkey is getting tougher on Israel as their feud continues. Today, Turkey's prime minister said his country will stop all defense industry trade relations with Israel. That follows a similar move to downgrade diplomatic ties with the country last week. A UN court has handed down a 27 year sentence for this former Yugoslav army chief Momcilo Perisic. He was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Srebeninca massacre. Now Bosnian-Serb forces murdered some 8,000 men and boys there in 1995. Now few days have changed the world so drastically as September 11, 2001 did. And this was a scene that confronted New Yorkers early that day after two planes slammed into the World Trade Center. Now a third hit the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. And all this week, CNN is bringing you special coverage ahead of Sunday's 10 year anniversary. Now the haunting images of the attack on the Twin Towers have become synonymous with that day, but without the heroic efforts of the passengers on board, United Airlines Flight 93, it could have been even worse. They fought back against the hijackers, leaving the plane to crash in this field in Pennsylvania. And while they lost their lives, it is widely believed they saved countless more. Drew Griffin reports one former United Airlines dispatcher is still pained by the warning he sent to Flight 93 shortly before it crashed.
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Correspondent:] For six year, Ed Ballinger has been sailing away from his memories. His refuge, this boat named the Great Old Broad. He's been afloat with his wife, trying to escape the memory of a few brief words, "beware, cockpit intrusion."
[Ed Ballinger, Former United Airlines Dispatcher:] Tries to lock the so and so door. So I said hijacking alert, hijacking. I should have a possible hijacking.
[Griffin:] Ballinger is footnote 69. 10 years ago on September 11, he was a dispatcher for United Airlines in Chicago handling 16 flights leaving the east coast and heading west, including United's flights 175 out of Boston and 93 from Newark.
[Ballinger:] All I know was that there was trouble and I wanted to warn everybody.
[Griffin:] One of those flights Ballinger tried to warn are the airline's version of an e-mail, United Flight 93.
[Ballinger:] And I was sending out messages, one after the other, and I got sent 122 messages in a short time an hour, two I don't know what it was. But like screaming on a keyboard. And at that time, these huge TVs that we have came on with
[Cnn. Unidentified Female:] This just in, you are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center and we have...
[Ballinger:] And I saw the second airplane, which I didn't know at the time was my airplane 175, hit the second tower. And I thought the most succinct method of doing it with the least amount of words was "beware, cockpit intrusion" and I sent it to all my 16 flights. And before I got that one off, 93 called up and said they had some [inaudible] going off and they're flying.
[Griffin:] So at that moment, 93 was routine.
[Ballinger:] Yeah, routine.
[Griffin:] So you send out your note and you know they got that.
[Ballinger:] It came out, hey, yeah, confirmed. I confirmed back with him by telling him two airplanes at the World Trade Center, which I sent to all the other flights.
[Griffin:] But the confirmation came too late. Investigators say two minutes after Flight 93's pilot, Jason Dahl requested clarification, hijackers stormed his cockpit.
[Ballinger:] Does "beware cockpit intrusion" say it all? Can you say it faster, quicker? And I wanted to quickly get the message out.
[Griffin:] It's 10 years later, you're still thinking that.
[Ballinger:] Yeah. Yeah. Maybe [inaudible] dissertation on the thing and sent it to everybody. But I had to send them the quickest, fastest I could. I could ask you, how would you do it faster? But I keep asking myself that question.
[Griffin:] Isn't that the real reason you're out on this boat?
[Ballinger:] Yeah, it could be. Yeah.
[Stout:] And join us as we take a closer look at the people who became some say footnotes to the 911 terror attacks. They were the ones who went to work as they always did, and they became a part of history. And it is a CNN documentary11. That's at 10:00 pm Tuesday in New York, 10:00 am Wednesday in Hong Kong. And now that Osama bin Laden is dead, though, is this where it ends? Now that could it signal that the war in Afghanistan will soon be over? Now our Nick Paton Walsh, he went back to Abbotabad, Pakistan where a team of U.S. Navy SEALs found and killed bin Laden.
[Nick Paton Walsh, Cnn International Correspondent:] The army now surrounds bin Laden's house, we're told, as we approach down the same back streets we freely roamed months earlier. From down this road is the only physical reminder of the life of 911's mastermind, but the Pakistani army is keen to keep it out of sight, perhaps out of embarrassment, or maybe by now a little paranoia. It's eery quiet, though. We catch a glimpse of the house, bushes growing thick around it, almost like they're trying to swallow this secret again. But out of nowhere, we're stopped by a soldier. Well, we have been pretty quickly stopped by the police here, asked for our passports and were told to leave. In fact, we've been asked to stay with them for a little while. All quite surprising, really. Even only a few months ago, this place was teaming with journalists and quite open. Things have obviously definitely changed.
[Stout:] And soon after the death of bin Laden, seen now as a troop withdrawal, U.S. president Barack Obama announced that the 10 year war on terror had cost the country $1 trillion, not to mention, of course, thousands of lives. As the scale of the terror attacks unfolded, it was mobile phones that people turned to for information, not Twitter or other social media web sites as is so often the case today. But now technology that didn't even exist 10 years ago is helping people remember the past in a new way. Laurie Segall reports.
[Unidentified Female:] I woke up. And I a friend of mine said she slipped up, she called and she said we're at war...
[Laurie Segall, Cnn Correspondent:] You're listening to memories of 911 in a storytelling app called Broadcaster. Using GPS, it pinpoints your location showing audio posted around you. In this case, the stories of Ground Zero.
[Unidentified Female:] You could see Manhattan and then not see Manhattan. And all of a sudden I looked up and there was just this explosion.
[Segall:] Technology that didn't exist 10 years ago is helping us remember the events of that tragic day in ways we could never imagine.
[Jake Barton, President, Local Stories:] There are 911 stories within each of us. And so essentially what we're doing is using technology to knit together all of those collective memories.
[Segall:] Jake Barton is the president of Local Stories, a New York tech firm that created an app called explore 911 in conjunction with the 911 memorial museum.
[Barton:] 911 is arguably the most widely documented event in human history. We're essentially using different social media platforms to reach out to people around the world to tell their own stories about 911.
[Segall:] For many, the images of 911 tell the story best. The app also uses an emerging technology known as augmented reality11 as you stand at Ground Zero today.
[Barton:] What you're doing, essentially, is your capturing photos from around the area and it basically overlaps them with the different landscapes around you.
[Segall:] And that was the landscape that day
[Barton:] That's exactly right.
[Segall:] Basically as you would have seen it on 911.
[Barton:] That's exactly right. And so you can call up something like firemen, smoke, 911 itself or the World Trade Center and it will capture all the photographs that are location in this area and allow you to actually overlay them on top of what you're looking at.
[Brian August, 110 Stories Creator:] And now it's telling me to raise my phone in that spot.
[Segall:] Photographing the towers as they once stood may soon be a reality with an app in development called 110 Stories.
[August:] It's using GPS. Bring up the phone. We're right under the Brooklyn Bridge. There's the buildings coming up. They're big now, because we're close.
[Segall:] Creator Brian August hopes the app will invoke memories of the skyline before the terrorist attack. This high tech app started with a low tech idea.
[August:] It started as me just being fascinated by the idea that the buildings are not there anymore. I'm saying to somebody, here they are, here they were. I'm bringing them back for you in some small way.
[Segall:] It's not just about the technology.
[Barton:] I think it's really important to basically meet people where they are in their daily life. And so you don't think about history as just ending up on books. It's critical that we use new technology to connect people to the meaningful aspects of the past so they can apply them in the future.
[Stout:] And we will have much more on the attacks all week culminating of course in the 10 year anniversary on Sunday. But in the meantime, you could check out the special September 11 attack section online at CNN.cominternational. Now still ahead on News Stream disaster turns into despair in Japan. And we look at efforts to bring down a spike in suicides nearly six months after the devastating quake and tsunami. Meanwhile, western Japan is cleaning up after Tropical Storm Talas. Two days after it hit dozens of people are still missing.

[Malveaux:] Welcome back to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL, where we take you around the world in 60 minutes. Iran flexing its military muscle again. And the Iranian military plans to test fire missiles. That is right. Starting today, the country's semi-official news agency says the missiles will target desert bases made to look like the air bases of some regional powers. Michael Holmes is here to talk a little bit about the war games. I think the timing of this is really important. European Union now deciding that they're going to go ahead full with this [inaudible]?
[Michael Holmes, Cnn Contributor:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] Is it how threatened does Iran feel at this moment?
[Holmes:] [Inaudible] nuclear program. And all of this ties into that. What we have seen is the E.U. embargo on [inaudible] oil come into full effect as of July the 1st. What that is going to do, 18 percent of Iran's exports came from European imports; that has all gone now. You're talking hundreds of millions of dollars, a major exporting country now finding that it's lost that huge market that it had. Also European countries [inaudible] ship the oil, can't insure the oil. It's just making giving Iran a hard time. And yes, it comes right at a time when they are doing these war games, which is basically flexing their muscle in the region saying, hey, we can take care of ourselves while you are pressuring us about the nuclear issue. There's a whole lot of things [inaudible]
[Malveaux:] [Inaudible] the oil embargo and we're talking about like 80 percent of this revenue that they get they're getting. If this is coming from that oil that they're exporting?
[Holmes:] Eighty percent of their foreign oil their foreign revenues comes from oil, yes, something like half of it total revenues comes from oil. And as I say, the European Union was a chunk of that, lot of other oil goes to China, goes to Indonesia, goes to other places. Well, this is a significant economic impact on a country that is already having economic woes caused by the sanctions that are already in place.
[Malveaux:] So how much more can the Iranian people take?
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] I mean, when is this actually where's the tipping point here, do you think?
[Holmes:] You know, a lot [inaudible] say that this these sanctions that have been put [inaudible], a lot of people say, ah, sanctions [inaudible]. It is squeezing Iran. The economy [inaudible] having a [inaudible] inflation something like officially 25 [inaudible]. It's a lot more than [inaudible] the currency, the real, has been devalued against other currencies 50 percent. So a lot of Iranians are going broke. Other than those who are currency speculators, who are making all the money. And so the economy bread's gone up 16 times or 16-fold in the last two years. So it's pretty hard for the average Iranian. And they're starting to feel it. You think about [inaudible]. Iranians are very sort of traditional outside of the capital. In the capital, you could say there's a lot of pro-Western sort of feeling among the younger people. They're very tech-savvy [inaudible]. You start squeezing them, they get angry. Well, that's the whole idea of this.
[Malveaux:] Is anybody threatened by these war games today, when you take a look at what they're doing?
[Holmes:] No, it's the usual sort of bellicose stuff that you hear from the Iranians. We can protect ourselves. Our missiles can reach U.S. bases in the area. If Israel tries to attack us, we will attack them and destroy them, that sort of stuff. [Inaudible] in Bahrain is also having its own military exercise and they're foes as well, a lot of that going on. The economic stuff, interesting, though, and I think that's where watch this impact. The talks themselves, the nuclear talks, which is at the heart of all this, going nowhere.
[Malveaux:] All right.
[Holmes:] Absolutely nowhere at the moment.
[Malveaux:] This is a complicated [inaudible]
[Holmes:] It is, isn't it? I mean, [inaudible] one thing leads to another leads to another. But it is all intertwined. It is very important.
[Malveaux:] All right. Thank you, Michael, appreciate it. Sunday after Sunday, they are burning more and more churches to the ground in Kenya. We are going to find out what is behind the violence.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] They have behind just to save themselves. We're about to hear what's happening right there on the ground. Plus, I'll speak with someone who says watch out because a terror group may jump into this mess very, very soon. So we're going to take you inside Syria in just moments. But first, just into us here at CNN. We are getting word that SWAT teams are storming a jail where this standoff has been underway for hours between inmates and police. I want to go live to Jewell Hillery. She is our reporter from this affiliate WLBT. She has been on the scene since this whole thing started. And, Jewel, just back up and tell me when this started and what you're seeing right now.
[Jewell Hillery, Wlbt Reporter:] OK. Good afternoon. Well, this all got underway extremely early this morning, about 3:00. And we're actually about a mile and a half to two miles away from where the actual Hinds County Detention Center is in Bramen. We've been blocked from going to where the actual detention center is. However, we do have a helicopter up, our skycopter, which has video of this disturbance, this ordeal. Looks like it has wrapped up just within the past couple of minutes. SWAT teams from all across the area, as well as officials with the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, have gone in with force and have taken inmates out one by one, we're told. There are some that are running out, it seems like, in an orderly fashion. But also a number that are being taken out by the SWAT teams. Now, as I mentioned, this got underway about 3:00 this morning after a gentleman by the name of Kendall Jackson, who was uncooperative during a routine security check, and he got out of an isolated pod, went into a larger pod, pod c, where he started to stir up a disturbance and that's when the situation just escalate and got out of hand.
[Baldwin:] So, Jewell, let me just Jewell, let me jump in.
[Hillery:] I spoke with the Hinds County Sheriff's Department earlier today and
[Baldwin:] Let me let me jump in if Jewell, can you hear me?
[Hillery:] But hadn't been able to. So they went in by force just not too long ago.
[Baldwin:] OK. I don't know how well our connection is, so I don't want to ask you a follow-up question. But it sounds to me, Jewell, if you can hear me, that this thing pretty much is done, correct?
[Hillery:] I'm sorry, can you repeat that?
[Baldwin:] I just want to make sure you say you're saying that this has been going on since 2:00, 3:00 in the morning, but now you're saying that it's more or less an orderly fashion outside of this detention center. That everything is wrapped up. Do we have any accounts of any injuries on either side, police or inmates?
[Hillery:] We haven't heard about any injuries. I know that one detention officer was taken to the hospital early this morning, but not because she was injured, because she went into shock. In terms of injuries, we have not heard any official word from authorities. However, we've gotten we've received lots of phone calls into our news room from inmates inside of the prison and people that work inside of the prison just saying how chaotic the situation is. And, you know, we haven't been able to confirm that, though. That's just calls that have been coming in to our news room. But from authorities, they say that they're still investigating and aren't giving us any information about anyone being beat or injured or anything like that.
[Baldwin:] OK, Jewell Hillery, our affiliate WLBT there on the ground about a mile or two away from this detention center. As soon as we get video, we will bring that to you here on CNN. Thank you, Jewell. Now to this one. One hundred and forty-two, 1-4-2, criminal counts for the suspected movie theater gunman James Holmes. He was in court today. This is his appearance number two. Remember, we first saw him a week ago today. Here he is. These are just sketches because today cameras are not allowed inside the courtroom. And, today, for the very first time, we hear James Holmes speak. CNN's Ed Lavandera was inside that courtroom. He joins me live. And, Ed, from what I understand, it was about a 45 minute hearing. Can you just walk me through these charges? One hundred and forty-two counts in total. And what exactly is it that he did say?
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, we'll run over those charges very quickly. It is 142 criminal counts filed against him. Twenty-four of those are first degree murder, 116 are attempted murder, one for possessing explosives and another one is an enhancement because of the violence in this. Now, that 24 and 116 might be confusing to most people. There are 12 victims who died, 58 who were wounded. And essentially prosecutors were able to double up on those charges and file them twice because of two different stipulations in the law. One of them is because it was premeditated, a planned attack. And also another one had to do with the randomness and the indifference, the extreme indifference that he showed the victims. So, because of that, those counts are doubled up. The one time that we heard from James Holmes, and it wasn't much, it was the simple word, "yes." He was asked to speak with his attorneys. His attorneys were trying to delay and get some more time for the preliminary hearing, which is now scheduled for sometime in November, which is one of the first times we'll really start getting into the meat and the details of the evidence that will be presented against James Holmes. But the judge told him to confer with his attorneys and make sure that he understood what was going on with that. And the judge asked him if that was OK and he simply said "yes." Throughout the entire process, Brooke, he was very calm, very much more lucid than last time from what we saw. You know, we talked a lot about just how bizarre he acted. But this time much more lucid. And, you know, still very strange mannerisms, but I thought he was much more with it today.
[Baldwin:] I do want to ask you a little bit more about who was in the courtroom, but to your point, just for the people who I know have been confused wondering, you know, because there were the 12 fatalities, but again he faces the 24 counts of murder. So I just want to play a little sound. This is from a legal expert. You touched on it, Ed, but this is something called depraved indifference. So let's just all take a listen.
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Contributor:] In most states, and Colorado like most states, you have first degree murder, which could consist of an intentional murder. You point a gun at somebody with the intent of killing them, you premeditate, that's first degree murder. But there's a second type of first degree murder, and that's called a depraved indifference murder. So let's say you he went into allegedly to the theater and just randomly sprayed shots around the theater, maybe not intending to kill a particular individual. That would be a form of what we call depraved indifference murder and it's functionally the same thing.
[Baldwin:] So I just wanted to play that, Eddie, so we could kind of understand a little bit better the 24 counts of murder in the first degree. Back to the courtroom. You were in there. I understand there was just about 100 seats in that court. Half media. Tell me who else was in there. I presume victims, victims' families.
[Lavandera:] Yes, there were a lot of victim survivors who were actually there in theater number nine. There was also an overflow room of people who were brought and allowed to listen to this. We've been talking to several of them as they've been leaving the courthouse. Those who have, you know, chosen to speak publicly and with reporters about their thoughts about, you know, being in that same room with the man who has caused allegedly caused so much destruction and pain and tragedy in their lives. And what was interesting was is that after the court hearing, we were told that the prosecutor in this case went with those victims and the survivors into another room and explained their reasoning behind the charges and why they were going though. We asked a couple of them if they thought 142 criminal counts was enough. There had been some people who suggested, you know, they would have like to have seen terrorism charges or something like that. One person said, you know, that the prosecutors explained to them that they were charging what they could theoretically handle in an expeditious form. So if they just started throwing the book and piling on and piling on a mass amount of criminal charges, that that would delay this process and make this last much longer than they felt it need to. So clearly prosecutors kind of targeting exactly the criminal charges and strategizing what they wanted to go after. And from the victims' families that we spoke with, that's kind of what they explained to them in that meeting that they had just after the court hearing today.
[Baldwin:] Again, in all, 142 counts. Ed Lavandera for us there. Ed, thank you. And one argument here in the gun violence debate, I know we've been talking about this the last week or so, is this. Don't look at the people. Look at the guns. And the U.S. has more than any other nation in the world. CNN's Fareed Zakaria has a look at that.
[Fareed Zakaria, Host, Cnn's "fareed Zakaria Gps":] The United States stands out from the rest of the world, not because it has more nut cases I think we can assume that those people are sprinkled throughout every society equally but because it has more guns. Look at this map. It shows the average number of firearms per 100 people. Most of the world is shaded light green. Those are the countries where there are between zero and 10 guns per 100 citizens. In dark brown you have countries with more than 70 guns per 100 people. The U.S. is the only country in that category. In fact, the last global small arms survey showed there are 88 guns for every 100 Americans. Yemen is second at 54. Serbia and Iraq are among the other top countries in the top 10. We have 5 percent of the world's population and 50 percent of the guns. The sheer number of guns isn't an isolated statistic. The data shows we compare badly on fatalities too. The U.S. has three gun homicides per 100,000 people. That's four times as many as Switzerland. Ten times as many as India. Twenty times as many as Australia and England. Whatever you think of gun rights and gun control, the numbers don't flatter America. I saw an interesting graph in "The Atlantic" magazine. On a spectrum, from yellow to red, red being the worst, it shows the number of gun related deaths by state. Now, if you add one more piece of data, gun control restrictions, you see the state with at least one firearm law, such as the assault weapons ban or trigger locks, tend to be the states shaded in lighter colors, meaning fewer gun related deaths. Conclusion. Well, there are lots of factors involved, but there is at least a correlation between tighter laws and fewer gun related deaths.
[Baldwin:] So given what you've just heard, you would think that crime in the U.S. has gotten worse, right? No. Listen to what surprised Fareed in all that research.
[Zakaria:] And the U.S. is actually getting safer. In the decade since the year 2000, violent crime rates fell by 20 percent, aggravated assault by 22 percent, motor vehicle theft by 42 percent, murder by all weapons by 13 percent. But guns are the exception. Gun homicide rates haven't improved at all. There were roughly the same levels in 2009 as they were in 2000. Meanwhile, serious but nonfatal gun injuries caused during assault have actually increased in the last decade by 20 percent as gun laws have gotten looser and getting weapons has become easier.
[Baldwin:] Just a little context and perspective in a heated national debate. A lot more news coming at you this hour, including this. A huge hour for the Olympics in London. We're going to bring you results live during this hour. Also, Piers Morgan's going to join me live. We'll talk about this whole uproar over NBC's taped delay. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now. A rower, who's on a mission to dominate Lake Michigan, says she was trapped and raped and today she's telling me her story, live. Plus
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] It is Iran that is the leading state sponsor of terrorism.
[Baldwin:] Mitt Romney gets forceful on Iran, as one magazine causes quite a stir. And, first, big gulps. Now, baby milk. Why Michael Bloomberg's new health crusade includes hiding formula from new moms in the hospital.

[Tapper:] You're looking at live pictures from the federal courthouse. We're waiting for defense attorneys representing the three men charged today in connection with the Boston bombing investigation. We will bring that to you live when they come out and begin answering reporters' questions. The ultimate goal of the terror attack is to terrorize. It looks as though the Boston bombings have struck a little more fear in the hearts of Americans. Polls conducted in the wake of the marathon bombings by CNN and "TIME" magazine show that four in 10 Americans are worried that someone in their family will become a victim of terrorism. That's the highest that number has been since President Obama took office. Although worries about terrorism are up slightly only 40 percent of Americans say they're willing to give up some personal freedom to fight terrorism. And while there's a lot of support for more cameras in public places, people want the government to layoff their cell phones and get out of their e-mails. Only 38 percent favor expanding government monitoring of those forms of communication. That number was at 54 percent after 911. Joining me now is former homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff. He's now chairman and cofounder of the Chertoff Group, a consulting firm that focuses on national security issues. Thanks so much for joining us. I appreciate it. If you were still heading the Department of Homeland Security, which is obviously intimately involved in this investigation, what questions would you be asking the FBI and investigators right now about these three individuals arrested today?
[Michael Chertoff, Former Homeland Security Secretary:] The first thing you want to know is, is there another threat out there. You want to ascertain are these three people actually involved in any way in the preparation and carrying out of the bombing attack? You want to look to see were there other connections that the Tsarnaevs have to people in the U.S. who might have been facilitators. You want to see what the connections were overseas. Were they trained in Russia? Were they inspired in Russia or in Chechnya? And you need to do this in order to make sure that you're preventing another plot from being carried out. That's priority number one.
[Tapper:] Having been at the Department of Homeland Security during, was it 2005 to 2009?
[Chertoff:] Right.
[Tapper:] When some of these plots were foiled and other operations took place, what is your suspicion? I don't obviously
[Chertoff:] Right.
[Tapper:] we don't want to go into irresponsible speculation, but when it comes to the likelihood that two individuals were able to do this entirely on their own, it seems like even if the bombs were relatively crude, it's more sophisticated a bomb than I could make and seems like a rather sophisticated operation.
[Chertoff:] It also seems like it was planned out. It appears based on reporting that there were other devices. They had guns. So, it wasn't something that was spur of the moment. It required a certain amount of planning. The question in my mind is what happened over there in Russia. You would normally expect and we saw during the time I was in office many of these plots involved a component of somebody going overseas, training in a camp or training with somebody and then bringing that back home. And that's why if I were looking at this as an investigator, I'd put a lot of focus on what happened in the Caucasus during the six months or so that the older brother was back there.
[Tapper:] Do you think that there was looking at what we know about the pre-attack intelligence, that there was a warning by the Russians to the FBI about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, to the CIA, about six months later in 2011, he went to Russia, to Chechnya, Dagestan, came back. There was no ping, no flag was raised. Was there a failure of information sharing at the very least, or what we all talk about after 911, using our imaginations at the very most?
[Chertoff:] Well, you know, the structures are there to share information. The law is there to share information. Obviously, there was a failure in that somebody missed this. Now, it may be an excusable failure or understandable failure, but it's not a success when people die. The question here is, should you have tracked this person when they came back and re-interviewed them? Obviously when a foreign service takes the trouble twice to send a message to agencies, you have to take it seriously.
[Tapper:] How often do the Russians do that?
[Chertoff:] Well, it's not unknown but it's not common. And any time a foreign service makes a specific request with a particular name, it suggests that they have some knowledge based on some overseas activity.
[Tapper:] Now, the FBI complained, we went back to them for more information and they did not cooperate. And you heard President Obama yesterday talking about how cooperative the Russians have been since the attacks the implications being not so much before the attacks. Does this Cold War mentality that President Obama talked about, does this still hamper relations between the U.S. and Russia?
[Chertoff:] It appears to have been a problem in this case but it really shouldn't. You know, we've had relations with countries around the world which have been pretty rocky and yet, on the counterterrorism level, it's been very, very good cooperation. Even when I was in office at times that some other countries were not necessarily seeing eye to eye on Iraq or other issues, at the law enforcement level, there was always a lot of exchange of information because it's mutually important. This is important to the Russians as it is to us. So, I would put some emphasis on making sure that our relationships with the Russians or anybody else at this level are being maintained properly and so there is a good flow of cooperation.
[Tapper:] I've heard talk that one of the reasons why it might not have gone as swimmingly as it should have is because Russia is always trying to convince the U.S. that the Chechens, with whom they're involved in this ugly, bloody war for years and years, they're always trying to convince the U.S., the Chechens are our enemy and the U.S. is very wary of ever getting dragged into that conflict. Do you think that that I mean, is that accurate that that is a tension?
[Chertoff:] Right. I mean, it certainly causes you to be careful. But I want to go back to
[Tapper:] All right. Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff thanks for joining us.

[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] I'm Ali Velshi. This is YOUR MONEY. I'm going to show you the damage that America could do itself if Washington allows us to go over the fiscal cliff. According to studies, the average household could pay $3500 more in taxes. Unemployment in the U.S., which has come down to 7.9 percent, could head back up above 9 percent by this time next year. The U.S. could join Europe, which has been hit by a double-dip recession. And according to a Pew Research"Washington Post" poll, you clearly understand the danger of this fiscal cliff. Sixty-eight percent say that it will have a major effect on the economy, 21 percent say just a minor infect, only 2 percent say no effect. Ten percent said they don't know which is why you're watching this right now. President Obama's solution to all of this is to make a deal centered around increasing taxes on the wealthy which will go a good part of the way to raising the $1.6 trillion in new revenue that he wants to raise over the next decade in his attempt to reduce the federal deficit. He wants to let the Bush era tax cuts that apply to what he calls the top 2 percent of earners expire. Now if that happens, the top tax rate on income would jump from 36 percent to 39 percent. He likes to say that's where it was during the Clinton years. The second top rate would go from 33 percent to 36 percent. Now this is what President Obama campaigned on. He's been vague about the specific numbers since his re-election, which suggests that he may compromise on the actual rates in order to get a deal. There are other taxes as well that he's talking about. Taxes on investment gains would also go up. The capital gains tax could go from 15 percent to 20 percent and dividend taxes would go from 15 percent to the income tax rate. As I showed you, 39.6 percent. Mitt Romney argues that this is would hurt individuals with savings and who own dividend paying stocks but the overwhelming majority of U.S. investment gains are enjoyed by the wealthy. This, again, would target that rich group that President Obama is talking about. But that's not all. The president also wants to raise an additional $500 billion by limiting the value of deductions that high-income households now enjoy. And he wants to use the so-called Buffett rule as a guide to future tax reform. The goal being to make sure that anyone making more than $1 million pays a minimum of 30 percent of their income in federal taxes regardless of what deductions and credits are otherwise available to them. Now we'll hear more directly about that from Warren Buffett later in the show. But this show is more about politics than economics. Right now, remember that in 2010, President Obama vowed to eliminate the Bush tax cuts for the rich. Well, he folded back then. He allowed them to be renewed for another two years. But this time he campaigned on letting them expire and fresh off his election once again staring down a Republican-led House, the president is warning the wealthy that they will pay more.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] What I'm not going to do is to extend Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent that we can't afford and according to economists will have the least positive impact on our economy.
[Velshi:] Now in return for the tax revenue, the president says he will negotiate with Congress on spending cuts. He claimed the cuts together with the revenues from raising taxes on the rich would reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. So that's the president's plan. But without a compromise with the Republicans, America could be headed over the fiscal cliff. Joining me is Mohamed El-Erian. He is the CEO at PIMCO, one of the world's largest investors in global bond. Mohamed, welcome back to the show. You say taxes will and should go up for the wealthy. You predict Republicans, in your words, will "shout and scream," but ultimately they will go along with the tax hike for the sake of avoiding an economic disaster. That was the president, Mohamed, not Republicans that blinked in 2010. Why do you think the Republicans will back down now?
[Mohamed El-erian, Ceo, Pimco:] I think it's different this time around. First, nobody wants to go over the fiscal cliff. As you said, this implies a recession, it implies unemployment going up, and it implies us shooting ourselves in the foot at a time when the global environment is much more difficult. See what's happening in Europe, in the Middle East, in China. Secondly, we just had an election, Ali. And the message one of the messages of the election was one of shared responsibility and fairer burden sharing. And it's a period in which the rich have done extremely well. Not just on the up side, but also in terms of being protected on the down side. Finally and importantly, the economic arguments against this while they will be valid at higher tax rates are not valid here. So if you look at the hand that president has, it is stronger than what the Republicans and I think both of them will want to seek some sort of compromise.
[Velshi:] Sounds so reasonable. Let's bring Stephen Moore in. He's an editorial writer at the "Wall Street Journal." He's a conservative. Stephen, do you agree? Are Republicans ready to strike a deal with the president if it means giving up the Bush tax cuts for the wealth? They have dug in on this.
[Stephen Moore, Editorial Writer, Wall Street Journal:] I don't know, Ali. I listen to this conversation. I feel like I'm living in France. I mean I just don't see any economic wisdom whatsoever in raising tax rates in an economy that is so fragile right now in a recovery that looks like it's losing steam. You saw what happened with the unemployment numbers this week. Now some of that was due to the storm. But this is not an economy that is kicking on all cylinders. It is barely kicking on one cylinder. What I don't understand about what you and Mohamed are saying is how in the world do you get the economy to grow faster if you're going to raise taxes on businesses?
[Velshi:] Well, I guess
[Moore:] You're going to raise taxes on investment
[Velshi:] I guess the issue, Steve the issue is
[Moore:] Yes.
[Velshi:] Is compared to what? Right, so
[Moore:] Exactly.
[Velshi:] In a world you don't want taxes on the rich to go up.
[Moore:] Right.
[Velshi:] Compared to the risk of a fiscal cliff, do you think Republicans in the House will look at that and say, we don't want to incur the wrath of the American people if we go over this fiscal cliff?
[Moore:] Look, Mohamed may be right about the politics of this. What I want to talk about is the economics of it.
[Velshi:] Sure. Sure.
[Moore:] What I'm saying is it's insane. It is so dangerous to be talking about I mean explain this to me. How do you raise taxes on businesses and it frees up more jobs.
[Velshi:] It is really insane to go from 36 percent to 39.6 percent? I would say going from 36 percent to 59.6 percent. I'm not an economists. I'm just saying is that really insane? And might you have heard in the president's comments in the last week the possibility of compromise? You know, he stopped talking about this 39.6 percent. I don't know if I'm the only one who noticed this.
[Moore:] What we want to do is lower our tax rates to be more competitive, not raise them. I mean that I just don't see any economic wisdom in it. I mean I covered this in the editorial in the "Wall Street Journal" this week.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Moore:] I mean, the period is when the economy has really grown is when we've been cutting tax rates. Here's the one last point if I may.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Moore:] I listen to that whole press conference the president gave the other day.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Moore:] And here's what struck me. I didn't hear one time talk about cutting government spending.
[Velshi:] Well, you did. No, no, no. Come on.
[Moore:] No.
[Velshi:] Come on. Then you must have been
[Moore:] He said where's the deal? I mean
[Velshi:] You went to the soda machine if you didn't hear it. I agree with you.
[Moore:] What did he say?
[Velshi:] He was vague and he was a little unspecific. But he did say it's time to take a hard look at entitlements.
[Moore:] Right.
[Velshi:] Take a hard look at spending. I would agree with the criticism
[Moore:] He's never put anything on the table.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Moore:] Right. I mean he's never put anything and this has been four years of this president. Where what spending cuts? They're not in his budget. They've never been in the budget.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Moore:] Here we are opening up a new session. I'm suspicious that those cuts are ever going to come.
[Velshi:] Mohamed, are you suspicious that they're going to come? I kind of get, like, everybody in the world now gets this issue. I imagine I could go down to the corner store and somebody could decide something to avert the fiscal cliff because they get that taxes may have to go up on the rich. Whether or not you agree with it. And they get that spending has to be cut.
[El-erian:] So I think they're going to come. I think we will see reforms both on the tax side, which is base and rates, on the expenditure side. A couple of issues. You say we like France is like those who say we like Greece. We're neither like France. We're neither like Greece. We're the United States of America. And I agree with Stephen that we need to invest in our growth engines. But that is going to materialize if we deal with our fundamental issues. Our fundamental issues is not a tax rate of 36 or 39. Our fundamental issue is that we haven't invested enough in our people, in our class, in our equipment and in our infrastructure. And we need private and public partnerships. So it's critical, and Stephen is right to raise it. It's critical that this fiscal cliff debate not crowd out the issue that we as a nation have three distinct problems. Too much debt, too little growth, and too dysfunctional political system. And we need to address all three in a holistic manner. I do not think that the difference between high growth and low growth is a tax rate of 36 or 39 percent on the rate. It is much more whether we are enabling, enabling our citizens and our companies to produce and to prosper.
[Velshi:] I think
[El-erian:] And that takes a fundamental reform.
[Velshi:] I think we're actually agreeing. Infrastructure, private- public partnerships, too much debt, too little growth is what the problem is. Unfortunately if we don't get a handle on that, then in 10 years we might be sitting here thinking that we're a little more like Greece. OK, guys, good to talk to you.
[Moore:] I don't want us to be I don't know if I like us to be Greece or France. Believe me.
[Velshi:] We all agree on that point, too. Good to see both of you. Mohamed El-Erian, nice to see you. CEO of PIMCO. Stephen Moore is an editorial writer with the "Wall Street Journal." We'll be right back. Mohamed and Stephen, thank you for that. Alan Greenspan ended a nearly two-decade run as Federal Reserve chairman in January of 2006. The economy was strong but the seeds for the 2008 financial meltdown had been planted.
[Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman:] The actual currency in 2008 surprised me with respect to the size of what the problem was.
[Velshi:] So how would Alan Greenspan handle the current threat of an economic storm that threatens America today? The former Fed chairman speaks to me about the fiscal cliff, the Bush tax cuts and why he wouldn't let the U.S. slip into a recession to solve America's long- term debt problems. A rare interview with Alan Greenspan up next.

[Feyerick:] We'll get to Donald Trump's campaign stump in just a second, but first a look at his marital status. How many wives? There were three. Ivanna, they had three children together. Then, of course, there was Marla Maples, the other woman. They had a daughter. And the last, he's currently married to Milania Trump. They have a son together. Now to the mogul's political aspirations Trump is scheduled to speak at this Tea Party rally in Boca Raton, Florida. He'll bring his comments to you. Trump is considering running for president. He's expected to make a final decision by June. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak may be on the move. An army spokesman tells CNN Mubarak was transferred from a hospital in Sharm el Sheikh to a military facility in Cairo. Several riot police standing guard outside the hospital say Mubarak is still there. The former president is under investigation for the deaths of protesters during the recent uprising. Government forces are pounding Libya's third largest city with rockets. Rebels say Gadhafi troops shelled a neighborhood, killing three people. It comes one day after a human rights group claims government forces fired cluster bombs into civilian areas. And at least five NATO service members and four Afghan soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan. The bomber was wearing an Afghan national army uniform. In Cuba this weekend, it's national celebration and an important gathering of the communist government. CNN's Shasta Darlington was in Havana today, and you had watched this huge military parade 50 years after the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, really interesting historically.
[Shasta Darlington, Cnn Correspondent:] Absolutely, Deb. This was a massive celebration of Cuba's past victories. We saw tanks rumbling through revolution plaza, tighter jets flying overhead. Thousands of troops and civilians, people from the neighborhoods coming out and marching in support of their revolution and in celebration of these major victories. It was 50 years ago this small Caribbean island defeated a U.S.-backed invasion of the Bay of Pigs. It was led by Cuban exiles, but it was really considered a defeat for Washington. They failed to provide air support. And of course Cubans never rose up and joined in the fight. A major victory, of course, for Cuba. This afternoon we'll see, as you mentioned, he was going to start looking for the future. The leaders will meet behind closed doors for a four-day meeting of the communist party. In fact, it's the first Congress of the communist party in nearly 14 years. They're going to focus on the economy and needed reforms there. President Raul Castro has called for more private enterprise and less of a role from the state. They want to do major layoffs in the state sector and allow more people to get into business for themselves in things like plumbing, gardening, opening up restaurants. They'll also talk property ownership, which could mean Cubans for the first time in decades could buy and sell homes and possibly even all those old cars could be affected if they allow Cubans to buy and sell more modern vehicles, Deb.
[Feyerick:] Shasta, I read something like 170,000 Cubans have actually taken out licenses to open their own business. Very quickly, why 14 years? Are communists coming from elsewhere? Is this an internal meeting of the leaders there in Cuba?
[Darlington:] Deb, it's a good question. They should be holding these meetings every five years. We haven't had one since 1997. Part of the disruption was, of course, when Fidel Castro fell ill, there was the transition from one government to another. Then massive hurricanes sort of hit the economy, global crisis, lots of different reasons. But they couldn't wait any longer. This is probably the first Congress solely dedicated to economic reform and the time is right. They knew they had to do something, and president Raul Castro has already called for many of these reforms. They're hoping to get even more done once they ever got the leaders together.
[Feyerick:] We will be keeping an eye on it, Shasta Darlington in Cuba. Thank you so much. R&B; singer usher gives his all on stage. When he's not performing, he's giving back to the community through his new look foundation. He explains how in this "Impact your World."
[Usher, Singer:] This is Usher. We can make an impact on our young people. My new look foundation was founded in 1999. I started it because I wanted to do something that I thought would impact youth. We mostly focus on mentoring youth, showing them a new look on life through new world experiences. There's a focus on leadership as well as service. My hopes are I'm introducing tomorrow's service-minded youth leader. Our children are our future. This is our opportunity to make it better by motivating them now. Join the movement, CNN.comimpact.
[Feyerick:] CNN's "Impact your World" is challenging you to pledge at least 11 volunteer hours in 2011. Go on CNN.comimpact or text impact, space, and the number 11 to 22360. Make your pledge today. Volunteer. When you complete your hours, go back to the webpage to submit your photos or video. Your volunteer story could be featured by "Impact your World."

[Blitzer:] His last visit to the United States ended with some controversial photographs, shall we say, of him in a Las Vegas hotel suite. You remember those. Britain's Prince Harry begins another visit today to the United States. You can bet it will be a lot tamer. He is here in Washington. He was up on Capitol Hill, over at the White House. Our royal correspondent Max Foster is here. You're watching every step of the way. So far what happened?
[Max Foster, Cnn Royal Correspondent:] Yes, I was on the hill. It's extraordinary. The British press have come up with a new word for the lexicon, Harry-mania. Literally well, dozens of female staffers gathered in all the corridors and screaming as he walked through the Senate office building. And it was it was actually quite a poignant event for him, it was an exhibition about landmine clearance. And this is
[Blitzer:] There with Senator McCain.
[Foster:] Absolutely. And this was, of course, very close to Princess Diana's heart. And what you're seeing with Harry is picking up on her causes, trying to keep her legacy alive. And Senator McCain, himself, pretty impressed by the man he met.
[Sen. John Mccain , Arizona:] Frankly, I find him to be a very attractive young man and I think he is very serious certainly about this issue, so I was very, very impressed.
[Foster:] So the first stop on the on the tour under way.
[Blitzer:] So he's trying to go from the legislative branch to the U.S. government, Capitol Hill, to the executive branch. He then went over to the White House.
[Foster:] Yes. A surprise visit, although we were warned about it. But it was a surprise visit for the kids at the White House. The first lady holding an event making presents for Mother's Day. And he's really good with kids, as you can see. But there he was. And yes, it seemed to go quite well. They seemed to get on quite well. There was some suspicion that he might be meeting the president himself, but that didn't happen today. There he was with Michelle Obama, and then later on, Wolf, he's going to go to a reception at the British embassy and it is what they're calling gentle diplomacy. And it's this idea that you're going to see throughout this tour, receptions, one in Denver, one in New York. It's really about promoting British trade actually and what they do is they bring Prince Harry in, then get give people the opportunity to meet him and they sell the UK so a lot of interest.
[Blitzer:] We invited him to come here, into THE SITUATION ROOM. I don't think he's doing a whole lot of TV.
[Foster:] No interviews, we're told. He may speak to us towards the end of the tour, but, you know a group of us
[Blitzer:] When you say us, what does that mean?
[Foster:] A group of royal press.
[Blitzer:] Traveling the traveling royal correspondents?
[Foster:] Yes. But it won't be any one specific. We tried our hardest to get you an interview.
[Blitzer:] OK. It would have been nice.
[Foster:] Next time.
[Blitzer:] Next time. Prince Harry, he's always welcome in THE SITUATION ROOM. He's I am sure he is a great guy.
[Foster:] He is a good guy.
[Blitzer:] You've met him right?
[Foster:] Yes, yes. And he you know, you know, the Vegas thing, it was a big mistake for him. He was embarrassed.
[Blitzer:] Yes.
[Foster:] And he said he let his family down and what he is trying to do with this tour is show that he can be a senior royal. The queen is stepping back, you see, and Harry is being drawn into
[Blitzer:] Good for Harry. All right. He is welcome to the United States. Thanks very much. Max Foster, our royal correspondent. Coming up an alleged cyber theft ring accused of stealing $45 million from banks worldwide including almost $3 million at New York City's ATMs. We're going to show you how it was done. Also, a local reporter with inside information on that Cleveland house of horrors.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now. Good morning to you. Happy Monday. I'm Carol Costello. Just ahead in the NEWSROOM, it's back. The heat that is, the thermometer hitting 100 degrees again this week in a lot of places in the United States. And the rising temperatures could soon mean rising prices at the grocery store. China responds, the fight over the U.S. Olympic teams' uniforms getting more intense this morning. The country's state news agency calling Senator Harry Reid out saying he's violating the Olympic spirit. After Reid said that Chinese made uniforms should be burned. China asked if Reid will burn his Chinese made appliances, clothes, and Blackberry. Seven minutes of terror. That's what NASA's newest mission to Mars faces in just a couple of weeks. And success hangs on a series of unbelievable acrobatic maneuvers above the red planet. But we begin this hour with the weather. This year's drought is one of the worst recorded in U.S. history in 2012 now being compared to the dust bowl during the great depression. The first six months of 2012 go down as the hottest ever on record. That's plus severe droughts have prompted the Agriculture Department to declare a disaster in 26 states. Alison Kosik is looking at how this is impacting our wallets. But let's start with meteorologist, Alexandra Steel. Is it going to be as bad as it was like a couple weeks ago?
[Alexandra Steele, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, we have a couple problems going on. We're in an incredible drought. So much of the country is, and drought begets drought and the heat begets heat. So we get into the cycle. Here's a look at the current U.S. drought monitor and usually when we look at this, you see a patch in Texas or isolated area. But to see the breadth and depth of the entire country filled with some sort of exceptional, the darker reds are the more intense drought, but even the lighter yellows, just dry and moderate. So you can see how much of the country is in some sort of drought and it's only further deepening. Now, this drought thus far ranks in the top ten in the past 100 years to give you a little perspective. And 54.6 percent of the country is in a drought. That's more than even in 1936. That was 54.4 percent. So you can see what we've got is such an incredible drought that is only worsening because what we're seeing are the incredible conditions of continued dry conditions and intense heat. Now, looking at the drought as you mentioned and versus the dust bowl of the '30s, there are few different things that's not comparing apple to oranges in a few regards. The use of land and farming practices has come a long way since the '30s. So modern agriculture does everything they can to mitigate any of these impacts, erosion control and even drought resistant crops, hybrid crops. So doing what they can to minimize what we could possibly and did see in the '30s. But I know this isn't the prettiest map in the world, but what is the most important about this, this is looking at from the summer, of course, we have been so dry up until now. But now, looking forward, what's the prognosis, what can we see looking out at computer models. Will we continue to be dry? This is the problem. Look at through September. You can see how dry the country is. As bad as it is, it will only get exacerbated by the lack of moisture in the ground, coming from the sky, whatever the case may be. So drought conditions will only get worse because what we're looking at is a very dry season looking forward Carol.
[Costello:] All right, thanks, Alexandra. Of course, this drought has already has already an effect on our wallets at the grocery store. Joining me now is Alison Kosik to tell us more about that angle of the story.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Yes, this is about corn. Let's talk a little bit about corn and not just corn on the cob. So let's think about corn. It's like stocks or oil or gold, it also trades on the open market in the form of futures contract. Now over the past month, Carol, prices of corn have gone up more than 40 percent because of those extreme drought conditions in the Midwest. Even wheat and soybean prices may be also be affected as this drought drags on. One analyst said it would take at about six to 12 months before we really see the high prices hit our grocery stores. It could all food companies often try to hedge those costs and not pass them it on to consumers. Consumer spending as you know is already pretty weak. People may not respond very well to these price hikes. I, in fact, talked to Ken Powell. He is the CEO of General Mills, a company that uses a lot of corn in its product. He said he's trying to keep it from getting to consumers.
[Ken Powell, Ceo, General Mills:] We know that the market is gyrating a bit on corn right now. It's that time of year where every week there's a different piece of news. But we haven't seen anything that would make us materially change our expectations for our broad market basket inflation next year.
[Kosik:] So, don't expect any dramatic change in prices. Despite the rises that we've already been seeing Carol.
[Costello:] Well, be patient and hope for the best. Alison Kosik, thanks so much. The long gas price line that began in April may be nearing an end. Analysts found even though gas prices fell about 7 cents a gallon over the last three weeks, prices may be bottoming out. They cite trends in the price of crude and the summer driving season. They may have a point. The latest Lundeberg survey found gas prices did not budge. They still cost in average $3.39 per gallon. Turning now to the White House campaign, the battle over Bain, taxes, outsourcing, and whether President Obama should apologize, gets hotter this morning. The president will be in Cincinnati later today and he's expected to bash Romney over tax breaks for big business. But Romney is already on the offensive, appearing on Republican friendly, "Fox and Friends" this morning.
[Mitt Romney , President Of The United States Of America:] The president on the other hand has only one thing going and that is constant attacks on me. You know, they're dishonest. They're misdirected, and I think the American people recognize that kind of politics as something of the past. It may work in Chicago, but it's not going to work across America.
[Costello:] But while Mitt Romney waits for an apology that's not coming, his campaign is gearing up for a new line of attack on the president. Jim Acosta is covering that angle for us. Good morning, Jim.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Political Correspondent:] Morning, Carol. That's right. The Romney campaign did sort of forecast where they're going this week and the word is Solyndra. They put out a new web video earlier this morning that talks about the energy company that went bankrupt down in California after getting energy loans from the stimulus. The Romney campaign likes to point out that there are people who were connected to Solyndra who got that gave campaign contributions to President Obama and so the Romney campaign is going back to that. They also had a conference call with reporters earlier this morning and talked about this, described the whole Solyndra matter as Chicago style politics. But Carol, I have to tell you, very interesting to watch, strategically, what both campaigns have been doing in the last 48 to 72 hours. You know, the Obama campaign came out with a web video over the weekend that featured Mitt Romney singing "America the Beautiful" and showing images of the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, et cetera. Well, this morning, in that new Solyndra ad, that web video that the Romney campaign put out, it the features President Obama singing. So I think once both campaigns have gotten into making fun of each other's singing voices, we're officially in the sandbox, Carol, this morning.
[Costello:] Man, you're not kidding. I just feel actually the Obama ad. I haven't seen the Romney ad, but it has to do with outsourcing jobs, too?
[Acosta:] Well, I think what the Obama cam campaign has been saying is they're going to go after Mitt Romney on outsourcing. That's something that we expect the president to talk about at an event later on today in Cincinnati. Interesting to note, Carol, about that event that the president is holding in Cincinnati, Rob Portman, who is pretty high, everybody in Washington thinks on Mitt Romney's presidential selection list, is going to be giving a response to the president's event there in Cincinnati. Portman will be you know, he also be talking about the president's record, of course, and so it's interesting to see Rob Portman sort of coming out and being used in this very, you know, high profile capacity in responding to the president. So the president is going to be going after Mitt Romney on outsourcing. They're not letting up on that line of attack, and Mitt Romney's campaign, they are going back to this whole line of attack on Solyndra. Honestly, I think if anybody is going to change the narrative this week, I think it could be Mitt Romney. There are some rumblings coming out that perhaps he might name his vice presidential candidate this week. The "New York Times" is reporting that this morning. That to me is the only narrative game changer that could potentially come out this week Carol.
[Costello:] Maybe that's why Rob Portman is being featured so prominently. We'll see.
[Acosta:] We'll see.
[Costello:] Jim Acosta, thank you. Let's talk a little bit more about President Obama's speech in Ohio today. He's supposedly going to launch a strike on Mitt Romney's tax reform plan claiming it will cost hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. Dan Lothian is at the White House to tell us that part of the story. Good morning.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Good morning. And you know, the Obama campaign has been now for the last few weeks focused on this whole issue of tax fairness and the president again will be pushing that in Cincinnati, Ohio today. Again, trying to frame it as Mitt Romney's policies will only hurt the U.S. economy. So according to the Obama campaign, the president will be highlighting a new report that shows some 800,000 jobs could be created overseas because of Romney support for eliminating taxes on foreign incomes of American companies. Of course, this is something that the Romney campaign is just pushing back vehemently on even before the president utters his first remarks in a statement saying that it's a dishonest attack meant to distract from his own record of failure. But you'll continue to hear this push of tax fairness from the Obama campaign because they believe that this is something that really resonates with the voters. In addition to that in the state of Ohio, you'll hear the president also talk about what his administration has done to help the auto industry. The auto bailout and what that has done to turn the economy around and this continued push to extend the U.S. rather the Bush tax cuts, which the president says will benefit those middle class Americans.
[Costello:] Dan Lothian reporting live for us from the White House. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is wrapping up a nearly two week trip to Asia and the Middle East with a stop in Israel. Clinton is talking with Israeli leaders about Iran, Egypt, and other issues while also bringing a message of solidarity. Secretary Clinton travels back to Washington tomorrow. Before heading to Israel, Mrs. Clinton met with Egypt's new president, Mohammed Morsi, and urged him to assert his authority, but that was not welcomed by everyone. On Sunday, Secretary Clinton's motorcade was pelted with tomatoes and shoes as she left a newly reopened consulate. Protesters also chanted Monica, Monica in an attempt to insult her. This morning, two families are awaiting word of loved ones kidnapped in Egypt. Egyptian authorities are still trying to negotiate with the man who kidnapped the Reverent Michel Louis and Lisa Alphonse along with their Egyptian tour guide. Louis' son, Jean spoke to CNN earlier this morning.
[Reverend Jean Louis, Son Of Kidnapped Pastor Michel Louis:] The story that I heard from my mom, everything happened so quickly, so even she I remember her clearly telling me on Friday that one of her concerns were that he didn't even have shoes on when they took them off the bus. So he doesn't have any of the natural medications he takes. I don't know of anything about seizure.
[Costello:] The Reverend Louis has diabetes. The kidnapping of Americans is the third in the Sinai Peninsula since February. Just how tight is security for the Olympic games? On the heels of personnel shortages, we are hearing some alarming things. We're going to take you to London.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Coming up a little later on 360: Casey Anthony's defense tries to get the death penalty taken off the table. But will the move work? We will tell you the latest. And we're getting closer to the answer whether or not Casey Anthony will testify. That's later tonight. But we begin tonight, as we always do, "Keeping Them Honest," with a candidate for president who's campaigning against big government, even though she and her family are personally benefiting from government money.
[Rep. Michele Bachmann , Presidential Candidate:] I want my candidacy for the presidency of the United States to stand for a moment when we, the people, stand once again for the independence from a government that has gotten too big and spends too much and has taken away too much of our liberties.
[Cooper:] Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann jumping into the Republican race for president today, declaring her candidacy in Waterloo, Iowa. She chairs the Tea Party caucus and her anti-big- government record is nothing new.
[Bachmann:] After the $700 billion bailout, the trillion-dollar stimulus and the massive budget bill with over 9,000 earmarks. No more earmarks. I voted no, not once, but twice, on the $700 billion bailout. I voted against every bailout that came after that. I voted against the stimulus bills. Our heads are spinning right now with the bailout mania. Out-of-control spending has consequences. The federal government continues to spend more money than what it takes in. More spending yet again, spending that this country simply cannot afford. Cut the spending. Stopping the spending. Stop spending money that we don't have.
[Cooper:] Michele Bachmann speaking out against government bailouts, earmarks, and handouts. But, keeping her honest, it turns out she's not only benefited personally from government money over the years. It seems she's also lobbied for it. There's her husband's counseling clinic, Bachmann and Associates. He's a psychologist who clinics offer what they call Christian counseling. According to "The Los Angeles Times," citing Minnesota state records, the clinic received nearly $30,000 in government money since 2006. We did our own digging and learned that $24,000 of it came from a state grant financed totally by federal money. Then there's her late father-in-law's farm in Wisconsin in which she's a partner. We got this information from a government watchdog group called the Environmental Working Group. According to the EWG's farm subsidy database, the farm got more than nearly a quarter million dollars between 1995 and 2008, mostly in federal corn and dairy subsidies. Congresswoman Bachmann was asked about both the clinic and the farm over the weekend. [Begin Video Clip, "fox News Sunday"]
[Bachmann:] The money that went to the clinic was actually training money for employees. The clinic did not get the money. And my husband and I did not get the money either. That's mental health training money that went to employees. Number two, regarding the farm, the farm is my father-in-law's farm. It's not my husband and my farm. It's my father-in-law's farm. And my husband and I have never gotten a penny of money from the farm.
[Cooper:] Well, as for the clinic, according to "The L.A. Times," yes, that money was earmarked for training employees, training which obviously benefits the clinic. As for not getting a penny from the farm, her own financial documents show that isn't so. They reveal between $32,000 and $105,000 of income between 2006 and 2009. In public, meantime, she was railing against and voting against federal farm payments, voting no on a 2008 farm subsidy bill. Yet, the very next year, she wrote Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praising government price support programs and asking for more quote "I would encourage you to take any additional steps necessary to prevent further deterioration of these critical industries," she writes, "such as making additional commodities purchases," in other words, more government intervention in the marketplace benefiting her constituents and herself while she rails against big government intervening in the marketplace. Bob Schieffer asked her about that contradiction yesterday on CBS'"Face the Nation," and she dodged the question. Watch. [Begin Video Clip, "face The Nation"]
[Bob Schieffer, Host, "face The Nation":] What about farm subsidies? You benefit from farm subsidies on your family farm. Do you think we ought to think about cutting those back?
[Bachmann:] Well, I think everything needs to be on the table right now, every part of government. I will tell you one thing that should be on the table. Under Barack Obama the last two years, the number of federal limousines for bureaucrats has increased 73 percent in two years. I can't think of anything more reprehensible than seeing bureaucrats on their cell phones in the back 73 percent increase in the number of federal limousines in the last two years, for heaven's sakes.
[Schieffer:] But, Congresswoman, you're not seriously saying that eliminating limousine service is anywhere equal to reducing farm subsidies?
[Bachmann:] What I'm saying is that I think that's an easy one that we need to do. Clearly President Obama is not serious about cutting spending.
[Cooper:] We invited her on the program tonight, by the way. Her people refused, saying Ms. Bachmann was quote "booked solid" all week. She did, however, appear on "Sean Hannity" tonight, where she was not asked about this at all. She also plans a full slate of appearances on tomorrow's network morning shows. We will see if they ask her. Joining me now, John King, host of CNN's "JOHN KING, USA" every weeknight, also chief political analyst Gloria Borger. So, John, relatively speaking, I guess a relatively small amount of government money over many years, but it does raise questions for a candidate who's made her name attacking big government spending.
[John King, Host, "john King, Usa":] It absolutely does. And it raises those questions even at a higher volume because she's rising in the polls. And she is, right now, Anderson, like her or not, the most influential person, the person most shaping the Republican race for president right now, because of her rise in Iowa. She's now tied with Mitt Romney for the lead in Iowa. Because of that, Governor Pawlenty's campaign, Speaker Gingrich's campaign, all these other campaigns are now reacting to Michele Bachmann. So she faces a higher credibility test. And she will face these questions. What did you do with the money? What exact money did you get? And the credibility questions that you're asking. How can you rail against all this government spending, government involvement in the marketplace when, to a degree, even though there's no evidence she's done anything wrong, she's eligible for these payments or applied for the grant for the business, that she took government money at a time when she's out there saying it's such a horrible thing.
[Cooper:] Gloria, I want to show our viewers the poll that John's talking about. It shows Congresswoman Bachmann statistically tied as the front-runner for the Iowa caucuses. She has clearly got momentum. What does it mean for the primary at this point?
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Well, I think, to me, she seems to me so far to be at least the Howard Dean of this race on the Republican side. Remember when Howard Dean gave John Kerry a run for his money in 2004? Nobody kind of expected him to do that. He came up from out of nowhere, but he had a very strong base within the party. He had the liberal base within the party. She has got the Tea Party fiscal conservative base. And until somebody like Rick Perry gets in, governor of Texas, which I believe he will, she's going to take up a lot of the oxygen. And I think, you know, today, it was interesting. Mitt Romney himself complimented Michele Bachmann for the quote "traction" she's getting in the campaign.
[Cooper:] It's interesting, Gloria, though. A lot of liberals today and liberal commentators were attacking her for she misspoke. She thought she was talking about John Wayne. She was talking about John Wayne Gacy.
[Borger:] Yes.
[Cooper:] Clearly, candidates make mistakes, misspeak all the time, so we're not focusing on that at all tonight. But I do want to play the question that had a lot of people talking over the weekend put to Congressman Bachmann put by Chris Wallace over the weekend. Let's watch.
[Borger:] Yes. [Begin Video Clip, "fox News Sunday"]
[Chris Wallace, Host, "fox News Sunday":] Are you a flake?
[Bachmann:] Well, I think that would be insulting, to say something like that, because I'm a serious person.
[Cooper:] Chris Wallace has since apologized. Would that question ever be asked to a male candidate?
[Borger:] Look, I think it's just easier to ask it of a woman. For some reason, there seems to be a different threshold. I looked back to Governor Moonbeam of California, Jerry Brown. I'm not sure anybody directly asked him whether he was a flake. But in the end, in talking to some people who work for Michele Bachmann, they say it worked to her advantage, because she was able to kind of chastise Chris Wallace. He did apologize later, as you say. But she was also able to recite her resume and tell people why she should be taken seriously. But I do believe that there's a different threshold for a woman candidate. Just ask Hillary Clinton about that.
[Cooper:] John, a lot of people like to put Michele Bachmann in sort of a Sarah Palin mode. The fact is, she's not a Sarah Palin.
[Borger:] No.
[Cooper:] And if the polls are accurate, she seems at this point a lot more formidable as a presidential candidate.
[King:] There are a lot of people right now, Anderson, who understand Iowa very well who believe she's the favorite to win the Iowa caucuses. Now, it's very hard this is my seventh presidential campaign very hard for me to sit her tonight and give you a reasonable scenario that shows Michele Bachmann being the Republican nominee for president. However, I can give you a very good scenario that shows her having a dramatic impact on this race. If she wins Iowa, that essentially kills the Pawlenty candidacy. It probably kills the Gingrich candidacy, if it lasts that long. If you're Governor Romney, you're looking Michele Bachmann right now because you're the front-runner in this race. The first race now, if you're not Governor Romney, of the other eight candidates and maybe Governor Perry will get in and there be nine other candidates is to emerge as one of the alternatives to the front-runner. Michele Bachmann has stolen that mantle at the moment. Long way to go, but she's surprised a lot of people. She is going to raise a lot of money in this first quarter. And with that, though, Anderson, with the success comes the tougher questions. That's her next challenge. She's a House member and she has to prove now she can be a serious candidate for president.
[Borger:] And, Anderson, I think it may have happened a little quickly. I was talking to somebody who is close to her today and he said to me, we're not ready for all of this attention yet. And she may not be ready for all of this attention yet. As you say, she's full of gaffes. She's got to learn the difference between being a congressional candidate and being a presidential candidate, which is a whole different playing field. And it's clear that she's not comfortable in these kinds of unscripted events. She did very well at the debate, at the CNN debate, because she had her talking points.
[Cooper:] But you know what?
[Borger:] Yes.
[Cooper:] But let me jump in here, because, to her credit, I have seen her she's come on this program. I have seen her go on Chris Matthews' program.
[Borger:] Right.
[Cooper:] There's a lot of these Republican candidates who will not do that, who will only stick to...
[Borger:] Right.
[Cooper:] Michele Bachmann, whether you like her or not and viewers are or voters are obviously divided she goes out there and she gets into the fray.
[Borger:] She does.
[Cooper:] And I got to give her she won't come on the show tonight to answer this question, but in general, I give her respect for doing that.
[King:] But she will come soon. And you know she will. I have had her on the program where I asked her she made some ludicrous claim early in the Libya intervention about some 30,000 people killed by the United States and NATO. She said she saw it in a newspaper report. You had her on. You grilled her about when the president made the trip to India. She was quoting this ridiculous blog posting that it was costing this exorbitant amount of money, and then she said, well, I was just quoting that report. I had her on the program a little more than a month ago and she said, yes, she understands now there's a higher bar now for her. She can't make those factual mistakes as a candidate for president. She did make one today. But she understands the thing you have to give her some credit for is, she's not afraid to go out and take her harpoons.
[Borger:] And that's the difference between Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin. Michele Bachmann is willing to kind of confront these issues. Lots of Republicans at first called her the Mini-Me to Palin. And she really isn't, because she will answer your questions directly, if you can get her on the show. And I think that's the difference between her and Palin.
[Cooper:] Yes.
[Borger:] She's really willing to say, OK, here's what I believe and maybe she turns out to be wrong, but at least she does it. You're right.
[Cooper:] Well, she's had a whole career, too, as a lawyer before even getting into politics.
[Borger:] Exactly. Exactly.
[Cooper:] So, anyway, she's a force to be reckoned with, no doubt about it. John King, Gloria Borger, thank you. Let us know what you think. We're on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter @AndersonCooper. I will be tweeting tonight. Coming up: new signs of horrific torture and murder in Syria, victims as young as 13 years old, other videos of people just being beating by security forces. The Syrian government is still insisting there's no crackdown. They actually say that: There's no crackdown. They say they're that it's extremist groups who are doing the killing. We will hear from a government spokesperson and woman in hiding in Syria right now. And later: the leader investigator in the Casey Anthony case back on the stand in her murder trial plus, why the court proceedings suddenly and mysteriously screeched to a halt over the weekend, the latest on that coming up.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Thanks for watching, everyone. NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL with Suzanne Malveaux starts now.
[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We're taking you around the world in 60 minutes. Here's what's going on right now: The government of Iraq wants its own vice president dead. Well, now, he is on the run. And in Syria, they called them barrel bombs. They are full of nails, gasoline, and TNT. One just fell on a kindergartner. Also, we begin in Europe, where a little while ago a girl just woke up after witnessing the unspeakable. It is a murder mystery that stretches from France to Britain. A family was found dead in a car in the French Alps. The body of a cyclist was also discovered nearby. Now, all the victims were shot in the head, twice. But two little girls survived. One was beaten and shot. The other one hid under her dead mother's legs for hours. Atika Shubert, she is joining us from Claygate, England, outside the family's home. And, Atika, this has a lot of people talking. I mean, it's unbelievable when you think about what took place, what happened with this family. Do investigators have any idea of a motive?
[Atika Shubert, Cnn International Correspondent:] Not at this point. And that's the big question: What was the motive? Why did this happen? And it is why British police are now inside the family home behind me there, looking for any clues, anything unusual, anything that might indicate why the family was targeted in this way. Now, earlier in the day, there was a bomb disposal unit that was brought in. There were some items that police were concerned might be hazardous. That has turned out not to be the case, and so, they've brought the cordon close to the home. But they've also been bringing quite a bit of equipment to really thoroughly comb through the home, trying to find anything that might indicate. But so far, no clue yet as to what the motive might have been, Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And, Atika, we know that one of these surviving girls, she was beaten, she was shot, and she came out of a medically induced coma yesterday. Investigators, are they trying to reach her? Are they trying to talk to her?
[Shubert:] They are trying to. However, even though she's been brought out of that coma, she's still under sedation, so it may still be a few days yet before she's really able to speak with investigators. They did have a chance to speak with her younger sister, the 4-year-old that survived by hiding underneath her mother's legs for hours after the attack. And, unfortunately, they say she was not able to provide any clues as to what happened. That she didn't see anything. She only heard the attack as it happened. So, they are really hoping that perhaps the 7-year-old daughter will be able to provide some clues, but so far no leads yet.
[Malveaux:] Atika, how are those two little girls doing? I mean, when you talk about that one who hid under her mother's legs do they have any sense of how she is mentally?
[Shubert:] Well, I mean, as you can imagine, it is an extremely traumatic event. We do know that the 4-year-old girl has been brought here back to the U.K. That she is with her closest relatives now, and that is good. The 7-year-old, as you know, has been brought out of her coma. But it will be very difficult to, of course, break the news to the 7-year-old girl about the what happened to her parents and then to have to question her afterwards will be very difficult.
[Malveaux:] Wow. Just tragic. Difficult, indeed. Thank you very much, Atika. Appreciate it. On to Afghanistan now. You're listening to a ceremony there. The U.S. military today handed over control of a controversial prison to the Afghan government. The brief ceremony, of course, making it official today. More than 3,000 Taliban fighters and terrorism suspects are held at Parwan Prison. It is at Bagram Air Base, that is near Kabul. And, Anna Coren, she's in Kabul, and she joins us here. The U.S., of course, explained to us, they are not necessarily giving up all of the prisoners. They're closing the detention center, handing it over to the Afghans. What about those detainees that are still in U.S. custody?
[Anna Coren, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yes. Suzanne, on the surface, everything might seem OK. But underneath it was a completely different story. There is real tension here between Afghanistan and the United States. So the U.S. holding on to something like 34 highly valued detainees. These being senior members of the Taliban, of the Haqqani Network, which of course just a couple of days ago was listed as a terrorist organization and of al Qaeda. So, these are the detainees that the U.S. does not want to hand over to the Afghans just yet. The reason being is they're concerned they'll end up in the criminal justice system and possibly be freed, whether it's through political interference or corruption. That is the major concern, Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And where do those prisoners go? Where do they physically take them? Where are they being held by the American officials?
[Coren:] Well, the Americans actually have a part of Bagram Prison. They have their own section. So, the prisoners are still being held at will. Now, it's worth noting, Suzanne, that an agreement was signed back in March between President Karzai and the United States about handing over control. But as of March, the U.S. has arrested something, like, 1,600 prisoners. They have been detained, and they are still under the control of the United States as well. So it's actually a few more than just the 34 that we have mentioned. But, yes, they will still be staying at Bagram Prison.
[Malveaux:] Tell the significance of this particular prison, because I understand it is the same place where you had hundreds of Qurans that were actually burned earlier in the year by U.S. troops, and that really set of a lot of violent protests against the U.S. military inside of Afghanistan.
[Coren:] Yes, definitely. I mean, this is a prison that has a long history. There were allegations of torture many years ago at the start of the occupation of Afghanistan, but certainly it has it has cleaned up its act, if you like, certainly after Abu Ghraib in Iraq, Bagram has cleaned up its act. So, there haven't been allegations of torture, Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And how important is this to the Karzai government, to Hamid Karzai, who essentially is trying to get some assurances, some comfort, even some confidence to folks that once U.S. and international forces leave, that he is going to be able to rule his own country.
[Coren:] Yes. Well, that is a huge problem, Suzanne, trying to convince the Afghan population that he will be able to do just that. You mentioned the exit in 2014. We're already seeing a drawdown of coalition troops by the end of this month. There will only be 68,000 U.S. forces that are left in Afghanistan. So, you know, this is a coalition force that is reducing in numbers, and they will be gone by 2014, all foreign combat troops. But, you know, Suzanne, this was, of course, the safe haven for the Taliban before 2001, before those September 11th attacks. Tomorrow is the 11th anniversary, so I think the United States is really concerned that once those foreign combat troops leave, that this doesn't once again become a safe haven, I should say, for al Qaeda.
[Malveaux:] All right. Anna Coren, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Here's what we're working on for
[Newsroom International:] Iraq unraveling. That is right. A wave of bombings just ripping through the country. Now, the Vice President, he's on the run from his own government.

[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn:] Hello and welcome to the special weekend edition of our program. I'm Christiane Amanpour, coming to you this week from Cairo. I'm here for an exclusive interview that I had earlier in the week with the man at the center now of this fragile truce between Gaza and Israel.
[Amanpour:] He is Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas. Now the United States and Israel have not been talking to him in order to get this cease-fire because they consider him a pariah. To them, Hamas is a terrorist organization. So it's been the Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, who's been negotiating with the Israelis on behalf of Hamas. The real question is, now that this round of hostilities has ended, will this cease-fire be any more than a lull? We've seen it happen before. Four years ago, Israel also went into Gaza and now we've had more than a week of war between Israel and Hamas in that blockaded strip. So I asked Khaled Meshaal what it would take to make this permanent. Khaled Meshaal, thank you for joining me.
[Khaled Meshaal, Hamas Political Leader:] Welcome.
[Amanpour:] Both sides are always blaming each other. You're blaming the Israelis; the Israelis blame you. Is it useful to kill civilians? Is that useful to you? Is it useful to create terror on civilians inside Israel?
[Meshaal:] Let me let me give you the truth. On the 8th of November, this month, the Israelis entered Gaza and killed a child, a Palestinian child. The resistance responded. Then the Egyptians interfered and tried, as you know, to create the truce. One day after the truce last week, in eight nine days, the Israelis killed Ahmed al-Jabari, when he was coming from Hajj, from Saudi Arabia. The Israelis escalated the utmost fear in Gaza. So they bear the responsibility. We don't target the civilians. I don't like to shed any drop of blood.
[Amanpour:] Do you think that it's a legitimate part of what you call resistance to kill civilians inside Israel?
[Meshaal:] Resistance does not target the civilians.
[Amanpour:] But they're falling into towns
[Meshaal:] anywhere else. We must go back to the origin of the issue. The Palestinian people were living in peace and security, then the Israelis occupied the land. According to international law, and according to the Divine laws, the Americans and all the peoples, every people, when they are when they are occupied, they resist with all that they have. The Israelis Israel say it's a state and they have an army, and they call it the army of defense, and they have advanced weapons. They have committed massacres from Deir Yassin to [inaudible], to all the [inaudible]
[Amanpour:] Mr. Meshaal? Mr. Meshaal, the history is a well-known history and everybody's arguing over the history. Today, when you make your analysis of how much pain you're going to inflict, when you do the cost and the benefit of trying to make your point and get the world on your side, do you consider how many you've talked about Israeli civilians. Now how many Palestinian civilians are being killed because of your actions? Do you consider that?
[Meshaal:] It is not because of our action. We are defending our people and our land and I will respond. Let me tell you. I say to you, I'm the leader of Hamas. I tell you, through CNN, to the whole world, we are ready to resort to a peaceful way, truly peaceful way, without blood and weapon, as long as we attain our Palestinian demands: the elimination of occupation and the Palestinian state and ending the occupation and the wall, all the goals, all the national goals. I ask you, Yasser Arafat gave this opportunity to the Israeli and to the international community. But the Israelis killed Yasser Arafat. Mahmoud Abbas, whom the world welcomed, he gave this opportunity to Israel and to the international community. What did they do? They made him fail. They let him down. Today, Netanyahu and before him all the leaders of Israel, they have cornered [inaudible]. They want the occupation. They want the they want the continuation of the settlement. What do they want? What does the world need from the Palestinian people? Our people is the victim. And now we want them to raise a white flag and surrender.
[Amanpour:] You say you would prefer the route that did not cause so much violence, so much death. And yet, you say that you would accept a two-state solution, but that you will not recognize Israel's right to exist. Is that still the case?
[Meshaal:] First of all, the offer must come from the attacker, from Israel, which has the arsenal, not from the victim. Second, I say to you from 20 years ago and more, the Palestinians and the Arabs are offering peace. But peace is destroying peace through aggression and war and killing. This idea, this touch failed experiences, we have two options. No other. Either there's an international will, led by the U.S. and Europe and the international community and force Israel to go through the way of peace and a Palestinian state, according to the border of 1967 with the right to return. And this is something we have agreed upon as Palestinians, as a common program. But if Israel can continue to refuse this, either the either we force them or resist to resort to resistance. I accept a state of the 1967. How can I accept Israel? They have occupied my land. I need recognition, not the Israelis. This is a reversed question.
[Amanpour:] It might be a reversed question, but it is still the question. All the international agreements about what a two-state solution should look like and you're talking about the Americans. They agree as well, and the U.N. and Moscow and the E.U., that it has to involve Hamas, all parties, renouncing violence and accepting the right of Israel to exist. You keep telling me why not and who should recognize whom. But my question is, is there ever a circumstance under which you will recognize Israel's right to exist?
[Meshaal:] I will give you a reply, a direct reply and a lesson. About the direct answer, I accept a Palestinian state according to 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital, with the right to return.
[Amanpour:] I know you say the right to return
[Meshaal:] When this stage rises
[Amanpour:] you know, everybody's not going to be able to return to Israel. You know that.
[Meshaal:] Please. What? Say it again?
[Amanpour:] Under the international agreements every Palestinian who's living in the diaspora is not going to be able to come back to Israel.
[Meshaal:] Who said that? Who said that?
[Amanpour:] That's what are the parameters.
[Meshaal:] I tell you, I accept
[Amanpour:] They can come to the Palestinian state.
[Meshaal:] I tell you, my sister, you are the CNN, a respected channel. Do a survey through the diaspora where the Palestinians are. If you don't find a majority a big majority that want to return to their land, then I'm wrong. But
[Amanpour:] No, they want to return to their land.
[Meshaal:] Yes.
[Amanpour:] Of course.
[Meshaal:] Yes.
[Amanpour:] The international agreements don't provide for that.
[Meshaal:] I ask you, why the international community is silent about the law
[Amanpour:] They're not silent. They say that under the international agreement, the return should be to a Palestinian state.
[Meshaal:] OK.
[Amanpour:] OK?
[Meshaal:] OK.
[Amanpour:] So here's the picture. The only thing I want to ask you is are you keeping on making excuses for why you won't recognize?
[Meshaal:] I'm answering. I'm answering. Allow me to answer. I have given you a clear answer. I am I want I want my state. After this state is established, it decides its standing toward Israel. Don't ask me when I'm in prison and under pressure, under Israeli pressure. You cannot ask me, as a victim, what is my stand toward Israel. I have mentioned my stand. When there is a Palestinian state and the Palestinians are living like any other people in the world but you asked me about the right to return. I asked you a question and you have interrupted me why the international community is silent about the law of the right to return for that allows every Israelis to return and the people accept this. The world accepts this. And there are Jews who have never seen Palestine, while the Palestinian who was born on in Palestine, or his grandfather or his father, and he doesn't even have the key. This one is not not allowed, while the Jews are allowed are allowed. This is double standard. And it's time to stop.
[Amanpour:] I know that's your view. The international community has put out the parameters. They want Palestinians to be able to live in peace and to have their rights, side by side with a secure Israel. But the problem is they say Hamas just doesn't do anything the international community wants.
[Meshaal:] This is refutable. Hamas is not the obstacle. Mahmoud Abbas, it the world knows that he wants peace. Hamas agreed with Mahmoud Abbas many times over the last years on a unified Palestinian vision. And Olmert and Sharon needed failed. And the international community did not help. This is a tragedy. Mahmoud Abbas last year went to the United Nations and he wanted a full membership for the state. And today, Mahmoud Abbas wants to go to the general assembly and he wants only a monitoring membership. And the Americans say don't do that. Who refuses this step can't help. And he accept a Palestinian state according to the 1967 borders. This is what incur the reactions. Then they resort to resistance because they feel that the international community is not supporting him and supporting the invaders and using double standards.
[Amanpour:] Khaled Meshaal, hold that thought. We'll be back in a second. Welcome back to the program. I'm Christiane Amanpour in Cairo. And now that the cease-fire is underway, the question really is, does it take us back to anything more than the status quo ante? What will really change if some of the parameters and demands by both sides are enacted? Maybe that might lead to some serious truce, some change in the future. But many people are very skeptical at this time. And as evidenced from my exclusive interview with Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas, there is so much, obviously, that the two sides disagree on so deeply. I spoke to him as the truce was being finalized. Joining me again, Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas. You moved from your headquarters in Damascus, Syria. Why did you do that?
[Meshaal:] After 10 months, from the beginning of the crisis, the Syrian crisis in March 2011, I left Damascus in January 2011. After I despaired from treating the Syrian crisis in a political way
[Amanpour:] So you
[Meshaal:] away from blood.
[Amanpour:] you disagreed with what President Assad was doing?
[Meshaal:] Certainly. I told him from day one that the Syrian crisis is an internal crisis, that it has started from by the demands of the people. Yes, it's an internal issue, but, I advised him, given our history with the Syrian leadership, I advised him that the Syrian crisis is part of the Arab Spring and there are demands of reform and it requires a political solution and initiative from the Syrian leadership. Then when they resorted to security and military, which led to the shed of blood, I estimated that this was going that was doomed to fail.
[Amanpour:] Therefore, you must have broken with Iran as well, because Iran supports the president of Syria and his policies. Have you distanced yourself from Iran?
[Meshaal:] No. You see, the relationship with Iran is present. But, yes, it was affected and harmed by our disagreement about Syria. It is not as it used to be in the past, but there is no severing of relations. But it is different according to the circumstances. The Syrian crisis impacted our relationship with the Iranians. But we still have Iran in relationship in other fields.
[Amanpour:] You have received Iranian long range missiles. The Fajr missiles have come through. Are you still getting missiles from Iran into Gaza?
[Meshaal:] Hamas, as a movement of resistance, with a cause, for a people living under occupation, we see not just wait to get support, financial support, military support, political support from all over the world, from all the states in the world. Everyone giving us support, whether it's from Iran or Europe, from anywhere.
[Amanpour:] So the answer is yes?
[Meshaal:] I answered you. Any state supporting us or killing the occupiers, we welcome them and we thank them.
[Amanpour:] What is the end game? What is your goal? You govern Gaza. What is the goal, endless resistance, endless fighting, endless death?
[Meshaal:] Of course not. Of course not. The resistance is not a goal. The resistance is a means to an end. The end game is to end occupation, but the international community is not enabling us to do this. They are biased toward Israel. When the when will the American administration change? When will the international community say enough to Israel? When Saddam occupied Kuwait, the international community, in its entirety, interfered. When is the international will that appeared in Kosovo and in Serbia and appeared in several parts of the world? Why the international will is not present in Palestine? All the hypocrisy for Israel and blaming the victim, the Palestinian victim.
[Amanpour:] What do you want to do for your people? It's endless war. What do you want to do?
[Meshaal:] Allah has given me a new life. I exploit it. I use it. And I invest it in for the sake of God, to appease God, to serve my people, to end the occupation. And such as that, the settlement ends and the killing ends and the aggression ends, and to make peace in the region, but through peace, peace that is not rewarding the occupier, does not oppress the victim. Peace, the kind of peace that precludes occupation and the bloodshed. Our Islam, all the religions of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, true Judaism, given this revealed by God, does not allow the killing of any innocents in the world.
[Amanpour:] So since innocents are being killed by your side and by that side, are you still, after all these years, committed to a one-state solution, as you said, to have Palestine from the Jordan to the sea?
[Meshaal:] Palestine, from the river to the sea, from the north to the south, it is my land and the land of my fathers and grandfathers, inhibited by the Palestinians from a long time ago. This is my land, my right. But because of the circumstances of the region, because of the keenness to stop the bloodshed, the Palestinians today, and in the past, and Hamas, have agreed about a program, a national program that accepts the '67 borders. But the Israelis don't accept. So it is all about up to the Israelis. And the international community is failing to give to do us justice.
[Amanpour:] The al Qassim brigades, the military wing of Hamas, they've been tweeting there's a Twitter war. Is that crazy? Between al Qassim and IDF about this bomb in the bus in Tel Aviv? "We told you, IDF, that our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are. You opened the gates of hell on yourselves." Is Hamas taking responsibility?
[Meshaal:] Hamas is not claiming responsibility, not announced that it did this operation. The one who claims the responsibility, the one who executed it, and I don't know. But I tell you, this operation is part of the massive ramifications that and there will be more as a reaction, an angry reaction from our angry Palestinian people because of the aggression on Gaza. Whoever does aggression must pay the price, anywhere in the world, not just from Hamas. The world will not just watch as a crime of. The free people in the world will not just be watched, stand by watching.
[Amanpour:] You said that you would no longer run to be president of Hamas. And yet you're still here. Are you going to continue trying to be elected?
[Meshaal:] I'm still the president of the political office, of course, of Hamas. So my term of office as a leader is not over. But, yes, I'm I still abide by what I say, that I will not accept to be nominated because our beautiful tradition in Hamas, because we have deep democracy. So no official can come without election. And one of the moral traditions we have, in addition to others, is no one nominates himself. His brothers nominate himself and he can accept or not accept.
[Amanpour:] But you won't accept?
[Meshaal:] This time I will not accept. I will not accept because I want to give vitality in the democratic experience and I'm the son of Hamas and the founder, one of the founders of Hamas. So my role in Hamas will continue to be strong, but one thing to have a role and another the role is more important than to be in one office.
[Amanpour:] So just to be clear, after this term, no more Khaled Meshaal, leader of Hamas?
[Meshaal:] Yes. This is my clear standing.
[Amanpour:] Khaled Meshaal, thank you for joining me.
[Meshaal:] Welcome. Thank you very much.
[Amanpour:] And we'll be right back after a break with a final thought. And finally tonight, if you read it in a spy novel, you probably wouldn't even believe it. Back in 1997, Khaled Meshaal was the subject of a bizarre assassination attempt. It was when he was in Jordan and he was confronted by a Mossad agent, who tried to shoot a poison into his ear. In fact, they did. Apparently that was under the approval of then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now then King Hussein of Jordan, who had a peace treaty with Israel, threatened to break it off unless he got the antidote. He asked for the antidote and he got it, and Meshaal lived to fight another day. He told me about it today.
[Meshaal:] But God saved me when they tried to assassinate me.
[Amanpour:] King Hussein saved you.
[Meshaal:] Allah saved me. Then King Hussein.
[Amanpour:] King Hussein demanded the poison and the antidote.
[Meshaal:] This and this is a standing that is great on the part of King Hussein, and I'm still loyal to him and I pray for him. And I am obliged for this courageous stand that forced Netanyahu to give the antidote and thank God I was healed. But I mention this in the vein of the Israeli crime.
[Amanpour:] So after that assassination attempt, more than 15 years ago, Meshaal went on, as we know, to become head of Hamas. And now it seems that both he and Netanyahu, old foes, are constantly locked in this mortal combat. We'll wait to see whether this cease-fire brings any change at all to this situation. That's it for us. I'm Christiane Amanpour, reporting live from Cairo. Thank you for watching. And you can always follow me at amanpour.com and on Twitter and Facebook. Good night. END

[Costello:] Good morning, fellow Detroit Tiger fans. Yes, they are in first place in the central division. It's cloudy right now, 70 degrees later today, partly cloudy, with a high of 83. As the nation's middle class disappears the number of poor in this country is growing. If you listen to Tavis Smiley and Cornell West, nobody cares. The poor have become invisible. To combat that, Smiley and West are traveling across the country to give the poor a voice. They call its poverty tour. Today, they are in the city of Detroit and they join us now. Tavis Smiley and Cornell West host of "The Smiley and West Radio Show," thank you for coming on.
[Unidentified Male:] Thanks, Carol. Thank you.
[Costello:] So we do this thing called talk back every morning on AMERICAN MORNING. This is the question we asked our viewers this morning. Do the poor share responsibility for our economic woes? I got to tell you, I'm going to read you a response and then Tavis, maybe you can respond to this. This is from Stacy, she says welfare in theory was a good thing, but it but it is now but it's become a way of life for generations. The poor actually have it better than the middle class. Tavis, do you think there's any real understanding about who the poor are in this country?
[Tavis Smiley, Co-host, Smiley And West Radio Show:] I think first of all, with respect to the person who wrote that, that's complete lunacy number one and that's as charitable and kind I can be about a comment like that and that's really the problem, Carol, right now in America. When you talk about poverty, there's always been a connection, a link between poverty and crime, but now, it's become a crime in this country to be poor and that's the problem. The poor get dumped on, the poor get piled on, the poor get demonized. We cast aspersion on them and somehow blame them for their lot in life. Here's the bottom line, I heard your earlier segment talking about this debt ceiling deal. I think this debt ceiling deal, Carol, was really a declaration of war on the poor. The Congress, the president, respectfully, have declared war on the poor. You can't sign into law legislation that raises the debt ceiling, but opens up a crater in the floor. Put another way, no unemployment extensions for poor people. No closing of a single corporate loophole, not one new tax, not one cent of new tax on the rich and the lucky, so once again, the corporations get off scot free. Wall Street and the banks get off scot free and all these cuts aimed at the poor. How do you blame the poor for that?
[Costello:] But, Cornell, put it this way, Cornell, the Heritage Foundation, this is conservative organization. They did this study. They say the poor in America today, are unlike the poor in America years ago. In fact, most of the poor in America live in a decent house. They have TVs. They have microwave ovens and they even have a refrigerator. What are they complaining about?
[Cornell West, Co-host, Smiley And West Radio Show:] Yes. I think that's a lie. I think what we've seen and most poor people recognize the lack of food, the lack of housing, the lack of quality education, which is for white, black, red, and yellow, across colors across cultures is very real. But look at it this way, when you have the top 400 americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million, that 1 percent of the population have more wealth than the bottom 90 percent
[Costello:] Yes, but the argument
[West:] Heritage Foundation
[Costello:] Those people pay the taxes in America and the poor don't pay any.
[West:] No, but that's a lie too. Most of the taxes are paid by middle class. One out of four corporations don't pay a penny of taxes. They got offshore havens. They got offshore subsidiaries. The very head of President Obama's job commission, of GE, hasn't paid a penny of taxes in the last two years. So all these misconceptions is what brother Tavis and myself came up with the idea of the poverty tour. The legacy of Martin King, keep track of the dignity and humanity of poor and working people shatter all these lies being told about them.
[Costello:] Tavis, what is President Obama, what would you like President Obama to do because you have several bones to pick with him?
[Smiley:] Well, we don't have enough time to give you a list of things I think he ought to do respectfully. Number one, the president ought to start using the word poor, p-o-or, don't be afraid to talk about the poor to say the word poverty. In three presidential debates the last time around, between Obama and McCain, the word poverty, poor never came up one time. Last year in his state of the union address the president became the first president since 1948 in that speech to not say the word poor or poverty. We have to call it what it is. Number two, they ought to be a White House conference on poverty. We have conferences on everything else in the White House, why not a White House conference on poverty. Why not a plan, just like we had a plan to raise the debt ceiling, why not a plan over 10, 15, 20 years to eradicate poverty.
[Costello:] The president represents everybody in America, not just the poor and not just the middle class and the wealthy.
[Smiley:] Precisely.
[Costello:] Dealing with a lot of stuff right now so why concentrate on one segment of the population?
[West:] When the banks had a national emergency, they bailed out and found $700 billion. When we go to war, we find $1.3 trillion for the poor and working classes living in a state of emergency, a matter of national security, especially the children. We got 21 percent of our precious children of all colors living in poverty and that's morally job seen in the richest nation in the history of world.
[Costello:] I wish we could continue this conversation, but we have to wrap it up here. Thank you both for joining us this morning. You're in Detroit, you're stopping to talk to the poor across the city of Detroit and then on to other places. Tavis Smiley, Cornell West host of "Smiley and West radio show." You can check out their web site, povertytour.smily and west.com. Thanks to both of you.
[Velshi:] A very compelling argument they make.
[Costello:] Those close to the White House who have tried to make this argument you have to focus on the poor and you have to focus on race-based employment programs to alleviate poverty for different segments of society.
[Velshi:] Because there's disparity between these groups.
[Romans:] There is. I'm telling you, there's been real push back to that because this White House wants exactly as you said, about everybody, not about isolating people. It's about everybody.
[Costello:] And frankly, I think to an extent, the poor have been demonized because many people in America think they're leeches on society. They're just, you know, sucking everything out of us.
[Velshi:] Three million or 2 million job openings and you have 14 million looking for jobs. Doesn't matter how good you are. Whole bunch of people aren't getting them. It's a very interesting discussion. Your morning headlines are coming up next including amazing videos of riots and looting across London.
[Romans:] Also ahead, what's the secret for a safe kids lunch, how to skip the stomach ache. It's 44 minutes after the hour.

[Bolduan:] The Coast Guard says it's called officers for missing boaters off the coast of California amid questions about whether the distress call was even real. CNN's Dan Simon reports.
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] They sent out numerous boats and aircraft to rescue four people, including two children, allegedly on a sinking boat. This was the last radio transmission from the vessel operator.
[Unidentified Male:] Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the Charm Blow. We are abandoning ship.
[Simon:] Is that the voice of a hoaxster? Was this whole thing a search that spanned the area the size of West Virginia and cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars just a prank? The Coast Guard says it's a possibility. First, the name of the boat, Charm Blow. Don Montoro is the Coast Guard sector commander responsible for the search.
[Don Montoro, U.s. Coast Guard:] We go through our databases, we went through customs databases. We also went through databases of local law-enforcement agencies to search for the vessel, and tried to identify it.
[Simon:] And what did you find?
[Montoro:] We unfortunately, we haven't found anything at this point.
[Simon:] And what about a missing persons report?
[Montoro:] We haven't received any notifications of any missing persons.
[Simon:] Is that unusual?
[Montoro:] I haven't experienced that before, so...
[Simon:] This isn't the first time the Coast Guard has turned up empty on a high-profile search for missing boaters. Last May, it searched for six people in the waters off Galveston, Texas, after a mayday call from a sinking boat. Then a few weeks later, a caller claimed there were three people dead and 20 people in the water off Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
[Unidentified Male:] We have 21 souls on board, 20 in the water right now. I have three deceased on board, nine injured because of the explosion we've had.
[Simon:] Authorities later determined the call came from the land and was a hoax. As for the radio transmission in California...
[Unidentified Male:] Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the "Charm Blow." We are abandoning ship.
[Simon:] Based upon what he's saying over the radio, you thought that was real?
[Montoro:] Absolutely. And we treated it as such. We treat every call as it was our own child out there and we're searching for them.
[Simon:] Now, making a false distress call is a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus the cost of the wasted search effort. In this case, it would be hundreds of thousands of dollars Wolf and Kate.
[Bolduan:] As well they should get in trouble if they're wasting that time, if that turns out to be true. Dan Simon, great report. Thank you.
[Blitzer:] Probably seemed like a great idea to see the sights, hundreds of feet in the air in a balloon until disaster struck. Up next, we'll have new pictures of the deadly explosion and a closer look at balloon safety.

[Banfield:] It looks like the Jodi Arias murder trial is having an effect on some other inmates when it comes to how they eat their meals. We reported this to you yesterday. They used to get two meals a day somewhere around 12 hours apart. That was given to us straight from the Maricopa County sheriff's office and now that office says we have to update the information we gave you because, about two weeks ago, trial inmates started getting an extra snack with a hoagie roll and a two-ounce cup of peanut butter. So all trial inmates and not just Jodi Arias are now getting food three times a day, not twice. That amounts to 3,000 calories per day. They are also allowed to buy snacks from the commissary like candy and soda and crackers. We reported to you yesterday the information that they gave us was that they were splitting her breakfast in two and making it into breakfast and lunch. And she'd been getting some headaches, she says, because of it, possibly. In any self-defense murder case, a defendant had pretty well have a good compelling reason for killing. In the Jodi Arias case, she might need even more than that. Somehow she has to convince the jury that she was so abused or so afraid of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, that is he had to stab him 29 times and shoot him in the head and run off and pretend like nothing ever happened. So her defense has put a domestic violence expert on the stand to discuss the level of abuse Jodi Arias says she suffered as a kid among other things. And I want you to hear Alyce Laviolette's testimony. You can hear her voice on the clip that you're about to hear in this tape. But the ladies you're initially see are Jodi's family memories in the gallery listening.
[Alyce Laviolette, Domestic Violence Expert:] I learned that in Jodi's family, there was a certain amount of physical discipline, some which I would consider went over the line, and some that didn't. When you leave welts on a child, and that was information I was given, that they were hit with spoons.
[Banfield:] "In Session's" Jean Casarez and Beth Karas, our correspondents, live in Phoenix, who have been covering the trial every day, join us. The domestic violence expert said that Jodi told her that she had agreed to all of the kinky things that Travis Alexander had demanded because of, quote, "loyalty and giving up what I want for people that I love." This is something that she said that had to do with her family. I guess the only question that I have at this point, and, Jean, I'll start with you, lots of people suffered corporal punishment and worse, but they didn't take to the level of reaction that Jodi Arias had. That's got to be a tough translation for a jury, I'm guessing.
[Jean Casarez, Correspondent, Trutv's "in Session":] I think what Alyce Laviolette is testifying to is that there is no formula, there is no mold that goes from abuse victim to abuse victim, that there is this continuum of abuse, that it begins with a honeymoon period and then it goes to some emotional abuse, but you're vested at that point so you stay in there. And remember, she is looking at e-mails and text messages and journal entries for much of her testimony. And in regard to emotional abuse, there are some entries from Travis Alexander that one could say was emotionally abusive toward Jodi. Now, she's going to have to rely upon Jodi for the physical abuse aspect, but the whole point here, Ashleigh, is the state of mind of Jodi Arias. It's not Travis. And although people are saying they're trying to create Travis as a very bad person, but the point is what is in Jodi's mind. And the defense wants, Ashleigh. The defense wants, when this case gets to the jury, an instruction saying you have to look at the state of mind of Jodi in that bathroom as a victim of domestic violence. That's what they want the jury to have to look at.
[Banfield:] OK, so, Beth Karas, jump in here because we have two issues that the domestic violence expert is answering to. First and foremost is the kind of violence that she said she suffered growing up and then the kind of violence that she said she suffered with Travis Alexander. I want to go back to the growing up part because I grew up in the '60s and '70s and the wooden spoon was part of everyone's vernacular or the belt or the brush or anything else of that ilk. And I just have to wonder how many jurors I'm not sure it's easy for you to tell, but how many jurors look for be about my anyone and have memories that that's just standard operating procedure and it doesn't make you a killer?
[Beth Karas, Correspondent, Trutv's "in Session":] Well, it is an older jury. There are 18 of them and six will be randomly selected as alternates, and we don't know what the final deliberating jury will be like. But I've spoken with a number of people around the courthouse, people who saw that testimony, and they said it sounds like what I experienced. It's not so bad. So maybe there will be some jurors that that are resonate with, they'll be on the same page with you. You know, the whole point about Alyce LaViolette's testimony is as to explain the overkill in the bathroom. What you just said having to did she have to kill him the way she did 29 stab wounds. It's really five of those wounds are defensive wounds and 24 are slices and stabs inflicted by her. But the other five to his hands. And she will explain rage. She will plain explain that Jodi Arias, I think, had this rage, this emotion that was coming out and she just couldn't stop. Almost couldn't stop. The jury, though, has to believe that she was truly abused otherwise this whole defense will fall apart.
[Banfield:] Oh, my lord, I have covered cases where we've talking the kind of abuse you can't imagine a child could even physically survive let alone emotionally survive and this doesn't seem to rise to any of those levels. But I want to go back to the defense witness, the domestic violence expert, who was on the stand talking about e-mails that she read through between Travis Alexander and some of his friends that seem to indicate he had some major issues with women. Have a listen.
[Laviolette:] They advised her to move on from the relationship that Mr. Alexander has been abusive to women. There was information about Mr. Alexander calling Miss Arias a skank and then acting like it was a joke.
[Banfield:] Jean Casarez, again, if we're talking about the level of abuse that would lead to the kind of rage that Beth just described, being called a skank in an e-mail or being treated by somebody who thinks that's appropriate language. I'm looking for the abuse here. Help me. Help me help you, Jodi. How much abuse, true abuse, are we hearing from so far from this expert?
[Casarez:] Well, I agrees if has to do with how it is assimilated into the person of Jodi. And there was definitely name calling toward Jodi from Travis in e-mails and calling her very, very bad things. The letter, though, that this witness got to summarize yesterday, actually it was critically important for the defense because Chris and Sky Hughes they are a couple that were like family to Travis Alexander. They had known him for five years. He's the one that they turned to, he turned to them and she got to summarize a letter that they had written to him saying you've got to let Jodi move on because you're not treating her well. You don't acknowledge her in public. You don't show her affection. And if my own sister wanted to date you, I would say no because of how you treat women. The jury heard that yesterday. And you know what that does, that corroborates Jodi Arias on the stand. Many of the things she said.
[Banfield:] I just keep coming back talk to me about serious abuse when you plunge a knife into someone 25-28 times and shoot them in the head. Now, I want to hear some serious abuse, because my Twitter account is meaner than those e-mails. Ladies, stand by for a moment. Jodi Arias is not the only person notorious at this point. The spotlight has also shifted to prosecutor. His rising popularity may even now be having an affect on the trial. We'll talk about it in a moment.

[Lemon:] Tomorrow will be a pivotal day in Egypt's future and observers fear it could be a violent one as well. Cairo's Tahrir Square is already overflowing with people anxious to know who will be named president. The Muslim Brotherhood candidate is claiming victory but there is unofficial word that tomorrow the military which holds most of the power in Egypt will name the former prime minister as the new president. That would almost certainly lead to angry protests. And speaking of angry protests, intense clashes today between riot police and Sudanese protesters in the country's capital. Crowds have been rallying against spending cuts and austerity measures there for the past week. The protests really got heated up at Friday prayers with crowds calling for the removal of President Omar al-Bashir. As many as 75 people were killed in uprisings today in Syria. Twenty two of them in a turbulent town in the eastern part of the country. Even medical personnel rushing in to help victims are being killed as opposition leaders continue their 15-month clash with government forces. And there is proof those opposition forces are gaining steam. Not just their numbers but also the peculiar place they're getting their weapons. CNN's Barbara Starr has more from the Pentagon.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] It's just one Syrian armored vehicle under attack by opposition forces. Opposition forces that have grown from handfuls to nearly 40,000 by some estimates now attacking Bashar al-Assad's regime every day. Some weapons are being smuggled into the country but a senior U.S. official with access to the latest information says, there's also an increasing number of weapons from the Syrian military, itself. How the rebels get them says a lot about what is going on.
[Andrew Tabler, Washington Institute For Near East Policy:] They just purchase them from officers. So, you know, the Syrian system is quite corrupt. Many times when people are stopped at checkpoints soldiers ask if they'd like to buy any ammunition.
[Starr:] There is no sign of collapse by Assad's most elite military units, but the rank and file may be less loyal. Opposition sources tell CNN, some Syrian troops may deliberately be missing their targets, a sign of support for the people.
[Tabler:] I've heard that on a number of occasions. It wouldn't surprise me. And that also can be these kind of slowdowns in the government and army and the bureaucracy are a way of resisting the Assad regime's reaction to the uprising.
[Starr:] U.S. officials say, there is no way to confirm the reports but it's now clear that opposition forces are strong enough that Assad's most elite units cannot always respond everywhere they are need.
[George Little, Pentagon Press Secretary:] You have an opposition, set of opposition groups that is finding ways not totally coalesced but they are finding ways of organizing themselves more effectively.
[Starr:] No one is saying that the Syrian regime is about to crack, but just this week two brigadier generals and two colonels defected and that Syrian pilot that's defected to Jordan, U.S. officials believe he is a Syrian colonel with intelligence about Syrian military operations. Barbara Starr, CNN the Pentagon.
[Lemon:] All right, Barbara. We all know about high blood pressure, high cholesterol and things like that can cause serious health problems. But did you know you can add loneliness to that list, too? A new study says, it can even be deadly.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Germany's chancellor warning it is now or never when it comes time to solving Europe's debt crisis. I'm Christine Romans. As we speak, talks of finally getting a handle on the region's debt problems are entering their final stretch. What it means for you and the global economy.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] And "Occupy" chaos. I'm Carol Costello. Anti-Wall Street protesters tossing paint at riot police in Oakland who sprays the crowd with tear gas in return. Hundreds of demonstrators have now been arrested.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Ali Velshi. President Obama about to unveil a plan to help students with the crushing cost of higher education. We'll break down the president's proposal on this AMERICAN MORNING.
[Romans:] All right. Everybody, good morning. It is Wednesday, October 26th. Welcome back to
[American Morning. Costello:] Yes, good morning to you. Up first this morning: what's happening in Europe right now will no doubt weigh heavily on the U.S. markets and your investments. European leaders are trying to hammer out a plan to fix the region's debt problems. As we wait for word of the deal from Brussels, U.S. stock futures are trading higher.
[Velshi:] Let's go straight to Nina dos Santos. She's live in Brussels, Belgium. Nina, this is the fourth meeting, I think, in the course of a few days a combination of either European leaders or finance ministers or Eurozone leaders. What's the hold up? And is there a chance of breakthrough and some progress today?
[Nina Dos Santos, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yes, we're limping ever closer towards the finish line. They've got a few hurdles to clear before the negotiations finish this evening. And the big question is: they've promised us many times that we'll have a deal to solve the Eurozone's debt crisis. By the end of today, question is, will we and what happens if we don't? The question is, really, if we don't, we could be in unchartered territory. Let's have a look at the issues that are at hand here, Ali. It's obviously complicated. I'll be brief. On the one hand, they've got to boost the Eurozone bailout fund to refinance the Greek problem. They've also got to impose a hair cuts or write-down on private investors to make the private sector bear some of the pain of bailing Greece out and shore up the capital of the Euro zone banks. Difficult subjects to discuss. Difficult subjects to report on, but imagine if you are 17 countries having to decide on this altogether, Ali.
[Velshi:] Nina, there's some sense of consequence if there isn't a deal or is there overwhelming expectation that there will be a deal?
[Dos Santos:] Well, I've heard the word catastrophe mentioned to me several times over the last couple days. That may be a little bit farfetched because what we've already seen is the be all and end all summit slipped already. That was supposed to be three days ago in Brussels on Sunday. I've been in the Belgium capital myself since then waiting for a decision. They promised us we will have something in place by today. But, realistically, what we're starting to hear already is that the details of whatever they may or may not agree on when they do eventually come to some kind of conclusion after today's talks may be sketchy at best and that might not be enough for the markets. Of course, I should remind you that what is at stake here is the single currency, the stability of the euro and accounts for 25 percent of the world's trade, big reserve currency. And so, it could affect all sorts of things from the dollars, to trade with the United States. Now, just for a little bit of fun, I wanted to show you three of these. They are Belgium waffles. This town as this summit continues is continuing to be increasingly synonymous with more waffle. The big test is, will we see any later today?
[Velshi:] We have a truck outside Columbus Circle. Have you guys seen it?
[Costello:] The waffle truck?
[Velshi:] You can see it on this camera behind us. But there's actually a truck that sells those. It's a Belgium waffle cart. And they sell hot ones and they call them dinghies or dinghies or something and they put sauces on them. You know, it's delicious.
[Costello:] Where are we going with this?
[Velshi:] We're not going anywhere.
[Romans:] Nina dos Santos, thank you.
[Velshi:] Nina, excellent work. Thank you so much. Great explanation.
[Romans:] And the question is, when they do get a deal, what does the deal look like?
[Velshi:] Right.
[Costello:] Hopefully not a waffle.
[Romans:] You're right. Lots of little nooks and crannies.
[Velshi:] Right. U.S. markets are indicating a higher open. This is one of the things that they're thinking about. So, I think there's a bit of a feeling of optimism that could deteriorate.
[Romans:] And does it matter? It's 25 percent of the world's trade yes, it matters.
[Velshi:] Yes, it matters.
[Costello:] In other news this morning, "Occupy Wall Street" protesters taking it to the streets in Oakland, California, and getting tear gas in return. The protesters defying a ban and returning overnight to their camp at city hall plaza. Police sprayed the crowd with tear gas after getting hit with paint and other objects. CNN's Dan Simon is live in Oakland with more on this. How many arrests went down, Dan?
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] About 100 people arrested, Carol. Things getting ugly when police decided to throw the protesters out where they're hanging out near city hall. They've been there for about 15 days and police decided that the situation was getting unsafe. They thought there was some health problems that could develop with everyone being there in sort of this tent city. So, yesterday afternoon, they made the decision to hit the road and so, they disbanded. And then, several hours later, these protesters, about 500 of them, decided they wanted to come back. And that's where they were met with police who were in riot gear, tear gas was dispelled. It was a very ugly situation. As I said, about 100 people arrested. There were some minor injuries. Behind me I'm going to step out of frame you can see a live picture now. You can see that there are some barricades set up. A minimum, a minimal police presence, a few protesters in front of these signs. It seems like things right now are under control. But, of course, police still here just making sure that the violence, if you will, doesn't erupt, again Carol.
[Costello:] Yes. We'll have to wait and see what happens later today. Dan Simon live in Oakland, California thank you.
[Velshi:] Protesters also clashing with police in Atlanta. Fifty or so demonstrators were arrested there. They refused the mayor's order to leave Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta. The park had been home to the "Occupy Atlanta" movement for several weeks. Take a look at those pictures.
[Romans:] All right. Meantime here in New York City, the occupation of Zuccotti Park continues. You're looking at live pictures now. And protesters are listening to complaints from local residents about the noise. They've agreed to limit drumming to just four hours a day. So, demonstrators will drum between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m., and then from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
[Velshi:] I didn't realize the drumming was such a constant feature. You know?
[Costello:] Oh, yes. Oh, yes, I went down there last week and they constantly drum. That would drive you insane after a while.
[Romans:] If you lived down there.
[Costello:] Oh, if you lived down there, could you imagine? But to the tourists coming down and looking at them, they're enjoying it.
[Velshi:] Sure. In Times Square, they give you money if you drum or dance or something like that.
[Costello:] I'm glad they have come to some sort of compromise down there. An education lasts a lifetime, and in some cases so do the bills. That's why today, President Obama will again bypass Congress and announce new executive actions to help ease the burden of student loans. Joining me now to talk about the plan, Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Welcome.
[Arne Duncan, Secretary Of Education:] Good morning. Thanks so much for having me.
[Costello:] Oh, thanks for being here. We appreciate it. The average student debt for people graduating from a four-year college is nearly $24,000. It is so bad that our combined student debt now eclipses all of our credit card debt. It's just astounding to me. So, how will these changes that the president is proposing help?
[Duncan:] This is a big deal. Basically, what we're doing we're just going to do this by ourselves. We can't wait for Congress. We're just going to act is we're going to reduce those monthly payments, depending on the individual, by as much as a couple of hundred dollars. So, if we can reduce those monthly payments, we'll reduce defaults, will strengthen the economy. And, Carol, you know, people are hurting out there. Families are struggling. It's hard for recent college graduates to get a good job. We have to help out. We're thrilled to be able to do this and just to do it now, and not to wait.
[Costello:] Well, let's look at an example you gave us on how this plan will affect a "real person" I'll put that in quotes. We have a nurse earning $45,000 a year with $60,000 in federal student loans. Under the standard payment plan, she'd paid $690 a month. Under the revised pay-as-you-earn plan, that would drop that would drop to $239. That would save that woman, that nurse, $451 a month. And after 20 years, if she hasn't paid off all of the debt, that debt will be forgiven. So, I guess, my question is why would you ever choose to pay off all of the debt, if the debt will eventually be forgiven?
[Duncan:] Well, people want to do the right thing. We want to encourage them to do this. That is really about reducing that debt putting more disposable income in people's pockets, helping them pay the rent or buy the car or buy groceries or pay the electric bill, whatever it might be. This is trying to help people now. It ultimately by reducing that debt each month, lowering those payments, we're going to reduce default rates for the country.
[Costello:] Of course, the biggest problem here is the cost for the college education. It just keeps going up. It increased, what, Christine is my encyclopedia of consumer knowledge, what, college
[Romans:] Another 5 percent to 8 percent defending on where you go.
[Costello:] Another 5 percent to 8 percent. That's crazy. Is there anything anything the government can do to try to control the cost of a college education?
[Duncan:] Well, I don't know if we can control the cost. We tried to do a couple things. We've already had historic increases in Pell grants on the front end, an additional $40 billion for low-income families to send their children to college. We did that without going back to taxpayers for a dime, simply stopping subsidizing banks, putting all that money into young people. That was controversial here in Washington. We thought it was absolutely the right thing to do. We're also announcing today much greater transparency. As young people are applying to college, they're going to get much more information on what they'll pay over the four years. We have the best system of higher education in the world. People are smart, they're savvy. We want them to shop and compare, and everyone wants a good education and they want a good value for that money.
[Costello:] Give them some give them some advice because, you know, it's public universities because states are having so many problems with their budgets. Tuition at state university is going up, too. I mean, nobody can afford anything any more. It's insane. So, give us some advice. What should we do? What should parents do to ensure that their kid can get a college education?
[Duncan:] Again, shop and compare. There are different things going on. Some universities are raising their tuition much higher than inflation. Other universities are keeping their tuition flat. They're going to three-year programs. They're going to no-frill universities. Community colleges are great, great value. Great bargain. We're doing everything we can to support those. So, there's a range of great options. Be smart, think about it. Weigh all those options. You want to get a good education. You want to look at graduation rates. You want to look at potential majors and you want to look at what those costs are going to be, not just the first year, but over the four years until you complete.
[Costello:] So, going back to community college, I think many parent out there would say, I just don't think having a degree from a community college would get my kid a good job.
[Duncan:] I would beg to differ. The community colleges are this unpolished, unrecognized gem along the education continuum. There are many people who actually have four-year degrees going back to community colleges to get the next good job green energy, health care, technology, whatever it might be, whether it's going directly into the workforce or going on to get a bachelor's degree once you complete the community colleges degree. We think those community colleges a great, great option. And with our Pell grants, you can basically go there with almost no out- of-pocket expenses. Go there at zero additional costs.
[Costello:] Well, on the subject of Pell grants, there are some Republicans who don't much like the idea of Pell grants. And I know that universities across the nation have been sending out these letters saying, "Help us protect the Pell grant because they're in real danger of going away."
[Duncan:] To me that's anyone who would take away from Pell grants, I just fundamentally reject that. It makes no sense to me. We have to educate our way to a better economy. The American Dream has always been not just to graduate from high school, but some form of higher education. That's the only way we're going to strengthen our nation long haul. We need many more young people going on to college. Just in the past two years, we had a 50 percent increase in the number of people benefitting from Pell grants. We have to fight to maintain those. Anyone who wants to reduce Pell grants is not just hurting young people, but hurting our country.
[Costello:] Arne Duncan, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
[Duncan:] And thanks for the opportunity.
[Romans:] And that second question you asked him was so good. I mean, if you're going to stretch it out and have someone forgiven in any way I mean, when I graduated from school, the first thing I did for two years is every cent went to pay a student loan I had from my senior year. I couldn't rest knowing it was there. Was that the right thing to do? Should I have stretched it out for a long time and use that to invest in something else? I don't know.
[Velshi:] We have this argument a lot.
[Romans:] I know. And you were actually right on that one. But another thing is a lot of families ask me so, wait a minute, we haven't upgraded our house. We're only driving two used cars. We're trying to save every penny and the student loan office is going to see all the money that we've saved and we're going to pay 100 percent of the tuition.
[Velshi:] Right. That's a big issue. If you're a saver and you're responsible and this has been the issue for years here, right? That savers and people who've done the right thing are not getting these special services and provisions.
[Romans:] I mean, they're not going to get there's no student loan debt for them to have.
[Velshi:] But sadly, it is not paying to be a saver in America right now.
[Romans:] No, it doesn't. You're right.
[Costello:] No.
[Romans:] You're right.
[Costello:] That's the saddest thing in all.
[Velshi:] Well, still ahead why a former Goldman Sachs director is expected to surrender to the FBI this morning.
[Romans:] Plus, Hurricane Rina aims for Cancun. Rob Marciano has been tracking this big storm from the CNN hurricane headquarters. It's 14 minutes after the hour.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, top of the hour. Live picture here now Pope Benedict XVI on his U.K. visit. He's wrapping up a mass. We have been watching this for the past couple of hours here. But one of his public events he's having on day-three of a four-day trip of the UK. The first official state visit of a pope ever to Great Britain. The pope hasn't changed his very busy schedule despite the arrest of six men who are suspected in a possible terror plot. We'll go back there live for you, tell you more about this historic trip, coming up. Plus, the debate continues on Capitol Hill. What to do about the tax cuts for the middle class. Will they happen? Will they not? Will those making more than $250,000 get an extended tax cut as well? Coming up, we'll tell you how the tax cuts break down and impact you. Not just the back and forth in the debate, but we're going to show you specifically, if you make so much money, how much you stand to lose. How much you stand to gain with these tax cuts. That's coming up for you. From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's 7:00 a.m. where I am in Atlanta, Georgia; 6:00 a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you're right here with me. Also, a big shake-up on the political scene once again. Can you spell Murkowski? Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski hopes her supporters can certainly spell it as she now launches a write-in campaign to try to keep her job. She lost, you may remember, the Republican primary to a Tea Party-backed candidate Joe Miller. Sarah Palin had endorsed Miller. She's now calling Murkowski's latest move a futile effort on her part. A Tea Party spokesman said in effect, the people of Alaska have already fired Murkowski, but Murkowski is calling on Alaskans who didn't vote on the primary to turn out for her next month.
[Sen. Lisa Murkowski , Alaska:] I will be the first one to admit to you that in the primary campaign, we made some mistakes. We talked about ourselves. We talked about me a lot. But we didn't educate Alaskans about the extremist views that were held by Mr. Miller. And when he swung, I didn't swing back. Well, ladies and gentlemen, friends and supporters, the gloves are off.
[Murkowski:] I'm fighting for Alaska.
[Holmes:] Well, fighting words right there. However, she has a really uphill climb here because write-in campaigns almost never work and they're a little tricky there in Alaska as well given a couple of factors, including the fact that her name is Murkowski. Someone would have to write that name out. As well as writing it out, they would have to fill in the oval next to the name. So, you'd to know the rules going in. Also, if you don't spell it out correctly or it's not clear exactly who you were trying to write in, that ballot could be disqualified, even though the state official has said that "Lisa M." as a write-in might be OK. But historically speaking here, on write-in candidates, the only other senator who has been ever won in a write-in candidacy has been Strom Thurmond. That was in South Carolina back in 1954. I want to turn back now to the live picture we were showing you here at the top of the hour of Pope Benedict. He's just wrapping up a mass there at Westminster Cathedral in London. You see him greeting the crowd and the crowd greeting him with some applause here. He's just wrapping this mass. This is the third day of a four-day trip to the U.K. This is the first ever official state visit. The Pope has visited the U.K. before, but at the invitation of the church. We saw John Paul II visit Great Britain back in 1982. So, that was some time ago. But this this visit is a state visit. This came at the invitation of the queen. Of course, she's the head of state. The Pope here, the head of state as well as as well as being the head of the Catholic Church. But I'm going to go and keep this picture up while I bring in our Phil Black. Phil, I'm not sure if you're able, or how far you are, or where you are, if you can see this picture or hear this picture. But it seems like he has stepped out here and greeted enthusiastically by the crowd there. And like you said, there was some speculation on what crowds he would draw on this visit. But has that been the kind of reaction to him, a lot of enthusiastic support for this for this Pope?
[Phil Black, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, indeed. He hasn't had too much trouble drawing crowds wherever he has gone. Where I'm standing is London's Hyde Park where 80,000 are expected to gather tonight to celebrate a prayer vigil with the Pope. Where he is now: Westminster Cathedral, the Catholic Church's most important house of worship in this country. He has just celebrated mass there and he is now currently greeting and meeting thousands of school children who have traveled to London from across this country to spend a little bit of time with him there. During the mass, though, that finished just a short time ago, he had some interesting words to say about the child sex abuse scandal. It is the first time that he has addressed this issue during the visit here. He spoke of the immense sorrow that he felt, the suffering caused by child abuse, particularly within the church, particularly by the clergy. Take a listen.
[Pope Benedict Xvi, Catholic Church:] I also acknowledge, with you, the shame and humiliation, which all of us have suffered because of these sins. And I invite you to offer it to the Lord with trust that this chastisement will contribute to the healing of the victims, the purification of the church and the renewal of the age-old commitment to the education and care of young people. I express my gratitude for the efforts being made to address this problem responsibly, and I ask all of you to show your concern for the victims and solidarity with your priests.
[Black:] So, some strong words on this most controversial of subjects, but victims' groups have already responded, saying that's all they are, they're just words. They want to see action, particularly with bringing the perpetrators to justice, helping the victims overcome their suffering. And that is why the victims and victims' groups will be among the thousands of people expected to march through London today, protesting the presence of the Pope, and the fact that he is receiving the honor of a full state visit here. Those victims will be among atheist people who opposed the church's position on homosexuality, contraception, abortion those sorts of things. As I say, a few thousand of them are supposed to make their presence felt today. But, remember, 80,000 people are expected to be here tonight at London's Hyde Park,
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Phil, don't go anywhere just yet. I just want to remind our viewers what they're seeing on the screen on the right there of Phil. You're seeing a live picture at Westminster Cathedral where a mass is just wrapping up. And you heard that the school children there enthusiastically greeting the Pope. He was greeting them. Thousands of them came over to see him. Again, I just want to remind you this is a live picture you're seeing of the Pope right now at Westminster Cathedral. One more thing, though, Phil, and you kind of hit on some of these protests that are happening. Security is always a concern where the Pope travels anywhere, but there in particular, there were six arrests of people allegedly involved in a terror plot of some kind. Has that changed the Pope's schedule and do we know if that plot yet was directly linked to the Pope?
[Black:] The Pope hasn't changed his schedule, despite the fact that six people have been arrested here for allegedly planning some sort of terror act. They were picked up through the day yesterday. Police have been talking to them, conducting searches across London. They're still in custody and they could be for some time. Police have not confirmed that this is, in fact, connected to the Pope's visit. But it does go to the heart of what is a very complex security operation for guarding the Pope, because he is not just a visiting head of state, which means keeping him away from all possible trouble. He is also the leader of a significant religion who wants to move among, be seen by as many of his flock as possible, and they certainly want to see him. So, police say this has been a challenging security operation, but they have not altered it significantly in light of those arrests,
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Phil Black for us we certainly appreciate you as we continue to watch this live picture. Again, live at the Westminster Cathedral the holy place, as Phil was explaining to us. We're still hearing music, still part of the ceremony here. But a mass is just wrapping up. He is keeping a full schedule. The schedule continues through the afternoon. He has more meetings. And, again, he'll end up at Hyde Park where for that prayer vigil that Phil that's where Phil is right now, and where Phil explained the Pope is expecting some 80,000 people to show up. We'll continue to follow this visit this historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI. Well, we have a couple storms we need to keep a very close eye on. One of them, Karl, is causing some problems in Mexico. The other one Hurricane Igor, a huge category what is it now, category two, three? It's been fluctuating. I'd get the meteorologist, the expert, to explain that to us. But wouldn't you know Reynolds Wolf he's not here with me. He's right in the path of that huge storm. We'll be checking in with him shortly. Seven minutes past the hour.

[Lemon:] Welcome back to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL, where we take you around the world in 60 minutes. Let's take a look at what's trending globally right now. Twitter users are using #refugees and #asylum to talk about a rescue operation underway right now off of Australia's Christmas Island. A boat packed with about 150 asylum seekers capsized and sank in the Indian Ocean. This is the crowded boat just moments before it capsized and so far 136 people have been pulled from the water, one person is now confirmed dead. Last Friday, another boat of asylum seekers turned over in the same area. Six bodies were found and 110 people were rescued from that accident. The Australian government met today to discuss a plan for processing asylum seekers. Tensions are mounting in the West Bank. Earlier this year, Israel's supreme court ruled that apartment blocks in the Ulpana neighborhood were built illegally on Palestinian owned land. Now settlers must be out by July 1st and many have reached an agreement with the government to go quietly. But as Elise Labott reports now, some activists promise to revisit the evictions.
[Elise Labott, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Piles of tires surround the Ulpana neighborhood. Right wing Jewish activists prepare to resist the demolition of five apartment buildings.
[Michael Ben Horin, Golan Hebrew Movement:] We are preparing for every option. We believe in God and the fact that Jews love each other. We will win and not get to any struggle.
[Labott:] Nearby, a Palestinian mosque has been set on fire. Graffiti warns Ulpana, war. Tensions are building ahead of a July 1st deadline for residents to leave. The Israeli high court ruled the buildings are on private Palestinian land and ordered the eviction of some 30 families. Among them, Brad and Kal Kittay, and their daughter Hannah, who moved from Australia two years ago.
[Brad Kittay, Ulpana Resident:] We were looking for a nice place to bring up our kids, to raise our family. We liked the quiet. We liked the greenery. We liked the neighborhoods.
[Labott:] The tranquility they wanted is about to be shattered.
[Kittay:] For us, this home signifies a lot more than just a place to live. This is our independence. This is our pride. This is our family. So it's very difficult to be told one day that you have to be out.
[Labott:] On the other side of the hill, in the Palestinian village of Dura El Kara, Hibri Ibrahim Hassan waits. And where is your
[Hibri Ibrahim Hassan, Land Owner:] My land is right on top of that mountain over here. I cannot even see my land.
[Labott:] The land on which Ulpana was built, he says, has been in his family for almost 300 years.
[Hassan:] In my mind, I remember going back to 60 years ago when I was a young boy, it was we used to grow grapes in that land.
[Labott:] For almost 20 years he watched as the West Bank settlement of Bet El expanded. His five-year battle led to the court rule which declared the land his. Now he hopes to bring the land back to the village of Dura El Kara and his family. There was someone else living on your land right now, a family, who's about to lose their home. How do you feel about those settlers?
[Hassan:] As human being, I feel sorry for them. But they have done something wrong. We talk about democracy, right, huh? The right for ownership is principle in democracy.
[Labott:] The Kittays are preparing to leave peacefully, but they don't think moving will solve anything.
[Kittay:] I think that if we can reach peace through this process, well, then I'm happy that my house is the sacrifice for that. Unfortunately, I don't think that my house being destroyed will bring to peace.
[Labott:] Some previous evictions have been far from peaceful. Six years ago, settlers clashed with Israeli security forces as they demolished the hilltop settlement of Amona. The residents say they'll go quietly, but others may not.
[Lemon:] All right, let's talk to the person who filed this report. That's Elise Labott. She joins us now from Jerusalem. Elise, how is the first phase of the moving going, because, as I said, people want to revisit this and they want to possibly resist it. So the first phase, how's it going?
[Labott:] Well, Don, according the residents are going quietly, as we said. It's this group of settler activists that are trying to wreak havoc. Yesterday and last night, as the residents were leaving, some of these settler activists tried to entrench themselves around the buildings and actually they were forced out by the residents. And, today, also, some youth came around trying to make trouble. The activists have made this agreement with the government to get out, to leave quietly. They'll be resettled in a neighborhood nearby. But it's these settler activists that might wreak havoc before the July 1st deadline.
[Lemon:] What's expected on July 1? Will everybody be out? And if they are, I guess that's good. But if not, what's expected?
[Labott:] Well, I think the rest of the residents, they've agreed to go. And I think that they'll be out. The question is, what are these activists going to do? These kind of right wing settler activists. And, also, is Mr. Harbi, the rest of the Palestinian, are they going to be on their land? That's really unclear because already people are saying that they're going to appeal. And while the Palestinians are saying they're confident. They know on July 1st the land will be vacated. Whether they're going to be able to take possession is really far from clear.
[Lemon:] Elise Labott in Jerusalem. Thank you, Elise. Now imagine this for you. A device that would actually eat the carbon dioxide from your car. One scientist did just that. But you've got to have a big tank.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. The NFL is closed for business again. Just days after one legal decision lifted the lockout, another last night put it right back in place. Also, Donald Trump getting attention again for his words, specifically this time, four letter words. I'll share his profanity- laced tirade to a group of women. Welcome, everybody, to this
[Cnn Saturday Morning, 6:] 00 a.m. here in Atlanta where I am. It's 5:00 a.m. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and that's where we must start this morning, in communities across the South, where the death toll from this week's tornado outbreak just went up a few hours ago. It now stands at 340 people killed now, making it the second deadliest tornado event since records have been kept. The toll could rise again with hundreds of people still unaccounted for. Emergency officials, though, want to stress that all those people aren't necessarily missing, rather you can probably chalk some of it up to the fact that there's been a loss of power and a lot of people seeking shelter elsewhere. This was, no doubt, a truly historic tornado event maybe we're just getting a good handle on. Look at that, we wipe to the before and then after picture of what it looked like in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. You see that line right there, the green all around there, this is the path of the destruction. It was a clear line. This tornado, at least one, that was reported, was on the ground and just tore through a particular area or for hundreds of miles even, just shot across several states. Look at that, you can see clearly it was on the ground and it formed a straight line in the destruction that it did have. Again, this was a historic event that maybe we are still days afterwards, getting a good handle on exactly how historic it was. Also, I want share with you an iReport. This is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Look at this video. A lot of this stuff is still coming in to us. A lot has been going on in the news in a past couple days and maybe a lot you haven't seen just yet. But we're trying to still understand what happened to our friends in the South and understand the scope of what happened. This was just one of a number of tornadoes. In all, some 211 tornadoes reported across six states in the South. That would be the largest outbreak of tornadoes in history. Some of them measured at EF-5. That is the strongest category with winds in excess of 200 miles an hour. Oftentimes, natural disasters we cover earthquakes, right, we hear about the epicenter. For this tornado event, maybe the epicenter a lot of people are looking towards Tuscaloosa. We are hearing a lot of stories, certainly stories of tragedy, but also some stories of survival including one guy who rode the storm out in a bathtub.
[Chris Wozniak, Tornado Survivor:] When I went outside and looked this way, you know, the tornado was just filled the horizon. There was a spot of daylight on either side and just the rest of it was just a wall of tornado. You couldn't see anything. It was literally coming directly at me and that's when, you know, I ran back into the house and attached the dogs to me, grabbed the motorcycle on me and put it on and I got in the tub. The ground was rumbling and then the house started to shake violently. And I knew at that point I was going to get just directly hit. And, you know, it was a real thing. I couldn't believe it, it's like I am not in a tornado. You know, it just doesn't seem like that should happen, you know? And but, you know, being inside the bathroom, which had no windows, you know, I thought I'm going to get trapped in this little room. And, you know, I didn't know if it was the right thing to do, but I thought, you know, maybe if I open the door, I'll have some kind of an escape hatch. So, when I opened the door, the front of the house flew away and then that Krispy Kreme truck sailed through upside down, right through the living room, and then the roof blew off and I ducked down and pushed the dogs down as best as I could inside the tub. At that point, you know, the back of the house also blew out and the dogs got sucked out. They were like kite on a string, you know, but they were tethered to me on their leashes and I was able to just hang on to them and push them down, you know? And then the rest of the house just fell on us.
[Holmes:] All right. My friend Reynolds Wolf is in Tuscaloosa this morning, where he has been the past couple days. Reynolds, good morning to you. Let me start with this is there a belief that possibly there could be people trapped under some of this debris and rubble who are waiting for somebody to come by and pluck them out?
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Very much so. There's certainly that possibility. But the issue that we're running into now, T.J., is because so much time has passed, and we're going on 48 hours and even more We're going from a rescue operation to possibly a recovery mode, which is a tragic thing to contemplate. I mean, we're hoping to find people who have been first of all, we don't want people trapped but we're hoping we're going to find people who are just OK, that have been underneath some rubble. But as hour and hour passes, I mean, it's really getting very bleak. If you look behind me, this is actually the home where Chris Wozniak was trapped, way back there, beyond the branches, beyond the debris, beyond the insulation, and even some of the roofing materials. You'll find a bathtub which is almost at this point splintered in half, that's where he rode out the storm. And you're going to find piles of debris like this across the landscape not only in Alabama, but also in parts of Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Mississippi. Is there a chance there could be people that might be trapped under something like this? Absolutely. But again, time is of the essence. You got to get to them quickly. And, hopefully, that will be the case,
[T.j. Holmes:] Well, a lot of people, of course, lost their homes, Reynolds. Where at this point, where is everybody? Are there enough shelters for folks? Are people finding friends and family to stay with? Just where is everybody?
[Wolf:] That's a great question. The answer is kind of a strange one. In a way, it's very heartwarming. There have been some shelters that have opened up. But in a state like Alabama, where I happened to be from and I say this with a very biased heart in Alabama, everyone is family and there are people staying with other family members, people who were not friends before are now friends. People are lending hands they normally wouldn't and you got people staying in homes. And they're going to stay together, they're going to reach out and extend that help until this incredibly difficult time passes. But I'm telling you, right now, there are some people who are thinking about going home but their homes no longer exist. T.J., although this house has got rubble off in the darkness, we can't light the entire planet, I know it's very dark, there are some homes that are wiped completely clean, where you basically have just the foundation of the home, a cement slab and there's absolutely nothing left. Not a single timber, not a doorframe, nothing. It is just as if a giant broom had come along and just swept the entire thing clean. As I mentioned, I mean, there's some places that don't just exist anymore.
[Holmes:] All right. Reynolds Wolf, again, in his home state of Alabama I know you love that place, a lot of people do. But our hearts go out to our friends here in the South. Reynolds, we'll be checking in with you plenty throughout the morning. And to our viewers, we dedicated this morning to bringing you a number of personal stories from inside the battered communities across the south so many towns torn apart by these storms. Reynolds talking to us about Alabama. But, of course, it wasn't just in Alabama. We're on the ground in Tennessee and Mississippi which were hard hit as well. But, first, though, our Rafael Romo takes you through one community devastated in Georgia.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Correspondent:] T.J., we're in a neighborhood in Ringgold. This is in Catoosa County in north Georgia. This is one of the most devastated areas by the tornado. This is a driveway. And as you can see, there's debris everywhere. Let me show you some of the things that we found here. First of all, take a look at this car and how badly damaged it was. That happened because what you see back there, that's part of a window, it used to be a trailer. It was lifted up by the strong winds and by the tornado, and was dropped on top of the car here in the middle of the driveway. The debris is all the way up until that house you see there. I was talking to the neighbor and he was telling me that even though the house is still standing, it's going to have to be demolished because the damage is just so bad. But one of the things that we have seen here is that people are coming together. We have noticed that people not only from here, but from neighboring counties, and neighboring cities, are coming to this area, helping people, bringing their equipment, trying to help each other. And so, that's the bright side of this tragedy that has happened here in this part of Georgia.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Now, William, this was to be your retirement home, huh?
[William Gambrell, Tornado Survivor:] Yes. See this green pick-up truck? It was parked next to that Saturn. The house was sitting right here on this foundation.
[Candiotti:] And where was the porch?
[Gambrell:] The porch was right here.
[Candiotti:] Right here. And now, it's over there?
[Gambrell:] You've got it.
[Candiotti:] Look at that.
[Gambrell:] Yes. And the foundation, look how far it pushed it back. It's unreal. You know, me and my wife was sitting in the living room at 6:00 watching the local news, and they said, tornado warning out
[Candiotti:] So, you just grabbed her?
[Gambrell:] I just grabbed her and I squeezed her and held on.
[Candiotti:] Held on for dear life.
[Gambrell:] Yes. But all that was running through my mind, this is it. It's over. But I am one lucky dog. I am one lucky dog. I ain't got no home, ain't got no truck, ain't got no car, but me and my wife and little dog Barney, we're still here. And what I'll do next, I don't know.
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] At the Piggly Wiggly Store, it's a free for all as in free for all. What the tornado didn't take of his family business of 30 years, Brian McGonagill is giving away. [on camera]: This stuff here, this is all being given away.
[Brian Mcgonagill:] Yes.
[Savidge:] Why?
[Mcgonagill:] That's what you do in a small town community, help people out. These are real good people in this small town and they all want to help each other.
[Savidge:] So, they are helping themselves, charities, ordinary people, whoever. And it's not as though he can afford the loss. On the contrary, he's very worried about the future for his store and his town. [on camera]: The store has been pulverized.
[Mcgonagill:] Totally devastated. Total loss.
[Savidge:] What do you think as a businessman?
[Mcgonagill:] It's scary, you know, the thing to come back to in this town. I'm sure all the businesses that are, you know, having that same thought, too. I was actually at my home.
[Savidge:] Like any good grocer, he knows his customers, especially now. [on camera]: And you know, I guess, who lives, who dies and who's made it out well and who hasn't?
[Mcgonagill:] Unfortunately, yes. Yes. I know a lot of people that's passed. It hurts. But we'll move home. You know, that's what we got to do.
[Savidge:] It's not all sadness. He jokes his office has a great view. [on camera]: I mean, can you laugh a little bit?
[Mcgonagill:] You have to, because I'm all cried out.
[Savidge:] And now, you understand why Brian McGonagill doesn't mind so much all he's lost.
[Mcgonagill:] That's what we want people to have.
[Savidge:] He's just glad for what was saved.
[Mcgonagill:] We made it through OK.
[Savidge:] Martin Savidge, CNN, Smithville, Mississippi.
[Holmes:] Well, I hate to go from disaster to disaster here, but seven weeks since that tsunami devastated northern Japanese coast, we are still getting new video, new pictures out of the destruction of that day. We have one now. I want you to listen to. I also want you to watch. This was another one that stood out to us. I'll share it with you. I mean, we have seen a lot of video out of this tsunami, but each video, new piece we get, seems just as remarkable or more than the next. Here is one that really stood out to us as well. You can see cars floating by. There was even a point we actually saw a helicopter in this water that was floating by as well. This is shot in a fishing village, Kesennuma, 250 miles north of Tokyo, a traditional fishing village, essentially just gone at this point. Also, I'll turn now to something happening in Rome today. Pope John Paul II, he is moving one step closer to sainthood this weekend. He'll be beatified in a ceremony at the Vatican. That means he becomes blessed, sainthood would be the next step. Some 300,000 people are expected in St. Peter's Square, but people will be gathering all around Rome for the events this weekend. We'll have much more on this ceremony and sainthood, the process itself, throughout the morning and also a little later in this show. Meanwhile, the space shuttle Endeavour sitting on the launch pad this morning. That's not where it was scheduled to be this morning. Yesterday's planned launch was scrubbed because of concerns over the shuttle's heating system. President Obama and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords were both there, were there, expecting to see a launch. Giffords' husband, of course, Mark Kelly, is commanding the shuttle mission. The president still went there, even though he knew before he got there that the launch was going to be scrubbed, but he did get a chance to meet with the Giffords and the entire Endeavour crew. NASA now says Endeavour won't launch until Monday at the earliest. No word yet if Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will be able to stick around and see it. Well, the FAA is shuffling some key veteran managers to new positions as a response to the recent reports of air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. At least three controllers have been fired in the last couple weeks. The FAA is also putting together a review panel to take a fresh look at controller training procedures. We'll turn back to London. You see that guy? It was that kind of day over there, was it not? My man is doing cartwheels outside of Westminster Abbey. That's a minister there. Just one of the things caught a lot of things to see, maybe some things you missed, but this was the conclusion or after the conclusion of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. We'll have a little more on that throughout the morning as well. When I went to bed last night, the NFL lockout was over. When I woke up, the lockout was back in place. I'll explain the latest legal decision. Also, how young is too young? In 60 seconds, I will tell you about an 18-month-old who just signed a professional sports contract.

[Fionnuala Sweeney:] Tonight on Connect the World, as the U.S. warns of yet another massacre in Syria activists are demanding to know why the international community won't intervene. Tonight, I'll speak with two army generals including a former NATO commander about the unique challenges Syria poses militarily and what it will take for the world to act.
[Announcer:] Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World.
[Sweeney:] Also tonight, Britain's prime minister makes headline news after accidentally leaving his young daughter behind in the clubs. And the muscles from Majorca sets a new world record, Rafael Nadal wins his seventh French Open title and tells CNN all about it. As violence intensifies across Syria there are fears tonight that another massacre could be imminent. Activists report fierce new shelling attacks on Homs, attacks that appear verified by amateur video. They also say the regime is now using helicopter gunships to fire on several towns, including al Heffah. Special envoy Kofi Annan is demanding Syria allow UN monitors into al Heffah after reports that tanks are now massing on the town's edge. The United States joins Annan today saying it fears another massacre.
[Victoria Nuland, U.s. State Department Spokesperson:] That the regime may be organizing another massacre, this time in the village of in al Heffah in Latakia Province as well as in the towns of Deir al-Zour, in Daraa, in Homs, in Hama, and in the suburbs of Damascus. UN military observers have been trying to make their way into al Heffah in particular and they've been blocked by regime forces and barred from the town which is yet another violation of the regime's commitment to cooperate with the UN supervision mission inside Syria.
[Sweeney:] Opposition activists say at least 93 people were killed across Syria today. Here you see the flashpoints of violence from Damascus in the south all the way north to Aleppo. Well, from the very start, some experts said the Syrian regime would survive this uprising if the biggest cities remained on the sidelines. So far, Aleppo and Damascus haven't really been drawn into the conflict, but as Ivan Watson reports we may now be witnessing a turning point.
[Ivan Watson, Cnn International Correspondent:] This is a Syrian rebel ambush, a roadside bomb hitting a convoy of buses carrying Syrian troops. The rebel's camera catches soldiers running for cover in the suburb of Duma, just a few miles from Damascus. The sound of fierce fighting echoing across Damascus at night has shattered the security bubble in the capital. Syria experts say the battle for Syria's two largest cities has begun.
[Peter Harling, International Crisis Group:] We've seen events pick up on the ground with more and more clashes occurring in areas of the country which the regime claims to control and in particular the largest city Aleppo, the country's economic capital if you will, and the administrative capital Damascus. In both places we've seen not just more armed clashes than ever in the past, but also a revival of the protest movement in its peaceful dimension.
[Watson:] A secretly filmed activist video shows the historic Hamadia Bazaar in the heart of Damascus shuttered, a strike staged by shopkeepers two weeks ago in protest against a massacre of civilians in the village of Houla allegedly by pro-government militia.
[Harling:] This is really a very strong signal suggesting that the historical alliance between the regime and the business establishment of the capital is at least partially broken.
[Watson:] The strike spread to neighborhoods in Aleppo prompting government troops to lash out and force merchants to reopen their shops.
[Harling:] What we see is the regime whose narrative boil down to us or chaos, but increasingly what we see is them and chaos. The regime has been incapable of imposing law and order.
[Watson:] More than a year of violence compounded by economic sanctions is taking its toll on ordinary Syrians. Prices of basic commodities and fuel have skyrocketed. Activist-journalists sent us this video of a woman complaining that she can only afford to feed her children rotting onions and stale bread warmed over a wood fire, because she can't afford to buy cooking fuel. The Syrian regime is still far from defeated. It still have fervent supporters and vastly better weapons than the rebels. But with its soldiers now using the main sports stadium in Damascus as a staging ground, the image of a government in control has started to crack. Ivan Watson, CNN, Istanbul.
[Sweeney:] Well, CNN talked to a Syrian activist in Idlib today who said, quote, "we cannot believe that the world is just watching us being killed. We want military intervention." You may remember the world did intervene in Libya's uprising, a move that helped rebels there win the war. But as many experts have pointed out, Syria is no Libya. The first major difference is Syria's military capability. Unlike Libya, Syria has a formidable military machine. The country has a significant air presence. This is a look at its military air bases around the country in the white circles. The blue squares represent the civilian airports. Many of those bases are guarded by one of the most significant ballistic missile forces in the region. Nearly 1,000 helicopters, war planes, and jets also make up its air force. Libya had less than 400 aircraft only half of them operational. Another major difference is the makeup of the rebel force. In Libya, opposition forces had a strong hold in the eastern city of Benghazi. In the case of Syria, rebel forces often are spread throughout the country. And finally, though Syria's important foreign ties: Tartus is home to a Russian naval base, Moscow's only presence in the Mediterranean. So Syria presents much different challenges than Libya did. But some still say military intervention is the right course of action. Tonight, we'll debate both sides of the argument with two top former military figures. George Joulwan is a former NATO supreme allied commander and retired U.S. major general. James "Spider" Marks was commanding general of the U.S. army intelligence center. Thank you both for joining us. First of all, if I can turn to you General Joulwan, you are I gather against military intervention. Why? GEN. GEORGE JOULWAN, FRM. NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER And let me ask you about the political will behind this. There doesn't seem to be the same international, or indeed in the United States, domestic consumption for intervention as there was in Libya.
[Joulwan:] Well, not also in Libya, but also Bosnia. And I had a hand in running the Bosnian operation. And there was very little support then. And I worked for a year-and-a-half to answer all those questions of clarity through prudent rules of engagement. Are we going to take out all those very sophisticated air defenses that you mentioned? All of that needs to be raised before you make a military decision to intervene, particularly by the United States.
[Sweeney:] Major General Spider Marks, you're in favor of military intervention. The questions and the points raised by Major General Joulwan, have they been addressed in your mind? Are these semantical? MAJ. GEN. JAMES MARKS
[Cnn Contributor:] No they're not semantical. General Joulwan is absolutely spot on. Where I differ is that there has to be some immediate cessation to the killing that's taking place in Syria. And clearly diplomacy has not been able to do that. And there are ways that that can take place where it's not unilateral. And I would never suggest that the United States do this in a unilateral way. There has to be an international body that agrees to the insertion of military force.
[Sweeney:] And where could you see that kind of agreement coming from?
[Marks:] Where can I see it coming from? It needs to be able to take place both from European partners and the regional stakeholders in [inaudible]. Clearly Jordan has a stake in this. A burgeoning and growing Iraq has a stake in this. And clearly what you see on the sidelines is an Israeli that is very much in tune to what the dynamics are inside the country. And let's be frank, the Syrian military does not have a very strong track record in terms of effectiveness on the ground for the use of its military forces. Clearly it's being effective right now against civilian targets. But my point is is there needs to be an international body that would be lead by the United States, not necessarily the United States unilaterally and not necessarily the United States with the exclusive application of force on the ground.
[Sweeney:] Why would it have to be lead by the United States?
[Marks:] There isn't any other body that's going to be able to bring this together and again let's look at the dynamic of the presence of Russia and the alliance that takes place that's in place right now between Damascus and Moscow. It's very important the United States not allow Russia to increase its presence and the hand that it can wield in this part of the in this part of the world as we go forward. Clearly al Qaeda is another wild card in this. And we're beginning to see the insipid beginning of the insertion of al Qaeda trying to create a solution. I think it's important that we have a presence on the ground so we can at least begin to shape what that end state might be, as General Joulwan has talked about.
[Sweeney:] General Joulwan do you see that there might be a tipping point for military intervention?
[Joulwan:] Not right now. I think we've got a lot of other questions to answer here. You know, I brought Russia into the Bosnian operation. And we were able to get cooperation with the Russians to try to have an influence in settling that very difficult conflict that was going on. I think there's a role here for diplomacy, there's a role here for some arm twisting on our part to get people involved. The Arab League needs to get involved. But I really think talking about unilateral military action or even military action without an understanding, we cannot go through another 10 year war in an Arab country. We just can't do it.
[Sweeney:] But you're making a comparison there with Iraq. And some say that that comparison is more accurate than to compare Syria with Libya. But as time passes, does the prospect for successful military intervention, should it be deemed necessary and agreements be reached, approve or decrease?
[Joulwan:] You know, I think there's we have a we don't like to see the killing that's going on now as Americans, also within Europe and NATO. NATO intervened not just the United States in Bosnia. But the United States was very unwilling to do so for a long time. So I really think that it's going to take some sort of leadership here and diplomacy, economic, as well as military options here to be able to try to stop the killing. And Russia can be very helpful with us in that area.
[Sweeney:] If not helpful, perhaps necessary as we look here at shelling, the latest shelling of the city of Homs in Syria. Let me ask you about military intervention. Does it need to be on the scale of the kind of intervention we saw in Libya, what about the prospect of safe havens for people trying to flee cities like Homs?
[Joulwan:] Well, again, let me get back to the issue of if you're going to put an air cover of it as we did in Libya, then you need to have what I call robust rules of engagement. And that's part of the clarity in terms of the mission. Do you have the rules of engagement to take out their air defenses? And you know then Russia is involved in some of that. All that needs to be decided. And that to me is a very important aspect of whatever we do in Syria.
[Sweeney:] I mean, Major General Spider Marks, could you even for a second begin to see that any kind of military intervention, either on the borders of Syria or within or above Syria itself, could come about some kind of you know, without some kind of overall agreement rather than unilateral action by some countries?
[Marks:] I think the only thing that you would see is the possibility of Turkey setting up some safe havens or buffer zones as sanctuaries to encourage families that are leaving Syria to have a place to go where at least there is a hope of some degree of protection, certainly along the border with Jordan and with Iraq again you could see that. We haven't seen that in great numbers right now, but that again would have to take place unilaterally by those nations absent an international body that's trying to set that up. General Joulwan has established very clearly that diplomacy must proceed any use of military force. That's an absolute necessary step. I am suggesting, however, that military force needs to be on the table as a topic moving forward.
[Sweeney:] And General Joulwan, presumably that's what's already been taking place over the last year and more diplomatic action.
[Joulwan:] Diplomatic action. But you should also know that there are nations arming the rebels. We should establish that. There are nations supplying arms to the rebels in Syria. And that is being done by several nations unilaterally. That will go on as it did in Libya. And I think in many respects this sort of revolution has to come from within. And your earlier report that the rebels were having some degree of success. I think all of that coupled with diplomatic, economic, and pressure can bring about the results without having a large military intervention at this time.
[Sweeney:] Thank you. General Spider Marks, the final word to you if I may. Do you believe that there are within various governments around the world military planners at work right now?
[Marks:] I think every nation that has a focus, or at least an interest in what the outcome is like in Syria, clearly has military plans. I mean, that's what militaries do, they plan for those inevitablilities and those, frankly, very uncertain times. So clearly plans are in place and they are growing in terms of branches and the sequels that are necessary to anticipate what the possible outcomes might be.
[Sweeney:] We leave it there. Thank you very much indeed. Major General Spider Marks, General Joulwan, both of you in Washington, D.C. Thanks for joining us.
[Joulwan:] Thank you.
[Marks:] Thank you.
[Sweeney:] And still to come tonight, is Hosni Mubarak's health hanging in the balance. Reports that Egypt's imprisoned former president has slipped into a coma. Running out of steam, markets cheer Spain's bank bailout, but quickly fizzle out, the unresolved issues is rattling investors coming up. And in Euro 2012, a result for France and England, but [inaudible] both sides. We'll have all the latest sports news and much more when Connect the World continues.

[Anderson:] Over the past week, some of fashion's biggest names have hit the London catwalk. Just in the past 24 hours, the likes of Burberry, Tom Ford and Topshop could be seen on the London stage. And when Fashion Week finishes tomorrow, it's expected to have brought in orders of some $155 million, that is why these weeks are important. Now for those who couldn't get a ticket to London Fashion Week, technology had the answer this year. Topshop teamed up with Google to show fashion fans what happens on and off the stage. I got a real backstage pass and talked with Topshop's Philip Green to find out more.
[Philip Green, Arcadia Group:] The young generation, you know, you go to a restaurant there's four of them, five, six are having dinner or whether they're talking to each other I'm not sure. But everybody has got at least two gadgets in their hands. It's, you know, that's where the world is going. So as a choice, you know, we've got to be involved with the best technology companies Google they are. CHRISTIAN CUSSEN, HEAD OF MARKETING, GOOGLE Plus,
[Emea:] The partnership with Topshop came about in the fall where Justin Cooke, the imaginative, you know, creative behind all of Topshop came in just for a general chat. And the ideas became so concrete and so fast that literally the day after we decided to target the Tape Modern Topshop show as kind of the coming out party for Google+ and Topshop showing off what brands can do with the toolset.
[Anderson:] Because I still want to get behind the scenes. I want to get behind the scenes for real. So come on, let's do this.
[Justin Cooke, Marketing Officer, Topshop:] I was very fortunate to work on the first ever kind of live Twitter images from backstage at show. We've really taken that on a level. So we're going to have live video. You're going to see all the girls are going to be filmed and projected back in the space for the finale. But this is really, you know, this is advanced. This is like a film set. So the girls are everything is being captured. And it means you're capturing it here, but you can share it with people forever on different ways, on Topshop.com when the products arrive in stores six months later, you'll have all this content, all this excitement. This is what it's about.
[Anderson:] There's an allure about fashion shows that quite frankly you'll lose if you let everybody in behind the scenes. Are you worried about that at all?
[Cooke:] No, I think I think.
[Anderson:] The magic, that's what...
[Cooke:] But I think for me it's I'm looking from the other way, I want to take the magic outwards and share it with everyone, because you don't lose what's in the room. The people still have that. But it's like why would millions of people not get to experience that, because not everyone can be at the show. I think that's really what we're talking about. I think great brands make an emotional connection with the customer. And there's so much immersion in the room when the lights go down, when the music changes, we want to share that with everyone.
[Anderson:] How does this toolset work? And what sort of investment goes into providing the sort of technology overall that will work today?
[Cussen:] So the toolset is astoundingly simple. You started to sort of trickle out, really this river of content where you've got the models Cara and Jourdan and Topshop themselves sort of just posting photos and videos through the Google+ stream. You will have a hangout that shows people every single look that was shown on the catwalk and have them tell Topshop's buyers, hey, this is what I'd recommend to you as an everyday consumer what you should put in store for your fall collection.
[Anderson:] What about the UK economy, because you have got thousands of shops here. Things are tough. Again, is the government getting this right? Is the government getting this wrong?
[Green:] I wouldn't want to be the chancellor, let's put it that way. I mean, it's not simple. When you've had 10 years of, you know, spend it's tough. There's no easy solution. So I think you've got to keep it tight. We've got to be smarter, cleverer. Look, you talk to any retailer around the globe, everybody would like to have less stores. So everybody knows in the mix sort of the marketplace itself is changing.
[Anderson:] So you three, you do Facebook, right?
[Green:] Well, that's [inaudible].
[Anderson:] Can we just see your phone?
[Green:] No.
[Anderson:] Come on, bring the phones in. There you go. That's not his.
[Green:] [inaudible] old fashioned. But I promise you this, I bet these answer more than anybody else in my company. I was on the phone at 5:00 am to LA this morning to find out how the store numbers were.
[Anderson:] You're watching Connect the World live from London. The latest world news headlines as you would expect here on CNN at the bottom of the hour, plus every movie director dreams of winning one, the golden statue, the most coveted award in the industry as Hollywood gears up for their golden night at the Oscars this Sunday. I speak to one man hoping to take a little statue home. And Danica Patrick is making history and driving interest in NASCAR's most prestigious event. That and your sports update up next.

[Carl Azuz, Cnn Anchor:] Hi, I`m Carl Azuz, and this is CNN STUDENT NEWS. Today we are going to be talking about a presidential election, but probably not the one you are thinking of. Ten minutes of commercial free global headlines start right now. The polls are closed, the votes are counted, and we know who will be the next president of Venezuela. The same person who has held that title since 1999, his name is Hugo Chavez. Chavez was reelected over the weekend, he`ll serve another six year term as the leader of Venezuela. He became the youngest president in that country`s history when he was first elected back in 1998. This election was the closest for Chavez since he first came into power. And there was a huge turnout. Election officials in Venezuela say more than 80 percent of voters went to the polls. Chavez is considered controversial. For example, Venezuela`s biggest trading partner is the United States, but Chavez speaks out against the U.S. a lot, and criticizes American policies. His own policies, especially as economic ones have raised some questions of their own. Chavez is a firm believer in socialism. That`s when the government controls its country`s businesses. He wants to use the money that his country makes from oil to pay for social programs. Venezuela is one of the world`s biggest oil producers, but 35 percent of the country`s population lives in poverty. And as Paula Newton shows us, things could get worse.
[Paula Newton, Cnn Correspondent:] It does not look like the kind of place that`s about to go broke. Venezuela is the biggest producer of crude in the Western hemisphere, people here roll up and fill up for literally pennies a gallon. And as the price of a barrel has increased in the last decade, even poor Venezuelans have shared the wealth. Buying up, moving up and logging on. But some economists warn, this is a country hanging on by a fiscal thread.
[David Rees, Capital Economics:] It really reached the point where the current situation can`t continue.
[Newton:] The problem? The socialist government of Hugo Chavez has been spending and borrowing money at record amounts on everything from building new homes like this behind me, even things like new refrigerators, cheap gas, microwaves, all to give to the poor and the needy of this country. But the spending binge using petrol profits and foreign loans could live Venezuelans worse off in the long run. Inflation is rampant, and the mighty bolivar may have to be brought down to size, in other words, devalued again. And for a country that relies heavily on imports, that would likely fuel more inflation already running at 30 percent. On the street, they know that means struggling more to buy less. Paula Newton, CNN, Caracas.
[Unidentified Female:] Is this legit? The International Space Station was built exclusively by the United States and Russia. They were involved, but they weren`t the only ones. 16 countries helped build the ISS.
[Azuz:] There is a rocket on its way to the International Space Station right now. It doesn`t belong to any of those 16 countries. It`s owned by a private company called SpaceX. This isn`t SpaceX`s first trip to the ISS, it won`t be its last. This was Sunday, when the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket made what mission control called a picture-perfect launch. On top of that rocket is a capsule called Dragon. It should link up with the ISS on Wednesday and deliver about a 1000 pounds of cargo. Food, cloths, computer drives, things like that. It`s scheduled to come back to Earth later this month. SpaceX ran a test mission up to the space station earlier this year. NASA is paying the company $1.6 billion to make it dozen re-supply trips up to the ISS. Starting with this one. Next up, we are heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. Tomorrow, the justices will hear a case about whether race should be a factor in college admissions. Here is the background on this: Abigail Fisher, who is white, wanted to attend the University of Texas, but she didn`t get in. She sued the school saying its admission policies unfairly favor African-American and Hispanic applicants. The case centers on an idea called affirmative action. That`s when a school or a business makes specific efforts to give minority groups better educational or professional opportunities. The University of Texas defends using race as a factor when it makes admission decisions. It says the policy is designed to make the campus more diverse, which it believes improves the level of education. But other groups argue that using race in admission decisions is stereotyping. They also say that having a diverse student body doesn`t guarantee that students will get a diverse experience. The Supreme Court has looked at this issue before. The ruling on this case isn`t expected until some time next year. But as far as the issue itself goes, what are your thoughts on affirmative action? Specifically, do you think race should factor in the college admissions? We`d love for you to tell us on our blog at cnnstudentnews.com. We can only publish first names, though. So, any comments that have last initials or schools will not get on the blog, they`ll not get on the show. Yesterday was Columbus Day. Today is Leif Ericson day. Both named after explorers, and kind of for the same reason. Leif Ericson was a Viking, and around the year 1000 he landed in North America. Leif Ericson day pays tribute to the Viking explore and to the ways America has been shaped by the Scandinavian culture he came from. Some people mark the event with sailing demonstrations like this one, October 9th was picked because that`s when a group of Norwegian immigrants landed in America in 1825.
[Unidentified Female:] Today "Shoutout" goes out to Ms. Nichols` history classes at Legacy High School in north Las Vegas, Nevada. 86,400 seconds equals one what? You know what to do. Is it a day, week, month or year? We`ll give you three seconds to figure it out. Go! 60 seconds times 60 minutes times 24 hours equals 86,400 seconds in a day. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.
[Azuz:] All right now. Cesar Kuriyama isn`t keeping track of all 86,400 seconds. He is just focusing on one. Recording one second every day for the rest of his life. And one second might not sound like very long. We have actually been talking about this story for around 15 seconds now. But Cesar is hoping that by stringing all of these individual seconds together, it`ll help him look back and remember.
[Cesar Kuriyama:] This project is about looking back on the days where I made a mistake, right, did something wrong. Or I feel regret. And learning from them. And I find that if if without a project like this, I`ll not learn from my mistakes because I`ll so easily forget them. The one second every day project was something that originally started out as the way for me to chronicle my year off from work. But really quickly after I started, I realized that it was helping me in many more ways. It was allowing me to realize that I could remember every day that I`ve lived, it was allowing me to give it a zoom out from from the past month and realize oh, wow, like I, you know, I set around a lot this month. The first three months were kind of discovery, kind of figuring out the project and realizing what it was doing for me, and there was a couple of moments where I forget to record the video, and that made me realize that the reason I forgot was because I wasn`t really doing anything interesting that day. And if you are not doing anything interesting, you just kind of don`t think about maybe taking a photograph of that moment, or taking a video of it. I learned from those mistakes. Those two mistakes are painful to see on screen, but those two mistakes let me basically never forgetting to do this ever again, because I can remember how it felt at that moment. And that`s that`s what this project is about. I instantly decided to do it for the rest of my life, and realized that the benefits were far greater than the amount of work I needed to put into it. It`s a very powerful project for me, and I really do think that putting something together like this for your own personal life, not necessarily again to show other people what your life was like, but so you yourself can remember what you`ve done over the years, is it could be very beneficial to anyone.
[Azuz:] Before we go, some would say, it`s a little early to be talking about Halloween costumes, so we won`t because these get ups got nothing to do with trick or treating. These panda imposters are actually panda trainers. They train to move one of the real bears from a nature reserve in China out into the wild, but in order to catch the big guy, they have to trick him by dressing up like his bear buddies. You think there`ll be a way for them to avoid all this deception, but I guess situation just isn`t black and white. We`d better hope he doesn`t find out while he still has a chance to run, though, because that could turn into sheer pandemonium. Have we got time for one more pun? Just barely. That`s all for CNN STUDENT NEWS, we`ll see you tomorrow, bye-bye. END

[Velshi:] Twenty-nine minutes after the hour. Good morning. It's Friday, July 29th. This is your
[A.m:] WAKE-UP CALL. I'm Ali Velshi, joining you live this morning from New York. No vote but plenty of white knuckles on Capitol Hill as time ticks down to the debt ceiling deadline. August 2nd now just a few days away and House Speaker John Boehner is trying to coax GOP holdouts, calling them into his office, ordering pizza. Some just won't budge.
[Rep. Jason Chaffetz , Utah:] I simply cannot raise the debt ceiling if we another going to fundamentally change the way we do business. I just I just kept vote for it the way it is.
[Sen. Charles Schumer , New York:] Our Republican colleagues in the House are playing a game here. Speaker Boehner has to keep throwing piece after piece after piece of red meat to the hard right lion that seems to be dominating his caucus. It's about time he tame the lion, not just continue to throw red meat to him, which isn't going to accomplish anything.
[Velshi:] Now, Speaker Boehner must have ordered meat lovers pizza if all of the available House members are present and voting. Boehner's got to get 216 votes. White House correspondent Dan Lothian is on the phone from Washington right now. Dan, what is going on at the White House? They kept saying that vote was going to be last night. They were going to get the votes do it, and then, late last night, they pulled the plug.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Well, you know, first of all, I think that there is still this level of frustration at the White House because they see yesterday as another lost opportunity because yet another day that has passed without there being any progress. Having said that, you know, what the White House has been saying now is that they believe there's still some compromise possible, that the Boehner bill and the re-bill are not that far apart. And so, you know,
[Velshi:] All right. Dan, We'll continue to follow it with you. Dan Lothian. It's going to be a business day and weekend for him at the White House. Joe Johns is also joining us on the line from Washington. he's been covering this very closely. Let's just look at pick up where Dan left off. How does Boehner get to that magic number of 216 votes, and when are we are we likely to see this vote today?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Correspondent:] It's everybody's guess, Ali. Your guess is as good as mine. What we do know is that he's going to meet with the House Republicans again and try to drag this thing over the finish line sometime today. From what I've been able to discern, he threw in some sweeteners to try to get the votes close, and one of those was to have more votes on the balanced budget amendment and send them over to the Senate in the hopes that that would get some of the people off the fence that he needed actually to vote on his side. So, it may be that they're looking for a few more tweaks just to get the very few votes they apparently need to try to finish this up. The thing that is a little strange obviously to anybody who just sitting there watching this is that the Senate Democrats have said it's dead-on-arrival. They're going to shoot it down. Nonetheless, the way things have always worked up there on the hill is that you have a bill like this, and it sort of serves as a template for something else. And that something else would be an arrangement worked out between Reid and McConnell, and then, they take bits and pieces of whatever they can stand from Boehner, and hopefully, do it quickly over the weekend so everybody can go home, but we're a long way from the finish line right now.
[Velshi:] It's going to be a long weekend. We'll all be working together this weekend. Joe, thanks very much. We'll catching you later on "AMERICAN MORNING." Hey, attention, all you "Lord of the Rings" fans, Stephen Colbert goes to middle of Earth to explain what's up in Washington, and he begins with Senator John McCain.
[Sen. John Mccain,  Arizona:] Default crisis or gradual government shutdown will ensue, and the public will turn en masse against Barack Obama, and the tea party hobbits could return to middle Earth having defeated Mordor.
[Stephen Colbert, Host, The Colbert Report:] Gandalf is the tea party right here, OK? You shall not pass legislation raising the debt ceiling!
[Velshi:] Let's go to Christine Romans live here in New York. Good Morning, Christine. You know, here's the weird thing about the markets this week. They are not just paying attention to the debt ceiling. We have had earnings. We have had economic reports, and those things are having some influence on the market. I think if investors were only paying attention to the debt ceiling, we'd have had worse markets than we've seen so far.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] I think you're right, but you know, we've got futures lower this morning because of what's happening in the House, the failure to vote on the deal late yesterday. We've had five days in a row of stocks down. So, I mean, it does tell you that the overriding concern continues to be what in God's name is going on in Washington and that's one of the things that's the big concern here for stocks, but we're also watching bonds, currencies, all these other markets as well. Again, futures are lower this morning, and I wanted to quickly tell you about a report from Credit Suisse that says, Ali, that U.S. stocks could fall 30 percent, 30 percent over six months to a year if the U.S. were to default. So, worst case scenario, according to Credit Suisse, a 30 percent decline in the stock market. That means anybody in Congress who's like holding onto their ideology to try to make a point will be making a point, of course, with your 401 [k].
[Velshi:] It is ridiculous. That is exactly, exactly right. Make your point where it doesn't cost you money, but it's going to cost America money. All right. Let's say there isn't a deal. How much money does the treasury department actually have heading into August?
[Romans:] Well, you know, treasury gets money, gets billions of dollar from tax receipts. Money is coming in all the time. Of course, more money is going out all the time, and now, trying to assess how much cash is on hand. The Bipartisan Policy Center says there's probably enough cash on hand coming into this period, and there's a lot of checks that go out, of course, in the first week of August, that you could stretch it until August 10th to pay off all of our obligations, but there is money coming in don't forget, Ali, we are the biggest economy in the world. The U.S. economy accounts for 26 percent of all the global output. So, we have a lot of money coming in. We have a lot of money going out, too. So, all of this is a day-by-day kind of thing, but according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, we have enough money in theory probably to pay bills in full until August 10th. And, of course, as you know, the treasury department continues to say, no, August 2nd is our hard deadline here. I mean, we know that there's enough for August 2nd for sure. That's the only certainty.
[Velshi:] We shouldn't have been be talking about this. This should have been settled a long time ago, but
[Romans:] Yes. Yes.
[Velshi:] It's nice to see you everyday.
[Romans:] Hey, this doesn't repel me. Whatever Stephen Colbert says, this kind of talk doesn't repel me.
[Velshi:] That's right. Yes. Yes. Christine, I'll see you on "American Morning" very shortly. All right. Now, back to today's businessman special. Tylenol, be careful how much you take today. The vision of Johnson & Johnson now recommends that you only take a maximum of six pills as day instead of eight pills. You can do some major live damage if you take too much of that a day. Just so you know, the drug inside it is in more than 600 over-the-counter in prescription drugs, and be sure to double and triple check everything before taking it. Here's today "Get Smart" question, if there is no debt ceiling deal, who gets paid first? A. Social Security Beneficiaries, B. investors, C. defense vendors. We're going to ask you after this quick break. It is 38 minutes after the hour.

[Unidentified Reporter:] Van Der Sloot calls it an impulsive act. "It was an impulsive act, after I received a hit in the head."
[Jean Casarez, Legal Correspondent, "in Session":] She hit him, he says, on his left temple.
[Brooks:] And he took his right elbow and hit her in her nose and he said that there was blood everywhere.
[Unidentified Female:] What you`re describing is impulsive and anything can set him off.
[Unidentified Male:] It`s open and shut. His version that it was an impulsive act.
[Unidentified Reporter:] "I remember what I was doing but not the motive." It`s like you hear a gun go off, you open the door, there`s a gun smoking and there`s someone lying there dead, it`s over and out.
[Brooks:] Premedication can be made in a blink of an eye.
[Casarez:] He knew he had to flee. He knew he had to leave.
[Unidentified Reporter:] "I feared that she would go to the police and they could detain me for what was an impulsive act."
[Grace:] We are hearing that there is a possibility Joran Van Der Sloot could walk in as little as three to five years. This after being involved in not one, but two alleged murders including the murder of American girl Natalee Holloway. To David Lohr, crime reporter, AOLnews.com. What do you know, David?
[David Lohr, Crime Reporter, Aolnews.com:] Well, Nancy, Van Der Sloot is now allegedly saying that he`s willing to plead guilty to the May 30th slaying of Stephany Flores but there`s a catch. He`s willing to plead guilty to the lesser charge of violent emotion. And basically what he`s trying to do is get a ridiculously light sentence by claiming temporary insanity in the case.
[Grace:] To Jean Casarez. Jean, what do you know about the case?
[Casarez:] Nancy, I`ve got the motion right here. This is the defense motion. "In Session" got it minutes ago. And this motion says that they want this first-degree murder case to be pleaded down to a manslaughter case. He would serve three to five years. And why, Nancy? Because the violent emotion of Joran Van Der Sloot came after Stephany Flores, the victim, attacked him.
[Grace:] To Dr. Panchali Dhar. Dr. Dhar, thank you for being with us. He is now essentially by suggesting he will plead guilty admitting that he did it. But I don`t understand how that type of a beating can be something that happened in just a second. She had a brutal beating. Then after that, we can tell by the way she bled and bruised, her neck was broken after a brutal beating. That had to take a period of time. How could that be in a flash?
[Dr. Panchali Dhar, M.d., Internal Medicine, Author Of "before The Scalpel":] No, he beat her to a pulp for a couple of hours. He didn`t kill her that quickly. I mean, obviously there was a struggle going on and she was trying to defend herself. And as far as this temporary insanity, does anybody not realize that he is a textbook case of anti-social personality disorder? Somebody who is manipulative, violent, impulsive, synonymous with criminal disregard with right and wrong, can`t see the difference between good and evil. Nothing like that. He has a mental problem.
[Grace:] He may have a mental problem in that he`s a psychopath, that he cannot empathize with other people`s hurting, their suffering, but it`s not going to rise to insanity. I can promise you that. At least not here in the states it wouldn`t. To Michael Griffith, international criminal defense attorney. Michael, what do you think of what`s happening? Is there a possibility he could walk in three to five years?
[Michael Griffith, International Law Attorney/criminal Defense Attorney:] Nancy, I don`t believe it` because there were no plea bargains down in Peru. He has to have a trial first and then after the trial and then he gets sentenced. But Nancy, I`m going to tell you something. I`ve represented Americans in foreign countries for many years. We should rejoice. We should open up the champagne if he only gets three to five years because there`s an extradition warrant that will then bring him back to Alabama that will not only get him on the extortion charge but you know under passive personality principles of U.S. of international law, the U.S. has jurisdiction over any of its citizens that are killed or injured overseas like in the Nairobi case, or in the piracy case in Somalia. And we can then we can then prosecute him for the death of Natalee Holloway so let`s get him home here where we can take good care of him.
[Grace:] You know what, now that you put it like that, Michael Griffith, maybe you`re right. Out to the lines. Sandra in Colorado. Hi, Sandra.
[Sandra, Caller From Colorado:] Hi, Nancy. It`s so good to talk to you.
[Grace:] Likewise. What`s your question, dear?
[Sandra:] Hey, well, Michael just answered it pretty much but I was wondering if since he is in that prison overseas if, you know, that three to five deal is because it`s overseas. Because if he was in the states there is no way with that horrible beating and how she died that he was going to get three to five years for that.
[Grace:] What do you think, Jean Casarez?
[Casarez:] Murder in Peru is a minimum of 15 years. It`s a maximum of about 35. They don`t even give life. So three to five would follow suit for a manslaughter.
[Grace:] To the lines. Katie in Wyoming. Hi, Katie.
[Katie, Caller From Wyoming:] Hi, Nancy. I just have a comment. I mean, it doesn`t matter if to me if the other girl was American or not. I don`t understand how it can be they can say it`s an emotional defense when he`s murdered two women. Obviously he`s pre-dispositioned to murder. He`s a violent person. How can they say it`s just emotion and he can only get three to five years?
[Grace:] How can they say that, Peter Elikann?
[Elikann:] Nancy, I don`t think there`s any chance at all that this is going to be successful. I mean people hate the insanity defense. It really works. Temporary insanity defense, like I`m normal all the time and I got a little crazy in the middle, perhaps, particularly when he`s accused of doing it before, I just think this is what we call a Hail Mary pass. And I just don`t think it`s going to fly at all.
[Grace:] What about it, Gloria Allred? Do you agree with Peter, Gloria?
[Gloria Allred, Victim`s Rights Attorney, Child Advocate:] Well, I mean, he`s desperate. He`s got to try something because after all apparently he`s admitting that he did it.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Getting new pictures in, taking a look at the aerials from WIFF. This is actually a fire department that is on fire. A fire house. These are firefighters actually having to put out the fire of their own fire station. This is out of Lawrence County, South Carolina. It is upstate fire department building and we are being told that traffic is being diverted in the area. Of course, because they are trying to tend to this there but you can see the water hoses as they try to deal with this. The fire was reported around noon. This is the fire department in Lawrence County. Dispatchers there are actually describing it as a large fire and we are now told that there are multiple departments that are actually assisting in putting that fire out. It is not just the staff from the fire house but many others now involved. We don't know how the fire actually started. We don't know if there are injuries because of this fire but certainly they are tending to this as quickly as possible. Those who are staff inside of that fire department in Lawrence County as well as neighboring fire departments that are now involved in trying to get that extinguished as quickly as possible. The Jodi Arias trial back on track after a delay for a day. The judge canceled court yesterday. Sources are telling our sister network, HLN, that the reason was arias' health apparently suffering from a migraine headache. Today, well, we're seeing a domestic-violence expert scheduled to testify. You know the trial. We've been following it. Arias shot her boyfriend in the face, stabbed him multiple times, slashed his throat. She is charged with murder but she says she acted in self-defense. The pope putting a new spin to an old tradition not only celebrating Holy Thursday Mass at a youth detention center but washing the feet of some of the prisoners. It is a symbolic ritual based on the belief that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples before the Last Supper. Ben Wedeman joining us outside of that detention center. Ben, just explain the significance of this.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, normally, Suzanne, the pope would go to a church in Rome or in the Vatican City and wash the feet of 12 retired priests. In this case, he is inside a prison right behind me on the outskirts of Rome where he will be washing the feet of 12 prisoners, but of those 12 prisoners, two of them will be women, we understand from Italian prison authorities. They say one of them will be an Italian Catholic woman. The other, a Serbian Muslim prisoner. Because most of the prisoners here are, in fact, not Italian. Now, after the mass is finished it's almost done right now we understand, he will meet in the separate gym within the prison one by one with the prisoners and he will give them a chocolate Easter egg, the Italian ones are quite large, as well as a special Italian Easter cake. This is really a break from tradition. As I said, the pope would normally do this to retired priests. As we've seen, day after day Pope Francis, he's only been pope two weeks and one day, is showing that he's going to be his own kind of pope Suzanne?
[Malveaux:] All right. Ben Wedeman, thank you very much. Appreciate it. A South African judge has lifted bail restrictions on the former Olympian Oscar Pistorius. Back in February he was charged with murder for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The story is still awaiting trial but he is now allowed to travel outside of South Africa if invited to compete overseas. Until it happens, his lawyer is going to hold on to his passport. Pistorius is also now allowed to drink alcohol and return to his home where he shot his former girlfriend. New details now in the tragic, tragic killing of the baby in Georgia, shot in the head while his mother was walking him in a stroller. Two teenagers accused in the shooting have been indicted by a grand jury. Some of the family members now are also in big trouble. Victor Blackwell is joining us from Brunswick, Georgia. I know the police just updated you on the case. What have we learned?
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Correspondent:] Three big headlines, Suzanne. First, that the bullet that was used to kill little Antonio, they say they have retrieved that and they're now trying to match that to the alleged murder weapon and possibly then on to the suspect. Also, the police chief says that this is being potentially investigated as a gang-related shooting. He is exploring the possibility that it was a gang initiation or a gang related crime. Also, he said, that overnight, more search warrants were issued and more evidence was collected in a crime that's already led to five arrests.
[Blackwell:] 17-year-old Demarqueis Elkins and 15-year-old Dominic Lange, both now charged as adults in the shooting death of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago one week ago. Each faces five felony counts including felony murder and cruelty to children. Elkins faces an additional charge of malice murder for allegedly firing the shot at the baby's face.
[Sherry West, Mother Of Victim:] I found an outfit that my baby was wearing before he was killed and I can't seem to let it go.
[Blackwell:] Something else little Antonio's mother can't let go, a question, why?
[Matt Doering, Chief, Glynn County Police:] We believe that the location and the victim were both random.
[Blackwell:] The county police chief's department is investigating this as a botched robbery. Elkins' attorney does not buy it.
[Kevin Gough, Elkin's Attorney:] It seems odd two individuals whoever they are so desperate to rob someone who wouldn't have appeared to have any money and going to the trouble of shooting two people would then leave the object of their attention at the crime scene.
[Blackwell:] Not left at the crime scene, the murder weapon. According to the indictment Elkins' sister, Sabrina Elkins, and their mother, Kareema Elkins ditched the.22 caliber revolver in this marsh, miles away from the crime scene. Tests will determine if a gun pulled from the marsh this week was the gun used to kill little Antonio.
[West:] I had to watch my baby die and I want him to die. A life for a life.
[Blackwell:] That's West's wish, shared with CNN's Piers Morgan. But under Georgia law, that's not possible. Elkins and Lange are both under 18. If convicted of the new charges these boys could spend the rest of their lives in prison. As part of the indictment, Demarqueis Elkins was also charged with attempted armed robbery. The police say this gun that they believe was used to kill little Antonio was also used in an attempt to rob a man a few days before. They're also exploring the possibility that the gun was used in other crimes Suzanne?
[Malveaux:] All right. Victor, thank you. Appreciate the update. Coming up some restaurants billing their food as healthy for your kids then serving up a big calorie bomb. That's right. We'll tell you which are the worst and give you other options.

[Blitzer:] Ron Paul speaking in Las Vegas right now. Let's listen to him.
[Rep. Ron Paul , Residential Candidate:] Thank you. Thank you.
[Paul:] Thank you very much. Thank you.
[Crowd:] Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul.
[Ron Paul , Presidential Candidate:] Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, if enthusiasm wins elections, we win hands down. This is great. This is very nice. Thank you very much for coming out. Just a little while ago, I called Governor Romney and congratulated him. No, we had a friendly conversation. I honestly congratulated him. He ran a good campaign, but also said I would see him soon in the caucus states. You know, we've been having a fantastic trip and not too long ago, a few days ago, we were up in Maine, fantastic reception up in Maine. Today we had three visits in Colorado and they were fantastic. We visited with and we probably had attendance well over 5,000 today in Colorado. You know, it looks like we have a few hundred here tonight to say the least, a thousand people. You know, a few months ago, there were nine, we're down to four. But tonight, we're in third place when it comes to delegates and that is what really counts. We've only gotten started. Now, the and we will spend our time in the caucus states because if you have an irate minority, you do very well in the caucus states. There is something else that the caucus states lend themselves to, because if you have an energized group of people that are working in a campaign and actually believe in something, it's better to work in the caucus states. This is what has been so fantastic with the campaign. I've been doing a little bit of campaigning for liberty for a long time. Let me tell you something big is happening in this country and it's all very favorable. The mess up in Washington they have created a mess that has given a lousy foreign policy. They have given a lousy budget and lousy recession, but wonderful thing that is happening in the grassroots. People are beginning to realize that the problem is too much government. We need more personal liberty! This is where we're winning the hearts and minds of people. The numbers are growing. I tell you what. There are many brush fires of freedom being lit across this country today. We don't even know where they are there are so many. It's being translated to great enthusiasm and change, the change that we need. We don't need to have more government. We need to get rid of some of the process of government. For instance, don't you think it's about time we have a new monetary policy. And all we have to do is read the constitution, they tell us exactly what we're suppose to have. What about a foreign policy? We need a foreign policy, but do we have to inconvenient it? No, all we have to do is read the constitution we need a strong national defense. We don't need to be the policemen of the world. Very simply we should not engage any wars that are not declared properly and supported by the people. I've gotten some advice on the internet every once in a while. And the advice is, Ron, if you would just change your foreign policy, you would get a few supporters. If they only knew that the support for the freedom movement comes with a sound economic and a sound foreign policy that makes sense. Very simply, it means bringing our troops home and stopping all these undeclared, unwinnable wars. What would it do for our economy? I would like to see troops spending their money at home. In the last 10 years, fighting these unwinnable and undeclared wars we have spent over $4 trillion. More in the debt for this so at a cost of life and limb, but there is an economic cost, as well and the American people are tired of it. They are ready because they know this country is bankrupt. All great nations go down because they overextend themselves overseas. It's time for us to wake up, don't wait for an economic crisis to hit when we have to come limping home. We ought to rise up, spend our money wisely and defend this country and don't present fend to tell other people how to live. The greatest danger when we accept the notion that the government is supposed today take care of us and we're supposed to policemen of the world all is done at expense of personal liberty. The purpose of the government is the protection of individual liberty for each and every one of us. We need to reverse this trend on the attack on our civil liberties. We need to repeal the Patriot Act. We need to repeal the provision that the president has the authority to assassinate American citizens without trial. We need repeal the provision that says the president can use the military to arrest and deny them a trial. Very simply, send only people to Washington, send only people to the White House that know and understand and read the constitution and enforce the constitution. Then there would be, then you would have the full understanding how you would have a peaceful thriving nation if you enforce the concept of liberty, enforce the liberty for each and every one of us equally. This brings people together because people will use their liberty in different manners, but we don't have to fight over how they use their liberty as long as they assume responsibility for themselves and consequences of all their actions. It also very simply suggests the fact if we have a right to life and liberty we should have a right to keep the fruits of our labor as well. So we don't have to reinvent something, we can improve on our past but we had a great constitution and a great middle-class, biggest middle-class ever. We've undermined it with excessive taxation and a monetary system that is flawed and foreign policy is flawed. So all we have to do is return to our roots and in a short time, we could have our peace and prosperity and our reliance on ourselves for our personal liberty. Not only has this been a great day for campaign for liberty and this process, but it's been a great week for the campaign. Believe me it's been a great past four years because five or six or seven years ago, they really didn't know exactly what was happening. But with the crisis that that hit, both the economic crisis we had four years ago, the realization of the significance of our Federal Reserve system as well as flawed foreign policy, the people know about it. They are awakening to this. They are listening to this message. It's up to us to do something about it. The message is loud and clear the enthusiasm is here, but it has to be translated to proper political action. Attending the caucuses send a powerful message to this country that we want our freedoms back. We don't want more government! Thank you very much!
[Blitzer:] Ron Paul, the Texas congressman. You see Mrs. Paul over there. You see his supporters. The Ron Paul campaign Ron Paul speaking tonight, making it clear, he's not going anywhere. He's got a major effort under way to win some of these caucuses that are coming up in November. We heard earlier from Newt Gingrich. He's not going anywhere either. If there was any doubt about his future, he says 46 states left to go. Here's the question that we're going to be assessing when we come back: how does this potential fight go all the way to the convention to the convention in Tampa, at the end of August, potentially a nightmare scenario for Mitt Romney, the winner of the Florida primary. Our coverage continues right after this.

[Chetry:] Well, they jumped the gun a little bit here. OK. Let's listen.
[Unidentified Male:] I have been instructed which scroll to read. It sure is cold today. Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. On Gobbler's Knob on this beautiful Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2011, Punxsutawney Phil was raised from his burrow by the call of President Bill Deeley. He greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths. And after casting an inquisitive eye towards thousands of his faithful followers, he proclaimed the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl! Back to the business at hand. He surveyed his surroundings carefully and found that there was no shadow around, so an early spring it will be!
[Chetry:] I had a feeling this was going to happen. Congratulations to Punxsutawney Phil.
[Unidentified Male:] The sky is clear.
[Chetry:] I don't get the whole part about the Super Bowl. We know they're going to the Super Bowl. I thought he was going to say whether they won or not, beat the Packers. But the bottom line is we don't have six more weeks of winter. Spring is just around the corner.
[Holmes:] And what's his accuracy rate again, Kiran?
[Chetry:] I think his accuracy rate is 39 percent.
[Holmes:] That's right, folks. Thirty-nine percent. Four out of 10 times. I am really impressed right now that we put up the breaking news banner.
[Chetry:] I love it. This is breaking. It is breaking now. It's ultimate. The ultimate. I just I really do want to hear what Staten Island Chuck has to say, too, because if Staten Island Chuck agrees with Punxsutawney Phil things are looking good.
[Holmes:] Oh, there's another critter?
[Chetry:] Yes.
[Holmes:] OK. The one that bit Mayor Bloomberg. That's pretty funny. All right. We're going to take a quick break. Right now, we've been told by Punxsutawney Phil at least with his 39 percent accuracy rate Yes.
[Chetry:] that spring is just around the corner. Meantime, we're dealing with this massive winter storm. It's been slamming the Midwest. Right now, it's far from over. We still got about 20 more hours of this stuff. Jacqui is going to fill us in.
[Holmes:] Also coming up this morning, we continue to watch the live pictures we are seeing out of Egypt. We'll get back to those in a bit. But also, it's not just about democracy there. What you've been seeing is also about money. It's 26 minutes past the hour.

[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Good Friday morning to you. And thanks so much for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. It is the 12th of November, I'm John Roberts.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us this morning. A look at the top stories now. Is the big election defeat here at home hurting President Obama's standing on the world stage? The president will arrive in Japan fresh off of the G-20 economic summit in Seoul which ended with smiles on the surface, but some disappointment underneath. We'll have a live report just ahead.
[Roberts:] Are airport body scans going too far? Pilots, travel executives and flight attendants are all taking on the new security standards and one group is planning a protest that could affect your Thanksgiving travel plans.
[Chetry:] And if you've tried everything to motivate your teens, but their school work is still suffering, their grades are slipping, maybe you let them just sleep in. It's working like a charm at one cutting-edge high school. We'll show it to you.
[Roberts:] You let them sleep in, but they still have to go to school.
[Chetry:] Yes. Just a little later.
[Roberts:] Up first, kept in the dark while drifting at sea. The Carnival cruise from hell is over and now that everyone is back on terra firma, we're finding out passengers were never told about the engine-room fire that left them stranded for four days. Listen to this. It's the crew's public address announcement on home video that was shot moments after the fire broke out on Monday.
[Unidentified Male:] We have a smoke situation. Lots of smoke in one of the engine control areas. You are all smelling that smoke if you're on deck, one, two, possibly deck six, as well, and if you're on the back of the ship.
[Chetry:] A smoke situation. That's all passengers say they were told. They also say they didn't find out just how serious the fire really was until they got off of the ship yesterday in Southern California.
[Unidentified Male:] Just now they actually told us there was a fire on the boat. You did not know that there was a fire on the boat until now? Yes. So what did they tell you why the boat suddenly stopped, you know, on your excursion? They never told us what the issue was. All they told us was that there was smoke. There's lots of smoke. What they told us on the ship was that it was a flameless fire. And I don't understand what that means because wherever there's smoke, there's fire. They say that the aft motor had caught a fire, I guess, or they said it was a flameless fire electrical wires that went out. And eventually that got into the forward engine which then cut all the power to the entire ship. That's what they told us. It was a flameless fire is what they told us.
[Roberts:] In just a few minutes, we'll be joined live by two passengers who are onboard that cruise ship. One of them was staying in a cabin directly above the engine room where that fireless fire started.
[Chetry:] Flameless fire.
[Roberts:] Flameless fire, whatever it was.
[Chetry:] That's a little strange. Well, the ordeal at sea was no laughing matter for the 3,300 passengers and 1,200 crew members who had to endure it, but it was perfect fodder for late night television.
[Conan O'brien, Host, "conan":] Everyone knows this story by now because it's been covered exhaustively in the news. Adrift for three days, no electricity, surviving on pop tarts and Spam. That's what they airlifted to these people, which is a delicious sandwich.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[O'brien:] That's what I did in college. I don't know what the big problem is. The ship was towed to San Diego, safely docked. I'm told it's now ready, and it's I think it's already going out back to sea.
[Unidentified Male:] Really?
[O'brien:] Yes. It's on the way. There it is! It's back.
[Unidentified Male:] Oh, wow!
[O'brien:] Oh, hey. Look at it. Good luck, you guys.
[Jay Leno, Host, "the Tonight Show With Jay Leno":] The president of Carnival Cruise Line spoke to the press today. He said he has everything under control. But did you see show the press conference today.
[Unidentified Male:] First, the safety of our guests and crew second, we want to get them home as quickly as possible trying to make it as comfortable as possible.
[Chetry:] Now, that was not a flameless fire.
[Roberts:] Merciless.
[Chetry:] I know. Well, you know, some of the passengers also said you kind of had to laugh or you would have cried because it was very uncomfortable to say the least. Of course, CNN's coverage of the cruise won't be complete without the Spam-gate controversy and trying to put it to rest. Media reports suggested that the stranded passengers were forced to eat Spam while waiting to be rescued, but the folks at Carnival Cruise Line shot down those reports via Twitter writing, "Despite media reports to the contrary, Carnival Splendor guests were never served Spam." Apparently, it was delivered to the ship but it wasn't served. So that was the difference.
[Roberts:] There you go. All right, so putting to rest those rumors. Now on to President Obama's trip to Asia. He's going to arrive in Yokohama, Japan this hour. It's the final stop of his 10-day tour where he'll attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Earlier, the president wrapped up the G-20 talks in Seoul, South Korea with a news conference where he addressed extending the Bush tax cuts and his own standing on the world stage. Ed Henry has been traveling with the president. He's live in Seoul. And some question as to whether or not the White House is prepared to compromise with Republicans and allow the current tax rates to stay in place.
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] That's right, John. And the president in this news conference pushed back really hard on the notion that he's about to cave in to Republicans and allow them to extend the tax cuts for the rich. And the president basically saying his number one priority instead is to focus on extending the tax cuts for the middle class, making sure they extend beyond the end of this year and that he'll sit down and negotiate next week with Democrats and Republicans. But contrary to this report in the "Huffington Post," that he's ready to just give it all up because the only way to get to the middle class cuts is to cave on the rich. He said that's not the case. Take a listen.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] That is the wrong interpretation because I haven't had a conversation with RepublicanDemocratic leaders. Here's the right interpretation. I want to make sure that taxes don't go up for middle class families starting on January 1st. That's my number one priority for those families and for our economy. I also believe that it would be fiscally irresponsible for us to permanently extend the high-income tax cuts. I think that would be a mistake, particularly when we've got our Republican friends saying that their number one priority is making sure that we deal with our debt and our deficit.
[Henry:] But the fact of the matter is that the president really has very little leverage heading into these tax cut negotiations in addition to Republicans insisting that the tax cuts for the rich continue. He also has some conservative Democrats in the Senate who want to do that as well. So he simply doesn't have the votes to stop them. He's very likely going to have to compromise. So what seems more likely going on right now is he's trying to stake out a firm position, not show all his cards. But in the end, he's very likely going to have to give in on that John, Kiran.
[Roberts:] So when the president gets back to Washington, Ed, one of the people he'll be sitting down with is Nancy Pelosi. Is he voicing his support for her as the minority leader?
[Henry:] He all but is. It was sort of a tacit endorsement at this news conference. Remember just a few days ago, the White House insisted they're going to stay out of this leadership race. Nancy Pelosi wanting now to be the minority leader in the new House. And there are some conservative Democrats saying, wait, not so fast. Maybe there needs to be some new faces and what not. The president got a question from a reporter saying what about some new blood in your party on Capitol Hill? The president basically said, look, there's going to be a lot of voices, but Nancy Pelosi has been an outstanding partner in pushing my agenda. So he's pretty much onboard with her, John.
[Roberts:] Ed Henry live for us in Seoul, South Korea with the latest on all that. Ed, thanks.
[Chetry:] Also new this morning, subway rage caught on tape. A commuter says he was left scratched, bruised after a transit worker in Boston slapped him around. Stuart Wilkerson said that the woman gave him the wrong train directions to Providence so he asked for her name and when she refused, he tried to take her picture and that's when she lost it. That worker has now been fired. But a transit spokesman says the victim didn't handle it right either.
[Richard Davey, Mbta General Manager:] It looked as though he may have been a bit aggressive putting the cell phone camera, as I understand it, almost in the employee's face. The reaction of the employee was far too aggressive. And, again, nothing that we will tolerate at the MBTA.
[Chetry:] Union rep for the worker says the tape doesn't tell the whole story and that she was just trying to defend herself.
[Roberts:] Well, heads up, if you drive a Nissan. The company says it's recalling more than half a million Frontiers and Xterras in the United States to fix problems with the stirring column. The recall also includes about 18,000 Nissan Sentras to replace a battery cable that could lead to the car stalling out.
[Chetry:] Well, you can't even sit down to eat anymore, must shop another store. Toys "R" Us now says it will be open on Thanksgiving joining a lot of other retailers who cannot wait for Black Friday anymore. This is the earliest that Toys "R" Us has ever kicked off its door-buster deals.
[Roberts:] A beast of a merger in the media world. "Newsweek" joining forces with "The Daily Beast" to the online media site to form the Newsweek Daily Beast Company. "The Daily Beast" announced it by saying we're getting hitched. The current editor-in-chief of "The Beast," Tina Brown, is going to be in charge of both staffs.
[Chetry:] And from upstate New York to "30 Rock," the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is on its way to New York City this morning. It's a 74-foot Norway Spruce. It was donated by the family of a 911 first responder. The tree lighting is scheduled this year for November 30th. So everything is moving up.
[Roberts:] Everybody's into the season a little earlier.
[Chetry:] Shopping, tree-laying. Yes.
[Roberts:] I guess when the economy's bad, you've got to give people a little more time to sort of get out there and do all the things they need to do. Coming up on nine minutes after the hour now. Let's get a quick check of the morning weather headlines. Reynolds Wolf for us in the extreme weather center. Hey, Reynolds.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Hey, guys. It looks pretty good on the East Coast now towards the west, but smack dab in the middle of the nation, it's hard to miss, the big trouble that we're going to have later on today. Let's go right to the maps. As we do, you're going to see a line of storms that extends nearly 1,000 miles just to the west of Chicago, clear down to Amarillo, Texas. You see it right there. Some of the heaviest rainfall now moving across the central plains. Kansas City, no rain for you just yet that's on the way. Over in Wichita and southward to Oklahoma City, we're seeing some scattered showers and storms. Possibly a little bit of flash flooding. And then on the far left-hand side of your screen, you're seeing something else altogether. A little bit of light snow fall developing just north of Amarillo at this hour. As for the big problem, it's going to be really will be the central plains into the afternoon. Any travel plans you have, say, going through Dallas, perhaps even at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City, you might have some delay. Fifty-one degrees, the expected high in Wichita but pure bliss in Boston and New York. We're looking at the highs in the upper 50s. Sunny in Boston with 57 degrees, 77 in Orlando, 74 in Phoenix and Portland. Imagine that. The Pacific Northwest with sunshine and 52. Your complete forecast is coming up, plus another look at your travel weather and a sneak peek at what you can expect into the weekend. Back to you.
[Chetry:] Reynolds, thanks so much. Looking spiffy today. By the way, I like the vest.
[Wolf:] Thank you.
[Chetry:] I like that.
[Wolf:] Thank you.
[Chetry:] Well, the pushback against new security screenings at airports is growing this morning. Pilots unions for US Airways, American Airlines are now urging members to avoid, to opt out of those full-body scanners at airports. They say the screenings are both a health risk and intrusive.
[Roberts:] Travel industry executives are going to take on the topic today in a meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Those businesses say those business leaders, rather, say the screens are hurting their bottom lines. A statements from an industry spokesman says, "You can't talk on the one hand about creating jobs in this country and getting this economy back on track and on the other discourage millions of Americans from flying, which is the gateway to commerce."
[Chetry:] And you better pack your patience if you're flying on one of the busiest travel days of the year. A group of flight attendants oppose to the security procedures. They're now calling on travelers, as well, to opt out of these body scans Wednesday, November 24th. Does that ring a bell? Well, it's the day before Thanksgiving. And the protest would force security workers to give travelers pat- downs, and you know that physical searches take a lot more time. The idea being the cause of long delays and send a message to the Feds.
[Roberts:] I wonder if the people involved in the protest are actually going to be traveling that day. That'll be interesting to know.
[Chetry:] Yes. Exactly.
[Roberts:] Well, coming up in our 7:00 hour, we're going to talk with the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He is suing the TSA to try to get all of those body scanners pulled out of airports across the country.
[Chetry:] So it's Murkowski, m-u-r-k-o-w-s-k-i.
[Roberts:] Ding.
[Chetry:] Coming up, spelling may not be the only factor in play as the ballot counting continues on who ultimately will get that Senate seat in Alaska.
[Roberts:] And in three minute's time, we're going to be joined by two passengers who just returned from vacation hell. They were onboard that stranded Carnival cruise liner, and one of them had a cabin directly over the engine room that caught fire, but there were no flames. Yes. Twelve minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.

[Erin Burnett, Cnn Host, "erin Burnett Outfront":] Thanks, John. Two Penn State leaders charged with lying in the sexual abuse case against coach Jerry Sandusky. Former assistant coach Mike McQueary, the one who saw Sandusky showering with a boy, testified today. The death of Robert Champion Jr., a Florida A&M; University drum major who died last month ruled a homicide today. A lawyer for Robert's family comes out front. And the bottom line in the payroll tax, a government shutdown averted and the payroll tax in countdown. Let's go OUTFRONT. I'm Erin Burnett. Out front tonight, breaking news on what matters to all Americans watching tonight, the payroll tax. Democrats and Republicans have been fighting for weeks over how to pass an extension. Now, if it gets extended, the average American will save about $1,000 in taxes next year. Senate Rs and Ds have been meeting right now. Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota was in the room stepping out. We're hope, sir, you will tell us some good news. Our Kate Bolduan has been reporting a deal for a two month extension. What can you tell us?
[Sen. John Thune,  South Dakota:] Right, it's a two-month extension, Erin. It has unemployment insurance. It has the payroll tax cut extension and what we call the doc fix, which deals with physician reimbursements under Medicare. And it also has the Keystone pipeline language that was in the House also in this particular Senate bill. So I feel really good about where we are considering the fact that the Senate Democrats I don't think were comfortable with the pay- fors that were being proposed. And we would like to have gotten a full year like what was passed through the House of Representatives. But this is where we are. We get a two-month extension of the three things I mentioned, plus we get the pipeline.
[Burnett:] OK. Two months, though, is really not something that makes people feel very good. I mean, we're going to be having the same conversation in 60 days with another countdown?
[Thune:] Well, my guess is we probably will. We'll have to revisit this issue. That was not the preferred alternative for many of us. We wanted to see the same thing that passed through the House of Representatives pass in the Senate, which was a one-year extension. But the Democrats would not accept credible offsets to pay for it in the Senate. So this is what we got down to in terms of a package that we could get support from both Republicans and Democrats for. For Republicans, this is a big victory in the sense that the Keystone pipeline was really important and we think the real jobs component in this bill. This is the thing that creates jobs in the near term.
[Burnett:] I'm curious, though, because there were so many things that Democrats liked that some Republicans liked, as well, that could've paid for this. And it seems, you know, some might say, look, you Republicans, you just pushed for some of the things that Democrats really didn't want when there were some things, like increasing fees to mortgage lenders or means testing for some on Medicare, that they would have been on board with that would've funded this thing for the year.
[Thune:] Right, and we were all in favor of those things, Erin. I'm not saying what I'm suggesting is I don't think that Senator Reid could sell some of those pay-fors to his caucus. He couldn't get Democrats onboard with supporting some of those. In fact, the pay-for that will pay for the two-month extension is the increase and the guarantee fees on the GSEs. So that's something that everybody agreed on. That was something that both Democrats and Republicans felt comfortable with. But the other pay-fors, many of which are things we supported and we thought we could get Democrat support for, evidently he could not.
[Burnett:] You say you feel good. I feel a little bit let down. I was hopeful you would come up with something more than two months, and especially when you all wanted to do this and you agreed to pay for it. If you can't get this done for a full year, what in the world can you guys get done?
[Thune:] Well, look, I don't disagree with you. I'm disappointed, as well, that this isn't a full year. We had a full year passed out of the House of Representatives. They sent it to the Senate. The pay-fors were pay-fors most in the Senate would support. But there's a lot of opposition to the way this thing was paid for. And so to get it down to a level where everybody was comfortable with the offsets being used to pay for those three things, this is where we ended up. What that simply means is we will revisit this in another two months, and obviously, we'll have probably these same debates all over again. It's not a perfect solution by any stretch.
[Burnett:] No.
[Thune:] But it's what we're able to get through.
[Burnett:] This Keystone pipeline, let me ask you about that. The president will have the right to say he doesn't want to do it because of national security concerns. Do you think he'll do that? And I'm also curious because the current version of this pipeline, obviously, you know, this is going to go through your state, and you're going to benefit from it. So I get that you support it. But how many jobs are we really going to get? Some studies said we were going to lose jobs because it's going to hurt farmland. Others studies said we're going to gain 583,000 jobs, which frankly seems a little absurd. And the state department said only 5,000 jobs. It seems like nobody has any clue.
[Thune:] Right, well, the president what he has if he has to determine this is not in the national interest in order for it not to go forward. But with regard to what it does for jobs and the numbers you have used are not numbers I've seen. We've seen a 20,000 number jobs created in the construction phase, and then also, of course, lots of jobs after that. But in my state of South Dakota, for example, when keystone one went through there, it created about 2,400 jobs full-time and part- time, and that was more than predicted that would be created. It's good for my state, obviously, in terms of jobs and the economic impact it would have and a lot of other states, as well. But think about the other issues here. This is an energy security issue. General James Jones, the president's former national security adviser came out today and said this is in the national interest. This helps make us less dependent upon foreign sources of energy. And if we don't benefit from it, that energy is going to go someplace else, probably west toward China.
[Burnett:] All right, well, Senator Thune thank you very much. And let me confirm what your sense is as to whether this has been vetted through the House. Is this going to be voted on tomorrow? Or is it possible this two-month deal you have somehow doesn't happen?
[Thune:] It's never final until it's final, of course. But we had our our caucus met. I think there was general acceptance and pretty broad support for it. The Democrats I think are meeting, as well tonight. My understanding is at least it has these elements in it I think that the House will be for it. We'll vote on it tomorrow. If everything moves forward according to plan, the House will have to come back and vote on it sometime probably Sunday or Monday.
[Burnett:] I guess they go on vacation later than you do. Thank you, senator.
[Thune:] Thanks, Erin.
[Burnett:] Let's bring in John Avlon, CNN contributor. So not quite 24 hours ago we were sitting here, and we were upset about a two-month deal because it doesn't do anything. It doesn't put a lot of money in people's pockets, doesn't cause hiring, and we're back to square one on something they all agreed on. And here we are, John.
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] Here we are. This breaking news just shows how addicted Washington, D.C. is to brinksmanship. They can't get past the kabuki theater even when they agree. And we have kicking the can down the road two more months, and we just heard Senator Thune say we'll probably be back here in two months.
[Burnett:] No, he said it. He said we'll be talking about the exact same thing. My problem here is you made a list of 10 different ways to propose to pay for it. Some the Democrats hated, some the Republicans hated. And yet, that left seven or eight. And they couldn't use them.
[Avlon:] And they couldn't get it done past kicking the can because apparently Republicans would not give up on delinking the Keystone pipeline despite as Senator Rand Paul said a few nights ago. He said let's delink it from the payroll tax and give it an up or down vote. Keep it straight, keep it honest. This just shows how much bad blood there is between the two parties, how much distrust, and it shows that Pew poll that said two- thirds of Americans believe that Congress should be kicked out, there's a reason for that frustration out there. This is just the latest example.
[Burnett:] And on top of it, one thing that's getting buried in this because we have this breaking I'm putting quotes around it because this is a two-month deal, but the government shutdown was averted. In that case there were eight threats of that this year, but they're going to fund through next September. You say, great, there's not going to be this problem until next year one month before the election.
[Avlon:] That might be the good news. Right, exactly. We'll see the specific timing. But that is good news, right? We'll hopefully not have a brinksmanship about lack of money in a presidential year. That should be filed under no-brainer, right? Congratulations, you're not going to shut down the government. That's the standard of success right now?
[Burnett:] Yes, pretty much, John, it is.
[Avlon:] That seems to be the success. So we've got a payroll tax cut, it shows 160 million Americans going to be affected by this potentially, they're not going to see their taxes go up immediately.
[Burnett:] That's an average of up to $160 over two months. The whole point is to make you feel wealthier and money to spend on things, and you don't even know if you're going to have it in month three?
[Avlon:] This falls short. This creates that exact atmosphere of uncertainty that people have been complaining about.
[Burnett:] That's right.
[Avlon:] So, you know, look, kicking the can down the road, it's great they're going to pay for the government, but this payroll tax gets filed under epic fail again.
[Burnett:] Thank you very much, John Avlon. Still "OUTFRONT," presidential candidate Mitt Romney picks up a big endorsement today, South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. Will her yes matter? And the SEC files suit against the former CEOs of Fannie and Freddie, Mac and Mae. The U.S. government giving them a $125 billion in a form of a bailout right now. Do we need them? And radioactive material a team from a nuclear reactor found in a passenger's luggage in Moscow today going to Tehran. We have the latest developments in tonight's installment.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] We're going to reset this thing on this CNN Saturday morning on this Christmas eve. Here is a look at some of the stories that are making headlines. We start in Syria where the president there is blaming terrorists for twin suicide bombing in Damascus. Opposition groups however say yesterday's attacks are the work of the regime. One opposition group says violence this week killed almost 300 people. Also something we are watching out of Russia. This morning thousands of people braving the bitter cold in Moscow to protest what they claim are rigged elections. They're calling into question parliamentary elections earlier this month and returned Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party to power. Also in Cuba, the government will pardon nearly 3,000 prisoners, set them free. The Castro administration published an announcement saying prisoners over the age of 60, women as well as sick inmates are among those being released. President Raul Castro cited the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict as the reason for the pardon. Just past the top of the hour here. We turn to some politics and the battle for Republican president just got a little tougher for Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry. Both candidates failed to qualify for the Virginia primary in March. They didn't come up with enough valid signatures. Virginia is not only an important super Tuesday state, it is the state where Newt Gingrich currently lives. Our Athena Jones has been on this for us this morning. Athena, I was talking to some of our political players this morning and they could not say strongly enough just how big of a deal and embarrassment this is. If you're a serious candidate. You got to be on the ballot in an important state like Virginia.
[Athena Jones, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, exactly. Of course, you have to be on the ballot and as you mentioned, Newt Gingrich is living in Virginia. The most recent Quinnipiac poll had him at the top of the polls there, about five points ahead of Romney. And so it looked like he could do well in that state. There are 49 delegates at stake. But you can't do well if you're not on the ballot as you mentioned. That is the real problem here. It really does show what a lot of people have been asking questions about these last several weeks when we've seen Gingrich surging in the polls. It's really whether he has the campaign organization to do this long slog. Whether he has the ground game as you'll know. As you remember from back in 2008 it ended up being a really long slogan. It is important to rack up these wins in state primaries and caucuses. That's where Obama ended up besting Hillary Clinton was by racking up those wins sometimes in various states that maybe she wasn't paying attention to. And so it really, really matters to be on the ballot and in all of these states especially a state where he was expected to do pretty well in.
[T.j. Holmes:] OK. We know there are several candidates but only a couple are going to actually be on the ballot in Virginia.
[Jones:] Right. So Mitt Romney and Ron Paul get to divide up those delegates and that is a big deal. We don't know as I mentioned, you know, where the campaigns will stand, who will have how many delegates by March. It's not one of the first primaries but it is just a really important state and as these your earlier guests mentioned and as we all know it really matters whether you have the organization and so people who may have been giving Gingrich a real look before might now be scratching their heads and thinking maybe he doesn't have it all together. That is a real problem clearly for him and for Perry.
[Holmes:] All right. Athena Jones for us this weekend in Washington. Thank you as always.
[Jones:] Thanks.
[Holmes:] We're going to turn back to one of the candidates who is on the ballot in Virginia. We're talking about Ron Paul. And a problem, an old problem just won't seem to go away for him. Some old newsletters are being deemed racist and homophobic. Our Brian Todd looks at the letters and the issues that continue to haunt this Republican presidential candidate.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] As he surges in the polls before Iowa, Ron Paul is again having to defend himself over language in a letter written on his behalf. We've reported recently and in previous campaigns how Ron Paul has disavowed newsletters with his name on them, newsletters from the 1980s and '90s with racial insults toward African-Americans and others. With those newsletters Paul said he didn't write them, didn't know who did, and that he rarely read them. Now we're learning of a solicitation letter for those newsletters not only written on Paul's behalf but with what appears to be his signature on them. And the language is incendiary. In the direct mail letter, it warns of "the coming race war in our big cities." It mentions, "the federal homosexual cover-up on aids and then says in brackets "my training as a physician helps me see through this one." It references the Israeli lobby, which plagues Congress like a cheap harmonica. The letter is an effort to get people to send in money to subscribe to three newsletters put out by Paul, including one called "Surviving the New Money" where they lay out what they say is a government conspiracy to track people through new currency. But unlike those letters, there is one item worth mentioning with the solicitation letter. This letter has Ron Paul's signature indicating possibly a closer connection. The Reuters News Agency, which first reported on this and obtained a copy of the letter says this solicitation was written around 1993. Reuters says it got the letter from James Karcik, contributing editor of "The New Republic" magazine. We contacted Ron Paul's campaign. In an e-mail to CNN campaign chairman Jessie Benton said "Dr. Paul did not write that solicitation and the signature is an auto pen. It does not reflect his thoughts and is out of step with the message he has espoused for 40 years." The campaign says Paul disavows the letter, abhors that content. They say there were multiple ghost writers involved in writing all these letters and that Paul does not know who wrote the offensive material. But the campaign also says that because they appeared under his name, "He should have better policed it and that he has assumed responsibility and apologized." We also tried to find out whether Ron Paul's campaign is going to try to find out who wrote the letter and maybe admonish that person. We didn't hear back. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
[Holmes:] Six minutes past the hour now. You can join CNN Tuesday, January 3rd, for live coverage of the Iowa caucuses. A special live "America's Choice" 2012 coverage of the caucuses begins Tuesday night, January 3rd, at 7:00 Eastern time. A lot of you all aren't done yet. It's Christmas eve. And you got something to do today. You forgot a couple of gifts. You got to head out to the mall. But we will be out there with some of those last- minute shoppers in New Jersey. Our Alison Kosik, we sent her out and we'll talk to her and see who she has been talking to. Also our Reynolds Wolf has the important forecast for you. Good morning to you once again.
[Wolf:] Good morning, T.J.. We got two big weather stories we're following. First and foremost your travel weather. You got to know what is going to happen out there if you're trying to get from one side of the country to the other or just right down the street to get those last minute presents you're referring to. The second big thing we're following is who is getting a white Christmas and who is going to miss out on Mr. Snow man? We're going to let you know, coming up in a few moments, T.J..

[Sambolin:] Welcome back. There are new fears this morning about Iran. Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, told Congress Iranian leaders are considering attacks on U.S. soil.
[Banfield:] In fact, he even went as far as to say that there is some evidence of this. In fact, the Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador should serve as a red flag. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr joins us live now. Barbara, I hear a lot of this all the time. There's lots of saber rattling that goes on in Iran. So, is this just putting into words the intuitively obvious?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Perhaps. We don't really know. Of course, U.S. intelligence community doesn't have a lot of sources on the ground in Iran. Not always sure what the Iranian regime is up to. What General Clapper is saying is that potential attack against the Saudi ambassador is a warning signal. The U.S. intelligence community now assesses that Iran is more likely to believe could carry out an attack in the United States or against U.S. interests abroad if they feel that their regime is threatened, if they feel backed into a corner. That, right now, is really, they say, what is driving the Iranian government regime survival. They're very stressed about the sanctions, about the economic impacts in their own country, and the continued pressure against their potential nuclear weapons program.
[Banfield:] Barbara, I just have to jump in with the fact that this is an election year. And I remember President Bush taking it on the chin regularly for things like this, for things that were frightening. And I'm just wondering if there were any critics who are suggesting this could be just sort of timing out an announcement of something that maybe didn't need to be made.
[Starr:] Well, this happened yesterday at a hearing before the Senate intelligence community. Their annual hearing on, you know, the assessment of what's going on around the world by the U.S. intelligence community. So, this was pretty much something that was set by Congress. You are seeing a lot of Iranian rhetoric out of the administration. That's for sure. You're seeing it from the European allies. There's really that full-court press on right now to get them to back away from any decision to pursue nuclear weapons. I think that's really what this is all about.
[Banfield:] And do we know if these the saber rattling, as I like to call it, is coming from the religious leaders like Hammani or from the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is prone to say all sorts of things?
[Starr:] Ah, well, that is the big dilemma. Once again, to figure out what is going on inside Iran, we know that there's been a power struggle between those two Iranian factions for months now, and that is part of what is the concern is, instability inside Iran. As those two factions fight against each other and they worry about the total regime survival, what's the impact? You know, who decides what the next plot may be. That's what the U.S. is trying to figure out.
[Banfield:] All right. Barbara, thanks for all of that. Appreciate that at this early hour. Barbara Starr live for us at the Pentagon. And that is
[Early Start. Sambolin:] I'm Zoraida Sambolin along with Ashleigh Banfield. "Starting Point" with Soledad O'Brien headed your way next. Good morning.

[Blitzer:] The Afghan president Hamid Karzai is defending his decision to ban a United States congressman from entering his country. I pressed President Karzai about that in our exclusive interview and we also spoke about the concerns many U.S. lawmakers have about what happens after American troops leave Afghanistan. John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, you met with him recently. He just came back. He said one of the biggest issues is going to be after 2014, after all U.S. NATO troops are out. He told the "National Journal," he said, "The basic issue will be, do our troops have the immunities they need to operate? You don't want them subject to Afghan law." Will U.S. troops who are helping you after 2014 be subject to Afghan law?
[Karzai:] This is I know a very important issue for the United States, but this is also a very important issue for the Afghan people. If a U.S. soldier, like the one who went into a village and killed 17 people, including a pregnant woman with her baby, killing like that do you think is immutable? Can you give immunity to someone like that? But if there is an accident along the way and if it is not intentional and by way of a mishap, that's a different issue. So this is a difficult issue. I [inaudible] the U.S. position on this. But I hope the United States, its Congress, its government, will also understand the Afghan position and the Afghan view on violations of this nature.
[Blitzer:] Tell you, the U.S. military won't stay in Afghanistan to help you if they're subject to Afghan law.
[Karzai:] Well, we will talk to them about all these issues and we'll put across the Afghan sensitivities and reasons for that and I'm sure we'll also hear the U.S. side as to what it is they are seeking. We will try our best to reach a compromise where Afghanistan's lives and laws are respected, where also the United States finds it easy to work in Afghanistan.
[Blitzer:] There's a 10-year strategic partnership agreement
[Karzai:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] from 2015 to 2024
[Karzai:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] and this is going to be a sensitive issue. But I hear you saying there is no agreement yet.
[Karzai:] There is no agreement on this yet.
[Blitzer:] On this sensitive subject?
[Karzai:] This will this is going to be discussed in the security agreement.
[Blitzer:] Here's what's very alarming. American troops, they go into the ministry of interior in Kabul and Afghan troops assassinate them in the back of their heads, wearing Afghan military uniforms. And this is happening. It's happened on several occasions.
[Karzai:] Well, these are these are
[Blitzer:] This is something that shocks Americans because they're there to help you.
[Karzai:] Yes, these are incidents. You have them within the U.S. troops as well. That is something that can happen anywhere. It happens in Afghanistan, it can happen in the United States or elsewhere.
[Blitzer:] Should you apologize for this to the American people, to the American government?
[Karzai:] These are incidents, and as far as the Afghans are concerned, if something wrong is committed by an Afghan and we feel that that is wrong and has negatively affected our U.S. allies, definitely. But in the same vein, we would also expect that the United States would apologize for mistakes that are made in Afghanistan
[Blitzer:] The U.S. has apologized.
[Karzai:] for civilian casualties, for the killing of the innocent in Afghanistan. So reciprocity is very important, that shows respect for both sides.
[Blitzer:] I was shocked recently when I heard that you denied permission to an American congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a subcommittee chairman. He was with a congressional delegation, about to fly from Dubai into Kabul and you said you're not going to let this democratically elected congressman into your country. Why?
[Karzai:] A democratically elected congressman of the United States of America should not be talking of an ethnic divide in Afghanistan, should be not interfering in Afghanistan's internal affairs, should not be asking the Afghan people to have a federal structure as against what the Afghan constitution has asked for, should not be speaking disrespectfully about the Afghan people or the various ethnic groups in Afghanistan. If an Afghan did that from Afghanistan, how would you react to him in America?
[Blitzer:] So you're not going to let him back into your country, Dana Rohrabacher?
[Karzai:] Definitely not.
[Blitzer:] Ever?
[Karzai:] Till he changes his stand, till he shows respect to the Afghan people, to our way of life and to our constitution. No foreigner has a place asking another people, another country to change their constitution.
[Blitzer:] Even after all that America has done for Afghanistan?
[Karzai:] But that doesn't give you the right to play with our lives.
[Blitzer:] And you think he's that dangerous to you?
[Karzai:] Not dangerous. It's a matter of principle. International relations are based on certain principles. We are not America. We are Afghanistan.
[Blitzer:] But there is a concept known as freedom of speech.
[Karzai:] The freedom of speech is good, we respect that, but the freedom of speech with regard to other countries is another issue. He has freedom of speech within the United States and we have freedom of speech within Afghanistan, but if an Afghan member of parliament stood up and said the United States should be divided into five different regions, would you accept that?
[Blitzer:] The Afghan president Hamid Karzai in my interview in Chicago at the end of the NATO summit. I later asked Congressman Dana Rohrabacher to respond to President Karzai's charge that he had been disrespectful of the Afghan people.
[Rep. Dana Rohrabacher , Foreign Affairs Committee:] Well, [inaudible] but if I thought that I was being inadvertently disrespectful to the Afghan people, I would apologize, but I obviously have a deep felt respect for the people of Afghanistan and their courage and their principled behavior. They are tough people who are actually a model of courage in this world. So I respect them. It's Karzai I don't respect. So I don't think I owe an apology to the people of Afghanistan. Of course, Karzai is a corrupt and incompetent leader and I certainly owe no apology for trying to get Afghanistan to do investigative work.
[Blitzer:] As you can see, no love lost between Karzai and Rohrabacher. More than 100 girls, meanwhile, poisoned in Afghanistan. Is it just for going to school? Ahead, we have shocking details of the Taliban's alleged attack. And thousands of U.S. and allied forces training near Syria right now for a potential full-fledged war. CNN is there with exclusive access to their mission. Stay with us.

[Burnett:] Our second story OUTFRONT, fighting gun violence. Vice President Joe Biden today met with his new gun control task force and here was the message.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] We will act and we will act in a way that is designed, even if we can only save one life. We have to take action.
[Burnett:] But how the administration will act is still in question. Meanwhile, NRA President Wayne Lapierre will publicly address the Newtown tragedy tomorrow. It is the first time the NRA has addressed it. In fact, when you say why has it taken this long, I want to emphasize, this is a dramatic shift for the NRA overall. They have remained silent following other mass shootings. OUTFRONT tonight, James Carville, Democratic strategist and Reihan Salam, writer for "National Review." All right, good to see both of you. James, let me start with you here with the numbers. The NRA spent $240 million in 2010, $17 million reportedly this election alone backing candidates that would support NRA positions. In 2009, the NRA pushed through laws relaxing the ability to carry guns on Amtrak. I will admit I don't understand the need for that at all and new laws relaxing gun bans in national parks. So what can we expect the NRA to go along with?
[James Carville, Cnn Contributor:] Well, in Louisiana, they pushed a law to allow people to carry guns in churches. The bishop put the stop to that. Look, they're very powerful group. No question about it. And they put a lot of stuff through and a lot of people not just the Congress, but state legislators are mortified for these guys and for good reason. They send out a lot of mail and people follow them. I think the vice president was instrumental in passing the assault weapon ban before. He knows this. He is a good man to head up this task force, but he will be in for a heck of a fight them play pretty tough. It is not an easy thing to get done here.
[Burnett:] Reihan, what should the NRA say? He is coming out and talking tomorrow. Is it safe to assume he will say look, we do support some kind of change, something should be banned or they will not go that far?
[Reihan Salam, Cnn Contributor:] Well, my personal view is that the NRA would be very smart to talk about gun trafficking. We have a huge gun trafficking problem in this country that is tied to the fact that really about 1 percent of gun dealers who account for a very huge proportion. Some say half of the guns that are used in violent crime in this country. And part of the problem is what is referred to as the private sales loophole. The thing is that we try to legislate around big tragedies like this and that leads us in the wrong direction. The truth is in the assault weapons ban wouldn't have stopped something like this. Even a limit on magazine capacity wouldn't have stopped something like this. We have a huge problem with gun deaths in this country and there are a lot of smart step we could take like addressing that private sales loophole. That would make a real difference.
[Burnett:] James, we all know, at least from what Lt. Vance, the Connecticut State Police chief has said is that, Adam Lanza had enough bullets to kill every single child in that school. Maybe that was his intent. It certainly seems that it was. I'm curious about this whole task force. I mean, it is great to have a task force, right, but there are three things our John Avlon reported that the president could do now without a task force, right. We haven't had an ATF director in six years, apparently only 0.1 of 1 percent of people who lie on their background checks of which there are 71,000 in just one year actually get prosecuted and of course, the ban on assault weapons. So why doesn't the president just do that now?
[Carville:] Well, I think that the ban on the assault weapons, I think it legislatively expired in 2004. Passed in the 1994, but I don't know. Other things seem like good ideas to me. I think there are two problems in this country. There are too many high magazine assault weapons and too many crazy people. And we ought to reduce both of them. We need fewer crazy people and fewer, you know, 30-clip, 30-round magazines in this country. And look, I own guns. I know a lot of my friends do. Some of this stuff is kind of absurd. And I think it makes a very good point, the gun show loophole. Some little loophole slips through and more crazy people get these things. I'm for doing something about mental health and these high ammo magazines.
[Burnett:] Both of them are two crucial parts of the problem and both involved in what happened last Friday. After the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, I'm curious what both of you think about this. Several bills were announced to limit high-capacity magazines, which James you were just saying. You know, limit magazine is a good idea. That legislation was not enacted. Who fights for that? Who needs that?
[Salam:] Well, one of the fundamental issues, there are a lot of folks in this country, Democrats and Republicans, who believe very strongly that there is an individual right to bear arms. When you're at limits on magazines, the last time we had a limit on magazine capacity was about ten rounds. The most popular firearm in the country, the Glock handgun has about 17 rounds in the chamber. And I think a lot of people are questioning whether or not limiting magazine capacity is appropriate when this handgun that is used by many people for self-defense and other legitimate purposes would be so heavily impacted by it. I understand the desire to limit magazine capacity but I think it will be a tough thing. Wait a second. I use my firearm for legitimate purposes and I think it is perfectly appropriate to have 17 rounds in my chamber.
[Burnett:] James?
[Carville:] Yes. I have no idea why he needs 17 rounds in your chamber. Have you got a handgun? I've got six. What are you going to do with 17? That's an argument they can make and not make. But the point is that this thing is going to be, they're in for a tough slog. What the vice president said, now the commission will come back in January and make some recommendations. There is no doubt, the only thing I would say, Erin, this one felt different. We've gone through these things in Colorado, the Gabby Giffords thing. I don't know this one feels different to me. And I think the fact that the NRA has been silent for so long is a signal it feels different to them. I think this changed the ground underneath as you little bit. Whether or not it is sufficient to do something, I have no idea.
[Salam:] There is just one thing I want to add. James earlier on said there are two pieces to this. Part of it is an underlying violence problem. You have a lot of mental illness, a lot of anger. We are a more violent country than other countries where you have high rates of ownership. That's an unfortunate fact. The other thing I think we need to understand is that the technology for spreading violence is the real underlying issue. Think about the way we think about terrorism. A super empowered dangerous individual is a lot more dangerous now than a super empowered individual was 60 years ago. And the technology for people to create their own guns is frighteningly close at hand. So a lot of this is fighting the last battle. The truth is the capacity for deadly violence is very widespread in the form of firearms or some other weapons.
[Burnett:] All right, we'll leave it there. A thought for our viewers, think about what happened in China last week right when this happened, 23 children were stabbed in a school and they lived. It was a knife and not a gun. It probably would have ended differently if it had been a gun like in Connecticut. Ahead, a blizzard threatens to holiday travel plans for thousands. Plus the State Department in the hot seat on Capitol Hill. Officials making promises while facing some very tough questions over what they got so very wrong on the attack in Benghazi.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Our starting point this morning, no plan in sight. Republicans lashing out at Speaker Boehner over his deficit reduction plan as President Obama stiffens his resolve over raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Are lawmakers really going to let us go over the cliff? And a gruesome photo sparking outrage. Should "The New York Post" have put up this picture of a man just moments before he was crushed to death by a subway train? It was on the cover. This morning, we're hearing from the photographer who snapped that picture.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] U.S. oil production near a 15-year high. And you're hearing this new buzzword. Is the U.S. becoming the new Saudi America?
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor, "early Start":] And new details in the murdersuicide involving Kansas City chiefs player, Jovan Belcher. What the 911 tapes reveal about the final moments of his slain girlfriend?
[O'brien:] A lot to talk about this morning over our next two hours. We're going to be talking with Stephanie Cutter. She's the former deputy campaign manager of President Obama's re-election campaign. Howard Kurtz is the host of CNN'S "RELIABLE SOURCES". Lauren Ashburn from the "Daily Beast." They'll be talking with us as well. Republican from Texas, Congressman Jeb Hensarling, is with us, Randy Weingarten, who's the President of the American Federation of Teachers, all our guests this morning. It's Wednesday, December 5th, and STARTING POING begins right now. Our STARTING POINT this morning, President Obama putting his foot down. He says no tax hikes for the wealthy, no deal. America hits that fiscal cliff in 27 days and that means tax hikes and deep spending cuts if the Democrats and the Republicans can't come together in some kind of a deal. And with just 10 days remaining until Congress is scheduled to go home for the holidays, the clock ticking. Here's what he told Bloomberg news. Listen.
[Barack Obama,  President Of The United States:] We're going to have to see the rates on the top two percent go up and we're not going to be able it to get a deal without it.
[O'brien:] We start this morning with White House correspondent Dan Lothian, he's in Washington, D.C. OK. So who's got the ball in their court at this point then, Dan?
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Well, you know, I think the house GOP, they have presented their counteroffer which White House spokesman jay carney is referring to as, quote, "magic beans and fairy dust." We expect that house Republicans will keep putting pressure on the White House to engage, push for more details on what the White House will accept when it comes to additional entitlement cuts. But I think what's unclear is what kind of negotiating is going on behind the scenes. The White House saying that conversations continue, but House GOP aides telling me that there are no conversations as of late yesterday, no emails being exchanged, no phone calls. So it's unclear how they can move the ball forward if there are no real conversations taking place. There's also another problem for Republicans. They're not on the same page. You have that proposal put forward by speaker John Boehner that calls for $800 billion in new tax revenue, but some conservatives think that Republicans are giving up too much. Take a listen.
[Sen. Jim Demint,  South Carolina:] Republicans should not be conceding that the federal government needs more money, negotiating with ourselves, and treating the President's proposal like it's serious.
[Rep. Tom Cole,  Oklahoma:] Look, I support the Speaker and we're actually not very far apart on anything. You know at the end of the day, he has to negotiate a deal. If there is an area we do agree with the President on, that is 98 percent of the American people getting about 80 percent of this tax cut shouldn't have their taxes raised. My suggestion was let's take the one area we agree and take it off the table.
[Lothian:] Now later this morning, president Obama will be speaking and taking questions at the business round table meeting, a White House official saying that the President will make the case that middle- class Americans need certainty that their taxes will not go up at the end of the year. He will also make the case that this fiscal cliff will have a negative impact on the overall economy and he will push these business leaders to support his approach. Soledad?
[O'brien:] Dan Lothian, in Washington, D.C., for us, thank you, Dan, appreciate it. In just a few minutes we'll be chatting with Stephanie Cutter, the woman who helped manage president Obama's re-election campaign. We'll talk more about the fiscal cliff. First, though, a look at other stories that are making news today. Zoraida has that for us. Good morning,
[Z. Sambolin:] Good morning to you. The death toll in the Philippines is rising this morning. Typhoon Bopha moving toward beach resorts in the northern part of the country and right now it is packing winds over 90 miles an hour. That storm has already caused massive flooding and landslides in the southern Philippines. Dozens of buildings have been destroyed and the death toll stands at 133 with hundreds more still missing. Meantime in rain-soaked Seattle there are concerns about more mudslides. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis joins us live from Atlanta with the latest. They cannot get a break.
[Karen Maginnis, Ams Meteorologist:] They really can't, and for some folks, this is not coming as good news because it looks like that pineapple express, that moisture coming from deep within the pacific, that's going to be shut off, but we've still got the moisture coming in from the Gulf of Alaska, and that's going to lower the snow levels across the cascades and the Olympics down to around 2,000 feet or so. It has been hovering around 3,000 or 4,000 feet. We've got additional snowfall here but also the rain moves in. Take a look at video that we have from our CNN affiliate, KOMO, and a house has been steadily sliding down a hill. This is in the vicinity of Everett, Washington. And they say that this has been going on for quite some time. So every time it rains, not just this one house, but a number of homes in this particular neighborhood, they say every time it rains it just kind of undermines the footings on the homes there and they tend to slip down even more. We've seen this over the past month or so. So Zoraida, they are not looking forward to the additional rainfall and the much colder air that is in store. They saw some wind gusts, by the way, with these storms up to 150 miles an hour.
[Sambolin:] Wow. Karen Maginnis live for us in Atlanta, thank you very much for that. Emotional 911 calls in the alleged murder-suicide involving Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher. The mother of the Chiefs' player is heard pleading with dispatchers and her son's girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, who had just been shot. Listen.
[Unidentified Female:] She is still breathing but barely. Please hurry. I don't know how many times he shot her. They were arguing. OK. So she's been shot? Yes. Right now is she awake? Kassandra stay with me. The ambulance is on the way. Do you hear me? Kassandra! Stay with me!
[Sambolin:] Oh, my goodness. That's difficult to listen to. Police say after shooting his girlfriend, Belcher drove to arrowhead stadium where he killed himself at the chiefs' practice facility after thanking his coach and general manager for all they had done for him. And two rising Republican stars are trying to rebrand themselves and their party. Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin appearing together last night at the Jack Kemp foundation awards dinner Washington. Listen to Mitt Romney's former running mate softening the rhetoric.
[Rep. Paul Ryan,  Wisconsin:] Both parties tend to divide Americans into our voters and their voters. Let's be really clear. Republicans must steer far clear of that track. We must speaks to the aspirations and the anxieties of every American.
[Sambolin:] Senator Rubio weighing in on the fiscal cliff debate and the idea of raising tax rates for the wealthy saying we need to make poor people richer, not rich people poorer. Soledad.
[O'brien:] That's the kind of thinking that will get you votes, right? All right. Thanks, Zoraida. New York City police could be close to charging a suspect in that fatal subway push. They say a man is now being questioned and has implicated himself in this case. A front page "New York Post" photo has become the source of a lot of controversy. It shows the victim desperately trying to climb up from the tracks as the train approaches. This morning we're hearing that the photographer has said some things in his own defense. CNN's Mary Snow has more on this report.
[Unidentified Male:] Take your over there.
[Mary Snow, Cnn Correspondent:] Why exactly these men were fighting is unclear. But moments after this video obtained by the New York police was record 58-year-old Ki-suck Han, whose face is obscured, was pushed on to the tracks, police say, by the man yelling at him. A subway barreling through the station killed Han with horrified onlookers unable to save him.
[Nigel Grant, Mta Worker:] I know they kept arguing with each other. I see people trying to flag the train down before the train gets to him.
[Snow:] The fight happened around 12:30 in the afternoon on this platform that's only about 10 feet wide. A doctor who was on the platform says that the victim was trying to protect people that he didn't know, and she says that many people tried to help him by alerting subway personnel. The victim was struck, and she says she performed three to four minutes of chest compressions on him, but it was too late. One eyewitness describes the train coming to an abrupt stop three quarters into the station.
[Patrick Gomez, Witness:] People were just standing in fear and shock not knowing what's really going on. Some people started running out of the platform, you know, other people just stood there and really didn't know what was going on.
[Snow:] The suspect meantime was able to slip out of the station into Times Square, and police canvassed the area with his image placed on wanted posters in the streets. But it was another image in the cruel killing that has sparked an uproar. This is one of several photographs published by "The New York Post" of Han facing the train seconds before his death. The "Post" quotes the photographer saying he tried to warn the train operator by running towards him firing off his camera flash. But online there were public comments of disgust. "Wow. Enough time to take a few pictures. Why didn't the person help? What an age we live in when getting the picture is more important. I am appalled." Now we did reach out to the "Post" and photographer and both declined our requests for comment. Should point out this is the cover of "The New York Post" today saying my snap decision and the photographer talks about had is decision because there's been so much criticism. He's claiming he was too far away to be of any help.
[O'brien:] Well, in addition to sort of his story, and he says he couldn't get there in time and he was trying to warn anyway, the post made the decision to run the photo. The caption that said "doomed" which was just honestly tweeting about this yesterday.
[Snow:] The man is about to die is what it said.
[O'brien:] Brutal. And then, of course, afterwards, when he was struck by the train, people continued to snap pictures.
[Snow:] I can't tell you, there was so much disgust expressed yesterday watching just seeing that photo of that helpless man and people questioning why didn't anybody try to help him? And it really just struck such a nerve.
[O'brien:] Does anybody know how much time was between when we see him with no train in the background and he's on the tracks, because there's a shot of him sitting sort of in that well of the tracks and between when the train actually came? Is it 15 seconds? Is it three minutes? I know there's a window when the trains come through.
[Snow:] We don't know how long he was there. And, you know, there was one doctor, I mentioned, who was on the platform and she said in a statement that she said that many people tried to help, they tried to warn the subway personnel. But we don't know how long that was.
[O'brien:] Mary Snow
[Sambolin:] That photographer actually in the "New York post" says that it was 22 seconds from his perspective. I don't know if that's something he kept through his shutter he was able to tell the amount of time he says it was 22 seconds, no way he could run that quickly and assist.
[O'brien:] Mary Snow, amazing piece. Thank you for that report. In about 30 minutes we'll be talking to media critic Howard Kurtz, the host of "CNN's Reliable Sources," and Lauren Ashburn from "The Daily Beast" to talk about the responsibilities and who advocated what in this case. Up next on STARTING POINT, the President says he will not accept a deal on the fiscal cliff if it doesn't include raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Is there wiggle room for compromise? We're going to check in with his former deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter will join up next. And U.S. oil production at its highest level in almost two decades. People on Wall Street say we could be a new Saudi Arabia. We'll chat with Christine Romans about that coming up next.

[Costello:] Thirty minutes past the hour. Checking our "Top Stories" now. George Zimmerman's defense team and Florida prosecutors joined forces in court today. They're fighting several media companies, including CNN, who want more information released in the case. But the lawyers want the evidence sealed, because of the intense public attention. Zimmerman is accused of murdering Trayvon Martin, but has claimed he acted in self defense. SunTrust Mortgage has agreed to pay $21 million to resolve a discrimination lawsuit. The suit claimed the lender discriminated against African-American and Hispanic borrowers. A two and a half year Justice Department investigation found that between 2005 and 2009, SunTrust increased loan prices for qualified minorities. We're now hearing from those two American tourists kidnapped at gunpoint in Egypt. The gunmen released Brandon Kurtz and Jon Szaflarski yesterday. They told CNN affiliate KPRC, they feared their captors would kill them.
[Jon Szaflarski, Kidnapped In Egypt:] Bars on them and they nailed the door shut and they were outside shooting their assault rifles the whole night and all the way through the morning. They were all very loud and aggressive and speaking in Arabic and I mean, we didn't we had no idea. No clue what their intentions were.
[Costello:] The two men were driving to their hotel in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula when they were abducted. A bid for a new sports stadium usually sparks a bit of controversy, mainly over how to pay for it. But for Virginia Tech the battle is over the school's plan to build in an area some say is rich with history. Brianna Keilar traveled to the school's campus in Blacksburg, Virginia.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn:] If trees could talk, the stories these woods could tell. [on camera]: What has this tree been around for?
[John Seiler, Forestry Professor, Virginia Tech:] We've got the moon walk, we've got World War II, World War
[I. Keilar:] The tree was around for the American Revolution.
[Seiler:] Yes. In fact, the tree was probably 10 to 12 inches in diameter at the American Revolution. So they could have sat under the tree at that time. It would have had a lot of shade.
[Keilar:] The stadium woods are located on the campus of Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia. Forestry Professor John Seiler has found trees older than 300 years here.
[Seiler:] In an urban environment this is probably the single largest collection of old white oaks in an old growth forest anywhere in the eastern
[U.s. Keilar:] It's now in danger. Virginia Tech's Athletic Department wants to build an indoor practice facility for football, baseball and other sports on four of these 11 wooded acres.
[Seiler:] That pink flag right there, that represents the wall of the building.
[Keilar:] Eight-time conference champs and eyeing a national title, the Hokeys' $40 million football program is looking to attract the nation's best high school recruits.
[John Randolph, Committee Chairman:] An indoor practice facility is kind of a key part of that element. A lot of the big schools are adding them. And we've had this project in the works for a decade.
[Keilar:] Urban planning professor John Randolph is trying to find a solution. He chairs a committee that is considering alternate locations for the facility, where a parking lot or tennis courts currently stand. Until that committee issues its recommendation in June, Professor Seiler and a Grass Roots organization of Blacksburg residents and Virginia Tech students are publicizing the cause, locally and on the Internet. [on camera]: Vashion Island, so you have people from Washington State, New York.
[Seiler:] I'll look, there's Vashion, New York, Knoxville, California, Oklahoma. This is all over the United States now.
[Keilar:] Virginia Tech is feeling the pressure. [on camera]: When you see people like prod you, is it on both sides of the equation, or is that mostly people who are saying keep those trees there?
[Randolph:] Keep the trees.
[Keilar:] As it decides, what happens to this forest that has survived so much. Brianna Keilar, CNN, Blacksburg, Virginia.
[Costello:] "Political Buzz", is your rapid fire look at the political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing with us today, CNN contributor and managing editor of the conservative blog, RedState.com, Erick Erickson; and Jason Johnson, professor of political science at Hiram College in Ohio and chief political correspondent for Politics 365. Welcome to both of you.
[Jason Johnson, Politics 365:] Good morning.
[Costello:] Ok.
[Erick Erickson, Redstate.com:] Thanks.
[Costello:] First question. John Edwards has sinned, but he says God isn't through with me yet. He still believes there are good things I can do, that from John Edwards. So the question, does God have a plan for John Edwards? Jason?
[Johnson:] God does have a plan for John Edwards. He wants him to go forth and speak the gospel of campaign finance reform. I actually talked to a Democratic strategist at corporate communications about this. If you look at this case, the reason Edwards got in trouble is because his bundlers used this money to hide his mistress back in 2008. Under the current laws, they could have put together a restore our mistresses Super PAC and he could have been completely covered from any investigation from the FEC so that is God's plan for him. Campaign finance reform, the John Edwards way.
[Costello:] Erick.
[Erickson:] Oh, I think that God has a plan for everybody, but I'm pretty sure the voters don't have a plan for John Edwards.
[Costello:] Oh we're having trouble with the shot. This is coming out of Macon, Georgia. We've lost Erick Erickson. Should we take a break and then come back? We're going to take a quick break so we can get Erick back. Sorry, Jason. We'll be back.

[Velshi:] The tragedy in Syria continues. There's news now of more deaths, more than 100 deaths in and around Hama, the city is at the center of the latest crackdown by dissident on dissidents by security forces. The United States condemning President Assad's regime saying it's lost legitimacy after witnesses reported civilians being executed in the streets.
[Susan Rice, U.s. Ambassador To U.n:] It's horrific. It's appalling. He's massacring his own people who are coming out simply to express themselves peacefully. It's absolutely unacceptable, appalling behavior and it deserves not only the condemnation but the full force of the international community, to pressure that it stop.
[Velshi:] More than 200 people have now been killed in Hama since government troops moved into the city last weekend to crush the revolt there.
[Romans:] The penalty phase is now under way after a Texas jury found polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs guilty on two counts of sexual assault against minors. The jury jury reached that verdict in less than four hours. And the same 12 jurors will now sentence Jeffs possibly to life in prison. The charges Jeffs was convicted of stem from a 2008 raid on his ranch his ranch that his church operates near Eldorado, Texas.
[Costello:] Dramatic surveillance video shows a Philadelphia City bus packed with passengers being shot up from the street. The tape was shown at a hearing for six people charged in the shooting, which happened back in June. One of those people, a mother who allegedly triggered this whole incident, you see her getting off the bus after a passenger criticized her for spanking her child. Authorities say she had called a group of friends who then opened fire with semiautomatic weapons. Remarkably, no passengers were injured.
[Velshi:] It's unbelievable. So there's video inside this bus and outside. These guys show up with big, big guns and they start shooting the bus.
[Costello:] All because this woman spanked her child on the bus and passengers complained.
[Velshi:] If I ever call you two to tell me that I got into something on a bus with somebody, don't don't show up with weapons. Yell at somebody if you want.
[Costello:] It's just unbelievable.
[Velshi:] And it's unbelievable that nobody got hurt in that thing.
[Costello:] Well, that's like I don't know. There's divine intervention there.
[Velshi:] Unbelievable. Yes.
[Romans:] The bus driver must have panicked, you know? I mean, you see him sitting there, sitting in the bus there.
[Velshi:] Well, I don't know if this is true. I heard somebody tell me, it's just so much information going through my head the last 12 hours, I don't know what's real and what isn't, but that he was a war veteran.
[Romans:] Oh, really?
[Velshi:] Yes. That he had some sense of experience of dealing with this. So he just he just hit the pedal and got out of there as fast as he could.
[Romans:] Wow.
[Costello:] That's good for him.
[Velshi:] That's good for him. All right. The security scare on the Virginia Tech Campus, an alert was issued yesterday morning after it was believed that a man was possibly on campus carrying a gun. Summer school students were told to stay indoors. Classes were eventually canceled after several hours of searching a gunman was found and the alert was dropped. You'll remember in 2007, a gunman opened fire at Virginia Tech, fatally shooting 32 people, before killing himself.
[Costello:] Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. Our question this morning, when will our fears about Muslim-Americans fade? I bring this up because the governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, a Republican, and a Tea Party favorite, has had enough of it.
[Gov. Chris Christie , New Jersey:] Sharia law business is crap. It's just crazy. And I'm tired of dealing with the crazies.
[Costello:] Christie was defending his choice of Muslim-American lawyer, Sohail Mohammed for a state judgeship. Conservative bloggers were furious. They accused Christie of being in bed with the enemy. They feared Mohammed would make judicial decisions based on the Koran or Sharia law.
[Christie:] Sharia law has nothing to do with this at all. It's crazy. It's crazy. The guy is an American citizen.
[Costello:] Been almost 10 years since 911. Osama Bin Laden is dead. And, yes, there have been arrests of Muslim extremists within the United States and, yes, we do need to be vigilant about homeland security, but should all Muslims be suspect? According to the "New York Times" more than two dozen states have considered measures to restrict judges from consulting Sharia law. So our "Talk Back" question today, when will our fears about Muslim-Americans fade? Tell us on our Facebook pageAMERICANMORNING. Write out AMERICAN MORNING. Facebook.comAmericanMorning. We'll read your comments later this hour.
[Romans:] I think Governor Christie thinks it's crazy.
[Costello:] He was just so out there with it. It was kind of it's great to hear.
[Velshi:] And but that's very characteristic of him. He when he thinks something is not right
[Romans:] Yes.
[Velshi:] he says it. If there's something whether you like his politics or not, a lot of people don't, that is an interesting characteristic of his.
[Romans:] Yes. He just says it. It's very kind of a New York New it's a Jersey thing.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Romans:] All right. Tiger Woods admits he was a little nervous, but he says he decided to just let it rip and see what happens. So far, so good. Tiger returning to the tour yesterday at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, firing a solid two under par 68 in the opening round. He he hasn't played in three months. Tiger's six strokes behind the leader Adam Scott. Guess who's caddying for Scott? Oh, yes, Steve Williams, the caddie that Tiger recently fired.
[Velshi:] Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, dusty plane, so much heat, barely any rain, it's on pace to be the most stifling summer ever in the American heartland. We're live in Dallas where staying cool has become a matter of life and death.
[Romans:] And why scientists believe these new NASA photos of Mars could mean there's life on the Red Planet. Get ready to geek out all of you who love
[Costello:] This is cool.
[Romans:] Martian action. It's 20 minutes after the hour.

[Baldwin:] We have a few more details for you today from that fatal shooting of the college student near New York City this past weekend. We were talking about it this time yesterday. Just to go back, it happened after midnight Sunday morning, police say, in the fire lane outside of this bar. Now, police responding to the scene found an unruly crowd, plenty of chaos, as you can see in some of the cell phone video. Now, they say a car they ordered to stop instead accelerated and hit one of their officers, barely missing another one, forcing both of them to grab their guns and open fire. Now, the car's driver, a 20- year-old Pace University student, was killed. Some witnesses gave a different account, including the car's passenger, his best friend, who was wounded. Yesterday, I spoke with that young man's mother, who could not comprehend what her son then told her what happened next.
[Parks:] They pulled D.J. out of the car, handcuffed him, put him face down on the ground and left him there for 15 to 20 minutes while they attended to the police officer.
[Baldwin:] And your son
[Parks:] They just left him there, just left him there on the ground
[Baldwin:] Oh.
[Parks:] for 15 to 20 minutes, just laying there, just laying there. My son didn't my son is walking around the parking lot.
[Baldwin:] I know your heart breaks listening to her. But we want to make sure we're getting both sides of this story. And so I made sure I picked up the phone. I called the chief of police in Mount Pleasant just a couple hours ago. And he confirmed to me that Danroy Henry, who went by D.J., D.J. Henry was handcuffed, as, as he explained to me, any kind of protocol, standard standard operating procedure in any incident involving guns. The officers, he said, basically treated this as a felony stop. But he said the student was immediately uncuffed when it became obvious he was hurt. This is what the police chief told other reporters yesterday.
[Chief Louis Alagno, Mount Pleasant, New York Police:] This is going to be a long, hard investigation and we will be as thorough as possible. We want to identify exactly what happened and why it happened.
[Baldwin:] In the course of my conversation with Chief Alagno, who you just saw, he told me this has been the most difficult incident he has ever faced in his entire career. It spans since the '70s. That he has met with Dan Roy Henry's parents. The chief would not give me any details about the investigation thus far, particularly regarding some of the alleged gunfire he said prompted officers to try to stop Henry's car. The policemen involved in the shooting, he explained, had yet to return to duty. Of course we're staying all over this story and as soon as we get any update from either side we reached out to the henrys as well we will pass that along and get more for you on that. I want to let you know we're waiting. Live remarks could happen any time in the program from Senate majority Harry Reid expected to address Sharron Angle, his opponent here in the Senate race, for controversial comments to Hispanic students over the weekend. We'll bring that to you live as it has here on CNN. Stick around for that. Also, there is this mystery still unraveling at the Pentagon. What happened? Why did someone fire shots at that building? We'll tell you a little more about that investigation, how it's under way. That is next. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[Becky Anderson:] Six months of civil war in Libya could be down to the final hours. The fall of Moammar Gadhafi appears imminent, but the battle is not over yet. I'm Becky Anderson in London. It's 9:00 p.m. here, 10:00 p.m. in Tripoli. Here is what is happening right now. Rebels are trying to rout the last few pockets of resistance after seizing most of the capital in a lightning quick advance. They say the Gadhafi era is over, but they still haven't managed to capture him or even track him down. And this video was filmed by our CNN crew in Green Square, or Martyrs Square, as it's been renamed, once the symbolic heart of Gadhafi regime. You can hear gunfire and shouting, as rebels take cover from snipers on rooftops. Well, heavy fighting is reported in several areas, including around the presidential compound. The presidential completed Gadhafi loyalists still control that area and some believe the leader himself may be holed up there. Well, Gadhafi may be a fugitive, but rebels say they have now captured three of his sons. Here's the file pictures of them. Saif al-Islam is on the left, Saddiq in the middle and Mohammed on the right. Gadhafi himself hasn't been seen in public for weeks. Just yesterday, as rebels broke down Tripoli's defenses, Gadhafi broadcast several defiant audio messages vowing never to surrender. Well CNN's Sara Sidner has been in Tripoli all weekend following the fast moving developments and she joins us now Sara, what can you tell us at this point?
[Sara Sidner, Cnn Correspondent:] What I can tell you is that we left the city, along with a lot of the rebels, actually, who went to have their evening meal. It was just not safe enough to stay in the city overnight, from what we assessed, the rebels telling us that we were not allowed to go down to Green Square, which is now they have renamed or want people to call it Martyrs Square. They say that they have gotten control of about 90 percent of the city. But we heard quite a bit of fighting and gunfire toward the Square, toward, also, Gadhafi's compound. So, certainly, the battle for Tripoli is not over, the rebels being very, very cautious. Every time there is any kind of rumor of a sniper, everyone goes running, no matter where they are, even if there are few buildings around them. There's a real fear of snipers and for good reason. Apparently, the rebels say, there were snipers in the area shooting from the tops of buildings. And it is very hard to seen. Now that it is dark, this becomes a very difficult war. And and remember, the rebels are less equipped than any force you might be thinking about. These are people, many of them, who have come from their neighborhoods from other parts, also, of the country, not just Tripoli. So some of these fighters do not know the city of Tripoli and are reliant on the locals there to to get them around. So important to note that the night battles can be very difficult, very confusing. So it makes people very suspicious and makes things very tense as night falls in the city of Tripoli Becky.
[Anderson:] Sara, we are just recon or we're just taking a look at video that was shot earlier on. You say that the rebels will rely on locals, as they don't know the area. This has turned into, of course, urban warfare at this point. Just how well supported are the rebels?
[Sidner:] It's hard to gauge that. But I can tell you that when I say they rely on locals who know the area, those are other rebels that they've been training with. They're not just stopping, for example, at someone's door saying where is this area of town or where is that area of town. They have tried to train as much as they can for what they knew would be urban warfare. And I think the one thing that really surprised them was that they did not face the kind of numbers that Moammar Gadhafi had promised would rise up or would fight on his behalf. They were surprised that they were able to get so far into the city so quickly. Once they got there, though, that's when a bit of the trouble started, because they weren't quite sure what they were dealing with. And it was eerily quiet, I have to tell you. Over the past 24 hours that we've seen these things unfold, at first this morning, there was quite a bit of driving up and down the street. And this afternoon, more of that. This evening, some celebrations, some families coming out. But as nightfall comes, things get eerily quiet in the in the city. People sort of retracting, trying to see what is going on around them. Very difficult. The power is out in in a couple of places in this country. So it is very difficult to know just how much of a fight is left in the Gadhafi forces and just how far the rebels will be able to when it is this dark and it's very difficult to navigate the city.
[Anderson:] Two big questions that may get answered, may or may not get answered in the hours to come. Sara, thank you for that, on the ground for you there in Libya. Well, this story, of course, far from over. In the next hour, I'm going to be joined by one man who ought to know what's going on behind the scenes in Libya. Saad Djebbar is a former legal adviser to the Libyan government. He knows the situation on the ground there better than most. Well, as Libyans cheer, we'll look to the future, to the challenges facing the National Transitional Council as it attempts to bring the country together. But before they can, Libya's rebels have a fight on their hands to finally rid their country of their dictator. So what stumbling blocks could they face and how can NATO help? That coming up in the next hour here on CNN. Plus, an exclusive interview with the man who helped to govern Libya before Gadhafi took charge some 41-and-a-half years ago. Find out what former Libyan Prime Minister Mustapha Ben Halim has to say about the colonel and what he believes comes next. Well, many world leaders are encouraging Moammar Gadhafi to see the writing on the wall and give himself up without further bloodshed. U.S. President Barack Obama spoke a short time ago. This is what he said.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I want to emphasize that this is not over yet. As the regime collapses, there's still fierce fighting in some areas and we have reports of regime elements threatening to continue fighting. Although it's clear that Gadhafi's reign is over, he still has the opportunity to reduce further bloodshed by explicitly relinquish power to the people of Libya and calling for those forces that continue to fight to lay down their arms for the sake of Libya.
[Anderson:] Hmm, for the sake of Libya, as far as Obama is concerned. Well, the Pentagon says it believes Moammar Gadhafi is still in Libya. What evidence does it have for that? Well, let's get to the Pentagon and to our correspondent there, Chris Lawrence, for more on the U.S. intelligence at this point what do we know?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, Becky, it it's more a process of elimination. What they haven't seen is evidence that Moammar Gadhafi has left the country. They know he hasn't been seen in public in some time. They noted his last address was a radio address. But they're not getting into specific intelligence that leads them to say today that they believe that Moammar Gadhafi still resides in Libya.
[Anderson:] Thank you for that. Chris Lawrence is at the Pentagon. Chris, I'm going to leave it there for the time being. I'm going to get to a man who's with me in the studio now. The opposition National Transition Council is already planning for post-Gadhafi Libya, saying it will soon move its headquarters to Tripoli. Officially established March the 5th in Benghazi, the Council is led by Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Libya's former justice minister. The NTC, now recognized by more than 30 countries as Libya's legitimate governing authority. And the Council says its aim is to steer Libya for an interim period toward free elections and the establishment of a constitution. Well, a film adviser to the Libyan government agrees with the opposition that Moammar Gadhafi's reign is now over. Saad Djebbar now joins us in the studio with some perspective. And you say it's over. The Americans say, well, their evidence is is it's difficult to know who is where and what's going on at this point. But you certainly say that Gadhafi is finished, but is he still at large? That is the big question.
[Saad Djebbar, Former Legal Adviser To Libyan Government:] Well, he's a fox, you know. He's a survivor, a manipulator. He's not like his sons. I'm sure if he's in the country, he would have been near the border with chad, Niger or Mali, or in his own tribal scene in Sirte. He would not be in Tripoli, whereby he could be caught easily.
[Anderson:] So you're saying you say he'll flee rather than fight on?
[Djebbar:] I think he will try to manipulate, try to enhance his negotiating presentation to the bitter end. And I must say that this is a time for the Russians, the Chinese and the Algerians, a neighboring country who have been supporting him indirectly and helping his position or his intransigence for some for the last few months, to move on to try to find a way out for him. And that, if it's met with the, you know, the help of the United States and others, maybe they will get him to leave with some sort of deal. But Gadhafi is very well known when he's losing. He likes to portray himself as winning. He did that in
[Anderson:] But, Saad, though, do you think he still has leverage with the rebels, with the National Transitional Council, so far as a safe passage might be concerned? Has he got any negotiating power left at this point?
[Djebbar:] Let's look at Libya's history and present. Libya became independent thanks to the international efforts of the U.N. Now, Libya or the rebels are they are what they are because of the international effort. So however it seems that it's between in issues, between Libyans, the international community, headed by the United States, the U.K., France and other major powers, are going to have their own theory. And I think they will decide the future of how to set with Gadhafi. Gadhafi will go if he knows that he will leave with some sort of dignity and immunity.
[Anderson:] Saad, though, in the last couple of months, the international community has moved from saying I'm talking about Cameron, I'm talking about Obama here moved from saying he has to leave the country to just saying he must step down. And even in the last 24 hours, British Prime Minister David Cameron says it's up to the Libyans and the Libyan people as to what happens next.
[Djebbar:] Well, his saying that is normal, because he doesn't want to be seen as a colonialist dictating how the Libyan course of results should take. But at the end of the day, Gadhafi has Gadhafi's chapter has to be closed. If we close if we want to close Gadhafi's charter, the fact about the charter is this. Gadhafi could lose. But he has distributed arms, explosives, money to his own loyalists. Even if they were thousands or hundreds, they could create problems like in the IRA in in Northern Ireland. Therefore, it's better to get him, to say agree on this. You leave the country. You will get immunity and that's it.
[Anderson:] You're going to stay with me throughout the hour. We're going to discuss just how long this is going to take, if, indeed, this is the end of the regime and what happens next as we move through this next hour. It's 12 minutes past 9:00 in London. That is 12 minutes past 10 in Tripoli. We want to take a very short break. Special coverage of what is going on in Libya here on CNN after this short break. Stay with us.

[Lucia Mcbath, Mother Of Jordan Davis:] They said Jordan is dead. I just lost it.
[Velez-mitchell:] That is the mother of this deceased now teen, Jordan Davis. Now, the suspect, Michael Dunn, a software designer said he is sitting in his car at a gas station in Florida. His girlfriend is inside buying some wine and the teens, four of them in an adjacent vehicle were playing very loud music. He asked them to turn it down. Words were exchanged. The next thing you know, he has allegedly fired eight at least shots into that car and Jordan Davis dies. Michelle Suskauer, should he be able to use the controversial stand your ground law in Florida?
[Suskauer:] Absolutely. That doesn`t mean that it`s going to would work but he should absolutely be able to use it. It is a defense not only to criminal but also any civil liability. If he feels that force was necessary to reasonably protect his life; if it was justified in this case.
[Velez-mitchell:] Natalie?
[Jackson:] Stand your ground is a solution in search of a problem. This is a law that allows hot-headed, angry people to go out and shoot and kill. It is a license to kill. And this man needs to go to prison. That`s it. There is no doubt about it.
[Velez-mitchell:] Michelle?
[Suskauer:] You know, then we should just do away with trials. There was just a task force that went around the state of Florida by Governor Rick Scott to review this law, to see if this law should still be in effect. If there should be any changes. And the task force came up with the fact that it should stay in effect. This is the law in Florida. This is the defense. Like it or not. And now
[Velez-mitchell:] We`re out of time. We can say the victim`s father is on "Evening Express" tomorrow. Nancy Grace is next. END

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Thanks to both of you. Happening now in the NEWSROOM, air scare. American Airlines in full damage control mode this morning after new reports of seats coming loose mid-flight. Now inspectors are on the case. A massive fireball. Explosions and intense heat forcing dozens of people to evacuate. And it's one, two there it is, three. They're in. The Detroit Tigers, the Washington Nationals and the Oakland A's join baseball's playoff party. Plus
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] American Express in hot water with the government because of deceptive lending practices. Customers could be in line for refund checks for hundreds of dollars. Should you be getting some cash? Find out. NEWSROOM starts now.
[Announcer:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Costello:] But we do start with breaking news this morning. Two U.S. Border Patrol agents have been shot in southern Arizona and we've now learned that one of those agents has died from his gunshot wounds. The FBI and Cochise County Sheriff's Office, they're leading the investigation. The shooting happened near the town of Naco, Arizona, that's near the area where border with that Border Patrol agent involved in that "Fast and Furious" program was shot and killed, Brian Terry. We'll have much more on this story, we'll get much more information in the next two hours of NEWSROOM. Also this morning, it sounds like something out of a nightmare. Imagine being on a plane and having your seat detach from the floor mid-flight. It's happened at least twice in the past few days on two American Airlines planes.
[Unidentified Male:] Passenger seats, rows 12D, E and F came loose out of the floor. We don't want that thing flying around and hurt the passengers behind them. The seat is loose and can rotate pretty quickly.
[Costello:] Yesterday a flight from New York to Miami had to return to JFK after some seats came loose in the cabin. And last week, a flight from Boston to Miami had to make an emergency landing at JFK in New York after three seats detached from the floor during the flight. The plane was in the air. Our affiliate WPLG's Ross Palumbo has more.
[Ross Palumbo, Reporter, Wplg:] Passengers call it chaos. American Airlines climbing into the sky with seats suddenly coming loose.
[Unidentified Female:] The seats flipped backwards. It was actually a complete nightmare.
[Palumbo:] The nightmare for her began on Saturday. This woman too shaken to show her face says she was just flying from Boston to Miami when suddenly on take-off three seats flipped over.
[Unidentified Female:] And so people were essentially on the laps of the passengers behind them.
[Palumbo:] Humorous now, but a serious scare then. The pilot immediately called for help.
[Unidentified Male:] Passenger seats, rows 12D, E and F came loose out of the floor.
[Palumbo:] With one passenger now in a crew jump seat and two others in two empty seats, the plane immediately diverted to New York's
[Jfk. Unidentified Male:] We don't want that thing flying around and hurt the passengers behind them.
[Palumbo:] They landed without injuries, without further incident. On a similar American Airlines Boeing 757, a similar incident. There was another row of loose seats on take-off. This time on a flight from JFK to Miami and another scare.
[Seth Kaplan, Airline Weekly:] Nobody got hurt. But certainly it's not the most reliable airline right now.
[Palumbo:] From bankruptcy to mass lay-offs, American has had picketing, pilots call in sick, hundreds of flights delayed, hundreds more canceled.
[Kaplan:] This is certainly an airline that's had more than its share of problems.
[Palumbo:] And now this.
[Unidentified Male:] The seat is loose and can rotate pretty quickly.
[Palumbo:] Passengers left flying by the seats of their pants.
[Unidentified Female:] People were hysterical, trying to figure out their connections.
[Costello:] In a statement, the FAA said American Airlines has taken eight aircrafts with similar seat assemblies out of service until they can be inspected. Much more on this story in the next hour of NEWSROOM. In Hong Kong, police have arrested six crew members from two passenger boats that crashed last night, killing at least 38 people. Police arrested the crew members on suspicion of endangering passengers. One hundred, twenty-three people were pulled from the water. It's unknown how many others are still unaccounted for. This is Hong Kong's deadliest ferry accident since 1971. Now the march to the presidential election just five weeks from today. A major weigh station could be tomorrow's presidential debate. But for those minds already made up, two battlegrounds now in play. Earlier voting begins today in the Bellwether state of Ohio. The Obama campaign is mobilizing its supporters to seize an early lead there. And in Florida, the first absentee ballots hit the mail today. Traditionally the state's Republicans tend to have the edge in those mail-in votes, but who will gain the advantage in tomorrow's presidential debate? Despite days of intensive coaching and practice sessions, both candidates trying to appear loose.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Nominee:] People want to know, who's going to win, who's going to score the punches, and who's going to make the biggest difference in the arguments they make, and there's going to be all the scoring of winning and losing. And, you know, in my view, it's not so much winning and losing.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Basically they're keeping me indoors all the time. It's a drag. They're making me do my homework.
[Costello:] That was the president at a polling station in Nevada. He just called some random voter and that's what he said. Our CNN political director Mark Preston is in Denver for the showdown and sort of the quiet before the storm. Right, Mark?
[Mark Preston, Cnn Senior Political Director:] It sure is, Carol. But you're right. You know, the candidates right now in their campaigns are trying to lower expectations tomorrow night. Tens of millions of people will tune in. And for a lot of people who haven't made up their mind yet, tomorrow's night debate could be decisive. It could turn people's minds about who they're going to vote for in November. So there's a lot riding on how well Mitt Romney and how well Barack Obama perform tomorrow night.
[Costello:] And just in time, on, I guess, the eve of the debate, there's a new poll of poll out. Tell us about it.
[Preston:] It is, Carol. And we get this new CNN poll of polls, just calculated about an hour ago. We've calculated together six different polls and it shows that the race is really a dead heat right now. Barack Obama has a very, very short lead right now over Mitt Romney nationally. So this is what the national numbers look like, 49 to 46 right now, Barack Obama. But we should note that this race is really going to be won and lost in states where I stand right now. Colorado. Other states such as Nevada, Virginia, Ohio, as you said, which is voting today, in Florida. These are very important states that the candidates will be focusing all of their time on as they head into the spring, into November Carol.
[Costello:] Mark Preston, reporting live from Denver this morning. CNN's live debate coverage begins tomorrow night at 7:00 Eastern. CNN has learned months before the 911 attack in Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, there were security concerns surrounding the diplomatic mission in Benghazi. The White House first called the attack spontaneous, the one in Benghazi that killed the ambassador, but now says it was preplanned by terrorists linked to al Qaeda. The Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, says it's a clear key information was left out.
[Rep. Mike Rogers , Chairman, House Intelligence Committee:] It is very clear to me that there was this pieces of information for convenience's sake that fit a narrative that they believed you know, I don't want to question their motive, but what they thought they were doing, I don't know if it was political or not. I don't have any information if it was political or not. It was clearly done. And I you know and I know other committees are going back to look at to see if Congress was deliberately misled, which would be a violation of the law.
[Costello:] I'm joined now by our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. And, Barbara, I know you've been digging into this for new information. You say as early as April, the United States sent special forces into Benghazi for a specific reason.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] They did, indeed, Carol. What we've learned is that a very small team of Special Forces commandos were sent to that Benghazi compound. This was back in April. If you think back a U.N., a United Nations convoy in the region had been attacked. There were growing security concerns at that time back in April, about what was going on in that region in eastern Libya. So the U.S. sent a team of about four Special Forces commandos to the Benghazi compound. They did a security assessment. What could be done to improve security at the facility. And they recommended apparently, we are told, a couple of things that seem fairly minor in retrospect. Sand-bagging some positions so Libyan forces who were there, contractors, essentially, could help fight back if the place came under attack and also more training for some of that private security force that was hired for the consulate compound. No word on how much of this was implemented and whether there were additional security recommendations beyond that. But it really goes to the point that as far back as April, there were growing security concerns there, something the ambassador would have been well aware of as the militias in eastern Libya appeared, appeared to be gaining strength and coalescing according to the intelligence coming in at the time.
[Starr:] You know
[Costello:] So here's the question, Barbara. Was there ever any discussion of sending troops back to secure the site?
[Starr:] You know this has been the question on the table. After the attack when you see the pictures, that the site had been trashed, possibly classified information left behind and a real need to guard the facility for potential law enforcement reasons, if the FBI was to come in, it's a crime scene. And yet people are able to walk around. What we are told is there was never a serious request for military help. Because if you think about it, Carol, this was essentially now hostile territory. Insurgents with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, shoulder-fired weapons, you would have to send a pretty heavy military footprint of people and equipment and supplies and have the Libyan government's permission to do all that in order to put the military there to secure the site. So that was not a serious consideration we're told.
[Costello:] Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon this morning. In financial news this morning, the government is taking a closer look at who may be partly responsible for the financial meltdown, and that's now led to a lawsuit against one of the nation's biggest banks. The New York attorney general is accusing JPMorgan Chase of defrauding investors. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with more details. Good morning.
[Kosik:] Good morning, Carol. So let me take you back to 2008. Over the course of a weekend, JPMorgan actually bought Bear Stearns in a government-backed acquirement, actually. So what essentially stands right now is that JPMorgan is legally responsible for Bear's actions. So unfortunately for JPMorgan, these are the types of responsibilities you take on when you acquire a company. So now what's happening is New York the New York attorney general is suing JPMorgan over these mortgage-backed securities. These are mortgages that were bundled together and sold to investors during the housing boom. And it led to the housing bust because when people couldn't make their payments, mortgage-backed securities went south, banks and investors lost billions of dollars. Now attorney general said Bear systematically failed to fully evaluate the loans, largely ignoring the defects that their limited review did uncover and it kept investors in the dark. Translation for you here? Bear didn't do its due diligence. And when the bank did find defects with the mortgages it was selling, it didn't tell anybody. Even worse, the New York attorney general is saying that even when Bear was made aware of the problems, the attorney general says they didn't fix them Carol.
[Costello:] OK. So this is a civil lawsuit because, you know, a lot of people out there think someone should pay, like with jail time for this sort of stuff. But it's a civil lawsuit, and that means fines, it's not jail time, if they're convicted of this.
[Kosik:] Right and exactly. And just so you know, the only major sort of trial that's come from the Wall Street meltdown happened in 2009 when two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were found not guilty of inflating the price of their mortgage-backed securities. But really that is the big criticism here is who's paying the price? But JPMorgan is responding to this, by the way, Carol. JPMorgan is trying to distance itself from this, it's stressing that the lawsuit deals with Bear Stearns. And you know what, that's understandable. Because the securities in question, they were issued, you know, long before it bought Bear, in 2006 and 2007. But JPMorgan is still planning to contest these allegations with JPMorgan saying it's disappointed the New York attorney general pursued its civil action without offering us an opportunity to rebut the claims. I'm sure we will be following this closely as all of this unfolds Carol.
[Costello:] Thanks, Alison. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. It's probably one of the last groups of people you'd think about having voting rights. But civil rights groups are battling out in Florida to make sure former felons can vote.

[Blitzer:] Joining us now on the phone is Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, D.C. You were one of the 115 that elected Pope Francis. And I take it, Cardinal, you were there very close to him when this historic moment occurred?
[Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archdiocese Of Washington, D.c:] Yes. In fact, this morning, when we had mass together at the at the chapel in the conclave, he and I sat next to each other. Little did I think at that point that he was going to be the next pope. But there we were, just a short time ago, with all of the balloting being counted. Who steps out now on the balcony, Pope Francis. It's just a beautiful and exciting time. And certainly, it is good news. I think it's not only good news for the church. I think it's good news for all of those for whom the church brings a message.
[Bolduan:] Of course, you are sworn to secrecy. But tell us about your first time in the conclave. What was it like? What was going through your mind when you cast that vote?
[Wuerl:] Well, the most important thing going into the conclave was to be aware that this is a spiritual event. I kept reminding myself, because some older cardinals who were not voting, who were past the age, said to me, "When you're in the conclave, things will be different. It will be quiet. You'll be focused now on the spiritual power of God working in that room." And I think that's probably what I will carry away with me, the sense that God's providence, the Holy Spirit was really at work, touching us, and using all of us as instruments to do his will. Now, I have to say, before we went into the conclave, we had that whole week to get to know each other. We had a week of general meetings. And that's when we took advantage of the time to ask each other questions, to ask one another what we thought of what would be expected of the next pope. So that was background. But in the conclave, it was prayer.
[Blitzer:] We know one of the Catholics in your district, the vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, Cardinal, he'll be coming to Rome, to the Vatican for the inaugural mass. Give us a little sense of the history of what's going on right now.
[Wuerl:] Well, when you think of this, this is the first time in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church that we have a pope, a successor to Peter, who comes from our hemisphere, who comes from what here they call the New World. We've had with so many centuries Italian popes and a Polish pope, a German pope. But now, talking about history, we have a pope who comes from the Western Hemisphere. I think it's just a completely new moment in the life of the church. And delighted to know that the vice president will be coming as part of the official delegation to lead the official delegation for the installation mass. I look forward to having a chance to say hello to the vice president.
[Blitzer:] I'm sure he'll be looking forward to seeing you, as well. Cardinal Donald Wuerl from the archbishop of Washington, D.C., thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us, Donald Wuerl.
[Bolduan:] Thank you.
[Wuerl:] You're very welcome. God bless you.
[Blitzer:] Thank you. I love it when they say, "God bless you."
[Bolduan:] I think we can...
[Blitzer:] That's really nice.
[Bolduan:] Yes, it's very nice. It's very nice.
[Blitzer:] Appreciate it very much. We're following some other news here in THE SITUATION ROOM, as well. You've probably seen it, even if it hasn't happened to you: airline passengers forced to dump banned items over at the security checkpoint.
[Bolduan:] Yes, we found out where a lot of those items actually end up. And we were surprised to find out someone is making a lot of money off of them. CNN's Renee Marsh is looking into this story. So Renee, I think a lot of people are interested to find this one out.
[Renee Marsh, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. You know that you know if you left something behind the last time you took a trip for work, Wolf, if you left something behind, chances are it did turn into cash for someone, not necessarily the TSA, though. It turns into cash for possibly your state, state government. And now, if you want to take a look at exactly where your property ends up, here it is.
[Marsh:] It's the final dumping ground for the items you're not getting past the
[Tsa:] a spear, nunchucks, ax, heavy marble rolling pin, and lots and lots of knives.
[Troy Thompson, Pennsylvania Department Of General Services:] It has a fixed blocking blade. And it also has a molded grip. So you would not be able to bring that onto a plane still.
[Marsh:] But then something like this, now, you would be able to. So you wouldn't get things like this anymore. [voice-over]: Every month an average of 425 pounds of stuff ends up in TSA's hands at each of the nation's largest airports. The TSA boxes it up and ships it out to states that want to make a buck by selling it. [on camera]: This is right off of the truck?
[Thompson:] Yes.
[Marsh:] CNN goes behind the scenes in Pennsylvania at one of the largest receiving centers. Buckets and boxes of your personal belongings from major mid-Atlantic airports like La Guardia, JFK and Newark, all here.
[W:] Would you say that, of all the things that you get in here and all of these huge bins, majority of them knives, things of that sort?
[Thompson:] Yes, I would say I would say that they're knives. When they go through the TSA security checkpoints, they have the option of either, you know, sending those items home, voluntarily surrendering them so they can get on the plane.
[Marsh:] Well, Pennsylvania is turning this cold hard steel into cold hard cash. In the past nine years, they've made nearly $900,000 selling all the items you couldn't get through TSA security. [voice-over]: Some items are sold at this government surplus store.
[Thompson:] Ten pounds of assorted black knives are going for $75 right now.
[Marsh:] But most are sold on the GovDeals.com Web site. So if you want to get back that knife airport screeners wouldn't let through, you can get it here at a price. All right. And it is actually the individual states, not the TSA, that sets the price for these items. They determine it based on the condition, also on the market price. And they try to discount the price, as well. So was that sphere yours that we saw in the piece?
[Blitzer:] No.
[Bolduan:] You caught me. I was trying to get it through. Yes, no.
[Blitzer:] Renee, thank you. Now that he's been chosen, it's all about the pope. But before that, before he was elected, it was all about the smoke. We're taking a closer look at the media's relentless fascination with the Vatican chimney.

[Erin Burnett:] OUTFRONT next Senator Rand Paul says he supports Mitt Romney, so then why is the senator ripping into the candidate's foreign policy plan, the senator exclusive OUTFRONT next. Plus, a feisty hearing on Capitol Hill today over the handling of the terrorist attack in Libya that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. One of them, a Navy SEAL. Tonight an exclusive interview with the sister of one of those victims with his story. And new testimony, new results and mounting evidence. Some pretty damning evidence, perhaps. Tonight Lance Armstrong accused of the most sophisticated doping program in sports history. His attorney fights back tonight OUTFRONT. Let's go. Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, a punch in the gut for Mitt Romney. Just as he's been surfing the post debate tsunami of positive polls, Mitt Romney may be felt by fire from his own side. A major supporter who is campaigning for Romney this week, feels so strongly that he had to speak out. An OUTFRONT exclusive tonight, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Senator, always good to see you and I appreciate your taking the time. You wrote an op-ed that appeared on CNN.com and the headline was Romney's wrong on the Middle East, comma, defense spending. And here's a little bit of what you're so upset about and Mitt Romney actually said it today, so let me play him.
[Burnett:] Provide funding and weapons for them so they can defend themselves and promote their agenda. You disagree.
[Sen. Rand Paul , Kentucky:] Well I have two questions. Number one, I think whenever we get involved with war or providing weapons or bombing countries it needs to go before Congress. You know the Constitution says that that is the prerogative of the legislatures. That's my first objection. My second objection is it's difficult to know who friend and foe are. We've been over a decade or almost you know over a decade now in Afghanistan and we have trouble telling friend from foe. The people we're training, the Afghan soldiers, are turning their weapons on us. So, how are we supposed to know, who in Syria is our friend, who is our foe? What do they stand for? I also ask the question there's a significant Christian population in Syria. They fled from Iraq. After the war began in Iraq they felt it was safer to be under Assad than to be under the government that we instituted in Iraq. What is that Christian population saying? Many news reports say they're unsure whether they want to support the rebels or Assad and if they can't make up their mind, how can we know for certain that an Islamic government that will come out of the rebels is what we really want?
[Burnett:] And so, Senator, why did you choose this way? I mean you were very specific in your criticism. Obviously it's not just Mitt Romney in your party. Lindsey Graham, John McCain have said that they're in favor of arming the rebels in Syria. Why did you choose to come out and say it this way? Had you already tried to talk to Mitt Romney and he wasn't listening?
[Paul:] Well, we've had a couple of differences and I support Governor Romney and think he will make a great president, but on foreign policy, I think there's too much agreement between Republicans and Democrats. But I think the people are tired of war. When you talk to Republicans or Democrats now, I think it's almost universal. People want to come home from Afghanistan. You know, there's such great sorrow when you think about our soldiers being killed by the same Afghan policemen and soldiers that we're trying to help. And so I've seen a great movement in recent weeks towards really wanting to come home.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Paul:] And I don't want Governor Romney to think that it is electorally a good thing to appear more bellicose. I think there are many Republicans and many independents who don't necessarily want a president who will begin a war in Syria. And I think it's very important that we not express that as what we're trying to promote.
[Burnett:] Have you spoken to him privately about this disagreement?
[Paul:] Well you know I spoke with him a couple of months ago and my general impression when I talked with him is that he has a healthy reluctance for war. I don't think he personally maybe comes across as bellicose as some of these speeches are. And I think we have to be careful as Republicans because we need to be cognizant of what's been going on, you know the lives lost and the soldiers wounded over the last 10 years, and realize that not every fight is one we should be involved in.
[Burnett:] Are you concerned that coming out with these criticisms, because they are significant. I mean he has made a big deal about arming the rebels. You heard him say it today. He said it yesterday. Also about the defense budget and how he wants to increase it. Are you worried that by coming out, you say you support him, but you could be hurting his chances to win?
[Paul:] No, because I think really what we need to be talking about are pretty important issues that transcend partisanship. And we need to talk about what's important for the country. If we want to figure out, for example, the overriding problem to me in Washington for our country is the debt. The only way we're ever going to figure out our debt problem is we're going to have to compromise. Conservatives like myself who believe national defense is very important, will have to say that not every dollar spent on the military is sacred and liberals will have to acknowledge that not every dollar spent on welfare and entitlements is sacred. They both will have to come together, but we have to reduce both. And it can't be increasing more. We spend more on the military than all of our NATO allies combined. We spend more on our military than almost the rest of the world combined. How much is enough? We've increased our military spending 140 percent in the last 10 years.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Paul:] I think enough is enough and we need to begin conserving dollars across the breadth of the entire budget.
[Burnett:] So, let me ask you this question about the defense budget because I read it. I knew you were frustrated by what Mitt Romney has proposed there. And viewers, he's proposing an increase in the defense budget. He's been very specific on that. Frankly I think it's fair to say, Senator, much more specific than he's been say on his tax plan. And he's come out and said he's going to increase defense spending from where it is rather significantly. So by the year 2020, the Romney budget, I'll throw it up on the screen, Senator, so our viewers can see it, will be about $909 billion a year. That's a pretty incredible number. All right. Barack Obama's budget according to his plan would be $605 billion. That's pretty amazing. Both of them are higher Yes are you more like in the Obama camp though is what I'm getting?
[Paul:] What I would say is the same thing I say to liberals. You can't always make education better by throwing more money at it. You can't always make your country stronger or more safe by throwing more money at the military. Let's figure out what we need as a country, to depend our country, to defend our vital interests, but let's not be everywhere all the time. Let's not decide that every war is something that U.S. dollars as well as soldiers have to participate in and so I do object to it. And I think even in an election season we need to object. I'm concerned that you know, we could be at war with Syria even before the election occurs if things escalate across Turkey's border. You know you have the head of NATO now saying that if Turkey's attacked, all of a sudden all of NATO's might will be involved in this war and I think for a border skirmish between Syria and Turkey, where I think Syria's government is very weak and destabilized, I don't want to see world war where all of NATO comes on to the Turkish-Syria border and we're involved in a huge Middle East conflagration. I don't think that's what the American people want and I think we need to be very careful about it.
[Burnett:] And Senator, before we go I just want to show you something I saw interesting today on the Web today. You have a Super PAC, Rand PAC and you have been running some ads on behalf of some congressional candidates. You're obviously so far, six figures. You've been spending real money on this in some closely contested races where you could build some friends. Rand PAC 2016 is what your site said. I'm sorry, I was confused actually. I thought you were already running for president. But then I realized though that's when you're technically up for Senate, right, OK. But aren't you laying the groundwork?
[Paul:] Yes, we're running ads on foreign aid, letting people know that several different Democrat senators voted for foreign aid to countries that are really disrespecting us and burning our flag and I think the American people aren't for sending foreign aid to countries that really are not acting like allies and don't appear to really be our friends.
[Burnett:] And you know what, at least you don't have to change the name of the PAC or anything if you switch what you're running for. Good to see you.
[Paul:] You may be right there. All right.
[Burnett:] All righty then. Pretty interesting, huh? All right OUTFRONT next, President Obama opens up about his much criticized debate performance, how he thinks he did and also what he thinks the president needs to do differently at the next debate. Plus, Ann Romney on the attack. Is that working? And a new bombshell testimony from nearly a dozen teammates of Lance Armstrong. The accusations include years of doping and helping other cyclists dope. Do these claims finally add up? Lance Armstrong's attorney OUTFRONT.

[Piers Morgan, Cnn:] Tonight, how the mighty have fallen. John Edwards' corruption trial. Can his daughter save him the former presidential candidate from a prison seasons? I'll ask the always fiery Dan Abrams and Gloria Allred. Plus a primetime exclusive. Jane Lynch gets personal.
[Jane Lynch, Actress:] I have a really strong life. And we have a child. And if we're going to enter into this with a child, I want a piece of paper.
[Morgan:] The star of "Glee" opens up on her real life and loves and reveals Sue Sylvester's secrets.
[Lynch:] Sometimes I'm not in the script and I'm bereft.
[Morgan:] And the man with a golden voice. Remember him? Ted Williams, from radio star to homeless crack addict, and back.
[Ted Williams, Former Radio Star:] People would remember me from those great days in radio and they'd be like, what happened, man? You know? And I would always say smoke damage.
[Morgan:] An inspiring story of how he got clean and sober all over again. Plus "Only in America." Trading a mop and pail for a cap and gown. This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT. Good evening. We'll get to the big John Edwards story in just a moment. But I'll start with another big story. Dan Abrams is here with more on the news that ABC broke this evening. Dramatic new developments in the Trayvon Martin case. Information that could, I repeat could, support George Zimmerman's claims of injuries he received on the night. Dan Abrams is here. Dan, tell me about this quite dramatic new evidence ABC's unearthed. Tell me about it.
[Dan Abrams, Abc News Legal Analyst:] That's right. ABC's Matt Gutman has seen the medical records now of George Zimmerman's own doctor. And the doctor's records indicate that George Zimmerman appeared to have a broken nose, had lacerations on his head. Just as many of his supporters have been alleging now for many months. The problem, of course, for George Zimmerman is this doesn't necessarily clear him. It doesn't necessarily mean he's going to win. Because the question still remains who started the altercation?
[Morgan:] Yes. Isn't that the key question?
[Abrams:] It's absolutely the key. You can't start a fight, start losing the fight, and then use deadly force. That's not the way it works.
[Morgan:] When did this doctor it's George Zimmerman's own doctor.
[Abrams:] That's right.
[Morgan:] So he knew him.
[Abrams:] Yes.
[Morgan:] When do we think he treated him?
[Abrams:] It was this record is from the next morning. So it appears this is very shortly thereafter. The doctor in the records talks about the possibility that there'll black eyes because of the injuries, et cetera. So it seems that according to this doctor, there clearly were injuries that George Zimmerman endured. But, again, I think that there's still a lot of questions that are going to have to be answered in connection with this case.
[Morgan:] There certainly are, but it's certainly a fascinating development on that. I'm sure there'll be others. Now I want to get to our other big story, the corruption trial against John Edwards. Now today the explosive and emotional testimony, the defense could rest as early as tomorrow. The former presidential candidate is accused of using campaign money to hide his mistress and their daughter. CNN's Joe Johns joins us now from Greensboro, North Carolina. Joe, bring me up to speed on exactly where we are right now.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Well, I think you would call this follow the money day, if anything, Piers. This was a day where they put an FBI agent on the stand, the defense did. And he really just sort of tracked that $1 million in hush money that went ostensibly to cover up this affair. What we found was a lot more of that money ended up going to the handlers of the mistress as opposed to the mistress herself. But the real action probably was behind the scenes. And the talk by the defense that they might throw in the kitchen sink at the end of the trial, put John Edwards himself on the stand. Even possibly the mistress Rielle Hunter, though we think that's a lot less likely. At the end of the day it keeps the prosecution guessing and it leaves us speculating as whether there's some disagreement on the defense team about whether it'd be a good idea to put John Edwards on the stand for just sort of shut this thing down and let it go away Piers.
[Morgan:] And what about his daughter Cate? There is a growing sense that she may testify tomorrow. Is that likely, do we think?
[Johns:] We do think that's likely. And for a couple of reasons. First, she could certainly humanize John Edwards. He's really had his reputation taken through the mud during the prosecution case. There's also the substantive piece of that. She could testify about what her late mother was saying about this relationship. Whether her late mother was the one who was very concerned about keeping so much information about the affair from moving from the tabloids into the mainstream media as has been suggested by some others. Because at the end of the day, that takes you to the question of whether the intent was with John Edwards to try to maintain his political career or Elizabeth Edwards' intent was to protect her family.
[Morgan:] It certainly does. Joe Johns, fascinating. It's going to be a gripping day tomorrow in that case whatever happens. Thanks for joining me. Joining me now is victims rights attorney Gloria Allred and still with me, ABC News legal analyst, Dan Abrams. Dan, let me start with you. What is your reaction to this whole case now given everywhere we've gone with it? Tomorrow obviously may be the day the defense rests. Is it likely they're going to chuck a hail Mary pass?
[Abrams:] There's no way.
[Morgan:] Bringing in John Edwards
[Abrams:] No way. No way. They can't do it. The defense here is that, in effect, John Edwards is a scoundrel and a liar, but he's not a criminal. The notion that they're going to call that scoundrel and liar to the witness stand to try to convince the jurors of something to me seems to be beyond a long shot. It's interesting because many of the facts in this case aren't in dispute. Both sides seem to agree about where the money went, that it didn't go through the campaign coffers, who got it, who were the middle people, et cetera. The ultimate question in this case is getting into John Edwards' head.
[Morgan:] Gloria, if you are prosecuting this, given everything you've seen to date, would you be pretty confident of a conviction now?
[Gloria Allred, Victims' Rights Attorney:] Well, I would always appear confident whether or not I was confident. Obviously there is room for doubt. There are substantial questions that are raised. The issue is what did he know and when did he know it. Did he know there was a scheme? Did he know that he was violating the law? I agree with Dan. I think it's highly unlikely that he's going to testify. I think it's highly unlikely also that Rielle Hunter will testify. But I do think it will be a smart move to call his daughter Cate. And she has strong bonds and strong feelings about her dad as she did also for her mom.
[Morgan:] And the reason to do that is to try and humanize John Edwards, presumably, who has taken a hell of a shellacking in the media and amongst public opinion, getting his daughter on the stand, perhaps getting emotional, supporting the father who we know indisputably was a liar and a cheat, but may not have been a crook, could be fundamental to swaying opinion of that.
[Allred:] I do think that that would be important. But she also may have been privy to some conversations that she will testify to. But also, it may be that she's going to be able to get in. That John Edwards was there for her mother as her mother was dying. And that they are a family. There's still two young children at home, 14 and I think 12. And you know this would she won't say it, but it would be clear if he went to prison, it'd be leaving these two young children without either parent to care for them.
[Morgan:] Yes, Dan?
[Abrams:] Kind of a no lose situation for the defense to be able to call Cate Edwards. As long as they can demonstration that there's a reason to call her, meaning she heard some conversations, she knows something she can only help here. When you ask most legal analysts about this case, they don't know what to tell you about the outcome, about which way the jury is going to go. Because it is a kind of complicated question as to, will they be able to demonstrate what was in Edwards' head when most of the facts are not in dispute?
[Morgan:] I mean, Gloria, the stakes are very high here. John Edwards faces six criminal charges. If he's convicted on all six, he could get up to 30 years in prison and a very heavy fine, which is kind of inconsequential, I would imagine, to him. It's the prison sentence. This is a man who was potentially going to be president, now facing a very lengthy, possibly life-ending prison sentence. This couldn't be a higher stakes for John Edwards, could it?
[Allred:] Couldn't be higher stakes unless of course the death penalty were involved which of course it's not involved in this case. But I mean he's been humiliated, he's been embarrassed. But the question is, did he violate the law? And that really is a significant question. It's interesting that the judge didn't think it was a complicated issue of law, although the defense argues with that and argued that it would be reversible for the expert not to have been able to give all of the testimony about the law and the fact that the FEC did not find it was a campaign contribution. And that in fact there are other cases in which they also found that a payment to a mistress was not a campaign contribution. So it's going to be interesting. He does have a lot at stake and that's why we're all watching it.
[Morgan:] Dan?
[Abrams:] Bottom line, this is a really unusual use of the law. It's almost never been used in this way as it's being used against John Edwards. And so
[Morgan:] Hence the unpredictability of that
[Abrams:] That's right. And hence, in a way, John Edwards' best argument is, I never should have been prosecuted at all. But once it gets into the jury's hands, that's why it's tough to know. Because once you start saying that private donations can be considered campaign contributions, even if they didn't go through the John Edwards for President fund, where does the line get drawn?
[Morgan:] Yes.
[Abrams:] When do you start when do you stop that process? So this is what makes this such a tough case, such a unique case, and I think so frustrating to the Edwards defense team.
[Morgan:] And Gloria, in terms of John Edwards himself and how he's come over just by his presence in court, there's always been a sense of him appearing to be quite an arrogant man. They clearly would have read all the headlines before regardless of whatever they may say, they have an impression of him. How will that count against him? I mean, you know juries better than most people. Do they get swayed heavily by a man's demeanor?
[Allred:] I think absolutely. Jurors watch every movement of a defendant while he is in court. They even look at what he's wearing as well as what the attorneys are wearing. And is he smiling? Is he appropriate in his demeanor as witnesses are testifying? Is he making notes? Is he not making notes? They look at everything. And who he's relating to. Sometimes it's important to them as well. So I know that he, as an experienced trial attorney, is aware of what jurors may be thinking. And even if they should not be taking certain things into account, they will be. And so that's always going to be a factor as far as John Edwards is concerned.
[Abrams:] And he probably he probably wants to testify, too.
[Morgan:] Yes.
[Abrams:] He probably as an experienced trial lawyer the way he is, you can imagine that he's thinking to himself I've got to get up there and tell them the story myself. But he's also got to know how dangerous that would be and all the reasons why it doesn't make sense for him to do it.
[Morgan:] Well, they may even, as we speak, be locked in a room deciding whether to
[Abrams:] I don't believe that. I think if they're locked in a room, they're locking it they've locked John Edwards in a room and told him you cannot testify, you cannot leave. We will not let you out. Because if you're his lawyer, you lock him if he's insisting on testifying, lock him up in that room. Don't let him out. Do not let him testify. In my view.
[Morgan:] It's going to be a fascinating day.
[Allred:] I agree. I'm sure that yes, I'm sure that Abby Lowell knows better than to let John Edwards testify.
[Morgan:] Yes. Keep John Edwards quiet, seems to be the order of the day. Gloria, Dan, thank you both very much. It's going to be a gripping day tomorrow. Next, I don't know what you know about Jane Lynch or what you think you know about her. I discovered quite a lot that I find pretty surprising.

[Lemon:] Anger and outrage at the U.S. over an online film spread across Muslim countries today with protests in Egypt, Libya and Yemen, to name a few, but so far, the violence has not spread to Afghanistan. That's because of President Karzai's actions to try to stop the possibility of violence there. He cut off access to YouTube and he denounced that film that Muslims consider offensive. But is that enough? For insight on how the U.S. is preparing for possible protests in Kabul, CNN's Anna Coren sat down for an exclusive interview with the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, James Cunningham.
[Anna Coren, Cnn International Correspondent:] The attack has obviously raised some concerns about security of U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. Here in Kabul, you are obviously a target. Are you worried?
[James Cunningham, U.s. Ambassador To Afghanistan:] We're always worried every day. Every day, we get new information about new possible threats. Our security posture's continually under review. But I'm not particularly any more worried after this incident. We have great people here and a great system to keep us safe.
[Coren:] Ambassador, the video that sparked the protests in Libya and Egypt could very well create unrest here in Afghanistan. That's obviously a major concern for President Karzai. Do you share the same concerns?
[Cunningham:] Yes, absolutely. As a matter of fact, we are after this, I'm going to be issuing a statement condemning the video and the violence that's taken place already and urging the people of Afghanistan, although they're offended by this, not to react with violence. This is not worth human lives.
[Lemon:] Anna Coren, reporting there. We're keeping an eye on the big board as the fed announces another round of stimulus. Plus, what's your guilty pleasure at McD's? Is it a Big Mac? Maybe some fries? Well, the fast food giant now posting just how much food is costing you, not your wallet, but your waistline.

[Whitfield:] A business owner and a UPS driver are among four people killed by a gunman who opened fire yesterday at a sign company in a quiet Minneapolis neighborhood. The gunman wounded four more people before killing himself. He's identified as a former employee of the shop.
[Heather Buckingham, Former Accent Signage Employee:] The one that was doing the shooting was a quiet, kept to himself kind of guy. Kind of odd.
[Whitfield:] Police are not commenting on a motive. The co-workers tell CNN affiliate KARE that the man was fired just hours before that shooting. In Florida, a veteran high school teacher is arrested in his classroom, charged with trying to hire a hit man to kill another teacher. Police say James Pepe called a friend and asked him to kill his former co-worker. The man called police, who then set up a sting operation, which led to Pepe's arrest. He allegedly offered $2,000 for the hit.
[Unidentified Male:] There was some rumors going around about him, and he attributed those rumors to our victim in this case. He, in his mind, attributed his problems to the victim in this case. And he felt the only way to solve that issue was to kill him.
[Whitfield:] Fifty-five year old Pepe is charged with solicitation of first degree murder. He has been teaching for 28 years. Fifty students were taken to hospitals after a school bus collided with a car this morning in Louisville, Kentucky. The bus rolled over on its side after it collided with a car carrying three high school students. There were 47 middle school students on the bus. None of the injuries are considered life threatening. It has been 37 years since former Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. Well, today, the decades long search for his remains led to the driveway of a house in suburban Detroit. CNN's Susan Candiotti is outside the shed where police did a little digging today.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Yet another chapter in one of America's longest running mysteries, what happened to the remains of Jimmy Hoffa? Well, today here in Roseville, Michigan, police took about an hour to carefully remove soil samples from beneath a shed in a driveway at a house where, back in 1975, a tipster now says that he thinks that he saw what could have been a body buried inside that shed in the ground. So police took soil samples. They dug about six feet under to remove them. And those soil samples will now be analyzed. Now, the FBI is pretty skeptical about this information and so, quite frankly, is the police chief here. But he says, hey, we have to check this out.
[Chief James Berlin, Roseville, Michigan, Police:] I don't think it's Mr. Hoffa. It would be great if it was, because I'd love to bring closure to his family and the thousands of teamsters that idolized this man and just to southeastern Michigan. This is kind of like an open wound that just keeps won't go away.
[Tom Fuentes, Former Fbi Asst. Director:] There's been a lot of earth moved looking for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. All negative so far.
[Candiotti:] Two samples were removed from the ground. And police say they look kind of murky because of all the ground water. But those samples are now going to a lab at Michigan State University. And they expect to know sometime Monday whether there are human remains buried beneath that driveway. If there are, then there will be a larger excavation. Of course, they've had tips like this before that have not panned out. So now the question is, will police crack this case or will it remain an unsolved mystery? Susan Candiotti, CNN, Roseville, Michigan.
[Whitfield:] All right, thanks so much, Susan. Keep us posted on that. We're learning a little bit more today about how the investigation into the Colorado theater shooting is unfolding. New documents released a few hours ago detail how police in Aurora, Colorado, handled the notebook that suspect James Holmes mailed to his psychiatrist days before the shooting. According to those documents, police first x-rayed the package containing the notebook. Then a bomb squad technician wearing a special suit removed the notebook from the wrapping. The documents have been heavily redacted, but they state that an Aurora detective fanned through the notebook before it was turned over to evidence and sealed. Also in the documents, Holmes had threatened his psychiatrist and those threats were reported to University of Colorado Police before the shooting. Holmes is accused of opening fire during that midnight screening of the new "Batman" movie on July 20th in Aurora. Twelve people were killed. Another 58 were wounded. Straight ahead, a warning for drivers in Los Angeles. This weekend, it is carmageddon II. The sequel. A major freeway stretch in L.A. closing again. So the big question, will drivers stay home like they did the last time?

[Velshi:] All right, now we're off the superstars we can get on into something that I understand a little better, food. Five-Star chef Bruno Sorato has spent the past two decade doing what he loves, feeding customers at his restaurant in California. But when he learned just how many kids go to bed hungry, he served up a solution. Meet this week's CNN hero.
[Bruno Sorato, Cnn Hero Of The Week:] I came to this country 30 years ago and I love to cook but to be in the restaurant business you must love the people. How is your lunch, ladies? My mom was on vacation on Italy. I said, mom, let's go to the boys and girls club. This little boy, five years old, eating potato chips for his. He was a motel kid. I find out a poor family who has nothing else, you live in a motel. The motel environment is extremely bad. Drugs. Prostitution. Alcoholics. It's horrible. When they go
[Unidentified Male:] Bruno brings a trade and other kids are expected and excited.
[Sorato:] Are you hungry? Right now we are between 150 to 200 kids that we feed. Who likes pasta? My mom, she made me start and now I could never stop. I see you sooner. They are customers. My favorite customers.
[Velshi:] What a great thing to be a chef to start with and then to be able to feed people who are needy.
[Romans:] Who do you know who is making a big difference in your world? Tell us about it and head to our AMERICAN MORNING blog at cnn.comam to nominate someone.
[Chetry:] And we want to say thanks for being with us all week. We'll be back here bright and early Monday morning. In the meantime, it's time to hand things over to "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello. And Carol from a fellow happily-married woman, me and Christine, we can blush over Bradley Cooper right because he's just a beautiful man to look at. But we are happily married.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor, "cnn Newsroom":] I'm happily married, too, but he's hot.
[Costello:] Have a great weekend. Thanks so much.
[Chetry:] You too, Carol.

[Monique Lawless, Tried To Stop Alleged Thieves:] I told the cashier, do something, they're leaving. She couldn't do anything, so I just told her, watch my purse.
[Lemon:] Watch my purse. You know what that means when someone says hold your purse? That means business. Police don't like citizens getting directly involved if they see criminal crime, because it's really dangerous, to be honest. But Monique Lawless was so angry when she saw three men you men allegedly shoplift three cases of beer from a Houston Wal-Mart where she was shopping, she leaped right into action. Look at the video right there. There she is right there. Jumped right up on the hood of that car. She chased them outside and jumped on the car before they sped away. They didn't get far before the police caught them. And guess what, Monique Lawless joins me now live from Houston. Monique, I see you've got some black eyes from that incident. I'm going to ask you about that. What were you thinking?
[Lawless:] I was just reacting really. I was mad. I saw these kids walk in there and walking out with beer. I told the cashier, do something, do something. People were standing around. We were all waiting in line to check out, so they heard me telling her and saw me pointing at them and no one was doing anything. So when it became obvious that Wal-Mart couldn't do anything, I just told her, watch my purse and my basket and I took off after them.
[Lemon:] You weren't afraid that they could have you were going to get hurt by the car. They could have beat you or they could have a weapon of some type. You didn't think about that?
[Lawless:] No. When I first saw them, they looked fairly young. I was thinking 19, 18 years old, my kids' age. And when confronted by an adult, my kids are going to stop, and yes, sir, yes, ma'am, no sir, no ma'am. Where these kids didn't have any fear whatsoever or any kind of respect for authority for adults or anybody. They didn't care.
[Lemon:] Yes. We were just showing the video of them actually getting caught. Listen, did they drag you a little bit it looks like in that video you got dragged just for a minute?
[Lawless:] Yes. When I opened the driver's side car door, he took off then and I had a hold of the door and it pulled me forward and I lunged forward and I did a face plant into the asphalt.
[Lemon:] That's where the black eyes came from?
[Lawless:] Yes.
[Lemon:] OK.
[Lawless:] That's where the black eyes, the bruised nose, everything.
[Lemon:] You have some news that you haven't told anyone else. That is?
[Lawless:] I received a Facebook message from family members of the Sylvester boys, and, you know, they apologized to me from the family. They said, you know, we're really, really sorry that you had to go through this event but we're thankful for what you did. We're thankful for your actions, and that they deserve whatever punishment they get. They deserve to be in jail right now and pay for what they did. They were wrong. And I told the family member, thank you, thank you, thank you, because I felt bad. I feel for the family. Everybody's affected by this. Your community is affected, their family, right down the line. And I want to say thank you to that family for reaching out to me and letting me know that they felt like I did the right thing.
[Lemon:] Why does it mean so much to you to hear from them?
[Lawless:] Because I'm not here to destroy these kids, you know. But I want them to realize that this is we're human beings. This is a society that we all want to live in safe and peacefully. We don't want to worry about our kids every time they run down to the park or to the store or to the movies. We don't want to fear for our lives any time, much less in broad daylight on a Sunday, Father's Day at Wal-Mart, in a small town.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Lawless:] I want them to know, you can't do this. It's not right. Get a job.
[Lemon:] Listen, I've got to run here. Just answer yes or no. would you do it again?
[Lawless:] Yes, absolutely.
[Lemon:] Thank you, Monique Lawless. We appreciate people like you.
[Lawless:] Thank you.
[Lemon:] Good luck. We're going to check back with you, OK? Give us an update.
[Lawless:] Thank you. God bless you.
[Lemon:] You as well.
[Lawless:] OK.
[Lemon:] A woman gets arrested for recording a police incident that took place in her front yard, right in front of her home. This is going to infuriate you, I'm telling you. Police say she was interfering in their business. Did they go too far? Our legal expert, Sunny Hostin, is going to weigh in.
[Emily Good, Arrested For Videotaping Police:] and they're arresting me!

[Chetry:] Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. You know Halle Berry as the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for best actress, but did you also know that she's been raising awareness for a problem that many women hide.
[Roberts:] Our Alina Cho is here to explain that is part of our special series, "Big Stars, Big Giving." Good morning to you.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning. And it is very personal for Halle Berry. You know, she is committed to the Genesee Center, a shelter for domestic violence victims in Los Angeles. She donates her time and her money there, and there's a big reason for it. she lived with domestic violence herself, and it's inspired her to give back.
[Cho:] It's been a personal crusade for Halle Berry for more than a decade. A secret that she's kept hidden for the early part of her life, watching her mother being abused. How does that shape you as an adult?
[Halle Berry, Academy Award-winning Actress:] Well, you know, honestly, I think I've spent my adult life dealing with the sense of low self-esteem that that sort of implanted in me. Somehow, I felt not worthy.
[Cho:] Do you know how many people in the world would say, are you kidding me? You're Halle Berry.
[Berry:] I'm sure because that's Halle Berry, but before I'm Halle Berry, I'm Little Halle who was a little girl growing in this environment that damaged me in some ways. And I've spent my adult life trying to really heal from that.
[Cho:] This is amazing. Part of that healing happens here at the Genesee Center, a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Los Angeles where she volunteers. And she often shows up unannounced.
[Berry:] I come here sometimes, and I play with the kids. I see the children, and so, I'm just regular old crackers to them. you know?
[Cho:] Really?
[Berry:] And I love being regular old crackers. I have to say.
[Cho:] A far cry from the glamorous screen siren we know from the movies. But it is this work that Berry says is more important. More meaningful.
[Berry:] Please help. Any way that you can. I have a spot in my soul that understands the devastation that this causes a family and how hard it is to rebuild your self-esteem when you suffered.
[Cho:] It's the reason why she's taking on a personal project. Renovating these rundown apartments, so women who flee their abusive partners have a safe, happy place to live. Very happy.
[Berry:] Happy and where they can rejuvenate and feel hugged and loved.
[Cho:] And see what life can be like so they can dream of a better future.
[Berry:] Well, we can turn these apartments around in two weeks.
[Cho:] It is something she couldn't do for her mother give strength to women who have been beaten, battered, and broken down. What is your message to any woman who might be watching out there who might be in a relationship that's abusive?
[Berry:] Get out. Don't stay a moment longer. If there's no shelter, go to a friend. Go to the police station. Go somewhere, but go.
[Cho:] She is so committed to the Genesee Center. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of hours with Halle Berry in Los Angeles recently. So for all of the behind scenes photos or to get involved with the Genesee Center, go to CNN.comamfix to make a difference. All of the interviews this year from big stars, big giving will live on "Impact your World." I talked to the director of the Genesee Center and she said she does what she says and better than her word. And meeting with the women, she said, well, you know she says this beautiful thing. She said. I care, and they can see it.
[Chetry:] And also just so inspiration to know living it and got through it. It is just wonderful.
[Cho:] That's right. She is someone they look up to. You hear the women talk about her and inspiring to hear.
[Chetry:] Beautiful person inside and out. How about tomorrow?
[Cho:] Tomorrow I'm talking to Edward Norton, a real actor's actor. He spent a lot of time off camera raising a lot of money for charities, more than $100 million. And what he noticed is there's something lacking on the internet, that the fundraising platforms really weren't there. And so he created something himself with a couple of friends called crowd rise. It's really an innovative new web platform to raise money. There's a gaming aspect. You can earn points, you can win prizes. He's enlisted the help of celebrity friends and he's really an interesting guy. We'll talk to him tomorrow.
[Roberts:] Looking forward to that. And don't miss Alina's one- hour special "Big Stars, Big Giving" airs Christmas Eve at 7:00 p.m. eastern and on Christmas Day at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
[Chetry:] Well, we are at 32 minutes past the hour. A look at the top stories. A monster storm still battering the Midwest leaving some cities buried in five feet of snow. The system is moving to the northeast right now where more snow and frigid temperatures up and down the east coast are in the forecast today.
[Roberts:] His last words were, "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan." Richard Holbrooke, one of the world's most known and distinguished diplomats dead at age 69. He had emergency surgery to fix a tear in his aorta, but it couldn't save him. President Obama calling him one of the giants of American foreign policy.
[Chetry:] Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private accused of leaking thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks earler this year could be officially declared a hero by the city of Berkeley, California, today. Council members there scheduled to vote on a proclamation urging the military to release Manning from custody. Berkeley's resolution declaring, quote, "Blowing the whistle on war crimes is not a crime."
[Roberts:] After spending a week in a prison cell, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will appear in a London courtroom today. His attorneys are expected to argue for his release on bail.
[Chetry:] They also plan to fight extradition to Sweden where Assange is wanted for questioning on sex crimes charges. Atika Shubert is live this morning outside of London's Westminster Magistrate Court where all of this is getting under way in little more than an hour. Hi there, Atika.
[Atika Shubert, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi there. Well, we're outside the court and I just want to show you a little bit of the chaotic situation happening here. You can see the amount of press that is come out here, the line of cameras, the amount of press trying to get inside to the hearing. And in addition to the press, there's protesters out here, and that's also expected to grow somewhat. In the meantime, we have been seeing people going into the hearing. Julian Assange's mother flown in from Australia. She is here as well as his lawyers are here, and some of his supporters, namely, two celebrity names here. Now, what we expect to hear today, basically, is the lawyers requesting for him to be released on bail, trying to assure the judge that he will remain in the country. There has been some discussion even of him wearing some sort of a tracking device to make sure he doesn't leave and that they can monitor his movements. And we also may find out whether or not another hearing will be set to fight the extradition and whether or not the on what grounds the lawyers may try to set up that fight. So those are some of the things hoping to hear from today, John and Kiran.
[Roberts:] And at the same time that all of this is going on, Atika, "TIME" magazine is getting ready to unveil the person of the year for 2010 and there's growing speculation that the person may be Julian Assange.
[Shubert:] Well, you know, if you go by the online polls, certainly Julian Assange is way ahead of others. And one of the reasons for that is because he has tremendous online support as has been evidenced by the sort of online campaign we have seen. And it's interesting to note that even here among the British public, he does have quite a bit of support. We did a poll showing that 44 percent of people felt that WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was right in releasing the classified documents, and they also 44 percent felt that the Swedish charges were a set-up. Sorry. There's a lot of police coming by the area. But basically 44 percent of the people here believe that the Swedish charges a set-up to get him into U.S. custody. So there is a significant amount of support for him.
[Chetry:] All right, Atika Shubert for us this morning, we'll see how it goes as this hearing gets underway shortly. Thanks. And still ahead, we are heading live to Hollywood. Which TV show with the most sizzle, what about the best movie of the year? The Golden Globe nominations coming up next and we'll take you there live. It's 36 minutes past the hour.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning and Merry Christmas. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM on this Christmas Day.
[Costello:] Pope Benedict XVI tells people not to up hope even in some of the world's most troubled reasons. We'll tell you about his appeal for peace. It's not the Grinch stealing Christmas cheer. It's the weather. Blizzard warnings may turn your White Christmas into a travel nightmare. And tornados threaten the South. We have your forecast coming up. We're seven days away from going off that fiscal cliff and with Washington in a political gridlock we're getting closer and closer. The question, how will it affect you and your paycheck? The images, the words, the names, highlights and lowlights of 2012. NEWSROOM starts now. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello, wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and we begin this morning with Pope Benedict XVI using his annual Christmas message to speak about the hope for peace even in the most difficult times and situations.
[Pope Benedict Xvi:] In this world there is a good soil which God has prepared
[Costello:] Just hours ago the 85-year-old pope spoke to a crowd in St. Peter's Square and to millions of others watching around the world. He says even in Syria, a nation embroiled in a nearly two- year long civil war, peace is possible.
[Pope Benedict Xvi:] Yes, may peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims. Once again, I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced and dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict.
[Costello:] The pope also spoke out against violence against Christians in Nigeria and Mali. He wrapped up his address by delivering Christmas greetings in 65 different languages. In Bethlehem, worshippers packed the Church of the Nativity for midnight mass. The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, was among those in the crowd. This is a 1,700-year-old church, by the way. And here's something you can mark as a first on Christmas Day. Queen Elizabeth's traditional recorded message will be broadcast in 3-D on British television next hour. You see her leaving church earlier this morning. In her address, the Queen is expected to speak about the excitement and pride around hosting the 2012 Olympics and celebrations surrounding her Diamond Jubilee. Camping inside on Christmas isn't the ideal way to spend your day, but there's some nasty weather already affecting many of us. Take a look at this picture out of Oklahoma City, where at least 20 vehicles have been involved in an accident. Freezing rain likely to blame for this pile-up. That's according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. I-40 West, shut down for at least two miles. Winter storm have already been issued in Arkansas and Oklahoma and parts of the South could see tornados. If you are heading to the airport, you're urged to call ahead to make sure your flight has not been cancelled or delayed. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider joins us now. Well, hopefully, Bonnie, most people, well, most people are where they expected to be this Christmas Day.
[Bonnie Schneider, Ams Meteorologist:] I hope so, because if they're traveling across the South, dangerous weather is erupting right now. We have a tornado watch that's in effect until 1:00 pm Central time for much of southern Louisiana. This includes Baton Rouge, Hammond, New Orleans, Thibodeaux. We're looking at dangerous weather with frequent lightning strikes. And I had reports of nickel-sized hail across Texas. Look at the frequent lightning that is just hammering the Dallas area right now. You're seeing that sweeping across Mississippi into Jackson. This is a very dangerous situation for travel, not just in terms of damaging areas where we're having strong wind but we could likely see tornados. The area in orange indicates a moderate risk for tornados. What does that mean? It means that we have a 30 percent to 60 percent escalated risk in this region right here for severe weather to break out for today. So the weather is likely to get worse as we go through the afternoon when we're talking about the threat of severe thunderstorms. If that's not enough, we're also watching for the snowstorm to develop and get worse throughout the day. You saw reports of the accident on I-40 west of Oklahoma City. We've had freezing rain in Oklahoma throughout the night on Christmas Eve, then sleet on top of that. Now we're going to see this all change over to snow. The snow will advance further to the east, especially Christmas night. This means that as it intensifies and works its way eastward it's likely to bring blizzard conditions, meaning blowing and drifting, heavy, heavy snow to Paducah, Kentucky. We're even going to see snow in places in the South that don't typically don't see it like Little Rock, Arkansas. How unusual is it to see snow in Little Rock? Well, snow falling on Christmas Day or on the ground maybe once every 10 years but measurable snow, which we're likely to see with this storm, well, that hasn't happened since 1913. And even for Oklahoma City, Carol, it's really only once a decade that we on average see so much snow. So this is unusual this time of year. Please use caution. The snowstorm's going to impact millions of people and don't forget the tornado threat in Louisiana today.
[Costello:] All right. Thank you, Bonnie. First lady Michelle Obama is in the Christmas spirit. The White House just released this picture of the first lady answering calls from children who called NORAD Santa Tracker Control Center to ask about Old Saint Nick's big trip around the globe. Ms. Obama watched Santa's progress along with children nationwide last night. With the Obama family home for the holidays in Hawaii we couldn't help but wish everyone a Hawaiian Merry Christmas this morning. So "Mele Kalikimaka."
[Crosby:] Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright, sun to shine by day and all the stars at night, Mele Kalikimaka
[Costello:] You know what's next, don't you? I love this movie. Brianna Keilar is in Hawaii right now, traveling with the Obama family. So Mele Kalikimaka, Brianna. What are the Obamas doing today, I wonder?
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn Correspondent:] Mele Kalikimaka to you as well, Carol. You know, there's nothing on the president's public schedule so we don't know exactly what they're doing but presumably they're doing what most what many Americans will be doing on this Christmas. It's still very early, of course, here on Oahu. It's about 4:00 am local time. So they will be presumably waking up in the home that they're renting, about 45 minutes from where we are in Kahlua, and celebrating. So you saw the first lady did get in the spirit yesterday, talking to kids who were watching NORAD track Santa, the president spending his Christmas Eve a little differently, playing some golf. So not quite as festive as what the first lady was doing and, also, going to the beach with the first family. We do know that the White House chef, Sam Kass, is here, Carol. So he will be cooking the meal for the first family and we're hoping to get some details on what they'll be eating today.
[Costello:] Yes. I'm not going to ask you about the fiscal cliff because it's Christmas and I want to forget about it for at least one day. So I'm going to ask you a total nonsensical question. Is the first dog traveling with the Obamas?
[Keilar:] The first dog is traveling with the Obamas. This happened last year as well. Bo is here and he's really quite the hit, you know? He's a big part of Christmas decorations at the White House. All of the Christmas trees have a lot of Bo flakes, as they're called, on it, snowflakes with Bo in the middle. So he factors very big into the holidays, holiday cookies shaped like Bo at the Christmas party. So, you know, Christmas isn't really complete without the White House dog. And he, also, I wanted to show you some video that we have just released yesterday by the White House. And this was the first lady from earlier this month, visiting the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., reading "'Twas the Night before Christmas" to kids and getting a little help from Bo. Check it out.
[Unidentified Male:] Good afternoon. I'm [inaudible], president and CEO of Children's National.
[Michelle Obama, First Lady:] This is exactly what he does at home. He tries to beat Malia and Sasha to my lap. This is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays is coming to the children's hospital to see all of you. And I want to thank my escorts. Gordon and A.J. You guys are awesome.
[Keilar:] It was really isn't he cute? He's a little big to be in the first lady's lap but don't tell that to Bo. He doesn't think so.
[Costello:] Although her daughters are, too, you could argue, but she's Mom. You do that.
[Keilar:] Yes. He's adorable and, also, that's a really cute video clip. He also tried to help it almost was like he was trying to help turn the page at one point and I think that the kids there were pretty excited the first lady was there, but, honestly I think they were more excited that Bo was there.
[Costello:] I'm sure they were. Thank you so much, Brianna. We appreciate it. The Newtown tragedy has dominated our coverage over the last week and a half, but the year will also be remembered for other major news stories. Here's a look back.
[Unidentified Male:] Touchdown [inaudible].
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Thank you so much.
[Unidentified Female:] A massive crowd has gathered here.
[Unidentified Male:] We want to be freedom. We want to be free people.
[Unidentified Female:] The Italian cruise ship capsized.
[Unidentified Male:] Nearly 23 percent unemployment. Joseph Kony
[Kristie Lu Stout, Cnn Anchor:] Joseph Kony, viral on social media sites.
[Unidentified Female:] Outrage stirs social media.
[Sandra Fluke, Women's Rights Activist:] My name is Sandra Fluke.
[Obama:] The Affordable Care Act.
[Unidentified Female:] Legitimate rape.
[Unidentified Male:] This is a very massive play by Facebook.
[Unidentified Female:] The largest IPO in tech history. Yes, she's really breastfeeding in the picture.
[Erin Burnett, Cnn:] One article has the entire country talking.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] The president says he now believes that same- sex marriage should be legal.
[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] We now know the name of the suspect blamed for the movie theatre shooting spree.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Shooting at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
[Unidentified Female:] People now tell CNN people have been shot in front of the Empire State Building.
[Unidentified Male:] Bath salts. Bath salts.
[Lemon:] Bath salts.
[Unidentified Male:] Jerry Sandusky sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.
[Whitfield:] An iconic statue honoring the late Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno, is gone.
[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor::] The British people are going gaga for the Diamond Jubilee.
[Unidentified Female:] Flying squirrel. Fierce five.
[Unidentified Male:] Brine lobster.
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn:] Someone sold photographs of Britain's Prince Harry naked during a strip billiards game.
[Unidentified Female:] It's one of the hottest novels around.
[Unidentified Male:] What went wrong? Why now?
[Candy Crowley, Cnn:] Isaac is forcing some changes at the Republican convention.
[Unidentified Female:] What do you mean, shut up?
[Obama:] Thank you.
[Baldwin:] Christopher Stevens and three other embassy staff, they are dead.
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] We will bring those to justice who committed these murders.
[Unidentified Female:] All of the effects of Hurricane Sandy already.
[Cooper:] Sandy's carved a path of destruction across all along the Eastern Seaboard.
[Unidentified Male:] We can't fully secure the crane until the wind dies down.
[Unidentified Female:] Oh, my God. Is there another story on this? Gangnam style.
[Unidentified Male:] Call me maybe. Tan mom.
[Unidentified Female:] Honey Boo Boo. Live picture in Los Angeles from Endeavour, the shuttle rolling down the streets of
[L.a. Burnett:] Let's take a look at the man at the center of this scandal, General David Petraeus.
[Blitzer:] Israel responded to fresh rocket attacks from Gaza.
[Whitfield:] Despair in Syria has gone on for 20
[Burnett:] Are these red line warnings talk?
[Blitzer:] CNN projects that Barack Obama will be re-elected President of the United States. Terror at an elementary school in Connecticut.
[Unidentified Female:] Twenty children dead. Six adults are also dead.
[Obama:] So our hearts are broken today for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children. May God bless the memory of the victims. And in the words of Scripture, heal the broken-hearted and bind up their wounds.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you so much Carol Costello. Hi everybody and let's start this way. A fireball streak to the sky slams into Russia. More than 1,000 people now reported hurt by the flying glass. The collapsing buildings. Look at the images. Listen to the sound 1,000 people. We're going to take you there for more details. And also now that those 4,000 people are off that disgusting cruise ship, what happens to the ship now. And that Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius accused of murdering his girlfriend in his own home, collapses and sobs in court. We have a lot of news happening on the ground, but the big shock and awe falling from the sky is leading it all. And, of course, I'm talking quite literally here. While you were sleeping this unbelievable scene was unfolding in southern Russia. Close encounters of the third kind, wow. Raining down near the Ural Mountains, that is a meteor breaking up over the earth's atmosphere. It's like a crazy scene from a movie, but it's real. And make no mistake, the scenes and the light, all coming from a meteor as it streaks across the side. The blinding flash, the deafening explosion, caught on tape. Up 1,000 people were hurt because of this meteor. Nearly 300 buildings were reported damaged, including this factory that you're seeing. Glass windows were shattered and blown out. Entire walls collapsed and roofs caved in throughout this region, all of it from a meteor the size of a big kitchen table, but weighing in at about 10 tons. But it tore through the earth's atmosphere at an alarming speed, about 33,000-miles-per-hour. Jim Boulden is standing by with the very latest. And also joining us Democratic Congressman Rush Holt who just so happens to be a rocket scientist, literally, a physicist and rocket scientist and also part of your government. Jim, I want to start with you. We are getting conflicting numbers of the injured and they keep going up. What are you hearing now?
[Jim Boulden, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yeah, they keep going up. The Russian state news agency now says more than 1,000 people injured in some way by this. And to set the scene, you think about it. It's just after breakfast time. People might have been taking their kids to school and you get that bright flash in the sky, and then you have the shock wave. The explosion is what seems to have caused the damage. The shock wave goes off shattering glass, breaking windows, and then you would have some buildings collapsing, as well. And the government says, schools, hospitals, offices have all been affected. And, so, it came from nowhere. People might have been looking at the streak in the sky, might have looked what you see trailing from an airplane, airplane vapor. And then the explosion. One woman said that she thought it was, in fact, a plane crash because of the noise and because of what they saw in the sky. And, so, you have more and more people injured, slightly injured, probably, for most of the people, and no one has yet died as far as we know. But you can imagine the shock of seeing this and then hearing this explosion. And, you know, of course, because most of these asteroids, or, in this case, a meteor or a meteorite, if it lands, is in unpopulated areas or in the ocean and, so, people aren't expecting to see this kind of thing over a well-populated area, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Jim, stand by for a moment because I want to just zip over to Capitol Hill, not somewhere I'd normally go for a science story, but the man on the scene is actually not only a congressman, but literally, a rocket scientist. Congressman Rush Holt from New Jersey, the Democrat who happens to truly the title of rocket scientist, a PhD in physics, a former assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics laboratory, arms control expert, as well. So, you're a great source to try to get information on this. First of all, to the staff and the facts as we know them, the scientists are saying that they believe that this is one meteor that broke into fragments, but are you surprised at the incredible images and the damage that's it has rained upon that region?
[Rep. Rush Holt , New Jersey:] No, I'm not surprised, Ashleigh. And there is a public policy side to it, so you're appropriate I mean, you're appropriately coming to Capitol Hill. There is something to talk about here besides the curiosity and the human interest story of injuries and upset there. You know, there are lots of things from space that rain down on earth every day. Most of it is dust. It amounts to tons of material. But when something the size of a foot or a yard or, you know, a meter across, that can carry a lot of energy, as much as a big explosion. In fact, it could be mistaken, in some cases, for a nuclear explosion. So, that's one of the reasons we need to watch these things.
[Banfield:] Which, in fact, I'm glad you mentioned that, Congressman, because I think there was an explosion in 2002 over the Mediterranean when India and Pakistan were really in heated at a heated time in their sort of pre-nuclear battles, so that is a critical issue if those can be mistaken for nuclear attacks. We do have North Korea in a precarious situation, so, logistically speaking, how are governments handling this? I mean, it's fun for us all to cover this, but then you have all of these people injured and you have governments who need to be not only aware of the political implications, but, also, just the natural disaster implications.
[Holt:] Sure. Well, that's why it makes sense to watch these things, and NASA has a near-Earth program. It is, I would argue, underfunded because of what's at stake here both in the sense of preparedness and dealing with injury and upset. But also to deal with international incidents that might occur. You mentioned the 2002 meteorite over the Mediterranean. At the time, the deputy director of space command said that, if this had happened over the subcontinent, it might have been mistaken for a nuclear explosion in this rather belligerent stand-off between India and Pakistan at the time. There's certainly occasions back in the Soviet Union days when the United States and Russia mistook natural occurrences for what might have been belligerent events, and so, you have to watch these things. And the NASA near-Earth program is important for all of those reasons. As you pointed out, as your other guest pointed out, the energy that's contained in just say small rock, you know, a foot across or a couple of feet across, traveling at these velocities, can pack a lot of energy. And, so, when it explodes, it's as if a nuclear explosion went off, obviously, not the radiation and that sort of thing, but the damage could be great.
[Banfield:] Well, Congressman Holt, I appreciate that you scrambled to the Rotunda to speak with us on this. Again, I don't normally go to Capitol Hill with a science crisis like this, but with your academics and your credentials, you were the perfect guest, and I appreciate you bringing your perspective. Also to our Jim Boulden for the reporting. Thank you to both of you. By the way, you two, this is not just luck that we have all those pictures to show while you were talking. They were caught on dash cams. And, according to al Jazeera, about a million Russia drivers have affixed dashboard cameras to get video from their cars for very good reason. They are very concerned about police corruption, and they want to make sure they record their every move in case they end up embroiled in something they prefer not to be. So, there you have it. That's why you have so many images captured, not only of the sonic boom, but then the aftermath and the streak across the sky. So, here, we were talking about the meteor and the meteorites and the fragments, et cetera, there is also another story, space-related, similar, but different, the asteroid. It's the size of the White House, and it is hurdling towards Earth as we speak. Don't freak out. It's not going to hit us. That's what we're told anyway, but here's some animation that will help you understand the significance. This thing is going to be I guess I should call it a "barely miss," a near miss, and when I say near, I mean 17,000 miles away. Sounds like a lot of miles, but space geeks know that that's very close when we're talking about space distance. Here's some perspective for you. You all know that TV and weather satellites are rotating out there. They're floating about the earth. But look at the distance. They are 22,000 miles away, and the asteroid is within that perimeter at 17,200. Our Jason Carroll is monitoring this story, the approaching asteroid, from the American Museum of Natural History. Give us an idea, Jason, of how long until the situation we are currently in becomes something we discuss in the past?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] That's a very good question. Well, we're basically looking at 2:24. That is when this particular asteroid, and it's called 2012 DA14, not an very inspiring name for such an incredible object. But at 2:24 p.m. Eastern time that is when the asteroid will be at its closest, and that's about 17 200 miles from the Earth. Again, it sounds like it's far away, but very close when you consider how close the satellites, the weather and communication satellites, are to us. And we should just also point out that scientists tell us that the asteroid will not disrupt and not come in contact with any of those satellites. But it's so incredible when you think about that. At its closest point, if you're living in Indonesia, you will the best vantage point to actually see the actual asteroid. Even though it'll be nighttime there, if you've got a high-powered telescope or even some fairly good binoculars, you should be able to see it, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Any potential damage to all the science we have floating that helps us, like all the satellites that bring us our TV, our radar, our I mean, just about everything? Is there potential damage coming to those thing?
[Carroll:] No. Well, here's the way to think about it. No potential damage, this time around, but think about this. It was amateur astronomers who basically discovered this particular asteroid. They just happened to be looking out in the skies and discovered it about a year ago. What you really have to think about is this. If this is to impact the Earth and we discovered it a year ago, we do not currently have the capability to stop something like this from happening in that short period of time. And that's something that has a lot of scientists worried. And, in fact, they've been worried for many years about this particular situation.
[Banfield:] All right, Jason Carroll, as you said, the difficulties pass us by 2:24 Eastern time. That's when our colleague, Brooke Baldwin, will take over, so she's got the breaking news ahead of her. Jason Carroll, live at the Natural History Museum. The asteroid is going to come closest, as we said, at that particular time. That's less than two-and-a-half hours from now, so we're going to listen in to NASA command and we're also going to speak with Edward Lu, who is a former astronaut, and, also, something called a current astronaut and current asteroid hunter. There is such a thing, and we're covering it.

[Whitfield:] French fighter jets are making good on President Nicolas Sarkozy's promise to use all mean necessary to stop Moammar Ghadafi's assault on Libyan civilians.
[Gorani:] All right. The first air strike came soon after Mr. Sarkozy delivered a strong warning from the international community. Here is his statement.
[President Nicolas Sarkozy, France:] Today, the leaders of the League of Arab States, the the European Union, U.S. and Canadian representatives met in Paris, under joint chairmanship of France and the U.N. Secretary-General. Together, we have decided to ensure the application of the Security Council resolution demanding immediate cease-fire and an end to violence against civil populations in Libya. Participants agreed to use all the necessary means, in particular military means, to enforce the Security Council decisions. This is why, in agreement with our partners, our Air Force will oppose any aggression by Colonel Gadhafi against the population of Benghazi. As of now, our aircraft are preventing planes from attacking the town. As of now, other French aircrafts are ready to intervene against tanks, armored vehicles threatening unarmed civilians. As of yesterday, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Arab countries sent Colonel Gadhafi and the forces he's using the following warning. If there is not an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of the forces that have been attacking civilian populations in the last few weeks, our countries will have recourse to military means. This warning was endorsed by all participants at the summit that has just concluded. Colonel Gadhafi has totally ignored this warning. In the last few hours, his forces have stepped up their deadly offensives. Arab peoples have chosen to free themselves from the enslavement in which they have felt trapped for too long. These revolts have given rise to great hopes in the hearts of all those who share the values of democracy and human rights. But they're not without risk. The future of these Arab peoples belongs to them. Amidst the many different difficulties and ordeals they must confront, these Arab peoples need our help and support, and it is our duty to provide it. In Libya, a peaceful civilian population, demanding nothing more than the right to choose its own destiny, is in mortal danger. It is our duty to respond to their anguished appeal. The future of Libya belongs to the Libyans. We do not seek to decide for them. Their fight for freedom is theirs. Our intervention alongside Arab peoples is not with a view to imposing any specific outcome on them, but in the name of the universal conscience that will not tolerate such crimes. Today, we are intervening in Libya under a United Nations Security Council mandate, alongside our partners, in particular, our Arab partners. And we are doing this in order to protect the civilian populations from the murderous madness of a regime that, by killing its own people, has forfeited all legitimacy. We are intervening in order to enable the Libyan people to choose its own destiny. It must not be deprived of its rights by violence and terror. There is still time for Colonel Gadhafi to avoid the worst by complying immediately and unreservedly with all the demands of the international community. The doors of diplomacy will open once again when the aggression stops. Our determination is total. I say this with all solemnity, all those concerned must now face up to their responsibilities. It is a grave decision that we have come to take. Alongside its Arab partners, European partners, North American partners, France is resolved to shoulder its role before history. Thank you.
[Whitfield:] There are more points of view coming out of Paris. We'll get to our State Department correspondent Jill Dougherty in a moment. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also there in Paris earlier today. Meantime, I'll let you get you back to Northeastern Libya, and that's where we find our Arwa Damon. She is there. We know that French war planes have been firing on Libyan and military vehicles. What kind of activity are you seeing where you are?
[Arwa Damon, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Fredricka, in the city of Benghazi was where we saw that assault earlier today. So far, it does seem as if the opposition does manage to retain control of the city. Based on everything that we have heard and seen, it does appear as if the opposition did manage to drive out Colonel Gadhafi's advancing tanks and military units, one eyewitness telling us that he saw the tanks coming down from the southern part of the city. We also saw a number of artillery strikes. A member of our team saw those tanks advancing as well and firing on civilian buildings. We went down just a few hours ago to survey the damage. There were a number of buildings that were destroyed. One man from that area said that he saw the Gadhafi forces firing from their heavy machine guns mounted on top of their vehicles, saying that they were smiling and laughing the entire time. Everyone at that point was asking where this international help was. Where were those aircrafts? Where was the implementation of the resolution that stated that all necessary means would be used to protect the civilian population? Now, we do know, of course, that there are French jets overhead, and that is coming as something of a relief to the population here because they do fully expect that Gadhafi is going to try to strike the city once again. But with that overhead protection, now they think they have a fighting chance Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right. Arwa Damon, thank you so much, coming from Northeastern Libya.
[Gorani:] Well, we heard tough talk from the French president, followed by swift action. In fact, I think the action took place even before the talk. France is clearly taking the lead in this international effort.
[Whitfield:] And the fact that Saturday's meeting between the U.S., European and Arab leaders took place in Paris really underscores that fact and the real symbolism coming behind this kind of coalition on this mission. State Department correspondent Jill Dougherty is in Paris. She joins us now with more on all that was accomplished and maybe some unfinished business as well.
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn World Affairs Correspondent:] Yes. Well, accomplished would be this agreement to use all necessary means to help this help to the this coalition now to carry out that U.N. resolution. And the whole idea of it, Secretary Clinton was asked, what is the main purpose? And she said it's to stop the humanitarian attacks, the humanitarian disaster that could unfold. And then, of course, in the long run, the position of the United States government and others here, is to have Moammar Gadhafi step down. But those are really, at this point, two separate things. They they are watching very carefully. In fact, it was a very dramatic time here because you had the people in that room who were determining what this coalition would do, watching, getting information from their military advisors on what was happening on the ground in Libya. And so that that was their determination. But, now, the as I said, the primary thing is to make sure that if it does slow down, if he if Moammar Gadhafi does stop that offense, then what is next? Will he carry out what the international community wants him to do?
[Gorani:] Jill, this is Hala. We're hearing reports that the French foreign minister has said that this military action will continue unless Gadhafi complies with the U.N. resolution, but there has to be some worry from these allies, from this coalition that this will become a long drawn-out affair that will become complicated and possibly deadly and unpopular.
[Dougherty:] That is absolutely true because, in fact, even before this happened, back in Washington, I was speaking with a senior administration official who said precisely that, that there is no clarity on what Moammar Gadhafi would do. There could be several scenarios. He might comply for a while. He might pull back his troops, bide his time, and then start all over again. Or, if he simply pulled back and they went into this kind of stasis, the country, in effect, would be split in half. That could be a real problem. And then are the domestic the people in the countries that are participating willing to stick it out? So there are a lot of unknowns. And one of the worries, of course, was, when wounded, figuratively speaking, what would Gadhafi do? Would he strike back? Would he use terrorism as he has before? Would he resort to weapons of mass destruction, as he has before? So those are all of the considerations that are ongoing.
[Whitfield:] Jill Dougherty, thanks so much, from Paris. We appreciate that.
[Gorani:] All right. Our coverage of the unfolding breaking news story out of Libya will continue. And after the break we'll also go live to Japan for an update on the crisis at the quake-ravaged nuclear plant. Stay with us.

[Cho:] The Hawaiian version of "Over the Rainbow." I like that. Good morning. That's because, you know, the occupants of the White House are not occupying the White House at this particular moment. They are in Hawaii where it is much warmer than it is in Washington, mostly cloudy and 44, partly cloudy with a high of 47 a little bit later on.
[Velshi:] President Obama is celebrating Christmas in Hawaii, sort of, with the first family after winning that bruising battle in Washington about the payroll tax cut, the extension of it. CNN's White House correspondent, Brianna Keilar, drew the short straw for CNN and is traveling with the president in Hawaii.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Aloha to you, Ali and Alina. President Obama left Washington on Friday shortly after signing that payroll tax cut extension into law and because this is the biggest part of his jobs plan, he came here to Hawaii with a political victory very much under his belt, and now is expected to spend his time here resting and relaxing not far from where he grew up. On Christmas Eve he did something he frequently does, loves to do, he played a round of golf. Then he made phone calls to servicemen and women serving overseas and had dinner with his family. Then on Christmas the first family went to church on a Marine base not far from the house they're staying at. All of the Obama women donning sleeveless dresses because the weather here is just beautiful. And then the first family also greeted military men and women there at that marine base later on Christmas. Now at this point there's no public events on the president's schedule. We're expecting him to do a number of other kind of typical Hawaiian vacation activities with his family, maybe some more golf. But he will, of course, be receiving his daily national security briefing, as he always does, because this is always a working vacation for President Obama. Ali and Alina?
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you, Brianna. That's Brianna and the Brianna Keilar band while she was talking as an accompaniment whenever she goes anywhere.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Anchor:] Not the Hawaiian version of "Over the Rainbow." You just watched the president greeting members of the military and their families on Christmas Day. I'm guessing you probably didn't see this. Take a look. After taking an earful from House leaders for weeks, that's the commander in chief getting a mouthful courtesy of the son of a marine captain Greg Wagner. CNN has not been able to verify whether the little guy is a Republican or Democrat.
[Velshi:] All right, our funny animal video of the day, because we can. Remember the Taco Bell Chihuahua? This one doesn't speak, but it dances. That's Stewart, the salsa dancing dog. He's a YouTube sensation with nearly 1.2 million views. He's dancing a meringue, not the salsa. The dog is on a leash. It's not a tight leash. It's connected to that chair behind him so he doesn't run away. And he seems to dancing of his own volition. I can't dance like that. I can't dance like nothing. Don't get me started. We're going to lose viewers if I get out there and dance.
[Cho:] Your top stories are next, plus counting down to 2012. What can we look forward to in the entertainment world? We'll talk about what you should be watching out for. That's coming up. It's 48 minutes after the hour.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] And a beautiful day it is in the Rose Garden of the White House there. President Obama wrapping up his joint news conference with the British prime minister, David Cameron. I want to bring in my colleagues, Wolf Blitzer, Gloria Borger as well as Jessica Yellin, we'll get to her in a minute in the Rose Garden. One of the things that struck me about what the president said is that he said that he is not going to divert from his position, that there will be no change when it comes to withdrawing U.S. troops and the timetable. We heard him talk about Syria and the fact that this is a peaceful, a soft landing, a transition that he wants, not a revolution. This is not a president who wants to continue on this path of war. He's very reluctant in that sense. Does that speak to what the voters are looking for, what they want when you look at the elections coming up?
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] I think the news out of this was when he said as far as withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan, and native troops, by the way, I do not anticipate any sudden additional cuts to the troops. Having said that, he did say it would be on the agenda, the entire NATO operation, when the allies meet in Chicago, the G-20 summit. That's coming up in May towards the end of May. And so, they'll discuss this, and I know there are serious differences between various NATO allies over how quickly to get out of Afghanistan. But the president made it clear, he wants the U.S. troops to stay through the end of 2014 which is another almost three years and the military wants most of those troops to stay until then. They think if there's an accelerated withdraw, it's going to be a disaster. Taliban is going to take over. And everything that's been achieved over these past 10 years if, in fact, anything has been achieved over these past 10 years, will disappear.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] You know you have 60 percent of the American public in a poll taken at the beginning of March saying that Afghanistan is not worth fighting for. You have the president today saying, look, is this is this the way I would have worked out the situation there if I had been president all along? Absolutely not. But he doesn't see any sudden cuts of troops. It's clear he's going to do the drawdown in a way that they believe will make the commanders happy with it. Because if he were to sort of announce right now, OK, we're going to draw down a lot faster, I think he'd have a problem with his commanders in the field who have made it very clear that that's not what they want to do. For right now, it's stay the course unless, of course, at the NATO meeting, there is some kind of decision that is made about any kind of different action. But so far, the president, said we're going to stick with our plan.
[Blitzer:] There are a lot of people, as you know a lot of experts on Afghanistan who believe fervently, it really doesn't make any difference if the U.S. spends another three months there or another three years there. In the end, it's going to be a disaster no matter what the U.S. does. And so, the question is, does the U.S. spend a $100 billion a year and lose a lot of lives in the process in the next three years to try to achieve something or do they cut their losses now and get out much more quickly. And this is the debate that's going to front and center.
[Malveaux:] I want to bring in Jessica Yellin who is at the White House there. Jessica, what stood out in your mind? Because, obviously, you had a lot of a lot of the discussion really, most of the discussion was on foreign policy, not so much on economics.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Right, Suzanne. Well, the news I heard was that this was the first time president Obama, himself, said that U.S. and NATO mission in Afghanistan will shift to a support training and combat role in mid- 2013. Defense secretary Panetta said as much a few weeks ago, but the president himself has not set that date, 2013, yet. So, we heard that first from the president here today. I also heard him say that on the topic of Iran, that the window for solving this diplomatically is shrinking. So, you know, we've heard him constantly ramp up the pressure but another notch up there. And I would add that, you know, the president leaves on a trip to South Korea the end of next week, next weekend, where he's talking about nuclear proliferation issues, but we expect both Iran and, of course, North Korea, but Iran to be discussed on the side lines of that summit. And so, I think we're going to hear a lot more of the discussion that we heard here at the end of next week as well. And then, of course, more of the Afghan discussion at the summit, this NATO summit, in may Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right. Thank you, Jessica. I want to bring in Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon, because there is news coming out of Afghanistan. Chris, you've been following this story. We know that defense secretary, Leon Panetta, arrived in Afghanistan earlier today, and there have been some incidents. What do we know?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] That's right, Suzanne. Even as President Obama was speaking with the British prime minister, Defense Secretary Panetta was at the largest British base in Afghanistan. And when he landed there, his plane had to be diverted and temporarily parked in a different area before coming back because a man, a civilian who works at Camp Bastion stole a vehicle, ran over a soldier a coalition soldier and drove the vehicle out on the runway as the secretary's plane was arriving. We're told that the driver of that car drove it into a ditch and at that point the car burst into some sort of flames. The driver was on fire. He ran out of the car onto a truck and that's when coalition troops were able to put out the fire, arrest him, and then take him to the hospital to be treated. But again, some scary moments. It turned out to not be that big of a deal but at the time the officials there had no idea exactly what the motive was or how big this could be and that's why they kept the secretary's plane diverted for some time.
[Malveaux:] Right. And Chris, do we know whether or not it was the secretary who was targeted? Do we have any information at all whether or not he was the one that they were trying to get to?
[Lawrence:] We don't know that yet. They say the secretary was never in danger, his plane was never in danger, it never got that close, but you have to question the timing of this car coming out to the runway right about the time that the secretary arrives Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right. Chris Lawrence, thank you.
[Blitzer:] Can I just ask Chris Lawrence, stand by for a second. Chris, you know, it's very disturbing right now to see what is happening in Afghanistan and you will you will appreciate this. The fact that Leon Panetta, the secretary of defense, shows up in Afghanistan, he goes into a meeting into a hall with a lot of United States Marines and soldiers, all of them have their machine guns, their weapons, but they are forced to leave their weapons outside and not bring them in. Now, this is highly extraordinary. I've gone on these kinds of trips with secretaries of defense, with chairmen of the joint chiefs, with U.S. military commanders. You don't disarm U.S. military personnel in a war environment, but this time they did and the assumption is, they are afraid, maybe, that some soldier or Marine has post traumatic stress disorder, we're going to see somebody take a shot at the defense secretary. What are they saying at the Pentagon about this incident this incident, today, when they asked U.S. Marines, leave your weapon outside, you're not going to bring them inside when you hear from the Secretary of Defense?
[Lawrence:] You are absolutely right, Wolf. And it was a CNN crew that is traveling with the secretary right now and who actually, you know, captured a picture of that of the Marines stacking their weapons outside. They had come into the area into the area where they were going to be sitting down a few hundred, both British and American troops, and they were told by a command sergeant major, to take their weapons outside. The Marines did as they were told, they brought them back outside. But you're right, this is unusual. For a secretary of defense visit, the Marines are usually not asked to disarm. The word we're getting from our Pentagon contacts is that there were some Afghan troops who were also in that hall. They were unarmed and they did not want the Afghan forces to feel like there was some sort of separate treatment. In other words, armed Americans but unarmed Afghans.
[Wolf:] Yes, but that's in all of my experience in these kinds of operations, the foreign troops, they are always unarmed but the American troops, you don't you don't disarm U.S. Marines and
[Lawrence:] You're absolutely right.
[Wolf:] and soldiers in a situation like this unless you're worried that one of them could go crazy or whatever and take a shot at the defense secretary. In the aftermath of what we saw, this massacre the other day of these Afghan civilians, I suspect everyone is a lot more concerned right now and it's a source of deep concern, I'm sure, of the U.S. military. And underscores what's going on in Afghanistan right now, Suzanne. This is a very, very sensitive moment. Potentially a turning point of the aftermath of the Quran burnings, the American soldiers urinating on these Afghan troops and now this massacre. And now, we're seeing some of these ramifications, it's a very sensitive moment.
[Malveaux:] And Wolf, I'll tell you one thing, just being there briefly around the September 11th attacks, it's one thing that the American soldiers talk about is whether or not they can trust the Afghan soldiers, because this is a tremendous undertaking. You're talking about people who can't read, who can't write, who have never held a weapon before, training them to take over the security of their country within a matter of months. And there is an issue of whether or not they trust each other, and these are guys working side by side. This is not about the Afghan people, but people who are supposed to be working together and clearly that trust is diminished. I mean, that is that's a real casualty.
[Borger:] And that speaks to the same point that you were making earlier, Wolf, which is, does it matter if you withdraw troops in 2014 or you withdraw them a little bit earlier in 2013, if in the end there hasn't been the trust between the American troops and the Afghan troops, if in the end the Americans believe that what they are doing is just not going to be enough, then why not leave earlier?
[Malveaux:] It's a tremendous undertaking, I mean, what those guys are trying to do, those challenges now. And you're right, I mean, and now it's an extraordinary moment.
[Wolf:] Or when you go to the ministry of interior, and you're a soldier, a government ministry in Kabul in the aftermath of the Koran burnings, and Afghan military personnel shoot American troops in the back of their heads wearing the uniform of the Afghan military. These are not supposedly Taliban. It underscores why there is such fear right now and why so many Americans, whether diplomats, contractors, military personnel, security they're basically confined to their bases. They are not moving around because it's so nerve wracking.
[Borger:] So, they are not doing their job.
[Malveaux:] Then they can't do their job. Thank you for adding the context. Great to see you as always. We're going to talk more politics in a little bit. We are talking politics. We are talking about the southern swing. Santorum coming off of a southern sweep of Alabama and Mississippi. Newt Gingrich hanging in the race. We're going to crunch the numbers, check out where things are standing for the race for the GOP nomination. Newt Gingrich shrugs off calls to drop out of the presidential race. Gingrich lost the Alabama and Mississippi primaries to Rick Santorum. But he is staying in. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney is focused on the delegate math. Bryan Monroe is editor at cnnpolitics.com and he's talking about the road ahead in the Republican race. Bryan, good to see you again.
[Bryan Monroe, Editor, Cnnpolitics.com:] Good to see you.
[Malveaux:] As always, it was an exciting night.
[Monroe:] It was. Quite a surprise for Santorum to come through and take both of the states in the south, particularly when Gingrich was supposed to own Alabama and Mississippi. It didn't work out so well for him.
[Malveaux:] So, what does that mean for Romney? Meaning that that magical number, 1,144 delegates. Can he get there or does this threaten him getting there to the convention?
[Monroe:] This make it all that much harder. You know, he has got to coalesce the delegates and the state between now and June. And it's becoming more and more difficult. It may still happen, but it's harder because between now and say May, it's almost mathematically impossible for him to get to 1,144. He's going to need the states of Texas, which is at the end of May, and California, which is on June 5th, to push him over the top. But between now and then, you know that Rick Santorum and Gingrich, if he stays in, are going to make this very difficult for him.
[Malveaux:] Does he need Gingrich to drop out to get that magic number?
[Monroe:] Well, in some ways, Gingrich staying in actually helps Mitt Romney, because it splits that conservative vote. It splits the anti-Romney vote. Because if you look at last night, particularly in Alabama and Mississippi, it was roughly a third, a third, a third. But of those two-thirds that means two-thirds of the Republican electorate did not vote for Mitt Romney. And that's troubling. And that hasn't changed a great deal. And that's something he's got to overcome.
[Malveaux:] Does this mean that we're looking at an open convention where no one has the number the delegate number to become the nominee. And there's all this horse trading that goes on late in the process.
[Monroe:] Well, you know, conventional wisdom says that the Republicans are very organized and that at some point they're going to come together. And it would be disastrous for them to go into the convention in Tampa with that much chaos. But it could happen. It actually is mathematically possible. If no single candidate secures 1,144 going into Tampa, and it is left open to the first ballot that first ballot does not get to 1,144, then many of those delegates are released and they can vote for whoever they want.
[Malveaux:] What's the next hot race we should be watching?
[Monroe:] Well, certainly, Illinois is going to be the as someone says, the next Michigan. It's both got conservatives in the suburbs of Chicago, where I used to live in Naperville, and across the state. And that's going to you see the candidates heading there already to do the campaigning. But Illinois is where it's going to come down to. But, you know, we're not even at the halfway point when it comes to delegates.
[Malveaux:] Wow, we still have a ways to go.
[Monroe:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] But it's been a great race so far.
[Monroe:] It's interesting.
[Malveaux:] It's getting ugly. It's been an ugly, messy situation.
[Monroe:] That's why this is fun for us political junkies.
[Malveaux:] Absolutely. Thanks, Bryan.
[Monroe:] Thanks. Joining us to talk about the road ahead in the Republican race, Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Also Republican blogger Crystal Wright of conservativeblackchick.com. She is also a D.C. delegate for Newt Gingrich. Thank you. Good to see you both. Crystal, I want to start with you. Gingrich is your guy. Already there are emails circulating, urging him, now is the time to drop out. Should he? When's the time? I mean, why is he staying in?
[Crystal Wright, Website Editor And Publisher:] Newt is not going to drop out and he's staying in because Santorum, while he was victorious in Alabama and Mississippi, everybody has pointed out, and your guest earlier, that, you know, it wasn't a huge landslide win for Santorum. And I think that Santorum supporters, specifically Evangelical Christians and some Tea Party folks, are supporting Santorum to make themselves feel good know that he's not going to get the nomination. And I think Newt's playing it exactly right. Newt supports will not, at the end of the day, if Newt decides to bow out, they're not going to throw their vote behind Santorum, a religious and moral candidate who doesn't, you know, he's not going to be as strong of an opponent to Barack Obama compared to, I think, Mitt Romney. So Newt's doing the smart thing. You know, he's splitting he's taking away votes from Santorum.
[Malveaux:] Let's bring in Maria here. On "The Daily Beast," political writer Patricia Murphy, she says here that Gingrich's strategy "is no longer to win the nomination outright, but to make Mitt Romney lose by denying him the 1,144 delegates that he needs to clinch the GOP nomination before the Republican convention in August." So is this personal?
[Maria Cardona, Principal, Dewey Square Group, Public Affairs:] I think that part of it is personal because it has gotten so nasty and so bitter. And, frankly, it's the one thing that has really turned off independent voters and that larger coalition of voters that is going to be so important for whoever the Republican nominee is going to be, to be able to get in the general election. So I think that that is a danger zone for all Republicans to take a look at. But I do think that it has become particularly bitter between Gingrich and Romney. And you saw it in the debates in the past. And you see it in everything that Gingrich has said about Romney. He's very bitter about all of the money that Romney has spent against him. He's very bitter about all of the allegations that Romney has done in the both in the ads, as well as in the debates. And he hasn't really been able to have a good response publicly to everything that Romney has slung at him.
[Malveaux:] And, Crystal, let's bring it back to Santorum here, because he says the win in the deep south proves that Romney's nomination certainly is not inevitable. What do you think about Santorum's chances?
[Wright:] Well, I think it's important for all of us to not be we would be remiss not to mention the "Washington Post"ABC News poll that came out this week that found both Santorum and Romney in a dead heat tie with Barack Obama, whose approval ratings on the economy now disapproval ratings, are at 59 percent among all Americans. So let's not kid ourselves that Obama is some tough, undefeatable candidate. But back to Santorum. You know, he he's not I think he has a point. Look, he's got wins under his belt. You can't discount that. But the delegate math, as Wolf pointed out earlier, Suzanne, is not in his favor. Santorum couldn't even get on the ballot in D.C. and Virginia. And normally D.C. wouldn't matter. It's not a primary the type of primary that would matter.
[Malveaux:] Right.
[Wright:] But 16 delegates, winner take all. And let's also remember, in Alabama, Santorum forfeited four delegates. He's going to forfeit about 10 delegates in Illinois. He doesn't have the organization. The math is not adding up to his favor.
[Malveaux:] All right.
[Wright:] And Romney has over 400 delegates. I mean, so that's the reality of the situation.
[Malveaux:] I want to turn the corner here. The Democrats have jumped all over Romney's comment that he would get rid of Planned Parenthood. I want you to listen to what he said in response to a question about cutting the budget.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] My test is pretty simple. Is the program so critical it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? And on that basis, of course you get rid of Obamacare. That's the easy one. But there are others. Planned Parenthood. We're going to get rid of that. The subsidy for Amtrak. I would eliminate that. The National Endowment for the Arts. The National Endowment for the Humanities. Both excellent programs, but we just can't afford to borrow money to pay for these things.
[Malveaux:] Maria, I want you to weigh in on this, because his campaign says he's talking about cutting off federal funding. But Democrats say that he's certainly pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party. Can he afford to continue on this line, on this the way that he is talking here and still win the moderates and women who he needs?
[Cardona:] No, he can't, is the sort answer. But this is the problem with Romney. He also can't afford to do anything to, in his mind, alienate the conservative base. Clearly he's not winning with the base and clearly he is does have a problem moving further into the nomination process as weak as he is, as weak as he is with this all-important conservative base. But, no, he cannot win the general election without independent women, without the broader coalition of independent voters, without Latinos. He is bleeding with both of those critically important coalitions. But that is sort of the problem that Mitt Romney faces. He can't win his own nomination without pandering to his base. He can't win the general election without these independent women, Latino voters, and the larger coalition. That's a big pickle.
[Malveaux:] And, Crystal, just to wrap this up here. Do you think he made a mistake, to go there, to go to Planned Parenthood?
[Wright:] Absolutely not. You know, women aren't stupid and they don't need to be told what to do with their bodies, whether they're pro-choice or pro-abortion. Planned Parenthood can do just fine without funding from the United States government. And a poll came out again today that found that most women are very turned off by the Obama administration's decision to force religious institutions to provide birth control coverage and pay for it for women. So that's the reality. Women are split on that topic. It's not all hunky dory what the Obama administration did to the Catholic church. So I think I don't think it's pandering. I think women are smart. Women will be critical, as Maria pointed out, in this election, along with independents. I do think that Republicans need to do a little better job of talking to independents and get off these social issues. But, you know, I disagree with what
[Malveaux:] OK.
[Cardona:] Yes, but women are smart and they don't want the government in their business.
[Wright:] They are smart, Maria. Right, they don't.
[Cardona:] And they don't want the government in their business.
[Wright:] So why did the president why did the president start putting the government
[Cardona:] And that is exactly what Republicans are condoning.
[Wright:] Why did President Obama start putting the government in women's business?
[Cardona:] This president is actually fighting the president is actually fighting for women rights.
[Wright:] That's what you said. Right, no he's not. And it shows that he
[Cardona:] They were fighting for women's rights, and that's what went
[Malveaux:] I'm going to have to jump in I'm going to have to jump in here. I know you the two of you are not going to agree on this point, but we will have you back to debate it another time. Thank you very much, Crystal, Maria, good to see you, as always.
[Cardona:] Thanks, Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] The killing spree in Afghanistan is tragic. Is it affecting the war there? We're going to dig a little deeper.

[Holmes:] About 18 minutes until the top of the hour. Thanks to some patchwork we had to put together here we have Maria Cardona with us now, Democratic strategist who always pairs up with our Lenny McAllister. We had a little technical issue. We had to get her on the phone there. That is how we're going to be able to hear her but I have known her long enough to know when she speaks, we can always hear Maria speak.
[Maria Cardona, Democratic Strategist:] Thank you,
[T.j. Holmes:] I don't know if you were able to hear Lenny, but Lenny got a head start on you on a lot of stuff.
[Cardona:] I saw his mouth moving, but I didn't hear anything he was saying.
[Holmes:] That's typical. I'll start with you, Maria. Maria, I ask every week when I start with you guys, what was the political headline of the week for you, so, you tell me what yours was.
[Cardona:] My political headline this week, T.J., was that we had a commander in chief who showed true grit, tough leadership and, frankly, went into a game-changing event that has changed the way that we look at his leadership, especially his critics.
[Holmes:] Now, has anyone, in your opinion, Maria, did anyone this week, Republican or democrat, try to take any kind of political, political advantage of the situation with Osama bin Laden?
[Cardona:] I don't think so, and I think that is, as it should be. And I will even say that Bush actually deserves credit here for laying the groundwork for making sure that this mission culminated in catching Osama bin Laden. I think that in President Obama inviting President Bush to come to him with him to ground zero, I think, showed that he does not see this as a political event. The White House doesn't see this as a political event. I hope that we're able to stay that way because we really experienced a show of unity after this happened and sort of went back to the notion that when we work together, we really can get things done and that's exactly what the president talked about on Sunday night.
[Holmes:] Now, Lenny, let me bring you back in here because there was some debate. If anything got political, I guess it was this question of who deserves credit and who deserved how much credit for this? You just heard Maria say there that, yes, in fact, the Bush administration deserved a lot of credit. But, how did you see that, Lenny, play out this week of back and forth. Was that really a big part of the whole conversation?
[Mcallister:] No, not to me. I look at two images, the image of President Bush with the bull horn right after 911 and I look at the image of President Obama fixated, sitting there. And I said it on my radio show when you and I were talking yesterday. That's what you want in presidential focus. Those are the only two things that should have been focused on, the image of President Bush in 2001 and the image of president Obama in 2011, and that should have been what we fixated on when it came to presidential leadership front to back throughout this whole decade of terror.
[Holmes:] And Maria, will this voters have short memories for the most part. We're still talking about an election that is a good year, year and a half away here. People will still talk about the economy. Do you think this situation with Osama bin Laden now, does that give the president a talking point to run on or does it just take away a talking point for Republicans to attack him on, national security?
[Cardona:] I think more so it takes away a talking point from the Republicans. As you know, there were many critics who whined about how he was supposedly weak kneed and didn't have the spine to make the kind of decisions needed to win the war against terrorism. He clearly has put that to rest and has shut them up. I don't think the boost I don't think will continue to Election Day in terms of this specific event. What I do think will happen is the economy will continue to be the issue. But if we go through continued job creation the way that we saw on Friday, 224,000 jobs were created in April, the 14th consecutive month of private sector job creation, if that trend continues and companies continue to hire and the Republican GOP candidates look as weak as they do today, then I do think he has a good chance of being reelected.
[Holmes:] Lenny, you come in on that point. Many people may not know, but there was a presidential debate potential candidates here, a debate of Republicans this week. How did your candidates, Lenny, look this week in your opinion?
[Mcallister:] They, they focused more on Osama bin Laden than they did on jobs. Yes, they added 244,000 jobs in April, but unemployment claims have gone up three out of the last four periods. It's at the highest weekly rate since August of 2010. The GDP has slowed down. Unemployment has gone up two-tenths of a percentage point. If they would have focused more on that, used the word "jobs," used the words economy, jobs, employment getting America back to work, if they used those catch phrases more often, they probably would have gotten more traction Thursday night. They did not and that's something that a Republican candidate coming through 2012 is going to have to fixate on. If we're talking about 244,000 jobs added, that will sound great. When the unemployment rate goes up 0.2 of a percentage point and the unemployment claims go up, you can't focus on the quarter of a million jobs added when you add that on the flip side.
[Holmes:] Lenny, I'll let you wrap it up. But we were showing video of that debate, and a lot of the bigger name candidates were not there, or potential candidates were not at this particular debate. But, Lenny on the point that you were making that I will let Maria make here. Some people point to the fact that the unemployment rate went up as kind of a good sign that more people are feeling better about the economy and they are entering getting back into the game, back into the job market. Maria, is that still going to be a tough sell because people kind of gauge the economy on a couple of things. They hear the unemployment number and they hear it goes up. And they drive past the gas station and they see that price going up.
[Cardona:] Well, what we also saw this week, T.J., hopefully it will trickle down to the gas prices, but the price of barrels of oil actually went down and in terms of the unemployment rate, you're absolutely right, it went up, because those had been frustrated they could not find the jobs now see hope in the numbers and the hundreds of thousands of people who did find jobs, the folks who could not find jobs earlier are now jumping into the job market because they see hope. And you saw that in the straight analysis of economists from all the left to right. They were saying that this is actually a good sign, the fact that the unemployment rate went up, because now more people see hope that they can find jobs. And you hear it also in corporations. They are now hiring. If that train continues and if we see nothing from the GOP presidential field, and Lenny said it, they did not, could not talk about jobs in their debate. The debate switched to terrorism and Osama bin Laden and to foreign policy. That's not a good place for them to be right now.
[Holmes:] Well, guys, you two, it is always fun, always interesting, but this is probably one of the more interesting segments I have done with you two after Lenny sabotaged all of our technology so that Maria would be at a disadvantage.
[Cardona:] Yes, Lenny. I got to look into that one.
[Mcallister:] That's just what we need is another conspiracy this week, right?
[Holmes:] Yes, no more. You're right, Lenny. Lenny, Maria Maria, thank you for being willing to tolerate that and make this work the best way we could. We go MacGyver on this show if we have to.
[Cardona:] You owe me one.
[Mcallister:] Happy mother's day, Maria.
[Cardona:] Thank you, all.
[Holmes:] They are chasing history at the Kentucky derby. One jockey could ride all the way to glory this weekend. You need to hear about this one in particular.

[Blitzer:] Let's go to Capitol Hill right now. The Senate expected to reject a bill that would impose a 30 percent tax on millionaires. This despite a new CNNOpinion Research Corporation poll that shows 72 percent of Americans right now actually favor the tax hike, 27 percent oppose. Let's bring in CNN's Erin Burnett from "
[Erin Burnett:] OUTFRONT." Erin, why are Democrats pushing this so hard, the so-called Buffett Rule, if they already know it's going to fail.
[Erin Burnett, Anchor, Outfront:] Well, I guess as you would say, Wolf, it's a political football and this obviously politically, you just showed the poll, really seems to favor the Democrats' point of view. So it would seem to them, actually, if they lose, they even have more fodder to say that Republicans are standing in the way of fairness and what the American people want. When you look at the numbers, though it's interesting. What the Democrats try to say it's fat cats, they're not paying their fair share. You know CNN.com has a very interesting analysis. People that make between $30,000 and $50,000 a year in this country pay an average tax rate of about 6.4 percent at the federal level. Millionaires pay about 24.6 percent. So those pushing back on this will say, well, in terms of the fairness arguments, millionaires already pay a whole lot more than everybody else. Millionaires earn 10 percent of the income in this country and pay 20 percent of the taxes, according to the Tax Foundation. But on the other side, the Republicans who try to say, well, this is this is ridiculous, this is not a fair argument by the Democrats. They try to say it's going to hurt small businesses. But when you look at the numbers,the Republicans are wrong on that. Only 1 percent of small businesses actually have enough money to fall into that million-dollar plus level. So there is a lot of obfuscations and fact smearing over by both sides on this, Wolf. But I think the bottom line is politically it's a victory for the Democrats and perhaps even more of a victory when it doesn't pass. So we're going to talk to a man tonight who is a billionaire, is in the category that would be affected by this, John Paul DeJoria of Petron, and also Paul Mitchell, he's got some very strong points of view on it. He'll be our special guests "OUTFRONT" tonight.
[Blitzer:] Yes, I'm going to look closely at some senators who are insensitive re-election campaigns right now, whether a Republican. I stop round in Massachusetts to see where he votes on this, how that could impact his bid for re-election.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] Or a Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, to see how she votes. It's going to be fascinating to see.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] Who votes which way. You'll have much more, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, Erin, as you always do. Thank you. Coming up in our next hour, there's new fallout from the Secret Service prostitution scandal. We're just learning 11 Secret Services employees have had their security clearances revoked. And the gun controversy swirling around Prince William's sister-in- law, Pippa.

[Whitfield:] Laura Bush, the former first lady, is asking a nationwide group that backs gay marriage to drop her from an ad that's received a whole lot of attention. In case you haven't seen it or even if you have, here's a quick look.
[Unidentified Male:] ... been told we can't marry the person we love. That's why a growing majority of Americans believe it's time to allow marriage for gay and lesbian couples.
[Laura Bush, Former First Lady:] When couples are committed, they ought to have, I think, the same sort of rights that everyone has.
[Colin Powell, Former Secretary Of State:] Allowing them to live together...
[Whitfield:] Laura Bush, Colin Powell, and Dick Cheney you'll see Dick Cheney as well, all three appearing in the ad by the Respect for Marriage Coalition. But now, as we said, Laura Bush want out. Our Shannon Travis is in Washington. And, Shannon, she got her way, but do we know why she wanted out?
[Shannon Travis, Cnn Political Reporter:] Yeah. I mean, the former first lady is responding to this 2010 appearance on Larry King being in this ad. It's not exactly clear why she doesn't want to be in it, but we did get a statement from her spokesman saying, basically, that she doesn't. I'm going to read this to you, Fred. Quote, "Mrs. Bush did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated in any way with the group that made the ad. "When she became aware of the advertisement Tuesday night, we requested that the group remove her from it." Now, again, that's a statement from Laura Bush's spokeswoman. The group itself, the Respect for Marriage Coalition, they have since responded to Mrs. Bush. Let's read a statement from them that we got. Quote, "We used public comments for this ad from American leaders who have expressed support for civil marriage. "We appreciate Mrs. Bush's previous comments, but are sorry she didn't want to be included in the ad. "The ad launched a public education campaign that will now move to new and different voices that reflect the depth and breadth of that statement." What you hear there in that coalition statement, one, is that basically Mrs. Bush, we're sorry for including you in this ad and, number two, that they're moving on from this ad. We've learned that they will stop airing this ad tomorrow and replace it with another, also advocating same-sex marriage. Fred?
[Whitfield:] All right, now let's talk about another ad involving another first lady, the current first lady. And this one she welcomes as well as her co-star. Let's take a look.
[Michelle Obama, First Lady:] No matter what your age, it's important to get your body moving every single day to help keep you healthy.
[Big Bird:] Look, Mrs. Obama, I'm getting moving right now by jogging.
[Whitfield:] So, what's the story here, Travis?
[Travis:] Yeah, Fred, surprise, surprise, just when we thought Big Bird was fried, Big Bird is back. Basically, two public service announcements from Michelle Obama encouraging kids to be active and eat healthy. But it's a little bit surprising because you'll remember last year during the presidential campaign in that first debate in October with President Obama and Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney basically said, you know what, if he's elected, Big Bird is out. That became a flashpoint in the campaign, a little back and forth, so now we're seeing the Big Bird back in the ad.
[Whitfield:] Back in the ad. All right, back in action. All right, Shannon, thanks so much. I called you by your last name. I know it happens all the time.
[Travis:] That's right.
[Whitfield:] Sorry about that.
[Travis:] No problem.
[Whitfield:] All right, thanks so much. All right, a man in Colorado goes for the last snowboard run of the day when the unthinkable happens. An avalanche, it swallows him up. Good news, though, he survived, but you won't believe what he did when rescuers pulled him from the snow. We'll show you.

[Cho:] Welcome back. Forty-two minutes after the hour. Are you ready to ring in the New Year? Well, New Year's Eve is tomorrow, and that can only mean one thing here at CNN, Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. It will be Anderson and Kathy's fifth year hosting New Year's Eve together, and Anderson's tenth for CNN. I asked him if this is his way of avoiding having to hit the town on New Year's Eve? Watch.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, Anderson Cooper 360:] It is. I started doing this because I never have fun on New Year's Eve. I think it's impossible in New York, there's no cabs, it's freezing cold. So I volunteered, I guess 10 years ago God, I didn't know it was that long. But started volunteering. And found out I really loved it. It's great being actually in Times Square and
[Cho:] Yes, talk about that a little bit. I mean, give us sort of a behind-the-scenes look where you are. Where is the set? Here's the crowd
[Cooper:] We're on this giant sort of podium of bleachers that all media is on and everybody has like two or three feet of space that they're allowed, and you're basically above the TKTS, around like 46th Street.
[Cho:] Right.
[Cooper:] And, you know, there's just a great atmosphere there. I mean, it's nice I don't think I could do it as a civilian, because you're hemmed into pens with thousands of other people and you can't go to the bathroom. That seems very unpleasant to me.
[Cho:] Talk about Kathy Griffin a little bit. By her own estimation, she's been fired three times from this. Why do you keep inviting her back?
[Cooper:] It's not me. We've become friends over the years. And, you know
[Cho:] And she's like this with your mom.
[Cooper:] She and my mom are very good friends as well, which is surreal. In fact, they see each other more than I see either of them. And they talk about all sorts of stuff that I don't want to know about and yes.
[Cho:] Well, last year, she tried to talk her clothes off. I want to play this clip. Watch.
[Cooper:] What the
[Kathy Griffin:] I met someone. What? It's New Year's.
[Cooper:] You're supposed to do that at stroke of midnight. We're still, like four minutes away. And we're going to be live all the way through all the way through the New Year. Playing all the traditional stuff that we love. New York, New York. The playing of what is going on?
[Griffin:] I'm taking your clothes off.
[Cooper:] No. All right.
[Griffin:] It's for America. I love America.
[Cooper:] You know, it's weird because you never actually see the program when you're doing something like this, and you go back and see it. So, it's weird to actually watch it.
[Cho:] You know what she said she'll try to do this year, right?
[Cooper:] What?
[Cho:] She kind of pants you.
[Cooper:] You know, she's I don't know. I don't know
[Cho:] She says you should probably, just to be safe, duct tape your pants to your body.
[Cooper:] Really? Is that what she said?
[Cho:] Is that something you're willing to do?
[Cooper:] Well, that's interesting. Maybe I'll try suspenders or something. She always comes up with some hair-brained idea and we have to talk her down. Last year
[Cho:] Yet she still tries.
[Cooper:] Yes, last year she wanted to throw money into the crowd. And I was like, you now, you can't throw money
[Cho:] I mean, in all seriousness, though, do you have a favorite moment or two over the years? I mean, it has this will be your fifth year with Kathy.
[Cooper:] That's crazy.
[Cho:] It is crazy.
[Cooper:] Wow. Favorite moment? I favorite moment, actually, no. It's actually just there really hasn't honestly, I try to blank it out as soon as it's done, and I just I pray that I wake up the next day and it's not on the headline of the Drudge Report. That's basically oh, there was actually, the year she threw stuff at Jonas Brothers. That was fun. They were performing and she was literally throwing things at them. We actually had Gaga on the New Year show years ago before she was huge. She was playing, and we went to her concert and that was fun. So, I really feel we're responsible. Our little New Year's show is responsible for her success.
[Cho:] I think you are. I think you are. Anderson, thanks.
[Cooper:] Thanks.
[Cho:] I'll be watching.
[Cooper:] All right.
[Cho:] Always fun to talk to Anderson to celebrate the New Year with us. Again, Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin will be hosting the big event from New York City's Times Square. CNN correspondents will give reports of celebrations across the country and around the world The party, by the way, starts on Saturday at 11:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN, but you should get to Times Square much earlier if you want to see it from there.
[Feyerick:] Anderson's going to need own security from Kathy.
[Cho:] That's right.
[Feyerick:] Forget the crowds. Forget the crowds. Anyway, great piece. Get them out of your system while you still can. Lake Superior State University, as it does every year at this time, released its list of words and phrases that should be banned from the English language. They include the overused occupy. Sorry about that, 99 percent. And it also includes man cave. It's really just a basement with a TV, recliner from eBay, mini fridge and old air Jordan posters. So, really, get over it. Get over it. OK? And get a new couch. Also, blowback, ginormous, and baby bump. So, if you have a ginormous baby bump, well, chances are you've been in your man cave too long or you're just really pregnant.
[Cho:] People are going to be continuing to use those words, especially occupy, but anyway, fun to do. Coming up, don't book your next vacation just yet. Our expert will reveal the latest travel trends for 2012 in just a couple of minutes. Stay with us.

[Sesay:] Mitt Romney is still the front-runner in Iowa according to the latest CNN-TIME-ORC poll. And people are greeting him everywhere he goes on the stump there. Our Jim Acosta joins from one such stop on the trail, Nathan City. Jim, it would appear Romney's having a good week with Iowa voters leading into these caucuses?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Political Correspondent:] He really is, Isha, there is no other way to put it. That CNN-"TIME" Magazine-ORC poll that came out showing him the front-runner, the former Massachusetts governor just said in this room behind me, he's only visited this state eight times leading up to the Iowa caucuses. When you think about that, get your mind around the fact that he's visited the state a little more than half a dozen times and yet he is in the lead when other contenders like Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann have visited virtually every county in this state, it is quite a feat. I should tell you where we are right now. I should tell you where we are right now. It's very interesting. We're inside a museum that is dedicated to the musical "The Music Man," and Mitt Romney just a few moments ago made reference to it, saying, he feels so good right now he could sing "76 Trombones" or something. I'm probably butchering that line, but he made a reference to the film. That shows you the confidence he's feeling right now. He's definitely having a good week.
[Sesay:] Let me ask you this. What is your sense as you speak to people, as to the reason he's holding so steadily in that number one position in the polls?
[Acosta:] Well, you know, part of the reason why is because his rivals have been attacking one another. If you're looking at what's happening in the last couple days, Michele Bachmann has been going after Ron Paul. Rick Perry has been going after Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich is insisting on staying positive in his campaign. All of that has directed the political fire away from Mitt Romney, and that has only helped his campaign. That's basically allowed him to go after President Obama, something he did earlier this morning at a stop just after sunrise.
[Mitt Romney,  Presidential Candidate:] We have a choice in this coming election of what kind of America we're going to have. It's not just about replacing the president. It's about saving the soul of America.
[Acosta:] So it's that kind of rhetoric directed at the president, saving the soul of America, those are pretty harsh words to be saying on a presidential campaign trail. But he does it just about every campaign stop. The other thing he's been doing out here Isha is really sort of burnishing his Tea Party credentials. At this stop just a few moments ago, and earlier yesterday, he was talking about cutting federal programs that Tea Partyers would love to cut, like Federal Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting which is PBS. He repeated the comment here today, which has sort of made the rounds in the Twitter verse that he's not going to kill Big Bird, he's just going to make "Sesame Street" run ads. That's the kind of red meat Tea Partyers love to hear out here, Isha.
[Sesay:] Thank you, Jim. Let's go back to that poll. Remember yesterday we talked about the race to finish third in Iowa? As if on cue, our latest survey out of Iowa includes a really big surprise. Let's look at that list. See the third name there? That's Rick Santorum, the former two-term senator from Pennsylvania. Suddenly he is making a push to finish third in Iowa and thus join the packs of the upper echelon. Joe Johns with us from Iowa. Joe, we're going to get to the horse race element of this in a moment, but first, let's listen to Rick Santorum on the campaigning trail today.
[Rick Santorum,  Presidential Candidate:] We have an administration going out and undercutting it's a war against poor children. It's at war against children who need moms and dads.
[Sesay:] OK, some harsh words for the Obama administration. But Santorum has got to be happy with his third place right now, right Joe?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] I think he's happy. I talked to him a little while ago. He's not just surging in the polls. He's also getting a fundraising boost too. He told me he had his biggest fundraising day online yesterday apparently after this poll came out. So that's all good news for him. But the other thing that come as long with moving up a few notches in the polls here in Iowa is you also come under attack by some of your rivals. That was evidenced today, an attack from Rick Perry, talking about the fact that Rick Santorum, number one, asked for something like a billion dollars in earmarks, when he was in the United States Congress, which is something that Santorum says, yes, I did it. And also questioning the fact that Rick Santorum lost by a wide margin his last reelection race in 2006, which raises the question if you can't win your own home state, how do you expect to be the nominee and win all of the United States? So Rick Santorum is having a good day today. Nonetheless, just like all the other people who have gotten their day in the sun, he's also seeing some of the problems associated with that, Isha.
[Sesay:] Indeed, you're in the spotlight, you open yourself up. Let's take a closer look at who the man himself is. He calls himself the race's true conservative. He's 53 years old. H he served four years in the House of Representatives, then 12 years in the Senate. He is married, he has seven children. And he's quick to talk about his family's modest roots in western Pennsylvania.
[Santorum:] My grandfather used to say they lived in a company town, got paid with company stamps to shop at the company store. I remember going back and visiting that house, and they lived at least a quarter mile walk from any fresh water, an outhouse, the whole nine yards. They really grew up obviously very humble.
[Sesay:] Joe, it seems as if the calculation is to play the role of I'm pretty personable. I'm a guy just like you. How does it strike you?
[Johns:] Yes, and he speaks the language of conservative voters, especially in Iowa. Those Christian conservatives, if you will, the social conservatives, the evangelicals, they understand where Rick Santorum is coming from. He understands where they're coming from, which makes it fascinating that he's languished in the cellar of the polls for as long as he had. He's moved from five percent all the way up to 16 percent on our latest poll. But you have to ask, what took so long for these voters here to get there? I quizzed him a little built about that today. He says it's a weeding out process, and he says Iowans are doing what they're supposed to td, which is look at him and compare him to some of the others in the field, and they're coming to the conclusion that perhaps they like him better now than they did when they were first introduced to him.
[Sesay:] Yes, and to put a finer point on that, he's training his sights on the big game, and now he's not pulling punches. Here he is again today.
[Santorum:] There is a very stark contrast with Governor Romney and on the issue of health care, and the issue of cap and trade and global warming, moral cultural issues, and with Ron Paul on national security. There's a lot of contrast. I've said from the very beginning, we're the consistent conservative who has the track record.
[Sesay:] Well, he's clearly peaking at the right time. He's confident and says that, you know, they're the right people to surge. But did anyone else see this coming? As you speak to analysts and other folks on the ground there, has this come as a surprise?
[Johns:] Yes, it's come as a surprise to a lot of people, particularly the people who didn't watch very closely, but the fact of the matter is a lot of people thought he was really underperforming in the polls, and given the Iowa demographic, a lot of people expected him to do better. That said, you know, the big question for him is, if he does have a good performance here, what's his path. He's been out there in some of these other states, New Hampshire, certainly South Carolina. And he's hoping to do well certainly in South Carolina, because there like here, there are a lot of Evangelical voters who may be taking a long look at him, especially given what's happened to the other Republicans in the field so far Isha.
[Sesay:] Joe Johns joining us there from Iowa. Thanks, Joe. This reminder, tune in next week for the country's first vote in the presidential race. America's Choice 2012, live coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins Tuesday night, January 3rd at 7:00 Eastern. Well, courage doesn't even begin to describe this next story. A pregnant 17-year-old fighting brain cancer decides to stop chemo in order to save the life of her unborn child. That teenage girl died. We're going to hear from her mother that's coming up next.

[Roberts:] 20 minutes now to the top of the hour. Our next guest sparked great controversy with her sweeping reforms of the Washington, D.C. school systems. She closed two dozen failing schools, laid off hundreds of teachers, and brought private money into the public school system. Now she's taking her reform efforts national through a new non-partisan education advocacy group entitled "Students First." And Michelle Rhee joins us now. Michelle, it's great to see you this morning. Your goal for this is a million members and at $1 billion in funding over the first year. What are the goals of "Students First"?
[Michelle Rhee, Founder & Ceo, Students First:] Well, we're focused on forming things within "Students First." The first is making sure that there is a great teacher in every single classroom knowing that great teachers matter for every student. The second is to create a choice for parents so that being in an excellent school is not a matter of luck for families but is a matter of fact. The third is really making sure that we're spending the money where it matters most. We want to move money away from bureaucracies and ineffective programs and into what works. And the last is to really involve parents and the entire community in ensuring that public education improve. We're really in a crisis right now in America, as it pertains to public education. I think most people don't understand the extent to which that this is a problem in this country. And so what we want to do is raise awareness about that.
[Roberts:] So these are all things that you were trying to do in Washington, D.C. and after seeing the reaction there, what's your sense about the political will to enact tough school reform?
[Rhee:] Well, I think there's not enough political will currently. And that's part of what "Students First" is going to do. You know, you've got lots of interest groups out there right now that are driving the educational agenda. You have textbook manufacturers, you have teachers' unions, and you even have food service people. But the problem is that there is no organized interest group that's advocating sorely on behalf of children within public education. The kind of interest group that's going to have enough heft to shift the balance of power and make sure that we're making policies and decisions based on what's good and right for kids instead of what's good for adults.
[Roberts:] You mentioned teachers' unions there, and I don't think it's any secret that you and the teachers unions weren't the best of friends during your tenure as chancellor there in D.C.. You said in a "Newsweek" article that has the cover story of "Newsweek" this week that you could have done a better job of communicating what you wanted to do with teachers. You say "I did a particularly bad job letting the many good teachers know that I considered them to be the most important part of the equation. I should have said that the effect of teachers "you don't have anything to worry about, my job is to make your life better, offer you more support, and pay you more. So after the experience that you had with the teachers unions, how do you convince them to support your goals of Students First?
[Rhee:] Well, there's a big difference between the teachers who are in the classroom and the teachers union.
[Roberts:] Of course.
[Rhee:] Because what I found over the last couple of months is I've heard from people across the country, including a lot of teachers is, you know, I've heard a lot of teachers who are frustrated with the system, who feel like they're not getting the support that they need, who really don't believe in the things that the teachers union themselves are pushing like tenure and seniority protections and those sorts of things because they want to be held accountable. But they also want to be recognized and rewarded for the work that they're doing. So I think it's important we be able to separate, you know, what some effective teachers believe in public education versus what the teachers union is saying. And that we kind of break up the monolithic teacher voice that's out there. And I think that, you know, our message is simple which is that there are lots and lots of amazing teachers out there who are doing wonderful things for kids every day. And we should value them, and recognize them, and pay them what they deserve to be paid. But there are also ineffective teachers out there. And for those folks, we need to either quickly improve them or swiftly move them out of the classroom. And the days of giving people a job for life regardless of performance when they're actually hurting kids, those have to end.
[Roberts:] Also in your article in "Newsweek" magazine, you quote secretary of education Arne Duncan who says that the education reform is the civil rights issue of our generation. And you point out that the civil rights movement required confrontation as well as discussion. And here's what Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers says about that. She says that she hopes that you learned, as we have, that promoting education reform through conflict and division will not serve the interests of children and their educational needs. So a question that I have is, when it comes to confrontation here in favor of education or reform, what level of confrontation are you prepared to take on?
[Rhee:] I'm prepared to take on a high level of confrontation and conflict in favor of our kids. Because, look, I'm sure the teachers' union doesn't want a lot of confrontation because they don't want to be confronted with the facts, which are that often times the policies that they are pushing, while they are fine for the adults, are actually not good for kids.
[Roberts:] So it raises the question, are you preparing to go to war with teachers' union?
[Rhee:] You know what? This is not about a war against the teachers' union. For me, it's about fighting for kids. And right now, we have a system that is set up to think about what is fair and right for adults, but is not taking into account what is good and right for children. And sometimes those things are in alignment. And when that's the case, that's absolutely great. But at some times, those things are in conflict. And when they are, we always have to choose children and students. But the problem is that's not what the practice has been to date. If you look at some of the practices that exist in this country, so, for example, one of the things is how we lay off teachers. Right now we lay teachers off based on seniority solely. Because a teachers' union will say, well that's the only fair way to do it. But that fairness is fair to the adults. Because what we end up doing often times is laying off new teachers who are actually more effective than a whole lot of ineffective veteran teachers.
[Roberts:] So
[Rhee:] And so again, those are policies that are adult first policies. And what Students First is doing is trying to put the children at the forefront.
[Roberts:] You know, the great dichotomy in this country, Michelle, is that we have some of the best universities, if not the best universities in the world. I think Oxford might have outranked Harvard this year. But at the same time we have so many problems with our public school system and among the 30 most developed countries of the world, we're still ranking in the mid-20s when it comes to science, math, and English.
[Rhee:] Right.
[Roberts:] You point out in the your "Newsweek" article that this generation that's currently in school now, could be less educated than the generation before it, and that's the first time this will have ever happened in this country. How much trouble will we be in if we don't reform education and do it soon?
[Rhee:] We are on a path to be in serious trouble in this country. You know, over the next 20 years, there will be about 123 million high- skill and high-paying jobs in this country. And at the rate that we're moving right now, Americans will only be able to fill about 50 million of those jobs because we are not preparing the next generation of kids to be competitive. So that means that the vast majority of those jobs will be going to kids in India, China, Korea. That, to me, is absolutely unacceptable. You know, America used to be number one, we used to be the best. I think we can be again. But the only way that we're going to be able to regain our position in the global marketplace is if we fix our public education system.
[Roberts:] All right. I just want to point out too, when I say English, what I really mean is reading.
[Rhee:] Yes.
[Roberts:] Michelle Rhee, good to talk to you this morning. Thanks so much. We'll keep watching this, see where it goes.
[Rhee:] Thank you.
[Roberts:] Really appreciate it. Forty-eight minutes past the hour, we'll be right back.

[Romans:] Welcome back. "Occupy Oakland" revived. The movement is calling for businesses to close and protests to rally at banks, as part of a citywide strike today. And that's triggering fears the city's strained economy could suffer even more. And across the bay in San Francisco, we wanted to know who was making up the occupy movement. CNN's Dan Simon hit the streets to find out.
[Unidentified Male:] What really should be named the California
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] Protests are part of the Bay Area's DNA. And most are peaceful.
[Simon:] But that sense of calm was shattered last week by the violent clash with police in Oakland, after authorities sought to end the occupation in front of city hall. Across the bay, police were set to evict the protesters in San Francisco but backed off. And now, just casually monitor things from the perimeter. We wanted to get a sense of who is coming here. So, we set up an open mic.
[Patrick Carolan, Protester:] I think there's a huge discrepancy in our wealth between the upper 1 percent and lower 99 percent.
[Simon:] To allow people to say whatever they want.
[Brian Pageant, Protester:] Major focus is still economic and individual grassroots support.
[Mark Dennehy, Protester:] The reason I'm here is to give voice to the voiceless.
[Simon:] And that's how we met this 36-year-old, Mark Dennehy. He's a part time student at a community college, has a job as a caterer, and lives in an apartment with roommates. But for the last two weeks, he's been living in a tent drawn in by the national "Occupy" movement. [on camera]: How long are you prepared to stay here?
[Dennehy:] You know, I'm prepared to stay here as long as this is a fruitful mission. You know, if this lasts, if it keeps going in the positive direction and keeps up momentum, I'm here to stay until the end.
[Simon:] Some tents are filled with people like Mark, intelligent and well-spoken, angry over the direction of the country. Still, they seem to have unfocused youth looking for companionship and a good time. For organizers here, the challenge is putting out a coherent message, and not letting this be perceived as place for debauchery or a squatting area for the homeless. Is it OK for the homeless to come here?
[Unidentified Male:] Well, it is OK for the homeless to come here. It's OK for everyone to come here. We just ask for the homeless, if they come here, to, you know, just be respectful of the other people, to try to be part of the community. And, you know, there's no reason why if someone is homeless, they have a card, and they're here, that they can't make a part of contribution.
[Simon:] To pass the time, there's a place to practice yoga, play handball or just hold up signs. San Francisco city officials were concerned about unsanitary conditions so there's now plenty of portable toilets which are cleaned regularly. He says he's continuing with his normal life, but spends all of his free time as a protester. [on-camera] So, what started as a tense situation with a threat of eviction has now morphed into an easy going community in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Now, the question is whether they'll have the endurance to stay here when the rainy season begins next month. Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] All right.
[Costello:] And this just in to CNN, an incredible train wreck rescue in Missouri. Take a look. This dash cam video shows a train slamming into a car, stuck on the tracks. Can you believe that? Only moments before, an off duty police officer noticed that vehicle, and he managed to pull the woman who is inside the car and her baby, also inside the car to safety. Both mother and child are doing OK. It's not clear how the car became stuck, but police say the woman later failed sobriety test.
[Romans:] Oh, my God! There's a baby in a car. Ronald Reagan would have turned 100 this year, and to mark the centennial, the airport that bears his name has unveiled a statue in his honor. It took nearly a million dollars and two years to make it happen, but air travelers in terminal A at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport are now being greeted by a nine-foot tall bronze likeness of America's late 40th president. All right. It's 47 minutes after the hour. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, public college costs are skyrocketing. Public school, this is supposed to be your affordable school, right? But states are turning to students for help down within their budget because they don't already have enough debt of their own, maybe, students. We're going to show you the biggest state tuition hikes and the best tuition values.
[Costello:] And calling Jay-Z. The Los Angeles Dodgers are for sale. Could

[Joe Johns, Cnn Anchor:] There are some major developments on the unfolding situation out of Libya. We now know who will take charge of the NATO military campaign and we're just getting word President Obama is talking to members of Congress about the situation in Libya. We will go live to the White House as soon as something breaks. Also, the violence is escalating across the Middle East. In Jordan, thousands take to the streets to protest their government. Listen to this. Fights break out. Sticks and rocks are thrown. One government leader says things are getting out of hand. And in Yemen, thousands fill the streets to protest their leaders. Listen. One U.S. ally calls the situation there quote "deteriorating rapidly." Remember, some officials are calling Yemen the new Wild West for al Qaeda terrorists. We will get to all of that in a minute. But, first, Mubarak is gone in Egypt. Gadhafi is under siege in Libya. Is Bashar Assad next? That's the question today rumbling across the Middle East because the spark of revolution has reached the Arab powerhouse Syria. This is Damascus today. Anti-government protests spread to the Syrian capital and beyond. Here's where it started, Daraa, south of Damascus. And believe it or not, we are told with all the arrests about a month ago, a dozen teens is how it started. They were arrested for spraying anti-government graffiti. That was the spark. Then on Wednesday, this government forces opened fire there in Daraa. Accounts remain sketchy, but the tape we're about to watch does give us some idea. As we said, the exact circumstances remain unclear, as do the number of deaths. But, yesterday, the government conceded it made a mistake and announced new reforms. Today's response from the street suggests that may not be enough. We're joined live now by CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom. He's watching events unfold from his post in Abu Dhabi. And based on reports we're getting and the video we're seeing, demonstrations are spreading. Is this getting to the point where it's now become a direct challenge to the regime of Bashar al-Assad?
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn International Correspondent:] Joe, the protesters, the eyewitnesses, the human rights activists we spoke to today all said that is the case. They said what the government offered up yesterday was far too little and far too late. They simply don't trust what the government had to say. They don't believe that reforms will be implemented. Today very disturbing accounts we were told by eyewitnesses at least 15 people killed when they were trying to march from a town close to Daraa to Daraa to express solidarity with the demonstrators in Daraa. We also heard that in Daraa itself, that they toppled a statue of former President Hafez al-Assad and they burned a large picture of current President Bashar al-Assad. This looks as though it were a movement that started looking for local reforms, asking for more economic opportunity. It was more of a localized matter. But in the past few days, as protesters have come under increasing violence, it's really coalesced into an anti-government movement and it's got the Syrian government quite worried Joe.
[Johns:] So we have reports today of government forces firing on the demonstrators. And I suppose a question is, does this suggest to you on the ground there that the Syrian government may be digging in its heels?
[Jamjoom:] Last night, when we heard from the Syrian government and we got that response, it looked like a conciliatory tone. They were defiant at some points in saying that the Syrian government was not going to fire on protesters. They were also defensive at times. But they said, look, mistakes have been made, but we promise to implement reforms and do it soon. But from what we're hearing today, it does look like the Syrian government is trying to is really trying to crack down hard on these protesters. Now, we can't independently verify a lot of what's going on there. We have to rely on what we hear from activists. We're not getting responses from the government and we haven't been able to get in there. But this looks like a severe crackdown and it looks like they're trying to discourage by any means these protesters from coming out. But what's interesting is, the protesters there, they seem to have gotten past their fear. In a country like Syria, it's extraordinary to see these kinds of demonstrations, where there's such authoritarian rule there. They say they're going to keep coming out. And today it looks like they have Joe.
[Johns:] There was also a protest today in a Syrian city called Hama. Can you sort of explain for us the significance of that protest and the location?
[Jamjoom:] Joe, very significant. Hama is a city where in 1982, there was an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian government killed over 10,000 people to try to quell that uprising, to try to put it down. Now, the fact that there are protesters in Hama that are willing to come out, they know in Hama better than any other city in Syria what kind of ramifications protesters or uprisings can face by the government when there's such an authoritarian regime. So the fact that you're seeing this spread to even there shows how much the momentum has spread and gained in Syria and how much this anti- government movement has really taken root there Joe.
[Johns:] And not to minimize what we're seeing in Libya, even Egypt, can you sort of just describe for our audience here in the United States and around the world, really, why is it that Syria looms so important throughout the Middle East? What's the point there? What's the stake in Syria?
[Jamjoom:] Joe, Syria is a key; it's a vital regional player here. Syria has its hand in so many internal affairs of so many countries in this region. On one hand, it's very closely allied with Iran. It also backs Hezbollah. It's very closely tied to Lebanon. The U.S. knows that there can be no comprehensive Middle East peace without Syria. And even though Syria was a country that was internationally isolated for decades in the last four or five years, under the rule of Bashar al-Assad, he's been approaching the U.S. There's been a warming of relations even with the U.S. and other Western countries, a key regional player. You can't really do much in the Middle East without relying on Syria to play a role. So, if Assad, if his regime is under threat, it makes people wonder what's going to happen, how is Syria going to play a role and what will happen to the broader picture here in the Middle East? Joe.
[Johns:] Now, very quickly, Mohammed, it's a lot for us all to follow, but we're now hearing about demonstrations in Jordan. Have you been hearing anything about that?
[Jamjoom:] Yes. We heard a lot today about demonstrations. Now, there have been demonstrations the last couple of months in Jordan that have taken place on Fridays like today. Today was bigger in scale. We heard that there were dozens of protesters injured and dozens of security forces injured. When you have pro-government loyalists and anti-government demonstrators get into clashes, and the security forces tried to intervene. The foreign minister in Jordan said that there had been demonstrations the past few months since this wave of unrest started spreading through the region, and, again, it's just causing more concern for regional neighbors of Jordan, if this is the next country where there will be more protests Joe. Mohammed Jamjoom in Abu Dhabi, thanks so much for that great reporting. Coming up, new information that Canada has agreed to step up and lead the mission in Libya. So what does that mean and how does it affect the U.S. military? That's next. Also, new worries today at one of those troubled reactors in Japan, why this could be the worst thing we have heard so far. We will be right back.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] STARTING POINT starts right now. And our STARTING POINT this morning is talking about millions of dollars in earmarks from lawmakers and how they may have personally benefitted from those earmarks. One of the lawmakers on the list will respond to those accusations this morning. Plus, three states, 70 delegates on the line. GOP caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota, a primary in Missouri. Mitt Romney is looking to solidify his front-runner position. Rick Santorum, though, really could be the dark horse in this race. And there is no let-up on the Syrian regime's deadly assault on it's own people. Violence escalated overnight. The U.S. embassy is now closed. Russia's foreign minister is now in Damascus, and he is meeting with President Assad. Also, Catholic leaders are in a battle with the White House over birth control. Health care law mandates employers provide it, but Catholics, some of them say it's against their fundamental beliefs. We'll talk to both sides this morning. All that and much more ahead as STARTING POINT gets underway right now.
[O'brien:] Can you come in and fix Russell's audio? Welcome, everybody. "Unbelievable," that's Kathy's play list. She's a contributing editor for "The Washington Post" and also the founding publisher for "Capalano" magazine which I have been in a time or two. It's nice to have you. Riehan Salam is the co-author of "Grand New Party." And Russell Simmons, mogul, founder of Def Jam and CEO of Rush Communications is with us. Good morning. Welcome. Let's get underway. This morning we're talking about this new investigation coming to us from "The Washington Post." Nearly 50 lawmakers who helped direct earmarks to projects that potentially helped their own property or immediate family members, they say it benefits the public, not private interests. One of those who is on that list is the Republican Congressman Joe Barton. He is a Republican from the great state of Texas. He joins us now. It's nice to I think he is standing by. Can you hear me, sir? OK. It looks like they're getting him ready. So we'll stand by for Congressman Barton in just a moment. The other thing Congressman Barton is going to discuss with us, he is a Newt Gingrich surrogate. And as you know, as we head into the various contests, which no delegates will be awarded today, he is saying that his candidate is still in the race. Russell joked this morning that none of the Gingrich surrogates would talk to him, which is not the case. We'll be chatting with him. It's interesting to see the big question there is, does he have the money to stay in the race, of course.
[Russell Simmons, Ceo, Rush Communications:] Can we comment on that?
[O'brien:] Of course you can. Jump on?
[Simmons:] All American politics is adding up to be. Does he have the money? I spent a lot of time on this for years. More recently Occupy Wall Street has brought this to America's attention. And then the greatest example of it is this Republican primary. It's all money. Our democracy is for sale. I've been work for a very long time, and now we have a constitutional amendment that's being discussed. A lot of religious leaders, African-American religious leaders have joined forces with some unions and some of the Occupy Wall Street guys and create something called Occupy the Dream.
[O'brien:] There's a Catch-22. You're not in the game you get outspent and then you lose.
[Simmons:] It's 96 percent of the money have the money. So instead of working for the people who elect you, you end up working for the special interests that paid you. And so the question is does Gingrich have the money and does he have the relationships and does he owe the favors. Therefore, if he does, maybe he could win. You notice what just happened, Romney spent five times what he spent in Florida, and he won.
[O'brien:] You have president Obama said President Obama criticized the super PAC money and now he has his own super
[Pac. Reihan Salam, Co-author, "grand New Party":] There's a wonderful new book called "Rule and Ruin," which is the history of the Republican Party pretty since the 1950s through the 2000s. A big part of the story is moderate Republicans tended to be supported by wealthy backers. And then as you regulated the campaign finance system, as parties depended more on small dollar donations, you actually saw an increase in ideological polarization and decrease in them working together to solve various problems. So the story here is not so much that money is good or money is bad. It's that money flows in the system in different ways and a lot of the regulations meant to put the little guy in the driver's seat actually backfired, because back then you had a lot of backers who was like, we want to kind of have a broad-minded, big tent party, and so we're going to support people. And then candidates instead spend all their time chasing after donations. That dynamic has dramatically changed. Similarly on the Democratic side you see that labor organizations after restricting soft money donations to the parties, they have much less influence, whereas now upper middle class, social liberals who make small dollar donations have much more influence. I wouldn't say that money is good or bad. I would say are the regulations actually serving their initial purpose or have they proved counterproductive?
[Simmons:] It's bad. I mean, Ben is a person, Jerry is a person, but Ben and Jerry is not a person. Corporations are not people. It's ridiculous, the discussion. We should have public funding. We should have a democracy where each person has a vote and a vote matters.
[O'brien:] What do we do now?
[Simmons:] Each person's vote matters.
[O'brien:] I love how the panel takes off without me. Hi, I'm here. The question is, what do we do about it now, right? We followed Newt Gingrich as he was campaigning through Iowa and then into New Hampshire and so forth, one of his issues was, I would like to not have to run ads. I would like to be positive but I'm being hammered on the other side. Ergo that's going to determine what my reaction is.
[Simmons:] The same amount of money should be public funding.
[Salam:] Eugene McCarthy ran for president against LBJ. Nobody thought he had a hope. He ran an antiwar campaign fueled by a small handful of wealth guys that said LBJ is dragging us into the Vietnam War and we don't like it. But when you have a public financing system the incumbents, the people all right in office, the parties that already exist are able to game the system to work to their advantage because they set the laws. They set the regulations.
[Simmons:] Except they're already in office and made the deals, and except they already have money flowing. They have 94 percent of the time they win and they have the money, and that's what incumbents do. The idea that there is some kind of fair election now when it's all up to money is unrealistic.
[O'brien:] Let me turn to our Kathy and I are just going to start I can see how this morning is going to go. Wow. No coffee for you, sir. All right, let's get to congressman Joe Barton of Texas. Good morning, sir. Thanks for being so patient. We were all audiological difficulties. Thank you. I want to talk to you about "The Washington Post" investigation. It's all into earmarks. They identified 50 members of Congress who directed money to projects that were either very close to properties that they owned or connected to their families. And you were on that list of 50 lawmakers talking about $3 million deal to widen a part of U.S. 287, I believe. It's near where you own a couple of homes. Was there a correlation between the fact that your home was there and the fact that this deal was done?
[Rep. Joe Barton,  Texas:] Well, I've been in Congress since 1985 and I have been working on U.S. 287 from course can that Texas up to Ft. Worth, Texas that entire time. I live in a small town in Dallas called Ennis which is a community of approximately 15,000 people. Every home in Ennis, Texas, is within two or three miles from 287 or the bypass that goes around it. And I have been successful over time in making 287 a four-lane highway from Corsicana up until Ft. Worth. That's totally on the up and up process. I would invite you and any of your CNN viewers that want to come down to Texas and look at the U.S. 287 in my congressional district. I think you will see that it's a straight-up project. And my homes that you referred to are in residential parts of Ennis, Texas. I own no commercial property nor do I have options on any commercial property anywhere, not just in Ennis, Texas, but anywhere along the length of that highway.
[O'brien:] One of the complaints about the earmarks is they're not transparent. Do you push for them to be more transparent?
[Barton:] Of course, we're not doing earmarks in the House of Representatives right now. But when we did do them, we had to sign a sheet, and I posted it on my website, and we also sent copies down to the local press. So we've been transparent for, I think, for almost the entire time that I've been in Congress when we were doing them.
[O'brien:] Let's turn around talk about politics in terms of the caucuses that are today. Newt Gingrich surrogate is what your role is on that front. How do you think it's going to go? You know, some people are backing away from predicting that Mitt Romney is going to have a clean sweep of the contest today. Do you agree with that?
[Barton:] I think Governor Romney with his cash advantage, which you all were talking about in the earlier segment, is going to do well. I think former Speaker Gingrich is going to be competitive. I think he's really gearing towards Super Tuesday, which is the first Tuesday in March. Newt is the clear conservative change agent. His entire career has been about changing America in a conservative way. I think ultimately the Republican primary and caucus voters are going to pick him over Governor Romney because Newt is more conservative and he's been dedicated to doing that for a longer period of time.
[O'brien:] Congressman Joe Barton of Texas, thanks for talking with us. Again, my apologies for the audio problems earlier this morning. We appreciate your time.
[Barton:] No problem.
[O'brien:] Turning now to Syria. Slaughter in Syria nearly 100 more killed in Homs. The Russian foreign minister arrives in Damascus, and he'll be meeting with Bashar al-Assad trying to end the violence. Anti-government activists are growing more desperate though. Here's what they're saying.
[Unidentified Male:] The entire world should be ashamed of what's happening here. Everybody is just silent and looking at us being slaughtered every moment for no reason, just for wanting our freedom. This is too much, for god's sake.
[O'brien:] That is a terrible clip to listen to. Jill Dougherty is live at the State Department. Jill, first of all, talking about that clip, there are many people suggest that Syria is spiraling into civil war. Is that the expectation at this point?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] I think you would have to say that, Soledad, because you look at the situation right now, both sides are arming. And that is one of the problems. Diplomacy hasn't been able to stop that. So you have to look at the options. Could you do military action? Well, President Obama already said at least at this point that that is not an option. And many people who look at the situation say, look, this is a very different deal from Libya where they did have military action. It's much more complicated. So what's the U.S. going to do? They're going for, of course, more sanctions, talking with the international community outside of the United Nations to put on the pressure. They're also going to put pressure on Russia by calling them out on the fact that they are providing their weapons and other countries providing their funds. Soledad?
[O'brien:] And yet the foreign minister has arrived now in Damascus which means, what exactly? Russia obviously scuttled the Security Council's efforts to support the opposition.
[Dougherty:] Right.
[O'brien:] What's that meeting about?
[Dougherty:] Well, the meeting, you know, is essentially to do something, to try to get resolution of this. But one of the problems is, I was just reading a comment by the Turkish prime minister, who said if you look at what happened at the U.N. and the action there where Russia and China blocked things, he calls it a fiasco. And what he is saying is it's being interpreted in Syria as a green light to do essentially what Assad wants. So the prospects of something coming out of that are not very great.
[O'brien:] Jill Dougherty for us this morning. Thank you, Jill, for the update. Look at the headlines. Christine Romans has those for us. Hey, Christine, good morning.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, Soledad. Dozens of mourners, many of them strangers, gathered in last night in Washington state for a candlelight vigil honoring the memory of Charlie and Braden Powell. And disturbing new details from police this morning. They say their father, Josh Powell, hacked his two young sons with a hatchet before using 10 gallons of gasoline to blow up their home Sunday, killing both boys and himself. More than 40 states have now signed on to a settlement plan that would help millions of homeowners whose mortgages underwater. Under the plan America's top banks would pay up to $25 billion to settle all the government lawsuits. That money would then be used to bring relief to struggling homeowners by lowering the principle they owe on the mortgage. But several states, including New York, Florida, and California, still not on board. They're worried about their own investigations into the banks and giving immunity to bad actors. That's all holding things up right now. Greece teetering on the edge of default this morning. Leaders of Greek's political parties met through the night trying to reach agreement on austerity measures in order to get a $170 billion bailout from the EU. Three hours ago a nationwide, 24-hour strike began with demonstrators vowing to close Greece's ports, close its tourist sites, and disrupt transportation. "Minding your Business" this morning, U.S. stock futures are trading slightly lower ahead of the opening bell. Growing concerns about Greece fixing its debt problems and avoiding default, those concerns and a deadline for qualified for bailout weighing on markets so far this week. And a source close to M.I.A. tells CNN the entertainer messed up. She feels awful about flashing the finger during her Super Bowl appearance, halftime appearance with Madonna. The source, who is not authorized to speak to the media, says M.I.A. was simply amped up, adrenaline rush. She was not trying to send a message. She was just in the zone, I guess, Soledad.
[O'brien:] That makes no sense. Russell, you know her. You're our music mogul. She gave the finger during the half time performance and now the source was saying she was amped up?
[Simmons:] Maybe it's her normal performance.
[O'brien:] She gives the finger to her fans?
[Unidentified Male:] Imagine how exhilarating it is to do something a little transgressive in that setting.
[Simmons:] The idea, just the idea of the whole system, to say, you know, young people, that's what they live for. So maybe it's something she's done in other performances and it just was natural.
[Areu:] Natural?
[Simmons:] It's natural to put their finger into the audience.
[O'brien:] But it just all of that just worries me. It worries me. All right. Still to come this morning on STARTING POINT, outrage over Obama Health Care Reform. Religious hospitals now required to cover birth control. This is going to start on August 1st. They say though it's against their beliefs. We're going to have a conversation with both sides coming up next. But President Obama originally said we should not fund Super PACs, the groups that can spend endless money to

[Baldwin:] It is 2:40 in the afternoon on the east coast, 7:40 at night there in Rome, Italy, as people are filling St. Peter's Square, awaiting, perhaps a sign from this conclave on day number one. Anderson Cooper and Chris Cuomo are live in Rome. Gentlemen, hello.
[Chris Cuomo, Cnn Anchor And Correspondent:] Well, we are here, looking at about as unique a spectacle as we have. It's just a chimney in so many ways, but the significance is huge. On top of the Sistine Chapel, we're waiting to see if ballots are burned tonight, if the color is dark, we know there is no pope. If it is white, we know there is. It's as simple as that. And yet, we must wait, with all the technology in the world we have been talking about it here. This is still a simple antiquated ceremony that really does draw the attention.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, Cnn's "ac 360":] And it is extraordinary. And we have smoke there.
[Cuomo:] It looks dark.
[John Allen, Cnn Senior Vatican Analyst:] I'm going to go with black. I think that's black smoke.
[Cooper:] Not really a surprise certainly. So what happens now, John Allen?
[Allen:] Well, what happens is shortly in the next few moments, the cardinals will be moving outside of the Sistine Chapel and over to the Casa Santa Marta where they'll have a simple meal this evening and then obviously they'll be talking about the results of this first ballot. What we're presuming is that there are three or four perhaps candidates who had enough support to suggest that they may be real contenders, but then so they'll be caucusing tonight to decide of that field, who might actually be able to put together that winning coalition across that two-thirds majority. Now tomorrow, after a morning prayer in the chapel in the Casa Santa Marta, they'll return to the Sistine Chapel. They will do two ballots in the morning and presuming those are inconclusive. They will then break for lunch, we'll have smoke around midday here in Rome, then they will go back to the Sistine Chapel in the afternoon around 4:00 local Rome time, and do two more ballots. And they will repeat that process, Anderson, until somebody crosses that two-thirds threshold and becomes the next successor of Peter.
[Cuomo:] We're getting word that we can officially say at CNN this is black smoke. I have to tell you. I've been watching in 2005, this is a much better quality, dark smoke. They are not joking around. They have heard the criticism they couldn't debt the dark smoke right. That is a really solid
[Allen:] That's as definitive an issue on black smoke as you're ever going to see.
[Cuomo:] There is so much smoke. It makes you think that they burned more than the ballots and the notes. Maybe they're going a little bit extra to make sure it is a clear signal.
[Cooper:] It is interesting though how many people have come out on this night, most people knowing it is not going to there wouldn't be an actual decision tonight, people really want to be here to witness this moment in history.
[Allen:] I think that's huge part of it. They want to be part of the scene. The flip side of that, Anderson, you roll the dice. If this smoke were white, imagine the magic of being in the Square at the moment that happened. But I think fundamentally what is going on is that for Catholics all over the world and even non-Catholics, I mean, you can't tell in a way but be awed by the sense of the moment, the sense of history here. One of the oldest religious institutions on the face of the earth, for that matter, the oldest democratic process in the way, the secret ballot in history, it is hard not to be enchanted by all of this.
[Cooper:] And the allegiance to history. I mean, the decision in this age of Twitter, they can tweet out, we took a vote, it is not going to happen tonight, but instead this is the way they have done it and this is the way they're going to continue to do it.
[Allen:] That's right. I think the genius of Catholicism, the old saying about the church. It is ever ancient and ever new. You see that playing out here tonight. Because as this story rolls forward, once the conclave is over, there are actually several hundred cardinals. We presume the first thing they do will to be update their Twitter accounts. But at the same time, we are also seeing this very ancient tradition, ancient stage craft, if you like, playing out in front of the eyes of the world.
[Cuomo:] Obviously the crowd has not left yet. It started to dissipate slowly. Miguel Marquez is on the phone. He was there when the smoke came out. What was the reaction and the mood, Miguel?
[Cooper:] Clearly having some issues getting Miguel. There is actually you can tell by the pictures, that the streets are wet. The weather has not been cooperating the last several days. There was driving rain throughout the day today. Looked like hail at one point. So communication, even though we are very close to the location at St. Peter's Square, is kind of tricky, because of the weather cells moving through. But you can see people still milling around, some people starting to leave, some people taking out their umbrellas.
[Cuomo:] The occasion is a big deal whether you're a member of the faithful or not. That said, this does carry some import with Catholics that even 2005 did not. Sure, John Paul II was a beloved hope, had great international presence. But there are big issues on the table. We know it. Pope Benedict leaving the way he did and for the reasons that he says he did heightened the urgency of the situation. So this is something to monitor, just to get that reflection of its importance. Even if you're not surprised that there was no pope on the first vote, the process, what could happen, the expectation is worth coming down here for a lot of people, especially if there are members of the faith.
[Cooper:] And Becky Anderson is down on the street amidst the crowd. Becky, what are you hearing and seeing?
[Becky Anderson, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yes, it is remarkable. You turn around and I just saw that smoke. It is very difficult to tell at night exactly what color that smoke is. So you got a sense just for a couple of seconds what's going on and then we work out that it is black. You hear, you know, this is this is a quiet crowd. Don't expect a football crowd, certainly not when it is black. I mean, I can only imagine it is going to be absolutely noisier bunch once we get white smoke. People are moving down the street. A lot of people here have come after work, you're in the seeing a lot of international people, aside from those who happen to be in town for a holiday. This is, of course, an unscheduled event. So you we met lots of international people today from all over the world, and it just literally been up there for the last couple of hours. Two hours, 7:42 that smoke came through. They have been inside for the past two hours. We weren't expecting to see, let's face it, white smoke tonight. We may not have seen any smoke, of course, because they didn't have to vote. But it was it was quite an emotional feeling when you turn around, and from that chimney, just yards away from us here, just outside Vatican City, you see that first smoke for first time in this election for a new pope.
[Cooper:] John Allen, Vatican analyst, who has been with us, going to be walking up through the next several days, you've talked to a lot of cardinals who have been inside that room about past votes, about what it is like. There is not much there is not a discussion going on inside the Sistine Chapel during this time. Is there? There is it is a lengthy voting process.
[Allen:] The Sistine Chapel, what happens there is much more like going to church than going to a convention. It is surrounded by prayer. There is a very lengthy and highly elaborate process of voting, which includes for each cardinal individually professing up with his ballot in his hand, swearing before God and on his own conscience he's casting his vote for the man he believes should be elected. That has to happen 115 times, of course. Then at the end, there is a bank of three cardinals who count the votes, reading them aloud, carefully marking them down. There is another bank of three cardinals that check the votes. The whole process takes about an hour and a half. You do that twice a morning, twice in the afternoon, that's your day. So the caucusing and comparing of notes and the building of alliances of reconfiguring of alliances happens instead on during the cardinal's down time at the hotel where they're staying, the Casa Santa Marta.
[Cooper:] Based en what you know from past votes, say they voted twice now today, and we have seen the smoke once, maybe they only voted once, we don't know for sure, but they have a rough idea of whose names are being considered at this moment.
[Allen:] We actually do know they only voted once tonight. The rules say if they vote but the whole point of this first ballot is to get a sense of where people stand. Listen, these guys have been thinking about this nonstop the last couple of weeks. They knew this vote was coming. They all have come in with thoughts about who might be elected, who they might personally want to be elected. But until this moment, they had no sense actually of what was plausible, not only who might be desirable, but who could actually get enough votes to cross that two-thirds threshold.
[Cuomo:] Really it gives you a sense of urgency. We are talking about how many it takes to how many cardinals they have to count, but think about it as a process, the three of us. The way it works is the cardinal brings up the vote, I read out Escola, give it to him. He reads out, Escola, he gives it to you. You mark down Escola. There is three other cardinals that do the exact same thing and all the 115 are marking it on their own ballot, the intensity of getting it right is huge. Think about what other process, what other election works that way? Obviously we're talking about the smoke that just came out of the Sistine Chapel. It was black smoke here on the first day of the conclave. First vote, the cardinals chose to vote, but did not select a pope. Welcome to all our viewers in America and around the world. We have Ben Wedeman with us. Ben, in the expectation of this, and the mood of what this means, to people who believe and who do not, how big an event is this in Rome?
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Certainly when we saw that very thick black smoke coming out of the chimney over the Sistine Chapel, there was sort of a big sort of gasp of disappointment, but not necessarily surprise. Nobody really expected on the first vote a decision, any sort of white smoke. In fact, I spoke with an Italian gentleman right next to me, I said, the smoke came out. I asked him, are you surprised? He said, no, actually, I had dinner with a cardinal last night, and I knew it would be black smoke so not a lot of surprise here. But there were a lot of people. In fact, what is going on right now, if we turn the camera over, the Italian police have opened these barriers to allow all the people who were crowded into St. Peters Square for this occasion to get out quickly and conveniently as possible. So first vote, and, of course, we'll be watching very closely that chimney over the Sistine Chapel tomorrow and maybe the next.
[Cuomo:] Now this vote obviously negative. It begins again tomorrow. What do you think you expect in terms of crowds, Ben? When they start having these votes two in the morning, two in the afternoon session assuming that no pope is selected, what type of crowds are anticipated to follow?
[Wedeman:] Well, I think as the suspense grows, as the anticipation grows, if there is not white smoke, we'll be seeing larger and larger crowds because really this is the only show in town at the moment. There are thousands of tourists that come here according to the Vatican Press Office, 5,600 accredited journalists as well. So I think we can only expect the numbers to grow. Now, back in 2005, as I think you heard, there were four votes, four separate votes for Benedict XVI. Our Vatican watchers are saying they're expecting possibly not a day and a half, but rather three days conclave in this instance. So the crowds are only going to get bigger.
[Cooper:] Certainly is, and the anticipation growing. John Allen, you talk I saw a tweet you sent earlier, I think it was interesting what you were talking about, you know, we say well, we believe these are the leading candidates. We think we know this. How do you think you know this? If there is secrecy surrounding this, the cardinals themselves are not publicly saying, how are you getting information?
[Allen:] Well, I mean, this is one of the great unsourced stories, of course, who is in and who is out in this. The cardinals are not on the record and in full public view ever are not going to tell you who they plan to vote for. So you end up on relying on three things, one, as a journalist, over the years, you develop your own context of cardinals and on background usually they give you a kind of reality check. There are several cardinals I could call and say, there say lot of buzz around this name, is that serious or not? And they would say, I think you should take it seriously or if I were you, I would go shop somewhere else.
[Cooper:] You actually say to the cardinal there is a lot of buzz around this name?
[Allen:] With the American guys, you can use phrase like buzz.
[Cooper:] What is the Italian expression for buzz?
[Allen:] Some noise around this name, that kind of thing or find the French or Portuguese, whatever. The second, you look at what other reporters are doing and you learn over the years whose byline you can trust and who you can't. Third thing, you listen to what the cardinals are laying out in terms of what they think qualities the next pope needs to have and match that against bios and you try to see if you can discern who they're talking about. As I said in my post today, this is a mix of old-fashioned recording and reading the tea leaves.
[Cooper:] One cardinal was quoted in a publication, as saying that the names that are in contention the names that have been out there are the names that are being discussed.
[Allen:] Yes, this is Cardinal Francis George of Chicago who said that in his view, the main difference between last time, that is 2005 and this time is that he felt last time the names that were being floated were never really serious candidates. Whereas this time, the names that are out there in terms of the public discussion he believes actually do have traction.
[Cooper:] Fascinating stuff. How well do these cardinals know one another before coming?
[Allen:] Well, some know one another better than others, but I think it's better than last time. In 2005, there are only two cardinals who had ever been in a conclave before. This time, 50 of them had been through this process before, which means there are 50 guys who look at one another last time as potential candidates. So there is some water under the bridge.
[Cooper:] Right, certainly a lot more to cover. We'll have a lot more coverage from here in Rome throughout the day on CNN. Stay tuned. We'll be right back.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And look who's back.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] Finally with a voice, at least semblance of a voice here. I'm Zoraida Sambolin. We are bringing you the news from A to Z. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East. So, let's get started.
[Banfield:] We begin with breaking news. A desperate plea to President Obama from an American citizen kidnapped last year by al Qaeda. The new video, the first evidence that 70-year-old Warren Weinstein is still alive.
[Sambolin:] A murder mystery at Churchill Downs. A track worker's body found in a barn on the backside of the famous racetrack, just hours after the Kentucky Derby. This morning, the search for his killer.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] Look, I am vice president of the United States of America. The president sets the policy. I am absolutely
[Banfield:] Vice President Joe Biden giving us a couple of hints that the White House view of same-sex marriage could be evolving just as a key vote on the matter comes up in the battleground state.
[Announcer:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Sambolin:] Up first we begin with breaking news. A chilling video just released by al Qaeda. On it, U.S. hostage Warren Weinstein, begs President Obama to agree to his kidnappers' demands or else he will be killed. Weinstein was abducted last August in Pakistan. The 70-year-old Maryland executive has a bunch of health issues, including heart problems. Here's part of the video militants posted online.
[Warren Weinstein, Hostage:] I'd like to talk to President Obama and ask and beg him that he please accept and respond to the demands of the mujahidin. If you accept the demands, I live. If you don't accept the demands, then I die. It's important you accept the demands and act quickly and don't delay. There will be no benefit in delay. It will just make things more difficult for me. But it is very important that you act quickly and I'm now waiting for your response.
[Sambolin:] CNN foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott joins us live now from Washington. Elise, is this the first concrete evidence that Weinstine is alive or Weinstein, excuse me?
[Elise Labott, Cnn Foreign Affairs Reporter:] That's right, Zoraida. Well, it's the first, as you say, proof of life. And Mr. Weinstein was kidnapped in August. In December, al Qaeda, and Ayman Al Zawahiri, the number two at the time, the head of al Qaeda, said basically if the U.S. meets the demands for Mr. Weinstein, such as releasing all al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners, stopping air strikes in Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, then he would be released. But this is the first actual proof of life as they say of Mr. Weinstein.
[Sambolin:] And how do we know how current this video is?
[Labott:] Well, we really don't. We know it was taken sometime between December and now, because some of the demands that he refers to. But we really don't know. And a lot of times with these al Qaeda videos, we really don know when they were taken. Presumably if the U.S. if the al Qaeda wants to get some demands from the United States, then we would assume that he's still alive. But the State Department, U.S. government is working with the Pakistanis. The Pakistanis have the lead on the investigation. But so far, no other information about where he's being held, presumably somewhere in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
[Sambolin:] And, Elise, is there any chance that the U.S. will meet any of the demands?
[Labott:] I don't think so, Zoraida. I mean, basically, the U.S. has a no negotiation policy with any kidnappers per se, and certainly not going to negotiate with terrorists. I mean, as we said, the Pakistanis have the lead in the investigation and they would be trying to use their contacts in the tribal areas to try and see if they could get him released maybe for some kind of nominal fee. We've seen in other cases, for instance, other kidnappings that money has been paid, ransom has been paid. But certainly the U.S. thinks that air strikes is a national security imperative and so of these prisoners that are in jail, certainly a threat to the United States. I don't see the U.S. really conceding to those demands.
[Sambolin:] All right. Elise Labott live in Washington for us thank you very much.
[Banfield:] Four minutes now past 5:00. And this morning, authorities are still trying to solve a Kentucky derby murder mystery. Police in Louisville, Kentucky, say the worker was found dead in a barn on the backside of Churchill Downs and was murdered. The body was discovered just hours after the derby ended. An autopsy set to be done later today on 48-year-old Adan Fabian Perez, described as a Guatemalan immigrant who works so a groomer. He was identified by his son, a 19-year-old who was also a track worker.
[Sambolin:] Investigators remain tight lipped about the discovery of two bodies in Mississippi. They were found at the home of the man suspected of kidnapping a Tennessee woman and her three daughters. Jo Ann Bain and the three girls ages 8, 12 and 14 were last seen April 27th. An AMBER Alert has been issued for the missing girls. The FBI says 35-year-old Adam Mayes is armed and dangerous. Investigators believe he is cut his hair and may have also changed the appearance of the mother and the daughters.
[Banfield:] And coming up later this morning on EARLY START, we're going to talk with the FBI agents in charge of the investigation into the appearance. We'll speak with special agent Aaron T. Ford with the bureau's Memphis division.
[Sambolin:] And political upheaval in France and Greece will likely move the U.S. markets this morning. France has a new president, socialist Francois Hollande defeating Nicolas Sarkozy in a runoff election. His victory, a rejection of tough austerity measures that could signal a change in the way France deals with the eurozone debt crisis. Voters in Greece also weary of austerity and steep cuts. No party coming close to a majority in Sunday's election. Right now, it looks like a new coalition government will have to be formed in Greece once again. The uncertainty has investors heading for the sidelines overseas, markets in France and Germany down sharply overnight. It looks like U.S. markets are following suit here. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P; 500 futures all pointing lower this morning, suggesting a sell-off at the opening bell.
[Banfield:] So, from Wall Street to your street, Main Street, everybody seems to be buzzing about Facebook finally going public next Friday. This morning, the company will kick off the old road show. That's when Facebook's top management sets to meet with potential big buyers out there. The price range for the social media company right now is sort of wavering between $28 and $35 a share. That gives Facebook a value are you sitting down? Up to $98 billion. Here's just a portion of founder Mark Zuckerberg's message to the investors.
[Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Ceo:] I grew up with the Internet. And I had when I was in middle school I was using search engines like Google and Yahoo! I just thought they were the most amazing thing. It was this complete symbol of the age in which we live where now you have access to all of this information. The thing that seemed like was missing was always just people. Even from very early on when we were building this thing for one school, there was a concept of what it could turn into. We just weren't sure then we'd be the ones who did it.
[Banfield:] Well, they really were. Boy, were they? Because Facebook now have 901 million users in just about every single country on the planet. The big question would be: is it the next Apple? Is it the next Google? Or is it something more than that? The person with the answers, Christine Romans, who's joining us now. You were talking about this for the last couple of weeks, sort of the outlook on this one.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] It is the next Facebook. Facebook is Facebook. It's a unique tech giant. That's what people who want to get into this IPO are buying into, this hype about a very unique and game-changing tech company, Facebook. But, you know, as unique and game changing as it is, this weekend at its annual confab in Omaha, the oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, probably the most famous investor out there, who said to our Poppy Harlow, no, I'm not going to buy Facebook and here's why.
[Warren Buffett, Ceo, Berkshire Hathaway:] We never buy a new offering. I can't recall in my life buying a new offering. The idea that something coming out on a Monday that's being offered with significant commissions, all kinds of publicity, the seller electing the time to sell is going to be the best single investment I can make in the world among thousands of choices, that's mathematically impossible. So, we are not a buyer.
[Romans:] His co-pilot his investment co-pilot Charlie Munger, he said not only would he buy it, he's not on it. And they're not going to get on it. He has a problem with 15-year-olds putting their whole life online. You know, he's not saying they're going to short it or move against it but they don't really get it and they don't want it. And so, this is my advice to you. If these guys aren't going to buy the hype, you shouldn't buy the hype either. Here's a thing, it might be a good long term investment, we don't know. But a lot of you are e-mailing me or tweeting me and asking how do I set up a brokerage account so I can buy this on open? If it's the only stock you've ever bought you need to do more home work before you put all your eggs in one basket. The other point here is we talk about the road show. So, this company is going around and talking to big investors and hedge funds and trying to get them to buy in at the IPO price. You're never going to get the IPO price at $28 to $35. You'll be buying it with the hype and the hoopla. You're going to be buying it higher than the big, rich and smart investors.
[Banfield:] How much higher? That's the big question.
[Romans:] We don't know. We don't know.
[Banfield:] Anywhere up it $150 a share or, you know, maybe $10, $20, $30 more?
[Romans:] It's irrelevant. It's relevant, because the smart people, the people who are in and have the ins, the investment banks and people who have relationships with Facebook, they're going to get that IPO price. Regular people are going to get whatever it trades for afterwards. Remember, LinkedIn is up big since it's IPO, Groupon is down big since it's IPO. You know, my advice to regular investors is just wait for a second. And like Warren Buffett says, buying the IPO can be treacherous. The big investors, the big money play the
[Ipo. Banfield:] Next time around, I'm going to ask you if the Oracle said anything about not buying into Apple.
[Romans:] He doesn't buy things he doesn't understand. I'll find out where he stands on that one.
[Banfield:] And that is brilliant. And that is why he's the oracle. Christine Romans, thanks so much. Ten minutes now past 5:00 on the East Coast. Vice President Biden coming out in favor of same-sex marriage. Up next, why that has the White House scrambling this morning.
[Sambolin:] A star football recruit Alex Anzalone causing a firestorm after he announced he was pulling out of Ohio State because of a sex offender. He's reportedly now reconsidering that decision. Are the Buckeyes back in the picture? The latest in this morning's "Early Reads." You are watching EARLY START.

[Lu Stout:] Coming to you live from Hong Kong you're back watching NEWS STREAM. And according to the International Labor Organization the number of people forced into jobs they cannot leave is nearly 21 million. Now more than a quarter of the victims are under the age of 18. And they come from all over the world, including from developed countries. But the highest number is actually in this region, the Asia-Pacific, it accounts for 56 percent of the global total of forced laborers, or some 11.7 million people. Now the next highest number can be found in Africa at 18 percent, or 3.7 million people. Now Latin America it accounts for the third largest share at 9 percent. There are 1.8 million forced labor victims there. And there have been small victories in the fight against forced labor. Now police in Argentina recently freed nearly 80 Bolivians in a Buenos Aires sweat shop who were working what police say were sub-human conditions. Our senior Latin American affairs editor Rafael Romo has the story.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Correspondent:] The sweat shops were discovered behind these brick walls. There were no signs showing what was happening inside and neighbors had no idea either.
[Claudio Noguieras, Buenos Aires Resident:] In this neighborhood there aren't normally any clandestine workshops. But oh well it's just another surprise.
[Romo:] According to the Argentine federal police, the victims were 76 migrants from Bolivia who were forced to sew clothes around the clock. Police raided 12 sweat shops and arrested 23 Argentine and Bolivian nationals.
[Elba Garcia, Buenos Aires Resident:] It happened and it's very regrettable. Everything happens in the dark in this neighborhood. We need more police presence.
[Romo:] Police officials said people were forced to work in sub-human conditions. They were recruited in Bolivia, told lies and transported to Buenos Aires where they lived without documentation. Bolivia, a South American country where more than half of the population lives in poverty is located just north of Argentina. According to a human right activist, unskilled indigenous Bolivians who live in extreme poverty are vulnerable to human trafficking rings. Gustavo Vera is the director of a non-profit group that helps victims of forced labor in Buenos Airies. Vera says there are more than 3,000 sweat shops operating in the Argentine capital alone. He estimates 25,000 people work under conditions of slavery. Raids alone, Vera says, will not solve the problem.
[Gustavo Vera, La Alameda:] They are very vulnerable people. And in just a few days they have to go back to work at some other clandestine sweat shop because they're undocumented in this country, or because they're unfamiliar with Buenos Aires. Many go right back into the cycle of exploitation from which they came.
[Romo:] Vera's organization is trying to give exploited workers an alternative. At this workshop, workers make $4 an hour producing slavery free clothes. Daisy Cahuapaza says she was strapped in a sweat shop for years, now she's free but she says the practice of human trafficking still continues.
[Daisy Cahuapaza, Seamstress:] They're still bringing people not only to Argentina, but also Brazil. There are many people being taken there, including minors.
[Romo:] The rules at this workshop are simple: there is no boss, and all decisions are voted on by the workers, a far cry from the world of forced slavery they left behind. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
[Lu Stout:] Now for more than a year now the CNN Freedom Project has been looking into the issue of slavery. And until now we've put the number of victims at between 10 and 30 million and that is a wide range. It was based on numbers from 2005 when the International Labor Organization said that there were just over 12 million people trapped in forced labor. So this new estimate of 21 million immediately caught our attention. Now Beate Andrees is the head of the ILO's program to combat forced labor. She joins us now live from Geneva. And Beate, thank you for joining us. And first explain this, we now know 21 million people are trapped in forced labor, but who are the victims?
[Beate Andrees, Ilo Special Programma To Combat Forced Labour:] Yes, indeed. Nearly 21 million in forced labor or what some call modern forms of slavery. And it really affects all groups of the population: old and young, men and women, usually very vulnerable groups migrant workers but also indigenous people, domestic workers, really a wide range of victims we have identified through this global estimate.
[Lu Stout:] Now in 2005 your group said there were about 12.3 million people trapped in forced labor. Now there are over 20 million. How do you explain that jump in the number of victims?
[Andrees:] Well, indeed we've always said that our figure from 2005 was a conservative figure, it was a minimum estimate because we didn't know much about the situation on the ground. We didn't have national surveys. And this has changed. We now have based our estimates for the first time ever on national surveys, a very limited number though. And in addition we have refined our methodology. So we cannot really compare the two estimates, we cannot measure trends as yet, but we do believe that the new number is really a more accurate reflection of the reality and we have obviously improve the situation in those countries. And literally all the countries are affected.
[Lu Stout:] Yeah, but to hear the statistic, 21 million people affected, it's so extreme. What is your message to groups who are fighting forced labor and human trafficking. Their task now is so daunting, do they need to rethink their approach?
[Andrees:] Yes, indeed. The figure is an urgent call for action. In 2005 I think we were very optimistic that forced labor could be eradicated in a number of years, but looking at the new figures we have to see and develop better strategies. From a high level point of view we will look into this now very carefully to develop more better and more prevention measures, but also to strengthen prosecution, because what we really find problematic is the fact that most offenders are still not prosecuted, so there's a huge mismatch between the number of identified victims and the number we estimate.
[Lu Stout:] And for modern-day abolitionists, NGOs, and also journalists looking into the issue which industries do we need to investigate a little bit more, which industries out there making use of forced labor?
[Andrees:] The industries most frequently cited in our report are construction, agriculture, manufacturing varied types of manufacturing industries, as well as domestic work. But we do need to look more carefully look into this to also look into global supply chains and how forced labor penetrates global supply chains as well as of course various economic activities in the informal economy, including begging and the wide range of illicit activities.
[Lu Stout:] All right. Beate Andrees, thank you very much indeed for sharing your latest findings with us. Live from Geneva with the International Labor Organization. Now still to come here on NEWS STREAM, Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is on her first trip abroad in more than two decades. And she's speaking out about her hopes for Myanmar. Plus, the long and the short of what Japan is doing to beat the summer heat and to cut down on energy consumption.

[Blackwell:] A gun advocacy group is putting one of the National Rifle Association's most persistent arguments to the test. I want to you hear it from the NRA chief Wayne Lapierre himself. This is days after last year's shooting in Connecticut.
[Wayne Lapierre, Nra Chief:] The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
[Kosik:] And what's happening now is the Armed Citizen Project is actually giving away shotguns for free to people who pass a background check and get safety and legal training. The group has already armed a handful of single women in Houston and now taking its mission to all places to Tucson, Arizona, because that's where six people died and a dozen more including then Congressman Gabrielle Giffords who was hurt in a mass shooting in 2011.
[Blackwell:] We're joined now by Kyle Coplen, he is the founder and executive director of the Armed Citizen Project. First, it's good to have you on the show.
[Kyle Coplen, Founder And Executive Director, Armed Citizen Project:] Thanks for having me on.
[Blackwell:] So here's my question, first, what are you trying to accomplish here and second, why take it to Gabby Giffords' former district?
[Coplen:] You know, I honestly didn't even think about that until about four days ago when a reporter from "The Huffington Post" called me and asked me about the insensitivity of what we were doing. It didn't even occur to me because in my mind the only thing related with that is geography. What we're doing is we are training and arming residents in high crime areas as a crime deterrent and we are looking to analyze the crime data that comes out of this and to see if there really is a correlation or a causal link between armed citizenry and crime.
[Kosik:] Well, why not go ahead since you just learned about this, why not pull back on this gun giveaway? Are you considering that?
[Coplen:] No, absolutely not. I'm not going to stop doing what I'm doing because others, you know, have a false impression of my organization. Tucson, Arizona, has a crime problem. They are currently short 150 officers, and we would like to go ahead and move into Tucson, help the folks out there.
[Kosik:] OK. So you're doing background checks, you're doing training programs. It's all very responsible. You're going about it apparently in a very responsible way, but you are headed to Tucson then, knowingly, now that you know the background behind it, and it's a city that's become known for gun violence since the 2011 shooting. Doesn't that choice undermine your credibility? Aren't you kind of stirring the pot especially at a time when you're trying to win over Americans to be more accepting of gun ownership?
[Coplen:] Absolutely not. Like I said the Gabby Giffords' shooting had nothing to do with us deciding to go into Tucson. I'm not going to be bullied to inaction by the anti-gun crowd. We've made the decision to go there and I'm not going to change my mind because some people choose to misinterpret what we're doing.
[Blackwell:] You know, the rest of the week I'm reporting out in parts of the country and we speak with police chiefs and they will tell you and they've told me that many of the gun crimes occur using stolen guns, so if you increase the number of guns in a community, do you not also increase the potential for those guns to be stolen and then increase the possibility of gun crimes in these communities you're trying to protect?
[Coplen:] So we are training and arming responsible new gun owners. So if you're going to operate on the premise what we're doing is inherently a bad thing because these guns can be stolen then you're just anti-gun to begin with. I mean, a lot of the people that come out and use that as our criticism, it's obvious they just don't believe in personal use of firearms for protection, and that's completely counter to the American history of the firearms and the American right of self-defense so I don't listen to that criticism.
[Blackwell:] What is the definition of success for you here?
[Coplen:] The definition of success is to empower citizens and decrease crime. We want to give folks the tools to be able to defend themselves against those that would do them harm.
[Kosik:] What kind of turnout are you expecting at this point?
[Coplen:] We've had a lot of support. I've had as many as, probably around 1,000 folks who have contacted me, wanted to take part, maybe gotten 15, 20 contacts that have been negative. Folks are really coming out in support and we appreciate all the support we're getting. We plan on expanding into at least 15 cities by the end of the year, and we're on track to do that.
[Blackwell:] Well, you know, the gun debate and the conversation is going to continue. I appreciate you Kyle Coplen for joining this conversation this morning.
[Coplen:] Thank you. And you can check us out at armedcitizenproject.org, we're taking donations and raffling off a brand new shotgun right now.
[Blackwell:] OK. Thank you, Kyle.
[Kosik:] All right. Some controversy at Boston College, officials are blocking students from handing out condoms on campus. Find out why, next.

[Rajpal:] Many thought it was impossible, but after years of digging and boring through mountains of rock, engineers broke through on the longest tunnel in the world last October, linking Italy and Switzerland. The Gotthard Rail Tunnel is expected to revolutionize transport across Europe, as Becky Anderson reports.
[Becky Anderson, Cnn International Correspondent:] At 7:00 in the morning, Zurich Main Station is already bustling. I'm here to catch a train heading south through Switzerland, crossing the Italian border, and onto the city of Milan. Every day, about 10,000 people make this journey. The train will follow an old, winding route across the Alps and through the famous Gotthard Tunnel. The tunnel was first opened in 1882. It's ten miles long and was the first to be built through this mountain range.
[Anderson:] And way back then, the idea of having tunnels at some of the highest points was considered absolutely revolutionary. Today, with the help of modern engineering, a new tunnel is being built below the existing one. We're now traveling above what is considered to be the longest tunnel in the world, 600 meters or about 2,000 feet below us is the Gotthard Base Tunnel. And when it's open, it will provide a flatter and faster route through the Swiss Alps. For centuries, the Alps, a huge natural barrier, have hampered the smooth trade between countries like Germany and Italy. The rail and road routes are an important link along the north- south axis in Europe. Traffic has increased sharply in the past 30 years, and we are now operating at capacity.
[Simon Peggs, Alptransit Gotthard:] The main reason for the construction of the tunnel was to get the goods traffic off the motorway onto the trains. Imagine like this that the Alps are like a speed bump in the middle of a motorway. To get rid of that speed bump, we have to go underneath. The old railway line climbs about 1,000 meters, so the trains have to be shorter and they can't go that fast. They have to wind their way all the way up to get over, down the other side. With this, it runs at 500 meters above sea level all the way through, all the way to Milan. So trains can go faster, and they don't need that much energy to go all the way through. At the moment, down there, in that part, they're finishing the cross section. That's where the intermediate attack came into the axis of the tunnel. So, they're doing the finishing work there, the concrete work. And further up the tunnel, the railway fitting has already started. At this stage here, this has become about a whole lot of electrical mechanical stuff being put in. It's like if you install a DVD player, you've got to get all the switches in the right place to get it to work. So, that's the challenging part. A few years ago, the challenge was the mountain, the rock.
[Anderson:] It took about 14 years of digging, blasting, and boring through 20 different rock strata. Eight people lost their lives in the process. The final breakthrough happened in 2010.
[Peggs:] We've excavated underneath an overburden of 2,500 meters. That's never been done before. A tunnel, this size.
[Anderson:] The tunnel is scheduled to be fully functioning by 2016 and will take up to 300 trains each day underneath the Alps. Well, that has taken just less than four hours. When the Base Tunnel is complete, the trains will run as fast as 250 kilometers an hour. That will cut the journey between Zurich and Milan by about an hour. Today, Zurich is the gateway to Switzerland and the center of one of the most modern and efficient railway networks in the world. This is thanks to Alfred Escher, considered by many as the founding father of modern Switzerland. He had a vision of an extensive rail network that went beyond the country. Over 150 years later the new Gotthard Tunnel bears witness to his vision, and Zurich Hauptbahnhof remains an important hub within the European rail network.
[Rajpal:] You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. When we come back, Republican candidates in the US are brushing up on their foreign policy. They're getting ready for another TV debate. And it seems a new face is leading the race. All the details just ahead.

[Feyerick:] Mark Sanford says he's changed and now he wants voters to return him to Washington and change things there. Here he is, Mark Sanford, of South Carolina.
[Mark Sanford , Former South Carolina Governor:] I've experienced how none of us go through life without mistakes. But in their wake, we can learn a lot about grace, a God of second chances, and be the better for it. In that light, I humbly step forward and ask for your help in changing Washington.
[Feyerick:] Now, you remember Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor, before that, a member of Congress. This is then governor Sanford upon his return from a not so secretive fling. You may recall Sanford flat-out lied to the people of the state saying he was going hiking when he was spending time with his Argentinean mistress. Some four years later, ex-Governor Sanford's running for Congress. Erin McPike with us now from Washington. And, Erin, does Mark Sanford believe South Carolinians are ready to forgive him?
[Erin Mcpike, Cnn Correspondent:] He acknowledges he made a serious mistake, but he's using the commercial to turn the page by asking voters for a second chance. He's reminding them he's known for being fiscally conservative. He's trying to shift the focus of the race to that record. His consultant told CNN because he's such a fighter, he's going to work to get either vote he can. Because Sanford is the most well- known candidate in the race, his campaign says anything Sanford does will suck up all the oxygen in that race. His political team expects that voters will either vote for Sanford or against him but not in favor of anyone else. Sanford is running well ahead of them and almost certainly will make the runoff that's two weeks later.
[Feyerick:] Well, nice to see what happened to Sanford has not undermined the ego of his political team. But he is going to be running against somebody who is more high-profile and that is the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, Elizabeth Colbert Bush, and she may get some kudos from her brother, no?
[Mcpike:] Look, she is going to be raising a lot of money because he will certainly help her, but Democrats think this is a very hard district for them to win. Mitt Romney won 58 percent of the vote in 2012, so they're not very sure they can make much of a go of it.
[Feyerick:] it will be a fun race to watch, Erin McPike, thank you, welcome to
[Cnn. Mcpike:] Thanks so much.
[Feyerick:] We'll be back right after this.

[Baldwin:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT here. It could be a simple picture frame or a piece of history from the "Titanic."
[Berman:] It is a family mystery that begins a century ago in the dark waters of the Atlantic, an irresistible case for history detectives on PBS.
[Unidentified Male:] I always had a picture in my mind of my great grandfather in a rowboat reaching into the water.
[Unidentified Female:] And he pulled the wood out of the water.
[Unidentified Male:] And he had it fashioned.
[Unidentified Female:] Into this picture frame.
[Unidentified Male:] Into this picture frame.
[Unidentified Female:] That ship was called "The Lusitania."
[Unidentified Male:] This ship was called "The Titanic."
[Baldwin:] And Rob Martorana brought the frame to Elyse Luray and her team on "History Detectives." So welcome and good morning to both of you. I know this is so exciting and we are going to give away just part of what's going to happen a little later on the show. But let me just begin, Rob, with you. So you grow up and this piece of driftwood, this 2x4, basically collecting dust on your grandmother's shelf.
[Robert Martorana, Believes Family Heirloom Is From "the Titanic":] It was on the wall forever.
[Baldwin:] And you're thinking, what could this be?
[Martorana:] We were always told it was from "The Titanic." That's what I grew up. That was the story we always heard.
[Baldwin:] When did it go from, we were always told, might it be the "Titanic"? Either way, it's very, very old, from 1915. What then made you take this question to this show?
[Martorana:] Well, my brother, Paul, Paul Martorana decided to look into it and see if the oral history of my family was true.
[Berman:] Now, you know, two pretty famous ships, by the way. You're dealing with like two of the most famous ships in the last 100 years, the "Lusitania" and the "Titanic." But Elyse, let me ask you this, when they first came to you, you were pretty skeptical that this picture frame came from "The Titanic." Why?
[Elyse Luray, Host, Pbs' "history Detectives":] Well, you know, family folklore is always abundant and it usually doesn't pan out. And we hear it over and over and over again. And with the 100th anniversary of "The Titanic" this year, we were seeing a lot of people saying that they had things from "The titanic." So, yes, right and it's a beautiful picture frame. So if it did come from "The Titanic," why is it so beautiful?
[Berman:] That's the same thing I thought. Yes, right, "The Titanic."
[Baldwin:] Whatever. No way, but then with the trusty detective work of yours, Elyse, you go to you basically start looking at the tree rings. You're really looking closely, you know, at this particular piece of wood. Let's just play one clip of this.
[Unidentified Female:] Using image scans of the frame, Colin measures the width of the tree rings. Each ring reflects the amount of growth in a year and the series of measurements create a pattern.
[Unidentified Male:] In a better growing season, it will make a wider ring that will grow up higher. It a poorer growing year, it will make a narrower ring and it will be down below.
[Unidentified Female:] Colin compares our tree ring pattern with profiles for the Irish and Scottish forests drawn from the international tree ring databank.
[Baldwin:] So could you translate that for me? You know, when we're talking tree rings, right, how the heck did you figure this out?
[Luray:] Well, it's actually done chronologically. We actually went to a specialist who he could figure out where the rings came from. Did they come from Scotland or did they come from Ireland? Because that would determine which ship it actually would be from. One of the ships used wood from Ireland and one used wood from Scotland. And through, you know, researching the rings, there shall able to tell that the wood actually came from Ireland, which ruled out "The Lusitania."
[Baldwin:] The big reveal.
[Luray:] It did rule out "The Lusitania," but it didn't rule out did it come from "The Titanic"? We still had to prove that. That was the very first step in the investigation. That's not even towards the end. Because great, "The Lusitania" is almost ruled out, but is this really from "The Titanic"? That's the toughest part.
[Berman:] So Rob, when you did hear the ultimate conclusion, was that just an immense feeling of satisfaction or did some like vengeance on your cousin or something?
[Martorana:] No, nothing like that. I mean, my cousin, that part of it, there was never really any bad blood or anything about that. It was really just about the relief of hearing that it was really what we thought it was.
[Baldwin:] From your great-grandfather, right?
[Martorana:] Yes, yes.
[Berman:] Pride, I would imagine, to know for sure you have something that historical, that significant in your house is going to be amazing.
[Martorana:] Yes, it's fantastic.
[Baldwin:] There's even more. But we won't give it away, Berman, because they even found out correct me if I'm wrong, Rob they were able to find out where on "The titanic" this particular piece of wood was from. So that is why you have to stay tuned to the show, "History Detectives," tonight. Thanks to both of you. We appreciate it. It's amazing.
[Berman:] Very, very, very cool.
[Martorana:] Thank you.
[Baldwin:] On your grandmother's shelf.
[Berman:] She just kept sugar packets she stole from restaurants. It's 4 minutes before the hour now. Ahead on STARTING POINT, history will be made Thursday night when a woman takes the field as NFL's newest official, but not everyone thinks she's up to the job. Don't miss this morning's "Tough Call."
[Baldwin:] Also, we are piecing together a clearer picture clearer background of this man, Wade Michael Page, the man identified as the Sikh temple gunman. Hear from the organization that has been tracking him for 12 years. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Howard Kurtz:] The magnifying power of the media is a powerful tool and can also be a dangerous weapon. How did one kooky pastor's plans to burn a bunch of Korans become an international sensation? Why did journalists fan the flames of anti-Muslim hatred by playing up the bizarre antics of Terry Jones? Should he have been on every morning show? The president meets the press he should do more of that, you know but can't escape questions about Koran burning and the so- called mosque in Manhattan. CNN turning over the Larry King franchise to Piers Morgan, a charming British fellow who serves as a judge on a televised talent show. But how much do Americans know about his controversial tabloid past? We'll have a full report. And David Westin resigns as president of ABC News after cutting a quarter of the staff. Can the broadcast networks overcome tough times and sinking ratings? I'm Howard Kurtz, and this is RELIABLE SOURCES. It wasn't very long ago that Terry Jones was an obscure pastor in Gainesville, Florida, who had written a book called "Islam is the Devil." And he might have remained in obscurity, except he came up with a stunt, a dangerous stunt, a provocative stunt, an inflammatory stunt. He would observe the ninth anniversary of 911 by burning a pile of Korans. Now, it started slowly, but this fringe character started to get some attention. In July, he spoke to CNN's Rick Sanchez.
[Rick Sanchez, Cnn:] Why would you want to do this to 1.5 billion people, as you say, in the world by burning their most sacred book? That's crazy.
[Pastor Terry Jones, Dove World Outreach Center:] Well, for one thing, for us, the book is not sacred.
[Sanchez:] But it is for them. But it is for them.
[Jones:] By us doing this action
[Sanchez:] So if I don't
[Kurtz:] And this week, just as the controversy over the so-called mosque in Manhattan seemed to be winding down, the media gave Terry Jones a mighty megaphone. When David Petraeus told "The Wall Street Journal" that such a bonfire might endanger American troops, the echo chamber got even louder.
[Katie Couric, Cbs News:] Before this week, most people had never heard of Pastor Terry Jones.
[Meredith Vieira, Nbc News:] Now one Florida church is planning to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of 911 this weekend.
[Diane Sawyer, Abc News:] Today the pope called on him to stop. And we asked the pastor, what would Jesus do?
[Ed Schultz, Msnbc:] Coming up, a psycho pastor in Florida is turning 911 into "Burn a Koran Day."
[Monica Crowley, Guest Host, "the O'reilly Factor":] Some kooks in Florida are plotting a very insulting display against Muslims later this week.
[Rachel Maddow, Msnbc:] Why burn the Koran? So that people will say the name of their congregation and their pastor on television, which personally I can't stomach.
[Terry Moran, Abc News:] Do you really think that Jesus Christ, if he were here today, would say, "Pastor, go burn that holy book"?
[Jones:] Absolutely.
[Moran:] Jesus Christ would say that?
[Jones:] Absolutely.
[Kurtz:] By midweek, ABC's George Stephanopoulos was asking the president to weigh in.
[George Stephanopoulos, Abc News:] I wonder what this must feel like from behind your desk. You're president of the United States, you have to deal with the fallout. And here's a pastor who has got 30 followers in his church. Does it make you feel helpless or angry?
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Well, it is frustrating. Now, on the other hand, we are a government of laws, and so we have to abide by those laws.
[Kurtz:] The story got even stranger when Jones said he was calling off the book burning in exchange for a deal to move the controversial Islamic center in New York away from Ground Zero, except there was no deal, just more live coverage, more stories, more interviews. Finally, the pastor said yesterday there would be no book burning, which he announced, naturally enough, on "The Today Show." So are the media to blame for turning this revolting spectacle into an international circus? Joining us now, David Corn, Washington bureau chief for "Mother Jones" magazine; David Frum, founder of frumforum.com and a former speechwriter for President Bush; and Lauren Ashburn, presidents of Ashburn Media and former managing editor of "USA Today Live." I'm going to ask you for a concise answer, all of you, to this question: Why did the media lavish so much attention on one eccentric pastor with a couple of dozen followers for this pathetic stunt that he pulled? David Frum?
[David Frum, Frumforum.com:] Because when you have the mosque controversy in New York, you have one fact. When you have that, plus the book burning, you have a trend. And that justifies the "TIME" magazine cover and that allows people to cover the mosque story the way they really want to cover it.
[Kurtz:] Lauren Ashburn?
[Lauren Ashburn, President, Ashburn Media:] Ratings. Ratings, ratings, ratings, ratings. Right? I mean, why don't we cover President Obama's presser, right? Why don't we talk about that? Well, kind of not that interesting. I mean, what's interesting here is, oh, my gosh, here's this guy with 50 people who follow him, and he's going to burn a Koran.
[Kurtz:] And without the networks putting Terry Jones on TV, and without all these newspaper stories, David Corn, it's a non-story.
[David Corn, Washington Bureau Chief, "mother Jones":] I disagree. You know, it's not a problem this is what happens with our new media. You don't need to go through CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC to get your word out if you're a crazy kook with a matchbook and a Koran. By tweeting about it, which he did in early July, he got a few people who pay attention to these things to write about it in e-mail alerts. And then before you know it, people in other parts of the world are paying attention to this.
[Kurtz:] But not in the United States.
[Corn:] Not in the United States.
[Kurtz:] Yes.
[Corn:] And so their opposition is ginning up. And when General David Petraeus was asked about it in "The Wall Street Journal" interview, it wasn't because it was getting lots of coverage here. It had gotten some, but already there were plans of gigantic demonstrations in Afghanistan, Indonesia, and elsewhere. So, this shows in some way the helplessness. We all think this guy's a kook and shouldn't get the attention. And we'd like to see even though we used to complain about gatekeepers in the media, the gatekeepers in this instance keeping the gate shut on him, but that can't work anymore.
[Kurtz:] Well, Petraeus' people the Pentagon also pushed out his statement to a lot of media outlets. And a lot of people thought that really elevated the story. But why can't we serve as gatekeepers? Every newsroom every day gets a call about a small demonstration here, somebody with a crazy sign over there, here's a hostage tape from some country. We don't run all of that.
[Ashburn:] And we don't run suicides, either. I mean, right?
[Kurtz:] Somebody on a bridge.
[Ashburn:] People who want attention right, somebody who's going to jump off a bridge, they want that attention. Do we cover it? We absolutely do not.
[Frum:] But there's a pre-existing narrative. There were a lot of people this summer who wanted to write a story about America in the grip of anti-Islamic prejudice. And one incident does not prove your point to do. And that's why this was seized upon in the United States, it was necessary, it was valuable.
[Kurtz:] So do you think that the so-called liberal media pumped this up because here was a Christian leader, a small-time one, to be sure, who looked like a crazy bigot?
[Frum:] I don't think this was uncongenial.
[Kurtz:] You're saying there was a political element to this?
[Corn:] But at the same time, the people who track this stuff do say there is a rise in anti-Islam activity going on. And you can tie that to the controversy over the so-called mosque or the Islamic center or not. But it's interesting, one of the
[Frum:] People track this stuff in the FBI, and the FBI numbers don't say such a thing. And they come out 18 months late anyway.
[Kurtz:] I want to come back to the media role and I want to talk about Fox News, because I was surprised at first. Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly were playing this down, barely talking about it. And I thought, well, he's not a liberal loon. It turns out Fox had a deliberate strategy not to give oxygen to this story, and some would say Fox had it right.
[Ashburn:] And so did AP. AP made a decision on Thursday. They came out with a memo from the deputy managing editor that said we are not going to put audio or images out about this.
[Kurtz:] But let me ask you about that.
[Ashburn:] Wait. Wait. We are going to do one spot story a day.
[Kurtz:] OK.
[Ashburn:] Hey, context.
[Kurtz:] So Fox says if this had gone through yesterday, and there had been a bonfire in Gainesville, Fox News said it would not show the pictures. AP said it would not show the pictures. CNN changed its position. Originally, it was going to cover it, then it said it would not show the pictures. But can't you do that? Wouldn't those organizations be accused of suppressing the news?
[Ashburn:] But now there's also a problem now because of the because you've got an obligation.
[Corn:] It wouldn't matter because it would be on YouTube, and people who wanted to see it would see it, and it would be seen around the world by the people whose passions are inflamed. I think in the Fox News case, because they went so heavy on the so-called mosque controversy, this gave them the chance in their mind also to look reasonable. You know, I do think that a lot of the controversy over the Islamic center is fueled by anti-Islamic prejudice. Not all of it, but at the rally yesterday there were people shouting things like "Kill all Muslims!" and holding up signs that were just not anti-mosque, anti-Islam. And so there's a lot of that worked up into this controversy. But by saying we're not going to show one nut job, they could act like they're being responsible.
[Kurtz:] Back in July, when Terry Jones had tweeted he was going do this and it got a little of attention, most Americans were aware of this we saw the clip at the top of the show, Rick Sanchez putting him on CNN. Should he have done that? Why does Terry Jones warrant any air time at all?
[Frum:] Well, it is exciting, and that is a kind of tabloidy show. And you hope there's a part I think of every journalist's mind that sort of hopes for a big global reaction. One of the things I think we ought to be thinking a little bit about, though, is what is the precedent here that is being set? If we're to agree that things that might offend people on the other side of the planet are not to be discussed, is Salman Rushdie's book not to be discussed? Are the Danish cartoons not to be shown? We can all agree in condemning Pastor Jones as needlessly inflammatory. But sometimes people are needfully inflammatory.
[Kurtz:] But hold on here. My argument is that he didn't deserve much at all because he is essentially a fringe character. Now, if somebody with more of a following, with more of a standing, with more stature does something that's going to upset people in Afghanistan, I'm not saying we shouldn't cover that. I think this was a case of media malpractice of the most irresponsible sort. It's like the balloon boy hoax but with serious consequences
[Ashburn:] It's identical to that.
[Kurtz:] and people are really mad. Based on my e-mail, people saying people are really mad at the news organizations for what they did this week.
[Ashburn:] OK. But Howie, it's great that we're sitting here, that every week after week you're turning a critical lens on the media. But how many times are we going to sit here and fall for balloon boy and go after this guy? Why aren't we challenging the heads of networks and the heads of the cable divisions to say, all right, I want to find out who exactly made that decision to put that person on the air, and why did you to it? Did you do it because somebody at MSNBC had it and you had to beat them? Did you do it because you thought, oh, my gosh, ratings? And let's figure out who makes those decisions and put policies in place so that there is some sort of context.
[Corn:] I think you're right in that we spend the media spends so much more time on this issue, but it also had become an international event in which people were rioting and
[Kurtz:] There was a "New York Times" story in the last week of August. It still didn't get much traction until the Petraeus comment in "The Wall Street Journal."
[Corn:] I still think you have a problem here of trying to keep a lid on some of I think in terms of proportionality, it shouldn't get this attention. But I'm saying no matter what you would decide if you were running CNN, Howie, I don't think it would have had a big impact on keeping this guy off the screen, this crazy guy off the screen.
[Frum:] And this agreement, this agreement not to cover it, has dangerous potential, because we did go through this before. Every news organization in America agreed not to show the Danish cartoons, not to allow people to see what those were about. And that seems to me to have been wrong. And that was information that people were entitled to, and that was collaboration in a way with forces of suppression around the planet.
[Kurtz:] Just to be clear, I'm not calling for collusion. I'm calling for individual news organizations to make responsible decisions regardless of what everyone else is doing. Now, let me just play some tape here, because on Friday and this was when Terry Jones was starting to waver, maybe he wouldn't do it, he would delay it if he could see the imam in New York this guy was on every network morning show. And I thought the toughest interview was conducted by Meredith Vieira on "The Today Show." Let's take a look.
[Vieira:] When you incite hatred and bigotry, don't you expect this kind of outcome? You've incited this.
[Jones:] We do not feel responsible. We do not pull the trigger.
[Vieira:] There are people of all faiths, sir, today who are calling you intolerant, bigoted, dangerous. They've even called you crazy. What are you?
[Jones:] I am just a man who is trying to do what God has told us to do.
[Kurtz:] So, you're running "The Today Show." Would you put him on?
[Ashburn:] Absolutely not. I wouldn't have put him on first. At the point in which we are losing lives and people there's a chance here for this to turn into something extremely violent, then you have an obligation to stop it. In this instance the government saved the media. I mean, the media is the one that put this guy in charge, put him out there. And then all of a sudden, the government has to come in and say, OK, we're going to fix the
[Kurtz:] Look, you had Defense Secretary Gates
[Ashburn:] Yes.
[Kurtz:] But you seem most uncomfortable at this table with the notion of making a deliberate decision that this is not worth it.
[Frum:] Yes, because I know what's going to happen next time.
[Corn:] Tell us, David.
[Frum:] I'm completely with you. Obviously this guy is dismissible. This is not a story, you should not have made a fuss over it. But I am mindful of the Danish cartoon story when the gatekeepers did keep the gates, and did keep them wrongly. And next time there's going to be someone who is going to have something to say, something maybe more serious, that is going to be disliked by some people in the Islamic world. And there may be American and media collusion saying this person should not speak, this message should be silenced. And to have the president and the secretary of defense weighing in, I understand why they did it. In this circumstance they were right. But next time they won't be right. We need to be a little more careful here.
[Ashburn:] What is wrong with AP's view of this, which is let's limit it to a story a day? This is a small guy. What's wrong with that?
[Frum:] Nothing is wrong with that.
[Corn:] The media criticism, the answer is almost always proportionality, the amount of time we spend on this versus the amount of time we spend discussing Afghanistan strategy.
[Kurtz:] We often have our foot on the pedal way too hard. Let me show you how MSNBC's "Morning Joe" handled it. They had the pastor on. Mika Brzezinski turned it over to "Newsweek" editor Jon Meacham, who told pastor Jones this
[Jon Meacham, Editor, "newsweek":] I would simply appeal to you as a fellow Christian that the course you've suggested is going to be incredibly dangerous, and would ask you to desist in the name of new testament theology.
[Mika Brzezinski, Msnbc:] All right. Well said, Jon Meacham. And Pastor Terry Jones, we appeal to you to listen to that. And we don't really need to hear anything else. So thanks.
[Kurtz:] Didn't let him say a word.
[Ashburn:] We create this monster. We created this. You know, here, OK, we're the one who put him on, now we're the ones we're begging him not to do it.
[Kurtz:] So even cutting him of like that is fueling the flames?
[Ashburn:] Of course it is.
[Corn:] But there was some responsibility. Yesterday, at the rally against the Islamic center in downtown New York, there was at least one person someone sent me a photo burning a Koran. And you didn't see that plastered all over the media. You didn't see people running to interview this fellow. And so
[Kurtz:] And so a positive note on which to end. I've got to get a break. When we come back, the president meets the press, and he can't escape questions about the Koran-hating pastor. And the media's other favorite melodrama, the so-called mosque.

[Whitfield:] A California law grad is suing his school. He and others claim the college practically guaranteed they would find him a job as a lawyer. But after months of searching without results, he filed suit against the school for misleading him. Does he have a case? Let's bring in our legal guys, Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor and Richard Herman is a criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see both of you. So I'm sure you guys have very strong opinions about this given you are grads of law school. So according to our research, these lawsuits are being dismissed across the country. Apparently, there are at least six states that have similar class action suits and all stemming from the case of Michael Lieberman, who is suing Southwestern Law School. He says they advertised that 97 percent of the grads would be employed within nine months of graduation. He was looking for a job as are a number of others. So, Richard, you first, is that argument enough, kind of false advertisement is the problem here he says?
[Richard Herman, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, the problem is fraudulent inducement. I mean, Fred, law school is a business. They charge these students upwards of maybe $75,000 to $100,000 for a three-year degree. Now if the school tells you before you come in, we're telling you, we have a 97 percent within nine months you're going to get a job within nine months and 97 percent of our graduates get those jobs. That induces you to pay that fee. Now you go to law school, you graduate and you can't get a job so they lied to you. Yes, they have a lawsuit. In California, they got very strong consumer protection laws. Fred, I think they have a viable lawsuit here. I think the university is going to have to pay, yes.
[Whitfield:] My goodness then why is it being dismissed in some places Avery?
[Avery Friedman, Civil Rights Attorney:] For a good cause. Look, this isn't welding school, for goodness sakes. This is a profession and whether a law school is out there marketing about what percent of their class gets a job. First of all, none of those statistics until recently change in the law said anything about what they are doing. Some guy folding shirts in the basements of Macy's, yes, he has a job. I don't think there's fraudulent inducement. Who the heck goes to law school based on those kinds of representations? This is a profession, Fredricka. Federal courts in Michigan and New York have thrown these cases out. Yes, I agree, there are consumer laws in California that are tougher. I don't think the case is going anywhere.
[Whitfield:] And so according to a report in California, Southwestern Law School says that it does follow the American Bar Associations requirement. So they say they are not culpable necessarily if you're unable to land a job. So what will this case and the other cases in the six other states need to continue to be viable? You know, how can they continue to argue their case that the school is at fault for not landing them a job Richard?
[Herman:] Ye, it's basic fraud, Fred. I mean, I think Avery is wrong. That case in New York that was dismissed is on appeal right now. Listen, you can't make promises to people about employment especially in this economy where people have choices. They don't have to go to law school. But if the school is saying, listen, we're telling you 97 percent get jobs in the legal industry and you go to that law school. It's not 97, it's below 50 percent. That's fraud. Come on, that's recoverable. There are damages. It's basic fraud law. This is a live lawsuit in California.
[Whitfield:] Avery?
[Friedman:] Look, it's not an industry, it's a profession. This isn't cooking school or welding. The fact is that the economy has dried up, there's internet research that have limited more jobs. I don't think the cases are going anywhere. I mean, of course, it's marketing, and I think there should be an improvement in the information disseminated, but no way these cases are going to prevail. There's no legal theory. We just disagree.
[Whitfield:] Let's move on to the next topic. We're talking about the morning after pill this week. A federal judge in Brooklyn ordered the FDA to make the morning after pill available and over the counter to people of any age without a prescription. That overturns a decision by the Health and Human Services that requires a prescription for girls under 17. So Avery, you first, you know, the argument being made, the federal court saying, you know what? It's too arbitrary to set this age of 17 or otherwise so what next potentially? Would there be an appeal?
[Friedman:] Well, we don't know that there will be an appeal, but I have to tell you something, Fredricka. This 59-page opinion that was published yesterday by the Federal District judge is all about women's health. It's a recognition of the catastrophic prices. We're dealing with unwanted pregnancies in America. The fact is that FDA scientists supported unfettered access to emergency contraception along with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, a victory for women, a victory for health. I don't see that even if there's an appeal, Fredricka, that you'll see a reversal of this very, very important decision.
[Whitfield:] So Richard, in fact that's what the court is saying. The court is saying until you show us that there were some health reasons as to why someone 15 or 16 shouldn't be taking the morning after pill versus if they were 18, until you provide that, this should be made available to everyone.
[Herman:] Exactly, Fred, and they can't provide that. That's the point. That's the point the judge made in this decision. Listen, he's one of the stall worth judges in the district court in Brooklyn. He's been there for a long time. This is a fantastic decision. They can appeal it to whoever they want. It's never going to be reversed. The judge is right on the law. The decision is arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable and Sebelius really she should retire based on her objection to this.
[Friedman:] Wait a minute.
[Herman:] We don't know if it's going to affect 10-year-old girls. You take aspirin, this is a ridiculous partisanship.
[Whitfield:] All right, thanks so much, gentlemen. I'm sure you'll be getting an e-mail or phone call from Ms. Sebelius. All right, Richard and Avery, thanks so much. Appreciate your time. The legal guys are here every Saturday at this time to give us their take on the most intriguing legal cases of the day, you never what you're going to get. All right, coming up next, air rage, what would you do if you're getting ready to board a flight or if you're already airborne and someone near you just simply loses it. HLN's Dr. Drew breaks down the dos and the don'ts right after this.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, Soledad, and good morning to all of you. I am Carol Costello. Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Hawaii, iPods, and gift cards. New questions flying this morning about rampant spending at the GSA. Will Jeff Neely, the man behind the Vegas trip you paid for get up and walk out again today? Clearances yanked. The Secret Service hooker scandal widens this morning. We've got new information from the White House. Your money, your taxes. The Buffett Rule blasted. A mood that would boost taxes for the rich. Republicans rallying this morning calling it trickle down taxation. Pricey light. The new light bulb to replace regular incandescent hits stores this Sunday, Earth Day. This thing lasts for 20 years. It costs drum roll, please as much as 60 bucks. New home. Shuttle Discovery hitching a ride and heading up the East Coast right now. From Florida and Virginia, we're live on the historic flight. And spectacular sight. Amazing new pictures this hour from 93 million miles away. An eye-popping eruption you've just got to see. NEWSROOM begins right now. Taxpayer outrage this morning is growing over the millions of dollars seemingly squandered by anonymous bureaucrats. Well, today they're no longer anonymous. Right now current and former GSA officials are on Capitol Hill. It is their second hearing in two days. They're facing questions about their lavish convention in Las Vegas. A rewards program that gave employees iPods and gift cards worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. And a Hawaii junket for some GSA leader, they spent up to a week there for a ribbon cutting that lasted a mere hour. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill. So, Dana, yesterday we saw some pretty outraged lawmakers and apologetic witnesses. Anything new coming out today?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] We are already seeing some fire big-time in the hearing. It started already about a half an hour ago. I want you to listen to a very upset Republican chair of the House Transportation Committee Subcommittee.
[Rep. Jeff Denham , Chairman, Economic Development Subcommittee:] And I'm here to tell you the buck stops here. We're not going to hold up any longer. The American public demands to see the budget on the Public Buildings Funds the Federal Buildings Fund and how that money has been spent. This slush fund is no longer going to be used for personal uses.
[Bash:] Now, they're making clear already in this hearing this morning, Carol, that they are going to talk beyond that 2010 now infamous conference in Las Vegas and talk about what they say is excessive spending across the board. And but I just do want to focus on some of what we have been talking about because again this conference was pretty amazing. Take a look at this. $59,000 for an audiovisual firm to be hired for the conference, $75,000 for a bike building exercise to be done at the conference, and $9,000 for colored theme tags. And I should also mention that yesterday a big part of the discussion was why the person responsible for spending all this still got a $9,000 bonus of taxpayer money.
[Costello:] Yes, that would be Mr. Neely. Also for the first time lawmakers will hear from a so-called whistleblower. Tell us about her.
[Bash:] Her name is Susan British. She was the deputy commissioner at the GSA. In fact, they were just talking about her before you and I came on. She turns out used to actually work for the committee that she's going to appear before. She apparently was the first person to say, wait a minute, this is way too much spending on things that we shouldn't be spending on like a mind reader, a clown outfit, things that, you know, really this is this is how the government is spending the money at this conference? She wrote a memo saying that this should be investigated and apparently started the ball rolling on the inspector general investigation into all of this. So it will be very interesting to hear what she has to say later.
[Costello:] OK. Dana Bash, you're covering for us and we appreciate it. Now to another scandal rocking Washington and widening this morning. We're now learning that a Colombian brothel is the primary focus of the Secret Service prostitution investigation. Also new this morning, the Secret Service has stripped the security clearance of the 11 staffers accused of bringing prostitutes back to their hotel, you know, back from the brothel. That was just a couple of days before the president arrived in Colombia for a summit. A former CIA operative explained why this alleged breach could have endangered the president's life.
[Robert Baer, Former Cia Operative:] Well, you know, a Secret Service stays in a hotel. They keep, for instance, the call signs. They keep their encrypted radios. They keep their routes that the president is going to travel. If I was an assassin, that's precisely where I would want to be. Assassination these days all depends on intelligence. You've got to predict movements and these guys would have it there.
[Costello:] Brianna Keilar is at the White House for us. So, Brianna, tell us more about this brothel.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Yes, this according to a source who's told CNN, Carol, is one of the primary focuses in terms of the locations that these Secret Service agents may have visited. Now let me stress, though, that this source says that would be among the venues because, while it's a primary focus in the investigation, there were several groups and stops at several venues according to this source. So let's catch you up on the latest today and what has changed overnight. These 11 Secret Service agents have been stripped of their security clearance. So personnel action has been taken at least preliminarily. And then we also learned from chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Peter King, that there were 11 prostitutes that these 11 agents allegedly brought 11 prostitutes back to the Hotel Caribe. And also we should mention that the numbers in terms of how many military personnel may have solicited prostitutes appears to be on the rise according to a spokesman indicating that there may be more than five. So we're looking perhaps, according to sources, between five and 10, but yes, this location, the brothel is really I think the headline today in terms of new details about piecing together perhaps how the evening went for these Secret Service agents. Remember it was Wednesday night into Thursday morning that this happened Carol.
[Costello:] Brianna Keilar reporting live for us from the White House. Coming up at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, inside Colombia with Colombian reporter Miriam Wells who said Colombia is known for sex tourism and she puts a very and of course this whole scandal puts a very public eye on prostitution there. We're going to talk about her live to see what she knows about this problem. Again the country wait in the 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour of NEWSROOM. Crews in Chile this morning are assessing the aftermath of a strong earthquake that caused mudslides and minor damage. This is video of the quake with a magnitude of 6.7 as it rattled a newscast on our sister network CNN Chile. The quake was felt in the capital less than 70 miles from the epicenter. It knocked out power and phone lines in the region. A key U.S. ally is making plans to pull out of Afghanistan sooner than expected. Australia's prime minister seen here meeting with troops in Afghanistan in 2010, says the withdrawal could begin in months. Nearly all 1500 Australian troops could be out by the end of 2013, nearly a full year ahead of schedule. Australia says the accelerated timeline is due to the progress made by Afghan troops. If you haven't filed your taxes, I don't need to tell you this. The clock is ticking, for goodness sake. Americans have until midnight tonight to file their federal returns and a new CNN poll takes the pulse of the American taxpayer. Forty-five percent say the amount they pay Uncle Sam is too high. You might be surprised that slightly more, 50 percent say the amount they pay is just right. And 3 percent say they actually should be paying more in taxes. Go figure. This afternoon NASCAR champ Tony Stewart makes a pit stop at the White House. President Obama will welcome Stewart and other drivers and recognize their efforts to give back to the community. The University of Alabama's football championship trophy has been shattered into little tiny pieces. It happened at a university event on Saturday. A player's father got his foot caught on a rug under the trophy display. The BCS title trophy is valued at $30,000. University official says they will replace it. The father is off the hook for that one. Retired space shuttle Discovery arrives in the nation's capital in the next hour from the Kennedy Space Center. Discovery left Florida just about two hours ago. It's attached to this Boeing 747. It will replace the test shuttle Enterprise at the Smithsonian. John Zarrella is at the Kennedy Space Center. So, John, there was a pomp and circumstance. There were lots of people waving farewell?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, absolutely. They had busloads of NASA employees, many who had worked for, you know, years in the space shuttle program who were here to watch Discovery head off to Dulles. And of course, you know, the final crew that flew Discovery back in February 14, months ago, they as well were on hand to say, you know, good-bye. And it was a spectacular, spectacular moment. Discovery lifting off here. It flew down the coast along the beach in Bravard County, then circled back up. It flew over launch pad 39-A where it lifted off so many times in the past and then made one last flyover right behind us. Literally just a couple hundred feet off the deck on the back of that 747 and headed due north into just clear, blue skies. You know, and it's interesting, Carol, because as Discovery is exiting and the other two shuttles not far behind it, you know, in a couple of weeks just to our south, SpaceX, a commercial company, is going to try to take that next step into space. They're going to be launching their Dragon rocket in an attempt to rendezvous and birth with the International Space Station. It would be the first time in history that any commercial company has been able to accomplish such a feat. Shortly after that they hope to start taking cargo to the space station and within two or three years SpaceX and other commercial companies believe that by 2016 they will be taking astronauts filling the void left behind as Discovery and the other vehicles retire to their new homes in various parts of the country. So the end of one era and perhaps the early stages of the beginnings of another era of commercial space travel Carol.
[Costello:] You know, this just kind of a I mean it's a spectacular sight to see the space shuttle on board on top of that Boeing 747. But it I don't know, it's sad, too, because we won't see it again. The final destination is Chantilly, Virginia. Supposedly that plane is supposed to land, what at 10:00 Eastern, and then what happens?
[Zarrella:] Yes, a little bit after 10:00, you know, they left here earlier than we thought about 10 minutes earlier but sometime between 10:00 and 10:30 there will be a ceremony there as well. And you know then very quickly they are going to get it inside the building there at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and they have to move Enterprise out. Now Enterprise was a test shuttle. It never flew into space. They used it to test the aerodynamics. They dropped it from a 747 back in the days before the very first shuttle actually flew into space. They've got to move it out. Put it on top of the 747 and ferry it up to New York because it will eventually, when their museum housing is ready, it will end up in the intrepid museum in New York. So Enterprise go on up there. So a lot of work to be done in the next in the next few days Carol.
[Costello:] John Zarrella reporting live for us. And when that thing lands in Chantilly, Virginia, we'll take you there live. That'll happen in the 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour of NEWSROOM. Thanks, John. Still to come behold the new light bulb. It lasts for 20 years. It uses a fraction of the energy. But boy, it will cost you a lot. Sixty bucks. So will you buy it? Plus, Buffett world battle plan. A new fight for fairness. We're talking your money and your taxes with Jon Avlon and why he thinks tax reform talk is dead. And the voice and the holy book of the bible. In a new translation. But here's the hook. You will not find the words Christ, angel or apostle in the book. We'll talk to the man behind it. You're watching NEWSROOM. We're back in two.

[Holmes:] Well, could this be the break firefighters have been hoping for, those erratic winds that have been spreading the flames from that massive fire dying down now? They are expected to be fairly calm for a while. Is that right, Chad Myers?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] That is true, sir.
[Holmes:] So this is the break they have been waiting a little while on. How much will this help?
[Myers:] Well, even if you have 24 to 48 hours, the fire line is so large, the miles of fire that you have burning so large, they are up to 5 percent containment now out of 100 percent
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Myers:] that was uncontained yesterday.
[Holmes:] Right.
[Myers:] So, they have a long way to go. And even if a day like today and a morning like today, the problem with this morning, it was so thick, it was and fires were still burning, but the winds weren't blowing at all. You could not get planes in there at all, because the smoke was right over the fire line, so planes were just basically sitting on the tarmac, going, yes, we can't fly in this. We can't even see the fire.
[Holmes:] Wow.
[Myers:] We can't see the smoke. This is in very tough terrain. We need to be able to see where every mountaintop is. So the planes actually like to have a little bit of flame little bit of wind to blow the smoke away. Obviously, firefighters on the ground don't want any wind at all, because the wind is just oxygen blowing like a big billow.
[Holmes:] OK. Have they essentially not been getting anywhere? With the winds the way they have been over the past several days, have they essentially been out there just trying to contain the damage vs. actually trying to, I don't know, get somewhere and contain the actual fire?
[Myers:] They have been trying to stop structures from burning in Eagar, Springerville, and places around there. And they have been doing a fantastic job. They have been able to stop homes from burning. They have been able to stop this in a fire line into not getting into towns so far. But trees this is a national forest. This is going to burn for a very long time. We may be sitting here a month from now still talking about maybe 65 percent, 75 percent containment by then.
[Holmes:] Wow.
[Myers:] The fire you have well over 300 miles of fire. And I don't care how many men and women you have on the line, but 300 miles of fire, you can't just put that out with a shovel.
[Holmes:] How big is this window right now to have for the
[Myers:] It's 36 hours.
[Holmes:] About 36 hours. Chad, we appreciate you now. And like Chad just said, it is 5 percent contained, but in addition to fighting the flames now, fire officials are handling another difficult task, telling some evacuated residents if their homes survived or not. They're telling us that it doesn't matter whether the home is a mansion or a modest home. The shock and pain people are dealing with is just the same. Jim Spellman in Apache County for us today. Jim, we were listening. I don't know if you were able to hear Chad Myers here talking about they have a window to try to get something done here. What are you seeing?
[Jim Spellman, Cnn Producer:] Yes. They are taking full advantage of it, too, T.J. They're out there with all the heavy equipment they can, bulldozers. They're setting these what they call backfires to try to starve the fire of fuel, so that, when it approaches these towns, it doesn't have anything to burn, and have a buffer zone. Yesterday, the lower winds allowed them to use a DC-10 supertanker to drop three loads of retardant on the fire. Today, they're kind of doing a 180 on it. The lower winds today and some of the backfires they have created are allowing them to do aerial ignitions, which is fascinating. They have a helicopter packed with things about the size of a ping pong ball full of chemicals that will burn and swoop into a valley and drop a whole load of these things and create a fire there that will go back away from the towns and not towards the towns so that when mother nature brings the head of the fire towards the town, there is nothing there. So they can use the tools with winds lower and plus less things to feed the fire.
[Holmes:] That is interesting they are using everything at their disposal and give me the update on evacuations, and structures they are trying to save and the update there.
[Spellman:] Sure. The two main towns here Springerville, and eager are still evacuated and Greer, Arizona, two days ago the worst day for the fire and the fire got behind the firefighters and 22 homes there destroyed. It is a beautiful part of the country. Those people are being notified today, and it is off the job for any of the fire folks to have to go tell people their homes are lost, but right now. We have a status update an hour ago and they are not going to let anybody back into the towns even though the lines are holding until they feel it is safe for them to come back in, because it will be through the weekend,
[T.j. Holmes:] Jim Spellman, thank you so much. And Chad Myers, they are not expecting rain out there for
[Myers:] A month.
[Holmes:] Thank you, Chad, and thank you to Jim Spellman as well. And a woman caught in the crossfire with two siblings dead and she needs help with a new leg. We will introduce you to a feisty five-year-old.

[Jane Velez-mitchell:] Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live from New York City. New police audiotapes from the very morning 6-year-old Isabel Celis was discovered missing. You will hear them only on this show. We`ve obtained them exclusively. Also, new surveillance video shows the man police believe is connected to another bedroom assault just miles from Isabel`s home. Are these two cases connected? Exclusive information next.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, one of the FBI`s most wanted fugitives` mother-in-law speaks out. Did suspected murderer and kidnapper Adam Mayes believe these two young girls were his daughters? Mayes allegedly took off with the two children after killing their mom and older sister. Now his mother-in-law is giving us chilling insight into the mind and possible motives of this madman and her own daughter, the woman accused of being his accomplice. You`ll hear from the mother-in-law tonight. And new developments in the disappearance of little Isabel Celis. Our show has exclusively obtained the police-scanner audio from the morning the 6-year-old girl was reported missing. Are there discrepancies? Did her parents change their story? Then, growing fear of fire in the faucets. Americans against fracking take to the streets of Michigan. Will oil and gas drilling turn their water toxic? Should you be worried? Plus, even Jessica Simpson packed on the pounds during her pregnancy. Now she`s reportedly signed a multimillion-dollar slim-down deal. Tonight, join me in an adventure that will melt off the pounds. I`m offering you a simple, no-stress answer.
[Unidentified Male:] It`s a parent`s worst nightmare. We have very little information to go on here. Missing.
[Unidentified Female:] Six-year-old Isabel Celis. Now on the hunt for missing 6-year-old Isabel Mercedes Celis, searching the home where a 6-year-old girl vanished over the weekend.
[Unidentified Male:] We`re labeling it as suspicious circumstances and a possible abduction. Checking each and every car that went in and out of this east-side neighborhood.
[Unidentified Female:] She was checked on this morning at about 8 a.m. They woke up Saturday, and she was gone. Found that she was not in her room at that point.
[Unidentified Male:] Six-year-old Isabel Mercedes Celis was gone.
[Unidentified Female:] Investigators found, quote, "suspicious circumstances" in Isabel`s bedroom.
[Unidentified Male:] We had a window that was open and the screen removed. The investigation has hit a roadblock. Contacted each and every one of the identified sex offenders that within live within a three-mile radius.
[Unidentified Female:] We have bloodhounds that are checking areas, will pick up any scent of the little girl.
[Unidentified Male:] Isabel`s parent were questioned all night long. The family has been cooperating with us.
[Unidentified Female:] That`s just not a possibility if you knew this family.
[Unidentified Male:] We`re not ruling out anything in this investigation.
[Unidentified Female:] There`s just no possible way that the family would have anything to do with this.
[Unidentified Male:] We place everything in the hands of God. Her mother is beside herself. Still no sign of Isabel, and the clock continues to tick. You don`t think anything like that would actually happen to you.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, exclusive new developments in the mystery of Isabel Celis` disappearance that you will only see on this show. We`ve obtained exclusive audio from the police as they responded to the disappearance and possible kidnapping of a 6-year-old. You will hear exactly what cops said and heard as it was happening, starting with this very first dispatch to Isabel`s home that fateful morning. Listen to this.
[Unidentified Female:] A possible kidnapping at 5602 East 12th. Complainant woke up, and their 6-year-old daughter is gone. They`ve searched the house. The window was found open, and the screen was outside on the ground.
[Velez-mitchell:] We`ll analyze more of this audio, which was obtained exclusively, in just moments, but first another big development. Tonight, Arizona cops hunting for this man captured on surveillance video at a convenience store. Sheriff`s deputies want to talk to him about a nearby, unsolved sexual assault case involving a young girl that occurred around the date that Isabel vanished. Could these two cases be connected? That assault happened just ten miles away from Isabel`s home. Cops say a man broke into a bedroom where three little girls were sleeping and sexually assaulted at least one of them. There are scary similarities between that case and missing Isabel Celis. Both happened in the middle of the night, both in Tucson homes in girls` bedrooms. And in both case, little girls were the apparent target. Now cops want to find this man in connection with the case. Take a good look. White male, 20s, wearing a green, sleeveless shirt, dark shorts. So many developments. Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS; 1-877-586-7297. With me tonight investigative reporter and our new JVM contributor, Jon Lieberman. Jon, good work. Excellent work. You obtained exclusively and analyzed these police scanner tapes. And we`re going to go through them with you in depth, because you have found discrepancies between what we`ve been told about the child`s disappearance and what these scanner tapes reveal. But first straight out to KGUN reporter Jessica Chapin on the ground in Tucson. Jessica, what is the very latest?
[Jessica Chapin, Reporter, Kgun:] Well, the very latest is that there is still not very much information to report from the Tucson Police Department. They did release the amount of money spent on the investigation so far; it tops $1 million. They still have about 50 people involved in the investigation, combing through more than 1,000 leads that people have called into their crime-stoppers tips line, but still those searches, the possible sightings, have yielded nothing in being able to track down the missing 6-year-old.
[Velez-mitchell:] Have you seen the parents out there searching at a command post? Or are they pretty much behind the scenes at this point?
[Chapin:] You know, they did make a couple of public appearances last week on Friday. They did sit down with local media. They talked to our station and a couple of others giving a very detailed interview with us. Saturday they were at one of the fundraisers, but since Saturday, really, we haven`t seen them out in the public eye.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right, Jessica, stand by. We`re going to get back to you. Here is more of this exclusive police audio from the scanners, the police scanners, the very morning Isabel was discovered missing. Listen closely to who they say is on the scene of the crime.
[Unidentified Female:] In reference to East 12th, the missing 6-year- old female, light brown hair, hazel eyes, about 40 pounds. Last seen in a pink tank top and navy blue shorts when she was put to bed. Complainant`s actually going to be the sister, and it looks like the mom is en route.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, that is fascinating. Isabel`s mom was not there. We were told she woke up the morning of Isabel`s disappearance and left for work at 7:30 in the morning for her job as a nurse, and then we were told the father went to wake up Isabel at 8 a.m. and she was gone. But in this audiotape, Jon Lieberman, police are saying the complainant was the sister. Now Isabel has no sisters, just brothers. If the father discovered his daughter missing, why is the father not the one who is the complainant when the cops showed up at the scene?
[Jon Lieberman, Hln Correspondent:] That`s the key question. The first thing that stuck out to me when I listened to the tape was there a huge, massive police response very quickly. The second thing, though, when I started examining it, was just what you mentioned, which was that they say the complainant was a sister, and Mom was coming home. Now, we do know Mom was apparently at work, so Mom`s coming home, but there`s no mention of Dad at all. And Dad clearly was not the one who called 911. And add that to the fact that the parents and the extended family, nobody has been ruled out as suspects. They haven`t been named suspect, but they haven`t been ruled out either. And so we are starting to get a more fuller glimpse of what is going on here.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. It`s very strange to me. You`d think it would be the dad. And there you`re seeing some of the family members going in and out of the house as they were interviewed by law enforcement, taken back to the house and questioned by detectives. Let`s get back to this new audio of the police scanner talk that we`ve obtained exclusively, chatter from the first moments cops learned little Isabel had vanished. Listen to this. It`s the first time anyone heard any details about the missing child.
[Unidentified Female:] The missing child from 5602 East 12th, last seen yesterday at 2200 hours. Isabel Celis, number one female, 4 foot, brown hair, hazel eyes, born in 2005, had her hair in braids. Last seen wearing a pink tank top and navy shorts.
[Velez-mitchell:] Now, the key there is that they said 2200 hours. That`s military lingo meaning 10 p.m., OK, but after Isabel vanished the media told us the child was put to sleep and last seen an hour later. Listen to this.
[Unidentified Male:] The child was last seen as she went to bed at 11 p.m. Friday night and then at 8 a.m. Saturday morning is when they discovered her missing.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK. Spell out the discrepancy discrepancy there, Jon.
[Lieberman:] Well, the clear discrepancy is clearly the call came out. Whoever called into police, this female who the dispatcher thought was the sister, but as you mentioned there is no sister. So who is that female? But whoever that female was apparently told police you heard it right there that the last time the girl was seen was when she was put to bed at 10 p.m. at night. But then police came out and said 11 p.m. at night. So who is this mystery woman who police who called into the dispatcher that you just heard?
[Velez-mitchell:] Arthur Roderick, you`re a former assistant director of the U.S. Marshals who has caught numerous men on the most wanted list. I want to get your take on this, because is it we`ll throw this out to Joe Gomez, senior investigative reporter, KTRH News Radio. Is it natural to expect that there are going to be discrepancies with the many criminal cases that you covered, that this is just human nature. People are under the gun. They`re stressed; they`re hysterical. They`re not going to remember. They`re not looking at their watch like they`re they`ve got a dental appointment Joe.
[Joe Gomez, Ktrh News Radio:] That`s right, Jane. I mean, you know, typically, look, you woke up in the middle of the night and you found out that your daughter was missing, I mean, certainly you would be severely distressed. It concerns me that they say that there`s a woman`s voice, you know, on the phone when there was no woman present. Now, there`s a lot of discrepancies in this case that police are still not, you know, fully disclosing. They`re not telling us all of the details in missing Isabel`s case, which I mean, I understand why they`re keeping a lot of this stuff close to the vest, Jane, but at the same time it leads the American public to jump to conclusions like this. So I think we`re just going to have to wait and see what police disclose in the end, but this is really I mean, it`s very concerning.
[Velez-mitchell:] Robi Ludwig, psychotherapist, author of "Till Death Do Us Part." We`re seeing discrepancies. To recap and review, the two key discrepancies, we were told the child was put to sleep and last seen at 11 p.m. The police dispatcher says 10 p.m. That`s an hour`s difference. Also, we`re hearing that the dad was the one who found the child missing, discovered the child missing, but he is not the one who is meeting police who are arriving at the scene, which raises the question why not? Where would the dad be? Now, could he be scanning the neighborhood, running around hysterically, going door to door, looking for the child? He`s not considered a suspect. There`s no suspects here, but nobody`s been eliminated as a suspect.
[Robi Ludwig, Psychotherapist:] Right. As we know, we have to look at the families in this case, because we don`t really know anything about them. And when there are missing pieces of a puzzle like this, especially when it comes to a child abduction, it`s natural to fill it in with the worst possible scenario. Was this father abusive in any way? Is he avoiding the police because he doesn`t want to reveal any guilt? But the truth of the matter is we need more information. And unfortunately, we know it is possible for little girls to be abducted from their homes.
[Velez-mitchell:] It is possible, and this whole thing of the window being open and the screen being out, we have to take a look at that, because that`s what the police were told on these scanners, Joe.
[Gomez:] Absolutely. I mean, you hear in the initial dispatch, you know, whoever called said that she wasn`t in bed, that they searched the house, and they found her bedroom window open and the screen outside. The reason why this dispatch is so important, as well, is police are going to compare all the statements they took initially at the scene with subsequent statements, too, to see if the stories are consistent or if they contradict one another. And therein lies the real important part of the beginning of the investigation.
[Velez-mitchell:] More tape, more discrepancies on the other side of the break.

[Blitzer:] Many of the new recommendations of the president's Bipartisan Debt Commission are being met with skepticism from both ends of the political spectrum. The plan aims to reduce the nation's debt by $4 trillion over the next 10 years and would cut Medicare and Social Security benefits while eliminating some popular tax breaks. So does it have any chance of being implemented at all? Joining us now is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota. He is also a member of this Bipartisan Debt Commission. Senator, thank you very much for coming in.
[Senator Kent Conrad  North Dakota:] Good to be here.
[Blitzer:] Are you on board with these recommendations that the two chairman of the commission, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles put up?
[Conrad:] No, not every detail, but I'm strongly on board with the magnitude of the plan because that's what it's going to take to get us back on track.
[Blitzer:] Are you ready to deal with Social Security the way they're recommending? Because Jan Schakowsky was on this program earlier this week, the Democratic congresswoman from Illinois, also a member of your panel, she was furious. She says it's not good and Nancy Pelosi says it's a non-starter.
[Conrad:] Well, you know, they have a right to their views. Look, I believe it is, without question, necessary to deal with the entitlements, to deal with revenue, to deal with discretionary spending and to deal with defense. We are borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend. We're headed for a debt that will be 400 percent of the gross domestic product of the country.
[Blitzer:] Are you ready to increase taxes?
[Conrad:] Absolutely. I am ready to cut spending. I am ready to raise revenue. I am ready to deal with every part of the federal budget, because there is no option if America is going to remain economically strong.
[Blitzer:] So what I hear you saying is you're Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles basically when it comes to these recommendations. You can tinker on the margins, but basically you're with them on that?
[Conrad:] Let's talk about Social Security. They have said we're going to alter somewhat the inflation adjuster, make less of an inflationary adjustment.
[Blitzer:] People won't be getting the increases they have been until now.
[Conrad:] Yes, a more accurate adjuster according to most economists. That seems to be a non-starter given the fact that Social Security is going to go cash negative in 2015. It's going to go insolvent. It's going to go broke by 2037. So those who say don't touch it aren't dealing with reality any more than those on the right are dealing with reality who say you can't touch revenue. Look, you have to deal with both sides of the equation.
[Blitzer:] When you say revenue, you mean taxes?
[Conrad:] Exactly. Revenue as a share of our national income is the lowest it's been in 60 years. Spending is the highest it's been in 60 years as a share of national income. So you've got to deal with both sides of this equation if we're going to get our debt under control.
[Blitzer:] What you're saying is you've got to cut spending and increase taxes?
[Conrad:] It's undeniable. I think any serious person who has looked at it has concluded that that's the case. By the way, on Social Security, I don't think many people have mentioned that in the Simpson-Bowles plan they're increasing for the bottom 20 percent. They will get an increase
[Blitzer:] For the poorest Americans.
[Conrad:] Yes. For those who reach the age of 80, they will get a 1 percent adjustment upward each year for five years in a row.
[Blitzer:] Let's be practical. You need 14 of the 18 members to approve these recommendations. Otherwise, they're just recommendations. If you get 14 on board, then it can go to the Congress as legislation. Do you believe there will be 14 of your colleagues, you and 13 others, who will agree?
[Conrad:] I don't know. I hope so. I hope for the sake of this country that we have the will to do what's necessary. I can tell you the Chinese have concluded we have lost the will to deal with our debt. And they have concluded as a result the United States is going to become a second tier economic power. I hope we're able to prove the Chinese wrong. I hope we're able to tell all the interest groups in this town to oppose it because their little slice of the pie is getting nicked. It's going to take nicking a lot of the pie to get this job done.
[Blitzer:] You're up for re-election in 2012. Are you going to run?
[Conrad:] I've not reached conclusion on that. I don't usually make that decision two years in advance but I'm certainly preparing to run.
[Blitzer:] North Dakota is not necessarily all that receptive, at least in the most recent election, to Democrats.
[Conrad:] I can tell you my ratings have remained very positive.
[Blitzer:] Even though you voted for health care reform?
[Conrad:] Absolutely. Look, as I explained to the people of North Dakota, we're on an unsustainable track on health care. We're spending 1 in every 6 dollars in this economy on health care. On the trend we're on, we're going to go to spending 1 in every $3 in this economy to health care.
[Blitzer:] So you're not going to break away from that.
[Conrad:] Absolutely not.
[Blitzer:] And you know the Republicans if you run for reelection will hammer away on that.
[Conrad:] I'm completely prepared to defend what has been done to prevent a financial collapse. I was in the room when the secretary of the treasury under the previous administration and the chairman of the Federal Reserve told us if you don't act, we are going to have a financial collapse.
[Blitzer:] Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke, they were that blunt?
[Conrad:] They were absolutely as clear as they could be and told us we would face a collapse within days.
[Blitzer:] Did they say it would be a depression?
[Conrad:] They didn't use those words. They used the words financial collapse. On the night that we achieved agreement on the T.A.R.P. plan, we were told if we did not reach agreement by 5:00 on Sunday evening, the Asian markets would collapse, our own markets would open the next morning, and they would collapse.
[Blitzer:] Looking back, were they exaggerating or do you still believe that?
[Conrad:] I think it is as clear as it can be, that's what it would have been. You saw former President Bush at the University of Texas say it wasn't a hard choice. It was a choice between depression or no depression. I chose no depression. And former President Bush is exactly right.
[Blitzer:] Sounds like someone may be running again from North Dakota in 2012.
[Conrad:] Look, I am absolutely going to defend what was done, because it was absolutely essential to avert a financial collapse.
[Blitzer:] Senator, thank you very much for coming in.
[Conrad:] You bet.
[Blitzer:] A former Republican insider is pushing the GOP leadership to embrace tea party members and their agenda. And a tea party retreat and a call for unity. That's coming up in our strategy session. A memento of Marilyn Monroe's love life on the auction block right now.

[Chetry:] Twenty-six minutes past the hour. It's been 32 years since the Miracle at the Meadowlands left the Giants at a franchise low. Well, this morning, the Giants have a new miracle to deal with after the Philadelphia Eagles soared scored 28 fourth quarter points to beat them. DeSean Jackson's punt return for a touchdown as time expired. This is what you're seeing here, really sealed the disaster for Giants fans and, of course, for the team. Joining us from Atlanta to talk about the new Meadowlands miracle and the performance of Eagles' quarterback Michael Vick, former NFL running back Jamal Anderson. Good morning, Jamal. Great to see you.
[Jamal Anderson, Former Nfl Player:] Great to see you, too, Kiran. How are you?
[Chetry:] Full disclosure, I come from a Philadelphia Eagles family. I married into it. OK? It was not willing on my part at all. But they had changed the channel. I mean, a lot of my relatives said I can't watch this disaster, they're getting killed and they were quite surprised when they watched the highlight reel. Break down for us what exactly was going on in that game.
[Anderson:] Unbelievable. The Philadelphia Eagles were essentially out of this game, Kiran. I mean, you look at this game up until the fourth quarter. The Philadelphia Eagles were dominated on the ground. They were dominated defensively. In fact, Michael Vick had been pretty much contained. Then, all of a sudden, the fourth quarter comes and Michael Vick takes off. Essentially puts up al of his stats in the fourth quarter, threw for nearly 250 yards, another 130 yards rushing, and then, of course, we saw the last play of the game. The Giants' punter punts the ball right down the football field to DeSean Jackson, who picks it up right there in the middle of the football field and breaks down the middle, through a couple of New York Giants and into the end zone. And the most painful part right here at the end, he kind of stalls and makes sure he takes all the time so the Giants can't come back. Completing an amazing comeback in the in the fourth quarter where they scored 31 points on the Giants.
[Chetry:] I mean, what's amazing now, I mean, you can look at the flip side and say the Giants did really well and played a really good game. And, you know, everyone's saying Michael Vick, he's so great. He's so great. Why did he let them get into a 21-point deficit going into the fourth quarter?
[Anderson:] Well, the New York Giants have a fantastic defense. I mean, you know, Osi Umenyiora and that defensive line. He's been doing a very good job the past couple of weeks of containing quarterbacks, getting to quarterbacks. And then knew we knew that was going to be a difficult thing for Michael Vick. They showed a possibility to get to him when they played in in Philadelphia the first time around and Vick and the Eagles were able to beat them. So it was surprising that they were they were able to be as successful, but they followed a similar game plan that the Chicago Bears did a couple of weeks ago against Vick. But look what happens.
[Chetry:] Yes.
[Anderson:] Can I just hold this guy for three quarters? You got it.
[Chetry:] Right. And this is the interesting thing. I mean, both in his personal life and what you saw in the field. I mean, people had written him off. I mean, he was
[Anderson:] Right.
[Chetry:] he was in Leavenworth. He was, you know
[Anderson:] Right.
[Chetry:] he was a convicted you know, he was a convicted dogfighter. He was the most reviled person in sports. And now he's a winner. He's an MVP contender. It's a redemption story and he sort of
[Anderson:] It is.
[Chetry:] lived that out yesterday. I mean, down 21 points. Who would who would think that they could come back and then win it?
[Anderson:] No, that's absolutely true. And you think about this right now, Kiran. Here's a guy who was in Leavenworth, like you said. Think of this turnaround the past 18 months, up Friday and in fact today this morning, Michael Vick is leading the Pro Bowl voting, the fan Pro Bowl voting for all players in the
[Nfl. Chetry:] Right.
[Anderson:] That's more votes than Tom Brady. That's more votes than Peyton Manning. That's more votes than the defending Super Bowl MVP and Super Bowl champ Drew Brees, three of the most popular players in the NFL, three of the top players in all of football. He is leading the Pro Bowl voting.
[Chetry:] Right.
[Anderson:] So you're talking about this comeback and what he's been through going from being a pariah. And, in fact, you know, you're a Philadelphia Eagles fan. There were a lot of people in Philadelphia who were angered when Michael Vick was picked up by the Eagles.
[Chetry:] Yes. They dubbed never to watch again. How times have changed.
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Chetry:] How times have changed. Just really quickly, I want to ask you about this brouhaha about the dog situation.
[Anderson:] Right.
[Chetry:] The president of the Humane Society came out. Vick was asked in an interview, would you want to own a dog again? And he said some day he hopes he would like to do that.
[Anderson:] Right.
[Chetry:] The Humane Society backed it and people are furious. What to make of this?
[Anderson:] You've got to put it in context. Just like he said, some day, part of the you've got to listen to what he said part of the rehabilitation process, which, in fact, is true, is once again owning a dog and proving that you are capable of owning a dog and housing a dog with your family. He wants to do it for his family. He wants to do it for his children. And, in fact, part of his rehabilitation process, proving that he was convicted of such heinous crimes against dogs that if he can own a dog again and be a successful owner, completes the full turn around. He's done everything else on the football field and off the field. So, why not? Down the line, I certainly understand it. So, people kind of relax. He's not talking about getting a dog tomorrow. He's saying down the line.
[Chetry:] Still a lot of anger and high emotion around that.
[Anderson:] True. Very true.
[Chetry:] You can't take away his game on the field. Jamal Anderson, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
[Anderson:] My pleasure. Thank you.
[Chetry:] Coming up in about an hour, we're going to talk more about this. Wayne Pacelle, the president and CEO of the Humane Society, will be joining us to explain those comments of Michael Vick wanting to be a dog owner.
[Roberts:] And meantime, crossing the half hour, it's time for this morning's top stories this morning. A new study says millions of Americans are drinking tap water contaminated with a suspected cancer-causing chemical called hexavalent chromium. That is the same chemical, if it sounds familiar to you, that was made famous in the film "Erin Brockovich." The study was done by an organization called the Environmental Working Group. They found the chemical in the drinking water in 31 out of 35 cities they tested.
[Chetry:] Do they know if you use a filter if it can take it out or not?
[Roberts:] I'm not sure if it does or if it doesn't.
[Chetry:] Pretty scary. Well, police in Britain arresting 12 suspected terrorists in early morning raids in several cities, part of large scale counterterrorism investigation. Police say that suspects ranging in age from 17 to 28 posed a threat to public safety. There was no word on what the target might have been. According to our Nic Robertson, they were Pakistani nationals, but not Pakistani descent, but not sure if they were nationals or if they were British citizens.
[Roberts:] And the Korean Peninsula on pins and needles this morning. Despite the threat so far, there has been no signs of retaliation by the North after South Korea's live-fire military exercise overnight. Those drills took place not far from the island that Pyongyang attacked last month.
[Chetry:] With nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in South Korea, the Pentagon, of course, has a huge stake in what happens in the region.
[Roberts:] And, of course, they're watching developments very closely this morning. Our Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon. And, Barbara, you've been working your sources all weekend. You've got some new information to share with us.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Indeed, John and Kiran. If you want to know just how seriously this was taken here at the Pentagon, we have just learned that overnight last night, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, came into the Pentagon and spent a good deal of time here inside the building monitoring the situation as it unfolded. It is very unusual for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to work on a Sunday night inside the building. That is the level of concern that the Obama administration had overnight about these exercises. I've asked senior Pentagon officials if they now consider it all over and done with. And they say no. That they will continue to watch very closely for any North Korean reaction despite the statements from Pyongyang that it's in their words not worth reacting to. They have been down this road so many times with the North Koreans. They still believe the regime is unpredictable. They will watch and watch around the clock John, Kiran.
[Chetry:] So, this confrontation may be between the North and the South, but, of course, as we said, the U.S. has a lot of stake. I mean, would we get into the military aspect of this if forced?
[Starr:] Well, their hope, of course, is that hostilities do not break out. The U.S. has plenty of fire power in the region. But the military strategy by the Obama administration so far is to stay out of sight to monitor, to try and basically hold the South Koreans' hands behind the scenes saying stay calm, don't, you know, don't go over the cliff on this one. And the U.S. has kept its intelligence and reconnaissance assets up and flying 247, satellites, reconnaissance aircraft, watching constantly for any North Korean movements. They haven't seen much of anything out of the unusual in this time frame. One of the decisions was that the U.S. wouldn't move in with an aircraft carrier or some of the typical things you'd think they might do because they didn't want to be party to any unforeseen provocations. They wanted to keep it as low key as they possibly could John, Kiran.
[Roberts:] All right. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon this morning, watching the situation thanks. We'll check back with you a little later on. Well, we're in the final week of Christmas shopping now. You just got a few days left. How your smartphone could help you find that last-minute deal you're looking for.
[Chetry:] Teens and texting. We know they do it a lot. But could it be harmful to their health? The first part of our series on cell phone addiction. Thirty-five minutes after the hour.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] In South Africa, Oscar Pistorius' family says he's going to hold a private memorial service today for his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
[Michael Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Yes. Pistorius, of course, is free on bail on murder charges after he shot and killed Steenkamp at his home. He has, of course, been arguing he thought she was an intruder.
[Malveaux:] In South Africa, the murder charges against him for the shooting death of his girlfriend, it is not the first such case. Actually, Nic Robertson reports there was a tragedy back in 2004 that is very similar to this shooting.
[Holmes:] Yes, it brought back some horrible memories for a prominent South African sportsman and his family.
[Frieda Visagie, Shooting Victim's Mother:] That is when the evening before
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Correspondent:] That's the last picture you have?
[F. Visagie:] The last picture.
[Robertson:] Marley was 19. Just out of high school. Her mother Frieda, so proud.
[F. Visagie:] She was pretty. Even
[Robertson:] Oh, she's beautiful. She's beautiful.
[F. Visagie:] Even she's my daughter but she was pretty.
[Robertson:] Frieda and her husband, Rudi Visagie, a former international rugby star, remember every detail of the night in 2004.
[F. Visagie:] Sunday morning, 23rd of May, about 5:00 in the morning, a sound, a noise woke me up.
[Robertson:] Frieda thought Marley's car was being stolen and woke Rudy.
[Rudi Visagie, Shooting Victim's Father:] I jumped up and I saw it. And I took out the pistol.
[Robertson:] Rudy was afraid. Two of their neighbors had been killed the week before. He broke the bedroom window and shot at the thief.
[F. Visagie:] I heard Rudy growling. And I wondered, what's happening now? And then he told me, but it's Marley in the car.
[Robertson:] In that instant, their lives changed forever.
[R. Visagie:] So that that one shot out of a million, went right went right through the door, penetrated my daughter through the neck. And she was actually dead on the site.
[Robertson:] Visagie was not prosecuted. The court decided he had suffered enough, saying we feel he has learned a hard lesson and the courts cannot achieve more than that.
[F. Visagie:] I wish she could be with me. And I see daughters with their little children. You know, I wish I had these little children.
[Robertson:] And they feel the pain of Oscar Pistorius, "the blade runner," who shot and killed his glamour model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, he says fearing a thief was in his house.
[R. Visagie:] Nic, I can tell him, I feel with you.
[F. Visagie:] I couldn't forgive myself because I woke Rudi up. So I can sort of feel what he feels. Why did I do this? What if, you know, all those questions that goes through his head.
[Robertson:] Today, both say their faith in God saved them. That Marley's death was part of God's plan.
[Unidentified Male:] Women are being abused. Women are being raped. People are being oppressed.
[Robertson:] At their evangelical church, they've become leaders, often sent all over the country to counsel trauma victims.
[R. Visagie:] I just want to encourage him to say, listen, there's a lot of people praying for you and know they feel for you for what you're going through now.
[Robertson:] Both say, if he calls, they are ready to help. Nic Robertson, CNN, Nelstrate, South Africa.

[Casey Anthony, Acquitted For Daughter`s Death:] You want me to talk, then give me three seconds to say something.
[Cindy Anthony, Mother Of Casey Anthony:] All right. I`ll listen. Go sweetheart.
[Casey Anthony:] I`m not in control over any of this.
[Unidentified Female:] We, the jury, find the defendant not guilty. Justice for Caylee.
[Unidentified Male:] People hate her and that`s because they don`t know her.
[Velez-mitchell:] One of the most hated women in America out of her secret hiding place. Casey Anthony reportedly snapped enjoying freedom at a Florida restaurant with a mystery man, plus the private detective who worked with her defense team, Pat McKenna although he wasn`t photographed. This is basically what she looks like now, not the actual photo. We were just having some fun here but she had long brown hair, was wearing a white beanie of all things, looking a lot like the Casey we knew from the trial, less like she did in the YouTube video diary while in hiding on probation. Remember this?
[Casey Anthony:] I`m extremely excited. I`m extremely excited I`ll be able to Skype and obviously keep a video log, take some pictures, and that I have something that I can finally call mine.
[Velez-mitchell:] That didn`t last long. Lisa Bloom, what does it mean she`s out now in public not in disguise?
[Bloom:] Well, she is trying to regain her life, I suppose, doing something normal like going to a restaurant and having wings allegedly with a couple of people. The problem is that although Casey Anthony was acquitted she is really going to be in a kind of prison for many, many years because she can`t really go out in public without something like this happening. She has to be hidden under a hat. She`s got to be with men who might protect her like that private investigator who may be doing security for her. She`s going to be hounded wherever she goes so, really, she is not a free woman.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes, and this is in the Palm Beach County area. It`s like why is she in Florida? This sighting comes on the heels of news that some people are even angrier than normal at Casey. Here is why.
[Jose Baez, Attorney For Casey Anthony:] We were waiting for the state to bring it up. And when they didn`t, we were kind of shocked.
[Velez-mitchell:] The sheriff`s office botched the investigation, we just learned recently, into little Caylee`s death by failing to find key evidence and handing it over to the prosecutors. The search on her computer for foolproof suffocation on the day the child was allegedly murdered. So, Lisa, to come out now a couple weeks after that revelation, that`s dicey maybe.
[Bloom:] Yes, that revelation was very disturbing to me. Foolproof suffocation and then that person went on MySpace and only Casey Anthony went on MySpace in that household. Who is the fool in foolproof suffocation? Is it her parents? Is it the media? Is it the jury? Is it all of us? Were we all played for fools and now she is not behind bars, you know? That is so disturbing, Jane. It really is.
[Velez-mitchell:] I just don`t believe that they missed that because they analyzed the wrong search engine unbelievable. More on the other side.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND. Forty-seven states,, more than 100 deaths and no end in sight. The latest on the national flu epidemic.
[Unidentified Male:] You really believe this story, Osama bin Laden? Yeah. What part convinced you? Her confidence.
[Kaye:] Washington may be less popular than cockroaches, but, man, can they sell movies. How Hollywood has turned government paper pushes into blockbuster action stars. And, do you have a cat? Well, he's probably trying to kill you. Author Matthew Inman explains the theory behind his very funny best- selling book. It is Sunday, January 13th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. We start this morning with your health and the flu epidemic that has gripped the nation. The vast majority of the nation reporting widespread flu activity. Information released by individual states shows that more than 100 people have died this season. In New York state, Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a public health emergency because of the flu. He issued the order yesterday. It gives pharmacists the ability to vaccinate children as young as six months. The state's health commissioner describes the increases in cases New York has seen this year.
[Dr. Nirav Shah, New York State Commissioner Of Health:] As of January 5th, the state health department received reports of over 2,800 patients hospitalized with laboratory confirmed influenza, compared to 1,169 for all of last year.
[Kaye:] Governor Cuomo set out to be an example of why he thinks getting the flu shot is important by getting vaccinated right in front of reporters. And it's not too late for you to get a flu shot. The CDC says this year's flu shot is a good match for the flu strain making its way across the U.S. And that it's up to 62 percent effective. But despite that advice, many don't want to get one. CNN's Lisa Sylvester takes a look at why.
[Dana Weinstein, Mother:] Here we go. JANICA
[Weinstein, Daughter:] More. More.
[D. Weinstein:] More. We have to save some for when you play with your friends.
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] It's a good defense against the flu hand sanitizer. But when it came to getting a flu shot for her two-year-old daughter, Dana Weinstein was less certain.
[D. Weinstein:] But I really thought about it and between the odds of her having a bad reaction versus catching the flu, I felt like the flu and having her down and out and possibly risking her health or her life wasn't worth it.
[Sylvester:] Dana ended up getting a flu shot for her daughter, Janica, but others we talk to say no thanks to the flu vaccine.
[Unidentified Male:] Busy with work and just didn't seem to affect me, I don't think.
[Unidentified Female:] I'm not sure I'm confident in its ability to really protect me.
[Sylvester:] There are concerns with the flu shot that lead some not to get one. Many of those reasons, though, are actually baseless. First notion is that the flu shot can actually give you the flu. Dr. Greg Cope is an ER doctor at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington.
[Dr. Greg Cope, Sibley Memorial Hospital:] It's a virus that's been broken down into many parts that are inactivated and will not cause the flu.
[Unidentified Female:] Not really. Not this year.
[Sylvester:] Another common complaint is that the flu shot isn't effective. While it is true that scientists who develop the vaccine project which strains of the flu they think will be prevalent in any season, and sometimes they can miss problem strains, on the whole Dr. Cope says the flu vaccine is still worth getting.
[Cope:] I think generally the effectiveness for all ages is approximately 60 percent.
[Sylvester:] One of the most common concerns is that the flu vaccine preservative, thimerosal, a form of mercury, might be linked to autism. The issue has been looked at extensively by the medical community. A 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study concluded, quote, "thimerosal containing immunizations did not increase the risk of any of the ASD autism spectrum disorder outcomes." Even for those with concerns, you can get a flu shot that is thimerosal free. Still, a flu shot is not for certain people says Dr. Cope.
[Cope:] I have nothing but reassurance to give in reference to the vaccination. The people that I think should not be candidates for the vaccine, people who have true allergies to the vaccination and sometimes that's people that have severe egg allergies or the very young, below six months. But it's generally very, very safe. Generally the healthy you are, the more efficient it will be.
[Sylvester:] Another argument is that some people just don't like needles and shots, and that is a valid concern, but they do make the flu mist. A quick skirt up the nose and you're good to go. Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
[Kaye:] Coming up in our next hour, teaching students about germs and how they spread. One inventive teacher is using glitter to show students how the flu gets around. And adding to flu fears out west is some wicked weather. In Phoenix, a freeze warning is in effect until Tuesday, while overnight temperatures in central California hovered in the low 20s, threatening crops.
[Tom Aguilar, Owner, Mandarin Hill Orchards:] Right now we're probably two weeks from the end of our harvest, so, maybe 15 to 20 percent of the crop would be lost.
[Kaye:] Meanwhile, in Spokane, Washington, no, this is not a parking lot. It's a fresh layer of snow that turned one road to ice and sent nearly 20 cars crashing into each other. In Reno, Nevada, roads are so icy that traffic is backed up for hours and troopers have been responding to dozens of accidents. And look at this whiteout in North Dakota. The department of transportation there is warning drivers to go slowly or just stay inside. The expected high today in Minot, North Dakota, zero. Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak won a retrial on charges tied to the killing of peaceful demonstrators during the 2011 revolution. A court last June found Mubarak and his interior minister responsible for the murders by government security forces. Both were sentenced to life in prison. The retrial will be based on the same evidence, but this time judges will be allowed to consider Mubarak's health. The 84-year-old recently broke his ribs in a fall. Mubarak's trial drew the world's attention both because he was the first Arab leader to be jailed by his own people, and because he appeared in court lying on a hospital bed and confined to a cage. I'm joined now from Cairo by Sarah Sirgany. Sarah, good morning. It's early afternoon, though, where you are. What is the reaction there?
[Sarah Sirgany, Cnn Correspondent:] So far there is a lot of uncertainty about how the new retrial will have if there will be no evidence submitted to the court or not. Mubarak's lawyer, Farid El Deeb claims that if there is new evidence, it could be accepted by the court. But everyone is wondering about the fact the new facts-finding commission that was settled by President Mohamed Morsi and whether the evidence is connected would be accepted by the court or not.
[Kaye:] And do we have any idea how quickly this retrial might happen?
[Sirgany:] His lawyer estimates that it will it should take place within two months, not before that.
[Kaye:] Egypt certainly has struggled to move toward democracy. Most recently the controversy over the new constitution there. How could a Mubarak retrial, like this, affect the country's political stability?
[Sirgany:] His name almost pops up whenever there's something important happening in the country. Whether he whether his health condition or the course of his trial or now retrial. Definitely creates something different from the controversy regarding the constitution, regarding the new parliamentary elections that are expected this year. And now people are going to have something else to talk about. Depending on how the trial, the new trial will develop, it would affect the current government, whether negatively or positively, because a lot of people have been looking for the Muslim Brotherhood for the for President Mohamed Morsi to take positive action in terms of bringing justice to the victims and to the people that were killed during the course of the uprising 2011.
[Kaye:] Right. Right. Sarah Sirgany in Cairo for us this morning. Thank you. Tomorrow, Lance Armstrong is expected to sit down for an interview with Oprah at his home in Texas and he may finally spill the beans. "USA Today" reports that Armstrong plans to admit to using performance enhancing drugs throughout his cycling career. For years, Armstrong has repeatedly and aggressively denied doping. And then last fall he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. And Armstrong distanced himself from his popular cancer charity, Livestrong. His effect on the cancer community has been profound, but now some are questioning if it's a good idea to turn to celebrities to gain support for different causes. And in about 15 minutes from now, we'll talk with John Seng, who worked with Lance Armstrong to inspire cancer survivors. Relatives of computer prodigy Aaron Swartz says they are in shock after learning of his suicide. The 26-year-old hanged himself in his Brooklyn apartment. Swartz helped create the wepi system known as RSS when he was just 14. He also pioneered the free availability of information online. He was facing federal fraud charges related to the theft of millions of academic articles from MIT. He faced 35 years in prison and a million dollar fine. Swartz denied those claims. Hugo Chavez is not in a coma and is, quote, "continuing to make strides in his recovery." That's according to the Venezuelan president's older brother. Adan Chavez says he visited his brother in Havana, where the president went last month for cancer surgery. The elder Chavez says rumor that his family plans to take the president off life support are, quote, "totally false." Hugo Chavez hasn't been seen in public for weeks. On Thursday, he missed his own inauguration. What do cockroaches and Congress have in common? We'll show you next. But it's not all bad news in the nation's capital. Hollywood is giving them something to crow about, even if the accolades are built around a flawed perception.

[Lemon:] Seventeen days 17 days left until the election and two days until the last presidential debate. President Obama is hunkered down at Camp David today, preparing for the debate. Mitt Romney is out of sight as well. He's in Florida, getting ready for the debate. They're running mates hit battleground states today, though. Congressman Paul Ryan stumped in Ohio. Vice President Joe Biden campaigned in St. Augustine, Florida. A battleground Florida, that state looks like a virtual tie right now. A new CNNORC International poll finds 49 percent of likely Florida voters support Romney, 48 percent support President Obama. The one- point difference is within the poll's margin of error. President Obama and Mitt Romney are scrambling to pull ahead in the race for Florida's 29 electoral votes, of course. Well, Vice President Joe Biden zeroed in on Florida today. Biden stumped, as I said, in St. Augustine, and hit on some very familiar themes, like education, health care, women's issues. Our political reporter, Shannon Travis, has more on Biden's day now.
[Shannon Travis, Cnn Political Reporter:] Don, the Obama campaign is going after the woman's vote, maybe even the baby's vote. More on that in just a moment. But Vice President Biden just finished up a short while ago a rally here in St. Augustine, Florida. This is his third rally here in Florida over the last two days. You can bet that one of the key issues that Vice President Biden talked about, women's issues. He talked about he referenced that comment from Governor Romney in the last debate about binders. Take a listen and look closely at what happened.
[Joseph Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] When Governor Romney was asked a direct question in the last debate about equal pay for women, he started talking about binders.
[Biden:] Binder.
[Travis:] Now, there's obviously a lot of talk about binders. The Obama campaign seriously feels like this is a winning issue for them, this issue of equal pay for equal work for men and for women. The Romney campaign, on the other hand, feels like this talk about binders makes the president look small. Let me read a statement from the Romney campaign, quote, "Four years ago, candidate Obama said the following: 'If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as somebody people should run away from.'" The statement goes on to say, "With no record to run on and no agenda for a second term, President Obama has become the type of candidate that he once decried." That from the Romney campaign. Meanwhile, there was one other political attack that Vice President Biden made here at his rally. Take a listen at this.
[Biden:] Like that beautiful baby over there. I don't I don't blame her for crying. I don't blame that baby for crying. That baby, that baby, that baby knows what's in store for him or her if Romney wins.
[Travis:] Next up for Vice President Biden, Ohio, Ohio, Ohio. Three days there and on Tuesday, he will make a rare joint appearance with President Obama Don.
[Lemon:] Shannon Travis, thank you, sir. The race is also tight in battleground Ohio, where Shannon just mentioned, a new FOX a FOX News poll found 46 percent of likely Ohio voters support President Obama, 43 percent support Mitt Romney. Ohio has 18 electoral votes. Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan zigzagged to Ohio and Pennsylvania today. A few hours ago, Mr. Ryan campaigned in Belmont, Ohio. Earlier, he worked the crowds in Pennsylvania. He focused his remarks on rebuilding the economy and job creation.
[Rep. Paul Ryan , Vice Presidential Candidate:] We are not going to duck these tough issues. We're going to run at our country's economic and physical problems before they get out of our control. That's what leaders do. And when you look at the engine of economic growth and job creation in this country, it's small businesses. It's risk takers. It's entrepreneurs. It's the workers that work overtime to make those small businesses work and succeed. We're going to champion these small businesses. We're not going to keep taxing these small businesses and regulating them and spending us into a debt crisis.
[Lemon:] Well, Ryan also got into the local spirit in Pennsylvania. He waved a terrible towel for Pittsburgh Steelers fans. The last debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney happens Monday night and you can watch the showdown live right here on
[Cnn, 7:] 00 p.m. Eastern our coverage starts. An estimated 5.8 million people don't have the right to vote. A new book called "The New Jim Crow" argues some former inmates carry a label for life, denied their basic rights as an American. We're going to talk to the author. You don't want to miss it, next.

[Kaye:] Jury selection has started in the trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. He's charged with sexual assaulted on a child and bigamy. Police arrested Jeffs after a raid on the ranch run by his church in 2008. The fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a breakaway sect of the mainstream Mormon church. CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman joins me now here in studio to talk about this. So these are the most serious charges in terms of this trial that he's ever faced?
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] These are the most serious charges. And this is what's amazing. Our viewers have probably heard about Warren Jeffs for a long time. He was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. He's been in jail for five years. But so far he's convicted of nothing. He was convicted in Utah of a less serious charge, but it was overturned because of faulty jury instructions. Arizona dropped its charges against him because Utah had convicted him, but that conviction is no longer valid. But now, very serious charges. Two charges of sexual assault against girls who are 12 and 13 years old. Warren Jeffs accused of having relationships with them and having a baby with the 13-year-old. So it's very serious. What's very interesting, this is not an attack on religious. This is what prosecutors say. This is a prosecution based on a man who they say sexually molests children. Listen.
[Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General:] The issue for the people of the jury to consider is whether or not Warren Jeffs sexually assaulted a minor. We already have five convictions and two other people who pled guilty for similar crimes, other similar activity and at the
[Kaye:] What's fascinating, Gary, is that thousands still believe he is a prophet and they stand by him, right?
[Tuchman:] I mean he I've talked to you about this for years
[Kaye:] Yes.
[Tuchman:] Because you and I have been friends for 30 or 40 years now.
[Kaye:] At least.
[Tuchman:] At least. And we've talked about it long time. And that's what's amazing. He has at least 10,000 followers. This is the largest polygamist sect in the United States of America. In North America. And when I go to these communities, Arizona and Utah and these communities in Colorado, and British Columbia, and Texas, when we talk to people, they love this man. They believe he's a prophet to God. He is God's spokesman on earth. And most of them will never do anything to hurt them. And no matter what he does, it is OK with his most fervent followers.
[Kaye:] How much of how much activity does he still have in terms with the sect? I mean is he still preaching to them?
[Tuchman:] Well, that's what's amazing. I mean he's been in jail for five years. He's been in three four different jail cells of three different states. Right now, he spends thousands of dollars a month on calling cards and he delivers his sermons from inside the jail and he is leading the church and his followers sit inside churches and sit inside their homes in Arizona and Utah and Colorado and they believe that they're hearing the word from God, from this man, who has been accused of being so cruel and terrible to children.
[Kaye:] So, if he is convicted, how many years is he facing?
[Tuchman:] He faces the possibility of life in prison. If he's convicted in the state of Texas, this could put him away forever.
[Kaye:] Have you tried to talk with him?
[Tuchman:] I've tried to talk with him before. He does not talk to infidels. I'm beneath him. And so are most people. I've come up to him
[Kaye:] I would beg differ with that.
[Tuchman:] Well, thank you, Randi, I appreciate that. But that's the fact, that he has not done any interviews. He believes that if you don't believe what he believes, that you are beneath him. You're not worth being talked to.
[Kaye:] Wow. Fascinating and so interesting to see this trial get underway. I know you're going to be following it for us. Gary, thank you. Appreciate it.
[Tuchman:] Thanks, Randi.
[Kaye:] And even though Warren Jeffs has been in jail, he and his church are still gaining power. New developments in the case may have many scratching their heads. You can turn into "Anderson Cooper 360" for the full story by Gary Tuchman tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. And there's a CNN special you don't want to miss on Sunday night about polygamy. Three amazing stories. One show. That's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Sunday right here on CNN. Michael Jackson's family made a huge announcement today. We'll give you the details right after this.

[Costello:] You might be seeing more of Michael Jackson's oldest son, Prince Michael, that's his name, he's been hired as a reporter for Entertainment Tonight. The lawyer for the 16-year-old says he is determined to make his own money, though he's set to inherit millions of dollars from his father's estate. Counting down now to Hollywood's biggest night. The Oscars, just five days away, for actress Jennifer Lawrence she's hoping her performance in "Silver Linings Playbook" will turn to Oscar gold.
[Lawrence:] I said I'm tired. Are you going to walk me home or what?
[Bradley Cooper, Actor:] You mean me?
[Lawrence:] Yes, you. Are you going to walk me home?
[Cooper:] You have poor social skills. You have a problem.
[Lawrence:] I have a problem? You say more inappropriate things than appropriate things. You scare people.
[Cooper:] I tell the truth. You're being
[Lawrence:] What, I'm not telling the truth?
[Costello:] Our Showbiz correspondent Nischelle Turner joins me now. And you aat down for a one on one interview with Jennifer. Tell us what she said.
[Turner:] You know, Carol, she's kind of salt of the earth. I've interviewed her several times from good, young actress to A-list superstar. Now she's a front-runner in the race for best actress for the Oscar but she says all in her life that glitters sure ain't gold. 22-year-old, your second Oscar nomination, do you ever just say this can't be my life?
[Lawrence:] Yes, I do. Now it's just I find it hilarious.
[Turner:] And you're at these things and you're like
[Lawrence:] I know, I'm looking around at all of these legends, my heroes and I'm just like
[Turner:] I heard you on Piers Morgan the other night tell him that you were vulnerable. When I heard that I said no way, you come off as such a confident, tough girl.
[Lawrence:] That's just my voice, I have a deep voice, makes me sound very confident and tough.
[Turner:] What are you vulnerable about?
[Lawrence:] Well, everything. There's not really, there's no way to really feel like fully confident when you're photographed almost every day. I mean I can't read what anybody says. I don't know, just very, very watched and kind of looked under a microscope, it's impossible not to feel vulnerable.
[Turner:] I remember interviewing you when "The Hunger Games" was coming out and the paparazzi were starting to figure you out and find you. Have you made peace with that? Because I know it's a full-on issue.
[Lawrence:] No it's horrible. The worst part they take away your peace of mind, even in my house you still have the feeling of being watched. It's just kind of a horrible, horrible thing. I don't think I'll ever come to terms with that.
[Turner:] When you're not looking like you are today with the gorgeous makeup and the great dress, what do you do when it's just like Jennifer Lawrence's day off?
[Lawrence:] I never wear makeup. I'm not good at putting on makeup so I never wear makeup. I'd look terrible. I normally stay in my pajamas forever especially now because I'm not leaving the house. So my friends come over you've been wearing the same thing for three days. I'm like, ugh.
[Turner:] Now my girlfriend actually said she saw her at CBS the other day with a ball cap on and no makeup and she was still cute. So there you go. Carol she did seem a little shocked though at all of this success she's had so early. She maintains she's still just Jennifer from Louisville, Kentucky. And I know you will appreciate this because you're a woman like me who loves her sports. We got into the University of KentuckyUniversity of Louisville athletic debate and she said in her family they are definitely UK, University of Kentucky academic people, but they are U of L athletic supporters all the way.
[Costello:] It's in your blood sometimes. You can't help it.
[Turner:] It is. It is.
[Costello:] Nischelle Turner, thanks so much.
[Turner:] Sure.
[Costello:] A mysterious message pops up on Facebook and it leads a woman to news about her missing son. Why she's now furious about that message which came from the police.

[Richard Quest:] The clarion call: build up the firewall, and Germany drops its resistance. The other call: tell us your password to Facebook or you won't get the job. Tonight I ask you, what would you tell the company? And flying on a budget. Low-cost airlines are battling for our business. The start of a new week. I'm Richard Quest and, of course, I mean business. Good evening. She can stand the heat no longer. Chancellor Angela Merkel has given into pressure and agreed to help build Europe's firewall higher than ever before. It happens as Spain struggles to keep a lid on its own debt crisis. And now, Germany's wunder chancellor finally admits the two bailout funds must be combined to stop things escalating further.
[Quest:] If you join me at the super screen, you'll see how the flames are licking around the crisis that simply won't go way. And I don't mean it's warm after winter. The new permanent ESM, European Stability Mechanism, comes into force in July. Now, the total for the ESM is some 500 billion euros. It's a permanent fund, and it's designed to put prevent contagion and fire. However, many say it's not high enough and more money needs to be put in there. Chancellor Merkel accepts that, now, and she has said that the EU could temporarily use the bailout money from the existing EFSF, the money left over. That would create a firewall of some 740 billion euros. The firewall, some would say, would now be big enough. Others believe it still wouldn't be enough. Some say a trillion euros is needed to build a true, effective firewall if you're going to douse those flames. It's a serious political gamble for Chancellor Merkel to agree to add the extra money. Her colleagues in Brussels want something very different from her domestic political rivals, who threaten this sort of war. Fred Pleitgen is our Senior Correspondent, who is in Berlin.
[Fred Pleitgen, Cnn International Correspondent:] This is quite a big step for Germany. As you know, the Germans have always been very much opposed to increasing the size of the permanent European Stability Mechanism, the bailout fund, essentially, for eurozone countries that get into trouble. Now, what the Germans are suggesting is to keep the actual fund as it is, but to also keep the temporary fund that's already in place for a little bit longer, have the two run parallel, in order to increase the firepower of both of them. Now, what we're talking about is a firewall in the magnitude of about 700 billion, possibly all the way to almost a trillion euros in size. And the way Angela Merkel wants to do that she explained a a press conference earlier today.
[Angela Merkel, Chancellor Of Germany:] We can imagine that these 200 billion euros could run parallel to the 500 billion euros of the ESM until they have been paid back by the countries. That will take several years, and then the ESM will stand alone with the 500 billion.
[Pleitgen:] Now, Germany's seeming softening of its stance is, of course, good news not just to faltering eurozone economies, but also to other countries. As you know, Germany has been under a lot of pressure from the United States, also from countries in Asia to soften its position and to create a firewall that many believe will actually do the trick. Because there are a lot of experts who believe that the firewall of $500 billion for the ESM was simply not big enough to protect a lot of those eurozone economies. This also comes as Angela Merkel received a mixed bag of political as well as economic news here in Germany. On the one hand, business confidence has risen for the fifth month in a row. This according to the Ifo business confidence index. It's a sign, people believe, that Germany is in a very stable position and could see some economic growth in 2012. On the other hand, there were regional elections here in Germany that actually weakened Angela Merkel's position on a federal level. Her own party fared quite well, however, her coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, did very, very poorly, are out of that state parliament. And also, if elections were held here in Germany, federal elections, tomorrow or next weekend, they would probably also be out of the German federal parliament, as well. That's something that could hurt Angela Merkel's leadership role here in Germany, which of course would also have an effect on her ability to maneuver and be strong in Europe. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
[Quest:] Spain is one of the countries that may need to rely on this very firewall. The situation's precarious, now, for the government of Prime Minister Rajoy, that even electoral victories look sometimes more like defeat as the flames start to lick closer. Let's just hope the fire doesn't get to close to the library, because in Andalucia, there has been an election, and Rajoy's Popular Party did win, but it failed to get a majority, and the Socialists are expected to form a coalition. The reason it's significant is Andalucia is Spain's most popular region, and it's seen as a key test of Rajoy's austerity policies. Those austerity policies will be to the forefront on Friday with the budget. You'll be remembering, of course, Rajoy said he wasn't going to be able to cut the deficit to 5.3 percent, and there was an argument over with the European Commission, and the Commission basically said, you will cut the deficit target to where you agreed to cut it, 5.3 percent is what they're aiming for, which will be blistering in terms of the austerity that will be inflicted on the Spanish people. Not surprising, with all this happening, Spain, the IBEX was the market that fell, which of course is all the more remarkable when the other markets rise quite sharply. The Spanish banks were hard hit. Spanish bond yields fell today, as well, still more than 5 percent on the ten-year bond. You're getting an idea that the crisis that we had thought, perhaps, had abated may be starting to simmer up again. So, the stock market has raised its own questions on how to manage money during times like this. One chief investment officer, one top European bank, says it's time to put risk back on the table, or at least time to move away from the safety and security of the bonds that we all bought during the crisis. Didier Duret is the chief investment officer at ABN AMRO. This current financial crisis and the way it has shifted, we needed to understand how the rules have changed.
[Didier Duret, Chief Investment Officer, Abn Amro:] They key change is that the people are simply recognizing that the bonds yields are not enough for long-term annuities. And that's probably the thing that will create a big change over this year, meaning that people are probably overweight in terms of bonds and are underweight in terms of equities, and most of the private clients have not followed the asset allocation that were recommended by the big banks. So, there is a huge hoarding of cash from the private investor perspective.
[Quest:] Which is either in bonds or in cash itself. But the events that we've seen in the last few days, even today, with the ESM, the EFSF, Merkel, Spain, is this the right time to be putting risk on equities?
[Duret:] I think so because the we are seeing big firewalls to be built, we are seeing that since December, but do you know what we are seeing from the side from the Germans this morning is simply extended the height of the firewall, and the strength of the firewall.
[Quest:] But it's still risky. Spain's bonds are still high.
[Duret:] Yes.
[Quest:] So there is still questions and worries.
[Duret:] But you know, the Spanish bonds were 6 percent the 25th of November. Now two years, and the two-year bonds for Spanish are a little bit above 2 percent, so that's much less risky than it was.
[Quest:] So, asset allocation, out of bonds and over to equities, is that what you're suggesting?
[Duret:] That's one of the moves. And this move can be done gradually, because people come from a perspective where they are strongly underweight in bonds for some of them, so they have to go into a specific sector and in particular to have already exposure into the cyclical with a good balance also into the defense sector.
[Quest:] And ultimately, do you believe in fact, I know you believe, because you told me you believed that another bull market is about to begin?
[Duret:] I think there are many comparisons between 2012 and 1982.
[Quest:] Oh!
[Duret:] Really. It could
[Quest:] 82?
[Duret:] 82, yes.
[Quest:] I don't remember it.
[Duret:] Yes, 82 we were quite young at the time, but the thing is, we have major political change that had happened. The rule of the game of the central bankers was totally rewritten. We can find many comparisons on that, and also the industrial sector was the real sector that has suffered a lot of pain. Now, we are seeing that with the financial sector. So, there are really big changes, but what is important is that the central bankers represent a kind of a coalition of the will.
[Quest:] So, call it by me. Risk back on the table.
[Duret:] Certainly, risk back on the table, but with a lot with a close eye on diversification just to make sure that you don't go too crazy with the crowded trade, one of the crowded trade that we see is government bonds, but also the investment grade bonds have been rolling for already some years. So, it's a bit of an exhausted trade. You need to find something different.
[Quest:] The asset allocation. The markets open doing business at the moment. Have a look at this. It is the Dow Jones, which is currently up nearly 1 percent. A gain of more than 100 points, 120-odd points at 13,210. All the major markets are up very strongly. If you want to know the reason why, look no further than the chairman of the Fed. He has cast doubt in recent improvements in the labor market, but Ben Bernanke told an organization that recent falls in the jobless rate are out of sync with the rest of the economy. On overall growth, he said, was not fast enough to sustain the trend. So, the modest growth that he talks of has led to a US jobless rate falling from 9 percent to 8.3 percent, and those comments have raised investors' hopes the old hopes that long-term interest rates would remain slow for a long period of time. The chairman said, over time the Fed's current loose policy would help reduce unemployment. The Fed speaks, the market rises. When we come back in a moment, they're popping up everywhere. Qantas, China Eastern, Iberia, they've all announced new budget airlines, and we'll look into the budget business model after the break. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

[Alina Cho, Cnn Anchor:] His wife knew everything. I'm Alina Cho. Syracuse firing coach Bernie Fine after a new explosive tape surfaces. And now, a third accuser is saying Fine molested him when he was a boy.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] It's election day in Egypt. I'm Christine Romans. With fresh blood in the streets of Tahrir Square, Egyptians are heading to the polls. Many of them are voting for the first time in their lives on this AMERICAN MORNING.
[Cho:] Good morning, everybody. It's Monday, November 28. Carol and Ali are of today. I'm Alina Cho, along with Christine Romans just back from vacation.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Cho:] Welcome back.
[Romans:] Good morning.
[Cho:] Nice to see you. But, first, time is running out for more Wall Street protesters. You're looking live now at the scene in Los Angeles there. Occupy protesters were warned they would be arrested if they were still on the streets after 4:30 a.m. West Coast time about half an hour ago. So far, it's been mostly a peaceful standoff with police. You can see one of the affiliate reporters there in front of the camera, certainly a top story out there. But earlier, we had been reporting that police were trying to get those protesters to fold up their tents and move out. What happened instead was that more protesters moved in. So, we are watching this story very, very closely throughout the morning.
[Romans:] All right. Also developing this morning, Syracuse University associate head basketball coach Bernie Fine has been fired this after explosive allegations of sexually abusing two former ball boys. After the firing, the head coach there, who had earlier defended Fine, he issued this statement. He said, "The allegations that have come forth today are disturbing and deeply troubling. I am personally very shocked because I have never witnessed any of the activities that have been alleged. I believe the university took the appropriate step tonight. What is most important is that this matter be fully investigated, and that anyone with information be supported to come forward so that the truth can be found." And he went on to say, "I deeply regret any statements I made that might have inhibited that from happening or been insensitive to victims of abuse." He had been very vocally in support of this assistant coach.
[Cho:] He had. And now, there's a bit of an about-face. ESPN meanwhile has released that secretly recorded conversation in 2002 between Fine's wife, Laurie Fine, and one of the coach's accusers, Bobby Davis. On it, potentially damning evidence that suggests that Laurie Fine not only knew about the abuse but allowed it to go on. We want to play some of that for you right now.
[Laurie Fine, Bernie Fine's Wife:] I know everything that went on, you know, I know everything that went on with him. Bernie has issues, maybe that he's not aware of, but he has issues. And you trusted somebody you shouldn't have trusted.
[Bobby Davis:] Yes.
[Fine:] Bernie is also in denial. I think that he did the things he did, but he's somehow through his own mental telepathy has erased them out of his mind. You know what? Go to a place where there's gay boys, find yourself a gay boy. You know, get your rocks off, have it be over with.
[Davis:] Yes, but
[Fine:] You know, he needs a, that male companionship that I can't give him, nor is he interested in me, and vice versa. Because I care about you, and I don't want to see you being treated that way
[Davis:] Yes.
[Fine:] and, it's hard for, if it was another girl like I told you, it would be easy for me to step in because you know what you're up against, you're you're when it's someone, it's another guy, you can't compete with that.
[Cho:] Well, it's tough to hear. Laurie Fine told this local newspaper which declined to report the story at the time that Davis had recorded multiple conversations with her and may have edited them to appear more inflammatory. Bobby Davis and his stepbrother, Mike Lang, say Fine molested them back when they were ball boys at Syracuse. Davis also claims that Laurie Fine had a sexual relationship with him when he was 18 years old.
[Romans:] Today, affiliate WCSH spoke to a third accuser who has come forward against fine. The 23-year-old Zach Tomaselli says that Fine molested him in a Pittsburgh hotel when he was 13. It's the night before a Syracuse game against Pitt. Tomaselli he has his own troubles. He is facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Maine in 2009 and 2010. Tomaselli's own father calls him a liar and denies him ever meeting Fine or letting his son take a trip with the coach.
[Cho:] And when asked for a statement, Bernie Fine's attorneys released this, quote, "Mr. Fine will not comment on newspaper stories beyond his initial statement. Any comment from him would only invite and perpetuate ancient and suspect claims. Mr. Fine remains hopeful of a credible and expeditious review of the relevant issues by law enforcement authorities."
[Romans:] All right. And on campus this morning, many students are still having trouble believing all of this is happening at their school. CNN's Deb Feyerick is live in Syracuse with more. And, Deb, I mean, you've called and I think it's the perfect phrase. You've called this tape the game changer. There was a lot of skepticism about these claims before, and now the tables have turned.
[Deb Feyerick, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. Absolutely. And, you know, a lot of people here at Syracuse University, they are trying to reconcile the sort of two sides of Bernie Fine. The man, the coach that they know as a respected part of the basketball program who helped recruit and develop many of the players here, and now, these new allegations, really by his wife, who describes him as having a problem. And they're really trying to come to terms with who is the real Bernie Fine: the man they have known for so many years, or the man they are now just getting a glimpse of. And we spoke to the sports editor of the school paper here. And here's what he said.
[Michael Cohen, Sports Editor Of "the Daily Orange":] Every single person that we talk to, you know, multiple people in this house worked on the reporting, and every single one we talked to would defend coach Fine, and not a single one gave us even the slightest bit of an impression that these were true allegations. And now, this is coming from former players and coaches and people he worked so close with. So, it seemed at least like that the Syracuse basketball community was in defense of coach Fine. And then in the community itself, the Syracuse community, there were people who thought it was ridiculous. There were people who thought, you know, it wasn't true as well. I think a lot of people fed of what Jim Boeheim said, which was that Bobby Davis and Mike Lang are just looking for money in the fallout of Penn State, in the wake of Penn state. So, there was that aspect as well. But, you know, certainly I don't think anyone can say they suspected it from Bernie Fine, a guy who has been a dedicated member of the community and done so much for the basketball program. It was surprising if in fact it's true, which is still to be seen.
[Feyerick:] And police have launched an extensive investigation. They did not investigate back in 2002 when the accuser made the initial claims. Part of it, the statute of limitations had run out. Also, they wanted the accuser to come in and speak with them face-to- face, because he really just placed a call from a university out in Utah. But the accuser, Bobby Davis, alleges that the abuse went on for decades in the Fine home, where he lived part of the time. And you think about this community, Christine. The homes of both the assistant coach and coach Jim Boeheim, they are across the street from one another. When we went to the home last night, there were a couple of lights that were on, but nobody answered our repeated knocks. The chancellor in making her decision to fire the coach last evening said that there was little more she could do in face of the new allegations. She also says that they never had the tape back in 2005 when they investigated charges of abuse. And then simply found them not credible because there was nobody to corroborate the story at the time. As I said, Syracuse police, they are investigating. Everyone is taking this very seriously now Christine.
[Romans:] All right. Deb Feyerick in Syracuse thanks, Deb.
[Cho:] Well, Egypt is at a crossroads this morning. It's election day there. And with fresh blood being spilled in violent protests in Cairo, people are still heading to the polls. Many of them voting for the first time in their lives. Some 50 million people in Egypt are eligible. Our Ivan Watson is live for us in Cairo. And, Ivan, the polls have been open now for about seven hours. What does it look like there?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn International Correspondent:] The polls are still pretty crowded, Alina. Good morning to you. This line goes back I mean, there are hundreds of people waiting, perhaps hours for their chance to cast their ballot. And you know what? Everybody I have talked to today has told me the same thing. This is the first time they have ever voted in an election. Even though Egypt did have presidential and parliamentary elections under the former president, Hosni Mubarak pretty much everyone I talked to said the elections were rigged in favor of the president's ruling party. And now we feel like we have a choice. Some of these very people that are telling me this, but they are a little shy about speaking in front of the camera in English. And certainly there is no shortage of choices here. The ballot has in some cases more than 100 candidates and political parties that they can choose from. The election season here is going to go on for months. This is for the lower house of parliament. Voting today is going to go on for two days, Alina. But it's only 13 of the country. Next month3 of the country, and then the month after, another 13 of the country. And they won't actually get the results until January. So people are going to get very used to elections in this country if all goes according to plan Alina.
[Cho:] Ivan, I'm curious whether the people have you spoken to feel as though the elections are going to make any difference.
[Watson:] It's a good question. Take a listen to what one voter had to say to us right now.
[Unidentified Female:] It will not change in one month or a year or in five years. It will take a long time to change from one system to the other. We have been going with this system for the past 30 years, and it's not like a button we push to change everything. People's mentality has to change, everything. The more population, the way they think, the way education, everything. It's just the whole system that has to change.
[Watson:] There you go, Alina. Now, if it's noisy here, it's because there's a campaign truck here blaring campaign slogans right outside the polling station. We have been informed by authorities that campaigning during the voting is illegal, but that doesn't seem to be stopping the political parties here. Back to you.
[Cho:] All right. Ivan Watson live for us in Cairo, on a very important election day in Egypt. Ivan, thank you.
[Romans:] Meantime, three American college students are back home in the United States this morning, a few days after an Egyptian court ordered their release. They were accused of throwing Molotov cocktails during the uprising in Tahrir Square. Georgetown University student Derrik Sweeney denies they did anything wrong. He tells CNN Egyptian authorities fabricated the charges against them. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Sweeney said he was so terrified he fainted when he was realized he was being detained.
[Derrik Sweeney, Detained In Egypt:] There were about 20 15 to 20 military or police, excuse me, I believe Egyptian policemen with guns standing in front of us, and they had just pulled out a bunch of gasoline and bottles and put them before us. And I was I thought that there was a good chance that they might try to execute us or kill us perhaps that night. And I did not know whether anyone else would ever know about that.
[Romans:] Wow. Sweeney says that Egyptian authorities beat him. They threatened to shoot him. He says, though, he'd consider returning to Egypt some day, just not any time soon.
[Cho:] Yes. He might stay home for the semester first. Still ahead, she is a prominent Egyptian journalist based right here in New York City, and a good friend of our show. Mona Eltahawy is here name. She's here in our studios this morning, and she'll share a very personal story. Eltahawy says she was beaten, her bones broken, in both wrists, and sexual assaulted by policemen and thugs while covering the clashes in Tahrir Square. Her story is up next.
[Romans:] Also ahead, Occupy protesters in Los Angeles hold their ground overnight as police move in. These are live pictures right here. We've got all the new developments for you just ahead.
[Cho:] And a little later on in the show, actor Kal Penn will drop by our studios. He's of "Harold and Kumar" fame. He is once again focusing on his Hollywood career after a two-year stint as a staffer in the White House. So, was the real West Wing like the show "West Wing"? That was that like for him? He'll talk about it. It's 13 minutes after the hour.

[Nancy Grace:] Breaking news tonight in the sudden death of music icon Michael Jackson. We are in a verdict watch, the Michael Jackson homicide trial now with a jury of 12. Jackson`s live-in doctor, Conrad Murray, on trial for shooting Jackson up with a super-powerful surgical anesthetic, propofol, then leaving the superstar to die surrounded by his own urine. Bombshell tonight. As the jury deliberates, we learn that the defendant, Conrad Murray, is actually filming a movie about himself, hoping for a payday of at least a quarter million dollars. As millions of fans wait for justice, Jackson`s doctor, Conrad Murray, braces for a verdict. The jury clock is ticking.
[Unidentified Male:] Now, you may think Dr. Murray is a sinner. The most common sense thing that we all learned as young children. You may think Dr. Murray is a sinner.
[Unidentified Female:] And it says, OK, you know what? This was an accident.
[Unidentified Male:] That you call 911 immediately. 911
[Operator:] Get him on the floor. Did anybody witness what happened?
[Unidentified Male:] No. Just the doctor, sir. Gave a great performance. He was optimistic. He was looking toward the future.
[Unidentified Female:] This was Conrad Murray getting caught up in the celebrity lifestyle.
[Unidentified Male:] He`s not breathing. His eyes were open. His mouth was slightly open. The defense is going to try to say all these horrible things. Michael Jackson had a problem.
[Michael Jackson:] Children are depressed in those hospitals.
[Grace:] Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. The sudden death of music icon Michael Jackson we are in a verdict watch, the Jackson homicide trial now with a jury of 12. Let`s go straight out to Jean Casarez, legal correspondent "In Session." I`m now hearing we`ve got her satellite up. Jean, you`ve been at the courthouse all day long. The jury has just broken deliberations. I understand that the family, the grandmother, Ms. Jackson has been moved close to the courthouse in anticipation of the verdict.
[Jean Casarez, "in Session":] You know, Nancy, there`s been so much anticipation around that courthouse today. And we learned late today that Katherine Jackson and Joe Jackson have actually come to downtown Los Angeles to have a hotel room. That`s where they are staying, we understand, in anticipation of a verdict. When it happens they want to be here. But the crowd kept building today, Nancy. The people, the fans kept coming of Michael Jackson, believing today was going to be the day. But just minutes ago, they were sent home for the weekend. They`ll be back again on Monday.
[Grace:] Everybody, we are live and taking your calls. Out to Jane Velez-Mitchell, host of "Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell." Jane, thanks for being with us. The crowd around the courthouse is surging, everybody waiting for justice. Describe to me what`s going on outside the courthouse.
[Jane Velez-mitchell, Host, "issues With Jane Velez-mitchell":] Well, I`ve got to tell you, today, Nancy, one of the biggest crowd we`ve seen since the start of this trial. And people were very anxious, awaiting a verdict which didn`t come today. And things got tense because you have the Dr. Conrad Murray supporters on one side, you have the Michael Jackson fans on the other, and they were clashing. They were clashing verbally. They were accusing each other of things, saying, I`m going to call the police on you. And it got very, very heated. And I think part of it`s just the anxiety. Everybody`s on pins and needles. There were a couple of false alarms. When word spread that Katherine was coming from Calabassas to downtown L.A., a lot of people assumed there was a verdict, incorrectly making that assumption. And so people swarmed here, and then they were furious when it turned out that she was simply staying at a nearby hotel in order to be ready for when the verdict did come. So a lot of frayed nerves.
[Grace:] You know, another thing we`ve learned, Jane Velez, is that during all of this, as the facts regarding Michael Jackson`s death have been recounted in the courtroom, the whole time, the defendant, Conrad Murray, has been filming a movie about himself? And that he hopes for a payday of at least a quarter million dollars. That`s what he`s been doing during all of this, Jane?
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, listen. He`s been spotted on the beach. He`s been spotted out and about with his girlfriend, who has become known as "instrument." She`s the one who testified that when she was asked what she did, she said, I worked on my instrument, meaning myself because I`m an actress and my body is an instrument. He was at Gladstone`s partying the day before closing arguments. So he`s out and about. He`s still a man about town, as it were.
[Grace:] You know, to Ellie Jostad. What can you tell me about this movie that the defendant you see him right there, Dr. Conrad Murray, on trial in the death of Michael Jackson, the superstar he`s filming a movie about himself? As a matter of fact, when he rides to the courthouse for the verdict, we`re expecting for a camera to be in the car. What the hey?
[Ellie Jostad, Nancy Grace Producer:] Right. Radaronline is reporting that Dr. Conrad Murray has been involved in a documentary film about himself. It`s been going on. He`s been being interviewed for this documentary since he was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. They say this crew was with him last night, interviewed him for about an hour. They talked to him again this morning, where he`s been hunkered down, apparently, with his girlfriend, Nicole Alvarez, and other friends. They even plan to be in the car with him and record his reaction when he gets word that a verdict has been reached, when he`s headed to the courthouse to learn his fate, that they`ll be there with him. And also, Radar is reporting that the reason Murray is partaking in this participating in this project is that he hopes that when they sell this, or if they sell this movie to a network, from anywhere from of $250,000 to a million dollars, that he`ll get a cut of that and he`ll use it to pay his legal bills.
[Grace:] Well, you know what? I`m sure he`s got plenty of money, Ellie, because he was charging Michael Jackson $150,000 a month to live there and be his personal doctor. So I hardly doubt that Conrad Murray has any money problems. We are live and taking your calls. Out to Debbie in Louisiana. Hi, Debbie. What`s your question.
[Unidentified Female:] Yes, ma`am. I`m a little confused here because this case seems to be pretty much cut and dried. He gave Michael Jackson this medicine. He should not have given the medicine. So I don`t understand what the issue is. And another thing I`m wondering by all accounts, from everything I`ve heard about Michael Jackson, he was not a vindictive, he was a mean person. What would he think about all of this?
[Grace:] You know, Beth Karas joining us, legal correspondent, "In Session," also joining us from L.A. You know, Beth, Debbie in Louisiana has a point. There`s no doubt that the doctor administered propofol in the past. But the whole defense is that on this occasion, Jackson self- administered. Break it down, Beth.
[Beth Karas, Legal Correspondent, "in Session":] Well, you`re right. And the defense concedes the element of criminal negligence. They admit that Murray was negligent. The only issue really for the jury is causation, whether or not Michael Jackson is responsible for his death. But you know what? There`s no such thing as a fatal dose of propofol. It breaks down so fast in the body that any amount, even a tiny amount, can be deadly. You need to be by your patient`s side. You have to monitor and open the airway, give oxygen to your patient. Abandonment is the key here. So the jury may be hung up right now on causation that`s the real issue in the case and whether or not to blame Michael Jackson for it. But quite frankly, there is a view, a definition in the law that will allow the jury to convict even if they believe Michael Jackson did it to himself because Conrad Murray provided it and played a substantial role. And as you know, Nancy you`ve tried so many cases the cases that go to trial usually have an issue.
[Grace:] You know what, Beth? You`re right. You know, Jean Casarez, this whole issue the defense has raised about Jackson self-administering the reality is, is they said he self-administered with a syringe that had a capacity of 10 ccs, but there was only 25 mls in there, that that`s what he shot up. But Jean, you and I together have gone over the autopsy report line by line. His whole body was saturated! And in my mind, what accounts for it is that even after Jackson was dead, this saline drip was pumping him full of propofol. Jean, there`s no way that one syringe could have made him this intoxicated with propofol.
[Jean Casarez, "in Session":] Well, the defense says there is because you can take that syringe, and if you do a strong, fast bolus into you, that can take the blood levels that high. But here`s the thing, Nancy. The intervening act actually makes the case stronger for the prosecution because Conrad Murray saw all the pill bottles around the bedroom. He recorded Jackson on May 10th with a slurred voice. He knew that Michael Jackson had issues. Therefore, an intervening act would be foreseeable. So Conrad Murray cannot be absolved of guilt because of an intervening act.
[Grace:] You know what? They could have used you in closing arguments, Jean Casarez. To Dr. Bethany Marshall in just a moment, we`re unleashing the lawyers Dr. Bethany, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers." Bethany, I want to get back to Conrad Murray and something Jean just said reminded me. You know he secretly taped his own client talking, all right? And he probably taped more than that. Now we know he`s shooting a movie about himself during the trial and during jury deliberations to make money. He`s still milking the cow, Dr. Bethany, still getting money out of Michael Jackson!
[Bethany Marshall, Psychoanalyst:] Well, he`s treating the case like he treated his patient. His interest in money corrupted his conscience, and that`s why there was gross negligence in terms of medical care. His interest in money is corrupting his conscience in terms of how he appears to the public and what is appropriate in this particular case. So I think it`s just the same behavior all the way through. And plus, the corruption of conscience has to do with his own be grandiosity because he overestimated his abilities with his patient. He did not have the extensive training that an anesthesiologist has. And in the same way, there`s a grandiosity that goes into filming himself and feeling that he`s going to get all of that money. And one final factor. I don`t think Michael Jackson ever paid him. And in a sense, it`s like he`s taking his pound flesh back out of the situation. You didn`t pay me. I`ve gone through all of this. You know what? I`m going to make money over your dead body by filming all of this and making money off of this situation. I would imagine that`s a part of his thought process.
[Grace:] Out to the lines. Sandy in Louisiana. Hi, Sandy. What`s your question, dear?
[Unidentified Female:] Hi, Nancy. Kudos to you and Tristan for making it through the week eight. I have a question. I am appalled with the defense, Nancy. How could this man get up there and say that the prosecution called Michael Jackson a baby? He reworded the whole statement. And is Conrad Murray`s documentary going to be called "How I Killed Michael Jackson"?
[Grace:] Sandy in Louisiana, I really like the way you think. I want to go out to Danny Bonaduce, morning show host 102.5 KZOK, a friend of Michael Jackson. Danny, you`ve made no secret of the fact that you have overcome substance abuse. And when you see someone, like Sandy in Louisiana just pointed out, taking advantage of Jackson, who we all know to be an addict he was an addict, a junkie at the time of his death. And now he`s filming a documentary that says, Hey, I killed Michael Jackson, should that be the title how does that make you feel and what`s your reaction to people still milking Jackson for money?
[Danny Bonaduce, Friend Of Michael Jackson:] First off, please don`t think I am being flippant in any way and by the way, it`s a pleasure to be back. Thank you for having me. Please don`t think I am being flippant, but the jury literally is still out on whether this guy is a terrible doctor, but the jury is not out on him being a terrible agent. He`s the singular star of a documentary about "I Killed Michael Jackson," the payday should be $5 million, not a quarter of a million dollars! Who`s doing this guy`s agent work? This guy should be getting rich off of this, which he will, which disgusts me!
[Grace:] Well, what he should be getting is four years behind bars, at the very least. In my mind, this should have been charged as a murder one. We are in a verdict watch in the Michael Jackson homicide trial, and we are taking your calls. Stay with us.
[Unidentified Male:] Ladies and gentlemen, you`ve seen and heard all of the evidence in this case. This is it. I mean, this is really it. Michael Jackson trusted Conrad Murray.
[Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson`s Private Doctor:] Then he complained, I got to sleep, Dr. Conrad.
[Unidentified Male:] Poor Conrad Murray. 911
[Operator:] Not conscious, he`s not breathing?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, he`s not breathing, sir. He trusted him with his life.
[Unidentified Female:] Michael should be here with us!
[Murray:] Started immediately to perform
[Cpr. Unidentified Male:] I think he should have called 911 sooner. I do not, however, think it would have made any difference in the outcome of this case.
[Unidentified Male:] I think there is anticipation in the air.
[Unidentified Female:] Be for Michael, be against Conrad Murray!
[Unidentified Male:] There could be that verdict.
[Unidentified Female:] So what if he`s a junkie? He did not deserve to die.
[Grace:] We are live at the L.A. courthouse and taking your calls. Back out to Jane Velez, standing at the courthouse. Jane, the timeline the timeline is what`s so upsetting to me, how long it took Conrad Murray to finally call 911. Go through it with me, Jane.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, he exhibited many, many deviations from standard medical care. Some of them were gross or extreme. Certainly, not calling 911 when you find your patient in crisis is an extreme deviation from standard medical care. He also didn`t have the proper medical equipment. He was supposed to have complex EKG machines and much more sophisticated oxometers and all sorts of other material that he did not have there. He did not have an assistant. So when he went to the bathroom, he essentially abandoned the patient. Abandoning the patient is another. Another extreme deviation, he lied to paramedics. And by the way, one of the jurors has a brother who`s an EMT. He lied to the paramedics and didn`t tell them the drugs he had given Michael Jackson, never mentioned the word "propofol." They get to the hospital, he never tells the ER doctors that he gave Michael Jackson propofol. It is one thing after the other and after the other. And as for the documentary, I can tell you that if I had a nickel for everybody who`s producing a documentary one guy out here shooting 60 hours of tape he hopes to sell to a network. Dr. Conrad Murray can have his buddy videotaping him. It`s not the same thing as having a deal with a network. They do not have a deal at this point.
[Grace:] Also joining us outside the courthouse with Jane is Ryan Smith, host of "In Session" and HLN`s "Morning Express" correspondent. Ryan, thank you for braving the weather to be with us, along with Jane. OK, you have been in the courtroom every single day, Ryan. What`s the standout moment, and who does it help, state or defense?
[Ryan Smith, Host, "in Session":] Oh, the standout moment for me and I think in this case for a lot of people is Dr. Steven Shafer on that stand. He was on the stand for three days. But you know what he did? He got the prosecution`s theory out about how Michael Jackson died. You know, Nancy, it`s a standard of care case. Did Dr. Murray do something that was criminally negligent or did he fail to do certain things in treating Michael Jackson who he had a legal duty to? But Dr. Shafer took on causation. That`s the defense`s theory. And he essentially said that slow IV drip that was what killed Michael Jackson. Right there, you got the jury in the jury room debating that, going through that. And if they believe it`s the slow IV drip, I don`t know how Dr. Murray will be found not guilty. Powerful.
[Grace:] Everybody, we are live at the L.A. courthouse. We have got a panel of legal brainiacs. Also with us, A.J. Hammer and Bethany Marshall taking your calls.
[Unidentified Male:] We are on verdict watch.
[Jackson:] I`ve never seen nothing like this in my life.
[Unidentified Female:] He should be here. It`s Michael Jackson.
[Unidentified Male:] He trusted him with his life. Did not kill Michael Jackson. Is Conrad Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter?
[Murray:] I am an innocent man.
[Unidentified Male:] The jury clock, it keeps on ticking. Justice demands a guilty verdict. The jury in the Michael Jackson death trial has had the case now...
[Grace:] We are live, camped outside the L.A. courthouse, where a jury is deciding the fate of Dr. Conrad Murray, on trial in the death of superstar Michael Jackson. We are taking your calls. Very quickly, to A.J. Hammer, host of HLN`s "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." First of all, A.J., what kind of a perv would tape Michael Jackson secretly on this audio recording, and now he`s still milking the cow and trying to make a documentary which is really about Jackson`s death it seems to be about Conrad Murray but he`s still trying to make money off Jackson? And how`s the family going to respond, A.J.?
[A.j. Hammer, Host, "showbiz Tonight":] Well, the family`s not going to be happy with that at all, of course. And it`s going to be very interesting to see if Dr. Conrad Murray is even able to get an offer for this documentary that he`s reportedly filming. Will he even get a penny for it if he is acquitted? Now, if he`s found guilty, that could be an entirely different story because, apparently, reportedly, the cameras are following him around. They`re following his every move. And they are supposed to be there when he receives the phone call from his attorneys letting him know it`s time to come back and hear his fate, and then catch his first reaction once his fate has been read. I don`t think the family`s going to like it one bit, but they don`t like anything about this guy.
[Grace:] You know what`s amazing to Jane Velez-Mitchell, standing outside the courthouse is that even now, Conrad Murray`s still trying to make money off Michael Jackson. And he`s paying so much attention to his documentary. Too bad he couldn`t pay that attention to Michael Jackson as he lay dying. How are the fans going to react to all this?
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, they will be absolutely outraged as word spreads that Dr. Conrad Murray is allegedly trying to make a buck again, or more than a few bucks, off of his involvement with Michael Jackson by shooting this documentary. I`m sure most of them hope that he doesn`t get to sell it. The truth is that the attraction of this case is on Michael Jackson. It has nothing to do with Conrad Murray. He`s not the charismatic figure here. I can tell you these fans are organized. It`s been raining on and off all day. It hasn`t stopped them. And they represent people from around the world. I talked to a woman who has organized fans from around the world, including 15 planes that have flown in different days around the courthouse praising Michael Jackson and demanding justice.
[Jackson:] This is the final this is the final curtain call.
[Murray:] Your Honor, I am an innocent man.
[Jackson:] Never seen anything like this in the world.
[Unidentified Male:] You`re playing roulette with Michael Jackson`s life at that point. Their theory is that Michael Jackson injected himself with propofol, causing his own death. They want you to convict Doctor Murray for the actions of Michael Jackson. Doctor Murray left the room and say he got up and took more pills and also injected more propofol. If he acted so recklessly with the life of Michael Jackson in his hands that it amounts to indifference to the very life of Michael Jackson. Did he appear to be dead? Yes. He only wanted to sleep because he had problems with sleeping. Not to die.
[Unidentified Female:] He died so quickly. He never even closed his eyes.
[Unidentified Male:] Now what this is fundamentally about is trust. Justice shall prevail.
[Michael Jackson, Singer:] I feel so much love. I felt it then. I`m so happy that that love is still there.
[Nancy Grace, Hln:] We`re live in L.A. and taking your calls. Joining us right now attorney for Michael Jackson`s other doctor, Doctor Arnold Klein, Garo Ghazarian. Garo, thanks for being with us. What do you believe is the right decision in this case, guilty or not guilty and why?
[Garo Ghazarian, Doctor Arnold Klein`s Attorney:] Well, the right decision is obviously guilty. I`m not sure that the jury will reach it. I hope they do. And the reason why is because the evidence is overwhelming and the defense argument essentially is suggesting that a passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver is responsible for a fatality that takes place in this case the fatality being the passenger`s own fatality. So I think it`s a no brainer.
[Grace:] With us, Garo Ghazarian representing Doctor Arnold Klein. Also with us, Doctor Cathleen London, assistant physician and New York Presbyterian professor. Doctor, thank you for being with us. Can you please explain what Jackson would have to do to self-administer this propofol in his knee?
[Doctor Cathleen London, Assistant Physician, New York Presbyterian Professor:] Well, that the thing. So, he got a catheter inserted down in his leg. He has to somehow get up and get the syringe and reach down and insert it into that catheter which they just don`t kind of go in, you have to really get that in there. Then inject it and then somehow magically get rid of the syringe because it wasn`t there. It just makes no sense at all especially if he had already so much medication on board. There`s no way. No way.
[Grace:] Unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Peter Odom, Atlanta defense attorney. Also with us, Renee Rockwell veteran defense attorney as well. Renee what do you do in the middle of a homicide trial when you find out that your client is still trying to milk the cow like Doctor Conrad Murray filming a documentary about himself, really about the Michael Jackson trial? I wish the jury knew that. Of course they won`t.
[Renee Rockwell, Defense Attorney:] They may know. They may know that. What you hope, Nancy, if a hung jury, if there`s a hung jury you hope that these tapes and these admissions what they could possibly be later don`t bubble up to the top of the pool next time around if the trial service retried, the case retried.
[Grace:] OK. Let me translate that. I think what Renee was trying to say is all the footage that they are recording right now could have some type of an admission in it that could be used at a later trial. Please don`t jinx it Renee with your mistrial wishes in your not guilty dreams.
[Rockwell:] I`m saying it`s a hung jury.
[Grace:] I`m sure you do. OK, Peter Odom. Weigh in. What about it?
[Peter Odom, Atlanta Defense Attorney:] The motivation for him filming this, Nancy, is financial. I`ll grant you that but it`s because the state of California is trying to take away, first of all his freedom and his ability to make a living as a doctor for the rest of his life. This was a desperate man. He never got paid by Michael Jackson.
[Grace:] He wants to make a living as a doctor.
[Odom:] He`s got to buy groceries like everybody else.
[Grace:] Go dig ditches for all I care. But it will be a cold day and you know where before this guy practices medicine again. Make money. Make money. He`s going to make a mint as it is. He`s probably got book deals lined up about the yin yang, Peter Odom.
[Odom:] Well, maybe he does because he has to make some kind of a living after this is all over. This is self-preservation, Nancy. I completely understand it.
[Grace:] I think you`re snide. You know what it might be OK with you. Maybe he does. But Bethany Marshall, it`s not OK with me to walk into somebody`s house, shoot them up in a knee where propofol is still pumping into their dead body and they make a quarter million dollars on some mockumentary and get a took deal? I don`t like it Bethany.
[Bethany Marshal, Psychoanalyst, Author, Deal Breakers:] No. you know what, if filming a documentary about yourself is a part of the same inherent grandiosity that led him to make the medical mistakes in the first place. And as far as I`m concerned, Conrad Murray and Michael Jackson made a pact with the devil with each other. And I see this with people all the time who act out something disastrous together that they pair up on the basis of mutual pathology both being out of control and operating outside of the systems of society.
[Grace:] To the lines. Chris from California. Hi, dear what`s your question?
[Chris, Caller, California:] Thank you, Nancy for taking my call.
[Grace:] Thank you for calling.
[Chris:] First, I want to say thank you so much for all you do. For women and children all over the world. God bless you for that.
[Grace:] Thank you.
[Chris:] And I`m confused, Nancy about this propofol. They are saying that Michael gave himself the propofol that took his life. And I asked the doctor how come I woke up so fast. He told me he had to give me something to wake me up. So, how could it be possible that Michael Jackson could give himself the propofol that took his life too soon and why is Doctor Murray not being charged with premeditated murder? You taught me
[Grace:] Oh, Chris in California, I agree with you. It should have been a murder one charge with the syringe being the murder weapon. Jean Casarez, answer her question, please.
[Jean Casarez, In Session Legal Correspondent:] All right. There`s a syringe and Doctor Murray said he gave him 25 milligrams of propofol. A very small amount. Said he was trying to wean him off of it that lasted about 15 to 20 minutes. And so, after that he would be awake, he`s controllable, I can`t sleep, I got to sleep. He reached for it himself and put it in.
[Grace:] Renee Rockwell, Peter Odom, we`re unleashing the lawyers. Go ahead. I don`t want to jinx it but I want to hear your final call. Guilty, not guilty, hung, Renee.
[Rockwell:] Hung jury.
[Grace:] Why?
[Rockwell:] Well because, Nancy, it`s just going to take one to make this
[Grace:] That`s true in every case.
[Rockwell:] That`s right. And you got to factor in an L.A. jury. You think about one jury that might think they will have 15 minutes of glory if they are told out juror.
[Grace:] OK. Hung. Peter Odom, weigh in.
[Odom:] Hung jury or not guilty. Reason being
[Grace:] No, no, Peter you got to pick one. Pick one.
[Odom:] Not guilty. This does not rise to the level of criminal negligence. Civil negligence maybe not criminal.
[Grace:] I`m going with guilty. Everybody, we`ll be right back. But four years ago today a miracle. John David and little Lucy were born. It was a Sunday morning when we were rushed to the ER where I was told one of my twins, Lucy and I were dying. In emergency surgery, the twins were cut out. I was so weak I couldn`t sit up. I could only kiss my left index finger and put it on their foreheads before we were raced to two separate ICUs. And now, because of your prayers the twins are 4 years old.
[Unidentified Female:] One of these couples has the lowest combined total of judges` scores and viewer votes and will be eliminated tonight.
[Unidentified Male:] Nancy and Tristan, David and Kim on this seventh week of competition the couple with the lowest overall combined total and therefore leaving right now is We get two sets of scores this week and that`s extra stressful.
[Grace:] We have to have really hard choreography to beat them.
[Unidentified Male:] David and Kim.
[Grace:] Good evening everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Season 13, "Dancing with the Stars". Tonight an all-star cast of stars taking your calls, contestants, pro dancers and we`re all here together. First I want to go straight out to a very special couple, Chaz Bono and Lacey Schwimmer. Now, I`ve told Tristan very often when I threaten to ditch him for a new partner if I could have had anybody it would have been Lacey Schwimmer. All right first of all to you.
[Tristan Macmanus, Nancy Grace`s Partner, Dancing With The Stars Season 13:] I said the same.
[Grace:] Chaz, first of all to you. You`ve been all over the place. Since you were booted off "Dancing with the Stars". I want you to tell me what was it like when you went down those steps and you heard your name called out?
[Chaz Bono, Contestant, Dancing With The Stars Season 13:] It`s not fun. I mean it`s not what you want to hear. So, but you know, I had to look I had a good run. I had a great time. I left with I had so many gift from doing the show. So, it was my time. But I wish I could have hung around to hang without you more, Nancy.
[Grace:] And also to you, Lacey Schwimmer, when you went down after all that hard work and p.s. I thought your phantom of the opera dance was your very best. I disagreed with the judges. When you went down to the bottom what was that like? You were standing there with Chaz. We were all watching you. Everybody had their fingers and toes crossed. What was that like?
[Lacey Schwimmer, Professional Dancer, Dancing With The Stars:] You know it`s always nerve-racking but at the same time we enjoyed every minute on this show. So, you know, to go out with a bang and with all the friend that we made it was, you know, it`s just been great. You got to take it.
[Bono:] And I was glad I thought it was a good dance too. I was really happy to go out with a dance that at least I felt I did well.
[Schwimmer:] Yes.
[Grace:] You know there`s a lot of controversy, Chaz, when you and your mom Cher were angry about the way some of the comments the judges had made to you. Explain.
[Bono:] Well, you know, it`s hard. It seems so long ago but I felt it really does.
[Grace:] Yes. It was two weeks.
[Bono:] I know. There was so much good that did come out of the show. I felt like a lot of times Bruno made comments about me physically that had nothing to do with my dancing and I would have much rather have been critiqued on my actual dancing versus how I look.
[Grace:] You know, every time everybody, I would see Lacey at dance rehearsals she would have one foot behind an ear. She walks around like that. I`ve never seen anybody but my little girl Lucy did. She walks now one on ground and one up here. Say hi Nancy. That`s your foot by your ear.
[Debbie, Caller, Georgia:] Hi, Nancy and Tristan. How do you get so much done in 24 hours every week? I panic until I know you and Tristan are safe. I think I have the meltdown as badly as do you. I think I`m your biggest fan. And Tristan, you all dance so beautifully together. You`re my hero, Nancy.
[Grace:] You know what Debbie in Georgia, I really appreciate that. I got to tell you, Tristan is the one that got the nine a few weeks ago, time one that got the seven. He goes everything he can to make me look good from the choreography to out on the dance floor. I got to tell you, that clip they are showing right now I had totally gone blank. He was just kind a like dragging me along. I know it doesn`t look like right there, blank. But, Debbie, you`re probably a working mom and you probably get just as much done in a different way. If I didn`t have Tristan barking out one, two, three, four in my ear I would not be dancing seven or eight hours a day I can guarantee you that. So, I kind of have a personal trainer. Everybody, we`re taking your calls but joining me right now is another special guest, Holly Madison. Now we`ve all seen photos of Holly. She has been in every magazine and recently there was a picture of Holly your with me? There you are. Holly, you`re getting your ear put in. Hi. Can you hear me yet?
[Holly Madison, Contestant, Dancing With The Stars:] How are you?
[Grace:] You know I`m great. And I want to tell you you`re gorgeous and you`re a great dancer. Lately, I`ve read in a couple of magazines that you have gained weight. And I noticed they waited for to you bend over and pick something up off the floor and there was like an eighth of an inch of your tummy and so that`s the big story. Now, since "Dancing with the Stars", no matter what you do, no matter if you`re at the grocery store, if you`re out, you know, at a park, they always have photos of you. Does that bug you, Holly Madison?
[Madison:] Not really. I have a sense of humor about it. I just think it`s funny. You know it comes with the territory of being on TV. So, it`s just kind of amusing, I think.
[Grace:] And, remember, Holly Madison is the star of peak show, "Planet Hollywood" and "Holly`s World" on E! Well, you know what, I was completely disgusted when I saw that one eight of an inch`s scan. You really got to do something about that. What do you up to now, 98, 99 pounds?
[Madison:] Yes. Trying to tuck in my stomach, keep it in my pants.
[Grace:] OK. Back out to the lines. Kimberly in Virginia. Hi, Kimberly. What`s your question?
[Kimberly, Caller, Virginia:] I just want to say first I love you on "Dancing with the Stars". And my question is for Chaz. I thought you did an amazing job. I want to see you and Nancy in the final two. How did you feel when the judges gave you these, I think, horrible things to you. Did it make you want to go out there and say I`ll show you or make you want to I don`t know if I want to do this anymore?
[Bono:] No. I mean I love doing it. It was you know like we had such a good time and I loved doing the show and I wish I could have done it you know longer. And the judge`s scores you know and comments can be frustrating at time
[Schwimmer:] But I also think it`s pushes you too
[Bono:] Yes. It pushes you to do your best too.
[Grace:] Right now, CNN heroes.
[George Lopez, Actor:] I`m George Lopez. Two years ago I had an honor of presenting CNN heroes an all start preview. As founder Lopez foundation I`m committed to helping underprivileged children, adults and military families. I`m also committed to increase an awareness about kidney disease and organ donation. I`m thrilled to help introduce one of the top ten CNN heroes for 2011.
[Sam Dimiceli, Cnn Heroes:] When I go through suburb America where the small towns, everybody is trying to hold up their head with pride. I know it is tough in the recession. These people behind closed doors tell the neighbors they`re fine. They go in the house and start. How much you`re bill right now?
[Unidentified Female:] Gas bill, I owe about $800.
[Dimiceli:] I find the situation is getting worse. They need food. They need help with the utilities. I mean, this is 2011 in America. We should be helping each other. I`m Sal Dimiceli. My mission is to help those that have fallen on hard times. Here is $100 for gas. I help with necessities and daily like and at the same time get them together to do a budget so they can continue to survive. I want them to feel free.
[Unidentified Female:] I`m so happy.
[Crowd:] Thank you.
[Dimiceli:] I want them to feel the compassion that we`re trying to share, to wrap our arms around them and say come on I have extra strength I want to share with you, let`s get you back on your feet.
[Unidentified Male:] All right. The next couple safe is Nancy and Tristan!
[Unidentified Female:] Nancy and Tristan. You`re safe!
[Grace:] Welcome back, everybody. We are live with an all-star lineup from "Dancing with the Stars" and we are taking your calls. I`m going back to Kim Johnson, professional dancer, paired with David Arquette, the big movie star. Kym, what was your favorite thing about Arquette?
[Kym Johnson, Professional Dancer, Dancing With The Stars:] His personality. He came into the show. He was very, very nervous and insecure. He didn`t really, even his posture. He would stand with shoulders over. I said to him one time, why don`t you stand up straight. And he said I walk around in my everyday life guarding my head and my heart. And I just like so like would you lay my heart, this was a personal goal for him as well, even standing up straight and accepting the love. He is such a really beautiful, sweet person and the show is more than learning how to dance for him.
[Grace:] You know, we`re showing you right now, and it is absolutely beautiful. I remember every one of your dances. Kym, you have won the mirror ball trophy I think twice. I know last time with Hines ward. How hard is it working with a professional athlete?
[Johnson:] The athletes are amazing because they know what it takes to win. And Hines was amazing, he was very athletic, and picked things up very quick. He had a great mentality as well for it, but everybody that I`ve had I have been so lucky with all the celebrities that come on and take part in the show. I`ve been lucky with everyone I`ve had.
[Grace:] With us, Kym Johnson. Let`s remember Army Staff Sergeant Michael Schaefer, 25, Springfield, killed in Afghanistan. Awarded Bronze start, silver star, Nation`s third highest award for combat valor, also served in Iraq. Loved basketball, hiking, leaves behind parents Karen and Dan that raised him, biological dad Mark. Brothers Tim and sisters Sarah, Widow Danielle, son Devon. Michael Shafer, American hero. Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.

[Phillips:] Well, it was an emotional scene outside of Joe Paterno's home after he was found after he found out that he was fired. Our own Sarah Hoye was right there when the announcement was made and the students basically, Sarah, responded immediately. Tell us what you saw and what that moment was like.
[Sarah Hoye, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right. Last night in front of Joe Paterno's home, about 15 to 20 students showed up after it was announced he had been fired. The mood was very, very sombre and very, very calm. There was even a little instance when they did cheer for him. Now I do believe we have some video for that. So if we have it, let's go ahead and take a listen.
[Joe Paterno, Former Penn State Football Coach:] Look, get a good night's sleep. All right. Study, all right? We still have things to do. All right, I'm out of it maybe now. We'll go from there. One thing, thanks and pray a little bit for those victims.
[Hoye:] So we have been right there with just that little emotional outburst there at the end that we love you, Joe. We love you, Joe. That was really much it for in front much his house. Other than that it was very quiet. Like I had said, very, very sombre and the students were there just kind of milling about. It was a very, very small group of people. Joe did come out and speak with them.
[Phillips:] I had a chance to speak with the student body president. I wanted to ask him about you know, how many students are out there within the mix? We are seeing all this support for Joe Paterno and the football program, but what about the sex abuse victims? You know, are there students out there trying to be a voice for that, which in many instances has seemed to have gone forgotten. And he said he's seeing actually a shift that more students are speaking out about that. What have you seen heard? Do you feel the same way?
[Hoye:] Well, you know, Kyra, it is interesting you mentioned that because this morning, as the students were going to class, because here on campus if you can see around me it is pretty much business as usual. And as they were going to class, we did speak with a few of them just to kind of gauge how they were feeling. What are they thinking about? How does this affect them? Is it really all about Joe? Is it really just about football? Those students will tell you, no. That there are these victims involved. These alleged victims, that there is a grand jury report. There are very, very much aware as to what that is. Even in the student newspaper today, there is an editorial, the fall of the giants, in which this editorial is calling for the students to actually step up to the plate, step up to the challenge because we are Penn State. They want the students to kind of help rebuild the system that in a sense some of them are saying failed. Whether it is from the football, whether it's from the cover up, whatever it was. So the students here are very aware, not only about this beloved coach who has been there for decades who is let go, but also what this means in light of this potential scandal.
[Phillips:] Sarah, thanks. And we're going to talk about what's next for Penn State football program and Joe Paterno. NPR sports correspondent Mike Pesca joining us in just about ten minutes. All right, it's time for "Political Buzz"; your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. And playing today Robert Zimmerman, member of the Democratic National Committee; Patricia Murphy, founder and editor of Citizen Jane Politics; and CNN contributor Will Cain. All right, guys let's get right to it. Rick Perry's embarrassing moment at last night's Republican presidential debate. Here it is.
[Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] And I will tell you it's three agencies of government when I get there that are gone. Commerce, education, and the what's the third one there? Let's see.
[Ron Paul , Presidential Candidate:] You need five.
[Perry:] Oh five. Ok. So commerce, education and the
[Unidentified Male:] EPA?
[Perry:] EPA. There you go.
[Unidentified Female:] Time is up, time is up.
[Unidentified Male:] Seriously?
[Phillips:] That's the big oops moment, as it is being called. So is Rick Perry finished Patricia?
[Patricia Murphy, Founder And Editor, Citizen Jane Politics:] If Rick Perry wasn't finished before this, I think you've got to believe that he is finished now. Plus a lot of people after this happened the main question they had coming out of it, was why are you even running for president? You don't know exactly what you want to do. And this was not a pop quiz, this is not a trick question. This was not the name of an obscure foreign leader. This was what are the three agencies you want to get rid of. And it's an issue he raised himself. This gets to the point that if he is going to be on the national stage as president, he needs to be able to be on a debate stage as a candidate, he cannot do that. So I do think that this is really the end of it for him.
[Phillips:] Will?
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] He might be finished, Kyra, but it shouldn't be for this. And for two reasons. One, we've all done this. Everyone can identify with a situation like this where your mind just simply goes blank. I've done it sitting right here at this desk. People at home have done it talking to their friends. Rick Perry's campaign might should be finished but not for that reason which brings me to my second point that I will remember which is in giving them plenty of substantive reasons not to support Rick Perry. The least of which is crony capitalism. His his reign as governorship in Texas has been connected to appointing friends, favors and positions throughout the state. The point is Rick Perry's campaign should be finished but not for a bumble on the stage.
[Phillips:] Robert?
[Robert Zimmerman, Democratic National Committee:] Well, first of all Kyra, I've never seen Will Cain's mind go blank ever in all of the segments I've done with him. So but the more important point is look, over Rick Perry's three months as a candidate, he's came back from the dead more than Dracula. But this is different because ultimately he couldn't remember his core convictions. He couldn't define his reasons for running. That's why like what Patricia said is correct, Rick Perry is finished.
[Phillips:] All right, guys I don't know if you've actually seen the Web site, FunnyOrDie.com. But Mike Tyson sure does a mean Herman Cain.
[Mike Tyson, Former Boxer:] Chocolate may be the flavor of the week. But crazy is the face of Republicans never tie up, I want to be your president because this Cain is able. And if you give me time, I will make you a fable.
[Unidentified Female:] I am America
[Phillips:] Ok. Let's reverse roles now. Did Herman Cain win the fight to get his reputation back last night? Robert?
[Zimmerman:] No, he didn't. And it's not because of the issue of the charges against him as serious as they are. It's because Herman Cain has repeatedly lied when confronted about these issues; about not knowing the settlements, not knowing about the payments. Not answering forthrightly. So Herman Cain has not met that threshold that a presidential candidate has to meet. Do you have the character to serve? That's why he did not get his reputation back and that's why he's not a credible candidate.
[Phillips:] Will?
[Cain:] Well to continue to torture the metaphor, this fight is not over. You're only like round one or round two. So we'll see, we have several other women who suggest they are going to put a or would like to put a joint press conference together. We're going to find out a lot more about that issue going forward. Herman Cain, though, did have a good night. Mainly because of Rick Perry and because of this Penn State scandal. He's not everyone's news today. So he did have a good night but the fight is not over.
[Phillips:] Patricia?
[Murphy:] Yes, well I think that Herman Cain with the exception of the moment where he called Nancy Pelosi, Princess Nancy which I don't think went over that well with a lot of members of the audience. I thought he did himself a lot of favors last night. When he spoke to this issue he went back to his talking points and said this is a media witch-hunt. I am being tried unfairly by the press. And he got a huge round of ovation among those Republican supporters. That sent a message to anybody watching that the media may have an opinion of Herman Cain but Republican voters have a very different opinion. And they were supporting him in that room last night. I think he at least stabilized his campaign
[Phillips:] All right, guys. Time for the buzzer beater. Let's get back to Rick Perry. It took him 53 seconds to answer this. You get 20 seconds. What government agency would you eliminate and why? Will?
[Cain:] Department of Education. Now the mouth breathers out there are going to be like, what? He's anti-smart and pro-ignorance? No. I'm not. Over the last 30 years the Department of Education's per student spending has tripled but our test scores have flat lined. Yes, education needs reform but it doesn't have to come from Washington D.C., It can come from your local and state governments.
[Phillips:] Robert?
[Zimmerman:] You know that question illustrates the great problem in American public policy. Taking these issues and reducing them to sound bites versus looking to policy. Now, I'm not going to advocate abolishing departments. Yes, reform, consolidation of services, sure. But every time we try every time we abolish a department, that's a victory for the special interests and a defeat for the middle class of America. That's why we need to keep the Environment Protection Agency going, that's why we're going to keep Social Security intact, and keep Medicare functioning.
[Phillips:] Whoa, OK. Patricia, bring us home.
[Murphy:] OK. I have my eyes on a very efficient, very effective, very aggressive agency of the government. I'm ready to get rid of it, it's the Washington, D.C. DMV. They do their job too well. Go away.
[Phillips:] Boy, she took us in a totally different avenue. You got Will with the straightforward answer. You got Robert who is not a happy guy going after Will and then Patricia just throws us for a loop there.
[Murphy:] Well, I feel passionately about this issue, and I'm ready to launch my campaign.
[Phillips:] You know what I think DMV lines go all the way back to when we were turning 16 guys. That's how bad it's always been. All right. I appreciate it.
[Murphy:] Thank you.
[Phillips:] Well, coming up, Eddie Murphy quits his Oscar's hosting gig. We're going to tell you why you he's walking away from his biggest role in years. And how would you like to invest in the Green Bay Packers? We'll tell you what the defending Super Bowl champs are planning to do, next.

[Romans:] Good morning. Welcome back. A stunning twist in a criminal case involving power, sex, international politics, it's been more than three months since former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was pulled off a Paris bound plane and charged with raping a housekeeper in his New York City hotel room. It looks like those charges will be dropped. CNN's Susan Candiotti live outside the courthouse. Susan, the accuser's credibility, how did this case physical apart?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] That's the main thing. Two things really credibility and evidence in this case. And in the end, prosecutors said this was boiling down to a he saidshe said case and that's a very difficult way to go to a trial and try to convince a jury one way or the other with that kind of evidence. They said there was simply not enough physical evidence to prove that the sex that happened wasn't forced versus consensual. That's what it boils down to. And there's how the district attorney summed it up. He said, quote, "Whatever the truth may be about the encounter between the complainant and the defendant, if we do not believe her beyond a reasonable doubt, we cannot ask a jury to do so." This, of course, not good news for Miss Diallo, who brought this case, who prosecutors and the police initially said was very credible, that her account was believable. But in the end, her lawyer is saying it was a bad move by the district attorney to now ask the court to drop the case because, among many other things, it sends the wrong signal to other rape victims.
[Kenneth Thompson, Attorney For Nafissatou Diallo:] The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance, has denied the right of a woman to get justice in a rape case. He has not only turned his back on this innocent victim, but he has also turned his back on the forensic, medical, and other physical evidence in this case.
[Costello:] Miss Diallo remains an alleged rape victim in this case and will not have a chance to convince a jury, at least a criminal jury, otherwise. She still has a civil lawsuit in play. Of course, this news is good news for Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his lawyers who are happy to see that the prosecutor is going to try to dump the case. Here's what he is his statement said, quote, "Mr. Strauss-Kahn and his family are grateful that the district attorney's office took our concerns seriously and concluded on its own that this case could not proceed further." So we'll wait to see what happens in court this day, but in the end, certainly I think everyone can agree on one thing there are no winners in this case. Back to you.
[Romans:] A case that made international headlines and now a case that has crumbled. Susan Candiotti, thank you so much. Still to come this morning, gold prices, you know how much I love to talk about gold prices.
[Costello:] Can you believe it.
[Romans:] I can't believe. But is it a bubble ready to pop? Wall street buzzing after the precious metal keeps setting record after record.
[Velshi:] And Would you pay $16.5 million for a car?
[Romans:] No.
[Velshi:] OK, settled. Well, somebody did. We're going to tell you what car and why after the break.

[Costello:] A British passport and knowledge of Arabic just two things that al Qaeda thought made one man the exactly right choice for their plan to try and bomb a U.S. plane. Nic Robertson is live in London. Nic, tell us more about this mole.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, he was of Saudi origin but had a British passport meaning he would be attractive to al Qaeda. He was recruited though by Saudi counterterrorism agents. They spotted him because he was sort of moving in Jihadist circles. They persuaded him to go to Yemen where they told him, just go to an Arabic language school there and let al Qaeda come to you and let them pick you up. He was baited if you will. This is sort of a lesson learned from the underpants bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, because that's how he got into al Qaeda in Yemen by going to an Arabic language and Islamic study center, and was picked up by al Qaeda. So, this was a really sophisticated effort to have al Qaeda think they found this guy because he had the passport that they needed and it was a clever trick duped on them.
[Costello:] Yes. Just I'm constantly amazed when I think of this man, how courageous he was. I know he's probably in some safe place. I hope he is. Every day of his life he now lives in fear.
[Robertson:] At the moment, nobody is talking about his name. We have a vague idea of his nationality and where he may come from. It's now a very well-kept secret where he is. We've heard he was spirited out of the country, perhaps with a handler through several countries and ultimate destination is not entirely clear. It does seem very clear, however, he's not going to be able to go back and penetrate that al Qaeda cell. And, look, the lessons that are being learned here with now this information that spilled out are lessons being learned on both sides. Al Qaeda now knows that it is being baited and that it probably recognizes it may have other people inside its organization who have been similarly put out there to get in and spy on them. So, al Qaeda is learning from this as we learn from them in the past. So, this man is probably safe as long as his name doesn't come out but al Qaeda will know who he is. But he's probably not going to bump into these people. He won't walk the streets of Yemen any time soon we can be pretty sure of that.
[Costello:] Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning. Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning: what does attachment parenting mean for our kids? We have now moved beyond helicopter parenting and onto attachment parenting. If you don't know what that is, look at the cover of "TIME" magazine. Yes, a 3 years old breastfeeding. It's an image that caused outrage, confusion. But if you are into it, it's caused understanding. See, attachment parenting means breastfeeding into toddlerhood, sleeping in the same bed as your child, it means never leaving your child alone a tall order.
[Unidentified Female:] What are single male parents supposed to do? They can't breastfeed and they say you should sleep with your children. That's really hard because Somebody like Octomom or the Dugards, are they supposed to sleep with all their children? What size bed are we talking about here?
[Costello:] That would be a tall order. According to "TIME" magazine, attachment parenting dogma is every baby's whimper is a plea for health, no baby should be left to cry. "TIME's" editor says that appeals to the perfectionism in many mothers.
[Belinda Luscombe, Editor-at-large, Time:] You need to work harder at what you do and be better at it. And I think women have brought all that energy and engagement and education and said, "I'm going to be the mother of all mothers, especially if I'm giving up, you know, my job and whatever. I'm going to mother the heck out of this kid." I think that's part of what it is.
[Costello:] As for the baby, experts have long hailed the benefits of physical closeness and affection between mother and child, but how much is too much? So, the talk back question for you today, what does attachment parenting mean for our kids? Facebook.comCarolCNNCarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

[Unidentified Female:] A lot of issues in my marriage are definitely addressed this year.
[Powell:] Two weeks before he died, he took himself off his anti- depression medication, those are things that can be made up. There are graphic photos, showing Taylor Armstrong with a cut on the right side of her face from her mouth to her eye socket.
[Jane Velez-mitchell, Anchor:] Taylor tried to keep those injuries under wraps.
[Unidentified Female:] He said, "This is the way reality TV is." I said, "Russell, this is brutal."
[Galanos:] The drama never ends in the "Housewives" circuit. Tonight, we`re learning that Russell Armstrong`s wife, Taylor, "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," isn`t even invited to her husband`s funeral in Texas. Turnabout is fair play, because Taylor Armstrong held a memorial for her husband this week in Los Angeles, and none of Russell`s Texas relatives showed up. Not even his mom. Russell Armstrong committed suicide last week, following reports of financial ruin, domestic abuse, chronicled on the Bravo reality show. Straight out to Alexis Tereszcuk, Radar Online reporter. Help us understand this. Two funerals? Two sets of mourners? What`s the tale here?
[Alexis Tereszcuk, Scene Reporter:] The family is feuding. Taylor Armstrong is not a favorite of Russell`s family. They hate her. They feel like she drove him to this suicide. They feel it was her love of the money and the lifestyle that caused him to overextend himself and ultimately, to commit suicide. So they`ve been battling over his remains. They`d split up. He was cremated, his body, and think split up his ashes.
[Galanos:] Wait a minute.
[Tereszcuk:] His family is keeping half, and Taylor is keeping half.
[Galanos:] Part of his remains are in Texas, and part are staying in California.
[Tereszcuk:] Yes, absolutely. That`s how nasty this battle has become between the two families. So Taylor had a memorial service in Los Angeles, and the family is having one in Texas, and they`re not attending either one of them. They even talked the family wants to sue they want to sue Bravo. They`re really mad about their son`s death. And they really hold Taylor responsible.
[Galanos:] What are they going to do if he shows up on the show at all? Talking about mom.
[Tereszcuk:] The mom has threatened to sue Bravo. She said she doesn`t want to see a single frame of her son. Everybody in his extended family, even his stepbrother says, you know, if the parents don`t sue, I want to sue. They are piping mad.
[Galanos:] What`s Bravo saying? I mean, can we expect to see him? I mean, are they going to stick to their guns and do what they want? Do we have any idea?
[Tereszcuk:] They may be they may be toning it down a lit bit, but they`re not going to cut him out entirely. You know, this is Taylor`s livelihood now. She`s in the show. She needs to be a part of the show. She`s got to make money with her daughter. So they`re going to keep her in. And they might change it a lit bit, but it was a very honest season. You know, they had therapy. They signed away, you know, rights to keep that private. They are going to show that on the show. They have a lot of really dark secrets about the two of their relationship, and they might want to show it on the season.
[Galanos:] I want to hit on more reality housewives drama. This time out of New Jersey. Housewife Jackie Levine`s ex-husband, father of their daughter, Ashley, arrested along with his current wife. What, insurance fraud here? Is that is he a big part of her life?
[Tereszcuk:] You know, the dad is not a huge part of her life, but he actually just showed up on the show to do an intervention. So he`s been involved. She defended him. Ashley said that her dad is not at fault. But here`s the thing. His house burned down back in March. He got $429,000 from insurance. Well, now somebody has come forward and said, "We saw him at the house about 30 minutes before the fire started, throwing gasoline and kerosene on the house burned down."
[Galanos:] Wow.
[Tereszcuk:] So there`s an investigation. He was jailed. He`s been charged with arson, insurance fraud. It`s a huge legal problem for him.
[Galanos:] There`s our housewives update. Alexis, thanks so much. Coming up, Casey Anthony back to school? What does the future hold for her?

[Dr. Drew Pinsky, Hln:] Here we go now. Tonight we`re talking sex and sexuality. Teen sex, sex with friends, sexless marriages, anything you want to know about sex and it`s all in the next 60 minutes. So let`s get started. Tonight we`re going to have an important and mature conversation about sex. Who`s having it, who`s not, who wants it, who loves it, who hates it. It`s everywhere in our culture, but really talked about honestly almost nowhere. So watch this. And then we`ll start the dialogue.
[Unidentified Male:] It`s time you and I had the talk. And I shouldn`t have sex. I think on your 30th birthday. We`re going to make a sex tape.
[Unidentified Female:] The diddy on the dirty. What do you think of my hips?
[Unidentified Male:] What I want to know is women come in on the bed.
[Unidentified Female:] After I have sex with a guy, I will rip their heads off. Is it true that you thought you got your girlfriend pregnant via hot tub. I have what?
[Unidentified Male:] It`s called Chlamydia.
[Unidentified Female:] You dirty dog.
[Unidentified Male:] He was trading intimate text messages with another woman.
[Unidentified Female:] Oh my god, I have to deal with this. And it was hard. It was devastating. It was heartbreaking. It was hard.
[Pinsky:] It is just out there everywhere, and no one`s having a really careful conversation about this. Now, if you`re the parent of a teen, you need to pay attention to the following stats. Thirteen percent of teens have had vaginal intercourse by the age of 15. By their 19th birthday, 7 and 10 teens had. A couple of those numbers with these statistics, and you understand why parents have a lot of concern or cause for concern. A sexually active teen who does not use a contraceptive has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within a year. Although 15 to 24-year- olds represent only one quarter of the sexually active population, they account for nearly half, that is 9.1 million of the 18.9 million new cases of STIs each year including HIV and AIDS. Now, first of all, I want to say, if parents at home have concern about what we`re talking about tonight, please make your viewing choices with your kids accordingly. I think you ought to be watching this with children and having this conversation. We`re going to deal with this maturely, gently, carefully. But let me just say, something`s going wrong. With all those STIs in young people. We did teen moms earlier in the week. I threw out all those data about teen pregnancies and how common it is. We`re doing something wrong. We do the least well of all industrialized nations. So let`s considered teenagers an asset. Let`s consider the media an asset and see if we can do something reasonable with this problem. So the first block here, joining me are three courageous high school students. They`re here to talk honestly about this topic. I have Danielle and Shelby, both are 17 years of age. I also have Adam. He is 15. And also I have Michelle Golland. She is a clinical psychologist who works with teens. Now first, I`m going to start with Danielle who`s the closest to me. What is it look like, what is it like for high school students today?
[Danielle, 17, Lost Virginity When She Was 16:] It`s really hard, because a lot of high school students, they don`t have really good communication with their parents. And a lot of people are really sheltering their kids from what`s really happening, because they`re like, oh my baby, I don`t want her to grow up. I don`t want her to grow up.
[Pinsky:] Well, it`s tough as a parent to deal with that. That`s another topic that no one ever talks about is that our little babies are growing up and becoming mature, sexual adults.
[Danielle:] Yes, but if you I feel like if you shelter your kids so much, they`re going to want to do more things. My mom and I are very open with each other, and she knows some she knows all of the things I`ve done and that`s just because I feel
[Pinsky:] Do you feel comfortable talking about that here?
[Danielle:] I feel totally comfortable talking about that here.
[Pinsky:] What have you done?
[Danielle:] I have had sex before with a boy who I was with for a couple months, like eight months. And
[Pinsky:] Did you discuss it with your mom?
[Danielle:] I discussed it with my mom.
[Pinsky:] Did you discuss it before you did it?
[Danielle:] No. I didn`t really want to talk about it. I discussed it after I did it, but she knew right when she saw my face.
[Pinsky:] But might not it have been a good idea to discuss it before?
[Danielle:] Yes. It will have.
[Pinsky:] Do you regret having done it?
[Danielle:] In a way I do, because I mean, if I could have gone back in time, I would have waited.
[Pinsky:] Michelle, Dr. Golland, I`m not yet a teenager yet female who didn`t say that. I wish I could have just waited longer. No matter what the age was almost.
[Dr. Michelle Golland, Clinical Psychologist:] Right. I think the problem is, Dr. Drew, is that we view this issue through the lens of politics and religion, instead of a public health issue. Period. That`s what this is.
[Pinsky:] And these kids, as such, are the source of information on this public health issue. So I`m going to go on to Shelby. Shelby, what`s it look like from your standpoint?
[Shelby, 17, Lost Virginity When She Was 16:] At school everybody, everyone`s doing it.
[Pinsky:] Everyone?
[Shelby:] Well, not everyone, but most people they are doing it. It`s talked about so much. And parents really are just in the dark about it. Where I live, in my town, there`s a very highly religious population, and they just don`t want to admit that their kids are having sex and involving in sexual activity. They just don`t want to admit to it.
[Pinsky:] You have only the "what`s talked about." So we don`t know for sure what`s being talked about is actually what`s happening, I suppose, right?
[Shelby:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] But at least for sure you seem are you tearing up?
[Shelby:] No. No.
[Pinsky:] In your town, it`s being talked about constantly.
[Shelby:] Yeah. Like people come back from Monday, the weekend, they`re like, oh, yeah, this is what I did this weekend and I just I don`t understand why it`s, like, a game for guys. It`s a game to see how many girls that they can have sex with or, like, and they get praised for it, too. And us girls, we sit back and if we, like, people judge us. And they`re like, oh, you`re a whore if you go out and have sex with a guy.
[Pinsky:] Who are the people that judge you?
[Shelby:] Our peers.
[Pinsky:] Your female peers?
[Shelby:] No, just high school students.
[Pinsky:] Boys or girls?
[Shelby:] Both.
[Pinsky:] Are girls a little harsher?
[Danielle:] Girls are
[Shelby:] Yes
[Pinsky:] This is the thing that troubles me is the girls are worse. Adam, you`re laughing about this.
[Adam, 15, Pursued By Girls:] Sorry.
[Pinsky:] But go ahead, what`s it look like from your standpoint?
[Adam:] Well, guys, like, I have a couple guy friends who are just like, yeah, I`ve done it.
[Pinsky:] At 15?
[Adam:] Yes. At 15. And I have a couple of girl friends who have done that, too. At 15.
[Pinsky:] Do you think that`s a good idea?
[Adam:] Not really. I mean, why? Just the question I have. Just why do it when you could just wait until later and make it better? Not better, but, like
[Pinsky:] More reasonable. Has it become normal for a 16, 17-year-old? Is it normal? Is it considered you should be doing that?
[Adam:] Well
[Danielle:] I think people are pressured into doing it.
[Pinsky:] By whom?
[Danielle:] By the guy that they`re with, by music, by TV, television. Just they want to know what it`s like to have sex because apparently everybody`s doing it. But I feel like you have to be emotionally ready. It`s not just physical. So many emotions go with it. And a lot of girls have sex with a guy to make them closer. And that`s not what`s going to make you closer. Like, sex and making love are two different things. Not a lot of people know.
[Pinsky:] Why don`t they know that?
[Danielle:] Because they`re not fully developed yet. They don`t maturely.
[Adam:] They`re too young.
[Pinsky:] Do you think the internet has had a role to play here? Doesn`t pornography and all that nonsense, the internet just rain down on you guys?
[Danielle:] The media.
[Adam:] It`s so easy to get I mean, like, it`s so easy to get to those, you know, Web sites, of, like, porno and stuff like that.
[Pinsky:] Do you think it affects males, your age, do you think it affects how they think about young women or women at all?
[Shelby:] Yes.
[Adam:] Like, a couple guys have thought of it more of as a prize instead of a person. Or women, I mean. Like, they think as like, oh, yeah, I got this chick. It`s like win for me, instead of
[Shelby:] They high five at school about it all the time. They`re like oh, yeah, I had sex with so-and-so. And I see it every day. They`re just like high five. And I`m like, are you kidding me? Like, sex isn`t something that should be a game. It should be, like, respected and you should value, like, sex with one and it shouldn`t just be thrown away with a random person. You should
[Danielle:] It`s a competition for guys. Like, I had sex with her. I had sex with this one. I had sex with that one. And then for girls, a lot of girls, like I said, just do it to bring yourself closer, but a lot of, like, I think a lot of girls do it because they`re insecure with themselves and they haven`t really met not a lot of girls they say the word I love you and they just think having sex will just make, will prove that love, but
[Pinsky:] Which is sad, right?
[Golland:] Right. And I think, you know, one of the big issues that needs to be addressed is that we as parents have to speak directly and honestly with our kids. And really give them all the information. But again, this overwhelming political and religious bend that we don`t talk about it in public school, that we can`t address it really. It really colors everything that I think we as parents do. And we know statistically, unfortunately, Dr. Drew, we are failing them. We are failing we`re the adults, we are the country that can, you know, take this and do this and do what we need to do politically. And we don`t do it.
[Pinsky:] We don`t look at it as a health issue.
[Golland:] It`s a health issue.
[Pinsky:] But, Shelby, you seem emotional to me. Did something happen to you with this topic?
[Shelby:] No. Well, actually, today, I just told my mom that I had sex. Today actually. And I just want to thank you for that, for
[Pinsky:] You`re smiling. Was it a good experience?
[Shelby:] It was a good experience. She wasn`t as mad as I thought she would be, but she feels okay with it.
[Pinsky:] And let me speak on behalf of parents. If we get, if we were to get mad at you for telling us something tender about yourself like that, it would be out of fear of you getting hurt.
[Danielle:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] That would be really what we`re responding to, not that you disappointed us or you`re not a good person, we don`t love you. It scares us.
[Danielle:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] And we respond with the only primitive way we know how, which is not a great response.
[Golland:] Yes. And I think that we have to address the fact that, you know, teens are sexually active because they have sexual hormones running through their body. We have to I mean, don`t you remember? I mean, I do. It`s what happens.
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Golland:] And so we have to teach them about other things, Dr. Drew. Honestly, like masturbation, about why they feel the things they do and really be honest about how they feel about sex and their bodies.
[Pinsky:] And it is, let`s be clear, it`s a very personal dialogue that every parent, child or family has to negotiate. But somewhere we`re failing kids. I think the media is failing. I`m hoping this conversation helps a little bit. And I think we as parents need to step our game up a little bit. Now, thank you to the panel. Thank you, guys. Thank you for your courageousness, ladies. Adam, thank you.
[Shelby:] Thank you.
[Pinsky:] Dr. Michelle, thank you. And we`ll see you back no doubt. Now, I have a very special surprise for everybody. Somebody is joining me in the rest of the show. And because when I talk about relationships and sex, there`s sort of one guy I need to talk to, with, by my side. Now I know you can`t tell who this is because he`s got a bar over his eyes. But perhaps if I put a dime up for scale, you`ll get a clearer idea of who this might be. Yes, he joins me next. I can`t do this without him. So he`ll be here with me. Stay tuned.

[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] It was on this very spot, August 2nd, that Gary Giordano, who is the American that`s now in custody, said that he and Robyn Gardner were snorkeling late in the afternoon. And then at one point they became separated. He came ashore and she apparently did not.
[Michael Lopez, Gary Giordano`s Attorney:] They know each other for a couple of years already. And as friends, they met each other, I think, on a dating site.
[Savidge:] Authorities here are going through a number of things. First of all, the couple`s rental car to see if there`s any forensic evidence there to be gleaned and they`re also going through a number of SmartPhones, maybe a laptop computer as well.
[Unidentified Male:] Apparently this guy would go online, get to know women in their late 40s, who are in good shape, attractive women. After he would meet them online, they would meet in person a couple of times, go back to his house and have consensual sex. But what they didn`t know is what that woman was just talking about, they were being videotaped and audio taped having sex.
[Richard Forester, Boyfriend Of Robyn Gardner:] I just don`t think that she was snorkeling. I feel in my heart that something happened at this person`s hand.
[Carlos Diaz, Hln Guest:] Tonight, new evidence that could suggest the prime suspect in the Robyn Gardner disappearance wanted her dead. Now Aruban officials say that they can now confirm that not only did Gary Giordano take out a $1.5 million travel insurance policy on Gardner, but he is the beneficiary. And take a look at this: new photos that show Robyn Gardner and Gary Giordano only two hours before she vanished. These photos were taken by a restaurant worker as the couple left the Rum Reef Bar and Grill where patrons have said Robyn was acting woozy. Gardner disappeared three weeks ago after flying to Aruba with Giordano. He says Robyn vanished while they were snorkeling but no one really knows for sure if they ever even entered the water. Now Aruban officials are confirming that Giordano is indeed the beneficiary on Gardner`s huge $1.5 million travel insurance policy. Aruba`s solicitor general spoke to NBC`s "Today" show.
[Solicitor General:] We are now in a position to say that indeed the insurance was for $1.5 million which is quite a large amount so it is still one topic we will be pursuing further in the investigation.
[Diaz:] But here`s the thing, you can`t make yourself you cannot make yourself the beneficiary under these circumstances. They`re not married, they`re not related. So either Giordano broke the law or Robyn Gardner agreed to make him the beneficiary which to me would be pretty odd. So is this the motive Aruban authorities have been looking for. Straight out to Robyn Gardner`s boyfriend, Richard Forester; and Richard, once again, thanks man for coming on. I can`t imagine what you`re going through right now. And I applaud your gumption for coming on.
[Forester:] Thank you..
[Diaz:] What is your reaction to these brand-new photos that you see of Robyn basically hours before she disappeared?
[Forester:] Well, I mean, you know, it`s hard. It`s hard. I love to see pictures of her, but not under these circumstances. You know, I think it just all it does is just really give us a time frame more than anything of what could have happened, you know? I mean I think those were taken a little bit after 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon and she was reported missing close to 6:30. So that gives us a little bit of a window there. But that`s all I can really say about that because I mean that`s what they are.
[Diaz:] When you first saw them, what was the feeling in your stomach and your heart? What was your feeling?
[Forester:] Well, I mean, look, I said this before, I miss her, I love her. Am I angry that she was there with him? Yes. Do I ask myself why? What was she thinking? Of course. But I can`t get myself consumed in that. I have to you know, my mission is to find Robyn. And to see what can we do? What can the Aruban authorities do that they aren`t already doing? What I`d look to see is I would like to see dogs, I`d like to see canines, you know, looking for her. How I feel about seeing those pictures, maybe they`ll help. I don`t know.
[Diaz:] And the reason they released them is because they want to you know, because if people saw her, what she`s wearing, maybe that could help bring up some clues. Let`s take a close go ahead.
[Forester:] 100 percent. And I`ve been quoted, but it`s a dress that she loved to wear. I`ve seen her wear it a lot. So I mean, yes, that pulls at my heart strings, absolutely.
[Diaz:] Let`s take a closer look at these new photos taken at the restaurant on Baby Beach only two hours before Robyn Gardner vanished. We were thinking, how odd that someone would take these photos from the back. Well, the restaurant worker wanted to photograph Robyn`s tattoos. Aruban authorities released the photos because they`re hoping somebody might recognize the dress Robyn was wearing. Coming to profiler Pat Brown, what do you think when you look at these photos?
[Pat Brown, Profiler:] You know, I don`t put that much into photos because they`re only a moment in time. She could have been upset the minute before they took the photo and somebody says smile, then say goodbye and she said, "Hi, bye," and so all of a sudden she looks happy. These things really mean little except for as was pointed out the time frame, what she was wearing, who she was with, when it happened and where she was going. And this was the last time she was seen. So I do believe that regardless of what anybody says, what condition she was in. I mean you`re in Aruba for Christ`s sake. A lot of people drink liquor for breakfast. I mean it`s just people they`re having a good time. And if they`re depressed they`re having a bad time, a sobering thing.
[Diaz:] They`re having a problem here.
[Brown:] Yes. So, she whatever condition she was in when she got in the vehicle doesn`t matter because what I believe happened is Giordano was at that point frustrated with her for one reason or the other. Either she wouldn`t go she wouldn`t go in the water so he couldn`t commit his little insurance
[Forester:] I can`t hear the program.
[Diaz:] Ok. We`re having some audio programs right now with one of our other guests. I want to move on real quick and say that Gary Giordano claims Robyn Gardner was drunk on vodka and groggy from sleeping pills while they were snorkeling. Check out what Giordano`s attorney said.
[Lopez:] Probably the sea got he couldn`t stand anymore and he signed to let`s go back and when he reached shore, she was nowhere to be seen.
[Diaz:] I realize as Pat pointed out, that these photos are still images, but nothing strikes me as strange. I mean she`s standing up, she`s getting upright. She`s got a long dress on, high heeled sandals. No one is helping her or supporting her. In fact Gary Giordano was walking in front of her. Richard I want to bring Richard in on this one, if you can still hear us. Richard, are you still here?
[Forester:] I can`t hear anything except for something else.
[Diaz:] Ok. Let`s bring Richard down. Let`s spot him down and I`ll bring Jayne Weintraub in. Jayne, what do you think when you see these pictures.
[Jayne Weintraub, Defense Attorney:] Well, it looks like she`s, you know, happily keeping up with him and they`re going somewhere. You can`t read anything into it, I agree with Pat completely. But, you know, these suspicions and coming up now with a motive for the life insurance policy, I mean usually when you have a motive it comes after you have a crime. And then there`s a reason for the crime. You can`t put the motive first and say ok, now we have a reason why he would want to get rid of her or kill. But we don`t have a murder. We don`t have a homicide. We don`t have a body and we don`t have eyewitnesses and we have no idea what happened except what Giordano said and there`s nothing to contradict it. The man is being held in custody based on a suspicion of what`s going on here but there`s no evidence of anything.
[Brown:] Yes, there is evidence. Giordano said Robyn is dead. He said that too. He said he went snorkeling with her, she didn`t come back with him so clearly then she`s never been seen. He`s saying she`s dead and she was dead when she was with me. Now, I don`t believe the last scenario. I believe the last scenario was they left the restaurant together. And as far as motive goes, I agree. That can be very confusing, even in his own mind he can be confused. He might have thought, she ticks me off, I can make some money from her if I drown her. Or if she ticks me off and doesn`t give me what I want sexually, I might be mad at her. So at this point, he just might be frustrated with her and doesn`t get what she wants. She won`t swim. She won`t give him the sex he wants. He gets pissed off. He does something to her up there in the isolated areas.
[Weintraub:] Pat, that`s a story. But there`s nothing
[Brown:] That`s a story.
[Weintraub:] there`s nothing to back that up.
[Brown:] Giordano says she`s dead.
[Diaz:] But Jayne, you don`t see the fact that a $1.5 million insurance policy that he took out on her and he`s the beneficiary of, you don`t see that as being odd at all?
[Weintraub:] Odd, absolutely? Suspicious, absolutely. Does that make a murder case and is that a lock tied? No, absolutely not.
[Brown:] Not yet.
[Weintraub:] That`s not a reason to indict somebody for murder because
[Brown:] Not yet.
[Weintraub:] You know, she could have taken that out. She could have done that because she mad at her boyfriend, Richard. She left Richard. She went on this date that she had known this guy for a couple of years, met him on
[Diaz:] All right. I mean we have Richard with us right now. Richard, what do you say to what Jayne is saying?
[Forester:] You know, things with Robyn and I, we have a relationship like most people. You have your ups and your downs. She lived with me most of the time. We spent most of our time together. We worked about quarter of a mile from each other. We went to work together in the morning. We came home in the afternoon.
[Diaz:] What was the last text she sent to you?
[Forester:] The last communication I had with her was, "I love you, I care about you. And we`ll talk and sort things out when I get back." I mean
[Weintraub:] She didn`t even tell you that she was going with Giordano.
[Diaz:] That`s my point. When we`re talking about motive, Richard, what do you think the motive could be?
[Forester:] I don`t know. I mean, I just go on what you guys report. I mean I hear it`s hard for me to be unbiased. I hear about a $1.5 million policy and now I hear that he`s the beneficiary. Well, sure, that`s odd, that`s suspicious. I`m hearing all these things about him. But I don`t know what to make of it. I`m not an attorney. I`ve never been in this position. I don`t want to be in this position. But I am for some strange reason. I`m in this club that nobody wants to be in and I didn`t ask to be in it but I`m doing what I have to do. And all I want to do doesn`t matter. I just want to find her. And I want justice to be served. That`s the only thing that matters here. I want to find Robyn and have justice served. That`s it.
[Diaz:] All right. Richard Forester, I cannot thank you enough for coming on with us once again. And Pat Brown, Jayne Weintraub, both great points made by you guys. Moving on now, a child bride calls it a reality show like no other. Would you watch this 16-year-old and her 51-year-old actor husband? Or is it too much for TV? I`ll talk to her mom live next.
[Unidentified Female:] Each child is different. I have two older daughters and they`re both married to men their own ages. They have great husbands and my daughter Courtney has a great husband. It`s just a different fit.

[Whitfield:] It has been at the heart of a bitter back and forth from the presidential campaign and on Capitol Hill. What the Obama administration knew after four Americans were killed in Benghazi, Libya. Now, just released e-mails show just two hours after the initial message, the consulate was under attack, government officials knew a terror group took responsibility. A government e-mail sent to the White House, the State Department and the FBI had a subject titled, quote, "Update II, Ansar Al Sharia claims responsibility for Benghazi attack." It then goes on to say, quote, "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli," end quote. In response, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said people just wait for what the independent accountability review board concludes.
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] Looking at everything, not cherry picking one story here, one document there, but looking at everything, which I highly recommend as the appropriate approach to something as complex as an attack like this, you know, posting something on Facebook is not in and of itself evidence.
[Whitfield:] All right, CNN's Elise Labott is live at the State Department for us now. So Elise, this was one of several e-mails sent the evening of the attack. You heard the secretary of state talking about this is really like puzzle pieces. And this is just one of the many pieces. What are some of the other pieces?
[Elise Labott, Cnn Foreign Affairs Reporter:] That's right, Fred. Really the first communications that we have seen what happened in real time coming from the embassy and the State Department Operations Room. But a little bit of dig there by Secretary Clinton saying this was one of a lot of traffic of that night, that was painting a more fuller picture. One of the first e-mails that came, about 4:00 p.m. U.S. time, so it would be 10:00 p.m. in Libya when the attacks started, and subject was U.S. mission in Benghazi under attack. Embassy Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots, explosions had been heard as well, and Ambassador Stevens who is currently in Benghazi and four mission personnel are in the compound safe haven. Now, Fred, a half hour later, an update that said that the embassy reports the firing at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi has stopped. And the compound has been cleared. A response team is on site, attempting to locate those personnel. And you can see, I mean, Fred, that wasn't actually the case. You see how frantic and chaotic it is in these moments after the attack. Because what really had happened was that some of these armed gunmen had breached the walls and actually set fire to that one building where Ambassador Stevens and the other gentleman, Shawn Smith, were holed up in the safe room and met their fate. So I think Secretary Clinton was trying to show that this is pretty chaotic and in the fog of war, these are the kind of spot assessments of what happened at the time. And just one kind of data point in what was going on that night.
[Whitfield:] And so Elise, while one of those e-mails talks about the claim of responsibility, administration officials are also quick to point out that that same terror group denied any responsibility for the attack. So what kind of lapse of time are we talking about or is this kind of simultaneous communication?
[Labott:] Well, they denied responsibility a little bit later and there is some reason to believe perhaps this group Ansar Al Sharia which has ties to al Qaeda in Maghreb, they could still be involved. But I think what is going on here is there is a lost, like, little dribs and drabs of these e-mails coming out. A lot of agencies were talking to each other that night. It doesn't really advance the story in any meaningful way. But it is a kind of data point as I said that goes to a larger narrative of what was going on and it does it raised some questions as to why that wasn't weighed into a fuller consideration of the assessment of what was going on that night Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right, Elise Labott, thanks so much from Washington. Appreciate that. All right, up next, back to the campaign trail. Both candidates are crisscrossing the U.S. namely out west. In fact, momentarily right now you're looking at live pictures of where momentarily Mitt Romney will be emerging there in Reno, Nevada, campaigning. And we're also hearing that hundreds of blank ballots are missing in one state. We'll have details next.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn:] Good morning to you. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. We are bringing you the news from "A" to "Z." We're really happy you're with us this morning. It's 6:00 a.m. in the east, so let's get started here for you. Up first, the fallout from what could be the biggest gamble of the Obama presidency. No sitting president has ever done what Barack Obama did yesterday in an interview with ABC News. He publicly came out in support of same-sex marriage. Here are the words that may have redefined the race for the White House.
[Obama:] I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Well, you know, the president had been under a lot of pressure and as you point out there were key members of his administration who had over the last few days stated their position in support of same-sex marriage. And so the president decided to go public with this after hearing from his friends, his daughters and his wife.
[Obama:] For me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.
[Lothian:] President Obama made the announcement Wednesday in an interview with ABC News becoming the first sitting U.S. president to publicly support same-sex marriage. His remarks come on the heels of North Carolina passing a state constitutional amendment banning same same-sex marriage and Vice President Biden's public support on "Meet The Press" on Sunday.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States Of America:] I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexuals are entitled to the same exact right, all the civil rights and all civil liberties.
[Lothian:] Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney reiterated his long-standing position on the issue after the president's interview.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] My view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman and that's my own preference.
[Lothian:] Mr. Obama once opposed same-sex marriage, but says his stance on the issue evolved after conversations with the first lady, his daughters and friends.
[Obama:] I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally.
[Lothian:] In 1996 then Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama supported marriages for same-sex couples. In a questionnaire for a gay newspaper, he responded, "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages." By 2004, the political climate was demanding clarity. In a debate, Obama classified.
[Obama:] I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.
[Lothian:] That was before this, his 2004 convention speech.
[Obama:] We coach little league in the blue states, and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.
[Lothian:] And then once in the White House.
[Obama:] My feelings about this are constantly evolving. I struggle with this. Everyone ought to be treated equally and everybody deserves to be able to live and love as they see fit.
[Lothian:] With a nation split on the issue of same-sex marriage, the president called his endorsement one of personal conviction. With less than six months before the election, a decision fraught with political implications. Some of the president's critics are accused him of pandering saying he only went public with this in order to raise money for his campaign in order to get votes and they believe this could all backfire come election day Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] I understand he did raise a lot of money in a very short period of time. Dan Lothian live for us in Washington, thank you very much.
[Lothian:] OK.
[Banfield:] Also three minutes now past 6:00. I want to bring in Neil Giuliano, who is the CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and also the former president of GLAAD and the former mayor of Tempe, Arizona. Neil, thanks for coming in to talk about this. Obviously, everybody caught off guard yesterday. It wasn't something what everyone was really expecting and it's not like this was a slow roll of administrators coming out to lay the groundwork for the president. When it comes to this, though, do you think as an advocate for the gay community, do you think the gay community may have won this battle, but if it alienates a lot of voters for Obama or energizes voters for Romney that, you know, we could see a President Romney who would roll back a lot of rights for the gay community and, thus, they might lose the ultimate war.
[Neil Giuliano, Ceo, San Francisco Aids Foundation:] I don't think so. I think the culture is evolving so fast if you look at the trajectory of the gay rights movement over the last 43 years and stonewalled. It's only been 43 years. Just in the last administration, we had a president who wanted to constitutionalize never being allowed to get married. Here with Barack Obama we had a president who is saying peopel should be able to get married to whoever they want to get married. So it's quite an evolution. It's quite a cultural change. I think the political fallout remains to be seen, but I think it's going to end up being a plus for the president.
[Banfield:] Well, that remains to be seen. It's like a really big little tag you just said. I think it was a million dollars that came in within, you know, an hour of this announcement to the Obama campaign.
[Giuliano:] Sure.
[Banfield:] If you know, what is the money situation? What will this represent to President Obama's campaign in terms of support from the gay community financially?
[Giuliano:] Well, there had been some pretty significant leaders of the gay community with some deep pockets who had said they wanted to make that initial contribution. But they would hold back a little bit to see how the president evolved and to see how much he would champion some of the remaining issues, employment, non-discrimination act for one, marriage being another.
[Banfield:] Some people have said that the gay community is far greater than Wall Street in terms of what they can potentially donate.
[Giuliano:] Well, I think you have to remember the gay community leadership perhaps may be perceived as having a lot of money, but gay Americans are just like every other American and they come from all walks of life and all different demographic pieces within society. So I think it's not necessarily true to say that all gay people can simply start writing big checks for President Obama as a result of this, but I think the gay community who is capable of writing those checks will step up their support and be very supportive.
[Banfield:] Is there any thought to the idea that perhaps gay black Americans may align, come forward with the movement to try to swing their black American co-voters to not shy away from the polls? I had an interview in the last half hour with a black reverend who I asked, is he swapping out one demographic for another alienating very socially conservative when it comes to sexual issue, black voters for gay American voters.
[Giuliano:] I think at the end of the day, President Barack Obama does not lose his African-American support.
[Banfield:] Are you sure about that?
[Giuliano:] Well, who is sure about anything? But that's my belief. My belief is he doesn't lose his African-American support because of his view and his statement.
[Banfield:] Do you know why I ask are you sure about that? Because when you look at the list of swing states it is pretty daunting. I man, wow, in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. Those are the ones with bans. I mean, these are swing states where you have real
[Giuliano:] The president is clearly taking a decisive step for full equality and he does so with some political risk.
[Banfield:] Leap of faith as Ron Brownstein calls it.
[Giuliano:] That's a good way to call it too. But what is significant he does so and he helps further evolve the culture just as his own evolution has taken place and it's very significant to have President Obama take this step.
[Banfield:] Want to end the interview with the same impression. You think ultimately gay Americans will win the war, which would mean winning this election and getting progressive movements with the Barack Obama administration. As opposed to losing this election because of this announcement now and losing the war because of a Republican administration that doesn't favor gay American rights.
[Giuliano:] Barack Obama does not lose the election because of this issue. This is his statement actually is with the majority of Americans and certainly where the majority of Americans are moving toward with regard to full equality for gay and lesbian Americans.
[Banfield:] Neil Giuliano. It's good to have you in. I hear you travel in between Arizona, San Francisco, New York so we're lucky to catch you live. Thanks for coming in. Appreciate it Zoraida. Before I go to Zoraida, in the next half hour, we're also going to be joined by Richard Socarides who is the former senior adviser to Bill Clinton on gay civil rights issues and also the first openly gay person to hold the position of White House liaison to the gay community. Did I pronounce that right? Socarides. He'll be coming up in the next half hour Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] All right, thank you, Ashleigh. The FBI raising the stakes in the hunt for Adam Mayes. He is the man suspected of kidnapping four members of a Tennessee family killing two of them. Mayes is now on the bureaus' ten most wanted list. Authorities believe he is still holding these two those are the two he killed. He's holding the two young girls. There's a $175,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. And in just a few hours jury deliberations resume in the triple murder trial of Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law in Chicago. William Balfour is accused of killing Hudson's mother, brother and nephew as an act of revenge against his ex-wife. Jurors will be sequestered until they reach a verdict. The horrific video of a police beating that led to a mentally ill homeless man's death. The victim pleading for his life as they're beating him. An officer talking about smashing his face to hell and now we'll find out whether these cops are cold-blooded killers. A judge's decision on whether they will stand trial. That's coming up next.

[Wolf Blitzer:] Rick, thank you. Happening now, breaking news the American hiker recently released by Iran meets with President Ahmadinejad. We have details. And 911 blame and anger President Obama has choice words for Iran over allegations that the terror attacks were America's fault. Right now, Mr. Obama's approval rating has sunk to a new low. The best political team on television talks about where the president has gone wrong and how he may pay for it on election day. And the mood inside the hearing room during Stephen Colbert's mocking testimony. The TV comic put the spotlight, though, on a serious issue. Were the lawmakers, though, in on the joke? I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. But we begin with the breaking news a remarkable face-to-face meeting today between the president of Iran and the American hiker who was jailed in his country for over a year. Mary Snow has got the details for us. She's joining us from New York. What the happened Mary?
[Mary Snow, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, that meeting took place today here in New York. We're told that Sarah Shourd and her mother, Nora, met with Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. That is according to Samantha Topping, a spokeswoman representing the families of the hikers who had been jailed in Iran since July of 2009. At this point, we don't have details of that meeting. Sarah Shourd was released on September 14 and has been speaking out since then in an effort to gain the release of her fiance, Shane Bauer, and friend, Josh Fattal. Now, earlier today, I spoke with Sarah Shourd. I asked her if she could make a direct appeal to Iran's president, what would she say? Here's what she told me.
[Sarah Shourd, U.s. Hiker Freed By Iran:] And I want to beseech him and beg him to extend the same generosity and compassion and understanding and give the same humanitarian gesture to my fiance and my friend.
[Snow:] Now, Ahmadinejad has been in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. On Wednesday, Wolf, he spoke with CNN's Larry King. And Larry King asked him if he would consider meeting with the families while they were in New York. At that point, he said he would consider it. Now, we hope to have more details soon about this meeting. We will also have more of my interview with Sarah Shourd in the next hour Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right. We'll stand by for that. Mary Snow, thank you. An angry reaction from President Obama today to what he calls "hateful allegations" leveled at the United States by Ahmadinejad. It was a direct response to the Iranian president, who went before the United Nations General Assembly yesterday and poured more fuel on conspiracy theories about the 911 attacks. Let's bring in our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian. He's in New York Dan?
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, you know, one expert on Iran says that when Ahmadinejad comes to the United States, New York and the UN, he comes to put on a show to confront his Western critics face to face-to-face. Well, if that, indeed, is the case, he did not disappoint.
[Lothian:] Iran's president, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, once again opened his mouth and inserted not only his foot, but some might say his entire leg blaming the U.S. for the 911 attacks.
[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President Of Iran:] Some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy and its grips on the Middle East in order to save the Zionist regime.
[Lothian:] The White House called his comments "outrageous" and President Obama fired back personally in an interview with BBC Persia. [Begin Video Clip, Courtesy Bbc Persian]
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] It was offensive. It was hateful. And particularly for him to make the statement here, in Manhattan, was inexcusable.
[Lothian:] So much for only using the interview as a way to extend a warm embrace to the people of Iran, to show that sanctions were not a personal attack on them, but a way to rein in their country's nuclear ambitions. But Ahmadinejad has a habit of making outrageous claims, like this about gays. [Begin Video Clip From 2007]
[Ahmadinejad:] In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country.
[Lothian:] And this about Jews. [Begin Video Clip From September 2009]
[Ahmadinejad:] It is unacceptable that a small minority should dominate the politics, economy and culture of vast parts of the world, through a complicated network, and establish a new form, in fact, of slavery.
[Lothian:] But one expert on Iran says Ahmadinejad's rhetoric, as frustrating as it may be, should not stand in the way of pursuing meaningful dialogue.
[Sharon Squassoni, Center For Strategic And International Studies:] I don't know how you convince him that that's the case, but, you know, so far, the problem is we don't have any better interlocutors. We haven't identified others in the Iranian government that might be more reasonable.
[Lothian:] Ahmadinejad suggested that threats and sanctions are not the right strategies, that this kind of pressure will only hurt the diplomatic effort. But speaking to reporters today, he did suggest that he was open to talks as early as next month in order to resolve the nuclear issue Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right, Dan. Thank you. A day after President Obama urged the United Nations to embrace Middle East peace, his administration may repeat may be very close to breaking a stalemate in the peace process. Diplomor diplomatic sources telling CNN right now that a compromise may be in the works on new construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. We're told the secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is due to meet in the next hour with top Palestinian officials. Palestinians have threatened to leave peace talks if Israel doesn't extend a freeze on settlement construction that ends this weekend. We're told one possible compromise would let Israel keep the freeze in place, to a large degree, but still allow some limited construction. Jill Dougherty is working the story. We'll let check in with her later. Now to Capitol Hill. At a time when so many Americans are not happy with elected officials and some even think politics is a joke, we got this a mock newsman delivering a sarcastic statement about a very, very real problem. The comedian, Stephen Colbert, apparently is serious about the debate over migrant farm workers and whether they take jobs away from Americans. He even accepted a labor group's challenge to experience life in the fields firsthand. And that led to an invitation to appear before Congress today. But did he help the cause or hurt it? Let's bring in our senior Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. She was there in the hearing room. A lot of media attention that normally wouldn't have been much media attention. But it certainly seemed a little bit surreal, didn't it Dana?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] It was definitely surreal to be in the room of those of us waiting for him and not just reporters, but also, frankly, members of Congress wanted to know which Stephen Colbert would show up? Would we see the faux conservative talk show host that we see every night on "The Colbert Report" or would it be a serious straight man talking about the issue in this hearing, which is farm wages and workers' rights. And it turned out, Wolf, we got a mix of both.
[Bash:] Sure, celebrities testify before Congress all the time, but not like this.
[Stephen Colbert, Host, "the Colbert Report":] When you're picking beans, you have to spend all day bending over. It turns out and I did not know this most soil is at ground level. If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we make the Earth waist high? Come on, where is the funding? This is America. I don't want a tomato picked by a Mexican. I want it picked by an American, then sliced by a Guatemalan and served by a Venezuelan in a spa where a Chilean gives me a Brazilian.
[Bash:] Congressmen in both parties were visibly surprised. Some tried not to giggle. Colbert's comedic in character opener was far different from the straightforward statement he told the committee he would deliver. It was a risk Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren knowingly took, inviting the comedian to testify about the plight of migrant workers.
[Colbert:] You know, when I pick these beans, you're on my turf here.
[Bash:] And talk about his day working on a New York farm this summer to see what it's like.
[Colbert:] We have to do something, because I am not going back out there. At this point, I break into a cold sweat at the sight of a salad bar.
[Bash:] At times, the satirist was serious about the cause.
[Colbert:] And it seems like one of the least powerful people in the United States are are migrant workers who come and do our work but don't have any rights as a result. And yet we still invite them to come here and, at the same time, ask them to leave.
[Bash:] There was lots of Colbert's trademark truthiness.
[Colbert:] Maybe this AG jobs bill would help. I don't know. Like most members of Congress, I haven't read it.
[Bash:] The top Republican openly questioned why Colbert was qualified to talk about farm workers and whether migrants are doing the jobs Americans won't.
[Unidentified Male:] Does one day working in the field make you an expert witness?
[Colbert:] Well, I believe one day of me studying anything makes me an expert.
[Unidentified Male:] How many of those individuals were illegal and how many were legal?
[Colbert:] I didn't ask them for their papers, though I I I had a strong urge to.
[Bash:] But Republicans weren't the only skeptics. In an awkward moment, the Democratic chairman of the full committee was so worried about the event becoming a circus, he tried to kick Colbert out even before he spoke.
[Rep. John Conyers , Judiciary Committee:] I'm asking you to leave the committee room completely and submit your statement instead.
[Rep. Zoe Lofgren , California:] And I think many are eager to hear his comments.
[Colbert:] I'm only here at her invitation.
[Bash:] Obviously, Stephen Colbert stayed. And Conyers told me afterwards that, at the end, he actually thought it went well. He said Colbert was funny and even, quote, "profound." And as for the chairwoman who invited him, she said afterwards at least according to somebody who I spoke to close her she has no regrets and that she got what she wanted, and that is attention to a cause an issue that she says she has hearings on and no cameras show up at all. And, in fact, the hallways were absolutely filled with reporters. The hearing room was packed. In fact, that congresswoman, the chairwoman, Zoe Lofgren, she even joked during the hearing, Wolf, that she hasn't seen that many people that many press reporters in the Judiciary Committee since Bill Clinton's impeachment.
[Blitzer:] A surreal moment for a very, very serious issue, as you say. Dana, thanks very much. We have new evidence coming into THE SITUATION ROOM that voters' great expectations for the Obama presidency are being dashed. Stand by. We have some striking new poll numbers just weeks before critical midterm elections. And should Evangelicals be allowed to sing the praises of Christianity at a U.S. Army base? Just ahead, the complaints about a concert set for tomorrow. We'll update you on what's going on? And Big Brother is watching New Yorkers even more now than ever before. We're going to bring you an update on the controversy over cameras placed around the city. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, welcome back everybody. You're watching STARTING POINT. In just a few moments we're going to be talking to an out-going West Point cadet. His name is Lieutenant Blake Page. He's dropping out, leaving just months before he would graduate, because he says he's being discriminated against because he's non-religious. We'll also talk with Michael Winestein. He is with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. A fiscal cliff though, an update, we're nowhere near a deal, but there may be a smidge of movement in the debate. If an agreement isn't reached in 26 days, we go over the cliff or some people describe it as a gentle slope. But basically what happens, there are crippling tax hikes and sweeping spending cuts that will go into effect on the first of the New Year. The president and the House Speaker John Boehner finally spoke yesterday by phone. They have both agreed to keep the details of the discussion under wraps. They're both standing firm on the tax hike, their positions on the tax hikes for the top 2 percent. Listen.
[Representative John Boehner , House Speaker:] The revenues we're putting on the table are going to come from, guess who, the rich.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] Once Republicans acknowledge that rates are going up for top earners, we believe that an agreement is very achievable.
[O'brien:] Kate Bolduan is in Washington, D.C., this morning. So that's kind of a depressing thing, when just the advent of a phone conversation between the two top deal-makers is the headline, isn't it?
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] I could not agree with you more. The fact that they spoke, but the fact that there's no progress, and that's a headline. I mean, if we want to take anything from it, any significance, it's the first time they've talked in a week. So take that what you will. I mean, some will say hope springs eternal, but we are a long way from a deal still. Because neither side, as you said, Soledad, the Republican House speaker nor the president is giving on their basic position. President Obama continues to insist any deal must include a tax break increase on the top 2 percent of wage earners, which Republicans, we well know, just as firmly insist, that is a nonstarter in these cliff negotiations. Another element to this fight now, which is important, is the debt ceiling. It's likely the country will come up against that marker again early next year, laying the groundwork for another potentially bitter, bruising, and damaging battle between Congress and the White House. We know how well that went last summer when we filed a debt ceiling fight. The proposal that was offered by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last week to Republicans would change the rules as it relates to the debt ceiling, giving more power to the president and making it harder for Congress to block a debt ceiling increase in the future. The president clearly wants to take the threat of this continued fight on the debt ceiling off the table. Listen to the president yesterday.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] If Congress, in any way, suggests they're going to tie negotiations to debt ceiling votes, and take us to the brink of default once again, as part of a budget negotiation, which, by the way, we have never done in our history, until we did it last year, I will not play that game.
[Bolduan:] Well, Republicans call it a power grab, what they're really proposing, and this is where they see the little leverage that they have. Because they see that if they don't want the debt ceiling to be part of this fiscal cliff fight. They want to talk about it next year. And they see that as a way to be able to force the president to agree to more spending cuts and entitlement changes that he would otherwise not want to maybe agree to, Soledad. But bottom line is, we're still watching them fight in public, which as you well know, the more they're fighting in public, the less they're talking behind the scenes.
[O'brien:] Maybe not though. You know, the fact they're not talking about anything they discuss on the phone call, I actually see that as a little ray of hope, right? Like let's move it away from the cameras and get some serious work done.
[Bolduan:] I will agree with you.
[O'brien:] Hope springs eternal.
[Bolduan:] I will agree with you. Take that sliver of hope and I'll be back here telling you there's no progress.
[O'brien:] Kate is an optimist and so am I. Thanks, Kate. Appreciate it. Zoraida Sambolin has a look at some of the other stories making news today that are not fiscal cliff stories. Good morning.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Anchor, Cnn's "early Start":] No. I actually start with the really tragic one, the bodies of two young cousins missing since the summer have been found by hunters in a wooded area in Iowa. The 10-year-old Lyric Cook and her 8-year-old cousin Elizabeth Collins vanished in July. Police found their bicycles and a purse near a neighborhood lake. That lake was the scene of an emotional vigil last night. The families of the two girls have been notified. We are awaiting an official I.D. from police. Elizabeth's mother had an emotional message on her Facebook page confirmed the bodies are those of Elizabeth and Lyric. Police say they have no suspects in this case. And nearly 4,000 e-mails that were sent or received by movie theatre massacre suspect James Holmes have been released to the public by the University of Colorado. They reveal Holmes may have had a romantic relationship with a fellow graduate student. And CNN Denver affiliate KMGH reports Holmes expressed fantasies about killing a lot of people more than a month before the shootings. And that a doctor who was treating him decided against holding him for a 72-hour mental evaluation because he was leaving the school. Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz has some sobering advice to offer on that looming fiscal cliff. He says consequences will be far worse than last year's debt ceiling fight, when the U.S. credit rating was downgraded for the first time ever. If a deal is not reached, he told our Poppy Harlow, the ripple effect will be felt worldwide.
[Howard Schultz, Ceo, Starbucks:] This single issue has a seismic effect on the rest of the world, that we have never been as connected and the domino effect of a bad outcome here will have significant negative consequences, domestically and around the world.
[Sambolin:] Take a minute to come over to your TV, if you can. Penn State has another PR problem on its hands this morning. The university's Kai Omega sorority is being investigated for stereotyping Latinos after a picture showed up on the site "Tumblr." The photo showed sorority members wearing fake mustaches and dressed in sombreros while holding signs with comments like "I don't cut grass, I smoke it." The president of the Chi Omega chapter at Penn State has apologized. Is that enough, Soledad?
[O'brien:] Ladies, as your multi-ethnic friend, let me help you. Help me help you, no dressing up as any stereotypical characters, not Latinos, not gays, not any derogatory women, not blacks. Just stop. Call a friend. Get advice. Don't do it. And don't take pictures of it and post it to Facebook.
[Unidentified Male:] Is there a single minority in this sorority who felt empowered to stand up, to say, friends
[Sambolin:] Bad idea.
[Roland Martin, Cnn Contributor:] We're talking about Chi Omega, not Sigma Kappa Theta. I doubt it.
[O'brien:] Moving on, an interesting story. A young man who's just five months away from graduating West Point, he's decided that he is going to abandon his degree in a very public way. The 24-year-old cadet Blake Page, he wrote a blog page on "THE HUFFINGTON POST" saying he wanted out because he's being discriminated against for being non-religious. In his resignation letter, he writes this, "I do not wish to be in any way associated with an institution, which willfully disregards the constitution of the United States of America by enforcing policies which run counter to the same." The U.S. military academy declined to give us a statement. They did confirm that Page's resignation has been approved and he's being honorably discharged. Joining us this Morning is Blake Page, now an out processing cadet from West Point. Michael Winestein is with the founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom foundation. They're in Albuquerque. Nice to talk to you both. Blake, I'll start with you, if I can. Did you know that before you attended West Point, that this is an institution that involves going to chapel, praying over meals. There was a bit, I think it's fair, of a religious culture around West Point.
[Cadet Lt. Blake Page, Outprocessing Cadet, West Point:] Sure. I knew there was a religious culture, but being a cadet does not involve going to chapel, it doesn't involve praying over meals, under normal circumstances. Going to chapel is often encouraged in illegal ways here and throughout the military at large. But prayer over meals is explicitly required at certain times. Those things, though those things weren't as big of a deal to me as a lot of the other problems that have arose
[O'brien:] OK, so walk me through. You spelled it out in your letter to "The Huffington Post," religious bigotry. Tick off for me some of the things that you found most offensive.
[Page:] Right. Well, things that have happened to me personally have just been conversational and really just condescension and disrespect from other people. And I can give my personal stories all day long, but so far, it seems that my greatest criticism comes from people saying that they can't believe what I'm saying. We have over 150 clients here and the staff, faculty, and cadets at West Point who also agree that this is a problem. And there are thousands throughout the military who also agree that this is a problem. So if anybody wants to just pretend that this sort of harassment doesn't exist, they're really missing it. I've had conversations with
[O'brien:] Forgive me for interrupting you, you said the MRFF, and I just want people to be aware that's the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which Mr. Winestein is founder and president. We'll turn to him for a moment. Is it true that this is a how big of a problem is this? And how many complaints do you get? This seems to be a real rarity, a high- profile departure, just months before graduation.
[Michael "mikey" Weinstein, Founder And President, Military Religious Freedom Foundation:] Soledad, it's a terrible problem. Our foundation, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, currently represents 30,512 active duty United States Marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen, and cadets and midshipmen at my alma mater, the Air Force Academy, West Point, and Annapolis. The 96 percent of them are actually practicing Christians themselves, being told that they're not Christian enough. At West Point, as Blake says, we have 151 clients, 119 of whom are also Christians. But this year, this is very typical for West Point. Earlier this year, our foundation had to lead the way with other organizations to stop West Point from inviting the raging Islamophobe, retired Jerry Boykin, from speaking at their national prayer breakfast. We had to go public with that. This man is a raging fundamentalist Christian, Islamophobe, you know, disgraced. West Point, did, at the last minute, disinvite him. A few months later, thanks to other folks at West Point, we found out that West Point had a four-year longitudinal study that was assessed with the class of 2013 this time. It came out in August, I think it was, Blake, where they were actually asking questions about leadership, and they were testing, you know, asking questions about faith and religion, which is fine to do, but not in this country, because clause 3, article 6 of our constitution specifically forbids religious questioning.
[O'brien:] So let me get that to Blake for a moment if I can. I think Roland wants to jump in with question.
[Martin:] General Benjamin Davis Jr. was the first black to finish from West Point in the 20th Century. He went through an entire year where no one even spoke to him because he was black. Do you believe that you're giving in to them by leaving? What if you stayed? What if you said, no matter what you do to me, I am going to win and beat you at this battle? Why leave?
[Page:] Yes, I get that question a lot. I didn't come to West Point to get a West Point degree. I couldn't care less about graduating from West Point. What I wanted to do was become an officer, all right? So that's what was important to me and that's what I was working towards. And I'm not being beaten. Going through the channels here haven't been difficult for me, classes haven't been difficult. I've generally had a fair amount of success with my time as a cadet, and anybody who thinks I'm just giving up and walking away is really missing the point. I found out earlier this semester that I would not be able to commission, but I was told that I would be allowed to graduate if I decided that I wanted to. When I first found out if I wasn't going to commission, I asked if I could go ahead and leave so that I wouldn't waste anymore taxpayer dollars. But I was encouraged by people here to stay, and I ended up staying for a few months, and I realized there was a problem here and I was going to be outside the system, and I wouldn't be able to affect the changes I wanted to affect as a high-ranking officer later on. So I made the decision to do what I could to try to get attention to an issue that I think needs a lot of attention.
[O'brien:] You certainly have with your post on "The Huffington Post." It's what all people are talking about. Cadet Blake Page joining us and also Michael Weinstein as well with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Nice to talk to both of you gentleman. We appreciate your time this morning. Got to take a short break. Still ahead, the NFL experienced a tragedy this week when a Kansas City player killed himself and his girlfriend. There's a new article that takes look at the lengths that Roger Goodell is going to, to protect his sport. We'll talk about that straight ahead.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, anti-American protesters are scaling U.S. embassy walls, burning cars in several cities. We're going to check out the map. The protests are happening from Cairo to Sana'a, Yemen, to Tel Aviv, to Tehran. The anti-American violence started in Egypt. It is not letting up. There are angry crowds that are protesting for a third straight day over the film that insults Islam. Demonstrators threw rocks, Molotov cocktails, pushed through barbed wire fencing outside the U.S. embassy in Cairo. Police responded by firing tear gas. Officials say 224 people were injured in today's protests alone. Egyptian blogger and journalist Mona Eltahawy, she has been witnessing this and joins us by phone from Cairo. Mona, I know that, first of all, you were in Tahrir Square over the last 24 hours. What is the feeling? What is the mood there?
[Mona Eltahawy, Egyptian Blogger And Journalist:] I was there in the early hours of today, Suzanne. I was there at about 2:00 a.m. I was not there today, and there was yesterday there was a street that was closed to block access to the U.S. embassy, which is why the clashes were taking place, not right at the premise as they were as the protests were on Tuesday, but further away. From what I gather from people on the ground today, as you said, more than 200 people were injured and it's a very different kind of protest today than it was on Tuesday that first day. On Tuesday, those protests were called by right wing members of the Talis movement in Egypt, and there was very little security and people were very surprised because the U.S. embassy is usually guarded like a fortress. Security has been out yesterday and today. And I want to emphasize that many of the protesters taking part in the clashes today with police are not just upset about the film but upset about police. There's a long-running anger at police brutality in Egypt, and this protest has as much to do or today's clashes have as much to do with that as they do with the film. It's a different kind of clash now.
[Malveaux:] What do they want, Mona? What do the protesters want?
[Eltahawy:] That is a great question, Suzanne, because on Tuesday, it wasn't clear what the protesters then wanted either. It wasn't clear if the protest was called to coincide with 911, and it wasn't clear why people were getting upset about the film now despite the fact it's been online for two months. Tomorrow, there's been a large protest called by the Muslim brotherhood movement from which our current president, Mohammed Morsi comes. And interestingly, the Salafis who are further to the right of the Muslim brotherhood, have decided to boycott tomorrow's protest which is actually one way of answering what's going on. I believe, and many people believe, first of all, there's a big concern about the reinstallment of emergency law and we worry these clashes will be used as a pretext to bring back emergency law but there's also a worry about political jockeying for power. There's a right wing in the U.S. that is behind this film and it's election season in the U.S., elections in November, obviously. Here in Egypt, there's a different kind of political jockeying. Whereas we have a president who wants to place himself in the center, as Hosni Mubarak
[Malveaux:] And, Mona, what do you think of what the U.S. president has said, Barack Obama saying that he doesn't really consider Egypt an ally or an enemy at this point, that it really is time will tell, that this is a work in progress. I mean, that really is kind of a stunning change of position from the White House perspective.
[Eltahawy:] I think that that statement took many people by surprise and shocked them a great deal because part of the anti-U.S. sentiment, and there is an anti-U.S. sentiment in the clashes today and in the protests on Tuesday and in the various countries where the protests are taking place, the U.S. has been a Egypt has been a major ally for the U.S. to the extent that five different U.S. administrations supported our dictator, Mubarak. I think the White House realized because over the past few minutes I've been reading statements, the White House realized what a shocking statement that was and it looks like they're trying to back pedal from this idea that Egypt has been demoted as an ally. I think everybody right now feels how sensitive the situation is and understands this political jockeying for power and again to reiterate, it's the revolution and its goals, freedom and dignity, but not be derailed. And I think it's imperative for the U.S. administration as well as the Egyptian administration to focus on those goals and not allow the right wing to derail us.
[Malveaux:] So, Mona, give what is the reaction of people in Egypt, though, to those statements, to the president's statement there? Do they feel abandoned? I mean, when they hear that the president of the United States is no longer necessarily categorically calling Egypt an ally?
[Eltahawy:] Well, you know, quite honestly, Suzanne, there's been a lot of confusion about what the U.S. role is right now and how the U.S. feels about Egypt, because, as I said, before our revolution began, there was and continued to be a lot of anti-U.S. sentiment because of this support by various U.S. administrations for dictators in this region. But hearing the statement today, I think people are thinking,
[Malveaux:] All right.
[Eltahawy:] well, you know, whose side are you on because we're trying to get this revolution working and it has definitely confused a lot of people.
[Malveaux:] All right, Mona Eltahawy, thank you so much for your time. I want to go directly to Golden, Colorado. This is where the president is speaking about the four who were killed in Libya.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] who serve in difficult and dangerous places all around the world, to advance the interests and the values that we hold dear as Americans. And a lot of times, their work goes unheralded, it doesn't get a lot of attention but it is vitally important. We enjoy our security and our liberty because of the sacrifices that they make. And they do an outstanding job every single day without a lot of fan fare. So, what I want all of you to know is that we are going to bring those who killed our fellow Americans to justice. I want people around the world to hear me, to all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished. It will not dim the light of the values that we proudly present to the rest of the world. No act of violence shakes the resolve of the United States of America, and I have directed my administration to do whatever is necessary to protect all Americans who are serving abroad, that's one of my highest priorities as president. And we're also in contact with other governments to underscore that they've got an obligation to cooperate with us, to protect our citizens. That's part of their job. Now, I know that it's difficult sometimes seeing these disturbing images on television, because our world is filled with serious challenges. This is a tumultuous time that we're in. But we can and we will meet those challenges if we stay true to who we are. And if we would remind ourselves that we're different from other nations. We are we're different not only because of the incredible landscape that God has given us, we're different because we're a nation that's bound together by a creed. We're not made up of a single tribe or single religion or a single race. We're a collection of people from all around the world who came here because of a certain set of principles. The idea that all men and women are created equal. That we are all endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. That's what binds us together. That's what our flag means. But we also believe that these are not just American rights. We believe these are universal aspirations. And they are held by people who live in tiny villages in Libya, prosperous cities in Europe. That's our light to the world. And our task, as the most powerful nation on earth, is to defend and protect and advance our people, but also to defend and protect and advance those values at home and around the world. That's what our troops do. That's what our diplomats do. That's what our intelligence officers do. That's what our citizens do. That's what we believe. Those are the values that we hold to. And here in America, there is no more fundamental part of our democracy than the fact that all of you get a say in the decisions that are made about our country's future. And that's why we're here today. You know, over the past few weeks, Colorado, you've been offered two very different paths for our future. You've seen their convention, you've seen ours. And now you chase now you face one big choice. Ours our vision, our fight, is to restore the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known. The promise that says hard work will pay off. If you work hard, you can make it. That responsibility will be rewarded. That in this country of ours, everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share and everybody plays by the same rules from Wall Street to main street to Washington,
[D.c. Malveaux:] President Obama in Golden, Colorado, before an enthusiastic group of campaigners. Absolute chaos at the U.S. embassy today in the capital of Yemen. Furious protesters scaled the security fence, smashed car windows nearby. People are angry about a film produced in the United States that is offensive to Muslims. We are seeing similar scenes at U.S. embassies and consulates in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, talked about that film today and spoke directly to the people who are furious at the United States and attacking the embassies and consulates overseas. Take a listen.
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] I also want to take a moment to address the video circulating on the Internet that has led to these protests in a number of countries. Let me state very clearly, and I hope it is obvious, that the United States government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its content and message. America's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. And as you know, we are home to people of all religions, many of whom came to this country speaking the right to exercise their own religion, including, of course, millions of Muslims. And we have the greatest respect for people of faith.
[Malveaux:] Secretary Clinton also had words for the protesters who are expressing their anger with violence.
[Clinton:] To us, to me personally, this video is disgusting and reprehensible. It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose, to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage. But as I said yesterday, there is no justification, none at all, for responding to this video with violence. We condemn the violence that has resulted in the strongest terms, and we greatly appreciate that many Muslims in the United States and around the world have spoken out on this issue.
[Malveaux:] The hunt for those who killed the Americans in Libya will include warships and surveillance drones. Now, right now, there are two U.S. Navy destroyers, they are equipped with guided cruise missiles. They're on route to the Libyan coast. A contingent of Marines has also already arrived. I want to bring in Chris Lawrence from the Pentagon to talk about this. We know that there are drones, warships that are moving into position. What is the mission? What is the plan?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, Suzanne, to put it bluntly, it's to find the insurgent cell responsible for this attack and then to either capture or kill those responsible. The drones, we are told now, have been flying for several months. Pentagon officials confirming that they were flying perhaps even as far back as before the last attack on this American compound which was back in June. But now, the search is going to become much more focused, looking for elements of this insurgent cell that can then be targeted. Now, when you talk about some of the ships that are coming, two destroyers have been ordered to come to the coast, off the coast of Libya. Both of those are armed with tomahawk cruise missiles, which can be programmed to strike specific targets and are guided by satellite.
[Malveaux:] Give us a sense of what the Marines are going to be doing as well.
[Lawrence:] Yes, a quick response team of 50 Marines landed in Tripoli yesterday. They are there now. Their primary job is to beef up security at the main diplomatic compound there in Tripoli. They're also on hand in case even more Americans need to be evacuated. And we're also told that some U.S. units, some troops around the world, have also been notified that they may be moved to U.S. embassies around the world as well if the U.S. feels that extra security is needed. It goes back to what you heard President Obama just saying, that he had directed his team to make sure that diplomats and Americans that are working abroad for the government are protected. ...well if the U.S. feels that extra security is needed. It goes back to what you heard President Obama just saying, that he had directed his team to make sure that diplomats and Americans that are working abroad for the government are protected. The ships right now are a contingency. There is not a specific mission. But what they do, together with those drones, is give the President options.
[Malveaux:] All right. Chris Lawrence, thank you. Appreciate it, Chris. Here's what we're working on for this hour. Many experts believe al Qaeda was behind the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya. We'll talk to an al Qaeda expert about the motive. We're also learning more about the filmmaker who sparked protests around the world.

[Baldwin:] Let's go to Washington now, shall we, and check in with Wolf Blitzer with the latest news fresh off the CNN Political Ticker, including, what, two things, new Republican poll numbers and of course, Speaker Boehner's job plan Wolf.
[Wolf Blitzer, Host, Cnn's "the Situation Room":] Yes, Brooke, it's very interesting that if you listen to what John Boehner had to say, he has major disagreements on the jobs initiative from the president. But he also said it's time for everyone to work together. Let me play a little clip of what the speaker had to say.
[Rep. John Boehner , House Speaker:] There are some in both parties who would frankly rather do nothing. They would prefer to sit this out and wait to be dealt a better hand down the road after the next election, you know, the old kicking the can down the road. Guess what? That's not what I was elected to do. And I know what the hand is that we've been dealt, and instead of ducking from the challenge, we need to rise to the occasion and liberate our economy from the shackles that this government put on us. I'm ready. And I think for the sake of our country and our economy, I hope all of us are ready.
[Blitzer:] You hear I similar message from the president. He says, forget about politics right now. The country is in serious economic trouble. Everyone has to work together. The problem is that the devil is now in the details. There are major differences between what the speaker has in mind and the Republican majority and the House of Representatives and what the president and the Democrats have in mind when it comes to taxes, when it comes to government regulation and other substantive issues. So if they can work out a compromise, that would be impressive. Right now it doesn't look like that's going to happen necessarily. You mentioned new poll numbers we have. We did polling among Republicans across the country. Take a look at this. Among Republicans, basically evenly split between those who are Tea Party advocates and those who aren't. Are you an active member or a supporter of the Tea Party movement? Among Republicans only, 49 percent say yes, 51 percent say no. So Republicans evenly split whether they want to identify directly with the Tea Party movement. Take a look at the demographics. Of all the Republicans, regular Republicans, let's say, as opposed to Tea Party Republicans, you look at the these numbers and they're up on the screen. Take a look at this, Brooke. Tea Party Republicans are more educated, 64 percent to 53 percent. They're more male members, 63 percent to 45 percent. They're older, 50 and older for the Tea Party, 60 percent to 42 percent, and more born again, 46 to 40 percent. So interesting demographics. A little bit surprising, maybe, to some people. But it's interesting to see how divided the Republicans are 5050 basically between Tea Party supporters and non Tea Party supporters. We'll talk about a lot of this and much more to follow-up on the debate I moderated earlier in the week. Jon Huntsman, one of the Republican presidential candidates will join us live in "THE SITUATION ROOM," and Mitt Romney will join us live as well. So, we got two major Republicans coming into "THE SITUATION ROOM" later today. I know, Brooke, you and a lot of our viewers will want to watch.
[Baldwin:] Of course, of course. Yesterday, you said you have a big show today. You definitely have a big show, Wolf Blitzer. We will talk a little bit more about that in my second hour. Thank you so much. We will also get another "Political Ticker" update for you in half-an-hour.

[A.j. Hammer:] We`ve got big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Mel`s slap scandal. Mel Gibson reportedly admits he did slap his ex- girlfriend. Well, today, Mel`s explosive reason why he says he did it. Tiger`s first mistress breaks her silence. Rachel Uchitel, the first woman Tiger Woods allegedly had an affair with makes a stunning confession today. Will anyone feel sorry for her? The Gosselin kids expelled? Unbelievable new reports today that some of Jon and Kate`s kids have been kicked out of school. Is their reality TV fame to blame? Jessica Simpson engaged. Jessica gets engaged just two weeks after her ex Nick Lachey does. Hmm. Coincidence or is something tuna fishy going on here? TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
[Kareen Wynter, Correspondent, Showbiz Tonight:] That`s right, A.J. It does. This is truly wild. TMZ reports that Gibson talked about that fight in a court declaration last July. It was part of a long custody war between Mel and Oksana over their baby girl, Lucia. Oksana has claimed that during an explosive argument on January 6th of this year Mel, punched her in the head and mouth and, get this, knocked out two of her teeth. But in Mel`s declaration TMZ reports today that Mel claims he was just trying to save their baby. In the court documents quoted by TMZ, Gibson reportedly says, and I`m quoting here, "Oksana was acting hysterical and Lucia was screaming as her rapid movements were causing Lucia`s little body to be flung from one side to the other, her head shaking violently." "I could see that Oksana`s behavior had spiraled out of control. I feared the physical risk to Lucia associated with shaking an infant Lucia`s age known as `shaken baby syndrome.`" Gibson goes on to say, quote, "I slapped Oksana one time with an open hand in an attempt to bring her back to reality. I did not slap her hard. I was just trying to shock her so that she would stop screaming, continuing shaking Lucia back and forth." But, A.J., Gibson and I`m going to make it clear here he denies denies he hit Oksana with a closed fist or that he struck their baby, both claims, by the way, Oksana has made in the past.
[Hammer:] Yes. Mel Gibson saying he`s never, ever hit Oksana ever before. And it`s never happened except for this one slapping incident. Police investigating Gibson for domestic violence charges but no charges have been filed yet. Sunny Hostin, off to you. Mel apparently admitting, yes, he slapped Oksana but it was for his baby`s sake. Is his reasoning a justifiable defense?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session" On Tru Tv:] No, no, it`s never a defense to hit another woman. A man should never hit a woman. And quite frankly, nobody should hit anyone else. That`s assaultive behavior. Can it stand up in a court of law? I mean, there is a defense that you can try to protect your child, but I don`t believe that at all. He`s admitted to assaulting her and I think any jury, any woman on a jury, is going to find him guilty of domestic violence just based on that admission alone.
[Hammer:] But it`s interesting to sort of understand why he would say that because he claims that she was acting so erratically and he needed to calm her down for the safety of their baby. Cooper, what do you make of Mel`s "I hit Oksana to save Lucia" claim?
[Lawrence:] No. You take the baby and you leave the house if you think that she`s put the baby in danger.
[Hostin:] Right.
[Lawrence:] It`s not a movie. You don`t smack somebody and they go and they`re back, you know. He`s watching too many of his own movies. If he was really concerned with the safety of this child, he could have called 911. He could have taken the baby. He could have left. But the idea you never put your hands on a woman for any reason.
[Hostin:] That`s right.
[Hammer:] I couldn`t agree with both of you more on that. Well, the Mel- Oksana fight in question appears to be this very same fight that we heard the ex-couple mention in those secret recordings that were made by Oksana and, of course, posted on "Radar Online." And at one point in those recordings, you may remember this, Gibson appears to reference having hit Oksana. Let`s listen to that.
[Unidentified Female:] You almost killed us. Did you forget?
[Unidentified Male:] The last three years has been a
[Unidentified Female:] You were a hitting a woman with a child in her hands. You what kind of man is that, hitting a woman when she`s holding a child in her hands, breaking her teeth twice in the face. What kind of man is that?
[Unidentified Male:] Oh, you`re all angry now. You know what? You
[Unidentified Female:] You know what? You`re going to answer. One day, boy, you`re going to answer.
[Unidentified Male:] What, are you threatening me?
[Unidentified Female:] Nothing, nothing. I`m not the one to threaten.
[Unidentified Male:] I`ll threaten I`ll put you in the
[Hammer:] OK. Sunny, understanding, of course, it is never right to hit a woman. You say that wouldn`t be a justifiable defense, even if he was trying, as he claimed, to help or save their child. When you hear that recording now after we`ve heard Mel`s apparent reasoning, again, trying to protect his daughter, do people need to start cutting him a break at all?
[Hostin:] No.
[Hammer:] Not at all?
[Hostin:] No, not at all. I mean, he`s admitted to striking her. He admitted it on that tape. Now, he`s admitted it in a court affidavit. You don`t get a break for domestic violence. I mean, that is really just the bottom line here, A.J. He hit Oksana and that`s enough for me and I think it would be enough for a jury and it would be enough for a court of law. He just doesn`t have a justifiable defense.
[Hammer:] All right. Fair enough. I do want to move on because Mel is not the only one making an explosive admission today. Alleged Tiger Woods mistress, Rachel Uchitel, is breaking her silence and coming as close as she ever has or probably ever will to finally admitting an affair with Tiger. Back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter in Hollywood. Kareen, what is Rachel Uchitel saying?
[Wynter:] Well, in an extensive interview with the U.K.`s "Daily Mail," Rachel says that losing her fiance on 911 it actually sent her into a downward spiral. She says, quote, "I plunged head first into relationships which I should never have been in." She didn`t, however, A.J., answer specific questions about you-know-who, Tiger, probably because of that reported multimillion dollar settlement she reached with Tiger. But she was asked, pointblank, if she regrets sleeping with a married man. She says, quote, "Yes, of course. I will never, ever do that again." And correct me if I`m wrong here, A.J., the article left little doubt about which married man Rachel was referring to.
[Hammer:] Yes. Little at all. Well, this article really goes into this intense detail about how Uchitel says she felt with she lost her fiancee. That is certainly something that people can sympathize with. But Cooper, does this make you at all feel sorry for her knowing what she`s done, allegedly?
[Lawrence:] No, because I believe in personal responsibility. And we`ve all lost people. A lot of us have, myself included, we all lost people we were close with on 911. To walk around and use that as an excuse for bad behavior is just
[Hammer:] I don`t know if she was doing that. I think she was trying to give it context. I don`t know that she was saying, well
[Lawrence:] There`s still personal responsibility.
[Hostin:] Yes.
[Lawrence:] There`s still the idea that she also, you know, the fact that she was in love with Tiger, then what`s the $10 million for? She says she not a whore? Well, I have ex-boyfriends. I haven`t asked them for money.
[Hammer:] Right.
[Lawrence:] So to me, that`s a whore.
[Hammer:] And of course, there`s been no confirmation that she was, in fact, paid $10 million. Something else that Rachel says in this article caught my eye about her life now. Listen to what she tells the "Daily Mail," quote, "Women don`t like me because they see me as a threat, but I just want to be loved. And that got me into trouble because I made some bad choices in men. What woman doesn`t understand that?" Sunny, I go to you as a woman, not just a lawyer. Do you understand that?
[Hostin:] I don`t understand it. I don`t understand it at all. I`m sorry. Maybe I`m not that woman. Bu you know, she slept with a married man. I agree with Cooper. People women lose, you know, their loved ones all the time but that doesn`t mean that they end up in the bed of a married man. It`s such complete nonsense and for her to really use the 911 excuse is deplorable. It just makes me dislike her even more.
[Hammer:] All right. We will leave it there. Sunny Hostin, Cooper Lawrence, I thank you both. As we move on today, Sarah Palin`s brand new reality show just premiered. I can tell you millions of people watched this thing. So here`s the big question I`m asking today will this show help Sarah if she decides to run for president in 2012?
[Fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin:] People know me from the political stage or from my book perhaps. But I`m a mother of five and it`s important to me that my kids see everything that Alaska has to offer.
[Hammer:] A very different side of Sarah Palin. So is this just a big campaign tactic? The Gosselin kids expelled? Wait until you hear this unbelievable new reports today that some of Jon and Kate`s kids have been kicked out of school. Is their reality TV fame to blame? And it has been one of the longest running reported feuds of all time. I`m talking about Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg. This has been going on for a quarter century. Today, they finally patch things up.
[Oprah Winfrey, Host, "the Oprah Winfrey Show":] Whoopi came up to me and she said, "Can I just ask you something?" Really? She said, "Can I just ask you something? Did I do something to you?"
[Hammer:] These two finally get to the bottom of their mysterious feud. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. And now, the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] Oprah, Britney Spears, Beyonce are highest-earning women in showbiz. Russell Brand addresses reports about his wedding to Katy Perry.
[Unidentified Male:] Here`s another rumor. Twenty-one camels, elephants and horses were part of the wedding procession.
[Russell Brand, Comedian:] They were not. It was just mostly friends and family.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. And right now, Sarah Palin, a rock star? Well, not exactly. But Sarah Palin does go rock climbing on TV. Could this be a presidential campaign tactic? President Clinton`s big hangover today. And today, another brand-new Michael Jackson song is released. All this in "The Buzz Today."
[Unidentified Male:] What is this? Oh, my god. That is my tooth.
[Hammer:] According to "People.com," Clinton plays himself in the comedy. Palin presidential reality? Sarah Palin just debuted her brand-new reality show, "Sarah Palin`s Alaska," on
[Tlc. S. Palin:] Oh, my god!
[Unidentified Female:] You`ve always wanted to be a rock climber, Sarah.
[S. Palin:] Was it a rock climber or a rock star?
[Hammer:] The all-access look at Palin`s adventurous side is sparking heated speculation that she`s not just scaling glaciers on the show. She`s actually chipping away at a presidential plot for 2012.
[S. Palin:] We`re near the top of the world.
[Hammer:] Palin has been hinting that she would run for president if no one else wants the job.
[Carlos Diaz, Syndicated Radio:] A.J., I`m going to kill myself for saying this Sarah Palin is a genius. I said it, she`s a genius
[Hammer:] All right.
[Diaz:] Because she`s doing everything right. She gets Mark Burnett involved in the show. By the way, numbers are in. Five million people watched the show. It`s the biggest new show ever in the history of TLC. So she`s letting America see herself letting America see her before she does a run for presidency, and I think it`s a great idea on her part. She`s in her natural environment.
[Hammer:] Wow.
[Diaz:] Everything about this is right. I know. I know it`s tough for you to hear this coming from my lips. But I would like to see Sarah Palin`s Washington, D.C. That`s the next show I want to see.
[Hammer:] All right. That may be a bit away. But it`s interesting, Carlos, and I hope you don`t kill yourself, by the way. You mentioned the five million viewers who tuned in to see the show. It makes it the number one launch in all of TLC`s history. It`s also making some big buzz among our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT iReporters. Cameron Harrelson of Baxley, Georgia tells us the show showed us a different side of Palin. Watch.
[Cameron Harrelson, Baxley, Georgia:] You know, so often we`ve been blinded by the media`s attacks on her and her family that we never get to see who this woman is behind the cameras. And you know, she really is an admirable person. So if you`re someone who`s trying to find out who Sarah Palin is and what she`s all about, this is the show for you to watch.
[Hammer:] Thanks, Cameron. Now, the show does give us a different look at Sarah Palin. So if it is about boosting Palin`s image, I can see how, by our iReporter`s thinking, it could actually work. Kelli, to you, this show is it going to make her a bigger star or a bigger politician?
[Kelli Zink, Host, "access Hollywood":] Bigger star. Here`s the thing, A.J. If you don`t like Sarah Palin, watching the show is not going to make you like her any more. For someone like me who is not the biggest fan of her politics, I laugh. I mean, she`s a character. If anything, it makes me want to travel to Alaska, which is beautiful. But Sarah Palin this is not going to help her campaign any more than Bristol on "Dancing with the Stars."
[Hammer:] Well, let`s take a look at this because just handed to me the results of our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive poll, and here is what we asked "`Sarah Palin`s Alaska`: Do you think Palin`s reality show will win her more fans?" Now, 22 percent, a pretty low number, said yes, it will. Seventy-eight percent said no. And Carlos, I`m actually thinking, kind of like Kelli, that people who don`t like Sarah Palin it`s not like they`re going to be tuning into the show, are they?
[Diaz:] Well, it`s kind of you almost want to tune in for the train wreck appeal. You know, you`re like I mean, I`m not a big fan of Sarah Palin, but I watch a little bit because you want to see so you can like go into work the next day and go, oh, my gosh
[Zink:] We can`t have a politician who is a train wreck.
[Diaz:] I know. But that`s the thing. I think we`re beyond Sarah Palin as a serious politician. But in the show, she can sneak in little tidbits like, "Oh, I like this fence in my front yard. We need this on the Mexican border." Or you see that she`s tough on her daughter`s boyfriend, so she`ll be tough with other things.
[Hammer:] It`s maybe a controlled way of her getting her message out there. She has control over this thing. Carlos Diaz, Kelli Zink, we`re going to leave it there. Thanks, guys. All right. As we move on, there`s big news today from Jessica Simpson. She is engaged. But this is making me go hmm, because just days ago, her ex, Nick Lachey he got engaged to Vanessa Minnillo. I`ve got to ask, is this a coincidence or is there something tuna fishy going on there? There is something going on with those Gosselin kids. They have reportedly been expelled from school. We`re asking today is their reality TV fame to blame? Also this
[Winfrey:] Whoopi came up to me and she said, "Can I just ask you something?" Really. She said, "Can I just ask you something? Did I do something to you?"
[Hammer:] Oprah and Whoopi`s tearful reunion. These two have reportedly been fighting for 25 years. And today, they settle it once and for all. Wait until we show this to you. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. And now, it`s the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] Brad Pitt in talks to make a movie about the trapped Chilean miners. Rihanna and drake debut video for their number one song, "What`s My Name."

[Savidge:] Let's go straight to Paul Steinhauser with breaking news from our political desk in Washington Paul.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] Martin, I know, we're doing this all morning. But here's what we're learning. Our John King, our chief national correspondent and anchor of "J.K., USA," just spoke to a source in New Jersey who confirmed to us that Chris Christie will announce he will not be running for the GOP presidential nomination this afternoon. Remember, the New Jersey governor has been under a lot of pressure to jump into the race. At the last minute this morning, he announced a 1:00 news conference in Trenton, New Jersey. We're learning now he will announce he is not going to run for the GOP presidential nomination, Martin.
[Savidge:] All right, Paul Steinhauser, thanks very much. Now let's bring in CNN Will Cain. First of all, Will, were you surprised? What do you think of this news?
[Cain:] I think the major reaction I have, Martin, is a disappointment. I'm openly conservative, Martin, and I feel like a real opportunity has been missed here. I think what we'll see now on the next month or two is, first, the establishment and then the electorate gravitate towards Mitt Romney. In fact, David Brooks wrote about it in the "New York Times." There's been a reluctance to move over to support Romney. There's a perceived lack of trust in his positions. There's certainly no love for the fact that he created the model for Obama care. But he does seem to be the most competent candidate. And the opportunity that's missed now is that in a year when populism played such a strong role in the Republican Party, there was a chance a guy like Christie or a Jeb Bush or a Paul Ryan could harness that energy and bring real ideological positions to make changes in Washington. I think they've missed their opportunity. I think Mitt Romney will be the nominee. And there's a good chance he beats a very vulnerable Barack Obama. And so, what do these guys do in 2016? The Christies and Ryans and Bushes of the world, you have a Republican incumbent president possibly in 2016.
[Savidge:] And I just missed that last thing you said. I'm sorry. But my question was do you think he could be vice presidential material?
[Cain:] You know, I think about the job of vice president. I'm like is that a good job to aspire to? I mean, Chris Christie, yes, he might be vice presidential material. Truthfully, I think that Marco Rubio's name has been on that ticket as vice presidential candidate for quite some time. Chris Christie is certainly somebody you can look at putting there. He carries a lot of positives. But I don't know if he'd want a job either. I say, is that a desirable to have? He's got a strong position as leader of New Jersey and if Barack Obama wins, he'll be positioned to run in 2016.
[Savidge:] You say you are disappointed. What about the base of the Republican Party, do you think they're truly disappointed?
[Cain:] The base I think when we say the base Republican Party, we talk a lot about the Tea Party. I think the Tea Party's relationship to Chris Christie was just forming. So, there will be some disappointment. But as we talk about on this channel, on CNN, a lot, Chris Christie's positions didn't fit a rigid position that fit all the Tea Party's positions. He was a little bit iconoclastic on immigration, on climate change. So, there will be some who liked the style of Chris Christie and his commitment to fiscal conservativism and they'll be disappointed, like me. But I think many of the Tea Party base will look to Rick Perry and now to Herman Cain.
[Savidge:] Why do you think he chose to say no? Is it simply is there's just no time or is there something else going on at the back of his mind?
[Cain:] You know, I don't know, Martin. The best I can do is offer you the answer that he's given us over and over, that he has said the one thing we can say is Chris Christie, from the beginning, has said, "I'm not going to run for president." Now, we know did he flirt with it after that, but he's said that over and over and reason he has given is that he doesn't feel it inside himself. He doesn't feel like he is ready. Look, he's only been governor for two years. And I think one of the lessons of Barack Obama's presidencies regardless of your political persuasion is there's some hesitancy to elect somebody with a lack of experience. That doesn't reflect well for Christie, it doesn't reflect well for Herman Cain. We want to look for people at this point to have some competency. And I think Chris Christie realized some of that in himself. Maybe he needs more experience, maybe he wants to spend time with his family. But from the beginning, he said, I don't feel it inside for me, that it's time for me to run.
[Savidge:] And he's politically a young man. He's 49. So, there is still time to do that. Will Cain, thanks very much for the insights. We will be talking again, guaranteed.
[Cain:] Thanks, Martin.
[Savidge:] Well, he didn't exactly run for president on his foreign policy credentials. He never portrayed himself as tough on terror when he's still a candidate. But now as commander-in-chief, President Obama has rid the world of some of the biggest terrorists. So, why aren't we hearing more about that? In the next hour, we will talk about why Obama doesn't seem to be getting a lot of attention for his national security successes.

[John King, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening, everyone. I'm John King. And we're reporting live tonight from the River Music Experience in Davenport, Iowa, beginning a weeklong visit to the state that in just 22 days casts the first official votes of the 2012 presidential campaign. New polling out tonight confirms the Newt Gingrich surge here in Iowa. And the former House speaker's appeal was also evident at a lunchtime conversation with three Republican voters here today.
[Mike Whalen, Iowa Voter:] Obviously, if you could have a cloning machine, and you could put the passion of Herman Cain with the policies of Newt Gingrich and the steadfastness and the president thing of Romney, you would have the perfect candidate...
[King:] If only it worked that way, huh? Much more on the Iowa stakes and the state of play here in just a moment. But, first, as always, we begin the news you need to know right now. We will shift up to New Hampshire, where the campaign is in full swing there as well. Newt Gingrich just wrapped up a debate with the former Governor Jon Huntsman. But it seems the real sparring today was between Speaker Gingrich and the former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Romney threw the first punch saying on TV this morning that Gingrich should return the nearly $2 million in fees paid to him by Freddie Mac.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] One of the things that I think people recognize in Washington is that people go there to serve the people and then they stay there to serve themselves.
[Question:] Do you believe they should give that money back?
[Romney:] Oh, I sure do.
[King:] From the former speaker, this counterpunch.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] If Governor Romney would like to give back all of the money he has earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years at Bain, then I would be glad to then listen to him. And I bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won't take the offer.
[King:] And responding to characterizations by the Gingrich camp that going negative is a sign of desperation, Governor Romney added this.
[Romney:] We are not running any negative ads at that point, but we may. This is after all politics. There is no whining in politics.
[King:] Get that? There's no whining in politics. Let's bring in Jim Acosta now. He's in Manchester, New Hampshire, site of the Gingrich-Huntsman debate. Jim, take us to that moment first. The old Lincoln-Douglas-style debate. Governor Huntsman is struggling. Speaker Gingrich at the top. What was the highlight?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, John, I think you put it right just a few moments ago. This was really a sideshow between the fight that was going on between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich earlier today. But it did get interesting at times. Newt Gingrich at one point advocated regime change for Iran during this debate. Governor Huntsman would not go that far, saying only that all options should be on the table. But this was less Lincoln-Douglas and more of a love fest. It got so mind-numbing at one point that Jon Huntsman quipped on stage one of his own daughters was nodding off in the audience. And then Newt Gingrich chimed in, well, just to be fair, she was nodding off when I was speaking. So this was really more of a gentleman's, I guess, discussion than a debate, I would say.
[King:] And, so, Jim, take us inside the Gingrich-Romney feuding. Governor Romney for months has led in the state. He has a vacation home there. He was governor of the neighboring state of Massachusetts. Gingrich has closed the lead dramatically. Does the Gingrich camp think it can actually catch Romney in New Hampshire as much as everywhere else?
[Acosta:] They do. In fact, they're going to pull out the heavy artillery here in the next couple weeks. I confirmed with a Gingrich spokesman, R.C. Hammond, earlier today that the Gingrich campaign will borrow a page from the John McCain playbook. You will recall, it went pretty well here in New Hampshire. They will launch a Straight Talk Express-like bus tour in the early voting states, didn't offer whole a lot of details and didn't say whether or not it would come to New Hampshire. But suffice to say that R.C. Hammond was saying earlier today that they're already starting to look at which way the seats should face inside the bus and how much time Speaker Gingrich would get talking to reporters. This is very much like what John McCain did back four years ago. He spent a lot of time in that bus, crisscrossing the state talking to reporters. It's a contrast the Gingrich campaign likes to put out there. He is talking to reporters. Mitt Romney at least in recent weeks has been more standoffish with the press John.
[King:] And Governor Romney is starting to come see us more a little bit, Jim, because of that. Jim Acosta tonight in Manchester, New Hampshire, 29 days until New Hampshire votes, 22 days until Iowa kicks it off, where I am tonight. Jim, thanks. We will see you soon. Should states have the individual authority to enforce immigration matters? The Supreme Court said today, it intends to take on that controversial topic. At question in this case, whether Arizona can enforce its immigration laws, over the strong objections from the White House. Federal courts have already blocked key parts of the law but Arizona argues illegal immigration creates a financial hardship and safety concerns for its residents. The Obama administration counter that immigration issues are under the exclusive authority of the federal government, that Arizona's interference as the administration calls it only makes things worse. Joining us to help sort it all out, CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Jeff, the Arizona case has generated a lot of national controversy. A handful of other states have copies. Other states are debating it. What is the key question now before the justices?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] This is really one of the oldest issues in front of the Supreme Court. What powers belong to the states and what powers belong to the federal government? The Supreme Court has been dealing with that issue in various forms since the 18th century. In this issue, in this case, you have the issue of immigration at the heart of it, which is both politically and legally fraught. And as you pointed out, many states have used the Arizona law as a model. And if states get the green light in this case, we can look forward to a lot more laws restricting what immigrants can do in a state and also allowing law enforcement more powers to stop, detain and perhaps even expel illegal immigrants.
[King:] Is just the fact that the high court took the case, is that a setback to the administration? Or does the administration as much as Arizona need these questions answered?
[Toobin:] I think this is one reason why we have a Supreme Court. There are so many laws like this now. The court really does have to sort out the law. I think the politics of this are really fascinating, because I think with swing voters, most of those voters are generally supportive of these sorts of laws. But Hispanic voters are overwhelmingly against these laws. And as you have reported many times, the Obama administration is making a real push in states like Arizona, Colorado, to embrace and support Hispanic voters. And they are going to have a very high-profile support from the Obama administration in this case. So I think the politics are not entirely clear in terms of who is helped in these cases.
[King:] We will watch this case before the court. Jeff Toobin, thank you. A decision likely in the middle of next year's presidential election. So we will keep our eye on this one. Jeff, thanks. A somber moment today at one of the nation's most sacred sites. President Obama and the Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, that to pay respects to the nearly 4,500 U.S. troops killed in the eight-year conflict. Earlier, the two leaders held a joint news conference to declare the war formally over now that all U.S. troops are scheduled to come home, that all done by this month. But there was an uncomfortable moment for the president. For more, let's go to CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian. And, Dan, that uncomfortable moment, the president reminded of something he said much earlier in his political career. Take us inside.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] That's right. He was then state Senator Obama of the state of Illinois. It was back in 2002. And he was making some remarks at an anti-war rally. He was criticizing the planned invasion of Iraq by saying quote "What I do oppose is a dumb war." A reporter today asked the president if on this occasion, as the administration was marking the end of the war in Iraq, if the president still felt that it was a dumb war. The president saying that he would leave it up to history to decide whether or not it was the original decision to go in was the right decision. But he did add that because of the sacrifice of not only the military, but also civilians, that a lot of progress had been made in Iraq and that that country has enormous potential.
[King:] And one of the big questions now is how does this relationship continue and in what fashion does it continue once the U.S. troops are out? I understand the subject of continuing some military-to-military relationship, including weapons sales what happened there?
[Lothian:] That's right. What we won't see are boots on the ground there once the remaining few thousand troops pull out at the end of the year. But what we did hear at the news conference today is discussion of a sale of additional F-16 fighter jets to Iraq. And later, national security spokesman Tommy Vietor told us that the administration today had notified Congress of interest to sell an additional 18 F-16s to Iraq. As you know, a lot of Iraq's airpower was destroyed during the war that lasted almost nine years. Vietor pointing out that this shows, this decision of asking for this Congress for the sale of these F-16s, shows that Iraq is in a good position to carry out its own security. But as you know, there are a lot of questions still about whether or not Iraq indeed can handle its own security once U.S. troops do leave that country for good. Today, Prime Minister al-Maliki saying they're saying.
[King:] Dan Lothian live at the White House Dan, thank you so much. Iran, more specifically, that downed U.S. intelligence drone, also on the president's mind today. President Obama has asked Iran formally to return the drone which Iranian TV claims is seen in these pictures right here. In addition to the propaganda victory, Iran is also claiming it is already gathering intelligence from that craft. Iran says it has no plans to give it back. A shocking figure from the United Nations tonight about Syria. It says more than 5,000 people have now been killed in the months-long uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad. And in the city of Homs, it appears a clock is ticking. Opposition leaders say the city is surrounded by forces loyal to President Assad, that an all- assault is imminent, and that rivers of blood will run in the streets. They say electricity and water have been cut off. Food and medicine are scarce. The latest now from CNN's Jim Clancy.
[Jim Clancy, Cnn Correspondent:] John, in the embattled city of Homs, Syria, people are on edge and they have good reason to be. The city is surrounded and they are facing a deadline to lay down their arms and hand over defectors or members of the so-called free Syria army. They have no intention of doing that. And it looks like a showdown is looming. We talked to Homs a short time ago. Listen to what one of the leaders of the opposition has to say.
[Abu Faris, Opposition Leader:] The gunfire started from the early morning. There are a lot of tanks inside the city. But security forces and the
[Clancy:] John, Abu Fairs also told me that they couldn't leave the city even if they wanted. Militiamen have set up checkpoints around that city and he said the freedom of movement has been limited. They are hoping that they can stand up against all of this. They say they're still optimistic, but they are predicting a very bloody showdown.
[King:] Jim Clancy monitoring the latest in Syria from Beirut. We promise we will keep a close eye on that as it plays out. Still to come here, Lowe's bows to conservative pressure and pull its ads from a show documenting Muslims living in the United States. We will talk to the organization that pushed for the move and a Muslim member of Congress who now wants to punish Lowe's. And next, inside the Iowa campaign, including a unique look at how this weekend's debate was scored in the Twitterverse.

[Costello:] "People" Magazine is reporting disturbing news about Serena Williams. Apparently, she was at some sort of event last Sunday when she suffered a pulmonary embolism. That's a blood clot in her lung. She was taken to the hospital, that was taken cared of. We believe she's OK, but she's still under a doctor's care. When we get more information on Serena Williams, we'll pass it along. But that's what "People" magazine is reporting today. New trouble for actor Charlie Sheen. Police take custody of his twins. "Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer joins us now. You've got details on yet more drama in the Sheen house.
[A.j. Hammer, Host "showbiz Tonight":] Yea, Carol, just when you thought you've seen it all with Charlie Sheen. Now his ex-wife Brooke Mueller got a court order to remove their two sons from his house. Here's what members of Brooke's family told CNN. "Brooke went and had papers filed for a temporary restraining order and for a custody order today. An off duty sheriff, the attorney, Brooke and the nanny went to Charlie's house to get the boys. The kids are with Brooke and her mom and the nanny." And the whole thing was caught on tape. Radar-on line posted video showing Sheen handing the children over and in the video you can actually hear, Charlie, telling the kids that he'll see them soon. It's really obviously pretty sad seeing his children now caught up in all of this. Mueller has been dealing with her own substance abuse problems and the same members of Brooke's family are telling CNN that she's attending a sober living facility on a daily basis now. And the back and forth between these two is really picking up. Mueller reportedly alleges that Sheen threatened her and radar online has video of Sheen trying to prove Mueller is still using drugs. And even before the sun was up in California, Sheen was continuing the media blitz. I don't think the guy has slept. He was live on the "Today" show this morning on NBC with his attorney telling the world about what happened with the kids and saying he didn't actually know where his boys where. Let's listen to what Charlie said.
[Charlie Sheen, Actor:] Stupidly, this is on me. I assume they were going back to the house that they've been living in with Brooke when they're not with me. I think we got reports that they were at a hotel in Santa Monica somewhere. At this moment, online television, I do not know where my children are, but I'm not panicking. This is not about emotions. It's about getting very focused and getting much in touch with what I have to do to complete the task of bringing these two beautiful young men back to the home that they deserved to be raised.
[Hammer:] You know, as erratic as Charlie had been behaving. I really noticed a change in his tone every time he has talked about his kids. And if you want to follow his story more closely, Charlie has just started his own Twitter account and it's got an impressive number of followers already, more than 600,000 people have already signed on. They're getting all kinds of tweets about his Tiger blood and Adonis DNA. Sheen has been tweeting this morning, asking fans for questions and saying "My sons are fine, my path is now clear. Defeat is not an option." But Carol, I maintain that if he continues to speak out the way he has been speaking out, it becomes white noise at a point and I think he's just digging his hole deeper and dealership. But, again
[Costello:] A.J., let's face it, Brooke Mueller, didn't he hold a knife to her throat a couple of years ago? So there's already been a threat.
[Hammer:] Last Christmas.
[Costello:] Last Christmas, and isn't he now living with a porn star and another woman and this is the great household he wants these children I mean, you just have to feel sorry for the kids. I mean, they're the ones that will really suffer through all this.
[Hammer:] Yes, for sure. And that just shows he is I think pretty delusional about where his focus is right now. To think that the kids are best suited in that environment right now but this will continue to unfold really minute by minute at this point, Carol.
[Costello:] I know. A.J. Hammer, thanks. If you can't get enough of Charlie Sheen on Face It, you can't. A.J. has got that and all the entertainment news this evening on "Showbiz Tonight" at 5:00 and 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN. Women outpacing men in college attendance and getting degrees, but in the workforce, they still have some catching up to do when it comes to pay. And these school kids are protesting in Idaho, they're protesting a bill that would give high school students free laptops and access to on-line classes. We'll it tell you why next.

[Baldwin:] Remember the throngs of Americans, perhaps you were in the midst of the crowds waiting in line to buy that latest iPhone this past year? Well, if you thought that was a scene, check out China. These two men, they're security guards for an Apple store. This is in Beijing. This mob is made up of angry customers who could not buy the Apple iPhone 4S today because of this, craziness. Apple has suspended now all in-store sales of the 4S in Beijing and Shanghai. It is quite honestly just worried about people's safety. CNN's Stan Grant was in the thick of it all as it went down.
[Stan Grant, Cnn Correspondent:] It wasn't supposed to be like this, eggs pelted at the Apple store, people furious then tempers reaching boiling point. Angry potential Apple customers viscously attacking security. [on camera]: Security are running down here now by the mall, I'm continuing to follow them. This is what happened when they didn't open the Apple store. The crowd are getting angrier and angrier. Punches have already been thrown. They're still following security. Look over here. [voice-over]: It didn't start this way.
[Unidentified Male:] I really like iPhone 4.
[Grant:] The 18-year-old Tom was among hundreds who cued in the freezing cold overnight for the official China release of the Apple iPhone 4S. This store in a popular Beijing shopping center was supposed to be open at 7:00 a.m. As the time ticked past, the mood turned sour then an announcement. The phone would not be sold here today. As people refused to leave, police moved in. [on camera]: So we're here in the middle of the crowd. The police have been thinning them out slowly. And as you can see here now, they're moving in they're shouting on the megaphone for people to leave. If you look over here they're trying to force people away right now. [voice-over]: Those who wouldn't leave peacefully were hauled away by force.
[Unidentified Male:] People are very angry. People are pissed off and that's for sure.
[Grant:] Some people here blame Apple, others even holding the United States to account. But anger also directed at China itself, a country they say too quick to attack its own people, too ready to use force to impose order.
[Unidentified Female:] This is China. We just need don't push. The police push us.
[Grant:] You don't like China police?
[Unidentified Male:] I don't like China police.
[Grant:] What should have been a day of celebration has backfired for Apple, its customers, even the state itself. Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.
[Baldwin:] Over a phone. CNN's Silicon Valley correspondent, Dan Simon is here just to give us a little context. Dan, look, I mean, I'm the first to admit I have never been in a line for an iPhone, but I know I've seen the video. Americans love their iPhones. But what's with the obsession with all things Apple in China?
[Dan Simon, Silicon Valley Correspondent:] Well, there are a few things that play here, Brooke. First of all, the Chinese have an appreciation for industrial design. That's what Apple is known for. But more significant than that, it is seen as a huge status symbol there in China before these products might have been available only to the rich, but with China's growing middle class they have to have one of these things. They may not be able to afford say a big house or a nice car, but they can scrape together enough money to get themselves an iPhone. So for Chinese people, this is a big status symbol and that's why you're seeing the crazy lines and all that action you saw there today.
[Baldwin:] And Apple does huge business in China, don't they?
[Simon:] Well, it's unbelievable. It's their fastest growing market in the world. They did $13 billion in sales last fiscal year, the year before they did $3 billion. So it comes down to supply and demand. They just can't make these phones fast enough and, in China, we're really seeing unprecedented demand for Apple products Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Amazing. Dan Simon, thank you so much. Millions of young people say they want to change the world and today CNN Heroes recognizes someone who did just that. Justin Churchman is just 18 years of age, but he's already changing lives in Juarez, Mexico. How is he doing it? One house at a time. Take a look.
[Unidentified Male:] To give someone a home is from your heart and it's to their heart. You really change their life forever. My name is Justin Churchman. I work with an organization called "Casas for Cristo" and they build houses in Juarez, Mexico. After I built my first house, I just fell in love with it. It changed my heart and it changed the way I saw the world. It's an addiction.
[Unidentified Female:] We organize the team and at 13 years old led a group of Americans across the border. He built a home and he handed the keys of that home to that family in need.
[Unidentified Male:] This is our first house that we built. We met this wonderful lady and I've just fallen in love with it.
[Unidentified Female:] He had a goal pretty early on that he wanted to build 18 houses by the time he turned 18.
[Unidentified Male:] My parents got behind me and supported me and "Casas for Cristos" supported me and on my 18th birthday, I completed my 18th house.
[Unidentified Female:] He's absolutely a young wonder. He's changing the world one house at a time.
[Baldwin:] That is awesome. Do you know someone who is making a big difference in the lives of others? Just go to cnnheroes.com now to nominate a 2012 CNN Hero today. Be right back.

[Watson:] Twenty-two minutes past the hour now. Scenes from the recent New York Zuccotti Park conviction of Occupy Wall Street protesters has been some of the most traumatic video we have seen from the movement. Network cameras were banned from the incident. It didn't stop the group's own guerilla team from streaming images live on the Internet. Our Poppy Harlow takes you inside the control room of the Occupy movement.
[Unidentified Male:] Our mission is to tell stories that won't get told if we're not there to tell them. I think you experienced some of that this week where if you're not embedded in an activity, you cannot get that story out.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnn Correspondent:] When our cameras were blocked from filming the eviction of Zuccotti Park, these guys were live-streaming it.
[Unidentified Male:] What we do is we eliminate the area where no one reports anything, where the police can push somebody back, the press back.
[Harlow:] In this cramped tiny room in Lower Manhattan sits the unofficial media headquarters for the Occupy movement, with a mission as spontaneous as the protests.
[Unidentified Male:] What I'm doing is grabbing content and transferring instantaneously so people can also witness it. We're dealing, basically, with 2,000 to 30,000 people launching at a time. We monitor live feeds from all over the world and we picked what is the most interesting in a given time and put it on the air and do a split screen with Greece, L.A., or, you know, two places that are having activity with the same time.
[Harlow:] So, it's not just Occupy Wall Street, it's Occupy movements around the world.
[Unidentified Male:] We're working closely with occupations around the world and around the country to teach them how to do this.
[Harlow:] How important was that flux for you guys to have the ability to live stream the eviction?
[Unidentified Male:] That was the main reason that we were live streaming in the first place. That was the night of the eviction, that's coming off a laptop and a web cam.
[Harlow:] Eventually that night, Lorenzo says he was arrested. Here's some of footage live streamed during the eviction.
[Unidentified Male:] I mean, it's really important because every occupation can basically show their story to the world and show what is happening.
[Harlow:] Do you think that what you stream here this video that you collect is going to be an important part of history?
[Unidentified Male:] This is history. I mean, I don't see anything in my lifetime that rivals it.
[Harlow:] Does this show us that you don't need a space apart. You don't all need to be there to occupy. You're occupying from here?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. I think that could be the next level of occupation. I personally think that we can't occupy the hearts and mind of people much easier than occupying a park.
[Holmes:] All right. And Poppy Harlow is with me now from New York. Who are these guys? How do they get the time to do this? Do they need funding to do this?
[Harlow:] It's a great question. So, all the funding, T.J., they tell me comes from donations. No big corporate donations, obviously, no big donors. Just little donations here and there. The guy with the dreadlocks, Flox, he's been doing this, he told me, for a decade. He calls himself a video-journalist going to different revolutions and movements around the world and documenting them. Lorenzo, the younger guy you saw, he's actually he has his masters in English. He's from North Dakota. He found his way to New York in July and he said he haphazardly fell into this movement. But, you know, it's interesting. They're monitoring streams from dozens of occupations all the time around the clock, around the world, and then deciding what to put up on that Web site live so you can see it
[T.j. Holmes:] A good look behind it scenes of how they do what they do. Poppy Harlow, good to se you, as always. We're getting close to the bottom of the hour. We'll stay in New York now. We're going to head over to the New York Stock Exchange where Alison Kosik is hanging out there today. And, Alison, a lot of people stressed out these days given the economic situation, given the holidays coming up. But the markets, the banks, they need stress tests, as well.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Exactly. So, what is going to be happening, T.J., is that the Federal Reserve is going to be putting the nation's biggest banks under some big stress tests. The goal with all of this is to make sure that the banks are able to hold up under a few hypothetical scenarios of very, very stressful situations, like let's say there's a stock market crash or unemployment rate at 13 percent or there's a declining economic growth. So, what has to happen is that the banks have to show that they've got enough money to keep lending if those events happen to play out. Now, a similar situation happened two years ago where banks went through stress tests but only 19 banks did it. Now, 31 have to be put to the test and getting more stringent because there are some new Wall Street regulations in effect and essentially, T.J., an effort to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past when liquidity issues became a big problem during the recession and during the whole financial crisis
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Alison Kosik, thank you. I think we're going to be checking in with you again next hour. So, we will see you then. And to our viewers coming up, we're going to be fact-checking the GOP debate from last night, a lot of attacks and accusations and things being thrown around. So, we're going to be checking them out, including one of Mitt Romney's attacks on President Obama. Stay with us.

[A.j. Hammer:] Tonight, the SHOWBIZ Countdown, explosive SHOWBIZ Showdowns. Did President Obama really pick sides in the Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj clash? Is Honey Boo-Boo`s mom at war with "South Park"? Which famous fracas will be our No. 1 on the SHOWBIZ Showdown Countdown? Hello and thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer with two big SHOWBIZ Countdowns tonight, including the countdown of the top five SHOWBIZ Buzz Makers. And in the running to be named No. 1, Brad Pitt. Critics everywhere today calling Brad`s commercial for Chanel No. 5, the absolute pits. And wait until you see the viral parodies are already spreading everywhere. And there`s also the hysterical, brand-new parody of Taylor swifts smash hit, "We Are Never, Ever, Ever Getting Back Together." This thing is called "We Were Never, Ever Actually Together." It`s our SHOWBIZ Countdown of today`s top five Buzz Makers, coming up. But we begin with our first countdown, today`s top three SHOWBIZ Showdowns. We`re kicking it off with No. 3. Now, just before President Obama debated Mitt Romney. Tonight, he reignited the debate over the showdown between "American Idol" judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. He gave a brand-new interview that was just revealed with Michael Yo on Yahoo!`s "The Yo show." And the president was asked about the recent expletive-filled Nicki Minaj tirade at an "Idol" audition. And there he is, Michael Yo, joining me tonight from Hollywood. Michael, first let`s listen together to what President Obama just told you after you actually asked him the question.
[Michael Yo, Host, Yahoo`s "the Yo Show":] Can you repair the relationship with Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj on "American Idol"? That`s what people want to know.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] You know what? I think that they are going to be able to sort it out, I`m confident. And I`m all about bringing people together for the same cause. So, you know, I think both outstanding artists are going to be able to make sure that, you know, they`re moving forward and not going backwards.
[Yo:] Now, which one is your favorite out of the two, Mariah Carey or Nicki Minaj?
[Obama:] Mariah, she`s actually done some events for us. I`ve gotten to know her. And she`s a wonderful lady. So Nicki don`t know, but I`ve got her on my iPod.
[Hammer:] Look at you, man, on the phone with Barack Obama. I just can`t believe that.
[Yo:] I know. It`s crazy.
[Hammer:] And you asked him about Nicki and Mariah right at the top of your interview. So I need to know: were you shocked that he not only responded at such length, but that he actually knew what happened with Nicki and Mariah?
[Yo:] Oh, absolutely. I was shocked when I asked the question, you know, because I went into the interview. I wanted to make it fun but also ask some serious questions. So I started with Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, and he nailed it. But in his past interviews, when I did some research, he actually likes that show. So I had a feeling, if he was watching it, if he reads, he would know about it. But yes, it shocked me that he`d go into detail about it.
[Hammer:] And as a result of you bringing it up, Candy Crowley as the moderator of tonight`s debate didn`t have to bring it up, and she was able to actually cross that question off of her list for the president and Mitt Romney. But the press kind of seemed to be, well, being a diplomat, being political, avoiding taking sides in the whole NickiMariah showdown. But I`ve got to tell you, I was listening in between the words, and it kind of seemed to me that he was more on team Mariah. What`s your take?
[Yo:] Absolutely. He`s met Mariah. He knows Nick. Nicki Minaj I know came out and said some negative things about him in the press. So I think he was being politically correct and saying he had Nicki Minaj on his iPod. But I wasn`t going to ask the follow up, and it popped into my mind: "What song do you have on your iPod?" But I was thinking, you know what? He probably just said that to be P.C. So I didn`t want to go pushing that far.
[Hammer:] That was probably pretty smart. The Secret Service or the IRS might be knocking on your door, Michael. But I need to know. I realize you`re a fairly influential person in Hollywood, but please tell me. I mean, I don`t think you have the man on your speed dial. How the heck did you get President Obama to agree to be on your show on Yahoo! And were you shocked that he said yes?
[Yo:] Well, yes, I was absolutely shocked he said yes. And actually, I do a radio show in Miami as well, Live 100, called "The Yo show." And it`s a swing state. So he called into the show in the afternoon after he did his speech in Miami. So that`s how it all came together.
[Hammer:] And it`s an influential radio station, WHYI, Fort Lauderdale, Miami. I know it well.
[Yo:] Look at you.
[Hammer:] Yes, yes, yes. They`re serving south Florida. And you`re now serving the nation with important information from President Obama on Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. Now, Michael, I also would love to hear what President Obama thinks about Honey Boo-Boo. But I`m guessing he wouldn`t go there. But we will. That takes us to No. 2 tonight on our countdown of the brand-new "SHOWBIZ Showdown," Honey Boo-Boo versus "South Park." Honey Boo-Boo`s mom, June, she isn`t laughing at a recent "South Park" episode that viciously spoofed her and her 7-year-old daughter. "South Park" really ripped apart their hit TLC reality show, "Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo." So Momma June just struck back on "TMZ Live," calling what "South Park" did trashy. Let`s watch.
[June Thompson, Reality Tv Star:] "South Park," me being a big person, I didn`t take offense you know, it just didn`t portray that show is, you know, not a show that I would want to be on to begin with. And the preview looks like it would be OK. But just the way they portrayed the show, it was just it was kind of trashy.
[Hammer:] Well, we definitely know how Momma June feels. I want to bring in one of TV`s most beloved moms right now, actress Maria Canals-Barrera, the star of Disney`s "The Wizards of Waverly Place," of course. And Maria is all set to host the Mommas Latinas Awards tomorrow night on CafeMom.com. Great having you here, Maria.
[Maria Canals-barrera, Actress:] Thank you.
[Hammer:] Honey Boo-Boo`s mom, who starred in a show that well, let`s be honest, it shows people passing gas, saying things like "You`d better redneck-ognize." Is this a case of I don`t know the pot calling the kettle trashy?
[Canals-barrera:] A.J., I`m at a loss for words. I don`t understand it. Everybody has, you know, the freedom to express what they think. And she does. And so did "South Park," I guess. I saw it. I saw the spoof. And it was kind of funny. Did you think it was funny?
[Hammer:] I actually you know what? Before I render my opinion, let`s roll it out so we can see what momma June was so upset about. Charles, can you show the "South Park" clip?
[Unidentified Female:] My name is Honey Boo-Boo, and I`m a beauty queen, bitches. I`m fat as a whale, and I don`t give two Her favorite foods are `sgetti and butter. And she likes drinking Red Bull and Mountain Dew. I`m only 6, and I`ve already had three heart attacks, girlfriend. Come on. Come on now, Boo-Boo. Now get up and wave to them judges.
[Hammer:] OK. There`s nothing funny about a little child having a heart attack.
[Canals-barrera:] Wait a minute. I didn`t see that part.
[Hammer:] Yes, but that`s listen, I`m a "South Park" fan. I`m sitting here laughing, but Michael Yo, some people are upset. Particularly Mama. Do you think that "South Park" went over the line?
[Yo:] Look, I think it`s a compliment when "South Park" actually puts you and does a big skit on the show about you. That means you`re pop culture. That means you`ve made it, I guess. Now, I mean, they put their lives out there. Here`s the thing: when you do reality TV like the Kardashians or any other family, you put your life out there. So yes, people are going to make fun of you, especially when you live like that and you portray yourself like that. And calling the "South Park" bit trashy is kind of, like you know, it`s kind of weird saying that.
[Hammer:] Yes.
[Canals-barrera:] It`s all it`s all really kind of all of it is really kind of sad.
[Hammer:] It is kind of sad. And what I always point out about Honey Boo- Boo, because they`re easy targets, let`s face it. I mean, "South Park" didn`t have to reach too deep in order to put on this parody. But at the same time, if you really start to look at the show, you see a certain level of compassion and heart that really surprises a lot of people. So anybody who`s just thinking it`s a big train wreck, I actually encourage you to see that there is a little more to it. But this takes us to our big reveal of the No. 1 on our SHOWBIZ Countdown of SHOWBIZ Showdowns. Hulk Hogan versus radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge over that sex tape. Now, Hulk just filed a massive lawsuit against Bubba and Bubba`s now ex- wife, Heather Clem, claiming that they secretly recorded Hulk having sex with Heather. The sex video ended up on a Doctor.com. Hulk is suing them for $100 million. Bubba and Hulk used to be best friends, I mean, super close. Judging from what Hulk`s lawyer just said, I`m thinking the friendship is probably over. Let`s watch.
[Unidentified Male:] The allegations in that lawsuit state that approximately six years ago the Clems secretly videotaped Mr. Hogan having private, consensual intimate relationships in a private bedroom. Mr. Hogan had no knowledge that he was being videotaped. He did not consent to the taping because he didn`t know about it. And he would never have permitted it.
[Hammer:] Now, Bubba is telling a different story on his radio show today. He said that Hulk was aware that the tape was made. I have to tell you something, Maria, it`s hard for me to believe. When Hulk was with me on my show last week, he seemed devastated. Does it even seem plausible to you that he would allow a tape of him to be made, having sex.
[Canals-barrera:] Well, first of all, I`m thoroughly confused with how this all even happened. It sounds like a big "Saturday Night Live" skit, even the little even the name Bubba the Love Sponge.
[Hammer:] Yes. Yes, there`s that. Look, it`s difficult to know what the truth is, but the facts remain to be seen as they play out in court. We`ll see where this goes. Michael Yo, host of "The Yo Show," thank you so much. Maria, thank you as well.
[Canals-barrera:] Thank you.
[Hammer:] We look forward to seeing you at the Mommas Latinas Awards. All right. As we move on, berating Brad Pitt, is this really going on? Yes, with merciless and hilarious parodies of Brad`s mystifying Chanel ad, which have gone worldwide.
[Brad Pitt, Actor:] My luck, my fate, my fortune.
[Unidentified Female:] You don`t know what you`ve feeling, because you don`t know what Brad Pitt is talking about. But it`s OK because it`s Brad Pitt.
[Hammer:] You`ve seen Brad`s ad, and now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has all the all the backlash. And from mocking Brad to mocking Dad. The incredibly adorable video that`s gone viral. It`s become one of the biggest Buzz Makers of the day. But which will top our next not-to-be-missed SHOWBIZ Countdown, Biggest Buzz Makers? This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.

[Hillary Clinton, U.s. Secretary Of State:] We see this as a powerful symbol of our commitment to Afghanistan's future.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] An unannounced visit to Afghanistan and an announcement that will impact troop withdrawal. Plus, June jobs numbers send investors into panic as the Dow plunges over 100 points. Why the numbers just didn't add up for Wall Street. You're young, healthy and willing, but the Red Cross doesn't want your blood because you're gay. Now lawmakers are trying to change that. It's our 10:30 talker. We start this hour with the weather. We are all hoping for a break from this oppressive heat. Well, sorry, not today. I hate to see all that red on these maps we're about to show you, but those are the heat warnings. And as you can see, it is going to be pretty bad today. The record triple-digit temperatures are being blamed for at least five deaths. And don't forget about the 350,000 people still without power after storms tore through the Atlantic states last week. It has been a week with no power and no air conditioning, but in many of those places cooling centers have opened up to help try to cool people down. Now to Afghanistan and a commitment from the United States. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spelled out the partnership that will take the two countries beyond the planned troop withdrawal in 2014. Afghanistan is now designated a major non-NATO ally. That means the U.S. will keep up defense, security, and economic relations with Afghanistan even after the withdrawal.
[Clinton:] I am pleased to announce today that President Obama has officially designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally of the United States. We see this as a powerful symbol of our commitment to Afghanistan's future.
[Kaye:] Before heading over to Afghanistan, Secretary Clinton was in Paris for the so-called friends of Syria meeting. Clinton offered this warning to Russia and China, who have opposed efforts to have Syrian president Assad removed from power.
[Clinton:] I will tell you very frankly, I don't think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all, nothing at all for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime. The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that Russia and China will pay a price.
[Kaye:] Clinton also argued for United Nations sanctions. The U.N. could still authorize the use of force to topple Assad's regime. Not a good number for President Obama. A weak jobs report left the unemployment rate at 8.2 percent. That means nearly 13 million people are jobless and a large number of them have been out of work for at least six months. The news pushed the markets down, the Dow finishing down 124 points. Needless to say, the jobs report is a big deal on the campaign trail, but as our White House correspondent Dan Lothian reports, it was especially bad news for President Obama, who tried to turn the bad news into a rallying cry.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] President Obama's battleground bus tour drove over a big speed bump when dismal jobs numbers over shadowed his message.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] It's still tough out there.
[Lothian:] At a rally in Ohio, he didn't dwell on negative news but instead played up private sector gains.
[Obama:] Businesses created 84,000 new jobs last month, and that means that overall that businesses have created 4.4 million new jobs over the past 28 months, including 500,000 new manufacturing jobs. That's a step in the right direction.
[Lothian:] But unemployment remains at 8.2 percent, and voters are divided over who can best handle the economy. A recent CNNORC poll shows 48 percent of registered voters think Mitt Romney, 47 percent President Obama. Looking to keep a tight grip on the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania that voted for him in 2008, the president pushed his message of manufacturing gains, especially in the auto industry, to working class voters. He began the final day of his "Vetting on America" bus tour with breakfast in Akron, Ohio, where the president was joined by three union workers from a nearby Goodyear tire plant.
[Obama:] You've been there 20 years? You're still there?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Lothian:] Then the president toured the summer garden food manufacturing plant near Youngstown, a business that the campaign said is expanding and creating jobs. At Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, his biggest event of the tour, there was one final appeal for a second term.
[Obama:] And if you still believe in me like I believe in you, I hope you will stand with me in 2012.
[Lothian:] The president told supporters at almost every stop on the two-day bus tour that he was tough enough to handle negative ads from his opponent and outside groups, but he admitted that he was being out-spent, the first time that's ever happened to a sitting president. Dan Lothian, CNN, Pittsburgh.
[Kaye:] And as we saw in Dan's report, the president started his day yesterday at a diner in Akron, Ohio. No doubt it was a thrill for the owner, Ann Harris. But just about an hour after the president left, the 70-year-old woman died. The local paper reports she had a heart attack. The president was in Pittsburgh when he got the news. He called Harris's daughter back in Akron to offer his condolences. Listen to the call.
[Obama:] Michelle and I are thinking of you and your daughters and the entire family.
[Unidentified Female:] She enjoyed her visit with you. It brought a smile to her face. Thank you, President Obama.
[Obama:] Thank you.
[Unidentified Female:] We love you! Thank you.
[Obama:] All right, god bless you guys.
[Kaye:] The family said that Ann Harris loved the president and considered him a hero. They plan to blow up the picture the president took with her and mount it on the wall. To other news now, and the run has begun in Pamplona, Spain. It is the traditional running of the bulls, and there they go. The crowd seems to grow every year with thousands of people crowded into the narrow streets. Today is the first day of the festival, which lasts a week. That means several more days of people being chased through the streets by those bulls. Today, six people were injured, including a 73-year-old man who was gored. Inside the world of Scientology, the church says members are the lifeblood, but how many scientologists are there really? The answer may depend on who you ask. And yes, that's an iguana. This Miami fireman is releasing into the wild, but you'll never guess where he found it.

[Jane Velez-mitchell, Host:] Tonight, power and privilege center stage in the Syracuse University pedophile scandal. Did the former Syracuse police chief know ten years ago about the accusations that assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine sexually molested young boys? Was there a cover-up? Now the university`s under pressure to fire head coach Jim Boeheim. We`ll go live to the first home game since the scandal broke. Plus, a missing mom`s family pleased with her ex-fiance, who`s just been named a prime suspect in the disappearance of Michelle Parker, the mother of his two children. Tonight, I`ll talk to Michelle`s sister. Is she surprised? This as the missing woman`s mom tells the ex-fiance, you brought this on yourself by refusing to take a polygraph. What`s he trying to hide? Where is Michelle Parker? \ And, you might say this is it for Dr. Conrad Murray.
[Judge Michael Pastor, Los Angeles Superior Court:] The court has determined that the appropriate term is the high term of four years imprisonment.
[Velez-mitchell:] That`s right. Michael Jackson`s doc gets four years in the slammer, but how much time will he really serve? And I`ll talk exclusively with juror No. 5. You won`t believe what she has to say about what went on behind closed doors. And we`re taking your calls. ISSUES starts now. But first, breaking news tonight. Shocking new developments in the Syracuse child sex abuse scandal. We have just learned in 2002, then-Syracuse police chief, the top cop, was told that Bobby Davis accused Assistant Coach Bernie Fine of sexual assault, but since the statute of limitations had run out, no police investigation was started, and no official report was ever written up. This is almost a decade ago. The very stuff that we`re all talking about now the Syracuse police chief at the time knew about, and did nothing. It`s like the accusation never happened. Just as shocking, Syracuse University did its own investigation in 2005, into the very same child sex allegation, and they reportedly never told the cops. Who investigates child sexual assault and simply forgets to tell cops what they have learned? Pat Brown, criminal profiler, the situation has become clear here. The powers that be, the authorities, the ones who are supposed to keep us safe dropped the ball, a decade ago. And now it`s up to the news media to break these stories and bring these allegations before the world. And this is an upside-down world that we live in, when it seems that when cops hear these accusations, they do absolutely nothing.
[Pat Brown, Criminal Profiler:] Well, I think, Jane, one of the problems is, they have to have proof. And therein lies the "he saidhe said" kind of thing. And I don`t know, because we haven`t seen yet what the proof was, so you can believe something may have occurred. You may think the kid`s telling you the truth, but the problem is, you have to have that proof before you go out...
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, let me say this. Let me say this. I`m going to respectfully disagree with you.
[Brown:] OK.
[Velez-mitchell:] When somebody comes in and says, oh, you know, God forbid, I was right, or whatever, you don`t have to have proof to file a police report! I mean, they did not even file a police report. You do proof? There`s a trial that determines whether or not the accuser is telling the truth.
[Brown:] Well, Jane, wait a minute. You know darn well that prosecutors will never take something to court if they don`t have enough evidence. They don`t want to go to court and make idiots of themselves and have nothing to prosecute. So there has to be some level of evidence to do that. I mean, anybody can file a police report. That`s true. But it may not go any further than that if they do not have something conclusive. I mean, I wish it was different, but I don`t know that it you know, we can do anything about that, except maybe set up better social service systems and other things to support what`s going on.
[Velez-mitchell:] Former prosecutor Tom Kenniff, you are shaking your head.
[Tom Kenniff, Former Prosecutor:] Jane, I have to disagree. In fact, it`s characteristic of sex cases, particularly sex cases involving children, that there are no witnesses. You know, what the police do in this situation is, first of all, they vet the victim. Often the victim meets with psychologists, victim advocates, social workers. They may have them describe the intimate details: where it took place, how it took place, the physical description of the defendant. And the case is prosecuted based on that. But what prosecutors will tell you is what child would lie about something like this? So, you know, extrinsic evidence, witnesses, it`s very rare in a case like this.
[Velez-mitchell:] Mike Galanos, you are there at Syracuse University. Tell us about the start of the first home game and the reaction to this news that the police chief not the current, but the then-police chief knew about this a decade ago and did nothing.
[Mike Galanos, Hln Correspondent:] Jane, I`m not sure you can hear me. I heard the beginning question...
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. Go, Mike.
[Galanos:] Jane, let me let me say this. Again, can`t hear you. We`ll try and establish contact. Let me tell you what I`m seeing here on the campus of Syracuse. They want answers. There`s shock and disbelief as to what`s going on. Sadness. Fans basically saying it`s like a kick in the gut, what`s going on. I think they`re looking at a basketball game tonight as potentially somewhat of a respite. Jim Boeheim, the coach, gets a vote of confidence. The chancellor of the university, Nancy Cantor, saying, "Jim Boeheim`s our coach. He`s getting ready for a game. We`re very pleased with what he had to say Sunday night, and we stand by him." Still one of the questions: what all did Jim Boeheim know? He says at this point in 2005, he knew that the university conducted an investigation. Nothing was found wrong concerning his longtime friend and assistant coach, Bernie Fine. So that`s where it stands now. Game going on behind us. It will be an interesting atmosphere. Probably even more interesting, the post-game press conference as Coach Jim Boeheim has to deal with some questions.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. Well, if he knew in 2005, this coach, that there was an investigation, given that we`re talking about ball boys here, I think it was incumbent upon him to do something more. And it actually makes it more shocking, Tom, that when he heard about these accusations, he says they are lies, and he says that it`s money grubbing, and then he`s forced to backpedal when this shocking phone call comes out that we`re going to play right now. The world was shocked to hear what ESPN says is a telephone call between alleged victim No. 1, Bobby Davis, and Bernie Fine`s own wife, Laurie. The conversation they have is jaw-dropping. Listen to this clip.
[Laurie Fine, Bernie Fine`s Wife:] He wants you to grab him? Or
[Bobby Davis, Alleged Victim:] No, he`s he`s trying to make me no he`d try to make he grab him, I mean, he`s like, but at first he would grab me and start, you know, touching me...
[Fine:] But you never had any oral sex with him?
[Davis:] No.
[Fine:] No.
[Davis:] But he`s I think he would want to, but... Fine: Oh, of course he would! Why wouldn`t he?
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. After that, Tom Kenniff, the coach says, "Well, I hope I didn`t offend anybody," and he backtracks. But his initial gut reaction was to call the accusers liars and say they were out for money.
[Kenniff:] Jane, let me make two points. One, I`m not I`m not a fan of throwing the head coach under a bus. I wasn`t a fan of that in the Penn State case with Joe Paterno, and I don`t necessarily agree with it in this case, because he`s a basketball coach. He`s not a school administrator. However, I do disagree. He has absolutely no business running defense for his assistant coach, Bernie Fine. He has no business making comments on a case that is really at this point is subject to the authorities to deal with, the administrators of Syracuse University. So he can`t have it both ways. He can`t absolve himself of responsibility but also act as a de facto advocate for his assistant coach.
[Velez-mitchell:] And by the way, we have to point out that Bobby Davis, his accuser this is very complicated. He also had a sexual relationship with Laurie Fine when he was a senior in high school, and in fact, CNN`s Gary Tuchman went to Laurie Fine, Bernie Fine`s wife`s home to try to get a comment from her. Here`s how far he got.
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn Correspondent:] Ms. Fine, I`m Gary Tuchman with CNN. I`m sorry to bother you.
[Fine:] You`re not bothering me.
[Tuchman:] But I was hoping I could...
[Fine:] I have no comment.
[Tuchman:] Your nephew was saying that...
[Fine:] We have no statement.
[Tuchman:] You`re not going to make a statement?
[Fine:] No comment.
[Tuchman:] Is that tape misinterpreted?
[Fine:] I can`t comment.
[Tuchman:] How come you can`t comment?
[Velez-mitchell:] OK. In this ESPN clip, Laurie Fine, the wife of the coach who`s been accused of child sexual assault, apparently says she knew everything that went on. Listen to this.
[Fine:] I know everything that went on. You know, I know everything that went on with him. Bernie has issues. Maybe that he`s not aware of, but he has issues. And you trusted somebody you shouldn`t have trusted.
[Davis:] Yes.
[Fine:] Bernie is also in denial. I think that he did the things he did, but somehow through his own mental telepathy has erased it out of his mind.
[Velez-mitchell:] So Pat Brown, you`re saying, "Whoa, they have to have proof." Now we hear, oh, the wife of the person who`s being accused acts like she`s known everything and uses make references to oral sex "Oh, did you have oral sex with him," and questions like that. But you know, how do we find that out if we don`t investigate? How do we know where it leads? Even if the statute of limitations had passed, maybe something else was happening to someone else. And indeed, there is a third accuser who`s come forward who says at the very time that Bobby Davis was trying to get cops to take his story seriously about what happened back in the `80s and the `90s, allegedly, vis-a-vis Bernie Fine, another another young man claims he was being sexually abused at the same time. So that`s why I think it`s important, Pat.
[Brown:] Well, I agree. I`m not saying that an investigation shouldn`t be done. I`m just saying they`re very, very difficult. And what I would like to see happen, which has never been happening, is that when we have a person who is found to be sexually assaulting children I call them serial rapists it doesn`t matter if it`s just one child. If you do it more than once, you`re a serial rapist. You just have an easy victim. You should be in prison for life and your child shouldn`t have to come and visit you. I`ve seen I`ve actually seen children have to go visit their father who`s raped them in jail so they can keep up their relationship with the rapist. And if there is a wife who was knowledgeable of what was going on, when she has aided and abetted a serial rapist, she needs to be in prison, as well. We don`t have enough laws, because we keep calling it molestation, and he just touched the kid. Let`s give him six months of some therapy. He`s a rapist, a serial rapist, if that`s what he did.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, we are all over this story. We might have some developments for you a little bit later on. Hang in there. Up next, the Orlando mother who vanished after appearing on "People`s Court" with her ex-fiance. Cops say they have a suspect now, and you won`t believe who it is. We`re taking your calls: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586- 7297.
[Unidentified Female:] I think from the get-go, a lot of us, I know myself have said, that all possibilities have been opened. There`s not been one thing at one time that wasn`t being looked at. So from the get- go, there was everything that was being looked at. So I don`t think there was a single time as a family that we ever let that slip our mind.

[Carl Azuz, Host, Cnn Student News:] It`s already April, no fooling. And we`re ready to kick off a new month, a new week and a new day of CNN Student News. I`m Carl Azuz. Let`s get to the headlines. First up, we`re looking at parliamentary elections in Myanmar, a country also known as Burma. There were 45 seats up for election on Sunday, and one of the candidates who claimed victory was Aung San Suu Kyi. That`s the activist and Nobel peace prize winner we mentioned on Friday in our Women`s History Month report.
[Azuz:] Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia. The country`s government has been run by an oppressive military group for 50 years. Lawmakers who are connected to the group still hold more than 80 percent of the seats in Myanmar`s parliament. So Suu Kyi`s win won`t be a change in the balance of power. But it is a symbolic victory in a country that`s promised to make some major changes. Paula Hancocks was in Myanmar for Sunday`s election. She filed this report on the mood of some voters.
[Paula Hancocks, Cnn Contributor:] The polls opened this Sunday morning at 6:00 am. And since then, we`ve seen a steady stream of people coming to the school, which has been turned into a polling station behind me. Now in the tiny village of Wa Thin Kha, which is part of the Kawhmu Township, which Aung San Suu Kyi is running for. And it is a special place, because this is where the opposition leader decided to visit first. She stayed in this village overnight and she came to visit some of the supporters and those voting for her earlier today. Now many residents here actually seem quite hopeful about this by- election. I spoke to one 18-year old, who said it was her first time voting, and she was very happy she got the chance to be part of a democratic process. We also spoke to a 95-year-old woman who would have been through the British and the Japanese colonization, and also through 50 years of brutal military regime. And she was hopeful that after this vote there could be change, and it could be positive change. She was hoping for a better life. But of course, there are some problems. Aung San Suu Kyi said it`s not a free and fair election, that there have been voting irregularities, but it is still important to be part of this process. She is the most internationally recognized candidate in this election, but there are 17 parties that are part of this election.
[Azuz:] How can you see a major environmental event when everyone keeps turning out the lights? It`s easy. The darkness is the event. It`s Earth Hour, and it happened on Saturday. Thousands of cities were involved. Homes, businesses, landmarks, like the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building, they all pledged to go dark for one hour to raise awareness about energy usage. An astronaut on board the International Space Station blogged about Earth Hour as he watched the lights go out around the world. On this day in history, back in 1513, explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida and claimed the territory for Spain. In 1792, a new law established the first U.S. Mint. It was the first public building constructed at the direction of the U.S. government. In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British colony. British troops eventually fought back and regained control. And in 2005, Pope John Paul II passed away after serving nearly 27 years as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. When you go to apply for a job, there`s a chance that your online profile could be checked just as thoroughly as your resume. Reports and studies show that some companies look at applicants` social media pages like your Facebook, like your Twitter, before they make hiring decisions. Others are asking for even more direct access. Mary Snow reports on the controversy that this is causing.
[Mary Snow, Cnn Reporter:] Imagine being on a job interview and an employer asking you for your Facebook login and password. That`s what Robert Collins says happened to him at the Maryland Department of Corrections. After taking a leave of absence, he says he had to go through another vetting process in 2010, and was stunned when his employer asked for his Facebook password. Collins says he complied because he feared for his job.
[Robert Collins, Job Applicant:] I`m like, so what exactly are you doing? What are you looking for? "Well, I`m looking through your messages and through your Wall and through your pictures and through your posts to make sure that, you know, you`re not flashing any gang signs or are involved in any illegal activity." I was just mortified. I mean, I just thought that that just crossed the line.
[Snow:] Collins has since left that job, but his complaint to the ACLU prompted change. Maryland`s Department of Corrections` new policy states candidates will not be asked to share their log-in andor password information. But job applicants to Maryland`s Corrections Department are asked to log in to Facebook voluntarily as an interviewer looks over their shoulder. The department argues that kind of screening is useful for public safety and law enforcement jobs. CNN legal contributor Paul Callan Is this legal?
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Contributor:] As shocking as it is that employers would ask you for this very, very personal thing, a Facebook password, in most states, it`s absolutely legal.
[Snow:] It`s unclear just how many employers are asking job applicants for passwords. It`s Facebook`s policy to prohibit anyone from soliciting the log-in information or accessing an account belonging to someone else. But lawmakers in Maryland are considering a bill to make it illegal for an employer to ask for passwords. And a Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act is on the table in Illinois after a state lawmaker received complaints from constituents.
[Azuz:] Today`s Shoutout goes out to Coach Francis` class at Saint Paul`s High School in Covington, Louisiana. Which of these observances happens in April? Is it Clean Air Month, College Savings Month, Youth Leadership Month or Financial Literacy Month? You`ve got three seconds, go. April is Financial Literacy Month, a time to learn about economic principles and practices. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout. Well, here`s a quick economic explainer. The difference between value and cost: in Canada, the value of a penny is one cent. But the cost to produce that penny is 1.6 cents. The country`s government says that math doesn`t add up. So it is pitching the penny. People can still use them, but starting this fall, the Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing new pennies. The government says it`ll save about $11 million per year. Some stores are worried about the possible effect on their business. For example, one store owner said something that costs $7.99 looks cheaper than something that`s $8. We won`t offer a penny for your thoughts on this, but you can still go to our blog at cnnstudentnews.com and vote in our Quick Poll. Does making cents make sense? Tell us what you think. Also, if you`ve got a question for me you`ve always wanted to ask, send it to us in an iReport, and I may answer you personally. You have to be at least 13 years old, get in front of the camera, record yourself asking a question, and then upload your video, using the link in the "Spotlight" section at cnnstudentnews.com. The deadline: April 13th. This is when today`s show goes to the dogs. The incredible dogs canine competitors and their owners came out to Centennial Olympic Park here in Atlanta over the weekend. They showed off their skills in diving, hurdles and relay events as part of the Incredible Dog Challenge.
[Unidentified Male:] Ready? OK. Running, nice, clean start. Go, go, go, go, go!
[Brandi Bruneau , Dog Owner:] My name is Brandi Bruno and Apollo and I are competing in large dog agility. Apollo and I have a really close relationship. When you run agility with a dog, it`s not only trust, but also, you know, they have to give their heart and soul in every run so you can get the best performance out of that.
[Tony Lambert , Dog Owner:] My name is Tony Lambert, and Baxter and I, my dog, are competing in duck diving. Go, go, go, go, go!
[Mona Konishi , Dog Owner:] My name is Mona Konishi and my dog is Leica. We came here to compete in freestyle flying disk. She`s very active dog, and ogish. And she loves to play, so I enjoy playing with her and I`m so proud of her.
[Azuz:] Well, the dog in today`s "Before We Go" video seems to have forgotten some of its training. He`s got the sit part down, but not the stay. It`s hard to blame this boxer for rule-breaking when he`s just excited to see his owner. Chuck that`s the dog is going nuts because Nick, the owner, is home from an eight-month military deployment. This YouTube video of the great greeting has turned into a viral hit. We guess people just like watching an enthusiastic boxer get punchy. We`ll be back for another round of headlines tomorrow. For CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.

[Foster:] Argentina is drawing a line in the sand on the Falkland Islands, filing a formal protest on Friday at the United Nations. Argentinian foreign minister Hector Timerman claims Britain is building what he calls the "biggest military power in the South Atlantic." Let's get straight to Adriana Hauser, now. She is at the United Nations, where Argentina filed that protest not long ago. So, how significant is this move? What does it mean?
[Adriana Hauser, Cnn Espanol Correspondent:] Well, it was a very busy day for Hector Timerman in the sense that he came to the UN to file this official or formal protest against Great Britain for what it calls a "disproportionate militarization" of the area around the Falkland Islands, or Malvinas, how Argentina calls them. Basically, it's a lot of diplomatic negotiations going on. It's a way for Argentina to raise attention, to bring attention back to this topic. It is very unlikely that this will end at the Security Council because, as we all know, Great Britain is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, and whatever draft or solution ends up on that table is most likely going to be vetoed by Great Britain. So, this is a way of Argentina to raise this topic again. On April 2nd is the 30th anniversary of the conflict, 1982, and it's a way also to bring back attention to a conflict. Now, during the press conference Hector Timerman had today, he showed with graphics and maps a lot of the heavy and increasing military presence that Great Britain is having in the area. It compared, for example, a warship to the ones that are used in the Persian Gulf. It also said that some of the planes that are in overflying the area are comparable to the ones Great Britain used to fight in Libya, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and wondered why is this going on in the area? And that was part of how he expressed his concerns. The ambassador for Great Britain, Mark Lyall, called all these claims absurd.
[Foster:] OK, Adriana, thank you very much, indeed, for that. So, with tensions rising, again, decades after the Falklands War, Senior International Correspondent Dan Rivers shows us why there's more at stake than before.
[Dan Rivers, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] The waters that have so isolated these islands and their wildlife are now about to change life here forever. Environmentalists might be fretting about the threat to these pristine beaches, but 225 kilometers away, it's drill, baby, drill. This is the Ocean Guardian, hired to a British oil exploration firm, Rockhopper, which has hit black gold in an area of ocean called the Falklands Northern Basin, to the fury of the Argentines, who claim the oil and the islands are theirs.
[Stephen Luxton, Director Of Mineral Resources:] There have the North Falkland Basin here, which is the focus
[Rivers:] Stephen Luxton is the director of mineral resources and shows me other drilling sites to the north and south. The oil rush is only just beginning.
[Luxton:] I think it will change things. It's how you manage that change and how you control it. The current development model is to keep as much of the engineering work as possible offshore.
[Rivers:] In some places, it feels like the celebrations have already begin. The Globe Pub is a lively local nightspot which is only set to get busier with oil workers. But elsewhere, this sleepy capital of 3,000 people seems only just to be waking up to the fact that business is about to boom. In one of the two supermarkets here, shoppers browse the expensive imported fruit. Soon, they might be less worried about the prices. The Falkland government will get 9 percent of oil revenue generating tens of millions of Falkland Island pounds, potentially transforming life here.
[Andrez Short, Farmer:] If I look back to when I grew up here, it is totally, totally different now to what it ever was then. So, it will change. How it will change, I don't know, but it will change.
[Rivers:] Over a very British cuppa at government house, the governor of the islands rejects Argentine claims the oil is theirs.
[Nigel Haywood, Governor, Falkland Islands:] It's another Argentine myth that they peddle that Britain is after their oil. It's not Britain. It's the Falkland Islands' resource.
[Rivers:] Most islanders of this windswept place want to spend the first chunk of oil money on improving the terrible roads, most of which are only made of gravel. The reality is, they could probably pave them with gold, such is the amount of money that's going to come into the coffers. They're talking about setting up a sovereign well fund to preserve it for future generations. The Falklands might be remote, but they are about to get very rich, and Argentina is furious that they won't get a cent. The dispute is set to get even more intense. Dan Rivers, CNN, on the Falkland Islands.
[Foster:] Well, when we come back, from treading the boards to jumping into the saddle, tonight's Big Interview with "War Horse" star and BAFTA nominee Tom Hiddleston, up next.

[Phillips:] Well, she had hoped to stay anonymous, but Karen Kraushaar's name and face are out there now, the second woman to publicly accuse Herman Cain of sexual harassment. Everybody wants to know more about her. What kind of person she is? Well, it just so happens that one of our own, CNN contributor, Maria Cardona, hired her right after Kraushaar worked for Herman Cain. Maria, you know, tell us about your experience with her, her work ethic, her credibility factor?
[Maria Cardona, Cnn Contributor:] Sure, Kyra, thank you. So when I hired Karen, I was communications director at the INS, at the end of the Clinton administration the last two years. At the time we were going through the firestorm that was Gonzalez. So everyone on our team was going through a very tense time. I needed somebody that I could send down to Miami to be the public face of INS, to talk about this difficult situation. Out of everybody on my team, I chose Karen because from the very moment that she walked into my office as a new employee, she exhibited nothing, but the utmost of professionalism. She is a classy woman. She's a private woman. She's incredibly hard working. She was the consummate team player. So, to me, all of those factors say that this was a woman that I needed to send down to Miami under these very difficult circumstances. As a former employer of Karen's, I have to say, to me, her credibility is beyond reproach.
[Phillips:] And she said to you, thank you so much for hiring me away from my other job. But, at that point, she didn't say anything to you about Herman Cain, correct, until this came out?
[Cardona:] That's exactly right, Kyra. At the time, she I always said how grateful she was for me hiring her at INS. She said, Maria, you didn't know me from Adam and you took a chance on me. She always said how grateful it was to be working for a woman and the commissioner at the time that the INS was a woman. The deputy commissioner was a woman. The attorney general, as you remember, Janet Reno was a woman. She always talked about how amazing it was to be working with all of these incredibly strong women and how great that made her feel. So when I found out that she was one of the accusers and I reached out to her and we have been talking ever since, she has since told me, Maria, now you know why I was so incredibly grateful to you for hiring me. And for showing me what a safe working environment could be like. And she said to me, you saved me from that monster. And, clearly, she was talking about the horrendous experience that she went through at the National Restaurant Association with Mr. Cain.
[Phillips:] And you clarified this, this morning, but for our viewers just tuning in, there's this other complaint that apparently she filed. But it didn't have anything to do with sexual harassment. Can you just clarify what you know about that? And can you explain to us for those saying, OK, is this woman someone who just files complaints in moments of difficulty, or is this somebody that's strong willed and stands up for what is right.
[Cardona:] I think you've hit the nail on the head with the latter because I have since talked to her about that misunderstanding. And what happened was when I was at the INS, when I was director of communications. There was an employee that worked in our office who had chronic back problems. And because she was such a good employee, I let her work from home. When I left, my understanding is that Karen unfortunately got into a pretty bad car wreck and had some issues. And she asked for the same courtesy and the same privilege that I had previously extended to one of my employees. I had since then left. My understanding is that that privilege was not granted to her so she filed a complaint. But she got pushed back and then it was dropped. So that is the extent in terms of that specific complaint. And, yes, Karen is not somebody that files frivolous complaints. She is a strong-willed woman. She knows what a professional environment needs to be like for a woman and she will stand up for herself. And that is why I am now standing up for her just to tell as much as I can about Karen, the woman, Karen the employee in terms of her credibility, which, in my eye, is again, beyond reproach.
[Phillips:] Maria Cardona, and you're one of our own. Thank you so much.
[Cardona:] Thanks, Kyra.
[Phillips:] You bet. Well, thousands of students storming the streets in London. They say they've had it with tuition hikes. So once again, they've taken to the streets. If this is anything like the last round of protests, the police are definitely bracing for the worst. Atika Shubert is there in London for us. So Atika, we talked last time these protests were taking place. We saw how violent they become. Now, they are moving their way, working their way toward the heart of the "Occupy" movement. Have they reached this other group of protesters yet?
[Atika Shubert, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right. This is the heart of the financial industry. As you can see, the bulk of the protesters already arriving here, moving beyond me largely without incident. It has been peaceful, so far. One or two minor scuffles. We saw someone briefly try to break the barricade here, but, really, for the most part, very peaceful. It's an interesting scene because I'm actually right in front of the London Stock Exchange. And a number of financial sector workers are actually in these glass-fronted offices looking down on the protest here. We've seen a few protesters making some rude gestures. But, otherwise, other than that, it really seems to be fairly well organized. Making the point with the message, as you can see, education, not business. This protest is extensively about against government cuts and about stopping the tripling of education fees. But it's also about solidarity with the "Occupy" movement, generally, an expression of that widespread, public anger with how the economic crisis is being handled.
[Phillips:] Atika Shubert, we'll follow the live protest for sure, appreciate it. Coming up, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, well, their faces carved into Mount Rushmore. Well, the presidential candidates speak out on who deserves to be added. We'll ask our political panel to weigh in.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] We begin with a story affecting millions of us. Just minutes ago we learned the nation's jobless rate held steady in February at 8.3 percent. About 227,000 jobs were created last month. That's fewer than we saw in January. Christine Romans breaks down these latest numbers and what they say about the overall economy. And Alison Kosik looks at the ripple effect on Wall Street. Let's begin with Christine. I ask you this every time.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] I know you do.
[Costello:] I know. So give us the big picture here.
[Romans:] The big picture is that the economy is adding jobs. Companies are hiring and the government lost only about 6,000 jobs last month. So it was private sector hiring. Companies hiring that drove jobs number here. This is the last year, Carol. This is 2011. I want to show you. You saw that last spring things are pretty strong. We were having 200,000 jobs gained every month. In the summer it got real slow. We were worried about a double dip recession. Picked up again in the fall. And now we've got revisions. The bigger picture is even a little bit better. You've got better than expected, December, January and February, now it's about 227,000 jobs created, 8.3 percent is the unemployment rate. There were jobs created in business and professional services. There were jobs created in mining. We see that every month. There were jobs created in health care, in social work. There were jobs created in computer systems design and technical consulting. Where you saw jobs lost was in retail, for example. So overall you're seeing a broad base of job creation. You want to see 200,000 plus again and again to show you that it is a trend, and what this tells us is that in an economy that was really reeling, quite frankly, from the great recession is doing a little bit better. Here is the great recession. Look at this, Carol. This is July 2008. The last months of the Bush administration. Coming into the beginning of the Obama presidency. This is terrible. This felt horrible. Then you had some setbacks. Again last summer worried about a double dip recession. And here we are now. These numbers are even better than these, they show right there, you've got a little bit of a little bit of pickup in the trend. And that's something you want to see overall Carol.
[Costello:] So should I be doing the happy dance?
[Romans:] Well, you know, if you are in the job category, yes. The people who have a job category. But I'll tell you that the underemployment rate is still 14.9 percent. That's a little better than it was the prior month, but 14.9 percent, that means those are people who are unemployed, people who are working part time but want to be working full time. People who tested the waters for a job last year but are available to work but not really looking, 14.9 percent. That's double digits. That still that still hurts. So there are a lot of people out there, when I say things are getting better, they tell me, not at my house. So a job and the jobs data is really personal, you know what I mean?
[Costello:] Yes.
[Romans:] It's a very personal number. It depends on who you are, where you live, what kind of education you have. And that's why this is so tricky and so political.
[Costello:] I know. I know. But you're right, we can throw, we can throw numbers at people all day but it's really how they feel about the economy that matters.
[Romans:] Your job market is one person. You're either 100 percent employed or zero percent employment in your house.
[Costello:] Christine, thanks. Now let's go to the New York Stock Exchange and Alison Kosik. So, Alison, the unemployment numbers always seem to move the market but today Greece is also making headlines for an apparent bailout deal. So is it likely to be a rocky day or not so much?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] It looks like we're going to that stocks are going to begin on a high note because the jobs picture is going to is going to still play a role in the trading day today. The way Wall Street sees it is this jobs number is really a solid number, but as you say, it's really not the only reason that's going to give stocks the lift to Greece. Greece is the word again on Wall Street. You know an important agreement happened overnight to restructure Greece's debt. This is the last major step for Greece to get its $170 billion bailout. Now here's what happened while you were sleeping. Bondholders, they agreed to take a huge loss on their investments so now Greece is going to owe those investors less money, it's going to get its bailout. It may avoid a default. So then you wonder, well, gosh, why did these investors agree to take this big loss? Well, that's because the alternative is worst. Default. That is the market's worst-case scenario. And here's why. There's this ripple effect that could have happened if Greece defaulted. You know, clearly Greece, it's simple. It's kind of a blip on the screen some people would say. It's a small country. But the reality is Greece is intrinsically linked to all of Europe. You know, it's sort of one of the dominoes of many. More than 20 countries use the euro. And you know how this is. You're only as strong as your weakest link. So if Greece defaults, Europe could slip into a recession if it's not in a recession already. So if Europe goes down, the U.S. would get hit. Remember, Europe is our biggest trading partner so this is why we've had our eye on Greece and the fact that Greece is one step closer to getting that bailout and try to get its debt situation in order, that's good news. And the way Wall Street sees it, it's good news for Wall Street as well Carol.
[Costello:] Well, I know you keep watching the numbers there. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. President Obama will hit the campaign trail later today to talk about jobs and the economy. His Republican opponents are already on the stump and our political editor Paul Steinhauser is hot on their trail. I understand Mitt Romney is in Jackson, Mississippi. He's either speaking or just about to. What do you think he'll say?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] I think he could be a little bit critical of the president when it comes to jobs. You know, Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich all have events this morning, Carol. And we expect all three of them to weigh in on the new jobs report. But the Republican National Committee didn't even wait for that. They had a statement out about 20 minutes ago. And this is from the chairman, Priebus, and he says, "Today's jobs report is yet another reminder that too far that far too many Americans are out of work and the situation is clearly not improving. Millions of families continue to feel the pain of the sluggish Obama economy and the rising costs of gas, groceries, and health care." As for the president, Carol, you mentioned that he's got a manufacturing event in Virginia later this morning. We expect he will probably talk about the economy and it could also come up again, the jobs report, when he's down in Texas at some fundraisers. You know I always say that the unemployment level and the number of new jobs created, probably the two most important economic numbers when it comes to politics and this re-election. You know we're just talking about the Republican candidates. Most of them today in Alabama and Mississippi. Of course those two states having primaries on Tuesday. Here's what Mitt Romney had to say about his time in the south. Take a listen to what he said yesterday on a radio station in Alabama.
[Former Gov. Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] Well, I realize that it's a bit of an away game, but I also think we're going to we're going to pick up some support in these in the states that remain this month. We obviously had a terrific Super Tuesday and got a good got a good head start but, you know, I'd like to get some support from folks in Alabama.
[Steinhauser:] Sounds like he's downplaying a little bit, you know, and I can understand why. It's not considered his strong suit down there in Alabama and Mississippi. He hasn't performed that well in southern states. More social conservatives down there that Romney may not appeal to. As for Rick Santorum, well, he is hoping for good results both in Kansas this Saturday, tomorrow, at a caucus there, but also in Alabama and Mississippi. And he's hoping maybe if he beats Newt Gingrich in the south maybe, maybe Gingrich will be out. Take a listen to what Santorum said on the campaign trail yesterday, Carol.
[Former Sen. Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] If you go out and deliver a conservative victory for us on Tuesday, this race will become a two-person race and when it becomes a two-person race for the Republican nomination, the conservative will win that nomination.
[Steinhauser:] And Gingrich has said basically he's got to win Alabama and Mississippi to keep going. So we'll see what happens on Tuesday with that. The Gingrich campaign, as you can imagine, starting to pick up their attacks on Santorum. Carol, it's all politics.
[Costello:] I know. Paul Steinhauser, thanks. The candidates will be speaking this morning about the jobs report. We told you that. We're there with them. Mitt Romney is up at 9:25 a.m. Eastern. We'll bring you his remarks live from Jackson, Mississippi. And join us Tuesday night for the battle of the South. Our coverage of the Alabama and Mississippi primary starts at 7:00 Eastern with Erin Burnett. Complete live coverage of the results begins at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN. In Syria today, more bloodshed. The opposition claims government forces are storming villages and killing soldiers who defected and now the Assad government says it found weapons from other countries. CNN's Nic Robertson is in Beirut. So, Nic, the government says the weapons are coming from Israel?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] There's nothing better that the Syrian government would like them to try to say that Israel is somehow behind the opposition. Why? Because Israel is the enemy of pretty much everyone in their minds in Syria at the moment. So to say that would cast a huge shadow of doubt over the opposition and who was funding them and certainly try and build support for himself, Bashar al-Assad. The reality is that we haven't seen any evidence from the Syrian government that there is any wholesale export of weapons coming from Israel into Syria. There's a real possibility there may be some Israeli made weapons in Syria right now. The Free Syrian Army is trying to get its hands on any weapons possible. The borders between Lebanon and Turkey into Syria are all quite porous. A few weapons have been getting across from many different countries. But even if the Syrian government has found a few Israeli- made weapons, it certainly doesn't it certainly doesn't add up to their implication that Israel is somehow supporting the opposition. It just doesn't seem to hold water right now Carol.
[Costello:] OK. And what about this other report that government forces are going after army defectors? Is that true?
[Robertson:] They certainly have been. There have been cases where they have killed, according to activists at least, up to 40 defectors at one time. The defectors are the the most effective part of the Free Syrian Army. They know how to fight. They're trained. They often deserve and take their weapons with them. There have been reports that we can't verify but three brigadier general, senior army officers deserted the Syrian army, went across to the to the opposition, the Free Syrian Army. And this is what the government has been trying to do. It tries to kill them before they before they can desert. So when the activists say that the government is going after officers from the and soldiers from the Syrian army chasing them down. It's often because they've jumped sides and they're with the Free Syrian Army now.
[Costello:] Nic Robertson reporting for us from Beirut, Lebanon. Syrians are under attack by their own government. Learn what it's like to be trapped in terror for "72 hours Under Fire" at "CNN PRESENTS" Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern. Former Mississippi governor, Haley Barbour, angered a lot of people when he pardoned more than 200 prisoners. Now the state's high court weighs in. The ruling and the reaction after a break. Plus, a dangerous confrontation between a sheriff's deputy and a suspect captured on a surveillance camera. The unexpected ending to this next.

[Piers Morgan:] Tonight, roaring back, stocks soar 400 points. But are we out of the woods yet? I'll ask the experts what it means for you and your money. Also, Barney Frank and what he said is really to blame for America's downgrade. And
[Morgan:] Good evening, on a busy news day around the world. Thousands of police on the streets of London and other U.K. major cities are finally getting the upper hand on the fourth night of the appalling violence there. We'll have the report from the scene in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Asian markets reacting to the day of wild gyrations, ending with the Dow up, that's right, up nearly 4 percent. What it means for your money is Leigh Gallagher from "Fortune" magazine; Diane Swonk, chief economist from Mesirow Financial; and personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich. Let me start with you, Diane Swonk. A crazy day in the market. At one stage, it looked like we're heading for yet another day of the Dow falling. And then the rally at the end ends up nearly 400 points plus up. What do you make of it all?
[Diane Swonk, Chief Ecomnomist, Mesirow Financial:] Well, it was really, the financial markets were having a hard time figuring out exactly what the Fed said in a really unprecedented statement. There was a lot of information to digest. But essentially to distill it down, the financial markets figured out that Ben Bernanke, although with a bit of resistance from some of his colleagues within the FMC, was going to stand by the statement the G-7 said and that was to do anything it could to shore up this economy and provide liquidity on the face of what happened in the last weeks. The economy is weaker than what they thought it was. The debt ceiling crisis dealt a blow to the U.S., and then the downgrade by S&P.; All of that, along with downward revisions to GDP sowing the U.S. economy almost stalled out. The Fed said we're just not going to let that happen. And, finally, the financial markets, at the end of the day, once they read through everything, believed the Fed.
[Morgan:] So, you had me curious. I was watching this whole thing unfold live, and certainly, the market's immediate reaction was pretty negative. So, what you're saying is that they waited to really grasp exactly what Ben Bernanke was saying and realized it may not be bad news.
[Swonk:] Exactly. They certainly said I mean, I think there was a bit of a shock of how much the Fed acknowledged that the economy was weak by saying in an unprecedented statement that they could keep interest rates at their zero target on the Fed funds rate until mid- 2013. They actually put a date on it. That's just not done by the Federal Reserve. There were some members of the Federal Reserve that also dissented on that. I think we're all a little fatigued from the dissent and the debate in Washington. And there are some people that just weren't sure, does this mean more indecision. But, frankly, Ben Bernanke has a pretty good record of corralling the cats within their own corral, and even when they're mountain lions within the Fed. He gets them to go where he wants them to go. And I think that's very important, the history. And also, Ben Bernanke said, you know, we could do things with our balance sheet. We're still not done. We're not out of bullets yet. And I think when all was said and done and financial markets finally digested this massive amount of news and unprecedented statement by the Feds, they said, you know what? Maybe that means we won't have a double dip recession now. We might not stall out. We'll still sputter along. That's the bad news is we'll sputter along. It's also the good news. We're not going to stall out.
[Morgan:] Leigh Gallagher, do you agree with this? Are we now avoiding the prospect of a double dip recession? Has the Fed run to the rescue here? Is Ben Bernanke, the hero cast of the hour?
[Leigh Gallagher, Assistant Managing Editor, Fortune:] Well, it's interesting. What's as interesting as what Bernanke did say today is what he didn't say, which is, with the committee said, which is the Fed was widely expected or hoped by the portion of the market that he would do another round of bond buying and intervention what's it done twice already. And that's sort of the salvation from above that the market was hoping for. And that didn't happen. On the other hand, the Fed basically came out as Diane said a clear statement, for the first time, put a target date on how long it's going to keep interest rates, the target rate towards zero. And I think that, you know, led to a kind of collective sigh of relief. OK. We know we can expect interest rates for the foreseeable future. The other thing is that I think the fact that the Fed didn't do the massive intervention maybe led people to think, OK, maybe it's not that bad. That's sort of the last thing that it could have done. And Bernanke has said in the past that things wages have to be falling really fast and prices have to be falling significantly for the Fed to go and do that again. And it didn't. So, maybe things could be worse. And I think the market took that as a sigh of relief.
[Morgan:] Carmen Wong Ulrich, it's been a roll coaster few weeks now. What is the overview here? Where is the American economy in reality? Cut for all the Washington political speech here. Where do you think we actually are?
[Carmen Wong Ulrich, Finance Expert:] Well, the thing is that for those who have been saying, you know, be calm, carry on through all of this you know, feel a little bit of "I told you so" today. Here's the thing. Markets do what markets do, which is go up and down. But for regular American consumers, for folks who invest in 401 [k] s, this is not the time to panic. But there's a real crisis of confidence here. The American consumer is not where they should be or where they want to be right now. And they've taken all of this mess really to heart and they're saying we are not confident this economy is going to get better any time soon. And that's very dangerous because what you're talking about is consumer spending is 70 percent of this American economy and consumer confidence and consumer spending do a dance together. And when one dips, the other goes down. And that's what's going to happen, which means less growth in the economy, that means corporations are not going to be hiring. It means job numbers are not going to improve. And until job numbers improve, the American people are not going to feel better and feel confident in this economy?
[Morgan:] I want to put all three of you on the spot here and ask you: where should the average American put their money now. I'm going to start with you, Diane. You can only answer less than 10 words. Where should an American put their money right now?
[Swonk:] Well, I'm not an advisor, an investment advisor. I still bet long on the U.S. economy and U.S. equities. So, I'm long in the stock market. And we're seeing the opportunities in the stock market to do a double dip. When they dip, they do allow us to double down. That wasn't 10 words.
[Morgan:] So, you would buy which kinds of stock? You've used way past your limit but what kind of stocks quickly?
[Swonk:] I'm still very bullish on exports and multinationals, manufacturers and that sector.
[Morgan:] OK. Leigh Gallagher, can we try the 10-word rule with you?
[Gallagher:] I'll try. I'm an editor. So, it might work. I would agree with Diane. I think that the worst thing you want to do all right this already seven is to you pull out, because then you have to be right twice. You have to be right when you pull it out right and then you have to be right when you put your money back in. So, I think equities are still, you know, a long-term thing. You have to think for the long term though, you absolutely have to.
[Morgan:] And, Carmen, I mean, I would be tempted to shove it in a bag under my mattress at the moment. Are you heading that way? Is gold an option? Are you still sticking to treasury bonds? Where are you going?
[Ulrich:] No, no. When folks start talking about mattresses, it's actually when there's a bargain sale going on and you probably should be buying more. In my 10 words or less, it's consider time frame, know where your money is, and calm your stomach. Was that 11?
[Morgan:] I think you actually did that in under 10 words. That was good.
[Gallagher:] It sounded like a haiku.
[Morgan:] Very impressive.
[Ulrich:] I'm a former editor, too.
[Morgan:] Ladies, thank you very much.
[Swonk:] Thanks.
[Gallagher:] Thank you.
[Ulrich:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] All right. Representative Barney Frank is ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee. And he says that it's time for President Obama to face up to liberals over budget cuts. And Barney Frank joins me now. Mr. Frank, thank you for joining me. What did you make of a Fed statement today?
[Rep. Barney Frank , Massachusetts:] Well, I think it was appropriate. I think Mr. Bernanke and his colleagues have been doing the right thing, which is to the extent they can, offsetting some of the negative tendencies. In fact, it's interesting that Ben Bernanke, a George Bush appointee originally, warned Congress not to do too much cutting in the short term, the last time he testified. He said we've got a longer term deficit problems. He said, look, we have a longer term, deficit problem and you've got to deal with that. In the short term, these cuts that you're talking about, he said they were headwinds against the economy. So, the thing now, I think, is he's doing everything he can. But we need to do now something on the fiscal front. And I think it is now overwhelming, Piers, that we're going to borrow from your country's history. The late '40s, Clement Atlee was prime minister. He called Harry Truman and said, look, I am facing a terrible economic crisis post- war. I cannot continue the international efforts to maintain the British remnants of empire. If you want to do it, fine. The time has come for us to recognize the terrible crisis here with the economy and to withdraw from Iraq, withdraw from Afghanistan, tell our good friends in Europe that the Cold War was long since over. They are well able to defend themselves. It is time for us to substantially reduce our worldwide military commitment, put some of that to deficit reduction on the longer term, but spend some of it immediately to help state and local governments recover the employment they've lost, to get some construction done. The notion that they've come in the situation, and the same time, the president has talked about staying in Iraq longer than George Bush wanted frankly appalls me. And I think the time has come people say, you got to get real. You got to understand some constraints. Well, the biggest single area where we can do that is to cut, I believe, $200 billion a year on our military expenditures which go not for our own security but for our role as a kind of worldwide policemen. You know, almost all of our allies, our wealthy allies, spent far less as a percentage of that product that we do on the military. The time has come for us to recognize that we can't afford to do that and I believe we'll suffer no loss. We will suffer no loss in security.
[Morgan:] An interesting point because the trouble being that the world's policemen, as America has been for the 50, 60 years, it's a lonely place and you end up as America found itself now getting hardly any credit from anybody.
[Frank:] Oh, absolutely.
[Morgan:] If the expenditure you're laying out is so vast, there is a pretty good argument to say, you know what? As the Chinese do, for example, look out for number one here and bring it all back to America.
[Frank:] Well,
[Morgan:] The devil's advocate position is that if you look at Afghanistan, the reason that al Qaeda was able to ferment its operation there was precisely because no one was there keeping an eye on it. I guess the counterargument to what you're saying is there are lots of areas in the world that were unstable where if America reduced any presence, you could see that situation recurring.
[Frank:] Exactly.
[Morgan:] And that in itself, that would provide a yes, but that would an attack to American national security in the homeland potentially.
[Frank:] Except if you don't if we shut it down in Afghanistan, then they're in Yemen. If you shut down in Yemen, they're in Somalia or they're in Sudan. We can't plug every rat hole in the world. Now, we did do with significant amount against al Qaeda. And remember, in Afghanistan, major battle now is with the Taliban. George Bush became president. The Taliban was running Afghanistan. They were destroying Buddhist statues, and were mistreating people. They were outrageous. But America can't be the one that solves every wrong in the world. If we did, we'd go out and shoot Mugabe, who's a terrible abuser of people and others. In terms of national security, we dealt with al Qaeda, we have killed Osama bin Laden. We can protect ourselves back home. And if you look at the $120 billion we're spending in Afghanistan, plus the billions that I think we're wasting and the Pakistanis who are playing a great double game, a small percentage of that use back home would make us more secure than what's happening in Afghanistan.
[Morgan:] Congressman Frank, thank you very much.
[Frank:] Thank you, Piers.
[Morgan:] The wild gyrations in the markets are a problem, not just in this country but around the world. Joining me now is James Fallows, national correspondent for "The Atlantic," who surprisingly says that China may be on America's side in all of this. James, interesting position you're taking because if you listen to some like Donald Trump, I mean, he foams at the mouth at the mere mention of the word China. He believes they're an enemy to the American national interest. Why do you believe that they may be a friend?
[James Fallows, National Correspondent, The Atlantic:] I think I was talking about the immediate crisis, the financial crisis going on now despite all of the bombasts coming from the Chinese side about how America needs to pull up the socks and behave better and similar bombasts in the U.S. side, fundamentally, their interests are the same as ours at the moment. The two big threats to the Chinese economy are: number one, they won't be able to sell things to a largely American market. So another recession here would hurt them. And, second, that their extensive holdings in the U.S. treasuries and U.S. dollars will be at risk. So, for the time being, their interests like ours are avoiding recession and having some kind calm return to both U.S., the U.S. economy and U.S. financial markets.
[Morgan:] Secretary Geithner spoke to Vice Premier Wang today. How do you imagine that conversation went?
[Fallows:] I would imagine it would be a little different from the public discourse. The editorials in the Chinese state papers for the last couple of days have been strong on the finger pointing at the U.S. for all of its bad behavior. But I imagine that these two financiers from major countries got past that. And I would imagine, the main concern of the Chinese side would be what the U.S. was planning to do, what weapons were still in the financial arsenal to calm things down in the U.S. and, therefore, world markets and to avoid the onset of another recession. Probably the thing that the Chinese fear the most is the same thing the Obama administration and most Americans fear, which is another plunge back into greater unemployment and slowing economic activity. That's the threat to them as well.
[Morgan:] Is it healthy or unhealthy that China holds so much of the American debt right now?
[Fallows:] It's a "compared to what" question. I think, fundamentally, it's unhealthy for both economies and they've been distorted in their relationship with each other to the degree they have been, for the last 15 years, at least especially the last 10. China has depended on the U.S. market to provide demand for their own factories, all of the peasants going to the cities and having manufacturing jobs. At the same way, Americans have depended these last 10 years and having the low-cost goods from Chinese suppliers the Chinese surplus being invested here or lent here to keep our tax rates down and to keep our mortgage rates down. In the long run, it's not wholesome for either country, in the short run, it'been beneficial to both. And we're going to be uncomfortable on both sides process and trying to redress the balance less reliance on borrowing here, less reliance on over-exporting there.
[Morgan:] I worked in America and China. And it seems to me the fundamental business practice difference is in bureaucracy. You know, things in China get done quickly without the mountain of red tape. Everything in America now seems consumed by. Is it time for America Incorporated to revisit this whole area, do you think?
[Fallows:] Well, there are aspects of China's performance which are more and less impressive when you're there. There are certainly things whether it's the Beijing Olympics or the high speed rail project, which obviously is now a sort of double edge situation that the Chinese can get done with great speed that they want. But I think the recent tragedies in the high-speed rail projects, the fatal crash and the evidence of corruption suggests that the Chinese approach has its problems, too. There's a lot of un- coordination at the regional level and there's been this huge overhang of these white elephant projects that have kept demand up going in a short run. But you rode to these remote cities and there are giant airports, giant shopping malls with nobody in them. So, I think that the Chinese approach has its advantages. But it can be romanticized from the out of our frustration with the bureaucracies in the
[U.s. Morgan:] James Fallows, thank you very much.
[Fallows:] My pleasure, thank you. Coming up: London calling 16,000 police on the streets. Can they restore order?

[Berman:] This morning we have new details in the case of John Benet Ramsey. A local paper, "The Boulder Daily Camera," reports that back in 1994 a grand jury voted to indict Jon and Patsy Ramsey for abuse that led to Jon Benet's death.
[Baldwin:] But the district attorney declined to prosecute, said he didn't have enough evidence to go to trial, and a former assistant DA said that was that right move.
[Bill Wise, Former First Assistant District Attorney, Boulder, Colorado:] The state of evidence in that case was just inadequate to file a charge in my opinion, and that obviously was his opinion too.
[Baldwin:] Lin Wood is an attorney who has prosecuted multiple defamation cases on behalf of the Ramsey family. Mr. Wood, good morning to you. Let's just begin, look, you have been in touch with John Ramsey. What is your reaction and what is his reaction to this?
[Lin Wood, Ramsey Family Attorney:] John and Patsy were told back in 1999 that they should expect to be indicted. You have to go back 15, 16 years, remember there was a media frenzy of false accusations against this family. There was incompetent and credulous Boulder police investigation on this. The investigation focused on day one on the Ramsey family and refused to focus on the evidence that would lead to the killer of this child. So they expected they would be indicted and they expected they would have their names cleared and be found innocent in front of the jury. So if this is true, in terms what anonymous sources have said, it really is a testament to the courage of Alex Hunter, the district attorney, to stand up and fulfill his oath of office as a prosecutor and to not bring charges that would have resulted in a gross miscarriage of justice, because innocent people would have been charged with a crime they did not commit.
[Berman:] He said everyone is sworn to secrecy. A local paper did speak to some jurors. This is what one of them said. He said "We didn't know who did wan what, but we felt the adults in the house may have done something, and that they certainly could have prevented, or they could have helped her, and they didn't." They are not saying that they thought they killed, but saying they thought they were somehow were involved.
[Wood:] Or saying as a grand jury that they did not know what happened. We do know if you fast forward nine years later, 2008, advances in DNA technology in terms of r retrieval and testing led to DNA evidence that exonerated the Ramsey family, that proved, if this story is true, the grand jury was wrong, and, again, I think elevated Alex Hunter to the status of hero for preventing the miscarriage of justice.
[Berman:] How rare is it that the grand jury to say we want to indict and the district attorney to say we are not going to prosecute?
[Wood:] The saying goes that a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich, and here there's not even a sandwich. I think you had a grand jury that was likely confused and perhaps could have had some of that confusion cleared up if John and Patsy Ramsey could have been allowed to testify before the grand jury. They offered repeatedly to do so but they were never allowed the opportunity.
[Baldwin:] This goes all the way back to 1996. Is this just one of those things that will forever be a misery and any given time, some reporter, some tidbit will come out and continue to haunt John Ramsey?
[Wood:] John Ramsey and his son Burke and other Ramsey family members, this is going to impact the Ramsey family for generations because there is always going to be some reporter, like the reporter in this case whose reporting has been inaccurate in the past about the Ramsey family, who is going to want to seize that sensational headline and grab some attention and write and disparage this family. But they have been exonerated and I think it's important for the public to recognize that the real blockbuster news was the DNA evidence found on this child's body and on her clothing that clearly is the DNA of the killer and perhaps hopefully one day we'll get a DNA hit and the killer will be brought to justice.
[Baldwin:] Lin Wood, thank you so much for us in Atlanta this morning.
[Berman:] It is amazing, 16, 17 years, and we're still talking about it. Ahead on STARTING POINT, crashes are nothing new at the X Games, but this one is just awful, and it has a star fighting for his life this morning. We'll be right back.

[Unidentified Male:] At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. By the time I tumbled into the war, it was all over.
[Monita Rajpal, Cnn International Anchor:] Set against the backdrop of India's tumultuous history, it's a story of two children switched at birth. Trading personal space, but sharing an entwined destiny. A fictional tale set in a real country wracked by conflict and corruption, dividing its population. The book on which the film is based is "Midnight's Children" Sir Salman Rushdie's first literary success, but not why he would become a household name. On February 14, 1989, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa on the acclaimed author, giving license to Shia Muslims around the world to kill him. The charge? Blasphemy. Muslims worldwide erupted in a wave of protests, supporting the retaliatory move against Rushdie's book, "The Satanic Verses", parts of which Khomeini claimed were an insult to Islam. It was a sentence that resulted in a decade in hiding for the author. And the injury and death of people associated with him and his book. Despite Iran's former prime minister ending the threat in 1998, some believe the hazard to Rushdie's life remains. Though this hasn't stopped him from receiving the highest of literary accolades and a knighthood from Britain's Queen Elizabeth. This week, Sir Salman Rushdie shows us around his home town of Mumbai.
[Rajpal:] So, would you say that you have good memories?
[Sir Salman Rushdie, Author:] Yes, I love this place.
[Rajpal:] And reveals why "Midnight's Children" is an ode to the city of his birth. Salman Rushdie, welcome to TALK ASIA. Thank you for your time. You and India have an interesting relationship. How would you describe it?
[Rushdie:] You know, it's difficult to say. It's just it's been there all my life, you know? I mean, this is the place that shaped me, the country, this city. You know, this is where I was born and raised. And I think I've always sort of at the bottom of everything else, I've always thought of myself as a Bombay boy. You know. So it's a very close relationship. Sometimes it's been a bumpy ride, but it's always close.
[Rajpal:] "Midnight's Children" was written more than 30 years ago.
[Rushdie:] Yes.
[Rajpal:] So, 30 years after the book was written, how does it feel to see and hear the words that you adapted for the big screen, come alive?
[Rushdie:] Well, I mean, you know, I'm just first of all, I think both of us Deepa Mehta and I had a feeling of relief that it all came together. You know, because you never know. I mean, I think we all knew that we were very blessed with the group of people who came together, you know? We had an unusually beautiful cast we had a really talented cast.
[Rajpal:] The story involves the time of India and Pakistan at independence. And now, telling the story today, do you believe that the story is still relevant to be told today?
[Rushdie:] Well, you know, truthfully, I wasn't sure about that. Because there's a sense in which it's a period piece. But many people have come up to us and said, you know, "It feels completely like a description of today." You know, so maybe there are certain things that are constant. You know, certain things about the relationship between power and the lives of ordinary people. The way in which power behaves, you know, and impacts on the lives of ordinary people.
[Rajpal:] Do you believe that, when you look around India now, that the country has taken full advantage of independence? I mean, when we look around and you see all the things that make it not work.
[Rushdie:] Yes, yes. You know, I remember the famous description of India by the former American ambassador here, John Kenneth Galbraith, when he described it as "functioning anarchy." You know, and that is one of the facts about this country it shouldn't work. You know, but it somehow does.
[Rajpal:] Organized chaos.
[Rushdie:] Organized well, not even that organized, actually. Just chaotic chaos. But it somehow holds together. And I mean, I think if you look at the fact that this is a poor country that's managed to remain a democracy for six-and-a-half decades, and you compare that to the surrounding countries you know, you can see that it hasn't done so badly. But, of course, it's a very flawed democracy. You know, and I think anybody who cares about this country is very aware of those flaws. In the last year, there's been a great debate in India about corruption.
[Rajpal:] Is there a reluctance for people to bring those issues to light? To really talk about it? To really look at the criticism of society?
[Rushdie:] Well, there has been, but I think it's beginning to change, you know. And I think one of the things that happened after as I say, in these last couple of years, the subject of corruption there's been mass protests, and so on. And also, after this poor girl's rape and murder. Also, I think, there's a that that sort of galvanized the youth, you know, here. And, in the end, that's where the change has to come from.
[Rajpal:] When did you first learn the love of writing?
[Rushdie:] My mother would tell, really, family stories. And my father knew a lot of the classical tradition of not just of this country, but of, you know, things like the Arabian Nights and so on. So the first time I heard many of these so-called wonder tales of the East, you know, were really in my father's tellings of them as bedtime stories, you know. So I got the bug early on.
[Rajpal:] Were you ever afraid to show people your work your writing at the beginning?
[Rushdie:] Yes. I mean, I had a very bumpy start. You know, the generation and when I was living in England in the late '60s, early '70s there was a very gifted generation that arose at that time. It wasn't like that with me. I mean, I had a very it took me a while to find my way as a writer. Lots of false starts and sort of wrong directions and stillborn ideas and so on. And "Midnight's Children" was really a kind of final throw of the dice, you know. It was sort of everything or bust. And, fortunately, it worked out. But, you know, it took me a very long time to write. Five years or so.
[Rajpal:] How did you find your voice?
[Rushdie:] Well, in the end, there was just a moment when I you see, when I started writing the book, it wasn't written in the first person. And then I just thought I would try allowing Saleem to tell the story. I well remember the day that I wrote what became the first paragraph of "Midnight's Children." And I thought, "Where did that come from?" You know, because it was so obviously the best thing I'd ever written. You know, that had sort of a kind of energy life and potential that I'd never come anywhere close to. And so, I've always thought that that really was the moment when I learned how to be a writer when I found his voice as a character so
[Rajpal:] Through him.
[Rushdie:] Yes. His voice as a character really gave me my voice as a writer.
[Rajpal:] You were born two months before independence.
[Rushdie:] Yes, eight weeks to the day.
[Rajpal:] How much of you is in "Midnight's Children"?
[Rushdie:] Well, I mean, it's my generation, for sure. You know, I mean it's not just me, but it's the people I grew up with. And I think it's an interesting generation, because it's a transitional generation. You know, it's the moment at which empire ends and freedom begins. And, as we know, that's not like throwing a light switch. You know, the empire may end, but a lot of those colonial attitudes, you know, linger on. So, to write about that age of transition was one of the things I wanted to do. And yes, I mean, Saleem I suppose he I mean, he went to my school and he lived in my house. You know, to that extent, yes, he was obviously a version of me.
[Rajpal:] What does being the target of a state-sponsored attack do to someone? How does that change you?
[Rushdie:] Well... I have kept a journal throughout this time. And I have been wondering what to write next. I have a suspicion I have just been given my subject.
[Rajpal:] What does being the target of a state-sponsored attack do to someone? How does that change you?
[Rushdie:] Well, you know, I mean, I think I'm probably still much the same person. You know, I think if you talk to people who knew me before and after, I think that they'd say that. But it did intensify my feelings about you know, about liberty, about free expression, about those things. I mean, I think if you're lucky enough to live in countries in which you have those things, you know, you sort of don't have to make a big song and dance about it, because you've got it. You don't have to argue about free speech, free speech is what you have.
[Rajpal:] Yes.
[Rushdie:] You know? But when somebody tries to remove it, you begin to understand how important it is to defend it. You know, so I think probably I've become more involved in those issues. You know, as a result.
[Rajpal:] You still see protests death threats against those who do question
[Rushdie:] Yes.
[Rajpal:] Islam. Whether you're a cartoonist, whether you're an author, whether you're a young girl wanting to have an education.
[Rushdie:] Yes.
[Rajpal:] Where do you believe this anger comes from?
[Rushdie:] Unfortunately, we live in an age of identity politics in which people have been encouraged to define themselves by what makes them angry. You know, I mean, I would say that the more healthy definition of the self is to define it in terms of the things you value and care about and love, you know. But now, we seem to be or many of us seem to be defining ourselves by what we hate. You know, and that rage, as you say, becomes a badge of identity becomes a kind of selfhood.
[Rajpal:] Do you believe that you were seen as a pawn or a scapegoat to bigger events where, at the time, the Ayatollah Khomeini wanted to really put his own stamp on his own country and his own people?
[Rushdie:] Yes, yes.
[Rajpal:] Also, at a time of increased influence of the West over Eastern culture and migration from the East to the West?
[Rushdie:] Yes. All those things. All those things, yes. I mean, migration, after all, is not only one of the big subjects of my literature, but actually rather big subjects of that book.
[Rajpal:] Yes.
[Rushdie:] But I think also, there's a profound question about who about whether we have control over the stories of our lives. You know, the so- called grand narratives. You know, and religion is one of those. Religion, family, nation you know, these are the grand narratives. We all live with them and live inside them. And in an open society, we all get to argue constantly about those things. That became, I think, the underlying question of this. Was, "Do we have the right to argue about these things? To dissent? To satirize? To make fun? To tell the story in another way? To have a different view about the story?" Or is it going to just be laid down for us?
[Rajpal:] So then, how do you feel when you're seeing, on television, or reading reports in the papers stories, then, of, say the Arab Spring?
[Rushdie:] Yes.
[Rajpal:] Of young people, now, questioning and standing up. Giving their lives, even?
[Rushdie:] Yes.
[Rajpal:] To fight against tyranny to fight against what has been laid out for them and said, "This is the way it's going to be."
[Rushdie:] Yes, you know, I mean I you know, like many of us, I saw the Arab Spring as a moment of optimism.
[Rajpal:] You see, it's interesting. Because in "Midnight's Children" you talk about the disease of optimism.
[Rushdie:] Yes. I mean, people, get over it. Exactly. And I think that's sort of what's happened here. That, you know, we were all optimistic at this as you say this rising up of young people wanting a better life. And, you know, more liberty, and so on. And to be free of the old authoritarian leaders of those countries. You know, instead, what happened is that their uprising got hijacked by much better-organized forces, like the Muslim Brotherhood and so on. And so, you know, the Arab Spring turns into a pretty unpleasant fall or winter, you know. But history takes a long time, sometimes. You know, I mean, things don't necessarily happen overnight and sometimes there are backslidings before things move forward again.
[Rajpal:] I read that you don't like spy novels. And yet, "Joseph Anton"
[Rushdie:] Yes, it sort of is. I mean, it's a spy novel in which everything's true.
[Rajpal:] I was going to ask you, how different is "Joseph Anton" to Salman Rushdie?
[Rushdie:] Well, all the things are just the passage of time, you know. I mean, this is something that happened to me when I was in my early 40s. And here I am in my mid 60s. So there's just that, which is based I was a much younger man. And also, of course, I'm now much less burdened. I mean, that was a time of extraordinary stress and tension and danger and fear, worry. Not just for myself, but for my family and friends and publishers and translators and, you know, all these other people who are at risk.
[Rajpal:] Some would say that those "bad years", as you describe it, is, perhaps, at the time, difficult to accept. But, as a writer, you could not get better material.
[Rushdie:] Well, I mean, I always knew that. I always knew that. At the time I thought, you know, "Good story." Which is one of the reasons I kept a journal all the way through. Which was
[Rajpal:] At what point did you recognize it and say, "Hey, good story"?
[Rushdie:] Straight away.
[Rajpal:] Straight away?
[Rushdie:] Straight away. And I thought, you know, so much was happening at such speed that I thought, "No matter how good your memory is, you're not going to remember this." You know, so write it down. And that, also, was in a way, a sort of act of optimism. It was a way of thinking that there will be a day when I can look back at this and write about it. You know, which for a long time was a kind of unjustified act of optimism. It didn't really you know, if you had to bet, you wouldn't have bet on a happy outcome. You know, for a long time. But fortunately, I did get to that place. And then, yes, I mean, I think at the very least, what I got out of, you know, 12 years of very unpleasant life, was an interesting book.
[Rajpal:] Where are we off to?
[Rushdie:] It's just sort of the neighborhood that I grew up in.
[Rajpal:] It's interesting how much of the old architecture is still here.
[Rushdie:] Yes, this is the one part of the city which has managed to preserve some heritage, you know. Because there's so much Art Deco in South Bombay that actually, when I grew up, I thought Art Deco was the local style of architecture. I thought that. When I went to the West and realized that this was a, you know, a Western style, I was really disappointed. I thought that was ours, you know? I didn't realize it was borrowed.
[Rajpal:] Yes. Where do you feel you belong?
[Rushdie:] You know, I've always felt this sense of belonging to cities more than countries, you know. And so, there are three cities in which I've basically spent my life. I think the thing about here is that the place where you were born and grew up always has a certain kind of a feeling of home.
[Rajpal:] Coming up, Sir Salman opens up about his childhood memories of Mumbai. This is where you lived then?
[Rushdie:] This is where I grew up, yes. That's where I grew up. And used to climb the trees in the garden.
[Rajpal:] This is where you lived, then?
[Rushdie:] This is where I grew up. Yes. That's where I grew up. And used to climb the trees in the garden. See, that house has been modernized quite a lot. So it doesn't look quite like it used to look. But this you see, this rather run-down one is this is much more
[Rajpal:] This is what it would have looked like?
[Rushdie:] What it would have looked like, yes.
[Rajpal:] So, would you say you have good memories?
[Rushdie:] Yes, I love this place.
[Rajpal:] Growing up?
[Rushdie:] Yes, I loved growing up here. And I was absolutely furious with my parents when they sold the house. Actually, I'm still angry.
[Rajpal:] How old were you when they sold it?
[Rushdie:] 16 or 17.
[Rajpal:] Really?
[Rushdie:] I was at school in England.
[Rajpal:] Yes.
[Rushdie:] And it had never occurred to me that I wouldn't come back and live here. My neighbors had members of every community.
[Rajpal:] Yes.
[Rushdie:] You know, Jews, Farsis, Hindus, Muslims, Christians we grew up, as kids, in that very mixed world, you know. And our view was just that we celebrate everybody's holidays, because that way, we got more holidays.
[Rajpal:] Do you think that sentiment still is here?
[Rushdie:] I think there is this used to be a city in which was pride in being free of sectarian politics. It's really one of the reasons why my parents came to live here. So they moved here just a year before partition the year before I was born. And it's true. Almost nothing happened in Bombay. And for a long time, it was like that. And then it changed. So yes, and then, you know, "Midnight's Children" is set here. You know, the fictionalized version of this space is where, certainly, all the childhood a lot of the novel rather more of the novel than of the film has to do with childhood. You know, because it's for "Midnight's Children." They're children for a long time.
[Rajpal:] Innocence and the loss of?
[Rushdie:] Yes. A lot of the story is about Saleem when he's nine, 10, 11, 12-years-old. And all of that takes place around here. Once upon a time, like when the book first came out and had its great success, there used to be "Midnight's Children" tours of the city.
[Rajpal:] No.
[Rushdie:] Yes, you could get on a bus and they would take you around.
[Rajpal:] How very
[La. Rushdie:] Exactly, exactly. Homes of the stars and everything.
[Rajpal:] How would you want to be remembered, in terms of the kind of books that you wrote?
[Rushdie:] Well, I think, you know my friend, Martin Amis had a very nice phrase where he said that, "What you hope to leave behind you is a shelf of books." You know, you want to be able to say that from here to here, it's me. You know? And you don't know it's impossible to say how posterity will deal with those books. You know, it may be that the books that were best liked in your lifetime are not the ones that are best liked 100 years later.
[Rajpal:] Are there any works that have been published of yours that you think, "Wow, how did that happen? How did that get published?"
[Rushdie:] My first novel the novel I wrote before "Midnight's Children" feels, to me, now, very I mean, I get embarrassed when I see people reading it. You know, there are some people who, bizarrely, like it. Which I'm, you know, I'm happy for.
[Rajpal:] Yes.
[Rushdie:] But I find that I had not found my voice in that book.
[Rajpal:] How do you deal with that sense of vulnerability? Because you've put yourself out there.
[Rushdie:] Yes.
[Rajpal:] For people to judge.
[Rushdie:] You just have to. I mean, that's the game, you know. And I think what I always think is that you sit at home, doing what feels like a private act. You know, I mean, when you sit it could take years, you know, to write a book. And during that time, nobody in the world knows what you're up to. And it feels like you're just doing this thing quietly, by yourself, you know. And it's nobody's business but your own. And that's, of course, a delusion. But it's a delusion that almost, I think, every writer falls into. That you're making something in private and then that thing that you made in private becomes a public act, you know. And it's always a bit of a shock. But I'm lucky amongst writers in that I'm first of all, I'm one of the writers who, from a very early age I was 33 when "Midnight's Children" came out I've been able to support myself through my writing. Most writers can't say that.
[Rajpal:] Having sold the rights to "Midnight's Children" for the huge amount of $1
[Rushdie:] Yes.
[Rajpal:] What are you working on right now?
[Rushdie:] Well, you know, I'm just beginning to be in a place where I could start new work. You know, because the last four or five months have been very busy with the publication of the memoir all around the world. And then, you know, the launch of the movie all around the world. So it's been I've been the servant of these two big pieces of work for a while. But now I mean, I do just have the inkling of a new novel which I'm pleased about. That, you know, I've always used for myself this metaphor that you feel that there's a fish on the line, you know. And you have to sort of slowly bring it in. And, at the moment, I'm not sure if it's a little fish or a big fish. But we'll see.
[Rajpal:] Can you give us a hint on what it might be?
[Rushdie:] No.
[Rajpal:] No?
[Rushdie:] No. I think the only rule I've ever had is, "Don't talk about unfinished work." You know, finish the work, then talk about it.
[Rajpal:] Finally, why did you sell the rights for just one dollar?
[Rushdie:] Oh, well, to be truthful, I did get some money later. We were very clear that this could not be a studio project. And then it took us at least two years maybe a bit more than two years to get the budget, to get the cash. Because, remember, this was in a very bad time. It was just after the economic crash
[Rajpal:] Yes.
[Rushdie:] and so on. For independent cinema, it was a very bad time. So I knew that I couldn't get the film made if I said, you know, "Give me a million bucks." It just wasn't going to happen, you know? So it was better to say, you know, "Give me one." And let's have the money, make the film, and then, hopefully, we can all get paid something. Which we all did.
[Rajpal:] All right, Mr. Rushdie, a pleasure.
[Rushdie:] Thank you.
[Rajpal:] Thank you so much.
[Rushdie:] Right, right. END

[Blitzer:] With two fresh primary wins and a caucus victory now under his belt, Mitt Romney is certainly gaining ground in the polls, but his nearest rival, Rick Santorum is opening a new line of attack with just five days to go before Tuesday, and its 10 primaries and caucuses. Our senior correspondent Joe Johns is following all of this for us. Joe, what's the latest on Romney and Santorum?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, once again it seemingly two steps forward, one step backward for the Romney campaign. In the latest poll, clearly he has regained his footing, but even now some of Romney's old campaign troubles continue to haunt him.
[Johns:] In this roller coaster ride of a race, the sign that frontrunner status and momentum is back on Mitt Romney's side. The latest Gallup national tracking poll conducted after the primaries in Arizona and Michigan, showing Romney out to a big lead on the morning after his win in the Wyoming caucuses. But it wasn't all joy for the Romney campaign, because the old rap on him, the charge that he flip-flops on policy issues resurfaced in a big way. The issue was Romney's initial conditions on a proposal just now tabled in the Senate. That would have allowed health insurance plans to deny contraceptive coverage if it runs counter to a sponsor or an employer's religious belief. When first asked about it on Wednesday, Romney said this.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I'm not for the bill, but look, the idea of presidential candidates getting into questions about contraception within a relationship between a man and woman, husband and wife, I'm not going there.
[Johns:] Romney quickly clarified saying he misunderstood the question and that he actually supported the proposal, which had been introduced by Republican Missouri Senator Roy Blunt as a conservative response to a new and controversial Obama administration rule.
[Romney:] I'm in favor of the amendment.
[Johns:] But by then, Romney had opened himself up to the charge that he tried to do a switch, and at a rally in Atlanta, Rick Santorum pounced.
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] When Governor Romney was asked that question, his knee-jerk reaction was, no, I can't be for that. After his consultants talked to him, then he came back he said I didn't understand the question. Maybe he did or didn't, but I tell you if I was asked a question like that, my gut reaction would be always, my gut reaction would be, you stand for the first amendment. You stand for freedom of religion.
[Johns:] With the last weekend before Super Tuesday, Rick Santorum's campaign was preparing for a whirlwind from Atlanta to Washington State then planning to go to Central Ohio by noon on Friday. His fundraising hay skyrocketed. For his part Newt Gingrich has been focusing hard on Georgia, the state that he represented while he was in the Congress, hoping that voters here keep him viable after Super Tuesday.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] I have to win Georgia I think to be credible in the race. But if I win Georgia, the following week we go to Alabama and Mississippi, I think I'll win both of those, and we have a good opportunity to win in Kansas.
[Johns:] Meanwhile, tonight authorities in Michigan struck a blow to the Rick Santorum campaign, by announcing that Mitt Romney is receiving one more voting delegate to the Republican convention than Santorum will receive. So this means Santorum will no longer be able to claim that he tied Romney in Michigan. Santorum pushed back today, calling that change a back room deal Wolf.
[Blitzer:] So Romney will get 16 delegates from Michigan. Santorum will get 14, is that right?
[Johns:] That is exactly right. Before that Santorum had been claiming that because he thought he was going to get 15 and Romney was going to get 15. He could say it was a tie. Now 16-14, no tie, Romney the winner in Michigan.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much, Joe, for that. While Romney and Santorum were stumping today in other parts of the country, they'll be back in Ohio. That's a key Super Tuesday battleground. One reason geography, it's situated right between Michigan, Romney's home and Pennsylvania, Santorum's home state, so each man thinks he has strength there. Let's talk a little bit about Ohio with our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger. Ohio I think is the biggest prize come next Tuesday.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Absolutely. Because, Wolf, it really is a test of both the seriousness and the staying power of any presidential campaign in either party. And when it comes to the Republicans, there are a lot of diverse constituencies there. So if you can prove you can win among these constituencies, it's important in order to have national appeal. Take a look at this. First of all, this state Ohio is a bellwether for the general election. No Republican presidential candidate has ever won without winning the state of Ohio. Secondly, it offers a microcosm of the electorate, urban, rural, Evangelical, Catholic, conservative, moderate Republicans, all of them in the state of Ohio. And thirdly it tests how whether you have a true crossover appeal. This is an open primary and so Rick Santorum, for example, hopes that he can appeal to those Reagan Democrats, those blue collar voters, who will be very important in the general election should he become the nominee. So very, very important state, 63 delegates, but actually it's not even the number of delegates that counts, you just have to prove you can win there.
[Blitzer:] What are the most recent polls there show?
[Borger:] Well, first of all, let's say, we haven't had one since Tuesday's primaries, but the most recent poll in Ohio shows that Rick Santorum is 11 points ahead. What we'll be able to see when we get another poll, perhaps as early as tomorrow, we'll be able to see whether Romney has any momentum coming out of his twin victories the other night in Michigan and Arizona. But one important thing, don't forget, Wolf, is money. Mitt Romney has a lot more money to spend not only his campaign, but also his "Super PAC." So far he's outspending Rick Santorum 4-1. He's already been up on the air in the state. Rick Santorum has, what, five or six days to catch up.
[Blitzer:] Yes, I always say I would like to be an owner of a local TV station in Ohio right now.
[Borger:] You and me both.
[Blitzer:] We're going to be dealing a lot of ad money. Thanks very much, Gloria. A plane is seconds from landing on air craft, the controller send it back to the skies. How an air traffic controller prevented a possible disaster when a jeep suddenly ended up on the runway.

[Announcer:] Tonight on CNN PRESENTS. "Addicted at Birth."
[Jeffica, Recovering Oxycodone Addict:] What's she going through because she's just a little baby? And she can't talk and she can't tell me how she feels.
[Announcer:] America's pain pill epidemic. It's the youngest generation.
[Amber Lyon, Cnn Presents:] We're seeing more babies being born addicted to drugs.
[Announcer:] "Beasts of War."
[Kaj Larsen, Cnn Presents:] Next thing you know, I was staring a porpoise right in the face. Just got me again.
[Announcer:] A once top-secret military program that's enlisting animals to protect the country. But first, inside a polygamous sect.
[Dan Moskaluk, Royal Canadian Mounted Police:] We're dealing with the exploitation of children of young girls for sexual purposes.
[Announcer:] Gary Tuchman takes you where most people never go. Exposing "Polygamy's Dirty Secrets."
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn Presents:] The scenery is spectacular and the polygamist families who live here along the Utah-Arizona border have been able to live their lives with little interference from the outside world for generations. Stepping into their world is both jarring and surreal. [On Camera] How many brothers and sisters do you have in all?
[Unidentified Female:] I have 18.
[Tuchman:] And Albert, how many brothers and sisters do you have?
[Unidentified Male:] Twenty-two.
[Unidentified Female:] I am the oldest of 32.
[Tuchman:] These are not members of the Salt Lake City- Based Mormon Church known as the Church of Latter Day Saints. They belong instead to a splinter group who believe in polygamy and call themselves the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, or
[Flds:] Mr. Jeffs, do you think you can win this case? [Voice-over] The spiritual leader, Warren Jeffs, has been jailed now for nearly five years and faces trial on three charges including aggravated sexual assault on a child, charges to which he's pled not guilty. [On Camera] The people of the FLDS are convinced that there is nobody on earth closer to god than warren Jeffs. They believe that Jeffs, even behind bars, is the mouthpiece of god, that words he utters are divinely inspired. Law enforcement authorities have long been worried what would happy if Jeffs told his followers to do something violent and dangerous.
[Sam Brower, Private Investigator:] I've never seen it like this before. I've been here for seven years. I've never seen things so unstable and so lawless. I consider this the most lawless town in the country.
[Tuchman:] Sam Brower is a private investigator and writer who's been following the polygamous sect closely for nearly a decade and who's written a book about the FLDS called "Prophet's Prey." [On Camera] Do you think there are comparisons to be made like to the Taliban or the mafia?
[Brower:] Absolutely. I mean even the Utah attorney general has stated that the FLDS in this community is run Taliban-style and that's really all the FLDS church is, in my opinion, is an organized crime family.
[Tuchman:] Attorneys for the break-away sect say that kind of assertion is nonsense, that the polygamist leaders and their followers who live here simply want to be left alone to practice their religion the way they see fit. But real violence, according to some neighbors, has crept into the community. This burned down patch of grass in the town of Colorado City, Arizona, is evidence of what authorities say is a very disturbing example. Arizona state investigators say FLDS leaders burned dozens of books here, rather than let an open library be built, because they believe those books were collected by infidels.
[Stefanie Colgrove, Library Organizer:] They burnt things that didn't belong to them. And they broke and entered the building.
[Tuchman:] Former FLDS member Stefanie Colgrove says she worked for more than two years to collect books for the library, a library independent of the church. [On Camera] And what do they do with the books?
[Colgrove:] They hauled them out of the building.
[Tuchman:] Then what did they do with them?
[Colgrove:] We assumed that they were burnt. We saw a massive bonfire and assumed all of this was on the pile because we saw books in the burning pile.
[Tuchman:] This is the remnants of one of the charred books. Looks like a medical textbook. [Voice-over] County investigators say the local police in Colorado City are all members of the FLDS and have ignored the arson. Those local police have not returned our calls. It's the county authorities who have worked to crack down on the church. [On Camera] And so you're with the county and they're the local police, and normally 99.9 percent of the time, police all work together. You don't work with these guys, do you?
[Gary Engels, Mohave County  District Attorney's Office:] Not at all. I can't even get them to talk to me most of the time.
[Tuchman:] That's because, according to Mohave County chief investigator Gary Engels, police here obey the religious leaders first, civilian leaders second. [On Camera] In your eyes, is their allegiance more to the Constitution of the United States or to Warren Jeffs, their prophet?
[Engels:] I believe that their allegiance is probably more to the church. I know they are required to swear allegiance to Warren in one of their church meetings here not to long ago.
[Tuchman:] Some say if you do not side with Warren Jeffs, there can be trouble. [On Camera] So are you afraid for your safety sometimes?
[Isaac Wyler, Warren Jeffs Opponent:] Well, yes, sometimes you get a little worried. They've killed some of my animals.
[Tuchman:] Isaac Wyler has lived here for years, and until he split from Warren Jeffs, life was more or less tranquil. Not now.
[Wyler:] At one time there was, like, six dead cats in my window wells. They're thrown in there. A lot of times you go out and there'll be a dead cat or dead pigeon or dead duck or something.
[Tuchman:] You feel that's a threat to you, though? To intimidate you?
[Wyler:] Yes, definitely for intimidation. But I don't intimidate that easy.
[Tuchman:] Attorneys for the FLDS did not return calls for comment on either the book burning or the alleged intimidation.
[Warren Jeffs, Flds Leader:] Do not video our
[Tuchman:] During my frequent reporting trips to Colorado City, we were often made to feel unwelcome.
[Unidentified Male:] No cameras allowed here. Sorry, this is private property.
[Tuchman:] And there's still a great deal of allegiance to the leader who's long been in jail. But that may be changing. Just ahead, a man who was once one of Warren Jeffs' most loyal followers now tells a very different story.
[Willie E. Jessop, Warren Jeffs Opponent:] He in his own words has admitted to what he is, and he said he's a very wicked man and he confessed to doing some very terrible things.

[Holmes:] Top of the hour now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. And a day at the Indiana state fair turns into panic. Look at this, folks. A stage, a concert stage collapses on top of people, at least four are dead. A number of others are injured. In moments, I'll be talking to someone who was there. Also this morning, it's a big day after a big victory for Michele Bachmann. It's also a pretty big day for Governor Rick Perry, stole some of the spotlight yesterday. But both are off and running today for the president nomination. I'll show you what they're saying and where they're headed today. Also, a weekend wedding in Cuba is getting a lot of attention. Why? Because the groom is a he the bride used to be a he. We'll tell you what this all means for gay rights moving forward in Cuba. But we do need to start here at the top of the hour by that deadly stage collapse at the Indiana state fair. This is at Indianapolis last night. The fair is closed today because of the accident. Now, I'm going to run a piece of tape year for you. I want you to look at the screen and also listen to it as this happened. It was all caught on tape, this video goes about 20 seconds. Take a listen. At least four people killed when the scaffolding around the stage collapsed. A powerful gust of wind, described between 60 and 70 miles an hour, blew it over. As many as 40 people were injured. They were trapped, many of them, under all of that twisted metal. People were actually using seats as stretchers to help the injured. Take a listen to some of the witnesses.
[Megan Rickert, Witnessed Stage Collapse:] We saw the big wind gust and you could see the entire stage come out over to the right- hand side and you could see people underneath it.
[Unidentified Female:] All of a sudden, you just looked up. It happened so fast. It just came down and you saw people running. The next thing you know, there's people underneath the stage, trying to get out.
[Unidentified Male:] I don't know what is happening, but we're just praying for these people because the stage is on top of hundreds of people.
[Lindsay Ohl, Witnessed Stage Collapse:] I just automatically started crying, called my family. My family called me. Friends called me seeing if I was OK. They knew I was a big fan and I'd be there. The people in front of me, I cried for them not knowing if they had gotten out. Or, you know, there's was a little boy. And that's one thing that is haunting me. I'm hoping he got out.
[Holmes:] Cory Whitehead was there. He joins me now from Indianapolis. Cory, I appreciate you taking some time with us. First off, where were you as this was happening?
[Cory Whitehead:] Sure. Good morning, T.J. We were I was with a friend and we were actually in a box seat section in the first rows of the grandstand. So, the right in front of us was the center stage where the stage actually collapsed.
[Holmes:] Were you call I understand announcements were being made about the weather. And giving people a heads-up, if there needs to be an evacuation, this is what you do. But you all the crowd was never told, hey, you need to go seek shelter, were you?
[Whitehead:] No, we weren't. Actually, someone came out and there were kind of mixed emotions as he was walking out because I think most people assumed they were going to cancel the concert, because off to the west we could, you know, see the dark clouds and kind of a storm rolling in. And I guess to a lot of people's surprise, it wasn't that it was canceled that they were going to go on with the show. So, we kind of assumed that maybe it was going to move, you know, in a different direction. And then about I think about five, 10 minutes later is probably five minutes later is when the stage actually collapsed when the wind gusts came in.
[Holmes:] Well, Cory, it sounds like, you're saying that the weather got bad enough that you were surprised that they were going to continue on with the show. Just how nasty was the weather getting. And were you considering just going on your own and getting the heck out of there?
[Whitehead:] You know, we actually did. Right after the man left the stage, several people started leaving because of how bad the weather did look. You know, we just partly, you know, we didn't want to be in grandstands when it was lightning. We saw lightning off in the distance. So
[Holmes:] And, Cory, these pictures were incredible. Was your head in the direction were your eyes fixed on the stage when this big wind gust came? And I guess, just describe for me, and a lot of people just describe it, it seemed like it was some slow motion as this began to come down.
[Whitehead:] Yes. We had decided to leave, and so we were just talking out, turned around because there was a lot of wind coming. It got cooler. And there was just a lot of dust. Actually, a lot of dust was going in people's eyes and mouth. So, we turned around as we saw a tarp fly off and the speaker fall off and the stage just kind of cracked and fell fell on to the crowd. So, yes, we did see that happen.
[Holmes:] And, Cory, last thing, too. Just the aftermath, we've seen this video, people are trying desperately to try and get under there and get to the people who are trapped. Just how many maybe not even an exact number, but give us an idea of how many people were under there when this stage came down and also just describe the scene afterwards, as it looked like people were desperately trying to lift up as much of the steel and the stage and get under there and rescue folks.
[Whitehead:] Yes, I would say maybe 100 people were under that. You know, obviously, I don't know for sure. But it was pretty chaotic as people were going in several different directions. Some people trying to call friends and family. Some people are just trying to get to their cars. Others, you know, of course, as some of the video showed went to try to lift up the scaffolding which is heroic, and I'm sure that helped
[Holmes:] All right. Cory Whitehead, we appreciate you taking the time with us this morning after the night you and many people there in Indianapolis just had. Thank you so much for your time.
[Whitehead:] Yes, thank you.
[Holmes:] All right. We're at eight minutes past the hour now. Let's turn back to Iowa now. All eyes were on Iowa yesterday. The big straw poll is taking place. So, after all the campaigning, all the speeches and all the news coverage, the results, please.
[Matt Strawn, Chairman, Iowa Republican Party:] With 16,892 Iowans voting, the winner of the 2011 Iowa straw poll is Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.
[Holmes:] Well, there it is. Not necessarily a surprise to anybody there. A big win for Michele Bachmann in that Ames Iowa straw poll a poll that may mean more for the losers than the winners. But even before the vote in Iowa, the political game changed with another announcement that happened in another state.
[Gov. Rick Perry , Texas:] It is time to get America working again. And that's why, with the support of my family an unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today as a candidate for the president of the United States.
[Holmes:] That's Texas Governor Rick Perry, makes it official. He is in the race for the White House. Take a look at the screen here now and see how everybody going to finish in this Iowa poll. Even though Perry wasn't campaigning in Iowa, he still managed to pull a few votes there. CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser breaks down the numbers and tells us where Perry's showing or why, it was actually pretty impressive.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] Hey, good morning, T.J. You know, Michele Bachmann, she was already at the top of the polls here in Iowa, in the first state to vote in the primary caucus calendar. Now, by winning this crucial straw poll in Ames, Iowa, she's further cemented her front-runner status in this very important state in the road to the Republican nomination. Here's what Bachmann tells supporters soon after winning the straw poll.
[Rep. Michele Bachmann , Presidential Candidate:] Thank you, everyone. We did this together. Thank you, everyone, for coming together. And thank you so much. What we saw happen today is this the very first step towards taking the White House in 2012 and you have just sent a message to Barack Obama will be a one-term president.
[Steinhauser:] A close second-place finish for Ron Paul, the Congressman from Texas who is making a third bid for the White House. A distant third place finish is former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty who now has questions about whether his campaign will continue. And a fourth place finish for Rick Santorum, the former Senator from Pennsylvania. He's actually pretty happy with that finish. He says his small modest campaign can continue. The biggest surprise here, I guess, Rick Perry, the Texas governor who on the same day as the straw poll announce he was running for president. He wasn't on the ballot here, but he finished ahead of Mitt Romney and three other candidates on the ballot. T.J., back to you.
[Holmes:] You can be sure to tune into to our good friend, Candy Crowley, "THE STATE OF THE UNION." She'll have Michele Bachmann as her guest, talking about that Iowa. Also, her fellow presidential candidate, Herman Cain, will also be there. "STATE OF THE UNION" comes your way at 9:00 Eastern Time. Eleven minutes past the hour now. It's day two of Philadelphia's expanded curfew. It brought fewer reports of arrest. We saw at least 50 people rounded up when they broke curfew Friday night. Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 have to be off the streets by 9:00 p.m. It used to be a midnight curfew on the weekends. The city kept 20 recreation centers open last night to give teenagers an alternative to hanging out on the street. Mayor Michael Nutter expanded the curfew after several high-profile mob attacks. Also, Pakistani police have detained several possible suspects on the wake of an abduction of an American from his home in Lahore. Warren Weinstein works for a development company based in Virginia. His picture we can put here for you now. Actually, I don't have the picture. I apologize. Now, eight armed men abducted him from his home, actually overpowered his guards. They have no claims for responsibility or demands just yet. Also, take a look, you remember this video. It's video that angered a lot of people, including the prime minister, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. This shows a young man after being beaten during the riot in London. It looked like people were trying going to help him but then they are actually robbed him. You see that, somebody going in his backpack, looking through it. He was just standing there bleeding, needing assistance at the time. Well, we can report that now, one of the guys on the tape is in custody. He is one of more than 2,100 people picked up by police during last week's riots. Air conditioning has probably made your electric bill a bit steeper this summer, certainly depending on where you live. But just wait for your water bill to come in. We'll explain why the heat may be to blame for that, too. And let us say good morning once again to Alexandra Steele, in for Reynolds Wolf. Always good to have you here with us. We talked about some relief in Texas. But now, they're just going right back to the way things were before.
[Alexandra Steele, Ams Meteorologist:] Back to the 100s today. Talk about water, though. What we're going to see, T.J., too much water, especially in the Mid-Atlantic, flooding Philadelphia, Washington, New York, we'll talk about what's in store four. A very soggy Sunday. Also, the tropic is heating up. A T.D. seven has formed. We'll tell you who could be under the gun. That's all coming up. I'll meet you back here right after the break.

[Candy Crowley:] A December to remember for President Obama, a deal on the Bush tax cut extension, approval of his missile reduction treaty with the Russians and repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The guy who took of for a Christmas vacation in Hawaii did not look or sound like the same one who got nailed in the November elections.
[President Barack Obama:] I'm doing a whole lot of reflecting and there are going to be areas in policy where we're going to have to do a better job. You know, I think that over the last two years we have made a series of very tough decisions. This has been the most productive post-election period we've had in decades and it comes on the heels of the most productive two years that we've had in generations. There's a reason we have two parties in this country, in both Democrats and Republicans who have certain beliefs and certain principles that each feels cannot be compromised. We are not doomed to endless gridlock. We've shown in the wake of the November elections that we have the capacity, not only to make progress but to make progress together.
[Crowley:] A good month for the president, but in politics as in war, sic transit gloria, all glory is fleeting. It's the next two years that will determine whether he gets another four. The as an invigorated president takes a holiday break, his spokesman Robert Gibbs. And a year after the Christmas day bomber the state of play this holiday season with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Then the broad view with former intelligence heads General Michael Hayden and Admiral Mike McConnell. And really getting to know our guest this is year.
[Unidentified Male:] There was a big construction project on Capitol Hill near the house that I live in, with George Miller and Chuck Schumer, and we were inundated by rats, I mean it.
[Crowley:] I'm Candy Crowley. And this is State of the Union. Joining me here in Washington, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Happy holidays to you.
[Gibbs:] Happy holidays to you.
[Crowley:] thanks for being here. Let me take a slightly different view of the great, great month for the president, and it was, but let me argue that there was something hanging over his head, and that is you all didn't want January to come while you watched every American have a paycheck that got smaller. So there's nothing like something hanging over your head to get something done. What about this lame duck session encourages you that when you get to big ticket items and cutting spending, and other things, immigration reform, that you're actually going to be able to duplicate the kind of let's call it cranky bipartisanship that we saw in December.
[Gibbs:] Well, I would say this, Candy, I think you're absolutely right that I think neither party wanted to see taxes go up on middle class families.
[Crowley:] The true goal.
[Gibbs:] Right. And look, the president did not want to see tax cuts extended for millionaires and billionaires but we didn't have the votes for our position to prevail. You're right we are going to have some tough issues coming into the next congress and over the next couple of years. I think a couple of things can help what has happened in the last few weeks bleed over into next year. I think, and you heard the president say this at his year-end news conference, there was a responsibility of government that I think the Republicans got in the November elections and they began to understand that responsibility a little bit more in this lame duck than they had in the previous, quite frankly, 18 or so months. They realize now...
[Crowley:] They didn't have the responsibility in the last 18 or so months that they have now.
[Gibbs:] Exactly my point. They understand that to a certain degree, they have had over the past few weeks in this lame duck session and they're definitely going to have on January 5th responsibility for running half of congress. They can't afford any longer to just simply sit and say no, they have to be part of a constructive conversation, and I think that's what exactly what happened. I think also everyone put aside politics and partisan interests to put forward what was best for the American people. There will be plenty of time for an election in 2012 and for elections beyond. Let's resolve to make 2011 a year in which both political parties can put aside future political gains and decide to concentrate on what's best for the American people.
[Crowley:] I just never thought of you as an optimist but let me say Mitch McConnell, senate Republican leader told me in a recent interview so I said where do you want what next? Where can you see yourself coming together with the president? He said entitlement reform. I can see us doing that. Are you game at the White House for entitlement reform? And what does that mean specifically? Would you agree to a larger, a higher age for retirement and Social Security? Would you agree for some sort of means testing of Medicare? Where are you all willing to look?
[Gibbs:] Well look, I think you've touched on what we need most of all and that is a willingness for both political parties to sit at that table, like we did for the tax agreement, like we did for the START agreement, though we didn't have Senator McConnell's support on that, and be willing to discuss issues. The president obviously wants to strengthen our entitlement programs for future generations. We have to do something about our mid and long-term deficit and debt problems. We have an education plan that has to be reauthorized every few years. That's coming up next year, and I think that provides an occasion for bipartisanship. But I think most of all, each of these two parties and we are certainly hopeful that the Republicans come into next year with a willingness to sit down at that table and begin having a discussion about how we're going to make progress. Sometimes the first step is the biggest one.
[Crowley:] So you're going to have to cut programs. I think everybody does know that. So you have it seems to me some sort of competing things here. You have the base of the party that says wait a second, don't cut Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, you know, the tax cuts are what's really to blame for this. And they're afraid the president and they are going to get the blame for this.
[Gibbs:] Well, let's understand what we got as Democrats and progressives out of this tax agreement. Middle class families as you started off this interview saying won't see their tax bill go up. Middle class families will see money directly in their pockets as a result of a payroll tax cut and for people who have lost their jobs as a result of reckless decisions made on Wall Street aren't going to have to play politics or have politics played with them in terms of their unemployment benefits. We could have fought this for a few months. We could have hoped that the polls didn't blame everybody as they would have for people's taxes going up, and when we come back into congress in January and probably not gotten half of what we had gotten. So I think first and foremost this president, this president was animated by one single thing, what is the best thing for our economy and that tax agreement was the very best thing we could have done for our economy.
[Crowley:] A couple of quick issues. The first is, we are a month away from being a year late in closing down Guantanamo Bay prison. When is that prison going to close?
[Gibbs:] I don't it's certainly not going to close in the next month. I think it's probably going to be a while before that prison closes.
[Crowley:] Another year?
[Gibbs:] I think part of this depends on the Republicans' willingness to work with the administration on this. And the question is, are Republicans willing to listen to General David Petraeus? Are they willing to listen to others in the national security arena that have told us and will tell them and quite frankly told the public that al Qaeda recruits young people to do harm, to try to blow up airplanes, to blow up themselves and kill others. They use that as a recruiting tool. The question is are we going to continue to have and let al Qaeda use Guantanamo Bay as a recruiting tool?
[Crowley:] The Republicans did not figure into the president's promise to close down Guantanamo Bay when he was campaigning. You could close it down, but you're not closing it down. So what is holding you back? It's that you don't have anyplace to put them, correct?
[Gibbs:] Well, obviously there are prohibitions legislatively on the transfer of some of the prisoners that are there into some part of this country, some would be tried in federal courts as we've seen done in the past, some would be tried in military commissions, likely spending the rest of their lives in a maximum security prison that nobody, including terrorists, have ever escaped from and some regrettably will have to be indefinitely detained, I say regrettably not because it's a bad thing necessarily for them in terms of the fact that they're very dangerous people and we have to make sure that even if we can't prosecute them, we're not putting them back out on the battlefield.
[Crowley:] Why is it so hard to replace Larry Summers who was supposed to leave in the fall, top economic adviser to the president? Where is his replacement?
[Gibbs:] Well, first and foremost Larry continues to be on the job and helping the president and the economic team and will do so through the end of the year. I expected the president will make an announcement on a new NEC director probably the first week or two weeks after congress comes back into session. I think obviously it's an important part of our economic team, and the president wants to take some time to make a good decision because as you mentioned we have had a lot on our plates the last couple weeks.
[Crowley:] You have. And quickly, do you expect big changes in cabinet shuffles?
[Gibbs:] I don't expect quite honestly big changes. I think we've had a very capable and good cabinet that has helped move the president's agenda forward. I think there's obviously a lot that has to be done at Treasury to implement financial reform at HHS to implement health care reform. And I think we have very talented team.
[Crowley:] And the president is running for re-election. Can we write that sentence?
[Gibbs:] I don't he has not told me that but I would assume most of most people are planning for that likely to happen, yes.
[Crowley:] Certainly you have David Axelrod leaving the White House to start up the re-election, so it would come as news to you if the president wasn't going to run for re-election?
[Gibbs:] It would come as news to me because I think, Candy, he understands that there's a lot of work that's left to do. When he walked into that White House, we were shedding 700,000, 800,000 jobs in a month. Now for 11 straight months we've added jobs. So we're making progress and I know he wants to continue making that progress and finish those jobs.
[Crowley:] Robert Gibbs, happy New Year.
[Gibbs:] Happy New Year. Thanks for having me.
[Crowley:] Up next, one year after a failed terror plot on Christmas Day, is the U.S. any safer?

[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Good Thursday morning to you. Thank you so much for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. It's very good to have you with us today. I'm John Roberts.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] I'm Kiran Chetry. We want to get you caught up on what's going on. First of all, some scary moments in the skies over Singapore for passengers on board a Qantas Airbus A-380, saying one of the plane's engines exploded and fell apart shortly after taking off. The pilot made an emergency landing. Everyone, OK. Qantas, though, is grounding its entire fleet of A-380s until they can figure out what caused this.
[Roberts:] What's next for Nancy Pelosi now that the Democrats have been dismantled in the House? The nation's first female speaker has to decide if she wants to be the next minority leader. And if she does, will fellow Democrats even throw their support behind her? A live report from Capitol Hill is just ahead.
[Chetry:] And we are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Tomas as it makes its way toward Haiti right now, with hurricane warnings in effect for that island nation. We're going to check in with Rob Marciano and find out more about the storm's path.
[Roberts:] A midair emergency to tell you about this morning in the skies over Singapore. Qantas Airbus 380, that's the world's largest passenger plane, the double-decker, forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore after one of its engines ripped apart just six minutes after takeoff.
[Chetry:] Yes, it was a double-decker super jumbo, 459 passengers and crew, headed from Singapore to Sidney, Australia, when witnesses said they heard what sounded like an explosion.
[Ulf Washbusch, Passenger:] As you can see on the pictures, there was engine damage that happened about five minutes or so after takeoff from Singapore on Qantas QF-32 to Sydney. We heard a loud bang. And I was on the side where the engine is. A loud bang. A little bit of flares for a short time and the engine shut off pretty much immediately from the flight deck.
[Chetry:] Let's bring Zane Verjee right now. She is at the Singapore airport. Do we have any more information on what may have happened to the engine, Zane?
[Zane Verjee, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, the investigation has now started, Kiran. But I want you to take a look at the picture of the engine here. If you can if you look at it, you can see that the main engine is still pretty much intact but if you look a little bit further back, you see that parts of the engine is missing. That's called the cowling. It's something that closes off the engine and just fell off. I spoke to an aviation expert who said that there could be two causes here. There could be an engine malfunction or a foreign object could have gone inside the engine. And we don't know what really happened. It is not clear. But that's what some of the experts are saying. The CEO of Qantas had this to say about the engine.
[Alan Joyce, Qantas Ceo:] I'm not sure of what's actually happened with the debris and the authorities is looking at exactly what did occur on this and why parts of the engine cowl which it looks like left the aircraft and fell into on to the ground. We are still looking at what exactly was the cause of that.
[Verjee:] Qantas is saying safety is number one for their passengers and, you know, some of the passengers that are speaking said that they were really lucky Kiran.
[Roberts:] Yes. Zane, when you look at that picture, too, you can see a little bit of smoke or fire damage behind the forward part of the engine cell, as well, which may be a suggestion that maybe it was the main fan that had some sort of a problem. But the passengers that you talked to coming off of that plane, obviously, they're shaken up by what happened. Anybody would be. What did they tell you?
[Verjee:] Well, they were. They were escorted out by security after being here for such a long time and being briefed. Some of them didn't want to talk, most of them actually. The only thing to say was, John, the staff was great. The staff was excellent. Everyone handled it really well. There were a couple of people that came out and said that they heard a couple of bangs. I spoke to one person a short while ago who said this there was one loud bang, a jolt and then a flash. He said it was like lightning have struck us. There were four holes in the wing. He said that there was one big hole and three smaller ones. They're all at hotel now and they're hoping to fly out to Australia tomorrow John, Kiran.
[Chetry:] All right, Zane Verjee for us at the Singapore airport. Good on the pilot, though, to be able to land that huge jet.
[Roberts:] And very lucky, too, that when, you know, parts of that engine blew through and took off the cowling and into the wing they didn't hit the fuel tank or cut any fuel lines, because that could have been catastrophic if that happened.
[Chetry:] Very lucky this morning. Well, things change quickly when it comes to politics as we saw the results of the midterms yesterday. Democrats and Republicans are now talking about getting together over a couple of Slurpees. Yesterday, President Obama said that he and the Democrats took a shellacking this week and he's ready to sit down with Republicans to find a better way forward.
[Roberts:] And remember the mantra that he repeated over and over again on the campaign trail, how Republicans sipping Slurpees on the sidelines while Democrats were trying to push the car out of the ditch? Well, that line came back to haunt him yesterday.
[Reporter:] Thank you, Mr. President. I want to ask if you're going to have John Boehner over far Slurpees.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I might serve they're delicious drinks.
[Reporter:] Since
[Obama:] The Slurpee summit. That's good, Chuck, I like that.
[Roberts:] Our Brianna Keilar live on Capitol Hill this morning. She herself a fan of the Slurpee.
[Chetry:] The Coke Slurpee.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Coke Slurpee.
[Roberts:] The president and speaker in waiting, John Boehner, got a lot to discuss. Both of them do seem willing to get started what's on the surface at least looks like a positive development.
[Keilar:] Yes, on the surface, at least, John and Kiran, a spokesman for John Boehner saying, let's hope the president will work with us to cut spending, stop the tax hikes and get our economy working again and then the humor here and then we can all go get Slurpees together. The new wicked apple flavor sounds awesome. So, this is funny. But is it really going to happen? Is there going to be bipartisanship? And one of the reasons the people are skeptical is because you just look at the make-up of what the new Congress will be, Republicans have picked up some Republicans very far to the right so you think that they shift over to the right, and Democrats have lost some of their more moderate members. So, you would think that they might become a little more entrenched to the left. And then, of course, Democrats are still in control of the Senate. So, where might they find some area of agreement? Well, it's certainly not health care reform because Republican leaders have made it very clear that that may be on the chopping block although they're downplaying necessarily completely taking that off the table or repealing health care reform as it is perhaps spending cuts. And the best I can tell you about this, guys, as I talked to Democrats and Republicans, and they say this may be an area where we can find agreement, but specifically, what are the spending cuts going to be and, at this point, they can't tell us, guys.
[Chetry:] Nobody wants to get specific about that. It's also interesting when you talk about Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House, what her future may be. Any indication?
[Keilar:] Yes, what is she going to do? This was the question even before election night. Is she going to stay at the helm of Democrats as minority leader or will she do what some other speakers have done? Is she going to step aside or is she going to get out of Congress altogether? She had an interview last night with Diane Sawyer and here's what she said
[Diane Sawyer, Abc News:] Are the odds you'll stay?
[Rep. Nancy Pelosi , California:] I'm as I said to you, in our caucus, we do things by consensus and when we have that consensus, we'll have some announcement to make.
[Keilar:] So, she's trying to gauge support. And what she is doing, and this is standard after any election, she's calling every single Democrat in the House, mostly either to say congratulations or just to touch base with them if they did lose. And so, she'd be gauging support in that way. But at this point, we don't know what the support is there. What I can tell you is that Republicans jockeying and throwing their hats in the ring for leadership positions, Democrats are in a holding pattern. They're waiting to see what Speaker Pelosi does, if stays or goes. The majority leader, Steny Hoyer, saying he's not going to run for anything he's not going to run to be the leader if she is running. So, everyone is just kind of waiting.
[Roberts:] Licking their wounds this morning. Hey, I have one question. Is the flavor wicked apple or was that his description of it?
[Keilar:] No. I think the flavor is wicked apple.
[Roberts:] OK.
[Chetry:] It's probably so sour, you know. It makes you start to wink funny.
[Keilar:] Yes, I agree.
[Chetry:] I can't get it with the Slurpees. I'm sorry. But I know what to get you now if you ever come up to New York.
[Keilar:] Yes, please. Thirty-six ounces.
[Roberts:] Every one of those in your stocking for Christmas. Brianna Keilar this morning Brianna, thanks. Coming up on eight minutes after the hour:, also new this morning: Mexican police say two students from the University of Texas in El Paso were gunned down in Juarez, Mexico, this week. One of the students was a U.S. citizen. The other was Mexican. The border city is one of the world's deadliest. Last month alone, gunmen killed more than 350 people in Juarez.
[Chetry:] Well, U.S. authorities seized 30 tons of marijuana after an elaborate underground tunnel was discovered connecting a drug warehouse in Tijuana to San Diego. A 600-yard border tunnel equipped with lighting, ventilation and a crude railroad system to move the drugs. As one official put it: "Not a good day for the cartels."
[Roberts:] More than million homeless people in Haiti are bracing for a hurricane this morning. There are hurricane warnings right now with Tomas intensifying again. It could be a category 1 storm again by the time it hits tonight or tomorrow morning.
[Chetry:] Nine minutes past the hour. Let's get a check of the morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the extreme weather for us. Hey, Rob.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Good morning, guys. Yes, Tomas is getting a little bit of strength overnight after being downgraded to a tropical depression. Here it is, about 150 miles south of Kingston, Jamaica, about 300 miles south of Port-au- Prince, Haiti. As of the last advisory which just came in minutes ago, they haven't increased the strength of this thing, but it looks like it's getting a little bit more organized. And the forecast is for it to intensify to hurricane status once again. If not that, it will be a strong tropical storm and it doesn't really matter talking about Haiti and Port-au-Prince. We'll follow those tent cities. There's no place for these people to evacuate. You don't need much in the way of wind. So, even a tropical storm force winds here is going to be a problem and there's going to be some heavy rain, as well. We continue to track this situation as we go through the afternoon. Meanwhile, a lot of rain from New York down to Miami. Look at this mess. This is kind of affecting Tomas a little bit as far as pulling it to the north, but away from the U.S. Heavy rainfall across New York, Philly, D.C.; problems with travel both on the ground and in the air this morning, it's kind of a mess. But the weekend, or at least tomorrow afternoon and through Sunday, looks better but cool. A lot of cool air driving down, all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. Still warm and relatively dry out west across southern California. They got up to 100 degrees yesterday record-breaking temperatures there. And I tell you what. There might be some flakes of snow flying on the backside of this. Don't expect any sort of accumulation but it will be a reminder that winter is right around the corner. John and Kiran, back up to you.
[Chetry:] Triple-digits in California.
[Roberts:] California, here I come.
[Marciano:] Exactly.
[Roberts:] Thanks, rob.
[Marciano:] All right, guys.
[Chetry:] So, can they all get along? A look at what the next two years could look like with Speaker John Boehner. Ten minutes past the hour.

[Lemon:] That means politics, and specifically, we'll talk convention politics right now. Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, will speak at the Republican National Convention in Florida on Tuesday now, instead of Monday. Originally, scheduled for Monday. Now she'll do it on Tuesday. The Romney camp decided to delay her speech by a day after learning that the big three broadcast networks would not be carrying the first night of the convention live. So the party considers Ann Romney a strong asset for her husband's campaign, and moving her to Tuesday night will ensure a larger audience for her primetime speech. Vice President Joe Biden also making a schedule change. He's canceled the campaign events scheduled for Monday in Tampa because of Tropical Storm Isaac. Campaign officials say local law enforcement should stay focused on protecting citizens and emergency response efforts. Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, are not in Tampa yet. They made a stop this morning in Ohio. It is a state that, like Florida, is crucial to their White House hopes. They have been outside Columbus and drew thousands of people. Romney actually had President Obama's convention speech on his mind.
[Mitt Romney, , Former Massachusetts Governor & Presidential Candidate:] As he lays out all these wonderful things he's going to do, people are going to stop and say, but how are you going to do something different than last time? They have experienced the last four years. They know if they re-elect him they get four more years of the same. It is not his words that people have to listen to. It is his action and his record. And if they look at that, they will take him out of the office and put people into the office that will actually get America going again.
[Mark Preston, Cnn Senior Political Director:] They certainly are. It's been a very tough week for the Romney campaign. Don, they wanted to stay on message and talk about the economy and have people focus on it. In the run-up with the convention next week, that's been sidetracked by the controversy regarding Todd Akin, the congressman from Missouri who is running for Senate, who said some very, very strong language that has been very embarrassing to the Republican Party regarding rape. In addition to that, we have this storm right now that is charging up into the gulf coast and will, in some way, impact where we are here in Tampa right now. Mitt Romney wants to talk about the economy. He wants to rally his base as he heads into next week. That's exactly what he was trying to do this morning, don.
[Lemon:] They are trying to get back on message. Yesterday talking about the birth certificate, he said it was a joke. But whatever it was, it took him off message and now the headlines are that instead of what he wanted it to be. Let's listen and talk about the storm. What's happening there? Do they pretty much think it's not going to affect the situation in Tampa?
[Preston:] Yes, so from this level right now, I've been speaking to somebody who is on all the telephone calls between the state, the local and the federal officials, as well as the RNC officials trying to figure out how they will handle the storm when it comes up towards Tampa. Now we know it will not be, or we are told it will not be a direct impact on Tampa, which is very good news. 50,000 people from across the country are expected to be here in Tampa. They've started to arrive in the past couple of days. But what I have been told is there is concern about very high winds. Winds that could, in fact, close down the bridges. And get this, Don, it's not to evacuate people from this area. It's actually to get some of the delegates to the convention center. There's no one talking right now, even privately on the telephone calls, about evacuating at all. But, yes, the convention right now, the organizers have got to be a little concerned because, right now, what are we talking about? We are talking about the weather, not Mitt Romney's message.
[Lemon:] Absolutely. And also getting people in with the airports, too. If the winds are high and if there's bad weather, that could affect them there. Listen, I mentioned that the vice president was not going to go. He's not going to go to Tampa. That's probably a good idea, a good strategy on his part.
[Preston:] Yes, a very good strategy. In fact, I can tell you there were officials down here in Florida that did not want the vice president to come down here. The resources are so taxed right now with the convention, had he come in he would have had to pull the law enforcement resources away. In addition to that, with the storm coming in, it was a smart move for him not to come here. However, there is a war room, so to speak, a political war room, being run by the Democratic National Committee in the Obama campaign. And I've been told by one campaign official that, in fact, that war room will shut down if the Republican National Committee decides to curtail their political event down here. So politics is still very much at play, but I do have to say this. Everyone is a professional. If things tend to head south, so to speak, we'll see both political parties show a little bit of respect for one another and to stop the politicking, at least temporarily Don?
[Lemon:] OK. We hope. Thank you, Mark Preston. Don't forget, CNN's live coverage of the Republican National Convention starts Sunday night at 7:00 eastern right here on CNN. And then again Monday night, at 8:00 p.m. eastern, we'll present a profile of soon-to-be presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. Gloria Borgia is doing it, as a matter of fact "Romney Revealed, Family, Faith and the Road to Power." It's going to air again, 8:00 here eastern on CNN. A harrowing video showing toddlers being forced to fight each other. And it all happened at a day care center. Attorney Holly Hughes is joining us next to talk about the case. But first, one way to get through a difficult circumstance is to talk with someone who has been through it. That's the premise of Imerman's Angels, connecting cancer patient with survivors. Meet Jonny Imerman, our "CNN Hero" of the week.
[Jonny Imerman, Cnn Hero:] All of a sudden, it was like somebody took a syringe and stabbed me directly in my left testicle. At 26, I was diagnosed with cancer, so I had to go right into chemo. In the hospital, I saw these people by themselves. I could see the fear. My goal was to get in there and motivate patients so that they wanted to jump out of the chemo bed and literally start swinging at this thing. My name is Jonny Imerman. I'm a two-time testicular cancer survivor. And I created an organization to make sure that people diagnosed with cancer are able to reach a survivor. [on camera]: You need to be strong and listen to your body. It'll tell you what you need to do. [voice-over]: It started with a few survivors sharing information one to one with somebody diagnosed with the exact same cancer.
[Unidentified Female:] As a 29-year-old healthy young adult, cancer is not a part of our language. I'm really happy I have this community that Jonny has built.
[Imerman:] We have helped people in over 60 countries. We have matched over 8,000 total since inception.
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[Imerman:] It's a brother and a sister, and that's for sure. [voice-over]: We help people of all ages caregivers, spouses. We will help the parents connect to other parents. And they just get a ton of young adults who share stories, they listen, you learn.
[Unidentified Male:] I was 30 years old when I was diagnosed and I wanted to make it until my son was at least 5. And I'm still here today.
[Imerman:] We help each other.
[Unidentified Male:] That's the kind of information you need to hear from somebody who's been through it. There's really no other way.
[Imerman:] I don't really count the days since cancer because every day is a good day. I'm happy I got out of bed this morning. Life is amazing.
[Lemon:] Imerman's Angels. Nominate your hero now at CNNheros.com. Nominations for this year close next week.

[Juan Martinez, Prosecutor:] You told me you found the defendant to be truthful.
[Alyce Laviolette, Domestic Violence Expert:] I found her to be credible, yes, I did.
[Jodi Arias, Charged With Murder:] The truth is, I did not hurt Travis.
[Martinez:] Did you speak to her father about her truthfulness growing up?
[Laviolette:] No, I did not.
[Unidentified Male:] She hid everything from us and always has.
[Laviolette:] Her pattern of untruthfulness.
[Martinez:] Was after the murder, correct?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] She was
[Martinez:] There are always two sides to every issue, aren`t there.
[Laviolette:] The truth is worse than either story.
[Martinez:] You didn`t talk to Mr. Alexander, did you.
[Laviolette:] No, I did not.
[Martinez:] Because he`s been killed, right?
[Laviolette:] Yes. There were collateral sources that said she was manipulative.
[Martinez:] That the defendant was manipulative in her interaction with men, correct?
[Laviolette:] He says she used them.
[Unidentified Male:] Was it at her insistence or his request?
[Unidentified Female:] I didn`t ask.
[Unidentified Male:] Why not?
[Unidentified Female:] Oh, maybe I`m just old fashioned. I don`t know. I just I didn`t ask because she said she didn`t like it.
[Laviolette:] My expertise is in domestic violence, not in orgasms.
[Martinez:] If she is manipulative with men, you would agree that Travis Alexander was a man, right?
[Laviolette:] Yes, he was.
[Martinez:] In basing your opinion, you based it on the word of one person that was involved in the relationship, right?
[Laviolette:] If you were in my group, I would ask you to take a time- out, Mr. Martinez.
[Grace:] Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. After Jodi Arias slashes and shoots her lover, Travis Alexander, to death, leaving his body to rot in a dripping-wet shower stall, bombshell tonight. Right now, a ferocious fight raging on between the prosecution and Arias`s second, Alyce LaViolette. After weeks on the stand, LaViolette finally admitting Arias may have lied to her all along, rendering LaViolette`s diagnosis absolutely worthless! The prosecution has been shredding LaViolette all day long, revealing LaViolette did not try to discover the truth, even when she is confronted with evidence from Arias`s co-workers, her friends, even her own father, who all insist Arias is a manipulative liar, lying since childhood, but LaViolette inexplicably still believing Arias`s web of lies. Well, that may be OK in the outside world, but this is the murder trial, where the sole aim of everyone is to seek the truth. As fireworks continue to blast in the courtroom, jury questions are piling up, so we all know what`s coming. Welcome, everyone. We are camped out live in front of that Phoenix courthouse, bringing you the very latest. Right now, let`s go straight into the courtroom for testimony.
[Martinez:] Let`s assume a pattern of jealous behavior. That`s what we`re talking about. Can we assume that for purposes of this discussion?
[Laviolette:] So you`re assuming...
[Martinez:] No, I`m asking you to just think about this in terms of a pattern of jealous behavior. Can you do that?
[Laviolette:] You`re asking me to hypothetical?
[Martinez:] Yes, of course.
[Laviolette:] And a hypothetical that I have no evidence of.
[Martinez:] It`s a hypothetical, ma`am. Can you do that?
[Laviolette:] I can sure try.
[Martinez:] Let`s assume that the defendant has a pattern, a hypothetical pattern of jealousy. You don`t see a pattern of jealousy in the journals, do you.
[Laviolette:] No, I don`t.
[Martinez:] But that lack of pattern in these journals could be because of the law of attraction because that`s a negative energy kind of emotion or pattern, right?
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. Speculation. Sustained.
[Martinez:] Well, this law of attraction, this energy that you`ve talked about, you`re saying that a pattern of jealousy is a positive thing under the law of attraction?
[Laviolette:] I never said that.
[Martinez:] It`s a negative thing, isn`t it.
[Laviolette:] A pattern of jealousy is a negative thing.
[Martinez:] Yes! Right. And so that goes against the law of attraction, doesn`t it, where you put out positive vibes, right?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Martinez:] And so if the defendant exhibited a pattern of jealousy throughout her life and didn`t write about it in those journals, the reason could be because of the law of attraction that you`ve talked to us about, right?
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. Speculation. Overruled.
[Martinez:] Right?
[Laviolette:] Nobody has indicated she has a pattern of jealousy.
[Martinez:] I just indicated it to you.
[Laviolette:] You`ve indicated it in...
[Unidentified Female:] Objection.
[Laviolette:] ... in a hypothetical.
[Unidentified Female:] Overruled.
[Martinez:] I indicated it to you, and you`re saying that even if it`s my point is this. This pattern of jealousy, if there is one, would not show up in those journals because she wouldn`t write about it, right?
[Laviolette:] Probably not.
[Martinez:] And ma`am, with regard to this pattern of jealousy, one of the things that we can look at for the pattern of jealousy is what an individual has done in this case, the defendant in her other relationships, right? That`s something to look at, right?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] Not only is it what they do, but how they handle things, right?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] You`re aware, for example, that the defendant dated somebody by the name of Robert or Bobby Juarez right?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] And that when the defendant dated Robert or Bobby Juarez, they broke up at one point. You`re familiar with that, right?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] One of the other things that the defendant testified to was that after they broke up, she got on the telephone and called Mr. Juarez...
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. Misstates the entire point of that testimony. Approach, please.
[Grace:] While they are in a sidebar, let`s go to everyone camped outside the courthouse, everyone taking their calls. First to you, Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, "In Session." Jean, all day long, Martinez has been ripping LaViolette to shreds.
[Jean Casarez, "in Session":] Nancy, it has gone from lies to manipulative behavior, really looking at the patterns of Jodi Arias for her whole life, not just in this little bubble of the written word, but her whole life from her father at age 14 saying, We couldn`t believe anything she said beyond that, to right now, and manipulations and jealousies, the patterns with her boyfriends.
[Grace:] Let`s take a look at exactly what Jean is telling us about. It seems as if LaViolette has ignored co-workers, Arias`s friends, even her own parents, who tell police and we`ve caught it in police interrogation tapes saying, She has lied to us since childhood, been deceptive and manipulative. Take a listen to what her own father said.
[Unidentified Male:] When she was in 8th grade, she got busted for growing marijuana with her Tupperware, putting it on top of the roof. We found it and called the sheriff department. And they busted her and then rounded up some of her friends or something, and then we searched her room. That was the first time we`ve ever searched her room. After that, she was so she was kind of, like, something turned in her head that we were nosy parents, and we were going to we were going to search everything she has. So she hid everything from us, and always has since then. She`s never been honest with us since then. And she was only 14 then. She has never been honest with us ever since then.
[Grace:] That is what happened during the police interrogation of Arias`s family. You know, out to you, Beth Karas, also with us at the courthouse. Beth it seems as if the prosecution is right. I mean, many people have labeled Martinez as a big bully, but the reality is, he`s right. It seems as if LaViolette went into the interview with Arias with a bent, with a predisposition, and has ignored a lot of what friends, co- workers, even family have said about her being a liar.
[Beth Karas, "in Session":] Yes, and she really didn`t do herself any favors when she said that 90 percent of communication is nonverbal because almost everything that she did outside of this case, outside of 44 hours of interviewing Jodi Arias, was to look at the written word. She didn`t see any of the speakers. And even when confronted with the phone sex tape that`s the only time you got to hear Travis Alexander and sort of assess his inflection, even you couldn`t see him, isn`t that better than the written word? I mean, even you said 90 percent of communication is nonverbal. And she said, Well, you know, I guess. She had a hard time answering it easily.
[Grace:] Yes, she really did, Beth. You`re right about that. Everyone, I`m about to take you straight into the courtroom. Also joining us tonight, Shawn Alexander, roommate and friend of Travis, who had Jodi Arias on speakerphone the night Travis Alexander`s body was found. And also with me, special guest, sister of O.J. Simpson murder victim Ron Goldman. Kim Goldman, is with us we all remember Kim during the Simpson murder trial with advice to Travis`s family. But right now, I don`t want to miss one moment of testimony. Let`s go in the courtroom, Liz.
[Martinez:] She and Mr. Juarez broke up. You knew that, right?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] After they broke up, the defendant was working at a restaurant. And you`re aware of that, right?
[Laviolette:] I don`t remember.
[Martinez:] If not, assume that that`s what she testified to, OK?
[Laviolette:] OK.
[Martinez:] And she also testified that after the breakup, an older gentleman with a dog-eared Bible came into her restaurant. Assume that. Can you do that?
[Laviolette:] All right.
[Martinez:] Do you know anything about it?
[Laviolette:] No, I don`t.
[Martinez:] And when this individual came in, the defendant testified that this individual was prophesizing the end of the world. Do you know anything about that?
[Laviolette:] No.
[Martinez:] Assume it, then. And according to the defendant, because this individual came in talking about the end of the world, she decided to pick up the phone and call Bobby Juarez. Did you know anything about that?
[Laviolette:] No.
[Martinez:] That`s what she testified to. After she picked up the phone and called Mr. Juarez, she identified herself. Assume that that`s what she testified to. Do you know anything about it?
[Laviolette:] No.
[Martinez:] He hung up on her. Assume that. In your assessment as a domestic violence person who has this schooling, in and of itself, if that`s the first event, that`s really not something that`s too much of concern, is it.
[Laviolette:] No, it isn`t.
[Martinez:] It`s just an individual, as you previously indicated, not wanting to let go, correct?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] Sometimes when people break up, one person wants to let go and the other person usually doesn`t, is the way it works out, right?
[Laviolette:] Right.
[Martinez:] Let`s assume that the defendant also testified that after Mr. Juarez hung up on her the first time, that she called him a second time. Now it`s beginning to get a little bit dicier because she won`t go away, right?
[Laviolette:] It`s not atypical. It`s not unusual.
[Martinez:] It may not be atypical, but it`s not the first telephone call, it`s the second one. It`s now becoming if we`re going to start using the word "pattern," it`s now starting to become a bit of a pattern, right, because it hasn`t happened once, it`s happening again, right? It`s the start of a pattern, right? It could be. So you did consider the issue of secondary gain and decided that there was no problem with that particular issue in this case.
[Laviolette:] I decided that there was domestic violence.
[Unidentified Female:] "I`m for the 10 Commandments. I`m for, Thou shall not kill. But is it wrong to want the perpetrator to get the needle?"
[Unidentified Male:] She just told me she got a gun. I said, What do you need a gun for? She goes, Where I`m going, I might need one. OK
[Martinez:] The information that you considered was that growing up, the defendant liked to play the victim, right?
[Laviolette:] From one source. That was one source.
[Unidentified Female:] "Yesterday marked one year since I broke up with Travis. If it weren`t for his abrupt and tragic passing, I might be filled with a sense of growth, progression and independence."
[Grace:] You know, when I hear that, it makes me sick. She`s writing this entire journal. It`s all a big, fat lie. She`s got blood under her fingernails, caked on her hands, and she`s writing these elaborate journal entries about how she`s supposed to move on after Travis`s death and they`re going to catch the perpetrator, and the needle`s too good for them. The whole while, she`s the killer herself. We`re waiting to take you back into the courtroom as the lawyers lock horns at the judge`s bench in a sidebar. Liz, do you have any of those journal entries for me that the jury hasn`t seen? Yes, let`s go to those. Unleash the lawyers, Jeff Gold, defense attorney in the Phoenix area. He`s camped outside the courthouse with us. Also with us, Atlanta lawyer Holly Hughes. Jeff Gold, it is so dangerous to refer to these journals, you know, but the defense used them to their advantage, and now it`s being fired right back at them in the courtroom.
[Jeff Gold, Defense Attorney:] Yes, it is. I mean, I think that Alyce has held up pretty well, I mean, you know, compared to Samuels, and Juan is using them quite effectively against her.
[Grace:] Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!
[Gold:] But I don`t think...
[Grace:] Is that the gold standard, Dick Samuels?
[Gold:] I don`t think he`s yes, I mean, I`ll tell you, in comparison... ... having Samuels come first was a real good thing for the defense here.
[Grace:] Actually, you`re right.
[Gold:] You know, LaViolette is not an expert really she`s not an expert by trade. She`s... ... and I`m really surprised she`s held up this well. She`s a tough cookie.
[Grace:] You know, Holly Hughes, he`s right. She is not an expert in the true sense of the word amongst us lawyers. When we talk about experts in this sense, we`re talking about psychiatrists, psychologists that treat patients. She gives speeches and she writes dissertations and she gives comments, writes books on the issue, but she is not a treating physician in the true sense of the word. She`s not.
[Holly Hughes, Defense Attorney:] That`s correct. She has no medical degree. But she has a very specialized field of expertise, which is domestic violence, which she has quite rightfully reminded the prosecutor, Juan Martinez, over and over and over. As you see those fireworks, what she is saying I see what you`re trying to do, Mr. Martinez, you`re trying to take me into an area I`m not an expert in.
[Grace:] You know, she has done that very often. Caryn Stark, psychologist, you rephrase it for me. I`m just a trial lawyer, Caryn. And what I`m trying to convey is that Jeff Gold, the defense attorney at the Phoenix courthouse with all of our staff he`s right. She is not an expert in the true sense of the word. She`s not the typical expert you see, and she has told the jury she has testified for the defense far more than she has the prosecution.
[Caryn Stark, Psychologist:] And I agree with you, Nancy, in the fact that this woman has no clinical experience. So what you get from that is the fact that she really shouldn`t be the expert in this case. She`s trying to say that she knows that Jodi Arias has been the victim of domestic violence, and yet she doesn`t have experience dealing with individuals. So how could she possibly know truth, untruth, any of that?
[Grace:] Caryn, did you hear the part where she said that she ignored and didn`t want to talk to Arias about anal sex with Travis Alexander because she`s, quote, "old-fashioned" and didn`t want to talk about anal sex? Well, you know, the first time I ever tried a rape trial, I had never talked about a lot of that before, especially in front of people, but I had to because that was my job. And that`s like going in to for a doctor`s exam, and they go, Well, you know, I`m old-fashioned, you don`t have to take your clothes off. You just tell me what`s wrong. OK, that doesn`t work.
[Stark:] No, Nancy, and you picked up on something very significant. The fact that, what, she`s old-fashioned? I mean, here you have somebody, and anal sex is all over this case. So she needs to be able to talk about anything that comes up.
[Grace:] And Caryn, don`t get me wrong. I`m not judging. I don`t care who`s having...
[Stark:] She`s judging!
[Grace:] ... anal sex or not having anal sex. It`s none of my business.
[Stark:] Nancy, she`s judging.
[Grace:] But what I`m saying is they`re using that as a symptom of domestic abuse, of him forcing her to do that, when it turns out she`s done that with many, many boyfriends before Travis Alexander. Hold on, Caryn, Holly, Jeff. We`re going right back into the courtroom.
[Martinez:] It`s the start of a pattern, right? It could be.
[Laviolette:] It`s possible.
[Martinez:] All right.
[Laviolette:] But it`s also typical for people to make more than one call.
[Martinez:] Ma`am, whether it`s typical or not, I`m asking whether or not it could be the start of a pattern. That`s what I`m asking.
[Laviolette:] It could be.
[Martinez:] And during this second telephone call assume that the defendant has testified that during this second telephone call, she again was able to get ahold of Mr. Juarez. And after Mr. Juarez knew who it was, he again hung up on her. Assume that. In that relationship, assume that they get together. And after they get together, they break up again. And after they break up, Mr. Juarez is staying at his place of residence...
[Laviolette:] I have no evidence prior to Mr. Alexander that she was manipulative with men.
[Martinez:] ... that you`re disbelieving what was said at the Purple Plum about here being manipulative. That`s what you`re telling me, right?
[Laviolette:] ... believe she was manipulative at that time, it doesn`t mean I believe, as a characteristic, that she is.
[Martinez:] So in a sense, what you`re saying is you`re a human lie detector, right?
[Laviolette:] I would not call myself a human lie detector. I think that mischaracterizes me. It appears that could be true. That was their perception.
[Grace:] Whoa! You know, I`ve tried a lot of cases, including homicide, and this is making my head spin, back and forth and back and forth. But this is what the prosecution has got to do to unmask not just LaViolette but Jodi Arias but LaViolette`s basing her assessment on Arias`s pack of lies. Out to the lines. Billy in Florida. Hi, Billy. What`s your question?
[Unidentified Female:] Hi, Nancy. I know this has got to be short tonight, but I`m going to make this simple. People have to remember that Juan is the jury`s voice now. The jury is also upset, just like we all are in the world right now. And they are also he is also speaking out for juror number five. The jury is going to want Alyce to be taken off the stand. What Juan should really do at this point is say, You know what, Alyce? At this point, I have no more questions. We`ve seen where you`re coming from. She has actually made $30,000 over 44 hours in interviews with Jodi and 40 hours now...
[Grace:] Well, Billy in Florida, it ain`t over yet because isn`t it true, Jean Casarez, the jury questions are piling up?
[Casarez:] They sure are, Nancy! We are hearing that there are so many jury questions, they can`t even count them yet.
[Martinez:] In your notes, doesn`t it indicate that the defendant actually signed copies of the manifesto to distribute in case she became famous?
[Laviolette:] I believe those were in my notes.
[Arias:] Before they book me, can I clean myself up a little bit? I did a little tilt on my head and gave a little smile. I knew it would be all over the Internet. So why not? [singing]
[Unidentified Female:] Her friend was talking about Jodi liking to play the victim.
[Arias:] It`s not fair! [singing]: Divine night!
[Grace:] OK, I`m glad I got every last lyric of "Oh Night Divine." That was Jodi Arias winning the "American Idol" behind bars contest. Another battle is raging right now because of the time difference. The testimony ongoing in an Arizona courtroom. A battle between the prosecution, Juan Martinez, and the defense`s single most important witness next to Arias herself, and that is Alyce LaViolette. And right now it is Juan Martinez, the prosecutor`s duty to dismantle her piece by piece. Let`s go to the courtroom.
[Juan Martinez:] Assume that the defendant then said, that indicated that, even though they were broken up, she was still attempting to contact Mr. Juarez. Assume that. She testified to that.
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. Overruled. The jury is directed to recall the testimony previously provided in this trial. You may continue.
[Martinez:] And she was doing things in this attempt to contact him. According to her, she was buying things like groceries and leaving them at his doorstep. Are you aware of anything like that?
[Laviolette:] No.
[Martinez:] Assume that that`s part of the facts in this case. You previously testified that people who are starting to have this pattern, that`s one of the things that they do, they look for excuses to keep contact with the person who has left them, right?
[Laviolette:] Different situation at the end of a relationship. People oftentimes don`t let go right away, but I want to see how far it went and what.
[Martinez:] I`m telling you how far it went. That`s what the defendant testified to.
[Laviolette:] All right.
[Martinez:] That she left things like groceries at his doorstep.
[Laviolette:] All right.
[Martinez:] . for whatever reason. So, again, even though the relationship is over, that indicates that there`s still, on the part of the defendant, some action to keep contact, doesn`t it?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Martinez:] And, again, if we take into account the two calls that were involved and now this contact, it does seem that there`s the beginning of a pattern where the defendant is doing something in a positive fashion to keep the relationship going when the other party is done, right?
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. The foundation and timeline as to over what time period this is actually occurring. Sustained.
[Martinez:] Let`s say it happened within a year. All right? Will you assume that?
[Laviolette:] That there`s a year of constant contact?
[Martinez:] No. Let me put it to you this way. Assume that there`s a breakup, there`s the calls, they get back together, they break up again, and then there`s this contact, leaving things at the door, and that all that happens, let`s say, between six to eight months apart, this whole thing. Assume that.
[Laviolette:] OK.
[Martinez:] And then assume that the defendant told us that they break up again and that the individual, Bobby Juarez, moved to Medford. Do you know anything about that?
[Laviolette:] I don`t know about Bobby Juarez. I don`t know much about Bobby Juarez.
[Martinez:] Well, assume that he moved to a place called Medford, Oregon in the time of the testimony, correct? And after and he started to live with an individual by the name of Matthew McCartney. Do you know anything about that?
[Laviolette:] I do know about that.
[Martinez:] Assume that after Mr. Juarez moved to Medford, Oregon, that the defendant, even though they`d broken up and she`s living somewhere else, she begins.
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. [inaudible] with regard to the breakup at that point. Overruled. Again, the jury is directed to recall the testimony. You may continue.
[Martinez:] After the breakup and Mr. Juarez is in Medford, Oregon, living with Matthew McCartney, she testified that she then started going there on weekends. Assume that. Doesn`t that begin to show a pattern of, number one, telephone calls, then contact at the door, and then after the individual, and they`re broken up, moves away, she`s still starting trying to keep contact. Doesn`t that and this is over a period of many months isn`t that the beginnings of a pattern?
[Unidentified Female:] Objection, judge. Mischaracterizing Miss Arias` testimony as to when the breakup occurred. They were not broken up as to when she was traveling. So the hypothetical is not true. Approach, please.
[Grace:] Dear Lord in heaven, help us all. They`re arguing about whether she was broken up with a guy before, what, she stalked him? This is a murder case. I don`t care who she broke up with in the eighth grade, but if they want to have a sidebar, fine. Because with me right now, I have two very special guests, Shaun Alexander, Travis` roommate, and also had Arias on speakerphone the night his roommate`s dead body was discovered. Also with me, Kim Goldman. We all know Kim and recall her bravery during the Orenthal O.J. Simpson double murder trial. She is the sister of Ron Goldman with some very critical advice for the Alexander family. Joining me right now at the courthouse is Shawn Alexander. Shawn, I`ve just got to ask you what happened the night that Arias was on speakerphone? The night Travis` body was found. I mean, I`m just thinking back to the night that my fiance was murdered and the chaos and the disbelief, and now you`re telling us about the night that Travis Alexander`s body was found. What did Arias have to say? And you heard it on speakerphone.
[Shaun Alexander:] Yeah, we had called real late to go out to Travis` house, and my best friend, Brent Hyatt, was there, and kept getting phone calls over and over and over again from Jodi. And the cops told him not to take it, but you know, he was friends with her. We knew her. And so, we didn`t know what was true and what wasn`t true, who did what at that point. We had no idea what had happened. We just found out he died. So we didn`t know. And he answered the phone. Put it on speakerphone, and me and my wife and he were just sitting there and listening to her. And she was just sobbing. What`s going on? What`s happening? Nobody would tell me anything. Nobody is telling me anything. What`s happening? Why is Why what`s happening? Is Travis dead? I hear he`s dead. They`re saying he`s dead. They won`t tell me anything. Just and when you originally went out there, you thought that she might have been involved on some level, but you didn`t really know, and listening to her side of it right then, you really kind of thought, well, maybe she didn`t have anything to do with this. Maybe this was a freak accident or somebody broke in or who knows? You know, you just didn`t know what to believe. But she makes a very believable case. And she`s very good at that.
[Grace:] So, are you telling me that before you heard her sobbing on the phone, you had suspicions she was involved in the murder?
[Alexander:] I honestly I only did just because of what everybody else was saying.
[Grace:] And what were they saying
[Alexander:] I only met Jodi once.
[Grace:] What were they saying?
[Alexander:] They were just, you know it`s natural. I guess it was just natural for them to think that it was her because of the stalking fact and things like that.
[Grace:] Well, no, no, actually actually, Shaun, when somebody`s murdered, I don`t naturally think of the lover or the girlfriend. Naturally think that.
[Alexander:] Yes.
[Grace:] So, why was it natural that they thought everybody thought she was responsible, in some way, for his murder?
[Alexander:] You know, I mean just with the way that it ended with them and how she was always still involved.
[Grace:] OK.
[Alexander:] And it just seemed like a very strange, weird deal in general. So, you know, I don`t know. That`s just what they were thinking.
[Grace:] So hearing her sobbing on the phone that night, you believed her?
[Alexander:] Yeah. Absolutely.
[Grace:] So what does that say to you?
[Alexander:] Or I wouldn`t I didn`t you know, I didn`t know.
[Grace:] Yeah. What does that say to you today about her believability?
[Alexander:] And she`s very convincing, absolutely. And that`s the kind of scariest part about her, I guess, is that she`s very calculating, very manipulative, and very believable. And she`s good at lying. And I mean I don`t know if that`s the best thing to be good at, but she`s really good at it.
[Grace:] How disgusted are you at her claims that Travis Alexander looked at child porn? I`m disgusted that she would say that about him.
[Alexander:] Yeah.
[Grace:] That`s not true.
[Alexander:] You know, disgusted is disgusted one word, appalled, just pissed beyond belief. It`s so ridiculous that you can`t even put it into words, to be honest. That there`s no way there`s no possible way. If you knew Travis at all, there`s no chance in the world that he was doing anything ridiculous like that.
[Grace:] With me is Shaun Alexander, roommate and friend of Travis Alexander, who spoke to Arias the night Travis` body was found. Everyone, we`re about to take you right back into the courtroom. We can`t stop those sidebars. "The Family Album" is back showcasing your photos tonight. Florida friends say hello. The Correia family love the outdoors and the beach, here supporting Chris Hinton`s Florida National Guard deployment. Go to hlntv.comNancyGrace, then click on "Nancy`s Family Album."
[Martinez:] Isn`t it true that you are biased in favor of the defendant, yes or no?
[Laviolette:] I don`t believe I`m biased.
[Martinez:] You seem to be having trouble answering my questions.
[Laviolette:] There are there are numerous places where she talks about feeling bad about herself.
[Martinez:] As 90 percent of our communication is nonverbal. That`s what you said, right?
[Laviolette:] I explained how I meant that, Mr. Martinez.
[Martinez:] Do you have a problem understanding the question. Tell me what negative things.
[Grace:] We are taking you straight back into the courtroom. With me, Kim Goldman, the sister of Ron Goldman, offering her advice to Travis Alexander`s family as this goes on and on. Unrelenting in the courtroom. Kim, thank you for being with us.
[Kim Goldman:] Sure.
[Grace:] What are your thoughts and your analysis?
[Goldman:] Oh, wow, I would my thoughts are this is bringing me right back to our case and the ad nauseam testimony and witnesses on the stand, and how I just remember Barry Sheck going after Dennis Fung relentlessly. But, you know, this is what the prosecution needs to do. This is the witness on the stand right now is a big witness for the defense. And so, this is what his job is, to poke holes in everything that she`s saying and to discredit her. And unfortunately, like you said in the beginning of the show, we have to sit and wait, and it`s exhausting. And you just have to hang in there and hope that what he`s doing is effective, which I think he is.
[Grace:] How hard, Kim, was it, to sit in court and look at the back of O.J. Simpson`s head, you know, sitting ahead of you, and listening and never being able to say anything?
[Goldman:] Yeah, I learned how to sit on my hands a lot and bite the insides of my cheeks. It`s very frustrating, and I know that`s what Travis` family is dealing with right now, wanting to scream and wanting to defend him because he`s not here to defend himself. Wanting to cheer on the prosecutor, wanting to probably submit questions to the prosecutor. I know I used to do that with Marsha and Chris. I`d write little notes, then send them up, not that they needed my assistance. But sometimes, you know, when you`re in the audience, you have a different perspective then when you`re the prosecutor. And so, I think, sometimes that assistance from the families are helpful, and it`s empowering for them. But they`re I`m sure they`re exhausted at this point. And I totally empathize with where they`re at.
[Grace:] I`m just thinking back to the trial, after my fiance was murdered. It was just such a horrible, horrible haze. It`s like a big blur, and I ended up being a witness during the trial. If you have any advice to Travis` family, who have basically been instructed they can`t show any emotion in the courtroom whatsoever.
[Goldman:] Yeah.
[Grace:] What is your advice, Kim?
[Goldman:] You know, to use their resources, their support circle, and to know who they can rely on and who they can trust, it`s very scary when you have a whole country so obsessed and so attached to every element of this case. And we were instructed the same thing. We weren`t allowed to show any emotion. And, you know, that`s really a disservice to what the victims and their families experience. So I would just hope that they find a place to release, an outlet. There`s plenty of support circles outside and services that are available to them. I know that they have people that are in their corner that love and care for them and are wishing them well.
[Grace:] Kim, I know it may be hard for you to believe that there are millions of people praying for you and your family and your brother, and many of us still, still to this day, every time I hear the name O.J. Simpson, I say a prayer for Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman and their families because people believe that, when the trial is over, there`s closure. There is no closure after you are a tangential murder victim. I always tell people it`s like breaking your arm but you learn to flip a pancake anyway. Your arm is still broken.
[Goldman:] Yeah.
[Grace:] . and you just keep going. The trial doesn`t bring closure.
[Goldman:] You learn to live with it. Right. I think for a lot of people it does. I think it`s easy I mean I wrote an article in "Huffington Post" about closure and how I think it`s bias. I think people throw that term around because it`s easy. It makes them feel good. But to a victim or a survivor, there`s no such thing. And it`s, you know, you`re constantly pouring salt in a wound. And, you know, it`s a difficult process, but we learn to live with it. And we learn to manage it, and, again, hopefully rely on people that we love and care about us.
[Grace:] Straight back in the courtroom.
[Unidentified Female:] Sustained. You may continue.
[Martinez:] Assume that they were broken up when Mr. Juarez moved to Medford. Assume that. OK? Will you do that? It`s [inaudible] hypothetical. Isn`t that a pattern developing here on the part of the defendant, a jealous sort of pattern, where Mr. Juarez and her are broken up. She`s making telephone calls. And after making telephone calls she then starts bringing him stuff over to his house. And then after he moves away she goes to the area where he has moved to. Assume that. Wouldn`t that be the beginning of a pattern?
[Laviolette:] But they`re they`re not broken up.
[Martinez:] No. I just said they were.
[Laviolette:] But that`s the hypothetical.
[Martinez:] Yes.
[Laviolette:] The hypothetical. Because in reality, they`re not, OK?
[Martinez:] You believe that they`re not. But let`s assume that hypothetically speaking they are broken up.
[Laviolette:] Would that be the beginning of a pattern?
[Martinez:] Yes.
[Laviolette:] It could be the beginning of a pattern.
[Martinez:] Let`s talk about Matthew McCartney. You`re familiar with the relationship involving the defendant and Mr. McCartney, correct?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] And in fact, the defendant sort of went from Mr. Juarez and started dating Mr. McCartney. Right?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] And there came a point when they started dating, that for whatever reason, that was going to be a break up, right?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] And it was the defendant who refused to accept the breakup, correct?
[Laviolette:] She had a hard time with the breakup.
[Martinez:] In other words, he wanted to break up, and she did not, right?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Martinez:] And when they were going through this process, he believed that they were already broken up, right?
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. Sustained.
[Martinez:] He at some point, they broke up at some point, didn`t they?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Martinez:] And after they broke up, the defendant then confronted somebody by the name of Bianka, correct?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. [inaudible] somebody after the breakup. Overruled.
[Laviolette:] And I don`t think it was a confrontation.
[Martinez:] I didn`t say the confrontation. But it`s after the breakup that Ms. Arias, according to you, goes and talks to Bianka, right?
[Unidentified Female:] Objection. He`s mischaracterizing the testimony.
[Martinez:] I`m not talking about testimony. I`m talking about her understanding.
[Unidentified Female:] Overruled.
[Grace:] We remember American hero, Army Captain Dale Goetz, 43, White, South Dakota. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Mother Hope, sisters Ann and Kim, widow Christina. Three sons. Dale Goetz, American hero. Right now straight back into the Arias courtroom.
[Martinez:] Right?
[Laviolette:] I`m not sure if they were broken up or not. I only know that she went and talked to Bianka. She talked to Bianka about the break up. Yeah, I guess it was a breakup. She went to talk about she said it was cheating. And she went to talk to Bianka about the cheating.
[Martinez:] Do you remember writing about this? In your notes?
[Laviolette:] I`m sure that I did.
[Martinez:] And isn`t it true that your notes indicate that.
[Unidentified Female:] Actually. Overruled.
[Martinez:] Isn`t it true that your notes indicate that they have already broken up when this talk between Matt between the defendant and Bianka took place?
[Laviolette:] I`d need to see my notes.
[Martinez:] OK. Take a look at example 613.
[Grace:] Tonight, a special goodnight from friends, Allison, Kay and Becky. Aren`t they beautiful? And happy birthday to South Carolina friend Kathy Evans, who loves classic movies and her family. Happy birthday, Kathy! Testimony nearing an end. "Dr. Drew" up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night. 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, goodnight, friend. END

[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now: Oprah Winfrey speaks out about her interview with Lance Armstrong and how he surprised her. We talk to the man who was uncovering the truth about Armstrong before anyone wanted to hear it. Will the gun you own be outlawed? The White House is ready to reveal its gun control plans. We will go inside the lab working on a flu shot that could last years. And we will talk to a Republican leader threatening a government shutdown. Plus, a stolen train off the rails and straight into a house. Wolf Blitzer is of today. I'm Kate Bolduan, along with Joe Johns. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. New details of Lance Armstrong's highly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey from Oprah herself. She's offering intriguing clues about their lengthy conversation.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Anchor:] But Winfrey isn't revealing exactly what Armstrong said about doping, although she hints he did make some sort of confession. CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest from Austin Ed.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Joe and Kate, we are in Mellow Johnny's bike shop in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. This is a bike shop that is partly owned by Lance Armstrong. And this is a place where he still has many friends, a place of refuge, considering everything that is swirling around Lance Armstrong right now, and it's also a place where you can find his picture still on the wall, his arms up in victory. But when we see him in a couple of days in that interview before Oprah Winfrey, his arms will not be like that.
[Lavandera:] For Lance Armstrong, it was not enough to deny using performance-enhancing drugs. He had to stand on a mountaintop and righteously challenge anyone who questioned how he did it. This was Armstrong in Paris after winning his seventh Tour de France title in 2005.
[Lance Armstrong, Cyclist:] To the people who don't believe in cycling, the cynics and the skeptics, I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry you can't dream big and I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. There are no secrets. This is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it. So, vive le Tour forever.
[Lavandera:] So, the question is, which Lance Armstrong will appear in the two and a half hour interview with Oprah Winfrey. Her comments so far only add to the injury.
[Oprah Winfrey, Host, "oprah's Next Chapter":] I would say he did not come clean in the manner I expected. It was surprising to me.
[Lavandera:] But what does that mean? Will Armstrong make a full confession and accept full responsibility for his actions? Will he bring down others in the cycling industry? Or will he be the combative cyclist who, as he has many times in the past, complained that he's the victim of a witch hunt?
[Winfrey:] I choose not to characterize. I would rather people make their own decision whether he was contrite or not. I felt that he was thoughtful. I thought that he was serious. I thought that he certainly had prepared himself for this moment.
[Lavandera:] Lance Armstrong knows it is time to salvage his reputation. Veteran political consultant, Mark McKinnon, who lives in Austin, Texas, and sits on the board of the LIVESTRONG Foundation, says he feels betrayed.
[Mark Mckinnon, Livestrong Foundation:] I think he's got a lot of apologies. I think he's got to crawl over a lot of broken glass and drag the sackcloth. And but I think that they're the one thing they can't take away from him, John, is his cancer survivorship. And he does that story gives hope to millions of people.
[Lavandera:] And for Craig Staley, a longtime friend of Lance Armstrong, that's what he is he holding on to. Staley runs Mellow Johnny's bike shop in Austin, Armstrong is one of the owners. Staley and Armstrong have known each other since they were teenagers. [on camera]: Have you I mean, have you told him you lost faith in him? I mean, do you
[Craig Staley, Mellow Johnny's:] There's still a lot there. You know, there's still a lot of things that he's done and accomplished outside of the seven Tours of France. A lot of people are sort of abandoning him really quickly, and I think that I think that was in some ways a rush to judgment, because I have known the guy a long time and story's not over and he's not finished.
[Lavandera:] But many of Lance Armstrong's biggest enemies in the cycling world, and there are many, now must feel like they're the ones standing on the mountaintop, looking down on him. But it's not clear what a full confession to Oprah Winfrey will get for Lance Armstrong. The World Anti-Doping Agency says it won't be enough to simply go in an interview setting and confess to have to doped throughout your cycling career. That agency is calling for Lance Armstrong to testify under oath, and anything short of that will not affect his lifetime ban from sports around the world Joe and Kate, back to you.
[Johns:] Ed Lavandera in Texas. The White House will unveil its plans to fight gun violence tomorrow, just one month since the Connecticut school massacre that made the issue a priority for President Obama. CNN White House chief correspondent Jessica Yellin has the details. Jessica, what are you hearing?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Hi, Joe. I have spoken to a number of Democrats who met with the vice president and his guns task force, and they tell me they believe there are two proposals the president will lay out tomorrow that both have the greatest chance of passing Congress and the chance to do the most good, a measure to pass universal background checks for all gun purchases and an effort to ban high-capacity magazines.
[Yellin:] At the White House, they're ready to unveil their list of gun safety priorities.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] The president and vice president will hold an event here at the White House to unveil a package of concrete proposals to reduce gun violence and prevent future tragedies like the one in Newtown, Connecticut.
[Yellin:] This comes just a month after the Newtown shootings and weeks after the president named Vice President Biden to head a task force on gun safety.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Their task is going to be to, you know, sift through every good idea that's out there, and even take a look at some bad ideas before disposing of them, and come up with a concrete set of recommendations in about a month.
[Yellin:] The president will announce his proposal surrounded by children who wrote him in the wake of Sandy Hook tragedy. And they're prepared for a fight.
[Carney:] The president's committed to pushing these proposals. He is not naive about the challenges that exist.
[Yellin:] Multiple sources tell CNN the vice president told lawmakers he will outline 19 actions the president can take without going through Congress, examples, better enforcement of existing gun laws, keeping data on where the guns are. The government stopped keeping records in 2004. And improving the background check system, so there's more sharing of information and prosecution of people who try to buy guns illegally. Then, the president will call on Congress to take action to pass an assault weapons ban, expand the background checks law to apply to all gun sales, and limit the sale of high-capacity magazines.
[Obama:] Will all of them get through this Congress? I don't know. But what's uppermost in my mind is making sure that I'm honest with the American people and with members of Congress about what I think will work.
[Yellin:] Now, Joe, CNN has learned the vice president has spoken with a number of families of Newtown victims, this after some of them were critical of the vice president for not reaching out to them sooner. But he has now done so. We have also learned that among the other measures that the White House will press is for a tightening of laws regarding gun swaps. These are regulations that would prohibit, for example, me from selling you a gun privately, with no record of it, no transaction, and no background check Joe.
[Johns:] Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin, thanks.
[Bolduan:] It's going to be an uphill fight for the president, but we're getting some new information about his battle plans. CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill looking into that. Dana, what are you picking up from there tonight?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] Well, part of the battle plan, according to the vice president himself, he told congressional Democrats yesterday that they intend to use the infrastructure from the president's campaign to try to galvanize support for the proposals that Jessica was just reporting on. Our Deirdre Walsh was told this by one of the members who was at that meeting. And based on the conversations that we have had with members of Congress all day, even Democrats, they're going to need that infrastructure.
[Bash:] Newtown, Connecticut, is now represented by a freshman Democrat determined to ban the weapons used to massacre her young constituents.
[Rep. Elizabeth Esty , Connecticut:] It's my job to advocate for my community and all of these other communities. That's what I will be doing and working with leadership to get the votes we need.
[Bash:] But her burst of fresh energy to pass the new gun control proposals is already colliding with political reality. Listen to how lukewarm the Democrat who runs the Senate is.
[Sen. Harry Reid , Majority Leader:] The numbers around the country, most people favor having the ability of people to carry guns. The American people want us to be very cautious with what we do.
[Bash:] Gun control is still such political dynamite. A House GOP leadership aide tells CNN the Democratic-controlled Senate must go first. Yet the Senate majority leader, a gun owner himself, won't yet commit to any legislation.
[Reid:] Let's be realistic. In the Senate we're going to do what we think can get through the House. I'm not going to be going through a bunch of these gyrations just to say we have done something.
[Bash:] Never mind Republicans. Harry Reid's reluctance to go through quote "gyrations" mostly comes from some half a dozen vulnerable Democrats up for reelection next year who represent pro-gun states. Support for any gun control would immediately put them in the NRA's political crosshairs, an organization always looking for new ways to advocate gun rights, like this new app on iTunes, a 3-D target practice game marketing to consumers starting at age 4. But the NRA doesn't need to pressure Republicans like Cory Gardner from Colorado.
[Rep. Cory Gardner , Colorado:] I don't think that this administration's ideas on gun control are the right steps forward.
[Bash:] Gardner is one of many Republicans who will oppose virtually everything the president proposes, even strengthening federal background checks. [on camera]: From the perspective of House Republicans, is anything that the president will announce with regard to gun control measures likely to pass legislatively?
[Gardner:] I hope that we can work with the president on issues that concern mental health.
[Bash:] But what about gun control?
[Gardner:] I don't think gun control is the right direction and I believe most of my colleagues in the House Republican Conference would disagree with gun control measures.
[Bash:] And when it comes to the NRA, they are staying mum until the president and the vice president formally make their announcement tomorrow. We do expect a statement then. But there is one interesting note that we heard again, our Deirdre Walsh was told this today that members of the NRA intend to meet with Democratic members of the House task force next week about potentially, potentially coming up with something that they can all agree on.
[Bolduan:] Yes, this is definitely one of those issues that seems to be less a matter of party and more a matter of geography, at least this time. Dana Bash, thank you so much.
[Johns:] The gunfight isn't the only battle on the horizon. The debate over debt and spending also promises to be bruising. Will Republicans go as far as a government shutdown? We will talk to a top Republican lawmaker who questions whether it could be necessary. Plus, the journalist who raised doping questions about Lance Armstrong more than a decade ago and wound up being accused of libel.

[Piers Morgan, Cnn Anchor:] Tonight, from "That Girl" to "Free to be You and Me," Marlo Thomas. Now she talks about the cause that's closest to her heart.
[Marlo Thomas, Actress:] You save a child's life.
[Morgan:] And about her life with husband Phil Donohue. You still take baths together in a huge bathtub with wine?
[Thomas:] Yeah. Well, what about that where did you get that from?
[Morgan:] My sources. Also, the Olympic golden girl that America fell in love with.
[Gabrielle Douglas, Gold Medalist:] Gabby, Gab, Gabinator, Gabster.
[Morgan:] Gabrielle Douglas. Plus, a true American icon, Willie Nelson. Back on the road again and nearly 80 years. I'll ask him the big question, just how many girls has he loved before?
[Willie Nelson, Musician:] The reason divorces are so expensive is they're worth it.
[Morgan:] The hits just keep on coming for Willie Nelson, and I don't just mean his songs. Did you wake up this morning and have a quick, you know?
[Nelson:] I probably did. I probably did.
[Morgan:] A very entertaining interview. This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT. Marlo Thomas will always be "That Girl," a TV icon. She's also making a mark as an activist and as an author and with her incredible work with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And she joins me now. Welcome to you.
[Thomas:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] A veritable legend. How do you feel about being called a legend?
[Thomas:] I don't relate to it.
[Morgan:] How do you see yourself now? Do you see yourself still primarily as an entertainer, as a fundraiser, as an author? I know you've contributed over 100 pieces to the AOL site from from about women and so on every every month. What do you see your role as these days?
[Thomas:] Well, I'm a woman who's interested in a lot of things. I did a play on Broadway last year for Elaine May. I just did "The New Normal." I was playing Ellen Barkin's boss. I and I raise $800 million a year for St. Jude.
[Morgan:] Which is unbelievable.
[Thomas:] Yes, it is.
[Morgan:] And we'll come to that in more detail.
[Thomas:] Yes.
[Morgan:] I interviewed your husband, Phil Donohue.
[Thomas:] Uh-huh.
[Morgan:] And he was fantastic back in January.
[Thomas:] Yes, he is.
[Morgan:] He called you an impure thought. Any response?
[Thomas:] Yes, I like it.
[Morgan:] Yet he went further. You've been married for 32 years.
[Thomas:] Yes.
[Morgan:] And he went further and said this about you. Let's watch this.
[Phil Donohue, Former Talk Show:] She was just, obviously, a very exciting person. She was not only gorgeous, she had great facility with language and she had opinions and she was a feminist. She was somebody you could argue with. She really had something to say that you could push back or agree with or bounce off of. And here I am, 30 32 years later.
[Thomas:] He's the cutest, isn't he? He really is.
[Morgan:] He's a fascinating guy.
[Thomas:] Yes, he is.
[Morgan:] I loved meeting him. But what do you think the secret of longevity in a marriage is?
[Thomas:] Listening is one of them. And, caring, you know, to that we you listen, you hear it and you don't always have to fix it. One of the great things I learned, because I'm a fixer, was that most of the time, what Phil really wanted was not me to tell him how to fix it, but just to listen so that he could get he could get it all out. I think that's a big deal. And, of course, all the other things love and affection and sexual chemistry and interesting things...
[Morgan:] Do you still take baths together in that huge bathtub with wine?
[Thomas:] Yes, well, what about that? Where'd you get that from?
[Morgan:] My sources.
[Thomas:] Yes, I do.
[Morgan:] How big is this bathtub?
[Thomas:] Come on over.
[Morgan:] The other thing you were obviously legendary for was "Free to be You and Me."
[Thomas:] Um-hmm.
[Morgan:] And it was 40 years ago it seems amazing now...
[Thomas:] Yes.
[Morgan:] but you talked of fairness and freedom, of racial harmony, sexual equality. It really was a trailblazer. There were so many things in its time.
[Thomas:] Um-hmm.
[Morgan:] How far do you feel America has now come since then?
[Thomas:] Well, we've come pretty far. I think children who are bullied are not very free to be, and anti-bullying is something I think we should all be thinking about. But one of the things that we felt was "Free to be you and me" was really part of the women's movement, you know. We were working very hard to have women heard. And it seemed, also, that you kind of had to start with one 5-year-old at a time and try to get them to start to see that boys and girls could play together, could share the world together. So I think we're getting there. I mean, there are only, what, about 20 women who are now heads of Fortune 500 companies. We have about, oh, I don't know, 20 women going to the Senate and
[Morgan:] We could have the first female president...
[Thomas:] Yes...
[Morgan:] of course, next time.
[Thomas:] we certainly could. Of course, there are 20 women all over the world who are running countries, so we're late getting to having a leader of a country. But we'll but we're getting there.
[Morgan:] When you see what's happened with gay rights in particular, that's moving very fast in America now.
[Thomas:] Yes. Yes. But, it's a long time coming. People have been gay for a long time and had their rights taken from them. So it's the gay rights movement is an exciting movement, because to really see it, you know, going from here to there quite this quickly.
[Morgan:] Are you pleased that President Obama got reelected?
[Thomas:] Yes, very much so.
[Morgan:] Why?
[Thomas:] I think he's a good man. I think he cares about people. I as a health activist, I think he is trying very hard to help people get good access to care.
[Morgan:] Your father said there were two kinds of people in the world, givers and takers.
[Thomas:] Um-hmm.
[Morgan:] The takers may eat better, the givers will sleep better.
[Thomas:] Yes, I think that's true.
[Morgan:] Do you sleep well?
[Thomas:] I do. How about you?
[Morgan:] Probably not as well as you. But I don't raise $800 million a year.
[Thomas:] No.
[Morgan:] It is extraordinary. I mean, some of these statistics, there are 7,800 children are treated there completely free of charge every year.
[Thomas:] Yes.
[Morgan:] You've raised an average $800 million a year...
[Thomas:] Yes.
[Morgan:] which finances this. But what's extraordinary, between Thanksgiving and New Year, I think, in the since 2004, you've raised $312 million just in that period.
[Thomas:] Yes. Yes.
[Morgan:] Which is amazing. But it shows me, also, that America, for a lot of the faults that it has right now and they get well talked about very it's a very giving...
[Thomas:] Very.
[Morgan:] big-hearted country.
[Thomas:] Absolutely. And also, a lot of people know about St. Jude firsthand. It's amazing. There's no place that I go to speak is that there's someone that doesn't stand up and say, my cousin went there, my neighbor went there, we're using the protocols in our city. You know, our children are are laboratories. They may not be in every community, but our discoveries are. So everything that we're doing is being sent out worldwide, all of our discoveries. What's in what's what distinguishes St. Jude from all the other hospitals, all the other children's hospitals, is that we're a research center and a treatment center.
[Morgan:] Yes.
[Thomas:] So every child has a scientist and a doctor working on their case. And every child is getting a customized treatment. That's why we've been able to raise these survival rates, like with ALL, the most common form of cancer in kids, is leukemia, from 4 percent when my dad opened the hospital, to 94 percent today. But what's exciting is working on that 6 percent, you know, to to find the the customized treatment that is going to bring every single one of those kids.
[Morgan:] It's amazing the breakthroughs that come...
[Thomas:] Yes.
[Morgan:] with all these treatments.
[Thomas:] Right.
[Morgan:] I know somebody who is involved with bone cancers, in in Los Angeles, actually, who said that just very recently, they had a new breakthrough...
[Thomas:] Um-hmm.
[Morgan:] which meant that women who had before have had to have a leg amputated...
[Thomas:] Yes.
[Morgan:] for a particular type of bone cancer, can now walk out. And that's happened in the last year.
[Thomas:] Well, we...
[Morgan:] And that must be replicated in all sorts of areas.
[Thomas:] Well, we do that with osteosarcoma with children. We cut out the piece of bone that isn't that has the cancer. We put in a titanium rod. And then every couple of months, as the child grows, we will have a magnet that's that makes that rod grow with the child. I mean, that system and years ago, you'd amputate the leg.
[Morgan:] Yes, amazing. Now, I want to hire you as my chief booker, because I just realized that you've managed to get Cecilia Vergara, Jennifer Aniston... Robin Williams, and others all to do these commercials with you. I can't get any of those on my show. How are you doing this?
[Thomas:] The bathtub is one of the ways. There's a lot of ways.
[Morgan:] Because, I mean Jennifer has been the you for a long time.
[Jennifer Aniston, Actress:] Some girls wish to grow up and be a princess. Other girls wish to simply grow up. Mae and Bailey are friends battling kidney cancer at St. Jude's Children Research Hospital. We developed a treatment for their cancer that's helping kids like them across America.
[Unidentified Child:] You know what I wish for?
[Aniston:] What's that, honey?
[Unidentified Child:] My hair back. And no more cancer.
[Aniston:] Girls, St. Jude is working on that.
[Morgan:] Is it hard to persuade the big stars or...
[Thomas:] Well, you know, I try to get them down there. The real secret is going to St. Jude and seeing the children. You know, I was never really expected to do this. I was never going to take this on. My father died 21 years ago, and he made it very clear to my sister and brother and I that it was not going to be our burden to carry, which was actually psychologically brilliant, because we all came about it our own way. But when you go there and you walk through the hall and you meet a father who tells you that he's already picked the funeral music for his child, or you meet a mother who I just just a few days ago, said to me that the doctors at another hospital told her to take her child home into hospice, and now she came to St. Jude and we've saved her child's life.
[Morgan:] Wow!
[Thomas:] And it's not that these other hospitals are bad. They're good hospitals.
[Morgan:] No.
[Thomas:] They're hospitals that we collaborate with...
[Morgan:] It's that St. Jude is a is amazingly good.
[Thomas:] Well, it's that we're it's that we're working they're working with what they know and we're working with what they don't know, because we're a research center. My dad wanted to build a place to study disease. It's a completely different math for a hospital. You know, there's a completely different mission, is to say we don't just want to make kids better, we want to find out what makes them sick, and we want to get a hold of that disease, find a the marker for that disease and and and put a drug on that marker.
[Morgan:] He'd be very proud of you, your father, I think, from... from what you've done...
[Thomas:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] in his legacy.
[Thomas:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] You're unbelievably, despite all this, still finding time to act. I don't know how you find the time, but you're you're a guest star on "The New Normal." Let's watch a clip from this.
[Unidentified Female:] I want to give up what I had in Ohio for something better here.
[Thomas:] What you need to give up is that 1980s Mervyn's power suit and the staggering jewel tone. Ug. You know, Jane, when I look at you, I see myself 10 years ago when I lost my husband and my way. I see a lot of the old me in you. And I don't like it.
[Morgan:] It's great to be acting with those great actors, huh?
[Thomas:] Oh, she is great. Yes. And Ryan Murphy, who writes and created that show, is great. Yes.
[Morgan:] So you're enjoying the acting still?
[Thomas:] Oh, I love it. I especially love the stage.
[Morgan:] Yes.
[Thomas:] Yes. It's it's so much fun to hear the audience laugh. It's so exciting. And to hear them open up their little purses and cry, too. I like that.
[Morgan:] Well, look, it's been lovely to meet you.
[Thomas:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] Send Phil my very best.
[Thomas:] I will.
[Morgan:] For more information on St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Thanks and Giving Campaign, you can go to StJude.org. It couldn't be easier than that.
[Thomas:] That's right.
[Morgan:] Best of luck with it, not that you need it. You do an amazing job with it...
[Thomas:] We need it. Are you kidding?
[Morgan:] You do. That's quite right. I'll say that again, then. StJude.org. Please contribute generously. Lovely to see you.
[Thomas:] Thank you. Thanks.
[Morgan:] We'll be right back.

[Costello:] Swimming dominates the Olympics today with America's top swimmers back in the pool in London. Ryan Lochte will attempt the win his third medal when he swims the 200-meter freestyle. The Colorado high schooler, Missy Franklin, tries to win her first gold medal for the U.S. in the women's 100 backstroke, and the American men look to grab gold in the team gymnastics final. They are in the lead after the qualifying round. Day two is special for U.S. swimmer Dana Vollmer. She set a world record, becoming the first woman to swim the 100-meter butterfly in less than 56 seconds. Not bad for a woman who failed to qualify for the 2008 games in Beijing. On the range, American skeet shooter Kimberly Rhode won her fifth straight gold medal in the sport. She tied the world record with a score of 99 out of 100 giving her the gold. The huge surprise is American Jordyn Wieber fails to advance to the women's all-around gymnastics final. She was a favorite for the gold, but finished behind two of her teammates. And on Saturday, we learned Michael Phelps is human after all. He came in fourth in the 400-meter individual medley. The first time Phelps has failed to medal in an event since 2000. Ryan Lochte took home the gold. And the world continues to talk about the opening ceremony. The biggest shot Friday was when a mystery woman, see her there, starting walking with the Indian delegation. The London Organizing Committee says she was a volunteer performer. Obviously, she was not supposed to be there. India's Olympic officials are not happy. And Saudi Arabia is making history in London by bringing their first women athletes to the games, but one could be going home before she has a chance to compete. The reason, not doping or cheating or unsportsmanlike conduct, but because of her religious head scarf. Zain Verjee is in London to explain. Morning, Zain.
[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. A lot of jabs and punches already being kicked around here in London, but this is over a woman who is supposed to compete in judo on Friday. Now, she really, really wants to do it, but here are the problems. Saudi Arabia is saying that the only reason they allowed her in the first place to come to London and compete was so that she could continue wearing the hijab, the head scarf, in accordance with Sharia law and the Islamic traditional and cultural customs. The International Olympic Committee has said please Saudi Arabia let these female athletes come, and yes, they can absolutely wear the hijab. But the Judo Federation is saying, no. It's too dangerous if she competes wearing a head scarf because that could create a problem and an injury situation for her. Her dad has weighed in on this, too, saying her daughter will not compete in the judo games on August 3rd if the committee insists that she removes her hijab. So this is a situation of sports meets miscommunication meets culture meets Islamic law here in London.
[Costello:] But other Olympic sports, they allow participants to wear head scarves, don't they?
[Verjee:] So far, it's only soccer that allows participants to do that. Saudi athletes, females, haven't been able to compete in an Olympics before. So they're really dealing with this situation as it's arising. So I think really it's because in judo, you have certain positions and you attack the other person. And a strangle hold and choke hold, and if you have a scarf, it could be some kind of a strangling type of, you know, situation in the competing. So they just want to avoid it totally, but they have to save face coming out of this. We'll see what they decide. No one has made a decision yet.
[Costello:] Zain Verjee live in London for us this morning. Right now, Michael Phelps is one medal away from tying the all-time Olympic record. He sat down with CNN's Piers Morgan about representing his country in his fourth Olympics.
[Piers Morgan, Host, Cnn's "piers Morgan Tonight":] London is my home town. Everyone is very excited about you coming. What is extraordinary is every American athlete I have interviewed when I ask them to cite a role model, 90 percent say you. You have become this weird, God-like figure to them. With that comes responsibility. Are you aware of the status you have amongst your peer group. What do you feel about that responsibility?
[Michael Phelps, U.s. Olympic Swimmer:] I mean, sometimes I feel it, but I like to just think of myself as a normal person who just has a passion, has a goal and a dream and goes out and does it. That's really how I have always lived my life.
[Morgan:] I see you say that. Come on, Michael, you're not a normal person.
[Phelps:] I consider myself normal. I spent 20 years in the pool. I consider that something that's normal.
[Morgan:] That's not normal?
[Phelps:] What do you consider normal?
[Morgan:] Well, not 20 years in a pool. I spent about 20 minutes in a pool a day.
[Phelps:] Well, that's not normal.
[Morgan:] What I was struck by with you was there a great athletes and great gymnasts and a great swimmer and so on, I don't think I have seen anybody who did what you did, and confirm the statistics on this. That you trained for five years, literally every single day, 365 days each of those five years, consecutively. That is incredible dedication to your sport. Do you know anybody else who has done that?
[Phelps:] No. I have never heard of anybody else who does that.
[Morgan:] So what is the motivation at the end of the day for that kind of extreme dedication?
[Phelps:] I mean, if you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren't willing to do. At that point, you know, we thought that for every year, we get 52 other days of more training than anybody else gets every single year. And also, in swimming, if you miss one day of swimming, it takes you twice as long to get back. So, you know, for example, for me, after 2008, I took six months off. It took me probably took me really about a year and a half to get back to where I was, like, really need to be and should be.
[Costello:] Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps in a candid interview with Piers Morgan about life, love, and going for more gold. Watch "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" at 9:00 Eastern. Now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. The question for you this morning, should the Olympic broadcast be tape delayed? Let's face it, there's no such thing as a news blackout these days. Hello, Twitter verse, but was I the only one watching last night who knew that Jordyn Wieber had already lost her chance for an individual all around gold medal. She was so good. I even checked online to see if the final results were accurate before they were announced on television. It's a habit, what can I say? And how many of you were surprised when you saw Ryan Lochte beat Michael Phelps in the individual medley, maybe the five people on earth who didn't logon that day. Some fans are so angry about NBC's tape delay, they created the Twitter hash tag nbcfail and nbcsucks where complaining has become kind of an Olympic sport. This from Luke Adams, "My fellow Olympic fans in the USA, just a reminder that you are watching sports from the past. It's like ESPN classic with a shorter delay." And this tweet, sort of annoying and pretty terrible that NBC airs some Olympic events, LochtePhelps, on tape delay. We have live TV for a reason. To be fair, for years, Olympic broadcasters have been tape delaying events, but that was before the internet explosion. For those who want to watch the Olympics live, NBC is streaming the events online, all be it with technical glitches. No glitch in the ratings, however. According to entertainmentweekly.com, the tape delay strategy may be paying off, 28.7 million viewers watched on Saturday. Making it the most watched first full day of events on record for the summer Olympics. So the talkback question todaycarolcnn, I'll read your responses later on this hour.

[O'brien:] The family of a 68-year-old veteran who was killed by a police officer say that they're going to send letters today demanding a federal investigation into the case. The officer who shot Kenneth Chamberlain was cleared yesterday by a grand jury in White Plains, New York. It all started when the former marine triggered his medical alert pendant. An ambulance responded, the police too. There was a confrontation that lasted more than an hour with Mr. Chamberlain, and he got more and more agitated. The police ended up breaking down the door. They tasered him at first, but eventually, they shot and killed him. Take a look. The alarm rang in at 5:00 a.m. on a cold morning. A 68-year-old Vietnam vet with a severe heart condition had set off his medical alert device, but instead of an ambulance, police arrived at Kenneth Chamberlain's apartment. Neighbors saw guns drawn, a riot shield.
[Wilbert Johnson, Neighbor:] They stated that if he didn't come open the door, they were going to knock it down.
[O'brien:] His niece who lived upstairs told police at the scene he'd set off the alarm accidentally, to please let his family talk to him.
[Tonya Greenhill, Chamberlain's Niece:] I just kept hearing my uncle respond, "Please leave me alone, go away, I didn't call you, I don't need your help."
[O'brien:] Chamberlain and the police were being recorded by the alert device.
[Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr:] I'm OK.
[Unidentified Male:] I need to see that you're OK and then we'll go.
[Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr:] No, you leave.
[Unidentified Male:] We can't leave.
[Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr:] You leave.
[Unidentified Male:] You called us. I can't leave.
[Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr:] You leave.
[Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., Victim's Son:] You hear one officer use an expletive and that's when he said he didn't give an "f," used the "n word."
[O'brien:] But there's more. A district attorney showed the family two videos in their custody, one from a hallway security camera, another recorded by a camera on a taser gun.
[Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr:] Shoot me. Go on. Shoot me. Shoot me. Go on. Shoot me. Shoot me.
[O'brien:] Police say Chamberlain threatened them with knives.
[David Chong, Public Safety Commissioner, White Plains, New York:] We're obligated as a police department never to walk away from an emergency. And we're not going to.
[O'brien:] So then they fired two real bullets.
[Janet Difiore, District Attorney, Westchester County, New York:] There were civilian witnesses, there were police witnesses, there were expert witnesses, 100 exhibits went before that jury, and in this case most of this event was captured on audio or videotape. All of that information was before the people who made the determination in this case. After due deliberation on the evidence presented in this matter, the grand jury found that there was no reasonable cause to vote an indictment.
[O'brien:] The district attorney said they will fully review the use of force against emotionally disturbed people by the police. The city is also going to conduct its own independent review. Mr. Chamberlain's son, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. joins us this morning. Our condolences. We should also mention that your attorney is with you as well this morning. It's nice to see both you gentlemen. Let's begin with you, Ken, if I may. You told me yesterday that you were saddened but you were not surprised. Why were you not surprised?
[Kenneth Chamberlain Jr:] Well, I'm not surprised because if you look at the history in Westchester County, there have been a number of questionable police shootings, and all of them have come back cleared. I'm speaking about the Detective Ridley Case as well as the college student D.J. Henry, and now this situation with my father. And I've stated from the beginning that I thought it would be a conflict of interest, especially when the Westchester county D.A.'s office works very closely with the White Plains police department, and Janet Difiore herself is a member of the chiefs association. So why would I think that she had would indict a police officer?
[O'brien:] When you listen to the tapes, it sounds like your father is getting more and more agitated and the cops are, I guess the word I'd use, are pushing him a bit. The district attorney confirmed for us that in fact the "n" word was on these tapes. Here's what the D.A. said.
[Difiore:] The police officer was at a rear window and he was attempting to distract Mr. Chamberlain. At that time he uttered a racial epithet and that was caught on audio tape.
[O'brien:] So when you hear, I guess, the mocking and the "n" word that a police officer is using towards your dad, that's just got to break your heart.
[Kenneth Chamberlain Jr:] It does, and it's very hard for me to look at the video again, to listen to the audio. And for them to use the "n" word and they don't deny using it and there's been no disciplinary action. I mean, it makes you wonder. I would like to see their policy and procedure that says that it's OK to use the "n" word on an individual before shooting and killing him.
[O'brien:] The attorney in the case, the officers say they removed a knife from Mr. Chamberlain Sr. And all the while we can hear him on tape saying shoot me, shoot me, and he's cursing. Talk to me about his mental state.
[Randall Mclaughlin, Attorney, Newman Ferrara Llp:] After an hour to an hour and a half of these officers abusing him, calling him names, threatening him, mocking him, he becomes agitated. And there is some indication, though it's not clear on the video and not clear on the audio that there was some metal object here. Here's the bottom line, at no time during this entire incident, when the door was down, when the door was up did Mr. Chamberlain leave his apart and threaten anyone. This was a tragedy caused by the white plains police department, their lack of professionalism. The fact that an officer is using the "n" word in an African-American community, there's absolutely no excuse for that behavior.
[O'brien:] Ultimately as the commissioner said this the piece that we ran, he said the police are obligated to not walk away from an emergency, but not walking away versus killing the person who called for help in the emergency seems like an absolute compounded tragedy. I want to thank you both for joining us. Again, our condolences to you and thanks for being with us this morning.
[Chamberlain:] Thank you.
[O'brien:] We've got some breaking news coming into CNN. The unemployment rate is dropping. Christine Romans will join us with the April jobs report number straight ahead.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Hi there. Yes, 8.1 percent is the unemployment rate, Soledad and you had 115,000 jobs created in the month of April. So 115,000 jobs compares with an estimate of 160,000, so we're a little light on how many jobs were created. But that is good news that the unemployment rate ticked down. Another unemployment rate that ticked down as well, black unemployment fell a full percentage point to 13 percent. That compares to 7.4 percent for white the white demographic, but still that was a move lower there. Men and women are about the same, 7.5 percent for men and 7.4 percent for women. A couple of things to tell you about. We noticed job creation had been slowing down here, but we do know February and march were revised upward so we had better job creation, 50,000 more jobs created in these two months than we had thought. You saw professional business services hiring, retail hiring again, manufacturing. Transportation and warehousing is where we lost some jobs. So no real explanation overall about why. I want to show you politically why this is so important too. This is what the story will be on the campaign trail because Mitt Romney has been saying that we've had record eight percent unemployment for 38 months. That's true. The president has been saying we have 4.1 million jobs created in the private sector over the past 25 months. That's true as well. Both of those statements are true, but now it becomes a big political game about how we're doing since this big jobs drought, how we are doing in creating jobs. We really had 115,000 jobs created right here. Again, all of this is a weak recovery, post-recession recovery. You want to see more job growths than this, but it has been slow and steady and it continues.
[O'brien:] That's a graphic that's particularly impressive, especially in an election year. Christine, thank you very much. We've been talking about the triple crown of horse racing known for its three jewels and the three drinks that go along with those three jewels. This morning we're learning how to make the original drinks for each race. We've done the mint julep for the Kentucky derby, the black-eyed Susan for the Preakness, and now the Belmont breeze. James Conley is back, a mixologist. What's the breeze, what's in it?
[James Conley, Mixologist:] It's a mix of rye whiskey, cranberry juice, lemon juice. This is a perfect one to pre-batch for a party. It serves around five to six. Serve it over half crushed ice and half regular ice, a very light drink, great for the summertime. Go ahead and garnish that with a wheel of lemon. Get that on there right. Throw a fresh strawberry in there. And in honor of mint julep, the original trip crown cocktail, get a nice, big sprig of mint and throw it in there.
[O'brien:] I like it. We'll see how it tastes on the commercial break. Still ahead on "starting point," can't a kid have a cupcake anymore? The very latest thing to go in the battle over childhood obesity. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in just a moment.

[Joe Johns, Cnn Anchor:] Joe Johns in Washington here in for Brooke Baldwin today. We will have more on the historic opening of the 113th Congress. Let's look at some other news right now. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is planning to return to work next week. We don't know if work includes testifying about the terror attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. Clinton was discharged yesterday from a New York hospital after being treated for a blood clot. Her spokeswoman said doctors expect Clinton to make a full recovery, but there is no word on when she may testify about the Benghazi attack. A new report out today shows private employers added 215,000 jobs last month. These numbers a precursor to the official Labor Department report out tomorrow. Job growth to the tune of 150,000 expected in that one and this slowly improving jobs market had more people buying cars. Felicia Taylor is at the New York Stock Exchange. Carmakers have been reporting sales figures all day. So give us an idea of who is on top and what this says about the state of the economy Felicia.
[Felicia Taylor, Cnn International's "world Business Today":] Well, it's definitely a good sign. There is no question about it. I mean, it seems that people are getting a little bit more comfortable making these big purchases. So when you look at the big three, it was Chrysler that definitely led the way with a 10 percent sales gain in December. GM did pretty well also posting a 5 percent rise. Ford saw just a small increase of about 2 percent. Toyota though we are going to include because the sales rose 9 percent and you know, obviously that is managing to beat out the arch rival of GM in December. So all combined it wraps up the best year for car sales in the United States since before the recession. So it's great news that, you know, things are moving in the right direction. But there is still a tremendous amount of uncertainty out there about the economy. You know, you have to wonder why are people buying and there is really just one answer and that's because finally lenders are becoming a little bit more generous about giving auto loans and people have the cash to do so. You know, there has been a slight improvement in the jobs market that you mentioned. People have become a little bit more comfortable and confident with their financial situations. That's unleashed pent up demand from when the economy was doing a lot worse as you well remember Joe.
[Johns:] That's for sure. We certainly have a lot of uncertainty in just two months. We will have to start talking about the debt ceiling that is another issue. Thank you, Felicia Taylor. In Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary students return to class today for the first time since the tragic shooting in Newtown, and just a short time from now, they will be getting out of class. We will hear from some parents coming up next.

[Anna Coren, Anchor:] For seven years, she's been making mouths water across Australia, cooking up her tantalizing recipes on
[Tv. Kylie Kwong, Chef:] So it's chewy and it's sweet and it's a little bit salty.
[Coren:] But well before Kylie Kwong's get in front of the camera, the third generation of Chinese-Australian was already bridging a culinary divide.
[Kwong:] Fresh chili
[Coren:] Educating Australians about authentic Chinese food and its origins through the cookbooks and her popular TV restaurants. This week on TALK ASIA, we're in Sydney with one of the country's most loved chef to find out about growing up as a minority. Her passion with attainable living
[Kwong:] It's just so fresh and delicious.
[Coren:] Plus, we even get our own private cooking lesson. Kylie Kwong, welcome to
[Talk Asia. Kwong:] Thank you.
[Coren:] You are one of the most well-known chef here in Australia. Tell me what ignited your passion for cooking?
[Kwong:] Well, I guess it all began, you know, with my mother and her amazing kitchen laws. I mean, we're three generations of Australian, but you know, very, very Chinese inside. Mom is a great Cantonese style cook and right from the word go, she taught my two brothers and I how to cook beautiful fresh produce and food, and to appreciate it and to share it with people. So it's very much from her lesson just from being Chinese. You know, we Chinese are obsessed with food and family and I guess, it's just going from there.
[Coren:] Your mother, Pauline, had a huge impact on you as a kid and obviously growing kid and that whole world of cooking up meaning you're
[Kwong:] She does a very good butterfly cake. Now I know that stuff particularly Chinese, but that's a very good reflection about family. We are Chinese looking, but very Australian. Mom does an amazing fried rice and in fact that was the first dish I actually cooked by myself when I was about seven and I cooked it for my popo, my Chinese grandmother. She lived with us at that time. And mom also taught us how to do a really good, you know, stir fried Hokkien noodle with chicken when we were very young as well.
[Coren:] You mentioned that you were third generation Australian-Chinese. You come from one of the largest Chinese families here in Australia. What was it like growing up in the Kwong family?
[Kwong:] So we grew up in the north western suburbs of Sydney. My two brothers and I were the only Asian at our school and in our neighborhood for the first 13 or 14 years of our lives. In terms of being feeling different, it was never really an issue. In fact, I think we're popular because of mom's amazing cooking and every year, I used to nag my mother. You know, can I please have a birthday party? And all my friends used to come immediately because they knew that the food would be incredible and mom would do this amazing banquet, you know, fried rice, soy sauce chicken, Hokkien noodles, amazing, you know, amazing produce. And also back then 30 years ago, mom used to teach Chinese cooking classes, three nights a week to 10 of the local maids. And she would do this from our home, from our kitchen and again, that's where I learn a lot of cooking techniques and lessons from the way mom taught.
[Coren:] But as the only Asian family in your neighborhood, was it all tough? Did you feel different?
[Kwong:] I certainly felt different when I go to school and I have a lunch box and there I had, you know, last night's rice and soy sauce chicken wings and my friend had the veggie sandwiches. At that point, it was very good to be different because, you know it was so much more interesting. Yes, I felt different. Yes, my brothers felt different, but really it didn't really affect us negatively at all. As I said, we just all, you know, we were just playing with the kids and it was all very sort of
[Coren:] Did you ever experience any racism as a kid growing up?
[Kwong:] Very rarely, nothing to talk about. Again, I think we were just accepted into that community very well and I've really think my mother's cooking had a lot to do with it.
[Coren:] Your great grandfather, Kwong Sudak, he came out to Australia in the early 1850s as part of the gold rush. He traveled on a boat from China to to Darwin and made his home there. Tell us a little bit about him.
[Kwong:] Well, he he chose between Australia and America. He was in search of new opportunity. He must have been an amazing adventuring, spirited, entrepreneurial type to, you know, being in his tiny little village, he must have been about 28, and he must have been sitting there thinking there's more to life than this. And so on the boat he came and he set up four gold mining places in the 1850s in Darwin and he also ran a general store there, a very successful general store. Over the following 10 years, he traveled between Australia and China. And each time he went back to China, he would acquire Chinese wife and ultimately he had four Chinese wives and together they produced 24 children and they all lived harmoniously in Darwin under the same roof. I often say that those kids were the luckiest kids because they had four mothers. You know, one could teach them how to cook, one could teach them Chinese, one taught them how to sew and they had another mother, you know, for something else. He was also a Chinese herbalist and medicine man, and towards the end of his life, he took all the family down to Melbourne. And he used to treat patients out of some small practicing in Rouson's Straight. But now an extraordinary figure that I have always felt a real affinity with although I never met him I do feel his spirit is very much within me and this place, and all of those things. And I find myself interested in a lot of subjects that he was interested in, which is interesting.
[Coren:] I guess, with four wives hence the huge family. What's the family reunion like in the Kwong household?
[Kwong:] Well, I mean, we're talking about my father side. Of course, now my dad also had 10 brothers and sisters himself and my mother also has 10 brothers and sisters. So, you know, they're coming from every angle. Well, it's always about food and family for us. I mean, I've been to several of the Kwong-Sudak family reunions that are held every two years and they're just incredible. I remember once if I walked into a family reunion. It was held in Sydney and we're in this big room in this hotel. There was about 300 people in the room. All of us related. The youngest was my nephew who had just been born. He was about eight weeks old and then the oldest in the room was Auntie Aida who was about 90 and everything in between. And I just felt this is so special. So that was absolutely amazing. There are always speeches. There's a tree planting ceremony. Children running everywhere. It's completely wonderful.
[Coren:] Coming up, Kylie Kwong tells the whole secret to the perfect dish.
[Kwong:] OK, cool. Thanks, see you. Bye. Hello, how are you? Thank you. Great. Beautiful organic bananas, oranges. Beautiful oranges. Organic sweet corn soup.
[Coren:] You just had your morning delivery. I noticed that all the produce are virtually organic, yes?
[Kwong:] Look, I'm so happy when the produce comes in, in the morning. It's the freshest most sustainably grown produce in Australia. And ethical living and sustainable living is our passion.
[Coren:] Why is organic produce so important to you?
[Kwong:] Well, for me, I mean, I guess, it all started when I was growing up and my mother who's a great Cantonese-style cook. She always taught my two brothers and I the importance of fresh produce, locally grown produce. And more importantly, the importance of the people who grow the food. So I guess, as a restaurateur, I love serving this produce because of mom's lesson. But for a very simple point of view, I truly believe it taste better. No chemicals, no artificial preservatives and so on. And also, I guess, from a bigger picture perspective, it's our response to climate change. How can I help combat climate change by offering you the most life giving beautiful produce.
[Coren:] So what have we got here?
[Kwong:] We have bought these amazing mushrooms, OK, now these are grown on the south coast of New South Wales and this is how mushrooms grow. They grow in clumps like coral. And these are oyster mushrooms and they just well, we just break them off like that. We break them off rather than trim them neatly.
[Coren:] Yes.
[Kwong:] And we also have these mushrooms as well, which are called Simeji, and again, we just break them like that. And we make this beautiful rustic sort of stir fry. That's the toughest, you know, cooking we like to do here. It's about celebrating the natural ingredients and the natural character of the ingredients. So we cook it simply and naturally.
[Coren:] You've always been creative. You sounded off as a graphic designer for an advertising company. You then studied to be a homeopath so how did you end up as a chef?
[Kwong:] Well, I spent the first few years out of high school in advertising and I realized very soon that it wasn't for me. I was about 21 by this stage. Whilst I was still thinking about what I was going to do next, I found a job with one of my friends who was a contract caterer just so I could fill in time, get some money behind me. And I went to work with him the first day and we were cooking we were cooking office people lunch Monday to Friday. And he said to me, I want you to go into the cooler and get me the basil, please. The Italian basil. OK, I'm 23 and I'm like, I don't know what basil is. I knew it was green and I knew it was a herb. I'd only grown up on Chinese food. So I went into the cool room and I pulled out all of the green bunches of herbs and I said, I know it's one of these, which one is it? And he said that's tarragon, that's Rosemary, that's the basil, that's the parsley. And so that was a very amazing first day. But most importantly like I was sent down to the shops and the markets to get the produce. I was cooking it. I was serving it to the staff members and something just it was like epiphany and I just made up my mind then and there that this is what I was going to do and that I wanted to study cooking professionally.
[Coren:] Now we are in your restaurant, Deli Kwong in Sydney and you just celebrated its 10th anniversary a couple of months ago. Congratulations.
[Kwong:] Thank you.
[Coren:] I know that you described it as the love of your life. A decade later, is it still the love of your life?
[Kwong:] Yes. No, it is. I mean, it's you know, Deli Kwong was my first restaurant and my very first business. And actually I love running a business. It's so challenging and I love what it brings out of you. When I opened 10 years ago, the goal was very simple. I just want to fill it every night and serve really fantastic fresh Chinese food out of this funny little Aussie place. Ten years later, the goal and the aspiration has grown much bigger than that. It's much more global I guess and that's very fulfilling and that makes life a lot more rewarding.
[Coren:] You've written five cookbooks and you've appeared in a number of TV series. Tell me what that process was like.
[Kwong:] When I wrote my first cookbook recipes and stories, it was at that same time I was filming my first TV show. So there were two different, very different things going on there. I was also trying to run this restaurant, but actually writing a book was quite a challenge. I actually had to write recipes. I mean, I've never written a recipe. You know, I had never written a recipe. I was always a bit of this and a bit of that. That's how my mother cooks. So pinning me down with scales and measuring cups and a measuring jag was pretty difficult. And then, of course, doing TV for the first time was a great challenge because, you know, when you're a chef in a very busy restaurant, you do things so quickly. You know, you do everything yesterday and you talk quickly and you move around quickly and everything is quick, quick, quick. Whereas with TV, I had to actually slow right down and get used to TV time where often, you know, we'd have the whole stage setup. The cameras would be rolling. I was just about to launch into this performance and then someone would say hang on a minute that, you know, the lighting is not right and so we have to stop. It would take maybe now to fix up the lightning, which is just the nature of television. So it took me a while to learn all of that and to just calm down about the time. So that was a great learning curve.
[Coren:] So your second and third TV series, "Simply Magic" and "My China." They were both shot in China. Tell us about that experience and the difficulties I guess that you faced actually shooting in China.
[Kwong:] It was difficult in a sense for example, in Shanghai when we wanted to take the camera down all of the back straight
[Coren:] Coming up, we get fired up in the kitchen as Kylie Kwong shows us one of her favorite dishes. Kylie, you've spoken about your mom, Pauline, and what a great cook she was. You grew up on her cooking and she was gone and preserved all those recipes.
[Kwong:] This is one of the family's treasures. This is mom's photo album that as I was saying, you know, about 30 years ago when
[Coren:] You are the generation Australian-Chinese, do you identify with one more than the other?
[Kwong:] I think I'm probably a little bit of both. Inside, I am probably more Chinese, i.e., that means, well, my spiritual Buddhist practice. The way I feel about the elderly, you know. The way I feel about my family, very close to the family. Family is very important, but I'm very Australian in terms of, I guess, one's carefree nature. I guess, the way I view things.
[Coren:] You touched on Buddhism. You've been practicing for the 60 years or so. How is that changed your life?
[Kwong:] Well, just simply. I mean, the word Buddha means the awakened one so it's about to me it's about being more awake than I've ever been, being awake to every moment. The way the way this translates, for example, in my restaurant is I only offer, you know, organic
[Coren:] The Dali Lama, he came out to Australia end of last year. You introduced him on stage and you also had the opportunity to cook for him. What was that like?
[Kwong:] Well, it was one of the great weeks of my life. I still can't believe it actually happened and he has these beautiful warm, soft hands. They are just gorgeous and so, yes, just warm. And we spent the whole week with him back stage in Sydney and it's just really, you know, his practice just really encouraged me to keep practicing and doing what we're doing and to always, you know, keep trying harder and harder in everything that we do. And to know that every single thing that we feel or think or do makes a very big difference, and to always be mindful of one's motivation and intentions.
[Coren:] Now I have to ask you what did you cook the Dalai Lama?
[Kwong:] Well, Tibetans traditionally hot food as in hot temperatures so we did lots of steamed vegetables dumpling. My Uncle Jimmy's beautiful Hokkien noodles, you know, stir fried vegetable dishes.
[Coren:] He left a happy customer?
[Kwong:] He left a happy customer, yes.
[Coren:] Kylie, what are we making here?
[Kwong:] We're doing stir fried mussels with black bean and chili. So what I've got are these beautiful fresh mussels from south Australia which came in today. And I'm boiling some water and I'm going to put the mussels in to open the mussels in the water to steam them through so They make the most beautiful sound in the wok these mussels and you'll see they only take a second, a minute or so to open up. So the mussels are opening now so because I'm going to cook them again in a moment with a stir frying pot, I don't want them to overcook so I'm getting them out right
[Coren:] Do you have a favorite dish or
[Kwong:] I really love seafood. I eat seafood about five nights a week and I particularly love steamed fish.
[Coren:] How often do you eat in your own restaurant?
[Kwong:] I eat here about two or three nights a week. We're open seven nights and then a lot of the time, I cook at home. And when I'm cooking at home, I love to cook Italian. Italian food is my second favorite. OK, they're open. OK, oil, a little bit of peanut oil. We Chinese love using peanut oil because of that smoky nutty flavor. If you are allergic to peanuts, I just suggest maybe vegetable oil with Yes, so when you're stir frying, it's very important to have all the ingredients already cut up, ready to go and right beside you, OK.
[Coren:] Timing and preparation.
[Kwong:] Timing and preparation, that's it. Now, I'm going to put in a few of the shallot and I'll save the rest for when we're serving. Fresh chili, if you love chili, you could leave the seeds in the chili because the seeds are the hardest part. As you can see I'm just stirring stirring all of those ingredients so I'm really, you know, to really bring out the flavor and intensify the flavor.
[Coren:] Do you find that you do a lot of entertaining with your friends?
[Kwong:] I do a lot of entertaining with my friends. I mean, my parents were the same that's where I got from. Chinese cooking wine, which is which gives the dish tip of flavor and character. It's an alcohol so I'd like to cook the alcohol off so it's not too harsh. OK, a little bit of sugar for carmelization. You can see I'm holding it off the flame. I'm controlling the temperature and now we need a little bit of salt. So I use my organic turmeric. We don't too much soy or turmeric because the black beans are already salty. Not big splash sesame oil and a little bit of vinegar, that sour, salty, sweet component, add the mussels back in. Give it a really good toss. Lots of bright green colors, want to capture the essence and the spirit of all of the ingredients, but you don't want to overcook.
[Coren:] There it is, done.
[Kwong:] That's it. The stir fried mussels with black beans. Try some.

[O'brien:] Good morning. Welcome, everybody. We've got updated information on those two American tourists who are believed to have been kidnapped in Egypt. Let's get right to Christine Romans who has some headlines for us on that. Good morning.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Good morning. That's right, Soledad. We begin with that breaking news at of Egypt. A group of armed gunmen kidnapped two American female tourists and their Egyptian tour guide in the Sinai Peninsula. Again, we're just getting word of that. A tour guide and two women seized by masked gunmen and we're following this closely. Our Ivan Watson is on the story. We'll have him a little bit later on in the program. All right, also in Egypt. Thousands of people gathering in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square this morning in protests against police. Looking at live pictures here right now. Protesters are angry about the lack of response from riot police during a soccer stampede that killed 79 people. U.S. officials are expressing concern about a link between Iran and al Qaeda. They say Tehran recently freed as many as five top al Qaeda operatives who had been under house arrests including members of Bin Laden's inner circle. Officials also say Iran may have provided material aid to that terror group. The Obama administration said to be considering the release of Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay as a way of promoting peace talks in Afghanistan. It comes after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested U.S. troops would end their combat role in Afghanistan by the middle of next year rather than in 2014. Mitt Romney stomping in Nevada on the eve of the state's caucuses. Romney is trying to move forward while backpedalling on those comments he made on this show regarding the country's poor. Polls give Romney a comfortable lead in Nevada. He was just endorsed by Donald Trump. Actress and comedian, Roseanne Barr says it's no joke, she is running for the Green Party's presidential nomination. Roseanne says she's a long-time Green Party supporter. The party's nominee will be chosen at a convention in Baltimore in July. "Minding Your Business" this morning, U.S. stock futures point to a higher open right now. Everyone is waiting for the big jobs report this morning. Economists surveyed by CNN Money are forecasting 130,000 jobs were added to the economy in January. The CNN Money survey shows that the unemployment rate probably ticked up a bit, maybe to 8.6 percent. Stay tuned. We're going to get you those numbers as soon as they're available next hour. Right now though, a quick check on the weather. Meteorologist Rob Marciano joins us. Good morning, Rob.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Good morning, Christine. I've been tracking this blizzard that is heading east of Denver. Major snowstorm from Denver with nine inches of snow and counting there, but the visibility has dropped and just now shutdown parts of I-70 from about the airport eastward, about 60 mile stretch. Blizzard warnings are up for eastern Colorado, western parts of Nebraska and Kansas. How much snow do we expect? Well, we could see over a foot in Denver, which doesn't sound like a lot, but in the month of December or February that is a fair amount so it's a major snowstorm for these folks. Heading into Nebraska, some of these darker colors we could see in some spots, up to 20 inches of snow. Elsewhere not too shabby. East coast, 46 degrees in New York City, 53 in D.C., but if you are traveling to either Dallas or Denver, those are going to be problem spots at the airports. Christine, back up to you.
[Romans:] I know hundreds of flights are canceled in Denver. Thanks so much Soledad.
[O'brien:] All right, let's move on. Talk some more politics this morning. Late last night, Mitt Romney started backing down from the comments that he made here on STARTING POINT the other day about the poor. That was after he repeated his stance twice actually on our show. I want to play that for you.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I'll fix it. You can focus on the very poor, that's not my focus. My focus is on middle income Americans.
[O'brien:] Then he changed his mind and now he's saying this.
[Romney:] John, it was a misstatement. I misspoke. If people are going to go after me when I make a mistake, when I slip up on a word I say even though I say I got it wrong, sorry, that's not what I meant. That's going to be part of the political process. I understand it and I accept the consequences.
[O'brien:] Ron Brownstein is the editorial director of "National Journal." The new issue, by the way, is on the newsstands today. There I am pitching "National Journal." Yes and I'm getting a Dodge Dart later this morning.
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Pitch that, actually.
[O'brien:] Yes. Good morning to you.
[Brownstein:] Good, good morning.
[O'brien:] I thought it was really interesting to hear what I just said, you know, when I slip up on a word. Do you think what do you make of this strategy of characterizing what was a big giant brouhaha for his campaign when they should have been doing their victory lap after the win in Florida to a slip up on a word?
[Brownstein:] Well, if he slipped up on a word he slipped up 75, 100, 125 times? Look, this is something that some version of which he has said repeatedly on the stump in debates. You know, that the phrasing of it was particularly explosive on the show Wednesday morning. But the basic sentiment, the basic argument, that in essence in this downturn, the very poor are sheltered by a safety net. The very rich are taking care of themselves and middle class is left out and getting the shaft has been a central argument he's made all of the way through. And in fact, as I said yesterday, the core of his argument against President Obama is that he is turning us into what Obama calls an entitlement society, a European style social state that we are sort of coddling American's independency. This is not the phrasing may have been a mistake, but the sentiment is something he has said many times before and he really can't say that that was somehow a misstatement.
[Unidentified Male:] Ron, do you think when you talk about poor. Mitt Romney has been so often accused of nothing having one. And kind of going with the wind to suit whatever audience he was speaking to. Was this an example of him actually articulating his more honestly than he has before?
[Brownstein:] I think, as I said yesterday, there is a political argument here that Republicans and conservatives have made for many years that is reflected in this language. I mean, I think a core of conservative populism and of the conservative argument against government has been opposition to transfer payments. The idea that the government takes money from people who are working hard and gives it to people who don't deserve it. That was I think significantly removed from our politics in the 1990s with welfare reform signed by Bill Clinton and helped to be designed by Newt Gingrich. But it's really re-emerged in this recession. We've had 15 million more Americans in poverty today than when Bill Clinton left office. There are a lot of people, in fact, receiving government benefits, whether it's food stamps or Medicaid or unemployment insurance. Some would argue that's exactly how this safety net is supposed to function when people are basically thrown on their own resources by the economy. But the Republicans are arguing this is a dangerous level of dependency. This is going to be a big argument. Just to be clear, I think the core point is, when Mitt Romney said to Soledad I'm going fix is safety net if there are holes in it. The essence of his agenda on these issues has been to retrench spending and to retrench the federal role on these issues, whether it's Medicaid
[O'brien:] It looked contradictory to what we know Will Cain is dying to get in here. Go ahead.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Ron and I have had this debate several times about what the core message of the Republican Party is. I'm not going to deny, Ron, opposition to transfer payments is part of that, but I think you're leaving out part of Mitt Romney's message, which was obviously inarticulately put across here. Newt Gingrich did a much better job. Newt Gingrich and actually Rick Santorum are guys that have voiced this ideology much better and that is you provide opportunities. There is a tenor in our conversation that if you care about the poor, if you're concerned about it, you give to them. You give more, you give more. History doesn't suggest that's true. From the '60s to the '90s, we had one of the most robust welfare and it failed. Since we've had reform, it's gotten better. Mitt Romney was speaking to that message as well.
[O'brien:] I think there are kind of two different categories. One is just from a PR stance you should never say I don't care about fill in the blank. It's just a bad thing to be quoted because people will take that chunk no matter what the context is and run it.
[Unidentified Male:] Absolutely. More dangerous than you might mean it.
[O'brien:] And you might mean it. We're talking politicians willing to even say who knows what anybody really means. But on the other side of this, you also have to say, what it really Mitt Romney stance on certain issues? So when we talks about I'm going to repair that safety net. In fact, Ron Brownstein, I mean, walk me through. Where does he stand on the things that we consider the safety net? I think we have a graphic of this. That's unemployment insurance. That's Medicaid, that's food stamps, that's housing vouchers, that's welfare. If you are talking about people poverty is, what, $22,000 a year for a family of four? What is Mitt Romney's position on repairing that safety net?
[Brownstein:] Well, first of all. Will is right. Certainly the welfare reform in 1996 did in fact expand an opportunity for low- income people by moving them into a labor force at the time when it was expanding. But, if you're looking at what Mitt Romney is talking about here, the core of his agenda is reducing the federal commitment to a lot of he's anti-poverty programs. The most important one is Medicaid, which is now an entitlement that provides health care for the poor including seniors. He wants to convert that into a block brand. He wants to reduce the growth of federal spending on it to about half the level it is now, about $100 billion a year. Unless states find significant efficiencies that are eluded them before. Inexorably, that means fewer people are being eligible and reduce benefits.
[O'brien:] I'm going to stop you there. At a time when the number of people in poverty is increasing, I think we have from 2007, 37 million up to 46 million in poverty today, an increase of just under 25 percent. Chrystia, want to jump in on this?
[Chrystia Freeland, Editor, Thomson Reuters Digital:] I wanted to say, Ron, first of all, I totally agree with you on the misspeaking point. I think it's quite essential to point out that this was maybe for the Romney campaign an unfortunate way of phrasing it. But it actually spoke to a core point that they've been trying to make. I wanted to ask you about something a little bit different about how this is playing. What I wonder is, we've seen quite a few times that Mitt Romney has a hard time talking about money.
[O'brien:] Why is that?
[Freeland:] In ways that are comfortable for everybody else. This has caught fire so much because it reminds us that we talked about money
[O'brien:] His gaffes are always around money. Why?
[Unidentified Male:] I like to fire people.
[Freeland:] I think it's because he's very rich and he lives in a different world from the rest of us.
[O'brien:] Ross Perot was even richer. Ross Perot was really, really, really rich and he didn't. So there are a lot of people who have been rich who do not make these gaffes. I find this very curious. Ron, do you have a theory on this?
[Brownstein:] Well, you know, I think that is a really good point. I think there are two aspects of it. First, the most dangerous thing in politics is to play into a pre-existing story line, right? So when Dan Quayle misspelled potato it was a much better deal than if Al Gore had misspelled potato. For Romney, there is kind of accumulation that's going on here because he has made so many awkward comments relating to money, I'm unemployed, too, I like firing people. You know, each one might be misconstrued and certainly some of them have been stretched. But there is more sensitivity to it. I think the second thing is kind of, you know, I think he's kind of internalized a kind of unease about this. I mean, I think, you know, the fact that Republicans, as well as Democrats, have been going after him on his financial background. I think it has made him somewhat unsteady in this terrain. I think he probably doesn't feel as secure as he does on some other areas. So I think the combination of more sensitivity and kind of the audience and probably more sensitivity on the part of the performer explains part of what we're seeing.
[O'brien:] All right, Ron Brownstein, always nice to have you. We love having you in person though. You might want to move to New York. Do it, do it, Ron. Did I mention, the "National Journal" is out now on newsstands?
[Unidentified Male:] Do they have ads for Chrysler products in the magazine?
[O'brien:] The dodge dart, which I'll be purchasing later? Good thinking there. All right, got a lot to get to this morning. Susan G. Komen, a cancer charity. We've been talking about that. Now they are literally mid-crisis after cutting off cash, payments, to Planned Parenthood. We'll examine whether this is policy or politics or maybe both. Also, cashing in on tornado tourism. A plan to get people to visiting Joplin, Missouri, to see the damage. A lot of people are angry. We'll tell you why we say get real to that this morning.

[Malveaux:] California, one of a handful of states that permit the use of medical marijuana. And one father sees it really as a life-saving remedy. Kyung Lah has the story.
[Kyung Lah, Cnn Correspondent:] The video is hard to watch, 6-year-old Jayden in an epileptic seizure. [on camera]: When you hold your son and he is screaming like that, what is that like?
[Jason David, Father Of Jayden:] I would say hell. There's nothing you can do to make him feel better.
[Lah:] But there is something. Jason David administers an unorthodox drug for his son's catastrophic epilepsy, a disease that can be fatal for children. [on camera]: It stopped the seizure?
[David:] Stopped the seizure, and he is in pain and suffering.
[Lah:] Calms him down?
[David:] Yes
[Lah:] It stops the seizure.
[David:] Stops the seizure. He's in pain and suffering, we have to do whatever it takes to save their life.
[Lah:] Pharmaceutical drugs have failed the Modesto, California, family.
[David:] Lafinamine, Fenomax, Clobazane. He couldn't chew. He couldn't walk. He couldn't take a bath. Open.
[Lah:] After a year of taking a liquid form of medical marijuana that doesn't get you high
[David:] I love you.
[Jayden David, Takes Medical Marijuana:] Yes, Jayden.
[Lah:] he is playing, running, and climbing. Jayden is eating solid food. From 22 pills a day to a day to treat his epilepsy, down to a pill and a half. 44 ambulance trips before starting on legal medical marijuana. It's now zero trips in the ambulance.
[David:] Medical marijuana should be called miracle marijuana.
[Lah:] Jayden is not the only one. There's no solid national statistics of how many children are using medical marijuana but where in the states where it's legal, from Oregon to Colorado, states report dozens of registered users under the age of 18, some as young as 2. And this is your vault?
[Steve Deangelo, Executive Director, Harborside Health Center:] This is our vault.
[Lah:] A vault full of various types of medicinal marijuana. At Harborside Health Center in Oakland, technicians sort, analyze and distill the plant. It's science here. And they believe it will help children with severe autism, epilepsy, ADHD and cancer.
[Deangelo:] We have seen more than one child like Jayden who came to us with very, very serious, severe life threatening illnesses who, as soon as they started using cannabis medicine, saw a dramatic turnaround.
[Lah:] The medical community says, without better research, which requires federal support, most doctors oppose medical marijuana for children.
[Dr. Seth Ammerman, Pediatrician:] All medications may have side effects, may have long-term consequences and unfortunately we know very little about this.
[David:] The parent is flying by the seat of their pants in doing this. You are the world to me
[Lah:] Call him crazy, call him unethical, this father heard it all except for one phrase.
[David:] All I want is my son to say I love you, dad. I love you. Can you say I love you? That's all I want to hear. I mean, I'm really close.
[Lah:] Close to finally reaching his son. Kyung Lah, CNN, Modesto, California.
[Malveaux:] Washington State has a first-in-history moment today with the recreational use of marijuana going in to effect. But the state is also marking another first.

[Whitfield:] All right, over the years we've heard different arguments as to why a state should not go through with an execution. But is weight a good reason? An Ohio inmate claims he is to obese to die by lethal injection in January, and wants it to be delayed. Our legal guys are back, Avery Friedman in Cleveland, Richard Herman in Las Vegas. All right. Gentlemen, so this convicted killer, Ronald Post weighs 480 pounds. And he has tried to lose more, but at 53, he says you know what, it is not just an issue of his weight, but that his veins are not good enough for lethal injection, and that would constitute a complicated process, which will lead to cruel and unusual punishment. So Avery, you know, what are the options here?
[Friedman:] Well, you know, it is interesting that the opinions about this have been thermo nuclear, everybody says well he shot this lady so we should shoot him but you know, under the constitution that isn't how we do these things. The fact is, that there are legitimate arguments which U.S. attorney judge, Leslie Wells, who has the case, has to decide based on science. To me what's really intriguing here, really intriguing and I haven't seen any opinion on this is that you know what, the prison officials had to know, Fredricka, this was coming, this was coming.
[Whitfield:] Really?
[Friedman:] Why in the world didn't they just do a quick gastro bypass, which by the way, Post had asked for, done. Insurance companies do it. It's done all the time.
[Whitfield:] Really?
[Friedman:] With a gastro bypass, the guy wouldn't be 500 pounds and this issue wouldn't even exist.
[Whitfield:] In order to make sure so a procedure like that
[Friedman:] To make sure
[Whitfield:] To make sure that his execution would be able to go through?
[Friedman:] Absolutely right. Why in the world do these prison officials screw around with this? This thing should have been taken care of a long time ago and the federal judge now has to make the decision. Should have never, never happened.
[Whitfield:] Interesting. So Richard, how often does this happen that somebody's physical condition kind of precludes them from being a eligible candidate for execution, when they have been convicted and they are serving what is left of their life on death row?
[Herman:] You know, Fred, there must be something in the water in Cleveland these days. Avery, come on, this guy has been in prison for almost 30 years.
[Friedman:] That's the point.
[Herman:] They have exhausted every single appeal right they could. He is in a wheelchair right now. He is not going anywhere.
[Friedman:] Yes.
[Herman:] He is going to get stuck with those needles. They are going to give him the three-drug cocktail. He's going down. He says "I tried to lose weight," Fred. "I went on the exercise bike in prison but it broke because I was too fat."
[Friedman:] Yes.
[Herman:] Listen, the fatness didn't preclude him from killing and murdering someone so it's not going to protect him from getting the death penalty.
[Friedman:] Irrelevant.
[Herman:] He exhausted his appeals. He's getting the needles. They're going to find veins. I know doctors who will find those veins, and this guy is going down. He's going to die in prison. They'll execute him.
[Friedman:] Bring the doctors in from Las Vegas.
[Whitfield:] Interesting.
[Herman:] And there are no further defenses. It is over.
[Whitfield:] This is fascinating. Of course, the family of the hotel, the motel clerk that was killed in that 1983 murder is saying this is just another, you know
[Friedman:] That's right. Of course.
[Whitfield:] last-ditch effort to delay his execution. So it will be interesting to see what happens. It is not over yet. OK. Let's talk about another case, I want you gentlemen, to take a swipe at this one. This involving the ACLU that is looking into a case that involves a a cheek swab for DNA. And this taking place involving a person before they have is actually been charged with a crime. And this is all, you know, predicated on an actual California case. Avery, what happened in this case?
[Friedman:] Well, the protester was told by the cops "Look, we'll let you out of jail early if you let us do a little DNA swab." Well, she did. A federal district judge said that was not unconstitutional. Wasn't an unreasonable search. The Federal Court of Appeals, 2-1, said yes, that is not unconstitutional. This week, 11 federal appeals judges got together and heard arguments on the question. Even if they rule that it is unconstitutional, you have courts like the Maryland Supreme Court that said, "Well, it is unconstitutional." So the question is, is this case, a DNA swab going to find itself in the U.S. Supreme Court as an unreasonable search? And that is really the question this presented. Is it any different than fingerprinting? And that's the
[Whitfield:] Well, that was going to be my next question actually, Richard. How is this any different from fingerprinting because you may be suggested to giving up your fingerprint before you are charged and the same is being asked here, giving up the swab before you're charged.
[Herman:] That was one of the arguments made in the Court of Appeals. And the judges completely rejected that argument, Fred. But listen
[Friedman:] Two to one
[Herman:] In 2004, the interesting people in the great state of California, many of whom participate in those legal marijuana sales facilities that they have there, voted in this law, which says that even if even if you are arrested upon a felony arrest, you must give up your DNA swab. You must give a swab upon a felony arrest. The people voted that. So what happened was Avery gave you the facts of the case. It is on appeal right now. Look, defense attorneys argue this all the time, it is an unreasonable search and seizure, you're protected by the fourth amendment. I think Avery this is going to D.C., get your tickets now, this will be in the U.S. Supreme Court.
[Whitfield:] U.S. Supreme Court and it will be very interesting.
[Friedman:] Wow. No kidding. Well, Fredricka's already there. So
[Herman:] Right. That's what they did, Fred.
[Whitfield:] I'm going to camp out in the steps and wait until it happens.
[Friedman:] Right, right.
[Whitfield:] And then I'll consult with you, as well, yes.
[Herman:] And you can swab it, weigh it in and just hang out there.
[Whitfield:] OK, as long as the weather is good. All right, thanks, gentlemen.
[Friedman:] Yes, that's right.
[Whitfield:] Good to see you, always a great treat. Appreciate it. The legal guys are here every Saturday, noon Eastern, to give us their take on the most intriguing legal cases of the day. A suburban Atlanta couple charged with unspeakable crimes. It is a bizarre story that you just have to see to believe.
[David Eagleman, Neuroscientist:] I'm interested in neuro law, because it is really where the rubber hits the road in neuroscience. It's where we can take all the things we're learning about human behavior and how humans are different and translate that into social policy, how we're actually running the system here. I'm David Eagleman and I'm a neuroscientists. At some point there will be a crime committed like the Virginia Tech shooting or the Columbine shooting or the Aurora movie theater shooting. And we will find that the perpetrator had a brain tumor. I'm not suggesting that any of those events were explained by brain tumors but at some point that will happen. And then society is going to have to deal with this very difficult question about this relationship between brain and behavior and this question of culpability.

[Anderson:] Hi, there. Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Right now, selling sexy. Kim Kardashian is taking that motto to the bank. Still, just this week, we`ve seen Kim have an on-camera meltdown over a nude photo spread fearing it was too revealing. And then, on the other hand, she`s revealing a first look at her hot, new, super-sexy Super Bowl ad. Sounds like it could be a contradiction to me. But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you despite Kim`s rants, she`s willingly cashing in on her sexiness. And we`ve got to ask, is there anything wrong with that?
[Kim Kardashian, Reality Tv Star:] Oh, my god, I`m more naked here than I was in my "Playboy."
[Anderson:] Everyone is talking about Kim Kardashian`s meltdown in this week`s episode of her reality show "Kourtney and Kim take New York."
[Kim Kardashian:] I feel so [bleep] bad you have no idea.
[Anderson:] Kim absolutely freaked out when she first saw her nude photo spread that appeared in the November issue of "W" magazine.
[Kim Kardashian:] Like I am so upset. I was told that artwork was going to be covered on top of me and they weren`t going to show my ass crack or my nipples. This is
[Anderson:] Now, today, "W" magazine is responding to Kim`s accusation that it duped her. In a new statement to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "W" magazine says, "Kim Kardashian`s cover was conceived as an artistic collaboration and was a meditation on the influence that reality TV has on contemporary culture."
[Bonnie Fuller, Editor-in-chief, "hollywoodlife.com":] To see her meltdown over her "W" photographs is surprising.
[Anderson:] The "W" controversy comes as we get our very first look at Kardashian`s sexy new Super Bowl commercial. "E! Online" posted a brief shot of Kardashian`s new ad for Skechers. So while Kim Kardashian says she doesn`t want to be nude anymore
[Kim Kardashian:] I don`t want people to be, like, all she`s good for is, you know, being naked.
[Anderson:] Being sexy? Well, that`s something else entirely.
[Fuller:] I don`t think that Kim has a problem being sexy.
[Kim Kardashian:] I feel so
[Anderson:] Complaining about nude photos while posing nude and selling a sexy image? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, is Kim Kardashian trying to have it both ways? Ever since a mysterious sex tape launched Kardashian into fame, Kim has marketed herself to the hilt. She was recently named TV`s highest-paid reality show star, pulling in an estimate $6 million last year.
[Kim Kardashian:] I would absolutely say that marketing is a skill.
[Anderson:] Kim Kardashian recently told CNN`s Piers Morgan that she`s all business now. And about that sex tape?
[Kim Kardashian:] I feel like I`ve dealt with it and now I move on from it. And I don`t really go there.
[Fuller:] Kim wants to change her image. She wants her "Playboy" pictures and her sex tape to be in the past. She has worked hard to present herself as a hardworking, serious career woman.
[Anderson:] But "HollywoodLife.com`s" Bonnie Fuller tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Kim`s not afraid to use sex to sell herself. And really, is there anything wrong with that?
[Fuller:] Kim has used her sexy side very effectively to market herself. I think there is a great distance between being the "Playboy" centerfold and between being a sexy, voluptuous, very self-actualized woman who embraces her sexuality.
[Anderson:] So Kim Kardashian is showing that complaining about
[Kim Kardashian:] I`m so
[Anderson:] Than embracing
[Kim Kardashian:] I`m happy with it at the end of the day.
[Anderson:] Nude photos that you pose for can get you great TV ratings. Those same nude photos can get you on the cover of a major magazine. A sexy image can get you a Super Bowl commercial. And most importantly of all, having it both ways can get you very, very rich.
[Gwen Flamberg, Beauty And Lifestyle Director For "us Weekly":] Well, she`s got two young sisters. Girls all over America look up to Kim. So I don`t really think it`s so great that she`s cashing in on it. But on the other hand, once you`ve done a sex tape, all bets are off. And at least, Kim has a womanly body. She`s not super waif-y. She looks real and people can relate to that.
[Anderson:] And I love what you just said about the message she is sending to young girls. She is trying to put that sex tape behind her, but steamy, sexy, provocative photo shoots really do nothing for that effort.
[Flamberg:] It seems a little bit contradictory, absolutely.
[Anderson:] It certainly does. Well, I want to ask Maureen O`Connor. She`s a writer for "Gawker." I want to ask her the same question. Is there anything wrong with Kim cashing in on her sexy image?
[Maureen O`connor, Writer, "gawker":] You know, it doesn`t bother me that Kim uses her body as part of her career and part of what makes her famous. What bothers me, though, is the way she`s in this vicious cycle where every time she`ll do a sex tape, and then she`ll feel terrible and give interviews and say she feels awful. Then she`ll pose for "Playboy" and then afterwards, she feels horrible shame about that, too. I think what`s dangerous is this idea that, to get ahead, a woman must be sexy, but then she has to feel bad about it afterwards. And to me, that cycle is honestly worse than any individual act or any individual picture of her. It`s the sort of the attitude to that.
[Anderson:] Yes, she`s got to think ahead of time, like, "How is this going to make me feel afterwards?" And you know, as we mentioned, Kim did become infamous after her sex tape was released in 2007. In less than four years, she has turned that shame into an empire that now includes at least three reality shows. She is a staple on magazine covers like yours, "Us Weekly." She even gets paid to tweet. Gwen, quickly, does it blow your mind, what she has accomplished? $6 million, the girl made last year.
[Flamberg:] It`s pretty amazing. And she shot a cover for "Vogue" magazine. Make no mistake. Kim is A-list now. I mean, she has really raised the bar on what it means to be a celebrity.
[Anderson:] And she`s smart and she`s strategic with her marketing ability.
[Flamberg:] Super savvy.
[Anderson:] I don`t want to take that away from her. She is super savvy.
[Flamberg:] Yes.
[Anderson:] All right, Gwen Flamberg, Maureen O`Connor, thank you both. And I`ve got to move now to Jennifer Aniston`s stunning new revelation today. Jennifer talks to Ellen DeGeneres about her dramatic showdown with this guy, Perez Hilton.
[Aniston:] I ran into Perez Hilton in a garage. It was one of those moments you just don`t ever expect to happen.
[Anderson:] You won`t believe what happened when Jennifer confronted Perez. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. And now, the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray join cast of "Dallas" remake. GLAAD upset "SNL" mocked transgender people in a skit.
[Unidentified Actor:] You deserve to be in the body you want. Most hormone replacement therapies require you to take five estrogen supplements a day five.

[Baldwin:] Welcome back. We're looking at what hot, what you're talking about. That means we're talking "trending." Brooke Anderson is joining me from Los Angeles with all the scoops. Brooke, Let's begin with the Kardashian gals and issues about reading the fine print of a pay as you go card.
[Brooke Anderson, Hln Host, "showbiz Tonight":] Yes, big issues here. You know the Kardashian sisters are accustomed to their business ventures achieving wild success, but not today. The prepaid debit card that they put their name and face on has completely back fired on them. The "Kardashian card," as it was called, has been canceled. Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney have now terminated the deal after they were slammed for it. Connecticut's attorney general had announced that he would investigate the card because of its, quote, "predatory fees combined with its appeal to financially unsophisticated young adults." Also personal finance expert Suze Orman had lashed out at Kim as she said "swindling impressionable kids." Suze wrote, "shame, shame, shame." So enough was enough. The Kardashians severed ties. And I think this was a wise move by the sisters. Hopefully in the future they or their advisers will look a little more closely at their fine print before signing on the dotted line. That's very important.
[Baldwin:] Trending number two, Ms. Anderson. Hobbit movie casting, some sort of race issue.
[Anderson:] Yes, there's outrage over race and casting. I have to tell you, director Peter Jackson's movie adaptation of "The Hobbit" is two years away from being released, but it's already been plagued by problem after problem. The movie has been delayed over and over. There's been director drama. There have been issues with the production in New Zealand. And now there's this. A casting agent working on the movie has reportedly been fired after the agent is said to have placed advertisements for extras with, quote, "light skin tones." This person also reportedly told a woman at an audition that, hey, she was too dark to be in the movie.
[Baldwin:] Really?
[Anderson:] A spokesman for "Wingnut Films, the production company owned by Peter Jackson, reportedly said no instructions were given to the company, so the agent in question got the axe. We reached out to New Line Cinema which is distributing the movie for comment. We're awaiting a response. Brooke, maybe the woman didn't look like their hobbits, but this film is most likely to also have dragons, throw in some elves. It seems like there could be room for everybody.
[Baldwin:] Yes, exactly. At least the guy got the axe. Trending number three, Fran Drescher, what a lovely would, kind of a gnarly voice. Needless to say she has a sitcom coming her way.
[Anderson:] Unmistakable voice. The actress who hit instant fame as the star of "The Nanny" is working on a new TV pilot for TV land that is based on her life, specifically her dating struggles after she finds out that her husband is gay. The show is called "Happily Divorced," and it gets even better." Guess who is co-writing and producing with Fran, Brooke?
[Baldwin:] Who?
[Anderson:] Her ex-husband, Peter Mark Jacobson. They divorced in '99 after being married for 21 years. Obviously they're on great terms, not only friends but they're co-workers post divorce. That really is saying something. And TV Land tells "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" that the people they cast will be actors, not people in Fran's real life.
[Baldwin:] Got to be interesting.
[Anderson:] Fran herself has not been cast in the show but that could happen down the line.
[Baldwin:] Got to be honest, sounds kind of interesting. Brooke Anderson, good to see you.
[Anderson:] You too.
[Baldwin:] Have you heard about this? Reports indicate a well known figure has booked the entire wing of a major hospital in New York. Yep, I'm talking recovery rooms, treatment centers, the whole kit and caboodle. Who is this? Who has this kind of power? That is ahead. Plus, we are days away from the military's top leaders testifying on the possible repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." But first, they're revealing what many members of the military think about it. And that is next.

[Velshi:] Welcome back. A parachute failed landing a guy in jail. Take a look at this. A base jumper dangling 60 feet high, he left off California's tallest bridge, the Forest Hill Bridge in Auburn, standing 730 feet high over the American River. He got his parachute caught in a tree. Police used a helicopter to rescue the jumper. That's not easy trying to grab a moving target from a chopper.
[Unidentified Male:] They were dealing with a parachute hung up in the tree. The motor wash moved the victim around a lot. He was kind of precariously hung into a tree. He's not only the motor wash a problem, but the length that they have to do to try to get away from the victim as much as possible. The longer you are away from a helicopter swinging on a line. It's like a pendulum floating underneath something.
[Velshi:] Police say he dangled there about 90 minutes before he called 911 from a cell phone.
[Costello:] He dangled there for 90 minutes? Wow. Wouldn't your head explode?
[Velshi:] Well, police arrested him because it's illegal to base jump without a permit. Stupid to base jump with one.
[Romans:] All right, everyone has their favorite reality shows, right? Whether it's "SURVIVOR," "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES," "JERSEY SHORE"? They're an escape from your own reality. You're watching something exciting and different, maybe a little nutty. That's what I like hoarders personally, but reality shows are taking a new turn. They're hitting a little closer to home for millions of out of work Americans. Take a look. From the Kardashians to the housewives and the millionaire matchmaker.
[Unidentified Female:] OK, girls. Are you ready to meet a millionaire?
[Romans:] We know Americans love shows about people with money, but when did watching economic struggle become entertaining.
[A.j. Hammer, Host, Hln's "showbiz Tonight:] " Now reality television is reflecting something so major that's going on in virtually everybody's lives, the economic downturn.
[Romans:] Call it Recession TV. There's pawn stars.
[Unidentified Male:] Fifteen?
[Romans:] Downsized.
[Unidentified Female:] OK. It says
[Romans:] American pickers.
[Unidentified Male:] A lot of people look at this stuff as their savings accounted, like, I bought this. I think it's worth more money.
[Romans:] Repo games.
[Unidentified Male:] Recall it in the morning.
[Romans:] A&E; Network just shot a pilot called "Job Whisperer," a show about finding a job and even "Sesame Street" introduced Lily, a muppet struggling with hunger.
[Lily, Muppet, "sesame Street":] You don't even know whether you're going to have a next meal or not. That can be pretty hard.
[Romans:] So is reality TV becoming too real to watch?
[Jeff Gardere, America's Psychologist:] There will always be the escapism type of TV, whether it's scripted, whether it's reality, where people are just frivolously just spending money and having a lavish lifestyle. Sometimes we need that, but I think we're redefining what life is as a middle-class American, and they're getting that information from
[Tv. Romans:] For now, many Americans will dream of a fairy tale wedding through our TV sets.
[Romans:] And for some that fairy tale wedding is really just getting a job. I had a great conversation with Robert Thompson from Syracuse University and Pete Dominick about why what we're calling recession TV. You can watch that discussion on "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" tomorrow at 9:30 A.M. Eastern. I don't know if finding a job is as entertaining as they're going to try to make it.
[Costello:] I think it's depressing.
[Romans:] But repoing a car is depressing and it's wildly popular.
[Costello:] Well, they make it so exciting, though. "The Repo Guys" are like, you know, it sounds like out in the Wild West, instead of lassoing cattle, you're lassoing a repoed car.
[Romans:] If they can make finding a job like "Survivor" or like the great the race
[Velshi:] Right.
[Romans:] what is that, "The Great Race" or the race thing, you know
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Romans:] where you're actually, you know, showing your skills and trying to get a job, then maybe it's going to be entertaining. But, I mean, now that it seeped into even reality
[Tv - Velshi:] Yes.
[Romans:] and money has always been in reality TV, but not having money being in reality
[Tv - Costello:] Although, it'll be nice if there was something in the middle, because I don't like watching those other shows, either.
[Romans:] Do you do "Quarters"?
[Costello:] Yes. I do find that interesting.
[Romans:] I like "Quarters".
[Costello:] I have to admit it, I do. Let's go to Atlanta to check in with Rob Marciano who has his own kind of reality.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes and it's not pretty. I can tell you that. Good morning. It's Friday, guys. And for a lot of people the reality is that we've got a couple days off. If you don't, sorry. But the northeast will see not the best of weather for this Friday and it will last through tomorrow. We don't have much in the way of rain from New York to Philly, but some of that is heading up into the Upstate New York area or parts of Western Mass. But the back side of this, this is kind of a storm that's gathering some strength. We saw a tremendous amount of rain with this across parts of Virginia. A couple reports of tornadoes in Virginia and the Newport News area up through just north of Richmond as well. And, ooh, here's some of the video. I wasn't able to see this earlier, so I'm just seeing it for the first time as well. But there you see some of the damage. Likely it's a tornado touching down there. All right. The back side of this is going to have some wind with it. Gusts to 65 miles an hour potentially. We've got high wind watches that have been posted just to just to the east of the Great Lakes. And some of these winds will get into the bigger cities as well over the next couple of days. So that coupled with the rainfall will slow down some of the travel throughout the day today. Thunderstorms in the New York metros. Over an hour delays there expected especially at LaGuardia and Boston, Philly, Chicago. I mean, you can pick them as far as the major cities are concerned, you'll have your problems. Although, for the Detroit game yesterday, they managed to get it in without any sort of rain delay. So that was impressive, nonetheless. All right. The dry continues. The dry weather continues across the midsection of the country and in the desert southwest and SoCal will continue their stretch of very warm weather; 91 degrees expected in Los Angeles; 88 degrees in Dallas; and 71 degrees up there in New York City where they're debuting the iPhone 4s. They're having parties down in Battery Park. Good times.
[Costello:] Wish you could be there.
[Marciano:] I'll be there on Monday, guys.
[Velshi:] Nice.
[Romans:] Awesome.
[Marciano:] My cousin Rudy's getting married tomorrow, so
[Velshi:] Very good. All right.
[Romans:] Hey, congratulations, Cousin Rudy.
[Marciano:] Yes.
[Romans:] There you go.
[Velshi:] See you in a bit, Rob.
[Marciano:] Yes.
[Costello:] Thank you, Rob. Now's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today's question, should companies require interviews with minority job candidates? The black community is hurting. Sixteen-point-seven percent unemployment and many in the African-American community say President Obama is trying, but not hard enough. Robert Johnson, CEO of the Black Entertainment Television and an influential guy in the world of politics. Listen.
[Robert Johnson, Ceo, Bet:] And I think the president and the Congress both sides, I'm not picking on one or the other, they need to go the extra mile to increase opportunities for African-Americans.
[Costello:] Johnson's idea, going the extra mile? Expand the NFL's Rooney Rule throughout the business world for executive level jobs. That's the rule requiring NFL owners to interview at least one African-American candidate when there's a vacancy in a coaching or GM position. OK, I hear you. That smacks of discrimination. Not so, says Johnson. It would be strictly voluntary.
[Johnson:] There's no mandate to hire anybody. It's simply it's called what I call, best practice enhanced commitment to diversity inclusion.
[Costello:] Especially, he says, with so many white candidates vying for the same jobs. As for how the Rooney Rule has changed the NFL? There are now eight African-American head coaches, before there were only two. And five black general managers, before that, only one. The Rooney Rule, though, is mandatory for NFL owners. So the "Talk Back" question today, should companies require interviews with minority job candidates? Facebook.comAmericanMorningAmericanMorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.
[Velshi:] OK. Coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, a fighter jet going into an all-out nosedive at an air show in China. More of this incredible video and what happened to the pilot when we come back.

[Whitfield:] Check the top stories right now, final funeral plans are set for Whitney Houston. A long list of stars will honor Houston tomorrow at her childhood church in Newark, New Jersey. Ex-husband Bobby Brown is also expected to attend. And today, Congress could approve the deal extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. President Obama will sign the deal when it hits his desk. In Louisiana, a 5-mile stretch of the Mississippi River is closed in one part because two vessels collided this morning. One of the vessels was a barge that leaked oil into the river. The vessel has been pushed up into a bank and is no longer leaking. No word yet on how much oil did spill, however. All right, "Political Buzz" is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing today, CNN contributor, Maria Cardona, Chris Moody is a political reporter for Yahoo! News and Boris Epstein, he is a contributor for the "Daily Caller" and a Republican strategist. All right, it's good to see all of you. All right so first question, two female Democratic council members walked out of a committee hearing, the contraception rule, because there were no women on the panel of witnesses so what is at stake here? Maria?
[Maria Cardona, Cnn Contributor:] What's at stake I think is the downfall of the Republican Party because frankly they're stepping it big time and they should take a playbook out of Rick Perry and wear boots. Except boots wouldn't be wouldn't be big enough. They need to wear rubber suits. Because they are not just stepping in it they are rolling in it. Look, Independent women of critical demographic and the majority of women in this country have taken contraception and they demand, we demand equal access to preventive services. Imagine that that's outrageous that we would demand equal access to life-saving services. The Republicans are wrong on this. They've already already alienated Latino voters and they're going down the wrong path on this.
[Whitfield:] All right. Boris?
[Boris Epstein, Republican Strategist:] This could be handled better from the Republican perspective no question about this. This could be framed as a constitutional debate. Does the President and the federal government have the right to mandate that these this contraception is paid for either by religious institutions or their insurers. Sometimes the same institutions or the employers are also the insurers. That's how the debate should be framed. Both sides are trivializing it by saying at one side the Republicans don't want women to have contraception and Republicans are saying that the Democrats or President Obama, don't or want to trample on religion that's not happening with either one. Let's be smart about the debate.
[Whitfield:] All right, Chris?
[Chris Moody, Reporter, Yahoo News:] Look I think the optics at yesterday's hearing could have been a lot better. Surely there was a Republican aide looking at the names of people that were going to speak at the hearing and said, you know, maybe they'll criticize us for not having any women. I'm actually surprise that they didn't think about that. And of course, they were criticized for it. I mean, but that is a trivial matter I think people are saying that his is Republicans the cultural wars of the 1990s but it wasn't Republicans that started this mandate on that could violate certain people's religious moral convictions. So the question I think is who swung who swung first? And I think in this case it was the Democrats.
[Whitfield:] All right, Santorum supporter Foster Friess makes a joke about women using aspirin as a contraceptive back in his days. Santorum is putting distance between him and his comments but is this giving us a glimpse into Santorum's world? Boris you first?
[Epstein:] It's bad. To go on "Andrea Mitchell" and to say that, it was awful. Is that a glimpse into Santorum's world? Maybe yes, maybe no but what we do know about Rick Santorum, is that he's someone who has spoken against women in military forces, women in the workforce, he's spoken out against gay rights, he's someone who concentrates on social issues, he's someone who is not for a big Republican tent. And that as Republicans that's what we need, we need to concentrate on small government, low taxes, national security, that's how we can beat President Obama and win the Senate while keeping the House. If Rick Santorum is at the top of the ticket we're going to have a problem in all the races.
[Whitfield:] Maria?
[Cardona:] I think it's not only a glimpse into Rick Santorum's world, I think it's a glimpse into this new extreme Republican Party who doesn't respect women and who doesn't understand that women are a key demographic. And it's as going back to your first question it's a long the same lines. And look if they keep down this path the only election that Republicans are going to win any time soon are elections on Newt Gingrich's moon colony. It's ridiculous what they're doing in terms of alienating critically important demographics.
[Whitfield:] And Chris?
[Moody:] Well I think obviously Rick Santorum and his campaign, were a little bit embarrassed by Foster Friess comments. You know I've heard Rick Santorum on the trail discuss this quite a bit. In his personal life he opposes using artificial contraceptives but every time I've heard him he's been extremely clear to say that he separates his personal views from policy views. If you look at his record throughout the 1990s, he doesn't necessarily vote against contraceptives and I think that's something that is overlooked quite a bit, that he separates those two things.
[Whitfield:] Ok, your "Buzzer Beater", 20 seconds each, Romney is now in a dogfight in his home state of Michigan. Even with an endorsement from the Governor, so why is this such a tough battle for him, Maria?
[Cardona:] Because in addition to the fact that this is not somebody that conservatives trust or conservatives like because he's flip- flopped on so many issues, the key argument for his candidacy, which is that he is a businessman who knows how to turn around ailing industries has completely tanked because of the fact that he came out against the Detroit bankruptcy plan or bailout plan that has in fact, saved Detroit and saved the key industry in Michigan.
[Whitfield:] All right. Boris?
[Epstein:] Saved the key industry, by still costing taxpayers billions and billions of dollars. The bailout comments are a problem for Mitt Romney. Long-term, he is going to overcome these issues and he is going to be Republican nominee because, again, he doesn't concentrate on social issues like Santorum does and focus on what people care become the economy and national security. Michigan is going to be a dogfight. Long-term, Romney is the nominee no question about it.
[Whitfield:] All right. Chris?
[Moody:] When it comes to his lack of support for the bailout it's kind of a damned if you do damned if you don't scenario for Mitt Romney if he had said I support the bailout, they would have said well, you're just you're pandering to Michigan or you're abandoning your free market or Republican conservative principles. People are saying that Michigan could be a Waterloo for Mitt Romney. I don't know if it's that extreme but it will tell us if we're going to have a much longer primary primary season here going forward.
[Whitfield:] All right next time, we need more more time on the clock for you guys next time. We're very fiery.
[Epstein:] That would be great.
[Cardona:] It does seem very short today, Frederica.
[Whitfield:] All right, Maria, Chris and Boris, thanks so much.
[Epstein:] Have a good weekend.
[Cardona:] Thank you.
[Whitfield:] Have a great weekend. All right, just days before the Arizona primary election, the GOP contenders debate the issues again. The Arizona Republican presidential debate on CNN Wednesday night, 8:00 Eastern Time. And more stars are being added to the guest list for Whitney Houston's funeral. Details straight ahead in "Showbiz" headlines.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Erin, thanks very much. Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight "Keeping Them Honest" with a 360 special investigation. Smallpox was eradicated from the entire world back in 1980. Even if it ever came back the federal government still keeps enough vaccine for every single person in the United States. So why is it that the federal government is spending at least $432 million to develop a new smallpox drug, not a vaccine? A drug that incidentally one of the world's leading smallpox experts says has not been proven to work. Could it be because the company just awarded the contract has some pretty deep ties with the White House? And why is it that the company with deep ties to the White House, the company that just got a big contract for a drug that's not been proven yet, why is it going to make an 85 percent profit on its government contract? Coming up, we're going to talk with a member of the company's board of directors, a familiar face here at CNN. We first got wind of this story in the "Los Angeles Times" but since then we've learned a lot more. Investigator Drew Griffin is "Keeping Them Honest."
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Special Investigations Unit Correspondent:] It's just another good business deal for billionaire investor and big-time Democratic political supporter, Ron Perelman. This major political contributor to both parties but particular friend of the Obama White House owns the controlling shares in a company called Siga Technologies, and Siga this year won a sweet $432 million no-bid contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that even a Democrat says is a little bit too sweet to ignore.
[Sen. Claire Mccaskill , Chair, Subcommittee On Contracting Oversight:] How did this become a no-bid contract? Was it justified as a no-bid contract? Overall I think we need to begin asking some policy questions about the kind of money we're spending on developing drugs where the United States government is the only customer.
[Griffin:] Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill is calling for an investigation. Capitol Hill Republicans have already launched their own.
[Rep. Sam Graces , Chair, Small Business Committee:] The fact that the regular procurement process wasn't followed. So that's something we definitely know. So there's a lot of there's a lot of political connection there.
[Griffin:] First a little background. During the Bush administration and following 911, the idea of terrorists using bio- weapons became a real concern. Among the threats, smallpox. It hasn't been a threat in decades, and even if it did return, the U.S. still has enough vaccine for everyone in the country. But what to do if terrorists somehow were able to release the smallpox virus before people could be vaccinated? Siga, the company controlled by Ron Perelman, says it now has a drug for that. A drug developed with a lot of taxpayer money and government help. But one of the world's leading smallpox experts, Dr. DA Henderson, says Siga 's drug simply may not work.
[Dr. D.a. Henderson, Center For Biosecurity, Univ. Of Pittsburgh Medical Center:] The question is what will it do in the way of treating a patient who's had a fever and now has a funny rash that could be smallpox. Will it treat the disease? I've not seen the data that suggests it will.
[Griffin:] That's mainly because you can't test the drug on humans without infecting them first. Siga insists it has cured infected monkeys. But this is a story about contracts. And when the Siga contract was being questioned last year, Siga placed another major Democratic political supporter on its board of directors, Andy Stern, the former president of the Service Employees Union International, a public workers union that put its entire weight in money behind presidential candidate Barack Obama, then used its political weight and money behind the president's push for universal health care. Stern was named to the board at Siga around the same time another company called Chimerix said it too had a smallpox drug. Stern, his aide told CNN, was unavailable for comment. In fact Chimerix not only said it had a drug but it was and is a small business. By the Department of Health and Human Services' own requirement, the contract was supposed to go to a small business. That's when the Department of Health and Human Services did something pretty interesting. The government changed the terms of the bidding, making sure any company, even large ones like Siga, could go after the contract. Then Health and Human Services determined that Siga was the only bidder that actually qualified. [On Camera] Do you feel, because some very large Democratic supporters of the White House, Ron Perelman and Andy Stern are involved with that company that this has the impression of a political payoff?
[Mccaskill:] I'm not going to comment about people drawing conclusions about the appearances of this contract. I want to get into the facts.
[Griffin:] According to documents obtained by CNN, that's not the only question to be asked. Because internal documents reveal a profit return that one Health and Human Services official called outrageous. How much? On March 18th of this year, a contracting offer questions Siga 's return on investment, which he writes is an overwhelming 180 percent. He adds, "I know you won't find a contracting officer in government who would sign a three-digit profit percentage." A half hour later, another HHS official, a doctor, writes back saying he fully concurs that 180 percent is outrageous and advises that considering all the money taxpayers have already invested in developing the drug, well, the U.S. government should get a major discount. But that's not what happened. Instead, Siga 's CEO, a man named Eric Rose, complained in writing to the HHS contract officer about the government's approach to profit and asked that the negotiator be replaced by a more senior official. And that is exactly what happened. [On Camera] So what did the White House say? Not one thing. They told us to get any answers we wanted from Health and Human Services, the agency that granted the contract. And guess what we found here? Despite dozens of communication professionals on staff, not a single one would come out and talk to us. [Voice-over] Instead we got a statement saying the contract was awarded, quote, "after a rigorous market analysis determined that Siga was the only known company in the world with the capability to produce the required antiviral drug within the required time frame." As for that huge return on investment, HHS told us, quoting again, "We can't get into the details, but the final rates ended up well within industry standards." HHS even told us that the change in negotiators actually resulted in substantial savings for the U.S. government. SIGA technologies got back to us in writing, telling us, "The negotiations and decision to award the contract were handled solely by career procurement officials at HHS who negotiated a fair and reasonable price. And that never at any time was any elected or political official asked to intervene in the procurement process by Siga or anyone affiliated with the company. Republicans aren't buying that just yet.
[Graves:] You certainly can't ignore the political connections between the company and the administration.
[Griffin:] And in a postscript to this story, Anderson, from the documents that we have seen, the CEO and the CFO included in this contract bonuses for themselves of $200,000 to $225,000.
[Cooper:] Drew, I want to bring in our national security contributor, Fran Townsend. Fran is here not in her usual role tonight but as a spokeswoman for Siga Technologies. She's on the Siga board of directors works full time for MacAndrews & Forbes, a company that's owned by Ron Perelman. Fran, thanks for being with us. You just heard the reporting. How do you respond?
[Fran Townsend, Member Of Siga Board Of Directors:] I'm glad we're calling it "Keeping Them Honest" because I there are so many factual inaccuracies in the story I kind of don't know where to start. So, for example, the contract was put out in a competitive process and frankly it was clear that the government wanted it to be a competitive process. It was awarded to Siga, as Drew's package reports, and it was set aside because of the small business concern. They then went out the government then goes out with what's called a sources sought notice, looking for competition. The only people who responded is Chimerix. Chimerix ultimately is not competitive in this process because the scientist who discovers their drug admits in an application to NIH which Siga provided to Drew that the drug, their smallpox antiviral, causes toxicity in the gastrointestinal tract, so there is no competition. The government wants it and when the government finally awards the sole source contract to the only company that actually has a smallpox antiviral, what do they do? They also give a research and development grant to Chimerix, saying that they want to encourage competition and they don't give the award of the contract for the entire requirement. That is another 12 million doses of smallpox antiviral. They decide they're not going to decide that and they're going to give Chimerix an opportunity to fix their drug so they can be competitive. And so the government has bent over backwards to try and balance the need for an antiviral against competition. And look, you know, Anderson, I sat in the seat when I was at the White House. These are difficult decisions. But when what you're trying to balance is the safety of the American people and competition, look, I think the board did the right thing and they did they did make an award that allows them to stockpile some, while allowing a competitor the opportunity and they gave them the money to go back and try and fix the problem with their antiviral.
[Cooper:] Drew?
[Griffin:] I want to just point out that both these government oversight committees on the Hill, on the House, are calling these no- bid contracts. That's the language that they are looking into and asking why it appears that the contract negotiations were that way. But Fran
[Cooper:] And you deny it. You're saying it was not a no-bid contract.
[Townsend:] Right. It ultimately was, Anderson, a sole source contract but because there was nobody to compete. It was not a question of they directed it to Siga. The fact of the matter was there was nobody with a smallpox antiviral that could meet the government's standards. They Siga had gone through testing in the animal as it's reported with monkeys. There are four cases of what's called compassionate use where they ST-246 drug, the Siga drug, was used against humans who were infected with a with an orthopoxvirus who were cured. So there's substantial evidence in this case that this smallpox antiviral is effective and in fact the secretary of HHS has found that it's likely to meet FDA approval and we're in the process of going through that.
[Griffin:] Fran, it's likely to, but in the company's own filings it says, look, we don't know if it works and we don't know if it's safe. And that's why only the U.S. government is buying this right now because it has no commercial value.
[Townsend:] Well that's right. But what it requires for the government to have even purchased the amount in the awarded contract, the secretary had to make a finding that based on what they know so far between the monkey the animal testing and the compassionate use cases, it was likely to receive FDA approval. And by the way, what the piece doesn't mention is the FDA advisory committee who are looking at this very issue in the animal rule will have an open and public hearing that Drew can attend on December 14th.
[Cooper:] But why would a guy like Andy Stern who has all these political connections, why would he be on the board of this thing? I mean why would you bring in somebody like that unless it was to get influence with the White House?
[Townsend:] You know what, Anderson, this is a board that's got doctors, it's got people with public experience, it's got it's a very diverse board. But the fact of the matter is this may be the only thing in Washington that the Republicans and Democrats agree on. Just this week the underlying enabling legislation that gives the government the authority to purchase medical counter measures of can which the smallpox antiviral is one, actually passed that legislation passed the House unanimously.
[Cooper:] I'm just not sure what
[Townsend:] And nothing passed unanimously.
[Cooper:] What the company gets from having a high-level guy who worked at a big union that backed Obama other than that influence. I'm not sure what he brings to the table.
[Townsend:] Anderson, I can tell you not Ronald Perelman, not Andy Stern, no member of the board was involved in these contract negotiations and never contacted anybody in the government about this contract. The contract negotiations were handled by career procurement officials and the management of Siga.
[Griffin:] Fran, what does this say about how Washington works, though? Because from the outside looking in, we've got very politically connected people to the White House and we have you yourself who was in the White House drawing up and drafting this very legislation that you are now outside of the White House at a private company bidding on. People tell me this is the way that Washington works both cynically and not so cynically.
[Townsend:] Well, this is fabulous. I mean if I'm part of the Washington revolving door, Drew, I don't it doesn't work very well. I went into the federal government, was a career public servant for 24 years. I came out and presumably Siga wanted me on the board for the same reason CNN hired me and that is because of my expertise in national security and bio-defense areas. There's nothing improper about that. And in fact, you know, if you look at any major defense board today, look at Lockheed, look at Northrop Grumman or Boeing, every one of them have men who are retired four-star generals and admirals who are on those boards. Why? Because those public companies want the expertise of retired public officials. And I don't see anybody questioning the appropriateness of that.
[Griffin:] Well, actually we have on this show, and the watchdogs of government say this is the very problem, Anderson, with a lot of these contracts revolving doors. I mean we have the government buying a drug that they can't sell to anybody else. This company can't sell to anybody else.
[Cooper:] What's the next step in the process for this?
[Townsend:] Well, the FDA Advisory Committee meets next week in this public hearing. Chimerix will be at it. If Chimerix can get their drug together, they can compete for it. They will look at the animal rule and the testing that's been that's gone on. And by the way, we talk about $433 million contract. If you look at the contract, you will see there are a number of milestones that the Siga as a company and the drug, SD-246, must meet in order to get payments along the way. This is not a guaranteed $433 million contract.
[Griffin:] We looked at the contract. Most of what we got was redacted. I must be honest with you. Let me ask you really quickly about the profit margins. Are the profit margins accurate and is that too much for a government contract?
[Townsend:] The profit margins that are reported are not accurate because of course what they did what was publicly available was take the 1.7 million doses and divide it into the $433 million on the contract which doesn't account for, by the way, the government required another 300,000 doses. It required pediatric testing for pediatric doses. It want requires a warm production capability so that you can produce more.
[Griffin:] So what is the profit?
[Townsend:] The profit is competitively confidential and it's been found by the government to be so, and so I'm not at liberty to say.
[Cooper:] But as you're saying it's not the
[Townsend:] But it is by the way, we provided you, Drew, with a list of drugs and so you can see even if you take the number that's out there publicly which is higher than is accurate and you look against orphan drugs and other drugs purchased by the government, it is substantially lower. And in the end, this is about value. And so I never got the smallpox vaccine because I am not able to because of my health and I would need an antiviral. And if you're somebody who requires an antiviral, by the way, many people who did get the vaccine, it's no longer good, you would need it. The cost of it is fair and reasonable. And it's funny, the quotes from HHS officials about outrageous, I have to believe though I've never seen them were early in the process because they were very aggressive in the way that they negotiated this contract.
[Cooper:] You can look at the full statement from the company, from Siga, on our Web site. Fran, I appreciate you being on, Drew Griffin, as well. Again, you can check it out at the AC360.com Web site. Let us know what you think. We're on Facebook, Google Plus, add us to your circles, follow me on Twitter @AndersonCooper. I'll be tweeting tonight. Up next, opponents take aim at Newt Gingrich on policy and on his personal life. Are they clean hits or below the belt? We're going to look at his record and how it may affect his chances at the nomination and beyond. James Carville is going to join us in a moment. Also the latest after another deadly shooting at Virginia Tech University where that rampage four years ago took dozens of lived. Let's also check in tonight with Isha Sesay Isha.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn Anchor:] Anderson, Jerry Sandusky makes bail and his wife is speaking out. Stay tuned to find out what she's saying about the sex abuse allegations now being leveled against her husband by 10 accusers. That and much more when 360 continues.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Larry, I wish you the best of luck. Good luck to you. That is just really, really difficult. I can't imagine what you are dealing with, what your passengers are dealing with. We have a bead on this ship as the tugboats continue to take it into land. I do want to ask you this, Larry. The company, Carnival, has told us that a number of their executives and their staff will be coming out to meet you on board, as well as members from customs and border patrol agents. Have they have you seen a big presence in terms of how the ship has responded to this emergency? How they've informed you? Have you been mustered to prepare for an emergency? Or do you feel like you're sort of on your own out there?
[Larry Poret, Passenger On Carnival Triumph:] Um, we haven't really seen much Carnival presence other than the normal, I mean, but the ship's captain who will make an announcement and then
[Banfield:] And they also they mentioned to us in the press conference, Larry, that there's only been one report of someone who was ill who was taken off the ship. But in the conditions that you were just describing to us live on board the ship you are on, raw sewage sloshing about, mattresses soaked in sewage, backed-up showers, the listing ship causing the sewage to shift. I can't imagine that there aren't other people who either are or may become ill. Have you witnessed any other illnesses?
[L. Poret:] There's a lot of coughing and stuff going on now.
[Banfield:] Larry, are those announcements? Are we overhearing announcements?
[L. Poret:] Yes, this is an announcement about we're going to arrive and things like that. Our information. Here we go. Somehow they're just now telling us we're going to be later than 6:00. They're saying arrival's going to be 8:00 to 11:00 tonight. That's what they're telling us.
[Banfield:] I want to reset for our viewers what we're hearing. I can tell you Larry Poret is a passenger on board the ship that you're seeing on your screen, the Carnival Triumph. And the live announcements are being broadcast throughout the ship right now and through Larry's cell phone we are hearing them. We can't make out what they say. But, Larry, can you just summarize for us what they're saying about your arrival time?
[L. Poret:] Just somewhere between 8:00 and 11:00.
[Banfield:] Somewhere between 8:00 and 11:00 they're being they're being told. And, of course, the Carnival Carnival VP announced to us anytime between 7:00 and 10:00. So that seems to jive with what they just announced to the press. The live pictures you're seeing, the tugboat on either side of that 900-foot ship, 14 stories traveling at about six to seven knots about the speed of a lawnmower towards land. And you can see people, passengers, on board who are hanging signs and covered in blankets because the temperature is dropping, waving to us, our helicopters, as we hover aboard. Some of those signs saying, "please help us." Larry Poret, I know you said you saw some of these signs. You were able to read them more clearly than we can. And some of them were in jest. Others, not so much so. Give me a feel for the mood of those passengers as we watch the pilot boat heading out to meet your ship.
[L. Poret:] Well, they're mainly saying "help us." You know, we're in desperate need and we need food, we need water, you know, so just come and help us.
[Banfield:] I'm trying to hear some of the background sound from your cell phone, Larry, as you speak with us. And, again, our helicopter zooms in and zooms out. We are under we are respecting the restrictions on how close we can get to that ship. So our apologies that we can't zoom in closer to read some of those signs and see the passengers, you know, closer up. But safe to say, there are 3,143 people just like Larry Poret, who's live with us on the telephone, on board that ship. There are also 1,086 crew members. Some of those people you see sleeping. Now we're starting to see much more clear pictures of the passengers sleeping on the decks because the smell has been reported to be so putrid on board from the sewage and also the heat. The power's been out to the ship for five days and they've been traveling in tropic heat. Larry, it must be getting cooler, and yet the people are still out on deck. Is that because of just the putrid and fetid conditions on board?
[L. Poret:] It is downright cold. It mean it's not cool, it is cold. And we're doing our best to huddle together and, you know, keep each other warm. But as we get closer and closer to land, it's getting colder and colder. So, everybody's just doing the best they can to stay warm and counting the hours. And now they're telling us it's going to be longer than they first told. You know, having to endure is probably the you know, the mental part of it's starting to be the hardest.
[Banfield:] Downright cold. That is a that is such a change from the conditions you've been enduring. The temperatures right now hovering in the 60s. Larry, stay with me for a moment, if you would, please, as you're live on board that ship. We have live coverage of the helicopters, the contractors, who have been going back and forth ferrying supplies to the deck of that ship, as well on the right-hand side of that screen, the pilot boat that is headed out to meet the Carnival Triumph ship. Chad Myers, the temperatures, as Larry Poret just said, are downright cold. And you saw for yourself as well, Chad, those passengers have gone from being stiflingly hot to freezing cold and grabbing whatever blankets they can to huddle on the fresher air of the of the decks.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] And it rained almost all night overnight last night on those passengers that were on the deck. Larry, if you can hear me, we know the ship is late to arrive because the wind was so strong out of the north, almost pushing your boat backward. Did you feel that wind when you were on the boat?
[L. Poret:] We felt the wind, but we also know we're being pulled along by tugs. And, you know, I'm just out of frustration, we're the passengers are frustrated because we see other tugs that are tugboats, and they're just going along the
[Myers:] I wish I knew that answer.
[L. Poret:] We need help. We need somebody to get us in.
[Myers:] You're also in a current now, a long shore current, that's trying to push you to the east. The more and more that we see that tug trying to pull you, it's not even pulling you straight. It's trying to pull you to the left to get you over to mobile as the current is actually pushing you away. This is so devastating for you and you're going to see land for 10 to 12 hours and not going to be able to get off. What's that going to feel like to you?
[L. Poret:] It's going to feel like those signs out there, help us, somebody help us. We're just trying to get, you know, get home. And, you know, my question is, these are not new currents. These are not new conditions in the sea. How come
[Myers:] Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Chad Myers, I'm just looking at the temperature here. I've been reporting this is why I don't do weather, my friend, but I've been reporting that it's in the mid-60s. It's dipped down to 46 degrees
[Myers:] That's right.
[Banfield:] In Mobile, Alabama, that the high was going to be 63. And, again, I just want to let our viewers know, Chad, and, Larry, if you're still with us, I'm not sure that you can see obviously what's happening, because that is a huge ship, 14 stories, but there are there are pilot boats, there are tugboats, and there are other vessels that are making their way out to you on board this ship. The helicopters are also hovering aboard or above the ship. Ours is recording the images as others are dropping supplies. The one that we just saw dropping supplies is a contractor. And I can't tell you, Larry, what they're dropping, but I can tell you that Terry Thornton, who is the Carnival Cruise senior VP of something called revenue planning did an ad hoc news conference on shore to say that they have gotten enough food at least to look after you, Larry, and the fellow passengers. And that generator that they flew out there hopefully was going to be able to heat food for you to manage to keep you guys at least comfortable until you get to shore in seven to 10 hours. Is that is that something that you can see, Larry? Is there ample food now or is it just the same as it's been day offer day, three-hour lines for food, three-hour lines for water, three-hour lines for logistics?
[L. Poret:] I'm sure there's ample food where no one's going to starve of starvation. To be honest with you, we're just tired. We're not even hungry anymore. We just want off of here. We don't care about the food. We don't care about anything. Just get us out of here.
[Banfield:] Larry, what have you been doing with your daughter? Rebekah's 12 years old. You know, you and your friend and your two daughters have had to endure this. How are the kids?
[L. Poret:] What we're doing is we're sitting around playing card games. And then just walking the deck and, you know, let's go see if this is going on, let's go see if that's going on. You know, thank goodness there's been some people that have made a way for us to charge our cell phones. So, you know, everybody's been running out of power by using these flashlights and now they have charging stations that the individual passengers have set up. Not Carnival, individual passengers. And so we gather there in the hallways charging our cell phones.
[Banfield:] And I was going to ask you, how is it possible that we are speaking with you, given the fact that there's been so little power. The cruise line has said that there are roughly two dozen public toilets that have been working on board that ship. Have you found them? Is that what you know to be the truth? Are none of the cabins' toilets working? How is it that you are all functioning every day?
[L. Poret:] It's like the toilet will flush one time and then the next time you need them to flush, they won't. And they may not flush for hours and hours. They may flush till half a day maybe. Or, you know,
[Banfield:] So, Larry, I'm just I was going to tell our viewers what the images they're seeing are. I'm sure that your bird's-eye view of all of this being on board that ship is much different than what we're seeing. But we've got a helicopter view of the ship and the tugboats as you're being pulled in towards us. And I know you're seven to 10 hours away. And the picture on the right-hand side of our viewers' screen is the image from shore. So, Larry, you are within our sights. We can finally see you on board that ship. You and the other 3,142 passengers who have been enduring this nightmare for far longer than anyone should. But you are within our sights now on shore. The weather is a bit rough and the seas are a bit rough, but at least it's so for not necessarily completely impeding the progress of those very slow tow vessels. And again, this is about six to seven knots, which in land speed isn't a whole lot more. About the speed of a lawnmower. That's how fast this ship is making its way towards shore. So, yes, shore is within sight, but it is still going to be what the Carnival VP said, a very long day. If I can ask you, Larry, I know you're traveling with Carmel Taylor and that your daughter, Rebekah, who's 12, and Carmel's daughter, Allie, who's 10, have you able to given the sights, I mean just given the sheer horror of the sights of raw sewage everywhere and the listing vessel, et cetera, have you been able to calm your girls and try to make this better of this and at least make this into an adventure for them, or do they know the score?
[L. Poret:] Oh, yes, I mean, you know, they'll grab a hold of our leg or our arm and just squeeze like they're not going to let go. But, you know,
[Banfield:] So they still I mean they know what's going on and it's hard to hide from them the real emergency that this is?
[L. Poret:] Yes, they know what's going on, but they also imagine things a lot worse than they really are. And that's what's really the hardest for them. They have no idea. You know, the fire the thing caught on fire and my daughter says, are we going to sink, you know? So, she's just scared to death.
[Banfield:] Have you felt the effects of the emergency stabilization? The power has gone out to the stabilization, and the ship, therefore, lists. Have you felt that?
[L. Poret:] Yes. We've been going you can barely walk because it's leaning so bad. And you'll just try to walk and then you'll fall up against the wall because it's leaning.
[Banfield:] Larry, is your daughter Rebekah with you?
[L. Poret:] Yes. She's right here. She's standing right beside me.
[Banfield:] Can I talk to her?
[L. Poret:] Sure. She'd love to.
[Rebekah Poret, Passenger On Carnival Triumph:] Hello.
[Banfield:] Hi. Rebekah, can you hear me?
[R. Poret:] Yes.
[Banfield:] Hi. This is Ashleigh Banfield at CNN. I talked to your mom yesterday. And she's on shore waiting for you.
[R. Poret:] Yes, ma'am. Ma'am.
[Banfield:] Can you hear me OK, Rebekah? Your mom is waiting for you on shore. I just talked to her yesterday.
[R. Poret:] Yes. She I just talked to her. And she, um, I'm so excited to see her and she's so excited to see me. I can't wait to get back.
[Banfield:] I'll bet. Rebekah, how has this been for you and your dad?
[R. Poret:] It's been really, really difficult. Getting the food and not knowing what you're going to be able to eat, whether it's going to be cold and not knowing if it's going to be hot. And it's been hard.
[Banfield:] And I'll bet you and your friend Allie kind of thought this was going to be a lot of fun, right?
[R. Poret:] Yes, we did. And then this happened. And then it's just kind of been it got bad. It got worse. And then it's just horrible.
[Banfield:] Well, I'll tell you what, Rebekah, we can see you from shore. The picture that our TV screen is showing all the viewers watching is your ship that you're on right now as it makes its way to shore. So you're very, very close. I hope that feels better for you to know that you're getting closer and closer to your mom.
[R. Poret:] Yes, it does feel a lot better because I know that we're almost there and we can almost we're one step closer being back home. But we're still so far away.
[Banfield:] Rebekah, do you have some warm clothes? Because it's real cold. I know you were in the tropics, but it's getting colder as you get close to shore.
[R. Poret:] Actually, as I was leaving, I forgot to bring a jacket. But Allie, she brought two, so she's letting me borrow one of hers. So I'm bundled up in her jacket.
[Banfield:] Hey, Rebekah, when you said that the trip got real bad, can you describe that for me and tell me exactly what you mean?
[R. Poret:] By the ship got real bad is the doors, like, it was two nights ago. The doors closed and the lights went out. The lights on the floor that were shining up just itty-bitty ones, and then the
[Banfield:] Hey, Rebekah, have you been sticking close to your dad this whole time?
[R. Poret:] At his side since this happened
[Banfield:] I'll bet. What about other kids? Can you tell me about the other kids on board? What are they saying? What are they doing?
[R. Poret:] They're trying to make the best of it, but you can really see how much they really dislike the situation and how could you like the situation. You really can't. But they're all standing beside their parents and not leaving them and hoping that everything's OK.
[Banfield:] What are you seeing out the window? Our view is from above and from shore, but I know you're in the middle of the ship. What's your view? What can you see?
[R. Poret:] I see barely anything. I see little blocks, itty-bitty blocks. You can barely see them but and then I se some sights coming up from the ground. Since we're so far away we can barely really see anything. But when you look over, you see some bigger things, and then you can't see anything.
[Banfield:] Can you feel those tugboats pushing at the ship and pulling it? Can you see movement? Do you see that you're making progress?
[R. Poret:] No.
[Banfield:] Can't see that.
[R. Poret:] I know we are, but I don't see it, like, we're moving a little bit, but when they first got hooked up and everything and she told us we were moving, no one saw it. We didn't see a thing. Now we're moving a little bit, but I really I really don't feel anything.
[Banfield:] And, Rebekah, are you outside on a deck with some of the people that we can see from our helicopter or are you inside?
[R. Poret:] I'm inside looking out a window.
[Banfield:] And how is it inside? Is it warm enough? Does it smell terrible? Is it something you can manage to stay?
[R. Poret:] On some parts of the ship it smells horrible. But right here on deck five, it doesn't smell too bad. But you still know it's there. You still know that everything is there. You can still smell everything. But you're trying to turn it out, and it's still really cold because it's really cold outside. Everything's still really cold inside because you have no heat. But it's still super cold in here. Everybody's wearing the bathrobes that are in the room. Everybody's wearing the bathrobes and trying to bundle up and be warmer.
[Banfield:] And what about life jackets? Do you guys have life jackets close by?
[R. Poret:] Yes, we have life jackets in our rooms. Most people they have been with them. Like, most people have their little spot where they're, like, sitting and sleeping and stuff like that, and most people have them with them. But ours are in the room.
[Banfield:] So, what have you been doing every day as you've been waiting and waiting for this ship to get to shore?
[R. Poret:] I have been me and my dad and our friends and everybody have been wondering and waiting, OK, so when are we getting off? We've been waiting for the next announcement, and when we wake up, I'm just, like, I ask myself and my dad, can I go back to sleep again, because I want another day to pass so bad...
[Banfield:] I know...
[R. Poret:] ... because I want to be home.
[Banfield:] I talked to your mom yesterday, like, I mentioned, and she was very worried about you. I know you had a chance to speak with her since Sunday. She's been waiting for you...
[R. Poret:] Yes.
[Banfield:] ... at that port. She drove up there from Texas as fast as she could and she's staying there until you make it. If she's listening right now, Mary, I'd love you to call in to us so we can ask you how you feel about the fact that this ship is now within sight of the shore and that we are speaking with your daughter and her dad, Larry, and that they're doing OK, as uncomfortable as they are, they are doing OK. Mary, can you hear me?
[Mary Poret, Mother Of 12-year-old Girl Aboard Ship:] I can hear you.
[Banfield:] Mary, I've got your daughter on the phone. What do you want to tell her?
[M. Poret:] Well, I talked to her a minute ago, and I just I love her. I can't wait to see her.
[Banfield:] Rebekah, do you want to say something to your mom? She's on the phone, she can hear you. Rebekah I think, Mary, I need you to turn down your TV because we're hearing ourselves on delay, if it's OK if you turn down your TV. Rebekah, if you can still hear me, your mom can hear you, do you want to talk to her?
[M. Poret:] There's like two conversations going on.
[Banfield:] Rebekah, are you still there?
[M. Poret:] I can't hear!
[Banfield:] OK. As we try to clear up the audio channels, we'll get that all fixed, but, Rebekah, don't hang up. Mary, stay with us. I want to just tell our viewers what's happening right now. One of the ship's lower doors has opened and one of the vessels that has been approaching this ship is about to off-load it looks like some of these officials who are going to board the ship. We can tell you that earlier Carnival, the vice president of revenue planning, told us that not only will the pilot ships be heading out to bring those experts who steer these massive vessels into shore, but also members of Carnival, the company, will be heading out to the ship, as well. I cannot tell you whether these are the people who are boarding this ship right now through one of those open doors, but also members of the customs and border patrol, the agents will be coming out to board the vessels as well. I don't know if these are them, but only in the last hour did the vice president of carnival tell us that they were off-loading some of these officials on board to that ship within the next couple of hours to try to make it quicker for these people once this ship finally gets to shore. They won't at least have to go through all of the paperwork. Rebekah, can you still hear me? Are you still there?
[M. Poret:] What, baby?
[R. Poret:] Yes, I'm still here. I'm here.
[Banfield:] Hi, Rebekah. Mary, can you still hear me?
[M. Poret:] Yes, ma'am, I can.
[Banfield:] OK, well, I've got Rebekah Poret who is 12-years-old and I've got Mary Poret, her mom, who's waiting on shore. Rebekah, did you want to say something to your mom while she can hear you?
[R. Poret:] I just spoke to my mom?
[M. Poret:] Yeah, baby.
[Banfield:] Yes, she can hear you.
[R. Poret:] OK. I want to tell my mom that I love her so much and I can't wait to see her.
[M. Poret:] I love you, too, baby.
[R. Poret:] We're going up to the tenth floor to look out the deck.
[M. Poret:] you're going up to the tenth floor to look out?
[R. Poret:] Yeah, we're going out to the tenth floor to look out the deck.
[M. Poret:] OK. Good. Maybe they'll get you on camera so I can see you, too, because I can look at it from my cell phone.
[R. Poret:] Yeah.
[M. Poret:] I miss you.
[Banfield:] Rebekah, let us know when you get to the tenth floor, and then if you can with your dad, try to give us a location of where you are on the ship, and then we will try to get our helicopter to get a picture of you so your mom can see that you're OK. At the same time, our helicopter's got the camera trained on some of the other boats that are on their way out to this ship. There have been many vessels that have been on their way to meet this ship. On the right-hand side of your screen is the ship the view from shore. Finally, the ship is within the view from shore but as the carnival vice president said, this is going to be a long day. It may be within view, but it is travels at a snail's pace despite the fact that four tugboats are pulling it and it's making the pace of seven knots which is like the speed of a lawnmower. I keep making that comparison just so you know how slow this really is. Chad Myers, as we watch the images of some of the smaller vessels meeting up with this 900-foot-long ship, they're off-loading people on board this ship and I'm not sure which officials these are. We do know that customs and border protection agencies or agents are heading out to the ship as well as Carnival represents. But this is the waters, they look rough from the small boats' point of view, but they're not bad for the ship. Chad Myers, can you hear me OK?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] I can, Ashleigh. Let me take a look. We have another image I want to show you. It's a graphic I made earlier, why even though you can see this boat from shore that it's not going to that shore. It has to travel not only when it gets to the shore another 30 miles up into Mobile Bay harbor. That's where we're seeing it from, right there, Ft. Morgan, and also over Dauphin Island. That's where our camera is. But that's not where it's stopping. There's no there's no port there. This has to continue to cruise up this very skinny, 400-meter- wide channel all the way up into Mobile Bay and into the harbor right there, that at a snail's pace when they can see land. And they just said, please, find someplace to let us off. That's why it's going to be another painful eight to 10 hours to get the boat from where it is to where the actual dock is. The dock is not on that land that we're taking that picture from. It's still 30 miles inland up that river, up that bay.
[Banfield:] Oh, frustrating. Chad, explain what you were telling Larry and, Rebekah, I hope you're still on the phone, when your dad was on the phone with us, Chad Myers was describing why it looks like one of those tugboats on the bottom right-hand part of your screen looks like it's driving directly into the bow of the ship. There's a reason for this. What is it, Chad?
[Myers:] They have to line the ship up with the buoy markers. And on that last graphic you just saw, there's going to be on the left of the boat, there's going to be green markers, green buoys. On the right, there's going to be red nuns. And that's the "red right returning," the three "Rs" of boating. When you're coming back from the ocean into a harbor, keep the red on your right. And that's why those red dots are where they are. The boat will travel through that very skinny, dredged channel through and across that sandbar that's dredged and then on up into the Mobile Bay. This is what they still have to do. They have to line that boat up to get it into that channel, and they have to keep it lined up. They are going to have tugs on both sides, and tugs in the front, trying to keep that boat straight. The current right now is not allowing that boat to be straight, and they have to try to steer this thing through the current, around the first buoy, into the channel, and then straight into the channel. And they certainly don't want to get this thing to run aground and get stuck, because they can't either see the buoys, the wind blows them of course or the boat is just kind of almost has a mind of its own. You have to think if there's wind blowing across the side of this boat, Ashleigh, that boat is 900-feet long, 100-feet high.
[Banfield:] Wow.
[Myers:] Ninety-thousand-foot sail, could you imagine a sailboat...
[Banfield:] Yeah.
[Myers:] ... with a size it's called windage. It's how boats blow sideways when you're trying to dock them. And if you have a 100-foot, 116-foot-wide boat trying to get up a 400 meter or let's say 1,000- foot-wide channel, there's not a lot of margin for error.
[Banfield:] Well, not a lot of margin for error. And guess what, as they get into a 400-meter-wide channel, this will be a picture that will be absolutely riveting to see those tugboats steering by pushing this massive ship through a 400-meter channel. Victor Blackwell is standing by live. He has been on shore off from the port, and I'm guessing, Victor, that you're getting your first beat you're on the boat now. OK, so, now you're fully offshore. Are you getting your first beat on the ship now?
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Correspondent:] Yeah. We're getting our first look at the Triumph now, and we can see it on the horizon. We're in Mobile Bay, and we'll be able to pull up within, we're told, within about 500 yards of this ship as it pulls up, and we'll see the people from water level standing on the decks, waiting to get up to the port. Now, as Chad said, this would be catastrophic if this thing were to run aground. We spoke with the director of the port, Jimmy Lyons, and he said that because there isn't a lot of wiggle room with a ship this large, that it's very important that those pilots who know this area get out and onto that boat.

[Tom Foreman, Cnn Correspondent:] OUTFRONT next, Mitt Romney is staring down a hurricane but it could be President Obama who is headed for very rough seas. We've got new numbers, new money, and a whole new fight. A deadly shooting at the height of rush hour just outside the Empire State Building, New York police commissioner and an eyewitness OUTFRONT tonight. And a Dallas woman is dead after she called 911, pleading for her life. Why did it take 50 minutes for police to show up? And why did two days go by before her body was found? Let's go OUTFRONT. Good evening. I'm Tom Foreman in for Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, a new storm warning. Forget the hurricane, forget the vice president cruising Tampa looking for a fight, forget everything you know about this election so far because in Florida tonight Mitt Romney's team is preparing to unleash a flood of money that could dramatically change the political landscape. Listen to him today sounding confident in his home state of Michigan.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I don't want four more years of what we have, do you?
[Romney:] I want to get America on an entirely different track, a track of greatness and strength and vitality and prosperity and I know how to do it.
[Foreman:] With the Republican Convention looming, new polls show the race is still very tight. Take a look. President Obama has a slight overall lead, two-points. That's in the margin of error. He's boosted with a 12-point edge with women, same margin with younger voters, a 29-point lead among big city folks. And he's done it with ads like this.
[Unidentified Female, Political Ad:] He's made his choice, but what choices will women be left with?
[Unidentified Male, Political Ad:] He supports Paul Ryan's budget which could cut education by 20 percent.
[Unidentified Female, Political Ad:] Now Mitt Romney is attacking the president on Medicare?
[Foreman:] But consider the cost. To get that small overall advantage in the polls, the president and his supporters have had to outspend the Republicans, not just Mitt Romney, but also all those outside groups supporting Romney. Let's compare some of the spending just by the candidates alone in battleground states since April. In Colorado, the president has spent $8.5 million, Romney, a bit more than four. In Ohio, again, the president has more than doubled Romney's spending, 21.6 million to 9.4 million, Virginia, same thing, 8.4 million to just under four million, Florida, nearly triple, 21.9 million to 8.5 million. All of that has left Mitt Romney with substantially more money in his campaign treasure chest, which over the next few days is kind of complex money there, but look at the bottom line there, cash on hand, 197 million for Mitt Romney there. As this convention takes off, he's expected to start pouring that money out there. OUTFRONT tonight to talk about the impact of that financial storm, Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen glad you're here Republican strategist Reihan Salam, and "Politico's" Ken Vogel. Ken, let me start with you. You know Romney supporters have spent an awful lot on his ads, but why has he spent so little compared to the president?
[Ken Vogel, Chief Investigative Reporter, Politico:] Well because he's been able to rely on these outside groups that thanks to a couple of federal court decisions in 2010, are able to accept unlimited funds from people, corporations, even unions, though we see that more on the left, to air really hard-hitting ads attacking President Obama. And we've seen these groups give Mitt Romney air cover, bombarding the president with negative ads while Mitt Romney sort of sits back and stockpiles funds just waiting for the opportunity which is probably nearing for him to come out with his own advertising campaign. It's a huge advantage that Democrats have been scrambling to try to offset by dispatching some of their stars to try to get their biggest donors to give money to outside groups set up on the left. But so far they have yet to come off the sidelines in a way that matches what Republicans have done.
[Hilary Rosen, Cnn Contributor:] It makes me really nervous and I think it makes the Obama campaign nervous. You know, in some respects it's money well spent. In many respects it's money well spent. One place I think gives me extra pause is in Colorado where the numbers are just not moving far enough towards the president than I'd like to see. But what we've what Democrats have done in spending that money has been to really define Mitt Romney in a way that has driven up his negatives. I mean, you know he has much higher negatives in polling than President Obama does. And I think it was important, when you knew that you were going to face an onslaught of, you know, not just 100 million or 200 million, maybe a $500 million difference in advertising in this campaign that you kind of get first out of the box to define the opponent and that was the strategy of the Obama campaign. Define Mitt Romney first knowing that the negative advertising is going to come later and hope that you've built enough of a wall to sustain you.
[Foreman:] That's a big question there, isn't it, Reihan? This question of, is this too much money too fast and now in the homestretch suddenly here comes Mitt Romney and the Republicans chugging out the money. What do you think?
[Reihan Salam, Cnn Contributor:] I think Hilary made some great points. I think that that money has been pretty well spent and the Democrats have another big advantage that flows from one of those court decisions that Ken Vogel mentioned before. One of the lesser known provisions of the Citizens United decision is that before labor unions couldn't engage in direct voter contact with folks who did not belong to a labor union. Now they can get their disciplined cadres out there to knock on doors, whether or not that household is a member of a union or not. And a lot of the ways that Democrats capitalize is by having those disciplined union folks actually getting out the vote in a very direct fashion. And that's something money can't buy. It's very expensive for Republicans to mimic that kind of thing just by hiring folks.
[Foreman:] Let me follow up on that with you, Reihan, because here's the other problem for Mitt Romney it seems to me think about what he said today. He made this crack today that everybody said sounded like a birther comment about the president. Listen to this.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] Now, I love being home in this place where Ann and I were raised where both of us were born. Ann was born at Henry Ford hospital. I was born at Harper hospital.
[Romney:] No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised.
[Foreman:] The Obama campaign is already raising money off of this. They're calling it a cheap shot. They're calling it a new low. For all these advantages and money that Mitt Romney may be able to turn here pushing into the home stretch is this stuff hurting him or helping him?
[Salam:] One thing that everyone will agree on is that in the final stretch of a campaign earned media counts for a lot. And if President Obama can turn a gaffe of that kind, a joke of that kind into a huge advantage, if the media covers stories about that rather than about unemployment, that's a huge advantage. And I think that the Obama campaign from their 2008 experience, from very bare-knuckle politics knows how to generate earned media very well, so again, money can be neutralized by ginning up stories of this kind and distracting folks.
[Foreman:] Let me jump back to Ken real quick here though. But can money really be neutralized? As a practical matter in almost every race, if you spend more, you win.
[Vogel:] Yes, well, there are studies that produce mixed results on that and certainly we've seen self-funders who have put a ton of their own money into campaigns and lost because there is some backlash to it. The Obama campaign is trying to gin up that backlash. They're trying to use in the same way that they use that gaffe by Mitt Romney about the birth certificate, they try to use the spending disadvantage that they have with some of these outside groups to encourage their small donors and their ground troops, the folks who Reihan alluded to, whether they're in unions or otherwise, to become energized and become mobilized and try to offset that advantage that Republicans have in outside cash. In the end, the outside cash is helpful. I should also add that money can, in fact, buy the ground game and that's one thing that the Obama campaign has invested heavily in, putting offices in a lot of these key states. In some places, some key states like Ohio, we see the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party there with four times more staff than the Romney campaign and the Republican Party, so that's an area where Democrats do have an advantage. And it is both a result of money and also having
[Foreman:] I'm going to have to jump in real quick here. Hey, Hilary, really quick, a very short answer here. In the name of that, good idea, bad idea, sending Joe Biden down to campaign in Tampa while the Republicans meet?
[Rosen:] Oh, good idea. You know, just keep them on their toes. I think we have to be in their face every time. And you know who better to do it than somebody with as much heart and energy and passion than Joe Biden
[Foreman:] He'll say what he thinks, that's for sure. Thank you all for being here
[Rosen:] That's for sure.
[Foreman:] We appreciate it. OUTFRONT next, new details on the path of Tropical Storm Isaac. Plus, we'll take you live to Haiti, a country which is bracing for the impact from this huge storm. Plus, details of an alarming threat made to a classmate months before months before James Holmes allegedly killed 12 people in that movie theater in Colorado. And a Dallas woman calling 911, screaming for help, but when police show up, 50 minutes later, they never even go inside. Two days later, her family finds her dead. The victim's sisters are OUTFRONT ahead.

[Blitzer:] The manager of the Miami Marlins is learning the hard way that Cuban politics is a very sensitive subject in Miami. Ozzie Guillen was suspended from his job today for five games because he praised Cuba's Fidel Castro. Guillen is apologizing for what he calls the biggest mistake of his life. CNN's John Zarrella is joining us now from Miami with more. What happened here, John?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] You know, Wolf, he's been on the job literally five days. He's only managed five regular-season games and already suspended without pay as you mentioned for five games and that is because he said perhaps the worst possible thing you can say in this community.
[Zarrella:] In front of the cameras he was a very different Ozzie Guillen than most people are used to seeing. The former Chicago White Sox manager now with the Miami Marlins was not abrasive, profane, insensitive or defiant. He stood before the cameras contrite.
[Ozzie Guillen, Miami Marlins Manager:] I'm very, very, very sorry about the problem about what happened, and I will do everything to make it better.
[Zarrella:] Sorry because he said perhaps the single most offensive thing he could in Miami. Guillen told "TIME" magazine that, quote, "I love Fidel Castro" and added that he respected Castro for surviving 60 years when a lot of people wanted to kill him. Guillen flew back from Philadelphia where his team had the off day to try to put out the fire.
[Guillen:] This has been the biggest mistake so far in my life I make, and when you make a mistake this big I can't sleep and you constantly think about for days
[Zarrella:] As Guillen talked outside the stadium a small group of Cuban-American protesters carried signs and waved Cuban flags. Many in the crowd wanted Guillen fired.
[Unidentified Male:] If for any reason he continues as manager we will not come to see any games here. I would like that he would be fired from the job.
[Zarrella:] While Guillen seemed genuinely sincere, whether falling on his sword would repair the damage in the community is another story.
[Unidentified Male:] I don't know whether he's sorry for
[Zarrella:] Longtime "Miami Herald" columnist and radio talk show host Dan Lebatard is Cuban American. He says that for Cuban Americans Castro is their Hitler.
[Dan Lebatard, Talk Show Host, 790 "the Ticket":] I don't know how many people this guy has killed. I don't know what the numbers are. I don't want to do comparison shopping on atrocities, but I don't know how many Cubans have died in the ocean trying to get away from his tyranny.
[Zarrella:] The firestorm is particularly damaging to the Marlins. Their new stadium sits right in the heart of Miami's Little Havana paid for primarily with tax dollars from Miami and Miami Dade County residents. The team was trying to build a new fan base from that heavily Latin community and ironically, one of the main reasons for hiring Ozzie Guillen, to appeal to Latin Americans. Baseball Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig came out today and supported the Marlins' decision. In part Selig said "I expect those who represent Major League Baseball to act with the kind of respect and sensitivity that the game's many cultures deserved." Interestingly enough here, Wolf, in 1999 Bud Selig himself was roundly criticized as you may recall, when he went to Cuba and sat next to Fidel Castro when the Baltimore Orioles played the Cuban National Team Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes, they love baseball in Cuba and they've got some great ballplayers that have come out of Cuba as we all know over the years. All right, we'll see what happens. Obviously, a very, very sensitive nerve that was hit in Miami and we'll see what the fallout is. John Zarrella thanks very much. We want to get back to the other breaking news story we're following out of Sanford, Florida. We're going to have an update on what these two lawyers who have now dropped George Zimmerman as their client. They're providing new information that they say will exonerate Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin case. Stand by for that.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now: a new deadline for cracking down on gun violence. President Obama gets specific about his promise to try to prevent another shooting massacre. An independent review of the Benghazi attack is scathing, scathing criticism of the State Department. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers tells us why he still isn't satisfied. He's here this hour. And CNN gets early details of a shocking new report on sex crimes at U.S. military academies. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. President Obama says it won't be easy to pass meaningful new gun control legislation, but he also says, after the Newtown massacre, there's no excuse not to try. This was a man who held the grandchild of Sandy Hook Elementary School's fallen principal, who tried to comfort victims' families during the most horrific times in their lives. But can he harness the raw emotion to get real action? Let's go to our White House correspondent, Brianna Keilar. She's got the latest Brianna.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Hi there, Wolf. For the first time, President Obama today laid out a timeline for his administration to act, appointing Vice President Joe Biden to lead a group of Cabinet secretaries, outside organizations as well as lawmakers to come up with solutions, and he said he wants the recommendations no later than January.
[Keilar:] The president said this time Washington won't just talk about tackling gun violence.
[Obama:] This is not some Washington commission. This is not something where folks are going to be studying the issues for six months and publishing a report that gets read and then pushed aside. This is a team that has a very specific task, to pull together real reforms right now.
[Keilar:] He urged Congress to vote early next year on an assault weapons ban, a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips and close the gun show loopholes, so all gun purchasers are subject to background checks. The president's task force will recommend policies beyond gun control.
[Obama:] We're going to need to work on making access to mental health care at least as easy as access to a gun. We're going to need to look more closely at a culture that all too often glorifies guns and violence. And any actions we must take must begin inside the home and inside our hearts.
[Keilar:] The president is hoping to seize this moment of heightened public awareness to push Washington to change.
[Obama:] But, goodness, if this past week has done anything, it should just give us some perspective. If there's one thing we should have after this week, it should be a sense of perspective about what's important.
[Keilar:] The announcement is quieting criticism from within the president's own ranks. Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who lost her husband in a mass shooting, now feels the president is showing leadership.
[Rep. Carolyn Mccarthy , New York:] We will follow the president's commission on education, mental health, and all of the other things that need to be done to keep us safe.
[Keilar:] But far-reaching gun regulations will no doubt be met with resistance from the National Rifle Association, which has yet to weigh in on the debate, but will hold a press conference Friday. Senior administration officials say they are ready.
[Obama:] The NRA is an organization that has members who are mothers and fathers. And I would expect that they have been impacted by this as well. And hopefully they will do some self-reflection.
[Keilar:] Polls show there is an uptick in support for stricter gun legislation following the shooting in Connecticut. But, Wolf, the question is, will it last? Will it be enough for Americans to sway lawmakers? President Obama said he plans to use the bully pulpit, take it directly to the American people, and he's confident that he can rally support from them, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Brianna Keilar at the White House, thank you. Let's see how the president does. Let's see what Joe Biden does as well. The people of Newtown, Connecticut, buried four more shooting victims today, three children and a teacher who died trying to protect them. Kate Bolduan is here. Kate, you and I spent four days in Newtown, very emotional, obviously, for everyone, including for us.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Anchor:] It very and so tough to watch the suffering of this community and the suffering of these families, who have lost such little children, especially now when we're seeing these funerals taking place. You know, we get to come home to our families. These families in Newtown, the nightmare continues.
[Blitzer:] It's almost never-ending. I can only imagine what these people are going through right now. And as we watch what's going on, new details are coming in, and I don't know how these people are reacting.
[Bolduan:] It's you know, I think the last thing on their mind is the new details of the investigation, but that's part of this unfortunate horror that we have to continue covering, of course. Let's bring in CNN's national correspondent, Deborah Feyerick. She's been following the investigation into the gunman and getting more information about Nancy Lanza, the gunman's mother, who was also a victim in this tragedy, more information about Nancy Lanza's whereabouts in the days before the shooting. Update our viewers, Deborah.
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, well, Kate and Wolf, what we're learning right now is that Nancy Lanza was away in the days leading up to this murder. My colleague, Rita Cosby, has confirmed that Nancy Lanza left Tuesday morning and spent three almost three full days at a resort in New Hampshire. Now, it's unclear whether she left her son home alone. She did that occasionally. She would cook him some meals and then leave him by himself. It's not clear whether he was alone during this time. But we do know that Nancy Lanza was not there in the days before the shooting. She returned Thursday evening. Friday, Friday, her son shot her four times in the head. Now, we want to kind of show you what is going on behind me here at this house. This has been an active scene all day long. The major crime scene squad has been on site. They have had more than eight investigators throughout the course of the day. They brought the mobile crime lab, which is also up there, just to the left of the house. But you can see the lights on in the second floor and also on the main floor there of the primary residence. We do know that they're looking through all sorts of things. They're looking through papers, they're looking through documents, they're looking through file cabinets. They're trying to get any evidence that they can. And the reason that the crime scene lab is there is because they're able to process information on scene, information that they can take and then bring to a lab a little later on. But they have been in that home all day, combing through those papers. They have been dropping people off, and people have been coming back and forth. So, we did see about noon today they did carry out a huge box of what appeared to be evidence. So, it is still very much ongoing, as they try to search for information. They're also going through the medicine cabinets to see whether, in fact, there was any medication that the gunman may have been taking. That is a big piece of this investigation, as to whether there may have been some underlying psychiatric disorder that triggered him to go on this rampage. It has been reported that he had Asperger's, but now they're looking into whether there was something more that was going on. This trip that Nancy Lanza may have taken could also have been a pretty big trigger, because she was away. And so he was home. Not clear whether somebody was checking in on him. But he had cut off all communication with his father about two years ago, at the time the divorce was official and his father remarried. So whether he felt that his mother was sort of leaving him, that's something also that investigators are looking very, very closely at, as to what was going on before he did this terrible crime Kate, Wolf.
[Bolduan:] Yes, clearly many questions still unanswered and the investigation continues. Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much, Deborah.
[Blitzer:] Other news we're following right now, including the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. We're now told she is planning to testify before Congress in mid-January about the attack on the United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. She canceled an appearance tomorrow because she's been ill. She fainted and suffered a concussion. She's recuperating right now. Three State Department officials have resigned after a scathing new review of the Benghazi attack. Senior officials tell CNN, two of those who stepped down oversaw security decisions at the diplomatic mission. Our Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, is joining us now with more on this new report a very tough report, the secrets it reveals. What's in this report, Chris?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, we now know that the State Department officials knew that radical Islamic groups were operating around Benghazi and that there'd been a spike in attacks on Western targets. They were getting almost no help from the Libyan government in helping to secure that mission. So they were relying on some militia members to help guard the perimeter of the compound. By this report, we now know that those militia members simply ran away when the crowd approached. And although investigators can't be entirely sure, the speed at which those attackers came through that front gate at least raises the possibility that the guards simply left it open. Protests erupted across the Middle East on September 11. But despite the Obama administration claiming Benghazi began as a protest...
[Susan Rice, United States Ambassador To The United Nations:] What happened in Benghazi was, in fact, initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo. This was not a pre- planned, premeditated attack.
[Lawrence:] ... a new report definitively says that's not true quote "The board concluded that there was no protest prior to the attacks." Investigators laid the blame for Benghazi on bureaucracy, missed warning signs with, and grossly inadequate security. They interviewed more than 100 people and read through thousands of documents detailing the desperate attempts to save the U.S. ambassador. As smoke engulfed their safe area, Ambassador Chris Stevens and two others crawled to a bathroom. One of them was a security officer, and he opened a window, trying desperately to get some air. Instead, more smoke poured in. They couldn't see, couldn't breathe. So the officer crawled out, blindly, yelling for the others to follow. He slipped through another window and collapsed outside, only then realizing he was alone. Within a week of the attack, CNN's Arwa Damon walked through that compound.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] The bathroom when we saw it was covered in black soot and there were what appeared to be bloodstains.
[Lawrence:] The shocking deaths prompted a rush to the microphones, members of Congress claiming officials ignored red flags.
[Sen. John Mccain , Arizona:] Why was the security at the consulate so inadequate, despite two previous attacks on that facility in April and June of this year, an assassination attempt on the British ambassador in Benghazi?
[Lawrence:] But the report says consulate workers became desensitized to the threat. "The longer a post is exposed to continuing high levels of violence, the more it comes to consider security incidents which might otherwise provoke a reaction as normal." Some suggested a quicker reaction could have helped save the ambassador.
[Sen. Kelly Ayotte , New Hampshire:] Why couldn't the greatest military in the world respond?
[Lawrence:] Well, the simple answer to that is, they just weren't close enough. The report acknowledges that the Pentagon dispatched a quick-reaction force from Europe and rerouted a surveillance drone over Benghazi, but bottom line, it just was not close enough and there wasn't enough time to make a difference.
[Blitzer:] This is a scathing, scathing, very tough report. I read it and I must say, it's pretty shocking that there was so much dereliction of responsibility in protecting American diplomats in Benghazi. We're going to have much more on this. Chris, thank you very, very much. And I know you have read it as well, Kate.
[Bolduan:] Yes, absolutely, Wolf. As Wolf just said, tough criticism of the State Department in that Benghazi report. So how much responsibility should lie with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? We will talk about that and much more with the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, coming up. Also, what could an expert on genetics reveal about Newtown gunman Adam Lanza? Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us to talk about the investigation.

[Piers Morgan, Cnn:] This is PIERS MORGAN LIVE. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Tonight, breaking news. The Obama administration in turmoil. The scandal claims its first victim.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Today, Secretary Lew took the first step by requesting and accepting the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS.
[Morgan:] This on the same day the White House released nearly 100 pages of Benghazi e-mails. Donald Rumsfeld says they're still trying to pass the buck. He's with me live on the grill tonight. Plus, horrifying revelations of abuse and terror. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight hid in the van in the garage when Ariel Castro had visitors. Michelle Knight beaten with hand weights. Ariel Castro's common law wife apparently abused the same way. There's also the encouraging news that Gina and Michelle have spoken by phone. And after all these years in captivity, one of the girls has just discovered what an iPhone is. Also tonight, law and disorder. On the docket, Jodi Arias fighting for her life.
[Juan Martinez, Prosecutor:] The last thing that Mr. Alexander felt was this knife, this woman, and this blade coming towards him.
[Morgan:] The jury finds that she was extremely cruel. That means she is eligible for the death penalty. The question is, will she get it? And the super sized O.J. Simpson, he never testified during his murder trial. Now finally he's taking the stand.
[Unidentified Female:] Do you think that you were acting legally?
[O.j. Simpson, Former Nfl Star:] Yes, I did.
[Unidentified Female:] In what you were doing?
[Simpson:] Yes, I did.
[Unidentified Female:] And why is that?
[Simpson:] Well, it was my stuff. I followed what I thought the law
[Morgan:] Break down on the biggest legal issues of the day with Alan Dershowitz and Gloria Allred. But I want to begin with the latest news from Cleveland. Ariel Castro's daughter, Emily, is talking about what she saw inside her father's house. She was interviewed by an investigator in her prison cell where she is serving 25 years for the attempted murder of her own 11-month-old daughter.
[Emily Castro, Ariel Castro's Daughter:] The upstairs was blocked off with a big bass speaker. So I figured that since he lived there alone so long, that he didn't have any need for those what, there's four bedrooms upstairs. He didn't have any need for them. So, you know, I just kind of like I was like, can I, you know, sleep upstairs in my old bedroom? And he said no, because it's cold up there, it's blocked off, you know, it's dusty. And so I just was like, OK.
[Morgan:] We'll go straight to Cleveland where Ed Gallek of WOIO is live again for us. Ed, every day there's new developments and new shocks. Today is no exception. Let's start with Ariel Castro's daughter there, who herself is serving a very lengthy prison sentence for trying to kill her baby. Tell me about this.
[Ed Gallek, Woio, Cleveland:] Well, what stands out is her description of inside that house. Again, talking about a bass speaker blocking off some of the doors and in effect saying, dad, let me sleep in my old room and then him saying, well, you know, that room, the heat is not very good in there, it's kind of dusty in there. You don't want to go in there. And that gets back to another point we've heard about how he was so secretive and able to conceal this because one story I've heard about the women is that they were put into a van, locked in the van, locked in the garage, to keep them out of sight when this guy knew he was going to have visitors come over.
[Morgan:] And in terms of the daughter herself, I mean, many viewers probably don't know much about her case. Tell me what she did. Because she seemed to have some complete mental breakdown and tried to kill her baby.
[Gallek:] Yes, she's doing up to 25 years for trying to kill her own baby, less than a year old. Cut about four times. And this apparently, according to her, stems from some kind of domestic problem she was having with the father of the child. But yet you wonder, some of the parallels are just chilling.
[Morgan:] Right. Absolutely. Let's turn to talking of chilling, the statements made by Ariel Castro's legal team. And I want to play a little clip from this because it really was quite shocking, I thought. Let's listen to this.
[Unidentified Reporter:] So when the judge at the arraignment says, how do you plead to kidnapping, how do you plead to rape and whatever else, what are you going to say?
[Jaye Schlachet, Defense Attorney:] It definitely is going to be two words, "not guilty." I can tell you that Mr. Castro is extremely committed to the well-being and positive future for his daughter, who he loves dearly.
[Morgan:] I don't know about you, Ed, but I found that pretty bizarre to be so categoric. This guy is no monster, he's a loving father, et cetera, et cetera. When the sheer welt of evidence against him to the contrary is right there in front of us.
[Gallek:] Yes, a couple of things stand out there. Our newsroom talked to those attorneys just hours ago and they fully admit, they are getting some backlash. People saying, how can you represent an accused monster? You're not representing that guy. And their answer, of course, as attorneys, it's the American way, everybody gets a fair trial, that kind of thing. OK. But then again, consider this. Again, this guy is talking about how much he loves his daughter. The daughter born in captivity, born to Amanda Berry. However, that child, it should be pointed out, never went to a doctor. That child hadn't been going to school. That child was born in the house in an inflatable pool, delivered by one of the other hostages. So, again, consider, I love my daughter, but all of that? How can that be? Well, the response we got to that today was we'll have to wait and see what all of the circumstances are. And, again, that begs the question, well, what kind of circumstances could possibly justify all that, showing that you love your daughter?
[Morgan:] Right. Ed Gallek, thank you very much indeed, as always. Now I want to turn to one of today's big stories. O.J. Simpson doing something he never did during his 1995 murder trial, taking the witness stand. Simpson is serving 33 years for robbery, kidnapping and assault, stemming from an incident in 2007. And now he wants a new trial. CNN's George Howell is in Las Vegas where the case is being heard. George, we finally get to hear from O.J. Simpson.
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] Piers, you know, and we saw an alert, O.J. Simpson, a person who seemed, you know, very comfortable, back in the spotlight, this time and for the first time telling his version of events leading up to and then during that confrontation with these two sports memorabilia dealers. But again, what did we see? We saw a 65-year-old who is heavier, who is visibly grayer. And instead of wearing those suit and ties that we're used to seeing, this time O.J. Simpson sporting a blue prison jumpsuit Piers.
[Morgan:] And in terms of where this is going to go, it's going to come down, presumably, to his word against his former attorney's word, right?
[Howell:] Right. You know, and there's a lot of ground work. There's a lot of foundation that he and his new attorney are laying down. But really, it goes to the heart of this matter. O.J. Simpson says that he got bad legal advice, but get this. Before the confrontation even happened, he says that he had a conversation with his attorney and the attorney told him that he could go back, Piers, and take back his belongings, legally. Listen to what he had to say.
[Unidentified Female:] Well, what was his advice to you regarding the entire plan?
[Simpson:] That if they didn't give me the stuff, you have to call the police.
[Unidentified Female:] OK.
[Simpson:] And that's what I told everybody involved. That if they don't give it to me, I'm going to get the police in here.
[Unidentified Female:] OK. Did you have any understanding whether you could detain people or not?
[Simpson:] Not until the police came.
[Unidentified Female:] OK. So at this point your advice is no trespass on other people's property.
[Simpson:] Yes.
[Unidentified Female:] You can use some force.
[Simpson:] Yes.
[Unidentified Female:] You can demand your property?
[Simpson:] Yes.
[Unidentified Female:] OK. And if they refuse to give it to you, you can detain them.
[Simpson:] Yes. But I had no doubt that they would give it to me.
[Unidentified Female:] OK.
[Howell:] You know, Piers, there were also a couple of other big items that were mentioned. First of all, O.J. says that his attorney did not tell him about a plea deal that he could have taken to take two years in prison instead of a long prison sentence that he currently has. And he also says that his attorney told him, advised him, not to testify in court. The attorney basically saying that he would not be convicted. So he did not testify in court. And Simpson's new attorney is basically making the case that O.J. Simpson did not get that opportunity to speak up for himself against the evidence that prosecutors had against his character and events of those several days.
[Morgan:] And, George, there was also a rather fascinating insight into his relationship with alcohol. Tell me about that.
[Howell:] Right. And we learned about this. The day before the confrontation, even the day of the confrontation, O.J. Simpson said that, look, he was in Vegas for a wedding. There was a lot of drinking before the confrontation, during the confrontation. He even said, look, I wouldn't drive a car in my condition. Listen to how he explained it in court.
[Unidentified Female:] Well, are you having any alcohol?
[Simpson:] Oh, yes.
[Unidentified Female:] And how much were you drinking, if you can remember?
[Simpson:] Well, you know, I had a joke that my doctor says I should never have an empty glass is what I would tell the waitress. You know? So we were celebrating. It was, you know we were all celebrating.
[Howell:] So Simpson basically admitting that, you know, alcohol could have been, was a factor. And it's still unclear exactly how that could play out in the judge's mind.
[Morgan:] Right. Pretty extraordinary to watch him finally giving evidence. George Howell, thank you very much indeed. Now it's time for tonight's "Law and Disorder." Here to break down all the cases Americans are talking from O.J. Simpson to Ariel Castro to the latest from Jodi Arias, our superstar attorneys, Gloria Allred and Alan Dershowitz, who I should point out acted as an appellate adviser to Simpson's defense team during his murder trial and later wrote a book about it. Welcome to you both. Let's start with you, Alan, come on. What do you make of seeing him finally give evidence?
[Alan Dershowitz, Attorney:] Well, he's not a bad witness. You know, I certainly advised and most of the people on the defense team advised him to stay off the witness stand at his murder trial. And that was the right advice at that time. He has no shot at all, I think, at winning on the issue of his lawyer telling him to stay off the witness stand. That's just tactical advice. He has a really good shot if he can prove that he wasn't told about an offer of two years.
[Morgan:] But is that plausible? Is that likely?
[Dershowitz:] Yes, yes. And it happens. It happens all the time. Lawyers want their chance to be on television. In this case, he argues that the lawyer may have had a conflict of interest. I have seen many cases, and they have been reversed, when the lawyer fails to communicate an offer. The third issue is, if the lawyer, in fact, gave him advice prior to his going into this room, saying this is what you can do, this is what you can't do, he clearly had a conflict of interest. He was then a witness, not a lawyer. So on two of the three issues, he has some chance of prevailing. Now I think everybody out there ought to face one reality. If this were not O.J. Simpson, and if all Americans didn't believe
[Morgan:] Right.
[Dershowitz:] that he had killed his wife and gotten away with it, no way is he going to get this kind of sentence for doing what he did. He is being punished for what many perceive as having gotten away with murder.
[Morgan:] Would you agree with all that, Gloria?
[Gloria Allred, Civil Rights Attorney:] Well, I mean, first of all, I think that's insulting to the judge who is the one who sentenced him. Having said that, I would respectfully
[Dershowitz:] I mean to insult the judge. I mean to insult the judge.
[Allred:] I would respectfully disagree with Mr. Dershowitz in reference to his statement, oh, O.J. is not a bad witness. O.J. did testify in the civil case where the Goldman family and the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson were suing him for the killing of both of those individuals. And he did testify and the jury did not believe him. And they found that he was liable for the wrongful death of both Nicole and of Ron. So he I actually at the time and said in my book, I said that he should have been investigated for perjury at that time. Because of what he testified to that he'd never hit, slapped, punched Nicole and that he said that, he testified to that, standing beside or sitting beside large blown-up photos of her with a black eye. And obviously that was not true. So having said that, he actually has 19 grounds that the judge is allowing him to present evidence to as to why he should be granted a new trial. Out of the 22 that he wanted. And we'll see whether he is successful with any of them.
[Dershowitz:] But you know the issue of whether he should be punished for what he was previously acquitted of, bears some resemblance to what's going on with the IRS now. You know, if you don't like somebody, you apply a double standard of justice to him. Whether it's auditing him or giving him a harsher sentence. And Gloria, I would like you to look me in the eye and tell me he would get 33 years for trying to recover his own property if his name weren't O.J. Simpson.
[Allred:] Well, first of all, Alan, I will look you in the eye and tell you this, that he was convicted of robbery. And there were guns present. And although he denies knowing or having criminal intent and all of that, the jury didn't buy it, OK. So having been convicted of numerous counts
[Dershowitz:] That's right.
[Allred:] he was sentenced. I don't have any problem with those sentence. And, you know, now he's tried to reverse it. We'll see whether or not he is successful.
[Morgan:] Tell me this, I mean, talking of behavior involving attorneys, I was pretty shocked by the tone that Ariel Castro's attorneys were you shocked?
[Dershowitz:] I was shocked. Look, everybody is entitled to a defense. And if you have the unfortunate bad luck of being called to represent somebody who is genuinely a monster, you may have an obligation to do it. But you're not obligated to be a character witness. You're not obligated to go on television and tell the world that this is a commendable person. You are obligated to present in court legal issues that will help him. So I too was very surprised at slipping over from being a defense lawyer to being a character witness.
[Allred:] Well, obviously, he's trying to affect the climate of opinion for the potential jury pool if there is such a trial.
[Morgan:] Right.
[Allred:] I tend to doubt there'll ever be a trial.
[Morgan:] I agree with you.
[Allred:] I think he's trying to position it for a deal so that his client doesn't get the death penalty.
[Morgan:] Let's take a short break. I'm going to talk about Jodi Arias, she's one step nearer the death penalty now. And I also want to talk to you about other issues, including the fact I'm about to interview Donald Rumsfeld on the grill. I might get you two to pose a question for the great man. Looks a bit nervous.

[Ali Velshi, Cnn Chief Business Correspondent:] From the CNNMoney Newsroom in New York, I'm Ali Velshi and this is "Your Money." The U.S. could get its credit rating downgraded again. Holiday sales weren't as bad as we expected them to be, but there is a catch. And Dell could be ready to go private. Let's start with credit. Ratings agency Fitch warns that Washington's dysfunction could cost the U.S. the AAA credit rating it still has with them. That is if Congress doesn't come up with what it calls a credible medium-term deficit reduction plan. Understand that Fitch is not just looking for an eleventh hour debt ceiling deal that sets the table for another mini-crisis down the road. The federal government hit the debt limit, as you know, on December 31st, but the Treasury is using so-called "extraordinary measures" to pay its bills through mid-February or early March. Now, Fitch predicts that Washington will extend the debt ceiling despite the current war of words between President Obama and Republicans in Congress. So, what happens if we get downgraded? Well, it's happened before. Remember 2011, when Standard & Poor's did it. That hit markets and the wider economy hard, though it didn't cause interest rates to increase. This time could be different, however, because the rest of the world is getting its act together. Even successful businesses like Ford are worried. Here's what CEO Alan Mulally told me today.
[Alan Mulally, Ceo, Ford:] I think the most important thing, to your point, is that we come together around a solution that allows us to live within our means, to reduce our budget deficits and also to deal with our trade deficits and create an environment where the businesses can grow in the United States. The most important thing is we come together with a comprehensive solution, not just working one piece or the other, but a comprehensive solution where we can start to grow the economy again for everybody.
[Velshi:] But the order in which we do things matters. First, raise the debt ceiling, allowing America to pay for its bills that it's already racked up. Then come up with a longer term plan that could put us back in fiscal good health. America's ability to meet its obligations should not be held hostage to an agreement on spending cuts. On the money menu, retail sales went up by half a percentage point in December. That's higher than expected. Cars saw the biggest gains with sales jumping 1.8 percent at dealerships. But other stores that see normally sales go up during the holiday season, think clothing and electronics, barely saw gains. Now, while sales are expected to increase in 2013, it is slow going for now. For one thing, Americans are getting a little less in their paycheck now that the payroll tax holiday has ended. And a little less money means a little less shopping for now. Dude, did you hear about Dell? Shares of the computer-maker have jumped about 15 percent in the last two days after a Bloomberg report said that it is in buyout talks with a couple of private equity firms. The company, founded in CEO Michael Dell's dorm room in Texas back in the '80s, has been struggling lately as p.c. sales drop off. Now, going private would allow Dell to concentrate on new opportunities like mobile computing and other areas without seeking approval from shareholders. Dell isn't commenting on the rumors. Well, America's economy could be poised for a comeback in 2013. I want to admit to being biased, not partisan, but definitely biased against the stupidity of politicians who are willing to put your economy at risk. I am worried that these battles over the debt ceiling, these ridiculous sequester cuts that are coming up next and the refusal to agree to a budget could derail an economic renaissance here in the United States. But investors don't seem all that worried, at least for now. While some of you asked me whether you should wait until the debt and budget stuff is worked out to get back into the stock market, investors have put $19.8 billion back into U.S. stocks and stockholding funds since January 1st. Markets are doing well, too. The S&P; 500, which may look like your 401 [k] or your IRA investments is already up about 3 percent for the year and hit a five-year high last week. Now, in a low interest environment, like the one we're in now, you're not going to make money without being in stocks, but be careful. A recent CNNMoney survey of money managers and investment strategists predicted that the S&P; would only go up about 4.5 percent this year. That's after gaining 13 percent in 2012. What they're afraid of Washington's unending partisan warfare getting in the way of economic growth. As I said, 2013 could be the year that America cruises back into prosperity. There is a domestic energy boom. There is a return of manufacturing. They're going to create job opportunities for Americans, but businesses hate uncertainty and, as Washington battles over issues that are important to America's economy, debt spending and budgets, businesses will continue to hold back on investment and on hiring. I'm glad investors are so confident right now. Let's hope Washington doesn't mess it up for you. That's it for me, from the CNNMoney Newsroom in New York. I'm out. Same time tomorrow.

[Blitzer:] Kate Bolduan is monitoring some of the other top stories in the SITUATION ROOM right now. What do you have, Kate?
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] Looking at some politics in the state where you are right now, Wolf. Republican Congressman Rick Lazio, well, he's dropping his bid to be New York's next governor. Lazio was defeated this month in the state's GOP gubernatorial primary by tea party favorite, Carl Paladino, but was later endorse by the conservative party. Well, he now says his continued presence in the race would end up helping the Democratic nominee, State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Lazio says, however, that he will not endorse Paladino. And a new unofficial study is predicting big Congressional seat gains for southern and western states in the aftermath of the 2010 census. Election Data Services projects that Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington will each add one additional seat while Florida and Texas will add two and four seats respectively. Meanwhile, a number of states in the Midwest and northeast are projected to lose seats. Southwest Airlines has announced plans to merge with AirTran. The $3.4 billion deal would make the airline the largest in the country and allow it to expand into major airport hubs. A spokesperson says once the deal goes through, all planes would fly under the southwest logo and adopts its less burdensome policy on fees. No word yet on when the merger will be finalized. Those fees, Wolf, its the fewer fees, the better is what I say.
[Blitzer:] I'm with you. And I think most of our viewers are as well. Thank you. It looks like something out of a movie, but it's not. Ahead, we're going to take you inside a scary real life emergency plane landing. Plus, with growing talk that President Obama could be losing a key member of his inner circle, what can he do to regain what's called his mojo? We'll talk about that and more on our "Strategy Session."

[Feyerick:] And breaking news from New York this hour, convicted swindler Bernie Madoff, the man who orchestrated one of the biggest Ponzi schemes of the century, his son, Mark, has been found hanged in his apartment in Manhattan. His death an apparent suicide. Our Susan Candiotti is with us live from New York. Susan, apparently it was his father-in-law who found him.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] That is right, what a stunning development in this case that has been going on for such a long time. I would like to point out to you, first of all, Deborah, that we're standing in front of the apartment building where Mark Madoff's body was found, 45 years old. You can see there is a police van located here, but if you look up, count up to the fourth floor apartment, his apartment takes up that entire floor and that, in fact, is where his father-in-law discovered his body. According to police, these are the circumstances. The discovery was made about 7:30 in the morning, Saturday morning, this morning, when the father-in-law came here and found Mark Madoff hanging from a pipe in the living room, a black dog's leash was hanging around his neck. It belonged to the family pet, according to police. And what happened they say is this, that sometime before Mark Madoff's death, he, police say, sent an e-mail to his wife who was not home at the time. She was in Florida. In this message, in the e- mail, Mark Madoff, according to police, said, someone should check on our son. Their 2-year-old son was asleep in his bedroom at the time. That's when Mrs. Madoff called her father. He came over to the apartment, and made the discovery, found the body fully clothed hanging from the ceiling. Of course, police responded right away. The father-in-law called the authorities, they came over, conducted a crime scene investigation to help determine the circumstances surrounding the death and the medical examiner will be performing an autopsy to confirm the cause of death of an apparent suicide sometime on Sunday, tomorrow. At this time we don't know whether any kind of suicide message or note was left. Police say they are still looking into that. We can certainly tell you this, he has had some rough times, Mark Madoff has, along, of, course with other family members. Certainly, his father was serving a life sentence in prison. Back in 2009, August of 2009 a trustee who has been trying to recover funds October of that year, rather, that he filed a lawsuit against Mark Madoff as part of the attempt to recover money that had been lost in this biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. We don't yet know whether Bernie Madoff has been notified in prison. We're trying to find that out as well as get reaction from his mother and his brother who lives in New York Deborah.
[Feyerick:] Susan, this family was so respected in New York City financial and social circles. It was such a huge fall from grace. You wonder whether, in fact, it is a coincidence that Mark Madoff chose to take his own life two years to the day that his father told everyone that in fact this major, $50 billion business that he had was, in fact, nothing more than a sham. So interesting about that suicide note, but also, e-mailing his wife to let her know that the son, their 2-year-old son needed to be checked in on. Certainly, an interesting twists as well, Susan.
[Candiotti:] Exactly. A lot of curious circumstances surrounding that, a lot of open questions. You point them out quite rightly. Was this more than a coincidence that he apparently decided to hang himself on the second anniversary of the arrest of his father? Was this preplanned? All things that police want to know and certainly will be talking about for some time to come as they try to get to the bottom of this.
[Feyerick:] OK. Susan, thanks.
[Candiotti:] We also have for you, Deborah, a statement that was released, if you have time for it, a statement from the attorney representing Mark Madoff. Here is what he said, quote, "Mark Madoff took his own life today. This is a terrible and unnecessary tragedy. He said Mark was an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo. We're all deeply saddened by this shocking turn of events." And that is how the statement ends. You'll recall that Mark Madoff has never been criminally charged in this case, though, of course, he was the subject of many civil lawsuits. Of course, there are many people who believe that it would be nearly impossible that he and his brother did not know about what was going on. But as we say, as of now, he had never been criminally charged in the case.
[Feyerick:] OK. Susan, thanks so much for that great reporting. Clearly, what a tremendous fall from grace. OK, we'll check back in with you a little bit later. In this hour, Elizabeth Edwards funeral. Friends and family are gathering. You see her there being eulogized. They are going to remember the remarkable life of Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of the former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards. She died Tuesday after a six-year battle with cancer. Her daughter, Cate, is expected to speak about her mom and the love that she had for her family. Three children left behind. We'll be with you on that later. Also, Josh Levs joining us now. Josh, those closest to Elizabeth Edwards, obviously, honoring her life today. Many viewers are responding as well. She had a very interesting connection with them, and really used the Internet to reach out to many people. Moms and dads who lost someone, but also people who are suffering with cancer as well.
[Josh Levs, Cnn Correspondent:] That is right. So many people with so much to say and I've been reaching out all morning online. We are hearing from a lot of people. Let's start off with an iReport, a video someone sent us remembering Elizabeth Edwards.
[Omekongo Dibinga, Cnn Ireporter:] Let's focus on the strong women she was, let's focus on what she did to fight for health care, let's focus on what she did to raise awareness for breast cancer and research. This was a hero in her own right.
[Levs:] Getting a lot of that. Now, I also have here what a lot are writing us on Facebook and Twitter. Let's go to Facebook here. "Classy beyond words. The epitome of dignity and grace in the face of devastating tragedy." That is from Fred Julien. Here is another one, "I believe she was an inspiration to those she knew and met as well as to all that she touched in life. Rip, rest in peace Elizabeth Edwards." That is from Chad Forsgen. Let's get a couple more of your messages here. "She looked like Jackie, she held her head high. First class and then some," from Saletta Coleman. "Elizabeth was an intelligent, powerful and beautiful woman. She did not slip into the shadows despite all she was facing but kept herself in public view to try to help as many people as possible. She was amazing."" That is from Nicole Daniels. One more here. "Her first priority was being a mother and that she was," from Penelope Harmon. I'm going to get in one tweet before we go. From Kevin Arpree, "Elizabeth Edwards was a fighter. I wish her family well." Here is how you can join in. I'll show you my page here, Facebook, Twitter, blog. I also want to end giving you a quote from Elizabeth Edwards, something a lot of people have talked about and a lot of people posted online. We have that for you there on another screen. This is one of her amazing quotes. She said, "Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before. You can fight it. You can do nothing but scream about what you've lost or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good." A lot of people remember her words, her wisdom today. I know we'll continue to hear from you all day, Deb.
[Feyerick:] Absolutely. Josh, I tried to get a copy of her book. The bookstores were sold out. Amazon.com said it would take three months to get it. I borrowed somebody's Kindle and downloaded this. She said, there's no such thing as perfection. We have a choice about how we integrate the imperfect in our lives. Certainly a realist. We are going to be watching as friends and family gather to remember the legacy of Elizabeth Edwards. That is happening now. Her daughter Cate expected to remember her mom, what she meant not only to her growing up but to her younger siblings and Emma Claire and Jack as well as the family at large. We'll be back with you soon.

[Baldwin:] And now I want to take you live to Columbia, South Carolina. Here he is, the Texas governor hoping to be the next president of the United States. Governor Perry talking about his flat tax plan. Take a listen.
[Perry:] These representatives of the people are helping our campaign build the right team in South Carolina as we go forward into January. And I feel pretty good about the prospects. Strong support of conservatives in South Carolina legislature, commonsense conservative message that appeals to voters here against people in South Carolina, and they understand the principle of trust and verify. They know that you can't just trust conservative rhetoric. You have to have a record to verify. I've stood by my conservative record. I'm the first governor in Texas since World War II to cut spending. I cut school property taxes by one-third. I signed the most sweeping lawsuit reform in the country. And I've done more to secure the border than any governor in Americas, dedicating some $400 million in state funds, teams of Texas rangers and local law enforcement to cut off the trafficking of drugs, weapons, people. And as president of that conservative leadership and proof that the conservative leadership works, Texas has led the way creating nearly 40 percent of the jobs in America since June of 2009.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Political Correspondent:] Thank you, governor. Jim Acosta, CNN. Just curious, what will it take you to convince you that the president was born in this country and
[Perry:] I'll cut you off right there. That is one of the biggest distractions that there is going. We need to be talking about jobs. Somebody that wants to see my birth certificate, I'll show it to you. But that is a distraction and Americans don't really care about that, if you want to know the truth of the matter. What Americans want to talk about is jobs. Who is going to lay out a plan of which will get America working again. What I did this morning is give confidence to job creators that they know for a fact that they are going to be able to risk their capital and have a return on their investment. They know that they are not going to be losing jobs because of regulations that are tilling these jobs all across the country. That's what Americans are looking for and that's what we're going to stay focused on.
[Question:] Governor?
[Perry:] Yes, sir.
[Question:] Any concern that your flat tax proposal will benefit mostly the wealthy?
[Perry:] We're interested in getting Americans back to working. If folks who have money are going to be creating those jobs, then I don't have a problem in the world with that. I think that is very, very important that we focus on getting Americans back to work. And when you put a flat tax of 20 percent in place on the personal standpoint, when you put a 20 percent flat tax in place for corporate, that is the type of confidence that Americans are looking for. When they see a president that will pull back those regulations that have been put in place since 2008 that are killing jobs, whether it's the EPA or whatever agency it may be, then they understand that here is a president that is committed to job creation. And it doesn't make any difference to me who creates those jobs. Whoever is sitting at home watching this around their kitchen table or listening on the radio and read it in the newspaper tomorrow, they are interested in having a job and having the dignity of taking care of their familiar, and that's what we're going to focus on every day.
[Question:] Sir, you proposed cutting government spending 18 percent to GDP. That would involve spending cuts of $1 trillion in one year. The committee in Congress is getting trouble getting that over ten years. Could you be specific about the trillions of dollars in cuts that
[Perry:] What we're talking about doing is having a balanced budget by 2020, and this plan does it. We will be releasing a report on how we get that done. And that's the issue. It's not that we're going to get it done in one year. We're going to do it over the period of the next eight years, and 2020 is the target that we're focused in on. So I don't we're going to have the budget balanced by 2020, travel across the country and pass a balanced budget for the United States constitution. I'll give you one example of how I'm laying out $100 billion that we will have in spending cuts on nondefense discretionary spending. That is the type of dollars that we can cut out of this budget. For instance, you can take the secondary and elementary department of education programs, cut them in half, and that will save you $25 billion in one year. So that is the issue that Americans are looking for, not to get bogged down into what is it going to be at year one? How are we going to get Americans back to work? How are we going to have a balanced budget by 2020? My plan does that. It doesn't nibble around the edges. This is real and substantive changes in our tax code, and it's real and substantive change on the spending and tax side. It deals with entitlements. It is across the board whether America can get back into the job creators and have the confidence that they can risk their capital and they will have a risk of return on their capital.
[Question:] Steve Forbes ran on the flat tax plan was offered in 1996 and didn't work out well for him.
[Perry:] I just happen to think when Americans look at what's happened, there's a lot that has changed since 1996 from the standpoint of our tax code in this country. We have almost $15 trillion worth of debt. You have Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley. I would repeal all of those. Those are job killers. The regulatory side of the world is what is really is hammering our job creation. Yes, it's important to get our taxes under control and have a tax system that is fair, that is simple, that is flat. How many people in America would rather have the old tax program in place, the lawyers, the accountants. It's almost $850 billion a year that we spend on taking care of the taxes today. Let's do it on a postcard. Let's do it this way. And also, you pull the regulations back that are killing jobs in America. That's what people care about. They want a president who will stand up and say, here is how we are going to get America back to work. We have done that in the 15th largest economy in Texas over the last decade. And I think Americans are looking for a president who has got a proven tax record and the courage to do exactly what this plan says.
[Question:] Governor, can you give us a postcard size answer to how your plan compares to Herman Cain's nine-nine-nine plan and Newt Gingrich's 15 percent flat tax cut.
[Perry:] Let me visit you about Herman's plan. This doesn't have a VAT tax, a value added tax. It doesn't have a national sales tax. That's the biggest difference right there. Americans do not trust Washington D.C. to have a new form of taxation. What they are looking for is simplicity. They are looking for something that is flat. They are looking for something that is fair. This plan addresses all of those. So I think when you really look at what we're talking about here from the standpoint of getting Americans confident that there's a tax plan in place that will take care of their tax needs, if you will, this postcard is the way to do it.
[Question:] Governor, is that just adding another layer to this tax plan?
[Perry:] Actually, it doesn't. I think the idea that you can pick and choose you may be a business that has for so many years, used the old system whether it was on a host of different issues, depreciations or whatever it is in that old system and you're locked into it and you think for your best interest that to continue to use all of the lawyers and all of the accountants maybe in your best interest. But for the people who don't need that, don't want that, this is the way to go.
[Question:] Do you feel good about your prospects in South Carolina? You were leading in the polls. The recent Marist poll though showed you at nine percent. What happened?
[Perry:] Well, I have always said that polls are going to go up and down. So my bet is that when Clemson or South Carolina are at half time, and it doesn't happen very often that they are behind at half time, but they are not going to call the game at half time. So we are going to continue to be working and working and we may change defense a little bit. But the fact is it's a long time to when this campaign is over with, and we're going to be talking about things like this. We got in this race late. We've laid out over the last two weeks a plan on energy and job security from that standpoint, the security of our energy industry in this country. And now we've laid out a tax plan that also is about growth and controlling spending that Americans are going to look tat and say, that's where we want to go. He's got the record of doing it in the state of Texas, and that's the kind of president we want.
[Question:] What have you all talked about?
[Perry:] As general rule, we keep our conversations private, but we talked a lot about the campaign, the time the first time he had a chance to see the tax plan. And you'll have to ask him how much he likes it but I've got to suggest to you that he understands the idea of having simplicity. He loves the idea of having someone who has a track record as the next president of the United States that knows how to stand up and say no to spending. And I shared with him as I share with people all across this country, if Congress and I'm going to do my best to work with congress. I've done that in Texas for quite some time on a lot of different pieces of legislation with Democrats and Republicans. But when they send a bill to me that spends more money than what we've got coming in, that's coming out. God bless you. Thank you.
[Baldwin:] All right. So Texas governor Rick Perry, fairly short and sweet when he was addressing what the tax plat proposal is. It's a 20 percent flat tax. Essentially he's saying, Americans, you get to choose between your current income tax rate or my 20 percent flat tax plan, unveiling this there in South Carolina whose primary is January 21, so not too far away, so certainly no coincidence that he is there in South Carolina. I want to bring Gloria Borger back into this conversation. Gloria, I know he talks about this plan. He talks about job creation. He talks about Social Security, Medicare, balancing the budget by 2020. But let's still drill down on the spending side. When it comes to reform, what specifics is he talking about?
[Borger:] Well, it's interesting because he sounds an awful lot like House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan, and that was pretty controversial. On Social Security, he generally talks about gradually raising the retirement age, about private accounts for younger workers, about allowing state and local governments to opt out. He doesn't tell us specifically how. On Medicare, gradually raising the eligibility age, perhaps making the wealthy pay more, maybe turning it partly into a voucher system. Again, like Paul Ryan, very few specifics there, just generalizations. But I think what he's trying to show is that he's serious. He's also trying to show he's really different from the other candidates out there, in particular now, Herman Cain, as you saw him take aim at Herman Cain's his tax plan.
[Baldwin:] A couple questions in, somebody said, hey, how would you compare this to Gingrich's plan or Herman Cain's plan. And we know Herman Cain has got a lot of air time recently talking nine-nine-nine. Is this Rick Perry's way of saying bring the attention back to me, I have a tax plan too?
[Borger:] It is. And he said, by the way, and this is an important point. He said people don't trust a government in Washington to raise any kind of new taxes. And the Herman Cain plan includes a nine percent national sales tax, which is something we do not currently have. The problems conservatives is with that is they say, OK, you're going to raise a new tax. Well, today, it's nine percent. Tomorrow, it could be 15 percent. So, he's saying to conservatives that is not the way to go. Don't open the door to any new form of tax, and that may have some salience with Republican primary voters.
[Baldwin:] Gloria Borger, as always, lovely having you on. Thank you so much for talking to me about this flat tax. We really appreciate it. We'll be talking about it, I'm sure, in the future. Meantime still to come, I had kind of a special interview this morning I want to share with you in just a couple of minutes where I talk to someone in space, one of three crew members currently sitting in the international space station. By the way, these guys have been up there for five months and counting. They're hoping to come home in the next month. What's in like up there, when will they come home, and what's it like? Do they miss gravity? Mike Fossum, commander of the ISS, next.

[A.j. Hammer:] SHOWBIZ on location. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York with
[Wendy Williams, Host, "the Wendy Williams Show":] Wendy Williams!
[Hammer:] Hello. How are you doing?
[Williams:] I`m good.
[Hammer:] Oh, I can`t wait to hang out with you. We`ve got to talk oh, my god so many things to talk about. Bobbi Kristina showing up at the Billboard Music Awards. Kim and Kanye I think you have a thing or two to say about them. Also, tonight, ladies fight club. Violent confrontation, bone-crunching battles, women behaving badly on reality TV. Tonight, the brand-new demand to stop the violence. An ultimatum for J. Lo? Bracing for an "American Idol" showdown over Jennifer Lopez`s hints she may leave the show. Did J. Lo`s boss just demand she stop playing it coy? And SHOWBIZ dares to ask, is J. Lo about to make a huge mistake she`ll soon regret? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT starts right now.
[Unidentified Female:] You act a real psycho right now.
[Hammer:] There seems to be a lot of that going around right now.
[Unidentified Female:] So you shut the
[Hammer:] VH1`s "Basketball Wives" is getting a little too slap-happy with cast members insulting
[Unidentified Female:] You will forever be a bum. And you`ll forever be a hoe.
[Hammer:] Threatening
[Unidentified Female:] I`m going to kill that
[Hammer:] And worst of all, smacking each other with wild abandon. "Basketball Wives" violence is definitely taking its toll. Frequent abuse victim, Meeka Claxton, eventually left the show.
[Meeka Claxton, Fmr. Reality Tv Star, "basketball Wives":] She hit me for no
[Hammer:] And this slap actually led to a misdemeanor battery charge against the slapper, Nia Crooks.
[Omarosa Manigault, "reality Weekly":] Unfortunately, it`s gutter
[Tv. Hammer:] Reality TV`s Omarosa Manigault knows something about reality show conflict. She famously mixed it up on "The Apprentice."
[Manigault:] Darling, sweetie pie, you have said so many things
[Unidentified Female:] Don`t call me sweetie pie.
[Hammer:] But Omarosa tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT what she`s seeing on "Basketball Wives" is just nuts.
[Manigault:] I have never once taken part of any situation that escalated to the level of violence. I don`t believe that adults should resolve conflict by getting physical.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, like some of the short-tempered ladies on "Basketball Wives," some of the show`s famous fans have had enough. Sherri Shepherd and Star Jones have both criticized the show. And long- time fan, Wendy Williams, announced in February she was done.
[Williams:] I can`t take the fighting. I think it`s embarrassing.
[Hammer:] A Change.org petition protesting "Basketball Wives" has gotten almost 30,000 signatures. And today, the makers of Summer`s Eve feminine products confirmed to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT they`ve pulled their adds from "Basketball Wives."
[Manigault:] Viewers are saying, you know, we like drama, but we don`t like violence.
[Hammer:] Of course, "Basketball Wives" isn`t the first show featuring woman on woman violence.
[Unidentified Female:] Slap me, bitch.
[Hammer:] Ever since bumpkin in New York mixed it up on "Flavor of Love," ladies have been going at it on reality shows. The "Jersey Shore" ladies have had far more fights than the guys have. And the "Real Housewives" franchise has had its share of scraps from Beverly Hills to Atlanta. But the "Basketball Wives" violence is drawing particular attention because of its mostly African-American cast.
[Manigault:] It is a predominant cast made up of African-American women who are fluent, who are educated, who are wealthy. And yet, they`re behaving like hood rats. It is unacceptable.
[Hammer:] Now, we`re seeing "Basketball Wives" may actually start chilling out a bit on the violence. Shaunie O`Neal, the ex-wife of Shaquille O`Neal and the executive producer of "Basketball Wives" has announced a no- violence policy for the show`s next season.
[Shaunie O`neal, Executive Producer, "basketball Wives":] We hear it. We know it`s going on.
[Hammer:] And on the end of season reunion show, she promised a kinder and gentler "Basketball Wives."
[O`neal:] We are going to do our best, you know, moving forward, to show you some better content and more positive, intelligent women that, you know, we`ve got our act together.
[Hammer:] But Omarosa tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she`s skeptical.
[Manigault:] To hear this producer, this creator to now say, "You know, we can do better," when she sat there as a bystander witnessing this and not stepping in, it`s just not enough. And I`m not certain that the viewers will trust her saying that.
[Hammer:] So with violence continuing on the show in its fourth season, we see if all the anti-violence backlash
[Unidentified Female:] What do you need to be, smacked in your
[Hammer:] Really has helped the "Basketball Wives" wake up and face the error of their ways.
[Williams:] Originally speaking, I was very upset with "Basketball Wives," because as a woman, as a black woman, I mean, you know, we get enough stereotypes. People will still call Michelle Obama an angry black woman. So we get enough stereotypes, so it was embarrassing for me and my female kind.
[Hammer:] Yes. You made the same point after you were punched on the show. You have to be pretty happy that people like Wendy are now speaking out about this.
[Claxton:] I`m very happy that they are now speaking out, people like Sherri Shepherd and Wendy Williams. You know, it`s great to see powerful, professional women, my kind, as Wendy said, speaking out. It`s just sad that, you know, it`s almost a year after I reached out to these same women and asked for them to stand up with me against the violence on television.
[Hammer:] Because when you first signed up to do "Basketball Wives," Shaunie O`Neal, the executive producer of the show, did not say to you there was going to be hitting and punching and you might get beat?
[Claxton:] You know what? No. Actually, I didn`t even speak to Shaunie. I was speaking to another producer, and of course, I was hesitant. My husband and I both were both like we were only we maybe only caught a couple of episode of the two seasons that had been on. But what we saw was really negative
[Hammer:] But the violence wasn`t what you signed up for?
[Claxton:] Not at all. And you know what? The hesitation was met by reassurance that we`re going back to the lifestyle. This is not what we`re doing.
[Hammer:] And that didn`t happen. I want to bring in another great voice. Sheryl Lee Ralph is joining us now from Hollywood. Great to see you, Sheryl Lee. Sheryl`s an actress and author of a great book called "Redefining Diva: Life Lessons from the Original Dream Girl."
[Sheryl Lee Ralph, Actress And Author:] Thank you.
[Hammer:] And you write a lot about this very issue in your book. Do you want the boycott to end reality violence in "Basketball Wives" or in everything?
[Ralph:] Look, this is show business, and I`m not mad at Shaunie O`Neal. After all, she did get her show on the air, and I would like to get mine on the air, which might help, because what is lacking is a diverse image of black women on the screen. It is sad that Michelle Obama doesn`t have a show. It`s sadder that Oprah`s is gone. So all we have is cast after cast of big-mouthed, big- butt, bad witches spell it with a B knocking each other upside the weave and down the other. It`s got to stop.
[Hammer:] Now, it may get calmed down according to Shaunie. They claim that they`re going to have a more balanced show next season. Would that be enough for you?
[Claxton:] I agree with Sheryl 100 percent. The violence just has to stop. I`m not the woman that`s throwing bottles across the table. I`m not fighting with other women. I teach my girls I have two little daughters. I teach them to resolve conflict with their words. They`re not always going to like everyone, but you don`t start fighting. You`re a representative of a black woman.
[Ralph:] That`s right.
[Claxton:] And we`re not the stereotypical which is sad what the stereotype is, you know.
[Hammer:] Yes.
[Claxton:] It`s sad.
[Ralph:] That`s right.
[Hammer:] We know it`s not just "Basketball Wives." It seems like if there`s a show with "wives" in the title, you can expect you`re going to see a fight and some tables flipped. And you can also expect that it`s going to a ratings winner, though, Sheryl. Is it possible to turn the tide here and have shows that speak to a wider spectrum of women, particularly black women who don`t flip tables on a regular basis? Because we all know it`s the drama that brings the ratings. Otherwise, the shows don`t necessarily live.
[Ralph:] You`re right. We love a good coliseum show where you throw the people to the lions. We love that kind of TV. All I`m saying is, we need shows that have different images of women of color, especially black women. White women, Hispanic women have all different kinds of images of themselves on the screen. We seem to be very type-cast and very limited. And our daughters are suffering. They don`t know that if your hand you feel you need to put it upside somebody`s head, that`s wrong. Real people, divas, women do not carry themselves like that.
[Hammer:] Meeka, let me ask you something, though, because you have inferred in a recent tweet you`re not done with reality TV. You`re ready for your next show. I`m thinking since it was such a lousy experience, why not walkway from it?
[Claxton:] Well, I`m on board with what Sheryl just said. The reason why I even went on this show is because I wanted to show another type of black women.
[Hammer:] Right.
[Claxton:] I`m CEO of three blooming businesses. I`m a wife. I`m a mommy. I`m just I`m a phenomenal woman.
[Ralph:] I love it.
[Claxton:] I want young girls I want young teenage girls to not just want to be like what Sheryl said, the big bootie video vixen.
[Ralph:] Right.
[Claxton:] But to be like the strong, independent business woman.
[Hammer:] Do me a favor. Get that on TV and figure out a way to make it a success, because I would love to see that happen.
[Claxton:] It`s great to be here. Bye, Sheryl.
[Hammer:] We`ve got to move on now to a special SHOWBIZ special exclusive on location with Wendy Williams. Wendy talking to us about so many hot topics tonight, including Kim and Kanye.
[Williams:] Obviously, she hasn`t learned her lesson. If you want a real relationship with anybody, you need to keep it off TV.
[Hammer:] I am right there on the set with Wendy. She is fired up about Kim-ye tonight, about violence on reality TV and so much more. Also, John Mayer`s health confessions. One surgery down, one to go.
[John Mayer, Actor:] Make a list of all the things you like to eat and drink and those are the things you cannot eat and drink.
[Hammer:] John Mayer on how he`s surviving without singing. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.

[Crowley:] Joining me now, Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Tom Price. Gentlemen, thank you so much. I want to start out by playing two bits of sound from both Speaker Boehner and President Obama on staking out what they would like to see in a deal to get rid of this fiscal cliff.
[Boehner:] Raising tax rates will slow down our ability to create the jobs that everyone says they want.
[Obama:] What I'm not going to do is to extend Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent that we can't afford.
[Crowley:] Gosh, that doesn't sound like you all are anywhere closer to a deal now than you were prior to the election. Congressman Price, where is there room for compromise here?
[Price:] Well, there certainly is room for negotiation on a real solution, and a real solution includes both revenue increases and spending reductions. The reason we have concern about what the president has talked about and what my friends on the other side of the aisle have talked about is that it doesn't solve the problem. If we take the president's deal that he has brought to the table, you know how many days that pays for the federal government? Eight days. Not eight months. Not eight weeks. Eight days. So we need to look at increasing revenue through pro-growth policies as well as tax revenues.
[Crowley:] But not through tax hikes, correct?
[Price:] Tax revenue, which means broadening the base, lowering the rates, closing the loopholes, limiting the deductions, limiting the credits, and making certain that we identify the appropriate spending reductions so that we have, indeed, a balanced approach.
[Crowley:] OK, but we're still at the place where everything gets hung up. No increases in tax rates. That is still the position of House Republicans, correct?
[Price:] Well, again, we would be happy to look at that if it solved the problem. The problem is, it doesn't solve the problem. We want a real solution, which means increasing tax revenue through pro- growth policies.
[Crowley:] OK. Let me just try to get the senator in here. So the answer is no, they don't want to look at tax rate increases. And, yet, we kind of have the president saying he would veto something that didn't have tax rate increases for the wealthy. Where do we go from here?
[Durbin:] Candy, you have got to listen closely, and I have been listening for a long time since I was on the Simpson-Bowles Commission. And what I hear is a perceptible change in rhetoric from the other side, and what it is is an invitation for our side to basically sit down and say, what can we do for this country? Push the special interest groups to the side for the moment, and what I hear the president saying is, we're not going to solve this by asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share, but it will be part of the solution. And what I hear from the Republican side is, well, what is the rest of the solution? That is the beginning of a negotiation. It's an indication that the election had an impact on all of us. The American people are sick and tired of all the obstruction and all the rhetoric on both sides. And I can tell you that the fiscal cliff is focusing the mind. We are really trying our best now to at least come up with an understanding of an agreement before the end of the year.
[Crowley:] OK. So we have had Senator, let me just stick with you for a second. We've had the president meeting with the top leadership. What is going on now? I mean, we have 40-plus days left before this happens. Who is doing what where?
[Durbin:] I think the negotiation is continuing at various levels, but it's between the White House and the congressional leadership. They are sitting down now to try to map out a way to avoid sequestration, the automatic spending cuts that were going to take place over the next 10 years. They're also now going to sit down and talk about the revenue side. The president has made his position clear. He has called on the House Republicans to pass what we passed in the Senate to protect middle income families. All of those making less than $250,000 a year, take them off the hook and tell them, no, your taxes are not going up. Let's get that done before we leave.
[Crowley:] So, Congressman, are you going to get that done...
[Durbin:] So we are moving toward at least I think an agreement.
[Crowley:] Are you going to get that done before you leave?
[Price:] Well, again, if that would solve the problem, we would be happy to look at it. It doesn't make any sense. When I talk to my constituents and folks across this country...
[Crowley:] Can I just I'm sorry to interrupt you, but can I just get just sort of directly, is that something that you all would do? And it sounds to me like your answer is no, because you don't think it will work. Is that a correct translation of what you are saying?
[Price:] Tax increases to chase ever higher spending is a fool's errand. What we need to do is have that balanced approach that we've all been talking about, which, again, is increasing revenues through a process of tax reform, and then spending reductions. We've had four straight years of trillion dollar-plus deficits. You can't continue this and have economic vitality, which is what we actually need, Pro-growth policies to get this economy rolling, get jobs created again.
[Crowley:] Senator, again, you're hopeful because you think people have listened to what the American people said. And, yet, I'm not sure I'm hearing it here. Are you hearing it elsewhere in the halls of Congress that, in fact, Republicans will look at specifically the tax raising taxes on those making $250,000 or more?
[Durbin:] Candy, you have to be careful. If you talk about taxes they run for the hills. But if you talk about revenue and tax reform, they'll sit still for that conversation. I would say to my friend the congressman, he said that sparing the middle income families doesn't solve the problem. Well, it solves the problem for middle income families in America. What it does say is that when it comes to tax increases, let's go to those who can afford to pay. They should pay a little more. They've been blessed with success. They live in the greatest nation on Earth. Paying a little bit more to solve this national problem, part of the solution, is not unreasonable. But we do have to cut spending. We do have to look at entitlement reform that doesn't threaten the existence of important programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
[Crowley:] Congressman, let me...
[Price:] I'm pleased to hear that...
[Crowley:] Go ahead.
[Price:] If I may, I'm pleased hear the senator talk about spending reductions, because there haven't been specifics put on the table by the other side. And that's exactly where this negotiation process is right now. The two sides have identified the tax revenue that we're willing to discuss, and now it's time to talk about the spending reductions, and that's the prescription for moving forward. Because, again, if we pass something that doesn't solve the problem, then the American people are going to be as irritated in the future as they are right now.
[Crowley:] Congressman, let me ask you, have you sensed within the new caucus now, it's the old Congress that's going to deal with this between now and the 31st of December, but you have had a chance to see and meet what your new caucus will look like, the majority on the House side. Do you sense a difference in that group hand than in the group prior to that, which was seen as unwilling to make a deal, sort of more hard-line conservative? Is this new caucus different?
[Price:] Well, I think the difference is that every member of our caucus appreciates that this fiscal crisis, this challenge that we have, is ever closer. And that's why we need to negotiate through this process and make certain we come up with a solution, a real solution, that will actually solve the problem. Kicking the can further down the road, which is one of the things that we hear out of Washington all the time, will no longer be acceptable to either the American people or to the challenges that we have to get this economy rolling again and get jobs created.
[Crowley:] Senator, there has been some thought on your side as well that perhaps $250,000, that if you could get the House to go along with something, that perhaps $250,000 is too low to be raising taxes, that maybe you could make it a genuine millionaires tax that would be more palatable. What about something like that?
[Durbin:] Candy, we're carping on a trifle here. If we want to protect the middle income families, $250,000 income for a family is a reasonable number. To go up to a million, I'm not sure what we're proving with that. There has to be revenue on the table. And those 2 percent or 1 percent of highest wage earners in America who are doing well should pay a little bit more. And I think most of them that I speak to are willing to do it if they know it's part of an agreement that will generally reduce the deficit. Keep in mind, our goal here is not just to reduce the deficit and debt, but to spring this economy so that it moves forward creating jobs and expanding businesses. I think that's going to happen if we have this bipartisan agreement.
[Crowley:] Congressman Price...
[Price:] Candy, the...
[Crowley:] Go ahead.
[Price:] Yes. The increased tax rate that the senator just referred to doesn't only hit individuals, it hits nearly a million small businesses, and if we're increasing taxes on small businesses, guess what won't be created? Jobs. And small businesses are always the linchpin to getting jobs created when we come out of a recession. And so why would we adopt a policy that punishes job creators? Ernst & Young said it would end up in about 700,000 jobs being lost. That doesn't seem like a wise idea. So, again, we want to solve the problem with real solutions, not just political rhetoric that we have tended to hear on the campaign trail. It's time to get down to work.
[Crowley:] Senator Durbin, the last word is yours. I take it you're going to disagree, this sounds a lot like the arguments I heard before the election...
[Durbin:] Candy, it sounds like the...
[Crowley:] ... from you both.
[Durbin:] ... debate that you moderated between Governor Romney and President Obama. Ninety-seven percent of small businesses are spared with a $250,000 limit in terms of tax increases. What we're talking about are people who are making a lot of money, lawyers and investment bankers and those who are in subchapter S corporations on who can pay a little more for goodness sakes, if it means moving the economy forward. It's time to take these old arguments and set them over here and talk about a new day, a new approach. That's what the election was all about.
[Crowley:] Senator Durbin, Congressman Price, thank you both so much for joining us this morning. Appreciate it.
[Price:] Thanks, Candy.
[Durbin:] Thank you.
[Crowley:] Next, he was chairman of Mitt Romney's Hispanic Steering Committee, but Carlos Gutierrez has some tough talk for his party when it comes to immigration reform.
[Gutierrez:] If we get it wrong, shame on us.

[Banfield:] A Colorado wildfire is now engulfed more than 56,000 acres and, get this, it has destroyed at least 181 homes. More than 1,700 firefighters are trying to get this thing under control, but the flames are fueled by very high temperatures and, worse yet, a lot of wind. The activists have certainly had their say, but now the health care law and several other key cases in this country are in the hands of the Supreme Court. Keeping an eye on the court as a decision could come down at any moment today. In money, Facebook paying up. It's going to have to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit that was filed by five users. They claim that the company used part of their profiles in advertisements without giving them any money for doing so. The potential class action lawsuit could have resulted in billions of dollars in damages. A Boston area hockey mom took matters into her own hands and walked onto the ice saying that the referees were not doing enough to stop a fight involving her son. Take a look at this. It's a YouTube clip making the rounds. It was posted a few weeks ago. Gina O'Toole is her name was holding her purse when she decided to go out the ice, there you go, pink jacket and all. Earlier today she explained what compelled her to do this. She showed up on ABC's "Good Morning America" to explain herself.
[Gina O'toole, Mother Who Broke Up Hockey Fight:] Concussions are very, you know, you know prevalent thing in youth hockey and when I went on the ice, a lot of other parents were screaming, "Stop it, stop the fight." People were banging on the glass, "What are you doing? When are you going to break this up?" And I just found myself opening the gate and walking onto the ice and saying, "Hey, you need to get control of this game. What are you doing?" And he turned around and he yelled at me and he told me to get off the ice. And I said, "You need to do your job."
[Banfield:] Well, there you go. You need to do your job, pink jacket, purse, and all. I think there might have been a few f-bombs in there too, with all the bleeps. Yes so there it is. So as soon as O'Toole got out there, both youth hockey teams actually stopped throwing the punches, probably out of sheer shock and amazement. Shock and awe. Way to go, mom. I like to hear that. Nice work. Scandal involving our Catholic Church and the Vatican well, they've been pretty much front page news here in the United States. But now we're going to go in-depth, we're going to take a look at what is going on behind the growing tensions in between the Vatican and American Catholics.

[Fareed Zakaria:] Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Fareed Zakaria. We have a terrific show for you today. It goes all over the world. We start with the news about Iran's nuclear program and a debate as to whether the time has come for military action. Then, Europe at the breaking point. We ask Mohamed El-Erian, one of the world's most respected financial minds, to tell us whether the Eurozone is about to come apart. Why in the world can't North Korean nurses and doctors come back home from the Middle East? It's a fascinating tale. And, finally, back home, the former governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, tells us what her experience of cutting taxes and reducing spending taught her. All this, coming up. But first, here's my take. Last week the International Atomic Energy Agency issued its most serious warning about Iran's nuclear program. It argued that Iran seems to have experimented with various technologies that suggested it was trying to build not just a nuclear program but a nuclear weapons program. This finding, to be clear, is at odds with the views of the former head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as the report issued a few years ago by the United States' National Intelligence Council. It's difficult to be sure what to make of these intelligence judgments because they are judgments that try to determine the intentions of the Iranian regime. One thing is clear Iran is developing an increasingly robust nuclear program. Having read all the reports, I'm still not sure that anyone knows what Iran's plan is. Is it to develop a breakout capacity, meaning a nuclear program and a missile program, but not actually marry the two together? That would keep Iran within the legal framework of the nonproliferation treaty, which it signed and takes pains every year to prove that it adheres to? Or is it to develop the weapons themselves? Frankly, the former would be the smarter course. It would get the benefits of increased influence. It would be seen as having a nuclear capacity, but not attract a total clampdown on trade and other kinds of sanctions that would come from actually having nuclear weapons. But let's take the IAEA report as valid. It still makes the case for some kind of contact with Iran. As he left office as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen said that one of his greatest worries was that we had no communication with Iran. He worried about miscalculations, the misreading of intentions and, thus, war. Look, at the height of the Cold War, we talked to the Soviet Union, an adversary we were contesting in dozens of countries around the world. We talked to Mao, a man with a large nuclear arsenal who several times said that he would welcome a nuclear war that would destroy half the world. We talked to Moammar Gadhafi. Meanwhile, we do have a containment policy toward Iran that appears to be having some effect. Its neighbors are allied against it, and with the United States. The pressure has restricted the regime's room for maneuver. There appear to be internal tensions within the regime. And yet, rather than keep the pressure on and see if we can find a way to get inspectors in, we now hear calls for war one more time. Let's be clear we are talking about a preventive war against a country that has not attacked us on the basis of intelligence reports. It is easy to start a war. It is very difficult to predict how it will go and where it might end. I think we need to ask some hard questions before we start launching the missiles. Let's get started.
[Zakaria:] And now, time for that debate on Iran. Bret Stephens is with the "Wall Street Journal" where he writes a column; and Karim Sadjadpour from the Carnegie Endowment in Washington. Welcome. Bret, you talked about, in your column this week, having a real debate about whether or not there should be military strikes against Iran. But, clearly, you take one side of that debate. You think, despite all the problems, it would make sense to move militarily against Iran, correct?
[Bret Stephens, Foreign Affairs Columnist, Wall Street Journal:] I do, because we've exhausted all the other semi-plausible alternatives. The Obama administration came to office offering its extended hand to Iran, offering diplomacy. That, of course, was tried and failed. We have ratcheted up sanctions. We're now on the fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran. Clearly, from the IAEA report, those sanctions are not having the desired effect on their nuclear programs. So we're really now faced with the option of either effectively doing more of the same, which means doing nothing, or biting the bullet, so to speak, and taking military action to stop them. Hopefully American, not Israeli military action.
[Zakaria:] Karim, what do you think?
[Karim Sadjadpour, Carnegie Endowment For International Peace:] Fareed, I don't think the case for military action is at all compelling. It's a simple mathematical question. According to Israel's best estimates, if they were to bomb Iran's nuclear sites, they would set back Iran's nuclear clock two to three years. My argument is that Israeli or even U.S. military strikes on Iran would resuscitate a deeply unpopular, ideologically bankrupt regime and perhaps prolong the shelf life of the Iranian regime another decade or another generation. So if the Israelis came and said, listen, we could set back Iran's nuclear clock 10, 15 years with a military strike, I think it would be a much better case. But two to three years, I don't think this is a real serious argument.
[Stephens:] As for the internal dynamics of Iranian politics, I'm not persuaded that having a prestige program destroyed by by bombs would be would do very much domestically for this regime. I fear that they would consolidate their position both internationally and domestically if they were able to develop or acquire nuclear weapons in the teeth of so much international opposition.
[Zakaria:] Karim, what do you think the effect would be in Iran?
[Sadjadpour:] Well, Fareed, there is a historical precedent here in the Iranian context as well, and that is in the early days of the revolution, Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Iran and allowed the hardliners, the Khomeinis in Iran, to essentially consolidate power. And what I see now, three decades after the 1979 revolution, is a population which is incredibly weary, incredibly unhappy with the state of the regime. It's the regime is ideologically bankrupt, as I mentioned. And one thing I constantly hear from Iranians young people, intellectuals, professional classes is that they're opposed to any type of military action. And what I would like to see is far more focus on what Israel or the United States might do and more focus internally on what's going on in terms of the repression and human rights abuses within Iran.
[Stephens:] Well, I think here Karim and I agree entirely, but the interests here are not simply the interests of the Iranian people. There's also the interest of the international community. It's notable that the country that has been most vociferous in calling on the United States to take military action against Iran is not Israel. It actually is Saudi Arabia. The rest of the the rest of the region deeply fears the implications of a nuclear Iran for their for their security and for their future, and and rightly so. And so should the United States. We're not just talking about fears for the region. An Iran that is able to marry a nuclear warhead to a ballistic missile will at some point be able to strike not just Tel Aviv or Dubai, but London and possibly even Washington, D.C. We have a deep security interest, something that we American leaders of both parties, including President Obama, have said have said it's an unacceptable outcome, a nuclear a nuclear Iran. I fear for the credibility of the United States spending a decade calling this outcome unacceptable and then more or less sliding right towards right towards it.
[Zakaria:] Every time America has gotten involved in military actions for fear of its credibility, it doesn't always work out as well. You say at the end of your column, you know, this would probably give President Obama a boost if he were to strike Iran militarily. Don't you think it would depend not on how he how the how the action begins, but really how it ends?
[Stephens:] Possibly true, although I think Americans recognize that have long memories about this regime, long memories going back to 1979, the hostage crisis, its responsibility in the death of 258 Americans in Beirut in 1983, the Khobar Towers. And I think Americans also understand that the stakes aren't simply the immediate day-after consequences of what might happen in the Straits of Hormuz or elsewhere in the region, but, over the long term, what it means for American security to have the world's leading sponsor of terrorism armed with nuclear weapons.
[Zakaria:] Karim?
[Sadjadpour:] Well, Fareed, there is no doubt that this is an odious regime, but we have to differentiate between regimes which are homicidal and and regimes which are suicidal. The Iranian regime brutally suppresses its own population. It has homicidal tendencies at home. But it's a regime which ultimately wants to stay in power. That's what's paramount for them. They're not suicidal. And, you know, I think, to to coin a phrase, Fareed, this U.S. foreign policy challenge that it faces with Iran is really a post- American foreign policy challenge, in that we're not going to resolve this issue absent a wide a kind of a robust international coalition. And I think the Obama administration, when it comes to options for coercion, basically has two options before it. The first is to pursue very strong sanctions or very strong action with a very weak coalition, or to pursue relatively milder action and have a more robust a much more robust international coalition. And I think the reality is that we Iran is so dependent these days on countries like China and Russia and India and it's been so isolated from countries like the United States and Europe, that option two is really the best option we have.
[Stephens:] I think we shouldn't get carried away with the notion that this is a post-American world or that America doesn't have options before it, or that it can't effect its will against what ultimately means perhaps a dozen, perhaps 20 nuclear installations in relatively poor country. We we can do that. And I would add one more point about Karim. You know, he talks about homicidal versus suicidal regimes, and I I have no doubt or I'm confident that an Iran armed with a nuclear weapon wouldn't lob it at Tel Aviv or somewhere else as a first order of business. But let's imagine a scenario where Iran is facing a slow motion rebellion in the model or in the mold of what Syria faces today. Is this a regime that, armed with nuclear weapons, is going to go quietly into the night? That is the scenario that really keeps me awake at night when I think
[Zakaria:] What I don't understand, do you mean do you mean it would use the nuclear weapon on its own people?
[I - Stephens:] No, that it would use the nuclear weapon on perhaps Israel or one of its neighbors if it felt that its that its life was that it was facing imminent extinction.
[Zakaria:] Isn't that problem far more acute in Pakistan? Yet I don't see you calling for military strikes on Pakistan's nuclear in other words, if you assume that a regime would just go crazy when faced with instability, why have you decided that Iran, which doesn't let's be clear, does not actually have nuclear weapons, is is the one that you should preemptively strike against?
[Stephens:] Well, let's let's remember that Pakistan remains, for all of its many problems, a country that has a civilian that has a civilian government. But the example of but the example
[Zakaria:] A civilian government that has absolutely no control over the nuclear program, and you know it
[Stephens:] Well, that's true. But but then, that's all the more I mean, look, I'm not unfortunately, our options have been foreclosed precisely because Pakistan does have a nuclear option, which should make the argument that or should should advance the argument that I'm trying to make, which is that regimes like this should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons in the first place. Pakistan is that much scarier a country because it is so unstable and because it has this arsenal of 100 and or 150 nuclear nuclear weapons. Why should we want Pakistan redux in a regime that is, if anything, more fanatical and potentially more unstable than Pakistan is today?
[Zakaria:] Karim, you get the last word.
[Sadjadpour:] Well, I should make clear, Fareed, that we should vigorously try to prevent the possibility of a nuclear armed Iran. But, for your friend, Jon Stewart, had a great line. He was talking about Dubai, and he said that Dubai is what happens when Las Vegas and Saudi Arabia have a baby. And if I had to use that Jon Stewart formulation about Iran, I would say that the Islamic Republic of Iran is kind of a hybrid between the Taliban and the Soviet Union. It's kind of a diluted version of each. It's a Byzantine, authoritarian Islamist regime, which is deeply unpopular and ideologically bankrupt. And I think that U.S. foreign policy towards the Soviet Union in the 1980s can be a useful template. That was a regime which had hundreds of nuclear weapons. We dialogued with them at a high level. We contain them, and we exhibited moral clarity, and we supported the forces of democracy and human rights. And, actually, that was one of the last great victories for the neo- conservatives, so I'm surprised that Bret wouldn't champion that approach.
[Stephens:] Well, they also have Gorbachev.
[Zakaria:] On that note, gentlemen, we will reconvene to do round two of this. But thank you very much.
[Stephens:] Thank you, Fareed.
[Zakaria:] And we'll be back.
[Mohamed El-erian, Ceo, Pimco:] One of the tragedies of the Eurozone crisis is that we've waited so long that there is no costless solution. Every solution has enormous consequences, collateral damage, and unintended results.

[Blitzer:] All right, anticipation already building right now for the next faceoff among the Republican presidential candidates. CNN will host the western Republican presidential debate next Tuesday, October 18, 8:00 p.m. eastern. Listen to some of the sparring in the debate last night between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. The subject, health care. Rick Perry pressed Mitt Romney.
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] My question for you would be how would you respond to his criticism of your signature legislative achievement?
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] The great thing about running for president is you get the chance the talk about your experience as governor, and I'm proud of the fact we took on a major problem. We have the lowest number of kids uninsured in America. You have the highest. I'm still speaking. I'm still speaking. We have we have less than one percent of our kids that are uninsured. You have a million kids uninsured in Texas. Under President Bush, the percentage uninsured went down. Under your leadership it's gone up.
[Blitzer:] Let's bring in our chief political analyst Gloria Borger. Gloria, I think by all accounts Mitt Romney once again did a pretty good job last night.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] He did. "I'm still speaking." How did you like that? What he did was turned a weakness, which is his Massachusetts health care plan, into an attack. When he was asked about it by Rick Perry, he was very strong about it. I spoke with some Republican strategists today who said, look, it's become clear that if you want someone who can go toe to toe with Barack Obama in a debate, that it looks more and more like it's Mitt Romney. And again, what was interesting was he admitted that he supported for example the bank bailouts, which is not a popular position among conservatives. But he feels clearly that he's got to admit what he supports, and that if they don't like it, they can go somewhere else. But increasingly, it looks like there's nowhere else to go. And that's why David Axelrod of the Obama campaign had a conference call with reporters today in which he took on Mitt Romney. It's clear they've moved from this primary to the general, and they think Mitt Romney is the person they're going to be running against.
[Blitzer:] Rick Perry's performance last night by almost all accounts, not so fabulous.
[Borger:] Well, he needed really to have a good performance. He didn't have it. He was given an opportunity to lay out his economic plan. And what he did was he said, well, I have a plan on energy, and then proceeded not to give you the details of his energy plan. So this is not his best format. And what was strange was that he had released a very brutal web ad earlier in the week about Mitt Romney, attacking Mitt Romney on health care reform, and then he seemed kind of oddly passive in this debate and let it continue kind of while he sort of sit back. So not a very strong performance.
[Blitzer:] And really for the first time Herman Cain came under attack.
[Borger:] He did. His nine-nine-nine plan, which we heard over 20 times being mentioned, nine percent personal tax rate, nine corporate rate, nine percent national sales tax. Republicans don't like a national sales tax. They don't believe that the personal tax rate is going to be contained to nine percent. I think Herman Cain is now in a different tier of this campaign and he's got to be able to handle these attacks better than he did last night. He also can't say things like "I have no facts to back this up, but " He has to start having the facts So we'll see how he does in our debate in Las Vegas.
[Blitzer:] Next Tuesday night, 8:00 p.m. Gloria, thanks very much.
[Borger:] Sure.
[Blitzer:] Millions of BlackBerry users not only in the United State but around the world practically on every continent are victims now to a mass three-day service outage, but now some possible, possible good news. Let's bring in our Silicon Valley correspondent, Dan Simon. He's got the very latest. What's the latest, Dan?
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, first of all, this has been a problem of the highest magnitude for RIM, the maker of BlackBerry. It appears that service is being restored to some users here in the United States, but the company has yet to put out a statement saying that the problem is over. We should tell you that at this point, they say they don't know what the problem is. They know that there's some kind of issue with its key infrastructure, but they haven't said what has caused that outage. I want you to listen now to what a senior manager said earlier today. Take a look.
[Stephen Bates, Rim's Uk Managing Director:] Also I'd like to say that we fully understand the frustration our customers are feeling on the delays on the messaging and
[Simon:] Well, it looks like service is coming back online again for some users here in the United States, but this has been a PR nightmare for this company. As we all know, RIM has suffered some severe declines in its user base. They're losing to ground to Android's to Google's Android system and of course to Apple with the iPhone. The iPhone releasing a new version coming on Friday. And look, if people are on the fence, they might be thinking twice about purchasing another BlackBerry product Wolf.
[Blitzer:] It's a nightmare for certainly for BlackBerry, for RIM, its manufacturer, but certainly for millions of people who don't have their e-mail service. All right, Dan. We'll stay in close touch with you. Thanks very much. When we come back, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, will talk about this alleged alleged Iranian plot to blow up the Israeli embassy here in Washington.

[Jessica Yellin, Co-host:] Hi. I'm Jessica Yellin in Orlando, Florida. Welcome to CNN's special BALLOT BOWL coverage, our final run to the 2010 midterm elections. I'm here at a Republican fundraising rally and Sarah Palin is about to take the stage just a short time from now behind me. We're going to bring it to you live. But first, I'm going to send it over to my friend Ed Henry in Las Vegas who had a big interview today Ed.
[Ed Henry, Co-host:] That's right. I'm Ed Henry in Las Vegas. President Obama was here with a big rally 9,000 people here in Las Vegas for the embattled Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. So much as stake here. This is really one of the premiere Senate battles. Fact of the matter that this, who wins this, whether it's Harry Reid or Sharron Angle, the Republican and a Tea Party favorite that could determine the control of the Senate next year. There's also a lot on the line for the president. Harry Reid has been one of his chief lieutenants on Capitol Hill, helped pass health care reform, Wall Street reform, a lot on the line, a lot at stake for sure. We've got a little bit of new information, breaking political news. I spoke to two senior Democratic sources this morning who are telling me that Senator Reid's private internal poll numbers have him up six points in this race. That contradicts the public polling that has it at a dead heat. I got a caveat that these poll numbers change a lot. Just spoke to a top Republican source who insists that their numbers do not back that up. They believe it is a dead heat. That there is this is still a struggle. It's going down to the wire, just 10 days to go. I had an interview earlier today with Senator Reid. We're going to get to that later. We also have a lot to get to all around the country. There's a lot happening. Next hour, later this hour, first hear from Sarah Palin in Florida as Jessica mentioned, but next hour we're going to hear from President Obama in Minnesota. He'll be doing a rally for Mark Dayton, the gubernatorial candidate. There's going to be a fundraiser he's doing as well for Democrats. We'll also take you to Southern Ohio. You've got Ted Strickland, the governor there. He's in a tight re-election battle. But right now, we're going to start with the Republicans that's where Jessica is in Orlando, Florida. Sarah Palin, a lot of big names there. So much as stake there, Jessica.
[Yellin:] There is a lot at stake, Ed. Unlike the state where you are, as you say, it's a neck and neck race so close, too close to call. Here the Senate race, the Republicans have a healthy lead. It is Marco Rubio. He is a Tea Party favorite. He'll be taking the stage behind me as well. He'll be speaking here shortly. He has made this a national message about taking over and changing Washington. But putting up the poll numbers, Marco Rubio ahead 46 percent, again, it's three-way race, Charlie Crist, the Republican governor is running as an independents trailing in second place and then behind both of them is Kendrick Meek, the Democrat in this race. He continuous to fight hard to get ahead, but has trailed consistently throughout. Sarah Palin is coming here not only to support Marco Rubio, but because it's such an important presidential battleground. The Republicans want to take control the state ahead of the 2012 election. There's another person who wants to make sure that they have a firm plant in this state ahead of the 2012 election that is Bill Clinton. The former president has been here more times than you can count. He's been campaigning for his good friend, the Democrat, Kendrick Meek. Again, trailing, but he has a long history with Kendrick Meek. It goes back to the days when Meek was a state trooper and he knew then Governor Clinton. Let's listen for a moment as we wait for Sarah Palin to sum up what Bill Clinton has said when he's been here with the top running Democrat Kendrick Meek.
[Bill Clinton, Former U.s. President:] Let's pretend that this election is just like something that really is important to us. Like football. No, really. Bear with me here. When we really care about something, like football, and people in Florida really care about it, I've seen your team on television. I like it. I'm home alone a lot. I watch a lot of college football. But here's the deal. If it's really important to us, the facts matter. Don't they? So what's first thing after a Saturday game that the coaching staff does before they go out to practice? They look at the game film. Don't they? They see what they did right. What they did wrong. What they can do better next week. What's the second thing they do? They look at the competition's game film. They see what they did right. What they did wrong, and then based on the facts, they develop a strategy and they go play the game. And if you've got good athletes and they're living in the real world, and they get a few breaks, they win, because they are interested in the facts. Now, when it's not very important to us like the future of our children, the health of our economy, what kind of country we're living in, we get all of these people say, don't bother me with the facts. I got my mind made up. I know what's right. In this environment where people are angry and anxiety ridden, what you have in every state. I have done more than 90 events now, and I didn't mean to, but I don't want to see my country make a mistake. And I'm old enough to remember that when you make an important decision, never mind politics about anything. When you're really mad, there's about an 80 percent chance you're going to make a mistake, and you will get the result you don't want. And every person in this audience who is old enough has made enough decisions when you were mad that you know I am telling you the truth. Isn't that right? OK. So let's look at the game film. First of all, this election is a tale of dueling stories. The Republican story goes something like this. Hey, they had 21 months to get America out of the hole, the Democrats did, and they failed. They're not out of the hole, and in failing they spent too much money, and had too much government regulation, and we better stop them now before they just swallow the country up in government and debt. Isn't that about it? That's about their story. The Democrats' story is, it's true that we didn't get you out of this hole in 21 months, but it was a very deep hole. And and unlike our opponents, at least we stopped digging. And we do have plans that will not only get us out of the hole, but will put America back in the lead in the race for the 21st century, rebuild the middle class, give our children a brighter future. Give us two more year togs prove it to you. You gave them eight years to dig the hole. Give us half as much time, four year, to get out of it, and we will prove it.
[Yellin:] And that's Bill Clinton with his Democratic stump speech. I heard him calling Republicans the other day, the digging brigade. It works with that crowd. It wouldn't work in this crowd. Sarah Palin is coming up here pretty shortly. We'll bring it to everyone, but first back to you in Las Vegas, Ed.
[Henry:] Thanks, Jessica. And you're right. There are certain areas where former President Clinton can go that President Obama can't. President Obama focusing his energy, I've been with him in the last four days, out west here, places like Washington, Oregon where he's pretty popular. He woke up this morning here in Las Vegas trying to help Harry Reid. We're going to hear from President Obama next hour in Minnesota. He's going to be doing a rally there for gubernatorial candidate, Mark Dayton. I also had an exclusive one on one with Senator Reid earlier this morning in Las Vegas. He fires back at Sharron Angle who in that debate now infamously says man up, Harry Reid. He has some strong comeback there. We'll have that's later in the hour right after this break.

[O'brien:] Heartbroken family is speaking out for the very first time. Outraged at the man who killed their son is still walking free. The boy was 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. He was shot dead on February 26th. He was walking home from 7-11 near Orlando through a gated community, which is where his father's fiance lives. A neighborhood watch captain by the name of George Zimmerman, that's his picture there, admits he shot Trayvon Martin, but he claims it was in self- defense. The family says it was racial profiling. An unarmed black boy shot by a larger armed white man. Joining me this morning for an exclusive interview is Tracy Martin, his Trayvon's dad, Sybrina Fulton is Trayvon's mom, and Benjamin Crump is the family's attorney. It's nice to see you all of you and I thank you for joining us. Mr. Crump, I'll start with you because when we spoke last you were outraged that there had been no charges filed against George Zimmerman. The 911 tapes had not been released yet. What's changed since we last spoke?
[Benjamin Crump, Attorney:] Nothing, nothing at all. The Sanford Police Department has passed the buck to the state attorney's office. And now they are doing an investigation. So more nights go by where these parents go to bed knowing that their son is in a grave and the man who killed their son is free sleeping in his own bed.
[O'brien:] Tracy, I want to ask you a little bit about Trayvon. Do you feel that there's been enough focus on him and his story? Tell me a little bit about him.
[Tracy Martin, Trayvon Martin's Father:] I think that they're trying to focus they're trying to turn the focus away from Mr. Zimmerman. Certainly Trayvon's story is getting out. And the whole world see that this is a tragedy. It's sad. It's sad as a father to have to bury your child. As a parent, you never want to imagine about burying your kids. And for me to have to bury my son is just it's sad.
[O'brien:] I got to tell you, we can't even imagine. It's just absolutely heartbreaking to hear you say that. Sybrina, if I could ask you, tell me about Trayvon as a kid, 17 years old. What were his hobbies, tell me about, you know, what he liked.
[Sybrina, Fulton, Trayvon Martin's Mother:] He was into sports. He loved playing football. He loved watching football. He loves basketball. He loves to eat everything in your house.
[O'brien:] Seventeen-year-old boy, yes.
[Fulton:] Yes. He loved music. He loves kids. He loves to baby- sit and wash cars and just a normal kid.
[O'brien:] We're hearing in the absence of 911 calls sort of fill- in conversations from some of the neighbors. And I'm going to play a little bit of what one neighbor had to say. Listen.
[Mary Catcher, Witness:] We were both standing in here. And as we heard the kid crying, we kind of looked at each other and that's when we heard the gunshot immediately. Once the gun went off, the crying stopped.
[O'brien:] It's the neighbors, Benjamin, that have had to sort of fill in the gaps because the 911 tapes had not been released. What are you hearing? What are the details you're getting from the neighbors?
[Crump:] It's real clear that the police chief said the reason they could not arrest this homeowner's association loose cannon is because they said they had no evidence to contradict his claim of self-defense. Well, that isn't true. These women called the police. They said several times. And the police either disregarded them or tried to attack their statements. And that is the pattern we're seeing, Soledad, that anything to effect an arrest on George Zimmerman, the Sanford Police Department continues to deny or try the frustration of these parents saying we're not going to arrest him.
[O'brien:] Why do you think that is, Mr. Martin, or Mrs. Martin? Why do you think that they seem to be so reluctant to move forward on, you know, the guy representing the homeowner's association?
[Martin:] I have no idea. It's surprising. It's shocking. It just leaves it lets me know that justice is just not being served here. All we want is justice for our son. We're not asking for anything out of the ordinary. We're asking that justice for Trayvon is brought upon the American people.
[O'brien:] We're going to take a short yes, go ahead, Mr. Crump. Excuse me.
[Crump:] I was just going to simply say, they are trying to espouse this claim of self-defense. Trayvon Martin had a bag of Skittles. He was walking home. These witnesses say the kid was the one crying for help. And that seemed like he was trying to get home. And it was Zimmerman who was pursuing him. Now why the police won't arrest Zimmerman, it is baffling. If Trayvon would have been the person who pulled the trigger he would have been arrested day one, hour one, and he wouldn't have even been given bail.
[O'brien:] We're going to continue this conversation, if we can, right after this short break. And we're going to bring in Jeff Toobin to talk a little bit about the law that a lot of this rests on in the state of Florida. A short break and we're back in just a moment.

[Piers Morgan:] Thanks, Anderson. We've got much more coming up on Gabby Giffords and one of her closest friends, Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann Schultz. I want to welcome my studio audience and all of you at home, for a special PIERS MORGAN LIVE, taking your questions and comments. Tweet us @piersmorganlive or straight to me, @Piersmorgan. But we begin with the breaking news on North Korea. Pyongyang could launch a missile any minute now with absolutely no warning. I talked to a woman who knows just how dangerous and unpredictable the regime could be. She was held prisoner for 140 days, only got out when Bill Clinton intervened. Euna Lee is the author of "The World is Big Enough," and she's here along with CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour. But I want to start by going first to Kyung Lah who is in Seoul. Kyung, what is the latest? I believe it's now tomorrow as far as we're concerned where you are, which means this could be the day that a missile is unleashed. Is that your belief it will happen today?
[Kyung Lah, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, that's the belief of the South Korean Presidential Office. They believe that because April 10th is the date that's been cited by Pyongyang in a couple of other bulletins, they really believe that it is going to happen on April 10th. If you look at the pattern of when North Korea has done these previous launches, they have always been in the morning time so the indication from the government is that they believe now is the highest probability of a potential missile launch. Something I should mention, though, Piers, is that normally the South Korean Oceans and Fisheries Department is notified prior to any sort of launch. This time around, they weren't notified. You can read this two ways, either they're not going to do the launch right away or they're going to do it without any notification, which really tells us a little bit more about the unpredictability of Kim Jong-Un.
[Morgan:] I've got a question actually from an audience member here, Eunju, which is relevant I think for you, Kyung, because you're over in Seoul at the moment. What is your question?
[Eunju, South Korean Audience Member:] I'm a South Korean citizen. And we've been living with numerous threats from North Korea for over the past 50 years. So is the current threat different or is it even different from the ones in the past?
[Morgan:] It's a good point, isn't it, Kyung? I mean, there have been so many of these saber-rattling threats. But there is a feeling, Dick Cheney apparently briefed Republicans today, that he felt and his quote, "We could be in deep doo-doo," in this situation because of the unpredictability of a new young young leader in North Korea. What is the sense you're getting form the people of Seoul?
[Lah:] It's two-fold. One is that you're right, people who live in South Korea, they're used to being told that they're going to be burnt down into a sea of fire. That's something that's normally said out of North Korea. They're numbed to it. So there isn't any sort of panic or extreme alarm from people of South Korea. Here's what is different. What is different is that the threats from Pyongyang are now coming from that young unpredictable leader, he is untested. We simply don't know him. The rules are very different. We have a president in South Korea who is a woman, also untested. The first woman to lead a country that has been traditionally very male oriented. So the players are different. But also the threats are different. They have been rapid fire, day after day after day. There's been a ratcheting up. There has been a rapid fire progression of them. Back now what appears to be the good old days of Kim Jong-Il, they were they were a little more spaced out so it's a bit more unpredictable. Put all of those factors together and the fact that they're speaking now more directly to the United States, this is a bit of a different game. Even though South Koreans, Piers, may feel more numbed to it than the international community.
[Morgan:] Kyung Lah, thank you very much indeed. Christiane Amanpour, you've covered this for a long time. How serious do you think it is? Is it any different or do you detect it may be different?
[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn Chief International Correspondent:] I think for all the reasons that Kyung says, it's different mostly because nobody quite knows how Kim Jong-Un is going to react, and unlike his father and his grandfather, when one of these provocations is ratcheted up, they seemed, according to the U.S., to know how to get off, how to get on the off ramp. They're not sure whether this young leader does. So that's the unpredictability. You know, there's been a lot of fear about his nuclear threats. There's not a single official anywhere, South Korea, the United States, Japan, anybody who I've spoken to, with a shred of credibility who believes there's any chance of any nuclear device being launched any way any how. But the question is what will they do with their missile test. Now it's sort of taken as a given, kind of that it's going to happen, they don't know when, will it be today, the 10th, will it be the 15th of April, which is the founder of North Korea's birthday? When will it be? And what will happen? Will it be a missile fired as a test, in an open area, in water, in some where that's unpopulated that doesn't create any harm or anything, in which case the United States today in testimony on Capitol Hill, the Pacific Command admiral said that he would recommend not shooting such a missile down. Things change. If the missile is directed in anger at an ally, South Korea, Japan, Guam, and then they would they would have to shoot that down.
[Morgan:] Euna, you have a unique perspective on this. Obviously you've been held in North Korea. What is your take on the current crisis?
[Euna Lee, Author, "the World Is Bigger Now":] Well, as Christiane said, we this is a new leader and we really don't know if he is the power, the main power or who is the power, you know, behind him. If you understand Korean history, Korea, 5,000 of Korean history, they deal with invasion after invasion and they really do not like to deal with or controlled by a stronger or bigger country. And it is important for North Korea to portray themselves that it is independently strong country that can protect its citizens.
[Amanpour:] And they are, by all accounts, by U.S. official accounts as well, desperate about their survival. They really do worry about their survival. They see regimes being toppled left and right all over the world. They know that they're just in an armistice, and not in a full peace with the United States and South Korea. And so they are worried. The question is, how do you achieve some kind of resolution to this? Well, the United States is relying to a great deal on China. Secretary Kerry is going to be there at the end of this week. Many top U.S. officials are going to China to try to figure out how
[Morgan:] Can China do enough, do you think?
[Amanpour:] Well, apparently the U.S. says no, not enough yet. It has regretted publicly what North Korea's doing. There's a huge move in the Chinese public media and public sphere saying gosh, you know, really, is it worth us sticking to this wayward ally? But the Chinese army is, you know, quite committed to it so the new leader of China, according to U.S. officials, has to be persuaded that it's in China's interest as well as the whole region's interest to bring North Korea into line.
[Morgan:] Final question for you, Euna. When you were on the North side, what is your experience of the North Koreans by comparison to the South Koreans?
[Lee:] Well, if I recall my detention in Pyongyang, I thought North Korea, when you talked to
[Morgan:] Right.
[Lee:] From other countries to its citizens.
[Morgan:] Well, certainly a tense time. But we shall see how it unfolds. Thank you both very much indeed for coming today. And I want to turn to the stabbing rampage on a Texas college campus today. Fourteen people were injured. Two of them are in critical condition tonight. And joining me now two students at the Lone Star College, brothers Jonathan and Jon Paul Clayton, said they could have prevented the bloodshed with a hand gun. And on the phone is student Michael Chalfan, he's also Texas State also a Texas State Senator Dan Patrick, who is also in favor of concealed firearms on campuses. So welcome to you all. Let me start, if I may, with Michael Chalfan, because you actually witnessed what happened today. What did you see?
[Michael Chalfan, Student, Lone Star College:] Well, I saw a male running toward me when a guy by the name of Stephen Media, if I got that correct, tackled him to the ground and while others helped out and police also helped out as well. So basically, simultaneously they all came and wrestled him to the ground with really no I would say no hesitation from him.
[Morgan:] Did you see the weapon he was using?
[Chalfan:] No. I did not see it. I was about 20 to 30 feet away, so I didn't see a clear view of it. But I do remember them wrestling him to the ground. He didn't struggle a lot. He just kind of gave up.
[Morgan:] Let me turn to you, Jonathan and Jon Paul. Although you didn't see the incident, you have quite strong views about how you think you should be empowered to deal with this kind of thing. Tell me what you think should happen.
[Jonathan Clayton, Student At Lone Star College:] Well, sir, I think that you know that we as students, are I mean, we are adults and the government does not permit us to have carry weapons even, sir, even if you have the certificates and certification to carry a handgun. I think that law should be changed for protection.
[Morgan:] So you basically both think
[Jon Paul Clayton, Student At Lone Star College:] I agree.
[Morgan:] Right. You both think that you should be allowed to carry guns at school?
[Jon Paul Clayton:] Yes, sir. If you're properly trained and have the certifications and all the legal papers, because 99.9 percent of all gun owners are legal, abiding citizens.
[Morgan:] Right. But you do have armed you do have armed security guards there, right?
[Jon Paul Clayton:] Correct.
[Jonathan Clayton:] Yes, sir, we do. We have our own police officers here.
[Morgan:] Where were they?
[Jonathan Clayton:] They are they are all throughout the campus, sir, but since there's about I'm guessing around eight of them, if I remember correctly, sir, and there's a couple hundred or thousand students on campus at one time during this, so eight officers can't guard and protect everyone on campus.
[Morgan:] You see my argument would be that far from with respect allowing all the students to carry guns, which I think would descend the school into total Wild West madness, isn't there an argument that this could have been a lot worse if the if the person carrying the knife had had a gun? I mean, they'd all be dead, these students. So although it's been used as an argument by people like yourselves in favor of more guns, I would argue it's a it's a compelling situation where if there had been more guns, more people would have been dead.
[Jon Paul Clayton:] Well, I can respect your argument, Mr. Piers. Really, this is the only places we cannot legally carry a gun if you have the proper permits is college campuses, post offices and airports, and now airports, you can legally carry knives and stuff, but then you can't even carry a knife legally on a college campus? And this this particular incident didn't even involve a gun, but would allow us to protect ourselves just like we can anywhere else. So the law
[Morgan:] But don't you think don't you think
[Jon Paul Clayton:] Thirty rounds in this place.
[Morgan:] Let me ask you both, don't you think I mean, how old are you both?
[Chalfan:] I'm 22, sir.
[Jonathan Clayton:] I'm 20 years old.
[Jon Paul Clayton:] I'm 26 years old.
[Morgan:] OK. I mean, do you not think if all the students are armed, though, that the kind of day-to-day conflict which goes on on all schools and college campuses could very quickly escalate into much more dangerous situations if everybody had a gun?
[Jonathan Clayton:] Well, we're not saying everybody should have a gun. I'm saying that
[Chalfan:] I agree but that shouldn't stop somebody from carrying a gun.
[Morgan:] You're not saying everyone should how many should have guns?
[Jonathan Clayton:] Anyone that's permitted and goes through the right training, sir, I think should be able to carry a gun. Long as they go through the proper government safety laws, sir. And get the training.
[Jon Paul Clayton:] And get and get the certifications that all gun owners are required to have to have a concealed hand gun permit on their person.
[Jonathan Clayton:] On their person.
[Morgan:] OK. Dan Patrick, let me come to you. Do you agree with this?
[Dan Patrick , Texas State Senator:] Yes. In fact, I thought you were going to have a new issue tonight, Piers. I thought you would want banning of knives all over America because you have wanted to ban guns and let's in a very serious mode, Piers
[Morgan:] See, why would you
[Patrick:] Thank God
[Morgan:] Why would you start the conversation by being so completely facetious?
[Patrick:] Because actually the way you've been thinking about the whole gun issue, I found just totally out of touch with reality.
[Morgan:] I know. It's crazy, isn't it? It's crazy that I think that 100,000 Americans being shot a year is out of control.
[Patrick:] Yes.
[Morgan:] Crazy, I think the 30,000 Americans who kill themselves every year or shoot others with guns is out of control. Call me crazy. I think it's absolutely shameful. So I want to try and reduce the gun violence, not increase it.
[Patrick:] Yes. Well, you don't reduce, you don't reduce gun violence or any violence by taking guns away from law-abiding citizens.
[Morgan:] No. You actually do. You actually do.
[Patrick:] You should have figured that out by now, first of all.
[Morgan:] No, no, you really do.
[Patrick:] Secondly
[Morgan:] If you go to Japan or Britain or Australia or a number of other countries I could name where they have very strict gun control laws, it is so difficult to get your hands on guns, you don't have the gun violence. It is a proven demonstrable fact.
[Patrick:] Yes. Well, this is America. This is yes. Well, this is America and our Constitution gives us the right to bear arms. This is not Tokyo. This is not Finland. This is not whatever other country you want to talk about, Piers. This is the United States of America. And in America, where law-abiding citizens have guns, crime is down, like in Texas.
[Morgan:] But I've got a lot of Americans in this audience who are all shaking their heads on what you're saying. So how do you equate that?
[Patrick:] Well, they well, they're probably northeast liberals who don't understand
[Morgan:] Actually well, actually half an hour well, actually as you know, we are half an hour from Newtown. We are half an hour from Newtown.
[Patrick:] That's fine. In Texas, in Texas, we believe in defending our families and our properties with guns and crime is down. In Chicago, where you have some of the toughest laws against guns, crime is up and I wouldn't want to be out on the streets in Chicago. I'll be out on the streets in Houston or Dallas and San Antonio and feel safe. And secondly, Piers, thank God this young man did not have a gun today. Think about the massacre that could have been stopped if another student had had a gun. And my guess is if this student with the knife had known that people with the CHL, law-abiding citizens had a gun, he wouldn't have stabbed 12 or 14 people today. We just had a gun class this past weekend in Dallas offered to schoolteachers. It was free. Seven hundred schoolteachers came out to take advantage of this course. Piers, CHL holders are responsible gun owners. All the things you're saying about there would be the Wild West, that's what they said back in the '90s when Texas passed this law. There will be road rage, there will be barroom fights, there will be, you know, neighbors shooting each other over a noisy dog. None of that, Piers, has ever happened. It hasn't happened. I my heart breaks for what has happened in America, whether a college or an elementary or a high school campus. It could happen anywhere. But in Texas we believe we have a right to defend our life, our property and the lives of a third party if we could help them.
[Morgan:] OK. Got to leave it there. Thank you all very much. Very quickly, Christiane Amanpour, I can see you reacting to that debate. What is your view? Because you've in proper war zones around the world.
[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn:] Well, look, I mean, this debate has been going on for a long time. The fact of the matter is that in states inside the United States where there are tougher gun laws, there is lower gun crime. And I think you are right in saying that, in these other countries which have had their own massacres which then took these measures, there has been very little if not any gun crime. So I think that is that is a real fact and I'm watching it on my own program; we know that Thursday is going to be the real showdown day in the U.S. Capitol to see how the Congress reacts; Newtown families are there. They have been talking about it. And they're very committed to sensible gun control, not taking away people's rights to have the guns that they're allowed to have. But look, even the Columbine massacre, they say, wouldn't have happened had there been these background checks, so the third person would not have been able to buy these guns.
[Morgan:] [Inaudible] to me, just believing the obvious. And the ideas all come down just to that to me is offensive to those families in Newtown. But let's take a break. Coming up, Harry Reid [inaudible] get us any vote on guns this week, filibuster or no filibuster. I will talk to various people about that. And also Gabby Giffords in a remarkable interview that she conducted earlier. So we'll have a lot more on guns after the break.

[Baldwin:] Now to Washington we go to my colleague Wolf Blitzer with the latest news hot off the CNN Political Ticker. Good to see you.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Host, "the Situation Room":] Brooke, did you see Bruno Mars on the "Today Show" this morning?
[Baldwin:] I missed it. Sorry. Was it great?
[Blitzer:] He did little James brown moves if you like that kind of stuff.
[Baldwin:] I do like that stuff.
[Blitzer:] At the BET Soul Train awards last year. We'll talk about that if you get the video for my next hit in an hour, we'll show it to our viewers.
[Baldwin:] Look at you, making our team scramble right now.
[Blitzer:] It was very good. I think your viewers, my viewers will like to see Bruno Mars do a little James brown. It's very, very cool. Let's talk politics right now. A lot of political stuff happening in Washington. The House of Representatives, the Republican majority in the House, they did pass a resolution today opposing what the Obama administration is doing in Libya, but then they rejected a resolution that would have cut off U.S. military funding restricting the U.S. military options in Libya. As you know, the speaker, John Boehner, a lot of other Republicans and a bunch of Democrats as well are not happy the president has gone beyond 90 days with the U.S. NATO military operation in Libya without getting formal congressional authorization. They'd like to see the war powers resolution used in this particular case. The U.S. has spent by the end of September, will have spent about $1.1 billion launching bombs, missiles and other weapons at targets in Libya. They say the war powers resolution applies. The White House says these are not, quote, "hostilities," as defined in the war powers resolution. So that debate goes on, but sort of an embarrassing setback to a certain degree for the White House today. On another issue, the White House did announce that the president, starting Monday, will take charge of the negotiations with the Republicans and the Democrats in the House and Senate to deal with this debt ceiling. As you know, and all of our viewers by now know, the Treasury Department, Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary, says there's an August 2 deadline to increase the debt ceiling. It's right now about $14.3 trillion. So they have got a month or so to do something. Otherwise, the Treasury Department says there will be economic catastrophe if U.S. creditworthiness is undermined. The value of the dollar, interest rates, all sort of calamities could occur. So, the president will get involved personally. Biden will be involved, but it's now going to be at the presidential level with John Boehner, with Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi. We will see if they can reach a deal over the next month Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Good deal. You say this all the time to me, Wolf Blitzer. I'm saying it to you. I have got a pretty good interview coming up. I hope you watch it in a couple of minutes.
[Blitzer:] Who do you have?
[Baldwin:] Wait for it.
[Blitzer:] All right.
[Baldwin:] A former mobster. It's pretty good. I'm excited for him.
[Blitzer:] Wow.
[Baldwin:] Thank you, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right.
[Baldwin:] And we will get another political update for you in half-an-hour.

[Costello:] It was a historic comeback for the Boston Bruins last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins did something in a playoff game seven that has never been done before. Jared Greenberg is here with this morning's "Bleacher Report."
[Jared Greenberg, Bleacher Report:] Good morning, Carol. Don't ever count out the Boston Bruins down three goals in the third period against Toronto. The Bruins were not only facing their third straight loss, Boston was also on the brink of its season coming to an end. But then the Bruins rallied to get within one. Now under a minute to go Patrice Bergeron, a blast and he buries it an improbable comeback two goals in the final 90 seconds to force overtime. First team to score wins. Bergeron comes through again. Game over. Series over the Bruins become the first team to ever win a game seven when trailing by three in the third period. They are fired up in Beantown.
[Patrice Bergeron, Bruins:] We stayed resilient, I guess, that's what I can say is that we found a way and you know, not necessarily the the way we would have liked to play the whole game but you know like I said we we showed some character coming coming back in the game.
[Greenberg:] Elation in Boston but Wilder myth in Toronto front cover of the Toronto Sun. "The Choke's on Us". While the Bruins advance to face the New York Rangers, the Maple Leafs are done. The HeatBulls game was a joke but Dwyane Wade, Carol, was seriously wearing this a polka dot suit with Capri pants and loafers.
[Costello:] Just like that guy from "Fun".
[Greenberg:] Yes. A curious confidence is sometimes curious don't you think.
[Costello:] What is that?
[Greenberg:] Half time that may have been the most entertaining part of the game. Final hoops but at the wrong bask. Miami with a blowout win over the Chicago, the Heat lead the best of seven series three games to one and can close things out. Hopefully they get it done because this series has been ugly ever since game two. They will have that opportunity on Wednesday. Number two right now on Bleacherreport.com's lineups. Scary moment for national star outfielder Bryce Harper and Harper goes face-first into the wall. Typically, this type of thing happens when an outfielder leaves their feet. Harper though just simply runs right into the wall apparently ignoring the warning track. He would leave the game stitches is required to his chin but no concussion and relatively speaking, Bryce Harper is ok. And if National's fan the real good news is that they would go on to beat the Dodgers.
[Costello:] Oh that was painful to watch.
[Greenberg:] So was that outfit from Dwyane Wade. That was the most painful thing in our whole update.
[Costello:] I know it was pretty bad. And he's an attractive man but that was pretty bad. Thank you very much Jared. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

[Velshi:] Well, we've been keeping an eye on other countries that could be influenced by what's going on in Egypt. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Jordan last week to demand political and economic reforms. Today, Jordan's King Abdullah II dismissed his government. He ordered a new prime minister to implement what he called "genuine political reform." So I want to take a look at Jordan for you for a second to show you just how important Jordan is. Take a look at this. Jordan, which is here, shares borders with Israel, with Saudi Arabia. The southern tip of Jordan is just across the Gulf from Egypt, and, of course, Syria to the north, Lebanon to the west. Here's a quick Jordan 101 so you know what we're talking about. Jordan was part of the Ottoman Empire until the Ottoman Empire collapsed at the end of World War I. Britain took over administration of the region. It created a country called Transjordan in the 1920s. Transjordan won independence from Britain in 1946. Transjordan, by the way, because it's across the Jordan River. It changed its name just to Jordan in 1950. Now let me tell you a little bit about Jordan's government. It is a pro-western constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament and universal suffrage. Bicameral means two types of parliament and everybody gets a vote. The king signs and executes all laws. Now, King Hussein you will remember him he ruled from 1953 to 1999, when he was succeeded by his son, King Abdullah. Let's talk a little bit about the relationship with Israel. It's got a long border with Israel, and it administered the West Bank until Israel took control of the region in the 1967 ArabIsraeli War. Jordan renounced its claims to the West Bank in 1988 and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Jordan, by the way, is home to many, many Palestinian refugees. Jordan's population is about 6.4 million people, including 7 million let me show you that right here. I've got it written down for you including 1.7 million Palestinian refugees and other displaced persons. Ninety-two2 percent of the population are Sunni Muslims. And Jordan's official language is Arabic, but English is widely spoken in Jordan. Let's go to CNN's Jill Dougherty. She's standing by at the State Department. Jill, does the U.S. believe that this decision by King Abdullah is going to actually satisfy this growing movement in Jordan as it may be growing in other countries?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Well, that's the question, isn't it? Because it's a question in a lot of these countries in the region that have continuing problems you know, massive young populations, people with an education, perhaps, but no job prospects, and also people who have been shut out of the political process. Now, Jordan is in a much better situation than Egypt, but it really is anyone's guess in any of those countries right now whether it would satisfy them. But, again, Jordan does not appear to be in the revolutionary situation that Egypt is right now. And I keep you know, Ali, I was thinking as you were talking about Hillary Clinton's speech just a few weeks ago when she was in Doha mentioning many of these same points. The regional governments that are usually and traditionally friends the United States, if they don't begin to address the needs and the demands of their people for more economic participation, political participation, they could be run over by this wave as well. And you heard it from Senator Kerry. So that's the hope, that this would be enough.
[Velshi:] Let me ask you this, Jill. There's a meeting going on in Washington with the president, with Secretary Clinton, with a number of his top advisers. And they are walking Ed and I were talking about this earlier they're walking a fine line between supporting the revolution and ending up like Iran did, where it seemed to be the sensible thing at the time to support the revolution, and then the world got stuck with an Iran that does what Iran does. What do you see as the shift in Washington and how important it is?
[Dougherty:] Well, you know, if you're talking about Iran, that actually, interestingly, was on the mind of Mubarak a couple of years ago from the WikiLeaks cables. He was worried that the shah had given too much, the shah had opened up, and he paid the price of being swept away by the Iranian Revolution. And Mubarak was saying to the U.S. ambassador, basically, I'm not going to do that, I want stability and I'm not going there. So now we're in a very, very different situation. But, you know, I think Iran has similarities. You've got lots of people on the street, very angry people. But when you really look through, what do they have? If you look at the leadership, they had in Iran more than 30 years ago the Ayatollah Khomeini, charismatic. Regardless of what you think of his politics, he was very charismatic, he lead a movement. Right now, on the streets of Egypt, you have a coalition, a coalition of at least probably six different groups, and it's led nominally by a man who is not exactly Mohamed ElBaradei not exactly charismatic, kind of a bookish type of person. That's different. And the ideology. There was an Islamic ideology in Iran back in 1979. There's really no ideology per se on the streets at this point. It's really jobs, jobs, jobs, bad economy, and the pent-up demand by people.
[Velshi:] Yes. It is remarkable how much we all have in common no matter where we are in the world. We want a better chance and we want to work. All right, Jill. Thanks very much for your insight on this. This will continue to be a complex issue that we are trying to follow. I asked you to weigh in on Egypt. Our question was, what role, if any, should the U.S. play in what is happening in Egypt? Here's what I got from my Facebook page. Tara says, "The U.S. should show support for the people and back their belief that Mubarak should resign. Let the people know we support them, but nothing more. We are not the world's police." Kelly writes, "It seems obvious that we don't want to be on the wrong side of history this time. Change is inevitable. The U.S. and the world should support the people of Egypt in their cries for freedom." And this is from Sue. "I think we're handling it perfectly. It's not our government's business to decide who should or should not lead a country." Tim says, "If human rights are being violated, then and only then should we become involved. It is a peaceful revolution. Let's keep it that way." And finally, this nugget from Dennis: "Hmm. Israel and the U.S. just changed their Facebook status with Egypt from "married" to 'it's complicated.'" That's a good one. Let's check on Twitter. "The U.S. role should be helping the Egyptians get their free elections publicly, while keeping our own interests in mind privately." Here's one from Smart Alec Alex. "We do give money, but now is the time to stick to principles. The Egyptian people want a positive change and the U.S. should have no part." And finally, from StJon, "We are involved in every country. It's called diplomacy." Thanks for your responses. Keep them coming. I read every single one of them, even when you're not so nice to me. A little town called Boulder City with a rocky past suddenly has a bright future thanks to a natural resource that won't ever run out. We are "Building up America" next.

[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Is someone hunting down prosecutors and killing them in Texas? A district attorney slain just months after the murder of his deputy.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] The price of victory. Louisville's Kevin Ware waking up in the hospital this morning after doctors operated on a really gruesome leg fracture. His team, though, moving on to the Final Four.
[Berman:] A mandatory gun for every home? One community could make that a law later today. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
[Romans:] You seem so happy for a Monday. I'm Christine Romans. I'm in for Zoraida today. Monday, April 1st, 29 minutes past the hour. All right. On top of the news this morning, a double murder on a suburban in suburban community as police on, on a manhunt this morning, an entire neighborhood on edge. The district attorney and his wife found gunned down at their home in Kaufman County, about 30 miles southeast of Dallas. Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia are the latest victims in what could be a case of a serial assassin targeting public officials. Just two months ago assistant district attorney Mark Hasse was gunned down in the middle of the day, near a courthouse as he walked to work. So far, police have no suspects, no motive for these murders. George Howell is live in Kaufman, Texas, for us this morning. George, police haven't publicly linked these two cases. But, obviously, there's speculation they're connected. These two men worked together.
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] Christine, good morning. That is the case. They worked together very closely, prosecuting similar cases. And we're hearing from public officials here, in this county, who say they believe that these men may have been targeted in a revenge hit. But again police are not saying that they are not linking the killings. But when you listen back to what McLelland said, he was very passionate, about finding the person who killed Hasse. This is a person who he said was a prosecutor who took pride in putting the bad guys behind bars. And he was very adamant about finding his killers. Chilling to listen to exactly how he said it just after Hasse's murder. Take a listen.
[Mike Mclelland, Kaufman County District Attorney:] I hope that the people that did this are watching, because we're very confident that we're going to find you. We're going to pull you out of whatever hole you're in, and we're going to bring you back and let the people of Kaufman County prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.
[Howell:] So when you listen to the way he said it, you know, pull you out of whatever hole you're in, even in another instance describing the person, the gunman as scum, this prosecutor didn't pull any punches Christine when taking his case to the public to find Hasse's killer.
[Romans:] George, what can you tell us about questions this morning about the white supremacist group the Aryan Brotherhood and any potential involvement there?
[Howell:] Well, to be very clear, that has been no connection, no link at this point connecting it to McLelland's death. But I do want to go back to December. We know that the Texas DPS, the Department of Public Safety here, they put out a bulletin stating that they had credible information that the Aryan Brotherhood was actively planning retaliation against law enforcement. We also know that these prosecutors in Kaufman County, that they handled some prosecutions of the Aryan Brotherhood, along with other counties, along with other D.A.s here in the state. So, that question did come up after Hasse's murder. But again, to be very clear, there's been no connection at this point with the murder of the McLellands, Christine.
[Romans:] All right. George Howell in Texas for us thanks, George.
[Berman:] We want to bring in Tom Fuentes, a former FBI assistant director, now a CNN contributor. And, Tom, good morning. Thanks for coming in. I want to start right off the bat with that question you just heard George talking about right there, the issue of the Aryan Brotherhood. There have been these reports that perhaps they may be tied up, they were cited for possibly wanting to be involved with revenge killings as recently as December. Explain to me who this group really is and what they're capable of.
[Tom Fuentes, Cnn Contributor:] Well, the group is not a direct affiliate with the Aryan Brotherhood nationwide. But they're a splinter group and basically affiliated by philosophy. These white supremacist groups basically hate the government, they hate the fact that the government basically they look at it as being too supportive of minority groups, and they hate that. They think that white people should be in charge and only white people and that anybody who is not white should not be in the U.S. not be allowed to have any type of rights other than maybe being a slave. That's how they think. And the groups like this have been in existence for a long time. The FBI has fought these groups for decades going back to the KKK, going back to the order. Other Aryan Brotherhood type groups that have existed in many different factions for a long time.
[Berman:] So, Tom, if there was this what we're told is credible information at December that this splinter group from the Aryan Brotherhood was planning some kind of revenge attacks on law officials, two questions here, do you think enough was done to protect officials in this area? And number two, I mean it's been two months since the first murder right now. You know, why don't you think there's been any progress in making any arrests?
[Fuentes:] Well, you can't say there hasn't been progress. We don't know completely what going on behind the scenes. But, the issue here is that a number of counties and jurisdictions were involved in a major task force to address the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, and indictments were returned back in 2012, in November and December, charging a number of people. So, in the first murder of assistant district attorney Hasse, why was he singled out? You have all these county prosecutors, all of the law enforcement, the police, Department of Public Safety from Texas, that have been working together on these addressing these groups for a long time. Why was he singled out first? In the second case, with district attorney McLelland, as we just heard in the tape, he challenged them and basically, you know, they fought back. So if or whoever, whoever was the killer in this case, and it may not be the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. That's the other issue. It's an obvious pick that they may have been involved but investigators can't just rely on that. And when you don't have a particular group or person claiming credit, it's going to make it very difficult for them to find out through sources, through investigation, in a number of states, including especially Texas, to link them to it. So that's the problem now. It's going to be a very, very difficult investigation if no one comes forward. And you could have people coming forward, talking to each other, bragging about it, within their community, and somebody leaks that out to law enforcement, that a particular individual is bragging about having committed these murders
[Berman:] Hey, Tom, as you point out, there's been a lot of talk about this being the Aryan brotherhood somehow involved here. But if it's not the Aryan Brotherhood, in your experience, where else do you think they shutting casting their eye right now?
[Fuentes:] Well, the problem is that if you're a prosecutor, like Mr. Hasse or Mr. McLelland, you're not making a lot of friends every day when you're having people, you know, have their liberty taken away from them. When you're prosecuting individuals, they get sent to prison, they may not believe that they should have gone to prison or that the criminal justice system was fair to them. And that the prosecutor shouldn't have done it, shouldn't have prosecuted them. They make a lot of enemies every day of the week as part of the job so do police officers and federal agents, judges, you name it. So anybody involved in the criminal justice system all the way up, as we saw in Colorado, with the director of corrections, Tom Clements, people are out there that you deal with that hate you, and if they get an opportunity, may take your life.
[Berman:] Which is why there is a lot of fear, a lot of concern in Kaufman County, Texas, right now. Tom Fuentes, former FBI assistant director. Thanks so much for joining us.
[Romans:] New developments from South Korea. The country's president warning the North that provocative action will be met with a, quote, "strong response." It comes as the U.S. deployed stealth fighter jets in the region as part of joint military exercises. New York Congressman Peter King says he's concerned that with all of these threats, the North Korean leader may be forced into doing something rash.
[Rep. Peter King , New York:] Kim Jung Un is trying to establish himself, he's trying to be the tough guy. He's 28, 29 years old, and he keeps going further and further out. I don't know if he can get himself back in. So, my concern would be that he may feel to save face he has to launch some sort of attack on South Korea, or some base in the Pacific.
[Romans:] North Korea ratcheted up the rhetoric again this weekend, declaring it was in a state of war with the South.
[Berman:] One worker was killed, three others injured at a nuclear plant in Russellville, Arkansas, about an hour away from Little Rock. Entergy, which is the power company, says the victims were helping move part of a generator out of a building when it fell. Power officials say the accident did not happen in a radiation area and that there is just no danger to public right now.
[Romans:] So the tiny town of Nelson, Georgia, might soon compel every household in the community to own a gun. A city council vote tonight would make it a law. The councilman who proposed the measure says, look, Nelson only has one police officer and when citizens have a problem it can take a long time for help to arrive. An Atlanta suburb has had a similar law since 1982.
[Berma:] So a Viking, a race car driver and a British boy band sounds like they have a great show up there they will be among the guests at the 135th annual White House Easter egg roll later this morning. There were fears last month that the event would be canceled because of forced spending cuts. Romans whispered that so I did, too. But the eggs will be rolling at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. There will be 35,000 people from all 50 states attending. It will be a star- studded lineup. Running back Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, NASCAR's Danica Patrick and the boy band The Wanted, The Wanted will be there, all scheduled to attend. Very exciting.
[Romans:] It's unclear if they'll be making statements on forced spending cuts.
[Berman:] The Wanted actually has very firm positions on the sequester. They'll be speaking at length during the Easter egg roll no doubt. Thirty-nine minutes after the hour right now. Alone, hurt and hungry a young woman stranded on a mountain for six, six freezing nights. She shares her story of survival. That's coming up.

[Burnett:] We start the second half of our show with stories we care about. We focus on our own reporting, make the calls, and find the "OutFront Five". Number one tonight the search for baby Lisa, the Kansas City Police Department went on the offensive today, accusing the parents of avoiding questions. Police Department officials told OUTFRONT the couple's lack of cooperation is hurting the case. Officials said that Bradley Irwin became uncomfortable and stopped answering questions on October 8th. The detectives have not had unrestricted access since then. Baby Lisa is 11 months old. Stocks ending the day on a high note, now the S&P; rose 24 points. This puts it at its highest level since August. Reports that France and Germany might actually expand the size of the bailout fund for Greece gave investors something to cheer about. Robert Pavlik of Banyan Partners told OUTFRONT that despite the news out of Europe, earnings will continue to be out front for most investors. And speaking of earnings Apple coming out with a rare miss actually its first miss since 2004. Apple was the second biggest company in the United States, 6.6 billion in the third quarter. The weakness came from iPhone sales, which may surprise you. Remember that the quarter does not include sales for the iPhone 4S, which went on sale last week. Will Power of Robert W. Baird says a lot of people were waiting to buy that phone, so this weakness may just be temporary. Now, bank earnings are really important for the market. Bank of America and Goldman reported earnings as well. Goldman Sachs, a larger than expected loss. But when you look at details of the numbers, it came out pretty much in line which sent the stock higher. Bank of America also did better than expected, but it's no longer the largest bank in America. JPMorgan's assets totaling $2.289 trillion. Well, it has been 74 days since the U.S. lost its top credit rating. Who's counting? We are every single of day because we want to know what they're doing to get it back. Well, there is one candidate noticeably absent tonight. He was the author of the one liner about 9-9-9 being the cost for pizza. That's Jon Huntsman, boycotting the debate and the caucuses in Nevada, after Nevada leapfrogged New Hampshire on the calendar. He's put all of his bets on New Hampshire, obviously, and this is a live shot where Huntsman has chosen to focus most of his campaign time. It's all about New Hampshire for his campaign. Our OUTFRONT team has learned that the former Utah governor just received $1,000 from New Hampshire voters in the third quarter, and he is $3 million in debt overall according to the FEC. All right. We're less than 30 minutes away from the town hall for the CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate here in Las Vegas. As the crowd pours in, the candidates are busy putting on their game faces. You've been seeing them arrive over the past hour here. We've been showing you live pictures as they walk in. The stakes are incredibly high before the Iowa caucus and there's a lot at stake for everyone, but particularly for the three topping the polls. Herman Cain obviously came in very strong in the last debate. He won over voters with the smooth pitch for the 9-9-9 economic plan which faced criticism today, and he is number one in likability. But for Cain staying in the game means offering a whole lot more than salesmanship and tonight, he's going to be challenged on the substance, not just by Anderson, but also by the audience and by the likes of Ron Paul. Meantime, Rick Perry could use some of the gift for gap. He has been noticeably absent during the debate so far. There have been some gaffes that have been hurting him. Question: will he be able to become more than a late-night comedy show joke after these debaters or really hit a home run? That's the question. And Mitt Romney, on the againoff again front runner who has been facing attacks from all sides. Can he fight them off? That's the big question. Of course, you've got Newt Gingrich also on the stage, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum all of them trying to get a word in edgewise. Well, let's walk through what's really at stake here, the dos and don'ts of a debate. Former White House press secretary and CNN contributor Ari Fleischer, Republican strategist Kevin Madden, spokesperson for Mitt Romney in the 2008 campaign, and senior political analyst David Gergen. OK. I got to take a deep breath. I had to go for a long time there. Whoo! All right. David Gergen, let's start with you. Who has the most to gain tonight?
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Most to gain I think Herman Cain, if he can take the punches tonight, if he can convince people that he's a serious candidate and not just sort of the flavor of the month, that he could he could become the anti-Romney candidate and that's been the name of the game all along, who can be the alternative to Romney? Nobody's been able to hold that second position yet.
[Burnett:] Ari, what do you think Rick Perry needs to do tonight?
[Ari Fleischer, Cnn Contributor:] Rick Perry needs to be aggressive. Rick Perry needs to be articulate and he needs to go after Mitt Romney. Rick Perry is the presumed number two. He's dropped from that assumption. Now, he has to retake that ground. And he's got the ability to do it. He's got the vulnerabilities of Mitt Romney that he can expose and open up. And he just needs to be articulate and on point. And it's been I can't understand why he has not done that yet in the debates.
[Burnett:] All right. What about Mitt Romney himself? Your former guy?
[Kevin Madden, Republican Strategist:] Well, look, I think, ultimately, these debates are they're a contest of who can be the most presidential. I think one of the reasons that Governor Romney has performed so well is because when he gets up on stage, the contrast emerge. He doesn't have to force them. He looks the most presidential because he's the most articulate on the economy. He has the most command and control on all the issues that everybody cares about. So, I don't think he has to do anything really different on this debate. He has to keep doing that and keep winning that presidential contest with all the other candidates on stage.
[Burnett:] Does likability matter for him, David Gergen? I mean, he's done better. It proved on that count, but he's still
[Gergen:] Absolutely. And I think Rick Perry has done him a favor because I think Mitt Romney is a better debater now than he was on the beginning of the campaign. But I think he needs to start going beyond where he's been. He's been sort of flat-lining in the polls. He needs to solidify his position in the Republicans, but I also think he needs to start looking over his shoulder to these other guys to the general, and he's got to start building up his likability among American voters in general. The more he does that, the more I think that he becomes the, in effect, the candidate, the inevitable candidate for Republicans and the strength is in his polls against Obama. That's very, very important in the next few weeks.
[Burnett:] And, Ari, in the recent polls, he's come out very well on electability which, I mean, I guess fundamentally is more important than likability. But you'd like it if the two went together.
[Fleischer:] Well, it's fun to get those two.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Fleischer:] There's this ideology that Republican voters vote on, likeability that they vote on and electability. For one voter, it might be more of one, less of the other, but they all three add up to what you can historically look for in a nominee you say can deliver the White House for me. You don't vote for somebody because you like them and you believe in them if they can't win. All three go together.
[Burnett:] Right. I was bringing it up earlier. I think "The New York Times" magazine and the whole issue of the Tea Party, what is establishment GOP? Do you think that how important is a Tea Party sign-on endorsement for Mitt Romney at this point?
[Madden:] Well, look, I think the Tea Party is not a model that they block. This is a force within the electorate right now that's very focused on reform elements within the party. They want to see everybody, and they're very animated about the issues of spending, deficits and the growth of government. I think any candidate, if they're going to want to get Tea Party support, they don't necessarily have to go out and say, I'm a Tea Party. What they have to do is have a comprehensive vision on what they're going do to reduce spending, what they're going to do to reduce deficits, what they're going to do to get government out of the way of the private sector. And I think Governor Romney has done very well on that and that's where eventually, you know, Wayne Gretzky used to have a saying. "I don't skate to where the puck is, I skate to where I think that puck is going to be."
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Madden:] Ultimately, I think that's how you win campaigns, is that you trying and build up your support, how to make your message so therefore when people go in there and they make their decision on the day of the caucus or the day of the primary, that they're there with you.
[Burnett:] It's like my nieces and nephews with the Gretzky comment.
[Fleischer:] Keep the hockey going. Romney has turned into a great goalie. Everybody who keeps shooting trying to score on Mitt Romney, he keeps knocking the puck back and skates out to center ice with it. He needs to take a good shot at him.
[Gergen:] He needs to go on offense.
[Fleischer:] When you're the front-runner, everyone is coming at you.
[Gergen:] You know, you don't elections
[Fleischer:] My point is, but despite his vulnerabilities, that's to his credit.
[Gergen:] Let me make point to what Kevin said and asked you this, my sense is that Perry tonight, instead of going after Romney he's got to go after Cain. He's got to puncture the balloon of Cain so that when Cain starts going down, there's Romney and Perry. The longer Romney has both Perry and Cain in the race, the better off he is.
[Fleischer:] If I'm Perry, I have to go up to Romney and I let everybody else go after Cain because he knows Santorum and Bachmann need to go after Cain. So, you got to count on them to make that fight for you and you concentrate on Romney.
[Cain:] I wouldn't count
[Burnett:] Any fight would be good. I like watching them. Thanks to all three. We really appreciate it three people who really know what's going on out there. Well, every year, as we said, more than 35 million people come here to Las Vegas and they bring it about $8 billion to the gaming table. Tourism may surprise you despite the fact that housing houses have plunged here by 60 percent from the peak, we have seen an increase in tourism in Las Vegas for each of the past 18 months. Still, though, for this city and this state, it is one of the worst outlooks economically in the country. We went OUTFRONT with Sheldon Adelson. He is the eight richest man in this country. He owns the Venetian, where we're sitting right now, the host of tonight's debate. And earlier today, he told me conditions are getting better after he met with all of the candidates.
[Sheldon Adelson, Chairman & Ceo, Las Vegas Sands:] Things are actually getting better. There are, on the FIT side, the free and independent traveler, the leisure traveler typically comes to enjoy. By the way, you should know that only 14 percent of the people come to Las Vegas come to gamble. That means 86 percent come for something other. So and we are the creators of what is now called the integrated resort which has a multi-amenity, multi-discipline package, cornucopia of different things to do, like shopping, the exhibition center, the meeting and ballroom center complex. Internationally, they call it congress center.
[Burnett:] What about Asia, though? I saw 90 percent of your bottom line there. Your operation income comes from Asia, and you got huge resorts in Macau and in Singapore. Is Asia where all of the growth is now for you?
[Adelson:] Yes. Asia is where the growth is. The Asian people have a very high propensity to game. There are I mean, it would take a lot longer than the time we have here to explain it all, but the concept of challenging luck is part of the culture in Asia. We're also contemplating and we're pretty much while we're not finally committed and but we're on the way to being committed to build a half the equivalent of the Las Vegas Strip. Las Vegas Strip has 25 or 30 mega resorts. We're going to build 12 3,000-room mega resorts in Spain for the 50 countries surrounding Spain.
[Burnett:] In Europe?
[Adelson:] In a five-hour flight. So, we're going to make a big bet on Europe and we've been doing a lot of studies and we've been getting second-opinion studies, and it all looks like one study says that even when we're fully built out with 36,000 rooms, we would have only penetrated 85 percent of the demand that there is today.
[Burnett:] We can only hope that he is right with that big bet on Europe. That is an enormous bet, and if it's right, it would mean well, frankly, the Europeans, the American, and the whole global economy is stronger than people bet. All right. Well, still OUTFRONT, day two of the president's jobs push. What it means for his re-election chances and what it means for the debate. Just over 20 minute away, what do the candidates need to do tonight? Just heard some Ron Paul supporters drive by. If you didn't, I did. We'll be right back.

[Baldwin:] With all this jobs crisis, the president talking jobs, Congress talking jobs, the list of U.S. businesses on the verge of bust continues to grow. According to 247WallStreet.com two titans topping this list with stocks dropping nearly 50 percent plans to layoff more than 10 percent of their workforce. Blackberry makers Research in motion. That's number two. Number one with net earnings falling nearly $80 million from the previous year, Best Buy at number. Conservative congresswoman and presidential contender Michele Bachmann appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno recently. And if you didn't see it, Jay Leno, the funnyman, late night TV, didn't go so easy with the questioning here. Joe Jones has this story with the Political Pop for today. And Joe, I guess Michele Bachmann was expecting some good jokes and laughs, and that's just not what she got?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] You know, that's what you would expect, right. You go in these late night talk shows, but she was surprised by some of the questioning, wasn't expecting where the interview went. She hasn't gone much further than that. You know, the late night talk shows are pretty much a requirement for anyone running a serious campaign for president. This was not all comedy. Frankly, she got a pretty good grilling with questions about some of her controversies. The HPV virus, praying the gay away, if you will. If you didn't catch any of it, let's roll some of the tape and take a look.
[Jay Leno, Host, "the Tonight Show":] Last month, you won the Iowa straw poll, I think 16 percent.
[Michele Bachmann,  Presidential Candidate:] Yes, the first woman to win the Iowa straw poll.
[Leno:] But then Rick Perry coming into the race and the polls drop. You and Perry went over this HPV vaccine topic. Explain this whole deal.
[Bachmann:] Well
[Leno:] On "The Today Show," you said a woman came up to you and her daughter took the vaccine and suffered from had mental issues, mental retardation problems. Do you regret not getting this woman's name and address
[Baldwin:] OK.
[Johns:] Serious interview, yes. One radio host on WLS said the appearance sounded more like "Meet the Press" than "The Tonight Show." But the candidate definitely is behaving like she has no complaints. I asked her press secretary Alice Stewart about it, and she said "Michele was thrilled to meet Jay and have the opportunity to meet Jay. Jay is a class act with a tremendous following. And far be it from us to second guess what questions he chooses to ask." Politically, you probably don't want to get on the wrong side of a guy like Leno. Too much power.
[Baldwin:] And a big audience as well. Second question, we heard the president talking yesterday from the road garden. He mentioned again Warren Buffett's secretary. I guess in his case to try to make his case for this deficit reduction plan, he's now getting with regard to that secretary, a little help from Moveon.org.
[Johns:] Yes. It's amazing. This Warren Buffett secretary thing has been around for a while now. You've heard it. President has asserted Warren Buffett's secretary gets taxed at a higher rate than Buffett does, and this assertion is being used by the president and his supporters to make the case that millionaires and billionaires should pay more taxes. Moveon.org sort teases this idea making the point there are a lot of people out there who get taxed at a lower rate than the very rich. Listen.
[Unidentified Female:] I have three kids, make $40,000 a year and I contribute a greater percentage of my income than many billionaires and millionaires.
[Unidentified Male:] Most Americans want Congress to raise taxes on the wealthy, but the GOP refuses to do it. Why? Call Congress and tell them. Raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] OK, not really Warren Buffett's secretary, right?
[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Right, although I'd love to see Warren Buffett's secretary. I wonder what he or she thinks about all of this.
[Johns:] Right, well, that's the thing. What did she say about it? I actually reached out to the media office, of course, of Berkshire Hathaway.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Johns:] which is Mr. Buffett's company, haven't heard back from them or the secretary just yet. I'm not the only one looking for her quite frankly. There are a lot of people asking what Warren Buffett's secretary has to say about all this. "Atlantic Monthly" reports not surprisingly that Warren Buffett has a bunch of secretaries, a bunch of executive assistants, if you will. They don't seem to be making many substantive comments quite frankly, which could be interpreted I think as a smart career move.
[Baldwin:] Interesting. I'm sure at some point, we will see a secretary surface. Joe Johns.
[Johns:] Love to meet her.
[Baldwin:] Love to meet her, maybe we'll get her on, Joe.
[Johns:] I'm on Facebook, Twitter.
[Baldwin:] Facebook, Twitter, what is it, Joe, at joejohnscnn. OK, Joe, thank you very much. We'll follow that. And don't worry, everything will be over in a couple of minutes. Those were some of the final words Dr. William Petit heard from the men, those two men who invaded his home, attacked his daughters and wife. One is convicted of killing them. Minutes later, the house would go up in flames, his family inside. Today, he testified against the second man to go on trial for their murders. This today's on the case. Also, Wolf Blitzer joins me from New York once again. He has Bill Clinton in "THE SITUATION ROOM" today. We're going to talk to Wolf live from the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York. Stay right here.

[Malveaux:] So far this year, some 20 young people under the age of 17 have been killed in Chicago, four in the past week alone. Now, lawmakers and advocates are trying to find ways to tackle the crisis. And one mother is taking drastic measures to prevent her son from becoming a statistic. Ted Rowlands reports.
[Josh Turner, Chicago Resident:] And they shot through the window.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] 14-year-old Josh Turner is talking about the time that gunfire on his street got uncomfortably close hitting his neighbor's window.
[Josh Turner:] And the bullet went right through the glass.
[Rowlands:] Street violence is a part of life on Chicago's south side, but for Josh and his mother, Marissa, it is too tough to handle.
[Marissa Turner, Mother Of Josh:] It has gotten so bad that I'm ready.
[Rowlands:] Ready, she says, to move to Rome, Georgia, where she grew up and wants Josh to grow up. This family knows first-hand the devastating effect of violence. Josh's father, Jeremiah, was murdered when Josh was 18 months old.
[Marissa Turner:] Not having his dad probably put more on me as far as protecting him, and that's all, that's all that matters.
[Rowlands:] The murder rate in Chicago is up more than 35 percent so far this year, and many of the victims are innocent and young. Last Wednesday, 7-year-old Heaven Sutton was shot standing at her front yard selling lemonade.
[Nora Green, Josh's Grandmother:] I am glad that, you know, Marissa is moving him out of this environment.
[Rowlands:] Josh's grandmother, Norah, who lives across the street, shows a photo display of Josh's father. She says the pain of losing a child is unbearable. And while she will miss Josh, she can't take the though of losing him as well.
[Green:] When I watch the news and I hear of someone else that has been killed, I just, you know, my mind goes back to the process of the initially hearing it and then after that. That after when everybody leaves you, that after. And you are left with yourself.
[Rowlands:] Josh says moving away from his friends will be difficult, but he is looking forward to living close in Georgia, living somewhere that is safe. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Chicago.
[Malveaux:] Now that the Supreme Court has ruled the president's health care law constitutional, we are hearing the claims about the law. And we will separate the fact from the fiction.

[Blackwell:] The political conventions are over and now it's time for the candidates to speak face-to-face to the voters, get to them where they live, especially in the swing states. This morning we're focusing on Florida. President Obama is there today. Here's the latest CNNTimeORC poll. Obama leads, but the margin is slim. And, of course, that could change by November. Let's look deeper inside the Florida numbers, though. Republicans have asked, are you better off now than you were when Barack Obama took office? Well, when the president took the oath of office, the national unemployment rate was 7.6 percent. In Florida, it was 8.6 percent. This July it was 8.3 percent nationally, 8.8 percent in Florida. Now, two years ago, around the time of the midterm elections, it was 9.8 percent across the country, 12 percent in Florida. And, again, now, 8.1 percent and 8.8 percent. It's positive, good trend, but Republicans will tell you that Florida's Republican governor, Rick Scott, should get the credit. So, what does all this mean? Well, it means the outcome in Florida is even harder to predict.
[Kaye:] Victor, both of the presidential candidates are making sure they get their messages out in Florida. Different messages aimed at the same voters. CNN chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin has more on the president's plan to build on his convention momentum. JESSICA Yellin,
[Cnn Correspondent:] Randi, President Obama is in Florida on day two of his post convention swing. Joining him is former governor and former Republican Charlie Crist. The intended message, three and a half years later, President Obama still has bipartisan appeal, although former Governor Crist may not have much credibility with the state's Republicans. Now, expect President Obama to continue drawing contrast with his opponent, Governor Romney, on their economic visions for the future. Here's how the president has been making his point on the campaign trail.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] All they've got to offer is the same prescriptions that they've had for the last 30 years tax cuts, tax cuts, gut some regulations, oh, and more tax cuts. Tax cuts when times are good. Tax cuts when times are bad. Tax cuts to help you lose a few extra pounds. Tax cuts to improve your love life. It'll cure anything according to them.
[Yellin:] Florida is a crucial battleground state. And given the electoral math, if the president wins Florida, it will be very difficult for Mitt Romney to find a path to the White House. Randi.
[Kaye:] Jessica Yellin, thank you. We have much more ahead on our Florida focus coming up in the 7:00 hour Eastern Time. We'll check the Democrats' plan to capture the state again this election. At 8:15, the Republican response and the issues they see as the key to taking back the state. And then at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, we'll look at which voters will decide how the state swings. Plus, we'll bring you President Obama live from St. Petersburg.
[Blackwell:] An airline deems a teenage boy with down syndrome to be a security risk and refused to let him on board. Was it fair of the airline or a violation of the boy's civil rights?

[Jake Tapper, Cnn Anchor:] Famous chef James Beard once asked, where would we be without salt? Well, it turns out, for some of us, alive. I'm Jake Tapper and this is THE LEAD. The national lead, breaking this hour, experts now say we're hooking our kids on sodium before they can talk. The author of the hot new book "Salt, Sugar, Fat" will try to convince us to drop the Doritos. The politics lead. The brain surgeon whose next lifesaving operation may be on the Republican Party. New conservative political superstar Dr. Ben Carson will join us. And the pop culture lead. Jimmy Fallon is reportedly on the move as the late-night wars heat up. We sit down with ABC's commanding general on the front lines, Jimmy Kimmel.
[Tapper:] Do you it's a direct it has to be a direct response to you coming and...
[Jimmy Kimmel, Host, "jimmy Kimmel Live":] God, I hope so. I really hope...
[Tapper:] The high-stakes, big-bucks battle for late night gets a lot more interesting. Our national lead breaking right now. The American Heart Association presenting a slew of new studies this hour revealing that many of us are every day ingesting an overdose of sodium. Salt is practically a food group here unto itself here in America, but how does this taste? A full three-quarters of the world population eats twice the recommended daily allowance of salt. The food in Kazakstan must be really bland, because they eat three times the daily allowance, the highest in the world. But don't feel superior, Americans. Here in the States, eating too much salt played a role in 2.3 million deaths from heart attack, strokes and other diseases in 2010 alone. We're passing these bad habits on to our kids. In a different study also being released this hour, researchers found that three-quarters of prepackaged meals and snacks for toddlers had way too much salt. There is a great new book sitting at number two on "The New York Times" nonfiction bestseller list. It's called "Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us." And the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Moss joins us now. Michael, thanks for joining us. One of the things in this study says that three of four prepackaged meals for toddlers have too much sodium. What does this do to kids as they get older?
[Michael Moss, "salt, Sugar, Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us":] One of the fascinating things about salt is we're not born liking salt. We develop a liking for it at about six months of age. Other recent research has shown that the processed food industry is usually influential in shaping our liking for salt. Kids that are exposed more to processed foods, including the foods you just talked about, are more apt to be licking the saltshaker by the time they're in preschool.
[Tapper:] Now, I know that potato chips, Doritos, pretzels, they're bad. But what is something that I eat commonly that is salt-filled that I don't even know?
[Moss:] It is sort of shocking how many foods in the supermarket are so salty. Canned soup is just amazing. But the single largest contributor of salt to the diet is actually bread, not because it is so salty, but because we eat so much of it. It's an example of how salt is so essential to the industry. They're hooked on salt more than we are because salt acts as a preservative. It covers up off-notes and bad flavors in highly processed foods. And it is so cheap that when they use it they can avoid adding more costly ingredients like fresh herbs and spices.
[Tapper:] What's interesting is you talking when you were researching your book, you were talking to executives of a food company and they wanted to show you what foods tasted like without all of this salt. Tell us about that.
[Moss:] They have known for years they need to cut back down on salt. So I went to them and said, look, what is the problem? Why can't you just take out all the salt? And Kellogg made for me some of their biggest icons without any salt in them special for me so I could taste. We sat down. I tell you, it was the most god-awful experience you ever imagined. I can normally eat cheese. It's all day long. And without the salt, we couldn't even swallow cheese-its because the salt adds texture and solubility. The frozen waffles when into the toaster and they came out looking and tasting like straw. And I tell you the clincher was the Corn Flakes without salt. I looked at the spokeswoman for the company and she got this expression of horror on her face and said, metal. I taste metal. And the chief scientist was there going, oh, yes, well, that's one of the functions of salt. It helps balance out these flavors that get in from the minerals and vitamins and other things we add. So salt acts as a masking agent as well, besides being what the industry calls a flavor burst, something that really adds allure to processed foods.
[Tapper:] I suppose one of the thing that we could do in our own lives is put away the saltshaker. Restaurants like Boston Market have taken saltshakers off the table. Does that help? Does that do anything?
[Moss:] The saltshaker contributes only about 6 percent or 7 percent of the salt in our diet. The majority is coming from processed foods and the typical mainline restaurants that rely so heavily on salt. That's where the problem is and that's where the accountability has to come in for things to be changing meaningfully.
[Tapper:] Michael Moss, thank you so much for joining us. We wish you continued success with your great book.
[Moss:] Thank you so much.
[Tapper:] Also leading nationally, a possible change in who is allowed to deliver death from thousands of miles away. I'm referring, of course, to drones. U.S. officials tell CNN the White House is thinking about moving the drone program away from the CIA and into the hands of the Pentagon. That could lead to more transparency in the controversial program, which has been shrouded in shadows at Langley. For years, unmanned killing machines in the sky have been the weapon of choice for the Central Intelligence Agency as a method of combating terrorism. The drone kill count is formally classified, but the New America Foundation, which has tracked drone strikes since they began, estimates nearly 4,000 people have been killed. Among that number are the deaths of high-profile targets such as American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but also in that number, several hundred innocent civilians in Pakistan and Yemen. International rights groups say there is no recourse for the victims' families since the U.S. does not acknowledge CIA drone attacks even occur. The White House has argued drones are effective in protecting the U.S. and its interests. Defenders argue they are preferable to sending troops into yet more foreign countries. But human rights groups argue that there are serious constitutional questions about the program, specifically the extrajudicial targeted killing of enemy combatants and, most notably, American citizens such as Awlaki or his apparently innocent 16-year-old son.
[John Brennan, Cia Director:] We only take such actions as a last resort to save lives.
[Tapper:] John Brennan was battered in his nomination hearings to head the CIA by both Republicans and Democrats over the use of drones. Brennan expressed a desire to start moving out of the killing business and resume collecting and analyzing intelligence.
[Brennan:] The CIA should not be doing traditional military activities and operations.
[Tapper:] The program has also divided Republicans. Hawks such as Senator John McCain of Arizona are all for it, but the drone strikes kept more libertarian Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky talking all night on the Senate floor earlier this month railing against possible targeted killings on U.S. soil. No final decision has been made on whether the military will take over the drone program. If the change is made, we're told it would happen gradually. The latest developments in the U.S. drone policy brings us to a larger question, are we safer here at home because of the strikes overseas and is it right? Joining me now to discuss this, Jeremy Scahill, national security correspondent for "The Nation," and here in Washington, Christine Fair, senior fellow at Combating Terrorism Center at West Point and assistant professor at Georgetown University. Jeremy, I want to start with you. With the military taking over drone strikes assuming this does go through, would that alleviate any of your concerns when it comes to transparency or accountability?
[Jeremy Scahill, "the Nation":] Well, first of all, Jake, I think we're having the wrong discussion here. The reality is that the military and the CIA have both been directing drone strikes for many years now. The military's Joint Special Operations Command has done drone strikes inside of Yemen, inside of Pakistan, so in a way this sort of misses the bigger point. But to directly answer your question, no, it doesn't because the Obama administration has relied on a policy known as signature strikes where people are targeted in certain regions of Pakistan or Yemen based on where they live and if they're military-age males. It's sort of a form of pre-crime. So what we have seen and these are really escalating is that people are being killed by the U.S. government, whether it's CIA or JSOC, and they don't even know their identities. What I have seen in my reporting on the ground in Somalia, Yemen, and elsewhere is that we will have tremendous blowback from this if we don't take a serious step back and look at the impact on the ground of these drone strikes.
[Tapper:] Christine, how about that? You have actually written about whether or not in Pakistan these drone strikes create more terrorists than they kill, as Jeremy has argued.
[Christine Fair, Georgetown University:] Well, our data don't actually say that. What we actually look at is public opinion. And what is interesting, everyone knows Pakistanis tend to dislike the drones in the major cities. What we don't actually know is what Pakistanis think about the drones in the tribal areas. In my own travels in Pakistan, I find that people, the closer they are to the drones, the less willing they are to blanket say that they hate them, in part because they understand the options are the Pakistan military or living under the regime that the terrorists would prefer. But I will say I very much agree with Jeremy. I am not a supporter of the so-called signature strikes. Even if we were to have transparency on what we were trying to do, we really wouldn't know anything about the signature strikes. On this, he and I are in absolute agreement.
[Tapper:] Jeremy, you have called drone strikes murder. If you were responsible for the national security of the United States and you saw Anwar al-Awlaki, you were sure it was him, it is not a signature strike, you're sure it's him, what would you do? What do you think the government of the United States should be doing?
[Scahill:] Well, first of all, there hasn't been any concrete evidence presented against Anwar al-Awlaki other than he said things that are deeply offensive to me and to probably most Americans. I think the United States has made a big mistake in doing away with due process particularly for American citizens, but also for non-U.S. citizens. And I think if you have a man like Anwar al-Awlaki that you believe represents a concrete threat to the United States why not charge him with a crime, demand his extradition, go in and attempt to arrest him? The United States did that recently with one of bin Laden's relatives. We have seen that in the case of Somalis accused of being members of Al Shabab in al Qaeda in East Africa. The idea that the president would authorize what I think is the assassination of a U.S. citizen who had not been charged with a crime really is a disturbing trend. And to kill his 16-year-old son two weeks later and then provide no explanation we have gotten no public explanation from the administration of why they killed 16-year-old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki. To me, it would have been a moment to say we're going to put a moratorium on drone strikes, step back, and look at how it was we killed three U.S. citizens in three weeks, two of whom were not even supposedly on the kill list, one of whom was a 16-year-old citizen who was 6 years old when 911 happened.
[Tapper:] Christine, I will let you have the last word. Does the potential move of putting drone strikes out of the CIA and into the Pentagon entirely, although as Jeremy notes, the Pentagon was already doing some of them, is that a good move?
[Fair:] The only way it'll be a good move is if they're not under the command of Special Operations Command, in other words, that they are completely subject to transparency. Speaking with respect to Pakistan, it could potentially be a good move because right now Pakistan is kind of a free rider. Right? It allows us to do the drone strikes. We're flying them from their territory. We're even building a new drone base in Pakistan, and yet it is able to disassociate itself from the attacks. If we were to go forward with complete transparency, it would mean the ISI would have to come out of the closet. And my views about the drone problem in Pakistan, we don't have the option to arrest people like we do elsewhere. Having this sort of transparency and understanding who is targeted and with what consequences is actually good for Pakistanis. What Pakistanis need to do is own their own struggle against their own terrorism. I think bringing the ISI out into the open and making it accept responsibility for what it is doing is probably a good step in that direction and can only happen if it's taken out of the purview of the CIA and put into the purview of the
[Dod. Tapper:] Jeremy Scahill, Christine Fair, thank you.
[Fair:] Thank you.
[Scahill:] Thank you, Jake.
[Tapper:] Vindicated after more than two decades behind bars for a crime he almost certainly did not commit, David Ranta went just free moments ago after Brooklyn prosecutors recommended throwing out his 1991 conviction for the shooting death of a rabbi during a botched diamond heist. A witness from back then now said he was coached into identifying Ranta in a police lineup. One by one, witnesses are sharing horror stories in the trial of a Philadelphia abortion provider. The evidence in the case is so gruesome some jurors have been seen covering their mouths. Former Dr. Kermit Gosnell is charged with killing seven late-term babies that were born alive and he's also accused of performing a botched abortion that killed a patient. Gosnell has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer insists none of the babies were born alive. Just days after Senate Democrats decided to shelve a new assault weapons ban, Vice President Biden was in New York to meet with Newtown families and with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a strong voice in favor of more regulation of firearms. Biden said what he is proposing common sense, not a Second Amendment grab.
[Joseph Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] Tell me, tell me how it violates anyone's constitutional right to be limited to a clip that holds 10 rounds, instead of 30 or in Aurora 100?
[Tapper:] Biden also suggested the Newtown shooter might have been killed sooner if he had to spend more time reloading. It was an accident that could have been a few feet away from kicking off an international incident. We're just learning this juicy nuggets from a new book, "Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry," by Marc Ambinder and D.B. Grady excerpted in "The Atlantic" today. Apparently back in 2006 during the U.N. General Assembly, an American Secret Service agent accidentally discharged a shotgun in the direction of the Iranian leader as he was getting into his motorcade in New York. The close call reportedly "scared the hell out of U.S. officials" who were worried Ahmadinejad might use it against them. But he never mentioned it again. Mysterious. Ahead in our money lead, without tweets, hashtags and my dedicated Twitter followers, what would I do with my day? Maybe accomplish something. It's Twitter's birthday, my tweets. And to celebrate, I sit down with the hacker-turned-CEO behind it all. Plus, our pop lead. Word on the street is that the suits at NBC are showing Jay Leno the exit. What does ABC's Jimmy Kimmel think about the soon-to-be-out-of-work comedian?
[Jimmy Kimmel, Comedian:] I do think he's capable. I've seen him. I mean, listen, you know, the guy is one of the great comedians.
[Tapper:] But you think he's dumbed down his material? Is that is that
[Kimmel:] Yes, I think so. Yes, I mean, I think that's fair to say.
[Commercial Break) Tapper:] In the "Pop Culture Lead", if there's one place where success and job security don't always go hand in hand it is late night television. Take the reported decision to kick Jay Leno to the curb and make Jimmy Fallon the new host of "The Tonight Show" in 2014. That's not because Leno is taking a beating in the ratings. His show is actually number one. But NBC execs seem to be focused on the long game. They want a host who could bring the younger, tweeting, YouTube-loving crowd to the table and the millions of dollars that come with them. And you can thank ABC and Jimmy Kimmel for that. Kimmel's show just made the switch to the 11:30 time slot competing directly with Leno and David letterman's "Late Show". And while the TV host and comedian does his best to rise above the late night drama, don't think for a second Kimmel isn't ready for battle.
[Tapper:] Kimmel, Letterman, Leno, Fallon. Late night ratings roulette is upon us, with more than 10 million viewers at stake and tens of millions of dollars in network advertising on the line.
[Jay Leno, Comedian:] Things once thought to be extinct could be now brought back from the dead. So, there's hope for NBC. It could turn around. It could turn around.
[Tapper:] But as the peacock network apparently makes moves to replace Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, fresh from his New Year's move from 11:35 on ABC remains unfazed.
[Kimmel:] Well, obviously, NBC is looking to move on because they did it once already. This would be the second time this has happened. So, I mean, it makes perfect sense and Jimmy Fallon is doing a great job.
[Tapper:] And Jay Leno? Well, let's just say Kimmel's respect for Jay Leno knows bounds. [on camera]: You've had some tough things to say about Jay Leno.
[Kimmel:] Yes, yes. My mother told me to stop.
[Tapper:] Is that right?
[Kimmel:] Yes. You know, it's one of those things. I have diarrhea of the mouth and when I'm asked about it, I tend to go on and on.
[Tapper:] You said he is like a master chef who now works at Burger King. Do you think he is capable of being a brilliant comic and
[Kimmel:] I do think he is capable. I've seen him. I mean, listen, you know, the guy is one of the great comedians.
[Tapper:] But you think he's dumbed down his material? Is that is that
[Kimmel:] Yes, I think so. Yes, I mean, I think that's fair to say. He is a rock, isn't he?
[Tapper:] Yes. He's an immovable force.
[Kimmel:] He is. You've never been funnier, my friend.
[Tapper:] I mean, obviously, you're younger. Obviously you've got a hipper, more modern sensibility.
[Kimmel:] I have to be honest with you. I hate that younger thing.
[Tapper:] Why?
[Kimmel:] Because I imagine myself in hopefully doing this job when I get older and I just think it's like it's unfair. People age. It's just how it works. Have you ever taken a lie detector test before? You have?
[Tapper:] Quicker than he expected Kimmel proved himself competitive with the coveted demographic of younger viewers.
[Kimmel:] Do you ever pick your nose?
[Unidentified Boy:] No. Ah, yes, I did.
[Kimmel:] You did.
[Tapper:] You have a real viral video thing that other competitors, even Jimmy Fallon have not been able to match. Your YouTube channel is huge.
[Kimmel:] It educates you because it's very democratic. People really are like voting for what they think is funny by watching it and passing it around to their friends. I would like the people who are at home watching the Emmys right now to help me pull a big prank on the people who are not watching.
[Tapper:] It's been a big year for Kimmel. In addition to hosting the Emmys and providing comedy for the White House Correspondents Association dinner, he got engaged. [on camera]: So you're marrying one of your writers?
[Kimmel:] I am, yes. She got hired as a writer's assistant and she started writing jokes. After a while it became obvious that we had to hire her as a writer. Her material was so strong. And for me, weirdly, that's like a that just that's really like what attracted me to her, is that she's funny.
[Tapper:] Why is that weird? That's nice.
[Kimmel:] Yes, I guess it's good but it's weird to be you know, to have a work assignment be what attracted you to somebody. But that is kind of, I thought, well, that's
[Tapper:] That's not weird. You're in love with her mind. I mean
[Kimmel:] There you go.
[Tapper:] I mean, she's very beautiful but I mean, that's nice.
[Kimmel:] What a coincidence.
[Tapper:] Closing out his winning year, Kimmel was given a better earlier time slot where he is pitted directly against his idol.
[David Letterman, Comedian:] Good heavens and hello!
[Kimmel:] My favorite host of all time is David Letterman. That's who I choose to watch if I'm choosing to watch somebody. I mean, that, for me, would be my choice. I think I'd choose watching him I know I would, over watching myself. I never watch myself. I often times watch his show.
[Tapper:] So you're in a weird position because you are now competing.
[Kimmel:] You mean this?
[Tapper:] That's just an odd position.
[Kimmel:] Excited to have you. I'm a little bit overwhelmed. The margins between us are so slim, it's not like a prize fight where you go in and are actually knocking somebody out. The truth is three shows can be successful simultaneously and all do perfectly well and everybody wins.
[Tapper:] Years ago, the late night wars got so heated there was a bestselling book and subsequent HBO movie about it. [on camera]: There was an actor playing Letterman and actor playing Leno. So, if they did a sequel, who would play you?
[Kimmel:] Oh, well. I would love to see an African-American have that part. J.B. Smoove I think would be a good choice.
[Tapper:] OK.
[Kimmel:] I'd like to be thin too.
[Tapper:] So, that 8-year-old girl
[Kimmel:] I want to be black and thin. Oh, Quvenzhane Wallis, excellent idea.
[Tapper:] That young.
[Kimmel:] She would be great.
[Tapper:] She is America's sweetheart.
[Kimmel:] She is. And so am
[I. Tapper:] So are you. So, there is a certain type casting.
[Kimmel:] Perfect.
[Tapper:] Adding to his Gen Y appeal, Kimmel's show recently launched its very own music show on YouTube. On to our "Political Lead", Hillary Clinton just might want to watch her back for a guy nobody knew about a month ago. Ben Carson is a soft spoken doctor that's got Rush Limbaugh smiling and he'll join me live, next.

[Piers Morgan:] Good evening. Breaking news tonight in New York, where after days without power from hurricane Sandy, the lights are beginning to slowly go back on in Lower Manhattan and beyond. It is slow, but it is happening. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says most of the power in Manhattan should return by midnight tonight, although some people will be left without it for another week. Sandy is gone, but misery continues as so many devastated. Today, the death toll climbed to 97 people. Staten Island neighborhoods swept away. Today, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano toured the area, vowing to do everything she could to help. Plus tonight, after insisting this Sunday's New York City marathon would go on, Mayor Bloomberg has now canceled the race. Many were outraged the city would take valuable efforts away from the Sandy recovery efforts for the marathon. Tonight, city hall and race officials have called it off. Meanwhile, look at this cars lined up for miles to get gas. Drivers in some cases are waiting 20 hours as the supply dwindles, fighting with each other. There's one report that a guy pulled a gun at one gas station. And tonight, the military is delivering fuel to the disaster zone, sending 24 million gallons of extra gas, a welcome sign. The Obama administration is hiring trucks to bring the gas to staging areas. All this is unfolding just four days before the general election. President Obama and Governor Romney fighting it out for every last vote, especially in the key state of Ohio. And today, the latest CNN poll shows Obama with a very slight edge there, but there's everything to play for. Today, the last jobs report before Election Day was released. Unemployment ticking up to 7.9 percent, but at the same time, 171,000 jobs were created. No surprise, both candidates reacted differently to the news.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Today, our businesses have created nearly 5.5 million new jobs. This morning we learned that companies hired more workers in October than at any time in the last eight months.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Nominee:] He said he was going to lower the unemployment rate down to 5.2 percent right now. Today, we learned that it's actually 7.9 percent and that's 9 million jobs short of what he promised. Unemployment is higher today than when Barack Obama took office.
[Morgan:] Mitt Romney earlier today. You're looking at live pictures now from Westchester in Ohio, where Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, has given a blistering speech attacking Barack Obama. In a few minutes, he will be on this show live and exclusive to tell me why he feels so strongly why the president should leave the office. Let's start with these long lines for gas. Susan Candiotti is at one gas station in New Jersey. Susan, I have been following your travails for most of the day. You have been joining endless lines for gas in your car, most of the time coming up against a blank. Where are you now? And how does it all end?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, it all ended with us not getting any gas. It looks like a ghost town here. You can see they were open for a good nine hours. They had the supply but those lines just sucked it all up. Too many customers and eventually they had to shut down tonight. So a lot of people were turned back and yes, Piers, we went to two different places, spent the whole afternoon in two different lines, and came up dry. That's happening to a lot of people. Some are luckier than others. But I got to tell you, it's been very impressive at least here in parts of New Jersey where I was, to see how many people were helping each other, sometimes pushing cars to get to the fuel pump, and other people being as calm as they possibly could and saying, "Look, we know that it's a bad situation, we know that they're trying to do the best they can, and we just have to go with the flow here and come back and try again tomorrow." But a lot of people were hitting up 15, 16, 20 stations and still not finding anything.
[Morgan:] Nate Silver, "The New York Times" pollster of pollsters, tweeted just now that his cab driver just told him he waited 20 hours for gas, which is a familiar kind of story I think for a lot of cab drivers now. What is the real problem? Lots of misconceptions I think that there is a lack of gas, but actually, that's not the real problem, isn't it? It's more to do with no power means they can't pump the gas.
[Candiotti:] You're right. It's all those things rolled up into one. You've got a lot of different things at play here. First of all, some gas stations actually have the gas in their tanks below ground and would love to pump it but as you said, they don't have the power to do it. Other places can't get it in fast enough, even though the fuel supplies are starting to flow more rapidly, because it's taking so long to fill up the tanks. They only have so many terminals to get it. And that's why there is more hope tonight that with this announcement that Obama, President Obama has asked the Defense Department to free up some extra fuel, you mentioned it already, upwards of 24 million gallons to get more of it out here and transported more easily so that it can get out faster to the gas stations that do have power.
[Morgan:] Yes. It's a hell of a struggle. Susan, thank you very much indeed. Joining me now from Columbus, Ohio, is General Wesley Clark, an Obama supporter, former NATO supreme allied commander. General, welcome back.
[Gen. Wesley Clark, Former Nato Suprmeebama Supporter:] Thank you, Piers.
[Morgan:] All the action now is heading to Ohio. Almost everyone who is anyone is down there, including your good self. The polls are very, very tight, showing very marginal lead for the president in most of the ones I've seen but with the margin of difference, you could almost say it's a tie. How are you seeing it down there on the ground?
[Clark:] Well, there's a lot of emotion, there's just thousands of volunteers out here. There's a ground game. We feel very good about the ground game, by the way. Our volunteers are charged up. We've been working this for three and a half years. We knew it would come down to this. We were prepared for it. And we've fought to keep the polls open and make the ground game possible.
[Morgan:] I read yesterday, I think again it was Nate Silver who said that if Romney was to lose Ohio, he would have just a 3 percent chance of winning the election. Conversely, if Barack Obama lost Ohio, he would only have an 8 percent chance of victory. That shows you just how incredibly important Ohio may turn out to be.
[Clark:] Well, it's an important it's critical. It's a very diverse state. But you know, Barack Obama's very firm stand in saving the American automobile industry has paid important dividends in Ohio. This morning I was in Youngstown. In Youngstown, we produced the Chevy Cruze. That's a G.M. product that is the direct result of the president's intervention to bail out the automobile industry.
[Morgan:] And as a former commander yourself, how do you think the president's done this week in terms of his role as commander-in-chief in what was really a national crisis?
[Clark:] I think he's done extremely well in terms of his sympathy and empathy for the groups, his visit. I think he was smart not to go into New York City, where it's too congested, too many problems. I think he's also done well in terms of showing the power of the office by just the latest move of having the military assist in deliveries of fuel. But I think it also shows up the hollowness of Governor Romney, his flip-flopping. For example, on the issue of FEMA, he was suggesting months ago that maybe you don't need a Federal Emergency Management Agency, maybe you can just let each state fend for itself. Now, imagine where we would be if someone had actually taken that advice and killed FEMA. You'd have New York, New Jersey, each fighting with each other for scarce resources, for fuel, for power, for electric line repair, competing against each other to bring in assistance from other states instead of having someone to coordinate it and push it.
[Morgan:] We obviously saw the extraordinary scenes this week in many ways of Governor Christie in New Jersey, sort of metaphorically putting his arm around the president, telling him what a great president he was. Last thing you would have expected say two weeks ago. What did you make of that?
[Clark:] I thought it was a fair appraisal. Look, Governor Christie has got and New Jersey has a real problem. Jersey Shore devastated, plus, all the electric outages and problems throughout a large part of the state. Of course, Governor Christie needs help. And this is what happens when governors need help, they come to Washington. And Americans expect Washington to help. There is a role for the commander-in-chief, for the president of the United States, when disaster strikes at home. And that's what Americans expect of their leader.
[Morgan:] Were you pleased that the marathon was canceled?
[Clark:] Yes. I think it was a smart move. I do. It's been New Yorkers have been really terrific about this. You know, people downtown in Manhattan have been four days without light or power. The streets are dark. It's like Sarajevo during the siege in the Balkans and the thought of more people coming in on top of the people that are already there and the people in and out of hotels, trying to find places to get showers and restaurants closed, and basically all of Manhattan's population was jammed north of 40th Street. So it only makes sense given the uncertainties of this and the pressure on services in Manhattan and the discomfiture of people there don't do the marathon.
[Morgan:] General Wesley Clark, thank you very much indeed.
[Clark:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] Coming up, Rudy Giuliani joining me from Ohio. What happens when you cancel the marathon?

[Phillips:] Well, the markets have been a mess. People are flocking to safer investments like gold and other commodities. But Steve Green and his family well, they've put tens of millions of dollars into Bibles. I guess you could say that Steve has a lot of faith in his investment. He's overseeing the acquisition of ancient Bibles and other rare religious relics that are now part of a traveling exhibit. He's also president of Hobby Lobby, the arts and crafts chain. I tell you what, this is pretty amazing, looking at the I can't believe actually we can touch them, too. Usually you see these behind glass.
[Steve Green, Explorepassages.com:] Yes.
[Phillips:] Tell me, why did you want to do this? Why was this important to you?
[Green:] Well, our family has always had a love for the Bible. We have tried to operate our business according to biblical principles. And we believe in the Bible and we wanted to share the story of the Bible with as many as we could.
[Phillips:] All right. You brought in a couple of your favorites. Let's start with the earliest Greek text, dating within generations of the apostles, Psalm 23.
[Green:] Yes.
[Phillips:] And for those that are not familiar with the Bible, it's the very well-known verse of "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
[Green:] Exactly.
[Phillips:] Tell us about this.
[Green:] This is one leaf of about 49 within this particular codex. It represents about 100 of 150 psalms. And this happens to be the page that starts or has the 23rd Psalm. I'm no Greek scholar, but Dr. Scott Carroll that is working with us
[Phillips:] Right.
[Green:] lets me know this is where the 23rd Psalm actually begins.
[Phillips:] All right. And then you've got one of the world's earliest Bible, right?
[Green:] Right.
[Phillips:] The earliest comprehensive scriptures in Jesus' household language. Tell me about that.
[Green:] This is Codex Climaci Rescriptus and it's called rescriptus because it has been rewritten on. The text underneath is what is scriptural in Palestinian Aramaic as you said, that is Jesus' household language. We are working with Oxford right now. We have scanned each page 12 times under different lights to pull out that bottom text so it can be better read. There's parts of it you really can't see with the naked eye or because it was written over is not visible.
[Phillips:] How did you test all of these to make sure they are authentic?
[Green:] You know, I go back to Dr. Scott Carroll who we are working with. He has dealt with this for many years. He's an expert in bibles. And so, without his help, we would not be able to do, this because it's not our expertise. But with his help, we've been able to collect what we've done.
[Phillips:] So, where can folks see these items next? What's the plan? Is there a Web site where they can go to?
[Green:] We have our traveling exhibit, which is displaying about 300 of the over 40,000 items that we currently have in our collection. It is open in Oklahoma City at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. We are working on the final details to bring that here to Atlanta in probably November. We will be in Oklahoma City until October 16th.
[Phillips:] Fantastic, Steve Green. Tell you what? You are a blessed man on many levels. This is pretty amazing. Thanks so much for bringing them in and sharing them with us.
[Green:] Thank you for having me.
[Phillips:] You bet.
[Green:] My pleasure.
[Phillips:] Well, there's going to be more on the green collection and the family's planned Bible museum on our belief blog, CNN.combelief.

[Berman:] Breaking news just in to CNN. And it's really sad news. The baby who had survived the car crash that claimed the life of his parents has died. Police confirmed he died earlier this morning. The couple had been inside a taxicab that was broadsided by another car in Brooklyn, New York, yesterday that's happened. The mother was pregnant at the time. Doctors were able to deliver the baby by cesarean section, but again we just learned that the baby has died. Other "Top Stories" now Casey Anthony coming out of hiding today she is set to appear on court this morning in Tampa to meet with creditors, this is part of her Chapter 7 bankruptcy hearings. Anthony was acquitted of killing her daughter Caylee two years ago. The famous Facebook news feed we've all finally gotten used to is changing again. The new version is expected to bring more features to mobile platforms, including smart phones, expected to revamped look this Thursday. So three stars of the hit sitcom "Modern Family" left hanging inside an elevator in Kansas City, Missouri.
[Unidentified Female:] Get us out.
[Unidentified Male:] Get us out.
[Unidentified Female:] Whole room.
[Unidentified Male:] Get us out.
[Unidentified Crowd:] Get us out.
[Berman:] So Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Julie Bowen got stuck on their way to a charity event, and they continued the laughs on Twitter. Stonestreet tweeted, "I honestly handled being stuck in an elevator for 50 minutes better than I thought. All Jesse Tyler did was pass wind." Well you probably all agree that people talking loudly on their cell phone, Soledad no matter where you are, is annoying.
[O'brien:] I don't say loudly, I just do it. I whisper. Loudly is annoying.
[Berman:] But did a Massachusetts gym go too far when it revoked a woman's membership for yakking on the cell phone while working out? The woman says she got the boots from a Planet Fitness after answering an unexpected call from her doctor while training on the elliptical.
[O'brien:] It was my doctor. I had to answer it.
[Berman:] That violated a rule which restricts cell phone use to the lobby.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Corresspondent:] This is zero tolerance policy. Isn't there one warning and then you get booted out?
[O'brien:] Listen, apparently
[Romans:] Soledad is looking over the fine print. She wants to make sure.
[O'brien:] This wait this is actually the key line. "This is a member that had repeated issues and incidents with cell phone usage."
[Unidentified Male:] So they use their cell phone.
[O'brien:] Listen I've got to tell you I use my cell phone at the gym. I just don't yell.
[Unidentified Female:] Perhaps this is an intervention right now for you. Maybe your gym called and said, hey.
[Berman:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] What about texting? Do you have to talk? Just text.
[O'brien:] It's her doctor. Important information was coming in.
[Romans:] Don't get on the elliptical.
[O'brien:] She's got to go someplace else now. And no more Planet Fitness. Still ahead this morning, a nail biting ending to a high school basketball game. Player makes an unbelievable shot, beats the clock. We'll show you that and a little more after this.

[Kosik:] Spike Lee has always been political and this election season is no different. Don Lemon continues his interview with Lee, asking him if the president has lived up to his promises and what lies ahead in November.
[Lee:] I'm thinking about my grandma. My grandma lived to be a hundred years old. Her mother was born a slave and I'm five generations removed from slavery and what Barack said tonight is true. This is the only place in the world where this could happen. America.
[Lemon:] Do you think it was too high, the expectations?
[Lee:] He was a savior, black Jesus. And I don't care who it was. I mean, expectations were, I think, way too high. What somebody can deliver knowing how politics works and knowing you have the deal with the Congress, in my opinion, a Congress that's solidified saying whatever you do, we're blocking that. We're blocking. We're blocking. And every breath we take, we're going to do what we can that you don't get a second term. Bottom line, if it hurts America in the process, tough business.
[Lemon:] Do you think he's lived up to the promises?
[Lee:] Look. The man is not perfect. Who is perfect? But my wife Ty and I had a fund-raiser at our house in Manhattan. We raised over a billion dollars for him. He has my full support. And I'm going to do what I can to help that he gets a second term in office.
[Lemon:] You just my question was does he deserve a second term and you answered it. Do you want to talk at all on the other side? What do you think of the competition?
[Lee:] I don't want to I don't think I have to do that. Number one, it's you have to be I mean, it's very obvious. You got this and you got that. It's plain as day and Americans are going to have to make a choice. We go this way, or we go that way. There's going to be no in between.
[Kosik:] He has won all kinds of awards and known all around the world. So, what is next for Spike Lee? Don couldn't let him go without asking.
[Lemon:] As a cultural critic and as a filmmaker, what is next? What is next for Spike Lee? Where do you think Spike Lee should go where you just going to do you have plan?
[Lee:] Right now, this is as busy as I've been in a long time. "Red Hook Summer" is coming out in Atlanta and the rest of the country August 24th. I had play in Broadway. My first play in Broadway and I directed Mike Tyson in "undisputed truth."
[Lemon:] How did you get involved with Mike Tyson?
[Lee:] Well, he did in Las Vegas. I know Michael for 25 years. And Mike was doing, you know, with Broadway, he said fine. Every show he gets a standing ovation. I've also just finished a documentary the 25th anniversary, a documentary on the making of Michael Jackson's "Bad" album. August 21th would be the anniversary and the world premier is going to be at the Venice Film Festival.
[Kosik:] That was Don Lemon with filmmaker Spike Lee. Ahead tonight, a homeless man shot dozens of times by police. The whole thing caught on tape. Did officers overreact some we are about to show it to you and let you decide.
[Lemon:] So you're out and about and not in front of a television to stay connected to CNN. You can. Pull it up on your cell phone like I do or you can watch it from your computer even at work. Just go to CNN.comTV. Tell them Don Lemon sent you.

[Lemon:] Accused former Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky will face some of his accusers on Tuesday. That's when a preliminary evidence hearing is scheduled on the dozens of charges that he molested ten young boys. But today, there's new information about a financial connection between board members of Sandusky's charity and a governor of Pennsylvania's election campaign. Sara Ganim, a CNN contributor and reporter for "The Patriot News," co- wrote the article. So Sarah, it is good to see you. What did you find out?
[Sara Ganim, Reporter, "the Patriot News":] When he was running for governor, he was still the training general, he was handling this case. And he accepted $25,000, more than $25,000 in campaign contributions from Second Mile board members and that included a fund- raiser from the board chair who held a fund-raiser at his home in January 2010 for the governor for his campaign. Now, today he is defending all of that, he's saying, you know, it would have looked political if he had charged Sandusky at the time. It would have looked political if he had waited. So, it is a loselose situation for him and he is defending his decision today saying, he did not want to give that money back or refuse it because that would give away that The Second Mile, Jerry Sandusky was under investigation. Of course, The Second Mile already knew that Jerry Sandusky was under investigation and that's because Jerry Sandusky himself told them in late 2008.
[Lemon:] So Sarah, here there is a new poll, gauging their reaction to the way this scandal has been handled. Can you tell us about it?
[Ganim:] Yes, you know, it's interesting. With Corbett, it is split. Thirty eight percent versus 36 percent approval rating. For how he handled the investigation. But I think the more interesting numbers that came out of that poll was that 52 percent of Pennsylvanians agree with Joe Paterno's firing versus 43 percent of people polled. So, you know, that kind of shows you a bigger picture. Outside of happy valley where there is a lot of concern about what happened to Joe Paterno. What people are thinking about that firing and that last- minute decision.
[Lemon:] A hearing that we've told our viewers about on Tuesday, what's coming up?
[Ganim:] Well, you know, we know that this is going to be the first time that Jerry Sandusky is going to face his accusers. Although, we ran into CNN got Joe Amendola, Jerry Sandusky's attorney to talk yesterday outside of Jerry's home where they spent the day preparing for what would happen Tuesday. And Joe Amendola said this, he said, you know, anyone he's looking for a bombshell coming out of Tuesday, is really going to be disappointed. But you know, we are expecting a long day, maybe even two days. Because there is a lot of evidence here. This isn't a trial but it's almost like a mini trial because the prosecutors do have to put on a significant amount of evidence to show that they have enough evidence to go to trial. They have to convince a judge of that. So you know, we do expect to hear from several of the alleged victims. We don't expect to hear from Jerry himself, but we'll see.
[Lemon:] All right, thank you very much, Sarah Ganim, we appreciate it.
[Announcer:] You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.
[Lemon:] Time now to talk some weather and our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is here to do that. But Jacqui, also, nothing I could do, total eclipse of the heart. Bonnie Tyler, remember that?
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] So cheesy.
[Lemon:] That was so bad. I'm so sorry.
[Jeras:] I know, but you know, why it's total eclipse of the heart, because I didn't get see it, unfortunately. Those of us who live on the East Coast, it was bright out already. So, we can get to see it.
[Lemon:] Oh, man.
[Jeras:] You know, in the Rocky Mountain States...
[Lemon:] We're getting to see it now on video.
[Jeras:] I know. Isn't that beautiful? That's the great thing about CNN, the internet, all that stuff. You didn't have to get up at 6:00 in the morning to see it. This is a video from our affiliate King TV in Seattle. A total eclipse of the moon. The second one this year. But the first one we couldn't see here in the United States, so the East Coast got ripped off twice, I guess, right? But kind of a rare thing to see it. And the moon was setting so it looked unusually large in the sky. It was a rather quick mover though. It took about 15 minutes to able to view that eclipse. But what a beautiful sight? What a cool thing? Truly worth getting up early for on a Saturday morning, right, don't you think?
[Lemon:] No. Yes. Oh, yes.
[Jeras:] Come on.
[Lemon:] I love it.
[Jeras:] All right. Let's take a look at a couple of weather headlines.
[Lemon:] We are in this studio
[Jeras:] We're not complaining.
[Lemon:] Not complaining. I feel like we are back in local news. Live, local, late breaking.
[Jeras:] Yes, My office is right down the hall, and
[Lemon:] I can't even sneeze or ask someone for anything, because you are right here.
[Jeras:] I know, but isn't that kind of nice?
[Lemon:] We are in a temporary studio, by the way.
[Jeras:] We could almost hold hands.
[Lemon:] Yes. Yes. take two boomers, both out of work, add in love of food, and have you a career reinvention. In this week's "Smart is the New Rich," Christine Romans takes a look at starting over and starting a business after 50.
[Rid Francisco, Lizbeth Lane Cuisines:] Eating is a very emotional thing.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Correspondent:] Now a livelihood for Rid Francisco and Michael Dernoga.
[Francisco:] Really, really good.
[Romans:] Almost two years ago the friend and next-door neighbors cooked up Lizbeth Lane Cuisines, a line of all-natural, gluten-free simmer cooking sauces.
[Michael Dernoga, Lizbeth Lane Cuisines:] These are sauces that we make on a regular basis.
[Romans:] In 2008, Rig's advertising business tanked.
[Francisco:] When the phone stopped ringing, I knew to do something quick.
[Romans:] When Michael lost his job in health care management, he found inspiration from his 12-year-old daughter.
[Dernoga:] She said, so, Dad, what is to you really like to do? And out of those conversations, was, you know, my love with food.
[Romans:] Neighbors and foodies, together with 60 years of work experience, they named their new company, after the street where it all began.
[Dernoga:] Being two 50-something-year-old guys, we're not afraid to admit that we don't know.
[Francisco:] It was exciting but it was also a little terrifying because of the age. At the time, I was 58 years old. And to reinvent yourself at that age is a pretty drastic thing to do. But I knew if we stuck with it, that it had a possibility of really working.
[Romans:] Rid does the design, ads and labels. Michael handles operations.
[Dernoga:] I'm sort of the suit, and Rid is kind of this creative guy.
[Romans:] And it is about profit and principle. They ship their sauce using handicrafters. It is non-profit organization giving jobs to people with barriers. Rid's step-son, Rob, works there.
[Francisco:] There are a lot of parents out there who have special needs children, who lay awake at night wondering, when it gets out of school, what are we going to do with him? And this a place like handicraft gives them a wonderful opportunity to have a responsible nine-to-five job.
[Romans:] Now with 50 stores in 16 states, their boomer reboot is working.
[Francisco:] If we started this right out of college, you know, in our late 20s or early 30s, it probably would have been much tougher.
[Dernoga:] It's so totally different than a nine-to-five job. I've done both and I know where I want to be, and I'm where I want to be.
[Romans:] Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Newt Gingrich takes a huge gamble on immigration, separating himself from the GOP pack at this week's presidential debate. And all of the candidates came out swinging at the TSA. How do they propose securing U.S. airports? Plus, one of the view gaffs of the debate involving Herman Cain and me, the little guy. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in "The Situation Room." It was the 11th major face-off among the candidates but this week's CNN Republican Presidential Debate focused in on national security. I moderated the contest at historic Constitution Hall right here in Washington, D.C. And among the many noteworthy exchanges was this one, in which Newt Gingrich, a front-runner right now, advocated what many conservatives clearly don't like amnesty.
[Newt Gingrich, , Former Speaker Of The House & Presidential Candidate:] I think that we ought to have an H-1 visa that goes with every graduate degree in math, science and engineering so that people say here.
[Rep. Michelle Bachmann, , Minnesota & Presidential Candidate:] I don't think we should make 11 million workers who are here illegally legal.
[Mitt Romney, , Former Massachusetts Governor & Presidential Candidate:] Amnesty is a magnet. When we have had in the past programs that have said that if people that came illegally can stay legally for the rest of their life, that encourages more people to come here illegally. The right course for our immigration system is to say we welcome people who want to come here legally. We're going to have a system that makes that easier and more transparent. But to make sure we're able to bring in the best and brightest and by the way, I agree with the speaker in terms of I would staple a green card to the diploma to anybody that has a math, science, masters, PhD. We want those brains in the country. But in order to bring people legally we have to stop illegal immigration.
[Rick Perry, , Governor Of Texas & Presidential Candidate:] The real issue is securing that border. This conversation is not ever going to end until we get the border secure.
[Blitzer:] The Republican candidates revealing their divisions over illegal immigration. Let's take a closer look. Joining us, our CNN chief political analyst, Gloria Borger; and our senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. I thought it took guts for Newt Gingrich, with a Republican group, with Republican caucuses and primaries only weeks away, to take a stand like that in favor of allowing some millions of illegal immigrations to say in the United States legally.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] He used the word humane and said serious people do not want to deport 12 million people who have been in this country for some time. Immigration, the question of immigration has been the quick sand for Republican political candidates. You saw it with Governor Perry, who called his colleagues heartless if they didn't agree with him on his version of the Dream Act.
[Blitzer:] And it hurt him.
[Borger:] And it hurt him. I think Newt Gingrich I don't know if you agree was a little more artful. He didn't call his colleagues heartless but said it's humane to let people to stay here. How affects him in a state like Iowa remains to be seen.
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] The big gamble for Gingrich in the primary, a big gamble for Mitt Romney in the way that he responded, further digging in if he gets to the general election. Gingrich last night reminded me of George W. Bush as a candidate in 2000. I remember one town hall meeting in South Carolina where he talked about moms and dads that come across the border to make a better life for their kids. Very different language than they hear now from Republican candidates. There is a question, the rise Gingrich's rise has primarily been fueled by Tea Party activists. That's where he's gained the most in the polls. These are voters who are unhappy with the pace of racial change in the country and also, in many cases, concerned about illegal immigration. There's a risk there. Romney took a risk too in terms of, if he gets a nomination, his ability to harvest economic discontent among Hispanics, which is real.
[Borger:] Yes. And Michele Bachmann went after Newt Gingrich immediately saying it was amnesty, clearly trying to get his voters back. When I asked Newt Gingrich after the debate about whether this has hurt the Republican Party with his panic voters, he said, absolutely, but with all immigrants not just Hispanics. This is a problem the Republican Party has.
[Blitzer:] It is clear to me, in a general election, what Newt Gingrich is saying, that you point out, that can help him.
[Brownstein:] Yes.
[Borger:] Sure.
[Blitzer:] In a Republican contest, it probably won't necessary help him. Is it too far fetched to think, given the polls where he stands right now, Newt Gingrich, he's already looking ahead beyond the Republican contests?
[Borger:] Maybe, but probably not. I don't think so. I don't think so.
[Brownstein:] This is classic, Newt.
[Borger:] Yes.
[Brownstein:] One thing that's interesting about the debate, Wolf, is I think Americans today saw the Newt Gingrich we both covered in the '80s and '90s who was almost imperial in intellectual self-confidence and radiated the sense that he was the one who had the long-term vision. I see myself as transformative figure, he said back then. That's the moment when he in most in that expansive mode that he is the most likely to say something that is not pre programmed that can be rhetorically flamboyant. But I think he did a much better job, as you suggesting, of explaining his position than Rick Perry did. The "National Review" editorialized in favor of him after the debate. Even if you polled Republicans, most would say it's unrealistic to deport 12 million people and you have to make some decisions.
[Blitzer:] I was surprised how tough and hard Mitt Romney came down on him, saying this is a magnet.
[Borger:] Sure
[Blitzer:] You're going to just further encourage illegal immigration. You have to get rid of these so-called
[Borger:] Mitt Romney has to try to run to the right of Newt Gingrich. It is the conservatives that are most skeptical about Mitt Romney. Any time he has an opportunity to run to the right of Newt, he will do it, and to the right of Rick Perry. The interesting thing is Perry couldn't take on Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich is Newt Gingrich. He'll surprise you and you never know which Newt Gingrich is going to show up. Will it be the intellectual Newt Gingrich with lots of ideas, kind of unafraid, or will it be the sour, nastier Newt Gingrich that is not likeable. I think the first Newt Gingrich was at your debate last night.
[Blitzer:] Certainly, he surprised all of us, given where he was over the summer. Everyone though his campaign, as it was beginning, was already over. All of a sudden, new polls show he's right in the thick of things.
[Brownstein:] It's testament of the power of these debates
[Blitzer:] Yes
[Brownstein:] and the way it's changing the way you run for president. overwhelming everything else.
[Blitzer:] We'll see if this last debate winds up helping or hurting them. Guys, don't go too far away. We have lots to discuss. And the candidates were united in slamming the TSA. Some calling for profiling of Muslims? Also, a sharp clash over the U.S. military position in Afghanistan.

[Harris:] L.A. residents, furious over the police shooting of a Guatemalan laborer, gave the police chief an real earful last night at a town hall meeting. KCAL's Serene Branson reports.
[Serene Branson, Kcal-tv Correspondent:] Minutes into the meeting, the crowd booed LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and chanted "justice." Guatemalan native Manuel Jamines was fatally shot Sunday afternoon at 6th and Union Avenue. Police say he was drunk and threatening officers and women with this knife. And when he didn't obey commands to drop it, a bike officer fired. Chief Beck read what he said was a woman's statement to police.
[Chief Charlie Beck, Los Angeles Police:] She referred to the officers as her angels that descended from heaven and she said and she said that the officers saved her life.
[Unidentified Female:] I know Mr. Jamines should not have had a knife, but Coparti Hernandez should not have had a gun and should never have one again. Why haven't you even suspended him?
[Branson:] A man claiming to be Jamines' relative spoke in Spanish.
[Unidentified Male:] The question is, why did they have to shoot him instead of just disarm him?
[Beck:] We don't teach police officers to take knives away from people.
[Branson:] Jose Larrios claimed the officer was known in the community.
[Jose Felix Larrios, Westlake District Resident:] I'm very angry because the officer that killed Manuel, the people is the officer is very bad person. Very bad.
[Branson:] Why?
[Larrios:] That's every day. He every day he working in the area. Many incidents, him.
[Branson:] The past two nights, tensions escalated in the streets. Officers in riot gear kept a rowdy and destructive crowd under control. They hurled bottles, set dumpster fires and charged LAPD's Rampart Station.
[Unidentified Male:] You guys need to stop portraying my people like we're the ones causing all the ruckus around this community because there's a lot of people that are just waiting for an opportunity to erupt so they can start another L.A. riot.
[Beck:] I promise you a fair and transparent investigation. While that investigation continues, we have peace in our streets.
[Harris:] OK, that was Serene Branson from CNN affiliate KCAL with that report. And just in, a programming note, tomorrow, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, we're expecting President Obama to hold a live news conference. And, of course, we will bring that to you live. That's tomorrow, 11:00 a.m. Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] Loved the watermelon thing you do. I love, Tony, that once in a while we can actually just get away from the news for a second.
[Harris:] Yes.
[Velshi:] Good to see you. Have yourself a good afternoon, Tony Harris.

[Anna Coren:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. Hello. I'm Anna Coren, in Hong Kong. We begin in China, where stories of torture and abuse are emerging after the dramatic downfall of a man tipped to be one of the country's future leaders. Using social media to battle famine, as UNICEF tries to get help for a region of Africa struggling with drought. And why this Israeli football team from a tiny town could soon be facing European giants like Barcelona. Well, China's political system continues to feel the aftershocks of a scandal in Chongqing. You may remember this man, Bo Xilai, was suddenly removed from his position as the city's Communist Party chief. Although Bo had been tipped to become one of the country's top leaders during this year's transition, he has not been seen since he was sacked. No one is saying why. But Bo's critics are talking. And as Stan Grant reports, some of their stories are horrific.
[Stan Grant, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] The man you'll see here is dead. He was executed in China in 2010, convicted of murder and running a criminal gang. But on death row, Fan Qihang recorded this testimony. His lawyer made this video in 2009 as part of a campaign to save his client's life. In recent days, posting it online and giving a copy to CNN. On the tape, Fan claimed he was beaten by police and forced into a confession.
[Fan Qihang, On Death Row In China:] They tortured me every day. For half the year I was forced to sit on an iron chair every day. They call it the interrogation chair. They put fetters on me weighing 24 kilograms and confined me to the chair.
[Grant:] These are images of Fan used to support his claims. They show bruise marks around his hands and arms. Another shows how Fan bit off part of his tongue. He says an attempt to bleed to death.
[Fan:] So the relentless torture really made me want to die. I tried to commit suicide. I couldn't take it anymore.
[Grant:] Fan said he was strung up with both hands behind his back, tied to an iron bar. He said he would go days without sleep or food, the handcuffs cutting into this skin.
[Fan:] Last time they tried to open the handcuffs, there was blood and puss all over them. It took them more than an hour to separate from my flesh. I'm still shaking.
[Grant:] So why this video coming out now? Well, Fan Qihang was arrested as part of an anti-crime crackdown by ousted Communist Party official Bo Xilai. Bo's sacking last month has sparked a mystery that has captivated China. He's made his name as party chief of Chongqing, a massive metropolis of more than 30 million people in southwestern China. Bo targeted gangs and corruption, but his critics say he used the anti-crime campaign to rub out enemies and rivals. "Their barbaric kind of law enforcement, or, rather, their trampling of the law," he says, "was against everything our modern civilization stands for and the development of the rule of law." Li Zhuang is another who claims he was targeted by Bo Xilai. He's a lawyer. He's not connected to the Fan case, but says, like Fan, he was also tortured. Li spent 18 months in prison. He says police beat him into confessing to falsifying evidence. Now he is finally free to talk, even on normally heavily state-censored Chinese media. He vividly describes being tied to a chair and his hands bound above his head for several days and nights. He says police tortured one of his own clients, an alleged gang leader, into testifying against him. "He eventually soiled himself," he says. "His interrogators ordered him to remove the feces on the floor with his bare hands and use his own shorts to clean up, then they hung him up naked." Getting tough on crime was supposed to be the making of Bo Xilai. In fact, it's led to the exact opposite. In yet another twist, it's Bo's own former police chief, the man he entrusted to carry out the crime crackdown, who was led to Bo's undoing. Now, the top cop split with his boss, seeking refuge in an American consulate, purportedly fearing for his life. When the police chief voluntarily left the consulate, he disappeared. [voice-over]: Bo Xilai has also vanished. No one's heard from him. Now his critics seemingly have free reign to attack Bo. The iron hand of the Chinese state apparently turning on one of its own. The release of this video seemingly designed to further smear Bo Xilai, but it won't help Fan Qihang. The man Bo locked up is dead. Breaking down on the video, his last words were how the torture marks would haunt him forever. Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.
[Coren:] Well, let's now turn our attention to Syria. And the Syrian government is promising to pull its soldiers and heavy weapons out of its cities by April 10th. But, in the meantime, the fighting continues and witnesses say it's some of the most intense yet. Heavy shelling is reported in several northern Syrian provinces, where opposition fighters are battling government troops. Anti-government activists say helicopters even fired on civilians and at least four people have been killed. And in this chilling amateur video from the suburb of Damascus, soldiers on a rooftop appear to be firing at civilians and then turning to the camera and smiling. Well, CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video. Well, some members of the U.N. Security Council worry Syria's Bashar al- Assad regime will use the days before the April 10th deadline to crack down even more violently. Mohammed Jamjoom is monitoring developments from our bureau in Abu Dhabi and joins us now. And Mohammed, we could potentially see so much bloodshed in the next seven days, couldn't we?
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn International Correspondent:] That's the concern right now, Anna. Despite the pledges by Syria that they will begin withdrawing armed forces from population centers, what we're hearing today from opposition activists is that, in fact, fighting and clashes have intensified, specifically in the Damascus countryside. We've had reports of the military reaching Zabadani. Also, Daraa, clashes between Free Syrian Army fighters are reported, and the Syrian Army. And especially in the northern province, in Idlib, on the border with Turkey, the cities of Binish, Taskanaz and Tahoum. These are all opposition strongholds. We've heard, especially Binish, that it's come under heavy, heavy shelling today, that there have been helicopters hovering above, sometimes shooting at people, civilians trying to flee. They're saying these are intimidation tactics, that they're trying to specifically go after Free Syrian Army elements and resistance fighters and clear them from those towns. So the concern right now, even though there have been these pledges, even though there is some renewed hope because of the Kofi Annan six-point plan and the fact that the Syrians have agreed to it, how much time will this continue to go on? And the concern is before April 10th. They're saying that all these all these forces are supposed to be withdrawn by April 10th, but between now and April 10th, what more will happen? A few other new developments to talk to you about. We just spoke from the spokesperson for Kofi Annan that there's an advance U.N. team that is going to Syria, that they should be arriving within the next 48 hours, and that this advance team is going to discuss the eventual deployment of a U.N. monitoring force to make sure that the agreement is implemented Anna.
[Coren:] Mohammed, you speak about this renewed optimism and hope, but there's a great deal of skepticism at the U.N. and within the international community that Bashar al-Assad's regime will actually honor this agreement. What will happen? What will be the response if Bashar al-Assad does not actually agree to this deadline?
[Jamjoom:] That's what everybody is trying to find out right now, Anna. Despite the fact that you had the Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul, despite the fact that you have this six-point peace plan and initiative by Kofi Annan, there is so much skepticism. There was a little bit of a ray of hope when the plan was agreed to, but there is so much skepticism as well. People do not believe that Bashar al- Assad will adhere to these commitments. There have been many times in the past, whether it's the Arab League, the U.N., that he has indicated that they will agree, only to continue the crackdown that's been going on in Syria. This crackdown has been going on, this brutal crackdown, for more than a year, and the concern is, what can the international community do? Even if they send in a U.N. monitoring force, what will that mean? There are so many questions right now. Every time a monitoring force or body has gone in to try to make sure that a plan is being implemented, it seems to have ended in failure. And the concern is right now, even if the U.N. sends in a team, will this plan actually be implemented? Will the al- Assad regime stick to its commitment? Will there be a cease-fire? We've also heard today that the International Committee of the Red Cross, their president is in Syria, that he's trying to make sure that they have access to areas. But whether or not the president of the Red Cross will be able to go to these areas himself, we just don't know at this time Anna.
[Coren:] The world will certainly be watching. Mohammed Jamjoom, joining us from Abu Dhabi. Thank you for that update. Well, held captive for more than a decade, 10 hostages were released from the Colombian jungle as peace talks progressed to end one of the world's longest insurgencies. Well, the left-wing guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia gave up their captives after talks to end a war with the Colombian government that began in the 1960s. Rafael Romo has more.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Latin Affairs Editor:] They were held in the jungle for more than a decade, living in harsh conditions that included being chained to trees and enduring torrential rains and a blistering sun. But 10 members of the Colombian Security Forces are now free men, spending time with their families in more than a decade. The hostages were liberated at an undisclosed location in the Colombian jungle, where they were released to a humanitarian mission led by the International Red Cross, the Brazilian Air Force, and former Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba. They were then flown to the city of Villavicencio in the Colombian province of Meta, where they were greeted by their families. Some of the hostages had been held captive for 14 years. It was back in December, and then again in January, that the FARC had announced they would liberate the last group of soldiers and police officers without specifying a date or a location. Speaking after the liberation of the hostages, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said this is an important step taken by the guerrilla, but not enough to put an end to the conflict.
[Pres. Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia:] When we finally reached a moment in which the government determined that there are enough conditions and guarantees for the peace process to begin, the country will know it. In the meantime, everything said on this issue is just speculation.
[Romo:] Kidnapping government forces and civilians has been a key strategy of the rebel group in its war with the Colombian government since the 1960s. At one point, the Marxist guerrilla group kidnapped a presidential candidate in Colombia, but the FARC announced last month they were putting an end to the practice of kidnapping people for money. Now the focus shifts to the estimated 400 civilians who are still captive. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
[Coren:] We want to show you some of the joyful moments when the hostages arrived. Well, here you can see one man walking with his arm around a smiling medic. The other has a flag draped around him the Colombian flag, of course. Well, he later jumped up and down and blew a kiss to the crowd. And these two are accompanied by a small animal. Well, it looks like a pig, but it may also be what's called a pickering. Others reportedly brought back a monkey and two small birds. Well, all are certainly happy to be home. Coming up on NEWS STREAM, we're on the campaign trail in the United States, where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is aiming for a triple victory in the latest round of primaries. And Maryland is gripped by a mystery. Who's the real winner of the Mega Millions lottery? A lot of people are going to great lengths to find out. And fighting stereotypes in Afghanistan. Meet the Afghan women's Olympic boxing team on the road to London. That's ahead here on CNN.

[Foster:] Now what started 21 days ago as Occupy Wall Street is now becoming occupy everywhere. You're looking at Occupy Philadelphia, a demonstration there today. Some of these protesters camped out outside city hall last night. The leaderless movement says it won't tolerate the greed and corruption of America's richest 1 percent. The movement is spreading across the country. Protesters are also taking their message to the White House, demanding that the government represent the 99 percent, not the 1 percent, as Andrew Spencer reports, the movement's message is getting louder.
[Andrew Spencer, Cnn Correspondent:] The protests that started on Wall Street are now flooding Main Street. New ones are popping up just about everywhere, including this one in Philadelphia.
[Unidentified Female:] We're here to say that we matter, we have a voice, we're not powerless.
[Spencer:] Anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of people are showing up in cities from coast to coast to protest a variety of issues, corporate greed among them.
[Eleanor Walker, Protester:] It's time for the people to wake up and realize that we do have power.
[Unidentified Female:] That's right.
[Walker:] We've got power.
[Unidentified Female:] Yes!
[Walker:] And we can take back our power from these greedy politicians and these corporations.
[Spencer:] There have been clashes between police and protesters in New York, along with arrests, but most of the rallies have been peaceful and protesters say they want the government to start looking out for the little guy.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm not expecting miracles but I'm expecting something.
[Spencer:] Their message has even reached the White House.
[Joseph Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] The core is the American people do not think the system is fair or on the level. That is the core of what you're seeing on Wall Street.
[Spencer:] There has been a lot of anger, but no clear demand. Still, protesters say they want their voices heard and they have no plans of stopping their campaign any time soon. I'm Andrew Spencer reporting.
[Foster:] Now, as you've seen in our U.S. reporting, the protests are taking place near Wall Street in New York. But people around the world are picking up on the idea and want "Occupy" demonstrations to go global, actually, on October the 15th. This Facebook page, Occupy London, is gaining followers pretty fast. And this page in Australia is also taking on the "Occupy" mantra, as you can see. We've posted a story on our Facebook page, as well, looking at the places using social media to plan protests. And that's all at Facebook.comcnnquest. Right now, though, we're going to get the weather from Guillermo. He's going to tell us what those demonstrations are sort of what are the conditions they're going to be in around the world as they they hit the streets.
[Guillermo Arduino, Ats Meteorologist:] The demonstrators must be very happy in the States. The weather is gorgeous. Now I wonder how you like the change. And this is a question that I'm putting to you, Max. how do you like the change in Europe? What did you see?
[Foster:] Well, it's been very strange, hasn't it, because it's extremely hot and within a few days, it got into autumn and all the leaves were falling off.
[Arduino:] I think...
[Foster:] And that's the truth.
[Arduino:] I think...
[Foster:] I like it because it it's sunny but it's chilly.
[Arduino:] Well, I think it's getting that way and it's going to be quite dramatic. Perhaps this weekend we will see moderate conditions in England, in in Britain and Ireland. But elsewhere, you see, especially Central and Eastern Europe is where we see the big change. So temps are dropping down. They're going down big time and quickly. We are talking about 15 degrees below what we saw before. London, in the last 24 hours, didn't see any change, because a big change came before. But try to convince those in Poland, in the Czech Republic, in Hungary, in Austria, into the Balkan Peninsula, too, and Northern Italy of the change, because that's quite significant. A 9 degree change in Munich, so for the worse, because it's cooling down. And along with that, we get the winds, and also, we get the rain and in some instances, some snow. So we are seeing a big change right now. And I have pinpointed a couple of places Wendelstein in Germany, 102 kilometers per hour. So the temperature feels totally different when we have that. And try to drive along a highway at 200 kilometers per hour with those winds. Sisco in Corsica, 144, even worse. And 111 in Chasseral in Switzerland. So we obviously see a difference compared to what we have seen lately in Europe that was fantastic, especially those tourists who are lucky enough to get a break and see different conditions from the norm. And look at here, the comparison between Thursday and Friday. So Vienna, Munich, Prague and Zurich as an example. And you see that the change is quite dramatic. So the '20s are long gone. Also, a big change coming into Turkey. We have seen and we still see nice conditions. The front is going to arrive there and it's going to bring some blustery conditions. And the change will come, also, with different temperatures. So it's a matter of time, two days or so, and we get we'll get to it. And if you are planning to fly out or in on Saturday, pay attention to these airports. Nothing really significant, but you may have some issues because of the winds, especially, and also some rain showers, affecting even Spain, where we see a change in temperatures. But I said that in the United States, things are much, much nicer. We have welcome rain in Texas after the fire situation that is really devastating. And we will see significant accumulations, especially in the north. If you're coming to Miami, you will see some rain, as well, Miami, all the way up into Daytona Beach, for example, even in South Carolina, you will see that. But it's much more pleasant, Max, in the United States, where temperatures way above the 20s. Dallas at twee, Atlanta at 24. New York is very nice, at 18.
[Foster:] Enjoy, Guillermo.
[Arduino:] Thank you.
[Foster:] Twenty-four your thank you. The U.S. Justice Department, meanwhile, wants a federal appeals court to block Alabama's tough new immigration law. Several civil rights groups are fighting the law, too. And as for the farmers affected by it, well, they say it puts their livelihoods on the line. Here's Rafael Romo.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Senior Latin American Affairs Editor:] It was supposed to be an informational meeting, but the conversation quickly heated up.
[Unidentified Male:] What is your answer to our problem?
[Scott Beason , Alabama State Senate:] I don't think there is an answer for the short term.
[Unidentified Male:] Well, so, we go broke while...
[Beason:] I said the
[Unidentified Male:] you're sitting there.
[Romo:] These farmers in Alabama say they're facing a crisis. Their fruits and vegetables are rotting in the fields because there aren't enough farm workers. They say that a law that cracks down on illegal immigration has scared away the Hispanic immigrants they once relied on.
[Frank Mcgee, Alex Cantos Fruit Company:] After we did everything we could do to replace them, nobody nobody wants the jobs. That is a misconception.
[Lana Boatwright, Husband Is Fourth Generation Farmer:] Basically, this law is shutting us down. And that's the money that we live on.
[Romo:] Listening to their concerns is Alabama state senator, Scott Beason, the Republican who wrote the immigration law.
[Beason:] I don't think you can write it to say agriculture is exempted or anything like that. It either has to be you're going to decide what you're going to do with the illegal aliens that are in the state are you going to make it easy for them to stay here or not easy for them to stay here. And my position is to stay with the law that we have.
[Romo:] Farmers in Georgia, where a similar immigration law was approved, reported they were 11,000 workers short over the summer. To bridge the gap, state officials had felony probationers work at the farms. But the 10 hour days in 90 degree heat drove most of them away. In Alabama, farmers are making desperate efforts to replace the Hispanic migrant workers who left, including offering to increase pay. But they've had little success. For decades, Giuseppe Peturis and his family have relied on migrant labor at their farm.
[Giuseppe Peturis, Alabama Farmer:] The Americans are not going to get out in the heat and work. They're not going to bend their back all day long. And they're not going to work they're not as hard of workers as Hispanics.
[Foster:] Well, there you are. That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Max Foster in London. Thank you for watching. Have a good weekend. "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" is up for you next.

[Whitfield:] The folks in Denver, Colorado, they know blizzards, but I don't know, this time of year in November. Take a look at these pictures right there, pretty severe. Powerful winds combined with that heavy snow making travel pretty treacherous and, in fact, they're experiencing near hurricane-force winds, something like 70 miles per hour. And the roads are very icy, so while a lot of folks are dreaming of going to the ski resorts to get in some early skiing.
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] Don't do it today.
[Whitfield:] You wouldn't want to be on those roads because look at this. This is what happens. A lot of folks have gotten into pretty nasty trouble there. Jacqui Jeras, how long is this going to last? Is this one of those quickie blizzards or it's going to hang around for a while?
[Jeras:] Well, you know, they've dealt with this much of the day yesterday and today it's still going on. It kind of came in two separate waves. You mentioned just how bad the travel is. Take a look at this. This is I-70. This is near Loveland Pass. Loveland Pass is closed, you can't get through there. There have been a number of accidents. You can see how slowly traffic is moving and roads are ice and snow covered. So it's really a bad deal. Those winds that Fredricka mentioned, beyond hurricane force, at least beyond Category 1, to 115 miles reported in the Frisco area. So the big story is really, this storm, which is going to be pulling out of the Rockies. There's a great difference between pressures here and that's why the wind is strong and really the wind is the key to this storm and why it's making things so treacherous for all those folks. Now we do have blizzard warnings in effect, it's not Denver, it's west of here. It's on up into the high country, and when all is said and done, we're talking one to two feet of snow in the highest elevations. This storm system is going to head eastward for tomorrow, Fredricka, and we'll be watching it from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast for showers and thundershowers, not the snow.
[Whitfield:] OK. All right, that's good. All right, thanks so much, Jacqui.
[Jeras:] Sure.
[Whitfield:] All right, well, take a look at this. This is the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant in Japan. Reporters got an up close and personal look at it. We'll show you some other pictures when we come right back.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening, everyone. It is a very sad moment anywhere anyone has an iMac, an iPhone or an iPad, sad anywhere anyone remembers the first time they saw "Toy Story" or put Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in their coat pocket, or unwrapped their first Apple II back when a computer was that thing with paper punch cards at the office. In short, it is a sad moment just about everywhere tonight. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has died. He was 56 years old. He had been in ill health for quite some time, having battled pancreatic cancer and the complications of it for years. Earlier tonight, the family released a statement. It reads in part: "Steve died peacefully today surrounded by his family. In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary. In his private life, he cherished his family. We are thankful to the many people who shared their wishes and prayers during the last year of Steve's illness." All around the world and all around the Web, tributes have been pouring in all night for the man who's been called Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Willy Wonka and P.T. Barnum all wrapped up in one. From President Obama tonight: "The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to Steve's wife, Laurene, his family and all those who loved him." From partner and adversary and partner again Bill Gates: "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely." The tributes are pouring in on Twitter as well, so many that the service has been jammed on and off throughout the evening. Throughout the hour tonight we will be talking to a lot of people who can fill in the picture of what Steve Jobs would likely have called an insanely great life. But we begin tonight with the one person who was there at the very beginning, Steve Jobs' partner in the creation of Apple Computer, Steve Wozniak. He joins us now by phone. Steve, my condolences to you. Obviously, you have lost an old friend. What went through your mind tonight when you heard the news?
[Steve Wozniak, Co-founder, Apple:] Hi, Anderson. Thanks for your feelings. I'm a little bit like awestruck, just dumbfounded. I can't put my mind into gear, can't do things. It's kind of like when John Lennon died or JFK. I don't think hardly anybody else, maybe a Martin Luther King. It's sort of like, oh, you're just like, there's a big hole left in you. And it's very hard to go back and touch on all the reflect on all the feelings, what it means. And you have already said what he did. Everyone knows what he did. How much life he brought to the world. And I think if he had a goal, he certainly far, far overachieved any goals he had from the start of things.
[Cooper:] What do you think it was that drove him?
[Wozniak:] ... admirable life. And you know what, I think that Steve Jobs would have had hopes and visions for the future. And he set up Apple Computer really to continue on in his dreams. And I hope that Apple always has, finds great leaders like him.
[Cooper:] What do you think it was that drove him? Because, you know, some people create things, but time after time after time, he changed the way we think about technology and the way we interact with it. He was constantly innovating. What was the drive?
[Wozniak:] A lot of young people that have big business successes have a lot of power to do things. And a lot of them just sort of keep going along with sort of the status quo and the way it is. And Steve really didn't. He's always developed new things and be ahead of the world, and essentially be sort of a number one in that way and just applied good thinking and the result of it is he made a lot of people happy. How many times can you remember products from a company that just made you happy every time you used them? When I grew up, maybe it was the television, nothing else. So I think that's why you say all the Twitter and the feeds and the e-mails and everything is just pouring in. So many people are just so thankful for the life that Steve Jobs largely brought us, you know, in the way he conducted Apple Computer.
[Cooper:] Can you tell us about those early days when you you first met you were both working at Hewlett-Packard, right?
[Wozniak:] Actually not. Steve had kind of a summer job as an intern there. I was working at Hewlett-Packard designing calculators. And we were just you know, that's what I really need time to think about, though, such important times, you know, the concerts you went to together, the times you stayed up all night, the times you talked about a project, something you might build. And I was kind of the big designerbuilder and Steve would be off in college and he would come and see something I developed and then we would go find ways to sell it. And he was always looking for ways to turn things into business. And so and he knew how to spot the good from the bad. So all the things so many things he left with me, impressions, values, ways that I try to do so many times, I try to think the way Steve Jobs would think, right from back in those early days. And it's just so, so, so much, so much. I mean, I'm just feeling everyone's life in the world right now is...
[Cooper:] Yes.
[Wozniak:] ... so much. You think of a lot of even political leaders, they don't have much positive effect on our lives, not in my opinion, you know, economists and this and that. But here is a guy that created tools that everyone in the world, billions of people, just love and feel happy about and good about. And the only times we ever say, oh, my gosh, a president really made a big difference in my life is because we're on their side politically and we can't even remember their name.
[Cooper:] What was it like when you you guys were literally from everything I have read working in a garage building the first personal computer. Did you know what you were about...
[Wozniak:] It's a little different from that. But we had a year in a garage where basically it means working out of your home because we had no money. That's one of the things that makes Steve very popular in people's eyes. A lot of people want to believe that just dreams and good thinking and taking the world somewhere else, and you did
[Cooper:] Did you know what it could become? Did you know how important what you were doing was or would be?
[Wozniak:] We felt it was unbelievably important, but we never could have envisioned it would grow to what it is today, that it would be such an important part of everyone's life in so many ways. Basically, the computer and all these follow-on products are ways of communication, enhancing communication between people. Even when you start out with just being able to print a document on a real printer, that's communication. And what we never saw, that everything in life that you used to do a different way, now you were going to be kind of sitting at a computer keyboard or iPad today or an iPhone and transacting your business of life. No, and we couldn't even see that you would ever be able to store a song in the amount of memory that would be in a computer. The early spark, the early spark, though, was just you take the technology of today, you kind of turn it into tomorrow's technology. And that's where we were at, and Steve was just always, always pushing for, can you do this, can you do that, can you do that, beyond what the engineer was really capable of doing. But you can get the engineers to say, yes, I can, yes, I can, and eventually it would get done.
[Cooper:] Did you know, too, that he would be such a good businessman? Did you know that he had it was beyond just being...
[Wozniak:] I don't think anyone that knew Steve way back in the early days would have said that. And even when he left Apple, departed Apple on sort of unfavorable terms for a while, I think when he came back, he really had improved as far as a businessman, understanding importance of operations and not just spending money like it's incident, but running a company like it's a company and making the right decisions. You can't sell something that doesn't do the right job so but, anyway, that's what he was. But everybody knows what his legacy is. Will it get replaced or not? Is there a hole that can't be replaced? You know, you sort of think of, like I mentioned, John Lennon dying. And, oh, my gosh, what will we do now? Where will we find another one?
[Cooper:] A lot of people tonight have been comparing him to basically sort of our time's Thomas Edison. Would you agree with that?
[Wozniak:] Thomas Edison was more the guy that was in the laboratory with the tools. So I think of other types of inventors in that category. Steve would be more with his mind being able to think and throw out ideas and inspire people and know what was possible and know who was telling him stuff that was really doable and what wasn't, good engineers. He was just a really good judge of people and humanity, the people using the products and the people building them, and so more almost on a psychological basis. And I don't think of Edison that way.
[Cooper:] It's interesting, because...
[Wozniak:] Steve was kind of like a lot more than that. It's very important that the person at the top of a company making technology products understand the technology, understand what the different low-level devices and technologies and chemistry and physics and what companies are making the components you make your products out of. You have to have a good understanding of that. And Steve did have a good understanding of the technology. He used to always say he wasn't a technologist. No, he didn't sit down and write the programs himself, but he could sure as heck apply the great management techniques to get the best out of any programmer they had. And they were the best in the world.
[Cooper:] He had studied calligraphy for a time, and the beauty of the products that he created is just extraordinary. And that was really important to him, wasn't it?
[Wozniak:] Well, the Macintosh was the first time that instead of having every character had a predefined little shape out of a few dots, it could be created like a picture, painted. Every single character of every word was painted. And that sort of fell in line a little bit along the lines that creativity was a good influence I mean I'm sorry calligraphy was a good influence on that in his background. And so was when he prepared our first ads when we were just two people in a garage, preparing the first ads for the Apple I and II. And he would go down and work with the lady that could bring up four lines of text on a screen and choose a few fonts, this idea of font. And his idea was you get influenced by these things at one point in your life and years later you turn them into something that is good and useful to people. And it's that kind of thinking that has kind of pervaded the company ever since.
[Cooper:] Well, Steve, again, I can't imagine what it's like for you tonight. And I just wanted to thank you very much for talking with us and sharing the Steve you knew with the world tonight. Thank you.
[Wozniak:] Well, I thank you, and I wish you a good night. I hope you sleep well.
[Cooper:] Thanks, Steve Wozniak.
[Wozniak:] Bye, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Bye-bye. When we come back, the creation of Apple and all the high points since then in pictures that are now part of history. I really want you to see this piece that we have put together, because it's extraordinary just to see all of the things that Steve Jobs has given to all of us. And you're going to hear Steve Jobs in his own words ahead tonight. The breaking news tonight: Apple's Steve Jobs has died. He was just 56 years old, had battled cancer for years. We're left though with his incredible legacy and his words. Take a few minutes and watch this.
[Steve Jobs, Co-founder, Apple:] Today, for the first time ever, I would like to let Macintosh speak for itself.
[Computer Voice:] Hello. I am Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag.
[Jobs:] We think a lot of them are going to get into the home. But we like to say they're going to get there through the garage door. People are going to bring them home over the weekend to work on something. Sunday morning, they are not going to be able to get their kids away from them and maybe someday they will even buy a second one to leave at home. The strangest thing about Apple is it hasn't had a good consumer product. Here's one of the best consumer brands in the world, and they haven't had a compelling product under $2,000. And the one we introduced today, the iMac, is incredibly sweet. So I think it is going to make a big difference. This $1,299 product is faster than the fastest Pentium II you can buy. You can go out and buy a 400 megahertz Pentium II and this thing smokes it. And so it's amazing. And the market has never had a consumer product this powerful and this cool-looking. What is iPod? iPod is an MP3 music player, has CD-quality music, and it plays all of the popular open formats of digital music. But the biggest thing about iPod is it holds 1,000 songs. Now, this is a quantum leap because for most people it's their entire music library. This is huge. The coolest thing about iPod is that whole your entire music library fits in your pocket. I have got a pocket right here. Now, this pocket's been the one that your iPod's gone in, traditionally. The iPod and the iPod Mini fit great in there. You ever wonder what this pocket's for? I have always wondered that. Well, now we know, because this is the new iPad Nano. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone, an iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. An iPod, a phone are you getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one device. And we are calling it iPhone. The question has arisen lately, is there room for a third category of device in the middle, something that's between a laptop and a smartphone? And, of course, we have pondered this question for years as well. The bar is pretty high. In order to really create a new category of devices, those devices are going to have to be far better at doing some key tasks. And we call it the iPad. And what this device does is extraordinary. You can browse the Web with it. It is the best browsing experience you have ever had. It's phenomenal to see a whole Web page right in front of you and you can manipulate with your fingers. It's unbelievably great, way better than a laptop, way better than a smartphone. For 2010, we're going to take the biggest leap since the original iPhone. And so today, today, we're introducing iPhone 4, the fourth-generation iPhone. Stop me if you have already seen this. Believe me, you ain't seen it. You have got to see this thing in person. It is one of the most beautiful designs you have ever seen. Hey, Johnny. I grew up here in the U.S. with "The Jetsons" and with "Star Trek" and communicators and just dreaming about this, you know, dreaming about video calling, and it's real now. Good morning. Thanks for coming. Thank you. Thank you. We're going to introduce today iPad 2, the second-generation iPad. It is an all-new design. It is not a tweaked design. It's not got marginal improvements. It's a completely new design. And the first thing is, it's dramatically faster. One of the most startling things about the iPad 2 is it is dramatically thinner, not a little bit thinner, a third thinner. And that is iPad 2. As always, I'd also like to thank everyone's families, because they support us and let us do what we love to do. So thank you very much to our extended families out there who make it possible for us to work our tails off making these great products for you.
[Cooper:] Steve Jobs, he has brought us all so much over the years. Dan Simon joins us, along with 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta, also Andy Serwer, managing editor of "Fortune," and on the phone, Ronald Wayne, Apple's third and sometimes forgotten co-founder. Sanjay, I just want to first talk to you about what Steve Jobs die of, pancreatic cancer?
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] Yes. He had a sort of variant. It was a type of cancer known as a neuroendocrine tumor. It's a tumor specifically of some of the cells in the pancreas that make various hormones like insulin, for example. You know, you saw that speech he gave at Stanford. He talked about when he was diagnosed they found a lesion in his pancreas. They thought it was an aggressive form of cancer. They did a biopsy. And he describes the doctors literally crying when they got the results back because it wasn't the most aggressive form of pancreatic cancer, but rather this neuroendocrine tumor. But the numbers are still tough even with this variant. With pancreatic cancer, one-year survival rate, Anderson, is about 20 percent, with a neuroendocrine tumor, five-year survival rate around 50 percent. So the odds were sort of stacked against him. But eight years later now, we're talking about, and he was high-functioning really the whole time. He really fought like crazy for eight years.
[Cooper:] Yes. The weight loss we saw, that was all part of this obviously.
[Gupta:] Yes, I think so, for a couple of reasons. One is just the cancer. Two is that the pancreas also controls your digestive enzymes, for example, your diet, and then the hormones from the pancreas as well can also cause the weight loss. He talked about he was somewhat vague about exactly what he had, but he did talk about this hormonal imbalance at one point, which was really what this is what he was describing.
[Cooper:] Ron, when was the first time you met Steve Jobs?
[Ronald Wayne, Co-founder, Apple:] At Atari, when we worked together. He was a consulting engineer for Atari. And I was the chief draftsman and product development engineer.
[Cooper:] I want to extend my condolences for the loss of your old friend. What are your thoughts tonight as you remember Steve Jobs?
[Wayne:] My memory of Steve Jobs was actually the roots of a man that we have all known from then to now, a person with a most focused intent on whatever it was that he wanted to accomplish. He dealt with the world as a wonderful and enjoyable plaything and tool that he could work with. And, of course, he had the mental capacity to organize, to keep things together, to organize people. And it was a talent that showed up then and was magnified as he continued with the development of the Apple corporation.
[Cooper:] What do you think it was and I have asked this question to a lot of people tonight. But I'm always fascinated by what drives people. Ronald, what do you think really drove Steve Jobs to just continually to continue to innovate and innovate and innovate?
[Wayne:] Excitement with the ideas that kept coming to him, with his view of the world and how he thought it fitted together and what could fit into it.
[Cooper:] Andy, you met him had on and off over the years, had some encounters, some run-ins, some good times. Your thoughts tonight?
[Andy Serwer, Managing Editor, "fortune":] Well, you know, this is a guy I mean, it's hard to overstate his importance to business, but not only business, Anderson, but also to culture and society, to our country. I mean, I don't think that's overstating. Is he one of the five most important people in America, one of the 10 most important? He's up there, just how he transformed how we communicate, how we use technology, how we watch movies, how we shop, how we look at products. And, you know, when you start to add all that up, it's the legacy of a pretty incredible and a pretty important guy. And I think about, you know, how he's changed technology and the technology business. And when he came back to Apple famously in 2000, this was a company that was at death's door, and it was just a little irritant to the other big technology companies. And then all of a sudden it starts to gain momentum with the introduction of the iMacs, and then the iPad, the iPhone, the iPod. And it starts to dominate and starts to take the lead on HP and Dell and Microsoft and Sony, which used to dominate the consumer electronics business. Remember the Walkman.
[Cooper:] I remember it well.
[Serwer:] They just totally got and they totally got blown out of the water. They dominated that business. Apple took over the whole thing.
[Cooper:] Dan Simon, you have been covering this for a long time. Your thoughts tonight.
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, I actually had a chance to meet Steve Jobs last summer after he unveiled the MacBook Air, the new MacBook Air. And I learned then at the time that he was no longer shaking hands, because I extended my hand. And he just said, nice to meet you. And I learned it was because he was taking anti-rejection drugs because he had a liver transplant in 2009. I guess the thing that stands out for me is this constant wave of innovation, you know, the personal computer, the Apple II, the iPod, the iPhone, iPad, 30 years of success. But I'll also tell you that I don't recall Steve Jobs actually doing an interview in the last five years. He rarely talked to reporters, at least on television. But the press just followed Apple, continues to follow Apple, unlike any other company we have ever seen. When he would hold these massive press conferences at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, it took on the vibe of a rock concert. People would stand in line overnight to get a good seat. And think of another CEO like that. I don't think you can.
[Cooper:] Yes. Andy, obviously, talking to you as well, but there's also going to be a book that Walter Isaacson has done with his cooperation, right?
[Serwer:] That's right. It's going to be coming out in November, and we are anxiously awaiting it because he cooperated with Walter. He wanted this to be a part of his legacy. And, you know, he told Walter that Walter could, you know, spend an amount of time, a certain amount of time with him, complete access. And Walter told Steve that he would tell his story, warts and all, and so it's going to be very interesting to see. And I know that Steve really wanted to see this book. And it's very, very sad that he won't be able to see the finished product. And Dan's right. I mean, his relationship with the press, of course, has had its ups and downs. He had all kinds of complicated relationships. He'd call people up on the phone and yell at them, myself included. But it was all about exercising power and trying to accomplish, you know, his vision, trying to make sure that he succeeded because he believed so much in his vision of the world of technology.
[Cooper:] Ronald, did he from the earliest days, was he convinced that his vision was the right one?
[Wayne:] I don't think he ever doubted it. Everything seemed so crystal-clear to him. It's almost as if he was out of place and time and could stand above the world and see what had been, what is, and what's coming. It was really quite amazing.
[Cooper:] What was I mean, did you know way back when you first met at Atari, did you know what he was capable of? Did you know that he would be such an excellent businessman, in addition to an innovator?
[Wayne:] Well, his sense of drive was obvious, and he was going to get to whenever he wanted to go. And that was paramount in his nature and character. But that was coupled with a monumental intelligence and, as I say, a huge foresight, so that when Wozniak built the personal computer circuit, which for Wozniak was a fun thing to do just for the sake of doing it, Jobs saw it immediately as the core product of an enterprise. And it was every effort that he could possibly make to make that happen, he did. And then, of course, that was just the beginning, because his ideas were unlimited. Every time he came to the solution of a problem, it was it was faced with another problem he had to find a solution to. He came up with a new design. As soon as he was finished he knew another would follow.
[Cooper:] How Ronald, how does somebody like he innovate? I mean, if he's not a programmer, I mean, does he say, "Oh, I want a tablet"? Or, I mean, how does the process actually work?
[Wayne:] I think he was principally a person of organization. He knew that there were certain skills that he didn't have. He got Wozniak to put the circuits together for the original computer. He recognized the skills in people and how to bring people together and to guide them in working together to achieve a common goal. That was a monumental skill that is not given to very many people.
[Cooper:] Yes.
[Wayne:] It was given to him.
[Cooper:] Ronald Wayne, again my condolences on the loss of your old friend. And I appreciate you being with us tonight. And Dan and Sanjay, Andy Serwer, thanks again. Stick around. Ahead, another look at Steve Jobs' remarkable impact, not only as an innovator but as an inspiring speaker. We're going to hear some really poignant words from his commencement speech at Stanford University in which he talks about death, next. Our breaking news tonight, Steve Jobs dead at the age of 56. He once recruited a top executive to Apple by asking him, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want to change the world?" Whether it came to products or words, Steve Jobs had the touch. That way that way with words held true over the years, including this moment speaking to graduates at his hometown university, Stanford.
[Steve Jobs, Founder Of Apple:] My third story is about death. When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like, "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me. And since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life, because almost everything all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked; there is no reason not to follow your heart. About a year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get me affairs in order, which is doctor's code for "prepare to die." It means to try and tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next ten years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your good-byes. I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening, I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach, into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying, because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery, and thankfully, I'm fine now. This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: no one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it's quite true. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
[Cooper:] Steve Jobs in 2005 speaking at Stanford. Not a university he graduated from. He didn't graduate from university. Sanjay, it's so poignant, obviously, to hear him talk about death and to hear back then when he thought he was fine.
[Gupta:] Yes. I listen to that, he had the operation. He had this tumor removed. He talked about the doctors literally crying when they saw the types of cells, because it was a variant, as he said, of pancreatic cancer. But even this variant, which is a which is called a neurodermal tumor, it's still a very difficult tumor to treat.
[Cooper:] And the pancreas does what? Because he in the speech admitted he didn't even know. And I have no idea.
[Gupta:] Which is something for him, because he knows seemingly everything. But it makes a lot of enzymes. It make the enzymes that helps digest your food. It also makes a lot of hormones including insulin, for example. So people who are diabetics, for example, have problems with their pancreas not making enough. It also in part can explain why someone is so wasted, loses so much weight because of that hormonal imbalance when people have problems with the pancreas. There's no doubt there's the very aggressive forms of pancreatic cancer where, Anderson, the numbers are terrible. They say the one- year survival rate for some of the most aggressive forms, 20 percent survival at one year. Just 4 percent at five years. So that's what it sounds like he thought he had. Again, he had a variant. But even with the variant, the numbers, it's rare, so the numbers are harder to come by, but 24 to 50 percent, 25 to 50 percent, they say five-year survival. So eight years ago he was diagnosed, back in 2003.
[Cooper:] I mean, to think what he accomplished from the age of 21 to 56. Fifty-six is what he was when he died. Thirty more years, who knows what he would have accomplished. Ali Velshi joins us now, as well. If you're just joining us, just it's hard to imagine what we have all lost because of his family's loss.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] Yes. You say it well, Anderson, because this isn't the normal thing that I talk about where a CEO has passed on, and what's the structure of the company going to look like? We know that Apple will be fine. "Fortune" did a piece on Tim Cook some time ago to indicate that he's a great strength in the company, and the creative value of Apple will continue. But there are very few companies in history that you can associate the name with everything that that company represents. And there are very few companies in the world where you can say envelope your life the way Apple does. Some of us don't have every product that Apple makes I'm not one of them. I think I have every product that they make but you have something. There was a time when with people invented devices so that you can carry your entire CD collection around on one device. Others did it, but Apple is the one that made everyone want it. He had a way of taking things that didn't exist and there wasn't even a need to be met and creating a way not to do it but to do it elegantly and in a way that everybody wanted.
[Cooper:] Well, elegantly. Andy Serwer you were talking about I mean, he dropped out of college and went back to a community college to take a calligraphy course, right?
[Serwer:] Well, he he was at Reed College in Oregon. And he studied calligraphy there, Anderson. And, you know, before that, the typing on a computer was just block those block letters. And he said to the programmers, "We're going to make fonts." And the programmers said, "What's a font?" And so, you know, now we all take that for granted. Just another thing. But you know, I was struck watching that Stanford video, and you were asking earlier, Anderson, what motivated him. And well, we saw that, in part, death motivated him. And as he got sicker and sicker and realized that his time was becoming less and less, he worked more and more feverishly to create more and to produce more and more. And over the last couple of years he really became very cognizant about passing his legacy on in terms of the company, and then working on a biography with Walter Isaacson that's coming out very, very soon, which will be interesting.
[Cooper:] Yes, it will be. We've got to take a quick break. Our coverage continues. We'll be right back. Our other breaking news, Sarah Palin, perhaps the biggest brand name in Republican Party politics is not repeat not running for president. That bus tour this summer through battleground states like New Hampshire, turns out maybe she was just there for the battlefields and maybe to sell books and get attention and raise money for SarahPAC, her political action committee. More than $1.6 million in the first half of the year, according to her last federal filing. Late today, the word came out first in a statement read on air by conservative radio host Mark Levin, then in a phone call from Governor Palin herself.
[Sarah Palin, Former Governor Of Alaska:] I am thankful that I believe I not being a candidate, really, you're unshackled, and you're allowed to be even more active. And I look forward to helping coordinate the strategies that will assist in replacing our president and retaking the Senate, maintaining the House, helping good constitutional conservatives be elected to the governors' seats around this nation.
[Cooper:] Governor Palin tonight. She's been keeping a low profile lately, which fueled speculation that a decision was coming, which she hinted at the outcome last week when she played up the hassles of running for president and seemed to downplay the office.
[Palin:] Is a title worth it? Is a title and is a campaign too shackling? Does that prohibit me from being out there, out of a box, not allowing handlers to shape me and to force my message to be what donors or what contributors or what political pundits want it to be?
[Cooper:] Pundits and titles aside, one factor in her decision may have been polling that shows the vast majority of Americans don't believe she has the presidential right stuff. The question: does she have the personal qualities a president should have? A whopping 70 percent said the answer is no. A big night. Let's start out with the latest from political reporter Peter Hamby. Peter, you've been talking to sources who know Palin. Any sense on how and when she actually came to this decision?
[Peter Hamby, Political Reporter:] Yes. A lot of calls into Palin world tonight were sent right to voice mail. But I did talk to one person who spoke to the family who said the statement is what it is, that she spent most of the summer in Wasilla, aside from those trips, as you said, the bus tour, trips to Iowa. She's been talking to her family in Iowa, and that's what it came down to, that this is a life-altering decision. But I can tell you that going back through the summer, they were looking at, can they raise the money to run for president? She never opened a presidential committee to raise the kind of money that you need. Can we put together an organization. A state like Iowa, that would have been crucial for a Palin candidacy, depends heavily on a caucus organization. They were looking at staff. And as you pointed out, poll numbers, two-thirds of Republicans just this week, according to "The Washington Post" "Washington Post" poll, said they didn't want her to run. Were those considerations? Probably. Palin's never really cared about, you know, things like that. She's always gone her own way. But the official line tonight out of Palin world is, at the end of the day, it came down to whether or not she wanted to put her family through this process, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Well, Peter, I want to bring in the rest of our political team we've gathered tonight: Roland Martin; former George W. Bush White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer; chief political analyst Gloria Borger; former Bachmann campaign manager Ed Rollins; and Dana Loesch, a Tea Party organizer in St. Louis and editor at BigJournalism.com. So Ari Fleischer, you never thought she was going to run?
[Ari Fleischer, Former White House Spokesman:] I never did. I don't really know anybody who did think she would get in. But now that she's not, you know, it's a good thing for the Republican field. It removes what would have been an element of chaos in the Republican Party and this presidential race. Actually, I do want to say one thing. Sarah Palin was the one and only reason that John McCain ever surged to a lead over Barack Obama, which he did when he announced Sarah Palin. And she wasn't able to sustain it. I think she crumbled quite a bit underneath the media glare and scrutiny of becoming a presidential and vice- presidential contender. But she did accomplish something tremendous in 2008 for a little while. And now she's unshackled; she's free. And I think we're all better that way, frankly.
[Cooper:] Ed, had she run and not done well, it would have been devastating for her status as a book seller, as a celebrity. This allows her to maintain that status.
[Ed Rollins, Republican Strategist:] For a while. I mean, obviously she's still a big draw. She's our personality, sort of like like a movie star. She can go raise a lot of money for candidates. No one is going to sit her down at the strategy table and say, gee, what should we do to go beat the president? But the bottom line is that she she will draw crowds. And for a period of time she'll still be you know, she didn't like handlers. I mean, the bottom line, she got picked in 20 minutes. She got thrown on an airplane with a full entourage ready to go. She never basically did well with that. So to get in and try and win multiple states is a very, very difficult task.
[Cooper:] Gloria, does does this have any real impact on the race right now?
[Borger:] No. I think, you know, in the short term I think everybody kind of discounted her. And they assumed that she wasn't running, and they went on with their business. I think there are some Republican candidates who would I think all of them, in fact, who would welcome her endorsement at some point, should she decide to give it. I can't imagine her doing it early on. But I can imagine her doing it some sometime late in the game for party unity. But we'll you know, we'll have to see. I think, in the end, she's still going to be influential. She'll be influential in House and Senate races and in getting out the vote for the Republican Party.
[Cooper:] Roland, do you have any doubt that she's going to be out on the campaign trail for well, obviously, for the nominee but for others before that?
[Roland Martin, Cnn Contributor:] Of course. I mean, they're all going to be vying for her support, frankly more so than Donald Trump. Look, Anderson, I thought the day she decided she wasn't going to run for president was the day she resigned as governor of Alaska. You don't leave the governor's office, OK, which is really your best shot to go into the presidency, by resigning and then saying, "Oh, I'm really unshackled. I get to travel the country." That to me, I just thought that made no sense whatsoever. I get the who deal, you want to do the reality show. You want to do a book. You want to travel. You want to make lots of money. But I thought, if you want to be a serious politician, you don't walk away in the middle of your first term when you're elected by the people. That was always going to hinder her. So it's no shock she chose not to run.
[Cooper:] Dana, are you disappointed? Do you think it was the right call?
[Dana Loesch, Tea Party Activist:] Well, I'm not disappointed. I think that what it does is it sort of confirms and sets who the GOP field is going to be going into the primary. I do think that Sarah Palin's ultimate power resides in her being a king maker. She had a pretty good record last election. And I think that that's going to be incredibly useful for Republicans, and it's going to do well the next time around. I think definitely the thing that everyone is going to be watching and what is either going to hurt her credibility or help her credibility is who she does endorse now. And I think now that the mystery of whether or not she is going to be running for president, now that that mystery has been removed, I think that she's going to be making even smarter endorsement choices. I think it's probably going to be even more difficult to get a Sarah Palin endorsement. I think it was a good choice that she made, because ultimately, I think her power is behind the scenes.
[Cooper:] Ed, where so her supporters go?
[Rollins:] Well, some will go to Perry. Some will go, maybe, to Bachmann. You know, some might go to Cain. Those are the and some may even go to Santorum. Those are the those are the four who sort of draw from the same constituency group she does. There's one role she can play. She can go out and be the leader of the Tea Party. The Tea Party deliberately has not had a leader, national leader. She's now free to basically take that role. They would certainly welcome her in many places. And she can be a strong voice and can help motivate them to get out and do the things they did in 2010.
[Cooper:] Well, it's going to be interesting, though, to see just how she contributes to the debate.
[Borger:] She says that she's unshackled. She's been critical of some of those Republican presidential candidates already. By "unshackled," does that mean that she can come out and criticize Mitt Romney, who could wind up to be the nominee, and transfer make the base less enthusiastic about him? Does she come out and start saying nice things about about Rick Perry, for example, who's challenging Mitt Romney? So so she's got to decide exactly how involved in this primary process she's going to get.
[Cooper:] Yes.
[Borger:] Because she can still pull some strings.
[Cooper:] Gloria, appreciate it. Ed Rollins, Dana Loesch, Ari Fleischer, Roland Martin, Peter, Gloria thanks very much.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn Correspondent:] First a "360 News & Business Bulletin." The anti-Wall Street protest in downtown Manhattan swelled to thousands today after liberal unions pledged their support to the fledgling government movement, I should say. The protesters are rallying against income inequality and corporate greed. A "360 Follow": More fallout from Fast and Furious, that botched gun-running operation we've been reporting on. The new boss at the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives today announced a major shake-up at the troubled agency, including 11 high-level staffing changes. An emotional day in the Michael Jackson death trial. Jurors heard a four-minute recording of the singer made just weeks before he died, describing his lost childhood and the pain he was in. He sounded as if he was in a drug-induced stupor. It's being billed as the world's cheapest computer, designed with students in mind. India's education ministry says it will begin producing an Internet-ready tablet that costs just $50. That's the latest. Now back to Anderson.
[Cooper:] Thanks for being with us tonight. More at the top of the hour.

[Costello:] Forty-one minutes past the hour, time to check our top stories. After almost 43 years behind bars, Louis Taylor is a free man. He was convicted for setting a fire at a hotel in Arizona that killed nearly 30 people. There's very little evidence against Taylor, and he has adamantly maintained his innocence for nearly half a century behind bars.
[Unidentified Female:] Sir, how does it feel to be out, sir, after 40- some years?
[Louis Taylor, Freed After Almost 43 Years In Prison:] It feels good to feel mother Earth under my feet free mother Earth. That's only part of the story. They don't know the whole story. Our story still out there, but it's unfortunate, the tale of two tragedies, the tiny hotel fire and me getting convicted for it.
[Costello:] He went to prison when he was 16 years old. Modern experts call the evidence against Taylor into question, but he accepted a deal for his release, and pleaded no contest to the charges. Taylor is now 59 years old. We're getting a new look at the sinkhole that took the life of a Florida man on February 28th. Ithat sink hole opened up under a home and swallowed Jeff Bush. He was sleeping in his bedroom. This video was shot by a government contract worker using a video camera on a pole. You can see how deep that sinkhole is. Bush's body was never recovered and the house had to be demolished. Jay-Z, adding another line to his resume. Sports agent. The entertainment mogul is launching a management company called Rock Nation Sports. First client? New York Yankee superstar Robinson Cano. Cano broke ties with longtime mega-agent Scott Boyer. Just ahead in the NEWSROOM, Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice captured on video abusing his players, yelling homophobic slurs. So why wasn't he fired? We'll talk about that.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Students from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, will return to class tomorrow. Their new school in the nearby town of Monroe has been renamed Sandy Hook. School officials discussed the transition about an hour ago.
[Janet Robinson, Newtown, Connecticut School Superintendent:] The teachers have met this morning. The parents of some of the children have been walking through and at other times we have an open house as they walk through today. The children are coming in. They're so excited to see their teachers and the students coming in complete a circle.
[Lemon:] The new Sandy Hook School will have a larger staff and parents are welcome to visit tomorrow. The school has been refurbished with desks, book cases, and other furniture in hopes of making the students more comfortable, returning to class after the tragic shooting just last month. Gun control is a huge topic after the Newtown shooting. The number of FBI background checks for gun purchases last month set a record 2.8 million background checks. Today, armed police officers watched over students returning to school in Marlboro, New Jersey. The armed cops are controversial and, remember, the NRA wants armed officers in every school across the nation. Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik, he pushed to add the armed officers in his schools and in his town. He joins us now by phone. Mayor Hornik, how much money does it take to pay for armed guards at every school in Marlborough? Who pays for it?
[Mayor Jonathan Hornik , Marlboro, New Jersey:] That will be coming out of the Board of Education's budget, Don. The reason why we felt it was necessary to put our police officers these aren't armed guards hired from third parties. This is from our police department, who are very familiar with the schools, is in order to bring a calmness to the community until we could fully assess the security situation based on what we're going to learn from Newtown, Connecticut.
[Lemon:] So, Mayor, where are the armed officers placed in the school?
[Hornik:] Well, for security reasons we can't tell you exactly where they're located. But we have nine public schools, and our police officers who are all emergency response team trained. Meaning they're the first to show up if there is an active shooter scenario in our school system, will be in our schools for the next 90 days at least until we can make a determination of security protocol and what needs to be changed.
[Lemon:] How does one armed officer cover an entire school?
[Hornik:] Well, these police officers are trained in order to deal with situations such as active evolving shooter scenarios. The school has other security measures which are in place, which I'm not at liberty to speak about. But having a police officer with a side arm in the school gives a level of safety, protection, comfort to our students and our community.
[Lemon:] You say, Mayor, you supported arm guards in school before Newtown. What obstacles did you face before Newtown to putting armed guards in schools?
[Hornik:] No, not before Newtown, before the NRA came out with its recommendation. What happened in Newtown, Don, is that the unfortunate events up there changed school security. And I think every elected official in the country has to take a careful look about their school system, how security is put into place. You have a choice right now. You can do something or you can do nothing and hope it doesn't happen in your school district. We made a collective decision together with the Board of Education and the police department that we had to do something now as we wait for law enforcement report out of Newtown in order to address the security failing of that school. And that's what we're waiting for. During that waiting period, we're more comfortable having our able police force in our schools than not in our schools. Now, Marlboro Township has always had police officers in our schools, so this isn't something so new to our children that they should be concerned about.
[Lemon:] Mayor Jonathan Hornik, thank you.
[Hornik:] Thank you very much, Don.
[Lemon:] The fallout continues from the Jerry Sandusky case. The NCAA imposed stiff sanctions and a $60 million fine against Penn State University. Now, Pennsylvania's governor is taking the NCAA to court.

[Phillips:] Checking the markets for you. We're still in positive territory. That's good news. Dow Industrials up 162 points. Now, 66, 166 points. Our money team is on it. We'll keep talking about how the downgrade is impacted our 401 [k], and how the markets are going to turn out this afternoon. We'll keep watching them. All right, another major story that we keep watching, as well. Three nights of rioting in London and violence spreading to other British cities, as well. Now Prime Minister David Cameron vowing to get tough with a huge call-up of police. CNN's Atika Shubert following that story for us out of London. She's joining us once again live. Atika, what do you know?
[Atika Shubert, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, basically what we know is that Prime Minister Cameron has said he's going to put out more police on the streets and looters will feel the full force of the law. Sixteen thousand cops will be out on the street tonight, compare that to just 6,000 that were out last night. But is that going to be enough? Here in west London in Ealing, it's a relatively affluent community, without any of the history of violence they've seen in some of the other areas. But look at what happened. I mean, the windows have been smashed in and the grocery store on the corner here just was lit on fire. And firefighters have now cleared the area so the cleanup has just started around here. But residents here say it was an absolutely harrowing, that they narrowly escaped, as kids basically set upon the area, set cars on fire, and then completely ransacked and looted shops. So people here are encouraged to hear that there will be more cops on the street. But they're also wondering if more forceful measures are going to be taken. Whether water canons, tear gas, maybe even a curfew should be imposed.
[Phillips:] We'll follow it. Atika Shubert live out of London. Thanks. Well, it's going to be a very emotional day for the families of more than 30 U.S. troops killed in a chopper crash in Afghanistan over the weekend. The bodies of those killed are being taken to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today. Meantime, there are some new questions, new reports surfacing about that attack, and why it happened. Retired General Russel Honore is joining me now live. So General, first of all, the reports that are out there about this U.S. helicopter possibly caught up in a Taliban trap. What are your sources within the military telling you? Do you think there's truth to this? LT. GENERAL RUSSELL HONORE, U.S. ARMY And yet you put
[Honore:] Special Forces.
[Phillips:] You make a good point with regard to the Special Forces, and you know, we're talking about Air Force, and we're talking about Navy. We're also talking about Army and we're talking about the best of the best here. And these reports are saying that allegedly a Taliban commander put out some sort of notice about this meeting that was going to happen with all these Taliban leaders. And that this news lured the Special Forces to head this way and to head down this route, and the report's coming forward saying it was a trap that our warriors, our most elite warriors, got caught in this trap. Is that possible? And if so, what does that tell us about being in this war, 10 years later and falling victim to something like this?
[Honore:] Well, I think the Taliban has the luxury to make that story paint to their tactical brilliance. But the report coming from the department right now, and the officials chains, said a ranger unit was in there conducting an operation, to go after a Taliban leader, and in the process of doing that. They became so decisively engaged, they asked for immediate help, and the SEAL team, in that CH-47 helicopter, which is one of the few helicopters we have that can operate at high altitude, went in, in daylight, to try and rescue those rangers. And no other armed forces we have, none of our conventional forces, are trained to operate at that altitude in any, what we call, a contested LZ, to be able to do that. In this case, the Taliban got the best of them with the
[Rpg. Phillips:] Wow. And you mentioned it must have been desperate to go in to a hot LZ, a hot landing zone loaded with the most elite warriors in our forces. We'll continue to follow the investigation. General, thanks. For more on the helicopter crash and its victims just go to CNN's national security blogs, security clearance at cnn.comsecurity. All right we are watching the markets for you right now. Dow Industrials still in positive territory, 194. We're keeping a close eye on the numbers for you. We'll be right back. Also coming up, Republican Hopeful Michele Bachmann on "Newsweek's" new cover and has blogs and conservative voices talking. We'll explain in political buzz coming up.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Suzanne, thank you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And on the very day Republicans reveal part of next week's convention platform, a constitutional amendment to ban abortion nationwide, a fire storm involving one of their own just got a little hotter. I'm talking about Missouri Congressman Todd Akin. He says he used the wrong words and has asked Missouri voters for their forgiveness, but, he says, he is not, I repeat not getting out of this Missouri Senate race. Akin said over the weekend that victims of what he called legitimate rape rarely get pregnant and he has spent the last couple of days trying to explain exactly what he meant by that. We have seen major developments in this story really in the last 30 minutes or so. That's why I want to bring in Dana Bash. We know, Dana, he's been on multiple radio shows. In the last couple of minutes, he says he's in. Why?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Well, let's let him explain it for himself. I should note that he did this in one of the few friendly forums left for him, and that is Mike Huckabee's radio show. Listen to him explain why he says he's staying in.
[Rep. Todd Akin , Missouri Senate Candidate:] Because we are going to continue with this race for the U.S. Senate. We've given it a lot of thought. And the first thing we felt we had to do was we had offended some people and we tried to respond to that and let people know that we didn't mean anything or to take in any way rape anything less than very, very seriously.
[Bash:] So that's him explaining why. And there was another comment that he made that struck us all about the way he believes that his party, again many in his party, not just the leadership, but several Tea Party groups and conservative radio hosts and columnists, the way that they have reacted or, in his words, overreacted to the comments he made about rape. Listen to this.
[Akin:] It does seem just misspoke one word in one sentence on one day. I hasn't done anything that was morally or ethically wrong, as sometimes people in politics do. We do a lot of talking and to get a word in the wrong place, you know, that's not a good thing to do or to hurt anybody that way. But it does seem like a little bit of an overreaction.
[Bash:] Now, as you can imagine, Republican Party leaders are not happy at all, Brooke. Just as we were coming on this show, I got an e- mail from the spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. This is the arm of the Republican Party in charge of electing Senate Republicans. And I'll just read you some of the quotes. Brian Walsh saying, "by staying in this race, Congressman Akin is putting at great risk many of the issues that he and others in the Republican Party are fighting for, including the repeal of Obamacare." And goes on to say that they "continue to hope that Congressman Akin will do the right thing for the values he holds dear." Effectively saying they still hope that he will, at some point, step down. But he made very clear today that's not happening by the deadline, which is 6:00 Eastern, for him to do so voluntarily without a lot of procedural and financial hurdles.
[Baldwin:] Yes, so you point out, members of the national party, they're not necessarily supporting him. A big chunk of change he is now no longer getting. People in his own state are not supporting him. Dana Bash, just, quite frankly, is he being stubborn at this point?
[Bash:] You know, that's definitely the way most of the Republican Party thinks he is being. They think he's being very stubborn. From his point of view, he believes that he is doing what is his constitutional right and what is his calling. This is something that he believes that let me just take a step back and explain to you, maybe give a little bit of color as to the kind of candidate he is.
[Baldwin:] Sure.
[Bash:] He is not the person that the Republican leadership wanted to be the nominee to run against Claire McCaskill in the first place. He was probably their last choice. In fact, I was told point-blank he was. He knew that and he stayed in the race and he won the Republican primary to challenge Claire McCaskill. So he made that point today. He was told before he couldn't win. He did win. He beat somebody with a lot of money. And he says he's going to continue to do that. He made the point also in that radio show today that some of the grass roots supporters that we're not hearing from are contacting him, contacting his campaign, giving them money. So, you know, he's basically in this and he is maybe stubborn is a good word for the way he's reacting to the pressure from Republican Party leaders.
[Baldwin:] Just a question. Just wondering. Dana Bash, appreciate all your reporting on it. Thank you so much, from Washington for us. And now to something this is fascinating, OK. This is one of the starkest contrasts possible between the president on one side and his opponents on the other. We caught this earlier this afternoon. So listen if you would. First, President Obama. Then Congressman Paul Ryan. Each critiquing the other side's vision of how to achieve success. We're going to roll it. First the president speaking in Columbus, Ohio.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] You know, a few months ago just up the road in Westerville, Governor Romney said, if you want to be successful, if you want to go to college or start a business, you can just, and I'm quoting here, "borrow money if you have to from your parents." One high school student in Youngstown asked him what he would do to make college more affordable for families like his. Governor Romney didn't say anything about grants or loan programs that are critical to millions of students to get a college education. He said nothing about work study programs or rising college tuition. He didn't say a word about community colleges or how important higher education is to America's future. He said the best thing you can do is shop around. The best the best thing I can do for you is to tell you to shop around.
[Paul Ryan, , Vice Presidential Candidate:] Even if Washington could be good at picking winners and losers, which they're not, they shouldn't be in the business of picking winners and losers. That's not the role of government. You see, it invites cronyism. It's corporate welfare. It's crony capitalism. It's basically big government and big business joining in a common cause to rig the rules, stack the deck and keep the small business person and the entrepreneur on the outside looking in.
[Baldwin:] And that was Congressman Paul Ryan speaking today. We also heard from the president, who spoke within the past hour. Both on achieving success in today's America. As we said, two starkly competing visions there. And a quick reminder to all of you. This time next week, I will be anchoring this show live from Tampa, where Republicans will be holding their national convention. Join us. Our whole CNN crew down there. That kicks off August 27th. I will see you then. Meantime, a lot more happening here on this Tuesday. Take a look at this. Dozens more shot in Chicago as the crisis there grows and CNN rides along with police on a night when the calls don't stop. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now. The fists come out between neighborhoods. CNN gets up close proof the violence in Syria is spilling over into Lebanon. And a mother loses her daughter to a parasailing accident. Now she's fighting for a crackdown against an industry with no rules.

[Bolduan:] Not sure this would fit on a t-shirt, but President Obama's "vision to restore middle-class economic security" tour carries on today in Colorado. The president is spending two days in the state where he accepted his party's nomination back in 2008 and outpolled John McCain in November of that year. This year, though, it seems more of an uphill climb. A new poll shows Colorado leaning Mitt Romney's way right now with men among his strongest supporters, so the president is looking to women who favor his positions on health care, reproductive rights and working moms, of course, especially those in his own house.
[President Barack Obama:] Everybody knows Michelle. You know, the fact that we are partners in this process, this journey of life has been my source of strength and I want to make sure that she has control over her health care choices. I want to make sure that when she's working she's getting paid the same as men. I've got to say first lady's right now don't, even though that's a tough job.
[Bolduan:] The president speaks next hour in Pueblo, later in Colorado Springs and you will see both of those events live right here on CNN. So, you won't see a lot of Mitt Romney today, but it's definitely not a day off for him. The Republican challenger is fundraising in New York and New Jersey. He did take time to call into Bill Bennett's radio show and talk about and complain about negative campaigning. Listen here.
[Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Candidate:] I'm seeing some of the ads out there. I don't know whatever happened to a campaign of hope and change. I thought he was a new kind of politician.
[Bill Bennett, Radio Talk Show:] Yeah.
[Romney:] But instead, his campaign and the people working with him have focused almost exclusively on personal attacks and not at all on the issues of the day which is how to get more jobs and more take- home pay. It is really disappointing.
[Bolduan:] And if hasn't already, Romney also, we assume, is working pretty hard to make up his mind about his running mate. One name being bandied about is Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor. He may not be a household name, but as we hear from John King, that could change overnight.
[Tim King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] Tim Pawlenty wants you to know he likes beer.
[Tim Pawlenty, Former Minnesota Governor:] What'd you guys have for lunch? Corned beef?
[King:] And corned beef. And he's more than happy to go pub to pub, Ohio and elsewhere, making the case against President Obama.
[Pawlenty:] Have you have had enough of sky-high unemployment across America? Have you had enough of runaway federal spending? Have you had enough of ObamaCare?
[King:] Why might he share the ticket? Well, Policy-wise, he is very much in sync with Romney.
[Pawlenty:] A lot of happy people getting some ice cream.
[King:] And personally, he's the anti-Romney. His economic views shaped not by personal wealth, but by a blue collar upbringing on the streets of South St. Paul.
[Pawlenty:] The dominant focus, economically, for the town back in the '60s and '70s were these mammoth meatpacking plants. They all suddenly shut down and, as a young boy, I saw this massive job loss, economic dislocation, heartache, worry. It's one thing to talk about it. It's another thing to have lived it and experienced it.
[King:] Friends who shared the ice with young Tim Pawlenty or walked the halls of South St. Paul High in the late 1970s say what you see is what you get.
[Paul Voight, Pawlenty Childhood Friend:] He woke up in the morning and delivered papers before school. He bagged groceries to get through college. He's been working hard for a long time.
[Laverne Meyer, Pawlenty Childhood Friend:] Everybody worked hard in this community. Everybody lived moderately, but not excessively.
[King:] Blue collar roots are just one Pawlenty asset. Other pluses? A Catholic turned evangelical Protestant; like Romney, a GOP governor who had to deal with Democrats; a record of holding the line on government spending and no Washington baggage. His former chief of staff says Pawlenty's skills and interests fit the mold.
[Charlie Weaver, Former Pawlenty Chief Of Staff:] By the time he left, I think the average increase in state spending over his eight years is 1 percent. When he talks about education and the challenges of this country keeping up in a global economy, he gets fired up around that.
[King:] And the down sides? He raised cigarette taxes which angered conservatives at the time. Like Romney, he has limited foreign policy experience. There is zero evidence he would put deep blue Minnesota in play and a rap that national ambition led to a cautious course as governor.
[Mayor R. T. Rybak , Minneapolis:] People thought he could be a kind of a breakthrough figure who could bring moderate voices from different sides together. He got into office and became deeply partisan, unable to get much done. And in this case, spent most of his time running for national office.
[King:] He said Tim Pawlenty's a nice guy. Tim Pawlenty talks a great game, but Tim Pawlenty did nothing, wasted eight years of government.
[Pawlenty:] Well, Mayor Rybak, of course, is a leading spokesperson for the Obama campaign, so I would expect nothing less of him.
[King:] Comfort level is a big reason Pawlenty is on the short list. Yes, Pawlenty and Romney sparred at the start of this campaign. If it was "ObamneyCare" on "Fox News Sunday," why isn't it not "ObamneyCare" standing here with the governor right there? But when his bid stalled, Pawlenty was quick to endorse Romney.
[Pawlenty:] Are you ready for Mitt Romney to be the next president of the United States?
[King:] They were governors at the same time and they share a disappointment from the 2008 vice-presidential search. It left a bit of a mark on you. Has that had an impact on how you view the thing, view it at this time through?
[Pawlenty:] Well, we don't talk about the vetting process in the Romney campaign, but in general, you know, I've been through this before, so it's when you've done something before, it's easy and more casual and more relaxed the second time. So, I don't want to say it's no big deal, but it's a little bit of deja vu or familiar and I think it just becomes a little easier.
[Bolduan:] Our chief national correspondent John King is joining me now live. It's a fascinating look into the Tim Pawlenty that some of us have never met before, really because he's not really a household name. But it's interesting, John, because it doesn't seem like there are any hard feelings between Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty. Because Tim Pawlenty was pretty tough on Romney during the primary. It surprised me a bit.
[King:] He was. Especially on that healthcare issue. But it is the swiftness with which Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race. After that early debate, his fundraising dried up. He dropped out quickly. A lot of his advisors were furious at him, Kate. They thought he should stay in to see if he could get another opening down the road. He dropped out. He quickly made the decision to endorse Mitt Romney. It was not clear at that moment that Governor Romney would emerge as the leading candidate and as the nominee, so he took a bit of a risk. They are grateful for that inside the Romney campaign all the way up to the candidate. And they say he has done anything they asked, gone anywhere they wanted. And, so, he has built a good reservoir of support, including with the candidate himself who's getting close to making... Governor Romney will look for the Olympics to pass and look for this to happen next week. As to how, look, he's a very methodical guy. Like Tim Pawlenty, he did he not like the way the McCain campaign handled the vetting process back in 2008. Governor Romney was vetted then, as well. So, they have been very quiet, secretive about this. If you look at what we've learned about the short list, Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota; Rob Portman, the senator from Ohio; Paul Ryan, the congressman from Minnesota, what do they have in common? Blue collar, Midwestern voters are critical in this campaign and Governor Romney has essentially been testing them out on the campaign trail to see if one of them has any special magic not only in Ohio, maybe in Wisconsin, maybe in Pennsylvania. So, you see a pattern of looking towards the states in the Midwest, Michigan included, that Governor Romney think could be decisive in this election.
[Bolduan:] At times, it's almost seemed like an "American Idol" of vice-presidential candidates, as they've all been stumping for him out on the trail, once in a while. You mentioned Rob Portman. You're taking a closer look at some of the men on this short list. You're taking a look at Rob Portman tonight?
[King:] Rob Portman tonight. He was a House member. He's now in the Senate. He served in the first Bush administration as a policy aide in the White House. He served George W. Bush as trade representative and as budget director. He has the most Washington experience, if you will, of anybody on the short list. Some people say that's a great asset. If Governor Romney wins the election, he'd have someone who on day one can help him govern. Others say, boy, that's a Washington insider. It gives you baggage. Here's one little nugget we can tell you, Kate. I'm told by reliable source that the former vice president, Dick Cheney, has told Governor Romney he thinks Rob Portman is the best pick. Number one, he says you want to pick somebody who will help you govern. Dick Cheney believes Rob Portman is the best in the bunch in that regard. And Vice President Cheney and all of Portman's other friends believe he would give you at least a little bit of a bounce in Ohio. Romney can't win the White House, the math is almost impossible to do, without winning Ohio. So, if you look at Ohio and governing, you could say Senator Portman. But again, Governor Romney's the one who knows where he's going to go here.
[Bolduan:] That's absolutely right and we will wait and watch. And I'll be looking for an e-mail from you as soon as you get the announcement. John King, our chief national correspondent. Thanks so much, John.
[King:] Thank you.
[Bolduan:] Tim Pawlenty is stumping for Romney in Michigan today. And you can learn more about Rob Portman on "The Situation Room," 4:00 p.m. Eastern, right here, only here on CNN.

[Blackwell:] Well Florida is one of the critical swing states that could go a long way to deciding this election. Voters are split in the latest polls, so who will win is anyone's guess in a state that has developed a reputation for voting problems, and this year voters are dealing with incredibly long lines now in an effort to avoid long lines on Tuesday. We get more from our John Zarrella.
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Call it the Florida frenzy that gets people on their feet and singing.
[Unidentified Male:] I will march in we'll march in.
[Zarrella:] Some camped out just to say they could be first in the door. You would think it was an after-Christmas sale.
[Unidentified Female:] We got two sleeping bags in case it gets cold. We got a blanket.
[Zarrella:] Some came by bus from churches and long lines not a deterrent.
[Pastor Randell Perry, Faith Community Baptist Church:] We waited 100 years to get here so what is three or four hours.
[Zarrella:] This is early voting in Florida. Democrats make it a point to turn out big numbers in early voting, and they usually outnumber Republicans, and if you want to avoid long lines on election day, well, you stand in long lines now. Waits up to five hours in some places. This may be the product of some residual subliminal long- lasting after effect from the 2000 election fiasco year, remember, 537 votes. Bottom line, people here believe every vote counts, although there are some who just don't trust the early voting stuff and simply won't do it.
[David Stringfield, Florida Voter:] I've always felt if I voted on the day of the election, my vote would really be counted, and I've heard of other scenarios in which people have voted early, and their vote doesn't get counted.
[Zarrella:] State election officials say about nine million of Florida's 19 million people will vote in this election. Roughly 40 percent of them before election day, either by early voting or absentee ballot. While early voting is Democratic party strength, Republicans traditionally do very well in absentee ballots. In Miami-Dade County, of the quarter million ballots mailed out 130,000 have been returned, sorted by precincts, and in some cases if there's no signature.
[Cristina White, Miami-dade Co. Deputy Supervisor Of Elections:] The returns on absentee ballots have been somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000 a day.
[Zarrella:] While all this is going on, behind the scenes, workers at phone banks for both parties.
[Unidentified Female:] Did you mail in your absentee ballot?
[Zarrella:] Are urging voters to get out there because both parties know that once again in Florida this election could be too close to call.
[Blackwell:] I bring in our John Zarrella now. So tonight is it for early voting in Florida. Didn't some Democrats and maybe a couple of non-partisan groups try to get that extended because of these lines?
[Zarrella:] Yes, they did, because of what we're seeing here behind me, but the governor, Rick Scott, was not inclined to extend the days. You know, it was the legislature that cut the number of days from 14 down to 8, and and, of course, you see what the result is with eight days. I was in line yesterday, Victor, and I started right in this spot, and by the time I got around there and in the door it was two hours and 10 minutes for me from here until I got done voting. Now, look how much longer the line is, you know, Dominic, our camera man is panning around to give you an idea. We figure it's probably about a three to four-hour wait from the back of that line. Is that right? Three to four hours, folks in line are telling me, Victor, that in fact that is right, the wait is about three to four hours from the back of the line there now, and so we expect to see this all the way through this evening. You know, I was talking to one party official who said, you know what, with the acrimonious nature of politics these days, it is so great to see people out in these lines, you know, staying, standing three to four hours to exercise their vote. At least, you know, that is one of the great things about, you know, the American political process and people actually coming out here to do that, but, you know, and the polls are very, very close. As we know, the latest poll in Florida, the president up 49-47, virtually a dead heat and it keeps flip-flopping back and forth. So Florida once again is going to be right there at the end of the day on Tuesday night as one of the principal players most likely deciding the presidency. Victor?
[Blackwell:] Yes, with all the jackets and blazers around you, at least, it looks as if there's pretty mild weather. You know this time of year, having lived and worked in south Florida myself. At any time it can be 90 degrees standing out there for five hours.
[Zarrella:] Yes, spectacular weather, yes.
[Blackwell:] John Zarrella from Plantation.
[Zarrella:] Been very lucky.
[Blackwell:] All right. Thank you, John.
[Zarrella:] Sure.
[Kaye:] The women's vote may decide this election and one of the most famous social activists in the country has a message for the candidates. Coming up at 10:00 Eastern, I'll have an exclusive interview with trailblazer Gloria Steinem.

[Acosta:] And we are following developing news from Europe this morning. Reuters reporting Italian bomb experts have defused an explosive package found at the Greek embassy in Rome. Suspicious packages at other embassies have proven to be false alarms. Just last week, bombs exploded at the Chilean and the Swiss embassies in Rome. An anarchist group claimed responsibility for last week's attacks. Police say the package they found today at the Greek embassy was similar to the ones used last week.
[Chetry:] Well, back to our top story now. This monster blizzard hammering the northeast and grounding air travel across the country. This storm when all is said and done could dump 30 inches of snow in some areas. Right now, it's still hammering New England, Connecticut right in the thick of it. Joining us now on the phone is Peter Boynton. He is the commissioner of the Department of Emergency Management in the state. Thanks for being with us, Peter. I know you're busy. Hopefully, we can get some good information out to people though that are in the area. First of all, the highways, I-95 in some parts shut down. What's the latest?
[Peter Boynton, Connecticut Dept. Of Emergency Management:] Good morning. Governor Rell in Connecticut held a meeting this morning at 5:30 to review the situation with her state commissioners. Connecticut Department of Transportation has 843 trucks out on the road. The Connecticut National Guard has pre-staged equipment at armories if needed. And our electric utilities are reporting just under 14,000 outages with an additional 16,000 that have already been restored through the night.
[Chetry:] And thank you for that update. What about the interstate right now? Do you know anything about 95 being shut down? We just got a notice saying that because of a bunch of spinouts, they have shut down portions of it.
[Boynton:] We did have a report of down to one lane in the portion of I-95 going from Connecticut into New York. Over the last 12 hours, the Connecticut state police has had over 975 calls for service. About 153 accidents, no fatalities, about 12 minor injuries through the night.
[Chetry:] And we are heading into the morning commute. Some people may already be trying to make their way in. What are the recommendations right now if you can't stay home, if you have to come into work and you're coming from Connecticut to New York, what's the best bet right now?
[Boynton:] Well, we're fortunate that the state has a furlough day today which will reduce traffic. Many schools are out, as well, which will also help. And again, the DOT has over 800 trucks out right now. If you have to be on the road, of course, the rule of the day is take it slow. The roads have been plowed, but are still snow-covered. So keep the speed down. And if you don't have to go out, Governor Rell has asked people to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
[Chetry:] Also, not only the snow on the roads, but, I mean, it's very hard to see. People need to remember the the winds are blowing snow. And it's difficult places that may look familiar to you, suddenly it's very difficult to make your way around. The other question is public transportation. How are you guys doing in terms of your bus service? In terms of your train service? Your rails?
[Boynton:] Connecticut DOT reported at the 5:30 meeting this morning that bus lines are running. Metro North had reported a stoppage on the New Haven line due to mechanical problems. And you make a great point about visibility. Even though the roads have been plowed and those trucks are still out there, we are still in the middle of a blizzard. Blizzard warnings remain up in the state until noon today. So in addition to the snow, strong winds remain, and so visibility is an issue, as well as you've pointed out. And that's another reason to keep the speeds slow.
[Chetry:] I was surprised, as well, that your airport, Bradley International Airport is open.
[Boynton:] That's correct.
[Chetry:] And that flights are leaving. How is that able to happen? As we know here in New York, all of our major airports have shut down.
[Boynton:] Well, Bradley stayed open through the night, able to receive flights. Now many flights had already been canceled, so they weren't coming in. But they were open to receive flights and DOT reports that they're still open this morning. They're doing a great job clearing snow despite the conditions.
[Chetry:] Right. People can check out bradleyairport.com if they want to get information on that. And as we said, we're dealing with some tough road conditions out there. So if you are traveling in the state, be careful. On top of that, I know you guys have a coastal flood advisory in some of the areas, some other weather advisories. What should people know?
[Boynton:] Well, conditions along the shoreline can be hazardous with this type of storm activity. The high winds we recorded gusts of up to 60 miles an hour in several communities along the coast last night and also in the capital city of Hartford. So be aware of those conditions along the shoreline. The governor held a call with over 200 officials from local towns, including shoreline communities yesterday in preparation for the storm and those shoreline conditions can be especially hazardous given that high water warning.
[Chetry:] Absolutely. Well, thanks for the update this morning. I know as you said also, some areas that are experiencing outages, they're working to get that back up and running today. Peter Boynton, commissioner with the Department of Emergency Management in Connecticut, thanks so much.
[Boynton:] Thank you.
[Acosta:] Good information there. And it's important to point out that, you know, some of the pressure readings from this storm are similar to what you would find in a category two hurricane. So, I mean, when you're talking about 80-mile-per-hour wind gusts out on Long Island, people in this area need to realize that, you know, even though it looks spectacular outside and you want to get in it, you could be, you know, taking a huge risk if you try to get out there and do something.
[Chetry:] Yes. You know what? I also noticed I would never dream of taking my minivan out or sedan.
[Acosta:] Yes.
[Chetry:] But a lot of people who have a 4 by 4, or have, you know, a four-wheel drive think that they're invincible on the roads.
[Acosta:] Yes.
[Chetry:] I mean, it's tough out there. So
[Acosta:] And you would know because your four-wheel drive vehicle was having trouble getting in this morning.
[Chetry:] Oh, yes, I don't own one but yes, we have
[Acosta:] The service that brought you in
[Chetry:] Yes, we had to get somebody who had a four-wheel drive. And it's still I mean, we were sliding all over the place.
[Acosta:] Yes. All right. So take care out there. Now, we are following some other stories this morning because, you know, every once in a while you have to keep it on the lighter side. Keep in mind here that this has happened before. Hugh Hefner, the twice divorced founder of "Playboy" magazine, he is taking the marriage plunge once again. His bride-to-be a 24-year-old playmate. The happy couple up next in our "Morning Talkers."
[Chetry:] Of course, we're going to continue our live coverage of the developments of the northeast storm. The fury of this blizzard. Right now, you're looking at a live picture. That's 5th Avenue in New York City.
[Acosta:] Wow.
[Chetry:] By this time of day, it's packed normally filled with yellow cabs and so on and so on. And there you see it. More snow, intense winds in store across the northeast today. We're also learning that Amtrak is resuming limited service between Boston and New York. So call ahead. Try to figure out the situation there. Maybe that will be your way home today. A live report coming up.

[Whitfield:] A look at our top stories right now. Amanda Knox is back home in Seattle for the first time in four years. An Italian appeals court threw out her murder conviction of her roommate. And thousands of people protested against the Greek austerity package in Athens today. Financial experts say it's just a matter of time before Greece defaults. And the CDC says 18 people are now dead from cantaloupe contaminated by listeria. At least 100 people in 20 states have gotten sick. All right. Now to politics and a brand-new poll, Herman Cain is on top. He is tied for first place with Mitt Romney in this CBS News poll. One man not on the list, Chris Christie. The New Jersey governor officially said he's not running for president.
[Gov. Chris Christie , New Jersey:] In the end, what I've always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. Now is not my time. New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me.
[Whitfield:] All right. So, what does this mean for the field of GOP candidates? Will Cain is a CNN contributor live in New York. Good to see you.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Good morning.
[Whitfield:] Roland Martin is a CNN contributor and here in Atlanta. Good to see you, as well.
[Roland Martin, Cnn Contributor:] Hey. Glad to be hanging out you with you.
[Whitfield:] I know. It's fantastic. Will, we're going to have to get you on the sofa.
[Cain:] I know. I feel left out.
[Whitfield:] I know. Roland has got the home field advantage. All right. So, gentlemen, to both of you, you know, let's talk about. The field, apparently, is set now with Christie out and Cain rising in the polls. So, where does this race stand? Who does the Republican Party have to throw its weight behind? Will, you first.
[Cain:] I think, Fredricka, what we're going to see now is a lot of support that's been courting the Chris Christies and the Paul Ryans of the world will now shuffle their feet, kind of begrudgingly over to support Romney which is interesting, because all the things we really liked about Christie, that he was such a blunt, straight talker, that he took positions that weren't necessarily good for getting electing, like telling people you're crazy if you think my Muslim job appointee will try to enact Sharia law, by saying we need to make cuts to education, health care. All those things that Christie did, Romney is kind of the opposite. I mean, he tells you what you want to hear because he wants to be president really badly. But in the end, Romney is competent and he'll earn that support, I imagine.
[Whitfield:] All right. Roland is giggling on that.
[Martin:] Yes. This whole thing has been a reality show. How many times does the guy say I'm not getting in? Folks in the media going, will he run? Will he run? And the moment he had announced they said, will he be on the V.P. short list? I'm like shut up. Seriously. He's not running. Deal with it.
[Whitfield:] Well, but the Republican Party was very clear. They were trying to encourage him to get to the race, he said no.
[Martin:] That was the establishment not happy with Mitt Romney and not happy with Governor Rick Perry.
[Whitfield:] Well, then, now, we'll they be happy with Mitt Romney.
[Martin:] No, here's the whole deal. All of this stuff is meaningless. The people that matter will be in Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Nevada where the votes are. All of these polls and all this stuff right now means nothing. At this point, in 2007, then Senator Barack Obama was down 31 points to then-Senator Hillary Clinton. What happened in Iowa? Votes matter. All this stuff right here is just nonsense.
[Cain:] I just think it's a little funny to hear Roland's bewilderment at the Republican Party trying to talk Chris Christie or Paul Ryan into the race. I mean, the Democratic Party had to put up with the candidacy of John Kerry. That lesson should have been enough to teach you we might be looking for the strongest candidate we can find.
[Martin:] No, actually, I'm not looking for the strongest one because you have people who are looking for the perfect candidate. If you look at Chris Christie's record, he was going to have a problem with social conservatives.
[Cain:] Granted. Granted.
[Martin:] He was going to have a problem with evangelicals. And so, look, he was about that much stronger than Rudy Giuliani. And so, at the end of the day, you have people who are simply unhappy. I think if you're Mitt Romney, you're sitting back and you're saying, fine, you let Herman Cain run out there and run his mouth. You let Governor Rick Perry, like in a marathon, take the lead. Mitt Romney is sitting there saying, when all of you guys come to your senses, I'll be sitting right here for the nomination.
[Cain:] I think you're right.
[Whitfield:] OK. Roland, you mention Giuliani. Too late for Giuliani, even with that name recognition.
[Martin:] He ran a horrible campaign anyway.
[Whitfield:] Too late for him, or even like a Sarah Palin to jump in at this point.
[Martin:] She's not running. They're not running.
[Cain:] The field is the field, I agree. This is what it's going to be.
[Whitfield:] OK. So, then, let's talk about the endorsement of a Chris Christie. He still has, you know, important stature within the Republican Party. How important is his endorsement for any one of these candidates?
[Martin:] Not important.
[Whitfield:] Zero?
[Martin:] OK. He's a governor of New Jersey. Republicans are not going to win New Jersey. OK? It's not going to happen.
[Whitfield:] OK.
[Martin:] So, really, what does it get you? At the end of the day, if you're a candidate, you have to run on your own record. This is not like when Senator Obama ran, when Senator Ted Kennedy came out for him. Christie does not have that level of enthusiasm like other folks have, and for the great buzz.
[Whitfield:] All right. Well, Will, right now money is being thrown the way of Mitt Romney. Co-founder of Home Depot said my money is going to Mitt Romney, especially now that Chris Christie is out. So, his endorsement may be rather weighty, especially for those who may have been waiting for Chris Christie.
[Martin:] No pun intended.
[Whitfield:] Sure. OK, well, forget I said that. OK. Well, you know, say for instance there are others who couldn't wait to throw their money towards Chris Christie and now, you know, might they be following the co-founder of Home Depot's lead?
[Cain:] Ken Langone, you're talking about. Yes, no, I think that's exactly what's going to happen. I think all the support that has been kind of sitting on the sidelines will now begrudgingly move over to Mitt Romney. I agree with a lot of what Roland is saying, that Herman Cain will have his rise and fall, Rick Perry had has his rise and fall. At the end of this long thing, that is a marathon, Mitt Romney will probably be the man standing. And by the way, that's not necessarily what Barack Obama wants to see. I think Mitt Romney is very electable and presents a threat to Barack Obama's presidency.
[Whitfield:] Do you see that? Do you agree with that? A threat to the Obama White House?
[Martin:] Well, first of all, anybody can be a threat when you look at the state of the economy. And so, if you're the White House, you recognize how tough it is going it be. But again, the contrast come November will be between the GOP nominee and the president. And so, you can't sit there and say, oh, who do I think will be the better person because they all have to run.
[Cain:] Oh, please.
[Martin:] No, no, no.
[Cain:] Oh, please.
[Martin:] Anything can happen between now and the primary season.
[Whitfield:] So, the White House is poising itself for which candidate of that field, which is the greatest threat in your view, Will?
[Cain:] The White House for the next six months will try to pretend like Rick Perry is the greatest threat and Rick Perry will be the winner because they want it to be Rick Perry, because Rick Perry has shown the ability to shoot himself in the foot over and over, over the past couple months. Their silence on Mitt Romney, except when they call him weird, which is odd. They are terrified of Mitt Romney.
[Whitfield:] OK.
[Martin:] No, they're not terrified of Mitt Romney. A Longhorn would say something silly like that. At the end of the day, look, you have to run against who the nominee is going to be. And, so, it will still be the contrast and it's still not a bank that Mitt Romney gets the nomination. This is why you run.
[Cain:] You're right.
[Martin:] A lot can happen over the next four months. I got to say, Fred, earlier, Will said I agree with a lot of what Roland said he's a Texas Longhorn. They always follow us Aggies.
[Whitfield:] I got two Texans here, this is scary.
[Martin:] Well, you know a real Texan and then a faux Texan.
[Whitfield:] Oh, no. Will, you can't let him get away with that.
[Cain:] No, I'd fight him if we were in person right now.
[Martin:] Oh, right. Right.
[Whitfield:] I let you
[Martin:] I have cowboy boots and he has Prada boots.
[Cain:] Hold your feet up, Roland, I'll hold mine up. We'll see who has boots on.
[Martin:] OK.
[Whitfield:] Good stuff. All right. Roland Martin, thanks so much, appreciate it.
[Martin:] Thanks.
[Whitfield:] All right. We got some breaking news I want to share with you right now. CNN affiliate KGO is reporting that two people are dead and least four others wounded in a shooting in Cupertino, California. We'll continue to follow this story and bring you details as we get them. Also, we're going to head to lower Manhattan, the "Occupy Wall Street" protests are actually spreading beyond Manhattan. Some say it's tough to take the protests seriously, though. But one CNN.com opinion writer tells us why it's time to take notice.

[Whitfield:] A 63-year-old man sitting in his SUV was set on fire in Long Beach, California. A man threw flammable liquid into his car making it burst into flames, as you see there. The driver is in the hospital in critical condition. The 39-year-old suspect was arrested and is being booked on attempted murder charges. Neighbors described him as a transient who was known to act strangely. All right. For decades people living in a small Maine town wondered if a person was creeping out of the woods to steal their things. One urban legend of sorts until they decided to calm the north pond hermit and found out that the myth just indeed may be reality. Pamela Brown headed to headed north, rather, to get the story.
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] Fred, it was talked about for years as a myth, that one person, a man, known as the North Pond hermit, could be responsible for hundred of unsolved burglary cases. Could that myth be true?
[Brown:] This surveillance video showing a burglar stealing food from the Pine Tree Camp Kitchen near Rome, Maine, helped authorities nab 47-year-old Christopher Knight, a man known locally as an elusive figure. He was a mystery for more than two decades until now.
[Sgt. Terry Hughes, Game Warden:] Soon as he stepped outside the door I just turned, game warden, on the ground, on the ground, show me your hands. And he immediately just dropped right to the ground.
[Brown:] This is what he had in his backpack?
[Harvey Chesley, Campsite Manager:] He did. He had a lot of random stuff. He had marshmallows. He had veggie burgers. He had Canadian bacon. Ground beef. Stuffed shells. Quite a wide variety of stuff.
[Brown:] The Canadian bacon and veggie patties doesn't really go hand in hand.
[Chesley:] Doesn't seem to go together, does it?
[Brown:] After Knight was caught red handed, Pine Tree manager Harvey Chesley confronted the man.
[Chesley:] Irritated, frustrated, angry, all of those things were racing through my head. But then I found out that he went to the same high school that I did. Had a year book, brought it here, and showed him the picture. He started to open up a little bit.
[Bruce Hillman, Knight's Former Teacher:] I don't think he ever missed a day of class.
[Brown:] Bruce Hillman was Knight's wilderness survival teacher in high school and says he vividly remembers him as a student.
[Hillman:] We've learned about hunting and fishing techniques, and frapping and outdoor survival skills.
[Brown:] And do you remember him being pretty good at it?
[Hillman:] Very good. Yes. Yes, he was very good at it.
[Brown:] Still, he never thought Knight would take those skills so far. [On Camera] Could you imagine him being a hermit for 27 years?
[Hillman:] Absolutely not.
[Brown:] Why?
[Hillman:] He was a sociable kid. You know? He seemed to get along with everybody.
[Brown:] A recluse, Knight says he lived alone in the woods for more than 27 years. [On Camera] We trek through the Maine woods near where Knight lived for more than 20 years, going over snow banks, over creeks. Navigating around trees. Knight told authorities that he would travel through these woods 90 minutes each way in order to steal goods from the Pine Tree Camp. [Voice-over] Authorities say he told them he's only talked to one other person in all that time.
[Diane Perkins-vance, Maine State Trooper:] He claims he hasn't had contact with another human being since the mid 1990s when he encountered somebody on a trail and they just exchanged a common greeting and that was about it.
[Brown:] Officials say he lived at this camouflaged campsite in the woods, even in the dead of Maine's brutal winters.
[Perkins-vance:] It's just amazing to me that he can make it through Maine winters like that, living in a nylon tent.
[Brown:] Police say Knight targeted vacant camp sites, stealing to survive.
[Perkins-vance:] I would say well over 1,000 burglaries. Everything I stole the was to survive. Food, clothing, shelter, that type of thing.
[Brown:] After his arrest, a trooper showed Knight a picture of himself, something he hadn't seen in more than 20 years.
[Unidentified Male:] He's seen his reflection in the water a few times and that was all he said.
[Brown:] Authorities say Knight told them he'd spend his days reading books and listening to Rush Limbaugh on his battery powered radio. When asked why he spent all this time alone in the woods he didn't have an explanation and said he often asked himself that same question. Knight rejected our request for an interview Fred.
[Whitfield:] Thanks so much, Pam. Hey, a book that is older than the United States is going up for auction. Wait until you hear how much money someone may pay for it.

[Banfield:] It is kind of hard to imagine New York without Ed Koch. We've got some live pictures for you right now of his funeral. And that thing that I just said, explains the tears you might be seeing here. This was a three-term New York mayor who passed away on Friday at the age of 88. Mayor-schmayor, he was an icon. If you see smiles at this theater at this funeral, it is also because that's Ed Koch. He was hilarious. He once famously told voters, if you agree with me on nine out of 12 voters, well, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12, see a psychiatrist. These are his nephews who are eulogizing him right now live at the podium. He's also going to be eulogized by some very for people. New York's current mayor, Mike Bloomberg, who calls Ed Koch an irrepressible icon. Bill Clinton is also due to speak as well as a representative for President Obama. Years after Ed Koch left office in 1989, people were urging him to run again, but he always declined. And the reason, he said the people voted me out and the people must be punished. Ed Koch, we're going to continue to watch that ceremony. In the meantime, other news, South Korea bracing for a possible North Korean nuclear test. President Lee Myung-bak and senior officials assessing their government's readiness as the U.S. and South Korea begin three days of joint naval exercises. Yesterday, North Korea said its leader, Kim Jong-un, had made, quote, an important decision to strengthen the country. South Korea and the U.S. and Japan are warning any provocative moves will bring significant consequences. Turkish authorities have arrested at least 11 people in connection with the disappearance and now the death that's been reported of Sarai Sierra. She's a New York woman who went missing in Istanbul almost two weeks ago, but police found her body this weekend. And they found her body by the ruins of this ancient stone wall near a popular tourist attraction. They say she had multiple stab wounds and a blow to the head. A speeding bus full of terrified passengers careening down a long and winding hillside road, smoke pouring out the back, crashed violently into two vehicles last night and the death toll is expected to rise today. At least eight people are dead, currently, but police say they are only just beginning to identify the bodies and the body parts. Dozens more people were hurt. Up until this terrible crash, the California bus company had a pretty good safety record with no prior crashes in two years and a, quote, "satisfactory rating" given just last month. Our Paul Vercammen has more from San Bernardino County, due east of L.A. Paul, do we have any clearer reason as to why this happened and how it happened?
[Paul Vercammen, Cnn Senior Producer:] Well, right now, authorities are looking at the brakes. Caltrans had told us that they had witness accounts that they said the back of the bus smoking and that they now suspect that the brakes could have played a role in the crash, Ashleigh, so that's where the focus of the attention will be. But right now, the crime scene is so ghastly and grisly and there are bodies still inside the bus and bodies outside the bus. It extremely difficult for the coroner and others to get to all of the bodies. And that's why, as you said earlier, the death toll right now stands at eight, but they say that is sure to change, meaning that it will undoubtedly rise, Ashleigh
[Banfield:] And the bus driver and you'll have to maybe update me on this. One of the reports had a terrible amount of damage near where he was seated, but that he lived. So, presumably the authorities are going to be able to question him about what happened immediately preceding thing disaster.
[Vercammen:] Absolutely. In what was just probably a miracle of some sort, the bus rolled over, completely, and then landed upright again. Part of the top of the bus, very near the bus driver's seat, is caved in, but there was just sort of a little window, if will you, a little we'll call it maybe a cone where the bus driver was sitting. That did not get caved in and somehow he survived. According to the highway patrol, they have interviewed him already. Of course, he probably may not be as lucid as they would want, but he reportedly said to them that the brakes were at fault here.
[Banfield:] So, I'm just looking behind you, Paul, at the mountains and a producer who works with us lives in that area, has lived in that area, and says that this is a very treacherous area in terms of navigating. Can you give as you bit of a feel for the path that that bus was on just before this happened?
[Vercammen:] Well, we are at the foot of the mountains here and a lot of Southern Californians will go up for a day trip or a weekend trip to Big Bear off in the hills behind me for sort of a winter wonderland, a chance to play in the snow, maybe even do a little bit of skiing. We are at the bottom of the mountain, though, and, while much of the road is extremely treacherous, this particular part kind of levels out. The grade isn't as steep and it wasn't as winding where the bus crashed. However, one reason the brakes are part of the suspicion is you can imagine, if for miles and miles and miles, the brakes were being ridden by the bus driver and, of course, we are not saying that they were but it is possible that someone would overdo it. You know, Caltrans talks about this, as well, and the danger of this road. You have a situation here where you could have put a lot of pressure on the brakes.
[Banfield:] All right, Paul Vercammen is going to stay on this for us. Thank you, Paul. And just update us when you hear anything from those officials on the number of people who were not able to survive this crash. We're back after this.

[Blitzer:] "It begins with us." With those words, President Obama has officially launched his bid for re-election in 2012. And now that the race is on, so is the race for campaign cash. The president expects to raise a record-breaking get this $1 billion. All this week, CNN is focusing in on the enormous amounts of money all the parties will pour into the 2012 presidential campaign. All told, it could be $3 billion, maybe even more. Let's bring in our national political correspondent, Jessica Yellin. She's crunching the numbers. What can I say? Wow.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn National Political Correspondent:] Wow. It's an astonishing amount of money, Wolf. One top Democratic fund-raiser told me these days it's the Wild West when it comes to raising money for campaigns, and it's never too soon to start fundraising.
[Yellin:] This was candidate Obama's announcement four years ago
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America.
[Yellin:] Now, a very different approach. The president declared his candidacy in a video. He's not even in it.
[Unidentified Female:] There's so many things that are still on the table that need to be addressed. And we want them to be addressed by President Obama.
[Yellin:] He's the first major candidate to officially jump into the race. Last month, his top strategist gave John King this insight
[David Axelrod, Top Strategist For Obama:] So it takes time to build organization, it takes time to raise the kind of money to compete with the kind of money we're going to see on the other side.
[Yellin:] We're talking big money. Last time around, the Obama team raised $745 million. This time, campaign aides are telling donors it will cost $1 billion. That would break all records. The request for donations begins here, today.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] The president is not focused on elections. He's focused on doing the work that he was elected to do.
[Yellin:] Another reason they announced now, to mobilize grassroots activists who were crucial to their victory in 2008. That can be challenging when the candidate is in Washington, not an untainted outsider.
[Unidentified Female:] President Obama is one person. He cannot go. Plus, he's got a job. We're paying him to do a job. So we can't say, hey, could you just take some time off and come and get us all energized? So we'd better figure it out.
[Yellin:] Republicans weren't caught off guard. They released this video attacking the president
[Unidentified Male:] We hoped and you hoped.
[Obama:] My hope is My hope is My hope is
[Unidentified Male:] But hope isn't hiring.
[Yellin:] And they are raising money of their own off Mr. Obama's news. Now, keep in mind, last time around, the Obama campaign spent plenty of its $750 million in its primary fight with Hillary Clinton. Since the president is spared that fight, why raise so much money? Well, for one thing, the team wants to counter the outside money new Republican independent expenditure groups plan to raise. And there's this. Democrats were surprised by the 2010 midterm elections. Republicans raised so much money at the very end of those elections. Democrats don't want to be caught off guard, Wolf, again.
[Blitzer:] Why can't the Democrats do what the Republicans do with these outside independent expenditure groups?
[Yellin:] They are. And they are starting at least three new independent expenditure groups, Democrats unaffiliated with the Obama campaign. But they're very concerned that they are a little late, Republicans got a jump-start, and that they won't be able to raise as much money.
[Blitzer:] Because the last time, as you say, $745 million they raised. But they had all those caucuses, all those primaries, all those other Democrats who were fighting the president. Now he is running unopposed, and he's the incumbent. I tweeted this earlier and got a tremendous response on Twitter. He's the incumbent with a built-in advantage. So he needs $1 billion?
[Yellin:] It's they are enormously anxious about all the money they believe the groups that Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie are affiliated with and the Koch brothers are affiliated with will just dump money into ads attacking the president outside the campaign, that Democratic groups cannot compete with that. And so the campaign itself has to raise the money to compete.
[Blitzer:] When I say he's running on the post, for the Democratic nomination. He will have a an opponent in the general election.
[Yellin:] Of course. Of course.
[Blitzer:] A Republican, maybe an Independent. Who knows?
[Yellin:] Who knows?
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much, Jessica. Let's dig a little bit deeper on this. The Supreme Court is a key factor in this escalating amount of cash that we're likely to see in this coming presidential campaign. Our senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin is back with more on this. Explain, Jeff, why the Supreme Court has had an enormous impact on the political fundraising we are about to see.
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Sr. Legal Analyst:] It's really one simple idea, which is starting in 1976, the Supreme Court said that spending money in a political campaign is an activity protected by the First Amendment like giving a speech, like carrying a protest sign. And what we're seeing, particularly in recent years, is the Supreme Court saying any attempt to regulate how candidates raise money or spend money is an interference with First Amendment rights. So what that means is there is a deregulation of campaign finance, of campaign spending, of campaign fundraising that is going on as we speak.
[Blitzer:] And the president's decision to go ahead and raise all this money, not only in his bid to get the Democratic nomination he doesn't have an opponent but to win the general election, for all practical purposes, he's announcing today he will once ago forego public financing of the general campaign.
[Toobin:] Yes, but this campaign is likely to look like the good old days in short order if you follow the logic of the Supreme Court, because there are still rules in effect like how much an individual can give to a campaign. There is still the old, old rule that corporations can't give directly to campaigns They can give independently to groups that support campaigns. That was the Citizens United decision of last year. But if you follow where the Supreme Court is going and you could really see it last week in an argument in a case about an Arizona law they are moving away from allowing any sort of campaign regulations. So even the contribution limits that are in effect now may well be gone by the time of the 2016 presidential campaign.
[Blitzer:] And you agree that the Republicans are simply better in raising these outside independent expenditure money than the Democrats are?
[Toobin:] Well, so far they have been. I mean, certainly Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie and company were much faster off the mark to take advantage of the Citizens United decision and organize expenditures that are independent. Certainly, the Democrats are trying to catch up. But if you look at the money interest, if you look at corporations, if you look at the comparison between the economic power of corporations versus labor unions today, who support Democrats, it is certainly to the advantage of the Republicans, although having an incumbent president is a very, very big advantage.
[Blitzer:] I can't tell you how many people have just e-mailed me today or tweeted to me, they think it's obscene, billions of dollars in campaign money that is going to be spent when there are so many poor people out there, so much other better use for billions of dollars. They don't like it for the simple reason that it just you know, out of control, shall we say. You know who is going to benefit the most?
[Toobin:] Us.
[Blitzer:] All of us who work in the broadcasting business
[Toobin:] Absolutely.
[Blitzer:] because the political advertising will be enormous. Web sites will get a lot of money from all of these campaign advertising dollars. So we'll benefit from it, but that's the nature of the beast, I guess, right now.
[Toobin:] And I promise you, 2016, it will make whatever happens I don't care how much Barack Obama raises these laws are going out the window. It's going to be the Wild West by 2016.
[Blitzer:] And you've got a great piece in "The New Yorker" magazine on the impact. Let me give our viewers a recommendation, they go and read your piece. Is it online already?
[Toobin:] It is, NewYorker.com.
[Blitzer:] Something like that. You don't tweet though, do you?
[Toobin:] Not yet. I know. I'm very 19th century.
[Blitzer:] Because I was looking for your name on Twitter, and I came up with a bunch "Jeffrey Toobin hates Twitter" and stuff like that.
[Toobin:] No. I'm not as young as you are, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right. Yes. You are younger than I am, but you should be tweeting, like all of us.
[Toobin:] I should. I know.
[Blitzer:] OK. Start. You know what?
[Toobin:] I can start.
[Blitzer:] OK, good. Jeff Toobin, thank you. Good piece in "The New Yorker."
[Toobin:] Thanks.
[Blitzer:] A check of today's other top stories coming up next. But right now, Libyan rebels are fighting for the key oil port of Al Brega. We're going to Libya live for the latest on that fierce battle. And time is running out for Yemen's president as thousands of pro- democracy demonstrators descend on the royal palace. Will al Qaeda try to take advantage of the instability?

[Richard Quest:] Get on with it. The OECD secretary-general tells me economic risks are everywhere. Into the furnace. ArcelorMittal's chief executive meets President Hollande and his company's accused of blackmail and threat. And debt insured. Better safe than sorry says the chief exec of Lloyd's of London. I'm Richard Quest. We have an hour together, and I mean business. Good evening. The momentum has gone and the global economy is weakening. So says the OECD in its latest economic outlook. Recovery has given away to relapse. Forecasts have been slashed and the OECD is now warning a major contraction cannot be ruled out, especially when you consider the fiscal cliff and Europe's debt problems. Join me at the CNN super screen. Hesitant and uneven. That's the definition of the recovery that the OECD is seeing as a whole. The 2013 number has been cut back. If you just take a look at it, this year is 1.4, next year will be 1.4, and growth doesn't pick up again until 2014, when it gets to 2.3 percent. But within this, the United States, look at the growth rate there. It's 2.2 this year, 2 next, and 2.8 the year after. Slow growth that will have limited effects on US unemployment. As for the eurozone, spin the globe. Recession this year, recession next year just about, and even in two years' time, just small growth. The unemployment projection has been raised. It's expected to hit you'd better be sitting comfortably here, because it's an uncomfortable number 11.9 percent. 11.9 percent. The eurozone is witnessing fragmentation pressures and could be pressure that means fragmentation could be in danger. The emerging market, there's a lot of numbers there, but really what I want you to focus on is just the nature of those numbers. Fours. Threes and fours. Eights. Fives and sevens. That really shows you the huge difference that there is between it all. Factor it all together and you see a world that is growing slowly and in some danger. Angel Gurria is the OECD's secretary-general. He told me that leaders need to take notice of the numbers and get their act together.
[Angel Gurria, Secretary-general, Oecd:] It's a wake-up call and saying, not only for the next two years, but for the next five and ten years, it is going to be sclerotic, it is going to be mediocre, it is going to be undesirable, so let's do something about it, OK? Let's get those measures, those structural measures in place so that we can improve the outlook so that we can have a better story and we have a better narrative, better positions going forward.
[Quest:] They finally took the decisions on Greece, decisions that you knew they were always going to have to take, which is to cut the debt burden. The only question is what took them so long?
[Gurria:] Well, this has not been for the last few months. We've been pushing for this for the last three years. Then eventually, it happened for the first time last year. That was not enough. And of course, now because of lower growth overall, you're having Greece struggle. But what is more important is you took an integral view. You're asking efforts from the Greeks, yes, but you're giving them a little bit more time in order to get their goals, and you're giving lower interest rates, longer periods to repay the public debt, and you have decided to go and buy back the private debt at a big discount.
[Quest:] Right. It's time
[Gurria:] And you're also giving them
[Quest:] I'm just going to
[Gurria:] back the profits from the central bank.
[Quest:] I'm just pausing you there because if they're dealing with Greece, it's time to deal with Spain.
[Gurria:] No way. Absolutely nothing to do. These are two different things. Spain has done its homework. Spain has much half half the debt of Greece, OK? In terms of GDP. And Spain had five years of surpluses in their budgets before the crisis struck. So, what Spain needs is unequivocal message from the Europeans and the IMF to the market saying if Spain decides to request support, because they've done their homework, because they're performing, and because they are a viable economy, then they will be supported, and that request will be enough to detonate the ECB to go and buy their bonds in secondary market if need be. I'm betting that just the announcement that the bazooka is ready, that it's loaded and ready to fire if need be will make it unnecessary for the bazooka to be fired.
[Quest:] How kind of you to talk about the bazooka, because I'm going to tell you there's a nuclear weapon waiting to explode in Washington: the fiscal cliff. If they don't deal with that and the longer-term deficit, Secretary-General, that never mind fiddling around with a short-term deal, a long-term deal on the deficit.
[Gurria:] Absolutely. And the question is, if you can avoid going over the fiscal cliff, then why should you? The road maps are very clear. There's a very competent team there with Tim Geithner and Jack Lew and you have an experienced, competent team with a political with savvy, who are going to be facing the music there. And I think they should get it. Now, the other thing is I'm just looking at the politics being very cynical. I think no party is going to want to be responsible for having put the United States in a second recession.
[Quest:] Final question: what would you say to those people in the United States that say, "Nah, go over the fiscal cliff, that'll teach everybody, only after we've gone over the fiscal cliff will we get real, long-term, structural deficit reform, take the cliff, jump"?
[Gurria:] Well, I think that is absolutely nonsensical. I think that's cutting your nose to spite your face and nobody in their right mind should do that.
[Quest:] Now, "nobody in their right minds," says Angel Gurria, would go over the fiscal cliff. After 12 hours of talks in Brussels, a deal has been done on Greece's debt bailout burden, which will help to finance Greece for the foreseeable future and bring the debt burden down. Jim Boulden is with me now.
[Jim Boulden, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yes, Richard. Well, this deal takes Greece a step closer to billions of dollars of bailout cash. It also reduces Greek debt by more than $50 billion in some creative ways. Now, of course, these protracted negotiations were all about drawing a line under the Greek debt crisis. So, let's look at these lines. What's the top line? Well, lower in the interest rate on bilateral loans and extend the payback time for Greece. Also, allow Greece a bit more time to buy back some of its debt. The idea here is cutting Greek debt to help the economy. What were the red lines? Well, these talks went into the well into the night. Why? Well, sustainability. That was the IMF red line. Any deal had to show that Greece would eventually become sustainable. No more cuts? Well, of course, that's what the Greeks wanted, that's what the Greek government and, of course, the Greek people. Enough is enough with the austerity, we don't want any more. No debt write-offs. That, of course, was Germany, Germany's saying no official haircuts for now. Well, what's the bottom line? The bottom line is, $56 billion for Greece to pay its bills and inject cash into its banks starting in December. That loan goes, and then there'll be three more, a total four injections, three more in 2013. Safe for now? Well, that means the eurozone is safe for now, it looks like, until at least the German election next September. That's really what Germany wanted to make sure happened, Richard.
[Quest:] Is the bottom line in a word, this is over and done with for Greece for the time being?
[Boulden:] For the time being, but I'll tell you, Barclay's put out a report and says, "With very few details released, we are unimpressed with the measures put forward so far." They want to see more about debt sustainability, what how that would be addressed. A lot of people say it isn't over over, but it does give them time. It's not just kicking the can down the road, I don't think, Richard. I think they've made some serious decisions. It doesn't mean we won't have to revisit it sometime in the future.
[Quest:] Jim Boulden with the Greek debt crisis. Jim, we thank you. Sparks are flying in Paris. There's a row. It's a particularly nasty row between the French government and ArcelorMittal. It's at melting point, and we'll tell you why President Hollande is threatening nationalization in a moment.

[Costello:] It is 16 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. Police trying to figure out how a man got into the jets game on 911 with a stun gun, and he used it. The incident in the stands caught on tape. Take a look. This video first posted on deadspin.com. You can hear the stun gun buzzing when it goes off. Police in New Jersey arrested a 53-year-old South Carolina man. He was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and two weapons charges. No one was seriously hurt in this scuffle. But, how does that happen? I guess, well, it actually would be easy to sneak something like that in, right? Unless, they searched you.
[Romans:] I know. I think they go through all the bags
[Costello:] What if you didn't have it in a bag?
[Romans:] True. That's true.
[Costello:] Yes.
[Romans:] All right. I mean, you can't look for everything especially if somebody is going to pull something stupid. All right. Police in Utah looking for the heroes who lifted a burning car off a motorcyclist and saves his life. Police say a BMW was pulling out of a parking lot yesterday near Utah State University when it collided with a motorcyclist. The car and the bike ignited. The biker somehow stuck lodged beneath the vehicle. You can see people getting down to see him. They could see him down there. Bystanders were able to lift the car off, look at that, and pull 21-year-old Brandon Wright to safety. Now, he is in stable condition now. Police want to find the men and women who saved him so they could be honored at a city council meeting. Look all came together and pulled him out.
[Costello:] See, we went from the worst of humanity to the best of humanity.
[Romans:] I know. There's a woman in sandals, there's construction workers, there are a couple of guys in suits, just sort of everybody came and pulled him out. Glad he's OK.
[Costello:] Me, too. OK. Let's head to Atlanta to check in with Rob Marciano. He's in the Extreme Weather Center where, hopefully, there is no extreme weather to talk about.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] No. You know, that video is amazing how everybody came together and everybody kind of scattered. I don't know if the
[Romans:] No. They were late for work, you know? I mean, you do your good Samaritan and you see he's OK.
[Costello:] Someone did call 911, though.
[Marciano:] Get somebody in there that knows what they're doing. Yes, guys. Temperatures in Texas today kind of you know, we were saying this all season long, but 107 in Dallas. Now, that wouldn't be so remarkable if this was the middle of July, but we're in the middle of September. It also wouldn't be so remarkable, well, it is remarkable because, one, today is going to be the 70th day this summer that they've reached the 100-degree mark, and that's a record Yesterday, they tied it at 69. 104 in Austin. There's obviously hope the fire situation but most of them are larger ones or at least are mostly contained. The winds are light, but these warm temperatures certainly adding insult to injury. There are some cooler temperature up to the north. Seventy-one degrees in Chicago, 84 degrees in New York City, 90 in Atlanta. We also have some fire issues across parts of California, some lightning there in through Vegas and the intermountain west and that threat will continue, as well. Heat here, some thunderstorms across parts of the Eastern Great Lakes today and through Upstate New York and through the flood areas of Eastern Pennsylvania as well, but these two cold fronts, really, they're the main weather story, I think, going forward, because we're going to a steep cool down. Temperatures will be 20 to 30 degrees cooler now or tomorrow than they were today. And some of this cooler air is going to bleed into Texas and we might even squeeze out a shower or two, but I wouldn't bet the bank on that, but temperatures will get cooler after we get through the next few days and 100-degree plus heat. Sixties and 70s, isn't that going to feel nice across much the eastern third of the country? You bet you. It's also going to help in pushing Maria out to sea, which has been causing some flash flooding across parts of Puerto Rico might affect Bermuda, as well. Very active hurricane season. We're into the we're through the Ms now, aren't we? And we really only have two direct impacts in the U.S. So, consider ourselves lucky. Guys, back up to you.
[Costello:] We do. Thank you, Rob.
[Marciano:] All right.
[Romans:] President Obama will spend the next two days in two key states trying to sell his jobs plan. Today's stop, Columbus, Ohio, John Boehner country. He then heads to North Carolina tomorrow. The president's proposal includes raising taxes on wealthy Americans, individuals earning more than $200,000. Couples making more than $250,000 a year would face caps on itemized deductions and some exemptions. The president urging lawmakers to pass it immediately.
[Costello:] And now, it's your turn to talk back on that big story of the day. Today's question, should Obama's jobs plan be funded by limiting tax deductions? You know, the jobs plan the president wants Congress to pass like right now, like, that doesn't look good. Yes. Republicans like parts of the plan, but they don't like how the president wants to tax the rich to pay for it. Mr. Obama wants to end tax loopholes for oil and gas companies, hedge fund managers, and let the Bush tax cuts expire. The biggest chunk, though, $400 billion, will come from limiting tax deductions on Americans making more than $200,000 a year.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] We've got to decide what our priorities are. If we keep tax loopholes for all companies or do we put teachers back to work. Do we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires or should we invest in education and technology and infrastructure? All the things that are going to help us out innovate and out educate and out build other the countries in the future?
[Costello:] It's deja vu all over again as is the republican response. This from Senator Jon Kyl.
[Sen. Jon Kyl,  Arizona:] Who is it, Mr. President, that are the first to hire coming out of recession? It's small business. So, the very people that we are asking to hire more Americans to put them back to work are the people who would be impacted by the taxes that the president talked about the other night.
[Costello:] So, the talk back question today. Should Obama's jobs plan be funded by limiting tax deductions? Facebook.comamericanmorning. Facebook.comamericanmorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.
[Romans:] All right. Up next, Wall Street bracing for more layoffs, and if you're thinking of applying to business school, why now, well, that might be a pretty good time. It's 22 minutes after the hour.

[Whitfield:] A familiar face is coming to CNN, Anthony Bourdain, travels the world, exploring different cultures and foods. Tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern time and of course, Pacific, his new show Anthony Bourdain "PARTS UNKNOWN" makes its debut, his first stop, Myanmar.
[Anthony Bourdain, Host, Cnn's "parts Unknown":] Just two years ago, speaking to a western journalist would have put you in prison for an indeterminate amount of time. I was stunned by how open people were, how eager they were to talk to the camera, how frank they were with this, how freely they spoke that's something very unusual in a situation where freedom of speech is such a recent thing.
[Whitfield:] Anthony Bourdain bringing his taste for adventure to CNN, a new show with no boundaries. CNN brings you the world as Bourdain and his crew travel to Myanmar, Colombia, Libya, Peru and more. Anthony Bourdain "PARTS UNKNOWN" starts tomorrow night at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and Pacific right here on CNN. If you are a frequent flier like Anthony, you may have noticed some changes this year. Holly Firfer has the latest on how airlines are performing.
[Holly Firfer, Cnn Correspondent:] The airline quality rankings report is out and U.S. domestic airlines seem to get a little better last year. The report is based on numbers from the Department of Transportation.
[Unidentified Male:] They got their second best overall results since this survey began. They did better in on-time arrivals. They did better in baggage handling.
[Firfer:] The airline with the best on-time performance was Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin America lost the fewest bags. Southwest Airlines again had the lowest complaint rate and this in a year when passengers complained a lot more.
[Unidentified Male:] Customer complaints were up 20 percent. And that might seem strange, even though the airlines got pretty good results overall. Passengers are complaining about surcharges, ticketing issues, personnel, because airlines are flying fewer but more crowded planes.
[Firfer:] One of the biggest complaints of passengers was getting bumped, but there are ways to make sure you get a seat.
[Unidentified Male:] You don't get a seat assignment when you make your reservation, check in 24 hours online in advance, otherwise get to the airline two or three hours early. The best thing can you do to make the flight experience more positive, have the right frame of mind. Patience is key.
[Whitfield:] For more travel information go to cnn.comtravel. Things are looking pretty great on Wall Street, right? Is it time, though, to sell before the bubble bursts? We'll have answers straight ahead.

[Fredericka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Thanks so much. Hello, everyone. I'm Fredericka Whitfield, in for Brooke Baldwin. Happening right now, major flooding in a major city Houston, Texas deluged by with three inches of rain in three hours. A flash flood warning is in effect right now. Reporter Tim Wetzel with affiliate KHOU is in that standing water.
[Tim Wetzel, Khou Reporter:] Hey, guys. The rain is starting to fall here in northwest Harris County. And this is something people do not want to see. You can see all the floodwaters just swallowing up this neighborhood I'm in here. Look at the water coming out of this nearby creek, just flowing over this sidewalk. And this very same body of water, this very same swollen creek, nearly took a man's life earlier today.
[Wetzel:] But the water's rising and there's nowhere to go. Nearby, tow truck driver Archie Rains.
[Archie Rains, Tow Truck Driver:] He can't swim. We called fire and rescue. They were taking too long. He was getting scared. So
[Wetzel:] He's used to saving cars, but today he saved a life.
[Rains:] Yes, the car was floating into the bayou. And waiting for the fire and rescue to show up or get the car.
[Wetzel:] Rains got into his tow truck and made it to Diaz. He jumped into the water and helped the man to safety.
[Rains:] Basically when he got down to the hood, I helped him down off the car, held his hand and hold his arms, carried him back towards my truck. We got him up onto my truck and he got in the backdoor of my truck and I drove him over here. Diaz, shaken and soaking wet, tells us in Spanish he didn't see the high water sign or hear the people warning him to stop. We all honked the horns at him. We all yelled at him. He had his window down. He just looked at us and smiled and just kept going.
[Wetzel:] After pulling some 50 cars out of the water today alone, Rains is hoping not to pull out any more people.
[Rains:] Hopefully no one else goes in and does this.
[Wetzel:] And back here, where I'm standing, you can see sheriff's deputies have blocked off the road. They're trying to prevent people from going, at least in this neighborhood, down this street because it's just too dangerous. And now with this rain falling again, this is something people in this area do not want to see. In northwest Harris County, Tim Wetzel. Now back to you guys.
[Whitfield:] All right, thanks so much. Tim Wetzel with affiliate KHOU. We'll check in with meteorologist Chad Myers in just a bit as well. All right, their school disgraced, their leadership questioned. The Penn State board of trustees is meeting right now, one day after hearing the results of a scathing independent report on the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Investigators lead by former FBI Director Louis Freeh took the board to task reporting this, quote, "the board also failed in its duties to oversee the president and senior university officials in 1998 and 2001 by not inquiring about important university matters and by not creating an environment where senior university officials felt comfortable," end quote, "and accountable." The trustees say they take full responsibility for those failings, but none of them actually plan to resign. Our Susan Candiotti is outside that meeting in Scranton, Pennsylvania. So, Susan, there are critics who don't think some of the board members should actually stay. What is being discussed right now in that board room?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, remember, this is not being held, this meeting, in State College. This is, as you indicated, at a satellite campus in Scranton. And right out of the gate, the chairman of the board of trustees here immediately addressed the Freeh report. And Karen Peetz said that she acknowledged that Freeh report said that the people that were in very high positions here at Penn State University failed to confront a child sexual predator. And then without mentioning the names of those high officials named in the report, namely Former President Graham Spanier, Vice President Schultz, the athletic director, Tim Curley, and Coach Joe Paterno, she went on to say that there was a collapse in leadership, in her words, of a magnitude that should never be seen again. And then the president of Penn State University, Rodney Erickson, said that he was horrified by the report and said that already the board is starting to implement some of the recommendations made by former FBI Director Louie Freeh. But they have a long road ahead of them and a lot of fallout from this scandal. Fred.
[Whitfield:] And, Susan, you also spoke with one of the trustees on the way into the meeting. What was said?
[Candiotti:] Well this is Anthony Lubrano. Anthony Lubrano is a brand new member of the board of trustees. And he ran on a campaign by saying that Penn State University should apologize to Joe Paterno's family for firing him. And not only that, he said that the board should name is football stadium after Joe Paterno. So naturally we wanted to ask him what he thinks now after getting a chance to look at the Freeh report and hear about it. I also asked him a question about what people are saying about what should be done now. Here's part of what he said. You know, there are calls today from Bobby Bowden himself, for example, to pull down the statue of Joe Paterno.
[Anthony Lubrano, Penn State Trustee:] Yes.
[Candiotti:] What do you think of that?
[Lubrano:] Well, as I think Karen Peetz said last night, or yesterday afternoon during the press conference, that's a Penn State community matter and the Penn State community will, you know, address it in due time. But you all know my feelings for Coach Paterno and as far as I'm concerned it's something that should stay.
[Candiotti:] There are many calls to suspend the football program immediately.
[Lubrano:] I have no comment on that.
[Candiotti:] Now, I also asked him about some of the critical findings in the Freeh report. According to Louie Freeh, that Joe Paterno knew there were problems with Jerry Sandusky, who, as you know, was convicted of being a child sexual predator. Problems with him going back to 1998. Hard evidence presented by this report. Anthony Lubrano said he has not had a chance to digest the report, but whatever it says, he said, I will say this, it won't affect, in his opinion, the legacy of Joe Paterno, but he said he might have more to say about that after he thoroughly digests this report. Fred.
[Whitfield:] Susan Candiotti, thanks so much, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. All right, more news happening right now. "Rapid Fire." Let's go. President Barack Obama's campaigning today in one of the southern states that he won back in 2008. Here's the president in Virginia Beach, Virginia. And here he is just a short time ago with a jab at his 2012 challenger Mitt Romney.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] When somebody said, let's let Detroit go bankrupt, we said, we're going to bet on American workers and American industry. And now GM is back on top and Ford and Chrysler are selling cars because we believed in that American promise.
[Whitfield:] The president has a full afternoon in Virginia. He'll be campaigning later in Hampton and then this evening in Roanoke. Condoleezza Rice for vice president. The Drudge report says Mitt Romney has narrowed his candidates and Rice is near the top of the list. She also led the list of candidates favored by Republicans in an April poll, but Rice recently told CBS it's not going to happen.
[Condoleezza Rice, Former Secretary Of State:] I'm saying there is no way that I will do this because it's really not me. I know my strengths and Governor Romney needs to find someone who wants to run with him. There are many people who will do it very, very well and I'll support the ticket.
[Whitfield:] All right, and a warning now, the video that you're about to see is disturbing. Police in Connecticut say they have arrested this group home worker seen here kicking a developmentally disabled adult in the stomach. Police say Anjelica Rivera turned herself in and admitted that she was the one in the video sent anonymously to authorities and the media. A state official told CNN the victim in the video is all right. Rivera faces felony charges of unlawful restraint, cruelty and bias intimidation. All right, we've got a lot more to cover in the next two hours. Watch. Predawn crowds tired of the violence and tired of the deceit by the Syrian government. This one day after another massacre reportedly kills more than 220 people. A charity for reuniting military service animals with soldiers raising millions of dollars. Our Drew Griffin is keeping them honest. Where did the money go?
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Correspondent:] Can you tell us why you came on CNN and basically lied to our viewers about Ivey and Nugget?
[Whitfield:] He's a singer, an actor, and now Lenny Kravitz the interior designer.
[Lenny Kravitz, Musician/designer:] I think it just goes hand in hand with everything that I do creatively.

[Kaye:] Updating our top story. We are getting word out of Phoenix that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer plans to take her immigration fight to the highest court in the land. According to the AZCentral.com, Brewer says and I'm quoting here "We need to get this up to the Supreme Court and get this injunction lifted as soon as possible." She is referring to two lower court rulings that have blocked a measure she signed over a year ago giving the local police the power to stop and apprehend people that they reasonably suspect of being illegal immigrants. Washington insists immigration is a federal matter, not for individual states to act on as they wish. As part of CNN's special coverage, we are focusing on the baby boomers. The first wave of baby boomers turns 65 this year, which means many are on the verge of retirement. And because of the sheer numbers, the boomer generation is forcing to redefine the way that we think about retiring and aging. By 2050, the number of Americans, 65 and older, will reach 88.5 million. That's more than double that age groups population now. The explosion of aging baby bombers has troubling implications for Social Security and Medicare. So, how they retire will impact generations to come. John Zarrella shows us the different realities of retirement.
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Some people say that this place is right out of "Avatar." Whatever it reminds of, so long as you love it, George Fernandez is happy.
[George Fernandez, Co-founde, Key West Conservatory:] This is a unique experience. It is called the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. We opened in 2003.
[Zarrella:] Fernandez says 60 species of butterflies and 29 species of birds call this habitat home. And like the birds and the butterflies, this place is flying high. Thousands of visitors come here every year. George could retire tomorrow if he chose.
[Fernandez:] I have no dream of ever retiring. I will be here for as long as I can.
[Zarrella:] Carol Tedesco is a freelance photographer, writer and expert on shipwrecked recovered treasure coins. Retirement?
[Carol Tedesco, Photographer And Researcher/writer:] I love my life. I make enough money for the life that I have, but I don't have a retirement.
[Zarrella:] Tedesco and Fernandez are baby boomers, both moved to Key West many years back. And neither has children, and both have a passion for what they do, drive, and 247 work ethic.
[Fernandez:] The atlas moth is very unique. It lives only four or five days a very, very short life cycle.
[Tedesco:] You take a blank of silver, heat it, put it between the dyes,
[Zarrella:] What's that?
[Tedesco:] And hit it with a hammer
[Zarrella:] Really?
[Tedesco:] just like that.
[Zarrella:] But both of them are also very different. Twenty years ago, George and his partner started with one gallery, and then, another, the conservatory was a dream.
[Fernandez:] We went to the bank and they said, you are going to build a what and you want to borrow how much?
[Zarrella:] Now, that dream has given George financial security, a second home in North Carolina and no worries about money.
[Fernandez:] In the course of eight years, we have found that this is an incredible rewarding financially, spiritually, emotionally. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
[Zarrella:] Carol hasn't parlayed her passion into riches, not yet anyway.
[Tedesco:] Whenever I have gotten a little traction financially and put some money away or, you know, had an IRA, either setbacks in life have caused me to dip back into it, or sometimes investing into a business, I dip into it. So, am I a great financial planner? No.
[Zarrella:] Do you worry about the growing old part and not having security?
[Tedesco:] Well, I have spent some time in Latin America, and a Social Security check can go a long way there.
[Zarrella:] Both Carol and George say being baby boomers instilled in them is a strong work ethic and that, too, can go a long way. John Zarrella, CNN, Key West.
[Kaye:] Deciding who can fly even when the passengers are screened, should a pilot be able to kick them off of his airplane? Well, it happened to two Muslim men. Our "Stream Team" tackles that question, next.

[Kaye:] An online shoe company is seeing big profits during a tough time. Tom Foreman reports it may be because employees get to have a whole lot of fun.
[Tom Foreman, Cnn Correspondent:] 247, two by two, Zappos.com is moving shoes. More than $1 billion annually in Internet sales, fueled by a wide selection, free shipping, and money-back guarantees.
[Unidentified Female:] Thank you for calling Zappos.com.
[Foreman:] Not bad for a company that started a dozen years ago with a radical concept success is about service
[Unidentified Female:] OK. No problem.
[Foreman:] not selling. CEO Tony Hsieh.
[Tony Hsieh, Ceo, Zappos:] And for us, culture is just important, it's actually the number one priority of the company.
[Foreman:] The culture is raucous, infectious, and everywhere. Employees decorate as they choose, enjoying an unbelievable array of company services, including free lunch, ice cream, massages. We asked our guide, Ray Andre, about the business environment. [on camera]: This is a business meeting?
[Ray Andre, Zappos:] This is a business meeting.
[Foreman:] There's a lot of giggling go on in there.
[Andre:] There is.
[Foreman:] Getting in is not easy. Zappos takes months to screen applicants, and even in training, new hires are offered $4,000 to quit just to weed out those who might not really want to be here.
[Andre:] So we figure we could train most people to do their jobs, but we can't train somebody to fit into our culture.
[Foreman:] What is your key philosophy about running this business?
[Hsieh:] Internally, we have a saying that we're a service company that just happens to sell shoes.
[Foreman:] You realize nobody in America who sees this is going to want to go to work tomorrow? [voice-over]: So they can laugh at comments like that because everyone here seems eager to come to work every day, building up this runaway success. Tom Foreman, CNN, Henderson, Nevada.
[Kaye:] And this just in to CNN, what could be a significant development coming to us out of Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak, we're told, has resigned. Not as president. I want to make that very clear. Not as president, but he has resigned as head of the National Democratic Party. That is Egypt's ruling party. So he is still president. This just in to us. We are working on getting a live report from Egypt, possibly in the noon hour, or the next few minutes for you. But once again, Hosni Mubarak has resigned as head of the National Democratic Party, Egypt's ruling party. NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Fredricka Whitfield. And Fred, you have a whole lot for us besides that that could be breaking.
[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Yes. We have an interesting panel of guests to join us on Egypt, and so we're going to be now posing new questions to include that element, what does that really mean for Egypt. Also, our legal guys will be with us in the noon Eastern hour.
[Kaye:] They're always fun.
[Whitfield:] We always love Avery and Richard. And they're going to be tackling two pretty interesting cases. Well, many cases, but two in particular. One involving Halle Berry, and now this custody battle. She and her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel Aubry, are going toe-to-toe, so to speak, over their 2-year-old little girl. A custody battle, it's ugly. Apparently, Halle Berry, now accusing him of using racial slurs, and that she fears for the safety of her 2-year-old daughter, Nahla. And Lindsay Lohan, what would a legal segment be without Lindsay Lohan being part of it? Our legal guys are going to tackle this one. She is being accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store, or her camp is saying it was borrowed. So which is it? She returned the necklace, but just shy of a search being conducted on her home. And then in the 2:00 Eastern hour, we're going to talk about the rise of the grandparents, the population of the grandparents.
[Kaye:] The grandparent economy, as it's being called.
[Whitfield:] That's right. Three out of 10 adults is a grandparent. And so the grandparents of today, the profile very different from the grandparents of yesteryear. Our Josh Levs is looking into the economic impact of that and how the relationship is also relying on some new technological tools that grandparents are using with their young grandkids, and how that is really also creating a new opportunity for entrepreneurs as well.
[Kaye:] They're big spenders, grandparents.
[Whitfield:] Yes, they are.
[Kaye:] I don't remember if mine were.
[Whitfield:] It's the baby boom generation as grandparents. Yes, very different from, say, the Depression era grandparents. They're spending, they're digging a little deeper these days.
[Kaye:] All right. Yes, they are. Fred, lots of good stuff to talk about. We'll see you at the top of the hour.
[Whitfield:] All right.
[Kaye:] In a moment, a look at how Egypt's capital has changed during nearly two weeks of protests. We'll bring you a different view of where anti-government demonstrators are making their stand.

[Rep. Ron Paul , Presidential Candidate:] I think it would be enhanced. I don't want to cut any defense. And you have to get it straight. There's a lot of money spent in the military budget that doesn't do any good for our defense. How does it help us to keep troops in Korea all these years? We're broke. We have to borrow this money. Why are we in Japan? Why do we subsidize Germany, and they subsidize their socialized system over there? Because we pay for it. We're broke. And this whole thing that this can't be on the table, I'll tell you what, this debt bubble is the thing you better really worry about, because it's imploding on us right now. It's worldwide. We are no more removed from this than man the man on the moon. It's going to get much worse. And to cut military spending is a wise thing to do. We would be safer if we weren't in so many places. We have an empire. We can't afford it. The empires always bring great nations down. We spread ourselves too thinly around the world. This is what's happened throughout history, and we're doing it to ourselves. The most recent empire to fail was an empire that went into, of all places, Afghanistan...
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor And Debate Moderator:] Time.
[Paul:] ... they went broke. So where are we? In Afghanistan. I say it's time to come home.
[Cooper:] It's time. We have a Twitter question. Given that Israel has just negotiated with Palestine for a soldier, would any of you negotiate for a hostage? Herman Cain, let me ask this to you. A few hours ago you were asked by Wolf Blitzer, if al Qaeda had an American soldier in captivity, and they demanded the release of everyone at Guantanamo Bay, would you release them? And you said, quote: "I can see myself authorizing that kind of a transfer. Can you explain?
[Herman Cain, Presidential Candidate:] The rest of the statement was quite simply, you would have to consider the entire situation. But let me say this first, I would have a policy that we do not negotiate with terrorists. We have to lay that principle down first. Now being that you have to look at each individual situation and consider all the facts. The point that I made about this particular situation is that I'm sure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to consider a lot of things before he made that. So on the surface, I don't think we can say he did the right thing or not. A responsible decision-maker would have considered everything.
[Cooper:] But you're saying you could I mean, in your words, you've said that I could see myself authorizing that kind of a transfer. Isn't that negotiating with, in this case, al Qaeda?
[Cain:] I don't recall him saying that it was al Qaeda-related.
[Cooper:] Yes, he did. He said...
[Cain:] Well, I don't really my policy will be we cannot negotiate with terrorists. That's where we have to start as a fundamental principle.
[Cooper:] Senator Santorum?
[Former Sen. Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] Oh, absolutely not. I mean, you can't negotiate with terrorists, period. To address Congressman Paul's answer and the other answer on military spending, I would absolutely not cut one penny out of military spending. The first order of the federal government, the only thing the federal government can do that no other level of government can do is protect us. It is the first duty of the president of the United States is to protect us.
[Santorum:] And we should have the resources we should have all the resources in place to make sure that we can defend our borders, that we can make sure that when we engage in foreign countries, we do so to succeed. That has been the problem in this administration. We've had political objectives instead of objectives for success. And that's why we haven't succeeded. And as Michele said and correctly said, the central threat right now is Iran. The disrespect, yes, but it's more than that. They sent a message. The two countries that they went after was the leader of the Islamic world, Saudi Arabia, and the leader of the, quote, "secular world," the United States. This was a call by Iran to say we are the ones who are going to be the supreme leader of the Islamic world...
[Cooper:] Time.
[Santorum:] ... and we are going to be the supreme leader of the secular world. And that's why they attacked here. And, by the way, they did it in coordination...
[Cooper:] Time.
[Santorum:] ... with Central and South Americans, which I have been talking about and writing about and talking about for 10 years.
[Cooper:] Congressman Paul, you were referenced in that answer, 30 seconds.
[Paul:] Well, I think we're on economic suicide if we're not even willing to look at some of these overseas expenditures, 150 bases 900 bases, 150 different countries. We have enough weapons to blow up the world about 20-25 times. We have more weapons than all the other countries put together essentially. And we want to spend more and more, and you can't cut a penny? I mean, this is why we're at an impasse. I want to hear somebody up here willing to cut something. Something real. This budget is in bad shape and the financial calamity is going to be much worse than anybody ever invading this country. Which country are they going to invade this country? They can't even shoot a missile at us.
[Cooper:] We have a question in the hall that gets to your question. The question in the hall on foreign aid? Yes, ma'am.
[Vicki O'keefe, Boulder City, Nevada:] The American people are suffering in our country right now. Why do we continue to send foreign aid to other countries when we need all the help we can get for ourselves?
[Cooper:] Governor Perry, what about that? I mean...
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] Absolutely. I think it's time for this country to have a very real debate about foreign aid. Clearly there are places. As a matter of fact, I think it's time for us to have a very serious discussion about defunding the United Nations.
[Perry:] When you think about when you think about the Palestinian Authority circumventing those Oslo Accords and going to New York to try to create the conflict and to have themselves approved as a state without going through the proper channels is a travesty. And I think it's time not only to have that entire debate about all of our foreign aid, but in particular the U.N. Why are we funding that organization?
[Cooper:] Governor Romney, should foreign aid be eliminated?
[Former Gov. Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] Foreign aid has several elements. One of those elements is defense, is to make sure that we are able to have the defense resources we want in certain places of the world. That probably ought to fall under the Department of Defense budget rather than a foreign aid budget. Part of it is humanitarian aid around the world. I happen to think it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to borrow money from the Chinese to go give to another country for humanitarian aid. We ought to get the Chinese to take care of the people that are and think of that borrowed money on today. And finally there's a portion of our foreign aid that allows us to carry out our activities in the world such as what's happening in Pakistan where we're taking we're supplying our troops in Afghanistan through Pakistan. But let me tell you: We're spending more on foreign aid than we ought to be spending. And Congressman Paul asked, is there a place we can cut the budget? Let me tell you where we cut the budget. Discretionary accounts you bring back to 2008 level. We get rid of Obamacare. Number three, we take Medicaid, turn it back to the states, grow it at only 1 percent to 2 percent per year. Number three, we cut number four, rather, we cut federal employment by at least 10 percent through attrition. And finally, we say to federal employees: You're not going to make more money than the people in the private sector who are paying for you. We link their compensation.
[Cooper:] Time. Congressman Paul?
[Paul:] On foreign aid, that should be the easiest thing to cut. It's not authorized in the Constitution that we can take money from you and give it to particular countries around the world. To me, foreign aid is taking money from poor people in this country and giving it to rich people in poor countries. And it becomes weapons of war. Essentially, no well no matter how well-motivated it is...
[Cooper:] Congressman Paul, would you cut aid to Israel?
[Paul:] I would cut all foreign aid. I would treat everybody equally and fairly. And I don't think aid to Israel actually helps them. I think it teaches them to be dependent. We're on a bankruptcy course. And and look at what's the result of all that foreign aid we gave to Egypt? I mean, their their dictator that we pumped up, we spent all these billions of dollars, and now there's a more hostile regime in Egypt. And that's what's happening all around Israel. That foreign aid makes Israel dependent on us. It softens them for their own economy. And they should have their sovereignty back. They should be able to deal with their neighbors...
[Cooper:] Time. Congresswoman Bachmann...
[Paul:] ... at their own will.
[Cooper:] Should we cut foreign aid to Israel?
[Rep. Michele Bachmann , Presidential Candidate:] No, we should not be cutting foreign aid to Israel. Israel is our greatest ally. The biggest problem is the fact...
[Cooper:] Herman Cain, I've got to give you 30 seconds, because she was referring to basically saying you were naive or if if that's what you were suggesting.
[Cain:] No, I I said that I believe in the philosophy of we don't negotiate with terrorists. I think I didn't say I would never agree to letting hostages in Guantanamo Bay go. No, that wasn't that wasn't the intent at all. But let me go back to this, if I could, very quickly in the time that I have left, the question that you asked about, foreign aid. My approach is an extension of the Reagan approach: Peace through strength, which is peace through strength and clarity. If we clarify who our friends are, clarify who our enemies are, and stop giving money to our enemies, then we ought to continue to give money to our friends, like Israel.
[Cooper:] You have 30 seconds, Congressman Paul, and then we've got to go.
[Paul:] Oh, yes. As a matter of fact, I don't want to make a statement. I want to ask a question. Are you all willing to condemn Ronald Reagan for exchanging weapons for hostages out of Iran? We all know that was done.
[Santorum:] That's not Iran was a sovereign country. It was not a terrorist organization, number one.
[Paul:] Oh, they were our good friends back then, huh?
[Santorum:] They're not our good friends. They're they're they're a sovereign country, just like the the Palestinian Authority is not the good friends of Israel.
[Paul:] He negotiated for hostages.
[Santorum:] There's there's a role we negotiated with hostages [inaudible] the Soviet Union. We've negotiated with hostages, depending on the scale. But there's a difference between releasing terrorists from Guantanamo Bay in response to a terrorist demand...
[Paul:] But they're all suspects. They're not terrorists. You haven't convicted them of anything.
[Santorum:] Then then then negotiating with other countries, where we may have an interest, and that is certainly a proper role for the United States, too.
[Cooper:] We've got to take a quick break. I do want to give Speaker Gingrich 30 seconds, and then...
[Former Rep. Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] Just very straightforward. Callista and I did a film on Ronald Reagan. There's a very painful moment in the film when he looks in the camera and says, "I didn't think we did this. I'm against doing it. I went back and looked. The truth is, we did. It was an enormous mistake." And he thought the Iranian deals with a terrible mistake.
[Cooper:] We're going to take a short break. Our debate though continues on the other side of the break, so stay tuned. When we return, which candidate has the best chance to beat Barack Obama, and should it matter in your vote? Stay with us. And welcome back. The GOP debate is under way. Let's talk about probably the most important issue to everybody on this stage, and probably just about everybody in this room, which is, who can beat President Barack Obama in this next election? In today's new CNNORC poll, 41 percent of Republican voters think that Governor Romney has the best chance of beating the president. To Senator Santorum, you got one percent. Why shouldn't Republican voters go with the candidate they feel that can best beat President Obama?
[Santorum:] Well, the Pew poll last week asked how many people in this country can name any of us? And less than 50 percent could come up with even one. So, the idea that this has any relevance to people who aren't paying close attention to this debate is, in fact, irrelevant. What's relevant is to look at the track record. No one in this field has won a swing state. Pennsylvania is a swing state. We win Pennsylvania, we win the election. The Republicans nominate it. I've won it twice. I defeated a Democratic incumbent, winning it the first time, and I won the state of Pennsylvania, the only senator to win a state who was a conservative that George Bush lost. Bush lost it by 5, I won it by 6. So, you have someone who is defeated and been matched up against three Democratic incumbents. I'm 3-0. Nobody in this field has won a major race against a Democratic incumbent except me. No one has won a swing state except me as a conservative. I didn't run as a Democrat in Texas when it was popular, won and win there. I didn't run as a liberal in 1994. I ran in 1994, the same year Mitt did in Massachusetts. He ran as a liberal, to the left of Kennedy, and lost. I ran as a conservative against James Carville and Paul Begala, and I won. In 2002, he ran as a moderate. He ran as a moderate in in Massachusetts. I ran for re-election having sponsored and passed welfare reform, having authored the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
[Cooper:] Time.
[Santorum:] I was a a moral conservative, I was a foreign policy conservative...
[Cooper:] Time, Senator.
[Santorum:] ... I was a fiscal conservative, and I got elected in a state that hasn't elected a president since 1988 as a Republican.
[Cooper:] Thank you. Governor Romney, I've got to give you 30 seconds, since he referenced you.
[Romney:] I think the people of America are looking for someone who can beat President Obama and can get the country on the right track. And I believe that they've recognized that if they elect someone who's spent their life in politics that they're not going to be able to post up well against President Obama and convince the American people of the truth of the of the principles that we believe in. I believe that, having spent my life in the private sector, having actually created jobs is what allows me to have the kind of support that's going to allow me to replace President Obama and get the country on the right track again. That, for me, is a distinguishing feature that's going to get me elected as the president of the United States.
[Cooper:] Governor...
[Perry:] If you want to know how someone's going to act in the future, look how they act in the past. I mean, so, Mitt, while you were the governor of Massachusetts in that period of time, you were 47th in the nation in job creation. During that same period of time, we created 20 times more jobs. As a matter of fact, you'd created 40,000 jobs total in your four years. Last two months, we created more jobs than that in Texas. What we need is someone who will draw a bright contrast between themselves and President Obama. And let me tell you one thing: I will draw that bright contrast.
[Cooper:] I've got to give you 30 seconds. Governor Romney?
[Romney:] Yeah. With regards to track record in the past, Governor, you were the chairman of Al Gore's campaign, all right?
[Perry:] That is an absolute falsehood on its face, Mitt.
[Cooper:] You have 30 seconds, Governor Perry.
[Romney:] It's actually it's actually...
[Perry:] That is that is absolutely incorrect, sir.
[Romney:] Well, take a look at the study.
[Perry:] There's a third there's been a third party take a look at that study, and it is absolutely incorrect. The fact is, Texas has led the nation in job creation. eBay and Facebook and Caterpillar didn't come there because there weren't jobs and there wasn't an environment to be created. That's what Americans are looking for. They're looking for somebody that they trust, that knows has the executive governing experience. I've got it. You failed as the governor of Massachusetts.
[Cooper:] I've got to give Governor Romney 30 seconds. He said you failed.
[Romney:] I'm very proud of the fact actually, during the four years we were both governors, my unemployment rate in Massachusetts was lower than your unemployment rate in Texas. That's number one. Number two, getting it down to 4.7, I'm pretty happy with. We worked very hard to balance our budget, did every year, put in place a rainy-day fund of $2 billion by the time I was finished. And I'll tell you this, the American people would be happy for an individual who can lead the country who's actually created jobs, not just watching them get created by others, but someone who knows how the economy works because he's been in it. I have. I've created jobs. I'll use that skill to get America working again. That's what we want.
[Cooper:] Herman Cain, you're Herman Cain, you're tied with Governor Romney in some of the polls for the top leadership position right now. Is a are they the ones are either Governor Perry or Governor Romney, are they the ones who should be president?
[Cain:] No, I should be president.
[Cooper:] Well, obviously.
[Cain:] Governor Romney has a very distinguished career, and I would agree with much of what he has said. And there's one difference between the two of us in terms of our experience. With all due respect, his business executive experience has been more Wall Street- oriented; mine has been more Main Street. I have managed small companies. I've actually had to clean the parking lot. I've worked with groups of businesses, et cetera. And as far as contrasting me with President Obama, if I am fortunate enough to become the Republican nominee, it's going to be the problem-solver who fixes stuff versus the president who hasn't fixed anything in this country.
[Cooper:] Governor Romney, you've got 30 seconds.
[Romney:] I I appreciate that. And probably the fact that we're doing as well as we are is we both have a private-sector background. That probably helps. But I just want to set the record state on my record record straight on my record. I've been chief executive officer four times, once for a start-up and three times for turnarounds. One was a financial services company. That was the start-up. A a consulting company, that's a mainstream business. The Olympics, that's certainly mainstream. And, of course, the state of Massachusetts. In all those settings, I've learned how to create jobs.
[Cooper:] Your campaigns are telling us we have to end. It's time...
[Bachmann:] Oh, no, no, no...
[Gingrich:] Wait a second.
[Cooper:] Sorry.
[Bachmann:] Anderson, Anderson, that is...
[Cooper:] It's your campaigns. I'm...
[Bachmann:] Anderson...
[Cooper:] If you want to defy your campaigns, go ahead. Congresswoman Bachmann, 30 seconds.
[Bachmann:] Anderson Anderson, the good news is, the cake is baked. Barack Obama will be a one-term president; there's no question about that.
[Cooper:] Speaker Gingrich?
[Bachmann:] We can't settle in this race.
[Cooper:] Speaker Gingrich?
[Gingrich:] Let me let me just point out for a second that maximizing bickering is probably not the road to the White House.
[Cooper:] We'd love to host those on CNN. I want to thank all the candidates, the GOP candidates tonight. I want to thank all the candidates for a spirited debate on the stage. We also want to thank our co-sponsors, the Western Republican Leadership Conference, our host, the Sands Convention Center at the Venetian. Our coverage of "America's Choice 2012" continues right now here on CNN.

[Drew Griffin, Cnn Anchor:] Live from Studio 7, I'm Drew Griffin, in today for Suzanne. Let's get you up to speed on this Monday, August 15th. Shall we? President Obama trying to snag some of that spotlight from Republican candidates after their game-changing weekend in Iowa. The president begins a three-day bus tour with a town hall. That's next hour. It's going to be in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. He also has stops in Iowa and his home state of Illinois. Gallup's daily tracking poll shows the economy and Washington's dysfunctional ways have cut the president's job approval rating to 39 percent. That is an all-time low. CNN NEWSROOM plans live coverage of the president's town hall in Minnesota. That is scheduled, we believe, for 12:45 Eastern. It's been a little fuzzy coming out of our White House. Dow stocks are going for three wins in a row today after a wild week of zigs and zags. Right now, the Dow seems to be up I'm reading without any glasses 136 points. A merger helped excite investors today. Google says it's going to buy Motorola Mobility, the maker of the Droid smartphone. Get this, $12 billion is that price tag.
[Unidentified Male:] Please join in a moment of silence for all of those that were impacted.
[Griffin:] And that happened this morning as the Indiana State Fair reopened. A moment of silence marking five people who were killed Saturday night, when winds as high as 70 miles an hour brought down a concert stage. Unbelievable video there. A structural engineer is going to comb through the scaffolding today to see if anything glaring went wrong, potential problems there. Authorities say there's nothing to indicate the collapse was anything but a freak accident. A witness described a rush of adrenaline.
[Jenna Gioe, Witness:] A lot of the men, though, had rushed the stage and rushed the scaffolding to try to get it to lift it up, but there was almost nothing that they could do to try to lift it. But a lot of people were just standing there in shock and were unsure what to do at that point.
[Griffin:] The accident injured dozens of people. Several are in critical condition, some of them with life-threatening injuries. Angry crowds outside a Cairo courthouse today. Take a look. These are both supporters and opponents of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. They threw rocks at each other. Security forces caught in the middle. Mubarak arrived for today's court hearing on a gurney and was placed in a defendant's cage. The judge ruled courtroom television cameras will be turned off going forward. That's probably why. Mubarak, charged with ordering security forces to fire on anti- government protesters last winter. Moammar Gadhafi calling on Libyans to crush the "traitors" that's his words for rebels. The rebels claimed control of several cities in western Libya. That, effectively, is putting a noose around the capital of Tripoli and cuts critical supply lines from Tunisia. Still, Gadhafi remains confident.
[Moammar Gadhafi, Libyan Leader:] It is a great thing that you gather every night during Ramadan in the Green Square despite the air strikes. People have gathered to defy, dance, sing, and fight. The end of colonization is school. The end of the rats is also soon. They are running from one House to another as the people chase them away.
[Griffin:] All right. That's what he said. All this, as Gadhafi's prime minister turned up in Cairo today. His defection, if that's what it is, has not been confirmed. There's been a wave of bombs exploding across all corners of Iraq, killing at least 69 people. The deadliest attacks took place in the city of Kut. Twin bombings killing 34 people in a busy commercial district. Most of today's apparently coordinated bombings targeted Iraqi security forces. Protesters are hoping to disrupt the ride home for San Francisco subway commuters. The Bay Area Rapid Transit System it's known as BART had its Web site hacked on Sunday. Hacked by the group Anonymous, which says it did it because BART cut cell service at some stations last week. BART took that step to keep protesters from coordinating their activities. And in case you missed it, the Perseid meteor shower peaked this weekend. These pictures from a CNN iReporter in Oregon. Beautiful sky there. Perseids happen every August when the Earth passes through the trail of dust left by the comet Swift-Tuttle. Certainly the closest and maybe clearest view of Perseid came from space. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station tweeted this picture of the meteor shower. Here is your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big issues of the day. Today's question: What does President Obama need to tell middle America? Carol Costello joins us from New York Carol.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] I'm already getting an earful, Drew. Thanks.
[Griffin:] I know you are.
[Costello:] President Obama knows all too well that most Americans have had it with Washington. So he's leaving just temporarily, of course. Today he kicks off a bus tour of the heartland, the White House says, so he can hear from Americans about their economic struggles. It's worth noting he will be visiting Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa, states he won handily in 2008, but he won't visit Ohio or Indiana, swing states he won by the skin of his teeth. In the lead-up to the 2008 election, candidate Obama spent 29 days campaigning in Ohio. Last year, Mr. Obama stopped at a Youngstown steel plant that created jobs thanks in part to federal stimulus money.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Youngstown can compete against anybody. Got the best workers. There's no reason why we can't compete with anybody if you guys have the support that you need.
[Costello:] Fast forward to today. Ohio is mired like the rest of the country in high unemployment, and it isn't feeling the love. Youngstown University professor Paul Sracic says, "There's clearly a perception in middle America that President Obama does not feel their pain." Sracic says that, "To win over the Rust Belt, Mr. Obama has to do more than just give a stump speech." In other words, less talking and more listening. So the "Talk Back" question today: What does President Obama need to tell middle America? Facebook.comCarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
[Griffin:] Can't wait, Carol. You better get ready.
[Costello:] I am.
[Griffin:] All right. Thanks a lot. And here's a rundown of some of the stories we are covering this morning. I'll speak live with South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn. His role on the super committee is going to be number one on the topic. He's charged with finding $1.5 trillion in budget savings. Also, will it be another roller-coaster week for stocks? Hear from a trader about the mood up there on Wall Street. And the trial of Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak, will now take place behind closed doors. Why? We'll find out. And later, how to complain to customer service and actually get results. Also, San Francisco's BART train system warning riders of another possible protest. And meanwhile, hackers disrupt the Web site, leaving these wild messages behind.
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] Make no mistake about it. Again, this is criminal. But the people who are doing this are very smart. They know where the vulnerabilities are. And your question, can they be stopped? Well, at this point, the answer is no.

[Crowley:] U.S. officials say Mexican drug cartels are arming themselves with AK-47s bought in Arizona. The alleged operations can be especially hard to crack, because, as CNN's Casey Wian reports, anyone who passes a background check is allowed, under U.S. law to buy the high-powered rifles by the dozens.
[Dave Larue, Legendary Guns:] This would be the standard gun.
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] The AK-47 was developed after World War II for the Soviet Army.
[Larue:] It's probably the most produced and reliable weapon in the world today.
[Wian:] More than six decades later, Kalashnikov-style rifles remain in demand from collectors, gun enthusiasts and Mexican drug cartels. Why would a drug cartel member want to be armed with an AK-47?
[Larue:] High capacity in the magazine and extreme reliability.
[Wian:] The semiautomatic version can be purchased legally in most U.S. states, but in Arizona, federal officials say, that's become a problem.
[Dennis Burke, U.s. Attorney:] The drug cartels go shopping for their war weapons in Arizona.
[Wian:] Last month, federal authorities announced they broke up a major weapons trafficking ring, supplying hundred of high-powered rifles to a Mexican cartel. All of the 34 people charged are either U.S. citizens or legal residents accused of acting as so-called straw purchasers.
[Burke:] Around August 2010, defendant Ria Patino purchased 12 12 AK-47 type rifles from a gun shop in Glendale. Three days later, federal agents found all 12 of the purchased rifles concealed in a stove and a television in an attempt to smuggle them into Mexico from the United States.
[Wian:] Prosecutors say the weapons were discovered here at the Lukeville, Arizona border crossing, but allegedly bought here at a suburban Phoenix gun shop. Prosecutors say that during the course of their investigation, suspects allegedly bought hundreds of AK-47 rifles, the weapon of choice for Mexican drug cartels, from the Lone Wolf Trading Company, along with assorted other guns. Although purchasers say the suspects bought weapons in batches as large as 40, they say the gun dealer broke no laws. Other Arizona gun dealers say the often suspect customers may be working for drug traffickers.
[Larue:] We make quite an effort to ascertain that's not the case, and if we have suspicions that that is the case, we terminate the sale. And I'll bet we've done that a hundred times, probably more than that.
[Larry Kaufman, Windsor Arms Co:] If I had an AK-47, I'm thinking I sold it to an individual who went through a background check and so on, I considered I could go to sleep at night. But if I'm buying the stuff by the cratefuls, wait a minute, something stinks here.
[Wian:] In Arizona, it's legal to buy as many high-powered rifles as you want for your own personal use, but lying about buying them for someone else is a federal crime.
[Bill Newell, Atf Special Agent In Charge:] Individuals for who money lie on the ATF forms in the acquisition of firearms and knowingly do that, and then knowingly put those firearms, many times tens if not hundreds of firearms, in the hands of individuals who they probably have a pretty good cause to believe are taking those firearm south, in my opinion, have as much blood on their hands as those individuals that ultimately pull the trigger.
[Wian:] The ATF says gun dealers often cooperate in identifying suspected straw purchasers, but the agency would not discuss the role of the Lone Wolf Trading Company in its weapons trafficking investigation. We tried to speak with the store's owner. He would only provide a prepared statement, reading in part, "We have worked closely in conjunction with several federal agencies, including the Phoenix office of ATF. Due to the sensitive nature of any ongoing federal investigation, we are obviously precluded from making any further statement." In December, ATF proposed new regulations that would allow it to track sales of two or more rifles to the same person within a five-day period, similar to existing requirements for handguns. The White House has not acted on the proposal.
[Burke:] The idea that anybody can just go in on any day and buy 20 AK-47s and the person doesn't have to explain anything other than the fact that they have to say is that for yourself or not, which is the legal hook we have of the federal crime they committed, that something's lacking there.
[Wian:] Casey Wian, CNN, Phoenix.
[Crowley:] A new warning about U.S. relations with Pakistan from America's top military officer. And the unrest in Libya. Can Muammar Gadhafi survive the anti- government protests that have spread to his country? And Sarah Palin finds a new forum to slam President Obama.

[Whitfield:] Tomorrow marks a horrible day in American history. One year ago Sunday, a gunman went on a rampage in Tucson killing six people. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was among the critically wounded. Remarkably she survived after a bullet went through her brain. Giffords is expected to attend a vigil honoring the victims. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more.
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] ... breaking news for you. Several people have been shot. The shooting occurred at a grocery store.
[Unidentified Male:] We have discovered that we have 18 individuals who were shot.
[Thelma Gutierrez, Cnn Correspondent:] January 8th, 2011. A date Tucson will never forget.
[Unidentified Female:] The bodies laying on the concrete.
[Unidentified Male:] The screaming, the crying, the bleeding.
[Gutierrez:] Nineteen 19 people were shot that day, six of them died. The youngest, 9-year-old Christina Greene was one of many who had gone to the Safeway Store to meet Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Christina was there with her neighbor Susie Heilemann.
[Suzie Heilman, Shooting Victim:] And then this gunshot.
[Gutierrez:] Christina was shot in the chest.
[Heilman:] I was holding hands with Christina. We were just eyeball to eyeball. She was confused and scared and I knew when we were lying on the ground outside of Safeway the light went out of her eyes.
[Gutierrez:] As many of the victims lay bleeding in pools of blood, two men wrestled the gunman.
[Joe Zamudio, Shooting Witness:] And I took my legs on his behind his knees and my arm on the back on the small of his back, and another guy was stepping on his neck.
[Unidentified Female:] The gunman was in police custody.
[Tammy Vo, Kgun 9 Correspondent:] He is Jared Lee Loughner, 22 years old.
[Gutierrez:] The scene was chaotic with sheriff deputies and civilians trying to triage victims.
[Unidentified Female:] Is anybody injured? Did you say Gabrielle Giffords was hit?
[Gutierrez:] The congresswoman had been shot in the head. Her intern, Daniel Hernandez, ran to her side and used his bare hands to stop the bleeding.
[Daniel Hernandez, Former Intern For Giffords:] I couldn't see an exit wound. I didn't know if there was one. All I saw was the entry wound. That's where I was applying the pressure.
[Gutierrez:] In the end, it was Hernandez, the paramedics and the trauma team who saved Gabrielle Giffords' life.
[Dr. Peter Rhee, Medical Director, Umc Trauma Center:] Overall, this is about as good as it'll going to get. You know, when you get shot in the head and bullet goes through your brain, the chances of living are very small and the chances of you waking up and actually following commands
[Gutierrez:] January 8, 2011 will be remembered as a catastrophic day. One where a year later a community has pulled together to honor the victims and survivors of the deadliest rampage in the city's history. Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
[Whitfield:] Christina Taylor Greene was just nine years old, the youngest victim of that massacre in Tucson. Her parents remember that day and their daughter on CNN's "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT."
[John Greene, Father Of Christina Taylor Greene:] She had a lot of qualities. She was very very outgoing. She loved to get people together and play and things like that. And she would direct, you know, direct traffic. One day I went over to her school to visit her during lunch hour before going to recess. And I peeked around and she was she had about eight kids around her and she was like I saw her, she was you go this way and all the other girls go this way you know, that's what she liked to do. She like to she's very social, very you know, she had she had a competitive fire to her, too.
[Piers Morgan, Host, "piers Morgan Tonight":] On the day you were just going about your normal lives, and you get this awful call. You hear first, Roxanne, and then, John, you get a call. You must have the sense of disbelief and then you realize she's been caught up in this horrific incident. Gabrielle Giffords has been shot, presumed dead. Other people have been gunned down. What are you thinking when this is all unfurling?
[Roxanne Greene, Mother Of Christina Taylor Greene:] I was thinking it was a nightmare and that I was going to wake up, so I kept on pinching myself and hoping that it wasn't real. It was that horrendous. It was horrible. And then days after that, I would go to her room and hope to find her in her room. But, you know, obviously you know that it is real and you just day by day, you know, you just try to cope. And we have a deep faith in God so we prayed a lot and that helped us.
[Morgan:] I interviewed Mark Kelly recently, Gabrielle Giffords' husband, a very remarkable man in many ways. And he was saying how desperate they feel for those loss of lives. And I think particularly probably because she's so young, you know, she would have been 10 in November in September.
[J. Greene:] In September 11th.
[Morgan:] He was saying really, you know, it's hard to reconcile what happened. Have you been able to get to that point? I mean, you, I know, John, when you first discovered your daughter was dead, was told, did they get the person that did this?
[J. Greene:] Yes.
[Morgan:] And does it give you any any kind of comfort that they had?
[J. Greene:] It definitely did. I don't know how people say like Natalee Holloway's parents cope with with not knowing. We knew exactly what happened to our daughter. It was tragic and, you know, we're still dealing with that today. But, again, our faith in our family and friends kind of got us through, you know, coping with with the issues of losing a child.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] All right. Soledad, thank you so much. Good morning, everyone. Lots going on this hour on this busy Friday. But we're going to start with breaking news about that controversy involving the White House and a policy involving birth control. We've just learned the Obama administration could put out a compromise for Catholics today. Dan Lothian is at the White House. So, Dan, what exactly are you hearing?
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] That's right, I'm hearing that a compromise or an accommodation, as they like to call it here. I'm hearing this from a senior administration official, will likely be announced today. We're trying to get more details but it will likely be some kind of a balance whereby women do have access to contraceptive coverage but at the other hand a bit you will have these organizations, religious affiliated organizations will not have to directly provide that coverage. It's unclear whether this will be enough to ease the concerns of these religious organizations and others who really were looking for a reversal of this policy. What's clear though is there's been a lot of pressure on this White House over the last couple of weeks, not only from the Catholics and other religious groups, but also from lawmakers up on Capitol Hill. Republicans. Also the Republican presidential hopefuls out on the campaign trail. And then yesterday we saw some prominent Democrats also step up and join the fray. We heard from Senator John Kerry who was calling for a compromise, saying that there should be some way to provide this coverage, the coverage that women need, but at the same time respect religious beliefs. So it does appear again likely that the administration will be making some kind of announcement on this today and I'll tell you, it has been dogging this administration. Yesterday two different events that the president had here at the White House he was asked by reporters to give some kind of comment on this controversy and he declined to do so but apparently now the White House will be addressing that today.
[Phillips:] OK. Dan Lothian at the White House. Thanks so much. Now let's talk about the Republican road to the White House, shall we? A critical weigh station for those seeking the GOP nomination. This is CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference. It's the annual gathering of all the movers and shakers basically in the conservative movement. And three of the four candidates are going to speak today trying to win conservative support in a race that right now is just too close to call. Rick Santorum, fresh off of three big victories this week, he's going to speak next hour. We're going to carry that live. And then Mitt Romney is trying to regain his momentum. One source actually close to the campaign telling us he's going to deliver a, quote, "major speech" at about 12:55 Eastern. And then Newt Gingrich will speak just after 4:00 Eastern Time. CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser is live at CPAC. And, Paul, I understand the music may start in moments so you just let us know. We can always come back to you. But Rick Santorum we mentioned speaking next hour. How does he keep his momentum going?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] Well, Kyra, here's what I've learned. And yes, the speakers are just starting, it's just getting underway here. Day two of three days here at CPAC. And as you mentioned, this is the grand daddy. This is the Super Bowl. Basically a political convention. All top conservative leaders, activists, supporters are here. So what does Santorum do? Well, I spoke to a senior aid for the Santorum campaign, he says that Rick Santorum today will concentrate more against President Barack Obama than his rivalries for the Republican presidential nomination. And expect the former senator from Pennsylvania to also criticize the White House, the administration for going after and assaulting the liberty of Americans. So I think you'll hear a lot of tough talk from Rick Santorum. Remember he is very popular among conservatives. The other thing he needs to do here is the behind the closed door meetings. He needs to talk to top conservatives and top fundraisers to build his campaign and monopolize and capitalize on those big three victories from Tuesday night Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Paul, now a source close to Romney's campaign is saying he's going to deliver this, quote, "major speech." What do you know about this?
[Steinhauser:] Yes, exactly. This is his attempt here to try to court conservatives. Listen, I think Tuesday night was a very big and vivid illustration. Mitt Romney still has trouble with core conservatives, with those on the right. So for what we hear, he may also highlight his record as Massachusetts governor, his fiscal responsibility and his protection of religious freedoms. Remember, Kyra, four years ago Mitt Romney was the conservative alternative to Senator John McCain and here at CPAC he actually ended his campaign but ended up winning that all important straw poll. It's very different four years later Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Paul Steinhauser watching everything for us there at CPAC. Paul, thank you so much. And you can stay with us for continuing coverage of today's CPAC event. In just about 30 minutes we're also going to talk about Hispanic voters and their impact on deciding the next president. Also Wolf Blitzer joining me live to preview Rick Santorum's CPAC speech today that we just talked about. That's probably going to happen about 10:25 Eastern Time. And we will bring that to you live. Now to that crisis in Syria. More people dying and the gun battles raging on in the streets. And you can see the government forces shelling neighborhoods. Pro-democracy activists say that innocent civilians continue to be slaughtered and because the regime continues to ban us from covering this story, we continue to count on citizen journalists like this.
[Danny, Syrian Activist:] This is one of the houses in Baba Amr. Look at these children. Is this how the Assad regime is supposed to treat our children? Now you see what Assad regime is killing to children. What is the U.N. going to do about this? What is the U.N. going to do about this? Nothing. They're going to sit and discuss and see what they're going to do. They want to do this peacefully, they want to solve it peacefully with this murderer. After what he did to these children. They have been hitting us since 6:00 a.m. until it's 2:00 p.m. now. We have over 100 bodies, over 200 underneath the destructions. We don't even know who they are.
[Phillips:] And Syria's government is also giving its take. State TV calling these activists terrorists and that they bombed two buildings of security forces. CNN's Ivan Watson is in Istanbul, Turkey, for us. Ivan, tens of thousands of people took to the streets today to protest the regime. What's your take and what are you hearing? Can Bashar al-Assad survive this?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn International Correspondent:] I think, you know, most of the analysts, most of the activists who are participating in these protests that we're talking to thinking the short term, he will survive, even though there are clearly armed elements now within this 11-month-old protest movement that the government accuses of carrying out two deadly bombings in the second city of Aleppo this morning. For the time being the Syrian military does enjoy a near monopoly of power. It has tanks, it has helicopters, and planes, and cannons. And it has shown the willingness to use them. It is killing to stay in power. But any analyst you talk to, anybody who knows Syria also knows that the majority of Syrian society does not come from the small religious minority of Bashar al-Assad and his family. That is the Alawite religious minority. The majority are Sunni Muslims. And the majority of the people that I'm talking to, those soldiers who were defecting from the military do tend to come from that Sunni majority. And anybody you talk to says in the long term the numbers are against Bashar al-Assad. He can kill and kill and kill but it keeps pushing people into the arms of the opposition and increasingly into the arms of an armed opposition Kyra.
[Phillips:] Can we talk about the rebels and what do we know about how they are getting help, support, weapons?
[Watson:] Well, there is not a monolithic unified rebel army. It's a bit of a misnomer that the armed opposition, these defector soldiers, several thousand of them we understand, have called themselves the free Syrian army because it seems much more like they're independent selves much like the opposition protesters who operate on their own, some of them trying to protect the demonstrators, some of them carrying out some attacks. And there are divisions within their leadership. I mean, I've been talking to guys who all claim to be leaders of the Free Syrian Army and clearly hate each other. And that's one of the big problems for the opposition. It's not united. There are opposition activists exiles here in Istanbul. And they snipe at each other. And the diplomats and the activists that deal with them are sometimes are very frustrated. Many with their lack of organization, their lack of efficacy. And I think that comes down to, part of it, the fact that this is a country that's been ruled by a dictatorship for decades that does not have an experience of party politics, of organizing itself. Also, when you stood up and said no to this president, it often ended up landing you in jail possibly being tortured. So this is all new for Syrians right now, but they're in a crucible of fire trying to figure out how to deal with this. Just trying to figure out how to get medicine to their besieged citizens who are dying this week by the hundreds every day.
[Phillips:] Ivan Watson in Istanbul, Turkey, for us. Ivan, thanks. Back here in the states, he faces 52 counts of alleged sexual abuse involving young boys and neighbors have expressed fear for the school children that he can see from his back porch. So now prosecutors want former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky to stay inside during his house arrest. Both sides will argue their motions during a hearing beginning next hour. Jason Carroll joins us live from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Jason, you've got new information, I'm told, that the defense will present to show that Jerry Sandusky's grandchildren want to see him?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] That's true, Kyra. And it has to do with what happened yesterday. Apparently yesterday Joe Amendola met with the members of the attorney general's offices. As you know the attorney general and prosecutors basically said look, if you want the conditions of the bail modified? You say that Jerry Sandusky's grandchildren want to see him, well, show us proof. Well, yesterday during this meeting, Joe Amendola presented this proof that he intends to show in court today. It's basically written testimony from five of Jerry Sandusky's children that would be presented. So that is the proof that he will be showing in court today. Now either the judge can rule on some of this today or he can take it under advisement and rule on it later Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Now neighbors have also complained about Sandusky outside of his home. As we know, and we've talked about this since the very beginning, that he lives right next to a school. You can see the school playground from his back porch. He hasn't approached any of these kids though, right?
[Carroll:] Not to our knowledge, but the complaints are there. For example, there was a complaint from one neighbor that they saw Jerry Sandusky out shoveling snow. And they wondered about that. Well, his attorney tells me that he had permission from his probation officer to go out there and shovel the snow. There was another complaint from a neighbor who said that he saw Jerry Sandusky staring at one of the children from the playground. Jerry Sandusky says that from his account he remembers seeing a woman walking with a child. As soon as they made eye contact, he went back inside the house. I think, Kyra, the bottom line is that the defense wants to loosen some of the restrictions on house arrest. He wants Jerry Sandusky to be able to see his grandchildren. He wants Jerry Sandusky to be able to leave the house if he needs to be able to have legal counsel. And the prosecution is saying, quote, "That this is not a house party." That's their words. This is not a house party. They say this is a man who's facing some very serious allegations and if anything the conditions of house arrest should be even more restrictive rather than loosened up a bit. These are this is another point that will be discussed today during this hearing Kyra.
[Phillips:] Keep us posted, Jason. Thanks so much. A school bus in North Carolina going up in flames. We're going to hear from the driver and how she got all of those kids out of that bus. And a child is forced to run in the snow, nearly naked. The full story and the video, next.

[Cooper:] Tonight we're kicking off our series, "Amazing Animals: Smarter than You Think". It's been a really fascinating assignment. What we found may change the way you think about animals and their lives. Scientists around the world are proving that some animals are capable of many things that were thought to be uniquely human, like abstract thinking, language, even a sense of self and time. What they've learned could help explain how human intelligence has evolved. We begin tonight with dolphins. Their brains are not only big: they're incredibly complex. Some scientists believe the dolphins are the second most intelligent species after humans. Randi Kaye tonight shows us why.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Correspondent:] Spend a day with a dolphin and you're quickly reminded of why they've always captured our imaginations. They are playful, sociable and just incredibly fun to be around. But scientists say there's a lot more to these animals. And they're just beginning to understand the intricate thinking of these so-called "big-brained mammals". [on camera]: Here you go, Noni. Good girl. We came here to the Baltimore Aquarium to see just how intelligent dolphins are. You see them playing with their trainers all the time, but scientists who study them say there's a lot more happening there than just play; that their intelligence actually rivals ours. Here you go. [voice-over]: To see up close what has scientists so excited, we climbed down into a tiny underwater lab, with a window into the aquarium where scientist Diana Reiss puts up a two-way mirror up against the glass. The dolphins can't see us, but Reiss can study how the dolphins react to the mirror.
[Diana Reiss, Scientist, City University Of New York:] We used to think we were the only species on the planet that can think, and now we know that we're amongst many thinking species. So the questions are no longer can they think but how do they think? And what's amazing in this capacity, with giving them mirrors it looks, it like they're doing a lot of things that are similar to us.
[Kaye:] Reiss has been studying dolphins' behavior for 25 years.
[Reiss:] Most animals don't even pay attention to mirrors. So if you put a mirror in front of your dog, most dogs won't even look in a mirror. Cats don't pay much attention. Other animals do pay attention but never figure out it's themselves. They think it's another of their own kind.
[Kaye:] But dolphins do figure it out.
[Reiss:] And not only do they figure out that it's them, but they show interest to look at themselves. So one thing is to understand it's themselves; it's a whole other thing to say I want to look at myself. I want to look and see what may face looks like or what does it look like when I turn upside down and blow a bubble?
[Kaye:] We sat in awe as this group of dolphins explored themselves before us, unable to ignore the mirror. Several did hang upside down.
[Reiss:] He's upside down. Things are going to get wild now. He's being very innovative. Watch this.
[Kaye:] Other dolphins opened their mouths and stuck their tongue out. They put their eye on the mirror to get an even closer look. Not convinced a dolphin can recognize itself in the mirror? Take a look at this video of an earlier experiment from 2001. Scientists marked this dolphin on the side with a black pen, but did not mark the other. When released, the dolphin with the mark swims directly to the mirror and turns the mark towards the mirror, like he's trying to take a look at what's been done to him. The unmarked dolphin doesn't show the same behavior. Dolphins aren't the only big-brained mammals, who recognize themselves, elephants do, too. Watch what happens when Reiss tested them at the Bronx Zoo. This one with the white "X" marked on his face turns towards the mirror over and over to take a look. Back at the Baltimore Aquarium, Reiss is now focusing her research on younger dolphins.
[Reiss:] Bo is 5.
[Kaye:] Just like human children, younger dolphins make lots of movements and watch their reflection. They quickly learn they are watching themselves. [on camera]: What are you trying to figure out with the younger dolphins?
[Reiss:] So we're trying to figure out at what age, at what developmental age do they start figuring out that it's them in the mirror? When are they showing interest in the mirror?
[Kaye:] Foster, who is 3, started recognizing himself in the mirror about the same time toddlers do: when he was about a year and a half. Reiss says some dolphins pick up on it at just six months, much earlier than children.
[Reiss:] This is Spirit. Now Spirit's testing this. She's still figuring this out. And what's funny is we recognize this, because it's so similar to what kids do, what chimps do. It's amazing. They go through the same stages. These are animals that have been separated from us for 95 million years of evolution. Big brains, processing things in similar ways.
[Kaye:] With a mirror providing a window into the dolphins' minds, Reiss believes she is discovering that their super high levels of intelligence are, in many ways, much like our own. And if that's true, the question is, what does that tell us?
[Reiss:] In the end, what this tells us is that we need to look at these animals in a new light, with a new respect, and really provide much more protection in terms of conservation efforts and welfare efforts for these animals. And also appreciate that we're not at the top anymore. We're not alone. We're surrounded by other intelligent species.
[Kaye:] Wow, so smooth. Beautiful. [voice-over]: Remember the old saying that it always seems like dolphins are smiling at you? Well, maybe they are. Randi Kaye, CNN, Baltimore.
[Cooper:] I think that's so amazing, watching those dolphins look at themselves in the mirror and seeing them sort of recognize themselves. Tomorrow we're going to look at lemurs and the interesting thing they discovered. It turns out lemurs don't like to gamble. We'll try to we'll tell you how they figured that one out. Coming up also tonight, a new segment we're called the "RidicuList". Who's done or said something that doesn't make sense, something downright ridiculous? Well, tonight, the well-known wife of a well- known politician makes the list. We'll tell you who it is and why they are on tonight's "RidicuList". And a pop quiz. Sarah Palin created a new word a little while ago, so folks poked fun at her at the time. But guess who's laughing now? The New Oxford American Dictionary has added Palin's invention to the dictionary. Do you remember what the word is? We'll tell you in a moment.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Tonight: Christine O'Donnell ducking the tough questions, but threatening to sue the watchdog group that says she committed campaign finance fraud. She's avoiding our questions, but tonight talking to FOX. How do her answers stack up against the facts? We're "Keeping Them Honest." Also tonight, what is Sarah Palin up to? She's released a new ad promoting the Tea Party, but is it really the first signal that she's planning a presidential run? Also tonight: What if you were sick, but no doctor could figure out what was wrong? Tonight, a seriously ill little girl battling an unknown illness, you are going to meet the disease detectives racing the clock to solve her life-and-death medical mystery. We begin, though, tonight, as always, "Keeping Them Honest," with Christine O'Donnell, who increasingly appears to be trying to run a stealth campaign, not answering questions from reporters and today not even telling reporters where her campaign event was taking place. Why would she do that? Well, take a look. This is what happened last night when our reporter Gary Tuchman went to an O'Donnell event and tried to ask her one question about allegations she spent campaign money on personal expenses after a past campaign was over, which would be a violation of federal election law.
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] Ms. O'Donnell, I'm going to ask you that one question you promised you would answer.
[Christine O'donnell , Delaware Senatorial Candidate:] I did answer it.
[Tuchman:] No, about the rentals last year. Why were you paying rent money with campaign money?
[Unidentified Female:] Sorry, tonight, not happening.
[Tuchman:] Well, that was the one question I had.
[O'donnell:] I answered it.
[Tuchman:] No, you didn't answer it.
[Cooper:] Didn't answer it. Gary called her campaign to find out where an event was today that was supposed to take place, what time, so he could go, but they wouldn't say, telling him it was closed to reporters. Ms. O'Donnell appears to be closely following the tweeted advice of Sarah Palin. She tweeted this the other day: "C. O'Donnell strategy: Time is limited. Use it to connect with local voters whom you will be serving vs. appeasing national media seeking your destruction." Now, there are plenty of liberal media outlets out there that probably want Christine O'Donnell to fail, but I just want to make it very clear, I'm not one of them. We're not trying to beat up on Christine O'Donnell. We're also focusing tonight on questions that have been raised about her Democratic opponent, Chris Coons. These people are running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. It's their choice. They should be ready and open to answering questions from all quarters. Christine O'Donnell wants to serve the people of Delaware, not just those who agree with her, and it's our job to ask her and all the candidates tough questions to help voters make up their own minds. I'm not making a big deal out of 11-year-old witchcraft comments or the stuff she said about touching yourself years ago. I want to ask her specifics about checks she wrote, serious allegations made by her former aides and employees, people who ran her campaigns. There's one media outlet Sarah Palin told O'Donnell she should use, FOX News, and, tonight, O'Donnell did break her silence on Sean Hannity's program just last in the last hour. Remarkably, though, she was never asked during the 20-minute-or- so interview about any of serious allegations made against her. Instead, it was questions like this. [Begin Video Clip, "hannity"]
[Sean Hannity, Host, "hannity":] Bill Maher...
[Hannity:] ... a friend of yours, obviously. You did his show a lot, apparently.
[O'donnell:] Yes, yes, unfortunately.
[Hannity:] All right. He he comes up with this tape. What was it, 1999? You made an appearance...
[O'donnell:] Yes.
[Hannity:] ... talking, I guess, about a boyfriend when you were a teenager?
[O'donnell:] Right, right, right, right.
[Hannity:] OK, saying that you had dabbled into witchcraft. Why don't you explain for people that may be what was that about?
[O'donnell:] Well, teenage rebellion. Some people dabble in drugs in rebel. That's how I rebelled. You know, but who who didn't do some questionable things in high school? And who doesn't regret the '80s to some extent? I certainly do. And I I most certainly regret bringing it up to Bill Maher.
[Hannity:] What's it like living under you know, being the main focus of every news show? Is it fun? I'm sure you're enjoying it.
[O'donnell:] Two things. It's not fun, because, you know, like, today, there was a news crew filming my father raking leaves. I went to a forum last night.
[Hannity:] We got to buy him a blower. I mean, I don't know if...
[O'donnell:] He likes that. It relieves stress. And he's under a lot of stress right now.
[Hannity:] Right.
[O'donnell:] But it's it's it's interfering with my ability to campaign.
[Hannity:] All the talk about, well, you got to do this national show, that national show...
[O'donnell:] No, it doesn't...
[Hannity:] ... is that off the table for you?
[O'donnell:] It's off the table, because that's not going to help me get votes. I, instead, want to go to as many town hall forums, as many candidate forums, as many church picnics that I can fit into my schedule, so that I can meet the voters.
[Cooper:] Well, that's it, no national news show, except for Sean Hannity tonight on FOX. She says she's going to spend time with Delaware voters and because that's what counts. Well, we got a lot to talk about in this hour ahead as we focus on it. Gary Tuchman has been reporting on the O'Donnell campaign since last week, trying to get her to answer those specific questions. Gary, what jumped out at you in the interview tonight?
[Tuchman:] Well, it is a delicious irony that she went on the national media to say she didn't want to talk to the national media. But we did watch and listen and we didn't hear a lot when it came to her elaborating about the stuff that we have checked out for the past week. For example, when it comes to this question the was asked of her, what about the claim that you have spent $20,000 in campaign funding for personal expenditures, she said she did not. And it was just left at that. But opponents of hers and opponents are mostly Republicans who are talking to us, not Democrats she kept stressing they were Democratic opponents Republicans have been talking to us about this. They stress they believe she's lived on campaign contributions over the past few years, that she's used them for gas, and restaurants, and she's used them for gas stations in her hometown in New Jersey, while she wasn't running for anything in the year 2009. But she then went on. And people have been speculating about what kind of job she has. She talked a little bit about public relations work she does for nonprofit companies. [Begin Video Clip, "hannity"]
[O'donnell:] I take nonprofit clients. I do freelance work.
[Tuchman:] One of the allegations is, how has she survived without making much money, because the records that we have investigated do show that she has not made a regular livable salary for at least five years. She also talked about tax problems she has. She was asked about a lien that the IRS gave to her. They said she owed a lot of money. She made it very clear, at least to the viewers who are listening to her, that perhaps that she did not owe any money, that she had no problem whatsoever, and that there were no more problems with the IRS. Listen. [Begin Video Clip, "hannity"]
[O'donnell:] I have paid my taxes. They're trying to go after an erroneous tax lien that the IRS admitted was a computer error.
[Tuchman:] OK. The IRS admitted it was a computer error, but records that we have show that she did indeed this past spring pay thousands of dollars to the IRS in back taxes, after the IRS said it was not a computer error. She also talked about a panel discussion that was held last night with candidates that her Democratic opponent, Chris Coons, did not show up to because it was a mostly conservative audience. She is indeed absolutely right. Chris Coons did not show up at that. And she stressed that she showed up last week before a liberal audience at a Jewish center in Wilmington, Delaware. What we should say is that it was not necessarily a liberal audience. The room was also packed with Tea Party supporters, people wearing T-shirts that said O'Donnell. She got lots of loud applause, very polite applause from other people who were not necessarily in favor of her. It was a very friendly crowd, but it's very fair to say there was loud applause from Tea Party supporters at that particular political panel, which was held last Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware. One final thing we should mention is that, during this program, she said that the media was pushing and shoving at that particular event. I will tell you, I have been covering politics for almost 30 years, and it was nothing out of the ordinary. They were coming up to her. That's what happens with any high-profile political candidate. And she also mentioned that perhaps it would be good if the media was kept out of certain events. And, frankly, I think, for most Americans, that gives you a little chill. When we go to places like Cuba and Iran and North Korea and China, we're often kept out. The media is kept out. There's no free reporting. And it's just something that we really don't like to hear in the United States of America, to keep the media out Anderson.
[Cooper:] Gary, appreciate it tonight. Plenty of "Raw Politics" for our panel tonight. We're also going to be looking into allegations being made against her Democratic opponent, trying to see what is true and what is not about him. But, first, our panel, John Avlon, CNN contributor and senior political writer for The Daily Beast. He's also the author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America." Contributor CNN contributor Erick Erickson is editor in chief of RedState.com. And John Ridley is founding editor of thatminoritything.com and an NPR commentator. Erick, what do you make about this, her saying Christine O'Donnell basically on FOX News saying that everyone's attacking her and that the media is actually getting in the way of her campaigning? Does that does that strike true to you?
[Erick Erickson, Cnn Contributor:] Look, you know, this is a campaign, and she's playing to her base. She's mobilizing the base. The base thinks there's a liberal bias in the media. Some of the questions, some of the answers, some of the attacks, so-called attacks from the media play to the base. They rally them. They make her look very sympathetic, and she can get people out to vote based on this. And, you know, there are a lot of Republicans in Washington patting themselves on the back today because the media is so focused on Christine O'Donnell, they're not looking at other Republican candidates. And they're all thinking, whew, glad it's Christine O'Donnell.
[Cooper:] I get the hatred of the media and stuff, and stuff, but to hear a major candidate for U.S. Senate saying, like, well, you know, they're they're they're hurting my campaign by asking me questions, and they're taking pictures of my dad on the lawn, I'm certainly sympathetic to that. Someone's family shouldn't be bothered and stuff. But if she actually made herself available to the media, rather than run away and refuse to ask questions I mean, it just seems odd.
[Erickson:] You know, Anderson, frankly, that's the issue there. She doesn't care about the national media, and she doesn't really need to. It's kind of the Rand Paul strategy in Kentucky. He's raising a lot of money. He's up on the air in Kentucky. He's now 20 points ahead, although, admittedly, she's behind. But they're focused on local media. And the national media attacks, to to have Gary bring up the point about Christine saying maybe there's some events that the media shouldn't go to, and then jumping into, this is like in China and Korea and Cuba, I mean, when you hear conservatives hear that, they're thinking, obviously, this is biased, whether it is or not. I mean, she's playing to her base, and the media's just helping her.
[Cooper:] John Avlon, what about that? Is the media making it easier for her?
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] Well, she's able to play the victim card, which may play well to certain elements of the base. But, you know, you need to be consistent about the standards. So often, the political debates we have in this country are fundamentally filtered through a partisan prism. If she's trying to play locally, then it's worth asking, how come she only got five in-state donations this year one-quarter of this year? Most of her money, in fact, was national money, activist money that came in and flooded the campaign late in the closed partisan primary that she won. She's trying to win in Delaware, where she's got a huge deficit against Republicans, an electoral advantage towards Democrats and independents. So, you know, she can talk now about trying to connect to her base and play in state, but that hasn't how been how she's conducted her campaigns in the last three times she's run for Senate in the last five years.
[Cooper:] John Ridley, the election's only six weeks away from tonight. Is it fair for voters to be influenced by a group, CREW, which is calling for an investigation, an investigation that that won't be completed by Election Day? I mean, is that that would strike some people as as unfair against her. They're basically making these allegations against her, and no one's going to be able to investigate it in time, really.
[John Ridley, Commentator, National Public Radio:] Well, I don't know whether it's unfair or not to bring up what could be a real issue, and she certainly has an opportunity to answer those. She talked about on the show tonight that she posted some letters from the IRS that addressed these issues. I read them. To me, they're fairly inconclusive. But she does John and Erick both talked about playing to the base. Playing to the base at this point is not going to work. She's got very negative numbers in Delaware. Sixty percent of likely voters think that she's not qualified. And this is a state where the electorate is actually in line with a lot of the Tea Party principles, getting rid of health care, reducing the size of the budget, reducing the government and things like that. So, this, for her, is not even about the issues. This is really about likability. People have got to learn what she's about. So, bringing up these issues, whether they're fair, whether they're not fair, that's politics. It's, can she answer them, and will she answer them for the people who are going to vote for her? And, by the way, not just a closed Republican primary anymore. This is wide-open now.
[Cooper:] You know, John Avlon, Erick brings up an interesting point, you know, something that Gary Tuchman had said, which I thought did seem kind of overboard to me. But he raises an interesting point about about bias. And I think bias is something that certainly I'm obsessed with and try to eradicate it, to the extent that it's possible. Do you think the media or us or anyone in the media is focusing more on her do you think, if if she was a Democrat, would and she just had kind of appeared on the national scene, won a surprise election, do you think she would be getting with the same kind of record she had, that she would be getting the same focus?
[Avlon:] Maybe not. I think both sides do tend to side sort of take a look at the crazies on their own side and say, well, they may be crazy, but they're our crazies, and, really, you need to see it in context. They're quick to give them the benefit of the doubt. And that's why it's so important to be consistent in the standards you apply. I mean, the dabbling-in-witchcraft story wasn't important in and upon itself. It is really just an issue of the larger tip of the iceberg of stories that seem to be coming out consistently about her, because she put herself on television throughout the 1990s as a professional social conservative activist. And now that's all coming back to haunt her, in addition to the very the serious financial questions that are coming into play, which you can't spin your way out of. Those are legal issues.
[Cooper:] Also, Erick, I guess, to some extent, you have former campaign workers doing you had a former campaign worker doing a robocall against her during the campaign.
[Erickson:] Right.
[Cooper:] And you had Karl Rove coming out subsequent to the campaign. That rarely happens. So, that certainly adds to the focus on her, I think.
[Erickson:] Yes, absolutely. You know, I'm willing to bet there's been more national media ink spilled on Christine O'Donnell than there ever was on Alvin Greene, accept for the fact that he may or may not have been a Republican plant. And when it was proven he wasn't, they kind of ditched the story. But, on the Christine O'Donnell issue, the Republicans are the ones who have sabotaged this lady. People like Karl Rove went after her and Sean Hannity a few weeks ago the night she won. They have savaged her. And, you know, I have said along the Republicans aren't going to win the Senate. She's probably not going to win Delaware. That the Republican establishment turned on her so viciously because she dared to beat their precious Mike Castle, I, frankly, find kind of funny. I mean, they're eating their own. But the humor here and the irony is that the media now and even Republicans are so focused on Christine O'Donnell, they're not focusing anymore on Sharron Angle or Ken Buck or Rand Paul or Linda McMahon or any of these other candidates, all of whom are breathing a sigh of relief.
[Avlon:] But I think the Christine O'Donnell story compounds that narrative about Sharron Angle. It adds fuel to that fire. And the issue with the reason that there was a lot of conservative concern about her winning from magazines like "The Weekly Standard," from "Reason," which called her a crackpot of the first order before the primary, was in part because they knew that Mike Castle could win Joe Biden's seat. And that would move them towards winning the Senate.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Avlon:] And they knew this would be a disaster coming down the pike.
[Cooper:] We we have got to take a break. John Avlon, Erick Erickson, John Ridley, I appreciate, guys, you being on. Thank you. Just ahead: The watchdog group that Christine O'Donnell is now threatening to sue, what do they have to say about her claims of libel? You will hear from them in a moment. Let us know what you think. The live chat is now under way, AC360.com. Also ahead tonight: Christine O'Donnell's Democratic challenger, Chris Coons, caught up in a controversy of his own, words he wrote a quarter-century ago about becoming a bearded Marxist. Those two words are being used against him now. We check the record. Also tonight: disease detectives, Sanjay Gupta charting a heart- wrenching medical mystery, this little girl battling an unknown killer. Tonight, Kylie's parents continue their desperate search for a diagnosis.
[Kylie:] ... bad parent, like, why can't I help my kid? So...
[Unidentified Male:] Can't really put it into words, just helpless.

[John Berman, Anchor, "cnn Newsroom":] Welcome back to CNN's continuing live coverage of the aftermath of Oklahoma tornadoes. I'm John Berman standing in a neighborhood right now in the town of Moore, Oklahoma, and you can see what happened to this neighborhood, simply flattened. Everywhere you look there's metal, twisted metal debris like this. On the ground here, the wood is splintered everywhere. And take a look at this. You see this nail poking out of the wood. You see how dangerous something like this is as this wood was simply flying around in the force of the storm with winds topping 200-miles- an-hour. You look around this neighborhood here, dozens of homes, hardly a home left standing. I have to say, not that many walls left standing in the debris of this neighborhood. You've been hearing the story of Moore, Oklahoma. You've heard about neighborhoods like this one where I'm standing. You've also heard about the schools, the Plaza Towers Elementary School, which crumbled with students believed trapped still inside. So many third graders are there. Overnight search-and-rescue crews continued to dig through the rubble of that building by hand. The Briarwood Elementary School where teachers protected the kids and there were emotional reunions and hugs with parents and teachers and students, just after that tornado struck. At some points, this tornado, by the way, was two miles wide, and it tore a swath some 20 miles long through this town. The whole country is watching what's happening here as this city digs through the rubble here. And a short while ago, President Obama delivered remarks from the White House.
[President Barack Obama:] In an instant neighborhoods were destroyed. Dozens of people lost their lives. Many more were injured and among the victims were young children trying to take shelter in the safest place they knew, their school. Our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today.
[Berman:] The prayers of the entire nation with Oklahoma. You are looking at people dig through their homes right now. That's a refrigerator they just got their hands on, just one piece of the debris here. This neighborhood where I'm standing I suppose good news is we've been told by people who live here it's mostly a working neighborhood. Most people were away at work when the storm hit. They've already done one sweep through here, looking for people trapped in the rubble. They did not find anyone. They are asking people whose homes who live here they can come back for a second if they want to look around for a bit, but please do not linger. They say they fear it is still too much of a dangerous situation. Speaking of dangerous situations, I don't know if you can see behind me, but clouds are very dark here. There is some drizzle. We hear the occasional rumble of thunder. We want to get a sense of where there will be more today? Where is this storm center headed next? Let's go to CNN Weather Center. Chad Myers who is monitoring the storm system for us. Hey, Chad.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Good morning, John. There will be some weather for you today, but it won't be tornadic. You won't see weather with hail, wind, damaging tornadoes to you, but there will be that type of weather from Dallas up through Little Rock, even on toward the northeast of there. We're talking even the potential for severe weather, Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis. Now remember, we think about tornadoes as kind of a southern plains kind of Tornado Alley thing, but the truth of the matter is tornadoes have happened in every single state in the nation. So here you go. We can get all the way up into Detroit, Indianapolis, all the way down into Ft. Smith and into Memphis where the heaviest rain, the heaviest potential for severe weather will be Dallas and Shreveport. One thing that's going to stop the severe weather from being very severe in Oklahoma is the fact that it's raining. Yesterday at this same time it was sunny, and we talked about that. We don't want the sun. The sun is heating the ground. The ground is heating the air and that air is rising. Rising air makes thunderstorms. And we don't have that rising air today because we don't have a lot of sunshine. We will have showers and thunderstorms. There may even be some lightning that will scare and maybe even make the rescuers scatter, but it won't be a tornadic day for Oklahoma City today or Moore. John?
[Berman:] That is good news, Chad. I can tell you I feel the rain falling on me, and as you said, we might see lightning. There's thunder. I don't know if you can hear thunder right now, rumbling above me and there was lightning just a short time ago. Doesn't seem too close. I promise you, Chad, I promise everyone, including my wife and kids, that we'll be careful out here and keep one eye on the weather as it develops. There are so many stories to tell you about in this town and one of the most interesting ones is at the Moore Medical Center which isn't far from where I'm standing now. That's where we find CNN's Pamela Brown who has been there all morning. Pamela, tell me what you are surrounded by there right now.
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, John, you're right. I'm here at the Moore Medical Center, and as you can see behind me, it was obliterated from the tornado that moved through here yesterday. This was in the direct path of the tornado and, amazingly, 30 patients that were inside Moore Medical Center being treated were evacuated after the damage from the tornado. They were evacuated to surrounding medical centers. As I mentioned, this is primarily an outpatient center. It's a pretty small hospital in comparison. We've seen search-and-rescue teams out here today. There's a bowling alley to my left and they have been the dogs, the cadaver dogs, have been out here today searching for any humans that could be trapped underneath the rubble. I spoke to one member of a search-and-rescue team who said that because of this weather that you were just talking about, John, because of the lightning we're seeing, the rain, the weather conditions, they're in a holding pattern right now and they're not able to continue their search efforts here. And they also talked about the challenges of the chemicals and downed power lines and natural gas here at all these various sites around Moore, Oklahoma. There's been a lot of focus on the school, the Plaza Towers Elementary School where seven children were killed after the tornado swept through yesterday. Search-and-rescue teams have been there around the clock trying to find more survivors. We've seen dramatic images of parents rushing to the elementary schools, two in particular that were in the direct path of the tornado. One mother ran up and saw her son crouched down frozen on the ground with his hands over his head. He was terrified. Other parents rushed to the scene and were unable to find their child. Let's listen to one mother who went through an agonizing experience.
[Brown:] You're looking for your son right now, aren't you?
[Unidentified Female:] Yeah. His name is Dylan Zachary Hall.
[Brown:] And he was where was he?
[Unidentified Female:] He was at the Plaza school.
[Brown:] OK, so he was at Plaza Towers Elementary. His name is Dylan.
[Unidentified Female:] Dylan Zachary Hall. He's how old? And when was the last you heard from him? He's 13, and we haven't I haven't seen him since the school. I know his step mom was in the cellar at her house, and she I lost contact with her. And they're supposed to be sending people over there, so I don't know if she's still in the cellar or not. But I just can't find my son.
[Brown:] We learned the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders at that school were taken to a local church, and the younger kids stayed at the school. Some were in the hallway huddled together when the tornado moved through, in their drill position, crouched down with their hands over their heads. It's important to pay tribute to the teachers here. They're being hailed as heroes for saving lives, for saving some of these kids by shielding them, lying on top of them as the tornado moved through, pulling a wall off some of the kids that were trapped. We've seen some dramatic images there of teachers hugging the students so tight after that tornado. You can just imagine how many times they must have practiced that drill and then to actually have to put it into play yesterday must have been a terrifying experience.
[Berman:] It must have been terrifying, Pamela, as you say. And when you see those teachers hug those kids, you know how much they care about the children in their classroom every day. It was a beautiful sight to see in so many ways. Pamela Brown, not far from us at the Moore Medical Center, thanks so much for being with us. I want to show you some live aerial footage right now of the destruction here in Moore, Oklahoma. You get a sense of the scope of this storm. As we said, at some times this tornado was some two miles wide. It tore a path some 20 miles long as it passed through here. The wind speeds, it was an EF-4 tornado which means wind speeds were up to 200- miles-an-hour. So you can see the destruction that it caused. We don't have an accurate count of the number of buildings damaged or destroyed. One of the reasons is it's frankly hard to count. You can see that from the air. And you also get a sense of that from the ground. I'm joined here in this neighborhood where I'm standing by Stephanie Elam who's been here all morning, walking through the debris here of these homes that have simply been flattened.
[Stephanie Elam, Cnn Correspondent:] It's unimaginable. And even as you hear it and you see images, it's nothing like seeing it with your own eyes. It's unbelievable what these people have lost. And what really symbolizes that, if you take a look, John, like I have to watch where I step because there's nails everywhere grabbing me on my pants. But if you look over here, you can see this personal artifact. You've got things that have just been tossed around just like rag dolls along with wood that are just stuck out here. There's a blanket and a little stroller and a bag stuck in that tree, one of the neighbors even telling me that that was a massive willow tree right there that got damaged. One other thing to point out over here is this right here, massive piece of guardrail here, and this guardrail, I asked one of the neighbors where this possibly could have came from. And he said that it probably came from the interstate which is not from anywhere around here. But it got tossed around like it was just a little splinter and landed here on these people's lawns. So it just shows you how dangerous it was to be out on the street, John, at the time.
[Berman:] We are not that near to the highway right now, by the way. To give you a sense, I mean, this thing must have traveled a quarter mile, half mile.
[Elam:] And think about how dangerous that would be to be flying through the air and all things that it could hit, let alone the people that if they did not make it into a shelter at time. Just gives you an idea of just what these people were up against.
[Berman:] And to be clear, we're standing in someone's front yard right now and this guardrail, this girder, from the road has simply landed in their front yard here and, again, you can see these people, these poor people, digging through their homes, trying to get what they can from these homes.
[Elam:] And, you know, one of the things that we did speak to one neighbor and his family also lived through Joplin. And so I asked him just about these tornadoes. How do you take it all in? And hopefully we have that sound. You can hear what he had to say.
[Berman:] [Inaudible]. We have no...

[Holmes:] Good morning. We are getting dramatic new video, showing the power of that earthquake in New Zealand. Meanwhile, there are concerns that time may be running out to find survivors.
[Chetry:] His standoff against unions has been the focus of a national debate. Now Wisconsin's governor finds himself the target of a telephone prank and reveals one plan that he considered to break the stalemate.
[Holmes:] And would you say this is a case of an employer going too far. The boss, your potential boss, asking for your Facebook username and password to check you out. This happened to one man. But it could also happen to you, on this AMERICAN MORNING. And top of the hour here on this Thursday morning, Thursday, February 24th. Glad you're right here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
[Chetry:] I'm Kiran Chetry. It is the news that unfortunately will cost you more this morning. Gas and oil prices surging on the mere threat of supply interruptions in the Middle East and North Africa. Right now, oil prices are above $100 a barrel. And gas prices also up about two cents overnight. Our Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. A lot of concerns, obviously because of Libya.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Sure.
[Chetry:] But then other questions about larger instability, Saudi Arabia, and what may happen if that's the case.
[Romans:] I mean, this is the where the stuff that drives the global economy comes there. When you have deep political unrest there, of course, it causes a lot of concerns. You've got oil above $100 a barrel for the first time in a couple of years. Yesterday, you can see what began over the past three weeks as steadily climbing oil prices turned into an outright oil spike. And there are calls for oil prices to continue to move higher, as we get more and more details about Libyan production being shut down and Libyan supplies starting to slow in some places. There's a lot of I'm going to be tell you, to be honest with you. A lot of the oil companies they're saying they're not quite sure what the situation is. It's a little chaotic. They do know that less oil is coming to the refineries and coming to the market and that's what they're very concerned about. Why is Libya so important? We've talked about how it's the largest proven reserves in Africa, but it's the third largest African oil producer, yes. But when any drop of oil isn't coming to market, it's something that you can feel because we produce a certain amount of oil every day in this world and we consume every last drop of it. The tad supplies are that tight. Also, Libya producers light sweet crude. It's a grade of oil that is processed, refined in Europe and used right away. For European recipients of this oil have to go and find other supplies, it starts to get a little difficult. It probably means that Italy and other countries are going to be competing with the U.S. for Algerian and Nigerian oil. Nigerian oil is eight percent of American oil imports. Algerian oil is four percent of American imports. So, again, it's important the type of crude you guys. It's important what's coming to the market. How big the disruption is, how chaotic the situation is. You're watching the headlines from Libya. It's clear, it's clear that this thing is just only beginning and that is the big concern. You know, Libya Libya is a member of OPEC. There are a lot of other countries that are providing crude oil. OPEC members say they will raise production if they need to make sure that there's enough oil on the market. But certainly, investors are concerned about this. This will mean higher prices most likely for you at the gas tank. No question about it. This is where the headlines matter to what you're putting in your gas tank.
[Chetry:] We'll be watching this with you all day, Christine. Thank you so much.
[Holmes:] Thank you, Christine.
[Chetry:] We want to bring you up to date on other developments in Libya, where piece by piece, city by city, this 40-plus year of Moammar Gadhafi is clearly crumbling. Reports say that protesters are now in control of the Libyan city of Misrata. That is the third largest city in Libya behind Tripoli and Benghazi. Reports also say that the city of Zentan has fallen and that there are getting closer and closer to the capital. In Benghazi where this uprising started, they're celebrating. Ben Wedeman, the first western journalist to report from inside Libya was right in the middle of those celebrations. Take a look.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] We arrived in the mid-afternoon and we showed up sort of at the center of town where there were thousands of people already demonstrating. When they saw excuse me when they saw us arrive, they just exploded with cheers and clapping, people saying "thank you, thank you" in English, throwing candy and dates inside the car. The only thing I can really think of or I thought of at the time was, it was like being the first American soldier in a jeep driving into Paris after the fall in 1944.
[Chetry:] It could end up being Gadhafi's last stand. In this video which was posted on Facebook, you can hear tracer fire being shot into the air. The streets there reportedly being controlled by thugs with machetes and guns. And right now, hundreds of Americans are still waiting to leave Libya. Their ferry was scheduled to take them from Tripoli to Malta 22 hours ago, but rough seas put those evacuation plans on hold. State Department spokesman PJ Crowley tweeting that all American citizens are safe on board and that the ferry will leave when the weather permits.
[Holmes:] And demonstrators remain defiant despite Gadhafi's orders to shoot civilians and reports that hired thugs are carrying out the crackdown. We are getting some new video, apparently shown rose of dead Libyan soldiers. We are going to show you this. Need to warn you it is disturbing, but we're just showing what is happening there, some of the reports coming out. Now these soldiers appear to have their hands bound behind their backs. The person who took this video and posted it on YouTube claim these are, in fact, Libyan soldiers who were executed for refusing to fire on unarmed civilians. We have been unable to independently confirm what you're seeing here. Meanwhile, Libya's ex-justice minister claiming that Gadhafi personally ordered the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and he says he has proof, even though he's not saying exactly what that proof is. You'll remember that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was the only man convicted in the bombing over Lockerbie and he was sentenced to life in prison but then granted a compassionate release by Scotland on the ground that he was suffering from prostate cancer and would soon die. That was in summer of 2009 he was released. He is still alive today. And last night, our Anderson Cooper spoke to Brian Flynn, whose brother was killed in that Pan Am flight.
[Brian Flynn, Brother Killed On Pan American Morning. 103:] I realized for two decades we've been saying that Gadhafi is illegitimate, that he's a brutal dictator, and any efforts to normalize relations or in the case of the U.K. to free, fraudulently free Megrahi from prison, every time we do something like that, we have blood on our hands today, because you've seen that, in fact, that that regime that we legitimatized, we even fortified it by establishing closer relations with them, they're in fact brutalizing their people today. And I think we're partly responsible for that.
[Chetry:] Well, President Obama is condemning the brutal response from the Gadhafi regime. It is the first time that he's spoken publicly about this since the uprising started.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop.
[Chetry:] Well, the president also said he's dispatching Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Geneva for international talks aimed at stopping the violence. The White House says that it took so long for the president to speak because of concerns about the safety of Americans in Libya.
[Holmes:] A major reversal on gay marriage from the Obama administration. The president has now ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court. You'll remember this is the 1996 law that says that marriage is between one man and one woman. Justice has been defending it in court the past two years, but now says the law is indefensible and unconstitutional. It's important to note here, though, that the law will continue to be enforced. It's still on the books. President Obama did stop short of personally endorsing gay marriage. His press secretary came out yesterday and said that the president is still, quote, "grappling with his views on the issue."
[Chetry:] Civil unions though are now officially legal in the state of Hawaii. Governor Neil Abercrombie signed the bill yesterday. The new law will take effect the first of next year. And it extends the same rights to gay couples that spouses in a marriage have. Hawaii joins six other states in the District of Columbia in recognizing civil unions.
[Holmes:] As we take a look at some other things happening around the country, take a look at this. A pet store. Look inside. A woman was trying to park at that pet store in Dallas. Hit the wrong pedal. Was trying, of course, hit the brake, hit the gas. Went right through. And the SUV through that store. And it's all caught on surveillance video. Everybody, of course, shocked inside. But the good news is, nobody was hurt.
[Chetry:] I never understand how that happens, though.
[Holmes:] Me neither.
[Chetry:] I mean, if you're going to park, aren't you breaking already if you're going to park?
[Holmes:] It happens too often.
[Chetry:] Do you zoom in to a space and then slam the brake on?
[Holmes:] Maybe she's on the phone doing some other thing. Who knows what happens.
[Chetry:] Wow. All right. Well, a little over an hour from now, the Space Shuttle Discovery will fuel up for the final time. Discovery blasts off on a supply mission to the International Space Station at 4:50 p.m. It's the first of three scheduled flights before the aging shuttle fleet is retired. In an exclusive interview with NASA, with CNN NASA chief, Charles Bolden says that will be the end of America's space missions for a while.
[Charles Bolden, Nasa Administrator:] What is not acceptable is the fact that the most powerful nation in the world, the United States of America, finds itself in a situation that we didn't do the proper planning to have a vehicle in place to replace shuttle when it lands its last landing.
[Chetry:] Bolden continued on saying that Russian Soyuz capsules will have to supply the space station until commercial spacecraft can do the job.
[Holmes:] Well, 10 minutes past the hour, let's turn to our Reynolds Wolf, keeping an eye on the weather for us just off the top here. Reynolds, good morning. And is the weather going to cooperate, it appears, for this launch later today?
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] It's going to cooperate very well for the launch today. The way it looks is fine. But for other people who are trying to have their own launch around the country, you might have a few wrinkles, especially in parts of the southeast, the Midwest and out in the Pacific Northwest is going to be just insane. Let's begin first and foremost what we have right in front of us. Then we've got some scattered showers that are developing across parts of the Tennessee valley, some snowfall in upstate, Pennsylvania even into parts of New York. But the rain that they're watching this morning, the primary threat we're going to see from this is going to be some flash flooding, especially in western Tennessee and western Kentucky. Or friends who may be turning in from Paducah this morning, be prepared. Out west, as we wrap things up, the big story is not rain, but rather snow. In some spots we have the winter storm watches, warnings. They're scattered all throughout the west. Right along the coast, we can see anywhere from three to seven inches of snowfall. In the mountains, possibly above a foot in many places. So out west you can expect some delays in Seattle, in Portland, in San Francisco, and, of course, in Nashville this morning expect the delays to stack up there as well. Guys, you get a full plate to talk about. Plus the severe weather potential for the southeast. We're going to touch on that in just a few. Yes, let's send it back to you guys.
[Holmes:] All right, Reynolds. Looking forward to you shortly.
[Chetry:] I thought you were going to get exact on us, but no it's
[Wolf:] Hey, we're always we always keep it loose here. There you go.
[Chetry:] Thanks, Reynolds. Well, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, we have a new look at the earthquake in New Zealand, as it happened, through the lens of a surveillance camera.
[Holmes:] Also, this morning, Wisconsin's governor falls for a prank caller. He thought it was one of his supporters. It turned out to be a journalist, and it took 20 minutes of a phone call before anybody realized something might have been up.
[Chetry:] Also, would you give up your Facebook password to get a job? One state agency is taking a background check to a whole new level. It's 12 minutes past the hour.

[Costello:] Twenty-two minutes past the hour. Rebels in Libya are trying to consolidate their hold on Tripoli. But Gadhafi forces will not back down without a fight, apparently. Right now, we still don't know where the leader is, but one of his sons say Gadhafi is safe. Now, let's go around the world with Fred Pleitgen. He's live in Benghazi, the center of the rebels' political and military effort. I got to say, Fred, that when Saif Gadhafi turned up riding around Tripoli, that's just confusing.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, Carol, it is absolutely confusing. And then quite shocking, quite frankly, to a lot of people here. Of course, this city is the main one within the rebel-held territory. And there were rumors which were confirmed last night by the Transitional National Council, which is the head of the rebels, saying that Saif Gadhafi, Moammar Gadhafi's by far most prominent son, had been captured by them and was in their custody, along with two other of Moammar Gadhafi's sons. So, it now turns out late last night that, in fact, Saif Gadhafi is not and apparently has not ever been in the custody of the rebels, and that one of the other sons of Moammar Gadhafi called Mohammed, Gadhafi, who was actually his eldest son, also managed to escape from rebel custody. So, this is certainly something that somewhat undermines their credibility when they make statements like these. So far, we've not been able to get any reaction from the Transitional National Council as to why they put out these reports and to what exactly might have happened, whether or not he might have been in custody. But they are saying that this by no means undermines the momentum they have in the town of Tripoli. That they're pushing forward. And at this point in time, Carol, they're even talking about moving the wing of their political movement from here in Benghazi to Tripoli, quite soon. They say when the situation allows them to do that, when it is safe enough. Of course, it's anyone's guess at this point in time when that might be Carol.
[Costello:] Well, you talk about a credibility issue as far as these opposition forces are concerned. Saif was essentially running the country in place of his father. So, if he's running around town, you know, given the two fingers up signal, what can we really believe about who is in control of Tripoli?
[Pleitgen:] Well, it certainly seems at this point in time that no one is really in control of all of Tripoli. Sort of gist that we're getting, and also from our reports on the ground it seems as though the rebels seem to be in control of some neighborhoods in Tripoli, while Gadhafi forces still control other parts of Tripoli. Of course, especially the area around the Rixos Hotel where most journalists are staying is still in Gadhafi control. Gadhafi's main compound Bab al- Aziziya, also appears to be in Gadhafi control. It doesn't seem, as though, at this point in time, the rebels would be in the ones who are in control of all of that town. However, they do have plans, they say, on the shelf for when they do have full control to set up protection forces and other things to try and maintain peace in that town when, in fact, that happens to disarm militias and the like. Now, of course, it's anyone's guess whether or not that is actually going to happen, how much resistance Gadhafi forces are going to put up and how many neighborhoods the Gadhafi forces actually still control. One of the things that we've seen is that in the past, the rebel leadership has made claim that it's gained territory which, in fact, then turned out it hadn't. So, right now, it seems as though the situation in Tripoli is still very, very fluid and developments are happening quite quickly on the ground there Carol.
[Costello:] Fred Pleitgen, live in Benghazi, Libya, this morning thank you. It is 25 minutes past the hour. This is your A.M. WAKE-UP CALL. Here are three things to put on your radar today: Hurricane Irene gaining strength and is expected to become a category 3 storm by later today. Several computer models have it on a path moving towards the East Coast of the United States this weekend. At 10:00 a.m. Eastern today, investors checking out the new home sales report. Economists predict that sales will be down. And at 4:30 Eastern this afternoon, lawyers for match.com are expected in court. A judge has asked the Internet dating site to put in a screening system. A woman filed a lawsuit claiming someone she met on match.com sexually assaulted her. A chainsaw-toting, beer-guzzling, fish-kissing Florida man has been dubbed the worst neighbor ever by people in his neighborhood. They say he chased down a man in a wheelchair, and slapped him with a fish. Meet Dale McDaniel.
[Dale Mcdaniel, Pasco Co., Fla. Resident:] I drink from the time I get done drinking my last cup of coffee, I drink until I go to sleep. Get up in the morning if I want another drink I turn around and drink another beer.
[Costello:] He's such a charmer. McDaniel admits he's been arrested more than 30 times in Pasco County. He says he's not worried about complaints from the neighbors but some of them are working to get a restraining order against McDaniel saying he has get this a serious drinking problem. Keep hurricane Irene on your radar. It's now packing 100-mile-per- hour winds, heading toward the east coast. Our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, she's tracking the storm. She'll tell you when South Carolina residents should be on alert. We'll be back.

[Hendricks:] We are all guilty of it to some extent, taking the simple things in life for granted every day. But one four-year-old California boy could change your outlook on life, and it's all because this viral video. Take a look.
[Jennifer Stevens, Gavin's Mother:] Come on, find the curb.
[Gavin Stevens, Boy With Severe Vision Impairment:] Where's the curb?
[Jennifer Stevens:] Find it. You got it. You got it.
[Gavin Stevens:] I can do it.
[Jennifer Stevens:] You can do it.
[Gavin Stevens:] I can do it.
[Jennifer Stevens:] You can do it, baby, go ahead. You're safe. Good job. You got it. Turn. Good job. I'm so proud of you.
[Hendricks:] That is Gavin Stevens. He was diagnosed with an extremely rare retina disorder in 2009 at just six months old left him nearly blind with no cure. But there's no stopping Gavin and his passion to live his life like any other kid, to challenge himself one small step at a time. His mom Jennifer documented this major steppingstone in Gavin's growth last week conquering his fear of curbs. The video has inspired thousands of people all over, including myself. We wanted to invite them on our show to share their story. Joining me now four-year-old Gavin along with his parents Jennifer and Troy. Thank you all for being here.
[Jennifer Stevens:] Thank you, Susan.
[Troy Stevens, Gavin's Father:] Thanks for having us.
[Gavin Stevens:] Thank you, Susan.
[Hendricks:] Gavin, way to go, how did you feel making it over that curb?
[Gavin Stevens:] Um, I was OK.
[Hendricks:] Were you a little bit afraid?
[Gavin Stevens:] Yes.
[Hendricks:] What made you finally in your mind think I can do this? Did your mom help you out?
[Gavin Stevens:] I did it by myself.
[Hendricks:] Wow. And we saw it firsthand. Jennifer, the moment you captured there is beyond inspiring. I tear up when I see it. Was it hard for you, Jennifer to hold back and not assist your son down the curb?
[Jennifer Stevens:] Yes. Originally, I did I was holding his hands because he hadn't really gone down that curb particularly. That's the curb out of his school. He had not gone down that independently. And so I was holding his hand and that day he told me, no, I can do it. He literally pushed me away and I said, OK. So I grabbed my camera and I shot that video.
[Hendricks:] Well, it is touching, and I love when he says I can do it, I can do it. Troy, as his father, tell me about how it's been on the family and also explain the genetic eye disorder. How rare is it?
[Troy Stevens:] Well, the eye disorder itself is very rare. There's only 3,000 people in the country that have LACE. And even more rare in Gavin's gene mutation, there's only about 150 cases of it in the nation. So it's very rare.
[Hendricks:] And Jennifer, you and troy have been raising money for research that could lead to a possible cure. Talk to me about the foundation. I love the name, by the way, Gavin's Groupies. Tell us about that.
[Jennifer Stevens:] Thank you. Yes, our Gavin's groupies are basically all of our supporters and our friends and family. Hi, guys. The Gavin R. Stevens Foundation, we started it because we felt we need to do something and need to heal. And the only way to do that is just spread awareness there's a very rare condition that affects our son and get the name out there and try to just do the best we can with the situation we were dealt with and try to make the best of it. And so we're just fund raising and fund raising and fund raising with hopes that we can be in a clinical trial for this particular gene and for it in general. There's children and individuals who live with this. And we're doing this all for them, as well.
[Hendricks:] I'll put it on my Facebook page and tweet it, as well. Gavin, I understand you're a singer and you like to play the piano is that right, Gavin?
[Gavin Stevens:] Yes.
[Hendricks:] Well, you're good at it too. We're going to hear some of your singing right here. Is that Bruno Mars, Gavin? Is that one of your favorites?
[Gavin Stevens:] Yes.
[Hendricks:] Who else do you like? Do you like playing the piano, Gavin? He's really good at it too.
[Gavin Stevens:] Yes.
[Jennifer Stevens:] He's listening to the piano.
[Hendricks:] How did he get into music, Jennifer?
[Jennifer Stevens:] You know, basically when he was months old I mean weeks old, I think, he just music was just he would hear music and a different side of our boy would come to life. I can't even put it into words. We it would make him happy, he would lay on the floor as a baby and just kick his feet. He couldn't even talk. And, you know, punched his little arms in the air and just wiggle around as a baby and it's continued to be his passion. He absolutely loves music. It's his life.
[Hendricks:] Gavin, is that what you want to do when you get older? Would you like to sing more and pursue a career maybe?
[Gavin Stevens:] Yes.
[Hendricks:] Well, you're off to a great start. It was great meeting all of you. And again, we hope that we can bring some knowledge to the general public about this so you can raise the funds that are needed. And Gavin is such an inspiration.
[Jennifer Stevens:] Thank you.
[Hendricks:] Jennifer, Troy, and Gavin, great to talk to you, nice to meet you. I'm sorry?
[Gavin Stevens:] Are you home?
[Hendricks:] I'm going home soon. Gavin, nice to meet you. Good job, by the way.
[Jennifer Stevens:] Say "thank you."
[Gavin Stevens:] Thank you.
[Jennifer Stevens:] Thank you, Susan. We appreciate it.
[Hendricks:] He's the cutest. We appreciate it too for coming on. Well, a must-see Friday night slam dunk and a big loss that could change how your March madness bracket looks. That's next.

[Kurtz:] Mitt Romney has faced plenty of stories this year about his flaws and his foibles, his wealth and his past. For instance, that report of cutting the hair of a gay student back in prep school. And that prompted conservative commentators to declare a double standard.
[Bernie Goldberg, Fox News Contributor:] This was also on page one today of "The New York Times," not just the "Washington Post." If the media is interested in what Mitt Romney did when he was 17 years old in high school, how come it wasn't interested in what Barack Obama did when he was at Columbia University and what kind of papers he wrote? Were they anti-American?
[Sean Hannity, Fox News:] The president in his own words admitting that he rarely went to school, that he drank a lot and used drugs enthusiastically, that he even did cocaine and he said drugs, plural. Where are the media questions about this?
[Kurtz:] Liberal pundits for their part are always on the lookout for new fodder about Mitt like this long ago tale.
[O'donnell:] When Mitt Romney wasn't gay bashing kids whose hair he didn't like, Mitt Romney's other favorite sick thing to do was to impersonate a police officer.
[Schultz:] "Politico" has waded into the debate saying Republican complaints of bias often ring true. Joining us to examine this question in Providence, Rhode Island, David Shuster, reporter and anchor for Current TV, and host of We Act Radio's "Tax Action Now." And here in Washington, Jennifer Rubin, CNBC contributor and author of the "Right Turn" blog for the "Washington Post." And, Jennifer, I'm sure you saw this "New York Times" spread of the home section about neighbors being upset about Mitt Romney's mega house in La Jolla, California, lot pool, Jacuzzi, five bathrooms, the whole field. The argument isn't whether the media are fixated unduly fixated on Romney's wealth, his houses and what he did in high school. Your take?
[Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post:] Yes, I think so. In fact, I have a whole series and award a prize on Thursdays for the shiny object story of the week the nonsensical, the irrelevant, the highly partisan story that really has no information for the average voter in which to make up their minds. It's not a question of this being different than the reporting that was done for Barack Obama when he was a new candidate in 2008 is that we're not covering the current race. We're not covering Barack Obama's performance. We're not going back to see whether his economic policies actually worked. There's a dearth of actual analysis
[Kurtz:] OK.
[Rubin:] of what's going on at the White House, and instead they substitute this
[Kurtz:] I don't necessarily agree but I want to bring in David Shuster. "Politico" as I mentioned says the political charge of bias in this race and all the personal story about Romney often rings true. Do you disagree with that?
[David Shuster, Current Tv:] Well, it's interesting that "Politico" would say that without any sources. And then the sources that they do cite, Ari Fleischer and Haley Barbour. They never mention the Pew nonpartisan study which found President Obama has never received more favorable coverage than Mitt Romney, only because "Politico" says so because they say somehow the "Washington Post" and "New York Times" are biased does that somehow make it true to the right. The fact of the matter is, "The Washington Post" and "New York Times" have done plenty of stories about whether President Obama's policies worked. They had vetted President Obama back in 2007-2008. They are vetting Mitt Romney now. This argument about bias is just the usual B.S. from Republicans who are trying to political purposes to gin up their base. I give them credit, it's smart politics, but it's bunk.
[Kurtz:] One example cited in that political piece, a new biography is about Obama growing up. It's a terrific book. He reveals basically how much dope Obama consumed in college. "The Washington Post" ran that inside the paper whereas the front page of the story about the incident with prep school and cutting the kid's hair.
[Rubin:] Yes.
[Kurtz:] Is that a strong example, though? I mean, who cares what pages something runs on in the digital age?
[Rubin:] Well, to a certain extent it does, because first of all, it also runs on the home page on the digital age and there are a lot of people who read the deadwood paper that's on their driveway. But David is wrong. I have written multiple posts within the "Washington Post" they give me a lot of running room on all the stories they are not covering, of all of the analysis they are not doing of the last four years, in terms of the last issues, policy outcomes. And that is really being ignored
[Shuster:] You just wrote a commentary saying that Barack Obama is poison for the Democratic Party. You're not exactly a neutral observer.
[Rubin:] No, but
[Shuster:] You're entitled to write whatever you want. But to suggest you're the arbiter of media bias is a little strange.
[Rubin:] No, if I write 10 things that "The Post" isn't covering, "The Post" isn't covering. Whether I'm biased or not, whether I have a perspective or not, "The Post'is not covering those 10 stories. I didn't lie. No one at "The Post" comes up and says, hey, here's four stories we've done on that. They're not covering the record of Barack Obama.
[Shuster:] Jennifer, you believe there's an equivalency between Mitt Romney as a teenager forcibly cutting the hair of a gay kid who was crying and wailing and he can't remember that. You say there's an equivalency between that and Barack Obama's details pot smoking, most of the marijuana details and the pot-smoking years ago. You say there's an equivalency on how the media should treat those stories?
[Rubin:] I say they are both irrelevant and should get on with the true issues. The president has an interest in not having the media examine his record, and the media is playing along. They are throwing out one shiny object, one irrelevant story after another. In fact, they're not really covering the substantive issues on which most Americans are going to vote on.
[Kurtz:] Well, a quick point, which is one of the reasons that the stories about Obama's drug consumption and so forth as a college student and as a young man haven't had the impact is that he told that himself in his autobiography, which diffused some of that during the '07-'08 campaign cycle. Now, before I come back to this bias is not always on one side. For example, I'm still shaking my head over this four-minute video that "FOX and Friends" ran the other week, about 10 days, 14 days ago, that was presented as a great piece of reporting by FOX News, although FOX said in a statement that this hadn't been approved by senior management, nobody has been fired and no disciplinary action. They haven't really denounced it. Let's take a brief look at that video.
[Obama:] Hope has been the guiding force behind the most improbable changes this country has ever known. I cannot wait for good jobs or living wages and pensions
[Kurtz:] David Shuster, not quite fair and balanced in your view?
[Shuster:] No. This was a campaign commercial for a network that is run by Roger Ailes, an expert at campaign commercials. FOX should have been ashamed and embarrassed. The fact of the matter is what I found astounding is not that FOX would put this out but their management would claim we didn't know anything about it. You cannot have a four-minute piece as highly edited and polished as that ridiculous piece is without management knowing it. I'm convinced this was a deliberate effort by FOX to put this out there. Then they walk away and say we shouldn't have done it. Yes, come on, they knew what they were doing.
[Kurtz:] OK. Let's be fair, there's no evidence that Roger Ailes had anything to do with it, but obviously somebody who ran that morning program, which is an opinion program, they don't like Obama, the hosts, and that's fine. It just seemed like a parody of a campaign commercial. I want to come back because one of the things that I hear echoing in the blogosphere and elsewhere, Jennifer Rubin, is well, Mitt Romney is a rich guy, and the press is obsessed with that. But what about John Kerry? I think John Kerry faced some of this. Not as much in 2004 because it's his wife's money that he inherited. But all the things about Romney being rich and also whether it's his houses, a couple of Cadillacs, his wife has a horse that I guess is going to be in the Olympics or training for the Olympics isn't that fair to report when you're running for president?
[Jennifer Rubin, Cnbc Contributor:] Sure. But all of this is a matter of proportion. All of this is a matter of putting things in context. He's also given more in charity than we'll ever make in our lifetimes in income. So a balanced coverage would also point out that although he's not worth eight figures, the president is worth seven figures. These are not one rich guy and one poor guy. They're two guys, one extraordinarily rich and one just super-rich. So I think there's a limit to what you want to do and that repetition and the plethora of these stories is really excessive.
[Kurtz:] I would argue, David Shuster, one of the reasons go ahead.
[David Shuster, Current Tv:] Jennifer, is it balanced when the "New York Times," four weeks before the 2004 election, does a story about John Kerry's story and his houses? I mean, let's be consistent here. If you think it was unbalanced for the media to talk about this mansion that Mitt Romney is building in San Diego and the impact it has on its neighbors, shouldn't you also publicly say now that it was unbalanced for the "New York Times" to talk about John Kerry's wealth four weeks before the election back in 2004?
[Rubin:] The "New York Times" was running such a full-time ad for John Kerry. Don't beat up your kind in the coverage in 2004.
[Shuster:] Come on.
[Kurtz:] You guys can debate the 2004 campaign off the air. I would just make the closing point that I think the reason that Romney is getting so much scrutiny right now is because the press belatedly, in my view, has finally come around to the view that he may win this election. I think, a month ago, the conventional wisdom was the president is going to skate in. And now, with the polls being tight, with Romney outraising him in the latest period and the economy having that bad jobs report, there is a sense that this is going to be a very close election and we could possibly be looking at a Romney administration. And that's the reason that the scrutiny I think has jumped up a notch. David Shuster, Jennifer Rubin, thanks for stopping by. Up next, is the Obama administration leaking classified information to make the president look good? David Sanger of the "New York Times" on being at the center of this growing storm.

[Lemon:] Plenty of rest and sleep is a prescription for a woman that spent more than two weeks trapped in a collapsed factory in Bangladesh. Doctors say Reshna is steadily improving but was seriously traumatized. To keep her calm, they're restricting visitors to a few family members. They pulled 2400 survivors from the factory's rubble, but no other than Reshna in the past 10 days. More than a thousand lost their lives in that collapse. Prince Harry is showing his serious side on his current trip to the U.S., big departure from the embarrassing visit to Las Vegas last year. Earlier today, the prince stopped at the warrior games in Colorado, a competition for wounded vets. Friday set a tone for today's events with Harry honoring the sacrifice of soldiers from America's past and current wars. And CNN's royal correspondent, Max Foster, filed this report just last night.
[Max Foster, Cnn Royal Correspondent:] The adoring crowds were kept at a distance on Friday as Prince Harry paid his respects at Arlington National Cemetery. As a serving officer in the British army, he knows that with this uniform comes the risk of being killed in combat. This is personal. He left a note that reads, "To my comrades in arms of the United States of America, who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom."
[Foster:] Then, a visit to the Tomb of the Unknowns and also a moment at the grave of President John F. Kennedy. War heroes who escaped death often come back wounded, and Harry was keen to visit some of them at the Walter Reed Medical Center. These are veterans from Afghanistan where Harry has also served. And so Prince Harry's visit to the U.S. capital comes to a close. Next stop, Colorado, where it is another reception hosted by the British government and an opportunity for Harry to do his part to promote U.K. interests.
[Sir Peter Westmacott, British Ambassador To The U.s:] He has come for opening of warrior games and I think that's a direct reflection of the concern that he has for the welfare of people who are damaged, who lose limbs in warfare. And there's also a young lady, Missy Franklin, won four gold medals in the Olympics, and we are thrilled she's here because it just so happens she has chosen to spend her 18th birthday with us and with Prince Harry!
[Foster:] Max Foster, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.
[Lemon:] All right, Max. A crash landing. Look closely. That's a helicopter traveling down a street.

[Dr. Sanjay Gupta:] Welcome to THE NEXT LIST. I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta. From dumpster murals to designer toys, artist Tristan Eaton has emerged from the back alleys into the brand-driven pop art market, where creativity is king and his creations, well, they're wearing the crown. Eaton's on THE NEXT LIST because he's an agent of change; seeing opportunity where others often don't; breaking down barriers between hip-hop and high art, with vinyl masterpieces for the masses; all the while managing collaborations with some of the world's biggest brands. Over the next half hour, you'll learn how one man's creative mind has more than likely crossed your path. And now, he is changing the way that we see the world around us.
[Tristan Eaton, Artist:] Hi. I'm Tristan Eaton. I'm an artist, and I live in Brooklyn, New York. This is one of my paintings, right behind me. The two sides of my work are: one, my personal work, which is painting and mostly figurative paintings that are exploring the notion of beauty, and I end up doing those mostly as street murals and canvas work. And then, the other side of me is Thunderdog, my design studio, where we do a lot of mixed media, experimental digital work. The last few years has been like a a huge influx of art meeting commerce, where artists are working with brands to make, you know, every kind of product you can name. You know, artists can't solely survive just off of selling paintings. In the last 10 years, there's been a lot of brands that do collaborations with artists, and that finances them. They're not selling a painting, they're licensing their art for an ad campaign. That brand is working like a patron of the arts, the way the Church used to for Michelangelo. There's a few projects that Thunderdog has done that are a perfect example of what I loved about doing commercial art and and collaborating with brands. We worked with Puma last year on their Faas Lab campaign, which is for Usain Bolt, the runner. Dell computers two years ago asked me to design some laptop covers for them. I ended up creating three posters for the Vote for Change campaign. We've done a lot of crazy work, all based around art, but anything from, you know, exhibitions to toys to giant street art projects to clothing, to advertising campaigns. You know, it's all been fair game. The majority of the the products that Thunderdog does support my art and the art projects that I want to make and I believed in, and things that I want to do and put out into the world. And the Thunderdog team there is to support it and make it happen. You look at the contributions artists have made to society, and you realize how important it is. When I say art, I'm talking about film, music, literature. That's how we form our perception of the world, is is mostly through the arts. The viewer will see that work and see that soul in the final product. That can be important for society on a whole. That kind of communication that happens through art, with emotions that aren't easily described, I think is imperative. Every artist in history has had to find a way to make art that sells; and, at the same time, is something they're good at; and, at the same time, is something they love doing. And, if you're really lucky, you'll have all those three things happen at the same time. It's really tough to find that equation that clicks for you, you know? When you're talking about if it sells and if it's popular, but on a personal level for an artist, you're trying to find that combination of what you want to say, how you want to express yourself, and what materials you're going to use to do that. Eventually you find that, and it can turn on like a faucet.
[Eaton:] As a kid, I was always doodling and drawing. The most significant memory of, you know, being really immersed in art was my my father dragging me kicking and screaming to a weekend art class. That weekend art class ended up really opening me up. It made me realize as a, you know, seven or eight-year-old, that I could do something that other kids couldn't. Not only that, but I I loved it, and I could create my own landscape of characters and people that just, you know, flew out of my imagination. I was born on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. I think I was a pretty well-behaved kid, up until I was eight. At eight, I moved to Britain. I started getting into trouble first around when we started skateboarding. We skated everywhere, did whatever we wanted, and no respect for anything. And it was all about parties and drugs and girls and drinking and everything that comes with growing up in London. The first time I ever got arrested was a glorious one. It was on my 13th birthday, and my father gave me a little bit of birthday money to go buy some stuff, and I think I was going out to buy lead figures to paint, but I wanted to steal some music. So I went to the Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus, and I got caught stealing cassettes tapes of De La Soul "3 Feet High and Rising" and Public Enemy "Fear of A Black Planet." So I was keeping it real, even though I was 13. You know, in a lot of ways I felt like I I just wanted to test the boundaries of trouble. I think that it was a good thing that we moved out of London pretty soon after that, because I don't know if I would have ended up getting into college. I might have just screwed it all up. Luckily, every time I got in front of a judge, got in trouble in school and got in front of a principal, my saving grace was my art. It was easy to prove how dedicated I was and how much I loved doing it, because even the other kids in school who were also talented at art, none of them were as prolific as I was. I mean, I was just burning rubber and making art all the time. The benefit of having lived in a few different cities as a kid is that I got a a range of influence. Los Angeles gave me
[Gupta:] Forging a path from street art into the commercial world, Eaton's big break came at an unexpected time. When he and KidRobot founder Paul Budnitz decided to work on a short film, the project was soon eclipsed by the overwhelming success of the KidRobot online store. Harnessing that sudden spike, the two decided to focus their energy solely on urban toys, and in that process was born an iconic creature.
[Eaton:] Dunny is a toy made by KidRobot that I designed about six or seven years ago. It's the combination of devil and bunny. It's designed to be what's called a platform figure, which is basically a a blank surface for artists to collaborate on. So every Dunny that comes out is designed by a different artist. And mostly they're made in limited editions; three different sizes, three inch, eight inch and 20 inch.
[Lisa Lyons, Store Manager, Kidrobot:] KidRobot was founded in 2002 by Paul Budnitz. A lot of what we do is based on collaboration. We take the art of fine artist, graffiti artist, comic artists, and we take their already existing art form and we put it onto a limited edition vinyl toy. The customizing toy community has grown immensely. Tristan's pretty much been a part of it from the beginning. He and Paul worked really closely to create all of our basic platform characters that we worked with all the time Munny, Dunny.
[Eaton:] The difference between the Dunny and the Munny is that a Dunny is always designed by an artist with their graphics printed on it, where a Munny always comes blank. It is made for everyone to customize. So it's the DIY figure. It comes with markers, and people paint them and sculpt them.
[Lyons:] People can just transform it by cutting it and melting it, and people have done just the most amazing things.
[Eaton:] Dunny had a a big impact on the art toy world especially, because it brought it to the masses. Art toys were a subculture and subgenre beforehand, and now you can find them in Urban Outfitters, they're in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. So, you know, they're on the radar.
[Louisa St. Pierre, Partner, Bernstein & Andriulli:] My name is Louisa St. Pierre, and I'm a partner at Bernstein & Andriulli, which is the New York-based agency and Shanghai-based agency that represents Tristan Eaton. I came to New York, and Tristan had told me about this show that was upcoming with Visionaire, to do this whole kind of crazy designer vinyl toys. You know, I was pretty aware that this was a popular genre at the time. Literally, the whole street from side to side, end to end, around Visionaire was packed with people. You know, it was young people, it was old people, it was art collectors all manner of sort of the New York spectrum or even the global spectrum before you, and really sort of engaged and clamoring to look at all of this creativity in this whole new platform or medium. So so all of these artists, who were generally pretty well known, were asked to customize a Dunny, just a whole spectacle of glitz and glamour and, you know, and some serious art in some places. But generally, a real celebration.
[Eaton:] It brought urban art to a more mass market accessibility, which is great for a lot of the young, independent artists that do them because it gives them a huge audience. So this is the Thunderdog Design office in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The company's been around for almost eight years. There's a few projects that that Thunderdog has done that are my highlights. We worked with Puma last year on their Faas Lab campaign, which is for Usain Bolt, the runner. The job was to go down to Kingston, Jamaica, paint a giant bodega and huge street murals to basically be where these shoes are made and where they come from and design it all in the hand painted sign style of local Kingston, Jamaica. It was awesome. It was a huge honor. We did the entire thing in four days, and it kicked our butts, but it was amazing. It was about 100 degrees and, while we're painting, little kids are all around me and they're counting my sweat drops as they're hitting the ground, that's how hot it was. I mean, I was completely drenched. We had to think up what to paint and how to paint it on the spot everyday, and that kind of problem solving is, you know, what I live for. I was contacted by the Obama campaign. I ended up creating three posters for the Vote for Change campaign, which was the largest voter registration campaign in history. Being tapped to do something like that is a once in a life time experience, to be able to be involved formally, not just, you know, contributing or volunteering, which I was happy to do. But to be, you know, brought in to do something official was so cool because you it feels like you're making a piece of history. We did the poster, and it came out. They did web videos, they did wild postings all over walls in all these different cities. And we were invited to the Presidential Ball. We danced about 30 feet from Obama. That whole campaign is a great example of how art can actually change the world somehow. We're going to do a few things in Miami this year, coinciding with Art Basel Miami, which is one of the biggest art fairs in the world. Galleries from almost every country in the world travel there just to exhibit their best art. I'm launching an exhibition for the book that I made "Labor of Love," about 3D art as in old-school 3D glasses. And I put together a book featuring 100 of my favorite artists and turned all their work into 3D, like retro style. The London Police I I know mostly from traveling city to city painting. This week, we're going head to head in an art battle down in Miami, so it will be pretty interesting. There's some friendly rivalry going on. Team USA of course, man. We've actually been talking smack for like three weeks now. It's getting ugly. The London Police exposed all their insecurities in in one night's conversation. I know exactly what to do to piss them all off.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm going to make my decision right now.
[St. Pierre:] Some of Tristan's upcoming projects. Well, as ever, he always embraces emerging technology. You have his B-BOT application, which actually came about because so many people asked him to make designer vinyl toys, usually of themselves.
[Eaton:] The idea was to make an iPhone app for all the people that are art toy collectors and give them a chance to make a kind of art toy style cartoon of themselves, in in my cartoon style. I designed I think 700 elements, so you can like switch the hair, the clothes, the eyes, the mouth, the shoes, the pants, everything and, you know, either make a cartoon of yourself or your friends, your mom or whatever, make fun of your friends by making them look stupid, and save it to your contacts or share it. However you want.
[St. Pierre:] The first night that I tried it, stupidly, just before I was just about to go to sleep. I addictively made these avatars for about three hours straight. And and that's, you know, that's also one thing about Tristan's work, it's very addictive. There is something in the works with Google, which I can say very little. It involves a a tribe of global people who share Tristan's vision. He has an amazing project with Disney.
[Eaton:] As I've gotten older, I I look at what I want to do next, and on the fine arts side of things, I I want to keep painting. I want to get better. I want to paint bigger murals and more of them. But when it comes to the commercial side of things, I want to animate more. This project with Disney is hopefully the first step towards that. I have a good friend who works over there. He's really talented and he asked me to write something for Disney TV, something that was for kids eight to 14. We're, you know, finishing scripts and art and everything right now. To create a TV show has been a dream of mine since I was a kid and, you know, I felt like I was bringing characters to life by drawing them. And then making toys took it to the next level, where they're in the real world. But actually making them move is the ultimate. A dream project for me, the ideal, most ultimate, amazing dream project would have to be designing a parade balloon, either legally or illegally. I'll do whatever I have to do. I've had dreams of making my own a parade balloon and showing up outside Macy's with it, with rope to a pick-up truck. The thing about making art is that it's going to live on after you. In some ways I put my art before myself, and a lot of ways the art is more important than me. The work kind of has its own life after you and you want to make sure that its legacy and its life span is the way you want it, you know? And you only have a limited time to control that before you're gone. If I had to give an artist one piece of advice, the thing that helped me, what I would say is that you have to commit to it for life. Once you make that commitment, a lot of things become easier. You don't worry about short-term accolades, you don't worry about climbing a ladder. When you commit so much that you know you're going to be doing it the rest of your life no matter what, it doesn't really matter so much what happens this month or this year because you know you're going to spend your whole life doing it.
[Gupta:] Putting his vision on everything from laptops and toys to the president, Tristan Eaton's unique talent is leaving an indelible mark on pop culture. Eaton is prolific, which is why he's on THE NEXT LIST, in his case blurring the lines between rebellious expression and commercial vision, and in the process creating a whole new world of creative possibility. For more on Eaton and other agents of change, you can visit our website, CNN.comTheNextList. You can also visit my live stream at CNN.comSanjay. Thanks so much for watching. Hope to see you back here next Sunday.

[Feyerick:] When Whitney Kropp was nominated for Homecoming Court by her classmates, she was thrilled. But her excitement soon turned to embarrassment and pain when she realized she was the victim of a cruel prank. Now this Michigan teen is turning the tables on her bullies. CNN's Chris Welch has her story.
[Chris Welch, Cnn Correspondent:] A superstar practically overnight. The 16-year-old Whitney Kropp is a role model to anyone who's ever been bullied. But this sophomore's journey so stardom was no fairytale, when her peers picked her for the homecoming court as a joke, she had thoughts of suicide.
[Whitney Kropp, On Homecoming Court:] I'm like wow, I feel like trash. I feel like I'm a little thing that no one really cares about.
[Welch:] At her sister's urging, she decided to keep her title on the court. [on camera]: If I were in your position, that would be really hard to do.
[Kropp:] It's really hard to do right now, because at first, I had thought about dropping out of the Homecoming Court. I'm not this joke that everyone thinks I am. I'll just prove all these kids wrong.
[Welch:] That's exactly what she did, and since then, she'll been swamped with support, from the local hair salon that gave her a new do
[Unidentified Female:] To find out that it was all just a joke, it really touched me.
[Welch:] To the Facebook page with over 100,000 fans.
[Bernice Kropp, Whitney's Mom:] It's so cool to see, you know, e-mails that she's, you know, we're getting or she's getting from parents and other students from all over the place telling their stories and how it helped them and it touched them. You know, my daughter is out there as an inspiration to a lot of people and it's a really cool thing. See? You're like Cinderella. Mistreated, unappreciated, abused, but after much support, you're going to have a great time at the ball.
[Kropp:] You know, I thought before you know, no one cares about me. I thought not even my own brother and sister care. But they're proving to me they do care. The world is proving that they care about the situation.
[Welch:] Folks from all over the state are here tonight. In fact, this group of girls traveled more than an hour away. You left your home football game to come here and support Whitney. Why?
[Donna Georgieff, Supports Whitney Kropp:] We just wanted to show Whitney that our entire student body is completely 100 percent behind her.
[Welch:] From being bullied to the bully pulpit, she's using her newfound fame to send a message.
[Kropp:] The kids that are bullying you, do not let them bring you down. Stand up for what you believe in. Go with your heart and go with your gut. That's what I did and look at me now. I'm just as happy as can be.
[Welch:] Whitney says she'll likely face bullies again if her future, but she says when that happens, she'll be able to confront them with her head held high and with a new confidence. Reporting from West Branch, Michigan, Chris Welch, CNN.
[Feyerick:] Good for Whitney. Well, an ancient piece of papyrus alluding to Jesus having a wife is a fake. At least that's what the Vatican is saying. Scram on the parchment are the words, "Jesus said to them my wife," but the Vatican newspaper has cast doubt over its authenticity. The editor is calling it a clumsy forgery. Hollywood stars are coming face to face with women who are turning oppression into opportunity. The acclaimed book "Half The Sky" by "New York Times" columnist, Nicolas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn has inspired a new documentary. In a special report for CNN, Kristof sat down with the stars, including Gabrielle Union, who tells us how a 15-year-old girl in Vietnam inspired her.
[Gabrielle Union, Actress/activist:] We met her at 15. Her mother had left. Her father because her father was abusive, his abuse was so epic, he was famous in their community. The father is a clock and watch repairman. Everything is digital, so the business is not brisk. And instead of changing occupations or picking up another job, he came up with the bright idea for me to sell lottery tickets. And she figured out a way to squirrel away money to get tutoring, to get food for her and her brother, to get uniforms, books, supplies, and some days when she just wasn't going to be able to sell all of her lottery tickets and she was going to home and be beaten. Sir, do you know why she's crying? Could you tell us why she's upset? I could see in Ni's face that there was a lot more to her story than even what she was willing to let on, and I became a little attached, maybe too attached, some would say.
[Nicholas Kristof, Author, "half The Sky":] Ni's story in a sense reflects a real argument about why we should care about somebody in Vietnam, that tiny amounts of money, that an amount we spend on coffee could be transformative in a life of somebody like Ni and you know, as well as the idea that our compassion shouldn't depend on the color of somebody's passport.
[Union:] Exactly, exactly. I think that's the point we all try to make. It's a little bit of humanity. You must be so proud of her because she's such a great student and such a good salesperson, a sense of pride.
[Unidentified Female:] Not yet, still more, still many things for her to do.
[Union:] When you absolutely refuse to see someone else's pain because you're OK, it does make you a jerk.
[Kristof:] You've worked a lot with violence issues, gender violence issues right here in the U.S. I'm curious, when you were working halfway around the world in Vietnam with these girls, did it feel kind of the same?
[Union:] If kids in America could see what Ni went through and how she got through it, they can apply those same lessons to their own lives. Helping and giving a damn makes the world go round. We can all learn from each other. You are so beautiful and so smart. I know you will be very successful. We all, you know, have such hope for the world and I'm maybe a little selfish. I want to see that inspiration have an effect in my neighborhood and with my family. And I think what we created absolutely can have that effect if people give it a chance. I'm very, very, very proud of you.
[Feyerick:] "Half The Sky" turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide. That airs on PBS Monday and Tuesday. So much talk these days about the red line. Well, this week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear where he thinks it should be drawn. We'll have much more on how to deal with Iran's nuclear program.

[Harlow:] Well, Hillary Clinton has visited more than a hundred countries as secretary of state, but few visits have ended as badly as her trip to Egypt. Elise Labott joins me by phone. She's traveling with the secretary. She's in Jerusalem, with more on what happened. Elise, let's get to that first. Just give us a sense of what happen at the end of the secretary of state's trip.
[Elise Labott, Cnn Foreign Affairs Reporter:] Well, poppy, she was opening she was doing a flag raising at one of the U.S. consulate in Alexandria, Egypt. And she was making some remarks ironically about how the U.S. wanted to support Egypt's transition and the fact that the U.S. wasn't picking any winners or losers. That's been a criticism during the trip there were protesters outside the consulate. It was a little harrowing for her staff and us journalists. When we left, they were t throwing bottles of water. They were throwing tomatoes and they were throwing shoes, which is considered a real sign of disrespect in the Arab world. They were chanting Monica, Monica. I think it was a reference to Monica Lewinsky. Obviously they didn't understand this was a totally new president or maybe it was a reference to Bill Clinton. But certainly it was a little bit harrowing. The secretary, though, never in any trouble, never in any danger. Her car and her vehicle are not hit. But one of the Egyptian officials that was walking out did get hit in the face with a tomato.
[Harlow:] Wow. Completely disrespectful. And, you know, it's interesting this comes after what seemed like a very welcome reception when she sat down with newly elected President Morsi yesterday. And then I know she met with the head military leader there and also with Coptic Christians. You said that was a difficult encounter for her as well, meeting with the Christian group.
[Labott:] Well, I think there's a real sense, and her aides kind of alluded to this when we were talking them about this sense in Egypt that there's a perception that the U.S. backs the Muslim Brotherhood. In Egypt, you know, obviously not everybody voted for President Morsi. There were a great deal of people who were scared about the Muslim Brotherhood. They voted for the other candidate, Shafik, who was more in align with the military council, and the old regime. And so, when they met the Coptic Christians and other Christian groups when they met with Secretary Clinton, they felt that you aren't protecting our rights. You aren't siding you're siding with the Muslim Brotherhood. And what the secretary of state said right before this event was the U.S. doesn't pick any winners or losers. We're looking to help you with your democratic transition. She is talking to President Morsi to get his act together, get a government together. Also telling the military council get back to your day job and get a democratically elected president, time to get back to your real job of protecting the country. And so I think there's a lot of questions about U.S. intentions in the region. There always has been for many years, but now that President Hosni Mubarak is gone and there's a new president that the U.S. said this is a guy who was elected and this is a guy we're going to work with. The U.S. can't pick and choose who they want to work with this in this world.
[Harlow:] And, Elise, quickly, what is the next step, where's the secretary headed next?
[Labott:] Well, we just landed in Tel Aviv just a short while ago, took a short ride to Jerusalem. She's in Jerusalem now. She'll be meeting with Israeli officials Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Barak and President Shimon Perez, among others. Couple of issues on the agenda, obviously trying to get the U.S., the Israel-Palestinian peace process back together, but also giving her perceptions about what the situation in Egypt, Israelis are very concerned about what's going on on the border, with the Sinai. You have Syria, Iran. No shortage of issues to talk here at Israeli tomorrow, Poppy.
[Harlow:] Especially with the kidnapping of those two Americans and, Elise, I know you have a big day an interview with the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton coming up tomorrow. We'll look for that. Great reporting in the six weeks you have been in the region. Thank you, Elise. All right. It has been called a direct threat on the freedom of speech. Newspapers in Mexico are changing their reporting after violent threats from some of the country's most notorious drug cartels. I find this as a journalist to be an outrageous, outraging story. Nick Valencia is with us here to talk about it. We're talking in the break. And you said grenade attack.
[Nick Valencia, Cnn Correspondent:] Fragmentations grenade thrown at newspapers.
[Harlow:] At two different newspapers.
[Valencia:] Two different states. Two different parts of Mexico, two different states. This is a direct threat. Like you said it right, this is a direct threat on freedom of speech. We've all done stories that people don't like, that viewers don't like. Few of us have actually feared for our lives for doing these stories. This is a situation that those journalists at "El Manana" and "El Norte" in Monterrey are dealing with. Let me tell you why it happened. At Monterrey, Mexico, this newspaper "El Norte", a very prominent newspaper there locally, they did an expose about the local department of motor vehicles issuing illegitimate, stolen license plates to make cars like legitimate. The next day, their newspaper offices there in Monterrey attacked with a fragmentation grenade. Now, "El Manana" has been attacked several times, two times in the last two months, and then a couple of years ago, if you can even imagine this, masked gunmen, unknown gunmen, step into the newsroom, open fire indiscriminately with their AK-47s, one of the journalists, our colleagues, paralyzed.
[Harlow:] You can't imagine that. We were running through the numbers. You said 80 some journalists killed.
[Valencia:] Since 2000.
[Harlow:] Since 2000 across the country.
[Valencia:] Across Mexico.
[Harlow:] But these are just journalists. And, you know, when you look at also what you told me, 90 percent of the crimes in Mexico go unsolved. So, it makes me wonder what kind of grasp if any enforcement the government, the police have there.
[Valencia:] Those are staggering numbers. You know, just to read them, 90 percent of crimes this is an official statistic from the attorney general's office of Mexico 90 percent or more of the crimes in Mexico go unsolved. And yes, they're committed to protect New York-based institution there, saying more than 80 journalists killed since 2000, half of which have been killed or kidnapped since Calderon took office, which, you know, seizing that power over to Enrique Pena Nieto.
[Harlow:] This is the way you inform an electorate is through free press.
[Valencia:] Right.
[Harlow:] And this is a huge step. It appears at least for these two newspapers, that this is coming on to an end for them. They're saying, that's it, we need to protect our staff.
[Valencia:] What makes this all the more unusual and I believe we have a statement from "El Manana" newspaper. But what makes this so much more unusual is the fact that they would address this publicly. And they say, "We ask for the public's comprehension and will refrain, for as long as need, from publishing any information related to violent disputes our city and other regions are suffering." You know, local news trickles up to the national level.
[Harlow:] Yes.
[Valencia:] If you're losing these beat reporters, you're losing these people with institutional knowledge with what's going on in their cities. They're not reporting what's going on. This is information that Mexicans were getting that they just aren't getting anymore.
[Harlow:] Unbelievable. Clearly the cartels are winning in this.
[Valencia:] Sad to say, but many people would agree with you.
[Harlow:] Thank you for bringing us this report, Nick.
[Valencia:] Thank you.
[Harlow:] All right. Adult entertainment, so accessible on TVs and many hotels. Well, a pair of Christian and Muslim scholars want to change that. We're going to tell you about that story coming up next.
[Unidentified Male:] You know, before the iPad, I used to joke that I made useless programs. But they're as useless as a song, a movie, a story, something like that. And all of a sudden, with the iPad, I could just go directly to people and say, check this thing out. It doesn't even we don't have to label what it is. It's just called Gravelex. It's called bubble art. See if you like it and all of a sudden, they did.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. You're watching STARTING POINT. Our team this morning, Charles Blow is a "New York Times" columnist joining us, Richard Socarides with us, a writer for thenewyorker.com. Will Cain is a columnist with TheBlaze.com. We've got John Berman to stick around. Our "Get Real," honestly, this is kind of making me mad. I got to tell you. Outrage, Will Cain, outraged. It's Friday.
[Richard Socarides, Cnn Contributor:] A little dig there.
[O'brien:] Will you hit him for me?
[Socarides:] Sometimes when you're not here they let me sit in your chair.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Outraged. Now I'm outraged.
[O'brien:] Again, Will Cain, again. In Chicago, Republican incumbent congressman Joe Walsh, he's an opponent of abortion, is under fire for suggesting that women no longer die in childbirth. In a televised debate last night against Democrat Tammy Duckworth, Walsh said there is no such thing as an exception for the life of a mother. When he was pressed afterwards by reporters, he said this
[Rep. Joe Walsh,  Illinois:] This is an issue that opponents of life throw out there to make us look unreasonable. There's no such exception as life of the mother. and as far as health of the mother, same thing. With advances in science and technology, there's health of the mother has been has become a tool for abortions for any time of any reason.
[O'brien:] It's become a tool.
[Charles Blow, Cnn Contributor:] A tool somewhere.
[O'brien:] So, you would be wrong, Mr. Walsh. You would be very wrong. So let's go through some of the numbers. The report in obstetrics and gynecology, 7,500 women in the U.S. died of pregnancy related complications over their 14-year period. For every 100,000 babies born to white women, seven to nine moms die from complications, like heart problems, infections, bleeding. And 32 to 35 black women die for every 100,000 live babies. He's just wrong. He's just completely wrong. The number for Asians, I should say, is about 10 for 100,000.
[Socarides:] Well, kind of the surprising thing about this, right, is that we were just through this with Mr. Akin the other candidate, Republican candidate for the congress, who used that term "legitimate rape." Perhaps the only thing that isn't as bad about this than the other thing is that he didn't use the term "legitimate rape."
[Cain:] You and I were just talking. We were just talking, we said there are going to be try to be parallels made to the akin comment and they're not the same thing. You made the very good point because akin put two words together that should never be near each other, legitimate and rape. I think your last statement Soledad is the judgment in the end on Joe Walsh's statement. It's just wrong.
[Berman:] But they do have the technology Akin had that claim that biologically speaking somehow women don't get pregnant if they're raped by some biological magic.
[Cain:] He had to admit to being wrong. With Joe Walsh, he's just wrong.
[Blow:] There's a broader context here which is that these are not so isolated, the idea that conservatives keep trying to pull science into the abortion, pro-life discussion, as if it is on their side in these kinds of ways. Even Paul Ryan, who didn't go deep on this, but during the vice presidential debate basically said I'm not just pro-life because of religious reasons. I'm pro-life because of logic, and science, it's on my side. And I was waiting for them to press a little bit to say, please explain to us please explain to us I'm talking about the scientific part of it. This is another case in which conservatives have basically said that science is telling us that that childbirth has advanced to the point where this is not an issue and you cannot make a pro-choice exception because of science. That is just a problem.
[Cain:] Statements like this do not aid my argument. However, technology, if it's tied to morality, and I do not believe it is, is certainly moving in my direction.
[O'brien:] I'm not even sure what that means. But we don't have time. We can read
[Cain:] That's going to take a 30-minute show which I'm happy to take. You in?
[O'brien:] I'm in. Yes, yes. Say yes, let's do it. Not on this show. But definitely in general, yes. I think that's fascinating. Absolutely. But we doesn't have 30 minutes this morning. Yes, Will Cain. And Sanjay will be accepting on behalf of Sanjay. We should talk about that. But he's just wrong and I feel like you can't have children or you don't have an MD next to your name you should not be commenting on science and pregnancy or abortion. Moving ahead
[Socarides:] Especially if you're running for congress.
[O'brien:] Ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, remember this guy who famously quit Goldman Sachs. He had that really the most scathing public resignation letter ever in the history of forever. A new investigation, though, shows there might be more to this story. We're going to talk about that. The journalists who broke that story, we're going to come in and talk to us this morning. That's coming up.

[Blitzer:] We're back with our "Strategy Session." New polls are putting President Obama in the lead over Mitt Romney nationally. So will this impact Romney's pick for vice presidential running mate? We're back with our CNN contributors, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos and on the phone, James Carville, our Democratic strategist. Look at these poll numbers, Alex. Let me start with you. The CNNORC poll that came out yesterday registered voters' choice for president, Obama ahead by 7, 52 percent, 45 percent for Romney. The Fox News poll, Obama ahead by 9, 49 percent Obama, 40 percent Romney. The Reuters poll, up by 7, Obama 49 percent, Romney 42 percent, registered voters. What's going on here?
[Castellanos:] Well, couple things. One is we're looking at registered voters here. When you look at likely voters underneath that, you see there's more intensity on the Republican side. So the race does get a little closer. But Obama remains a couple points ahead as he does I think in most polls. Nothing fundamentally has changed here except one thing. Mitt Romney's negative does seem to be going up. Some of the Obama attacks seem to be having an effect on it after this long, long summer we've been through. But the race is still about bigger things. The economy hasn't changed. It's still going down the toilet. We're losing jobs. The race is still basically very close.
[Blitzer:] When you say the difference between registered and likely voters, registered voters are people who have already registered. Likely voters are registered voters plus those who might still register.
[Castellanos:] No. Likely voters are those voters who are on the rolls, but when you ask them are you really sure they're going to vote in they tell you, yes, 100 percent, 9 or 10 out of a 10-point scale. So they're the ones you can count on showing up. A lot of Obama's voters last time were young voters, for example, black voters who traditionally turn out in lower rates. They may not come out this time as much. But we see a lot of intensity this time on the Republican side because they think the country's going down the tubes.
[Blitzer:] James, you buy that?
[Carville:] I buy some of it. Look, I can say this, Alex can't. Romney has run a God awful campaign. It's just been terrible. They have not been able to execute on simple things like a trip to Britain. They've been terrible in responding. They've been terrible on their tax plan. Even Robert Samuels started savaging the tax plan. They sent out the guy who wrote the most discredited economic book in our lifetime and they got to have you know, they're still within striking range. Alex is exactly right about that. But it's that campaign and that candidate doesn't have a quick change of attitude, they're going to lose.
[Blitzer:] Let me ask Alex
[Carville:] And they'll lose by more than a little bit too.
[Blitzer:] If the numbers stay like they are right now according to these polls. But does this put pressure, Alex, on Mitt Romney to go bold with his vice presidential pick?
[Castellanos:] I don't think so. You can't ask there are some things the Romney campaign needs to do. They need to say where the country's going. Obama's basically saying the president is better than the past. Don't go back. Romney, it's up to Romney to say we're not going back. We're going forward. Here's how I'd lead. Here's how I'd grow the economy. He has the convention to do that. He has debates to do that. But you can't ask the guy in the backseat, the VP, to do that job. That's asking a lot. It's the guy in the front seat, the presidential candidate to do that. One thing about James' point is if you're looking for awful campaigns, I'm not sure the president hasn't run the worst campaign we've seen even though they ran such a brilliant campaign last time. For example, he's alienated the high money people, the big donors and Wall Street, but now he's alienated small business.
[Blitzer:] But he's ahead in the polls.
[Castellanos:] But he's alienated small business I think with a turning point in the campaign with his you didn't build that comment. When you need small business and big business, there's not a lot of job makers left.
[Blitzer:] But you know what? With 8.3 percent unemployment, he's doing pretty well. You got to admit it's the economy as all of us know. If you were Romney, James, and I'm serious about this.
[Carville:] Right.
[Blitzer:] Who would you pick as your vice presidential running mate?
[Carville:] You know, first of all I think Romney and alex knows a very cautious man. I think he's probably methodical about this maybe even to fault. But I think that Romney's kind of made a decision because now a lot of the right wants him to pick Paul Ryan. If I were Romney, you know, I might try Jindal. He's a Louisiana guy.
[Blitzer:] Bobby Jindal's the governor of Louisiana.
[Carville:] Add something to the mix.
[Blitzer:] James is from Louisiana himself. If you were Romney, Alex, who would you pick?
[Castellanos:] I would agree with James. I think Jindal would be one of the guys
[Blitzer:] Really.
[Castellanos:] very top of the list. Conservatives love him. He's smart, conservatives appeal to him as well. Portman and Pawlenty are good safe choices. I wouldn't pick Paul Ryan because Mitt Romney doesn't want this campaign to be about entitlement reform. And Paul Ryan would make this campaign about that instead of jobs and growth in the economy. Paul Ryan should run for president on his own, but he doesn't need to be anybody else's
[Vp. Blitzer:] Paul Ryan's plan would change Medicare for people who are under 55 right now. I'm not sure that Mitt Romney necessarily wants to be burdened with that.
[Castellanos:] You don't want to start your campaign fall sprint on defense talking about something that isn't the main issue in the country, which is jobs and growth.
[Blitzer:] James, what should the role of Donald Trump be at the Republican convention?
[Carville:] Major. Major. I think they should devote a whole night to him.
[Castellanos:] Being generous here.
[Carville:] I'm going to go ahead and do something I've never done. I'm going to speak from one of my fellow contributors. I want Donald Trump at that convention. Alex does not want Donald Trump anywhere near that convention hall.
[Blitzer:] Let's ask him.
[Castellanos:] You know, Donald Trump making occasional fun of Donald Trump because he's such a colorful figure. But I think the Obama campaign misunderstanding his role in this campaign. He's not a rich business guy, even though he is. He's a guy who speaks truth to power. He's a populous guy. That's something no one really takes that seriously anymore But he's a guy who speaks truth about the need to change Washington and the economy. He's not a liability at all. And I think you're going to see him around the rest of the campaign.
[Blitzer:] Go ahead, James.
[Carville:] I think he ought to talk about his birthism. He's still on it. Let him get up and discuss his investigation he had and everything in Hawaii. Nothing would make me happier.
[Blitzer:] James Carville, thanks very much for coming in. Even on the telephone I think our viewers know what you look like, but that's all right. Alex Castellanos, thanks to you as well. An inflammatory claim from the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He says his country has picked up a U.S., quote, "mercenary" who's working to destabilize his government. We're going to tell you what we know. Plus, Syria's ultimate insiders who are helping President Bashar Al-Assad stay in power.

[O'brien:] I got a little do's on my show. Congressman, last week, I could not buy a friend on this show. This week, I can get all my songs on.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Having your name on the top of the show doesn't do a whole lot here.
[O'brien:] Nothing. Means zero. Call me, we'll talk about it later. Welcome back, everybody. Lots to talk about, of course, because today is the day. It's Florida's GOP primary day. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, I'm sorry, has been campaigning, and I've known her for literally years and years and years. Campaigning in her home state
[Rep. Ileana Ros-lehtinen, , Florida, Foreign Policy Advisor, Romney 2012 Pres. Campaign:] I have the hardest name.
[O'brien:] You know, it's a little challenging.
[Ros-lehtinen:] Don't worry about it.
[O'brien:] It's a little challenging.
[Ros-lehtinen:] I'll go to, hey, you.
[O'brien:] You know with a name like Soledad, sometimes, I go to, hey, you, also. She is also, I should mention, the most senior Republican woman in the entire House. She has high hopes for getting back
[Ros-lehtinen:] I'm an old bag, yes. An old broad.
[O'brien:] That is so not what I said at all. I just saw you minutes ago on
[Cnn -- Ros-lehtinen:] I know what you were meaning to say. I heard between the lines.
[O'brien:] Nonsense. Nonsense. I said the vibrant and experienced Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen joining us this morning.
[Ros-lehtinen:] We are kind of excited today.
[O'brien:] Yes. Well, OK, why? Why? Talk to me about the economy. Every time we talk, hang on every time we talk, we talk often about immigration and Latinos in the state of Florida, which I don't think is inappropriate. But every single time I get checked by the congresswoman who says, we want to talk about the economy. So, let's talk about the economy. You assume, I believe, Mitt Romney, who you're supporting, is going to win this primary race like most of the polls are showing. Why do you think he's strong on the economy? What's the message?
[Ros-lehtinen:] Well, I think that he's got this message of private sector experience. I know that that's being attacked. I don't think that that's really resonates with the voters, that kind of an attack. He didn't inherit the wealth he's worked for it. And, he's got a good, strong economic package that resonates with the voters in Florida, especially South Florida where we have been hard hit with this recession. Our unemployment numbers are way higher than the national average. Also, the tourism has slowed down. They're going to see Mickey Mouse in Orlando, but they're not making that last trek down to the beaches of South Florida. So, we've been really hit. We were in a real estate and construction boom here, and those industries have screeched to a halt. So, the voters here in South Florida, especially, are wanting to hear a message of lower taxes, less regulation, certainty for the small business owner so that he doesn't have more mandates from Washington but let him be alone and be able to grow his business. That's the Mitt Romney economic message, and that's why he's doing so well in a distressed economy like Florida.
[Tom Davis, President And Ceo, Republican Main Street Partnership:] Ileana, Tom Davis, how are you?
[Ros-lehtinen:] Hey, Tom, my colleague.
[Davis:] Yes. Let me ask you, South Florida last time, 500,000 vote lead for Obama in Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade Counties? How do you see this coming Romney is the nominee come November, of it change economic circumstances, Romney at the head of the ticket?
[Ros-lehtinen:] Well, I think that Obama has to own this economic climate. He said if we passed the stimulus bill, which was such a horrid disaster, we would our unemployment rate would not go above eight percent. We've had 36 straight months of terrible non-growth in terms of jobs.
[O'brien:] But isn't it improved? Let me stop you there. If it's improved Forgive me for interrupting you, but if it's improved, right, because earlier, the congressman and I were talking about, it's really going to be a snapshot of where is it going? And it is improving slowly.
[Ros-lehtinen:] I want it to improve.
[O'brien:] So, if it improves, doesn't that help the president?
[Ros-lehtinen:] I'm not saying, oh boy, I hope it gets worse.
[O'brien:] No, of course.
[Ros-lehtinen:] You know, even if it helps the president, I want it to improve. We want people to have jobs, but what we've seen is that he's doubling down on this failed economic policy. We heard his "State of the Union" speech. How many new federal programs was he creating during that speech at the same time that he's saying that we've got to quit spending money we don't have? And that's the Republican message. And, maybe he'll catch on to that, maybe he'll change his tune, but the programs that he's putting out are going to increase our debt, increase our deficit, and not put certainty for small business owners, so we won't be able to create jobs. That's why Mitt Romney's economic message is going to resonate throughout the country, because President Obama said, if I don't approve this economic situation in three years, then this is going to be a one-term proposition. Well, we're going to hold him accountable for his words.
[O'brien:] We'll se how it goes in the state of Florida today. As you can see, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen is a very strong Romney supporter, obviously. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it, congresswoman. Ahead this morning on
[Starting Point -- Ros-lehtinen:] Thank you, Soledad.
[O'brien:] you bet. CNN exclusive, we're talking to Marco Rubio. Would the GOP have a better chance to the White House if he said yes to being a VP? New polls on that. Also, the fight over airline fares. There are some new rules and now force the airlines to disclose the entire cost of ticket including the taxes and the fees. Some lawmakers, though, want it overturned. Congressman, we're going to talk about that. You're watching STARTING POINT straight ahead.

[Lemon:] Time now for what's "Trending" today. First up, we have big baby news for the entertainment world. Sir Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, are now dads. Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish- John was born Christmas Day in California via a surrogate. The baby weighed seven pounds, fifteen ounces. Again, here's his name: Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John. He was seven pounds and fifteen ounces. In a joint statement, John and Furnish had this to say, "We are overwhelmed with happiness and joy at this very moment. Zachary is healthy and doing really well, and we are very proud and happy parents." Elton John is 62 and David Furnish is 48. They have been together for 12 years and this is their first child. Also, "Trending" today, the star of the MTV reality show "Teen Mom," Amber Portwood, is behind bars for allegedly attacking ex-fiance Gary Shirley. As seen in this clip from the show, she's no stranger to violence.
[Amber Portwood:] Let me
[Unidentified Male:] Amber, Amber.
[Portwood:] No. You apologize right now.
[Unidentified Male:] Amber, let him go.
[Portwood:] You don't
[Unidentified Male:] Amber, let him go. You can get the
[Lemon:] OK. In September, Portwood expressed her concern that one day their daughter, Lea, who too who is two, would see her slapping the child's father. Portwood was arrested on Monday. She is charged with three felonies, they are one count of neglect of dependent and two counts of domestic battery. A very cool piece of American history emerged just a few days ago, and I'm about to find out if it's more significant than that. If it's more than just, gee whiz, kind of interesting. Take a look at this. It's a glass bottle. It's two inches long, a cork stopper, a tiny piece of string. This odd little artifact sat in a Civil War museum untouched for more than 100 years. Well, curiosity got the best of the woman who oversees the museum and she arranged to have the thing popped open to see what was inside of it. Well, show the next picture. There you go, this is what was in there. A rolled up piece of paper with some nonsense looking handwriting and a lead bullet. Sounds a little weird. OK, I am no historian. But Catherine Wright is and she's the lady who had to find out what was in the little bottle. She's a collections manager at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. Catherine, thanks for joining us. What on Earth are we looking at in those pictures?
[Catherine Wright, Collections Manager, Museum Of The Confederacy:] Well, what you are looking at is a secret message that was unopened for 147 years. It was a coded message that was intended to be sent to a city under siege, and by the time the message was about to be delivered, the city had already fallen into the hands of the enemy and the message really no longer mattered.
[Lemon:] So, then some people
[Wright:] So it was brought back.
[Lemon:] some people would say, OK, what took you so long to open it?
[Wright:] Well, I think there's a lot of different museum curators who have the philosophy that you should never change any artifact which comes into your museum. And while I certainly ascribe to that, I do believe that museums and other institutions need to continue to do research on the items in their collection. And as long as they can do so without causing any physical harm or damage to the artifact, then they should certainly do whatever research they can. So I was sort of the head of a team of people at the museum who just decided that curiosity finally got the better of us.
[Lemon:] All right, so, Catherine, how did you decode the message? Was it high-tech computer software?
[Wright:] Well, you could certainly use that today, but back in the Civil War, people would either use a metal decoder ring that would bear some resemblance to the one that folks might have seen on "A Christmas Story" movie, or they could use a table that basically is a bunch of alphabets that are slightly staggered. And it is a little bit complicated, but you can sit down and figure it out with just a paper and pencil.
[Lemon:] OK, so tell me, who do you think sent this message and what does this tell you about the state of the war on that day?
[Wright:] OK. Well, if you imagine the city of Vicksburg, which is perched on the east side of the Mississippi river, is a very important stronghold in the Civil War because it basically would control who had access to to the river, which was a main route of transportation. And the person who sent a message was a Confederate general who was stationed on the opposite side of the river. So he was sending the message to the general who had basically set up a series of defenses around the city of Vicksburg, trying to hold off all of the Federals. And, of course, that fellow all of his poor soldiers were starving. And so the message, apparently, was a response to the general who was under siege in the city. And the message, as it was decoded reads, "General Pemberton, you can expect no help from this side of the river. Let General Johnston know, if possible, when you can attack the same point on the enemy's line. Inform me also and I will endeavor to make a diversion. I subjoin a dispatch from General Johnston," end quote.
[Lemon:] OK, and so, that little piece of paper, that's what that says right in there.
[Wright:] Exactly.
[Lemon:] So listen, does this change the course of history in any way? Does it change anything about the Civil War? What we've learned, what we're going to be teaching about it or should be teaching?
[Wright:] It probably doesn't revolutionize our studies of the war. I think it certainly helps to energize them. It also, it's sort of a punctuation mark to just how extremely dire the circumstances were for the Confederates at that time.
[Lemon:] I got you on that, Catherine. So listen, why the bullet?
[Wright:] The bullet was probably placed in the bottle in case that the bottle was about to be captured by the enemy so they could throw it in to the Mississippi River and have it sink and not be captured.
[Lemon:] OK. So can I call you detective or you still want to be an historian?
[Wright:] You can absolutely call me detective.
[Lemon:] Catherine Wright, thank you. Happy new year to you.
[Wright:] Thanks, same to you.
[Lemon:] All right, what are all of these people there they are what are they all fired up about? Would you believe, it has to do with gas prices? That's up next.

[Hendricks:] Welcome back. Most Republicans consider voter id laws a legitimate way to prevent voter fraud. Most Democrats see them as attempts as voter suppression, Democratic voter suppression to be specific. But whatever your view, the laws are stirring up political passions all around the country. Don Lemon spoke about it with CNN contributors Lz Granderson and Anna Navarro.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Host, Newsroom:] So, welcome Ana and welcome Lz. Lz, last time we talked about this, you got really passionate, you and Will really went at it. And you were specific saying you weren't going to sugar-coat it. Here's what you said. Listen.
[Lz Granderson, Cnn Contributor:] This is driven by race. I was at the speech last night. I was that dinner last night. I was there last night. And I will tell you, I didn't leave there thinking, oh, I need to vote for Obama because he's black. I left there thinking as an American citizen, we all should be offends that these tactics are being used to curtail our rights, the right that is blacks and whites have died for. You don't have to go all the way back to slavery. Jesse helms used tactics to scare blacks from going back to the polls.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] It's nothing like this.
[Granderson:] Let me finish. I allowed you to finish. Saying things like, if you go to these polls and you don't have x, y and z documents, you will go to jail. That wasn't a long time ago. You and I, Will, we were in college when that was going on.
[Lemon:] OK. So, as I said, it had to be to be honest, we invited Will to be back. Will is not available. He's traveling. He has something else to do. So, we invited Ana to talked about it. So he's you were very Why are you so passionate about this because it's going on in a number of different states. Pennsylvania now, it's up in the air as to what's going to happen. Why are you so passionate about this?
[Granderson:] Because I love this country. I love what we fought for. I love what we have and I don't want to see it taken away so that a person can win the White House. The thing that really bothers me most by this is the people trying this tactics know the Democrats are going to call them out on it. They knew that going into it. What they're hoping is that enough people in their base despise President Obama so much that they would allow them to do this just so that Romney can get into the White House. Technically, that really bothers me. That's part of the reason why I was so passionate about it with Will. Will is a very rational guy. We're good friends. And I just couldn't believe he was going to sit back and say it was OK for like a quarter of a million in Pennsylvania to be eliminated in this process so that Romney could get into the White House.
[Lemon:] OK. So Ana, you hear what Lz has to say about it. He is says it's about race. It is mostly Republican, except for one, which is Rhode Island. Mostly Republican houses who are asking for these tough voter id laws. What do you make of it? Do you think it's driven by race?
[Ana Navarro, Republican Strategist:] You know, I'm sure there is a racial component to it, Don. You know we live in America 2012. Racism doesn't exist to the level it once did. But I'm not going to say it's been eliminated from our society. Now, I'm a naturalized Latino living in Florida. Florida is one of those state where is these voter changes have occurred. I have to tell you, I don't feel disenfranchised. I think it is a much smaller problem, at least in Florida, than it is being portrayed. What we've seen now is that there's something like 198 voters that have been identified through the mechanisms that should that perhaps should not be voting and the supervisors of elections are getting asked to go through those names. I tell you, you know, Lz is my friend and I respect him. I understand his passion. I love this country, too. But I also understand that the responsibility and right to vote belongs to U.S. citizens. I'm a naturalized one. It's one of the privileges. It's one of the duties that came along with me naturalizing. But I also understand that people who shouldn't be allowed to vote, should not be doing so. I do not agree that showing a picture id is such an onerous thing. I don't know what percentage is affected. I think we need to help the people. And I agree with Lz that there is nothing worse than having to go to a DMV even when you do drive and need to go for purposes of getting a driver's license. That being said, we have to help people get ids if necessary. But we do have to all agree that the right to vote is precious. It's something that many people have fought for, have died for and defending that right to vote means that we all have to agree. And I think we all do, that everybody who is legally allowed vote should be able to do so.
[Granderson:] When you're able to look at your own party and say, you know what? That's not right, call them out on it. The problem right now is we have way too many people within the Republican party who despise President Obama so much that they're going to turn a blind eye and let this process go through even though they know it's not right. What we need the solution begins with saying, we're not going to let you do this now because we see what you're doing and it's not right. There's been a disfranchise voters. There are people in Detroit where I grew up who were born on the east side who had never even been to the west side of the city. I mean, Ana, I love you. But you are talking about picking up tickets at will call. These folks are just riding the bus. They don't have a lot of resources and of opportunities. And what we need are more individuals to stand up to their own parties and in this case it happens to be the GOP and say, that's not right. I want our guy to win. But I want our guy to win fairly.
[Hendricks:] Passionate opinions on that. A lot to talk about. President Obama and Mitt Romney, they go face to face as American voters weigh their choice. The first of three presidential debates will be next Wednesday night. Watch it live on
[Cnn, 7:] 00 eastern and on CNN.com as well. Meanwhile, as the president and Mitt Romney get ready for Wednesday's showdown, we have learned a little inside info on how they're getting ready. Senator John Kerry will play the role of Mitt Romney when Mr. Obama holds his practice sessions. And Ohio senator Rob Portman is portraying the president during Mitt Romney's debate preps, pretty interesting. You know, the Pope's former butler went on trial today back on city also following this. He is accused of stealing secret papers from Pope Benedict XVI and leaking them to an Italian journalist. The butler faces a sentence of up to eight years if convicted. A rival band honored Florida A&M; University suspended marching band today during a halftime show in Atlanta. Southern University in Florida, A&M; are two-long time baton rival. Halftime of this game is traditionally featuring a battle of the bands. Famu's band is suspended after last year's hazing death of a drum major. By the way, southern won the game 21-14.
[Hendricks:] Twenty-four hours without your cell phone. Could you do it?
[Obeidallah:] Right now, I'm in my own world. I'm disconnected.
[Hendricks:] Comedian Dean Obeidallah gave it a shot.
[Lemon:] So, you're out and about, and you are not in front of a television. You can stay connected to CNN. You can. You can pull it up on your cell phone like I do or you can watch it from your computer even at work. Just go to CNN.comTV. Tell them Don lemon sent you.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Let's get you up to speed. President Obama made copies of his original birth certificate public today, making that public. The document shows Barack Hussein Obama II was born in Honolulu in 1961. It bears the signature of his late mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. The president says questions about his birthplace were overshadowing his agenda.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I know that there's going to be a segment of people for which no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest. But I'm speaking to the vast majority of the American people, as well as to the press. We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We've got better stuff to do. I've got better stuff to do. We have got big problems to solve. And I'm confident we can solve them. But we're going to have to focus on them, not on this.
[Malveaux:] For years, birthers have claimed that the president was not born in the United States and was not constitutionally qualified to be president. Well, the latest noise had been coming from Donald Trump, who is toying with a run for the Republican nomination.
[Donald Trump, Entrepreneur:] Today I'm very proud of myself, because I have accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish. I was just informed while on the helicopter that our president has finally released a birth certificate. I'd want to look at it, but I hope it's true.
[Malveaux:] Our CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins us on the phone. And Jeff, you heard Donald Trump's remarks here, he's very proud of himself. Legally, the president had satisfied all the questions about where he was born, his birth certificate. This seems like this is certainly a political move. Do we think that is there any question at all, anything that's unresolved regarding what the president has put forward that someone could use to question his citizenship?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Sr. Legal Analyst:] Well, there is no factual dispute here. There has never been a factual dispute that sane people could disagree about. This is yet further proof that gravity exists and that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. I doubt that the hardcore birthers will be satisfied by this, but I do think that this should resolve the issue in the minds of all but the absolute craziest of people.
[Malveaux:] And Jeffrey, you and I have talked about this. It's something that the president could have done a long time ago, opening up that vault and allowing for the original birth certificate to be made public here. Does this set up a dangerous precedent? Does it set up something where the president it is beneath him to have to open the vault and to bring this forward to the public? Is this a good idea?
[Toobin:] That's a hard question. I think the situation is so odd, that I don't think the issue of precedence will really come up very often. Look, Donald Trump is right, he is the person who raised this and got us in the news media to cover it sufficiently that it did become a big issue. I don't know that it was hurting the president politically. I think the people who were agitated about it were such hardcore opponents, they were never going to be persuaded, but I think the president was right that this dispute was certainly taking up a lot of time. I suspect that many of the birthers will continue, but Trump, who is rational, if cynical about this whole thing, may drop it.
[Malveaux:] All right, Jeff. Thank you so much, Jeffrey Toobin, for your perspective on all of this. Well, another story, violent storms, possibly tornadoes, clobbering the Deep South. That is happening today. Three new deaths are now confirmed in Mississippi. Several people are reported trapped in debris that is south of Huntsville, Alabama. The dangerous weather system will move through Atlanta area. That's going to happen tonight, before targeting the Carolinas. That's happening tomorrow, on Thursday. High water on the Ohio River helped pin four runaway barges underneath a railroad trestle in Pennsylvania today. Two of the barges eventually squeezed under the bridge. The water is so high, authorities may blow up a levee down river, where the Ohio meets the Mississippi, to ease the pressure. A shooter opened fire at Kabul airport today, killing nine people, six of them U.S. troops. Now, officials say an Afghan military pilot started shooting after he got into an argument with the troops. The Taliban claimed that the shooter was an insurgent who infiltrated the Afghan military, but NATO says that is not the case. Well, new assignments now for key players inside the Obama administration. President Obama is expected to announce tomorrow that he is moving CIA Director Leon Panetta to the Pentagon as defense secretary. Afghan war commander David Petraeus will replace Panetta at the CIA. Now, both nominations need Senate approval. The United States is telling Americans, think long and hard before making a trip to Mexico. And that is because of the surging drug violence there. The State Department has now expanded a travel warning. It now includes parts of the nine Mexican states shown with those red lines there and all of the states shaded in red. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, she is flying to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida right now. She's going to watch her husband, Mark Kelly, command the last flight of space shuttle Endeavour on Friday. Giffords has been recovering from a gunshot wound to the head at a Houston rehab hospital. Here's your chance to "Talk Back" about the big story of the day. President Obama, now releasing his original birth certificate. Our Carol Costello is here with the "Talk Back" question. It's the original. He had already supplied the official birth certificate, so he said it's additional information. People already had a lot to go with already.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, but will this put the issue to rest once and for all? That's what we're going to talk about today. The issue of President Obama's birth certificate just would not go away for months, years. The Obama team said the issue was settled, the certification of live birth they released in 2008 was enough. Now, in a stunning turnaround, the president decided to release his original birth certificate. Was it because of Donald Trump, who has hammered away at the issue for weeks, or other Republicans like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, who flirted with birtherism? Or was it just, as the president says, that he had had enough of all the "silliness"? Mr. Obama said the issue had become a distraction from the real problems facing our country. It could also be a distraction for the president's re-election campaign though. In a recent CNNOpinion Research Corporation poll, one-quarter of Americans believe the president was not born here. Not a majority, but a stubbornly significant minority. SoCarolCNN, and I'll read some of your responses later this hour.
[Malveaux:] I would be very curious. I know we're working on this, a CNN poll, to see, does it change people's opinion either way?
[Costello:] We'll see. You heard Jeffrey Toobin say for those hardcore people out there who believe that the president was not born in the United States, it won't change their mind. But hopefully that's a tiny, tiny sliver of Americans.
[Malveaux:] We'll see what the polls say and the viewers. It will be very interesting.
[Costello:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] Thanks, Carol. Here's a look at what's ahead "On the Rundown." Fresh gunfire in Daraa. The Syrian government, intensifying its bloody crackdown. A dangerous water rescue in Ohio after a teen gets in over his head. And we are waiting for the Federal Reserve decision on interest rates and Chairman Ben Bernanke's news conference. And, plus, a judge's sexuality is questioned in two fascinating legal cases. And Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She is heading to Florida to watch her husband launch into space.

[Phillips:] Now Mitt Romney sure trying to seal the deal. He's out rallying supporters in Nashua, New Hampshire, trying to win over some last-minute converts. Let's take a listen.
[Romney:] had similar ideas in different parts of the country and raised capital and began other businesses. But when Solyndra happens, think what happens then. When the president and his people pick one company in which to invest $500 million, guess what happens to the other people seeking private capital for their solar energy ideas? Who's going to put money, $2 or $3 million into a solar startup when they hear the government has put $500 million into something called Solyndra? Nobody. So the investment he made not only was lost at Solyndra but also crippled investments in other ideas in solar technology. So rather than encouraging innovation in solar technology, it discouraged it. This is what happens when people in government who spent their life in government think that government is the answer to our economic challenges. Government is not the answer. It's the problem, as Ronald Reagan used to say. Let markets work. Have government create the conditions that allow markets to work. Fair tax codes. Updated regulations. Opening markets for American goods. Getting energy at a low and effective cost basis. Having fair labor rules. Not slanting it one side or to the other. These are the kinds of principles I want to bring to Washington. I happen to believe that the principles upon which this nation was founded are principles that were not temporary in their impact but are permanent. When I when I think back to the Declaration of Independence and those famous lines, where the founders wrote, the creator had endowed us with certain rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our declaration made it very clear it would not be government that would guide our lives and tell us what we could do or how we could run our enterprises. It would instead be free people making their own choices.
[Phillips:] Mitt Romney speaking live in Nashua. We'll be checking in with all the candidates as they are holding their rallies to hopefully gain more votes. All right. One of the biggest breaks for police in the Jerry Sandusky child abuse investigation came from Sandusky himself in his autobiography, "Touched." That's what CNN contributor Sara Ganim learned when we spoke to the mother of one of Sandusky's alleged victims. Sarah actually broke the story for the "Harrisburg Patriot News." Sara, what exactly did this mother tell you?
[Sara Ganim, Cnn Contributor:] Kyra, this mom told me the story, and she told it to me because she is upset with the the allegation that Jerry Sandusky's attorney has been making that a lot of these victims knew each other, and got together after they heard of one allegation and decided to substantiate the allegation and make more stories up, seeing lawsuits and seeing money coming from Penn State. But she told me this story for that reason. And this is what she said she said when police came to her in early 2010 and said, you know, we know your son came forward 10 years ago and made an allegation to police, and wasn't believed. Tell us what happened. She sat down with them and she said, you know, my son had a lot of friends back then. They all hung out together. They all hung out with Jerry Sandusky. And I think you should talk to these other boys too. Not knowing what they would say, she pointed them in these boys' direction. And they were from the pages of that book. They actually sat she sat down with police and went through the book and identified several of the victims that ended up being in that grand jury presentment.
[Phillips:] So basically, the key to this case was right there on the shelves of the Penn State bookstore?
[Ganim:] It's very interesting. A lot of these things were out and obvious, a lot of the keys to this case because, you know, that's one big break. But the other one was finding that mother, finding victim six's mom and remember, her name and her phone number was sitting in that police report that was at Penn State's police barracks that had been closed, and no charges came of it. But it was sitting there in the police barracks for over a year after that victim one came forward, after the police investigation began, before they actually contacted her. So, some of some of the keys to this case were out there, which goes right back to that overriding theme that prosecutors are now talking about, that many people knew something, and did nothing.
[Phillips:] Sara, before I let you go, you know, a number of former Penn State football players are pushing back against the hiring of Bill O'Brien as the new head coach. How did the search committee come to this decision?
[Ganim:] They say that contrary to reports, it was not a toxic job. They had a lot of applications. That Bill O'Brien's name was someone he was someone that they knew of from the beginning. And slowly they just became enamored with him. They really fell in love with him, and it had nothing to do with being a Penn State guy, but someone finding someone who had Penn State heart is what they said. And they said that's how they landed on their guy. You know, it seemed like he said all the right things on Saturday when he was introduced, and he did get a loud applause from some Penn State fans. About 100 Penn State fans showed up for that announcement.
[Phillips:] Sara Ganim, thanks so much. Checking stories across the country now, a cashier at a Papa John's pizza joint in New York is fired over this racist receipt. If you look closely, you can see how an American Asian customer was identified as, quote, "lady chinky eyes." That customer posted a picture of the receipt on her Twitter account over the weekend, which quickly went viral. Nearly 100 soldiers are on lock at a Washington state Army and Air Force base right now. Commanders at Joint Base Lewis-McChord are reacting to reports of some missing sensitive military equipment, including night lasers and gun scopes. Take a look at this planned implosion. Just a few seconds in it all took for the 20-story building in Houston's medical district to come down. It had been empty Anderson Cancer Center office space for 30 years. The "Houston Chronicle" says an aging foundation and asbestos made the building too costly to maintain. Straight ahead, the IRS is coming up short as Americans skirt the tax man. How big is the revenue shortfall? We'll take you live to the New York Stock Exchange. And this is the video we can't stop watching. Not only did a young woman's bungee cord snap, it snapped over a river full of crocodiles. You just can't get any closer to death than this, but she's OK and she's talking about it, next.

[Phillips:] All right. Details just coming in. But for those of you waking out up or waking up, rather, out on the West Coast, even big baseball fans here on the East Coast, we got word that the L.A. Dodgers filing for bankruptcy. So what exactly does this mean? We will find out with regard to the Dodgers and play with they're having issues with their finances for a while now. So could this mean just a restructuring of the financials or could they be sold? We're not quite sure. But we are just getting word now, L.A. Dodgers filing for bankruptcy. We'll talk more about it coming up in sports. All right. Other stories making news "Cross Country."
[Unidentified Male:] Tell her to hang in Yes. There's somebody over there. Why does she
[Phillips:] Well, this is in Nevada. Investigators are looking into the fiery crash between a big rig and Amtrak train that killed six people. They're trying to resolve a discrepancy in the numbers of passengers involved. At least 20 people listed on the passenger manifest are still unaccounted for. And in New York, yesterday's Gay Pride Parade turned into a gay marriage celebration after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the measure into law. The parade stretched almost two miles from Midtown to Greenwich Village. New York is now the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. In Denver, a photo of Billy the Kid is sold at auction for $2.3 million. The winning bidder, millionaire collector William Koch. This 130-year-old tintype is the only known photo of the legendary gunfighter. Should kids be exposed to those gory shoot-them-up violent video games or not? The freedom of speech issue is before the Supreme Court right now and the justices expected to rule this week on whether states can stop sales of violent video games to minors. Our Kate Bolduan is actually at the Supreme Court, following or waiting to hear a decision. So let's talk a little bit about the case Kate.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] All right, Kyra. Well, this is a free speech dispute between the state of California the state of California and the multibillion dollar video gaming industry. This is a law that was signed back in 2005 by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. And basically it would ban the sale of excessively violent video games to children, to anyone under the age of 18. The state says they have a vested interest in trying to protect minors from graphic materials that they've kind of stepped in to regulate and restrict access to things before like access to alcohol, cigarettes, even pornography, but the multibillion dollar video gaming industry. They say this is a First Amendment issue and that it's violating their First Amendment right to creative expression. So many people are watching this case to see how the justices rule today, as we'll find out in probably about an hour, Kyra, in terms of everyone cares about free speech issues. Many states watching this to see where and where they cannot regulate or a going forward basis. And let's be honest, many people care very much about their video games Kyra.
[Phillips:] Yes, that is true. All right, campaign finance, the other big case that we could hear about today, right?
[Bolduan:] Right. Another big case. Having to do with the Campaign Finance Law in Arizona. This is public financing system for campaign that would offer some assistance that would help underfunded candidates. This is a law that was actually passed in Arizona back in about 1998 in the wake of an election corruption scandal. And the big question, while we could get into the nitty-gritty, the big question that the court could be deciding is this law designed to fight corruption or is it designed to level the playing field, which is not allowed in election law? Many people watching this. Of course, we're heading into the 2012 elections, and campaign finance issues are very big issue here. And this comes on the heels of the landmark Citizens United campaign finance case of last year where the court struck down a sweeping Federal Campaign Finance law that offered independent groups like nonprofits, unions and corporations the ability to spend more freely in the election process. Very important very important to everyone in this country, especially as we head into another election Kyra.
[Phillips:] OK. Let us know when you get word. Kate Bolduan, thanks so much. And the Casey Anthony murder trial set to resume this morning in Orlando. We'll take live pictures right now from the trial. You know on Saturday the judge actually stopped the trial in its tracks saying an important, quote-unquote, "legal matter" had come up. Do we have any idea what that was about, David Mattingly?
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] Absolutely no idea at this point. But we did have a little bit of deja vu before everything got started today. Everyone went back into a closed door session in the judge's chambers again. That was only lasting just a few minute this is morning. Everyone came out. They all had a document in their hands. And for about half an hour after that, they were all reading this document, including Casey Anthony, reading it very intently. Looking at the live pictures in the courtroom right now. No activity yet. The jury has not been called in. The judge is not on the bench. And we're still waiting for things to get started today. But, apparently, whatever began on Friday is still continuing today. We do have witnesses out in the hallway that are prepared to be called today. A private investigator that worked for the Anthony family, as well as investigators for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, waiting to see themselves when court will get started and how we will proceed from here Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. We'll track it. David, thanks. So, how low can they go? Those trips to the gas station are getting easier, day by day. But we're going to find out just how much longer you can expect those prices to go down. And student protesters in Chile express the demands through dance. The sound track, Michael Jackson's "Thriller," of course.

[T.j. Holmes:] Well, Kiran, a woman in Kansas is going to court, along with some other parents in Kansas. They are fighting to get this pay more taxes. Why? They want to make schools better for their children. She has a son in middle school and that middle school is going to be closed and state law says she can't pay more. These parents can't pay more even if they want to. Michelle Trouve is the parent in particular I'm talking about, joining me this morning from Kansas City. Ma'am, thank you so much for taking time out with us. And I guess let's start by explaining this to folks a little bit. There is a cap for how much parents can contribute to those public schools when it comes to property taxes. You can't keep raising your taxes and raising your own taxes to end up putting into the school. Why do you have a problem with that?
[Michelle Trouve, Suing State Of Kansas:] Good morning, T.J. I have a problem with that. I think it's important to understand how the funding formula in Kansas actually works. We receive our funding from three different sources. We have an amount that comes from the state of Kansas and I think examples kind of will help you. It costs about $12,000 to teach a kid in the state of Kansas today in our district and $4,000 of that money comes from our state funding formula.
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Trouve:] Another $1,000 comes from the federal government. And because it's a $12,000 amount, we bridge that gap or we pay that extra $7,000 through our local option budget or otherwise known as our property taxes.
[Holmes:] OK. You want to pay more. Yes, ma'am, go ahead.
[Trouve:] Yes, I want to pay more because we're facing millions and millions of tens of millions of dollars of budget cuts. They are closing schools. They're laying off teachers. They cut off 100 teachers last year. And the state has essentially said it is unfair for you to raise that $7,000, that local option budget. So, if the state is going to cut their portion down obviously, we would like to bridge that gap in some way, shape or form.
[Holmes:] Yes, let's take it up right there for our viewers. And this is the problem that the state has they are saying your district, and we have to be honest here, y'all have more affluent district than a lot of other places, and they are concerned about the inequity. If they would just allow an affluent district that has parents with higher property taxes who can keep raising and raising, you will end up with super schools in some ways. You can recruit the best teachers, pay them the best salaries and other I guess the poor just get poorer. Do you understand that argument?
[Trouve:] Yes, but I have to firmly disagree with that argument, because if you actually looked at who received the funding in the state of Kansas, our district is in the bottom 5 percent of the funding for operating expenses in the state of Kansas, and we are in the bottom 25 percent of funding overall. And if you overlap the fact that we are underfunded, purposely underfunded, and our kids are not the wealthiest in the state of Kansas. Our kids are not the highest performers. Our schools are not the top ranked schools. In fact, the governor's award in the state of Kansas that shows test scores and children's academic achievement out of over 300 awards that have been given in the last four years, our schools have only received two of those awards. So, this whole argument about the rich getting richer just isn't true.
[Holmes:] Do you think, ma'am, that your school district, besides it closing, do you think your child is receiving a lesser education because of the funding? How has your school district been hurt? I guess, besides the school closing, are the students just still getting a good education?
[Trouve:] Well, undoubtedly, no. Their education is clearly suffering. I have a doubt who is 11 years old currently in the sixth grade. She has 27 kids in her class. When she started in first grade at the same elementary school, she only had 21 kids in her class. So, she has increased over six years, six kids in her class. The teachers, obviously, in the state of Kansas, the average pupil per teacher ratio is 12 to 13 to 1. And here, I have my kids during classes with 27 students to one teacher.
[Holmes:] Well, last thing here to you, ma'am, I have to ask, and we have to wrap this up, but I think the larger issue, and you put out a lot of numbers this morning. I know it's a specific case there, but the overall overarching idea is that if you let people with more money pay as much as they want to pay for schools, then, is that fair and is that set up an inequity with kids who are in poorer districts? Do you see that argument, though?
[Trouve:] You know, I think it's a counterargument. I don't see that argument, because what we're fighting for is just to bring our equity up to equal of all the other students in the state of Kansas, and that's what's been a difficult message to communicate is our kids are being underfunded compared to everybody else. So, there is a notion of equity that is important, and every kid in America deserves a really fine education, not just a base education. And I do believe, however, that it's our responsibility to provide that. But if we are willing to sacrifice and come together as a community and say as a community, there's only one pot of money, and if we want to sacrifice buying a new car in a couple of years or taking a family vacation and putting that money towards our children, I believe we have that right.
[Holmes:] Yes. Well, ma'am, it is certainly an interesting something playing out there, that could be playing out in other districts across this country, but I know you all are talking to a judge today. We could hear some more news about it later, but certainly, good luck to you and the folks in the district.
[Trouve:] Thank you.
[Holmes:] And really, all around the state of Kansas right now dealing with education issues. Thank you so much for your time, ma'am. You enjoy your weekend.
[Trouve:] Thank you.
[Holmes:] All right. Eighteen minutes past the hour. Quick break. We'll be right back.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everyone. You're watching a special edition of STARTING POINT. We're coming to you this morning from Newtown, Connecticut. "I am Adam Lanza's mother," that's a line from a blog post that has now gone viral. The author is Liza Long and she writes about the difficulties of living with a teenage son who is mentally ill.
[Liza Long, Blogger, "the Anarchist Soccer Mom":] Sometimes for no apparent reason he will turn into this absolute raging, I don't know how to describe it. You'd have to see it to believe it. I stopped and said to myself, you know, this isn't normal. I have to face up to the fact that I have a sick son and we need help.
[O'brien:] Liza tells CNN that she loves her son, but that, quote, "terrifies me." There are many questions that are still unanswered about the Newtown school tragedy this morning, the biggest of course is why and maybe that will never be answered. Why did the suspected shooter have first graders in an elementary school in his sights? Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us a research on previous mass murderers, giving us a possible window inside the violent mind.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] The first thing you notice when you look around Newtown, everyone has that questioning look, why? What did we miss, if anything? No answers yet, just hindsight. [on camera]: To try and make some sense of the tragedy here in Newtown, Connecticut, medical investigators often look for evidence of patterns, not talking about looking at clothing styles or musical preferences or even lifestyle, but rather looking for evidence of specific plans, could get some clue as to what was happening in the person's mind and in their brain. [voice-over]: It's hard to know because thankfully there are relatively few tragedies like this one, but a close look at ten of the most analyzed mass murder cases in history provide some remarkable insight. According to this research published in the "Journal Aggression and Violent Behavior," doctors typically start by placing these killers into three categories, traumatized, psychotic, and psychopathic. In 2005, a 16-year-old killed nine people at a school in Minnesota. A look into his past revealed an abused boy with an awful family history. The shooter had been previously traumatized. The Virginia Tech shooter killed 32 people, six were murdered in Arizona and 12 lives were taken in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater. In each case, the killers showed signs of psychotic behavior, severe delusions and paranoia. Thirteen people were shot and killed in Columbine, Colorado. One of the murderers was later discovered to be a textbook psychopath and we now know he even laughed while gunning down his victims. Looking back, none of them had snapped. They had all left clues, pieced together after it was too late, hindsight. [on camera]: We still don't know much about the shooter who lived in this home, but there is something else to consider, what medications, if any, he was on, and specifically I'm talking about antidepressants. If you look at the studies on other shootings like this that have happened, medications like this were a common factor. I want to be clear, I'm not saying that antidepressants can't be effective, but people seem to agree there is a vulnerable time when someone starts these medications and when someone stops could lead to increased impulsivity, decreased judgment, and making someone out of touch. [voice-over]: None of this is an excuse and it's never one thing. None of these behaviors will fully predict or explain why, but soon again there will be hindsight that might just help prevent another tragedy. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Newtown, Connecticut.
[O'brien:] After several mass shootings in a few short years, the Newtown massacre might be the tipping point for Washington to ask. We are going to talk this morning with Arizona Congressman Ron Barber who took over Gabby Giffords' seat after the Tucson shooting. And we might actually be closer to a deal on the fiscal cliff, believe it or not. We'll tell you why President Obama's new proposal could be the compromise Republicans are looking for. That's ahead.

[Malveaux:] We also are following another story, free plastic surgery for teachers. It kind of sounds bizarre, right? But it is not if you live in Buffalo, New York. For the last 40 years, teachers there, they've been getting Hollywood star treatment on the taxpayer's dime. Last year, the district actually spent almost $6 million we're talking facelifts, breast implants, you name it. Meanwhile, they're $42 million in debt. Gary Tuchman, he's got the story.
[Tuchman:] This Buffalo plastic surgeon has a lot of happy patients.
[Valerie Akauola, Buffalo, New York Teacher:] Let's just suppose that I was a woman who weighed over 300 pounds and I lost maybe 150 or 160 pounds.
[Tuchman:] Indeed, that's what happened to Buffalo school teacher Valerie Akauola. But it's not just the results that make her happy, it's the sweet deal that she gets, the sweet deal that all the 3,400 teachers in Buffalo are eligible to get. Under one of their insurance plan options, they're billed nothing for any plastic surgery procedure such as Botox, liposuction, tummy tucks. And there is no deductible. Linda Tokarz teaches second grade and says she gets regular treatments.
[Linda Tokarz, Buffalo, New York Teacher:] I think it's great for us. I wouldn't want to see it taken away.
[Tuchman:] Dr. Kulwant Bhangoo has been a plastic surgeon in Buffalo for about 40 years.
[Dr. Kulwant S. Bhangoo, Plastic Surgeon:] I feel that the teachers have paid their dues, and I think it would be wrong to take it away from them.
[Tuchman:] While he does have plenty of non-teacher patients, Dr. Bhangoo does say three out of every 10 are Buffalo teachers, and the school district insurance covers every single penny.
[Bhangoo:] They would come in for, like, hair removal on their lips, face.
[Tuchman:] Do they also come in for liposuction?
[Bhangoo:] Yes.
[Tuchman:] Breast enhancement?
[Bhangoo:] Yes, they do.
[Tuchman:] Facelift?
[Bhangoo:] Yes.
[Tuchman:] Rhinoplasty?
[Bhangoo:] Yes.
[Tuchman:] So it's busy?
[Bhangoo:] Yes.
[Tuchman:] Dr. Bhangoo is one of many plastic surgeons who advertise in, where else? The teachers' union newsletter. Last year, Buffalo schools spent $5.9 million on plastic surgery, which is also known as a cosmetic rider. The Buffalo teachers have had this rider for nearly four decades.
[Louis Petrucci, President, Buffalo, New York Board Of Education:] I've been unable to identify another district that has cosmetic riders for teachers.
[Tuchman:] Now, you might think Buffalo School District must be flush with cash to be offering perks like free plastic surgery, right? Wrong. Louis Petrucci, the president of the Buffalo Board of Education, says he's projecting a $42 million deficit in next year's budget. [on camera]: If you had this $5.9 million that wasn't being spent on plastic surgery, what would you be doing with it now?
[Petrucci:] Hiring about 240 teachers.
[Tuchman:] You don't have to be a brain surgeon to know that a plastic surgeon or a teacher would like this policy more than the typical taxpayer. But the teachers will tell you there's a lot more with the story. They say their contract with the city expired nearly a decade ago, that negotiations have failed. [voice-over]: And they add they are woefully underpaid. It's quite interesting to hear what the president of the teacher's union says about the plastic surgery benefit.
[Philip Rumore, President, Buffalo, New York Teachers Federation:] We've told the district, you know, from the beginning of negotiations six or eight years ago that we're willing to give it up. And as long as the district comes back to the table with us and negotiates with us it's gone.
[Tuchman:] Do you feel that as a gesture of good faith, the union should say, teachers, no more free plastic surgery?
[Petrucci:] It would be a wonderful gesture of good faith.
[Rumore:] We're willing to give it up. All the district has to do is come to the table and negotiate it with us.
[Tuchman:] But you're not willing to do it unilaterally?
[Rumore:] No.
[Tuchman:] The fact is that police and fire fighters in Buffalo have similar plastic surgery programs, but those departments are not dealing with the same financial programs as the economically challenged school system.
[Unidentified Male:] Everybody works for a living. They should pay their tithes and offerings like everybody else.
[Unidentified Female:] I don't think it's right the taxpayer has to pay for that. Not for free anyway.
[Tuchman:] But at least for now, the policy remains in a school district with a unique mix of brain and beauty. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Buffalo, New York.
[Malveaux:] We want to hear what you think about this story. Should school teachers get free plastic surgery, paid for by taxpayers? Send us your thoughts, Facebook.comSuzanneCNN. We're going to read some of those comments on the air. We've got breaking news here. I want to bring in the best of the best here. We've got Christine Romans and Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. We have seen the Dow hit that magic number, 13,000. It has dipped just a little below right now, it's not quite at that number, but we did see it during our story that we aired. I want to go to you, Christine, first. Tell us what this means.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Well, first of all, your life hasn't changed from this very moment that it did two minutes ago. OK?
[Malveaux:] OK.
[Romans:] And neither did your money, really. But 13,000, you know, it's one of those milestones. Every time we hit one of these round numbers, people like to take stock and say, wow, that means that the 30 big companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average are doing well. These companies are doing well, so their stocks are doing well. We haven't really seen this kind of optimism about the stock market in three or four years now. So that's what is driving this. Now, there are those who would say, but wait, this doesn't mean the companies are letting go of all that cash they are sitting on, it doesn't mean they are hiring aggressively. The companies that are really doing all the hiring are small-and-medium-size companies at this point. But it does show you that the money you have in your 401 [k] is doing a little bit better right now. The S&P; 500 that's 500 stocks it's a better indicator, as Alison and I like to point out, better indicator of what's in your 401 [k], that's up more than 8.5 percent so far this year. So stocks are telling us that the economy is slowly healing, they are not so worried about Greece anymore, and that the way the jobless situation is, at least static for now, is something that something the stock market likes. So that what is you're seeing right here, although, boy, this has been just tantalizing, this 13,000 that we're hitting for a second and then pulled back.
[Malveaux:] Right. It was two seconds. Is there any significance to that at all, or is it just the fact that it's hovering around 13,000 is really what's the big deal here?
[Romans:] Yes. I mean, and people who are making their orders in the stock market right now, I'm going to be honest with you, they are not buying or selling because they we're so close to 13,000. They're buying or selling because they want to buy or sell that particular stock or that particular index. So it's flirting around here because it is just a psychological number. Sometimes these round numbers can be what we call technical resistance or targets like that, but this is really just a psychological number here.
[Malveaux:] All right. Alison, want to bring you in here. You're at the New York Stock Exchange. How are they reacting to this? What are they saying? What are they doing?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Well, a plume of balloons did not come down from the ceiling. I'll tell you that. That did not happen. What did happen is you heard kind of the sarcastic cheer come from the floor. You know, people having sort of that sarcasm about that 13,000 number because of a lot of what Christine said. Your life isn't going to change because the Dow crossed over 13,000 ever so slightly. But you can't deny that it is an important psychological milestone for a lot of people, a lot of people look at the Dow for confidence as far as how good the economy is doing. Whether that is right or wrong, some people see how stocks are performing as how they equate it to how the economy is performing overall. And you know, the Dow has come a long way from where it has been. It's made up a lot of ground and it hasn't just happened over the past week. It's been happening over the past several months despite all the uncertainty as to whether or not Greece would security the second debt deal. The markets have been reacting to favorable economic reports that have come out lately on jobs, housing, GDP. GDP is weak but growing. What you see are stocks, our investors reacting to an improving economy.
[Malveaux:] Alison, out of all the things you mentioned, you said the economy, jobs, some of the reports about unemployment, which one do you think is the strongest indicator, which one is driving these investors to be a lot more confident in their investments now?
[Kosik:] When you take them overall, the whole package, but if you want to pull out I think it's the jobs number. When you see an economic recovery happen, it's really jobs and the housing market that are kind of the laggard. The fact we're seeing improvement in the jobs market, that's a good sign. If people get jobs, they will have more money and that makes the economy turn around Suzanne?
[Malveaux:] Go back to Christine real quick. Christine, you had talked before about this good economic picture here, bright economic picture, especially when it comes to creating jobs. But not everybody is really feeling this the same way. There are some benefiting and some who are really suffering. Why is it that we don't see kind of a universal uplifting of everyone when it comes to the recovery?
[Romans:] Wouldn't that be great? They are calling it a jobless recovery. There are concerns from the Fed chief and others in fact you have a lot of people out of work for six months or longer who are structurally unemployed, meaning very difficult to get them back in the labor market. And that is something the big economists are studying, trying to figure out what it does to society and the job market. Look, you talk about demand for high-skilled machinists that companies can't get. Demand for engineers. It's engineer week, by the way. Cue all your engineer jokes at the moment. Scientist, mathematicians, very highly scheduled specific jobs they're trying to hire people to do those. and then you have all these people saying wait a minute, I'm skilled, ready to work, but I'm not finding my place in this economy. When you look at a Dow at 13,000 and contrast it with what people are telling you at the kitchen table, it's a very two-speed recovery. It's also something that makes it difficult for the president. This is the highest the stock market has been since his presidency. Gas prices are up. Long-term unemployment is a problem. 8 percent in unemployment is too high. Every one of these indicators is telling us things are better, remind us how far we have to go.
[Malveaux:] What are the kinds of jobs that are actually coming back? Who are these people who are hiring and investing in the companies?
[Romans:] We have a lot of temporary jobs coming back. We've seen mining is an industry hiring, petroleum engineering, anything has to do with engineering. There's a huge shortage of skilled and licensed truck drivers, for example. We've been sing jobs in health care, jobs in retail. Here's the biggest growth, retail, leisure and hospitality, basically waiters and people in the service industry who, in some cases, are not making as much money as the big manufacturing jobs we have been losing for 20 years. So there is the structural shift. What will the labor market look like? How much money will the wages pay into the tax base? What kind of society will we build from them? These are big history-book kinds of questions being asked right now even with the Dow at 13,000.
[Malveaux:] Christine Romans, thank you very much. Alison Kosik, thank you as well. We're keeping our eye on the Dow Jones. The Dow Jones hit the historic mark, 13,000 mark. We're breaking it down for you, telling you what that means. We'll move on because we know President Obama is trying to build some momentum from the payroll tax extension. Now his message to Congress is cooperate. Right? We cooperated on this, let's cooperate on other things. We hear from the president live this hour.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening, everyone. It's 10:00 here on the East Coast. And we begin tonight with breaking news in the Secret Service prostitution scandal. We've now got a face to go with it. This is the Colombian prostitute she calls herself an escort at the center of it all. She's the one who says she confronted a Secret Service agent over her fee after a night of sex at the Cartagena hotel. That quarrel over the price of her services has now landed two dozens Secret Services members and military personnel in trouble. It is 24 now. That's a because a 12th military member is under investigation. He was part of a group that provides the White House with secure communications when the president travels. Six Secret Services members have been forced out of the agency. More departures could be on the way. All starting with an argument in the hallway of a hotel in Cartagena, Colombia. And that's where we find CNN's Drew Griffin now. Drew, we're now seeing this woman. You've been down there all weekend. What have you learned? What's the latest?
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Investigative Correspondent:] This woman, her name is Dania Suarez, 24 years old, Anderson. Single mother of a young son. The young son goes to school. She herself goes to English-speaking class. We went to the apartment where she lives. It's down a dirt alley, but it's a middle class neighborhood, a gated community. Her neighbors were quite frankly they were stunned that this was the woman involved with this scandal. They called her a model citizen of her gated community and had no idea actually how she made a living. But they do say that this woman that they saw in their local newspaper is the woman who lived in the apartment. A couple of days ago somebody came to that apartment, removed some suitcases. She has not been seen at her home since this news broke Anderson.
[Cooper:] What do we know about what took place that night?
[Griffin:] There's rumors flying all over Cartagena. And that's because there's been no official explanation from the police here, no police report that we could get our hands on. So we are getting our information from hotel security staff, one member of the staff, and a cab driver. Both of them would not go on camera. The cab driver says that he is the one who drove Dania Suarez back to that apartment we just showed you after this event. He says that what she re-laid to him was that there was this dispute in the hotel. She was locked out of the hotel room after this man would not pay either the money she was asking or any money. She had police intervened, Colombian Police, in that hallway trying to reach some sort of settlement. And it was during this negotiation period that other Secret Service agents came out of their rooms, pooled their money together, and gave this money to the woman, enough to basically get rid of her. The agent who hired her, I guess you would have to say, would not come out of that room. So that is how this whole thing began. It was just an argument over pay. She did not get what she wanted and she demanded payment.
[Cooper:] There's also now reports she's trying to sell her story. Is that true?
[Griffin:] Reports only. We've been trying to reach her attorney, his name is Marlon Betancourt. He has not been answering his calls. We know that he is the attorney from associates in his office. They wouldn't confirm or deny that she is trying to sell it. Rumor is well, there's speculation anywhere from $40,000 to $25,000 is being asked. But again we have not had any direct contact with either woman, Ms. Suarez, or her attorney involved in this so we can't confirm that for sure Anderson.
[Cooper:] And how common is prostitution in Cartagena?
[Griffin:] It's known for it, quite frankly. The sex tourist trade here is very popular. And I can tell you just from being here the last three or four days, if you walk anywhere at night near a nightclub or in the old city where a lot of these nightclubs are, you're going to be approached just about on every corner, a young man asking you if you're looking for a chica, if you're looking for girls, and pointing you to backdoors here and there in the old city where you could find what you're looking for is what they have told us. We also know that a lot of single scantily clad women hang out in the discotheque to Candela where these Secret Service men were partying. It's very common here. Not shocking at all to the Colombians that Americans were looking for and finding sex. What's shocking to Colombians, quite frankly, Anderson, is what's shocking to the U.S. is that these men assigned to protect the president of the United States were out bringing carousing and bringing prostitutes back to their hotel room just before the president's arrival? Possibly opening the door for a security breach. The White House insists there was no security breach. But certainly opened door for that possibility.
[Cooper:] And then to argue over a price, I mean, it just seems so monumentally stupid at the very least.
[Griffin:] It would be nice to get the facts of what the price was. We've heard that she was, quote-unquote, going to charge $800. That seems like an outrageous price. The going rate here is anywhere from $100 to $200. I'm beginning to wonder if there was a communication error. But certainly it's going to be hard to understand or have this Secret Service agent, once he's identified, explain to not only his family and his friends but the other Secret Service agents that were involved, just what the heck were you thinking when you decided you weren't going to pay this woman?
[Cooper:] Drew, appreciate the reporting. Thanks. A shocker today in the Trayvon Martin case. Late this afternoon just hours after the city of Sanford announced a separation agreement with the police chief, Bill Lee, that included his offer to resign, Sanford City Commission voted to not accept it. Now, this is the same city commissioner, remember, that recently voted no confidence in the handling of the investigation. Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplet called for an outside investigation saying he's neither ready for the chief, Chief Lee, to return nor ready to show him the door. Now others were more outspoken.
[Patty Mahany, Sanford, Florida City Commissioner:] Chief Lee is paying for the sins of past police officers. His police chiefs. He has been here
[Mahany:] He has been in office 10 months. How do you steer a boat that big, Mr. Mayor? How do you steer a boat in 10 months to a complete turnaround? You don't.
[Cooper:] City Commissioner Mahany also saying quote "I do not feel that Sanford needs healing." And quote, "You think I'm a racist? Bring it on," end quote. Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump had this to say quote "If Chief Bill Lee recognized that his resignation would help the start of healing process in the Sanford, city leadership should have accepted it in an effort to move the city forward." Now all of this on a day that began at 12: 05 a. m. with the shooter George Zimmerman making bail leaving the Seminole County Jail. That's him on the left, obviously. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, accompanied by his bail bondsman. Their destination obviously unknown. This could be the last we see of George Zimmerman for awhile. His attorney today entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. I spoke with Mark O'Mara late this afternoon. So, Mark, your client was released after making bail around midnight last night. How is he doing?
[Mark O'mara, George Zimmerman's Attorney:] He's doing well. He's very glad to be out. Trying to get settled in, still worried about his safety, but, you know, talking to his family and feeling much better than being in.
[Cooper:] There were reports he'd received death threats, that he was wearing even a bulletproof vest as he as he left the jail. It looks like he's wearing a vest. Can you confirm that?
[O'mara:] He was. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and he has received threats through the Internet. There's been a lot of chatter lately about his release. And that's concerning him and us.
[Cooper:] Is he under police protection now?
[O'mara:] Actually, no. Police protected him while he was in jail. While in Seminole County. But he's sort of on his own with his own protection at this point.
[Cooper:] So I obviously can't reveal where he is nor would you, can you say if he is in the state of Florida and if he plans to remain in the state?
[O'mara:] Really couldn't say. We have actually several locations that we're going to be sort of moving him from just to make sure that we maintain his safety and security.
[Cooper:] And how is that being paid for? Is that money raised from the Web site that he set up? Or how is that being paid for?
[O'mara:] Actually, that's from the family. We've not raised any money or at least I haven't removed any money from whatever accounts are out there. We really haven't gained control of them yet. Will at some point take the time to do that. But whatever money may be it still is.
[Cooper:] Do you know how much money has been raised by that Web site he set up?
[O'mara:] I got a note from somebody who seems to have control over one that says there was $700 or $800 in it. I have heard from another that's a couple of thousand dollars in one. I don't know who's monitoring them or who's handling them or if anyone is taking any money out. I don't think so, but just haven't taken that on yet with everything else that's going on.
[Cooper:] And how are you communicating with him? Are you in person or over the phone?
[O'mara:] Over the phone. He's not here.
[Cooper:] Right. During his bond hearing on Friday, Zimmerman apologized to the Martin family. I spoke to some of the to Benjamin Crump that night, Martin family attorney, who called the apology self-serving. Whose idea was it to apologize?
[O'mara:] Yes. Well, it was George's idea to want to apologize. I tried to coordinate it. I communicated with the family a couple of times to say that he wanted to do it privately and confidentially. Those communications weren't responded to directly so I was a bit frustrated. I now understand better the Martin family position which is that I guess there was a press release within which they said they didn't want to have the apology now. I was never made aware of that. I think it was Thursday night. By the time Friday came around, we made the final decision to have him do the apology. Had I known, had George known the family would not have accepted it or didn't want it, we never would have done it. The suggestion that it was, you know, to get a bond just isn't accurate. We were getting a bond with or without the apology. It was done solely upon the request of mom, Ms. Fulton, in a previous appearance she had made.
[Cooper:] A number of legal analysts who watched the proceedings on Friday were very critical of the prosecution and their performance. In fact, Mark Geragos on my program called it abysmal. I just want to play some of something from last week's hearing for our viewers.
[O'mara:] Do you know who started the fight?
[Unidentified Male:] Do I know?
[O'mara:] Right.
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[O'mara:] Do you have any evidence that supports who may have started the fight?
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[Cooper:] I think a lot of people were surprised that the prosecution's investigator has no idea who started the altercation. Do you think the prosecution came off as unprepared?
[O'mara:] Well, it was a bit unique to handle a bond motion in this way, to in effect turn it into somewhat of a discovery process. So in one sense, they may not have been prepared for examination. On the other hand he is the agent so he would know the case seemingly as best as anyone. And I think he was telling the truth. I think today they have no evidence as to who started the fight. And no evidence to contradict George's position that he was going back towards the car. And those are two very, very relevant facts in this case particularly with the second-degree murder charge.
[Cooper:] After what you saw the prosecution on Friday, are you more confident, or less confident, or about the same in your case?
[O'mara:] I'm going to be very conservative. And I'm no more or less confident, I guess the same. They have not shown me their discovery. I'm sure they have a lot more than I was able to sort of glean from the examination of the investigator. So there's a lot more to go through.
[Cooper:] Mark O'Mara, appreciate you being with us. Thank you.
[O'mara:] Sure thing.
[Cooper:] Well, let us know what you think about the case. We're on Facebook, Google+, you can follow me on Twitter @AndersonCooper. Be tweeting in the hour ahead. Also tonight, the White House saying it is out of bounds, but the issue of Mitt Romney's Mormon family heritage is raised by a leading Democratic governor. Romney's faith itself is questioned by students at a conservative Christian university. We'll take you to Mexico for the true story of Romney's ancestry and we'll talk with the governor who brought it up next.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you, everyone, for joining us. It's the top of the hour. I'm Don Lemon here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Two words for you that's going to dominate the news right now about to make life miserable for millions of people. I'm talking about hurricane Sandy. Look at that sideways rain and a wall of wind. The outer banks of North Carolina are just starting to feel the first punch of this hurricane. Now, this storm is huge and is headed ashore. There are some questions for you, where exactly will it make landfall and will the people who did not evacuate be prepared to handle it? President Obama got a full briefing at FEMA headquarters today. Look at it.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] This is a serious and big storm. And my first message is to all people across the Eastern Seaboard, the Mid-Atlantic going north, that you need to take this very seriously.
[Lemon:] The president is saying to take it seriously, you should. The CNN severe weather team in place reporters all along the shore and also Chad Myers here with me. Sandra Endo is in Ocean City, Maryland, coming to you in a minute. And then Chad Myers coming to you in minute as well here on CNN. But we want to update you on something first and we want to go to the outer banks where George Howell is on the beach. He's in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. So, George, tell me how the conditions have changed in the past few hours. I have seen you very wet, getting pelted you and I've you see a little bit dryer. What's happening now?
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] Don, look, while you were talking we had a bit of a break and then the wind came back. And we are talking about the winds here. We are talking of winds up to 40 miles per hour plus we just lost the light. We'll keep going, though. Strong winds that keep coming through this area. And also the rainfall. Now, when you look at the radar, Don, we are in an area right along one of the biggest bands, it's the entire tidewater area. We are talking about Norfolk, we are talking Virginia Bach, we're taking about the outer banks here where we are. This area has been getting hit and hit hard by this storm for the last 24 hours. Don, from what we understand, it will continue throughout the night. Get a little worse throughout the night before it starts to get better. And the winds are starting to shift. The winds initially were coming in from the East now coming in a bit from the north and we'll start seeing winds from the west. I'm sorry, from the east, the north and then from the west as this storm continues to pass through this area, Don.
[Lemon:] Hey, George, standby. Let's talk to Chad really quick. We'll go out to other reporters. But, Chad, he is getting pelted there. It's really moving through. What's happening where he is right now?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Three hundred miles from the center.
[Lemon:] Really?
[Myers:] That's what he's feeling. That's the rub with this storm. You can't focus on the eye because it does not have an eye.
[Lemon:] Right.
[Myers:] You focus on the width of the wind and 300 miles on either side of the center of this hurricane, winds or tropical storm force or greater. That's a 600-mile swath of damage.
[Lemon:] Hey, George, do you feel it intensifying, like from your last live shot, do you feel it continuously to the shot is dark, it's OK, we can still go to him. Do you feel it there? OK, we lost the shot because of the weather. All right. Let's move on. Let's go to Sandra Endo now in Ocean City. Sandra Endo is in Ocean City. And she's about 200 miles north of where George is. What are you seeing there as you talk to me and Chad Myers?
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Don and Chad, we have been feeling the effects of hurricane Sandy already here in Ocean City all day long now. Steady winds up to 27 miles per hour. Steady rain just pelting down all day long. And we are here on the balcony of an Oceanside hotel to give you perspective of what you're seeing right now, where it's close to high tide and you can see the fierce waves behind me right here along the shore. And this is really what local officials are worried about, the high tide and the combination of this long duration of the storm that they are expecting. They are expecting about 36 hours for hurricane Sandy to really come through this area and just to show you over here as well, they have evacuated this entire area of downtown Ocean City. And that evacuation deadline is fast approaching. We have seen people flee town all day long. And they have opened up local shelters in this county where we are hearing about 40 people resorted to shelters already. But, clearly, they have been preparing for this and also have learned from last year's hurricane Irene. Here's the local mayor. All right, well, we talked to the local mayor earlier and he said that they have been preparing. They are under 24-hour operations right now trying to keep those lines of communication open with residents here who chose not to evacuate, as well as keeping up-to-date with everything that's going on in terms of emergency responses and any type of damage that may come because of hurricane Sandy, Don and Chad.
[Lemon:] All right. Sandy, standby. We have Chad Myers here again. And, Sandy, you can play along in this as well. So we have Sandra, Chad, is in Ocean City, Maryland, 200 miles north of George. George is getting pelted at this point. How long before Sandy starts to feel what he's feeling?
[Myers:] There are arms on this storm.
[Lemon:] Right.
[Myers:] Almost like, you know, you see a picture of a hurricane, you see the spiral bands. That's what we have with the storm. Let me walk over here because I want to describe what you're going to look. You're going to look at this for the next 36 hours. So, I want to know I want you to know when you see it what you're seeing. There's the center of the storm right there, Don. But wherever there's color, that's where it is storming. That's where it is raining. And that's when the rain will bring down the wind. So when you get a cell, there's even one right there coming onto long Island. When you get a cell with a little color and rain, it will translate all of this wind back down to the surface. Now, it's not windy right here. It's not windy here, even though this is much closer to the center than this. It is windier here because of the storm around it, the arms around it. And these will rotate around and the winds will eventually go right through New York and into Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the like.
[Lemon:] The size again of this thing?
[Myers:] It is 300 miles from the center to the edge of the 50 to 55- mile-per-hour gusts.
[Lemon:] Yes. As Fred last said when she was handing off to me. She said it's 200 miles from North Carolina, about 500 miles from New York City. And that people all the way from Maine from North Carolina to Maine, when was the last time or have we ever seen a weather event like this on the East Coast of this magnitude?
[Myers:] No, we have not. The last thing that was even close was the perfect storm.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Myers:] Because there's not only this hurricane. There's another low pressure that's going to energize it more. We've got a low here that should make a snowstorm, and it will. Then all of a sudden you have a hurricane coming in and they are going to merge. So we have not seen this, except for the storm perfect storm. The difference between this storm and perfect storm, the perfect storm never made landfall and it stayed in the ocean the whole time and did that much damage. This will make landfall and make more damage.
[Lemon:] And we are sure it's going to be a fish storm because of the models.
[Myers:] I don't it's going to hit something. I'm not totally convinced it is going into D.C. I think it will be north of there, Cape May to Central New Jersey for the eye. But here's what I said. The problem is: don't worry about the eye. It is not windy in the eye in some spots, it's windy away from the eye wherever the storms are, and those storms reach out 300 miles from the center.
[Lemon:] When you say Cape May, that's almost like Grand Isle, Louisiana, it sticks out in New Jersey. So for everyone storm, when I worked in Philadelphia, everyone went to Cape May because that's where you get the best pictures. Help me talk to speaking of best pictures, help me talk to George Howell, George is back.
[Myers:] He's back?
[Lemon:] Yes. And, George, you're aware, you said you were getting pelted and lost the light because of the rain, I'm sure. And now your shot went down because of the weather and you're back. How intense is this getting moment by moment? How are you feeling the intensity moment by moment here?
[Howell:] Don, absolutely. Again, we are feeling these winds. Wind gusts anywhere from 40 to 50 miles per hour at times. And you're right, this is the area that has really been getting the brunt of this storm. When you look at the way the storm has been traveling, most of it offshore, as Chad described, but right there on those outer bands of the wind field, we are feeling the strong winds as they come in. And that's what people will start seeing in the metro areas as this storm hooks a left. So, again, you know, what we are seeing here in North Carolina, and now more here in the tidewater area, this is what will be coming as the storm makes land.
[Lemon:] Hey, George
[Howell:] So officials here are keeping yes?
[Lemon:] George, I don't want to complicate things, but I'm not sure if your photographer can show us around, but show us where you are standing and what you're seeing from your vantage point there.
[Howell:] And, Don, we'll do the best we can with the lighting. Everything kind of blends back there but I'll show you what's happening with the Atlantic. Take a look back there. If you can see the water out there, it's rough. It is really rough. There was a beach out there, Don, yesterday. We walked that beach. The beach is gone. And beach erosion is going to be a big issue here with this particular storm system. Also, when it comes to the storm surge, Don, that's what a lot of people are concerned about on this island. Storm surge where we are could get anywhere from four to six feet. Also, on the other side of the island is a concern about flooding. On the south side, flooding from all the water that the storm pushes in and then it comes back. That cause a lot of flooding. That's what people saw here with Irene when it came through.
[Lemon:] All right, George, standby. Don't go anywhere. Do we still have Sandra Endo just to show a picture, the difference, Chad, between Sandra's picture and George's picture. If you put them together side by side, you can see, it's still sunny, Sandra, you're on now. But it still sunset happening where Sandra is. And then look at that just 200 miles away. That's definitely a contrast there.
[Myers:] Sandra, I know you can hear us looking at the camera, your beach is gone. About two hours ago you had 300 to 400 feet of sand between you and the water. Where did it go?
[Endo:] Yes, that's what local officials and the National Weather Service is actually concerned about beach erosion here. And they are comparing and anticipating hurricane Sandy to hurricane Gloria back in 1985, which it destroyed the boardwalk. So they are certainly going to look for that storm surge damage to possibly happen because of hurricane Sandy. And, of course, beach erosion with the mixture of high tide, again, and this long storm, that is what they are really concerned about because the storm surge could affect this region, devastatingly, and certainly they are hunkering down bracing for the worst. And, of course, the worst is not going to hit this area for another 24 hours or so.
[Lemon:] All right. We'll stand by, Sandra. Thank you very much. Don't go anywhere. We'll be getting to Sandra, George Howell as well, of course, meteorologist Chad Myers. Chad is in charge. He's going to be helping me here. We're going to be on for a long time, Chad. So get rested, afternoon break, take it now. All right. Thanks, everyone. More on this when we come back, but with hurricane season reaching the end, a lot of people weren't ready for this. We're going to talk with General Russel Honore who dedicated his life to helping others be prepared after his experience with hurricane Katrina. Remember that? Here's live in studio with me just moments away. And, you know, this storm is throwing a big monkey-wrench into the race for the White House. Battleground states are in hurricane Sandy's path. Which candidate does the storm help or hurt?

[Blitzer:] Starting tomorrow the world will be watching the Olympic Games in London. But they only last a couple of weeks whereas the political Olympics here in the United States pitting Mitt Romney against President Obama will last all summer and then go into the fall. The competition I must say is already in full swing. CNN's John Berman is joining us now to take a closer look at what's going on. John, the events are the candidates competing in what are these events? Give us a little sense.
[John Berman, Cnn Correspondent:] You know, Wolf, both President Obama and Mitt Romney are very fit, which is a good thing because when you think about it, our candidates today are like modern day decathlon athletes. They have to do it all and in a way they're events are harder because only the gold medal counts.
[Berman:] Sadly, the 2012 games do not feature golf or jet skiing as official events. So neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney will compete in London. But that doesn't mean they don't have their own games. No. They have the political Olympics. Take the hurdles. Mitt Romney had to leap over his GOP foes just to get here. You think jumping over Cain, Perry and Gingrich was easy? Just ask Rick Santorum. He ended up with the silver.
[Rick Santorum , Former Presidential Candidate:] We will suspend our campaign effective today.
[Berman:] Pole vault, the latest "Wall Street Journal"NBC poll showed the president vaulting to a six-point lead. Synchronized diving even without the Speedos, both campaigns medal in endless precision repetition.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] Middle class.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] The middle class.
[Romney:] Create jobs.
[President Obama:] Create jobs.
[Berman:] While we're in the pool, a politician's least favorite event, the backstroke. Former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu just visited the podium after saying the president need to learn how to be an American. Check out his backstroke.
[John Sununu, Former New Hampshire Governor:] Frankly, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have used those words and I apologize for using those words.
[Berman:] Weight lifting, Mitt Romney better have big arms to lift the bags of money his campaign has raked in. Finally, if there's one Olympic sport our leaders know all too well, it's gymnastics. Not all of them can handle the flips. This was Gary Bower in 2000. But today's crop is adept at the verbal gymnastics, the contortions, turns and, yes, the twists.
[President Obama:] He's been twisting my words around to suggest that I don't value small business.
[Romney:] Their opposition people look for anything they can find to distort, to twist and try and make negative.
[Berman:] With all that twisting, let's get these guys on the balance beam. Meanwhile, we can only hope they don't discover beach volleyball. America couldn't bear the outfits. You know, it's also a good thing it's not winter or we would be talking about ice dancing. Now, in terms of what the candidates will be watching, we know President Obama met with the men's basketball team. We know he's a big fan of theirs. And Mitt Romney says he hopes to check out some swimming before he leaves London. And you could say he's already been working on his backstroke after this kerfuffle over the whole U.S.London ready thing Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Who writes that material? Do you write all that yourself, John?
[Berman:] I have a staff of thousands.
[Blitzer:] That's terrific writing.
[Berman:] Thank you. I appreciate that very much.
[Blitzer:] Great stuff. John Berman, excellent work. I loved it. All right, thanks so much. Important note to all of our viewers, you can catch John along with Zoraida Sambolin every morning on "EARLY START" right here at CNN. That "EARLY START" starts at 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. Eastern only on CNN. Get up early even if you don't check it out. I think you'll like it. Mitt Romney himself is making the political Olympic analogy touting his experience organizing the Salt Lake City winter games in 2002. Listen to what he tells CNN's Piers Morgan in an interview in London that will air later tonight.
[Romney:] The country is in need of a turnaround. The Olympics was a turnaround for businesses I've been associated with that needed a turnaround. That kind of experience of focusing on the most critical issue, building the most effective team possible, creating a common vision, unifying around that vision and then delivering results is something I think the American people would like to see in our economy right now.
[Blitzer:] Once again that interview with Romney on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. All right, let's talk a little bit about that and more in our "Strategy Session" joining us our CNN political contributor, the Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and our CNN contributor, Ana Navarro. She was the national Hispanic co-chair for Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign. Ana, so far not starting off on a great note in Britain especially when you compare
[Unidentified Female:] I just lost Wolf.

[Anderson:] The following report is one of a series of stories which we believe must be told. CNN is devoting an entire year to bringing you a special series of reports that uncover the dark and disturbing roles of modern day slavery. In tonight, the story of one woman trapped in a violent gang and the horrific situation she was forced to endure. Thelma Gutierrez reports.
[Jessica":] If I wanted to post an ad.
[Thelma Gutierrez, Cnn Correspondent:] Each day, this young woman we'll call "Jessica" spends hours on the internet, posting provocative photos of herself and fishing for clients. People who would pay her to have sex. "
[Jessica":] Mine used to say Latina, variably 18 years old.
[Gutierrez:] "Jessica" worked as a prostitute in the booming internet sex trade. But she didn't work for herself. She says she had a pimp who set a quota of $1000 a day. Money that took about 10 days to earn. "Jessica" told me she was afraid of her pimp. But, if she didn't work, she didn't eat. Faint, she once went five days without food. "
[Jessica":] I thought I was going to die of starvation.
[Gutierrez:] You had to work not for pay, but to get fed. "
[Jessica":] To get fed.
[Gutierrez:] "Jessica" is afraid to be identified because she says her pimp is a gang member. Two years ago when she was a 19 year old runaway she said she became the physical property of a California gang. Where prostitutes, many of them underage, are often branded with tattoos, bearing the gangs insignia or their pimps' names. Lieutenant Valencia Saadat says law enforcement is beginning to look at prostitutes as potential victims of sex trafficking.
[Valencia Saadat, Lieutenant, Oceanside Police Department:] Rather than just focus on the the women that are out here in the streets, focus on the reason that they're here. The people who place them here.
[Gutierrez:] Three warring gang factions in Oceanside, California, laid down their weapons to form, what investigators say, is a profitable business enterprise. To traffic and prostitute women and girls throughout California.
[Adam Knowland, Sergent, Oceanside Police Department:] This is one of the biggest investigations we've had in Oceanside's history, actually.
[Gutierrez:] Sergeant Adam Knowland says Oceanside vice Detectives led the 18 month long investigation into the Crips' enterprise and found the business was moving away from selling drugs to selling women. And, the internet was there most powerful tool. This is new territory for the gangs,
[Knowland:] Yes.
[Gutierrez:] Profitable?
[Knowland:] Very profitable. If you sell your drugs you have to go replenish your supply. Here you have a girl that you're prostituting out; you don't have to find another girl.
[Unidentified Male:] FBI, search warrant, open up.
[Gutierrez:] The investigation resulted in the federal indictment of 38 people, including suspected gang members, their associates, even hotel owners where the alleged prostitution was taking place. Suspects were indicted on multiple charges including racketeering and sex trafficking. As for "Jessica', the turning point came after she witnessed another prostitute, who was her friend, being beaten by their pimp. She says she watched horror as he sprayed mace in her mouth and forced her to swallow it. Then, she says, she knew she had to escape. "
[Jessica":] Nowadays people seeing prostitutes, they call them names. They don't know what we're going through, if we were fed last night. If we're being raped.
[Gutierrez:] "Jessica" says she was abused as a child and never would have resorted to this life if she would have had a family who protected her. "
[Jessica":] I don't have a dad. I have never had one. I think I waited like 18 years or 19 years for him to call me on one of my birthdays and never did. It's painful.
[Gutierrez:] "Jessica" says she worries about all the other vulnerable women and girls who get trapped in a life they can not escape. Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Oceanside, California.

[Quest:] Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment. This is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first. A magistrate has granted bail to the South African track star Oscar Pistorius in the amount of $112,000. Pistorius, who is accused of killing his girlfriend, must report to police every Monday and Friday. The magistrate said the prosecution had failed to make its case that the Olympian was a flight risk if bail was granted. Tensions are on the rise in the West Bank where hundreds of Palestinians have been clashing with Israeli forces on Friday. The protesters are demanding the release of hunger strikers being held in Israeli prisons, and Israeli forces reportedly fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. Leaders from Syria's opposition coalition have been meeting in Cairo for a second day and have been talking about forming an interim government. Members of the opposition say a new government is important, and Thursday's bombing in Damascus is another sign that the al-Assad regime does not have a handle on security. Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has held talks with President Obama at the White House, where they discussed actions against North Korea and trade links between Japan and the US. After the meeting, Mr. Obama warned forced spending cuts in the US will slow down the economy if they come into effect at the end of the month.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] The overall impact to the economy will be to slow down the recovery, and not only may there end up being direct job loss, but because the economy is softer, it also means that we're not going to be driving down unemployment as quickly as we should. So
[Quest:] This weekend Italy is set to choose the leader whose task it will be to bring the country out of recession and continue the reforms demanded by the European Union. Polls open this Sunday and Italians have been handed a colorful palette, a varied cornucopia, a variety of candidates. Now I promise you for a Friday, this is complicated. Bear with me. I promise you. Here we go. The contenders: so we have the we have the Chamber of Deputies and we have the Senate. And so when you need a majority of 630 of deputies and then a chamber of 315 Senate. Now Pierre Luigi Bersani is the Democratic Party from the center left. He keeps austerity; he keeps pro-growth and all of those. Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister from the People of Freedom, center right, he would scrap the property taxes, being prime minister three times before. Mario Monti is the civic choice center. He is responsible for most of the current austerity. And then Deputy Grillo, the five-star movement populist. He's a former comedian and actor, and he's anti-big business; he's the and he would like a referendum excuse me on the euro. So the only thing I've promised you here is that there are many possibilities and lots of difficulties. Let's start with Bersani. So Bersani gets a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and, as is perhaps possible, he gets one in the Senate. That would be arguably the most straightforward. But assume he doesn't get enough deputies in the Senate to actually get a majority and he has to start shopping around for coalition. Now we're in coalition territory. Well, first of all, it would be Mario Monti, who perhaps would join him because Monti, of course, similar prospects; austerity continues. But if he's still not got enough, you end up with Silvio Berlusconi. Now the possibilities there, unlikely, bearing in mind the animus. But it is possible. And finally if all of this isn't quite working out as it was intended, you have Grillo, who is arguably going to demand some sort of price for going into coalition. Finally, if none of them manage to get a coalition together, then eventually, of course, the Italian president has no choice but to call fresh elections and we're back to square one. Whoever wins will take control of a country enduring its longest recession in 20 years, double-digit unemployment. As Ben Wedeman found out, this bleak new reality is putting pressure on some of its oldest industries.
[Unidentified Male:] That's lifting up.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Correspondent:] Clay in the hands of an artist slowly becomes a work of art in the Umbrian village of Deruta.
[Unidentified Male:] This is so difficult.
[Wedeman:] But he makes it look so easy. For 25 generations, the family of Ubaldo Grazia has been making and selling luxury ceramics. It's a family business with a colorful history, going back hundreds of years.
[Ubaldo Grazia, U. Grazia Maioliche:] The apprentice and the women, this is the [inaudible]. Look, recognize. That's my grandfather on the [inaudible].
[Wedeman:] He looks like an artist.
[Grazia:] Oh, yes, Grand, he was a womanizer.
[Wedeman:] A womanizer, too. Times have turned tough here since the start of the global economic crisis. The factory's most important market for almost 100 years has dried up.
[Grazia:] From Los Angeles, July 1926. Look, our from Los Angeles, California, Tony Duaio, 1926.
[Wedeman:] It says, Blake, Washington,
[D.c. Grazia:] Washington, D.C. Yes, unbelievable, unbelievable.
[Wedeman:] Ubaldo can drop names.
[Grazia:] [Inaudible].
[Wedeman:] Oh, really?
[Grazia:] Yes. [Inaudible] friend of Paul Simon. [Inaudible].
[Wedeman:] Of Simon and Garfunkel?
[Grazia:] Simon and Garfunkel.
[Wedeman:] OK. So Mel Gibson, Simon and Simon, Paul Simon. Who else?
[Grazia:] This is [inaudible] George Clooney. Look.
[Wedeman:] High-end stores in the U.S. have stopped placing orders and Ubaldo has had to cut his staff from 75 to 15. Italy is just days away from general elections, reviving the ailing economies topic number one but faith in politicians is low. Now I wanted to ask you, you know, Italians are famous as artists, as creative people.
[Grazia:] Very creative, yes.
[Wedeman:] Are your politicians as creative as your artists?
[Grazia:] It could be, but no, no. No.
[Wedeman:] Why? Why? I mean, so in so many smart people in Italy. What
[Grazia:] Oh, I know. I know [inaudible]. But when the people got just working for themselves to take advantage of their position. I mean, we lost everything. We have to be a good citizen to be good politician.
[Wedeman:] Recent generations of the Grazia family have leaned toward the left. Ubaldo says he'll vote for the center left Democratic Party.
[Grazia:] In this factory, we used to have [inaudible] instead of the [inaudible]. We used to have a gym.
[Wedeman:] Palestra.
[Grazia:] Palestra for the workers. They had showers. At home they even didn't have the bathroom. But they had showers in the factory.
[Wedeman:] Wow.
[Grazia:] This means to be socialist. [Inaudible].
[Wedeman:] Italians are famous for their ability to thrive in adversity, political and economic. And despite the hard times and his 73 years, Ubaldo isn't giving up or slowing down. Anybody painting now?
[Grazia:] Of course. Let's [inaudible]. Let's go. [Inaudible].
[Wedeman:] A family's centuries-old legacy is at stake Ben Wedeman, CNN, Deruta, Italy.
[Quest:] Our team is in Rome and in Italy coverage the elections; the results when they are announced on Sunday. Talking of results being announced on Sunday, gosh, that was smooth, if ever it was one. The Oscars are on Sunday. Now, look, if you haven't got your invite, you're not going. Never fear; our QUEST MEANS BUSINESS Movie Awards are even closer. They're after the break.

[Baldwin:] Last hour we broke the news on CNN we can expect new recommendations coming from the group of scientists telling men not to get screened for prostate cancer. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with the story and here to explain no screenings.
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] I know that is confusing to people. They don't screen for cancer. This is the same group were telling women in their 40s don't need mammograms. The Prostate Cancer Foundation when they saw the piece that you and I did, we talked to them, and they said this is a tremendous mistake for men to be told not to get prostate cancer screening.
[Cohen:] This group as well as many other respected doctors say look, prostate cancer is usually a very slow growing and not going hurt you. So you might find the slow growing prostate cancer when you go to look for and it you treat it and you can make a man impotent and incontinent when the treatment when the cancer would never hurt him to begin with. A very slow growing cancer, much of the time. But sometimes it is a fast-growing cancer. The problem is you can't tell. And so men who have had fast-growing cancers say how can you say not screen? Screenings saved my life. Other men where they found a slow growing cancer and now today are impotent and continent they say I wish I never knew. Just knowing led me to become impotent and incontinent.
[Baldwin:] OK, so then ultimately, what's the best advice.
[Cohen:] I wrote a column about this called "what to do to do" because I think it is a huge question. And I think all a man can really do is look at the statistics. When you screen for prostate cancer there is less than one percent chance you are going to find a really threatening cancer. You're 47 times more likely to find a cancer that's never going to harm you but that if you treat it the treatment could harm you. So you just have to decide
[Baldwin:] So awareness?
[Cohen:] Yes, awareness and having this is probably the single most important time to be an empowered patient. It is a difficult decision to make whether to screen for prostate cancer. You have to sit with your doctor and talk to them about what you want to do.
[Baldwin:] Where do we read "What to do to do?
[Cohen:] We are going to put it up on CNN.comempoweredpatient.
[Baldwin:] Elizabeth Cohen, thank you. Still to come here, a noisy scene at the occupied New York protests today. A large crowd of protesters gathered outside of police headquarters, shouting "We are the 99 percent."
[Crowd:] We are the 99 percent!
[Baldwin:] From New York to Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, Nashville, Washington, D.C., these Occupy Wall Street movements really now spreading to more cities across the country today. In fact, these are images now from this is Philadelphia and Nashville. Anywhere from a couple of dozen to a couple of hundred people are showing up and multiple cities to protest, a variety of issues, issues such as calling an end to the Fed, asking to boycott standardized testing, do something about a variety of issues protesters consider social and economic inequalities, and to prosecute Wall Street executives over the whole financial crisis. In fact, just this morning, if you were listening to the president, he was asked about this. He addressed these Wall Street protests today. Take a listen.
[Obama:] On the issue of prosecutions on Wall Street, one of the biggest problems about the collapse of Lehman's and subsequent financial crisis and the whole subprime lending fiasco is that a lot of that stuff wasn't necessarily illegal. It was just immoral or inappropriate or reckless.
[Baldwin:] Last night in New York, some of the protests did get a bit rowdy. A handful of protesters cried to crash through a police line to get there on to Wall Street. There were other scuffles between police and protesters. About two dozen people, we are told, were arrested. Coming up, word of an apparent feud at the White House. Find out why the first family is fighting. Who could this be over? Plus, some of the biggest names in sports in the buff from tennis to hoops. Stars are showing off their bodies completely nude. Coming up next you're going to say, the racy pictures and hear why they are getting naked.

[Romans:] Plenty of unfinished business in Washington. The super committee's recommendations to cut long-term debt, the president's $3 trillion debt plan, and, of course, the president's $450 billion American Jobs Act. Congress hasn't touched the jobs bill which has been consistently criticized by Republicans.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell,  Minority Leader:] If a bring needs fixing, by all means, let's fix it. But don't tell us we need to pass a half a trillion dollar stimulus bill and except job killing tax hikes to do it. Don't tell the people of Kentucky they need to finance every turtle tunnel and solar company on some bureaucrat's wish list in order to get their bridges fix.
[Romans:] Robert Zimmerman is a Democratic strategist. Will Cain is a CNN contributor. Robert, I'll start with you because Republican Mitch McConnell is making a point Will has made many times on this show. Is this jobs act about real job creation or is it short-term stimulus that's only going to add to our deficits.
[Robert Zimmerman, Democratic Strategist:] Actually it is going to be about both. The reality is, what you just saw from Mitch McConnell is really an illustration of what's wrong with Washington, because in a sense conflict works in politics. That's how they got there, was through conflict. The economy doesn't work through conflict. The economy only works through cooperation. Ultimately we're not going to see any real progress in terms of job growth or any real stimulus to the economy unless there is more cooperation. Ultimately, it's up to the American people to demand it.
[Romans:] Well, the economy is not working but everyone disagrees on exactly how to get it working again. Let's talk about taxes. Because one of the things the president would like to do, we would like to implement something called the Buffet Rule, named for the billionaire, of course, Warren Buffet, who says Washington has coddled rich people like him for too long. And that he doesn't pay enough in taxes. The Buffet Rule headlined a plan by the president, that centered on the wealthy paying more, allowing-also including allowing those Bush- era tax cuts to expire for the wealthiest. Republicans say class warfare. You've all heard this all week. But with the poor getting poorer, rich enjoying the only growth you saw over the past 10 years, is it time for the wealthy to pay more?
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] That depends on what your motivation is. If your motivation is simply to even out the wealth spectrum so the rich doesn't have as much, and the poor have more, then it might be effective. If your goal is to actually stimulate jobs and growth as Bob just suggested, I think it's a poor measure to affect that. President Obama is giving lip service to this in the past, Christine. You can use the tax code to stimulate economic growth and create jobs by simplifying it, doing away with deductions and exemptions and loopholes. The truth is, when you have an over complicated tax code, something like 14,000 pages. You know who knows how to negotiate that best? Rich people and their accountants. Simplify it, you will have a huge economic boone. You could even lower tax rates and have tax revenues to the government go up.
[Romans:] Can they guys decide-I mean, simplifying tax code, tax reform sounds so great. I don't see any give-and-take in Washington right now. I mean, could they really do it together?
[Zimmerman:] I think there is a much bigger issue, here, OK? The first goal has got to be create economic growth and to stimulate the economy. Ultimately we're not going to do that with-we're not going to move this economy forward without creating economic growth. If your focus is deficit and taxes, that's going to paralyze the Congress. I think you've seen what the American Jobs Act a program even Republican economists like Mark Zandy, who was a top McCain advisor, said this could reduce unemployment by 1 percent. That has got to be the first focus, is to grow this economy. The deficit and the issue of taxes, which are in the outer years, that's got to be addressed at a later time, after the economy is moving forward.
[Romans:] We have to do it all. The only problem is, it has to be done all together. We're not in a position now- we've given up an awful lot of time, pushed this forward years and years. They have to do it the right way. And I think we look at Washington and we're not sure they can do it the right way, Will?
[Cain:] But to answer Bob's question on whether or not stimulus is an effective way to stimulate the economy, and create jobs, there is a serious economic argument and debate to be had there. But one thing people seem to agree on, whether or not it's the Obama reduction panel, Bowles-Simpson, or the Domenic-Rivlin panel for deficit reduction as well. They have all forwarded this idea of tax simplification. Reform the tax code. Whether or not it's conservative economists or President Obama this is an idea that people are rallying-Christine there's a reason they haven't enacted it. You asked that question a minute ago. The tax code is a way to use social engineering, to influence people's behavior. We decide people we want to buy homes, we give a tax incentive to do it. We have to let go of that concept.
[Zimmerman:] Will, the bottom line is the Rivlin-Domenici Commission, the Bowles-Simpson Commission all talked about shared sacrifice. Every national poll shows the same thing, that commitment to shared sacrifice.
[Cain:] But I'm not making an argument for flat taxes here.
[Zimmerman:] That's not the point. The point simply is if we are going to move this economy forward, yes, shared sacrifice is part of this. But we also have to recognize both parties should increase their doses of Dramamine, because they are all spinning themselves.
[Romans:] I want you guys to listen to this for just a second. Mitt Romney making a case for middle class tax cut at the Republican presidential debate this week. Listen.
[Mitt Romney,  Presidential Candidate:] I know there are some that say, look, we should lower taxes for the very highest income people, other folks have different plans. My view is very simple. The people that have been hurt most by the president's economy, the Obama economy has been the middle class. That's why I cut taxes for the middle class.
[Romans:] Robert, is it responsible for any politician left or right to talk about tax cuts when we have a drastic need for deficit reduction?
[Zimmerman:] You know something the drastic need has got to be to grow this economy. And in the American Jobs Act, the president has put forward a bill with many proposals the Republicans support. For example, payroll tax cuts, to give working families $1500 extra through tax cuts, or create incentives for employers to create employment. So, what Romney is doing it just political posturing. Quite frankly, it is an example of the type of conflict that has paralyzed this economy. I would make this point to you. We have seen the economy grow in sectors of our country. We've seen San Diego become a bio-tech, the bio-tech leader in America. We have seen certainly tremendous growth in Pittsburgh through nanotechnology. We've seen Cleveland expand through the Cleveland Clinic or Silicon Valley come back. We are seeing economic growth emerge when there's cooperation between the government and between the private sector. The problem, is in Washington it's just the opposite. They were elected to oppose cooperation.
[Romans:] Last word to Will.
[Cain:] I would just say I'm glad that Bob admits that in addition to some kind of government spending, tax cuts can have a stimulative effect. I would just say the Obama admission is going about it the wrong way. Another loophole, another exemption for payroll taxes, or whatever, are temporary measures that don't have the effect of simplifying the tax code.
[Zimmerman:] Bottom line is, Will, you are outlining once again-
[Romans:] Wait! Will got the last word! We didn't interrupt you about the-
[Zimmerman:] Took my best shot.
[Romans:] Will Cain, there you go, guys. Have a great weekend. Come back and do it again, right? Is it possible to anger 750 million people at once? Apparently it is. We'll explain what it's all about and why you very well might be one of them next.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] About 40 miles of South Florida Beach front is off limits to swimmers and you can see why, it's because tens of thousands of sharks have been spotted just offshore. Imagine you're swimming and there is your buddy in the next lane right there. Marine biologists say they are migrating back up north after heading south for the winter. Boy oh boy. The commissioner of the NFL reportedly makes a startling admission about the most popular league in the country. Roger Goodell has taken several steps to try to keep players safe, but he fears a player could die on the field. That's according to an article in ESPN the magazine written by Dan Venatta Jr. The article quotes "An NFL Hall of Famer who speaks regularly with Goodell who says the commissioner is privately terrified. Another player could die on the field because of the league's violent culture." It happened only once before. Lions' wide receiver Chuck Hughes suffered a heart attack in a game back in 1971. Goodell denied requests for an interview by ESPN, the magazine and recently denied ever making those comments. So whether he said it or not, there are a lot of people associated with football talking about it today. And former NFL linebacker Coy Wire is here with more. Thanks for joining us. You used to play you know with the intensity and with the speed of the game. Do you think the game has become more you know more violent, faster could a player actually die on the field?
[Coy Wire, Former Nfl Linebacker:] There is no question. And if those comments were made, they would have been made in vain. I mean let's just take the knowledge and information right. I mean, guys are getting bigger, faster and stronger. So the collisions, the impacts are getting more impactful, more powerful. So the problem there is that the body's ability to protect the brain has stayed the same.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Wire:] So it's just physics involved. There could be a player who dies.
[Lemon:] But whether we want to admit it or not, I mean that's what fans love, the violence. I mean and so the football commissioner if he reduces the violence in the game, can he be hurting the popularity of the game?
[Wire:] I think that's a big misconception misunderstanding. The game can still be violent it can still be exciting with big hits, huge collisions while still making it safer. The issue is just to reduce the number of life threatening and life altering collisions. And if we can do that
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Wire:] while keeping the game exciting, then we must.
[Lemon:] You're getting a little bit ahead of me because there is a new study that college players could get long term brain damage even without getting a concussion Coy. And we are nearing a time and whether we're nearing a time where we need to say enough is enough the game needs to be drastically changed. A lot of people are wondering that.
[Wire:] Yes and changes have made. They start they've started making changes and rightfully so and a step in the right direction. But all that we know now with concussions and the long term effects from Alzheimer's to dementia, changes must occur right? It's not just the big concussive episode where you're knocked unconscious. Less than 10 percent of concussions result in unconsciousness. They're saying Dr. Sanjay Gupta here with CNN has reported that it's the sub-concussive blows, just the repetitive tiny hits to the head. It would be like Don, if I punched you in the arm right and you didn't let it heal up but I just kept hitting you and hitting you and hitting you over time it's going to bruise badly enough so there's going to be some long term damage.
[Lemon:] You mentioned Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's been focusing on that but do you think there's enough focus on concussions in the long-term effect?
[Wire:] I think so, it's all about awareness, right. I mean, this is a step in the right direction. The media is doing a great job of letting parents and young athletes know what a concussion is. There is no such thing as getting your bell rung anymore.
[Lemon:] Right.
[Wire:] That's a concussion. And you have one, you have to take it seriously because if you don't, you're risking decreasing years on your life you're you're risking death. I mean, that will happen with the size and the physics of the game increasing and the impacts getting bigger. It would happen if we don't take the correct measures to correct it.
[Lemon:] Mr. Wire, it's good to see you.
[Wire:] Always good to see you.
[Lemon:] It's good to have dinner with you the other night. And say hello to the wife.
[Wire:] Yes I'm looking forward to the next time.
[Lemon:] Thank you very much. Still to come, a church without a leader, an election without a schedule. We'll go to the Vatican for the latest on selecting a new Pope.

[Whitfield:] All right, damage from the storms has extended all the way into Georgia. Dozens of homes damaged overnight and parts of the state were under a tornado watch until 5:00 o'clock this morning. Reporter Jennifer Mayerle is in Dallas, Georgia. Jennifer, tell me about the damage in that area.
[Jennifer Mayerle, Reporter:] We're actually here at Poole elementary school here in Dallas, in Paulding County. It's the only school in the country that received some damage. And just take a look. You can see that the roof came completely off. It is off the entire front of the building. It actually extends about six different classrooms. And I'm going to walk you in and show you what one of those classrooms looks like. Just take a look here. With the roof coming off, you can actually see all the way up to the sky and actually the blue sky here today. But you can see how the roof came off and the tiles just fell in, causing a lot of rain damage to this classroom. You can just see the desks are just soaked. The floor is actually just quite a mess. And actually, even on the walls, some of the artwork has just begun to kind of smear down. You can see how that rain took it down. And even on the side all the way into that classroom there's the computer, the projector and the TV. Everything that they have in here is just really waterlogged and soaked. And actually, beyond this wall, there's two there's another classroom where the wall completely caved in and fell but the classroom is actually OK and didn't have any damage. But just take a look here. I mean, this is the kind of water that we're talking about. Everything is just soaked and waterlogged in here. The good thing about it is that no students were here at the time. We talked to the principal as well, as the superintendent of the schools here, and they said they are just so thankful this happened at 9:30 at night instead of 9:30 in the morning, when students could have been here in class. They did tell me, though, that when they do tornado drills, the kids actually go to the interior class to the interior halls. There's four wings and they all line up in there. And even though there's damage to the front of the building, damage to the back side of the school, those four wings are completely fine. So they said they are thankful to know that had this actually that had students actually been here at the time, they would have been OK. They would have been safe. But again, a lot of damage in this area. Homes around this school here also damaged. We're hearing as many as 40 homes have damage, as well as the airport. Of course, we'll keep bringing you live pictures from here in Paulding County. But for now, back to you, Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right, thanks so much, Jennifer. Appreciate that, out of Dallas, Georgia. And of course, we'll keep you posted on the storm damage and new storm threats, as well, for today. Meantime, let's talk politics right now. In less than an hour, Washington state kicks off its Republican presidential caucuses. Forty delegates are up for grabs. CNN political reporter Shannon Travis is joining us now from Lakewood, Washington. Quite the buzz of excitement there, Shannon?
[Shannon Travis, Cnn Political Reporter:] There's a lot of buzz of excitement, Fred. Let me just start by telling you what the chairman of the Republican Party here in Washington state told me yesterday. He said that normally, none of the presidential candidates come here, Fred, because Washington's primary and caucus systems used to be well after super-Tuesday, and by then, the nominee was pretty much almost picked. But this year, obviously, we know that this is a special case. He says that Washington state used to be like the ugly sister invited to the dance, but now it's like the princess. Now, another thing that Kirby Wilbur, the Washington GOP chairman, told me is that he predicts that this race will come down between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. Now, why? Why is the chairman handicapping the race, essentially, Fred? He says that Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich don't have the infrastructure here. That's really interesting because all four of the candidates in recent days have all campaigned here for the 40 delegates at stake in Washington. Let's kind of look behind me and show you I want to show you what's going on right now, Fred. You've got a lot of caucus goers from this area here in Lakewood gathering already. Bob Brown, who's the man in charge of this particular caucus site it's one of 450 caucus sites across Washington today he tells me that, potentially, between 500 and 600 people might actually be showing up here. We did a little hand count on our own. We're estimating maybe just over 100. But again, the day is still young, Fred.
[Whitfield:] Oh, my goodness. All right. And then, you know, right around the corner is super-Tuesday. Ten states and lots of delegates up for grabs there. That really is the place where many of the candidates are concentrating their efforts.
[Shannon:] Absolutely. I mean, this is almost like the coronation to the ball on Tuesday, Fred. As you mentioned, super-Tuesday, 10 states, 419 delegates up for grabs Ohio, places like Ohio. I mean, a lot of these candidates have been criss-crossing racking up a lot of frequent flier miles, I'm sure, but criss-crossing the country because that's going to be really key. It's a lot of delegates at stake in this hunt for those 1,144 that they need to win this nomination. So the four candidates that have been coming here to Washington state have obviously been playing up, you know, that they want to win in Washington, but they've been looking ahead to Tuesday, Fred.
[Whitfield:] Yes, but clearly, nothing being taken for granted there with the candidates spending a little time in Washington state
[Travis:] That's right.
[Whitfield:] today, where that caucusing is taking place. Thanks so much, Shannon Travis, coming to us from Lakewood there. All right, a program note. Both Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul will be guests on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow morning. Then join me every Sunday afternoon 4:00 o'clock Eastern time for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in this 2012 election. And then just three days, super-Tuesday, March 6, 12:00 o'clock Eastern time, Wolf Blitzer and CNN's political team will be hosting a new program, "THE CNN ELECTION ROUNDTABLE." It's a live insider chat about the day's implications for the presidential race. You want to go to CNN.comroundtable for more on that come Tuesday, super-Tuesday. All right, actress Nicollette Sheridan is suing "Desperate Housewives" for wrongful termination. She says it all started over a slap. Our "Legal Guys" weigh in after this.

[O'brien:] Yes. Yes.
[Lamont Hill:] I like my mom, but I love Luther Vandross.
[O'brien:] Yes, yes. I completely agree. That's Luther Vandross starting us off this block. Yes, yes. And that's Marc's pick, but, really, it's all over my iPad, too. Voting is under way in the State of Michigan. It's Mitt Romney's home state, of course. He won Michigan four years ago against John McCain. And now the polls are showing him neck and neck with Rick Santorum. One point behind, according to American Research Group. There are 30 delegates at stake in the State of Michigan. And I spoke to Jennifer Granholm. She's a former Democratic governor of Michigan. She's also the host of Current TV's new show, which is called "The War Room With Jennifer Granholm." Why do you think Mitt Romney is facing such a tough battle in what's considered to be his home state?
[Jennifer Granholm,  Former Michigan Governor:] That Romney supported a bailout for Wall Street and not for the auto industry in his home state when his father ran an auto company was as though he pierced us when we were on our knees. And so I think that has a lot to do with the fact that he's not doing well. In addition to all of the, you know, flip-flopping and pretzel spinning that he's been doing about why he took that position.
[O'brien:] Let's talk a little bit about Michigan, in fact, and the voter population there. I know obviously the voters in Detroit are different than the voters who are in the suburbs who are even different than voters who are on the exurbs. Tell me a little bit about them.
[Granholm:] Yes. Well, on the you know, if I if I held up my Michigan map, Upper and Lower Peninsula, you know, in the Detroit area right here, the Detroit area is largely Democratic. But, you go up the I-75 Corridor that's Flint, that's Detroit, that's Saginaw, that's where Romney is going to do well because the Republicans that are in those places are more economic conservative. But if you go to the west of the state and the north, then you would see that it's much more of a social conservative. So you're going to see a split, I think. I mean Michigan's primary will be divided. The delegates will be divided by congressional districts. So even if Mitt Romney wins the number of votes cast, actually Rick Santorum could come away with more delegates because he may win more congressional districts. The west and the north, I think, play to his favor.
[O'brien:] The president is running a new ad and it focuses a lot on the auto industry. I'm going to play a little bit of that for you.
[Unidentified Male:] Jobs are on the line. Every Republican candidate turned their back, even said "Let Detroit go bankrupt." Not him.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] Don't bet against the American auto industry.
[O'brien:] Do you think that there is not as much leverage in that ad? When you look at the poll and you reference this a little bit before, something like only 42 percent of people in the State of Michigan supported the bailout, even now looking back saying that it was successful. Is that a problem?
[Granholm:] Actually of all voters, it's it's very popular. But among Republicans, which is, of course, what we care about tomorrow or today, the bailout was a challenge. Nonetheless, people here understand that it worked. And the thought that that Mitt Romney would say, Let Detroit go bankrupt in a "New York Times" Op-Ed is really so so utterly such an example of pandering to a national audience when he comes from Detroit. And then when he comes back to Detroit and he says, I love the American car, I've got all these cars and not only that, my wife has two Cadillacs. Then I've got every automaker covered because I've got one from each of the big three. I mean, it's not so much about his wealth, but that he appears to be trying to make up for something that everybody knows he opposed. So I do think that the president it all bodes well for the president in a general election. I think that Michigan, unlike in other years where it was a swing state, I think Michigan will be solid blue in November because it worked and Michigan's economy is back on track.
[O'brien:] How much of a role could gas prices have? Here's what Rick Santorum said about President Obama talking about gas prices.
[Rick Santorum,  Presidential Candidate:] We now have $4 a gallon gasoline and some are suggesting it's going to be $5 and maybe more this year. Why? Because the president is doing nothing to allay the fears of the world that America is going to try and help replace the oil that is tenuous right now in the Middle East.
[O'brien:] Even people who admit that the White House doesn't directly control the price of gasoline at the pumps will say, hearing the president over the weekend talk about well, you know, it's not really his fault, about the gas prices, isn't going far enough. Do you think it's a mistake for him to take that position?
[Granholm:] Well, I mean, it is the truth. I mean, the gas prices are up. Let's be very clear about it, because of the unrest in the Middle East and speculators who are taking advantage of that. Truly, to blame the president for gas prices, I've said earlier, is like blaming Rudy Giuliani for 911. It's ridiculous. However, people who are putting money into their gas tanks want something done. And who else do you blame but whoever is in charge. The reality is and the president out there explaining this. That even if even as he has opened up more oil and gas leases, even as there is more drilling off of the Gulf, if you opened up every potential possibility for drilling, the U.S. Energy Information Agency has said that it would only affect gas prices to the tune of three cents per gallon. So Newt Gingrich and others who said they want to bring it down to $2.50 when this is a commodity that is traded on world markets is absolutely ridiculous. The president has to get out there and say that, but he also has to say, I understand this hurts.
[O'brien:] Jennifer Granholm is the former governor of Michigan. It's nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us. I should mention she's also the current TV host of "The War Room with Jennifer Granholm." Thanks for your time. Appreciate it.
[Granholm:] You bet.
[O'brien:] Then we're going to have live coverage of the Arizona and Michigan primaries begins at 6:00 P.M. Eastern tonight and with a special edition of "JOHN KING USA" followed by live coverage of the results which starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, following Breaking News, a second student has now died in that Ohio school shooting. We're going to hear from Chardon High School student Nate Mueller, who describes the shooter's silent rampage. Plus, Rick Santorum is now urging Democrats to vote against Mitt Romney in Michigan's primary. The Romney campaign is calling it a new low. We're going to ask Will Cain what he thinks.
[Cain:] A whole lot.
[O'brien:] So do wish. Also, we've got Will Cain's play list this morning. Oh, back to Willie Nelson. I love Willie Nelson, but, my God, don't you have anything else in your iPod?
[Cain:] Let it play for 10 seconds.
[O'brien:] I know the song.
[Lamont Hill:] You only have six songs on your iPod.
[O'brien:] Yes, it's true.

[Wolf Blitzer:] And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now...
[Unidentified Male:] I bit into it and I I felt this real jab in the top of my mouth.
[Blitzer:] Delta and the FBI now investigating needles yes, needles found in airline meals. Also, parts of the United States suffering through the worst drought in decades. Farmers are facing ruin. All of us face higher prices at the same time. And a series of highly unusual moves has the world wondering, is North Korea on the brink of any significant change? We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. We begin this hour in Syria and the intense shelling in the city of Homs. Syrian opposition groups are reporting at least 45 people killed today in violence across the country. That's on top of 97 people killed yesterday, more than 15,000 since last March many simply massacred by government forces away from the eyes of the world. Some activists are risking their lives to bear witness. CNN's Arwa Damon has an exclusive report. But we have to warn you, some of the images are very disturbing.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent::] The power is out in the streets of Duma. The three activists and their escorts don't dare shine the light. There is a sniper lurking. Gunfire in the distance forces them to pick up the pace. The activists are part of the opposition's media operation. They smuggled themselves into the Damascus suburb last month and risked their lives to document this a massacre said to have taken place just hours earlier. Among the corpses strewn about, that little girl. A man points to one of the bodies and says, "He was executed, a civilian." He points to a second corpse and adds, "This is his cousin, shot because he tried to save him." Residents are readying the bodies for burial. Blood is soaking through the funeral sheets, the names of the deceased hastily scrawled. It's a grim routine Syrians in areas that have dared stand up to the regime have grown accustomed to. The bodies unceremoniously dragged away and placed alongside others. Residents say Syrian security forces searching for weapons in some buildings wiped out members of several families. This man described what happened in one instance. "They had two rooms they put the men and the women in," he says. "from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. the living were trapped with the dead. It was an execution. They asked, "Where are the guns?''There are no guns was the response." And they executed them one after the other." At least 45 were killed in this one attack, residents say, information CNN cannot independently verify. In the morning, the media team picked their way through rubble strewn streets, but they would not be able to leave Duma. The Assad regime siege intensified, the government bombardment relentless. Many more were killed. [on camera]: The team that filmed this at the end of June was trapped inside Duma for more than a week. And it's taken this long to get the footage smuggled to Lebanon. [voice-over]: All of that effort, all of that risk to give to the world a glimpse of Syria's narrative of horror and despair. Arwa Damon, CNN, Beirut.
[Blitzer:] The report, Arwa Damon reporting for us. Here in the United States, the mudslinging between the Romney and Obama campaigns is reaching new levels today, with the campaigns engaged in all-out verbal warfare. CNN's national political correspondent, Jim Acosta, is here in THE SITUATION ROOM. He's got details. And it's getting nasty by the minute nastier by the minute, I should say.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, it is getting rough out there. As we said all day long today, Mitt Romney has been warning the Obama campaign that he would respond to the attacks he's been receiving from the president and his surrogates over the last several days. Today, he and his campaign did just that.
[Acosta:] In Mitt Romney's first public rally since he says the Obama campaign accused him of committing a crime, the GOP contender blamed the war of words on the president.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] So the president is looking around for someone to blame. And recently, I became the the reason for all our problems here. It was a surprise to my family and me, but he's always looking for someone out there.
[Acosta:] Romney says there's a reason for the attacks on his tenure at his former private investment firm, Bain Capital.
[Romney:] I'm convinced he wants Americas to be Americans to be ashamed of success.
[Acosta:] Not so, says the Obama campaign. At a fundraiser in San Antonio, the president said it's Romney who made his business career fair game.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] His main calling card for wanting to be president is his private sector experience.
[Unidentified Male:] Tax havens.
[Acosta:] His campaign is stepping up the attacks, releasing a new ad that asks what Romney is hiding by refusing to release more than two years of tax returns. Romney told the National Review online, "I'm simply not enthusiastic about giving them hundreds or thousands of more pages to pick through, distort and lie about."
[John Sununu, New Hampshire Governor And Romney National Campaign Co- Chair:] They are clearly and unequivocally a bunch of liars.
[Acosta:] Punching back, the Romney campaign held a conference call with reporters featuring its brass knuckles surrogate, John Sununu, who questioned the president's understanding of the economy in a personal way.
[Sununu:] It is the American way. And I wish this president would learn how to be an American.
[Acosta:] Minutes later, Sununu corrected himself.
[Sununu:] The president has to learn the American formula for creating business.
[Romney:] Thank you.
[Acosta:] But an Ohio businessman on the same call also let loose.
[Kyle Koehler, Vice President, K.k. Tool Company:] It seems to me that the Obama's America, there's no risk, but there's plenty of reward. That's called socialism to me.
[Acosta:] The personal attacks come one day after Romney said he would hit back at the president after what was said on an Obama campaign conference call last week.
[Stephanie Cutter, Obama Deputy Campaign Manager:] Either Mitt Romney, through his own words and his own signature, was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC, which is a felony, or he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people.
[Acosta:] As for the Romney conference call, an Obama campaign spokesman said it's the GOP contender's team that has officially gone off the deep end. All week there's been speculation Romney might change the subject by naming his running mate. His campaign announced two new staffers for the eventual VP pick. Romney heads to Ohio tomorrow, the home state of the man said to be at the top of the list, Rob Portman. But hold onto your hats. Bobby Jindal also scheduled to be in the same state of Ohio tomorrow Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right. We'll see if there's an announcement or not. See you then.
[Acosta:] We'll we'll see.
[Blitzer:] If it's not tomorrow, it will be one of these days.
[Acosta:] It's got to be one or the other, that's right.
[Blitzer:] Jim Acosta, thanks very much.
[Wolf Blitzer:] And as Jim just reported, Romney national campaign co-chairman, John Sununu, is getting blasted by Democrats for what they see as some over the line remarks. Today. John Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire, is joining us on the phone now from Manchester. Governor, thanks very much for coming in. And I want I want to give you a full chance to respond to what you said today...
[Sununu:] Sure.
[Blitzer:] because, as you know, it's causing a huge uproar. Here's the full context of what you said on that conference call with the reporters.
[Sununu:] The president clearly demonstrated that he has absolutely no idea how the American econ economy functions. The men and women all over America who who have worked hard to build these businesses, their businesses, from the ground up is how our economy became the envy of the world. It is the American way. And I wish this president would learn how to be an American.
[Blitzer:] All right, "I wish this president would learn how to be an American." Governor, go ahead and explain what you really Sununu: Sure. meant to say.
[Sununu:] Well, I said the first of all, I was responding to the president's really terrible remarks in Virginia over the weekend, where he told the businesspeople of America they shouldn't take credit for building their businesses. That clearly is insulting to them and and, in my opinion, expresses a lack of understanding of how jobs are created. I was making the point that in America, entrepreneurs deserve credit and there is an American formula for creating jobs. And I used that phrase three or four times in that call. And and I wanted to come back to that same theme in that riff that you just played there. And instead of saying that he's got to learn the American formula for creating jobs, I I did say those words that are there. And, frankly, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have used those words. And I apologize for using those words. But I don't apologize for the idea that this president has demonstrated that he does not understand how jobs are created in America. He thinks that jobs are created by giving grants to your cronies, to your bundlers and your contributors, like he did with Solyndra. Like he did with Vista, like he did with the wind projects that took jobs out of this country. The common denominator is that they all had owners and investors that were bundlers and contributors to his campaign. That's what he means, perhaps, when he says government creates jobs, American taxpayer dollars going to cronies.
[Blitzer:] So when you hewn you say you were apologizing, are you apologizing directly to the president?
[Sununu:] Yes, I'm apologizing for using those words. I shouldn't have used them.
[Blitzer:] All right. Because later in the day, on Fox News and I'll put it up on the screen you also went on and said this. You said, "President Obama has no idea how the American system functions and we shouldn't be surprised about that, because he spent his early years in Hawaii smoking something, spent the next set of years in Indonesia.
[Sununu:] Yes
[Blitzer:] A lot of people will hear that and think that's pretty outrageous, as well, Governor.
[Sununu:] Well, Wolf, look, the president has to stop denigrating American values. He makes success a a terrible trait. He's sending the wrong message to the young people of America, that if you get rich, you're somehow evil. Those are issues that are really critical. And and the American dream and the in inspiration for the American dream comes from participating. And and the president, whether he likes to admit it or not, never really held a private sector job in which he earned a real paycheck. And and it's a lack of understanding what entrepreneurs do that is creating bad policy out of the White House. And if we don't talk about the fact that he doesn't understand what entrepreneurs do, then we will never understand why he failed to create a single job while he was president.
[Blitzer:] Well, and I guess in the past couple of years, what, about four million jobs have been created.
[Sununu:] Yes. Now...
[Blitzer:] A...
[Sununu:] now he's only 500,000 short total. And, frankly, he's bragging about creating 80,000 last month when when to keep up with population growth, you have to have 180,000 to 200,000.
[Blitzer:] But you remember, Governor...
[Sununu:] He's...
[Blitzer:] you remember, Governor, that when in the final months of President Bush's administration, the U.S. Economy was losing 600,000, 700,000, 800,000 jobs a month.
[Sununu:] And what you should have is a, in the recovering phase of of an economy, as we are supposedly in now, is the mirror image of that. We should be creating 600,000 to 800,000 jobs a month. And he's not.
[Blitzer:] But when when the U.S. Was losing all of those jobs, we was President Bush un-American? Did he not know anything about the the free market system? What was going on?
[Sununu:] I think what happened to President Bush is that the the explosion of purchases of homes by people who couldn't afford them created a crisis. But that doesn't excuse you from not putting policies in that create jobs. That doesn't excuse from
[Blitzer:] Well, let me just...
[Sununu:] he's scaring investment.
[Blitzer:] Well, on that point... on that same conference call, Governor. There was a businessman, a supporter of Mitt Romney, who flatly said this president was somewhat engaging in socialism. Is that what you're saying, as well?
[Sununu:] Well, that's what this president has done. He's created a feeling amongst entrepreneurs that he is not a capitalist. And and so I can't I can't speak for every businessperson out there in which that feeling has been engendered. But the president should be aware of the fact that small businesspeople listen to what the NFID said about this president. Small people small businesspeople think this president has absolutely no idea what to do to ce to create an environment for them to start hiring.
[Blitzer:] But are you saying...
[Sununu:] He's...
[Blitzer:] he's a socialist?
[Sununu:] No, I didn't say he was a socialist.
[Blitzer:] All right. All right. I just was wondering, because we...
[Sununu:] I didn't say that.
[Blitzer:] we did hear that...
[Sununu:] Don't don't...
[Blitzer:] from that I'm I just asked if you were among those who thinks he is a socialist.
[Sununu:] No. But I'm saying no, but what I'm telling you is he ought to be worried that he's making small businesspeople feel that way.
[Blitzer:] Well, let me ask you this question, because I I asked it earlier and I keep asking this question. If this president is so anti-business, as so many Republicans now allege...
[Sununu:] Right.
[Blitzer:] why has Wall Street done so great over the past three years, going from, what, 6,500 in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to almost 13,000 right now and these huge companies are sitting on bill hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars in in assets?
[Sununu:] Let's take the last point you made. They are sitting on trillions of dollars in assets. You know what they're waiting for? They're waiting to see who wins this election. If Oba if President Obama is re-elected, that investment money leaves the country. If if Mitt Romney is reelected is elected, that investment co money is used to buy equipment here and to do hiring. You're exactly right. They're sitting on trillions of dollars because they're scared to death that this president might get re-elected.
[Blitzer:] But you agree that they've made a ton of money over the past three years, record profits for a lot of these big business corporations?
[Sununu:] But they have not invested it to create jobs because they're scared stiff of the man in the White House. Yes, they've done well. They've worked hard. You're not going to denigrate the business community for for dealing with the difficult environment of climate and of of the climate situation on the economic side. They've done a good job. They've worked to to bring themselves back. They've created more efficiencies in their factories. They have done what they should do, not with government's help, not with leadership from the White House, but because they're good businesspeople. And and now we shouldn't condemn them for having done that and say that somehow the president deserves credit, because these people brought themselves up by the boot straps.
[Blitzer:] Let let me play one clip for you from a new ad that the president has just put out.
[Sununu:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] I want to get your reaction to this. We're almost out of the time but...
[Sununu:] You've got to be careful.
[Blitzer:] I want I want...
[Sununu:] Be careful, Wolf...
[Blitzer:] Yes.
[Sununu:] because I will probably give you an extremely hot reaction.
[Blitzer:] All right. Well, I want you to listen to this. And you can give me any reaction you want. This is a free country, obviously, Governor.
[Sununu:] Uh-huh.
[Blitzer:] You and I have known each other for a long time.
[Sununu:] Right. Right.
[Blitzer:] All right, so listen to this latest Obama campaign ad, then I'll ask a question.
[Begin Video Clip, Courtesy Obama For America) Unidentified Male:] It makes you wonder if some years he paid any taxes at all. We don't know, because Romney has released just one full year of his tax returns and won't release anything before 2010.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] You know what, I've put out as much as we're going to put out.
[Unidentified Male:] What is Mitt Romney hiding?
[Blitzer:] All right, now, as you know, Governor. There are a lot of Republicans out there who say, you know what, Governor, go ahead and release these tax returns. We're talking about George Will, Bill Kristol...
[Sununu:] Right.
[Blitzer:] Haley Barbour, the former chairman of the Republican Party, Brit Hume on Fox News last night. Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, he said this on January 16th in one of the Republican presidential debates. [Begin Video Clip From January 16]
[Gov. Rick Perry , Texas:] Mitt, we need for you to release your income tax so the people of this country can see...
[Perry:] how you made your money. And and I think that's a I think that's a fair thing.
[Blitzer:] All right, so go ahead. You can now say whatever you want.
[Sununu:] Sure.
[Blitzer:] Respond to some of your fellow...
[Sununu:] First of all...
[Blitzer:] fellow Republicans.
[Sununu:] Yes, and if if Governor Romney releases two years, they're going to play games saying he should have four. If he releases four, they're going to ask for 12. If he releases 12, he's going to ask for 20. And, frankly, with the way they're playing games with just about everything, Governor Romney is absolutely right that he ought not to give them a couple of thousand pages to play games with. But let me talk about that ad, because that ad, in my opinion, defines President Obama. And I think he says, at the end, "I'm President Obama and I agree and I support this message," right?
[Blitzer:] Yes.
[Sununu:] Ok. So let's talk about that ad. That ad is trying to President O that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes. Mitt Romney is such a public figure, everyone knows that if he didn't pay taxes, the IRS would be all over him. So there is no way the Obama administration campaign and President Obama can't know that the IRS did not President O that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes, which means they know that what they're saying is not true, which which draws me to only one conclusion when they say that something that's not true and the president of the United States puts the words "I support this message" at the end of it, knowing that what they say is not true, then the campaign is lying. And so people should understand that when they hear that ad, all they're hearing is a campaign that knows that there is no way that Mitt Romney could have done what their insun insinuating, and, therefore, they're not telling the truth and the president is not telling the truth.
[Blitzer:] Governor, this conversation, no doubt, will continue. Sorry we couldn't get you in front of a camera. We will do that the next time. Appreciate your joining us.
[Sununu:] I'm sorry the connection didn't work. But thanks for the chance to come on, Wolf. We really appreciate it. And, frankly, I enjoyed it.
[Blitzer:] All right, Governor, thanks so much. Governor, former governor of New Hampshire, John Sununu, explaining what he said earlier in the day. This conversation, by the way, this this commotion over this is obviously not going to go away. We'll have much more coming up in our new 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour, as well. Meanwhile, other stories we're following. Needles, yes, needles found hidden inside airline sandwiches. We have new details into the investigation. And a major change is growing in the world's most isolated country. Standby.

[Whitfield:] All right, to your health now. For his upcoming documentary, "THE LAST HEART ATTACK," CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has spent more than a year looking into heart disease. Along the way, he has uncovered a few common misconceptions about heart attacks.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] Fred, I'll tell you, there's plenty of misconceptions out there about heart disease. One of them that I think is really important to note is this idea that you can have a warning sign before you have a heart attack. In fact, for the majority of people that's not true. The heart problem comes literally out of the blue, there's no warning sign whatsoever and the first time they have chest pain is while they are having the heart attack. Also, for a lot of people, the symptoms could be more vague. They feel a little more fatigued, they feel like something is just not quite right, and that could be signs that in fact they are starting to have a heart attack. So point is, if you're worried about heart disease and having something unusual happening you should get that checked out. Another myth has to do with your cholesterol number. This is something that people generally know about if they're worried about heart disease, they'll tell you what they're cholesterol number is. But consider this, that about a fifth of people that had heart attacks, in fact, had normal or low cholesterol numbers, LDL levels. So this is an important point, is that cholesterol numbers alone don't give you enough information to try and determine your true heart disease risk. Doctors will now say there's a point of actually looking at your blood vessels trying to figure out are they becoming sort of laden with cholesterol, are they becoming laden with plaque. That's probably a more important indicator. Also, keep in mind that it's not just the amount of cholesterol in your body, it also has to do with the size of the particles. Smaller particles, for example, can really get into the blood vessel wall and cause damage, larger particles not as much. So can have a high cholesterol and high particle level and that might not be as bad as having a low cholesterol and small particle levels. So something to keep in mind. Also, family history, as I've learned, doesn't mean you are doomed. That's another myth. We know two things now. One is that you can literally change your genes, the way your genes are expressed in your body through some lifestyle changes. And also, this idea that once you have plaque, it's there forever is also not true. There's plenty of evidence showing that diet alone can actually start to reverse heart disease. So these are some of the some good news, I think, for people out there who are worried about heart disease. And also, some of the latest news on what we're doing to try and get to the point where we can have the last heart attack. My doctors, incidentally, tell me after this whole journey, that I am heart attack-proof. I bet you want to learn that as well, and we'll have that for you. Back to you for now.
[Whitfield:] For more on your heart health, be sure to watch Dr. Sanjay's Gupta's report, "THE LAST HEART ATTACK," this Sunday night 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN. He talks to doctors on the cutting edge of heart disease prevention, including a former surgeon who has developed a radical diet he says can make anybody heart attack proof in a month.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Anchor, "cnn Newsroom":] Police officers at this hour are themselves in need of protection. We are not being given a lot of details right now on exactly where they are looking for this man. But make no mistake he has a history, not only in law enforcement but in military, and it is very difficult to find someone when he knows the tricks of the trade. This is no ordinary manhunt. Right now, the L.A. cops at their peak. Our Paul Vercammen has been watching this story and he's been following just what we can get in terms of the public information on this. Paul, where do we stand right now with how they're trying to track this man?
[Paul Vercammen, Cnn Senior Producer:] Well, basically, it is an all out manhunt for a man that they believe is extremely dangerous, who they believe is now involved in three, separate shooting incidents. If you just look over my right shoulder, you can see how serious they are, police in the background there with their fingers on their trigger guards, guns pointed in the air. This is just one of a couple areas that have been sealed of in downtown Riverside. Let me tell you what happened in Riverside at about 1:30 this morning. Police told us that two officers on routine patrol, Riverside police officers, were ambushed by the suspect, Dorner. Now, separate from that, earlier this evening, in Corona, California or earlier last evening, I should say, an LAPD officer on patrol, apparently leaving the freeway this is according to the LAPD was shot, grazed in the head. If you look at the manifesto from Dorner, we can call this a hit list of LAPD officers who he was upset with. Basically, it is believed that he is now trying to exact a measure of revenge against all of the people who somehow angered him, and in reading the manifesto, he alluded to being fired. And he said terminating me for telling the truth about a Caucasian officer kicking a mentally-ill person is disgusting a mentally-ill man. A lot of other clues in that manifesto, as well. He was talking about some of his military background, and he said that, "You are aware that I was always the top shot and the highest scorer and expert in rifle qualifications in every unit." And then he goes on to say, "I will utilize every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training." So, he has a Navy, a military background, does Dorner. Bone chilling at the end, he said in this manifesto, he say that in this manifesto that he would exact revenge on the family members of these officers he's upset with. And he has said, "I have the strength and the benefits of being unpredictable." So, right now, an all-out manhunt for Dorner here in about nine California counties. They're trying to basically locate him, and they are very frustrated because they told us when we arrived here they just don't know if he's going to come after any of the officers now on scene. Back to you.
[Banfield:] Oh, Paul, the threats are unbelievable. And just to see those officers almost like sitting ducks out there, nine counties. Paul, stand by, if you will, for a moment. Our Barbara Starr at the Pentagon also has some remarkable information about this suspect's past in the military. Barbara, this man knows how to use a rifle. He has been awarded for his marksmanship.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, that's right, Ashleigh. The U.S. Navy quickly assembling what records it has on this man, and telling us he was a navy reservist. In fact, just until a few days ago, he separated from the naval service. We don't know when the last time is he showed up, but he has shooting expertise. Let's go through it. According to Navy records, he has been awarded the rifle-marksman ribbon and the pistol-expert medal. An official, military official, tells us that these are awarded for achieving a certain level of shooting accuracy at various distances. Let's be very clear. The man is not a Navy commando. He's not a Navy SEAL. He held a number of jobs as a reservist in Navy security operations. In fact, he went to Iraq, we are told, and had a job providing military security on Iraqi oil platforms. To have that job, it is most likely, we're told, he did receive some advanced weapons training. You'll remember back in those days, those oil platforms, a lot of concern about small boat attacks, sniper attacks, that sort of thing. So, he clearly has a certain level, a very worrisome level of weapons expertise. The police know this. They know what they're dealing with. What he has on-hand now in terms of weapons, of course, is the major concern. Ashleigh?
[Banfield:] And, Barbara, I'm reading here his last day of affiliation with the Navy as a reservist was just February 1st of this year. We're talking about and my what's astounding here...
[Starr:] Let me just talk about that for a minute.
[Banfield:] I was just going to say he's got eight awards and you know, eight different awards, including the ones you mentioned. But any idea about his mental illness or his mental health or anything that the military might have on him?
[Starr:] Well, let me talk about that for a second. We asked about that because it was astounding, when you look at the record you and I are looking at the same document February 1st, 2013 is listed February 1st as his last day of service in the reservists. What they're trying to figure out right now is did he was he on some sort of, if you will, leave, vacation time, separation? Had he basically stopped serving as a reservist some weeks or months before that, and this was simply the day he was officially taken off the rolls? We're trying to figure that out right now. The military's trying to obviously figure that out right now. I think it's very safe to assume the military trying to share whatever information they are able to with law enforcement out in California. And, of course, if you look at the pictures that Paul is showing out in Riverside County, this is all my hometown. The freeways, the distances there, he can get on the freeway, disappear pretty quick. It's going to be tough to catch this guy.
[Banfield:] Multiple counties now under this kind of surveillance and watch, and they are at the ready. Barbara, stand by, if you will. I also want to bring in Steve Kardian, who is on the phone from Valhalla, New York. He's a former police detective and also criminal investigator. Listen, Steve, you heard how we introduced what kind of a suspect we're dealing with here. He's a former Navy lieutenant. Barbara Starr has reported that he did military security on Iraqi oil platforms. He's got the rifle-marksmanship ribbon and he's a former LAPD officer. This is one hell of a manhunt.
[Steve Kardian, Former Police Detective:] Yes, it is, Ashleigh. And the most dangerous thing about this man is his mindset. He knows what law enforcement's plan is. He knows their game plan. He knows their tactics. He knows their strengths and their weaknesses. So, he'll know when to strike. And with that marksmanship ability, he could take out police officers from hundreds of yards away. And this is like a chess game, only with deadly consequences.
[Banfield:] But doesn't this go both ways? Yes, he knows their tactics, but they also they know his, as well.
[Kardian:] Yeah. There is no human being more dangerous than a police officer that has military background, that has weaponry the experience in weaponry that he has. It's very difficult because they're hunting him, but he's also hunting them. And they'll never know where he's going to show up, so he has that advantage over law enforcement in uniform.
[Banfield:] In the "code of blue," isn't this considered the ultimate betrayal? I mean, it goes without saying, but take me inside the force in terms of the level of betrayal that this is.
[Kardian:] We rely on each other. We're brothers and sisters in blue. We depend on one another every day, every minute we wear that uniform, so this is the ultimate act of betrayal, a police officer, a former police officer, turning against his own. There is no more dangerous person on earth that would kill like this, police officers, one of his own at the time. So, he's one of the most dangerous individuals right now in the United States.
[Banfield:] We're just looking at these live pictures I hope at the same time you can see them in Riverside, California of officers who are literally at the ready with their weapons. And you can see them every so often, literally turning 360. I can only imagine no matter where they are in the nine counties where officers are now sitting ducks because he's opened this manifesto to anyone in the uniform at work or at play, how do they prosecute their work? And how do they protect their lives at the same time?
[Kardian:] They've got to be highly diligent, highly alert. They've got to be aware of everything, so they're going to be super vigilant. They can't drop their guard for a minute. They have to approach every single call, every single stop sign that they stop at as a potential threat. And it could be a deadly threat.
[Banfield:] All right, Steve Kardian, if you wouldn't mind standing by. We're going to keep our eyes on this story and update it throughout the hour, as well as that manhunt in Riverside, California and elsewhere around the L.A.-area continues for Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33-years-old, ex-military, ex-cop and vowing in a manifesto to kill anyone in an LAPD uniform and their families. Unbelievable. Also another story that we're following today, a community in shock after a 17-year-old boy is found handcuffed in the basement of his own family's home. And get this. Police say he had been there for months. We're going to hear about his ordeal coming up in a live report from Kansas City, Missouri. Benghazi in the spotlight again. Right now, a Senate panel on the Pentagon's response to the attack on U.S. facilities there. The senators also asking questions about an internal review following that attack. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta responded to criticism regarding the response time.
[Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary:] We were not dealing with a prolonged or continuous assault, which could have been brought to an end by a U.S. military response. Very simply, although we had forces deployed to the region, time, distance, the lack of an adequate warning, events that moved very quickly on the ground prevented a more immediate response.
[Banfield:] After a lunch today, President Obama's pick for CIA director is going to have to answer for the death-by-drone overseas. John Brennan is going to go before the Senate intelligence committee after four years as the president's counterterrorism aide during which he championed the use of drones or unmanned aircraft to take out perceived threats to the homeland, even perceived threats who may be U.S. citizens. The White House agreed only yesterday to give some lawmakers a 50- page, legal rationale written out by the Justice Department in 2010 outlining their policy on U.S. citizens abroad who are threats to us and the right to take them out. We're going to talk more about drones and the law in our legal segment later this hour, specifically how it relates to you here at home. And speaking of drones, you know that they can and do fire missiles, but they are mainly armed with cameras. What you're seeing right now is footage that came supposedly from a U.S. drone that ultimately went down in Iran 14 months ago. Iran is now saying that some of the newly decoded video is from Afghanistan. None of this has been verified.

[Whitfield:] All right, trying to kill people for kicks. That's what investigators in South Carolina say these two young men did. They are charged with three counts of attempted murder. And it's a blessing they apparently had bad aim. A teenage girl was hit. It could have been worse. Twenty-year-old Bryan Holder, that you would see on the left when there was a two-shot there, right there, and then 17-year- old Mattison Schomer allegedly fired shots in two separate incidents early this month. The girl, who was 19, is going to recover. Investigators say the suspects laid in a field off an Ashville highway in Spartanburg County using a high powered rifle with a scope. Let's get the full story now from Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, who is on the phone with us now. So you say this case reminds you a lot about that sniper case that many people remember in the Washington, D.C., area, 2002, two shooters killing 10 people. What were some of the similarities here?
[Sheriff Chuck Wright, Spartanburg County, South Carolina:] Well, we had two individuals that thought it would be fun, so to speak, in their words, not mine, to lay in a field and experience killing someone. And if it hadn't been for some very good investigative work, and some an officer, one of our investigators paying attention to detail, he wasn't even working on that case and he solved this case for us. So this could have been potentially
[Whitfield:] Yes. So, sheriff, now did these shooters, or at least one of them, actually confess to investigators that they were doing this out of sheer pleasure? That they just wanted to know what it felt like to shoot someone?
[Wright:] One of the gentlemen is cooperating with us. The Schomer guy. He is actually cooperating with us. The other guy wants a lawyer. So we're going to have to, obviously, follow what the rules say about his rights. But, you know, one gentlemen says I'm sorry and the other one says, you know, you have no evidence. But we do and
[Whitfield:] And so, sheriff, what did these suspects say, or at least maybe the one that's cooperating, you know, Mattison Schomer, the one with the goatee on the right there, what did he or they reveal about how they would pick their alleged victims?
[Wright:] I don't really want to get into that because of the fact that we still got a little bit of work to do on this. I don't want to talk too much specifically about the case. But that was the message that we got, that this was just random. They didn't know any of these people.
[Whitfield:] Can you reveal what broke the case? What lead you to these suspects?
[Wright:] Yes, I can. One of our investigators was working a property crime case and on a burglary over off the east side of town and he was paying attention to small details pretty much and one of the guys when he interviewed, he said, well, I'm going to help myself, I know something you probably need to know. So he starts talking and it went from there. It was pretty much by accident we broke the case, but it was good investigative work for him to pay attention to the things that had been going on around us in the county and just kind of keeping up with that kind of stuff. And he ran with it from there. It was very fortunate that we had an officer that was listening.
[Whitfield:] Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, thanks so much. Incredible details on that story. I know there is much relief on the highways, or at least in that area, where the shootings were occurring. Thanks so much.
[Wright:] Thanks. Thank you.
[Whitfield:] All right now this. It is being called the bloodiest day in Syria since protests began 16 months ago. Plus, Syrian's chemical weapons on the move. And who's controlling the stockpile? And just a quick note for those of you heading out the door. You can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone. Or if you're heading to work, you can, of course, watch us from your desktop. Just go to cnn.comtv.

[Kaye:] The Los Angeles Coroner says heart disease and cocaine use contributed to Whitney Houston's death. She drowned in a bath tub. Many people aren't aware that heart disease is the number one killer of women around the world. Dr. Sujatha Reddy joins me now from Chicago to talk much more about this disease. Good morning, Doctor. Let's talk about this.
[Dr. Sujatha Reddy, Premiere Care For Women:] Good morning Randi.
[Kaye:] It is such an important topic certainly for everyone but especially for women. Whitney Houston, she certainly didn't look like the typical heart disease patient. Can you tell us a little bit about what the coroner found to to come to that decision?
[Reddy:] You're exactly right. She was a normal weight, healthy- looking woman so you wouldn't think she could have heart disease. But as you mentioned the coroner found that it was a cardiac or heart event that was complicated by cocaine use. So the cocaine contributed to existing heart disease.
[Kaye:] So the drugs that were found in her system especially the cocaine, that obviously can make something worse. Is there anything else that can contribute to heart disease?
[Reddy:] Yes, there are lots of factors to heart disease, but in this case, you know, the narrowing of her coronary arteries, the atherosclerosis as people heard that term this week probably was survivable but when you add cocaine to it, it can cause high blood pressure, which makes your heart work harder. And it can also narrow already narrow arteries and your heart is not going to get enough blood and you can have a heart attack or an irregular heartbeat. So there is no question that cocaine contributed to what was probably survivable but pre-existing heart disease.
[Kaye:] Yes and we certainly don't know if Whitney Houston had any symptoms or had any awareness that she might have had heart disease. But what symptoms should should other women look out for?
[Reddy:] Yes and this is important. Because symptoms in women are actually very different than they are in men. Women aren't going to have this crushing chest pain that we often hear about. Women may have more a discomfort in shoulders or neck or even in the upper abdomen or in their upper back. They can also feel some nausea, some vomiting, possibly be a little bit dizzy but they may not have that classic, crushing chest pain. So it can be very subtle.
[Kaye:] You know, we hear this and it's described as the number one killer of women but there has to be something that we can do to prevent heart disease.
[Reddy:] You're exactly right. You know you can't fight your genetics but you sure can control your environment because family history is a big risk factor. But a lot of things we can control. One thing is maintain a healthy weight, like Whitney did. If you're at a healthy weight that's going to decrease your risk exercise 30 to 60 minutes a day, that's going to help decrease your risk. Have a healthy diet, one low in saturated fat. Definitely don't smoke. Limit alcohol. And you know, you may be a candidate for aspirin therapy. It's good to contact your health care provider to find out and we heard a lot about aspirin this week that it might even help prevent certain kinds of cancers. So an aspirin a day may help prevent heart disease in this case as well.
[Kaye:] All right, aspirin getting a lot of attention this week for sure. Dr. Reddy, thank you very much. Enjoy your day in Chicago there.
[Reddy:] Thank you, Randi. Take care.
[Kaye:] The man accused in the Trayvon Martin shooting now has a lawyer. But does he have a plan? Coming up I'll speak with criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes about the potential strategy for George Zimmerman's team. But first, our "Travel Insider". Reynolds traveled about an hour north of Atlanta to check out one of the oldest gold mines in the country.
[Reynolds Wolf, Cnn Correspondent:] Let's go. First stop: Dahlonega, Georgia, the Consolidated Gold Mine. At first impression you see this beautiful building here in the parking lot. But it's what's below ground that really captures the imagination. You know this wasn't dug just yesterday. It's been around since 1898. And this is D. Harbert the general manager of the mine. D, how long have people been digging for gold in this part of world?
[Dathan "d" Harbert, Manager, Consolidated Gold Mine:] Well, gold was first discovered in 1828 and in just one year over 15,000 people showed up all looking for gold and it became the first major U.S. gold rush.
[Wolf:] Now what type of mining is this?
[Harbert:] This one here is hard rock gold mining.
[Wolf:] But there are other types, too?
[Harbert:] Oh absolutely. We can grab a gold pan and head out to the rivers and streams.
[Wolf:] All right, D, show me how this is done.
[Harbert:] Fill it up with water. And the heavy gold is falling to the bottom. If you do your job right you should find it right there.
[Wolf:] Gold. Check it out. And I've got sand.
[Harbert:] You better keep your day job.
[Wolf:] Unbelievable. D, thanks for your time.
[Harbert:] Thanks for coming. Come back to Dahlonega.
[Wolf:] All right. We got to hit the road.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] And it's just before 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out West. I'm Kyra Phillips. Thanks for joining us. A pivotal day in the debt show down, a vote in the House and a huge test of just how divided the Republican Party really is. Al Qaeda's new leader releases his first taped message since succeeding Osama bin Laden. Ayman al-Zawahiri rips Syria's president and praises the protest trying to oust him. And that swirling mass in the gulf of Mexico is tropical storm Don. It could hit the Texas coast as early as tomorrow night. Well, today could be a make or break day in the dead crisis. I know. You've heard that before but here's the deal today. Lawmakers are not mincing words as we have less than five days to raise the debt ceiling or risk defaulting on government bills. Today the House is due to vote on Speaker John Boehner's plan and as his own party holds the majority of the vote, he's really getting frustrated with the divisions that threaten its passage. So in a closed-door meeting Boehner actually told the feuding Republican, quote, "Get your ass in line." And then there was veteran Senator John McCain, he blasted fellow Republicans quoting an article that disparaged, quote, "Tea Party hobbits". All right, let's get the latest on where things are headed. I think maybe we can tell where thing are headed. Joe Johns in our Washington Bureau. Joe, any idea when this vote will take place today?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Kyra, expecting the vote between 5:00 and 6:00 Eastern Time. Of course, that could slip. This will be a real big moment for House Speaker John Boehner testing among other things his ability to get that somewhat unruly Republican majority in the House to go along with him. When he first said there would be a vote a couple days ago, it looked briefly like he was just going to have an open revolt on his hands. It actually got so bad that a staffer for one conservative house member was caught openly sending e-mails to a group off the Hill asking for help in opposing the bill, almost unheard of. And now although the outlook is much more optimistic for the Boehner bill though, there are still some conservatives who say they don't like the approach and they won't vote for it, Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right and this is the first that we're actually hearing of a time between 5 and 6. Did you just get word, Joe?
[Johns:] Yes, sort of across the trend and again, you have to caution because things like this could be very fluid, but 5:15, 6:15, Eastern Time, something like that. The other thing, you know, I mean, can it pass? When a congressional leader on the House side schedules a vote, at least know or they're supposed to know which way it's going to go and I've been asking vote counters on the Hill whether this is going to be smooth sailing or a nail biter. The message I've gotten back on the Republican side is that the speaker is expecting, quoteunquote, "strong support from the Republican conference," but on the Democratic side, we know that many, many Democrats will not sign on. In fact there's some suggestion that the opposition will be close to unanimous.
[Phillips:] All right, Joe. Keep working it for us. Thanks. Encouraging news on the job front. First time unemployment claims dropped below 400,000 for the first time in more than three months. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Good news.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Yes, Kyra, rare, right? It's an encouraging report. Can you believe it? Yes, new jobless claims dropping more than expected coming in at 398,000 last week. Sure, that's below that 400,000 level where really need to be because it's generally seen as signifying job growth. Want a comparison? Claims topped 600,000 when we were in the thick of the recession, so yes, we're making some progress here, Kyra.
[Phillips:] If these job numbers, you know are positive then why isn't there a bigger reaction on Wall Street? I mean, we saw a little bit of a reaction.
[Kosik:] We did. Stocks are going the other way right now. They're going back towards the negative column, but the reality is that the debt ceiling deal is cause for a lot of anxiety here on Wall Street. Also that jobs headline, it really doesn't tell the whole story. Almost eight million Americans get unemployment benefits and this count the emergency and long term benefits. That's the reality here. Also, we really need to stay below that 400,000 level for the long term. This is just one report. It's positive, but not enough. Now Friday, we're also going to see how the broader economy is doing. We're going to get second quarter GDP that will show economic growth. And I'll be honest with you, expectations not so great right now. We're expecting to hear what most of us already know, the recovery is growing very slowly, Kyra.
[Phillips:] OK, Alison, thanks. So leave it to Washington to find a loophole, right? Some Democrats say if time runs out, the president could save the government from default by tapping into his constitutional powers. But it's the White House, yes, the White House, that's actually knocking down that idea.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] There is no way around this. There is no escape. You know, having an esoteric constitutional argument won't resolve the fact that our borrowing authority is due to expire on August 2nd. And Congress has the legal authority and only Congress has the legal authority to extend that borrowing authority.
[Phillips:] Now Carney says the real problem is that House Republicans with wasting time on the Boehner plan because even if it should somehow pass the Senate, the president will not sign off on it. At the bottom of the hour, we're going to hear from the freshmen Republicans who are challenging their own party and demanding bigger cuts. We'll check in on the 10:30 a.m. news conference. Cosmetic giant L'Oreal has been forced to pull an ad campaign featuring Julia Roberts and supermodel Christy Turlington. CNN's Zain Verjee found this out of London. What's the problem? Are they just too beautiful, Zain?
[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Correspondent:] They have been overly air brushed is what the authorities are saying and that their images are totally misleading. Fancy that, Kyra, air brushing. We've never done right?
[Phillips:] Full disclosure here, Zain. We should say, yes, that is what we do in this business, OK, and thank goodness for it. That's all I have to say.
[Verjee:] Well, I wake up looking like this, Kyra, but look, these are the pictures here. Look at Julia Roberts here on the left-hand side, air brushed and lovely. On the right hand side is without air brushing. Now, in this ad, she's in for a product called "Miracle Foundation." Christy Turlington also for anti-aging cream and basically what they're saying here is that these images are not representative of the results the product would actually achieve. So they're saying you're overly perfecting images of women in the media and it's misleading. So if consumers buy this product, you would not be going to look like Julia Roberts, Kyra.
[Phillips:] Well, I think that we realize that, you know? Makeup does help a little bit, but it does not change what, you know, Mother Nature has given you or what God has blessed you with.
[Verjee:] That's right. You know, L'Oreal is sayings, you know what, actually the pictures of Julia Roberts are in their words inspirational. And with Christy Turlington, they say that it accurately represents what kind of results you would get, that would be achievable if you use those products. But, you know, there is the problem of Mother Nature as we get older, Kyra.
[Phillips:] Yes. Things start to shift in directions we never really expected. Come on, these women make up or not, Zain, they're beautiful.
[Verjee:] They are.
[Phillips:] Zain, thanks. Coming up, religion in the presidential race. Some interesting and maybe contradictory findings in the new poll. We're going to talk to the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute. Plus new compelling video taken moments after the deadly Norway explosion. We're going to hear from the man who shot is right after the break.

[Tank:] Hi again. One of the world's top footballers says he will fight tooth and nail against charges of hurling racist abuse. England and Chelsea captain John Terry is to be charged over an incident during a match in October. This came after a recommendation from Britain's Crown Prosecution Service. It concerns comments the Chelsea footballer allegedly made to Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand back in October. He said in a statement and here it is for you "I'm disappointed with the decision to charge me and hope to clear my name as quickly as possible. I've never aimed a racist remark at anyone and count people from all races and creeds among my closest friends." And then Terry went on to say a little bit more, and here we have it for you. "I will fight tooth and nail to prove my innocence. I have campaigned against racism and believe there is no place for it in society." So, the question is being asked, is there an ugly side to what football fans call the beautiful game? Racism on the pitch has been put in the spotlight this week. CNN's Dan Rivers talks to football officials and players to ask whether racial abuse can be booted out of the sport.
[Dan Rivers, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] It's been a bleak week in the world's most watched football league. The corrosive allegations of racism rather than the game itself have dominated the headlines. Two separate incidents; punishment handed down for one, an unprecedented eight-match ban for Luis Suarez, charges brought for another, John Terry. An ugly end of year for the "beautiful game."
[Gordon Taylor, Professional Footballers' Assn:] That's been unfortunate, but it's also been a sign of how seriously we now take these issues. And that was illustrated a few years ago now when the England team went to Spain and there was general national abhorrence of the way the Spanish crowd were abusing our black players, and similarly, just recently in Bulgaria. So it would be naive to say it's been eradicated, because it's not.
[Rivers:] In the past, racism on the terraces was routine. Black players endured a torrent of abuse simply because of the color of their skin.
[Brendon Batson, Fmr. Player:] I do think that the authorities just ignored it, they didn't see the significance of it. If you threw a brick within a crowd, police were in there, grabbing all of you, turfing you out, et cetera, et cetera. But if you were just giving abuse to black players, well, it doesn't matter.
[Rivers:] A lot of progress has been made trying to stamp out racism in English football. The terrible jaunts from the terraces in the 1980s are now thankfully largely a thing of the past, thanks to zero tolerance policing. But is racism among some players still a problem?
[Danny Lynch, "kick It Out" Anti-racism Campaign:] The way football is, is that it's a mass spectator's sport. And given the people the sheer amount of people that either watch the game, follow the game, or work in the game worldwide, means that you are always going to have people with certain prejudices that will have the opportunity to bring to the fore.
[Rivers:] But some think the behavior of the players informs the behavior of the fans.
[Viv Anderson, Fmr. Player:] If supporters see players racially abusing other players, what sort of message does that send to them? So it starts with the players. You know, and end of the field, I think it's really, really important that they tow the line, yes.
[Rivers:] Borne out by fans we spoke to in London.
[Unidentified Male:] You can fine a player for racially abusing another player. You can fine them for that sends a strong message to other players not to be racist. I think England this day is a multicultural country. You know, people from all walks of life and continents and different parts of the world are all supporting their clubs. And I think it has to be stamped out.
[Rivers:] The John Terry incident will now be meticulously analyzed in a court case, but whatever the outcome, the damage to the reputation to the game is already done. Dan Rivers, CNN, London.
[Tank:] Well, as Dan said, the charges against Terry came just a day after Luis Suarez was banned for racial abuse. Just ahead here on NEWS STREAM
[Rep. Michele Bachmann , Presidential Candidate:] With the death of Kim Jong-il, we know that North Korea, it has effectively acted as the Wal-Mart of missile delivery systems.
[Tank:] First, Rick Perry. Now Republican candidate Michele Bachmann creates a stir with her choice of words on the campaign trail. We'll have more on what she said and why it's making headlines.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. Let's start with some breaking news. The man who briefly led al Qaeda after Osama Bin Laden was killed has been detained according to Egypt's Interior Ministry. Seif Al Adel was arriving from Pakistan when he was taken into custody at Cairo's airport. He is believed to have spent years detained in Iran where the U.S. couldn't get access to him. The FBI had been offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture or conviction. We've got lots more on this developing story. Let's grab Peter Bergen. He is joining us by phone. Peter, so when you first hear this word, and of course, it hasn't been confirmed yet, but it is believed it is Seif Al Adel is under arrest. Tell me who this guy is in terms of the hierarchy in al Qaeda.
[Peter Bergen, Cnn National Security Analyst:] Well, Soledad, he's the military commander of al Qaeda. He's been involved in the group since the late '80s when the group was founded. He is enormously important to the group. He was reported to have briefly taken over leadership of al Qaeda after Bin Laden's death while they spent six weeks deciding who the leader is. Arguably, he's more important than the actual leader of the group, Ayman Al Zawahiri, another Egyptian, in terms of an operational sense. However, the plot the thickening because the person who's been arrested at Cairo airport is claiming that it's case of mistaken identity and or it's always been some debate among experts if the person who had been identified as the leader Seif Al Adel is, in fact, the right guy. In terms of the identity that's been assigned to him by the U.S. government. That said, whoever has been arrested at Cairo airport has played some kind of role in al Qaeda, I believe. If it is Seif Al Adel, it's enormously important. It's really the first senior leader of al Qaeda who has been arrested rather than killed by U.S. drone arguably since 2005. If it is Seif Al Adel, the U.S. government would love to talk to him. He could shed a lot of light on what the group is actually doing now.
[O'brien:] And the group has done, right? Let's talk a little bit about his history. He has been linked to the killing of Daniel Pearl. He has been linked to the embassy bombings in Africa.
[Bergen:] Yes. And you know, mean, most importantly, the drone strikes have obviously put a lot of pressure on al Qaeda, but, you know, dead men don't talk. One of the problems that the drone strikes is there have been no interrogations of the senior leadership of al Qaeda. If this is Seif Al Adel he would be something of a gold mine in terms of what the group is actually up to now. My guess is that he would say that things are under a tremendous amount of pressure because of the drone strikes. The generation that he represents, people in late 40s early 50s, many of them are being killed. He's one of the very last leaders left Soledad.
[O'brien:] So one of the things that Barbara Starr said when we talked to her last, she said which was going to be interesting was to talk about his path way out of Iran. If in fact he did go from Iran into Pakistan into Dubai and then into Egypt, what exactly was Iran's role in that because he was supposed to be under house arrest in Iran, correct?
[Bergen:] Yes. He's been under house arrest in Iran arguably since 2002, when a number of senior leadership figures from al Qaeda went from Afghanistan to Pakistan through Iran as the Taliban fell. My belief and I think others' belief is that these guys were being held as sort of potential bargaining chips in any kind of bargain. That the Iranian government might do with the United States government as it became clear they would like a deal between the U.S. and Iran is becoming less and less likely. Eventually a number of these guys were let go and I think that Seif Al Adel was probably let go at the end of 2010. He then made his way to the tribal areas of Pakistan where he played an important role in al Qaeda. And even when he was in Iran, Soledad, he was playing an important role in al Qaeda according to Saudi intelligence officials he was the guy who green lined Al Qaeda's campaign in Saudi Arabia, which we had in 2003. So even on the house arrest he was able to play some sort of role. He basically disappeared into Pakistan. But he took a tremendous risk, I think, obviously wanting to return to his home country where he hasn't been in more than probably two decades. And it appears that this risk has paid off rather poorly for him.
[O'brien:] It will be very interesting to get more details about this person who has now been arrested at Cairo airport. Peter Bergen joining us by phone with an update on that arrest. Important news enormously important as Peter says. First senior leader of al Qaeda arrested rather than killed by those drone strikes, could be a font of information once they're able to confirm exactly who it is, who is under arrest at Cairo airport. Thank you, Peter. All right, other breaking news to get to this morning. One person is dead, several other people injured after severe storms slammed right through parts of Kansas and also Missouri. It happened early this morning. As many as 10 tornados have been reported. Emergency teams are now on the scene. Severe weather threat isn't over. Let's get right to our meteorologist. Rob Marciano has got an update for us on what happened there last night, this morning as well and what is going to happen later today.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Impressive storm system to say the least. Many facets, big one and it's more reminiscent of March or even April than it would be of this time of year. Multiple tornado warnings are in effect right now as well as some watches in effect until about noontime. As far as what we're looking at right now, this cell just east of Evansville right down the Ohio River next stop would be Troy or Tel City, moving about 65 to 70 miles an hour. This has a history of producing a tornado. We have damage just south and east of Evansville. Also damage on the other side of the border in Illinois, Harrisburg, Illinois, reporting wide spread damage with this specific cell, which likely still has a tornado in it as it runs down the Ohio River. Another couple of tornado warnings just south and west of that so we're under the threat here. These really don't show much in the way of signs of weakening. So that's why the Storm Prediction Center has the storm watch boxes up in effect until noontime. We have a blizzard warning that's in effect for parts of the northern tier and a threat for severe weather will continue today and stretch into the Carolinas and parts of the southeast and that snow and wintry mix will stretch into the northeast as well. Quite a storm. Soledad, back to you.
[O'brien:] All right, appreciate that, Rob. Thank you. Let's turn to politics now and the two big primary wins for Mitt Romney happened last night. Romney scored a close win in Michigan. He beat Rick Santorum by just three percentage points. But power to a very nice, hefty victory in Arizona and that's really where his speech started in the state of Arizona last night. Those two wins though helping Mitt Romney at his lead in the race for convention delegates. He has now 165 while Rick Santorum is second with 44. Newt Gingrich has 38. Ron Paul has 27. Reince Priebus is the chairman of the Republican National Committee and he joins us this morning. Priebus I butchered it.
[Reince Priebus, Chairman, Republican National Committee:] Bizarre name.
[O'brien:] No more bizarre than Soledad O'Brien, let's be real. Apologies over, let's move on. It was a win, but it was a squeaker. And so now is it fair to say you have an established GOP frontrunner at this point?
[Priebus:] Well, I think Governor Romney had a good night last night and moving on to Super Tuesday. I think you're putting it in the right perspective, though. You know, according of our numbers, and the AP and CNN and everyone has a little bit of different numbers. But we were worried 172 delegates so far. Next Tuesday, there will be 400 delegates in one day on Tuesday and so certainly Governor Romney has done well in the states that have awarded delegates. Obviously we're going to see what happens next Tuesday. I feel good about this. I know that people argue over whether, you know, having a tough primary is a good thing or a bad thing. I just happen to believe that it's good for a party, as you and I have talked about many times.
[O'brien:] Good for your party, bad for independents, though? You keep seeing the independents go on a downward drag.
[Priebus:] Well, you know, I think that it's important to make the case to all Americans, and not just independents. And I think in the end, independents will come our way based on where we are as far as whether or not we're better off today than we were three or four years ago, where are we in regard to the economy and is it better or worse? And I think all those things are fluid, but I think all in all, if you look at the president's promises and the standards that he set for himself and really grand incredible fashion in 2008, he's not come anywhere close to meeting those standards. I think at the end, and I think we all see, you know, the way that media is so intense, even in our own primary here, just imagine what a week is going to feel like in October and September.
[O'brien:] It's kind of feel longer than it does now? Is that what you're saying? It feels like forever.
[Priebus:] I just think that sometimes we lose perspective of how long June, July, August, September, October
[O'brien:] We believe you on that. We agree on that completely.
[Priebus:] It's going to be eternity. So I'm not nervous about this at all. I think the drama and the tough primaries is a good thing for us, Soledad. We put people to sleep in '08 with our nomination process. And I think it's laughable when I hear people claiming that, you know, we ought to put people to sleep again this time around and just move on. I don't think that's the case.
[O'brien:] Hang on one second.
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] One thing that Michigan underscored is that you have a sharp and I think by now a very stable dividing Republican Party. If you look at the results in Michigan, Arizona like the earlier states, Mitt Romney is doing very well in what can be done in managerialing the party, upscale voters, better educated, non-Evangelical, non-Tea Party. Oakland County, Michigan, he won by 32,000 votes. That's his home county. That's the classic kind of place where he's doing well. The other side of the party continues to resist him, the Evangelicals, Tea Party activist, very conservative voters. And I think one question and I think we'll like to see that divide persist, one question will be, can these two ends of the party come back together as opposition to Barack Obama, which is very real and powerful, enough to knit this back together given a central cleavage that we've seen established in this Republican race.
[O'brien:] Let me ask you about those robocalls, Reince, because I'm really curious to know what the party thinks about them. We do, in Michigan, it was I think we have a clip of it. Let's play that clip so I don't have to describe it.
[Unidentified Male:] On Tuesday, join Democrats who are going to send a loud message to Massachusetts' Mitt Romney by voting for Rick Santorum for president. This call is supported by hardworking Democratic men and women and paid for by Rick Santorum for president.
[O'brien:] So when you heard that robocall from the Santorum campaign, what did you think?
[Priebus:] Well, I mean, obviously as chairman of the party I wish people would follow Reagan's 11th commandment and not particularly a big fan of that tactic, Soledad, but, you know, as party chairman, playing referee and getting in the weeds. This little piece is good and that's not good and this 30- second ad is over the line, I really don't get into that. But I want to respond. I think, you know, John King had a couple of poll numbers out last night on your coverage. And you know, he showed that the split on Tea Party was pretty even at least on the polling that I was watching last night. I think it goes up and down. I think it's an important thing for our party to make sure that we keep not just, you know, people who identify themselves as Tea Party Republicans or regular Republicans, whatever you want to call it, whatever labels you want to put on it. But we do have to keep, I think, the conservative movement moving in the same direction. I think that's a job that I have as part of my job as chairman of the RNC. What I tell folks in the Tea Party and people worried about the constitution and liberty and freedom as I am, is that we're just part of the conservative movement. We're not in competition with it. We just have to do our real part in raising money and staying on message and making sure that we provide an alternative to a president who hasn't fulfilled his promises.
[O'brien:] Reince Priebus is the chairman of the Republican National Committee. It's nice to have you joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
[Priebus:] Thank you. Good morning, guys. Bye-bye.
[O'brien:] Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, has Egypt captured a major al Qaeda player? An arrest at Cairo airport could be the guy who was set to succeed Osama Bin Laden. We're going to follow those developing details and bring them to you. As we told you about just a moment ago, a deadly tornado outbreak in the Midwest. We're live on the ground in one of the hardest hit areas. We'll update you on what's happening there. STARTING POINT is back in just a moment.

[Kaye:] In just over five hours from now, two men in two different states are set to die by lethal injection. Both cases have drown the national spotlight. And both cases do have racial overtones. But the stories and the men couldn't be further apart. At 6:00 local time, Texas will execute this man, Lawrence Brewer. He's one of the three men convicted of chaining a black man, James Byrd, behind a pickup truck and dragging him to death 13 years ago. You'd be hard pressed to find a single soul in the town of Jasper, Texas, today, arguing against the execution. In fact, the town of 7,300 is more than ready to put the crime behind them. The same cannot be said for this man, Troy Davis. He's set to die tonight in Georgia at 7:00 Eastern Time. Davis was convicted of killing off duty police officer Mark MacPhail 22 years ago. A crime he maintains he did not commit. Despite a global campaign, the states board of pardons and paroles today rejected a request to reconsider yesterday's decision denying Davis clemency. CNN's David Mattingly joins us now. David, is there any hope left for Troy Davis at this hour?
[David Mattingly, Cnn National Correspondent:] They felt like that they had their last best shot yesterday with the pardons and parole board. And that board came back and refused to stop this execution. They asked it to reconsider. And today the board came back again and said, no, we're not going to stop this execution. They also asked to be able to conduct a polygraph test today in prison so that he could prove his innocence by a polygraph test. Well, the prison system has denied that request. They do have a new sort of a legal hail Mary going on right now. Some briefs filed within a court, a state court here in Georgia, complaining about issues regarding ballistics among other things. But at this late hour, this is something that the court may or may not take up and we're waiting to find out what is decided there. But, this has gone through dozens of courts over the last 20 years. There have been very few issues that have not been explored multiple times throughout this. And, again, they thought their last, best chance to avoid this execution was with the pardons and parole board. Now that board would have been not bound by judicial restraints. They would have been subject to a lot of maybe, perhaps, public and political pressure and they brought all of that to bear. And this board did not change the execution.
[Kaye:] And I know, David, that you spoke with the former prosecutor in this case. I mean what does he say about all of those who are so high profile, including former President Jimmy Carter, even the pope who have come out questioning this execution?
[Mattingly:] Well, he talked about the high profile people who have supported this case. And he says that they've put their reputations on the line and that they've become sort of caught up in a public relations campaign, where the facts in the public relations campaign don't match the vetting that was done by the court system. And he says he calls it fuzzy thinking on the part of people like President Carter who believe that perhaps this should be commuted to life in prison instead of the death penalty. He says that this case is the result of disciplined thinking that was handled throughout the courts over the last 20 years and at every turn this case has gone, sided with the original prosecution and the original conviction.
[Kaye:] All right, David Mattingly joining us on the phone there. David, appreciate that. Thank you very much. Well, as you know, some of the witnesses in this case have recanted their story. And coming up, I'm going to talk with a witness in the case who did not recant her story. You're not going to want to miss this exclusive interview. It divided survivors and families of the nearly 3,000 people who died on 911. Plans to build an Islamic center and mosque near the World Trade Center site. Well, today, it opens its doors and we'll speak to the developer next.

[Jane Velez-mitchell:] Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you from New York City. The brother of the man who shot Trayvon Martin speaking out for the very first time and revealing what George Zimmerman told him about the shooting. Plus, we have a brand-new eyewitness account from the night Trayvon Martin was shot. This person says they saw and heard what happened. We are searching for the truth right now.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, two potentially key players break their silence in the Trayvon Martin case. The very first eyewitness comes forward. Wait until you hear what he has to say about George Zimmerman`s altercation with the unarmed teen. Does his story paint a clearer picture of what happened? This as Zimmerman`s brother speaks out for the first time in his defense, and offers his take on the surveillance tape everyone`s talking about. You`ll hear from both of these men tonight.
[Unidentified Female:] Someone who says that they saw the Trayvon Martin shooting has finally come forward.
[Unidentified Male:] There are two men on the ground, one on top of each other, obviously thinking, OK, something really horrible was happening. Police. I just heard a shot right behind my house. He didn`t pull out a gun and shoot him. George showed tremendous restraint.
[Unidentified Female:] No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace. No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace. No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace! No justice, no peace.
[Unidentified Male:] And if you look at the video and I`ve looked at it and reviewed it a number of times I don`t see anything consistent with a broken nose.
[Tracy Martin, Trayvon`s Father:] All I know is that my son was carried away in a body bag, and Zimmerman was left to go and shower and sleep in his bed.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, uncovering the secrets that could blow the Trayvon Martin case wide open. We`ve got a new eyewitness account from somebody who says they saw and heard the whole thing. And for the very first time, the brother of shooter George Zimmerman is speaking out. What did George tell him about the shooting? This eyewitness does not want to be identified, even by gender, but that person says it was pouring rain the night of February 26, the night Trayvon was shot. The witness, who lives in the community where Trayvon was visiting his dad, heard people yelling outside, including a yell for help. "AC 360`s" Anderson Cooper asked what happened next?
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Were you able to observe who was on top, who was on bottom? Were you able to see faces or any details of the people scuffling?
[Unidentified Male:] No, just that it was that it was dark. I mean, the only reason I can say is that if I was to have to say who do I think it was, I would have to say only the larger man, because after the larger man got off, then there was a boy, obviously now dead, on the ground facing down.
[Velez-mitchell:] The witness says when Zimmerman got up, he didn`t appear to have any injuries. But was it too dark out to tell? Does this witness account match up to George Zimmerman`s version of what happened that night? And does it match the police report that says Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and head? We are going to investigate. Zimmerman`s brother Robert, who a lot of people say looks like George quite a bit, spoke out for the very first time on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT," defending his brother. Robert Zimmerman says his brother was not on a Neighborhood Watch, that he was driving to a Target store.
[Robert Zimmerman, Brother Of Shooter:] Saying that he was patrolling a neighborhood is absolutely false. He was not patrolling the neighborhood. This fantasy or this mythology that he chased a person is just absolutely false. He didn`t chase anyone.
[Velez-mitchell:] Robert Zimmerman claims medical records will prove his brother was attacked and his nose broken by Trayvon Martin before the shooting. Well, you know what I say? Let`s see those medical reports. Let`s end all this speculation. Let`s get to the truth of what happened the night Trayvon Martin was shot dead. Except here`s a problem. And I`m holding it in my hand right now. More breaking news, this brand-new letter from the special prosecutor, Angela Corey, who says she now wants to keep all documents in this case sealed from the media, and she will no longer be talking about the case. Wow. Straight out to Rod Smith. Rod, you have served as a special prosecutor in a number of questions. Here`s my burning question tonight: can she do this? Can she keep all the documents, all the evidence, all the new videos away from the public that desperately wants answers in this case? And remember, we all watched the Casey Anthony case, also happening in the very same area, the Orlando area. And during that case, as it unfolded, we were constantly inundated with new evidence, new video of her talking to her parents in jail. So how can they now say, Rod, "Unh-uh, the media and the public will not get any more official information on this case"?
[Rod Smith, Former Special Prosecutor:] I`m actually surprised it`s taken this long. As a prosecutor, the first thing you want to do is control the flow of information. No. 1, you`ve got to evaluate the case first. Second of all, you`ve got issues involving where you`re going to be able to ultimately try this case, and you`ve got also the issues of the defendant`s fair trial rights should there be a charge made. Generally speaking the prosecutors very early in the case take control of the case in terms of the flow of information. I can tell you that in one of the highest profile murder cases I was involved in, I literally was sued by for information, but I would not release it, because I believed at the time that the most critical thing from a prosecutor`s point of view was to get it right and to evaluate the evidence first. When the case is over, whether the case is dismissed or whether or not it goes to trial, all this information will be in the court of public opinion. But right now, the prosecutor is not trying to save himself from opinion.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, that`s you`re assuming. Excuse me for a second, Rod. With all due respect, you`re assuming that it will. And I certainly hope that we are going to able we are able to see this...
[Smith:] I`m not I`m not going assuming that.
[Velez-mitchell:] ... in the context of justice. But I do have an issue with trying to shut down all the official information. I think you shine a spotlight on it. And we have these great discovery laws in Florida, the sunshine laws. Why are we now saying, "Unh-uh, they don`t apply here." I want to welcome a very special guest, Terrence Jay, host of one of BET`s "106 & Park." And I want to play a clip of the Trayvon Martin special you hosted just last night, Terrence Jay.
[Unidentified Male:] I wear a hoodie almost every day. I run and I jog with my hoodie. And as a black man, it just it just seems so unfortunate that we`re at the place now I mean, would you agree that if someone is, well, don`t wear a hoodie, and you might not get shot. I thought this was America.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. Let me ask you about this idea that we`re not going to get any more official information, Terrence Jay? Does that disturb you at all?
[Terrence Jay, Host, Bet`s "106 & Park":] Absolutely. The fact that they don`t want to give us the information lets us know there`s something to hide. We want the information. We want justice for his parents. We want justice for his family. Everybody wants to know what happened, and the fact that they`re trying to hide even more just shows that there`s a lot of miscalculations going on there.
[Velez-mitchell:] Jasmine Janet, political race issues commentator, what do you think? Do you think the special prosecutor should say, "Unh-uh, despite Florida`s sunshine laws, we are not going to get any information official on this case"? JASMINE JANET,
[Political Race Issues Commentator:] I definitely disagree with that. But I think the information is going to get out regardless. I think somehow the information is going to continue to flow out. And we`re going to continue to seek answers. We want answers. This is not the time for them to go, you know, mum`s the word and try to keep all the information to themselves. This is one of the most talked about stories across America. This is not the time for that.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, what my concern is, is that if they don`t get official information out there and listen, I`ve interviewed Angela Corey. She`s a great person. I think she`s trying to do a good job. But here`s my problem with it. What you are going to see is more leaks. Remember the video that we`re looking at, the video that we`ve been looking at for a couple of days now of what happened at the Sanford Police Department, it was initially leaked to the news media. We`re talking about surveillance cameras from within the police department. And let`s show that video again, leaked to the news media, and then, of course, they had to release it to everyone. So I want to go to Curtis Sliwa, founder of Guardian Angels. Since we had leaks...
[Curtis Sliwa, Founder, Guardian Angels:] Yes.
[Velez-mitchell:] Leaks from the police, saying, "Oh, here`s George Zimmerman`s version of events." It was leaked to the "Atlanta Sentinel. Does it concern you now that that they`re saying, "Well, no more official information"? Do you think that`s going to cause more leaks?
[Sliwa:] There`s no question. It`s going to leak like a sieve. You know why the cops leaked this information, because they were being made the bad guys in this. You saw Zimmerman being walked in. He was in the perp walk. He was cuffed behind. They had him arrested. The lead investigator, originally from New York, said, "We were going to charge him with manslaughter." It`s the state`s attorney who stepped in, the suit, the so-called intellectual, said, "Oh, no, you can`t do that." They were ready to book him, Dano. They were ready to photograph him. They were ready to print him. They were ready to put him in the cell, and the state`s attorney said, "Take the cuffs of and turn him loose." So I think the cops said, "Oh, yes? We want everyone to see it wasn`t us that turned him loose." It was the state`s attorney, the suits, the big shot pullers, not the little guys busting their shoes on the ground, who clearly at the scene knew that Zimmerman probably was guilty of manslaughter.
[Velez-mitchell:] Holly Hughes, criminal defense attorney, are we going to see more leaks like this? This video, which was finally released to everybody officially, but was initially linked to a news conversation. If the state`s attorney, the special prosecutor assigned to this case, as she indicates in this letter, is not going to give any information to the public, are we going to see more leaks?
[Holly Hughes, Criminal Defense Attorney:] You absolutely are, Jane. This case is too important. It`s too big. It`s too well known. We`re not just going to see information coming out of the police department, somebody`s going to release the M.E.`s report. Somebody else is going to get the name of witnesses, and those witnesses are going to magically appear. Everyone wants to know what`s happening. Now, I will say this. I used to be a prosecutor, and I understand where Angela Corey is coming from, in that she wants to preserve the integrity of her investigation, because she doesn`t a witness being spoken to in the media and impeached later on at trial on the stand with something they said to the media. So I see where she`s coming from, but you`re not going to stop those leaks. It`s coming out, Jane. We`re going to see all of it.
[Velez-mitchell:] The problem with police is they happen selectively. We still don`t get the whole story. We`re just getting started. This is George Zimmerman`s brother breaking his silence. You`re going to hear his sound on the other side of the break. Does his description of what happened that night of the shooting match the eyewitness account, which you`ll also here in just a moment? And we`re taking your calls.
[Robert Zimmerman, George Zimmerman`s Brother:] Saying that she was patrolling the neighborhood is absolutely false. He was not patrolling the neighborhood.
[Zimmerman:] The last thing he remembers doing was moving his head from the concrete to the grass. So that if he was banged one more time, he wouldn`t be, you know, wearing diapers the rest of his life and being spoon-fed by his brother. And it would have been George dead, had he not acted decisively and instantaneously in that moment.
[Velez-mitchell:] The shooter`s brother claims George was barely conscious after the allegedly beating he took for Trayvon Martin. But when you see the surveillance video which was taken not long after the shooting, do you see a man who was just severely beaten and had to fight for his life? Now, the police report says, well, the paramedics did treat him. The paramedics cleaned him up perhaps in the squad car before he came into the police station. Nevertheless, I`ve got to throw that out to Curtis Sliwa. What do you see when you look at this videotape?
[Sliwa:] Oh, come on. He`s soft serve. I`ve had concrete facials, I`ve had wooden shampoos. I mean, I know what it`s like to get hit in the head. I`ve had concussions. This guy, if you look at the video, you can see there`s no blood. He`s not raising his head up like I typically have when I`ve had a broken nose, because you want to keep the blood from flowing down. So it`s clear. This guy is not injured anywhere near to what his brother is saying. And Jane, the other thing that I`m most concerned of, they`re flipping the script now. Oh, he wasn`t on patrol. He wasn`t doing his Barney Fife routine in the gated community. He was on his way to Target. What is that? So why was he mad-dogging Trayvon? Why was he eye-fornicating him? Why did he get into a confrontation with him? I think this demands even more of an explanation, because the brother has opened up a real Pandora`s box.
[Velez-mitchell:] Terrence Jay.
[Jay:] I couldn`t agree with you any more. When you look at Zimmerman walking with the police officers, you can tell. There`s no physical evidence of any type of altercation. It doesn`t look like he got into a fight. Anybody that plays football, played basketball, that suffered a broken nose or got into a fist fight, knows that`s not how you walk around afterwards. Trayvon Martin was on the phone for six hours, talking with his girlfriend. He went to get some Skittles. That boy wanted to taste the rainbow. He didn`t want to get into any type of physical altercation. And the fact that they`re trying to withhold the information now just proves our point.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I want to bring in a very special guest, Olivia Bergelon. You are a former neighbor of George Zimmerman`s, and you say that you have a completely different picture of George Zimmerman. You say that George Zimmerman helped you after a burglary. Tell us how long ago was the burglary and what happened, Olivia? OLIVIA BERGELON [PH], FORMER NEIGHBOR Well, Terrence, weigh in.
[Jay:] I`m sorry. I don`t first of all I don`t how the fact that two 17-year-old African-Americans, I don`t understand how that why that fits into that story. But if that`s George Zimmerman`s excuse for targeting 17-year-old African-American, is because he burglarized you, I think we have a bigger problem on our hands. This is racial profiling at its finest.
[Velez-mitchell:] I really feel that the issue of looking at people in terms of their race, along with looking at people in terms of what they`re wearing is something that we have to address as a culture. Lisa Wu, you`re a very well-known actress. You`re a former cast member of "Real Housewives of Atlanta." In my opinion, we are overly focused on race in this country. We are increasingly a multiracial, multiethnic, diverse culture where you cannot fit all of humanity into four little squares, four little boxes. It just doesn`t work. And nevertheless, this is how people continue to describe strangers that they see. Simply in terms of that. That, to me, is one of the fundamental problems here.
[Lisa Wu, Actress:] Absolutely, I`m totally outraged. I have a son that`s, you know, 17 years old. It could have been my child, and it`s just unfortunate, because he has on a hoodie. That`s insane. My 5-year-old wears hoodies. So then you could be you know, you feel threatened by him, as well? It`s just insane. It`s unfortunate, and I`m outraged by it.
[Velez-mitchell:] Holly Hughes, criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor. One of the greatest freedoms we have in our country is the freedom to wear whatever we want. I was just reading an article about North Korea, and how regimented their society is, and how hundreds of thousands of people literally are in uniform, their freedoms limited. Isn`t one of the basic freedoms of being being an American the freedom to wear what you want?
[Hughes:] Absolutely. And we see this in rape cases, too, Jane. It wasn`t too long ago that, when a woman got raped, the first question was, "Well, what were you wearing? What did you look like?" Absolutely wrong.
[Velez-mitchell:] More on the other side. More Trayvon Martin in a moment. But first, here is your "Viral Video of the Week."
[Unidentified Female:] Mr. Eagle keeps calling me. And then I have a fox. He`s very quiet. And then I`ve got the cat out here. And the other cat.
[Unidentified Male:] After the shot, obviously, someone, a man got up, and it was kind of like that period of him, I can`t say I watched him get up, but maybe only within like a couple seconds or so, then he was walking towards where I was watching. And I could see him a little bit clearer. You see that it was a Hispanic man, and he was, you know, he didn`t appear hurt or anything else.
[Velez-mitchell:] This reported eyewitness, he doesn`t want to reveal his identity. He spoke to "A.C. 360," and this new eyewitness had some surprising words to say about the gunshot that killed Trayvon Martin. Listen to this from "A.C. 360."
[Unidentified Male:] I heard the gunshots, which to me were more like pops than they were like a bang.
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] You say gunshots, plural. Was there more than one to your memory? Or was there just one?
[Unidentified Male:] Well, the sound that I had from where I was walking, it was more like a pop. And it definitely was more than one pop noise. So I don`t know if it was an echo or anything else. But it definitely made more than one pop.
[Velez-mitchell:] But everything that we`ve heard so far has indicated there was only one gunshot. Even the 911 calls only had one bang from what we could hear anyway. So I want to go out to Ron Smith, a former violent crimes prosecutor. What could this mean for the credibility of this witness?
[Smith:] Well, first of all, in any witness, you`re going to have to question why it came when it came, when the evidence came forward. You know, I serve on the Innocence Commission in Florida. It would surprise people to know that eyewitness, especially a nighttime eyewitness cases are not necessarily the best cases, one way or the other. It does appear that there`s some information here that`s inconsistent with the story previously told. And I agree with those who said earlier, one of the reasons a prosecutor tries to control the flow of information is to at least hold the inconsistencies down until there`s an explanation for them. I think that I think that there`s a real question there will be real questions raised in terms of how this person will perform ultimately either in court or before a grand jury. Because right now, what we know is there`s someone saying these things, and they`re really not being pressed on how they know what they know, where they were. It also appears that it would be, if this information is believed, it would be highly inconsistent with the statements of the man`s injury as he later reported it. I think what the prosecutor will be looking at run reports by the - by the people who came out in the emergency response. I think they`ll be looking to see whether photographs were taken. They should have been taken if there were injuries at the time. I think all of these things they`ll be trying to analyze whether or not there`s self-defense here.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, Holly Hughes, you were saying one of the reasons why the special prosecutor wants to shut down any information is to prevent witnesses from saying something that`s later going to be contradicted and they can be then really grilled on the stand and destroyed on the stand. But if they`re speaking anonymously, isn`t that the same effect?
[Hughes:] Well, you know, they say they`re speaking anonymously now, but later on down the road, we`re going to see subpoenas issued for the release of that information. Because once it goes into court, if in fact, criminal charges are filed, it`s a whole other ball game. So they will find out just like we were talking about earlier with the leaks, you`re going to know who it is, based on their story that they`re telling. So it`s not going to remain anonymous if they get subpoenaed in a criminal trial.
[Velez-mitchell:] But again, that`s why I think Florida`s sunshine rules would do well to apply in this case. We`re going to talk about that on the other side.
[Unidentified Female:] So you think he`s yelling "help"? Yes. All right. What is your There`s gunshots. You just heard gunshots? Yes. How many. Just one.
[Robert Zimmerman, Jr. George Zimmerman`s Brother:] I know that that`s his voice. It sounds just like my voice. He`s my brother. That`s what I sound like if I yell.
[Jane Velez-mitchell, Hln:] Whose voice is screaming help on the 911 call? Is it George Zimmerman`s, as his brother claims; or is it Trayvon Martin as the family of Trayvon Martin`s family. And Jasmyne Cannick, political and race issues commentator, one of the really difficult things about this story covering it from a journalistic perspective is that so much of what`s coming forward is murky. It`s open to interpretation. You hear two completely conflicting accounts of the very same moment.
[Jasmine Cannick, Political And Race Issues Commentator:] Exactly, you do. And for me, it all boils down to this. For me it doesn`t matter if it was Trayvon or Zimmerman. The bottom line is Trayvon is dead. You know, if George Zimmerman was you know, if I were in his shoes let me tell you if I were in Trayvon`s shoes he might have had a problem with me. Because if I`m minding my own business walking down the street and he started following me, there might be some issues. But the bottom line is you don`t show up to a fist fight with a gun. Who is just walking down the street with a.9 mm? That`s just crazy. So at the bottom at the end of the day, I`m not buying me personally I don`t buy Zimmerman`s account of it. But for me, the whole who`s yelling, that`s sideline. The bottom line is Trayvon is dead, Zimmerman hasn`t been arrested and we need to see some justice because you just do not walk down the street with a.9 mm in the middle of a rainstorm, following someone. That`s just crazy.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, Olivia Bertalan, you`re a former neighbor of George Zimmerman`s. You`re saying Zimmerman helped you after a burglary, you`re defending him. What do you say to that, that this guy was walking around packing heat and pointing out strangers and saying they look suspicious? We know that Trayvon had gone to a 7-Eleven and he had purchased skittles and an iced tea and was walking to his dad`s house.
[Olivia Bertalan, Former Neighbor Of George Zimmerman:] I think to say that it`s crazy that he had a gun on him is silly, because apparently, he`s carried a gun all the time. I have never seen it because even the police report said it was inside his pants. So that`s kind of crazy, if he carried it all the time, did you expect him to take it out when he went to Target? No, he probably kept it on him 247. And as far as following him, my husband follows kids in the neighborhood and not because we`re racist, because I`m not in the slightest, at all. I love everyone. But because this was a rampant problem in our neighborhood; there was eight break-ins in the last 14 months, all by the same profile. And it fit this kid; I`m not saying that he was guilty. But my husband probably would have done the same thing, if he felt like he was about to break into someone`s house, he probably would have followed him just to make sure that he wasn`t going to do that.
[Velez-mitchell:] Curtis Sliwa, you`re the founder of the Guardian Angels. There are rules about being a neighborhood watchman. And even though his brother says, if he was on the way to Target, if he is operating in that capacity, from moment to moment, then he was doing a patrol of some sort. What rules did he break?
[Curtis Sliwa, Founder, Guardian Angels:] All right. Let`s just say he was being vigilant, a good citizen, he may have come to the aid of that neighbor like we`ve seen volunteer firefighters risk their lives and fight fires. And then on one day set a fire and get arrested for being an arsonist. It doesn`t mean because he`d do good things most of the time, you`re not capable of all of a sudden messing up. I think what happened was, he was rolling through that gated community, he saw somebody that he felt was suspicious, not because of the hoodie, not because of the color of the skin, he was on a mission, he decided to confront him. He calls 911, which is the proper thing to do. You see something, say something; the encourage people to do that. Cops told him, hey Jack, back off. Now he took it upon himself. He is responsible for Trayvon being dead because the cops who are the ruling authority he`s subordinate to them as a crime watch person he decided to cross that imaginary line. Nobody asked him to do that. This neighbor who was talking about his good work before, she didn`t ask him. There were other 911 calls who got Trayvon saying, we got a suspicious guy in the neighborhood? It was all about Zimmerman`s perception. And look, on that day he might have had all the furniture upstairs Jane rearranged in the wrong rooms. And now the whole world is watching.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. And Terrence J, for me the bigger issue is the Wild West mentality that we as a culture often have. That somehow oh, it`s a good idea to walk around packing heat and in your mind it kind of reminds of like the film "Taxi Driver", you`re going to go out there and you`re going to impose your version of justice on whomever you meet. Do we need to change our mentality? Because I know that the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. who was on the show spoke about practicing nonviolence. And to me, as I practice nonviolence, I go to the famous philosopher, Thich Nhat Hahn, that says "Peace is every step." Peace is every step. Was George Zimmerman being peaceful as he stepped through that community that night?
[Terrence J, Host, Bet:] Absolutely not, and Jane, not only do we need to change our mentality we need to change some of these laws. We need to hold, not only Zimmerman accountable but this judicial system. This is a flawed system. We shouldn`t have vigilantes chasing after kids, hunting them down with guns and then claiming self-defense. It`s not right. It`s just it`s incredible that he`s getting away with this and people will not be happy until he goes to trial.
[Sliwa:] Although Jane, I have dealt with unarmed patrols, as you know, I run the largest in the world 17 countries, 440 cities, 5,000 members and I have run across armed patrols; people risking their lives every day, not making these mistakes. So let`s not judge all of the community patrollers based on Zimmerman, this lone wolf; this guy in his own mission. And it really wasn`t the law. Zimmerman wasn`t following the law because he was the aggressor. It`s clear by everyone`s account. Zimmerman triggered the action, Trayvon was a victim. Now, if Trayvon reacted, then he actually was utilizing the law in defense of himself being stalked, being hunted down. So, nothing wrong with the law it isn`t about hoodies; it`s about what Zimmerman did. It`s the actions of one individual. Let`s not judge everyone else based on this guy not being able to control his mental faculties and making the right judgment because the cops told him to back off. That`s when the mistake was made.
[Velez-mitchell:] Zimmerman told police, he acted out of self-defense, after Trayvon Martin attacked him, punched him, repeatedly slammed his head into the sidewalk; that is what Zimmerman is claiming. But the victims` parents say no way.
[Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin`s Mother:] I have no confidence that my son chased this guy. I really believe that this guy chased my son and my son was protecting himself. My son was exercising his stand your ground rule.
[Zimmerman:] This fantasy, this mythology of if you chased a person is just absolutely false. He didn`t chase anyone.
[Velez-mitchell:] If this ends up going to trial, how important will it be, Holly Hughes, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, that the 911 dispatcher told George Zimmerman, you do not need to follow Trayvon Martin.
[Holly Hughes, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, it`s going to be very big to a jury. Legally speaking, disobeying a command from a dispatcher is not violating any kind of law. But the jury is made up of human beings Jane, and they are going to stop and look at that and say, ok you know what? A law enforcement officer told you we don`t need you to do that, so what was your purpose in continuing to pursue this young man who we know was unarmed and we know based on what we`ve seen that he didn`t have drugs in his system. So Zimmerman on the phone saying, he`s acting funny, he`s on drugs we now know that`s not true either. This young man was just walking along, talking to his girlfriend. So the jury`s going to hold that against him. They`re going to say, if you had listened to the 911 dispatcher, none of this would have happened.
[Velez-mitchell:] And by the way, the autopsy on Trayvon Martin has been complete. We do not have the results. They are also, according to this new edict, going to be sealed and we will not know them until this is played out in court, if it is played out in court. Now, don`t blame the messenger, there`s been a lot of controversial things that have been said in the course of this story unfolding. And we`re going to play one for you right now. George Zimmerman`s father has come under a lot of fire for this statement he gave to WOFL. Listen to this.
[Robert Zimmerman, Sr., Father Of George Zimmerman:] I never foresaw so much hate coming from the President, the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP. Every organization imaginable is trying to get notoriety or profit from this in some way.
[Velez-mitchell:] Lisa Wu, actress, former cast member of "Real Housewives of Atlanta." First of all, I want to point out that President Obama said that well, if he had a son, that son would look like Trayvon. We reviewed everything he said, he didn`t say anything hateful as far as I can observe whatsoever. What do you make of this comment by the father of the shooter, George Zimmerman?
[Lisa Wu, Actress:] He`s a father trying to protect his child, basically is what he`s trying to do. You know, all the stories are conflicting. His brother just said that he wasn`t patrolling, he wasn`t following him so then why would Zimmerman call the dispatcher and say there`s someone that looks, you know, suspect. So none of the stories are adding up. And there was nothing hateful that the President said. Or, you know, people want justice. That`s what we want. We want justice. We want Zimmerman in jail paying for it. Honestly, I know that, you know, I wouldn`t take revenge, but really, I might like somebody in jail, so I`m just praying for the family.
[Velez-mitchell:] I want to tell you about a very special town hall meeting that I`m honored to have been part of. It`s called "Beyond Trayvon: Race and Justice in America". It airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Or you can catch a replay, Saturday on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. right here on HLN. More on the Trayvon Martin story when we come right back in a moment.
[Zimmerman:] What Trayvon said was either to the effect of, I believe, this is going to be easy. You die tonight or you have a piece, you die tonight and then attempted to disarm him. So when you say have a bag of Skittles and an iced tea. Nobody just stood there with a bag of Skittles and iced tea. You were trying force with force when somebody assaults you.
[Unidentified Male:] If he and his friends experimented with marijuana that is still completely irrelevant to George Zimmerman killing their son.
[Fulton:] He killed my son and now they`re trying to kill his reputation.
[Velez-mitchell:] A heart-wrenching case that has captivated the nation. Let`s go out to the phone lines. The very patient Ryan from New York; your question or thought, Ryan?
[Ryan, New York:] Hi Jane, I have a quick comment and a quick question.
[Velez-mitchell:] Sure.
[Ryan:] I have a hoodie that I wear with the hood over my head sometimes just to hide from people, not because I`m someone who is up to no good. Not everyone who wears a hoodie is evil. I think it`s the people who automatically jump to conclusions about others who are far more dangerous. And my question is, the neighborhood watch that hired Zimmerman as a volunteer, if they knew of his previous criminal background, shouldn`t they be made accountable for allowing him to work there?
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, that`s an excellent question. Rod Smith, Zimmerman has problems in the past. Even though his record pretty much was expunged. He was arrested for battery on a police officer, there was a domestic incident. Should they have investigated him first?
[Rod Smith, Former Violent Crimes Prosecutor:] Well, they clearly they should have. But I have to tell you that it will depend on the terms of whether there was a formal agreement, what his responsibilities were. Was he acting within the scope of those responsibilities that evening? You know, I think thought that right now any question about civil liability ought to be on the back burners. The real issue is the search for the truth in a criminal case and whether whether or not this person should be charged and if so, with what he should be charged. And I really think these kinds of discussions are better for later and that would depend on whether or not negligence was present. And we simply wouldn`t know now and this is not the time for that inquiry.
[Velez-mitchell:] I want to go to final thoughts. I want people to predict as we have been doing every day this week, what is going to happen, starting with Curtis Sliwa, founder of Guardian Angels.
[Sliwa:] Oh, no doubt. He`s going to get charged. The grand jury is going to find a bill of goods on him. He`ll face a criminal prosecution and we`re going to get it on all over again. Because obviously he`s already loaded up with material witnesses and people who will speak on his character, I`m talking about Zimmerman.
[Velez-mitchell:] Terrence J. Terrence
[J:] We will watch Zimmerman get charged and that will play out in front of the court. But the bigger issue is the system and the bigger issue is out how we get to a place where this doesn`t happen again.
[Velez-mitchell:] Absolutely right with you. Lisa Wu actress?
[Wu:] I`m praying that Zimmerman is charged and that he pays for what he did to Trayvon and I just pray for their family inner peace.
[Velez-mitchell:] Jasmyne Cannick?
[Cannick:] I think what`s going to happen neck is that autopsy report is probably going to be leaked ME`s office. And I`m with everyone else in terms of wanting to see Zimmerman arrested and see him charged.
[Velez-mitchell:] Holly Hughes, criminal defense attorney.
[Hughes:] Jane, I think we`re going to see charges filed. I also think we are going to see the "Stand Your Ground" law either amended or abolished. This is not just going to play out in a single courtroom; this is going to apply to how the law is applied and how it is drafted in the legislature as well.
[Velez-mitchell:] And what I would like to see is a shift in our culture where we stop trying to put all of humanity into four little boxes. It doesn`t work, there`s going to be 9 billion people on this planet by 2050 and we have tremendous diversity and we have people who are gloriously multiracial, multiethnic. This idea that we have to look at people and look at them in this cartoonish fashion, as either black, white, Asian or Hispanic has got to go. So many people are of a multiethnic, multiracial background and we should celebrate that. And I want to get your thoughts on that Terrence J. Terrence J. I agree with you whole-heartedly. It pains me when we had the comments from Olivia earlier and she categorized her burglar as 17- year-old black men. That had nothing to do with the crime. We have to get to a place as a society where all those color boundaries, and our racial and ethnic differences and our religions are put aside and people are judged off of their merit. I really hope that this tragedy results in a national dialogue. And in that sense, Trayvon will not have died in vain. If we can all learn from this and all change how we judge and not judge. So much news this week, but I think we all deserve a little bit of a laugh break.
[Unidentified Male:] Intelligent people who are making good with [inaudible] politically aware. And they just have absolutely no idea. They`re windowless, [inaudible]. They contain thousands upon thousands of animals. So I decided to go take a look.
[Unidentified Female:] You cannot come on to my property. [inaudible].
[Unidentified Male:] No, ok. Dad, turn it off. I had to be a little more sneaky. So why did they put all these bushes here. Just to hide what they`re doing. I had to see with my own eyes [inaudible] what they`re doing on this side road here. Do people know about this? Not really. I think we`re lost.
[Velez-mitchell:] On this show, we expose secrets and one of America`s most shameful secrets is the way animals are treated on factory farms. We have to warn you, yes, the video you`re about to see is graphic, but it`s not nearly the worst of it. There are 10 billion animals on factory farms, far more animals than there are people in this country. Did you ever see them? How often? If the answer is "not really", there`s a reason. They`re kept behind closed doors. Critics say the way these animals are treated is an abomination. These creatures have as much feeling as your family dog or cat. But critics are saying if you did to your pet what is being done to these animals on these factory farms you would be charged with animal cruelty. Joining me now, Mark DeVries, the director of a new movie, "Speciesism, the Movie" and you just saw a clip of it. Mark, what are you trying to accomplish with this movie?
[Mark Devries, Director Of "speciesism, The Movie":] Well, it started out as an investigation into the secrets you just spoke about, factory farming. Most people don`t realize that animals raised for food in the United States aren`t raised on farms at all anymore. Farms pretty much don`t exist. There are giant factories where thousands of animals are kept in a single building and everything is controlled to the t the lighting, the temperature and so on. But while I was investigating that, I found out that it goes much deeper. An increasing number of philosophers, scientists, lawyers and so on argue that the basic ethical principles that we all hold, on the left and on the right, that hurting others, causing suffering, harm, is a bad thing. And that they argue, like Peter Singer, Gary Francion, Tom Reagan, Richard Dawkins and various others argue that these basic principles extend to members of other species, to non-human animals. They have popularized the term "speciesism", by analogy with racism and sexism to describe what they say is an unthinking assumption again taking the suffering of non-human animals seriously. If they`re right that we can`t justify the distinction between the interests of man and the interest of nonhuman animals that would make what we just described going on, on factory farms is one of the most serious ethical issues of our time, if not the most serious ethical issue of our time.
[Velez-mitchell:] Let`s take another clip from "Speciesism, the Movie".
[Unidentified Male:] The fact that animals are not human, they belong to a different species, isn`t a reason for giving less consideration to their interests. Animals are under attack. They`re under attack. This is a war.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Speciesism. Let`s think about it. Gandhi said "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Nobel Peace prize recipient Albert Shweitzer said until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things man will not find peace himself.
[Unidentified Female:] Well, my thought is, first of all, I feel so bad for the people who were the victims of this animal. I also feel
[Velez-mitchell:] He`s not an animal. Let`s leave them out of this.
[Unidentified Female:] That`s right, Jane. You know, he is an absolute animal. And he is a manipulator.
[Velez-mitchell:] don`t call him an animal. Let`s not call insult animals. I`ve talked about speciesism on my show. If you had ten seconds to talk to America, what would you say, Mark.
[Devries:] Sometimes you have to rethink things that you have always believed. I can`t say to much more now, so visit speciesismthemovie.com.
[Velez-mitchell:] I want to applaud you for tackling this very difficult subject. I want to applaud our viewers for having to the courage to witness what is unpleasant. But we must bear witness to the truth. It`s the first step to changing things. Nancy next. END

[Griffin:] I want to show you some new pictures coming not connected with Hurricane Irene. It's an Amtrak derailment that took place in Nebraska today, the southwestern part of the state. A hundred and seventy-eight people were aboard that train. Three people with nonlife threatening injuries were taken to a hospital. Everybody else is OK. But if you're looking you're looking at this video for the first time, the wreckage of the t train hit some farm equipment and knocked the cars off the tracks there. It is hard to imagine a hurricane this size slamming into New York City. Experts are now warning, even if Irene turns and Manhattan isn't a direct hit, a storm surge could cause a lot of damage there. CNN's John Zarrella has been covering hurricanes across the Southeast for years. He lives in Florida, hurricane country, knows how to work this thing, right? That's why we send him to New Yorkers are preparing.
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Steve and Debbie O'Sullivan live in Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York; a tranquil setting, a beautiful, wide shoreline. They never really worried about hurricanes until now.
[Steve O'sullivan, Resident:] We never really understood, you know, the greater impact of it. We never really had a great fear of them. We used to play out in them.
[Zarrella:] What's changed?
[S. O'sullivan:] Katrina.
[Zarrella:] The O'Sullivans, whose house sits just one block from the ocean, with the Atlantic on one side and Jamaica Bay on the other, are thinking about stocking up on hurricane supplies.
[Debbie O'sullivan, Resident:] I really am seriously considering getting more supplies of water and dry goods. It is a worry for me. I mean, he is not as worried as I am.
[Zarrella:] There may be good reason for concern. New York City hasn't experienced a big hurricane since 1938. With the increase in hurricane activity, combined with the law of averages, many experts believe another major storm may be coming and soon. [on camera]: Is it going to be a slow rise?
[Nicholas K. Coch, Queens College/cuny:] Yes, yes. It's going to come up slowly, about the rate that you'd fill a bathtub.
[Zarrella:] Coastal geologist Nick Coch, himself a New Yorker, believes if a major hurricane hits, it could be catastrophic. Deaths might surpass Katrina.
[Coch:] Because the most dangerous thing in New York is the New Yorker, and the New Yorker thinks they've been tested by everything. But very few New Yorkers have been in the eye of a hurricane and know how uncontrollable the energy is.
[Zarrella:] National Hurricane Center computer models and comprehensive studies are chilling. The water is pushed into lower Manhattan, steadily rising. Sea water pours through the Holland and Brooklyn Battery Tunnels. JFK Airport goes under in an astounding 20 feet of water. [voice-over]: Water in the Wall Street District could be seven feet deep; the subways knocked out.
[Coch:] There's going to be glass all over the street, glass flying through the air.
[Zarrella:] One study puts economic losses from a Category 3 hurricane at $100 billion.
[Jeanne Salvatore, Insurance Information Institute:] Metropolitan areas high population density and very expensive properties. So, you throw a hurricane into that scenario, and results can be really catastrophic.
[Zarrella:] There is a plan in place if necessary to move 2.3 million people out of coastal zones. But how many will go? Dolores Orr heads the community board in Rockaway.
[Dolores Orr, Community Board Chairman:] For those that were raised here, I hear them today talking that they're not going anywhere. And that's a concern.
[Zarrella:] For the O'Sullivans, being prepared just makes sense even here in New York, where hurricanes are as unheard of as the Yankees not making play-offs. John Zarrella, CNN, New York.
[Griffin:] Always leaves us with a chuckle. Chad Myers is with me here. And we're joined down in Miami and south Florida with the former director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield. Max, thanks so much for joining us. You have said this is part of a nightmare scenario you had always worried about going up the Northeast Coast. Can you explain that to us?
[Max Mayfield, Former Director, National Hurricane Center:] Mainly as we talked previously here is that large population and not really hurricane experienced. By the time they get north of Carolinas, the hurricane is a very infrequent thing, and I understand people not focusing on the hurricanes, but they really need to heed the advice of the officials. This is the real thing.
[Griffin:] It's a two. We just saw the numbers that we kind of focus on, Max, a two, goes down to a one. Many times we're warning people about threes and fours and increasing. Are you concerned at all that these numbers are going to get in the way of people making good decisions?
[Mayfield:] It did in hurricane Ike. It was only a category two, yet they had a storm surge. And if you remember hurricane Isabel in 2003, that was only a category two, but it hit Ocracoke Island. We ended up with six million people without power between North Carolina and New England. And most of those power outages occurred in areas outside hurricane force winds. You don't need hurricane force winds to cause trees to fall down and power lines to fall down. And especially with all the rain you have up there in the northeast, this is a real concern.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Hey, Max, it's Chad Myers. We know that the storm can go left and right. But just put on your hat for a second and tell me, what's your biggest fear? Or what do you think will be the biggest problem with this land falling hurricane in the northeast? Where is it?
[Mayfield:] You have to have your plan for all the hazards, and that includes the storm surge and the wave action on top of the surge, the strong winds, and the inland fresh water flooding. There's going to be a tremendous rain, six to 10 inches, maybe 15 inches according to the National Weather Service. That's going to cause a lot of problems, and can cause loss of life if we're not very, very careful.
[Myers:] What happens to Long Island Sound when this wave action and wind action pushes all that water to the East River from basically two different directions?
[Mayfield:] That's a real good question. The circulation is so large on the north side of long island. It will be coming in from the south and from the east and that could be a problem there for sure. And I don't want to say anything contradictory to what they put up at the National Weather Service. I know my friends in the weather forecast offices and hurricane center. They're working very, very closely with the local and state emergency officials. I want to be sure there's a consistent message. I feel very, very strongly about that. And those in the emergency management, they've written those plans, they know what can happen communicating with the forecasters and the national weather service there. We want to make sure that the people respond to those messages from their local officials.
[Griffin:] We're looking at a local picture from space showing the sheer size of this thing. And of course with the size that also means the duration of rain is going to be longer and longer. But do you guys, I'll throw this out do you, Max, and Chad, any chance this thing just stalls and sits and dumps rain, or can we count on it to keep moving?
[Mayfield:] No. It's going to keep moving. There's no doubt about that. In fact the forward speed will increase the farther north it gets. But it is going to have this large rain shield out ahead of it. And there's going to be a heavy swath of rain, you know, well in advance. In fact, you know, those outer rain bands start in New York City on Saturday afternoon, and then the tropical storm force winds, you know, likely that evening, and the wind is going to continue to increase and hurricane force winds sometime on Sunday morning. So you want to have all your preparations done before the tropical storm force winds get there. And so really you've got today and you've got the morning on Saturday. You don't want to wait too long here.
[Griffin:] Max, thanks, always appreciate it. Chad, thank you, too. Still ahead, I'm going to speak with a bar owner in New York's Fire Island where there's already a mandatory evacuation order. But he's not going anywhere. Also this
[Unidentified Female:] We don't know what we might encounter in here and it's very, very dark. This is incredible. There is literally a city under here. But you can see wow.
[Griffin:] Uncovering the secret tunnels beneath Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Libya. We're also getting some disturbing word that hundreds of prisoners who are right now walking free in Libya have some dark histories. CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruikshank joins me live with brand-new information on that. And we'll also continue bringing you the latest on Hurricane Irene. Stay right here.

[Blitzer:] President Obama is insisting taxing the rich is key to helping reduce the long-term federal debt.
[Obama:] Some will argue we should not even consider ever, ever raising taxes, even if only on the wealthiest Americans. It's just an article of faith to them. I say that at a time when the tax burden on the wealthy is at its lowest level in half a century, the most fortunate among us can afford to pay a little more. I don't need another tax cut. Warren Buffett doesn't need another tax cut. Not if we have to pay for it by making seniors pay more for Medicare or by cutting kids from Head Start or by taking away college scholarships that I wouldn't be here without, and that some of you wouldn't be here without. And here's the thing: I believe that most wealthy Americans would agree with me. They want to give back to their country, a country that's done so much for them.
[Blitzer:] Let's dig deeper right now with Mary Snow, she's working this part of the story for us. This is a huge controversy, extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. The president says he is not going to go along with it anymore. Go ahead and give us your fact check.
[Mary Snow, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, all right, Wolf, as you know and your viewers know this, this is just one part of the president's plan, but budget experts say taxing the rich won't bring in as much revenue as people might think.
[Snow:] He said it before and President Obama vowed again not to extend Bush-era tax cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year.
[Obama:] We cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society.
[Snow:] If those tax cuts are not renewed, it would mean that taxes would go up for about 2 percent of the population, the president calls them the richest Americans. But budget experts say it's not enough to help lower the deficit, even with spending cuts. Here's a hypothetical scenario. The Congressional Budget Office crunched the numbers, if taxes were 1 percentage point for people in the top two tax brackets, it would amount to $115 billion over a decade. But raise taxes by that same amount, 1 percentage point, on all the other brackets, and it comes to just under $500 billion. CNNMoney's Jeanne Sahadi says there are other reasons why the richest Americans cannot generate the kind of revenue that is need.
[Jeanne Sahadi, Sr. Writer, Cnnmoney.com:] The income of the very wealthy tends to be more volatile than the income of most people because it's tied up with investments. And when the economy goes south, often their income gets hurt. So you're not going to get as much revenue from them as you might expect, especially when you need it in a downturn. And two, there are just not that many rich people. As much as we think there are a lot of them, they're not enough to carry the country in terms of deficit reduction.
[Snow:] But with the 2012 presidential election around the corner, budget experts say no one wants to raise taxes on the middle class. Ron Haskins, who served as a senior adviser on welfare policy to President George W. Bush, says both Democrats and Republicans are wrong.
[Ron Haskins, Sr. Economic Fellow, Brookings Institution:] Republicans are betting that if they say no new taxes, the American people will like that and we'll try to do it all on the spending side. The problem is spending affects the American public, too. A lot of people are going to lose their benefits. And Democrats say we'll just tax the rich and not the middle class, but that won't produce enough revenue, so that's not going to work either.
[Snow:] And if the last fight of the Bush-era tax cuts is any indication this will be a fierce battle, the president had vowed many times he wouldn't extend the Bush-era tax cuts, but in December he did. He said he did so in order to prevent a tax hike on middle class Americans. And Wolf, want to remind our viewers, for much more on this debate, you can check out, of course, CNN's Money Web site.
[Blitzer:] And the debate is only beginning, Mary. Thanks very much. Let's dig deeper right now with CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger. The president had been on the sidelines over these past several months, waiting for the Republicans, presumably, to come up with their plan. Now he's playing. He's part of this fight right now. He's no longer on the sidelines.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Sr. Political Analyst:] No, not on the sidelines anymore. And I think as we go through the 2012 campaign, we may very well look back at this speech as the first speech of the 2012 campaign. I don't know about you, but what I heard the president he seemed almost emotional in a way that I hadn't heard him before, particularly over the issue of Medicare. Just listen to what he said, and then listen to what the House budget chairman, Paul Ryan, said in response.
[Obama:] I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves.
[Rep. Paul Ryan , Wisconsin:] Exploiting people's emotions of fear, envy and anxiety is not hope, it's not change. It's partisanship.
[Borger:] Well, it was very partisan, Wolf, and we're used to seeing the president stand back and let other people draw the bright red lines. Well, today, he drew the bright red line, not only on no vouchers for Medicare, but also on, as Mary Snow was talking about, the tax cuts for the wealthy, extending them. And he said, "I did that once and I refuse to renew them again." So there isn't any wiggle room in that one, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Well, we've heard some statements like that over the past couple of years, and he did eventually find some wiggle room because he had no choice. He's got to be pragmatic, he's got to compromise. But on that issue, he's got some strong political base on which to deal.
[Borger:] Sure, he does. On Medicare, of course, with seniors. But on the tax issue, he's on very safe terrain. You know, we had to deal with this during the lame-duck session when, in the end, they ended up extending the tax cuts for the wealthy. Take a look at this poll we did back in December, when it was a large issue. And you can see by about a 2-1 margin, 37 percent, favored a tax cut extending a tax cut for Americans with more than $250,000 and 62 percent opposed it. So, you see, not very popular. The question is, Wolf, where will the public stand on the larger debate that we're about to enter into? And that is the question of tax reform. Are they willing for a lower marginal rate to give up some pretty sacrosanct tax deductions like their home mortgage and charitable giving? That's going to be the really interesting debate.
[Blitzer:] Yes, but e said the president said only the richest would give up some of those deductions.
[Borger:] That's right.
[Blitzer:] The middle class would not be affected.
[Borger:] And because it's the richest who itemize more than anybody else.
[Blitzer:] Right.
[Borger:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] All right. This debate is going to be fierce, intense, and I think you're absolutely right, today was the opening salvo of campaign 2012 for the race for the White House.
[Borger:] On to the debt ceiling.
[Blitzer:] There's some significant differences there no matter who the Republican nominee turns out to be.
[Borger:] Exactly.
[Blitzer:] We're sitting down with four House freshmen members. Their thoughts on how Speaker John Boehner is doing, that's coming up next.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. I want to point out that Cal Ripken, Jr., and I share the exact same playlist. That's Stevie Wonder. Don't say that. I'm 23. He's been called baseball's ironman because for 16 seasons he never missed a game. Now hall of famer Cal Ripken, Jr., is using that to give back. He's just back from Joplin, Missouri. The town, of course, that was devastated by a tornado a year ago. He worked with volunteers and "Habitat for Humanity" to rebuild destroyed homes. It's nice to have you with us. Why Joplin? I mean, in a way it feels like there are so many places devastated where you could spend your time. Why was Joplin so important to you?
[Cal Ripken Jr., Played For Baltimore Orioles For 21 Seasons:] I've been with Energizer for the last six years. Energizer partnered in their initiative this year with "Habitat for Humanity" in a 13-city tour. The first one was in our backyard at Joplin. When you see the destruction from the tornado, you can't get a feel for it when watching it on TV. It looks horrible. When you're standing there, you seen the scale of it all.
[O'brien:] Yes, 13 miles of destruction. It took out the city.
[Ripken:] They have cleaned it up now. So we were there building two homes as part of this project. I found out that I had skill with hammer and nail. The spirit there is really great to be a part of that.
[O'brien:] Do you miss baseball?
[Ripken:] There are certain aspects of the game you miss. I had a chance to play it almost consecutively to a point where I know what it feels like to be good and bad and fail and succeed and all that kind of stuff. You do miss being on the inside and being part of something and you're in the know. Now you watch it like everybody else and you feel like I'm not on the inside anymore. It is true. You miss being part of a team.
[O'brien:] Let me ask you a question. I'm not a giant baseball watcher, but I love professional sports because I love the lessons that people learn from professional sports. So if you could say one thing that you walked away from at the end of 16-year career where you had incredible highs, what was the life lesson you got out of it?
[Ripken:] I think you learn about your individual responsibility because even part of a team, everybody relies on everybody else to do their job in concert with everyone else. So the individual responsibility and the responsibility you have to the team is first and foremost and you have to mesh it together. We're all different trying to have a common goal. We call it chemistry in sports. Maybe it's culture in other workplaces. But certainly, it's understanding your role on the team and then bringing it all together.
[Cain:] How old were you when you retired?
[Ripken:] I was 41.
[Cain:] You started playing baseball when you were how old?
[Ripken:] I started when I was eight so I had a career from 8 to 41.
[Cain:] So when you are done with baseball at 41. You have been a baseball player at your entire life at that point. That's what you've done every day. How hard is it to wake up on that next day and define yourself? This is what I am now. I'm no longer a baseball player.
[Ripken:] I think a lot of us have problems with that. I mean, I saw a lot of players retire in the early part of my career and they were lost a bit. I started preparing for it, doing things in the off- season. Doing things in the business sense almost to make a transition so I wouldn't be sort of left out. I'm not to say that I figured it all out. But certainly from the day I left baseball, we own three minor league teams, I have two kids' complexes and put a suit on and went to work as a sense of purpose. So you didn't sit around and try to figure out what you want to do. I stayed active. I still stay active.
[Lizza:] Is that a problem for a lot of colleagues that get out and don't know what to do with themselves and don't how to make money and have a different career?
[Ripken:] If you're good at anything, you immerse yourself into it. That's all you do. That's what baseball players do and you're out and now you have to figure out now what? I think there are some people who struggle with that. Once you find something, immerse yourself into something again.
[Fugelsang:] I think celebrity is one of the goofiest things that people have created, but to use yours and help these people. Were you aware of "Habitat for Humanity's" work before hand? Did you have any opinion on them?
[Ripken:] I had some exposure to it, but Energizer certainly brought me in. We've done some great things in community. We started the Energizer keep going hall of fame to bring highlights to everyday people that do great things. This effort is to really go in and have a significant impact in 13 cities.
[O'brien:] Was it weird for them to be like hammering next to Cal Ripken, Jr.?
[Ripken:] I guess, kind of.
[O'brien:] They want to talk baseball.
[Ripken:] To a point you shine a light you get attention for being a baseball player. Now you shine a light on good things. I really enjoyed that aspect.
[Fugelsang:] You can lift heavier boards than Jimmy Carter can.
[Ripken:] I'll tell you what. These houses are the most nailed houses around. Everyone has a hammer and everyone has nails. They will never fall down.
[Fugelsang:] How can people help? If they want to emulate what you're doing, if they want to help these folks, how can they get involved?
[Ripken:] Look, habitat.org is a way you can go. It's on the web site with Energizer. It's on Habitat's web site. I mean, the cool thing is we all can act individually and make an impact, but if we act collectively we can make a bigger impact, which is what this is.
[O'brien:] Would you go back to baseball tomorrow saying we would love to have you back. We'll start you?
[Ripken:] As a player? No. I couldn't go back as a player.
[Fugelsang:] What about as DH?
[Cain:] No. That was an interesting pause. How about as a manager? How about inside a front office?
[Ripken:] I think there's some interest I have to come back to use baseball expertise. I wanted to be there for my kids to get them through college. My last kid is a senior in high school. I could look at the camera saying I'm available so somebody offer me a job.
[Cain:] I doubt this is your application. Have you talked to anybody? Talked to the Orioles?
[Ripken:] I've been flattered to be asked whether I want to manage a couple different teams. I thought if you're not interested don't go through the interview process. Just be honest with them.
[O'brien:] So you are telling us fall 2012 you'll be managing a team. Goes off to school in the fall, he's a senior. I've done the math. It's nice to have you. It's great to see you. Thanks for being with us. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, some breaking news that we're following about this British phone hacking scandal. Lawmakers in parliament declaring Rupert Murdoch unfit to run a major international company, which, of course, is exactly what he does. The latest developments from London coming to you live. And al Qaeda's attack plans hidden in pornography. Investigators say it's a gold mine of information and a threat about bombs on U.S. bound planes. We'll update you on that. Plus Rescue 411. A 4'11" firefighter was exactly the right size to save a toddler who fell 20 feet down a drain pipe. She was the only one who could fit. We'll talk to her about the rescue. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in just a moment.

[Andrew Stevens, Cnn International Anchor:] Indonesia is a country of contrasts. With its 17,000 islands, the sprawling archipelago is a melting pot of ethnicities, religions, languages, and cultures. Its people make up the world's fourth most populous nation. Its economy is the largest in Southeast Asia. The man at the helm is President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Currently in his second five-year term, the former army general was elected in 2004 in the country's first direct presidential election. It was a further sign that the former Dutch colony was embracing democracy following the 1998 resignation of the former dictator Suharto and ending decades of autocratic rule. Since President Yudhoyono's inauguration, the country has seen some major transformations including an expanding economy and the strengthening of international relations. But, with three years left, now, on his final presidential term, the 61-year-old still faces many challenges. Like his fight against corruption. Curbing environmental degradation. And addressing a lack of modern infrastructure. This week on "Talk Asia", as Indonesia plays host to the world economic forum, we sit down for a rare interview with the country's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
[Stevens:] Mr. President, thank you so much for your time today. I'd like to start by talking about the economy, because it's quite a story at the moment. Foreign investment is pouring in, now. If you look at the investment grade, it's about to get investment grade rating probably within 12 months or so. A growth rate of 6 12 percent, perhaps stronger to come. Is this growth at this level now sustainable?
[Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President Of Indonesia:] Yes, this is a great challenge for Indonesia. To maintain sustainability of our economic growth. This is why we're working hard to sustain that growth. But growth is not our only economic target. We have other targets as well, such as job creation, poverty reduction, and the protection of the environment. One area we need to improve is Indonesia's investment climate so that we can attract more investors to our country. In this context, we are developing a master plan for the next 15 years on how to speed up and expand our economy. We are establishing six economic corridors or highways that will link various zones or areas of growth. We believe these measures will maximize our ability to sustain our present economic growth.
[Stevens:] I've been talking to businesspeople inside and outside of Indonesia. And the one thing they virtually all tell me is that a lack of modern infrastructure is holding back growth in Indonesia. What is your government doing about that?
[Yudhoyono:] Yes, I realize that infrastructure is a particular challenge for our investment climate. Because of this, in the next five to 10 years, we have plans to prioritize infrastructure development. Be it ports, airports, transport, power plants, and other infrastructure that is needed. However, the government budget for infrastructure development is limited, and that is why, to cover the gap, we need to engage in public-private partnership and give the private sector a greater role in our development. We have big targets, but I am confident that participation between the government and the private sector will help speed up the process by building more infrastructure and promoting more economic growth which, in turn, will attract more investors.
[Stevens:] In 2008, the Western World experienced a global financial crisis. It was centered in the U.S. and in Europe. Indonesia was not badly hit and many emerging markets were not badly hit. But I wonder, what lessons did you draw from that in regards to your own plans for the development of the Indonesian economy?
[Yudhoyono:] Yes, Indonesia is pleased we were able to minimize the impact of the financial crisis in 2008-2009. Growth of 4.5 percent was respectable in view of the world economic situation at the time. One lesson that I would like to point out is the importance of togetherness when facing a crisis like that one. Togetherness. Cooperation between government, private sector, and state enterprises. They need to work together so that growth does not drop and unemployment does not rise. And, in 2009, this is what we did. This is how we managed to minimize the impact of the global financial crisis.
[Stevens:] 13 years ago, under President Suharto, big business was seen as virtually part of government. To describe Indonesia's economy and development, the words "crony capitalism" were used. Are you satisfied with how far Indonesia has come since then?
[Yudhoyono:] The truth is, change cannot happen as quickly as turning over your hand and it cannot happen overnight. Change or reformation is a process. Sometimes it has to be done gradually, but steadily. Actually, the culture of "crony capitalism" has been corrected with transparency and accountability. The practice of collusion between government officials and business has been rectified. And it is not like what happened 10 or 20 years ago. I see that we are headed in the right direction. I admit, there are still cases of collusion, but I think the overall spirit or the agenda of embarking on fair, level business practices, from my perspective, is moving forward.
[Stevens:] But, the corruption watchdog, Transparency International, still rates Indonesia quite poorly on their corruption index. You have another three years in office. What would you like to achieve on this issue by the time you leave? What do you think you can achieve?
[Yudhoyono:] Corruption is, indeed, our biggest challenge. My biggest challenge. I have to be frank on that. In fact, since I assumed office in 2004, Indonesia has launched the most aggressive anti-corruption campaign in our history. And the results speak for themselves. About 150 senior officials have faced the law and some of them have been convicted and sent to jail. And there is now a big movement in our society against corruption. We actually have achieved certain targets. But, looking at other countries' experiences, Hong Kong eradicated corruption in about 13 years. I expect that Indonesia will need about 15-20 years to implement a system that will spur a stronger culture or a climate of fear of corruption. I think I still have enough time in the next three years, and I will continue to intensify efforts to combat corruption.
[Stevens:] Coming up, lessons from the past. President Yudhoyono offers advice to pro-democracy leaders in North Africa and the Middle East. I want to talk about Indonesian democracy. This is a young, but entrenched democracy in a predominantly Muslim country. Do you think Indonesia can be used as a model for the emerging democratic movements we see today in North Africa and the Middle East?
[Yudhoyono:] Yes, Indonesia can be a model where Islam and democracy exist hand and hand with no contradiction between the two. Despite the fact that we are still facing some challenges to becoming a role model, as the world's largest Muslim Nation that practices a true democracy. In general, I'm pleased to say that we can uphold democracy and, at the same time, respect Islamic values that exist in this country. If Indonesia can do something like that, then countries in the Middle East and North Africa can also achieve it. Of course, they need to know that Indonesia's experience has not been easy. There have been some difficulties. Some ups and downs setbacks. But we insist that democracy, Islam, and modernity can exist together. In that sense, I think our experience, perhaps, can be a model for other countries in developing their democracies.
[Stevens:] Following up on that, Mr. President, what piece of advice would you offer to the democracy leaders in those areas?
[Yudhoyono:] Actually, there is no single model for democracy to be adopted by countries. There is a saying that "one size does not fit all". The experiences of other countries in developing democracy or achieving reform successfully can also be learned from. In the case of Egypt, for example, the military played a crucial role in its transition. Indonesia, too, had a unique experience in that respect. Previously, the military was very strong, very powerful, and had an influential political role. During our reform process, I was also actively involved in implementing internal reforms in the military. Afterwards, the military relinquished its political role. The military started respecting democracy and human rights. And, therefore, it was able to become part of the reform process. Perhaps those are the lessons that can be learned by our friends in the Middle East and North Africa.
[Stevens:] You were reelected in 2009 in a landslide victory. Your popularity rating around the time was about 90 percent. But, there are those who will say you have not spent your political capital enough. That you have not been bold enough in reforms, in tackling extremism. What would you say to those people? How would you respond to that?
[Yudhoyono:] During the elections in both 2004 and 2009, I got 60 percent of the vote. But Indonesia is a multi-party democracy and my party, Party Democrat, won only 26 percent of the seats in parliament. It's not even 30 percent far from half. In order to ensure political stability, I need to engage in give-and-take, build consensus, and engage in negotiations without sacrificing principals. So sustainability and government stability can be preserved. That is the difference between the 60 percent I got of the national vote and the real politics in parliament, which is the decision-maker of government policies. So, in terms of the fight against terrorism and radicalism, I think I've been very clear about this. I was a target of three assassination attempts, including a bomb aimed to be exploded at my home. This proves that I've never doubted or feared in fighting terrorism and radicalism. What's important for me is to keep the rule of law, because I don't want to do this by resulting in authoritarian ways. There are people who want to solve the issue promptly, but we need to weigh up whether it's good for democracy, whether it's better for long-term objectives, or whether it's good for the balance in this country and its transformation. Therefore, I will use my political capitol correctly in accordance to the system and rules. But my priority is to keep the political stability in this country that enables me to do my job. It's impossible to conduct your duties amid political turbulence.
[Stevens:] You, as you've just told us, have been a target of an assassination attempt. How worried are you that religious extremism is going to destabilize Indonesia's political system?
[Yudhoyono:] Religious extremism happens everywhere in the world. After 9-11, we've witnessed more extremism globally, including Indonesia. We continue to work harder and implement a program of de- radicalization in society. And how we promote this is through an education program and promoting moderation through moderate Islamic leaders. So, by doing all this, radicalism can be kept in check in Indonesia and, in fact, can be reversed. Our hope is to directly combat terrorism and, secondly, facilitate and guide the public. I do hope that radicalism can be controlled and continue to be weakened in the future.
[Stevens:] Is this de-radicalization program showing results yet, or is it too early?
[Yudhoyono:] Actually, there have been a lot of terrorists that we've apprehended and terrorist plots that we've preempted. We've arrested many terrorists and many have been processed through the courts. So, these are examples that radicalism in Indonesia remains in control and weakened. From these examples, it seems not too alarming, but I do feel that it is a challenge and if we don't handle it properly, it could potentially be a problem in this country. Therefore, despite results that we've achieved so far, we continue to do more, but the fight isn't over yet.
[Stevens:] In your opinion, Mr. President, how big is the radical movement?
[Yudhoyono:] I have to say that there are still a few cells within our society. Radicalism or extremism has existed for many years in Indonesia. Amid international developments, there have been influences from the Middle East in Indonesia or from other places. Radicalism is rising, but I can't say how big they are in terms of percentage. But these cells do exist. And what worries us is that no matter how small they are, with the advances in the information era, openness era, democracy in the human rights era extremist teachings or radicalism could disturb the majority of moderate Muslims. That's why we need to handle it well.
[Stevens:] Coming up, President Yudhoyono reveals his solutions to the rising tensions in the South China Sea. It was a long-awaited homecoming for U.S. President Barak Obama when he arrived in Indonesia last year. The country where he spent four years of his childhood. Although this trip was brief, less than 24 hours, he used the visit to appeal for better relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world. And he also praised Indonesia for bridging religious and racial divides.
[Barak Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] May our two nations, working together, with faith and determination, share these truths with all mankind.
[Stevens:] The U.S. President, Barak Obama, will again visit Indonesia this year. How are relations between the U.S. and Indonesia?
[Yudhoyono:] Bilateral relations between the U.S. and Indonesia are in good condition. We have a comprehensive partnership, which was signed during President Barak Obama's visit here last year. This process was initiated in 2008. Overall, our relationship is moving on well and there's plenty of opportunities to strengthen our cooperation. Of course, President Obama has a special emotional connection to Indonesia on account of his experiences here in his youth. And this is a good asset for us to develop and foster closer relations between our two nations.
[Stevens:] Across Asia, we have seen rising tensions between China and some of its neighbors. A lot of it centers on the South China Sea. Are you concerned for Asia about China's growing assertiveness in this region?
[Yudhoyono:] We are embracing the Asian spirit and, along with our Asian dialogue partners such as China, Japan, South Korea, and India, we will work toward cooperation and the preservation of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. It must be done peacefully. And, therefore, we try to prevent the use of force, power politics, and military might as a way to resolve conflicts in this region. Regarding the South China Sea, we hope that tension or problems can be resolved diplomatically and a political solution is found in a peaceful way. That is our hope. I know that there are overlapping claims in the South China Sea, which includes several Asian members and China. I really hope we can find a peaceful solution. China is an emerging power economically, politically, and in its military. I hope that the rise of China could be part of the solution for Asia and the world. If China could play this role, it wouldn't cause fresh tension and it could strengthen global cooperation.
[Stevens:] This is a country with a population of about 250 million people. A young country. A vibrant democracy. Do you think there is a case that Indonesia should be another "I" in BRIC? Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, and China?
[Yudhoyono:] Yes, that is for history to decide. How we grow as an emerging economy. But, definitely, we are working hard to increase our potential growth and maintain our economic sustainability. If Indonesia's economy grows enough to be considered an emerging economy, we will be pleased. Indonesia is part of the G20. Our economy is one of the 20 largest in the world. So, this is momentum we have to keep.
[Stevens:] You will leave office in 2014. What then? Retirement? Another job? Diplomacy, perhaps?
[Yudhoyono:] I've discussed with my wife and family that, after 10 years leading this country, I will leave politics. It's better for me to do other things. Perhaps helping educate young leaders or maybe write a book sharing my experience as a leader of this country. That's probably my plan in the future. I will become an ordinary citizen who wishes to see Indonesia perform better. I will try to help future presidents do their job better than I've done.
[Stevens:] This is a question you will probably get many times from now. And that is the question of your legacy. 10 years as president what would you like your legacy to be?
[Yudhoyono:] For my legacy, I will leave it to history. For the people to judge me. But, perhaps, I would like to be remembered as a leader who worked hard and gave all his best in an era of transformation, an era full of challenges. And, with all the achievements and shortcomings, I want to be remembered as someone who tried to do his best. I'm happy with that, because transformation will continue after my presidency. I hope to be remembered as one of the leaders who brought significant change in this country. That's probably how I would like it to be, if we're talking about legacy.
[Stevens:] Can I just ask you one more question, just about your music your love of music? Do you mind?
[Yudhoyono:] Go ahead.
[Stevens:] Thank you, sir, thank you. You are, of course, famous for your singing voice. I wonder, what does music bring into your life? How important is it to you?
[Yudhoyono:] When I was a teenager, I joined a band and I played in that band for about seven years. I like music and songs. After joining politics and becoming president, I became aware of the pressure to make decisions for the public, who could sometimes be impatient. Their problems are delicate and complex. The best way to escape from these pressures is to write songs to express my thoughts and feelings and communicate with the people. And, other than that, it's my favorite pastime. I usually ask my staff to sing together as a way to relax. And this is quite important for me to relieve the pressure. This is what I wanted to relate to them through composing songs and releasing albums.
[Stevens:] Mr. President, thank you so much for your time.
[Yudhoyono:] You're welcome.
[Stevens:] It's been a great honor. Thank you.
[Yudhoyono:] Thank you, thank you.

[King:] We're live in South Carolina tonight. And this is the home state of a man who's become an inspiration to Tea Party activists from coast to coast. Even though some consider U.S. Senator Jim DeMint a kingmaker, among conservatives vying for elected office, he's not endorsing anyone ahead of his state's crucial presidential primary. But Senator DeMint hardly sitting on the sidelines. He has just published a new book just this month, "Now or Never: Saving America From Economic Collapse." Senator DeMint joining us from his home base of Greenville tonight. Senator, after the debate last night, a lot of the Republican rivals criticized Governor Romney's record as the CEO of Bain Capital, suggesting my words, not theirs that he was heartless, taking money out of companies, causing people to lose their jobs. Walking out, you told our political reporter Peter Hamby quote "This Bain stuff is a crock." Why is it a crock? Is it not fair to question Governor Romney's record?
[Sen. Jim Demint , South Carolina:] Well, yes, it's fair to question. And Governor Romney and all Republicans need to learn how to defend free enterprise. Any difficult business decision could look heartless. I know I was a businessman for years, and I stayed up countless nights worrying about having to let one person go. It's a terrible thing to do. But it's not nearly as bad as when the government's trying to run our economy. We see that with Solyndra and other money that we're giving away. So, Republicans need to help Americans understand that one of the reasons for our prosperity is that we have a free enterprise system that sometimes is difficult and painful, but, frankly, we need more business leaders who have made painful decisions in Washington, because we don't seem to be able to make any.
[King:] As you know, some of these Republican rivals and we already hear it from the Democratic National Committee and the Obama campaign part of these attacks on Governor Romney is to say, here's a wealthy guy. He doesn't understand blue-collar South Carolinians or blue-collar Americans all across the country. The governor's been under some pressure to release his income taxes. Today, he said he would do that soon. He says he pays a rate of about 18 percent. And in discussing his income, one of the things he said, Senator, listen here.
[Romney:] And then I get speaker's fees from time to time, but not very much.
[King:] "Speaker's fees from time to time, but not very much," emphasis on "not very much." If you look at Governor Romney's financial disclosure form which he filed, in the last year that form covers, he made more than $374,000 in speaking fees in just that one year. Is an average South Carolinian going to have a problem, Senator, with a man who made $374,000 in speaking fees and then describes that as not very much?
[Demint:] Well, I think the average South Carolinian would like to make that much. And that's how our systems works, is all of us aspire to do better. I don't know how many South Carolinians will resent that. I guess we will have to find out on Saturday. But I think, for the most part, South Carolinians are willing to stand on their own and work hard. And we don't generally want to take from what other people are making.
[King:] We talked a lot in the early months of this campaign. Tea Party activists in your state, Tea Party activists all around the country, many of them, Senator, were hoping you would join the race for president. You decided not to do that. Now you have decided not to endorse as your state's big primary approaches on Saturday. Some people look at Governor Romney, and they look at his record, they say he's an established politician, but they don't view him as a Tea Party darling. And some people say if he wins South Carolina and he's the de facto nominee of the Republican Party, one conclusion from that will be that the Tea Party fizzled, that it didn't have much influence this cycle. Is that fair?
[Demint:] No, it's not. I have got a lot of Tea Party supporters, and they seem to be equally split among all of these candidates. There are a number of them supporting Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, Perry, Ron Paul. I think people are confused about what the Tea Party is. I mean, they were a broad cross-section of Americans who came together concerned about our debt and our spending. And they're interested in constitutional, limited government. And so they're not one group of people. They're thousands of small groups all over the country. No one can speak for them. And I certainly can't either. But I see the ones that I have worked with here and around the country pretty well divided because they see things they like and they don't like about all of the candidates. I don't think anyone would say we have got a perfect candidate in this race. But we have got some good ones that would do a heck of a lot better than what we have got in the White House right now.
[King:] Well, it's a fascinating race in your home state right now, Senator, could decide who the Republican nominee is. We appreciate your time tonight, Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. We will see you in a few days, sir.
[Demint:] Thank you, John.
[King:] And if you look up thank you. And if you try to look up Senator DeMint or anyone else on Wikipedia tomorrow, guess what? You won't find anything. It's part of a protest that has some of the world's most prominent Web sites going blank. We will tell you why in just a minute. Plus, if hitting the drive-through is too much of a hassle hitting the drive through too much of a hassle? Well, Burger King says it will deliver deliver you a Whopper. That's if you live in the right places.

[Baldwin:] OK. So, last summer, CNN's Drew Griffin went to Mississippi to investigate and uncovered surveillance video of this hate crime, and I want to bring Drew in. But first, before we get to the news of the day, remind us, I mean I forever have that seared in my head, that video.
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Correspondent:] There was a group of teenagers who specifically left a party hunting for a black man to beat up. It was that quick, that easy an explanation and it was their own explanation. And Deryl Dedmon, the person who pleaded guilty yesterday and was sentenced to two life terms, is the person who actually killed James Craig Anderson. And we do have the surveillance video that was caught at a hotel of this large pickup truck, an F-250 pickup truck driving over a man who was walking down the street. That was the act of murder. Today what's happening is, for the first time in the case involving death
[Baldwin:] There it is.
[Griffin:] There's the surveillance tape. Today the department of justice has filed hate crime charges using the Matthew Shepard law for the first time in a case involving a death, not just against Deryl Dedmon, but two of the other people who were there, John Rice and another fellow named Dylan Butler.
[Baldwin:] So it was these three guys in total. These three white guys.
[Griffin:] It gets a little more complicated than that. It was a group of seven white teenagers from Rankin county, Mississippi, who on a Saturday night, drunk, decided to drive 19 miles into Jackson, Mississippi, decided to find a black person to beat up. They found the first black person and they killed him. And four of those people remain uncharged. We expect possibly more charges to come later this afternoon in Jackson federal court. But I think what is interesting is we may see the same thing happen down in Florida where the department of justice comes in, applies the Matthew Shepard hate crime law and perhaps seeks prosecution against George Zimmerman under the hate crime legislation.
[Baldwin:] Again, just want to warn our viewers because we hadn't wanted to play it in full, the surveillance video, right, if I remember correctly, is from a nearby motel. It's tough to watch. Just a fair warning for those of you as we play out the surveillance video, and you're potentially connecting the dots to what we may see in Florida. You mentioned this 19-year-old Deryl Dedmon who is the one who will now be serving two concurrent life sentences. What are we looking at?
[Griffin:] You can see the kids going back and forth. They're actually going and beating up the victim, punching him and yelling racial slurs. One of them even yelled white power as they were leaving. And then you see the pickup truck, and look for that man coming out of the corner there. That's the man stumbling. That's the victim, James Craig Anderson. Just up from being beat up, he's stumbling
[Baldwin:] Inside the circle.
[Griffin:] Inside the circle. Deryl Dedmon backs up and gets a good aim and then just plows him over on the way out and to be absolutely factual at the end of this, Deryl Dedmon is laughing with his friends and actually called on a cell phone. And pardon my language, there was no other way to say this, says I just ran over that f-ing nigger, that's what he said. And it was a clear-cut case of pure racial intent murder that took place there, which is why, quite frankly, it was so easy to apply the hate crime legislation in this case. There was no question about it, unlike the circumstances involving the case in Florida.
[Baldwin:] The 19-year-old, two concurrent life sentences. We will wait and see if those other four are charged, and it's interesting, if we will see something like that with DOJ now involved in Florida, if the Matthew Shepard law is applied. Drew Griffin, thank you very much. And thank you so much for watching, here. I'm Brooke Baldwin at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. And now to Washington, to Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.
[Wolf Blitzer, Host, Cnn's The Situation Room:] Brooke, thanks very much.

[Whitfield:] Remember Elizabeth Smart, the Utah teen who was kidnapped from her home when she was just 14, held prisoner for nine months and repeatedly raped along the way? Brian David Mitchell will be sentenced next week. He was convicted of carrying all those heinous crimes. Hear what Smart actually says about Mitchell.
[Unidentified Female:] Have you forgiven him?
[Elizabeth Smart, Kidnapped June 2002 Rescued March 2003:] I certainly have moved on with my life and I don't dwell on it. I have forgiven him I have forgiven him. I don't think that means that I would invite him over to my house to stay. But that is a part of my life that I lived, have been there and I have a lot in front of me that I haven't lived yet. So I'm looking forward to it.
[Whitfield:] So attorneys for Mitchell say he should get a lighter sentence because of the way she's handling herself. They say she doesn't appear psychologically damaged. Our legal guys are back, Avery Friedman in Cleveland and Richard Herman in Las Vegas. Boy, OK, Richard, you first on this one. Because she appears to be intact, that's enough for the man convicted of raping her, abducting her to get a more lenient sentence?
[Richard Herman, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Isn't it ironic, Fred? Here she is trying to rehabilitate herself, move on with her life and not allow this tragic event to ruin her. And she vocalizes that well. Well, the government wants a life sentence, but in order to get a life sentence, they have to rely on the sentencing guidelines, which bump that enhancement for his sentencing to life. And in order to get that, you have to prove extreme psychological damage. So the defense is arguing she doesn't have it. She's rehabilitated herself. She doesn't have that level of psychological damage necessary. That's the argument, Fred.
[Whitfield:] So Avery, would that be a successful argument?
[Avery Friedman, Law Professor:] It's a terrible argument. The only argument they have, this beautiful, miraculous recovery of this extraordinary young woman is being perverted and distorted by the defense team in suggesting that somehow she hasn't suffered. She has suffered unspeakably. The good news is that Dale Kimble who oversaw the federal judge for five weeks knows what to do. Sentencing is Wednesday. Goodbye, Mr. Mitchell.
[Whitfield:] Yes, and that word recovery, I mean, you really don't know whether she's recovered because she's articulating herself in a certain way.
[Friedman:] That's right.
[Whitfield:] It seems boy, seems pretty hard for her and the family. Her dad says this is outrageous to use that kind of vernacular from the defense. All right, let's move on to the Arnold SchwarzeneggerMaria Shriver case because little dribbling come out every day. Now we're talking about the case of Maria Shriver hiring a fairly well-known celebrity divorce attorney, Avery. So clearly the couple probably had pre-nup agreements before they got married50 state? After 10 years, usually the wealth or the assets get split in half? Would that apply here even if there were pre-nups?
[Friedman:] Well, ordinarily the pre-nup will expire after a certain period of time, 10, 15 years. They've been married 25 years, Fredricka. But the fact is that it is California is one of 10 community property states, that's exactly right. Look for a quiet, discreet resolution
[Whitfield:] How is that possible?
[Friedman:] In fact, I'm remembering I think it can be done and I'm remembering that you did a face-to-face with one of the children who talked about her struggle.
[Whitfield:] With Katherine Schwarzenegger, yes.
[Friedman:] And the fact is that's exactly right. And the bottom line is that's the motive, to do this discreetly, carefully, thoughtfully and minimize the visibility, which of course it's highly visible now.
[Whitfield:] Interesting, so Richard, I don't know if there would end up being a bit of a custody battle at least over the two younger kids. I don't even know if that will be an issue that Arnold would try to pursue.
[Herman:] I agree with Avery. It's going to be resolved behind doors. But, Fred, at this point, Maria Shriver has not said she wants a divorce so, you know
[Friedman:] That's right.
[Herman:] She's got to that stage first and wants it. But potentially community property if he gave any money to this mistress of his that house, half of that's going to be Maria's.
[Whitfield:] My gosh, real quick because he has some other productions that were to be under way, but he's now he's kind of backed out of that. You wonder if any of those movie houses will be able to pursue something against him if there were terms or agreements that he would be involved in the "Terminator" or other things and that's been put on hold.
[Herman:] That's all agreed.
[Whitfield:] Go ahead, Richard. Sorry.
[Herman:] Yes, they want him, Fred. They need him for "Terminator." But isn't it funny, one of the movies was called "Cry Macho." That was the title of one of the movies that's on hold right now. Pretty stupid guy, Schwarzenegger. Pretty stupid.
[Friedman:] You can't suspend an existing contract. There's going to have to be some negotiations. You can suspend the proposed one. Not the existing ones.
[Whitfield:] All right, guys. Thanks so much, Richard and Avery. Always good to see you. Appreciate it.
[Friedman:] Good to see you, Fredricka.
[Herman:] Be well, Fred. Be safe today, Fred.
[Whitfield:] That's right.
[Herman:] We still made it. We made it. No end of days.
[Whitfield:] So far, so good. All right, be sure to tune in tonight for a CNN NEWSROOM special, "Sex, Lies and Arrogance." That's tonight 10:00 Eastern Time.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Trouble at sea. Yet another Carnival cruise liner less than ship shape. That's at least the second in the past two days.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Anchor:] Then, a stunner a staunch conservative coming out for gay marriage, with a deeply personal revelation. It's a CNN exclusive.
[Romans:] Rampage and a pickup. Take a look at this. A truck driver on a dangerous wrecking spree in a parking lot. Oh, my. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START this Friday morning. I'm Christine Romans. Zoraida is off. John co-hosts "STARTING POINT" a little later on.
[Cho:] And good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. It is Friday, March 15th, 5:00 a.m. in the East. And let's get started. We begin with this, for the third time in a month and the second time just this week, a Carnival cruise ship is in trouble at sea this morning. Right now, the Carnival Legend is experiencing propulsion problems in the Caribbean and can't fail at full speed. So it is skipping a stop in Grand Cayman and limping straight home to Tampa. Now, just a day before, Wednesday, power problems on the Carnival Dream, at a port in St. Maarten. Passengers stuck on board for hours with reports of yes, again, toilets overflowing. Cristina Puig is in Miami for us. Cristina, good morning. Of course, these two ongoing incidents come just a month after that engine room fire in the Carnival Triumph that left 4,200 people stranded for days. Of course, we all know about that nightmare. Tell us about what's happening right now.
[Cristina Puig, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, good morning to all of you. Today, the Carnival passengers on the Dream are waiting in St. Maarten to be transferred back before their trip also got short.
[Puig:] For some passengers, it was a cruise that didn't live up to their dreams. And to some of us, their complaints sounded a note of deja vu clogged toilets, interruptions to elevator service, power outages. It was the same cruise line, Carnival, but a different ship than the one that left passengers at sea for several days with no air conditioning, and unsanitary living conditions. But the problems on the cruise liner Dream were nowhere near as nightmarish as those aboard the Triumph just a month ago.
[Kris Anderson, Dream Passenger:] Our toilets weren't working and when I pressed it, the water rose up. Like you would at home, if your toilet was clogged, the water would start to rise up to the top of the bowl.
[Puig:] The Carnival says the Dream, with 4,300 passengers, got stuck in port at the Caribbean resort island of St. Maarten, when the backup emergency generator malfunctioned during a routine inspection. The company issued a statement saying, "At no time did the ship lose power and the ship's propulsion systems and primary power source was not impacted." The statement also said, "All guests are safe and comfortable with only periodic interruptions to elevators and rest room services for a few hours."
[Anderson:] They thought it was something minor, ended up being something more complicated, which is why we're still here. As far as the power outages go I mean, I didn't notice it personally.
[Puig:] The latest aborted voyage comes on the heels of the debacle involving Carnival's Triumph cruise liner that spent five days adrift at sea, attracting worldwide attention as passengers posted picture after picture of the unsanitary and altogether unpleasant conditions on the ship.
[Christopher Muller, Boston University:] This is a management problem. They're doing something wrong with maintenance. Carnival has so many working ships that to say that the fleet is in distress is maybe a little bit broad. But, clearly, something is not working right.
[Puig:] Ironically, just one day before Dream's problems, Carnival had announced it was conducting a comprehensive review of its entire fleet. The cruise line was quick to offer its Dream guests a refund for the three days the cruise was cut short, and 50 percent off a future cruise. Now when the Triumph became disabled last month three of its sister ships came to its aid, and those are the Legend, the Dream, and the Elation. And since then, the three of them have also had issues. Just on Thursday, it was the Legend. Wednesday, the Dream. And Saturday the Elation, while last month was the Triumph.
[Cho:] Cristina, I feel like I went to bed talking about the Dream and woke up hearing about the Legend. I mean, there have been so many, it's been confusing. And I guess the $64,000 question is, what's going on here? I mean, what's to blame? Is this an old fleet? Lack of maintenance? What is Carnival saying about this?
[Puig:] Well, like you said, we went to sleep dreaming about this and it's really becoming quite a nightmare. We do have an official statement from carnival this morning. And it goes as the following, "We have comprehensive maintenance programs in place that meet or exceed all regulatory standards and requirements. Immediately after Carnival Triumph arrived safely in Mobile, we assembled an expert team from across the company, as well as outside experts in the areas of fire, marine, technical, and electrical systems to complete a fleet-wide assessment in the areas of fire prevention, detection, and suppression, engine and power redundancies and emergency power generation and services." That's what Carnival is telling us this morning.
[Cho:] Cristina Puig live for us in Miami Cristina, thank you very much. So, what recourse do all these disappointed passengers have? Well, at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time at "STARTING POINT", John Berman and Brooke Baldwin will be joined by maritime lawyer Jack Hickey. He specializes in cruise line liability.
[Romans:] A CNN exclusive this morning. Senator Rob Portman, a staunch conservative who was on a short list to be Mitt Romney's running mate, announcing he's reversing his position on gay marriage. CNN's Dana Bash landing the only television interview with Portman. The Ohio Republican revealing his decision just one month before the Supreme Court hears arguments on the issue, and two years after learning his own son, Will, was gay.
[Sen. Rob Portman , Ohio:] My son came to Jane, my wife and I, told us that he was gay, and that it was not a choice, and that, you know, that's just part of who he is and he's been that way ever since he could remember. And that launched an interesting process for me, which was kind of rethinking my position. You know, talking to my pastor and other religious leaders, and going through the process of, at the end, changing my position on the issue.
[Romans:] At 7:00 Eastern on "STARTING POINT," Dana Bash joins John Berman and Brooke with more of her explosive television interview with Senator Rob Portman. On Wall Street, history in the making: the Dow defying gravity at a record high. Looks like there could be an 11th straight win if all things hold. If that happens, it would be the best the Dow's best rally in 21 years. And it isn't just the Dow. The S&P; 500 which for many mutual funds, many of them track that if you've got a 401 [k], the stock portion of your 401 [k] most likely looks like the S&P; 500. It's within two points of its record high. One analyst says it's like water torture, with both bulls and bears. Bulls are worrying the momentum could slow, bears were spook by the gravity-defying rally. But certainly, certainly an amazing run, and it looks like futures are higher.
[Cho:] That's one way to put it.
[Romans:] Right.
[Cho:] All right. Now to the latest in a new era for the Catholic Church, the papacy of Francis. In about an hour, Pope Francis meets with the College of Cardinals, the very group that elected him. But this meeting will include all of the cardinals, including the ones who are over 80, and were not involved in the conclave. During his first mass yesterday, the new pontiff hinted at the church's struggles and delivered a strong message to the cardinals: reject worldliness, be true to the gospel message, and rebuild the church on a strong foundation. Or it will come down like sand castles on the beach.
[Romans:] I want to talk a bit more about Pope Francis' first days as holy father with someone who knows him personally, Father Thomas Rosica, deputy spokesperson to the Vatican, joins us now from Rome. Good morning, sir.
[Father Thomas Rosica, Vatican Deputy Spokesperson:] Good morning to you from Rome. Nice to be with you again.
[Romans:] It looks beautiful behind you. Just simply beautiful. I know there's been so much excitement in the city, and really among many Catholics around the world. Tell us a little bit more about what we expect from the first days here of the Holy Father. We know that he is certainly broken from tradition on so many different fronts, really portraying himself as humble, someone who is of the people. It's certainly a new task for a pope. Tell me more about that.
[Rosica:] What we're seeing is the continuation of what Cardinal Bergoglio did in Buenos Aires in Argentina, his home diocese. He was a pastor there, very close to the people. And he's continued that. He's simply changed the color of his robes right now, and the world is paying attention to every move, every word, every gesture. Those of us who were used to him in Buenos Aires are not at all surprised with this. But I can tell you that it does send some jolt through the system here which is so deeply rooted in tradition, and beautiful ceremonies and following the book. And Pope Francis is telling us, the book is very important, but there's even something more important be faithful, be close to the people, smile, and take things as they come.
[Romans:] Tell me what kind of a leader you think you'll be and what his priorities will be in terms of leadership within the Catholic Church. Of course, are the issues facing the bureaucracy of the church and the Vatican, there are also issues facing the masses, especially here in the United States, who would like to see they would like to see more done on the issue of well, an issue that has faced the church with problems of priests and children. What do you think he will say or do on that front, if anything?
[Rosica:] You know, there are it seems that the media has continuously brought up three or four issues, but they're missing the biggest part of why Cardinal Bergoglio was elected pope. First of all, the cardinals know someone who is a model of holiness. They chose someone who has a real passion for evangelization and the new evangelization which is more than just a buzzword. This is what the church is all about. It's about taking the gospel to the people. They chose someone who has an extraordinary record for compassion, for relating to people not just those within the Catholic Church, those who are good Catholics, but especially those on the fringes, the poor, the destitute, the disenfranchised, those living in irregular relationships, those who have suffered, those who have brought suffering upon themselves. That's why they chose this man. But this man is deeply rooted in tradition. So, to say that the pope has been elected to widen the church, or to address particular agendas of different countries is missing the point. The pope is elected because he's the pastor of a world church. First of all, he has to embody holiness, to preach Jesus Christ unabashedly, to call a saint a saint as he did in that homily yesterday, a seven- minute homily, not from a text, in which he talked about what this means to be a leader in the church today, to be founded on Jesus Christ, to build together, to journey together and also, not to be afraid to speak about that. And if we don't do that, with Jesus in mind, carrying the cross, we do really build sand castles.
[Romans:] All right, thank you so much. Deputy Vatican spokesman, nice to see you this morning. Thank you, sir.
[Cho:] First on CNN, a Libyan source says a man suspected of being involved in the September 11th attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi is being held in Libya. The suspect has reportedly been interviewed by the FBI face-to-face in the presence of Libyan authorities. Two sources tell us the man's name is Faraj al-Shibli. One says he was detained within the past two days and had recently returned from a trip to Pakistan.
[Romans:] Frightening moments in Miami as a JumboTron comes crashing down, critically injuring two workers. They were helping to set up for a downtown music festival when the huge screen fell as they were hoisting it up on the stage. The festival is still on track to begin this afternoon.
[Cho:] And more amazing video to show you this morning. A man is under arrest after going on a parking lot rampage outside a Home Depot store in Riverdale, Utah. Take a look at this. Police say the suspect made the same gesture at officers before running down a row of storage sheds. They arrested Dave Arby him and found two handguns and three rifles all loaded inside that truck. That's not all. Before the camera started rolling he allegedly struck a stop sign and then a light pole.
[Romans:] All right. He's one man against a whole tide of criticism. Watch the head of the TSA defend his decision to allow small knives on airplanes.

[Kaye:] Well, let's get you caught up on some of the stories that you may have missed. Today is the international day of solidarity for Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis. Support continues to grow for Davis, how has spent the last 20 years on death row for the killing of a Savannah police officer. He was convicted mainly on witness testimony. And almost all of those witnesses have now recanted. And that has united thousands of supporters all over the world from Britain to Japan to Australia. Petitions signed by more than 600,000 people were brought to the Georgia Parole Board yesterday ahead of a hearing on Monday. Barring a decision of clemency, Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Wednesday. British police say three miners have been found dead in a mine in Wales. Still no word on the fate of a fourth missing miner. They became trapped on Thursday when their coal mine flooded. Rescue official say water suddenly rushed into the mine shaft from another abandoned mine. Pumps are being used to reduce water levels as the search continues. Three miners managed to escape, including one who was hospitalized. More than a third of Americans say the U.S. would be better off now if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were president, according to a new poll. In the Bloomberg survey, 34 percent think America would be superior under a Hillary Clinton administration, while 47 percent say it would be about the same, and 13 percent say it would be worse. The former first lady and New York senator has shot down any speculation that she might challenge President Obama for the Democratic nomination. You know Nancy Grace from her legal show on our sister network HLN, but now she's under a very different spotlight. Nancy will appear on ABC's "Dancing With The Stars." And earlier this morning, she, along with her dancing partner, talked with Kyra Phillips about what it's like. Take a listen.
[Tristan Mcmanus, "dancing With The Stars" Pro:] Nancy's doing great.
[Nancy Grace, Hln:] Yes.
[Mcmanus:] She's picking up everything. She
[Grace:] Good.
[Mcmanus:] She listens.
[Grace:] Good.
[Mcmanus:] She listens she listens to what she wants to hear.
[Grace:] Listen, this is the deal. Day one dance practice, I'm minding my own business, I'm trying to do the cha cha cha and then I hear, no, no, no. I'm like, what?
[Phillips:] Oh, you're getting some of your own medicine there Nancy.
[Grace:] He was talking to me. There was a little slap involved.
[Mcmanus:] Nancy Nancy's a professional dancer now so we're going to treat her as such.
[Phillips:] So so, Tristan
[Grace:] I think you can see from that video there's nothing professional going on there on my part anyway.
[Phillips:] No, I think your cha cha looks pretty good. Now, Tristan, did you have any idea, you know, like, how, you know, big of a name you were dealing with here? I mean, you know Nancy's reputation. I mean, she will eat you alive, pal, if you go against anything she says.
[Mcmanus:] Yes, she's trying to she's trying to. I didn't have any I didn't have any worries coming in.
[Grace:] Did you feel that? Did you feel that?
[Mcmanus:] I felt it
[Grace:] You know, that is so sad because I looked on his computer, Google, Yahoo, who is the real Nancy Grace, just search after search. So sad.
[Mcmanus:] You see the relationship that we have here. I don't generally get to finish anything I'm saying a lot of the time.
[Kaye:] You and everybody else that comes on her show. Well, good luck Nancy. We will be rooting for you. They're known as the Welcome Home Dogs at Camp Atterbury in Indian. These four-legged friends are actually specially trained dogs to help lighten the mood for troops as they return from overseas. When troops come home they first have to be processed and, of course, debriefed but the transition coming from Iraq and Afghanistan can be pretty difficult for some so while they wait, instead of being anxious, they can relax and enjoy playing with these puppies. As of now, there are only two programs in the nation just like it. They were both elected Governor of Texas, they are both conservative and are fans of the evangelical crowd but is Rick Perry George W. Bush 2.0? Everything is fair game, after the break.

[Jodi Arias, Charged With Murder:] I didn`t hurt Travis. I would never hurt Travis. I would never harm him physically.
[Unidentified Female:] The petite 28-year-old is accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
[Arias:] I wouldn`t use obsession. I would say I don`t know.
[Unidentified Female:] His neck had been slashed from ear to ear. He had been stabbed 27 times and shot in the face. Did you kill Travis Alexander?
[Arias:] Absolutely not. No, I had no part in it.
[Unidentified Female:] Police say DNA evidence, including a bloody palm print, found at the scene links Jodi Arias to the murder.
[Arias:] There is an explanation for that. It doesn`t prove that I committed a murder. And I didn`t commit a murder.
[Nancy Grace:] I think what has intrigued so many people, so many court watchers, so many legal eagles with the Jodi Arias case is, in part, the physicality of the defendant, Jodi Arias. Many people not me, but many people believe that she is beautiful, extremely attractive, very sensual and charismatic. And as a matter of fact, it`s not just physically that that seems to be her description, but apparently she, used her femininity to, let me say, stalk the victim in this case. In this case, Travis Alexander, also a motivational speaker, highly charismatic, successful, physically attractive, educated. He seemed to have it all, as did she.
[Jane Velez-mitchell, Host, "issues With Jane Velez-mitchell":] This is an absolutely fascinating case because of the contrast between the defendant demure, beautiful, petite, soft-spoken and the horrific nature of this crime, almost 30 stab wounds, gunshot, blood everywhere. How do you reconcile those two? And then there`s the back story of the sex as caught on camera. Then there`s her arrogance, pronouncing to the world that, No jury is ever going to convict me. It`s unbelievable!
[Ellie Jostad, Nancy Grace Producer:] I think what`s so interesting about the Jodi Arias case is that here you have a woman, who from outward appearances, seems to really have it together. She`s obviously beautiful. You have a victim who`s also this young, handsome, accomplished guy, and it`s a story that people can really relate to.
[Arias:] I lived in Palm Desert, California. He lived in Mesa. So our friendship was really over the phone. Every night, you know, when all was said and done, when his day`s work was done and my day`s work was done, you know, he would inevitably call. And we would talk for a while, anywhere from, you know, a half hour, or sometimes it would end up being four hours. Then we`d fall asleep. And things like that. And then, you know, with time, it just kind of progressed into a little bit more and a little bit more until we decided to make it more official. No, we never lived together, actually. I spent a lot of time at his house and we spent a lot of time traveling. But no, he had all male roommates.
[Jostad:] It`s a breakup gone if the prosecutors are to be believed, it`s a breakup gone horribly, horribly wrong. You have Jodi Arias, who allegedly wanted to continue this relationship with Travis and wouldn`t take no for an answer, and essentially just started stalking him, started reading his e-mails and his text messages I mean, Sort of the typical horror story for anybody that`s had a bad breakup where the ex just kind of won`t go away.
[Grace:] Police, authorities, believe that Travis Alexander was murdered five days before the discovery of his body. His body was found completely naked, crumpled up in an extremely odd position in the bottom of the shower in his five-bedroom luxury home.
[Unidentified Female:] Oh, my God! 911
[Operator:] 911 emergency.
[Unidentified Female:] Yes? 911
[Operator:] OK. What`s going on?
[Unidentified Female:] What? 911
[Operator:] What`s going on?
[Unidentified Female:] A friend of ours is dead in his bedroom. We hadn`t heard from him for a while. We think he`s dead. His roommate just went in there and said there`s lots of blood. I didn`t go in, but I can give you the phone to someone who went in there. 911
[Operator:] Yes, please, can you?
[Jostad:] It turned out that his roommates he had a large house and had a couple of guys that rented rooms from him turned out they hadn`t seen him in a while, either. They actually thought that he was out of town on business, something like that. So when the friends decided they really needed to figure out where Travis was, his bedroom was locked. They were able to find a key and get in there. And they were the ones who discovered the body. He was found in the shower in his bathroom. He`d obviously been dead a while. There was blood all over the bedroom and the bathroom. There were signs of a violent struggle, blood splatter, pooling blood, dried blood.
[Velez-mitchell:] This was an extraordinarily violent crime, and it starts out in the shower. And authorities say that Jodi Arias shoots Travis in the face, but he`s still conscious. It disorients him. And then he takes off running. He manages to get down a hallway, and then another confrontation occurs, and that is where authorities believe Jodi Arias begins stabbing, stabbing Travis repeatedly, and at one point, right through the chest. That is believed to be possibly the fatal wound. She also allegedly slices his throat ear to ear. And then authorities believe she takes the body back to the shower and rinses Travis`s body off.
[Unidentified Male:] Hello. 911
[Operator:] Hi. So what`s going on?
[Unidentified Male:] He`s he`s dead. He`s in his bedroom, in the shower. 911
[Operator:] OK. How did this happen? Do you have any idea?
[Unidentified Male:] No. We have no idea. Everyone`s been wondering about him for a few days. 911
[Operator:] OK, well, she said that there`s blood. So is it coming from his head? Did he cut...
[Unidentified Male:] No, it`s all over the place. 911
[Operator:] Is there any weapons around?
[Unidentified Male:] I don`t know. Not that I saw. 911
[Operator:] How many people are in the house?
[Unidentified Male:] There how many of us are in the house right now, just the five of us? Five of us. 911
[Operator:] OK. I need all of you outside.
[Unidentified Male:] OK. Outside. OK, we`re going outside.
[Grace:] Five days had passed. Interesting, when police found his body, his body had not only been positioned in that location staged, as we call it but he had also been bathed postmortem. Apparently, according to police, Jodi Arias gets warm water and she bathes the bloody body of her lover, Travis Alexander, as he lies there crumpled up in the bottom of the shower stall.
[Arias:] And there was a sense of uncertainty at times and a sense of excitement and there was an excitement about the future. And we just had a lot of fun together, and it was one of those things where it was very fun while it lasted. And when we decided to break things off and become just friends, we continued to be friends. And that`s just how it went.
[Grace:] Five days pass. A woman who was supposed to leave the next morning following the murder with Alexander on a trip to Cancun was highly suspicious because he never showed up. They didn`t go. Days pass, and friends finally enter the home. Another friend tells them the code, how to get in, and they`re all there together. They go into the home. They immediately are hit with a stench. They know something is horribly wrong. They begin to see blood in the home.
[Operator:] What`s her name, Tracy?
[Unidentified Female:] Jodi. I don`t know her last name, but... 911
[Operator:] Anyone know her last name?
[Unidentified Female:] Does anyone know Jodi`s last name? Taylor might, the best friend, but he`s not here. He`s on his way here. 911
[Operator:] OK.
[Unidentified Female:] And the
[Operator:] OK. There should be an officer arriving, as well.
[Unidentified Female:] OK. Are you a police officer?
[Unidentified Male:] I am.
[Unidentified Female:] OK, he`s here. 911
[Operator:] OK, I`ll go ahead and let you go.
[Unidentified Female:] OK, thank you. 911
[Operator:] Thank you. Bye-bye.
[Unidentified Female:] Bye.
[Grace:] They call 191 upon the discovery of Travis`s body, and within that 911 call it`s very compelling that even in that call, they say that there`s a girl, a girl that`s been stalking Travis, a girl named Jodi. Jodi Arias meets Travis Alexander at a conference that takes place in Vegas. Where else? And they immediately steam up. They fall in love, and only when the flame burns out about five months later do they somewhat break it off.
[Arias:] We met at the Rain Forest cafe in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
[Unidentified Female:] How long ago was that?
[Arias:] It was in September of 2006.
[Unidentified Female:] What was it about him when you saw him that kind of drew you to him?
[Arias:] There wasn`t really any initial magnetic attraction. At the time, I shook his hand, and he said, Hi, I`m Travis. I said, Hi, I`m Jodi. And his name was just another of many names that I had to remember. I was meeting hundreds of people that weekend. We were all there for a big convention. And so it was right after I had finished eating with a group of people, and we got up and shook hands with a few people. He was among them. And then we began to walk throughout the casino. And he made it a point to keep walking next to me and keep me engaged in conversation. And we just you know, by the time we made it around to the big gold lion in front of the lobby, we just we had discovered a couple of common interests, and that sort of thing.
[Velez-mitchell:] Travis and Jodi Arias met way back in 2006 at a convention. And he`s this handsome salesman and motivational speaker, and she`s this beautiful aspiring photographer. And they click. There was this instant connection. But it was several months later that they officially started going out. And almost immediately, friends became concerned, friends of Travis, saying that this woman came on too strong, too fast, seemed obsessed with Travis.
[Arias:] He was very uplifting, very uplifting person. He had every he knew every one of my buttons. He could bring me up or down, you know, at the drop of a hat. But mostly, he brought me up.
[Velez-mitchell:] They exchanged something like 82,000 e-mails. They talked on the phone a lot. So it was a very intense relationship. And then when they broke up, they didn`t really break up. Their relationship just went underground. It became a toxic secret.
[Arias:] Our relationship, it was just an average I don`t want to save average. Nothing is average with Travis. But any problems that we had, they occurred really right toward the end, and that signaled the end of our relationship. It`s nothing that we continued to dwell on and try to work out.
[Unidentified Female:] What was the one thing that finally you said, This is it?
[Arias:] It was it was just a breach of trust.
[Jostad:] So Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander met in 2006 at a conference, a work conference. And they kept in touch, even though she was living in northern California, he was living in Arizona. They were going to visit each other, once the relationship got more serious, at sort of the halfway point between the two of their homes.
[Arias:] We hung out throughout the weekend, had a lot of fun, exchanged phone numbers. And it was one of those things where I didn`t expect him to call, but he called me the very next day. And so I was, like, Oh, hi. And you know, we just he`s a good conversationalist. He just kept me engaged in conversation constantly. And you know, he wanted to know about me, and people like to talk about themselves. So you know, it was just one thing led to another and we became great friends.
[Jostad:] But you know, Travis Alexander`s friends say it was clear that he didn`t intend to marry Jodi Arias and that he didn`t really see a future in this relationship. However, his friends and Travis Alexander`s family believed that Jodi Arias did consider this a serious relationship. She at one point moved to Arizona to be closer to him. She converted to the Mormon faith in order to be closer to him. He was a devout Mormon. And there was a real imbalance there. He apparently didn`t see this going anywhere, and Jodi Arias had big plans for their relationship.
[Unidentified Female:] Was there jealousy on the
[Arias:] I would say, on my end, not so much jealousy, maybe a sense of insecurity. But that`s just me. On his end, sometimes. I don`t think it was warranted, but I took it as a compliment.
[Grace:] Here`s the kicker. They never really break it off. They continue a sex-only relationship after that. Travis Alexander is clearly dating and pursuing other women, while in contrast, Jodi Arias picks up and moves nearly 300 miles to be closer to Travis Alexander in her bid to win him back. Not only that, she even converts to Mormonism in an attempt to become Mrs. Travis Alexander. There are reams of photos of the two of them naked in provocative positions, I guess during sex. Then apparently, the afternoon passes. And then the next thing you know, three or four hours later, there`s suddenly more photos. There are timestamps on the photos in this digi-cam. Of course, it`s gone through the wash cycle, but all cops do is take out the sim card, and there are all the photos.
[Jostad:] This is something that I don`t think I`ve ever heard of in a murder case. There were pictures on that camera of the victim right before his death, and then a picture of him after his death.
[Grace:] So several hours pass, and there`s a new set of photos on the digital camera. And the first one is of Travis Alexander naked, again, in the shower. He`s taking a shower. The next one, whether taken on purpose or inadvertently, is up. Like, there`s movement, and like when you put a Blackberry or an iPhone in your pocketbook and it`s on the camera icon, and it`s taking cameras of the taking photos of the inside of your pocket the whole time. Apparently, after this one shot of him taking a shower, there`s suddenly movement, inadvertent shots taken from this digital camera. The next one takes shots of him dead.
[Arias:] Well, it`s not it`s all public information, but it`s nothing that I`m really comfortable talking about, and it`s nothing that he nor I ever intended to be made public. It`s something that we intended to keep private. But now that all of this has been thrust under a microscope, everybody knows about it, so part of it part of me says why bother trying to skirt around the issue, and the other part of me says, you know, have a little discretion.
[Velez-mitchell:] Authorities say after the murder, Jodi drives to Utah, where she`s meeting up with a work colleague of Travis`s, a guy that she may have some kind of budding relationship with. And he is very put off by the fact that Jodi is wearing long sleeves. It`s very hot out, and he`s wondering why is she wearing these long sleeves, and then also notices that her hand is bandaged, indicating she may have some cuts underneath that bandage. So very, very suspicious behavior on Jodi`s part.
[Jostad:] We know from the autopsy report that Travis Alexander had numerous cuts and stab wounds all over his body, a gaping wound on his neck.
[Unidentified Female:] And then to find out, you know, it was her it made me so sick. Like, how creepy is that, that somebody could kill somebody and then act like she didn`t and act like they had this perfect little relationship and go on her Myspace page and post al that stuff of her and him together. And you know, it was actually her that did it. That`s, to me, sick.
[Grace:] There are 29 stab wounds. One of them, the most horrific, goes from ear to ear in a big smile across his throat. There`s another stab wound almost directly to the heart, multiple stab wounds on his torso. There is a gunshot wound clearly taken when he was already down, since Arias is shorter than Alexander. The trajectory path reveals that the shot comes in above the right eyebrow and goes downward and lodges there`s no exit wound. It lodges in the left cheek. Even though Jodi Arias, then 27 years old at the time, was very calm, cool and collected when police first question her about Travis Alexander`s death, DNA told a different story. There was a palm print in the home. The palm matched up to Jodi Arias. And the DNA matched not only Arias but Travis Alexander, as well. It was his blood. That leads police back to Jodi Arias. They`re convinced she was on the scene of the murder. Her response? She asked police could they wait for her to put on makeup and fix her hair before she leaves her place.
[Arias:] Well, I spent a lot of time at his house. But because it`s more than just that kind of DNA, there is an explanation for all of that and that will all be made known very soon. Again, it doesn`t prove that I committed a murder. And I didn`t commit a murder. I didn`t hurt Travis. I would never hurt Travis. I would never harm him physically. I may have hurt him emotionally, and I`ll always regret that. But you know, the explanation for that will all come out soon.
[Velez-mitchell:] Following up on the tip from friends pointing toward Jodi Arias, authorities examine the evidence, and there`s a lot of forensic evidence. There`s blood, there`s hair, there`s a bloody palm print, there`s fingerprints. And guess who the blood matches up to? Jodi Arias. So there is a bloody palm print with not only her blood but Travis`s blood mixed together, and that is one of the smoking guns in this case.
[Unidentified Male:] Hello. Can I speak to Jodi, please?
[Arias:] This is Jodi.
[Unidentified Male:] Hey, Jodi, this is Detective Steve Flores from the Mesa, Arizona, Police Department.
[Arias:] Oh, hey. How are you?
[Unidentified Male:] Good. I just got a message from my patrol officers that you need to talk to me about something.
[Arias:] Well, I just wanted to offer any assistance that I might have. I was a really good friend of Travis`s and...
[Grace:] It wasn`t long after her initial story to police that she knew nothing about Travis`s death, and in fact, she had not been in touch with him very much, that her cell phone had died and had been dead for 10 hours and she was completely out of touch, that her story changed. Her story morphed into her being at the scene of the murder but that she had nothing to do with it.
[Arias:] Well, there`s a lot of forensics suggesting that I was, you know, in his house. Of the evidence that they presented to me, I was asked the question, If you were presented this evidence and you were a third party, what would you think? And you know, I need to be honest. The evidence is very compelling. But none of it proves that I committed a murder. None of it proves that I committed a crime. What it does substantiate is what I did tell detectives.
[Velez-mitchell:] When police first went to question Jodi Arias, she said, Oh, I wasn`t there. I wasn`t anywhere near the crime scene. I haven`t talked to Travis in a couple of months.
[Unidentified Male:] That was around April that you last saw him, right?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] You haven`t been back in town since then?
[Arias:] No, I haven`t at all.
[Grace:] Her second story to police was that she was there in Travis`s home with him when, suddenly, a man and a woman, unbeknownst to her, in disguise, dressed so she could not make an identification she would not be able to identify them in a lineup suddenly came in, burst into the home, attacked Travis, murdered him brutally and told her that if she went to the cops, she and her family would get the same. That was her second story.
[Unidentified Male:] What have you heard so far?
[Arias:] I heard that he was that he passed away and that it was I don`t know, I`ve heard all kind of rumors. I heard there was a lot of blood. I heard that his roommates found him, or his friends found him or people were I`m sorry, it`s all I`m upset. But I heard that nobody was able to get ahold of him for almost a week, and that was about the last time I spoke to him, too, which is actually why I thought I my friends said I should call you anyway and let you know the last time I talked to him. I used to talk to him quite regularly. I used to live there. I live in northern California now. But after I moved I moved a few months ago. And after I moved, we just kept in touch very regularly and kind of fell back a little bit, but cut down to a couple times a week, but I haven`t heard from him. I talked to him on Tuesday night. I looked at my phone records on the Internet to check, and I definitely talked to him on Tuesday night.
[Jostad:] Jodi Arias gave well, is going to give, we believe, yet another version of what really happened the day that Travis Alexander was killed. We know that she first said she hadn`t seen Travis Alexander in a while. Then when confronted with evidence that she was indeed in the home with him around the time he was killed, she then said, you know, No, it was these masked intruders that broke in, tried to kill us both. I barely got away.
[Arias:] I really don`t remember the day at all. I just remember when I got the phone call. And it was late, 10:30, I think.
[Unidentified Female:] Who called you.
[Arias:] A mutual friend of ours.
[Unidentified Female:] And what did he or she say?
[Arias:] He didn`t say much because he didn`t know much. And he just said, Something has happened and I don`t have a lot of details. And I said, Well, what can you tell me? And he, again, I just don`t have a lot of details. And I thought, Well, maybe it`s a mistake. Are you sure? And he said, I`ll let you know when I know more, but you`re the first person I thought to call.
[Unidentified Female:] What was going through your mind?
[Arias:] It was a shock, the feeling of shock and sort of disbelief. And there wasn`t it was a real restlessness because I didn`t know. And I felt I don`t know. You just don`t know until I actually got confirmation of what had happened, that`s when things really began to sink in.
[Unidentified Female:] What did you do once you got more information? What did you do?
[Arias:] It was over the phone, and so I just remained as calm as possible and well, I got confirmation from his bishop, who actually confirmed it. And at that point, it was just about me holding it together over the phone and crying as silently as possible while he told me what he knew.
[Jostad:] Now we believe she`s going to claim that this was actually self-defense, that Travis Alexander was sexually abusive, was essentially someone she was so afraid of that she had to respond with deadly force, and that self-defense she was just defending herself. That is how Travis Alexander wound up dead.
[Unidentified Female:] So you had nothing to do with Travis Alexander`s death?
[Arias:] Nothing to do with it.
[Unidentified Female:] He was stabbed some 27 times and shot once in the left cheek. Who could have done this to him?
[Arias:] I don`t know.
[Unidentified Female:] Who do you think killed him?
[Arias:] I have no idea.
[Grace:] Now, there are a lot of ways that Jodi Arias could have conceivably explained away why she was at the scene with a dead body. She could have said she happened upon it. She could have said she heard him outside screaming and she came inside. There are a number of things she could have done. But the real clincher in this case is a digital camera, a digi-cam.
[Unidentified Male:] How would you describe your relationship with him?
[Arias:] We dated for we dated for, like, five months, and we broke up. And we continued to actually to see each other for quite a bit, you know, right up until I moved.
[Unidentified Male:] When did you guys break up?
[Arias:] We officially broke up June 29th of last year
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, OK. So you guys were not, like, romantically together at any time or...
[Arias:] We were intimate, but I wouldn`t say romantic as far as a relationship goes. We were in no way headed towards marriage or talking about anything like that.
[Grace:] The bed sheets, all of the bedding had been taken off Travis`s bed and put in the washer, along with some clothes. And in the sheets or in his clothes somewhere in that wash machine was a digital camera, and the digital camera she basically took her own crime scene photos.
[Velez-mitchell:] Authorities believe that this was a premeditated murder, that she brought the gun and the knife that was used to kill Travis Alexander, and went there with an agenda because she was furious that he wanted to ultimately end their relationship. Remember, they had officially broken up, and then they kind of remained friends with benefits. And there are indications that Travis wanted to end that, too. He was going away on a vacation with another woman. And authorities believe Jodi Arias was jealous and was rageful and resentful, and that that is the motive for murder.
[Grace:] Another interesting and telling fact about the wounds to the body is that many I believe 10 of the stab wounds were to his back. And those wounds alone show that this murder was not self-defense.
[Arias:] I don`t I wouldn`t use obsession. I would say I don`t know. I think that when more evidence comes out, it`ll be very telling that it was a two-way street. And Travis was a wonderful person, but he was also a very persuasive and he was hard to say no to. And it was hard you know, he wouldn`t allow me to not answer his text message. If I didn`t respond, he would keep calling and keep calling until I did. And so to me, that wasn`t obsessive behavior on his part, it was just I took it as a compliment. He wanted to talk to me, OK, that`s great.
[Unidentified Female:] Were you obsessed with him? Those are the allegations they made.
[Arias:] No.
[Grace:] Now many people, if they were charged with murder, if they were a suspect in a murder, if they were even a person of interest in a murder, would lay low. But not Jodi Arias. She loves the camera and the camera loves her right back. Within days, she was out and about. She even had dinner with a group of Travis`s friends the night after he`s murdered, and by her own words, it was self-defense. She was there on the scene, stabbed him multiple times, as she says, in self-defense, including 10 stab wounds to the back.
[Arias:] I don`t know who did or said it first, but I know that some things were said because I was on the road that week. So you know, I think that because, you know, as much as Travis and I told ourselves and everyone that we were just friends, I think that our behavior was not as clandestine as we tried to make it. So there were times when people would see certain ways we would behave and maybe wonder. I know that he got he lamented a lot that he got a lot of grief from his friends about the amount of time that we spent together and...
[Unidentified Female:] Did they not like you?
[Arias:] I don`t know that it was so much that. I think they were more concerned with his future prospects for marriage and where his focus was. And his focus was definitely on that, and marriage is you know, he viewed marriage as an important step in his spiritual progression, and I think he took it seriously.
[Grace:] She`s out as if she doesn`t have a care in the world, out having dinner, laughing and talking. Now, the day after Travis Alexander`s murder, she was observed with cuts on her hands and fingers. At the memorial service, she was observed smiling, almost laughing at his memorial service. And she has taken to the airwaves and given one interview after the next, vowing that she will not be convicted, that no jury will convict her.
[Arias:] I know that I`m innocent. God knows I`m innocent. Travis knows I`m innocent. No jury is going to convict me.
[Unidentified Male:] Why not?
[Arias:] Because I`m innocent. And you can mark my words on that one. No jury will convict me.
[Grace:] When a felony occurs, robbery, and a death happens, that`s felony murder. You don`t have to intend that a death occur. In this case, the state is claiming as a second alternate theory felony murder, that Travis Alexander died during the commission of a felony, that being burglary. Now, you may ask, he let her in. How can that be burglary? Here`s how. She comes in with a gun that, coincidentally, was stolen from her grandparents` home, where she lives, a few days before the murder. She comes into the home armed with a lethal weapon. Not only that, burglary, by definition, is entering or remaining in a structure. So the fact that she remained in the structure, his home, and a death occurred equals a burglary. I think that that`s a two-sided coin in that not only is it compelling to the court watcher, the casual observer, all of us on the outside looking in, but it also presents a conundrum. It`s almost as if the eye is tricking the mind in that you see someone handsome or beautiful. You know they`ve got a great job, a great education, a beautiful home, everything. They`re young. They`re healthy. Yet she is charged with this heinous, this in fact, a crime so brutal, it`s akin to a mob hit on Travis Alexander.
[Velez-mitchell:] Jodi Arias has become a bizarre celebrity behind bars. First of all, when they arrested her, the first thing she says is, Can I please have time to put on my makeup first? So that gives you an indication of her mentality. She has done jailhouse interviews and has actually been photographed putting on her makeup in preparation for these interviews. So she`s very concerned about her appearance.
[Jostad:] Well, Jodi Arias has been pretty productive behind bars. She`s a high school dropout, but actually got her GED. She taught herself Spanish.
[Grace:] Jodi Arias has certainly not wasted any time behind bars. Besides apparently having several makeovers, she has continued her education. She has learned Spanish. She has learned sign language. And she has taken to song. As a matter of fact, Jodi Arias won the "American Idol" contest, the "American Idol Behind Bars" contest, with a moving rendition of "Oh, Night Divine." And the reward for that, the award was a turkey dinner for her and her cellmates. And thankfully, it was captured on video. As to Travis Alexander, who seemed to be the all-American good guy, the defense is painting him as a an almost demented control freak, abusive. So it seems as if everything we see on the surface belies the underside, the truth of what each side is alleging. The only issue is who`s telling the truth? Or are they both telling the truth? END

[Romans:] All right. Happening now, some 23 miles of an interstate shut down because of flooding. Police say I-40 in eastern Arkansas closed at the White River. Water backed up pooling over the roadway. Drivers forced to take detours. More than 30,000 drivers pass this area every day. It will be a tough commute this morning.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Romans:] And boy, the situation just doesn't get any better down there.
[Velshi:] A tough, tough morning in general for people along rivers in the Midwest.
[Chetry:] Worried they're going to have to close the other side of the interstate as well. The Mississippi River so swollen with pressure. In Tennessee, they say the water is actually flowing backwards in some of those tributaries to the Mississippi River. The backup could be a huge problem for nearby neighborhoods. Homes, businesses and factories all in danger.
[Velshi:] Joining us now to talk more about what's happening on the ground is Melissa Moon, CNN affiliate WREG. She is live in Memphis. What's the situation over there, Melissa?
[Melissa Moon, Cnn Affiliate, Wreg:] Well, we are in Harbor Town on Mud Island in downtown Memphis. We're actually on the Wolf River, which is a tributary of the Mississippi and it is rising daily. You can see here what used to be much of the bank is now part of the river and people living along here are told to be ready to evacuate. You see the homes behind us, the water creeping closer and closer, especially the homes on the far end are now the ones that are danger. Right now, the Mississippi is at 45.1 feet. County emergency officials predict that it will meet the level of the 1937 flood by next Wednesday at 48 feet and they say that those floodwaters will remain four to seven days after that. Of course, they'll be dealing with a sludge mess. Now, we're told right now about 2,800 properties will be affected. That's down from an earlier prediction of 5,300. So that's some good news here. And people living in about 19 homes have been told to be ready, that they will be affected in some way. Now that could mean just water in the streets. Streets that will be closed. But some of those homes already have water in them right now. And all week long they've been putting up those floodgates along in Mississippi downtown and sandbagging just as a precautionary measure. Back to you.
[Velshi:] Sorry.
[Chetry:] No, I was just going to say the fact that this is a slow catastrophe, sort of unfolding in slow motion that they know it's actually going to get worse before it gets better. In the meantime, besides the sandbagging and besides telling people to take precautions, is there anything else that can be done?
[Moon:] Right now that's about all they can do except to warn people to get out of their neighborhoods. Some, of those, like I said, there were 19 zip codes that are affected yesterday. Even though the weather had gotten nice, we've had some stormy weather over the last couple of days. The sun is out for the last couple of days. They don't want people to not take this seriously. They're telling them to be vigilant if they live in those 19 zip codes to watch the water and be ready to evacuate if necessary.
[Velshi:] All right. Melissa sorry, did you?
[Romans:] No, No. Melissa, thanks, from WREG. I'm looking at rivergages.com. I'm looking at all it's amazing how you can look and see how historical river stages are, where they should be. You know, it's just a remarkable up and down the Mississippi River, the Ohio River Valley. All of these places are just bumping up against a record river level. It's just a real challenge.
[Velshi:] Yes. And it's remarkable what she said. It's going to be next week is when it's going to crest. And then they're looking at that water four to seven days after that.
[Chetry:] Four to seven days after that.
[Velshi:] So this is this is the problem. It's not something that's just happening. It really is a slow disaster.
[Chetry:] Well, meteorologists are predicting that, again, it could be another month in some of these places before they start to see the water levels come down. Later today, government engineers are expected to blow up a levee on the Mississippi River again again in an effort to try to ease some of that pressure.
[Romans:] Earlier breaches sent water gushing over huge swaths of farmland. One of the big questions now, you know, what about the farmers? It's planting season. Or if you're doing winter wheat, you may have already crops in the ground
[Velshi:] Right.
[Romans:] depending on where you are in the country.
[Velshi:] Rob is Rob Marciano is in Mississippi County, Missouri, where a lot of farmers are shaking their heads contemplating their next move and wondering, Rob, as Christine did about the wisdom of flooding the farmland to save towns. I mean, it's a trade-off, but that's where we get a lot of our food.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Tough choices, guys. And it had to be made. You know, this is the third largest watershed in the world. These rivers drain water from New York to North Dakota up into Canada. Remarkable stuff really. And the remarkable amount of rainfall that we've seen has, well, prompted some extraordinary measures. You know, do we blow up levees? Do we flood towns or do we flood with thousands of people or do we flood farms with hundreds of people? Those types of tough decisions require precise measurements.
[Unidentified Male:] Head for that white for the levee break over there. All right. Coming up.
[Marciano:] Bob Holmes and his team of USGS scientists have a critical job in the fight against the flood. Using sensitive GPS-sync Doppler instruments, they can precisely measure the river's flow through the demolished levee. It's been averaging three million gallons per second. [on camera]: Now why is that important to find out the flow rate?
[Bob Holmes, Usgs National Flood Coordinator:] Well, basically the corps is very interested. They're diverting water through the floodway now, so they need to know how much is coming in and they'll know how much is going out. So that's how they make their management decisions.
[Marciano:] Like whether to blow another hole in the levee. [on camera]: There it is. Up-close look at the levee they blew up two nights ago. All that river is now flown into, well, what was dry farmland. Incredible. [voice-over]: Incredibly sad for farmers like Bob Byrne.
[Bob Byrne, Mississippi County Farm Land Owner:] So far we probably lost 40,000 of our wheat crop.
[Marciano:] Like many here, the Byrnes have worked this land for generations. But they have known it's in a floodway and the risk that come with it. [on camera]: Your entire family has been in this business now for over 100 years. Did you ever think in the back of your head, this could happen?
[Byrne:] No. We've seen the Ohio River on a rampage, water run up to the top of the levee. We've seen this one on the rampage, but never the two together. But we just have to take it as it comes. You know? We've got it and we got to go on.
[Marciano:] Heartbreaking to see the pain in that farmer's eyes. He's certainly not alone. This is the farm field or the northern part of the floodway that's designed back in 1937 to open up for cases like this. And you know, the farmers they kind of know that's part of the deal, but they never really want to see this happen. It looks like a great lake. I mean, this thing stretches 38 miles from north to south. And the water really hasn't gone down much since they've opened both of these levies now because they've released more water now that's been held upstream because of all the rainfall we've had in the past couple of weeks. So it is going to take weeks for this water to get out of here, then get down the Mississippi, past Vicksburg, past Baton Rouge and eventually out into the Gulf of Mexico. It hasn't been this high, guys, since 1937 and we're seeing the effects of that right now.
[Velshi:] Yes, Rob, I'm glad you said it because looking at that picture of you there does not look like a river behind you. It really does look like you're on the banks of a lake.
[Marciano:] And we were driving or on the boat yesterday and directing the scientists we were with were saying, go up this road, then make a bank around this telephone pole. And it was just surreal to know that you were over farmland and roadway in about six to at times 20 feet of water. This area being intentionally flooded, remarkable stuff.
[Velshi:] All right, Rob. Thanks, Rob.
[Chetry:] We want to take a look at our top stories now, half past the hour. French police reportedly retrieving the first body from the wreckage of an Air France flight that crashed into the Atlantic nearly two years ago. It was an Airbus 8330 traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people on board when it went down. The wreckage was found last month 13,000 feet down. And the sounds of battle in Syria. Syria security forces who have been battling protesters for the last month and a half have according to state TV began pulling out of Daraa, it's a rebel stronghold. The government claims it has restored security and calm after confiscating weapons and arresting scores of people. One human rights group is saying that more than 500 people have been killed in the fighting in Syria. Well, the men who got Bin Laden back on U.S. soil now. The elite U.S. Navy SEAL team that stormed his compound in Pakistan is back home now. You're looking at exclusive pictures right now of the compound. U.S. officials now say that Bin Laden was unarmed, but they believed he was actually reaching for a gun when he was shot dead. And a live picture now of the White House where in just two hours, President Obama will be leaving for the World Trade Center site. The president is expected to lay a wreath, meet with 911 families and then visit a firehouse that lost 15 men in the September 11th attacks.
[Romans:] He was next to President Bush in the days after 911. He will be with President Obama today days after the U.S. killed Bin Laden. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, joins us this morning. Senator, welcome to the program. It's been I mean, you knew people, your constituents, supporters for you, we all knew people who died on September 11th. To stand there next to the president today after standing with George Bush at the beginning of this whole odyssey, what does this mean to you?
[Senator Chuck Schumer , New York:] Well, it's amazing. We, you know when you come to this site I still remember the day after, the smell of death in the air.
[Schumer:] The people holding pictures. "Have you seen my mother?" "Have you seen my son?" You don't forget that. But I think the shoulders of New Yorkers, Americans and people throughout the world, stand a little taller because we know now. This is sort of a turning point in the war on terror. When Bin Laden did his evil deeds and the towers went down, we said can we win this war? It's so different than the previous wars we fought with suicide bombers and no fields of battle. I now feel most people feel we're going to win this war. We haven't won it yet, but we are in forces of freedom win.
[Romans:] You know, there's been a lot of patriotism around the country from Republicans and Democrats, people of all walks of life who have celebrated the death of Bin Laden. Now some conservatives are saying that maybe this visit is more of a victory lap from the president and unnecessary. What do you say to that?
[Schumer:] The president deserves such credit for what he has done. You know, we saw his style. He's not a chest thumper. He's not going out with the rhetoric. He's thoughtful, but he's stuff and steely, and we saw that in that room. So he deserves huge credit and should be here, but that doesn't take away from what George Bush did to lay the groundwork as well. I think most Americans today feel that this is not any kind of political issue. This is an issue to feel good about America. Our previous president and this president.
[Romans:] You know, you live something I did not know about you, Senator, is that was you lived with Leon Panetta for 11 years. Leon Panetta is someone who's been instrumental in all this, of course, as the director of the CIA. He told lawmakers that Pakistan was either involved or incompetent and neither is a good place to be. Senator, Congress has to approve money for Pakistan, are you going to be what do you think first about the questions we should be asking about Pakistan and its role here?
[Schumer:] I think there are a lot of questions we should ask about Pakistan. I've been asking them for a while. Any country that makes Dr. A.Q. Kan, its hero, the man who sold weapons to North Korea, something's the matter. Now there are people in Pakistan allied with us. There are people in Pakistan allied with the terrorists. Our job is to strengthen the hand of those allied with us, but there are fundamental problems with Pakistan. They have to straighten those out. Pakistan will probably be the most difficult foreign policy issue not only for the United States, but for the world in the next 10 years. It's nuclear. It's poor, militancy is growing and they have never had good leadership.
[Romans:] Well, Senator, just a few weeks ago, I mean, Congress approved more money for Pakistan. Are you going to seriously question a vote to give more money to Pakistan?
[Schumer:] Well, look, I'm not calling for cutting it off that some have done because maybe that aid can strengthen the hand of those of us who are allied with us. So the question is how do you strengthen the hand of the good site in Pakistan, which too often defers to the other? I mean, Pakistan needs to straighten itself out. I think there's going to be a lot of introspection in Pakistan as well. Because what Leon Panetta said is exactly right. They're either extremely incompetent or supremely duplicitous neither one is a good place to be. And any country that has a future looks inside itself and says what are we doing wrong? Pakistan is doing a lot wrong.
[Romans:] All right, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, thank you so much for joining us on this important morning.
[Schumer:] Thank you. Good to be with you.
[Chetry:] Take from the senator this morning. When we come back, we're going to be joined by the managing editor of "Fortune" magazine, the top Fortune 500 companies for 2011. What company is number one and what are some that dropped off the list?
[Romans:] Big enough to be
[Velshi:] It's 38 minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.

[Baldwin:] You know what, I have to give a lot of you credit, because a lot of you helped us capture this story, this history here today. The farewell flight of the space shuttle Discovery. We got all kinds of i-Reports all up and down the East Coast as the space shuttle essentially rode piggy back on a modified 747 to its new home, the Smithsonian Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. That's right near Dulles. This video, this was taken in Cocoa Beach, Florida, by i-Reporter Cicely Johnson. Just listen. And then you can hear some people, look at them just oohing and ahhing, taking pictures, I know I would be, as they're watching this thing loop around the National Mall a couple of times before it landed there in Washington this morning. The site wowed Washington for 45 minutes. Finally making there you go a picture perfect landing in Dulles. John Zarrella was there for the discovery play by play, at least on the Florida side of things this morning. He's joining me live there at Kennedy. John, I was up with you this morning. I tell you, I was watching, I was tweeting, I was oohing and ahhing myself from the comfort of my own home. Just paint the picture for us what is was like being there. Who was there at Kennedy?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, well, you know, it was just surreal because you see that vehicle on the back of the 747. And they drove down they road down the runway and they stopped midpoint on the runway before taking off so that all of the bus loads of NASA employees, former space shuttle workers could see it. You had the six member crew from STS 133, that February 24th mission, a year, 14 months ago, they were on hand. And, you know, in fact, I was with Rob Bob Cabana, the director of the Kennedy Space Center, four-time shuttle flyer, flew as the pilot on Discovery twice. His first flight ever was on Discovery. And we were talking just as Discovery lifted off behind us. And you could see him he had said to me, he said, you know, John, I thought that I was past this. That I wouldn't well up. I wouldn't get teary eyed. But he did because, you know, we keep using that word bittersweet, but it really is.
[Baldwin:] I know. It's the perfect word.
[Zarrella:] So many jobs lost here. And, you know, it's just a sad time here on the space coast. You know, great for the Smithsonian getting this spectacular vehicle.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Zarrella:] Thirty-nine missions, 148 million miles flown. But tough here for a lot of people.
[Baldwin:] No, I know it is tough and bittersweet is, you know, albeit cliche, it's the perfect word for this occasion. I want to talk to you about the future of space flight in just a moment, but I know you were tagging teaming this thing with Lizzie O'Leary, who was on the ground in Washington.
[Zarrella:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] And I tell you, my brother works on Capitol Hill and I said, get outside. Go take a look. Tell me a little bit about the fight. I mean didn't it circle the National Mall some three times before landing at Dulles?
[Zarrella:] It took for like forever, you know. It left here just before 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. And, boy, it was four hours. I looked at it. It was about four hours and 10 minutes almost on the nose to the time it touched down. And at one point it came in very low over Dulles. And I'm looking at it and I'm on the air with Carol Costello and I'm like, you know, the landing gear aren't down, so it's not landing this time. So it was almost like an extra fly-by that they got. And I had been told early on, you know, nobody knew exactly what to expect. A lot was going to be determined by, you know, how much air traffic was in the area and exactly what the crew of on board there was able to do as far as flying it all over Washington.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Zarrella:] And what a spectacular show for everybody up there.
[Baldwin:] Amazing. And people were tweeting me. They were stopping along the highways. You know, on top of friend's rooftops in apartment buildings and that kind of thing.
[Zarrella:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] We're work on getting, I know, the curator from the Smithsonian. It's going to end up at the Chantilly facility for the Air and Space Museum. Do you know when folks will be able to finally see this in person, John?
[Zarrella:] Yes, just a couple of days. What's today? I've lost track. Wednesday right. Today's
[Baldwin:] Today's Tuesday.
[Zarrella:] It will be Friday. This Friday.
[Baldwin:] OK.
[Zarrella:] Today's Tuesday. OK. I've been up since 3:00 this morning. I've already forgotten what day it is.
[Baldwin:] We'll forgive you. We'll forgive you. So in a couple of days.
[Zarrella:] Yes, Friday. They'll be able to start going through it on Friday. They'll have Enterprise, which is there. They've got to get it out and then it will go on back of that 747 because they're flying that up to New York because eventually it's going to be over there at the Intrepid Air and Sea Museum, where it will be on display.
[Baldwin:] Right. Right.
[Zarrella:] So next week next week they're flying that out. And I think it's going to be like barged up the Hudson River at some point. That's going to be pretty cool too.
[Baldwin:] Awesome. Well, then I can't wait to see that as well. In the meantime, while I still have you, I do want to talk the future of space.
[Zarrella:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] You know, as commercial space grows space
[Zarrella:] Sure.
[Baldwin:] I know they're testing out, what is it, the dragon at the end of this month.
[Zarrella:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] What is NASA's role as we really look forward?
[Zarrella:] You know, you look forward, it's split now. What NASA did was they decided that they were going to go in a different direction. Get out of the low earth orbit business, turn all that over to the commercial companies as soon as quickly as possible. So SpaceX, Orbital, Blue Horizon, you know, Blue Origins, a bunch of these different companies are vying to start taking humans to the International Space Station. Two weeks from now, Elon Musk, SpaceX, seems to be in the driver's seat ahead of everybody else at this point.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Zarrella:] They're going to be flying and trying to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station. No commercial company in history has ever accomplished that. Then he'll start taking cargo and eventually these commercial companies will start taking humans back and forth to the Space Station by the 2016 timetable. What this does, Brooke, is it frees up NASA's limited resources so that they can start doing what they have always done best.
[Baldwin:] So we can get some boot prints on Mars?
[Zarrella:] Right.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Zarrella:] Go to Mars. Go to an asteroid. Do the things that NASA's always done best. Put people on the moon, right? I mean that's the marquee.
[Baldwin:] John Zarrella, I look forward to covering those stories with you, sir, when we're talking boot prints on Mars in our lifetime.
[Zarrella:] It will be a lot of fun. A lot of fun. Yes.
[Baldwin:] John, thank you. Coming up, another event that makes us stop and watch. Certainly a car chase. There it was. This is Kentucky. Went through three countries. But it's the end that you want to watch.

[Blitzer:] President Obama now back at the White House after a three- day swing through North Carolina and Virginia to push his jobs plan. Earlier the president and first lady spoke at a military base in Virginia where they announced that private companies have pledged to hire 25,000 U.S. veterans and their spouses by the end of 2013. The president then traveled to the Richmond, Virginia area, where he urged Congress to act.
[Barack Obama,  President Of The United States:] These are the choices that Congress will be presented within the next few weeks, and if they vote against these proposals, if they say no to the steps we know will put people back to work right now, they're not going to have to answer to me. They're going to have to answer to you.
[Blitzer:] Vice President Biden is pushing for quick passage of the provision including a provision at the same time, including a provision that would keep teachers, firefighters, and police officers on the job. Our Congressional correspondent Kate Bolduan is picking up this part of the story for us. All right, Kate. What are you hearing? Explain to our viewers.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] Vice President Biden, he came to Capitol Hill today to try to pile on the pressure to get Congress to pass part of the president's jobs bill. The bill is still not likely to go anywhere in the Senate, but it did lead to a fiery, unscripted moment with the vice president.
[Joe Biden,  U.s. Vice President:] Real people will get real relief right now.
[Bolduan:] To a room packed with the teachers, firefighters, and police he promises to help, Vice President Joe Biden took the president's message from the bus tour straight to a rally on Capitol Hill.
[Biden:] They won't let this vote on it. Well, I want, my colleagues want, to vote on it piece by piece. Explain to the American people, explain why. This is an emergency 300,000 teachers have been laid off.
[Bolduan:] Biden went on to say police layoffs in places like Flint, Michigan, have led to increased crime.
[Biden:] In many cities, the result has been it's not unique, murder rates are up. Robberies are up. Rapes are up.
[Bolduan:] Afterward as the vice president was leaving, he was confronted by the reporter from the conservative news site, "Human Events."
[Unidentified Male:] You're using a rape reference to describe opposition
[Biden:] No, no, what I said, let's get it straight, guys. Don't screw around with me. Let's get it straight.
[Unidentified Male:] You didn't use a rape reference?
[Biden:] I said rape was up three times in flint. There are the numbers. Go look at the numbers. Murder is up, rape is up, and burglary is up. That's exactly what I said.
[Unidentified Male:] And if Republicans don't pass this bill, rape will continue to rise?
[Biden:] Murder will continue to rise. Rape will continue to rise. All crimes will continue to rise.
[Unidentified Male:] Do you think it's appropriate for the vice president to use language
[Unidentified Female:] We've got to go. I'm sorry, we've got to go.
[Bolduan:] Despite the heated rhetoric and the full court pass to pass a $35 billion measure to help keep teachers and first responders on the job, the reality in Congress is this bill has virtually no chance at passing, and Democrats know that, prompting the top Republican in the Senate to blast the White House and Senate Democratic effort as nothing more than a political sideshow.
[Mitch Mcconnell,  Senate Minority Leader:] Let park the campaign bus, put away the talking points, and do something to address the jobs crisis. The American people want action. The election is 13 months away.
[Bolduan:] Still, we do expect the Senate to hold a procedural test vote on this part of the president's jobs bill by the end of the week. Again, it is not likely to pass as Republicans remain steadfastly against the tax increase Democrats have proposed to pay for the bill. Senate Democratic leaders, Wolf, do promise they will continue to bring up other parts of the president's jobs bill in the coming weeks.
[Blitzer:] I've covered vice president Biden for many, many years. I rarely have seen him as angry as I did in that clip right there, Kate.
[Bolduan:] Very fired up.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much, Kate Bolduan, reporting from Capitol Hill. Out on the international front, the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is making a surprise visit to Afghanistan today. She touched down in Kabul. She'll be meeting with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai tomorrow. Secretary Clinton is on a swing through the Middle East and North Africa, made an unannounced visit to Libya today. Jill Dougherty is traveling with the secretary. Breaking down the Republican presidential debate, I'll ask a voice from the left, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, whom he now fears the most. And shocking new details are emerging after the discovery of four disabled people being kept in a virtual basement dungeon. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Anchor:] From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND. And then there were two. If you missed it last night, we'll tell you the NCAA's Final Four winners and some interesting reaction from one of the losing coaches. Just in to CNN this morning, we may know now the dates for North Korea's missile test. Why South Korea thinks we could be days away. And the son of one of the nation's most famous pastors is dead. Why Matthew Warren took his own life and Rick and Kay Warren's struggle to help him. Plus, if you're wearing a mini skirt, you could go to jail. Some new legislation that could equate a risky wardrobe with pornography. It is Sunday, April 7th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Miguel Marquez. The big dance is down to just one couple. And just like the presidential election, it's red against big blue. One team overcame a gruesome injury on their way to the final, while the other followed the lead of the college game's top player. Our Carlos Diaz lucky Carlos is at the Georgia Dome where the Final Four games played out. OK, Carols, I danced around it enough. Who's in and how did they get there?
[Carlos Diaz, Cnn Sports:] You are an amazing dancer. Yes, we have Louisville against Michigan. The Cardinals taking on the Wolverines in the championship game tomorrow night. We're expecting two great games yesterday and we were not disappointed. Starting with the night cap. Michigan taking on Syracuse last night. Now, everyone was talking about Trey Burke coming into the game. The national player of the year for Michigan. But he had a rough night. Only one for eight from the field. So, the rest of the Michigan "Fresh Five," as they're called, instead of the Fab 5, had to pick up the slack with Tim Hardaway Jr. leading the scorning. And it was basically a team effort. But Michigan let Syracuse back in at late by missing several free throws. In the end, Michigan's the winner, knocking off Syracuse and Jim Boeheim is beaten by the person that he mentored, John Beilein. John Beilein was zero for nine against Jim Boeheim throughout his career. His first win last night on his first trip to the Final Four. So, Michigan gets back to the final game for the first time in 20 years. The first time since 1993 with the Fab 5 with the likes of Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Chris Webber. You had all those great guys playing back 20 years ago. And now Michigan back in the final game. Miguel.
[Marquez:] So, Carlos, who's got the advantage tomorrow? Is it are we talking about Louisville here?
[Diaz:] Well, the great thing is this. You know, Louisville is a 4.5 point favorite. You know, that's the early line right now on the game. But I tell you what, it is going to be an exciting game because, you know, Wichita State and Syracuse, known for their really tough defense, I joked that if those two played in the finals, it would be the final score would be 20 to 19. Instead, you've got Louisville taking on Michigan. Two great, hunt, run and gun kind of teams. Louisville with a great pressure trap defense. So there's going to be an it's going to be an exciting 40 minutes from start to finish. It's one of those matchups that you love to see in a final game where it's not a grinded out game. This is going to be a run and gun style kind of game. A lot of scoring tomorrow. But the tough thing for both teams, it's hitting their free throws. As I said, Michigan missed a lot of free throws down the stretch. Louisville missed a ton of free throws early in the game. So free throws are going to be the key. And it's going to be an exciting game, but it might come down to the charity stripe, Miguel.
[Marquez:] All right, Carlos, get some sleep on Tuesday why don't you. You won't have any sleep for the next
[Diaz:] What is this sleep you speak of?
[Marquez:] Now, Syracuse had a good run, but just couldn't close the deal. That may explain why Coach Jim Boeheim was a little irritable at his post-game news conference. Here's his reaction when a reporter asked the 68-year-old coach if he was ready to retire.
[Jim Boeheim, Syracuse Head Coach:] Why ask that question? Do you ask are you going to ask John Beilein that question?
[Unidentified Male:] Well, we ask 19-year-old kids the same question. They handle it better than you are.
[Boeheim:] You ask a 19-year-old kid if he's going to retire? Really? I didn't
[Unidentified Male:] If they're going to be back next year. I was kind of
[Boeheim:] If you're going to say something smart, at least be smart.
[Marquez:] Well, later, Boeheim apologized for his anger and made up with the reporter who asked the question. He also said he has no plans to retire. There is shock and sadness this morning in one of the country's biggest mega churches. Matthew Warren, the youngest son of the evangelical pastor and author Rick Warren, has killed himself. His grief-stricken father says the 27-year-old battled, quote, "dark holes of depression" for all his life. Deborah Feyerick has more on the tragedy.
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn National Correspondent:] Apparently, 27- year-old Matthew Warren committed suicide after years of struggling with mental illness. His father, Pastor Rick Warren, you may remember, delivered the invocation at President Obama's first inauguration. Now, in a heartfelt message he said that his son suffered from deep depression and suicidal thoughts. Warren's statement reads that, quote, "in spite of America's best doctors, meds, counselors and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided. Today, after a fun evening with wife Kay and me, in a momentary wave of despair at his home, Matthew took his life." Well, Pastor Rick Warren is well-known and widely regarded internationally. He's "The New York Times" bestselling author of the book "The Purpose Driven Life," which has sold upwards of 30 million copies. Among liberals and Democrats, he is a somewhat controversial figure for his seemingly conservative theological views on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage, which he does not support. The broken-hearted father described his son as having a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who in the room was in most pain and going to them to offer encouragement. Warren says that after a failed attempt about 10 years ago, his son Matthew said to him, quote, "dad, I know I'm going to heaven. Why can't I just die and end this pain?" Warren and his wife Kay in anguish over the loss of their youngest son. Deborah Feyerick.
[Marquez:] Now, Pastor Rick Warren founded the Saddleback Valley Community Church in southern California. At the church last night, Matthew Warren's Uncle Tom Holladay delivered this heartfelt message.
[Tom Holladay, Teaching Pastor, Saddleback Church:] Rick and Kay and their family are having to face the news this week of the death of their youngest son, Matthew. And we're facing it together as a family. And that's what we're going to do this weekend. We're going to pray together and we're going to worship together and we're going to look at God's hope together and we're going to be real together about who he is. We're going to real together about our hurts and we're going to be real together about the thing that only he can give us, hope in the face of anything and everything.
[Marquez:] Now, just about a year ago, Matthew Warren's parents spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper when he was with ABC. Matthew's mother, Kay Warren, hinted at the challenges her son had been dealing with. Listen to this.
[Kaye Warren, Matthew Warren's Mother:] We have close family with some mental illness. For us, it has been challenging and it has been difficult.
[Marquez:] Now, Kay Warren also said in that interview that life is like a parallel set of train tracks, where joy and sorry run together. Overseas now to Afghanistan where six Americans were killed in two separate attacks. Five of them died when their military convoy came under attack. Two of the victims were civilian. One from the State Department and one from the Defense Department. The convoy was delivering books into southern Afghanistan when it was hit. Four other State Department workers were injured in the attack. This morning, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke about the attack and the loss of life.
[John Kerry, Secretary Of State:] Folks who want to kill people, and that's all they want to do, are scared of knowledge. And they want to shut the doors. And they don't want people to make their choices about the future. For them, it's you do things my way and if you don't we'll throw acid in your face, we'll put a bullet in your face. The young girl trying to learn. So, this is a huge challenge for us. It is a confrontation with modernity, with possibilities. And everything that our country stands for, everything we stand for, is embodied in what Anne Smedinghoff stood for.
[Marquez:] When he was in Afghanistan last week, Kerry met with Anne Smedinghoff, the female diplomat just 25-year-old who was killed in yesterday's attack. He's in the Middle East right now in Turkey, but later in the week, Kerry heads to South Korea, China and Japan. Of course, while he's there, talks will center on the growing tensions with North Korea. CNN has learned that Kerry will discuss possible diplomatic initiatives for the North. The U.S., of course, is trying to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula. The Pentagon says it's delaying a long plan missile test so North Korea won't get the wrong idea about it. But it looks like North Korea may be going full steam ahead with its own missile test and it could happen this coming week. Let's go to our CNN International anchor and correspondent Jim Clancy in Seoul, South Korea. Jim, South Korea believes the North may test a missile within days, is that right?
[Jim Clancy, Cnn International Anchor And Correspondent:] Yes. They're moving up that date. Originally it was thought it might coincide with Kim Il-sung's birthday, you know, the founding leader of North Korea. His birthday comes up on the 15th. Now they're saying it might fall on the 10th. That's when they've give an ultimatum to the companies that are inside Kaesong to have their workers out of that only real symbol of cooperation between North and South. This missile test is widely expected. There's said to be two missiles on the east coast of the Korean peninsula. These missiles have not really been studied much by the west, and so you've got spy ships, tracking ships, agers, cruisers out there that are all going to be able to learn as much as possible if the North decides to launch. Miguel.
[Marquez:] Yes, are they seeing any sign that those missiles are being fueled up at all, or is it just based on their best assessment about the movement of troops around and individuals around South and North Korea?
[Clancy:] Well, some of the media speculation is that they have been fueled. The defense ministry here in South Korea is not divulging any of the details. Now, the missiles can be fueled. The fuel can be left in them for a couple of weeks before they are fired. So there's still some room to move here, but it seems that, based on the best intelligence, we could see that launch this week.
[Marquez:] Yes, South Korea says it's at a military readiness posture. What exactly does that mean?
[Clancy:] Well, it doesn't mean much. I mean it means that they are in a position to respond. Now, you've got tens of thousands of troops that are engaged in joint maneuvers with the United States. You could say that the readiness in South Korea is much more than it is in normal times. But they're not specifically calling people back to their bases and telling them that they have to be on alert. They are in a position to make a response to any provocation that they may see from the North, but they're not pushing that. They don't want to provoke things either. Miguel.
[Marquez:] They're calling what the North is doing a scare tactic. For what purpose do they think they're trying to scare and who are they trying to scare?
[Clancy:] Well, you know, you've watched some of the rhetoric that we have seen coming out of the North and it is fear theoretic, right, talking about nuclear missiles attacking the United States, turning this place into a sea of fire. Let me they have a name for it. And it came out today from the national security chief spokesperson as she laid out what they're calling now, I think it's the headline strategy. What is the headline strategy? Well, they put out a video, and if it gets traction, then they'll put the same thing out a few days later. So, every day. North Korea will be in the news. They don't care if they have to practice shoot their way into the news, launch a missile to get into the news, stop South Korean workers from coming to the Kaesong industrial facility. Get in the news, every single day. Put pressure on the U.S., China, everyone else in the region to try to help North Korea out. Miguel.
[Marquez:] Jim Clancy reporting for us out of Seoul. Thank you very much, sir. Now, leave it to "Saturday Night Live" to have some fun with the North Korea crisis and its young leader. Take a look.
[Unidentified Male, Actor, "saturday Night Live":] After much thoughtful consideration and soul-searching, I have decided, once and for all, to lift our nation's ban on same-sex marriage. It is simply the right thing to do. It was reported Friday that North Korea has loaded two missiles onto launchers on its east coast and its threatening to fire them at the United States. So, let this be a warning to you, middle of the ocean.

[Lemon:] Welcome back, everyone. This week we are profiling celebrities that are more than their day jobs. Singing and dancing. We call it big stars and big giving. Today, actor, Matthew McConaughey shows us how he is giving back. He started a foundation to help kids live healthier lives. CNN's Alina Cho caught up with him to find out more about that as well as dramatic weight loss for a movie role.
[Matthew Mcconaughey, Actor:] I want something philanthropic or charitable. I want it on my desk every Monday morning. I need to follow it and build and track.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Correspondent:] Matthew McConaughey, movie star started to think about how he could give back.
[Mcconaughey:] I said I want to find a place where I can help out and it's prevention before you need a cure. That led me to kids.
[Unidentified Female:] It's 30 more seconds to warm up.
[Cho:] It led him to high schoolers and kids at a cross roads.
[Mcconaughey:] Freshman year in high school, a little odd because you came from being the big dog.
[Cho:] It led him and his wife to start the JK Living Foundation.
[Mcconaughey:] Just keep live in. Now go on the end because life is a verb.
[Cho:] JK Living doesn't just provide support to existing programs, but create and funds its own after school curriculum. In 14 schools with high poverty rates nationwide.
[Mcconaughey:] Break a sweat. Learn to eat healthy and say thank you. That's sort of the three monikers.
[Cho:] The kids meet twice a week, two hours a day, like 16-year-old Esperanza Ortega.
[Esperanza Ortega, Student:] We have our monthly goals. I'd say I'm going to lose five pounds, when I lost five pounds, I felt great.
[Cho:] And Jeffrey Jin.
[Jeffrey Jin, Student:] Working out, it's a great stress reliever. It takes off the pain and takes your mind off of a lot of things that happen.
[Mcconaughey:] If you can get them there and start good habits that maybe they didn't have or maintain good habits they already had, they have a better chance of carrying them over.
[Cho:] Then there the gratitude circle.
[Unidentified Female:] I am thankful for my best friends that I had.
[Unidentified Male:] The opportunity to pursue a college education.
[Cho:] Besides the obvious, what's the really value in doing that?
[Mcconaughey:] Reciprocity. The things that we show gratitude for, it creates more things to be thankful for.
[Cho:] Like McConaughey success as an actor.
[Unidentified Male:] I think I see a lot of lawbreakers in this house.
[Cho:] That leads us to that dramatic weight loss.
[Mcconaughey:] I'm the lightest I have been since I was I don't know, eighth grade.
[Cho:] Let's talk about that, 38 pounds. [voice-over]: The new film, "Dallas Buyer's Club." He plays an AIDS patient, a working actor with worldwide fame and a conscience.
[Mcconaughey:] I've got things. I'm one of the haves. There have nots. We are giving the fishing rod instead of a fish to a lot of these kids and thankfully they are taking it and coming back and customizing it in their life. That feels good.
[Lemon:] For more on Matthew McConaughey, JK Livin, no g, Foundation and how you can help, go to cnn.comimpact. Former President George H.W. Bush is in intensive care at a hospital in Houston this afternoon, ahead, the latest on his condition.

[Phillips:] Controlling the message. CNN.com columnist LZ Granderson says Republicans are doing a masterful job of dictating the conversation in Washington. The latest example, he says, is the word "stimulus." A word, according to LZ that President Obama is just afraid to use as he pushes his latest jobs plan. LZ, make your case. What are you talking about?
[Lz Granderson, Cnn.com Contributor:] Did you hear the word during president's speech? I mean, I didn't
[Phillips:] No.
[Granderson:] hear the word stimulus, but let's face it. I mean, it is a stimulus package, right? It another stimulus package and he has to find a way to get people to not feel bad about hearing that word because Republicans are going to use that word and relate it to his jobs plan.
[Phillips:] So you're saying it's giving Republicans credibility.
[Granderson:] Well, I mean, absolutely. Every single time that he does not say that word or does that correlate the fact that the two packages are similar, and in the fact that they are stimulus packages. What he is basically doing is somewhat saying, you know what, maybe the first one didn't work or maybe the Republicans are right. And if they have that doubt, if voters have that doubt that the first one was a complete failure, then where is the confidence with the second one? He's got to take control of the message and he can do that by using that word.
[Phillips:] Well, do you think Republicans have boxed him in?
[Granderson:] Well, you know, I think that Republicans always have done a masterful job of boxing him in. They control the message. They've been controlling the message now for much of his administration. But I think he's at a critical juncture right now because this is pretty much is going to be his last big shot to tell voters that he is the person to get the economy back on track. And if he can't now step up and control this message and control that word, and get people to believe in his job's plan package, his chances of getting re-elected gets a lot slimmer.
[Phillips:] LZ, great talking to you this morning. Thanks for weighing in.
[Granderson:] You, too.
[Phillips:] You bet, you can weigh in with LZ. Read his entire column at CNN.comOpinion. If you like, you can join the conversation. LZ would love to get into it with you. All right, stories across the country now. Wildfires threatening homes in California in Kern County just north of LA. Residents are being urged to evacuate. Three groups of fires there are burning across 87 square miles. And no school today for students in Tacoma, Washington. Teachers there voted to strike. It's the second time Tacoma teachers have voted to strike after contract talks fell through. And hospice nurses in Colorado went above and beyond to take care of a patient. 55-year-old Tom Driscoll is dying of brain cancer. He is a life-long Denver Broncos fan and really wanted to go to last night's home opener against The Raiders. Well, as you can see, he went. His nurses actually called The Broncos' organization and managed to get him one of the coveted tickets. Well, it was easy for Bobby Bowden to talk about football when he coached at Florida state, but he couldn't talk about cancer. Why did he wait so long to reveal it? Coach joins me next live.

[Unidentified Female:] Before you get our vote, you're going to have to answer some questions. Questions like
[Unidentified Male:] When is the election? How soon can we get to decide? What are the names of the names of the two people running? And be specific. Who is the president right now? Is he or she running? Because if so, experience is maybe something we should consider.
[Lemon:] Got to love "Saturday Night Live." The undecideds may still have some questions seems like a lot of questions there. But some pundits are in agreement, they say Mitt Romney is in big trouble. Is he though? Let's ask the only pundit whose analysis we really care about, really matters to us.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] That's right.
[Lemon:] CNN contributors Will Cain and LZ Granderson. LZ, of course, also a senior writer at ESPN. So this is about the Republicans. This is about Mitt Romney. I'm going to start with you, Will.
[Cain:] All right.
[Lemon:] Romney has spent a lot of time lately just explaining comments about Libya, comments about the so-called 47 percent, fending off criticism from conservative critics. There are still six weeks.
[Cain:] Right.
[Lemon:] And three debates to go. What's going on here? This is a little premature to be imploding.
[Cain:] I think it's a little premature to be calling the race and I think that's what a lot of pundits and critics seem to be doing at this point. There's no denying that Mitt Romney has had an incredibly difficult to incredibly bad week or two. But that means that look, six and a half weeks to go. What drives elections? What drives news? Events. Events.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Cain:] Look, we saw the Middle East explode into changing you know, world-changing events over the past week and a half. Four years ago we saw the economy take a drastic turn just months before the election. You know, I think we constantly overvalue, Don, the impact of all these gaffes when still there are plenty of there's plenty of days left and plenty of events left to happen before this election.
[Lemon:] Well, I always say you you know, don't count anybody out. You never know what can happen between now and then. But as you
[Cain:] Right.
[Lemon:] LZ, as you really to people, when you talk to folks, Democratic or Republican, may go, my gosh, last week, I don't know. This is not the defining moment or the moment that turned everything, I don't know what is. And that's what people are really saying. What do you make of that, LZ?
[Lz Granderson, Cnn Contributor:] Well, I think you're absolutely right about that. That was a really horrific week. And not just in terms of, you know, the way video being leaked out, but the way that the entire confrontation was handled after that. It just seemed like, again, there was a lack of compassion and not really being able to be in step of what the American people were concerned about. But, you know, I think we've been mischaracterizing the things that Mitt Romney has been saying over these past, you know, year and a half and describing them as gaffes. I think it's becoming very clear that this is just Mitt Romney. This is actually what he really feels in terms of class, in terms of socioeconomic status and people's work ethic. So I think we need to stop saying, oops, he shouldn't have said that, and start looking at the fact that he's been saying this pretty consistently and this is actually his policy and his values.
[Lemon:] Yes, and if that's what he believes in, that's what he believes. Maybe maybe the media are characterizing it as gaffes when it was really, you know, what he believes so
[Granderson:] This is Mitt.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Granderson:] It's what he believes.
[Lemon:] And you know you know I don't mean that in a bad way.
[Cain:] What's amazing is the media is characterizing it
[Lemon:] Hey, Will, but I think he says the same thing. I mean he actually said, that's what I believe. I believe in what I said about the 47 percent. I didn't mean to disparage anyone, but these are my beliefs. Why are you characterizing it as a gaffe?
[Cain:] Yes, but the main thing is the media
[Granderson:] Right.
[Cain:] And I'm going to point, you know, two boxes over to my left right here to my friend LZ, are just characterizing the 47 percent remark, for example, superficially. So we just can't say perpetuate this thing, oh, he said what he said is so bad.
[Granderson:] Superficially?
[Cain:] That's going to affect people on an emotional level. It will affect people in an emotional level if you never appeal to them intellectually. What he made mistakes. And I think we've talked about on this program, I've certainly talked about on others, but there were intellectual mistakes about mischaracterizing the numbers. It didn't reinforce some year and a half narrative
[Lemon:] OK.
[Cain:] about how he feels about people in different economic classes.
[Lemon:] All right. Let's move on now.
[Granderson:] It's not about the numbers.
[Lemon:] All right. But
[Granderson:] It's about how he feels about the people.
[Lemon:] "Saturday Night Live" jokingly suggested that Obama should just stay quiet until Election Day and let Romney self-destruct. I mean does it feel like he's doing that was a pretty funny thing last night
[Cain:] Ball control, huh?
[Lemon:] Yes. When he said, Mr. President, what are you doing? Just be quiet.
[Cain:] I'll say this, and I'm going to toss this to LZ. I don't think ball control offense is ever a wise strategy. When you have your opponent, you know, I'm going to mix sports metaphors here, but when you have your opponent on the ropes, you have to put them away. I mean I don't know. Ball control is not the way to win an election.
[Granderson:] He's not
[Cain:] It's not the way to win anything.
[Granderson:] He is not in any position you're right, Will, he is not in any position to just be quiet and let Romney talk. And I'll tell you why. I think the most important dates of this election is November 2nd. I used to think it was October 3rd, the first debate, but now that I've seen how a narrative behind a job report can totally change a person's attitude about the president. If that job report is not strong on November 2nd, he's in a lot of trouble.
[Cain:] Right.
[Granderson:] He's in a lot of trouble.
[Cain:] Events. Events.
[Granderson:] So
[Lemon:] I'll tell you what. I'm going to be watching those debates. That is going to be some good television. But let's move on and talk about a very serious subject here. Voter rights and voter suppression. Republicans have pushed voter I.D. laws around the country. Democrats are crying foul. Here's the first here's the first lady last night at the Congressional Black Caucus dinner. Take a listen.
[Michelle Obama, First Lady:] We all get a say in our democracy no matter who we are or where we're from or what we look like or who we love. So we cannot let anyone discourage us from casting our ballots. We cannot let anyone make us feel unwelcomed in the voting booth.
[Lemon:] She says "feel unwelcomed in the voting booth." are people really is there a strategy to make people feel unwelcome in the voting booth? I mean, the former President Bill Clinton, Will
[Cain:] No.
[Lemon:] said this was he has never seen it so blatant at trying to not let allow people to vote.
[Cain:] Really? Really? He's never seen it so blatant as when they made African-Americans count jelly beans in a jar and get the number right before they cast a vote? Look, people feel strongly about this
[Granderson:] He wasn't alive then.
[Cain:] So I'm going to put this strongly to you. This is the biggest bag in nothing designed to inflame voters and specifically minority voters into turning out this election. If you want to equate showing your I.D., an I.D. which if you don't have the government will provide you for free, and if you don't have that free I.D. they will provide you that you can still cast a ballot, a provisional ballot which will be counted later. If that is equivalent of a poll tax or a literacy test on African- Americans in this country, then that then you're asking us to stretch logic to its furthest absurdity.
[Lemon:] LZ, go ahead.
[Cain:] And you know what, most Americans agree because the polls show it.
[Lemon:] Go ahead,
[Lz. Granderson:] You know, I'm going to try not to go off on my friend Will here. I'm going to try and keep my emotions in tact here. I'm just going to say that it's racist. I'm not going to dance all around it, it's driven by racism. And the fact that Will can't see it is fine. Everyone doesn't have to see the same story but I'm going to tell you what that actual story is. This is driven by race. I was at the speech last night. I was at that dinner last night, and I will tell you, I didn't leave there thinking, oh, I need to vote for Obama because he's black. I left there thinking as an American citizen we all should be offended that these tactics are being used to curtail our rights, the rights that blacks and whites have died for. You don't have to go all the way back to slavery. I mean, Jesse Helms, hello, he used very aggressive tactics to scare blacks from going back to the polls.
[Cain:] And it's nothing like this.
[Granderson:] Same thing that if you show up let me finish because I allowed you to finish. Same things like, if you go to these polls and you don't have XY and Z documents, you will go to jail. That wasn't a long time ago. You and I, Will, we were in college when that was going on.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Granderson:] And so if you think that this is some sort of ruse, then what you're just really saying is that I'm a little bit out of touch when it comes to things that address the minority and I need my friend LZ to tell me about them.
[Lemon:] OK. All right.
[Cain:] No, no, I appreciate that, but look, the polls show, the majority of Americans support showing an I.D. at the voting booth to protect the sanctity of vote to as protect it from voter fraud
[Granderson:] What's the motivation?
[Cain:] And the and the Supreme Court of United States also agrees with this provision.
[Granderson:] What is the motivation?
[Lemon:] Hang on. Hang on.
[Ok -- Cain:] So it's
[Granderson:] Will
[Lemon:] I think that is a good question, Will. What's the motivation when it shows that there's really no fraud not much of a history of voter fraud.
[Cain:] No, no, no.
[Lemon:] That's what hang on. That's it's not much of a history of that, and if it's not political, if it's not politically motivated or, as LZ says, racially motivated, that's his words, then why not wait until the next presidential election to put it into place where both sides
[Cain:] Well, you know, the answer to this.
[Lemon:] Hang on. Where both sides get what they want?
[Cain:] You know the answer to this because you and I both just stated. It is to protect the sanctity of a vote against voter fraud. It is not something that is nonexistent.
[Lemon:] But what if there is no
[Cain:] You ask Norm Coleman.
[Lemon:] Voter fraud is pretty is pretty much nonexistent, Will. That's a talking point.
[Cain:] That's nonsense. That is nonsense that it's nonexistent. That is not true.
[Granderson:] No, what's nonsense
[Cain:] You can't say that.
[Lemon:] That people are going to
[Granderson:] What's nonsense is that you don't see it.
[Lemon:] OK. So let's just say 100 people
[Cain:] That's simply not true.
[Lemon:] Is it going to make that much a difference? It's not even that, it's like
[Cain:] So the question isn't for me then. So the question isn't for me. It's for you two. How much voter fraud is acceptable?
[Lemon:] Listen. I'm not saying.
[Granderson:] No
[Lemon:] I'm just saying why not So that it doesn't look political, why don't you wait until the next election so both sides will get what they want? You give people the time to get a voter I.D. card and then you sort it out between now and then.
[Cain:] But this has been this has been a project this isn't a project that came up in the past three months. This is a project that states across this country have been have been looking into for years and passing on a state level for years. And by the way, it's
[Granderson:] And got extremely aggressive when President Obama was in office.
[Cain:] State after start voting what's that?
[Granderson:] Did you know they also tried to keep President Obama off the ballot by having some sort of special rule that was just implemented regarding birth certificates? Will, you need to stop it and see the light, brother. They are purposely trying to do anything they can to intimidate minorities. And what you really need to be upset about
[Cain:] Do you think I'm just curious.
[Granderson:] is what you really what you really need to be upset about is the fact that years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a registered Republican because the Republican Party was actually the party that was fighting the racism in the south. And that has flipped. And it's flipped because indecisions have allowed that to flip. And They didn't speak up when the racism was there.
[Cain:] Let me just let me just make a point
[Lemon:] Wrap it up, guys.
[Granderson:] We need to speak up about the racism now.
[Cain:] It's all small point in a question. It's small point to question. This conversation shows it's a useful conversation to inflame the voter.
[Lemon:] OK.
[Cain:] Second, it's not just me. Are you suggesting the Supreme Court of the United States therefore is racist because they have approved and seen that every one of these laws is constitutional?
[Granderson:] I'm saying that you need to look at the genesis as to why this law was created or why these people pursued in the timeline and in the fashion in which it was pursued. Were was this conversation being so nationally pushed when W. was running for reelection? Why is it that when the first black president of the United States is on the ballot that all of a sudden we're super motivated now to make sure there's no voter fraud.
[Lemon:] All good questions.
[Granderson:] You can look at the motivation and the timing.
[Lemon:] All good question. We let this go about 10 minutes longer than it was supposed to.
[Cain:] I know you did.
[Lemon:] Great conservation, as usual. Goodness.
[Cain:] Thank you, guys.
[Lemon:] Thank you. See you next weekend.
[Granderson:] Thank you.
[Lemon:] Don't forget, you can stay connected. You can watch CNN live on your computer. You can do it from work. Just go to CNN.comTV.

[Costello:] Tiger Woods roars again with a win at Doral. He may not be ranked number one, but he sure played like the best golfer in the whole entire world this weekend. Joe Carter has more in this morning's Bleacher Report.
[Joe Carter, Bleacher Report:] Hi, Carol. Yes last year if you remember at this same tournament Tiger had to withdraw because of an injury he had in his Achilles. There was a concern after that tournament that he'd never get his golf game back again. Well, in the last year he sure roared back. He has five wins, most of any golfer in the world. Of course this year he started out a win at Torrey Pines and then again yesterday with a big win at Doral both of those really dominating wins for him. And to think he's got two of his favorite golf courses ahead of him in Bay Hill and in the Masters.
[Tiger Woods, Professional Golfer:] That's how I know I can play. That's the thing. And and be able to bring it out a couple times so far this year and then able to close and get the Ws on top of that. That's nice. Any time that I can win, you know, prior to Augusta, it it's always feels good.
[Carter:] All right. Let's talk a little basketball now. The Miami Heat won their 18th straight last night by beating the Indiana Pacers by 14 points. I mean, what's up with the Pacers? I thought they had Miami's number this year. What happened to the number one defense in the NBA? Lebron James had one of his quietest nights offensively, but it didn't matter, because Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers they all had great games scoring 20 points or more. Miami does go for their 19th win in a row, I should say, tomorrow night against the Atlanta Hawks. Well, Liberty University, no doubt they are this year's ultimate Cinderella story. They just made the NCAA tournament despite having 20 losses this season. Now they started out the year losing their first eight games but then they got hot when it counted the most. Yesterday they won their conference tournament, the big south, which, of course, gives them an automatic bid into the big dance. Great video, look at the pine marten, I haven't looked up what a pine marten is but it's a little weasel. This is at a professional soccer game in Switzerland. The pine martens blue and so one player actually catches it, Carol. But watch, it does not like to be caught. Don't mess with the pine marten, so it bites the player out of the finger. They had to get out the antiseptic. You know this is a scary situation. So they asked the goalkeeper, hey, you come over, you got the gloves on and pick up this pine marten and bring him to safety. Because we want to make a point here, he was safe. He was not harmed during this entire escapade. Really cute video. So of course, for all your entertaining sports news, including how the United States pulled out a win over Canada yesterday at the World Baseball Classic, you can check out BleacherReport.com. Carol, welcome back, I know you had a great time last week in Lakeland, Florida enjoying your Detroit Tigers and spring training. It was good stuff you had for us.
[Costello:] I have more fantastic stuff to fantastic stuff to come, too. I also interviewed Prince Fielder and I won't give it away, but that interview will air later this week.
[Carter:] Oh good.
[Costello:] And he said some surprising things that you would not expect.
[Carter:] You called him the biggest arm in baseball right?
[Costello:] Oh my God he had big arms. They were like the size of both of my legs together. Joe Carter, many thanks.
[Carter:] You bet.
[Costello:] The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a quick break.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you Carol. Hello everyone, I'm Ashleigh Banfield. You know, it takes a lot these days to get the President and senior lawmakers in the very same room. Today we can thank Rosa Parks for making it happen. Just take a look at this live picture. As we speak, a dedication ceremony is getting under way in the U.S. Capitol. It's for a statue honoring the woman who refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Jim Crow, Alabama, circa 1955. The nation's first African-American president is due to speak in about 40 minutes and you're going to hear from him live right here on CNN and you can follow the ceremony, start to finish, on CNN.com. But all the dignitaries now filing into the Capitol. And, by the way, it will be a houseful, with congressional leaders who will join the president. This is a big deal, too, because while there are many statues in the Capitol, there are almost none that are a congressional effort, so to speak. Many private groups fund major statues that are in the Capitol. But this is a bipartisan thing and which the leaders are very proud to announce that this is something that Congress has done for one of the most important women in American history. But we're going to begin this hour with something that may not happen again for a thousand years, multitudes filling St. Peter's Square and beyond to say goodbye to a living pope, an aged and tired and increasingly frail pope, but the first in 600 years to just give and resign the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. This last hurrah of the Benedict, it comes Benedict the XVI comes a day before he enters a life of seclusion as, quote, "pontiff emeritus," and his cardinals will be scrambling to replace him. He assures his flock that he will still be with them in spirit, and he hopes that they don't forget him either.
[Pope Benedict Xvi, Roman Catholic Church:] I will continue to accompany the church with my prayers and ask each of you to pray for me and for the new pope.
[Banfield:] CNN's Christiane Amanpour was part of today's historic papal audience, one of the many, many thousands. Christiane, a lot of emotion coming from this pope in his address, was that a surprise given the fact this he has been called the German shepherd?
[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn Chief International Correspondent:] Yeah, you know, he has been one who has not really worn his heart on his sleeve. He's very different from his predecessor, John Paul II, who was all about hugs and a lot of embracing. This pope has been much more reserved, much more intellectual, so, yes, today was a day of rare emotion. You saw a lot of smiles as he went around St. Peter's Square in that "pope-mobile" to receive the farewells, the final farewells, really, because this was his final public audience. He spoke about how he had so much joy, he said, in the church in his eight years of reign, but he also talked about how there had been difficult times. He said it had been fair from easy on occasion. He talked about how the church come across, quote, "agitated waters" and it sometimes found itself facing the different directions of the wind. And, obviously, he was talking a lot about various world crises and issues that the pope has to deal with and the church has to deal with, but, also, close to home, those scandals that have rocked and buffeted this church for more than 14 years now, most particularly, the sex abuse scandals involving priests, involving young boys who were preyed upon for so many generations and the continued effort to try to hold those accountable, those who either did it and or those who hid it and took part in shielding priests from these scandals and from accountability. So, all that is going on at the same time, most particularly, as we await the conclave to convene and elect the next pope. Everybody's waiting. That's the next great excitement on the calendar of the Catholic Church. And people want to see what this next pope will do in many, many different directions, but also putting a final, full-stop period before this scandal that has rocked the church for so many years, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] And I understand that the pontiff will either be meeting with or is meeting with the cardinals. And then it's kind of an interesting agenda that's set for him. He's going to be ferried by helicopter to his summer residence?
[Amanpour:] Well, yes, tomorrow, of course, is the final day on the throne of St. Peter, the final day where he will be pope. And at about 5:00 p.m. Rome time, he will be taking a helicopter from St. Peter's behind me to Castle Gandolfo, which is the traditional summer residence of the pope. He will be there, not in summer but for a few months while there's this transition period, also, his next residence, which will be in the Vatican, a converted convent. That will take some time to get ready for him. So, he's going to be sort of out of sight, not out of mind, but out of any opportunity to have any contact, direct contact, with the cardinals and with all those who have now been tasked and will be tasked with electing the next pope. And then, of course, at 8:00 tomorrow, that's it. That's when his resignation is effective. That is when what we call "sede vacante" takes over, the "empty seat" and, as I say, the next session of rituals starts and that is to try to elect the next pope, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] It would be a fascinating time to be at the Vatican. Christiane Amanpour, thank you for that. Checking other top stories that we're following, we have just learned that President Obama is inviting congressional leaders to the White House on Friday. That's the day the $85 billion in spending cuts are set to kick in. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says it will be a chance to discuss how the leadership or how the leaders and the president can, quote, "keep our commitment to reduce Washington spending." Overseas, a worker shot in Switzerland shot and killed two co-workers before killing himself at a lumber plant near Lucerne. Seven people were seriously were wounded, six of them seriously, but there's still no word on what the possible motive was here. A winter storm spreading snow from Missouri to Maine is making a huge mess in Chicago and the upper Midwest and driving is treacherous. Another 150 flights out of Chicago have been called off today after more than a thousand cancellations yesterday. You can excuse Chuck Hagel for being a little bit late on first day of his brand-new job. The former Republican senator first had to be sworn in for his job as secretary of defense at a private Pentagon ceremony, that step coming after a pretty tough confirmation fight in the Senate. A round-trip mission to Mars is in the works. The group Inspiration Mars Foundation is to send a man and woman to fly by the Red Planet in 2018. The mission would be a 501-day mission. It's the brainchild of Dennis Tito. If you remember that name, he was the first space tourist. Tito is holding a news conference a couple of hours from now. Even after 11 days on the witness stand, Jodi Arias' story continues to change. It is a remarkable murder case, a trial you don't seem to be able to turn away from. We're covering it, next.

[Fallon:] Married to a crazy man. Really? I`m a crazy man? Do these look like the eyes of a crazy man to you?
[Hammer:] I mean, that is spot-on, right? Jimmy Fallon there. A hilarious impression of Russell Brand reading headlines about his marriage to Katy Perry. Russell Brand is not Jimmy Fallon, because that, of course, fell apart. Is that what Russell is really thinking? It`s unclear. But tonight, we do know what Katy`s parents are thinking. Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer with the big spin. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is bringing you Katy Perry`s first big public comment about her divorce. And this really struck me as odd. The target appears to be not Russell, but her parents, basically shutting them down for talking about her marriage to Russell Brand breaking down. Now, her parents appeared to use Katy`s message of heartache in a preaching moment in church. Her mom had this zinger last week that caught my eye. Listen to what she said in church, "I`m sure Katy is trending on the Internet just to get you to church tonight." And this is what her dad said, "What has taken place in my daughter`s life has opened up many opportunities to go in and be with guarded and gated people." Whatever that means. With me tonight in New York is SHOWBIZ spin doctor himself, Howard Bragman, the vice chairman of the incredible "Reputation.com." Obviously, Katy Perry is not happy with her parents right now. She really appears to they appear to be capitalizing on her split from Russell Brand after they were married just 14 months. And Katy didn`t hide her fury at all when she sent out this tweet. She wrote, "Concerning the gossip, I want to be clear that no one speaks for me, not a blog, magazine, close sources or my family." Now, Howard, if you were Katy`s spin doctor, would you have been OK with Katy sending out that tweet? Minute to spin it, Howard.
[Howard Bragman, Vice Chairman, "reputation.com":] I love that Katy sent out the tweet. Her parents were not only proselytizing, which is kind of distasteful, but they`re using their own daughter`s break-up for their personal gain, and I can`t stand it. It`s very common for celebrities` family members to put stuff out, and we live in a world where it goes viral quickly. This is her attempt to own it. To say, "This is my story. It`s mine. Ignore everybody else,` I`m proud of her. She did it right,
[A.j. Hammer:] Yes, I agree with you. I think distasteful nails it on the head. Why would you do that? I really wonder what that relationship is all about. At least her soon-to-be ex-husband Russell Brand is keeping this mouth shut and that actually kind of surprised a lot of people, I think. But he`s not talking about why their marriage ended. However, leave it to the great Jimmy Fallon to do a spot-on impression of what he thinks Russell would be saying about all the reports that are out there that have been painting him as the bad guy or actually the crazy guy who Katy Perry was married to. Watch this from "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." This is great.
[Fallon:] Hello again. I`m actor, comedian and noted lothario, Russell Brand. And my new obsession is the newest of the newest "Us Weekly." And what do I see on the cover? But it`s me, a picture of me and Katy Perry. And what does it say? "Married to a crazy man." Really? I`m a crazy man? Do these look like the eyes of a crazy man to you? Do they? Salacious. Look she has pink in her hair. She once wore this as a hat. And I`m the crazy person. Well, you be the judge. I`m not a judge. Clearly, I didn`t go to school. I don`t wear robes. I don`t have a powdered wig and uphold the law. I don`t have a gavel. Oh, I do have a gavel, OK? It was very useful, you know. I employ to tenderize chicken and other assorted meats. Exciting. What else do we have here? Let`s leak through the periodical page 42. What tore them apart? Bad boy Russell Brand and California girl Katy Perry. Is this how a bad boy dresses? Like a "Game of Thrones" characters, Dr. Jay Crew. And look here at page 43, the two pictures side-by-side. These are the pictures you choose? Is it really fair? It`s Katy in a skimpy bikini in all her magnificence, womanly voluptuousness. Meanwhile, look at me. I look like a hipster version of Ebenezer Scrooge, right next to Ebenezer Booze.
[Hammer:] He nailed it, right, Howard?
[Bragman:] Credit to Jimmy Fallon`s writers. It was brilliant.
[Hammer:] A-plus.
[Bragman:] They got it. Yes, he got it.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ spin Dr. Howard Bragman, thank you so much. Great to see you as always.
[Bragman:] Thank you.
[Hammer:] Well, no spin doctor is needed for a Jason Segel fan who got the date of her lifetime through this incredible SHOWBIZ viral video. I have to show you this thing. College grad Chelsea Gil posted a really fun serenade asking the "Muppets Movie" star out for drinks. And I`ve got to tell you that it worked. Yes. And it is an awesome song. And to Chelsea`s surprise, Jason actually posted her video on his Twitter page and he called his favorite thing, as he put it, maybe ever. He said he would respond, and well, did he ever. He took Chelsea and her twin sister out for drinks. And then they went to the Chicago Film Critics Award over the weekend and he tweeted the photo. Can we put that up here? He said, "Chelsea Gil, who wrote the great song and her twin sister and I at Comedy Awards. I`m not sure which is which." Chelsea tells her university newspaper which is "The Indiana Daily Student" and she says, "I`m probably the luckiest person in the world." Nice going all around there. Well, a drill sergeant dance instructor, a bunch of little girls. And yes, you get a whole lot of drama. I`m talking about "Dance Moms," of course. Have you seen this? How do these tiny dancers handle all that yelling? I`ve got two of the stars of "Dance Moms" right here to tell us next. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. This is "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news tonight.
[Text:] Lady Antebellum`s Hillary Scott marries drummer Chris Tyrrel. Snoop Dogg arrested in Texas on marijuana charges.

[Yellin:] In the Republican presidential race, our brand new poll shows Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are in a neck-and-neck fight among voters nationwide. The survey also drives home that there are problems for the top contenders. Let's bring in our senior political analyst David Gergen. Hi, David.
[David Gergen, Cnn Sr. Political Analyst:] Hello, Jessica.
[Yellin:] Good to see you again. So, first, let's look at voter satisfaction. When we asked among Republican voters, are they satisfied with the field of candidates they have, their satisfaction has fallen 11 points since October. Is that a bad sign for the general election?
[Gergen:] It sure as heck is not a good one. I think, yes, it's consistent with the turnout, which we see to be down in many states in the Republican-only primaries. It's consistent with what we call the enthusiasm gap that the Republicans seem to be facing. And what I think you're seeing now in the party is a real angst. Can anybody here win this thing in November?
[Yellin:] Because some say, oh, this all turns around once it's a one- on-one match-up against President Obama.
[Gergen:] They can't count on that. I think there's been damage done to all the candidates by this long negativity in the campaign.
[Yellin:] Interesting. There's another startling number in the poll, if we can put up the gender breakdown when you look at the two leading contenders on the Republican side. Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, very different numbers among men and women. Santorum is not doing well among women. Men, if we look at it, Santorum scores 37 percent approval with men, but 29 percent among women. And then you see Romney's numbers, a little bit the flip. How much of a problem is this with Santorum? Does he have a woman problem?
[Gergen:] Well, I don't think we know enough yet to know whether his stress on abortion and those kinds of things are really causing problems in the Republican primaries. Among Republicans, women and men are basically both fairly conservative on these issues. So you may not yet have a gender problem with that. But if you look at the last two times he ran in Pennsylvania, he did have a gender gap, it did come back to hurt him. But the other part of this, though, Jessica, as you pointed out, there is a flip. And that is, Santorum may have a women's problem, but does Romney have a men's problem?
[Yellin:] That's interesting.
[Gergen:] Yes, which is Newt Gingrich was consistently outscoring Romney in those early goings among men in a lot of the polls. And what we know from the general election last time when Obama ran is women Obama does very well among women. He did very well today in a poll that came out against all the Republican candidates. He was 12 points ahead of Romney among women. So for Republicans to win, they've got to have a candidate who does convincingly well among men. And that so this cuts two ways. It's interesting, isn't it?
[Yellin:] OK. We're going to have to see how this plays out. A lot more to look at, cross tabs and demographics and numbers.
[Gergen:] Yes, absolutely.
[Yellin:] Good to see you. Thank you.
[Gergen:] Thank you. Good to see you.
[Yellin:] And how big would it be if Mitt Romney lost his home state of Michigan? That, just ahead. Plus, threats, muggings, even a robbery at machete point. Just how safe are sitting Supreme Court justices?

[Holly Firfer, Cnn Correspondent:] Ski season is here.
[Gabe Saglie, Travelzoo:] All right, if you're looking to get a bargain on that ski vacation, really look at very early in the season or toward the tail end of ski season. The more expensive months will definitely be sort of mid-December into late-February, very early March.
[Firfer:] When choosing a place to stay, it's all about the location.
[Saglie:] If you travel early enough in the season, you can even stay at the more high end four or five star hotels right at the base of the mountain. After that, if you travel during peak travel seasons, the further you stay from the base of the mountain, the less expensive your hotel stay will be.
[Firfer:] And skip the rental car.
[Saglie:] If you're really there just to enjoy the ski conditions, can you actually take advantage of free shuttle service that gets you to the slope and back.
[Firfer:] Also consider leaving your ski equipment at home.
[Saglie:] Because of the potential having to pay more on the check baggage fees, it is worth considering renting the equipment on the other side of your trip.
[Tuchman:] It's time to hit the slopes. College degree is essential in today's competitive job market. We all know the high cost of that education can affect a student's and family's finances for decades. But there are ways of shrinking the college costs. Christine Romans explain in this week's "Smart Is The New Rich."
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] At this college fair, high school junior Veronica Woodley is exploring her options.
[Veronica Woodley, High School Junior:] Finding schools that had premed and I major in biology to become a dermatologist. It is also a minor in Spanish.
[Romans:] Picking the right college is a high stakes decision with a high price tag. Average tuition per year at a public college is more than $22,000 for in-state students, a private college more than $43,000. Community colleges cost $15,000 a year. Not all kids borrow for college. But those who do graduate with $27,000 in debt on average with a price tag like that, college choice is a careful investment, but depends on a student's talents and finances. [on camera]: Most important, you have to graduate from school in four years. No more five years and you have to pick the right school. If you haven't saved any money, you can't pick the super expensive school and graduate five years later. And you say there is a certain rule of thumb for paying for school.
[Carmen Wong Ulrich, President, Alta Wealth Management:] Here's the thing. If you're a parent saving, I don't know how and why you think you have to pay for the whole thing. Don't try to save the full price tag. You can basically try to save a third and then go for scholarships and grants for the other third. And borrow a third. It's much more manageable and can you do it.
[Romans:] That means part of the burden is on the kid. Part of the burden is on the parents. Carmen, a lot of people aren't saving.
[Ulrich:] Exactly. Now, listen, if you can't save, if things are too tight to save, I say take care of yourself first. Your child has a lot more time to pay off loans than you do. And stick with federal. More flexibility when it comes to repayment. If they can't pay, they have ways to go ahead and defer it, income based repayment. So look at those loans first.
[Romans:] For students like Veronica and her mom, Kathy, it's an exciting time and a lesson in high finance. They're crunching the numbers and considering all the options.
[Woodley:] I mean I'm scholarships financial aid and then I work. But my mom I feel like my mom will do most of the paying. But, I mean, I will help her out, of course.
[Romans:] Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

[Romans:] Don't blame Beyonce. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says her high-powered halftime show was not responsible for the power outage during the Super Bowl. The Superdome lights blew early in the third quarter, delaying the game for 34 agonizing minutes. The league and the stadium investigators are trying to shed light on exactly why the stadium went dark. CNN's John Zarrella is following that. He's live in New Orleans. John, what do we know so far?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Christine, we know what it's not. It's not Beyonce. It's not upgrades, they don't believe, that they recently did to the electrical feeder system coming into the stadium. And they say it's not likely that there was too much power being pulled inside the stadium. So, what we still have this morning is a power puzzle.
[Zarrella:] The night the lights went out at the Super Bowl is a story about well, a few things: what went right, everyone remaining calm
[Unidentified Male:] I've never met so many people that were so hospitable.
[Zarrella:] what happened. CBS video from inside the stadium control room shows the Superdome's uh-oh moment.
[Unidentified Male:] We lost lights. All right. We're going to a manual override.
[Zarrella:] And then there's that head-scratching, still unanswered question, what went wrong? Here's what we know, kind of: SMG, the company that owns and operates the Superdome says the problem originated outside the stadium.
[Unidentified Male:] The truth is the interruption in service didn't occur inside the building. We could not receive the power from the Entergy vault, the substation that supplies us.
[Zarrella:] Entergy, the utility company tweeted Sunday night that service to the stadium had not been interrupted. A spokesman said later
[Unidentified Male:] The system worked the way it was supposed to work.
[Zarrella:] But in a statement to CNN Monday, Entergy cautioned, "Until the investigation is complete, any statements on possible causes of the outage are just speculation." There was speculation that Beyonce's power-packed halftime show pulled too much power. SMG says, no. Quote, "The halftime show was running on 100 percent generated power which means it was not on our power grid at all." While we are still in the dark over what happened, pardon the pun, we do not this, the delay lasted 34 minutes, the lights came back on and the Baltimore Ravens won, and a record 164 million people had more to talk about than just the final score. And this morning, Superdome there behind me, power's on. It hasn't gone off since Christine.
[Romans:] Do you think it could have any effect on the city's chances of hosting future Super Bowls, John?
[Zarrella:] You know, my understanding is they want the 2018 Super Bowl here. Probably doesn't impact it to much. But it's certainly going to be in the back of everyone's mind. You know, a few years ago when Miami had its last Super Bowl, it poured rain there, the entire game. So, now, they want the 50th anniversary Super Bowl in Miami, so they're trying to get people vote to put a lid over the top of the stadium so that they won't have that rain issue. So, you know, there's always things they want to have to do. They have to do to try to lure the game back to their cities.
[Romans:] All right. John Zarrella thanks, John. The puzzle the power puzzle he calls it.
[Zarrella:] Sure.
[Sambolin:] You know, the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell came right out and said, we will have another Super Bowl there. All right. Fourteen minutes past the hour. Let's get you up-to-date on this morning's top stories. After nearly a week in captivity in an underground bunker, a 5-year- old Alabama boy is reunited with his family this morning. Little Ethan spent the night in a hospital after an FBI raid freed him. The child's kidnaper, 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes was killed in that rescue operation. Ethan turns 6 tomorrow.
[Romans:] Five Baltimore firefighters are injured but they're very lucky to be alive this morning. A local station says they were among 100 firefighters battling this four-alarm fire at lumber warehouse when several floors collapsed on top of them and trapped them in the blaze. They were rescued and taken to a trauma center. Fire crews are still on the scene to knock down hot spots.
[Sambolin:] Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum says the Boy Scouts of America may not survive if gays are allowed in. In an online column, the former senator argues ending the ban on openly gay scouts is, quote, "another example of the left attempting to remove God from all areas of public life."
[Romans:] Tagg Romney won't be running for John Kerry's vacated Senate seat in Massachusetts. The son for former presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he did think about it but the timing wasn't right. So far, Republicans have failed to find a single candidate to run in a special election that's scheduled for June.
[Sambolin:] Disappointing results for the first tests of a new tuberculosis vaccine. The study of 2,800 South African infants published on Lancet online found the vaccine provided no TB protection. But the vaccine developer says it might benefit adolescents or perhaps even adult.
[Romans:] Iran is marking its national day of space technology by releasing a photo of its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and a monkey that Iranians claim was launched into space. The government says the money rode an Iranian rocket into orbit last week. But conspiracy theories abound. Iran for its part says this is any kind of a space monkey hoax.
[Sambolin:] Cute monkey, though. All right. A Washington, D.C. area school district is considering a proposal to copyright any work by staff and students. So, this could mean a lesson plan developed by a teacher or a doodle drawn by a second grader would automatically become property of the school system and not the individual's. Can't take it home to mommy and daddy.
[Romans:] It's interesting.
[Sambolin:] Unbelievable. All right. Seventeen minutes past the hour. It's time for your "Early Read". This is your local news that is making national headlines. So, first, we're going to go to "The Chicago Sun-Times." It is reporting Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife are the subjects of separate federal investigations into their finances. Sources say Sandy Jackson who resigned her alderman post last month is now being investigated independently for access and use of her husband's congressional campaign money, including credit card charges and moving money from one account to the other. Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned from Congress in November after winning re- election. They actually say she was collecting $5,000 a month, even when her husband was hospitalized for bipolar disorder from the campaign.
[Romans:] Wow. That's a drama that's captivated Chicago. No question.
[Sambolin:] Yes.
[Romans:] In "The Washington Post" this morning, gridlock on Capitol Hill, gridlock outside Capitol Hill. A new study says D.C. has the worst traffic in the nation. The Texas A&M; Transportation Institute says drivers in Washington burn 67 hours and 32 gallons of gas each year sitting in traffic.
[Sambolin:] Really?
[Romans:] Yes. L.A., San Francisco, and New York, no question about that, and Boston are also in the top five.
[Sambolin:] I'm kind of surprised that they were number one, though. I thought it would have been
[L.a. Romans:] Washington,
[D.c. Sambolin:] Yes. All right. For an expanded an expanded look at our top stories, just head to our blog, go to CNN.comEarlyStart. You can also follow us on Twitter and on Facebook. Just search for EarlyStart
[Cnn. Romans:] Speaking about burning gas, Americans don't buy as much as they used to, yet gas somehow takes up a bigger chunk your family budget. How can that be? I'm going to explain why, coming up.

[Poppy Harlow, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our continuing coverage of the Boston bombing. I am Poppy Harlow, coming to you live this Saturday morning from Boston.
[Harlow:] We have new details about why investigators are combing through a landfill in search of evidence from the Boston bombing suspects. The critical information they hope to find and a possible clue to a possible accomplice. Also there is new evidence this morning that the suspected bombers read an online Al Qaeda- inspired magazine that reads a how-to for how for terrorist organizations, how to make a bomb. We'll have much more on that, what it is and how it wasn't just a manual, but may have been may have been a motivator. And a second chance to finish the marathon, what one couple is doing to cross the finish line at last. I am here on Boylston Street by the memorial for the victims of the Boston bombing. Here life is trying, people are trying to get back to normal. It is now just over a week since the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. But while people here in Boston are going about their Saturday morning, a beautiful sunrise to my right, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened and why. And those questions have led investigators to a landfill about an hour away from here. It is in New Bedford, Massachusetts. That's right near UMass Dartmouth, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to school. Investigators are looking specifically for a laptop computer. That computer could provide more information about the planning and the execution of this horrific attack. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti spoke with our Anderson Cooper about the investigation.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn Correspondent:] The leads to search the landfill for that laptop computer came not only from the suspect himself, the young man who is now hospitalized, but others who, according to this official, may have had knowledge of its whereabouts or may even have played a role in ditching it, getting rid of it after the bombing. Now the source says there is also evidence that leads investigators to think that the elder brother, Tamerlan, may have been involved in drug dealing. The source would not elaborate on the nature of the evidence. We've already been talking about the fact they've been looking into whether he may have supported himself through drug dealing; but, of course, if they can find that laptop, Anderson, in this landfill, after it had been ditched somewhere that was, you know, like a dumpster, that eventually made it to the landfill, if they can get into that, they can find out things like e-mails and contacts and schedules and instructions, so much other information about how this plot may have come together.
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn:] I understand you also have new information about what the bombs were made of or how they were constructed. What do you know?
[Candiotti:] Well, the belief, number one, is that both of the brothers had a remote device to blow up each of the two bombs. Now in terms of the ingredients, we know that they're still analyzing a lot of this information, but they do know that one of the pipe bombs that was used in that the shoot-out in Watertown, those improvised devices were, in fact, constructed from elbow pipes. Now elbow pipes, that is one instruction method, rather, that comes up from time to time in "Inspire" magazine, which is something that has been used and promoted by Al Qaeda to give information about how to make a bomb. So that bit of information also is an important part of this alleged plot investigation.
[Harlow:] And Susan has been doing phenomenal reporting on this since the start. One of her sources also talked to her about Tamerlan Tsarnaev possibly dealing drugs. Investigators, we know, have been looking into whether Tamerlan supported himself by selling marijuana. That's a possibility that they are looking at. One thing that is also important to note that is developing is that police are taking another look at the 2011 murder of one of Tamerlan's friends from back in his boxing days. That friend's name is Brendan Mett. He and his two other friends were killed. And when their bodies were found, police found marijuana sprinkled on them. So a lot of questions remaining and just developing this morning. In Washington, a warning that more arrests could be coming. It comes from Congressman Mike Rogers. He is the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Intelligence. In an interview with "The Boston Herald" yesterday, Rogers said I want to quote here "There are clearly more persons of interest and they are not 100 percent sure if there aren't other explosives." He went on to talk about that; he gets daily briefings on this investigation, of course, and he had some very critical words about the decision to Mirandize bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev by his hospital bed several days after his capture, saying this and I'll quote "I think this was a serious and possibly a dangerous set of decisions made. There's going to be more arrests, I do believe. This is incredibly important, and once he, Tsarnaev, got a lawyer, which the citizens of Boston and America are paying for, he stop stopped cooperating." And we do know that from our sources as well, that [inaudible] any significant information to authorities since he was Mirandized. Now he was questioned for about 16 hours before he was read his Miranda rights. But of course, he was in and out of consciousness, so we don't know how much information he gave. And that questioning came under the public safety exemption. During that questioning, Dzhokhar said that he and his brother acted alone, but investigators have a lot of questions and, of course, many are saying of course he is motivated to say that they acted alone at this point in time. Dzhokhar is right now at a federal hospital, a Federal Prison Hospital in Devens, Massachusetts. It's about 40 miles outside of Boston. He was moved there Friday morning from a Boston hospital, where some of the bombing victims also were being treated. Pamela Brown is at the Federal Medical Center Devens. Pamela, good morning to you. Give our viewers a sense of what it's like there and especially what the conditions were when Dzhokhar was brought to that facility.
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] All right. Well, Poppy, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was brought here in the early morning hours of yesterday morning by the U.S. Marshal Service. When he was brought here he went through what's called an intake screening process. Now that entails a strip search, a medical screening as well as a psychological screening. From there he was fingerprinted, a DNA sample was taken and a photograph was taken. All of that was given to the FBI, we're told. Now that was followed by him taking him to a restricted part of this facility here behind me, Devens Federal Medical Center. This restricted part of this facility is for, quote, "high-risk inmates". So he was taken there and that is where his cell is, we're told. It's a basic cell with a steel door, a slot for food, and a toilet and sink and that's about it, we're told, Poppy.
[Harlow:] I know that he has his own cell there. But I'm wondering if we have any indication on how long he is going to stay there or when we might see him in court? I would assume that the investigators will try to get more information from him there if his lawyer will allow them to.
[Brown:] Absolutely. I spoke to the U.S. Marshals Service. Right now we don't know when he's going to be moved. U.S. Marshals Service says that they don't release that kind of information. But what we do know here is that he was officially charged this past Sunday. And we have 30 days from the day he was officially charged for the indictment with a grand jury. So essentially over that 30 days, a grand jury will be presented with evidence and then decide the charges that he will face. From there, there will be an arraignment, where he will make a court appearance and plead. And then you're going to see the pretrial motions take place. Now, Poppy, at the end of this month, at the end of May, rather, there was a what's called a probable cause hearing scheduled during that initial appearance this past Monday with the judge. But we are told that there's a good chance he might waive that probable cause hearing. Typically during that hearing there is a lot of evidence presented and a lot of times defendants will waive it for that reason, Poppy.
[Harlow:] And I think also, Pamela, it's very interesting that he is taken to this facility where they do not treat very severe injuries or do very complex surgeries, so I think that gives us some indications of his state of health at this point in time. Pamela Brown joining us live this morning, Pamela, thank you. Well, for the first time in days, we are getting a look at the wife of Boston bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. You see her there, Katherine Russell; that was shot there yesterday. First time she has left her home in days, where she lived in Rhode Island. She is the woman in the head scarf, there you see walking into that car. The other woman is her attorney. Well, Russell is one of the most mysterious figures in the case, someone we don't know a lot about. She was married to the man accused of plotting to bomb the Boston Marathon, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and she says she knew nothing about it. CNN's Erin McPike is in Providence, Rhode Island. Good morning, Erin.
[Erin Mcpike, Cnn Correspondent:] Poppy, we saw Katie Russell for the first time in several days on Friday, when she finally left her parents' house, when she was escorted by her attorneys to their office here right behind me, where they met for about 90 minutes. Now when she arrived, I did get a chance to ask her, how are you doing and what is happening; she didn't answer any of that, of course; she just looked a little bit bewildered. She left; we did not see her leave. We do know that her attorneys will be here, working all weekend, Poppy.
[Harlow:] Absolutely. Authorities have certainly been questioning her and want as much information as they can get. Erin, thank you. And to Russia now and a crackdown on suspected Islamic extremists. Russian security forces raided a place of worship in southern Moscow and detained 140 people yesterday. More than 30 of them are foreign nationals. Officials say the site had been visited before by suspected radicals, including some from Chechnya. The raid is not believed at this point to be linked to the Boston bombing. And back here in the United States, investigators in New York are taking a closer look at this. It is a piece of an airplane's landing gear. And officials believe it's from one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on 911. The 5-foot-long piece of metal was found in a small space near an Islamic community center. The plane part will be, of course, examined by the medical examiner's office and the NTSB. And we will have much more on that discovery a little bit later this morning. Well, 90 minutes of terror with the Boston bombing suspect. The Chinese national who says they carjacked him is now sharing new details about that absolutely terrifying night. We will give you all of those straight ahead. But first, before we go to break, we wanted to show you the cover of "Boston" magazine. This is heartwarming; it is beautiful. Take a look. Those running shoes, actual running shoes that runners used during the marathon in the shape of a heart, on the back, actually, you see the soles of the shoes, in the middle, the words, "We will finish the race." Just shows the strength of this beautiful city. We'll be right back.

[Allen:] It's that time of year, millions of shoppers gearing up for Black Friday. Some are a bit more anxious than others. In El Cajon, some shoppers have been in line since Wednesday at a Best Buy to score big bargains. Smartphones and laptops can also help you find the holiday deals. Mirabel Aber joins us from New York to tell us more about it. Hi, Mirabel.
[Mirabel Aber, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Natalie. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just days away. According to the National Retail Federation, as many as 147 million people will shop online or visit stores this weekend looking for holiday deals. Question out there, how can you get the most for your money? We spoke with Steve Kresner, the CEO of pricewraper.com, and he suggests looking to social media for savings, like your favorite stores on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. You could be rewarded with special coupons and some updates. And there's another tip, arm your phone. Check out these apps. They're free to download and they can help you compare prices, track down sales, and stick to your budget. That way you can save some money. And he also suggests clipping coupons and clipping coupons the modern way. The SnipSnap app or dealcoupon.com or visit specific retailer web sites to look for coupons. Finally, Natalie, if the perfect gift doesn't have the perfect price tag, set up a price alert online. You will get an e-mail notification when the item drops into your price range Natalie?
[Allen:] Sounds good. I just want the app to do all the shopping for me and wrap everything.

[Jane Velez-mitchell, Host:] Tonight, the state drops a massive bombshell. Was Casey Anthony`s entire defense story about little Caylee`s accidental drowning borrowed from another inmate at her jail?
[Linda Drane-burdick, Prosecutor:] Apparently, her child died in the swimming pool and was found by the child`s grandfather. Miss Waylon was in an adjacent cell to Miss Anthony.
[Velez-mitchell:] Could this discovery blow up the entire defense case? And will this woman be called to testify? Plus, a behind-the-scenes look at the Casey trial with the woman in charge of what goes on outside Judge Perry`s court. What does she have to say about these crazy mob scenes? I`m live in Orlando, and I`m taking your calls. ISSUES starts now.
[Belvin Perry, Judge:] This court does not make threats. This court simply applies the rules.
[Drane-burdick:] Miss Waylon was in an adjacent cell to Miss Anthony. Apparently, her child died in a swimming pool.
[George Anthony, Casey`s Father:] I`m talking. I`m talking!
[Jeff Ashton, Prosecutor:] So you`re not of the opinion that the body had only been there for two weeks, correct?
[Unidentified Female:] It`s possible. Let him go. Let him go. Let him go.
[Unidentified Male:] When were you first retained by the defense? It was on 13 July, 2010.
[Cindy Anthony, Casey`s Mother:] There`s something wrong. I found my daughter`s car today. And it smells like there`s been a dead body in the damn car.
[Ashton:] Your laboratory is actually in a converted barn. Is that correct?
[Unidentified Male:] Correct.
[Ashton:] You bought a farm. Wouldn`t that indicate pretty conclusively that the skull had been there a whole lot longer than two weeks?
[Unidentified Female:] Or a dog buried it.
[Ashton:] A dog a dog buried it?
[Unidentified Female:] They do. As do coyotes. I don`t know if you have those here.
[Ashton:] No, we`re not blessed with coyotes.
[Velez-mitchell:] Whoa. Hi there. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell, and I`m here live in Orlando tonight. And I`m right outside the courthouse where Casey Anthony is on trial. Now, this morning I was inside the courtroom, and I saw the drama unfold with my own eyes, and it is absolutely amazing. Totally different watching it on TV and being in the courtroom. Tonight, ISSUES has some exclusive new information for you that is actually quite stunning. The prosecution now hinting at a possible surprise witness, and that possible new witness is the woman that you`re about to see in this mug shot. April Waylon was one of Casey`s jail mates for five days. OK, you heard me right. The prosecution might call this woman listen because her real life story, which is very tragic, is eerily, eerily similar to Casey`s defense.
[Drane-burdick:] The name of the witness is April Waylon. Apparently, her child died in a swimming pool and was found by her child`s grandfather.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK. So did Casey realize nobody was buying her story of a mystery baby-sitter named Zanny the nanny, and therefore, did Casey decide to borrow April`s tragedy and spin it into her own new defense story? It looks like prosecutors might argue just that. So could that blow up everything Jose Baez claimed about little Caylee`s drowning in his shocking opening statement?
[Jose Baez, Casey`s Attorney:] Caylee Anthony died on June 16, 2008, when she drowned in her family`s swimming pool. As soon as Casey came around this corner and went back, she saw George Anthony holding Caylee in his arms. She immediately grabbed Caylee and began to cry and cry and cry. And shortly thereafter, George began to yell at her, "Look what you`ve done. your mother will never forgive you, and you will go to jail for child neglect for the rest of your freaking life."
[Velez-mitchell:] Where did that story suddenly come from? I`m taking your calls on this shocking new twist: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586- 7297. I am so glad to have my dear friend, Aphrodite Jones, host of "True Crime" on Investigation Discovery with me. In fact, we were sitting together side by side in court. We`re going to talk about that in just a second. But first, I want to bring in ISSUES producer Celene Darkalstanian, because she just got off the phone and this is an exclusive we`re bringing you right here on ISSUES. She just got off the phone with this possible new witness, April Waylon. Celene, you`ve got to tell us all about this. This is first of all, way to go...
[Celene Darkalstanian, Issues Producer:] Thank you.
[Velez-mitchell:] ... getting this person on the phone. I don`t know how you do it. But this one knows how to do it. And tell us about it. What did she say?
[Darkalstanian:] Thank you, Jane. I just got off the phone with her a few minutes ago. The media is bombarding her. She seemed a little bit irritated, but I got her on the phone, and she just wanted to clear this up. She was in jail two years ago on driving with a suspended license, and she just happened to be a few cells down from Casey Anthony. She has never met Casey Anthony. She has never spoken to Casey Anthony. The only thing she knows about Casey Anthony is by watching her on TV. And she has no idea how her name got dragged into this. Her son did die two years ago in an accidental drowning in the family pool. But she has no idea how her name got dragged into this. Now, she did tell me that she wants nothing to do with the story, and she just wants to clear up her name. And she did also mention that a detective did call her on Friday, and a detective called her today.
[Velez-mitchell:] Whoa. OK. Now, do we know if she is a witness? I was subpoenaed once to testify at a trial. And I remember it well, because it was the Michael Jackson child molestation trial, which I was also a reporter in. And I was terrified, because once you`re subpoenaed, you can`t talk about the case. Therefore, you can`t go on television and talk about the case, even though, basically, at the time I was told go on and have fun with it. And I`m like, "No, you can`t do that. You can`t have fun with it." So I sat there mute while I was on TV, saying, "I can`t talk about the case because I`ve been subpoenaed." So my question to you is, she wouldn`t be talking to you, probably, if she had been subpoenaed. Has she been subpoenaed?
[Darkalstanian:] She did not say whether she`s been subpoenaed or not. She just said she can`t go on camera and talk to her. I invited her to call in and talk on our show. And she just wanted to get clear this up on the phone and tell me what the real story was. And that`s why we want to get it out to her.
[Velez-mitchell:] Now, why is this a huge development? Well, the entire defense case hangs on the theory that little Caylee accidentally drowned in the Anthony family pool. But thanks to a brand-new character, who`s just emerged in this case you just heard, this April Waylon the prosecution may now argue essentially that Casey stole that story from a fellow jail mate. Now, let`s listen to more of the story.
[Drane-burdick:] A citizen called the Orange County Sheriff`s Office, left some information about an inmate who may have had contact with Miss Anthony. The name of the witness is April Waylon. Apparently, her child died in a swimming pool and was found by the child`s grandfather. Miss Waylon was in an adjacent cell to Miss Anthony for a very brief period of time.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right, those are eerie similarities, Aphrodite Jones. Now, we all know the movies, right, where the jail inmates have interesting ways of communicating with each other. Right? We`ve all seen that in those old black-and-white films. But today, I don`t know if it works that way. Could it be a game of telephone, though?
[Aphrodite Jones, Host, Investigation Discovery`s "true Crime":] Here`s the thing, Jane. It is probably a game of telephone. There isn`t a lot to do in a jail cell. People are going to talk, and it`s going to dribble down, trickle down, one to the next. And Casey got wind of somebody that was in jail that had a child who tragically drowned in a pool. And voila, it somehow occurs to me, and I think to you as well, that we`ve seen Casey do nothing but superimpose lies, taking some grain of truth and then superimposing her family onto this particular story. This particular story...
[Velez-mitchell:] You have a bombshell yourself, because you were in court toward the end of the day, and you said there`s also information that the prosecution has another way of possibly refuting the story that Jose Baez told in his opening statement. Tell me about that.
[Jones:] It is a bombshell. Because guess what? The prosecution has now said we have computer evidence to directly refute what Jose Baez was claiming about the day that Caylee drowned, about Casey`s story on that particular day. And Baez, unfortunately, did not hire a forensic computer expert for his team. There was no analysis done. So he`s being caught with his pants down.
[Velez-mitchell:] So wait. Essentially, you`re saying that, let`s say, OK, he obviously argued we just heard it the drowning theory, the accidental drowning theory, and then George found the child and covered it up. You`re saying there could be computer evidence on the computer that would dispute that. For example, if at the time that that was allegedly happening, George was on the computer, maybe, having a computer conversation, an Internet conversation, an e-mail conversation with a buddy about going golfing or something like that.
[Jones:] They have absolutely stated, substantially, that they have this evidence, and they are going to present. We got a hint of what the rebuttal is going to be.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Linda Kenney Baden, there`s a lot of people saying this was a very bad day for the defense. What do you make of April Waylon coming into the picture now?
[Linda Kenney Baden, Attorney:] But before I even get there, Jane, let me just say, you don`t know when you`re talking about. The defense has a computer expert. OK? Let`s just put that aside. So let`s get to the fact that this is the prosecution polluting the public mob trial here. And this is never coming in. I`ll tell you why. One, she said she didn`t know Casey Anthony. And No. 2, how do you refute it? Well, then, you make her attorneys witnesses, and they have to get on the stand, and they have to say when did they first learn about what their client told them. It will never, never happen. Of course this judge has made so many mistakes, letting so much stuff in that shouldn`t be let in and keeping out stuff that should come in that, you know, I wouldn`t put it past him.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, wait a second. You`ve just I`ve always had a problem with the defense drowning theory. Here`s why, because the timing. Let`s listen to Cindy and Casey`s jailhouse visit from August 2008. Check this out.
[Cindy Anthony:] Dad blew up at the media.
[Casey Anthony, On Trial For Murder:] Yes, I heard.
[Cindy Anthony:] Someone just said that Caylee was dead this morning, that she drowned in the pool. That`s the newest story out there.
[Casey Anthony:] Surprise, surprise.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right, so that conversation took place in August 2008. And it was the following summer that Casey and April Waylon were in jail together. Quick response, Linda, to that timing.
[Baden:] No. 1, if she knew she already drowned, that`s what she`s going to say. And look at the other people in the video. Who else isn`t reacting to the kid drowning in the pool? There are two ways to look at it, and you can`t look at it with just the prosecution glasses on. You have to take evidence of innocence also. And if she drowned in the pool, she may be guilty of manslaughter. I don`t see what the big deal is.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, OK. All right. When somebody says, "Surprise, surprise" like that, it sounds sarcastic. It means to me that it`s not a real story at that point. O, thank you. Call us: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. And by the way, I know Maryland, we`ve got you on the other side of the break. Tonight, a behind-the-scenes look with the woman who is in charge of what goes on outside Judge Perry`s courthouse. We`re going to talk to her about all the crazy madness outside court. Plus, will George`s alleged former mistress take the stand?
[Unidentified Male:] Is that fair to say? You had an affair with George Anthony?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] An intimate affair?
[Unidentified Female:] Intimate affair.
[Ashton:] Hipbone was buried in four inches of muck. Wouldn`t that indicate pretty conclusively that the skull had been there a whole lot longer than two weeks?
[Unidentified Female:] Or a dog buried it.
[Ashton:] A dog buried a dog buried it?
[Unidentified Female:] They do. As do coyotes.
[Ashton:] Your laboratory is actually in a converted barn. Is that correct?
[Perry:] Thank you, Doctor. You may stand down.
[Ashton:] He`s not a doctor.
[Perry:] Well, whatever he is.
[Velez-mitchell:] The defense did not come out swinging this morning. In fact, I think you could describe their witnesses and I`m being polite here underwhelming. And that`s my big issue tonight. Does the defense have a witness weakness? The general consensus, the buzz here at the courthouse, among a whole bunch of people, I was kind of informal surveys, that these defense witnesses and, again, I`m being very polite weak. Their testimony was fuzzy. Their credentials came into question. And I`ve got to say, I was in the courtroom watching, and I didn`t see the jury taking a lot of notes. Jeff Brown, when the botanist was when she said that maybe a dog or a coyote buried a bone belonging to little Caylee Anthony, there was actually guffaws that were muffled in the courtroom. It was, in a very sick way, unintentionally comical, and there`s nothing funny about this very tragic case.
[Jeff Brown, Criminal Defense Attorney:] No, it`s embarrassing, actually. You know, a lot of these defense lawyers who have been trying death cases and cases for 20 years here in Florida are just shaking our heads just looking at this defense and watching Baez just say, you know, this is amateur hour. It really is. And to put a witness on the stand and have that witness suggest that, actually, a dog could have buried this skull, it`s you just sit back and you shake your head and just say this is just a comedy of errors. I just - I just can`t believe I`m actually listening and watching this.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. It`s pretty scary. Of course, it`s like when are the other witnesses going to come in the ones who we`re all waiting for like Roy Kronk or Roy Kronk`s exes or Roy Kronk`s estranged son who I mean, when are they going to get to the good stuff, as they say?
[Brown:] Well, you`re supposed to start with your good stuff, you know. And they`re not they don`t have that. And see, this is one of the problems. You`ve got an amateur trying this case, and I don`t think he knows how to put on a case. And it shows. You know, he`s not solid with his witnesses. Look at the difference between the government`s case and how the witnesses kind of flowed and how the directs were smooth and they introduced evidence. And now you have a defense case where they`re having problems introducing evidence. They`re taking a jury out. And obviously, the judge is frustrated, because he`s not disclosing things. There`s objections. It just doesn`t flow, and this is the problem with somebody who doesn`t try a lot of cases.
[Velez-mitchell:] And I`ve got to say, Aphrodite, you and I were sitting next to each other in court. Now, one thing that I want to say is that, what I was watching, up until I got to the courtroom, I thought, oh, these jurors don`t have the whole story, right? They don`t have all the salacious details that we know about. But the fact is that they got something that we don`t have, and that is they are looking at the video and the photos that are incredibly graphic. You and I were sitting there. They showed little Caylee`s skull, and it was so sad. And the prosecution in the cross-examination very cleverly kept it up for a good, what, 10, 15 minutes?
[Jones:] Fifteen minutes, I would say, Jane.
[Velez-mitchell:] Fifteen minutes. And we`re sitting there watching it. And this woman is saying, "Well, those roots that were going through the skull," and you imagine a skull and there are roots growing through it, out the eye sockets and around the head, at least a half a dozen of these roots growing through the skull, and she`s saying these roots could have grown in two weeks. Your common sense tells you, on what planet could that happen, right?
[Jones:] That`s the thing. This woman, who is the plant expert, to actually sit there and try to finesse her way into telling a jury that "I`m an expert and I know that leaves fell, that leaves fell, and it was leaf litter that created my position to say this skull was only there for two weeks. Somebody placed it there." When you see roots growing, when you see that it`s embedded into the earth and we`ve seen testimony and other witnesses testify about how long it took them to collect that skull, and all of Caylee`s little remains out of that...
[Velez-mitchell:] It was kind of insulting your intelligence, to say that many roots could grow in a skull in that short a period of time. All right, the judge gets mad. And, whoa, surprise witnesses. We`re just getting started. Taking your calls on the other side.
[Casey Anthony:] I just wanted to let everyone know that I`m sorry for what I did. I take complete and full responsibility for my actions. And I`d like to sincerely apologize to Amy. I wish I would have been a better friend.
[Velez-mitchell:] Another late bombshell that could deal, whoa, a big blow to the defense. Did the forensic anthropologist who testified Saturday for the defense misstate his credentials? Let`s hear what he said on the stand.
[Baez:] Are you a co-founder of the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at the University of Tennessee?
[Dr. William Ceasor Rodriguez, Defense`s Forensic Anthropologist:] Yes, I am.
[Baez:] Is that also known as the Body Farm?
[Rodriguez:] Correct.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Now guess what? Our Jean Casarez spoke to the head of media relations at the Body Farm, and she was told Mr. Rodriguez was not a co-founder and went on to say, "We don`t know why he said he was a co-founder on the stand." Danette Myers, you`re the Los Angeles assistant district attorney who prosecuted the Lindsay Lohan case, and so you`re a tough prosecutor. Should this witness be investigated as to whether or not he committed perjury? Can you hear, Danette?
[Danette Myers, L.a. Assistant District Attorney:] I can`t I can`t hear you, Jane.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right, OK. Jeff Brown.
[Myers:] I think we`re having we`re having some technical difficulty.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right, well, it happens in live television. Jeff Brown.
[Brown:] Yes, absolutely. I think the judge is going to investigate this, and the question is going to become, you know, what is it that Baez knew and when did he know it? You know, the judge has had a problem with Baez, because he`s not following the rules of evidence. He`s not following the rules of criminal procedure. And more importantly, he`s not following this judge`s very orders that were plain in plain English, in black and white, months ahead of time. So not only is the judge going to probably investigate this, but I`m telling you right now: the Florida bar will have a case opened after this case. And the judge is the one that`s going to start that. He`s going to file his complaint with the Florida bar. They`ll be looking into a lot of this.
[Velez-mitchell:] I mean, it`s one thing after another. He was also deemed to have intentionally violated the discovery rules by not giving prosecution reports on what the defense experts are going to talk about so that they could intelligently cross-examine. Marilyn, Kentucky, you`ve been very patient. Your question or thought, Marilyn.
[Caller:] I would like to know whether the prosecution hasn`t called Leonard Padilla to the stand because he spent time in the Anthony home?
[Velez-mitchell:] Leonard Padilla? Is that what you said, bounty hunter? Leonard Padilla? OK. That`s an interesting one. Could that be, Aphrodite, because he`s got too much baggage, Leonard Padilla. He`s the one who bailed Casey Anthony out, thinking initially, "Well, maybe if I bail her out, she`s going to tell us what happened to the little child," back when we all thought she`d been kidnapped. And then he realized she`s not cooperating, revoke bail, sent her right back to jail.
[Casarez:] I think that Leonard Padilla has inserted himself into this story, and I think a lot of people can see through that. And if the prosecution were to call him, even if he meant well and he tried to do the right thing by the Anthonys, at the end of the day on cross-examination, they would have a field day with that particular witness. And it would work as a witness for the defense. So I think that`s why they`re not calling him.
[Unidentified Female:] Let`s not forget: he`s been on the media. He`s been making the media rounds since day one. And I think that he loses some credibility there.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes, OK. Absolutely. Now, we`re going to ask the next question. Did Casey`s accidental drowning defense, was it a story taken from the real-life experience of another jailed inmate? An astounding development today. Stick with us.
[Unidentified Female:] You`re a baby killer. Let him go. Let him go. Let him go. Get out of the way, cameraman. Yes. Casey, where`s Caylee? Where`s her remains?
[Judge Belvin Perry, Presiding Over Casey Anthony Trial:] For those of you who may have queasiness or uneasiness, cannot control your emotions, I ask you to leave.
[Cindy Anthony, Mother Of Casey Anthony:] I found out my granddaughter has been taken. She has been missing for a month.
[Unidentified Female:] How far have you traveled to be here? From Minneapolis, Minnesota.
[Casey Anthony, Accused Of Murdering Daughter:] I`m not in control over any of this.
[Unidentified Male:] What can you say about the new theory that Caylee might be dead, that it might have been an accident?
[George Anthony, Father Of Casey Anthony:] Shut up.
[Perry:] Members of the jury, back in the jury room, what did you have?
[Unidentified Female:] What`s wrong with you?
[Casey Anthony:] Completely upset. The media is going to have a freaking field day with this.
[Jane Velez-mitchell:] Find out what it is like managing the mayhem at the Casey Anthony courthouse. We`re going to tell you all about it with an expert who`s running the whole show in a moment. But first, some really jaw dropping revelations tonight in the Casey Anthony murder trial. I`m here at the courthouse, of course, it is behind me. I was in court today and wow, one humdinger after another. Is it possible that Casey Anthony came up with the Caylee drowning defense by borrowing the real life tragedy of one of her fellow inmates, this woman, April Whalen. She spent five days in the same jail dorm with Casey Anthony. Her 2-year-old son accidentally drowned in a pool two years ago and was discovered by, guess who, the child`s grandfather. Sound familiar?
[Linda Drane-burdick, Prosecutor:] A citizen called the Orange County Sheriff`s Office, left some information about an inmate who may have had contact with Miss Anthony. The name of the witness is April Whalen. Apparently her child died in a swimming pool and was found by the child`s grandfather. Miss Whalen was in an adjacent cell to Miss Anthony for a very brief period of time.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Straight out to Michael Christian, senior field producer, "In Session"; we have been tracking all this and this defense case at this point seems a tad weak today, but now we`re hearing already about a possible rebuttal case by the prosecution and bam, bam, bam, astounding new witnesses are being introduced.
[Michael Christian, Senior Field Producer, "in Session":] That`s right, Jane. This witness April Whalen came out of the blue today. We weren`t expecting her. We didn`t know that she was coming. She was first introduced when you heard that speech from Linda Drane-Burdick earlier today. She is apparently someone who shared some time, in the same vicinity, the sub block where Casey Anthony has been kept in the Orange County jail. She denies knowing everything about her. But as everyone has said, Casey is a person who takes bits and pieces from people her stories. And this is somebody who`s got a very remarkably similar story to what Casey Anthony has told in court or will maybe tell in court or her attorneys will tell in court.
[Velez-mitchell:] And there could be, however, be a witness that will back up the defense story. George`s alleged mistress, a woman by the name of Krystal Holloway has been subpoenaed to testify. Now, she may be called to help corroborate the defense story that Caylee drowned in the family pool. Listen to this.
[Krystal Holloway, Witness:] I don`t believe that George picked the body up like they said. I think it was an accident.
[Unidentified Male:] What did George tell you about that?
[Holloway:] That it was an accident that snow balled out of control.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Where have I heard that before? Listen to Jose Baez`s opening statement.
[Jose Baez, Defense Attorney For Casey Anthony:] This is a sad, tragic accident that snowballed out of control.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right, Danette Myers, Los Angeles assistant district attorney who prosecuted the Lindsay Lohan DUI. Krystal, can she testify about what George told her? Wouldn`t that be hearsay?
[Danette Myers, Asst. District Attorney, Los Angeles:] It would be hearsay, Jane, but it is also a prior inconsistent statement. And is a prior inconsistent statement, it may come into evidence. It is, you know, relevant evidence because George got up on the witness stand and said no. Caylee did not drown, I was not there. And so if he told his mistress something very different, guess what, Jane, it`s coming in as a prior inconsistent statement.
[Velez-mitchell:] What about the fact that she has a certain credibility problem because she at one point denied this affair. And hey, I wasn`t there behind closed doors, I have no idea if they really have an affair.
[Myers:] She has a huge credibility problem. Additionally, Jane, you don`t know as a result of the relationship breaking up, whether or not she`s fabricating this story that George told her. So she`s got some huge credibility problems.
[Velez-mitchell:] It is hard to separate fact from fiction in this particular case where the woman at the center of the case is a pathological liar. It kind of makes everything kind of confusing. Cathy, California, your question or thought, Cathy.
[Cathy, California:] Hi, Jane. My question is well, first of all I say bring all those witnesses on because today Mr. Ashton was able to turn them all around for the prosecution anyway. But my question is
[Myers:] That`s true.
[Cathy:] Mr. Baez seems to be very inexperienced. And when this all comes to an end, and if Casey is convicted, she will it seems like she will have a good appeal against Mr. Baez for
[Velez-mitchell:] Ineffective counsel.
[Cathy:] Yes, there you go. Ineffective counsel got it, couldn`t think of that for the life of me. So what do you think about that?
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I think well, look. I have to say this, Jeff Brown, Florida criminal defense attorney, I know Jose Baez. I have had dinner with him a couple of times. And he`s a very nice man. And I think he`s gotten a very tough case. This is not an easy case to argue. And so he`s been creative. Let`s put it that way. But do you think that there would be a possibility of Casey if she`s convicted appealing on the grounds of ineffective counsel?
[Jeff Brown, Florida Defense Attorney:] Well, I mean creative is one thing, but you just can`t make things up. You can`t promise things you can`t deliver. You have to know the rules of evidence. You have to know the rules of procedure. He doesn`t know any of these things. This is not just being creative. This is on the border line of being ineffective. And yes, if he gets up there as he has in his opening statement and then tries in a closing argument to argue the same things without putting Casey on the stand, I they he`s going to have a real problem trying to argue that there was a drowning. There`s no evidence to that. He`s going to have a real problem arguing that there was sexual abuse. There may not be any evidence of that. If all of that happens, yes. So what will happen if after the appeal
[Myers:] Well, sometimes there is no evidence.
[Brown:] Then you can`t argue with it. But if there is no evidence to it and he denies it, then he`s stuck.
[Velez-mitchell:] Unless Casey takes the stand.
[Brown:] Unless she takes the stand.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. I have to tell you
[Brown:] She has to take the stand to be able to argue that. Michael Christian, to be in that courtroom today, I have to say, it was like there was a big elephant in the room, as they say. It is like, whoa, you think. Wow. This young lady who`s sitting there and from the perspective I was looking, she looked tiny. I wish I had binoculars. She was just sitting there and I was you could see her better on TV. And I`m thinking this woman at the center could clear everything up. Why doesn`t she just take the stand? It is like the big elephant in the room. Is that
[Christian:] It does. Absolutely true. However you`ve got to remember as everybody has said so often since this trial started. She has lied and lies and lied. How could you ever believe her? She may tell you the absolute truth on the stand but how could you ever believe her? I`m not sure jurors would be able to sort it out. I`m not sure I could sort it out.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. Listen, prosecutor Jeff Ashton kept challenging the testimony that Caylee`s remains were in the woods for just two weeks. His point was, after such little time, how did the bones become buried inches four inches below the dirt? So check this exchange out. It`s pretty great.
[Jeff Ashton, Prosecutor:] Wouldn`t that indicate pretty conclusively that the skull had been there a whole lot longer than two weeks?
[Unidentified Female:] Or a dog buried it.
[Ashton:] A dog buried it.
[Unidentified Female:] They do. As do coyotes. I don`t know if you have those here.
[Ashton:] We`re not blessed with coyotes out of everything. Thank you very much Doctor.
[Velez-mitchell:] Danette Myers, prosecutor in the Lindsay Lohan case. Sometimes a moment can define a defense case. And that moment was not a good moment. Let`s hope they don`t define the case by that moment.
[Myers:] I would agree, Jane. The prosecutor`s question was right on. The witness just really her credibility called into question. A dog buried the skull. That is not believable and I guarantee you if this prosecution team picked a smart, logical-thinking jury, they`re convicting, they`re convicting Casey Anthony based upon everything I`ve heard in this case.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I will never, ever, ever, ever predict what a jury is going to do. Because I have to say that after the Michael Jackson case, when everybody was 90 percent of the people were convinced he`s going to be convicted of everything and then they acquitted him on everything. I will never make a prediction again. In fact, the night before I didn`t make a prediction. I said, I can`t figure this out. I have to say this, the prosecution has been very clever, Michael, because what they have done is in their cross examination they have put up some very graphic photos that I was able to see today for the first time that the general public cannot see. And there was the photo of the skull. And you were there. And I was there. The skull is a photograph like this and you see the roots growing all through it and we watched it for 15 minutes sitting up there. Casey is like this, she doesn`t want to see it. But that story a picture tells a story, a thousand words. It says everything you need to know. We can`t show you the picture but it is this beautiful little girl and her skull. Unbelievable.
[Christian:] Yes. And it is also amazing because Dr. Warner Spitz, he testified on Saturday. He said the skull photographed at the scene shot from above down, showed some stray hair on the top. And then a similar photo shot at the medical examiner`s office from the top on down. Obviously, the hair had been moved. Somebody had moved the hair. I`ve seen both of the photos and I have to say it looks like the same hair to me. I really don`t know where
[Velez-mitchell:] It`s like a Rorschach Test. Everything you can just it tells you more about yourself when you look at that photo. But it is very tragic. It brings it home. This is a tragedy. Up next, an inside look at the Casey trial. We`re going to talk to the woman in charge of what goes on outside Judge Perry`s court and she`s got a story to tell, that`s for sure.
[Unidentified Male:] It`s a walking, living soap opera. All the characters from the prosecutors, defense attorneys, people giving testimony, are almost like celebrities. To be part of it, I`ll always remember it.
[Unidentified Female:] Let him go. Let him go. Let him go. Let him go. You put him in a headlock. You put him in a headlock. You put him in a headlock. You put him in a headlock. I saw it.
[Velez-mitchell:] Fists were flying on Friday outside the Casey Anthony trial. And all over a place in line for seats inside this court, where everybody wants to be. This trial has turned the Ninth Judicial Circuit Courthouse in Orlando upside down. On top of all the fighting, when they do get tickets, some are turning around and selling them for cash. Can you believe it? Scalpers at a murder trial? Joining me now is Karen Levey, the spokesperson for the courthouse, along with "In Session`s" Michael Christian. Karen, first of all, thank you for joining us. And I`m going to be nice to you. I know you were saying be nice. Be nice. Of course, we`re going to be nice. You`re not responsible for the behavior of those can I say clowns. But you`ve taken steps. First of all, did you expect this kind of reaction when you were preparing for this case?
[Karen Levey, Spokesperson, 9th Judicial Circuit Court:] You know we really didn`t. I think we expected media interest. We just weren`t expecting the level of interest from the public to come out and just stand in line to get a seat in the courtroom.
[Velez-mitchell:] When you started seeing the first lines, I found it a little shocking, arriving here yesterday and seeing these folks on line where they have their coolers and they practically set up camp there. Were you shocked? What was your reaction?
[Levey:] You know, I think everybody was surprised. Everybody, all the TV stations were running it live. It was on the Internet. It was everywhere. We were just surprised that the people wanted to get inside that courtroom. We were it is still surprising to me.
[Velez-mitchell:] You`re part of history. But just remember this, when the trial ends, all these people are going to pack up and leave so fast that the person who sells coffee down the block is going to go into a deep depression. I can tell you that. The fact that seats to this trial were being sold blows my mind out. This brawl, this is the running and we always have the guy with the neck brace who gets into the lead here. But there was another situation where this, this fistfights broke out because some people were cutting in. I can also tell you that I spoke to a woman who bought a ticket on Craigslist from one of the people involved in here. And she knew that that`s what was behind the fight, some people were standing in line. You`ve made some changes to make sure that all of those shenanigans are cut out. Tell us what you`ve done.
[Levey:] First off it was impossible for someone to buy a ticket on Craigslist because we issue them day of. And the only way they could have done that was to come back later in the afternoon. So a lot of the rumors that were flying, that tickets were being sold and some of those things were impossible. But we did make changes as soon as we realized it just warranted it. And when we did that, people come in, line up and then return the next day. But we don`t even give them a ticket then because we assumed that they might be sold or the like. So we just take their names.
[Velez-mitchell:] The reason I said it is I talked to a woman I know who actually bought a ticket on Craigslist. Now, it doesn`t mean she got a ticket. She paid for one.
[Levey:] Ok.
[Velez-mitchell:] Things fell apart at the other end, namely, this insanity. There is no telling how much this trial is going to cost at the end of the day once this is finally over. But right now, CNN is estimating it is going to cost or it has cost $361,000, ok, since May of last year. Tell us what the big costs are, if you can, Karen.
[Levey:] Well, that $361,000 was an estimate. It is an estimate of jury sequestration costs and only jury sequestration costs. It was designed for the 20 jurors that would have been sequestered; so we`re overestimate. There`s only 17 jurors. It includes all the transportation, lodging, security, meals, that sort of thing for the jurors over an eight-week course.
[Velez-mitchell:] Let me ask you, Michael Christian because we see this judge, he`s cracking down. You think is he just a tough judge who doesn`t want to be remembered like Judge Ito in the O.J. Simpson case where they had people on late night talk shows dancing like the dancing Itos. He doesn`t want that to define him in a bad way. But he`s also under financial pressure.
[Christian:] He is. He`s definitely under final pressure. The state of Florida is not in a great financial situation, like so many jurisdictions. And he doesn`t want to be remembered as Judge Ito. And I think, frankly, most judges don`t want to be remembered as Judge Ito. But this is a judge that is imminently fair and I`ve been so impressed with how concerned he is, how solicitous he is of these jurors. He`s very concerned about their sequestration. He knows this is an incredible hardship for them. He does not want to waste their time. So absolutely he wants to get this thing going. He doesn`t want any dead time. He wants this to be over so these folks can get back to their families and get on with their lives again.
[Velez-mitchell:] He`s fabulous. I love him. And I love how he stays so calm when he`s scolding the lawyers. I have to learn how to do that. We can learn a lot from this guy. More Casey Anthony developments inside court with the lady here.
[Unidentified Female:] How far have you traveled to be here? From Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the only reason why I came to see the Casey Anthony case. I feel very emotionally attached at this point. I`ve not missed any of the coverage on this trial. It is so much so it actually inspired me to apply for law school.
[Velez-mitchell:] This trial is almost cult-like with its fan following. I covered the Michael Jackson trial and we saw a lot of fans there. I`m seeing some striking similarities. And I have to say, we`re going to ask some questions to Karen Levy. She`s a spokesperson; she handles the jurors. Here is a question I got from Michael Christian because he has that kind of mind. He wants to know, are there conjugal visits allowed when the jurors have that time to meet with their loved ones?
[Levey:] Sunday afternoons the jurors have an opportunity to meet with their families and they`re private visits. But they could be, you know, children, moms. They could be grandparents. They could be anybody meeting.
[Velez-mitchell:] Ok. Now, I want to know what is going to happen during the verdict. We talked about the Michael Jackson trial. When I cover that, most absolutely nerve-wracking moment of my life was the day that everybody jumped out of their seats at once when we heard, there`s a verdict. And it was nerve-wracking. How are you going to handle that? How much time are we going to get? And how are you going to organize all the thousands of people who`s going to want to get in that courtroom for the verdict?
[Levey:] Judge Perry has not totally made a decision yet on it. But we`re looking at about a 30-minute lead time for members of the media and the public to get into the courtroom.
[Velez-mitchell:] Just 30 minutes?
[Levey:] Just 30 minutes.
[Velez-mitchell:] How long will they deliberate? In other words, could I be somewhere at midnight? I`d probably be in my hotel room but
[Levey:] Judge Perry is very concerned. And he knows that he wants to run regular business hours. So it will be pretty much 8:00 to 5:00, 8:00 to 6:00, then the jurors will go home or go back to the hotel, have dinner. That sort of thing. So there won`t be a midnight verdict. There won`t be a
[Velez-mitchell:] Now, they`re not allowed to talk among themselves about the case. But they have come up with questions, haven`t they? So if they`re not allowed to talk among themselves, how do they come up with questions?
[Levey:] An individual juror could write down a question that they they wish to have a cheeseburger or that they have something they have on their mind and then
[Velez-mitchell:] Or maybe a veggie burger. Go ahead.
[Levey:] Maybe. And the questions are brought to the judge.
[Velez-mitchell:] That`s it. It is not like they`re talking is there any monitoring to see that they`re not talking?
[Levey:] Well, other the deputies are with them, Orange County Sheriff`s Office is responsible for court security, and they`re with them 24 hours a day. But, again, you have to trust the jurors to a certain point in any case.
[Velez-mitchell:] So there is a level of trust?
[Levey:] Absolutely.
[Velez-mitchell:] Any sense that this sequestration is getting to them? Is there any kind of complaint, like, I mean, honestly, it is mind-numbing in some level. It is just absolutely mind-numbing to have sit there and then walk out. It seems like there is more time spent arguing outside of the jury`s presence in this case than in front of the jury.
[Levey:] Well, Judge Perry`s very mindful of the fact that these people are have been away from home for five weeks, they`re in hotels. They`re not living their normal life. He`s encouraging he`s pushing the case along. As far as we know, the jurors are very happy. We have had no complaints. We haven`t lost a juror. It is really going well. Things are really going well.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, you have done an excellent job. I hope we were nice to you.
[Levey:] You were nice.
[Velez-mitchell:] But hang on. We`re going to have some final thoughts in a second. You are really, really fantastic. And so these are all questions people want to know about. It is not a criticism. It is praise for you and your court. All right. Hang tight. We`re going to get some more thoughts from Karen in just a moment. She`s the lady in charge of the whole shebang. I`m here with "In Session" producer Michael Christian and the woman in charge of this entire extravaganza, Karen Levey. I think a lot of people want to know about Internet access and the jurors. Tell us about that.
[Levey:] The jurors have a common room that they can, you know, that they socialize in together. And in that room there is some computers and on those computers, jurors are allowed to pay their bills, order prescriptions, things like that. But it is all under the supervision of a court deputy.
[Velez-mitchell:] What about television? They have a TV in their hotel rooms.
[Levey:] They do.
[Velez-mitchell:] Every time I turn on the TV here, up comes Casey Anthony.
[Levey:] They do limited stations, everything from like TNT to ESPN, they can watch. Shows that normally have news are not authorized by the court.
[Velez-mitchell:] You`re saying that they literally change the they change the channels that are available?
[Levey:] That`s correct.
[Velez-mitchell:] That`s like the opposite of having all the channels including SHOWTIME and HBO. Ok. Thank you so much.
[Levey:] You`re welcome. Thank you.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. "Nancy Grace" is up next. END

[Kaye:] Welcome back and thanks for starting your morning with us. I'm Randi Kaye. It is now half past the hour. And here are some stories that we're watching this morning. We start with the presidential election now just two days away. President Obama and Mitt Romney seem to be trying to squeeze every last frequent flyer mile out of this campaign. They've got a combined 16 stops in eight states before heading home. President Obama kicks off his Sunday in Concord, New Hampshire, then it's on to Florida, Ohio, and a final stop in Colorado just after midnight. And here is where Mitt Romney is going. He starts in Des Moines, then, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and then Virginia. You can count on us to be there every step of the way. Mitt Romney ended his day yesterday in Colorado at the rally in Englewood. He had an admission about day one of a Romney presidency.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Nominee:] When I'm elected, the economy and American jobs will still be stagnant, of course, but I won't waste any time complaining about my predecessor. From day one, I'm going to go to work to help Americans get back to work.
[Kaye:] Another big named endorsement for the president. He's now got the support of Israel's oldest newspaper. "Haaretz", which is actually liberal-leaning, says Obama is good for Israel. Quote, "The outcome of the elections will be determined by the voter's decision as to which of the two candidates is good for America. But if any of them are vacillating in their vote over whether Obama has been a good president for Israel, the answer is yes." Kind words by a big paper but the endorsement is expected to have little effect on the voters here in the U.S. And in President Obama's sprint to head a toss-up state this weekend. He made a stop in Wisconsin where he urged supporters to stick with him even if they sometimes have a difference of opinion.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] You may not agree with every decision I've made. Sometimes you may have been frustrated by the pace of change, but you know where I stand. You know what I believe. You know I mean what I say, and I say what I mean.
[Kaye:] And recent poll of polls of Wisconsin shows the president with a seven-point lead over Governor Romney there. And overnight, newly released national polls are highlighting just how close this race is going to be. A new ABC News"Washington Post" poll came out just after midnight. You see it there. It shows likely voters evenly split 48 to 48. And when voters were asked if they had a favorable impression of the candidates, the numbers are still neck and neck, President Obama with 54 percent, Mitt Romney, 53 percent. Early voting has come to a close in many states, but Sandy- ravaged New Jersey is allowing registered voters to email, even fax in their ballots. With so many new rules on early voting, voter ID and provisional ballot, the use of poll monitors is growing. But the new rules are also creating confusion over the role and responsibilities those monitors actually have. CNN's crime and justice correspondent Joe Johns explains.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Crime And Justice Correspondent:] Long lines in south Florida and in Cincinnati, Ohio, as early voting comes to a close, and those aren't the only crowd this hotly contested election has attracted.
[Eric Marshall, Election Protection:] Ten thousand grassroots and legal volunteers across the country in election country.
[Christian Adams, True The Vote:] Everywhere. They're going to be everywhere. They've trained people in 50 states to legally poll watch.
[Johns:] Lawyer and poll watch of all political stripes descending on Ohio and across the country in search of any issues that need to be challenged.
[Marshall:] We're looking for long lines that might be the result of machines breaking down, poll workers that might be asking the wrong question, asking for ID when they shouldn't be.
[Johns:] Groups like the left leaning Election Protection have been training for weeks so they're ready to respond to any problems at the polls in real time.
[Marshall:] With all the changes nationally in the voting laws, I think we're prepared for there to be a significant amount of confusion on Election Day.
[Johns:] But controversy over how they do their job, poll watching has become part of the business. [on camera]: What do you think of the election protection people?
[Adams:] Look, they have problems.
[Johns:] Former Justice Department lawyer Christian Adams now represents True the Vote, a Tea Party-affiliated vote with a simple goal.
[Adams:] Free and fair elections. True the Vote stands with election integrity. Follow the law, period.
[Johns:] But True the Vote has real critics of their own from the left.
[Rep. Elijah Cummings , Maryland:] True to Vote has been stay it is likely challenged the voting rights of legitimate voters we must address anybody who tries to deny anybody that right to vote and I consider it criminal. I consider it unpatriotic and I think and highly offensive.
[Johns:] A claim Adams does not take likely.
[Adams:] They're liars. They're bearing false witness against law-abiding citizens who are doing no more than observing the process, and they should be ashamed of themselves.
[Johns:] Whatever the election watchers find, it may ultimately be up to super lawyers like Ted Olson to determine whether to go to court. Olson, a Romney adviser, led Republicans to victory from a Supreme Court battle between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000.
[Theodore Olson, 2000 Bush Campaign Lawyer:] I'm clearing my calendar just in case I need to be ready for the next five weeks.
[Johns:] He says if elections officials want to avoid litigation, they shouldn't change direction in the middle of the game.
[Olson:] If you follow the rules that were in place on Election Day with respect to counting the ballots, then the presumptive outcome will be respected when the Electoral College votes are counted.
[Johns:] But the truth is there could be other changes to the rules especially as states affected by the superstorm get ready for the election. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
[Kaye:] And tonight a program note: CNN's Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer are taking a closer look at where the candidates are focusing their attention and whether the battleground states might hold any surprises. "America's Choice 2012: Countdown to Election Day" airs tonight at 8:00 Eastern. People in many of the smaller coastal towns devastated by superstorm Sandy depend on summer tourism to survive. But the storm ripped apart boardwalks, flooded businesses, and destroyed many homes. And all the sand from the beautiful beachfront was washed away or even mixed with nails and debris. And now, people are focused on rebuilding. CNN's Jim Clancy is in Belmar, New Jersey, an area that was flooded a few days ago. Jim, good morning. Are you noticing any progress? I mean, is the power back on there?
[Jim Clancy, Cnn Correspondent:] You know, Belmar come on, Randi. This is a place that you know very, very well, up close and personal. And as you can see, the trucks are here, there's the mounds of sand. This, of course, for our viewers, there used to be more than a mile of beautiful boardwalk here. This is really one of the jewels of the entire Jersey Shore. It was ripped out by the force of hurricane Sandy and now because it's a bowl here, they're having to pump water from inland lakes to get it back into the sea, drain that, allow the residents to come back to their homes. They still don't have power yet, Randi. They don't think they'll have it until next Friday. So, people are really cold out there. They're shivering a little bit. But at the same time, they're thankful for what they have. They're having a mass today to honor the first responders who risked so much to ensure the safety of everyone, not only here in Belmar, but right up and down the entire Jersey Shore. I want to bring in somebody, though, to talk about the issue. You were talking about with Joe Johns. Jennifer Nicolay is a councilwoman here in the borough of Belmar. What you're going to do on Election Day? How people are going to vote?
[Jennifer Nicolay, Councilwoman, Belmar:] What's funny, we were full force for the election about a week ago, for a couple of months, going door to door for the election. Now we're going door to door for other reasons, obviously, trying to help some people out. Not until yesterday, do we realize that the election is tomorrow. So we've been prepared to bring in well, we did. We brought in the voting booths. They're being held in our borough hall for all districts. And they're even allowing people to email their votes in. We do have a lot of residents out of town. They're able to do that. Hopefully, it will be like any other normal day where people vote and go back to their normal lives as far as
[Clancy:] You're going to go to the mass. You're going to be headed to the mass?
[Nicolay:] Absolutely, absolutely. We're going to the mass to honor our first responders, the bishop will be there. And from what it seems like, anybody that's in town that's able to get there will attend. It's very important.
[Clancy:] Jennifer, thank you so much for joining us. Good luck in the election. Jennifer is a candidate as well, but she's not as worried about that.
[Nicolay:] Thank you.
[Clancy:] I'm going to turn it back to you, Randi.
[Kaye:] And, Jim, as you know, I was up there this week along with you. You can really see the town pulling together. But a lot of people were wondering, you know, what are they going to do about voting? So how are they getting word out? I saw some councilmen going around in canoes and kayaks. Have you seen any of that?
[Clancy:] As I understand, though, there's going to be generators that are going to enable them to cast ballots there. And as Jennifer was telling us, they can use fax. They can use email. I don't know exactly how that's going to work, but at least they're going to try.
[Kaye:] Yes.
[Clancy:] Back to you.
[Kaye:] All right. Jim Clancy for us in Belmar Jim, thank you. It is a war being fought on U.S. soil. And feminist icon Gloria Steinem says it could be lost Tuesday night. The stakes and the victims, next. But, first, as we head down the home stretch of the presidential campaign, we wanted to look at the closest races in election history. We're not talking vote counts or percentages. Just electoral votes since that's what decides presidential elections. Here's our top four list. It starts George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000. That was the fourth closest race. The disputed Florida vote went Bush's way, giving him the win by just five electoral votes. Number three, it's three. 1796, John Adams became our second president with a narrow win over Thomas Jefferson. Adams served two terms before Jefferson became the third president. After the break, the two closest races.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed for Wednesday, October 5th. Protesters in lower Manhattan will get reinforcements this afternoon. Three labor unions are calling on members to skip work and join demonstrators in New York's financial district. Occupy Wall Street is an organization made up of mostly 20-somethings. They're angry about fat Wall Street paychecks, Washington's political bottleneck, war, the environment, you name it. The protests have been going on for three weeks now and have now have spread to other cities. Well, Americans absolutely fed up with Congress. New numbers leave no doubt. A "Washington Post"ABC News poll found that just 14 percent of the public approves of the job that Congress is doing. That's Congress's lowest rating ever in any "Washington Post"ABC News poll. Amanda Knox says right now, she just wants time with her family. Knox is home in Seattle today for the first time in four years. She went to Italy for college studies but ended up in prison for murder.
[Amanda Knox, Murder Conviction Overturned:] They're reminding me to speak in English because I'm having problems with that. I'm really overwhelmed right now. I was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed like everything wasn't real.
[Malveaux:] Knox was serving a 26-year sentence for killing her roommate. An appeals court overturned that murder conviction on Monday. Well, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice is calling it an outrage. She walked out of the U.N. after China and Russia blocked a measure targeting Syria. Rice says that China and Russia would rather sell weapons to the Syrian regime than stand with the people who want freedom. You're seeing pictures there of a brutal crackdown on the protesters. The U.N. resolution condemned Syria's crackdown on those protesters and opened the door to sanctions. Well, the U.N. said that 2,600 Syrians have been killed since March in those protests. Well, as unreal as this sounds, a wildfire once again threatening people and property in Bastrop County, Texas. About 1,000 acres are burning today. Fires forced 30 families to leave their homes. It was just last month when a huge firestorm destroyed 1,500 homes in that county. A New York congresswoman says it's time to look at limits on helicopter traffic over Manhattan. Now, you're looking at this scene here. A crash on Tuesday killed an Australian tourist who was celebrating her 40th birthday. Three other passengers and the pilot survived, and witnesses say the helicopter belly-flopped right into the East River right after takeoff.
[Robert Dress, Witness:] This thing just went up and it went down. I thought I was going to see people bobbing up and down in the water. There was no one. It was just those two struts pointing towards Queens, and then they popped up. And I honestly think they went down to try to, like, rescues the others and came back up, and they were like, look, they're dead.
[Malveaux:] Since 2005, five helicopters have crashed into the Hudson or East River surrounding Manhattan, killing 10 people. Unbelievable. Would you believe that explosion did not hurt the firefighters? They were going inside a burning restaurant that's in Franklin, Ohio and then, boom. A backdraft ripped out the windows and the doors. You can see it there. That is when fire suddenly got a burst of oxygen, typically when someone opens a door or a window. So here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question today: Could Occupy Wall Street become a new political party? Carol Costello, she has got more from New York. And Carol, I guess what we heard about the Tea Party at first is that they didn't have an organized leadership, they weren't really sure who was speaking for their organization. And people are talking about this protest movement becoming somewhat in the model of the Tea Party. Yes?
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] Absolutely. I mean, the Tea Party was a grassroots movement. Some say that the Wall Street protesters, grassroots movement. And Suzanne, ever since the dawn of the Tea Party, liberal activists have yearned for a revolution of their own. Example, Michael Moore, who's hungry for a mass movement. How better to get than railing against Wall Street.
[Michael Moore, Filmmaker:] This is the end result of these bankers overplaying their hand. They were already filthy rich, but filthy rich wasn't enough.
[Costello:] Moore is lending his celebrity to the movement and paying to help protesters expand the use of social media. With the help of Twitter and Facebook, the movement has spread to other cities. Hundreds of people have been arrested. Though we see some protesters dressed like zombies, and with often confusing messages, those protesters are also attracting some powerful allies, including a half-dozen unions who will march on New York's City Hall today. So, when you combine clout, money, and anger at the powers that be, it kind of sort of sounds like the start of something. Although protesters don't consider themselves political animals.
[Tyler Combelic, Occupy Wall Street:] We don't want to be, you know, a left political group. We don't want to be a political group at all. We want to be a group that calls for activism. Ideally, you know, if this continues to grow, if more people get involved, suddenly, people will have the same power that lobbyists have.
[Costello:] Heads up, Wall Street. Even FoxNews.com says this could be more than just another loony protest movement from the left. So, the "Talk Back" question today: Could Occupy Wall Street become a new political party? Facebook.comCarolCNN. I'll read your responses later this hour.
[Malveaux:] Yes, Carol, you do it all. You start really early in the morning, and you go through the rest of the day. That's OK. That's all right.
[Costello:] Thank you. I appreciate it.
[Malveaux:] We know you're on all the time. Thanks, Carol.
[Costello:] Sure.

[O'brien:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT, everybody, lots going on this morning, including the last day of the G-20 Summit. In just a few minutes, I'm going to be talking to Matthew Goodman. He is President Obama's former economic adviser on summits about today's talks with China. First though, let's get right to Zoraida. She's got a look at the day's headlines. Hi, Z. Good morning.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning to you, Soledad. The government spending millions and still weeping against Roger Clemens. The jury finding him not guilty in all charges in his perjury trial related to alleged use of performance enhancing drugs. The Rocket's first year of eligibility for the baseball hall of fame is next year. His lawyer, famous Texas attorney Rusty Hardin told us he should be a lock.
[Rusty Hardin, Roger Clemens Attorney:] This guy had 13 years of a hall of fame career before anything even suggested anything. So if you look at the 24-year career, there's a three-year period where a guy claimed he did stuff that a jury totally rejected, told us they didn't believe anything of the allegations against him.
[Sambolin:] This is the second time Clemens faced trial. The first one ended in a mistrial. A Picasso vandal caught in the act. This cell phone video taken at the Houston Art Museum is making rounds on the web. You see a man walk up to a 1929 Picasso called "Conquer the Beast" and spray paint the word "conquista," which is Spanish for conquer. The man who shot the video said, he confronted the vandal afterwards. The vandal reportedly told him, he's an up and coming artist who did it to honor Picasso's work. In this morning's "House Call," a can be a life saving procedures, but gastric bypass surgery can also have an unintended side effect, alcoholism. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh say patients faced a higher risk of alcohol dependency in the second year after the operation. For some, the increased risk is as high as 50 percent. The reason, with the stomach size reduced, the body absorbs alcohol more rapidly and as a result can be become more addictive. A new study appears to confirm what many of us already know that we are more stressed out than ever. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon found a 10 to 30 percent jump in self-reported stress levels. That was between 1983 and 2009. So who's the most stressed, young women, people with lower incomes and less education. Men are more susceptible to financial stress. There may be a silver lining though. The study says as you age, your stress levels go down Soledad.
[O'brien:] Well, that's some good news. The good news is your stress level is going down. The bad news is you're closer to death because you're getting old. All right, Z, thank you.
[Sambolin:] You're welcome.
[O'brien:] The G-20 Summit this afternoon. President Obama is going to meet with China's President Hu Jintao. They are expected to talk about Iran's nuclear program and of course, the most pressing issue, the economic crisis. The president has been pressing European leaders to take action and create more stability. But so far, the 17 eurozone nations seem unwilling or unable to do enough to stop the crisis from spreading. Let's get right to Matthew Goodman. He is a former Obama White House adviser on economic summits. He is also a political economist for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It's nice to see you. Thanks for being with us. Tell me how tough this conversation is going to be when you think about how much debt that China holds for the U.S. The market slowdown that's happening in China and obviously is going to affect the United States and is affecting the United States, how ugly potentially could this conversation be?
[Matthew Goodman, Former Obama White House Advisor On Economic Summits:] Well, I think both President Obama and President Hu share a concern about global growth in each of our countries there are challenges in that regard. But the biggest risk at the global growth is right now the eurozone crisis and I think that is going to be the overwhelming topic of conversation between them.
[O'brien:] Crisis averted for the moment, but when we talked to Ken Rogoff yesterday, here's a little bit of what he said sort of for the long haul. Let's play that.
[Ken Rogoff, Professor, Economics And Public Policy, Harvard University:] They haven't really figured out how to solve the deeper problems in the euro where me share a checking account, but they are not married. And they just haven't figured out how to allocate the losses from the problems they have across the banking sector in Europe.
[O'brien:] He describes it in a very calm way, right? But they're not figuring it out is sort of the $64,000 problem. If they cannot figure it out, that could send everything off a cliff.
[Goodman:] I think that's right. I think that the long term challenges remain and it is not clear yet whether the Europeans have the political desire to really move forward towards greater union, which seems to be the inevitable path that they are going to have to take. The alternative is to try to break up these unions and the short term consequences of that could be disastrous. So it seems as though they have to make a commitment to greater union, but that's a very difficult political choice because each member country is going to have to give up sovereignty.
[Margaret Hoover, Cnn Political Contributor:] Matthew, Margaret Hoover here. Question, you know, sure the Greek crisis is impending and the euro is in question. But to what extent at the G-20 meetings is there a reflection on the United States, it's been 300 days almost since we've lost our AAA rating. What about our own impending fiscal cliff and are the Europeans looking at the United States saying you have your own problems just around the corner?
[Goodman:] Well, I'm sure that the U.S. situation will be a topic of conversation as well. We are still the world's largest economy and what happens here really does affect everyone else as well. I think that everyone acknowledges though that in the short term, the real risks are in Europe and I think there's going to be a shared desire to talk about what the Europeans are doing to fix that problem. But no doubt President Obama will be asked to explain how we're going to get through what you as you say, is called the fiscal cliff later this year. And so I think it will be a conversation about all of that, but with a particular focus on the euro issues.
[Marc Lamont Hill, Host, "our World With Black Enterprise":] Could you give us a little insight though on what that may look like? We've been hearing a lot of talk about not just cutting, but also creating spending and increasing consumer confidence. How do you do that in the current market condition?
[Goodman:] You mean, here in the United States?
[Hill:] Here in the United States, yes.
[Goodman:] Well, I mean, I think that's the challenge. I think that there clearly is a need for greater growth. The Obama administration has been arguing that we need to ensure that growth is sustained through possibly a new stimulus, but through actions by the Federal Reserve. But at the same time, in the medium term, we clearly have to deal with our fiscal problems and get our budget deficits and debt down. And getting that balance right is very challenging.
[O'brien:] Matthew Goodman is a former Obama White House adviser on those economic summits. It's nice to see you, sir. Thanks for your insight this morning. We appreciate it.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] I want to turn something Matthew said and I want to try to see if we can frame this. He talked about what Ken Rogoff said that we can't have a monetary union without a political union. We can't have a joint bank account without being married talking about Germany and Greece and Spain and Italy and France. I want to offer you this. I'm not sure that's even a solution, short term or long term. And of course, those are relative terms, long term and short. But that requires us to accept a really idealistic version of the world in which the Germans are really concerned about the Greek's lifestyle and how they work. And the Greeks in turn expect the Germans to subsidize. That negate thousands of years of different cultures and languages and tradition. And I'm not sure you can just say, let's have a political union and do away with that.
[O'brien:] I think that marriage metaphor kind of works, right? Because what he said was you have to decide at this juncture, do we commit like really commit because the challenges, if you don't commit to the marriage, which is deciding. I care about the Spanish care about the Greeks. The Greeks care about the Italians. If you don't do that, at the same time, you have political problems at home
[Cain:] To extend that metaphor, I would suggest this is a couple that has shown no desire to get along, why should they get married?
[O'brien:] But the only option is they have to stay married at this moment.
[Hoover:] Were you [inaudible] to the EU in the first place?
[Cain:] I was young
[O'brien:] Back when he was 7, yes.
[Cain:] I think the EU is ill fated and always will be.
[O'brien:] All right, still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, the fastest growing race in the United States is not Latinos anymore. We'll tell you what group it is and what it could mean demographically. Plus this morning, from Chastity to Chaz, Chaz Bono is going to talk us about his transition to the person he always felt he was. He's going to join us right here in the studio. You're watching STARTING POINT. Got to take a break, we're back in a moment.

[Baldwin:] Ten people died in protest-related clashes today in Syria. And another person died from injuries suffered just a from a couple days ago. That is according to a human rights group tracking a fresh wave of anti-government uprisings in Syria. And, you know, for weeks, we have been telling you that CNN has not been allowed to report from inside this country until now. That has changed. Hala Gorani is now in the capital city live for me in Damascus. And, Hala, tell me what you've seen in the time you've been there and if you can also just touch on some of these deadly clashes that have been reported. What happened? We can't hear her. We can't hear her. We're going to stand by and hopefully we can get her microphone turned on. Meantime, I see her over my shoulder, Candy Crowley standing by good thing she is with the latest news off the Political Ticker. Candy, to you. What do you have?
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Chief Political Correspondent:] A little bit easier to talk from Washington, D.C., than from Syria. Listen, a couple things on the ticker, most of them having to do with 2012. There is a meeting this week of Latino elected and appointed leaders. It's in Texas. For the third year in a row, the president was invited. For the third year in the row, he declined. That has caused hurt feelings among that group who say not only has he not delivered on his promise of immigration reform, but they think symbolically it would have been important for the president to show up. The White House says, listen, the president can't go everywhere. It's a scheduling problem. But his efforts on behalf of all the Americans can't be measured in a number of the meetings that he goes to. Nonetheless, symbolism in politics does mean a lot. Latinos, a very, very important voting group. The president did find time to go to Pennsylvania where the Republican Party greeted him with some acid words, including that the president according to the Republican Party chairman in Pennsylvania the president was coming to talk about jobs and the economy, but the only job he's interested in is his own. That is the president's. And finally, just a little something from our Sunday show, Brooke, we'll be interviewing Jim DeMint. I don't know he's a Tea Party favorite. He riled some of his Republican colleagues in the Senate when he backed candidates that were not necessarily traditional Republican candidates in the last election. But he is going after President Obama today and President Obama's announcement that he would or the White House announcement the president would release about 30 million gallons of oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve. And Jim DeMint saving some of his choice words saying, "The president is trying to be the wizard behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. He's trying to control our economy from Washington and that's not how it works." So, a rough day for the president I think.
[Baldwin:] Getting it from all sides, he has been lately, I guess.
[Crowley:] Rhetorically.
[Baldwin:] Yes. Candy Crowley, thank you so much for standing by and hopping in for me. We'll check you out at 9:00 a.m., Sunday morning "STATE OF THE UNION." Now back as promised, we've been working on it. Hala Gorani live in Damascus, inside Syria. And, Hala, what I was asking you was if you can just tell me what you've seen since you've been in country. And what do you know about these reported deadly clashes? What happened?
[Hala Gorani, Cnn Correspondent:] All right. Hopefully, you can hear me now. Well, Brooke, when over the last few weeks, I've told you consistently that it's impossible for CNN to verify the authenticity of this online video independently. And the reason for that, we're not granted access to these areas where uprisings are taking place. Well, that in essence hasn't changed. We are in Damascus. It's a fantastic opportunity to see what's going on here firsthand. But we're not able, because we're followed by government minders, to go to these areas where these demonstrations are erupting and where there is violence, according to activists and based on the evidence we see online and on these amateur YouTube videos. What we are able to see, however, is the heart of the Syrian capital. We were taken today to the old city, the Umayyad mosque, the famous Umayyad mosque. There we saw a small but vocal pro-Assad, pro- Bashir al-Assad demonstrators. And you had among these demonstrators a common thread, that those who are responsible for the unrest and crisis in Syria are the foreigners. They're foreign agents. They're even cable news channels in some cases. In fact, there was some one chant I found amusing, "If you don't clap with us right now, your mother is Qatari." Now, let me explain that one. Qatar, of course, is where al Jazeera is based. This is a way for them to blame the satellite news channel for giving a negative image of the country. So, it's a fascinating opportunity as I said to see this one side of the story we haven't been able to see so far, and an ability firsthand to see that in the capital, at least. It's still every day life still ticks on as normal, though it's a bit quieter because there are no tourists.
[Baldwin:] Let's talk about the condemnation today by the European counsel. You know, do you think that will make any difference in the Syrian government's approach to these protesters you've been seeing?
[Gorani:] You know, yes, every little bit of pressure is going to have an impact. The question is, will it be a big enough impact to sort of force thing to budge? And the answer, at this stage, appears to be no. However, the much longer term possibility is that because this economy is suffering, and it is suffering, there are no tourists, foreign direct investment is going down, estimates for growth every year have been lowered because all this is happening, those middle and merchant classes that right now are still supporting the regime or are not joining the opposition, might change sides. And so, it's internally that things might change in this country, rather than from external pressure. So, I don't think this is something that will be resolved in a matter of weeks, unlike Egypt, for instance.
[Baldwin:] Sure.
[Gorani:] This is a much longer term process. Things are changing. Things very significant things are going on, but the timeline appears to be much longer.
[Baldwin:] Well, I'm just glad you're able to bear witness to some of those changes. We were just sitting here in Atlanta on the sofa over here predicting you might get in country the end of the summer. Here we go, in CNN style, we're in now. Hala Gorani in Damascus thank you. Back home, the feds say these two men wanted to use grenades and machine guns to kill Americans in one major city. CNN now has their YouTube videos. And what you will see, it is disturb disturbing. Plus, one of the suspects has a profile on a dating Web site. Find out just who he was looking for, next.

[Costello:] It is just about 30 minutes past the hour. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in
[The Newsroom:] Opening bell on Wall Street. Stocks set for a higher start today following an announcement from Spain that it's getting its fiscal house in order. Ringing the bell this morning, you see them there, MRC Global, which is celebrating its recent IPO. CNN has learned that a mix of pathogens caused a mystery illness that killed 64 children in Cambodia. Doctors say an inappropriate use of steroids made the illness worse in most patients. Our doctor, Sanjay Gupta, will have the latest from Cambodia. We'll bring that to you in the next 30 minutes, I'd say. Today, House Republicans will have their say on repealing the so-called Obamacare. It is the first vote since the Supreme Court upheld the sweeping health care reforms two weeks ago. But even if passed by the GOP majority in the House, the repeal is doomed in the Senate, which the Democrats control. In a perfect Democratic kind of world, you would decide who to vote for based on cold hard facts. The truth is, that's hard to do because of all the cold hard cash out there. 2012 could be the year of the $1 billion campaign. That's more than enough money to sway your opinion based on the ads alone. So the question this morning: who will buy your vote? Corporate America, unions, who? Viveca Novack is in D.C. She's the communications director if the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group. Welcome.
[Viveca Novack, Communications Dir, Center For Responsive Politics:] Good to be with you, Carol.
[Costello:] Great to have you here. So, I took these numbers from your fabulous Web site, opensecrets.org. To date, Mr. Obama has raised more than $255 million and Mr. Romney more than $121 million. Those numbers don't tell the whole story, though, right?
[Novack:] No. I mean, if money were everything, then we'd have a President Ross Perot to be looking back on or a President Steve Forbes. Clearly money is hugely important, though, or these candidates wouldn't be spending so much time raising it.
[Costello:] So we here like last month Mitt Romney outraised President Obama, but those figures show Obama is up in total take by $100 million. Why is that?
[Novack:] Well, yes. That doesn't mean, though, that he has an extra $100 million. You have to remember these candidates raise the money, and they spend the money. And every month, it's almost like starting from zero again.
[Costello:] If you look at who's donating to whom, I thought this was really interesting, Obama's top five donors, Microsoft, the University of California, Google, et cetera. It's interesting that employees of these entities are donating to Obama. What do they have in common?
[Novack:] Well, you're correct that Obama seems to be getting a lot of his money from law firms, lawyers at law firms, from universities, academics and other employees of universities seem to like Obama. And tech companies very much like Obama. On the other hand, as I'm sure you'll show in just a second, Romney seems to be very popular with banks and investment firms.
[Costello:] Let's go down the top five. You can see them. Goldman Sachs. JPMorgan Chase. Morgan Stanley. Bank of America. All of them are big banks.
[Novack:] Right. And this is not surprising in a way, in part because Mitt Romney is from that world. He knows these people. He is of their mindset. And the other thing is that they don't like Obama so much anymore because they have been blamed in part for the financial crisis, in some cases perhaps with good reason. And in are the cases, there have been various misdeeds that people have looked askance at, and it has led to more regulation, AKA, the Dodd-Frank bill that has been very, very unpopular in the financial community.
[Costello:] So, you know, we hear this a lot. Mitt Romney is getting these huge do nations from people with a lot of money, and we can see that he is. So does that necessarily mean that these big banks and big corporations will decide our election?
[Novack:] Well, you know, it's very hard to draw a straight line there because there's a lot more going on. I mean, they may be helping our election, but of course money is not everything. You have to have, you know, the basics in place. You have to be a you know, intelligent individual who is able to make a good case for you taking over the presidency of the arguably most important country in the world. So it's not everything. But, again, the number of fundraisers that these candidates are having is hugely important. It's indicative of what they think they need to win. And the people who are giving the money definitely have better access than the average American.
[Costello:] You've got that right. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Opensecrets.org if you want more on the numbers. They are fascinating. Let me tell you. Thank you so much, Viveca.
[Novack:] Thank you.
[Costello:] Is mixing Justin Bieber and the paparazzi a disaster in the making? His people seem to think so. And now they have issued a warning.
[Jose Gomez-marquez:] I want to create the equivalent of what Lego is today for toys, I want to have not just the predicate if but the movement of democratized health care. My name is Jose Gomez-Marquez, and I use toys to make affordable medical devices.

[Cooper:] The breaking news tonight, Libya's foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, resigning his post and suddenly showing up in London. He's now talking with British authorities. What secrets he may be spilling, if any, we don't know. Also word that clandestine CIA operatives are at work on the ground inside Libya, President Obama having reportedly signed secret orders authorizing covert it. In a moment, we will talk with former CIA officer Bob Baer and former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who have very different views on whether arming and running covert opts with the opposition is a good idea. Meantime, the situation in places like Misrata continues to be grim, with tanks on the streets, snipers making life hellish for fighters and civilians alike. I spoke with a man named Saddoun El-Misurati, an opposition spokesman in Misrata who asked that we use his name. I spoke to him earlier tonight. What's the level of fighting been in Misrata today?
[Saddoun El-misurati, Spokesman For Libyan Opposition:] It's been quite intense, Anderson. It intensifies normally around early evening, and carries on to the early hours of the night.
[Cooper:] And in terms of Gadhafi tanks, are they hiding under buildings, so that they can't be gotten out by aircraft?
[El-misurati:] Normally, they just come out to fire a few shellings. And tanks would disappear as soon as they find coalition forces patrolling the skies.
[Cooper:] Have you been able to get any supplies to hospitals? In the past, we have talked to doctors who have said that the hospitals are running short of medicine.
[El-misurati:] Yes, we managed to get two shipments so far of medical of badly needed medical supplies to the hospitals. But obviously, we still need more supplies in terms of dealing with the day-to-day casualties and situation on the ground.
[Cooper:] And what is your greatest hope at this point? Is it that opposition force will be able to come from the east and help? Or do you hope to somehow, with coalition air support, be able to actually take back the city of Misrata fully?
[El-misurati:] Well, absolutely, our greatest hope will rely and lie mainly on the support of the international coalition forces in the form of change of tactics, from the air to target tanks, sporadic tanks and heavy artillery of Gadhafi's forces, but also take out groups of snipers positioned on buildings in the city, eliminate the kind of threat that has been around against the civilians of Misrata for quite some time now.
[Cooper:] Saddoun El-Misurati, I appreciate your time. Thank you. Be careful.
[El-misurati:] Thank you.
[Cooper:] All right, let's dig deeper now on tonight's breaking news, the CIA working on the ground covertly with the opposition. That information was leaked to various news sources. Whether or not it's arming them whether or not arming them is a good idea, however, that is another issue to talk about. I'm joined by Paul Wolfowitz, former deputy secretary of defense in the Bush administration, and former CIA officer Robert Baer, intelligence columnist for TIME.com and co-author with his wife of "The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story." Bob, not much is known about exactly the makeup of the opposition. Do you think it's a good idea, A., for covert operations to be ongoing with them and to be arming them, if that is what it ends up being?
[Robert Baer, Intelligence Analyst, Time.com:] Well, good idea or bad idea, we will find out. But I will tell you, this is a nightmare trying to train the Libyans. I tried to do it many years ago. We had given them rockets. They turned out and they used these rockets against the Sudanese Parliament. These people are very difficult to manage. And putting the CIA on the ground is highly risky. You have to put armed people on the ground. You have to figure out who's going to fight and who's not and it could take a very, very long time. It is not going to be easy.
[Cooper:] Paul, you support arming the opposition, but say we have been waiting too long to really learn about them, right?
[Paul Wolfowitz, Former U.s. Deputy Defense Secretary:] I think that we should be doing everything we possibly can to support the opposition, including a lot that we could do that's nonlethal. It seems to me we have two possible outcomes here. One is a prolonged stalemate, which seems to me is very bad for the Libya people, who continue to suffer. It is very bad for the U.S. and the rest of the coalition maintaining this no-fly zone. I can't see anything good about a protracted stalemate. It's true we don't know what the opposition would be like when they do take over, but there are actually I think some promising signs. But the important thing is we should be in there, we should be working with them. I don't know why what we do with them should be covert at all. And, frankly, there's a lot that we ought to do that's not lethal, starting with just the fact of recognizing this is a war of momentum. And right after the strikes began, the momentum shifted back to the opposition. It looks dangerously as though it's tilting the other way now. If the U.S. would have joined Qatar and France and other countries would have come along and recognizing this provisional government, I think it would send a very, very powerful message to the people around Gadhafi that the end is coming.
[Cooper:] Bob, from what we understand, CIA officers are on the ground I don't know if there are actual CIA officers or contractors trying to understand, I guess, make contacts with the opposition, figure out who all the players are. How does it work, though, to actually train a force on the ground? You say you have done it. What kind of time does this take? What kind of manpower does it require? Because these are folks who in many cases, it's said there are about 1,000 who have actual some level of military training, but by and large we're seeing just young kids and shopkeepers, many of whom don't know how to operate weapons.
[Baer:] First, I would like to say Paul is absolutely right. We should have done this when the momentum was in or favor, in the opposition's favor, in the rebels' favor. So this is a catchup ball at this point. And to form a force like this is going to take six months. You just simply can't give them surface-to-air missiles, rockets, automatic weapons and expect them to figure out how to use this stuff. I hate to say it, but, right now, our best chance of ending this conflict is eliminating Gadhafi. I'm not advocating it. I'm just saying this is the quickest solution. He is the problem. And when you're doing these stopgap measures, like bombing and the rest of it, it's stopping a massacre, but on the other hand, I don't see what we're getting pulled into a quagmire. I would rather see the Defense Department on the ground, if you have to be there training. The CIA hates covert action. It rarely works. It worked in Afghanistan, but other times it's almost impossible to do.
[Cooper:] Why do you say it rarely works?
[Baer:] We simply don't have control over the rebels. They don't have to follow our orders. They take our money, they take our weapons, and they go shoot who they want. And in this case, the Libyans are going to be doing the same thing. They're going to be running into a city, firing into the air, coming out again, and that's going to be it. That kind of discipline takes a very, very long time, especially when you're dealing with a foreign force, and you have to have Arabic speakers on the ground. It's tough.
[Cooper:] Paul, do you agree with that, that it rarely works?
[Wolfowitz:] I'm not sure. Look, each case is different, and Bob has had experience with these people. But and I'm sure there are things that would be tough, but there are some things that are simple. And let me say one which I have been saying over and over again. I don't understand why it is that the Egyptian satellite television, NileSat, broadcast Libyan state television, so that Gadhafi and his son are able to go on the air threatening the Libyans, why we have done nothing to shut that down and done nothing to enable the opposition to broadcast. You heard in your clip earlier that they're dependent on the Libyan cell phone system to communicate among themselves in the field, and that's depending on the people they're fighting. We could be giving them satellite telephones. There's a lot that we could give them that I think would make a difference. I agree the things that would make a big difference take more time, which is why we shouldn't be wasting time here. But I think moving in a dramatic way and making it clear that we're not going to accept a stalemate, we will work with the opposition, we will work as quickly as we can, might bring an end to this whole thing with less fighting and quicker.
[Cooper:] Bob, is it tough to shut down Libyan government communications, to shut off their satellite service and to give communication equipment to the opposition?
[Baer:] No. That would be easy. And I think we could shut down their communications. It would take a little bit of effort, but we can do it with C-130s. I have seen this done before, as Paul knows. It could be a little more effort and we could do it. We have to close this place down and we have got to get this over fast because it's becoming a very, very nasty civil war.
[Cooper:] Bob Baer, Paul Wolfowitz, I appreciate both your perspectives. Thank you for being on.
[Wolfowitz:] Thank you.
[Cooper:] 360 follow now on the woman who stood up in front of Western reporters and tried to get her message out. Her name is Eman al-Obeidy. If you don't know it by now, you should, telling the world that Gadhafi soldiers gang-raped her. We can't of course independently verify what she is saying. She was hustled away by authorities, some of them apparently undercover posing as hotel workers. She hasn't been seen since. The government claims she's been released and is with her family. Her actual family, though, who live far in the east who we have tracked down, say that's not true, adding that the regime offered them cash or a house if their persuaded their daughter to recant her rape allegations. They say she refused and today now four days later, there's still no sign of this woman. However, Libyan television is reporting on her, painting her as a traitor and a prostitute. I want to show you some of what's being said on air now for Libyans to see. Take a look. This is the anchor, saying: "I said, with all due respect to whores, even a whore may have some sense of patriotism. Even a whore will have a sense of patriotism when it comes to her homeland, Libya. But sister Eman has a political hate agenda," this anchor says. "She's extremely radical." She went on. Again, that was the anchor on state television in Libya calling Eman worse than a whore. Eman remains missing. And we will keep reporting on this until she is found. A program note now, tomorrow, I will be talking with four "New York Times" journalists who were held captive by the Gadhafi regime for nearly a week, threatened with death. They have a remarkable story to tell. Reporter Anthony Shadid, videographer Stephen Farrell, photographers Lynsey Addario and Tyler Hicks are speaking out here on 360 tomorrow night about their experience. I hope you join us for that. Coming up tonight, an eyewitness reports new deadly violence in Syria, right after President Bashar al-Assad gave a long, rambling speech on state television. All that talk about lifting the state of emergency,it didn't happen. The witness says army and security forces fired on peaceful protesters. We will show you the video. The government denies anyone was killed. We will talk to a government spokesman and a former U.S. ambassador. And later in Japan, disturbing news, high radiation levels not only in the seawater near the damaged nuclear power plant, we already knew that, but also in a town about 25 miles away. And the importance of that, it is outside the current evacuation zone. Also, new questions about the harrowing working conditions for those heroes scrambling to try to cool down the reactors. Are they getting enough food? Do they have the right protective equipment? Some serious questions to ask, coming up.

[Kristie Lu Stout:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong. And we begin in the Libyan city of Sirte. Firefights continue amid the ruin of Moammar Gadhafi's regime. And the showdown between Occupy Wall Street protesters and police has been averted just as the movement prepares to go global. And recognize this guy waiting to get hold of a new iPhone 4S? Yes, even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is eager to try it out. Now, first on NEWS STREAM, two cities at the heart of the fight for a new Libya. The battle continues to rage for control of Sirte, Moammar Gadhafi's birthplace. And to the east, Benghazi is firmly in the hands of the interim government, and NATO is handing over control of flights in the skies above Benghazi to Libya's newly formed Civil Aviation Authority. And that's even more remarkable when you see these images from March of Benghazi's shattered airport, and they show the devastation of the civil war and the massive recovery the country still faces. Now, advance, retreat, advance. That has been the pattern of Libya's revolutionary fighters as they try to capture Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte. You're looking at images of the intense fighting there. Dan Rivers is in Sirte, where there are still remnants of the Gadhafi regime and retribution by those who suffered under it.
[Dan Rivers, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] Again, they march into battle. This is a ragtag army, but one that's poised for victory. Some seem strangely nonchalant as they stroll to the fight, but it's not long before Gadhafi's troops respond again. Progress is here is slow, and at times the NTC troops are forced to retreat. As another supposed Gadhafi soldier is roughly frog-marched away, there is fresh criticism of the way the NTC is dealing with its prisoners. Human rights group Amnesty International claims to have uncovered evidence of arbitrary arrests and torture, and certainly these fighters don't seem keen to allow us to film this man. Much of the city is totally deserted, street after empty street devoid of residents. In one, we found a complex of houses this NTC fighter says belonged to the regime's spokesman, Mr. Ibrahim. They take shelter as more bullets fly past, and then it's on with the job of looting and destroying this house. On the outskirts of Sirte, another destroyed house. This one belonged to Moammar Gadhafi himself. It's been remodeled courtesy of NATO, but you can still see how opulent it once was. [on camera]: It has even its own hairdressing salon complete with barber's chairs and even a massage table over there. And elsewhere, there are dozens of ornate bedrooms with four-poster beds and lavish decorations all around. The people that are wandering around here are just stunned, saying, "We though Colonel Gadhafi lived in a tent." Does it make you angry when you see this?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. I'm angry, yes. Why not? I'm so angry about it.
[Rivers:] In the basement, a huge conference area. Was this where the colonel planned his last stand in Sirte, or perhaps made arrangements for his escape? If he's still here, he'll be in the middle of a ferocious bombardment. His hometown is taking a pounding as Libya's revolution nears its victory.
[Stout:] Now, prayers and protests, meanwhile, are happening in Syria on this Friday. These are new pictures out of the northern Syrian city of Banish, and CNN cannot confirm their authenticity, but they apparently show, as you can see, huge crowds demonstrating following Friday prayers there. And they could be risking their lives. The United Nations is raising its death toll in Syria's opposition crackdown to more than 3,000, including 187 children. Now, the wife of a Syrian military officer who fled with his family to Turkey is accusing Ankara of turning him over to Syrian authorities. In an exclusive interview with Ivan Watson, Gofran Hejazi says she hasn't seen or heard from her husband Hussein in over two weeks.
[Ivan Watson, Cnn International Correspondent:] Gofran Hejasi doesn't know what to tell her children about their father.
[Gofran Hejazi, Husband Missing:] My eldest son sometimes opens up the computer, puts up his father's photo, and starts crying. And not a day goes by without my youngest son asking me, "When is daddy coming home?"
[Watson:] Hejazi's husband is Lieutenant Colonel Hussein al-Harmoush, one of the first Syrian army officers to publicly reject his government's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. He urged other Syrian troops to desert and join what he called the Free Syrian Army. Similar videos from other defectors started popping up, suggesting Harmoush's call for rebellion was attracting recruits. Harmoush claimed to lead these rebels from this makeshift government-run refugee camp in neighboring Turkey. He lived here with his wife and four children until the morning of August 29th. Hejasi tells me her husband left the camp that morning to go shopping and to meet with a mysterious man who camp refugees believed was a Turkish intelligence officer. Hejasi says Harmoush disappeared that day and his cell phone then went dead.
[Hejasi:] From that moment, I was certain my husband was handed back to the Syrians.
[Watson:] Two-and-a-half weeks later, Harmoush suddenly resurfaced on Syria's strictly-controlled state television network. In this televised confession, Harmoush renounced the Syrian opposition and confessed to knowing about a plot to smuggle weapons into Syria. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. [on camera]: The Turkish government hasn't been able to explain how Hussein Harmoush disappeared from the gates of this camp here and reappeared days later in the hands of the Syrian government. Turkish government officials also say they do not know who the alleged Turkish security agent was who camp residents knew as Abu Mohammed. [voice-over]: In her first interview since her husband's disappearance, Hejasi accused Turkish authorities of handing Harmoush over to the Syrians.
[Hejasi:] I believe they arrested him as part of an agreement between both countries.
[Watson:] The Turkish government denies these accusations. Ankara says all Syrian refugees are welcome on Turkish territory and points to the more than 7,500 Syrians that have taken shelter in camps here. But that's little consolation to Hejasi. With the apparent capture of her husband, she doesn't know whether to call herself Harmoush's wife or his widow. [on camera]: If there was one message that you could send to your husband, Hussein Harmoush, what would it be?
[Hejasi:] If he's still alive, I urge him to be patient. But I don't think anyone can survive the torture and dungeons of the Syrian Secret Service. If he's dead, that means he's in paradise.
[Watson:] Ivan Watson, CNN, on the SyrianTurkish border.
[Stout:] And her husband has not been seen since September the 19th. Now let's go back to our top story, the battle for Sirte, the hometown of Moammar Gadhafi. And we can now go live to Dan Rivers, who joins us from inside Sirte. And we have seen explosions and thick smoke there today. And Dan, just how fierce is the fighting now?
[Rivers:] Oh, it's been particularly fierce in the last hour or so, Kristie. The anti-Gadhafi NTC forces took large amounts of casualties in the last hour. We saw dozens of trucks streaming back from the front line carrying bloodied soldiers, some of whom looked like they had been very seriously injured, some of whom look like they may have been killed. And they're being kind of worked on at a temporary makeshift hospital behind a building in one part of the tow. So it's clear from that that the Gadhafi forces are hitting back and, at times, hitting back very hard when the NTC forces try and advance into district two.
[Stout:] Pro-Gadhafi forces are hitting back hard. Just how well-equipped are they, and how much ammunition do they have left?
[Rivers:] Well, we're being told that they're primarily using sniper rifles, assault rifles, and the old rocket-propelled grenades. They don't appear to have any heavy artillery or tanks or anything like that, but in this kind of urban warfare situation, those weapons, the light arms and the sniper rifles, are very effective at pushing back the forces. The NTC has been pounding district two with artillery and tanks and rockets, but so far, they don't seem to have made a great deal of progress in the last 24 hours.
[Stout:] You reported casualties among the NTC fighters. What about civilians? A number of civilians have decided to stay in Sirte. Are they getting caught up in the crossfire?
[Rivers:] Well, to be honest, it's been very difficult for us to find any civilians in the city. We had a good drive around several districts now, and we haven't seen any civilians. Just street after street completely empty. All the houses are empty and look as if they've been abandoned. When we first arrived here on Monday, we did see a column of civilians walking out of the city. But since then, we haven't seen any or any at all. Whether there are some still trapped between the NTC forces and the Gadhafi forces is difficult to say, but I would say that the rest of the city seems to be largely deserted now, save for the soldiers who are carrying out this what they hope will be a final assault.
[Stout:] Thank you very much indeed for giving us the state of play there inside Sirte. Dan Rivers, joining us live. You are watching NEWS STREAM. And still ahead, bracing for floods. Thai authorities say that some of the water that has inundated the country north of the capital will reach Bangkok, but they say the inner city should be spared. And the sound of impending doom. A new cockpit transcript of the final minutes of Air France 447 stirs controversy. And occupying Wall Street. We will have the latest on the protests.

[Phillips:] If you are leaving the house right now, you can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone and watch CNN live from your desk top. Just go to CNN.comtv. He wasn't at Liberty to talk about Mormonism or partisan politics, at least not directly. Over the weekend, Mitt Romney was at Liberty, Liberty University, to try to convince the Christian right that he's not so different from them, at least when it comes to fundamental principles.
[Mitt Romney, , Former Massachusetts Governor & Presidential Candidate:] Culture, what you believe, how you live, matters. As fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of Democratic debate from time to time. So it is today with the institution of marriage, marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.
[Phillips:] I'm pleased now to welcome Romney's host for Saturday's address. The president and chancellor of Liberty University and son of the school's founder, Jerry Falwell Jr. Chancellor, overall, did Romney win over evangelicals or is this a good start as Tony Perkins says?
[Jerry Falwell Jr., President & Chancellor, Liberty University:] I don't think that was his purpose in coming to liberty. We invited him to be our commencement speaker. It's about our graduates and accomplishments. Many graduates said after his speech that they were worried it would be a campaign speech, they didn't want their graduation speech to be political. And they were very pleased that it was not political and it was about them and about their future and i think in that sense he made a lot of friends here Saturday.
[Phillips:] Chancellor, let me ask you, you quoted your father in your introduction saying that Christians should vote for candidates based on their political views and not their faith or theology. Were you actually telling your school and followers that Romney's Mormonism is a nonissue?
[Falwell:] Well, there were a few complaints from very small minority of students before the speech because he's Mormon and we're an evangelical Christian school and have 80,000 online students, 12,500 here in residents and the world's largest Christian school but I have to explain to that group that we traditionally have had speakers from all faith and some no faith all-to give a well rounded selection of speakers from all walks of life. I was trying to communicate to everyone that liberty is a nonprofit institution prohibited from endorsing candidates and his appearance here was not an intuitional endorsement. I also wanted to add that we believe and my father always believed that when you elect a you're not electing pastor, you're electing a commander in chief. You should choose a Christian should choose a candidate whose position on political issues are aligned with their own and not a candidate whose theological issues are most closely aligned with their own. I started to make a joke about how Jimmy Carter was a good Southern Baptist but some didn't find his political positions palatable. I refrained from doing that at commencement. It was for folks that are confusing theological values and political values and I want to distinguish the two.
[Phillips:] It's interesting that you mention that you don't endorse. You introduced Romney as the next president of the United States. That wasn't an endorsement?
[Falwell:] It was a prediction. Not an endorsement.
[Phillips:] Interesting.
[Falwell:] I'm an attorney so i get accused splitting hairs like that.
[Phillips:] You're an attorney so your word choice is very interesting. We could kind of say that a prediction is a bit of an endorsement.
[Falwell:] It was a prediction. That's all. It could turn out to be wrong. That's my political forecasting.
[Phillips:] Are you going to vote for Mitt Romney?
[Falwell:] I've said all along that i would support whoever becomes the Republican nominee. I've not endorsed anyone up to this point. Individually i will. That's still my position. I will support and vote for whoever is the Republican nominee this year.
[Phillips:] We talked that Romney's speech was heavy on faith and values and pretty much devoid of partisan rhetoric. Let me play a little part of that speech from this weekend.
[Romney:] Central to America's rise is the vision of goodness and possibilities of every human life. The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self and at the foundation the family.
[Phillips:] Here's my question taking that to heart. Not once did he mention Mormonism. Didn't say the word Mormon. Do you think that he should just give a flat out speech on his Mormon faith sort of like JFK back in 1960 when he addressed his Catholicism? Since he sort of did it in 2007 with his speech on Mormonism, should he just go ahead and come out and talk about it and then move on?
[Falwell:] I think Americans have gotten past that. I think in 1960 it was necessary for John Kennedy because he was our first Roman Catholic candidate for the presidency or first one to win. Americans have moved beyond that now and most Americans understand that for a candidate it's important what they believe on the political issues, not their religious faith and that's what I was trying to communicate to our audience. I believe that his warm reception at Liberty University is a good indicator of how evangelicals nationwide will support him in the fall. I say that because Liberty is largest Christian university in the country and in the world and we have a good cross section of evangelicals from all denominations and all faiths. If anything, his appearance here and warm reception bodes well for his electability.
[Phillips:] One final question. Maybe two if you don't mind. You did mention some of the students that were protesting this commencement speech. And I was reading through the Facebook petitions and even one student cited your own theology course there at Liberty that labels Mormonism a cult. What's your response to that and the fact there were a number of students that came forward and said this shouldn't be happening and this is not what Liberty preaches when it comes to Mormon religion?
[Falwell:] Liberty has no official position on Mormonism. Our statement does not define Mormonism as a cult. There are hundreds of professors here and I'm sure you could find someone like the professor who authored that course that you just mentioned. I'm sure there are some that believe it is a cult. That's not part of our doctrinal position and not our official position. We've had speakers from every like I said before, from every faith and we had Ben Stein as our speaker three years ago. He's Jewish. We had Glenn Beck. When I graduated from Liberty in 1984, the speaker was Terrell Bell, also a Mormon. We try to expose our students to leaders from all walks of life. I did have to explain a little bit but complaints we received were in the hundreds and when you have 93,000 students, that's a very small percentage. Most were extremely happy with the choice and were grateful that the nominee chose to speak at Liberty University. This was a big weekend for our little corner of Virginia. The first lady spoke at Virginia Tech just up the road. The presumptive nominee for the Republican Party spoke at Liberty. Things like that don't happen in this part of Virginia very often. Most were very, very excited.
[Phillips:] Chancellor Jerry Falwell. Appreciate your interview.
[Falwell:] Thank you. Thank you, Kyra.
[Phillips:] You bet. Liberty is the largest Christian university in the world by the way and now claims to be the largest private four-year university in the nation.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn:] Good evening, everyone. Breaking news tonight in the search for victims of the Joplin tornado. First, though, I want to show you some remarkable new video we got today, video showing the initial moments after the tornado struck, video captured by a couple racing to find a family member, a brother looking for his sister through a neighborhood which after the tornado they barely even recognized.
[Brooke Mckenzie Watson, Tornado Survivor:] Aaron, look at this. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh, Aaron. Oh, my gosh.
[Aaron Cox, Tornado Survivor:] It went right through here.
[Watson:] I don't know where
[A. Cox:] I don't know where we are.
[Watson:] I don't even know
[A. Cox:] We've got to keep going this way. Don't step on any of this. Come on. We got to keep going this way.
[Watson:] I know, but I feel like I need to help if someone's hurt.
[A. Cox:] Well, we will keep asking. Look at this house. It's gone. Come on. You guys ok?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Watson:] Oh, my gosh.
[A. Cox:] Oh, my gosh. Look at these houses, babe.
[Watson:] You guys ok?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes. Thank you.
[A. Cox:] What street is this?
[Watson:] This is I don't know. Illinois
[A. Cox:] Oh, babe, look.
[Watson:] What? Oh, no. It's the hospital.
[Cooper:] It was the hospital. We'll show you more of that video ahead. Imagine, suddenly, you don't even recognize that community that you're living in because everything is so destroyed. And you can't even tell where you are. Aaron Cox and Brooke McKenzie Watson racing to find Aaron's sister, Sarah. We're going to play you the rest of the video after the break. And you will really want to see how it ends. Last night on this program the governor of Missouri said there would be changes in the search for the missing. And today we saw the start of those changes. The state took over a large portion of the disaster response, releasing an official roster of people missing or unaccounted for. I have the roster right here. Remember, for days, we have been saying 1,500 unaccounted for; that was based on a local official's statement days ago. Well, today, after working all night, the state whittled down that number down to 232 people unaccounted for, 232. But even officials concede the list contains error errors. Lantz Hare, for example, is on it twice, under his first and middle names. Those errors are obviously easy to correct. What's proving more difficult, though, is the situation at the morgue in Joplin and the process for identifying the dead. You will remember we spoke to Lantz Hare's dad, Mike, who last night, who has been searching for days to try to find his son, searching and even continually calling his son's cell phone.
[Mike Hare, Father Of Lantz Hare:] I started calling him and still never got anything. I mean, I called it all last night. I called it today.
[Cooper:] You have still been calling his number?
[Hare:] Well, I can't stop. I don't know why. I do. I stayed up until like 2:00 last night, and that's all I did.
[Cooper:] You called the cell phone. Does it ring? Or
[Hare:] Yes. It rang for the first day-and-a-half, and now it goes straight to voice-mail, but just in case he gets it, I want him to know that his dad loves him.
[Cooper:] Well today, the family got word, unofficial at first, that Lantz is dead. And it turns out he's been in the morgue all along. His family got word through a friend in law enforcement, who had access to the morgue and as a favor, went there looking for Lantz. Now, if the friend hadn't done that, it's likely his family still would not know where Lantz is. We also learned about of 16-month-old Skyular Logsdon today. His family has been searching too. We have told you his story. Well, it turns out he has also been in the morgue all this time. But listen to this. His family only found out late yesterday and only because of a friend of a friend showed them morgue photos of the body of a small child they thought might be Skyular and in fact it was. Now, both families are heartbroken, of course, but at least they know, they know where their child is. What's frustrating, however, to other families is that both found out about their kids unofficially, informally by back channels. Other families have said to us, if those kids were able to be identified, why can't their families have someone visit the morgue and check for their loved ones? Now of course, some identifications can only be made by DNA, by forensics, but some will be recognizable to loved ones. Now we want to make it clear, every official that we met in Joplin has been working incredibly hard and trying to do the right thing under very, very difficult circumstances. But some of the explanations for the delays and the red tape and the rules haven't made much sense to people who are searching for their loved ones. And as we said, some people in Joplin continue to be incredibly frustrated. Tonight, the breaking news is that the local coroner now tells CNN that, starting tomorrow, some people under some circumstances will be allowed into the morgue to view remains. Gary Tuchman is in Joplin tonight with the latest. Gary, what are you hearing now? The state of Missouri took took charge of this missing-persons list today. What do we now know about people's access to go to the morgue?
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] Right now, as of this moment, they have no access to go to the morgue. That may change tomorrow, more on that in a second. You've said it yourself, Anderson. People are working very hard here. But what we have seen in this disaster and we have covered a lot of disasters there is an unusual amount of a lack of compassion and common sense among many of the people here. And the case in point is Skyular Logsdon, the 16-month-old boy, his family frantic. He's missing for three days. I interviewed his father just yesterday, his father, Cord, in a hospital bed. His father was seriously injured in the tornado. His son was with him. He was convinced his son was still alive. He was saying, I know he's alive, but I just want to get into the morgue, have someone in my family get into the morgue or get some pictures from the morgue so we know for sure. But they wouldn't let them in the morgue. And then two hours after I interviewed his father, a friend of a friend, as you just said, got them access to two pictures of toddlers in the morgue. And one of the pictures was of their son Skyular. They still haven't found out officially. So, they're 90 percent or 95 percent sure he passed away, but not 100 percent, because they can't get in the morgue as of yet. So the coroner does say, starting tomorrow, people some people, he says, will be able to go into the morgue. But it's not clear yet if that will happen, because we're not sure where the governor, who is the boss of the state, stands on the issue.
[Cooper:] Right. And we're going to talk to the governor. And I asked him this a couple times. And this just broke literally as we were interviewing the governor, so we'll show you his reaction and we will try to to get the latest information. You know, last night on the show, the governor said that he would do something about the problems we have been seeing with people with the slow access, with with with kind of disorganization. It does seem like he has delivered on that promise. I mean within a few hours of getting new people in there to take over, they suddenly got this list down to 232.
[Tuchman:] Right. The governor is working hard. He's doing some good work. The list is at 232. And I can tell you it's actually much lower, the missing list, because we saw a family of five on the list. We wanted to go their house. How could a family of five be missing? The house wasn't that badly damaged. And we talked to neighbors who say the family is fine. They're just in another town right now. So we know that number will go a lot lower. We can tell you about some strange things going on here. The morgue, where these bodies are right now, is a secret morgue, and it literally is secret. You call up officials and say, can you tell us where the morgue is, they say it's a secret, we can't tell you. Families don't know where the morgue is. The families who do know where the morgue is are afraid to tell us because they're afraid they will get in trouble for telling us. So we had to do some investigating, because we wanted to ask questions of the morgue as to what is going on inside the morgue and what happened to this little boy. We wanted to find that out. So we found the morgue after some investigating and I want to show you this very strange and unusual encounter we had on a public road with law enforcement officials. It felt like we were crossing an international border without a passport.
[Unidentified Male:] Hey, guys, what are you doing?
[Tuchman:] Oh we're with
[Cnn. Unidentified Male:] Ok.
[Tuchman:] We're trying to find out where the morgue is.
[Unidentified Male:] You guys got any cameras or anything?
[Tuchman:] Yes, we do.
[Unidentified Male:] Ok. They need to be secured in the back of your vehicle.
[Tuchman:] Well, why is that?
[Unidentified Male:] Because we have orders from our lieutenant to do that.
[Tuchman:] Lieutenant to do what?
[Unidentified Male:] To secure your cameras in the back of the vehicle.
[Tuchman:] Is there secret activity going on here?
[Unidentified Male:] You guys just can't be around here. That is all.
[Tuchman:] Yes, but why?
[Unidentified Male:] This is private property there, private property You're in the middle of the road, where and you're a danger to yourself. As you can see, there's a vehicle behind you.
[Tuchman:] I know, but that's why I was off the road for a second while I was making a phone call.
[Unidentified Male:] It's not a negotiation. Take your cameras and put them in the back of your vehicle.
[Tuchman:] Ok. We just want to find about a baby who may be in the morgue.
[Unidentified Male:] No. Is he shooting back there? Hey, take that camera and put it in the back of your car, all right?
[Tuchman:] Go ahead and go.
[Unidentified Male:] Don't come back.
[Tuchman:] He told us, "Don't come back." The police officer actually opened our door. And I was afraid he was going to arrest our cameraman. And that's when he turned off the camera. But we usually don't hear that, Anderson, from the good guys in the blue, saying stuff like that.
[Cooper:] Yes. Listen, I understand why they're concerned about they don't want people going to this morgue and, you know, creating drama and stuff. I want to play for our viewers what the coroner said on Eliot Spitzer's show earlier tonight. Just to try to get a sense of for people who may be listening and may be thinking, well, can I go to the morgue; let's play what the coroner said.
[Mark Bridges, Newton County, Missouri Coroner:] What I just stepped out of meeting at Missouri Southern State University with a group of family members and they expressed their concerns of just the concerns I have listened to tonight. And the decision was made if a person can make a positive ID with the, let's say, for instance piercings or tattoos. A lot of people told us about, they would have a specific tattoo that nobody else would have, we're tomorrow going to start the process of allowing those people to view the bodies of the loved ones; if we can make a positive ID, going to go ahead and release those bodies.
[Cooper:] So that's that's what the coroner said to Eliot Spitzer. So Gary, I guess they're we're just going to have to wait and see tomorrow what exactly the situation is. I as you know, Gary, I talked to the governor while that that conversation was was airing on Eliot's show. I was speaking to the governor in a pre-taped interview. And when we spoke last night with Jay Nixon, Missouri's governor, he promised action. As I said and on this program, we point out a lot when politicians don't deliver on their promises, but we also believe in pointing out when they do. The governor has delivered. The State's Department of Public Safety has, as we said, taken over the search for the missing. The governor ordered in some 20 or so officers to help get things organized and sorted out. And as you mentioned earlier, it took them just a couple hours to whittle down the estimated 1,500 unaccounted to a list of about 232 people unaccounted for. So I spoke to the governor a short time ago. I asked him how that effort is going and also about these frustrations about what we've been hearing about the situation at the morgue. Governor, last night, you said on this program that your administration was going to take more direct control. It already has. Just this morning, you guys basically have taken over the effort the state has taken over the effort to try to locate the missing. The number the actual number of missing and unaccounted for has now been drastically reduced from the 1,500 that we have been working off of. So clearly, there's already changes afoot. What's the latest from from your vantage point?
[Gov. Jay Nixon , Missouri:] Well, we did see that challenge. That list of 1,300 was out there from a myriad of sources. We we took control of that yesterday morning and brought folks in there. They worked all night, got that down to 232. Then, this evening, I had a meeting with all of those families to go through the processes of the necessary identification. Our goal is obviously to get the zero on that number, move down off 232 to zero. Unfortunately, some of those stories are going to be very, very sad. But the bottom line is that we have made significant progress today towards taking away that uncertainty and we are working all day and all night to finish that task.
[Cooper:] You do know this list of 232, obviously, some of these people are going to be alive. In fact, according to the AP, the first person on the list, a woman by the name of Sally Adams, is actually alive. They have already confirmed this. She was in an article that she survived the storm. So this 232 number, you're you're quickly going try to whittle that down even more?
[Nixon:] Absolutely. We had over a dozen folks who were able to get off that list very, very quickly late this morning as we move forward. That's good news, when you can find folks. Where they have been calls in, when they have been reports filed that they're that they're unaccounted for, we got these facts out publicly. We want to whittle that down. But unfortunately, there's also some very, very sad stories on that list, as we expect some of those folks to be found in a condition that's no longer living.
[Cooper:] What we're still hearing a lot of anger about and frustration over is the situation in the morgue. And I got to ask you about it. Gary Tuchman, our correspondent, just reported on a family member who has been shown a picture of her 16-month-old nephew, Skyular Logsdon, deceased. Now for days, the family hasn't known whether Skyular was alive or not. It turns out Skyular is in the morgue. She was shown that picture through unofficial channels and yet she and her family have not been allowed in to see the body and receive actual confirmation that little Skyular is in fact dead. How is that possible?
[Nixon:] Well, that's one of the reasons we moved to have all 232 of the folks that were missing, those reporter the folks that have made those reports in a private meeting with the folks at the morgue, with the other areas. But it's also important to note, Anderson that this was an incredible storm, and this is not a series of bodies lying in a row that are easily identifiable. There are pieces of folks. There are there are very, very difficult scenes. And it's not as easy as walking down a row and being able to instantly identify. The DNA matches and, unfortunately, a significant number of these are going to be necessary to confirm that. That takes a little while. But it's a reality of a storm of this magnitude that's done this level of damage.
[Cooper:] But granted, no doubt about it, and obviously one wants to wait for DNA for final confirmation, but in the meantime, they have been saying that might take two weeks. It doesn't seem reasonable to expect a grieving family to just be told to sit on their hands for two weeks. There are plenty of family members who would be willing to take take on the onerous task of walking down that row, and even if the sights are horrible, I know plenty of family members who want that that opportunity very badly.
[Nixon:] Well, as I said before, when we got a sense yesterday that the information wasn't moving quickly enough, we came in. We took over that operation. We have seen a dramatic shift today, going from kind of an unknown list of 232 to a list of 232 confirmed folks and then moving off that number already today, setting up and having a meeting with the morgue, with all of these families to go through that process.
[Cooper:] But it does seem like families who are lucky enough to have a friend in law enforcement who is able to get into the morgue, they have been able like Lantz Hare, for instance. This is a young man, his father has been on TV, been on my program last night weeping. He was doesn't have much money. He was spending what money he could to drive to Springfield trying to look into a hospital there. It turns out his son Lantz has been dead in the morgue this whole time. And a family friend who is a law enforcement officer was able to get in and see that it was in fact Lantz because he knows the boy well, and he told the family that their son is in fact dead and in the morgue. And still there's been no official confirmation of that. That just doesn't seem right, that a family that luckily enough has a connection is able to find information and get confirmation, and a family that doesn't has to wait two weeks. I mean, isn't there some way to speed this up and not just have it be relying on DNA to allow families access?
[Nixon:] Well, this has been an unmistakable tragedy, an almost unimaginable tragedy for this community. It's ripped apart families in so many ways. As I said before, when we got the sense that there was challenges yesterday morning, we acted and we moved to accelerate dramatically the process. And it's hard to say we had a good day when you're identifying remains of folks that have been killed. I don't mean in any way, shape or form to show a lack of sensitivity. But as I said to you, Anderson, right here in Joplin yesterday, I think you will see a significant change. And I think, when folks got up this morning, they saw a focused effort towards getting that information out. There's certainly no no desire to hide this vital information from these folks in any way, shape or form. And we're pressing with the resources we have and additional resources to make sure that we get that information out as quickly as possible.
[Cooper:] I understand the local coroner now just told CNN tonight that beginning tomorrow people will be able to get into the morgues and identify bodies. Can you confirm that? Would you support that?
[Nixon:] We're going to work to continue, as we did yesterday, to move that number down. We're going to continue to move forward. But there are some very difficult moments ahead for all these families, quite frankly, for this community. And it's a very difficult process. And and I just want everybody to know that the folks that we have got in there are working as quickly as they can to be sure and to get that information out to those families that are so in need.
[Cooper:] I'm just not clear, if again, I don't want to push you on this, but I'm just not clear. Does that mean you if in fact the coroner has said people can go, you would support that, or you're not sure at this time; you need to check with him and get back to us?
[Nixon:] I don't need to check with anybody. I know that there's people that, as this process has moved forward, have had access and they will continue to have access. That being said, I mean as the day has moved on, more people have certainly had access to the process. More people have gotten direct notification. But we believe that those people deserve notification first, not by the governor talking to CNN. We're dealing with families here and the lives of people. And I'm going to continue to move a process that focuses on the personal rights and liberties of those individuals and get that information out as quickly as we possibly can.
[Cooper:] All right. I think I got the answer on that one. Governor Nixon, I appreciate your time. I know it's been a long day for you. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.
[Nixon:] Thank you. Thank you very much.
[Cooper:] Up next, we have video, some of the video we showed you earlier taken moments after the tornado hit. We want to show you the complete piece of video as a brother searches for his sister.
[A. Cox:] Sarah. Mike. Sarah. Mike.
[Watson:] Sarah. Mike. Mike. Sarah.
[Cooper:] Well, we will show you how the video ended, how the story ends. You will not want to miss it. I guarantee that. Later, new allegations against the Gadhafi regime: this is an incredibly disturbing story. It's stunning, not perhaps surprising. But according to some confirmed reports and some video evidence that a reporter has seen in Mesrata, his troops are engaging in systematic systematic rape, mass rape. We're going to talk to one of the few correspondents still on the ground in Mesrata who has actually seen the video, video that stunned her. We will be right back.

[Lu Stout:] Live from Hong Kong, you are back watching News Stream. Now the Olympic games are set to open in just 10 days. Athletes and officials are starting to arrive from all over the world. And London is all geared up from extra staff at the airport to dedicated road lanes. Jim Boulden takes a look.
[Jim Boulden, Cnn Correspondent:] Here they come, officials and athletes from around the world from 50 countries arrived in Heathrow airport Monday: Russians, Cubans, Italians, the Ducth. These ladies from the beach volleyball team have never been to London before, but they say Heathrow was a breeze.
[Madelein Meppelink, Dutch Athlete:] Oh, really quickly. It's really special. They are so helpful. And there are so many people to help you. So we never had so quick our luggage and perfect.
[Boulden:] That meant the team could concentrate on why they are here.
[Marleen Van Iersel, Dutch Athlete:] Yes, very special. It's something we've always dreamed about. And in a couple of days it's going to happen.
[Boulden:] One big worry leading up to the games has been the use of one of the world's most congested airports. The man in charge of terminal four saying so far all has gone to plan on day one. There are special lines for the Olympic family.
[Tom Willis, Operations Director, Heathrow Terminal Four:] The commitment to man every desk throughout the Olympics period, that commitment started yesterday. So at 0600 yesterday morning, every desk was open. And as a result the immigration queues have moved...
[Boulden:] So no complaints from any of the officials or athletes about getting throught Heathrow, at least not from the ones we spoke to. But this is just the beginning of the journey. They have to go on the Olympic lanes through west London, central London, and through to east London to get to the Olympic Village. There was talk on Twitter of at least one bus getting very lost going from Heathrow on the designated Olympic traffic lanes to the Olympic Village. Games organizers would only say some buses took longer than others. This French canoeist isn't worried. This is his fourth games.
[Tony Estanguet, French Athlete:] I know a lot of all the time there is maybe some problems before, but finally all the Olympics is perfect so I'm sure it's going to be OK.
[Boulden:] Most of those arriving Monday were team officials, not athletes, many with a lot of luggage. Logistics firm UPS is taking athletes' luggage from the airports to their base camps.
[Martin Pavis, Ups Driver:] We've got a kayak. Also we have for those obviously super long, but we've got the vehicles to cope with that.
[Boulden:] UPS says using the special traffic lanes should get them and these athletes from Heathrow to the village in around 76 minutes. On day one at least, despite the rain, it was a big welcome for the summer games of 2012. Jim Boulden, CNN, London.
[Lu Stout:] Now as London prepares for the games, there have been problems on the security front after a contractor admitted it did not have enough staff. Now the head of the security firm G4S had to answer to the House of Commons home affairs committee today. Nick Buckles says that he was first made aware of the possible shortfall on July 3. Buckles says he regrets signing the contract. Now G4S was granted a $444 million contract to provide nearly 14,000 security guards. And the British government announced on Monday it would call on military personnel to help staff the games. Now it's been very rainy there in the UK. Will the weather improve ahead of the games? Mari Ramos joins us now from the World Weather Center Mari.
[Mari Ramos, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] Oh, Kristie, that a question we've been getting almost every single day here, not just from fans, but also from even here in the newsroom we're all talking about how rainy it's been. Our London bureau, the people keep asking us, what is going on with our summer? Well, you know what, this is a picture from the torch relay, the Olympic relay. And is that thing even on? You can barely even see the flame, but it's there a tiny little flame, you see that right there because it's been so rainy. This is in Portsmouth. And you can see there how all of the spectators are, you know, covered up. So the rain has not only been in London, it's been all across the region. Just kind of give you an example, when we were in June we had a record rainfall across the UK. In the England area, we had about 200 more than 200 percent of the average. As we head up to the north in Scotland, over 150 percent of the average. So we went from drought conditions to, you know what, we've had way too much rain. That's precisely what's happened, especially during the month of June. But here we go, we begin the month of July and it's still been persistently cloudy and persistently rainy. So let's go ahead and just look around a little bit and see what we normally would be able to look at during July and August. As we head now to the end of July and the beginning of August at the time when the games are supposed to happen. The hottest its ever been is 34 degrees. The average, though, is about 21. So that's pretty comfortable, right? The coldest it's ever been for daytime high is 6 degrees, so it can get very chilly. So I'm hoping those athletes are bringing their jackets just in case. Normally you get about six-and-a-half hours of full sunshine per day. So it does tend to be rather cloudy. About half the days are normally cloudy. And about on 12 days out of this period of time you really get some rainfall. So as you can see, it's the weather can vary greatly across this part of the world during these Olympic summer months. The weather pattern we've been stuck in has been with an area of low pressure to the north. The jet stream dipping farther to the south. And you can see this that that has been the weather pattern that we've been in. We're starting to see that jet stream starting to slip back over and the cooler, wetter weather will eventually be more toward Eastern Europe. And we'll start to see a bit more of a warm-up here across the west. That warm-up will come also with some generally warmer temperatures. It's already warmer in Madrid, 33. Temperatures are going to be heating up across this region. And notice all the way up to Brussels we're at 18. As far as London is concerned, 21, that's actually not too bad, right around where you should be this time of year. What about your weather? Let's go ahead and check it our right now. OK, let's head to Asia now because there's still a lot of problems going on here with also much too much rainfall. We're still seeing some very heavy rainfall across portions of southeastern China stretching back over toward Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, northern parts of Thailand, and even as we head into southern parts of Cambodia here and then back over toward Vietnam getting some very heavy rainfall there with the mayu bayou front and the monsoon still very active. But of course this is the feature to watch right now. It's still over the open water, moving across the islands here of southern Japan. This is our Tropical Storm Khanun. And Khanun has winds now gusting to almost hurricane force as you can see, up to 120 kilometers per hour. That's mainly near the center. The track we're expecting the storm to take is to go in the general direction of the Korean peninsula. Now they need the rain here, just not all at once. Right now it appears that we could get some locally heavy rain that could cause some flooding. It looks like western Japan, those areas, Kristie, that were affected by so much flooding earlier this week, remember they're still up here in Kyushu, looks like for the most part they'll be spared from this heavy rain if the storm stays on this general track. Back to you.
[Lu Stout:] Yeah. Here's hoping for that. Mari Ramos there, thank you. Now coming up next, reports of a massacre in Syria. Opposition troops say it happened in the city of Douma. We have an exclusive report. And meet an Egyptian sprinter who was out in Tahrir Square demanding freedom with his countrymen during the Arab Spring, now he's representing them at the Olympics.

[Baldwin:] History and Hollywood converge at the White House. The president hosting a screening of the movie "Red Tails" and he had some very special guests with him. Joe Johns working the political beat. We're getting you to pull a little double duty for us here in Myrtle Beach with "Political Pop" today. First talk to me about this movie.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Yes, it sounds like a pretty good movie. Twenty years in the making "Red Tails" is. It is a George Lucas film, Terrance Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr. apparently attended the screening. A very big deal. It's the story of a Tuskegee airman, the famed air escort of fighter bombers in World War II. Something like 1500 trips and never lost a plane. Let's look at the trailer.
[Terrance Howard, Actor:] Pass the pilots exam. Make it through flight school. Survive basic combat. We've done all of that.
[Unidentified Male:] I don't believe your boys have scored a single aerial kill.
[Howard:] It's damn hard to shoot down the enemy 100 miles behind the front lines.
[Unidentified Male:] What we do, how well we do it, does it matter?
[Johns:] Now some of the members, the surviving members of the Tuskegee airmen purportedly were there at the screening and so it would have been something that the president would have asked for. I called the White House, they haven't given us a whole lot of details. We're told that was closed press. But there are some details out there and CNN Entertainment, I think, I'm told is all over it Brooke.
[Baldwin:] I'm sure they are. It's an impressive group, the Tuskegee airmen. And then finally, you were tweeting something this morning. I actually retweeted you all these sand sculptors? This is pretty creative. Where is this?
[Johns:] Yes, it is. Right. Well, it's sand sculptors sculptors, I should say, of all of the presidential candidates who are still in the race and one who is not, in fact. Jon Huntsman is still up there. Now
[Baldwin:] What are they going to do?
[Johns:] These are all the Republicans where well, apparent they're just going to leave it because it's too late. You know, I mean, there's only a few more days before the election. They're not going to take it down because it would sort of mess up the whole scheme of things. If you look at that Jon Huntsman is sort of right in the middle.
[Baldwin:] I see.
[Johns:] What can you do, right?
[Baldwin:] And they've done this before?
[Johns:] Yes. They've done it before. Four years ago, they tell me, they had both the Democrats and the Republicans up there. And it stayed up there for awe while until a TV star on another network came and wrecked the whole thing. But, yes. It's going to be there for a while and I got I put it up and I sort of got, you know, captions from different people on what they think they should say. I put it up on Facebook.
[Baldwin:] Oh, that's so fun. I'll have to see your
[Johns:] You can imagine what people said.
[Baldwin:] what people are saying. I can only imagine. Joe Johns, thank you.
[Johns:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] And, you know, speaking of South Carolina and politics, of course, we've got some new numbers being released for you today in just about eight minutes, about how a certain showdown in the November election might play out. Wolf Blitzer joins me from "THE SITUATION ROOM." I got a little preview of those numbers in an e-mail. It's pretty interesting.
[Wolf Blitzer, Host, Cnn's The Situation Room:] Yes, well, I'm not going to share the numbers until 4:00, that would be in about eight minutes, seven minutes or so from now. Hypothetical matchups, Brooke, between the president and Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, the other candidates. Who's ahead? Who's most electable as far as the Republicans are concerned? Who's not? We've got that. We also have a fascinating interview with two survivors of the ship off the coast of Italy. It's an amazing story. Almost sounds obviously, thank god, not as deadly as the Titanic.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] But it's an amazing story. I know you've been all over it. We're going to share with our viewers this remarkable interview we have with two of those survivors as well. We're all over politics, all the other important news. We'll also go to Syria because Nic Robertson has got another exclusive report on what's going on there. So we got a lot coming up. One more thing I should tell you, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] You got a sec?
[Baldwin:] For you, always. Hit me.
[Blitzer:] I was at the BET Honors Saturday night here in Washington at the at the Warner Theater. It was a beautiful night. They were honoring Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Spike Lee. But they also honored the Tuskegee airmen. And I met one of those veterans, one of the Tuskegee airmen, Dr. Roscoe Brown, and I got to know him a little bit. Terrance Howard, the actor, is in that movie. We hung out a little bit.
[Baldwin:] He's amazing.
[Blitzer:] He's amazing. You remember him from the Soul Train Awards a year ago. He was one of the emcees. But this was a remarkable evening. I want to thank Deborah Lee, the chairman and CEO of
[Bet. Baldwin: Bet. Blitzer:] Yes, Paxton Baker, my good friend there, for inviting me. It was a wonderful, wonderful evening. We had a great time. And those Tuskegee airmen, when that new film "Red Tails" comes out
[Baldwin:] "Red Tails."
[Blitzer:] I don't know yes, Joe Johns can hear us.
[Baldwin:] He was just talking about it.
[Blitzer:] I know, he was talking about that's why I'm talking about it, too, because it's going to be it's going to be a great film and we've got a lot to be thankful for what those Tuskegee airmen did for all of us during World War II. I tweeted at the time this past Saturday night. They are real American heroes.
[Baldwin:] Isn't Fredricka Whitfield's father one Tuskegee airman?
[Blitzer:] Yes. Yes.
[Baldwin:] Yes. That's what I thought.
[Blitzer:] Yes. Fredricka's father was a Tuskegee airman as well. In fact I was kicking myself. She should have been with me at that Warner Theater Saturday night to see the honoring of these Tuskegee airmen. They're going to air the whole thing on BET, I think, a week or so from now. So it's going to be a good show for a lot of our viewers to watch. All of our viewers to watch. And you know when you hear Stevie Wonder perform, Aretha Franklin was there.
[Baldwin:] You melt. You melt.
[Blitzer:] Need I say more?
[Baldwin:] No. You need not. We will end on that. Thank you, Wolf. Thank you, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Next year, Brooke, you'll be there, too.
[Baldwin:] You and me. Thank you.
[Blitzer:] OK. See you in a couple of minutes with these new poll numbers. Thank you so much. You know there's news today. We're going to leave you with this after the break. News about a member of the royal family, a duchess scared to leave England. We're going to tell you what she's afraid of. Max Foster live from London after this quick break.

[Baldwin:] When JPMorgan CEO headed to Capitol Hill today, he was armed with an apology for his Wall Street firm losing $2 billion and, also, a warning some, perhaps, could see it as a threat. He warned the Senate banking committee that Congress needs to act soon to avoid a, quote, "fiscal cliff." Here, he was.
[Jamie Dimon, Ceo, Jpmorgan Chase:] The one thing to keep in mind with the fiscal cliff is it may not wait until December 31st. Markets and businesses may start taking action before that that create a slowdown in the economy, which would be a bad thing.
[Baldwin:] Erin Burnett, host of "Erin Burnett OutFront," good to see you. How are we to take that? Translate that for me. Is it a threat? Is it a warning?
[Erin Burnett, Host, "erin Burnett Outfront":] It's sort of a little bit of both, Brooke. Part of what he's saying is, look, with all of these deadlines happening at the end of the year, for companies with payroll taxes, there's all kinds of things, not knowing what tax rates are, you have to go ahead and program things in in advance. And, obviously, if you don't know what it's going to be or if the Bush tax rates are going to go up at the end of the year, that gets programmed in. What it means is companies will be hesitant to hire. They won't know what the rules are going to be. So, in part, it's just a warning, but he's also threatening and basically saying, please, do your job so that doesn't happen. I have to say, Brooke, that was classical Jamie Dimon-style, though. He is there to talk about one thing and he turns the tables and starts lecturing Congress about something else when he was the guy who supposed to be lectured.
[Baldwin:] I noticed that. He's saying look over here, look over here. Even though I'm supposed to be talking about this specifically, but I guess when he's talking about Wall Street businesses, what specifically does he want from Washington?
[Burnett:] What Jamie has said repeatedly that he wants is a sort of a grand bargain. And I've interviewed him a lot over the years. Jamie Dimon is someone who for much of his life had leaned Democratic. People had talked about him being a treasury secretary under President Obama. It's unclear given what's happened on financial reform and Dimon's pushback on that, whether that's still the case, but what I think he's really looking for like a Simpson-Bowles kind of a deal, a grand bargain sort of a deal where they know the rules and feel like the situation's being dealt with. The downgrade that happened to the debt of the U.S. is a really big issue on Wall Street and really can roil markets and that's what most all of Wall Street wants to avoid happening again.
[Baldwin:] Gosh, Simpson-Bowles, what was that, two Januaries ago? That didn't fully come through.
[Burnett:] Right. Everyone keeping saying, do it, do it, right? But they can't actually get the votes together. So I think he's in the group that says, please, that's the thing that needs to get done.
[Baldwin:] What about the term he used, fiscal cliff? What is the feeling overall on Wall Street? Do they agree?
[Burnett:] They absolutely agree. As you know, it's not just the Bush tax cuts. It's the extension of unemployment benefits that goes away. It's the need to raise the debt ceiling at the end of the year. It's the payroll tax cut that will go away. All of these things are going to happen at the end of the year. They refer to it as a cliff, Brooke, because it's a sense that if all of these things happen at once, people's tax rates go up, that could really send the economy back into a recession, really send us plunging off that cliff. Ben Bernanke was using the word just the other day, so that's what they're talking about and want to avoid. Of course, the great irony is to avoid it at this point to extend the tax cuts means more spending.
[Baldwin:] Well, I know you're going to be all of this. You have interviewed Jamie Dimon many times in the past. We'll look forward to you at 7:00, "Erin Burnett OutFront." Erin, thank you.
[Burnett:] All right, thanks, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] And the pressure on President Obama to free convicted Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, is mounting. Will the White House grant him clemency? Wolf Blitzer is in "The Situation Room" with some guests ready to weigh in. Hey, Wolf.
[Wolf Blitzer, Host, "the Situation Room":] We're going to have a full discussion on this very, very sensitive subject. The Israeli president, Shimon Peres, is getting ready to go to the White House. He's receiving the highest civilian from the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. But at the same time, he has already said he will ask President Obama to provide clemency to Jonathan Pollard, the former civilian Naval intelligence analyst who's serving a life sentence for spying for Israel. Other presidents have been asked similar requests from Israeli leaders, including President Bill Clinton. They've always rejected it. He's been in jail now for about 25 years, Jonathan Pollard, so we've assembled a panel to assess what's going on in "The Situation Room." One congressman, Eliot Engel, Democrat of New York, has teamed up with conservative Republican Chris Smith of New Jersey. They're circulating a letter to the president, saying go ahead and release pollard, 25 years is enough. We've got Eliot Engel in "The Situation Room," Joseph E. DiGenova, the former U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. who was the chief prosecutor of Jonathan Pollard, and Bill Harlow, formerly of the CIA. He worked with George Tenet at the CIA when Tenet told Bill Clinton, if you release Pollard, I will resign in protest. So we're going to discuss what's going on. It will be a good thorough discussion on a very sensitive subject right now that will come up at the White House in the next few hours.
[Baldwin:] Wolf, we'll look forward to it. We'll see you in five minutes. Thank you. Day three here in the trial of the man many blame for damaging the name, the reputation of Penn State. Hear what allegedly happened to one victim, an alleged victim, after he rejected Sandusky's advances. We're live outside the courthouse.

[Hammer:] Big news breaking tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is Whitney doing enough? Whitney Houston getting treatment again for drugs and alcohol. The SHOWBIZ TONIGHT great debate should Whitney be doing more to clean up her act? Fergie`s royal snub confession. The Duchess of York reveals to Oprah how she really felt about being dissed from the royal wedding
[Winfrey:] How hurtful was it to not be invited?
[Ferguson:] It was so difficult.
[Hammer:] But should we feel sorry for Sarah? That`s coming up.
[Announcer:] TV`s most provocative entertaining news show continues right now.
[Wendy Williams, Host, "the Wendy Williams Show":] Whitney, you need more than outpatient.
[Unidentified Female:] Yes, she does. I agree. I agree.
[Williams:] and furthermore, I`m going to tell you this right now, because I said it before, I don`t believe you were sober on "Oprah." I don`t believe that you went into rehab voluntarily this time. What I do believe is that, Whitney because I was watching "Inside Edition" yesterday no, walk with me on this one, OK? On "Inside Edition," they said that Whitney just signed on for "Waiting Exhale 2." Well, you know what happens with these Hollywood people. You have to be insurable.
[Unidentified Female:] That`s right.
[Williams:] You know, you have to be insurable and bankable. And nobody`s insuring this.
[Unidentified Female:] Right.
[Williams:] So clean it up.
[Hammer:] Wow, some tough love there. And Megan, you know, it`s fascinating that Wendy`s watching your show, "Inside Edition," to learn all about what`s going on with Whitney so she can talk about her on her show. The power of TV. Look, I think it`s great if Whitney Houston did check herself into rehab. It is an outpatient program, though. If she did this voluntarily, great for her, but do you think she`s doing enough?
[Megan Alexander, Correspondent, "inside Edition":] You know, when the announcement came down that Whitney had checked herself in for the third time into rehab, A.J., I was remembering what Rob Lowe said last week when he was promoting his book and asked, "How did rehab work for you? Why did it work for you?" And he said, "Because I wanted it to." We don`t know Whitney Houston`s mental state. We don`t know if she wants to get better. But I think it is ironic that, as she signed on to the film, "Waiting to Exhale 2," that she happens to conveniently check herself in. But A.J., this is my thought if anything can cause you to focus and point you in the right direction, I say more power to her. And if that film guides her down a healthy path, good for her.
[Hammer:] Yes, even if the motivations aren`t exactly the purest or what we think they should be, I agree. And I`m always happy to hear somebody getting the help whatever the reasons for that are. And Wendy Williams was referring, as you heard, to Whitney Houston`s 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey where she said that she`s done with drugs once and for all. Obviously, she still needs help. Again, I think this is just another step in Whitney`s personal journey, whatever the reasons for rehab. But Wendy Walsh, can we hold out hope that Whitney will clean up her act because this is a revolving door for her?
[Wendy Walsh, Tv Journalist And Doctor Of Psychology:] You know, we always have to hold out hope. I mean, addicts are able to overcome their illnesses. But then, they`ve got to sort of walk the tiger for the rest of their life. I know she said she`s done with drugs forever. But there are vulnerable things that happen at different times in somebody`s life where they can have a relapse. I`m glad, like you said, that she`s getting some help. I would like to see her like Wendy Williams said, I would like to see her be in residential treatment just because the statistical probability that she`ll get over it are greater. And I really, really want to see her do well and be a happy mother again. She`s 47 years old. It`s time. It`s time.
[Hammer:] And wow, when you think of a woman who is simply at the very top of her game, what a superstar and I think that`s why we all do hold out hope that she will get past whatever has been holding her back from just moving on and being well. Right now, I`ve got to move on to Sarah Ferguson`s royal wedding confessions. Now, Sarah`s daughters were invited to their cousin Prince William`s wedding. But Sarah she got snubbed. That was after her caught-on-tape drama, you remember, where she was allegedly trying to sell access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew. Well, now, Sarah is revealing on "Oprah" how she really felt as the world watched William and Kate without her there.
[Winfrey:] How hurtful was it to not be invited?
[Ferguson:] It was so difficult because I wanted to be there with my girls and to be getting them dressed and to go with the family. And also, it was so hard because the last bride up that aisle was me and I knew all those feelings. I think Diana would be so proud of her son both of them. You know, they did a great job. And I sort of really love the feeling that sort of Diana and I both weren`t there but I was there I`m here to say how proud she would have been.
[Hammer:] Well, Sarah takes full blame, as you see, for the fact that she wasn`t invited. And she says she didn`t even feel worthy of an invite. Megan, I`ve always liked Sarah Ferguson. I was disappointed to see the drama that she went through with that caught-on-tape stuff involving her ex-husband. But do you feel a bit sorry for her? I do.
[Alexander:] I absolutely do and she is so likable, A.J. I love watching this interview because Sarah Ferguson gives us something that we don`t see often from the royal family warmth and feeling. And I think that`s because her and Diana were such good friends. We remember that video clip of them skiing and falling down, laughing together, and the fact that they both felt like outsiders. I think she would have brought a warmth to the wedding and been able to give us a perspective on what Diana would have felt
[Hammer:] Yes.
[Alexander:] That we really didn`t have. That`s the one thing that was missing at the wedding that she would have shown us. And family is family at the end of the day. I wish she would have been here.
[Hammer:] Well, here`s the thing, though, that I felt very interesting about what Sarah told Oprah. She said she loved the feeling that she and Princess Diana weren`t there at the wedding I guess a reference to the fact they were both outsiders. But Wendy, do you think maybe it was a little bit of an odd thing to say given, you know, obviously very different reasons why she and Princess Diana weren`t at the wedding?
[Walsh:] The truth is, what she`s doing is she`s bonding and she`s underscoring the camaraderie she had with Princess Diana. The two of them were young girls sometimes I call the "growing up" royals. We watched them kibitzing in front of the camera. I don`t know if you remember the time they were taking their umbrellas at some event and poking other people, and pretending they weren`t seen, even though the cameras were catching them. They you know, she cares a lot about Diana. She has a bond with her and she wanted to underscore that by the statement.
[Hammer:] Yes. And you cannot help but appreciate her absolute candor about everything that`s been going on. Megan Alexander, Wendy Walsh, I thank you both. We have big new Star Jones news breaking today, a reported brand-new Star battle with her ex. And it could cost her a lot of cash. Also, Beyonce`s big Billboard milestone. And a royal honeymoon revelation. Where in the world are William and Kate? Find out in "The Buzz Today."
[Bono:] It`s a process right now that she`s going through with becoming comfortable with me this way. It`s a big change.
[Hammer:] Tonight, we are asking, is it understandable that Cher`s having a hard time with this? Also this
[Text:] Al Pacino joins upcoming Gotti film with John Travolta, Lindsay Lohan. Lady Gaga debuts love song, "Edge of Glory," off her upcoming album.

[Phillips:] Checking top stories now: Free trade deal with South Korea, Colombia and Panama are heading to President Obama's desk. Congress passed the deals last night. Supporters say they will create jobs in the U.S. People along Mexico's Pacific Coast are dealing with destroyed homes and flooded out roads, thanks to hurricane Jova. The flood waters and mud chased some people to their rooftops. And more people have died after eating tainted cantaloupe. The CDC says the death toll is now 23. Remember cantaloupes were found to contain the deadly listeria bacteria. Herman Cain is now the man to beat in the Republican presidential race. According to one new poll, a new "Wall Street Journal"NBC poll puts him on top with 27 percent of the vote. Mitt Romney comes in secondIpsus poll from the same time frame scrambles those four and Romney lands on top. CNN political analyst Roland Martin and CNN contributor Will Cain joining me live now. Gentlemen, another day, another frontrunner is this a sign of Cain's strength or Romney's weakness? Roland?
[Roland Martin, Cnn Political Analyst:] First of all, neither. This is an irrelevant poll. Look, we sit here and those of us who cover politics, we go back and forth. A new poll. There are about 5,000 polls out here PPP, NBC, CBS, you name it. Everybody has a poll
[Phillips:] You don't think you don't think Cain is resonating at all?
[Martin:] Look, he's resonating because he is a simple message. He's speaking directly to Tea Party people. When you break down this poll, they say we like his plain talk. He's not a politician. At the end of the day, are these polls meaningless until you actually have both. It's also a state-by-state race. A national poll serves no purpose right now.
[Phillips:] Will, is it meaningless?
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] No. I mean Roland makes some good points that we can't just look at these polls and go, well, I guess Herman Cain is going to win the nomination. That being said, what these polls reflect is a real appetite for what Herman Cain is actually delivering. This guy has a biography that is unmatchable on this stage. This guy's daddy wasn't a chemical titan. This guy's daddy wasn't governor. He's the son of a chauffeur. He's been CEO of Godfather's Pizza. He's a mathematician, ballistics at the Navy. This guy is impressive. And on top of that, he's got a bold plan 9-9-9 that I have substantive disagreements with. But whatever you disagree with about it, he's not tinkering around the edges. He is saying we have a real problem, which everyone agrees with the tax code.
[Martin:] Right.
[Cain:] Roland agrees with that, I agree with that at least this guy has a bold plan. I'll tell you what? That poll reflects he is resonating and he should be.
[Phillips:] Go ahead, Roland.
[Martin:] But here's out there again, when you start looking at this particular poll, OK, what he speaks to is people really paying attention, the crazy, political folks who follow this stuff. I mean, every up and down. When you begin to go into November and December, and when you begin to have that first election, first of all, we have no idea these days if New Hampshire might be voting by Thanksgiving. So, all of a sudden, the field widens. Then people began to say, first, are you electable? Can you win in the general? All those things come up. Also, right now in the GOP field, you can appeal to a sliver of the populous and then you can be in the top tier. So, when you look at 15 percent, 18 percent, 20 percent, that's really what it is all about. This is more about a fractured GOP field as opposed to one person, Cain or Romney somehow resonating across the field.
[Phillips:] All right. Well, Will then, Will, when are Republicans going to settle on a candidate. We have seen the frontrunner fluctuate.
[Martin:] When the vote?
[Cain:] Right.
[Phillips:] Will? Yes, yes, Roland
[Cain:] Look, you can't disagree with a lot of what Roland is saying. We will decide on a candidate when the voting period comes. But here's what Roland is doing he is being too dismissive of somebody who is resonating.
[Martin:] No, I'm not.
[Cain:] This is too much inside the Beltway. It's too inside the Beltway talking about which polls matter and which I'm telling you, Roland is from Texas and I'm from Texas and I talk to people and Herman Cain's name comes up over and over. The point is, this guy is resonating and I want to say this, Roland's right. OK? This doesn't matter until January when the primaries roll around. But I'm going to say, do not dismiss Herman Cain. I think come January, it will be a decision between Herman Cain and Romney.
[Phillips:] Last thought, Roland.
[Martin:] I cannot be dismissive here because guess what? At this point, then-Senator Barack Obama down 20 points to Senator Hillary Clinton.
[Cain:] Fair enough.
[Martin:] It all matters when people actually vote. You can resonate in a poll, but when they go into the voting booth, that's the real issue. So, I pay no attention to polls before people actually vote. That's where elections matter.
[Phillips:] We're going to leave it there, guys.
[Cain:] I just want to say, all I'm saying, is distinguish Herman Cain from Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. I don't think you're seeing the same boom and bust. That's not what's happening here.
[Phillips:] We're going to keep tracking it. Guys, thanks. See? Everyone is talking about it. No matter what you think, everybody is talking about it, including us. All right. Don't forget, next Tuesday night, live on CNN, the Republican candidates for president gather in Las Vegas to debate the issues and sway the voters. The Western Republican Presidential Debate, CNN, Tuesday night, at 8:00 Eastern. All right. We talked about the black unemployment crisis but one billionaire says he's got a solution and it starts with a challenge for America's biggest companies. Just ahead, I'm going to talk live with BET founder Bob Johnson.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now: wrenching new stories of survival and heartbreak on Staten Island. We're going to meet a man whose business was looted after he lost much of his home. Also, the growing fuel shortage in the disaster zone. Gas lines in some areas now stretch for miles. And, as Don mentioned, new poll numbers are just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM from the state that could decide who the next president will be. We're talking about Ohio. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. But we begin with the destruction from Sandy. Homes and livelihoods destroyed now lying in piles of rubble that stretch for miles across the New York City borough of Staten Island. Cleanup is under way. And with every new layer of debris that's removed, the tragic stories emerge of the residents whose lives have been turned upside down. CNN's Brian Todd is on the scene for us. Brian, what are you seeing on Staten Island right now?
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, at just about every house you go to in the New Dorp Beach section of Staten Island, you hear horrific and pretty detailed stories of just how bad the storm was. Here's the story of one man who took a few hits.
[Todd:] If you can't imagine what it's like to suffer through a massive storm, listen to Nick Camerada.
[Nick Camerada, New York:] The water was so high. It was up to this part of the door. I couldn't get into the door. I went around the side of the house. And I stood on a box that was floating. And I went through a window to get back in the house with my family.
[Todd:] Taking us through his house on Staten Island, the retired UPS truck driver says he and his family scrambled to an upper floor away from water he was sure would keep rising.
[Camerada:] Absolutely. We thought we were going to lose our lives.
[Todd:] Camerada, his wife and four sons survived. Just about all of their first floor didn't. [on camera]: Then just as Nick and his family were recovering from the shell shock of the storm and the flooding and trying to assess all of this damage, he took another body blow. [voice-over]: He leads us to his side yard, where he had set up a small engine repair business and a trailer full of tools he'd need for his new profession.
[Camerada:] Last night, they were banging on doors. Anybody home? If you're not home, if we don't get a response from you, we're going to break your door down just to see if you're OK. They were all looters. I yelled out my window on a few occasions until I was exhausted tired. I wake up this morning, pushed my shed open and went through all my tools. I got nothing. Every tool that was hanging that was worth anything, all my air tools, there's nothing in the drawers but handprints.
[Todd:] Could these have been people who you knew, Nick?
[Camerada:] It's sad to say they're neighborhood guys.
[Todd:] So they knew you? You knew them?
[Camerada:] Yes, I knew one of them.
[Todd:] Camerada owns a house next door that was ruined by the flood. The tenant, Jeanne Valitutto, says she lost another home to a fire two years ago.
[Jeanne Valitutto, New York:] I can't even explain what did I do that the same thing happened to me twice. I feel like, why me?
[Todd:] A tenant, an owner, his family left with so very little except...
[Camerada:] My kids are alive. My wife is alive. We can move on.
[Todd:] Nick says he came up with a slogan for his new business. It says when your engine's sick, call Dr. Nick. But he's not Dr. Nick anymore, at least not for a while Wolf.
[Blitzer:] What's he going to do now?
[Todd:] Well, he says he's going to try to get a job as a handyman, just try to find work in the neighborhood as a handyman, helping people with home repairs. But he's got one son in college, another son applying to college. So it's going to be pretty tough going for him for a while.
[Blitzer:] Brian Todd, an emotional story. There are a lot of stories like that, unfortunately. The president is now speaking about the aftermath of the storm. He's in Ohio.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] No matter how tough times may get, we always bounce back. We're all in this together as one nation and as one people. That spirit has guided this country along its improbable journey for more than two centuries. And it's what's carried us through the trials and tribulations in the last four years. Remember in 2008, we were in the middle of two wars and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Today, our businesses have created nearly 5.5 million new jobs. And this morning, we learned that companies hired more workers in October than in any time in the last eight months.
[Obama:] Home values are on the rise. Housing construction is moving up. We're less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in the last 20 years. Because of the service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform, the war in Iraq is over, the war in Afghanistan is coming to a close. Al Qaeda's been decimated. And Osama bin Laden is dead. Oh, oh, oh, and one more thing. An American auto industry that had been written off is back on top of the world. So we have made real progress these last four years. But, Ohio, we're here because we know we have got more work to do. As long as there is a single American who wants a job and can't find one, as long as there are families who are working harder and harder, but falling behind, as long as there's a child somewhere in Lima or anywhere in Ohio or in the country who is languishing in poverty and barred from opportunity, then our fight goes on. Our work is not yet done.
[Blitzer:] All right. So the president getting into his stump speech now after saying a few words about what was going on in the aftermath of the superstorm Sandy. We're going to continue to monitor what the president has to say. We will bring you more of that. We also have some brand-new poll numbers just in from the critical battleground state of Ohio. You see the president is in Lima, Ohio, right now. Our brand-new CNNORC poll shows President Obama with a narrow lead in that state, 50 percent to Mitt Romney's 47 percent. That's within the sampling error, making it still effectively a dead heat. Our chief national correspondent, John King, is joining us right now. He's in Ohio as well. John, take us inside these numbers.
[John King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] Wolf, they are fascinating when you look deep in this poll. The president, you just showed he's here in Ohio. Governor Romney will be here tonight. They expect some 35,000 Republicans at his rally in this part of the state. I'm in Cincinnati tonight. When you look deep in our poll you see this one will be fought out through the last poll closing on election night. Look at these two candidates among independents. Governor Romney with a slight edge, 48 percent to 46 percent. But, again, that's a statistical tie well within the margin of error. The auto bailout is one of the things the president thinks will help him here in Ohio. You just heard him mention there that in this speech. Look at this. In the industrial northern part of the state, across northern Ohio, where you do have many auto-related direct factory plants and related industries, the president leads 52 percent to 45 percent. Some evidence there that especially among white blue- collar workers the president is doing better than he might have done otherwise without the auto bailout. In a close statewide election, Wolf, what was fascinating four years ago when you visited where I am, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, you knew at this time the race was over because the president, then-Senator Obama, was doing so well here. Look at our poll numbers here from Cincinnati and the southwest part of the state, Governor Romney ahead 52 percent to 47 percent in a region that is absolutely essential to Republicans if they are to win a close statewide election here. We visited both campaign headquarters today in the Cincinnati area. Everyone concedes it is about as tight as it can get. The Democrats say it's much tougher, much tighter than it was four years ago. The question though, Wolf, is we have that slight lead, yes, within the margin of error. But the president has had a consistent two- or three-point lead in just about every Ohio poll conducted in recent months. The Romney campaign is telling us it believes it can overcome that on Election Day with more intensity and more energy from the Republican base. We will see. As you know, Wolf, no Republican has ever won without this state. The Romney campaign concedes it very much needs it.
[Blitzer:] If it's really close, John, there's been a lot of speculation on those provisional ballots that are available in Ohio that, that that could delay the outcome in that state. What's the latest you're getting on that?
[King:] There is a possibility. This is a state where you have early voting. And you also have other provisional ballots that come in, ballots that are contested. So, on Election Day, some ballots will be counted and some will be set aside and disputed. Look, let's hope as citizens that doesn't happen. But this state is so close right now and some other states are very close right now that both campaigns have teams of lawyers who will not only will be here on Election Day to watch, they have observers, but teams of lawyers ready to be in place if it's so close. Would there be an automatic recount triggered? Would there be court challenges over provisional ballots? That is a possibility as we head into the final days here and the final weekend, Wolf. Not only the candidates out and busy, their legal teams are very busy studying all the rules as well.
[Blitzer:] Yes, the lawyers are very, very active right now. Let's see what happens. John, you will be back later. Thank you. The most anticipated jobs report of the year is now out coming only four days before the election. The Labor Department reports hiring in October was stronger than expected with 171,000 new jobs added. The unemployment rate however ticked up.1 percent to 7.9 percent. Let's talk about what this means politically with our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger. Gloria, do you see these numbers, the unemployment number, the jobs created number, having a significant impact these final four days?
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] No, not really at this point because of what you said. You saw the unemployment rate tick up a little bit. So Mitt Romney can talk about how unemployment has ticked up. You saw job growth a little stronger than anticipated. So the president can say, you know what, this is a sustained recovery. It's not fast enough. But it's not that's spotty and it's sustained. And that's just what you heard from the president in the campaign speech you just played a little bit of before because he talks about the fact that since he's been president, he's created nearly 5.5 million jobs. So it really hasn't changed the calculation one way or another. By the way, Wolf, in a lot of these states, including the one John King is in, Ohio, there's been a lot of early voting. So it's too late anyway.
[Blitzer:] But the economy clearly is issue number one. I just want to alert our viewers, Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, has been in Staten Island touring that devastated area. I think she's going to be speaking to reporters shortly. In fact, here she is right now. Let's listen in.
[Janet Napolitano, U.s. Homeland Security Secretary:] We know that Staten Island took a particularly hard hit from Sandy. And so we want to make sure that the right resources are brought here as quickly as possible to help this community, which is so very strong recover, even more quickly. Just to give you a sense of an overview, it's been mentioned that this was a large storm. The area that Sandy covered was roughly the size of Europe. We had major disasters in a number of states that President Obama already has declared, emergency declarations in a number of states that have been declared. We have seen some huge impacts on things like the availability of power. And with, of course, the loss of power comes attendant losses on things like gasoline. So all of these things, all of these issues being worked now as the community comes back and as we work to support Con Ed and other utility companies in getting the grid back on. We have over 75,000 survivors in New York and New Jersey who now have applied for disaster assistance already. Almost $15 million is already on the street. This is assistance directly to individuals. That spigot is going well. We have what are called disaster recovery centers. A disaster recovery center is kind of a one-stop-shop. It's where you can go and get the information about what assistance you can get, what the housing situation is, how you handle unemployment, if you need help with your kids in school, all the kind of associated issues that happen during a major disaster. But we have five open today in New York, one in Connecticut. Even more will be opening over the weekend and by Monday. As of yesterday, more than 7.1 million liters of water and 1.6 million meals were positioned to be delivered into New York. More than 1.6 million liters of water and a million meals have been transferred to other states to supplement their existing inventory. We have established a base at the Floyd Bennett Field here in New York. That's where we're bringing all the food and water. That's where the National Guard picks it up and takes it out to the delivery centers around the boroughs; 657 housing inspectors are already on the ground here helping individuals look at their houses, make a decision as to whether the house has any possibility of being restored or whether it's a total loss. We have 3,200 FEMA personnel working this storm in the Northeast. And more are on their way; 11,800 National Guard already are deployed in the impacted states. And we expect more to come. As was mentioned, 258 Red Cross shelters have opened. Nine federal search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, supplementing state and local efforts. And they have searched more than 3,300 structures in Queens and 870 structures here in Staten Island. With respect to other assets that are coming in, we all know that power remains the fundamental issue. You should know that President Obama has said that all of the federal government is here to help. And that means the Department of Defense. And the Department of Defense yesterday was airlifting utility crews with their equipment here to New York, to New Jersey and other places impacted by the storm. And more of those airlifts we anticipate to be coming over the coming days. There's an 800 number people can call, 1-800-621-3362, 1-800-621-3362. You can go to disasterassistance.gov. You can go to m.fema.gov. Or indeed if you go to a disaster recovery center, all of the information you need to find out about the assistance you are entitled to can be found. And as was mentioned, people are now going door to door. One of my concerns I think all of our concerns is as the temperature drops with power still out in many neighborhoods, making sure that everybody is safe and if they need to get to a warm place that we're able to do that. So, a lot of work ongoing. A lot more left to do. But the food, the water, all the assets coming into this area of the country, coming into New York. Governor Cuomo's been a great advocate, and coming into the borough of Staten Island. Thank you.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] All right. We're going to continue to monitor Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security. She's been touring the situation in Staten Island. You see the president of the borough of Staten Island, Molinaro, right behind her. We're going to be speaking with Janet Napolitano later. We're also going to be speaking live with the president of the Manhattan borough. There's lots going on including a huge debate in New York City right now over whether or not that marathon should take place this weekend as scheduled. Lots to talk about. What's going on in Lower Manhattan specifically when we come back.

[Costello:] The politics of redemption. It's the thing. Mark Sanford is doing it in South Carolina and now Anthony Weiner is dipping his toe into the pool of redemption. Yes, back, Anthony Weiner the former Congressman from New York who tweeted nude photos to a woman who was not his wife and then lied about it and then admitted to it and then was forced to resign. Well, Anthony Weiner is back or he wants to be. So let's talk about that. L.Z. Granderson is a CNN contributor and a senior writer for ESPN and Ana Navarro is also a CNN contributor and a Republican Strategist. Welcome to you both.
[L.z. Granderson, Cnn Contributor:] Morning, Carol.
[Ana Navarro, Cnn Contributor:] Good morning Carol.
[Costello:] Good morning. According to the "New York Times" magazine, Weiner's PAC but more than $100,000 on polling. Are voters willing to give him a second chance or not, that was the question. Regardless of what race or what contest, that was the question that this polling asked the voters. So I'll ask you the question and I'll start with you, Ana, does Weiner deserve a second chance?
[Navarro:] Oh, that's up to the people of New York to decide, it's not up to me. But definitely there's redemption in politics, Carol. His name is William Jefferson Clinton. You know, he went from being a man who had a big, big problem to now being the most popular politician in the United States. I think a lot of it depends on what you do afterwards, how you deal with the crisis and also, by the way, if your wife forgives you or your spouse forgives you. In this case, that seems to have happened. If your spouse doesn't forgive you, you've got a problem. I think that was, you know, John Edwards, please, do not think of a comeback, that's not going to work. But certainly, we've seen, you know, Jenny Sanford would have run against Mark Sanford, decided not to. And we've seen in the cases where there have been redemption that the American people are forgiving if the family has been equally forgiving.
[Costello:] You have a point there because certainly it seems like Anthony Weiner's wife has forgiven him. He's sort of playing Mr. Mom these days while I guess she brings home the bacon so to speak. He stays home and tends to their child. But L.Z., those pictures
[Navarro:] She wants him to run. She wants him out of the house, Carol.
[Costello:] You think so.
[Navarro:] The article says he's been the article says he's been stuck at home in a five-block radius for the last 15 months.
[Costello:] He's lying low. He just wants to like be under the radar for a while until this whole thing blows over. But there's still those pictures out there, L.Z., how can you overcome that?
[Granderson:] You don't. You don't overcome that. That's just the point. I mean especially with the Internet, they're out there, they're permanent. But the real issue is that the American people and voters, we aren't the ones who hold the redemption card, you know. Ana's correct it's all about the wife. The wife is the only one that could forgive. We're the ones that could decide whether or not we could forget. You know, forget the scandal, forget the initial lies and decide whether or not this person's the best person to run for mayor and be mayor of New York City. Ultimately, that's the question for the voters. The redemption part of it, you know, we abuse that word, but the fact is that only his wife can allow him to be redeemed. And if she feels that he's worthy, then he's been redeemed. Now the question is, will voters forget?
[Costello:] You know, he does have a sense of humor about it all. I want to read something to you out of the "New York Times" magazine because they did a big article on Anthony Weiner. Despite his troubles, Mr. Weiner appears to have retained his trademark sense of humor. He's quoted recounting what people say to him on the subway. It's one of the following he said. One: "Oh, you should run." Two: "Man, you got screwed." Three: I'm so sorry about what happened to you." And four: Spitzer. You're Governor Spitzer.
[Granderson:] It's absolutely hilarious. You know what, if there's any city that's willing to just let bygones be bygones, it would New York city. Maybe San Francisco a close second, but certainly New York is not going to sit here and say what he was doing in his private life is going to hinder whether or not he has the ability to be mayor of the city. And prior to the scandal, he was considering the run, he was well- positioned to run. I talked to several people who were also part of the feelers before the scandal broke about him possibly being mayor of New York. He's still very popular. And let's face it, at the end of the day all he did was flirt with a woman who wasn't his wife. And there's not a lot of people
[Costello:] You call that flirting?
[Granderson:] in New York. Yes. A lot of people
[Navarro:] That's not a little thing
[Granderson:] There are a lot of people in New York who are not going to look at Anthony Weiner and what he did and judge him so harshly they're going to eliminate him from being mayor.
[Costello:] Come on.
[Navarro:] L.Z., L.Z. we can judge him a little harsher. He did a little bit more than that. He lied about it. He did
[Granderson:] Yes, he lied about it. Of course he lied about it.
[Navarro:] He sent nude photographs.
[Costello:] He sent a woman pictures of his nether regions. I don't know that's not normal flirting to me.
[Granderson:] That's flirting 2.0. That is flirting 2.0.
[Costello:] So I really
[Navarro:] The fun we're going to have with Anthony Weiner runs again, Carol, it will be endless amount of entertainment from the late night shows, from the New York papers, and, you know, I'm glad he's got a sense of humor. When you're blessed with a name like Weiner, you need a sense of humor.
[Costello:] Oh my God. I'm going to have a serious question to end it all. If something like that ever happened to me, and I can't envision a day that it would, I don't think I have the intestinal fortitude to show my face in public again. It constantly amazes me that people will do something and he did. He cheated on his wife L.Z.. She was pregnant. Come on. I mean he was tweeting these foul, lewd pictures to women. And then he's going to come back on this redemption tour and say I'm really, really sorry. I don't think I would have the intestinal fortitude to do that. What does that say about people in politics? Ana?
[Navarro:] It says that they've got more intestinal fortitude or less shame than you do because certainly in politics we see it happen all the time. We can go through a long list. Look, running for public office requires a big ego, great deal of self-confidence and requires a great deal of daring, frankly, to put your name out there. I think Anthony Weiner is a guy who has been known for being very ambitious, very hard driving and obviously if you're spending $100,000 in polling, you are very serious about looking at it.
[Granderson:] But there's also this element of it too. We've already had this conversation decades ago. Vanessa Williams was dethroned because of lewd pictures of her. Madonna was questioned early in her career because of lewd pictures. Both of those women survived those things in the '80s when we were much more conservative as a country. You're asking me in 2013 can lewd pictures forever derail a politician? I'm forced to say no because of what history has already taught us and because of what history has shown us about the American people. It's a disgusting industry, politics is, and so anyone who gives into it, you've already got to raise a eyebrow anyway. You're certainly not going to disqualify them because of pictures. And yes, in my book, Carol, he did cheat on his wife. But in a lot of people's opinions, all he did was flirt.
[Navarro:] He just you see L.Z. just redeemed himself with the women of America.
[Costello:] Partially, partially.
[Granderson:] I'm going to have some problems.
[Costello:] Ana Navarro, L.Z. Granderson, many thanks. We'll be right back.
[Granderson:] Thank you.
[Navarro:] Thank you Carol.

[Piers Morgan, Cnn:] Tonight the exclusive interview three years in the making. The one person who knew Michael Jackson better than anybody else. His mother Katherine.
[Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's Mother:] Every morning, all through the day I think about Michael.
[Morgan:] Katherine Jackson speaks out on Michael's childhood.
[Jackson:] So Michael looked back at those childhood and he said he was abused. Well, they call it abuse. But sometimes if it wasn't for the strap, what would this world be like today?
[Morgan:] On what he missed. Did you ever hope that he would find true love?
[Jackson:] I always thought about that, but Michael seemed happy. He found a lot of joy in his children.
[Morgan:] On the talent Michael that hid from the world.
[Jackson:] Michael loved art a lot. He loved paintings. He loved water colors. He loved even the crayons.
[Morgan:] And her explosive theory about Conrad Murray.
[Jackson:] He did a terrible thing. And there might have been others involved. I don't know that but I feel that.
[Morgan:] Katherine Jackson, an extraordinary hour. The PIERS MORGAN interview starts now. Tonight an extraordinary look at Michael Jackson's private life through his deeply personal artwork. He started drawing as a child. The pictures are new revelations about the iconic singer. Much of it kept in a secret location, at an airport hangar in Los Angeles. Some of it is in the studio with me tonight. Joining me now in an exclusive interview is Michael's mother Katherine Jackson and his mentor and good friend artist Brett Livingston Strong. Welcome to you both.
[Jackson:] Thank you.
[Unidentified Male:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] We're surrounded by this incredible art. Most of which has never been seen. That your son Michael did. What I'm struck by, I love this picture, Katherine which is how old is he there, Michael?
[Jackson:] He's about 9 or 10 there.
[Morgan:] And he's clutching his own work of art.
[Jackson:] Yes.
[Morgan:] He painted that.
[Jackson:] Yes.
[Morgan:] I don't know what's more impressive, the art or the fantastic hat he's wearing. Very stylish. But clearly from an early age he loved art. Tell me about that side of Michael.
[Jackson:] Michael loved art a lot. He he loved paintings, he loved water colors. He loved even the crayons. And he would always draw. And when he was even in school, he would draw pictures and they took one of his drawings and put it on the front of the yearbook. And
[Morgan:] Was he self-taught? Did he teach himself?
[Jackson:] He taught himself.
[Morgan:] Amazing talent.
[Jackson:] Just the talent that he had. And I can't say too much more about him, only his father his father was an artist, too. He loved to paint and draw. So I thought maybe he might have picked it up from him. But he had a natural talent for it, Michael did.
[Morgan:] And did he always paint, I mean, throughout his life? Was he always painting secretly without people really being aware of it?
[Jackson:] Yes. Yes. Because when he was just a child, when we moved to Havenhurst, before we remodeled, it had a little house in the back and he took that little house and he made it out to of an art studio for himself.
[Morgan:] What do you think the art brought him? Painting and stuff, what did it give him?
[Jackson:] Well, you know what? I really don't I really can't answer that question. But sometimes when he's not doing anything he would go and start painting. And I think that's just it's a way of him just relaxing.
[Morgan:] A bit of escape, is it?
[Jackson:] Yes.
[Morgan:] Brett, you got to know Michael 25 years ago. Tell me about how you met and tell me about this art collection because it's people don't really know much about.
[Brett Livingstone Strong, Artist:] Right. Well, we first met about 1979 through Mayor Bradley of Los Angeles and also through
[Morgan:] And this collection, how many pieces are there in it?
[Strong:] Well, I have we have 98 pieces. Other people have some. And there's about maybe there's about 20 of those pieces I draw, he did artwork on the other side. I made the paper for Michael in the 1980s, special paper, so if anybody got it they couldn't, you know, counterfeit it. And so he we ran he ran out of the paper. That's why he started doing artwork on the reverse side.
[Morgan:] I mean some of the pieces here, I mean, the Martin Luther King picture, Abraham Lincoln. Apparently, he painted a lot of drew a lot of a lot of former presidents. He loved to do that.
[Strong:] He loved Abraham Lincoln. He loved freedom. He loved the whole aspect of people being free. Being able to create, you know, beautiful things to inspire people like he wanted to, you know, create his music.
[Morgan:] And Katherine, he had a strange obsession with the number seven. And with chairs. Now tell me why those two things are in the pictures all the time.
[Jackson:] Well, Michael was a seventh child. He his name had seven letters in it. He would always talk about that. And, you know, seven the number seven means completeness in the bible, it tells us. So
[Morgan:] So it's like a lucky number for him.
[Jackson:] For him.
[Morgan:] And what about the chairs? Why did he like drawing or painting chairs?
[Jackson:] He just had an obsession of chairs. The chairs that not just a plain chair, but chairs that you see had a lot of art in it. A lot of curves, a lot of other things like that. He would draw that.
[Morgan:] There's one very prophetic picture which is of a little boy sitting on his own in a corner. And just seeing it on the screen. What's poignant is that Michael had written next to this in his own handwriting, "Before you judge me, try hard to love me and look within your heart. Then ask, have you seen my childhood?" What do you think he meant by that, Katherine?
[Jackson:] You know what? I couldn't tell you. But that is the picture. I have one, too, like that. Are they showing it on?
[Morgan:] Yes. We're looking at it now. Yes. And it's it's a very I mean the boy looks, I guess
[Jackson:] He looks sad. And he looks you know, I think it's because Michael always said he missed most of his childhood.
[Morgan:] Yes.
[Jackson:] And he loved to run and play. He loved children. And I think this is what this picture stands for.
[Morgan:] I've interviewed a lot of people about Michael. Many of your family, your children I've interviewed, Janet, La Toya, Jermaine. All said the same thing that Michael was such a happy child. He loved just playing pranks on people, that kind of thing. Do you ever feel a regret as his mother that he did lose the childhood, really, to super stardom? I mean if you had your time again, would you want the kids, especially Michael, to go into that crazy world?
[Jackson:] Well, to a certain extent. None of my children were really just loose. Because my husband was sort of I should say very strict about things like that because where we came from, there was a lot of crime. And we cared about our children. We didn't want them out there on the street running around, breaking in cars and doing like most other children did back then. And we did things with them in the house. And that's when they started singing. But as far as having a good time and all, they were in the little league and things like that. Then they learned to play the music. And Michael always said he didn't have a childhood, but he enjoyed what he was doing.
[Morgan:] I think that's true, isn't it? You talked about his father's being tough with them. Was he too tough or not, do you think? Did he did he have to be that tough?
[Jackson:] I didn't think he was too tough, but in back in those days everybody raised their children about the same. If you did something wrong, it was terribly wrong, you got a scolding for it and you also got a licking as they called it. But today you can't do that. So Michael looked back at those times and they said he was abused. Well, they call it abuse, but sometime if it wasn't for the strap, what would this world be like today?
[Morgan:] Do you think that the world has gone a bit soft in terms of discipline?
[Jackson:] I think it's gone a bit too soft. I really do. And then they have too much things out for our children to do. And they're too open with a lot of things. So things that we weren't open years ago about. And I just feel bad because I know that the world is I think it's doomed.
[Morgan:] Do you?
[Jackson:] The bible tells us the world will be destroyed. So I think
[Morgan:] When you look at America, modern America now, where do you think people are going wrong especially in bringing up children?
[Jackson:] Well, I think society is sometimes is the fault of it. Because they tell the children to call 911 and in some cases, maybe they need to do that. But then some cases some parents are afraid of their children. And some children tell their parents well, if you do this to me, I'm going to call 911 or I'm going to call the police or whatever children can. What are the parents to do?
[Morgan:] I mean it's interesting. When I talked to your children, all of them have said at various stages of their lives, well, we had this really tough upbringing. Our father was very really strict. But they all as they got older and in some cases have their own kids they've begun to realize that maybe it was the kind of tough love that they needed. It's been interesting for me to talk to them. Now they're a bit older. It must be for you it must be an interesting experience, too, to hear their views change as they get older.
[Jackson:] They do. Children change. For instance, Tito, he was one of them that said excuse me that said I'm going to raise my children just like they called their father Joseph. Just like Joseph raised me. Because he always said my children don't get in trouble or anything like that. All these terrible things they laid on Michael, he didn't do these things. But it's just there are wicked people out there and they accuse you of them. But
[Morgan:] It must have been must have been very hurtful for you as his mother.
[Jackson:] My gosh.
[Morgan:] Some of the things that Michael was accused of, the court cases he had to fight and stuff. How did you feel as his mother?
[Jackson:] Oh, my gosh. It almost destroyed me in a way. You know when I say it just hurt. Because I know Michael didn't do those terrible things. But then there are so many wicked people. Why are they doing this to him?
[Morgan:] Just hold that thought for a moment, Katherine. When we come back, I want to talk to you about Michael's life and what his legacy.

[Lemon:] New details are emerging about a dramatic shoot-out you first saw last night right here on CNN.
[Unidentified Male:] Jesus Christ.
[Lemon:] A gunman opening fire near an elementary and middle school, a high school in Issaquah, Washington. Here's the scary part: a youth football game underway at that high school. I want you to listen, because football fans in the packed stadium ducked for cover.
[Unidentified Male:] They huddled under the bleachers, staying close together, and scared out of their minds.
[Chase Hawkins, Witness:] Everybody's terrified out there. They're very scared.
[Unidentified Female:] They started shooting at us and the bullet went me and my friend, Tony, and we went around and started running and we could hear the bullets bouncing off the concrete behind us.
[Lemon:] No one in the stadium was hit, but police say the unidentified 51-year-old man fired his first shot at the elementary school where he tried to break into a car. From there, police say he attempted to get into the cab of a backhoe that was on school property. Police rushed to the scene and exchanged shots with the man killing him before he was able to get near the parents and children at that football game. Remembering the victims of that tragic air race disaster in Nevada, it's impossible to forget the image of this crash in Reno on September 16th. 11 people died when a pilot lost control of his vintage plane and barrelled into the crowd. Well, tonight, hundreds are expected to gather at a memorial at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. The city will dedicate a tree to the victims and hold a candlelight vigil. The call to Sunday service at one New Jersey church had a different ring to it, more like a jingle.
[Rev. Tim Lucas, Pastor, Liquid Church:] People are acting like they're going to be struck by lightning. They're typically, you know, a lot of people are cynical about religion and they come to church expecting to be shaken down. But we're saying, you know what, it's really all God's money, and he trusts you.
[Lemon:] Well, find out why a pastor invited those in his church to reach into the offering plate and take some money out. But first first, remember how it was when you were in school? Teachers always in front, students at their desks, taking note. Well, in tonight's "Perry's Principles", CNN education contributor, Steve Perry takes a look as the kids take charge, at least for a day.
[Unidentified Female:] When the synapses in my brain connect, then I learn. Can you guys stand up and do it with us?
[Steve Perry, Cnn Education Contributor:] The students are teaching class today at the Beardsley School. The pupils? Their teachers. This role reversal is part of a revolutionary program developed by the National Urban Alliance or
[Nua:] How do teachers respond to having kids tell them how to teach?
[Eric Cooper, Pres., National Urban Alliance:] They love it, primarily because it really gives them an understanding of the strengths that the students have, as well as where the gaps are that need to be filled in.
[Perry:] The training is broken up into two parts. First, an NUA representative leads a session on creative teaching methods for both students and teachers.
[Unidentified Female:] Ready? Set? Go.
[Students:] Neurons are the brain cells, the brain cells, the brain cells.
[Perry:] Then the kids take over.
[Unidentified Male:] I'll only give you about two minutes. So, go.
[Perry:] You're working in some of the lowest performing school districts in the country. What is it that you hope to gain?
[Yvette Jackson, Ceo, National Urban Alliance:] It's not just so that the students feel empowered. It's so that the teachers see what unbelievable wealth of potential these students have.
[Perry:] Today, you guys were teaching. Was that cool?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes.
[Perry:] What makes you think you'd be a good teacher?
[Unidentified Female:] They always teach us. So, it's good to teach them for a change.
[Perry:] Costs for the program are split between the NUA and participating school districts. More than 450 students and 15 schools across the country have participated so far. The NUA says those students' performance has improved in the classroom, and they're currently sponsoring formal research to confirm that.
[Unidentified Female:] I think teachers need to know that they should keep on trying and keep on teaching the kids no matter what.
[Perry:] Steve Perry, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

[Baldwin:] You can call it an "oops" moment for the Gingrich campaign. They missed the application deadline for the Missouri primary. That means no Newt Gingrich on ballot in February. Let's go to Joe Johns in Washington with your America's Choice 2012 politics update. Joe Johns, good to see you. What does this mean for Camp Gingrich?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Yes, you know, it's one of those moments I think where the people in the campaign look at each other and say, yikes. How do we do that? Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich may be surging in the polls for the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but multiple news organizations now reporting he won't be on the Missouri primary ballot in February. His campaign was supposed to file papers last Tuesday to get on the ballot. Somehow they didn't do it. The rest of the Republican field, yes, on the Missouri ballot though this is not a monumental mistake. The primary is nonbinding. No delegates at stake, but being at the ballot would really be a matter of keeping a candidate's momentum going, if you will, through the primaries. Still a mistake for the Gingrich campaign, but more importantly another sign that Gingrich's success in the polls is creating a lot of challenges for him. You know, he's got some work to do to get his campaign organization up to speed. We reached out to them. They haven't gotten back to us yet. Gingrich is expected to appear, Brooke, at a town hall in Naples, Florida today.
[Baldwin:] OK, let's talk about another candidate. You know Michele Bachmann, you and I talked about this earlier in the week.
[Johns:] Right.
[Baldwin:] She was on the Jimmy Fallon show a couple of days ago. In the intro, there was that song with a derogatory word in the song. She got an apology from Jimmy Fallon, but what about the network?
[Johns:] Right, well, the network has now weighed in. Yes, I mean, this was just sort of embarrassing all around. We know about the house band on the Jimmy Fallon show playing part of the song with the title I don't want to say on TV, which included the derogatory term to women. Michele Bachmann was there. NBC has apologized and also reports out today that Michele Bachmann has actually accepted, if you will, the apology of the network. But she's also said this is the kind of thing that would have created outrage had it happened to a liberal woman. But she says, it sort of gets passed over when it happens to a conservative woman so apparently a little bit of hard feelings still out there. Even though she said she accepts the apology. She said that on a radio station interview I think in Texas.
[Baldwin:] OK so, Joe Johns, I hear you're in for the blitz, for Mr. Blitzer.
[Johns:] Absolutely.
[Baldwin:] What do you have coming up on "SITUATION ROOM?"
[Johns:] Right, yes, well, we're going to talk a lot about the situation in Egypt and the very latest there including the reporter who was sexually assaulted while she was covering the story. We're going to take a close look, of course, at politics, as it stands right now. The race who is hot and who is not, and all the day's news coming up on THE SITUATION ROOM while Wolf Blitzer is taking up a badly needed rest. He's the hardest working man
[Baldwin:] The man loves his job, and never takes a break so good for him. We love seeing you on, Joe Johns. We'll see you in two hours. Thank you so much.
[Johns:] We match. Did you know?
[Baldwin:] Very nice, you and I like this. Joe, thank you. Coming up next, the moment you've been waiting for, I've been waiting for this. This guy is a TV legend. Buddybuddy with some biggest celebrities on the planet. Really, one of the few stars who's on a first name basis with the world, he is Regis Philbin standing by. We're going to talk George Clooney. We're going to talk about his retirement from his daytime TV talk show and who he says, may be able to replace him. Don't miss this. Talk about his new book.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] New developments today in that cold blooded killing of that one-year-old baby in Brunswick, Georgia. The mother and aunt of one of the teen suspects have been arrested for allegedly making false statements to police, in addition to other charges we're hearing. Seventeen-year-old suspect De'Marquise Elkins and another teen, a juvenile, were arrested last week. They appeared in court yesterday. Brunswick Police also say they may have found the murder weapon. That will be sent to the state crime lab for forensics testing. But this mother, Sherry West, the mother of this juvenile, were arrested last week. They appeared in court yesterday. Brunswick police also say they may have found the murder weapon. That will be sent to the state crime lab for forensics testing, but this mother, Sherry West, the mother of this dead baby, talked to Piers Morgan about her nightmare.
[Sherry West, Mother:] I was approached by a young man, and some other boy that was hiding behind him. And he yelled at me, give me your money. And I proceed to tell him that I don't have any. And he shot pulled out a gun and shot at the ground. And I didn't see any shells, so I thought the gun was a cap gun or bb gun, I thought he was just using a toy gun to scare me. And then he shot at my head, and the bullet grazed my ear, on the side of my head, and then he shot me in the leg, and I still thought that it was a fake gun. And I neighbors had bb guns and it stung. I injured my leg, moving furniture days before and I was on pain medicine, so I didn't feel it, but I felt stinging. And then it got numb, and I didn't realize, you know, that it was real. It didn't look like a real gun. And apparently, he kept asking me and I kept telling him, I don't have any, and he shot my baby in the face and then I knew it was a real gun. And I screamed, and I was scared to scream because I thought he was going to shoot me in the head. And not miss this time. And then when I kept screaming for someone to call the police, and the EMT, he shoved me and grabbed me and then he ran. And then I I wasn't sure if he was gone. But I quickly, limping, wheeled my baby into a yard next to me, into the gate, and I took him out of the harness. And I laid him down on the ground, and I proceeded to do CPR. And I saw his lungs inflate, but there was no pulse. No pulse. And I kept proceeding CPR, and I still couldn't get a pulse and finally the police arrived, and a policeman took over, clearing the air way and continuing CPR, and they couldn't get a pulse. But the EMTs arrived, and they took my baby in the ambulance to work on him, and they wouldn't let me see him, and they just kept working on him and nobody knew if he was alive or dead. And I limped the whole way over to the ambulance where they placed him in, and the detectives and the police asked me why I was limping. And we weren't sure. I looked at my knee, and there was nothing wrong. And then they said, pull your pant leg all the way up and I was shot in the leg in the thigh. And didn't realize it, they got to call another ambulance to take me to the hospital.
[Piers Morgan, Host, Cnn's "piers Morgan Live":] In terms of the investigation, we know that these two boys have been charged. One is 17, we believe. One is 15. Do you have any doubt that the two that have been charged are the ones that committed this crime?
[West:] I have no doubts that the shooter they have in custody, I've seen his photo, another reporter's cell phone of the men that they have in custody, and it is definitely him. They're being charged with felony murder. And I just I just hope, you know, that that the shooter dies. I mean, I had to watch my baby die. And I want him to die, a life for a life. And the young one, he was an accessory, an accomplice. I hope that he gets a juvenile correctional facility to age 21 and a consecutive life sentence in state prison.
[Morgan:] You chose to cremate your little baby, Antonio, you had a private memorial service. How would you like to remember his short life?
[West:] Alive, walking around, waking me up. He didn't even get to say his first words. I'll never hear his first words.

[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] Don, good to see you. And we're both back in the same place. You have yourself a great afternoon Don Lemon.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you, sir.
[Velshi:] I'm Ali Velshi. And as Don says, for the next two hours, I'll be with you, today and every week day, to guide you through this maze of information coming your way. Together, we're going to learn what's going on at home and around the world. You'll get access to some of the folks who can best explain what it means today and what the impact is beyond today. We'll showcase the best ideas in innovation, philanthropy, public education. My mission is to help you figure out how what's going on around you fits in to your world. Let's get started right now. Here's what I've got on the rundown. A blown engine, an emergency landing on the biggest, newest jumbo jet in the sky. Qantas Airlines quickly grounds it A380 fleet. How worried should other airlines and passengers be? And with this year's election in the books, it's time to talk 2012 with Republicans already lining up to take on Barack Obama. We're going to run down the early favorites and handicap them. And if this week's GOP shellacking wasn't a big enough blow to the president, now he's been knocked down to number two on the "Forbes" list of the world's most powerful people. Wait until you see who has taken over as the world's most powerful person. But, here's the story I want to tell you about. As hurricanes go, this storm, Tomas, is not going to set any records, but we're watching its every move because of where it's moving. At the moment, Tomas isn't a hurricane at all, not anymore. It's a tropical storm. But it's closing in on Haiti, probably the most vulnerable, least prepared nation in the hemisphere. As if the total devastation from January's earthquake weren't enough, a wave of cholera has been spreading into the countryside. That's a by-product, as you know, of natural disasters, especially in underdeveloped countries. An infection caused by drinking contaminated water, or eating bad food, cholera causes severe diarrhea and vomiting. If not treated, it can kill within hours. Now, look at these numbers. As we speak, 1 million or more men, women and children are living in tents, 10 months after the quake. Some shelters are available. Some evacuations are planned, but the vast majority of the homeless have nowhere to go. The Pan American Health Organization tells us 442 Haitians have died, so far, of cholera. More than 6,000 others are hospitalized. And then there is Tomas. It could dump five to 15 inches of rain on a country susceptible to floods and mudslides in the best of times. And those winds well, the damage that they can do to those tents. Chad has been following this and this is what he's been warning us about. And we saw those pictures about I mean, I think that's what you can say. This is the last place that we want a hurricane to go. We don't want hurricanes hurting anybody but wow.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] Could you imagine taking shelter in rubble because that's essentially what's going to be going on.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Myers:] When those blue tarps and tents start to get 15, 20, 30 miles an hour, they're going to go away. The only significant place to get out of the wind will be behind cinderblock buildings that are unstable.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Myers:] And people are going to scatter for that area. This storm has significantly increased in intensity overnight. The numbers don't really show it. It's 45, 50 miles per hour.
[Velshi:] But as you pointed out, that's a different story. When you live in a place that has safe buildings, you can withstand three times that wind.
[Myers:] In Marathon or Key West, Florida, they're having a hurricane party at 50 miles per hour, OK?
[Velshi:] Right.
[Myers:] That's not going to happen in Haiti. There will be no party. These people will be trying to take shelter, just simply to save their life.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Myers:] Now, the good news is, there's Port-au-Prince right here. There is a mountain chain right through here.
[Velshi:] OK. That will give a bit of a break.
[Myers:] That mountain chain is where the earthquake actually occurred.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Myers:] That chain of events where the earthquake and the earth moved is because of that seam right there in the fault line. So that may stop, at least help a little bit. As the air comes up this way, a lot of the rain will fall on this side of that mountain range.
[Velshi:] OK.
[Myers:] But as the storm gets here, the starts to That's the problem. Even for CNN crews
[Velshi:] Yes?
[Myers:] when they say go down to go down to Stewart, Florida, and set up a safe place for the truck.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Myers:] There's no safe place for the truck because at 2:00, the wind is coming this way 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, all of the sudden, the truck is in
[Velshi:] Right.
[Myers:] OK, we're not talking about trucks. We're talking about 1 million people that don't have homes as this storm comes up.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Myers:] Now, at least at this point in time, it doesn't get to be the category one hurricane until 8:00 Friday night in the Turks and Caicos. But notice where else this is going. What's right there?
[Velshi:] That's Guantanamo Bay?
[Myers:] That's Gitmo. That's exactly Gitmo. And then a skirt shot right here to Jamaica.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Myers:] And, OK, if you're every here at Montego Bay
[Velshi:] It's the most vulnerable still.
[Myers:] It probably still won't be the fact that they're going to get 67-mile-an-hour winds. This is an estimate of where the heaviest rainfall will be.
[Velshi:] OK.
[Myers:] You know, we talk about computer models. Hey, those computer models saying this and saying this and saying this. I want you to take a look at this spot right there
[Velshi:] Right.
[Myers:] and look how much rain falls for how many hours.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Myers:] And we're going we're backing up. This is now, this is live.
[Velshi:] Right. So, here's where it starts, heavy rain starts now.
[Myers:] Thursday, Friday, Friday, Friday, Saturday, and we you said, five to 15 inches of rainfall. Cholera, things in the streets that we can't even think about as a first-world nation at this point in time
[Velshi:] Yes, right.
[Myers:] because they're not even living as that kind of a nation at this point of time.
[Velshi:] That's right.
[Myers:] There's subsisting and they're surviving, and cholera is already out there. It's going to be worse.
[Velshi:] We'll keep a very close eye on that. I just hope that they dodge whatever tragedy could be coming their way and you'll keep on it. I know you can do that for a few days, Chad. Thanks so much.
[Myers:] Sure. You bet.
[Velshi:] Hey, five shootings in 2 12 weeks targeting military buildings near D.C. The FBI confirms the same gun has been used in each. No word on any suspects, but the profilers have been hard at work. Today's "Sound Effect" targets one expert's opinion.
[Gregg Mccrary, Former Fbi Profiler:] Could be a former military guy. Could be active. Could be someone who didn't get into the military that wanted to. Someone that was phased out, they feel unfairly. Could be a family member of a military person, could be a would- be terrorist who has no association with the military. Certainly, it would be easy enough to shoot people if he cared to do so. But he seems to be making a concerted effort not to do that.
[Velshi:] Now, this all started October 17th when shots were fired at a Marine Corps Museum in northern Virginia. Then the Pentagon was shot at. After that, the Marine recruiting facility, the Marine Museum again, and this week, a Coast Guard recruiting office. All the incidents have taken place late at night. So, thankfully, nobody has been injured. OK. A big problem for a very big plane, an Airbus A380, the big super jumbo jet, the biggest thing that flies, blows an engine and loses parts in midflight. It's not the first time this plane has had an engine issue. My friend Richard Quest joins me to break this down, explains what's going on and what you should know about it.

[Blitzer:] Happening now, outrage. Firefighters tending to a swimming pool instead of helping storm victims. The Republican veepstakes and a closer look at two top contenders. Plus a spectacular Fourth of July failure. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. President Obama and his challenger, Mitt Romney, they are now bracing for the new jobs report that's due out tomorrow morning, 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Kate, they're going to be looking at this, studying it. There's going to be fallout.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] They're going to be looking at it, we're going to be looking at it. That's absolutely right. We're going to get the June unemployment numbers from the Labor Department 8:30 Eastern tomorrow morning. If it's good news, the president will use it as ammo to show he's boosting the economy. If it's bad news, you can be assured Mitt Romney will say it's evidence that the president's policy aren't working. So let's take a look at where things stand right now. The unemployment rate is 8.2 percent. That means 12.7 million Americans are out of work. But there's something else to keep an eye on here, the number of jobs added. It's been steadily going down this year. Take a look at this. In January, 275,000 jobs were created. In February, it was 259,000 new jobs. That dipped 143,000 new jobs. In March, 77,000 new jobs. In April in May, we were down to 69,000 new jobs. And keep in mind: analysts say the economy needs to create about 125,000 new jobs each month just to hold the unemployment rate where it is. This is definitely something we're going to be watching.
[Blitzer:] See if that trend continues to go down or begins to go back up a little bit. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Let's talk about what's going on with our with our panelists right now. Joining us our CNN contributor. That would be you, Ryan Lizza. He's a Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker." Also joining us, Neera Tanden, she's president of the Center for American Progress. A former senior adviser to President Obama on health care, Doug Holtz- Eakin is joining us, as well. He's president of the American Action Forum, former director of the Congressional Budget Office under the George W. Bush administration. It also helped John McCain four years ago. As I well recall. Thanks for all of you for coming in. Neera, the trend lines we've seen, dramatically not good. It's got to start picking up over the next four months. This right direction, wrong direction is a critical factor in getting an incumbent re- elected.
[Neera Tanden, President, Center For American Progress:] That's true. We've seen people's views of how they're going to be a year out, two years out is improving. We had a poll that 58 percent of Americans think they will be better off in the next year. That's an important issue. Trend lines are important. Gas prices are coming down. We still have headwinds from Europe. So we'll all be anxiously looking at this set of issues. But I do think for this election the question is really not only what these numbers are saying but really who has the right vision. And today Bill Kristol really criticized Mitt Romney for not having an economic vision. And I agree with him.
[Blitzer:] He's a he's a conservative. He's a Republican. You agree with him for different reasons than what he was suggesting.
[Tanden:] But Doug, on the unemployment numbers, I mean, this is definitely your area, it seems for the challenger kind of a Catch-22. The Romney campaign, of course, wants the unemployment rate to go down. It's good for the country but, you know, in a Catch-22 situation, it might not be good politics because it might help President Obama.
[Doug Holtz-eakin, President, American Action Forum:] Well, I think actually there's a bigger opportunity than that, because almost regardless of tomorrow's report, it's not going to be good enough to put the president in good standing. Most people are expecting something that looks a lot like the last two months, which are very disappointing. Probably a little bit higher. The unemployment rate could tick up or down. But I think the real opportunity lies on the insides of this, which is in this recovery, we've seen no real growth in incomes. So, for those who have jobs, they're not getting any better off. And tomorrow's report you ought to look inside and see if that changes. If that doesn't change, that's a big problem for President Obama. Because that's the swing state problem.
[Blitzer:] And that's a fair point, because there's a lot of people who do have jobs now, but not necessarily at the salary they used to have and not necessarily full-time jobs, but they're listed as being employed.
[Ryan Lizza, Cnn Contributor:] Absolutely. If you look historically at the best economic indicator that's correlated with who wins the presidency, it is disposable income. It is money in your pockets. Not necessarily the unemployment rates, although the direction matters, but it's how much money do you have in your pocket when you go into that voting booth. I think we're getting into the area here, getting into July and August, where these you know, voters are myopic. They look at the most recent economic indicators. They look at the most recent status of their financial situation. We're getting into the danger zone for Obama, where he won't be able to reverse these numbers if they get bad. I think the worse the economic numbers get, the harder the Obama campaign is going to be hitting Mitt Romney. Because if they can't win on their record and on the economy, they've got to destroy Romney.
[Blitzer:] We're talking maybe 10 percent who are undecided or might switch their votes. Forty-five percent or so are basically going to vote for President Obama. Forty-five percent or so are basically going to vote for Mitt Romney. So this 10 percent that's fluid, they're going to be influenced by economic trends over the next few months.
[Tanden:] Yes, but I think I really want to focus on this point about what the solutions are. Because I think the challenges I do think people recognize it's not just a question of the economic circumstances, because really it's who has the best vision going forward. And I think that the reason why Mitt Romney is taking this level of criticism that he is, even in a time where he's doing well by some measures, is because people are really people on the right are concerned that he doesn't have a vision for this economy. And I think that is a real challenge for Mitt Romney.
[Blitzer:] And that is the "Wall Street Journal" lead editorial. And Douglas, you read that editorial.
[Holtz-eakin:] It's true and that's a wake-up call. I certainly didn't need coffee this morning as I read it. But I think there's going to start to be the same challenge to the president, who has said not one thing about what he would do in a second term. And so I think you can make that claim only so far, and then both are going to be challenged to say what what are you going to do, you know, come January 2013, exactly.
[Tanden:] But the president has put forward ideas over and over again to get this economy moving that have been stalled by Republicans. A transportation Bill that should have been a no-brainer had to wait until the last minute because of House Republican intransigence. So he has put forward ideas. I agree he should put forward additional ideas. But he has put forward real ideas.
[Blitzer:] Stick around. Everybody stick around. We have more to discuss. You guys are not leaving. We're all going to be here.
[Bolduan:] Not letting you leave. Thank you.
[Blitzer:] Up next, President Obama had some company on the campaign trail, courtesy of the Romney camp. We'll talk about the dueling bus tour. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

[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?
[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.
[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.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield, reporting live, and right now, the president, President Obama, is meeting with the British prime minister, David Cameron, at the White House. This is video that's just come in. It was shot right before they began their meeting. They are expected to speak live in the East room. That's happening about 15 minute from now. The topics on their agenda, they're quite varied. They include the civil war in Syria all the way to the economy. And we're also hearing that they will take questions from reporters as well. There is so much to ask of these very important world leaders and our special coverage is going to get under way live in just 10 minutes. And as we wait for the start of that event, we've got other top stories that we're following closely at this hour because Republicans on Capitol Hill are really stepping up their attacks against the Obama administration, all over that IRS extra scrutiny of conservative groups. A report by the inspector general indicates that agents with the IRS began targeting conservative groups who were applying for tax-exempt status, going back as early as March of 2010. CNN has obtained a copy of the report which is due to be released this week. The House Republicans are urging President Barack Obama to condemn the IRS for targeting groups. The groups apparently had either the words "tea party" in their names, or "patriot," or other kinds of conservative labels, all of this on their applications.
[Senator Susan Collin , Maine:] This is truly outrageous, and it contributes to the profound distrust that the American people have in government. It is absolutely chilling that the IRS was singling out conservative groups for extra review.
[Banfield:] President Obama mentioned this controversy right before the start of his meeting with the visiting British prime minister as we mentioned, David Cameron sitting down with him and here's what he had to say just a few moments ago.
[Unidentified Male:] Sir, any comment on the IRS?
[President Barack Obama:] [Inaudible].
[Banfield:] And as mentioned, the president and Prime Minister Cameron are expected to speak live with reporters and take a couple of questions, all of it just getting under way just a few moments from now. We've got our teams scrambling. Everybody is getting ready, and that will be live for you. We're going to bring it to you just as soon as they begin actually speaking. In the meantime, again, other major news that Detroit, a city that is dysfunctional and wasteful those are quotes after years of mismanagement and corruption, a very bleak assessment coming from the city's emergency manager in a report on his first 45 days in office. That report is due out today. His name is Kevin Orr. And his report says that city will finish its current budget year with a $162 million cash flow shortfall. The details on how Orr plans to steer that major city out of its financial crisis expected to come in the coming months. Again, that's Detroit, a major city on the verge of bankruptcy. Also to tell you about a Mother's Day celebration suddenly becoming a mass crime scene in New Orleans, Gunfire erupting. Take a look at the video. Just remarkable, this all during a Mother's Day parade. Real chaos. Police say shots rang out from different guns. Nineteen different people were wounded. Three different suspects were seen running from that scene of the crime. The FBI says this was, quote, "strictly an act of street violence," end quote, and that there was no case of terrorism involved. But again, Mother's Day parade. We also have a very sad and tragic story, a Mother's Day story coming out of California. Crystal Walters is pleading for privacy the day after the arrest of her 12-year-old stepson in the death of her 8- year-old stepdaughter, Leila Fowler. That brother is now charged in the homicide of Leila. Leila was stabbed to death in April in the family's home, and the young boy initially told police that he had seen an intruder leaving the house, even gave a description. And now he, himself, 12-years-old, is under arrest. I want to take you now to Cleveland where the nightmare on Seymour Avenue ended one week ago today, except for these two men, Pedro and Onil Castro. They are the brothers of the man accused of holding three young women captive for over a decade for nine-to-11 years. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Onil and Pedro say their nightmare began the day that Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were actually freed and rescued. All three Castro brothers were arrested together. And, though Onil and Pedro were publicly cleared, they say they're being threatened, they're being harassed, all for crimes they say they knew nothing about, allegedly committed by a brother they knew nothing about at all and never want to know anything about again. It's a remarkable interview. Just listen to Onil Castro's answer to a question from my colleague, Martin Savidge.
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] What is your brother to you now?
[Onil Castro, Ariel Castro's Brother:] A monster, hateful. I hope he rots in that jail. I don't even want them to take his life like that. I want him to suffer in that jail to the last extent. I don't care if they even feed him for what he has done to my life and my family's.
[Savidge:] To the both of you now, he no longer exists.
[Pedro Castro, Ariel Castro's Brother:] Right.
[O. Castro:] Yeah.
[Savidge:] He is gone?
[O. Castro:] He's goner.
[Savidge:] Almost as if he were dead.
[O. Castro:] The monster is a goner.
[Banfield:] Martin Savidge had a chance to speak extensively with those two brothers, both of them surprising him by saying they want nothing to do with him ever again. And they were not able to speak with him even while they were being held in those holding cells and that the only thing they saw their brother do was walk past them to use a bathroom and flash them the peace sign. Just really remarkable information. But then also the older brother, Pedro, was talking about the DeJesus family because they actually knew the DeJesus family. Marty joins me live now from Cleveland. Martin, I have been watching with such interest the interview that you were able secure with these two men and it is so vast. I'd like you to touch on that last aspect for me if you could, the fact that the Castro family was actually quite close to Gina DeJesus' family.
[Savidge:] Right. And that's something that I had heard before, we had discussed before, but once we got into this interview and there was so much we wanted to talk about. I had sort of lost track about that, and then it was Pedro that begins to allude to it. And it was like suddenly my mind snapped into recognition that that's right. These families knew one another. Pedro knew Felix. That's Gina's father. And then it was like, oh, my gosh. That even makes this worse. Listen.
[Pedro Castro, A. Castro's Brother:] Felix, I knew him for a long time, and when I found out that Ariel had Gina, I just, I just broke down because it's shocking. Ariel, we know this guy for a long time, Felix.
[Savidge:] This is Gina's father.
[P. Castro:] Yeah, Felix DeJesus. And you got his daughter? And you go like it's nothing. You even went to the Pedros. You had posters. You gave his mama a hug and you got his daughter captive?
[Savidge:] Of course, they were horrified for all the girls, but Gina was the one that they personally had the connection to the family. And you heard Pedro, he was just he could not believe it. He could not believe it was his brother.
[Banfield:] And I know, Marty, we're going to hear a lot more of your interview, but just quickly if you could, it's critical here that these men still are associated, so many people still feel some kind of suspicion. But did the police get clearance from the victim, themselves? Or do we know that? That these men had nothing to do with it from the mouths of the victims?
[Savidge:] Right. And, you know, I cannot say for certain because authorities have been very tight lipped on exactly what the girls have said to them. We've seen in the initial police report. But it has been reported that, yes, the girls said these men did not have anything to do with it, that they were specifically asked about the brothers. And you would have to almost assume that because authorities did clear them completely and made that widely known at that arraignment that was held for their brother Ariel, that they had communicated with these women and the women had cleared those brothers. So it seems, at least for now, the investigation in no way covers them.
[Banfield:] And so often, Marty, we don't get that opportunity, especially when there is murder victims. You don't get to hear that kind of thing, so that will be critical. Marty Savidge reporting live, excellent just an excellent interview, and thank you for that. We're going to play more of that interview, as I promised. We're also going to take you live to the White House where, just minutes from now, the president and the British prime minister are going to be addressing the media. We have been told that they've been discussing global and regional concerns. And when we come back, our Jake Tapper is going to lead our coverage live from Washington

[Susan Hendricks, Cnn Anchor:] Happening right now.
[Unidentified Male:] Some people are calling and yelling at us and worse. And other people are calling and wanting to buy a ticket.
[Hendricks:] An uproar in Arizona. A county Republican Party looks to raffle off a handgun very similar to the one used in the mass shooting that wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Also, a CNN exclusive. Documents found in Libya that could prove damaging to the U.S. And speaking of Libya
[Unidentified Female:] Instead of saying Gadhafi, Gadhafi all the time especially to avoid attracting attention from local Libyan, between ourselves, we called him "Daddy."
[Hendricks:] One of Moammar Gadhafi's former nurses shares details about her life with the deposed leader only to CNN. And this
[Unidentified Male:] If there's something anti-Mexican about what I said, then I apologize for the anti-Mexican-ness of it.
[Hendricks:] Was that an apology? Comedienne Katt Williams tries to explain his rant targeting Mexicans. I'm Susan Hendricks at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta in tonight for Don Lemon. Great to see you. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Wow, look at that. This is Tropical Storm Lee as it slams into the Mississippi coast. A group of people tried to keep that boat from being battered to pieces against the pier. It was a no-go losing battle. The waves were just too rough, too big. By morning the vessel was like this, upside down with huge holes in the bottom but the men are OK. The men who tried to save that boat. Tropical Storm Lee is slightly weaker tonight. Top winds about 50 miles per hour. It is packing a lot of rain. Hardly moving at all. Slow going. Right now, it's hovering over the coastline of Louisiana and Mississippi. Nearly 40,000 customers were without power earlier on Saturday. But about two-thirds of them have electricity again. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi have declared states of emergency for several parishes and counties. Parts of Jefferson Parish near New Orleans are under a mandatory evacuation order because of the flooding threat. The mayor of New Orleans has warned residents to brace for a long ordeal from this storm, up to 20 inches of rain could overwhelm the area. An iReporter who lives on Lake Ponchartrain sent us this video as the storm engulfed that area.
[Gerard Braud, Ireporter:] Here on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain and Mandeville Louisiana, as you take a look out, you can see that the water is overtopping the seawall and the yards are starting to flood, especially in the low-lying areas. Of course, everybody along this stretch of lake anticipates flooding of this kind. So all the houses are raised about 15 feet above sea level. The houses will be safe but the yards and streets are starting to flood.
[Hendricks:] Yes, that is what we expect to hear a lot of over the next day or so. Water and lots of it flooding. CNN's Ed Lavandera has been tracking the storm's impact in a place that was almost wiped off the map six years ago by Hurricane Katrina.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Residents along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi where we are here in Waveland, Mississippi, kind of feel like they have taken on the worst of Tropical Storm Lee. We're here on the beachfront. This is the Gulf of Mexico. You can see just how choppy and churned up tropical storm Lee has made to this gulf waters. That's obviously still a very dangerous and treacherous situation out there in those waters so emergency officials urging people to stay out of the water. Don't get on the boats. No reason to do that. But you can see just how powerful the storm surge was just a few hours ago. This is the beachfront road here. All of this sand, you see here, was on the beach pushed up by the storm tide here just several hours ago. But one of the good things that we've seen in various parts of the low-lying areas where we've seen floodwater gathering is that the waters are quickly dissipating. We were just a few blocks away or a few miles away in the town of bay St. Louis where we saw we were told thigh-high water had reached in some places under some people's homes. But over the course of several hours, that dissipated. So that is the good news. But this is still very much a slow-moving storm. And, of course, anytime you talk about these storms coming through the Gulf Coast, it's a very emotional thing. This is Waveland, Mississippi, where we were was absolutely devastated almost six years ago to the day Hurricane Katrina threw through here. It changed this town forever. In fact several residents here are telling us that only about a third of the population has ever returned back here to Waveland after Hurricane Katrina. In the grand scheme of things, they also know that this storm is nowhere close to the power and fury that Hurricane Katrina had brought here. So they're kind of taking all of this in stride. They made their preparations but really they are just considering this storm just a big rainmaker, and that rain continues to push its way inland. And emergency officials say that the threat for more flash flooding still very much exists over the course of the next 24 hours further inland, north, not just along the Gulf Coast shore but up further north into the Louisiana and Mississippi, as well. Susan?
[Hendricks:] All right. Ed Lavandera in Mississippi, thanks so much. Jacqui Jeras at the CNN Weather Center with what this is expected to do overnight. And as Ed said, it's a big rainmaker.
[Jeras:] They certainly don't need it there. President Obama will be in New Jersey tomorrow because of Irene. Jacqui, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Now a CNN exclusive. The collapse of Moammar Gadhafi's regime is revealing Libya's secrets to the world, including supposed agreements to accept prisoners from the U.S. and the U.K. for interrogation. Libyan authorities left stacks of files behind when rebels forced them out of Tripoli. Our Ben Wedeman has looked at these documents. He explains what he saw.
[Ben Wedeman, Senior International Correspondent:] They didn't have the much time to shred many documents in the headquarters of Libya's main spy agency. In fact, most of the contents of the building are intact. It all amounts to a treasure trove of information about the shadowy world of cooperation between the world's spies. [on-camera]: We're in the basement of the Libyan External Intelligence Agency. It's like being in the basement of the CIA. And here we've got access to all sorts of documents. Letters, faxes and other communications between the CIA and its Libyan counterparts. Top secret documents, secret documents with names and dates and all sort of details that some people probably don't want to be made public. [voice-over]: And that relationship was, it appears, cozy. Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights watch photographed hundreds of documents from external intelligence run for years by Moussa Koussa who fled Libya last spring.
[Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch:] Moussa Koussa was on a first name basis with the CIA and MI-6. There's Christmas greetings in here. There's documents saying thanks for the oranges you sent.
[Wedeman:] The U.S. and Libya were at odds for years, but relations warmed dramatically after Libya renounced its program for weapons of mass destruction in late 2003. When Koussa started corresponding with then CIA Director Porter Goss. Libya eagerly signed up for the U.S. Global War on Terror, but just how eager is made clear by the documents uncovered in Tripoli.
[Bouckaert:] They established conclusively what we've been saying for a long time, that the CIA was capturing and rendering people to Libya so they could be interrogated by Libyan security. We even have the CIA questions they send to be asked to these suspects that they rendered to Libya.
[Wedeman:] One of those sent by U.S. officials to Libya was alleged Libyan Islamic militant Abdelhakim Belhadj, also known by his
[Hendricks:] And our thanks to Ben Wedeman for that exclusive report. Coming up, GOP presidential contenders hit the trail this weekend, along with a former governor who is not officially in the race but sure knows how to draw a crowd. Yes, we're talking Sarah Palin. But first, a handgun raffled that has a lot of people upset. We'll tell you why. That's next.

[Costello:] Jury deliberations resume in just about 90 minutes in the Jodi Arias murder trial. As you know she is accused of killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander nearly five years ago. She claims she did it in self defense. The prosecution says she planned it but only 12 people get to decide. Casey Wian is on verdict watch in Phoenix, Arizona. Tell us more.
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Well good morning Carol. As you mentioned the first full day of jury deliberations in the Jodi Arias case will get underway in about one hour and a half. The jury deliberated for about an hour on Friday before adjourning for the weekend. They've a lot of work to do. I want to run through some of the options or the options that the jury does have in terms of what kind of a verdict they may find. The first option first degree murder. And to come forward with a verdict of first degree murder they have to find that Jodi Arias committed this crime with premeditation. That she planned it in advance. There's another theory also known as felony first degree murder. And they could find that she committed the murder in the course of another felony in this case, burglary, breaking into Travis Alexander's home. Second option the jury has, second degree murder, same crime, no pre-meditation. Also, they could convict her of manslaughter which would mean that she did kill Travis Alexander but that it happened in the heat of passion during some sort of an argument that erupted quickly and that Travis Alexander actually played a role and may have been the cause of that argument. And their final option is not guilty. They could return a verdict of not guilty. Even though Jodi Arias has admitted she killed Travis Alexander the jury could find that she did it in self defense. The defense has been trying to raise that argument. All of the focus has been on Jodi Arias in this case. Some friends and supporters of Travis Alexander and his family held a candlelight vigil last night. They want people to remember the victim in this case, the victim who has been dragged through the mud during this trial Carol.
[Costello:] Casey Wian reporting live from Phoenix this morning. Who knew there were so many Beliebers in the Middle East? Details on why security had to jump in and protect Justin Bieber right in the middle of a concert in Dubai.

[Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-mass., Presidential Candidate:] President Obama attacks success and, therefore, under President Obama we have less success.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] We don't need someone who's a pioneer in offshoring or outsourcing.
[Christine Romans, Host:] Americans don't need sound bites, they need jobs. But what if I told you neither President Obama nor Governor Romney can create a single extra job quickly? The economy is adding jobs but not enough. Nearly 13 million Americans are still looking for work, and many frustrated Americans have simply given up, with those either employed or actively looking hitting a 30- year low. You are demanding answers but your politicians are too busy yelling at each other to hear you.
[Romans:] Good morning, everyone, I'm Christine Romans. Politicians create sound bites. These people create jobs. Meet four people with the power to hire. They employ anywhere from nine to 300 workers each: Barry Sloane is the chairman and CEO of Newtek, a small business service company. Rupila Sethi is the founder of Aerial Design and Build, a New York City contractor. Jeffrey Scheininger is president of Flexline. That's a manufacturer. And Don Peebles is chairman and CEO of Peebles Corporation, a real estate developer. OK. Raise your hand if you've created a job any time, let's say, in the last year? There you go. OK. So people who are actually creating jobs. How? Why? Why did you have to create a job?
[Barry Sloane, Chairman And Ceo, Newtek:] As we provide funds to small businesses, they create jobs. We've also increased our workforce by about 12 percent over the last year.
[Romans:] 12 percent over the last year? So that would sort of defy what we're seeing more broadly in the economy, really. You've been hiring people, I know, because you're actually you're getting contracts. Your margins are tight.
[Rupila Sethi, Founder, Aerial Design And Build:] Margins are tight.
[Romans:] But you hire people, you say, before you actually get the business because you're anticipating demand.
[Sethi:] Absolutely. We've tripled our workforce over the last one year.
[Romans:] Tripled your workforce?
[Sethi:] Tripled our workforce. [Inaudible] we've hired one person every two months. And I think we need to hire an extra employee.
[Romans:] You are very careful to watch costs, aren't you?
[Sethi:] Yes, we are.
[Romney:] Customers are penny pinching.
[Sethi:] Absolutely. You know, in the past we would see two contractors bidding on one project. But now you have sometimes four to five contractors bidding on one project. And they typically go for the lowest bidder.
[Romans:] And Jeff, you're already seeing you're a manufacturer, you're already seeing Europe and or Europe and China slowing on your business for sure. And you can feel it.
[Jeffrey Scheininger, President, Flexline:] Correct, correct. It started about six to eight weeks ago. And we can certainly sense that there's been a change in our economic underpinnings.
[Romans:] So what do you do differently? How do you watch the global economy and worry about your own business?
[Scheininger:] Well, you know, it's real easy to tell when your orders go down. We're as a manufacturer, we're primarily driven exclusively by demand. We do hiring based you know, if it's manufacturing based, it's purely demand driven. If demand goes down, there's no hiring.
[Romans:] And I know that you, Don, real estate, a lot of people have been saying has been bottoming, commercial real estate and the housing market in general. Do you see a bottom?
[Don Peebles, Chairman And Ceo, Peebles Corporation:] Yes, I do. I think the housing market and throughout the country is pretty much bottomed out. I think and we're seeing tremendous recovery, say, in New York City, in all sectors, especially the super, super high end. You know, we have apartments now in New York City routinely now selling for over $10,000 a square foot, which is an absurd amount of money. Also, what we've seen in our businesses is hospitality is growing. We're seeing occupancy going up higher in our hotels, customers spending more money while they're there on food and beverage and other activities in the hotel. And we also are looking at much more deal flow in our major markets that we operate in, but also cities like Detroit. And so we're hiring people now to look at more of these deals, because we now belief that these deals are going to lead to new development and new construction, which I think will help pull the economy up a bit more, to have new construction activity start taking place. And we're seeing that in markets that we wouldn't have thought of before, again, such as a Detroit, a Washington, D.C., and now Miami. We're looking at new construction in Miami, which, three years ago, was just, you know, basically a cemetery.
[Romney:] All right. And do politicians create jobs? Or, Jeff, do people who run businesses create jobs?
[Scheininger:] The difference between my hiring a welder based on my demand and the economic impact of my hiring a welder or a setup man, versus the local town hiring a teacher, is phenomenal, because not just the multiplier effect, but the creation of wealth, the creation of additional revenue, versus the consumption of it.
[Romans:] So you're saying the economic benefit of you hiring a welder is bigger than the economic benefit of a new teacher job being created?
[Scheininger:] Correct.
[Romans:] I think that teachers would argue with you about that.
[Scheininger:] Teachers should argue with me about it. If you're unhappy and uncomfortable with teacher, then say bureaucrat. If you're unhappy with that, say, you know, you pick, but the bottom line is, how many people must support that one government hire, as opposed to growing the economic pie?
[Peebles:] Well, I think what you're saying is that it's growing organically, that basically it's economic circumstances that dictate you creating a job as opposed to there could be stagnant economic activity and the government can create a job. I don't think politicians create jobs at all. I'm a big believer that the government can create an environment for us to do business. And the best way they can create an environment is just give us some basic regulations, be consistent about the regulations, so what the rules of the game are, and get out of our way and let us do business.
[Romans:] And can someone here point to me, any of you, can you point to me a tax or a regulation that has prevented you from hiring a worker?
[Peebles:] Yes. Actually, right now, we're looking at a deal right now, and the biggest stumbling block is that we have it's a major site to develop. The biggest stumbling block is they want us to close before the end of the year. We need to close the first of next year. If we buy this project, there will be a couple hundred new jobs created as a result of this project.
[Romans:] And the government wants you to close by the end of the year?
[Peebles:] Of course. Well, however, the reason no, not the government, it's the seller of the property. And the reason the seller wants us to close is they're convinced capital gains are going to go up next year.
[Romans:] I see.
[Peebles:] And so, they feel that they're going to their taxes are going to go up 10 points. So instead of 15 percent, they see capital gains being 25 percent or worse. So, they that uncertainty has made it a deal-breaker. And they've taken the position that they will keep the property themselves and develop it themselves, as opposed to selling it to us. And they would develop it into a use that will create very few jobs, because it will be a residential rental building as opposed to a hotel.
[Romans:] So do you all agree that there are taxes and regulations that prevent people from hiring?
[Scheininger:] Every single day. I'm informed of another one. Whether it's the local sewer authority promulgating regulations for wastewater that exceeds the local drinking water standard or it's the uncertainty created around taxes. You can't invest in a project or in a piece of equipment that has a three- and five-year economic life if you don't know what the taxes are.
[Romans:] More with my panel of job creators coming up next. What's one thing Washington can do to improve conditions for your company? You say do nothing?
[Scheininger:] Fix the tax code in terms of letting us know what it's supposed to be over the next few years and then take a breath.

[Chetry:] Fifty-three minutes past the hour. It's been just over weeks since Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head. And since then, her recovery from this near fatal brain injury has been nothing short of remarkable, and these are in words of her doctors. This morning, there's some more good news about Giffords' progress. And joining us from Atlanta, chief medical correspondent, our resident neurosurgeon, Sanjay Gupta. Great to see you this morning.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] Morning.
[Chetry:] So every day when you hear about this, it just seems like she's leaps and bounds and her doctors have said that, as well. What is the significance of being able to mouth the lyrics to songs and some of the other things we're hearing she is doing?
[Gupta:] Let me say a couple things. First of all, the idea she's improved so quickly, Kiran, we've talked about this before. But your overall end point how much you're going to recover in the long run is really dependent on how quickly you recover in the short run. That's why they're are using this term remarkable. Her ability to mouth words like to these songs that we're hearing, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," that's significant for a couple of reasons. She's shown that she can understand speech, she's shown that she can express herself by asking for things. Now she's actually drawing on her memory to some extent, not only the words to a song, but also the melody to a song, as well, which shows some degree of integrating all of these things together. Her reception, her expression and now drawing on previous memory. So, now you're starting to see more parts of the brain sort of working together. We also heard, incidentally, Kiran, a lot of people have been asking, you know, if you look at her now, you know, the left part of her head, the skull was removed, as you remember, Kiran, during the operation initially. We're hearing now that by the end of this month that should be placed back, as well, and giving her back a normal shaped contour to her head, Kiran.
[Chetry:] That's amazing, as well. We're taking for granted all of the physical recovery in that there's so much risk while she's there of infection and everything else. Is she going to physically look the same or at least similar?
[Gupta:] I think so. You know, right now, she probably does not. And I think that's in part why we are not seeing any pictures of her. You know, you usually have a concavity to the side of the head after someone's had this procedure done. But, you know, it may sound ironic to some extent to some people, but simply putting that bone back is more of a cosmetic procedure. I mean, she's fine otherwise and so you want to wait until someone's absolutely ready to have another operation. They say by the end of this month, she should be ready.
[Chetry:] What are there are some other questions, as well, about movement. There's a lot of talk how she could move on one side and not the other. I was reading some accounts where she's walking down the hallway, doing squats. I mean, how much of this is assisted and how much is she really doing on her own?
[Gupta:] They say she's using a shopping cart-like device, something that she can sort of hang on to as she's moving down the hallway. You know, almost since the beginning, we heard when she started getting out of bed, we heard she could bear weight on the left leg. Remember, the injury was on the right side of the brain. That controls the motor strength on the right side of the body. We heard the right leg was pretty strong, able to bear weight. We haven't heard as much about the right arm. But that physical therapy is a large part of the pretty intensive therapy she's getting now six hours a day, including trying to really build up the strength in that side of the body.
[Chetry:] Amazing. Sanjay Gupta, giving us an update on how this is going and it sounds wonderful. Thanks so much.
[Gupta:] You got it. Top stories coming up after a quick break. We'll be right back.

[Kaye:] I want to get some insights now from a man who knows Libya inside and out. For most of the past 30 years, Mansour El-Kikhia has been outside Libya. He's a dissident author, professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Texas-San Antonio. Professor, thank you so much for your time today. Certainly an important day to be talking with you. You were an adviser to the National Transitional Council, the rebel's governing arm. What would you be advising them today?
[Mansour El-kikhia, Professor, University Of Texas-san Antonio:] Two things. First of all, is to embark on a process for national conciliation, insuring that those people who have committed atrocities against Libya's are the ones other people are held accountable. And those people who have actually stolen national wealth, again, that those people are held. But most people should not be held accountable for working with Gadhafi, because mostly they've had no choice but to work with Gadhafi. The other thing which is very important is too quickly, quickly establish a new constitutional framework and a new system and hold elections. You see the current council itself as it stands really is not really legitimate, it's just a bunch of people that decided that they wanted to come together and establish a government. And that is really wrong. They should, first of all, establish free elections to elect a new body that will oversee the elections and the writing of the constitution and the forming of the new government. And that has to be done very, very quickly, within the next three months. I'm not really worried so much about what's taking place in Tripoli. It's not a matter if they win, it's when they win. You're going to find some Gadhafi resist supporters who will resist that, but ultimately Gadhafi has lost and we have to start planning for the next phase of Libyan development.
[Kaye:] Let me ask you about the rebel's success, because they really have been painted as sort of this rag tag group. They made some progress in some of the towns, then they lost those towns. They needed weapons. They wanted more help from NATO. What do you attribute their success to at this point?
[El-kikhia:] You know, I had you told me this six or seven months ago, I would never have believed that they would make it. You must understand, the majority of these insurgents are just kids and they have learned on the job. They're armatures. They're not professional fighters. They're not professional soldiers. And they and it's only this pure gut and will that has pushed them forward. They're learning in the process and they will learn even more. I think the major success is their willingness to die for a cause. For removing Gadhafi. Again, if you live under Gadhafi's rule for 42 years, that's the only way out. You cannot take that for too long. And I think you see the majority of them were actually born during the time of Gadhafi and they have rebelled against the injustice that Gadhafi has given them over the last 30 or 40 years.
[Kaye:] So can
[El-kikhia:] And so I think this is the major process. Yes.
[Kaye:] Can the rebels govern though, that is the question, because there are so many different factions even with the rebel group?
[El-kikhia:] Yes, you know, sometimes things happen that really, really help. Don't forget, you have approximately between 10 to 15 percent of Libyans actually in Diaspo that have left Libya. They have gone and lived in Europe and the United States. I've lived in Nasis for the last 30 years and, you know, I've been impacted by what I've seen. I love the freedom that I see around me. I'd love to see a new government that is really has checks and balances. I'd love to see a bill of rights. And I think and I'm thinking part in the formation of this new constitution. And I think so many people like me, you know, lived in Europe and other free countries and we are helping build back and we're rebuilding the country. And so it's going to take time. But it's going to happen.
[Kaye:] All right, Professor Mansour El-Kikhia, appreciate your time today and your insight as well. Thank you. And now take a look at this. I want to show you how you can keep up with Libya, minute by minute, 24 hours a day, right at home from your computer. Check out the live blog on cnn.com. CNN correspondents and producers are filing updates as they happen. You're always in the loop. You can see every hour, really even every few minutes at times we get an update from somebody who might be in the middle of everything, who might be traveling with the rebels, possibly from someone who might be in an area of the city where there's a ferocious gun battle taking place there in Tripoli. So if you want to stay up to the minute with us, just like we do, you can check that out at cnn.com, a live blog. And now let's take a look at the markets. There you see the Dow. It is up today 128 points at this hour. Alison Kosik is live at the New York Stock Exchange and she'll be with us with the very latest, next.

[Baldwin:] Green on blue attacks. That phrase probably meant absolutely nothing to you just a couple of months ago, but then dozens of U.S. troops were gunned down this year by Afghan forces they helped train. And a veteran who served in Afghanistan says these insider attacks, he says they are nothing new and maybe the U.S. should have re-examined its relationship with Afghanistan a long, long time ago. He is Brandon Caro. He joins me live from New York. Brandon, thanks for coming on. I appreciate it.
[Brandon Caro, Combat Adviser To Afghan Troops In 2006-2007:] Thank you, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] I read your article earlier in the week from the "Daily Beast," and thought, my goodness. The way you describe it, it's chilling, that these memories you have of the first green on blue attack that you actually heard about back in 2007 as a combat adviser in Afghanistan, can you take me back there and share that?
[Caro:] OK, so actually where the prison is it's a camp called Black Horse to the Americans. There was an Afghan National Army soldier guarding the outer perimeter checkpoint of the base. Two soldiers, Colonel Harrison and Master Sergeant Roburto, were shot by the soldier as they were leaving the compound. They both died from their injuries. That was as far as I know the first green on blue attack recorded.
[Baldwin:] And as we keep talking about this, I had a father on not too long ago, Brandon, just absolutely heartbroken over his son who died, his Marine son. He was 21. He was killed on one of these green on blue attacks and he told me, I just want to play a little of the sound. He told that over the phone with his father, his son predicted his own death. Take a listen.
[Greg Buckley Sr., 21-year-old Son Was Shot Dead By Afghan:] I'm done inside. They tore my whole heart out. I have a hard time going to bed. I think about him every day, every minute. His brothers kill me when I look at them because they're hurt. His mom is hurt so bad. But they didn't just take my son. They destroyed my family and I don't want another family to feel the pain I'm feeling. I don't want to see another family out there se their son being brought back on a plane and being rolled off a plane in a box. This boy should have been protected inside a military base. We're training people and my son said, we're training people that are going to turn the weapons on us and kill us.
[Baldwin:] It's tough to listen to that interview, but I thought it was important to replay it. It hits home I think part of your point. You had similar experiences. You figured out quickly that these Afghan soldiers you were training, Brandon, could be, you know, a potential threat and they might turn around and kill you and you talk specifically about cell phones. Why were cell phones such a big clue?
[Caro:] Well, when we would go out on patrols or convoys, we would have to line up the ANA soldiers and take their phones away because we didn't trust them not to inform on us to Taliban or al Qaeda operatives, whomever.
[Baldwin:] Didn't trust them even though you're training them. You had to take their phones away.
[Caro:] We had to take their phones away. This was as early as 2007. By the time I got there in 2006, this was already policy.
[Baldwin:] So what about now? Because our troops have been in Afghanistan for a decade, why
[Caro:] Right.
[Baldwin:] Why are these insider attacks on the rise now? I don't know if it's a cultural thing. What's changed?
[Caro:] Well, that's the interesting question. Why are the attacks on the rise now? Because we've been working hand in hand with the Afghans for over 10 years so why now are we seeing this sudden rise in deaths? Does it have anything to do with the scheduled withdrawal of troops in 2014 of American forces and how the Afghan national army soldiers, what they're going to do when the Americans leave? Are they trying to set themselves up potentially with whomever is going to be in control of the country? Because we know it's not going to be us. And it's there's going to be a real power struggle I feel after the Americans leave in 2014.
[Baldwin:] Brandon, what about this debate tonight? We're going to be hearing from Paul Ryan and Joe Biden. And, you know, any kind of question, foreign policy, domestic policy, et cetera, can be thrown at them. What do you want to hear from them? How should we be protecting our troops?
[Caro:] That's a great question. And I don't have the answer, because here's the position we're in. We have to per our mission, we have to prepare these forces as best we can before we leave the country and in order to do that we have to put people in harm's way. But at the same time, we have to protect our men and women in uniform. We can't put them in positions where they could be sabotaged, attacked from behind. It just is not fair and it is not right. It's one thing to tell a platoon of Marines to take this hill even if there are machine guns on the hill. It's quite another thing to tell that same platoon to train up a bunch of soldiers that could very likely turn the weapons on them.
[Baldwin:] Like what happened with Greg Buckley Jr.
[Caro:] Exactly what happened with Greg Buckley Jr., with Colonel Harrison, with Master Sergeant Roberto. I think the number is at 53 for the year so far.
[Baldwin:] Brandon, sadly, I think this conversation will have to continue here. Brandon Caro, I hope you join me again. We will wait and see what Ryan and Biden may say about this tonight. I appreciate it.
[Caro:] Thanks for having me.

[Johns:] Turning off cell phones and other electronic gadgets during takeoff and landing is a major frustration for many airline passengers, but the FAA is reviewing its ban on in-flight electronics. And as CNN's Sandra Endo reports, things may change as international airlines take the lead in keeping passengers connected.
[Unidentified Male:] And now we'd like for you to pay attention to the following safety video.
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] The announcement air travelers know all too well.
[Unidentified Female:] Your mobile phones and other electronic devices should be turned off.
[Endo:] But in this age of gadgets, some airlines have found ways to keep passengers connected. [on camera]: This Emirates Airlines plane makes the 13-hour trip from Dubai to New York twice a day and passengers on board can stay connected on their cell phones almost the entire time. But when they get close to the U.S., these have to shut off. [voiceover]: The FCC has banned the use of in-flight phones since 1991 over concerns they'd interfere with mobile phone systems on the ground. The FAA has said it's concerned about electronic signals disrupting flight instruments. Twenty carriers worldwide do provide in-flight service with each plane equipped with its own mobile network. [on camera]: This Airbus A-380 has been specially retrofitted with this system where the cabin crew can monitor connectivity. You see the satellite connection, seat connection, seat display, connectivity network and wireless connection. Five green lights and then passengers are free to use their cell phones and other electronic devices. [voice-over]: And it's safe. According to what other countries that use it told the FAA in a recent study.
[Patrick Brannelly, Vice President, Emirates:] We would not jeopardize anything to do with safety and risk. If I look to the future 20, 30 years, for sure, you'll be able to use your phone on American aircraft over the United States. I don't think that's going nothing's going to stop that happening.
[Endo:] The U.S. government is not even considering allowing passengers to use cell phones on planes. But officials are looking into whether passengers can use devices like these to read or listen to music during takeoff and landing. [voice-over]: American Airlines pilots just started using iPads in the cockpit throughout the flight to access maps and other information. Flight attendants will also get tablets to use inside the cabin. And consumer advocates say allowing passengers to do the same during takeoff and landing would only be fair.
[Charles Leocha, Consumer Travel Alliance:] It kind of bothers consumers and passengers not so much the fact that they can't make cell phone calls, just the fact they can't use any electronic devices.
[Endo:] And he worries one day on domestic U.S. flights, dealing with a loud neighbor talking on a mobile phone may be the next in-flight inconvenience. Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Anchor:] Polls show Mitt Romney's support is lagging in key states. We'll talk with Newt Gingrich about the reasons why and what the Romney campaign should do.

[Savidge:] This holiday holds a particular meaning for one Texas family. They are giving special thanks for their newborn, who just had heart surgery. The baby girl was born with part of her heart on the outside of her body. Kristi Meyers from our Houston affiliate, KTRK, has the story. And a viewing note. Some of what you are about to see shows graphic images of the girl's medical condition.
[Ashley Cardenas, Mother Of Adrina:] Look how little she is.
[Kristi Myers, Correspondent, Ktrk:] Ashley Cardenas sees her new baby for the first time after extraordinary surgery to put her baby's heart back inside of her chest. Little Adrina was born with a third of her heart lying on her stomach, beating outside her body. It was stunning thing to see, even for the heart surgeons there to repair it.
[Dr. Charles Fraser, Texas Children's Hospital Surgeon-in-chief:] It was like the heart was pinched in the middle.
[Meyers:] This condition was picked up on an ultrasound, and it's usually fatal. But Ashley made the difficult decision to continue her pregnancy, and pray for the baby's healing.
[Cardenas:] I had to come with the belief in him and belief in faith that there is a reason she is here.
[Meyers:] In a six-hour surgery, Texas Children's heart surgeons and plastic surgeons reconstructed her chest to make space for the heart inside, and gently stretched her skin to cover the hole.
[Fraser:] The baby probably will have to have other operations in the future. Her sternum is about half formed. But these are things we can deal with.
[Meyers:] Now five weeks old, Adrina is doing well. She still has a small hole inside her heart, but doctors say it may heal on its own.
[Cardenas:] They have no idea how thankful I am. If it was not for them, as well as the grace of God, she wouldn't be here.
[Savidge:] Wow. What an amazing story. That was Kristi Meyers reporting. Experts say that eight babies out of every one million are born with this condition and 90 percent are stillborn or die within the few days of birth. So little Adrina is proving to be exactly a miracle. A Paralympics' athlete's journey to the medal stand wasn't an easy one.
[Melissa Stockwell, Triathlete & Purple Heart Recipient:] It was a routine convoy through central Baghdad. About 10 minutes into the ride, we went under this bridge, and this big boom and this big explosion goes off. The woman in front yells IED, IED. We've hit an IED.
[Savidge:] So how this soldier is now fighting a different cause right here at home. And don't forget, wherever you go, we're right there with you. You can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work or even on your Smartphone. Head to CNN.comtv.

[Griffin:] Checking top stories. Security forces in Yemen turning water cannon on the anti-government protesters tonight. There's tens of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets, demanding the embattled president resign. He shows no sign of going anywhere. At least three people have been injured excuse me killed, 90 injured in a town called Ta'izz. Yemeni troops are also battling armed Islamic militants for control of another coastal city. In Atlanta, a model plunges to her death while partying on her birthday. Police say Lashawna Threatt was "play fighting" with another woman at a high-rise hotel early Saturday. The preliminary investigations show they accidentally crashed through a ten-story window and fell. Threatt died; the other woman listed in critical condition. People who live near a North Carolina chemical plant back home tonight after an explosion forced them to evacuate. It was a huge fireball erupting Saturday from the plant in Hudson, 70 miles northwest of Charlotte. The blast ignited a large fire, forcing 750 people who lived within a mile of that plant to clear out. Firefighters managed to get control. No injuries reported. An icon of healthy eating is being cleared off the dinner table? The Obama administration plans to replace the much maligned food pyramid with just a plate. The plate will be divided into wedges to represent different food groups. While millions of us instantly recognize the two-decade old pyramid, critics say this was just too confusing. Dillons Supermarket was one of the major businesses in Joplin, Missouri in the path of last Sunday's monster tornado. About 35 customers and employees, they all took refuge in the store's produce cooler. One of them was a customer named Rick Morgan who had gone to the store for milk. He wanted to leave the store and go home but was talked out of it by the assistant store manager, John Gollihugh. Earlier, I spoke with both men. Listen as Gollihugh describes what happened as the tornado hit the store.
[John Gollihugh, Asst. Store Manager, Dillons:] People were screaming. People were praying. People were crying. I know it seemed like everybody was holding on to everybody. So, you know, it's just I believe it was just everybody's efforts. The employees as well as customers who were holding on to and keeping maybe each other from any more possibility of being hurt or injured.
[Griffin:] You came out of that cooler. What did you see?
[Rick Morgan, Tornado Survivor:] To see this behind you, it's just it's like the end of the world. It's devastation. It's I don't know. It was terrible. It was we were all just in shock. Just just shock. I don't know what else to call it. But I came back and walked home. And I came back later that night about midnight to see if my car, which was just completely trashed in the parking lot, and see if there was anything left in it worth anything, and there's not.
[Griffin:] That was the car you were going to drive home in?
[Morgan:] Yes, that's the car. It was just crushed down. It's just I mean, the roof is completely crushed in. It's just really bad. Anyway, when I got there, we talked with people and some of the guards that were there, and then I brought my son with me, and we were walking away and John was just coming back. He had walked back from his house. And I said to them, here's the man that saved my life and we just talked for a little bit. And the thing he shared with me that I just found so encouraging and profound, he said I don't think anyone was left in the store, I think they all lived. And I was just so thankful. I mean, that's what leadership is all about. It's just, you know, I mean, I was at the thing with President Obama where he talked about the manager who, you know, actually gave his life to save his customers in a cooler, I think in a pizza hut. And I don't know, I appreciate this man because he really did. I mean, God spared us, but in the natural this man saved my life, literally, and I thank you.
[Griffin:] Well, heroes come in all shapes and sizes, guys. A nice moment there. John, congratulations for stepping up to the plate when your customers really needed you. We found out faith not confined to a building. Plenty of proof of that this Sunday in Joplin, Missouri. CNN photojournalist Chris Turner went to service today in Joplin even though the churches were gone.
[Unidentified Male:] We open this service in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Carey Prater, Parishioner:] The church was gone which was completely devastating. All of it. I mean, the whole community was gone. It looked like a bomb had exploded here.
[Unidentified Male:] Let us all sing the opening hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee." In less than 20 minutes, lives were changed, some for eternity. People still alive were changed. Buildings and houses were changed. Joplin was changed. And it will never be quite the same for any of us.
[Prater:] Our church is our family. We are not just a building.
[Unidentified Male:] So now we know what has happened. The question now is what will happen? PEOPLE
[Judy Stiles, President Of The Congregation:] When God talked about people gathering, He didn't say we had to gather in a building. You know, the church is the people. We have no building. We have no the chairs were used were something that was salvaged out of the building. As far as material things, they are gone, but we have the people. PEOPLE
[Prater:] We can rebuild this church and we will rebuild this church, and we will rebuild it right here. We still have our belief, and we still have our future, and I still have my belief in God and I will never ever not have that.
[Unidentified Male:] Amen. Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
[People:] Thanks be to God.
[Unidentified Male:] Thank you all.
[Griffin:] And up next, a historic Brooklyn cemetery and an ongoing project that is helping to identify the civil war veterans who are in unmarked graves.

[Nancy Grace:] Breaking news tonight, live, Texas. A gorgeous Houston socialite, mother of two, living the high life, including a million-dollar estate, a private plane, vacation home. But then she`s ambushed getting into her luxury car, shot point-blank in the stomach. Miracle, she survives. But tonight, we learn it`s not the first time, two previous attempts on the millionaire mom. Bombshell tonight. Police hone in on the murder suspect, all right. It`s Mommy`s high-powered lawyer husband`s mistress and her husband of 21 years. And now, a bizarre, a crazy twist. The mistress takes out another murder hit? Not on the millionaire mom, but the mistress`s lover, Mommy`s husband, the lawyer she cheated with. Come on, ladies! Is this guy really worth it all? And is the mistress caught on tape ordering yet another murder for hire?
[Unidentified Male:] Prominent Houston-area attorney accused of plotting to have his wife killed.
[Unidentified Female:] He asked his mistress to help kill his wife. Michelle Gaiser.
[Unidentified Male:] That`s her husband`s mistress.
[Unidentified Female:] A shocking new twist in the murder-for-hire trial.
[Unidentified Male:] As his attorney read from a note he says the mistress wrote... Michelle Gaiser from her jail cell has plotted yet another murder.
[Unidentified Female:] The mistress is targeting him.
[Unidentified Male:] She has solicited an inmate to murder Jeffrey Stern for $20,000.
[Unidentified Female:] This case has been full of twists and turns, and now a bombshell.
[Unidentified Male:] It needs to look like a robbery gone bad. Or a knife in the neck. Cut the carotid artery, and it`s over.
[Unidentified Female:] Yvonne Stern is standing by her man.
[Unidentified Male:] Despite the fact that he`s accused of trying to have her killed more than once.
[Unidentified Female:] First it was Yvonne Stern who was constantly watching her back, now it`s her husband.
[Grace:] And tonight, Daddy catches a child sex predator sexually molesting his 5-year-old little girl, and he punches the perv to death! But now Daddy facing murder charges?
[Unidentified Female:] A shocking story out of Texas.
[Unidentified Male:] What started as a get-together turned deadly.
[Unidentified Female:] A father told authorities that a 47-year-old man...
[Unidentified Male:] Took the girl out into some brush and attempted to molest her. The father went to look for her and found her half-naked.
[Unidentified Female:] The father told police he heard his daughter scream.
[Unidentified Male:] She was screaming. There was a fight.
[Unidentified Female:] And in a fit of rage. As the dad punched the man repeatedly in the head. Beat a man to death. With his bare hands.
[Unidentified Male:] I was trying to get her away from him
[Unidentified Female:] The father has not been arrested.
[Unidentified Male:] You have the right to protect your daughter and use force to do it. I would have done the same.
[Unidentified Female:] He got what he well deserved. How could this happen? How could you beat a man to death with your bare hands? The sheriff says a grand jury will decide if the father will be charged in this case. Do you think this father should be charged?
[Grace:] Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight, live. Texas police hone in on a murder suspect, all right, Mommy`s high-powered lawyer husband`s mistress and her own husband of 21 years. But now a bizarre twist. The mistress apparently takes out yet another hit, this time on the lover, the lawyer husband she cheated with. Is this guy really worth it all? We are taking your calls. Straight out to John DePetro, WPRO. John, thanks for being with us. I don`t get it. What does this guy have? I mean, I know he`s a high-powered lawyer. He makes a lot of money. There`s the mistress. Oh, yes, she`s crying now. But according to police, she wasn`t crying when she took out not one, not two, but three hits on her lover`s wife. Now, she says hubby helped her. But what can you tell me now, John, about the mistress taking out a hit from behind bars on the lawyer husband?
[John Depetro, Wpro Radio:] Nancy, as if this case couldn`t get any stranger, authorities are wondering, Was this a prison plot? Allegedly, she was trying to entice another inmate, the promise of $20,000, a four- page detailed letter, trying to have the inmate kill her lover and possibly make it seem like it was the wife that did it. This was a very detailed jailhouse letter. And Nancy, if it`s true, it was a prison plot. She will not relent on going after and trying to kill even from behind bars.
[Grace:] OK, right there, right off the top, John, the facts are crazy and don`t make sense because if she`s trying to get another female inmate to perform a hit, why is she mailing her a letter? She could just yell it down the cellblock. She could meet her in the cafeteria. Why would she mail a letter to a female inmate? I don`t get it. And also, a lot of this is apparently this last hit she orders on the man she cheated with, the husband, the lawyer on the phone. But I mean, has nobody learned? Didn`t anybody watch the tot mom coverage? They`re taping your calls behind bars, John. Hello!
[Depetro:] Nancy, apparently, in the letter, it`s very detailed about his comings and goings, more details about his life. So she felt she need more information to provide to the alleged killer.
[Grace:] OK, you know what? Let`s take it from the top. John, I`m usually on your side, but just then, you didn`t answer a single question I threw at you. I`m going to give Aaron Smith a chance, anchor, KTRH. All right, Aaron, why would the inmate, the female lover, who apparently is claiming this lawyer was into all kind of deviant sexual practices now, who would imagine that from a high-powered, well-respected lawyer? Me! Long story short, in addition to all these crazy deviant sex practices she`s claiming on Jeffrey Stern, she`s saying, A, that he helped organize all three hits on his wife. And now she wants him dead. But if she wanted a female inmate to kill him, why would she send her a letter, Aaron?
[Aaron Smith, Ktrh Radio:] Nancy Grace, that`s an absolute wonderful question. You said it right. This guy is a very prominent lawyer in the city of Houston, on one of the richest sides of town, you know, already accused of trying to have his wife killed. Now this mistress turns the table on him, and of all people, she asked an inmate in the jail to try and have him killed. It`s absolutely unbelievable. This was a bombshell yesterday.
[Grace:] Well, another thing, Aaron Smith, KTRH, he may be rich and high-powered, but according to this woman, he still wanted to play "Spank me, spank me," all right? That`s neither here nor there, but the jury will certainly enjoy hearing about that. I got a lot of questions, Ellie Jostad, about the mistress ordering yet another hit from behind bars. If it`s true, if this letter really exists, why doesn`t Stern, the lawyer`s lawyer, show us the letter? Why is he playing peek-a-boo with the letter? Did you see it? Hey, pull that up, Liz. I want everybody to see the lawyer, the husband`s lawyer. He waves the letter around, but he won`t show it to anybody. Why Ellie?
[Ellie Jostad, Nancy Grace Producer:] Well, right, Nancy. And that`s the question we asked. That`s what the reporters who were at this news conference asked. We just get a little flash of the letter there, but they won`t let us see a copy of it. They claim that this inmate actually turned the letter over to authorities, but that the Harris County DA`s office declined to charge the mistress in this new alleged plot. So they say this is Stern`s defense team says that they then went to the DoJ, the Department of Justice, went to the FBI. They claim that the FBI has actually authenticated this letter, but the FBI, DA`s office, not commenting.
[Grace:] OK, Ellie, for the viewers just joining us, this case has taken a bizarre twist. And have you noticed, Ellie, these bizarre twists always happen on the eve of trial, when the high-powered lawyer husband is about to go to trial. The mistress has already accepted a plea. She`s got to formalize it in court. But she`s behind bars, all right? He`s the only one still out, the lawyer husband that had this affair for years and years and years. So every time he`s about to go to trial, something new happens that delays his trial. Take it from the start, Ellie. What happened?
[Jostad:] Right. Well, Nancy, there were three attempts on Yvonne Stern`s light life, rather. And actually, it started first with someone just driving by and spraying the house with bullets while Yvonne Stern and the two children were sleeping in the house, Jeffrey Stern out of town. Second attempt, Yvonne Stern goes to the door to answer it. Her son is actually right behind her. And a gunman fires at her through the door, just barely missing her. Then that third attempt, she had moved into an apartment building for her own safety. She`s in her vehicle when a third gunman approached her, and this time succeeded in shooting her, but she survived. So there are four other co-defendants that have also been charged. These are gunmen, middlemen, would-be hit men. The husband is charged. The mistress is also charged. But the husband was supposed to go to trial back in April, but then his defense got a delay. They claim they`d been just gotten new information about allegations against the mistress. They wanted a delay to examine those. So that`s why this has taken so long to finally go to trial very soon.
[Grace:] And now that it`s going to trial again, once again, new allegations against the mistress behind bars. OK, put Ellie back up for me. Ellie, what can you tell me about these sexually deviant behavior allegations?
[Jostad:] Right. Well, Nancy, in interviews, the mistress`s attorneys claim that there was this four-year grooming process. That`s how they described it on "2020." They say that Stern controlled everything in Michelle Gaiser, the mistress`s, life, told her what to ear, told her what to eat, that he always said to her, Obedience and subservience, that she was asked to do things that she didn`t feel comfortable with...
[Grace:] Ellie, Ellie...
[Jostad:] Yes?
[Grace:] ... Ellie, isn`t it true that she claims every morning, the first thing he said to her on the phone, this mistress, is, Obedience...
[Jostad:] Right.
[Grace:] ... subservience?
[Jostad:] Exactly. Daily.
[Grace:] Those were his first two words.
[Jostad:] According to her, right. Right. And she says that, you know, the middle of the night, he`d be texting her these elaborate sexual fantasies, that they became more and more sinister, including one where she finally and the way she described it to "Texas Monthly," she said that Jeffrey Stern wanted her, the mistress, to take a knife to the wife`s throat, to slit her throat, to cut her breasts, drown her in the pool, very disturbing fantasies. And she says, the mistress, that she thought these fantasies were odd, but she didn`t dare question him. And so then, when it finally escalated to, Go find somebody to hurt my wife, she had no choice but to obey.
[Grace:] OK, let`s just hold it right there. Unleash lawyers, Ken Padowitz, former homicide prosecutor, Miami, Darryl Cohen, defense attorney, Parag Shah, defense attorney, author, as well, both joining me out of Atlanta. All right, Darryl Cohen please please put him up. Darryl...
[Darryl Cohen, Defense Attorney:] Yes, Nancy?
[Grace:] So your married boyfriend, this high-powered, high-paid lawyer, somebody kind of like you, starts telling you about his fantasy of you, the mistress, stabbing his wife in her breasts and then throwing her into the family pool to die, and you just go along with it? You want me to believe that? You, as her defense lawyer, want me to believe that? What have you got for me, Darryl?
[Cohen:] What I`ve got for you is, if she was so much under his control or under his power, then she had no choice but to go along with it or she`d lose him.
[Grace:] You know what?
[Cohen:] I don`t believe that anybody did that. I think that`s part of his deal so can be acquitted, throw out some smoke to put her down. He doesn`t want to lose his wife, doesn`t want to lose his lifestyle. He wants to stay just the way he is. Make it happen.
[Grace:] OK, Parag, what about it?
[Parag Shah, Defense Attorney:] She`s a crazy loon. I mean, you know, she is unstable and...
[Grace:] That`s your defense?
[Shah:] The last the lett...
[Grace:] OK, you know what? Thanks, Parag. OK, Ken Padowitz, she`s not a candidate for the insanity defense. I don`t know where Parag came up with that. I think he made it up. What about it? Help me, Ken. What`s the defense?
[Ken Padowitz, Former Prosecutor:] She`s either a fantastic witness for the prosecution and the defense for her is that, He made me do all these things. I had to go ahead and do it. And you know, I`m not responsible because of his overpowering way that he handles me.

[Michael Holmes, Cnn International Anchor:] Hello, everyone, Michael Holmes at the CNN Center with your headlines to the minute. E.U. leaders meeting in Brussels. They're hoping to find some common ground on some of the most critical issues facing the Eurozone. They include long-term proposals such as a single union who control the euro currency. But among the more immediate concern, the dangerously high borrowing costs of Spain and Italy. Big story in the U.S., the Supreme Court has upheld the health care reform law known as "Obama-care" to some. The Affordable Care Act is the official name. Now what it does is require every American to carry health insurance. The court ruling that while the federal government does not have the power to order people to buy health insurance, it does have the power to impose a tax on those who don't or a fine, rather. The Red Cross says the non-stop violence in Homs, Syria, has made it impossible for aid workers to reach trapped civilians. Now that video you're watching, posted online, appears to show recent shelling in that already ravaged city. Meanwhile a Syrian opposition group says security forces have killed 100 people this Thursday. Officials in the U.S. state of Colorado say hundreds of homes have now been destroyed in that huge, still untamed wildfire. The fire, near Colorado Springs, was only 5 percent contained at last report. The U.S. Forest Service says it could be mid next month before it is fully under control. And in just a few hours we'll know whether the Azurri or the Germans will advance to the Euro 2012 Final. Germany has yet to lose in this tournament. The game gets under way in about 45 minutes. The winner will face Spain in the championship game. Those are your headlines. I'm Michael Holmes at the CNN Center. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, live from CNN London, right now.
[Richard Quest, Cnn International Anchor:] The rate rigging unravels. Barclays boss and Barclays shares are pummeled today. "Obama-care" stands and the only way to get rid of it seems to be to get rid of the president. And Murdoch does the splits. News Corp. will become two. I'm Richard Quest. Of course, I mean business. Good evening. He's Britain's most unpopular banker. And tonight, Barclays's Bob Diamond is feeling the anger of the British government. After Barclays record fine for fiddling interest rates, the prime minister, David Cameron, says its chief executive has serious questions to answer. The U.K. finance minister says criminal charges are not out of the question. George Osborne, the finance minister, says the market manipulation was typical of an age of irresponsibility. And he will be looking into making a criminal offense that would have serious consequences for Barclays. It was fined $450 million by the regulators in the U.K. and U.S. on Wednesday. Barclays manipulated interest rates. The interest rates on loans between banks, it's know as LIBOR, London Interbank Offered Rate, it was doing it for years to fit its own financial interest. David Cameron, the U.K. prime minister, said Barclays management must explain itself.
[David Cameron, U.k. Prime Minister:] This is a scandal. It's extremely serious. They paid a very large fine and quite rightly. But, frankly, the Barclays management team have some big questions to answer. How did this happen? Who was responsible? Who is going to be held accountable for it? That is those are issues they need to determine, and determine quite rapidly. In terms of what happens next, I would say that the regulators should use all the powers and means at their disposal to pursue this in the ways that they feel are appropriate.
[Quest:] Now shareholders would also want an explanation for Barclays's dismal performance on the stock market, particularly today. Look at the graph over the last month, and you really do see, whoa, let's just pull this into a bit of context for you. This is Barclays is one of those shares that has performed very well post the crisis. We bought some shares, remember, when they were down at 60 pence. They went up to over 3.50 pounds. Now they've come back again. And this is the very sharp fall that they've had, some 15 percent drop. Actually up slightly on Wednesday, but by and large, the scandal is clearly not going away. And that is why Barclays is under such pressure at the moment. Banking stocks overall in the U.K. fell very sharply with the LIBOR scandal. It sent shockwaves through the sector. Barclays had the biggest one day full, but other than that, the Royal Bank of Scotland lost more than 11 percent. HSBC and Lloyds also fell back. There are rumors, and it has been said that other banks are being investigated into this whole. Those other banks would not comment. LIBOR is one of the most important tools in the world of finance. So what does LIBOR mean, as we alluded to? LIBOR, London Interbank Offered Rate, LIBOR, it is the rate that banks charge each other for their loans overnight or for six-month money or as it is. So the banks get together and put in their bids for how much they will do to each other. It's a barometer of financial stability. And the rate that LIBOR is set each day, at 11:45 London clock time. The rate affects other securities such as mortgages, bonds, yields, and the like. LIBOR is a market worth hundreds of trillions of dollars because so many, so many contracts specify LIBOR, LIBOR plus two, LIBOR minus one. Tiny movements can be worth millions of dollars, which is why the British Bankers' Association, which sets LIBOR that officially does it, its outgoing CEO, Angela Knight, said Barclays actions weren't a proper representation of the City of London.
[Angela Knight, Ceo, British Bankers' Association:] We do have to not only do the job well, but be seen to act with integrity. There is more than half a million people that are employed in the banking industry, and there are lots of others. They have families and there are lots of other jobs that are dependent on it as well. The overwhelming majority of those people, they operate with integrity. They operate in an ethical manner. They are people who live in your street or my street and others streets. And, you know, we have to remember that.
[Quest:] Angela Knight there. So emails uncovered during this investigation shows just how cozy relationship between the Barclays traders who needed the help and who has made the bet on the interest rates, and the bankers who actually set the rates. One trader wrote to his banking colleague: "Your annoying colleague again, we would love to get a high one-month." Basically he wants a high LIBOR number because he has got a deal that he is about to do that's going to be based on an increased number for LIBOR. "Also, if possible, a low three-month." So, in other words, put the bid in lower. That's what that's all about. We don't know what the specific request was to the question
[Michael Hancock, Conservative Member Of Parliament:] Well, there are two questions I think for Bob Diamond. Firstly, what did he know? And what did he do about that? But then there's a wider question. Because this wasn't just one or two rogue people. It was a culture in Barclays of devil-take-the-highmost, you know, chumminess with the authorities who were setting LIBOR. And that culture is clearly the responsibility of senior management in Barclays. And, of course, it was part of a wider culture of irresponsibility.
[Quest:] Should Bob Diamond resign?
[Hancock:] Well, I think that he is going to come in front of the select committee in the House of Commons, and we're going to hear his answers then. But unless he has got some very good answers to the difficult questions, absent, of course.
[Quest:] Right. But is somebody going to ask him, are you going to resign? And should you resign?
[Hancock:] I've no doubt that those questions will be asked, and not only by politicians, but also by shareholders, you know, there's a 16 percent drop in the Barclays share price today on the back of this. And it's clear that that share price performance hasn't been particularly good over the last couple of years. So, you know, it's shareholders who own the bank, and they need to be and are indeed asking the questions as well.
[Quest:] Do you believe and we know the FSA is talking about systemic failures within the U.K. system, do you believe that, for want of a better unflattering phrase, what Barclays was up to, the rest of them were all up to as well?
[Hancock:] Well, we've certainly heard rumors of that and no doubt there will be more details in the future. But what we do know about is that the wider culture of irresponsibility and of not yes, certainly not thinking about the customer. You know, that culture was there across the city here and across finance and Wall Street as well.
[Quest:] Couldn't happen at a worse time for David Cameron, the British prime minister. We have Van Rompuy's report on banking union, hoping to move towards the whole E.U. 27, very difficult for the British to say, well, no, we're going to stand aside, because we regulate our banks better through the FSA or now the BOE, when, frankly, you've got a festering sore and a cesspit on your hands.
[Hancock:] Well, I would take the opposite response, which is that we've already got legislation going through the House of Commons to change the regulatory structure. We're abolishing the FSA and putting regulation into the Bank of England and giving them more clout. We're making the changes that are necessary. And that will happen in London. So I don't think we need to be part of a banking union, which will be, after all, to support the single currency, which thank goodness we're not part of. So making sure we fix our regulatory system here is vital. It's work that's already in progress. And that's best done out of London rather than out of Brussels so we can really on and grip these things.
[Quest:] The problems of Barclays. European stocks closed mostly in the red. Investors see no new ideas from today's European Union Summit. German unemployment is rising. Spanish bond yields are also hovering again at that dangerous 7 percent mark. In Madrid strong energy stocks helped the IBEX buck the trend. And it was the IBEX that really was the only one of the majors that were up. Coming up next, President Obama said it's a victory for the people of America, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, "Obama-care," has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. We're in Washington after the break.

[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Anchor:] From CNN Center, this CNN SATURDAY MORNING, it's August 6th. Good morning. I'm Deborah Feyerick, in for T.J. Holmes. Another blow to the U.S. economy. In a move last night, the country's credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor's. No longer do we have superior AAA status. We'll explain how the move impacts you. And dramatic new video into the CNN Center. Real time video of the tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri, last May. One school surveillance camera caught the destruction on tape. And, do you use GPS to figure out where you're going? Well, it may be wrong. We'll explain why you may need a printed map for the next few days. We'll get to those stories in a minute, but first, breaking news out of Afghanistan. A NATO helicopter has crashed in Wardak province in eastern Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says at least 38 people were killed. Closer to home, Americans wake up to a stark, new financial reality. We're no longer the gold standard as it relates to the world's economy. Yesterday, after the market's close, Standard & Poor's downgraded the nation's long term sovereign credit rating from AAA to AA Plus. It is a first for the country and an embarrassment for President Obama. In explaining the decision, S&P; says the nation's growing debt, coupled with last week's political acrimony over raising the debt ceiling, gives them less faith in the nation's ability to repay its loans. It comes days after Congress cut the debt ceiling deal shaving more than $2 trillion over the next decade. In essence, S&P; thinks the deal fell short. After Standard & Poor's notification of the credit downgrade, the Obama administration fired back saying the S&P;'s own figures were off by $2 trillion. S&P; acknowledged the discrepancy, but says its decision to downgrade stays. So, what's next? And where do we go from here? CNN's Felicia Taylor is live in New York. And as we said earlier, boy, this credit downgrade, Felicia, what a stunning wake-up call.
[Felicia Taylor, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Completely. I mean it's totally unprecedented. We've had a AAA rating in this country since 1917. This now means that those countries that invest in the United States have a rating below that of Britain, France, Germany and Canada. That makes it a riskier investment for anybody who's investing in the United States. So that's a problem going forward. But for consumers, for individuals, the reason this is important is that interest rates could go higher in the short-term. Meaning that any kind of an investment, whether it's credit cards, insurance payments, anything like that, is going to be at risk. That's why this is critical for every consumer in this country. It's not just about investors and the economy. It's about the entire country overall. And what Washington now needs to do is get back to work and figure out how that debt deal is really going to work out and satisfy the rating agencies such as
[S&p.; Feyerick:] You know, on some levels, given the bitterness of the debt ceiling debate, was this a way of the S&P; saying, we don't believe in your ability, the leadership on both sides, to get a deal done, to get to create jobs, to cut where it needs be? Basically sending a message saying, if this is the way you're going to deal with the debt ceiling, forget about trying to create jobs. Was that part of the message?
[Taylor:] Completely. You've encapsulated it perfectly. That's exactly the message that they're sending to Washington. That the lack of consensus, the lack of bipartisanship, is really what's at risk here. We Americans are not coming to the table and agrees on how to get this country back into a recovery phase. Because we're not. We saw a jobs numbers on Friday that really wasn't up to snuff. It was better than expectations, but not good enough. And we've had a couple of months that were kind of wild cards in terms of jobs and that's what needs to be created. So the administration is being sort of, you know, scolded and said and being told, you need to come to the table and figure this out and get your ducks in order, so to speak. And understand that we're watching you. And from the S&P; perspective, I mean they've kind of put themselves in a hard place because, don't forget, they were criticized for not watching during the fiscal crisis and not minding the banks that were in trouble at that time. So they've had to step up to the plate and sort of say, OK, you know, you guys aren't really doing what you need to be doing and we're going to now call you on it. So there's a bit of a tug-of-war going on between Washington and the ratings agencies.
[Feyerick:] All right, well this is certainly going to be interesting to see how it plays out and to see if the leaders of both parties step up to the plate and do what needs to be done to get the financial house in order and hopefully
[Taylor:] Exactly.
[Feyerick:] Get the rating back. Felicia Taylor, thank you so much. We're going to check in with you a little later on. Appreciate it. Well, as we said earlier, this is unchartered territory for the U.S. economy. But one thing is certain, American's money crunch just got ratcheted up another notch. CNNMoney's Poppy Harlow looks at some of the potential ripple effects from the downgrading.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnnmoney.com:] Let's take a look at what this means for you, the consumer. Your home loan. You can watch your interest rates on your mortgage go up. More homes are going to then sit on the market. Prices of homes could fall even further to this already depressed housing market. And the only silver lining is for long-term investors who see a buying opportunity here. When you look at your car loan, very similar story. Expect your interest rates to go up. Car prices to go up. It's going to be pretty tough for people with middle to lower credit scores to buy cars and new car sales are going to fall. The car market isn't that healthy right now either. And then, finally, when it comes to college loans, what does this mean for your college loan? When you look at interest rates, very similar story. Private student loans are going to see their interest rate increase. It's going to be tougher for students to get a loan for the spring term. So a very near term effect here. Students are going to have to work more through college to pay off that increased interest rate. And, finally, the only silver lining is, most students have their financing for next year already lined up.
[Feyerick:] Poppy Harlow there for us. Well, now for the flip side. Some analysts think that the credit downgrade may not have much of an effect on the markets. Listen to what Chrystia Freeland, the global editor-at-large for Reuters, told our Anderson Cooper. The downgrade could actually have a positive impact on some investments.
[Chrystia Freeland, Global Editor-at-large, Reuters:] Not just the U.S. which is in trouble, we're also seeing lots of sovereign debt issues in Europe. Ironically, the fact that the rest of the world is in trouble, too, is, in the short-term, really to the advantage of the United States. PIMCO, the world's biggest bond trader, likes to talk about the U.S. as the cleanest dirty shirt. You have to put your money in somebody's treasuries. And right now, the U.S. is still looking like a pretty good bet. And we saw that verdict in the markets this week.
[Feyerick:] Well, last night on "AC 360," Standard & Poor's Managing Director John Chambers explained how lawmakers could have avoided this historic downgrading of the U.S. economy.
[John Chambers, Managing Director, Standard & Poor's:] I think it could have done a few things. I mean the first thing it could have done is to have raised the debt ceiling in a timely manner so that much of this debate had been avoided to begin with, as it had done, you know, 60 or 70 times since 1960 without that much debate. So that's point number one. And point number two is, it could have come up with a fiscal plan, you know, similar, for example, the, you know, Bowles-Simpson Commission, which was bipartisan. Although it didn't have a super majority vote, it did have a majority vote and came up with a number of sensible recommendations. I mean you could envision other recommendations, but that would have been a start.
[Feyerick:] The Bowles-Simpson Commission, that Chambers talked about, was the panel set up by President Obama to identify ways to reduce the national deficit. It's formally known as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Well, let's get back to breaking news out of Afghanistan. A NATO helicopter has crashed in Wardak province in eastern Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says at least 38 people were killed. David Ariosto joins us now over the phone. And, David, what are you hearing about this tragedy?
[David Ariosto, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, in what seems to be one of the largest losses of coalition life in recent memory, the information that we're getting, both information President Karzai's office, as well as from local officials and Taliban, which seems to claim responsibility for this attack, it seems that this helicopter was traveling in an area that was ripe with insurgent activity and may have indeed been shot down. Now, we're getting conflicting accounts on that. It may have crashed. It may have been shot down by Taliban forces. The indication that we're getting from the local sources and from the Taliban spokesman is that it was indeed shot down. Thirty-eight individuals. Seven of them Afghan, 31 NATO members were killed in that crash. And it comes at a time of a series of high profile attacks against targets here in this country. But the south and east have always been sort of restive areas that have been under the watchful eye of both NATO and Afghan forces. Nonetheless, what we've seen in recent days is increased targeting of both high level officials, as well as helicopters themselves. Just last month a NATO helicopter was downed in an attack that the Taliban also took credit for. No one was injured in that attack. It doesn't seem to be the case in this instance.
[Feyerick:] All right. And, David, any sense, have the remains been recovered? I know it's a little too early to tell, but is at least the helicopter, is it secure?
[Ariosto:] The ISAF spokesman, the branch of NATO spokesman that we spoke to would only confirm that the crash had taken place. They wouldn't confirm any other details, but said that a recovery operation is underway. They're looking into really the specifics of what happened and whether anything can be salvaged at this point. Again, local officials that we spoke to say that roughly eight Taliban insurgents were also killed in what may have been an exchange. Unclear at this point. But as it stands right now, one of the worst loss of life in terms of coalition forces we've seen in quite some time.
[Feyerick:] OK, David Ariosto, in Kabul. Thank you very much. We'll check back with you a little later on. Well, back in the U.S., students at the University of Alabama will finally get to walk in a graduation ceremony today. Their commencement was supposed to be in May, but was postponed after a string of tornadoes swept across the state. Nearly 250 people were killed that day in April, including six University of Alabama students. The school held a candlelight vigil for them last night. And if you were hoping to get an airline ticket tax refund because of the FAA shutdown, think again. No break there. President Obama signed legislation yesterday to end the shutdown and make the taxes retroactive. Tax collection on air travel will begin again Monday. Flash flooding in Charlotte, North Carolina, killed one person and trapped drivers in their cars yesterday. At least two neighborhoods had to be evacuated because of flooding creeks. And check out this hotel lobby in Charlotte. Oh, my God. The heavy rain accumulated on the roof and began pouring through light fixtures in the lobby at an Embassy Suites hotel. Parts of three interstate highways were temporarily closed because of the heavy rain. And the South Central Plains and Gulf Coast states are in for some extreme heat again today. Reynolds Wolf is in the severe weather center. And, Reynolds, watching those pictures of the water just sort of pour down, it happened so quickly.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] It really did. Probably availability, not so good in a place like that tonight. I think they're going to probably be closed this evening and I'm the big cleanup is going to begin. You know, one of the big things I know people wish they could clean up though is, as you mentioned, the extreme heat across much of the nation. We're talking about millions of Americans that are dealing with temperatures that are well into the 90s and 100s. And with the high humidity, it feels even warmer. We're going to tell you who's going to get what coming up. What are you watching and what day? Oh, yes, CNN SATURDAY. We'll have more coming up. See you in a little bit.

[Sambolin:] Welcome back. Fifteen minutes past the hour. We are following breaking news this morning. It is a shocking story involving the blade runner, Olympic and Paralympic track superstar Oscar Pistorius. He is at the police station in south Africa right now after his model girlfriend was shot and killed inside his home. Police are saying a 26-year-old man has been arrested. They are not confirming that it is Pistorius, although it is important to note that Pistorius is 26 years old. We are also finding out about previous incidents at his home of a domestic nature. Pistorius, who is a double amputee, reached the 400-meter semifinals in the London Games last year. He races with carbon blades because of a birth defect.
[Berman:] To New York now where first it was calorie counts on menus, then trans fats, then mega soft drinks. Now, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is out to ban Styrofoam food packaging in stores. It's actually not Styrofoam technically, it's plastic foam. He's looking to ban that in stores and food restaurants. Bloomberg will unveil the plan today in his final State of the City speech.
[Sambolin:] And, boy, did you feel that breeze? Look at this. A boxer has suspended for allegedly taking a dive 13 seconds into a fight against former NFL defensive end Ray Edwards. Look at this, the phantom upper cut misses his much smaller opponent Nick "Turbo Tax" Capes by about a foot. But he sells it, literally knocking himself off his own feet. Reports say "Turbo Tax"
[Berman:] That is insane, I'm sorry. It is nowhere near him.
[Sambolin:] I know. But it looked right. So, if you're far away.
[Berman:] Two miles away.
[Sambolin:] "Turbo Tax" was a last-minute replacement for a couple of no-show boxers. North Dakota's fight governing body is reviewing that right there. It won't take long to jump into a conclusion dare, I say, right?
[Berman:] Not a tough one to review. Everyone waking up to a huge business story, a massive deal in the airline industry. U.S. Airways and bankrupt American Airlines have agreed to a merger.
[Sambolin:] But what does it mean for you, the flier? Christine Romans has details in "Road Warriors".
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Because it's all about us in the end, isn't it? The goal is a more efficient, more profitable airline, but that's going to take some time. Airline mergers generally take a few years, so for now get ready for some logistical headaches. One analyst we talked to says the bigger the merger, the more problems there are. First, combining the computer systems isn't easy. So, there could be some reservation problems initially. We can look at one of the most recent mergers for a clue. United and Continental in January, 2012, the first month the government combined data of those carriers, it showed customer complaints shot up 198 percent. Most of the complaints are about flight problems, cancellations, delays and reservations and ticketing problems. These two airlines also have to combine their frequent flier programs. They're going to have to woo back business travelers that American lost with all of those canceled flights this fall because of a pilot sickout. Here's travel expert Mark Murphy on some of the benefits of the deal.
[Mark Murphy, Travel Expert:] This merger will provide the traveler with better connections. I think you're going to be in nine major hubs between the two carriers now with the merger. So you're going to be able to get where you want to go more efficiently and effectively.
[Romans:] All right. So those nine major hubs are all over the country giving people a lot of access. Look at where they are. Not a lot of overlap. Really the only overlap in Chicago and Phoenix. Because of that and because the economy is still weak, many travel experts are telling us that ticket prices probably won't go up. Now, we should also point out that sources close to the boards have told us that the boards have agreed there's a lot of work to do here. An announcement today likely and then we'll wait to se what the bankruptcy judge says and what federal regulators say about this big, big deal.
[Berman:] Usually changes need to be made before it's finalized but they manage to push it through.
[Romans:] That's right. Absolutely.
[Sambolin:] John pointed out perhaps they could double our miles. So
[Romans:] No details on your frequent flier plan but I will find out as soon as this deal is official.
[Sambolin:] We appreciate that. Thank you. All right. Nineteen minutes past the hour. Coming up, lots of folks watching the news of that Carnival cruise ship limping back to port today. Christine Romans is coming back to tell us what you need to know if you are holding tickets for a cruise.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Guest:] Good evening. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching. Tonight: playing politics with health care. Candidates who slammed President Obama for focusing, they said, on health care first, not jobs. Why are they now fixated on health care with so many Americans looking for work? We're "Keeping Them Honest". Also tonight, Keith Olbermann suspended after giving money to three Democratic candidates. We'll tell you how much trouble he could be in, and we'll ask our panel how much trouble he should be in. Later, deciding whether the man behind Connecticut's "Home Invasion Horror" should live or die. A mother and two daughters killed. Is there any case for leniency? "Crime & Punishment". We begin as we always do, though, "Keeping Them Honest". Tonight, politicians who said one thing during the health care battle and another thing, the closer they got to Election Day. They said President Obama was too focused on passing health care reform, and not on putting Americans back to work. Legislation first they complained and jobs second.
[Sen. Scott Brown , Massachusetts:] They want their President and Congress to focus on creating jobs and reviving America's economy. Instead, for more than a year now, we have seen a bitter, destructive and endless drive to completely transform America's health care system.
[Rep. John Boehner , Ohio:] Mr. Speaker, the American people are asking, where are the jobs?
[Sen. Jon Kyl , Arizona:] The American people have been telling Washington that promoting job growth must be the first priority. But for more than a year, Congress and the President have focused instead on a controversial health spending bill, which the majority of Americans said they didn't want.
[Unidentified Male:] Mr. President, where are the jobs?
[Rep. Peter Hoekstra , Michigan:] Mr. President, where are the jobs?
[Gov. Haley Barbour , Massachusetts:] I mean we should have been focused on jobs in June, not health care. In September, not health care; Christmas Eve, not health care.
[Rep. John Campbell , California:] Mr. Speaker, I would ask you and I would ask the President, where are the jobs you promised?
[Barbour:] It's interesting, the American people have been saying from the day Barack Obama got sworn in jobs are the biggest issue in the country, getting our economy back is the biggest issue in the country but for the last eight months, all I've heard about is the Democratic Party trying to ram health care down our country's throat.
[Boehner:] I've been asking the questions over the last three or four months, where are the jobs?
[Kaye:] All right. So that's the complaint, that President Obama put health care first and jobs second. That he wasted time better used to fix the economy and put people back to work on what they consider a scheme to expand the government at the expense of people's freedom. Now, you can agree or disagree with that notion, that's not what we're talking about tonight. We're talking about politicians who said they were looking out for ordinary Americans more concerned about their paycheck than a big piece of Washington legislation. And in that sense, they were right. Polling bears it out; 52 percent telling us the economy is the number one concern. Just eight percent said health care. So given that Americans are overwhelmingly concerned about jobs and given that these candidates said that that's what they cared about, too, you would think that they'd be focused like a laser on jobs. Right? Not exactly. Watch.
[Rep. Eric Cantor , Virginia:] So I believe that when we take majority in January, I hope that we're able to put a repeal bill on the floor right away.
[Boehner:] We are going to repeal Obama care and replace it with common sense reforms that will bring down the cost of health insurance.
[Chip Cravaack , U.s. Congressman-elect:] My target is the health care bill. That is one of the first things I'll be trying to either repeal or defund, because this is just a bad bill. It's bad for America, and it's bad for Americans.
[Rep. Devin Nunez , California:] The country wants repeal of Obama care. The country needs repeal of Obama care, and the House of Representatives will repeal Obama care. Then it's going to be
[Unidentified Male:] I'm sorry to press you on this
[Kaye:] It looks like job one, as they say in the auto industry, will not be jobs but health care repeal. Or else. "The New York Times" reporting the pressure is on from Dick Armey's FreedomWorks which was a big supporter of Tea Party candidates during the campaign. A FreedomWorks memo being sent to all incoming House Republicans, it says in part, "Politically speaking, your only choice is to get on offense and start moving boldly ahead to repeal, replace and defund Obama care in 2011, or risk rejection by the voters in 2012". And one footnote, there is new economic data out tonight. It shows private sector job growth for the fourth straight month but the unemployment rate stuck at 9.6 percent. Joining us now, Democratic strategist Paul Begala and Dana Loesch, blogger and talk radio host and co-organizer of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition. Paul, let's start with you. Will we see a fresh GOP move to repeal health care, do you think?
[Paul Begala, Cnn Political Contributor:] Oh, I think so. I think I I do think, in fairness to the Republicans, many of them and probably most of them, did campaign promising to repeal Obama care. They're not going to be able to do it, and they knew it when they said that. Our Constitutional system does not allow one Party and one House to repeal legislation. They know that the Senate would never pass repeal, these new House Republicans, so they know the president would never sign it. So it's a bit of a false promise to begin with. But I do think they risk being wound around the axle of a year-long fight trying to undo or defund Obama care when in fact people do want jobs. I hope the president will step into that breach with the new ideas, with new proposals to create jobs and and make that contrast. Democrats can then be for jobs and let the Republicans be for trying to empower insurance companies to to have more control over your life.
[Kaye:] And Dana isn't this really what happened to President Obama? He said we could do both jobs and health care but the perception politically that his energy was split, it cost him, and the fact is, as Paul said, Republicans don't control the Senate. They can't repeal this bill. So was this really a genuine promise on their part?
[Dana Loesch, Blogger, Talk Radio:] I do believe so. I mean, there's a lot of things that the Constitution doesn't necessarily provide for, including what we saw the the the thing with the commerce clause and the health control law. But at the same time, when we listen to everything that Nancy Pelosi said and everything that President Obama said, Nancy Pelosi herself on video, it's all over YouTube, saying that the health care bill will bring about four million jobs or some such. Health care is tied so closely to jobs. So while I think it's really important for Republicans to focus on the economy and make things easier, lessen up so that these businesses can create jobs, you also have to note that health care has been so unbelievably wound in with jobs that I mean you kind of have to address both sort of simultaneously.
[Kaye:] So if nothing changes, are you saying voters will be happy with just a symbolic gesture?
[Loesch:] Oh, no, voters are not going to be happy with just a symbolic gesture. Republicans need to go whole hog with this. They really do. They need to put forth more than just a symbolic gesture. And I think their their speech has been strong, but whether or not they're going to follow that up in the next couple of years, that remains to be seen.
[Kaye:] And Paul, let's talk about
[Begala:] And here's here
[Kaye:] go ahead.
[Begala:] here's my proposal, and maybe Dana will agree to it with this. These Republicans who ran, they said they hated Obama care, they hate government-funded, government-guaranteed, government-mandated health care. They can't repeal it but you know what they can do, repeal their own. So repeal your own, Mr. Speaker Boehner, Mr. Speaker to-be- Boehner. They can decline to accept the Congressional health care package, which is a really generous package of health care coverage, paid for by the taxpayers, guaranteed by the government. So they could at least repeal their own. And they should become the change they seek. They should lead by example and reject government-funded health care for themselves and their family. How is that, Dana? Don't you think they should do that? Because it's socialism you know.
[Loesch:] Well, Democrats the Democrats exempted themselves from this law. Democrats already exempted themselves from this law.
[Begala:] Well, that's that's not true actually. That's actually not true. That's actually not true. But but shouldn't they
[Loesch:] Oh, so they are going to subject themselves to it, then?
[Begala:] shouldn't they shouldn't repeal their own health care.
[Loesch:] So you're saying that it's not true, so are Democrats going to subject themselves to this legislation then?
[Begala:] Right. Well, of course they are. They're covered by it. They're they're going to be covered by the law. There was
[Loesch:] So so if they choose to not go on government care, will they accept the penalties that go along with that when those are enacted?
[Begala:] Dana, here is my point. The Republicans say they hate government health care. Democrats like it, so of course they're going to accept it. Why don't the Republicans decline why does not John Boehner who has almost 20 years now been on government health care, why doesn't he decline it? Because it's good. That's why. It's a heck of a good policy.
[Loesch:] Well, why don't we just actually why don't we rework it and make it Paul, why don't we rework it and have actual good health care that really addresses being able to have affordable insurance and across state lines.
[Begala:] It's fine, repeal their own law, it is it's pernicious socialism. Oh, scary.
[Loesch:] Why can't we address that, let's be serious for a moment and let's really address the problem.
[Kaye:] All right, you two. Let me let me jump in here for just a second. One thing the GOP could try and do is is defund health care. Could we see a government shutdown possibly, Paul?
[Begala:] Oh, definitely. Yes. You're going to see a government shutdown and then maybe, you know, impeachment. And there's nothing going to stop these folks.
[Loesch:] Impeachment?
[Begala:] They they have oh, sure. You watch. Hide and watch. There's already Rush Limbaugh has called for it, Mr. Beck, who's this this TV clown over at Fox News has called for it.
[Loesch:] Oh, come on.
[Begala:] A whole variety by the way, about a third of Republicans back in March before the negative ads and everything, back in March, one-third of Republicans, 38 percent, actually, in a Harris poll said they wanted to see Obama impeached. So they'll get to that. But they'll start with the government shutdown. Sure they will. Now, they they have that power under the Constitution. The president, I doubt, would go along with some of their kind of radical plans and so we I I think we definitely, late 2011, you're looking at a government shutdown.
[Kaye:] Dana
[Loesch:] I think it will be gridlock. I do think it will be gridlock.
[Kaye:] You do.
[Loesch:] But shutdown, I'm not so sure. Yes.
[Kaye:] Do you think that that that I mean voters are saying, that we that we saw the numbers in the in the intro, I mean, a very small minority of the voters are saying that health care is their top priority.
[Loesch:] Right.
[Kaye:] So is this a push that's really more about scoring political points than than really addressing the country's priorities?
[Loesch:] Yes and no. I think one of the reasons that Republicans are prioritizing this is because the the Grassroots Movement which really sustained the life of the Republican Party this past couple of years I think that they're sort of it's sort of a gesture towards the Grassroots but at the same time I think that they recognize some of the unconstitutionality of the provisions that were included in the law to begin with. But at the same time, it is unbelievably tight with jobs. You're talking about the Congressional the Congressional Budgetary Office is just I think like this year they released a report, their economic report, which said that this could cost up to 800,000 jobs. That's more than like Ford, GM and Chrysler combined. You have 550,000 union workers with those three auto plants. That's that's more than those that's more than that combined. So that's, when you're talking about jobs, when you're talking about the economy, that absolutely has to factor in. But at the same time, I think that there's a million things that we could do in the interim before we really go aggressively and look at health reform, and and talk about remedying things to to increase jobs, and like the Bush tax cuts, for instance after the first of the year. That's that's one of many steps that could be taken.
[Kaye:] All right, Paul, Dana, stick around. Let us know what you think. Join the live chat now under way at AC360.com. Up next, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann has done plenty of complaining about money and politics. Tonight, he is on suspension without pay for injecting money into politics. We'll explain. Later, the $200 million myth: conservative talk radio slamming President Obama's trip to Asia, saying it's costing $200 million a day. They don't have the facts to back it up and they also don't have our Ed Henry who will join us from Mumbai, India, after doing a little price checking of his own.

[Banfield:] A two-year-old video of a TSA agent patting down a three-year-old boy is stirring up some good old fashioned outrage across this country. It's only fair to point out that the procedures for screening children have changed dramatically in the two years since this incident. Our Lizzie O'Leary joins us now to talk about your rights regarding your children and yourself if you're headed to the airport. And, Lizzie, the first time I saw that, of course, I think I jumped in the outrage pool with everybody else thinking, oh, come on already. Is this serious? But things have really changed, haven't they, since this video actually was filmed two years ago?
[Lizzie O'leary, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, they have changed. And that's really important to point out here. So, back in September, the TSA started changing the way it screens kids under 12. And essentially what's going on here is the goal is for fewer pat-downs so they don't get eliminated all together and kid can go twice through a screening machine if there's something that sets off a flag. They don't have to take off their shoes. We should bear in mind that, in this instance, this child was in a metal wheelchair, which would set off some of the detecting machines. So it's likely that he would have gotten some sort of limited pat-down or swabbing with those white pads. Those are for explosive trace detection. So that probably would have happened anyway. But the goal overall, as the TSA sees it, is to sort of take pools of people they see as less risky and screen them a little differently.
[Banfield:] So, real quick question because I have two little ones, not this little, but little enough that I could carry them if I wanted to. I know this little boy had a broken leg and maybe that's why he wasn't carried. But if you carried the boy through, he'd probably be in better shape than if you put him in the wheelchair that would beep.
[O'leary:] Well, because they'd be going through with you and the wheelchair wouldn't be beeping, exactly. That's part of this, TSA tries not to separate kids from their parents, they say. Certainly, that's something that raises parents' eyebrows, they don't want to see it. And the department understands that. They've got little lines you can call in before you take your kids on a trip.
[Banfield:] And just quickly. Get me up to speed again on the elderly as well. Didn't they change the rules about the elderly?
[O'leary:] Yes, they did. Yesterday so, we're talking limited screening here, too. People over 75 at a couple of airports, four of them at this point, can keep their shoes on, a light jacket, they can go through the metal detector or screening device again to try to avoid that pat-down. So again, this is part of eliminating those pools of risk as the TSA calls it.
[Banfield:] And that kinder, gentler trip for the rest of us. Lizzie O'Leary, very good to see you. Thanks so much, Lizzie.

[Diaz:] Jennifer Lopez may be in the middle of an emotional divorce from Marc Anthony, but she still made time to celebrate someone else`s marriage. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT learned today that J-Lo just performed at a wedding in the Ukraine and reportedly got paid a whopping $1 million. Maybe money eases the pain. Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Carlos Diaz. Back to J-Lo in a moment. But first, Kim`s counterattack. Kim Kardashian has just filed a lawsuit against Old Navy for using a Kim Kardashian look alike in their commercials. The similarity is actually pretty shocking. Check this out.
[Charles:] Oh, she could get some serious damages. I mean, I understand that the complaint was filed and the damages requested are unspecified. Usually, what you would do there would be an accounting to determine how much would she normally be paid if she were asked to sponsor or be a sponsor for this particular business. And then, that`s how you would decide damages. But I think she`s has a viable claim here. She`s incredibly popular. Her image is worldwide. She`s recognizable. She`s got about nine million followers on Twitter. So this is a woman who, if she is sponsoring a product, she`s going to sell that product.
[Diaz:] All right. So Midwin says that she`s kind of looking at Kim Kardashian`s point of view. We reached out to Old Navy today and they had no comment. But listen, there`s another uncomfortable element here. Kim`s doppelganger is, of course, in that Old Navy commercial, and she`s also dating her ex, Reggie Bush. Melissa Molinaro is weighing in today and taking a jab at Kim. She tweeted today, "We`re still talking about this? It`s July. This aired in February. Some people have too much time on their hands." Oh, snap. Vikki, I`m thinking an all-out war is brewing between Kim Kardashian and her look alike. How do you see this legal mess winding up?
[Vikki Ziegler, Family Law Attorney:] Well, it`s very interesting, Carlos. And the timing is a very important point here. This aired five months ago, this ad for Old Navy. Now, the litigation was filed, so that`s curious to me, why it didn`t happen when it first came out? But put that aside for a second, look, I think it`s a 5050 talk. There have been people, celebrities in the public eye, that have won lawsuits like this. Jackie Onassis. Vanna White. They have stopped look-alikes from appearing in ads. The question is, did Old Navy intentionally try to deceive the public and use Kim Kardashian`s asset, her face, everything about her?
[Diaz:] Well
[Ziegler:] That`s the question. Did they or didn`t they? And I think it`s going to be a legal battle. I can`t really determine what the answer is. Maybe settle it out of court. But these Kardashians litigate. Remember, their deceased father was an attorney.
[Diaz:] OK. I don`t think Kim Kardashian`s asset is her face. It could be something else.
[Ziegler:] I said other assets other assets.
[Diaz:] All right, SHOWBIZ legal team. Let`s look at the Jennifer Lopez- Marc Anthony divorce mess. J-Lo is still raking in big bucks. Here`s a video someone posted on YouTube of J-Lo dancing her gorgeous behind off at a Ukrainian wedding and she got paid $1 million. And she can add that million to her already enormous estate. Now, "People" magazine is reporting the financial split between she and Marc Anthony is totally amicable. But Midwin, let`s face it. I mean, there`s around $250 million. Can`t you see there being some kind of clash of the empires?
[Charles:] I mean, they may decide that it`s not worth it to do that. Remember, they had twins, a boy and a girl. And they may decide that fighting over their assets is not in the best interest of these little kids. And also, remember, both of them have the capacity to continue earning. J-Lo just proved it by performing at this wedding for $1 million. And Marc Anthony is the bestselling salsa artist of all time. So he can still continue to generate his own income. So hopefully, they decide it`s not in the best interest of the kids to fight over it.
[Ziegler:] Carlos, I`m a divorce attorney
[Diaz:] We`re out of time. We`re out of time. I`m sorry.
[Ziegler:] Oh, no!
[Diaz:] You hold that thought. We`ll get to you at a different time. All right. Vikki, Midwin, thanks so much. From J-Lo`s split to `90s icon getting hitched on reality TV, no less. Plus, find out
[Text:] "Jersey Shore" cast films cameo for new "Three Stooges" movie. SHOWBIZ first listen: Jay-Z and Kanye West`s "Otis" off their joint album.

[Costello:] In the NBA there is no one hotter right now than King James. Oh, but Prince Fielder, he becomes larger than life. Joe Carter here with Bleacher Report.
[Joe Carter, Bleacher Report:] Hi, good morning, Carol. Yes Erik Spoelstra the head coach of the Miami Heat said Lebron James is making this greatness thing look easy, he's rolling right now and so are the Miami Heat. Last night they beat the Portland Trailblazers to win their sixth game in a row. Lebron scored 30 points again. Over these last six wins he's put together a historic performance in six games scoring at least 30 points while making at least 60 percent of his shots. He is the first player in NBA history to be that efficient and that consistent over that six-game stretch.
[Lebron James, Miami Heat:] For me to be in the record books by myself with such a stat, any stat, it's big time and it's a you know, it's a tribute to not only, you know, myself I don't care about myself, but my teammates are allowing me to do that and my coaching staff put me in a position to succeed and I just try to go out and do it.
[Carter:] Prince Fielder he's a big dude, tips the scale at 275 so it's only fitting that he would be on the world's largest baseball card, the Topps Trading Card company unveiled that at tiger spring training, the massive card measures 90 feet by 60 feet. Comedian Will Ferrell he is known for doing just about anything for a laugh and at the Lakers game night he was dressed as a security guard and red jacket and all. He even booted a fan from the game. Shaquille O'Neal was the fan of course, he played along with Ferrell's good funny antics. He is currently shooting "Anchor Man II" that's why he's sporting a huge mustache but I do not think it's a scene for the movie because the name tag on his name tag is not Ron Burgundy it's actually a name that I cannot repeat and you can find out that on the Internet if you want to know. For all your entertaining sports news Carol, go to BleacherReport.com. I can't repeat in front of the show.
[Costello:] I knew you wouldn't say the name, I knew you wouldn't say the name Joe Carter.
[Carter:] I wouldn't have a job tomorrow.
[Costello:] You would, too. Oh go on the Internet and find out. Joe, thank you very much, Joe Carter. I'm still laughing about it. Next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

[Kaye:] Breaking news now. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has just gotten some new information on the AWOL soldier arrested near Ft. Hood, Texas. Barbara, what do you have?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] This is Private First Class Naser Abdo of the United States Army. Twenty-one years old. Under arrest and possibly now facing federal charges on bomb-making. What we now know is when he was arrested yesterday in Killeen, Texas, by police authorities at a traffic stop after leaving a gun store and a surplus store, they went to his hotel and found a disturbing situation there. Pentagon a U.S. military official now telling us that they found enough material in his hotel room to make two bombs. Two bombs. And I want to read you what they found. I want to be very precise here. They found gun powder, shotgun shells, pressure cookers, 18 pounds of sugar that investigator believe would have been used to enhance an explosion and Christmas lights that would have been used as a possible timer. They found a backpack of his in his possession with so-called jihadi literature in it, according to the initial investigation. And during an interview with law enforcement officials, Private First Class Abdo said he wanted to stage attacks outside of Ft. Hood. This is very significant because investigators also found after leaving the gun store where he had purchased some weapons and some weapons making material, he went to a surplus store in Killenn, Texas, bought an Army uniform and asked that Ft. Hood patches be sewn on to that uniform. So there's growing indications here that there was some sort of thinking on the part of this private first class that he was going to do something related to Ft. Hood. And, of course, this is always a very sensitive issue for the Army. Very concerning to them, Randi, because it was back in late 2009, of course, there was that mass gun attack by Major Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist. He killed a dozen people on the Army base, wounded about 30 more. And it has really forced the Army in recent year to examine its own and think about security on its own bases. Now, another case whereby all accounts a private first class had some plot in his mind or was at least assembling the materials, should add Private First Class this man, Private First Class Abdo was facing charges in the Army for being in position of child pornography. And he was AWOL at the time. He knew he was facing a court marshal proceeding and he had gone AWOL some weeks ago. Now turning up in Ft. Hood, Texas, from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, turning up in Texas with all of this in his possession. Randi.
[Kaye:] Barbara Starr, incredible story. Thank you staying on top of that and do bring us any new information as you get it. Thank you. And now I want to take you to San Angelo, Texas, where polygamist leader Warren Jeffs trial was set to begin today on sexual assault charges. CNN's Gary Tuchman just got out of court. He joins us live from there. Gary, we are expecting opening arguments, but instead Jeffs fired his attorneys. What happened?
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, that's right, Randi, and the trial may still begin today. But here's what we know. This trail of Warren Jeffs, the polygamist leader, may indeed turn into a circus. A circus that would make the Ringling Brothers be in envy. What has happened is Warren Jeffs has fired all of his attorneys and says he wants to represent himself. There are no cameras in the court, so I'm going to describe it to you. But Warren Jeffs, who we've really never heard speak, and I've been covering him and the polygamist cult for more than five years, I've never heard him say more than a couple of words in court, spoke for 20 minutes. He sounded like he was drunk. But I just saw him in court. I would think he was drunk. He's not drunk. That's the way the guy talks. And he basically says, I want to fire my attorneys because, quote, "I need to do this for justice to be served. For the truth to be presented, I can't use them. They don't have an understanding of my defense." And his attorneys just sat there. The judge asked his attorneys what they thought about that, and his attorneys said, "Mr. Jeffs gives us no permission to talk." She then asked the judge, the other attorneys there are seven attorneys there and they all said they couldn't talk. So, she has given Warren Jeffs permission to represent himself in this trial. A trail in which if he's found guilty of sexual assault of children under 14 years old, he could go to jail for the rest of his life. And she said the trial will begin today or Monday. She's about to make that decision. But it will be a circus. The man knows nothing about the law, Randi.
[Kaye:] Yes. I was going to say, Gary, this sounds like a bit of a risk considering how serious these charges are. Warren Jeffs is not a lawyer. Will he get any legal assistance at all?
[Tuchman:] We are told by his attorneys who aren't allowed to talk in court, but who have talked to me and they have said he sees this as a religious defense that his lawyers can't possibly understand. He doesn't know how to do it in a statement. He doesn't know how to do cross examination. He doesn't know how to do closing arguments. But he says he wants to do it. And it takes him so long to talk I mean, he literally pauses for 30 seconds before he continues into the second sentence. This trial could last forever. But the judge has to agree to it. You have the right to represent yourself. And Lord knows and that's the appropriate thing to say in this kind of trial Lord knows what will happen.
[Kaye:] And, Gary, you've been c covering this guy for a long time, this is not the first time that he's actually fired his lawyers.
[Tuchman:] Well, that's right especially, in this case, he has fired numerous lawyers. And the judge was thinking that he was doing this because he wanted to delay the trial. So, he said today if you are going to represent yourself, and fire your lawyers again, you are not going to delay the trial. It's going to start today. Well, he said, I need a few days. And the prosecution said, we don't object to a few days, for it to start Monday. The judge will surely make the decision whether it starts today, whether it starts Monday. But there's already a jury, the jury is ready to go. They have been sitting in the courtroom since 9:00 a.m. Central Time ready to go with this trial. So, either way, this trial will begin shortly and Warren Jeffs will be representing himself in court.
[Kaye:] He is a man that is full of surprises. We've certainly learned that over the years. Gary Tuchman in Texas Gary, thank you. And minute now, we'd like to remind you, House Speaker John Boehner will be standing at the podium that you're looking at right there in these live pictures, to tell us what progress, if any, Congress has made in this ongoing debt crisis. We'll take you there live as soon as it happens.

[Anderson:] Well, my esteemed colleague, royal correspondent extraordinaire, Max Foster, is with me in the studio here. And welcome to Simon Perry, our chief foreign correspondent for "People" magazine or of "People" magazine, of course, he's going to help us get through tonight's show. Both are here to give us the inside scoop on the big day. I'm going to pull a Rumsfeld on you tonight. Simon, starting with you, known knowns at this point?
[Simon Perry, Chief Foreign Correspondent, "people" Magazine:] Well, it's all the flowers going in today. But we've had the fact that William isn't going to wear a ring, which is quite an interesting one. It caused a lot of a stir, from our magazine's point of view. Lots of women were perturbed that he wasn't going to wear his badge of marriage on his finger. So that was an interesting one.
[Anderson:] It was.
[Perry:] And yes, they're just planning on there and picking out the day that they really want to, which is a lot of their best friends around them.
[Anderson:] All right. So known knowns is that the ring isn't going to appear on his finger. She's going to have one, as any woman would and, Max, what's the inside scoop on the flora, then, as Simon suggested...
[Max Foster, Cnn Anchor:] Flora?
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Foster:] Yes. We've got this exclusive, haven't we?
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Foster:] Never would I have thought I had a flower exclusive. So the flowers and we were with the florists last week collecting them. And they're all coming from the a royal park. So William had to ask permission of his grandmother to gather them. But we did see some trees arriving today, as well. And here's the story, Becky. All sorts of shrubs and greenery have been delivered to the Abbey from every corner of the United Kingdom. Trees in huge pots have been brought in to line the aisle. The plan is to create an avenue of trees leading right up to the altar. Catherine wants to save the surprise, but we know that most of the plants have been gathered from the royal estates. William reportedly had to ask his grandmother, the queen, for permission to plunder her gardens. [on camera]: Many of the flowers are being gathered here. We're in Windsor Great Park, in the shadows of Windsor Castle. And we're just to the west of London. [voice-over]: The area is bursting with color. But royal wedding florist Shane Connolly seems to be homing in on one particular color.
[Shane Connolly, Artistic Director Of Royal Wedding Flowers:] The flowers really are flowering shrubs. So one of the things that has been very important to Catherine and to me are the meanings of flowers and the language of flowers. So we have tried, especially in the wedding bouquets, which you'll see on the day, we've tried very much to make beautiful stories. And the flowers that are coming from here, the azaleas, for instance, are the Chinese symbol of femininity. Blossoms are represent spiritual beauty.
[Foster:] And Catherine, I presume, has been very involved in...
[Connolly:] Hugely involved with the flowers.
[Foster:] in some of the symbolism of the flowers.
[Connolly:] The symbolism means a lot to her. And also the the sourcing has been hugely important. She's she's approached this wedding like few other brides I've ever met. She's approached it with such care.
[Foster:] John Connolly has been working with Graham Sanderson from Windsor Great Park to identify which cuttings to take. Graham has had a problem with the weather, though. It's been an incredibly dry spring.
[Graham Sanderson, Windsor Great Park:] Most of the stuff that we looked at in the early days have actually has gone over pretty quickly. So we're we're having to sort of continually look at what we're going to choose and how are we how we're doing it.
[Foster:] John Connolly has worked with the royal family before. But the Middletons have also brought in their own local florist to work with him.
[Emma Sampson, Middleton's Florist:] We're hoping to do one of two large pedestals. Shane's planning on doing the other. And we'll be working as a general part of a team preparing all the flowers to the Abbey.
[Foster:] All the plants were cut in Windsor Park on Tuesday and delivered to the Abbey. Between now and the wedding, the florists will try to create Catherine's vision of elegance and understatement. After the wedding, everything from here will be brought back and used as compost. The trees will be replanted at another estate. A green wedding in every way, with a bit of white. Everything, Becky, epic. We were saying that yesterday, weren't we? But a team of 20 putting together those flowers in the Abbey. And they're doing the flowers at the two receptions.
[Anderson:] Those are awesome.
[Foster:] They're going to be pretty stressed
[Anderson:] All right, well, we know just how many flowers there are about doing the rounds at this point. We certainly know how many media are around. I think it's 7,000 accredited journalists, some 40 broadcasters, the paparazzi are going to be out, and we know, in their tens, if not thousands. Have a listen, guys, to just what one said about what he's looking forward to and what he thinks about the royal wedding. Have a listen to this.
[Chris Knight, Anarchist:] This royal fiesta of families.
[Darryn Lyons, Founder, Big Pictures:] I think that what you're going to see with William and Kate, and it probably will push the price up even more, is even in the last three to four months, the pictures have been like gold dust around the world. They're a much more difficult couple to photograph than ever the Prince of Wales of past was.
[Anderson:] Yes, all right. That's your man, Mr. Lyons. Looking as splendid as ever. Listen, you know, we talked last night about just how important these photos are to the world's press. "People" magazine. I mean just how big a story is this for you guys?
[Perry:] Oh, I've been it's been massive ever since the engagement was announced back in November. We've been covering it every single week, most days, in fact, since Christmas anyway. So, yes, well, people are really excited. They can't wait to see pictures of her. They're still few and far between and...
[Anderson:] What do your readers want to see?
[Perry:] Uh...
[Anderson:] What do they want to know at this point? What do we don't know?
[Perry:] On on the day of our readers it's the big reveal, the moment she steps out of that car on at about 11:00, we're going to be told the dress, who's made that lovely gown. Our readers are all largely women and they can't wait to know who one, who's made it, and how it's been made.
[Anderson:] On the gown, there's been much speculation. Are we any closer to finding out or it being leaked at this point?
[Foster:] No, we're further and further away.
[Anderson:] Where is it being made? Do we know?
[Foster:] We don't know anything. And everyone is it's like a conspiracy, because the designers all have an interest in us speculating about them because their brand is going up. That works for the palace, as well. You confuse we keep getting confused, as well, because Carol is having a dress, Pippa is having a dress and Katie is having a dress. And the impression is, well, what difference design
[Anderson:] Some a little bird told me that actually the dress has been designed in there... under lock and key.
[Foster:] it was housed in there.
[Anderson:] Oh, really?
[Perry:] And even designed by her was another little birdie.
[Anderson:] Oh, really?
[Perry:] So by Katie herself.
[Anderson:] Extraordinary.
[Perry:] So who knows? And we were able... two or three days to go and hopefully...
[Foster:] Matthew Williamson and he said he would he doesn't envy the pressure on her. He's a big danger. He was touted, wasn't he, at one point?
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Foster:] And he said, you know, she's got to get this right for the whole wedding fashion world.
[Anderson:] Yes. Well, with two billion people watching, I guess it's kind of it's a good shop front, isn't it?
[Foster:] The second biggest in the world.
[Anderson:] All right. Let's not forget that not everybody is is as excited as we are about this wedding. I just want to get the voice of one he's been described to me as an anarchist, so that's how I'm how I'm going to describe him. I've forgotten what his name is. Let's have a listen to our chap, the anarchist, tonight.
[Knight:] This royal festive of family should have a wedding at our expense, at this place, in Central London, at this time, isn't amusing. I mean it really is a provocation.
[Anderson:] Chris has got a point, that many people will buy into, of course. There are a lot of tourists here this week. There are an awful lot of British people who've actually left town. And it happens to be a big long bank holiday week. But, you know, there is a buzz. There is excitement, but perhaps a little muted. Is that are you finding that?
[Perry:] Yes, I think the Brits are only getting into it right now if - you know, in these last few days. It's been all while in the Americas, our readers have been going mad for this for weeks and weeks and weeks and...
[Anderson:] Why do you think that is, Simon?
[Perry:] I think there's an old case of stiff upper lip, oh, it will happen and almost pretend it's not happening. And we'll and we'll get - we'll get to it and we'll get excited. I think it's really feeling like it now, having said that...
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Perry:] the big papers are really pushing it every day on the front when they weren't maybe two weeks ago.
[Anderson:] Yes... and I'd wager that in the next 48 hours, it's going to get pretty busy, isn't it?
[Foster:] Yes. And a palace source, if I can call her that, who has pointed out that there are 10,000 journalists and only 10 press officers. So the the amount of it expresses, doesn't it, the amount of interest in every detail of this?
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Foster:] We're still waiting to hear on the title, by the way, on Katie, because there's a lot of debate there and it's quite difficult. I know they're struggling a bit, because if she doesn't get a if the queen doesn't give her a title between now and the wedding, she still will be Kate Middleton. That won't happen. William's name is Prince William of Wales. So her automatic title would, in thy, be Princess William of Wales and this time, you know, the feminists, I think, would have a few words to say about that. But, also, Princess of Wales is too close to Diana. And also, if anyone was going to have that, it would be Camilla. So they're agonizing over what this title is going to be. So the suggestion is that William will have a new surname of some sort or something. But all I've been told is we will know her as Princess Catherine.
[Anderson:] It's a OK. It's a rather busy week for them, isn't it?
[Perry:] Yes.
[Anderson:] Well, you're changing your name. You get a new coat of arms...
[Foster:] Yes.
[Anderson:] in the past week or so...
[Perry:] Yes.
[Anderson:] a new dress. I mean it it's quite remarkable. And we've said before, and we'll say it again, it must be a it must be a scary thought for two billion people to be able to watch you as you trip along on the aisles... Have you been into Westminster Abbey yet? I mean I know you have. It's a phenomenal setting.
[Perry:] Yes. Yes. And we walked down the aisle the other day just to sort of see the...
[Anderson:] Oh, you did?
[Perry:] Yes. We to see how what it's going to be like on on on Friday, of course. It's going to it's going to be amazing how, obviously, they're that close with with all the the trees going in there and the flowers.
[Foster:] The trees. What do you make of that?
[Perry:] Astonishing. It's going to be actually, it's hard to believe the...
[Foster:] They're enormous.
[Perry:] press speculation that she might wear flowers in her hair, even though they were sort of like creating a little forest in there or something.
[Foster:] Yes, a forest.
[Anderson:] All right, guys.
[Foster:] Yes.
[Anderson:] Stay with me. We're going to take a very short break. We've got to pay for the show. We'll be back with more royal wedding stuff. Then we're going to take a break. Actually, I've decided not to do that. Have you ever met Prince William? That's what I want to know. Have you got anything you want to say to him as he gets ready to walk down that aisle? It's what we've been talking about. We want to hear from you. Head to CNN.comconnect. Tell us about your memories and remember to let us know where you're writing in from. We're going to bring you the best of your stories and comments on the show tomorrow, Wednesday. Well, after days and even weeks of warm weather here in the U.K., there are now fears, I'm afraid, of a royal wedding washout. It sounds like typical English weather, doesn't it? Guillermo, is it on? Is it off? What's going on? Obviously not the wedding, I'm talking about the weather.
[Guillermo Arduino, Cnn Meteorologist:] We're going back to typically British weather, yes. But, you know, we were talking about, behind the scenes in here, that we talk it's we have still a very high chance of nice conditions. But what's going on is that we will see some clouds. And then this system that is in Germany right now, that is bringing the rain into Berlin and into the central parts of that country, it is going to move closer into the Netherlands by tomorrow. And then, on Friday, we may have it here in London. But it's not going to be a big shower. It's not going to be big rain. We may see rain at times. But in essence, the the chance of showers exists and but it's going to have some sun breaks. So it is still we still hope and have a big chance for nice conditions. What you are going to notice, though, and I'm sure that tonight you must have already, Becky, is that it's cooling down. And it's going to cool down even more. So it's going to be breezier, windier, colder, cooler and a little bit more humid. But we don't think that it's going to be extremely rainy. This high pressure center is moving away and it's allowing them, the system that is in Germany, to move closer to Britain, bringing back that period or that typically British weather pattern that we usually see. And it's arriving probably in evening or afternoon hours on Friday. So we're hoping for a morning with slightly cooler, breezier conditions, but not that wet. I said it.
[Anderson:] Now, bring yes, well done. Bring your brolly if you're coming. Let's hope you don't have to use it, though.
[Arduino:] Let's hope so.
[Anderson:] Guillermo, thank you for that.
[Arduino:] Thank you.
[Anderson:] This is special coverage from Buckingham Palace in the run- up to the royal wedding, of course, on Friday. We will, though, of course, be bringing you all the other news stories that are important today. And it's 25 years to the day since the world witnessed the dangers of nuclear power. Up next, the lessons learned from Chernobyl and how nuclear disasters are prompting governments to dig deep for a safer future.

[Wolf Blitzer:] Brooke, thanks very much. Happening now, the Slurpee Summit turns to slush what was supposed to be the ultimate symbol of bipartisanship between a bruised President Obama and the newly crowned GOP leadership gets postponed. Is it a sign of political gridlock to come? Stand by. She seems to be getting serious. In a new interview, Sarah Palin reveals she's in talks with her family about launching a 2012 presidential bid. And she's even discussing the team she'd bring in to help her do it. And New York City has its eye on alleged criminals. We're going to show you how police use iris scanners to help identify suspects. But critics say it crosses the line. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. All that coming up. But let's get to Sarah Palin first and a surprising new remark that she believes she can, in fact, beat President Obama if she challenges him in 2012. Here's a clip just released of an interview that she did with ABC's Barbara Walters.
[Sarah Palin , Former Vice Presidential Candidate:] I'm looking at the lay of the land now and and trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing.
[Barbara Walters:] If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?
[Palin:] I believe so.
[Blitzer:] All right, let's discuss with our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger. She seems to be giving more and more indications that she's seriously thinking of running for the Republican presidential nomination.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Yes, she is. She's enlarging her staff. She's dipping her toe into policy issues. You know, we we get a lot of Tweets and Facebook posts from Sarah Palin. And now, we're starting to see her talk more about policy, about things like the Fed, for example. And she's taking on the Republican establishment. She did pretty well in these in these mid-term elections. So it's very clear that she's giving more and more signals that she could get into this race.
[Blitzer:] And there's no doubt that she has a huge following on the conservative side.
[Borger:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] In our most recent hypothetical between Obama and Palin, registered voters' choice for president this was at the end of October 52 percent said they'd vote for Obama; 44 cept 44 percent for Palin. But that's obviously very, very early.
[Borger:] Right. And don't forget, Wolf, that's overall. That's not Republican primary voters. Where she is popular is with Republican primary voters. But in our latest poll, we asked Republicans about who they'd like to see in 2012. She was not the number one choice, though. First came Huckabee, then came Mitt Romney and then came Sarah Palin. But if you look at those early primaries and caucuses, like the Iowa caucuses, she could do quite well because there's a big Evangelical vote, for example. She could place second or first in New Hampshire. She could do well in South Carolina, in Nevada. So there are Republicans who are beginning to say, you know what, we've always underestimated her. We'd better take her seriously because she might run and there are lots of more establishment Republicans, Wolf, who are not very happy about it.
[Blitzer:] And she's going to be the cover story in "The New York Times" Sunday magazine.
[Borger:] Yes, she is.
[Blitzer:] There's a lot more coming up. We have a lot more on this story, as well. Gloria, thank you. Tomorrow was supposed to be the day the country got its first glimpse of the new bipartisanship in Washington just weeks after voters issued a stern warning to President Obama to change the way that things are being done. Nicknamed the so-called Slurpee Summit, Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders were expected to meet with the president at the White House to try to find some ways to work together. But now, that meeting has been rescheduled. And it's leaving many wondering if there's anything that the two sides can actually agree on. Let's go to our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian. He's working the story over at the White House. What are you finding out Dan?
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, you know, one political analyst says that this is a setback for both Republicans and Democrats because Americans out there are feeling a sense of urgency in their own lives. But they're not seeing that same urgency here in Washington. Nonetheless, both sides are insisting that this is nothing more than a scheduling issue and is not a bipartisan stumble.
[Lothian:] The Slurpee Summit was meant to soothe President Obama's election day shellacking.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] The Slurpee Summit. That's good.
[Unidentified Male:] You betcha.
[Obama:] I like that.
[Lothian:] The White House announced the date November 18th.
[Obama:] This is going to be a meeting in which I want us to talk substantively about how we can move the American people's agenda forward. It's not just going to be a photo-op. Hopefully, it may spill over into dinner.
[Lothian:] But two days before the big meeting, it was postponed until the 30th. GOP leaders blamed scheduling conflicts and privately suggested they'd never settled on the earlier date announced by the White House. But delaying what amounts to an olive branch from the president seems at odds with all the post-election talk about bipartisanship.
[Rep. John Boehner , Majority Leader:] The president and I had a very pleasant conversation.
[Obama:] I am very eager to sit down with members of both parties and figure out how we can move forward together.
[Lothian:] Compromise is what both side are looking for coming out of the much anticipated meeting. Tackling the Bush tax cuts, the new START Treaty and job creation measures.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell , Minority Leader:] I'm looking forward to the meeting and to the opportunity to share with the president, again, the areas where we agree.
[Lothian:] While much is being made of this rain check, Senator McConnell's spokesman, Don Stewart, said: "There is absolutely nothing to it." And White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters: "This compromise on the date shows bipartisanship has happened. We're flexible." But former presidential adviser David Gergen said this scheduling conflict doesn't fly with many Americans.
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst, Former Presidential Adviser:] But it's very hard for anybody outside Washington to understand why it takes a full month after the election for the leaders of the White House and the Congress to sit down together and map out plans for the future at a time of really urgent needs for America.
[Lothian:] Now, Robert Gibbs says that he does not see this as a bad prospect for Republicans and Democrats working together going forward. He said that Republicans simply wanted another date. It was convenient and the White House was willing to wait. And Gibbs also pointing out that they'll have other meetings with Republicans in the coming months Wolf.
[Blitzer:] And the meeting will now take place after Thanksgiving, on November 30th.
[Lothian:] Yes, it will.
[Blitzer:] All right, Dan. Thank you. On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, the Democrats in the House will be in the minority in January, but their leadership has not changed. The party has just elected the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to become the minority leader in the next Congress. But there were some stumbling blocks along the way. Let's bring in our senior Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. She has the details for us. Always exciting on the Hill, especially today Dana.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] That is for sure. You know, House Democrats lost more than 60 seats in this month's elections, but today, the majority of the House Democrats remaining decided not to punish their leaders for it. And despite the fact that there were some misgivings, Nancy Pelosi did become the first speaker in more than half a century, since Sam Rayburn, to lose her gavel but stay on as leader.
[Bash:] The new House Democratic leadership team same as the old.
[Rep. Nancy Pelosi , Minority Leader:] They know that I'm the person that can attract the resources, both intellectual and otherwise, to take us to victory because I have done it before.
[Bash:] Nancy Pelosi won her bid to remain House Democratic leader 150-43. Nearly a quarter of the Democratic Caucus voted for a more conservative alternative, North Carolina Democrat, Heath Shuler.
[Rep. Heath Shuler , North Carolina:] But it wasn't about our winning or losing this race, it was about truly making a difference within our caucus to to ensure that the moderates are heard within the caucus. And we have to to be able to communicate to the American people in order to win back the election in 2012.
[Bash:] But the vote that may have been more telling about concerns with Pelosi was one offered by these Democrats to delay the election. The measure lost, but 68 House Democrats voted in favor of taking time to understand their devastating losses before reelecting the same leadership.
[Rep. Bill Pascrell , New Jersey:] I consider myself one of Nancy Pelosi's closest friends here in the Congress. I think we missed an opportunity today to send a signal to America that we understand what happened this past election.
[Bash:] Pelosi does still have plenty of support, even those who survived tough races.
[Rep. Raul Grijalva , Arizona:] Her tenacity and her intelligence
[Bash:] But this Democrat, who was defeated, says his colleagues are making a big mistake sticking with Pelosi as their leader.
[Rep. Allen Boyd , Florida:] The truth is that she is the face that defeated us in this last election. And it seems to me that, at some point in time, you have to put your personal agenda and ambitions aside for the good of the country and and certainly of of the party.
[Bash:] Do you feel that your defeat is, in part, because of Nancy Pelosi?
[Boyd:] Well, absolutely.
[Bash:] Pelosi insisted she can be an effective leader, even with fractured support and low standing in the polls.
[Pelosi:] How would your ratings be if $75 million were spent against you?
[Bash:] Now, House Republicans also elected their leadership today. Not surprising, Wolf, John Boehner was given the title of Republican leader, soon to be speaker. He won't get that title officially or the gavel until the new Congress convenes in January. But he did get this nod show of support on a special day. It's his 61st birthday Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Happy birthday to the incoming speaker. Thanks very much, Dana, for that. Alaska's fierce Senate battle gets even more intense as the votes are tallied. We're going to tell you where the count stands right now and what Senator Lisa Murkowski is about to say about the race. And Germany uncovers evidence of a possible Al Qaeda plot. You're going to find out what that company is doing to keep its citizens safe. And we have new information coming into THE SITUATION ROOM about Osama bin Laden from a man who knows him. Stick around. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

[Baldwin:] The United Nations security council is meeting to decide if now is the time to free up large amounts of Gadhafi's money that it had frozen when the uprising in Libya first began. I want to bring in our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth. And Richard, easy question. Has a decision been made?
[Richard Roth, Cnn Senior U.n. Correspondent:] The meeting has just started. There's heavy pressure on one country, South Africa, which diplomats say has been the lone holdout. The plan is to release $1.5 billion in frozen assets. This is money that was held when the Security Council passed that resolution to denounce Gadhafi when he was oppressing his own citizens. Now the situation has changed on the ground and they want to give that money. Plus the Libyans on the Libyan transition council, they're asking for $2.5 billion in additional aid. So there's a lot of money going on. The key is to get some stability for the people of Libya after all of this chaos.
[Baldwin:] Richard, let's check back in with you as you mentioned that meeting just began when it is finished. I definitely want to check back in with you at the U.N. For now, we'll let you go. Richard, thank you very much. I want to get to Mike Baker joining me again today, former CIA covert operations officer. Mike, OK, first I want to let's juxtapose what we're seeing in terms of the images coming out of Tripoli and also what we're not. We're seeing amazingly, all the journalists freed from the Rixos hotel, all kinds of celebratory gunfire. My question to you in terms of intel, what aren't we seeing?
[Mike Baker, Former Cia Covert Operations Officer:] Well, the outward visuals that we've got, certainly everyone is concerned about the chaos that they're seeing, the firing on the streets, the dumping of weapons outside of the armories. What you're not seeing behind the scenes is on several levels. One is a significant effort by British and French for the most part personnel to try to pull together a chain of command that can bring all these militia and rebel groups under control of one central leadership. So they're not acting somewhat independently. Then what you're not seeing also is all the effort that's been put forward to continue to train the rebels, now to get ahead of the curve and to try to understand how do we create this into a workable military. Most of these people are civilians. Are they going to want to give up their weapons and go home? There's a great deal of gathering intelligence. So there is a great deal of work is done by not only our CIA but also French and British services to be able to debrief recent defectors coming particularly from the military and from the cabinet, try to get a handle on everything from where's Gadhafi to what about the weapons? There are a significant number of weapons that have just basically gone walkabout.
[Baldwin:] Let me just jump in because this is something I have been struck by, my whole team, watching this story playing out. But the weaponry these rebels have, coming across these different caches as well, now they're getting more weapons from the Gadhafi compound. There has to be a concern of these weapons if no one's looking, they could walk out the back door and fall in the hands of the bad guys.
[Baker:] Absolutely. And they likely already have to some degree. They have raiding armories for months as they gain control of certain town and bases in the eastern side in particular. And, you know, there can be upwards of 20,000 portable meaning shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, Russian built for the most part. And you have all the anti-tank systems, a variety of weapons systems stored up in the armories. And they burst open the doors and these things have started going out. And you can guarantee that nobody is standing at the door with a clipboard taking inventory. So we have got a real concern at some point some extremist elements again, not to go down the road say, oh, my good, you know, it's going to be jihad and the extremists will take control of the country. But they will take advantage of the chaos. And first and foremost they'll be looking to take advantage of all these weapons flooding onto the market.
[Baldwin:] There's the weapons and then that whole stockpile in the city south of Tripoli with the mustard gas. We'll get news from the Pentagon and we'll talk about that next hour. Mike Baker, thank you very, very much. Still ahead here, a coaching legend in women's basketball now facing her toughest competition yet. We're going to tell you about Pat Summitt's stunning medical revelation and why she won't be throwing in the towel just yet.

[Lemon:] So are you enjoying your new iPad? Well, if you watched just one of those March Madness basketball games on it, you probably have used up an entire month's worth of data plan usage and that could cost you and it could cost you a lot. Dan Simon live now in San Francisco to explain. Dan, how can this be?
[Dan Simon, Cnn Silicon Valley Correspondent:] You know, Don, I can understand why people are frustrated about this. You know, you take the new iPad. It's got the super high resolution screen. The retina screen. And then you combine that with the 4G connection, if you happened to have gotten that upgraded model. And then you have the recipe for consuming a whole bunch of data. So people are complaining, saying that they've exhausted their whole month's data plan in a matter of hours. But we wanted to test this out for ourselves. So we teamed up with a publication called "Tab Times." This is a publication devoted to tablets. And, sure enough, if you're watching a high-definition movie for three hours, you can burn three gigabytes of data. I'm sorry to get technical for a second, but I have to do this. So the way it works is, you can purchase a plan from AT&T; or Verizon. The plans usually are two gigabytes or three gigabytes a month for $30. And you do the math. One high-definition movie equals about three hours. That's three gigabytes of data. This is definitely a story of buyer beware. Take a look.
[Simon:] What do you think this means for the consumer?
[George Jones, Editor, "tab Times":] This is interesting for the consumer. I think in the short term it probably means a lot of people will be scared and nervous about using these kinds of connections to stream video. I think in the long term, hopefully this these kinds of findings are going to help the AT&Ts; and Verizon Wirelesses of the world to kind of figure out kind of what consumers need and then meet that need.
[Simon:] So if you watch an entire game using this connection, it's going to cost you $30, right?
[Jones:] Yes, $30 for a three-hour baseball game, unless you really need to watch that game, is outrageous. And think about this. You could, you know, buy a ticket for this much money.
[Simon:] The bottom line here, Don, is these wireless companies don't want these new networks to be constrained, so they have to keep the prices just high enough so lots of people aren't going on there. It's the same reason why they got rid of these all you can eat plans when it comes to, you know, the phones. And so we're seeing the same, you know, principles applied here to tablets. So you've got to be careful.
[Lemon:] What do you do then?
[Simon:] Well, it's an easy answer. Use wi-fi. And if you happen to be on one of these super high fast mobile connections, be cautious about watching video. That's where you're really going to soak up a bunch of data. There are also some resources you can go on, you know, to your tablet, for example, see how much data you consumed. But you've got to be careful or else you're going to incur some extra fees.
[Lemon:] Mr. Dan Simon in San Francisco. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. A new report shows more kids and more families are living with autism than we ever thought. And we'll have the latest on the troubling numbers and what they mean for your family.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Shocking allegations. The government accused of doing experiments on premature babies without telling the parents about the risk. CNN investigates. The IRS says it can read your e-mails without a warrant. And, in a fight between a gun and bat. Bat wins. Plus
[Adam Gadahn, Al Qaeda Spokesman:] You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle. So what are you waiting for?
[Baldwin:] The words of an American terrorist. The problem is, he's wrong on one thing. And, what's day in America without a little controversy. Today the new Barbie making waves. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now. Hi, there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Good to be with you. Beginning with breaking news on this Thursday. Reports of a tornado right now moving over Mississippi, Chad Myers, into Alabama.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] That's correct.
[Baldwin:] Tell me what you know.
[Myers:] Very close to the small town of Macedonia, Alabama. It was on the ground and has been on the ground for a long time. It produced one fatality we had confirmed here at CNN in Kemper County, Mississippi. And the storm continues to be on the ground as it travels to the east of Columbus, Mississippi. These are kind of rural areas, thank goodness, because this is probably an F-3 or an F-4 tornado on the ground. It did hit a town near Macon, Mississippi, earlier, but it is now kind of moving on up toward a very rural area north of Reform, Alabama. They're already putting some of the kids out of school, taking them out of school already in Alabama. The last time this happened we remember the vivid pictures of Tuscaloosa.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Myers:] Those kids are going home.
[Baldwin:] Chad Myers, thank you. We'll come back to you as soon as you get more information here. As you have been reporting, one death confirmed, Kemper County, Mississippi. We're making phone calls. We'll try to get some videos as soon as we possibly can. I want to move along, though, because I just want to give you the heads-up. Any moment, history in the making today. President Obama will present the Medal of Honor to the family of an American priest who died more than six decades ago. You hear the music. These are live pictures inside the White House. This is where the ceremony will take place. Let me just tell you though, this story here is absolutely fascinating because, among other heroic acts, he stole food for POWs during the Korean War without firing a single shot. You will hear emotional memories from this man's fellow soldiers. Stay right here for that. But first, the federal government is under fire for research it funded that may have risked the lives of the most vulnerable, extremely premature infants. Thirteen hundred of them to be precise. The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen is reporting on this. Says these little ones were exposed between the years 2005 and 2009. Public Citizen just sent a letter to the head of the Department of Health and Human Services demanding an apology for mishandling a study that examined oxygen levels in preemies. It accuses researcher of not telling parents that their newborns could be at higher risk of blindness or death if the families took part in the research. A co- author of that letter released a statement saying this, quote, "the word unethical doesn't even begin to describe the egregious and shocking deficiencies in the informed-consent process for this study. It is highly likely that had they been appropriately informed about the nature of the research and its risks, many, if not most, parents would not have allowed their babies to be in this city. I want to talk about this with CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. A lot of questions. The first being, why would the government do this sort of research in the first place?
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] Because there's a big question that needs to be answered.
[Baldwin:] Which is?
[Cohen:] Which is, when you have what's called a micropreemie, so smaller than two pounds 12 ounces, all right, so that's very small, a lot of those babies need oxygen. Well, how much oxygen do you give them? That's the big question. So what they decided because here is the problem. If you give too much oxygen, high levels of oxygen can cause blindness. But if you give low levels of oxygen, that can cause death. So what neonatologists do is they try to, you know, with each individual baby, they see how much they need and they give them just what they need and hopefully no more because they don't want to cause blindness. What this study did was they said, you know, we don't know exactly what levels are right. So we're going to assign these babies, half of them are going to get a relatively low end of that range and another half are going to get a relatively high end of that range. So we're going to randomize them, one group or the other, randomly chosen to get either relatively high levels or relatively low levels of oxygen. And what Public Citizen says is that's unethical. You should be gauging oxygen levels by what that baby needs, not by just randomly assigning them to a group.
[Baldwin:] But not only that, when you read this and you hear about the risks, how could they not tell the parent?
[Cohen:] Aha. And that is the part that actually the National Institutes of Health is upset about. The NIH actually wrote a letter to all of these doctors saying, hey, we looked at your consent form and you didn't warn parents that high levels could cause blindness and low levels could cause
[Baldwin:] Why?
[Cohen:] Well, because the researchers have basically said, look, we were within the range that's considered safe. We were within the range that doctors give babies all the time. We just sort of skewed to the high end for one group and skewed to the low end for another group. We weren't giving them crazy highs or crazy lows.
[Baldwin:] Is that good enough for the parents?
[Cohen:] Well, it's certainly not good enough for Public Citizen.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Cohen:] It's actually, in many ways, not good enough for the NIH. I mean this letter really says to them, hey, you didn't warn about the risks the way you were supposed to. And, in fact, the University of Alabama, which has been the lead researcher on this, they said, "we will ensure that any future consent form clearly delineates risk." That's what they've written in response. In the future, we will make sure that forms clearly tell parents, or study subjects, what the risk is, which makes you kind of thing, maybe this time they didn't quite get it the way they should have.
[Baldwin:] Right, if they're changing it for a future
[Cohen:] Right. Exactly.
[Baldwin:] What about the babies? How did they fair?
[Cohen:] You know, the doctors say that the babies have done great and the doctors say that the babies actually have done better than babies who weren't in this study. Some people, Public Citizen, would argue with that. It kind of depends how you look at the numbers. And what's interesting is the results they got were pretty much what you'd expect. Babies who were on the high end had were more likely to get a disease that can result in blindness. Babies on the low end were more likely to die. And Public Citizen and others say, why did we put babies through a study and experiment on them to figure out what we already knew? What was the purpose of that study? How is it going to help any baby?
[Baldwin:] It sounds like a valid question.
[Cohen:] It
[Baldwin:] I never heard, micropreemies, less than two pounds.
[Cohen:] Less than two pounds, 12 ounces.
[Baldwin:] Two pounds, 12 ounces. Wow.
[Cohen:] Right. Right.
[Baldwin:] Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for that.
[Cohen:] Thanks.
[Baldwin:] In a matter of moments, as we mentioned a moment ago, an army chaplain who stole food for POWs during the Korean War will be awarded the Medal of Honor more than 60 years after his death. And want to share just a picture here. This is a picture of him. He is on the right. He is helping you see them carrying this exhausted soldier off the battlefield. President Obama will honor him and his family very, very soon. But first, CNN's Barbara Starr with a closer look at this extraordinary man -we go to live pictures from the White House this extraordinary man who served our country.
[Unidentified Male:] Rations and water are scarce.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] In the winter of 1950, the Korean War was tough going for often overwhelmed U.S. troops. Here on the right, an extraordinary soldier who never fired a shot. And now, more than 60 years after his death, Emil Kapaun is receiving the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor in action. For Father Emil Kapaun, a Catholic Army chaplain, the sole weapon, faith. Mike Dow, now 85, was a young lieutenant.
[Starr:] You still, to this day, keep his photo on the wall.
[Mike Dowe, Korean War Pow:] Yes. That's that one picture is the one I like of him holding his pipe when it was shot out of his mouth.
[Starr:] Captured in November 1950, Dowe met the priest as they carried the wounded on the long POW marches north.
[Dowe:] There was a fellow on the back of this stretcher that we I was in the front of. And I said, I'm Mike Dowe. What's your name? And he said, Kapaun.
[Starr:] Father Kapaun's nephew, Ray, is accepting the medal, in part for the men who were there.
[Ray Kapaun, Rev. Emil Kapaun's Nephew:] Even though this Medal of Honor is for Emil, it's for these guys as well too. They would tell everybody and anybody, you know, they didn't want the story to die.
[Starr:] Stories of a priest rescuing the wounded.
[Kapaun:] It didn't matter if there was mortar shells falling around him and bullets flying by.
[Starr:] Mike Dowe says he survived being a POW because of Father Kapaun.
[Dowe:] He was able to engender a spirit of loyalty and meaningfulness to being a captive by resisting your captors and maintaining your faith with your country that enabled you to keep your will to live.
[Starr:] The priest regularly stole food for the starving men.
[Dowe:] He'd come around saying, "hot coffee," and give hot water to all of us there. And, man, that was it may not sound like much today, but that sure meant a lot under those circumstances.
[Starr:] The enemy, the North Koreans and Chinese, began to fear the now ailing catholic priest.
[Kapaun:] The Koreans came in and told him that, you know, they're going have to take him to the hospital. And the hospital I mean you ask all the guys, the hospital was just a death house.
[Starr:] But his friends could not save him. Father Kapaun's final moments with his flock of POWs, as he was carried away, difficult even now for Mike Dowe.
[Dowe:] He turned to me and said something to the effect, Mike, don't worry. I'm going where I always wanted to go. And when I get there, I'll say a prayer for you.
[Starr:] To this day, his remains are buried in a mass grave in North Korea. His nephew says, still, the family would like to bring him home.
[Baldwin:] Again we are
[Starr:] And this
[Baldwin:] Forgive me, Barbara. We are awaiting history here, go ahead, as we watch these live pictures.
[Starr:] Yes, as we await the president in the next few minutes. This is just really a remark story. If this story isn't enough for you. In fact, the Vatican has Father Emil Kapoun's story under investigation. They are looking at the prospect of naming him a saint of the Catholic church, of canonizing him.
[Baldwin:] Wow.
[Starr:] Over the last 60 years, these men have fought to get him the Medal of Honor. And many people of the faithful who have prayed to Father Kapoun have testified to the church about miracles that they believe have occurred in his name. It is just a remarkable, remarkable story. These men never gave up, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] What a proud day for, obviously his family, his friends, the Army, for chaplains. We are awaiting this posthumous honor here there at the White House. History in the making. You do not want to miss these moments. Ninety second break. Back in a moment.

[Unidentified Male:] I need an ambulance. I do not see a shooter anywhere. And I am on the just come in behind me.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. We are following a breaking news on CNN. Those were chilling moments when police were dealing with a shooting rampage at a Sikh temple. And you just heard brand new recordings from police dispatch in Wisconsin. The gunman and six others are dead, an officer was wounded in a firefight. CNN's Ted Rowlands is there bringing us the very latest on that. We'll get to Ted in just a moment. But, first, I want you to hear from the police and that dispatch and then we're back to Ted.
[Unidentified Female:] Yes, subject's not moving. We're approaching upon him. He's not moving.
[Unidentified Male:] Call an ambulance. Stop. Subject's down. Stop. Subject's down. Call an ambulance.
[Unidentified Female:] Go ahead.
[Unidentified Male:] We have one officer shot.
[Unidentified Female:] Bacon needs back-up. Squad 7512 South Hollow Avenue. Subject's with a gun, balding, white T-shirt. Officer down.
[Lemon:] Officer down. Those were dispatches from the emergency department from police that you're listening to right there. Ted Rowlands standing by. We've had so much more information to get in and those were really tenuous moments as this was all developing. Ted, I understand now, you have some new developments to tell us about this alleged shooter. What do you know.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] A little bit more information, Don, on the shooter and the gun that was used. One firearm was used in this shooting according to a special agent with the ATF we just talked to about five minutes ago. It is a nine millimeter semi-automatic pistol. It was recovered at the scene. They have issued a search warrant for the home where the suspect lives. They are executing that warrant as we speak right now, looking for more weapons, going through the computer files, if there is a computer there, or any other information about the suspect and what could have led to this shooting. Take a listen to a portion of the interview we did with this ATF agent just a few minutes ago, talking about the suspect. He's a 40-year-old male. We'll try to get you that sound in a bit, Don. But here's basically what he told me. 40-year-old white male who lives in a nearby town called Couderay which is about 13 miles away from the temple. And, at this point, they've been talking to witnesses, they have the suspect's identity. They have not been able to have any connections, set any connection between the suspect and this temple at all. Witnesses say that he was a bald, white male with a "911" tattoo on his arm. We got some more information about the witnesses. We haven't been able to talk we haven't talked t to let's first listen to the ATF agent and what he said about the suspect and about the ongoing investigation. We have that now.
[Thomas Ahern, Atf Agent:] A white male, approximately 40 years of age and that's all we have. As far as his motive, we're a long way away from that right now. And as I said, the situation is still very fluid, you know, with the warrants being served right now at his residence. And the scene is still being processed. There's a lot of interviews that need to take place with witnesses from inside the temple and so forth. Then it's just to reconstruct the crime scene. And the timeline of this is still ways off.
[Rowlands:] And, Don, those witnesses are still here. They're at an adjacent bowling alley near the temple. They're still being interviewed and processed. A few of them have been allowed to go home. And we've seen some very emotional scenes as people coming out in tears, being put into vehicles and shuttled away, obviously very distraught some folks. But there are still more witnesses that we talked to. We did have an opportunity to talk to an interpreter that's being used by the police here to talk to eyewitnesses. He went in and helped decipher basically what these witnesses were telling police and investigators. His name is Kanwardeep Kaleka. And it's a fascinating interview. But take a listen to a little bit of this and you'll understand basically what happened during this temple shooting.
[Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka, Sikh Temple Member:] My gut is there's probably just one. And there's just some accounts that conflict in a way that, maybe, there's two in terms of hearing multiple gunshots, that they hear gunshots in the immediate vicinity. And it's a question whether it's an echo or gunshots of policemen or another gunman.
[Rowlands:] And, now, you did also hear witness' testimony on the actual shooter. You're saying that, according to witnesses, he had a "911" tattoo, he was a Caucasian male. What else can you tell us about this witness that you heard from witnesses. The shooter.
[Kaleka:] I mean, basically, he's fairly tall, around six foot. He was wearing a white T-shirt and black pants. And, in terms of the actual description, supposing he might have been driving a white car. We couldn't get a license plate on this but, yes, that's pretty much what we understand up at this point.
[Rowlands:] Set the scene for us. Tell us about the layout of the temple and what witnesses have told you in terms of where the shooting took place. This was about an hour before most of the people would be arriving for the 11:30 service. Tell us what you can, in terms of what you heard on what happened.
[Kaleka:] So, essentially, the temple is located just off the street. There's a large parking lot once you drive in a little bend. And when the gunman opened fire right at the entrance to the parking lot and killing at least one, if not two, people there, the gunman proceeded to enter. And I'm not sure where the gunshots were fired at that point. It might have been in this area just outside what we call the "barhol" or the the religious room where we keep our holy book and where people pray. And people from the kitchen had heard it and they fled. And then, I guess, he went into the holy room and opened fire on some individuals there injuring multiple, mainly turbaned individuals. Beyond that, he did opened fire. Then he went to another area off to the side where the kitchen area was where a lot of ladies were cooking the food we feed the congregation and opened fire there and they were fortunate enough to duck down and dodge it. So, there's really only minor injuries. But, for the most part, yes, it was mainly most of the stuff was done in front of the holy room and in the holy room.
[Rowlands:] And you say that the possible targets here were turbaned individuals. You're talking about male victims. And you say that these were holy men, a few priests were, in your estimation, through what you've heard from witnesses, targeted.
[Kaleka:] Well, it seems the few casualties that have been divulged to me have been the equivalent of priests, the holy leaders of our temple as well as my uncle who is one of them, who is one of the administrators of the temple. So, it's mainly those individuals who have been targeted or were shot. And, yes, I mean, maybe it's because the ladies were fortunate enough to dodge it out but, so far, most of the people I've heard that have been shot or killed were all turbaned males.
[Rowlands:] And, again, seven dead including the shooter, Don. And one of the injured is the police officer that was first on scene, who was, as we have been telling you, was quote "ambushed" according to police investigators by this shooter. His partner is the one that shot the shooter in the parking lot. We do understand that the officer has gone into surgery and is expected to survive. But he was shot multiple times at the scene. And, as you can imagine, outside the temple still here are very emotional scenes as people are coming and going, coming to see who was shot. The names have not been released yet. The rumor mill, obviously, as it always does in a case like this, is running. So, there are a lot of folks that are dealing with not knowing or, when they do know, dealing with grief.
[Lemon:] Absolutely and one of which is not it's not exactly a rumor but it's second-hand information from people who are speaking to witnesses about that "911" tattoo. The suspect very well may have that. Police have not confirmed that nor have we seen it. But this is according to a neighbor and also from a relative of people who were inside of that temple. Correct, Ted.
[Rowlands:] Correct. And I did ask Thomas Ahern from the ATF that question and he said that he, quite frankly, just didn't know. He didn't know about any markings on the shooter's body. But we've heard it now from two different sources. One from a neighbor of the suspect and one from an eyewitness through this interpreter here at the scene.
[Lemon:] Ted Rowlands in Wisconsin. Ted, don't go anywhere. We'll be relying on you for more information as it comes in as we continue our coverage here. Again, Ted reporting the suspected gunman in this mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin was a white male who was roughly 40 years of age. Again, that's according to Thomas Ahern who is a spokesman for the ATF in the Chicago Division. That's after this guy this guy is believed to be the guy who killed six people, shot and killed six people inside that temple. And, now, he has also left three people in critical condition in the hospital, including a police officer. And police in Oak Creek say, they'll release no more information until tomorrow morning. The last public statements from police near the shooting scene right now. Listen.
[John Edwards, Chief, Oak Creek, Wisconsin Police Department:] Our officers responded to the scene did find a victim. And we're dealing with that individual when our officer, a 20-year veteran, was ambushed, shot multiple times. He's currently at the hospital undergoing surgery. We expect him to recover. And another officer who was on the scene was engaged by the suspect. Our officer did engage that individual and that individual is deceased from the actions that our officer took. It stopped the tragic event that could have been a lot worse. There was a service going on with many people at that location. What we've done now is we've it's taken most of the day to clear that area that the church itself and the surrounding area because of conflicting reports that we got about how many people may be involved. We just were able to clear it. What we're going to be doing, we have numerous individuals that we have that are deceased at this point. I don't have total numbers for you right now. We're working on that. We're going in there shortly. The FBI will be handling the criminal investigation on this incident. We looked at it, the scope of it and what implications might be. We're treating this as a domestic terrorist type incident and, therefore, the FBI has the resources needed to help investigate that. The ATF is also involved with this along with the Marquette Police Department is assisting us with the D.A.'s Office and the officer- involved shooting portion of this investigation. At this point, I'm not going to give out demographics of who the individuals may be, as far as ages and genders. We don't have all that information. I'm not releasing it to people unnotified. As far as the officer, we know he has family that still needs to be notified, so we are not giving his information out either. UNIDENTIFIED MALE; How many injured, Chief.
[Edwards:] As far as we know, there are multiple injured I believe, there were two additional.
[Unidentified Male:] So, what does that total.
[Unidentified Female:] How many total.
[Edwards:] The total from what we have, I believe, we have seven deceased and three injured, including our officer.
[Lemon:] Live on CNN, Oak Creek Police Chief, John Edwards, giving the latest information. And, of course, now, we have just learned that the suspected shooter, white male, roughly in his 40s, bald head. Police are executing a search warrant as we speak on his home. Next, we'll get inside into Sikh community from a member of a Sikh coalition. Welcome back tour continuing coverage of the Wisconsin temple shooting. I'm Don Lemon at the scene and with headquarters at Atlanta. And, you know, across America, the Sikh community is mourning the tragedy in Oak Creek. And people of this faith, which is obscure to most Americans, they are coming together now. To talk more about the shooting, we are joined now by Amardeep Singh, Attorney and a Co-founder of the Sikh coalition. Thank you so much for joining us and, of course, my condolences for the tragedy which has struck your community.
[Amardeep Singh, Co-founder, Sikh Coalition:] Thank you, Don.
[Lemon:] With the biggest coalition in the U.S. and civil rights group in the U.S., what are you doing in the wake of this horrific shooting.
[Singh:] Yes, there are a few things, you know. One, we've been contacting our federal authorities. Everything everyone on from the President to the United States Justice Department. And, thankfully, they've expressed their full support to make sure we find out what happened and that this matter is properly investigated and that the community is protected. In addition, we're working I, along with members of our organization, are going to be out in Wisconsin tomorrow to lend a hand to the community out there. As you can imagine, the Sikh community in the Midwest is relatively smaller than most of the communities on the coast, has less capacity, so we want to help them out. And, finally, we're doing our best to educate folks on who we are and what we believe in, so folks understand that Sikh values are consistent with America's values.
[Lemon:] And you are heading to Wisconsin tomorrow to help out in this effort as you mentioned. How many of you and what do you plan to do exactly.
[Singh:] So, at least three members of our staff are going to be out there in Wisconsin tomorrow. And the plan is really to just get a sense of, you know, what happened and then help the community there appropriately respond, so that we can get to the bottom of this. And, more importantly, we can have a better chance at explaining to America who we are as a community and our contributions to our country.
[Lemon:] How are they what are you hearing from folks there. How are they dealing with this.
[Singh:] As you can imagine, there's shock. Folks are overwhelmed. But there is also a tremendous amount of gratitude for the heroic response of the Oak Creek Police Department. Obviously, our thoughts and prayers, and people's thoughts and prayers, are with that police officer who was critically-wounded and is in the hospital now. And with the families of those who've been deceased and with those who are also in the hospital. But, it's a mixture of shock but then, also gratitude that everyone, from the President to our friends and neighbors, have reached out us and affirmed America's values and come together in this tragedy rather than being driven apart.
[Lemon:] Amardeep Singh, thank you very much. We appreciate it. And stay in touch with us as you go to Wisconsin tomorrow and you work with this community. Again, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Thanks for joining us here on
[Cnn. Singh:] Thank you.
[Lemon:] Thank you. We are going to talk more about the Sikh community. My next guest is from the "CNN BELIEF BLOG." He's going to join us and share his insights next.
[Eric Marrapodi, Co-editor, Cnn's Belief Blog:] Don, certainly, Sikhs are numerous globally. Twenty-five million around the world practice Sikhism. Here in the United States, it's about 700 thousand, mostly situated on the Coast. Big populations in the Bay area, in Boston, in Washington D.C. and New York as well. In the Midwest, not as many but, of course, ethnic minorities tend to come together like this in religious observances. And so, that's why we saw a Sikh temple there outside of Milwaukee is so popular. About 400 members in that particular temple, that gurdwara, that had started 1997. So, a long, established part of the community there in Oak Creek.
[Lemon:] People are asking me. They have been e-mailing me on social media asking, "Sikhs, are Sikhs like Muslims. They're not Muslims. Are they like Muslims." And, of course, people are trying to get information because many people don't know that much about Sikhism.
[Marrapodi:] Yes, it's true. There's not a whole lot of information out there in the common parlance of America about Sikhism. One of the things that's important is its own revealed religion. It comes around about 500 years ago, comes out of India, comes out of the areas of Islam and of Hinduism. But it's its own unique and particular faith. And some of the things that are big identifiers for Sikhs is the men, in particular, don't cut their hair. And that's part of their commitment and their sacrifice. And what they do is they wear turban. Now, that's not just a fashion statement as it is in other parts of the country. That's a deep part of their faith, to keep their hair uncut as a commitment to god. And so, here in the United States, that's one of the most recognizable features of men who are observant Sikhs. Now, not all males Sikhs wear their hair long and wear the turban but many, many do here in the United States. And so, I talked to one expert who follows hate crimes against Sikhs here in the United States and she told me that whenever we find a spike about anti-Muslim rhetoric, it's the Sikhs who often pay the price because they are the ones who look Muslim although they are not. Because when we see terrorists like al Qaeda and the people who bastardize Islam, they often wear turbans and long beards just like the Sikhs do here in the United States and around the world.
[Lemon:] I want to ask you this, so do Sikhs have any traditional enemies like Hindus or Muslims who might want to do violence against Sikhs.
[Marrapodi:] Well, not traditionally, and certainly not here in the United States, such a tiny minority. But, again, when we get into that anti-Muslim rhetoric, that's where we see Sikhs here in the United States facing a lot of hate crimes. Just last year, there was another temple in Michigan that was vandalized. And it was probably mistakenly vandalized as a mosque instead of it actually being a gurdwara like we saw here. And so, that's one of the things that a lot of us are going to be waiting for as this investigation continues to unfold. Is whether or not this particular house of worship was targeted on a basis of a hate crime or whether the person involved in the shooting thought they were targeting a mosque or other religions. Just a horrible, horrible tragedy here at the community and all of us who followed religions are trying to get our heads around it.
[Lemon:] You know, we had a Sikh community leader on CNN early who said that people in his faith and, as you just mentioned a short time ago, are often misunderstood or confused with Muslim or, what he said, Taliban members. He mentioned the turban. You talked about that. He explained why the the turban is important to the faith. My question is, are there any noticeable incidents of violence against Sikhs or any frequent targets of threats because of some of those things that he mentioned and other things as well.
[Marrapodi:] Yes, particularly here in the United States after 911. The first retaliatory killing was in Phoenix. It was a Sikh man. And the shooter who's now, I believe, on death row said, "Go back to Iraq." And then shot and killed this man in cold blood thinking, obviously, that he was an Arab and that he was a Muslim. Instead, this man was an Indian, of Indian descent and was a Sikh. And so, that's one clear examples of how this hate crime has manifested itself here in the United States in the last decade or so.
[Lemon:] Eric Marrapodi, thank you very much. We appreciate it. We move on now. Police search the home of the suspected gunman. Live report on the investigation, next. Police face chaos an carnage as a mass shooting unfolded today again. This one at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. The officer who shot and killed the suspect was wounded in the firefight. I want to listen now to a recording of a police dispatch in Wisconsin.
[Unidentified Female:] He's not moving. We're approaching upon him. He's not moving.
[Unidentified Male:] Subject's out, police officer is down.
[Unidentified Female:] Go ahead.
[Unidentified Male:] We have one officer shot.
[Unidentified Female:] Proceed.
[Unidentified Male:] Squad 7512 South Hollow Avenue, subject with a gun, balding, white T-shirt, officer down.
[Lemon:] Police dispatched there. Meantime, we're getting new details on the suspect. Here's Thomas Ahern with Chicago's ATF Division.
[Thomas Ahern, Atf Agent:] A white male, approximately 40 years of age. And that's all we have as far as his motive. We're a long way away from that right now. And as I said, the situation is still very fluid with this with the warrants being served right now at his residence and the scene still being processed. There's a lot of interviews that need to be take place with witnesses from inside the temple and so forth and just to reconstruct the crime scene and the timeline of this is still a ways off.
[Lemon:] Special Agent Thomas Ahern with the ATF in Chicago. Let's get more now, CNN's Deb Feyerick joins us from New York. Deb, police are calling both the suspect's neighborhood and the area around the temple active crime scene. You heard Thomas Ahern there say white male, roughly in his 40s. We're hearing that he was bald. You're learning new information about the shooter, what do you know?
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, the one thing that we do know is, as you said, both of the areas are crime scenes. Authorities did evacuate homes around the home belonging to the alleged gunman. The reason they're doing that is, first of all, they have to question these neighbors anyway, but also they want to make sure that there are no other weapons or explosives in the home that could that could create a potential problem. That's one of the reasons they wanted to evacuate the nearby homes. Also what we are learning that you know, that gunman, you have to keep in mind, he was shot dead just moments after going on this rampage inside that Sikh temple and he had opened fire and at least six people, killing them, and then he opened fire at two police officers, one of them critically wounded. He spent much of the day in surgery, in the operating room. Three others in critical condition. One of the officers did fire back. They were able to kill that gunman. A weapon, of course, was found near him. It's described as a as a semi-automatic handgun. And it's interesting, Don, you know, when you think about what was going on inside that temple. The devotees have just finished this three-day, sort of prayer celebration where they read the holy book cover to cover. It's a day where they stay up for three straight days. Food is served. Tea is served. This was honoring a child's birthday, and then this gunman walked in. And clearly that's one of the things authorities want to know. How this gunman somehow wander into this temple? Had he been inside? Did he have a gripe against one of the members? Did he have a gripe against Sikhs in general. So that's one of the things that they're looking at by analyzing this computer data. We are told that among the dead is one of the priests who was reading that holy book. And in what appears to be an act of bravery, the temple president tried to tackle the gunman. We're told that he was then shot in the back. He also is one of those described is in critical condition. Right now it's very tricky because that temple is an active ongoing crime scene. The FBI is going to bring in its evidence evidence response team, they're going to be doing forensic analysis, they're going to be taking photographs, they're going to be sort of plotting how that gunman moved inside that temple. And as they do that, they'll be able to at least piece together exactly what was going on because right now, they believe there was only one gunman and, you know, he is taking some of his deepest secrets to the grave with him. So he is under investigation now clearly so that they can try to find a motive. And, Don, as you had mentioned earlier in the broadcast, there is additional security now at Sikh temples. We know certainly the one that is there's a second one in Wisconsin, that has additional security, as to the
[Nypd. Lemon:] New York, yes.
[Feyerick:] The New York Police Department also saying that they're going to add additional security to some of the temples here. And again, it's a precautionary measure. There's no known threat. But clearly at this point, they just don't want to take any chances.
[Lemon:] And,Deb, thank you, good reporting there. And just, you know, step back, a lot of people are releasing their statements and giving their sentiments, including the president. But you and I just a week ago were on this broadcast and I was in Aurora reporting from there on a mass shooting that happened two weeks ago, and then last night I reported that the gunman in the Gabrielle Giffords case is expected to plead guilty.
[Feyerick:] Yes.
[Lemon:] That's according to published reports there, and then on and on and on, here we go again. So Deb Feyerick, we should just step back and take a collective look and figure out what is going on here. Thank you, Deb. Stand by. We'll be back with you. As I said, president Barack Obama released a statement on today's shootings. The president saying, quote, here it is. "At this difficult time, the people of Oak Creek must know that the American people have them in our thoughts and prayers and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who are killed and wounded. My administration will provide whatever support is necessary to the officials who are responding to this tragic shooting and moving forward with an investigation." Of course we know this is an election year so we have to get the other side in, of course, because the man who is running for the White House now, Mitt Romney, on this shooting says, "Ann and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the victims of today's shooting in Wisconsin. This was a senseless act of violence and a tragedy that should never befall any house of worship. Our hearts are with the victims, their families and the entire Oak Creek Sikh community. We join Americans everywhere in mourning those who lost their lives and in prayer for healing in the difficult days ahead." One other response worth noting now, the governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, grew up Sikh. And she posted this statement on her Facebook page, simply saying, "It is very sad to see something like this happen to a peaceful place of worship. Our prayers and condolences go out to the families of the innocent victims and the family of the heroic officer in this senseless tragedy." Second that. Next, we'll talk to a leader on the Sikh Council on Religion and Education to hear how the Sikh community is responding. I just read it a short time ago. But in his statement on the shooting, the president mentioned how the Sikh community is a part of our American family, he says. It is a community we are all learning more about and one that our next guest is a member of. His name is Rajwant Singh. He's been joining us all evening. He is the chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, and he joins us from Washington. Thank you, again, for joining me. Again, my condolences for the tragedy which has struck your community. And I just can't imagine what you're going through and others as well who are affected by this. First, what have you heard from other Sikhs about the shooting?
[Rajwant Singh, Chairman, Sikh Council On Religion And Education:] Well, you know, there is an opinion within the Sikh community in which many of us who have been working for the Sikh affairs in the last one decade is that there is always apprehension and kind of a sense of fear that this kind of incident will take place anywhere any time. And we are totally convinced that although the investigation is going on, that this is nothing but a hate crime, a person who sees us as enemies without having background check and then ignorance has fueled this tragedy. So this is what needs to be understood. And I think then the onus is on the leaders of this country and the media and everybody, the academics, the world, you know, How do we educate our fellow Americans?
[Lemon:] Right. Yes.
[Singh:] How do we, you know, make people understand the diversity that America has?
[Lemon:] Yes. And I think it's important, too, for you to point out and I think it's very admirable of you, when so many people are saying, of course, and I've heard it, of course, Don, it's terrorism, this is terrorism. Why aren't you saying it? Is it not because because it's a white person, the suspect, believed to be a white person instead of a brown person? If it was a brown person, it would, of course, be terrorism. You say what to that?
[Singh:] You know, when you use the world "terrorism," it has a completely different connotation. Then when you call it a hate crime, then it involves everybody taking a responsibility, whether it's the school system, whether it's the political leadership, whether it's the media. You know, all the nonprofit work. Everybody needs to do something to lessen this kind of rage and this kind of action being taken by young people. Of course, there are other reasons where there are no reasons why people pick up a gun and shoot innocent people. We have seen in the last two years, three years, and it's tragic to see so much killing and tragedy occurring, whether it's the Aurora or it's in Virginia Tech. But this particular incident links back to 911, and I think that's where our community's problem come, is where we find that there is very little exposure to people like us, so that people, you know11 in America.
[Lemon:] Mr. Singh, let me let get in here. As we look at there are pictures of a vigil in downtown Milwaukee now, not far from Oak Creek. And this is how this community is coming together. Talk more about that. Because you're sitting here, and this tragic thing has happened and we commend you. You're, you know, very level headed. You're very calm. But personally, after 911, as a human, talk to me about your feelings about that. And listen, and being confused as Muslim, not all Muslims, of course, are terrorists.
[Singh:] Absolutely.
[Lemon:] And so we should not they should, you know, not be pegged with that label, but as a human being and seeing this happen, what are you feeling and what's going on with the Sikh community?
[Singh:] Well, you know, we've gone through this period for a long time. I remember when Balbir Singh Sodhi, the one of the first Sikh who was killed as a hate crime after 911, and it was he was being referred as an Arab being killed in Mesa, Arizona. So I corrected the national media that please stop saying Arab because then they're going to go after every person who's wearing a turban, considering him it's a sad thing that even I have to sit here and say that we are not Arabs or we are not Taliban. You know, this shouldn't happen. Nobody should be going after Muslims or anybody. You know, whatever is happening in the Middle East or the issues, those are totally separate. People are living in America trying to have their best of life, whatever ways or means they are doing here. So the point is that we the young people who have grown up as Sikhs in this country, they are Americans. They believe strongly for this nation.
[Lemon:] Right.
[Singh:] And yet they feel when these things happen, it it goes in the mind, where do we belong?
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Singh:] And that is a tragedy for all Americans.
[Lemon:] And
[Singh:] I think everybody should feel at home, that this belongs to this nation belongs to everyone. This
[Lemon:] Rajwant Singh
[Singh:] Yes.
[Lemon:] That is a great way of putting it. We're going to end it there but not your coming back, you'll be on in our 10:00 hour. But we appreciate your sentiments. Very well put. I think that's a great place to leave it for now. Thank you. And I think that the reason we have been talking to you and spending so much time with people of the Sikh community and with Rajwant is because education is the most powerful tool against this, learning about each other and just talking as we are now. Appreciate it. We'll see you soon. Thank you, sir.
[Singh:] Thank you.
[Lemon:] You know, we're learning more information about what happened today and more about the alleged shooter. The latest on what we know, straight ahead. Today's shooting outside Milwaukee happened before lunchtime, about 10:30 local time. That's when a man carrying two handguns walked into that Sikh temple filled with people praying and cooking, and he started shooting. Initially, there was confusion. Nobody knew how many gunmen were in the temple, and nobody knew for sure when the coast was clear.
[Unidentified Male:] Approximately 10:25 a.m. Oak Creek dispatch received an unintelligible 911 call from someone who was reporting an incident. They are all victims of gunshot wounds. One suffered injuries to the abdomen and chest. One suffered injuries to the extremities and face. And one suffered injuries to the neck. What the police are trying to do on the outside is try to bring some stabilization to the situation by showing that they've got it contained and then to try to make contact as early as possible. It's an old saying in a hostage negotiation business. While someone is talking, they're not going to be shooting. The FBI will be handling the criminal investigation on this incident. We looked at it, the scope of it, and what the implications might be. We're treating this as a domestic terrorist type incident. And therefore, the FBI has the resources needed to help investigate that.
[Lemon:] When we come right back, analysis from a veteran law enforcement officer.
[Announcer:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Lemon:] Seven people dead. The shooting at a temple in Wisconsin. New information coming now from our Deborah Feyerick in New York. Deb, what can you tell us?
[Feyerick:] The hospital is the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin. They're the trauma center that received the three critically injured patients. All of them suffering from gunshot wounds. We're told that two of the patients are out of surgery, and they are recovering. We are told another is undergoing a complex set of procedures. We do not know which of the patients is still in surgery. We do know that there was a police officer who was essentially ambushed by the gunman as he ran from that temple. That officer shot multiple times. This was a man who apparently had nothing to lose because not only did he shoot at this police officer, but he also shot at another police officer who ultimately fired the fatal shot, killing that gunman Don.
[Lemon:] All right. CNN's Deborah Feyerick with in New York. Deb, also, real quickly, we're learning more about this suspected shooter. Again, a man in his 40s, right? Correct, Deb? Are you still there?
[Feyerick:] Correct, yes. Sorry about that.
[Lemon:] A man in his 40s and you talked about the handgun that was just quickly, one handgun. Both of the guns found semiautomatic according to our sources?
[Feyerick:] Yes, there were two handguns that were found but it's believed that one of those guns belonged to the police officer. The other did belong to the gunman. He is described, a white man in his 40s, balding, tall. He was not somebody who was known to the community. That was according to somebody who helped debrief some of the witnesses. His home is now being searched. But yes, that handgun was recovered. You have to think about how this is all playing out, also, in terms of the number of shots. You have six people who are shot and killed. OK. That was you have two others critically wounded, even before the police officers shot. A normal semiautomatic gun, handgun, usually holds anywhere between 11 and 14 bullets. So it's not clear whether he went through one magazine or two magazines. And when I did speak to one of the ATF folks there on the ground, that person told me that they he was not sure whether there were additional magazines that were found in his sort of black cargo style pants.
[Lemon:] And all right, Deb. Stand by because we're going to get more on that. Let's go now to Alex Manning, former police investigator and law enforcement veteran here. You heard what about the shooter, you heard about what she said about the guns. Do you agree do you agree with what she said about the guns and getting off those rounds?
[Alex Manning, 15 Years In Law Enforcement:] Sure, he could have had an extended magazine, too. They're not they're only sold to law enforcement right now but prior to them being banned everybody except law enforcement, someone could have one of those
[Lemon:] And just in full transparency here, we have been when these situations happen, we just as I said, we're just off the Aurora shooting, two weeks, right?
[Manning:] Right.
[Lemon:] That happened. And of course this always go into the gun control debate. And people are saying, if not now, when are we going to talk about gun control? And then there are others who say, let's not, let's talk about the victims and the investigation. This is nothing to do with it. As a veteran, what do you think?
[Manning:] I own guns myself, Don. And I think there is going to be a time to talk about gun control. Gun control is out there. And it protects those people that are good, law-abiding people. I don't think necessarily now is the time to talk about gun control as much as what you're doing. Educating people. The more you educate the people, the better. That's what people need, education.
[Lemon:] OK. Real quickly, I've got to move on, but as you're looking the first thing you said they're going to look at his computer, and that's going to give them a lot of information, you believe, about the suspected shooter.
[Manning:] I think it is. He's dead. They've got to get the information somewhere. And if you look in somebody's computer you can look at their search history and what they type, you can find out tons of information about them.
[Lemon:] All right. Alex Manning, thank you very much. We appreciate that. We're going continue to talk about this. We have Alex. We've got Deb Feyerick. Also Eric Marrapodi and also other contributors here on CNN. We're right back after a break. Don't go anywhere.

[Jack Tapper, Cnn Anchor:] Our breaking news coverage continues here on CNN. I'm live here in Boston, Massachusetts. I'm Jack Tapper.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] I'm John Berman. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East. What a night. What a night it has been. A massive dramatic police operation unfolding just outside of Boston this morning. They are going door-to-door looking for a man who fits the description of Boston marathon bombing suspect number two. That is the man seen wearing the white cap in the photos you have been looking at. Listen.
[Unidentified Male:] What we are looking for right now is a suspect consistent with the description of suspect number two, the white- capped individual who was involved in Monday's bombing of the Boston marathon.
[Berman:] They have also revealed that suspect number one is dead. You may know him as the man wearing the black hat in the photos. Now, this is an important warning. People in or near Watertown, Massachusetts, eight miles outside of Boston, now are being told to stay inside. Do not answer the door unless the people at the door can clearly identify themselves as law enforcement officials. This mayhem unfolded overnight starting with a shooting on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. That's one mile from where we are standing right now at the scene of the Boston marathon bomb attack.
[Tapper:] An officer who was killed on the campus of MIT was killed a short time later, a carjacking took place and a police chase took place after that with reports of explosives involved. During the chase, the Transportation Authority officer was wounded in a shoot-out and suspect number one, that's when he was critically wounded and later died at Beth Israel Hospital. We expect a press conference in 15 minutes at the hospital.
[Berman:] We have Drew Griffin with us right now. He's on the streets of Watertown, Massachusetts. Again, this is the area right now which is a very active crime scene where people are being told not to leave their houses where it is believed that suspect number two, the man involved in the Boston marathon bombings and the man involved in this car chase and manhunt tonight, it is believe this is where he's on the loose Drew Griffin.
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, John and Jake. To that end, I just listened to a robocall that the police on this town have been sending to all its residents, warning them just that. You wonder how people hear the warning in the middle of the night when they're sleeping? Well, the police in this town, in Watertown, have sent out a robocall to the people, telling them not to leave their home, telling them about the police emergency and not to answer the door. So, there's an active search here for suspect number two as we understand it. And I might point out one other thing that we haven't really talked about, is where these two suspects put their bombs together. They are somewhere presumably in this area, not Watertown, but in the greater Boston area. There's some kind of dwelling, apartment, home or room where these gentlemen put their bombs together that is still very dangerous. And I'm sure police are trying to figure out exactly where they were living, if they were living in the same place, they were building these bombs, and just how to handle that, because that could also be a very volatile scene they have to deal with yet as they still look for one more suspect. So this is far, far from over. It's been a chaotic week, a chaotic night. Very dramatic finish here with one of the suspects who is now dead. But one on the loose, and all this danger out there, this could turn into a very long day.
[Berman:] Drew, we believe this investigation has been going on, obviously, since Monday. It has been a hot investigation all week. It is now white hot. As you said, you can imagine that police, law enforcement officials have been told that 9,000 law enforcement officials are in the area now involved in this investigation. There's the manhunt underway for suspect number two, the man in the white hat at the finish line of the Boston marathon, now believed to be wearing perhaps a gray hoodie. There's the manhunt going on. And there are also people putting together this puzzle, which is probably becoming ever more clear by the second now they have identified these two men. As you said, looking for a dwelling, trying to go through their vehicles and trying to piece together their movements, not just over the last four or five days here in Boston, but before that. There was an enormous amount of information and they no doubt would like to glean from that. But let's stick to where you are right now, let's to Watertown, Massachusetts, which is again is where a lot of this culminated tonight. There was this car chase. There was a shoot-out, one suspect, suspect number one in the Boston marathon bombings now dead. Suspect number two on the loose. Do you get the sense that people are heeding the warnings they have been given to stay inside, to not come out on the streets right now because it is a very dangerous situation?
[Griffin:] I am just looking around and see very few people who are not of the press or of law enforcement. We did see a few citizens come out earlier in the evening. They have all gone away. There's absolutely no street traffic in any of the directions except the flashing lights you see behind me and from the law enforcement vehicles coming in and out. So this town has pretty much buttoned up. I don't see any door-to-door searches from my vantage point. That maybe just be because this area has been cleared or they believe the suspect ran in a different direction. Behind me is where the shoot-out and activity took place. A few blocks down and around that corner. We were up there shortly after it happened, literally 100 or so police vehicles and hundreds of police officers swarming the area, looking here or there with their guns drawn. But once that scene settled we were pushed back to this location. It is a quiet scene, and I have to say at this hour of the morning, it is eerily quiet because this town should be starting to wake up and right now, it's just not.
[Berman:] Drew Griffin right now for us in Watertown, Massachusetts. I ask everyone out there to forgive me for looking down occasionally at my various electronic devices right now. There's so much information new that is coming in. This situation so fluid and really we have to keep abreast of the latest situation right now. But let me tell you this, that this terrorist bombing that happened on Monday here in Boston, that took the lives of three people watching the Boston marathon and injured more than 170 people injured, has new victims tonight. There was a campus police officer at MIT University across the Charles River here who was killed by the suspects. There was a car chase and an MBTA officer was shot and wounded in this police chase. So, two more casualties, one dead and one wounded in this incredibly dramatic week of crime and terrorism in the Massachusetts area. Again, just to bring people up to speed on what we know, because it has been changing by the hour right now. At 10:20 last night in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the campus of MIT, there was a police officer killed in his car multiple gunshot wounds. There was a carjacking with the man who owned the car kept in the car for a short period of time. A police chase ensued and at some point the man who owned the car was released, as Jake Tapper pointed out, a very lucky man.
[Tapper:] Very lucky, yes.
[Berman:] Some time during the police chase, there was a shoot-out and suspect number one, the man seen in the black hat at the finish line of the Boston marathon, suspect number one was wounded and taken to the hospital. He has seen died. Suspect number two is still on the loose. Suspect number two was the man seen in the white hat at the finish line at the Boston marathon bombings. Authorities have released a new photo of him overnight, among the many brand new photos we've seen overnight.
[Tapper:] That's him at a 7-Eleven last night wearing a gray hoodie. He's thought to be armed and extremely dangerous. He's in the area of Watertown, Massachusetts, about eight miles, you say, John, outside of Boston. And the individuals there, who people who live there, are told not to leave their homes. Do not answer the door unless it is an identified police officer. So, if you do get a knock on your door, it could be an actual police officer. Do not answer it unless it is a police officer. We're told that upwards of 9,000 to 10,000 police officers in Watertown right now looking for this individual, suspect number two, with the white hat. There's also a robocall going out to residents of Watertown warning them of this threat in their midst. One other thing about this threat, and this is coming from overnight when we were following this story all night. There was an individual who it turns out presumably is completely innocent, but police detained him and made him take off all of his clothing. And when they made him take off all his clothing, it was clearly because they worried about an explosive on him.
[Juliette Kayyem, Cnn Analyst:] And, Jake, here's what should be happening just to remind people, it's a vacation week in Massachusetts. So a lot of people from here, a lot of people left town on Friday and have missed all of this. There's a lot of empty homes and apartments in Watertown, Cambridge, all these places. So what they want to do is sort of make sure that these homes that are vacated, that the suspect is not in there, but they want to make sure the suspect is not holding people within their own homes. We will probably start to see some controlled evacuations just to get people out of there, who wants to be in Watertown right now if this is going to be ongoing throughout the course of the day. So you'll probably start to see some evacuations, getting people to safe areas, getting them to their family and friends, and to let the police do what they need to do in Watertown.
[Berman:] You're talking about controlled evacuations. We are just learning that the MBTA, which is the transportation authority here, is sending buses to the Watertown area to help remove the people who live there, evacuate some people, just get them out, get them to safety so they can do this manhunt and go door-to-door in the meticulous way they want.
[Kayyem:] We do not want friendly fire if there will be fire going on. This is a residential neighborhood. So this is what law enforcement does you get the citizens out and you now secure the area and hopefully as I have been saying when daylight comes, they'll be able to, he'll be more exposed than he has been.
[Berman:] One of the ways they have been warning people in the Watertown area is with phone calls, robocalls made to most of the residents there. Let's listen to what it sounds like.
[Robocall:] Watertown Police Department there's an active incident in Watertown right now. Chief Deveau is advising all residents to remain in their homes. If you hear or see anything suspicious, call the Watertown Police Department at 617-926500.
[Berman:] Stay in your homes, do not answer the door unless the person clearly is identified as a law enforcement official.
[Kayyem:] You have to remember, most people in Watertown have probably slept through this. So, they're waking up getting ready for work or going out for a run. So you are seeing this, what's called reverse 911, which is the phone calls going out to every single home, every phone number they have in Watertown. Just telling people the moment they are essentially waking them up, which is the right thing to do.
[Berman:] Perhaps you slept through this. In the Boston area, we had a huge amount of supers that woke me up from bed in Boston. I'm getting e-mails from several people in this area who would never normally be up at the 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 hour waking up to this, because everyone wants to know what's going to happen here.
[Tapper:] And these events unfolded, it started at 10:20 on the campus of MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There was one officer shot. One police officer was killed. There was a carjacking. It led to Watertown where one of these individuals, one of the suspects wanted in the terrorist attacks in the Boston massacre, one of them is on the loose. One of them was critically wounded, taken to Beth Israel Hospital. We expect a press conference any minute there. We already know he's dead. He has been killed. The individual on the loose, suspect number two with the white hat, there is a picture of him taken this evening. Let's get that on the screen. It's him wearing a gray hoodie taken at a 7-Eleven earlier. There was a press conference an hour ago when law enforcement warned of this individual and talked about the steps they were taking to get him. There were 9,000 or 10,000 police officers swarming throughout the area of Watertown, Massachusetts. John, you're from this area, what
[Berman:] Watertown is an area eight miles outside of Boston. It's outside of Cambridge. You know, it's I won't say it's a better community. It is closer than that to Boston. A lot of people live there who work in the city, a perfectly nice town. On the phone with us right now, we have brad, a producer for "PIERS MORGAN" right now, who I believe is in Boston, witnessing a great deal of police activity at this moment. What are you seeing? Sorry, we lost him for a second. We lost him for second. But we'll go back to Watertown. Jake, I have to give you a sense of the scope of this investigation right now. We are in Boston. We're standing right near the finish line of the Boston marathon right now, about a mile and a half away from MIT. The news conference right now is about to start, I believe this is at the hospital where one of the suspects was taken. OK. Correction, this is an FBI news conference, where I imagine we'll get a great deal of information on this investigation on this nights that has unfolded. Boy, has a lot been going on.
[Tapper:] It's been an eventful evening. One of the things challenging about this for people watching at home and for those of us following it in the media is that we did not know for certain until roughly an hour ago that these events were definitively connected. There was a strong suspicion with police officers operating under the presumption that the officer killed at MIT was killed by one of the suspects or both of the suspects in the terrorist attack on Monday. That the carjacking was related, that the incident going on in Watertown, the shoot-out going on in Watertown was connected, but we were not certain. Even though there were police and FBI swarming in both areas, even though the command center, the mobile command center that was here when we began broadcasting here, from here at 12:30 this morning, even though it left and went to parts unknown, we did not know for certain until the FBI definitively. And law enforcement and the commonwealth attorney put out statements definitively stating that these two suspects have been involved in everything. One of the suspects is now dead and one of them is now wanted and presumed extremely dangerous in Watertown, Massachusetts.
[Berman:] They made it crystal clear, Ed Davis, the Boston city police chief, said this man is a terrorist and he's a terrorist who is on the loose right now. And you have to be very, very careful if you live in the Watertown area. Do not answer your door unless you know it is a law enforcement official outside there. That's the picture of the suspect right now that was taken earlier this evening or last night in a gray hoodie. We believe it was taken at a 7-Eleven store.
[Kayyem:] By the time this night is over, we probably have a couple dozen law enforcement agencies been on this search alone. When you think of the MBTA, the state police, Boston, Cambridge, Watertown and the others, it's a unified effort. You can definitely tell that right now and it really does show you how sort of local police are really sort of dealing with crime, they deal with searching for terrorists. It's a huge burden on them. And I hear that there's a couple thousand cops on this one hunt right now. So, you know, we'll see what unfolds in the next few hours.
[Berman:] It turns out there's not an FBI conference coming in the next few minutes, but we are expecting a news conference from the hospital where the suspect, suspect number one, the man in the black hat, was taken after he was wounded in this police chase. He died at that hospital. Again, one of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombings now dead.
[Tapper:] Killed in a shoot-out with police officers because there was an incident on the campus of Cambridge in Cambridge, on the campus of MIT, the Massachusetts institute of technology, and there was a car chase with police officers chasing the two suspects. One of them now dead. One of them on the loose and presumed extremely dangerous.
[Berman:] Let's try to get Brad Parks on the telephone. Brad Parks on the telephone who's in Watertown, Massachusetts, he's on the scene right now there, witnessing what's going on. Brad, what can you tell us?
[Brad Parks:] I'm at the corner of Arsenal Street and School Street. The FBI and local command unit, a truck is parked here, probably in the last 15 minutes they pulled up, we have seen 20 law enforcement vehicles ranging from black SUVs to unmarked cars come through the road block that is blocking School Street off. We have also seen about three transit buses being driven by law enforcement officials. We were told at one point they may be used to evacuate residents and we did hear from officials they could be used as a shield. We are seeing about six canine units also walking around right now. There's a heavy presence, they appear to be staging this on the intersection of School Street and Dexter Avenue. We see about three local transit buses, but everyone seems to be just kind of holding in place right now.
[Berman:] All right, Brad. Brad Parks for us on the ground.
[Kayyem:] And people of Boston, in particular, there's just going to be a lot of these packages, suspicious bags, I think over the next couple of days, because law enforcement is going to be very, very nervous about what might be out there and whether there are copy cats. I think we're going to see a lot of this activity.
[Berman:] All right. I'm John Berman. Jay Tapper. Juliette Kayyem here, homeland security analyst, also columnist with "The Boston Globe" here. We are here in Boston covering these dramatic developments that have been going on really all night here since 10:00 last night. Let's bring you up to speed, give you a full recap of how this all went down. Ten o'clock last night, at about 10:20 p.m., there was a shooting, a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shot and killed in his car multiple gunshot wounds. Then, there was a carjacking. Two suspects hijacking a car, keeping the men in the car with them for a short while and then there was a police chase.
[Tapper:] We should also note, the man was let free, amazingly, and is apparently unharmed.
[Berman:] During this police chase authorities say that perhaps the suspects were throwing explosives out the window at law enforcement officials. Showing you just how dangerous this situation is. Then a shoot-out, suspect number one was shot and wounded. He was taken to a local area hospital where he since died. And then at this point authorities are saying suspect number two, the man who has been seen as the man in the white hat at the Boston marathon finish line, suspect number two is currently on the loose and there's a manhunt underway.
[Tapper:] And this is something we need to reiterate. We apologize for those hearing this for the tenth time, twelfth time, the 15th time, but if you live in or around Watertown, Massachusetts, which is a neighborhood roughly eight miles outside Boston, if you live in that area, do not leave your homes and do not answer your door unless it is a clearly identified police officer. You should expect, because roughly 9,000 to 10,000 police officers are in Watertown, going door-to-door. You should expect a police officer to knock on your door, and if he's clearly identified, answer the door. There are also we call them robocalls. Juliette and others national security experts will call them reverse 911s, but there are reverse calls going out to the houses of all residents of Watertown, Massachusetts, warning them about what's going on. Warning them there is, in the words of law enforcement, a terrorist on the loose in Watertown.
[Berman:] And the MBTA, the transportation authority here, sending buses to the Watertown area to help get innocent people out to evacuate them to make the crime scene easier to deal with right now. Deb Feyerick, CNN's Deborah Feyerick, is on the ground right now in Watertown to gie us a sense of what's going on there. Deb, what are you seeing?
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn National Correspondent:] Yes, John and Jake, we're seeing, we're trying we're trying to our producer just to let you know what's here. Police have cordoned off a major area of Arsenal, in the Watertown area. And we are seeing police officers are heavily armed and their tanks, shotguns, with assault rifles in full protective gear with helmets and vests. There are staging areas where a number of officers are getting direction. We are told that a state trooper state trooper is checking cars.
[Tapper:] I'm sorry, we have to interrupt. Deb, we are going to interrupt you right now. I apologize. There's a press conference going on right now at Beth Israel Hospital where this first suspect was brought after he was wounded and died. We're going to go live to Beth Israel right now.
[Unidentified Male:] We still do have 12 victims from the initial event hospitalized here at the hospital. One of them still in serious condition in the ICU. We initially received 24 patients here from the original event on Monday. The vast majority of those patients have been discharged. We are open and ready for any patients to come to the medical center this morning, although we are restricting access to ensure safety for patients, family and visitors and asking people to show patience as they come in this morning.
[Reporter:] Was that patient brought in under police guard tonight?
[Unidentified Male:] That patient was brought in with police guard, yes.
[Reporter:] Can you describe the injuries of the patient?
[Unidentified Male:] I cannot we do want to make available the physician that initially heard the events in Watertown.
[Dr. Schoenfeld:] So, my name is Dr. Schoenfeld. Last night as I was doing some work at home and watching the news coverage of the officer- involved shooting over at MIT, I was sitting at home and was able to hear the sounds of gunshots and explosions because I live in Watertown. And when I started hearing the gunshots and explosions, I recognized that something was really wrong and called the emergency department to let them know and then quickly got dressed to come into work and rushed over to the emergency department.
[Reporter:] How quickly did you get here?
[Schoenfeld:] I arrived in the emergency department before the patient arrived.
[Reporter:] What time did you hear the gunshots?
[Schoenfeld:] Sometime after 12:45.
[Reporter:] Doctor, can you give us the name of the deceased?
[Unidentified Male:] No. We don't have any information on the identity of the deceased patient.
[Reporter:] Do you know the age?
[Unidentified Male:] We don't have that information.
[Reporter:] Can you give us a gender?
[Unidentified Male:] It's an adult male.
[Reporter:] Doctor, can you describe your feelings of being in Watertown, hearing the noise and alerting the E.R., you come into work and then you end up seeing that same patient?
[Schoenfeld:] So there's a couple different parts to it. One is when I started to hear the gunshots and the explosions, given what had happened over at MIT and seeing all the police cars rushing into Watertown past my house and hearing all the sirens, I knew or felt very strongly that this was related to the events from earlier this week as well as from what happened over at MIT earlier in the evening. And so, because of that I felt as though something large enough was going on in the community that it warranted calling the emergency department and coming in. The emotions, you know, you sort of set aside when you come in to go to work and to do the job.
[Reporter:] Did you actually work on the patient who was shot and is deceased?
[Schoenfeld:] So I really don't want to talk about that.
[Reporter:] OK. I was going to say, knowing what you knew going into it, as a doctor, how do you deal with that?
[Schoenfeld:] So you give the best care you can to every patient that comes to you regardless of may or may not be, because you don't know what happened out there and you don't know who they are. You don't know what the circumstances are. So whether it was a suspect, an innocent police officer, you have no idea who it is when they arrive and you give them the best care that you can to try to help them.
[Reporter:] Being
[Schoenfeld:] So I did go and look out the window. I did not see anything other than the police cars rushing into Watertown.
[Reporter:] Being an urban medical center, you bring in police guard all the time, was there anything different in the emergency room? More police officers or anything unusual because this is very serious what's happening here.
[Schoenfeld:] So there was a large police presence when the patient arrived. More so than typical, but
[Reporter:] Were they able to talk to the patient at all or glean anything from him?
[Schoenfeld:] I don't know what the police I can't speak to that.
[Reporter:] The police did say there was a suspect confirmed. Can you confirm that the suspect was here?
[Unidentified Male:] We can't confirm it at all. All we can say is a patient was brought in. We don't have any more information than that. In fact, you probably do have more information than we do about that.
[Reporter:] Cause of death, sir?
[Unidentified Male:] This was a trauma arrest. Multiple injuries, probably, we believe a combination of blasts, potentially gunshots.
[Reporter:] How many gunshots?
[Unidentified Male:] Unable to count. Yes.
[Reporter:] I'm sorry
[Unidentified Male:] And probably a blast injury.
[Reporter:] Blast injury?
[Unidentified Male:] An explosive device, possibly shrapnel, thermal injury.
[Reporter:] Can you describe where?
[Unidentified Male:] It was pretty much throughout the trunk. It was multiple wounds.
[Reporter:] Would it be consistent with a bomb strapped
[Unidentified Male:] Unclear. I think the medical examiner will be able to comment conclusively say that, but there were signs of more than just gunshot wounds.
[Reporter:] Multiple gunshots.
[Unidentified Male:] We are going to take two or three questions, but that's about all that we can say.
[Reporter:] Did he lose a lot of blood?
[Unidentified Male:] I don't believe so.
[Reporter:] Do we know if he said anything?
[Unidentified Male:] All we know is he arrived in arrest here. We don't know what happened at the scene.
[Reporter:] So he was in cardiac arrest and died in the emergency room?
[Unidentified Male:] That's correct. That's correct. OK, thank you very much. Thank you.
[Tv Anchor:] And that is the latest, a live update from the doctors and the administrators from Beth Israel hospital
[Berman:] You have been watching the press conference where suspect number one, one of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombings, one of the suspects involved in the car chase and a series of shoot-outs with police last night where he was taken after he was wounded and subsequently died.
[Tapper:] He was killed. The doctors and physicians were asked many questions about how he was killed. They said he was brought in with extreme trauma to his body, there was gunshot wounds and evidence of a blast, an explosive blast burns and shrapnel. We know the two suspects in the Boston terrorist attack, that they on the lam this evening were, pursued by law enforcement. They have been described by law enforcement as having explosives with them as we stated, as John pointed out. Suspect number one, the one in the black hat, has been killed. That's who the physicians were speaking about. He was killed in the shoot-out and there's evidence apparently he was also hurt by one of the explosives.
[Berman:] Suspect number two, the man you're seeing there in the white hat right now, we have a more current picture of him taken overnight in a gray hoodie. Suspect number two is on the loose. There is a manhunt underway going on right now believed right now centered in the Watertown area eight miles outside of Boston. This is a very fluid situation. We are getting details coming in by the minute here. We will bring you the latest just ahead. Stay with CNN. Our coverage continues in just a moment.
[Announcer:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Berman:] If you are just joining us, we want to bring you up-to-date on an extraordinary night, an extraordinary morning we have been having as the story unfolds in the Boston area. Police going door to door right now in the town of Watertown. That's about eight miles outside of Boston. They are looking for a man who fits the description of the Boston marathon bomber, suspect number two. He's the man seen in the picture last night wearing the white hat. Those pictures were taken the day of the Boston marathon. Now, people in or near Watertown are being told to stay inside their homes. Do not answer the door under any circumstances, unless the people there can identify themselves as law enforcement officials. People in Watertown are also getting robocalls like this one.
[Robocall:] Hello. This Detective Connor with the Watertown police department. There's an active incident in Watertown right now. Chief Deveau is advising all Watertown residents to remain in their homes. If you hear or see anything suspicious, call the Watertown Police Department at 617-926500.
[Tapper:] Let's bring you up to speed on how everything developed. We have been covering this all night, the mayhem unfolded overnight, starting with the shooting on the campus of MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge. That's about one mile from where John and I are standing right now, one mile from the scene of Monday's Boston marathon terrorist attack. An officer at MIT was killed in that shooting a short time later. There was a carjacking by the two suspects wanted in that shooting and a police chase with reports of explosives involved. During that chase a transportation authority officer was wounded in a shoot-out right after that chase, we believe. Then the individual whose car it was who was carjacked, he was let free, but the suspects, suspects number one and two, wanted for the Boston marathon terrorist attack, they were being pursued by police officers. There was a shootout and suspect number one was critically wounded and he was he later died. He was taken to Beth Israel Hospital. We just heard doctors at Beth Israel Hospital talking about how he died with gunshot wounds and also some explosives. Most important for members of the Watertown community is suspect number two is still on the loose. Do not leave your homes. Do not answer the door unless it is a clearly identified police officer.
[Berman:] CNN's Drew Griffin is in Watertown right now. He's been on the streets all night following this very fluid situation tracking every development as it unfolded. And, Drew, bring us up to speed on what's been happening in your location.
[Griffin:] Yes. That suspect was gravely wounded about five blocks behind me. We are in this area that is now cornered off, the downtown area of Watertown. And gladly the sky is beginning to light, maybe bringing less daunting skies to this town, which is really now in complete lockdown. Our Deb Feyerick is on another side of town where police seem to be getting ready for some kind of movement on a possible building, but at the meantime they are going door-to-door here to check to make sure, they are looking for a suspect who they believe now attacked the Boston marathon, who helped carjack a car, fired at police all night long, threw what we are told to be explosives at police. So this is a very, very dangerous situation. They are after a very dangerous person. And right now, at least as far as we know, they do not know where he is. So that is the latest here from Watertown, which I can tell you visually is buttoned up tight. Now I want to I want to toss to some sound from a witness who witnessed some of what was happening last night on the streets here in Watertown. Take a listen to this.
[Unidentified Male:] We thought we heard firecrackers, so me and my son looked out our third floor window and we heard gunshots. And then we saw the explosion. I actually saw a black SUV come down Laurel Street and cross over Dexter, it looked like it hit a police car and then they were just shooting at that. Then just loaded. We must have heard about 60 gunshots.
[Griffin:] That is not dissimilar to other witnesses that I talked to, it really was sounding like a running gun battle car to car through the streets. And at one point the police even issued a notice that listen, they had to clear the streets to make sure there weren't any unexploded ordinates, unexploded ordinates, that wasn't laying around on these streets being thrown from that car. A very, very dangerous situation. Obviously, that situation calmed down, but as of yet we still have a very, very dangerous person on the loose, which is why Watertown this morning is being told to stay inside until the all clear is given John, Jake.
[Berman:] Drew Griffin for us Drew Griffin for us in Watertown. And again, not to be overdramatic here but the police officers in this area right now, the Boston Police chief says a terrorist is on the loose in the Watertown area. And perhaps and people need to be very safe. They're getting robocalls, telling them not to answer their doors, the MBTA, the local transportation authority here, is actually going to send buses to Watertown to carefully help people get out so they are not in the area of the crime scene. Our Deb Feyerick is on the ground in Watertown right now. She joins us now by telephone. Deb, what do you have?
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn National Correspondent:] We're looking at what really appears to be almost a partial frozen zone. You've got police vehicles everywhere that have actually set a check, and they're asking people for identification, they're checking trunks of cars. The light has been working in their favor because as it comes up it's going to be a lot more difficult for this man, the man seen in the white hat, to slip out and hopefully this created enough of a perimeter so that he is contained. And that's sort of the idea of what they're working on. You've got police who are wearing full gear, full tactical gear. They are carrying assault rifles and shot guns. The National Guard is out. You've got members of state troopers as well as police officers from transit, so there's a very, very heavy police presence here. Interestingly, as we were driving along one road, you had officers, again, full tactical gear and they were positioned almost 20 feet apart. And they were keeping their eyes open, they were looking for this individual here, but I can tell you they are trying to tighten this area, almost like putting a noose around parts of Watertown hoping that somehow they've been able to contain this individual, hoping that he hasn't slipped out. They feel that he is here. There are teams that are staging at various areas. And you see just an abundance of many blue lights, the cars that are just passing, they are communicating with each other, they're connecting, but they are definitely trying to contain this area, and keep a really what amounts to a partial lockdown, a partial frozen zone here in Watertown.
[Berman:] All right. Deb Feyerick for us on the ground in Watertown right now, watching things as they unfold there. Meanwhile, Jake Tapper here with me, near the site of the Boston marathon finish line. Jake, you have some new information about what they're telling people in and around the Watertown area.
[Tapper:] That's right. Well, we've been saying for hours now that if you live in Watertown you should stay in your homes and you should not answer your door unless it is a clearly identified police officer. Suspect number two in the Boston marathon terrorist attacks is wanted and presumed extremely dangerous. Now we have a more specific warning from the Boston Police Department. For anybody who works at any of the businesses in the area of 480, 480 Arsenal Street in Watertown, they say remain home. Do not come to work today. If you if you live if you work in the area in the business of 480 Arsenal Street in Watertown, remain home. Juliette, you want to
[Juliette Kayyem, The Boston Globe:] Yes, sorry. So that area is a big shopping mall. It is an area where there are sort of industrial warehouses and there's a lot of offices and other lots of people who work there. And it's a huge shopping mall, the Arsenal area. And so I think what we're going to see is their confidence level that he is in a certain area. You may start to see over the course of the next hour actions that would sort of warn Bostonians, people who live in Watertown, Cambridge and surrounding areas to just stay put today. And so let's wait out for that. I don't want to jump the gun, but as we hear each of these, they are going to sort of evacuate people from Watertown. They are going to close certain areas around Arsenal Mall which is in Watertown. What are they going to do with the T? Do they want people to come into the city? And
[Tapper:] The T is public transportation.
[Kayyem:] Excuse me. Sorry. Yes. And people will get back to normal and how do they want people to behave? The good news is is that schools are not open this week. Most schools are not open, most public schools, and so people will stay with their children and hopefully this unfolds rather quickly.
[Tapper:] Probably it's a good rule of thumb that if you work in Watertown
[Kayyem:] Yes.
[Tapper:] Even if it's not the 480 Arsenal Street.
[Kayyem:] Don't want to go there. Yes.
[Tapper:] You might want to call in sick today.
[Kayyem:] Yes.
[Tapper:] It's probably a good idea just because there's going to be a lot of police activity in that area.
[Kayyem:] And employers employers would be wise to demand that of their employees. Any people around that area, you just don't, as we were saying, we don't want a lot of activity there. You don't want police officers to misunderstand an action. You just want them focused on this one thing. And the more people that are around and milling about the less they're likely to do that.
[Berman:] We haven't yet heard that these warnings have extended much passed Watertown.
[Kayyem:] Right. So they might have confidence.
[Berman:] That is something we will watch for that in the coming minutes and hours.
[Kayyem:] Right.
[Berman:] Again, this has been unfolding all night with Boston Police, Watertown Police, local law enforcement officials keeping us up to speed on all the developments. We have some sound from a police press conference that was just a little while ago, which really this whole case broke open when we learned that there was this direct connection between this wild night, this shoot-out, this car chase, and also the Boston marathon bombings. Let's listen.
[Col. Timothy Alben, Massachusetts State Police:] The most important message that we are doing right now is for public safety and the safety of those people in that neighborhood. We are asking everyone to shelter in place for the time being, not to leave their homes. If they see something suspicion other than a police coming to their door, they should call 911 immediately. We also want to forewarn motorists that are traveling through this area, even though we're locked down in this neighborhood, that they should not stop for anyone and pick up anyone along the side of the roadway. What we are looking for right now is a suspect consistent with the description of suspect number two, the white-capped individual, who was involved in Monday's bombing of the Boston marathon. He was we have a picture, a video from the 7-Eleven in Cambridge last night that he is dressed in a gray hoodie-type sweatshirt. He's a light skinned or Caucasian male with longer, brown curly hair. You've seen the picture, you all have it. That's the individual that we are looking for at this moment.
[Unidentified Reporter:] That's suspect number two?
[Alben:] That's suspect number two, the white-capped individual.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Suspect number one was shot then?
[Alben:] That's correct.
[Unidentified Reporter:] So suspect number one was the one the
[Fbi -- Alben:] I just want to be clear. We will do regular updates to this, but right now we're in a public safety mode here. Our immediate concern is for those people in that neighborhood up there. We have an active search going on by tactical teams to locate and apprehend this particular individual. He should be considered armed and dangerous and is a threat to anybody that might approach him. So please, use extreme caution and stay in your homes. If you hear something, if you see something unusual, we would like you to call 911.
[Berman:] All right. The news from that press conference you just saw right now, there is a manhunt under way. A suspect on the loose. Suspect number two from the Boston marathon bombings. You saw a photo of him right there, taken last night, overnight, wearing that gray hoodie right now, he is suspected to be very, very dangerous, on the loose right now. And we're getting a sense of just how concerned law enforcement officials are. We just got word from the MBTA, that is the local transportation authority here, controlling all the subways, all the buses, all the MBTA services have been suspended for the time being at the request of the police. Now that affects a huge area, Jake. I don't know the number of towns but many, many towns in the Boston area have access to these subways and buses. This service suspended right now, completely at the request of the police. Go ahead, Juliette.
[Kayyem:] To give you a sense, Boston probably doubles in size on a normal weekday just from mass transit, so it gets to about 1.6 million, I think. And so this is huge. This is but this is smart. This is just to keep people off the streets.
[Berman:] Let's bring in Tom Fuentes right now. Former assistant director of the FBI right now, a CNN analyst. Very, very broad base of knowledge on situations just like this. And Tom, the news we just got that the MBTA, all subways and buses, suspended service right now at the request of the police. What do you make of that?
[Tom Fuentes, Former Fbi Assistant Director:] Hi, John. I think that they're just trying to keep people locked down and reduce the amount of people that are out on the street and just want everybody to stay home as if you had a blizzard situation. But you know there's many considerations here. This has turned into, you know, almost a standard fugitive hunt that the police go through all the time. And police executives constantly learn from other incidents in other parts of the country. The most recent similar situation we had was the Dorner case in Los Angeles just two months ago. In that case when they found the burning vehicle, they believed he was on that mountain top. They only had 400 residences to deal with to try to search to locate him. And then worry that he might carjack somebody and leave the area before that they could lock it down. It took a week, with 400 buildings. It took a week before he resurfaced and they found him. And he had invaded a home and taken hostages and then later while trying to escape in a carjacking. In this situation the question I would have, and I don't know for sure how confident the police are that he didn't get away, but in the very short aftermath of that pursuit in shoot-out with the police, you know, we presume that he got out of the car, took off running somewhere. Did he go around the corner and carjack somebody else in which case he could already be three states away by this time of the day.
[Kayyem:] Yes.
[Fuentes:] So they're concentrating that search in Watertown, but he could be in who knows where by now if he was able to carjack somebody. Secondly, you're not talking about 400 residences, you're talking about several thousand, large apartment buildings, and the problem before searching those are if the police, you know, get the people out and they get on buses and leave town, then that means when they go door-to-door, nobody is going to knock. How do they know he isn't inside somebody's residence with the door locked and he's in a safe place to hide and he could be there indefinitely. So this could this could be resolved very quickly if he makes the move on the police and tries to do something, or it could take a long time if he's already in somebody's residence hunkered down or if he already did a carjacking and got out of the area before they created this perimeter.
[Tapper:] Tom, it's Jake Tapper. I just want to bring our viewers up to speed as to what exactly is going on. Suspect number one in the Boston marathon terrorist attacks has been killed. Suspect number two is on the loose in thought to be in Watertown, Massachusetts. If you live in or near Watertown, Massachusetts, you are being told by police do not leave your homes, do not answer the door, unless it is a clearly identified police officer. You should expect that there will be a clearly identified police officer who will come to your door. They are going door to door, 9,000 to 10,000 police officers and law enforcement officers going to Watertown. A more specific piece of information, if you work in the area of 480, 480 Arsenal Street in Watertown, do not go to work today. And then more broadly, the T, the public transportation into and out of Boston, has been temporarily suspended. Because of a request by the police. So, Tom, my question for you is, what do you anticipate the police would next do? Actually we're going to go to a news conference underway right now. Tom, we'll come back to you in a second.
[Kurt Schwartz, Massachusetts Emergency Management Director:] We have conferred with the governor, with the mayor of Boston, with all of the surrounding city public officials and the governor has immediately suspended all public transportation service on the MBTA system, that is buses and subway. So all public transit services through the MBTA have been immediately suspended. We are hoping that as we proceed through the next number of hours that we will be able to turn back on portions of the system, but this system has been shut down now as a safety measure. People that are at subway or subway stations or at bus stops, we are asking them to go home. We do not want people congregating and waiting for the system to come back on. So we are asking people do not go out to the bus stations, subway stations, if you're there, please go home. We also want to speak to the residents and the public within the town of Watertown and the cities and towns that are near Watertown. And to be specific, we are speaking to the residents of Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, and the Allston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston. To those people, we are asking you to stay indoors, to stay in your homes for the time being. We are asking businesses in those areas to please cooperate and not open today until we can provide further guidance and information. So again, to repeat, to the residents of Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge and the Allston- Brighton neighborhoods of Boston, we are asking you to stay home, stay indoors. We are asking businesses not to open. We are asking people not to congregate outside. We are asking people not to go to mass transit. And we are hopeful that as the day proceeds that we can provide further guidance that we'll be able to open portions of the system and be able to ease these restrictions. But we are opposed to that now. Let me just ask Chief Deveau, to the town of Watertown, is there anything in additional you want to announce?
[Chief Edward Deveau, Watertown Police:] Just want to speak to the community of Watertown. We need your help now. We're asking everybody to shelter in place. No vehicle traffic is going to be allowed to travel in or out of Watertown until further notice. No business are going to be allowed to be open. The Watertown community has always stood strong. We need them to do that today. Thank you.
[Alben:] I want to be clear. Now before we take any questions, I need to be clear about this. This situation is grave. We are here to protect public safety and these neighborhoods here in Watertown right now. I know that there's national media here from all over the country, I know you have a lot of questions about who these folks are, where they are from. There will be plenty of time to deal with that over the ensuing hours. Right now we've got to deal with this local issue here. So we appreciate your patience. Again, to reiterate what I said earlier, we believe these are the same individuals that were responsible for the bombing on Monday at the Boston marathon. We believe that they're responsible for the death of an MIT police officer and the shooting of an MBTA police officer. This is a very serious situation that we're dealing with. And we would appreciate your cooperation. We'll do the best that we can to keep you apprised as to how that develops here this morning, but we can't answer every single question about this investigation at this particular point in time. Thank you very much.
[Unidentified Male:] We'll let you know as soon as much news as possible prior to the next briefing. Thank you.
[Unidentified Reporter:] What time would that be?
[Unidentified Male:] We don't know. We'll let you know. We'll give you as much advanced warning. Well, that was a huge update
[Berman:] All right. Welcome back to our live, breaking coverage of this major, major story going on in Boston right now. We have live team coverage all around the area, and we have this major new development in. There is a manhunt underway right now in the greater Boston area for the man, suspect number two, from the Boston marathon bombings. A man who overnight, if you're just waking up, was involved in a police chase, involved in a shoot-out, suspect number one is dead right now. Suspect number two is on the loose. He's believed to be wearing a gray hoodie, or at least he was when he was had his photograph taken overnight believed to be at a 7-Eleven. Police have put out that photo right now and they're searching for him in a widening, widening area Jake.
[Tapper:] That's crazy because every time we come to the viewers with new news, the it's growing and growing and expanding the instead of the news getting smaller, it's getting bigger. We've been told that if you work in the area of in Watertown, Massachusetts, if you work in the area of 480 Arsenal Street, you should not go to work. We have been told that if you live in Watertown itself, you should stay in your home, not answer the door unless it is an identified police officer. But you should expect an identified police officer to come to your door because 9,000 to 10,000 are blanketing. We've been told that public transportation in and out of Boston in the surrounding area is closed at the request of the police. And now this latest news John.
[Berman:] This latest news today, a list of towns surrounding Boston where they are also asking people to stay indoors and businesses to remain shut. Now I'm going to read these out loud. And if you're from this area, you will understand how many people are affected by this. Watertown, Belmont, the Allston and Brighton area, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge, Arlington, that is just a huge area. A little bit to the west of the city right now. You know a massive commuting area. People who live there work and live in Boston in the area right now, they are being asked to stay home. Businesses being asked not to open. Be safe.
[Kayyem:] Right.
[Tapper:] It's interesting because right before that press conference we were talking to Tom Fuentes, former assistant FBI director, and he was frankly expressing some skepticism that this one fugitive, suspect number two, had been contained just to Watertown. He was wondering if actually the suspect had maybe carjacked another car and was in an area bigger than Watertown. All of a sudden there's a press conference in which the area is expanded, the area in which they think the suspect may be.
[Berman:] Let me tell you this. We've just learned that the president of the United States has been briefed on all of these developments. These remarkable developments that had been going on since last night. One of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombing now dead. One very much on the loose in this manhunt underway. We're telling you there is now an expanded area of interest with people being told to stay in their homes in a number of towns surrounding Boston. Public transportation shut down. And then we just learned this as well. In the town of Watertown, Watertown, which seems to be the epicenter right of the search, vehicle traffic is not allowed in. They are not allowing cars in and out of the Watertown area right now. So that is the epicenter of this crime scene, the white hot area, but it is also expanding to the towns nearby.
[Tapper:] And what we've what John has already said, just for those just tuning in, the area where individuals who live are being told to stay in their homes, not to leave their homes, not to answer the door unless it is an identified, clearly identified police officer. Again, Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, Newton, Cambridge and the Allston- Brighton neighborhood of Boston, a huge area, an ever expanding area. There is a manhunt underway. This individual, suspect number two, the one with the white hat, we have a picture of him that we can put up from last night from a 7-Eleven surveillance camera. He is out there wearing a gray hoodie. He is armed, thought to be extremely dangerous, not just with firearms, but he and his now dead partner in crime, terrorism partner, had explosives. And there is a big fear, and if you've been watching all night, you know that there was an apparently innocent man who the police arrested well, they didn't arrest him, but they detained him. They made him take off all his clothing before they put him in the police car. And then ultimately they let him go, obviously with his clothing, because they feared that he would have explosives on him. And that is what one of the big fears is with suspect number two. That he is not only armed with guns but he is armed with explosives. So even if you are not immediately close to him, you could be in danger. We saw what he's capable of allegedly with explosives from what happened Monday at the Boston marathon.
[Berman:] As we say, what's happening right now in this area is unprecedented with the surrounding towns, people told to stay home, businesses not to open. As we also told you, President Obama has been identified, has been brought up to speed on what's been going on here in the Boston area with so many developments. And we want to go to Brianna Keilar right now who is at the White House Brianna.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Hi there, John and Jake. We understand from the White House official that President Obama was briefed overnight by his Homeland Security and counterterrorism adviser, Lisa Monaco. This is something that has been happening overnight since the bombings in Boston, but again he was briefed overnight to be brought up-to-date on the events happening there in Watertown, we are told by a White House official. We are still waiting to see if perhaps as this is very much a developing situation, the president as you know, it would not be likely that he would come out and make some sort of statement until all of the facts are kind of determined here. And obviously, this is very much a developing situation. So we'll be keeping you up-to-date on exactly President Obama's briefings. Very likely what's going to happen later this morning is he'll be briefed not only by Lisa Monaco but also likely by his attorney general, Eric Holder, and the director of the FBI, Robert Muller, because the FBI is taking the lead on that. This is what we've been seeing happening in recent days since the bombings on the bombings on Monday. But again he was kept up-to-date, briefed overnight as this quickly developing situation continues to unfold.
[Berman:] This situation unfolding right before our very eyes, Brianna. And it is interesting, President Obama of course was here yesterday for that memorial, for that prayer service right then, rallying the spirits of the people of Boston. And he really did a terrific job in that. Of course right now with completely different feeling in this area because people are waking up right now to the news that they probably live in a crime scene or at least in an area right now that is being searched and very much under watch.
[Tapper:] And Juliette and I were talking earlier that just the astounding news that these two individuals, suspects number one and two, suspect number one now dead, suspect two police are in hot pursuit of him, but the idea that they stayed here.
[Kayyem:] Yes.
[Tapper:] That they've perpetrated this horrific act allegedly, and stayed in the Boston area.
[Kayyem:] And so it is unique. I have been saying for a couple these weren't suicide bombers so you knew something about them. But that they stuck around is pretty unique. And I think it suggests why there is so much activity here because they lived here or they were living somewhere the last couple of days. I don't know if that's Watertown, I don't want to make a guess, but given all the activity in Watertown, you wonder whether there wasn't some involvement with that town. This is sort of staying in place or what we can shelter in place order that Kurt Schwartz, who's a public safety a top public safety official for the governor. That was the press conference we just saw. And now you know, I'll be honest. It's a big deal. I mean, it is this city has just essentially closed off most of its suburbs.
[Tapper:] When is the last time you can recall a city
[Kayyem:] Just on for snowstorm.
[Tapper:] Telling thousands and thousands of individuals to stay in their homes and also to shut down public transportation.
[Berman:] 1.3 million people, you know, travel on the T, on the subways and the buses here. 1.3 million people
[Kayyem:] A day.
[Berman:] A day.
[Kayyem:] Yes.
[Berman:] In the town of Watertown, no cars going in and out. The surrounding towns, we read you that list before, including Newton, Belmont, Allston, Brighton, Waltham, Cambridge, Watertown, people being told
[Kayyem:] Lots of universities in
[Berman:] to stay at home right now, to not leave, to be safe, businesses closed. It is unprecedented.
[Kayyem:] Universities we're a university and college town, those towns have a lot of colleges and universities. I'm seeing that a lot of them are starting to close.
[Tapper:] But, Juliette, you're a homeland security expert, you worked for the Office of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. The same type of organization here for Governor Patrick. Can you recall anything like this happening in the last
[Kayyem:] No, I mean
[Tapper:] Since 911?
[Kayyem:] No. And neither, but there hasn't been anything since like the Boston marathon attack. I mean, what we have we have to put this there has not been a successful attack like this since 911. There have been a lot of tries, and so this is a big deal. And so I think that the reaction by the governor and his public safety team to just say, look, we can we can stay put for a day, let's get this person, let's move on, Boston. I'm pretty confident with this many people looking that, you know, you've got every roadway, you've got Connecticut, New Hampshire, all of these areas looking for this guy.
[Berman:] All right. Our coverage of these major developments continues right now.

[Becky Anderson, Cnn International:] On the road to Gadhafi's hometown with a message for his loyalists lay down your weapons by Saturday, or else. Help at last, but still a long road ahead for this nanny to the Gadhafi family. We're going to have an update and her condition for you. And then, a day meant for celebration leads to carnage in Syria. No break in the government crackdown on the last day of Ramadan. And the sweet smell of success how marketeers are assaulting your senses and reaping the benefits. These stories and more tonight as we connect the world. Surrender by Saturday or face the final battle Libyan rebels now giving all towns remaining loyal to Moammar Gadhafi a new deadline for giving up the fight. Well, their main focus is Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and last major stronghold. Rebels are negotiating with tribal leaders there, saying that they want to avoid further bloodshed, but warn they will resort to force if necessary and are making final preparations. Well, they're now flanking Sirte from east and west, eager to end a civil war they say has claimed at least 50,000 lives to end it, of course. Let's get an update on the ground. Frederik Pleitgen has been following rebel movements today near Sirte and filed this report a short time ago for you.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn International Correspondent:] The front line to the west of Sirte is actually quite unique. It's about 100 kilometers away from the actual town. So Sirte is about 100 kilometers that way. Gadhafi's forces are about 70 kilometers in that direction. Now what the guys here will do, these are the rebels that come from Misrata and are looking to make it along the way to Sirte. And what they will do is they'll launch small teams in that direction to go to some of the villages there. They say in the past, they've had a lot of contact with pro-Gadhafi forces, but they haven't made that final push to try and take the city. And they say that they will only do that if they get the order from the National Transitional Council. "All we're waiting for is the order from the National Transitional Council to move into Sirte," he says. Several dozen fighters are waiting here, at this checkpoint. They've got, I would say, about 10 to 15 gun trucks stationed here, a lot of quite heavy weapons, as well. The interesting thing, though, about the fighters that are here, a lot of them are actually from the town of Misrata. And they say they felt that when they got the Gadhafi forces out of Misrata, that their job was over. However, now they've pushed all the way over here, to the front lines close to Sirte. But they say they're still very recently to actually go into that town and fight. They hope that things can be solved through negotiations.
[Unidentified Male:] Now, when we get back to the revolution again, we want to go back to revolution again.
[Pleitgen:] OK. So no one is going to march to Sirte?
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[Pleitgen:] The National Transitional Council has issued an ultimatum to the tribes that are still loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. They say these tribes need to surrender in the coming four days, during the holiday of Eid or the National Transitional Council will send in heavy weapons. And what they mean by heavy weapons is what you see right here, the typical sort of pickup trucks with anti-aircraft weapons mounted to them, with heavy machine guns mounted to them, some of them also with multiple rocket launchers on the backs of their beds. So those are the kinds of weapons that are threatening to attack Sirte right now. But again, the rebels here that we're meeting at the front lines say they hope all of this can be solved through negotiations. It seems as though right now, though, those negotiations are in some very deep water.
[Anderson:] Frederik Pleitgen reporting as the battles, of course, continue. Libya's opposition already looking ahead to rebuilding the country. And a top priority is getting lucrative oil fields back online. Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni gave some estimates today at a news conference in Tripoli. He also spoke with our Nic Robertson just a short while ago Nic, what did he say?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, he said he hopes to be back up to about 500 million barrels 500 million, 500,000 barrels. Libya was only producing 1.2 million barrels a day before the current crisis. He hopes to be back up to about half a million barrels a day within weeks, perhaps six months, he said, to be back up to 100 percent production, where the country was before the conflict began. He said that he estimates about 15 percent of the oil facilities around the country have been damaged. But he's already he said they're already on the verge of beginning to pump gas and oil out of the country, to begin to be in a position to export it again. So he put he put quite a quite a good assessment, in his opinion, of how quickly the country can get back up and running. But I also talked to him about about the issue of negotiations and, most importantly, for so many people here, where Moammar Gadhafi is.
[Ali Tarhouni, Libyan Finance Minister:] We have a pretty good idea of where the whereabouts of Gadhafi is.
[Robertson:] Where is he?
[Tarhouni:] That I can't tell you.
[Robertson:] Is it in the south of the country?
[Tarhouni:] I can't really tell you.
[Robertson:] Is he taking shelter with tribes that are still loyal to him?
[Tarhouni:] I can't even tell you that.
[Robertson:] And right now, you have given the Gadhafi loyalists in Sirte until the end of the week to negotiate. Why have you given them so long?
[Tarhouni:] I think I'm hoping and I'm hopeful, actually. I think the wiser and the elders of these tribes will realize that bloodshed is not only a waste, but actually they have no way to go. And and I think, until the end of the week is ample time. If it need to be, if it needs to be extended, we will do that. The main goal is that we want to stop the bloodshed.
[Robertson:] Right now, a lot of the south of the country is not in the hands of the National Transitional Council.
[Tarhouni:] Right.
[Robertson:] Exactly how much of the country do you control? And the south is huge. It's a vast area. How are you going to regain control of it and how long will that take?
[Tarhouni:] Well, there the truth of the matter is that our that, like everywhere else, there that a lot of types. And the south is actually, has never been as loyal as it has
[Robertson:] What what about Sebha, a big important town in the south?
[Tarhouni:] Right.
[Robertson:] That's been loyal to Gadhafi.
[Tarhouni:] This is the one I'm talking about.
[Robertson:] And how long before this is going to be back entirely in the hands of the National Transitional Council?
[Tarhouni:] I wish it's tomorrow. But I know better than that. I think this drug, this killer knows that he has nowhere to go, but also, he thinks that he can negotiate, he thinks that he can find a way out of the trouble that he's in. So I'm I'm thinking, you know, a matter of days. The report that I got today from the security and from different agencies, everybody is an optimist. They're talking about a week or so. I really have no problem of waiting another week. I waited 42 years, so it's not really an issue for me.
[Robertson:] So what's interesting about that, Becky, about that is that, really, we've talked so far about the rebels going up against Gadhafi loyalists, against his military forces, the army that were protecting him. Now we're talking about something a little bit different. We're talking about tribes, tribe on tribe or rebels and the tribes who support them against Gadhafi's tribe, unless, of course, this rapprochement and everyone agrees. But there is something different here. That we're talking now about the potential of division between tribes across the country Becky.
[Anderson:] Nic Robertson reporting from Tripoli. Thank you, Nic. Talking there to a significant member of what is Libya's interim government. The United Nations Security Council meeting today talking about ways that it can assist Libya's opposition government. Let's bring in our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth, for more details. You had you heard Tarhouni suggesting that he hopes, at least, to get up to some half a million barrels of oil a day soon, with a view to getting back to 1.2 million at some later date. They need money to do this. They'll get money from the oil fields, of course. But they need money to get the whole process started Richard, don't they?
[Richard Roth, Cnn Senior United Nations Correspondent:] Yes. And the U.N. Security Council Sanctions Committee on Libya released $1.6 billion in frozen assets at a request by the U.K. government. Germany and France also have similar requests in. It's all starting to unfreeze accounts and get humanitarian and other money going in to revitalize society. For the first time in months, we heard, at the Security Council just minutes ago, a rather optimistic view when it comes to Libya, facts provided by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
[Ban Ki-moon, U.n. Secretary-general:] I think we can all be encouraged by the current trend. Yesterday, we received a confirmation that members of Moammar Gadhafi's family have sought asylum in Algeria. The National Transitional Council appears to be largely in control of Tripoli and other cities. Fighting continues in some parts of the country, most notably, Sirte, Sabha and Tualaf and points to the south. And I think we can now hope for a quick conclusion to the conflict and an end to the suffering of Libya's people.
[Roth:] The U.N. has a major plan for assisting Libya. The Security Council stressing Libyan people still have to be nominally in charging. There has to be a lot coordination with different agencies that will pour in there. Becky, we've seen this, of course, in other areas and other countries coming out of conflict. There's a lot of hard work ahead back to you.
[Anderson:] But at least some optimism out of the U.N. Security Council this evening, as you suggested, Richard. Thank you for that. Richard Roth for you out of New York this evening. Well, as Gadhafi's dictatorship crumbles, so did any pretense about life under his regime. Now, yesterday, if you were watching at this hour, we brought you a heartbreaking story of a nanny who lived in the villa of one of Gadhafi's sons, Hannibal. Well, she has suffered unimaginable abuse. But with the Gadhafis gone, she no longer has to suffer in silence. Dan Rivers visited her in the hospital today, where she's finally receiving treatment. I've got to warn you, though, these images of her injuries are very hard to watch.
[Dan Rivers, Cnn International Correspondent:] Slowly, slowly, she whispers as they unwrapped her dressing. What you're about to see is difficult to watch. God only knows how painful it is for Shweyga to endure. The entire top of her head is burnt and many of the wounds are infected. The nanny to Hannibal Gadhafi's children is thankfully now in a hospital burn unit in Tripoli. She's finally beginning to get the antibiotics and the care she needs. This is how we found Shweyga, abandoned in the Gadhafi family compound with horrific burns that she says were inflicted by Hannibal Gadhafi's wife, Aileen. She told us how boiling water was poured over her head, punishment for failing to keep a Gadhafi grandchild from crying. An account corroborated by co-workers. But now she's already sounding more optimistic. She says she already feels better than before. [on camera]: Well, it's great to see that Shweyga is in a much better place than when we found her yesterday. But it's also clear she's got months more treatment ahead if she's going to have any kind of a normal life. [voice-over]: These photos show her horrible condition when she first arrived at the hospital in June. They were taken by doctors who started to treat her. But the doctors say they were bullied into stopping treatment by Hannibal Gadhafi's staff.
[Rida Franka, Director Of Tripoli Burn Unit:] So first they came and threatened me here. And they said you have to you have to discharge this case or otherwise you will have a lot of problems.
[Rivers:] Despite the threats, the guard later brought her back secretly for more treatment. When the Gadhafi family found out, doctors say they were again ordered to stop treatment. This video was taken by a doctor a week ago, when Shweyga finally made the treacherous journey to a clinic through the fighting. Doctors say it was too dangerous to get to the burn unit and she was sent home after her dressings were changed. Dr. Rowida Zawiya took that video and it is damning about Hannibal and Aileen Gadhafi.
[Rowida Zawiya:] There's no humanity. They are so I don't know, actually. Maybe they're insane. I'm not sure.
[Rivers:] Three weeks ago, that candor might have brought a death sentence. Now they're free to speak and to care for Shweyga Mullah. Dan Rivers, CNN, Tripoli.
[Anderson:] And that is one of the most infuriating parts of this story, is it? Shweyga could have been treated months ago, indeed, was even in a hospital but was forced to leave. I want to talk more about the extent of her injuries, what can be done for her and what sort of psychological damage perhaps she will suffer from all this. We're joined by Jorge Leon-Villapalos. He's a burn specialist at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital here in London, I I believe, one of the only major specialist burn units here in the country. Jorge, as we as we watch those pictures, that video, I mean it is absolutely heartbreaking. Is this as bad as it gets?
[Jorge Leon-villapalos, Burn Specialist, Chelsea And Westminster Hospital:] It can actually, it can even get worse. But there is no doubt that this poor lady has suffered a phenomenal amount of pain, a phenomenal amount of suffering and that the scars that actually these injuries may leave may be actually ever lasting. And I'm not talking about that. I'm talking, also, about the the last thing psychological impact that it can have on her personality, regarding her looks and how she will relate, actually, is through her society.
[Anderson:] I want to have a look at some of the pictures that we have of Shweyga so that you can talk myself and the viewers what you're seeing here. We believe that she was scalded with boiling water. Is this the sort of burns that you would expect to see as a result of that kind of injury?
[Leon-villapalos:] They're certainly compatible with that type of injury. But there is no doubt that these burns are actually not only very extensive, but possibly, they were actually very deep at the time. And on the basis of what I can see, I can only ascertain that the type of liquid that she may have poured with been poured with was actually as extremely hot and that the suffering, the pain and certainly as the damage to her skin may have been phenomenal.
[Anderson:] So what can be done at this stage?
[Leon-villapalos:] It is difficult to know, obviously. Our colleagues at Libya have done, actually, the best that they can with the resources that they have got available. Now, these type of injuries, we can see them basically, see in our units. We treat them in a very multi-disciplinary way, by giving them not only the imperative and medical support that they may actually just need, but also the psychological support and then put up a whole area of professionals that will deal with the marks of these type of injuries, like scars or, effectively, the way she feels about her looks.
[Anderson:] All right. And you're a plastic surgeon, I know, as well.
[Leon-villapalos:] That is correct.
[Anderson:] What can be done to help the psychological damage, which would be sort of, you know, the way I look and feel going forward, by somebody who specializes, as you do, in
[Leon-villapalos:] It's a very long process. And then the
[Anderson:] You said that your colleagues in Libya are doing what they can in what are, let's face it, limited resources. Many of these hospitals don't even have any doctors, at the moment, or any medical supplies. She needs to leave Libya at some point soon, doesn't she? How long does she have before this will be physical, long-lasting scarrage?
[Leon-villapalos:] In general terms, we say that any type of this burn that does not heal within a two to three week period, usually it leaves permanent scarring. It is the effect of the scarring that we tend to probably deal with at this stage. We say that burns patients are outpatients for life precisely because of that reason. Burns leave not only disfigurement, but also contracture, functional problems, you know, problems that actually are disruptive of daily living. But not only that, but also you have the inability to really just look at yourself in the way that you were before and actually just deal with the normal type of just rejection of society toward anyone that actually looks different.
[Anderson:] Really amazing. Really good points there. OK, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us, your expert on this. There's no doubt about it, I do have to tell you that this story has touched an outrage to people around the world. Many of you are writing or calling us asking how you can help. Well, CNN is working with humanitarian organizations and medical officials. And as soon as we finalize a plan is to a route forward so far as action is concerned, we will get it to you, of course, straight. But log onto CNN.comimpact and do stay tuned for updates here on CONNECT THE WORLD. It's 19 minutes past 9:00 in London. Coming up next, he was President Bush's right hand man. But does Dick Cheney have any regrets about the war in Iraq? Plus, in about 10 minutes time, we're going to find out whether it was all plain sailing for Roger Federer at the U.S. Open. And if you've wondered why your supermarket shopping is burning a hole in your market, then don't miss our tricks of the trade report here in about 30 minutes. You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in London. Back after this.

[Malveaux:] This just in. According to Reuters, I want to take you to Turkey. This is where an earthquake of a 7.2 on the Richter scale that hit turkey on Sunday killing 500 people in the eastern part of that country. Well, Reuters reporting now that rescue workers actually pulled out a man alive from the rubble more than 100 hours after that earthquake hit. Unbelievable. That has been a painful process. A lot of people looking, combing through the rubble trying to search for survivors. It was two days ago that they actually rescued a two- week old infant from the rubble two days ago. But we are now looking at pictures here that are just in. The man pulled alive from the quake rubble. This is just rather unbelievable when you think about the amount of time. A 100 hours beneath the rubble, finding a survivor at this point, after 500 died from that earthquake that hit turkey on Sunday. Just a miracle. Well, before the break, we asked you what was the germiest thing we touch every day, right? A, a toilet seat, B, a gas pump handle, or C, a crosswalk button? Well, believe it or not, the answer, B, a gas pump handle. That is according to a new study by the University of Arizona. The study says that 71 percent, right, of gas pump handles are highly contaminated with the kinds of germs associated with a high risk of illness. Only 35 percent of crosswalk buttons were this germy. And toilet seats didn't even make the list. I'm really surprised. Well, a lot of folks scratching their heads over Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's new ad on the Internet. At the end of the ad, his chief of staff takes a puff on a cigarette. Well, it has triggered a lot of parodies. Jeanne Moos, she is handing out the silvery smoke ring awards to some of the best.
[Moos:] Suddenly, everybody is pretending to smoke. And it's all because this man, Herman Cain's chief of staff.
[Unidentified Male:] We can take this country back.
[Moos:] Took one little drag in a campaign ad.
[Unidentified Male:] Weird, right?
[Mark Block, Herman Cain's Chief Of Staff:] You know, I'm not the only one that smokes in America, for God sake.
[Moos:] Now, everyone is inhaling his smoke, one parody even paraphrases Charlie Sheen.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm on a drug, and it's called Herman Cain. Herman Cain has tiger blood.
[Moos:] That's from a left-leaning political group in South Carolina asking Herman Cain, what are you smoking? Not since the famous witch ad
[Unidentified Female:] I'm not a witch
[Moos:] Have we seen a political spot so parodied? So, we thought we'd hand out the silvery smoke ring award to some of our favorites. [on-camera] We award one measly smoke ring to the Letterman show for its video parody.
[Unidentified Male:] Rich Lowry here, chief economic adviser for Herman Cain.
[Moos:] And for all those who replaced the cigarette with booze, we award two smoke rings. Our three smoke ring award goes to Conan's show for most imaginative prop. We award Jimmy Kimmel and his crew four smoke rings for inventive voiceover.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm Herman Cain, and I approve cigarettes, and if that doesn't make me sound crazy, check out this smile.
[Moos:] Herman Cain's smile that takes eight seconds to develop prompted Stephen Colbert to challenge Cain to a slow smile contest.
[Unidentified Male:] Go!
[Moos:] Colbert managed to stretch his smile 25 seconds.
[Unidentified Male:] We'll be right back.
[Moos:] The coveted five smoke rings award goes to "The Colbert Report" for replacing smoking with sniffing.
[Unidentified Female:] I'm Herman Cain's personal assistant. We hope you share our vision.
[Moos:] By the way, we'd like to bestow a shortened lifetime achievement award to the human smoke machine who provided us with our smoke screen. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
[Malveaux:] Oh, it's unbelievable. The race for the Republican nomination, everything comes down to location, location, location, right? We're going to take a look at how the candidates stack up in all those all important early primary states.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Erin, thanks. Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight "Keeping Them Honest." With big developments on the story we've been following on from day one. The bungled ATF operation called "Fast and Furious." Developments that could land the nation's top law enforcement official in contempt of Congress and perhaps set off a constitutional battle between Congress and the White House. Let me give you some background first. "Fast and Furious," you may remember, let buyers purchase guns in the United States and smuggle them into New Mexico. The idea was to track the guns as they made their way inside Mexican drug cartels. Instead the ATF lost track of those guns in part because U.S. authorities never bothered to tell the Mexican authorities about the scheme. They never had a way to actually track the guns. That is, not until people started dying.
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Special Investigations Unit Correspondent:] The only way you're going to find those guns in Mexico is where?
[Rene Jaquez, Atf Supervisory Agent:] At crime scenes. At the death at the site of somebody who's dead. At a gun battle between the police and the bad guys in which either the bad guy was killed and his gun was left at the scene or used during the commission of a crime in which the gun was left behind.
[Griffin:] That makes no sense to me.
[Jaquez:] Between reasonable men within the law enforcement community, no, there is no reasonable explanation to let these guns walk.
[Cooper:] Well, two of those guns made their way back north to the scene where border agent Brian Terry was shot dead a year and a half ago. He just finished buying Christmas presents for his family. Two months later, ATF agent Jaime Zapata was killed in Mexico by one of a batch of 10 firearms bought in Houston as part of "Fast and Furious." Now lawyers for the family confirmed today that they'll be suing the Justice Department, but the big headlines today were in Washington, D.C. After initially cooperating with the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating "Fast and Furious," Attorney General Eric Holder refused to turn over more internal Justice Department documents. In a letter today, the deputy attorney general, James Cole, notified the committee chairman, Darrell Issa, that President Obama was withholding them on the basis of executive privilege. Now the move came after threats from the committee to cite Holder for contempt and negotiations yesterday between the attorney general and committee members. Today's decision to invoke executive privilege led Republicans on the committee to say their search for accountability is being stymied.
[Rep. Trey Gowdy , South Carolina:] If Congress has time to look into Major League Baseball, the BCS and invite Stephen Colbert to come to a committee hearing, surely to goodness, we have time to get answers on a fundamentally flawed lethal investigation like "Fast and Furious."
[Cooper:] Well, Democrats accused Chairman Issa and his Republican committee colleagues of conducting a political witch hunt. Republicans say the administration is impeding the search for accountability and using executive privilege to do that. Keeping both sides honest tonight, it's worth pointing out a few facts here. First of all, this is the first time President Obama has invoked executive privilege. Back when Democrats controlled the House, any Republican administration was claiming executive privilege for the sixth time, the sound bites were 180 degrees opposite. Back then, as Democratic House members debated contempt citation against two George W. Bush advisers, Republican members including Darrell Issa simply walked out. Listen.
[Rep. John Boehner , Minority Leader:] We will not stand here and watch this floor be abused for pure political grandstanding at the expense of our national security. We will we will we will not stand for this and we will not stay for this. And I would ask my House Republican colleagues and those who believe that we should be here protecting the American people not vote on this bill. Let's just get up and leave.
[Cooper:] That's the complete opposite of their position today. Also now keeping the White House honest, President Obama's views on executive privilege do seem to have changed an awful lot now that he's chief executive. Here's Senator Obama back in 2007 during that Bush showdown.
[Sen. Barack Obama , Illinois:] You know, there's been a tendency on the part of this administration to try to hide behind executive privilege every time there's something a little shaky that's taking place. And I think, you know, the administration would be best served by coming clean on this. I think the American people deserve to know what was going on there.
[Cooper:] Here to talk about where all this might lead, Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy, whom you heard from just a moment ago. Congressman, thanks for being with us. You said today President Obama that he is, quote, "either part of it or he's not." If he's part of it, then we've had a series of witnesses that have misled the committee. And if he's not part of it, then he has no business asserting executive privilege. What do you exactly mean by that statement? Are you implying that the president is involved in covering something up?
[Gowdy:] No, quite the opposite. We've had no one that has testified before either judiciary or oversight if the president had any role in "Fast and Furious" at all. He said he didn't know about it. And I take him at his word. My point was to more illustrate the absurdity of asserting executive privilege for something you had no role in. Executive privileges for conversations that are had with the chief executive so he can rely on people's counsel, and he doesn't have to worry about them being subpoenaed before a committee of Congress. He had no conversation
[Cooper:] But that's not that's not actually true, though. I mean Vice President Cheney talked used the executive privilege for discussions about energy policy. It was even used with Hillary Clinton in her role in the health care debate under the Clinton administration. So it doesn't necessarily mean the president was sitting in meetings.
[Gowdy:] Well, what does it mean then? I mean it's executive privilege. It's not it has to mean something. It can't cover your entire administration or no one would have to turn over documents.
[Cooper:] One of your Democratic colleagues, Congressman Elijah Cummings, said today that Attorney General Holder is simply protecting documents that he's prohibited by law from producing and is in compliance with federal statute passed by both Houses of Congress, signed by the president of the United States. Clearly you voted to hold him in contempt of Congress. You disagree with that?
[Gowdy:] No, he's partially correct. I think the initial request was for wiretap applications, which Rule 6-C of the "Federal Rules on Criminal Procedure" does not allow anyone to give to anyone who's not part of the investigation or the trial. So to the extent that the original request for documents was overly broad and included protected material, then Mr. Cummings is correct. Where he's not correct is after Chairman Issa narrowed the scope of documents to not include anything that was legally prohibited from being discovered, he's still not complied. What could possibly be protected about the drafting of a false letter to a committee of Congress?
[Cooper:] But back in the Bush administration when Cheney was talking about executive privilege because of discussions on energy policy and discussions with people from outside the White House even, Republicans rallied around him and said it's legitimate. Democrats I mean, it was very much a partisan issue, just as this is now. If it was OK, though, under the Bush administration, why isn't it OK now? What's the difference?
[Gowdy:] I I've never Anderson, I've never subscribed to that theory in life, which is why I may not be long for this town. I was a prosecutor back when that was going on. The notion that that it's OK for me to do it only because you did it has never been appealing to me. If it's wrong to do it now, it was wrong to do it then, and I would hope that a court or someone else would have intervened and said that you're wrong to assert executive privilege. The fact that a Republican does something doesn't mean I automatically agree with it. And in fact, I would be happy to have everyone who's had their fingerprints on wide receiver, "Fast and Furious," any gun walking investigation comment. I don't think you would be able to tell much of a difference in the tone of my questions irrespective of their political persuasion.
[Cooper:] What happens next? I mean, this is going to go to a vote in the full House. How do you see this being brought to a resolution? Do you think it's going to wind up in the courts?
[Gowdy:] I hope not. I hope he gives us the documents. It's not a political exercise to me. I want to know how "Fast and Furious" happened. I want to know how a false letter was delivered to a committee of Congress. So I hope we don't get to that point because I hope the attorney general gives us the documents. If he doesn't, then yes, we'll vote on it on the floor of the House. And there are three different forms of contempt. There's the plenary powers of Congress, there's criminal contempt, there's civil contempt. If it's criminal, then it will be referred to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Ray Machen. If it's civil, it will go to a to a federal judge here in the District of Columbia.
[Cooper:] Congressman Gowdy, appreciate your time today. Thank you very much, sir.
[Gowdy:] Thank you.
[Cooper:] Senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins me now to take us through the legal ins and outs of executive privilege and this contempt vote. So, Jeff, you just heard the congressman saying, I take him at his word. If he was
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] No. The courts have said it's about the internal deliberations of the executive branch. And as you pointed out, there are Supreme Court cases involving the vice president. There are many cases involving the president's advisers. You know, sometimes executive privilege is upheld, sometimes it's not. But the president himself doesn't have to be involved and national security doesn't have to be involved.
[Cooper:] Well, certainly some people are going to look at this and say, look, the president obviously has something to hide by invoking this executive privilege. You say not necessarily?
[Toobin:] Not necessarily because, you know, every president in the modern era since Richard Nixon, including Richard Nixon, have cited executive privilege. Sometimes
[Cooper:] So explain the idea behind it.
[Toobin:] Right.
[Cooper:] The rationale behind it.
[Toobin:] The idea behind it is pretty simple. It's that the executive branch, the White House and the president and his or her advisers, need space to be able to consider all sorts of policy options without the worry that they will be subpoenaed to disclose exactly everything that they consider. Now the countervailing argument or issue is the Constitution says the legislative branch, the Congress, has the right to investigate, to engage in oversight for the executive branch. So those two ideas are in tension. And there are legitimate good faith fights over what's covered by executive privilege. And those have come up in every recent administration.
[Cooper:] There are those who would say, look, if there's nothing to hide, why invoke this, though? It's basically just on principle?
[Toobin:] It is on principle. I mean at least that's what the Obama administration is asserting. And that's what the Bush administration asserted the last time we had this kind of conflict.
[Cooper:] Because the flipside of this is if you want to hide something, this is a good way to hide stuff?
[Toobin:] It is. And certainly the most famous case of all involving executive privilege was United States versus Nixon where the Supreme Court 9-0 in held that Nixon had to disclose the White House tapes. And those turned out to be extremely incriminating and led directly to his resignation. So ever since Nixon, the innovation of executive privilege has had kind of a nasty taint. And it's sort of it's guilt by association with the most corrupt modern president.
[Cooper:] So basically you think this kind of goes away in the courts?
[Toobin:] I think
[Cooper:] And kind of gets lost in the election hoopla?
[Toobin:] I absolutely do. I think this will not have a neat resolution. It's embarrassing for Eric Holder. But I don't think he's going to be found in contempt, that he's going to be led away in handcuffs. This is just going to be another political dispute. And if people remember at all at they'll remember, 23 Republicans were for it, 17 Democrats were against it.
[Cooper:] Jeff Toobin, thanks. Well, let us know what you think. We're on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter. We're talking about it right now on Twitter, @Andersoncooper. The jury in the Sandusky child sex abuse trial is expected to get the case tomorrow. The defense rested their case earlier today. Sandusky did not take the stand after all. Clearly his lawyers seem to have made the right call, at least according to a lot of experts who are following this. Jason Carroll was in the courtroom throughout the trial. He'll recap the key testimony and our legal panel, Mark Geragos and Marcia Clark, weigh in next.

[Unidentified Female:] Let him go. Let him go. Let him go. Let him go. You put him in a headlock. You put him in a headlock. You put him in a headlock, I saw it. Don`t touch me. I saw you put him in a headlock.
[Velez-mitchell:] There you see it. Pandemonium erupts outside the court. Trial fans started lining up for today`s seats at about 8 p.m. last night. And then, at about 5 a.m. this morning, two men tried to cut in line, and complete mayhem erupted. You saw it right there. And nobody was arrested, but cops gave out four trespass warnings. This is not the first fisticuffs we`ve seen in this ticket line. What the heck is going on? They`ve gotten so out of hand, the court decided actually to change the rules as of now. People are now asked to line up for tickets the day before in order to get into the next day`s court session to avoid this kind of mayhem. See that guy with the neck brace? He manages to get into court every single time. I`ve seen him. This trial practically has people foaming at the mouth. I`m trying to figure out what`s go on. And we`re very lucky to have one of the folks who was involved in the brawl that happened in the predawn hours with us on the phone, Dustin. You were in the fight outside court. We`re going to show video of it again and ask you to describe what exactly happened, Dustin.
[Dustin Ballard, Caught Up In Pre-dawn Brawl:] Well my girlfriend and I and our two friends had been waiting in line since 6 p.m. yesterday. We got to around 5:30 in the morning. They do ask us to move on to state property. And they asked us to line up in a two-by-two orderly fashion. We noticed around 5:25, 5:20 in the morning that there was a group of a small group of people that was standing outside of the line. They did not have the numbers written on their hands, and they basically said that the numbers don`t mean anything and they were going to cut people. When the officers asked us to start walking single file, we were walking, and then somehow this group of people broke through. And they got they were basically right next to me, but hadn`t pushed me out of the way, as of yet. When we got to the roped off area, which is very narrow, and it only allows two people to go through at a time, I was trying to allow the women who had numbers lower than mine my number was 11 I was trying to allow the women to go in before me so that they would have their spots in line that we had all waited for. Well, as I`m holding the like the pole to hold the rope up, as I`m holding it to the side, that was against the wall, and there was a large gentleman in a red-and-white shirt who had pushed that pole out of the way and then pushed me forward into the women as they were passing through the...
[Velez-mitchell:] So basically you`re saying that this erupted because of some people tried to cut in line, allegedly. But why the ferocious nature of this? Why are people so worked up that this is coming to fisticuffs?
[Ballard:] I really don`t know, you know. My girlfriend and I were involved in, I think it was on June 10, of day 15, we were also involved in that line-cutting incident. And, you know, we`ve been going there all night. We just don`t want people to cut in front of us. You know...
[Velez-mitchell:] Why are you there? Why are you on line, Dustin? Why are you on line?
[Ballard:] In line?
[Velez-mitchell:] Why are you on this line? Why are you standing in line to see this trial?
[Ballard:] Oh, oh, oh, it is a local event. You know, it intrigues us.

[Baldwin:] 40 million people in the path of this incoming storm. These are live pictures of Boston. Just about an inch or so accumulating right now. I know the pictures it looks like a little bit more than that. That will change in a matter of hours. Chad Myers talking moment ago that this could be record-breaking that there is even a possibility that in parts of New England they could see 40 inches of snow. So we're talking snow, we're talking wind, maybe coastal flooding here, in just a moment. But we've got to get we have to get back to the story out of southern California. They're looking for this basically accused cop killer, and as authorities are trying to hunt down this former police officer, accused of targeting police officers. There is a different conversation across urban radio today about racism and about police. And Don Lemon, you were on the air, what, this morning.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Correspondent:] Stumbled upon it on the air, just by doing do radio hits.
[Baldwin:] Just your weekly...
[Lemon:] We're [inaudible] on the air...
[Baldwin:] Weekly radio hits.
[Lemon:] Yes, you do you do the same thing.
[Baldwin:] Sure. Yes. And so on this show...
[Lemon:] take some calls. Yeah. Yeah.
[Baldwin:] What are people saying?
[Lemon:] It's not and let me preface this by saying it is not just on the radio. It is online. All you need to do is go to cnn.com, and I'll tell all the viewers, go to cnn.com...
[Baldwin:] Read the comments.
[Lemon:] ... look at the viewer comments. Go to the "L.A. Times," look at the viewer comments. And so, that one of the comments that I saw, there are Facebook pages, we are all Chris Dorner, it's a Facebook page. One of the common treads, "I read the manifesto. And this is not a crazy man. He is quite sane. People need to read and think. Don't be reactionary like a sheep. Read what he wrote. Look at the details. Process some of it. Be discerning instead of just reacting. I have a lot of questions about the LAPD!." So let's get back to the radio.
[Baldwin:] Take us back. Take us back to what he wrote.
[Lemon:] Right. He says when what started him the process of losing his job is when he said when he agreed that he did see his partner or a member of the L.A. Police Department kicking...
[Baldwin:] Kicking.
[Lemon:] ... a suspect. And so he said he, I guess, betrayed the blue wall of silence by doing that. And that started the process of him losing his job.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Lemon:] And that he so this all happened, he, as part of the reason to clear his name and get back which is an odd reason. But let me just also preface this by saying, this conversation that we're having is about what happened before the violence. Anything that happened after the violence and the murders, the violence nothing there is no condoning that.
[Baldwin:] Zero justification.
[Lemon:] No justification for that. But there are people, especially minorities, on urban radio, especially African-Americans and Hispanics, this story shows that now, just like the O.J. Simpson's story, just like the Rodney King story, that people there is a distinct difference in this country, the way people view race, the way people view news stories, the way we filter things, because there are people who support him. There are people who say I had a problem with my job. I had a problem with police officers, especially with stories that concern police officers, there are people with a general distrust of police officers, especially African-Americans and Hispanics and they see that they believe that he had a beef, a legitimate beef, but now he's gone off the deep end and he's doing it the wrong way now.
[Baldwin:] So prior to him going off the deep end, a lot of these callers, and this isn't just talking about LAPD, this is, you know, different municipalities across the country.
[Lemon:] Across the country.
[Baldwin:] They're saying he's not so crazy.
[Lemon:] Right. That the LAPD historically has a problem with racism. Had a worse problem with racism years ago, especially 20 years ago when the Rodney King story happened, and probably worse before that, and then it was cleaned up. No police department in the country is perfect. The LAPD is not perfect now. And people are still saying the LAPD has a problem with racism now. And police departments across the country have a problem with racism now, and the way they treat people of color. So Chris Dorner, they believe, is now sort of a person who they believe in this story can help bring that out, and that we should be talking about that as well as the victims in this story and the hunt for Chris Dorner.
[Baldwin:] We should say the L.A. police chief, Chief Beck, was asked yesterday sort of about some of the allegations Dorner makes in the manifesto, and this is what he said about him yesterday.
[Charlie Beck, Lapd Commissioner:] You're talking about a homicide suspect who has committed atrocious crimes, and if you want to give any attribution to his ramblings on the Internet, go right ahead, but I do not. If you read his manifesto, this is a very LAPD is a specific target, but all law enforcement is targeted. This is a vendetta against all of Southern California law enforcement. And it should be seen as such.
[Baldwin:] Calls him cowardly.
[Lemon:] Yeah, he does. Calls him cowardly. But yet, and still, again, this conversation is no way justifying what he has done.
[Baldwin:] What he's done, absolutely.
[Lemon:] But it is also something that we need to talk about, and also something that is not that is being talked about online, being talked about on the radio, but is not being talked about in media coverage. And I have to say, even other journalists, because I made a similar point yesterday, that it appears from his manifesto that he is, you know, he wasn't crazy when he wrote his manifesto. And someone, another journalist from a major news organization, wrote me and said, confidentially, "your coverage of the LA fugitive story makes me proud to be a black journalist. Yes, what he's doing is wrong, but your points are right, Don. Praying for him and the victims. Obviously, this is confidential, a confidential message because of where I work. Peace and love."
[Baldwin:] Once they catch him, it is a conversation we need to have.
[Lemon:] Absolutely.
[Baldwin:] Thank you, Don Lemon, appreciate it. And back to the blizzard here. Blizzard 2013. It is on its way. Live pictures here from Boston. The snow is starting to fall. Folks are being warned. We're covering it from every angle. Coming up next, the craziest video we have seen so far.

[Richard Quest, Cnn:] Wall Street is rocking this Friday. The Dow has broken 15,000. It's a job well done. U.S. unemployment numbers are encouraging. And look, the cherry blossoms are out; spring has sprung. But with the forecast, Europe faces a deeper recession ahead. I'm Richard Quest in the German capital tonight, where we mean business.
[Quest:] Good evening. We are live tonight in the German capital and an appropriate place to be when the economic situation on both sides of the Atlantic could not be seen to be more different. They are in stark contrast tonight. On Wall Street, in New York, celebrations on the trading floor as the Dow and the stock market hit record highs, the Dow over 15,000, the S&P; over 1,600. And job numbers beat expectations. Here in Europe, markets may be up and we had the E.U. spring forecast with a warning of a deeper recession this year. Tonight we have analysis from both sides of the Atlantic. We'll start, though, over on Wall Street. For the first time the Dow Jones has gone over 15,000. The S&P; gained went over 1,600. Alison Kosik joins me from the New York Stock Exchange. It's been a it's been a while coming, an inevitability some would say. But, Alison, worth saying nonetheless.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Yes. It is, you know what, when you saw the Dow hit 15,000 even the sort of the traders downstairs who don't necessarily, you know, live their lives on these numbers per se, that necessarily the media does, they actually did cheer. They cheered, they rang a few bells. They were excited when the Dow hit 15,000 and so was everybody else. Now you've seen the Dow pull back a little bit from 15,000, but even if it closes at the level it's at now, it would still be making history. We have never seen the Dow trade this high. Let's not forget the S&P; 500. It also is trading at record highs right now at 1,650. It is off the highs of the session. But once again, if it closes at this level, Richard, it would make history as well. And this is all after we got that upbeat jobs report, showing that employers here in the U.S. added 165,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate ticked lower, from 7.6 percent to 7.5 percent. All of that, Richard, pushing investors to buy in, Richard.
[Quest:] Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange, let me dot the I's and cross the T's on that jobs report. The numbers were 165,000 jobs added in April, better than expected. And as Alison said, the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent, still 1 percentage point, of course, a whole percentage point above where the Fed wants to see it before it said it will move on interest rates. More interestingly, revisions upwards for both February and March, with a total of 114,000 extra jobs. Mohamed El-Erian, the chief executive of PIMCO, joins me now from Newport Beach, California. Good evening, Mohamed, from Berlin. Now this is the sort of economic news to be cheerful about.
[Mohamed El-erian, Ceo, Pimco:] Yes, it is, Richard; like you say, it's an encouraging report and in three mutually reinforcing ways. So first, if you look at the average for the last three months, the U.S. has now created 212,000 jobs per month. That's getting close to what I think is a threshold level of 220 which is really important. Secondly, the unemployment reason, the unemployment rate is finally coming down for a good reason. People are getting jobs as opposed to people exiting the labor force. And finally and perhaps most importantly, long-term unemployment is coming down. So this is a big step in the right direction.
[Quest:] So pull these strands together for me. The U.S. is forecast to grow 2.2, whatever, 1.8 percent. So there's going to be growth in the U.S.; job numbers are coming jobs are being created. Jobless is coming down. The deficit is still somewhat of a problem. What is the difficulty now? Why should people be a dog in the manger about the U.S.?
[El-erian:] So there are a few things happening. The good news is that this economy continues to heal. So think of a patient that ended up in the ICU because of the financial crisis. Now they're out of the hospital and they can walk, and walk a little bit faster but they cannot run. And they need to run. Why can't they run? A couple of reasons. One is that the political system is creating headwinds. And secondly, the economy is still structurally impaired. So, yes, the economy is growing, but growing at about 2 percent. Now that's great relative to where you are, but that's not enough relative to what's the potential of the United States.
[Quest:] But what I think people need to understand tonight is whether this improvement is a false dawn. I mean, is this something, whether it's the sequester or the budget gridlock or the debt ceiling? Is there something that we are not seeing here that in six months to a year will prove this to have been Scotch Mist and disappear quite as quick?
[El-erian:] Yes, there's three major rifts. One is that the politicians create additional headwinds. And Congress has found a way year after year to do that. Two is that the central bank policies that are assisting this process prove to be detrimental. We're getting very close to the point where the benefits of this hyperexpansion gets offset by the cost and the risk. And then finally, the international environment. The U.S. could catch a cold from outside. So this is a tenuous process, but it's yet to gain strong traction. But it's in the right direction.
[Quest:] OK. Finally, the U.S. at these numbers is sailing more smoothly. But it to mix my metaphors it is at these numbers by no means an engine of growth for sclerotic Europe, which we're going to talk about in just a moment. Would you agree?
[El-erian:] I completely agree.
[Quest:] And there we'll leave it. Have a lovely weekend, Mohamed El-Erian, joining me from California. So that is the side that is the story as seen from the U.S. part of the Atlantic. As for this side of the Atlantic, in Europe, on the continent, it gets worse before it gets better. Simply put, that's the bleak outlook for the European economy. The European Commission has scaled down growth predictions, part of its regular review, the spring forecast came out today. Now growth will return on the back half of 2013. And even so, even with very small smidgens of growth, France, Spain and the Netherlands are all expected to miss their 3 percent targets. In the Eurozone, these are the headline numbers, GDP forecast cut to 0.4 percent, unemployment forecast to stabilizes at 12 percent. Next year economic activity growth of 1.2 percent. France is now forecast to enter recession this year, deficit bigger than was previously believed and it's likely to widen certainly France is asking for extra time to meet master criteria. As for Germany, only one of top five Eurozone economies to grow, miserable, 0.1 of 1 percentage point. But the country's said to be it's having a robust job market. So to the European markets, buoyed by jobs data, German stocks closed at an all-time high, the Xetra DAX gaining over 2 percent. They were listening to the for direction from the European Commission and, in that case, it was Olli Rehn.
[Olli Rehn, European Commission:] It is a sense that we do everything we can in order to combat youth unemployment and restore confidence and the recovery in our economy. This calls for both consistent consolidation of public finances and statutory reforms that will help to boost growth and competitiveness. It also calls, obviously, active labor market policy in order to fight youth unemployment.
[Quest:] Now, joining me now is Michael Burda. He is the economics professor at Humboldt University here in Berlin. Good to have you.
[Michael Burda, Professor Of Economics, Humboldt University:] [Inaudible].
[Quest:] Now Mohamed El-Erian was painting a very I mean, he wasn't, I wouldn't say, rosy picture of the U.S., but he did say, of course, that the right pieces of the jigsaw are in place. It's very different in Europe at the moment. When you see these spring forecasts, this is a cause for concern.
[Burda:] Absolutely. The growth situation in Southern Europe is pulling down the entire continent. Germany is doing OK, but as you said, it's not doing well enough. The job market in Germany is doing well and that's the stabilizing factor but to be honest with you, Germany needs a bit of a boost from within. So we're all hoping for a nice, big fat wage settlement in the coming months to boost German demand.
[Quest:] And yet if I look at the spring forecast, it talks about German growth coming from domestic demand. Now that implies that people around us are going to go out and start spending money and not save it as they have been.
[Burda:] That's right. [Inaudible] they need to have more money, so they're the government's either going to give them a pay increase or the firms are going to have to loosen up their tight pay policy or the unions are going to have to start getting active. I don't see that happening necessarily. But it's what Europe needs right now to rebalance between the North and the South.
[Quest:] Does Germany still have to be the along with maybe Finland and other Northern European countries, do they still have to be the main engines here? And have they got room? I mean, we know that Germany's, you know, the constant criticism is why don't they spend more?
[Burda:] Well, they've got a surplus right now, which is phenomenal. Today's markets has been better since
[Quest:] It's tight, tight, 5 percent.
[Burda:] That's right. It hasn't been better since the unification phase. So there's a lot of room there, but the Germans are concerned about the debt
[Quest:] What are they concerned about the debt for? What are they concerned about?
[Burda:] They're the last they're the last financiers of the whole of Europe. So if, you know, if Southern Europe doesn't follow their footsteps, they're going to they're going to set the wrong example. The worst fear would be for the rest of Southern Europe to just throw in the towel and run huge deficits, not try to cut back at all. I think it's a huge conflict of objectives.
[Quest:] And yet, seen from here in Berlin tonight, a glorious spring evening, but seen from Berlin, with Germany at an unemployment rate of 5 percent, 5.5 percent, and you compare it to Spain up in the high 20s percent and there's no meaningful reduction in unemployment this year or next.
[Burda:] Well, Richard, unemployment is a lagging indicator so
[Quest:] Everybody always tells me that. It's a lagging indicator until you get social unrest. And then suddenly it becomes the primary indicator.
[Burda:] That's exactly right. And that's why Germany won't have any social unrest for a while. But I think we need to worry about Southern Europe. The pressure on them to loosen up and also in France, where France needs to do the structural bitter pill right now. They're the ones that the Germans are worried about.
[Quest:] Really. And, OK. Now if France, when you say France is you're talking about structural change. But do you accept that there will have to be longer accommodations to hit Maastricht limits?
[Burda:] Of course.
[Quest:] Cutting three to four years down the road?
[Burda:] Yes, cutting spending, raising taxes now is poison for the economy. It's
[Quest:] Well, tell them over there.
[Burda:] If they'd listen to me, I'd tell them.
[Quest:] I mean, they're the people who have to listen to it.
[Burda:] That's right. No, they have other objectives, too. Remember, the Germans are the last
[Quest:] Ms. Merkel has an election to win.
[Burda:] That's also true.
[Quest:] I just and if the last polls [inaudible], she'll still win it, but there's a bit of a weakness there, isn't there?
[Burda:] Well, there's a little minor party that's coming. It's called the AVD AFD. And they're basically advocating bringing back the deutsche mark, which is a bad idea, I think, for most companies that export to the rest of Europe. So this if this gets a tailwind, this, big trouble in September.
[Quest:] Finally, pull the strands together in the same way that Mohamed did in the U.S. The U.S. is doing rather well.
[Burda:] Absolutely.
[Quest:] Asia's doing not too bad; China a bit of a slowdown. Europe goes where?
[Burda:] Well, Europe has the potential to stabilize. They've done they've got the financial markets on their side. I think bondholders are happy with what's happened in the South. But people who work are not so happy. And I think if the euro went down a notch, it would help exporters in this in this part of the world. It would help a lot overall.
[Quest:] Well, [inaudible] was meaningless this week, but nonetheless, we thank you for joining us in Berlin tonight. Now when we come back on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, live from the German capital, as the number of victims in the Bangladesh factory collapse rise - it's more than 400-500 the E.U. responds with a threat. We have the commissioner after the break. Good evening.

[Blitzer:] We've been waiting for more than a year for the Obama administration to make a decision on a key pipeline that's supposed to carry oil from Canada through the United States, lots and lots of jobs at stake but there seems to be movement towards a final decision. Dan Lothian is here getting some new information. What's the latest?
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] That's right, Wolf. As you know, the State Department had been reviewing to find out whether or not this pipeline would have any kind of environmental impacts and this report that came out is just a draft report. So it doesn't come down one way or the other saying that this pipeline is detrimental or it's OK. But what's interesting is that it does point out that there are some areas where there are these environmental impacts, but they could be mitigated. And one thing I think it was telling, there was a summary of impact where it said the analysis of potential impacts associated with construction and proposed projects suggests there would be no significant impacts along the proposed project route. Those who want this pipeline that's been controversial, it's been hanging out there for over four years, they see this as good news. Again, this is very early in the process. No decision coming down, but certainly nothing in this report that says that this pipeline will be detrimental to the area.
[Blitzer:] A lot of people have said to me in recent weeks they were anticipating this, this would certainly not put any more barriers in the way and that the president and the White House presumably are suggesting is leaning. Now that he's been re-elected, in favor of going ahead with the construction of the Keystone pipeline. That seems to be what is going on but you tell me.
[Lothian:] Well, that does seem that that's the direction and certainly there will be a lot more pressure on the president if this report in the final analysis says that there's no harm that will come from the pipeline, then that puts a lot of political pressure on the president where he can't say, look, I'm not going to do this because there could be environmental impacts. You know, the president rejected this in 2011 because he was concerned about the grasslands in Nebraska. He sort of pundit it back to Trans Canada to say, come up with a new route. We'll review it at that time. So still early in the process, but those who support it, like it, environmentalists don't like it at all and of course, they are big supporters of the president. That's one reason the president did not make a decision before the election in 2012.
[Blitzer:] And we'll see if he does right now. A lot is at stake one way or the other. Thanks very much, Dan Lothian, for that Keystone pipeline information. One minute he's sleeping in his bed. The next minute, he's swallowed by the earth. We have details of a giant and apparently deadly sinkhole. That's next.

[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] right here on the convention floor. And right up there is the podium where the speaker takes center stage. A convention is carefully choreographed. Every primetime speaker gets a chance to do a run-through on stage and get a feel for how it's going to be before the night they actually make their speech. This is the perspective speaker's seat. When they're up on stage, these seats would be filled with people and over there is what they're reading on the teleprompter. To get this show on TV, online, and on the radio, engineers spent weeks laying down thousands of feet of cable to get this convention plugged in. [voice-over]: With the production value this high, the stakes are even higher for the political party. In Charlotte, I'm Sandra Endo.
[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] And CNN NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux starts right now.
[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Democrats get ready to make their opening arguments in the case for re-electing President Barack Obama. I'm Suzanne Malveaux, live from the site of the Democratic National Convention here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now, it was just a week ago, we heard Ann Romney's speech on the personal side of her husband. Well, tonight is Michelle Obama's turn. She's not going to have to work as hard to convince folks that President Obama is likable. Take a look at this recent poll. This is a "Washington Post" poll. Sixty-one percent of registered voters say that the president seems more friendly and likable compared to 27 percent for Romney. We're going to have more ahead, what we can expect from the First Lady. Also coming up, the spotlight tonight on a rising star in the Democratic Party. We're talking about San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. He's going to be following in the footsteps of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Democrats hope he's going to appeal to the country's growing Latino population. Here's a look at the man and the mission that he's facing.
[Mayor Julian Castro , San Antonio, Tx:] It's been my pleasure to serve as mayor.
[Malveaux:] Meet Julian Castro, popular Latino mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and a darling of the Democratic base, who will deliver the keynote speech at the National Convention in Charlotte. Democrats have a long tradition of rolling out the party's rising stars for such an honor.
[Thomas Bastile, Political Speechwriter:] The keynote speech is to set the tone for the entire convention.
[Gov. Mario Cuomo , New York:] We will have a new president of the United States, a Democrat born not to the blood of kings but to the blood of pioneers and immigrants.
[Bastile:] Bill Clinton gave the keynote speech. Barack Obama has given a keynote speech.
[Castro:] I'm Julian Castro.
[Malveaux:] Castro knows the burden is on him to appeal to Latinos as well as inspire a broader audience of voters.
[Castro:] The choice that we have to make in this election is whether to continue to invest so that everyone can reach the American dream or whether we're going to scale back from that.
[Malveaux:] With an estimated 12 million Latino voters expected to cast ballots in November, both campaigns are fighting hard for their attention.
[Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa , Los Angeles:] You can't just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate.
[Malveaux:] That's why Rodolfo de la Garza, a professor at Columbia University, says the choice of Julian Castro to deliver the keynote was smart.
[Rodolfo De La Garza, Columbia University:] Castro brings, as a speaker, a number of important characteristics. He is smart. He's well educated. He is politically literate. He has a vision and he has ambition. He raised in a highly political family in San Antonio. He understands the limit of ethnic politics.
[Castro:] There's a good story to tell.
[Malveaux:] Now he'll have to add persuasive speaker to his resume. Speeches tonight by Julian Castro and the First Lady Michelle Obama are going to set the tone for the convention. Now, Democrats are going to highlight the president's accomplishments, making the case for giving him another four years in office. So what do they actually need to say? I want to bring in our CNN contributor, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile. Nice to see you, Donna. I know you're tweeting already. You've got a special pass on the floor, is that right?
[Donna Brazile, Cnn Contributor:] Yes. I'm an officer of the convention. But, you know, the other pass I was given the first day I arrived, and you know what it says? I'm a volunteer. I'm a volunteer for the Democratic Party. I'm very honored to be here. This is my eighth Democratic convention. Of course, I've been to three Republican convention. At this convention, I get to cast my vote for Barack Obama as the next president of the United States of America.
[Malveaux:] All right. I know you're very excited. I want to talk about two people. Obviously, we're talking about San Antonio's mayor. We'll get to that. But let's talk about Michelle Obama, because you and I were here four years ago. And the country was getting a chance to know her, getting to know the president. It was a tough time, I think, for her. I think that the nation was trying to figure out who she was. There was a lot of criticism from Republicans about whether or not she was patriotic. There was a lot of defenses from the campaign. And she has since emerged and changed this image. I want you to listen to this is an exchange with Michelle Obama from four years ago and how she tried to portray them.
[Michelle Obama, U.s. First Lady:] At first I thought, what kind of name is Barack Obama? And I found out that he grew up in Hawaii. And I found that strange as a girl who grew up on the south side of Chicago. I had never met anybody who lived in Hawaii. That was always where you vacationed. It wasn't where you were from. And I find out that he was biracial. So my assumption was this guy's got to be kind of weird. All right? Probably a little nerdy. I'd already sort of created an image of this very intellectual nerd. And I was prepared to be polite and all that. And then he walked into my office on that first day and he was cuter than I thought he'd be. So that was a first positive impression. But I had to take him out to lunch on that first day and we got to we had to talk. And he told me more about his background and he fleshed it out a bit more. I found out that his father was from Kenya, his mother was a white woman from Kansas and he had spent part of his life in Indonesia. And I just found him intriguing.
[Malveaux:] All right, Donna. You don't have to laugh about my hairdo from four years ago.
[Brazile:] Don't laugh about my gray hairs. You look good.
[Malveaux:] Everybody's a little bit grayer four years later. But tell us, what does Michelle Obama need to say tonight? What does she need to emphasize and focus when it comes to her husband?
[Brazile:] You know, she's in a very unique position. As First Lady of the United States, she can talk to us about President Obama as the husband, the man, the leader he is. I mean, she knows the trials, the tribulations of being in the White House, being there each and every evening, afternoon, when he comes home hearing, I'm sure, some of the things that he's going through. She's his confidant. She's also in her own way a remarkable woman a woman of tremendous grace. She is someone that has gotten us all to move a little bit quicker, whether it's exercising, planting vegetable gardens at home, although I still want to talk to her about the arugula thing. I would prefer okra at the White House. But that's another story. But, you know, her dedication and devotion to military families. You know, Mrs. Obama, Dr. Biden, Jill Biden, they take their word very seriously. In going out there, reaching out to military families, husbands and wives whose spouses are serving our country overseas. So, tonight, she's going to do what she did four years ago. She's going to say, you know, this man like, Mrs. Romney, I fell in love with, he's a great leader, he's a wonderful and remarkable human being. But more importantly, I think she's going to help us see the way forward. Forward.
[Malveaux:] And she has the goal, and the task because I know a lot of people are looking at this, at humanizing him. And people see Mitt Romney and Ann Romney was clearly trying to do that during their convention. They're going to look to her to do the same. I want to play a quick clip on how she tried four years ago. Take a listen.
[M. Obama:] Barack still has the same pants and shirts that he had when we got married which is why I crack up when people say he's one of the best dressed men. I think maybe that means he looks good in his clothes because he's tall and thin. But trust me, if you look up close, those pants have a hole in the back and the shoes I was looking at his shoes the other day. I was like, you need new shoes.
[Malveaux:] It's been a while since, I mean, he's gotten new shoes and everything seems to be going well in that direction. But what more do we need to learn or know about this president, about the family? Because I think we've gotten a pretty good sense of who they are over the last four years.
[Brazile:] We've seen them out at sporting events. I live in Washington, D.C. So, of course, we know the president takes his wife to the movies. They go to restaurants. It's always amazing when you live in Washington, D.C., and have the first couple there. When you go to a restaurant, they say, you know, President Obama, Mrs. Obama was here. He takes his wife out. He takes his two girls out. They go and watch the basketball games, baseball games. He's a, I think, like most family men, he cares very deeply about his two daughters. He's, of course, protective, but at times I think he's been a little nervous because, of course, one of his young girls is now a teen. She's a young woman. And so, this is a man who cared deeply about all families, our nation's children. And I think tonight, we'll also see President Obama as dad in chief as well.
[Malveaux:] I want to play a clip here, this is of Ann Romney. Obviously during the RNC, she had the same kind of tone, if you will, in her speech in introducing Mitt Romney, humanizing him. But then the last couple days we've seen a change here. I want you to listen to this.
[Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's Wife:] I'm hearing from so many women that may not have considered voting for a Republican before that said, it's time for the grown-up to come. The man that's going to have that's going to take this very seriously and take the future of our children very, very seriously. And I very much believe, Candy, that it is going to be an economic election and I think a lot of women may be voting this cycle around in a different way than they usually are.
[Malveaux:] A lot of people are a little surprised. She's not saying it, herself, but she's quoting somebody else saying it's time for the grown-ups to take over here. Usually it's not the First Lady who's in that attack dog position. Is that something you think Michelle Obama can get away with?
[Brazile:] I don't think Mrs. Obama will even try to go in that direction. Look, we have a very pro-woman platform. We have a pro- woman health care platform. We have a pro-family and children platform. So I think Mrs. Obama is really going to talk about our nation's children. One of the first things the president did was sign the Lilly Ledbetter Act. That matters to working women in this country that they're paid the same amount of money as men are paid. The president also has been a champion for child health care and that matters in a country when we have so many children, through no fault of their own, fall into poverty. So I think Mrs. Obama's tone tonight is one of welcoming, one to renew America's promise, one to keep our families strong, safe and secure, and, again, this is an effort to tell President Obama's story, the things he's been up to and hopefully she'll make us laugh. Mrs. Romney promised that we would laugh. I didn't laugh a lot last week. I want to laugh. And you know what? When I leave this convention, I want to dance. I want to dance. That's how I hope she gives us. But I want to feel good about where we're taking this country over the next four years because President Obama will be rehired.
[Malveaux:] All right. Well, Dana, we'll see if people are laughing and dancing tonight. Obviously, it's a big kickoff tonight. Good to se you as always. CNN's primetime coverage of the Democratic National Convention kicking off at 7:00 eastern tonight with colleagues, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper and the rest of the CNN political team. And during the 10:00 hour, First Lady Michelle Obama is addressing the delegates. Midnight, Piers Morgan, he's wrapping up the first night of the Democratic National Convention, all tonight on CNN. Health care, gay marriage, abortion rights well, they're big controversial issues on the DNC platform this year.

[Gupta:] This next story is going to take you to a special place a place where when you are here, you are family. A Georgia woman is getting some pretty high marks for combining soccer and education, to give refugee kids from war-torn countries a new lease on life. She's a matriarch of the Fugees Family and it's this week's "Human Factor." At first glance, they just look like a bunch of kids playing soccer. But, take another look, a closer one. This is the Fugees Family. [on camera]: Anybody who wants to be a part of this family can be?
[Luma Mufleh, Founder, Fugees Family:] Any refugee that wants to be a part of this family can be.
[Gupta:] And that is what binds them together. They are all refugees, 86 children and teens from more than 28 countries.
[Mufleh:] Any country that's had a war in the past 20, 30 years, we have kids from those countries.
[Gupta:] What started as a casual soccer team six years ago is now a school full of students, most of whom have never been in a classroom before. Robin Dikori sharply dressed in the school's uniform, blue sweater and tie is an 8th grader at the Fugees Academy something that would have been almost impossible in his native Sudan. [on camera]: Right, after you moved to the United States and someone said, Robin, what are you going to do with your life, what would you have said?
[Robin Dikori, Fugees Family:] I don't know what to say during that time. And now, I look at myself, I want to be someone very good and make my people proud.
[Gupta:] Life in America has not always been good to Robin. [on camera]: When you are an outsider from Sudan living in the United States, what is that like? What happens to you?
[Dikori:] It's very hard, like everyone is picking on you, like they're treating you really differently, you don't belong here.
[Gupta:] What did you do?
[Dikori:] I used to fight a lot. But nowadays, I don't really get into fights. I try to resolve them and not make people fight.
[Gupta:] And while there are refugees living all around the United States, the Fugees Family is the only group combining soccer with the hope for a better future. [on camera]: Are there other organization that is you know of like this around the country? So, this is it?
[Mufleh:] No. This is it. And we get e-mails every week from people around the country and around the world, when will you bring the Fugees to us?
[Gupta:] How many more years before you finish?
[Dikori:] I have four more years because I'm in eighth grade now.
[Gupta:] Four more years and then?
[Dikori:] Another four years.
[Gupta:] Of?
[Dikori:] College.
[Gupta:] Right now, the Fugees Academy only teaches kids through the eighth grade. But there are some potentially some good news. They are about to begin construction on the Fugees Family high school. So, we'll see how that goes. Good luck to y'all. Next, my day with Dr. Q, the fellow neurosurgeon whose past to medicine is different than from just about anyone else you've ever met. We'll have that for you. Stay with us.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] And you're in the SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, violent clashes near the United States embassy in Pakistan amid stepped up protests over an anti-Islamic film. A stepped up U.S. warning about a key U.S. American ally as well. And did the United States take the proper precautions to guard its diplomats in Libya? The state department answering accusations from Libyans and harsh criticism from lawmakers. Plus, Bill Clinton talks about the future in the latest issue of "Time" magazine. Is he also hinting a little bit about a possible Hillary Clinton presidential run in 2016? We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the SITUATION ROOM.
[Blitzer:] Anti-American protests and violent clashes as rioters try to reach the United States embassy, this time, the location, in Pakistan, a key U.S. ally. And the violence comes as the United States steps up a warning to Americans. In just a minute, I'll speak with the foreign minister of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar. But first, let's go to the capital, Islamabad. And Reza Sayah is joining us now from Islamabad. Reza, extraordinary measures once again being given right now. What's the latest as far as Americans and Pakistan are concerned?
[Reza Sayah, Cnn International Correspondent:] Wolf, just to be clear, this is a renewal or a reminder of a longstanding travel warning that's been in place in Pakistan for a long time right now. The U.S. embassy, the U.S. state department telling Americans, if you don't need to come to Pakistan, do not do it. Essential travel only. But the fact that they're reminding Americans of this warning is a sign of growing tensions. That warning follows more anti-American protests in the federal capital of Islamabad today. It's critical to point out that despite the dramatic pictures and the violence, this was a relatively small protest. 1,500 demonstrators approached the diplomatic enclave. This is a walled compound, a highly secured compound, where you'll find the U.S. embassy, the French embassy, and the other embassies. It's an incredibly difficult place to penetrate, even so these protesters tried to do it. Once they got there, the clashes started. Protesters throwing objects, rocks, sticks. Police responding by firing teargas and shots in the air. Protesters managed to burn several of the small police check posts. Eight police officers were injured according to the police chief. But again, we can't repeat enough. There's 180 million Pakistanis. This was 1,500, a very, very small fraction, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Tell us, Reza, about the latest U.S. efforts to communicate directly with the Pakistani people.
[Sayah:] Obviously, the U.S. government is concerned about the rising tensions. They want to do everything to ease the anger. That's why they bought a lot of ad time on FM radio, television, to air PSA, the PSAs, where the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama, condemning the anti-Islam video. The PSAs are subtitled andor do we have a clip. Let's take a look.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Since our founding the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] Let me state very clearly. And I hope it is obvious that the United States government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. We absolutely reject its content and message. America's commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation.
[Sayah:] Secretary of state Hillary Clinton and U.S. president, Barack Obama in a PSA condemning the anti-Islam video in an effort to ease the anger here. Will it work? We'll find out tomorrow, Wolf, when more protests are scheduled.
[Blitzer:] Big ones, indeed. All right. Reza Sayah on the scene for us in Islamabad. Thanks very much. Let's dig a little bit deeper now with the foreign minister of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar is here, foreign minister, thanks very much for coming in.
[Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistani Foreign Minister:] Thank you, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] The state department issued this strong travel warning to all Americans, as you just heard from Reza. Threat reporting indicates terrorist groups continue to seek opportunities to attack locations where U.S. citizens and westerners are known to congregate or visit. Terrorists have disguised themselves as Pakistani security personnel to gain access to targeted areas. Are you agreeing with the state department that this is a bad time for Americans to visit Pakistan?
[Khar:] Wolf, I think if you look at how what sort of a response there was in Pakistan to the condemning of the video that Secretary Clinton and President Obama have already condemned, which I think is, of course, the right thing to do
[Blitzer:] That stupid 14-minute trailer that's out there on the internet that's causing this kind of
[Khar:] Exactly, which is a threat to religious harmony, and therefore, a threat
[Blitzer:] And I want to get to that. Why it's such a threat, because it is so idiotic. It is so stupid. But, is it bad for Americans to visit Pakistan right now?
[Khar:] Wolf, as I said, I think in Pakistan, the situation has been much better than in many other countries. We were the first countries which condemn the killing of your ambassador in Libya. And we give call to restraint. We will have, Insha'Allah, holiday tomorrow in order to make sure that everything passes by peacefully.
[Blitzer:] Because I'm worried about that. The Pakistani government has declared Friday what you're calling a national holiday to honor the Prophet Muhammad. I assume there are going to be massive demonstrations on the streets of Islamabad, Karachi, other cities in Pakistan that could potentially, let's hope they don't, turn into anti-American violence. How worried are you about that? And why are you doing this in response to this stupid 14-minute trailer?
[Khar:] You have to respond to sentiments as they show on the street. I think the best response was the call for holiday, and your system might be very different. But in our system means very different.
[Blitzer:] Because it seems to be encouraging people to go out in the streets.
[Khar:] Absolutely not. It will make sure that if people do get together which in a peaceful manner and make sure that those people who are trying to get to offices and schools do not come into harm's way.
[Blitzer:] Because I've been to that U.S. embassy in Islamabad. You've been there as well. It's a fortress. Are you beefing up as the host country protection of American diplomats there?
[Khar:] Wolf, we already have done a pretty good job at it. And we actually called in the army in a small section of the city also. So, I think, so far, things have gone well. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that we will be able to manage this.
[Blitzer:] I had this exchange with Professor Fouad Ajami yesterday here in the SITUATION ROOM. We're talking about long-term. Is this going to get better, this relationship between America and the Muslim and Arab world? Listen to this exchange. Bottom line, is this ever going to get better?
[Fouad Ajami, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution:] No. Not really is the honest answer. I mean, I think when you have these kinds when you have these positions are so sharply drawn, we believe in the west. We believe in the western tradition, and that can in a free speech.
[Blitzer:] You agree with Professor Ajami?
[Khar:] I hope not. I hope it does get there.
[Blitzer:] As someone who's educated here in the United States, obviously, the foreign minister of Pakistan, do you see this ever getting better?
[Khar:] I see that this certainly can get better. And I think what we need is more tolerance for each other's views. What we need is to be able to give mutual space for us to be able to demonstrate what is culturally, religiously important to us and not to hold each other you know, not to judge each other for that. To give that space and to be able to create some space for ourselves. And really, Wolf, I think we have to be sensitive to religious sensitivities. I think it's not good enough to say it's free speech, it should be allowed. I think if this does provoke action against American citizens or Americans anywhere else in the world, then maybe we do need to rethink how much freedom is OK. Is freedom to the extent of harming lives also OK? So, I think we need to find a way to manage this in a civilized manner in trying to bring all of our, you know, all of our minds together.
[Blitzer:] Because you know, there's plenty of ugly things that are said about other religions in the Arab and Muslim world, whether Christians or Jews. You hear awful things. But you don't see massive demonstrations. You don't see violence emerging as a result of that.
[Khar:] Well, I don't want to get deeper into that discussion, because I quite frankly think that in Islam, there is a lot of respect for both Judaism and Christianity. Koran, itself, has a lot of respect. And that's why this is why I think this is a common battle because Islam is a religion of peace. Prophet Muhammad's life is a life of peace. He is called the messenger of peace, for instance. So, this is very different than the Islam that just
[Blitzer:] You're here in Washington. I assume you'll be meeting with members of Congress and others. Yesterday, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was here in the SITUATION ROOM. He says he's going to withhold any additional U.S. aid to Pakistan until you free that doctor who was arrested in connection with the Bin Laden killing in Abbottabad. When you hear that kind of stuff, what are you going to do?
[Khar:] I had a long session with the Foreign Relations Committee, and we are hopeful that we will be able to build on the relationship rather than break it. And, Wolf, let me really take this opportunity and thank you for giving it to me to see that how can we betterize a person who was up for hire by anyone, including
[Blitzer:] But if he was trying to help the United States killed bin laden
[Khar:] Let me categorically tell you, he did not know that he was on this grand mission to get OBL. Getting OBL was as much part of our plans and our effort as it was yours. So, this is not what divides us. OBL unites us. Osama Bin Laden is a common enemy. Terrorism is a common enemy. Your people are dying, our people are dying even more than yours. So, these are all things why unite us. Why do we portray them to be things that, you know, where we disagree? These are points of agreement. So, please let due process is going on in Pakistan. We should all have respect for the rule of law. We should allow the process to run course. And we should not make heroes out of people who don't deserve to be that.
[Blitzer:] So, as far as the Pakistani government is concerned and you're the foreign minister, he's going to spend the next 30 plus years in jail?
[Khar:] No. As far as the Pakistani government is concerned, the due process of law will go through and we will all be patient to see what comes out of it.
[Blitzer:] On that note, I'll thank you, foreign minister, for coming. Good to see you again here in Washington. Last time we met was at the United Nations.
[Khar:] I remember.
[Blitzer:] Appreciate it very much.
[Khar:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] The White House declares the attack on United States consulate in Libya a terrorist attack. Could it have been stopped, though? We have the latest on the investigation what U.S. officials are now admitting. But, first, tough questions for the president as he takes his campaign to Florida to court Latinos.

[Howard Kurtz:] We begin this morning with a journalist I know but, as it turns out, didn't really know. Jose Antonio Vargas had a secret, one that his former paper, "The Washington Post," just refused to publish. Vargas is an illegal immigrant. And in his first television interview since breaking that news with ABC, he'll address his history of deception and why he's taking the risk of coming forward now. This one really struck me, President Obama announcing his decision to withdraw 30,000 troops from Afghanistan. That drew only brief media coverage. Are journalists capable of a sustained look at America's role in the war that would match the intensity of, say, the Anthony Weiner story? Plus, Jon Stewart back in the Fox's den. Did he successfully skewer the network in his appearance with Chris Wallace, or just indulge in his typical schtick? And Keith Olbermann back in action on Al Gore's low profile network. Can the liberal crusader regain his clout and stick it to MSNBC? I'm Howard Kurtz, and this is RELIABLE SOURCES. He came here illegally as a teenager from the Philippines, later obtained a driver's license improperly, and used that to become a journalist. Jose Antonio Vargas became a "Washington Post" reporter, part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team that covered the Virginia Tech shootings. He later moved on to "The Huffington Post" and interviewed Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for "The New Yorker." All that time he kept his dark secret unit this week, when he wrote about the experience for today's "New York Times" magazine. I'll hold it up here. The headline is "Outlaw." And joining me now from New York for his first cable news interview is Jose Antonio Vargas. Welcome.
[Jose Antonio Vargas, "the Huffington Post":] Hi, Howie. Thanks for having me.
[Kurtz:] You knew that you'd be criticized, that you'd be slammed, that you were admitting to having been a liar, and that you could be deported tomorrow. Why did you decide to come forward with this information?
[Vargas:] Because I'm not the only one. You know, I'm one of millions of undocumented people in this country who are living kind of under the shadows. And in many ways, coming out, it was my way of at the end of the day, I think we have to tell the truth about this immigration system. And because of that, I had to tell the truth about myself.
[Kurtz:] I will come back to that, but I do need to ask you I mean, as you acknowledge, you deceived your editors. For instance, Phil Bronstein was editor of the "San Francisco Chronicle" when you were there. He write that he feels duped and that he was particularly uncomfortable that you wrote for The Chronicle about illegal immigrants getting fake drivers' licenses at a time when you had done the same thing.
[Vargas:] I mean, what's interesting here is there were just some times when I couldn't avoid writing about immigration. I worked for The Chronicle in San Francisco, and immigration is a big issue in that region. But all along the way, I think at the end of the day, I think the work speaks for itself, and it was fair and accurate and insightful. And really, at the end of the day, my work I had to do what I had to do to work. And in terms of my own immigration status, which I could never talk about, because whenever I did talk about it, people told me that I shouldn't be revealing it because then I couldn't work. This is why it's been really important for me. You know, I've been referring to it as part of my own personal underground railroad of the 21st century, people in my life who have been taking risks to help me all through these years.
[Kurtz:] And of course sometimes you had to lie to your friends or not tell the whole truth. But as you enjoyed more professional success, you went to work for these prestigious publications, you were hanging out with Mark Zuckerberg, how worried were you that it could all fall apart at any moment?
[Vargas:] The whole time. I mean, this is why it's important I think to remember. I came forward with this story. It's not as if someone was threatening to out me or someone was threatening to do anything. I just got to a point where last year, I was sitting at home here in Manhattan, I was sitting in my apartment, and I'm watching and reading the stories of these four students from Miami who took, like, a 1,500 mile walk to Washington, D.C., to lobby for immigration reform for a thing called the DREAM Act. And I was sitting this in my apartment feeling like I was in their shoes just seven years ago. I had to say something. I had to say something. And this is my way, as I said, of kind of coming forward. The best way to solve is problem is to tell the truth about it, and that's what aim doing.
[Kurtz:] Let's come back to how you decided to go public. You called Katharine Weymouth, the publisher of "The Washington Post," where you had worked for, what, seven years?
[Vargas:] Five years.
[Kurtz:] Five years.
[Vargas:] I was there for five years, yes.
[Kurtz:] And we knew each other a little bit then. And you told her that you wanted to disclose this and you wanted to do it in the pages of "The Washington Post." Why?
[Vargas:] Well, actually, the first thing that I told her is that I'm sorry. The first thing I said to her on the phone, "I'm really, really sorry about this." And the second thing is I said, "I'm going to come forward with my story, and I want to do it for The Post," because I thought that was the right thing to do. I owe a lot of my professional identity to that paper. That paper has been very and was very good to me. So I thought it was the best place to tell the story.
[Kurtz:] And then you did write the article, and this was extensively edited and extensively fact-checked, understandably, given the history there.
[Vargas:] Oh, yes. Exactly, yes.
[Kurtz:] And days before a decision would have been made to run this, the executive editor of The Post, my former newspaper, Marcus Brauchli, killed it. Were you surprised at that decision?
[Vargas:] Yes, I was surprised. But at the end of the day, everything, thankfully, worked out for the best. I ended up just reaching out to Peter Baker at "The New York Times," and he contacted his editor. And I spoke to The Times the next day. And thankfully, they ended up running the piece.
[Kurtz:] But do you feel like The Post was almost in a position of wanting to cover this up? I mean, this was something that The Post had hired you not knowing that you were an illegal immigrant. You did tell one top editor, Peter Perl, who kept your secret. The paper has now criticized that. He said he thought he was doing the right thing. And then Brauchli is refusing to comment on the reasons, even to his own ombudsman. Why would The Post not take this opportunity to set the record straight?
[Vargas:] I mean, you and I both worked there. I can't tell you what The Post thinks. I don't want to assume what The Post thinks. All I know is I'm really grateful that "The New York Times" you know, Hugo Lindgren, the editor at the magazine, and Chris Solentrof, who edited it, ended up editing the piece when it got there, I'm just grateful that they were able to give me this platform. I mean, I've been getting all these tweets and Facebook, and people have been going on to DefineAmerican.com to kind of share their own stores and ask questions. And really, that's what I'm doing here. I mean, I decided to do this because what I do best is ask questions. And now I'm asking questions about, what would you have done if you were in my shoes? What would you have done if you were the teacher or the principal in high school who found out one of your students is undocumented?
[Kurtz:] Just before I leave the subject, The Post, belatedly, of course, covered the controversy and said that there was a red flag raised, because when you were developing this story for the paper, you failed to disclose that you had replaced your expired Oregon driver's license with one from Washington State. The driver's license was what enabled you to stay here and work. So why did you not come forward with that information?
[Vargas:] No, everything I mean, again, we went through weeks of editing. And everything that they wanted in the story ended up being in the story. So I kind of I don't want to hatch on kind of hatch what happened there. At the end of the day, the story is the story. And again, this is just one story. I'm just one person. And thankfully, I was able to have this platform to tell my story.
[Kurtz:] Right. But you've made the point several times, Jose, that you could not have worked without the initial lie.
[Vargas:] Exactly. I could not have worked without
[Kurtz:] At the time, you have to acknowledge and you do acknowledge that you broke the law. But it seems like you're kind of letting yourself off the hook to some degree.
[Vargas:] Oh, no. I mean, this is not about I'm sorry I'm sorry for breaking our county's laws. And I think what's I've owed my sanity kind of living with this to all the people in my life. Really, the principals and the pastors in this country who have helped people like me. In many ways they've stepped up where the government has failed. We have a broken immigration system. Everybody agrees on that. And people, everyday American citizens, have stepped up because the government has failed us. And this is really what this is about.
[Kurtz:] And we will talk more about that on the other side. I've got to get a break in. More with Jose Antonio Vargas in just a moment.

[Lemon:] Time now to talk some "Issues" with none other than Jane Velez-Mitchell. She hosts a show of that name on our sister network, HLN. This week, Jane's been showing her outrage over the release of this Utah man, Loni Johnson. Our affiliate, KTVX, reports he's escaping prosecution on child sex assault charges because of a legal technicality. Can you believe it?
[Jane Velez-mitchell, Contributor, Issues:] It is absolutely insane. It's happening in Utah. This guy, who was convicted of raping a teenage girl, is now accused of 21 sex-related crimes involving children, is being let go because of a loophole. Apparently, he's incompetent to stand trial because of some mystery cognitive disorder. Nobody can tell us exactly what that is. By the same token, shrinks have decided he's not a danger to society so they can't keep him many a mental ward. So he is apparently free to go. People are up in arms over this, particularly the mother of one of the victims. Listen to her.
[Christy Danner, Mother Of Sexual Assault Victim:] So we just wait for more victims and he uses the same loophole? Is that what we're being told? How many victims do we need before we close this loophole?
[Lemon:] Jane, you know, I was thinking the same thing the mom said there. Because usually when someone has this sort of behavior, they'll say you usually can't fix that sort of behavior.
[Velez-mitchell:] Absolutely. It's very hard to rehabilitate somebody who wants to have sex with children. And he is convicted of having sex with a 17-year-old girl. Nevertheless, they've decided he's not a danger to society, even though he's facing a slew of sex-related counts involving children. And apparently, the problem is that a danger to society is defined as physically injuring someone. So apparently, you can destroy a child's life emotionally but, as long as you don't leave a bruise, you're not a danger to society. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
[Lemon:] Oh, boy. Let's go on and talk about, when will people realize that it's just sports, it's just sports. This Giants fan beaten at the Dodgers' season opener, this guy, 41 years old, never had a fight in his life. Now he is fighting for his life.
[Velez-mitchell:] This is absolutely obscene. And this is a strapping guy, so you can imagine what must have happened to him in the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium to leave this poor man in a coma. And what really upsets me is that apparently at least a hundred people watched this. It was in the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium after a game. And nobody came to his aid? And they don't even have a video of this attack, even though it happened in the parking lot? This is really a breakdown. They are searching for these thugs who beat this father, this paramedic, this nice guy into a coma, all because he's a Giants fan and he had the nerve to show up at Dodgers Stadium? This is insanity to me, Don. I can't believe we've let America's favorite pastime devolve into something that looks more like professional wrestling.
[Lemon:] You can tell he comes from a good family because his family is thanking everyone for the outpouring of support they've received nationwide for this obviously just brutal attack that didn't need to happen. Let's talk now about parental responsibility here, Jane. We hear so much about that. 17-year-old, involved in an accident, a teenager, now the parents are going to have to pay for the injuries, even though the 17-year-old was driving without their knowledge, driving their parents' car.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. And this is really a wake-up call to parents everywhere. Watch your kids.
[Lemon:] Right.
[Velez-mitchell:] Because if they're old enough to get behind a wheel and take off, and they do some horrific damage, which is exactly what happened in this case, it's on you, mom and dad. And so it really is a wake-up call to parents out there.
[Lemon:] Watch "Issues" with Jane Velez-Mitchell every weekend night, 7:00 p.m. eastern on HLN.

[Costello:] Good morning. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello, at 30 minutes past the hour. Stories we're watching right now in
[The Newsroom:] As the opening bell rings on Wall Street, investors hope U.S. stocks will react positively to the big Cyprus bailout deal. Christine Romans is at the New York Stock Exchange. So, are things looking up?
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Things are looking up. You got futures higher here. One of the reasons, Carol, is because Cyprus is a tiny, tiny economy, but this would be the fourth European bailout. The fact that at the 11th hour, it looks like disagreed to, it takes away an uncertainty for the market and the path of least resistance returns. And what is that path? Higher. This has been incredible year for stocks. This first quarter, anybody with a 401 [k], anyone with stock market investment has seen fantastic returns. I mean, the S&P; 500 hasn't hit a record high, a new record high yet, but it's very, very close now. It could happen in the next couple of days. That's what the S&P; looks like over the past 12 months. The S&P; over the past year is up almost 12 percent. Just this year so far, it's up 9 percent. Carol, that's the kind of return if you had a return like that, it would be the envy of all of your friends. And for anybody who is just, you know, a plain vanilla stock market investor, they've had a very, very good run. We'll have the numbers coming here any moment, but it looks like banks are probably going to lead things higher. Watch the shares of BlackBerry. There was a downgrade of BlackBerry.

[Whitfield:] Welcome back to AROUND THE WORLD. Here are the top stories right now.
[Holmes:] Yeah, the head of the Syrian opposition coalition telling CNN, exclusively, that 21 U.N. peacekeepers are safe.
[Whitfield:] Earlier in the week, activists posted videos that showed armed Syrian men with U.N. trucks in the background.
[Holmes:] Yeah, it was believed the rebels were initially holding them in a village in the Golan Heights, the U.N. personnel part of a force that is maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria. It's all separate from the civil war.
[Whitfield:] The opposition is saying that the rebels removed the peacekeepers from an unsafe area and they want the Red Cross to come pick them up.
[Holmes:] Let's go to Kenya now. There is a call there to stop the vote tallies in the presidential election. A political coalition led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga says the process is doctored.
[Whitfield:] Incomplete results show Odinga trailing his main opponent, Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenyatta's party made its own complaint about the election process on Wednesday.
[Holmes:] Yeah, and meanwhile, the International Criminal Court has postponed the trial of Kenyatta it was going to hold on charges of crimes against humanity. A complex political situation.
[Whitfield:] It is, indeed, and it's been very complex for a while there in Kenya as it pertains to the presidential elections. So, at least one friend of Oscar Pistorius says the Olympic track star was quick to get angry, always ready to fight and always had a gun on him.
[Holmes:] Yeah, a lot of information starting to come out that had been sort of bubbling along under the surface. Pistorius, of course, one of South Africa's biggest sporting heroes, running in the Olympics on those prosthetic legs.
[Whitfield:] He's charged with murdering his girlfriend, shooting her to death at his home on Valentine's Day. A man who ran in the same social circles as Pistorius tells CNN that he was a loose cannon.
[Mark Batchelor, South African Soccer Player:] He would have a trip switch and, you know, he'd get violent and angry and he'd fight with people, cause a lot of problems. It's like you're waiting for something like this to happen, you know?
[Holmes:] Yeah, now, Oscar Pistorius, of course, denies killing his girlfriend on purpose. He says that he mistook Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder.
[Whitfield:] And, of course, you'll only see this on CNN. You're about to hear more firsthand impressions of Pistorius from people close to Reeva Steenkamp. Incredibly, some members of her family are willing to forgive Oscar Pistorius.
[Holmes:] Now, Drew Griffin is in Cape Town, South Africa.
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Investigative Correspondent:] The interview took place inside the Cape Town home. Reeva often stayed in the back room of her cousin's, Kim Martin's. It is where we interviewed her and Reeva's uncle. Has the family now realized emotionally what has happened?
[Mike Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp's Uncle:] You sort of wake up in the morning expecting Reeva to give a phone call.
[Kim Martin, Reeva Steenkamp's Cousin:] It's easier to deal with it if you don't concentrate on anything else other than the fact she's not here and, at the end of the day, she's not coming back.
[Griffin:] What the family says it does not want to concentrate on is just why Reeva Steenkamp is not coming back She died in the home and at the hands of her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius. He is charged with murder, awaiting trial for what he has called an accidental shooting. Kim Martin says she was as close to Reeva as a sister. There were no secrets. She knew the couple were dating. She also knew Reeva was not in love.
[Martin:] And I knew that in time she would chat to me about it.
[Griffin:] But she never did?
[Martin:] No, she never did.
[Griffin:] January 2nd, on Small Bay in Cape Town, Kim and her daughters finally did meet him at this seaside cafe. It was the only time she ever met Oscar Pistorius. He barely made an impact.
[Martin:] It wasn't long enough to form an opinion on his personality, you know? Typical Reeva, her and I were chatting and the kids and, what I saw of him and what the bit that we did speak, he was nice. He did seem like a nice guy.
[Griffin:] You still think that?
[Martin:] I don't really want to comment on that.
[Griffin:] In what now seems an ominous event, we know Reeva's own mother had met Oscar Pistorius, too, at least by phone. Oscar and Reeva were driving on a highway and Oscar, prone to fast cars, was supposedly speeding.
[Steenkamp:] She phoned her mom and said to her mom, Mom, Oscar's speeding, so June took the phone and said, let me speak to Oscar, and said to him, Oscar, hey, listen, that's my precious and my only daughter, my precious daughter, and that's everything. That's my angel and you better slow down. Otherwise, I will get the Mafia on to you afterwards, and Reeva said afterwards, Mom, he slowed down.
[Griffin:] Now, the family, including Reeva's parents, Barry and June, are trying to come to grips with a lot of tales from the past, former friends of Pistorius speaking out about anger, rage and guns; early signs that police may have mishandled the crime scene; and the fact that Pistorius, who's admitted killing Reeva in an accidental shooting, is now free from jail, awaiting trial.
[Martin:] The less I hear about it, all the other stuff, the better.
[Steenkamp:] None of us are going to be represented at the court in the trial. None of us in family are going to go up. We won't be present. I can tell you that now. And for that reason, it's not about the court case. It's about Reeva.
[Griffin:] It would be too painful, but choking back tears, Mike Steenkamp did say he one day does want to meet the man who killed his niece.
[Steenkamp:] I would like to be face to face with him and forgive him, forgive him what he's done. And that way I can find what's probably more peace with the situation, but tell him face to face.
[Griffin:] and you would forgive him, Mike, whether this was a tragic accident or whether this was...
[Steenkamp:] Whatever the outcome, I feel that my belief, and if Christ could forgive when he died on the cross, why can't I?
[Griffin:] You must have seen the reports about things in his past that have come out. Is there any reaction to any of that?
[Steenkamp:] The least I know from the outside, the better, for myself, that right or wrong, I'm still focused on the one thing is forgiveness and I'm not going change from that.
[Griffin:] As for what happens to Oscar Pistorius, it doesn't matter, says Steenkamp. Nothing will bring Reeva back. Drew Griffin, CNN, Cape Town, South Africa.
[Holmes:] Stoic, isn't it...
[Whitfield:] It really is.
[Holmes:] ... just his faith?
[Whitfield:] And it's tough just to see the family and you know how families are torn about that case, and the details that continue to just kind of trickle out.
[Holmes:] Horrible stuff. Guess what.
[Whitfield:] Yes?
[Holmes:] The Dow, up again.
[Whitfield:] Isn't it remarkable?
[Holmes:] Look at it. It's up 0.3 percent again today.
[Whitfield:] Lots of signs of encouragement on the markets, we'll take a closer look after this.

[Malveaux:] A report by the Miami newspaper, "New Times," claims a clinic in Miami sold performance-enhancing drugs to several Major League Baseball stars, including Alex Rodriguez, of the New York Yankees. Just received this statement from a spokesman from Rodriguez saying, "The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true. Alex Rodriguez was not Mr. Bosch's patient. He was never treated by him, and never advised by him. The reported documents referenced in the story, at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez, are not legitimate." On the Mississippi River, they're still trying to clean up this oil spill. Two barges filled with oil hit a bridge. This was near Vicksburg. This happened early Sunday morning. A tank holding thousands of gallons of oil started leaking after the collision. The Coast Guard's Gulf Strike Team is there, helping try to get this all cleaned up, but their job could get harder. Some of the dangerous weather that is headed that way. I want to bring in Chad Myers, to talk about the line of thunderstorms, right, Chad, that is going to move into the Deep South?
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] You bet. You don't want men and women on those rescue crews, on the recovery vessels as this line of weather moves right into Vicksburg. These things are moving very, very quickly today. 50 to 60 miles per hour, and they have some spin to them. That spin will continue across parts of Missouri. Here is Springfield, Missouri. A couple of spins right through there. If you are north of Springfield, but yet not quite to Columbia, I want you to pay attention to these storms. They're spinning quickly. Like five minutes ago, these storms weren't spinning. And now they're spinning quite a bit. And so these tornado warnings may be very, very quick. You may have very little time today to get out of the way of these storms. These watches continue all the way to 8:00 and continuing into St. Louis, into Dallas, into big cities. Sometimes we say, yes, there will be severe weather, but there's not going to be anything to hit. Today, there will be cities to hit. You need to pay attention.
[Malveaux:] Chad, not tornado season yet, but could this be a busy one? Any indications?
[Myers:] You never know. Last year we started out as a big tornado January, February, March, we had hundreds and, all of a sudden, those storms just shut off. Those tornadoes just stopped. It depends on where the jet stream is. The jet stream is here today. And that's why there is the potential for tornadoes today all the way through tonight Suzanne?
[Malveaux:] All right. Thank you, Chad.
[Myers:] You're welcome.
[Malveaux:] Stock declines, growing competition have many questioning Apple CEO Tim Cook's ability to lead. Can he push the company forward? A look at Apple after Steve Jobs.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. Joe Klein is coming up as our next guest, and he is autographing Margaret's book for her. That's
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Good morning.
[Romans:] In Syria, government forces shelling the town of Houla, site of last week's massacre that killed more than a hundred people, nearly half of them children. The slaughter of civilians has sparked global outrage. Meantime, Syria's main rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, is giving the government a Friday deadline to pull out of occupied cities and villages, unless, humanitarian aide in. Now, they're not saying what will happen if, as expected, President Bashar al-Assad ignores that ultimatum? Will we see a verdict in the John Edwards trial today? Jurors begin day nine of deliberation this morning. The judge decided to send four alternate jurors home. They are the ones who got attention for matching T-shirts. Edwards faces up to 30 years behind bars for allegedly using nearly $1 million in illegal campaign donations to cover up an extramarital affair. Newly discovered audio recordings of Charles Manson's right-hand man could help police solve cold case murders. Los Angeles police are fast to get their hands on eight hours of conversations between Manson family killer Charles Tex Watson and his attorney, conversations from 1969. A judge ruled to give them the tapes originally off limits because of attorney-client privilege. Police believe the recordings capture Watson talking about unknown murders the Manson family committed. Manson is serving a life sentence for seven murders. An Illinois lawmaker loses it on the state house floor. The shocking video goes viral. Republican State Representative Mike Bost flipped out after Democrats pushed a last minute bill to reform the state's pension system.
[Bost:] This is not the American way. These damn bills that come out here all the damn time, come out here at the last second. I got to try to figure out how to vote for my people. You should be ashamed of yourselves! I'm sick of it. Every year we give power to one person! Enough!
[Romans:] That tirade went on for a minute and a half. Bost even tried to drop the mic but it was attached to the podium. All right, this just in, 383,000 unemployment claims were filed for the first time last week. That's more than expected and the previous week was revised up as well below the 400,000 level that shows an improving labor market. Is it time to say good-bye to wearing ties? Multibillionaire and Virgin CEO Richard Branson says yes. He's made it his life-long mission to stop people from wearing ties going so far as to carry scissors in his pockets to cut people's ties off. Branson says they serve no useful purpose. He says "Being comfortable and confident in what you are wearing helps people come up with more innovative and original thoughts. It's a little thing but it can make all of the difference." Soledad?
[O'brien:] I like a man in a tie, got to tell you. I'm not responsible for the shots that we take.
[Cain:] Richard Branson and are on the same page. Nothing about a fancy cloth makes your thoughts more formal or you a better worker. It was designed at a time to show that you could afford a piece of fancy cloth.
[Hill:] I like that, will.
[O'brien:] Let's turn to what is really a challenging topic. As I was reading Joe Klein's cover story, I saw the story of my parents unfold the same way. The question is figuring out how do you care for an elderly parent who is dying. It's clearly tough for any kid, but Joe Klein tells his personal story in "TIME" magazine, the tough road that he faced as he managed for his parents in the final months of their lives and the solution he found that made the process a little bit easier. Nice to have you with us. I thought you story is just I felt, yes that happened to us. So many will read this cover story in "TIME" and say this is the story of my elderly parents starting to fall apart and me having to now take care of them. How hard was it to write this?
[Joe Klein, "time" Magazine:] This is the way one grieves. Only a geek like me could find policy implications of his parents' death. In a way, I don't know what it was like for you, but going through cartons full of memorabilia and thinking through their past and seeing pictures of my mom and dad when they were young and finding that my mom when she was 17 years old looked exactly like my daughter. It was just the perfect way to end a difficult process.
[Cain:] Can I just ask this question? I took this away from your piece. I've said it, my parents have said it to me I don't want to be a vegetable. Pull the plug on me, as though there is a bright line or a point at which that decision becomes obvious. That wasn't the case for you.
[Klein:] It should have been obvious. I made the wrong decision. I was out in Iowa on one of my road trips. I was in Senator Chuck Grassley's kitchen from mom's doctor saying she's got pneumonia and she's not eating. You're going to lose her if you don't put in a feeding tube. I didn't want to lose her overnight. I wanted my brother in Asia to have an opportunity to be there as well. And so we put in the feeding tube even though I later learned she had another month to live without it.
[O'brien:] You had a struggle moving your parents into this assisted living facility. There is this model. It's a model that you love. I think more than like it. You really think it gave your parents dignity and assistance that they need. Describe the model for us.
[Klein:] It's like Mayo Clinic. It takes care of 2.6 million people in central Pennsylvania in 44 counties. The big difference is that they pay doctors by salaries plus performance bonuses. Most doctors are paid fee-for-service, according to the procedures that they do and tests they run and so on. And so when I moved my parents from traditional fee-for-service medicine into a nursing home that used these doctors and nurses, all of a sudden three big things started happening. One, people stopped sticking needles in my parents and doing things to them. Number two, the care became coordinated.
[O'brien:] Case manager, which is really a critical thing when parents are sick.
[Klein:] Rather than having a whole flotilla of doctors all doing separate things sometimes conflicting things, you had one person in charge. And the third thing was and this is most important to me they started talking to me as if I were an adult. They started in a calm, humane, decent way, they told me the truth about the choices that I faced with my parents.
[O'brien:] What's the pushback on that system? Many doctors say that they don't like it.
[Klein:] The pushback is that, first of all, doctors are like high priests. My wife comes from a family of doctors all of the way out to second cousins. We know about this. And they want to make every last decision. What Geisinger has done brilliantly is to use electronic records over the course of the last 15 years to figure out what actually works and what doesn't. And your performance bonus depends on how closely you adhere to the processes that they found actually work. Doctors don't like to have that hanging over them. They also don't like to not do things because they are afraid of malpractice suits. And finally, they get rewarded for doing the extra x-ray or extra MRI or blood test. And what Geisinger found is when they started this case manager system, which is essentially having a nurse, they added a layer of bureaucracy. And it's having a nurse call the elderly person or visit them three or four times a week, which, as you know, elderly people like to talk about their health a lot. And when you do that, all of a sudden visits to the hospital decline 20 percent, revisits to the hospital decline 36 percent, and it cost seven percent less. So if we were able to institute this kind of system having salary doctors rather than fee-for-service doctors in Medicare, we could save an awful lot of money.
[O'brien:] I think this cover story is really a combination of sort of compassion 101 in dealing with a terrible time in your life as the son and in your parents' life as people are afraid and confused, and then also the policy around how we could solve a major problem in this country, which is the spiraling cost of health care.
[Klein:] Right. It doesn't get rid of all of the difficult stuff. My dad thought that old age was a reversible condition. I had to take away his driver's license and then I had to hide his car keys. And then I had to explain to him four different times why he was going into the nursing home. And there he started his own private occupy the elevator movement trying to get out. But in the end, you know, he had he was a difficult guy. And we had some really fine moments at the end. And he died with dignity and when you're a human death panel, as I was for five months, that's the best you could ask, that they go peacefully, quietly, and serenely.
[O'brien:] Joe Klein, cover story in "TIME" magazine beautifully written and you learn a lot about policy of health care and model that might be a good solution. Nice to have you. Thanks for talking with us. Still ahead on STARTING POINT, a supersized smack down. New York City's mayor trying to ban sugary drinks from restaurants and movie theaters and ballparks. The controversy, we're talking about it up next. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everybody. It's 30 minutes after the hour. I'm Alina Cho.
[Sambolin:] So it is the second win of the season for the Kansas City Chiefs, but it is a hard victory to celebrate. They beat the Carolina Panthers 27-21. But it came just one day after police say Chief linebacker Jovan Belcher murdered his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, shooting her multiple times. Then police say belcher drove to the team's practice facility where he killed himself in front of coaches and the general manager. The couple leaves behind their 3-month-old daughter Zoe. There are pictures of her there. So I want to bring in Tiki Barber. He played nine seasons in the NFL as a running back with the New York Giants. I've got to tell you I'm sure you're shocked by this. And I think we're all shocked that they actually were able to play the game. Go ahead and play the game just one day later. So I want to play what Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs running back Dexter McCluster said about the team's decision to play on Sunday, just a day after that murdersuicide.
[Dexter Mccluster, Kansas City Chiefs:] Definitely glad we played the game today. You know this is a game we love. We're all brothers. We're all in it together. And why not go out there and do something that we love to do?
[Sambolin:] You have a lot of experience here. How do you make a decision like that?
[Tiki Barber, Former Nfl Running Back:] It's interesting. I was on the New York Giants on September 11th. And when faced with a very similar decision, obviously the loss of life was much greater and we decided not to play because there was so much tragedy. But I can understand why the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to get back to a sense of normalcy and try to put this behind them as quickly as possible, because it's such an emotional point in their season. They're playing so poorly for the last 10 weeks. They have this unimaginable tragedy, and they only thing that they can do is try to get back to playing football so that they can feel normal. You don't want to actually think about this. And I think this next week is going to be most important for this Kansas City Chiefs team. I know the NFL and the NFLPA are doing a lot with grief counseling. Most really just having them talk about this. Instead of letting it fester in their minds and try to explain it because you can't explain it.
[Sambolin:] Right.
[Cho:] You know, Tiki, as you may have heard this morning, including Jovan Belcher, at least six current or former NFL players have committed suicide just in the past couple of years. Some have been speculating that it might have something to do with undiagnosed concussion injuries. What do you make of that?
[Barber:] Well, it may. There's a word that's seared into my head because I went to the concussion hearings on Capitol Hill, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a deterioration of some of your brain tissue, which ultimately has an effect on your reason and your impulse control. But there are so many things which exist outside of that issue, the concussion issue, that could have led to this. Mental illness that may have been undiagnosed or just past through on his college and high school years. There could have been stresses at home that we didn't know about. And so, it's hard to speculate and I wouldn't speculate. It would be a disservice to his girlfriend.
[Cho:] Sure.
[Barber:] But at the same time, you never know how bad concussion syndromes can play on people. We've seen it most recently with Junior Seau a few months ago and, obviously, over the history of the sport because it's so violent, has such a devastating toll on your body physically and mentally.
[Cho:] Right.
[Sambolin:] I don't want to forget the victim here, because, you know, there's a woman that's dead this morning and there was a moment of silence, it was had for victims of domestic violence.
[Barber:] Yes.
[Sambolin:] Now, we don't know exactly what happened here, but do you have you heard anything about some issues of domestic violence here in the past. We do know, there are reports that say they fought a lot. But outside of that.
[Barber:] Well, everybody, every family, every relationship has bad moments, they fight. They get into arguments. But it doesn't mean you're going to go out and do something as irrational as kill your significant other and then kill yourself. I think what you really have to look at is this is a microcosm of society gets smashed into immediacy because it's the NFL, because it is such great attention, but I don't think it's any different than some explainable tragic event that happened outside of the game of football. But what I think is really great for athletes, it points out that we're human. We make the same mistakes that everybody else in the world, and in communities make, and oftentimes, we're held to this standard that we shouldn't because we're invincible, that we have this mental and emotional fortitude and can handle all of these things. That's why you supposedly have success. But in reality, there are forces at work inside of you that no one can explain and oftentimes most people don't see.
[Cho:] But does that make it harder I mean this sort of tough guy culture?
[Barber:] Well, it does. It does, because to be weak is the antithesis of what it takes to be an athlete. You have to be strong. You have to be able to deal with adversity and sometimes you need help to do that.
[Sambolin:] Tiki, I want to play something about the culture in the NFL and I want you to respond to it.
[Derrick Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs:] We need to talk to each other more as men, not as football players, I mean in life, because generally men don't really show their feelings. You know, they don't talk about what's going on. They don't cry. They don't show emotion. I mean, to to have an act go on like this yesterday, it's one of those things that could have been avoided. But as a teammate, you know, we have to do more about not getting in people's business but I mean just, you know, making sure that, you know, your teammate is OK.
[Samboli:] I just asked, it could have been avoided.
[Barber:] Yes, it could, because if you're as a teammate you're talking to him, you know him intimately, you know why he's fighting with his girlfriend or you think he's going to do something irrational like this, he went and got a gun or something of that nature. You can intervene. You can cut it off at the pass. I think what happens in sports is you don't talk on that level. You talk about Xes and Os and how much fun we had at the party last night, but you don't talk about what it takes to be a father or a man or a person or an individual, and I think we need more examples of guys doing that. And one famously that has is Brandon Marshall who is a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears who had a lot of struggles on and off the field early in his career, affected his career, but he went and got help. He has borderline personality disorder, and since he's been treated he has been counseling. His life has turned around and as a result, his play on the field has been stellar. We need to hold up that example, as opposed to guys who are just tough and keep it all in and ultimately have these demons that don't get addressed.
[Sambolin:] I wonder if the NFL will play a role in that, as well.
[Barber:] I would hope so. I would hope so.
[Sambolin:] I hope. All right. Tiki Barber, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your perspective.
[Barber:] Thank you.
[Sambolin:] All right. Thirty-six minutes past the hour. A search is under way for a young cancer patient whose life is now in danger. Police say the girl's mother snuck her out of phoenix children's hospital. This was last Wednesday. The 11-year-old identified only as Emily is battling leukemia. She still has a catheter in her heart from a recent surgery to amputate her arm. The doctors say Emily could die within days if her heart becomes infected.
[Cho:] Major changes are coming to the manual psychiatrists use to diagnose mental health disorders. Over the weekend, the American Psychiatric Association voted to amend the DSM, that's the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. For example, a child with Asperger's Syndrome will instead be told they have autism spectrum disorder. And binge eating and hoarding have also been added to the manual.
[Sambolin:] NASA officials will discuss the latest developments involving the Mars rover Curiosity today. Curiosity is searching for organic compounds carbon containing chemicals which are the building blocks for life. Last week, the director of the Mars jet propulsion laboratory suggested the Curiosity may have found simple organic molecules.
[Cho:] A woman from Nepal who supports children so they don't have to live behind bars with their imprisoned parents is CNN's 2012 hero of the year.
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] The 2012 CNN Hero of the Year from Kathmandu is Pushpa Basnet.
[Pushpa Basnet, Cnn's 2010 Hero Of The Year:] This is for my students, and this is for back to my country Nepal. Thank you so much for everyone who voted for me and who believed in my dream. Thank you.
[Cho:] How cute is she? Twenty-nine-year-old Pushpa Basnet received her award last night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, during "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute". Since 2005, listen to this, she has helped more than 140 children. Basnet will now receive $250,000 to continue her work, and another $50,000 bonus for being named one of CNN's top ten heroes of the year.
[Sambolin:] Happy, happy faces there. President Obama recognizing entertainers at the Kennedy Center Honors. This is last night. This year's honorees include Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, "Late Night" host David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Makarova, blues guitarist Buddy Guy and the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin and during the reception for the event Mitt Romney supporter Kid Rock ran in to President Obama. Rock said the run in wasn't awkward. In fact he said they were able to laugh off their rivalry.
[Kid Rock, Musician:] I saw the president tonight and he said, "I'm still here." So no hard feelings, and he remembered meeting my son when I played his inauguration, which was very special.
[Sambolin:] Kid Rock also ran in to Wolf Blitzer right before the ceremony. Don't they look good together? Wolf tweeted this picture #verycool.
[Cho:] Wolf gets all the great invites. Meanwhile, Sunday night football action the Dallas Cowboys take on the Eagles. It's really a big night for Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo who threw three touchdown passes in the second half as he led the Cowboys to a 38-33 victory. Romo also broke the Cowboys record for career touchdown passes. That's a record previously held by Troy Aikman with 165. Romo now has 168 career TDs.
[Sambolin:] The pope is joining Twitter. Starting December 12th, Pope Benedict will begin tweeting using the handle @Pontifex. He already has 5,700 followers. A Vatican official told CNN the Pope will be composing the tweets himself. The pontiff is no stranger to Twitter. The Vatican launched a Twitter news feed 17 months ago and it kicked off with a tweet from Pope Benedict. So that's @Pontifex, in case you're interested.
[Cho:] Follow him. Your favorite story of the day. It is. I think it's cute. A flood warning and several flood advisories in place right now for parts of California, and another big storm is coming through the region. We're going to check in with our Rob Marciano, next.

[John King, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening, everyone. Important breaking news tonight, a deal that gives you more money by extending the Social Security payroll tax cut for two more months. Speaker John Boehner, who just this morning said no, that House Republicans would only support a yearlong extension, retreated this afternoon, made the announcement just minutes ago.
[Rep. John Boehner , Speaker Of The House:] We have fought the fight, the good fight. But, you know, I talked to enough members over the last 24 hours who believe that, hey, listen, we don't like this two-month extension. We don't like this reporting problem in the Senate bill, and if you can get this fixed, why not do the right thing for the American people, even though it's not exactly what we want?
[King:] The full details of this payroll tax deal, the compromise and the reaction still coming in. President Obama just put out a statement saying quote "For the past several weeks I have stated consistently it was critical that Congress not go home without preventing a tax increase on 160 million working Americans. Today, I congratulate members of Congress for ending the partisan stalemate by reaching an agreement that meets that test." More reaction coming in as well. Let's get the very latest on the details and the political fallout. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, is with us, also our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin. Dana, let's go to the Hill first. I know the House Republicans are saying we have a tweak in the language here to help small businesses, but this is cave with a capital C, no?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] Oh, yes. And it's tweak with a little T., barely you can see the T. in tweak. There's no question that House Republicans gave in here. You could see it in the House speaker's demeanor. You could hear it in his voice. He all but gave a concession speech both on the politics and on the policy of this, policy meaning, as he said, we fought the good fight. There's no question that they were under intense pressure inside the Republican caucus from fellow Republicans in the Senate, from "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board and more importantly, I think, in the past 24 hours or so, John, from their own constituents. We're hearing from Republican sources that members of Congress left here yesterday, they went back home and they were hearing from your constituents what are you guys doing? We don't want to lose $1,000 from our paycheck on average, get this done, fix it. That's what they did.
[King:] Dana, now what happens? Most of them have gone home. They can use a process called unanimous consent. As long as no one objects, you need one Democrat and one Republican in the House, one Democrat and one Republican in the Senate. When will that happen? Is there a possibility somebody could still throw a wrench in this?
[Bash:] There's always a possibility somebody could throw a wrench in this. And the ways things have gone this entire year, that would be an apt end to this year. But the likelihood is that it will happen tomorrow and the expectation is it will go through without having to have a formal roll call vote. I just got off the phone with one member of Congress who was on the conference call with the House speaker who said it was pretty clear that he's not going to take any revolt this time. He described the speaker as tired and ticked off, something he had never heard from the speaker before and he just said this is what we're going to do and this is the deal, the call lasted 10 minutes, he hung up, and that was it. It doesn't look like he's got a stomach for he's been through a lot from his own caucus and from everyone else. And the House speaker does not have the stomach to let this go any further. It's very likely going to pass tomorrow.
[King:] Dana, stand by. Let's go to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Jessica Yellin, just this morning the president was out surrounding himself, as the president has the bully pulpit and the advantage to do, with some real people, saying these people are going to lose on average $40 a paycheck. Tonight the president is celebrating. Interestingly, from a political standpoint he decided to do it by issuing a statement, not by coming out. Why?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Well, this isn't done yet, John. So I think they're going to hold their fire until it's all signed, sealed and delivered. But I will tell you the fact that Dana just reported that Speaker Boehner is not going to take any revolts is going to be music to the ears of everybody right here inside the West Wing, because one of the frustrations, time and again, has been that every time they feel that they have come close to a deal with Speaker Boehner, it's sort of been Lucy and the football and Charlie Brown. All of a sudden it's been snatched away and things fall apart because he caves to something that happens in his caucus that's unexpected. So they don't ever want to get ahead of the story and want to wait and see that the vote happens and it's done before they actually celebrate and pop that champagne cork. So I think they're just being cautious at this point. But this sounds like, you know, the speaker's really going to hold firm on this one. I wouldn't be surprised if we do hear from the president after things are done, John.
[King:] Jess, from a White House perspective and the politics of this, one of the reasons the Republicans took their position at first is that many Republicans thought the president would blink. And let's be honest. In the past, sometimes he has blinked. From a political perspective, what does team Obama think is the biggest lesson for them here in victory tonight?
[Yellin:] Well, in this instance, first of all, they, you know, this is their point of view, they don't think they have blinked in the past. Inside the bubble, or inside their views they have their own view of things. But in this instance, there was no question that they had the right policy on their side, you know, a very clear question of a tax increase for the American people that was going to hit everyone in the pocketbook. And then they had Democrats and Republicans on their side and even Senator Mitch McConnell. When you have the guy who was the president's archenemy all year politically siding with the president all day today and through this issue, it was not even a hard call for the president to hold firm. I will tell you one big game changer, one game changer, if you will, was when the speaker called the president this morning, he asked, would you send your people up to Capitol Hill to negotiate with me today? And the president said, no, I'm not negotiating with you. You have to talk to Speaker Reid's office. And then Speaker Boehner's office realized they had nowhere to turn, they had to deal with Speaker Reid. Then you had Mitch McConnell coming out and saying I'm not with you. And so he really had no space to maneuver.
[King:] Jessica Yellin at the White House, Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, we will check back with both of you throughout the hour as news warrants. Joining us now for some perspective, our senior analyst David Gergen. David, you have been saying all week the Republicans were in an untenable position. Speaker Boehner over the weekend, maybe he heard from his conservative members saying you can't accept this deal. What do you believe was the key in the speaker going back to the very same members and saying, we're taking it now?
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Well, John, as you know, there's this whole Kenny Rogers line that you have to know when to hold them and when to fold them, and it became increasingly obvious to Speaker Boehner he had to fold. He was not only under pressure from constituents back home, but there was intense pressure coming from senior Republicans who believe this whole thing has been so botched that it has not only, you know, soured the American people once again on Congress and Washington, but it's left the impression that the real problem in a broken Washington is a Republican Party that is held hostage by the Tea Party. And that was playing into a narrative that was very powerful for the president and Democrats next fall. I think it's the political reality of what they were facing that I think eventually forced their hands. Even though they as you and I talked about earlier this week on Monday on the merits they had a pretty good case for a yearlong. That's what President Obama wanted was a yearlong tax extension. But on the politics, they were playing a terrible hand and they had to fold.
[King:] Taxes will not go up in nine days, David. The American people will not have their payroll taxes go up. When those credit card bill from the holiday shopping come, they won't look at their check and say, whoa, I'm a little short of what I thought I was going to have in there. Is this forgotten or will the price the Republicans paid this week carry over?
[Gergen:] That's a really good question, John. My sense is that the issue itself will be forgotten pretty quickly, but, symbolically, it had an importance that went beyond the merits or the immediacy. And that is coming right at the end of a really rotten year in Washington, it left the impression right at end that the real problem is the Tea Party and the extremism on the Republican side. Even though Democrats deserve an awful lot of blame for what happened, what went wrong in Washington this year, there's no question that the year ended on a down note for Republicans. Even as they fold, there is symbolically, I think, some lasting damage. And overall, you have to say, if you look at overall picture over the last three or four months this has been a story, the bigger story is the resurrection of President Obama and Democratic hope for 2012.
[King:] There's no doubt about that. If you look at again, it's a long way off, and a lot can happen, but if you look at the president's approval rating, especially among middle-class Americans, it's up, and his overall approval rating is inching up. We're talking in 2011, still approaching the new year. We will see what happens. David, let me ask you this. A bit of a contrarian view or a contrarian question, you heard Dana Bash reporting there Speaker Boehner was ticked off, he was tired. He essentially told those freshman members who at times have pulled him along this year, this time you're listening to me. Might there be an important lesson for them there? Could Speaker Boehner actually benefit from this in the long run? Next time around, can he say we're not doing that again?
[Gergen:] I think so. And I think he's going to get tougher because Speaker Boehner was put in a really awkward position. Not only were the Republicans getting hurt but there was a real chance Republican losses next fall would be larger than he expected, in which case Speaker Boehner's job might be in question as you well know. The other issue here that I think has really gotten interesting is having made such an important argument, are we ever going to be able to return payroll taxes to their old levels? You know, this does have a lot to do with the viability of Social Security. But if we are going to act like you can't raise taxes $1,000 in order to pay for Social Security, we have got a more severe problem than we ever thought we had with the deficits.
[King:] Absolutely right. They have a severe problem that the only way to do this, the only way out of this the Bush tax cuts are about to expire. Now you have this payroll tax holiday on the books and it's become a huge political issue. Like you say, the only way out of this is to do big comprehensive tax reform and try to get done before a presidential election. David Gergen, appreciate your insights tonight. We just want to one quick moment for those of you watching at home, again, this is not just a Washington political fight. This is money, would have been money out of your wallet. We assume now the deal's going to go through. We will watch it tomorrow and you can watch it with us. But if now this compromise holds, $35,000 you make a year, that means you will keep that $700-a-year payroll tax holiday you have been getting in recent years, instead of having your taxes go up $27 a paycheck. If you make $50,000 a year, let's assume now that means you will keep that $1,000 payroll tax holiday next year, instead of losing nearly $40 a paycheck. This is the number the White House is focusing on most. Those making about 75 grand, you will keep next year about $60 a paycheck. That's a paycheck every two weeks is the calculation the White House makes there. If you make more money, obviously, you will save more money. Still ahead here, an exclusive talk with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who says she's sensing something in Iowa that will shock the rest of us. Plus, continuing coverage of tonight's breaking news, this deal now to extend your payroll tax cuts.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] I guess she`s making a bit of a comeback here.
[A.j. Hammer, Cnn Anchor:] She is hosting "SNL." And I`ve got to show you one of the promotional spots that they`ve released. Take a look at this.
[Lindsay Lohan, Actress:] Hi, I`m Lindsay Lohan, and I`m hosting "SNL" this week with musical guest Jack White.
[Keenan Thompson, Cast Member, Nbc`s "saturday Night Live":] It must feel good to be back in the spotlight.
[Lohan:] Yes. People are probably wondering what I`ve been up to.
[Thompson:] It`s unfortunate that everyone`s paid so little attention to you over the last few years.
[Lohan:] I know. If only magazines and Web sites would have documented my activities more closely.
[Velez-mitchell:] Love the bangs. But I have to ask: too much too soon? Troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan acts like she`s on top of the world as she prepares to host "Saturday Night Live" this weekend. I`ll be watching. I have to wonder, though: is she taking her sobriety seriously? Lohan sat down with NBC`s Matt Lauer on "The Today Show," and she could not remember her sobriety date, or refused to disclose it, anyway. Listen to this.
[Matt Lauer, Nbc`s "the Today Show":] You clean and sober?
[Lohan:] Yes, I`m good. I`m clean and sober.
[Lauer:] How long has that been?
[Lohan:] It`s been awhile. It`s been it`s been a long time.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK. Reality check. When you`re in recovery and I`ve been in recover for almost 17 years you remember your sobriety date. You shout it from the rooftops. Mine is April 1. No kidding. Why won`t Lindsay tell us her sobriety date? Why is that a secret? Straight out to "Naughty but Nice`s" Rob Shuter from Huff Post. Rob, your thoughts?
[Rob Shuter, "naughty But Nice" Columnist, Huffington Post:] I was going to be very cynical after seeing this interview this morning. And then I stopped and thought about it for a minute. I really want to believe this, Jane. I really do. I spoke to her mom, Dina, who in the past has been in denial a little bit, and maybe she is again. Dina insists that Lindsay`s in a great place. And what really makes me to believe this is she`s going to make a movie. You would not be able to get that movie gig if there was any question.
[Velez-mitchell:] You think they`re testing her?
[Shuter:] I bet they have. She couldn`t get insured. She could not get insured. For her to drop this movie would cost millions of dollars. I bet she was tested.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, you know, I am absolutely hoping that she is clean and sober. She`s 25. I always remember back to when I was 25. Let me tell you: I was an immature goofball. OK? And I was drinking heavily. So I`m not here to judge. Lindsay Lohan also told Matt Lauer she doesn`t like to go out anymore. Listen to this one.
[Lohan:] That`s not my thing anymore. I went out, actually, a few months ago with a friend. And I was so uncomfortable. Not because I felt tempted. Just because it was just the same thing that it always was before, and it just wasn`t fun for me. I`ve become more of a home body, and I like that.
[Velez-mitchell:] But again, reality check. She is hitting the party circuit. Just one day after her probation progress report, Lindsay turned up at Domingo Zapata`s Oscar art show. And she reportedly kept on partying at the famous Chateau Marmont. So when she says, "I haven`t been out for several months," I mean, Rob...
[Shuter:] Not exactly true. What I think she`s saying here is that she`s not been out consistently. This is a girl that was going out five, six, maybe seven nights a week. So for Lindsay to go out once in the last couple of months is a vast, vast improvement, Jane.
[Velez-mitchell:] What do you think about the bangs? And we`re looking at the before Lindsay there in the white. The infamous she`s had so many times with her "F.U." fingernails crying in court. But now she`s got bangs.
[Shuter:] Can I tell you how she really will put her career back on top? Go back to being a redhead. Before all the drama, when you were a sweet, beautiful redhead girl. If you want to remind people how great you were, change the color of your hair.
[Velez-mitchell:] A hair color job. And maybe just buff those nails. No nail polish. Especially no "F.U." nail polish. Thank you, Rob. Love you. Up next, Jason Young.

[Cooper:] Well, one of the things we plan to watch very carefully over the next several months is how well newly-elected politicians live up to the promises they made on the campaign trail, in other words, "Keeping Them Honest." I mean, we all know that politicians, Democrats and Republicans, make a lot of promises when they're running for Office and then have a way of not exactly following through on those promises. And this election year, we have certainly heard a lot of politicians saying they're not going to compromise when they get to Congress. But can they live up to that promise? We'll soon see. We have already been tracking how a lot of Republican candidates who have gotten elected promising to cut taxes, cut spending and cut the deficit haven't given many specifics and still aren't giving many specifics. Rand Paul is really one of the few new members of Congress who said that he'd be open to cuts in the defense budget. But, tonight, he's being accused of flip-flopping on one of the key promises of his campaign. The senator-elect from Kentucky, who had the full backing of the Tea Party, has been very, very vocal on his desire to end the earmarks, the type of spending that basically lets lawmakers direct funds to their pet projects in their state, classic pork barrel waste. They are very controversial though they're not always waste, frankly. They're very controversial, though, and a pretty easy target for someone running on fiscal discipline. Take a look at the headline on Mr. Paul's campaign Web site: "Earmark Ban Coming" it says. It says: "Rand Paul has made a ban on wasteful earmark spending in Washington, D.C. one of the key points of his campaign." And that's certainly true. He has certainly talked about it a lot on the campaign trail. Take a look.
[Rand Paul , Kentucky Senator-elect:] I would not engage in earmarks. I think we need to end earmarks. So, I'm philosophically opposed to earmarks. Earmarks is part of the problem, and we must stop it. I'm very frugal. I'm very conservative. I don't believe in earmarks. I think the whole system of earmarks represents and is in some ways symbolic of what's gone wrong with Washington. Earmarks, absolutely, are a problem and we must end earmarks.
[Cooper:] All right, it seems pretty clear, which is why an article about Paul in "The Wall Street Journal" this weekend stunned a lot of people. In the article, the reporter, Matthew Kaminski, wrote: "In a bigger shift from his campaign pledge to end earmarks, he tells me they are a bad symbol of easy spending, but that he will fight for Kentucky's share of earmarks and federal pork, as long as it's doled out transparently at the committee level, and not parachuted in, in the dead of night. "I will advocate for Kentucky's interests," he says." So, that was from the article. "Keeping Them Honest," it certainly sounds like a pretty clear change from what Paul had been promising. I talked about it with James Carville, CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist; as well as with Erick Erickson, CNN contributor and editor in chief of RedState.com. So, James, what do you make of Senator-Elect Rand Paul now saying that, basically, he will fight for Kentucky's share of earmarks, as long as they're transparent. Is that a flip-flop?
[James Carville, Cnn Political Analyst:] Well, of course it is. I mean, look, there's going to be a lot more. It's it's it's this is what happens. You have an election, and everybody is going to come in as an outsider and they are going to change Washington, and they don't even get to the other side of the Potomac before they change. And he was the most anti-earmark, anti-spending guy to ever run for office maybe anywhere. And it's pretty typical of what happens in every cycle.
[Cooper:] Eric, is that the way you see it?
[Erick Erickson, Cnn Contributor:] Well, first, I'm not sure that the quote is 100 percent accurate. I have traded some e-mails with the Rand Paul campaign, and they are suggesting to me that that maybe that's not quite right. But if it assuming that it is right
[Cooper:] Or is that them trying to walk it back?
[Erickson:] You know, it may very well be, but he did did run his entire campaign against earmarks, in fact, had Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority minority leader and also from Kentucky, backed his opponent in the primary. But, you know, at the end of the day, it's almost academic, because Mitch McConnell has made it very clear that the Senate Republicans will not in any way, shape or form go along with an earmarks ban.
[Cooper:] But but you I remember you, on election night, saying
[Erickson:] Right.
[Cooper:] specifically that earmarks would be the big issue for Tea Party activists.
[Erickson:] Yes.
[Cooper:] Before January, they were going to go for this, and that it was a gateway drug to bigger government.
[Erickson:] It is. It is very much is a gateway drug to bigger government. And if Rand Paul is backing away from it, he's in big trouble, I think, with the Tea Party Movement, and he's going to have a lot of demonstrations, I would expect, on the ground. It's disappointing, that if he has backed backed away from it. And he will feel the ire of the Tea Party Movement.
[Cooper:] Do do you think this is the first I mean, you know, they came in saying no compromise.
[Erickson:] Right.
[Cooper:] It seems like now, already, we're looking at compromises.
[Erickson:] Yes, everybody gets in and starts talking compromise. We'll see if they actually do it. Tom Coburn, John McCain, Jim DeMint, and others, they're going to make a stand on earmarks. We will see if Rand Paul joins them. I suspect he and Ron Johnson and some of the others that are incoming probably will wind up supporting them.
[Cooper:] Because, James, there's a big difference between saying I'm against earmarks altogether and, well, as long as they're transparent, then that's ok.
[Carville:] Well, I think that I think the House Democrats made them transparent. I think they changed the rules, if if to my memory serves me correctly. And, you know, they they come in, and spending is the big thing. Well, we're going to see what's going to happen on on on spending. My guess is, is at the end of at the end of two years, not very much. So, we'll see. You know, Washington tends to absorb people who come in. They're going to radical bring radical change and a different way of doing things, and it it seems like it's going to be more of the same. So, but, you know, I don't know. I think it's going to be interesting and, in some ways, it's kind of fun to watch.
[Cooper:] Before I let you guys go, I want to get, Eric, your your thoughts on Republican Congressman Spencer Bachus of Alabama. In a speech, he seemed to to take a dig at Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. He said quote "The Senate would be Republican today except for states in which Palin endorsed candidates, like Christine O'Donnell in Delaware." According to "The Shelby County Reporter," he went on to say: "Sarah Palin cost us control of the Senate." Now, the congressman's office has kind of walked that back, tried to clarified, saying
[Erickson:] Yes.
[Cooper:] that he also had good things to say about the Tea Party and Sarah Palin in his speech.
[Erickson:] They always try to walk it back. When they say something critical of Sarah Palin, they always try to walk it back. Here is the problem. I don't believe that the Republicans would have taken the Senate this year, looking at the way the map fell in the races. And, frankly, if you look at the races, the Republicans didn't have a good ground game. The the RNC totally botched their 72-hour program. Republicans did very well in in seats where the Republican Governors Association was contesting a governor's race.
[Cooper:] So, you're saying Sarah Palin is not to blame?
[Erickson:] Yes, I don't necessarily think she is. I think, frankly, some of the decisions the Senate Republicans made have a lot to do with the blame. But God forbid they ever blame themselves for their own fault.
[Cooper:] James, is she to blame?
[Carville:] Well well, I don't know, but there's a lot of walking back going on.
[Cooper:] That's my new favorite term, by the way, walking
[Carville:] Maybe, some time, somebody will run forward, but I know, yes.
[Cooper:] That's my favorite term, walking it back.
[Carville:] I know. We're going to right. Rand Paul was walking it back. And Bachus was walking it back.
[Erickson:] That's what senators do.
[Carville:] And, yes, there's a lot of things that, you know, it came out the wrong way.
[Cooper:] Well, that's what all politicians do. I'm not going to say it's just Republicans who walk back.
[Carville:] Yes, no. It's nothing new. No, the Republicans did not invent that. I will stipulate that. There's a lot of walking back going on, on a lot of sides now. But now that they have they have promised a lot and they have a lot of power, I think we're going to see a lot of walking back.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Erickson:] They will use, Anderson, your favorite phrase: "I was taken out of context."
[Cooper:] Yes, exactly.
[Carville:] Right. That's right. I remember when I said something, I said, I was I was quoted accurately and in context. They got it just right.
[Cooper:] Yes, we rarely hear that, do we? Erick Erickson, James Carville, guys, thanks.
[Erickson:] Thank you.
[Carville:] Thank you. I appreciate it.
[Cooper:] Well, after we taped that discussion this evening, we got an explanation from Rand Paul's office. A spokesman told us "The Wall Street Journal" reporter is a good guy and a quote "thoughtful writer," but he quote "misunderstood" the part of the discussion he had about earmarks. The spokesman for Rand Paul also told us that senator-elect Paul was saying that he will advocate for Kentucky's interests and quote "submit request for funding through the appropriations process, but he will not request earmarks." We put in a call to "The Wall Street Journal" to see if they stand by their reporting. We haven't heard back from them. We will continue to watch what happens when Rand Paul gets to Washington. Up next: President George Bush in his own words. Nearly two years after leaving the White House, he speaks out for the first time, revealing part of a shocking story. He says his mother, the future First Lady, had a miscarriage when he was a teenager, and she showed him the fetus. What impact did that have on the teenage George Bush? Find out tonight. And a Connecticut jury recommending the death sentence for the convicted killer who brutally murdered that Connecticut mom and her two daughters three years ago; what happened today inside the courtroom is ahead in "Crime & Punishment."

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] Happening now: The embattled GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin digging in, admitting he's even refused a personal request from his party's vice presidential candidate to get out of the race. Can Republicans across the country whether this storm? Plus, all eyes on an actual storm. Isaac may be headed toward the GOP Convention site in Tampa just as festivities get under way. We will have the latest update from the National Hurricane Center. It's about to be released. We will also bring it to you just as soon as it comes in. And an explosive outbreak of West Nile virus consuming much of the United States right now, the death toll already topping 40 people and the number of cases has more than doubled to over 1,000. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. But, first, the headache that won't seem to go away for Republicans. Just days before what should be a shining moment for Mitt Romney, the campaign continues to contend with a controversy over the embattled Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin. The Republican Missouri congressman is refusing all calls to get out of the race, despite the backlash over his now infamous "legitimate rape" remark. Our national political correspondent, Jim Acosta, is traveling with Mitt Romney in Iowa right now. He's joining us with the latest. Jim, what's going on?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Political Correspondent:] Wolf, before Mitt Romney accepts his party's nomination next week in Tampa, he will have to weather a couple of storms first, one named Akin, the other named Isaac.
[Acosta:] Mitt Romney came to Iowa with some new lines of attack aimed at getting not just his campaign, but his party back on message.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] His policies of substituting government for free people have not worked.
[Acosta:] Romney's up against a president who's spending much more time out of the White House.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] But Republicans in Congress let no, no, no, no. Don't boo. Vote.
[Acosta:] And while his running mate, Paul Ryan, has whipped up excitement for the GOP ticket
[Rep. Paul Ryan , Vice Presidential Candidate:] This is President Obama's imaginary recovery. It's not here.
[Acosta:] the Wisconsin congressman is now facing questions about a bill he co-sponsored with embattled Missouri Republican Todd Akin, who caused an uproar when he said it's rare for women who are raped to get pregnant. That bill which would have limited taxpayer funding for abortions said only victims of quote "forcible rape" should be covered. Ryan was pressed by Pittsburgh TV station KDKA to explain that.
[Question:] What is forcible rape?
[Ryan:] Rape is rape, period, end of story.
[Acosta:] Later on his campaign plane, Ryan was asked if he regretted the bill.
[Ryan:] I think we had 251 votes, 16 Democrats. I'm proud of my pro-life record. Mitt Romney's going to be president. The president sets policy. His policy is exceptions for rape, incest, life of the mother.
[Acosta:] The Obama campaign released a statement saying "Ryan may hope that American women never learn about his record, but they deserve an answer to why he wanted to redefine rape." The Romney campaign is trying to focus back on the economy, seizing on a new report on the massive budget cuts looming as part of the so-called fiscal cliff compromise. The Congressional Budget Office shows the cliff which Ryan supported would end years of trillion-dollar deficits. But it may also keep unemployment high. Still, it's the weather reports that may matter most. Forecasters are eying Isaac, a storm that could strengthen into a hurricane and head toward Florida just in time for the convention.
[Bob Buckhorn, Mayor Of Tampa, Florida:] Well, absolutely we're prepared to call it off. Human safety and human life trumps politics. I think the RNC recognizes that. The organizers, certainly Governor Romney recognizes that.
[Acosta:] And Mitt Romney will also be competing with President Obama next week. Mr. Obama is planning on campaigning here in Iowa, also in Virginia and in Colorado. That is a lot of distractions for Mitt Romney during his big moment, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] It certainly is. All right. Stand by, Jim Acosta reporting for us in Iowa. Republicans slowly seem to be coming to terms with the fact that Todd Akin is hunkering down for the long haul to November, whether they like it or not. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, is taking a closer look at this part of this story. I know the Republican establishment, the leadership, the Tea Party leaders, none of them are happy with Akin's decision.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] No, not at all. In fact, I talked to an exasperated senior Republican source earlier today who said that the Republicans at a high level have concluded they have to "grind it out for a while," since despite throwing Todd Akin under the proverbial bus, backing it up, going forward again, he still isn't going to quit.
[Bash:] Todd Akin is dug in and defiant.
[Rep. Todd Akin , Missouri:] This is not about me. This is not about my ego. But it is about the voters of the state of Missouri. They have chosen me because of principles that I stand on.
[Bash:] Appearing on two morning TV shows, the embattled GOP nominee for Senate made clear he won't buckle under the weight of party pressure to quit.
[Akin:] It makes me uncomfortable to think that the party bosses are going to dictate who runs, as opposed to the election process.
[Bash:] This was the sentence that set off the firestorm.
[Akin:] From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.
[Bash:] Akin apologized for using the term legitimate rape and now admits he was wrong to suggest the female body can somehow prevent pregnancy from rape.
[Akin:] That's not true. I was misinformed, and I recognize that.
[Bash:] A pretty big mistake from a Republican member of the House Science Committee. But generally speaking, Akin's staunch anti- abortion views match those of the Missouri congressional district he currently represents.
[Unidentified Female:] I cringed, because, basically, I agree with his stance on abortion. But the way he said it, it could have been worded different.
[Bash:] Plenty of Missouri voters say they're still with him.
[Unidentified Male:] I think people are looking for something to accuse Todd or to drag him down.
[Bash:] In the last presidential election, 39 percent of Missouri voters, nearly four in 10, called themselves evangelical or born- again, a lot, but not enough to unseat the incumbent Democrat. And Akin's comments caused a national problem for Republicans by turning the narrative to divisive social issues. It's why Paul Ryan, who co-sponsored anti-abortion legislation with Akin, called and asked him to quit, but failed.
[Ryan:] He should drop out of the race. He's not. He's going to run his campaign. We're going to run ours.
[Bash:] Privately, senior Republican sources are panicked their huge deficit with female voters will get worse, especially since heading into their convention, the Akin controversy shined a light on a party platform position opposing abortion without exception for rape. Anne Stone is a Republican for abortion rights.
[Anne Stone, Republicans For Choice:] The Republicans don't know even know what women want. They are gender-blind and I would say gender-stupid when it comes to dealing with women and women's policies.
[Bash:] Even Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who co-chaired the GOP Platform Committee, admits her party has a problem.
[Rep. Marsha Blackburn , Tennessee:] We have some very articulate, accomplished women who are elected officials at the local, the state and the federal level. They have all shown the ability to lead. And I think what people are wanting to do is to see women step forward and take a more prominent leadership role in our party.
[Bash:] What Blackburn and other GOP officials tell me is that even though they did not succeed in forcing Akin to drop his bid for Senate, they hope they at least were successful in signaling to those key swing voters, especially women, they don't stand for what he said. But as far as Akin's future goes, Republican officials tell me that they're just waiting to watch a couple of key dynamics play out. Wolf, those dynamics are, first of all, how much support he really thinks he has now that he's back from his consultant's office in Ohio. He's back in Missouri. And, secondly, most importantly, money, whether or not given the fact that the national party key outside groups have said they're not giving him a dime more, whether he can raise money from angry grassroots conservatives who are not happy that the party bailed on him.
[Blitzer:] The only person who's really, really happy is Claire McCaskill, who is the Democratic candidate who now thinks she has a pretty good chance of staying United States senator for Missouri, if, in fact, he stays in the race. There's another deadline at the end of September. He could still withdraw. That would be more complicated, but it would give the Republicans a chance to put somebody else on the ballot November 6.
[Bash:] It would be complicated, it would be financially costly for the party and for him. But it is possible. But at this point, it would take a lot to get him out of the race.
[Blitzer:] Yes. We will see what happens. Dana, thanks very much.
[Bash:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats alike are playing the blame game when it comes to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office suggesting that if the so-called fiscal cliff takes effect next year, the U.S. deficit will the U.S. deficit outlook will improve, but, and it's a huge but, scheduled tax increases and spending cuts could push the country into another recession and boost unemployment up to 9 percent. Let's bring in chief national correspondent, John King. He's looking at all of this for us. Will this new CBO report put this issue once again front and center?
[John King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] It is front and center in the campaign. Look, the Todd Akin controversy has dominated discussion in recent days. You heard Jim Acosta. Governor Romney wants to get back to the economy. Governor Romney today issued a very strongly worded statement blaming this problem on the president. He says there's lack of leadership on the White House part. The president issued a statement saying, no, it's the lack of leadership in Washington, it's a lack of bipartisanship and it's the House Republicans' fault, the president says, for not cooperating. This is front and center. Look, the Akin controversy will be with us. We're going to go into the platform discussions at the convention. But Governor Romney hopes to turn the convention much back toward deficits, debt, spending and jobs.
[Blitzer:] He's talking about those issues, he's on strong ground. If he's talking about social issues, some of the other issues, not necessarily so strong. What are the takeaways from the CBO report for both the Romney campaign and the Obama campaign?
[King:] If you're the Romney campaign, you can say another trillion dollar plus deficit, what happened to the broken promise from then senator, candidate Obama and President Obama to cut the deficit in half in his first term? It hasn't happened. The president can say a deeper recession than he imagined. No cooperation from House Republicans. The president has his answers to that question. But Governor Romney can say promise made, promise broken. The president can say, this is proof that nothing can get done in Washington and he has to make the case that he is the answer and that if you let the Republicans win the election, they will just have more tax cuts for the rich and that won't help the deficit problem where he would get some from the rich. It's a familiar debate. We will watch it play out front and center. Will anything be done in the short term? You read this report, it's pretty ominous. Pretty ominous. A recession in 2013 is possible. Higher unemployment is possible. Before the election, will anything be done? No. Potentially a lame-duck session after the election, they can deal with this. That will be handily influenced by who wins, not only in the presidential race, but in the congressional races as well.
[Blitzer:] Excellent point. That lame-duck session, if you and I think November 6, we're going to be done, we're going to be working hard between then and the end of the year because that lame-duck session will have direct impact on all the people watching us right now. Thanks, John.
[King:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much. Republicans may have more than just political storm on their hands. We're also tracking Tropical Storm Isaac, which could be headed straight for the convention site in Tampa. Plus, could Todd Akin's plans to stay in a critical Senate race mean an automatic win for the Democrats? I will ask the Obama campaign national press secretary, Ben LaBolt. He's here. He will join us live. And an explosive West Nile outbreak is spreading across the country the latest on the soaring death toll just reported by the CDC.

[Blitzer:] All right. This just coming in to the SITUATION ROOM. The Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, he's just commented on the alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States. Listen to what Rick Perry said in Indiana just a little while ago.
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] Iran again has demonstrated how its engagement in the world community consists of plotting violence and terror against its neighbors and its critics. Unfortunately this is all too often business as usual for Iran. We saw with their we saw what their dictators would do to their own people during the Green Revolution. We've seen what Iran does with impunity to its friends particularly I should say not their friends, but the friends of America. When I think about Israel. How they sow the seeds of mayhem and instability in the Middle East.
[Blitzer:] Governor Perry went on to say that the United States and its allies cannot allow Iran to develop or secure nuclear weapons. U.S. officials say the Saudi ambassador was not the only target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot. They also say the suspects discussed attacking the Israeli and Saudi embassies here in Washington and possibly in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well. Joining us now is the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. Mr. Ambassador, thanks very much for coming in.
[Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador To U.s:] Wolf, good to be here as always.
[Blitzer:] What have U.S. officials told you about this alleged plot to bomb your embassy here in Washington?
[Oren:] Well, first of all, we very much applaud the success of American intelligence and law enforcement officials in thwarting this heinous plot. We are in close communication with them as always. And I wouldn't want to jeopardize their further investigation by going into details, but we are in close communication.
[Blitzer:] But was this a serious plot? Was it just a little talk? Were there actual plans to go to your embassy and blow it up? What can you tell us?
[Oren:] Well, you can never underestimate the Iranian regime. This is the Iranian regime which is which is to get killing American soldiers in Iraq, whose president appeared before the general assembly a month after 911 and blamed the United States for destroying the twin towers, and has killed American servicemen in Saudi Arabia and just about everywhere. And this is the Iranian regime that supports Hezbollah, Hamas, that has fired thousands of rockets at Israelis and killed hundreds of Israelis through suicide bombers. We can never be anything but vigilant and take these threats very, very seriously.
[Blitzer:] But was it just talk, very preliminary stage, or was there an actual blueprint based on the information you're getting? How serious how advanced was this alleged attempt to blow up the embassy?
[Oren:] We take it very seriously, Wolf. We take it very seriously and we take the steps in accordance with that seriousness. We are always on alert. We're very vigilant. Here in Washington as we are in Israeli where again these thousands of Iranian supplied rockets in the hands of Iranian-backed terrorists are aimed at our neighborhoods and our homes.
[Blitzer:] Because the Iranian government flatly denies all of these allegations. They accuse the Obama administration of fabricating all of this and they say there's absolutely no truth to any of it.
[Oren:] Just like they denied blowing up the Israeli embassy and the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed over 100 people, they're always going to deny it. But we know that Iran is the world's leading supporter of terror and we have to take everything seriously. When the Iranian leaders say they're going to wipe Israel off the map, when they say they're going to try they're developing nuclear power, we have to take it seriously. They're doing all this without nuclear weapons, Wolf. Imagine what they'd do what they would do if they haven't
[Blitzer:] So the Obama administration is trying to ratchet up sanctions against the Iranian government. What is the Israeli government planning on doing in the aftermath of this alleged plot?
[Oren:] Well, we support the president's plan on sanctions. The sanctions have taken a big chunk out of the Iranian economy. We haven't seen that the sanctions have dampened the Iranian leader's appetite for terror or for nuclear power, and our position and the position of the United States of America, is that all options are on the table. And we
[Blitzer:] Including the military options?
[Oren:] All options are on the table and we want people in Tehran who are sponsoring this terror, who are trying to build nuclear weapons, we want them to believe us when we say that all options are on the table.
[Blitzer:] Sanctions, really let's be honest, haven't really stopped the Iranians by any means, have they?
[Oren:] As I said, they've taken a big chunk out of the economy, they've taken a big chunk out of the Iranian currency. They're causing them real pain. We want to be able to see that it's actually effectively deterring them either from sponsoring terror but particularly from pursuing nuclear weapons.
[Blitzer:] Let's talk about this other story that's developing, a huge story, a major controversy in Israel, this prisoner exchange between your government, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas, an organization you consider to be a terrorist organization. Yet Prime Minister Netanyahu is negotiating with Hamas for the release of an Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. He's been held, what, for five years by Hamas. And you're about to release a thousand or so Palestinian prisoners in change for Gilad Shalit?
[Oren:] Well, first of all, keep in mind, it's not just Israel that lists Hamas a terrorist organization. It's also the United States, it's the European Union, the international community considers for the most part Hamas to be a terrorist negotiation. And we're not negotiating with Hamas, we're negotiating through the good offices of the Egyptians and the Germans. And we're very appreciative of their contributions to this. Listen, it's a tough call. And Gilad Shalit is a soldier. You know in Israel, we have a citizen's army. We all have kids in the Army. I've had three kids in the army now. And Gilad Shalit is like a son to each and every one of us. And our soldiers have to know that when we send them out to the field of battle, to risk their lives for us, they have to know that if, God forbid, they fall captive, that the state of Israel is going to do everything in its power to try to get them back. It's a hard call. We know that by releasing terrorists we're taking a terrible risk, but we also know that we have a contract with our soldiers that we're going to do the utmost to get them back and Gilad Shalit literally is like our son.
[Blitzer:] But some of these prisoners that you're about a release have blood on their hands. They're convicted of killing Israelis and terrorist actions. Don't you think the families of those victims are going to be upset about all of this releasing these prisoners?
[Oren:] Undoubtedly. And again it's a hard call for Prime Minister Netanyahu to make. But look, it was a brave call, it was a strong call. He has to go out and face those families. Not an easy not an easy thing to do, but he has to do this in order
[Blitzer:] Doesn't this encourage the taking of more Israeli so-called soldiers to plan for down the road for more of these kinds of swaps?
[Oren:] Well, there have been attempts to kidnap Israelis over the course of many decades now. And we know that they're always trying and we have to be very aware and very sensitive to it and our soldiers and our civilians are all instructed to take the necessary precautions. And they haven't succeeded for the last five years, though they've tried many, many times. Again, we live in a tough neighborhood and our soldiers have to know that when they go out to fight for us, we're going to be right behind them with everything we have.
[Blitzer:] When is this exchange going to happen?
[Oren:] The next few days. Again I can't go into details about it, but we hope to have Gilad home soon, reunited with his family. Early as possible.
[Blitzer:] And these Palestinian prisoners would go to Gaza, is that what would happen?
[Oren:] Some would go away from Gaza, not be actually returned to their homes. Some of them would actually be sent abroad.
[Blitzer:] Sent abroad.
[Oren:] That's the deal.
[Blitzer:] And this wouldn't be the first time you've had a lopsided swap like this in Israel's history.
[Oren:] Well, it's lopsided because we value human life. That's what we're about. As I say, we care about our citizens, we certainly about our soldiers, about our children. That's what distinguishes us from the terrorists. They say they honor death and we honor life, well, I'll second that. It's absolutely true.
[Blitzer:] Mr. Ambassador, thanks for coming in.
[Oren:] As always.
[Blitzer:] Appreciate it. A congratulatory message from the man who replaced Osama bin Laden. It may surprise you who the new leader of al Qaeda is praising. Stand by.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Three teenaged girls accused of running a prostitution house using social media. We're "On the Case." The IRS says it could read your e-mails without a warrant. And in a fight between a gun and bat, bat wins. Plus Madonna hitting back against international claims that she is a diva. And Republicans admit they need new faces, but apparently they include this one. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
[Baldwin:] Hour two. I'm Brooke Baldwin, beginning with breaking news here in the world of weather reports of a tornado moving right now over Alabama. Now three teenaged girls charged with a shocking crime, running a prostitution ring, enslaving young girls out of this Ottawa townhouse, luring their victims through social media, pimping them out to johns, some who raped them, others who sent them home after realizing they were sex slaves. One of these alleged ringleaders even boasted about it on Twitter, called her victims hos, tweeting that she was quote, unquote "the female Bill Gates." The accused were just 15 and 16 at the time. Police raided that home. They found cell phones. Those cell phones had nude photos of these alleged victims and along with names and phone numbers of men willing to pay for sex. These johns recruited from online dating sites like Lavalife, Quest. I'm joined now by former host of "America's Most Wanted" John Walsh, live from New York. John, good to see you here. A lot of questions come to mind. Obviously, the first for me is when you think of sex slavery, I don't think of ringleaders of some group being 15- and 16-year-olds. Does that help them, I don't know, lure these younger victims, gain trust?
[John Walsh, Former Host, "america's Most Wanted":] I think you're right, Brooke. You know, social media can be a great tool. The Internet's a wonderful, wonderful, super information highway, but it's also a dangerous place. So these younger gals have figured out how to exploit other girls. For example, I know this is in Canada which has problems, but the United States is the number one country that is the number one offender of sex trafficking, and we are the country that uses children for sex trafficking. Last year, for example, the FBI took down 100 pimps around the country and they recovered over 2,000 kids that were between 13 and 14. So this is just a lower age of pimps using social networking to exploit children.
[Baldwin:] But then, John, also to hear about these alleged offenders here boasting on Twitter, and again, the power of social media as you talk about that. In all of your years here, have you ever heard of something like this?
[Walsh:] Well, in other countries I have about done sex trafficking cases all over the world. And in other cases, the pimps are younger and they exploit younger children than themselves. But this is really kind of unique, and I have got to give the police in Canada a lot of credit for going after these victims because they will be tried as juveniles, they may, you know, only pay a penalty of a couple of years, but it's a tough, uncomfortable subject, and I think cops are getting better at it. Who's not getting better at it are parents monitoring what their kids on social doing on social networking Web sites. That child is your responsibility until they're 18 years old. Whether they're a victim or whether they're a pimp, somebody needs to jump in here and see what these kids are doing.
[Baldwin:] Good takeaway for parents, certainly sharing the responsibility and watching their kids closely. John Walsh, thank you.
[Walsh:] Thank you, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] President Obama called families of Newtown victims today after the Senate voted to end the filibuster against tougher gun laws, the threat of that filibuster. The Senate voted 68-31 to kick-start a major debate on gun control legislation. The White House says today's procedural vote is a big step, but the real battle is just getting started.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] We have been encouraged by bipartisan progress on this very important package of proposals. There is still work to be done. This was simply, while very important, a first stage in an effort to get sensible commonsense legislation that would reduce gun violence in America while protecting Americans' Second Amendment rights signed into law.
[Baldwin:] As we mentioned, this is the very beginning. Any gun control legislation the U.S. Senate might pass would face steep hurdles in the House. Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner says he will wait and see what the Senate produces.
[Rep. John Boehner , Speaker Of The House:] Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of these victims. And I fully expect that the House will act in some way, shape, or form. But to make a blanket commitment without knowing what the underlying bill is, I think, would be irresponsible on my part. The Senate has to produce a bill. And I have made clear if they produce a bill, we will review it and take it from there.
[Baldwin:] And the NRA made one thing crystal-clear today. It will seek political retribution against lawmakers who support gun control proposals that the NRA opposes, saying this quote "Given the importance of these issues, votes on all anti-gun amendments or proposals will be considered in NRA's future candidate evaluations." It's a question heard around the world. Is North Korea about military action or is it just testing the world? CNN has learned a Musudan missile which the U.S. believed was ready to fire when it was raised into an upright position now has been lowered. CNN's Anna Coren is in Seoul. And, Anna, what does the lowering mean? Was this a bluff altogether?
[Anna Coren, Cnn Correspondent:] Brooke, who really knows, but I think it means one of two things, either that it is testing its rocket launcher and perhaps raised it and lowered it just to make sure everything is good to go. We know that it is fueled and that perhaps a launch is imminent. That's according to the United States and also South Korean authorities, or perhaps North Korea is bluffing. You have to remember that we have had a month's worth of all that rhetoric coming out of Pyongyang now. So perhaps this is just more posturing. But I think, Brooke, the real factor in all of this is an upcoming date, a very important date as far as the North Koreans are concerned, and that is anniversary of the birth of North Korea's founder, Kim Il- Sung, who of course is Kim Jong-un's grandfather. There will be huge celebrations in Pyongyang. And you can expect if that those missiles are to be launched, it will be before then or perhaps on that day, which is the 15th of April.
[Baldwin:] Anna Coren live in Seoul, Anna, thank you. Here at home, two grandparents of these two little Florida boys who were abducted, they're speaking out today. Police say the boys' parents kidnapped them, took them on a sailboat, they headed to Cuba, and authorities then rescued the boys. They swooped in, reunited them with their grandparents, who had been given legal custody of these little boys. The grandparents say these little guys, they have no idea what had happened.
[Patricia Hauser, Grandmother:] They have been told that everyone heard about their sailboat trip to Cuba, another country, as they called it, and their airplane ride back to America, and that everyone wants to take their picture. We ask that there be no mention of any events of the past week. This is Cole and this is Chase.
[Baldwin:] The boys' parents are being held without bond. They have a hearing Monday on kidnapping charges. And you ever heard the expression here don't bring a knife to a gunfight? Well, this store you have to see this video. A store owner in Chicago did something similar, instead of look on the left-hand side instead of a knife, he's got a bat. He battled bullets with a bat. But this surveillance video shows the bat was enough. Coming up next, we're talking to a former NYPD detective about the store owner's gut reaction.

[Banfield:] We mentioned before the break that lawyers for former Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky, have decided to appeal the child sex abuse convictions that their client got in court. Just 10 days ago, Sandusky was sentenced to between 30 and 60 years in prison. But according to a new 31-page court filing, his lawyers want a brand new trial. They say the last one wasn't fair because they weren't given enough time to prepare for it. This is high profile. Defense attorney, legal commentator, Joey Jackson, joins me now to talk about this. In all fairness, this was a seven-month process.
[Jackson:] It was.
[Banfield:] And there were, what, 52 original counts that Jerry Sandusky was facing. You're a lawyer. That is an enormous amount of material the evidence, the reading, the documents, the thumb drives to thumb through. Is that fair?
[Jackson:] Here's what it comes down to. It comes down to the issue of reasonableness. He gets arrested in November of 2011. The trial proceeds seven months later in June. This issue is, did they deny him a fair trail because they were not afforded an opportunity to prepare? Certainly, seven months could be deemed reasonable and will be deemed reasonable by the court. I don't think that's a meritorious argument. I further don't think in their motion, Ashleigh, that it's meritorious to say that the conviction was against the weight of the evidence or there was legally insufficient evidence. What trial were they watching? I don't want to be too prosecutorial here, but certainly the evidence seems to be compelling. I don't think
[Banfield:] boy after boy after boy with the same M.O., many of them having never known each other prior to this.
[Jackson:] Right. I don't think those arguments have any merit. Further, they were talking about jury sequestration, the jury should have been sequestered, maybe they were contaminated. I don't think that has any merit. And further
[Banfield:] By the way, this is a defense attorney who fought moving the trial into another jurisdiction. It was like apples the strangest dynamic that played out prior to trial. The prosecutors wanted to move this trial out, get a fresh jury pool.
[Jackson:] Interesting, isn't it? Interesting.
[Banfield:] It was the defense that didn't want it.
[Jackson:] The only thing that I think might have merit in their argument is they're arguing about the statute of limitations as it relates, again, to child abuse and when charges can be filed. The law in Pennsylvania was changed twice. In 2002, it was moved to say that you have 12 years after the 18th birthday of the victim. It was later amended. What the lawyers are arguing
[Banfield:] Retroactive to all cases.
[Jackson:] Exactly. What they're saying, Ashleigh, is that you cannot retroactively apply that statute. And if the statute of limitations was up upon the charging of Sandusky, then that should not apply.
[Banfield:] Doesn't the law spell out whether you can retroactively apply the new law?
[Jackson:] Yes. But they're making the argument that here the law pretty much clearly says that it doesn't apply retroactively. It applies to those people who are not statute of limitations out. So ultimately because it would otherwise be what we call an ex post facto law. Remember reading about that? Ex post facto.
[Banfield:] You're so smart.
[Jackson:] Not at all. Not at all.
[Banfield:] I don't remember reading about ex post facto.
[Jackson:] I think that's the best argument, but the other the whole argument, Ashleigh, about, you know what, it's against this sentence from 30 to 60 years is cruel and unusual. He faced 442 years, Ashleigh. The judge clearly went well below that, and that doesn't have merit either.
[Banfield:] The option the request for the defense to at least lower the number of years that he is facing because it's cruel, don't see it happening?
[Jackson:] Not at all. Don't see it happening at all. If there were errors made in the trial, was the outcome determinative? I don't think it was. It was harmless error.
[Banfield:] Couple of seconds left. If he gets a new trial, does he get out on bail while he awaits the new trial?
[Jackson:] I think based on the nature of this offense. It would be tough for a judge to justify releasing him.
[Banfield:] So he is where he is at least for the time being?
[Jackson:] I think he stays. I think he stays.
[Banfield:] It's good to have you.
[Jackson:] That's my prediction.
[Banfield:] Thank you. You're always so smart, ex post factor or not.
[Jackson:] It's a pleasure.
[Banfield:] Thank you. Have a great weekend.
[Jackson:] You, too, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Thanks, everybody, for watching. Stay tuned now for NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL, with Michael Holmes sitting in for Suzanne Malveaux.
[Michael Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] And thanks to you, Ashleigh. Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. And as Ash said, I'm Michael Holmes. Suzanne Malveaux is still out. We're taking you around the world in 60 minutes.

[Costello:] Mitt Romney is expected to pick up enough delegates when Texas holds the primary to push him over the top. He only needs 78 more delegates to hit the magic number of 1,444 to clinch the GOP presidential nomination. Romney's also hitting the trail today in two western battleground states. His first stop is in Craig, Colorado, that will happen in the next hour and then he heads to Vegas to attend a fundraiser hosted by real estate mogul, Donald Trump. Just moments ago, Fox News aired part of an interview with Romney talking about what he needs to do to win over undecided voters in those battleground states.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I can make the economy better. I can get more jobs in America. I can get competition between employers for jobs, rising wages. I understand how the economy works. The president wants to make this a personal attack campaign. He's going after me as an individual. Look, I'm an American. I love this country. I have experience in the economy that's going to happen me get good jobs for Americans so we can be secure again.
[Costello:] Well, Romney is talking about the economy. Others are talking about his decision to attend that Vegas fundraiser hosted by Donald Trump even though Trump hasn't let go of the birther issue. He's once again questioning where President Obama was born. Trump harped on that issue for such a long time that for the first time in history an American president produced the long form birth certificate. Trump has not put the issue to rest, but Romney welcomes Trump's support. I talked about that with CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Part of the job of being president is being president to the whole country and that includes saying no to your own party at time. And one thing that Mitt Romney has been throughout this primary season is very reluctant to pick a fight on the right. When Rick Santorum got up and said challenge the separation of church and state, and said John Kennedy had made him sick. Mitt Romney was pretty much silent when Rush Limbaugh attacked the Georgetown student over the contraception issue. Mitt Romney only said, well, I wouldn't use that that's not the language I would use. He's been very mild. There's a pattern here where he's seemed reluctant to challenge the right. I think he's always been concerned whether conservatives would ultimately kind of rise up against him in some ways and the cumulative portrait makes you look kind of weak.
[Costello:] But still, I mean, Mitt Romney came out and said, I need 50.1 percent of the vote. I need money to win. I need all the support I can get. I'm not to agree with all the supporters and I certainly don't agree with that part of Donald Trump's mantra, but I need his support to win.
[Brownstein:] That's fine as far as it goes but, Carol, if you think about where this election is going to be decided, both parties have a pretty solid base. The portion of the Republican Party and there is a significant minority of the Republican Party who believes who basically agrees with Donald Trump's questioning although seemingly the issue has been settled. The issue is going to be decided I think fundamentally by voters who are tend to be college educated, suburban voters who may be somewhat economically or ideologically disappointed with President Obama after 2008. But are reluctant to turn over power to the Republicans either because they see them as too ideological or intolerant or extreme and by not unequivocally separating himself from these sentiments, I think Romney adds another hurdle for himself with those voters who in the end outside of Philadelphia and outside of Detroit are the kind of voters he's going to need.
[Costello:] Checking our top stories now. Northern Italy is on edge this morning after an earthquake kills at least 12 people. Several aftershocks have been reported. Today's quake was centered in the province of Modana near Bolona. Nine days ago, a quake struck the same region killing seven people. We are going to survive this. That's what a husband and father in Idaho said right after his small plane slammed in to the mountain. He was right. Brian Brown, his wife, Jan and their daughter, Heather, were injured, but they're expected to be OK. Immediately after the crash, Heather calmly called 911.
[Unidentified Dispatcher:] Owyhee County 911, what is your emergency?
[Unidentified Caller:] Hi, I'm in an airplane and I crashed and I'm in the mountains.
[Unidentified Dispatcher:] Where are you at, Hun?
[Unidentified Caller:] In the 29 miles east of west of Mountain Home, Idaho. I need you to send a search party, please.
[Costello:] Well, they did send a search party, but because of the rough terrain and bad weather, it took 15 hours for a chopper to finally rescue them. Mexico seeing the own version of the Arab spring right now. Young voters getting active and feeling empowered. They could help decide who wins Mexico's presidential race. We'll have that story.

[Whitfield:] For some people living near an exotic animal farm in Zanesville, Ohio. It comes six months after the owner released dozens of big game animals. Terry Thompson opened their cages, let the animals go, and then shot himself to death. We're talking lions, Bengal tigers, cheetahs, grizzly bears that stalked the area, stunning neighbors and prompting scores of calls to 911.
[Unidentified Male:] 911, what is your emergency? Yes, there's a lion on Mount Perry Road. There's a big horse barn on the right. I just drove by, and there was a panther there in the streetlights. We one of those lions that are missing.
[Whitfield:] Law officers hunted down and killed 48 of the big animals. Two more were eaten by their fellow farm mates. But five exotic creatures survived the ordeal, and they were still in their cages. Today, they have been handed back to Thompson's widow. Jason Carroll is at the Thompson Exotic Animal Farm in Zanesville. So Jason, what kind of animals are we talking about, those five that survived?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, we're talking two primates, two leopards, and a bear. In fact, if you take a look behind me, that's the Thompson property over there, and I believe in one of those cages you might actually be able to make out one of the bears that has been returned. This all happened just about 1:00. There have been a lot of questions, Fredricka, as to why these animals given what happened were returned to Marianne Thompson. Well, simply because the law what little of the law has been written in this state of Ohio is on her side. The Columbus Zoo had kept the animals for about six months, the five animals that survived the ordeal. They were under quarantine. Now that that medical quarantine was over, zoo officials have no choice, but to return the animals to Marianne Thompson, who wanted them back. When you look at some of the video of the reunion there, you can see Marianne Thompson actually hugging one of the black leopards, which does show that she does have as many people say out here a relationship with the animals. But also there's a number of there's a bit of concern, Fredricka, from the folks who live in this rural community about these animals coming back to this particular area. I spoke to the sheriff's department about it. What he thought about Marianne Thompson having these animals back at this particular time. Listen to what he had to say.
[Sheriff Matt Lutz, Muskingum County, Ohio:] I know how devastated she was when we had to do what we did back in October, and if there is anybody here that she doesn't want anything to happen to those animals. She really cares about those animals. So I'm sure she's going to go above and beyond to make sure those animals are safe and secure.
[Carroll:] Fredricka, it turns out that the state of Ohio is one of eight states that has one of the basically one of the least restricted laws on the books with regards to owning exotic animals. Other states like Ohio, including Idaho, Nevada, Wisconsin, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama as well. So zoo officials, the sheriff's department, the Humane Society, Department of Agriculture all of these entities concerned about what's hamming with these animals, but there was no choice to return hem it to the woman who loves them, Marianne Thompson Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right, Jason Carroll, thanks so much. Appreciate that. Well, joining me right now Tom Stalf, chief operating officer of the Columbus Zoo where the animals had been kept until today. So is that the case, what Jason just said that there really was no choice? These five animals had to be returned to the owner.
[Tom Stalf, Chief Operating Officer, Columbus Zoo:] Unfortunately, that is correct. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium acted as a resource for the state, and when the state enacted a quarantine order, they were placed in separate areas so our veterinarians and the state veterinarian could keep an eye on them.
[Whitfield:] What kind of condition are they in?
[Stalf:] Now that the state they left the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in perfect condition, and now returned to Marianne Thompson's farm.
[Whitfield:] So what kind of concerns do you have now?
[Stalf:] There are many concerns. I was there on October 19th, and I saw the horrible conditions. This is no place for any animal, let alone any type of restricted species or dangerous wild animal. In addition, the leopards are a breeding pair. While they were at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, they were separated for quarantine and now if they place together, we're going to have more leopards, and I don't believe Marianne Thompson can care for the animals. And I'm afraid that there's not going to be proper animal care and also not a safe place if you are in that neighborhood.
[Whitfield:] Is it the issue of, in your view, a lack of knowledge of how to handle this kind of big game or is it money, because didn't that suicide come in large part because of money problems?
[Stalf:] Well, there were many speculations on what happened with Terry Thompson, and we hear how much the Thompson family loves the animals. And I can tell you that going into the home and seeing the primates in small bird cages and the filthy conditions, it clearly didn't look like love to me. It looks like there definitely needs to be some education on the proper care and husbandry for the animals and making sure that they have enriched lives, and a safe place in Zanesville.
[Whitfield:] All right, Tom Stalf, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it. All right, less than 24 hours from now, President Barack Obama and the first lady make a pretty big move in this re-election campaign. It comes as new polls show that he is neck and neck with Mitt Romney in a couple of key states. Plus, you are about to see part of my interview with Chuck, the pianist for the "Rolling Stones," the "Almond Brothers," the list goes on. Even recently, John Mayer, don't miss it.

[Banfield:] Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. Here's what we're looking at here for top stories this what are we, Thursday, already. And this is the bottom of the hour. President Obama making history, coming out in support of same- sex marriage which is a dicey political move and outraged some conservative Christians who say that they are ready to take action. Also, two overnight explosions caught in Damascus, Syria. One of those last caught on camera. You got to see it. It's quite something. Government officials are saying that dozens were killed and injured in these blasts. And normally, we are telling you about the government is doing all damage to its people. But today, this is a story about the Syrian people who are rising up. The opposition saying that they were able to destroy their own regime's intelligence agency. There was damage on the people's side, as well, though. Also, Chicago jury deciding the fate of William Balfour, Jennifer Hudson's former brother-in-law. It's resuming deliberations in the case this morning. He's, of course, is charged with murdering Hudson's mother and brother and 7-year-old nephew Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] Well, this morning President Obama taking sides in what many consider to be one of the last civil rights battles in America, same-sex marriage. In an interview with ABC News, Robin Roberts, the president became the first U.S. president to back the right of gay couples to wed.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] At a certain point, I've just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.
[Sambolin:] The president also revealing his evolution was not just political, but has been talking about the issue with his wife and daughters and that they actually helped sway his thinking. Meanwhile, President Obama's likely Republican contender, Mitt Romney, was quick to make sure his supporters knew what he was thinking at a campaign stop in Colorado.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender and I don't favor civil unions if they're identical to marriage other than by name.
[Sambolin:] Richard Socarides is a former senior adviser to former President Bill Clinton. He's also the president of Equality Matters and he is joining us this morning with some really great perspective. Thank you very much for being here.
[Richard Socarides, Equality Matters:] Good morning.
[Sambolin:] Good morning to you. So, you served as President Clinton's point man on gay and lesbian issues and were there when he signed the defense of marriage act back in 1996. How would you advise or how would you have advised President Obama on this issue now?
[Socarides:] Well, the interesting thing you're exactly right, I was there on that day when President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act and I wrote in my piece in "The New Yorker" yesterday that the interesting thing is how far we've traveled as a country that just 16 years ago when President Clinton was president, he, you know, it was clear to me and those of us around him at the time that he did not want to sign the Defense of Marriage Act but his political advisers told him, it was too much of a risk in the middle of his re- election bid. Now, 16 years later we have almost the exact same situation. We have the president who is in the middle of a re-election bid, but the culture and the public opinion has changed so dramatically and so quickly that now the president was able to reject that advice from his political advisers and was a real profile in courage.
[Sambolin:] So, you think he rejected advice on this issue?
[Socarides:] I mean, I think he was probably getting advice on both sides. It's clear that, you know, marriage in this country marriage equality is a 5050 proposition so in some places it's going to hurt him. In some places it's going to help him. It's going to change the electoral calculus. So, I'm sure he had advisers who said, no, no, don't do that, wait a little bit.
[Sambolin:] Wait until after the election.
[Socarides:] Wait until after.
[Sambolin:] Does it surprise you he didn't?
[Socarides:] I think that they realized he realized, you know, it was beautiful the way he said in talking with his wife and daughter, he realized that the issue was too much of a front burner issue to just kind of sit on it for another six months. I don't think the press and advocates like myself would have allowed it just to sit there. So I think he really did the right thing. It is really a profile in courage. Not to take anything away from him to say that, you know, it was a calculation. I mean, he showed a lot of guts yesterday in doing this.
[Sambolin:] Let's talk about how this could be divisive, according to the most recent Gallup poll 60 percent of Democrats believe same-sex marriages should be legal.
[Socarides:] Right.
[Sambolin:] Fifty-seven percent of independents are for same-sex marriage, as well. Is he putting his entire re-election on the line with this announcement, specifically with blue collar Democrats or independents in Iowa, north we saw what happened in North Carolina, right, Ohio and Pennsylvania?
[Socarides:] I don't really think so. I think it's an important issue in our country today. But I that that people will look at each of these men and take a test of leadership and I think when the test is leadership on issues like this, it's clear that President Obama is, you know, is winning. I mean, I think that people know where he stands. I mean he's been an incredibly positive he's even before yesterday he had an incredibly positive impact on gay rights as president. People know he supports equal rights. If you're a single-issue voter, if you're going to vote for or against someone because of where they stand on same-sex marriage, you know, you're not going to be your vote your mind was not changed yesterday. So, I think people knew where he stood. Not going to change anything.
[Sambolin:] I want to talk about the
[Socarides:] And he did the right thing. That was really important.
[Sambolin:] I want to talk about that. Let's listen to a bit of his announcement and weigh in on that and how personal this was.
[Socarides:] Yes.
[Obama:] You know, Malia and Sasha have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and talking about their friends and their parents, and Malia and Sasha that, it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friend's parents would be treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them and, frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.
[Sambolin:] You know, I'm watching you here as you are watching this and I'm sure you saw it yesterday and you're smiling and you're nodding. This was very personal, wasn't it? How did you feel about that?
[Socarides:] You know, when he talks about Michelle or the girls, those two lovely girls, you know he's like headed in the right direction always. But, you know, this is the conversation that families all over America are having about this issue. And, you know, when I hear him talking about those girls those young girls, you know, how our culture has changed. Look at those, the two heroes on "Glee" are two gay high school kids trying to figure out how to do the right thing and navigate the issue, you know, a show on a rival network FOX, which is not known for its progressive programming. So I mean, I think it's really a moment and that he was able to talk about his young girls in this context really shows you how far we've come.
[Sambolin:] Do you think that's what is going to happen now, that this dialogue will continue and perhaps we'll see those numbers continuing to change and people changing their minds about this issue?
[Socarides:] I do. I think the president talked about his journey and everybody is entitled to their journey. That's what we're doing in this country, having a discussion about this. So I think this will help the discussion and hopefully bring us to some kind of national consensus.
[Sambolin:] All right. Well, thank you very much for joining us this morning with your perspective. We appreciate it.
[Socarides:] Thanks for having me.
[Sambolin:] Richard Socarides, former senior adviser of Bill Clinton, president of Equality Matters and Democratic strategist, as well. Thank you very much for that. And until now, this issue of same-sex marriage has predominantly an issue handled at the state level, and it turns out state laws have been at odds with general public opinion on same-sex marriage. Christine Romans is breaking down the issue for us state by state this morning, which is what we were just talking about.
[Romans:] Right.
[Sambolin:] How that's going to affect the election.
[Romans:] You know, interesting because public opinion has evolved here, but the states are just catching up to perhaps the public opinion of 15 or 20 years ago. Let me show you what I mean. This is a trend line in public opinion looking back to 1996, pretty wide apart here in 1996. Those in support of same-sex marriage and those against it. No, 68 percent, yes, 27 percent. But look at how it's generally been closing, the gap has been closing since then. Today, slightly more people, this blue line, favor same-sex marriage. That's what the polls say, but what people actually are doing with their votes, what states are doing is telling a different story. This is how it looks right now in the states here. Twenty-eight states have constitutional provisions defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Those are the dark blue states here defining marriage, constitutional amendment, man or woman. Ten states have statutory provisions defining marriage as between a man and woman. That's statutory provisions, that's in the light blue or medium blue rather. Seven states issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples right now. Those are the ones in yellow. It's like Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and the District of Columbia. And then three states have statutory or judicial recognition of same-sex marriage but it hasn't taken effect yet. Those are Maryland, Washington and California. Those are in the light blue. And we have five in white and these five white the states in white have no statutory or constitutional provisions on same-sex marriage, which basically means they haven't decided yet but this is what the states look like even as that graph I showed you before shows that the opinion polls are really narrowing, Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] I know. That's why a lot are calling it a risky move. Thank you so much, Christine. Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. Ahead at 7:00 on "STARTING POINT," Soledad O'Brien gets reaction from both sides of the same-sex marriage debate when she's joined by Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Mitchell Gold, the founder of the group, Faith in America and longtime gay rights activist.
[Banfield:] Thirty-eight minutes now past six. And here's one to think over as you have breakfast with your kids. Kids in China are using performance-enhancing drugs for their brains. I'm not kidding, I.V. drips in the classroom, cramming for a college entry exam and that's what's supposed to be helping them? Holy cow. We'll explain. As we all take a deep breath over that, it's breathtaking. A check of today's weather story with Rob Marciano. I don't know if you saw those pictures.
[Sambolin:] Anything to keep your kids competitive, right? Good gracious.
[Marciano:] Yes, if they weren't far enough ahead as it is, now they have I.V. drips. All right. Let's go, kids. Get to school today if you're heading to school across the northeast, you'll run into rainfall from Boston, Hartford, Bridgeport. It's about to come to an end in New York City. It's already dry in Philadelphia and D.C. So figure dry the next 30 minutes and then New York, Hartford in a couple of hours and shortly after lunchtime in Boston. This front will bring in breezy and cooler and drier conditions, back side of it down across Texas, severe weather and maybe some flooding because of some heavy rain, temperatures behind the front, 66 Chicago, 77, beautiful day in Atlanta and it'll be 66 degrees once the rain passes through Boston. You're up to date weather-wise. EARLY START is coming right back.

[Whitfield:] American Airlines is apologizing for a scary incident aboard one of its flights. It happened yesterday as the plane was taxiing down the runway a flight attendant grabbed the loud speaker and then went into a tirade. She said the plane was going to crash. A passenger caught it all on tape.
[Unidentified Male:] I think it's crowded and
[Whitfield:] So other passengers and a crew member were able to restrain the attendant. A woman on that flight described what it was like.
[Laurie Grabe, Witnessed Disruptive Flight Attendant:] In the beginning it was just, it seemed like it was an accident and she was maybe a little disgruntled with her job. I just remember thinking "Wow, she's not happy" and another stewardess saying "You need to shut that off. Don't talk like that on the PA" and then when she started talking about, you know, turning the plane around. Then the plane's not going anywhere unless everybody sits down. And everybody was sitting. So very confused. We were all very confused on what was going on and obviously realized that she was having some kind of issue within herself.
[Whitfield:] So American Airlines says both the attendant and another crew member who restrained that flight attendant were taken to the hospital. The airlines say it is continuing to investigate. All right. So joining us to talk more about this, someone who knows the job quite well. Flight attendant Rene Foss. She's also the author of "Around the World in a Bad Mood Confessions of a Flight Attendant." You've written about flying from a flight attendant's perspective. So give me an idea. What kind of frustrations and is this kind of incident is it your view. Is this an anomaly or just kind of underscore there other frustrations or encounters that flight attendants have? RENE FOSS, FLIGHT ATTENDANT AND AUTHOR Well, that's some that passengers onboard kind of jumped into action tells you what about kind of the climate of how passengers, particularly post-911, how passengers are very intuitive, are paying attention to surroundings and willing to jump in. Even if they don't fully understand all that's taking place. Do you feel like that climate is pretty prevalent on just about any flight, domestically or abroad these days.
[Foss:] I do. I think passengers as well as crew members realize that, you know, this particular incident took place on the ground, but in the air, and on an airplane, the research is there. It's like if you're at 39,000 feet, you can't call 911. I mean, so people do need to recognize that we all need to kind of work together to handle a situation, or respond to a situation like that.
[Whitfield:] And there was a statement
[Foss:] That's a good thing.
[Whitfield:] Yes. And there was a statement that's been released by American Airlines, I want to be able to share that with everyone. Saying this, in part "Flight 2332 had left the gate at DFW bound for Chicago when an incident occurred involving some of the cabin crew. The aircraft returned to the gate where it was met by Department of Public Safety officers. Two flight attendants taken to local hospitals for treatment. We continue to investigate the details and circumstances and will have no further comment at this time." We did hear, k, reportedly from some of those onboard that they thought they overheard some detail about medication being involved, or the flight attendant perhaps not having access to the medication. So we don't have any confirmation of that, but that was reported earlier. So what's your view, Rene, on how the airline thus far has been able to handle this? How do the passengers in your view handle this?
[Foss:] Well, from what I can, from my perspective, I think it's been handled as well as it can be handled. It's an unfortunate situation. Clearly, the girl, the flight attendant, is suffering, and I think the airline is doing the best that they can do. I think the passengers responded, you know, appropriately from what I can gather. I wasn't there to actually see this. And you know, it's like I said. When you think about how many planes take off and land every day in the world, or just even in America, in our own country, and how few incidents there really are, this is still a safe way to go and it's sort of the thing where a person is unhappy in the workplace. It's just not, it's not unique to airlines. I mean you hear about work issues at the hospital, the post office, it can be
[Whitfield:] All right. Still unclear exactly.
[Foss:] ... in an airport or an airplane, everyone pass through a metal detector.
[Whitfield:] All right. We're still not clear exactly sorry I cut you off, Rene. But still unclear what the root of what really happened there. Again, American Airlines saying they are launching that investigation and they're still in the midst of it. So Rene Foss, thanks so much, author of "Around the World in a Bad Mood Confessions of a Flight Attendant." Thanks for your time and perspective. All right. Millions of people are going on job interviews. But what you do after the interview could actually get you hired. Five things you need to know. Next in our "Reclaim your Career" segment.

[Erin Burnett, Cnn Anchor:] OUTFRONT tonight, Congress told America it saved the country from the fiscal cliff, but that doesn't add up for the USA is at the bottom of the canyon tonight. Plus, Chris Christie goes ballistic on the hated Congress and Speaker of the House John Boehner will show the outburst to you. And police say two New Yorkers have been arrested with the means and the know-how for a terrorist attack. Let's go OUTFRONT. Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, America or Homer Simpson. Like homer, we blithely skated to the precipice of the fiscal cliff believing we would sail into the sunset with a deal that made almost everyone happy, low tax rate, extended benefits. It sure sounds heavenly, but look what happens next. Yes, that's how it ends. That feeling of weightless euphoria, believes there was no way he would ever crash, there would be a last minute save. That was America today. The Dow surged 380 points on news of the fiscal cliff deal. Congress patted itself on the back. Why wouldn't they? That was a big reward. The problem is the truth. Congress sent America to the bottom of the chasm because like Homer, we're lying battered and bruised at the bottom. Why? Well, instead of cutting spending and raising revenue, which was original the point, the entire goal of the fiscal cliff, congress did the exact opposite, boosting spending and slashing revenue. They actually increased the deficit. That is the ultimate cliff dive. The Congressional Budget Office put these numbers out. They say the deal that everybody celebrated will actually increase deficits by nearly $4 trillion over the next decade. That's because by extending the Bush tax cuts for families who earn less than $450,000 a year, the deal cut revenue. Money that would have paid in taxes by $3.64 trillion and on top of that, it increased other spending by an additional $332 billion. That deal was really just a small Band-Aid on America's battered body. All it did was kick the can for two months on the automatic spending cuts that were set to go into effect today. The truth is, Congress didn't have the courage to deal with the problem now. And they left us sitting at the bottom of the precipice, but only they can get this country out. The problem is if the deal that they just did is the best they could do. On the last day of a lame duck session when a lot of people didn't have to worry about re-election, where the deadline the entire world was watching and judging them on, how can we expect them to solve the problem miraculously in two months at a new cliff deadline? After all, they've already had a lot of chances. You know, when you look back at this, it's pretty amazing. There was a debt ceiling in the summer of 2011. Remember that whole negotiation to try to get a grand bargain? They failed. This country got downgraded. They had another chance with the "Super Committee," which was charged with cutting the debt. It failed and that failure led to this fiscal cliff deadline, which was supposed to be so draconian and frightening that it would force a grand bargain on taxes and entitlement promises. We know there are a lot of smart and thoughtful people in Congress. People who know the right thing to do, might cost them re- election, and are willing to lose because of that. I believe that as an American citizen, but if this deadline didn't get them to step up, what will? OUTFRONT tonight, Bill Gross, PIMCO is the largest mutual fund. Bill, always good to see you. You know
[Bill Gross, Founder And Co-cio, Pimco:] Thank you, Erin.
[Burnett:] It's sort of a depressing situation in a sense, right. You look at the it's kicking the can down the road essentially for two months. We got another cliff coming. We got the whole debt ceiling debate coming again. How dangerous is the current situation?
[Gross:] Well, I think it's very dangerous. You just mentioned that the point in time where we have a debt ceiling, the government also has to have what they call a continuing budget resolution. They need to fix the sequester, which they didn't fix. So they have three data points in the next two months in which something has to be done. We've seen what happens in this particular case over a long weekend. So it's a dangerous situation and I perhaps not like Homer Simpson, I don't want to say do. But it's fair to say that taxes on all Americans have gone up here over the past few days. I mean, the average American wage earner earning $50,000 a year will pay $1,000 more in taxes over the next 12 months, so not only have they not reduced spending, but they've increased taxes for basically 100 percent of Americans.
[Burnett:] Which is something obviously people you know, this isn't the time to do that. You may need to do that when the economy's stronger, but perhaps not yet. But Bill, how do we get to the you know, we've talked about how "Super Committee," right, they are going to cut $4 trillion. Simpson-Bowles said $4 trillion, all of that being a down payment on the much bigger problem that we face, which you've pointed out. The IMF has pointed out. It's a $16 trillion problem in this country. We can't even get a deal now that cuts anything. We've actually increased the deficit.
[Gross:] We did that and as well, Erin, which hasn't been publicized. They continued $75,000 billion worth of tax breaks for TV and film, for, you know, basically Puerto Rican rum companies and for you know, other wind farm et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The congress is in a gift giving mode and not in a reducing spending mode, which they need to do. You point out a number of the trillion dollars that they have to reduce. You know, they've basically raised $100 billion worth of taxes here on an annual basis. We think they have to reduce spending by two to three hundred billion dollars a year. It's a fairly pathetic situation in which the American public is having less and less faith in terms of their ability to act.
[Burnett:] And I guess the question is what about people like you and your faith because as long as you still have faith, you buy American bonds, this country can still borrow for basically nothing and that enables Congress to keep spending money and saying there's no problem. Don't worry about downgrades, but at some point, people like you are going to say America may not pay us back. We can't necessarily trust America. I'm going to charge you a much higher interest rate. That could crush this country. Will that day ever come?
[Gross:] Well, I think it's inevitable. At this point, to be fair, the Federal Reserve is buying about 80 percent of all treasuries that are issued. They're writing checks for a trillion dollars worth of fed purchases to fund the Treasury, but at some point, you know, investors and Federal Reserve will run out of check writing room. Inflation will increase and the deficit will just sink us down in terms of an economy.
[Burnett:] Steven Englander at Citigroup said that the situation, the whole process that we just went through, which was, as you said, pathetic. It was so chaotic and the outcome so unsatisfactory that we're likely to see a further U.S. downgrade at some point. Again, I caveat it with the U.S. got downgraded and the interest rates haven't risen. But maybe that's because the rest of the world is even worse off than the U.S. right now and being relatively good is not being absolutely strong. So what's the likelihood you think that the United States gets downgraded again and in a way that could really affect all of us?
[Gross:] Well, you know, Erin, agencies have stated that they would the firm ratings of negotiations lead to policies, which lower the debt to GDP ratios. It's a little technical and clearly, they have not. We have not seen that over the weekend. But I wouldn't expect the agencies to do, to hold things here. I mean, they've proven in the past to do the bidding of clients and governments as opposed to investors, but the important thing is that investors should wise up before the agencies wise up. You know, perhaps a few years down the road. The situation is definitely deteriorating and the happy, good feelings that Homer Simpson expresses, you know, in your opening cartoon, basically are something to be concerned about.
[Burnett:] All right, Bill Gross, thank you very much. We appreciate your time, as Bill said, a pathetic situation and one that must be remedied. OUTFRONT next, the Chris Christie storm over sandy relief. He took a direct and ferocious stab at John Boehner. That's one reason some are calling for Boehner to lose his speaker's job tomorrow, the showdown. And the development in the health condition of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

[Unidentified Female:] The presidential race has been won by Governor Ronald Reagan of California.
[Unidentified Male:] George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st president of the United States. Governor Clinton is now President Bill Clinton. Too close to call. There it is, George W. Bush reelected. Barack Obama, president-elect of the United States.
[Announcer:] This is
[Cnn. Wolf Blitzer, Host, "the Situation Room":] The 2012 candidates are getting their shot at making history.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, "ac 360":] The last votes in the first primary of the year are being cast right now.
[Announcer:] Tonight, round two for Republicans in "The Fight To Be President".
[Unidentified Male:] Game on. Survivors of the closest Iowa caucus in history face off in the front-runner's backyard. Can we do better here in New Hampshire?
[Announcer:] Who comes in second may be as important as who comes in first.
[Unidentified Male:] You have a chance to change the world.
[Announcer:] It's New Hampshire's choice. Mitt Romney is aiming for another win by hammering the president.
[Unidentified Male:] This president is a crony capitalist.
[Announcer:] But Romney's opponents want to tear him down.
[Unidentified Male:] This would be the weakest front-runner in history. Don't settle for someone who can win, but then can't do.
[Announcer:] It's a brutal battle to beat Mitt Romney. Ron Paul came close in Iowa.
[Unidentified Male:] Freedom is popular.
[Announcer:] Rick Santorum came even closer.
[Unidentified Male:] All the campaigns say they need your help. I need your help.
[Announcer:] Will they go the distance or will these three candidates catch up by going on the attack?
[Unidentified Male:] There are people out of work down there because of what Mitt Romney and Bain Capital did.
[Announcer:] Who will be left standing after New Hampshire when the road to the White House veers south?
[Unidentified Male:] Say enough, Mr. President. You are not the emperor. Folks, we are going to take America back. I'm prepared to take Obama on. We're not being led. People are coming together. This election is about the soul of America, folks.
[Announcer:] It's another decision day in America and the people have the power.
[Blitzer:] I'm Wolf Blitzer at the CNN Election Center. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. There's only one hour left of voting in New Hampshire and six Republican candidates are anxiously waiting for the results. Mitt Romney is certainly favored to win, but second place is up for grabs and there's an intense fight underway to be Romney's main challenger. Tonight, our ballot cameras will show you democracy in action. We're going to speak to voters, track the ballots, and watch a small town count its votes by hand. And our campaign cameras will take you behind the scenes with the Romney and Huntsman teams working to get out the votes before the last polls close. We have the most cameras in the most locations. Our correspondents certainly out in force including Candy Crowley and Soledad O'Brien. They're watching what's going on Soledad, first to you.
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Special Correspondent:] All right, we're at Amherst Street Elementary School, which is where Ward Three in Nashua, New Hampshire votes. They opened the polling here at 6:00 in the morning, but they will stay later than anybody else until 8:00. That's partly because of a provision in the city charter. They tell us they expect 35 percent voter turnout of about 4,800 registered voters. That is consistent with what we're seeing, but we have an hour to go until the polls close, 8:00, Wolf, they will close the doors and then tally results and tell us who's won Wolf.
[Blitzer:] We'll count down together with you, Soledad. Candy Crowley is over at Mitt Romney's headquarters. What's going on, Candy?
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Chief Political Correspondent:] They certainly are expecting a win here tonight in Romneyland, Wolf, but equally as important, who will place and who will show. And going forward from here, is there anyone who can stand in Mitt Romney's way? That's why New Hampshire voters right now are setting the table Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Certainly are, Candy, stand by for that. As always, Anderson Cooper will be with us every step of the way Anderson.
[Cooper:] That's right, Wolf. Less than an hour from now, the last open polling places are going to close. We already have results from two very small towns that traditionally vote overnight. In Dixville Notch, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman tied with two votes each. In Hart's location, Romney won with five votes. As new results come in, John King is going to map them out at the "Magic Wall" and Erin Burnett is going to break them down for us at the polling center first let's go to John John.
[John King, Host, "john King Usa":] Anderson, thanks. You mentioned Dixville Notch, Hart's location. They've already filled in on the map. Remember four years ago, the map showed the big surprise when Hillary Clinton surged late to beat Barack Obama. Will that happen tonight? Well here are some key places to look in the state of New Hampshire. If you come down here to the southern part of the state, remember Mitt Romney is the former Massachusetts governor. A lot of Massachusetts transplants down here, a lot of the undeclared voters, the so-called Independents who are allowed to vote in the Republican primary. Romney needs to do well down here in this part of the state. Over here, the most Democratic area of the state. If Ron Paul is going to reproduce some of that Iowa magic, the Dartmouth College campus will be one place he gets votes and will all the attacks on Romney this week work? Watch Manchester down in here, pretty blue- collar voters there. If the attacks on Romney as a heartless capitalist are beginning to take a toll, we will see it right there Anderson.
[Cooper:] John thanks very much. Erin Burnett has exit poll information. You got some early exit poll information, what are you seeing?
[Erin Burnett, Host, "outfront":] All right, well here's what we're seeing so far interesting and obviously a stark contrast to Iowa, everyone. Views on fiscal issues, taxes and spending, I saw this in Manchester yesterday talking to folks. You see very conservative here, 67 percent of voters very or somewhat conservative on fiscal issues, stark contrast to Iowa though on the other category. We're going to break this down, let you know who where these votes are going, but when you look at social issues such as abortion, 60 percent in New Hampshire moderate or liberal, so we'll see what that means for someone like Rick Santorum tonight Anderson.
[Cooper:] Right and we've been seeing reaction to Rick Santorum on the campaign trail, very different than what we saw in Iowa in terms of social issues. Our analysts are going to help us put all this in perspective. Gloria Borger, David Gergen are working their sources, along with the "Best Political Team" here in the Election Center and out in the field including top strategists from past presidential campaigns a lot to cover, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Anderson, thank you. Let's check in some of our reporters out at various campaign headquarters right now. Dana bash is at Ron Paul headquarters. Jim Acosta is at Jon Huntsman's headquarters. Candy Crowley, as you know, is at Romney headquarters. Candy, let me go back to you for a moment. Is there going to be a big crowd over there? You got a big room, a little room, set the scene for us.
[Crowley:] Well let me see if I can sort of step out of the way and try to give you an idea of how small this room is. There is in fact, I don't know David if you can do it, the podium is right behind me and there are going to be more people to the side and behind Mitt Romney than in front of him. It's one of these smaller rooms. I've seen for what clearly is expected to be a victory celebration. It was even smaller than Des Moines and we thought the Des Moines room couldn't get smaller, by the way. They are here. They've got their confetti cannons. They clearly expect a win. And I will tell you that the picture will look great. And we all know that the message coming out of New Hampshire is for the rest of the country, it's for South Carolina, it's for Florida. So the picture will look great, but it is a very tight and small room, Wolf, and but it will nonetheless be a victory celebration.
[Blitzer:] Certainly we'll assuming he wins and we all assume that will be the case. Let's go to Jim Acosta right now. He's at Jon Huntsman's headquarters. They would love to come in second tonight. There's going to be a fight for second we assume between Huntsman and Ron Paul.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn National Political Correspondent:] That's right, Wolf. It is New Hampshire or bust for Jon Huntsman. He has bet big on this state. One indication of that they actually moved their national campaign headquarters to this room where I'm standing right now in Manchester. I'm joined now by campaign spokesman Jake Suski and Jake, you were telling me just a few moments ago that this nerve center which is sort of like the little engine that could, it's picked up an activity in the last couple of days.
[Jake Suski, Huntsman Campaign Spokesman:] Absolutely. Just a few days ago, we were at seven percent in the polls. The governor did his 160th event in this state and all of a sudden after strong performances in the debate people are really responding. They're responding to this country first moment in the debate with Mitt Romney and his message about restoring trust and dealing with our economic deficit.
[Acosta:] OK. Thanks very much, Jake, and earlier today I had a chance to talk to Jon Huntsman and I asked him about the expectations here, Wolf. He was very honest. He was very blunt. He said if we don't do well here, make no mistake, things might change for his campaign Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right, we'll check back with you. Dana Bash is over at Ron Paul's headquarters right now. Dana, what's the scene like over there?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] Well the scene is we're in Candy talked about it being a relatively small room for Mitt Romney. It's also very small here. This is where Ron Paul supporters are going to be coming relatively soon. They're going to be standing and they're going to be watching the stage. We talk about the fact that Ron Paul says that he has a consistent message. Well guess what, this is also consistent. You remember I was on the stage last week, same podium, same placard, same background, even the same balloons and the idea is that he is hoping that he does better than what he did in Iowa. He did third in Iowa, was very good, but they're really hoping inside the Paul campaign that he gets a strong second because what that means for Ron Paul is the ability to raise more money and to keep the campaign going for the long haul. This is not somebody who wants to give up by any means whatsoever. I'm hearing from inside the war room, which is really buzzing as well inside the Paul campaign that they are feeling very good with the numbers that they are seeing and they feel that their message is really playing here in terms of their libertarian sensibility. That really plays well in this "Live Free or Die" state. Before I go back to you, Wolf, I just want to give you a behind the scenes look for our viewers as well. This is you know you saw it back there, what we always see, the candidate on the stage. But this is what the candidate sees, the sea of cameras. This is the view that they get when they give their speech, whether it's a happy speech or whether it's a little bit of a disappointment. This is what they see. Pretty good showing of cameras here and this is pretty much what I think you would see at all of the candidate's headquarters across the state today.
[Blitzer:] I love it when you take us behind the scenes like that, Dana. Thanks very much. Let's bring in Dan Lothian right now. He's over at Chichester, New Hampshire. Dan, you're at a polling station. Walk us through what's going on because I see they're already counting ballots.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] They are, Wolf, but in fact let's just spin around if we can. This is the box where all the ballots were in right there. They just opened up that box a while ago. They set up these tables here with 12 volunteers. Now, there are a lot of small towns around the state of New Hampshire that have decided not to do the electronic way of counting, so instead they bring in volunteers like you see here. They set up these tables. Put a dozen volunteers and the first thing that they're doing right now is that they're separating all of the different pieces of paper and then they'll be counting the paper. They're not looking right now at the color or whose name is on there, who's on the ballot right now. They're just making sure that they have an accurate count of all the pieces of paper. Then they are separating them. They will be separating them as you've seen some of the workers here, volunteers separating the pink ones and the blue ones, pink ones being Republican, blue ones being Democrat. It is a long process that will take about an hour and a half at these tables right here where they'll be tabulating all of the different ballots that they have. First of all, they'll separate them by the Democrats and Republicans and then they'll separate them by the candidates. The major candidates and then the minor candidates and then out loud, we will be able to witness them giving the count. There are two people here, so you always have someone backing you up. It's a redundancy system here because they want to make sure that everything that they do is very accurate and after they're done, they'll announce the number, take it downstairs, fill out the paperwork, and a police officer will take the ballots from here all the way to Concord Wolf.
[Blitzer:] This transparency is great and our viewers get a chance to see what's going on. Dan thanks very, very much. Vote results are in fact coming in and you can see the latest numbers right at the bottom of your screen. Stand by for more live ballot cams as the votes are counted. We'll also check in with our own John King. He's over at the "Magic Wall". He's tracking the votes county-by-county our coverage only just beginning.

[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Anchor:] Let's go straight to the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr who has some new information from her sources Barbara.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] We have just gotten a statement from I'm sorry, I'm having trouble in my ear. Am I still with
[Verjee:] Yes, go ahead. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. We may have lost her momentarily. But you're looking at picture that if I remember correctly Moammar Gadhafi in the Babalazazia compound with one of his grandchildren. This is another one, a piece of video, showing him speaking. He was really known for a lot of the fiery and long speeches that he has been giving over the years. We don't know whether this man is alive or dead. CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon. Let's see if we can connect with her. Barbara, if we are trying to connect with Barbara. Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout.
[Kristie Lu Stout, Cnn:] All right, Zain, thank you for that. And just to recap this historic news as breaking this hour. The NTC in Libya, they have been reporting that Moammar Gadhafi has been captured in Sirte. There were also reports out there that the former Libyan leader may have been killed. And we are working on confirmation of these reports, but again world reaction is coming in to us as we're hearing this. If confirmed, this would represent the end of Moammar Gadhafi's 42 years in power and a new era for Libya. Now a civil war has been dragging on in Libya for the past 8 months. We've been covering it non-stop here on CNN. Tripoli, the Libyan capital, fell late August. The city of Sirte, Moammar Gadhafi's hometown was reportedly captured by NTC fighters today just hours ago before this new story about Moammar Gadhafi broke. We're continuing to follow all lines of this story for you, tapping into our correspondents across the world. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Mohammed Jamjoom getting wider reaction, especially Arab Spring implications from Abu Dhabi. And of course our own Dan Rivers who has been reporting live from Tripoli. And I understand that we may have Dan on the line for us. And if we do, if Dan could just comment on one thing that we can confirm at this moment, the celebrations underway in Tripoli and Libyans react to the news that Moammar Gadhafi may have been captured or killed Dan.
[Dan Rivers, Cnn International Correspondent:] A deafening celebration here. I think a lot of people want to believe it. Whether it's true or not, the next few hours will tell us. But have a look at the scene. You know, over here, if our cameraman marks his [inaudible] down to the right there you can see jubilant scenes out the front of the hotel we're staying in. They're all dancing and waving the tri-color flag and of this new country now. Of course, the green flag of Colonel Gadhafi has been ripped from every flag staff from the city and across the country and replaced with this new flag of the flag of this revolution, this nascent revolution that now appears to have finally completed its job in liberating Sirte and finally, if these rumors are to be true, to be believed, overthrowing Colonel Gadhafi. Kristie, we got some other news in from NATO saying that approximately 8:30 local time, NATO air craft struck two pro-Gadhafi force military vehicles which were part of a larger group in the vicinity of Sirte. It goes on, these armed vehicles were conducting [inaudible] operations and presented a clear threat to civilians. And that's unusual because the whole time we were in Sirte, I don't remember hearing or seeing any NATO air strike in Sirte. We certainly saw a plane circling at very high altitude overhead, but we never saw them actually firing any rockets, no reports of any involvement hitting targets on the ground while we were there. And there were some rumors being aired on local television that perhaps Colonel Gadhafi had been injured by a NATO air strike itself. And if that's the case that would tie in with this segment from NATO about an air strike at 8:30 this morning. NATO is not commenting any further on whether they were involved in hitting a convoy that was carrying Colonel Gadhafi. And of course we're still waiting for a definitive confirmation that Colonel Gadhafi has indeed been captured or killed.
[Verjee:] From Tripoli. We want to show you a picture that we have just obtained. It's actually been distributed by the Agence France Presse, a news organiation. The AFP got this picture from a different source. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of this picture, but it appears to show the former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi dead. He may be injured and wounded in this picture. It's really not clear the exact circumstances of this image, but it does show Moammar Gadhafi it looks like to me, this is the information that we are getting, a photograph distributed by AFP, but CNN cannot independently verify that this is, in fact, authentic. These images coming to us at the same time as you are watching. We see a man at the center blood with a blood-stained face. And men surrounding him as well. Dan Rivers was reporting a moment ago that at 8:30 local time, according to NATO, who is giving out this information that they had struck a number of military vehicles in a convoy. Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout. Kristie, we're just looking at this picture as it comes on the air right now. And we can't verify the authenticity of it yet Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] Yeah, Zain, let's just talk about this, because when you show that photograph to our viewers around the world. I mean, I personally, I just gasped looking at it. And of course as you say we cannot authenticate it. We cannot confirm it. But it does appear to be a bloodied Moammar Gadhafi in this digital camera photograph that we're looking at on our screen courtesy of the French news agency Agence France Presse. And since the very beginning, Zain, since you've been on deck covering since this story broke, we've been piecing together all these bits of facts, reports coming in from Libya. First, these reports claiming that the Libyan leader, former Libyan leader had been arrested, then later killed. Now this photograph being circulated by the AFP showing what appears to be Moammar Gadhafi bloodied there. And again this news report that Dan Rivers cited from NATO. NATO saying that NATO aircraft struck two pro-Gadhafi forces military vehicles that were part of a larger group, this taking place in Sirte. Of course, at this moment we can't confirm anything. We can just piece together and perhaps draw the dots between these very different stories that are coming our way. But one thing that we do know is that Moammar Gadhafi, Zain, he has been defiant from the very beginning, hasn't he? I mean, 8 months ago when it started as a local uprising. And then it grew into a civil war there in Libya. He stayed on. He vowed to never leave. For months we were wondering, especially the last few weeks, about the whereabouts of Moammar Gadhafi. Was he in Sirte, his hometown? We were waiting for the fall of Sirte. NTC forces claim that that city fell earlier today. And after they made that claim, this claim that Moammar Gadhafi, the former leader of Libya who has been ruling the country for 42 years, these claims that he may have been captured or killed. And that very striking image there courtesy of Agence France Presse showing a bloodied Moammar Gadhafi, a digital screen capture there. Incredible events. Now you're watching live breaking news coverage here on CNN of these events out of Libya. Let's get straight back to my colleague Zain Verjee in London Zain.
[Verjee:] Kristie, as we continue to look at that photograph of what could be the biggest fish of them all and dead and captured in that image. And it could go down as the biggest day in history in Libya. And an extraordinary moment not just for that country, but the entire Arab world. That photograph is going to have ripples through the psyches, the hearts, the minds of millions of Libyans and millions more Arabs around the world that never could have imagined that the mad dog of the Middle East would end up this way if this picture is, in fact, him and we can't confirm it. Months ago, this was totally unthinkable that Moammar Gadhafi could end this way. Abdel Bari Atwan, a journalist and author, joins me now. You met Moammar Gadhafi. You're looking at these pictures. You're thoughts.
[Abdel Bari Atwan, Journalist:] Definitely. He is Moammar Gadhafi. And definitely
[Verjee:] But we don't know that.
[Atwan:] We don't know enough, but according to the picture
[Verjee:] You will need a DNA test to prove it.
[Atwan:] Yes, definitely to prove it. But if it is true the picture is true, authentic, definitely this is Moammar Gadhafi. But I believe the Libyan would like to see him captured, would like to see him behind bars, the way the Iraqi wanted Saddam Hussein to be, because they don't want to see Moammar Gadhafi died as a martyr. They don't want to see him glorified among his tribe and his supporters. So many people will be happy, but at the same time they would be a little disappointed. They would like to see him captured and brought to justice by the Libyan court, or by ICC, International Criminal Court. So but it definitely is a happy ending to the Libyans. It is a happy ending to for the conflict in Libya I believe and for the Spring - the demonstrations, the protests, the revolution of Libya. People are entitled to celebrate. This man was there for 42 years. He turned their country to a dump of rubbish, to be honest. He didn't rebuild the country. He didn't build institutions. No good governance, not at all. The only major aim for him is to glorify himself on the international scene. So as you mentioned, Zain, this is definitely a historic moment for Libya and for the whole of the Middle East. Another revolution succeeded in the Arab world, another tyrant is removed from power. And a new democracy could emerge if things actually go the way it should be done. I mean, you know, is institution building, there is democracy, reconciliation among the Libyans, the reconciliation among the rebels themselves.
[Verjee:] Abdel Bari Atwan, thank you so much. If that photograph that we are looking at, which we cannot independently confirm, is authentic, it is over for Moammar Gadhafi, his sons, his family. We are waiting for proof that that photograph is, in fact, him. The council in Benghazi is expected to make a statement in the coming hours. We are waiting for that, an official confirmation. Here's Kristie Lu Stout.
[Lu Stout:] Thank you, Zain. That's right, the NTC leader Moustafa Abdel Jalil, he is said to be speaking to the people of Libya in a few hours. Shortly, once that happens, of course we'll bring his words, that feed to you as soon as possible. And we've also been monitoring reaction to the reports that Moammar Gadhafi may have been captured or killed. The NTC claiming that he has been captured in Sirte. And saw quite clearly the scenes there in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. We heard the horns honking. We saw flags being waved. Celebratory scenes there. But what is the reaction outside in the region and around the world? Let's bring in my colleague Errol Barnett from CNN Center to give us a snapshot of that Errol.
[Errol Barnett, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Kristie, just in these past few hours if you look at the microblogging site Twitter, the top trends are Gadhafi, Captured, the name of his hometown Sirte, and Libya. As we all await confirmation that that is, in fact, that case. We can show you this map on Trendistic which simply shows traffic on Twitter if we go back just one page. And you can see there towards the end, this time is in GMT, conversations about Moammar Gadhafi initially started as a bit of a rumble and a murmur, and the density of traffic just exploded. In this next image, we can show you TrendsMap.com. The larger the word, the more people are talking about it in that region. And you see #Gadhafi popular in Europe and particularly in North Africa and throughout the Middle East where when I look at messages from people in this region they say they are emboldened and enthused by news of Colonel Gadhafi possibly being captured, a successful Arab revolution now in a third country. Now we take a look here at just some of the messages on Twitter that we've been looking into. In the top left corner our correspondent in Libya, Ben Wedeman, makes the important point here that he's waiting for the hard evidence that Moammar Gadhafi has been captured. Too many alarms regarding the capturekilling of senior regime officials. It's happened before in Libya where the National Transitional Council has said an individual was captured and that was not the case. So CNN is still working to confirm that. But people online still reacting to the possibility of Moammar Gadhafi being captured. Here we can show you a message from a Nadia Al Sheikh saying "what a great day it'll be if Gadhafi is really captured. Not that he matters, but to mark a new beginning for Libya." Some world leaders, in fact, are using their Twitter page to welcome this news. This is from the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt saying online that he warmly welcomes information that Colonel Gadhafi has been captured by NTC forces. It's important that he is now put on trial for his crimes. And another message, it gives us a sense of what reaction is like on the ground in places in the Middle East. This is from Moez, Libya. The quote here, "women ululating from all their buildings." That's the very high pitched sound some people make when they celebrate here. "Shouts of Allahu akbar" meaning God is great, "in every neighborhood. Sound of Takbeer from the mosques" as well. I've been sharing all the information CNN has online on my social media pages. You can connect with me at @errollcnn on Twittererrolcnn. And Kristie, the point is that the for people in the Middle East, they feel completely enthused that Colonel Gadhafi has possibly been captured and that, unlike other each country has had its own unique experience with the Arab Spring and internal uprising. And if Libya was also able to oust its leader I see one tweet here saying that they hope they can now move on to stop the massacres in Syria. So people in the Middle East watching this closely as well as the rest of us around the world.
[Lu Stout:] That's right. And people also watching it very cautiously as they work to confirm these reports that the former Libyan leader has been captured andor killed. Errol Barnett with the social media reaction there, thank you very much indeed Errol. Now let's bring in our Barbara Starr. She joins us live from the Pentagon once again. And Barbara, we have to talk about what we have heard from NATO. And I'll just I'm getting some noise in my ear, but let me just reiterate this wire that we received earlier from NATO saying that NATO aircraft struck two pro-Gadhafi forces military vehicles which were part of a larger group maneuvering in the vicinity of Sirte. Is there a connection here between this NATO operation, striking these pro-Gadhafi compound? Could Gadhafi, Moammar Gadhafi, have been in that vehicle? Is there a connection between the reports from the NTC and what we're hearing from NATO?
[Starr:] OK. Do I just say OK. Oh, I see.
[Lu Stout:] OK. Unfortunately it seems that we just we're having some technical issues here. That was our Barbara Starr, again. We'll try to rework that connection with you. But let's bring in colleague Mohammed Jamjoom live in Abu Dhabi. He has been monitoring wider Arab reaction to the story. Again, the reports coming in Moammar Gadhafi, the former leader of Libya may have been captured or killed. And Mohammed, what are you coming across?
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yeah, Kristie, right now this is really the story is dominating the Arab media here, especially the networks here in the region. If you see behind, we have screens and we have Al Jazeera right here. They're showing a picture of what is reportedly Moammar Gadhafi after he was wounded or killed. They are saying that they have sources that have confirmed that Moammar Gadhafi has been killed. Arabiya, on the screen next to it, they're also showing this picture. This is what is dominating the Arab airwaves right now. This is a picture, again CNN cannot independently confirm this, but this is a still that purports to show Moammar Gadhafi some reports saying after he was wounded, some reports saying after he was killed. Still a lot of confusion and contradictory information even on the networks here. The networks here in the region, some saying he was wounded, some say he was captured, some say he was killed. Some saying Moammar Gadhafi is being transported right now from one city to another. So right now, very much a developing story, very much the news that is dominating the region as far as the satellite network stations here. And a lot of questions being asked right now trying to find out exactly what has happened to Moammar Gadhafi, Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] Mohammed, what will this report, even though it is still unconfirmed, what impact will it have on the great Arab Spring movement. Do you think it will re-energize the uprisings that we have seen, especially the ones in Yemen.
[Jamjoom:] Kristie, just from just from some of the anecdotal evidence we're seeing right now by social media users in the region, users that are really identified with Arab Spring movements in different countries here are overjoyed at this news. Even though many of them on sites like Twitter and Facebook still trying to find out exactly what has happened if Gadhafi has been captured, if he has been killed. And they're expressing caution to reports out there to make sure it's confirmed exactly what happened. They are expressing joy at the news. I'll give you some examples, one Facebook user saying "God is great. We hope the news is correct." Another one saying "you were winners since February 17." This is to the Libyan people, "you are a courageous people. And you deserve the freedom." Another Facebook user saying "congratulations, this is a great victory against the killer of the Libya people." We're seeing tweets like this emerge from countries like Yemen, countries like Egypt, countries that have expressed solidarity with the Libyan people in their uprising. And we expect we're going to be seeing much more of this sentiment in the hours ahead, especially as the news becomes much more clear and confirmed exactly what happened to Moammar Gadhafi in Libya today Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] All right. Mohammed Jamjoom live in Abu Dhabi. Thank you very much for monitoring wider reaction to this story. And then let's bring back Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon. We have reestablished that connection with her. And Barbara, earlier we were talking about or I was making reference to the NATO statement about a NATO strike that took place in Sirte earlier today, a strike. Is there a relationship between that event and these reports that we're getting from the NTC and elsewhere that Moammar Gadhafi may have been captured or killed?
[Starr:] Well, you know, Kristie we talked to NATO officials about it, and as you point out they issued a statement saying that at 8:30 local time on the ground, NATO aircraft struck a military convoy, two pro-Gadhafi forces, military vehicles moving around Sirte where this heavy fighting was taking place. We spoke to NATO officials who told us at the time they struck the convoy they did not have any reason in particular to believe that Gadhafi was inside, but now as events have unfolded, they are looking at that, not ready to confirm it, but events could be moving in that direction where that type of confirmation could be coming. NATO not ready, but they are confirming they did strike a military convoy around Sirte today. At the same time, NATO is also confirming to us that they are looking at when and how soon to end the military operation over Libya, that they plan to have a recommendation from the top NATO military official in the next few days. And then a special session of NATO's North Atlantic Council will be convened and take a vote on ending the operations over Libya. We'll see that vote could come in the next few days. The actual end of the operation not determined just yet Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] Yeah, I'm trying to understand the motivation behind this NATO strike in Sirte. From the very beginning NATO has said that its mission was to serve the UN mandate and to protect civilians in Libya. So why
[Starr:] Let me jump in and remind you, Kristie
[Lu Stout:] Why did this strike take place.
[Starr:] Kristie, let me jump in and remind you and all the viewers, this is what's been going on since March. As military forces move around the country that are pro-Gadhafi forces, they pose a threat and NATO strikes them. That has been the NATO military mission all along Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] OK. What does NATO, what is the United States saying about security and providing security in Libya in a pro-Gadhafi Libya, especially given the concern that there would be pro-Gadhafi loyalists who would remain, and perhaps an insurgency could take root?
[Starr:] Well, I think both the United States and the individual member countries of NATO now are saying that they will move to have their own relationships with the Libyans, military cooperation, training, selling of some modernized military equipment, everything that they can do to help these Libyan forces look after their own security. There still is a lot of concern, as you say, about the surface to air missiles that may be on the loose. And there is a huge program from the U.S. State Department to work with the Libyans on trying to secure those weapons.
[Lu Stout:] Barbara Starr joining us live from the Pentagon. Thank you very much indeed for that. Let's bring in my colleague Zain Verjee in London Zain.
[Verjee:] Kristie, if you're just joining us right now, this is the picture the world is looking at. We got it a short while ago. It appears to show Moammar Gadhafi either dead or wounded. We cannot independently confirm the authenticity of this photograph, but it is making waves in Libya and around the world. We received reports that there was a strike by NATO about 8:30 local time. And Moammar Gadhafi, according to some reports, may have been killed in that firefight. This was a man that ruled for 42 years with an iron fist. This is a man that inspired fear in Libya and beyond. Moammar Gadhafi has been on the run for two months. Let's go to CNN USA and join their programming. END

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] And to our viewers, you're in the SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, breaking news. Defense lawyers may be close to arranging a deal for bail in a sexual assault case against the head of the International Monetary Fund. We're going the hear from the alleged victim's lawyer this hour. Stand by. Top Pentagon officials say it's time to stop talking about the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound. Why they're so worried about all the details emerging from that one secret mission. And presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich, apologizing for attacking one of his own party's key proposals. Will that satisfy angry Republicans? Breaking news, political headline, Jeanne Moos all straight ahead. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the
[Situation Room. Announcer:] This is CNN Breaking News.
[Blitzer:] But let's begin with the breaking news right now. Accused of sexual assault against the hotel maid, the jailed head of the International Monetary Fund could be released on bail as early as tomorrow. That's the word we're getting from a source familiar with the case. Let's go right to our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He broke the story for us an hour ago, getting more information. Jeff, tell our viewers what you're learning.
[Voice Of Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] Well, what we now know is that the prosecution and the defense will be back in court tomorrow, and the defense will have a new package. I don't know the details of what's in it, but a new package that where they will ask a judge it's going to be a different judge than the judge who denied Strauss-Kahn bail earlier in the week. So they hope that he will not have to spend this weekend in Rikers Island which is where he is now.
[Blitzer:] Because the last time around earlier in the week, when the judge refused to grant him any bail, I think they were willing to post, what, a million dollars, make sure he wore an ankle bracelet, take away his passport. That wasn't good enough for the judge earlier in the week. Why do some folks think it situation might be different now?
[Toobin:] Well, the amount of money I believe will be increased. There'll be more specificity with there was no detail in the last proposal about where Strauss-Kahn would be. They plan to put forth where he will be tomorrow in their proposal, and it's a new judge. Frankly, Wolf, this is a pretty close case. There are some judges, I think, who would grant Strauss-Kahn bail under these circumstances. So, I think they are going at another just for another bite at the apple, and you know, bail applications are frequently made on Fridays. Nobody wants to spend a weekend in prison. So, it is not a surprise that they're coming back at this one, and I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that they're going to lose.
[Blitzer:] How significant is it that he has no criminal record, but, another woman has come forward in France alleging that several years ago, he tried to sexually assault her?
[Toobin:] Well, I think, there's a lot of bad news for Strauss- Kahn out there. This case looks like and again, we're very early in the process. This case looks like it's a very serious matter. It looks like it will proceed as a full-fledged criminal case against him, but the fact that he is a foreigner is the biggest strike against him. The most people who are not United States citizens have a built- in motive to plea. They don't have roots in the community. Those are major factors when it comes to granting or not granting a defendant bail. That hasn't changed. He's still a French citizen, and that's going to remain a big problem for him with any judge who hears this.
[Blitzer:] One of the arguments his attorneys made earlier in the week, including Benjamin Brafman, who is a well-known criminal defense attorney. You probably know him in New York, Jeffrey, is that his face now has been plastered all over the media and newspapers, on television. Everybody knows what he looks like. And so, there's no way he could simply escape. Is that an argument that a judge would listen to?
[Toobin:] Absolutely. I mean, bail is not supposed to be punishment. There are always two factors that courts consider most when it comes to bail which is, one, is the person a danger to the community? And two, is the person a risk of flight? Given the set of circumstances that the defense can bring forward here that he will be isolated, that he will have an ankle bracelet, that he he will be under a very narrow range, and the fact that he's so famous now or infamous. It is an argument that many judges may well find persuasive. That he is simply not going to flee, and he's not a danger to anyone, and he should be granted bail.
[Blitzer:] Jeffrey Toobin reporting for us. Thank you, Jeff. We'll continue this tomorrow, but just a little while ago, I spoke with the attorney, Jeffrey Shapiro, who represents the alleged victim in this case. Listen to this.
[Jeffrey Shapiro, Attorney For Alleged Victim:] This is a woman who's an observant woman. She is strong. She came to this country from guinea under, you know, adverse circumstances, had a lot of difficulty there, came here essentially under an asylum-type arrangement with her young daughter. She's a single mother with limited education and limited virtually no opportunity for professional career in her homeland. She came here and found this job and was able to support both herself and her daughter, was very grateful to have this job, very great until to be in a country which there are laws and justice and freedom. Hope for a better life for her daughter as, I think, anyone who comes to this country does. And I have to tell you, I have great, great admiration for her. And based upon the hours that I've spent in talking to her.
[Blitzer:] Have you prepared her for what's in store over the coming weeks and months, maybe years?
[Shapiro:] Boy, you know, here's the problem. You know, somebody who's the victim of physical assault in a rape needs lots of help in many different areas. And here's someone who hasn't even had the opportunity to begin that process, you know, to find any peace at all.
[Blitzer:] His lawyers will ask for some sort of opportunity that he can be released from Rikers Prison in New York and be released on bail. What I hear you saying, what I heard you saying is you think that would be a horrible mistake.
[Shapiro:] Listen, you know what, I'm devoted to this woman and this client. And, I want what she wants. And I want her to feel safe. And to to the extent that his freedom would impair her feeling of safeness safety and security, that would deeply concern me.
[Blitzer:] Well, explain what I'm going to let you go in a second, but explain that. If he's out in New York, let's say he's got an ankle bracelet, and he's in New York, she would feel threatened by that. Is that what you're saying?
[Shapiro:] Look, you know, this is a woman who comes from a world in which safety is not is very difficult. It's not guaranteed. There are no the police are not necessarily your friend. This is the background that she comes from. So, the idea that this perpetrator, the person who attacked her is free and can do what he wants to do, whether he flees the country doesn't mean that he can't do something in her mind, at least, and based upon her experience in the world, that could cause her some harm.
[Blitzer:] Dominique Strauss-Kahn was widely seen a possible challenger to the French president, Nicholas Sarkozy, in next year's election, at least, he was until his arrest. Strauss-Kahn downplayed his political prospects in an interview with CNNs Fareed Zakaria last year. Listen to this.
[Dominique Strauss-kahn, International Monetary Fund:] I'm heading an international institution. I'm happy with what I'm doing. I think it's maybe it's a bit pretentious, but I think it's important for the global economy to have those kind of institution working well. I have no other projects.
[Fareed Zakaria, Cnn Anchor:] When you are done with the IMF, would you rule out the prospect of returning into French politics?
[Strauss-kahn:] Maybe I will stay in the IMF for years and years and years, who knows?
[Blitzer:] And joining us now from Paris, our correspondent, Jim Bittermann. This allegation of rape leveled against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, how is the French media handling it? We know there's a cultural thing about the French media sort of ignoring politicians and their sex lives, but this is an allegation of rape.
[Jim Bittermann, Senior International Correspondent:] Exactly, Wolf, and I think it's being treated differently because I saw a little mini debate tonight on one of the television channels in which the two opposite sides were basically taking the same side saying look, you know, it's one thing not to talk about somebody having an affair, having mistress on the side. It's quite another thing when there's violence involved and both of parties of the debate agreed on that. So, I think it is this is a different state. It's a different sort of thing and a kind of thing that's normally kept under cover here.
[Blitzer:] So, is there consensus emerging in France right now, Jim, that his political career, no matter what happens in the courtroom in New York, is over?
[Bittermann:] I think so. The only people seem to be still holding out hope is a thing called the Club Dominique Strauss-Kahn which were it is a club of his supporters who are urging him to run for president. They would like to see the socialist party primary move from June 28th to later on in the summer, I guess, hoping that maybe his legal problems would be over. But everybody else two letters, K.O., knocked out, and I think that's what they really sort of feel about his political career right now.
[Blitzer:] You've had a chance to meet with him, including relatively recently. What's he like?
[Bittermann:] Well, I've sort of run into him and done interviews with him probably four, five times over the last ten years here. You know, he is a very charming guy, and you can get very personal with him. He's very open and disarming. He's a great campaigner, I can see that. But this side, this kind of dark side, I don't think anybody spotted. I think some of the members of the press here who knew him very well in fact, I just interviewed yesterday a guy who spent two years doing a book on him, and he just cannot believe these rape charges. He said he's not a violent sort of man. So, I don't know. We're going to have to see how this plays out in the courtroom if they can prove that he was guilty of this violence. This is going to change everybody's opinion here, I think Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right. Jim, thanks very much. Jim Bittermann reporting for us from Paris as he always does. Appreciate it. It's one of the biggest stories of the year and years, I should say, the killing of Osama Bin Laden. So, why are top U.S. military officials saying the aftermath is hurting efforts to fight terrorism? Also, one leader cracking down on another. Details of what President Obama is doing to Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad. And new details of Arnold Schwarzenegger's sex scandal. We know the identity of the woman with whom he had an affair and a child.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] Hi, guys. Good morning. We actually are starting out with two breaking news stories this morning. First of all, the NFL, it looks like, they might have come together on a deal here. NFL.com is now reporting that the players and the owners have agreed on something that will end the lockout. We're following it right now. We're just getting the information in. That means that the players vote will happen, I guess, a little later today in more of a formal setting. Training camp could start as early as Wednesday now, we've been told. David Mattingly has been following this for us. He's been live out of Atlanta every day, at least he was last week when those negotiations were taking place. So, David, did you just get word that something came forward just moments ago?
[David Mattingly, Cnn National Correspondent:] Reading and finding out now is that the NFL players and the owners did come to an agreement in the wee hours of the morning. And, bottom line, they're going to play some football. Exactly what the owners were asking for last week when they came out of their meeting and had a 31-0 vote in favor of this agreement. And the players still have to vote on this. But it's largely looked at as a formality, that it is going to go through. And the fans will only miss, so far, one game this season. The first game of the preseason, which was going to be in Canton, Ohio, the Hall of Fame game. That appears to be the only casualty of this lockout. So players will be able to start going back to their stadiums, going back to work Tuesday, Wednesday. They report for training camp this weekend.
[Phillips:] So, are you saying the ink is dry? I mean, it's definitely all the details have been hammered out? Done deal for sure?
[Mattingly:] What we're being told is that the vote today by the players is being looked at largely as a formality, suggesting that the terms have been agreed on and they're ready to play some football.
[Phillips:] Got it. OK. All right. David Mattingly, appreciate it. Thanks so much for calling in. That happens just within about the last 60 seconds. Also, we're getting word that the check-in and the ticketing area at American Airlines at JFK, that area has been locked down while an investigation is going on into a suspicious package. The bomb squad apparently is on the scene, investigating this unattended bag at the entrance of that terminal. American Airlines and the port authority of New York and New Jersey have confirmed this for us. We're going to keep an eye on that story as well. All right. It's getting busy already. Two minutes after the hour. We're also talking about Norway. That confessed killer is now going to court. It's not allowed actually you'll remember it's impacted the entire world as of Friday and journalists were actually blocked from this morning's court appearance by Anders Behring Breivik. He reportedly wanted to explain himself for the terror attacks which he claims to have carried out alone. And this is what we know as Friday. Ninety-three people are dead. Seven people died in a massive explosion outside government buildings in Oslo. Eighty-six people were massacred at that political youth retreat. And police say that he just rounded up the youngsters, opened fire. They all began to scatter as he continued to hunt them down and that he shot them. Bodies were lined up along the beach and that caused a lot of the panicked teens to try and escape any way they could on that island. CNN's Michael Holmes has been covering it for us since it happened. He's outside the courthouse in Oslo. Michael, bring us up to date about today.
[Michael Holmes, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yes, Kyra, as you said, Anders Breivik was meant to appear here. We were meant to be out go in. The media was going to have access. There was even talk of a video feed from the courthouse. Well, police went to the judge and said they wanted it to be a closed hearing. Why? Well, because they haven't ruled out completely that he may have had accomplices when he carried out those attacks, the bombing in Oslo and the attack on the island, on all those kids. Now what they said was they feared that if it was broadcast, if the media were in there, if he did have accomplices, he would be able to send some sort of message to them on the outside. And so the judge agreed to close the hearing. We didn't get in. And we haven't heard exactly what's happened. I can tell you that his lawyer has left the building. We saw that with our own eyes. And we are now waiting for the judge to speak to the media and give them a sense of what his ruling has been. We've just got an e-mail now from our producer, Jonathan Walden there, who said that the media is being told that Judge Kim Heger will read his ruling at 3:15 local time. That's at 9:15 where you are in Atlanta. East Coast time. And that's when we'll hear exactly what's happened. Before the hearing, his lawyer spoke to us and said that he expected that Breivik would be remanded in custody. That's pretty much what this was, Kyra, it was a remand hearing, what in the states you'd call an arraignment hearing, to decide whether he's going to be kept in custody, would he get bail, and of course he's not going to get bail, especially since he's confessed to this. Paradoxically, of course, while he's confessed to it, he's also said he's going to plead not guilty. Why? So that he can have a platform to spread his views about Muslims in Europe and their domination, as he saw, increasing influence in Europe, in politics and society Kyra.
[Phillips:] Now the victims. There was a moment of silence this morning, right?
[Holmes:] Yes, there was. At noon. I was right here when it happened. Everything shut down. The trams that are running just behind our cameraman there, they all stopped. Everyone stood, stopped still a real moment here. It has been a somber few days. There's been remembrance services and masses and the king and queen, the prince, the princess, all the political leaders have been out and about at these services. I was up near the lake where a hotel has been turned into a welfare center for the parents and the survivors of the attack on the island up there. I'll tell you the mood up there, very, very somber, Kyra, as you would expect.
[Phillips:] Yes. Michael Holmes, we'll keep talking this morning as we follow the story. The suspect in court. All right. Less than 15 minutes from now, we're going to actually hear from a man who confronted homegrown terrorism right here in the United States. And he's going to share some of his hard- learned lessons from Oklahoma City to the 1996 Summer Olympics. In Washington, the debt talks bogged down and the deadline pressure builds up. We're now less than eight days from the deadline to raise the debt ceiling. On August 2nd, the nation could run out of money, unable to pay its bills. And that threat of default has sent world markets sinking overnight. Investors who have long viewed the U.S. as a safe bet are now seeing the confidence shaken. Let's get straight to the White House and Dan Lothian. Dan, President Obama has canceled two fundraisers for tonight.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Right.
[Phillips:] And I guess that pretty much signals just how urgent this has become.
[Lothian:] That's right. It's very urgent here. And in fact, over the weekend on "STATE OF THE UNION," you heard Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner talk about how the nation is almost or in this debate, they're almost out of runway. And of course we know what happens when a plane gets to the end of the runway and doesn't lift off. So there is this big sense of urgency here that they get a deal done. And that's why over the weekend you saw the president called the bipartisan group of congressional leaders here to the White House to try to figure out, you know, what can be done to raise the debt ceiling. And then yesterday, again, the president meeting with Democratic leaders here at the White House. One thing is certain among Democrats and the president himself is that they don't want any kind of short- term deal to raise the debt ceiling that doesn't run through the end of 2012. Why? Well, first of all, they don't believe that any short-term deal will really settle some of the concerns of the financial markets. And secondly, if you have to then do this again in the midst of an election cycle, it would be very difficult. If it's difficult now, imagine how much more difficult it will be then. So that's why the president wants to get something done that takes it through the end of 2012 Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Got it. Dan Lothian at the White House. Dan, thanks. Investors get to show their anxieties at the bottom of the hour when trading gets under way on Wall Street. Ali Velshi is going to join us out in 9:30 Eastern time to show what the debt crisis means to you and of course the hidden costs of the impasse. So are you ready to hear the hotel maid's side of the story? The one who famously accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her is now talking to the media. Nafissatou Diallo gave interviews to "Newsweek" and to ABC News. And this is how she described what happened.
[Nafissatou Diallo, Hotel Maid:] I was, like, stop, stop this. Stop this. But he would say nothing. He kept pushing me, pushing me, pushing me to the hallway, back to the hallway, keep pushing me. I was so afraid. I was so scared.
[Robin Roberts, Abc News:] When did you realize that he was one of the most powerful men in the world?
[Diallo:] I was watching the news and then they say he's going to be the next president of France. Then I say oh, my God. And I was crying. I said they're going to kill me. I said they're going to kill me. I'm going to die.
[Phillips:] She also denies pursuing the case for money. She says all she wanted was for Strauss-Kahn to know there are just some places you cannot use your money or influence. You probably heard by now, Grammy Award-winning singer Amy Winehouse died over the weekend. No cause of death has been released. But if you're a Winehouse fan you probably already know she's been in and out of rehab for years. She even canceled a recent tour after stumbling through her songs on opening night. Zain Verjee joins us live from London. So, Zain, what are police saying about her death right now?
[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Anchor:] Police are saying that they are going to be conducting an autopsy today. But that probably won't get the results today. We'll get the toxicology report some time soon over the course of the week at least. But she was found dead at her home in Camden here in London on Saturday night. Fans, friends, and family totally shocked, even though she had been abusing drugs and many people said that this would be the inevitable end. People are just really shocked, they're laying pictures and flowers, even cigarettes and drinks there, too. But they really are startled. Take a look at the newspaper headlines. The "Guardian" has this. "Album sales surge as fans pay tribute to Amy Winehouse, a great British soul." "Fans of Amy Winehouse," it says, "who died on Saturday afternoon have honored the singer not only with tributes and flowers but by buying her music. Her album "Back to Black" and several of her singles have seen a surge in sales." Then, Kyra, look at the "International Herald Tribune," it says, "Troubled British pop singer is found dead at 27." It goes on to say, "As much as her misfortunes eventually took on a sense of predictability, she was a fresh voice with a novel take on pop history." And finally the actor and comedian Russell Brand, Kyra, had this to say. It's getting a lot of attention on the Internet, too. He says, "When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction, you await the phone call. I think the world has been waiting for that phone call about Amy Winehouse, but never at least for me thinking it would actually happen. It did happen and it's sad." Kyra, her parents were outside her house meeting with fans just a short time ago. They said thank you to everyone there and said that Amy was always all about love. One of the reports that came out, too, was that she had lunch with her mom just the day before. And the last thing she said to her mom was, I love you Kyra.
[Phillips:] Lot of talent, you know. That's the message. So many people fight with demons and they can't win.
[Verjee:] Yes.
[Phillips:] Zain, thanks. Congress wrestles with the debt limit, one Democratic congressman wrapped up in a sex scandal. David Wu of Oregon is accused of making sexual advances toward the daughter of a longtime campaign donor. Political editor Mark Preston joining us now from Washington. So, Mark, do we know exactly what allegedly happened? And what do you think? An ethics probe?
[Mark Preston, Cnn Senior Political Editor:] Well, you know, Kyra, we don't exactly know the details. What we do know is that the "Oregonian" newspaper on Friday evening, late Friday evening, reported a story that David Wu had this unwanted sexual encounter with a young girl, a girl who is said to be the daughter of a longtime friend, a longtime campaign donor. Now we also know that House Speaker Nancy rather Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi last night put out a statement saying she will ask for an ethics probe to look into Mr. Wu's allegations. This is very, very telling of where Democrats think this is going at this point. They certainly do not want another sex scandal along the lines of what we saw with Anthony Weiner, Kyra. So David Wu is in a lot of trouble right now. The seven-time congressman from Oregon.
[Phillips:] Well, we've been following the writing out of Oregon, obviously, Mark. It doesn't look like this is the only time he's been accused of this type of behavior.
[Preston:] No. He has had a history of having erratic behavior, erratic actions. In fact, during the last campaign, his aides were said to want to take him off the campaign trail because they couldn't trust him out in public. In fact he even sent this photo right here, a very bizarre photo, to his campaign aides right around Halloween. It shows him there in a tiger costume. Now there was no explanation of why he did that. It raised a lot of eyebrows. You know he went on to say afterwards that he was under a lot of stress. He was raising his children by himself. He had the stress of a campaign and he also had lost his father and he was seeking some medical help. But still, David Wu is not known for not unknown for controversy and certainly this is the biggest one he's having to face right now Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Mark Preston out of Washington. Mark, thanks. We're going to have your next political update in about an hour. And a reminder for all the latest political news, just go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com. The Norway attacks, the work of a homegrown terrorists, and here in the U.S. we've seen it happen before. So what has a former director of the FBI so concerned about our safety? That's coming up after the break. And out in the wilderness on a survival skill course and brutally attacked by a bear. What happened to the Alaskan teen when we go "Cross Country."

[Cho:] Welcome back. Fracking it sounds like a dirty word. And for many people who care about the environment, well, it is. Fracking involves pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals into underground shale to extract natural gas. Our next guest, Oscar nominated actor Mark Ruffalo, is very concerned about the harm that critics say fracking can do to the environment. He will be making his case in about an hour on the steps of New York City's city hall. So tell me, what will you be doing in about an hour there?
[Mark Ruffalo, Actor:] We are doing a press conference to announce the Watertodemic which is a community in Pennsylvania that about a year ago the DEP for Pennsylvania said that their water was contaminated by oil and gas by hydro-fracking. So on November 30th, the DEP of Pennsylvania allowed Cabot to stop bringing fresh drinking water.
[Cho:] So explain to us, because there are a lot of people who have heard the term "fracking" or "hydro-fracking"
[Ruffalo:] Yes.
[Cho:] but they're not entirely sure what it is. Explain to me what it is and why is it so damaging in your estimation to the environment?
[Ruffalo:] Well, there is something they call shale and inside the shale, which lies about 5,000 feet below the surface of the earth is gas, natural gas pockets. And they they drill a hole 5,000 feet down and another 5,000 out horizontally and they put about seven million gallons of fresh water infused with about 150,000 gallons of cancerous and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. And they blast this at such high pressures that it actually cracks the bed rock and allows the gas to percolate up to the surface. But what we're doing is just taking seven million gallons out of our fresh water supply. There's only 2.5 percent of the water in the world is fresh water. That's all the fresh water we'll ever have and they're lacing it with these contaminates that comes up with heavy metals and radiation and can't can't really be remediated.
[Cho:] You know the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says Cabot Oil and Gas has provided clean water by drilling new wells and putting in treatment systems. And what do you say to that?
[Ruffalo:] Well, the whole aquifer is contaminated. It's not for no reason that all of the families along one road who've all had wells had all been contaminated.
[Cho:] In fact I want to show this video, again. We last spoke to you and director Josh Fox back in February about the movie Gasland. This documentary where when you look at the at the video there, it shows residents of Dimock, Pennsylvania and they can actually, as you see there, light their tap water on fire because of the methane gas that leak under to the water supply. I mean, is that still going on there?
[Ruffalo:] Yes. Their wells are still percolating methane and that will never be probably in their lifetimes will not be remediated. Once methane enters an aquifer like that at such high volumes it's almost impossible for it to
[Cho:] What is happening to the health of these people as a result?
[Ruffalo:] Well, their children have who have been bathing in it. Now they haven't been using this water for almost two years because the DEP has been delivering them water. But when they were using it, their children were breaking out with skin rashes. One of Craig Soughtner's daughter was passing out in the shower from the high levels of methane and other chemical gases. And pets have died all over Pennsylvania from this. It's nasty stuff.
[Cho:] You know, there are so many causes out there. Hydro- fracking necessarily isn't the most obvious one. I mean, you're a Hollywood actor and you're very busy. Why, why did you get so involved with this? Why so passionate about it?
[Ruffalo:] Well, I live there. I live in that area and, you know, to me, we're facing this era of extreme energy extraction whether its tar sands or hydro-fracking or mountaintop removal and all of these things destroy our water and they tie very nicely into this idea that climate change is real. And water happens to be one of the victims of climate change and the and the extreme extraction methods that we now have, that we're now engaging in and it has to be stopped. It's time for us to move forward.
[Cho:] Can't let you go without asking you a little bit about work.
[Ruffalo:] Ok.
[Cho:] Of course I remember you most recently in your Oscar- nominated term in "The Kids are All Right." Spectacular performance.
[Ruffalo:] Thanks.
[Cho:] What are you working on now?
[Ruffalo:] I just finished a movie called "Thanks for Sharing" with Tim Robbins and Gwyneth Paltrow.
[Cho:] Written by Steve Blum.
[Ruffalo:] Yes that's right, who who wrote "The Kids are All Right". And I'm going on to do a movie with Luis Lateria called "Now you see Me."
[Cho:] And also in "The Avengers." A little role in there.
[Ruffalo:] Yes I have a little role in "The Avengers".
[Cho:] All right, Mark Ruffalo great to see you again.
[Ruffalo:] Thanks. Nice seeing you.
[Cho:] Happy holidays.
[Ruffalo:] Thank you so much.
[Cho:] Coming up after the violent protests and the civil unrest, tourists aren't exactly flocking to Egypt. So, can Egypt recover? We'll have a live report a little later on in the program. We're back after this.

[Lemon:] We're going to talk about the crisis in Japan now. There is now disturbing evidence that trace amounts of radiation have gotten into Japan's food supply.
[Mann:] CNN's Martin Savidge is in Tokyo. Marty, what did they find and how much trouble are they in?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] Hello, Jon. Hello, Don. Yes, they found trace amounts of radiation, slighter higher than normal, in two specific foods. They're talking about milk and spinach. It's of concern not so much for the immediate health problems but because of the fact that you would always be worried about contamination of your food chain as a result of any nuclear accident. And this is what we're seeing the first signs of. I should point out that these particular foods the milk was found 18 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant and the spinach was collected about 65 miles south. Two different prefectures. Why spinach? Broad, leafy vegetables, grown out in the open, so that would perhaps get the radiation falling out of the the milk is probably the cows that have been eating the grass. The grass, radiation has been tainted on that and it gets into the milk. Here's the real concern. That's what we would call a bread basket of Japan out there. They grow a lot of food. and it's a densely populated area. So if that food is contaminated, what else could be contaminated? They grow a lot of rice out there. Rice is a major staple of the Japanese diet. No reports yet of any contamination there yet, but of course you've got to understand that is a significant concern. But again, here's how low it is. If you were to consume the milk, according to government officials, for one year, the radiation you would ingest would not be equal to, say, one single cat scan, so very low levels. If you consumed it for a lifetime, though, that could be problematic. They're trying to figure out how far it spread, what foods have it and what they ought to do about it.
[Lemon:] Martin, I want to remind our viewers here in the U.S., at 8:00 p.m. eastern, we're going to do a special that's called "Japan when Disaster Struck," Marty. And we're going to talk about a lot of these things. Because this situation is not over yet, especially when it comes to the nuclear plant. The question is, there's always this concern, there's this concern here in the United States, especially among people on the west coast. But how is it playing among people in Japan. Concern about the nuclear problem or are they concerned really about finding something to eat and how to stay warm?
[Savidge:] Well, they have two huge disasters. That's the thing that we sort of sometimes forget here. You're dealing with this massive historic tsunami and earthquake, and there are tremendous shortages of food and fuel in the impacted areas. Those supplies they had are quickly running out. Then you have to worry about shelter. There are over 300,000 people that have been evacuated that are in some sort of form of shelter. Then you have the problem of the nuclear potential fallout here. So two massive disasters being handled at the same time by one single government, and all being coped with by one population. It's an amazing challenge and it would be for any nation Don?
[Lemon:] Martin Savidge in Tokyo. Again, to our viewers in the United States, 8:00 p.m. eastern, and it's called "Japan, when Disaster Struck." As you can imagine, Jon, though, the trauma and the heavy toll that this disaster must be having on the Japanese people and anyone who's involved in this situation.
[Mann:] When we come back, we're going to talk with Wendy Walsh, our psychologist and human behavior expert, on the emotional aftermath of the Japanese people. Stay with us for that.

[Alina Cho, Cnn Anchor:] Mitt Romney hunkering down for the home stretch in Iowa four days to go before caucus day. With Ron Paul close and Rick Santorum surging, the Hawkeye State is still up for grabs, and brand new poll numbers are coming out right now.
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Anchor:] Al Qaeda looking for a foothold in Libya. They just sent one of their top jihadists there in an attempt to build a fighting force. A CNN special report coming up just ahead.
[Cho:] Muslim leaders snubbing the NYPD and the New Year's tradition for allegedly spying on them after the 911 attack. We'll hear from both sides, including New York's top cop, Ray Kelly.
[Feyerick:] And they're checking the lights, they're testing the confetti. Times Square bracing for one million visitors tomorrow night. We're taking you behind the scenes of the biggest New Year's Eve bash in the world, we like to think, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
[Cho:] Good morning. It's Friday, December 30, the eve of New Year's Eve. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Alina Cho along with Deb Feyerick. So glad you're with us.
[Feyerick:] Up first this morning, Mitt Romney hunkering down in Iowa trying to close the deal. The former Massachusetts governor is the front-runner right now, a few points ahead of Ron Paul. With four days to go before the caucuses, Romney is tweaking his schedule, planning to spend a lot more time in Iowa over the next 96 hours after a quick visit to New Hampshire, telling voters this election is about saving the soul of America and that he's the man for the job. CNN politics editor Paul Steinhauser live from Des Moines, Iowa this morning. Paul, I understand you have some brand new poll numbers just out?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] Yes. This is just a couple minutes ago. Deb, let's look at them immediately. This is of likely caucus-goers right here in Iowa, from NBC Marist, and look at the top. There's Massachusetts Governor Romney at 23 percent, Ron Paul at 21 percent, the congressman from Texas. That's basically a dead heat when you take into account the sample here. Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, 15 percent, followed one point back by Texas governor Rick Perry at 14 percent. There's Newt Gingrich at 13 percent, the former House speaker, and Michele Bachmann down in single digits. She is of course the congresswoman from neighbors Minnesota. Does that poll look familiar? Looks almost exactly like that CNNTIMEORC poll we put out. So I guess this is further proof Newt Gingrich's numbers are collapsing in Iowa and Rick Santorum is rising and right now Romney and Paul tied for the top spot four days to go until caucuses here, Deb.
[Feyerick:] It's interesting. We're seeing a more confident Mitt Romney. He's kind of lukewarm for voters. Now he seems to be turning up the flame. He's even going to campaign today with Chris Christie.
[Steinhauser:] Yes, Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor, who a lot of people wanted himself to run for the White House, is going to be joining Romney. Of course, Christie a big surrogate for Romney. Romney goes to New Hampshire, you mentioned, for about that 24 hour, not even and comes right back here. Romney will even be here caucus night. Another sign he's getting more confident. Publicly, he still remains modest. Take a listen to what he said yesterday.
[Mitt Romney,  Presidential Candidate:] Sure, I want to win Iowa. Everybody wants to win Iowa. I'm not going to predict who's going to win. I think it's too difficult to know who's going to show up at the caucuses, but I want to get the support of the people of Iowa.
[Steinhauser:] Publicly why does he remain so modest? Four years ago, spent a lot of money, didn't win here or in Iowa, didn't win in New Hampshire, and that was the end of it. He does not want a repeat performance this time around.
[Feyerick:] Better to err on the side of caution. And obviously now his strategy is that he's positioning himself as the man who can beat Obama. Paul Steinhauser thanks so much. We'll see you a little later on.
[Cho:] And 96 hour, it's not a lot of time to swing an election, unless, of course, you're talking about Iowa, where more than half the voters haven't even made up their minds yet. So what's it going to take to seal the deal in the Hawkeye state? We want to ask CNN contributor Will Cain, a columnist with "The Blaze," and live from Washington, CNN contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Good morning to you both. So Will, one of the big headlines, as you heard Paul Steinhauser just say, is Romney is really pounding the pavement in Iowa in the final days. He's going to be there on caucus night, the morning after. And today he's campaigning with a darling of the Republican Party, Chris Christie.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Right.
[Cho:] What do you make of that?
[Cain:] I think Romney senses he actually has a chance to win Iowa. I don't think Iowa's been all that important to Romney leading up to this moment. He knew he could go in and win New Hampshire.
[Cho:] But it's great for momentum.
[Cain:] That's a good point. Let's explain what's at stake in Iowa. This year, political insider talk, sounds like. We have proportional delegates. You win Iowa, don't win the whole state. There are 25 delegates at stake in Iowa. If you win 30 percent, you win 15, 20 delegates. He's in to pick up a few delegates, more important, momentum. A sense of inevitability you're going to be the guy.
[Cho:] Jim Acosta is there on the trail saying the crowds are getting bigger and Romney really is sensing nothing like being at the top of the polls to energize a candidate, right?
[Cain:] That's right. I talked how many delegates you actually win, votes in Iowa. How many you need to win in a GOP nomination, 1,100. So winning Iowa actually isn't a massive step towards winning the nomination except for gaining that momentum we talked about to send a message and make people like you and me talk about him.
[Cho:] Maria, I want to get to you, because there was another high-level defection in the Bachmann campaign. First the Iowa state chair the day before, just yesterday the political director. What's going on with Bachmann?
[Maria Cardona, Democratic Strategist:] Well, I think what's going on with Bachmann is more of a reflection of how volatile this whole process has been. Let's not forget that this is the woman who actually won the Iowa straw poll a few short months ago back in August. But what it really demonstrates is the tension among Republicans, especially among the most conservative social and evangelical GOP voters, who really are struggling between a candidate who can really be their standard bearer, and at the beginning of the process that was Michele Bachmann, and then somebody who they believe might have the capacity to beat president Obama. Clearly, what they're saying is Bachmann is not that candidate.
[Cho:] What's interesting, though, at least in the Iowa state chair's case that person went over to Ron Paul, not somebody like rick Santorum. You know? It's an interesting anyway, I mean, try to
[Cardona:] No, you're absolutely right. What that demonstrates, Alina, is yet another tension among the Republican Party, which is who is that anybody-but-Romney candidate? Let's not forget, Romney is still somebody who the GOP voters don't absolutely love, and don't trust. So who is that anybody-but-Romney candidate?
[Cho:] Let's talk about that anybody-but-Romney candidate, Will Cain. Rick Santorum third in the polls. When that came out in the CNN poll a couple of days ago that was a surprise to a lot of people, despite the fact he has a very strong ground game in Iowa. You know, the big question that I have, of course, going forward is, could he pull off a Huckabee in 2012? Do you think he could win Iowa? And is it a one-time surge or is this a real surge?
[Cain:] It might be the perfect example. Could you pull off a Huckabee? Which means do you win Iowa and not much else beyond Iowa? That's absolutely possible. Could he be a dark horse to win Iowa? On paper, yes, he perfectly fits the Iowa electorate. He puts family values, social issues, social conservatism at the top of his list. That's very important to Republican Iowans. The question is, what happens after that, the question. "The Wall Street Journal" had a great headline the other day, "As Iowa goes, so goes Iowa." How important would it be, should Santorum win Iowa? He's already put money in New Hampshire but is polling near the bottom. So what happens after Iowa?
[Cho:] That's Romney's backyard, of course. Maria, it would not be a political segment without asking about Newt Gingrich. A stunning drop in the polls, just since the begins of the month, a drop in 19 points from 33 percent to 14 percent. Let's listen to him lowering expectations. Watch.
[Unidentified Female:] If you come in fourth will you stay in the race?
[Newt Gingrich,  Presidential Candidate:] Oh, sure.
[Unidentified Male:] So there are more than three tickets out of Iowa?
[Gingrich:] Sure. Depends on what happens. Depend what the margins are. Considering I'm 20 ahead in other states, it would be fairly foolish not to stay in the race. It's a long way from here to picking a nominee.
[Cho:] All right, Maria, what do you think about that?
[Cardona:] I think, again, it's a huge change from a few short few weeks ago talking about looking at the number, it would be difficult not to consider him the nominee. So that, again, is a reflection of how volatile this race has been. But I think also for Gingrich, he has been clearly the focus of tremendous, tremendous pile-on of negative advertising. But he also in true Gingrich fashion has been his own worst enemy as we have seen the old Newt really rise and say things and talk about things that are just adding to his implosion. And I think that has been the fear of the Republican establishment, if he ends up being the anybody-but- Romney candidate, that he will actually be his own worst enemy and completely implode if he ends up being the nominee.
[Cho:] As we reminded viewers, he likes to keep his campaign positive. But the reality is he doesn't have the money to launch those negative ads, and he is going to head into debt in 2012. We'll see how that plays out. Maria Cardona, Will Cain thank you so much.
[Cardona:] Thank you very much.
[Cho:] Keep it here on CNN for the best political coverage on TV. This Sunday night, January 1, Join Anderson Cooper for "Countdown to Iowa, The Final 48 Hours." Anderson will take a close look what each candidate is doing to win the last-minute support Sunday at 8:00 eastern on CNN. And this Tuesday night the country's first real votes, the candidates first true tests, special live "America's Choice 2012." Coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins 7:00 p.m. eastern only on
[Cnn. Feyerick:] New this morning North Korea threatening revenge against South Korea. North says it is insulted that more South Koreans did not attend the funeral of leader Kim Jong-il. South Korean did allow some citizens to attend, but it did not send an official delegation. North Korea responding with a very harsh message threatening to, quote, "smash puppet forces" in the south. A fight over money holding things up again at ground zero. New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg now saying there is no chance that the September 11th museum will open as planned on the 11th anniversary of the attacks. It's all over a dispute over money between the port authority and Museum Foundation, whose chairman, by the way, a Michael Bloomberg. Question, who should pay $300 million in cost overruns?
[Cho:] They're testing lights, setting up barricades and shining up the New Year's Eve ball. New York City is bustling with preparations for tomorrow's big bash in Times Square. And one million people will cram into the crossroads of the world and more than one billion others will tune in to watch the traditional ball drop. I want to go to Susan Candiotti live in Times Square with look at security and prep. What's going on, Susan?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] I'll give you an early flavor. There you go. Oh well, it blew well. Didn't it? There's confetti for you. There's action even at this early hour. The streets are clear at this time, but 24 hours from now, forget it. They're going to start to pile in here. The barricades will go up. People will be penned in. You won't be able to go out. You won't be allowed to bring in alcohol or backpacks, and there will be tight security. But they're getting ready to drop that beautiful crystal ball made of Waterford crystals at the stroke of midnight. You see the stages over there where Anderson Cooper will be broadcasting with Kathy Griffin. So they're getting ready for that as well. It's an experience the organizers say is not to be missed even in person, or on television. Take a look.
[Tim Tompkins, President Of Times Square Alliance:] Part of it, you know, you see it for years and people just want to be there in this internet age where everything you're kind of seeing on a screen, there is something intense about just being there with the spirit of the crowd, and, you know, a little bit of narcissism. You know one billion people are watching, so if you get in a hand wave to mom, that goes a long way.
[Candiotti:] Of course, security is critical here and the New York police department has been hard at work making preparations. There are no current active terrorist threats right now that they are reporting. However, authorities say they are always on guard. After all, they said they have been able to prevent and break up 14 terrorist plots in the last ten years, and they're ready with 16 checkpoints, metal detectors, they've got at least 500 cameras around this immediate area, and, of course, security officers and police, the federal authorities as well will be covering the New York metropolitan area. I talked with Commissioner Ray Kelly about being on guard against people who might be even out to take retribution after the death of Osama bin Laden this year. They always have to guard against even lone wolf.
[Ray Kelly, New York City Police Commissioner:] The lone wolf threat is something that certainly all of law enforcement, all of the federal agencies involved in this sort of work are very much concerned about. It's very difficult to identify these people. It's a big haystack and trying to pick out a couple of needles, is exceedingly difficult.
[Candiotti:] Even the commissioner himself will be out here celebrating as well. And we're ready. I've got my glasses. Ready to go, ready to bring in 2012. Alina and Deborah, back to you.
[Feyerick:] It's always amazing to see Times Square now that they changed the traffic pattern with no cars there even at this time of the morning. But, yes, testing that confetti, as they should. If the wind go up, it's going to go over.
[Cho:] Later on, we should mention that New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly will stop by AMERICAN MORNING to talk a little bit more about safety at tomorrow's celebration in Times Square. That's at 7:50 eastern time just about a half hour from now. And it is now almost quarter past the hour.

[Hammer:] Big news breaking tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Kim K`s porn shocker? Tonight, how Kim Kardashian`s wedding sparked a new frenzy over the infamous sex tape that made her famous. "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cancelled? New outrage over the show tonight after the death of Russell Armstrong. Should Bravo yank the entire series or should the show go on? SHOWBIZ trending tonight. Check out what happens when a megaphone is left unmanned on a New York City street.
[Unidentified Female:] Hey, you with the umbrella, the blue umbrella. I really like it. It`s pretty.
[Hammer:] That`s nice. But can you say nice things about celebrities you love to hate? You know, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen?
[Announcer:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York with big news breaking today Kim`s porn shocker. Yes, tonight, truly outrageous news the Kim Kardashian gilded wedding may be good news for the peddlers of her homemade sex tape. Yes, you heard it right. TMZ is reporting today that about two million people visited the Web site that hosts Kim`s sex tape just this weekend alone. So why the heck did Kim`s wedding spark such renewed interest in that little old sex tape? Joining me tonight from Hollywood, Lisa Gastineau former star of the reality show, "Gastineau Girls" and creator of the Gastineau family line of jewelry. And right now, in New York, Michael Billy is with me. Michael is a TV and radio show host. This really is incredible. The Kim K. sex Web site usually has about 300,000 unique visitors in a month 300,000 in a month. The fact that over the course of a weekend more than two million people viewed her sex tape while her wedding was happening, that`s pretty amazing to me, Michael. I mean, it`s a little bit sad. My sensitivity chip is going off here. I feel a little bit badly for her on the one hand. But it really does reinforce, does it not, that that`s what made her famous.
[Michael Billy, Tv And Radio Show:] Yes, why badly? I`m sure she`s having the time of her life with this. Look, the honest truth is, everybody wasn`t invited. So, guys wanted to be a part of the wedding in that special moment in sort of way. And the Internet allowed them to be part of that special moment in Kim`s life.
[Hammer:] OK. To be clear, badly because and well, look, she did put it out there. The tape`s out there. I don`t think she still wants it around. I think she wishes it went away. Lisa, let me get to you. I know you`re a close friend of the Kardashian family. You are right there this past weekend at Kim`s wedding. And I`m sure this was not the talk of the wedding. Does it frustrate you that after all this time she is still associated with that sex tape?
[Lisa Gastineau, Founder, Gastineau Glamour Jewelry:] Oh, wow. That`s the last thing I thought of when I thought about the wedding. I think when so much attention comes to things on a world level, people who don`t know of someone and they just read about it, they want to know more about something so it will bring that attention.
[Hammer:] Yes, I certainly can understand the fascination. People have been hearing all about Kim for months now and the big wedding. And after, doing a little research, oh, a sex tape? We certainly have talked about it here before. They may want to see what`s that all about. But however, I`m here to say that that`s not the only Kardashian wedding bombshell that`s making big news today. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you how much Kim Kardashian`s three Vera Wang dresses cost. Get this, the cost of the dress that she wore down the aisle alone was estimated to be worth over $25,000. That dress, her other two dresses and the Vera Wang dresses for her sisters and her mother they totaled somewhere between $135,000 and $150,000. Michael, let`s face it. Kim is United States royalty for sure. Does the figure make sense to you? Do you think it is probably a bigger number than that? Do you think they paid a dime for any of that?
[Billy:] See, there`s conflicting reports. I don`t know if they really paid a dime for it. But regardless of how much they paid for the wedding dress, in these financial times, I`m sorry to pooh-pooh on the parade. It just doesn`t seem the right thing to do to spend so much money on a wedding. You know, she`s got a great audience out there. They`re going through some tough times. I don`t know. It just doesn`t sit well with me.
[Hammer:] It`s a mixed thing because if you can afford it, why not do it?
[Billy:] Right.
[Hammer:] But again, if you`re going to flaunt it, why register for wedding gifts, for instance?
[Billy:] Exactly.
[Hammer:] Why not donate it to charity. Lisa, let me ask you. You were right there at the Kardashian wedding go ahead. Did you have something to chime in on that?
[Gastineau:] Well, I think, you know, there`s a conflict. You`re televising a wedding special. People are tuning in to see certain elements of glamour. And you know, people who are tuning in are not concerned of who is paying for what and how much it cost. They want to see a real beautiful finished product. And any bride will tell you that probably the most expensive purchase they`ll ever make will be for their bridal dress. And there are so many Kardashians, no matter you know, even if you bought something off the rack, just the sheer quantity of people there alone it`s going to be pretty expensive. You know, there is always that conflict. These are really tough times and people are having a really hard time. But on the same token, there`s the escapism that people tune in to watch somebody else`s glamour.
[Hammer:] Yes. I do agree with that. No, I think you`re going to have it on both sides. I think you`re going to have people saying, "Oh, my god. What is she doing given all that is going on in our world?" But I think you`re exactly right that a lot of people will say, "You know what? It`s a nice distraction whatever it cost." But let`s look at some of that glamour. We have some images I want to show you courtesy of "E! Entertainment" of Kim`s big day. What a lavish reception. I mean, it was something else. That third dress that she wore, amazing. Take a look at how stunning the whole get-up is I mean, the cake, reception area, that amazing white draping, intricate decorations. And Lisa, you were right there for all of it. And I understand you brought along some wedding keepsakes from the wedding that I presume you were allowed to take with you.
[Gastineau:] I did.
[Hammer:] What did you walk away with? What can you show us?
[Gastineau:] I only took the things that I was allowed to take. I took my place card, my seating chart, the favor afterward was a beautiful candle. There was a note pad that had the background was a picture of Kris and Kim. I didn`t do any sneaky photos or anything that, you know, would make me very unwelcome for future events.
[Hammer:] I think you should have walked away with the candelabra personally. But let`s move on right now
[Gastineau:] I should probably have.
[Hammer:] There are some other stuff we have to get to tonight. This is obviously a very explosive story still making big news today. We`re talking about "Real Housewives," real backlash. Now, "People.com" isn`t known for posting their own editorials as their big major headline on the side. I was very surprised by this. I found it to be an extraordinary move. "People.com" just posted a big headline which reads "Why `Real Housewives of Beverly Hills` Should Be Scrapped." This was written by their own TV critic and, of course, it comes after the tragic suicide the husband of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star, Taylor Armstrong. Here`s what TV critic Tom Gliotto writes. Tom writes, "In a better world, Bravo would just go ahead and scrap, not just the season, but the entire series." He says Russell Armstrong`s death wasn`t incidental to his fame from the show. Now, Lisa, tomorrow I know it`s a difficult day. You`re planning on attending Russell`s funeral. You`re friendly with many of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Do you agree with "People`s" call to scrap the show entirely? You think that`s the best move?
[Gastineau:] I don`t. I don`t. I think that the bar has been lowered so much instead of raised in reality TV. When you do reality, you are going in. You get to edit yourself. Let`s be fair. You know, everybody is looking for their moment where they want to push the envelope and be the next Kardashian or the next thing. And it`s changed where people are no longer having personal integrity. And you know what? You go in there and you do a TV show and you are allowed to be you. You draw the line of what you will and will not allow to be shown. So I think that, respectfully, perhaps Taylor should take the time off and go take care of her daughter and heal and mourn and do all the things. But I don`t think you can scrap an entire TV series because of someone`s personal issues. Do I think the show may have driven him to the breaking point? Yes, I do.
[Hammer:] Yes. And I think that`s
[Gastineau:] But in all fairness, you can`t keep secrets on reality TV. Somebody will expose you.
[Hammer:] Absolutely. I just want to get to you very quickly, Michael. I mean, this is really piling on some pressure to Bravo here. Do you think this is going to make them reconsider scrapping it?
[Billy:] No, I don`t think they should and I hope not. I mean, the reality of television and the reality of reality TV are these are adults that wanted to be a part of this and those actions have certain repercussions.
[Hammer:] Yes. Keep in mind what you`re doing is getting on tape and it will get on TV. Lisa Gastineau and Michael Billy, thank you both. I really appreciate it. Well, the "The Real Housewives" drama has sparked such heated debate. I`d love to hear from you on it. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive poll "`Real Housewives of Beverly Hills` Suicide: `People` magazine critic says show should be canceled." Are you thinking, "I agree" or "no way"? Sound off at CNN.comShowbizTonight or E-mail me. Our address is showbiztonight@cnn.com. SHOWBIZ trending tonight. On the streets of New York City, you don`t know what remarkable thing you will see or hear next. So you`ve got to check out what happens when a megaphone is left on the street with a note that says, "Say something nice."
[Unidentified Female:] Hey, you with the umbrella, the blue umbrella. I really like it. It`s pretty.
[Hammer:] Yes. When does that happen? These people said something nice. But could you say something nice about the celebs you love to hate? You know, Lindsay? Paris? I double dare you to say something nice about her or Mel Gibson or Charlie Sheen. Is there anything nice to say at all? Megan, Marilyn and bad mojo. Wait until you hear the unbelievable reason why Megan Fox took a laser beam to her Marilyn Monroe tattoo. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. Time now for the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" these are more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news tonight.
[Text:] Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck expecting their third child. SHOWBIZ first look: Eminem`s new video featuring Bruno Mars, "Lighters."

[Baldwin:] Welcome back. Four terms in the U.S. Senate do the math that is 24 years in total, and Connecticut's Joe Lieberman says, that will be enough. Here he is today.
[Lieberman:] I have decided that it's time to turn the page to a new chapter, and so I will not be a candidate for reelection to a fifth term in the United States Senate in 2012.
[Baldwin:] So, here is a guy, you remember, he was Al Gore's running mate, the Democrats' nominee for vice president. And, today, there are Democrats out there who are popping champagne corks to see that Joe Lieberman is moving on. Jessica Yellin, our national political correspondent, how did that happen?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn National Political Correspondent:] Oh.
[Yellin:] Well, Brooke you know, one year, he was at the Democratic Convention, as you point out out, as the Democrats' vice presidential nominee. Then, eight years later, he's on stage at the Republican Convention endorsing the Republican nominee. So, at that point, the question becomes, you know, who are his natural voters, Democrats, Republicans, independents? Who's with him in this environment? I will tell you that Democrats, as you point out, do feel that they have a solid chance of picking up they feel it's all you can never be certain, but they're going to pick up that seat in 2012 because he's retiring.
[Baldwin:] OK. So, Lieberman today, we were talking Kent Conrad just yesterday, both declining to run in 2010. We have a Republican- led House now. And now the Democrats' chances of holding on to the Senate just got a little smaller. I mean, big picture, balance of power here, what are we looking at?
[Yellin:] Well, in the Senate right now, the Democrats control 51 seats. With the two independents, that's a total of 53 votes going with the Democrats usually. In 2012, Democrats have to defend a lot more seats than Republicans 23 Democrats up for reelection, only 10 Republicans up for reelection. So odds don't look great for Dems based on that right now, but keep in mind, Brooke, that right around this time last cycle, a whole bunch of Republican senators announced their retirements, Kit Bond, George Voinovich, others. Pundits were predicting there would be big Democratic pickups this time, but political tides changed. So, in politics, it's a long time between now and November 2012.
[Baldwin:] Well, let me rattle off a couple of other names, because when we talk about endangered Democrats, we're talking about folks like Nebraska's Ben Nelson, Montana's Jon Tester, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and the always quotable Claire McCaskill, Missouri.
[Sen. Claire Mccaskill , Missouri:] They don't get it. We have had a lot of Chicken Little around this building over the last few months. These people are idiots. Beg your pardon?
[Crowd:  Mccaskill:] You don't trust me?
[Crowd:] No!
[Mccaskill:] We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer.
[Baldwin:] OK, OK, so we couldn't resist a little Claire McCaskill and Chicken Little there, but
[I -- Yellin:] Part of why
[Baldwin:] digress.
[Yellin:] we have always liked her, yes.
[Baldwin:] Moving on, Jess, can we assume that these endangered Senate Democrats will see their fortunes improve should we see the economy improve?
[Yellin:] Yes, but. So, yes, it's still the economy, stupid, right, that old saying. But they're all running in red or true swing states, these guys, so where it's always a fight for Democrats. So, even with an improved economy, it will be tough. This time around, you will have President Obama on the ticket. And, in some ways, that's a huge help for Democrats because he's a gifted campaigner. He will spend a lot of money organizing. That also makes it trickier for some red state Democrats to distance themselves from the president if they need it. But, again, as I say, it's a long time between now and then, and it really does depend most, first and foremost, on the economy.
[Baldwin:] Jessica Yellin, we will all be watching the economy together, hoping it will
[Yellin:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] improve, for all of our sakes. Jess, thank you.
[Yellin:] Sure.
[Baldwin:] And coming up next, this
[Fareed Zakaria, Cnn World Affairs Analyst:] This has now become a cliche, but China is the most important country in the world, other than the United States.
[Baldwin:] You know that man. We normally see him Sundays, right? But Fareed Zakaria going to be joining me live in this show in moments to tell me exactly why China is so important and how unusual it was to see President Hu there he is going out, shaking some hands at the White House this morning. Plus, check this out: icy roads. Look at this SUV icy roads in Pittsburgh. More pictures coming up. Yikes.

[Berman:] Welcome back to EARLY START. It is the most solemn day on the Christian calendar, when believers around the world mark the death of Jesus on a cross. For Catholics today, it's the first Good Friday with a new pope who does things his own way. This holy week has already had its own firsts. Pope Francis presiding over observances today. Senior international correspondent Jim Bitterman is following all from Rome. And Jim, yesterday Pope Francis really broke with tradition again. He washed the feet of two women. One of them was a Muslim. This has never been done before. What does this tell us about the pope?
[Jim Bitterman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Never been done before by a pope. He's in fact has washed the feet of women when he was the cardinal archbishop back in Argentina. Fact is, this is the first time we have seen this. I think one more piece of evidence that the pope is going to do things completely differently from his predecessors. He told us journalists about a week ago, when he had an audience with the media, that basically, there's nothing more he would like to see than a poor church in the service of the poor. He is constantly, and the first few days of his reign here, here's constantly repeated the idea that clergy should get out, get out, he keeps talking about leaving the church and getting out into the streets where is the people are. I think we're going to see a quite different papacy from the regal monarchy-style papacy we have seen in the past.
[Berman:] The Vatican wanted to have a new pope in place for this Easter week. Good Friday celebrations start today, then Easter, Sunday morning. What is on the agenda for pope Francis? Do you expect we'll see more surprises as the weekend continues?
[Bitterman:] I think so. This afternoon is a very a traditional ceremony here in Rome. And that's basically the pope will start off at St. Peter's basilica. He'll read the story of Christ's passion, the suffering, death of Christ, and then the resurrection. He'll do it in the basilica. Then, he'll travel across Rome to the coliseum. And this is a traditional spot for the popes to observe the stations of the cross, the 14 stations of the cross, basically, they symbolize Christ's passion. And after that, there are have vigil services tomorrow and Saturday. Then of course Easter Sunday. And his message to the city and to the world. That is always a big high point. Though he's already done one. He did one when he was inaugurated ten days ago. In fact, the pope will be following some tradition. We're expecting there will be breaks with tradition. He's already, several time this is week, broken away from his prepared statements and ad- libbed, as it were. We'll be on guard for anything, John.
[Berman:] All right, Jim Bitterman in Rome on this Good Friday, our thanks to you.
[Harlow:] Well, Rush Limbaugh telling his listeners that the battle over same-sex marriage is over. Listen.
[Rush Limbaugh, Radio Talkshow:] This issue is lost. I don't care what the Supreme Court does. This is now inevitable. Once we started talking about gay marriage, traditional marriage, opposite-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, we lost. It was over. It was just a matter of time. Because in once and this is the point the friend of mine sent me a note about. Once you decide to modify the word marriage then the other side has won.
[Harlow:] The issue now goes behind closed doors. Supreme Court justices will spend the next three months drafting their legal opinions all of it out of the public eye, until of course their decision is rendered.
[Berman:] Two strangers turn into good Samaritans when they teamed up to take down a robber. Look at this security video from a drugstore in Mesa, Arizona. The suspect demands cash from the cashier. He took the money but couldn't run. Two customers tackled the guy like a couple of football players. Look at this.
[Dustin Hollander, Foiled Robbery:] I threw my stuff down and told him no. He decided to try to get bast me. My wife works as a cashier. If she was getting robbed, I wish somebody would step if for her, so
[Jacob Heward, Foiled Robbery:] It's strange. It's in my neighborhood. I'm glad I could help.
[Berman:] Police got there a few minutes later. Took the suspect to jail. Dustin and Jacob should get a gift card at least. Mesa police plan to honor them for their bravery.
[Harlow:] Listen up, a gym class classic now banned? We're going to tell you why one school is getting rid of dodgeball.
[Ben Stiller, Actor, "dodgeball":] You're out, four-eyes. Dodgeball. And we know it.
[Unidentified Male:] And then there are these.

[Wolf Blitzer:] Brooke, thanks very much. Happening now, "a river of blood" that's how one doctor describes the deadly scene in a Libyan town that sees another day of violence after pro-Gadhafi forces allegedly opened fire with machine guns on peaceful protesters. Also, the escalating Libya crisis hitting hard at the gas pumps right here in the United States. Is it time for the federal government to tap into its emergency oil reserve for relief? And a rare look inside the largest weapons expo in the Middle East, where some of the technology for sale could help prevent future turmoil in the region or not. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
[Blitzer:] This is new video of fighting in the town of Zawiya. We want emphasize that CNN could not yet confirm when it was shot. But today, reports of what one witness calls "an indescribable and deadly assault" are emerging. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has more.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] We do know from talking to a doctor in the nearby hospital, that he said 15 people have been killed, 200 wounded, in an attack by government forces using heavy machine guns and mortars small small artillery fired into that area. However, what we're hearing from the government is that they now say that they have now taken control of Zawiya, that they have killed what they describe as a terrorist leader there, captured a number of tanks, anti-aircraft guns and other such devices. So so the picture from from what is actually happening in Zawiya is not entirely clear at this time. On the one hand, our sources there say that the rebels still control it. On the other hand, the government says they now control it. But what we do know is when we were there last weekend, many of the protesters there were armed with heavy machine guns. They had rocket-propelled grenades. They had at least a couple of tanks and some some anti-aircraft guns as part of their anti-government protest. Of course, a week ago, they were very afraid of an incident like this, where the government would attack them.
[Blitzer:] Nic Robertson on the scene for us. Meanwhile, in the nearby capital city of Tripoli, more brutal fighting. The clashes reportedly occurred after weekly prayers. Witnesses say flatbed trucks full of gunmen drove through the streets firing tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds. The United States is stepping up its humanitarian relief efforts in Libya outside of Libya, I should say as hundreds of thousands of refugees flee the bloodshed. A C-130 cargo plane has touched down in neighboring Tunisia, carrying supplies, including 2,000 blankets and more than 9,000 water cannons. It's one of two it's one of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's ideas one of two planes headed to the region that she has already announced. All of these dramatic developments are raising new fears about the capabilities of the Libyan dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. Joining us now, "The New York Times" columnist, Nicholas Kristof. Nick, thanks very much. Let me get the exact quote from this doctor in Zawiya: "There is a river of blood here in hospital. The situation is very bad. I know you're in close touch with people in Libya right now. What are you hearing?
[Nicholas Kristof, "new York Times" Columnist:] Well, there seems to have been a major counterattack on Zawiya. There are accounts different versions of who is controlling it right now. But there is no doubt that there was a very strong, very forceful counterattack. And I think I mean I guess what I fear is that it's emblematic of a pretty strong effort by Colonel Gadhafi to reassert control in a pretty broad area, from Zawiya and on also into the the mountains and southwest of Tripoli.
[Blitzer:] He's certainly making a show of it. You Tweeted this. Let me read it to you, from Twitter. You said: "I'm afraid that Gadhafi may have more staying power than many people expect. I hope I'm wrong." That's your Tweet, Nick Kristof. Give us a little bit more detail why you think this is happening now.
[Kristof:] Sure. Well, just talking to people in Tripoli, especially people who have some connection with the military, their view seems to be that within Tripoli and surrounding areas, like Djerba, that the opposition has been, to some extent, terrorized into submission, that Gadhafi has essentially reasserted a measure of control there, that he's systematically going through to the west and southwest, as far away as the Algerian border, and establishing control there; then likewise, you know, attempting and we're not sure how successful that will be but to move to move east, as well. And, you know, whether or not he succeeds there by one account I heard, he still controls 89 percent of Libya's oil refining capacity. And from the point of view of the rebels, you know, who are way out in the east, it's an awful long haul to mount an attack all the way on Tripoli. And to do that, they would have to bypass Sirt, the hometown of Gadhafi. And that's a pretty tall order for, you know, a bunch of people who are not a regular army. So I guess I I fear that Gadhafi may have, you know, he unfortunately be able to hold on a little bit longer in Tripoli than we might have thought a few days ago that and maybe some of our forecasts were a little bit too tinctured with, you know, with hope than with reality.
[Blitzer:] Yes, people don't realize, it's 500 miles from Benghazi, along the Mediterranean coast, if you're heading west toward Tripoli.
[Kristof:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] That's a long way to go.
[Kristof:] That's right. And, you know, for armor, for example, if you want to transport tanks if you want to get tanks from Benghazi all the way to Tripoli, then you've got to have tank carriers. And it's not clear that the rebels have them, at least in sufficient numbers. It's not clear to what extent they can operate the you know, some of these these things, whether it's the tanks or anti-aircraft weapons. And, you know, the one thing that Colonel Gadhafi does have is control of a bunch air strips and control, still, of the air force. And that can be if there's no good way of counterattacking that, he can use that to pretty good effect.
[Blitzer:] Why does he have this ability to stay in power yet the leaders of Tunisia, and later, Egypt, they collapsed within a matter of days?
[Kristof:] It all comes essentially, in this kind of a situation, it all comes down to the willingness of the army to shoot people. And in Egypt, in Tunisia, the army was not willing to mow people down. In Libya, it was. And that's partly because you had key commands in the Libyan military controlled by Gadhafi's sons.
[Blitzer:] The president of the United States says now on television he said it in a written statement earlier, Gadhafi must go. But he's not really explaining what the United States is going to do to make him go. Does he need to get into specific details? Instead of just saying, Gadhafi must go, does he need to do something to back up those tough words?
[Kristof:] Well, I think it is helpful simply to say that Gadhafi must go. And that, I think, will help peel away some of the Libyan military from Gadhafi. But I do think that, at the end of the day, he probably will have to do more. And, you know, there are no good options for us. But too often, because we don't have any good options, we just sit on our hands and do nothing. And there are things we can do. A no fly option you know, a no-fly zone is not great, but we could protect places like Benghazi relatively easily. I think that Secretary Gates kind of exaggerated the difficulty of it, if it were done, you know, more toward Eastern Libya. We can jam the Libyan broadcasting facilities and we can support the rebels in broadcasting to Tripoli. All those things would help at the margin. And I don't see any major reason why we shouldn't do them.
[Blitzer:] Do you sense there's a split in the Obama administration on how tough to get toward Gadhafi?
[Kristof:] I think there's been a split in the Obama administration kind of from day one. And you have, I think, a you know, a sort of a a foreign policy establishment, and especially from the Pentagon, that is really reluctant to get involved. They feel they've got their hands full and that it's very easy for these idealists to commit themselves into things and that it's hard to get out. On the other hand, you've got these you know, some people who I think are quite close to the president. I think it's the president's own instinct that here we have a movement that reflects our values, where everything is at a turning point, and the we want to make sure we're on the right side of history. And you've had Obama kind of go back and forth between these two camps and, from my point of view, maybe not doing as much as we could have at some at some moments. And I would say that right now is one of them in the case of Libya.
[Blitzer:] Nick Kristof, thanks very much. I just want to remind our viewers, you can follow Nick on Twitter, @nickkristof all one word and, of course, read his columns in "The New York Times." Thanks very much.
[Kristof:] Sure. Thank you.
[Blitzer:] New clashes as rebel forces move closer to the Libyan capital. We'll have a live report from our own Ben Wedeman. He's in Eastern Libya. And the escalating crisis triggering new pain at gas pumps here in the United States. Is it time to tap into the emergency oil reserve? Stick around. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

[Poppy Harlow, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, everyone. Happy Friday, welcome to EARLY START. I am Poppy Harlow in for John Berman.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] That is determination, isn't it. I'm Zoraida Sambolin. Thanks for being with us. It is 6:00 a.m. in the east. We begin with breaking news this morning, it is out of Afghanistan, a man wearing an Afghan military uniform opened fire on U.S. troops killing three soldiers in the country's southern Helmand Province. This as we are learning more details about another deadly attack on Wednesday where suicide bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan left four Americans dead, including an aid worker and senior members of an Army brigade. CNN's Chris Lawrence is live from the Pentagon. What can you tell us about this, Chris?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, Zoraida, this is a big blow to the leadership of that brigade there in Eastern Afghanistan. Military officials have said securing Eastern Afghanistan on that border with Pakistan is one of the primary missions that they feel they have to accomplish before all of the American troops start to come home. In this case, two suicide bombers blew themselves up just as a team of American military and civilian personnel were going into the province council's office, sort of the council that runs that part of Afghanistan. This team was going in. The suicide bombers blew themselves up. Two majors were killed, Army Major Tom Kennedy and Air Force Major Walter Gray, as well as the senior enlisted man, Command Sergeant Major Keith Griffin Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] And also this morning, three U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan. What can you tell us about that attack?
[Lawrence:] That's right. Right now, what the officials are trying to determine is, was this an actual Afghan security force, an Afghan policeman or soldier who turned on the Americans or was it someone who just got the uniform? Either way it's a huge problem. When I was there in Afghanistan, you could see the casual way that some Afghan troops treated their uniforms leaving them around where they could be picked up by anyone. On the other hand, if it is a true so-called green on blue attack, it's the third time this week, just this week that the Afghan forces have turned on Americans.
[Sambolin:] All right, Chris Lawrence, live from the Pentagon for us. Thank you for those details.
[Lawrence:] You're welcome.
[Harlow:] Well, A CNN exclusive now, inside that Wisconsin temple where six people died and three others were wounded. This video shot by our CNN troops on the ground, a stark reminder of the attack. What you're looking is a bullet hole in the door to the main prayer room. They say they will keep that there forever, to remember what happened that day. Our Ted Rowlands is live in Wisconsin joining us now. Ted, I know you're outside of the high school where they are going to have the memorial for the victims in just a few hours. They are going to lay the six bodies out. First though, tell me what it was like for you personally to be inside the temple, what they call the Gurdwara, and to be with family members who lost had their fathers and mothers.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, as you can imagine, Poppy, it was very emotional to be in the temple with them after it was released by the FBI. As soon as it was released as a crime scene, many people from the temple came to help repair and clean up. There were bullet holes all over the place. They have been able to clean all of those up and get rid of them. You mentioned the one there, leaving that because they never want to forget what happened. In fact, there was some discussion about leaving all of the bullet holes, but it was decided that that would be too much. So they just left that one. Talking to them, a range of emotion, some saying our temple will never be the same. Others were saying that it's important that it is the same and we get as soon as we can. We talked to one of the victim's sons and he talked about not only the victims, but also he addressed the shooter. Take a listen.
[Amardeep Kaleak, Temple Member:] Simply put, our families, his mother who left behind two beautiful boys and was the only mother imagine losing your mother, our father, the four other victims and people who were shot and in the hospital. The police officer that did his job, they are heroes. They are living the American dream. The other person was a coward and at the end of the day she always be remembered as a coward.
[Rowlands:] You may have seen Reverend Jesse Jackson was up yesterday and prayed with victim family members in the Gurdwara. And they plan on having a private ceremony in the temple, Poppy, after the public ceremony at the high school. That's why they worked throughout the night last night to prepare for today's ceremony.
[Harlow:] It stood out to me so much, Ted, that press conference on Monday, the day after the shooting, one of the Sikh members said when are we going to be allowed back inside? Every family member that I spoke with that was affected said that they have no hesitation to go back. Their resolve to go back to this Gurdwara is even stronger now. So you're absolutely right about how important it is. It is amazing that you are in there with us. Thank you for bringing us those pictures and those stories. Thanks, Ted.
[Sambolin:] It is 5 minutes past the hour. A Colorado judge is not ruling on unsealing the full court record in the case against movie massacre suspect, James Holmes. Prosecutors agreeing with Holmes' defense team yesterday arguing the full court record should stay sealed. Seventeen news organization, including CNN, want access.
[Harlow:] President Obama widening his lead over Mitt Romney in the latest CNNORC poll of registered voters and the GOP's challenger unfavourable rating looks like it's heading in the wrong direction. Here are the latest numbers with less than three months to go ahead of the election, the president with 52 percent of those favoring him and Romney with 45 percent. Here's a real concern for the Romney camp. The former Massachusetts governor's unfavorable rating climbing from 42 percent to 48 percent in the past month, 64 percent of Americans saying they believe he favors the rich.
[Sambolin:] After a triumphant week on Mars, a bit of trouble for NASA. Take a look at that. It's [inaudible] unmanned moonlander crashed and burned Thursday during an engine test. This was at the Kennedy Space Center. There were no injuries reported during the test of the cargo transport vehicle. Officials believe a hardware problem with the navigation control system is to blame for that blaze.
[Harlow:] Officials in Louisiana want to know if an underground salt cavern is responsible for what has become a massive sinkhole that has swallowed trees, forced people in the area to leave their homes. It's on the bayou. The sinkhole is in Assumption Parish. It measures 324 feet in diameter and 50 feet deep. But get this, at one corner, it's actually more than 420 feet deep.
[Sambolin:] Wow, mother nature in action there. Predictions for this hurricane season have been revised up. Forecasters now say they expect more named storms this season. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is here to break the numbers down. More and perhaps more intense as well?
[Alexandra Steele, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, intensity is very tricky, one thing and a few aggravating factors and mitigating factors. We'll show you what's happening in the atmosphere. But we are heading into the peak of the Atlantic season, which goes mid-August to mid-October. So here's a look at where we stand. On average in the Atlantic, we see 12 named storms. We've actually already had six thus far this season. Six hurricanes on average, three majors, but you can see the numbers have been bumped up. Named storms up to 17 potentially, up to eight hurricanes, three being major, but atmospherically, what moved, what kind of move the needle up ever so slightly kind of taking it to above average? For two factors, water and air. Now above normal temperatures are there in the Atlantic in the tropical Atlantic. That will kind of bump the numbers up towards more active. But the mitigating factors, we have dry sinking air in the upper levels of the atmosphere. So that would be a mitigating factor so does that call it a wash? Will that be average or just above? It is hard to tell, but I mean, it only takes one serious hurricane. In 2010, we only had two hurricanes, but they did a lot of damage to the
[U.s. Sambolin:] All right, Alexandra Steele, live at the CNN Center, thank you very much.
[Harlow:] Will, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt cements his Olympic brilliance? Winning the gold in a thrilling 200-meter final.
[Sambolin:] And he says so himself.
[Harlow:] The island nation has a lot to celebrate. Jamaica actually swept the medal stand, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir took silver and bronze respectively. The big story for Team USA, the women's soccer or football team winning its third consecutive gold medal, they beat Japan, 2-1, avenging their painful loss to the Japanese in last year's World Cup.
[Sambolin:] Listen to this, he heard a pop and felt a snap, stopping was not an option. If you're still wondering what separates an Olympic athlete from the rest of us. Here it is. A pretty unbelievable story from the track in London. American Mitchell finished his relay lap on a broken leg. He had 200 meters to go in the first leg of the 4x4 meter relay preliminaries on Thursday. The adrenalin must have been flowing.
[Harlow:] Look at that. It is hard to tell when it happened. He's running harder than I run with both legs not broken.
[Sambolin:] I know. It's incredible. Mitchell finished the lap and limped to the side to watch the Americans finish the race and qualify easily for the finals. A few hours later, doctors confirmed he had run the last half lap with a broken left fibula. Mitchell downplayed it to reporters after, but later he said, quote, "I felt it break, I heard it. I put out a little cry, but the crowd was so loud, you couldn't hear it. I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half."
[Harlow:] Incredible.
[Sambolin:] Now I want to rewind.
[Harlow:] You can't tell. He's an Olympian. He's amazing.
[Sambolin:] That is incredible.
[Harlow:] A woman takes the field for an NFL game for the first time in history. She's the one calling the shots.

[Burnett:] We start the second half of our show with stories we care about where we focus on our own reporting, do the work and find the "OutFront 5". Number one tonight, we are live from New Hampshire ahead of tomorrow's GOP primary and Mitt Romney seems to be the man to beat. Rivals have been going after the front runner today after he said he'd quote, "Likes to be able to fire people" while talking about health insurance companies. Romney's senior adviser Russ Schriefer came OUTFRONT tonight, he says he doesn't regret that Romney said that because it was an important point about health insurance. Schriefer said he'd like Romney to win in New Hampshire by more than he won in Iowa, by just eight votes. They're trying to set the bar low to make sure they can clear it. Number two, a former Army soldier has been charged with attempting to support the Islamic terror group al-Shabaab. A law enforcement source told OUTFRONT it's not believed Craig Benedict backed some compromised military information. The 24 year old was trained in cryptology. He was stopped in Kenya. The FBI says he was trying to get into Somalia to join the terror group. Number three, Joe and Sue Paterno donated $100,000 to Penn State University just weeks after the longtime coach was fired. Our Sara Ganim told us the gift was evenly split between the Paterno Library and the Paterno Fellow's Program, which helps fund research and internships. Penn State's board of trustees fired the 85-year-old Paterno in November following sex abuse allegations against the former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Number four: consumer borrowing surged by $20 billion in November, one of the biggest numbers in the Federal Reserve report was the jump in revolving credit, $5.6 billion. That is the biggest jump since March 2008. Revolving credit in English everyone, that's credit card debt, probably for holiday gifts. One analyst told OUTFRONT the willingness to spend and take on debt will likely stay subdued. For the next few months especially after that splurge. Well, it has been 157 days since the U.S. lost its top credit rating. Thanks to borrowing too much. What are we doing to get it back? Well, Europe is going to drive on sentiment here. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met today and pushed European leaders to reach an agreement on new rules for the E.U. by the beginning of March. Like we said, we believe it when we finally see it. Well, he's calling himself the underdog. Jon Huntsman, though, has been moving up very quickly in the polls here in New Hampshire. The former Republican governor of Utah who also severed as President Obama's ambassador to China is now in third place in the Granite State according to the latest Suffolk University7 News poll. Now, he's also making a move on Intrade. This is a really neat thing if you don't know about it. Basically, you can go online and make bets on, well, everything from hurricanes to wheat crops, but also on what candidate will win the GOP nomination. He's now taken second place behind Mitt Romney in that race. The primary is tomorrow. So, can he do in New Hampshire what Rick Santorum did in Iowa? Jon Huntsman and his wife Mary Kaye stopped by our set a short time ago and I asked them what would define victory for them tomorrow.
[Jon Huntsman , Presidential Candidate:] Whatever you set as expectations, Erin, we've got to exceed that. And I can't tell you from a quantitative standpoint what that means in terms of one, two, three or four. You set the expectation, you set the bar. We've got to find tomorrow that we exceed that.
[Burnett:] And somebody had said you'd have to kind of, you know, a hit in the park sort of a headline to really get the momentum that you need going forward. Is that true? Or when you just said one, two, three or four, any of the above are OK for the Huntsman campaign to keep going?
[J. Huntsman:] Well, to keep going, we've got to exceed expectations. I'd love an out of the ballpark moment. That would be great. You know, New Hampshire has had a lot of out of the ball park moments. I don't know what tomorrow night is going to bring. But everybody hopes for that. And to that end, we've invested a lot of time and effort into this state, 170 public events. Our messaging has been right on in terms of talking about the economic deficit and trust deficit. It really is connecting with the people in the state. But more than that, they feel your heart and soul and that's what's important to the people in New Hampshire.
[Burnett:] Let me ask you about something going on today between you and Mitt Romney. First of all, here's what Mitt Romney had to say about jobs and liking to fire people. Here he is.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means that if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.
[Burnett:] All right. I don't know if he was joking or not, but here's what you said earlier today on the campaign trial in response.
[J. Huntsman:] I will always put my country first. It seems that Governor Romney believes in putting politics first. Governor Romney enjoys firing people. I enjoy creating jobs.
[Burnett:] Now, do you think that was entirely fair or I mean, it seems like he was trying to make a joke like about liking to fire the cable or the insurance guy?
[J. Huntsman:] Well, he said he enjoys firing people. I think at a point in time where we are hit by joblessness in this country, it's very painful for a lot of families moms and dads, kids, homes and communities. We ought to be talking about job creation, and about opportunities.
[Burnett:] So even if he was joking, you don't think it was funny.
[J. Huntsman:] Well, the context in which it was delivered, you know, people are going to take out of that, that comment about liking to fire people. And I'm not sure that's the kind of tone that this country's looking for right now in our next leader.
[Burnett:] Mary Kaye, let me ask you. When you thought a lot about this campaign. And, obviously, you've done incredibly well, you've got the momentum on your side right now in New Hampshire. But obviously, when you look ahead at the polls in South Carolina and Florida, it's 1 percent, 2 percent. What do you think is the reason for that? Is that the fault of the Republican Party that the Republican Party won't look closely enough at your husband or is that the campaign's fault?
[J. Huntsman:] Careful.
[Mary Kaye Huntsman, Wife Of Presidential Candidate Jon J. Huntsman:] I think it's beginning to come full circle. I think when he first got into this race, he was immediately dismissed because he had crossed party lines. And I think he addressed that beautifully yesterday by saying he will always put his country first. And I don't think that's an issue anymore.
[Burnett:] Let's listen to that change in the debate with David Gregory, between yourself and Governor Romney. Here it is.
[Romney:] The person who should represent our party running against President Obama is not someone who called him a remarkable leader and went to be his ambassador in China.
[J. Huntsman:] This nation is divided, David, because of attitudes like that.
[Burnett:] Let me ask you. When you took the job with President Obama, why did you do it? Did you like a lot of independents in this country, believe in him at that time?
[J. Huntsman:] I believed in my country and he was the president of my country. I've always felt that way. I mean, people were to say, well, that was a great plan to set yourself up to run for president of the United States. I'd say nonsense. Why would anybody leave a job as governor, I'd just been reelected with 80 percent of the vote, to work with somebody of the competing political party all the way in China? It's because I believe in my country first, sincerely. That's at my core and that's the philosophy I'll take to my grave. If there's an opportunity to do something good for your country, I'm going to be there. That's the policy that I was raised with.
[Burnett:] Your adopted Chinese daughter, Gracie, we've talked about this before, on a postage stamp, which we're going to show our viewers, one of the 10 most well-known people in Guangzhou. Let me ask you this question though because I think a lot of people, there have been some, you know, inappropriate ads as Ron Paul called them himself, about your family. But a lot of people probably are curious. What made you make the decision to adopt two more children and to adopt from China and from India, Mary Kaye?
[M.k. Huntsman:] As Jon likes to say, we had a little more love to give. Actually, the first time that we thought about it, I was pregnant with our third child, Lee, and we were living in Taiwan, and went up to the steps of the Catholic orphanage and wanted to go in. I didn't speak their language, but I motioned I wanted to come in and see these babies. And I went home that day and I said, some day, we've got to do this. And I remember him saying to me, some day, maybe not right now as I was pregnant with number three. So, we went on and we had more children. And the interesting thing about our story that I think anyone that's adopted has had some amazing story that they can't quite explain. But on May 19th, 1999, he said to me, I'm finally warming up to the idea of this Chinese baby. And we went through the whole process and finally got a call from China. We said when was she born? May 19th, 1999. I'll never forget that. I thought, they've found our little girl. It was such an extraordinary experience with Gracie May that we said, you know what? Let's do it one more time and let's go to India and take another little child. So they've been the greatest gifts to our family and all my children now say they want to go adopt. And my adopted children say, I want to do the same thing.
[Burnett:] And what about them in school? I know it's got to be hard because you're here. How has that worked out? I know this is a personal question. But I'm just curious personally.
[M.k. Huntsman:] With the campaign?
[Burnett:] Right, with the campaign.
[M.k. Huntsman:] It works great. We have a big family and with our girls that people are beginning to see out on the trail, we have juggled quite a bit. So, they're there watching sometimes and we do we go back and forth. They have been so supportive. Gracie is so excited and Jon calls her his senior foreign policy adviser, 12 years old. And the 6-year-old, all she says is daddy's running for a surprise. So, they're very excited.
[Burnett:] That's what she says?
[M.k Huntsman:] They're excited.
[J. Huntsman:] She doesn't quite understand what's going on. But she knows it's a big surprise.
[Burnett:] She has caught the most important concepts.
[J. Huntsman:] Right.
[Burnett:] Before we go, South Carolina assuming that this is not a state for you, what about Florida? I know that's where you're from, Mary Kaye, and originally, your campaign headquarters were in Florida.
[J. Huntsman:] That's right.
[Burnett:] Florida is, you're going to be in Florida no matter what, is that true?
[J. Huntsman:] We've got to move this market in New Hampshire. We've got to win exceeding market expectations tomorrow night. That will keep us ahead of steam moving into South Carolina and then on to Florida. That's just the way it works. You've got to prove to people that you can nail that intangible called electability. That will cause more finances to come in. It strengthens your volunteer base, that people come out and they want to help.
[Burnett:] And you just had your best fundraising day ever.
[J. Huntsman:] Absolutely.
[Burnett:] Yes, right?
[J. Huntsman:] And with each passing hour of the day, we're probably going to have another one. Yes.
[Burnett:] How much?
[J. Huntsman:] Don't know. I don't know what the numbers are, but I suspect today and tomorrow and depending upon how tomorrow night goes, it could be a bonanza.
[Burnett:] Bonanza.
[M.k. Huntsman:] But there's excitement on the ground, that's what you know, what we feel and we see. And you know that energy when you feel it.
[Burnett:] All right. Governor Huntsman and Mary Kaye Huntsman, thanks so much to both of you. Good to see you.
[Huntsman:] Thanks for having us.
[Burnett:] Good luck. I hope that you get just a little bit of rest.
[Huntsman:] Thanks.
[Burnett:] Good to see you. All right, pretty clear telegraph there that New Hampshire was a must win to get any further for Huntsman. And we'll check with Anderson Cooper. Anderson, what's on "A.C. 360" tonight?
[Anderson Cooper, Host, "a.c. 360":] Erin, keeping them honest tonight. With just hours remaining until the first votes cast in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney obviously in the lead, his opponents he's in his opponents' crosshairs. The target: jobs. Tonight, in their own words, the candidate's claims and we're keeping them honest with the facts. In crime and punishment, 21-year-old month Ayla Reynolds has been missing from her Maine home for more than three weeks now. Police suspect foul play. Tonight, only on "360," bombshell from her grandmother. That interview ahead tonight, and those stories and tonight's "Ridiculist" at the top of the hour, Erin.
[Burnett:] Anderson, any hint on the bomb? So, I've been following that case, too. Just amazing.
[Cooper:] Well, the grandmother tells CNN she didn't hear anything that night. She didn't hear anything that night because she wasn't home that night, but she gave a different impression days earlier. It's a story full of, as you know, full of twists and turns with all the latest tonight.
[Burnett:] Yes. All right, well, looking forward to that, Anderson. See you in a couple of moments. In the meantime, New Hampshire is ground zero for one of the most amazing trends in this country politically and that is the I's. Forty percent of Americans consider themselves independent voters. So, which candidate has the most to gain from them tomorrow and come November? And then, oh, no, where did it go? My cigar. We smoke out the truth about the New Hampshire vote at a cigar bar named Castro's.

[Kirk Graves, Josh Powell's Brother-in-law:] We're in shock. We are simply it's beyond belief. We have had suspicions of various things Josh was capable of, but I for one, didn't think he was capable of this.
[Malveaux:] Colorado and Minnesota, next two stops on the road to the Republican presidential nomination. Both states hold caucuses tomorrow. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich rally their supporters in Colorado today. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul campaigning in Minnesota. Santorum event on health care got under way in Rochester, Minnesota, just last hour. And some California parents are furious now because they think a Los Angeles school didn't do enough to protect their kids from two allegedly abusive teachers. They are protesting in front of the school right now.
[Unidentified Female:] They don't need no privacy. For what? So they can get
[Malveaux:] We are still learning details about this bizarre and disturbing case. Our Thelma Gutierrez has some background.
[Unidentified Female:] I'm angry. I'm disgusted. I'm sad.
[Thelma Gutierrez, Cnn Correspondent:] Investigators say the case against Berndt broke in 2010 when a film processor noticed disturbing images of Berndt with his arm around the children or his hand over their mouths. Others showed the children with their eyes blindfolded and mouths covered with tape. Some depicted children with Madagascar-type cockroaches on their faces.
[Sgt. Dan Scott, La Co. Sheriff's Dept., Special Victims Unit:] The children felt this was a game. They didn't realize they were being victimized. They thought they were just being blindfolded and gagged as a game.
[Malveaux:] We're going to have a full report from Thelma Gutierrez just a little bit later. State Department shut down its embassy in Syria just hours ago and it's urging Americans now to get out. Syrian activists say 56 people were killed today alone in the city of Homs. That is after what they describe as a weekend bloodbath that left hundreds dead. Activists accuse the Syrian government of intensifying its brutal crackdown. Russia and China gave Syrian president Bashar al Assad, a lifeline, vetoing a U.N. resolution that would have condemned him. Flooding has forced thousands of people from their homes in Australia, rising waters threatening communities along the Balonne River in Queensland. Now, this part of the country is still recovering from last year's devastating floods. The NFL and NBC are apologizing today for offending Super Bowl viewers. Performer MIA gave the middle finger during her halftime performance with Madonna. It happened so fast, a lot of viewers didn't even notice. Her finger here is blurred. The NFL, which produced the halftime show, said the obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans. She was a White House intern who says she had an affair with the president, right? Sound familiar? Well, this Washington sex scandal allegedly took place five decades ago, and the president in question, John F. Kennedy. Mary Snow she joins us with the latest on this story. It was always rumored, Mary, that Kennedy was having affairs and was a playboy. This woman now is coming forward and giving details, things we have never heard before.
[Mary Snow, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. Suzanne, this book is a very salacious one, with a very detailed account by Mimi Beardsley Alford, as you mentioned, now 69 years old. "The New York Post" obtained a copy of this book, in which Alford claims she had an 18-month affair, that she claims she met the president just four days into her internship at the White House, and she was invited to swim with the president at the White House swimming pool. And she claims things progressed from there. She did do an interview with NBC News. It is an exclusive interview in which she describes what she claims were these sexual encounters and talks about them. Take a listen.
[Mimi Alford, Says She Was Jfk's Mistress:] I think overpowered in the sense that he was the president. He was this unbelievably handsome man, 45 years old not overpowered physically that someone had grabbed me and made me do something that I wasn't really willing to do because I really think I was willing to do it.
[Snow:] Now, in this book, Suzanne, Alford claims that the affair lasted until November of 1963, just about seven days before President Kennedy was assassinated.
[Malveaux:] Mary, do people believe she's credible?
[Snow:] You know, we spoke with Robert Dallek. He's an historian who revealed this alleged affair for the first time in his book in 2003. And that's when Mimi Alford first came out and released a statement saying that she had had an affair with President Kennedy. And the reason why Robert Dallek wrote about it was because a former White House press aide wrote about it or spoke about it in an oral history that is available at the JFK library. And that aide has since died. But in that history, the White House aide that have that oral history she does talk about Mimi Alford and writes about what she says was a special relationship with the president, and also mentions these swimming parties, also saying that Alford had traveled with the president on various trips. So that is what historian Robert Dallek is basing based why he wrote about it. You know, we spoke with another historian, Douglas Brinkley. He says he has question marks about it. So and it's very difficult because so many people in that administration are now dead, so we can't get many accounts of this...
[Malveaux:] Right.
[Snow:] ... besides hers.
[Malveaux:] And Mary, do we have any idea she's a 69-year-old grandmother. Why did she come forward now? Why did she wait to come forward now, what the timing of this?
[Snow:] That is unclear, why she has this book deal at this point. She signed this book deal about two years ago. And as I said, you know, she released a statement back in 2003, but gave no interviews. So why at 69 now she's deciding to come out still don't know 100 percent why.
[Malveaux:] OK. Mary Snow, thank you. Appreciate it. Well, it's your turn to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. Does President Obama deserve a second term in office? In a live interview that aired on ABC just before the Super Bowl, President Obama told Americans he does.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I deserve a second term, but we're not done. Look, when you and I sat down, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. Now we're creating 250,000. We created 3.7 million jobs over the last 23 months. We've created the most jobs since 2005, the most manufacturing jobs since 1990. But we're not finished.
[Malveaux:] Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says the president's economic policies have failed, that the economy is not creating enough jobs.
[Mitt Romney , Fmr. Gov., Presidential Candidate:] Not so fast, Mr. President! This is the 36th straight month with unemployment above the red line your own administration drew. And if you take into account all of the people who are struggling for work or just stopped looking, the real unemployment rate is over 15 percent.
[Malveaux:] So what has the Obama administration done? The president says he's responsible for creating over creating jobs over 22 months. In 2010, he signed his signature health care bill reforming the system. If he gets a second term, he'll be able to fight to keep it. He also ended the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, now allowing gays in the military to serve openly. Last spring, he ordered special ops forces to out bin Laden in Pakistan. And in December, he got U.S. combat troops out of Iraq. So what is left to do? He's got to tackle the federal deficit, save the Pentagon budget, deal with immigration reform, and still the nagging problem of more than 8 per percent of Americans now out of work. So and the "Talk Back" question, Does President Obama deserve a second term in office? Leave your comments at my Facebook. page my Facebook page, Facebook.comsuzannecnn. We're going to air some of your thoughts later in the hour. Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're covering over the next hour. First, a sad story. A man in Washington state sets his house on fire, killing himself and his two boys as a social worker watches in horror from the street. Then, Republican candidates prepare to duke it out in Colorado and Minnesota. And later, we're going to take a look at, yes, the middle finger slip-up at the Super Bowl, plus highlights of Madonna's extravagant halftime show.

[Phillips:] Well, CNN is taking a cross-country food journey all this week. We've sent reporting teams to every corner of America and beyond. Our mission is to get fresh answers about how our food is grown, how the choices we make impact our health, our state of mind, our budgets and the pure joy of just eating. We've teamed up with the new cnn.com food destination, eatocracy.com to bring you "Eatocray, Mind, Body and Wallet." And this hour, we're taking a closer look at one of the ingredients that seems to have popped up on all sorts of food labels no matter what grocery store aisle that you're in, high fructose corn syrup. It's sugar. And critics say it's fueling America's obesity problem. Brianna Keilar hit up the grocery store and the laboratory to find out more.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] To look for molasses. [voice-over]: Just walk down the aisles of your grocery store, check out the ingredients on labels, and you'll see the same thing over and over. [on camera]: High fructose corn syrup is the first ingredient. [voice-over]: It's in pancake syrup, cookies, ketchup, jelly, even cereal and soup. [on camera]: Tomato soup, high fructose corn syrup.
[Unidentified Female:] It's the third ingredient after tomato and water. Yes. So there you go. Some people think tomato it's a vegetable, I'm giving my child, you know, a vegetable serving.
[Keilar:] Each year Americans consume on average almost 38 pounds of high fructose corn syrup. But not Jessica Haney. This mother of two and the voice behind a blog called Crunchy Chewy Mama has cut the corn based sweetener out of her family's diet.
[Jessica Haney, Blogger:] It's not just squeezing out the corn and getting the sugar or something, it's not that you're eating corn. It's not a vegetable. It's a highly industrialized product that has been shown to do lots of yucky things in your body and we just don't need it.
[Keilar:] Many Americans are convinced high fructose corn syrup is one of the culprits of the country's obesity epidemic. In a recent study, 57 percent of those polled said it was a top food safety issue. Right up there with artificial growth hormones in milk and mad cow disease. That concern is reflected in the demand for food that's free of high fructose corn syrup. Just check out Pepsi's newest offering. Sierra Mist made with real sugar.
[Annoncer:] It's the soda nature would drank if nature drank soda.
[Keilar:] For all of the bad buzz around high fructose corn syrup, a number of studies suggest there is no difference how the body responds to it versus plain old sugar. In 2008, the American Medical Association said, "insufficient evidence exists to specifically restrict the use of high fructose corn syrup." But the issue isn't settled. The AMA also encouraged further independent research on the health effects of high fructose corn syrup. [on camera]: We're here at Princeton University because this is where one of the most recent studies and a very controversial one, on high fructose corn syrup and how it's different than sugar, was recently conducted. It's a study that involves rats, and it was released just this year.
[Bart Hoebel, Professor, Princeton University:] Our studies were conducted in the simulated soft drink. It was high fructose corn syrup in water.
[Keilar:] Professor Bart Hoebel and his team of researchers gave a second group of rats access to regular sugar dissolved in water. The rats drinking the high fructose corn syrup mixture actually consumed fewer calories than those drinking water sweetened with real sugar. And even so [on camera]: You found that the rats consuming the high fructose corn syrup got significantly fatter?
[Hoebel:] Exactly. And this what is led us to believe that those two are not the same after all.
[Keilar:] Critics of high fructose corn syrup point to Hoebel's research as proof that body metabolizes it differently than sugar while some experts criticize the voracity of his findings. Hoebel says more research needs to be done. As to scientific verdict on high fructose corn syrup remains inconclusive, the Corn Refiners Association, which represents producers of the sweeter knows it has a public perception issue, and is trying to rebrand it as "corn sugar."
[Unidentified Female:] I learned whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference. Sugar is sugar.
[Keilar:] IN addition to this multimillion-dollar ad campaign, the Corn Refiners Association has petitioned the FDA to use corn sugar on ingredient labels.
[Audrae Erickson, President, Corn Refiners Association:] High fructose corn syrup is simply a sugar made from corn. It is an added sugar in the diet, and this effort to provide clarity to consumers will help them recognize added sugars in the diet.
[Keilar:] Many skeptical consumers, like Jessica Haney say high fructose corn syrup by another name is still something she won't be feeding her family. [on camera]: You think the change of the name is very misleading.
[Jessica Haney, Does Not Buy Products With High Fructose Corn Syrup:] Oh, yes. I do. We do molasses and honey and maple syrup, things that all have minerals embedded within them and that come with fiber, whereas the fructose corn syrup doesn't.
[Keilar:] But it would take a lot of Jessica Haneys to eat away at that startling statistic, 38 pounds of high fructose corn syrup per American per year. Brianna Keilar, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.
[Phillips:] While some Americans may not be eating healthy, many are hard pressed to eat at all. They go hungry. More than 49 million Americans do not have consistent access to decent food. That's one in six, the highest number since the government began tracking what it called food insecurity over a decade ago. Celebrity chef Tom, his wife and others are actually documenting families who worry about where their next meal is coming from. Here is what they're working on. It's a documentary called "Hungry in America."
[Unidentified Female:] This can happen to anybody. You think it won't happen to you? It might happen to you. I'm out of food already. You know, I have another week to go.
[Phillips:] And oftentimes those hunger pangs start as a child. We talked to the Top Chef judge about combating that hunger and proving kids with healthy meals in the improving, rather kids with healthier meals in the cafeteria.
[Tom Colicchio, "top Chef" Judge:] You send kids to school, and you give them books and a desk. This should be part of learning for children to learn part is nourishing them. We did do a challenge on "Top Chef," and what we found out for years, you've always heard that kids don't want to eat healthy food. They want pizza and they chicken fingers. And we found out that if you feed kids really good, healthy nutritious food, they'll eat it. In fact, they were asked for seconds and thirds and fourths. So, just based on it's not a scientific study, but just based on the 200 children we fed that day, they'll line up for healthy food.
[Phillips:] "Eatocracy: Mind, Body and Wallet" continues next hour. Remember, CNN.comeatocracy for more stories on healthy eating. It's also where you can learn more about how to unlock the CNN Healthy Eater badge on Foursquare. We're trying to match up another seeker with a job in our "30- second pitch." Meet a woman who's 59 years old and can't find work. Her son says he'll take care of her, but she says that's not how it's supposed to be.

[Lu Stout:] You're watching News Stream and these are your world headlines. Now the prime minister of Bangladesh has visited the site of a building that collapsed near Dhaka last week to see the devastation firsthand. Heavy machinery is moving into place to shift the debris. Nearly 400 people were killed when the building came down five days ago. Many more are still missing. Now the owner of the building and five others have been arrested. Fire department officials say at least 55 people have been injured in an explosion in the Czech capital of Prague. State TV is reporting that it was a gas explosion. Authorities say the first floor of one building was destroyed in the explosion and windows were blown out in nearby buildings. The surviving suspect of the Boston Marathon bombings is being held in a small cell at a prison medical facility some 60 kilometers outside Boston. A spokesman says Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is speaking and interacting with medical staff. The 19-year-old was charged with using a weapon of mass destruction in the April 15 attack, which killed three people and injured more than 260 others. Meanwhile, there is new information coming out of Russia in connection to the Boston bombings. Our Nick Paton Walsh has also spoken again to the parents of the suspected Boston bombers and has new details from our bureau in Moscow. So Nick, first tell us what you've learned from the parents. What did they tell you?
[Nick Paton Walsh, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, I spoke to both parents in the last couple of hours. And it was quite clear from speaking to the father very brief, very strained conversation. He said simply I'm sick. I am sick. The mother, more details. She of course confirmed his bad condition, his connection I believe with high blood pressure. But he does appear to be shaking as well. There are obviously major concerns for his health. Travel plans keep changing. She made it clear he's not in any condition to travel great distance, particularly to the United States at this particular point. She also said that she, herself, would be willing to go to the United States only if it was made clear to her she could see Dzhokhar. And she said she wasn't really bothered about the potential outstanding charges for shoplifting, suggestions about that, but also given how this investigation is widening and potentially accusations are being lobbed in her direction, she said she would still go regardless of these potential risks. But clearly a parent under great strain here. Both sounding absolutely exhausted. Their travel plans constantly changing. That U.S. trip most certainly delayed Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] And separately, Nick, and we don't know if this is related, Russian special forces have killed a member of a militant group in Dagestan. What can you tell us.
[Walsh:] This is a man called [inaudible]. Now he is a member of a militant group headed by a man called Abu Dujan. And the pictures you'll see now of a very violent special forces raid in the early hours of yesterday morning. Police have confirmed [inaudible] was killed in this particular attack. How does it relate to the Boston bombings? Well, Abu Dujan was killed in December, also by Russian special forces in a similarly violent encounter. He was a man to whom Tamerlan Tsarnaev linked to a video of from his YouTube channel. So there's the link between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Abu Dujan. We don't know if they met or if he was just simply interested in his preachings online, his statements online. But we do know [inaudible] has been killed in the last 24 hours, 48 hours, in Dagestan by Russian special forces. So it's absolutely clear that Russian special forces and security services are on the trail of the Abu Dujan group as we speak, we just don't know if that is related to any information they're passing to the FBI at the moment Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] And you've also been following this growing debate about what Russian authorities knew about the Tsarnaev family years ago and didn't tell the
[U.s. Walsh:] Well, it is clear from I think everyone's perspective the Russians did repeatedly warn the U.S. about Tsarnaevs. Now, what is not clear is how much information they gave back when the FBI requested more detail. That's when the exchange appears to have slowed. There has been information passed across in the past few days relating to a wiretap which appears to implicate the mother, according to U.S. officials, talking about jihad, discussing jihad with one of her sons. We don't quite know whether that's incriminating or simply a discussion of completely different form. The point here, really, is the debate diplomatically will continue to be who knew what when. We're not heard an open transparent public version of events from the Russians. That could be because they're still hunting down people in Abu Dujan's militant group. It could be because they think these exchanges are best done privately. Certainly, the American side of things leaks an awful lot more. But you're going to see, of course, a lot of pressure from congress on Capitol HIll, to work out who said what, when. A lot of pressure on the Russians and of course an easy get out for the FBI for standing accused of dropping the ball to claim that enough information from the Russians. But certainly those years ago there were repeated warnings, it's just not clear if the information kept flowing once the FBI decided there wasn't much to investigate Kristie.
[Lu Stout:] Now many, many different threads to this story. Our Nick Paton Walsh across it all, thank you very much indeed, Nick. Now investigators are also scouring Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's online footprint. They're looking at his accounts on Twitter and the VK Russian social networking site. But there is one online profile that's proved a little bit harder to find. CNN Money's Laurie Segall has more.
[Laurie Segall, Cnn Tech Correspondent:] A deleted Instagram account sources say belonged to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Unlike the rest of his digital life, it hasn't gotten much attention since his arrest. Close friends say Dzhokhar used the name J Miester, but it was removed before the April 15th bombing. But a digital trail shows images that he liked in the past. Several include references to Chechnya that are marked with dozens of hashtags. One shows a Chechnan warlord who masterminded terrorist attacks against Russia and but was killed in 2006. Several show Dzhokhar interacting with other users. An expert on Chechnya says is shows an understanding of Chechnya and its struggle for independence from Russia. The close friends tell CNNMoney from what they saw he used Instagram for social purposes. So how are we able to resurrect them? Here is how it works
[Sam Altman, Programmer/tech Entrepreneuer:] So, we're looking at a photo from Instagram on a site called Statagram, and this is the copy as it existed on the web today. We can see that these users, these 19 users have liked it, and we can see there are six comments on the photo. Here are the hashtags. However, we can also go back in time, thanks to the Google web cache. Here is other data around that back from April 10th of the same photo. So, we can see there is the same six comments there are today. And here is a list of users that like the photo, most of which are already on there and there have been new ones since April 10 that have liked it as well. But there is one that liked it in the April 10th version of the page, jmeister1 that is not you can see on the current version.
[Segall:] Law enforcement experts like Julitette Kayyem say the deleted account is likely to get a close look from investigators.
[Juliette Kayyem, Cnn National Security Analyst:] If I were an investigator right now, obviously the platform he deleted matters the most. Were there clues embedded in the combination of images that can tell us something about what Dzhokhar was thinking? Because some of those pictures are very benign, some of them standing alone don't mean anything.
[Segall:] Digital footprints continue to get bigger as people become more and more willing to put their lives online. Laurie Segall, CNN Money, New York.
[Lu Stout:] You can find out more about that story online. Just click on to our website CNN.cominternational. There's also of course more about the investigation and the prison medical facility where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being held. Now time now for your global weather check. There is heavy rain in the Middle East, in particular Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. For more, let's go straight to our Mari Ramos Mari.
[Mari Ramos, Cnn Weather Correspondent:] Hey Kristie, yeah, this is something that's been going on for several days already. And it's unusual in its scope as two different things. First of all, its been very heavy rainfall. And the second thing is that it's somewhat out of season, you could say, because even though the rainiest months of the year January, February, March, in that order it does tend to rain in April, just not as much as what they've had recently. And I want to show you a couple of pictures from the region. Oman has been one of the hardest hit areas, particularly in the north. It began raining in Oman I think on Wednesday, so we're already four or five days into this. And it has taken quite a toll on the region. There are many areas that are completely blocked off because of the high water. Authorities asking people to not travel if they don't have to. There are many roadways, like I said, that have been blocked off, covered in water. Most of the deaths that have occurred, at least 10 across the entire region, have been people drowning in their vehicles or car accidents, because a lot of people of course not accustomed to driving on the wet roadways here. The other things is, some areas have been left without power. And any amount of rain that falls could really cause some additional flooding. So we're very concerned about this. I want to show you this satellite image right now. And you can see it again the rain and thunderstorms popping up in areas right over here across Saudi Arabia, in the interior portion. And this is going to be one of the areas to watch. But even as we head back over here, notice again the thunderstorms popping up across Oman, back over toward the UAE, and even Abu Dhabi has had some rains over the last 24 hours, not as much as before, but like I said it does continue to rain across this area. Then the rain kind of switches and it continues to move on into southern parts of Iran and maybe even into Pakistan, but the bulk of it again will be in this region right in here, so that's still going to be a concern. The temperatures have been a little bit cooler, of course, because of the cloud cover, below the average in many cases in Muscat, because of all the rain that you've had. For example, you had 27 degrees for your daytime high. Your average is 35. So you can really see what the rain is doing here. As far as the forecast, well this is what we have. The rain, this old frontal boundary will kind of remain along this area here bringing us the possibility of more wet weather. So this is still going to be a concern across the region. So, from here, I want to take you to Europe. A little bit of different story, so we're going to go ahead and switch gears, because I just like sharing these pictures, Kristie. Let's go ahead and take a look. This is from Sicily. This is in near Catania. We are talking about Mount Etna erupting yet again. It is the most active volcano in Europe. The 3,300 meter stratovolcano, which basically refers to the type of volcano that it is, has erupted yet again. These pictures are from the weekend. There's not danger to the population that is nearby. There were a few travel delays at the airport there. But it has reopened. And what's amazing, Kristie, the type of eruptions that Mount Etna have are actually considered small eruptions on the volcano scale. I can't imagine a big one. Back to you.
[Lu Stout:] You know, those pictures truly awesome in the pure, nontrendy sense of the word. Just awesome. Mari Ramos, thank you so much for the share and take care. Now let's look back at our video rundown. Earlier, we brought you the latest on the South Korean workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. And in a CNN exclusive, we saw my colleague Anna Coren bravely training to fly South Korea's new supersonic jet. But now to tech news. And Apple's iTunes music store has just turned 10. The digital media store, it launched on April 28, 2003. And now it sells TV shows, movies, apps and books, but back then it only sold music. And its arrival marked a sea change for the recording industry. Since the introduction of iTunes, music sales have plummeted in the United States. It went from nearly $12 billion in 2003 to just over $7 billion last year. And that's because iTunes made it possible for people to download their favorite singles for a cheap price instead of buying more expensive CDs. Now iTunes became the largest music retailer on the planet by 2010. And according to NPT estimates, iTunes is currently responsible for 63 percent of all digital music sales. That puts it well ahead of newer competitors like Amazon and Google. But another threat has emerged in the form of internet radio. So what does the next decade hold for iTunes? Nilay Patel is the managing editor of the tech blog The Verge. And he joins us now live from CNN New York. And Nilay, 10 years on, we went to the stats just then, iTunes is still the leader of the digital music pack, but are the cracks starting to show?
[Nilay Patel, Managing Editor, The Verge:] You know, I think they are. I think a lot of the power that iTunes had at the beginning was the really tight lock-in it had with devices like the iPod and, you know, the early versions of the iPhone. But if you look at how people are starting to buy and consume music now, there is a bigger shift ongoing to subscription services like Spodify, Rdio, and Apple itself is being, you know, rumored to be working on deals to launch its own streaming service in the future. And so iTunes as a program that you run on a desktop computer that you plug a phone in over a wire and sync music over USB, that model is starting to kind of fade away. And iTunes itself needs to change to be more of an internet centric service. And they're already starting to do that, you know, with iTunes in the cloud which takes all the music from your computer and puts it in the cloud and sends it down to you. But they need to move the entire hub of iTunes up to the cloud and start streaming music to you to compete with upstarts like Spodify and Rdio.
[Lu Stout:] Yeah, you mentioned Spodify, Rdio, these subscription upstarts that are rivals to the iTunes Music Store, but of these top subscription streaming services out there, no one has really reported big profits yet. So is that the winning strategy at the end of the day?
[Patel:] You know, there is a big debate whether people want to own their music, or whether they just want to buy access to music. And when iTunes launched 10 years ago, Steve Jobs said on stage and said very confidently people just want to own their music, which I think is a model that's rooted in having physical media in your life you know, CDs, LPs, whatever. But I think that's starting to change. I think if you look at, you know, habits, especially among the young, most kids are getting their music off of YouTube, right. They're going to Vivo, they're going to just Googling it and hitting play on the first service they can see. So the idea that they want to own something physical is starting to go away. And music more than any other kind of media is very retail based. It's very consumer driven. So when consumer habits change, the services have to change. That's very much unlike something like TV or movies, right, a movie production company sells a movie to a studio which sells a movie to HBO and a theater and a TV station. And so consumer habits, you know, when you buy cable, they don't affect all the way back to how movies are made and sold, but when you change your consumption habits as a music consumer it changes the market immediately.
[Lu Stout:] Now there is suddenly Apple music buzz out there that Apple will launch iTunes Match, this $25 a year cloud music locker. There's also the rumor that Apple is going to launch a new music streaming service nicknamed if it happens iRadio. Your thoughs on those announcements. And if they do happen, will it be enough to draw the new fans, especially the younger demographic?
[Patel:] You know, well so iTunes Match is already launched in the United States. You know, they're rolling it out around the world. And they gained a lot of credibility in the music business for doing it in quote, unquote, the right way. So Google and Amazon launched similar services without appropriate licensing deals in place. And the nature of the copyright law in the United States is that you don't need the deals you can just do it. But that doesn't mean you're not going to irritate the music companies. Apple waited until they had the deals, then they launched the service, and they gained a lot of goodwill. The next step is for them to say we're going to launch a radio service, a streaming service that can go against Pandora, Spodify, Rdio, but they're big holdup right now is they're asking for licensing rights that are much lower than what those companies are paying. And they're saying, look, we're Apple. We have the iPhone, we have iTunes, and our volume will sell so much more music that we'll pay a lower rate, but you'll make more money. That's a pretty classic negotiating tactic. A Steve Jobs maybe would have pulled it off. He had the sort of charisma and gravitas to walk into the music companies and say this is what I want and get it. Apple's real challenge is doing that without that sort of personality at the helm.
[Lu Stout:] All right. Nilay Patel of The Verge, thank you so much for giving your thoughts on the iTunes music store 10 years on and what it could look like 10 years from now. Thank you and take care. You're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, we take a look at the world's most advanced bionic arm. So advanced it is powered by thought alone. That's just ahead in our new art of movement series.

[Cooper:] Well, you hear a lot about Republican chances of winning the House in November. Today, party leaders put out the blueprint they pledge to follow if they do. They're calling it a Pledge to America.
[Rep. John Boehner , House Minority Leader:] Our government is out of control in Washington, and we need to rein it in, and begin a new drive for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government in our nation's capital.
[Cooper:] Well, at the White House, as you might expect, they're calling it nothing new.
[Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary:] You know, I think I think John Boehner said and I think most of the American people will see that this is very much in line with what the Republican Party has proposed for the past many years.
[Cooper:] Well, this is it, about 21 pages of content. There are calls to make President Bush's across-the-board tax cuts permanent, to repeal health care reform, end the TARP bank bailout, eliminate federal support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, get tougher on Iran, and spend more on missile defense. It's largely the proposals, however, for cutting government spending and closing the budget deficit that have drawn the most fire from Democrats and some conservatives, saying the specifics aren't there and the numbers don't add up. Let's talk about it now with Democratic strategist Paul Begala; Erick Erickson, editor in chief of RedState.com; and J.D. Hayworth, former congressman and Republican former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Arizona. Erick, I read what you wrote about this. I think you said it was the worst thing to come out of Washington since George McClellan. You called it dreck. What's
[Erick Erickson, Editor-in-chief, Redstate.com:] Pretty much.
[Cooper:] What's the problem with it?
[Erickson:] You know, it's it's ridiculous. For starters, the very first page, it decries the self-appointed elite, the ruling class imposing mandates on American citizens and businesses. Flip over a few pages, and it imposes mandates on American businesses related to health care. Remember, back in 2008, all the conservatives upset about Republican spending and Democratic spending. Well, guess what? The compromise in this plan is, we're going to go back to that spending; the same spending that, two years ago, a lot of conservatives excitedly embracing this plan tonight were complaining about. It's very disappointing. I kind of prefer to be the party of no than the party of pretty much anything goes as long as we don't give you specifics.
[Cooper:] Mr. Hayworth, what about that?
[J.d. Hayworth , Former U.s. Congressman:] Well, I don't believe that Erick's criticisms are without merit. Obviously, more can be done. Let's not forget, at the start of this country, at the Constitutional Convention, Patrick Henry, a great patriot, was very suspicious of the Constitutional Convention, saying, I smell a rat. So, when you take a look at what is transpiring here, I think, more appropriately, it's it's what Mark Twain said: "History doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes." Sixteen years ago, House Republicans signed a Contract With America. But I think one thing that should be embraced by all conservative candidates, the folks that joined the teaparty.US. have a Contract From America, the premise being that people want to be hired. And how many times do job applicants tell those who will employ them exactly what they will be doing? No, the people need to be in charge. So my quick and easy and free advice to every conservative candidate is to sign the Contract from America.
[Cooper:] Paul, a lot of the language in this pledge, though, does sound like language from Tea Party protests.
[Paul Begala, Cnn Political Analyst:] Well, some of it. I some of the specifics were odd to me. First, it's fitting they had it in a hardware store, because the grassroots got screwed. They set up the Republicans did they did a very smart thing they set up this thing called what is it called, America Speaking Out, where they asked people to weigh in on a whole variety of issues. Well, guess what? The number-two issue on job creation coming into this from the American people, the grassroots, mostly conservatives, was stop subsidizing corporations that ship jobs overseas. Stop tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. That didn't make it into this. Why? Because the Republicans support that. In fact, when it came up for a vote, it was 174-1 within the Republicans in the House in favor of protecting tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas. So, this looks much more like an elite Washington lobbyist deal. In fact, the principal author of it is a lobbyist a former lobbyist, that is whose firm represented Exxon and Pfizer and AIG, one of the great grassroots organizations of America.
[Cooper:] Erick, does Paul have a point?
[Erickson:] Yes. You know, this is exactly why the Republicans didn't need to do this. Put this in perspective. And, by the way, I agree with Congressman Hayworth. The Contract from America, which was actually written by the grassroots, has much more substance to it than this dreck. Look at the Contract with America. It came out in 1994. After 40 years of Democratic rule, in one page, 867 words, the Republicans explained how they were going to be different from 40 years of Democrats. We have now had a four-year gap between Republican control of Congress and Democrats, and now they have got to produce a document longer than the American Constitution.
[Cooper:] Mr. Hayworth, I want to play a clip of an interview Dana Bash did earlier today with House Republican Leader John Boehner.
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] You talk about the rebellion out there. Part of what those rebellious voters want to know is, they want you to be specific, because, as you probably know as you know, they maybe aren't that enamored of the Democrats, but they don't trust you as
[Boehner:] That's why we have outlined clearly in our pledge what we would and would not do. And I think, when it comes to spending, we have been very specific about commonsense steps that we can do to get government
[Bash:] Give me one example.
[Boehner:] Get how about the unspent stimulus money? Let's stop it. Let's stop it and bring it back.
[Cooper:] Erick, do you Congressman Hayworth, do they believe that? Have they been really specific?
[Hayworth:] Well, what they have attempted to do here and, understand any time a proposal is offered in the hothouse of American politics 40 days before a midterm election, it will be open to predictable criticism. But I think here the in Washington terms, Paul and his friends talk about the party of no, N-O. I think House Republicans are trying to say we're the party of know, K-N-O-W. We know the American people want a change. We're listening to what they're saying. No document will be perfect. I think it's an important start, but again, if there is unanimity amongst the conservatives on this panel and how about it we have got Paul outnumbered 2-1 tonight I do believe
[Begala:] I like those odds,
[J.d. Hayworth:] that candidates would do well to sign the Contract from America. That would be icing on this particular Pledge to America.
[Erickson:] Anderson, you know, just for perspective, I have done 24 local radio interviews across the country today, 24 in 20 states. Not one well, one of the 24 radio hosts, all local conservative talk radio hosts, liked this thing, which says to me the Republicans have a problem. But, for perspective, the '94 Contract with America really wasn't what got the Republicans to win. It was the Democrats in '94 that did that. Same thing is going to happen this year. Hopefully, this will be the last night I ever have to consider this document again. But, for perspective, by 2000, the 98 programs the Contract with America said would be eliminated had grown by 13 percent.
[Cooper:] Paul, are there specifics in this thing?
[Begala:] Not enough. I mean I think Dana did a good job of trying to pin Mr. Boehner down. Some of these grassroots Tea Party activists, though, are giving us specifics. And this is one of my sort of bugaboos or rather, drums that I have been banging. Let's not demonize the Tea Party. Let's not patronize them. Let's look at their issues. And they're much more specific than Mr. Boehner. Tea Party activists across the country are calling for privatizing Social Security, privatizing Medicare, privatizing Veterans benefits, and ending unemployment compensation. Now, I think that's a bad set of ideas. They think it's good ideas, but they're specific ideas. This is what this election ought to be about.
[Hayworth:] Now you see, when you're taking a look at politics through Paul Begala-covered glasses colored glasses, you get fear, instead of hope. This is what Paul is running with. And is this is why you're going to see a change in November, because the American people said
[Begala:] Well, J.D., Joe Miller ran
[Hayworth:] people clearly that the extreme overreach is the Obama administration spending exponentially higher than any Republican ever dreamed
[Cooper:] Congressman Hayworth, are you saying there aren't Tea Party candidates who want that? You're saying Paul is just flat-out wrong?
[Hayworth:] I'm saying that what we're seeing from House Republicans is an effort to achieve a consensus. It is always a work in progress. And just one final comment, as I heard the interview with John Boehner, I thought back when Jack Kennedy announced the goal of sending men to the moon and bringing them safely back home, I don't believe reporters sat down and demanded that night that Jack Kennedy tell us specifically how that was going to be done. There are always broad concepts, and the challenge is to make it work.
[Cooper:] OK. I got to go.
[Hayworth:] And that will be the challenge for Election Day
[Cooper:] Paul, I just want you to be able to respond, and then we have got to go.
[Begala:] Right. Senate candidate Joe Miller in Alaska, the Republican nominee, has called Social Security and Medicare and unemployment compensation unconstitutional. Sharron Angle, the Senate candidate from Nevada, has said Social Security even violates the Bible, much less the Constitution. Rand Paul in Kentucky, Ken Buck in Colorado, Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, you can go all across the country, and Republicans are campaigning to end Social Security, Medicare, and Veterans benefits. And those are important ideas.
[Erickson:] God bless them all.
[Begala:] And we should have a debate.
[Hayworth:] That's not true.
[Cooper:] We have got to leave it there. Paul Begala, Erick Erickson, J.D. Hayworth, appreciate all of you on.
[Hayworth:] That's not true.
[Cooper:] Thanks very much. Still ahead: you have seen the surveillance video of a woman withdrawing money from a bank, trying to save her family, her kids, her husband being held hostage at home. A short time later she, her two daughters were killed. Tonight, there's new video of one of the suspects from a surveillance camera at a gas station where he allegedly bought the gasoline used to ultimately set the family's house on fire and kill the two little girls. We're also learning new details about what happened that day. Also tonight: Sanjay Gupta's disease detectives special report, the final part: will 6-year-old Kylie get a diagnosis that will save her life? No one knows what's wrong with her. She's getting sicker. Her parents are desperate for answers.
[Gina Mcpeak, Kylie's Mother:] I'm scared that they might not find something in time. And the the reality is, yes, they might not find anything, but, if they're still looking and they haven't given up, that's telling someone is on your side.

[Costello:] Just about 15 minutes past the hour checking our top stories now. In about two hours we expect the wife of Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine to announce she is suing ESPN. Her husband is accused of molesting boys decades ago. Lori Fine became part of the story when an audiotape surfaced that seemed to suggest she knew about her husband's alleged sexual abuse, but a family member said the tape was tampered with. People in Crown King, Arizona, are being warned this morning, the gladiator wildfire may circle back and threaten their community again. Local media report the fire has swelled to more than 2,000 acres. At least 500 firefighters are on hand but they've only been able to contain 5 percent of the fire. Police are looking for the person who robbed the Oceanside California home of NFL star Junior Seau. It happened just days after his suicide. Police say someone sneaked passed mourning fans in broad daylight, entered the house, rummaged through the drawers and then entered the garage and that's where the culprit made off with a bike and some mementos. Also this morning, new developments and new details in the Trayvon Martin case. Two sources close to the investigation tell us that a doctor's examination of the shooter, George Zimmerman, may back up his claims of a brutal scuffle with the teenager. It adds details of what we can't see in this police surveillance tape on the night Trayvon Martin was killed. Martin Savidge is here to explain. So, the exam was done the next day. There are medical records. So, what do they say?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Anchor:] This is kind of interesting stuff. As you point out, this was a medical exam that was done by George Zimmerman's personal doctor the day the altercation actually took place. And what Trayvon Martin's attorney will point is that if he had been seriously injured in the alleged altercation, the fight between him and Trayvon, then he would have gone to the hospital. He didn't go to the hospital. He didn't have a concussion. That we know. The records do show that George Zimmerman had a broken nose. He also had two black eyes. He had lacerations in the back of his head and he had in the words of his doctor a minor injury to his back. So, it does suggest that something happened. But it doesn't necessarily explain the severity of the all the altercation. One of the things that Trayvon Martin's attorney will point out is that it doesn't tell us who was the aggressor here. Ben Crump was speaking on Anderson Cooper last night. Here's what he said.
[Ben Crump, Martin Family Attorney:] What the other doctor says why he came to the doctor. He sought an appointment with the doctor to get legal clearance to return to work. So it is very suspicious that he doesn't have to go to the doctor February 26th when he shoots and kills Trayvon Martin. Doesn't have to go to the E.R., but then the next morning he has to go. We do not know one thing, Anderson, and that's Trayvon Martin was taken away in an ambulance and he lost a battle for his life.
[Savidge:] And we should point out that both sides are going to look at this medical report and claim it helps them. George Zimmerman says it proves he was in a fight. Trayvon martin's family says, well, it doesn't prove it was the fight of his life, as he maintains.
[Costello:] So, injuries to Trayvon Martin. Do we know anymore from the autopsy report?
[Savidge:] Well, we do know this. At least his hands were injured. Now, what does that say? Does it back up George Zimmerman's account that, as you remember, Zimmerman says this young man came and actually attacked him, punched him, knocked him to the ground and began beating his head against the cement, or as Trayvon Martin's attorney would say, it only shows that Trayvon was defending himself from George Zimmerman who they say started all of this by profiling and then chasing the young teen.
[Costello:] Wow. Martin Savidge, thanks so much. Today, the man convicted of helping criminals, murderers and rapist in Sierra Leone tells the court he brought peace to the country and not war. And don't forget if you head out the door, you can take us with you. Watch us anytime on your mobile or computer. Just head to CNN.comTV.

[Blitzer:] Arguably this is one of the hottest times of the year for sports fans. Basketball in full swing, hockey is finally back. Everyone is counting down to the Super Bowl plus there's a ton of off the field news to discuss with the next guest, ESPN's Jeremy Schaap. Jeremy, thanks very much for coming in. Let's discuss some of these other issues. Let's start with Notre Dame's Manti Te'O. You interviewed him, what, for two and a half hours after we learned that the girlfriend on social media was really fake. You know this guy. Do you believe what he is saying?
[Jeremy Schaap, Espn Correspondent:] Well, you know, Wolf, it's always kind of an awkward condition as a reporter. We asked whether you believe someone you are covering, but the circumstances here were unusual. It was an off camera interview. So I felt in some ways as kind a proxy for people out there who were interested in the story. I can't say whether he was telling the truth. Nobody except a few people inside the story knew whether he was telling the truth. I could tell you I found him credible. I found him believable. His story didn't have any holes that to me it could not be explained. I think most people have come to the conclusion over the last eight or nine days hearing the evidence that he was most likely the victim here. The simplest explanation is most often the correct explanation. I think that's what we are probably dealing with.
[Blitzer:] In the on camera interview he had yesterday with Katie Couric, did you see any inconsistencies from your interview that was off camera?
[Schaap:] I didn't. I mean, there was elaboration and Katie Couric went places I hadn't gone, had him elaborate on some points that he made to me. But I didn't see daylight there between my interview last Friday and Miss Couric's interview, which I believe took place on Tuesday. At this point perhaps the public appetite for the story is drying up. It has been exhausting. It's been confusing. We might never know exactly what happened. But I understand there was late word that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the alleged hoaxter is going to be talking for the first time and I just got an e-mail about this. I think to Dr. Phil, I don't know if you heard that.
[Blitzer:] That's what we've heard as well. We will look forward to hearing what he has to say. He is obviously the center of this whole storm. Let's move on and talk about another sports story. There is a Super Bowl coming up. I assume you heard about that. Not that long down the road. There was a Baltimore Ravens linebacker, Brandon Ayanbadejo. You probably know he caused a little stir. He is defending gay marriage, which is unusual for a pro athlete to talk about these kinds of issues. Listen to what he said to WBAL.
[Brandon Ayanbadejo, Linebacker, Baltimore Ravens:] To me personally, I just see it as a human rights issue. It's not gay rights. It's equal and human rights. Whether it's suffrage or going back to slavery or segregation, it's all the same to me. I've got a lot of scrutiny. I am known as the gay ambassador.
[Blitzer:] He supports gay rights. He is not saying he is gay or anything like that, but he is supporting gay rights. How unusual is this?
[Schaap:] Well, it's very unusual. I know him fairly well personally. He feels strongly about this issue. He is heterosexual. He is married with two kids and has a lot of gay friends. He wants them to enjoy the same rights that he and most Americans enjoy. But this is highly unusual because it is the last taboo in some respects. We never had a male pro athlete in any major team sports ever come out. Not with all the tens of thousands of athletes in the major leagues. The pro football and the NBA, the NHL, it's never happened. It's always been taught that it's too difficult for someone to do that in a locker room setting. I think based on the response of his outspokenness, we might be moving in a direction for the first time where active pro athletes from the major team sports who are male can say they are homosexual and not be ostracized. There have been female athletes in team sports and former professional athletes who are male on the team sports and overseas, there have been rugby players, in Whales, in Australia who have come forward, but never in this country. I think we are moving in that direction.
[Blitzer:] Yes, there is an active athlete in the baseball, football, basketball. When they retire from sports, many who are gay of course have done that, but only a few. You are absolutely right. Very quickly, a story close to my heart as a Washington Nationals baseball fan, you know the mascots, four presidents. They are about to add a fifth president. There is a big discussion who that fifth president for these races that Washington Nationals Park, who the fifth president is. You have to pick who you would like to see.
[Schaap:] I have to tell you, I follow this very closely and I was very happy to see Teddy Roosevelt finally win. If we're talking about stature, these are the Mount Rushmore presidents. I think we got to add Franklin Roosevelt. But if we are talking about someone who can win, it's got to be George H.W. Bush. He is the most accomplished baseball player ever to serve as in Yale and the college world series. He was a righty hitting lefty first baseman, an outstanding player, met Babe Ruth. I'm for Bush.
[Blitzer:] So what it would be George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and George W. Bush, that's what you're saying, right?
[Schaap:] That's what I'm saying.
[Blitzer:] All right I think George W. Bush although I like FDR, maybe
[Fdr -- Schaap:] Stature, yes. Two Roosevelts is confusing.
[Blitzer:] Maybe, you're right. I have to think about it and announce it tomorrow. We will be at the Nationals games and spring training coming up very, very soon. Thanks very much for that.
[Schaap:] Sure, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] A prominent Republican not mincing words saying his party needs to stop being stupid. Republican officials are meeting today in North Carolina. What they can do to rebound and remake their brand.

[Lemon:] American couples trying to adopt children are anxiously waiting as it looks like Vladimir Putin bans all U.S. adoptions. President Putin plans to study the final texts of the adoption ban, but sees no reason why he wouldn't sign it. Hundreds have adoptions pending and Rafael Romo spoke with couple.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Correspondent:] Jenny and Aaron Moyer describe Natali as the sweetest four-year-old boy you could ever meet.
[Aaron Moyer, Adoptive Father:] He's our son. In our hearts, he's our son.
[Romo:] Natali lives in an orphanage in Russia where the Moyers visited him a few months ago with the intention of adopting him.
[Jenny Moyer, Adoptive Mother:] We know that there's an orphan crisis, particularly with children with special needs in that area of the world, and that is something that we are open to and the child that we are pursuing, Natali has Down's syndrome.
[Romo:] But even though the adoption process is nearly complete, the Moyers who live in Georgia are facing what could be an insurmountable obstacle. The Russian parliament has approved a bill to bar American couples from adopting Russian children. President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will sign it into law.
[Adam Pertman, Donaldson Adoption Institute:] If what they say is going to happen really happens, those families are not going to be able to adopt the kids even if all the legal processes already have been in place. But much more important, let's focus on the children. What it means is those children will remain institutionalized.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Correspondent:] Some see the Russian bill as retaliation for a new America law that places financial restrictions on Russians accused of human rights violations. It also denies them visas for travel to the United States. According to statistics by the United States State Department, the number of adopted by American couples has decreased significantly in the last few years. In 2004, the number was more than 5,800 compared to only 962 last year. Over the last 20 years, Americans have adopted more than 60,000 Russian children, more than any other country.
[Patrick Ventrell, State Department Deputy Spokesman:] We remain committed to supporting inter-country adoptions between our two country. The welfare of children is simply too important to be linked to political aspects of our relationship.
[Romo:] The bottom line, says this expert, it is ultimately the children who will suffer because there aren't enough families in Russia willing to adopt.
[Pertman:] There are by some estimates 700,000, 750,000 children in orphanages and institutions in Russia. They don't have that many families stepping up.
[Romo:] The need is especially great for children with special needs like Natali.
[Jenny Moyer, Adoptive Mother:] We rely on our faith and our hope in Jesus Christ and that's what's going to get us through this, but, you know, it would just be devastating for those kids.
[Romo:] The Moyers already have two biological children, both boys and one adopted American girl. They say their children are just waiting for their brother to come home. The Moyers are not just waiting for a court date that would finalize the process and which is expected to happen within a month. And, Don, it is not clear whether the bill as written applies to the couples who are already in the process of adopting a Russian child.
[Lemon:] You know, when someone wants to and a family wants to adopt a child, a couple, I mean, it is heart-wrenching to get right there at the precipice and then not be able to do it. It's terrible.
[Romo:] And it's like they told me. They already consider Natali their son. It's just a matter of time.
[Lemon:] Yeah. Thank you, Rafael. Appreciate your reporting. You know, as we come to the end of 2012, what are the hot trends for the new year? We will preview what you can expect in 2013, what you can expect it to bring, looking at everything from food to toys.

[Kaye:] All week, CNN is going in-depth, breaking down the current job market and what you need to know. Young or old, if you're having a hard time landing a good-paying job, technical college could be a good option. CNN Catherine Callaway reports.
[John Appleby, Technical College Student:] I am the oldest. I am older than the instructor.
[Catherine Callaway, Cnn Correspondent:] At 61, John Appleby is a true senior among students at Chattahoochee Technical College. This housepainter's journey back to school to study diesel technology began with the decline in construction that left him out of a job.
[Appleby:] I got tired of not being able to do any work because nobody wanted to pay me none. So I thought, I'm going to do something I can make a living at and something I will enjoy.
[Callaway:] Appleby is counting on making more money as a trained diesel mechanic. Many workers, especially in the manufacturing sector, turn to technical schools to maneuver themselves into better- paying jobs. [on camera]: Enrollment here at Chattahoochee Technical College has increased more than 15 percent over last year in large part due to the struggling economy. Students come here to get degrees in fields that range from mechanical to medical, from cosmetology to computers. [voice-over]: Seventeen-year-old Emily Wilson is the face of another growing population at technical schools, the young student who takes college courses in high school. Through a state program, she's using tax dollars that would go to her high school to pay for her technical college education.
[Emily Wilson, Technical College Student:] It make me excited, because I know I'm getting ahead where I need to be, to be able to finish college as soon as possible and get my career on a start.
[Callaway:] Emily will graduate high school with a year of classes completed toward her two-year associate degree in accounting. She'll be able to work sooner, and that may allow her to continue her education at a four-year institution. The president of CTC says the colleges have to adapt to the needs of the job market.
[Sanford Chandler, President, Chattahoochee Technical College:] We're going to grow a group of entrepreneurs in the future, a group of people who can lead our country out of this transformational recession we've seen, then we think that we do that through changing the technology that they know, their knowledge base, and it will be done across a spectrum of people from the traditional student to the non- traditional student.
[Appleby:] My first day in math class, I mean, I'm saying I raised my hand and I said, "I haven't done an algebra problem since 1964."
[Callaway:] Appleby says going back to school at his age has been difficult, but as retirement age rises, he knows training for skilled jobs is a must for the young and old alike. In Acworth, Georgia, Catherine Callaway, CNN.

[Anderson:] You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London. I'm Becky Anderson, welcome back. Now, speed, accuracy, and power. This man has combined all three to touch down in the history books. You're watching the moment the New Orleans Saints' quarterback, Drew Brees, broke a 27-year-old record for the most passing yards in a single season of the NFL. Now, the pass from Monday night's clash against Atlanta pushed Brees's tally to 5087 yards, a feat he's managed to accomplish in just 15 games, and the season isn't over yet. I'm joined by Pedro Pinto. Good, talk us through what is the most extraordinary record, I've got to say. This used to be my team when I lived in the States. I'm very excited about this.
[Pedro Pinto, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] Really?
[Anderson:] Well, absolutely.
[Pinto:] I didn't know that.
[Anderson:] How big a deal is this, though?
[Pinto:] This is a huge deal.
[Anderson:] Yes?
[Pinto:] You're talking about the former holder of this record being Dan Marino, a legend
[Anderson:] Sure.
[Pinto:] of the game. He set that record back in 1984. We're both too young to remember that, right? But anyway, this stood for so many years, and you've had so many premier quarterbacks since then. I mean, I'm talking about quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, like Tom Brady, and none of them were able to reach this accolade. What this man has done, especially playing for a team that isn't considered to be a a regular title contender
[Anderson:] Sure.
[Pinto:] is phenomenal. What's curious, Becky, is that he is from a small market, but New Orleans isn't really one of the big cities in the NFL. So, his approach to the record kind of went under the radar if you weren't following the NFL week in and week out.
[Anderson:] For those who don't watch it, very briefly, for those who don't know too much about NFL, to have scored that many yards in so few games in what is a really physical game is something that I think is quite remarkable.
[Pinto:] His completion ratio percentage is also incredible. We're talking about a guy who completes over 70 percent of his passes, and it's not like he's doing it with a lot of time.
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Pinto:] He's got, basically, seven-foot monsters chasing him every time he has the ball, right?
[Anderson:] By the aggressive pace of the game.
[Pinto:] Exactly, which is which makes it so impressive. And when he did it yesterday, I was actually following the countdown to the game, they were talking about, is he going to do it, is he not going to do it? There could be another two quarterbacks who make it past the 5,000 yard mark this year, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is the favorite for the MVP award, even with Brees beating this record, because the Green Bay Packers, his team
[Anderson:] Sure.
[Pinto:] has a 14 and 1 record, which is the best in the league, obviously. They were undefeated for a long time. It's curious that even with this record and this season, Brees might not get the MVP. It just shows how high the standard in the league is right now.
[Anderson:] It sure is.
[Pinto:] Yes.
[Anderson:] Good stuff. And Pedro, back with you with that and more
[Pinto:] A lot more.
[Anderson:] Premier League action
[Pinto:] Yes.
[Anderson:] tonight in an hour. "World Sport," stick with us for that, coming up. Tortured by the Gadhafis. A woman who looked after the Libyan leader's grandchildren nearly died at the hand of his family. We want to take you back to that story and show you just how she is doing. That is up next in a very special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with us.

[Berman:] Good morning, everyone. Great to see you. I'm John Berman.
[Romans:] And I'm Christine Romans. Our STARTING POINT this Friday morning, in just a minute, we get the big March jobs report, the first month of full sequestration effects. We're going to look at what's expected and what's happening in the job market.
[Berman:] It's like the Super Bowl for Christine Romans.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Berman:] Then a developing story, North Korea asking Russia to evacuate its embassy over growing tensions. We're going to live in the grand peninsula.
[Romans:] And the dominoes are falling, a group of Rutgers professors asking the president be fired after a controversial video of Basketball Coach Mike Rice goes public. This morning, we're talking to one of them.
[Berman:] The assistant coach already resigned there and more to follow maybe. Plus, my goodness, one handed, bare handed catch of that ball, but the most amazing thing of all, what he was doing with his other hand. Holding on to his beer, and does it without spilling a single drop, hats off to you this morning, sir. It is Friday, April 5th. STARTING POINT begins right now.
[Romans:] Our STARTING POINT this morning, 30 minutes away from a very good indicator of what's happening in the jobs market. A big jump in February, 236,000 jobs created. We're not expecting that kind of robust hiring in March, 190,000 jobs is what analysts are forecasting, 190,000 jobs not enough to bring down the unemployment rate. That unemployment rate stuck at 7.7 percent. Analysts and economists have been dialling back their expectations for the health of the jobs market this week because some other weak economic reports out there. Another issue, this report could show could show the early impact of the forced spending cuts. Those kicked in last month and some government agencies started furloughing workers, but the broader jobs trend shows improvement. I want to show you kind of a bigger picture, the last year or more, economy has been adding jobs for almost 2-12 years now. I'm going to bring you those numbers live at 8:30 Eastern. Sequester, we're going to be looking to see also what could happen with the cold weather. Could that have held back some construction hiring, housing market recovery, maybe that was something good in these numbers. Government job losses, we're expecting 9,000 or 10,000 government jobs to be shed even as the private sector keeps going.
[Berman:] So two things, there was sort of a big mood change that happened just this week. I think expectations were much higher before Tuesday that there would be gains of over 200,000 jobs. Now all of a sudden, the expectation is much, much lower.
[Romans:] And it feels like deja vu to me because even Ben Bernanke, the fed chief, recently said this. We have seen this early spring strength the last couple of years and then it would fade into the summer and that's something that's been kind of a pattern. This number is kind of a mysterious number this month. I'll be honest with you because we don't know how sequester, how weather, how an earlier Easter, worries from Europe are all going to play in here. Private sector employers have been more resilient than I would have expected.
[Berman:] There are two numbers to look at because of that. One, there could be private sector job crease that is greater than 190,000, but there could be public sector government job losses.
[Romans:] That's true. One thing about the jobs number that is really interesting to me it is such an important economic indicator with the largest labor market in the world and the largest economy in the world. But when you look at the jobs number, for most people even when it's getting better, they say they don't feel it because your job market is a job market of one. Either have you a job and you're confident in it or you don't. That is what really an underlying problem for the economy. We need to get more people back to work.
[Berman:] We will bring you those new numbers, the minute, second that they come in at 8:30. So stay with us for that. Meanwhile, breaking news this morning, missiles are on the move and tensions rising on the Korean Peninsula. Reuters says Pyongyang is asking Russia to consider evacuating its embassy staff in the north. Russian officials say they have no immediate plans to comply. Meanwhile, a U.S. official tell CNN two missiles and launch components have been moved to North Korea's east coast in the last few days with a range of 2,500 miles. These missiles could possibly strike South Korea, Japan, and U.S. bases in Guam. CNN's Jim Clancy is live for us this morning in Seoul, South Korea. Good morning, Jim. What's the latest?
[Jim Clancy, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, we're ratcheting up the pressure once again. North Korea, apparently according to the Russians, telling them they might want to evacuate some of their embassy staff, if not all of them. We are understanding now that this is a message that may have been given to other embassies as well. The Russians are going public with that.

[Lemon:] A rundown of some of the stories we're working on. Next, more kids and more families are dealing with autism. We'll break it down and tell you about a new report. Then, a rising star in the Republican Party gets behind Mitt Romney. Will it give him the bump that he needs? We going to talk about that new government study that finds in one in every 88 children in America has autism. Check out what's on your screen right now. Back in 2000, one in 150 children had the developmental disorder. And you can see the rate steadily increasing over the years. Joining me now is Mark Roithmayr, the president of the advocacy group Autism Speaks. Mark, thank you for joining us. This is near and dear to your heart. Are you surprised at this one-in-88 number?
[Mark Roithmayr, President, Autism Speaks:] First of all, it's a pleasure to be here. This one-in-88 number, I think it's time to declare autism is an epidemic in United States. Autism speaks is the leading autism organization in the world. It was started in 2005 by Susan and Bob Bright. At that time, the rate was one in 166. It has nearly doubled in that time. We see also the cost to families, it's almost tripled over the last six years. I'll tell you we're undercounting on both numbers.
[Lemon:] Really?
[Roithmyr:] Yes.
[Lemon:] Why do you think that?
[Roithmayr:] They pull from health and education records. We did a gold study in South Korea where everybody single child got looked at. The rate was one in 38. Folks at the CDC will tell you jerry undercounting.
[Lemon:] Why do you think this number is growing? What's causing it? Is it environmental? You know it's a developmental disorder.
[Roithmayr:] The NIH pays a scientist at Columbia University just on that question, the answer is four fold. Better diagnosis, more awareness, but 50 percent is do not know. What we think there is that there are environmental triggers going on and we need more science dollars to go into environmental research.
[Lemon:] Like what? Because I spoke to Dr. Sanjay Gupta last hour. I said, is there a test? He said, I'm used to ordering a test saying get this and what have you. It's not quite that cut and dried when it comes to autism.
[Roithmayr:] The things we're starting to look at range from everything from internal infection, vitamin D deficiency, maternal age. If women and moms and dads are older having babies, they've been exposed to more toxins over the course of a lifetime. We're looking at things like air pollution. We're looking at things like pesticides.
[Lemon:] You definitely think it is environmental.
[Roithmayr:] So genetic predisposition, environmental trigger. Going forward there's a real clear plan here. You know, we're looking for the coalition of the willing.
[Lemon:] That's what I was going to ask you. What can especially parents do, but is it government, is it schools, but most of all what can all of us do and especially parents?
[Roithmayr:] First of all, with parents or anybody that's out there in America, for parents, if you have young infants and toddlers, look for the early warning signs. Go to autismspeaks.org. You can see it 3, 6, 9, 12 months. We have a video glossary that compares a typically developing child with a child on the spectrum. We have resources where you can go locally.
[Lemon:] If you look on the screen, these are some of the possible signs of autism, delayed and infrequent babbling, doesn't gesture to communicate, poor eye contact, seeks your attention infrequently, doesn't reach out when you approach. That's what you should look for.
[Roithmayr:] Correct. But I want to come back to this concept of a coalition of the willing, what is it going to take? One in 88, one in 54 boys, we have an epidemic going on in the United States. It's the federal, state, and local governments. It's local schools. It's local care providers. And it's three things. We need more science around that environmental side. We can diagnose of all children of all backgrounds by 18 months of age.
[Lemon:] So 18 to 24, you recommend children get screened for autism at ages 18 months and 24 months.
[Roithmayr:] I'll tell you, we can diagnose definitely by 18 months. That's the standard that we want to get to. There's two things in our way of doing that. We need more providers that are out there, almost a national training corps. What we have is such a demand for autism that we're not meeting with the supply of providers. And also insurance. In this country, 21 states that don't cover any autism insurance coverage. We need to change that.
[Lemon:] We're so happy you came, Mark. Thanks for coming on. Mark Roithmayr. Did I say it right, Roithmayr.
[Roithmayr:] And just one last piece. We have the first CDC study that was ever done in 1992. Those kids are now turning 20 year olds. Adults with autism are becoming a bigger and bigger issue. We have to get behind that also.
[Lemon:] Yes, thank you. Pleasure. Appreciate you joining us.
[Roithmayr:] Thank you.
[Lemon:] All right, Mark. Let's talk some politics. He's a rising star in the Republican Party but will Marco Rubio's endorsement be enough to put Latino voters in Mitt Romney's corner? We'll talk about it in our political update.

[Jane Velez-mitchell, Host:] Tonight, back to the clinker. Lindsay Lohan headed back to prison. That sure didn`t take long. She failed a drug test, and now she`s behind bars for 30 days. So will she actually do her time this time? And fast breaking twists and turns in the desperate search for little Haleigh Cummings. Her father, Ronald, has just been sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking. Now Misty is isolated and alone. Tonight she awaits her fate. Are cops putting the squeeze on Ronald`s ex-wife? And sick and twisted sext messages. A district attorney accused of settlement sexting an abuse victim during her boyfriend`s trial. Tonight, did he abuse his position of power? We`ll talk to a woman who says she was a victim. Plus, horrifying family violence rips through Seattle. Cops say a woman killed three of her family members and then killed herself. Tonight, one daughter survived. Her only words? "Mom has gone crazy." What happened inside this house? ISSUES starts now.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, bombshell developments. From party animal to jailbird, Lindsay Lohan is back behind bars for the next 30 days. We think. Lohan showed no emotion as she was literally handcuffed and led out of court. It was a far cry from her last tearful court performance. Remember this?
[Lindsay Lohan, Actress:] I know that I was ordered to go once a week, and it wasn`t you know, I wasn`t missing the class. It`s just I wouldn`t do anything like that. I was working mostly in Morocco, and I was working with children. It wasn`t a vacation. It wasn`t some sort of a joke. And I respect you. I`ve been taking you seriously.
[Velez-mitchell:] But after that courtroom speech begging for mercy and after getting out of jail way early, Lindsay Lohan proceeded to flunk not one but two drug tests, coming up positive for cocaine and, says TMZ, amphetamines. So her probation has now been revoked. So we`re all wondering: will this wild-child starlet get off easy yet again? One person seems to think so. Lindsay Lohan. She showed up to her hearing this morning with a bail bondsman in tow. LiLo clearly hoping to post bail right then and there and saunter off without even setting foot in jail. But the judge said no way, Jose. He set a hearing for October 22 and ruled Lindsay will stay in jail until that day. She cannot post bail. Well, at least LiLo will be the most stylish inmate in the big house. As she was handcuffed and carted out, she was wearing a pair of $1,200 sky- high designer high heels. Lindsay`s been gallivanting around Hollywood this week part, partying at nightclubs. She expected to be able to just open her wallet and leave the hearing this morning a free woman. Well, not this time, Linster. But is the party really over for this troubled starlet? Or will she and her high-powered team of attorneys somehow, some way finagle a way to get her out of jail again? Straight out to my fantastic panel. But first to CNN correspondent Kareen Wynter. Kareen, you were right outside the courtroom this morning. What was the mob scene like, and what was Lindsay like as she arrived to face the music?
[Kareen Wynter, Cnn Correspondent:] Jane, as for the scene, it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I`ve covered quite a few of these hearings now for Lohan. Standing room only was not even the word, the correct way to describe it. There was so much press, spectators, also law enforcement officials. And they really, really tried to create an entryway for the pop star who, by the way, you know, was able to walk in. And you saw Lindsay Lohan. She was wearing her shades, her hair pulled back. Didn`t seem, you know, the slight bit concerned. She was whisked into the courthouse. But it`s what unfolded upstairs and by the way, there were no cameras allowed, Jane but she just seemed as if she really doesn`t know what`s going on around her. One of our colleagues was in that courtroom said that Lohan just stood there matter-of-factly, as the four deputies surrounded her, put her in handcuffs and led her away. This is becoming routine for her. So it`s really, really interesting to see if this is even having an impact on her. Is she too far gone? The good thing is, this judge is saying enough is enough. He`s laid down the law. There is no leniency that he displayed at all here by not giving her an option of bail. So she will be behind bars for 30 days. Is that enough time? We`ll all have to wait and see. But at least she`ll sit there until that next probation hearing October 22...
[Velez-mitchell:] I`ve got to say...
[Wynter:] ... Jane.
[Velez-mitchell:] I have one thing to say to the judge who sentenced Lindsay back in jail: way to go, dude! And I don`t say that to be mean. I say, this is what`s needed to get this young woman`s attention. Howard Samuels, you`re an expert in recovery, the founder and CEO of the Hills Treatment Center in Los Angeles. This young lady has failed at rehab four times. I honestly believe this is what`s needed to get her attention, to save her life.
[Howard Samuels, Founder/ceo, Hills Treatment Center:] You know, Jane, without question. I mean, we`re dealing with a seriously hard-core addiction here. And for somebody that, you know, fails two drug tests when the whole world is watching, for her to rationalize that is she`s on another planet. I mean, the denial is so heavy. So for her to go to jail, without question, has to break through that denial that she has. So the 30 days, great. But I`m more interested in what`s going to happen afterwards. She has to she has to go to jail I mean, to rehab for a year without any stops in between, from jail to rehab for a year. That`s what`s got to happen here.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, the judge never seems to sentence any of these starlets to rehab for a year. I know you were telling me the other day that, when you were faced with going to jail, the judge in your case, back in the `70s, when you got clean and sober, said, "Hey, dude, either go to jail for four years, or you go to rehab for a year," because a year is what it takes. It`s 22 days, which is just what she did, is not going to solve her problem.
[Samuels:] Oh, 23 days is a joke. I mean, this is where the courts, the lawyers I mean, they don`t really get the disease of alcohol and addiction. It is a hardcore thing to change. I mean, I`ve spent three years of my life locked up you in treatment centers, and I needed that. So for Lindsay, or anybody like her, it`s a minimum of a year. That`s what it it`s going to take here.
[Velez-mitchell:] Mary, Pennsylvania, your question or thought, ma`am.
[Caller:] I was just wondering, what about the doctors that are prescribing the drugs for Lindsay? Aren`t they part of the blame, too?
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I think you raise an excellent question. Robin Sax, when she violated probation, she was sentenced to 90 and 90, 90 days in jail, 90 days in an inpatient rehab facility. She did 14 days in jail. She did 22 days at a hospital in Los Angeles. And the doctors apparently decided, "OK, now you can leave early. You don`t have to stay because you`re OK." Now, you know what they need to say today? "I was wr-wr-wr-wr-wr-wr- wrong," OK? It`s very hard for doctors to say that, wr-wr-wr-wrong. Robin Sax?
[Robin Sax, Former Prosecutor:] It`s even harder for lawyers and judges to say they`re wrong, too. But you know, here we`ve got a situation where we`ve got this combination of dealing with an addiction and then also the part where the criminal justice system is involved. And for some reason there`s one group of people that thinks that we should treat the addiction, and then there`s another group that thinks that she should be punished. Yet, when the people are there advocating for dealing with the addiction, they`re never really dealing with the addiction, like your guest just said, that this is not a 22-day or even a 90-day sentence. And then the ability and the power just to release her willy-nilly is just wrong and never going to treat the issue. In this case, what I see is a case that we just have to let the criminal justice system punish. We have tried to rehabilitate. We have tried to deter. We have tried to educate and deal with the addiction issues. The fact of the matter is, until Lindsay Lohan is ready to deal with her program, no rehab is going to help her, and only punishment will.
[Velez-mitchell:] Lindsay`s dad Michael cried out, "Oh, God" as bailiffs handcuffed his daughter. And he spoke out outside court, insisting Lindsay is an addict and needs help, not jail. Check this out.
[Michael Lohan, Father Of Lindsay:] She hasn`t gotten help for her addiction yet. She doesn`t make the right decisions. She doesn`t know better. When somebody is there and she first of all, leaving California to go to New York for Fashion Week is the biggest mistake in the world. Let`s be serious. I mean, it`s all drugs there anyway. And then all of these old parts are there. She doesn`t stay with her mother when she`s home. She stays in a hotel unsupervised. Is that a good place for her? You know? It`s all people, places and things. And she`s around the wrong people, hanging out in the wrong places, and all the things in her life are misguided.
[Velez-mitchell:] Kim Serafin, senior editor, "InTouch Weekly," when she got out of this inpatient treatment facility and then appeared on the VMA Awards, making fun of her own drug and alcohol problems, I said on this show ISSUES, this is a serious problem. This woman is headed for a slip, because she`s already mocking her disease. That`s not something that one should do in early sobriety. And well, I hate to say it, but I was right - Kim.
[Kim Serafin, Senior Editor, "intouch Weekly":] Yes. You know, a lot of people were saying, is it too soon for her to be doing this, poking fun of herself on the MTV Awards? Is it too soon for her to rush right back into work? Of course, while she was in rehab, while she was in jail, even, everyone was talking about the next film that she was doing. Can she revive her career? That was the question that so many people were asking. It seemed she was so gung-ho about this new movie that she was doing, questions about where she was shooting it. And maybe that really was all too soon, especially since you just mentioned she served a fraction of the time that she was initially sentenced for in rehab. She was supposed to serve 90 days. She was let out after 23 days. So clearly, it wasn`t enough, and clearly, maybe there were steps that she was taking that she should have waited. She should have held back, taken some time to get herself straight before she focused on work again.
[Velez-mitchell:] What were those doctors thinking to let her out after 22, 23 days saying, "Oh, it`s not as bad as we thought it was?" Well, you were wrong, doctors! Everybody, stay right where you are. Coming up, a district attorney accused of sending raunchy messages to an abuse victim? We are going to talk to a woman who says she is victim No. 3 and ask the question, why does this guy still have a job? But first, La Lohan locked up. How much time will this very troubled young woman get in jail this time around?
[M. Lohan:] The thing is, when you go and you`re on prescription medication, you go out and you do have a drink or you do do a line of cocaine, or whatever, you don`t know if that could be your last. I think Dr. Drew`s right with regard to having a bottom. But my concern for so long, until that SCRAM bracelet on her ankle, was today going to be her last day? And that`s why I was reaching out.

[Anderson:] you're watching CNN. And this is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back. Now in startling, terrifying scene today around Dallas, Texas. Have a look at this video. It shows one of at least two tornadoes that touched down in the DallasFt. Worth metropolitan area within the past few hours. Now the twisted barreled over a tractor trailer depot, hurling huge trucks. And here D well, like they were playthings. There was also extensive property damage in residential neighborhoods. So far no reports of injuries or deaths. Warnings have now been canceled in the area, but a watch remains in effect for the next two hours. And more on that of course as we get it. 15 million people at risk of starvation, a million of them are kids. All of them live in the Sahel region of Africa, a belt of arid land that stretches across the continent below the D excuse me Sahara Desert. The region is in the midst of a severe prolonged drought. Eight nations from Senegal to Chad are experiencing the worst conditions. UNICEF officials say these people can be helped. Time is of the essence. David McKenzie with more from Chad.
[David Mckenzie, Cnn International Correpsondent:] This crisis is affecting the Sahel region of Africa, between the Sahara in the north and the equatorial forests in the south. UNICEF says that more than a million children could face starvation in these eight countries, because of climate change and food prices, and also regional conflict it's difficult to get the aid out to people. These programs are woefully under funded. They say this is the edge of a crisis, that people need to act now, go on Twitter and Facebook and join the conversation and try to help the Sahel and its people. David McKenzie, CNN, Djimena, Chad.
[Anderson:] Well, aid workers say the situation is rapidly deteriorating. My colleague Jenny Harrison with more on that. Jen, what have you got?
[Jenny Harrison, Cnn Correpsondent:] Well, it's a long [inaudible]. A drought like this with this significance does not occur literally overnight. Let me just show you again the region that David was referring to there. Look how vast it is, stretching literally from the west out towards the east to the horn of Africa. And what you have here is two very different climates. Of course, to the north we have the Sahara Desert. And then we have the wetter lands further to the south, but in all this is an area covering 3 million square kilometers. It is hugely dependent on the Intertropical Convergence Zone. We call that the ITCZ. And these rains shift depending on the season, so in January they are to the south. And as we go through the spring months it pushes up towards the north. And during the summer months it's this pretty much across this region the Sahel. And this is the rains that are so desperately needed and relied upon of course from one year to the next. Now what has been happening is that we haven't seen these rains. The drought is in extreme situation across much of the east D Ethiopia, also Uganda. And then out towards the west as well. Here we are in a severe state of drought. So if we take this area to the west, I want to show you this graph that goes back to 1900. Now look at the first D my goodness D years up to 1970. You see this line and you see all these black bars above it, that is good, some very good rains during those years. Since 1970, just have a look at this, there have been only four seasons with average or above average rainfall since 1970. And as we've been saying, of course, the number of people that are so impacted D 10 million, a million of them children. we're so reliant, Becky, on these rains in terms of what's going to happen through the spring months looks as if the east is going to see some pretty good rains. That gets worse through the summer, but out towards the west, we should see some above average precipitation D Becky.
[Anderson:] That is good news. Jenny, as ever, reminding us exactly why we should care about that story. Thank you, Jen. Look at some other stories that are connecting for you tonight. And James Murdoch has stepped down today as chairman of British satellite broadcaster BSkyB. Felicia Taylor is on that story. The second resignation this year, Felicia, for the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Why this? And why now?
[Felicia Taylor, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, what this does is basically the conclusion has been made that it could have been too damaging for him to stay on as chairman and CEO of the company, because there are still critical verdicts that could come down from a writ of parliamentary inquiries. So this removes him from that position. The reigns go to Nicholas Ferguson who was the deputy chairman. And it's from a shareholder's perspective this is actually good news, because it removes any kind of uncertainty that there was of him being at the helm. Now as I mentioned, there is still a critical verdict that could come from another inquiry from the British parliament, but there's also regulators that are looking into whether or not BSkyB is fit and proper to broadcast. If they are deemed not to be and their broadcast license is taken away that can escalate things here in the United States with escalation in terms of allegations of foreign corrupt practices act. We spoke to one defense lawyer who told us that those penalties could be very severe D listen.
[Brad Simon, Defense Lawyer:] News Corp. could be on the hook tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars if they ultimately settle, or if convicted as far as crimes. Not to mention the potential risk of individuals, high ranking individuals of News Corp. getting indicted and possibly going to prison.
[Taylor:] How high? Like Jamie Murdoch? SIMON; Absolutely. Now this report could come shortly after Easter. So this story is far from over. And there certainly will be headlines to come D Becky.
[Anderson:] Felicia, thank you. we'll take a very short break here on CNN. When we come back, at age 36, a ripe old age, Tiger Woods ready to play the Masters, for get this, an 18th time. His chances, we're going to chat about that after this.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] All right, thanks so much, Randi Kaye. Great reporting there. And of course, the rest of our team still in place there in Aurora. We'll be checking in with a number of our colleagues there. Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. So right now, let's bring you up to speed on all that's taking place. Live images right now. Bomb squads in Colorado are surrounding that booby trapped apartment belonging to the suspect in that deadly shooting rampage at the movie theatre in Aurora. A live report from the scene is it just moments away. Ground images now as well as they continue to put up tape around that cordoned off area. So police are revealing more disturbing details about the attack in and of itself and suspected gunman James Holmes. People who knew him are also speaking out now and a new photo posted on a sex web site may be that of Holmes with red hair there. We'll tell you how that could impact this investigation. The community gathers in prayer to remember the 12 lives lost in the tragedy and 38 in all injured. All right, that's where we begin. We're learning more about the victims. CNN's Nick Valencia is here with some of their stories. We understand the police department will be revealing a long list of all the victims. They haven't done that thus far. We are expecting that momentarily. But what can you tell us about the victims that we're learning more about?
[Nick Valencia, Cnn Correspondent:] The list of those wounded and deceased will be released later on today at 2:00 p.m. local press conference expected from the Aurora Police Department. We hope to get those names sooner. But CNN's been able to independently confirm half of those deceased. We'll start with the latest information that we have. Staff Sergeant Jesse Childress of California, he was U.S. Air Force reserve man. His family notified late this morning at about 1:00 a.m. of his passing. He was an active duty Air Force member. He was among four actually U.S. service members that were wounded in this shooting on Friday in Aurora, Colorado by suspect, James Holmes. Now John Larimer, I believe we have pictures of him. He's a 27-year- old U.S. Navy, less than a year, had not seen active combat just yet. It was his first posting, in fact, Fredricka, near Aurora. His family saying they were notified about his death last night around midnight. They gave us a statement. I spoke to his father in Crystal Lake, Illinois. They said, we send out thoughts and prayers out to the families of the other victims and those still recovering in the hospital. We love you, john, and we'll miss you always. Matt McQuinn was also listed among the deceased. Like many others McQuinn's family waited agonizing hours before they were actually notified of his passing. The girlfriend that he was with along with her brother, he was shot shielding her according to witnesses as he was protecting his girlfriend. He was shot there. And then to make matters worse for his girlfriend, since she's not a relative, Fredricka, you know, the laws are very strict. She was unable to find the condition of her boyfriend until hours later, just very sad situation there. Alex Sullivan is also being described as one of those that perished that day, one of that was 12 killed by this alleged shooter and suspect, James Holmes. Alex Sullivan a gentle giant. He planned to celebrate his 27th birthday there at the theatre with his special screening, this midnight theatre screening. His dad there canvassing, you see there locally in Aurora on Friday before he found out that his son had died. He was expected to celebrate Alex Sullivan expected to celebrate his one-year wedding anniversary on Sunday. He worked at the theatre, but was not there working at the theatre at that time. He was there enjoying the movie, but just a very sad situation. Smart, loving guy described as having a big heart. Mikela Medic is another one of the six people that we've been able to confirm here at CNN, been making calls all day. She's listed as a 23- year-old woman among the dead. We confirm that with her father's cousin. We also had a very emotional interview with her aunt earlier today with Gary Tuchman. She is described as being very spiritual and independent girl who was great fun. It took her family 19 hours before they found out that she had died. A lot of the family members that we're hearing from saying that they wish they would have heard about this sooner. They're a little upset about the lack of time and sort of communication that happened there. But, of course, I'm sure police wanting to confirm before they mention anything or confirm those details to us and last but
[Whitfield:] I guess, a lot of cases, too, many victims were running. They weren't necessary with their belongings and their id. So it's been very difficult and painstaking for authorities to figure out who, you know, the identity of these bodies.
[Valencia:] That's been an emotional day for everybody involved. Calling the families, you know, it's also very difficult on our end to call. We have to be respectful of their and very sensitive of their situation. One person I want to point out is Jessica Ghawi, Jessica Redfield. She was an aspiring sports broadcaster. She has become sort of the quintessential face of the victims in these shootings. Her brother has been very active on social media. His name is Jordan creating that trending hashtag ripjessica. She was first shot in the leg according to witness reports and then later in the head. She had moved from Texas to Denver to become an aspiring sports broadcaster. Her dream cut tragically short there in Aurora, Colorado on early Friday morning.
[Whitfield:] My goodness, so terribly sad. So you just listed seven people?
[Valencia:] Yes.
[Whitfield:] Seven people and still we have yet to learn of the many others of those who were killed in this tragedy. We'll get that list coming from the Aurora Police Department. Thanks so much. Appreciate that, Nick. So right now the fire department, ATF and bomb disposal experts are on the scene of the suspect James Holmes' apartment. Poppy Harlow is there as well. Poppy, give us an idea. You've been you and other reporters are at a perimeter point there while they continue to look into this apartment and painstakingly try to figure out how to get in there because it is so heavily booby trapped.
[Poppy Harlow, Cnnmoney.com Correspondent:] They are. Here's what I can tell you, Fredricka. According to a law enforcement source I spoke with in depth today. They think there are at least a dozen explosive devices, frankly, IEDs within this apartment that have been booby trapped, rigged so that basically they would be set off by someone entering the apartment. They sent a robot in yesterday to take video to survey. They're doing the same thing again today. I want to go step-by-step through what we know. There was a police presser here just about an hour and a half ago. The first step for them is going to be to try to dismantle what they're calling a trip wire, basically, the booby trap part of this. And that may be done with a robot. That may also, they said, the first step include a controlled detonation that could cause a bit of a fire that would be again in that apartment building right behind me. The next step would be to take the devices, the incendiary devices to another location, a safe location to detonate them. There has been a lot of concern because this morning the law enforcement source told me they believe that there are liquid accelerants. Also jars with black powder in them, things connected, ammunition, things connected to these devices so when they if they were to blow up, then it would really fuel the fire, if you will. That's a big concern here. That's why they say this is so unique, so unusual, so sophisticated, frankly, not really a crude setup. I wanted to ask the police sergeant giving the presser more about what they know about those details. Take a listen.
[Harlow:] what the unknowns. I was told by a law enforcement official they believe there are liquid accelerants and black powder in jars thought to fuel the fire. You are doing detonation, how do you know how contained they can be?
[Sgt. Cassidee Carlson, Aurora Police Department:] We are aware of some jars that may contain some accelerants. The mutual aid and the work that is happening with the partnerships with everybody involved, you have the bomb guys. Right next to them is the fire guys. The communication there, the incident command is amazing. So all of those things are being taken into consideration before any move is made, before a bomb guy makes a decision, he consults a fire guy.
[Harlow:] And there are chemists there as well I've been told to sort of decipher what some of these accelerants may or may not be?
[Carlson:] Yes. We have national experts here to handle all that.
[Harlow:] Also want to point you, Fredricka, and our viewers to some live pictures from our affiliate KMGH. What you're looking at is a group of officials in front of this apartment building on Paris Street in Aurora, Colorado, just about four miles away from that movie theatre where this massacre took place. Those officials include everyone from FBI to local Aurora police and fire officials to ATF to bomb experts flown in from across the country to chemists that are obviously surveying what could be in that apartment before they do any detonation. So again those live pictures that you're looking at in front of the apartment building. It's not clear whether or not anyone has entered the apartment this morning. They are planning to send a robot in to assess the situation further. That may be under way right now. But, Fredricka, I just point out that, you know, they also told us in a police presser, they have to be very careful in any detonation obviously for safety reasons. This is a busy area, but also not to destroy any evidence. Because the third and final step of this is an investigation and they need all the evidence they can get.
[Whitfield:] And in fact, you know, back to the robotics that they might be using while they believe that the robotics can safely get in there where humans may not be able to and at the same time not in any way contaminate what will be a treasure-trove of evidence, will it be by the use of one? We saw yesterday they were able to, you know, some of the investigators by use of crane were looking through the windows and breaking throughout glass and able to see. And that gives them some sort of surveillance or per view of what the robotic can get to without destroying evidence, right?
[Harlow:] Yes. And it's a good point that obviously the robot is the safest way for them to get in. It's not clear whether we're talking about one or multiple here. And the time line is also not clear. You know, the police sergeant said there is no time line. We hope to get in within the next hour, which could mean they be in right now. No idea of how long it might take. They did say a law enforcement official told me they don't believe that any timers are tied to these devices, which is good news. But I also want to point something out that is very strange and is really stuck with me through reporting on this. James Holmes left music very, very loud techno music playing in this apartment that started when he left to go to the movie theatre. One of the neighbors complained about the music and wanted it turned off. So you have to wonder here why he left that playing and rigged this apartment like a booby trap. You would think possibly to attract people to go in there, whether it was neighbors or first responders, but then in the parking lot after the shooting telling police that the apartment was rigged and that there were explosives. You wonder did he have a moment of clarity. What happened there? And that's what we don't know.
[Whitfield:] Yes. Very interesting, too, the tenant who lived underneath that apartment and heard that music going off wanting to go upstairs and actually went upstairs and noticed the door was unlocked. For a second almost opened the door, but then had second thoughts about that. As we know now, it is being booby trapped. Thank goodness that tenant did not open the door. She talked about having those second thoughts. That maybe it wouldn't be right for me to enter. Strange the door is unlocked. All right, Poppy Harlow, thanks so much. We'll check back with you as we hope to learn more about when they might enter that apartment or how they would enter that apartment. Thanks so much. Meantime, police are scheduled to hold a news conference at 4:00 Eastern Time today to give the latest on the overall investigation, of course, CNN will be bringing that you to live. CNN's Don Lemon hosts a special coverage of the Colorado theatre shooting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. You don't want to miss that.

[Cooper:] Flu season is hitting early and hitting hard. Government health officials say the number of people seeking treatment for the flu has spiked over the month; 41 states are now reporting widespread cases; 18 kids have died so far. Keep in mind, the flu typically kills as many as 50,000 people every year in the United States. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joins me now. I didn't realize it kills that many people. It certainly seems worse than last year's. I know a lot of people have gotten sick. Is it in fact worse than it has been in recent years?
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] Looking at this point in time and how the season has transpired so far, it is worse than last year. Last year was considered a relatively mild season. But this is probably as bad as we have seen in 10 years. The question that a lot of people are asking is, is it going to stay bad throughout the entire flu season or is this just sort of an earlier peak? We're seeing a lot more cases than normal this time of year. Is it going to peak earlier and then go down and just be a normal-length flu season? We don't know the answer to that yet.
[Cooper:] How does someone know if they have the flu vs. a regular cold?
[Gupta:] It's funny because you and I have both experienced this, I know. But the thing with the flu is the symptoms are going to be more severe, but I think it's more than that. When you think about the sore throat, the headache, the chest tightness, the muscle aches, usually, with the flu, it comes on all at once. So, it's like you may be feeling fine on Tuesday. And by Wednesday, everything has just sort of hits you. That's much more likely to be the flu, whereas, with a cold, you can get any of those symptoms that I just described, but they usually come and they go. Some may overlap a little bit, but not that sort of a big push. And with the flu, it is usually longer, about seven days on average.
[Cooper:] Yes, I'm just remembering what you're referring to. I got really sick with the flu in Afghanistan. You I think I caught it from you, and you claimed I wasn't sick or something.
[Gupta:] Yes. It...
[Cooper:] I'm just pointing that out. What was that? It was like...
[Gupta:] That was swine flu.
[Cooper:] Swine flu, that's right. I had swine flu. And you're like, "No, no, I think you're fine."
[Gupta:] Yes. It did seem a little out of context. We were in Afghanistan covering the conflict over there, and you came to me looking pretty terrible. I didn't think at that point swine flu had made its way all the way over to that part of the world.
[Cooper:] Yes, it sure had. It had.
[Gupta:] I know, look, if it makes you feel any better I'm not sure that it will I was right there with you.
[Cooper:] You were worse off than I was. You were worse off than I was. But you were smart enough to get an IV drip, as I recall.
[Gupta:] That's right. As you recall.
[Cooper:] But I mean, what about the flu shot? I only got a flu shot last year for the first time in my life. Do they work? Because I've heard you can still get the flu even if you have a flu shot.
[Gupta:] They do work. And I do encourage people to get a flu shot. I know there's a lot of people watching out there right now that may say, look, it doesn't work. It even made me sick. It doesn't work every time. About this year, they're saying about 60 percent effectiveness. It's not 100 percent.
[Cooper:] Better than nothing.
[Gupta:] Yes. Better than nothing. And there's something else that I want to point out, as well. A lot of people say they get the flu shot, and that makes them get the flu. A couple things to keep in mind. It takes about two weeks after you get the flu shot to have immunity.
[Cooper:] Oh, really?
[Gupta:] So it's not going to protect you right away. And the other thing and this is really interesting, Anderson is that when you get a flu shot, you're getting a dead virus, so it can't give you the flu, but what it's doing is activating your immune system. That's what it's supposed to do. It's teaching your immune system to recognize that virus as a problem so when it sees it again, it attacks it. But when your immune system is ramped up like that, you feel kind of cruddy. So it's not that you've got the flu. It's that the flu shot is doing its job. Making your immune system activate.
[Cooper:] All right. I haven't gotten mine yet, but I will now. Sanjay, appreciate it. Thank you. Good advice.
[Gupta:] Thank you. Take care.
[Cooper:] Let's check on some of the other stories we're following right now. Isha is here with a "360 Bulletin" Isha.
[Isha Sesay, Hln Anchor:] Anderson, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went back to work today, her first day after being sidelined for weeks by an illness by a series of health issues including a concussion that led to a blood clot. She met with some of her senior staff and reportedly got a warm welcome back. She also got some gifts, including a football helmet to protect her from another head injury. James Holmes, the Colorado movie theater shooting suspect, was relaxed and seemed detached from it all. He also didn't struggle when he was dragged away by police. Those details revealed today at a preliminary hearing by the first police officer who encountered Holmes. Twenty people were killed in the July 20 shooting rampage at an Aurora movie theater. And in Jersey City, New Jersey, five people were injured when a crowded escalator malfunctioned and started going backwards at a PATH train station. The chaos was caught on video during the morning commute by an eyewitness Anderson.
[Cooper:] Isha, thanks very much. Still ahead, outrage over a horrific crime, a sexual attack on a bus by multiple men who attacked a woman and her boyfriend. Now, the woman has died. Five of the men accused in the brutal attack are now facing justice behind closed doors. We'll have the latest from the trial ahead.

[Kaye:] Top stories now, rescue crews in Chile have pierced through the roof of that underground mine where 33 men are trapped. Now they need to widen the hole so a rescue capsule can fit cleanly inside the tunnel. The rescues can begin in three to four days we're told and it could take longer if they encase the tube with steel tubing to prevent a collapse. The wife of the new Nobel Peace Prize winner is believed to be on her way to visit her husband, jailed Chinese dissonant Liu Xiaobo. Liu won the prize for fighting to bring political and human rights reforms to China. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison last year for inciting subversion. Liu's wife said yesterday police officers were taking her to Liu prison, east of Beijing, so she could tell him that he had won the Nobel. All Bank of America home foreclosure sales have come to a screeching halt. The bank announced its stopping the sales in all 50 states as part of a widening investigation into flaws in the process. The announcement comes amid increasing concerns as the largest banks and other lenders have seized homes without proper documentation. Foreclosure freeze is expected to last several weeks. Are those protests at military funerals free speech or possibly an invasion of privacy? The Supreme Court is looking into it along, of course, with our legal guys, civil rights attorney and law professors, Avery Friedman, is in Cleveland and criminal defense attorney and law professor Richard Herman is in Las Vegas. Good to see both of you guys.
[Richard Herman, Criminal Defense Atty:] Hi Randi.
[Avery Friedman, Civil Rights Atty:] Hi, Randi, good to see you, too. Thank you, so let's start with this first case, this is the case out of Kansas where you have protests taking place at military funerals. Is this freedom of speech?
[Herman:] Well, Randi, it's going to be held ultimately to be freedom of speech to the dismay of the family of the soldiers who bury their heroes. This Baptist church and just remember, last week we talked about the Baptist minister in Georgia with his four boyfriends. Now we have a Baptist church who comes to these funerals, takes advantage of like a photo opportunity, brings signs that say "God hates the USA," "Thank God for 911." "Thank God for dead soldiers." What is up with the Baptist movement? Where is love and honor, respect? What is going on here?
[Kaye:] They think killing is immoral, apparently. Right, Avery?
[Friedman:] Wait a minute. This has nothing to do with Baptist in terms of faith. This is Fred Phelps. I've dealt with that guy for decades. He's in Topeka, Kansas. It comes out of Kansas. You're exactly right, Randi. This is a case testing the limits of free speech, because on your lower instinct you want to deck a guy like that for things that, in terms of making this family already suffering because of the loss of their son in Iraq. The question that the Supreme Court was wrestling with this year, and it was fascinating to watch, was will the court look at it simply as a private, unique funeral, which three of the justices looked at. But I think the majority is saying, look at, this guy no matter how repugnant his speech was standing on a sidewalk 1,000 feet away, the family didn't see it. I think a lot of people are going to be angry about this, but I think the Supreme Court will throw it out against this Baptist minister.
[Kaye:] All right, let's move on to the second case I want to talk with you guys about, the case of the Connecticut home invasion. Steven Hayes was convicted and now he is facing the death penalty. He's the first defendant to go on trial in this case. I'm sure you're familiar with it, the gruesome home invasion in Connecticut. Facing the death penalty now. His defense attorney actually had another client who he was able to get off from the death penalty, also a very brutal murder. Got sympathy from the jury because he had been on drugs, and had a terrible upbringing. Is this going to play here as well Richard.
[Herman:] Well, Randi, this case is probably the most gruesome one I've read and seen. I'm sure Avery as well. There has been one person put to death in Connecticut in the last 50 years, Randi. But, I tell you, if there was ever a case ripe for it, this one is it. The mitigation phase begins October 18 where the defense attorney will try to show this jury, the same jury that came back less than four hours after getting the case on a 17-count indictment, Randi, they will make a determination whether there are any redeeming factors to save this person's life. I say it's not doing to happen. This man is going to get put to death, Randi.
[Kaye:] What does go ahead, Avery.
[Friedman:] I was going to say, actually, I'm in agreement with that. What's very interesting is that the Connecticut legislature almost abolished the death penalty this year. If it weren't forth Governor Well's veto, in fact, the legislature even heard from Dr. Petit, the victim who lost his family. What we're going to see starting on the 18th will be the same scenario, opening statements, evidence, closing arguments. But Richard is right. It's going to be the same jury making the decision. This guy is facing the death penalty, no question about it.
[Herman:] Randi, the defense will argue he has remorse, he tempted suicide in prison. He's being tortured living with this, that he was coerced by the other defendant in the case and he was slightly intoxicated at the time of these events. These are not defense but they are mitigators. And that's what's going to control the mitigation of the phase of this case. It's not going to be enough. This attorney succeed before, the jury is not going to buy it.
[Friedman:] No way.
[Kaye:] OK, let me just ask you real quickly, because we only have a few seconds left, here. This federal judge who's saying that prosecutors cannot use a crucial witness and testimony from a crucial witness in the first trial of this Guantanamo Bay detainee. This can really have an impact on these military tribunal versus civil cases. What, this is somebody who testified that he acatuuly sold the guy the TNT which he used to blow up allegedly used to blow up the two embassies, U.S. Embassies. How critical is that that they won't be able to use this testimony?
[Herman:] Well, it's critical, Randi. Go ahead, Avery.
[Friedman:] I think it's significant only because it is important evidence. There's enough evidence to convict him in this case, but it does highlight exactly what you just said, Randi, the question of military tribunals versus civil courts. You've got 218 quicks in federal court, four in military tribunals. I think that tells you the story.
[Kaye:] OK, Richard, the last word.
[Herman:] Randi, the information about this man was derived from overseas, secret jails operated by the CIA where individuals were allegedly being tortured. This judge, Kaplan, in the southern district of New York was not going to tolerate that. He precluded the government from using that witness. This was a leadoff witness, Randi, this is an important witness. They can't use him, they're claiming they can still get the conviction, but that might be just bravado. This was a critical witness and this hurts.
[Kaye:] And they say that they had given up the name of this witness through torture. All right, both of you, thank you, Avery and Richard. We'll talk to you in just a bit. We have plenty more cases to get through today. Thanks so much.
[Friedman:] We've got Dora coming up, don't we?
[Kaye:] Yeah, we do. Don't forget that one, Dora, of course, our favorite of the day. Messages from the trapped miners. One miner's wife shares what's been going through her husband's mind.

[Holmes:] Well, it's the bottom of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could spend part of your weekend here with us. And did you hear about the controversy last night? Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney again facing criticism for being a Mormon, but this time it's coming from the pastor of a mega church in Dallas. The pastor's name is Reverend Robert Jeffress. He introduced Rick Perry at the Conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington. Now, Jeffress was critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Mormon Church, and told our Jim Acosta and told other reporters that Mormonism is a cult.
[Acosta:] If you don't mind me saying, Pastor Jeffress, you've created a bit of a stir coming out of that speech. Because in talking to reporters, you said in pretty strong plain language what you think of Mormonism. You described it as a cult. And you said that if a Republican votes for Mitt Romney, they're giving some credibility to a cult. Do you stand by that comment?
[Jeffress:] Oh, absolutely. And that's not some fanatical comment. That's been the historic position of evangelical Christianity. The Southern Baptist Convention, which is the largest Protestant denomination of the world, has officially labeled Mormonism as a cult. I think Mitt Romney's a good moral man, but I think those of us who are born again followers of Christ should always prefer a competent Christian to a competent non-Christian, like Mitt Romney. So that's why I'm enthusiastic about Rick Perry.
[Acosta:] But what do you say to those voters out there who say that religion, his Mormonism, shouldn't be an issue in this campaign? He's just as American as everybody else?
[Jeffress:] Oh, I agree he's just as American as anyone else. And Article Six of the Constitution prohibits
[Acosta:] And Mormons do say they are Christians.
[Jeffress:] Yes.
[Acosta:] They say that. They believe in Jesus Christ.
[Jeffress:] A lot of people say they're Christians and they're not. But they do not embrace historical Christianity. And I, again, believe that as Christians we have the duty to prefer and select Christians as our leaders. That's what John Jay, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, said. And, again, I think when we've got a choice as evangelicals, between a Rick Perry and a Mitt Romney, I believe evangelicals need to go with Rick Perry.
[Holmes:] Again, this is not a new idea. This is not the first time we heard someone call Mormonism a cult at the Southern Baptist Convention as he was just referring to there a moment ago that's called Mormonism a cult. And this certainly is the first time that Mitt Romney and his political career have come under fire for being a Mormon during his last run for the presidency four years ago. He got some of these same questions, even got kind of some nasty responses from potential voters. Look at this.
[Romney:] Hello, sir. How are you?
[Unidentified Male:] I'm the one person who will not vote for a Mormon.
[Romney:] Oh, is that right? Can I shake your hand anyway?
[Unidentified Male:] No!
[Holmes:] Well, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Mormon Church, was founded by a farmer named Joseph Smith in the early 1800s. He says an angel guided him to a hill in New York State and there on that hill church doctrine says Smith found golden tablets detailing how Christ visited an ancient civilization in the Americas. Those tablets are the basis for the Book of Mormons. Smith claimed he saw God and Christ in the flesh on a hill in Palmyra, New York. He and his followers fled persecution in New York, headed out west, eventually settling in what became Utah. Presidents of the church are considered prophets and apostles of God. Mormons believe in Christ and God and they do consider themselves Christians. Now, the pastor, Pastor Jeffress backing Perry says basically Americans should not vote for Romney because of his Mormon faith. Well, another GOP candidate, Herman Cain, he was talking about faith not too long ago. Got him in still hot water, talking about Muslims, you may remember. But that was then, this is now. He is near the top of a number of GOP presidential polls. Friday at the Values Voter Summit, the former talk show host and CEO of Godfather's Pizza was feeling pretty good about his new found popularity.
[Cain:] Three months ago the pundits the political pundits said Herman Cain can't get the nomination. Herman Cain cannot win the presidency because he doesn't have high name ID. He doesn't have a kajillion dollars and he's never held public office. But let me tell you what the American people are saying. They don't care about a kajillion dollars. America wants to raise some Cain, not more money.
[Holmes:] I like that. Did you, Reynolds? Kajillion dollars, raise some Cain.
[Wolf:] Yes.
[Holmes:] Reynolds is feeling out this morning. Well, Cain got a lot of attention. A lot of applause, a lot of standing ovations. Really fired up the crowd there at the Value Voters Summit. He continued to slam as well the Occupy Wall Street Movement calling the protesters anti-capitalists. Well, 35 minutes past the hour. Give you a look at some of the other stories making headlines. And let's start with those demonstrations. They began as demonstrations against corporate greed along New York's Wall Street. But they now have grown into demonstrations across the country like this one you're seeing in New Orleans. More demonstrations are slated for today and tomorrow as the movement enters now its fourth week. Also, CNN has learned the same government group that said most women in their 40s don't need routine mammogram tests will soon recommend something similar for healthy men that they not get screened for prostate cancer. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force says screening with the PSA blood test results in, quote, "small or no reduction in prostate cancer deaths." Also, police in Kansas City still searching for missing 10-month-old Lisa Irwin as her parents come under greater scrutiny. Deborah Bradley, the baby's mother says police told her she failed a lie detector test and investigators say both parents have stopped cooperating with police. The couple says that's not true.
[Deborah Bradley, Mother Of Missing Girl:] She's she's everything. She's our little girl. She's completed our family and she she means everything to my boys. And we need her home. I can't I can't be without her.
[Holmes:] Well, the parents say Lisa Irwin, the baby, was last seen in her room on Monday night. We turn now to the Conrad Murray trial. Testimony wrapped up for the week in that manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's personal physician with a recording of a conversation between Dr. Conrad Murray and investigators. Earlier this week, we learned more about the day Jackson died from Murray's former girlfriends. Ted Rowlands is keeping us updated from L.A.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] T.J., the Murray trial ended the week with riveting testimony from Conrad Murray via an audio tape that jury listened as Murray talked to investigators and this was done just two days after Michael Jackson died. He talked about the fact that when he came onboard to take care of Michael Jackson, he found out he'd be giving him Propofol on a daily basis. He said each and every night he put Michael Jackson to sleep using Propofol, except, he said, for the three days leading up to Jackson's death, he said he was trying to wean him off of Propofol and that was the only time that he didn't give it to him. Listen carefully as Murray tells investigators what happened during those crucial minutes where Jackson was unresponsive.
[Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson Personal Physician:] And I came back to his bedside and was stunned in the sense that he wasn't breathing. Immediately, I checked for a pulse and I was able to get a thready pulse at the femoral region. His body was warm. There was no change in color. I then lifted his leg, which can give you an auto transfusion and then I continued to do CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until paramedics came. And the paramedics came. They called UCLA. They hooked him up to the pulse oximeter. He was not breathing.
[Rowlands:] The headline from this audio, of course, is that Murray never mentions any of the telephone calls that we've already heard in court. Phone calls to his girlfriends and to his office staff during those critical periods. It's something that the defense will have to grapple with in closing arguments. Looking forward to next week, what we're looking at is Monday is a dark day. There's no court at all. And on Tuesday, we'll hear the tail end of this audio tape. It's about a two-hour long tape. We got through about an hour and 40 minutes. So we'll finish that up. And then it will be cross-examination time of the detective that's on the stand T.J.
[Holmes:] All right. Thanks as always to our Ted Rowlands. Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. Say good morning to Mr. Reynolds Wolf. Good morning, again, kind sir.
[Wolf:] Good morning, my friend. We're going to be seeing some interesting weather across parts of the nation. Just the boom of thunder across parts of the Central and Southern Plains. In spots around the nation, especially Texas and Oklahoma that were as dry as could be through the summer are now dealing with flash flood watches and warnings. We're going to talk about that coming up in a few moments, plus your holiday travel forecast or weekend travel forecast. It kind of feels like a holiday. We'll see you in a few.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Erin, thanks very much. Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight with breaking news. A little boy safe tonight. His armed captor and alleged killer dead. Jimmy Lee Dykes grabbed the boy from a school bus six days ago. Police say he shot the driver of that bus dead. After holding the boy in a bunker for nearly a week, talking with authorities through a PVC pipe, things began breaking down.
[Steve Richardson, Fbi Special Agent In Charge:] Within the past 24 hours, negotiations deteriorated and Mr. Dykes was observed was observed holding a gun. At this point, FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child.
[Cooper:] The operation went down at 12 minutes past 3:00 local time in Alabama. Now all this played out in Midland City, Alabama, where Martin Savidge is tonight. Martin, what's the latest?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, what we know, Anderson, is that the little boy, of course, has been rescued and that the gunman is dead. Ethan is the 5-year-old, by the way. And we should point out here that, as you said, law enforcement noted that there was a sense that things were breaking down, at least with that gunman. They said that Dykes was apparently getting more and more irrational. And they also saw him with a gun in a way that they thought was threatening to the little boy. So they wasted no more time. They moved in. As you point out, they have had hostage rescue teams standing by around the clock, ready to move at a moment's notice. That notice was given. There was apparently an explosion. Whether it was a distraction or whether that was the entry, they made their way in, there was gunfire, Dykes was killed and the boy was rescued. We should also point out that the Pentagon was involved in some level here. Apparently Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta okayed the use of special equipment used for monitoring. They won't say in any specific way. That would have meant that military personnel were also on site but they weren't part of the takedown. But it does show you, Anderson, that concern for this little boy went almost all the way to the top of this administration.
[Cooper:] Martin, I know there's a lot we don't know at this hour about the exact details of how this went down but authorities said they observed this man with holding a gun. Do we know how they were able to actually observe him? Because we've been told all along they've just been communicating through this PVC piping.
[Savidge:] Right. And apparently they've been doing a lot more than just talking through a pipe. I mean we have been told now that there may have been surveillance of some sort, video surveillance. We also have heard maybe the use of drones was part of that surveillance. So there was a lot of high-tech equipment that was brought to bear as well as a lot of manpower. There's just plenty of people out there, hundreds maybe at some point, all surrounding this area and all in some way taking part in the operation.
[Cooper:] Is it any clearer at this hour, Martin, about why this man Dykes took this boy off this bus?
[Savidge:] Well, there was a little bit of a hint that came before all of this went down. About mid-morning there was a press conference that was held by the sheriff. And he gave the first indication of a motive. And essentially what he said was that Dykes had something he wanted to communicate. And then the sheriff said but it's kind of complicated and we're trying to figure out a way, a forum for him to securely be able to do that. So it appears that Dykes had a message of some sort to deliver. But now it also appears that he never had the chance to do it.
[Cooper:] And this boy, Ethan, and that's the only we only know his first name, he apparently has Asperger's syndrome. How is he tonight?
[Savidge:] Well, he was transported to the hospital in Dothan, that's just a couple of miles down the road. And witnesses say that when they saw him being taken in, he was sitting upright. The ambulance that he had been riding in, the gurney was being tilted upright. So that's a pretty good sign. And the authorities also say that he physically was fine. Of course, many people are going to wonder mentally how he is after six, seven days of that long ordeal. But he's back with his family and that's the best medicine of all.
[Cooper:] Yes, it certainly is. And we should point out just because because of the age of the child and what he's been through, we are we are not reporting his last name out of concerns for his privacy. Marty, appreciate that. Tonight we want to dig deeper into what this 5-year-old boy, Ethan, might have gone through in the last six days. It is hard to imagine putting yourself in that situation, not to mention what he witnessed during his abduction. He is just 5 years old. We also want to try to explore what happens next, but also what played out in the negotiations and the rescue operation. Joining us Alabama state senator, Harri Anne Smith, who was with Ethan's mother when the call came in that he was alive. Also Michael Senn, a pastor in the Midway Assembly of God who counseled the children who witnessed the shooting on the bus and the abduction. And also joining us, former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss. Senator Smith, I want to start off with you. You were there when Ethan's mother got the phone call. Can you describe that moment?
[Harri Anne Smith, Alabama State Senator:] It was a great moment. I mean, she was being whisked away. I was driving up for my afternoon visit with her and she was being whisked away at this point now I know to meet with her to be reunited with her son. She hugged my neck. She thanked me and she was a little nervous but there were smiles all around. So I knew something was going on. And then later learned she was being reunited with the little boy. So lots of smiles. I'm sure lots of hugs and lots of kisses going on right now.
[Cooper:] Yes, I can imagine. Senator Smith, has to your knowledge, was she able to communicate at all with her son or anyone from the family being able to communicate directly with her son over the last several days?
[Smith:] You know, that's a question for law enforcement. I know that they kept her very well briefed, let her know what was going on. She had complete faith in what law enforcement was doing and was just very grateful that they were keeping her informed of what was going on. She got briefs about his condition, that he was doing well, and she complied with what they asked her to do.
[Cooper:] And, Pastor Senn, I know you counseled a number of the children on the bus when Ethan was originally taken off and that bus driver was shot. I can't imagine what those children saw, what they witnessed, if they saw the bus driver shot. What did they tell you? What did you say to them?
[Pastor Michael Senn, Midway Assembly Of God:] Well, they of course, it was very shocking by the time I got there. It was about 35 minutes after it happened. And they were still, you know, so much in shock, they wasn't saying a whole lot. But they did explain to me how the gentleman had come on the bus and had asked for two hostages, actually. And had told some of them to get off of the bus. And then actually he got ahold of this young man. But, you know, they were still in shock so much, they couldn't say a whole lot. All I could do really was just, you know, love them, comfort them, and had an opportunity also to pray with some of them before they left.
[Cooper:] What age were these kids? I mean, were they all in the 5-year-old age range that Ethan was in?
[Senn:] Well, there was actually several different ages on the bus. This is a small community. And from my understanding, this bus picked up kids from the elementary school, the middle school as well as the high school. So I know that a few of them that I talked to was 12 and 13 years old. So there had to be a pretty good variation of the age group on this bus.
[Cooper:] Well, and Chris Voss is joining us now. Chris, from a negotiator standpoint, what do you make of how this operation went down?
[Chris Voss, Former Fbi Hostage Negotiator:] Well, Anderson, from a negotiation standpoint, they did a great job. From the very beginning, negotiators effectively they put a stethoscope on the situation and they monitored the threat level. They think about every single word that the hostage taker says. They think about its context and they get a really good handle on his emotional state, what direction it's going and they start to predict what the negative indicators are, what the warning signs are, if it should begin to get out of hand. They started to see this over the weekend. They realize that this sort of tactical action was probably going to be necessary and they supported the tactical action that the hostage rescue team took. It was a great textbook case.
[Cooper:] And, Chris, when I heard about the you know, when you see the graphic of this bunker, the layout of it, any kind of tactical operation has got to be extraordinary difficult. I mean, it seems like there's really only one entrance point into this bunker. That's got to complicate the negotiations and complicate the planning for any kind of operation.
[Voss:] Right. Yes. It certainly seems that way. I mean, that was at the beginning of any one of these situations there's really three teams that swing into action at the very beginning and work the entire time. The negotiators began to find out as much information as they can. And they'll discuss things in a way that helps them find out the exact layout on the inside and where the hostage taker has things placed. As technical people they begin to work on getting microphones and cameras inside or finding a way to see things. And then all that information is then fed to the tactic al people who prepare for an assault. And they talk to the negotiators all along the way and the negotiators let them know how they might be able to support a tactical action if they have to take it. So really three separate teams all attack the site at the same time in their own way so that they can all get to an outcome that was just like this one tonight.
[Cooper:] Pastor Senn, I'm wondering if you knew this man Dykes and or if you other people in the community have told you their impressions of him.
[Senn:] I never had a chance to meet him. But I know of several folks in the neighborhood that had had some confrontations with him previously in the past, said that he was a man that was they kind of patrolled his area, walked up and down his property line at night, and some even said carrying guns and just you know, real watchful over his property, didn't want anybody to get on his property. And you know I've heard several different stories of people that have conflict with him in the past but I never had the opportunity to meet him before.
[Cooper:] And, Chris, this man Dykes had a court case that he was facing based on an altercation he'd had with a neighbor in the recent past. Again, that's also got to complicate any kind of negotiations because if that is I mean, we don't know for a fact but I would assume that pending court case maybe had something to do with his taking a hostage or his feeling under pressure to some regard. So when you're negotiating, how do you try to deal with the reality of what this guy is facing? How do you talk to him and try to kind of relay his concerns?
[Voss:] Well, Anderson, you're right. That probably was the triggering event with all the stress and strain that he built up in his own mind in advance. That actually gives the negotiators something to talk about. Anything and everything becomes a topic for negotiators to begin to talk to a subject like this about, to find out what makes him tick, to get his perspective on it. You know, the comment was made earlier today by the sheriff that they were trying to give him essentially a forum to express his views and a safe environment to do it in. That was the approach that they were taking. And while they're doing do it, they gather as much information about him as they can.
[Cooper:] And Senator Smith, I know Ethan is just two days away from his 6th birthday. I can't imagine a better birthday present for him and for his family certainly than to have him safe and reunited tonight. What's your message to the community? I mean, how does the community go about recovering from something like this, healing from something like this?
[Smith:] Listen, this is a very strong faith-based community. They've pulled together during this and have just there's been an outpouring of love. And I know Ethan's mom was very appreciative of all the prayers, very appreciative of the support from all the volunteers. And they were just praying for a very peaceful outcome to this situation. And I know that tonight that the family is just so glad to have Ethan back home with them. And we want to thank everyone who had anything to do with that. Law enforcement did a wonderful job here.
[Cooper:] It's been an incredibly tense number of days for law enforcement, family members and the whole community. Senator Smith, I appreciate you being with us. Pastor Senn and Chris Voss, as well.
[Smith:] Sure. Thank you.
[Cooper:] Let us know what you think about this operation, how it went down, let me know on Twitter, @AndersonCooper. Be tweeting tonight. Coming up next, how will the little boy comes to terms at such a terrible ordeal? I mean, it's hard to imagine being 5 years old, witnessing this, going through it yourself. I'm going to be joined by Katie Beers who, you may remember, she survived 17 days of underground captivity when she was a child. We'll talk to her ahead.

[Velshi:] Welcome back. A new book tells the fascinating story of a couple, an interracial couple, who fell in love in the 1950s in America. They raised a child through the civil rights movement. Their son struggling in his own search for identity. Well, that boy grew up to be our boss. It's his new memoir called "My Long Trip Home." Joining us now is the executive vice president of CNN Worldwide, Mark Whitaker. Mark, thanks for being here.
[Mark Whitaker, Executive Vp And Managing Editor, Cnn Worldwide:] Ali, it's great to see you.
[Velshi:] It's important to me this interview go well. Let's talk a little about this book. It's interesting. It really is a memoir. You decided a year after your father's death to go back and write the history, much of which you didn't know. You live a lot of it, but you went back and found some of the reasons for the way your life was the way that it was. Tell us about a bit about this.
[Whitaker:] Well, I always knew that they had a very interesting story.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Whitaker:] Interracial couple in the 1950s. My father was an undergraduate. The only Black male student that's worth more college when they met.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Whitaker:] My mother was his teacher. So, it was a doubly scandalous relationship.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Whitaker:] They came from very interesting worlds. My father grew up in Pittsburgh as the son of undertakers. My grandfather, actually, is one of the first Black undertakers in Pittsburgh, had been born on the
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Whitaker:] So, that was the interesting part. But then, there was also a tragic part about all the things that happened after my parents divorced that kept me from writing the story for a long time.
[Velshi:] And when you go back to the story, what you learn of, you know, both of your parents had remarkable histories. Your father's side and your grandfather on your father's side, these were remarkably charismatic men with a lot of the faults that come along with charismatic men. They were handsome. They were drinkers. They were womanizers.
[Whitaker:] No, absolutely. And my grandfather had suffered a stroke when I was a very small.
[Velshi:] So, you don't know him
[Whitaker:] I knew him, but as a sort of, you know, almost a cripple, you know?
[Velshi:] Right.
[Whitaker:] But one of the things I found in the process of my research was an autobiography that he had actually dictated to a nurse in a nursing home on his 75th birthday that told the story of how he had come to Pittsburgh and become this very successful businessman, but then, eventually, because of his womanizing, because his marriage split up, he lost his business. My father hated his father, basically, and was in conflict with him his entire life, and yet, became very much like him. So, for me, part of the process in all of this was, first of all, discovering their stories, the source of that conflict, which I think explained a lot of my father's problems but also made it even more important for me to come to terms and wrestle with my father's memory.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Whitaker:] So, that didn't happen to me.
[Velshi:] Both your mother and your grandmother on your father side both had to deal with these men who had absent to themselves from their lives, and they became entrepreneurial in their own ways. Your grandmother ended up running the undertaking business.
[Whitaker:] Right.
[Velshi:] And your mother ended up finding teaching jobs wherever she could get them. Caused you to live in different places, all over the world. And the universal part of the book becomes the struggle of identity.
[Whitaker:] Right.
[Velshi:] Are you white? Are you black? How are you identifying with this as you as you grew up?
[Whitaker:] Well, you know, even though my parents split up, my mother took pains to keep me and my younger brother in contact with my father's family.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Whitaker:] So every year I talk about my long trip home. We would take this long trip to Massachusetts where she finally ended up after years of temporary jobs
[Velshi:] Right.
[Whitaker:] teaching at a small college there, every year to drive all the way out to Pittsburgh to visit them. So I grew up in those two worlds. But, you know, one of the things I got from my father for all of the struggles with him was that even though he identified very strongly with his upbringing in Pittsburgh with Africa, he became a scholar of Africa.
[Velshi:] That's right.
[Whitaker:] With black culture, he never wanted to be completely defined or confined by that. So even though I had these personal struggles with him, in some ways, I thought that that was a very good example that I followed first consciously but more unconsciously as I grew up.
[Velshi:] Where does that leave you to now? How do you identify yourself? Because you've got kids who are more mixed.
[Whitaker:] Yes. Now that's true. Well, look, you know, I identify myself as African-American, and in fact, as you know, if you know our history, anybody who has I mean, most black Americans have some white blood.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Whitaker:] And, frankly, a lot of white people have some black blood. Although one of the things that I think is interesting, you know, is that I grew up at a time when it was a very unusual to be mixed race. And then when I was sort of a teenager in college, there was a sense that somehow you had to choose. I think increasingly mixed race people come from mixed race backgrounds are saying it's OK to be mixed race.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Whitaker:] In the latest census, more people are declaring themselves mixed as opposed to one thing or another and I think that's a positive thing.
[Velshi:] And that's another universal part of this. I can't let you go without talking about the fact that this really influenced you as a journalist. You talk about some decisions you made at "Newsweek," for instance. Your decision not to publish the story about Monica Lewinsky but a decision to publish a story about Guantanamo Bay that ended up you had to do something about. Tell us about this.
[Whitaker:] Well, you know, my father always said to me beware of what you want because you might get it. And certainly we know once I became a news executive I discovered that. There are no easy choices. But you know one of the things I talk about in the book, or some of the lessons I learned sort of professionally, some things that I did right, some things that I thought in retrospect I could have done better and I learned from. I mean, you know, after the Monica Lewinsky story where I tell the story which wasn't known at the time that we didn't have a lot of time to actually make that decision. But, you know, when I had the choices to make during the Gulf War later, I learned some of those lessons and I trusted my gut a little bit more and we did some very tough, skeptical coverage of the march to war in Iraq a few years later.
[Velshi:] Mark, it's a great read. You've got a lot of great compliments on it because it's a great read, but it's full of pictures. It's a great narrative that does have a universal appeal. So thanks for joining us on it.
[Whitaker:] OK. My pleasure.
[Velshi:] Mark Whitaker. The book is called "My Long Trip Home." Carol?
[Costello:] I'm just glad Mark got up early with us this morning. You feeling OK there, Mark?
[Romans:] It's early. It is early.
[Costello:] Here are your top stories now. It's 33 minutes past the hour. A confrontation between police and "Occupy Wall Street" protesters has been averted at Manhattan's Zuccotti Park. New York City officials had ordered the demonstrators to get out of get out of the park at 7:00 this morning so the park could be cleaned. But just before the deadline the cleanup was postponed at the request of the company that owns the park. Demonstrators claiming victory now and still occupying the park.
[Romans:] Also right now there's a big police presence at this site. This is new video of police moving in. Things seem to be under control. So far no major disturbances there.
[Costello:] One thing is certain, the "Occupy Wall Street" movement keeps picking up steam. New York City may be the flash point, but protesters also took to the streets in cities like Oakland and Austin, Portland, Maine, Denver and Boston. Dozens of rallies also planned for today and this weekend across the country.
[Romans:] All right. Governor Rick Perry getting ready to make a major speech today, the first since he jumped into the race. He's expected to lay out bold, new energy plans that promise 1.2 million jobs and make us more secure by cutting our reliance on foreign oil. He says he will loosen some government regulations to do it. Ali spoke to him in our last hour.
[Velshi:] You have said about the EPA in the past this is a quote from you. "They won't know what hit them." What about the criticism?
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] Sell the rest of it to the world. We got Washington, D.C., and one-size-fits-all mentality that's killing jobs and a president needs to be in place that respects that government's job is to create an environment where those men and women who risk their capital know they can have a chance to have a return on investment. And we don't have that today.
[Velshi:] A CNN Poll of Polls an average of four national surveys show you slipping into third place. How did you blow that lead?
[Perry:] Well, these polls are going to go up and down. I've run for office for a decade as the governor of the state of Texas. I'm down 25 points when the last election in Texas. And that one turned out all right. What Americans are interested in is not the best debater, not the slickest politician, they're interested in a leader that looks them in the eye and says, listen, here's how to get this country working again. In about two hours I'm going to be standing up in front of America and show clearly how the president of the United States can get this country back working again.
[Romans:] All right. CNN is going to host the "Western Republican Presidential Debate" in Las Vegas. It's live next Tuesday, that's October 18th, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Anderson Cooper will moderate. Carol will be there live for all the morning-after analysis.
[Costello:] It will be exciting, too. I know I keep teasing you but
[Romans:] I know. I can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve.
[Costello:] Part of it yes, that's a good thing. Up your sleeve. That's another hint. Animals up your sleeve. Republican debate. You figured it out. Coming up next, one father's mission to end bullying. And this fight is deeply personal. That's because his own 11-year-old son committed suicide because he was picked on all year long by bullies. Kirk Smalley will join us live with his amazing story. It's 36 minutes past the hour.

[Kristie Lu Stout, Anchor:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong. Digging in. More violence erupts in the center of Cairo as protesters barricade themselves in Tahrir Square. And a cyclone slams into Australia, bringing more misery to the flood- ravaged state of Queensland. Now, pro-and-anti-government protesters are standing their ground on the streets of Cairo, but Egyptian troops have finally moved between opposing camps in the capital. Violence has died down in recent hours, though the situation in Tahrir Square remains tense. Some demonstrators set up metal barricades overnight. They say they will not give up until President Hosni Mubarak leaves office. Other Egyptians say that they are tired of the unrest. They want life to go back to normal. Now, state media report that Egypt's vice president and prime minister are sitting down with the opposition. Several opposition groups say they won't meet with the new government. Now, meanwhile, Egypt's prime minister has apologized for Wednesday's attacks on protesters. Now, Ahmed Shafiq, he told state TV, "There will be an investigation." Peaceful anti-government protests started on January the 25th. They are taking place across Egypt. In Cairo, demonstrations have centered around Tahrir Square. It is in the heart of the capital near the Nile River. Now, fighting started Wednesday, when President Mubarak supporters entered the area, and clashes stretched north to the Egypt Museum. That's less than one kilometer away. And we are still getting new looks at Wednesday's violence. Now take a look at this disturbing video that was posted to Facebook. Now, this is said to show a police van in Cairo. You see people in the street rushing to get out of the way. The vehicle, it appears to hit a couple pedestrians, and it never stops. And in Tahrir Square, our teams witnessed scenes of chaos like this one. Now, the army was on the sidelines Wednesday as opposing demonstrators threw rocks and sticks at each other. Protesters even dug up stones from the street to use as weapons. Heavy gunfire was heard in Tahrir Square before dawn on Thursday. Now, let's find out what it's like in Tahrir Square right now. Journalist Ian Lee joins us on the line. And Ian, will this be another day of chaos in the square?
[Ian Lee, Journalist:] Kristie, it's really right now anyone's guess. If the army can keep the two sides separated, then that will be the true test, but it's definitely very, very tense right now in Tahrir Square and around. I have been getting reports, phone calls from a human rights lawyer that I know that Hisham Mubarak Law Center was attacked by military police. And this law center is a human rights center. Also, other human rights centers are reported to be raided. Sorry, let me rephrase that. They're being raided by police and people are being arrested. And when I say police, I mean military police. But it's definitely very tense right now in downtown Cairo.
[Stout:] Ian, the official toll from these clashes in the square now stands as our official numbers, five dead, over 800 wounded. But in reality, could the toll be much higher than that?
[Lee:] It definitely could be. I was talking to doctors in Tahrir Square today, and two of them had been working throughout the night. And they told me that they witnessed five people killed. But also, they told me that there was four other people who sustained gunshot wounds that they didn't think would make it much longer Kristie.
[Stout:] Also reports of journalists being targeted in the square. What have you heard?
[Lee:] Well, what I've heard is that I haven't heard actually in the square itself. I've heard of journalists being intimidated in the square, but not in a broad extent. It's really coming from around Cairo itself. I had a friend who was in Maadi today, which is just south of downtown, and they were attacked. He was attacked with another journalist by a mob. Another group of colleagues were in Dowi, which is to the east of downtown, and they were attacked by the mob. In both instances, they were able to get away safely, but, you know, just talking to different journalists around Cairo, there is a sense of fear that journalists are being targeted by mobs and that if you go out onto the streets, you run a risk of being attacked.
[Stout:] OK. Ian Lee, joining us live from Cairo. Now, Egypt's health minister says five people have been killed, more than 800 injured, in Tahrir Square. Again, official numbers. Ben Wedeman shows us how the wounded are getting treatment.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] Right off Tahrir Square, at what is a mosque that a few days ago was turned into a makeshift field hospital for people wounded in clashes and protests and whatnot.
[Unidentified Male:] This is Hosni Mubarak! That's what he do. We will die for our freedom!
[Wedeman:] What we've been told is some of our other crews who were in Tahrir Square were roughed up by crowds of pro-Mubarak people. And certainly, as you know, our experience was that, yes, they're not very friendly to the media. So we've been told to get off the square, to stay away. And then we were told to come back to the office. But given that to go back to the office, we would actually have to cross through sort of hostile territory. Our determination is that it is better to stay here, where people are more media-friendly, than to go out there, where we're watching that every few minutes, somebody comes in with a great big gash on his head from a rock. So we want to stay here.
[Unidentified Male:] Stay here and see what happens.
[Unidentified Female:] You're a journalist, right?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Unidentified Female:] Who do you work with?
[Unidentified Male:] A newspaper in Spain.
[Unidentified Female:] "El Pais"?
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[Unidentified Female:] I just want to say that these are the same thugs that are used by the National Democratic Party, the ruling party, that are usually used in rigging all the elections. So they are known. They take 50 pounds in order to come down and beat up people. So they are used to this kind of thing. Now, they've been mobilizing from all the governors. They've been bringing them in by the busload in order to beat up beat the demonstrators. The demonstrators were beating these people by saying, "We are peaceful. We are a peaceful resistance." And yet, they came down with the sticks and the rocks, and they're beating them up, and there are so many injured.
[Unidentified Male:] No! No!
[Stout:] The scene there in Cairo. Now, in Yemen, like Egypt, a president who has held power for three decades has promised not to seek reelection. In Yemen, like Egypt, thousands of people have taken to the streets, arguing that this promise isn't good enough. And in Yemen, like Egypt, there's more than one side of the story. Now, pro-government demonstrations have also taken to the streets of Sana'a, defying opposition calls for a "Day of Rage" march. Now, Mohammed Jamjoom joins me live from the Yemeni capital. Mohammed, what is the state of play?
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, Kristie, as of now, calm has returned to the streets of Sana'a. Earlier in the day there were two dueling protests in two different parts of the heart of Sana'a. The pro-government rally was at Tahrir Square. The anti-government rally was about two kilometers down the road, next to Sana'a University. I can tell you that even though those rallies were largely peaceful, and we did not witness any kind of clashes with security forces, or clashes between any of the various groups of protesters, nonetheless, when we went to these protests, the demos, there was a lot of emotion, a lot of heated rhetoric about what these different groups supported. On the anti- government side, we saw a lot of younger people here in Yemen, a lot of youth of Yemen that were saying they really were frustrated at the fact that they weren't getting the economic opportunity that they needed. They had no real hope for jobs. The ones that had families said that they couldn't feed their families. They weren't being paid enough. And they said that this was the fact that President Ali Abdullah Saleh had yesterday said that he would no longer seek election in 2013. That just wasn't good enough. Despite the fact that the president had conceded to many of the demands of the opposition, they said this was their moment that they wanted to be out on the streets supporting the opposition, trying to get President Saleh out of office so that there could be real reform here. On the pro-government side, we went to that rally afterward. We saw a lot of supporters of President Saleh. Now, whenever there's been a large anti-government demo in the past week, the government here has really made a concerted effort to make sure they get groups of people that support the president also out in the streets as well. And to that end, there were thousands of his supporters, too. We don't know how many, but there were thousands there. It was a largely festive mood on that end of that. The people were very emotional, saying that they loved the president, they really supported him, and they were sad to see him leaving office after 2013. They understood if he wanted to, they supported the decision, but they were actually blaming the opposition, saying the opposition, with their demands, were bringing some sort of destabilization to the country, and they really were hoping that there would just be dialogue between he opposing parties here Kristie.
[Stout:] Now, Yemen has been in focus this week because of the protests. Yemen has also been in focus for over a year now because of the war on terror. Al Qaeda has an arm there in Yemen. So how does this political instability affect the war on terror?
[Jamjoom:] Well, this is something that's really concerning the allies of Yemen, particularly the U.S., and also the Saudi Arabian government. Saudi Arabia is just directly north of Yemen. Obviously, it's the largest oil exporter in the world. There have already been attacks launched towards the Saudis from al Qaeda in Yemen, and there have also been attacks launched towards the U.S. and other Western targets from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen. Now, already, even before this protest movement started gaining momentum in the last couple of weeks, governments that are allied with Yemen have been very concerned about the state of security
[Stout:] OK. Our audio and also our visual with Mohammed there is cutting in and out. Unfortunately, we're going to have to leave it there. Mohammed Jamjoom, joining us live via webcam from Sana'a there in Yemen. Now, you are watching NEWS STREAM, coming to you live from Hong Kong. Still ahead on the program, we will stay on top of the fast-moving developments in Egypt. Now, after the violence we showed you this time on Wednesday, Cairo's Tahrir Square remains very, very tense. We'll take you back there live and check the scene in other cities as well. And we will also bring you the latest on a monster storm that has struck Australia. Queensland residents are trying to catch their breath after Cyclone Yasi blows through.

[Whitfield:] In less than two hours, a Florida state attorney general is expected to announce criminal charges in the suspected hazing death of Florida A&M; drum major Robert Champion. The 26-year- old student was a member of the university's famed marching band. He died after being beaten on a band bus following a football game in November. George Howell has done extensive reporting on this story for us. George, how many people are expected to be charged and how serious will these charges be?
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] That is the big question at this hour. We know we do know, confirmed, that at least several people will be charged in this case. How many people at this point? We will learn at 2:00 p.m. But again, this happened back in November November 19th of last year. Robert Champion, the 26-year-old, was on the bus with several other band members when according to the medical examiner's office, he was beaten so severely to the back, to the arms, and to the chest that he went into shock, Fredricka, and he died from that beating. And at this point, there are many questions. You know, obviously, how many people will charged? But also, what is the range of the charges? We know that hazing in the state of Florida, it is a felony. Could this also be manslaughter? Could it also be murder? Those are the questions that we will learn more about at 2:00 p.m. And just a few months ago, I spoke to HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks about this case, an investigator himself. I wanted to find out what do prosecutors look into in a case like this? Here's what he had to say.
[Howell:] How do you determine the level of culpability? Who did what?
[Mike Brooks, Hln Law Enforcement Analyst:] That's a great question. And as a law enforcement officer, I want to know who were the ones delivering the blows, the serious blows? Was there one person who delivered the most blows that may have caused his death? We don't know. Were there other people who might not have been involved at all?
[Howell:] The Champion family has been waiting for the last 5 12 months for this day, for this moment to learn who is involved in the death of their son. So, again, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, we should hear more prosecutors on what they're planning.
[Whitfield:] It's taken a long time. Is this any indicator it may be a difficult case to prosecute, especially since many of the witnesses may ultimately be defendants as well, unless there are some plea deals?
[Howell:] That is certainly a possibility. And, as you heard what Mike Brooks had to say just a minute ago, also the number of people who were on that bus. Obviously, you have to speak to everyone. You have to find out who did what on the bus, and certainly that has taken some time. But when you talk to the Champions, again, their attorney conducted a civil lawsuit, a civil lawsuit has been filed. They spoke to people, and in their civil lawsuit, they point the finger at the bus driver, which is very interesting. They say the bus driver knew what was happening all along and, in fact, they allege that hazing like this happened on the bus routinely when the band traveled around. But, again, whether the bus driver is involved in this, again, we have yet to see. We should learn more at 2:00 p.m. Fredricka, I also want to point out another story that just came to light. The University of Florida, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, has been put on interim suspension by the university, since people were charged with hazing. This is another hazing-related case, Fredricka, just coming to light today. We learned it from one of our CNN affiliates. But, again, obviously schools are cracking down on hazing, and today we're seeing law enforcement step in on this case.
[Whitfield:] All right. George Howell thanks so much for the update on both of those stories. Appreciate that. All right. Here is a question for you: do you have your money ready? There are reports that Facebook has set a date for its initial public offering. But will it be a good investment?

[Wolf Blitzer:] And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, my exclusive interview with the Israeli defense minister. He talks very candidly about stopping an Iranian nuclear weapon, Israel's relationship with President Obama and avenging the deadly terror attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. Also, the Colorado theater massacre suspect charged, now facing more than 100 counts in the biggest mass shooting in U.S. history. Plus, the heartbreaking end to the high tech search for two American climbers missing in Peru. We're learning new details of how they died. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. It's a major concern in the United States, but here in Israel, Iran's nuclear ambitions are even more disturbing. This country sits within striking distance of a possible Iranian nuclear weapon, one that Israeli officials are determined will not be built. I talked about that and a lot more in an exclusive interview today with the Israeli defense minister, the former prime minister, Ehud Barak.
[Blitzer:] Defense Minister, thanks so much for joining us.
[Ehud Barak, Israeli Defense Minister:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] There was a This week in one of the Israeli newspapers that the U.S. The Obama administration, presented the Israeli government with a military plan to take military action against Iran's nuclear facilities. Is that true?
[Barak:] I I don't think that that's a correct description. We all are aware of the fact that this administration has done more in diplomacy, more in sanctions than previous administrations, probably for good reasons. And they did a lot in terms of operational deployment in the Gulf area and in the operational preparation. But that's about what we know.
[Blitzer:] Are you and the U.S. On the same page as far as Iran is concerned?
[Barak:] I think that in general terms about the intelligence, we are on the same page. In the rhetoric and the I don't know how to call it, observation, we are on the same page. We both know that Iran is determined to turn nuclear. We both know that Khamenei did not yet ordered, actually, to give a weapon, but that he is determined to deceit and defy the whole world. We all are convinced and say publicly that Iran should not be allowed to turn nuclear and that all options should remain on the table.
[Blitzer:] What what does that mean, that the ayatollah has not given the order to build a nuclear bomb?
[Barak:] It's something technical. He did not tell his people start and build it a weapon on an explodable device. We think that we understand why he the he does not give this order. He believes that he is penetrated through our intelligence and he strongly feels that if he tries to order, we will know it, we and you and some other intelligence services will know about it and it might end up with a physical action against it. So he prefers to, first of all, make sure that through redundancy, through an accumulation of more lowly enriched uranium, more medium level enriched uranium and more centrifuges and more sites, better protection, that he can reach a point, which I call the zone of immunity, beyond which Israel might not be technically capable of launching a surgical operation. The United States can do more. And by then, he will have to consider when and how to to go into into building it. But that's not the issue. The issue is that we agree on the rhetoric, but we do not agree on the consequences. There are certain differences. We respect each other. We feel that the that the the our stopwatches are are ticking this at a different pace. Because of our limited operational capabilities, we our clock ticks...
[Blitzer:] So...
[Barak:] much faster.
[Blitzer:] so I just want to be precise. Israel has a more limited military capability in dealing with Iran's nuclear facilities than the United States, so the U.S. Thinks there's more time available, Israel thinks there's less time available?
[Barak:] Yes. Yes. But add to it the fact that we feel responsible for the security and future of the state of Israel. So we feel that we cannot afford delegating in regard to Iran being a major challenge for us. We cannot afford delegating the sovereign right of decisions about what should be done about it, even to the most trusted and trustworthy among our allies, which is the United States of America.
[Blitzer:] So even when the president of the United States says flatly that the U.S. No longer would support containment of a nuclear Iran, the U.S. Will not accept a nuclear Iran, that's not good enough for Israel?
[Barak:] No, we we highly highly respect the president's position, this president, for what he has already done. We highly respect America. And Panetta coming here. He did a lot heading the Pentagon, probably with presidential inspiration or permission, to go further than anybody in the past to make a qualitative military edge for Israel vital and the relationship, including about protection against incoming missiles better than ever. But but having said that, we know that they say they they they get say publicly what we say. But we feel that when it comes to crucial issues regarding our security and future, we cannot afford we we have to live up to this responsibility. And I believe the administration basically respects this observation. Israeli sees Israel sees the issue in a different manner and that we feel that ultimately, only the government of Israel should take this decision.
[Blitzer:] You've studied U.S.-Israeli relations over many years. How would you describe the relationship today?
[Barak:] I think that from from my point of view as defense minister, they are extremely good, extremely deep and profound. I can see long years, administrations of both sides of the political aisle, deeply supporting the state of Israel. And I believe that that reflects the profound feelings among the American people. But I should tell you, honestly, that this administration, under President Obama, is doing, in regard to our security, more than anything that I can remember in the past.
[Blitzer:] More than any other president? LBJ?
[Barak:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] Or...
[Barak:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] Bill Clinton...
[Barak:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] or George W. Bush?
[Barak:] Yes. In terms of the support for our security, the cooperation of our intelligence, the sharing of thoughts in a very open way, even when there are differences, which are not simple sometimes, I found their support for our defense very stable. Of course, we have...
[Blitzer:] But just to be precise, the most supportive ever, in your opinion?
[Barak:] Yes, from the the kind of two generations I can bring to to memory, from probably Carter on. I cannot say exactly about LBJ, because I didn't watch it from close these times. But from Carter on, the the defense relationship between Israel and the United States are extremely stable and and good. It doesn't mean that we agree on anything. It is very well known that we have differences between our government and the American administration about the peace process, about other issues. But I believe that in regard to world terror and in regard to Hezbollah, in regard to what happens in Syria, in regard to Iran, we basically basically agree on the diagnosis. We we don't agree on the prognosis on on some of these.
[Blitzer:] Very, very effusive praise for the president of the United States from the Israeli defense minister. We're going to have much more of my exclusive interview with eh Ehud Barack still ahead. Coming up, he's going to reveal how he once dressed as a woman for the mission avenging the Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, telling me and I'm quoting him now "We killed them in their homes." More of this interview coming up. Also, separately, an exclusive interview with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. He says lessons from Iraq will be put to use when the Syrian regime falls. And he says it will fall. Plus, a new day in court and a very different demeanor details of charges against the Colorado theater massacre suspect.

[Sweeney:] Hospitals in China are on alert for a strain of bird flu that's claimed two lives. China's state news agency says the H7N9 substrain hadn't been found in humans before. The two men, aged 27 and 87 lived in Shanghai. A woman in a nearby province infested with the strain is currently in critical condition. Authorities don't know how the trio contracted the virus. Turning to sport now. And Andy Murray has returned to his highest ever world tennis ranking after a hard fought victory in Miami. Let's join World Sport's Alex Thomas for all the details. Hi, there.
[Alex Thomas, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] Hi, Fionnuala. Andy Murray has leap-frogged Roger Federer in the world tennis rankings after beating David Ferrer in a match the Scot described as brutal and one of the toughest Master series finals he's ever played. The Spaniard raced into an early lead, taking the opening set by 6-2, but in the second set needing just one point to win the Sony Open. Ferrer challenged a line call instead of playing on. And Murray's shot was ruled in after a video review. Ferrer later admitted it was a bad decision and one he wants to forget about. Murray took that set. And in the second longest final in the event's history lasting two and three quarter hours, the Scot claimed victory to move up to second in the rankings.
[Andy Murray, World Tennis Number Two:] Yeah, I mean I think, you know, any time you're moving up the rankings that's a good sign. I mean, the number one goal for me during the year is to try and win the major events, you know, and then the ranking takes care of itself. If you can play well in the biggest tournament. But getting to number two is, you know, it's a good achievement. You know, I hope I can go higher, but that's incredibly difficult right now with the guys around the top of the game to get there. But I'll give it my best shot.
[Thomas:] NFL player JJ Watt through a 73 mile an hour ceremonial pitch as the new major lead baseball season got underway in Houston. It was the Astros first game since their switch to the American League. And Justin Maxwell's hit at the bottom of the fourth put the home team into a two run lead. The score had advanced to 4-2 at the bottom of the sixth. And that's when Rick Ankiel smacks it to deep right field for three more runs. And the Astros end up winning 8-2, their first season opening victory since 2006. Now former British former secretary David Milliband has quit the board of English Premier League Football Club Sunderland after it had appointed Paolo Di Canio as the team's new manager. The former Milan, Lazio, West Ham, and Celtics striker has described himself as a fascist in the past and famously gave a Nazi style salute to fans in 2005. Di Canio has signed a two-and-a-half year deal with the relegation threatened club. It's Champion's League quarterfinal week. And after opening up a seven point lead in Ligue, Paris Saint-Germain now face the might of Barcelona. We sent Pedro Pinto to France over the weekend to see how their preparations are going. He's been speaking to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and new signing David Beckham. Becks told Pedro, he still hasn't turned his back on international football.
[David Beckham, Paris Saint-germain Midfielder:] One of the reasons why I've never retired from the England team is because if there's ever an opportunity to play for them again, then I'm available. You know, I wouldn't want to come out of retirement to be part of the team, you know. So that's one of the reasons why I've never retired. If there is any chance of me playing for my country again, I would never turn that down. So, you know, I'm like I said, I'm almost 38 years old, so the chances are very slight, but you never know.
[Thomas:] You never know if Becks will play for England again, but I do know that you can see the full interview in World Sport later on Monday. It's around 11:30 tonight Central European Time. I'll have another sports update for you in a couple of hour's time. Until then, back to you Fionnuala.
[Sweeney:] Thanks indeed. Positive thinking there on the part of Mr. David Beckham. Well, there's much more to come on News Stream. Pakistan's election campaigns are well underway despite violent attacks and threats of more. We'll check in with one high profile candidate. And violence has a small town in the U.S. state of Texas shrouded in fear. Weeks apart, two prosecutors are shot and killed. We'll take you to the Lone Star State for the latest on the mystery.

[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Brooke Anderson is in Hollywood.
[Anderson:] A.J., there`s big news breaking in "The Buzz Today." Gaga`s bedroom secrets revealed today. Lady Gaga sets the record straight about what you can and can`t call her in the bedroom. A stunning new development in the split between Kelsey and Camille Grammer. Plus, Khloe Kardashian strikes back. Kim K`s sister has a fired-up message to all the people who criticize her body.
[Anderson Cooper, Anchor, "60 Minutes":] What should I call you? I mean, should I call you Lady? Should I call you Gaga? Lady Gaga?
[Lady Gaga, Pop Star:] No. Call me gaga.
[Cooper:] Gaga?
[Lady Gaga:] Yes.
[Cooper:] Does anyone call you Stefani?
[Lady:] Yes. Especially in bed.
[Anderson:] The interview airs Sunday right before the Grammys. And brand- new single, "Born This Way," releases Friday. Kelsey and Camille strike a deal? Kelsey and Camille Grammer`s nasty divorce battle has ended and the pair has come to an agreement on the details. A speedy divorce decree means Kelsey is now free to go ahead with his reported plan to marry his 29-year-old fiancee, Kate Walsh, later this month. Khloe`s body image bombshell. Khloe Kardashian has just confessed to major insecurities about her weight and is blasting back at critics she thinks have been taunting her about her size. The Kardashian sisters opened up to U.K.`s "Love Magazine" in a brand-new interview. And Khloe revealed how the insults affect her, saying, quote, "I`m the fat one. I`m the transvestite." "I have had those mean things said about me at least twice a day for the last five years. It`s horrible, you know, but I can brush that stuff off." All right. I really respect Khloe for being able to brush that stuff off, as she says. It`s really a testament to what a strong woman she is. I`ve got to imagine other stars in her position might just crumble when they`re called these names. And just this weekend listen to this "Saturday Night Live" took shots at Khloe in a sketch about her whole family. Watch.
[Unidentified Female:] Hi!
[Unidentified Male:] All right. Very good. Let`s introduce ourselves, girls.
[Unidentified Female:] I`m Kim, the hot one. I`m Kourtney, smart one. I`m Khloe. I`m third.
[Anderson:] All right. Right there, you saw it. Even this spoof pits Khloe against her sisters. Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph joins me from New York. Sheryl Lee, people have probably made comments about you that you might not have enjoyed. It`s happened to all of us, although, really, I don`t know that people could make bad comments about you. But here`s my question. Do you think that Khloe has been unfairly slammed here? Or does it just come with the territory?
[Ralph:] You know something, it comes with the territory. Folks sometimes in the business, they build you up just to knock you down. But guess what? She is on TV most of the time, people are tuning in watching her and she is going where? To the bank. So, honey, you don`t worry about those people. They wish they were you.
[Anderson:] She`s got the Benjamins
[Ralph:] Yes, she does.
[Anderson:] To make her feel better about all of it, while it seems like Khloe`s confidence really is not just lip service here. She`s so comfortable in her own skin that she`s totally nude along with her NBA husband Lamar Odom in a new ad for their fragrance. Take a look.
[Ralph:] Oh, my.
[Khloe Kardashian, Reality Tv Star:] Sometimes, the bond between two souls is truly unbreakable.
[Lamar Odom, Nba Basketball Star:] Unbreakable.
[Announcer:] Introducing a one of a kind new sex fragrance.
[Anderson:] All right. Khloe`s got this smoking hot ad with her husband. She`s making tons of money as we said. Tru TV`s Sunny Hostin, let me get your take on this. Are you thinking that, you know, Khloe`s getting the last laugh here?
[Hostin:] I don`t know. I`m sort of creeped out by the whole fragrance ad. I`ve got to tell you, it kind of took me back. I mean, she`s kind of on his back and kind of naked. You know, she`s not known as the hot one.
[Anderson:] Too much. Yes, too much.
[Hostin:] She`s known as the third one. But I will say it`s a package deal. I think she`s laughing all the way to the bank. She understands that the only reason she`s famous is because she`s on a reality show. She`s famous for being famous and she`s cashing in on it. So I think more power to her. But the ad?
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Hostin:] Kind of creepy to me.
[Anderson:] Yes. It might be a little bit too much. All right. I`ve got to move now though to big breaking Camille and Kelsey Grammer news. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you they are officially divorced as of today. Kelsey is now free, free to marry his 29-year-old former mistress in a matter of days. Camille and Kelsey they still have to work out splitting all their homes, all their millions and millions and millions of dollars. Camille did not sign a pre-nup and there have been reports that she was asking for $50 million. Sheryl Lee, does this quickie divorce mean that Camille is getting an even sweeter deal than expected?
[Ralph:] You know, listen, divorce, no matter who it is, no matter how it happens, is never a wonderful thing. But ladies, pre-nup, pre-nup. You make sure you get that man to agree to something while he`s madly in love with you. But they`re getting divorced now, God bless them so we don`t have to hear anymore about this, him and his mistress.
[Anderson:] Sunny, what do you think?
[Hostin:] I`ve got to tell you I think they`ve offered her a sweet deal. The fact that she didn`t have a pre-nup really may be better for her. It may protect her. For him to even get married without the pre-nup, I thought, was ridiculous because he is the one that has the money. He wanted to get out of the marriage. He got out of the marriage. And let me tell you, she didn`t let him out of that marriage with a quickie divorce without a big pay day coming her way. So I think divorce is hard but it going to be easy with that money.
[Anderson:] Before she signed that bottom line yes, before she signed that bottom line, I`m sure she had a big check coming her way. Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sunny Hostin, thanks, ladies.
[Hammer:] OK. So we`re about to name the most provocative celebrity of the week. Here are your nominees. Lindsay Lohan for her latest court mess; Christina Aguilera for flubbing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl; what about "Glee`s" Lea Michele causing a whole heap of controversy over her sexy "Cosmo" cover? You can vote right now by texting your vote to 45688 SBT1 for Lindsay; SBT2 for Lea; SBT3 for Christina. Now, keep in mind standard text message rates do apply. You can also vote on our Facebook page ShowbizTonightHLN there. We`re going to reveal who we name as the most provocative celebrity of the week and see if you agree with us on Friday.
[Anderson:] Are two really provocative people about to kiss and make up? Rosie O`Donnell, Donald Trump. Listen to this.
[Morgan:] Rosie O`Donnell, talking of problems, has been quite complimentary about you today. I`m suggesting maybe the ice is beginning to melt.
[Trump:] Wow, that`s a big statement. Wow, wow, wow.
[Anderson:] A big statement. What Rosie said about Donald is next. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views And now, the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" these are more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] Dr. Dre and Bob Dylan to perform at the Grammys. Kathy Griffin set to star in "Kathy Wants a Tony" on Broadway.

[Romans:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT. A look at some of the headlines this morning. The "News Corp" board of directors has approved a split of the company. According to the "Wall Street Journal," the move will divide Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate into separate entertainment and publishing entities both publicly traded. A formal announcement is expected later today. Bernie Madoff's brother is pleading guilty to charges related to Madoff's huge Ponzi scheme. Peter Madoff is charged with conspiracy and falsifying records. He's agreed to forfeit all his assets, all of his personal property. He's expected to get 10 years in jail for helping swindle up to $200 billion from thousands of investors Soledad.
[O'brien:] All right, Christine, thank you. Our "Get Real" this morning is really more like get real facts, please. We're counting down to the Supreme Court's historic ruling on President Obama's health care law. Wanted to take a moment to fact check a couple claims about health care reform and today's decision. The law has only been in effect for 828 days. It's been the subject of intense criticism since its very inception. Congressional Republicans had been among the law's harshest critics. This morning, they are promising a full repeal of the law if in fact the Supreme Court lets the health care legislation stand. Here is House Speaker John Boehner.
[Representative John Boehner, House Speaker:] We made it pretty clear and I will make it clear one more time. If the court does not strike down the entire law, the House will move to repeal what's left of it. Obama care is driving up the cost of health care and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers. Our focus has been the economy and it will continue to be the economy.
[O'brien:] So first question is the president's health care law really driving up the cost of health care as Speaker Boehner was just claiming there. It is not exactly clear what he is referring to there, but let's say for the sake of argument he means driving up the cost of health care premiums. Health insurance premiums did jump 9 percent from 2010 to 2011, an increase that Republicans blame on the health care law. But according to fact check.org the law only caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase. The rest of the 9 percent increase is thanks to rising health care costs. So Sanjay, what items fall under those rising health care costs?
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] I mean, health care costs have been going up for decades. You know, it just costs more. There is more technology. We have more expensive ways to take care of people. And you know, America is not particularly good at taking care of itself. I mean, nearly three quarters of adults are either overweight or obese and 1 in 5 smoke. Those things cost money. We talk about that all the time, but there is a price tag associated with that. By the way, nobody in the world is terrific at reducing health care costs. So this isn't a uniquely American problem. We seem to be particularly bad at it in terms of those controls.
[O'brien:] Let's carry on here for fact check. That increase caused by the law as a result of increased benefits, too, for example, allowing kids to stay on their parent's policy until they're 26 or covering pre-existing conditions. The second part of the speaker's remarks making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers. The fact is businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempt. And according again to factcheck.org, experts predict that the law may cause a small loss of low wage jobs, but will create an increase in better paying jobs in the health care and health insurance companies. Will, do you think that's a compelling argument here, lose some, gain some?
[Cain:] That it's a job killer? Do I find that's a compelling argument? I think it is a very nuanced argument, which is never a good political argument and that is this, the health care law has caused uncertainty in the economy. A lack of not knowing what comes next among businesses, which makes it hard to hire and I think there is a correct argument to make there. Is it an easy one? No. It is easier to say it is a job killer, which fact check is I'm not wrong totally, right?
[O'brien:] Before I get to you, Richard, they say you're not exactly wrong and not exactly right. Republicans though aren't the only ones stretching the truth on this. Here is President Obama speaking a little bit earlier this year listen.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] I am confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.
[O'brien:] So was it fair to say that
[Socarides:] Fact check, that's correct.
[O'brien:] that the law was passed by a strong majority of democratically elected Congress?
[Socarides:] He is right. He is correct.
[O'brien:] No, he is not. It was passed along party lines with 60 votes. The Supreme Court has overturned laws before passed by Congress. So I am not sure what he meant by unprecedented, but that would be wrong also.
[Socarides:] There's a lot of that word unprecedented comes up a lot in this debate, right?
[O'brien:] But it is not a very nuance word, is it?
[Socarides:] No, it's not a very nuance word.
[O'brien:] Either it's unprecedented or it's not.
[Socarides:] I think the Republicans, the people who opposed this law have been extremely successful in convincing the American public that there is something unprecedented about this law. As we've said before, you know, I think it is squarely within the bounds of what's allowed under the constitution and I think that, you know, the fair argument that Republicans are not making. But what is really at the essence of the argument against this law is that this is not the way Republicans like to do it. They like the free market to do it. They want the insurance companies to do it. They want capitalism to run this. You know, I mean, I think that the election in 2008 was a mandate to the president that said you have to do something. Government has to get more involved in health care because costs are out of control.
[O'brien:] We will see at 10:00 this morning what the Supreme Court says on that. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, I can't say this the right way. I hate to try. Come on, Will, help me out.
[Cain:] Din-o-mite.
[O'brien:] Pretty good. You remember. Good times TV icon Jimmie, J.J. Walker is going to join us to talk next. Here he is. Good morning. It's nice to have you. Welcome, welcome.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] All right. First, I want to go to John King on this. So, John, there are a couple of things that stood out here. On the one hand, he's talking about the payroll tax cut, he's also talking about unemployment insurance, and perhaps willing to put in some time before he goes off to his Hawaii vacation to make sure that gets done. On the other hand, he was very definitive, very bold when it came to talking about Iran, that Iran has weakened, and about hitting back really hard on Republicans about supporting appeasement, saying ask Osama bin Laden and some of the others that are left out there to whether or not he supports appeasement. Which issue do you think that voters are listening to now? Which one is going to make the real difference in this campaign? Is it the economics? Is it the foreign policy?
[John King, Cnn Chief National Correspondent:] Eleven months from now, when the American people pick their next president, and decide whether to give President Obama four more years, or pick whoever the Republican nominee is, the economy, by and large, overwhelmingly, will be the issue. But at the moment, the president is coming under attack from several fronts. And Suzanne, I think if you wanted a headline for that event, it would be "Game On." The president making that clear he is ready to be more combative. As you did, I found it quite striking. Of late, there was a big Republican event in town just yesterday. The Republican Jewish Coalition had an event. Six of the Republican presidential contenders spoke to it. There has been a great deal of criticism of the president when it comes to his policy regarding Israel, whether he's being tough enough vis-a-vis Iran. And you heard the president's answer there. And most Republicans would concede, most publicly, and the rest of them privately, that there is not much to be gained in saying the president has been weak on the world when he can say what he just said, go ask Osama bin Laden how weak I have been in the world. And anyway, this will be a debate about the economy. And on that front, whether its this consumer finance bureau chief, or the fight now about the payroll tax extension, again we talk about politics a lot there are some legitimate policy questions here. Some people, some Republicans, and even some Democrats who supported the payroll tax cut months ago now say there's not that much evidence it has been stimulative to the economy, and that money comes out of the Social Security trust fund. Is there another way to provide some stimulus or some tax breaks? There is a policy debate about this. But in the broader political argument, there are a lot of Republicans who are now privately grumbling that in standing up to the president here, whether it's on this consumer finance bureau or on the payroll tax cut, that even if the Republicans have legitimate policy questions, they want the consumer board restructured, they're not sure the payroll tax cut has been so effective, there are a lot of Republicans who think they are creating an opening to give this president, a struggling president, to give him a chance to find his voice on the economic challenges. You get more and more nervous Republicans, Suzanne, when you have conversations with them on that front.
[Malveaux:] And finding his voice. I want to bring that to Brianna Keilar, who's actually at the White House, inside of the Briefing Room there. Brianna, when John and I were covering the president and former presidents, you did not see a podium with a countdown clock behind it saying this is when middle tax that tax increases are going to happen here. You didn't hear the president saying, look, I'm going to stay in the White House until this gets done. Talk a little bit about the strategy, the optics, the picture of this White House and this president in trying to deliver that message to the middle class in this campaign season.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Yes. And this was a clock I'm looking at it right now, Suzanne that was unveiled this week here in the Briefing Room. It's also on the White House Web site, and this is just part of President Obama's plan and the plan of White House officials to really ratchet up pressure on Republicans as they try to draw this contrast that he is for the middle class and that Republicans are for the wealthy, the argument that will permeate his reelection fight. Now, what he's really trying to do is exploit a rift, Suzanne, that we have seen between Republicans. Of course, we've heard from Republican leaders or certainly sources in Republican leadership in Congress that the expectation is that that payroll tax cut will be extended. No doubt, one of my sources told me. But at the same time, there's a number of Republican rank-and-file members who are not on board, who say not having that money go in to the Social Security fund creates a vulnerability in that entitlement program, and also they feel that it's a temporary measure that doesn't really work. And so as Republicans try to work out something that can be palatable to them, and as they try to certainly add some things to an extension of the payroll tax cut to make it more palatable to their members, essentially President Obama is kind of trying to have a field day with that. We saw that today as he pushed not only for the nomination to be confirmed, but also for the payroll tax cut extension. He got to that pretty quickly, as you noted as well, as the extension of unemployment benefits that he and Democrats are pushing for when he was giving his comments here Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right. Brianna Keilar, John King, thank you very much for your perspective. Want to go now back to Pennsylvania. That is where former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky could soon walk out of jail. He posted $250,000 bond just within the last hour. Our Jason Carroll, he is live in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. That is just outside the jail. Jason, do we know when he might be released, when he's getting out?
[Jason Carroll, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, that would be anyone's guess. When I e-mailed his attorney, Joe Amendola, a little while ago, I asked after he had posted the bail, would he even be with him here at the Center County Correctional Facility, would he be leaving with him? He said hopefully. So, hopefully, we will se very soon Jerry Sandusky walk out of the facility behind me. Again, $250,000 bail is what he had to post. Before he does leave this facility, a probation officer will have to come in and put that electronic monitoring device on him. That is one of the conditions of his bail, one of the few conditions. In addition to that, he will be under house arrest, Suzanne, as you know. In addition to that, he will also not be able to have any contact with any victims or any witnesses. Also, he will not be able to have any unsupervised visits with any minors. So these are some of the conditions of the bail that have been set forth Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And Jason, do we know how he came up with the money?
[Carroll:] Not at this point. I mean, it would be pure speculation, which I'm certainly not going to do. Obviously, in situations like this, you can put up your home. These are some of the things you can do. You can borrow money. But at this point, it would just be pure speculation.
[Malveaux:] And Jason, I know you're outside the jail. Obviously, the media, very interested in this story. Do we suspect, do we even know in his own neighborhood, Sandusky's neighborhood, whether or not people have been outraged, whether or not they've been outside the home, whether or not people are actually outside the jail following what happens to this guy and where he goes next?
[Carroll:] Well, let's start with his neighborhood, which is located just about 20 minutes from here. As you can imagine, his neighbors are fed up with the media coming to and from Sandusky's home. He lives in sort of a remote neighborhood on a cul-de-sac. It's hard to get in and out. They've restricted media from even parking news vans and news trucks in front of his home for obvious reasons. So his neighbors are understandably a little bit fed up with the media. There have been some situations at the home when some rocks have been thrown through Sandusky's window there. So that, in itself, says something. But in terms of people showing up here at the jail, no one's showing up here at the jail except, of course, for the media.
[Malveaux:] All right, Jason. Thank you very much. Obviously, we're going to be monitoring the jail. We're probably going to go back to Jason as well to bring you an update on actually when Sandusky will walk out. We're going to have more on that story after a break.

[Velshi:] Welcome back to our breaking news on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi here at Ground Zero which was the scene of great jubilation all night, in fact. Now things are very much back to normal, aside from the fact that there's some barricades to allow the media to do its job. Construction has resumed on the site next to me. The newspapers are out. "The New York Post" perhaps capturing the mood around here overnight. It says, "Official, bin Laden dead. Got him. Vengeance at last. U.S. nails the bastard." Jason Carroll joins me now. He was with us he was here all night. Jason, you never got to sleep. There were at some point, there might have been a couple thousand people right here.
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] It was incredible. I mean, you remember what it was like. I mean, the people were crammed into this area here.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Carroll:] People of all different walks of life, all different ages. A lot of young people out here, but we also saw some veterans out here, some 911 widows that we spoke to as well, a lot of people coming out.
[Crowds: Usa, Usa! Velshi:] President Obama was talking about the families of the victims. I just want to play for our audience what he had to say about the victims.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 911, that we have never forgotten your loss nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores. And tonight11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.
[Velshi:] OK. Three themes that he hit on there. The unity of how Americans felt, how people reacted last night. You saw a lot of that displayed.
[Carroll:] Yes.
[Velshi:] The coming together. And the fact that he talked about the families of the victims. You spoke to a couple of them.
[Carroll:] We did. And, you know, look, a couple of things. First of all in speaking to one of the widows whose husband was killed on the 101st floor, for her there was a sense of closure that she felt. That's why she also wanted to come down. She wanted to experience it.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Carroll:] But it was also a bittersweet moment for her because she never thought that there would come a day where she would actually feel like, hey, Osama bin Laden would be gone, and two, that there would be an actual celebration down at Ground Zero. But she really felt the need to come down here and take part of it.
[Velshi:] That was quite something. It was a mix of emotions there, Jason. Also, we don't want to forget those people who went down on United Flight 93, the 40 people who died in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, or near Shanksville. Jim Acosta is there for us this morning. Jim, what's the situation out there right now?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Ali, it's a lot more subdued out here in Pennsylvania and I can tell you if we were just standing on an empty field a mile from here wouldn't mean very much. But obviously, we're standing on hallowed ground in the global war on terrorism. This is as you mentioned where Flight 93 went down, taking with it 40 passengers and crewmembers who were on board that aircraft that day. And not many people here so far this morning. What I can tell you is that some folks have come by and left a sign. There's a sign on this fence behind me, and it says "Osama bin Laden is dead, God bless America" signed by Don and Timmy. And so just one of the sentiments out here. But one of the things you have to remember about this site is that, you know, this was really one of the opening skirmishes in the war on terrorism as we all remember. And today and looking at everything that's happening across this country in New York, here in Pennsylvania and in Washington, just bring back a flood of memories. But remember on this flight, Flight 93, is where the passengers stormed that cockpit, forcing the hijackers to bring this plane down here. It is where Todd Beamer, remember him, he was one of the passengers on board, who apparently said, "let's roll" that became one of the battle cries of this war on terrorism. And so I think throughout the hours, as the day goes on, Ali, you will see more people out here. At this point, it's a lot more subdued. And one thing we do want to mention is that this land behind me is now going to become a national park. There are already National Park Service signs up. And right now, the national park is in the process of building a memorial that will stand on this ground and the opening section of that memorial is slated to open on September 11th, 2011, on the 10-year anniversary of 911. So Shanksville or this plot of land just outside of Shanksville certainly not forgotten after what happened on September 11th, Ali.
[Velshi:] Jim, you make a really interesting point about that being the opening salvo or one of the opening skirmishes on the war on terror because those people on United Flight 93 didn't know at the time that that was what was happening.
[Acosta:] That's right.
[Velshi:] It became evident to them only on the flight. And, of course, they will not know that they were some of the first Americans to fight back on this attack on America, on September 11th, 2001, on this morning.
[Acosta:] That's right. According to that's right. And according to the 911 Commission, Ali, and all of these memories coming back as well11 Commission, those passengers and crewmembers on board Flight 93, perhaps, saved the United States Capitol or the White House from destruction. It is thought that the hijackers on board that aircraft were going to crash that plane into either the Capitol or the White House. So they were certainly heroes that day, Ali.
[Velshi:] Yes. All right. Jim Acosta in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Our coverage from around America and around the world continues on CNN AMERICAN MORNING. It's 26 minutes after the hour.

[Lemon:] OK, just in time for your new year's diet, because I know a lot of you are going to do that. Jenny Craig has made some changes in the weight loss plan. Participants in a new program called "Metabolic Max" will get light weight arm bands that track physical activity and calories burned. That's supposed to keep people honest about how much exercise they actually get. The move comes one month after weight watchers made some changes of its own. It fine tuned points system to consume differences, not just calories. But choosing a diet is never easy, of course. And just to make things more complicated, there appears to be a new diet war between the long-established Atkin's diet and the upstart called the Dukan diet. CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Miami. Is the Dukan diet or the "duck-en" diet?
[Dr. Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] We can't reach them. We can't confirm the pronunciation. But it seems like most people are called it the "due-kan" diet.
[Lemon:] So what's going on here?
[Cohen:] It's really interesting. It is the spirit of the late Dr. Robert Atkins, the founder of the Atkins diet, versus Carol Middleton, the mother of the future queen of England. She's been talking about the Dukan diet and how it's done her so much good and how it's helped her lose weight. And you can see she's looking pretty trim. And the Atkins people are none too happy. They said the Dukan diet is trying to copy the Atkins diet but isn't as good as the Atkins diet. In fact the Atkins people sent out a press release with some pretty harsh words. They said that the Dukan diet has "nutritional recommendations that simply don't make sense or are guaranteed to fail." That's pretty strong language "guaranteed to fail." Don?
[Lemon:] Well, I don't understand. So why can't there's only so much you can eat and probably different patterns in which you can eat. Before the Atkins diet, there was the Stillman Water diet, which was basically low or no carbohydrates. Do they own the patent to low- carb diets?
[Cohen:] They seem to think that this is their diet and other people are sort of taking it from them. And I agree with you. I think each diet is just a slight reincarnation of the next diet. But let's talk a little bit about what the Dukan diet is because I think people are familiar with Atkins. It's a high-protein diet, also has four phases like Atkins. And the first phase is you only eat high-protein foods, second phase, you add vegetables every other day. The third phase you reintroduce what they call pleasurable foods. I guess that means carbohydrates and desserts and what not. And then phase four, you eat what you want with some restrictions. And their motto is "Eat as much as you like and forget about cutting calories." The Atkins people say "eat as much as you like," that is a recipe for failure. They said that just can't work and they say Atkins is much more structured.
[Lemon:] OK. So now we know. All right, Elizabeth. Thank you. We appreciate Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent. And she is in Miami. Other news now, the feds say a guy tried to smuggle cocaine at the airport using Easter eggs? Wait until you hear where he was coming from, straight ahead.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] All right, let's talk about something Randi's been showing you all morning long. We're going to show you the latest stop on the route for a shuttle that has traveled 122 miles on the street and now to the shuttle "Endeavour" logging its last few miles on the streets of L.A. Huge crowds are turning out to see the retiring spacecraft winding its way through the city to its final resting place, the California Science Center. John Zarrella and Casey Wian are covering this story from different vantage points. We'll start with you, John. You're at a staging area where the shuttle is stopping for a public ceremony. Some might argue that it seemed like it was at a standstill, going just 2 miles per hour. But now it really has stopped, putting the brakes on for this ceremony. What will take place?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, absolutely. In fact, they got here quite a bit early today, ahead of schedule so they've been sitting here a lot longer than they had anticipated and expected. We are at the Old Forum where the Los Angeles Lakers used to play a little basketball back in the day before they moved. And you know, it gave an opportunity for thousands of people in the Englewood area to come out and see the space shuttle. They had a marching band here. They've had music playing. "Endeavour" has been sitting there for the better part of an hour. A lot longer than we had anticipated, Fredricka, and I am joined by Stephanie Stilson who works for NASA and has been in charge of preparing all three of the space shuttle orbiters for their retirement. And Stephanie, just a great reception from the people in Los Angeles, right?
[Stephanie Stilson, Nasa:] Absolutely. From the minute we got here, prior to offloading, before the "Endeavour" even got here, great support from the folks at Los Angeles International Airport and the surrounding communities. So it's been very welcoming.
[Zarrella:] Now from your perspective, you know, the shuttle retiring like this, there had been concerns because of the close quarters. There are areas where there's not much clearance.
[Stilson:] Very true. In fact, in some cases it's about an inch from wing tip to wall along the way. That's why we're using these special motorized transporters along the way. It allows precise movement, very slow. We won't go more than 2 miles per hour anywhere along the route and much slower in these tight areas, but we've done very well. In fact, the lowest clearance we've gone through already. It was 59 feet, a power line across, a tag line. We're at 56 feet at the top of the vertical stabilizer. Cleared it no problem, but we were watching and going slowly along that route.
[Zarrella:] I bet you were. Stephanie and I are going to be watching it all day, as it moves from here, Fredricka, about six more miles to go until they get to the California Science Center. Once they leave there, they are going to go to a local area mall where there's another big celebration plan and then on. But what an amazing, amazing couple of days and opportunity the folks in the Los Angeles area have had to see the spacecraft going down the streets of L.A. and really an outpouring here from the people that none of us really expected, just tremendous outpouring from these folks.
[Whitfield:] Yes, incredible sight and folks are there, you know, with their cameras, with their phones snapping off pictures left and right. Thanks so much, John Zarrella. Keep us posted throughout the afternoon. Casey Wian also out there in Los Angeles awaiting the arrival of the space shuttle where another vantage point for folks to see it up close and personal Casey.
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Fredricka, this is about as close as you are going to get.
[Whitfield:] There you are. You're actually right there.
[Wian:] To move the shuttle
[Whitfield:] No. All right, we're going to have to try this again when we have another signal. Another shot at a better signal to get Casey Wian who is OK, let's try it again, Casey. OK, well, we're not able to hear him. You can see him. He really is in the shadow of the space shuttle "Endeavour." What an incredible sight and vantage point. We'll try to re-establish a connection with him about this historic movement for the space shuttle, of course it's parked right now. But it will be continuing to move its 2 miles per hour in order to make it to the California Science Museum. It's travelled in all, 122 million miles in space and now making yet another trek before it meets its final resting stop. Of course, you can continue to watch the progress of the shuttle. We're going to keep a little shot right there on the bottom of your screen there to follow the shuttle's movements. Of course, you can also watch it on cnn.com live stream as well throughout the afternoon. All right, Colorado now. There's a manhunt on for a killer of a 10- year-old girl. Police say they have found the body of Jessica Ridgeway. She was reported missing a week ago. Jessica was last seen leaving school leaving for school, that is. An FBI spokesperson says they will not rest until Jessica's killer is caught. As for the community, they will come together for a balloon release later on this afternoon to celebrate young Jessica's life. And then on to Pakistan now, three more suspects are under arrest in connection with the shooting of a teen activist. Already over 100 people have been detained in that attack. The young girl is now fighting for her life in a hospital. Shot by Taliban for speaking out for her right to go to school, supporters gathered all over Pakistan to pray for her recovery. All right, back in the U.S. now, a troubling incident at President Barack Obama's campaign office in Denver. Police say a shot was fired at the office yesterday, shattering the window. People were inside the building at the time, but luckily no one was hurt. Police say they don't have a suspect yet, but they are investigating a possible suspicious car last seen at the scene. All right, the ACLU says some students in a Michigan School District are not reading at grade level. So that group is now suing the state and education leaders. Our legal guys will have an opinion or two on this one.

[A.j. Hammer, Showbiz Tonight:] Now, on a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "SHOWBIZ Reality Secrets: Fashion Frenzy." Tonight, fashion legend Tyra Banks reveals all the surprising secrets behind her "Top Model" empire.
[Tyra Banks, "america`s Top Model":] You know, "Top Model" is very difficult. You know, people watch it on TV and then they go, "Oh, I want to be on the show so badly." And then they come on the show and they`re like, "This is fabulous. Look at this house, wow." And then they get a photo and are like, "It sucks."
[Hammer:] Tyra Banks in a must-see SHOWBIZ newsmaker interview. A top fashion insider who worked with Cindy Crawford reveals the secrets behind the creation of a TV supermodel. Plus, big fashion drama. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exposes how reality fashion shows deal with all of those huge personalities stuffed into those tiny dresses. A special digs addition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "SHOWBIZ Reality Secrets: Fashion Frenzy," starts right now.
[Banks:] "America`s Next Top Model is Jaslene!
[Jaslene Gonzalez, Winner, Season 8, "america`s Next Top Model":] Oh my God, Tyra, thank you! Oh my God!
[Bank:] I think the reason why "Top Model" has been on for so long is that I push my team and my team pushes me back. You know, so I`m like, that`s the same. What can you do? I call it, "Add a layer." Give me a layer to make it different. What are people going to be talking about tomorrow at that water cooler at work or what are they going to be twittering about? Give me those moments. So I push my team, my team pushes me. Tyra, no, that`s boring. Or, no, that is not interesting. So, you know, we are hard on each other and I think that`s why we`re like cycle, what is this, 18.
[Unidentified Female:] Maybe I am angry inside! I have been through stuff! So I`m angry!
[Banks:] Be quiet Stop it!
[Kareen Wynter, Showbiz Tonight Correspondent:] Reality TV, Tyra, these days, it gets such a bad rap. And a lot of it is scripted, staged. Is any of that for "America`s Next Top Model"?
[Banks:] No. See, it is kind of hard to watch reality TV a little bit because I can see what other shows are doing, you know, in terms of scripted or in terms of something in TV that we call "coverage." It`s like, here`s a shot here, then there`s a close-up and then there`s a wide shot, and then there`s all this. And I know in order for that scene to have been shot that way, the lines had to have been said five times. So I know those tricks, so sometimes it is kind of hard for me to watch reality TV. And then I get a little jealous. I`m like, dang, their coverage is all gorgeous and here we are chasing a girl out of the room crying. And we might have missed it because she slammed a door in my cameraman`s face and is in the bathroom and that is off-limits. So you know, so it`s like, it gets me a little jealous that these other shows get more coverage.
[Unidentified Female:] Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
[Banks:] Why are you screaming so loud?
[Unidentified Female:] Because you are so pretty!
[Wynter:] So you give them that very big break where they go through the door. But how is it when they enter the fashion industry? Is it any easier? How are they received?
[Banks:] You know, "Top Model" is very difficult. People watch it on TV and then they go, "Oh, I want to be on the show so badly." And then they come on the show and they are like, "This is fabulous, look at this house, wow." Then they get a photo shoot and are like, "It sucks." And they`re like, whoa. Hearing that, versus seeing somebody else being told it on television, is two totally different things. So they start feeling that critique, and it is not so nice. And then say they either get very far or don`t, but still enter the real fashion industry. It is worse. What your agent is telling you is worse than anything on "Top Model." I have certain rules of things that a judge can and cannot say to a girl on "Top Model."
[Unidentified Female:] I talk probably almost at this level like when I am sitting at home.
[Banks:] Have you ever had your hearing tested? Do you think that might have something to do with it?
[Unidentified Female:] Pardon?
[Banks:] But when you go into the real world, they will say, your butt is too this,
[Wynter:] And you have been a target yourself of the media. So how do you stay grounded and be who you are but not be bashed?
[Banks:] I was put on covers of all of these magazines, "America`s Next Top `Waddle,`" and "Tyra `Shanks,`" I think it was?
[Wynter:] It was really hurtful.
[Banks:] Yes, most well, when I first read it, it wasn`t that hurtful. And then I had a lot of people coming up to me and saying that it hurt them. And if they were calling me fat, then that means that they are what are they, because they are either my size or bigger. So I have something to all of you that have something nasty to say about me or other women that are built like me, women that sometimes or all the time look like this, women whose names you know, women whose names you don`t, women who have been picked on, women whose husbands put them down, women at work, or girls in school, I have one thing to say to you, kiss my fat ass!
[Wynter:] You were such a superstar before "America`s Top Model." You still are, but your star just keeps getting bigger. Do you sometimes
[Banks:] I want it to get less.
[Wynter:] You want it to get less? Why is that?
[Banks:] Yes.
[Wynter:] Because you are so ambitious and there is always something you`re looking to tackle, so that`s surprising to hear.
[Banks:] I want the star of me to you know, I don`t want to really push that so much. I really want to build my business.
[Hammer:] And you can check out the finale of "America`s Next Top Model" when it airs this Wednesday on The CW. So exactly how do Tyra and all the other reality fashion shows find "America`s Next Top Model"? Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is blowing the lid off of reality TV`s best hidden fashion secrets. How a fashion superstar is discovered.
[Michael Flutie, Talent Scout:] My name is Michael Flutie. I have spent my whole entire career scouting and developing models, Cindy Crawford, Milla Jovovich, Stephanie Seymour.
[Hammer:] I cannot wait to show you the secrets to finding the next Gisele Bundchen. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is revealing more startling fashion reality secrets. The genius behind megabrand, Baby Phat, telling all about how she ran a fashion empire right in front of the reality TV cameras. I`m going one on one with style star Kimora Lee Simmons. This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "SHOWBIZ Reality Secrets: Fashion Frenzy." Tyra Banks grills a super skinny contestant on "America`s Next Top Model."
[Unidentified Female:] I`m Anne and I`m from
[Banks:] You have the smallest waist in the world. Look at this waist, and how tall are you?
[Unidentified Female:] I am 6`2".
[Banks:] There is something about her that I like.
[Unidentified Male:] She is going to make Miss J eat Tic Tacs and watercress for the rest of the season.

[Richard Quest, Cnn International Correspondent:] But oh, and there's Big Ben chiming 5:00 in the afternoon. The day has moved on quite rapidly. And let's turn to Michael Cockerell. Michael Cockerell, the documentary the political documentary maker and broadcaster who has interviewed more prime ministers than you can shake a stick at. Michael, do you think that any in the political elite will have been will be a little more concerned tonight or rest a little bit easier by what they've heard from the Murdochs?
[Michael Cockerell, Documentary Maker:] Well, I think for the political elite, this was a moment of truth. It was the emperor's new clothes. Poor old Rupert Murdoch. Old is the world. Here is the guy who successive prime ministers have been paying court to, have been going to his parties, inviting him to their parties, listening to everything he says. A senior civil servant said to me, the way we would tailor advice to ministers would be to factor in what Rupert Murdoch and what News International newspapers would be saying. They were that was advice to ministers. This you know, this was the sun king that they all worshipped at. And today, I mean, the pauses that he had before he answered questions Rupert Murdoch would have made would have made Harold Pinter proud, had Pinter been alive to see it. They were extraordinary. And this was this was the emperor who no longer had his clothes.
[Quest:] OK. Now, before we come back to you, stay with me, Michael. Stay with me, Michael. I want to show proving that there's nothing like seeing it again and preferably when you can see it even slower. Let's have a look at the slow motion replay of the incident that took place, and you can make your own movement. There you are. There we are. So you see James Murdoch in the middle there getting up and that gives you an idea of what happened. And, Michael, what did you make of Rupert Murdoch and James, the body language? Some people here, and I'll say it quite openly, some people here suggested during the testimony that James Murdoch seemed out of his depth, Rupert Murdoch seemed to be out of touch. Are we just missing the point here?
[Cockerell:] I don't think we are missing the point here. I mean for you know, for 50 years, ever since Rupert Murdoch became a big figure in British journalism, you know, he has been the dominant figure, you know, under the influence of his father, Sir Keith Murdoch. I was in the Panorama hospitality room 30 years ago when James Murdoch came to go on Panorama to show that he was a fit and proper person. He was the owner of the "News of the World" and the owner of "The Sun" and he wanted to take over the "Times" and he came. And he came with his young son, age 11. It was either Blackman or James or I'm afraid I can't remember. But he was getting the early taste of the dynasty. And I think the dynasty is crumbling before our eyes.
[Quest:] Let's talk stay with us, Michael. There's plenty more to talk to you about. Let's talk to Jonathan Wald, CNN's producer who's in the room, joins me on the line. OK. Let's have some facts, Jonathan. What actually happened?
[Jonathan Wald, Cnn Producer:] Well, Richard, Louise Mensch was the last member of the committee to begin her questioning. I was sitting in the front row directly behind and slightly to the left of Rupert Murdoch when suddenly, someone from the back, a member of the public wearing
[Quest:] So let's be clear. Did this shaving foam hit Rupert Murdoch in the face?
[Wald:] Squarely in the face, yes. Everyone was a bit surprised. Nobody reacted in time. And the person who marched forward, he was a man who appeared to be in his late 20s, perhaps 30s, threw the plate with a large amount of light blue shaving foam on it and hit him squarely in the face.
[Quest:] Well and Rupert Murdoch's wife you say was there and the woman in the pink was there, and we can see as these pictures that we're showing now, Mrs. Murdoch leaping from her seat and did anybody actually did any of the Murdochs or anybody else before the police got there apprehend or get a hand on the assailant?
[Wald:] Not really. He was given a pretty clear line in which to throw the plate with the foam on it into his face. There was one policeman who tried to wrestle him away as soon as he had thrown it. He got a fair share of shaving foam on himself. But by then it was too little, too late. Murdoch was stunned, not injured. As Wendy Murdoch, who shortly afterwards was seemed to be in fairly good spirits. She was smiling, you know, about how quickly she was able to react to this incident. Members of Rupert Murdoch's support team, I'm not sure whether it was a legal advisor, but also sitting in the front row, approached another policeman in astonishment asking how on earth can you let this happen?
[Quest:] OK. All right. So the question begs this all begs the question why now? This thing has been going for two and a half hours. Frankly, there had been moments when one you know, could almost have fallen asleep listening to the backward and forwardness in the answers. So why any indication why at this point in the proceedings, this chap decided to interrupt and cause the disturbance?
[Wald:] It's not clear. There was a minor disturbance at the very, very beginning of the select hearing when three protesters stood up with signs saying, Murdoch was a news criminal. They were asked to leave. So perhaps they could have waited. So there was no clear indication as to why this person who threw this plate of foam
[Quest:] OK, let's I'm interrupting you there, Jonathan, so that I can just describe. You see the pictures we are showing now just sorry to interrupt you, but these are CNN pictures of the man who has been arrested and the foam being wiped off his face. This is all taking place in a place called Portcullis House, which is just, I don't know, 100 yards or so, 150 yards from where I'm standing at Abingdon Green. As you say, a man in the checked shirt. And I suppose the questions will be asked how he got what he got into the room, won't it, Jonathan?
[Wald:] Well, the security here is going to ensure that serious weapons and other more obviously threatening objects don't make their way through. It's quite possible that he could have just brought this in and it seemed as innocuous as it was on the face of it, shaving foam. However, he obviously used it and had it prepared in this blue plastic bag that he was carrying for purposes that one wouldn't expect from specifically expect from shaving foam.
[Quest:] All right. We shall pause there, Jonathan, because as we are talking, I see that the picture has now returned and unless I'm mistaken, the hearing is resuming. Let's rejoin the chairman, John Whittingdale.
[John Whittingdale, Chairman, British Culture, Media And Sports Committee:] answer questions for a long time. And I would like to apologize on behalf of the Committee of Parliament for the way you've been treated. And I can will make a report to the speaker and I assure you we will take action to try and find out how that was able to occur. But it is extremely good of you to agree to continue the session and to allow my colleague through his magistrate to finish her questions.
[Rupert Murdoch, Chairman, Ceo, News Corporation:] Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
[James Murdoch, Chairman, Ceo, News Corporation International:] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Louise Mensch, British Culture, Media And Sports Committee:] And if I may start by saying, Mrs. Murdoch that I said on Sky News when discussing your initial appearance that it would have showed guts and leadership for you to show up today and answer questions. And I must say I think it shows immense guts, Mr. Rupert Murdoch, for you to continue answering questions now under the circumstances, under such a lengthy conversation, and I thank you for it.
[Rupert Murdoch:] Thank you.
[Mensch:] My questions will be just as tough as they would have been had this unfortunate incident not have occurred. So Mr. James Murdoch, if I can just take you back briefly before we were so rudely interrupted to the question of the disparity between the settlements. Could you please tell me whether or not the Taylor settlement to your knowledge involved a confidentiality clause that was not present in the settlement for the last
[James Murdoch:] I can tell you that the Taylor settlement was a confidential settlement and as to other settlements post that, and more recent settlements, some have been confidential. Some I believe some have been confidential, some are not. I don't believe any have been confidential settlements but I can certainly follow up as to whether or not there have been any. It's customary to in and out of court settlement of this nature for both sides of both parties to agree. There's nothing unusual about an out of court settlement being made confidential and being agreed to being confidential but it was, and with respect to I think the basis of the question, which is about the disparity in the amount of money involved, there was nothing in the Taylor settlement with respect to confidentiality that spoke to the amount of money. The amount of money was derived as I testified earlier from a judgment made about what the likely damages would be and what the likely expenses and litigation costs would have been had the company taken the litigation to its end and lost.
[Mensch:] Yes. You've been very clear about that. That is your explanation for the size of the settlement. I merely put it to you that an inference could be drawn if the larger settlements contained confidentiality clauses and the smaller settlements did not, that despite what you say about it being a pragmatic decision based on the costs to the company if not settling, an inference could be drawn that silence was being bought by the presence of the confidentiality clause in the larger settlements.
[James Murdoch:] And that inference would be false.
[Mensch:] OK. Fair enough. Many people, I think this is another bit, will find it quite hard to believe that two executives who nobody would regard as passive had such little knowledge of widespread illegality at one of your flagship papers. Can I ask you very specifically, Mr. James Murdoch, first, when did you become aware that the phones not merely of celebrities and members of the royal family, but also victims of crime, had been hacked? When did you become aware that the phone of the murder victim Milly Dowler had been hacked?
[James Murdoch:] The terrible the terrible instance of voicemail interception around Milly Dowler case only came to my attention when it was reported in the press a few weeks ago.
[Mensch:] Only when "The Guardian" reported it?
[James Murdoch:] It was a total I can tell you is a total shock. That was the first that I had heard of it and became aware of it.
[Mensch:] And is that the same for hacking of other victims of crime, in other words, have you been made aware prior to the Milly Dowler story breaking that your reporters hacked into the phones of any other crime victims?
[James Murdoch:] No. I have not been I had not been made aware of that.
[Mensch:] OK. And just for the record, though you answered this to my colleague Jim Sheridan earlier, but it's a very lively interest to
[Rupert Murdoch:] We have no evidence of that at all.
[Mensch:] Have any credible allegations I see you hesitating, Mr. James Murdoch.
[James Murdoch:] No, I was just going to say sorry, I was just going to say that those are incredibly serious allegations and they have come to light very recently. We do not know the veracity of those allegations and are trying to understand precisely what they are and any investigations. I was in I remember well, as all of us do, the September 11th attacks and I was in the far east living there at the time, and it is just appalling to think that anyone associated with one of our papers would have done something like that. I'm aware of no evidence about that. We have I'm well aware of the allegations and will eagerly cooperate with any investigations or try to find out what went on at that time. This is very, very new allegations, just a few days old, I think, but they are very serious allegations and they would that sort of activity would have absolutely, you know, no place. It's just it would be appalling.
[Mensch:] So from the information provided to you so far I noted Mr. Rupert Murdoch's answer was emphatic. Your answer, Mr. James Murdoch, was somewhat more nuanced. Have you received any information that gives you cause for concern that employees of News Corp or contractors of News Corp may have indulged in that kind of act?
[James Murdoch:] No. We have only seen we have only seen the allegations that have been made in the press. I think it was in "The Mirror" or something like that. And we are actively trying to we'd like to know exactly what those allegations are and how to understand, you know
[Mensch:] You have seen no internal documents, memos, records
[James Murdoch:] Yes.
[Mensch:] or received any verbal reports that any employee of News Corp hacked into the phone line of
[James Murdoch:] No. Definitely not.
[Mensch:] Thank you. And have you, as a result of a wider review, clearly this has been a shock to your corporate culture. Have you heard from any of your employees of papers in other countries that phone hacking, blocking or illegal practices may have been happening in those territories, in your Australian properties or any territory indeed when News Corp owns media properties? Are you doing a global review and have you heard of any allegations of phone hacking in your other territories?
[James Murdoch:] I am not aware of any allegations in any of those territories. I haven't heard of those allegations but I would go back to the code of ethics and code of conduct that all of our colleagues at News Corporation Globally, be they journalists or management, are required to have when they join the company and are briefed on those things. It is a matter of real seriousness. The journalistic ethics of any of the newspapers or television channels within the group, and certainly, it's something that on a global basis, you know, we want to be consistent. We want to be doing the right thing and when I say that illegal behavior has no place in this company, that goes for the whole company.
[Mensch:] Mr. Rupert Murdoch, you are the chairman and chief executive of News Corp. You are the head of the global company. The buck stops with you. Given these allegations that you have said indeed when you opened this session, you said that this was the most humiliating day of your life. Given the sorry?
[Unidentified Male:] Humble.
[Mensch:] I'm sorry. I beg your pardon. That is a mistake. The most humble day of your life. You feel humbled by these events. You are ultimately in charge of the company. Given your shock at these things being laid out before you and the fact that you didn't know anything about them, have you instructed your editors around the world to engage in a
[Rupert Murdoch:] No, but I am more than prepared to do so.
[Mensch:] Thank you. One final question or two final questions. The first is, you touched earlier, Mr. James Murdoch, on very briefly you touched on the general culture of phone hacking and illegal practices that has in the past happened in this country. If I could put a couple of things to you. Piers Morgan, who is now a celebrity anchor at CNN, who did not appear to have asked him any questions at all about phone hacking. As a former editor of the "Daily Mirror," he said in his book "The Insider" recently, and I quote, "That little trick of entering a standard four-digit code allowed anyone to call a number and hear all your messages." In that book he boasted that using that little trick enables him to win scoop of the year on a story about Sven Goran Eriksson. So that is a former editor of "The Daily Mirror" being very open about his personal use of phone hacking. Yesterday, in parliament Paul Dacre I'm sorry? And indeed, he was a former "News of the World" executive, he was boasting about a story that happened when he was the editor of "The Daily Mirror." Yesterday, Paul Dacre of Associated newspaper said to a committee of parliament, in my view recently that "The Daily Mail" has never in its history run a story based on phone hacking or blocking in any way, yet "Operation Motor Man," of which, I'm sure, you, Mr. James Murdoch, your advisors will have made you aware. So the "Daily Mail" had 50 journalists paid for 902 pieces of information obtained by the private investigator Steve Whitmore who had been found to have used some shall we say unorthodox methods. You told me earlier, Mr. Murdoch, that your advisors in prepping you to come before this committee had told you to simply tell the truth, which I think was excellent advice. Is it not the fact, is it not the truth of the matter that journalists at the "Daily Mail" I'm sorry, at the "News of the World" felt entitled to go out there and use blocking, deception and phone hacking because that was part of the general culture of corruption in the British tabloid press? And that they didn't kick it up the chain to you because they felt they were entitled to use the same methods as everybody else? Isn't that the plain fact of the matter?
[James Murdoch:] Miss Mensch, I am aware of those reports, the questions around other newspapers and their use of private investigators, but I think really, you know, all I can really speak to in this matter is the behaviors and the culture at the "News of the World" as we understand it, how we are trying to find out what really happened in the period in question, but also, and I think importantly, it's not for me here today to impugn other newspapers, other journalists, other things like that. You've asked us
[Mensch:] I'm asking if the "News of the World" felt inured, inured to doing engaging in these illegal practices, particularly phone hacking, because it was so wide in British tabloid journalism.
[James Murdoch:] I don't want to accept
[Mensch:] Did they not see it as evil as it was because it was so widespread?
[James Murdoch:] Miss Mensch, I don't accept that if a journalist on one of our papers or at a television channel or or Internet news operation feels that they don't have to hold themselves to a higher standard, you know, that I think that it's important that we don't say listen, everybody was doing it and that's why people are doing this. At the end of the day, we have to have a set of standards that we believe in. We have to have titles and journalists who operate to the highest possible standard and we have to make sure that when they don't live up to that, that they are held to account. And that's really the focus for us.
[Mensch:] Mr. Rupert Murdoch, have you considered suing Harbottle & Lewis? Have you considered suing Harbottle & Lewis?
[James Murdoch:] I think
[Mensch:] You have said in the past that you relied the reason you did not do an internal investigation, one of your first answers to the chairman, was that you relied on to my colleague, that you relied on the investigation by the police. The investigation by the Press Complaints Commission and the investigation undertaken by your solicitors, Harbottle & Lewis, under whose care this enormous pile of documents was found. There's an old saying that if you want something done, you should do it yourself. In this case, you relied on three sets of people, all of whose investigations were severely lacking. Have you considered suing Harbottle & Lewis?
[James Murdoch:] I think any future legal claims or actions in any matter is really a matter for the future. That's not this really today is about how we actually make sure that these things don't happen again. So I won't comment or speculate on any future legal matters.
[Mensch:] OK. The file of evidence, you were asked by my colleague, Mr.
[James Murdoch:] For clarity, for clarity, Miss Mensch, I did say that I did read some of the contents of that. They were shown to me.
[Mensch:] Yes.
[James Murdoch:] And what I saw was sufficient to know that it should be that the right thing to do was to hand these over to the authorities to help them with their investigation.
[Mensch:] I understand that, but do you not think that you were shown a representative sample which can be tricky. Under the circumstances and the enormous reputational damage I'm sure you'll be the first to admit has been done to News Corp, do you not think that as senior executives of the company, you should take the time and read through the entire file so that you're completely apprised of what happened and you're not relying on anybody else?
[James Murdoch:] I'm happy to do so. I think I've seen a bit of it.
[Mensch:] OK. My last question is for you, Mr. Rupert Murdoch. You've said that your friend of 52 years, I think, Les Hinton, had stepped down and had resigned because he was in charge of the company at the time. In other words, he said he was the captain of the ship and therefore he resigned. Is it not the case, sir, that you in fact are the captain of the ship? You are the chief executive officer of News Corp, the global corporation.
[Rupert Murdoch:] I ran a much bigger ship, but yes.
[Mensch:] It is a much bigger ship, but you are in charge of it. And as you said in earlier questions, you do not regard yourself as a hands-off chief executive. You work 10 to 12 hours a day. This terrible thing happened on your watch. Mr. Murdoch, have you considered resigning?
[Rupert Murdoch:] No.
[Mensch:] Why not?
[Rupert Murdoch:] Because I feel that people I trusted, I'm not saying who, I don't know what level, have let me down and I think they behaved disgracefully, betrayed the company and me, and it's for them to pay. I think that frankly, I'm the best person to clean this up.
[Mensch:] Thank you, Mr. Murdoch. And as I say, I do very much appreciate your immense courage in having seen this session through despite what the common assault that just happened to you. Thank you.
[Rupert Murdoch:] Thank you.
[Whittingdale:] I will allow Mr. Watson a very brief question. James, if I can call you James, sorry, to differentiate. Mr. Watson?
[Tom Watson, British Culture, Media And Sports Committee:] When you signed off the Taylor payment, did you see or were you made aware of the four e-mail, the transcript of the hacked voicemail message?
[James Murdoch:] No. I was not aware of that at the time.
[Watson:] So why on earth was it but you paid an astronomical sum and there was no reason to.
[James Murdoch:] No, there was every reason to settle the case, given the likelihood of losing the case and given the damages that we had received counsel would be levied.
[Watson:] If Taylor and Clifford are prepared to release their obligation to confidentiality, will you release them from their confidentiality clause so that we can get to the full facts of those particular cases?
[James Murdoch:] I cannot comment on the Clifford matter at all. I wasn't involved in that matter. As to the As to the Taylor matter, it is a confidential agreement. I don't think it's worth exploring hypotheticals.
[Watson:] The facts of this case help us get to the truth. If he removes himself from an obligation, if he allows his papers to be released will you let
[James Murdoch:] Mr. Watson, it's a hypothetical scenario. I'm happy to correspond with the chairman about what specifically more you'd like to know about the settlements.
[Watson:] Why would you want
[James Murdoch:] Other than the detailed testimony I have given you today.
[Watson:] Do you mind if I carry on with a few more questions so I can get to the end of this? Or would you want to
[Whittingdale:] I'm going to call a halt. I think we have covered this at some considerable length.
[Watson:] Well, we haven't, actually, Chairman. We haven't. But I respect it. Mr. Murdoch, your wife has a very good left hook.
[Whittingdale:] Mr. Murdoch, I know you did ask if you could make a closing statement. The committee would be entirely content for you to do so.
[Rupert Murdoch:] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And members of the committee. I would just like to read a short statement now. My son and I came here with great respect for all of you, for Parliament and for the people of Britain whom you represent. This is the most humble day of my career and all that has happened, I know we needed to be here today. James and I would like to say how sorry we are for what has happened, especially with regard to listening to the voicemail of victims of crime. My company has 52,000 employees. I have led it for 57 years and I have made my share of mistakes. I have lived in many countries, employed thousands of honest and hard-working journalists, owned nearly 200 newspapers of very different sizes, and followed countless stories about people and families around the world. At no time do I remember being as sickened as when I heard what the Dowler family had to endure which I think was last Monday week. Nor do I recall being as angry as when I was told that the "News of the World" could have been could have compounded their distress. I want to thank the Dowlers for graciously giving me the opportunity to apologize in person. I would like all the victims of phone hacking to know how completely and deeply sorry I am. Apologizing cannot take back what has happened. Still, I want them to know the depth of my regret for the horrible invasions into their lives. I fully understand their ire, and I intend to work tirelessly to merit their forgiveness. I understand our responsibility to cooperate with today's session as well as with future inquiries. We now know that things went badly wrong at the "News of the World." For a newspaper that held others to account, but failed when it came to itself. Behavior the behavior that occurred went against everything that I stand for, and my son, too. And not only we have not only betrayed our readers and me, but also the many thousands of magnificent professionals in other divisions of our company around the world. So let me be clear in saying invading people's privacy by listening to their voicemail is wrong. Paying police officers for information is wrong. They are inconsistent with our codes of conduct and neither has anyplace in any part of the company that I run. Saying sorry is not enough. Things must be put right. No excuses. This is why News International is cooperating fully with the police, whose job it is to see that justice is done. It is our duty not to prejudice the outcome of the legal process. I'm sure the committee will understand this. I wish we had managed to see and fully solve these problems much earlier. When two men were sent to prison in 2007, I thought this matter had been settled. The police ended their investigations and I was told that News International conducted an internal review. I am confident that when James later rejoined News Corporation, he thought the case had closed, too. These are subjects you will no doubt wish to explore and have explored today. This country has given me, our companies and our employees many opportunities. I'm grateful for them. I hope our contributions to Britain will one day also be recognized. Above all, I hope that we will come to understand the wrongs of the past and prevent them from happening again. And in the years ahead, restore the nation's trust in our company and in all British journalism. I am committed to doing everything in my power to make this happen. Thank you.
[Whittingdale:] Thank you. Can I, on behalf of the committee, thank you for giving up so much of your time in order to come here, and I would like to apologize again for the wholly unacceptable treatment that you received from a member of the public.
[Rupert Murdoch:] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all.
[James Murdoch:] Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Rupert Murdoch:] Thank you, all members.
[Unidentified Male:] The committee will now break for five minutes before we move to the next part.
[Richard Quest, Cnn International Anchor:] Right. Well, we heard the important evidence there from Rupert Murdoch. There is now going to be a short five-minute recess before the hearing will continue. That will be with Rebekah Brooks. We expect Rupert Murdoch there. Quite clear, saying phone hacking is wrong, paying police officers is wrong, has no part in News International, no part in News Corp, and saying there will be no excuses.
[Unidentified Female:] I think, Richard, if you look at all the comments they made over the course of the past three hours, what comes out loud and clear to me are two executives who appear profoundly out of touch. Some of the statements that we heard earlier I made lots of notes as you can imagine. "All news organizations use private investigators," as if that legitimizes the practice. "No, I'm not responsible for the fiasco. I trusted people." Well, excuse me, the chief executive of a company is responsible. So Mr. Murdochs, both Mousiers Murdoch, need to own what has happened in their organization. The culture is clearly broken. There are so many other comments like that.
[Quest:] Right. Let's go round, we will stay with you, Allison. Briefly, do you think now that Rebekah Brooks' task is much more difficult? She's been hung out to dry by that very statement at the end of Rupert Murdoch. Those responsible, I knew not what was happening, he says, but there were those who were responsible.
[Unidentified Male:] It's everyone's fault
[Unidentified Female:] Well, it's one of the things that's interesting about this situation, Richard, is if you think about Miss Brooks' history, she is born and bred within the stable of News International. So, in terms of propagating a culture that is abiding by these codes of ethics we have heard countless times over the course of the last few hours, there are processes, there are codes of conduct, there are rules. But actually, where has the enforcement actually been made to make sure those rules are abided by by senior leaders in this business? And from what I've heard today, I can't actually say that the company is showing evidence of that.
[Quest:] Jeffrey, let me turn to you briefly. For our viewers in the United States, on the 911 question, Murdoch quite clear about nothing happened. But James Murdoch, far more equivocating on that. I don't have any information about that11 victims will be pacified today?
[Jeffrey Robertson, Human Rights Attorney:] No. Not at all. Because their strategy today, Rupert Murdoch's strategy was to say, "I saw no evil, I heard no evil, everyone lied to me, I was kept in the dark. This is just one percent of my vast corporation, I'm not responsible. Everyone else is responsible, I'm not." So the question becomes live, did Glenn Mulcare who hacked into the relatives' phones of their sons killed in Afghanistan, killed in terrorist operations, it would seem to make sense that at this time, logically, he might well have hacked in to the 911 relatives or at least the British relatives of 911 to get a grief story. Not a public interest story, but a grief story. Now, the stance that Rupert Murdoch took, and this was the most important thing, as I've said, they've admitted to paying Glenn Mulcare and they may still be paying him, the man who did this. They've got to look at their contract with Mr. Mulcare. He's the man who can say yes or no11 victims. And he's the man who the Murdochs themselves, when confronted briefly in the one shaft of light in this hearing, said maybe we're still paying him, maybe he's still on contract. Ask him. Let him go public. Let him tell the world and tell America immediately whether he did that dreadful thing. No more dreadful than the other things that he did do of hacking into 911 as well as to other parents of terrorist victims. Let the Murdochs put him on the stand now.
[Quest:] Jeffrey, we'll pause there.
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Anchor:] And it's been a fascinating afternoon of questioning in London. We will reset here in the States. Be back with analysis, some reaction to what you've just heard and also other news of the day right after this.
[Griffin:] Welcome back to CNN's continuing coverage of the News Corp hacking scandal. It's mostly taking place in London, where a hearing took place in Parliament before a Parliament committee, specifically the culture, media and sports committee. We have a committee of our own who has been analyzing what has been going on there. Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joining us from New York. And also Howard Kurtz, host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" and a media analyst for CNN. Gentlemen, we will talk about the testimony in a second, but first, the drama which came right towards the end of this hearing, when there was a disruption, and this took place. A man apparently carrying a Styrofoam plate and shaving cream, plastered it directly on the face of Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of the corporation. I guess, Jeffrey, the question that everyone is asking in that room, how? How did this happen?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Legal Analyst:] You know, one of the themes of this story is the incompetence of Scotland Yard. The head of Scotland Yard has left, the deputy to Scotland Yard has left and the incompetence of London's authorities was very much on display in that hearing room. There are only 50 seats in that room. That's not Wembley Stadium. That's not Yankee Stadium. That is a small room. And the idea that the authorities there could not keep an assault and that's what this was, an assault from taking place is just completely outrageous. And the people who run Parliament security ought to be absolutely ashamed of themselves.
[Griffin:] And you mentioned this isn't Wembley Stadium but the man in custody getting his face wiped by the police looks like he was attending a sporting event. Certainly stood out from the suits and the business attire that we saw. We know from our producer in the room that this man came from the back of the room, had a bag, opened up the bag. This all taking place while everybody watched. It seems inconceivable that that could happen.
[Toobin:] You know, all of us in the United States are unhappily used to going through metal detectors, having people check our belongings. But if there was ever a room where the police should have taken the time to investigate people carrying large bags and again, there were only 50 seats in that room I mean, the incompetence and real danger that people were exposed to here is breathtaking. You know, people talk about the pie in the face as if it's a joke and Bill Gates has had a pie in the face. This is very serious stuff. A pie in the face could easily be a knife, could easily be a brick, and you know, Rupert Murdoch's an 80-year-old man. I mean, I just think this was completely scandalous and outrageous that the people who run Parliament allowed this to take place.
[Griffin:] And we'll certainly be hearing about his very young wife, who stood up to his defense and actually took a swat at this guy. We'll be hearing about that later. Let's get to the testimony itself, and I want to keep you, Jeffrey, just for a second to talk about legalese. Whether or not this scandal that has been mostly in the UK comes to the U.S., and the question is were 911 victims hacked? Was Jude Law, the actor, hacked on American soil? The answers given were a little, I thought, nuanced.
[Toobin:] Yes. The theme of both James and especially Rupert Murdoch's testimony was, "We are outraged, we had no idea this was going on." So, in terms of the question, were 911 victims hacked, was Jude Law hacked, was the same answer. "Well, we don't think so. We certainly didn't approve it. But if it did, we didn't know about it." The theme of this testimony was ignorance of all wrongdoing. And frankly, I didn't think the members of Parliament were very successful in breaking down that defense. I thought the questioning was as bad as the typical congressional hearing, and that's pretty bad.
[Griffin:] All right Howard, Jeffrey, hold on one second. I apologize. But that questioning, bad as it may be, is back underway. This, Rebekah Brooks, the former editor of the newspaper in question. [Begin Live Coverage - Joined In Progress]
[Unidentified Male:] systemic corporate illegality by News International. Would you accept now that that is not correct?
[Rebekah Brooks, Former Editor, "news Of The World":] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Firstly, just before I answer that question, I would like to add my own personal apologies to the apologies that James and Rupert Murdoch have made today. Clearly, what happened at "The News of the World" and certainly when the allegations of voice intercepts, voicemail intercepts of victims of crime is pretty horrific and abhorrent. And so, I just wanted to reiterate that. I also was very keen to come here and answer questions today. And as you know, I was arrested and interviewed by the police a couple of days ago. So, I have legal representation here just so I don't impede those criminal proceedings, which you would expect. But I intend to answer everything as openly as I can and not to use that if at all possible. And I know you all had a briefing around the same.
[Whittingdale:] Well, we are grateful for that. So perhaps I could invite you to comment on whether or not you now accept that the statement
[Brooks:] Well, again, as you've heard over the last few hours, the fact is that since the Sienna Miller civil documents came into our possession the end of December 2010, that was the first time that we, at the senior management of the company at the time, had actually seen some documentary evidence actually relating to a current employee. I think that we acted quickly and decisively then when we had that information. As you know, it was our document our evidence that opened up the police inquiry in 2011, in January. And since then, we have admitted liability on the civil cases, endeavored to settle as many as possible. We've appointed Sir Charles Gray so that victims of phone hacking, if they feel they want to come directly to us and don't want to incur expensive legal costs, they can come directly and be dealt with very swiftly. As you know, the court process is taking its time and those cases aren't going to be heard until I think January 2012. So the compensation scheme is there in order for people to come forward. So I'm of course there were mistakes made in the past, but I think, and I hope that you will agree since we saw the evidence at the end of December, we've acted properly and quickly.
[Whittingdale:] So until you saw the evidence which was produced in the Sienna Miller case, you continued to believe that the only person in the "News of the World" who had been implicated in phone hacking was Clive Goodman?
[Brooks:] Well, I think if you if you just the sequence of events. So in 2009, I think was the first time that all of us, and I know some members of the committee spent a long time on this story and looking at the whole sequence of events, so I know you all know it pretty well. But just to reiterate, in 2009, when we heard about when the Gordon Taylor story appeared in "The Guardian," I think that that's when information unraveled, but very, very slowly. I mean we have we had conducted many internal investigations. I know you spent a lot of time talking to James and Rupert Murdoch about it. But we had been told by people at the "News of the World" at the time had consistently denied any of these allegations in various internal investigations. And it was only where we saw the Sienna Miller documentation that we realized that the severity of the situation. And just to point out, one of the problems of this case has been our lack of visibility on what was seized by
[Whittingdale:] But it is now your view, on the basis of that evidence, that certainly you were lied to by senior employees?
[Brooks:] Well, I think, unfortunately, because of the criminal procedure, I'm not sure that it's possible for me to infer guilt until those criminal proceedings have taken place.
[Whittingdale:] I understand. Tom Watson.
[Tom Watson, British Culture, Media & Sport Cmte:] There are many questions I would like to ask you, but I won't be able to do it today because you are facing criminal proceedings. So I'm going to be narrow in my questioning. When did you sack Tom Crone?
[Brooks:] We didn't sack Tom Crone. What happened with Tom Crone was, when we made the very regrettable decision to close "The News of the World" after 168 years, Tom Crone has predominantly been "The News of the World" lawyer. His face is
[Watson:] Someone's still dealing with "The News of the World" legal cases, though.
[Brooks:] What? Sorry?
[Watson:] Someone is still dealing with "The News of the World" legal cases, though, presumably?
[Brooks:] Yes. I mean the civil cases are being dealt with by, like I said, the first one is the standards management committee that we set up. And you've seen the announcements on that recently. And I won't go over it. I know James and Rupert have talked about it. But also, Fariss, who's been doing the civil cases all along, we've got some tech cases coming up before the judge in January and there are people dealing with it. But Tom Crone's role was as the was a hands-on legal manager at "The News of the World." And, obviously, when we closed the paper, there wasn't a job there.
[Watson:] Not a job. I must have misunderstood what James Murdoch said. He implied that you sacked him. But I might b e it's been a busy day. As a journalist and editor of "News of the World" and "The Sun," how extensively did you work with private detectives?
[Brooks:] I think on "The Sun," not at all. When I was editor of "The News of the World," as you know, I came before this committee just as I became editor of "The Sun" in relation to what price privacy and Operation Motorman, as it's called. And I think back then we answered extensively questions about the use of private detectives across Fleet Street. As you know, a chart was published of which I can't remember where "The News of the World" was on it. I think it was fourth. I think "The Sun" on the table was below "Take A Break" magazine. But certainly, the top five was "The Observer," "The Guardian," "The News of the World," "The Daily Mail"
[Watson:] So to answer my question
[Unidentified Male:] Chairman, can I just instruct I'll declare, I used to work for "The Observer," but not but left in 2001. "The Observer" was not in the top four.
[Brooks:] Maybe top six then.
[Unidentified Male:] "The Observer" was not four So just
[Brooks:] But it was on the table.
[Watson:] Just to answer my question, you extensively worked with private investigators, is that the answer?
[Brooks:] No, I said what I said was that the use of private detectives in the late '90s and 2000 was a practice of Fleet Street and after Operation Motorman at what price privacy at Fleet Street actually reviewed this practice and in the main, the use of private detectives was stopped. Don't forget, at the time, as you are aware, it was all about the data protection. The Data Protection Act and changes to that which were made.
[Watson:] Yes.
[Brooks:] And that's why we had the committee in 2003.
[Watson:] So just for the third time, how extensively did you work with private detectives?
[Brooks:] "The News of the World" employed private detectives like most newspapers in Fleet Street.
[Watson:] So it's fair to say that you were aware of and approved payments to private detectives?
[Brooks:] I was aware that "News of the World" used private detectives in under my editorship of "The News of the World," yes.
[Watson:] And so you would have approve payments to them?
[Brooks:] That's not how it works, but I was aware that we used them.
[Watson:] Who would have approved the payments?
[Brooks:] So the payment system in a newspaper, which has been discussed at length, is very simply the editor's job is to acquire the overall budget for the paper from the senior management. Once that budget is acquired, it is given to the managing editor to allocate to different departments. Each person in that department has a different level of authorization. But the final payments are authorized by the managing editor, unless there is a particularly big item, a set of photographs or something that needs to be discussed on a wider level, then the editor will be brought in.
[Watson:] So Sheila Cutner would have discussed some payments to private detectives with you?
[Brooks:] Not necessarily, no. I mean we're talking 11 years ago. I he may have discussed payments to me, but I don't particularly remember any incidents.
[Watson:] You don't remember whether you would have discussed any payments at all?
[Brooks:] No, I didn't say that. I said in relation to private detectives.
[Watson:] Yes.
[Brooks:] I was aware "The News of the World" used private detectives, as every paper on Fleet Street did.
[Watson:] So you don't recall whether you authorized payments or told
[Brooks:] The payments of those the payments of private detectives would have gone through the managing editor's office.
[Watson:] You can't remember whether Cutner ever discussed it with you?
[Brooks:] Sorry?
[Watson:] You can't remember whether Sheila Cutner ever discussed it with you?
[Brooks:] I can't remember if we ever discussed an individual payment. No.
[Watson:] OK. In your letter to us in 2009, you said that you did not recall meeting Glenn Mulcaire. You will appreciate that this is an inadequate answer under the circumstances if we require a specific response to our questions. Did you ever have any contact, directly or through others, with Glenn Mulcaire?
[Brooks:] None. None whatsoever.
[Watson:] Would your former diary secretary, Michelle, be able to confirm that?
[Brooks:] Michelle?
[Watson:] Former diary secretary?
[Brooks:] I've had a P.A. for 19 years called Sharon.
[Watson:] OK. Well, would your diary secretary, your P.A. would be able to confirm that?
[Brooks:] Absolutely.
[Watson:] Does she hold your diary for the last 19 years?
[Brooks:] No, she probably doesn't. We don't keep back 19 years. But she will have I mean she may have something back from then, I don't know.
[Watson:] Would it be in a paper format or an electronic format?
[Brooks:] I never met I did not meet Mr. Mulcaire.
[Watson:] I'm talking about your diary. Is it in electronic format or a paper format?
[Brooks:] It would have been on a paper format until very recently.
[Watson:] OK. Do you think Glenn Mulcaire would deny that he ever met you?
[Brooks:] I'm sure he would. Although, I mean yes. It's the truth.
[Watson:] OK. Were you aware of the arrangement News Group newspapers had with Mulcaire while you were editor of "The News of the World" and "The Sun"?
[Brooks:] No.
[Watson:] So you didn't know what he did.
[Brooks:] I didn't know particularly Glenn Mulcaire was one of the detectives that was used by "The News of the World," no.
[Watson:] You didn't know he was on the payroll?
[Brooks:] No. In fact, I first heard Glenn Mulcaire's name in 2006.
[Watson:] Did you receive any information that originated from Glenn Mulcaire or his methods?
[Brooks:] What, to me?
[Watson:] You.
[Brooks:] To me personally?
[Watson:] You as editor. Did anyone bring you information as a result of Glenn Mulcaire's methods?
[Brooks:] I mean I know it's an entirely appropriate question, but I can only keep saying the same answer. I didn't know Glenn Mulcaire had a I'd never heard the name until 2006. There were other private investigators that I did know about and had heard about, but he wasn't one of them.
[Watson:] We'll
[Brooks:] Well, now I know what I know is that, I mean, this is one of the difficulties. Obviously I know quite an extensive amount now, particularly the last six months of investigating this story. And Glenn Mulcaire, I'm aware, worked on and off for "The News of the World" I think in the late '90s and continued through until 2006, when he was arrested. So, obviously, if he worked for "The News of the World" for that time, he was involved. And I think, I think the judge said in 2007, which again we may disagree with that now, but the judge said in 2007 when Glenn Mulcaire was convicted, that he had a perfectly legitimate contract with "The News of the World" for research and investigative work. And the judge said that I think quite repeatedly throughout the trial. So that's what I can tell you.
[Watson:] Did you ever have any contact directly or through others with Jonathan Rees?
[Brooks:] No.
[Watson:] Do you know about Jonathan Rees?
[Brooks:] I do. Again, I heard a lot recently about Jonathan Rees. I watched the panorama program, as we all did. He wasn't he wasn't a name familiar with me. I am told that he rejoined "The News of the World" in 2005, 2006, and he worked for "The News of the World" and many other newspapers in the late 1990s. That's my information.
[Watson:] Do you find it peculiar that having served sentence for a serious criminal offense, he was then rehired by the paper?
[Brooks:] It does seem extraordinary.
[Watson:] Do you know who hired him?
[Brooks:] No, I don't.
[Watson:] Do you know who signed his contract?
[Brooks:] No. Sorry.
[Watson:] Have you been conducting an investigation for six months, did you not take the time to find out?
[Brooks:] The investigation that we've been conducting in the six months has been particularly around the interception of voicemails, as you know. We are the managements and standards committee at News International are going to look at Jonathan Rees and we already do have some information. But as to the conclusion of that investigation, I do not know.
[Watson:] What information do you have?
[Brooks:] We have information that, as I said, that Jonathan Rees worked for newspapers, many newspapers on Fleet Street in the late '90s, and then he was rehired by "The News of the World" sometime in 2005.
[Watson:] Do you know what he was doing at that time?
[Brooks:] In?
[Watson:] 2005-2006?
[Brooks:] I don't. I'm sorry, no.
[Watson:] Did you not ask?
[Brooks:] Well, I was the editor of "The Sun" at the time. I didn't know they'd rehired him. I only found that out recently.
[Watson:] When you were chief executive of the company, did you not wonder what he did in 2005-2006 given that you've got a hacking scandal breaking around you?
[Brooks:] Absolutely. And I've had the information that panorama have, that Jonathan Rees worked as a private investigator in the panorama program. It said that he was conducting many, many illegal offenses. That's what I saw, like you did. But also I he used to work for Panorama. He worked for many newspapers, presumably before his conviction, as you say, and then he was rehired by "The News of the World."
[Watson:] Do you believe he conducted illegal activities on behalf of "News of the World"?
[Brooks:] I can only comment on what I know. And I don't know that.
[Watson:] What is your belief?
[Brooks:] I don't know.
[Watson:] You don't know what he did?
[Brooks:] I don't know what he did for "The News of the World." I'm sorry, I don't know what he did.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Host, "the Situation Room":] We saw Rick Perry make fun of himself on the David Letterman show. It was a tongue in cheek attempt at damage control after his brain freeze during this week's Republican presidential debate. There's certainly been a lot of discussion about the political fallout for Perry. But our own Lisa Sylvester is here to talk about the very serious issue, the policy issue, that Perry struggled with Wednesday night. Tell us what's going on.
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, after the debate there was only one thing people in the political world were really talking about Rick Perry's major gaffe. But he was actually testing out a new policy message, cutting three federal departments.
[Unidentified Female:] Governor Rick Perry.
[Sylvester:] Rick Perry was trying to make a point before quote, he "stepped in it."
[Rick Perry,  Presidential Candidate:] The third agency of government I would do away with, education, the commerce and let's see I can't the third one I can't, sorry. Oops.
[Sylvester:] Perry's message, entirely lost in the massive fumble. But what was his point? He wants to eliminate the departments of education and commerce and energy. The Texas governor would cut nondefense discretionary spending by $100 billion in the first year. But reducing the size of government is not new. Fellow Republican contender Ron Paul has made it part of his calling card, and going back even further, Ronald Reagan proposed cutting the department of education.
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] This is a standard part of playing to a certain conservative base that dramatically wants to reduce the size of government and feels the best way to do it in some cases is wholesale elimination of certain cabinet agencies.
[Sylvester:] Consider this, though the department of commerce houses various agencies including the patent and trade office and NOAA, and the census bureau. And the education department is in charge of federal student loans and enforcing federal equal access laws. The energy department's duties include overseeing the country's nuclear reactors, radioactive waste disposal, and maintaining the nation's nuclear weapons. But fiscal conservatives say Washington has become too bloated. Chris Edwards runs the CATO Institute's downsizing government website. He says commerce spends about $12 billion year, education $79 billion, and energy $45 billion. With the country deep in the red, he says something has to go.
[Chris Edwards, Cato Institute:] The growth and entitlement program like Social Security and Medicare frankly are squeezing out a lot of other activities of the federal government. Eventually we have to take on the departments and downsize them simply because the entitlements are costing so much.
[Sylvester:] But rolling up a whole agency? It's not easy. Sally Katzen is a former deputy director of Office of Management and Budget and a senior analyst with the Podesta Group.
[Sally Katzen, The Podesta Group:] Everybody would like to have a more efficient government. But does that mean that you slice it down to size? And what size do you want because there are functions that are critical to the American people? And it matters in your everyday life and it matters to the business community and the way it functions. If you abolish those functions, you've lost something.
[Sylvester:] On Tuesday, Governor Perry will give a speech in Iowa outlining his fix for the government and a member of the press staff said that's when you'll hear more of the details if you proposed cutting the wholesale or keeping the critical functions in place.
[Blitzer:] Ron Paul wanted to eliminate five departments. We have three, five. We'll see what happens. Lisa, good report, as usual. Thank you. Newt Gingrich is strengthening his position near the top of the Republican presidential pact as Rick Perry and Herman Cain deal with gaffes and controversy. A new Maris poll shows a very competitive three-way race with Mitt Romney on top. Newt Gingrich essentially tied with Herman Cain for second place. The poll was taken after Perry's so-called brain freeze and after the sexual harassment allegations against Herman Cain surfaced over the past several days. A new CBS News poll shows a closer three-way race with Cain on top and Romney and Gingrich dead even. Let's bring in our chief political analyst Gloria Borger, who is watching all of this unfold. You're learning that Rick Perry has got some new initiatives, new efforts that he's wanting to do to bring his campaign back?
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] A lot bit of damage control. He just bought a national ad of about $1 million. It's an ad already on the air in Iowa. When you take a look at a little piece of it, you'll see why it makes a lot of sense after that oops moment.
[Rick Perry,  Presidential Candidate:] If you're looking for a slick politician or guy with great teleprompter skills, we already have that, he's destroying our economy. I'm a doer, not a talker.
[Borger:] There you are, he's not a talker. He's also trying to reassure donors, the campaign has been talking to donors. The big issue right now is to get Rick Perry's credibility back with the voter and that's what that ad is about.
[Blitzer:] That is going to buy a lot of 30 second spots. If Rick Perry and Herman Cain are slipping a bit, and they apparently are for obvious reasons, why isn't Mitt Romney going up?
[Borger:] The truth is he's not the perfect fit for the Republican primary voter. They are skeptical about him. They remember his so- called flip-flops from the 2008 campaign. And eventually, Wolf, I think what you're going to see, they will end up believing they have to settle for Mitt Romney. They are not going to fall in love with Mitt Romney. But the big question now for Romney campaign is whether they actually compete actively in Iowa and South Carolina. Romney is at the top or near the top in those states. They did not expect to be there. I spoke with a senior Romney adviser who said, look, the way you know whether we're going to compete in Iowa is if you see an ad go up in that state.
[Blitzer:] Doesn't it if he could win, for example in Iowa, New Hampshire he probably will win.
[Borger:] Sure.
[Blitzer:] And South Carolina, it could be over.
[Borger:] Wolf, he doesn't have to win. If he comes in second it looks like a win. The question is, do they put their resources into organizing in Iowa because that's what the Iowa caucuses are about.
[Blitzer:] It looks like the big winner so far over the past several days is Newt Gingrich, because all of a sudden, you saw the polls, he's doing amazingly well.
[Borger:] He's doing amazingly well, he keeps complaining that he doesn't like the debates. Take a listen to this.
[Newt Gingrich,  Presidential Candidate:] I just want to point out, my colleagues have done a terrific job of answering an absurd certain question. To say in 30 seconds The debates are a better way of communicating than anything else we've found so far.
[Borger:] There you are. He says the questions are absurd but they are good ways of communicating. For a candidate like Newt Gingrich whose campaign seemed to implode early on, the debates are a way to get out there on the platform and get well known, strut your stuff. And so far, he's a pretty good debater, Wolf. He's done very well.
[Blitzer:] If anyone has gained from the debates, it's Newt Gingrich.
[Borger:] So he complains, but he's not going to opt out of any of them. He'll be at your debate.
[Blitzer:] He will be, of course. Thank you very much, Gloria, for that. I'll be the moderator when the candidates take part in CNN's next Republican debate in Washington, D.C., Constitution Hall. Join us Tuesday night, November 22nd, 8:00 p.m. eastern. You'll want to see that debate. President Obama delays a decision on a controversial pipeline expansion. Is he playing project with a project Republicans argue could create tens of thousands of jobs?

[Velshi:] That looks beautiful! New York City. Sunny, 32 degrees right now. Getting up to I need to take my shirt off and bask in Central Park, 46 degrees later on today. That is Central Park you're looking at.
[Romans:] It's pretty.
[Chetry:] And we may get lucky. We may get lucky. We may hit 50 sometime before June. Yes, exactly.
[Romans:] Sun is regular
[Velshi:] You're talking about getting warmer, getting lucky by getting warmer.
[Chetry:] Yes. I didn't mean anything else by it, I swear. Meanwhile, how about this one? If you're driving through the streets and have you a Jetta, don't honk, you might stall out. Yes, that's right. Volkswagen is recalling about 71,000 2011 Jettas, right, because of the rising issue? That could cause the car to short-circuit and turn off when drivers honk the horn. Volkswagen is not aware of any accidents or injuries because of the problem.
[Velshi:] Just a little embarrassment.
[Chetry:] Probably yes.
[Velshi:] All right. This may be one of my favorite stories today. Buy a dish, get a gun for free. A RadioShack in Hamilton, Montana, with a promotion that got our attention. If you sign up for two years of the dish network, they give you a gun, for free. You don't actually walk out of the store with a gun. You get a gift certificate to a local gun shop. The store says the promotion has nothing to do with the RadioShack Franchise. It is an independently owned store. The owner says RadioShack is concerned about some negative attention. Guess what? You should be!
[Chetry:] Yes. They said they didn't realize it was going to go to the national level. So, they said
[Velshi:] What part?
[Chetry:] This is a part they said that were they claim, at least the store owner said that the average person in the town has, like, 24 guns, so this would just be adding to the collection.
[Velshi:] I see how it sounds normal that RadioShack is an international company which, by the way, has a remarkable history of bad judgment, so not a big surprise.
[Romans:] Varying cultures and what do you call that
[Velshi:] That's fair, but RadioShack has nothing to do with a gun, though.
[Chetry:] It's a Montana thing.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Romans:] OK. Ali, set your TV hours. Send out the party invites. Oprah Winfrey has announced when Ali was actually a guest on Oprah Winfrey
[Chetry:] Wow.
[Romans:] He was the guest
[Chetry:] And can you imagine being able to say to somebody, your grandkids, I was the last guest on Oprah?
[Velshi:] Maybe they'll invite people to come on, like, to come and just be in the audience. She has an electric personality. OK. How does melting water from the arctic icecaps affect the earth's weather patterns? Coming up next, Philippe Cousteau, grandson of the legendary explorer, Jack Cousteau, joins us live just outside the North Pole where he is conducting scientific experiments. It's 25 minutes after the hour.

[Piers Morgan, Cnn:] Tonight, the families in the Trayvon Martin tragedy. I'll talk to both sides. Trayvon's parents and George Zimmerman's brother. And, truly, the one and only Lionel Richie. From "Dancing on the Ceiling," to "Hello," he's the ultimate hitmaker. The songs, the sensational collaborations, the fame, his daughter Nicole, and his surprising reinvention as a country singer. My exclusive with a music icon. Plus the Tiger Woods' tell-all. He's back to his winning ways.
[Tiger Woods, Champion Golfer:] It was one hell of a test out there today.
[Morgan:] And he's not the only one talking. Tonight my primetime exclusive with Tiger's former coach about the firestorm surrounding his new book. This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT. Good evening. The shooting death of Trayvon Martin has touched a nerve across America. The protests, the anger, the questions only growing. Trayvon was killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. He's not talking, but lots of people are. This week they're talking to me. I spoke to Zimmerman's brother, Robert, in a primetime exclusive. Here's what he said about the explosive case. What did George tell you Trayvon Martin allegedly did to him?
[Robert Zimmerman, Jr., Brother Of George Zimmerman:] What has come out that I can talk about today is that Trayvon Martin somehow snuck up on him and according to Mr. Crump, their own attorney, he was on we don't know if this is verifiable information, but he was on the phone with his girlfriend. I don't know if that's a police source, but I know his attorney at least holds up the girlfriend as a source and says Trayvon told him, no, I'm not running. I'm going to walk real slow. And Trayvon went up to George and said the first thing to George. And there's some discussion about, did he say do you have a problem? Do you have a problem? Are you following me? Why are you following me?
[Morgan:] What did George tell you he said?
[Zimmerman:] One of those things. You know, do you have a problem with me? Following me, why are you following me? Something like that. My brother drew back to grab his phone in retreat to call again 911 and say well now, this person who I lost sight of and was not pursuing has now confronted me. That's what he did. He never got to make that call because he was attacked by Mr. Martin.
[Morgan:] That, of course, is just one side of this tragedy. There's also Trayvon's family. Can't imagine what they're going through now. But I did speak a few days ago to Trayvon's mother and father and asked them what they would say to George Zimmerman. Tracy, if you had the chance to speak to George Zimmerman right now, what would you say to him?
[Tracy Martin, Trayvon Martin's Father:] I'd ask him why did he, in fact, pick out my son. What was going through his mind that night? Do he realize he's destroyed an innocent child's life? My son had a future. My son was not one of these thugs in the night. He was loved. I just want I would just ask him, why did he, in fact, take my son's life. And how does he feel about taking my son's life?
[Morgan:] And Sybrina, many believe that you are suffering perhaps even more now since losing your son by the attempt by some people to assassinate his character, to bring up all this stuff about his behavior at school and so on which portrays him in a very damaging light. What do you say to that?
[Sybrina Martin, Trayvon Martin's Mother:] It bothers me as a mother to hear all of those negative things about my son. I knew Trayvon. I lived with Trayvon. And I know what he's capable of doing. And I know what he's capable of not doing. And it just it just hurts just to know that people are trying to damage his name. They murdered him. They're trying to murder his reputation. And I've said that before. And it's just painful to me as a mother.
[Morgan:] As I said, many people have very strong opinions about what happened to Trayvon and why. Including my guest, Lionel Richie. He's a pop icon. He sold more than 100 million albums. His latest a country record titled "Tuskegee." He's also a father. We covered a lot of ground on a wide ranging interview. But I began by asking him about Trayvon. And as you'll hear, he has some very important things to say about it. Before we come on to your remarkable twist now, the country music, and your incredible career, I just wanted to get your reaction to the interview I just conducted with Trayvon Martin's parents. What did you make of what they were saying?
[Lionel Richie, New Album, "tuskegee":] You know, I'm a parent. How I approach this is just everyone take the race card out for a moment. If you received a phone call saying your child was shot and killed, because he looked suspicious, armed with a cell phone and the other guy has a gun, the next thing is, did he have any kind of markings on him that said security? So your kid thinks someone's chasing him. I mean this is just how I feel. And then you can't really get an explanation as to what really happened. Don't put a color on that. Just imagine. And now the outrage that's happening is if this were just a one off situation, it would be wonderful. You know it would be something you could investigate. This is a common occurrence in the black community. And so I understand now the outrage of trying to find out, it looks so obvious what it is. We just can't get it we can't get them to say that. And so
[Morgan:] I mean there were several issues at play here, aren't there? One is the apparent race issue which I think maybe a slightly miscued way of approaching this because
[Richie:] Right.
[Morgan:] You know, George Zimmerman, you know, he's not a white guy. It's not a it's not a white man killing a black man. So in the conventional sort of incident that sparked this kind of outrage before, that doesn't quite work. What you have is an extraordinary law in Florida, "Stand Your Ground," which entitles anybody if they feel their life's in danger to shoot somebody.
[Richie:] Yes. But do they have a stalking law? In other words, what I'm saying to you, the kid felt, I'm sure. I don't know who this guy is following me. We don't know if he identified himself as a security guard. We don't know this. And so I can only say that if it were my son, I would be I would be terrified to think of what he went through. You know, I don't know the circumstance. We don't know. But it's just one of those situations where every parent in America, in the world, would say what what happened?
[Morgan:] I mean it's really important, it seems to me, that you have to allow the legal process to take its course.
[Richie:] I know.
[Morgan:] George Zimmerman may well have been attacked. We just don't know. The video, it doesn't help his cause because people are watching that video tonight as I did and as you did, I'm sure, and saying where are these injuries that caused him to believe he was being you know, apparently his nose broken, his head thrown on the floor. It doesn't look like that has happened.
[Richie:] But is it attacked or is it fighting for his life? I don't we don't we can skew it the other way. I mean if someone pulls out a gun and you're not sure whether you're being mugged or whether you're being apprehended, we don't know this. And so I'm sure without the proper, you know, investigation, we will never really know what those few seconds were.
[Morgan:] Doesn't the nature of "Stand Your Ground" as a law just frighten you as an American? Doesn't it make you think this can't be right, this law? Because it's so vague. The idea that George Zimmerman wasn't even arrested on the night is what appalls people. They're he shot a guy who's unarmed. Even if they had a fight, that doesn't give you the right to pull out a gun and shoot him in the street, does it?
[Richie:] We're bringing back the Wild West. In other words, we have enough going on right now to where fear, people don't trust, and all of a sudden now you put on top of that "Stand Your Ground" which means you're saying that in case you feel any fear at all, you can stand your ground and shoot someone else. I mean if you have a gun, you can justify and shoot someone and say I was feeling fear.
[Morgan:] Now there are gang leaders now, apparently, who are using this as a legal excuse to get off killing other gang members. This is ridiculous.
[Richie:] It's ridiculous. And I think what we have to do is take nine steps back and go back to human. We have to use common sense here, Piers. And I'm telling you as a parent you've got to look at this. I wouldn't want my kid on the street anymore. What is suspicious, what classification is that? Is that racial profiling? Suspicious. What does that really mean? Every kid I know in the world has a hoodie. You know, I mean, I go we walk in Beverly Hills every day. I mean excuse me. Every kid in Beverly Hills has a hoodie. You know? Are they going to be deemed suspicious? And what is that going to really mean for this world that we live in? And of course, in Florida I think that law should be thrown out without a shadow of a doubt.
[Morgan:] You grew up in the south.
[Richie:] Yes.
[Morgan:] You have spoken before that your parents protected you from racism. Tell me about that.
[Richie:] It was interesting. I was born and raised on Tuskegee University or Tuskegee Institute campus. It's exactly 38 miles away from the lap of the confederacy in Montgomery, Alabama. But if the clan marched any night they would put us to bed early. So we didn't really know what that felt like. At least in my generation. You know, and when you have people like the Tuskegee Airmen that were brought up on that's where they were stationed. That's where they were from. You know, PhD's, doctors, lawyers. It was a different world. And so they trained us basically that everything was available to you. I did not know that we had a problem with where can we go to get a job? Everything was available. Everybody was a doctor, a lawyer, they were all there. Because segregation made Tuskegee so powerful. And every other university, Morehouse, Fisk. They were all little Meccas of very intelligent people because segregation was in, no jobs were available outside of those little townships.
[Morgan:] When was the first time you realized there was racism? Aware of it?
[Richie:] I experienced it for the first time with the Commodores. The first time I knew about it was certainly on the march on Washington. I was old enough now to understand that. The march on Montgomery. Because we had a college student that was living with us that actually went to that. I was too young to participate. But he would come back and tell me all about it. And of course, when you see these huge policemen with the dogs and the spray and the horses and everyone is there, you know, unarmed, you know, and it was quite it was impactful to me. I remember as a kid I kept thinking, where are we going with this? And then I think when it really hit home for me was I had a chance to hear Malcolm X speak on the campus. And he dealt with the issue in a very philosophical way. I thought it was brilliant. He said, don't you think times are getting better? And the answer was, if you stick a knife in a man's side and you pull it out halfway, is it better? Only until you pull the knife all the way out, and the wound heals, is it better. And I kept that as my mantra throughout my growing up that all we are doing right now is rehashing exactly what my mom and dad went through, my mom and dad's parents went through. And now here we are in the next, next, next generation talking about the same issues of insensitivity, racial profiling. It's the same. It's the same identical story, just a new generation.
[Morgan:] Let's take a break. I want to come back and talk a bit more about this. I want to see whether you think America is more or less racist since it's got its first black president. And also talk about Whitney Houston, your great friend who tragically died recently. And the song "Hello." Let's get to "Hello" at some stage of this interview.
[Richie:] Come on. I got to tell you about "Hello."
[Morgan:] I want to hear it.

[Lemon:] Listen up. You want to know about this. How about this for holiday cheer? You can really eat foods that you love over the holidays and stay in shape. You can eat more
[Mark Macdonald, Ceo, Venice Nutrition & Author:] You can.
[Lemon:] and lose weight. That's what Mark MacDonald says. He's the CEO of Venice Nutrition and the author of a "New York Times" best seller, "Body of Confidence." He's here to explain. Here's the book. Right? I saw you on Chelsea lately. Chelsea Handler. You do Chelsea saying, all right, let's see if this works. I started working with you. It actually worked. I'm eating more and I'm losing weight. How is that happening?
[Macdonald:] You were so upset, initially. You're in my office. You said, it's not working.
[Lemon:] It's not going to happen.
[Macdonald:] There's no way. The only way you can lose weight is to suffer. Starve yourself. Cut your calories. It doesn't have to be that way. The way the body works the more your feed it the right food, it loses body fat and actually makes you drop weight. So three simple things. You have to eat every three to four hours. You have to eat the right amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. And you have eaten a certain amount of calories per meal.
[Lemon:] We'll get to that. You have to eat every three to four hours. When we were babies
[Macdonald:] Think of a baby. A baby feeds on breast milk, which is protein, fat and carbohydrates. They eat every three to four hours. They stop when they're satisfied. They eat again when they're hungry. The first year of life, that's how our body is meant to be fed. We abandoned that because of society. We start moving to eating three meals a day. Every time you miss a meal and this is the most important thing. Every time you miss a meal, your body burns muscle, which slows down your metabolism. Makes you hungry is going into that next meal, and that's when you at the doughnuts and fried chicken and things like that that spike your blood sugar and make you store fat.
[Lemon:] Because you're body in starvation, which basically because I would go all day without eating. I would eat sometimes in the morning and wouldn't eat until 8:00 at night, I'm starving, because I'm busy and working. Most people do that. What you're doing is putting your body in starvation mode when you try to restrict some people try to restrict calories.
[Macdonald:] What you were doing, you were starving yourself and using exercise to counter it. Then once you got too busy, and you couldn't exercise as much, your nutrition was bad. That made you start gaining weight. That's what happens to people.
[Lemon:] What about calorie restriction? Most people go on diets and are like, I'm just going to eat 1,200, 1300 calorie as day. You say it doesn't work. You'll lose weight.
[Macdonald:] Anything can help you lose weight. The big question is this. Can it take you to that next level? Can it reprogram your metabolism and prevent you from gaining the weight back. Everybody knows how to lose weight. Most people gain it back. The way you stop that is rather than using food to lose weight, you use it to create balance in your body by stabilizing your blood sugar. That creates internal hormonal balance, releases stored fat. With the right exercise, you burn up that fat.
[Lemon:] I couldn't believe you.
[Macdonald:] I know. I know.
[Lemon:] The first week, it was like five pound. You're like, you're going to lose and you won believe it, because you're constantly fueling your body. My energy is off the charts now. Like during the day, I'm not like aah because
[Macdonald:] Our nervous system lives off of fuel. Feed it, your body will work for you.
[Lemon:] OK. But every meal you have to have a consistent balance. Last night, I went to the Christmas party. I said I'll have a couple of vodkas. And you said to do, what?
[Macdonald:] If you're going to drink and that's why Chelsea Handler wrote the forward to the book because Chelsea likes vodka. Have your protein, have your fat, salmon, have some veggie, cut out your starchy carbohydrates. Take out the rice, potatoes. Use the vodka or alcohol instead. It's not an even exchange, but it helps minimize the damage and prevents your body from storing excess body fight.
[Lemon:] He told me, four hours later, after you drink at that party, you said, go home and eat fat.
[Macdonald:] Eat protein and fat, not carbohydrates because that gets your metabolism going again. The biggest mistake people make during the holidays is they don't eat all day. They will have this big holiday meal. They don't eat all day that makes their body burn muscle. Then they over-eat food. Have this huge meal because they're starving. Then they go to bed on a full stomach and store all that body fat.
[Lemon:] So you say I have it here because I've got my little
[Macdonald:] I love it.
[Lemon:] You say you have this little pack. What I do, if you're out shopping all day, what people should do have a shake or a bar.
[Macdonald:] A protein bar. That's a great protein bar.
[Lemon:] Just have a protein bar.
[Macdonald:] Have a protein bar. Make sure the protein and carbs are equal, not a protein bar that has a lot of carbs and a little bit of protein.
[Lemon:] Then why do people preach that always, because that's we don't know any better then why do we do that?
[Macdonald:] We're slowly moving but, right now, we're broken. Think about it. By 2020, 70 percent of the American population will be overweight or obese. We're regressing as a society because we think eating less is better. It's never been that way from our first breathe. We have to eat more. The leaner you get, the more food you need to consume. You need to eat the right amount of food, not just a bunch of carbs.
[Lemon:] It's interesting because I'm thinking this is never going to work. You tell me I'm going to eat this much. I can eat this much. I don't because I'm used to eating one big meal a day at night and then a small breakfast and that's it. It's amazing. I eat six times a day.
[Macdonald:] You're enjoying your food, right? I get to eat whatever food I want as long as I keep in balance, as you say, and losing weight. And not that much exercise. Exercise is great, but.
[Lemon:] And you can have your off-plan meals too, Don. It's just understanding how to balance all of it. That's what we talk about with the holidays. You can enjoy your food. Just be great with everything else. Mark MacDonald. It's called "Body Confidence." It's a great book. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
[Macdonald:] Thanks, Don.
[Lemon:] I can have my cake and eat it for the holidays and so can you. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
[Macdonald:] Appreciate it.
[Lemon:] Up next here on CNN, our Shannon Cook goes one on one with legendary Peter Gabriel.

[Cho:] New details in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. It's been exactly one month since the Florida teen was shot to death by a neighborhood watch captain. CNN has learned that the teen had been suspended from school after marijuana residue was found inside his bookbag. And that's why he was visiting his father in Sanford, Florida. His mother spoke out in the last hour. Watch.
[Sabrina Fulton, Mother Of Trayvon Martin:] Comment that I have right now is that they have killed my son. And now they're trying to kill his reputation.
[Cho:] CNN's Martin Savidge is in Sanford, Florida, where emotions, as you just saw there, are running high. Martin, there are fresh reports out of witnesses coming out with new information that could bolster the self-defense case of George Zimmerman, right?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] Exactly right. This is information that was first reported in a local newspaper here in Orlando in which they described a fight, apparently, an altercation that took place between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. At least this is according to the version that George Zimmerman has given in a statement to authorities as to what happened on the night he fatally shot Trayvon Martin. And now the Sanford Police Department has confirmed those details. And the information essentially is this. It says that Trayvon Martin threw one punch at George Zimmerman, apparently striking him in the face and knocking him to the ground. The reports then go on to say that Trayvon was over George Zimmerman and was apparently driving his head into the ground or at least knocking his head against the ground several times. This would seem to coincide, of course, with the information we already had from George Zimmerman's attorney who had maintained that his client during an attack had suffered a broken nose and lacerations to the back of his head. And it would also bolster, of course, the self-defense argument that has been put forward by his attorneys. That's the latest information we have got so far and again confirmed by the police.
[Cho:] Right. Because a lot of people were asking, how exactly was he injured in that attack? Also, Martin, the family attorney, Ben Crump, spoke out in the last hour. We want you to listen to this and we will talk on the other side. Watch.
[Benjamin Crump, Attorney For Family Of Trayvon Martin:] ... Trayvon Martin was suspended for had absolutely no bearing on what happened on the night of February 26. We told you previously when you asked questions that he wasn't suspended for anything violent, and he wasn't suspended for anything criminal. If he and his friends experimented with marijuana, that is still completely irrelevant to George Zimmerman killing their son on the night of February 26. It is one of those things that the family said, what does that have to do with him killing my son?
[Cho:] All right, that was Ben Crump, the Martin family attorney. Obviously these are two separate things, Martin, but it does have there is a possibility, of course, that this could impact the case. How do you think that this news of the suspension will affect the case and affect the tone of this big town hall meeting that's going to happen tonight?
[Savidge:] Well, you know, that's a very difficult judgment to kind of make. I think that in many ways people are going to look at this as possible character assassination on the part of someone lashing out now at the memory of a young man who is unable to defend himself. So I think it is likely to add perhaps to the sense of anger. We already know that there were great concerns on the part of the community here. This is the civic center here. It only holds about 500 people, or at least that's the limit they're going to place tonight. And so there were great concerns that with so many people coming, that would add to the anger. But they have set up some television sets in a nearby park. So everyone should be able to see. But emotions were already running high. Information like this is certainly not going to help in calming matters. The Trayvon Martin family has essentially said, look, we appeal for calm and we appeal for civil voices tonight.
[Cho:] Martin Savidge live in Sanford, Florida, on top of it as always, Martin, great to see you. Thank you very much. In other news, it's official. Tim Tebow is headed to the New York Jets football franchise. He spoke out at a news conference just a little while ago. We're going to hear from Tebow and bring in our Jason Carroll live next.

[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Half past the hour. Your top stories now. Internal government e-mails providing new details about the hasty firing of agricultural official Shirley Sherrod. You'll recall that she was working for the USDA in Georgia when a conservative blogger posted a portion of a speech she gave painting her as a racist. Sherrod was quickly vindicated and the Obama administration apologized after the full video was released.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] The toxic red sludge is now spreading, the spill that burst out of a Hungarian factory reservoir is now making its way down the Danube. It's the second largest river in Europe. At least four people have died. Officials are calling it an ecological disaster.
[Roberts:] A jailed Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel committee in Oslo citing his long and nonviolent struggle for human rights in China. The Chinese government is not happy about it. The foreign ministry says the decision could harm China's relations with Norway.
[Chetry:] And Christine Romans joins us now. So this is very interesting. You've covered a lot about China and about their influence in the world economically. What does this do?
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] It's no surprise that the Chinese are so upset about this. Because the Chinese find this man who is being awarded a peace prize as a threat to peace and stability in the country. And it raises a lot of questions for a lot of human rights activists and a lot of people who say the relationship between the United States and China is the United States' business relationship between the United States and China. It's the United States' business relationship with China that has allowed the government to really solidify its power through the pocketbook. It is American consumers who have managed to put trillions of dollars into the hands of the Chinese and for years we were told that this business relationship between the U.S. and China, the trading relationship would be something that would bring democracy to China, but, in fact, others say perhaps it has just meant the Chinese have been able to keep a tighter grip on free speech and peace activists. Interesting.
[Roberts:] Big news for us here at home. About an hour from now we get the September unemployment numbers. What are we expecting?
[Romans:] We're expecting maybe the unemployment rate to tick up to 9.7 percent. We're expecting maybe 75,000 private sector jobs to be created. We won't know until we get the number in about an hour's time. We do know that some of the stimulus-related jobs have been rolling off. So you could see that affect this number. It's an important number, it's the last big economic number before the midterm elections. And if you see a jobless rate ticking up, you could have people who are challenging incumbents say, look, what's going on here? We still have way too many people unemployed in this country. I'll be looking at a lot of different numbers, including how long people have been unemployed. 33.6 weeks was the last big reading on that one. And we'll also be looking at I want to show you quickly where some of the jobs are. Computer systems and designers, biomedical engineers, nurses and home health aides. This is where we have been seeing jobs created. But for the people who don't have jobs, as I was just mentioning, it's well over half a year that they're out of work. The number 33.6 weeks. You can see what it looks like over the summer. We made a graphic for you for that. That number is unsustainable. That's a number that graph that you're seeing there, that's something that's going to resonate in the ballot box and the voting booth next month. So last big read on this before
[Roberts:] And coming up in our next hour, we're going to talk to the CEO of Panera Bread and the CEO of Green Leaf Books. One whom is hiring and the other is not. And figure out why is the economy working for some people but not for others.
[Romans:] And ask them too if the president's initiatives and small business tax cuts and the like if that's going to make a difference for them in hiring. That's what we want to know if what the government's doing is enough and what it will take to turn the page.
[Chetry:] All right. Christine Romans, we look forward to all of that.
[Romans:] Sure.
[Chetry:] Thanks so much for being with us.
[Roberts:] Still to come this morning, Sarah Palin may be a Tea Party favorite, but may not have a lot of support if she decides to run for president. This morning's political ticker is straight ahead.

[Malveaux:] Three more men have come forward to accuse former Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky of sex abuse. The men say they were abused as well in the '70s or '80s, according to our CNN contributor Sara Ganim. Now, Sandusky, he was convicted already of 45 counts of sex abuse last month. The attorney general has not said yet if there are going to be more charges filed. Good news for Citi Group, sort of. Early trading day shares were up for the world's third-largest bank, even after they reported 12 percent drop in net income. Better number than some experts predicted. Shares of Visa, MasterCard up today. Investors are reacting to Friday's news that financial firms settled an antitrust lawsuit. Retailers claim that large banks conspired to fix credit card fees. The settlement valued at $7 billion. Congressmen Jesse Jackson Jr has gotten support now from House leaders since the announcement he's being treated for what they were calling a mood disorder. The secrecy over the illness is fueling speculation and raising questions. The son of the civil rights leaders has not been on Capitol Hill since late May. "Chicago Sun-Times" editorial columnist, Mary Mitchell, says Jackson owes his constituents an explanation. Mary Mitchell joins us live. Good to see you. In your op-ed, you write that, quote, "Here, everyone is tiptoeing around the fact that his disappearance is beyond strange. It's an extreme dereliction of his duties." How is this secrecy hurting him? Do you think it's hurting his potential, his future here?
[Mary Mitchell, Editorial Columnist, Chicago Sun-times:] Well, I think that, as long as people are not clear about what is really happening with him, the situation then becomes one of speculation. Who knows? If you don't know exactly what's going on, you're saying all kinds of things. I think it's the speculation that is hurting him. His constituents can deal with if it's a mental disorder or a mood disorder or even if he just has some kind of emotional breakdown. I think his constituents can deal with that. But as long as this goes on without any clear facts, it's a matter of disregarding transparency. And if there's an expectation that people the public has a right to know what's going on with their elected official, that's what can hurt him.
[Malveaux:] You've been covering the Jackson family, Chicago politics for more than 20 years. You would know. The Jacksons and you put it in your article bask in light, they don't hide from it. So being
[Mitchell:] Here's an opportunity
[Malveaux:] Sure.
[Mitchell:] Here's an opportunity
[Malveaux:] Go ahead.
[Mitchell:] for the Jackson, Congressman Jackson and the Jackson family to show leadership on a major issue that impacts the African- American community but also just the community at large, and that is, if it is a mood disorder or mental illness, there's a stigma attached to that. Here's an opportunity for the Congressman and his family to stand up to that and say, wait a minute, you know, this is something that we need to deal with. And this is something that the public has dealt with. He could be a leader on this issue instead of hiding from it.
[Malveaux:] Do you think that the reason why he's hiding from it or the family's hiding from it potentially indicates this is worse than what the family's indicating or implying?
[Mitchell:] Well, again, we're back to speculation. It could be an indication that the family's actually plotting or planning to do something Chicago-style politics, and that is the Congressman could resign during the general election and then some other family member be put on the ballot. That's happened in the past. So we don't know. And I think that's the problem.
[Malveaux:] Is there speculation that that's actually potentially part of what's behind this?
[Mitchell:] There's speculation. There is speculation that he could resign. And there's speculation that his wife, Sandy Jackson, could be placed on the ballot. That could happen here, given the way our system works. The ward bosses could get together and decide, you know what, we're going to put somebody else's name on there. And if they put Sandy Jackson's name on it, she could end up going to the Congress without having to face an election bid this time around. That could happen. It's happened in the past.
[Malveaux:] To be clear, there's no evidence that that's happening now. It's just simply something people are talking about, right?
[Mitchell:] That's speculation. That's what people are talking. And we do have examples in Chicago of that happening. We have U.S. Representative Dan Lipinski. When he decided he was going to resign at the last minute, then his son was able to be put on the ballot. We've seen that before. That is what becomes the problem. If it's simply he's tired, he is exhausted, he's beaten down, and then he had to take a rest, that's one thing. But if there's some plan afoot to do something else politically, at the end of his rest, I think that would cause a problem.
[Malveaux:] Mary, just a timetable question quickly here. That is weeks or months away? Is there some sort of deadline that anybody's working on to sort this all out?
[Mitchell:] Well, one deadline would have been passed already, that is to put in an independent person, someone from an Independent Party on to the ballot. But if he resigns very close to the general elections, then the Democratic party would have to put somebody on that ballot, and so that deadline has not yet passed.
[Malveaux:] Mary Mitchell, thank you for your context and perspective. We appreciate it.
[Mitchell:] Thank you.
[Malveaux:] A brutal drought in our nation's heartland. More than a third of the country's crops are wilting under the heat. That could mean huge price jumps in favorite foods.

[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn:] Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the program. I'm Christiane Amanpour. The murder case against star athlete Oscar Pistorius continues to rattle South Africa and transfix much of the world. The story of the heroic disabled athlete who overcame adversity to compete in the Olympic Games and his fall from grace is all playing out like a classic Greek tragedy. Police say the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend, the model, Reeva Steenkamp, was a cold-blooded murder. Pistorius denies that, claiming he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder when he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door. At his bail hearing in Pretoria today, a new allegation: police say they found testosterone and needles in his bedroom. Pistorius' attorney says what they actually found was a herbal supplement. And from the police, testimony about previous encounters with Pistorius, one allegation that he fired a weapon at a restaurant just last month and that he assaulted a woman back in 2009. Police say that case was dropped for lack of evidence. Meantime, South Africa looks on in stupefied disbelief against a mounting series of blows to the national psyche, what one prominent political commentator calls a war against women, culminating recently in the horrific gang rape and death of a 17-year-old girl that had many South Africans calling for a change of culture even before the Pistorius case. To give us unique insight into the drama wracking the Rainbow Nation, one of the country's leading investigative journalists, Debora Patta, host of a national program called "Third Degree," and she's closely following the Pistorius case. Welcome to the program, Debora. And let me ask you first and foremost, how difficult will it be for Oscar Pistorius to actually get bail and to get out of jail, given that it's the highest charge that he's facing, premeditated murder?
[Debora Patta, Host, "third Degree":] In fact, in South Africa, Christiane, that is a Schedule 6 crime. As you correctly said, the highest possible crime charge that he is facing. It's a tough call; he has to prove extreme circumstances. But today was pretty much of a roller coaster of a day because the state case took significant blows. The investigating officer on the stand caved in under good probing from the defense team, who knocked a lot of holes into his argument and forced him to concede that he had contaminated evidence and that perhaps the case was not as watertight as it initially seemed.
[Amanpour:] Explosion that, Debora. What do you mean contaminated evidence? And what major holes were poked in the in the prosecution's case?
[Patta:] Well, the state's investigating officer was forced to concede that he walked onto the crime scene without wearing foot gloves because there weren't any available. And this was a pretty shocking admission. And certainly bode very badly for the prosecution team. He also was forced to concede that there was no physical evidence that actually contradicted Pistorius' version of events. Now bear in mind this is a bail hearing. We're not into the full criminal proceedings yet. There's still a lot of forensic evidence that hasn't been produced from the laboratories. But he was forced into a corner and in the beginning of the court proceedings today, Oscar Pistorius, as has been the case for many times now in court, was sobbing uncontrollably. But by the end of the day, he looked a lot more relaxed and composed.
[Amanpour:] So meanwhile how is South Africa reacting on a daily basis, as more and more of this well, not evidence, but more and more of this story gets public?
[Patta:] I think, you know, Christiane, if you'd asked me about three weeks ago, I would have said these kind of horrific stories elicit nothing more than a shrug from South Africans, not because we're cruel and heartless necessarily, but because people are desensitized; one bloody headline in this country makes way for another on a daily basis. We barely have time to catch our breath. In the week before Oscar Pistorius was accused of gunning down his girlfriend, as you correctly mentioned, a 17-year-old woman was gang raped. But in the few days between those two crimes, we had two other violent murders that didn't even make it onto most national bulletins; such is the nature of violence in this country. And I think South Africans are starting to realize that what we teach our young people and specifically how we teach our men is very important. We [inaudible] need [inaudible] in this country role models that are not about who hits the hardest or who runs the fastest. We have to teach our men to literally be different in this country.
[Amanpour:] Debora, I'm going to get more of that in a moment. But first I want to ask you, as an investigative reporter and as someone who's been following these issues for so long, you heard me talk about the other allegations from the police today, the issue of his charge by the police that Oscar Pistorius had fired a gun at a restaurant, had had an encounter potentially with a domestic nature back in 2009. That case was dropped. Now what do you know about these cases? And how is it that we or South Africa hasn't heard about these cases, given he was so prominent?
[Patta:] I think that's one of the most disturbing features of this entire case. Now whatever happens in court and bear in mind, this is a court case and still these allegations have to be proved, whether it was premeditated or an accident. But even given that, there was clearly seeds of some trouble. There were demons that were driving this young man, Oscar Pistorius, who we knew as this much-loved Olympics hero in South Africa. And yet there were signs of aggression; a weapon was fired in an open public place. It was an accident. But nobody reported it because there doesn't seem to be that kind of culture. It's as if, when you're famous or a celebrity or of an athletic status, such as Oscar Pistorius was, you have different rules applying to you. You get away with it. It's just wild boys doing their thing, letting off steam. And that kind of thing does not get reported. The allegation in 2009 was not tested in a court of law; it was dropped before it could get there. Oscar Pistorius wasn't as famous then as he is now. But certainly, that, too, seems to have been dropped and just pushed under the carpet. And now when one looks back with the benefit, of course, the exact science of hindsight, it does seem that there were warning signs, that, at the very least, Oscar Pistorius displayed a significant amount of aggression and that there were not people around him who were sort of grounding him and pulling him back to Earth.
[Amanpour:] You know, you say that. I want to play a little bit of an interview that his uncle gave today, regarding his character and the nature of his nephew.
[Arnold Pistorius, Uncle Of Oscar Pistorius:] He's not a violent person. He's a peacemaker. The he's always been a peacemaker. And that's his nature. He looks tough. He looks like the superstar and hold himself in public domain. But he's actually a very, very kind, soft person.
[Amanpour:] So that is clearly the view of the family. And yet when we were just talking about these allegations that the police detective brought up, you also sort of corroborating them, do you have the facts on that? Is that clear, what happened, what happened in 2009, this issue of the gun? Is that incontrovertible?
[Patta:] Well, the gun took place just a couple of weeks ago, and that is incontrovertible. The gun was fired in an open public area. Oscar Pistorius disputes that he fired the gun; he says it was a friend. But people who were with him said he did fire it. It was fired in accident, make no mistake. But the fact that a gun was being played around in a public is, in and of itself, horrifying. And secondly, the fact that it actually wasn't reported, that nobody saw fit to actually make a big song-and-dance about this, I think in many other parts of the world, a crime such as this would provoke a debate on gun proliferation. And the use of guns in South Africa. That doesn't seem to be happening to enough of an extent, I think, in this country. The incident in 2009 involved a former girlfriend and another woman, in which a door was kicked down at a party. Oscar Pistorius spoke very openly at the time, saying that it was a misunderstanding, that perhaps this other woman had had too much to drink, that he'd been accused of violence. He laid a countercharge and eventually the whole thing was dropped. And I think part of the problem is that South Africa wants its heroes to be unflawed. We want to believe so badly in this metaphor of inspiration that we overlook the sort of outside physical attributes; we praise those and see this glorious specimen of humanity who overcame incredible odds. We're so in love with that narrative that we actually don't look enough and deeply enough at the person behind it. And given the fact that this is a country that suffers extreme violence, where a woman is raped every four minutes and a woman is killed by her partner every eight minutes in this country, it's no wonder that we look for those kinds of metaphors for inspiration and don't probe them deeply enough.
[Amanpour:] And of course, you mentioned the issue of, you know, just looking towards heroes; everybody knows the story of Lance Armstrong, and, in a different way, his fall from grace as well. But let me ask you again, Justice Malala you probably know him; he's a prominent political commentator in your country. And he has talked about femicide, the kinds of things you were just talking about, but he also said that, you know, in his state of the nation speech just last week, President Zuma, he says, you know, lashed out against rampant violence against women. It was right after this horrific attack on Anene Booyson, then announced, quote, "Drastic measures to clamp down on workers in communities protesting against lack of services and didn't announce any serious new measures to fight any women-related abuses." What is it going to take, do you think, to change this culture of impunity? In the bigger picture?
[Patta:] Well, I think there's a there's a number of there's a number of things. Think when Justice Malala spoke about in that article, when he very profoundly spoke about a country being at war with its women, is that there is a state of emergency in some senses in this country, that things have got to a level that are untenable, that something is broken at its core. And on one level, it's a change of consciousness. I spoke earlier about how we raise men, the images we had, the metaphors we use, who we raise up as heroes, what kind of images of masculinity we have. And that's going to take a much longer time to do. But on another level, it's for a country to be shaken out of its apathy, if you will, around violence against women and face the hard, cold facts, stare them in the face, that this is a country that needs help when it comes to these issues. It requires desperate, firm action; it requires strong action from President Zuma's government and, at the same time it requires us as citizens to take matters and very seriously delve into the issues facing us and to do something about it, that we actually can't shrug our shoulders anymore. This is something that concerns every single South African.
[Amanpour:] Debora Patta, thank you so much for joining me from Johannesburg. And after a break, we will turn to another country in turmoil, Pakistan. If you think you have a tough job, try being America's ambassador there. I'll talk to the man who held that post when the Navy SEALs took out bin Laden. No, it wasn't "Zero Dark Thirty." It's the real thing, when we return.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] Jake, thanks very much. Happening now, breaking news. The White House has just released the e-mails showing how the Obama administration planned its public response to the deadly Benghazi attack last September 11. Will that defuse the first, first, of this wave of scandals? There's already bad blood between the attorney general of the United States, Eric Holder, and House Republicans. Can he survive his latest grilling on the judiciary committee hot seat? And we're also hearing right now from O.J. Simpson, this, for the first time since he was sent to prison for armed robbery and kidnapping. You're going to see him take the witness stand in a bid for freedom. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the
[Situation Room. Announcer:] This is CNN Breaking News.
[Blitzer:] We've got breaking news we're following right now. Battered by controversies, the White House makes a very bold move to defend its response to the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya. Just now, it has just released the e-mails showing how officials tried to decide what to say to lawmakers and to the American public. You'll recall this was the attack that killed four Americans, including the United States ambassador to Libya. The administration and Congressional Republicans have battled for months over the initial response in which the U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice, called the attack a spontaneous protest. We have since learned there was no protest at all outside the consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Republicans have suggested the truth was deliberately covered up for political reasons to try to help the president get re-elected. Our chief White House correspondent, Jake Tapper, is here. He's been going through these documents. Jake, you have them right there, about a hundred pages of e-mails. What's going on here?
[Jake Tapper, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] A hundred pages of documents. A lot of the names of career bureaucrats has been redacted, but their job titles have been there. What you see is an interagency process of individuals from the FBI, from the CIA, from the state department, the National Security Council, weighing in on the talking points, what to say to Congress, what to say to the American people. Here's a quote from one of the quotes. This is an e-mail from CIA public affairs officer to Victoria Nuland. They say, "That being said, there are indications that Islamic extremists participated in the violent demonstrations." The question, of course, being who to blame for the attacks that killed these four Americans, including the ambassador. Then, we see, this is a big oft discussed part of the e- mail chain. State department spokesman, Victoria Nuland, writing in an e- mail, "The penultimate point could be abused." This is a point about the fact that the CIA warned the state department that the CIA put in the talking points. Nuland from the state department objects to this. "The penultimate point could be abused by members of Congress to beat the state department for not paying attention to agency warnings, so why do we want to feed that either? Concerned." There have been a lot of issues about that statement because people think it suggests that Victoria Nuland was trying to protect Hillary Clinton and the state department from political concerns. But, Wolf, a senior administration official tells me that long before the CIA heard about that issue, the deputy director of the CIA, Mike Morell, independently decided to remove that point about all the warnings that the CIA had given the state department. They say he did that because, one, the talking points are supposed to be about what happened in that day, not six months before, and, two, that he didn't think it was professional or fair for the CIA to say they did provide the state department with all these warnings. So, this is a real window into the decision making process, a hundred pages with all sorts of individuals weighing in and offering their suggestions.
[Blitzer:] Because it goes through the various agencies of the U.S. government whether the state department, the Pentagon, the CIA, the National Security Council. They're all weighing in, what to put in these talking points, what to tell members of Congress, members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committee, what to tell the American public. And so, there's a treasure trove of information there.
[Tapper:] That's right. And you see specifically four changes that the CIA makes. In the original draft, they say that we do know that Islamic extremists participated in the attack, but they change it to something else because they don't want to state with certainty that there was complicity, so there is a back and forth about that. They change attack to violent demonstration. Then, because they had changed it to violent demonstration, they also changed a word from attack to something else because the idea that an attack evolved into an assault, they said, doesn't make a lot of sense. They took out the al Qaeda reference, because again, they say they did not want to get ahead of the FBI investigation. They weren't certain at that moment. Remember, this is just a few days after the attack. They weren't certain who had killed these four Americans, and the last thing, of course, was they added this section that the state department objected to about all the warnings about the deteriorating security conditions in Libya at the time.
[Blitzer:] Let's bring Gloria Borger into this conversation, our chief political analyst. So, what are the e-mails tell you about this exchange, the sort of internal bureaucratic battle that was going on within the Obama administration?
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Let me set the scene for you and Jake can talk about this as well. You have David Petraeus, former CIA director, going up to the Hill after this to brief members, and he tells them what he knows. And they say, oh, that's kind of interesting. What can we say to the American public about that? And he said, "OK, guys. I'll get back to you on that." He goes back and he says, we need to come up with these so-called talking points that members of Congress can use when they talk about this publicly. The more they go through the iterations of this, there are questions as Jake was just pointing about, what's classified, what was unclassified? What the CIA wanted to say. And, most of all, Wolf, and you can talk about this is, there is a conflict between the state department and the CIA here. This was a CIA outpost. Four people from the state department were there for probably 30 or so people from the CIA. They weren't talking about that. The state department was a little anxious that it would look like they had gotten all of these warnings that they hadn't paid any attention to. So, what they're saying here is this was not about politics. This was about figuring out what we could say to the American people that was unclassified and that was accurate. As it turned out, of course, it was completely false.
[Blitzer:] Because I know in some of these documents, Victoria Nuland who was the spokesman spokeswoman for the state department, she was very concerned about the reputation understandably so of the state department.
[Tapper:] Well, that's one of the issues that Gloria just touched on is the fact that there was a huge CIA presence in Benghazi. And when they evacuated 30 individuals out the morning after, more than 20 of them were from the CIA, and the state department thought that this, especially the CIA annex, that it was unfair that they were wearing a state department jacket. The official idea was that this was a state department outpost, and now, the CIA was going to blame the state department for a problem that they, themselves, were also responsible for. They're responsible for their own security, the CIA. The state department had their own diplomatic security, obviously, inadequate at the time.
[Blitzer:] Because, Gloria, the question obviously remains. Why didn't they just release these documents a long time ago, end this controversy, if in fact it will end the controversy. Why have they waited so long as part of this damage control operation?
[Borger:] OK. So, if Wolf Blitzer sends me an e-mail and I just thought I want to release it, I can release it because it's not classified. OK? And, these are lots of these e-mails have to get declassified. And I think the White House is doing it now because they're in damage control mode, obviously. And they believe that these e-mails make their case that what was going on was not political. It was just about being consistent and figuring out a way to be on the same page and figuring out a way to give people information that they thought to be the most accurate at that particular point in time. Of course, the only thing that survived was something that was inaccurate.
[Blitzer:] Let me just button this up, because what really emerged from all of this was Susan Rice's appearance on those five Sunday morning television shows in which she blamed a spontaneous demonstration, angry reaction to that YouTube anti-Muslim video, which by then even, according to these documents, I suspect, they knew was not necessarily true.
[Tapper:] No, not according to these documents. According to these documents in all, I believe it's 14 iterations, of the talking points, the CIA is saying that this was related to the demonstration in Cairo, which was because of the anti-Muslim video. That is what comes through here. Susan Rice did work off these talking points and, of course, we all had sources in the U.S. government. We were hearing from the prime minister of Libya, the president of Libya. Others who were saying this was something more than just a demonstration. But the official position of the CIA at that point was that this was as a result of being inspired.
[Blitzer:] Because
[Borger:] Right.
[Tapper:] It's staggering.
[Borger:] And what Petraeus may have told folks in that briefing, I mean, we weren't there, but he may have gotten a little out over his skis, as the saying goes, in that briefing and said, OK. I'll get this stuff together for you and then the bureaucracy and the people in each of the departments said, wait a minute. We can't do that. That's classified. So
[Tapper:] The question is, the political imperative, obviously, the White House was talking about that al Qaeda was on the run. This was in the weeks before the presidential campaign. So there was this idea that this was part of the president's re-election pitch. Al Qaeda is on the run. We're defeating terrorism. All of a sudden, there is what is obvious to most of us at the time, a terrorist attack, a preplanned terrorist attack on 911 in a very vulnerable outpost. That indicates, A, an intelligence failure, B, inadequate security, which ultimately we all know now the state department was not appropriately prepared for, and then C, questions about why the Obama administration in supporting the Arab spring is letting everything spiral so much out of control.
[Blitzer:] Bottom line, the release of these documents, is it going to end the controversy over Benghazi?
[Tapper:] No, no. It will not end the controversy, but I think what it does do is it does suggest that those alleging that the only reason that people were blaming this on that anti-Muslim video was political. That case is undermined because you have the CIA repeatedly arguing and the CIA, it is clear, that they are the ones taking the leadership role here, they are pushing that.
[Borger:] And I think in the end, what you may discover with most things in government is that it could be more bureaucratic and than anything else and, also, the unwillingness of people to go beyond what they had already stated, particularly, at the state department. What the concern was at the state department was, don't get out ahead of what we've already been able to say or why wouldn't we have been able to say it if it was unclassified.
[Blitzer:] I think the controversy will survive, bottom line right now, because it was such a dangerous place, Benghazi. The British had pulled out. The international Red Cross had pulled out. There had been numerous warnings about al Qaeda. Ansar al-Sharia, the al Qaeda affiliate targeting westerners, including Americans. For the United States Ambassador to be in Benghazi on September 11th, the anniversary of 911, to be there on that date with limited security, that's going to be the continuing scandal, the continuing crisis. Why were all of these Americans in Benghazi at such a dangerous time when other allies had pulled out because it was so dangerous? Why who made that reckless decision for those Americans to be there when it was so, so dangerous?
[Borger:] And why were they allowed to stay overnight there?
[Tapper:] And when you listen to the testimony of the career diplomats, the whistleblowers, that's what they focus on.
[Blitzer:] Yes. I mean, there are four dead Americans
[Tapper:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] because someone said, go to Benghazi and be there. Whether they were CIA, clandestine officers, or whether they were state department diplomats or diplomatic security, someone made a decision, you should be there on the anniversary of 911 even though there were numerous warnings that this was crazy. This was dangerous. Don't be there especially at night. They went there and we know what happened. So, I think that this investigation will continue to try to follow those actions.
[Borger:] Make sure it doesn't happen again, Wolf.
[Tapper:] And even more so, Wolf, if I could just say, why wasn't there enough security? Why when diplomat after diplomat, security officer after security officer in Libya is saying, we need more security, why was the state department rejecting those requests? That is what the diplomats, the whistleblowers who have testified, that's what they have been focused on. They have not been focused on the talking points, the whistleblowers. They have been focused on the inadequate security for these brave men and women who go to these dangerous places in the service of the country.
[Borger:] And that's what Ambassador Pickering's report was about.
[Tapper:] Yes.
[Borger:] When he took a look at what was dysfunction in many ways about this whole event, and also in terms of security at the state department, he was quite critical. They've implemented, you know, more than the 28 or 29 things that they were told to do, but I think this is an issue that the state department obviously will be looking at and the CIA will be looking at.
[Blitzer:] We have viewers who are just tuning in right now. And I just want to recap, this is the document that has just been released. It's about a 100 pages.
[Tapper:] One hundred pages of e-mails.
[Blitzer:] E-mails that back and forth between the state department and the CIA, the Pentagon, the White House, the National Security Council. What should be told to members of Congress about the killing of the United States Ambassador and three other Americans, the attack on the diplomatic outpost there, the CIA operation that was under way. What should be told to members of Congress in a classified version and in a public version, and then, what should be told to the American public? But both of you are now saying based on what you've read, and I've gone through these documents as well, this uproar and we're going to be hearing later from Republicans and some Democrats, this uproar over Benghazi will continue.
[Tapper:] Well, I think so, because this is only the there are three focuses of the uproar of the controversy. Before the attack, why wasn't here enough security. During
[Blitzer:] Why was the ambassador even there?
[Tapper:] Why was the ambassador there? During the attack was enough done by the military? And then after the attack, was the administration trying to cover up? This adds to public understanding of the last one, was the administration The talking points. Why were mentions of al Qaeda and extremist groups scrubbed from the talking points? Why were the fact that the CIA had been warning the state department and why was that taken out of the talking points? What you see here in this hundred pages, and I think we have it all online at CNN.com, what you see here is an interagency process of people from the FBI, people from the CIA, people from the office of the director of national intelligence, the National Security Council, the national others the national security staffers, all of them weighing in trying to come on the same page about these things. And you see the process of why the mention of Islamic extremists is taken out. Why violent demonstrations has put in instead of attack? Why all these decisions are made? You can believe it or not, but it's the reason we see in black and white the CIA making their objections, the state department making their objections.
[Blitzer:] We posted, by the way, all of those documents on CNN.com.
[Borger:] You know, the important thing to keep in mind is that these so-called talking points were being put together to give to members of Congress who would then talk to the American public about it. And there was a real concern, particularly, on the part of the state department, don't get in the way of the investigation and don't get out ahead of ourselves. Don't talk about classified information that the state department had not been able to talk about itself. After all, you were giving this to members of Congress. And there is not a great deal of trust.
[Blitzer:] And you know, I interviewed the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, the next day, September 12th. He was here in the SITUATION ROOM. He had been briefed. He had been briefed by the CIA. He had been briefed by others in the U.S. government. And in the exchange I had, because I pointed out to him, I don't believe in coincidences. On the anniversary of 911, this looked like a pretty sophisticated terrorist attack. It looked like it was an assassination plot against the United States ambassador, and he basically said the same thing. He didn't say anything about this video, this anti-Muslim video. He had already been told, apparently, that this was a pretty concerted, direct assault on the U.S. operation in Benghazi. And then for Susan Rice to say a few days later, well, it looks like it was a response to the anti-Muslim video, that's what makes so many people upset.
[Tapper:] And what's significant about that, also, is that that video was causing a lot of demonstrations, violent demonstrations, throughout the Arab and Muslim world, in Tunisia, in Cairo, Egypt, and other places.
[Blitzer:] That's true. In Cairo and other places. There was an American restaurant in Beirut that was attacked. But that doesn't necessarily mean
[Tapper:] No. Of course
[Blitzer:] that the Benghazi operation was
[Tapper:] Intelligent sources at that moment, intelligence sources on the ground, did not think that it was in response to that anti- Muslim video.
[Blitzer:] Right. That's what we heard from
[Borger:] But it was completely non-controversial at that time to assume that it might have had something to do with this at that particular moment in time.
[Blitzer:] Yes, but five days later, they knew pretty much what was going on.
[Borger:] As it turns out, I think the question will still be asked, about why that really was the only thing that actually survived.
[Tapper:] The scrubbing of the talking points.
[Borger:] In the scrubbing of the talking points.
[Blitzer:] And I think Jake makes an excellent point. As controversial as the talking points were and we focused in, and this document focuses on the talking points, the two other issues that are not addressed by the release of these documents, why was the U.S. ambassador there to begin with? At such a dangerous time, why was he there with limited security? And then, why didn't the U.S. military, special operations forces, do more once the attack started to try to save those Americans?
[Borger:] And those are the questions that were asked at the Congressional hearing particularly by Mr. Hicks.
[Tapper:] And one other point to make about this talking points that were released and the e-mails that surrounding them is everybody is talking now about the deputies meeting. That's the meeting that took place at the White House, the Saturday BLITZER Saturday morning. Saturday morning after the attack but before Susan Rice went on the Sunday shows the next morning. The deputies meeting. Now, what I've been told by senior administration officials is that the talking points were a very, very small part of that meeting. When they were talking about it, what they were concerned about was the fact that the Arab spring was spiraling out of control, that there were demonstrations here, demonstrations there, in Tunisia, Cairo, Yemen, and they wanted to make sure Americans were safe and that was the focus. At the end of the meeting, according to a senior administration official, Mike Morell, the deputy CIA director stands up. He says, I am going to take essentially, I'm going to take ownership of the talking points. I hear the state department's concerns. I have concerns. I am going to take control of this. Denis McDonough, now the White House chief of staff says, thanks, Mike. And that I'm told was the only discussion of the talking points in that meeting.
[Blitzer:] Hold on for a minute. Our Chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, is joining us for a little context right now. I know you're speaking to officials over there. What are you learning, Jessica?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Hi, Wolf. Well, as Jake says, officials here are adamant that these talking points should now disabuse the public of the idea that they were up to any kind of political trickery, that, in fact, all they were doing was hashing out a normal kind of e-mail discussion about an ongoing, what they call fluid, very tense situation overseas and a very sort of boring, mundane discussion about talking points over here. That this wasn't their number one concern. What their number one concern was their number one concern was with was the ongoing protests that were taking place in Tunisia, in front of embassies, in Pakistan, in front of embassies throughout the region at the time. And these talking points were sort of a very tertiary concern that was even pushed to the back of their deputy CIA director's agenda. He didn't get to them until hours after they were sent to him on the day he was supposed to review them. That is why, for example, they say he put off reworking them until after his deputies meeting. So, that is their that's what that's their take and that's what they told us. As Jake has reported and as Gloria emphasized, they said that it was the CIA who really took out those things that the White House has been hammered for, for example, taking out al Qaeda, changing the word attack to demonstration. All of that came out from the CIA. So, Wolf, that is what senior administration officials are emphasizing. Now, separately, I would point out that when you look through these papers, there are some other things that the administration isn't pointing out. For example, there is one e-mail from an unnamed person whose name is taken out, which goes through a list of things that happened at the deputies meeting, which they say, the officials say is wrong in every specific. Every single thing in this e-mail is wrong. They say this person outlines that there was heavy editing in the e-mails because they had to develop more appropriate talking points and that they have to rework it after the meeting to make it better for the Sunday shows. Everything about it they say is wrong. We asked why it was so deep wrong in detail. They couldn't specify. Also, at the end of the documents, it indicates that director of the CIA, Petraeus, had concerns, and it said "I spoke to the director earlier about the state department's deep concerns about mentioning the warnings that the CIA had made about Libya before and the other work done on this. You will still want to reemphasize that in your note to the director of central intelligence. Thanks." So, there were a lot of things that they couldn't explain to us that contradicted their story.
[Blitzer:] All right. Hold on. Everyone hold on for a moment. We are just learning that the president will be making a statement to the American people on the IRS scandal that's unfolding a separate scandal unfolding on Capitol Hill right at the top of the hour, 6:00 p.m. eastern. We'll, of course, have live coverage here in the SITUATION ROOM. The president speaking on the IRS scandal from the White House in about 35 minutes or so from now. We'll have live coverage when the president makes his statement on the IRS. That's a whole separate scandal. We'll get into that in a moment. But let me bring up Dana Bash up on Capitol Hill. Dana, we're watching all of these investigations unfold, the Benghazi investigation, the IRS investigation, the Associated Press phone conversations investigation. There are three at the same time. It's almost unprecedented, at least, in my opinion, having covered Washington for a long time for three such investigations to be brewing at the same time. I know you're standing outside the speaker's office, John Boehner. He and other Republicans have been asking the White House to release all of these e-mails involving the so-called Benghazi talking points. Now, they have been released. Are we getting any reaction yet from Republicans up on the Hill? I think we may have lost Dana, unfortunately. But she's standing outside the speaker's office. And as we know, the speaker and others have been saying to the White House, release all these e-mails. They were shown in private to members of Congress. Now, they have been released. Once again, if you want to take a look at them, you can go to CNN.com. We posted all of them. All right. So, let's move on and talk a little bit about the IRS, Gloria. You know, all of a sudden, the president now about to go and deliver a statement on the IRS investigation. The fact that the IRS, officials at the IRS decided to specifically target conservative groups, Tea Party organizations, others with the name Tea Party or patriot or groups like that. This is a huge scandal that's unfolding right now. The president is outraged. He says he didn't know anything about it until he read about it and heard about it from the news media the other day, but he's going to make a statement now.
[Borger:] I'm not surprised because in talking to senior advisers at the White House, they believe that this is sort of one of the scandals that they can actually push aside because they're on the same side of the American people as this one. They're not fighting it. The Republicans are on their side. The Democrats are on their side. Nobody is supporting the IRS in any of this. And so, I was kind of surprised the president didn't last night when the inspector general report came out actually go and make the statement apologizing to the American people and saying we're going to get to the bottom of it. Maybe that's what he's going to do today. I was told yesterday that they intend to take what one adviser told me was meaningful action. So, we'll have to see what that is. He is limited in who he can fire there, most
[Blitzer:] He's asked his treasury secretary, Jack Lew, to take some immediate action already.
[Tapper:] It's obvious that the three scandals we have brewing right now or controversies, depending on your point of view, one Benghazi, two, the IRS improperly targeting conservative groups and, three, the Department of Justice subpoenaing broadly a number of phone records of reporters of the Associated Press and also other media organizations, it is obvious
[Blitzer:] When you say other media organizations, besides the Associated Press?
[Tapper:] Well, I'm just saying, they're also in a separate war with the "New York Times"
[Blitzer:] Different issue.
[Tapper:] About a different leak but that general idea. But my point is just of these three controversies, the fact that the president is going to address this one shows you which one they actually think could hurt them. They obviously do not think that the Benghazi scandal they wouldn't have released a hundred e-mails if they didn't think that they needed to do so, but I don't think that they're worried about that long term. I think that they believe that people see it as a partisan divide. Forty percent think the president is telling the truth, 40 percent say he isn't, 20 percent say they don't know, which is pretty much means nothing. But the IRS scandal, that's something every American understands. Big government, big brother improperly going after me because of what I believe.
[Borger:] And he needs to show the American people that he's on their side with this. That there is no fault line here. That he wants to get to the bottom of this and that his administration is taking responsibility and trying to get to the bottom of it. That's how he can dispose of it, not dispose of it, but essentially, deal with it and say, I am going to fix this. This was wrong. I am with you.
[Blitzer:] Yes.
[Borger:] Because as Jake just said, this is politically damaging.
[Blitzer:] Because they are clearly in damage control mode right now over at the White House, releasing all these documents after months refusing to release all these documents, and now, the president going out and speaking on the IRS investigation. We're going to hear from him in about a half an hour. Let's go up to Capitol Hill. I think we've reconnected with our chief Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. Dana, you're on the phone. You're right outside the speaker's office. Is that right?
[Voice Of Dana Bash, Cnn Chief Congressional Correspondent:] Well I'm in the hallway between the House floor and the speaker's office and the reason is because there are votes going on right now and I'm waiting to try to talk to him. He actually has been swearing in a new member of Congress, Mark Sanford. That's what's going on right now. But as I'm standing here, I just had a chance to talk to the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Dutch Ruppersberger. He is important for lots of reason, but most importantly, he is the one who asked for these talking points in the first place right after the attack in Benghazi. So, the members of Congress would have a sense of what they could say to the media, what would not be classified. I just talked to him and he said that he is very happy, very relieved that the White House finally put these out so that, from his perspective, we can all see what really went on with the back and forth and trying to decide what people like him should and shouldn't say in interviews. And, you know, he is a Democrat, so he he believes that what really went on was not something that was nefarious from the White House's point of view but was done to protect sources and methods and so forth from the point of view of the CIA. That's what Dutch Ruppersberger said and when it comes to the speaker who, as late as this morning, had a press conference and called on the White House to release these e-mails. I'm waiting to see what he has to say about that.
[Blitzer:] Yes. I'm sure he'll welcome the release of these e- mails. And Dana, on the issue of the IRS, the president in about a half an hour will make a statement from the White House on this IRS investigation. He is outraged as I think almost everyone is that officials at the IRS were specifically targeting conservative groups for special treatment when they applied for tax-exempt status, not necessarily targeting liberal groups but only certain conservative groups. And we heard from the speaker and you're standing right outside hoping to get him. He says people should go to jail as a result of what happened at the
[Irs. Bash:] That's right. He is not waiting for the criminal investigation to be done to make that statement. That certainly was kind of the thrust of the news on Capitol Hill today with regard to the IRS. The attorney general was here for hours talking to the judiciary testifying before the judiciary committee and she made the point that he is going to take the facts where they lead. He is going to not just focus on the office where this allegedly started, the Cincinnati office where they deal with tax-exempt issues, but will deal with it all across the country. And he said this is something where these employees could face criminal charges for civil rights violations, for violating the Hatch Act, which makes it illegal for civil servants to do anything political, and maybe even lying to Congress. So that certainly is kind of the thrust of where things stand here now. Politically, you're going to have a lot of Democrats who have been running to the cameras to say how outraged they are. Very relieved to see the president giving the statement to try to get out in front because they are concerned, as you all have been talking about, the combination, the IRS, Benghazi, and of course these AP phone records that were subpoenaed. This is just really, really bad for the president. And they're concerned this is going to hurt the agenda they want to do here. Namely what I've heard in the hallways, immigration reform. That is the one thing everyone thinks they can do, and they're concerned this will be a distraction and hurt that.
[Blitzer:] Now, the president has got some critically important issues he wants to get done in the second term, and obviously focusing on these other investigations, three simultaneous ones at the same time, is obviously going to undermine. Jessica Yellin, you're over there. I understand the president will deliver his statement not from the briefing room, Jessica, but from the East Room of the White House, which obviously makes it a lot more formal and potentially a lot more significant.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn White House Correspondent:] That's right, Wolf. And while officials here have not said what he will do, they have signaled all along that the president sees this as the kind of situation where severe action is necessitated. They pointed out or I the GSA scandal. That's another agency scandal, you'll recall, where people on the government dime went to Las Vegas and partied it up and abused their position. And they were dealt with severely. People ended up resigning and losing their jobs. The point there was when government positions were abused, when there was a lack of integrity, the president acted. And so the point is this is a case where we expect to see the president make some heads roll. So I don't know definitively that the president is going to announce that anybody is losing their job. But I wouldn't be surprised if we see the president say that severe consequences either have resulted from the IG's report or will result from the IG's report. We do know that he met with senior Treasury officials this afternoon and that Jack Lew, the Treasury secretary is in charge. Directed Treasury Secretary Lew to carry out, make sure that people were held accountable. So, we'll see if he has decided already what the results will be or is telling us that there will soon be consequences, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Gloria, what should the president say on this IRS investigation when he shows up in the east room?
[Borger:] I think he needs to tell the American people what he is doing, that this happened on his watch, that he is sorry that it it occurred, that he is fixing it as Jessica just pointed out. He met with Treasury officials about 4:45 today. So, clearly, something transpired in that meeting. I've been e-mailing trying to find out. And that he has to announce some action. He's got to be in charge of this. He's got to get in front of it. He's going to try and move on from it because this is a problem.
[Tapper:] It needs to be the statement of a leader, not a lawyer.
[Borger:] Right.
[Tapper:] It can't be "if this happened the way that it's reported, then therefore it would be outrageous." That's not what people want to hear. That's basically what he said in the East Room, I forget when it was, Monday maybe.
[Borger:] That was before the report, right?
[Tapper:] Before the report came out but when there were before the inspector general report came out.
[Blitzer:] He used the phrase if this happens.
[Tapper:] Yes. If the media is correct, even though the IRS and official had already admitted and apologized and called it inappropriate, it can't be that politically. He has to show anger. He has to show this is unacceptable. He maybe even needs to announce some staffing changes at that organization if he is not constrained by labor laws.
[Borger:] Yes.
[Tapper:] He needs to really make it clear that this is untenable. But, Wolf, there is one other thing I wanted to you asked if the Benghazi, the release of these e-mails would end the controversy. and as you were saying that I was tweeted by Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who as you know is on the House Investigative Committee. He's the one that flew over to Libya. He wasn't there was a back and forth about whether or not he was allowed to meet with the deputy diplomat there, the deputy Jason not only but Congressman Chaffetz, I should say. Sorry, his Twitter handle is @JasonInTheHouse, so I immediately call him Jason. Congressman Chaffetz, his focus has not only been on the talking points. The committee has been looking at everything, both the denials of security and the military responsibility.
[Blitzer:] Don't go too far away. Stand by. We'll continue our breaking news coverage. Once again, we're waiting for the president of the United States. He is going to be speaking from the East Room of the White House. You're looking at live pictures of the White House right now. Right at the top of the hour in less than 25 minutes if it's on time, 6:00 p.m. Eastern, we'll have live coverage here in THE SITUATION ROOM. The president will speak on the IRS investigation. I'll also talk about the release of all of these Benghazi e- mails. The IRS scandal, much more. The veteran Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel is here live in THE SITUATION ROOM. Also, there is another piece of bad blood developing between House Republicans and the attorney general Eric Holder. He got a grilling today up on Capitol Hill. But he was also dishing it out.
[Holder:] No, no
[Issa:] Mr. Chairman, would you inform the witness as to the rules of this committee?
[Holder:] that is inappropriate and is too consistent with the way you conduct yourself as a member of Congress. It's unacceptable and it's shameful.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] American Airlines in bankruptcy. I'm Christine Romans. The parent company of American Airlines filed for Chapter 11 protection. What it means for you if you're scheduled to fly on this AMERICAN MORNING.
[Costello:] Hi, Paul Callan. He's going to join us in just a second. Good morning to you. It's Tuesday, November 29th. Ali has the day off.
[Romans:] That's right. Let's begin with some breaking news this morning for you. The parent company of American Airlines AMR has filed for bankruptcy protection. It's important to note if you are flying on American, American Airlines or American Eagle, still honoring all of its tickets, reservations, still happening like normal. There will be normal flight schedules. AMR is the only major airline to not file for bankruptcy protection over the last decade. That means it's paying more for everything from labor to financing than all of its competitors. The airlines also says its fuel expenses have jumped 40 percent from last year while other airlines have been making money on all those baggage fees and returned to profitability. American Airlines has not. Right now, U.S. markets are expected to open higher. But Dow, NASDAQ, S&P; 500 are all up, until Europe is able to get a better handle on its debt crisis, we're going to expect some big swings and a lot of uncertainty in the markets. And, of course, AMR, we'll watch to see what the reaction is in all the other airline stocks this morning.
[Costello:] Also breaking right now, the man accused in the Norway massacre that killed 77 people in July has been found legally insane. That means Andres Behring Breivik will not serve time in prison. Psychiatrists say the 32-year-old was suffering from psychosis when he carried out the bombing and shooting attacks. He'll under go indefinite psychiatric care.
[Romans:] Meantime, the prime suspect in the case of the missing American woman in Aruba, he may soon be a free man. Gary Giordano is expected to be released back to the U.S. tonight after spending more than 100 days in jail. The judge threw out a request from the prosecution to keep Giordano detained without charges for another 30 days. Robyn Gardner went missing in August.
[Costello:] Another he saidshe said for Herman Cain. The Republican presidential candidate denies having a long-term extramarital affair with Atlanta businesswoman Ginger White. He says she was just a friend, but White claims the affair lasted 13 years, ending just before Cain launched his campaign. CNN's David Mattingly live in Atlanta with details on Cain's new accuser. David, what have you turned up?
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Carol, this woman, this latest accuser has said that she is a former businesswoman. Her name is Ginger White. She is a single mother of two. And she claims that she had an on againoff again affair with Cain that lasted almost 14 years. It did not end, she says, until about eight months ago, shortly before Cain announced his candidacy.
[Ginger White, Alleges Affair With Herman Cain:] It was pretty simple. It was uncomplicated and I was aware that he was married and I was also aware that I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship.
[Mattingly:] It was broken by WAGA here in Atlanta last night. But even before that report hit the air, Herman Cain was trying to get out in front of it. He was on CNN telling Wolf Blitzer he knew the woman and described her as a friend and said the relationship was not sexual.
[Herman Cain , Presidential Candidate:] It is someone who is supposed to be a friend, but, obviously, they didn't see it as a friendship.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] When you say friend, was it I mean, I'm asking, these are awkward questions, but I'll ask you the questions you're going to be asked. Was this an affair?
[Cain:] No, it was not.
[Blitzer:] There was no sex?
[Cain:] No.
[Blitzer:] None?
[Cain:] No.
[Mattingly:] Ginger White, however, says that the two met when Cain was the head of the National Restaurant Association. She says he flew her to different cities to meet him and gave her gifts and the physical relationship they had didn't stop until about eight months ago. After the story aired, Cain's campaign released a statement implying that White is a detractor who is alleging events that didn't happen. Well, here's what happened when I showed that statement to her attorney. Detractors are trying, once again, to derail the Cain train. Would you describe your client as a detractor?
[Edward Buckley, Ginger White's Attorney:] No, actually, I wouldn't describe her as a detractor. What she said is that, she said for herself that she had an improper relationship so she's not a detractor of his at all. No.
[Mattingly:] Well, the Cain campaign describes this as more accusations of past events that never happened.
[Buckley:] No. I mean, I think that people out there will just have to decide whether they believe, in fact, Mr. Cain is telling the truth or they believe that Ginger White is telling the truth. But, I believe that Ginger is telling the truth.
[Mattingly:] Does she have anything to gain by coming forward?
[Buckley:] I don't think so. I think she has everything to lose, candidly.
[Mattingly:] And is she asking for anything?
[Buckley:] No, she is not. Nothing.
[Mattingly:] Now, Herman Cain's own lawyer put out a statement saying this appears to be an accusation of private alleged consensual conduct between adults. But notice that the wording here does not confirm that there was any kind of relationship like that. But he goes on to say no individual should be questioned about his or her private sex life. White and her attorney are now bracing for attacks on her credibility. She's had legal problems in the past with a former business partner and some recent financial problems that were serious enough that she's had difficulty paying her rent. But her attorney says that was not the reason she came forward. That, she said, was solely because reporters were already seeking her out and that she needed, she felt, to be the one telling her own story.
[Costello:] David Mattingly reporting live from Atlanta, thank you. With this latest allegation, some political experts have suggested the so-called Cain train may be near the end of the line. CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Cain about collateral damage to his campaign.
[Blitzer:] Are you worried this could further hurt you in this Republican race for the White House?
[Cain:] I'm more worried that this is going to hurt my wife and my family because it's going to be proved that it was probably something else that was baseless. And the court of public opinion does not consider that when they want to pass their judgment. I can take the lumps. I expected this kind of stuff when I made the decision to run for the president of the United States of America. But the thing that I'm worried about is the impact it's going to have on my wife and my family because they should not be subjected to false accusations that cannot be proved.
[Blitzer:] Have you spoken to your wife about this?
[Cain:] Yes, I am. Yes, I have spoken to my wife.
[Blitzer:] How did they react?
[Cain:] My wife's reaction was very similar to mine: "Here we go, again."
[Costello:] Cain has seen his poll numbers plunge as he's dealt with allegations of sexual harassment.
[Romans:] The wife of former Syracuse basketball Coach Bernie Fine plans to make a statement today. Laurie Fine will reportedly challenge the validity of a taped conversation she reportedly had with one of her husband's accusers a conversation that suggests that she knew about Bernie Fine's alleged abuse. She's expected to say that the recording was doctored and taken out of context.
[Costello:] And former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky launching his own investigation. Sandusky's lawyer said he's hired a personal investigator to prove he did not abuse any boys. The long time coach is charged with 40 counts related to alleged sexual abuse of eight young boys over a 14-year stretch.
[Romans:] Two people following these cases with us, CNN legal contributor Paul Callan. Good morning, Paul.
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Contributor:] Good morning, Christine.
[Romans:] Let's talk about Bernie Fine first. He faces now three accusers. The youngest accuser is 23 years old, I think. Two investigations now, one in Pittsburgh. How likely is it that these investigations can move forward here? Carol has been we've been talking about the statute of limitations on some of these.
[Callan:] Well, I'm kind of amazed by the avalanche of sex scandals going on in the news. I mean, it's really hard to, you know, keep them in line and keep track of them.
[Costello:] That's sad commentary.
[Callan:] Yes, it's very sad commentary. But let's talk about Syracuse for a second. There are statute of limitations and problems. But there are ways to get around that in many situations because if you are abused as a child, usually, you don't have to report it until you become an adult in many jurisdictions and the feds are now getting involved in the investigation. And I think that will be a solution to the statute of limitations problem. There may be allegations of civil rights violations. There may be allegations of other aspects going on, once federal investigators get involved. And that may solve the problem.
[Costello:] Let's talk about the phone call. Supposedly one of Fine's alleged victims taped a phone call Laurie Fine was on the other end of the phone. She is Bernie Fine's wife, the accused in this case. It seems as if Laurie Fine kind of like gave credence to this young man's story. So, let's listen to a bit of this phone call first.
[Laurie Fine:] I know everything that went on, you know. I know everything that went on with him. Bernie has issues, maybe that he's not aware of, but he has issues. And you trusted somebody you shouldn't have trusted.
[Bobby Davis: Yes. Fine:] Bernie is also in denial. I think that he did the things he did, but somehow through his own mental telepathy has erased them out of his mind.
[Costello:] So, this phone conversation was supposedly taped in, what, 20022003. Laurie Fine is expected to release a statement later today saying that this was doctored. In listening to this, and I know you dealt with a lot of these kinds of cases, does that sound doctored to you?
[Callan:] No, it doesn't. It's a and I will tell you, I actually had cases where there were doctored tapes and sometimes, they're choppy and you kind of suspect something immediately. That's a pretty smooth flowing conversation. And everything seems to fit in context. And, obviously, it's very, very damming to both her and her husband because she's, obviously, aware, involved, maybe even aiding and abetting, I supposed, some might argue.
[Costello:] But she doesn't come right out and say, oh, my husband is a pedophile.
[Callan:] No, she doesn't, but she does indicate he's got problems and you should be aware of them.
[Romans:] Issues.
[Callan:] Issues, yes.
[Romans:] You trusted the wrong guy. You trusted the wrong guy.
[Callan:] Exactly. You know, and that suggests to me, if he's got that little snippet of tape, what else is lingering out there? Why are federal investigators looking at computers? You know, what is going to be found through a forensic investigation here?
[Costello:] Why did he turn that tape over to the university or Syracuse authorities?
[Romans:] He did turn it over he did turn it over to a newspaper.
[Costello:] And a local newspaper.
[Callan:] Well, I don't know at what point in time he turned it over. It wasn't turned over, I think, back in 2002 or 2003. Of course, he may have viewed
[Costello:] 2005, it was.
[Callan:] Well, he may have viewed it as not relevant to the pedophilia allegation that was being made against the coach. He is thinking, well, I'm just talking to his wife. I'm not talking to him. So, maybe he thought not an important piece of evidence. But now it's breaking in the press, he realizes it is important. We'll find out subsequently, there will be an explanation. And by the way, you'll hire a forensic they'll hire a forensic expert who will examine this. And if it's a forgery or fraud, I think we'll find that out as well.
[Romans:] Speaking of hiring, I want to switch to Jerry Sandusky in that Penn State story. So, we're also hearing that Jerry Sandusky hired a private investigator to prove his innocence.
[Callan:] Yes.
[Romans:] Is that his team saying that don't think they're going to give the favorable outcome from the actual people who are investigating it?
[Callan:] Well, you know, Christine, I was chuckling when I read that because doing criminal defense work as I do, we always hire private investigators. Every single case you have, you hire one. But they're so desperate for a positive news story they say, we hired a private investigator to investigate his innocence. So, what's the next story? We hired a typist to type up the motion papers?
[Romans:] Well, the victims families get very upset when they hear something like this, because they feel like it means that he's proclaiming his innocence and he's going to go and start trying to
[Callan:] Dig into their past.
[Romans:] Right, dig into some of these.
[Callan:] By the way, that's exactly what's going on to go on. I mean, in these private investigations, you look at the witnesses against your client. You find out that they have a prior record, have they told the truth in the past. You look for things that you can use against them in court. I mean, it's a nasty business drawing a case. So, I'm not at all surprised that they hired a private investigator. But I don't think it's a big deal. I think it's absolutely normal in a criminal investigation.
[Romans:] He's still proclaiming his innocence so vociferously? Sandusky?
[Callan:] Well, no. I mean, what's his alternative? To plead guilty. The surprising thing, though, does go back to that press conference that he and the lawyer had in which, you know, he explained that he likes to horse around in showers with little boys. I mean, to me, in the end, that's going to be the thing that will be the most damming piece of evidence in the entire case.
[Romans:] Really?
[Callan:] Lawyers will wonder, why in the world would you say that publicly? It's put him in such a difficult position in terms of defending the case.
[Costello:] Paul Callan, thanks for coming in, we appreciate it. Still ahead, remember last month's $254 million power ball jackpot? It's been claimed by three men and their identities has us all talking this morning. The stunning twist is coming up.
[Romans:] And Kate Middleton got the fairy tale, but her younger sister, Pippa is writing the book. The world's most famous maid of honor signs a book deal for big bucks. Details, ahead.
[Costsello:] And it doesn't happen often in November, but snow is falling across the Deep South. Snow in Mississippi. It's crazy. Jacqui Jeras is tracking it. It's 13 minutes past the hour.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, you guys. Thanks so much. Well, just hours from now, eight presidential candidates will square off in Tampa, Florida. Rick Perry, the front-runner, and that means he'll also be the main target of his fellow Republicans. And Perry may have made the bull's eye even bigger by attacking Social Security, a program considered sacred by millions of older Americans. Jim Acosta is in Tampa. Jim, let's go ahead and begin with word of a new endorsement we're just hearing about this morning.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Political Correspondent:] That's right. If Mitt Romney was looking for a spark to help his campaign, he may have gotten it this morning. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has announced through the Romney campaign that he is getting behind the former Massachusetts governor. So that is good news for Mitt Romney. But this debate comes this evening, Kyra, as a new CNNORC poll shows that there is a big lead for Rick Perry. The race is basically boiling down to Rick Perry and whoever can keep up.
[Acosta:] Texas Governor Rick Perry has ditched his cowboy boots for his running shoes, staying far ahead of the Republican pack. The latest poll CNNORC poll finds Perry way out in front with 30 percent. The nearest rival, Mitt Romney at 18 percent. With the rest of the field looking to play catch-upTea Party debate in Florida could be a Social Security smackdown in a state where the program is crucial to seniors.
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] It is a Ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today you're paying into a program that's going to be there.
[Acosta:] After Perry doubled down on his call for an overhaul of Social Security at the last debate, Romney pounced.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] The governor says, look, states ought to be able to opt out of Social Security. Our nominee has to be someone who isn't committed to abolishing Social Security.
[Acosta:] On CNN's "JK USA," Michele Bachmann piled on.
[Rep. Michele Bachmann , Presidential Candidate:] What I think is that America needs to keep its promise to senior citizens. I talk with them all the time. I love senior citizens.
[Alex Castellanos, Cnn Political Contributor:] You usually don't start a campaign by setting grandma's hair on fire. But that's what Rick Perry did when he not called Social Security not only a Ponzi scheme, he implied he might undo it if he could go back 70 years.
[Acosta:] That kind of clash could make the debate another road sign indicating where the GOP is heading, towards more conservative Tea Party candidates like Perry or moderate contenders like Romney. The former Massachusetts governor stepped up his courtship of Tea Partiers only after his poll numbers started sagging.
[Brian Williams, Debate Moderator:] Are you a member of the Tea Party?
[Romney:] I don't think you carry cards in the Tea Party.
[Acosta:] Some Republicans say there's good reason for caution. Perry's doubts about climate change might appeal to Tea Party voters.
[Perry:] Just because you have a group of scientists that have stood up and said here is the fact, Galileo got out-voted for a spell.
[Acosta:] But centrists like Jon Huntsman worry those views could alienate independent voters and cost Republicans the White House.
[Jon Huntsman , Presidential Candidate:] In order for the Republican Party to win, we can't run from science.
[Acosta:] And this debate tonight could be tailor made for Tea Party candidates, Tea Party favorites like Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann. That's because Tea Party activists will actually have the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates. But that could also mean trouble might be brewing for folks like Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Jim Acosta in Tampa. Jim, thanks. Well, our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is crunching the numbers and tracking the trends for us. Paul, Michele Bachmann, a star of the Tea Party, but her standing has definitely plunged in recent weeks. So has the Tea Party already moved on?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] It seems that way. Remember she had her biggest victory on August 13th at that straw poll in Ames, Iowa. That was the very same day Rick Perry announced for president. He's been stealing a lot of her thunder since then. I know you and Jim just talked about CNNORC poll put out this morning. Look at this, we broke it down by Tea Party supporters and non-Tea Party supporters in the Republican Party. Look at that. Rick Perry has a huge lead among Tea Party supporters, you could see right there, at 38 percent. Romney at 16. Palin is not even in the top four. But what's also interesting, Kyra, look at the people who say they are Republicans but not really Tea Party supporters or activists. Perry is doing OK there as well. It's kind of within right around tied with Romney right there when you take a when you put in the sampling error. And it is very interesting. One of the numbers I wanted to show you as well, and this is which candidate has the best chance of beating Barack Obama. Electability. This is so important. Kyra, three out of four Republicans say that is the most important thing, we want a candidate who can beat Barack Obama. Who is that person? You can see right there, our poll indicates Republicans say they think Rick Perry has the best chance. That could hurt Mitt Romney. That's his argument right now. You may not love me, but I'm the guy who can beat Barack Obama Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Let's talk Florida real quickly. You know the location for this debate, Paul. It's definitely taking on a new level of importance.
[Steinhauser:] Oh, yes. It's always been an important state in the general election. Of course remember back in 2000, you know the Republican presidential convention is going to be right here in Tampa next year. But it's also an important state in the primaries. Very important. We see all the candidates coming down here. Florida is going to pretty early in the primary caucus calendar. It's going to vote pretty early right after New Hampshire, and Iowa, and South Carolina. It looks like. So this state has become a real power player in the battle for the nomination. And of course, Kyra, a lot of senior citizens and people nearing retirement age here in Florida. That's why that Social Security fight we saw between Romney and Perry last week, well, round two could be very important right here in Florida Kyra.
[Phillips:] Yes. No doubt. Paul, thanks. And join us tonight as CNN hosts the Republican debate with the Tea Party express and several other Tea Party groups. That's 8:00 Eastern from Tampa right here on CNN. Now next hour, President Obama is going to step into the White House Rose Garden to make a pitch for his jobs plan. He's going to announce that he's sending the bill to the capital tonight for the return of Congress. Here's a quick look at the American Jobs Acts. The estimated price tag, $447 billion. The plan calls for the current cut in payroll taxes to be extended, even expanded. The president also wants unemployment benefits extended for a longer length of time, and it would offer tax incentives for small businesses to hire the long-term unemployed. We will take it live as soon as he steps up to the podium, about 10:40 Eastern Time. Now let's head to Wall Street. Could be another rough day. This hour, Bank of America is expected to give details on possibly slashing as many as 40,000 jobs. Christine Romans in New York to talk more about this. Christine, and how it's going to impact the markets in less than 20 minutes.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] And how it's going to impact Bank of America as well. So this conference call going on right now. An investor call with the CEO Brian Moynihan. No word yet on just how many job cuts it will be and also how many branches that will be closed. But no question this is a company going through will be going through a huge restructuring as it tries to get itself in line with new realities. Remember it bought Countrywide, Merrill Lynch. It's got a big, sprawling, huge banking business. And demand is declining. The economy has been weak. It's got a lot of mortgage problems and mortgage overhangs. So this company has really got to get its act together. The stock has fallen below $7 a share. Kyra, you probably have this in a 401 [k] somewhere because it's a widely held in a lot of mutual funds. So if you're a customer, an employee, or just a regular Joe investor, this a story that's going to affect you. We still don't have the official word yet on how many jobs will be cut. And I want to segue real quickly here to world markets down sharply. Stock futures are down sharply. But it's not about Bank of America, Kyra. It's about the global debt problem, the debt problem specifically in Europe, concerns about Greece, concerns about a new property tax in Greece that will likely spark strikes and layoffs and protests in Greece, and worries that this country, having trouble getting its act together. And that's going to hurt French banks, European banks, and the rest of the eurozone Kyra.
[Phillips:] Yes. We saw the stocks on Friday. And we watched that fear push to the sell. All right, we'll be watching the numbers, Christine. Thanks so much. Now just one day before 911, a suicide truck bomber attempts to kill as many American troops as possible. Well, he fails. And it was in the same exact province that terrorists took down one of our own helicopters, killing 30 of our men and women, including 17 Navy SEALs. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us now. So, Barbara11 possibly, the anniversary?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, you know, Kyra, that is what U.S. military officials now believe that this timing of this attack on Saturday had a lot to do with the approaching decade anniversary, yesterday, Sunday, of the 911 attacks. A truck, a large truck, carrying as much as 1500 pounds of explosives, we are told, approached the gate at this combat outpost in a remote area of eastern central Afghanistan. Longtime stronghold of the insurgents. Detonated bomb. Seventy-seven Americans injured in this blast, most with concussion injuries. The majority of the blast was absorbed by protective barriers. But still 77 Americans at the base, troops, suffering concussion injuries, most expected to very quickly still return to duty. But it was a signal from the insurgents clearly that they still want to make their mark on what is still considered fragile progress in Afghanistan Kyra.
[Phillips:] Well, what exactly are the commanders out there in Afghanistan saying about the attack?
[Starr:] Well, very interesting. Our own Suzanne Malvauex had an interview with the General John Allen, the top U.S. and NATO commander there. Have a listen to what General Allen had to say.
[Gen. John Allen, Commander, Isaf:] This attack was a high profile attack. It was a pretty significant suicide vehicle bomb. But they have been ejected from the population in so many places around the country that their only ability to influence the battlefield in many cases on many occasions, is simply high profile attack.
[Starr:] A high profile attack. But still in a very remote area. So, you know, one of the key things that investigators are going to be looking at is were the insurgents actually maybe trying to get to Kabul, to the capital, and launch an even more high profile attack, but security there so tight they couldn't make it. So their only option was this outpost in eastern Afghanistan. Still a lot of questions Kyra.
[Phillips:] We'll stay on the story. Thanks, Barbara. And coming up, Texas Governor Rick Perry calls himself a straight shooter. Did he shoot himself in the foot with his harsh words on Social Security? We'll talk about that and tonight's debate. And world markets way down on new default fears in Greece. Wall Street opens at the bottom of the hour. We'll take you there live.

[Costello:] To Washington now where yet another battle is brewing. This time, it's over the debt ceiling and from the White House to Capitol Hill, Democrats and Republicans are sparring over the best way to ensure the nation pays its bills. And now, they're taking the fight to you as both sides try to sell their point of view. President Obama warning about what could happen if that debt limit is not raised.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] If congressional Republicans refuse to pay America's bills on time, Social Security checks and veterans benefits will be delayed. We might not be able to pay our troops or honor our contracts with small business owners. Investors around the world will ask if the United States of America is, in fact, a safe bet.
[Costello:] The Republican House Speaker John Boehner responding immediately to the president's remarks, issuing a statement that read, quote, "The American people do not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing government spending at the same time. The consequences of failing to increase the debt ceiling are real. But so, too, are the consequences of allowing our spending problem to go unresolved." Joining us is Amy Kremer. She's the chairwoman of the Tea Party Express. Thanks for coming in this morning.
[Amy Kremer, Tea Party Express:] Thanks for having me.
[Costello:] Safe bet you're against raising the debt ceiling without spending cuts.
[Kremer:] Right, absolutely. The problem is the spending cuts never come. The Republicans find themselves in the situation all the time happened with Reagan and it happened with Bush 41, and then even with the sequester. The sequester has been put off for two months. The spending cuts never come. And we cannot continue down this path with over $16 trillion in debt, and a deficit of $1.4 trillion to $1.6 trillion per year. That means we're spending $1.6 million more per year than we're actually bringing in.
[Costello:] You've accused the president of using scare tactics. What do you mean by that? Do you think he's lying about what could happen?
[Kremer:] This is the thing is, you know what? First of all, it's not Congress that determines if we default. It's the Treasury. So I guess that would be Secretary Timothy Geithner if he's still there. It would be the Treasury that would decide. But we have enough money to pay the interest on our debt, I believe it's $2.5 trillion comes into the Treasury every year. That's enough money to pay the interest on the debt. We're not going to cut off payments to seniors on their Social Security and Medicare, and then the military
[Costello:] But, Amy, we saw what happened the last time when we argued about the debt ceiling. Our credit rating was downgraded. That is partisan gridlock.
[Kremer:] That is a massive amount of debt.
[Costello:] It was because of partisan gridlock.
[Kremer:] I disagree on that.
[Costello:] And Congress is not being able to get its act together. We've seen what could happen. It will have consequences on the economy.
[Kremer:] Congress needs to get their act together. But this is the thing you know what? The president understood the debt that we had when he ran for office. He promised to pay down the deficit at least half in his first term. The first two years of his first term, he had a Democratic Congress House and Senate. He could have done anything he wanted. Instead, he put through an $800 billion stimulus bill and a $1.7 trillion Obamacare. If he wasn't going to address it then, when is he going to address it? Because he doesn't he is essentially holding Congress hostage right now and the American people with these scare tactics.
[Costello:] OK, Newt Gingrich addressed this whole issue on CBS this morning, and I'm just going to read you what he said.
[Kremer:] Right.
[Costello:] He said it isn't a smart fight for congressional Republicans to pick, because, quote, "In the end, it's a threat they can't sustain. No one is going to default. No one is going to allow the United States to not pay its bills. No one is going to accept the economic costs. It rallies the entire business community to the president's side." So even Newt Gingrich says this isn't a wise fight to pick. You may feel strongly about spending cuts but this isn't the right time to fight.
[Kremer:] When is the right time? When is the right time? Because the spending cuts never come. You know what? It's not going to be easy, but both parties need to get their act together and go to the table and say we have to rein in this out of control spending. We don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem and the American people are realizing that.
[Costello:] Well, the American people reelected President Obama, which says to me the majority of Americans don't want smaller government, don't want huge spending cuts.
[Kremer:] The American people
[Costello:] They want Congress to work together to get its act together and get the economy moving.
[Kremer:] The American people also elected another House of Representatives, a Republican House of Representatives, and that is our most direct form of representation in the federal government, the House of Representatives, and they're the ones that control the purse strings. We have to do something. We have this isn't the thing is this is not about party politics. This is about the solvency of this country. It is about this country being the greatest nation on earth that we always have been. We cannot continue it's our greatest threat to our national security.
[Costello:] Some people would say it is about party politics and some people, frankly, blame the Tea Party for this terrible gridlock in the House of Representatives. I mean, there's a Tea Party group in south Florida that's going to change its name to not include the Tea Party because the public reacts so negatively to that title now.
[Kremer:] Well, I think that's because we have been, I mean just given a bad rap. All we're about is fiscal responsibility. We're not about social issues. All we want is Washington to live within their means, just like families and businesses do across America every day. That's all we want, nothing else. I mean, if they could get their act together and do that, things would get better. But right now, there's no confidence in Washington, no one is putting any money in their companies or hiring people because there's no confidence.
[Costello:] Amy Kremer thank you for coming in.
[Kremer:] Thanks for having me.
[Costello:] We appreciate it.
[Kremer:] Thank you.
[Costello:] The one-time hero of cycling opens up to Oprah on performance-enhancing drugs. But can Lance Armstrong redeem himself? It's our talk back question today.

[Whitfield:] A 61-year-old one-time superstar with a trademark laugh could be making a comeback. A.J. Hammer joins us now to tell us about the possible return of Woody Woodpecker. And I will not laugh again. A little out of practice.
[A.j. Hammer, Hln Host, "showbiz Tonight":] OK. All right. We got it that one time. And it's going to go right up on YouTube after the show here. Woody reportedly bringing his iconic laugh back to the big screen. The "Hollywood Reporter" is saying that Universal's animation house Illumination Entertainment is working on a feature project for the classic animated character. Woody Woodpecker's film career, it's hard to imagine, but it started over 70 years ago. He was a huge hit in theaters throughout the 1940s. He became a TV staple in the '50s. Those reruns, that's how most of us know Woody. Although a lot of us know him also as a balloon at the Thanksgiving parade. The "Hollywood Reporter" is saying that Universal bought the rights to Woody all the way back in 1985. They're just now trying to use this movie to launch a whole film franchise. So Fred, the good news for Woody Woodpecker fans, he may not only be back, but he may be sticking around for an entire new generation.
[Whitfield:] That's fun. I think they'll get a big kick out of that. So the next story has former Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss, people haven't heard that name in quite a while, but she's back with some career advice for a troubled actress. Do tell.
[Hammer:] Let's call it a very special kind of career advice. Heidi thinks that Lindsay's decision to pose for "Playboy" is brilliant. Heidi offered her a somewhat back-handed compliment. Watch what she just told "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
[Heidi Fleiss, Former Hollywood Madam:] She's beautiful. I think it's brilliant. Who knows, when you need money, you need money. Maybe she needs this money to get on the right track. She's hot. She would have made a great hooker. I could have made millions off her.
[Hammer:] Yes, there you go. Listen, Fleiss knows a thing or two about career changes. She's now starring, Fred, in an Animal Planet special with perhaps what I find to be the most unique show name of the year. It is called "Heidi Fleiss' Prostitutes to Parrots." Let that sink in for a moment.
[Whitfield:] Yes. I know. It will take a while. A very interesting love story between she and these birds. Also news about next year's Golden Globes. Kind of deja vu, right?
[Hammer:] Yes, a lot of people probably found this to be a bit surprising based on what happened last year. Ricky Gervais is slated to come back as the host of the Golden Globes. This is going to be his third time doing it. We've been hearing buzz for a while that this might happen. But if you remember, after last year's show, it was almost unimaginable that Ricky would be asked back. He got a lot of grief for last year's performance. That's not lost on the people behind the Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Here's what they said in their announcement that Ricky was coming back. "While many may welcome Gervais' return, not everyone is happy with the decision because last year his blunt one-liners caused anger and resentment in some quarters." Remember, Ricky was going after everybody. Angelina Jolie, all kinds of Hollywood royalty. Johnny Depp, Scientology, Robert Downey Jr. One of my favorite moments was when Robert Downey Jr. got on the stage and he said, "The vibe of the night was mean-spirited with mildly sinister overtones." But Ricky is back and it will get an awful lot of buzz Fred.
[Whitfield:] Yes, I just remember all those nervous laughs, you know, nervous smiles. They were kind of like, "Ok." And then the cameras on me, I should just smile. But I don't believe what he just said." Yes, remember that? We'll see that again. All right, A.J. Appreciate that. All right. You want more information? Of course you do on everything breaking in the entertainment world. A.J.'s got it this evening on "
[Showbiz Tonight", 11:] 00 p.m. on HLN. A heated debate on Capitol Hill pits Congress against President Obama. This time over school lunches. Currently, schools can serve pizza as long as each slice has at least two tablespoons of tomato sauce on it. That some say makes it a vegetable. The President wanted to change that and other standards he called unhealthy. Obama wants more fresh fruits, fresh milk, and other items, but the new standards could cost billions of dollars. Coming up, with just days until their deadline, members of the super committee still can't reach a deal. And a bipartisan group of lawmakers is taking them to task. We'll talk to one of them next.

[E.d. Hill, Cnn Contributor:] The dramatic events over the last few days have a lot of people wondering, some wondering, about how much of the impact the killing of Osama bin Laden will have on the 2012 presidential election. Well, the best person to ask in the business is Larry Sabato. He is the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Larry, good to talk to you again.
[Larry Sabato, Director, Univ. Of Va. Center For Politics:] Thank you,
[E.d. Hill:] So, we've got a new poll out, says the president is looking better than ever in terms of his approval rating. Does this mean anything?
[Sabato:] Yes, it does mean something. Obviously short term he can take this political capital and spend it, maybe on the deficit and debt, maybe on some other foreign policy issues. You know, for the long run, you know as well as I do, all bumps fade and they generally fade pretty quickly, within weeks or months. But, you know, there's one aspect that will last. I think the Republicans had been planning on using national security policy as a secondary attack on Obama after the economy. It's more difficult to do that now. He's had a major national security success that eluded his predecessor, President Bush.
[Hill:] Well, if we take a look at this particular poll, the Quinnipiac poll comes out and it shows that the president's approval rating goes up six points to 52 percent from the previous week. The disapproval, I think that's just as important, goes down eight points. But can the president maintain that? Isn't that something that you've seen historically?
[Sabato:] Yes. If you trace this back, at least for the last three presidents who've been very polarizing, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama, these bumps really don't last very long, especially in bad, economic times. I think that's the key condition. We used to get we used to see bigger bumps for presidents when something really good happened. Sometimes it would be 20, 30 points and it would last a long time. With the one exception of 911, when President Bush did get a giant bump and it did last for more than a year, we really haven't seen that in these last three presidencies.
[Hill:] You do such a great job. Not only taking a look at what's happening that moment but then figuring out what really is going to impact voters down the road, short term and long term. If you were to rank what they really care about when they walk into that booth and they decide who they're voting for, what's at the top of the list?
[Sabato:] We all remember that James Carville slogan from 1992 for Bill Clinton, it's the economy stupid? Really it's their economy. Not just the U.S. economy. People are concerned about others naturally but they're looking at their present state. Are they better off today or worse off today than they were four years ago? Do they have a job? Do people in their family have a job? Do the kids who've gone through college, do their job prospects look good? Are they making more money or less money? All of these things are front and center. It's not selfish. It sounds selfish. It's really called retrospective judgment. How else are people to decide for whom to vote?
[Hill:] And that's where it doesn't look so good for President Obama right now. When asked about how he's handling the economy, most people rank President Obama now not that great. Fifty-seven percent say they don't like the approach he's taking, and only 38 percent say they do. And I'm assuming that when you take a look at all these numbers and put them together, that's a big number.
[Sabato:] Yes. Those are the ones I really look at. What was interesting to me was at least in one poll he actually went down in economic approval despite the euphoria about the killing of Osama bin Laden. So that's what President Obama has to focus on. Of course, he knows it. Sixteen months is a long time. But I'd say this. You know, barring, God forbid, some other terrorist attack that's major or something like that, the election is going to be about the economy. If we have a stronger economy, moving forward, economic growth, substantially lower unemployment, it really doesn't matter who the Republicans nominate. President Obama is going to win. But if those factors are in the other direction, then President Obama would be a one-term president.
[Hill:] I tell you what, I love that you say exactly what you think. A little harsh at times but you're the best out there when it comes to figuring out who is going to win, what party is going to be victorious and it is great to talk to you again, Larry Sabato. Thank you.
[Sabato:] Thank you, E.D. Thanks so much.
[Hill:] And coming up, the mysterious new helicopters that helped that team pull off the bin Laden mission. We'll get details from a special ops expert when we come back.

[Drew Griffin, Cnn Anchor:] Fiscal cliffhanger. A white house meeting as we head into the last weekend before the big deadline.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Anchor:] Wanted in New York. Just take a look. Police say the woman seen running away there on the right had just pushed a man to his death in front of a moving subway train.
[Griffin:] A baseball cap controversy. The Braves new retro logo raising a few eyebrows this morning. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Drew Griffin.
[Cho:] Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. It's 30 minutes past the hour. John and Zoraida have the day off. Well, your take-home pay on the line when the president and Congressional leaders meet at the White House this afternoon for an 11th-hour fiscal cliff faceoff. In just four days now, paychecks shrink and slashing gets spending gets slashed, rather, if our elected officials can't figure out how to compromise. It will now be in the hands of these six leaders, the president, Vice President Biden, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi on the Democratic side. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell representing the Republicans. White House correspondent Brianna Keilar live now from Washington. Brianna, good morning. Great to see you. House doesn't even return to work until Sunday. I mean, logistically speaking here, is there still enough time to work out a deal?
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] I will tell you logistically speaking, logistically speaking, yes. Politically speaking, very much unclear, and there's a growing amount of pessimism about whether that can be done. We've been talking, Alina, as you know, for days about how all eyes are on the Senate to see what Senate majority leader Harry Reid cobbles together to try to get some Republican support in both the Senate and the House. Well, he's now saying that it's hard to see how this can get done by January 1st. So, we're seeing a lot of kind of managing of expectations and certainly a lot of posturing on both sides as it appears they're getting ready to play the blame game should we go over the cliff. Listen to both sides.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell,  Minority Leader:] And Republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything Senate Democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff.
[Sen. Harry Reid,  Majority Leader:] We are here in Washington and working while the members of House of Representatives are out watching movies, watching their kids play soccer and basketball and doing all kinds of things. They should be here.
[Keilar:] Senate Majority Leader Reid there also said that House Speaker John Boehner is just trying to save his job. And Alina, as you probably know, the elections for House leadership are on January 3rd which would be after the we would go over the fiscal cliff, if there is no deal. John Boehner shot back saying that Reid needs to talk less and legislate more. But really, this comes down to working out, cobbling together something that can get some support. As you know, President Obama wants that tax cut threshold to be at $250,000. Well, Mitch McConnell poured some cold water on that yesterday. So, they need to come to some sort of agreement on where the threshold would be, and we don't know what it is yet in the Senate.
[Cho:] Yes. I mean, 250,000 for the Democratic side and Republicans couldn't even agree on a million.
[Keilar:] Exactly.
[Cho:] I mean, that's still a $750,000 gap they got to close. All right. Let's hope that they do that. Brianna Keilar, thank you.
[Griffin:] Commanders in chief past and present paying tribute to Retired General Norman Schwarzkopf this morning. The commander of coalition forces during the Gulf War died yesterday at 78 years old. Schwarzkopf was the face of military briefings during the first cable news war. Former President George H.W. Bush who is hospitalized said the general was, quote, "a true American patriot and one of the great military leaders of this generation.
[Cho:] New York City police are looking for a woman who pushed a man off a subway platform to his death. Happened last night. Witnesses say the woman shoved the victim from behind right into the path of a moving seven-train as that train pulled into the 40th Street Queens Boulevard Station. NYPD surveillance video shows the suspect actually running away from the station. Before the incident, the woman was spotted, apparently, walking back and forth on the platform and talking to herself.
[Griffin:] North Korea likely deceived the U.S. and its Asian allies deliberately, catching them off guard before the launch of its long- range missile earlier this morning. According to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of military and intelligence analysis, the likely scenario is that North Korea was lying about reported technical problems just days before that launch. Another conclusion, that North Korea knows how to counter U.S. intelligence on what it's up to.
[Cho:] NBC apparently received conflicting guidance on using an empty gun magazine on "Meet the Press." An official with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives told another NBC reporter it would be legal. But a spokeswoman for D.C. Metro Police said an NBC representative inquired ahead of Sunday's broadcast and advised that it could not use the magazine. The matter is still under investigation.
[Griffin:] Whether you're heading home or getting away for the New Year, it could be another slow go or no go at the airports today. The powerful winter storm that brought record-breaking snow and spun off dangerous tornadoes is not over yet. Bonnie Schneider, say it isn't so.
[Bonnie Schneider, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, you know what's interesting, Drew and Alina, is that while one storm is exiting, another one is coming in. So, we're looking at brand new airport delays in this busy travel week, this time, across the Midwest and Chicago, Minneapolis. But the windy weather will persist in New York City. So, all the airports that faced delays yesterday, more of that is ahead for today. We're also looking at stormy conditions across the south. Here's one storm exiting, as I mentioned. It will still bring some snow to areas of extreme Northern New England where we have almost a foot on the ground already. And temperatures are also brutally cold behind it in the 20s. I want to mention the south because we're getting some powerful thunderstorms moving into the Lake Charles, Louisiana, at this hour, and they're heading eastward. So, New Orleans, you're likely to be impacted by strong storms later on today. Temperatures right now in Atlanta, below freezing, but by the time the rain comes in, it will warm up. So, we're really not looking at snow for the south. Here's where we're anticipating snow today, through Michigan into Ohio going towards tomorrow, we'll be watching this storm to trek eastward. So, two to four inches on top of what's on the ground in Pennsylvania, and this storm is also going to bring substantial snowfall across New England once again. You can see the legend showing us that we're anticipating six inches of snow through the mountains into Virginia, but then, by the time we get to Sunday, look at this, another pocket of heavy snow in Central Connecticut according to our computer models as well as Rhode Island and the north fork of Long Island. That's what's so interesting about Long Island, you'll get snow in one part, and 11 miles to the south it will be all rain. So, keep an eye on this for those of you that are traveling. And many people are this weekend that took the entire week off or heading on vacation. We're anticipating more snowfall for parts of New England. The storm setup for today, heavy rain through the mid south. A little bit of snow popping up in the heartland again. Again, this is an area that already saw plenty of snow this week. And the colder air is plummeting down with temperatures for highs only in the 20s in Kansas City and Minneapolis, warming back up along the Gulf Coast, but not for long with this brand new storm system coming in. So, Drew and Alina, it's a one-two punch. We're getting a lot of bad weather this week.
[Griffin:] Jab, jab, jab. One, two, three, four, five.
[Cho:] Bonnie, I want you to stick around and listen to this story. You know how chilly it is this time of year in Canada, right?
[Schneider:] Oh, yes.
[Cho:] Well, Winnipeg might be in the single digits, but listen to this. A story from the chilly north that's going to just warm you up. The city might have set a record for paying it forward. 228 customers at a coffee shop drive through paid for the person behind them. Watch this.
[Unidentified Male:] You'd hear the strut from drive through and my manager, Todd, was in there. And you hear them just screaming out random numbers. 147. And yes, you know, get everybody really pumped up and it just filled the building with excitement.
[Unidentified Female:] I think now it's such a habit started here. And I think people just come back to this one knowing that it's either going to be your day that you're going to start it, and it's just going to come back. It's a huge cycle.
[Cho:] That's great. Cycle of generosity lasted for three hours. Nobody knows who started the chain or who ended it. You don't want to be the person who ends that chain. Just keep it going. Just keep it going. At least during the holiday.
[Griffin:] I want to take a look back and see who's back there, you know?
[Cho:] Yes.
[Griffin:] Big guys, a lot of doughnuts. It could be a big bill. It's a blast from the past, but does it have any place in today's PC society? More on the baseball logo causing some controversy this morning.
[Cho:] Really, you said that?
[Griffin:] Of course. I mean, would you guys want to pay for like eight guys on a construction crew?
[Cho:] All right. Take a look
[Griffin:] They're paying for it? Yes, give me all of them. You got any of those bear claws?
[Cho:] It's only going to be 25 bucks. Come on. Look at these kids. You're going to hear from the teen rockers who pitched in to help complete strangers after hurricane Sandy in their time of need.
[Griffin:] I'll pay for those skinny kids.
[Cho:] All right. We're going to talk to them live next.

[Blitzer:] Sharks moving passed Florida beaches, well, that's certainly getting a lot of people's attention on the sand. Others are wading in so they can stare right into the mouths of the sharks. CNN's John Zarrella reports, what they're finding could save the lives of shark bite victims.
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] No one went in the water, the sign warned sharks. A lot of them migrating north were close to shore off Palm Beach, bad for swimmers and good for shark fisherman, Joshua Jorgenson. He had one hooked quickly, fighting it through the waves. Jorgenson working fast got it close enough to grab and pull it to the beach. This wasn't about sport. It was about research.
[Unidentified Male:] Watch out, watch out, watch out.
[Zarrella:] Jorgenson and Nova South Eastern University Assistant Professor Nathan Unger
[Unidentified Male:] It's 6'1."
[Zarrella:] are hunting bacteria in the mouths of sharks.
[Unidentified Male:] We're going swab the mouth of the shark around the teeth and the gums.
[Zarrella:] Once the samples taken, the shark is released. They're hoping to find out what bacteria sharks carry and whether it's the same in every species.
[Assistant Professor Nathan Unger, Nova Southeastern University:] We're pursuing tiger sharks.
[Zarrella:] One of the biggest problems doctors face when treating a shark bite is not knowing what antibiotic will work to fight infection because they don't know what bacteria they're up against. Ask Anthony Segrich.
[Anthony Segrich, Shark Bite Victim:] The first bite went through the kneecap and the ankle at the same time and it was about 17.5 inches wide, the mouth.
[Zarrella:] Segrich was spear fishing off Palm Beach two years ago when he was attacked by a 10-foot bull shark, the most vicious there is. He underwent five major surgeries and five weeks in the hospital, much of the time fighting infection that could have cost him his leg.
[Segrich:] You name the antibiotic I had it at that point. They hit you with everything.
[Dr. Robert Borrego, Trauma Director, St. Mary's Hospital:] The biggest problem is once with infection sets in and the patient is in the hospital a lot longer than if there was no infection and the whole care becomes a lot more complicated.
[Zarrella:] St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach where Segrich was treated is participating in the research project.
[Borrego:] What they'll do next is they'll take this and they'll put it in the slide.
[Zarrella:] If they can isolate bacteria sharks carry they'll know what antibiotics work best perhaps a game changer for doctors fighting to save a bite victim's life. As for Segrich [on camera]: Here's the question, have you been back diving again?
[Segrich:] As luck would have it, on the very first time, back on scuba, a 7-foot bull shark came by. Check this out
[Zarrella:] No.
[Segrich:] Yes.
[Zarrella:] No fear. John Zarrella, CNN, West Palm Beach.
[Blitzer:] Amazing story. John also tell us, by the way, they've taken samples from 20 sharks so far and they're hoping to increase that to 100. Let's hope they figure this out. Just ahead, private information related to the first lady of the United States. Michelle Obama, the former secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and the vice president, Joe Biden splashed, guess what? All over an internet site. There's an urgent investigation underway. We'll have full details. That's coming up at the top of the hour.

[Quest:] So, the midnight deadline is nearly upon the United States. The cuts will start to take effect. They will be slow before they actually really are noticed by most Americans or the rest of the world. Ali Velshi is in Washington where he's joining us. Ali, I look. I understand your position, which basically says it's a blunt rather than the surgeon's knife.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Chief Business Correspondent:] Right.
[Quest:] But it is only half a percent of GDP, the economy's going to be growing at 2, 2.2 percent, cuts are coming anyway, and they can't agree.
[Velshi:] Yes, I'd love to have what you're drinking to suggest the economy's growing at 2 or 2 percent. You saw the remarkable slowdown at the end of the fourth quarter, at the end of the year in 2012. I'm a little worried that those might be optimistic. I've been working off of the same numbers. Now, I'm actually worried that it introduces a whole new level of uncertainty. We're talking about $85 billion in cuts. Everybody says you can find $85 billion in cuts, but we're looking at ten years, $1.2 trillion in cuts, and you know what happens if you take the US debt and you take it out decades? It still doesn't solve the problems. So, not only are cuts coming, as you say, not only are taxes going to be increased, regardless of what Republicans say, we actually need to do all that while encouraging greater economic growth, which means putting people back to work. None of this helps this circumstance. This is just outside of the realm of the stuff that we're supposed to be doing.
[Quest:] All right. So, in that well, I don't I would take issue on a lot of what you just said.
[Velshi:] OK.
[Quest:] On the grounds that they've been at it for two to three years and beyond, they've failed to do so, they've always had this gun, if you like, to the head
[Velshi:] Yes. Yes.
[Quest:] of the political process, and they've consistently ignored that
[Velshi:] Richard, if you're a
[Quest:] something has
[Velshi:] if you're a drug company
[Quest:] Something has to give!
[Velshi:] and you're trying to find a cure to a disease and you've been at it for three or four or five or ten years, you're going in, you're doing experiments, you're doing all these things
[Quest:] No
[Velshi:] When you say they've been at it for two or three years, they've been at nothing. They've had deadlines. They've been saying they've got deadlines. They've been pushing deadlines back. But nobody's actually done it.
[Quest:] Right.
[Velshi:] You know what we need to do? Only two there's only two things that need to happen in American.
[Quest:] Yes.
[Velshi:] One is we need to reform taxes and two is we need to reform entitlements.
[Quest:] No, come on!
[Velshi:] That's it!
[Quest:] You can't have it you can't have it as simple as that, because that's exactly the sort of panacea that every politician comes out. We've heard them on this program
[Velshi:] It's their only job.
[Quest:] We heard it from the president.
[Velshi:] When you get into a taxi, you finish your show and you get a taxi in London, that dude's only job is to get you to where you need to go in exchange for the money he gets paid. The government's only obligation - the government's only obligation is to create a budget and spend their money according to their priorities. You know when the last time we passed a budget in the United States was? 2009. Americans have gall looking over to Europe and criticizing what goes on over there. We haven't had a budget we run on something called a continuing resolution
[Quest:] Right, but hang on
[Velshi:] which is an extension of the last budget for four years, five years now.
[Quest:] I could go on for much longer, and I guess you could, too, and there'll be plenty more opportunities for that
[Velshi:] I'll be right here, just bring the camera back
[Quest:] Ali Velshi in Washington.
[Velshi:] If Felicia's shot goes out, just come click back to me, I'll still be talking.
[Quest:] Well, there's always there's Poppy Harlow, as well. Listen, if they have their words, you and I will never get a chance to say anything. All right, many thanks, Ali Velshi, who's in Washington. Jeffrey Sachs says America's automatic spending cuts won't have much economic impact internationally or even nationally. Put that in your pipe, Ali Velshi. I spoke to the director of Columbia University's Earth Institute and asked him whether it's better to start this process now.
[Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute:] I think the process of getting the deficit under control is a good one. I would prefer to get it under control by more revenues rather than spending cuts, but the truth is that neither the White House nor Congress really talked about any alternatives to this for the last year and a half until the last couple of weeks, when the blame game started. So, this is just about the most predictable thing that's happened in Washington for a very long time. I think it is a it's not a good result for the White House or the Congress. It is time to get the deficits down, step by step, but I personally think
[Quest:] Right, but
[Sachs:] the US would be wiser
[Quest:] but hang but you see but you see, this is the problem. Everybody says a better way should be found. Well, since 2011 and beyond, they've failed to find that better way. This is what happens if you paint yourself into the corner.
[Sachs:] Well, you're absolutely right. And I think that while it's easy for Democrats to point fingers at Republicans and Republicans to point fingers back at Democrats, the truth is that President Obama campaigned in 2012 on making almost all of the Bush tax cuts permanent. Those tax cuts were not affordable when George W. Bush introduced them a decade ago, they were not affordable when they were extended in 2010, they were not affordable when President Obama campaigned to extend them again, so we arrive in 2013 with a big deficit, without adequate revenues. Well, what do you think is going to happen? You're going to have to cut spending.
[Quest:] OK.
[Sachs:] So, I don't really appreciate everybody pointing fingers at each other, either. I'm with you on this, Richard, that if you don't tax, you have to cut spending. Of course, I think the big mistake was that politicians on both sides, because their populistic, because they're appealing to the American voter, to here's more money, here's more money, end up without the money to fund a basic level of government services for a lot of important programs like education, like infrastructure, things that are falling apart in America.
[Quest:] But with that in mind, are you worried that the that the economic effect of the sequestra will translate into ripple effects internationally? Is this going to have ramifications outside of the United States?
[Sachs:] I doubt it. I don't think it's that big. I think the consequences are in the US. I doubt that it's going to have big effects in the short term in the US. I think it's just another step of America not investing in its future. In other words, I don't see this as a major short-term macro-economic calamity, I just see it as sad that a rich country chooses to cut taxes and then not spend on education, on infrastructure, on clean energy, and so on. Now, I do believe, by the way, that the cuts in the military side are long overdue. I'm more concerned about the civilian investment side in our infrastructure and in our kids. The budget for the Pentagon easily can absorb these cuts, I say bravo on that.
[Quest:] Jeffrey Sachs, who always makes such good sense, and we're always delighted to have him on this program. As the day moves on, of course, we will continue to watch and follow these cuts. On Monday, Detroit was named America's most miserable city. Now, it's been declared a state of fiscal emergency. Michigan's Motor City finally has run out of fuel, gas.

[Joe Johns, Guest:] Happening now: We're standing by for any word of a verdict in the Casey Anthony trial. The sensational case of a mother charged with murdering her two-year old daughter, now is in the hands of a jury. Plus, Republicans on parade. Most of the GOP presidential candidates are spending this holiday with voters in key battleground states. This hour, their stops, and their missteps. And a fugitive on murder charges here in the U.S. alerts police that he's in Mexico and taunt themselves by saying, catch me if you can. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Joe Johns. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Jurors have been deliberating for about five hours now in one of the most sensational and most watched murder trials in recent years. 25-year-old Casey Anthony is waiting to find out whether she'll be convicted of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee. Prosecutors closed by arguing that Anthony killed Caylee in 2008, because the toddler was getting in if the way of her love life and partying. Anthony has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts against her and denies hurting her daughter. The defense argues the child drowned in the family swimming pool. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins us now on the phone. And, Jeff, simple question is, looking at the elements as you see them, do you think the prosecution here has proven a case of first degree murder?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Legal Analyst:] You know, Joe, based on my what I've seen of the evidence, I think first degree murder is a long shot verdict here. There are so many open questions. There is no time of death, there's no cause of death, and there is just circumstantial evidence, powerful circumstantial evidence that Casey Anthony killed her daughter. But I think first degree murder, which is premeditated, which is intentional murder, that's a long shot verdict.
[Johns:] And so there are obviously a variety of other charges here, including aggravated manslaughter of a child. Do you see that as perhaps more in the mix for a jury to look at?
[Toobin:] I think that is a far more likely verdict. Casey Anthony's behavior was so bizarre. And she told so many lies and behaved so oddly following the death of her daughter I would not be at all surprised to see a conviction in this case for any of those lesser charges, like aggravated manslaughter, but I certainly don't see the evidence for first degree murder.
[Johns:] Right after the closing arguments today many of our viewers actually watched and saw the judge instructing the jury on a variety of these counts. Let's listen to a little bit of what the judge had to say before giving the evidence to the jury-oh, I'm sorry, we do not have that. The simple version here, though, is there are a variety of different charges. He instructed the jury in 100 different ways. They have been sequestered for a long time. Do you see this thing going on for three or four or five days? Or what is the general principle that you apply to a jury being out a long time, versus out a short time if there is one?
[Toobin:] There's a rough rule of thumb, among trail lawyers, that says one day of deliberation for each week of trial. So we argue for two weeks of deliberation here. That rule is very much honored in the breach a lot. People remember the O.J. Simpson case that was a three- month trial, and took one day of deliberation. Strange things happen in trial so I wouldn't be all surprised to see any length of deliberation in this case. Though one day would certainly be very, very unlikely. I expect the jury will deliberate at least into next week, given the complexity and length of the trial.
[Johns:] Certainly has been a long and complex trial. And it has certainly gathered the attention of people all over the country, if not the world. Thanks so much, Jeffery Toobin for checking in with us. Stay close to your phone because we might have to talk again soon. President Obama hosts a Fourth of July celebration at the White House in the next hour with U.S. military heroes and their family, as special guests. It is a brief break from the high-stakes political fight over raising the legal limit and national debt. Emphasize brief. The clock is ticking and the administration is exploring all of its options. Let's bring in our White House Correspondent Dan Lothian. Dan, good evening.
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Good evening. Well, you know that August 2 deadline is quickly approaching and the White House continues to warn of the dire consequences if the debt ceiling is not raised. One option now being floated involves the 14th Amendment.
[Lothian:] At a Q&A; session in May, hosted by "POLITICO" Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner whipped out a copy of the 14th Amendment to warn lawmakers against threatening a default in debt ceiling talks.
[Timothy Geithner, Secretary Of The Treasury:] The validity of the public debt in the United States authorized by law including debts incurred for the payments of pension and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection rebellion-this is the important thing-shall not be questioned.
[Lothian:] Now some Democrats seem to be taking a closer look at those four words, Geithner emphasized in Section
[Iv. Geithner:] Shall not be questioned.
[Lothian:] As a possible solution in breaking the debt ceiling impasse. The thinking is that President Obama may be able to ignore the ceiling because it is unconstitutional. But Steve Vladic, a constitutional law professor at American University says it's not so black and white.
[Steve Vladic, Law Professor, American Univ:] I think we're not really talking about the clear legal argument so much as we are talking about what's possible. I think there's at least some textual support for that argument in Section IV. But this is a provision even though it's been around for 135 years, it's barely been interpreted. It's never really been the subject of Supreme Court decisions. So I think all we have is speculation and guesses.
[Lothian:] Despite intense talks led by Vice President Biden and more than $1 trillion in budget cuts identified, Republicans and Democrats remain at sharp odds over deeper spending cuts and tax hikes for the wealthy. With the clock ticking, a long-term solution becomes more difficult. So back to Section IV of the 14th Amendment, while legal scholars debate it and some Democrats entertain it, Republican Senator John Cornyn dismissed it on "FOX News Sunday."
[Sen. John Cornyn,  Texas:] That's crazy talk. It is not acceptable for Congress and the president not to do their job and say somehow the president has the authority to basically do this by himself. We ought to sit down and work together.
[Lothian:] Senator Cornyn suggested that Republicans might be willing to embrace a mini debt ceiling deal. This is something we heard from former President Bill Clinton over the weekend, extending for, perhaps, six months, even eight months. But also, Cornyn warning that this would only delay the, quote, "moment of truth," Joe.
[Johns:] So, Dan, just to be clear here. Has the administration sent any signals at all it might tangibly use this weapon? Or is it just a trial balloon in your view?
[Lothian:] This is just something that has been floated about, mainly by Democrats. The White House has not specifically said that this is a tool that they would employ, if it comes down to that. They really hope that Republicans and Democrats can hammer this out by that August 2 deadline. That's what they're pushing for right now, Joe.
[Johns:] Dan Lothian at the White House. Thanks so much for that, Dan. Now a closer look at the soaring national debt and what could go wrong, if the limit, if all that red ink isn't raised a month from now. Here is CNN's Christine Romans.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Financial Correspondent:] Congress is giving up its July Fourth holiday recess to get back to work tomorrow on the nation's budget deficit. If the debt ceiling isn't raised by August 2, the U.S. Treasury won't be able to pay all of its bills. We've been here before, but never quite so close to default. Take a look at this. Since we've been accumulating a big national debt, Congress has raised the debt ceiling just 78 times, since 1960 alone. Since the nation's debt reached the $1 trillion mark in the early 1980s, government borrowing, look at this. Look at how government borrowing has skyrocketed, climbing really at an exponential rate. Right now, the debt ceiling is $14.2 trillion. That is a lot of money, but how is that in relationship to how big the economy is. It's about 95 percent of the size of the whole economy. We're fast approaching rates not seen since way back in World War II and the Great Depression, when the size of the debt limit and the national debt was actually bigger than our GDP. This is what economists called a debt crisis. The bottom line, America runs by borrowing money. Right now, for every dollar the American government spends 38 cents of that is borrowed money. If the debt ceiling is not raised in time, the U.S. could default on some of those payments. That's the last thing we need, recovering from a recession. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
[Johns:] It's a busy holiday for Republican presidential candidates. We'll look at how they are competing for one another for voters' attention today. And former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn may face new sexual assault charges even as the sex case against him in New York could be falling apart.

[Velshi:] As Japan reels in crisis, the future of nuclear energy in this country is once again in the hot seat. Robert Kennedy, Jr., has earned a reputation as a staunch protector of the environment, as an activist and attorney specializing in environmental law. While putting everyone's obvious initial reaction to Japan aside, Robert, is it time for more nuclear energy in the United States or less?
[Robert Kennedy Jr., Environmentalist:] Well, you know, I've always said this, Ali. A nuke is good if we can ever make it safe, if we can ever make it commercial. John Roe, who's the head of Exelon, the CEO and president of Exelon, which has the biggest fleet of nuclear power plants in North America said 10 days ago that there is no commercial case for nuclear power in our country. And this was before the big catastrophe in Japan. The problem with nukes is it's too expensive. It cost a conventional power plant either solar, wind, natural gas, oil costs about $3.5 billion a gigawatt. Nuke cost $9 billion to $15 billion a gigawatt. Most recent one built in Finland cost about $10 billion a gigawatt. It's just too expensive and then it's not safe. Anybody who says it's safe, I always say to them then get an insurance policy.
[Velshi:] All right, well
[Kennedy:] If you can't get an insurance policy, the insurance industry in a capitalist system, which we have, is the final arbiter of risk and they've effectively priced it. They've passed the price Anderson Act in our country, which absolves them from accidents from the cost of accidents at nuclear power plants so that if it were radiated by a nuclear accident, you have to pay for it.
[Velshi:] Well, let's get a look, Robert let's take a look at what we have already in this country. About a fifth of our electricity is generated by nuclear power. There are 104 nuclear reactors in this country right now. You're looking at a map with commercial nuclear power plants in the United States. The majority of them as you can see are along the east coast. Some in the Midwest, a few in California, half of them, by the way, half of the 104 nuclear reactors in the United States are more than 30 years old. Three million people live within 10 miles of an operating nuclear power plant. Nils Diaz is the former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He's managing director of ND2 Group that advances nuclear development in the United States and around the world. Let's just talk about this. It's been said for a long time that people don't have to be concerned about the safety of nuclear plants and that things that go wrong with them are rare. Should people be concerned, given what we've seen in Japan, that something happened and now it seems that they are having great difficulty in getting it under control?
[Nils Diaz, Former Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission:] Well, I think a little bit of rational concern is adequate. I think in our democracy we can see how that works in the favor of the people. But I do believe that nuclear power plants, if you look at the history of operation and compare it to any other industry, they're safe, and they are secure. What happened in Japan is really a triple whammy. It's the earthquake, the tsunami, and then the devastation that
[Velshi:] Well, let's talk about what Americans you mentioned our democracy. Let's talk about how Americans feel about this. David Gergen is CNN senior political analyst. David, take a look at these polls. Even after the nuclear disaster in Japan, Americans remain roughly split on whether they favor or opposed the construction of nuclear power plants here in the United States. Forty-four percent are favor. Forty-seven percent are opposed. Nearly forty percent, however, say they're a lot more concerned that a nuclear disaster could occur here. Take a look at that. And that's since the disaster. About 30 percent are a little more concerned. Almost that number are not more concerned. David, President Obama has been a proponent of nuclear energy. What is this crisis in Japan going to do for efforts on the part of those who would like more nuclear energy in this country?
[David Gergen, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] The Japanese crisis is a body blow to the nuclear industry in this country, Ali. I think that's clear to everyone. If you went through if you lived through Three Mile Island, you remember how that eroded confidence in nuclear power so much. And we were just in the last few years getting over our fears and people in the nuclear power industry were talking about a renaissance of nuclear power in this country. We had leading environmentalist Fred Crupp of the Environmental Defense Fund, for example, seriously entertain conversations about nuclear power because of the cleanness of nuclear power versus fossil fuels. And it looked as if we were just starting to go over the hump and there were going to be investors and public confidence in the politicians. When a Democratic president came out and embraced nuclear power, as President Obama did, that was a big milestone. But all of this now, I think, has been dealt a body blow. And I would be surprised if we build another nuclear power plant in this country in the next 10 years.
[Velshi:] Wow. All right, Robert, in the last few years, nuclear energy has been branded as a cleaner, better alternative to coal, which is a serious pollutant I think you would agree with that oil, which is volatile and exposed to geopolitical problems and is not endlessly in supply. Wind and solar, great, but strictly supplemental. Despite what some people have said in the last week about how we can replace all of our electricity with solar and wind, we do not have the infrastructure or the geography for that right now. Tell me the best solution to this.
[Kennedy:] Well, that's wrong. You know, we built a nuclear power fleet in about 25 years in this country. We can move and build a solar fleet and wind fleet much, much faster. Right now, one of my companies, I'm on the board of Vantage Point, which is the biggest green tech venture capital firm in the country. One of our portfolio companies, Bright Source, is building the biggest power plant one of the biggest power plants in North America ever built of any kind, 2.7 gigawatts. It's almost three times the size of a nuclear power plant. We're going to build the whole plant within three years. It would take 10 to 20 years to build a nuke plant, takes 10 years to build a coal plant. We're building it at a cost of about $3.5 billion a gigawatt. Nuclear power plants cost $9 billion to $12 billion a gigawatt. So they just can't compete against us in the market
[Velshi:] What kind of power are you using to generate electricity at that
[Kennedy:] Solar
[Velshi:] Well, that's definitely a problem on any front for using any alternative energy, whether we want to go to more solar or more wind. That's a big deal. Nils, let me ask you. Do we, can we go further without expanding nuclear generation in this country?
[Diaz:] Can we go further? No. Nuclear generation needs to be part of this mix and it needs to be at least in the 20 percent to 30 percent park. And you know, the numbers and economics, we can have a long discussion about that. But the reality is that nuclear power plants operate at 90 percent capacity factor, while solar is at the very most 20 percent and wind is at the very most 30 percent to 35 percent. So they are intermittent. They have to come and go. We have to have other sources to come in. We have to have storage. We have to have transmission. They're good. We like them. We want them to come on, but we also need to have nuclear power to anchor the grid, to provide reliable electricity all the time. And it's competitive. It is not cheaper, but it is competitive.
[Velshi:] Very good to hear you, though, say that you can get that much out of wind and solar. There are some people who think those numbers might even be a little high. David, let me ask you you mentioned that it was a real milestone when President Obama, a Democratic president, decided to embrace further construction of nuclear power plants in this country. In the aftermath of Three Mile Island, which you mentioned, or Chernobyl, as Robert mentioned, no American president would have come out that same week saying nuclear power is a key part of our energy future. Why is President Obama feeling secure in saying this now, and is he right?
[Gergen:] I'm not sure he feels secure. I think he's trying to push it along and preserve it. But the truth is, Ali, he's got his energy policies right now are incoherent because he's had so much trouble. When he came into office, he and his people in the administration thought he was in the driver's seat on energy and environmental policy, and they started off with a lot of good ideas. But look what's happened. You know, they wanted to do more in offshore oil. Along came the BP power spill, blew out that tire. They wanted to do more with renewable energy, and along came the question of cap-and-trade, couldn't get it through. That's fallen apart, blew out that tire. There's a lot more natural gas that's now available to us, available because of new technologies, expensive, but we could do that. Environmentalists are opposing it. That tire is very weak. It's almost blown out. And now nuclear power, the other part of this, that tire blew out this week over in Japan. So when you look at it, what's going to beyond the deficits, one of the most important things the political leaders in Washington now must do is go back to the drawing boards. What is going to be the national energy policy of this country that is both clean and provides enough energy for a growing economy? Those are hard questions today.
[Velshi:] Yes. There's nobody who this doesn't affect the cost of heating your home, running your business, operating your car, the air you breathe, your health care. This is this appeals to everybody across the board. Thank you for a great discussion. Maybe you think it's bad form to make money off of natural disasters. We'll tell you why you're wrong and how you do it guilt- free next.

[Morgan:] It's summer and it's hot. No surprise there. This is a heat wave that is shattering records from the Planes to the Atlantic coast. It comes on the heals of storms that left millions of people in 11 states with no power and no air conditioning. Not to mention wildfires in the west that have burned up nearly two million acres. Only one man could possibly make sense of what's going on here, ABC weather editor Sam Champion. Sam, what is going on here? Because there is a general belief, apparently, that tomorrow could be the hottest Fourth of July in history.
[Sam Champion, Abc News Weather Editor:] And it will be, Piers, in some places. Good evening, by the way. It will be. Those places that are looking for record highs, of course when you look at it, that record for the day, it will never have been hotter for the Fourth of July. And that's many place in America's heartland, in the middle of the country, from Minneapolis through Chicago and even points south. There you see the graphic there. Oklahoma City, Little Rock. These are Nashville these are all going to be at record paces for their temperatures or very close to. So the warmest Fourth of July on record. But it has been brutally hot leading up to that. That's part of the problem. It's not just a quick bump of heat. This has been long, ongoing thing since before summer started.
[Morgan:] People are saying, OK, this is clear evidence global warming. Is it?
[Champion:] I've got to tell you, I'm not a climatologist. But any time anyone asks me that question, there is no doubt in my mind that we're seeing climate change. Piers, I've been doing this for 30 years. And every season you'll have some record temperatures. Every hurricane season you might have a devastating hurricane. Tornado season, you're going to have a storm pop out of nowhere and do something's that damaging to a community. But I have never gone on the air and in the last two years this has been fairly regular for me gone on the air with all time records, saying this is at all-time most powerful, first time this has ever happened in history, since we've been keeping weather records, longest streak in history, breaking all-time temperature records. We were on pace in America last week with the temperatures in every desert in the globe. Saudi Arabia Mecca, Saudi Arabia, we had them side by side with many places in Kansas and also in South Dakota. And we were right there with the warmest temperatures on the planet.
[Morgan:] So if it's not global warming, let's play Devil's Advocate here for a moment what else could be heating America up like this? What is another explanation?
[Champion:] Well, there are folks who are going to be on the side of that we run in cycles on this planet, and because we've only been studying weather for a couple hundred years at best, and then, you know, the coming up with the satellite in the '60s would probably be reliable weather records. So we haven't really been able to look at the planet in its entire history. So some folks and it's a good argument, honestly will say that that's like diagnosing you with an illness by looking at your fingernail. So they will say, you can't really be sure of what's going on with the planet, and you can't say that it's man-made. So I try these days to take that out of the argument. So let's just say it's not man-made. but it is climate change, because in our lifetimes we haven't seen anything like this. So no matter who you're going to blame the warming on, or the change on, whether it's cyclical or whether it's man-made, I think what we need to concentrate on now are realizing that our oceans are rising at a rapid and somehow alarming rate, if you look at the projection of 50 to 100 years, faster than even the scientists have thought they would. Our planet seems to be warmer in a lot of locations, seems to be colder in a lot of locations. And we need to be paying attention to what that change means to folks who live under it, and not so much attributing blame or cause to it.
[Morgan:] There's also been emergencies declared in Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington because of damage from something I've never heard of, a Super Daracho Storm. What is that?
[Champion:] Well, there's another good point there, that now we're adding super to just about everything that we have known in weather terminology. A Darachio is basically a long running, straight line, complex of thunderstorms. Let's say it's about 240 miles long in a lot of cases, to make that, and then can run for hundreds of miles. This one ran for 700 miles. And you need really strong difference in heat buildup there. And we had that incredible heat in the country. So when these thunderstorms developed, they ran and fed on themselves. If you look at the radar that you've got going there, you look for the telltale bow echo. And the worst storms there, that's right there. And the worst storms are in that bowing part, where the strongest winds will be. They can be minimal hurricane-force winds and also on a low-level tornado for a long period of time, the same strengths in the winds. This one was super because it ran for such a long time and was so long and caused so much damage, Piers.
[Morgan:] Funny, Sam, I mean, there are millions of Americans who would normally be welcoming a nice hot Independence Day, but actually it's going to be too hot. They are going to be suffering. They have power. They don't have air conditioning. What is the most practical, sensible advice for those people who are genuinely concerned now about the heat?
[Champion:] Let me first say that yes, a lot of folks would be looking forward to a great summer if it were really in summer, and it wouldn't be that unusual. You and I might not even be having this discussion if all of this was happening in August, when we get that warmer air and the moist air coming up from the Gulf and heating the country. But this happened in June. It happened, you know, at the end of spring, beginning of summer. So the best advice to folks is really just everything that we always tell you. It's hydrate. If you don't have power, you need to figure out a way to stay cool. Go to the cooling centers if you really have those issues. And if you do have power, check on the folks who don't have power. It's really only by us working together, Piers, that we can get through something like that this, that will continue on into August, by the way.
[Morgan:] Quite extra ordinary weather. Sam Champion, ABC weather editor, I really appreciate you joining me. Thank you.
[Champion:] My pleasure.
[Morgan:] Coming up, Casey Anthony, one year ago she was found not guilty of murdering her daughter. Last time I talked to her, thousands of you said you didn't believe her. Now her attorney talks about her life in hiding.

[Chetry:] It's ten minutes past the hour. Welcome back to "American Morning." To Libya now where their leader Moammar Gadhafi showing no signs he plans to step down any time soon despite the mounting pressue. His son, meantime, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi tells CNN's sister network CNN Turk moments ago that his family has no plans to leave. He said, in fact, there's a plan a, b, and c to, quote, "live and die in Libya." Meanwhile, the violence continues west of Tripoli in a town reportedly under opposition control. At least 17 people reported killed. Also Americans stranded in Libya could be leaving today. Many are still aboard waiting on this ferry in Tripoli. The ferry has not been able to go on to its destination of Malta, an island nation north because of the bad weather.
[Holmes:] Well, some Americans have been able to get out of Libya on their own. Our next guests both made it out of Libya and made it home Wednesday night. Cyrus Sany and George Sayar, thank you both for being here. Cyrus, I'll start with you. You've been there a number of times. How many times, actually trips had you made to Libya?
[Cyrus Sany, Just Returned From Libya:] In the last two and a half years, 28 times.
[Holmes:] When did you start to notice some kind of a change that you thought something was going on and you might be in trouble and need to get out of there?
[Sany:] By the last Wednesday. I got there about Saturday, February 1th, or February 12th. And a couple days after that I noticed that the stores started closing down and the riots start happening in the street. It was a pro-Gadhafi riot near Tripoli.
[Holmes:] And George, was that when you noticed a change there, as well?
[George Sayar, Just Returned From Libya:] No, I actually noticed a change a few days after that. We noticed the change Saturday the Saturday during the day and Saturday evening.
[Holmes:] What did you notice, George that you would say was different and you thought something was going to go down?
[Sayar:] Well, we noticed a lot of civilians people with civilian clothing that were brandishing weapons. And the next day on Monday, we noticed more military type personnel with, you know, heavy weapons driving the streets of Tripoli.
[Holmes:] Now, both of you do work there in Libya. And Cyrus, I'll come back to you. Were you ever you've been in and out of there 28 times. Were you ever concerned before this latest unrest that your safety could be an issue?
[Sany:] No, not the last 28 times. It was like a tsunami hit Tripoli. The last 28 times I was going there, nothing happened. It was it was a very safe haven for doing business and all of a sudden Wednesday, Thursday when the stores started shutting down and the people started coming to the street, that's when I sensed it was time to get out.
[Holmes:] And Cyrus, you say like a tsunami. Were you in a position where you did not want to be outside on the streets of Tripoli at all?
[Sany:] Exactly. It's like, I can blend in very nicely. I speak Arabic. So I can blend in very nicely. But I sense that this is the end. All of a sudden something like the tsunami hit the shore of Tripoli and I said it's time to get out.
[Holmes:] George, describe this airport for me. We know some Americans are sitting on that ferry trying to get over to Malta. You took it upon yourself to get out on your own. How much of a mess was it trying to get out of the airport?
[Sayar:] The airport, T.J., was a mess. I would say there was approximately 30,000 to 40,000 people, most of them without tickets, you know, trying to get in the three entrances into the terminal. It was utter chaos.
[Holmes:] How were you able to get out, then?
[Sayar:] Well, we pretty much had to push and shove our way through thousands of people. And myself and two of my colleagues finally made it after about three hours of pushing, shoving, and kicking.
[Holmes:] Cyrus, did you notice a lot of other you've been there 28 times so I'm sure you may have made some friends and colleagues over there, but are there a lot of people as far as you know who are trying to get out like you and didn't get as lucky as you?
[Sany:] That's correct. I was very lucky. It was like 5,000 people trying to get in a couple of doors. And it was shoving, pushing, it was just like whoever is the stronger was surviving. About 150 feet it took me six hours to get from the parking lot to the ticket counter. And it was a mess. It was a very extreme experience I had in my life that I'll never forget how people were struggling to get out.
[Holmes:] And gentlemen, both of you were doing work. One of you, Cyrus, I believe, you were doing technology more so. And George, you were doing more the traditional infrastructure of roads and bridges. Were you both doing work for the government?
[Sayar:] Yes.
[Sany:] Yes.
[Holmes:] The government there. Well, did you all ever before this have any reservation and we see what's happening now and we know Moammar Gadhafi's history. George, did you have any reservations about doing business with this government and specifically this man?
[Sayar:] Never, not once. The Libyan government is spending was spending tens of billions of dollars to improve their infrastructure. We felt very safe there. Our workers felt safe there, and it was just a great place to do business.
[Holmes:] Cyrus, to you, the same question. Did you ever have any reservations about doing business with this government, and, again, directly with this man?
[Sany:] No, I have no reservations. He tried to make a safe haven to doing the business for his country and these people. And as soon as I bring technology for them, they always asked the money's no option, just bring the best technology and best design for us. We want to move on in technology. And I have no reservation right now to go back and do business with the government of Libya.
[Holmes:] Well, I think I read from both of you that you would like to complete your work at some point. And there's a lot of talk about infrastructure and the work you're doing is so necessary in Libya these days. But gentlemen, I appreciate being able to talk to you state side today. Hopefully many other Americans will be able to escape to safety, as well. Enjoy your weekend.
[Sayar:] Thank you.
[Sany:] Thank you.
[Holmes:] Kiran?
[Chetry:] Up next on "American Morning," in just a week the government could be closed for business. That means no paychecks for government workers except for one group. We'll tell you who still gets paid as the federal budget showdown continues. Also Sun Chips, you may remember their bag that was so noisy, they had to scrap it. Now they promise they have a new and improved version and you don't need ear plugs. It's 17 minutes past the hour.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro, New York Congressman Peter King, and actor Gabriel Mock, the star of the hit show "Suits."
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] I love that show.
[O'brien:] That's ahead. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello begins right now. Yes, you can come back tomorrow for that. Hey, Carol, good morning.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. And thank you. Happening in the NEWSROOM, fireball in London. A deadly crash as a helicopter slams into a construction crane. New details on what may have caused this frightening accident. Under the gun. Much of the eastern United States, from Louisiana to Maine, getting rain, snow, and ice. And this is just the beginning. An arctic blast plunging south. Champion cash. A startling look at the money, the players and the influence. SEC schools spending the most three times what most people earn in a year. It's an eye-opening look at the athletes and the almighty dollar. Plus this.
[Shiraz Khan, Austin Resident:] I don't know if I want this guy to be the face of Austin anymore.
[Costello:] Outrage at the cyclist and the confession and now will cycling be booted out of the Summer Olympics because of Lance Armstrong? NEWSROOM starts now. And good morning. Thank you so much for being with me, I'm Carol Costello. We begin this morning with a spectacular and horrifying helicopter crash in the heart of London. The chopper hit a construction crane high atop a building shrouded in fog and the flaming wreckage rained down on rush hour traffic below. Zain Verjee is in London with all the latest details. Good morning, Zain.
[Zain Verjee, Cnn International Anchor:] Good morning, Carol. Can you imagine going to work, it's a typical day, cold, foggy, rainy in London, and something like this happens? Well, thousands of commuters were facing this exact situation. Thick fog, plumes of smoke and fireballs raining down in lines from the sky. Basically what happened was a helicopter went off course. You know, police are going with the theory one of them at least of the issue of poor visibility at that time, crashed into a crane, got its rotor blades snapped off and then took part of the crane with it and then just came crashing down onto the ground onto one of the main roads that you're looking in that video. That is called Wandsworth Road. And it apparently landed right on top of two cars. Police are saying two people are dead, 13 are injured, one critically. And a man they say ambulance services pulled someone out from a burning car. So police are saying, Carol, this is a total miracle that it wasn't worse. I mean, this was at, like, 8:00 a.m. local time and there's traffic, but an hour later there would have been way more people there Carol.
[Costello:] That's just amazing. And just to make it clear, terrorism was not involved. It appears to be a tragic accident.
[Verjee:] Yes. Police have ruled that out. I mean, they're looking in to what exactly happened obviously. You know, one of the things that we immediately sparked off the possibility of terrorism right at the beginning with the fact that the British intelligence headquarters, MI-6, is actually located right in that area of Vauxhall. Now, I don't know, Carol, if you've seen "Skyfall," OK? But you know that scene just just on the Thames River where the building burst into flames on one part of the floor, well, that is exactly where MI-6 is. Partly also in that area you've got businesses. There's a major market. There are major housing developments and actually the U.S. embassy is supposed to be moving to Vauxhall. This is going to be the area of the new location of the embassy. At this time of day, too, Carol, it was totally packed with commuters. Think of Penn Station, right? Like that's a main thoroughfare and a main point where travelers coming into New York City will get off at. Well, this is exactly the same thing. People were totally stranded. Hundreds of people just decided to walk to work because there was no other option. One of the main issues right now, Carol, is that crane. You know, remember during Hurricane Sandy the focus was on that crane in New York City? Well, it's dangling dangerously right now. Police are focusing on that area. They've cordoned it off and they're asking people just to stay away from that scene, so that's really what could potentially provide the greatest threat.
[Costello:] All right. Zain Verjee reporting live for us from London. Also this morning new concerns for the airliner that's been billed as the future for air travel. Just hours after the new 787 was forced to make an emergency landing, Japan's major airlines grounded their entire fleet at half of the 50 Dreamliners in service all around the world. And today's incident the crew reported battery problems and a burning smell. It's the latest in a series of incidents over the past 10 days. Those concerns had already prompted U.S. and Japanese officials to conduct their own safety reviews. Problems over the past week and a half include a battery fire, a braking problem and two fuel leaks. Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have returned their Dreamliners to service as early as tomorrow, but safety and production concerns are weighing on the American manufacturer. Boeing stocks fell nearly 5 percent in pre-market trading this morning. We'll have to wait until tomorrow night to hear exactly what Lance Armstrong had to say to Oprah Winfrey, but whatever Armstrong says in the TV interview it will not be enough for the World Anti-Doping Agency. For Armstrong to come clean with them, he would have to make a full confession under oath and tell all he knows about doping activities. Then the group could reconsider its lifetime ban on Armstrong. There's also this development, with far greater significance. An International Olympic Committee an International Olympic Committee member suggests that if Armstrong implicates top cycling officials in widespread doping activities, the IOC could consider dropping the sport from the Olympics. CNN's George Howell is in Armstrong's hometown of Austin, Texas. Good morning, George.
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] Carol, good morning. You know my hometown as well, and I actually worked here in Austin some 12 years ago. I covered a big citywide celebration with Lance Armstrong. It was 2001, just after he won the Tour de France three times, brought so many people together, some 15,000 people together if I remember correctly. It was a great celebration. Here you had an athlete who, you know, not only inspired the world but he was also a cancer survivor and people took note of that. But now when you think about Lance, you can't help but be disappointed and when you talk to people here in Austin, you can tell that they are looking at it differently.
[Khan:] Well, he's an icon here, you know. People looked up to him, they admired him, but now they're going to kind of look at him maybe in a little bit of negative light now, you know, like, do we really want Lance Armstrong to be the icon of Austin, Texas? I mean, that's a lot of people have that question in their mind now that, you know, I don't know if I want this guy to be the face of Austin anymore.
[Howell:] You know, there's also a bike path here in Austin. A lot's changed. There's a new bike path named after Lance Armstrong. There's the store, you know, that he co-owns, but, you know, some people are questioning whether that bike path should be renamed. People are thinking differently about him given what they expect to happen tomorrow when he will admit after years of denying it that he did take part, Carol, in doping.
[Cooper:] George Howell reporting live from Austin, Texas, this morning. Tomorrow at 3:00 Eastern we're going to have a half-hour special on why we cheat and we're not just focusing on Lance Armstrong. We'll take a look at everyone, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, anyone, or how about retired General David Petraeus. Why do we cheat? It's also going to be our "Talk Back" question. That's tomorrow, so you can weigh in. That's Facebook.comcarolCNN. Keep that in mind for tomorrow for that half-hour special beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. And this just in to CNN, fourth quarter earnings in full swing on Wall Street and this week we're hearing from the big banks, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan reporting higher earnings before today's opening bell. Alison Kosik is digging in to those numbers for us, so let's start with Goldman.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] OK, actually, let's start with JPMorgan.
[Costello:] OK.
[Kosik:] Because JPMorgan JPMorgan is going to catch your ear because I know you'll like this. You know that CEO Jamie Dimon, he had to take a huge pay cut, but besides that the company itself posted solid profits. JPMorgan actually made a profit of about $5.7 billion in the final three months of 2012. That's up more than 50 percent from a year ago. Now, if you look at banks overall, they've actually outperformed the broader market in the last year. You look at the you look at the KBW index is up 30 percent in 2012 compared with the S&P; 500 which was only up 13 percent. And you know what's driving these banks? The housing market recovery. We certainly saw that with JPMorgan. New mortgages totaled $1.6 billion, that's up more than 50 percent. The company also slashed the amount of money it holds in reserve to cover bad loans, and what shows is that credit conditions are improving. OK, so as for JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, he is paying the price for last spring's trade gone bad in London, the infamous London wale trade that cost the company more than $6 billion. Those were trades that were made they're making big bets on complex derivatives. The company the company says Dimon bears the ultimate responsibility, so guess what, the bank cut his total salary, which includes his bonus, they cut it in half to $11.5 million. I know, poor Jamie Dimon.
[Costello:] I'm glad he won't have to apply for food stamps.
[Kosik:] OK, Goldman had a strong finish as well. Also benefiting from the housing recovery and the credit conditions that are getting better. Goldman is booking a profit of almost $3 billion and that's triple from a year ago. And despite what CEO Lloyd Blankfein called a challenging economic conditions for most of the year, Goldman pretty much coming out very strong. What's most interesting with Goldman, Carol, is that there's this shift going on from making money on trading and investment management to Goldman getting most of its growth from lending money. You look at Goldman shares, they've recovered in 2012 from a really, really tough 2011. Shares lost almost half their value in 2011, most of it coming after the summer debt ceiling debate. Well, guess what? Shares of Goldman have gained 48 percent in 2012. The rally has continued this year. Goldman Sachs shares right now are up 2.5 percent in the premarket Carol.
[Costello:] All right, Alison Kosik reporting live from the New York Stock Exchange. Snow, ice and rain, a huge winter mess stretching from Maine to Mississippi. We hear there's a 40-mile backup in Massachusetts. We'll be right back.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. We are following developing news as Ecuador officials are right now going over their decision in the Julian Assange case. You're watching Ecuadorian TV. Those are the pictures that we're showing you on the left side of your screen. And they're reviewing just exactly how the case developed. A little bit about the history of the case. So they haven't gotten to the point yet where they're announcing whether they are going to allow, in fact, Julian Assange to have to come to their country. CNN's Atika Shubert is live outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. That's where the WikiLeaks founder has been hold up now for two months. He's been really hiding from British authorities. They're hoping to deport him to Sweden where he faces allegations of sexual abuse. She's going to come join us live as soon as a decision is made. She's obviously monitoring Ecuadorian TV and those official remarks. Right now in Arizona, the governor there, Jan Brewer, a few hours ago signed an executive order, and that order directs state agencies to deny benefits, including driver's licenses, to Deferred Action recipients in that state. The Deferred Deportation Program was created back in June by the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Janet Napolitano. Went into effect this week. We were talking about it yesterday. Senior Latin American affairs editor Rafael Romo joins us. He's in Atlanta this morning. The governor says the Deferred Action Program doesn't give any legal status, so she thinks not giving out Arizona licenses is a perfectly fine thing to do. Legally, is she on steady ground or on weak ground there?
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Sr. Latin American Affairs Editor:] Well, Soledad, when you talk about the Deferred Action Program by the Obama administration, it essentially gives not only the opportunity to stay in the country to these young immigrants for a period of two years but also very important, it gives them a Social Security number and also a work permit. That means that in any state they have the ability to get a driver's license. What the what the governor in Arizona is arguing, Jan Brewer, is saying that that's not the case because they are only temporarily here in the United States. They don't actually have legal status. And so therefore, they are not entitled to any local or state benefits. In essence, this means a driver's license. So what she's doing is issuing her own executive order to counter President Obama's executive order, although the administration doesn't like to call it that. They call it a policy policy memo from the Department of Homeland Security. And as you can imagine, Soledad, already protests in Arizona. The Dream Act Coalition protest at the moment. This was announced with a march to the capital there in Arizona. The ACLU already criticizing Arizona for alleged slating at the local level what should be a federal law. And many many, many people saying the same thing, that the governor just went ahead and is doing her own legislation in a manner that should be federal.
[O'brien:] So, then, Rafael, do you think that there's an expectation that the Justice Department steps in and get involved gets involved in some way?
[Romo:] Well, if history is any indication, if you think about what happened in Arizona in 2010, right after Governor Brewer signed SB 1070, the law cracking down on illegal immigration in Arizona, the Justice Department stepped suing Arizona, and the decision didn't come up until a couple of months ago in June when the Supreme Court overruled three out of four provisions in Arizona. But one of the most important ones, the one that allows police to ask for legal status to anybody they stop suspected of being in the country illegally stands. So you can imagine that the Justice Department right now is taking a close look at this, and deciding what they're going to do. And just let me show you some of the reaction that has been in Arizona. Influential columnist EJ Montini from the "Arizona Republic," talking about this, says, "It's cutting off your nose to spite your face," Soledad.
[O'brien:] Rafael Romo for us this morning in Atlanta. Thank you, Rafael, appreciate the update. Much more ahead this morning on STARTING POINT. We continue to follow the asylum request of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Ecuadorian officials are making that decision, reviewing the history of the case right now as we speak. Plus, we'll tell you why investors could start dumping their Facebook stock today. Maybe that's an opportunity for the rest of us. We'll tell you that straight ahead. Stay with us.

[Whitfield:] All right. Don't forget to vote for today's "Choose the News" winner. Text to 22360 for the story that you want to see. Text 1 for the new gold rush. The surging price of gold is fueling a mining boom. Text 2 for web fame. Their granddaughter posted a video of them and called it webcam 101 for seniors. Now, Hollywood is calling. And text 3 for welcome home, dogs. The old saying dog is man's best friend is really true for some war vets returning home. The winning story airs next hour. All right. Television's biggest night in Hollywood is just two days away. And critics say this year's Emmy Awards may be the closest ever. "Showbiz Tonight's" Kareen Wynter joins me now from Los Angeles. So, Kareen, such a tight race in so many categories this year, particularly close in the best actress in comedy category, right?
[Kareen Wynter, Showbiz Tonight Correspondent:] Of course. You got some favorites, some "SNL" alums, as well as "Mike & Molly," big breakout stars. So much to talk about, Fred. And I caught this morning, they're already rolling out that extravagant red carpet for Sunday's big event in Hollywood. So, it's getting really exciting around here. Hollywood, of course, counting down to the big show on Sunday, the 63rd Emmy Awards. Such a flurry of excitement around town as everybody is getting ready. They're making those final decisions on the hair, the makeup, the outfit, the jewelry. Oh, what to wear, what to wear? But, Fred, what everyone is really after, that one accessory, of course, the Emmy trophy. And, you know, one of the most interesting competitions is for best actress in a comedy because it really fits two old friends against each other, Tina Fey versus Amy Poehler. They are pals, of course, from their days together on "SNL," "Saturday Night Live." Tina, she's nominated again this year for "30 Rock." She's won three Emmys for producing the show, but she's never, ever won for acting. And her buddy Amy, she's nominated in the same category for "Parks and Recreation." And, Fred, their shows are also going head to head for best comedy series. So, we got a limit friendly rivalry here, but to worry. It's in a good way. The gloves will be coming off. But it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.
[Whitfield:] That's going to be fun. Well, you know, Tina Fey, she has a few under her belt already. So, I'm sure she won't be too heartbroken if she weren't walk away this time.
[Wynter:] Yes. You're right. That's a good point.
[Whitfield:] To share it with her buddy, her BFF, Amy. All right. Thanks so much, Kareen. Appreciate it. We'll be watching. We'll be watching you tonight, throughout the weekend. Of course, Sunday, right?
[Wynter:] Yes. Absolutely. We have a little bit more for you.
[Whitfield:] OK.
[Wynter:] I don't know if you're short on time. But we just yes, we want to chat a little bit more with you this morning. We want to talk about another person in this category, people are rooting for she's a "Mike & Molly" star and she is just absolutely amazing, amazing. I think we have a sound bite from her. Take a listen. OK. So, we don't have sound
[Whitfield:] No sound.
[Wynter:] No sound. No sound. But it's going to be a very, very interesting race coming up this Sunday. Will it be Tina Fey? So much to, you know, see. And also the Emmy fashion we'll be talking a lot about that, all the extravagant gowns. And, you know, we're talking about Amy, we're talking about Tina but a lot of people are saying that perhaps another person, Laura Linney, from that big, big show, "The Big C" on Showtime will perhaps take it in that category. So, we'll have to see what happens on that end Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right. We will be watching. You've reeled us in now. We're like at the edge of our seats.
[Wynter:] All right. OK, good.
[Whitfield:] All right. Kareen, thanks so much. All right. A seventh-grader who didn't do well in a traditional school enrolls in a virtual alternative. I'll talk to him and his mother about why it's working for them.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Jake, thanks. Good evening, everyone. A very busy night tonight including a "360" exclusive, the daughter of slain Texas D.A. Mike McLelland speaking out for the first time anywhere about the parents she lost and the fear that still surrounds the whole community. Also tonight, North Korea issuing a new warning and getting ready to launch a missile. We have got reaction from South Korea, the latest preparations at the Pentagon. Plus, the North Korean propaganda machine with the brutal dictators portrayed as every child's friend and the military is invincible. We are going to show you the reality though for life for tens of thousands of men, women and children enslaved in concentration camps. For CBS News' "60 Minutes," I interviewed a man recently born into the toughest concentration camp, a man who spent more than 23 years of his life not even knowing the earth was round until he managed to escape. This report will forever change the way you look at North Korea and its dictator. And later, are four NFL players about to announce they are gay all at the same time? I will talk with an NFL player who says he knows who they are and is trying to help them make the announcement soon. We begin though, with a new scare tactics tonight coming from North Korea. Pyongyang now warning foreign diplomats to consider getting out of the country. That is on top of the missile mobilization that's been playing out all week. Now, looks like they have two medium range missiles ready to launch. Russian and South Korean analysts are downplaying the latest veiled threat, saying if they were truly planning a war, North Korea would want to try to keep foreigners around to try to use as human shields. Let's check in on the latest now from Seoul with our Kyung Lah who is there and in Washington with Chris Lawrence. Chris, the fact North Koreans deployed two of their missiles on mobile launchers then hid them on the east coast, how significant a development is that?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Here's what's new about that, Anderson. Mobile launch missiles can go off fairly quickly and with little warning. That's very different than the long range missile that North Korea tested back in December. Those can sit on the launch pad for weeks at a time. Also, the fact that it's on the east coast. That one in December flew south, out of the way, but on the east coast, signifies that it could potentially fly over Japan. Back in December, the Japanese ordered its military to shoot down any missile that flew over Japanese territory. If they did that this time, you could quickly see how things could spiral out of control.
[Cooper:] Can quickly ratchet it up. So Kyung, that North Korean warning to embassies, it certainly has gotten a lot of attention today. What's the reaction on the ground in Seoul?
[Kyung Lah, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, it's getting a lot of attention here at Seoul as well. It is making headline news. And one report in particular is really something that caught our eye. It's a report out of Chinese state media
[Cooper:] Chris, how does the Pentagon view this embassy warning?
[Lawrence:] Anderson, one official, U.S. official told us it's weird. And they are not sure what North Korea means by this warning. But look, the warning that they are really waiting for is what's called a notice to mariners, sort of an advisory that lets ships, planes in the area look, we are going to fire a missile between this date and this day, and it's probably going to fly on this flight plan and it could land in this part of the sea. North Korea has sent that advisory out during previous tests. If they don't do it this time, that could be seen as very provocative.
[Cooper:] Kyung, is there much concern in South Korea about what this could mean for the economy? Because there is that factory on the border, kind of adjoins North Korea and south Korea factory and North Korea has stopped South Korean trucks and workers from getting to that factory.
[Lah:] The big concern is the overall economy, the global economy and South Korea's place in it. The concern is that the stock market has been getting pummeled. Just yesterday and to the Saturday morning here, on Friday, the stock market fell 1.6 percent. Over the week it fell 3.8 percent. That is the worst in ten months. This is an economy that relies on foreign investment, foreign investors are the ones leading the sell-off. Without America buying, without American customers, this is an export driven economy that sees it going down the tubes. So Anderson, a war is already taking place in South Korea. They believe it is a psychological war, that North Korea is trying to target South Korea's economy.
[Cooper:] Kyung, appreciate the reporting. Chris Lawrence as well. Scare tactics directed towards countries outside North Korea have been obviously a big part of our focus the last couple days. But we want to show you the reality of what's happening inside North Korea. Now, inside the delusions, the propaganda, the enduring images of the young dictator there, you see his troops adoring him, cheering him on, that's all part of the state's mechanism of power. Little known to many outside North Korea, though, is the network of prison camps, concentration camps, really, that house political prisoners and their families. Now, in a moment, you are going to meet a North Korean man who was actually born inside one of Kim Jong-Un's concentration camps. He was raised there for 23 years and had he not escaped, he would have lived there his entire life and died there. That was what the state intended for him. It was the only world he knew. In fact, for the first 23 years of his life, he didn't even know that life outside the camp was any different than the hell he was experiencing inside the camp. He never even thought about escape for that reason. He didn't even know that the earth was round. So, we want to tell you his story. The camp he grew up, it is called camp 14, and some 15,000 other people right now are imprisoned in that camp. Tens of thousands more, as maybe as 150,000 more, are imprisoned in other concentration camps around North Korea. You think about concentration camps as something that occurred in World War II but they're happening right now in North Korea. It's not just those accused of doing something against the government of North Korea who get imprisoned. It's their children, their parents. It's a system of punishment unlike any other in the world. Now, before we show you what it's like inside these camps, before you meet this remarkable man who escaped to the real world outside North Korea, we want to show you the kind of propaganda and reality that all North Koreans have to deal with every day. Here's our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour.
[Christiane Amanpour, Cnn Chief International Correspondent:] Kim Jong-Il's reign in North Korea ended with this massive and tearful display of official mourning. The great successor was his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un. Then, in his mid 20s, a new generation it was hoped but so far, the same outlook. Hostility towards the outside world, especially South Korea and the United States. And with the world's fourth largest army, North Korea continues its military first policy. Perhaps, the most important message this regime is trying to send at home and abroad is that this new leader is adored by his people. The young Kim's leadership is constantly reinforced by a lavish state media. Videos like this one show an army officer wiping his eyes, overcome with emotion as Kim Jong-Un speaks personally to him. Even the television announcer is emotional as she proclaims this to be a historic moment for these soldiers. And recently, the regime has ratcheted up the propaganda just as it's ratcheted up its threats. And this is how a cult of personality is born and nurtured. We see soldiers and their families at a military outpost running to greet Kim Jong-Un. He hugs and kisses the little children, who surround him. The crowds in front of the camera grow and when they gather to say good-bye, many are seen openly weeping. And then as Kim boards his boat to leave, soldiers run frantically down the beach to say good-bye to their leader, even plunging into the icy water in their uniforms to show how much they adore him. He waves benignly and gestures paternally for them to go back to dry land. As the boat pulls away, the announcer says their leader has confidence that he can win a war against American soldiers, and that's a theme that continues to play out on North Korean television these days. As it has always been in North Korea, a Kim is everywhere, poring over maps with his generals, scoping out possible targets, even taking up arms himself. Here, Kim visits with smiling troops who perform a song and dance routine for him, and he tells them to train hard because war could happen at any time. The announcer says we will wipe out our enemies so they cannot survive. The regime is determined to show that North Korea is strong and ready to fight, even as it comes down to hand-to-hand combat. North Korean television showcases the might of the military and the weapons, including these tanks and missiles that were shown just today, but nobody really knows how many of these were set up, how many were Photoshop, even if these missiles are real. But the message is clear. North Korea and Kim Jong-Un are trying to show the world that they're on top and ready for anything. Christiane Amanpour, CNN, New York.
[Cooper:] So those are the images that they want you to see. What they don't want you to see is what you're about to see and hear. Now, as we said, North Korea is at war with its own people. Much of the world is talking about missiles tonight, there's a crime against humanity occurring in that country right now and it's a crime that receives very little attention. Hundred and fifty thousand people are estimated to be doing hard labor on the brink of starvation in a network of hidden concentration camps. These gulags don't just house those accused of political crimes, as I told you. These prisons house their entire families sometimes, grandparents, parents, children. It's a system called three generations of punishment. It doesn't exist anywhere else in the world. Imagine if you were accused of a crime, you were sent to a concentration camp, but to truly punish you, they would also send your parents and your children, three generations of your family wiped out, taken away to a prison camp, no trial, no explanation. You would simply disappear in the middle of the night. The most notorious place is called camp 14. We know about it now because of a man named Shin Dong-Hyuk, who I spoke with recently for CBS News' "60 minutes." He says he not only escaped from camp 14 but he was actually born there. He's believed to be the only person born and raised in the camps who has ever escaped and lived to tell about it. Did anybody ever explain to you why you were in a camp?
[Shin Dong-hyuk, Escaped From Camp 14:] No, never. Because I was born there, I just thought those people who carried guns were born to carry guns and prisoners like me were born as prisoners.
[Cooper:] Did you know America existed?
[Dong-hyuk:] Not at all.
[Cooper:] Did you know that the world was round?
[Dong-hyuk:] I had no idea if it was round or square.
[Cooper:] Camp 14 was all that he says Shin Dong-Hyuk says knew for the first 23 years of his life. These satellite images are the only glimpse outsiders have ever gotten of the place. Fifteen thousand people are believed to be imprisoned here, forced to live and work in this bleak collection of houses, factories, fields and mines surrounded by an electrified fence. Growing up, did you ever think about escaping?
[Dong-hyuk:] That never crossed my mind.
[Cooper:] It never crossed your mind.
[Dong-hyuk:] No, never. What I thought was that the society outside the camp would be similar to that inside the camp.
[Cooper:] You thought everybody lived in a prison camp like this.
[Dong-hyuk:] Yes.
[Cooper:] Shin told us this is the house where he was born. His mother and father were prisoners whose marriage, if you could call it that, was arranged by the guards as a reward for hard work. Did they live together? Did they see each other every day?
[Dong-hyuk:] No. You can't live together. My mother and my father were separated, and only when they worked hard could they be together.
[Cooper:] Did they love each other?
[Dong-hyuk:] I don't know. In my eyes, we were not a family. We were just prisoners.
[Cooper:] How do you mean?
[Dong-hyuk:] It seems that if you wear what you're given. You eat what you're given. And you only do what you're told to do. So, there's nothing that the parents can do for you and there's nothing that the children can do for their parents.
[Cooper:] This may be a very dumb question, but did you even know what love was when you were, for the first 23 years of your life?
[Dong-hyuk:] I still don't know what that means.
[Cooper:] Love may have been absent, but fear was not. In this building, a school of sorts, Shin says he watched his teacher beat a little girl to death for hoarding a few kernels of corn, a violation of prison rules which he and the other students were required to learn by heart.
[Dong-hyuk:] If you escaped, you would be shot. If you tried to escape or planned to escape, you would be shot. Even if you did not report someone who was trying to escape, you would be shot.
[Cooper:] The shootings took place in this field, he says. The other prisoners were required to watch. As frightening as the executions were, Shin considered them a break from the monotony of hard labor and constant hunger. The prisoners were fed the same thin gruel of corn meal and cabbage day in and day out. They were so hungry, Shin says, they ate rats and insects to survive. So for 23 years, you were always hungry.
[Dong-hyuk:] Yes, of course. We were always hungry. And the guards always told us through hunger, you will repent.
[Cooper:] When Shin and his family were repenting for probably dates back to the Korean War when two of his uncles reportedly defected to the south. Shin believes that's why his father and grandfather were sent to camp 14 and why he was supposed to live there until he died. North Korea's first dictator Kim Il-Song instituted this practice of three generations of punishment back in the 1950s.
[David Hawk, Human Right Investigator:] The idea is to eliminate this lineage, to eliminate the family on the theory that if the grandfather was a counterrevolutionary, the father and the grandsons would be opposed to the regime as well.
[Cooper:] David Hawk is a human rights investigator who has interviewed dozens of former prisoners and guards from the six political prison camps operating in North Korea today.
[Hawk:] The largest number of people in the prison camps are those who are the children or grandchildren of people considered to be wrongdoers or wrong thinkers.
[Cooper:] I never heard of anything like that.
[Hawk:] It's unique in the 20th or 21st century. Mao didn't do it, Stalin didn't do it. Hitler of course tried to exterminate entire families but in the post World War II world, it's only Korea that had this practice.
[Cooper:] North Korea denies it has any political prisons, but refuses to allow outside observers to inspect camp 14 and other sites. There's no way to verify all the details of Shin's story. Do you believe his story?
[Hawk:] Oh, sure. His story is consistent with the testimony of other prisoners in every respect.
[Cooper:] There is also physical evidence he carries around with him to this day. The tip of his finger is missing. He says it was chopped off as punishment when he accidentally broke a machine in a prison factory. He also has serious scars on his back, stomach and ankles which he was willing to show us, but embarrassed to show on camera. He says he received those wounds here in an underground torture center. He was tortured because his mother and older brother were accused of trying to escape. He was just 13 years old at the time. Did they think that you were involved in the escape?
[Dong-hyuk:] I'm sure they did.
[Cooper:] How did they torture you?
[Dong-hyuk:] They hung me by the ankles. And they tortured me with fire. And from the scars that I have, the wounds on my body, I think they couldn't have done more to me.
[Cooper:] Shin says he tried to convince his interrogators he wasn't part of the escape plot. He didn't know if they believed him until one day, when they took him to that field used for executions.
[Dong-hyuk:] When I went to the public execution site, I thought that I might be killed. I was brought to the very front. That's where I saw my mother and my brother being dragged out.
[Cooper:] Coming up next, we will tell you what happened to Shin Dong-Hyuk and what happened to his mother and brother and his story takes a twist you will never believe. Just ahead, the rest of my interview with him, including his daring escape. And later, the daughter of murdered Texas prosecutor, Mike McLelland and his wife breaks her silence. I will talk with her about the search for her parents' killer.

[Costello:] The NFL is coming down hard on the New Orleans Saints for their bounty program. Head coach Sean Payton has the stiffest punishment. He has been suspended for the entire season. One year without pay, that's a hit of $7.5 million. Saints' quarterback Drew Brees reacted on Twitter. This is his tweet. He said, I am speechless. Sean Payton is a great man, coach and mentor. The best there is. I need to hear an explanation for this punishment. Commissioner Roger Goodell provided one to the NFL network.
[Roger Goodell, Nfl Commissioner:] I don't think you can be too hard on people that put at risk our players' health and safety. That is a critical issue for us going forward and has been in our past. We will always protect that. We will always make the decisions best for the game long-term and our players.
[Costello:] Bobby Hebert played quarterback with the Saints from 1985 to 1992. He now co-hosts a sports talk show on WWL radio in New Orleans. Bobby, welcome.
[Bobby Hebert, Wwl Sports Talk:] Thanks for having me.
[Costello:] We appreciate your being here. So do you think the punishments were too severe?
[Hebert:] Well, I think it's so severe because it all goes back to not addressing it from the get go when the commissioner to the sports organization. Really, if you look at the NFL and the way it's structured with Commissioner Goodell, if you are confronted with a problem you have to deal with it. You can't sweep it under the rug. You can't lie to the commissioner. I think it's similar why the NFL came down so harsh on the Saints, what happened with Michael Vick. It's almost like you growing up, you have that father figure, dad in my life, you might do something I don't like or I'm wrong. But if I confront you, you better tell me the truth. I think that was the problem with the Saints organization. I think from the get go, if they would have addressed it, this probably would have been taken care of behind the scenes. The ongoing process going back to 2009 when the Saints won the Super Bowl, that's why it had to come forth in the public to nip it in the bud. The commissioner to say as far as always being concerned with players' safety, that's as of late in the potential lawsuits and what's going to come about kind of looking into the future. The commissioner taking the approach it's about player safety. He has to take that approach because of the potential lawsuits and liability of that. That's where all that comes from.
[Costello:] So you're really saying that it was more the cover-up that angered the NFL, not so much the bounty program?
[Hebert:] That's what I think as far as the stiff penalty with Sean Payton. We all thought realistically he was going to be probably four games, maybe eight games a season of that's a real fine. Sean Payton has basically paid I want to say between $7 million, $8 million. You look at players with big hits get fined $50,000. You're making millions, how significant is that? When you're talking about taking away a man's living for a year, $7 million, $8 million that speaks volumes, where does that place the fans? Who that nation the Saint's fan base, what about us? It's like when you are growing up, you're a fan of the "Rolling Stones," you don't mind to pay $100 to go see Mik Jagger perform on stage for the "Rolling Stones." All of a sudden he's not available. I want a refund. What about the Saints fans going forward next year? We're hosting the Super Bowl. Everyone thinks we're as good as it gets to go to the Super Bowl, now one hand tied behind their back.
[Costello:] Let me ask you something else. I know the people of New Orleans are really upset, but some NFL players are really upset too for whoever snitched. In fact, former NFL star, Warren Sapp responded to a Twitter follower who asked who was the snitch? Sapp tweeted just heard who the snitch was Jeremy Shockey. As you know Jeremy Shockey played with the Saints. He's now free agent. He tweeted back and said how about I take a lie detector test on ESPN. So there's all this ugliness going on within the world of football, too. So how much damage has this done?
[Hebert:] Well, you know, a lot of people might take the approach the troops out, is there any wrong exposing something that's not right. All I know in a locker room, you hear the commercial what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Basically, as far as players are speaking, what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room. All I know is whoever that snitch is, you do not want to be a snitch. The players will look upon that like you got to be kidding me. They would view that person as sellout. Like I say, I don't know Warren Sapp's sources, but a lot of players do trust an individual like Warren Sapp. They both went to the University of Miami. I don't know if he has a beef to pick with Shockey. But for him to say that, he said he trusts his sources. I mean, at times Shockey has not always been the most upstanding citizen as far as how he's been in the locker room. He was outstanding in the Saints locker room. I don't know if he was bitter when they got rid of him. I know the players look upon that
[Costello:] We can only speculate. Bobby Herbert, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.
[Hebert:] Thanks for having me.
[Costello:] Still to come on NEWSROOM, the Trayvon Martin story and 1.6 seconds of the 911 case that has some saying race has everything to do with the shooting. Also ahead, coping a plea. Dharun Ravi refuses to do it and now he faces prison time for spying on his roommate via web cam. He explains this decision in his first interview since the trial.

[Anna Coren, Cnn International Anchor::] Back stage at the National Theater in Beijing, one of opera's finest bass-baritones prepares himself for a performance of his one-man show.
[Tian Hao Jiang, Opera Singer:] I'm a crazy guy. Especially before I step on stage. Yes, I can go crazy in the dressing room.
[Coren:] But this is certainly not a first for Tian Hao Jiang. He's thrilled audiences around the world with the power of his voice thousands of times. From his first role in Puccini's opera, "Girl from the Golden West", to playing opposite operatic superstar, Placido Domingo, in "The Force of Destiny". However, his path to stardom was an unlikely one. Born into a musical family in Beijing during Mao Zedong's Communist rule, at just 15, he was forced to work in a factory and embrace revolutionary life.
[Jiang:] Back at the factory, I would perform revolutionary songs, like a model worker. Even today, these popular revolutionary songs instant would take our generation back to our youth to those beaters with ears.
[Coren:] But, as the 70s rolled around and Mao's grip loosened, Tian fought to study music in Beijing and then in America, where he would see his first ever opera, starring Luciano Pavarotti. 10 years later, to the day, Tian would share the limelight with the opera icons. This week, Talk Asia's Stan Grant is in Beijing with Tian Hao Jiang as he takes us on his journey from life under Mao to the world's biggest operatic stages and back to China, where he opens up about the death of his brother and why their friendship inspired his latest show.
[Stan Grant, Cnn International Correspondent:] Welcome to "Talk Asia".
[Jiang:] Hi.
[Grant:] I don't even know where to start with your story. It's the most extraordinary story. But one thing really jumps out at me. And that is a moment when you applauded cheered when your piano lessons came to an end. Especially when your piano teacher was sent away during the Cultural Revolution. Tell me about that.
[Jiang:] I think I was only eight, probably. And I was forced by my parents to study piano. You know, I hated it because I wanted to become a artist you know, painter. But my parents were musicians and, of course, they wanted me to become a pianist. So, I hated it. I always practice the piano in tears. So, the Cultural Revolution started and my piano teacher was in trouble was sent away and
[Grant:] And you celebrated.
[Jiang:] to the countryside and I was so happy.
[Grant:] That's just terrible.
[Jiang:] Celebrated and I run out to the coal yard, you know, jumping around. And so, that was the end of my piano lessons.
[Grant:] But the end of piano lessons for a while.
[Jiang:] Yes.
[Grant:] But also the start of a very, very tumultuous period for your country and for your family. Tell me about how your family experienced the Cultural Revolution.
[Jiang:] My parents were musicians. So, my father was a conductor, my mother was a composer. And during the Cultural Revolution period, of course they were under a lot of pressure and they were sent away to the countryside for a few years. And so, the day they were leaving, I was helping them to pack and I found a older record in a free stand old gramophone. And so I told my father. My father came and asked me to play that record. That was the only one record left at home. That was in 1966. My father conducted that piece in 1964 in Beijing. And that was a Beethoven Symphony Number Six. The Pastoral. And that was the last Western symphony piece my father conducted. I found that record and then my father asked me to play it. That was my first music collection and the only one from my father.
[Grant:] It's really incredible, when I look at your life. Because you've mentioned that one moment that record, playing it, your father being there with you but there are always these moments that seem to appear in your life. There was another moment, a couple of minutes that really changed your life forever. Tell me about that.
[Jiang:] Oh yes. That was in 1975. A long time ago. Actually, I was on my bike. I had a long, sweaty ride to another side of Beijing to look for a friend. I was working in a factory in a suburb of Beijing. Life was pretty happy. You know, happy work and
[Grant:] And you were a wild man, too.
[Jiang:] I was wild.
[Grant:] You were getting into fights and you were in trouble, right?
[Jiang:] Absolutely. I was wild and
[Grant:] Smoking, drinking
[Jiang:] Smoking, drinking, singing with my guitar. Find an excuse to escape from my work and have fun. You know, in the mountains. Anyway, that day was very interesting because I went to the other side of Beijing to look for my friend, and my friend was not home. And a stranger opened a window and, because I was calling my friend outside of the building, "Hey, are you home?" So
[Grant:] In that sort of voice?
[Jiang:] Right. And my friend was not home. A stranger opened another window on the fourth floor and asked me, "Hey, are you a singer?" And I said, "No, why?" He said, "Come up, I want to talk to you".
[Grant:] He was a singer.
[Jiang:] He was a professional singer. And he told me, "You have a big voice, you should try. You know, you may have a singing career". Anyway, and then I found a vocal teacher I started my vocal training. That's a turning point in my life.
[Grant:] Another pivotal moment was when you beat out 500 others in an audition. And that was another moment that moved you forward in this
[Jiang:] Absolutely.
[Grant:] Almost like fate for you, wasn't it?
[Jiang:] Absolutely, because during the Cultural Revolution period, the conservatories universities only opened to the selected students. So, 1976 was the first year they opened to the public. Everybody could apply, you know. So, the first boys' class was extremely the competition was keen, because in whole China, they only chose about, I think, 17 singers from whole China.
[Grant:] Wow.
[Jiang:] I was so nervous. Because I want to make it, because I wanted to leave the factory. So, I tried very hard and I was lucky one. I made it.
[Grant:] Not just luck, is it, really?
[Jiang:] I was the lucky one.
[Grant:] But you have this gift and the gift has taken you all around the world. But, after getting in there, then the move to the United States. You tried for so long, didn't you?
[Jiang:] Yes. Took me about two years to get a passport. But it took me only 50 seconds to get a visa. I only had 35 dollars in my pocket.
[Grant:] Wow.
[Jiang:] And next day, I spent eight dollars. I bought a standing pass I went to the Metropolitan Opera in New York. I saw the first opera in my life.
[Grant:] Your first experience.
[Jiang:] First experience.
[Grant:] What was it like for you to stand there and see that experience that?
[Jiang:] Oh, when the curtain opened, Pavarotti was standing there, in front of my face.
[Grant:] First opera, and it's Pavarotti. Of course.
[Jiang:] I saw James Levine and he conducted. The chorales, the stage setting, the lights, and the orchestra I was totally knocked out. This was unbelievable.
[Grant:] And 10 years after you saw Pavarotti
[Jiang:] Right.
[Grant:] You sang with Pavarotti.
[Jiang:] Absolutely.
[Grant:] Wow.
[Jiang:] 10 years later, exactly on that day. And I found a chance to tell Pavarotti of my story in the first break. I grabbed him and said, "Maestro, I wanted to tell you my story, because 10 years ago -"
[Grant:] I saw you 10 years ago.
[Jiang:] Yes, 10 years ago, I saw him. You know, on the stage. And I only had 35 dollars. I'm from Beijing. And I spent eight dollars to buy a standing pass. And I was very nervous I spoke very fast. And he was very nice, because he took my hand at the end to go out the curtain, to bow.
[Grant:] Wow.
[Jiang:] With me together. I was so touched. I got a call from Beijing, said that he was dying. "If you want to see him, you better come back immediately, because he wouldn't make it". Tonight, first of all, I hope I can finish. I hope I won't forget the words. Thank you, let's go on stage. Ok, let's go. My brother woke up. He was so happy seeing me there. His eyes were filled with smiles. Smiles so genuine, no disguise at all. Even a little shy. It had been a long time since my brother and I were last together. Quietly. Privately. With nobody bothering us. for three hours.
[Grant:] When you go to a place like the U.S. and you embark on a career like this, there's so much of your past life that you become disconnected from. What about your relationship with your brother? Because, while you were going that way, your brother was leading a very, very different life.
[Jiang:] Yes. My older brother actually was eight years older than me. Of course I for many years, actually we didn't have a very close relationship. Because, you know, I'm living the States, and he was in Beijing with a regular job and regular pay.
[Grant:] You were just worlds apart.
[Jiang:] Right. And so, he died of liver cancer about 10 years ago. So, I got a call from Beijing. I was singing "La Boheme" at the Met. I got a call from Beijing, said that he was dying. "If you want to see him, you better come back immediately. Because he wouldn't make it". You know, my brother I looked down him a little bit. I thought, you know sometime I try to help him to start a little business or something, but I thought that he was hopeless. Because he was such a nice man, but a simple. Very simple. And so, I rushed back to Beijing. Because two performances between two performances, they were only three days apart at the Met. So I promise to go back to New York to continue my performance of "La Boheme". So I rushed back to Beijing. I spent only three hours with him in the hospital. That three hours I wow. Just an unforgettable experience, because I think I found my brother again. Through that three hours, also, I found myself again. We talk a lot about our past and then we sat a lot together. Many, many songs we brought up with. And those songs you know, each one of them could tell a story about our experience. And the first time I talked with my brother about my operatic life in the West. And I sung, you know, arias for him. And because he never, never been to my had never been to my opera performances and my concerts.
[Grant:] So, you gave him a private performance.
[Jiang:] Absolutely. And so, since then, I always thought about, to put this three hours experience on stage. My brother passed away just a week after I visited him. And so, I always wanted to put a show together about this experience. So, that's what really happened
[Grant:] "Sing Brother Sing".
[Jiang:] now. You know, a one-man show, which just premiered in Beijing. And it's called, "Sing Brother Sing".
[Grant:] That's incredible, because when you were telling me that story before about the three hours, I could see you were there again. You're reliving it again. So, every time you go on stage
[Jiang:] Right.
[Grant:] you relive that. And that's that has to be emotionally hard as well as as well as honoring your brother it's tough for you, yes?
[Jiang:] It's tough for me very much. I mean, you know, it's very difficult because, you know, I'm opera singer. On stage I'm always, you know, in another character a French nobleman and an Italian king and a Spanish high priest or something but this time I'm just myself on stage.
[Grant:] In the performance, do you find that you find yourself back home again, as well?
[Jiang:] Absolutely, yes. Actually, it's good for me to do this one- man show, "Sing Brother Sing". "Sing Brother Sing". And I could go back to the past and then that made me think about future. Where to go.
[Grant:] I can't let you go without at least hearing just a little bit of your beautiful voice. Would you give us a couple of notes?
[Dr. Martha Liao, Md, Founder And President, Asian Performing Arts Of Colorado:] Almost time to go to rehearsal.
[Jiang:] I still have time. While you are chopping, there's a secret.
[Dr. Liao:] When you put salt on, they don't jump. They don't they're not as messy. Tian is very messy already.
[Jiang:] Really. You don't expect too much from a singer, OK? I think I'm the only one in the world chopping cabbages 20 minutes before rehearsal. So, be happy wife. My darling wife.
[Grant:] It's incredible, when I look at your life and see these moments. The moment with your father. The moment with the man who said, "You have a good voice". But also your wife. Meeting the woman who would become your wife. Tell me about the role that she played in making you believe in yourself.
[Jiang:] My wife, actually, of course, is my boss.
[Grant:] Everyone's wife is their boss.
[Jiang:] And she is a scientist. She is a wonderful human geneticist. I met her in China in '82 in Shanghai, because she was a visiting scholar from the states. And brought up in Hong Kong and went to the States for her education. And so, she was on the faculty in Denver at the medical school of CU. I went to University of Denver. So, we became very close friends, of course. Fall in love later.
[Grant:] And she played piano for you?
[Jiang:] Absolutely. And she studied piano and she played for me. Actually, for my first recital in the states. Martha actually gave up her career as a scientist early retired, let's say in 1996. Because my singing schedule became very busy and a mess.
[Grant:] But she believed in you. And did that help you to believe that you could make it? Is that what really gave you that sense of purpose and belief?
[Jiang:] You know, she really thought I had no other abilities. Only could sing. So, that's
[Grant:] You'd better make the most of it.
[Jiang:] Right. What happened was, we were in love and I was just a poor student and had no major contracts waiting for me outside of the school. So we talk about marriage a few times, but I couldn't promise, you know, anything for her. Because I couldn't support a family. That was January first, 1988. So I said you know, I told myself, "Two years you have to make it in".
[Grant:] And you did.
[Jiang:] So things start to happen in 1990s. Found an agent in New York. He set up a series of auditions for me. And the major audition was at the Met. So, things start to happen. And I received I remembered I received my first contract from the Met. And that's a whole year, five operas, paid vacation, the health insurance
[Grant:] Wow.
[Jiang:] And I was in Denver, at home. I got this big envelope. I called Martha immediately. I said, "Martha, can you come home now?" And she said, "No, I'm busy at work. I can't. Why?" I said, "Well, we should get married today".
[Grant:] I've got the contract.
[Jiang:] She was quiet about a few seconds and she said, "OK, I'll be home in 10 minutes".
[Grant:] Wow. When you think of yourself now you're a singer, you're Chinese you were born here, but you've lived in the U.S. for such a long time. How would you describe yourself? You Chinese? Are you American? Where do you belong?
[Jiang:] I think I'm a mixed person now. Because you can tell I'm not that young. I spent my first 29 years in China. Second 29 years in the States and, you know, worldwide. So, you know, I'm really half-and-half. Mixed with the Chinese and the Western culture. Mixed with the Chinese and the Western music.
[Grant:] When you came back, did you ever see that piano teacher?
[Jiang:] Piano teacher? Actually
[Grant:] The one that you
[Jiang:] Absolutely. And the 30-some years after he was disappeared for five years, I came back to Beijing and I found him.
[Grant:] You apologize to him?
[Jiang:] I apologize to him. I told him I said, "Mr. Jiao, Teacher Jiao, I just want to tell you and I felt so sorry about your tragedy during that period. And I was I just want to tell you because I was so happy when you were in trouble. I couldn't understand that your tragedy that was, you know how terrible for you in your life during that period. I celebrated, and I was running around to celebrate your tragedy -"
[Grant:] He forgave you?
[Jiang:] He was in tears. He was in tears and he told me he said, "Wow, that was a very difficult period for everybody. It was hard to say who was right, who was wrong. And everybody was under huge pressure and I forgive you. Because you were only -"
[Grant:] A boy.
[Jiang:] "-10 years old".
[Grant:] Yes. And, of course, from that moment, your life really took off. It's been a real pleasure to speak to you. But I can't let you go without at least hearing just a little bit of your beautiful voice. Could you give us a couple of notes? Anything. A favorite of yours.
[Jiang:] Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling. From glen to glen and down the mountainside. The summer's gone and all the flowers are dying. It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

[Savidge:] Just want to give you a reminder: the Penn State board of trustees will meet in a few minutes. And when that meeting gets under way, we hope to bring it to you live. So, stay tuned for that. Checking stories across country right now: In Atlanta, big concerns that two members of the local "Occupy" movement may have contracted a drug resistant strain of tuberculosis. The group's leader was quoted in a newspaper saying the two cases involve residents of a homeless shelter where demonstrators have taken refuge since their eviction from a city park. The National Park Service has begun weatherizing the Washington Monument. Park officials say it is critical to, temporarily that is, fill in the cracks created from, remember the earthquake in August? They add that the quick fix won't hinder the monument's eventual restoration. And then check out what arrived in Madison, Wisconsin, yesterday two alligators flown in from Pennsylvania for veterinary treatment. The gators belong to a man's private zoo that was recently burglarized. Both gators were hurt during the break-in and one suffered a broken leg. No word what happened to the burglar. Time for your "Showbiz headlines". The Oscars have found an old pro to replace Eddie Murphy as host. "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer is here. So, A.J., who's got the job?
[A.j. Hammer, Hln Host, "showbiz Tonight":] Well, Billy Crystal's coming back, Martin, after Eddie Murphy exited his hosting gig for the 84th Academy Awards on Wednesday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science really had to make some quick work of finding a replacement and they did. They went with a familiar face. It's going to be Crystal's ninth time hosting the award show, that doesn't including when he did it back in 2006. He opened the show back then. He broke the news on his Twitter account in fine Billy Crystal fashion. Let me read to you what he tweeted. "I'm doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions. I'm looking forward to the show." And to take nothing away from Billy Crystal, I have to believe that the folks at the academy are at least a bit disappointed with how everything went down because they were really looking to shake things up this year, putting first timers Brett Ratner in the producer's chair and Eddie Murphy on the hosting stage. However, Martin, for my money, you still can't go wrong with Billy Crystal.
[Savidge:] No, I'm absolutely in agreement with you on that. Let me ask you this, this morning Ashton Kutcher learned something I guess we've known for decades that it is good to have an editor. Tell us about this Twitter controversy.
[Hammer:] You know, Ashton Kutcher is learning something about Twitter that we have known as far as it pertains to celebrities. It can be your best friend and it could be your worst enemy. He sent a tweet defending Joe Paterno without knowing the whole story. And there was a resulting firestorm which has him now changing the way he manages his Twitter account. He actually tweeted, "How do you fire Joe Paterno?", hash tagno class. Well considering the situation that Paterno was in that tweet obviously ignited this huge firestorm and Kutcher has since apologized. In fact, he posted a picture of himself with a sign saying, "I am with stupid". And he now says as a result he's turning over his Twitter account to his professional media advisors, which is probably a smart thing. Kutcher, of course, was one of the first celebrities to really endorse Twitter. He got more than eight million followers. So this is a huge comeuppance for Ashton. I'm a bit surprised that he didn't know more about the story. But he claims he just thought that Paterno got fired and didn't know the whole back story there. I can't imagine anybody doesn't know the whole back story here by now. But we're going to be hearing from Ashton in a very different way Martin.
[Savidge:] Yes well clearly A.J. he needs more CNN. We'll bring it to him. Thanks very much, A.J. You'll be back with us by the way next hour with more "Showbiz Headlines". Howard Stern could be moving to network television. A.J. will tell you where he might be headed next hour. And we also want to remind you that we are continuing to, well, take a look inside here. The Penn State board of trustees will be meeting in just a few minutes, we understand. We'll be allowed to listen in. We'll be bringing that to you live when it happens.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin. It is the confession that the world stopped to watch, Lance Armstrong calling himself arrogant, calling himself a bully and a jerk, as he finally admitted he had taken these banned substances before all seven of his Tour de France wins. So for 13 years, Armstrong has been looking right into the camera, right into the eyes of prosecutors, critics, teammates, fans, cancer survivors, and lying.
[Lance Armstrong, Former Professional Cyclist:] Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike. Regardless of whether or not people accuse Lance Armstrong of doing something, regardless of whether or not they are questioning a relationship with a doctor, we have to look at the facts. We have to. The questions have continued and the suspicion has continued, but the only other thing that has really continued and I think is the most alarming thing is the performance. I have not gone away. The cynics, the skeptics, I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry you can't dream big and I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. I have said it for longer than seven years. I have never doped.
[Armstrong:] How could that have happened?
[Question:] That was my point. It's not just simply that you don't recall?
[Armstrong:] How many times do I have to say it?
[Question:] I'm just trying to make sure your testimony is clear.
[Armstrong:] It can't be any clearer than I have never taken drugs.
[Baldwin:] Now we know the facts, we know the truth in this confessional interview here, sat down with the Oprah Winfrey here. Straight out of the gates, she asked him and he admitted to everything you just heard him brazenly deny.
[Oprah Winfrey, Host, "oprah's Next Chapter":] Let's start with the questions that people around the world have been waiting for you to answer. And for now I would like a yes or a no.
[Armstrong:] OK.
[Winfrey:] OK. This whole conversation, we have a lot of time, will be about the details. Yes or no, did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance?
[Armstrong:] Yes.
[Winfrey:] Yes or no, was one of those banned substances EPO?
[Armstrong:] Yes.
[Winfrey:] Did you ever blood dope or use blood transfusions to enhance your cycling performance?
[Armstrong:] Yes.
[Winfrey:] Did you ever use any other banned substances like testosterone, cortisone or human growth hormone?
[Armstrong:] Yes.
[Winfrey:] Yes or no, in all seven of your Tour de France victories, did you ever take banned substances or blood dope?
[Armstrong:] Yes.
[Winfrey:] In your opinion, was it humanly possible to win the Tour de France without doping seven times in a row?
[Armstrong:] Not in my opinion.
[Baldwin:] One big lie that lasted 13 years, telling Oprah he would do anything and take out anyone who dared to stand in his way.
[Armstrong:] I think this just ruthless desire to win, win at all costs, truly, that serves me well on the bike, served me well during the disease, but the level that it went to for whatever reason is a flaw. And then that defiance, that attitude that arrogance, you cannot deny it. You watch that clip, that's an arrogant person. I look at that and I go, this guy, look at this arrogant prick. I say that today. It's not good.
[Baldwin:] The world was watching there. But there was one person in particular here who was watching as well and she was seething. Her name is Betsy Andreu. She is among the people Armstrong admitted he trampled on to defend his own lie. She is the wife of Frankie Andreu. This is Armstrong's ex-friend, former teammate on the Postal Service team. She testified in this lawsuit deposition about this 1996 hospital room visit in which she says she heard Armstrong admit to this doctor to taking five performance-enhancing drugs. Oprah Winfrey asked him about this and here is what he told her.
[Winfrey:] Was Betsy telling the truth about the Indiana hospital, overhearing you in 1996?
[Armstrong:] I'm not going to take that on and I'm laying down on that one.
[Winfrey:] Was Betsy lying?
[Armstrong:] I'm just not I'm going to put that one down. She asked me and I asked her not to talk about the details of the call. It was a confidential, personal conversation.
[Baldwin:] Well, you know did talk to Betsy Andreu? Anderson Cooper, minutes after she watched that exchange with Oprah.
[Cooper:] Betsy, just first of all, your impressions on what you heard tonight.
[Betsy Andreu, Wife Of Armstrong's Former Teammate:] I'm really disappointed. He owed it to me. You owed it to me, Lance, and you dropped the ball. After what you've done to me, what you've done to my family and you couldn't own up to it. And now we're supposed to believe you? You have one chance at the truth. This is it. If he's not going to tell the truth, if he can't say, yes, the hospital room happened, then how are we to believe everything else he's saying? We're already questioning him.
[Cooper:] You were in a hospital room, and you heard Lance Armstrong tell doctors about all the drugs that he took?
[Andreu:] Yes, yes. It happened.
[Cooper:] And he denied it happened up and down, and this was a key part of a lawsuit that he ended up winning.
[Andreu:] Yes, that he settled with.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Andreu:] But if the hospital room didn't happen, just say it didn't happen, but he won't do it because it did happen. And if this is his way of saying "I just don't want to go there, OK. We'll give it to her." That's not good enough. That is not being transparent. That is not being completely honest. That's skirting the issue. I want to believe that Lance wants to come clean, but this is giving me an indication that I can't. This is a guy who used to be my friend who decimated me. He could have come clean. He owed it to me. He owes it to the sport that he destroyed. And don't when he says he doesn't like the UCI, that's a bunch of crap. He had the UCI in his back pocket. Lance wasn't a leader? That's a bunch of crap, because he owned the team.
[Baldwin:] Let me explain what the UCI is. UCI stands for the International Cycling Union. This is the same organization that recently stripped Lance Armstrong of all seven of his Tour de France titles for doping. And Betsy Andreu, sitting with Anderson, is reacting to this part of Armstrong's confession.
[Armstrong:] Look, I was the leader of the team. And the leader of any team leads by example, and there was never a direct order or a directive to say you have to do this if you want to do the Tour, if you want to be on the team. That never happened. It was a competitive time. We were all grown men. We all made our choices.
[Baldwin:] Want to turn now to psychologist Paula Bloom. What an interview, right? I know. Deep breath. We watched. You watched. To Betsy Andreu's point and all these people who are talking today, was this a full confession?
[Paula Bloom, Psychologist:] The word full, I wouldn't apply that to this at all. Full of some things, we would apply to him, right? It was so painful to watch her, somebody who she looks like somebody who has been traumatized. I have worked with people who have been abused as children and it is the same kind of trauma of here is somebody who doesn't fully it was funny that it was on OWN, right? How much did he really own of this? I wouldn't call it a full confession at all.
[Baldwin:] Let's get to the question that, you know, he really didn't seem to answer here, and that being, why now? Why is he confessing now? Take a listen.
[Armstrong:] That's the best question. That's the most logical question. I don't know that I have a great answer. I will start my answer by saying that this is too late. It's too late for probably most people. And that's my fault.
[Baldwin:] It is a confession. He's lied for years and years. You don't know Lance personally. We can't talk about his personal case, but in dealing with, let's say, a pathological liar, what makes a liar come clean?
[Bloom:] Well, as somebody who he said he said in the interview that he's somebody who tried to control all aspects of things. The way we do anything is the way we do everything. I imagine that's how he's going to be approaching this interview. He wants to control how people perceive him, right?
[Baldwin:] He thinks a confession is his way of controlling his life?
[Bloom:] I would imagine, or maybe it's some way to do some control, alt, delete, reboot, restart on some things.
[Baldwin:] Interesting. Paula Bloom, stay right here with me as we're going through this entire hour, because coming up here, Armstrong lied under oath about doping, even sued people who accused him of it. One of the questions we have is, what kind of legal trouble will he face now that he has confessed? We have much more on Lance Armstrong's confession in this special hour next.

[Behar:] Jimmy Fallon and a senior VP at NBC have apologized to Michele Bachmann for playing the song "Lying` Ass Bitch" during her recent late night appearance but she was disappointed in their apology. Has the network done enough or should they try to pray the song away? With me now to talk about this and other pop culture stories in the news are Joe Levy pop culture commentator; Nancy Travis, actress of the "Last Man Standing"; and comedian Rich Vos. Ok guys. You know she wants an apology from the President of
[Nbc. Joe Levy, Pop Culture Commentator:] Right.
[Behar:] It`s not enough the VP. Should she get it?
[Levy:] I don`t see why. She`s gotten an official apology from NBC brass. Who cares how high up the chain it goes. She`s right to ask for an apology from someone other than Jimmy Fallon, who tweeted his apology
[Behar:] Right.
[Levy:] which isn`t quite enough. You know I think if you know the writing out something on stationary still counts.
[Behar:] Yes.
[Levy:] Still counts and picking up the phone still counts.
[Behar:] Well, tweeting though, but tweeting is public so everybody knows.
[Levy:] Tweeting is public but his apology was a little underplayed. He`s Questlove is totally grounded is how his apology ended. See it would suggest he sees the humor in the whole thing and it is humorous. This is an obscure fishbone song that no one would have recognize if Questlove himself hadn`t tweet that they were playing a sneaky song.
[Behar:] What do you think?
[Rich Vos, Comedian:] Well, first of all nobody uses stationary. Why doesn`t he just send a telegraph, ok? Have Kevin Costner ride it over on a pony. Here is the thing, first of all, the band, they`re real rabble rousers, real Jim Morrison and the Doors. Big deal, they played a dumb song. I didn`t even know Jimmy Fallon was still on the air.
[Behar:] Yes he is. He`s a hit.
[Vos:] I know he`s a hit. He`s likable. That`s why I could say it because he`s a hit.
[Behar:] Right that`s right.
[Vos:] That I think she should get an apology from Obama that why I think.
[Nancy Travis, Actress:] I think she has an apology.
[Behar:] Ok Nancy, she`s yes.
[Travis:] I mean, just to put an end to it.
[Behar:] Yes, she`s claiming it`s sexism. But this is a woman who votes against health care, day care and the right to choose your rights as a woman to choose abortion if you choose it.
[Travis:] Right.
[Behar:] She votes against all female issues, as far as I can see and yet she`s saying its sexist. There`s a little bit of conundrum, what have you.
[Travis:] Double standard, yes. Yes.
[Behar:] What do you think about that?
[Vos:] That`s the type of girl I want to marry.
[Travis:] Well, I don`t think it`s sexist. I I think it`s a it`s it`s just rude.
[Vos:] Yes.
[Travis:] I mean, she`s a celebrity, she comes on.
[Behar:] I mean, and yes.
[Levy:] This is typical right-wing stuff, which is I stand for one thing, I say one thing but if you attack me, now I`m going to flip the position.
[Behar:] Right.
[Levy:] So I`m Herman Cain, there is no more racism in America and unless you attack me in which case it`s a high-tech lynching.
[Behar:] That`s right.
[Levy:] So Michele Bachmann there is no more sexism unless you attack me in which case it`s sexism and elitism and it`s the liberal media.
[Behar:] Well said. Let`s move on.
[Vos:] Ok, good.
[Behar:] Last Friday erupted violence this weekend as customers all across the country got mugged, pepper sprayed and even shot at. I haven`t seen crowds this hostile since the last GOP debate, have you. I mean, what do you think about what`s going on?
[Vos:] I`ll tell you I think it`s I think it`s good advertisement for pepper spray.
[Behar:] Yes.
[Vos:] You know protests, assaults, Black Friday, pepper spray, we`re there for you. You know what I mean?
[Levy:] I did my turkey in Thanksgiving with pepper spray. And it turned out great. It`s a very spicy turkey.
[Travis:] I`m just bombed that that woman got caught, I sent her in to get that X-Box.
[Behar:] Did you go shopping on Friday?
[Travis:] I did not. I don`t leave the house.
[Behar:] I mean, I think it`s insane.
[Travis:] No, no, it`s crazy.
[Behar:] They made a record breaking $52.4 billion.
[Levy:] So the economy is safe.
[Behar:] Wow.
[Levy:] The economy is safe and Obama will be re-elected. This is great news? That`s worth a little fighting isn`t it.
[Travis:] It`s a brilliant marketing tool. You go out and don`t even need anything. And it`s a frenzy, whatever that person has, you have to have it.
[Levy:] Yes, they`re advertising Black Friday deals for a week leading up to Black Friday. Are they surprised that people are in a frenzy?
[Behar:] No. I know. Ok. We`re going to take a break, we`ll come back. I have a story about Angelina Jolie that`s kind of interesting. Stay there.
[Unidentified Male:] Still to come, a look back at one of Joy`s favorite interviews from the past two years, with TV legend, Carol Burnett.

[Tom Foreman, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Tom Foreman, in today for Fredricka Whitfield. Here's what we're watching this hour. Marisol Valles Garcia is unaccounted for. You may remember her. She made news last year when at just 20 years old she became police chief in one of the most violent towns on the U.S.-Mexico border. Now she's not been seen for several days. A Mexican newspaper reports that she's fled to the U.S. for safety. The mayor of her town says, no, she's on personal leave. We have no way of knowing which one is true but we'll try to find out. Libya, a transition council has formed not in Tripoli but to the east in Benghazi, which is held by rebels. The new council calls itself the only legitimate government in Libya. This is big news. We'll have more on that in just a second. And the NFL players and owners have another week to hammer out a labor agreement. Both sides say in fact they're still talking and that's a hopeful sign. There really are two Libyas today. The chaotic Libya of the present and the unknown of tomorrow. It's that tomorrow Libya that we're talking about now. While officials from all over the world weigh options aimed at ending the violence and removing Moammar Gadhafi from power, the seeds of a transitional government may be germinating this weekend. An interim council centered for now in Benghazi and claiming itself to be the only legitimate controlling body in the country has been formed. A few minutes ago, I talked with Arwa Damon who is in Benghazi.
[Lt. Julie Johnson, New Haven Police Dept:] Twelve cases have been linked by DNA to the same offender. Yesterday on March 4th, 2011, at approximately 2:15 p.m., Aaron Thomas was taken into custody without incident by the U.S. marshals and the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Forces while walking on Cooper Place in New Haven, Connecticut. Investigators worked tirelessly for years pursuing this case. This was truly a joint collaboration on all levels. We are proud of our investigation and hope the arrest of Aaron Thomas brings some closure to our victims in our communities.
[Foreman:] Police in south Florida say the bodies of two children found in a canal this week may be connected to a woman found dead months ago in a landfill. The woman is believed to be the children's mother. Her body was found last August in West Palm Beach. The two children were found dead inside pieces of luggage Wednesday in Delray Beach. A suspect is in custody. It's the mother's former boyfriend. You are looking now at a newly released photo of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Her office says it is the last image taken before she was shot January 8th. We're told the man over there on the left, you can just see him, was shot twice but like Giffords, he survives. The congresswoman was meeting constituents when a gunman opened fire killing six people, wounding 13. There's this development in the shooting investigation as well. A federal grand jury in Arizona has expanded the list of charges against the suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, this weekend faces 49 charges. They include murder and attempted murder. The standoff over the Wisconsin budget continues to rage on. In week four of protests over collective bargaining rights, yesterday, Governor Scott Walker sent notices to the unions threatening to lay off 1,500 workers if Senate Democrats did not come back to work within two weeks. The 14 AWOL senators say they're planning their return but they say meaningful negotiations stopped when Republicans passed a measure to detain Democrats.
[Jon Erpenbach , Middleton, Wisconsin:] I thought we were fairly close yesterday based on what I heard from my colleagues, but here we are today.
[State Sen. Mark Miller , Minority Leader:] It looks as though the governor is not serious about negotiating, so we will assess the timing of when we return.
[Foreman:] When it comes to the federal budget, it's cutting wasteful spending while creating more jobs. That's the balance President Barack Obama says lawmakers need to weigh in his weekly radio and internet address. The president says he's willing to make deeper cuts but he's pushing Congress for more bipartisan cooperation before the temporary spending bill expires on March 18th. But the question remains how Congress would bridge the $50 billion gap that divides the two parties and their budget plans.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] My administration has already put forward specific cuts that meet congressional Republicans halfway. And I'm prepared to do more. But we'll only finish the job together, by sitting at the same table, working out our differences, and finding common ground. That's why I've asked vice president Biden and members of my administration to meet with the leaders of Congress going forward.
[Rep. Diane Black , Tennessee:] Job creation has to be the number one priority for both parties. The policies of the past haven't worked, and despite some signs of life in our economy, the unemployment rate is still far above the levels that the president's advisers promised when the stimulus spending bill was signed into law. What we need is a new approach. A path to prosperity that gets government out of the way by cutting unnecessary spending and removing barriers to job growth. We need to unleash our nation's economy instead of burying it under a mountain of regulation, taxation and debt.
[Foreman:] Hope is still alive this weekend for a deal between the NFL and its players. The two sides agreed yesterday to extend the deadline for a new labor agreement again, this time until March 11th.
[Roger Goodell, Nfl Commissioner:] We continue to work hard and I think the fact that we're continuing this dialogue is a positive sign.
[Demaurice Smith, Executive Director, Nflpa:] here's a commitment from both sides to engage in another round of negotiations at the request of the mediation service. We look forward to a deal coming out of that. What we have always had as our core is the football that our players love to play and the fans who love to watch them. And there's never going to be a day where we're not going to have those two things first and foremost in our minds.
[Foreman:] The two sides are duking it out over roughly $9 billion in revenue. If no deal is reached, the league is expected to lock out the players and that means we'll all be out of a season this fall. Stay with us, because coming up in just about a half hour, I'll sit down with someone who has been at the NFL negotiating table before. Some interesting insights. In Michigan, what really should have been a day of celebration turned into a day of mourning. 16-year-old Wes Leonard suddenly collapsed. There he is, number 35, as his high school basketball team was celebrating a big win. Just moments before, the star athlete had made the game-winning shot, ending a perfect 20-game season. Doctors tried to revive Leonard for nearly an hour and a half before he was pronounced dead of a heart attack. Earlier we talked with a sports physician Dr. Ken Mautner, and he says there is more that can be done to monitor the health of teen athletes.
[Dr. Ken Mautner, Emory University:] This is a very rare condition, but there are screening protocol that they use in Italy which they have been using for years where they will do EKGs on all their athletes and they have shown that it has worked to save lives.
[Foreman:] A Facebook page created Friday for Leonard quickly filled with thoughts and prayers for him and his family. There is a flood threat this weekend for the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys and it's a big one. We're getting reports of a tornado that has touched down. The weather is coming up. Stay with us.

[Sambolin:] Here are some of the stories that we're following. Almost 40 years after the war with Vietnam, there was a dramatic exchange this week in Hanoi. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta received personal letters taken from an American army sergeant killed in action in 1966. In exchange, Panetta returned the diary of a Vietnamese soldier killed that same year. Mitt Romney's favorable ratings are up, but he still trails President Obama in popularity. In a new CNNORC poll, 56 percent of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of the president. That's compared to 48 percent who have a positive view of Romney. Forty-two percent have an unfavorable opinion of both. And FaceBook is considering letting younger children onto its website. That is right. Kids younger than 13 may soon be allowed to log on to the social media site with the rest of us, with, of course, parental supervision. Some say FaceBook is just trying to profit off our children. But according to a study from the online journal "First Monday," a lot of kids are already on FaceBook. 69 percent of 13-year- olds and 55 percent of 12-year-olds. So check their accounts. Nigerian officials say an American was piloting the plane that crashed yesterday in Lagos and the State Department confirms that U.S. citizens were on board. Let's go live now to Vladimir Duthiers in Lagos. Do we have any updated numbers on that fatal flight, including how many Americans were on board?
[Vladimir Duthiers, Cnn Correspondent:] Zoraida, just recently we heard from the State Department and they have confirmed that there were American citizens on board this flight. However, they have not given us a number. What we did confirm earlier this morning was that the pilot of this aircraft was an American citizen. We do know that this airplane was rolled off the assembly line in 1990 for Alaska Airways. Donna Air in Nigeria purchased that aircraft several years ago, and the airline itself has only been in existence for about four and a half years. As far as other citizens, most of the passengers were Nigerian although we're told there were also some Chinese citizens, some Indians, and some Lebanese Zoraida?
[Sambolin:] Vladimir, what are airline officials saying about the minutes before the plane went down? Do we have any information?
[Duthiers:] So the chief pilot, I spoke to him earlier this morning. He said that right before the plane was about 11 miles away from the runway when the pilot radioed in for an emergency. He said there was some kind of emergency on the aircraft. That was the last they heard from him. Witnesses on the ground say the plane was coming in what they call low and slow. The plane hit tail first into a densely populated neighborhood. Some of the homes are so close together, you could actually just stand in between the two homes and touch both of them at the same time. So far, we don't have a number of casualties on the ground yet, but it's a miracle that many more people were not killed. We were literally standing just across the street from the crash site in a home that was standing, you know, perfectly rock solid, talking to some of the people that survived the crash, and essentially they were saying they were very, very lucky because the plane seemed to only hit about three buildings in this neighborhood where houses are literally packed on top of each other Zoraida?
[Sambolin:] I know that it's really difficulty at this stage of the game. We are talking earlier about perhaps 10 people dead on the ground. What do we know about the search operation as it continues? As we were watching this fire, which is totally out of control in that densely populated area that you had mentioned, it was a really difficult fire to put out.
[Duthiers:] Yes. When we arrived on the scene last night, it was pandemonium, chaotic. There were no lights, and it's pitch dark normally in Lagos. Very few homes have running electricity. Everybody powers up with a generator. We get out there, it's pitch dark. There are a few fire brigades trying to put some water on there. Lagos, for a city of almost 16 million people, has very few fire brigades. There were some people using pails of water to try to put the fire out. Today, a much different scenario. The first responders have blocked off, cordoned off the area around the crash site. What we saw was a smooth operation going. When we spoke to the head of the agencies that were responding to the crash, they had already pulled 53 bodies from the wreckage. They were pulling many more out when we were there. Much different scenario from what we witnessed last night.
[Sambolin:] All right. Vladimir Duthiers, live for us in Lagos for us. Thank you very much for that report. Hit men, kidnappers, and roaming gangs it's just another night inside one of Pakistan's fastest-growing cities. We'll tell you why the violence there matters to us here.

[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Anchor:] You are you in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ted Rowlands, in tonight for Don Lemon. We begin with major developments in the case against Bernie Fine, a Syracuse associate head baseball coach accused of sexually abusing two former ball boys. Reports today of a third accuser coming forward and perhaps most shockingly, ESPN has released a secretly-recorded conversation in 2002 between Fine's wife Laurie and one of the coaches accusers Bobby Davis. On it, potentially damning evidence that suggests Fine's wife not only knew about the abuse but allowed it to go on. You're going to hear that conversation in just a moment. But first the new accuser, 23-year-old Zach Tomaselli, affiliate WCSH spoke to Tomaselli who claims that Fine molested him in Pittsburgh at a hotel when he was 13 the night before a Syracuse game against Pitt. Tomaselli described the alleged abuse in detail.
[Zack Tomaselli, Accuses Fine Of Sex Abuse:] I was in the hotel room and he was he would put his hand down my shorts whenever I was sitting there watching TV. And he would basically fondle me four to maybe even five times. And it would go in spurts between 10 and 15 minutes. And it would stop for a couple hours and then he would start that all over again.
[Rowlands:] Tomaselli has his own troubles. He's facing his own charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Maine in 2009 and 2010. Tomaselli's own father calls him a liar and denies ever meeting Fine or letting his son take a trip with the coach. You'll hear from the father in just a few minutes. Also this hour: reaction from Fine's attorneys and Syracuse University to the latest claim. We'll also talk with Jon Wertheim, senior investigative reporter for "Sports Illustrated" and you'll also here from ESPN reporter Mark Schwarz. Schwarz is the reporter who broke the story about Bobby Davis secretly recording a conversation in 2002 with Bernie Fine's wife Laura
[Mark Schwarz, Espn:] Bobby Davis says he knew of one person who could validate that he was being sexually abused by Bernie Fine. That person was Fine's wife, Laurie Fine.
[Laurie Fine, Bernie Fine's Wife:] Hello.
[Bobby Davis, Alleges Sexual Abuse By Bernie Fine:] Mrs. Fine.
[Fine:] Yes.
[Davis:] How are you?
[Fine:] Hi Bobby hi, how are you?
[Schwarz:] Davis says that in October of 2002, he recorded a phone conversation with Laurie Fine without her knowledge. A legal act based on the location of both parties. During the call, Fine, seen here in hidden camera video from 2003, discussed the alleged sexual molestation of Davis by her husband, Syracuse associate head basketball coach Bernie Fine.
[Fine:] What did he want to you do you can be honest with me.
[Davis:] So what do you think? What he always does.
[Fine:] What, he wants to you grab him?
[Davis:] No, he's he's trying to made me grab him, I mean, he's personally he grabbed me in the, you know
[Fine:] But you never had any oral sex with him?
[Davis:] No.
[Fine:] No.
[Davis:] I think he would let but
[Fine:] Oh of course he was, he would be.
[Schwarz:] After bringing his allegations against Bernie Fine to a Syracuse police detective in 2002 and getting nowhere, Davis says he was determined to confirm his story. He says he hoped Laurie Fine would disclose on tape the details of her own knowledge of the abuse he says started when he was 12 and continued for more than a decade.
[Unidentified Male:] So what were you hoping to accomplish by recording it?
[Davis:] Laurie was a person that I talked to a lot about the situation as I got older and she was there a lot of the times, seen a lot of things that were going on when Bernie would come down o the basement in his house and when I was laying down there. And she had to see him every night do that. But Laurie was the only one else that knew about what was going on, you know. And saw things that were happening with her own eyes and that we talked about it.
[Fine:] I know everything that went on and I know everything that went on with him. Bernie has issues. Maybe that he's not aware of, but he has issues. And if you trusted somebody you shouldn't have trusted.
[Davis:] Yes.
[Fine:] Bernie is also in denial. I think that he did the things did he, but he's somehow through his own mental telepathy of voicing out of his mind
[Schwarz:] Davis, who periodically stayed here at the Fine's former home beginning in the seventh grade and at one point had his own room in their basement says Laurie Fine told him she was aware that her husband was sexually abusing him.
[Fine:] Yes. I think there's an arrangement on this but it was scared you there was something about you.
[Davis:] I wonder why all this can work that now. One time she told me about an instance where she saw him through the basement window and she left like the blinds open a little bit one night and she actually was standing there and she watched through the window.
[Schwarz:] What did she see?
[Davis:] Bernie grabbing me and touching me. And she said the next day, you know, we got this is when I get older I probably like a junior in high school. And you got to step up to him, you got to say something, you got to be a man.
[Schwarz:] During the phone call, Davis explained to Laurie Fine that when he was about 27 years old in the late '90s, he asked Bernie Fine for $5,000 to help pay off some student loans.
[Fine:] When he gave you the money, what did he want for it?
[Davis:] He wanted to do me. He was trying to make it physical. He grabbed my head and I'll away and then he put me in your bed and then put me down and I tried to go away and he
[Fine:] Right. Right. He thought he could get what he wanted.
[Davis:] It's not about the money.
[Fine:] It's about the
[Schwarz:] During the call Laurie Fine suggested to Davis what her husband should do with his need for male companionship.
[Fine:] You know what, go to a place where there's gay boy, find yourself a gay boy, you know. Get your rocks off. Have it be over with. You know, he needs that male companionship that I can't give him. He's not interested in me.
[Schwarz:] At one point Laurie Fine seems to say that her husband was not only adult in the Fine household who betrayed Davis' trust.
[Rowlands:] There's much more of that report and that secretly-taped conversation ahead. Bobby Davis claiming a twisted relationship with the wife of his alleged abuser. That's coming up, stay with us.

[Blitzer:] Just over three months since the Newtown, Connecticut massacre. The senate majority leader, Harry Reid, has formally introduced a gun bill that he says will be debated once lawmakers return from their two week recess. Joining us to talk about that and more, CNN's chief political analyst, Gloria Borger and our senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. HE is the "National Journal" editorial director. Guys, thanks very much for coming in. Dianne Feinstein, she is not very happy that apparently the assault weapons ban would be included as amendment as opposed to part of the actual bill. Let's listen to what she told us.
[Sen. Dianne Feinstein , California:] This is very important to me. And I am not going to lay down and play dead. I think the American people have said in every single public poll that they support this kind of legislation, not to give me a vote on this would be a major betrayal of trust as I would see it.
[Blitzer:] She will get a vote as an amendment, but it won't be part of a comprehensive bill, and it is almost certainly going to die.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Right. And I think that's not a surprise to a lot of people. And normally people say let's blame the Republican party for that. The truth of the matter is that there are a handful of Senate Democrats up for re-election in pro-gun states like Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, for example, who would be in real trouble on an issue like an assault weapons ban. People believe it is a constitutional issue in their state. So, I think that the Democratic Party as well as the Republican party is reluctant on this issue. If it had been easy to do, they would have renewed the ban on assault weapons when it expired.
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] You know, first of all, we are seeing a change in the very fact that we are debating this. This issue was under a gag rule, really, for a decade after Al Gore's defeat in 2000 and the national debate encouraged action in blue leaning states like Colorado, New York, and Connecticut. But the problem, as Gloria suggested, is that Democrats are divided by geography on guns and Republicans are unified by ideology. The red state Democrats, traditionally, have been reluctant to vote for this, even going back to 1994 when it passed, they had a lot of defection among red districts and red state Democrats. The difference is that the gun control advocates haven't been able to put pressure on Republicans from blue places to vote for it. They make up for those votes. And as a result, it does not seem to be anything near even, not even majority. Much less a 60 votes.
[Borger:] And Harry Reid, by the way, Harry Reid, the leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate who made this decision is from Nevada, which is a pro-gun state and he opposes it.
[Blitzer:] The vice president was in New York, meeting with the mayor, Michael Bloomberg. We all know what Joe Biden would like to see and what the mayor would like to see. Let me play a little clip from Biden.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] It must be awful, being in public office and concluding that even though you might believe you should take action, that you can't take action because of political consequence you face. What a heck of a way to make a living. I mean that sincerely. What a heck of a way to have to have to act.
[Blitzer:] It is interesting because polls show that if nationally the overwhelming majority of the American public wants stricter rules, but they can't get it through politically.
[Brownstein:] And that's what's really interesting about this. The legislative and presidential politics of this are different. Legislatively, Democrats face the problem of geography. And the senate, small state bias magnifies the impact of small rural states where this is not politically sellable in most cases. But, as you point out, in national politics there's majority of support, for mostly said yes, a especially among what's become the Democrats' coalition of the ascending. Young people, minorities, college educated voters, especially women. These are majority issues. So, while it is difficult to pass them congressionally, blocking them and kind of unifying the Republican opposition against is not without cost in terms of peeling away from those constituency only to win back the White House.
[Borger:] Think of it as sort of a presidential race, when you look at the national numbers, that's one thing. When you look at the battleground states, that's what is really important. And that is the same kind of issue here. I just want to say one thing about Joe Biden. Joe Biden was part of the coalition that got the ban on assault weapons passed.
[Blitzer:] That was a long time ago.
[Borger:] He feels very, very strongly about this issue. As you know, Joe Biden is a visceral kind of politician. And whether he was saying in that sound bite that you just showed in the press conference that I kind a feel sorry for all of my political colleagues because they have to vote this way, even though they don't really believe it. When you think about that, I mean, it is a tough statement.
[Brownstein:] Gloria, the problem is more the opposite. In '94 when they passed it, they had 38 House Republicans from blue districts who felt compelled to vote for it. Today, gun control advocates have not been able to, it really have to go out to mayor efforts and others, if they are going to change the politics on this, they have to beat some Republicans in blue leaning areas who have voted against it and they haven't shown they can do that.
[Blitzer:] Some Democrats, if you remember in '94, they paid a pretty significant price for that.
[Borger:] They did. And that's why they haven't touched it since, Wolf, they're afraid. They are absolutely afraid.
[Blitzer:] These are not repulsive to this. All right Guys, thanks very much. Ron and Gloria. When we come back, a defense contractor with top secret clearance allegedly seduced to give away some of America's nuclear secrets. We are going to find out how it happened. That's next. Stay with us. You are in the SITUATION ROOM.

[Sambolin:] In a dramatic move, a Los Angeles school has replaced its entire staff to contain the community's outrage. But the backlash is intensifying at Miramonte Elementary School. That's just south of downtown Los Angeles. It is here that two teachers are being accused of sexually abusing their young students. So to give it some context, it's worth noting the students here are mostly minorities, specifically Latino. Most from working-class families. The neighborhood, far from upscale. So here's the deal. The school reportedly first got a complaint about one of the accused teachers, Mark Berndt, as far back as 20 years ago. He's the one on the left. But Berndt wasn't removed from the classroom until last January. Then came news of a second teacher, Martin Springer, arrested for allegedly fondling two young girls in class. We have CNN legal contributor Paul Cowen standing by to talk about the legal implications here, and Casey Wian, live from L.A. with the latest details. So, Casey, I want to start with you. If you can clear something up for us. We noticed the superintendent was very careful with his words. He never mentioned the school staff was fired. So is the school replacing all of the staff temporarily?
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Not exactly temporarily, Zoraida. What's happening is the entire staff at Miramonte Elementary is going to be taken out of that school, retrained and reassigned to a school that is now being is still under construction. A new staff will be brought in. A staff that has been pre-screened, according to the school district, will be brought in when classes resume at that school on Thursday, Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] All right. I want to go over the timeline here, because it's rather interesting. Berndt was first investigated back in the early 1990s. The most recent investigation that we have here began in October of 2010. He was not removed from the classroom until last January. Was Berndt allowed back into the classroom after that? This is mind-boggling to understand that he could be in a classroom again with children.
[Wian:] Well, actually, he was, believe it or not, allowed back into the classroom after he was removed. The district tells us, though, it was just for a half hour. That he was in the presence of another staff member and that no students were in the classroom at the time. He was allowed back in to receive his personal effects. His firing from the district is actually under appeal. So, believe it or not, even if he is convicted of these allegations, he still stands to collect his school district pension for the rest of his life, Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] Now we understand that 98 percent of the population there is Hispanic. And I was listening to a mom who was very concerned about what was happening at the school. And she said that if this had happened in a Beverly Hills neighborhood, for example, that they would have responded immediately and removed that teacher and addressed the situation with the children. Is there any explanation about that?
[Wian:] Well, just to be clear, Beverly Hills is a different school district. So who knows how they would have handled the situation. But that's what a lot of parents are saying. They do believe that if it was in a more affluent neighborhood, that maybe these allegations would have been caught earlier. Parents do concede, and community leaders do concede, including a former California state senator who was addressing these parents outside the school yesterday, that silence by the parents may have been a contributing factor. Because so many of these families are immigrant families, many of them coming from Mexico, where teachers are often looked at as almost second parents, looked at as the status of doctors where they are often beyond reproach, beyond question. And that is why some of these parents may have not questioned some of the behavior and some of the things that their children may have been telling them. So there may have been a cultural issue that actually contributed to this abuse allegedly going on for so long, Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] And do you think because of that cultural issue, that perhaps also they were scared to contact the police?
[Wian:] That's a possibility. We haven't heard that from any parents, but the reality is, some of these parents are likely in the country illegally and have a distrust of the police. They also have a distrust of the police because of their experiences in their home countries. So that could have been a contributing factor.
[Sambolin:] All right, Casey Wian, live for us in California. Thank you very much for that. At least 10 families are already preparing to sue the teachers and the school district calling what happened a massive cover-up. The family's lawyers say that number could grow.
[Raymond Boucher, Attorney:] There's no question there's a significant number of additional kids over the last 30 years who were sexually abused or mistreated at the school. And I think that number is is going to be dwarfed by the actual number of ultimate cases.
[Sambolin:] So let's bring in CNN legal contributor, Paul Callan, who has prosecuted child sex abuse cases. This is just an outrageous story. What kind of a liability could the school face, the district, in a situation like this?
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Analyst:] You know, Zoraida, you're right. It's one of the most shocking cases that I've heard of in a very, very long time. There are 23 students who allegedly were abused by Berndt and there's another two by Springer. Now if this is true, you've got 25 students that we know of at this point. So it's a huge number of potential lawsuits that could be brought against the school district. And these lawyers that we just saw talking at a press conference, if they can establish that the school district knew about this, knew about the propensity of these men to abuse children, and did nothing about it, then the school district will be liable for damages, and very, very substantial damages. But we have to see what can be proven in that regard.
[Sambolin:] We know that even after they found these photos of these alleged victims that Berndt was allowed back in to the classroom with the children.
[Callan:] Well, what I found to be very, very disturbing is, you know, the fact pattern is that apparently a photo place saw these bondage pictures of these children. Reported it to the police in October. Now, from October until January of 2012, what happens? Why aren't the police going in and saying get him out of the classroom immediately? Apparently, he's not removed until January. But I would like to know was it the police responsible for that or were they late in notifying school district authorities. That remains to be seen who is at ought here. But somebody's at fault. Then he's not arrested for another year. The arrests just took place recently. During that period of time, even though he wasn't in the classroom, he was living in the community. Apparently, somebody even saw him on a tandem bike ride with a child. How many other children were abused after a one-year investigation of an alleged pedophile occurred? There are some really serious questions and real reason for these parents to be disturbed at this school district in California.
[Sambolin:] What do you make of this decision to go ahead and just remove the entire staff from the school? When I read it at first, I thought well maybe this is in an effort to appease the families, the parents who are just outraged over this, and maybe it's a way to protect themselves to say, no, we're doing everything we possibly can.
[Callan:] Well, it's an unprecedented development, I think, to remove 150 staff and teachers, because for the innocent, and the vast majority of them maybe all except the two who have been charged, are innocent, they sort of have a cloud hanging our their head, being removed from the school district. The school district is saying we're just doing this for logistical purposes. But I understand why the decision is made. 25 percent of the kids stopped attending class. And I can see how a lot of the parents would say I don't want to send my child back there. The school could be put out of business. So instead of moving all of the children, they decided instead to move the teachers and staff, and I can't criticize them for that. I think, in the end, that may be the sensible way to help this school survive if it can survive these horrific allegations.
[Sambolin:] And I just wanted to clear this up because we brought it up and we didn't really address it. If, in fact, there are some undocumenteds within the school, they should report to the police because they're perfectly safe.
[Callan:] Yes, they should absolutely report to the police. It should not affect their status in the United States. There are laws to protect them in this situation. And you know, police authorities want to hear everything here. One of the things we're going to see, Zoraida, as this case proceeds now, there are 1500 students in this district. All 1500 are going to be interviewed by the sheriff's department and the police. How many other allegations will there be? And will they be accurate? Or will sort of hysteria and fear and, you know, they're all little kids, will they be affected? You really need skilled investigators to get to the bottom of this.
[Sambolin:] Paul Callan, as usual, we really appreciate it. Thank you.
[Callan:] Thank you, Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] Complicated story there. Turning to the world of politics now, embracing the super PAC. President Obama changes his mind on unlimited campaign contributions. It may mean more money, but will it brand him as a hypocrite? It's "Fair Game," and it's next.

[Blitzer:] Now to Wall Street's influence on the presidential race. There is new evidence that business titans are turning their backs on President Obama. CNN's Brian Todd has our report.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Mort Zuckerman is a lifelong democrat. He worked for President Obama's campaign in 2008. His paper, the "New York daily news," endorsed Mr. Obama then. As a wealthy real estate investor, he's tapped into the pulse of Wall Street and the financial sector. His feelings about the president these days may reflect that group, as well.
[Mort Zuckerman, Chairman, Boston Properties:] In our system of government, without the leadership of the president, almost nothing happens. That leadership just has not been there.
[Todd:] He says the president's lost Wall Street, alienated the business community. Many cite comments like this
[Obama:] They want to give banks and insurance companies even more power to do as they please.
[Zuckerman:] There is rhetoric from the president which he blames them for the problems we have. That is an unfair judgment about the role of finance in this economy.
[Todd:] Analysts say the president's support for higher taxes for the wealthy and the financial reform law that restricted the bank's trading activity also angered Wall Street. Those who are turned off are now turning away from him. Deep-pocketed donors from the financial sector, so crucial to Mr. Obama's 2008 victory, are now throwing their wash to Mitt Romney. Bob Biersack in the Center for Responsive politics tracked the money from political action committees that can race unlimited amounts. The real disparity in fundraising here is between the two super PAC, right Romney is here and Obama is here.
[Bob Biersack, Center For Responsive Politics:] That's right. So we're seeing more than half of his funds coming from the finance and insurance sector of the economy as opposed to the president which is a really small proportion. And it is about almost 50 times as much money, in this context going to support Romney than the money that's supporting the president.
[Todd:] Kevin griffin, a hedge bond manager who donated to the Obama campaign in 2008, is one who switched, giving big money to the Romney super PAC. He's quoted as accusing the president of engaging in class warfare. Zuckerman doesn't donate to political campaign. But is he about to turn?
[Zuckerman:] Obviously, I'm leaning in that direction because of my disappointment with President Obama.
[Todd:] The Obama campaign is pushing back. A spokesman Ben Labolt e- mailing us this. "Mitt Romney has been actively campaigning on a promise to repeal Wall Street reform, let Wall Street write its own rules again, and pursue risky financial deals that put our economy at risk." Labolt says President Obama still has support from many business leaders who agree with the measures he's taken to prevent another financial crisis. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
[Blitzer:] It's a heist for the ages. Thieves attempt to rob a truck as it speeds down a highway.

[Anderson:] Very warm welcome back and if you are just joining, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. First, let's get you a check of the world headlines at this point. On the eve of talks among world powers to try to end the bloodshed in Syria at least 88 people have been killed there today. The UN says the military assault on civilians mounts to apparent, quote, "crimes against humanity." And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the opposition to Syrian national council is emerging as an alternative to the Bashar al Assad regime. Britain's prime minister says Somalia has an unprecedented opportunity to secure a better future. Speaking at a meeting convened in London, David Cameron told world leaders that failure to act will put their security at risk. A presidential apology for the burning of Korans by U.S. troops did not stop protests in Afghanistan. Barack Obama called the burnings an error. But demonstrations continue. And two U.S. troops were killed by a gunman in an Afghan army uniform earlier. And the U.S. and the United Nations are condemning Thursday wave of attacks of both Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. The death toll stands at 44 with more than 200 injured. Investigators say most of the explosions and shootings happened within a two hour time frame and could have been coordinated. No one, though, as yet has claimed responsibility. Well, United Nations is getting tough on Syria with a rapidly growing death toll as a backdrop. The UN is identifying Syrian commanders and other high ranking officials who may be responsible for what it calls widespread systematic and gross human rights violations. My colleague Jim Clancy joining me now from CNN center Jim.
[Jim Clancy, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, they had a special commission, Becky. And the United Nations says that that body collected evidence and Syrian forces shot unarmed civilians, shelled residential areas, tortured prisoners, including children. Independent UN investigators are now calling for those who ordered and carried out such crimes against humanity to face prosecution. UN investigators interviewed some 400 victims and witnesses and say high and mid-ranking military officials are implicated. Brazilian investigator Paulo Pinheiro, head of the inquiry.
[Paulo Pinheiro, Un Investigator:] We have demonstrated a consistent pattern in terms of arbitrary detentions, torture, killing of children, gross human rights relations and the practice of some crimes against humanity.
[Clancy:] Now Pinheiro says they handed it over to the high commission for human rights, the high commissioner, a list of 35 names of individuals, military officers as well as the names of military or security units believed responsible for these crimes. Now it's another report, Becky. Some will argue it only confirms what's already abundantly obvious. It would take action by the security council to refer these charges for prosecution to the international criminal court and of course China and Russia could again cast a veto to protect Bashar al Assad. Nadim Houry of Human Rights Watch, though, says the UN report will have an affect.
[Nadim Houry, Human Rights Watch:] I think the pressure is building up not only on Syria, but also on countries like Russia and China. You know, they may be impervious to what the world thinks about them, but ultimately they also must be watching TV, they also must be realizing that a policy of standing by Assad is basically enabling the ongoing killing of civilians.
[Clancy:] Now as part of the Friends of Syria group the foreign ministers from the U.S., France, the UK, and European Union are going to be meeting Friday in Tunisia to talk about that report and its findings. But if it only comes to talk, Becky, it's not going to stop the slaughter in Homs and elsewhere across Syria. Crimes are being committed, that's being documented. The question is what is anyone going to do about it?
[Anderson:] Yeah. Let's hope we get an answer sometime soon. Jim, thank you for that. While the focus of world leaders will turn to Syria tomorrow, today was Somalia taking center stage. At a meeting in London there were calls for greater cooperation to restore peace and stability to a country wrecked by years of war. Yesterday Somalia's prime minister told me that a solution would not come cheaply.
[Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Somali Prime Minister:] 20 years of lawlessness, 20 years of civil war, 20 years of chaos has taken its toll on the economy of Somalia, on the infrastructure of Somalia. So to [inaudible] the country, to bring Somalia back to the community of nations needs a quite a lot of money.
[Anderson:] Have you got a figure in mind?
[Ali:] This requires billions of dollars.
[Anderson:] While there were pledges of humanitarian aid today, it seems the hosts of the conference had different priorities. Here is what Britain's foreign secretary told me earlier.
[William Hague, British Foreign Secretary:] That's not what this conference is for. It's not about the nation, it's about the political process of Somalia is going to have a legitimacy in their political process. It's about getting the funding for the African Union forces so that they can secure more of the country. We did that at the UN security council after a unanimous vote at the security council. It's about cooperation on piracy. And we're signing many agreements on that this afternoon. And it's about highlighting the humanitarian needs so that they do get so that the money does flow and the stability is there.
[Anderson:] All right. Well, that stability is not just important for Somalia, of course. The country has become a breeding ground for terrorism with militants recruited from across the globe as Nima Elbagir discovered right here in London.
[Nima Elbagir, Cnn International Correspondent:] There are no signs, no distinguishing features to help any other than those who already know what awaits the other side of this battered doorway. This is hidden camera footage of a marfish, the cafe British Somalis come to to chew the vegetable stimulant khat. On the table, you can see bags of the plant which is flown in from Kenya. Although khat is legal in the UK, marfish are closed off to outsiders. At another marfish we see a camera entry system overlooking a locked doorway. We're refused entry. In the past, journalists have been attacked for attempting to report on the goings on inside the cafes. For years, marfishes have been believed to be at the center of criminal activity. Now CNN has learned, they may also be a recruiting ground for Islamic militants. Abukar Awale is an anti-khat campaigner here in the UK. He know only too well the paranoia and isolation khat addiction engenders in the young men in the marfishes. Seven years ago he was one of them.
[Abukar Awale, Anti-khat Campaigner:] These young people become vulnerable. You know, we're not clearly thinking. And are paranoid [inaudible]. And that's when they start to hate the rich public, especially the police. And they are thinking everybody is out there to get them. And that's exactly the kind of individual the likes of Al Shabbab are targeting. Of course, they are moving forward. They are changing the techniques. So it's no longer in the [inaudible] and the madrasas they are targeting, they are looking for the marfishes now. And we there has been come crazies here in UK where the young people have been taken away from marfishes back to Somalia. And there are now young people from the marfishes [inaudible] now who are missing and we don't know where they are.
[Elbagir:] The families of many of these young men were too afraid to speak to us, but CNN has confirmed that as recently as within the last month two young men aged 18 and 20 have been reported missing. Both were khat addicts. And both, their families are convinced, have been recruited to fight by Al Shabbab. And that, one relative told us, is effectively a death sentence. It's not just in the marfishes that young Somalis are being targeted for radicalization, the internet has become a treasure trove for radicals. And Al Shabbab openly boasts of having dozens of recruiters online at all hours selling their videos in English to their target audience.
[Unidentified Male:] And you are fighting for [inaudible]. We are fighting for justice, because we are defending our land and our families.
[Elbagir:] Even those families who know their children are safely at home and not immune from extremists, this Somali mother agreed to be interviewed because she said her experience is an all too common one in the British-Somali community. She's asked that we not identify her.
[Unidentified Female:] My son is a good, active young boy, outgoing, lost by many, many people. He loved to play football. He started changing by becoming addicted to the internet. Many different sites, YouTube, Facebook. I noticed a lot of change from him. He started saying, "mom, please take me abroad to study Islam." I supported him as any mother would. And I too him to Nairobi to a boarding school. After weeks of him staying in the school, he disappeared.
[Elbagir:] Her son had gone to fight for Al Shabbab. And although she said she was able to convince him to leave Somalia, she still lives in fear that either the British authorities or the militant group itself will one day come after him. She hopes other parents will be able to guard their children from what happened to hers. But even as the international community struggles to find a solution to Al Shabbab's increasingly sophisticated recruitment methods, the local British Somali community is fighting back Belada means alarm in Somali. Abdi Shire wrote the song after a suicide bomber detonated himself in the middle of a high school graduation in Mogadishu. Today, it's one of the most popular Somali songs of all time. And although it's raised awareness, it's also made him a target.
[Abdi Shire, Activist:] It hurt some people who were not happy, the public to be told, you know, what was right. So as a result of that being threatened with death as you probably heard. So people want to silence me and, you know, keep quiet. And I have received emails, telephone calls asking me to shut up.
[Elbagir:] But Abdi says he's not afraid. His duty is to show his community that the extremists cannot win.
[Shire:] Before we wrote Belada nobody was able to challenge or say anything against Al Shabbab. And, you know, we believe that song encouraged people to speak up, to rise up and, you know, challenge Al Shabbab and other people who are actually destroying Somalia.
[Elbagir:] For Somalis in the UK, the extremism and fear they thought they'd left behind in their homeland have followed them here. And as the world finally moves to act cohesively on Somalia, many Somalis told us that they no longer believe anywhere is safe. Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
[Anderson:] Frightening stuff. All right. Coming up next, Vladimir Putin's answer to the angry protesters trying to prevent his reelection. More than 100,000 people turned out to support him. What he said about next week's election is next.

[Romans:] Welcome back. We've been telling you the financial plan, the economic plans of all of the major candidates. Today, we're looking at Mitt Romney. He's a former governor, a very successful, and very rich businessman. His credentials as co-founder of Bain Capital are what attracts Wall Street money. Plus, he's worth $202 million, and his economic policy plan is, by far, the most detailed of all the candidates. A 160 pages long, 50 proposals, and he has 10 actions for day one of his presidency should he get there. Now, Romney would cut the corporate income tax to 25 percent. He will slash government spending regulation federal programs. He's a lot like the other candidates in that regard. He would repeal President Obama's healthcare reform and also the Dodd-Frank banking rules. He would expand international trade policies and drill for more oil here at home. On to taxes. No mention of a flat tax in Romney's plan. Instead, he wants to keep individual taxes as they are now, but eliminate taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains for low and middle income families. He also wants to scrap the estate tax. He wants to end that. Romney also wants to make it easier for foreigners with advanced degrees in math, science, and engineering to come to work in the U.S. that includes raising the visa caps for people who are highly skilled workers and giving many of them permanent residency. Also on the list, he wants to increase retraining programs for people already here who are jobless, jobless Americans with the help of the states and the private sector. Now, special to his plan, something we haven't seen, no new regulations that will cost money to businesses. He wants a net balance here. He wants the cost of any new government rules or standards from day one to have to be offset by savings elsewhere. So, no business, no small business, no big business, Ali and Carol, would have to have new costs from regulation. He would say treat every regulation basically like a balanced budget. So, there you go. Mitt Romney has the biggest sort of the most detailed plan out there, and that's where it stands.
[Velshi:] And it covers a lot of area, like this visa business. This is something we talked about a lot. We know we've got a shortage of trained workers in certain areas, but this business about capital gains and earned interest earned, tax credit for low and middle income Americans, I think it's fair to say, capital gain taxes are not a problem that many low and middle income Americans faced.
[Romans:] And not something that critics may immediately point out. And I'll tell you something else also, you know, all of this sort of tax experts just trying to score all of these different plans, but we're very there isn't even a general election here yet. So, a lot of this stuff is flat form sort of white paper kind of stuff, but I will tell you that Mitt Romney is the most detailed.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Romans:] The "Wall Street Journal" has endorsed Jon Huntsman's plan, quite frankly, and Newt Gingrich, the tax policy centered just yesterday or today came out and said Newt Gingrich's plan where he's offering huge tax cuts
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Romans:] would actually cause the federal deficit to go up by a trillion dollars. Just trying to get a handle on what they all propose.
[Velshi:] Thanks, Christine.
[Costello:] Along those lines, the Republican frontrunner, Newt Gingrich's tax plan is coming under increased scrutiny. The non-partisan tax policy center ran the numbers and the verdict, it would lead to huge deficits to give the wealthiest Americans a gigantic tax break. According to the analysis, Gingrich's plan would reduce government revenue by a staggering $1.3 trillion or 35 percent by 2015. That's the first year the plan could be fully implemented. Also, the tax rate for Americans with more than $1 million in net income would fall to 11.9 percent saving those individuals $613,000.
[Velshi:] It's interesting that for a lot of libertarians and some conservatives, the idea that it will, you know, bring government revenues down by so much is music to their ears, but we still actually have a government that has to pay for things. So, it's a a complicated
[Romans:] We still have Congress has to approve things, too.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Romans:] And so, while some tax experts have been alarmed by the idea of 2015, trying to balance the budget and do all this, other just saying
[Velshi:] Do you think Congress will get down to it?
[Costello:] You talk about those huge gigantic cuts and also that what was it, the tax analysis said that you can't implement that many cuts.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Costello:] You just can't or the government just would not work.
[Velshi:] Right. That doesn't necessarily move everybody, though, as we've seen, right?
[Romans:] That's exactly what they That's a point. And the point is not letting bloated government work the way it always has.
[Velshi:] We'll have lots of time to discuss this for many, many more months. We're taking a quick break here on AMERICAN MORNING. It's 57 minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.

[Cho:] Before the break I showed you some of the best jobs for people over 50 who are looking to start a new career. Now, according to CNN Money, they include tutor, online marketing writer and energy field auditor. Now for the top two. The second best career for someone over 50 years old, personal trainer. That's surprising. Companies and communities are apparently looking for wellness trainers. So if you're in good shape, it could be the perfect job for you. And the number one job for flexibility, relatively low stress and a sense of social meaning, grant coordinator. Great way to match your job skills to a cause you believe in. The Conrad Murray trial could go to the jury a lot quicker than expected. Our Ted Rowlands takes a look at the prosecution's case so far and what the defense strategy might be. Watch.
[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] When court resumes in the case against Dr. Conrad Murray, the prosecution's final witness will be on the stand. An expert in Propofol. They're expected, the prosecution, to wrap up their case either late Monday or early Tuesday. And then it will be the defense's turn to put on their case, which we expect to last two to three days. They, too, have a Propofol expert on their witness list. They also are expected to bring on some character witnesses, including patients of Dr. Murray. And they're likely going to try to shift the jury's attention to the insulated world that Michael Jackson had created for himself. And also bring up the other doctors that treated Jackson in the time during Murray's treatment and before. We do expect that there is a chance that the jury could get this case as early as the end of next week. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
[Cho:] Federal authorities have accused a Florida man of hacking into computer accounts and electronic devices belonging to Hollywood celebrities. Thirty-five-year-old Christopher Chaney is accused of hacking into accounts belonging to, among others, Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and Mila Kunis. Police say he loaded some nude photos onto the Internet, including recently seen photos of Scarlett Johansson. Chaney allegedly was able to access passwords by monitoring social media and other online sites that celebrities use. The leaning tower of London? Well, it could be a new tourist attraction in the near future. That's because Big Ben, the famous British landmark, is apparently starting to tilt a little. We're going to take you there in a few minutes. Thousands of college freshmen getting settled into their first-year routine. So which schools have the happiest freshmen? According to the Center For College Affordability and Productivity, Williams College in Massachusetts is number five on the list. Coming in at number four, Stanford University in Palo Alto. Third happiest freshmen on this list can be found at Princeton University. Beautiful campus in New Jersey. So which two schools have the happiest freshmen of them all? Find out after the break.

[Blackwell:] Cross country this morning. And we're starting in Florida. A parking garage collapsed in the middle of the day and it was caught on surveillance video. Look at this. This garage is for the Broward County Courthouse. And, get this, they were going to demolish this anyway and that's why it was empty. No people, no cars inside. But there was so much dust that at least one person thought it was a terror attack. No one was seriously hurt. Now to Georgia. A woman is steaming mad. You probably would be too. She got two speeding tickets on the same road at the same time. Listen. First she was stopped for driving 56 in a 35. After the officer wrote the ticket, he said, hold on, there's another officer here to write you another ticket. That was for driving 62 in a 35.
[Unidentified Male:] He said, ma'am, we're giving you a second ticket and this is to make an example of you.
[Nyoka Patton, Driver:] And they're on the same exact minute of the same exact day. Then I just went into total shock. I was like I was so upset, I couldn't even cry.
[Blackwell:] Understandable. The police chief says the two officers were at opposite ends of the road and the driver sped up between the two officers. And look at what's visible in Alabama as a result of Hurricane Isaac. This is wreckage from a schoonor that ran aground in 1923. You see the high surf from Isaac washed off all the sand.
[Unidentified Female:] I am stoked that it's as well preserved as it is.
[Jenny Tucker, Fort Morgan, Alabama, Resident:] It's just really incredible to see history just laying right here on Fort Morgan, on the beach.
[Blackwell:] The wreckage is in a remote part of the shoreline. It's uncovered every few years when a big storm hits.
[Kaye:] A California family says their teenage son was not allowed on a plane because he has down syndrome. Now they plan to sue, claiming American Airlines discriminated against their son. The airline says workers couldn't calm the boy down and that he was a security risk. But his parent's cell phone video tells another story. Carolyn Costello with our affiliate KTLA has more.
[Carolyn Costello, Ktla Reporter:] This home video shows Bede Vanderhorst at a Journey concert. A 16-year-old boy called up on stage and given a guitar by the band. His parents describe him as outgoing, fun loving and charming, but they say the son they love was singled out and discriminated against because he has down syndrome.
[Joan Vanderhorst, Mother:] We were not
[Robert Vanderhorst, Father:] We never went down the ramp.
[J. Vanderhorst:] We were not allowed on the plane because this man saw my son and made a decision.
[Costello:] Joan and Robert Vanderhorst, who spoke with us through Skype, tell us as they waited to board an American Airlines flight with their son, they were told they weren't allowed on.
[J. Vanderhorst:] OK, my question is, why are you singling me out and saying
[Unidentified Male:] I'm not singling you out.
[J. Vanderhorst:] Why aren't you telling them and them and them and all these people that have children that they have to
[Unidentified Male:] In a security controlled area, you cannot be recording this.
[Costello:] Joan pulled out her cell phone and began to videotape, documenting what she believes was a violation of her son's civil rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Her son labeled a flight risk can be seen in the video sitting at the gate quietly playing with his hat. In the video you can hear John sobbing and her husband expressing disbelief.
[R. Vanderhorst:] It's amazing. He's demonstrating he's not a problem.
[J. Vanderhorst:] I kept saying, is this only because he has down syndrome?
[Costello:] The family has flown together dozens of times. The only thing different, they had upgraded, for the first time, to first class.
[J. Vanderhorst:] That this little boy had a seat in first class area and for some reason they didn't want that. That wasn't acceptable.
[Costello:] American Airlines released a statement that reads, in part, "the young man was excitable, running around and not acclimated to the environment. The pilot attempted to calm him down and acclimate him to the surroundings. His efforts were not successful. For the safety of the young man and the safety of others, American Airlines offered to book another flight for the family." But the family says that statement is untrue. They say they'll sue American Airlines and hope their experience will teach the company and people in general a valuable lesson.
[R. Vanderhorst:] To respect each person's dignity. Every one of us should be treated with equal dignity.
[Kaye:] A lot of people talking about this story. We want your opinion on this. You heard the parents. They're filing a lawsuit. By the way, they're coming on this show at 9:15 Eastern Time this morning to talk about it. So, let us know. Do you think that they have a case for discrimination? You can tweet me @RandiKayeCNN or you can tweet Victor @VictorCNN. We'll read your responses later this morning.
[Blackwell:] It was a day that transformed the nation and the lives of thousands of first responders. How those who worked at Ground Zero are fighting for their health and the medical fund that's helping them.

[Costello:] A new game show is putting knowledge of the bestselling book of all time to the test.
[Jeff Foxworthy:] Which one is found in the bible, OK? And just so you know, we may have changed a word or two here or there like we might say, "Thou shall not run a red light," but that aside these laws are actually found in the bible or somewhere in one of our 50 states. "Thou shall not allow thy pants to sag. Thou shall not impersonate a priest. Mustard Seeds Audra.
[Unidentified Female:] Thou shall not impersonate a priest.
[Foxworthy:] That is incorrect. Last one. Thou shall not wear cotton, polyester socks. Oasis Brian.
[Unidentified Male:] It's "Thou shall not wear cottonpolyester socks."
[Foxworthy:] That is absolutely right.
[Costello:] Seriously? This game is called the "American Bible Challenge." Comedian Jeff Foxworthy is the host. It debuts this summer on the Game Show Network. And joining me now is Amy Introcaso- Davis, who's executive vice president of programming for GSN. Welcome.
[Amy Introcaso-davis, Executive Vp Of Programming, Gsn:] Hello. Happy Memorial Day weekend.
[Costello:] Same to you. I was watching clips of the show and it just looks like so much fun. I mean who knew the bible could be this much fun.
[Introcaso-davis:] Well, you know, we at GSN knew the bible was going to be this much fun. It's been super fun to work on. We've been piloting it the last month or so. We've been casting in California in the last few weeks and we'll be casting in Atlanta and all over the country. Chicago, Dallas. We'll be in Dallas on June 2nd to find contestants. It's been amazingly fun. And I think what's astonishing to us is how young people are really responding to this idea and coming at it in droves and they know their bible.
[Costello:] Yes, I was just going to ask you. There's a casting call today in Atlanta. How many people is it attracting?
[Introcaso-davis:] Each city is different. You know today is Memorial Day weekend. I don't know how many people will come or not. If that's a good thing or a bad thing. If you have nothing to do on Saturday and Sunday, please go to gsnTV.com and find out where to go. But, you know, it's been astonishing to us. It's an idea that we've been kicking around for a long time. Michael Davies, who is one of the greatest game show producers of all time, brought it to us. And we also brought in Tom Forman, who produced "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to get the back stories of the people who are playing the game. It's important to us that people know what they're playing for. Everybody will be playing for charity. So it's something that's very emotional for them. You will also hear their back stories of how they came to their faith. And so it's a very different kind of game show. We have a choir onstage. Yes.
[Costello:] Something interested me, you know, and you're looking for contestants. You said the contestants, GSN has said that the contestants will represent worthy faith-based organizations. What does that mean? The only contestants that will qualify come from faith-based groups?
[Introcaso-davis:] No. It means that they will actually be playing for them. So they will they'll be playing for groups that are of faith or for organizations that charity organizations that need money. Those are one of the places that we're looking at.
[Costello:] So that so the charities
[Introcaso-davis:] But everybody can try out for this.
[Costello:] So the charities can only be faith-based charities? It can't be any charity the contestants choose?
[Introcaso-davis:] No. No. No. It can be any charity. It's just that we're looking at faith-based charities because they will tend to know the bible better. But anyone who knows the bible can come out and audition for the show. It has the same game show requirements that every game show has, which is you have to pass a test to get on a game show.
[Costello:] Gotcha.
[Introcaso-davis:] I will say that I probably wouldn't pass any of the tests. Again, I am not smarter than a fifth grader, so I probably wouldn't pass any of the tests to get on our shows. But that's what it is. So anybody can come out.
[Costello:] Gotcha.
[Introcaso-davis:] And we're playing for charities.
[Costello:] Gotcha. I'm just wondering about that polyester sock thing in the bible. But I'm sure if I watch the show later this summer, I will know. Thank you very much for joining us this morning, Amy.
[Introcaso-davis:] Thank you, Carol.
[Costello:] Sure. Snoop Dogg takes the mound. The rapper throws out the first pitch at a White Sox game, and guess what he does? Well, it was a tribute to an NFL quarterback. We'll show you coming up.

[Baldwin:] I do want to get along to this one, because we have been talking a lot about, look, if you get in a plane, you need to pay attention. The headlines are enough to frighten anyone who is planning to travel by plane, air traffic controllers falling asleep when they should be guiding planes in for a landing. Just this week, a controller at Seattle's Boeing Field was fired for allegedly falling asleep on the job, not just once, but two different times this year. So what should be done to keep controllers awake and alert so they can help keep you safe? We've heard recommendations from sleep experts, the controllers union, and the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration, but we haven't really heard from an actual air traffic controller, until now. I want to welcome Dean Iacopelli, he's an air traffic control specialist and he guides flights heading into and out of a pretty busy area, the New York metropolitan area. Dean, good to have you on.
[Dean Iacopelli, Air Traffic Control Specialist:] Thank you.
[Baldwin:] I want to begin with, have you ever worked overnights, first of all?
[Iacopelli:] I have. Yes, I have. I have worked midnight shifts many times.
[Baldwin:] OK, so you've worked the midnight shift. Help us understand what it's like inside the tower. Let's say it's 2:00 in the morning, you know, I don't know if you're looking at a lot of monitors. Is it difficult to stay awake or no?
[Iacopelli:] You know, just to be clear, where I work, I'm not actually inside a tower. I'm in a radar room and it's dark and it's quiet. And you know, when you get to a certain point, particularly in New York between, say, 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., there's not a lot going on. You have the occasional arrival or departure, a plane taking off or landing. But for the most part, you're there waiting for an airplane to call you or to talk to an adjacent facility.
[Baldwin:] So is it easy to have a tendency to want to doze?
[Iacopelli:] No, I've not had any personal instances of falling asleep, nor have I seen anyone do it. But it is a tedious time between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. And where I work, we're fortunate to have two people on. You know, in a lot of these places we had up until recently, we had one person working in many instances some facilities that were significantly less busy than a place like New York.
[Baldwin:] Right, and that's the solution that we've seen, right? They're adding an extra man or woman, I think it's 27 different airports. Also, maybe adding another hour in the break time.
[Iacopelli:] That's correct.
[Baldwin:] But I know some air traffic controllers, and I think you're on this page, you want to add what you call recuperative breaks. And I don't know if that's a fancy way of saying a nap, but I know that the Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says no. You know, they don't want to pay people to nap while you're working. Give me your argument in favor of these recuperative naps, breaks.
[Iacopelli:] Well, again, just to be clear, we are speaking about recuperative breaks, and it's time away from the control room, time away from the tower where these individuals have an opportunity to clear their head. It may be to get something to eat, it may be to get a cup of coffee, it may be to sit down in the chair and close their eyes, not necessarily sleep but close their eyes. It's an opportunity to be outside of the operation and gain the time that they need to come back to work, ready and prepared to do what they need to do.
[Baldwin:] How long of a break do you want?
[Iacopelli:] Well, again, we're trying to work through it. We have some studies and some science that shows that a couple hours works best. But again, this is not and it's important to understand it's not what the union is asking for. The union is not asking for this, this is a joint recommendation with the FAA, based on science. We incorporated data from studies on Department of Defense controllers, from NASA. And again, we're not alone in working shift work. There's a lot of science and data out there that shows that people who work shift work, who have to cover 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, are different than people who work 9:00 to 5:00. And it's important that we focus on the data. And there's a lot of stories out there that say "the union wants." It's not really what the union wants, it's we're just advocating mitigating the fatigue that the science has shown.
[Baldwin:] I think a lot of people who watch, they have worked overnights, I've worked overnights. You know, you don't have a typical 9:00 to 5:00 job, I know a lot of you have to cover these 247 shifts and that interferes with the body's natural rhythm. But if I may, I want to throw one solution out to you because, you know, you mentioned science and I actually spoke to a sleep expert who also testified on this very issue back in Capitol Hill in 1983. I want you to listen to his idea, and then I want your reaction.
[Unidentified Male:] Ideally, they would stay on the same shift for several weeks at a time. They would work for, at the maximum, four or five days consecutively, and rotate in a direction of rotation where they go from day shift to evening shift. Then they get used to working the evening shift for a couple of weeks and then they rotate on to the night shift. That way they don't go cold turkey from working at 6:00 in the morning to suddenly having to start at 10:00 p.m. and work all night.
[Baldwin:] So, Dean, what do you think about that idea? Would that work?
[Iacopelli:] Again, I haven't seen the data that he's relying on. But the scientists that we've talked to and who modeled the schedules over six-week periods found that working again, I don't know if he's talking about when he says night shifts, if he means the midnight shift.
[Baldwin:] I think he's referring to overnights versus daytime. And he's saying, look, it's better for the body to stay on one shift for X-period of time and then after, say, three months you guys all rotate. Would that work?
[Iacopelli:] I don't know. I don't know if it would work operationally but I don't know of any science that I've seen to support it. But I do know this, that life happens during the day. Now we can say that midnight shift, you know, when you rotate into it and you're stable and steady on that shift, then you'll get adjusted to it. But the body's natural rhythms want to be sleeping when you're trying to stay awake. And when you go home from work, when you want to go to sleep, your body wants to be awake. That's when life happens, life takes place during the day. Most of us have families, most of us have children. There's things that we have to do. It would in a sterile world, maybe you can go home, shut the curtains, turn off the lights and get eight hours of sleep during the day, but for the rest of us who live a normal life, life happens during the day. So I don't know that that is the absolute answer.
[Baldwin:] Sure, no, no. And I do want to say, you know, many of us are appreciative for air traffic controllers and the work you do. And I think a lot of people are just trying to find some sort of a solution so that everybody stays awake. Dean Iacopelli, we've got to go, but thank you so much for coming on.
[Iacopelli:] Thank you.
[Baldwin:] And back to the weather story. I'm just getting word that a code D, a code D has been declared at the Cullman Regional Medical Center; D stands for disaster. The switchboard operator there tells CNN, "something hit them," that's a quote, "something hit them." More on this after the break.

[Sambolin:] Welcome back to EARLY START. It is 14 minutes past the hour. There's word that a bipartisan deal may be near in the Senate that would expand federal background checks on gun sales. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Senator Pat Toomey has scheduled a news conference for 11:00 a.m. today. And a new CNN poll shows there is overwhelming support for it. Nearly 9 out of 10 Americans are in favor. And all day today on CNN, we're taking an in depth look at the legislation, the debate, and what's at stake in our coverage "Guns Under Fire: A CNN Special Report on Background Checks." Here's Brianna Keilar.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Family members of some of the 26 students and teachers killed in the Newtown shooting visited Capitol Hill, lobbying lawmakers to take up gun legislation. Jillian Soto, whose sister Vicki died at Sandy Hook Elementary School, met with Democrats and Republicans.
[Jillian Soto, Sister Of Slain Sandy Hook Teacher:] It's hard to even wrap your arms around that this even happened. But we're, you know, just taking it day by day, and, you know, going to Washington and demanding something happen.
[Sen. Richard Blumenthal , Connecticut:] Thank you. Thank you for being here.
[Keilar:] The high profile visits come as the Senate's top Democrat Harry Reid announced he will force a vote this week on whether to start debate on tougher gun laws, and they coincide with a weeklong White House offensive.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Safer for our children. So let's do the right thing.
[Keilar:] Monday President Obama pressed the Senate from Connecticut with a campaign style event. Tuesday at a White House event with law enforcement officials, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder applied more pressure as a growing group of Republicans say they plan to block the Senate from even debating the Democratic authored bill.
[Joe Biden, Vice President:] Won't even proceed. Now, maybe, between now and the time it gets to the floor, they will as my mother says, they will have seen the light. Maybe that will change. What an embarrassing thing to say.
[Keilar:] Democrats are hoping for support from at least a handful of Republicans like Georgia's Johnny Isakson. He met with the Newtown families Tuesday and told CBS News that despite his opposition to the bill he won't filibuster it.
[Sen. Johnny Isakson , Georgia:] But I think it deserves a vote, up or down.
[Keilar:] Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.
[Berman:] Our thanks to Brianna. It is 17 minutes after the hour right now. Let's bring you up to date. The Florida couple accused of abducting their two sons and sailing off to Cuba are back in Florida this morning, where they have been placed under arrest. Cuba turned the Hakken family over to the U.S. after they were spotted Tuesday on a 25-foot sailboat at a marina in Havana. Florida authorities sent a plane to fly them back to Tampa. The two boys will be returned to their maternal grandparents now.
[Sambolin:] A U.S. officials tells CNN North Korea is likely to test fire a ballistic mobile missile at any time, and it could come without advanced warning. Intelligence reports indicate the North has already completed launch preparations. Pyongyang now telling foreigners in South Korea to take steps to protect themselves.
[Berman:] Could former Congressman Anthony Weiner be planning a run as mayor of New York City? Weiner stepped down in 2011 after he was caught sending out explicit messages and photos on Twitter but now there are reports that Weiner is polling New York City residents to see if they would consider him as a candidate for mayor. He confirmed as much to the "New York Times." Weiner still has more than $4 million in his campaign fund and he still maintains a campaign office.
[Sambolin:] The FBI has confirmed they are looking into the secret tapes that recorded a strategy session in Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office. The tapes revealed the Kentucky Republican was considering attacking then prospective candidate Ashley Judd over her religious views and battles with depression. McConnell was furious.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell , Minority Leader:] As I indicated, last week they were attacking my wife's ethnicity and apparently also bugging my headquarters, much like Nixon and Watergate. That's what the political left does these days.
[Sambolin:] Actress Ashley Judd released a statement responding to what was said in the tape saying, in part, quote, "We expected nothing less from Mitch McConnell and his camp than to take a personal struggle such as depression, which many Americans cope with on a daily basis, and turn it into a laughing matter."
[Berman:] A lot of politics at play here. A lot of people saying that McConnell's response to this yesterday was sort of textbook rapid response, instead of talking about the accusation, of course, that McConnell was having meetings talking about Ashley Judd and depression. He turned around immediately and said, I was bugged. I was bugged. This is dirty tricks.
[Sambolin:] Yes.
[Berman:] I'm the majority leader.
[Sambolin:] Would have been much nicer. All right. Ninety minutes past the hour. What does waste in Washington have to do with catfish? The answer coming up.

[Nancy Grace, Hln:] Breaking news tonight, live, Arizona. A beautiful two-year-old baby girl last seen at a local Starbucks, Phoenix suburbs, vanishes without a trace. Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, we uncover stunning abuse reports. Baby Ava had a pattern of bruises, cuts, severe diaper rashes, even burns after visits with Daddy. Tonight, we uncover the photos. And tonight, desperate to find her baby girl, Ava`s mother with us live, making a national public plea to help find her baby, describing the final hours she had with her baby girl. Police say the child in extreme danger at this hour on the run with Daddy. Tonight, where is 2-year-old baby Ava?
[Unidentified Male:] Police short on leads for where to find Ava.
[Unidentified Female:] Is this child alive or isn`t this child alive? That`s the scariest part is not knowing, waiting for your child to come home!
[Unidentified Male:] Two-year-old Ava, of course, dropped off with her father.
[Unidentified Female:] I have no idea where she`s at.
[Unidentified Male:] At that north Phoenix Starbucks. Police tell us Brent`s house had recently been through foreclosure. Reportedly found Anderson`s house partially vacated.
[Unidentified Female:] News that terrified Athena. Brent, his whole life is Ava.
[Unidentified Male:] Ava`s mom claims in court documents that Ava had numerous and unexplained injuries. But when she went to pick Ava up, the father was a no-show. Such as cuts, burns, bruises, and severe diaper rash.
[Unidentified Female:] That`s all he`s ever wanted to do was take care of her.
[Unidentified Male:] When returning home from visits with Anderson.
[Unidentified Female:] No leads to where he or Ava might be. Why in the world would he be taking this baby away from the mother? Your heart is pounding incredibly fast. That`s not a good dad. That`s a bad dad.
[Grace:] We are also bringing you another story tonight, another Kennedy back in trouble with the law. And it`s caught on tape! We have the video.
[Unidentified Male:] New developments in the case against Robert Kennedy`s youngest son. Douglas Kennedy is charged with child endangerment after scuffling with maternity ward nurses when he tried to take his 3-day- old son outside. Douglas Kennedy was simply holding onto his newborn child. There you see Douglas Kennedy trying to take his newborn son off the maternity ward, he says for some fresh air outside. But watch what happens next. After the nurses block him from the elevator, saying he doesn`t have permission, he goes to a stairwell, where a confrontation ensues. Kennedy raises his leg, and Luciano falls straight on her back.
[Unidentified Female:] Was he defending his rights as a parent and protecting his child or refusing to follow a nurse`s order?
[Grace:] Good evening, I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. A 2-year-old little girl last seen at a local Starbucks, Phoenix suburbs, vanishes without a trace. In the last hours, we uncover stunning abuse reports. Baby Ava had a pattern of bruises, cuts, severe diaper rashes, even burns after visits with Daddy. Tonight, we uncover the photos. Straight out to Gregg Paul KFYA YI. Gregg, what is the latest?
[Gregg Paul, 550 Kfyi Radio:] Well, the latest, Nancy, is that with these allegations that were labeled by the mother, of course, with the cuts, the bruises, the severe diaper rush, that when baby Ava was coming back from his house back to the mother`s house this is what she was experiencing. And CPS, Child Protective Service, had been trying to get ahold of the father but were unable to because he did not have a phone and he would not contact them.
[Grace:] OK, to Alexis Weed, also on the story. Alexis, why am I just hearing about these allegations now that the baby has disappeared? Were there reports made to DFACS, Child Protective Services?
[Alexis Weed, Nancy Grace Producer:] We`re hearing those allegations, Nancy, from the mother of Ava. She`s one saying that when she would come back from the dad`s home that she would have bruises and cuts. We don`t, however, have confirmation from child services as these kind of records are usually protected.
[Grace:] OK, Clark Goldband, also on the story. Clark, take it from the beginning. The mother and the father have had, let me say euphemistically, a tumultuous relationship to the point where they couldn`t even have contact when they would hand the baby back and forth for visitation. There was a TRO, is my understanding, taken out because the interchange had become so violent, police would have to be called. So they`d have to have an intermediary hand the baby back and forth. Yes, that`s setting a heck of an example. But in this case, how does the baby disappear from a local Starbucks? What`s she doing, in there getting a cappuccino? How does a 2-year-old baby disappear from a Starbucks?
[Clark Goldband, Nancy Grace Producer:] Well, that`s right, Nancy. Mom`s husband walked in, this little 2-year-old girl Ava to the outside of the Starbucks from the car. The father`s wife was standing outside to take Ava back to their car. And in as simple as that, in just a few moments, Ava has never been seen again.
[Grace:] Everybody, we are showing you the photos that we have uncovered. There`s bruises, scratches, allegedly even burns on the child`s fingertips after visits with Daddy. Clark Goldband, what can you tell me about Mommy going to find the child? The child`s not at the Starbucks, where she`s supposed to pick the child up, and she goes to the Daddy`s home. What does she find?
[Goldband:] She finds something very disturbing, that the home was partially removed of its furniture and contents. Now, this was a shock to her. She talked to some of the neighbors in the area, and they said on that same day, they saw this father, Brent Anderson, removing some of the belongings from the home. She called law enforcement. Law enforcement searched all over for Anderson and wasn`t able to find him or the little girl.
[Grace:] Tonight, joining us exclusively, making a national public plea to bring her 2-year-old baby girl home, is Ava`s mother. With us, Athena Manuma, Ava`s mother. And also with us is the mother of Brent Anderson, the bio dad of baby Ava, Melinda Barros. Ladies, thank you so much for being with us. Athena, first of all, to you. The photos are very, very disturbing. I mean, all children will get a cut or a bruise now and then. But I want to hear about your allegations that when the baby would come home from visits with Daddy, there would be numerous cuts, bruises, severe diaper rash, even burning on her fingertips? Explain, Athena.
[Athena Manuma, Missing Child`s Mother:] Yes, there was some marks on her when she would come home, and we wanted to document it. We had brought it up to at one point in time, when CPS was involved, we had brought it up to them to see what we needed to do to move forward, to get it notated. They said to take her to the doctor and also let them know, too, so they could see it, as well.
[Grace:] Were all of these on one occasion? And I`m specifically interested in the burns.
[Manuma:] The burns were on two separate occasions. They were on, like, the top of her fingers near the joints.
[Grace:] I don`t know what you mean by that, the top of her fingers. What is that?
[Manuma:] It wasn`t on her fingertips.
[Grace:] Show me.
[Manuma:] It was on, like it was, like, on this top of her finger, like here, on the top of her finger here. And that was
[Grace:] That`s odd.
[Manuma:] on two separate occasions.
[Grace:] That`s extremely odd. What did the father say caused the burns?
[Manuma:] I didn`t get an answer from the burn. I had asked, but
[Grace:] Did you ask him?
[Manuma:] Yes. I e-mailed him about it.
[Grace:] And did he answer at all or simply no answer?
[Manuma:] There was no e-mail back.
[Grace:] OK. Explain to me I don`t want to hear it from just a reporter, Athena. I want to hear it from you. You go to the Starbucks to pick up the baby, all right? Had Ava been with the father for five straight days? That`s what I was told.
[Manuma:] Yes. Yes, she had.
[Grace:] During those five days, had you called or e-mailed or texted to find out how the baby was doing?
[Manuma:] Yes, I had e-mailed him twice.
[Grace:] And did you hear back from him?
[Manuma:] No.
[Grace:] All right. Well, right there, if I didn`t hear back about my twins, I would have been camped out on the front porch. But you two have these TROs and you can`t really legally get near each other. So you didn`t hear back. At the end of the five days, you go to the Starbucks that`s already arranged to pick up the baby. What happened then, Athena?
[Manuma:] Well, we waited we had gotten there a little bit early, maybe, like, 8:50, and
[Grace:] Who`s we? Who`s we?
[Manuma:] Oh, my father-in-law and my mother-in-law and then myself because my husband had been working that day.
[Grace:] So the three of you.
[Manuma:] Yes. And my mother-in-law was waiting outside to pick her up.
[Grace:] Right. And you can`t actually approach your husband yourself. You`ve got to have an intermediary so the two of you won`t get into it. Is that correct?
[Manuma:] Yes. His wife now is doing the exchanges, so I wasn`t able to get out of the car.
[Grace:] OK.
[Manuma:] We`re supposed to stay in the vehicle.
[Grace:] OK. Well, good. God bless her. Now, one quick question. Is it true that he was a manager and you were a cashier at the same store? Is that how you met?
[Manuma:] At one point in time, well, he was one of the night people. He wasn`t a manager at the time. But yes, I was a cashier and he was a night person.
[Grace:] All right. Back to the story. You`re at Starbucks. What happens?
[Manuma:] Well, I mean, we waited there for about 20 to 30 minutes. And I you know, I had let him know beforehand that what we were going to pick her up at 9:00, and you know, because that is our court-ordered time. And at that time, I told my father-in-law that I`ll go over and call the police just to see if they can do a well check on her and see what`s going on, why he`s not picking her or why he`s not dropping her off at the Starbucks. So that`s what I did. I went over to Wal-Mart near his home and I called the police, and they were dispatched out.
[Grace:] And what happened?
[Manuma:] They came out. They knocked on the door, and there was no answer. There was I guess they had knocked on the door a few times. I`m not sure he has windows into his garage, and I`m not sure if they got to look into the windows because they told me to stay in the parking lot. But they knocked and they said there was no answer, that they heard a dog barking but there was no answer at the door.
[Grace:] So the dog was left inside?
[Manuma:] No, the dog was outside, is my understanding. And the dog sounded like it was outside, too, when I had gone over later on.
[Grace:] All right. Did you go over to the home later?
[Manuma:] Yes, I had gone over to the home
[Grace:] Did you look inside the home?
[Manuma:] probably four times. I didn`t the blinds in the front were closed, and I didn`t go in the back yard.
[Grace:] Then how do you know he`s partially moved out?
[Manuma:] I didn`t say he was partially moved out. Somebody a neighbor had told me that they had seen him removing items, but I never said I knew he was partially moved out or anything.
[Grace:] And when was that, Athena? When was that, that he removed furniture?
[Manuma:] The neighbors were telling me that they had seen it one neighbor told me they saw him removing things on Saturday, and somebody told me they seen him removing items on Tuesday, Tuesday night.
[Grace:] OK, Athena, as you were sitting there in the Starbucks parking lot and he didn`t show up, did you know instinctively something was wrong?
[Manuma:] When he when there`s no answer? Yes, there`s something wrong.
[Grace:] OK. Let`s go to his mom, Joining us tonight, the mother of Brent Anderson, the biological father of baby Ava. With us, Melinda Barros. Ms. Barros, thank you for being with us. Ms. Barros, have you heard from him? Because police are saying the baby girl is in, quote, "extreme danger" with your son.
[Melinda Barros, Mother Of Suspected Abductor:] I disagree. I have not heard from my son, but I do know that he would not do anything to hurt her or harm her. And Athena, you even admitted that to my daughter days ago when we were at Brent`s house. She went over there and saw my daughter.
[Grace:] What do you mean by that, Ms. Barros, that she has admitted what?
[Barros:] Athena admitted that my son would not harm Ava. She knew that. She just wants her back.
[Grace:] Ms. Barros, I find it very disturbing that he has not even been in touch with you. Why?
[Barros:] He does not want to be caught. He`s not going to contact me.
[Grace:] Why?
[Barros:] He`s not going to because he does not want me to get in trouble. He does not want to get caught and does not want me in any trouble.
[Grace:] So he you believe he realizes that what he is doing is wrong.
[Barros:] Well, I I believe that what he is doing is not the right way of doing it. I`m not going to condone what he`s done. There is a different way of doing this.
[Grace:] Ms. Barros, what is your response to these photos of bruises, cuts and burns on baby Ava`s body after visits with your son?
[Barros:] They are not abusive by any means. My son took her to the doctor and verified and had the doctor verify. We have documentation that it was not abuse.

[Romans:] Nice clear morning in Atlanta. About 40 degrees now. But, Carol, it will be sunny and 68 later today.
[Costello:] There you go.
[Romans:] Atlanta has the greatest weather.
[Costello:] I know, except when it doesn't.
[Romans:] When it is hot and steamy. Welcome back. This morning's "Romans' Numeral," a number in the news today, the number $138,888. That is the price tag if you prorate Kim Kardashian's wedding costs over the length of her entire 72-day marriage. 138 grand a day it was that 72 days! Can you believe that?
[Costello:] Well, I'm just surprised everybody thought that was a real wedding. Like, with real love shared between the two. Everybody is like, oh, she took us for a ride. Well, duh!
[Romans:] Oh, gosh. Well, Kim Kardashian did release a statement about her divorce from the basketball player, Kris Humphries, saying it was not an easy decision, Carol after 72 days, that prorates to 138 grand a day to cover the cost of the wedding, and that sometimes, quote, "things don't work out as planned." I will also point out that the cost of that wedding was covered by other people.
[Costello:] Didn't they make something like $17 million off the wedding?
[Romans:] Yes. I mean yes, everything was sponsored and
[Costello:] I read the real reason was he wanted to move back to Minnesota and live a quiet life and she said, oh, no way, I'm a career girl. That's just like ridiculous. Anyway, moving along, school officials now warning parents about new bracelets that kids are wearing that are a lot more than just a fashion craze. When you take the bracelets off, it actually turns into a pipe. A pipe used to smoke pot.
[Unidentified Girl:] Looks like a bracelet maybe or a necklace.
[Unidentified Female:] But, it it
[Unidentified Girl:] Or
[Unidentified Female:] But it must have something to do with drugs.
[Unidentified Girl:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] There's a cap that you undo and the entire thing
[Unidentified Girl:] Becomes a pipe. If I saw that on one of my friends, I would not think twice about it. I would be like, oh, a new bracelet. Honestly, it's smart.
[Unidentified Female:] Yes.
[Unidentified Girl:] I mean, they would have never figured it out. It's really smart.
[Costello:] Whoa. And these things have been popping up all over central Florida. Schools are now suspending students just for having them. And they're expelling kids if they've been used to store or take any drugs.
[Romans:] All right, in "A.M. House Call," and here's a nice reason to smile this morning. A new study shows people who report feeling happy don't just live better, they may actually live longer. He, who laughs last laughs, longest, and best. Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us more from Atlanta with more. Are you feeling happy this morning, Elizabeth?
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] I am feeling happy because I've learned how useful it is to feel happy.
[Romans:] It is. And you can gleefully enjoy that your mean boss will not live as long as you.
[Cohen:] That's right. That's an excellent point. I hadn't thought about that.
[Romans:] I don't know if revenge makes you feel last longer.
[Cohen:] Maybe because I love my boss. So I don't so I didn't think about that. But, yes, that is an excellent point. This is such an interesting study that they did in England. They looked at 4,000 people, ages 52 to 79, and they measured their happiness. What they found is that if they were happy, they were 35 percent less likely to die during the five-year course of the study. So, there you go. There seems to be a relationship between happiness and long life.
[Costello:] How happy exactly do you need to be to live longer?
[Cohen:] You need to be ecstatic!
[Costello:] OK, happy and satisfied. That's all it took.
[Romans:] And how did they determine if they were happy?
[Cohen:] What they did is they asked the people to rate their happiness four times a day. When they woke up in the morning and then when they went to bed at night and two times in between, and they asked them to rate how happy they were feeling.
[Costello:] It's just I understand why there would be a connection. You know, the power of positive thinking and all that. But I can't understand how they would actually link the two. So they studied a number of people over a certain number of years and they've answered those questions you were talking about. But then really?
[Cohen:] Really. And there seems to be a biological mechanism here. One of the mechanisms might be that when you're happier you have fewer stress hormones circulating throughout your body. And stress hormones are bad for your cardio vascular system as well as other parts of your body, so
[Costello:] OK. So what if I am a negative person? Which I admit that I am, OK?
[Cohen:] I don't think so.
[Costello:] At what point do I need to become really, really happy
[Cohen:] I want to make a distinction here between someone who is a critical thinker, such as yourself, Carol Costello
[Costello:] I kind of like that.
[Cohen:] between someone who wants to make sure that they do a good job and they're aware that they want to perform well. You know, that's not an unhappy person. That's a person who wants to do their job well. That's something different. So, we're talking about unhappiness versus happiness. And to answer your question, it's never too late to be happy. You could doctors say that you can get positive medical outcomes by becoming happier later in life. And, in fact, some people that doctors, at your annual checkup, ought to acquire as to your level of happiness because that's an important part of your health.
[Costello:] Well, OK. I'll work on being happier more often.
[Romans:] Thanks, Elizabeth.
[Cohen:] Thank you.
[Costello:] Well, I exercise and eat right so I might as well add that into the mix too.
[Romans:] You do smile when you're
[Costello:] Better than a multivitamin.
[Romans:] At mile five, just remember to smile.
[Costello:] Yippee!
[Romans:] We had a lot of thoughtful comments. Top stories when we turn. Plus, it's Governor Rick Perry like you've never seen him before. The unusual speech in New Hampshire that has now gone viral.
[Costello:] It is unusual. And JetBlue respond after their flight to New Jersey leaves travelers stranded on the tarmac for seven hours. Well, we're going to let you hear JetBlue's apology for yourself. It's five minutes until the top of the hour.

[Sambolin:] We are minding your business this morning. We're expecting another down day on Wall Street. Analysts say the trend for the markets is going to be down until Washington puts together a deal on that fiscal cliff.
[Berman:] You know, and we're following another showdown, a really serious one. This one has to do with Twinkies Hostess threatening to close its doors if its workers don't return to work. And Christine Romans has all the details.
[Romans:] You know, it is serious if you like Twinkies. But it's really serious if you're one of the 18,000 workers who have already been through this company that's gone through bankruptcy. It's still in bankruptcy, and who have already taken like big cuts to your pension contributions and stuff. Look, Hostess gave its bakers an ultimatum, said, get back to work by 5:00 p.m. yesterday or we're just going to close our doors. We're requesting to liquidate the company. We're not going to play the games anymore. Deadline passed. No deal. And now, we're waiting to hear from Hostess whether it will make good on its threat and liquidate the entire company. Hostess is controlled by hedge funds, by the way, out of its most recent bankruptcy iteration. The company in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings is trying to force pay and pension cuts on its workers. The workers said no more of this. They went on strike last week. Not all of them, though, just the bakers' union. That's 5,000 people, 30 percent of Hostess workforce. Hostess says it doesn't have the money to survive an ongoing strike. Bakers' union says the cuts are outrageous. And you see the deadlock.
[Sambolin:] Wow.
[Romans:] A liquidation would mean it would close all 33 plants, laying off all 18,000 workers. But would Twinkie go away or Ho-Hos or all those other things? Probably not. In liquidation, other big companies would probably swoop in and buy those brands. So, I think those brands would survive. I think those workers would not. And you've got this real standoff between, you know, the financiers who run the company and the bakers' union that say we've already taken enough too much. We've already taken enough hits. There you go.
[Sambolin:] There's another deadline looming on Obamacare.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Sambolin:] That's been extended?
[Romans:] And it's been extended. This is so interesting. You had some Republican governors who were saying they didn't want to file they didn't want to set up the state health care exchanges or they were waiting to decide if they were going to until the outcome of the election. They were hoping, of course, that Mitt Romney would win and he had said that he would repeal Obamacare. Guess what? Mitt Romney did not win. The President won, the state exchanges must be up and running by 2014. The deadline was today for states to declare that they were going to get those going. And now the HHS, the Health and Human Services Administration, has said you have another month to decide. You have another month to decide to put that off. But, you see, you've got to have an online marketplace to make health care affordable that's set to open in 2014. It's all laid out in the Affordable Care Act. The CBO, Congressional Budget Office, says the state health exchanges will cover 25 million people with insurance. Some people will be fined if they don't buy them. Others will get you will get subsidies.
[Berman:] If the state doesn't do it, the federal government will come in and do it for them
[Romans:] Right.
[Berman:] which the states have to decide which way they'd rather have it.
[Romans:] Right. They'll lose some revenue. I think there are some financial incentives for them to
[Sambolin:] Why would they just act together and have it done by the deadline?
[Berman:] It's political.
[Romans:] It's political. Yes, that's insane. That is the story of the world, isn't it?
[Berman:] So what's the one thing we need to know about our money?
[Romans:] Well, remember yesterday I was telling you about the bright signs in the housing market? More bright signs. We've got the numbers on mortgage rates, 30-year fixed rates 3.34 percent. I can't even say I can't even believe these numbers come out of my mouth every week. Last year, it was 4 percent, 3.43 percent. We thought that was great last year.
[Berman:] Whoa!
[Romans:] Two-point-six-five percent on the 15-year fixed. Now rates are falling because, you know, investors are worried about the economy, right? So, just throwing money in the bond market and out of the stock market. That's one reason why you've got rates falling so much. Also, the Fed keeping rates very, very low. But those rates are so low you might have to look and see if it's time you might have to go and refinance again. I'm not kidding.
[Sambolin:] Can you send out a calculation of when it is advantageous to you?
[Berman:] You know yes, usually when it's three quarters of a point or a point, you know? Somebody asked me yesterday, I'm going to sell my house in a year should I refinance now. And I said, no, absolutely not. And then they said, my rate is 6.2 percent. I said, why do you have a 6.2 percent rate? That's too high.
[Sambolin:] All right. Christine, thank you.
[Berman:] All right. There's been no letup despite the talk of a cease-fire this morning in the Middle East. Bombs raining down on Gaza, rockets crashing into Israel. Could we be seeing signs of a ground invasion? We're going to take you live to Jerusalem, coming up next.

[Banfield:] It is 47 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast, which is very early no matter how you slice it, west coast, east coast, it's real early. It's time to check our top stories making news this morning.
[Sambolin:] The Taliban says it is behind a suicide car bombing at the gates of the Jalalabad Airport in Eastern Afghanistan. Nine people were killed there, none of them Americans. The Taliban says the attack is revenge for last week's Koran burning at a U.S. base. And gas prices jump again. This is now the 20th day in a row. I know you're feeling it. The price at the pump now $3.70 a gallon. That's a penny more than yesterday. The nation's highest price in Hawaii where the average is $4.32. And North Korea says it is ready to go to war with the United States and South Korea. North Korea furious over joint military drills the U.S. and South Korea are holding this morning. Recent diplomatic talks between the U.S. and North Korea generated very little progress.
[Banfield:] Back here at home, the Alabama Senate is starting to debate a bill tomorrow that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before receiving an abortion. This is the governor, and he's standing at a podium, but he says he just learned about this bill and hasn't studied it yet. So, he's not prepared to say whether he supports it or not. Strangely, though, it's been in the news for over a week. The silent movie is the talk of Tinsel Town. It is "the Artist," and there is the game, walking home with five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," though also came in really well, five academy awards for that animated picture. And rain, rain go away. Let Daytona have its day, maybe today, maybe tomorrow. NASCAR's premier event, the Daytona 500, will be held today, hopefully, if the weather permits. It's the first time the race will be held on a Monday in its 54-year history after rain washed them out yesterday.
[Sambolin:] You know, Rob Marciano is tracking that in Atlanta. He says it does not look good.
[Banfield:] Could be Tuesday. Surprising.
[Sambolin:] All right. 5:49 yes here in the east. Still ahead, critics saying poverty is an invisible issue with the GOP. We're going to take an inside look at a Republican stance on poverty from a man who knows a lot about it. He went from welfare to the White House.
[Banfield:] And Hillary Clinton is weighing in on what's going on in Afghanistan. The outrage, how to stop it, and why there should be no apology for our president's apology. Wonder how that's going to play? You're watching EARLY START.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning to you. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. We are bringing you the news from A to Z. We are very happy that you're joining us. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East. So, let's get started here. A stunning sweep. Rick Santorum wins Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado. They're calling it a GOP stunner. He scores a triple win, a Santorum surge. Does it revive his campaign? And what kind of questions does this raise for Romney now?
[Banfield:] And while this was happening, overseas, an entirely different story. Syrians fighting for their lives, more killings, the numbers are escalating. President Bashar al-Assad refusing to cede power and now some surprising report about U.S.'s options.
[Sambolin:] And chilling 911 calls from the case worker who dropped off those two little boys at their father's home before he blew up the house, killed his entire family, shedding new light on what happened moments right before that tragedy.
[Banfield:] And we go one on one this morning with Donald Trump. He is one of the wealthiest men in America. No one would dispute that. So, what does he think about Mitt Romney's tax rate and the whole idea of raising taxes on the wealthy. We're going to ask him about it and see what he has to say. You might be surprised.
[Sambolin:] And up first here: Rick Santorum's Tuesday night trifecta. The former Pennsylvania senator turning the race for the Republican nomination on its ear. Missouri, the nonbinding primary, no delegates at stake there. Here are the results: Santorum, 55 percent, Romney, 25 percent, Paul, 12 percent. Gingrich, not even on the ballot there.
[Banfield:] And Minnesota, this is the state that he won handily back in 2008. This time not so much. The caucuses there had 37 delegates at stake. Santorum pulled off the win with 45 percent of the vote. Ron Paul came in second with 27 percent. And then came Mitt Romney, a distant third with 17 percent. Gingrich's very bad showing was 11. And if we move on to Colorado, look at it again the third checkmark in Colorado. Again, another win for Romney in '08, but not last night 33 delegates up for grabs. Rick Santorum again pulling this one off with 40 percent of the vote. Mitt Romney coming in behind at 35 percent of the vote. And Rick Santorum was suddenly sounding presidential.
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] Ladies and gentlemen, I don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama.
[Banfield:] CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser is live in Washington, D.C., to talk through all of this. You might say Romney might be suffering some welsh words this morning. Did anyone expect anything like these results?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] Wow. That's what I'll start with, a big wow. This hat trick of victories, I know the other candidates are trying to play it down, but this is very surprising and a very, very big deal. Listen, any time you think you know what's going on in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, you don't. It changes. And last night's victories for Santorum are proof of that. You know what? He also used his victory speech in Missouri to say that it was more of a level playing field last night because a lot of money wasn't spent by any of the candidates. He also took some shots at Mitt Romney. Take a listen.
[Santorum:] Governor Romney's greatest attribute is, "Well, I've got the most money and the best organization." Well, he's not going to have the most money and the best organization in the fall, is he? No, we're going to have to have someone who has other attributes to commend himself to the people of America, someone who can get up and make sharp contrasts with President Obama, someone who can point to the failed record of this administration and say that Barack Obama needs to be replaced in the Oval Office.
[Steinhauser:] So what does Santorum do next? Well, Ashleigh, two-and-a-half hours from now, he's right here on CNN. But then he heads to Texas. Why Texas? Their primary isn't until April. We're talking fund-raising, Ashleigh. Now is the time for Santorum to capitalize and monopolize on his big victories and start raising some campaign cash, which probably will come a little bit easier. And in the next day on Thursday, he's Oklahoma. That's one of the Super Tuesday states Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Well, in this effort to capitalize on the momentum, will he be trying to push this message that this was not only a validation for me but it was also a thumping non-confidence vote in Mitt Romney among the GOP?
[Steinhauser:] Exactly. And the other point he will make as well is that I am the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, not Newt Gingrich, somebody who did not perform very well at all. Also, we're going to look to see what Rick Santorum says at the Conservative Political Action Conference, that big meeting with three of the presidential candidates. Going to happen on Friday.
[Banfield:] You know, I've got to be honest with you, Paul, a lot of people make huge hay the morning after, and then it's on to the next state. And it's hard to know what race happened two to three weeks ago. But this is three. It's not that forgettable, is it?
[Steinhauser:] Not at all. Romney campaign is going to say, listen, Missouri, we didn't even campaign there. Minnesota, well, he did go to Minnesota. That was his first stop after Florida, after his big victory in Florida, and he came in third in Minnesota. That's got to hurt. And especially Colorado. He was there last night. He had a small crowd. Mitt Romney at his H.Q. Take a listen to what he said, though.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] This was a good night for Rick Santorum. I want to congratulate Senator Santorum. Wish him the very best. We'll keep on campaigning down the road. But I expect to become our nominee with your help.
[Steinhauser:] A top Romney adviser said they're going to pay more attention to Rick Santorum and try to paint him as the Washington insider they say he was in those years in the Senate. So, to Rick Santorum, I say watch out. We've seen the Romney campaign go after the Gingrich campaign. Santorum has had it pretty easy. I think that changes today, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] All right. Paul Steinhauser, thanks very much for all of that. You know, it is very safe to say, Zoraida, I think that Donald Trump may not be all that impressed by Santorum's big win last night, because, of course, six days ago he endorsed Mitt Romney. It was a big affair in Las Vegas. I had a chance to sit down with the big man, Mr. Trump, yesterday, and we talked about the all important question about electability because that's such a huge issue in this election. Trump says Santorum flat out doesn't have it.
[Donald Trump, Chairman & Pres., The Trump Organization:] Rick Santorum was a sitting senator who in re-election lost by 19 points to my knowledge, the most in the history of this country for a sitting senator to lose by 19 points. It's unheard of. Then he goes out and says, oh, OK, I just lost by the biggest margin in history. Now I'm going to run for president. Tell me, how does that work? That's like me saying, I just failed a test. Now I'm going to apply for admission to the Wharton School of Finance, OK? He just failed a test. Now, he's going to run for president. So, I don't get Rick Santorum. I don't get that whole thing.
[Sambolin:] You were talking about that endorsement he made of Mitt Romney. What was the outcome of that endorsement?
[Banfield:] There was a bit of blow-back from it. There was a poll down in ABC News"Washington Post" that said, actually, 31 percent of respondents said it would make him less likely to actually vote for his candidate. But I asked Donald Trump about that, and he dismissed it. He said it's foolish. It's ridiculous.
[Sambolin:] All right. A lot more to come on that. We'll see about Santorum's surge, won't it?
[Banfield:] Well, indeed. Yes, what a story.
[Sambolin:] All right. And you can keep on CNN now to November for the best political coverage in television. At 7:30 Eastern on "STARTING POINT" this morning, Soledad O'Brien goes one on one with Rick Santorum. So, we are minding your business news this morning. Wall Street shaking off fears about Greece yesterday by the end of trading. The Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P; 500 all closing higher. In fact, that close is the highest yesterday since May of 2008.
[Banfield:] Christine Romans is here minding your business. The stocks high and all the rest. But still, Greece comes back to bite us. Why?
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] It really does because we got to get this resolved. And it's one of those things there's not an easy, short resolution, quick resolution of it. So, Greece is going to be a drag. But you look at May 2008, why is that important? May 2008, that means that the Dow at least is at the highest, trading at the highest level since before this president was in office. So, it's one of those things politically at least is in the president's favor. But now at least you have a stock market that has recovered. I want to look at the Dow and S&P; are up 60 percent over the past three years. And I'm not giving credit or blame to anyone politically. I'm just saying that stocks have recovered here. But have they recovered and everyone is feeling it? That's the big question here. It's what I've been calling a two-speed recovery going on because you have stocks that are doing better, you have unemployment down, 8.3 percent is the unemployment rate. But we heard from Ben Bernanke, the Fed chief, yesterday, who said be careful about being too optimistic about the jobs numbers. He says we are still a very long way from a normally operating labor market. Too many workers have been left behind. Too many have dropped out of the labor market. Too many, Ben Bernanke has said, are working part time but they're capable of working and want to work full-time. Companies are recovering this is the Fed chief's words and this what the data are showing companies are recovering, the housing market isn't. And that's most likely to affect middle class people who are really trying to figure out, are they going to benefit from a growing economy? Maybe they're not exposed to the stock market anymore. They got blown out three years ago. That happened to a lot of people. They're still exposed to jobs and housing. Those are the two things they feel the most. So, a two-speed recovery. You look at data getting better on almost all fronts. It's really benefiting people who have money. It's benefiting companies. Even Ben Bernanke yesterday saying, we've got a long way to go in the labor market. That's what most of us feel.
[Banfield:] And most of the GOP say as well.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Banfield:] Thanks, Christine. Appreciate it.
[Romans:] You're welcome.
[Sambolin:] It is nine minutes past the hour. Every morning, we give you an EARLY START to your day by alerting you to news and stories that are just developing now, but they will be the big story. You saw it first here. He was brutally beaten apparently for wearing skinny jeans and for being gay. Today, that man, 20-year-old Brandon White, is set to speak out this morning. Before we show you any of this video, though, we want to give you a chance to turn away. If your children are up at this hour, get them out of the room because it is quite shocking to see. This is the video. It is posted online under the headline "dead wrong." Man wearing skinny jeans gets sucker attacked. And G's throw a tire on him for being gay. He was attacked last month outside of an Atlanta convenience store. Brandon White will speak out this morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The FBI and local police are still looking for his attackers there.
[Banfield:] It's hard to watch that. More airline passengers are about to get in the fast lane at airport security checkpoints. Later this morning, TSA administrator John Pistole is rolling out the pre-check program. This is going to happen in airports in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, New York's JFK International. And if you want to get involved, a couple of things you've got to do. You have to volunteer personal information. You also have to agree to a background check. But in return, those travelers who are vetted for this are allowed to wear their shoes and their belts and even their coats. But maybe more importantly, bypass long security lines.
[Sambolin:] Yippee.
[Banfield:] I know.
[Sambolin:] And it's been one of the warmest winters on record, right? But today, rain and snow are moving into the Northeast. Up to four inches expected in parts of Pennsylvania, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City could all see light snow this morning before it mixes with rain a little later today. Rob Marciano is on that. He'll bring us more details later. And still ahead on
[Early Start:] the 911 calls released in that family tragedy in Washington state. Josh Powell, his two young sons, well, he blew everybody up in that house fire.
[Banfield:] And a vacation to forget for cruise ship passengers, not one, but two outbreaks of norovirus on board. We'll get to the bottom of it. Find out how this happened.
[Sambolin:] And a Susan G. Komen executive quits. More questions about the charity's short-lived decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. You're watching EARLY START.

[Banfield:] It is now 30 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
[Sambolin:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. It's time to check the stories that are making news this morning. George Zimmerman no longer behind bars and in hiding. The man who shot Trayvon Martin to death in Florida makes bail and is out of jail this morning.
[Banfield:] The family of Etan Patz is awaiting results of an FBI investigation 33 years after their six-year-old son disappeared. A possible new clue removed from the basement of a New York City building over the weekend. A stain that could be blood.
[Sambolin:] Iran says it has cracked the code of a captured U.S. spy drone. The surveillance plane was packed with top secret technology. We will ask on expert whether this development poses a threat to American military personnel overseas.
[Banfield:] And call it a sign of the times. A job hunter thinks big, and we mean really big, in terms of getting his name in front of potential employers to see how far some people plan to go. I love this. To get their career back on track during tough economic times.
[Sambolin:] Sometime you have to make an investment.
[Banfield:] Heck yes.
[Sambolin:] Thirty-one minutes past the hour. In case you are wondering what happened to winter? A dangerous storm is targeting the northeast right now. It is triggering winter storm watches and warnings from West Virginia all the way to southwest New York. Here's a look from Dubois, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. This video shot within the hour with the flakes falling but not sticking to the pavement, at least, not yet. Meteorologist, Rob Marciano, is tracking this incredible storm, and he joins us now live from the weather center. This is kind of kooky and crazy, isn't it?
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] It is. And you know, you mentioned, it's not sticking in the payment, but the last shot that we showed was it sticking to the trees. And the key is, just like the storm we had the last snowstorm we had which was in October pretty much, leaves are on the trees. Back then, it was because of fall, this time, an early spring. Full foliage. So, that's going to be the key is the weight of the wet snow taking down tree limbs, and in some cases, entire trees, knocking out power, maybe even blocking some roadways. New York to Providence to Boston, you're not going to get any of this, although, you're getting some you have the rain already, and you're going to get some wind. That will continue. It's a big storm as far as that is concern. The snows are starting to fall interior parts of Western New York and Western Pennsylvania. Temperatures are right around the freezing mark, Binghamton 34 degrees, 35 degrees in state college, almost 40 in Pittsburgh and just around the freezing mark across the Pennsylvania and New York border. So, that's why temperatures are it's not quite sticking to the roadways just yet, but eight to 16 inches of snow possible and to points south and east of Buffalo and certainly to the north and east of Pittsburgh at the higher elevations. So, that coupled with the weight and the wind, with winds gusting 30 to 40 miles an hour, that's going to make for a dangerous situation. We've, obviously, had some rainfall, in some cases, a couple of inches of rainfall already falling. So, flood watches have been posted for some of this part of the world. Beautiful, warm temperatures across the Rocky Mountains. So, the Appalachians now getting it as we try to get rid of what was a mundane winter, but we're certainly book ending it with two big winter storms.
[Sambolin:] We're going to have a travel mess, aren't we?
[Marciano:] Yes. And you know, it's not snowing. It's going to be very, very windy. So, the bigger airports along the I-95 border will have delays just because of the winds, and the winds will continue right through tomorrow morning.
[Sambolin:] I guess, everybody suffered. Rob Marciano, thank you so much. We'll check in with you again.
[Marciano:] Sounds good.
[Sambolin:] Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Thirty-four minutes now past 5:00 on the east coast and the search for a clue that could crack a decade's old mystery of Etan Patz. It's expected to resume this morning here in New York this morning. Investigators having called off the search yesterday due to inclimate weather, but not before finding a, quote, "stain of interest" that tested positive for organic material, possibly blood. A section of the wall where the stain was found was taken to an FBI lab in quantico, Virginia for further testing. Six-year-old Etan vanished 33 years ago from New York's Sojo neighborhood, near the basement that being torn apart, actually, just half of block away. He was the nation's first milk carton boy. The building is the former workplace of a local handyman name Othniel Miller who made contact with Etan shortly before he vanished. Miller has been questioned by law enforcement but has not been charged in this case. His daughter, Stephanie, spoke to reporters yesterday.
[Stephanie Miller, Daughter Of Othniel Miller:] The FBI has been here to investigate the case. He cooperated with them, went to the site, and he doesn't have anything to do with it.
[Banfield:] We're joined now by Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky who is the forensic scientist who was at the scene of the investigation on Friday. Larry, you had a chance to go down there. It's swarming with reporters, with people from the FBI, New York local investigators, as well. It's quite remarkable to see this 33 years after the fact.
[Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, Forensic Scientist:] It was a huge number of resources being thrown into this case. It shows you that this case is still alive in the minds, not only the public, but certainly, of law enforcement.
[Banfield:] So, still alive in the minds. Now, I want to talk about the nitty-gritty, all the CSI, because what they're doing in that basement involves evidence that could be three decades old. This is your area of expertise. How good could that evidence possibly be if there is any?
[Kobilinsky:] Well, first of all if we're looking for DNA, DNA is one of the most stable molecules. After 33 years, it should still be intact, and we should still be able to use it for human identification.
[Banfield:] Even if it's been walked over, brushed over, painted over.
[Kobilinsky:] I think there are some issues, some environmental factors can destroy DNA in a moist environment. Bacteria can break down. This molecule soil will degrade the molecule. But, essentially if there's a skeleton, they can obtain might mitochondrial DNA which will help establish the identity of the body.
[Banfield:] So, the different between regular DNA that most people understand and then mitochondrial is
[Kobilinsky:] Yes. Mitochondrial DNA is present in so many more copies than nuclear. In other words, you stand a better chance of getting a result. And with soft tissue gone, you have bone. Bone has a substantial amount of mitochondrial DNA. It's related maternally to the individual. So that, for example, checking his mother, Etan's mother, Julie, you can then see if there's a match or not, and then, focus on Etan.
[Banfield:] You and I covered the Casey Anthony case together. You were actually part of the Casey Anthony case on defense team for a while.
[Kobilinsky:] Yes.
[Banfield:] And one of the issues in Casey Anthony's child's death was that she was in a swamp. And she was so far decomposed that they couldn't get a cause of death on that.
[Kobilinsky:] Yes.
[Banfield:] But they could determine it was the child.
[Kobilinsky:] Yes.
[Banfield:] In this particular case, if they just find skeletal remains, they can determine that it's the child.
[Kobilinsky:] Yes, in a number of ways. Certainly, the anthropologists at the scene will be able to determine the height, the gender, the ethnicity, there's a lot of information just from a physical examination of the bones. There's going to be an autopsy if they do find bones, but ultimately, it will be
[Dna. Banfield:] You can autopsy just bone fragments?
[Kobilinsky:] You have to. You have to.
[Banfield:] Just fragments?
[Kobilinsky:] TAs was done in the Casey Anthony case. Yes, fragments, they need to be examined, because, look, you might find a tool mark which would tell us the child was stab or you might find the hyoid bone broken, which would tell us the boy was strangled.
[Banfield:] That was my next question. They just find bones. Can they find the cause of the death. In Casey Anthony's child's case, they could not find a cause of death.
[Kobilinsky:] They could not. But here, if you find a fractured skull, you might say blunt trauma here. We really don't know for sure because we don't know whether we're going to find a skull or not, but if do, there may be a lot of information there that most people aren't expected.
[Banfield:] I remember you and I also covered a case together where there was a skeleton, a skeletal remain and what you just mentioned, a tool mark was found in the bone and they matched that tool mark to an actual murder weapon. It was a dagger.
[Kobilinsky:] Precisely.
[Banfield:] So, that's something that can connect someone to an actual murder weapon and a crime.
[Kobilinsky:] For sure. And for all we know, besides a body, they may be looking for a weapon that may be something buried at that site. They used ground-penetrating radar to determine if there was any weapon or skeletal remains.
[Banfield:] Let me get to the luminal, because it's also been a lot of court rooms together where luminal is terrific in terms of the detectives being able to check something out, but then, you get into a court of law and you always I mean, so frequently you hear presumptive, not conclusive.
[Kobilinsky:] Absolutely. Luminal, first of all, is a presumptive test for blood. It's used because you can spray large areas, and in that way, determine if blood might be present, but the operative word is might, because there are other things that will give you a false positive. There's another chemical which, perhaps, the FBI is using called blue star, which is more specific than luminal. It's a luminal-like chemical, and it will give you results. It gill glow. It gives off what we call a chemiluminescence if blood is present. But, even if it were positive, even if it were blood, we don't know it's human.
[Banfield:] And we're not going to be able to tell that.
[Kobilinsky:] We will not be able to tell, unless, we can do DNA, then we'll know, because DNA only works on human or primate
[Dna. Banfield:] But not other animals?
[Kobilinsky:] That's correct.
[Banfield:] There's so much more we can talk about. You'll have to come back on that.
[Kobilinsky:] I promise.
[Banfield:] Especially as we continue to see what happened. They're resuming the search today. Lawrence Kobilinsky, Dr. Kobilinsky, it's good to see you. Thank you.
[Kobilinsky:] Thank you. Pleasure, Ashleigh.
[Banfield:] Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] Forty minutes past the hour. Meteor shower is usually a spectacular sight to see, but one out west was seen and it was heard. People from Northern California to Nevada reported hearing a loud boom yesterday morning. That sound occurred at the same time as a meteor shower that happens every year on the same day. Some thought it was a satellite or some other space junk falling to earth. Others had no idea what it was.
[Unidentified Male:] It was enough to shock me into, man, what was that?
[Unidentified Female:] I heard a big boom. It sounded like my daughter fell out of bed.
[Unidentified Male:] Kind of felt it, didn't you? Almost like felt something.
[Sambolin:] Wow. Well, astronomers estimate the meteorite that made the noise was probably about the size of a washing machine when it struck the earth's atmosphere. And it's 40 minutes past the hour. Ahead on EARLY START, cracking the code. Iran claims to have inside knowledge from a captured U.S. military drone. We'll ask an expert what is at stake.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor, Cnn Newsroom:] Welcome back, everyone to our live coverage of this tragedy. We want to get you now to Arizona where the Governor Jan Brewer is stepping up to the mic. Here she is.
[Gov. Jan Brewer,  Arizona:] Good afternoon. All of Arizona is shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific tragedy that transpired this morning in Tucson. I have been in contact throughout the morning with law enforcement officials, as well as Mayor Walkup, and just a short while ago with the president of the United States. The president conveyed his heartfelt sympathies for our state and shared determination to ensure that justice is fully served. I am just heart broken. Gabby is more than just a colleague, she's actually a friend. She's always been a noble public servant, and my thoughts and my prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords and her family, the congresswoman's staff and their families as well as other victims of this senseless and cruel violence. I've ordered the flags to be flown at half staff in honor of those who have lost their lives today. It's an unbelievable tragedy that the people of Arizona experienced today. One of which, of course, in our worst nightmares we would never could have imagined would have taken place. I must tell you that a lot of information has been provided to all of you. We are in constant contact with some officials and we will be kept abreast and we will do whatever it is that is necessary for us to do. But I will say that I ask the people of Arizona, I ask the people of America to keep the victims and their families in their prayers and pray for their recovery and pray that we never again in Arizona have to ever experience a tragedy like this ever again. And I would be glad to...
[Unidentified Reporter:] Can you tell me more about your relationship, you called her a friend. Can you tell about how far back you go and the last time you saw...
[Brewer:] Gabby served in the Arizona State Senate when I was in the secretary of state's office, and grown to love her and respect her, and certainly as campaigning statewide, she campaigned in the southern part of Arizona. I campaigned in the same areas but not only during the campaign effort, but certainly just going down and speaking to different groups like the Red Cross or Davis Marten Airport or library causes, Gabby always showed up and we were always and often appearing together on the same stage. And she was a genuine, nice, kind, hardworking servant for the people of district eight. Always courteous to everyone. She never really played partisan politics. She was serious about what she did and she was always concerned with what with what good of her district. And so you have to admire someone like that. She was a very gracious and is a very gracious elected public servant.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Governor, are you worried how this makes Arizona look?
[Brewer:] I think that it is something that certainly a state would not like to have happen in their state, or tragedies happen, and certainly we know that people should be held accountable and responsible for their actions. This certainly doesn't show favor on the state of Arizona, but we have a lot of good, decent people here as this is one of those horrible tragedies that we face. And we need to move on and make sure that those kinds of things don't happen.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Governor, will this change how you meet with your constituents?
[Brewer:] It's interesting. I've always been sort of the kind of person that always was with the people. I had an incident when I served on the board of supervisors in Maricopa County when we had a shooting take place when one of our supervisors was shot. And at that time, it was a realization that these things can happen. That we have, for whatever the reasons, disturbed people in our communities that sometimes do...
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] We apologize for that. Obviously having some technical difficulties there is. That was the governor of Arizona Jan Brewer talking about who she calls not only a co-worker, colleague but a friend, as well. Let's listen back in.
[Brewer:] Because I've always believed that government ought to be open and people ought to be freely, will be able to access the facilities. I think it's important, but I would assume under the circumstances that we've all seen today, the security in some manner probably will be increased. Well, basically the same thing. He was very, very gracious, was totally nonpartisan, it was not political. He wanted to assure me as the president of the United States that whatever that they could do, they would send their resources. They would be there for whatever is needed. That they would be working with my team. Make sure that all the numbers were conveyed to their staff. And that we will posted, indicated that the FBI would be doing the investigation, and that we would be in touch. I told to him, you know, I've tried to tell him and explain to him what a horrible tragedy and what a sad, sad day this is for not only Arizona, but for America.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Have you spoken to anyone from Representative Giffords' staff or family or circle?
[Brewer:] I have not. I have spoken with mayor walkup, who has spoken with I believe Congresswoman Giffords' father and he's assured me that he too would keep me posted, on hands down there at DMC. And I spoke to the speaker but I have not been able to reach them.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Governor, will this have any impact on the events scheduled here on Monday?
[Brewer:] At this point in time, we have discussed that. You know, we had been down here, we had just begun the first 10, 15 minutes for the activity tomorrow when we got news that this awful tragedy had happened. So we just shut everything down, and speaking with the speaker, I think that this afternoon and early tomorrow morning, we will determine just exactly what direction we will be going.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Did you ever work with Ms. Giffords' on any specific legislation?
[Brewer:] I think that I have. I can't think of it right now in regards to it, but I remember being on the floor with Gabby talking about legislation and just when I became a secretary of state. And so it would be something I have to go back and look in my records.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Thank you, governor.
[Lemon:] That was Arizona Governor Jan Brewer talking about her colleague and that she said her friend, Gabrielle Giffords, but she calls her Gab or Gabby. And that's sort of the sentiment that everyone who has spoken out about this congresswoman has said about her. She's a kind woman, nonpartisan, hard worker, the kind of person who never met a stranger. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. It is 5:07 Eastern Time. And I want to tell you, we have some new information concerning the man who police believe is responsible for this. CNN is being told that by an Arizona law enforcement source, and a U.S. law enforcement source that they have identified the suspect in this shooting, his name is Jared Lee Loughner. Jared Lee Loughner. Other law enforcement source puts his age at 22. There was some concern, 22, maybe 23. But 22- year-old Jared Lee Loughner, CNN has confirmed through a law enforcement source and also another U.S. law enforcement force and an Arizona law enforcement source that that is the suspect who committed this heinous act. We're following this story with new information. Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is fighting for her life at this moment. Shot through the head today while meeting with constituents outside of a Tucson grocery store. Six people died and 12 were wounded when a gunman opened fire. Giffords now is out of surgery. Doctors updated her condition just a short time ago.
[Unidentified Woman:] The congresswoman is not deceased.
[Unidentified Man:] Can you tell us her condition currently?
[Unidentified Woman:] She's in critical condition. The neurosurgeons have finished operating on her and I can tell you at the current time, I'm very optimistic about recovery.
[Lemon:] Giffords, seen here with her husband, NASA Shuttle Astronaut Mark Kelly, was holding a Congress on your corner event at a busy Tucson Safeway when the gunman opened fire at close range, we're told very close. Federal Judge John Roll and a 9-year-old child were among those who were killed. At least five others are in critical condition, we were told by the hospital at the press conference just a short time ago. Police have a suspect in custody. Again, we're just getting this, he's identified as 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, Jared Lee Loughner, a weapon has been recovered, as well. Our Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash and Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry are in Washington right now, they're joining us and our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta standing by for us on the phone. Sanjay, I want to go to you real quickly, because I want to talk about this type of injury and for a doctor, a neurosurgeon to say that they are optimistic, that's a good sign.
[Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent:] It's a very good sign. And listening closely to that press conference, Don, one of the things that really stuck out, they said that while she is in critical condition, she is following commands. That's such an important thing to note there, that someone is following commands, coming out of surgery, even though she may have a breathing tube in. It means that she's able to hear what someone is saying, saying a command such as raise two fingers, for example. She hears that, she processes that and she's able to execute some sort of function based on that. Raising two fingers means that several things in her brain are actually working very well. So from a neurological perspective, that's something you really want to look for and the fact that she's able to do it is a very important and good sign, Don.
[Lemon:] Do you know anything about her health right now? Apparently she is a healthy person, otherwise I know you're not her doctor. But she would have to be, one would assume, in good health to undergo something like this and still be responsive.
[Gupta:] Well, you know, I mean, we don't know a lot about the I don't know a lot about her previous health. I think she's relatively a young person. But, you know, the situation with a gunshot wound to the head and how serious it is, is dependent on a lot of things, obviously the type of munition that was used, the range which I know, I heard you described as close range, was this a glancing sort of shot, meaning, you know, did it sort of bounce sort of off the skull more than actually penetrate. Those things are all important. Which side of the head specifically, there are areas of the brain if they are hit or damaged would cause more concern than other areas of the brain.
[Lemon:] Can she can go on and lead a normal life after this, if she does, indeed make a full recovery?
[Gupta:] Well, you know, I couldn't say that right now and I'm not sure her doctors could say that right now. Because, this is, you know, obviously in the very acute aftermath of this. But, again, I think at this stage, after a close range gunshot wound to the head, that she's alive, obviously, she's following commands. Those are good signs. Exactly what her function will be, will she have any difficulties with speech, with strength, all those things, I don't think anybody could or probably should frankly say at this time for sure yet.
[Lemon:] All right. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay, thank you very much and we'll tell you that our chief white house correspondent and our senior congressional correspondents are standing by. Ed Henry and Dana Bash in Washington and they're going to update you. And Kate Bolduan is also standing by. Ed has some information about how the president found out and what's happening behind the scenes at the White House right now. We want to hear from you. We've been hearing a lot about this story. Thank you so much on social media updating us. We're updating you as well. So make sure you check out our accounts. We're right back after the break with this breaking news here on CNN.

[Lu Stout:] You're watching NEWSTEAM. And these are your world headlines. Now Libya's ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi has reportedly made another desperate call to his followers urging them to fight on to victory. And two audio messages aired on Syrian TV late on Thursday, a man claiming to be Gadhafi warns his enemies to prepare for a long, drawn out war. Now Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has held his first news conference as leader. Mr. Noda pledged to make reconstruction from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami the top priority for his government. He also called for closer ties with China. Now parliament elected Noda on Tuesday, making him the country's sixth new leader in five years. Turkey has downgraded its military and diplomatic relations with Israel over Israel's deadly raid of a Gaza bound flotilla in May last year. Nine Turks on board were killed in the incident. It comes as a UN report says Israel's storming of the flotilla was excessive and unreasonable. And this just into us here at CNN, the latest U.S. jobs numbers are out. It doesn't make for good reading. The U.S. economy added no jobs in August. An economist surveyed by CNN had expected a figure of 75,000 new non-farm payrolls. And the unemployment rate, it remains steady at 9.1 percent. We'll have much more on the latest U.S. jobs numbers in the next hour of CNN, along with the latest market reaction. And the U.S. Labor Secretary will react to these numbers live on World Business Today, that starts in less than half an hour from now. And Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong, Nina Dos Santos in London, Alicia Taylor in New York. Back to Libya now. With Colonel Gadhafi in hiding, more details are coming to light that tell us about the dark secrets of his regime. Now documents, files and photos from notorious Abu Salim Prison have been uncovered. As Arwa Damon shows us, they reveal shocking details of life behind bars.
[Saleh Marghani, Human Rights Lawyer:] This guy, or this family, or this guy, they could be dead or alive. We don't know.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] There are piles of photos, audio, and video tapes, stacks of files, papers, the morbid archive of Tripoli's infamous Abu Salim Prison, the site of the 1996 massacre that left at least 1,200 political inmates dead. The location of their bodies still unknown. Many believe they have yet to discover mass graves. Saleh Marghani, along with a team of young lawyers, is trying to save what's left.
[Marghani:] I think the most important thing to do for all this evidence and many other parts of it is to preserve them to be presented say in courts, or for researchers, for historians, so that people will know the facts.
[Damon:] This file says on it Zumar el Kilab el Dola, which translates to remain the groups of stray dogs. And inside are the names of various political activists. And is how the regime used to refer to them. Many of them detained decades ago.
[Marghani:] This guy, first one who was killed in 1984.
[Damon:] Some of the documents are already gone forever, turned into ash in a fire a few days ago, possibly arson at the hands of someone who doesn't want Abu Salim's secrets uncovered. "It pains me. These were some of the best Libyan men," Wajdi al-Unici says sifting through a box of photos. His older brother Rajib was held here, accused of being a member of a banned religious party. Now Wajdi is intently scanning for clues, holding on to a tiny sliver of hope that his brother is alive. "He was doing his military service in 1989," Wajdi tells us. He stopped coming to visit, so my parents began to worry and search for him. At the base where he was stationed they were told he was never there. After a year of scouring the whole country they finally tracked him to Abu Salim. "We saw him three times for 15 minutes each," Wajdi remembers. "The last time was in 1993. And then they closed the door. And from that moment until now we have not seen him." In 2009, the family received a death certificate that Rajib had died in 1996. But they don't believe it. The archives that holds the answers for so many families is being moved to a secure location where the hope is that one day, perhaps, the secrets of Abu Salim will be uncovered. Arwa Damon, CNN, Tripoli.
[Lu Stout:] Now many Libyans decided to flee Gadhafi's regime even before the country erupted into civil war. But now with the former Libyan leader out of the picture, they're hoping to make the move back home. Nima Elbagir reports.
[Nima Elbagir, Cnn International Correspondent:] Like many Libyans living abroad Mahmoud had been desperately watching news of his homeland. He fled Tripoli and the rule of Moammar Gadhafi 10 years ago. His mother joined him here in Dubai after the family home was destroyed in the war.
[Unidentified Male:] They broke the glass and they start shooting everywhere.
[Elbagir:] But his siblings stayed behind. And in the first days of fighting in the capital when information was hard to come by, the worry was almost unbearable.
[Faiwzai Shtway, Mahmoud's Mother:] My friend, my home, my sister, my brother, my family, my everything every day I call my friend, my sister, my my son my big son I have.
[Elbagir:] The family back in Tripoli is safe. But Mahmoud recently received word that a friend had been killed in the fighting. But even knowing the dangers, Mahmoud and his mother say as soon as they can they will return to Libya. During Gadhafi's 42 years of rule, tens of thousands of Libyans went into exile, seeking opportunities and freedoms denied them at home, making lives for themselves and their families here in the Middle East and around the world. But now that Tripoli has fallen and it's Gadhafi and his family who face exile. Many are now asking themselves if it's time to think about returning home and helping rebuild their nation. Along with Mahmoud, Ahmed Rais is also planning his return to Libya.
[Ahmed Rais, Libyan National:] We got a lot of experience in terms of working the immigrants working abroad in the UK or in the U.S. so the contribution is to go back to Libya and take all the knowledge that you learned and the experience from these countries...
[Elbagir:] For their friend, this is an issue that is especially emotional. Her grandfather was the former prime minister of Libya who was forced out when Gadhafi seized power. He later died in prison.
[Rueida Muntasser, Libyan National:] 1969 Gadhafi came to power. My grandfather was captured. He was put in jail. And that was the end of it. They sacked Tripoli. It just happened so quick, so fast, like it's happening now.
[Elbagir:] She knows how quickly things can go wrong. Even when a government has the best intentions. And that's why, she says, it's so important that everyone does what they can.
[Muntasser:] All Libyans want to contribute to society. So and we owe it, we owe it to [inaudible] we owe it to those Libyans who fought, who lost their lives, and who gave they did this to give us this opportunity. How could we not give this to them? They died to see a new Libya. So who is going to build a new Libya? The people.
[Elbagir:] And even as rebels still battle forces loyal to Gadhafi, many Libyans are imagining a place they can again call home.
[Rais:] Libya is going to grow up, people will have their chances, and we can be a free country.
[Elbagir:] Nima Elbagir, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
[Lu Stout:] And with the Gadhafi family's reign at a likely end in Libya, more details of their abuse of power are emerging. This week, Dan Rivers brought us a story of Shrigei Mullah, a nanny for Hannibal Gadhafi's household found badly burned. And now he has been told of routine abuse and imprisonment of Hannibal Gadhafi's domestic staff. He joins me now live from Tripoli with the details. And Dan, more stories of abuse. What have you heard?
[Rivers:] Yeah, this wasn't just confined to one Nanny. Shrigei Mullah who we featured this week. In fact, it sounds like a lot of the staff suffered abuse to varying degrees. We've spoken to one man who is still too afraid to give his name or to show his face, but he took us to another compound that Hannibal Gadhafi used as an office complex. And in that was a sort of secret prison room, cell, where they locked people up, staff, if they felt that they'd done something wrong. He, himself, says he was locked up in this compound for three days on his own with no food or water. He gave us more accounts of other people who had been burnt with boiling water. I've been in touch with another former nanny who has now left Libya, who is on somewhere else in the world. She again is too afraid to be interviewed, but show corroborates this picture that we're building up of terrible abuse of the domestic staff both by Hannibal Gadhafi and his wife Aileen.
[Lu Stout:] It's quite incredible looking at the images there of that apparent jail cell. It's quite sick. Recently, you've also seen Shrigei again, the nanny who was abused by the family of Hannibal Gadhafi. How is she doing?
[Rivers:] She's a lot better, Kristie. She's in the burns hospital in Tripoli still. We went to visit her last night and the health minister for Libya came along. And he expressed her support you know, giving her whatever she needs. And that was encouraging. She even managed to smile. It's the first time I'd seen her smile, which was great. And she, you know, wanted to say her you know, profound thanks to everyone who has helped and contributed money to her care. And that page can be found on cnn.comimpactyourworld but still there. It's going to be a long time, frankly, before she has any semblance of normal life. But you can already see just the dignity which she carries herself at the moment. And, you know, we're all hoping that she can make a full recovery in the course of time.
[Lu Stout:] Yeah, here's hoping for that. And a big thank you to you, Dan, and the team for bringing her story to the world. Dan Rivers there joining us live from Tripoli. And since Dan Rivers first brought to you the story of Shrigei Mullah we have received a huge outpouring of support for her. And donations to a fundraising page, it was set up by Antislavery International along with CNN, have now topped $16,000. If you want to help, there is a special section on our web site you can click on. You just go to cnn.comimpact. And there you will find that link to the Antislavery International page. Once again Impact Your Worldimpact. Now still to come here on News Stream, another big storm is brewing in the Atlantic. The global weather forecast is next.

[Costello:] Checking stories "Cross Country" now. It looked like a scene from the wild, wild west. When a gunfight erupted outside an Oklahoma courthouse. It all started with a man shooting indiscriminately into the air. Police were called in and it became a full shootout when the man waved his gun at deputies. In the end the alleged shooter, a bystander, and a sheriff's deputy were wounded. In Massachusetts a court says a man has to pay child support for twin girls born to his wife through in vitro fertilization. He has to pay even though he and his wife split up years before the kids were conceived. The court said the father was responsible because his actions, quote, "resulted in the creation of a child." A train carrying chemicals crashed in Abbeville, South Carolina, this morning. Witnesses said it may involved as many as 20 rail cars. Hazardous materials teams are on the scene. Not yet known what chemicals are inside those cars. It is the controversy that just will not die. Rush Limbaugh's show has been bleeding advertisers over Limbaugh's use of the word slut to describe a Georgetown law student. And now a U.S. lawmaker, a Democrat, is calling for the Armed Forces Networks' comments to be I'm sorry, the Armed Forces Networks to drop Limbaugh's radio show. The Obama administration is already under pressure from online activists to drop Limbaugh from the military air waves. But so far, the Pentagon is not budging. If our troops want to listen to Limbaugh, they should be able to do so. Ashleigh Banfield is here to tell us what Senator Carl Levin had to say, who, by the way, is chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Hey, Ashleigh.
[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] Very good point. Hey, Carol. And, of course, you know, he may be the Democrat from Michigan, but he's is also a very powerful chairman of that very powerful committee. And so, when he speaks, people listen. But how much is he speaking I think is what a lot of people are asking? Is this an edict or is this a request? Have a listen for yourself.
[Sen. Carl Levin , Michigan:] I would not try to legislate it. I would hope that the people who run it would see just how offensive this is and drop it on their own volition.
[Banfield:] All right. So that's pretty critical. This is a request. This is something that is obviously getting a lot of traction because, Carol, there are between 10,000 and 20,000 women excuse me, 10 and 20 percent of the armed services are actually women, and while some people are saying this is much ado about nothing. The Armed Services Network broadcasts to a variety of different viewpoints including Ed Schultz who everybody knows on MSNBC, he used the slut word as well, and actually took some time off because of it. So, the Armed Forces Network is saying there's a variety of view points. And while some say this is much ado about nothing, but others are saying women in the network or women in the armed forces will have a different viewpoint particularly because there has been a real crisis with regard to sex crimes in the armed forces, too. So I think a lot of people are chewing over this a little differently than just who's saying what and who has a different viewpoint. I think there's a bigger issue afoot here as well.
[Costello:] Well, I heard what Senator Levin said about, you know, he doesn't want to legislate, you know, the Armed Forces radio from eliminating the Rush Limbaugh show, but he could affect the funding of the Armed Forces Network, couldn't he?
[Banfield:] Very good point. I think a lot of people forget that the Armed Forces Network is 100 percent taxpayer funded and there's a lot of funding that goes to that network as well. This is a network that broadcasts overseas to the troops commercial-free. And we pay the bill for that. It's $27 million annually. And I think to that end there's an organization VoteVets.org which got together and decided to put together a petition asking for the show to be taken off the air. They had 12,000 signatures, I think, in three days of putting that online petition together. But, listen, also, don't forget the marketplace has also affected Rush Limbaugh as well, too. I think at the last count, and I'm going to quote this from a liberal advocacy group so take what you will out of that Media Matters said 45 different local and national advertisers have pulled off spots from Rush Limbaugh's show. So who knows if Rush Limbaugh will be on wavers Imus style and this will not be an issue for the Armed Forces Network, or whether, you know, legislators will have to deal with this a little bit more than just with what Carl Levin said.
[Costello:] As they say, we'll see. Ashleigh Banfield, thank you.
[Banfield:] Congratulations on the new show.
[Costello:] Thanks so much. And same to you by the way.
[Banfield:] Thank you.
[Costello:] See you later. You gripe and the feds listen. The Consumer Product Safety Commission putting out the top ten consumer complaints. We will have them for you right after a break. Plus, Queen Elizabeth and her granddaughter in law get ready to hit the road. They're celebrating the diamond jubilee in the U.K. Poor Prince Harry had to go to the Caribbean. More on that, next.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now. Stories we're watching right now in the
[Newsroom:] New campaign ammunition for President Obama. Less than two weeks from the election, brand new economic numbers showing the economy improving. It's a weekend of waiting all up and down the East Coast as Hurricane Sandy inches closer towards the United States as heavy rains could turn into heavy snow. Attention women voters. The Obama campaign wants you but does a new ad cross the line? And it's a happy reunion for a Pakistani teenager now recovering from an attempted assassination. She's with her parents at a British hospital and she's talking. NEWSROOM starts now. And good morning. Happy Friday to you. I'm Carol Costello. We start with better news on the economy. I said better, not great. With just 11 days left until the election, we're seeing a new indicator in the economy that it's growing. Maribel Aber live at the Nasdaq market site to tell us what it all means. Good morning.
[Maribel Aber, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. You talked a little bit early about ammunition for the president's campaign. This really could help President Obama's message that the economy is improving, but there's something in here for Romney too. Growth isn't strong enough to really bring down unemployment. We learned that the U.S. economy grew at a 2 percent pace July through September. That's better than that 1.7 percent economists surveyed by CNN Money were expecting. But look at the chart here for some perspective. It's better than the second quarter. The biggest reason growth picked up because Americans are spending more. That really has to encourage investors who have been worried about a slowdown in Europe all week long and the effect that that's having on American companies. You know, the housing sector, the housing sector was a bright spot as was the federal government spending, which is a surprise. But there's still plenty bogging down the U.S. economy. You know, Carol, businesses aren't spending much money and they're exporting less confirming what we've heard this week from the likes of Caterpillar, 3M and Dupont Carol.
[Costello:] All right, quick check of the markets before you go.
[Aber:] Sure. It's a good report, but it's not great. Stocks are up only modestly. Right now, you see the Dow, it's actually down 25 points here. This reading isn't strong enough to boost hiring in a meaningful way Carol.
[Costello:] Maribel Aber reporting live for us from the Nasdaq market site. Now to that massive and deadly Hurricane Sandy, which will slam into the northeast in just a few days. Right now parts of Florida under a tropical storm warning. Huge waves are battering the coast. Some school districts in South Florida have already canceled classes today, told employees not to bother to report to work. Here is Alexa Helms from our affiliate WSVN.
[Alexa Helms, Wsvn Tv Reporter:] The rain has just started to come down. As you can see the winds are picking up as well. I don't know if you can see some of the rain drops. They're going pretty fast. The main issue is the waves. This is what we've been talking about. These waves have not quit at all. They keep rolling in. So they don't look like they're going to be that powerful until you can see all of this sand that they've swept in all the way across the beach. And then the waves dump over not just water, but sand and seaweed and everything in the area onto the sidewalk and in the middle of the road. Now this road A1A from Sunrise to northeast 20th Street completely cut off. And this just kind of came to us right now. You can see this manhole just so you can get an idea of how much sand there actually is here. So it's at least a foot high just in this area alone. Cleanups, they still don't know when those are going to begin. We just spoke with excuse me, we just spoke with the city of Miami. They don't know when the cleanups are going to begin but at this point they don't want anybody driving this area. It's way too dangerous and much less getting in the water.
[Costello:] All right, so that's a report from South Florida. Take a lack at Hurricane Sandy from space. It is so large it would cover the distance from Memphis, Tennessee, to Los Angeles. It's expected to mix with a powerful winter storm, which could make it even stronger. Sandy has already claimed 21 lives in the Caribbean and now it could cause widespread damage in the northeast. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is here. I have heard this storm described as an atmospheric bomb.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, you know, a bomb is a technical term that we use that means that when the pressure and the storm falls 24 millibars in 24 hours. So whoever you heard that from is wrong. It's not going to do that. We're already starting low.
[Costello:] I like that you said that because that scared me.
[Marciano:] It is scary. This storm has been called other things, which is scary as well. I want to start off with what happened in Cuba. They got the brunt of this thing as a Category 2 storm. There are some of the damage video, big trees obviously taken down all the power lines, infrastructure damage. We could see some of this across the northeast, not because it's going to be a stronger storm, but because it's going to be a longer duration event and we have other issues to deal with. Let's come back to the map and go over what is Hurricane Sandy. An 80 mile-an-hour winds right now. It's starting its transformation into something other than a hurricane. Wind field is beginning to expand. That means it is going to affect a larger amount of people. North westerly moving about 10 miles an hour, the center is 150 miles or so off the coast of Florida. It will stay off the Florida coast line. But they've been getting tropical storm force winds and wave action as you saw on that video. There's some of the radar on the western edge of the storm as we do expect it to move up the coastline. Tropical storm watch is posted from Charleston right up through Cape Hatteras. There will be some big waves along the outer banks, maybe 30 or 40 footers as we go through the weekend. Here's your forecast track scooting the coastline Sunday night into Monday. We make the turn and now our computer models, which have been hinting at something for the past couple of days are getting a little bit more firm in suggesting that this will make a left turn. We have stuff blocking the action out in the ocean and forcing it back towards the northeast. Here's your solution. Anywhere from Norfolk to Nantucket as a Category 1-like storm, we say that because it's going to be morphed with an influence of a jet stream, which this time of the year, very strong. That will wind it up more. Expand that wind field to the point where we probably will see damaging winds in a 300 mile, maybe 400 mile swath. That is a huge chuck of real estate to see areas of winds over 50 miles an hour. That's what has us nervous. You've heard comparisons, Carol, to the perfect storm of 1991. A little bit similar to that but that one didn't make landfall. That's why meteorologists are nervous. This one is going to make landfall Monday, Tuesday.
[Costello:] I'm looking at the picture of Fort Lauderdale next to you. At least we won't be suffering alone around the country. We'll be suffering together. Rob Marciano, many thanks to you. There's no other way to describe it, just a horrible tragedy in New York's upper west side. A mother, she comes home. She finds her young son and daughter in the bathtub stabbed to death. She finds the nanny on the floor unconscious, bleeding and holding knife. Deb Feyerick has been following the story out of New York. What more do we know, Deb?
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Correspondent:] Carol, parents take such a leap of faith whenever they entrust their children to somebody else, whether it's a nanny, a baby-sitter. Anyone, a background check no matter how thorough can't predict if someone will snap. And that is what police believed happened. Detectives are waiting to question the nanny, Josie Ortega. She is in critical condition, heavily sedated in a New York hospital and she is under arrest. She is suspected of killing 6-year-old Lulu Krim and her 2-year-old brother Leo. The mom, Marina, returned home with her 3-year-old daughter after swimming lessons yesterday about 5:30 and she is the one who discovered the horrifying scene. The children in the bathtub bleeding from stab wounds. The nanny was on the floor, a kitchen knife next to her. Police say it appears she tried to slash her own throat, the nanny. The parents are beyond devastated according a source. Kevin Krim is a media executive at CNBC. The company released this statement saying, quote, "The sadness that we all feel for Kevin, Marina and their family is without measure." You're looking at some of the pictures there of those children. The parents were so clearly devoted to all three of them and the family's blog was taken down, Carol, within the last hour. But the pictures and the entries show this happy, loving family and the three of them together in so many photos. You have to remember, there's one child by the grace of God survived because she was with her mother. It's just so tragic. That's why it's resonating with so many people certainly here throughout Manhattan Carol.
[Costello:] I was going to ask you this. I mean, so many women across the country hire nannies or daycare workers to care for their children. I think this is just a really frightening story to hear.
[Feyerick:] Yes, absolutely. It's fascinating because the second we heard about this last night people just started e-mailing saying they were running home to go hug their children even more tightly. You know, nannies are feeling this also because so many are deeply devoted to these children. To have one who does the unthinkable, people are really trying to get their heads around it today.
[Costello:] Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much. Turning our attention to the race for the White House now and a new ad from team Obama that is raising some eyebrows for comparing someone's first-time voting to that first time they had sex.
[Lena Dunham, Creator, "girls":] Your first time shouldn't be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy. It should be with a guy who is beautiful, someone who really cares about and understands women. A guy who cares whether you get health insurance, specifically whether you get birth control. The consequences are huge. My first time voting was amazing. It was a line in the sand. Before I was a girl, now I was a woman. I went to the polling station and pulled back the curtain. I voted for Barack Obama.
[Costello:] L.Z. Granderson, we called you specifically to talk about this because we knew you'd understand. L.Z. is a contributor and senior writer for ESPN. He is also a political analyst for CNN. So L.Z., one Republican strategist calls the ad insulting to women. What do you think?
[L.z. Granderson, Cnn Contributor:] You know what, I'm a big fan of the show "Girls" and I think anyone who's a fan of the show "Girls" absolutely loved the ad. I think if it comes out of the blue and you don't know the backgroud, I can see how you would get offended by it. But, look, this isn't an ad directed towards anyone who is undecided voter. This isn't an ad trying to convince people. It's trying to fire up a base and I think it does exactly that. When I saw it I was really laughing. I thought it was great. Then again, I am a fan of the show.
[Costello:] Exactly. You know, speaking of perception, another CNN contributor and Republican consultant, Alex Castellanos, you know, Alex. Well, L.Z., he has an op-ed today on cnn.com about the man he calls cool Obama versus square Romney. He says actually cool will lose the election for Obama. This is a quote. Alex says, "President Obama hangs out with movie stars, makes no decisions without consulting the academic elite and sings like Al Green. Obama is the president of cool America." But when it comes to Romney, Alex writes, "Mitt Romney is the chaperone to be alluded at every prom. He's common sense, parental advice, not counter intuitive, academic insight. He has stepped in. He's fresh and perfect from a Norman Rockwell painting." Alex says there's a silent majority in this country, square like Romney, who's afraid of cool Obama and that's why they're going to vote Romney this time.
[Granderson:] Wow. Well, you know what, I know
[Costello:] You're cool. You have dread locks.
[Granderson:] You know, I know there are three states in the country right now that are contemplating legalizing marijuana. I'm assuming Alex is very excited about that because I can't figure out why he would write that if you weren't high and crazy. No one, I think, is looking at Romney as a fresh face. Someone who's been running for president for the last 10 years is not a fresh face. Someone who has been trying to be in politics for most of their lives is not a fresh face and for him to characterize Romney like that is absolutely crazy. Is President Obama cool? Well, yes, he's cool, but he's cool because he's confident and he's comfortable in his own skin. It's not about hanging out with movie stars. There are a lot of people who are cool who don't hang out with movie stars. It's about being confident. And the reason why President Obama is confident is because he believes in the work that he's doing and that radiates and people are gravitating towards that. The reason why Romney is seen as square it's because he's not confident because he constantly changes what he says. That's what you're picking up. Not the movie stars, not the Al Green thing, but confidence coming out from the candidates.
[Costello:] Well, I think specifically what he's saying is Romney believes in these old-fashioned values of hard work, putting your nose to the grind stone, taking responsibility for what happens in your life. That's what he's saying about square Romney. America is ready for that kind of candidate again. They've had it with this cool dude who's in "Rolling Stone" who is going to say bullshit and he'll be on MTV tonight. For some Republicans that's way too much for a president. It's like he's more interested in cool and image than he is about being presidential.
[Granderson:] Well, Carol, you know, I'm just going to look at it this way. I don't know very many people who come from a single parent background who grew up poor, who didn't know their father, who got to a place of success in their lives without having hard work, without being holding themselves accountable, without being intelligent. I don't know very many people like that, but I do know a lot of people who have gotten far in life by relying on their family to get them there, by having advantages like, I don't know, your father is the president of a large company and things like that. When I look at the two candidates and I think about hard work and preservation I think about, which story seems like they worked harder, the one who came from nothing and became President of the United States. Or someone who grew up in a rich suburb of Detroit, had their father be governor and then they became successful, not saying that Mitt Romney didn't look too hard. But it's very hard to look at those two stories and look at President Obama and say that he didn't.
[Costello:] L.Z., thanks so much. By the way, we did invite Alex on the program, but he had another commitment. I'm sure he'll be talking about this on CNN later today. If you want to read his op-ed, cnn.com. Thank you,
[L.z. Granderson:] Read mine too. Read my op-ed as well please.
[Costello:] Definitely so. We always do. L.Z. Granderson, thanks so much.
[Granderson:] Thank you.
[Costello:] Conservative fire brand Ann Coulter who is not well known for her delicate use of the English language is embroiled in controversy again. After Monday night's presidential face-off between President Obama and Mitt Romney, Coulter took to Twitter to share her feelings. She wrote, quote, "I highly approve of Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retards." In response to Coulter's use of that offensive word to describe the President of the United States, Special Olympian John Franklin Stephens wrote a heartfelt open letter explaining just why that word should not be an insult. Here's what he has to say.
[John Franklin Stephens, Special Olympics Athlete:] Dear Ann Coulter, come on, Ms. Coulter, you aren't dumb and you aren't shallow, so why are you constantly using a word like the "R" word as an insult? I am a 30-year-old man with Down's syndrome who has struggled with the public perception that people with disability means I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things. I do process information a little more slowly than the rest of you.
[Costello:] You can hear more from Special Olympics athlete Frank Stephens. He'll be live on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. She was the target of a Taliban assassination. Now Malala's parents are by her side as she continues to recover from a gunshot wound and doctors have good news. She's talking.

[Baldwin:] Let's go to Washington now for your "CNN Equals Politics" update. CNN's Paul Steinhauser standing by as always with the freshest news off the Ticker. Paul, let's begin with the news on Ron Paul and a former Obama staffer.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] Yes, let's start with that. Elizabeth Warren is her name. She was in the new as lot last year, Brooke. Remember she was the economic adviser to Barack Obama who set up the consumer financial protection agency, which is a brand new agency set up last year, and an agency that was not well-loved by a lot of Republicans. They would like to see it scrapped. Last year she set up the agency, but she wasn't named to head it. She went back to Harvard University. She's a law professor up there. And today she took the first formal steps to maybe launch a campaign and maybe take on Republican Senator up there Scott Brown. She formed an exploratory committee today. She launched a website. There are seven other Democrats already in the race, but none of them a lot of name recognition. And national Democrats think they need somebody maybe like Warren to run against Scott Brown. Remember, Brown was pretty popular up there. He won the special election up there last year. That was a big surprise, Senator Kennedy's old seat. He has about $10 million in the bank. So stay tuned. That will be one heck of a Senate race up there in Massachusetts, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] OK, I feel like one of the last times I talked to you, you were at the state fair in Iowa, right, very closely following the Republican race for the White House. What's the latest today on that?
[Steinhauser:] Remember I had a Twinkie log, fried Twinkies.
[Baldwin:] Oh, boy.
[Steinhauser:] Yes, no more say the fair. Back here in D.C. for now. All right, Ron Paul, last night he was in New Hampshire. He opened up his campaign headquarters in the first primary state in the nation. He's campaigning there today. He was talking about Rick Perry. And this is interesting because Perry has been in the news for those comments about calling Fed chief Ben Bernanke treasonous, in a way. Ron Paul is saying, wait a minute, I've been talking about the Federal Reserve for years, saying we should scrap it, it should be audited. Let's get rid of it. So Ron Paul may be trying to grab back some of that spotlight. And Brooke, you want more Ron Paul, stay tuned. Top of the hour, I think Wolf Blitzer has him on "
[The Situation Room." Baldwin:] We'll ask Wolf about that in a couple of minutes. Paul Steinhauser, thank you so much. And let's talk here about the president. The president of the United States heading off for a little vacation starting today. Let's go to Dan Lothian, who is a step ahead of the president already in the lovely Martha's Vineyard. Talk about the president I guess finally getting a little bit of
[R&r.; Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] That's right. And it's not without controversy, as you know. For weeks when word got out that the president was planning on coming here the third summer now in a row, there have been those who have criticized the president, both Democrats and Republicans saying that this should not be the place where he is right now, that he should be in Washington calling lawmakers back to Washington so they can deal with some of the tough issues out there affecting the economy. And the president, as you know, working on his new jobs proposal. But the White House pushing back on that saying, listen, this is someone who needs to get out, get a little R&R.; And when the president goes on vacation, it doesn't matter where he go, even here in Martha's Vineyard, that he might be leaving the White House, but he's not leaving his job. He's always surrounded by his team of aides. He'll be getting all the briefings on national security, on foreign policy matters, as well. So he might be away from the physical structure of the White House, but the White House itself will be following him.
[Baldwin:] Dan, let's go back to the double box because we were getting live pictures of the president leaving in Air Force One. There is the plane, I should say, at Andrews Air Force base, just a hop, skip and a jump away from Martha's Vineyard. And, Dan, I know you mentioned he has a big policy speech, the president does, when he comes back into town next month, certainly his team will be working on while he is away. Also making news, though, today, the fact that the president was calling on Syria's president to step down. And one big question, though, is why did it take so long?
[Lothian:] Right. And the administration has been asked this question now for several weeks, if not months, why the president did not call on Assad to step down much sooner. And what the White House and other administration officials have been saying is that they really want to get the allies behind them. They wanted to make sure that this was an international effort that there's no way that Assad could say will is this is simply the U.S. acting alone. So that is what they point to as trying to essentially get the international ducks in a row before coming out with a forceful statement that you heard today from Secretary Clinton.
[Baldwin:] Dan Lothian, thank you. That image behind you almost looks fake, but I know it's real. Enjoy it.
[Lothian:] It's very real. It's beautiful here.
[Baldwin:] Enjoy it.
[Lothian:] We are working.
[Baldwin:] Of course you are, very hard. Thank you, Dan. Speaking of boats behind Dan, let's talk about yachts, jewelry, cash, even prostitutes just some of the things allege allegedly provided to University of Miami football players. New developments today in that bombshell revelation that is clearly rocking the sports world. Back in two minutes.

[Velshi:] You watch Christine every week, you know she feels very strongly about this. Science as a subject turns away not just American students, generally, but especially female American students. According to the study by the American Association of University Women, more high school boys than girls took advanced placement tests in mathematics and science. The things so important to our future in this country and a far greater number of men earned bachelor's degrees in science and engineering than female bachelor's agrees in science and engineering than their female counterparts, despite the fact that more women in America go to men-got to college than men do. But the tide might be shifting. At Google's first-ever science fair, where more than 10,000 students, from 91 countries entered, it wasn't just an American sweep, but an American girl sweep in all three age categories. With me now are grand prize winners, Shree Bose, she won in the 17 to 18 age category; Naomi Shaw, the winner in the 15 to 16 age group category, and here with me in studio is Lauren Hodge, she won in the 13 to 14 age group. Congratulations to all of you. Brilliant, brilliant girls. We are counting on you to help us out in the future. Shree, let's start with you. In the second grade, when you were in the second grade, while I was seeing how ants reacted to having water put on them, you were turning spinach blue, because you thought it might be more appealing to kids. That is not what won you the grand prize this year, but something substantially more sophisticated. Tell us what you did.
[Shree Bose, Google Science Fair Grand Prize Winner:] My project this year was actually about drug resistance in ovarian cancer. Basically we found a link between this one protein in the cell, called ANP kinase, and the development of drug resistance in ovarian cancer to this drug called Tsislat.
[Velshi:] What a brilliant-
[Bose:] Slightly more complicated.
[Velshi:] It is complicated. I'm certainly not going to ask you to try to simplify that for me. But ovarian cancer is a difficult cancer. It's often detected very late in women and we really are trying to figure out where it comes from, and how best to treat it. Why did you decide to go down this road?
[Bose:] Actually, two years ago, my grandfather passed away of cancer and I decided I really wanted to do cancer research and go into the medical field. So I started e-mailing professors and the one who actually accepted me, Doctor Luken Mubasu, at the UNT Health Science Center here in Fort Worth, actually specialized in breast and ovarian cancers. So that's kind of how I got started down this road.
[Velshi:] Brilliant. And Naomi, with let's talk about you. You did some studies on indoor air quality and how it how that can relate to asthmatics who have to take medication?
[Naomi Shah, Google Science Fair Grand Prize Winner:] Yes. So my research focuses on how the pollutants in our home and workplace, like the particulate matter and the chemical pollutants affect the lung health of asthmatic patients.
[Velshi:] Wow. Again, what got you in there?
[Shah:] So a lot of my friends and family suffer from severe allergies. My dad, my brother and I, we all have severe allergies. And that could develop into severe asthma in the future. And just seeing a lot of my family suffer from asthma, it got me really interested in this. So I have been doing a lot of research and I found that over 1.2 million people die from asthma every year. So I really wanted to target this disorder from the root, and that's why I was focusing on the environmental aspect, which is the pollutants in our homes, workplaces and schools, where we spend over 90 percent of our lives.
[Velshi:] That is brilliant. Amazing. All right, Lauren from Pennsylvania, Lauren Hodge in the 13 to 14 age group. Lauren, you were inspired by something we do. It's the middle of summer. We all think of throwing something on the grill. You put chicken on the grill, it tastes fantastic, but people say it could have carcinogens in it. That beautiful, crispy blackened marks on the chicken. You decided to tackle that.
[Lauren Hodge, Google Science Fair Grand Prize Winner:] Yes, basically what I found out about first, even before I considered marinating the chicken, which was what I used for my project, was actually an article in our doctor's office. But also the grilling of the chicken at summertime was basically the start of my project.
[Velshi:] What did you find?
[Hodge:] I found that with lemon juice, saltwater and brown sugar, those marinades can actually stop a reaction that occurs in grilled chicken, that forms hetersetamines, or carcinogens, and these three marinades can help stop the reaction.
[Velshi:] You should be going into the 9th grade, and you're going into the 1th grade.
[Hodge:] Yes.
[Velshi:] How do you react when you just heard what I just said, that girls don't like science. Girls turn away from science. They don't graduate. You're nodding your head. You love science?
[Hodge:] I love science and I always have. I think there's actually a lot of kids in my school, too. I think there has a been a trend that more and more girls are getting into science.
[Velshi:] Why? Anything different? Is it because people are just not saying that girls shouldn't do science?
[Hodge:] I think, that also, that even from a young age, there used to be more of a stereotype against girls and boys, but I think that is disappearing.
[Velshi:] I think you're part of the reason it's disappearing. When people watch the three of you and realize how successful and smart you are. I'm looking forward to follow the three of you in your careers as you find cures for things. And solve a lot of our world's problems. Shree Bose is in Fort Worth, Texas, Naomi Shah, joining us from Oregon, and with me here, Lauren Hodge of Pennsylvania. And speaking of Pennsylvania, a Pennsylvania school district is going to extraordinary lengths to trim costs. And they're being a little sheepish about it. I'll explain when we come back.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] And with the chiming of the bell, it is the top of the hour. We are four hours away from that debate. Wolf Blitzer will be watching for you. Thank you so much, sir. We'll get another political update for you in half an hour. By the way, you can always check out. They're on Twitter at "Political Ticker," cnn.compolitics, and now, watch this. It is debate day here at CNN, and the best political team on television is working in overdrive, ready to introduce you to the Republican men and woman who want your vote in 2012. We'll take you live to New Hampshire. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
[Rep. John Boehner, Speaker Of The House:] Beaner, bonner, boner. Thank God, it's not Weiner.
[Baldwin:] Very funny. Make all the jokes you want. Anthony Weiner is not the only elected official at this scandal this month. There is a lawmaker who allegedly got caught with his pants down, literally. They call it dinner time. They call before your alarm clock goes off. They call to demand the money you owe.
[Unidentified Female:] This is an attempt to collect a debt.
[Baldwin:] Now, debt collectors go on a charm offensive. Secret papers shared with CNN. They appear to reveal Gadhafi's battle plans and confidential code words like tomato? CNN examines the documents as we wait for the Libyan leader's next move. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Let's begin in Orlando. The big mystery today is the Casey Anthony murder trial is who will prosecutors call as their last witness? The trial is on the fast track, and prosecutors could wrap up their case as early as tomorrow afternoon. And just this morning, a latent print analyst from the FBI testified that she saw the outline of a heart on a piece of duct tape that was, apparently, put over Caylee Anthony's mouth. Watch this.
[Elizabeth Fontaine, Forensic Examiner:] The best way to illustrate what I saw was if you were to wear a band-aid for an extended period of time and eventually remove that band-aid, you have that glue or debris surface surrounding the outer ages of that band-aid. The outline of the heart resembled that glue or debris that if you had been wearing a band-aid for an extended period of time, rather than in the shape of the band-aid, it was in the shape of a heart.
[Baldwin:] Sunny Hostin back on the case. And Sunny, I want to talk about the heart-shaped band-aid, a moment that had all of us talking, I know, before I came up here for the show, but let's talk about the prosecution. As I mentioned, they could wrap up its case tomorrow. Is this trial ahead of schedule?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session" On Trutv:] It's ahead of schedule, and it's going quickly, actually, more quickly than I think any of us thought. We are on day 17 of this trial. Remember, the O.J. Simpson trial, which was the longest trial in California history lasted 37 weeks. So, we're talking about two weeks only, and he's saying that the prosecution is likely to rest either tomorrow or the next morning.
[Baldwin:] OK. Let's talk about this heart outline as we just heard in testimony. It was this heart outline on the duct tape that covered Caylee Anthony's mouth. How could, Sunny Hostin, how could that get there?
[Hostin:] Well, you know, the prosecution hasn't really answered that question. I think they're going to leave it up to the jury to figure it out, but they did introduce evidence, Brooke, that these heart- shaped stickers were found inside of the Casey home, Casey Anthony home when it was checked. And so, I think the prosecution wants the jury to infer that Casey Anthony placed that heart-shaped sticker on the duct tape that was found on Caylee Anthony's mouth. That is probably the only logical inference that one can make.
[Baldwin:] So, I just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly. So, potentially, there would have been some sort of heart sticker underneath this duct tape? Is that right?
[Hostin:] On top.
[Baldwin:] On top.
[Hostin:] On top of the duct tape.
[Baldwin:] Got it.
[Hostin:] And some people are thinking well, that's the sign of a conflicted killer, right? If you believe that Casey Anthony did kill her daughter, Caylee Anthony, she sealed it with a kiss, with the heart-shaped sticker.
[Baldwin:] Wow. OK. We have heard we've seen testimony about chloroform, we talked about that last week. Flies in this trunk, the smell of death, the smell of a body in Casey Anthony's car trunk. Have prosecutors made the case that Caylee's body was in that trunk?
[Hostin:] You know, I think they have, Brooke. When you look at it, you look at so many witnesses talking about the smell of death, then you have a forensic scientist that also talks about death and the smell and how he measured that. You're talking also about evidence of flies that can only be found with decomposing bodies. Cadaver dogs that alert at the trunk. The hair that was found that is consistent, that it came from a decomposing body. All of that together is pretty significant and compelling evidence, I think, that a body, Caylee Anthony's body was in the trunk of that car.
[Baldwin:] So, it's compelling evidence, but have they, though, conclusively made the case that Casey Anthony killed her little two- year-old, because one thing we were talking about earlier is we really haven't seen a clear motive. Shouldn't they be providing one?
[Hostin:] There you have it. That's the problem that I think the jury may have with the prosecution's case. The prosecution doesn't have to prove motive, Brooke. It's not an element of the crime, but it's the question that most jurors have and it's the question that a very good prosecutor makes sure he or she has answered before that jury goes into the jury room. Why? It's the why question, and I haven't seen motive. Typically, when you have a mother killing a child, there's a history of mental illness, there's a history of child abuse. Child Protective Services are often called in situations like this before the murder occurs. None of that is present here. The prosecutor said in opening statements, you know, this is about Casey Anthony wanting to live the good life. Well, I haven't seen evidence of that motive yet. Perhaps, we'll hear about it in the prosecution rebuttal case, but if we don't hear about it tomorrow, I don't think we've heard it yet.
[Baldwin:] So, we haven't specifically heard a motive. We're about to hear from the defense potentially Thursday if, you know, our timing and our guessing is correct, the jury could get the case in about two weeks. So, what's your prediction? We talked about this before. Casey Anthony, I mean, she has to testify, doesn't she?
[Hostin:] She has to testify, and I've said it over and over again. I've said it since opening statements. Jose Baez I thought did a wonderful job in opening statements, but the theory relies on someone getting on the witness stand and saying that Caylee Anthony wasn't murdered, that she died by drowning in the family pool. The only person I think that can get on the witness stand and tell that story is Casey Anthony. I think we're going to see here either the end of this week or perhaps next week.
[Baldwin:] That is the day that so many people are watching for. Sunny Hostin, we'll bring you back tomorrow. We'll continue watching this case right with you. Sunny, thank you.
[Hostin:] Thanks, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Coming up next it seems everyone out there has some sort of opinion about Congressman Anthony Weiner. Well, now the president of the United States is weighing in as well. We're going to tell you what he said. And then, listen to this
[Unidentified Female:] This is an attempt to collect a debt.
[Baldwin:] You ever gotten those phone calls? We're going to tell you about the move by debt collectors to try to revamp their image. Be right back.

[Costello:] Sixteen minutes past the hour. Good morning to you and welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Late night talk show host David Letterman is being targeted by terrorists. An assassination threat posted on a Jihadist Web site calling for Letterman's tongue to be cut out and his mouth shut forever. This after the funny man cracked a joke about an al Qaeda leader's death. Listen.
[David Letterman, Host, "late Show With David Letterman":] So anyway, they picked a successor to Osama Bin Laden and his name was Ilyas Kashmiri. Well, guess what? He was blown up by an American drone. Yes.
[Costello:] The FBI is looking into the threat. No comment from Letterman's camp.
[Romans:] All right. A bizarre encounter here on CNN last night when former Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell walked off the set during an interview with Piers Morgan. O'Donnell came on the show to promote her new book called "Troublemaker." But when pressed by Piers about her position on gay marriage and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," it seems O'Donnell had enough.
[Piers Morgan, Cnn Host, "piers Morgan Tonight":] Why are you being weird about this?
[Christine O'donnell, Fmr. Delaware Senate Candidate:] I'm not being weird about this, Piers. I'm not running for office. I'm not promoting a legislative agenda. I'm promoting the policies that I lay out in the book that are mostly fiscal, that are mostly Constitutional. That's why I agreed to come on your show. That's what I want to talk about. I'm not being weird. You're being a little rude.
[Morgan:] I don't I'm baffled as to why you think I'm being I think I'm being rather charming and respectful. I'm just asking you questions based on your own public statements and now what you've written in your own book. It's hardly rude to ask you that, surely.
[O'donnell:] Well, don't you think as a host, if I say this is what I want to talk about, that's what we should address?
[Morgan:] Not really, no. You're a politician.
[O'donnell:] Yes. OK. I'm being pulled away. You know, we turned down another interview for this.
[Morgan:] Where are you going? You're leaving?
[Romans:] OK. Then you can see a shadowy figure tries to stand in front of the camera apparently trying to block the view of O'Donnell. Later, Piers talked about the exchange with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
[Morgan:] I found it a very strange moment. And I don't think anyone who watches the interview would deduce I was being rude. I'm a little bit cheeky, maybe, but not rude.
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Host, "anderson Cooper 360":] You are a cheeky monkey, but but I think it's completely fair game to ask about past statements that people have made, and particularly someone's position on on same-sex marriage. I mean, that's in the news. That's that's not like you're pulling it out of a hat.
[Morgan:] Not completely. And I I found it odd that she would use that particular moment to leave because I think on reflection when she looks back at this, it looks like she has something to hide. In other words, her view may be so extreme or contentious that it would cause her political damage. That was the only thing I could deduce from it. But a rather bizarre encounter.
[Romans:] O'Donnell was invited back on the show tonight, but she tweeted this. "Piers, thanks for the invite. Schedule is already packed. Maybe another night. No hard feelings, you cheeky bugger."
[Costello:] Now, what's the definition of cheeky bugger?
[Romans:] I'm not sure. But, I mean, she must know that you don't get to say you don't get to say what you're going to be asked in an interview especially when you've written a book about your policies.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Romans:] I mean
[Velshi:] And she went raucous.
[Romans:] Ali, next time I come on your show
[Costello:] She only wrote about fiscal policies, Christine. Not about social issues.
[Romans:] Ali, next time I come on your show I'm only talking about the things I want to talk about.
[Velshi:] It's not a dinner party. I mean, I the invite on to a TV show is in the news is to get information on
[Romans:] And also that's how you sell your book. If she's trying to sell her book, you sell your book by telling what you think about things, what your positions on are and that that connects with people or doesn't connect with people and they buy your book.
[Costello:] Maybe she did it on purpose.
[Velshi:] If she comes back I'm certainly tuning in. That's for sure.
[Costello:] Let's go to our own cheeky bugger. Rob Marciano oh, we're not going to our own cheeky bugger, Rob Marciano.
[Velshi:] Why not? Because he's left. He turned his mike off and he left.
[Romans:] He decided he was only going to answer the questions he wanted to answer.
[Velshi:] Yes. And he he knew where he were going with this.
[Costello:] He didn't like the way this is going.
[Velshi:] So, you know what, you get your weather somewhere else for now. We're going to take a break.
[Costello:] We'll come back and talk about Joe Biden after this.

[Sambolin:] Good morning, Washington, D.C. It is 41 minutes past the hour. Seventy-six degrees right now. A little later, it's going to be 93, mostly sunny for you. Welcome back to EARLY START. Nice to have you with us. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
[Berman:] It's about 41 minutes after the hour. I'm John Berman. CNN has learned that President Obama has secretly authorized American covert support for Syrian rebels in an effort to oust dictator Bashar al Assad. This as fighting rages on, killing nearly 200 people nationwide yesterday, where the rebels make some games. Former CIA officer Robert Baer telling CNN's Anderson Cooper the opposition needs more now of America's help.
[Robert Baer, Former Cia Officer:] More money will go to the opposition, the fighters, they're out of money. They've been complaining today they're not getting enough medicine, they're not getting enough weapons, enough ammunition. They simply need more funding. If it gets really bad and it could be very soon, we're going to have to switch this to a lethal fighting or actually get the United States military to start supplying these people.
[Berman:] CNN foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott joins us live now from Washington. And, Elise, we hear covert. Covert can mean a lot of different things. What kind of aid do we think this means the rebels will receive?
[Elise Labott, Cnn Foreign Affairs Reporter:] Well, John, we understand this finding was signed a few months ago. So some of it, they're already getting some of this help such as intelligence information on Assad's troop movements and also what the U.S. has really been doing, intelligence agencies, trying to vet some of these groups. As we know, the U.S. isn't ready to arm the opposition but what they are doing is trying to find out more information about these opposition groups to see which groups could get aid from Turkey, from Qatar, from Saudi Arabia. So, it's more about using U.S. intelligence assets to get a better picture on the ground and the U.S. not ready to provide anything beyond the communications equipment that it has already been getting. But that's a substantial amount of communications equipment that can help them move in a more sophisticated way.
[Berman:] The question I guess is who's then. The Obama administration has been hesitant to give too much help for a long time, saying there are so many factions they can't vet each and every one. Does it seem now then that one group has risen above the others?
[Labott:] Well, obviously, the Free Syrian Army is the main kind of rebel group if you will and last week, the Treasury Department authorized some licenses for a U.S.-based group to start giving financial support to them. Still not ready to give the tangible military support. But I think what the U.S. is trying to do is call al the opposition together. You have the non-armed opposition, the Syrian National Council and also the Free Syrian Army. I think what they're trying to do is get the opposition groups under one umbrella so they can start dealing with a few people as you say, one of the main complaints is they don't know who they're dealing with and if there would be a position where the U.S. would be ready to arm them, they don't know who they're arming. So, they need to get a better picture and putting more of everything under an umbrella would help them do that.
[Berman:] We have been hearing, of course, that sometimes, small arms and ammunition coming over the border from Syria to these rebel groups. The question is not directly from the U.S., the question then is what would have to happen for the U.S. to get directly involved in a military sense, for those weapons to come directly from the U.S.?
[Labott:] Well, as we've said, obviously, they need a better picture who is in these groups. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said something interesting last week. She said that if the free Syrian Army, if these rebels were to gain more territory, gain a more swath of Syria, maybe ally backing and U.S. backing would happen. And as we saw in Libya, one of the differences between Libya and Syria is the Libyan rebels had Benghazi. They had much more of a territory that they could hold. In Syria, they don't even if rebels are able to capture an area, they can't hold it very long. So, they don't want to funnel their support to them too quickly. But if the Syrian rebels were to gain more ground and you'd see more of a shift of balance of power on the ground, I think the U.S. would start backing the rebels a little bit more wholesomely.
[Berman:] Interesting. So, the U.S. looking for the rebels to gain some kind of toe hold in Syria.
[Labott:] But they're going to need some military support as Bob there was just saying for them to be able to do that. So, it's kind of a catch-22.
[Berman:] That is the quandary. Elise Labott down in Washington, thanks so much for joining us.
[Sambolin:] Forty-five minutes past the hour. Soledad O'Brien is joining us now with a look at what is ahead on "Starting Point."
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey, good morning to you both. This morning, we're going to be talking about those terrifying moments that the airport as three U.S. Airways jets were literally seconds away from crashing into each other, happened at Reagan National in D.C. All three planes loaded with passengers. The question today, of course, is, how could the air traffic controllers get it so wrong? We've got the tapes, we've got details ahead. And it's a rich man's game clearly. The estimated price tag for this November's presidential election is $6 billion. Why is it so high? And is that a good thing or a bad thing? Plus, congratulations on winning that gold medal. You owe us $8,000 in taxes. Yes. That's our "Tough Call" this morning. Tell you what happens when a 20 something-year-old man decides to ditch all of his friends, get rid of all of his possessions, and live off the generosity of people on craigslist. We're going to talk to the filmmaker who shot it. That's straight ahead on "Starting Point" this morning. We'll see you in 15 minutes or so.
[Sambolin:] Oh, that will be interesting. Thank you.
[Berman:] Thanks so much, Soledad. All right. It is 46 minutes after the hour right now. And, a narrow escape for one driver in New England. You have to look at this video. His R.V., look where it ended up. The story behind this unbelievable video coming up.

[Costello:] Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. Opening bell just moments away. Stocks are headed for a positive open today which is good news since May has been a wretched month for Wall Street. Markets looking pretty despite some disappointing reports on jobless claims and manufacturing this morning, which could have cast a cloud over hopes the domestic economy is improving. The completion of a controversial Tennessee mosque is up in the air. The Islamic center of Murfreesboro says construction will continue despite a judge's ruling. A judge says a planning commission did not give enough public notice for the project. The Islamic center says it will reapply for a permit. Mosque leaders say they are discriminated against because of their faith. OK. You have to watch this. People are chatting and drinking at a bar when a truck comes smashing through a bar and into them. Several people pinned underneath the truck. A Good Samaritan rushes over. He uses his own construction equipment to move the truck and free people trapped underneath. Six of them had to go to the hospital. No one died. It's believed the driver had a medical condition causing her to lose control of her truck. One of the most divisive issues in politics is set to take center stage in the House of Representatives, as lawmakers vote on a measure banning abortion based on the sex of the fetus. The bill is called the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act. If passed, a doctor who suspects a woman wants an abortion based on sex would be required to report her to authorities. The lawmaker who sponsored the bill, Arizona Republican Representative Trent Franks insists this is a growing problem.
[Rep. Trent Franks , Arizona:] A number of academic papers have now published evidence that the practice of sex selection abortion is demonstrably increasing here in the United States, especially but not exclusively in the Asian immigrant community.
[Costello:] Sex elective abortion is widespread in countries like China but there's no hard evidence it is widespread in the United States. According to the Guttmacher Institute and the Census Bureau, the U.S. sex ratio is squarely within biologically normal perimeters. With me now to discuss, CNN contributors Will Cain on the right, and Maria Cardona on the left. Welcome to both of you.
[Maria Cardona, Cnn Contributor:] Thank you, Carol. Good morning.
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Hi.
[Costello:] And thanks for talking about such a contentious issue. It's tough. I know. So, Maria, I'll start with you. Congressman Wright says sex selection abortion is a concern within Asian communities. Is that true?
[Cardona:] Well, first of all, I don't know it's as widespread as he's saying. To the extent it happens once, anybody in this country I believe and women especially would be against it. Even as pro- choice as one might be, you are against that act. But this bill actually does absolutely nothing to make sure that that goes away. That's why this bill actually represents politics at its most cynical because if Franks really wanted to address discrimination and gender and equality, why is he and why are he and Republicans against the Equal Pay Act? Why do they want to repeal health care reform that actually helps women with prenatal care that helps their unborn babies both boys and girls be healthy? Why vote against the state health insurance for children? So I think it's absolutely cynical. It does absolutely nothing at its core to fix the problem, and it is yet another attack on women's health in this country.
[Costello:] OK, Will. So, this is a question for you. Are abortion rights activists right when they say it's an attempt to chip away at abortion rights for all children?
[Cain:] Well, look, what it does is this issue forces us to confront two issues two aspects of the abortion debate. First of all, the hypocrisy, that you could be against discrimination of females but not opposed to ultimate discrimination which is discrimination that determines life. Will you be able and facilitate killing women. Now, Maria thankfully adopted some logical consistency there and said it's not about how prevalent it is. If it happens once, it's inappropriate. So, I think it forces people to confront that hypocrisy. I don't like that Maria then spun out and talking about Equal Pay and things like that. This is a discrimination issue. And I think you have to acknowledge that. But the other thing, to your question, Carol, is this forces the debate to the fundamental question of when life begins, because if you admit, as Maria did that it's wrong to have gender selective abortion, to abort females, you have to then ask yourself why? Why is that wrong? You'll get to the question of when life begins, that's the core issue of the debate. In this country, unfortunately, we have debates around the periphery on this issue. That's the place to have it.
[Costello:] But it's still hanging out there, Will. There's no hard statistical evidence to prove this is happening often or even frequently or even at all.
[Cain:] Those words often and frequently carry no meaning. If it happens once, then it's a problem. We know that there is video of a Planned Parenthood facility that was allowing this to happen, at least once, at least once. And I think Maria and I are on the same page on that portion of this debate. If it happens once, it's wrong and too much.
[Costello:] Maria, I'm sure you saw that Planned Parenthood video. Is that really what was happening?
[Cardona:] Well, you know, I think you would have to call Planned Parenthood and have them speak for that. The staff member in that video no longer works for them. They believe the video was a hoax and setup. But back to Will's point about hypocrisy and I'm glad he brought it up. This bill is absolutely representative of the hypocrisy on the right for those Republicans like Franks who say this is an effort to eliminate sex discrimination and gender equality. Really? There are many ways to get at the real problem of sex discrimination and gender inequality in this country. And Republicans, including Franks, have all voted against those measures.
[Cain:] I'm sorry, Maria
[Cardona:] That's why Americans will actually see this as a cynical political ploy to continue to chip away at pro-choice rights and women's health rights in this country.
[Costello:] Last word, Will.
[Cain:] I'm sorry, Maria. I think I see that when life begins and who you select to live or die is a pretty basic level and it's not hypocritical level to say not by the sex of the baby. That's a pretty good place to start.
[Cardona:] It's hypocritical when you say that you are that you want to fix sex discrimination and inequality and then vote against, for example, the Violence Against Women Act.
[Cain:] The hypocrisy, though, is on the left.
[Costello:] See, I know. You can debate this issue all day because people have strong views on it. I get it. Will Cain, Maria Cardona, thank you for being with us this morning.
[Cardona:] Thank you, Carol.
[Costello:] OK. Let's talk about something lighter, maybe. Check out these crazy crowds. A sea of Justin Bieber fans almost prompted a state of emergency in Norway. We'll tell you how security dealt with the pandemonium.

[Max Foster, Host, Quest Means Business:] Comrade Cable, the British business secretary sparks a heated debate on the perils of capitalism. No more debt crisis, says Spain's prime minister, but strikes across Europe tell a separate story. And the race for hidden treasure: Why the economic heat is on in the Arctic. I'm Max Foster in for Richard Quest. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Hello to you. We are moving beyond the debate on cuts versus spending, it seems, to a modern-day crisis of capitalism. Tonight, the U.K. business secretary tells me parts of the capitalist system are actually failing. We'll ask if it is time to give up on that free market dream. And reviving capitalism in a country that threw it out decades ago; that is, Cuba. And later in the show an investment with returns, the new way of seeing international aide by the president of the World Bank. Now it sounded like a rallying cry against capitalism and it came from a government minister in charge of business here in Britain. Vince Cable was speaking to grassroots members of his own moderate Liberal Democrat Party. He said he made no apology for attacking what he calls the "spivs and the gamblers" who harm the British economy, by which he meant the bankers. Well, some of them at least. He continued, "the government's agenda is not one of laissez-faire, markets are often irrational," he said, "or rigged. So I am shining a harsh light onto the murky world of corporate behavior." "Capitalism takes no prisoners and it kills competition when it can," he said. And when I spoke to him, after the speech, Vince Cable told me, things have to change.
[Vince Cable, Business Secretary, Great Britain:] There are parts of the system, the capitalist system if you like, which failed, notably the banking system. There is a need for fundamental reform. That is why the chancellor of the exchequer and I, in the U.K., set up this banking commission to look at the whole issue of bank structure, banks that are too big to fail, banks in the U.K. case that had balance sheets bigger than the richest economy. That is one central issue. Another issue is the incentive structure. We have the bonus system which encouraged people to take excessive risks, to be greedy. And that has to be reformed, too. And now we are struggling with this problem, we- the private sector recovery is beginning to happen. But it is very difficult for small and medium size companies to get credit from the banking system. And that, again, requires action.
[Foster:] You say you want to work within the capitalist system. You are not anti-capitalist, but a quote from your speech today was, "The government's agenda is not one of laissez-faire. But that means you not one of open market economy?
[Cable:] No, it is-I believe in a market economy, but it is not a question of just standing back and letting it happen. The government has a role. Of course, the central role is providing financial stability and there is also deregulation, getting bits of government out of the way, and free trade. That is a very important part of it. But the government also has a major role to play in my field, as business secretary, in supporting training, for example, and showing that we have adequate manpower, assuming that there is support for science innovation and research and development. The government has a very important role.
[Foster:] And when you talk about perhaps the moral behavior of some of the bankers, in particular, you've been talking about the murky world of corporate behavior. I think you called bankers spivs today. It is quite personal. Is it all bankers?
[Cable:] Not all the bankers. So-well, some of them are. Some of them were. Many bankers are perfectly honorable. Many of them run their banks very well. You know, if you look at the big global banks, some of them were prudently run. Some of the mortgage lenders were prudently run. Some of them were the opposite. And although this is a couple of years ago, the fact is our economy is now-is still dominated by the damage that has been done by that episode. And people are not going to forget that. And we need to draw the necessary lessons from it.
[Foster:] How do you clamp down on one part of the banking system without tarring the whole banking system, the whole economic system, effectively, with the same brush? Because you are saying the system doesn't work. It is a fundamental problem, isn't it? You are not just talking about bonuses?
[Cable:] Well, again, I'm not just expressing a personal view, as I said, during my speech. You know I agree with Mervyn. The governor of the central bank, who made it very clear in his speech two weeks ago, and indeed, repeatedly warns that we still have a basic structural problem in the banking system. Banks that are too big to fail and they are dangerous because if they go down, as they did two years ago, in several cases, then it is the British taxpayer who underwrites them. And we're talking about enormous underwriting here. So, it may be that there are people in the banking community would like to just pretend that all of this never happened. Or thinks it is all behind them. But the issues are still there. And this government is responsible and we're taking responsibility. We are trying to sort these problems out.
[Foster:] The concern is, and some of the criticism since the speech is that you are not actually offering an alternative, though. All you are doing is bashing away at the system. You are not offering a clear alternative to something better.
[Cable:] Well, we are offering alternatives. The chancellor of the exchequer and I set up a banking commission to explore the various alternatives in relation to structure, in competition, also.
[Foster:] But you are not anti-capitalist?
[Cable:] Absolutely not. Indeed if you heard my speech today you would have not asked that question. I mean, it is very clear that we are part of a capitalist system, we are part of free enterprise. I said over and over again, I want private enterprise to succeed.
[Foster:] Well the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom is part of the Heritage Foundation, a U.S. think tank, that is regarded as being on the right. We're going to speak to Nile Gardiner from there right now. He joins me from Washington. Nile, I know you took an interest in this speech because it seems that politicians are grappling somewhat in how to respond to capitalism, post financial crisis. How did you interpret what you heard from Vince Cable there?
[Nile Gardiner, Heritage Foundation:] Well, I thought it was an appalling speech by Vince Cable. Mr. Cable is the business secretary of the United Kingdom. He is not the representative of some failing state like Venezuela, for example. And I would expect the business secretary to be representing British interests on the world stage. Instead, he's driving away foreign investment. He is basically doing in his own investment bankers. He's launching some-I think, some scandalous remarks against the banking community in the United Kingdom. After all, the City of London is the world's biggest financial center. And what you don't need is your own business secretary launching attacks upon your own business. It was an extremely bizarre speech. Probably the most left-wing speech by a British cabinet minister, certainly, since the 1970s. And quite frankly a real embarrassment for the coalition.
[Foster:] Certainly some business leaders in the U.K. agreeing with that. And some frustration that he is meant to be representing them and he's actually working against them. He says he is representing his humors, as well. But what do you make of the broader philosophical argument here? The way he says he's not anti-capitalist, but the government isn't laissez-faire, what does that actually mean? I thought it was the same thing? I was taught that at college, at least.
[Gardiner:] Well, I thought he made some very confusing statements in his interview with you earlier. And it is very clear that Vince Cable has extremely anti-capitalist views. That he is not a believer in free markets. He is against laissez-faire. The success of the United Kingdom in this century, and over the past several centuries, has rested upon a firm belief in the laissez-faire capitalist system. That is why Britain is one of the most successful economies in the world. And for the business secretary to be launching an attack upon the virtues of the free market, I think it is highly destructive. This sends completely the wrong signal at a time when the U.K. is trying to lead itself and Europe outside of the deepest recession in many decades. And I do think it sends an extremely negative message across the world. And I would do hope the prime minister and the chancellor will respond very aggressively, rejecting Mr. Cable's remarks.
[Foster:] OK, Nile Gardiner, thank you very much indeed for joining us from Washington.
[Gardiner:] Thank you.
[Foster:] Certainly within the coalition there are different views on this. Now, just as capitalism is called into question, it is back in fashion in one of the most likely places on the planet. And that is the Communist island of Cuba. It is all part of President Raoul Castro's radical plan to restructure the economy there. Shasta Darlington reports the workers making their way in the brave new world of private enterprise.
[Shasta Darlington, Cnn Int'l. Correspondent:] A tall order in Communist Cuba, finding jobs for half a million laid off workers in the private sector. Here in Old Havana not everyone is celebrating this capitalist notion. Like it or not, employees in this barber shop around the corner are being pushed off the state payroll and handed the shop. They will be able to set prices and keep earnings. But they'll now have to pay taxes and rent. And there is no longer the guarantee of a fixed income. "I've been working for the state for years now, and I'm not interested in going private," says Geraldo. "I want to keep working for the state." Cuba plans to shed 10 percent of public sector jobs over the next six months, and allow more private enterprise to absorb the unemployed. A dramatic attempt by President Raoul Castro to reshape the sputtering economy. He says the state simply can't afford a bloated and unproductive workforce. But don't expect American-style big business. Cuba's new entrepreneurs will be encouraged to start small operations, maybe driving taxis, laying bricks, or perhaps repairing toys. [On Camera] Now to get an idea of what is in store for them, we're talking to some of the people already working in the country's miniscule private sector. [voice over]: Emilio Mendoza was laid off during Cuba's last major economic crisis in the `90s. He bought a government license and set up a cobbler's shop in his driveway. He says Cubans should see this as an opportunity. "I'm happier now than when I was a steel worker," he says. "I pay the state their money. I charge my fees and I don't have to worry." Esedro, a taxi driver, says it depends on how much the state charges its new entrepreneurs in taxes and licensing fees. "I don't recommend being a taxi driver, because the fees are very high," he says. They all agree the days of getting paid by the government, whether you work or lounge about, are over. Still the state controls about 90 percent of the economy. These modest proposals aren't likely to radically shift that balance. But they will give life to a new class of small businesses that could change the face of Cuba. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Havana.
[Foster:] Well, when we return we'll be speaking to one half of the world's richest private foundations. Melinda Gates tells us what role she thinks rich people should play in the fight against global poverty and of disease.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] But we begin this morning with startling new developments in a missing child case that's riveted much of the world nearly five years after Madeleine McCann vanished during a family vacation to Portugal. British police believed she may still be alive. They've released a new image. You're looking at it right there that shows how she might look like now. She'll be 9 years old in mid-May. She was three when she disappeared. I'm sure you remember this. Investigators have faced blistering criticism for the way they handled the case. CNN's Max Foster is in London. He is following the latest developments from there. Fill us in.
[Max Foster, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, Carol. The British police aren't the lead investigators on this. The Portuguese police are, but the British police got involved after being asked by the prime minister. And they basically got together all of the evidence from the Portuguese investigation, from the British investigation, but also all of the evidence from private investigators and they're pouring over it. Thirty seven police officers working full time on that for nearly a year. They got a quarter of the way through. Now, what they want to do is present this. These findings to the Portuguese police and see what they can do with it. This is where we stand at the moment. The British police are calling for Portugal to reopen the case. They have close to 200 leads they say, so far. They consider that's a quarter of the way through the evidence. There are 40,000 pieces of information to get through and approximately 100,000 pages of evidence. So huge, huge project for the British police, but certainly which has grabbed the world's attention, Carol and that's partly why there's so much pressure on them.
[Costello:] Interesting. The McCann's any reaction from the parents?
[Foster:] No reaction so far today, but we do know that they were very involved in forming this portrait that you have just shown. The idea really is to show Madeleine as she would probably appear now to the best of their estimations, really. It's deliberately made to look like a school photograph. So the sort of picture the people could well have or parents could well have on their mantelpiece. Hopefully jogging some memories if they have seen the girl looking like this or they can remember being in Portugal at the time when she went missing. There are gaps in the story here the police are saying and there are opportunities for something to have happened, which they are not aware of. They are going to try to get this reopened, but it's up to the Portuguese.
[Costello:] I know you will follow this story. Max Foster live in London for us. Also this morning, new developments to tell you about and new casualties in the Colombian prostitution scandal. A total of nine members of the Secret Service are now losing their jobs. But that is not satisfying the political blood loss. Right now, the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee is opening the first public hearing on the scandal. And Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano will be front and center as you see she is right now. She is the first member of the Obama administration to face public questions. Here is what she had to say moments ago.
[Janet Napolitano, Secretary Of Homeland Security:] The director took immediate action to remove the agents involved. And a full and thorough investigation is under way to determine exactly what transpired and actions we need to take to ensure this kind of conduct doesn't happen again. Director Sullivan has the president's and my full confidence as this investigation proceeds. Investigation will be complete and thorough and we will leave no stone unturned.
[Costello:] Senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill. So, Dana, that was her opening statement. Has the questioning began?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] It has. You know, what is fascinating has been so far. It's just the beginning. Both Democrats and Republicans are extremely forceful about one of the main concerns, which is, of course, the safety of the president and everybody else who is protected by the Secret Service. Listen to what the Democratic chairman said about that.
[Senator Patrick Leahy , Chairman, Judiciary Committee:] Nobody wants to see the president's security compromised. Nobody wants to see America embarrassed. I can't think of anything that would aside from the personal tragedy, anything that would look worse than the rest of the world if something happened either to President Obama or Governor Romney, especially during a presidential election.
[Bash:] Now, Carol, the first question that Senator Leahy asked Janet Napolitano was whether the president was in danger. She said that was the first question she asked Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, and his answer was no. And she later said that according to what they know so far, there was no impinging on the president's safety and no access to secure information by the people involved Carol.
[Costello:] What did the secretary say about the possibility of other incidence, anything yet?
[Bash:] She did. She was also asked that question by Senator Leahy and I believe actually if you can look at the live picture, she's being asked similar questions by the Republican Lindsey Graham. But she was very careful in her answer. It was very interesting, Carol. The way she answered was that in the two and a half years that she has been there, the office of public responsibility, which is where anybody would call to report a tip of bad behavior, they have not received complaints. She made a point saying that during that time, there had been 900 trips internationally and 1,300 trips domestically. Nothing on the record to suggest that anything happened like that again, very carefully answering that question that they don't have anything on the record. That doesn't answer the question about whether it happened.
[Costello:] OK, you're going to back into that hearing. We'll check back with you later. Dana Bash reporting live from Capitol Hill. In Chicago, trial resumes next hour for the man accused of murdering Jennifer Hudson's family. Her former brother-in-law is charged with the killings of the singer's mother, brother and nephew. Hudson left the courtroom yesterday before grizzly police photos of the crime scene were shown. A former aide to John Edwards back on the stand today and he may be cross-examined. Andrew Young has been spilling intimate details about his former boss' secret love life during testimony. Edwards is accused of using a large amount of campaign contributions to hide his alleged affair. Here is CNN's Joe Johns.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] With Andrew Young on the stand, he's the former right hand man, errand boy and fixer to former Senator John Edwards. The prosecution laid out a simply amazing story of sex, lies, politics and money. Young spoke of the day when Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, made so many repeated frantic calls to him. That when he finally got her on the phone, he said somebody better either be pregnant or dying. Rielle Hunter, Young says, responded, nobody is dying. When Edwards found out he was pregnant, he responded gruffly. Young quoting Edwards, he said, she's a crazy slut and there's a one in three chance it was his child. Also stunning was the response of Bunny Mellon, the big money donor from Northern Virginia who agreed to help because she thought Edwards could rescue America. Andrew Young said he secured her agreement to give hundreds of thousands of dollars for the benefit of the campaign, no questions asked Young claimed. Checks in ever increasing sums funnelled through Mrs. Mellon's decorator and endorsed by Andrew Young's wife according to Young. With this money in the family account Young said, he moved Rielle Hunter to North Carolina to keep her away from the media. She was threatening to go public he said. He gave her a $5,000 a month allowance. A couple times it went up to $12,000. He rented a house for her in his name. Got her a BMW. By this time, she was using an alias Young said going by the name of Jaya James. Young said Rielle also lived in his house with him and his wife and kids for about three weeks, which he called very difficult. He said Rielle could be very demanding. More than once he said Rielle said, if she didn't talk to Edwards, she was going public. How did his wife feel about all of this? Young says she was scared to death. We were scared to death. Edwards was a viable presidential candidate and this was a truckload of money. They asked the trial lawyer, Edwards, if it was OK to do this. Young says, Edwards told them it was completely legal. Young said he communicated in code with Edwards because there was concerned that knowledge of these matters could implicate Edwards if he were to become attorney general.
[Johns:] So far it's all been about Andrew Young's version of events. But as early as today, he's expected to get challenged as the Edwards defense team gets its first opportunity to cross examine him Carol.
[Costello:] Joe Johns reporting live for us. This just in to CNN. We have confirmed that Newt Gingrich will indeed drop out of the presidential race next week. Shannon Travis, he's in North Carolina. That's our reporter where Gingrich had a campaign event today. Shannon will join us a little later to talk more about this decision that a lot of people didn't think would come because as you know, Newt Gingrich said he would go all the way to the convention. But apparently, he has changed his mind due to his showing in North Carolina because those big five primaries were held yesterday. He will announce that he will drop from the presidential race on Tuesday. Again, we'll get more information later on NEWSROOM. New Jersey's governor is defending the decision to suspend two state troopers over this video. Here it is. It shows police officers escorting a caravan of exotic luxury cars down the Garden State Parkway. The problem is they were traveling fast. Speeds reportedly topped 100 miles per hour.
[Governor Chris Christie , New Jersey:] It's a completely ridiculous story. It shouldn't have happened. Dumb thing to do. But let me assure you that it's not the last dumb thing that we will see happen.
[Costello:] The caravan included dozens of elite sports cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Yes, they were traveling at break-neck speeds. One witness dubbed it death race 2012. President Obama is on the campaign trail again today stumping for low interest rates on subsidized student loans. It's a pitch that targeting young voters. He found the perfect stage on late night television. Listen as the president joins Jimmy Fallon to slow jams the news.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] Now is not the time to make school more expensive for our young people.
[Costello:] Maybe the president did make his audience swoon, but he's playing a familiar tune throughout the presidential race. Polls have shown Mr. Obama is more likable especially to young people than his presumptive Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. For some members of a Mormon Church in Massachusetts, politics isn't the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the name Mitt Romney. Coming up, a look at the man they know as Bishop Romney.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] T.J., have a great weekend.
[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] I sure will.
[Malveaux:] Have a great holiday weekend.
[Holmes:] Yes, you too.
[Malveaux:] All right. Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed for this Friday, September 2nd. Just a week after Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast, the central Gulf Coast is now getting ready for a storm with flooding rains. There are already warnings in place, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has already declared a state of emergency. Oil companies are pulling workers off the rigs in the Gulf. Some places including New Orleans could get as much as 20 inches of rain. Texas could really use some of that rain from the tropical system, but it doesn't look promising. Fourteen big wildfires are burning in that state. Just one of them west of Dallas. Now, firefighters there are finally making some progress. They've got the fire about half contained or so.
[Steve Green, Firefighter:] We can do all the work by air that we want, but as my instructors told me a long time ago, it's always boots on the ground that gets it taken care of.
[Malveaux:] report is out. It's pretty bleak. It shows employers added no jobs during August. The unemployment rate is unchanged at 9.1 percent. Now, there are a couple things that we should point out. The report was distorted because it counted thousands of Verizon workers who went on strike, but that are now back on the job. The numbers also included Minnesota employees who are temporarily out of work because of the government shutdown. Well, this discouraging jobs report is driving stocks down across the board. The Dow fell more than 200 points in early trading. It remains in the red now. Right now, we are looking at down 201 points or so. We're going to be keeping a really close eye on the markets throughout the day. Firefighters who say they got cancer after the 911 attacks, well, they have more evidence today. A new study finds those who were at Ground Zero were 19 percent more likely to get cancer than firefighters who didn't go to Ground Zero. Now, right now, the government does not cover cancer costs for those first responders.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] The firefighters we're watching, who were there, the World Trade Center, and developed cancer over the last 10 years, they have the lingering question, why did they get this cancer, and was it related to the dust? And you would say what?
[Unidentified Male:] For most instances, it was World Trade Center related.
[Malveaux:] Our reporters in Libya are uncovering more evidence of torture, abuse at the hands of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's family. A former Gadhafi staffer in Tripoli told CNN's Dan Rivers that it happened all the time to workers for the former dictator's son Hannibal Gadhafi.
[Dan Rivers, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] It sounds like a lot of the staff suffered abuse to varying degrees. We've spoken to one man who is still too afraid to give his name or to show his face, but he took us to another compound that Hannibal Gadhafi used as an office complex. And in that, there was a sort of secret prison room cell where they locked people up, staff, if they felt that they had done something wrong.
[Malveaux:] Attorneys for Casey Anthony are back in court in Florida. Now, you may recall she is the young mother who was acquitted in July of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, but found guilty of lying to law enforcement officials. Well, right now, a judge is hearing arguments over whether or not she should pay back more than $500,000 spent in the search for her daughter. Can you believe this? A referee gets decks moments after he called an end to a youth football game. Adults then took to the field and started kicking him. He eventually stumbled off the field. Now deputies in Sarasota, Florida, are investigating and saying charges will probably be filed. The teen involved has been suspended. Now more on two big stories that could affect millions of people during this Labor Day weekend. Parts of the central Gulf Coast including New Orleans could be under water if a tropical storm hits. Now, right now, it is just a depression, but warnings are already in place along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. Texas could actually use the rain from that storm, but it's not likely to get much. More than a dozen major wildfires are still spreading in the state of Texas. Jennifer Delgado is tracking the tropical storm system, and Jim Spellman, he's covering the big wildfire west of Dallas. We'll see how it goes in Texas, because as you mentioned, Texas really needs that rain from that tropical system. And most of the state, it's bone dry from drought. The wildfires, a huge problem there, still. Our CNN's Jim Spellman, he is covering the big fire west of Dallas. That is where firefighters, Jim, I understand are making some progress. The situation is a little bit better today. But is there concern that these winds are going to come back and spread this fire again?
[Jim Spellman, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, but they really made a lot of progress yesterday on the ground with hand crews out, using hand tools and bulldozers, creating fire lines to separate the fire from the unburned fuel in the surrounding woods, and from the air with helicopters and planes. And it's really paid off. Now they are up to 60 percent contained. And they feel really good about where this fire is going. But they are not going to let the last of the residents into the most heavily-affected areas until they can really mop up 100 percent, because, like you said, with these severe drought conditions, it's so easy for a new fire to get sparked off by just a single amber picked up in the wind. So they really want to be sure this thing is 100 percent mopped up before they let the final residents back into those heavily burned-out areas Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And Jim, I understand Possum Kingdom Lake, it's a big tourist area. Is that going to be open for Labor Day weekend, or is it just too dangerous?
[Spellman:] Yes, Suzanne. I think it's important to realize that these are big economic stories, not just a fire story. And amongst all the fire trucks, we are starting to see boats come back here towards the lake for the final Labor Day weekend. So that's good news for them here. That's been a big priority, is getting this lake back open to tourists to come back to boat, to camp. There's a lot of getaway homes here, and all the cafes, gas stations, motels and stuff, rely on that. So they're hoping that everything is done today and they can get everybody back here tomorrow. They've already been hit by missing a week in this economy. A business can't lose a week of revenue. So they're glad they'll be back open, at least for this weekend Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right. A big economic story as well. Thank you, Jim. Here is a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering. First, an analysis of the weak new job numbers and a check of the markets as stocks plunge on morning trade. Then, a police dashcam captures an amazing rescue. Police pull passengers from a burning car. Also, an amazing story of survival. Hear how a New Jersey man saved himself from drowning in his own house.
[Unidentified Male:] I said, "I've got to get the heck out of here." He goes, "What are you, nuts?" I said, "I'm swimming out of here. I'm getting out of here."
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Are you walking or sort of swimming?
[Unidentified Male:] No, I'm swimming where I hold on to branches. OK? And I get pushed over here.
[Malveaux:] And later, this is not backed-up traffic. It's a line for gas in Libya.

[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now, a dangerous new foreign policy challenge for President Obama, as word comes that Iranian fighter jets have fired fired on an unarmed U.S. drone over the Persian Gulf. You know all about the rallies and the political ads, but you'd be surprised to learn how much the Obama campaign knew about you. How data mining and number crunching helped reelect the president. And it may sound strange, but there's already some buzz out there about the next presidential election. We're going to hear about potential candidates for 2016. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. President Obama scored a pretty solid reelection victory. Congress remains divided, on the other hand. The president has four more years now to pursue his agenda. But what can he actually accomplish? Our chief national correspondent, John King, is joining us right now. He's got some major challenges. And on his mind right now, is obviously what's good for the country, but also what's good for his historic legacy.
[John King, Cnn Correspondent:] You talk about the L word, legacy, whenever someone is reelected. But remember the reality. It's a divided government and a closely divided Congress, a Republican House that disagrees with him on many issues. And, Wolf, no money to spend because of the fiscal cliff. So what can the president do with a second term? Number one, as we've seen in recent years, priority number one is to consolidate the gains of the first term, largely the health care bill. The health care bill will be fully implemented. There will, for sure, be problems and he'll have to deal with that. Can he somehow keep a relationship with the Republican House if they have to go back and fix a couple of things? At least we know Obama Care won't be repealed. And that's his top priority keep it that way. Let it be implemented, secure that as his Democratic and a legacy for the country. Otherwise, you look around and you say what can he do? Education reform is something. Some people in the White House talk about. Some Republicans point to John Boehner, the House speaker. He used to be a key education negotiator in the Hill. A lot of Republicans think the president backed away from sopro some proposals they actually liked in the first term as he closer to the election because he didn't want to anger the teachers union. So I would look at that. And you just mentioned a story in the news now that will complicate and perhaps even dominate the early foreign policy agenda of the second term. And that is the nuclear standoff with Iran and now, apparently, an Iran that, at least at the moment, wants to be more aggressive.
[Blitzer:] Yes, they're trying to make a statement, obviously.
[King:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] We're going to have more on this part of the story coming up. A second term president you and my you and I have covered second term presidents. He has more flexibility. He doesn't have to worry about getting reelected. And the president acknowledged himself, remember, in that off the record comment to Dmitry Medvedev.
[King:] Right.
[Blitzer:] He'll have more flexibility. He's going to have to compromise, because he's got a Republican leadership in the House of Representatives.
[King:] Right. So he won the election, which gives him a bit of leverage going into these fiscal cliff negotiations and then beyond, when he gives his State of the Union, when he presents a new budget. He has a bit of leverage because he has the valid you know, the validation of the American people, if you will. But he just won, with 50 percent. The Electoral College victory quite impressive. But his own victory shrunk from the last time. So he has to be careful. The question is, can he get the Republicans? Speaker Boehner laid out yesterday, I'll give you more revenues, Mr. President, but only if you do it through tax reform, not higher tax rates. The president would have to back away from a campaign promise to do that. So the question now, and one of the criticisms in the first term, early first term, especially, was that the president was not a masterful negotiator, a masterful CEO, if you will, cut a deal, implement a deal. His relationship with John Boehner, the speaker of the House, is probably the greatest priority early priority of the second term, because with not a lot of money to spend, he's going to have to give to get.
[Blitzer:] Because I heard from so many members of Congress the Senate, and the House not just Republicans, but Democrats this is a president who never called them, never invited them to come over. He never really bonded with them. He never reached out. He's going to have to do a lot more of that.
[King:] He is. And when you traveled the country in the campaign, a lot of state Democratic president chairmen had no love lost for the Obama operation. They would say these guys don't consult me. They ignore my advice. They won. The best thing you can have in politics behind you, especially in the short-term, is fresh memories of a victory. Now, the question is, how do they use that? They don't have a huge electoral mandate, but they do have a lower case M mandate. They won the election in very tough times. He made history, the first president reelected since Franklin Roosevelt with unemployment above 7 percent. That gives you stature politically. The question is, how do you use it? And when you mention the relationship with Democrats, that's why it gets so hard, because to get the deal he wants for his legacy and for the good of the country on these fiscal issues, he's going to have to cut Medicare. He may have to make some changes in Social Security. He may have to do some other things in entitlement and Democratic favored programs that some of these never mind the older Democrats in place, Nancy Pelosi for example some of these new Democrats, the new senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, a friend of the president's. Her ad said, "I will never touch Medicare." You can't get a deal on the fiscal cliff the president can't get he wants from the Republicans unless he agrees to deep cuts in Medicare. So he's going to have to be the negotiator-in-chief in the early term.
[Blitzer:] Yes, I suspect the soc...
[King:] It's going to be hard.
[Blitzer:] the social secretary at the White House is going to be a little bit more active in the second term, bringing some of those members...
[King:] Without a doubt.
[Blitzer:] Democrats and Republicans, over to the White House for a meal or a cup of coffee or something.
[King:] Domestic diplomacy.
[Blitzer:] Yes, very important stuff. John, thanks very much. President Obama already faces a serious new foreign policy challenge. There is word today from the Pentagon that in the closing days of the election campaign, Iranian jets fired on a U.S. drone. Let's get the details from our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. What are you learning Barbara.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, it was last Thursday, just one week ago, we now know that two Iranian Russian made jets, aging aircraft, but nonetheless, very workable, flew out into the Persian Gulf, into international air space, according to the Pentagon, and fired at a Predator drone, a U.S. Air Force Predator drone that the Pentagon says was on a routine surveillance mission, although that mission was classified. Here's what the Pentagon had to say about it all.
[George Little, Pentagon Press Secretary:] We believe this is the first time that an unmanned aircraft has been shot at over international waters in the Arabian Gulf.
[Unidentified Male:] Is that an act of war?
[Little:] I'm not going to get into legal labels. The reality is that we have a wide range of options, as I said before, to protect our assets and our forces in the region and we'll do so when necessary. We have communicated to the Iranians that we will continue to conduct surveillance flights over international waters, over the Arabian Gulf, consistent with longstanding practice.
[Starr:] . And look, Wolf, even though this was an unmanned drone, no pilot on board, this raises tensions military tensions with Iran. The aircraft were operated by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon says. That's the most aggressive branch of the Iranian security forces. How important was this? Well, the president and Defense Secretary Panetta were very quickly informed last Thursday morning when this happened.
[Blitzer:] Well, if they try it again, presumably, Barbara, U.S. military jets could scramble and they could get into some sort of dog fight, if you will, with those Iranian jets. How realistic is a scenario like that?
[Starr:] . Well, look, the Pentagon is not looking for a shooting war with the Iranians. Top officials are very clear about this. But what were the Iranians up to? Are they trying to send a signal of more aggressiveness over those critical oil shipping lanes? The Pentagon, the Obama administration can only let the Iranians go so far. If they try this again, that's really the key question. It might have been a it might have been an unmanned drone, but how far do you really let the Iranians go in such a critical economic area Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes. All right, Barbara. You're I know you'll stay on top of this. Thank you. Let's get back to politic right now. President Obama certainly owes his reelection to an extremely well organized campaign. You know all about the rallies, you know about the political ads, the army armies of volunteers. But you may not necessarily know very much about the campaign and how much it knew about you you. Our Brian Todd has been digging into the data crunching that helped the campaign tailor its winning strategy data mining, as it's called.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Data mining, right.
[Blitzer:] And it's a fascinating detail. Explain to our viewers what you've learned.
[Todd:] Wolf, this is, experts say this is the way campaigns are going to go after voters from now on. Gone are the days when campaigns target whole regions just on a hunch. Now they are so- called micro targeting individual voters, using sophisticated ways to figure out who they can persuade. We pointed cameras at them, showed you the conventional way they ran their campaigns.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] And we will reaffirm...
[Todd:] But far from the rallies and debates, in office back rooms and cubicles, there was another campaign a silent humming machine targeting your vote. Did you get an invitation to try to win a dinner with actress Sara Jessica Parker? Did you get an e-mail from Michelle Obama calling you "friend?" Did you get a banner ad for a campaign when you were surfing the net? It turns out you were targeted for these things by a sophisticated campaign technique called data mining, an effort to find out who individual voters are and how they'll respond to campaign messages.
[Sasha Issenberg, Author, "the Victory Lab":] The goal is to come up with an individual level, a statistical prediction of your likelihood of supporting their candidate or of casting a ballot at all.
[Todd:] Then they target you for ads. The Obama campaign is widely believed to have had the most sophisticated data mining operation. Central to his election victory this year getting people out to vote who might not have otherwise. "Time Magazine" profiled it with a picture of the data crunchers working in a room called "the cave." Analysts say campaigns do this by going to commercial data warehouses, which compile information on your buying habits, like what magazines you subscribe to, maybe information on where and how you like to travel. Campaigns cross-reference that with demographic information like voter registration records. Jordan Lieberman, who data mined for Republican campaigns, but not Mitt Romney's, says a Republican ticket might use that information to win persuadable voters in an area like Northern Virginia.
[Jordan Lieberman, Campaigngrid:] So if you're a Republican running in in a Democratic area, perhaps in Arlington or Alexandria, these are people you might need to talk to. And you would talk to them with a very specific message about why you should not vote for the Democrat this time.
[Todd:] The biggest problem for privacy advocates?
[Justin Brookman, Center For Democracy And Technology:] The the lack of transparency. The fact that, you know, we I don't know what Obama knows about me. I don't know what Romney knows about me. I don't know what what the 2016 candidates are going to know about me. But I do know they're going to know more about me than Obama did.
[Todd:] The Obama campaign responded to that by telling us that it is committed to protecting individual privacy, going above and beyond what the law requires in that field. And they say they've got a they've got strong safeguards in place to make sure that your personal information is not provided to outside entities Wolf. They say they guard that very closely.
[Blitzer:] Why does it seem that the Obama campaign was better at this this data mining, as you call it, than the Romney campaign?
[Todd:] Analysts say the Romney campaign had a lot less time to put it together this year. They had to fight through the primaries first and then they really couldn't get it together quite as fast as they probably needed to to make it effective. They also say the the Romney team had a little less talent to do that, but also less experience in putting it together once they could. You know, the Obama team did it very well in 2008. They did it even better in 2012. They just have people who know how to put together these numbers crunchers and how to do it so well, so fast and so effectively. It's really...
[Blitzer:] That's amazing.
[Todd:] it really made a huge difference this time.
[Blitzer:] Yes. And he is really lucky, the president, he didn't face a Democratic primary challenger.
[Todd:] Right. Right.
[Blitzer:] He could devote all of his energy to a full-time campaign.
[Todd:] While...
[Blitzer:] Romney didn't have that advantage.
[Todd:] Right. While the Republicans were fighting it out, that's what they were doing.
[Blitzer:] Yes.
[Todd:] They were putting these number crunchers together and targeting these demographics.
[Blitzer:] Brian, a good report. Thank you. Many thought passions had cooled since 2008. But minority voters turned out in very big numbers to reelect the president of the United States. We're going to find out why and what it means for both parties.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get you up to speed. In Afghanistan today, six NATO troops were killed in a roadside bombing and we just learned in the past hour that all of those troops were Americans. It happened in the eastern part of Afghanistan. A total of eight NATO troops died yesterday and today in three separate incidents. The attacks come as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with diplomats in Tokyo and they're discussing Afghanistan's future and the shape of the international force going forward. Also in Afghanistan, a woman was shot to death, executed in public. Someone recorded this public killing of a woman. She's wearing a burka and we won't show you the moment of her death, but a man with an automatic rifle shoots her at least nine times while men gather around and cheer. Afghan officials believe the woman was part of a love triangle involving two Taliban commanders who accused her of adultery. U.S. officials have responded calling it a cold-blooded murder. Kofi Annan is back in Syria pleading with the ruling regime to sign on to a new peace plan; even as the special envoy touched down in Damascus, the death toll was creeping up. Activists say at least 43 people were killed today. Secretary of State Clinton had her own message for Syria's president.
[Hillary Clinton, U.s. Secretary Of State:] The future to me should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime. The days are numbered.
[Lemon:] Egypt's newly elected President is defying the military in a power struggle that could decide the country's fate. President Mohamed Morsi is calling Parliament back into session, overriding the military's decision to dissolve it. Military officials are planning an emergency meeting to discuss the move. The death toll from the flash floods in southern Russia is still rising as the waters recede in areas. Officials now say at least 150 people are confirmed dead. Some survivors are venting their anger at authorities saying they never had any warning of the floods. We have a tiny bit of optimism from a part of the world where a mystery disease has killed dozens of children. Health officials working around the clock in Cambodia may have an explanation for the deadly outbreak. They're seeing evidence of a virus known to cause neurological attacks. It's not definite, but it's something to go on. A Hollywood legend, Ernest Borgnine died today. He was an Oscar winner, a movie actor and veteran of a million TV shows like "Air Wolf" and "McHale's Navy". Ernest Borgnine did in died in a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 95 years old. At Wimbledon, Roger Federer's victory today stole the spotlight from Andy Murray's run at tennis history. Federer won his seventh Wimbledon title at Murray's expense. Murray was the first British player to reach a Wimbledon final in 74 years. Federer now has 17 grand slam trophies. The weather went from wicked to deadly in Cuba, Missouri overnight. A new mother riding out the storm in her car in a food store parking lot was killed when debris crashed through her windshield and hit her in the chest. The powerful storm also collapsed buildings and upended cars around the small town. You're about to see a very brutal and frightening piece of video. It's shaky and blurry, but it shows a woman being shot to death while a crowd of men stand by and watched and they cheer. And we're told it's a public execution carried out by the Taliban. U.S. military commanders have now seen the video. Here's CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Don, an Afghan woman killed executed by the Taliban it's believed because two Taliban men had a dispute over her according to the governor of the Afghan province where the killing took place. Amateur video is very difficult to watch. We of course will not show the moment of death, but look, this is the ongoing brutality of the Taliban. The local governor says the men involved accused her of adultery and then have her killed. That official says the men quote "Faked a court to decide about the fate of the woman and in one hour, they executed the woman." The two men involved were then killed by a third Taliban commander. Afghan officials say they are still looking for the others involved. There was a very strong and swift statement from the top U.S. military commander, General John Allen, who said quote "Let's be clear. This wasn't justice. This was murder and an atrocity of unspeakable cruelty. The Taliban's continued brutality towards innocent civilians, particularly women, must be condemned in the strongest terms. There has been too much progress made by too many brave Afghans, especially on the part of women for this kind of criminal behavior to be tolerated." Look Don, the deeper issue, of course, is the growing concern that women's rights in Afghanistan will be set back. The Human Rights Watch says nine out of ten women in that country suffer physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage Don.
[Lemon:] Barbara, thank you very much. The connection between slavery and some of the world's best athletes: controversial comments from one Olympic gold medalist. But first, weather to the extreme record temperatures across the country. Deadly storms as well and in one area, wildfires followed by dangerous floods.

[Baldwin:] For 50 years, the theme song has been stuck in our heads and they definitely are this afternoon, right? Who doesn't have a favorite episode of "Gilligan's Island" or "Brady Bunch" or "I Dream of Jeannie." Those are just a couple of the creations of Sherwood Schwartz who passed away this morning at the age of 94. In letters, he left to be read only after his death. Schwartz reaching the pearly gates and talking to a voice and writes that the voice that writing isn't a profession, it's a disease and it's accompanied by disease even worst. He called rewriting. A gifted storyteller even in death he went on to write that he realized heaven was the place he had always been since the day he was born. Sherwood Schwartz leaves behind a wife, Mildred with whom he had four children. And now for your daily serving of "Political Pop," and it's all about food today. Joe Johns is here with that. Joe, tell you what when I lived in D.C., I had probably one too many Five Guys burgers, but it sounds like shake shack is in town and Michelle Obama likes it.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Anchor And Correspondent:] That's for sure. You know, the president actually has been The Five Guy pictures of him.
[Baldwin:] I know.
[Johns:] It sounds like she and Mrs. Obama actually did get a pretty good burger. She got it at D.C's hottest new burger joint and this is called "Shake Shack." It's been around for years mostly in New York, but it's new here in town and they're people who swear by it so there's no surprise that Mrs. Obama, who kind of keeps up with the trends with what real people are doing stop by and checkout herself. She orders a shake shack, fries, chocolate shake and get this diet coke.
[Baldwin:] Of course, to counteract.
[Johns:] Right. Probably between 1,500 and 1,700 calories and suddenly we have what happens in D.C. when things are slow. You know, you can say some immediate types and people in social media even
[Baldwin:] Joe Johns, forgive me, I have to interrupt you because we're getting some live pictures. There he is George W. Bush walking former first lady Nancy Reagan down the aisle here. This is the Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, California. This is a packed house for former first lady Betty Ford who died recently at the age of 93. Watching these dignitaries extreme and I understand Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in assistance. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton will not because of some issues with his airplane. Rosalyn Carter will be giving one of the eulogies as well Cookie Roberts and here as they sit down moments before this memorial service begins. Joe Johns, what do you make of this? We have Rosalyn Carter giving the eulogy. I talked to Cookie Roberts. You know, she talked about how President Ford came into the White House. This is post- Watergate. I'm talking about she really, she was just very real.
[Johns:] She was an icon. She was a contemporary of people who were facing things at the same time. She really made a name for herself in this country for being that person who looked out for others, who were having difficulties in their lives particularly, you know, we associate her so much with the Betty Ford Center, and with other things.
[Baldwin:] Breast cancer.
[Johns:] Yes, right, breast cancer, exactly. She was very close with Rosalyn Carter, sort of larger than life figure here in Washington, D.C., Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Yes, and we just wanted to bring those pictures to our audience as we're getting them live and now, Joe Johns, let me just pick up where you left off. So we know the first lady was eating a burger. It's highly caloric. People are none too pleased, right? Go ahead.
[Johns:] Sure, you know, and people in social media started having fun with that. You could call it manufactured because she's an advocate for healthy ending and ending childhood obesity and there she is eating this big old burger, right? I guess, the point and really the take away of all of this though, at the end of the day, nutritionists sort of joined with her. If you eat healthy and in moderation most of the time and you work out and you look like Michelle Obama does, then sure, you can have a big burger and get away with it. You know?
[Baldwin:] Yes, I kind of agree with you, you know. Run it off, be healthy, indulge every so often like perhaps myself and my team and my chocolate birthday cake today.
[Johns:] Before you go, let me be I can't be the first, so I'm going to have to be the last to say happy birthday to you from the whole team.
[Baldwin:] Joe Johns, thank you so much. Thanks to all of you guys. Thank you for bringing in that wicked chocolate cake. I'm not counting the calories on that. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes, my whole team. I truly appreciate it and Roger, thanks for the music. And that is it for me, thank you all so much. Let's go to Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.
[Wolf Blitzer, The Situation Room:] All right, thanks very much, Brooke.

[Wolf Blitzer:] You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, stock prices nose dive on Wall Street because of renewed fears about Europe's enormous debt. This hour, the surprise twist that has investors around the world deeply worried right now. Plus, Herman Cain's presidential campaign is actually profiting while the Republican keeps tweaking his denial of sexual harassment. Stand by to hear more of his newest, most detailed interview. Also, new interviews with President Obama are being released by the White House this hour, the White House giving rare access to local journalists and hoping to get something in return. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Breaking news, political headlines, and Jeanne Moos all straight ahead. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. On Wall Street today a hint of panic set in right at the opening bell. The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted after news that a carefully crafted European rescue plan may, repeat, may be falling apart. At the end of the day the Dow Jones was down almost 300 points the NASDAQ and S&P; 500 also sharply lower. The losses all because of a curve ball thrown by the nation of Greece. CNN's Erin Burnett joins us now from New York right now. She's watching the story now for us. Erin, explain what Greece is doing now to cause a near panic on the international markets today.
[Erin Burnett, Cnn Anchor:] Well, Wolf, it's in a sense what they are not doing. We came in this morning. You know a few days ago markets were jumping around the world because Greece had a deal. It was a bailout deal that involved real pain in Greece, cuts in pensions, cuts in salaries, increase in working hours, working more years. But Greece was doing it to get a bailout from Europe which mattered for American banks, European banks, and very much for the European and U.S. economy. So we all thought it would be OK. But I remember coming on the show we were talking about this was not a done deal and there were issues. And then today, a complete curveball from the prime minister of Greece, Papandreou, saying all of a sudden, guess what, it's not done. We'll let the Greek people vote. Now, Wolf, you can imagine how the Greek people feel about all these austerity measures. It's tough on the average person in Greece who had to endure cutbacks. And 60 percent of Greeks in recent polls don't approve of the recent package. And if this package doesn't go through the entire existence of the European Union, the euro really could be in question. That's crucial for the U.S., for China, for the world.
[Blitzer:] Explain the second part. Why is it crucial for the U.S. if the people of Greece have to have a referendum on this and they vote down this deal that was supposedly in the works? Why should anyone in the United States care?
[Burnett:] Well, the main reason, Wolf, is that even though Greece, as you point out, is two percent, two and a half percent of the European economy and a now probably less. It's not important in economic value but allowing Greece to fall out of the 17-member EU could break up the European Union. That's crucial for the world. The European Union as a group is the largest trading partner for the United States. It matters in terms of what disarray and deeper recessions there could mean for American companies and jobs. It also matters for American banks. Last month Morgan Stanley, for example, was in deep there was distress around the company, a big American bank, because of their exposure to European debt. Once Greece goes, Wolf, it's the EU that could fall apart, but it's not then probably just going to be Greece. It's Portugal, Spain, Italy. Spain and Italy are big and important economies.
[Blitzer:] I have heard it suggested, Erin and you know more about this than I do but the too big to fail nightmare we experienced in 2008 when the economy was collapsing at that time would be small potatoes compared to a collapse of the EU, the euro zone which could be triggered with a collapse of what's going on in Greece. Is that a fair analysis?
[Burnett:] I think it is a fair analysis. And really, what happened is America led. America went through its financial crisis first. We are the world's biggest economy, still its most important by far, and our banks are still perceived to be safe havens around the world despite the financial crisis. So we went through it first. Everyone thought Europe may have just avoided it, but obviously that's not the case. And so now you are seeing Europe go through this. Some have said it could lead to a financial crisis even bigger than 2008, and in a sense Greece is to Europe as Bear Stearns was to the United States. Bear Stearns was the first domino to fall and the bank that got bailed out. Some people think it shows you have to bail Greece out. There are others are in the minority but they do feel strongly. They think we meaning U.S. and Europe should let Greece fail and we should deal with the repercussions because Greece will become Italy will become Spain like Bear Stearns became Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and we saw how that situation ended and spiraled out of control. So most people think bailing out Greece is the right and necessary thing to do, but there are influential and credible people who think they should be allowed to fail.
[Blitzer:] It's a potential nightmare. I know you will have more coming up on your show later tonight. I want to alert our North American viewers. In addition to this, Erin has a special guest, the miracle on the Hudson captain, Captain Sullenburger. We have the video coming up this hour. You will speak with Sully at 7:00 p.m. eastern. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" for our North American viewers. Stand by for that. Erin, thank you. In the presidential race here in the United States Republican Herman Cain's denial of sexual harassment is a bit more detailed today, more confusing at least to some at the same time. Stand by to hear another large portion of his interview with our CNN sister network HLN's Robin Meade. Stand by for that. Right now, though, there is some new evidence that Herman Cain is actually profiting politically in some ways from this enormous fire storm. Let's bring in CNN's Joe Johns reporting on this story. What are you finding out, Joe?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Wolf, it will be a while, of course, before we can draw any conclusions about the long-term effect of the story on Herman Cain's campaign. But anecdotally Republicans we are hearing from suggest Cain is getting the benefit of the doubt for now. And they are questioning whether he's under attack simply because he's a black conservative.
[Johns:] He's been all over the place on the facts and the timeline, but the message Cain and his campaign are sending to supporters is clear and simple. He says he was falsely accused of inappropriate behavior and says people are out to get him.
[Herman Cain,  Presidential Candidate:] I absolutely believe this is an intended smear campaign.
[Johns:] A smear campaign, a witch hunt because he's been doing well in the polls, he says, though it's still not clear whether, say, a Republican contender for the nomination or a Democrat leaked the story. In spite of that, one Republican strategist says the Cain message is actually playing very well so far because well, listen to Ron Bonjean.
[Ron Bonjean, Founder, The Bonjean Company:] Many Republican primary voters view this as a maneuver to oust Herman Cain from frontrunner status and that it could be even construed as a racist move.
[Johns:] To put a finer point on it, here's Rush Limbaugh on his radio show.
[Rush Limbaugh, Radio Talk Show:] Classic drive-by media hit job on a black conservative.
[Johns:] That's right. In the view of some, because of race Cain is getting the same treatment as, say, Clarence Thomas during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Thomas was slammed by law professor Anita Hill for, you'll remember, alleged inappropriate behavior. Thomas called it a high tech lynching. Conservatives never forgot the way the Thomas case was handled. If you think they aren't giving Cain the benefit of the doubt at least for now, consider this. Yesterday the Cain campaign said it raised as much as $300,000 online. The candidate said it was one of their biggest fund-raising days so far.
[Bonjean:] Cain survives this if there isn't any more news out there regarding it.
[Johns:] Still, even with as little as we know right now, political lessons are being learned. Even before the story broke, a CNN-ORC poll showed Cain was underperforming with women voters. Only 20 percent supported him in the national poll. So this can't be good news. Then there is the old fashioned question of candidate vetting. Is there anything else in Cain's past that no one took the time to thoroughly check out?
[Bonjean:] Anyone running for president should be looking into their background and thinking to themselves, what can come out that's going to make me look bad and make the campaign look bad and potentially hurt my run to be president? And, how do we answer those questions when they come out? Clearly, his rise in the polls to the frontrunner status showed that they had not been prepared to do that.
[Johns:] Definitely an issue of vetting there. The apparent lack of full and complete vetting points back to something a lot of political consultants have been talking about these days. It's sort of the whiplash of campaign success when a candidate bolts from the middle of the back to front runner and the campaign isn't ready for it. It can be more than painful. The level of scrutiny goes way up, and that's certainly happened in the case of her man Cain, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Joe, stand by. This just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM right now. A new report from the Washington Post quoting the attorney for one of the two women who apparently made the accusations of sexual harassment by Herman Cain as saying this woman would like to be released from the confidentiality agreement she signed with the National Restaurant Association, the trade association, the lobbying group which Herman Cain headed in Washington from 1996 to 1999. The lawyer for this woman, whose name has not been released, Joel P. Bennett, has called on the National Restaurant Association to release this woman. "It's just frustrating," Joel Bennett says, "that Herman Cain is going around bad mouthing the two complainants and my client is blocked by a confidentiality agreement. The National Restaurant Association ought to release them and allow them to respond." The statement from Joel Bennett goes on to say that this woman, his client attended an Ivy League school and now works for the federal government, has moved in with relatives because the news media is staking out her home in suburban Maryland right outside of Washington, D.C. Let's discuss a little bit of this with Joe Johns. Joe, you have been reporting on this from Sunday night when politico broke the story. What do you make of the development? A lawyer for the woman said if she is allowed to speak freely, he says for all practical purposes, he says if let me be precise. I want to quote from Bennett, the attorney. "If this woman is released from the confidentiality agreement," Bennett says, quote, "then it is a whole new ball game what she will say." It sounds dramatic. But give me your thoughts. And not only are you speaking as a reporter but an attorney as well.
[Johns:] I have a law degree, and I can tell you this a nondisclosure agreement can be defeated by the consent of all the parties. So if Herman Cain is putting information out there that his mind is fuzzy about, he can't quite remember or whatever, there is a very easy way for everybody to figure out exactly what happened back when they were at the National Restaurant Association, and that is for everybody to say I agree for the information to be released publically because Herman Cain is now running for president, sort of changed circumstances. That's a good way to get all the cards on the table and clear the air on this story for Herman Cain and the other parties involved, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Let me bring in Jeffrey Toobin Joe stand by for a moment our senior legal analyst is joining us on the phone. All right, a lawyer is now involved representing one of the two women. Jeffrey, you read the story in the Washington Post that's just moved on its website. What do you think?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] It makes a lot of sense for what this lawyer is saying because a nondisclosure agreement is just a contract. It's not a government document. It's an agreement between private parties, and it says none of the participants can talk about what went on. But because it's a contract between private parties it can be changed, and they can say this is no longer operative. We've agreed that everyone can now speak about it. But all the parties have to agree. What makes this somewhat complicated is that it's not Herman Cain who was apparently the party to the contract. It's the National Restaurant Association. And even if Cain says I want you to release all confidentiality, the National Restaurant Association may for its own reasons say we don't want to do it. So there will be a complicated scenario here of what the National Restaurant Association does because they are sort of an independent actor, but also presumably acting at the behest of Cain in the past. So they will have a very tough decision to make.
[Blitzer:] Joe, you reported yesterday the National Restaurant Association, this trade association here in Washington which Herman Cain headed back in the 1990s, they issued a statement saying they never discussed personnel matters, period. That was their statement, right?
[Johns:] Sure. And it's certainly a very blanket statement and apparently not wanting to get on the record a whole lot more on this. It is sort of a sticky situation because there are a lot people saying maybe Herman Cain was in trouble, but maybe the National Restaurant Association just wanted to get rid of this and not go any further with it. So they are going to pay out a sum of money. But whatever it is, we don't know. And for the presidential campaign and all the people who have to make decisions as voters, it seems to me it's perfectly logical to get that kind of information out there in the public arena so people can no longer speculate about who did this or why or what the sum details are, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] When a story like this begins you never know where it's going to wind up. I want everybody to stand by. We'll have much more on the developing story, new details emerging in the Washington Post quoting an attorney representing one of the two women alleging sexual harassment by Herman Cain in the 1990s as saying she wants to go public and tell her side of the story. Stand by for more on this breaking news when we come back. Also, a former U.S. governor asked to account for millions of dollars missing from the books of a failed brokerage firm. And there was a lot chaos after this emergency landing. Wait until you see the drama when the jet touched down.

[Berman:] Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. Tragedy striking a young couple here in New York. They were expecting a baby and they were on their way to the hospital because the mom to be was not feeling well. But on the way, their cab was broadsided by another car and both parents were killed. Now, miraculously, doctors were able to deliver the expectant mother's baby boy. At this moment, police are still searching for the occupants of the other car. CNN's Susan Candiotti has more.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] An Hasidic community in mourning. An emotional funeral held on a Brooklyn Street outside a synagogue as the caskets of two young parents to be are remembered, so is their miracle baby boy, delivered three months shy of his due date. Doctors quickly performing a C-section after a hit and run crash that killed his parents.
[Unidentified Male:] It's terrible. Sad. One year, not even married a year. You know, they're going in for the happiest time to have a baby. That's what happens. Terrible.
[Candiotti:] Razie Glowber and her husband, Nathan, both 21, were heading by cab to a hospital around midnight Saturday.
[Unidentified Female:] Suddenly, she just wasn't feeling well. Just they wanted to check it out.
[Candiotti:] They never made it. This is what the cab looks like after police say a hit-and-run driver smacked into the passenger side of the cab at an intersection. The roof is now sheered-off. Investigators say the driver of a light-colored BMW and a passenger took off on foot, the front of that vehicle smashed.
[Unidentified Male:] The message to the driver used to be in my younger years was give yourself up before we find you.
[Candiotti:] The baby's mother was dead on arrival at a hospital, but doctors saved her son. At his parents funeral, friends and family said the mother to be worked. Her husband studied the Torah, and both were looking forward to starting a family.
[Unidentified Female:] We just lost a beautiful couple. Two wonderful people, always with a smile on their face, always trying to help.
[Candiotti:] Now, help is pouring in for their new baby boy who will be raised by two sets of grandparents. Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
[Berman:] Really, such a tragedy. Now, their driver of the cab was taken to the hospital and later released after doctors determined that he was not seriously hurt. Pedro Dela Cruz told reporters he is lucky to be alive.
[Unidentified Male:] The only thing I can remember is when somebody was on the side of me, passenger side, telling me don't worry, don't worry, the ambulance is on the way. That's the only thing I remember.
[Berman:] Dela Cruz described the young couple in his cab as nice people. He says he feels just awful about what happened to them.
[Sambolin:] That is a terrible story. Forty-four minutes past the hour. Joe Biden apologizing Sunday for something that he didn't do. The vice president joining hundreds of marchers in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate Bloody Sunday. That is a day in 1965 when civil rights activists were attacked by state police. They were marching to pressure Congress to pass the voting rights bill, and Biden says he should have been there.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] I was involved in my state in a small way, which was still fighting the lingering vestiges of Jim Crow. But I regret, and although it's not part of what I'm supposed to say, apologize that it took me 48 years to get here. I should have been here. I should have been here.
[Sambolin:] Biden marched Sunday with Georgia Congressman John Lewis who was among those beaten by police 48 years ago.
[Berman:] Right now, the cardinals who will vote on the next Pope are meeting at the Vatican. We're going to go live to Rome coming up.
[Sambolin:] Plus, Keith Olbermann reportedly plotting a return to his TV sports routes.
[Berman:] Oh, that should be interesting.

[Malveaux:] To "Choose the News," text 22360 for the story that you would like to see. Text 1 for garden of the future. A giant park built in the middle of downtown Singapore mixes nature and technology in some surprising ways. Text 2 for sleep and relaxation apps for those who can't stop bringing our smartphones to bed. Some new apps promise to help us sleep better and more soundly. And text three for Guinness world records, a roundup of some of the wackiest records of 2012, from growing the largest afro to squeezing into the smallest space. That sounds like fun. You can vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for garden of the future, 2 for smartphone sleep apps, or 3 for 2012 world records. Winning story is going to air in the next hour. A last-ditch effort is under way now to halt the execution of death row inmate Troy Davis, convicted of killing a Savannah police officer back in 1989. Well, Davis' supporters are demonstrating outside the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles while the five-member board holds a final clemency hearing. The pope, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former President Jimmy Carter and more than 50 members of Congress have added their voices to calls for mercy because of questions about the evidence in the case. Now, if clemency is denied, Troy Davis is set to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday. Our David Mattingly is outside the Parole Board Meeting in Atlanta. David, first of all, there's a lot of attention that's being paid to this particular case. We know that time is running out here. Seven of nine witnesses have recanted their testimony against Davis, but he's never won any appeals. Do you think that clemency is even likely?
[David Mattingly, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, this is an extraordinary case, and what his supporters are looking at is the fact that even though he was denied clemency back in 2008 by this very same board, there are now three new board members sitting there hearing this case for the first time. So they're hoping that the presentation of their arguments regarding what they say are the lack of evidence and the people who have recanted their testimony, they are hoping that fresh ears and fresh eyes looking at this case will give them the votes they need to get Davis off of death row. So right now, what we're seeing happening today, we're seeing attorneys for both sides, both for the prosecution and for Troy Davis' defense going back to this board and giving their best, one last best shot to either preserve or deny this death row.
[Malveaux:] Right. And do we expect that Troy Davis himself will speak at the hearing?
[Mattingly:] He will not speak at the hearing, but he will be heard from. He is actually, he's been interviewed by a staff member working for this board. Just as he has been interviewed behind bars in the past, he has been again this time. So his words will be entered into the record. The board members will have that to look at. In addition to everything that the attorneys on both sides are presenting them. This is a huge case. This has been in the appellate level for 20 years now, and Davis has lost at every single turn. So that just shows you what kind of drama is going on right here.
[Malveaux:] Sure.
[Mattingly:] It is literally about life and death. He has no other place to go except to this board, and they have the power right now over whether or not Troy Davis lives or dies.
[Malveaux:] And, David, of course, we can't forget the victim in all of this. Savannah Police Officer Mark MacPhail, and his family believes the right man has been convicted. That it is Troy Davis. Are they here as well for the hearing and will they be making a statement?
[Mattingly:] Well, their point of view will be put into the record as well. We have heard from his mother over the weekend. She says that the family has been having a rough time with this. They want some resolution here. And they want some peace. The mother says she's had a hole in her heart for the last 20-odd years, that this, since her son was killed. They believe that the courts have got this right. They believe that Davis is guilty. The prosecutors in this case have maintained that he is guilty and the courts have backed them up at every turn. Listen now to what his mother had to say.
[Anneliese Macphail, Mother Of Killed Police Officer:] It has been hell, because I want I would like to have some peace. I would like to have this situation over with. We are the victim.
[Mattingly:] And the families for the family members for Davis, they have been incredibly active over the last couple of decades. In fact, they have been the ones responsible for maintaining his innocence in the public, gathering support and it has really taken on an incredible life of its own. This is extraordinary in the way that he has gathered support from around the world. Over 600,000 signatures on petition from around the world. All of that presented for this board to see as well. Suzanne?
[Malveaux:] All right, David. We're going to be following this very closely. Obviously a lot of twists and turns, and there will be developing news either way in the next 48 hours on this case. Thank you very much, David. We're going to have more after this break.

[Quest:] Aung San Suu Kyi has received a rapturous welcome in Thailand on her first trip abroad in 24 years. The Burmese pro-democracy leader was mobbed by Burmese migrants, some of whom had waited many hours to glimpse her. Miss. Suu Kyi will address the World Economic Forum, taking place in the Thai capital on Friday. Today, Kyi offered hope to thousands of Burmese that they may soon be able to return home. CNN's Andrew Stevens now reports from the town of Matai, near Bangkok.
[Andrew Stevens, Cnn International Correspondent:] An emotional and uplifting moment for a migrant population living in Thailand with little hope in their lives. The woman many here describe as a savior, Aung San Suu Kyi, came to their town to listen to their issues and offer her support. It was a day many have dreamed of. And for some, it was overwhelming. "I was so happy that I cried," she told us. "We are living in Thailand and we are working and we are struggling and we want to go home." "Some people are living here 10 or 20 years. And this is like our savior come to see us." Some 2.5 million Burmese are estimated to live in Thailand, most as economic refugees. Aid groups say they are treated as second-class citizens, in many cases, preyed on by corrupt officials, forced to live hand to mouth. And they gathered in their thousands, singing the Burmese national anthem
[Stevens:] chanting her name, Daw Suu, Mother Suu, to welcome the person that they hope can one day bring them home to a better life. [on camera]: We are now waiting for the imminent arrival of Aung San Suu Kyi. And the crowd has been building all morning. And the people I've been speaking to have very simple wishes. They want democracy. They want independence. They want jobs. And they want to go home. [voice-over]: After waiting for hours in the blazing sun, the crowd erupted as she appeared on the balcony of a community center to make a brief speech. She would not forget them, she said. She would fight for their rights and to work towards making it possible for them to come back home. With that, she turned inside to get a clearer picture of the lives of her compatriots. [on camera]: Upstairs here, Suu Kyi is now meeting leaders of the migrant community and also workers, and hearing some of the stories, some of the problems they face daily. [voice-over]: And then deviating from the script, she spoke about what she'd heard.
[Aung San Suu Kyi, Leader, National League For Democracy:] Of course, in such short meetings, I cannot really learn what all their problems are, but some of them are to do with the fact that the laws of this land, which do provide protection for workers, are not always observed.
[Stevens:] From the relative calm inside to the tumultuous crowd waiting outside, hoping for one last glimpse, as she made her way to her car for the trip back to Bangkok. Brief though it was, her visit made a powerful impact. It was too much for some, but for most, a glimpse of a much brighter future. Andrew Stevens, CNN, Mahachai, Thailand.
[Quest:] The whole question of those who migrate for security reasons is one part of the story. But what about when people go overseas for economic reasons, for a better way of life? When economic times become hard in their adopted country and things look better at home, then, of course, even those who originally left ahead home, too. It's one of the experiences now being seen in Brazil, as our correspondent, Shasta Darlington, reports.
[Shasta Darlington, Cnn International Correspondent:] A banker, architect and Internet entrepreneur white collar workers from around the globe are pouring into Brazil. But 20, even 10 years ago, not even Brazilian professionals stayed home. Jonathan Assauge's family migrated to Miami in 1992.
[Jonathan Assauge:] Initially, it was tough. And my parents decided that the business that it made sense for them to open was like a 99 cents store.
[Darlington:] Now, he's back in Sao Paolo.
[Assauge:] The immediate reaction in my mind was, you know, all this hard work that my family did to come over here, you know, all that we fought for and now I'm going to go back? Like it's going to break my mother's heart.
[Darlington:] A Harvard Business School graduate, Assauge tried to develop a start-up in Silicon Valley, but finally concluded Brazil's booming consumer market made more sense. This year, the country overtook the U.K. as the world's sixth largest economy, fueled, in part, by domestic consumption. Since returning last year, Assauge has launched an online eyewear business. [on camera]: The number of Brazilians returning home has doubled over the last decade. And they're not alone. The number of legal foreign workers has also jumped 57 percent, many of them white collar migrants. [voice-over]: Josh Livingstone, a native New Yorker, moved to Sao Paolo with an international bank. He found a vibrant banking industry and expat community.
[Josh Livingstone, Banker:] But it's just a lot more exciting. You you sort of feel the energy. There's a lot more going on in terms of mergers and acquisitions, which is where I work.
[Darlington:] On the down side, he says prices here are nearly 20 percent higher than Manhattan. For many in Portugal and Spain, where unemployment has hit record highs, the attraction is obvious. The construction industry is booming and qualified labor often hard to come by. That was enough to convince architect Miguel Feranno to abandon the comfort of his parents' home in Seville, Spain. "I took a risk and I came," he said. He landed a job in an architectural firm on his first day, but he's had to make sacrifices. In the apartment he shares with three Brazilian architects, Serrano uses the maid's room. "I just use it to sleep," he says. "You can't do anything else in it." He's adapting to the big city and assures his family he's just happy to finally have a steady job. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paolo.
[Quest:] In a moment on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, we're preparing to update you around the business world. Investors fear for the company that gave us the BlackBerry. RIM, Research in Motion, is playing catch-up and having to do it pretty quickly. In a moment.

[Blitzer:] North Korean spies certainly operate in the shad dose, but when we see what they're up to, the plots can be stunning. The latest was a plan to kill defectors in cold blood. CNN's Paula Hancocks was given this exclusive look.
[Paula Hancocks, Cnn Contributor:] An assassination attempt foiled. A North Korean spy is arrested on the streets of Seoul. This was a year ago. And this is the first time South Korean intelligence officials are showcasing the weapons, exclusively to
[Cnn:] So how does this work?
[Unidentified Male:] This poison needle was made to look like a ballpoint pen. There is a tube inside here. In order to activate it, we have to twist it towards the right three to four times and then press the top part like this.
[Hancocks:] If you're shot by this pen, what happens to you?
[Unidentified Male:] It would cause muscle paralysis very quickly, which would lead to suffocation and death.
[Hancocks:] The second pen shoots a poison-filled bullet, which penetrates the skin. The powdered poison is then released. [on camera]: These pens look like they belong in a James Bond movie. Is it new technology or is this quite old, quite basic technology?
[Unidentified Male:] These pen weapons are not new. North Korean spies have had this technology for about 10 years. But this flashlight is new. I've never seen this weapon before. If you look at the front, there are three holes. There was a bullet in each hole and here is the trigger. This is currently loaded and dangerous. Two bullets remain.
[Hancocks:] Forensics experts fired one bullet to test the gun disguised as a flashlight. It was accurate and deadly and almost impossible to identify as a weapon. When police arrested the would-be assassin, he was carrying all three weapons, none had been fired. This man was his target, defector and anti-Pyongyang activist, Park [inaudible], renowned in South Korea for sending anti-regime propaganda leaflets across the border in balloons. He was due to meet the would-be assassin who claimed he wanted to fund his activism. South Korean intelligence agents stopped him at the last minute.
[Unidentified Male:] I didn't believe they would try and kill me on the crowded streets of Seoul. I thought the national intelligence service was overreacting.
[Hancocks:] We showed Park the weapons intended to kill him. He hadn't seen them before in such detail and seemed shocked.
[Unidentified Male:] You would notice the gun, but these weapons are so innocuous, you could easily kill someone. I would have been killed instantly.
[Hancocks:] Park knows he's at the top of North Korea's hit list and has [inaudible] police protection. Having seen the weapons intended to kill him, he says he knows there will be more assassination attempts, but he will not stop his activism. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

[Cooper:] Tonight, Christine O'Donnell's Democratic challenger, Chris Coons, is speaking about a controversy in his own campaign. For days, conservative blogs and commentators have been calling Coons a Marxist, pointing to Coons' own words from this article he wrote for his college newspaper back in 1985. The headline, "Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist." He talked about the allegations against him earlier on
[Cnn .  Chris Coons , Delaware Senatorial Candidate:] I am not now, nor have I ever been a Marxist or an enemy of the people of the United States. And, frankly, at a time when we have got 35,000 Delawareans out of work, when we have got real economic problems to tackle, I'm just disappointed that we're spending time talking about the title of an article written in a student newspaper 25 years ago. But I think it is important to speak to it and put it to bed. I'm not a Marxist. I have never held Marxist ideas. I believe strongly in the free enterprise system and have worked hard for eight years in one of Delaware's most innovative private sector manufacturing firms.
[Cooper:] Well, if that's true, then why did he write that article with that headline? Tom Foreman tonight is "Keeping Them Honest" Tom.
[Tom Foreman, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey, Anderson. The attacks from the right against the Democratic nominee are taking two basic tacks: He is a left-leaning, anti-American communist, or he's a left-leaning, anti-American communist, tax-and- spend liberal. That's pretty much what they're saying here. The trouble dates back to 1985, when he was in his 20s, a student at Amherst College, an active Young Republican. He went to Africa to study, saw great poverty, and he came back changed, writing this article that you just mentioned for the student paper, "Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist," in which he says, "I came to suspect that the ideal of America as a beacon of freedom and justice, providing hope for the world, was not exactly based on reality." And the conservative talk circuit is tearing him up over this. [Begin Audio Clip, "the Rush Limbaugh Show"]
[Rush Limbaugh, Radio Talk Show:] By the way, this Democrat is a Marxist. I mean, there's a joke going around he's a bearded Marxist or Marxist with a beard. He describes himself that way. This guy is a sitting duck.
[Begin Video Clip, "the O'reilly Factor") Bill O'reilly, Host, "the O'reilly Factor":] If she says she's a witch, this guy said he's a Marxist. Who are you going to vote for? I would rather have the witch than the Marxist.
[Foreman:] The Coons campaign, as you said before, and the candidate himself denies all of this. They says the term "bearded Marxist" was a joke among his staunchly Republican family members, who suggested, when he became a Democrat, it was essentially the same as becoming a communist. And the campaign says he was reacting to what he was reacting to was what he saw as failures in the Reagan policies, especially in Africa, not failures to the overall American system Anderson.
[Cooper:] Well, the natural thing to ask is what about his actual policies? He has a track record. A number of conservatives say he's repeatedly raised taxes as a county executive and presided over nearly bankrupt budget.
[Foreman:] Yes, he's getting pounded on that by some big-name Republicans, including Newt Gingrich, who brought it up at this past weekend's Values Voters Summit.
[Newt Gingrich , Former Speaker Of The House:] In the county government, he has raised taxes dramatically, raised spending dramatically, and dramatically lowered the bond value of the county.
[Foreman:] So we have three things to consider here, Anderson, and we want to go over them. We went over both of them with a spokesperson for Coons' office at the Newcastle County government, and a political science professor from the University of Delaware, David Wilson. First, Coons and the county council did raise property taxes three times in the past five years. That is a fact. Second, the latest operating budget for the county where he is the chief executive is just under $236 million. That's of about $7 million from the previous year. T hat is up. And third, the bond rating, which is essentially the government equivalent of a credit score. It shows how likely it is that a government can pay back debt. Well, this county has been bragging lately that it has, in fact, had the highest possible bond rating for nine years, Anderson.
[Cooper:] So it seems what you're saying is, from what I'm hearing, is kind of a mixed bag of fact, and a little bit of fiction in what Mr. Gingrich said.
[Foreman:] Yes, you're absolutely right about, but it also needs some context. Coons' spokesperson and this professor confirmed that the county had embarked on some unsustainable spending programs before Coons was in charge. Then they were hit with the housing crash and the recession like everyone else, so he had to cut some programs and raise some taxes to keep from going too deeply into the red. That said, he has tended to remain popular enough with moderate voters there, who did not see his actions as too severe on either front. And Delaware still has, overall, some of the lowest taxes in the country Anderson.
[Cooper:] Tom Foreman, appreciate the update. Thanks very much. Let's talk about this with our panel. Back again, John Avlon, Erick Erickson and John Ridley. Erick, what do you make of this? Is Chris Coons do you believe he's a Marxist, once bearded?
[Erick Erickson, Cnn Contributor:] You know, I was raised in a family where any Democrat is a Marxist. I don't really know about Chris Coons. I would just love to be able to have CNN do all of my defense on the charges raised by conservatives. I will tell you that he's going to go into Washington and he's going to vote for the Barack Obama agenda, that he would vote for a stimulus plan if he were there. He would vote for a health-care plan if he were there. He would vote for financial regulation plans if they were there. And that's what the Tea Party movement and I are fighting against.
[Cooper:] John Avlon, are the charges are the criticisms that have been made against him fair? He did raise taxes. He's...
[Avlon:] That's legitimate. People should feel free to criticize a candidate based on what they've done in an executive or elected capacity. That is all 100 percent legitimate. People need to defend and be held accountable for what they've done professionally. But, you know, we're in the political season right now, a political era where the term Marxist is getting thrown around a lot without any context. In this case it's a joke about a 25-year-old college newspaper. And the fact that, you know, some people would frame this election as a choice between a witch and a bearded Marxist says everything you need to know about the silly psychotic season we're in right now. So so no, get a sense of perspective, a sense of humor and be equal about the criticism and the lenses with which we judge our politics.
[Cooper:] John, do you think voters really care on either side with kind of the level of detail about, you know, whether it's O'Donnell's you know, whether she paid for personal expenses with campaign money or if, you know, what this guy wrote 25 years ago in a paper?
[Ridley:] I think to a large degree we're in the Wile E. Coyote politics. It's just throw a boulder in the middle of the road, and people have to go around it. Whether it's a witch, whether it's a bearded Marxist, whether it's being a Kenyan anti-colonialist, which is apparently the new bugaboo, everybody, left or right, has to go around these boulders and really get to the policy issues. And it's unfortunate, but these are the things that stick with a lot of folks. It is interesting, though, talking about the Hannity program earlier, they talked about, have you ever seen, in terms of Christine O'Donnell, a local politician being hammered on a national level and then turn around and we've got to deal with this with Chris Coons, all out of Delaware? So, you know, a lot of focus on a lot of things that don't really matter.
[Erickson:] Anderson, Halloween comes before the election season this year.
[Foreman:] Came early this year.
[Cooper:] Yes. That is for sure. Erick, I want to play this video that Sarah Palin has put out, a new video on her YouTube channel. Talk about really kind of what's behind it, what the thought is here. Let's take a look.
[Sarah Palin, Former Governor Of Alaska:] The soul of this movement is the people, everyday Americans who grow our food and run our small businesses, teach our kids and fight our wars. They're folks in small towns and cities across this great nation who saw what was happening and they got involved. It is just so inspiring...
[Cooper:] This is a really well-made ad. This isn't a cheap YouTube ad. This is really well shot, really well done and produced. Is this a signal of running? You know, it's not the first ad like this she's done. They've all been extremely well produced, probably better than any other potential candidate or even, frankly, some of the national committees on the Republican side. I don't know yet that Sarah Palin wants to run. A lot of people say she does. I'm still not convinced she just wants to be the king maker and not necessarily the king herself. One thing that she is doing is she is moving voters. Her endorsement is probably the only Republican endorsement that matters this year. Nikki Haley in South Carolina will be, probably, the governor of South Carolina after November. She would not be on the map but for Sarah Palin, and she's not the only candidate this year. Joe Miller in Alaska and probably even Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. She doesn't have a perfect track record but her endorsement is the one that matters this year. Productions like this, these are professional quality and you don't see that coming from a lot of the Republicans these days. Well, also, John Avlon, you've got to give her props, whether you like her or not, and you know, the country is clearly divided on her. But she really took a gamble on the people that she backed. It wasn't like she was kind of waiting to see which way the wind blew. She reached out, picked up some people and and really elevated them. I mean, look at Mitt Romney, who suddenly endorsed O'Donnell after she won, you know, after she won the primary. Mitt Romney is like, "Oh, yes, well, I endorse her." I mean, Sarah Palin is out in front and, you know, taking real political risks on things.
[Avlon:] You can't take away from her. She is a conviction politician. I think that Jim DeMint's endorsement this cycle has been at least as influential. But look, she is a hugely polarizing figure, hugely popular among the base. Increasingly polarizing not in the general electorate at large.
[Clinton:] But her supporters love her. There is an emotional connection. An inspirational factor that she has that rallies the base unlike anybody else in the Republican field right now. That gravitational pull towards running for president becomes very powerful, very seductive. Right now she's benefiting from it personally, politically, financially. But the drift is towards 2012 and there are a lot of people saying your endorsement can make all the difference, especially in a caucus state like Iowa.
[Cooper:] John Ridley, you think she'll run?
[Ridley:] I hope, if she does run, it's as a Tea Party candidate. I mean, I don't love the Tea Party, but I'm really excited about a third-party campaign. And this is interesting in politics. This is the titans overthrowing or the Olympians overthrowing the titans. And I think she's I like her as a person, don't love her as a politician. But when was the last time you saw someone outside of the system who can really turn every deficit into a positive? She can quit and people love that about her. So I would love to see her run as a Tea Party candidate. That really is a national...
[Erickson:] I'm so stealing that Olympians versus the Titans line.
[Ridley:] You can have it. I get 10 percent, but you can have it...
[Unidentified Male:] This is our last hope, but at the same time it's we finally made it to the people that are going to find out what's wrong.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now in the NEWSROOM, fleeting and thrown into the air in the Boston bombings, Kevin White now struggling with the fact he and his family are victims of a terror attack.
[Unidentified Male:] I do understand it is not going to bring back my father's leg. It's not going to erase the last two and a half weeks.
[Costello:] Plus you'll hear from Amanda Knox. She says you don't know her story. Attack with chemicals by her husband, a woman gets a face transplant. You will see her for the first time today. And just two months after ending his work from home policy, Yahoo! offers 500 bucks to employees who give birth. Yahoo! You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm Carol Costello. We begin with new developments in the bombings at the Boston marathon. The widow of Tamerlan Tsarnaev says she's been told that the coroner will soon release her husband's body, but she does not want it. Katherine Russell wants her in-laws to claim his body. Her lawyer says she has spent many hours this week cooperating with investigators. Also this morning, we're following this development. Investigators have discovered at least one fingerprint among the bomb fragments. A law enforcement official tells CNN no match has been made, not yet. The "Boston Herald" has now attached numbers to our earlier reports that the Tsarnaev family lived on the generosity of the U.S. welfare programs. The paper says the family raked in more than $100,000 in taxpayer-funded assistance. That doesn't even include the more than $5,500 in aid for Tamerlan for his college education. In the meantime, our Pamela Brown spoke to the man who was apparently carjacked by Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Pam, what did he tell you?
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Carol, that's right. I spoke to Danny, the carjacking victim for more than an hour in a conversation off camera. He is still very shaken up by the harrowing experience he had nearly two weeks ago. He tells me he was driving around on a Thursday night, relaxing after a long day at work. He pulls over to send a text message. All of a sudden Tamerlan Tsarnaev comes over, taps on the passenger side window, Danny rolled down the window to hear what he had to say. Danny says Tamerlan reached in, unlocked the car, got in the car, held a gun to his head and said drive while Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was following behind them. That's when the 90-minute nightmare began for Danny. He tells us he says that Tamerlan was very talkative. Kept asking him questions, was very intrigued by his Chinese heritage. Also at point, Danny's roommate called him and Tamerlan told him to speak to his roommate in English while he had a gun to his head. He told Danny that if he didn't cooperate, he would kill him. Eventually they went to a gas station to fill up and Danny says that may have saved his life. That's when he made his great escape. Here is what he told CBS'John Miller. Let's take a listen.
[Unidentified Male:] He took out his gun, point it to me, said I'm serious. Don't be stupid. He asked me a question like do you know the Boston explosion on Monday? I said yes. I did that. I just killed a policeman in Cambridge. I need to figure out a way to save myself. I was counting one, two, three, four, I just do it. I did it. Tamerlan tried to grab me. I was running as fast as I can and never looked back.
[Brown:] Can you imagine how frightening that was. Danny tells me that during the course of that 90 minutes, he heard the brothers talk about Manhattan. As it turns out, according to authorities, the brothers had allegedly made spontaneous plans to go to New York and set off more explosives in Times Square. So had Danny not escaped and sparked a widespread manhunt, there could have been more lives lost. I asked Danny if he feels like a hero. He said no, he was just trying to save his life.
[Costello:] Did you ask Danny about the relationship between the two brothers?
[Brown:] Yes, Carol. That was one of the most interesting parts to me when I was talking to him. There's a clear contrast between the brothers. Danny says that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the clear leader and that Dzhokhar was the follower. He said from the very beginning Tamerlan was the ring leader, calling all the shots, barking orders to Dzhokhar. He said that Dzhokhar was at Tamerlan's beck and call, doing whatever he asked. For example, Tamerlan wanted him to go, use Danny's credit card at the ATM machine and Dzhokhar quickly went to go do that. So there were several examples to the course of that 90 minutes exemplifying the relationship between the two of them. You know, but it's is important to remember even though Tamerlan was the ring leader, according to Danny, and Dzhokhar was the quiet one sitting in the backseat, not saying much, Dzhokhar still had an input in all of this and still had a choice so it's important to remember that. I did speak to a criminology professor, Carol. He says that the fact the brothers allegedly, you know, set off the explosives at the Boston marathon that that brought them closer together and solidified their bond.
[Costello:] Pamela Brown reporting live from Boston today. Danny, a victim of terror in the United States as are, of course, hundreds of others. I sat down with one of them, Kevin White. He and his parents were victims of the bombings in the Boston and they are recovering slowly. White still has trouble walking. His father lost his leg. His mother still has trouble with her arm and hand. I asked Kevin about the terrorists and if he still looks over his shoulder. I know you haven't had much time to watch the news and to follow the investigation, but what have you picked up? What was goes through your mind?
[Kevin White, Boston Bombing Survivor:] I saw the whole incident in Watertown and that was just unbelievable. We are actually going into my mom was getting discharged that day, but we couldn't get in because of the lockdown. You know, I think in a lot of ways it's sad. It's sad that so many people were hurt for reasons that we may never really know and their misdirected anger I think what's great is the way that law enforcement took charge of the investigation and made sure that the two suspects weren't going to hurt anyone anymore, and they're not. But, you know, I haven't watched a ton of it, the TV. You know, I see there's more stuff about their family and there's more speculation on things. You know, my mom said something to the effect, she was just wondering how could someone be filled with so much hate that they would want to hurt innocent people and children, but I'm just glad that that won't happen again with those two. I think the cities and the states, especially the law enforcement, the state troopers and the FBI did a great job.
[Costello:] Do you fear there are more people out there who were connected to this bombing?
[White:] You know, I don't really fear it. Maybe there are, but I think, you know, that's kind of out of my control at this point. I think law enforcement is doing a great job seeing if there are other people connected. But, you know, there's not much I can really do about that. I can't really live my life in fear going forward.
[Costello:] Are there times do you sit and wonder for whatever reason these people did this, why would they do this? Was it radicalization? Do those things go through your mind?
[White:] I don't think I have gotten to that point yet, just because I don't know really know enough about what their thought process was. I think with the youngest brother more information will come out over time as he communicates more. That really hasn't crossed my mind. I've been trying not to think about that because it's not going to change what happened. I think if they can figure out why they chose to do this, maybe they can help people can influence other people who might be going down that same path not to go down that path. So I guess that would be the best way I can answer it.
[Costelo:] Even if you knew the reason why, I don't think my of us would understand.
[White:] Even if I did understand it, it's not going to bring back my father's leg and it's not going to erase the last two weeks. My family's priorities are getting better. That's the most important thing. Making sure that things are progressing a week from now, a month from now, six months, a year and that stuff is taken care of with my father and with expenses. And focus in kind of what our priorities are right now.
[Costello:] I also asked Kevin, you know, he's been the victim of a terror attack and how that felt. And his answer was you see terror attacks on television all the time and they don't seem quite real to you, but know they seem very real because he's experienced it. As I told you before, Kevin's dad has lost his leg. Kevin still has trouble walking because he had so many shrapnel removed from his leg. His mom also continues to recover. As you might expect, their medical bills are piling up. If you would like to help Kevin White and his parents, go to this web site. It's called youcaring.com. There you'll find information on the White family and their injuries, and how you could help them reach their goal of $100,000 to pay for medical expenses because those medical expenses aren't going to end tomorrow. They're going to be paying medical expenses for years to come. It's 10 minutes past the hour, time to check other top stories. Crews in New York City are about to remove part of a wing from one of the planes in the 911 terror attack. That part was found last week near the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. Medical examiners are also wrapping up their search in the area for possible human remains. Not known yet if anything was found in that search. Colorado is getting a blast of spring snow today. Cities including Bolder and Golden could see as much as eight inches of snow by tonight. Denver could even break a record for the coldest ever first day of May. A California woman accused of poisoning two bottles of orange juice at a San Jose Starbucks is now facing attempted murder charges. Police say the woman placed bottles on a display shelf as if they were for sale. A customer spotted her odd behavior, told store workers, who then called 911. The bottles were tainted with a lethal dose of rubbing alcohol. Yahoo! announces new benefits for new parents. Now new moms will get 16 weeks of paid leave and new dads will get eight. Also Yahoo! is offering their employees $500 to spend on items like house cleaning and groceries plus Yahoo! themed baby gifts. The new policies come two months after Yahoo! banned employees from working at home. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. I think the $500 part got me because seriously 500 bucks to buy groceries and baby clothes and Yahoo! themed gifts.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] It's all about perks, isn't it? Especially with those tech companies and yes, it sounds really generous.
[Costello:] But 500 bucks? No.
[Kosik:] I mean, come on. Well, I don't want to say, but the company think about other companies people work at. Do they just give you 500 bucks for groceries when you have a kid? No. However, other tech companies were already there, Carol. You know, this new Yahoo! benefit to parents plus these perks that we're talking about actually winds up putting Yahoo! in line with other companies because the tech industry is known for being very generous with benefits. And Yahoo! is actually behind the eight ball. Moms at Google get 18 to 22 weeks after having a baby. Dads there get 7 weeks. Over at Facebook just like Yahoo! now, moms get 16 weeks, but it's super generous for dads who get 16 weeks there as well. Parents at Facebook also get $4,000 in baby cash. Of course, that's a huge help for that very expensive addition. As for investors where they think they are happy with what Melissa Myer has Marissa Myer has done with Yahoo! at this point. You look at Yahoo! shares. They're up more than 50 percent since she took over in July Carol.
[Costello:] Well, that's good news. It makes you wonder though. Are these new policies an attempt by Yahoo! CEO to sort of dig herself out of a hole when she dug herself by abolishing the work at home option?
[Kosik:] It makes you wonder, doesn't it? But here's what Myer actually said. She said the extent of leave is just part of a host of new benefits to support the happiness and well being of Yahoo!'s and their family. She's also given out those new smartphones to workers. She's given free food and upgraded computers. Yes, Myer took a lot of flak in February when she got rid of that work from home option for employees. Even with these new maternity benefits, Carol, there are critics as I heard you. You're like a critic. They're great for people who have a baby, but what about everybody else who is not having a baby who wants the flexibility for other reasons? To them I say, stop complaining. You have a job. It's a good job probably. You're getting paid. You're getting benefits. There's a new changing of the guard and when there's a changing of the guard, there's going to be change, right, Carol?
[Costello:] Yes, we know that.
[Kosik:] And if you don't like it, find a new job.
[Costello:] You are tough. Alison Kosik, thanks so much. Coming up next in the NEWSROOM, the family of that MIT officer killed by the Boston bombers, allegedly killed by the Boston bombers says Sean Collier was meant to be a police officer. CNN sits down with his family next.

[Aj Hammer, Hln:] Tonight SHOWBIZ breaks news about the divorce drama surrounding the stars of "Real Housewives." Wait until you hear what they told us. I`m AJ Hammer in New York with Nischelle Turner. And this is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
[Hammer:] More big news breaking tonight. J.Lo`s divorce tell-all all revealed today. For the very first time Jennifer Lopez reveals all about her split from Marc Anthony. What really led to their breakup? Will she find love again? Plus J.Lo`s her jaw-dropping payday. Explosive report today she`ll get $20 million to stay on "American Idol." Our SHOWBIZ "Flashpoint" tonight, is she worth it? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT breaks big Kardashian sex tape news. We dare to ask Kim`s mom to set the record straight. Did she really make a sex tape just like Kim?
[Kareen Wynter, Showbiz Tonight Correspondent:] We can`t let you go without talking about that sex tape, guys.
[Kris Jenner, "keeping Up With The Kardashians":] Oh, my gosh. I didn`t think anybody would catch that.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ trending tonight, ridiculous ads that turned "Mad Men`s" Christina Hendricks rusty, curvaceous image a super-skinny model. Plus the Pippa butt lift. Women getting plastic surgery to get a butt just like Duchess Catherine`s sister. Has the world gone mad? TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now. Hello. I`m AJ Hammer in New York with Nischelle Turner.
[Nischelle Turner, Hln:] And there is big news breaking tonight that comes down to this. Whoa, J.Lo, did you really just tell all?
[Hammer:] Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that indeed she did. It was just a couple of weeks ago that Jennifer Lopez dropped the divorce bombshell heard around the world. She and Marc Anthony were done, over, splitting up. It seemed that nobody saw this coming. But today for the very first time we heard J.Lo reveal why her seven-year marriage to Anthony led to a seven- year itch to get divorced. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT also learned today the remarkable amount of money that J.Lo will reportedly get to help soothe those wounds, not from Anthony, but from "American Idol." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the story behind the big bucks and behind the breakup. Jennifer Lopez is in a familiar spot, right smack dab in the middle of another public and painful split, this time from her husband Marc Anthony, father of her twins. Now just over two weeks after the big divorce announcement, J.Lo is speaking out for the first time telling "Vanity Fair" magazine about the split and what led to it. Hint, its initials are "
[Ai." Ken Baker, E! Chief News Correspondent:] Jennifer clearly makes the point that after she started focusing on her career, got on "American Idol," that it was a struggle.
[Hammer:] About her divorce, Lopez tells "Vanity Fair", quote, "This was the hardest decision I`ve ever had to face. I really wanted this family to work. That was my biggest dream and I worked hard at it. We both did. Sometimes it doesn`t work and that`s sad."
[Baker:] The "Vanity Fair" interview was actually done in two parts. The first part she was still married. They weren`t separated yet and she was hinting at there were serious problems in the marriage, and then she did a follow-up interview after announcing the split and she revealed a lot more.
[Hammer:] This morning the "Today" show talked to "Vanity Fair`s" Lisa Robinson who interviewed Lopez before and after the split. Robinson says during her first chat with J.Lo she didn`t mention any serious marital problems, directly anyway.
[Ann Curry, Today Show:] What was your sense then?
[Lisa Robinson, Interviewed J.lo For Vanity Fair:] I got a sense of a woman who was coming to terms with herself as a strong, independent woman.
[Hammer:] So what went wrong with this superstar couple, who were the picture of red hot A-list passion when they performed together on "American Idol" where J.Lo serves as a judge? There`s no shortage of theories on the celebrity Web sites, magazines and blogs.
[Baker:] A lot of them titillating speculation was that someone was cheating on the other person, there was some third party involved, and that Marc was too controlling.
[Jennifer Lopez, Singer:] Just let people feel your soul.
[Hammer:] In her first "Vanity Fair" interview before the split, J.Lo hinted her return to work including her new gig on "Idol" was affecting her marriage, making it hard for these two superstar parents to find a balance. She said, quote, "We try, we try, but it`s getting increasingly harder. When we were first married, most of time and even before the babies were born, we were able to go everywhere together." She adds, "I wasn`t working, it was mainly about him. Then we got pregnant. Then it became about the kids. And then I started working again."
[Baker:] She said that there was a time when they thought about everything. Where things were really hard and that they`re two people with very strong feelings and strong opinions, and they needed to work through that. I think the assumption from the outside perspective was that they had worked it out. But what she reveals in that interview was that in fact they did not.
[Hammer:] The "Vanity Fair" writer tells "Today" that after the split J.Lo reached out to her.
[Robinson:] She sent me an e-mail a week or so later that even was stronger about, I can walk away from things if they`re not what I feel is right for me or something I can`t you know, if I`m in a relationship where someone isn`t treating me correctly.
[Hammer:] This will be Lopez`s third divorce. In addition to her splits from ex-boyfriend Ben Affleck and Sean P. Diddy Combs. Still J.Lo might give love another try. She tells "Vanity Fair", quote, "I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love. It`s still my biggest dream." But for now it looks like Lopez is focusing on her longest running relationship.
[Robinson:] She said to me at the time that she felt the most important relationship that she had was with herself and what she had to learn how to love herself.
[Hammer:] So I got believe that because nobody saw this breakup coming.
[Turner:] Yes.
[Hammer:] People are really going to be chomping at the bit to read more of whatever else Jennifer has to say about the surprising split. And we have even more of that interview to reveal to you right now. With me in New York, Michael Billy who`s a TV and radio host. Also in New York, Jill Dobson, who`s an entertainment journalist. All right, guys. In this bombshell interview with "Vanity Fair" revealed today, Jennifer also made statement that I quite frankly think so many women can identify with. Let me read this to you. "As women we are naturally giving and we take care of others. We just have this tendency to put ourselves on the back burner but we need to like conscious about loving and taking care of ourselves, too." Sounds to me like perhaps Jennifer felt maybe she was playing second fiddle to Marc, maybe even her family, and quite frankly was tired of being the woman behind the man. Jill, is that how you see it?
[Jill Dobson, Entertainment Journalist:] Yes. And she also goes on to say to understand that a person is not good for you or that person is not treating you in the right way, I love myself enough to walk away from that. So she has some strong feelings about this and says, hey, it`s time for me to finally look out for number one.
[Hammer:] And everybody has been wondering what`s been behind this thing because since their divorce announcement, a lot of reports have been out there that perhaps Jennifer, among other things, couldn`t take Marc`s controlling behavior. And J.Lo really seemed to hint that that was true in the "Vanity Fair" interview revealed today as Jill was just alluding to. Let me read what else she said here. "Sometimes we don`t realize that we are compromising ourselves to understand that a person is not good for you or that person is not treating you in the right way or that he is not doing the right thing for himself. If I stay, then I am not doing the right thing for me. I love myself enough to walk away from that now," is what she`s saying, Michael. Sounds pretty clear to me that she was essentially affirming those reports that Marc was too controlling. What do you think?
[Michael Billy, Tv And Radio:] Well, I mean, let`s look at their relationship. I mean they got together when Jennifer wasn`t really the hottest thing in the world, Marc was. And he was hot overseas. And then as she says in the interview she had the babies, it was family time, she was traveling with Marc, and then all of a sudden things got busy for her. With two big personalities, two big huge stars like that and her career is taking off, now that she`s going back with "Idol," this was bound to happen. She`s a business savvy person but it`s nice sometimes they say third marriage is the charm. Hopefully the fourth one will be it for her.
[Hammer:] Yes. I mean, I`m happy that she`s optimistic about love and all but there has to be a point you know, you mentioned this is now divorce number three.
[Turner:] Yes. She`s got to be thinking well, where`s my culpability in all of this? What am I doing wrong? Yes.
[Hammer:] And I don`t think anybody can deny just how much Jennifer`s star power has gone up since she made her debut as a judge on "American Idol" this past year. And Nischelle, it almost seems to me that getting her career back may have given her the power to walk away from something that obviously wasn`t working.
[Turner:] Yes, I think it definitely does give her a little empowerment. And AJ, this is actually really paying off because now there are reports that J.Lo is going to do another season of "American Idol."
[Hammer:] Right.
[Turner:] And she`s going to get a big I mean huge pay raise. $20 million. She was making 12 apparently last year. Which leads to our SHOWBIZ "Flashpoint," is J.Lo worth it? Michael, what do you think?
[Billy:] Now she is. Now that she`s left Marc, she`s single, she`s sexy. She was great on "American Idol." $20 million. She said that this leaving Marc was the hardest decision for her. Going to see "Gigli" was the hardest one for me but now she`s I`m a big fan. I`m a big fan of the J.Lo.
[Turner:] Jill, what about you? Tell me what you think?
[Dobson:] Well, no one has what she has, which is a combination of three different things. She`s sold more than 55 million album, so she`s popular. She`s got that chemistry with the other judges and with the contestants and she is gorgeous. I defy you to take your eyes off J.Lo when she`s on camera. You can`t turn away from her, you can`t change the channel, and the "American Idol" producers know that.
[Turner:] Yes, I have to say she looks better than ever, AJ. I mean 42 and just banging.
[Hammer:] Yes. And let me be clear, I think Steven Tyler, he was certainly a good addition. Our big Steven Tyler fan Jay in the studio here would be very upset if I didn`t say that. But I think the smartest thing "American Idol" could have done because, let`s face it, their audience was eroding. It wasn`t the strong show it once was.
[Turner:] Yes.
[Hammer:] Which is natural after so many years on the air. The smartest they have done perhaps since the show launched was bring on Jennifer Lopez.
[Turner:] Absolutely.
[Hammer:] What a great choice. And also great for the fans because we really as she is always saying, we really got to know J.Lo.
[Turner:] Yes.
[Hammer:] For who J.Lo is.
[Turner:] Yes. And we saw the nurturing side of her and the side that loves music. All of the above. Very smart. Michael Billy, Jill Dobson, thank you very, very much. We appreciate it. Now we want to hear from you. This is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Exclusive Poll." Jennifer Lopez`s first post-split tell-all. Who should she date next? George Clooney, Sean Diddy Combs or Bradley Cooper? Vote at CNN.comshowbiztonight. You can always e-mail to our address, showbiztonight@CNN.com.
[Hammer:] All right. I hope you`re ready for it because SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is about to break news about a new Kardashian sex tape. We dare to ask Kim`s mom to set the record straight. Did she really make a sex tape?
[Wynter:] We can`t let you go without talking about that sex tape, guys.
[K. Jenner:] Oh, my gosh. I didn`t think anybody would catch that.
[Wynter:] We`ve all been talking about it.
[K. Jenner:] Well, you know, we were just kidding. Right, honey?
[Hammer:] Mama Kris in a sex tape with hubby Bruce Jenner. TMI to the nth power.
[Turner:] That`s a good one. SHOWBIZ trending tonight, the Pippa Middleton butt lift. Women out there are getting plastic surgery to get a butt like Duchess Catherine`s sister.
[Hammer:] And SHOWBIZ breaks news with the divorce confessions of the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN, news and views. And now the SHOWBIZ news ticker, more stories from SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news tonight.
[Graphics:] Charlie Sheen drops lawsuit against porn star Capri Anderson for NYC hotel incident. Jessica Alba tells us about having baby number two.
[Jessica Alba, Actress:] This is my you know, my first one I was so eager for her to reach every milestone and now I know it`s going to happen so I think I`m just going to enjoy the baby as the baby for as long as possible.

[Malveaux:] A study published in "Pediatrics" suggests more children suffer food allergies than previously believed. And as parents know, sometimes these reactions can be pretty severe. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us. And Elizabeth, I love the display here. I mean, I always love these displays. We learn so much. How widespread is this problem?
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] You know, previously studies a lot of studies pointed to maybe two to five percent of kids had food allergies. And this study, which was a really big, well done study, eight percent. So, a tad higher than what we thought. And what's interesting is that a third of these kids with allergies had allergies to multiple foods.
[Malveaux:] Really?
[Cohen:] It wasn't just one food, it was multiple food. And about 40 percent of them had severe reactions. You know, they didn't get just a little itchy, they had problems breathing. Things like that.
[Malveaux:] So what kind of foods actually trigger these allergic reactions?
[Cohen:] You know, it's only sort of a relatively short list of food trigger reactions in most of these kids. And here three biggies. So we have peanuts, which were responsible for about 25 percent of the allergies. So peanuts as we all know are big. And 21 percent of the kids with allergies were allergic to milk. And about 17 percent were allergic to shellfish. So, peanuts, milk, shellfish, those were the three biggies.
[Malveaux:] And why do we suppose it's increasing, it's on the rise now? Why is that happening?
[Cohen:] Lots of theories out there. And one of them is the parents are too clean.
[Malveaux:] You're kidding, really?
[Cohen:] Really. It's really true. You probably know parents who are always worried that little Jimmy or little Susie is going to get dirty, and if something falls on the floor, they wash it right away whereas in the old days, you know, if something fell on the floor, you might give it to your kid
[Malveaux:] Ten second rule.
[Cohen:] Ten second rule. Exactly. Or for some people the 10 minute rule or 10 hour rule. And so when kids the theory is, is that when kids don't get all those germs because their parents are so fastidious, their immune systems aren't able to sort of give a good defense. You know, their bodies don't learn how to deal with germs. That's one theory.
[Malveaux:] What with should parents do?
[Cohen:] Parents need to be on the lookout for these things. And a lot of parents ask, well, how would I know if my kid has a food allergy, because sometimes a kid will eat something and will feel a little sick.
[Malveaux:] Sure.
[Cohen:] Or will eat something and the next day will be itchy. And so one thing that's important to remember that if your child has a food allergy, you're going to know it probably within minutes, maybe an hour, but usually within minutes. So, it happens quickly. Once you think there's an allergy, get to a doctor. And if your child really does have an allergy, you're going to have to become a really good label reader, you know, looking for those things. Things like peanuts and milk are in so many different things. It's tough.
[Malveaux:] Right. Right. A lot of things, yes.
[Cohen:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] Elizabeth, thank you so much.
[Cohen:] OK, thanks.
[Malveaux:] Appreciate it, as always. Well, an Obama impersonator's act is cut short. Find out why he thinks he got escorted off the stage at a Republican conference.

[Lemon:] So, Dr. Wendy Walsh is back. So, Wendy, there's been an ongoing cultural trend on TV in and in film, women fighting men and winning. It's also playing out in high school sports as well. This Iowa high school wrestler gave up his shot at the state championship on Thursday because his opponent was a girl. His name is Joel Northup, and he said, quote, "as a matter of my conscience and my faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner." And, he says, he has a lot of respect for the girl, her name is Cassy Herkelman. You see her there. So, Wendy, is he right to stand up for what he believes in, you know, if it's religion? Is it right for him? And what is the trend of girls combating boys in sports have to do with belief?
[Walsh:] Listen, Don, everybody has a right to their personal opinion and their personal belief, so I honor this young man for that. But is he being chauvinistic or is he being a gentleman here? Let me answer this. Women long ago have figured out that there is a wide variety of men out there. We've got protectors, providers, alphas, betas and those wonderful guys that even change diapers for our children, right? But men, it seems sexist to me when they lump women into one category. This young woman is a seasoned athlete. She's in his weight class. She's won many levels of competition to be considered just an opponent. So for him to now deny her that right to be an opponent and suddenly put her in a category of lady isn't fair to this athlete.
[Lemon:] OK. Well, Wendy, let's talk about the thing that everybody is dancing around. It's wrestling, they're wearing the tight clothes, they're in high school. The hormones are raging. I mean, might there be some embarrassment about that?
[Walsh:] There are probably many pieces to this young man's decision. His faith and religion and his respect for women may be one of them. Certainly there may be some air about sexuality that may be coming up, getting so close and physically aggressive with the woman while she's tangling, our young woman, a girl at the age of 18. And, so, of course that's got to be a piece in it. But this is still a sport that allows both genders to participate. So somebody has got to turn their blinders on and become opponents and get into the competition. They're in the same weight class. Give her this opportunity to show she's best. Because guess what, she valiantly steps out as gentleman and then he doesn't have to risk losing to a girl.
[Lemon:] I'll let you have the last word on that, Dr. Wendy Walsh. Thanks as always.
[Walsh:] Thank you.
[Lemon:] Let's get you caught up on your top stories here on CNN. Anger in Wisconsin. Massive protests over the state budget bill are now in a fifth day. The bill would strip public workers of collective bargaining and force them to pay more for benefits. The Republican Governor Scott Walker says, the state needs to pay its bills and ultimately this will save jobs. Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate fled the state to stall a vote on the bill. The Libyan military is putting down new protests in Benghazi with brutal tactics. Witnesses report bloody clashes between demonstrators and the military. The Libyan military is putting down new protests in Benghazi with brutal tactics. Witnesses report bloody clashes between demonstrators and the military. A doctor treating the injured in one hospital said at least 30 people died. Most from gunshot wounds to the head. One woman in Benghazi told CNN that soldiers said they were joining the protests, but then turned their guns on the crowds. In Bahrain, fear turned to joy today as protesters surged into the square where they battled security forces earlier this week. The crown prince ordered the military to leave the Pearl Roundabout to the protesters. He said they could remain there without fear and that the government is open to dialogue. When strong winds whipping across the northeast, that's just one of the weather stories that Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is following for us today. Jacqui, a very interesting weather day. What's going on with this wind?
[Jacqui Jeras, Cnn Meteorologist:] Oh, my gosh, it's crazy. It's really, really strong and causing a lot of problem, in the northeast in particular. We've got the video to show you the damage from it. This is a sad story, Don. Pay attention. This is Washington, D.C. There you see the national monument. This is the national Christmas tree that you're looking at here. This thing has been there for 40 years. It's 42-feet tall. It's a blue spruce and they think that it was the winds that likely caused this thing to get knocked down earlier this morning. So some sad news there. The president and first lady were there to light it up this holiday season. So it's no more. Hopefully, they will plant another tree. Let's take a look now at what's happening in the Boston area. This is just north of Boston, Massachusetts. Some high winds there toppled down a scaffolding on the side of a hotel building. It did damage about ten cars that were parked in the lot there. We're also hearing stories of wildfires that are burning and getting out of control because of these winds. And thousands of people without power now in the northeast. If you're trying to travel, take a look at our airport delays because they're getting quite lengthy. JFK, arrival delays over an hour, Newark, 20 minutes. You have 40 minutes in San Francisco, and Washington Dulles are looking at 55-minute delays. Take a look at the winds and what they're doing at this hour. These are the sustained winds, not to mention those gusts that have been common in the 50 to 60-mile-per-hour range today. That does some damage and you need to be cautious. The winds causing lake-effect snows here too, so if you get in one of these heavier bands, it will reduce your visibility quite a bit. Our other big story is what is happening in the southwest. There's a storm system that's been moving in through here. This is the second one in as many days and it's bringing a real soaker across parts of southern California. We're getting heavy snow into the higher elevations. In fact, we've had seven feet of snow in the last 72 hours in the Lake Tahoe area. So the skiers are happy about this, but really tough for travelers. We're talking one to two feet into parts of Colorado. Let's talk about where that storm system is going because it's really bringing an end to this nice spring-type weather that you've been having. The upper Midwest and the northeast feeling like winter. As this storm system heads your way, we're talking about some heavy snow. We could be talking about six to 12 inches. MinneapolisSt. Paul that will start tonight, continue through the day tomorrow. Yes, more snow for Milwaukee. Chicago, we think a wintry mix. Not a lot of accumulation but you could have some freezing rain. Then this will move into the northeast as you head into Monday. So winter back with a vengeance. That after record highs yesterday, Don. It was like 77 in D.C. yesterday. We're talking 60s in New York City and now temperatures plummeting through the 30s.
[Lemon:] Can we go back out west. This is a live picture from our affiliate, KGO. Look at that.
[Jeras:] Oh, wow, beautiful. Snow.
[Lemon:] Yes. Yes. Snow.
[Jeras:] Well, it's February.
[Lemon:] Yes. Not here, though.
[Jeras:] Got to keep it real.
[Lemon:] It's a very warm day. Thank you very much, Jacqui Jeras. We'll check back with you throughout the evening. Up next
[Sandy Franzo, Son Shot Himself:] No, you know what he told everybody in court? They need to be held accountable for their actions. You need to be. Do you remember me? Do you remember me? Do you remember my son? An all-star wrestler? He's gone. He shot hisself in the heart. You scumbag.
[Lemon:] That's hard to watch. A mother's grief for the son she no longer has. She says it's because a judge got kickbacks to send kids like him away for minor offenses. The whole story is just ahead. And here's to the little guy. We hear a lot these days about banks foreclosing on homeowners. This hour, meet a man who foreclosed on his bank. That's right. You're going to hear from him just ahead.

[Larry King, Host:] Tonight, Jon Stewart on his "Rally to Restore Sanity." A political event or a put-on? Oprah's sending "The Daily Show" audience to D.C. Even President Obama has given it props. Plus, we'll talk candidates who claim they aren't witches. Voicemail for Anita Hill. Getting a grip on Planet Earth from the man who wrote the whole book about it. Jon Stewart for the hour. No joke. Next on LARRY KING LIVE.
[King:] Good evening. Jon Stewart. Good to have him back. He's the host, executive producer of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central. He's leading the "Rally to Restore Sanity" in Washington, D.C., appropriately the night before Halloween, October 30th. He and the "Daily Show" writers are the authors of the new best- seller, in fact the number one best-seller on "The New York Times" best-seller list, "Earth: The Book, A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race." I'm on one page of this. We're not going to show it to you.
[Jon Stewart, Host, "the Daily Show":] No, you're not.
[King:] Because it's a family show, but it just increased sales of the book twofold. He'll host "Night of Too Many Stars." An overbooked concert for autism education. That airs on Comedy Central tomorrow night. Half of it was taped in New York, right?
[Stewart:] I'm sorry, I'm just listening to the end of "PARKERSPITZER." They're just that's witty. That is witty.
[King:] You like that show?
[Stewart:] Listen, I'm just glad they got a real table. You see for the first couple of nights, they didn't have a table, they had a stool with, like, newspapers piled on it. Like they didn't have a guy to just come in and go, maybe we should move those. What's happening, baby? Can I tell you something? You made the right choice. You are leaving this place. You know what you are? You're the last guy out of a burning building, my friend.
[King:] Jon.
[Stewart:] You are
[King:] Stop.
[Stewart:] Oh, I'm sorry, am I are we on CNN right now?
[King:] You're on yes.
[Stewart:] I thought this was, like, the pre-show banter.
[King:] No, no, we're on.
[Stewart:] Oh, OK. Listen, you're really leaving this place with a great infrastructure and I think you've done I think it's in a wonderful
[King:] Thank you, Jon.
[Stewart:] You're a real "PARKERSPITZER."
[King:] Let's first get to the rally. Explain this to me. Now this is a definitive show here. We've been around a while so you should be proud to be here.
[Stewart:] I'm very proud to be here and honored to be here.
[King:] So explain this rally.
[Stewart:] "Rally to Restore Sanity."
[King:] Is it a political rally?
[Stewart:] No. It is in fact not a political rally.
[King:] So what are you assuming, there is insanity prevailing and you're the restoring of the
[Stewart:] Do you watch television?
[King:] Yes. What are you presuming here?
[Stewart:] Do you live and breathe, my friend? We are presuming that that 75 to 80 percent of the country, reasonable people, they get along, they may not agree on things but they can do things. And the other 15 percent control it. The dialogue, the legislation. This is for the people that are too busy, that have jobs and lives, and are tired of their reflection in the media as being a divided country and a country that's ideological and conflicted and fighting. This is for those people. Those people are going to come to Washington, D.C. on October 30th and say to the world
[King:] Who will be speaking other than you and your pal?
[Stewart:] So we should you're you
[King:] Colbert. You and Colbert are speaking.
[Stewart:] You're saying we should have planned speakers?
[King:] There are no speakers?
[Stewart:] Oh, Jesus. What
[King:] It's just a bunch of people rallying?
[Stewart:] What exactly what would you no, it's going to be we got a whole thing planned. We got guests. Musical. We got things planned. It's going to it's going to shock maybe not even just this world, other worlds. Maybe aliens.
[King:] Comedy Central telecasting it?
[Stewart:] Yes.
[King:] Fully?
[Stewart:] Fully.
[King:] Other networks permitted to cover it? CNN can come?
[Stewart:] You can pick up we call it in the business the feed. You can pick up the feed.
[King:] You are the host, going to be there all day?
[Stewart:] We were going to have a feed. We're like your livestock.
[King:] What time is it? Are you putting
[Stewart:] That's going to be a trough.
[King:] Are you putting yourself in the same place like Martin Luther King?
[Stewart:] What?
[King:] Well, you're holding a rally in Washington on a Saturday.
[Stewart:] Let me put it this way. I'm putting myself in the same class as Martin Mull. How about that?
[King:] Martin Mull.
[Stewart:] This is it is
[King:] Anti-Glenn Beck rally?
[Stewart:] It is not the Anti-Glenn Beck rally. It's a very similar what we are doing is we are using the rally format to do the same thing we do with our shows. The message will be a very similar-type idea. It's just using the rally through a satirical format. Like the book is like our show in book form. We're going to also develop our show in capsule form. In powder form. Maybe a drink form the astronauts can use up in the space shuttle. It's not you know, everybody should just wait and see what it is, make their own decisions.
[King:] All right. Now many news organizations prohibit employees from taking part in political events.
[Stewart:] I don't
[King:] NPR, in fact
[Stewart:] I don't blame them.
[King:] sent out a memo, National Public Radio
[Stewart:] Yes.
[King:] Reminding the staffers it will be against the rules for them to attend the rally.
[Stewart:] And I have
[King:] What do you make of that?
[Stewart:] As a countermeasure against
[Npr. King:] Yes?
[Stewart:] To fight back, I have prohibited my employees from describing events in esoteric terms. Yes? You won't come to my rally? Well, we will no longer be quirky and use sound effects.
[King:] That's right.
[Stewart:] To describe public events. So that's
[King:] What do you make are you hurt by that? Is that a
[Stewart:] Am I hurt by that?
[King:] Yes, hurt, emotionally hurt.
[Stewart:] Very little NPR can do to hurt a fella. Other than perhaps come and reclaim my tote bag. From now on, I'm carrying everything just in my arms like this. I will no longer use their tote bags. I find it interesting that you would forbid people to go to something that even we don't really know what it is.
[King:] Well, see, that's peculiar. You don't know
[Stewart:] I think it's somewhat peculiar. We actually know what it is. But they don't.
[King:] But they're guessing it's political.
[Stewart:] They're guessing it's political. And they are
[King:] You're saying here tonight it is not political.
[Stewart:] They are guessing wrong, my friend.
[King:] It is not a political rally.
[Stewart:] They are guessing wrong. This is not a political rally in any way, shape or form. It is a visceral expression of
[King:] Of sanity.
[Stewart:] Of a people fed up with the reflection that they are shown of themselves as a divided people.
[King:] If I were bringing a picket sign to this
[Stewart:] We shall sorry?
[King:] If I bring a picket sign
[Stewart:] A picket sign? What are you? A wobbly?
[King:] If I were to bring
[Stewart:] You're fighting labor with the picketing boys in 1932?
[King:] If I will bring me a sign in support of this rally, what should it say?
[Stewart:] Aha!
[King:] Aha.
[Stewart:] OK, that's fine. If that's all the space you have on it, aha would be fine. There's a whole we have a whole Web site, saneornot.com. You can put that on there. The signs that I've come up with are, "I may disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler."
[King:] Good sign.
[Stewart:] "Got competence." That sort of thing.
[King:] Got competence.
[Stewart:] Yes. I'm at this point, I'm just a competence
[King:] And honestly, though, couldn't that be boring? I mean, so it's so civilized.
[Stewart:] Yes no.
[King:] In this age of franticism.
[Stewart:] Yes. No, it is. It's you're right. It's going to be an actual tea party. We're just going to have people sit. The crowd is going to play the Mad Hatter. I'm going to be Alice. We're just going to have a little setup with doilies. It's going to be very lovely.
[King:] What a great idea.
[Stewart:] Yes, it is very lovely. Wouldn't it be nice to not have so much franticism? Would it be nice if conflict and the false urgency of the 24-hour news networks of which you very wisely have decided to walk away from. And by the way, I think they made a brilliant choice by bringing in a British guy no one's heard of. I think that is when I'm thinking about floating a sinking ship, what I do want to bring on it? The guy that people are going to tune in and go, "who's that?" And why is he speaking so funny?
[King:] All right, back just a little more on the rally. Then we'll cover other things.
[Stewart:] Yes.
[King:] But I want to
[Stewart:] We should cover other things.
[King:] Oprah Winfrey is supporting the rally. In a uniquely Oprah way here's the announcement she made on "The Daily Show" last week. Watch.
[Oprah Winfrey, Tv:] "Daily Show" audience. Look under your seats.
[Stewart:] Look under your seats. What's under there? They have no qualms about obeying Oprah. Oprah's our leader.
[Winfrey:] You're going to the rally. You're going to the rally! You're going to the rally. Everybody's going to the rally.
[Stewart:] They're all this. They have no idea what they've done. Here's what is crazy.
[King:] All right, put his mike
[Stewart:] Are we coming back?
[King:] Go ahead.
[Stewart:] So here's what is crazy. She gave everybody in the audience rally tickets except for one person. One person opened it up, anthrax. That's how she plays. She gets everybody, like you're going to the rally, you're going one person just looked and went, my god, I can't breathe. Yes, she's very nice. She sent people plane tickets, reservations.
[King:] She's amazing.
[Stewart:] She's unbelievable.
[King:] And they obey her, right?
[Stewart:] She said look under your seats, they're like, OK. Stand up, punch the person next to you.
[King:] There is some controversy. I think it's been cleared up but we're going to settle it in a minute about whether there are potties at the portable potties at the rally. I think you have to have them.
[Stewart:] This is why I'm here, to answer the hard-hitting questions.
[King:] We'll be we'll be right back.
[Stewart:] Welcome to the mother
[Unidentified Male:] For something that happened more than 60 years ago.
[Stewart:] What? Larry King's first wedding is not the president's fault. Slightly less than two months ago. By the way, Guatemalan syphilis experiment, worst Ben & Jerry's flavor ever.
[King:] You are sick, you know? I mean
[Stewart:] We're just entertaining ourselves.
[King:] It's a little the Marine Corps marathon
[Stewart:] Yes.
[King:] Is the day after your rally.
[Stewart:] I'm running.
[King:] Oprah ran it in once.
[Stewart:] Did she really run the marathon?
[King:] She did. She did.
[Stewart:] There is nothing the woman can't do.
[King:] I know. The organizers have arranged for 800 portable toilets but they won't be delivered to the mall until after your rally.
[Stewart:] Wise choice.
[King:] Has this been solved?
[Stewart:] We have been in contact with the Port-o-Potty people.
[King:] And? This is serious, hey.
[Stewart:] Right now, they are they say they're efforting.
[King:] Efforting?
[Stewart:] Port-o-Potties. We will have toilets. They may not be enclosed. I guess what I'm saying is
[King:] You just decreased the crowd.
[Stewart:] We will either have toilets or we will have shovels.
[King:] OK.
[Stewart:] It's really up to people to make up their own mind.
[King:] Well, we have a gift for you.
[Stewart:] I don't now I really don't know what to think.
[King:] I wanted to do my bit for the rally attendees.
[Stewart:] We're very
[King:] This will be shipped to you.
[Stewart:] So this is your response to Oprah?
[King:] Open the curtain please.
[Stewart:] This is a curtain? Oh, my god.
[King:] There it is. The first potty for the rally.
[Stewart:] Can I tell you something?
[King:] And our executive producer almost used it.
[Stewart:] That is please tell me that that is not the capsule that they keep you in. Is that the hyperbaric chamber that when you're not working? All right. Somebody store King until tomorrow. We got Loni Anderson and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Let's keep put King back in the crisper. That is now here's the thing.
[King:] Let's do this again. Show it again.
[Stewart:] We are going to we have gone out I don't know if you know this, but you can get port-o-potties pretty easily. We have a ton of them. Can we still take this one and just
[King:] Yes.
[Stewart:] We will delineate it as yours.
[King:] Put a sign on it?
[Stewart:] Are we responsible for cleaning and upkeep or is that something you're also taking care of?
[King:] I don't know.
[Stewart:] You are not responsible for the cleaning and upkeep? So this is merely the facility? Well, I appreciate the gesture greatly and I'm
[King:] Honored.
[Stewart:] Very thankful, I'm honored. You know what's weird about something like, I'm hooked up but
[King:] In our humble little way.
[Stewart:] In your humble little way, you are, in fact you don't have your own Angel Network, but yet
[King:] You don't know what to say, do you? You really don't know what to say. Jon Stewart is stumped.
[Stewart:] You, you, you gifted me with you know what, that's the one I'm going to use. Can I tell you something? That's the one I'm going to use.
[King:] OK.
[Stewart:] I appreciate it.
[King:] By the way
[Stewart:] You're a good man.
[King:] This is the first Peabody Award winning show to present a port-o-potty.
[Stewart:] You know what? In honor of this hold on, I'm just going to go right now.
[King:] Let me know when you're done.
[Stewart:] All right.
[King:] OK. All right. That's the perfect symbol, isn't it, of the elections this year?
[Stewart:] What?
[King:] It's kind of like national
[Stewart:] Is that your segue?
[King:] Yes, that's my segue.
[Stewart:] Oh my god.
[King:] Isn't it an example?
[Stewart:] The port-o-potty.
[King:] What is going on in this country?
[Stewart:] It's an enclosed space where people urinate?
[King:] No, no, no, never mind. All right.
[Stewart:] I'm missing it.
[King:] You got to think.
[Stewart:] I'm missing your metaphor. All right. I'm going to think about it.
[King:] All right. America. What do you make skip the potty.
[Stewart:] Gone.
[King:] OK.
[Stewart:] What do we got?
[King:] What do you make of what's going on?
[Stewart:] What's going on electorally?
[King:] Yes.
[Stewart:] Well, people seem to be somewhat frustrated with the status quo and are at this point willing to elect let's say dolphins instead of what's out there right now. So I think I think at this point, this is the best chance ever for a bowl of fresh fruit to make it to Congress. A bowl of fresh fruit. You could put it out there and be like this piece of fruit is not a Washington insider. It is merely a peach. Just like you. A regular average American peach. You talk like the corrupt inside Washington fear mongers. This I mean, it's absolutely astonishing. And by the way, completely justified. I mean, it's a mess there. It is an entrenched and seemingly endlessly corrupt system.
[King:] We'll be back from bathroom humor to political jokes to more conversation with Jon Stewart.
[Stewart:] Want to get out on another fruit reference?
[King:] And we'll talk about what he's doing for autism as well. And about the book "Earth." Don't go away.
[Stewart:] So to recap, a few simple guidelines for our rally. No nudity. No throwing stuff. And no totalitarian fascism. The guidelines are basically this. When in doubt, don't be douchey.
[King:] Funny.
[Stewart:] Very similar, I believe.
[King:] How did this idea come about, the rally? Did it spark you one day?
[Stewart:] Yes. Well, you know, we've been trying to think about a way to sort of encapsulate how to do it. And then when, you know, rallies became sort of the in thing for the news to talk about with all that, we thought that's the perfect format for us to do our shtick.
[King:] President Obama is elected. A new wave is coming in America.
[Stewart:] Yes. When is that, by the way? Do you even know? Do you even know when that's scheduled? A new wave?
[King:] He's on your show October 27th.
[Stewart:] Yes, yes.
[King:] OK. A sitting president is coming to Comedy Central. Slamming.
[Stewart:] Yes. It is.
[King:] What do you make of that?
[Stewart:] It really shows what's happened to the majesty of the office. Doesn't it? The oval office.
[King:] Yes.
[Stewart:] It used to be the bully pulpit. Now it's just another pulpit.
[King:] Are you excited?
[Stewart:] I think we're excited. I think it's always we're always those days are always very distracting. You know the last we had on, Pervez Musharraf. When he was the leader of Pakistan. And all the tumult around it, there's snipers on the you know, and there's guys with AK-47s in the hall way, and they bring in the bomb- sniffing dogs. And you know, you know my staff, the dogs don't just sniff bombs. So you know, that day, it's like, all right, everybody, get your everybody's contraband out. And they set up a Kevlar front to my desk. Because we have like 200 people in the audience.
[King:] I know. I've been on your show.
[Stewart:] And they have is that true? How were you on it? Were you good?
[King:] I was very good. You fell off the chair laughing.
[Stewart:] Is that true?
[King:] Yes.
[Stewart:] Oh, and I wouldn't fake that.
[King:] No. No. Are you telling me you faked that?
[Stewart:] No, I'm just kidding. You were great. You're always your stories people don't realize this. In the commercial breaks are the most interesting about this, your life is so much more interesting than mine. As soon as we go to commercial break, I'm throwing out Martin Mull jokes. He's giving me a port-o-potty. As soon as we go to commercial break, so I interviewed George Wallace, you know, it was right after the Martin Luther King rally, "I Have a Dream." And I'm like, wait, why didn't we talk about that? Why are you asking schmucky for stories? You've got it all in your head. What are we talking about? Pervez Musharraf?
[King:] Yes.
[Stewart:] They set up a Kevlar front to the desk.
[King:] Yes, I know.
[Stewart:] So I said there were two guys with Pakistani secret service. I said, what is that for exactly? He said, well, if anyone does get a weapon in here and they make a move, we will dive on the president and put him below the Kevlar. And I said, you know, I'm going to be actually also sitting out there. And the guy, he gets real quiet and he goes, you should duck. What?
[King:] This whole mess and it is a mess in many areas.
[Stewart:] Sure.
[King:] Why did it is it Obama's failure to
[Stewart:] I don't know that the you know, I don't he did not arrive in a pristine environment and throw mud on the walls. I think it's hard to unravel. I think the difficulty of the mess is that the problem solving apparatus is not really rewarded for pragmatic solutions. It's rewarded to keep sort of very entrenched interests that occupy Washington afloat. It's a
[King:] What happens to the rest of us?
[Stewart:] Well, they assume that we're busy. And they assume that we're not going to notice. That they will their shenanigans will occur in a kind of haze. That's why it's important to have a media that's tenaciously clarifying these issues for people, as it does so well.
[King:] You don't think we do well?
[Stewart:] Oh, the worst. Not you. You're great.
[King:] You talking about the
[Stewart:] The media in general. You said it yourself. It is it's focused on conflict. It's focused on creating drama and a false sense of urgency. For better or for worse, the 24-hour networks are now the leading light of our information age. They're the ones that kind of drive the dialogue.
[King:] Is this better or worse than, say, the Edward R. Murrow days? Truth, because we get more information now
[Stewart:] Right. I don't know how old you think I am.
[King:] You don't know Edward R. Murrow?
[Stewart:] I know him. I know of him. I've seen him on Cinescopes. But I was not alive, Larry.
[King:] OK. I'm sorry.
[Stewart:] To compare and contrast. Here is I mean I do know this. We have a false sense of nostalgia about the country that was. That's it feels to me like the right wants to take us back to a time in America that never really existed, and the left wants us to advance to a utopian environment where no one can say anything about anybody. It'd be sort of this weird you know, where we're all just worried about the fragility of stepping on each other's toes.
[King:] Where's the middle in all this?
[Stewart:] The middle is at the "Rally to Restore Sanity," Larry.
[King:] We'll ask
[Stewart:] Which camera?
[King:] Makes a guy to know
[Stewart:] Edward R. Murrow? What do you how does this compare to Hoover's day?
[King:] This is wonderland.
[Stewart:] Sure, it's
[King:] All right, let me help you.
[Stewart:] All right.
[King:] He was pretty good.
[Stewart:] He seemed damn good.
[King:] Yes. He's damn good. He had a nice voice.
[Stewart:] But would you
[King:] Good stance.
[Stewart:] Would you disagree? You're the guy that's been around. Would you agree that we have created and rewarded a false sense of urgency within the news and that the people who get the jobs and the people whose voices are heard are the ones who will say the most extreme things?
[King:] You speak the loudest, you get on. That's right.
[Stewart:] That's what the bookers do.
[King:] But Murrow didn't. That's what I'm just telling you.
[Stewart:] I will take your word for it.
[King:] Just look at the Joe McCarthy special.
[Stewart:] OK. Yes.
[King:] Just get the special. It's in the archives.
[Stewart:] I've seen the special.
[King:] OK, well.
[Stewart:] He seemed good then. But I don't know if right after that he did a whole steroids in baseball thing. I don't know. What the hell do I know?
[King:] We'll ask Jon what he thinks of Christine O'Donnell and the First Amendment right after this. We're back with Jon Stewart. "The Daily Show." The book "Earth," we'll talk about that in a little while. Number one, "New York Times." Big rally in Washington. Day before Halloween. What do you make of the lady in Delaware?
[Stewart:] The lady in Delaware?
[King:] Miss O'Donnell.
[Stewart:] Christine O'Donnell? Like I say, this is it doesn't look like she's going to be victorious. But I also think, you know, the idea she said some things on television 20 years ago and that's evidence that she's somehow off balance, you know, again
[King:] You don't buy that?
[Stewart:] Well, I also think it's like everything else. You focus on the wrong thing. For me that should be great. Comedic fodder, witchcraft, masturbation. For god's sakes, that's my house. That's where I live. I'm nothing if not a masturbating warlock. But in terms of the political to focus on I mean, I work I was on TV, I was on MTV 20 years ago. God forbid anybody find those tapes and hold that against me. I mean, it is it's astonishing to me where we put our focused and what we delve into.
[King:] Well, it was Bill Maher who's the sophisticated, modern hip guy who brought that to the forefront.
[Stewart:] Well, he's but he's just trying to get her to come on the show so he can have a conversation with her.
[King:] Yes.
[Stewart:] He said that. He's he's just that's bait. That's O'Donnell bait. I don't think he takes seriously I don't think Bill Maher he'd be the first person to tell you he doesn't think the masturbation thing really would preclude her from office.
[King:] What do you make of the lady in Nevada?
[Stewart:] Every time you say it, it's all so mysterious. There's a lady in Nevada.
[King:] I got it from Murrow.
[Stewart:] Standing on the corner wearing a trench coat. I think Sharron Angle is an example of just how desperate people must be to remove Democrats from office, that they would listen to her positions and the things that she says and go, that's for me. I think that's got more to do with them going, Harry Reid, seriously dude?
[King:] Where did Harry he's the top Democrat in the Senate.
[Stewart:] Yes.
[King:] He got a health bill passed.
[Stewart:] Yeah, but I think the issue is not that they seem to feel that legislative accomplishment in and of itself is reason for re-election. I think a lot of people feel like they are layering hit or miss reforms on top of an infrastructure that is somewhat corroded. I think people felt like this was an opportunity to root out years of rust and degradation in a system, not just layer it with all kinds of other
[King:] They were supposed to do it in two years?
[Stewart:] They were not supposed to do it in two years. But I think within two years, they could have laid out an illuminating path that showed that they were on the road to understanding what the issues were that people were concerned about. Also, to be fair, they have faced a relentless campaign of hyperbole that they are tyrannical socialists bent on the homosexualization of the gayness of turning this country into gay-Germany.
[King:] While being Muslim.
[Stewart:] While being Muslim. So, again but with that stated, if they had given people I think a much clearer impression of what was important to them and what they thought the real issues were, rather than just this kind of there's an incoherence to what they say. I always say, you know, with Republicans, you never they never have to prove that they love this country. Democrats always seem to have to prove to America that they love America. Republicans love America, they just seem to hate about 50 percent of the people who live in it. Democrats, you know, for their thing, it's always they love this country, they just somehow wish it were a different country. You know, Democrats are always like, you know, America's the greatest country in the world. Have you seen Finland's health care system? You get back rubs at work.
[King:] I mentioned to you
[Stewart:] You're surrounded by sandwiches.
[King:] I saw Senator Harry Reid at Nate and Al's deli the other day.
[Stewart:] You saw Senator Harry Reid at Nate and Al's deli, and I happened to say to you, was he applying for a job? That's all I said. All I was concerned about was, is he OK? Is he worried?
[King:] Yes.
[Stewart:] He should be worried.
[King:] He thinks he's slightly ahead.
[Stewart:] See, even that even that, Larry. How are things going, Harry? I'm slightly ahead. That's nice. Good-bye, grandpa.
[King:] We'll be back with more of Jon Stewart after this.
[Karl Rove, Fmr. Adviser To President Buch:] How dare the president do this?
[Stewart:] I mean, how dare he. I mean, I do declare, the president has given me the vapors. These cheeks are not, in fact, chubby. He is storing up evil for the winter. Hey, hey, take it down a notch, white-beard. You're a staff and a cloak away from getting tenure at Hogwarts, buddy.
[King:] Jon Stewart. We have several Tweets to Kings Things.
[Stewart:] This is a problem. News people shouldn't be going, we've got some Tweets. It's like you walked out in the middle of this and said, I was in the bathroom and a guy mentioned to me, you know
[King:] These are human beings and they're Tweeting us. Do you have no respect for them?
[Stewart:] No.
[King:] OK.
[Stewart:] I don't know who they are. They could be anybody. They could be pretending to be who the hell knows who they are?
[King:] They're asking this: what you thought about CNN, us, firing Rick Sanchez after he called you a bigot?
[Stewart:] Is that 140 characters, because that sounded a lot more than 140 characters. It sounded like somebody sent you a double or triple Tweet.
[King:] May have been a double Tweet.
[Stewart:] We're on a news program and you're saying to me, so there's a Tweet. Isn't that a question you probably could have thought of yourself?
[King:] We like to involve the audience. It's a gimmick.
[Stewart:] All right.
[King:] Well, what do you think?
[Stewart:] Should they have fired him for that? No.
[King:] You think they made a mistake?
[Stewart:] With the crap you guys have put on over the last ten years. What, are you kidding me? Fire somebody if you don't think they're doing a good job as a news person. This whole idea that people you know, they fired a woman for Tweeting something on her thing on her blog. They fired Sanchez for saying what he said. I think it's absolute insanity. I think this idea that people have to be held to account for everything that comes out of their mouths as far as their livelihoods is concerned does he do a good job? Were you pleased with his job? Or was it an excuse to you know, to get rid of him?
[King:] What did you think of the job he was doing?
[Stewart:] He's a ham. I mean, I wasn't crazy about the show. Do you think I want to see a newsman get tased and then get into a car and drive it into a river? It would be like, this is how you get out. What? What are you doing? But
[King:] Were you not hurt by him calling you that? Personally hurt?
[Stewart:] No, I was not personally hurt by him calling me a bigot. I make jokes about people for a living. If that's the least you should hear what people call me when I'm walking home. You have no idea the vitriol that comes my way on a daily basis. Bigot, I almost wanted to hug him and go, really, you think? That nice?
[King:] Why do you pick on
[Stewart:] And, again, the idea that they would have fired him for calling me a bigot. I think if that's the reason, hire him back tomorrow, because I you know, my feeling is, you know, when he said you know, there was a the thought that he had said that Jews control the media and that maybe that would have ruffled some feathers, that they felt that was
[King:] Maybe that was the reason.
[Stewart:] OK, but even that, I'm sorry, that is a nasty thing to say. I don't think he actually means that. But I don't think that's a fireable offense. Unless it's, you know yeah, if you criticize your bosses sometimes. But even that.
[King:] Why do you pick on CNN so much?
[Stewart:] You're terrible!
[King:] Why are you here?
[Stewart:] I like you.
[King:] You set me apart from the network I work at?
[Stewart:] You're all people. It's not that you know the reason I didn't again, I became an easy excuse for people up top who wanted to get rid of a show that was sort of low ranked to do that. Believe me, if I had that kind of power in the world, we'd leave in a much different world. Cancer would be ice cream. The idea that CNN has this infrastructure they have all this international reach. They have all this technology. And it sometimes feels squandered. That's all, squandered opportunity. That's all I'm saying.
[King:] What do you make of Fox?
[Stewart:] I think brilliantly authoritative. They know what they're doing. People would take well to heed how tenacious they are, how bold they are. They express editorial authority. I think they're wrong. But I appreciate that they're trying. And, you know, I don't think it's a right and left thing. I don't think that's what's going to be important. I think CNN has a an opportunity to be a real arbiter. But being a real arbiter means taking a stand, not just having people on you're on the left, you're on the right. That's like having people on in the cola wars. You're from Pepsi; you're from Coke. What do you think? I think we taste great. I think we taste great. That's all the time we have. Both terrific points of view. You know? It's about being authoritative, about earning credibility. CNN, more than anybody, has the infrastructure to be able to accomplish that. And instead, they make a holographic Jessica Yellin and they just make her come up as a holograph on election night. Do you remember that?
[King:] Yeah, once they did that.
[Stewart:] Well.
[King:] But Fox, you think they're fair and honest in reporting?
[Stewart:] What? No. God no.
[King:] But that's their motto.
[Stewart:] What? That's their motto?
[King:] Yes.
[Stewart:] Well, that's a complete lie.
[King:] OK.
[Stewart:] No, I think they're tenacious. I think they are confident. And they are they are showing the model of how to build an organization that believes in something. I think what they I think it is wrong-headed for a news organization. I think they've built an incredible political organization, really effective political organization.
[King:] So it's a political organization?
[Stewart:] Yes, that's right. But you could do with it the thing. But instead, you have to throw it to "ParkerSpitzer."
[King:] "ParkerSpitzer" airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right now before this show. Take a look at what Kathleen and Elliot discussed today. And then Jon Stewart and
[I -- Stewart:] And they had a Danish.
[King:] We'll be right back.
[Ralph Reed, Conservative Political Activist:] I think midterm turnout is so hard to call. KATHLEEN PARKER, CNN ANCHOR, Yeah.
[Reed:] That I think it's let me put it to you this way. I think both chambers are in play. And I think it's entirely possible that you're going to have a Republican House and a Republican Senate.
[Parker:] If you were a betting man
[King:] Jon Stewart is the host of "A Night of Too Many Stars." It's an overbooked concert for autism education. It airs tomorrow night on Comedy Central. Here is a sneak peek.
[Unidentified Male:] Three thousand, 4,000. I see only men so far. Are there any women? 8,000, 9,000. There's two of you now. It is at 10,000 dollars.:UNIDENTIFIED MALE Who here thinks this is a great cause tonight. Raise your hand. Eleven thousand. Ten thousand dollars. It's against you two ladies. You could go together.
[Stewart:] Can I tell you something, what about that? What about a joint if I may offer a menage a trois experience on stage. Two people. Because he has two hands.
[Unidentified Male:] It's true.
[Stewart:] He does you do have two hands.
[Steve Carrell, Comedian:] I do. I could make it work.
[King:] Now, half of it's on tape, half of it's live. You're here do the live part tomorrow.
[Stewart:] We're here to do the live part tomorrow. The live part tomorrow is with a phone bank and a lot of payoff some of the bits we did. The theater event, we did that in New York a couple of weeks ago. I'm telling you, there's some
[King:] Why autism for you?
[Stewart:] A friend of ours, their son is well, really, the heart and soul behind "The Night of Too Many Stars" is Robert and Michelle Shmigle, and their son Daniel is suffering, you know, terribly from it. What we do with the "Night of Too Many Stars" benefit is not about there are people out there that are working on cures and doing all that, and doing great work. This is about services for the families that are dealing with having an autistic child.
[King:] There are many more than we think, right?
[Stewart:] Man, I got into this, you know, eight or nine years ago. And the tentacles, the roots of it that spread out, it's incredible. Everywhere you go on the plane out here today, the gentleman who was serving the flight attendant. Oh, my nephew, Charlie, has autism. You know, it's just, the families, they do all they can. But they need help.
[King:] So it's tomorrow night. And you can call in.
[Stewart:] You call in and you pledge. I'm telling you, Robert Shmigle is the guy behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and SNL. He is the heart and soul of the content of this thing. And it's really funny. It's really smart. It's really funny. He does amazing and then his wife Michelle is just like the heart and soul of the operation.
[King:] That was a great bit, if you support this cause, raise your hand, so now you're bidding.
[Stewart:] That was Carrell. You know what Carrell was doing? We were auctioning off that he would hold hands with a woman and he would say her name while simulating an orgasm. That was her bit. Chris Rock was up there. We were auctioning off an experience where Chris Rock would tell someone your ex, he would curse them out on the phone for you. And that pays off on the show. And it's really something. The money that they've raised has done real things. They set up a school at Hunter College for teachers to learn how to teach kids with autism. They've done Robert and Michelle have done amazing work.
[King:] I salute you for that.
[Stewart:] What?
[King:] I salute you.
[Stewart:] I am not in any way an officer.
[King:] It's a phrase.
[Stewart:] OK. Because charity does not make you in any way an officer. That's not how you get into the Army.
[King:] We'll talk about "Earth." I'm in this book, but we're not going to show you where.
[Stewart:] Show them where.
[King:] No, I'm not.
[Stewart:] That's why Walmart won't sell it.
[King:] They won't?
[Stewart:] No.
[King:] Because of my page?
[Stewart:] Yes. Isn't that sad? They will sell like Grand Theft Auto four. They will sell an animated character raping and pillaging the city of Miami. They will not sell my book because of the picture of you.
[King:] We'll be back. The book is "Earth." It's number one. Don't go away. Anderson Cooper hosts "AC 360" at the top of the hour. He has a big fan who wishes
[Stewart:] Coop! Coop! What's up, Coop? Coop!
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Hey, how's it going.
[Stewart:] Can I tell you something? Anderson Cooper does a hell of a job on this network. He's your chance. You got to turn this baby over to him.
[King:] Turn it over to him.
[Stewart:] You got to turn this baby over to him.
[King:] Twenty four hours.
[Stewart:] Yes. Him and
[King:] Twenty three hours. Let me do an hour.
[Stewart:] Who do you think what country do you think the guy's going to come from to replace him? Do you think they're going to grab a guy, we've got a Romanian that does a he does a column. I'm telling you, A.C. throws down, baby. You've been doing a great job. I've been watching.
[Cooper:] Well, thank you very much. Appreciate it. There's a lot of good Romanian columnists out there, though.
[King:] What's your topic?
[Stewart:] See, he's balanced. I can answer that last one for him, the NCAA report on the Tea Party. Not fair. That's my guess.
[King:] You know that.
[Stewart:] That's my guess.
[King:] You said something before we go to break
[Stewart:] They're not going to mess with Cooper, by the way. When he wants questions answered, they answer. They're not going to arrest him. You know why?
[King:] Why?
[Stewart:] Because he brings the boys with him, A.C. and 360.
[King:] OK. You said to me before that if you ran this network, you would not have pundits. You would have analysts. What's the difference between a pundit and analyst?
[Stewart:] A pundit has a particular agenda that is typically more partisan in nature. They're working Not fairness, I just want people that can help squeeze through all the crap.
[King:] Don't you think David Gergen does a good job.
[Stewart:] Gergen is kind of good.
[King:] Thanks. He's very good.
[Stewart:] Yes, but he sits in a room with 18 other people. Have you ever seen when they do David Gergen on election night? You're literally looking at like what is this, the cafeteria at the YMCA? You look down there, there's 800 people in the room. Let's talk to this guy; he's from Crazy People United. By the time they get to Gergen, you're like, my eyes are bleeding. I'm coughing up. Gergen will say something that sounds sort of reasonable, but at that point, you know
[King:] Good point.
[Stewart:] You're peeing in the ocean. Why did I have to ruin everything? Everything was going so well and I had to go blue. Why did I have to go blue? I shouldn't have gone blue.
[King:] It's your nature. We'll be back with our remaining moments. Watch him tomorrow night with the autism special. The rally is the 30th and the book. We'll talk about it right after this.
[Tina Fey, Comedian:] 2011 Tina Fey swimsuit calendar.
[Stewart:] Wow.
[Fey:] Obviously this was kind of geared for the guys. But we also have for the ladies.
[Stewart:] That is interesting. That will be
[King:] The book is "Earth," It's number one on the "New York Times" list. My picture, which is banned because it's what? It's number one on "the New York Times" list. Page 39.
[Stewart:] Settle down.
[King:] OK. You always put one picture in so Walmart will ban it.
[Stewart:] Yes, that's right.
[King:] This is your picture in this book.
[Stewart:] Yes, that's right.
[King:] Nude Supreme Court in the earlier book.
[Stewart:] By the way, in that one, Scalia was the one swinging the pipe in that one. So you're in good company.
[King:] What's the concept of "Earth"?
[Stewart:] You mean the book?
[King:] What's the concept.
[Stewart:] The concept is basically it's a guide. A history and complex history, how we got here, what we accomplished while we were here, and how we left, why we left.
[King:] What led you to this? You're not a historian.
[Stewart:] What? How dare you, sir.
[King:] You're not an anthropologist. What what are you? You're a host of a show.
[Stewart:] Well, if you read the book
[King:] This is a major book.
[Stewart:] Yes, you'll see that it's mostly false. But there are a lot of very funny pictures. And isn't that the important thing?
[King:] It's a very funny book.
[Stewart:] Thank you very much, my friend.
[King:] You're not shocked it's number one, are you? You're an American fixture.
[Stewart:] Make me sound like a toilet. You're an American fixture. You're like a porcelain monument that stands alone.
[King:] I'm not supposed to say this, but a lot of people have Tweeted us about how long are you going to do this show.
[Stewart:] This show?
[King:] Your show.
[Stewart:] Why? What do they know? Who's Twittering? Is that how I get fired? Twitter, is that how it happens?
[King:] An Irish guy wants it.
[Stewart:] You know what? I love it. I feel it's the one job I've ever had that feels like I'm able to completely immerse myself into. But it's exhausting. And sometimes, as you know, you just want to spend a little more time with people that love you at home. So but right now, I'm you know, we're just trying to keep our heads down and get through all the next
[King:] Going to host the Academy Awards again?
[Stewart:] God, I'd do it again.
[King:] They don't call on you?
[Stewart:] They call and we talk but not about that. They just call. It's the Academy. How you feeling? Listen, I have a ball when I do that.
[King:] Thank you, Jon.
[Stewart:] Thank you. And it's been a pleasure and honor and congratulations on all this.
[King:] Thank you, babe. "Earth" is the book. Tomorrow night is the special on autism, half of it taped in New York, very funny, and the other half is live from here with him hosting tomorrow night. And don't forget the big rally October 30th. Want to sit here for an interview, you can. Go to CNN.comLarryKing, enter our contest. Be the King. The winner will come to this set and turn the tables on yours truly.
[Stewart:] I'm totally entering.
[King:] Friday night, the cast of "Modern Family" will be here. Now, Anderson Cooper and AC...
[Stewart: Ac! King:] ... 360.

[Harris:] OK. So I got a little confused here. I looked back at the big Vista wall here, and I thought we had put the numbers all over the place and we were going to ask you to put the numbers in the right sequences. But, no. We've just sort of blurred out the number. OK. And now we're going to un-blur it. But in the segment before the break, we asked you to think about how much the average wedding cost in the first half of this year. Now, according to WEtv's wedding report is un-blur that number, sharpen it up. There you go, $23,867. Are you kidding me? That is up more than $4,000 over last year, when folks were much more budget-conscious, right? Apparently, brides are feeling better about the economy this year. Former President George Bush out with his new book, "Decision Points." Candy Crowley welcomes him as a guest this Sunday on a special primetime edition of "STATE OF THE UNION." The painfully slow economic recovery is forcing more Americans into bankruptcy. The government says 1.5 million people filed bankruptcy during the fiscal year that ended September 30th. That is a 14 percent spike over 2009 and the largest number of filings since 2005, when Congress tightened bankruptcy laws. Here is one way to get a little more money in your pocket. Ask for a raise. Are you kidding me? In this day and time? Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details. Alison, people might have been afraid to ask before. I think many are still afraid right now. But could this actually be a good time to ask for that raise?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Sure, go ahead. Ask for that raise, Tony. I mean, look at how things are right now. The economy is rebounding, so employers are actually the ones who are worried about losing their top talent. It's really become more of an issue now that people are actually able to find jobs. Look at this. I want to show you. There's this new survey out that shows that more than half of employers say they are willing to negotiate with new workers, a little fewer employers say they would negotiate with current workers. But the fact of the matter is, now is as good a time as any to ask for that higher salary Tony.
[Harris:] So, if you think you can negotiate with the boss, how do you go about doing that?
[Kosik:] Well, you know, first of all, be confident. I mean, don't walk in there with your feathers all puffed out, but really go in there and be prepared. Talk up your accomplishments. Also, know the exact salary that you want and justify it. Compare it to what other people in your position are getting paid. And finally, show that you understand what the company wants. You know, ask yourself, are you willing to help accomplish what the company's goals are? And if you can show that you're an asset, chances are you can go ahead and get that salary increase Tony.
[Harris:] OK. So yesterday we talked about markets hovering around a two-year high. How are things looking so far today? Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, see you next hour. Thank you. Tiger Woods in Australia, working on a new swing and looking for his first win of the year. We are talking sports, a couple of items for you, in the next 75 seconds.

[Kaye:] The Space Shuttle Endeavour has been on a lot of missions, in fact, 25, but none of them are like the one that it is on right now. The retired shuttle rolling through the streets of Los Angeles to its final destination. And CNN's John Zarrella has been tracking Endeavour's final trek for us and he joins us now from Los Angeles. John, good morning to you and I know that you are loving this. Tell us exactly where Endeavour is headed.
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey, Randi. Yes, we are here right now at the Old Forum where the Los Angeles Lakers used to play, and you can see behind me there people have already started gathering and they expect perhaps 5,000 people to line Manchester here as the shuttle goes by and it is not too far from us right now. It is about halfway home, and it has gone about five of the 12 miles it needs to go. And I'm going to bring in Jeff Rudolph who is the CEO of the California Science center who got this huge prize, literally and the toughest part, you crossed the 405 last night which was the expressway which was a tough go.
[Jeff Rudolph, Ceo, California Science Center:] Yes, we have gone through the toughest part of the move, and we are just a few minutes out from clearing the last of the high voltage lines that's a problem. We're feeling great today. We're ahead of schedule and all looking good.
[Zarrella:] Now, you still have some tight areas to go, right? I mean places where you preserved and saved as many trees as you could, right?
[Rudolph:] Absolutely and so we are coming into an area where there are more mature trees there and we really worked hard to save them. So we got about actually less than 20 percent of trees taken down and that means a lot of trees that we're going to make some very tight maneuvers, inches on either side of the
[Zarrella:] So you really have some you got to keep your fingers some tight maneuvering later today.
[Rudolph:] Yes, I say keep our fingers crossed but you know, at this point, it's our move crew that's doing this and we're feeling good because they're really good, totally in control of everything. The equipment is great. We're passed the stuff that relied of others.
[Zarrella:] A last quick question then this, so far, could not have gone more smoothly, right?
[Rudolph:] Yes, I think that's really true and the one thing we expect today as yesterday we had large excited crowds. Today, we expect huge crowds because its Saturday and more and more people are going to be out.
[Zarrella:] Jeff, thank so much for taking the time to be with us. You know, Randi, it was a spectacular day yesterday and then they had the big move last night where they used the pickup truck to pull it across the 405 and now coming down Manchester today, and here first the forum and then later they'll be at a local mall where there is going to be some more activities and then finally arriving this evening at the California Science Center for another big ceremony. You know, I have seen a lot over the years, Randi, with space shuttles. I have seen them fly, I have seen them land. I've sat inside them, but I never in my wildest dreams expected that I would see a space shuttle going down the streets of any city and certainly not Los Angeles. Randi.
[Kaye:] Well, that is so fitting that you get to accompany it on this journey. Certainly, John, because of all of the shuttles that you have witnessed for us. Thank you so much.
[Zarrella:] Sure.
[Blackwell:] On the heels of a damning report by the U.S. anti-doping agency, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong is speaking out about what he says happened behind closed doors.

[Blitzer:] Lisa Sylvester is monitoring some of the other top stories in THE SITUATION ROOM right now including a deadly shooting in Texas. Lisa, what happened?
[Sylvester:] Yes, that's right, Wolf. At least one person is dead from a shooting outside a courthouse in Jefferson County, Texas. Another four people are wounded. The shooting occurred during a break in a case and the judge says one of the people shot was a witness in the case. He says police shot the suspect before apprehending him. A new study says 5 million people on U.S. coastlines will be at risk for flooding during the next 30 years. The organization Climate Central predicts global warming will cause sea levels to rise and threaten more than 2.5 million homes and cause billions of dollars in damage. Florida faces the biggest threat, but Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, New York and Virginia are also at risk. A Hollywood legend is coming to a reality show near you. The entertainment channel, "E" will air "Mrs. Eastwood and Company," which follows the life of Clint Eastwood's wife and their teenage daughters. The 81-year-old star is expected to make guest appearances and calls his family a constant source of inspiration and entertainment. And a day after a big rally on Wall Street, U.S. stocks struggled to find direction today. While some bank stocks were down after traders weigh the results of the fed's stress test, big technology companies rally with shares of Apple actually hitting an all-time high. The Dow rose 16 points. The S&P; loss 2 points and the Nasdaq edged up a point Wolf.
[Blitzer:] The 13,194 is pretty good number. You think about it, only a few years ago, it was down to, what, 6,500 and now it's more than double
[Sylvester:] And for 401 [k] plans, too, Wolf. I think a lot of people are happy about that for their 401 [k].
[Blitzer:] Let's see what happens in the coming months. We'll watch it closely. Lisa, thank you. Jack Cafferty is here with "The Cafferty File" Jack.
[Cafferty:] The question this hour is what is Mitt Romney's biggest problem. He came in third in Alabama and Mississippi yesterday. Chic writes, "Biggest problem he's been chosen by the GOP elite and the media, just like John McCain was and then we lost. This time the voters are determined to have our say, and we say he's no conservative. Go home, Mitt." Terry in Blountville, Tennessee, "Mitt Romney might be more likable if he didn't seem so phony. Don't come to southern states and say yaw, I had cheesy grits for breakfast and expect to fit in. He tries to fit in every situation and fits in nowhere." Austin writes from Texas, "Mitt Romney has no problems, it's a primary election. He's doing better than the field. Once he gets nominated, I think he has the best chance of beating President Obama." Lisa writes from Long Island, "It's his judgment. Jack, the judgment of someone who puts his dog on the roof of the car and keeps his luggage in the back." Tom in New York, "Mitt Romney, he's offering to lead America and he doesn't know anything about America, an alien from East Podunk, Mars would have an easier time relating." Johnny on Facebook writes, "Why aren't most of you talking about the elephant in the room? Evangelicals will never vote for a Mormon for president." Bill writes, "Romney's past clearly reveals a moderate, too moderate for too many conservatives." And Ed in Maryland writes, "The thought of a dog being strapped on top of Air Force One." If you want to read more about this, go to my blog, cnn.comcaffertyfile, or through our post on THE SITUATION ROOM's Facebook page Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Thanks, Jack. At the top of the hour, we have new details just coming of the security breach in Afghanistan that diverted the Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's plane. Also, straight ahead, a rare look inside one of the world's most anticipated new airplanes. You're going to see what makes Boeing's Dreamliner so different.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] One more try. U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice gets another chance today to win over Republican lawmakers. After round one left three of them unconvinced.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] Dollars and dreams. We are now just hours away from finding out the winning numbers in one of the largest lottery jackpots in history.
[Romans:] And guess who is apologizing? A certain rich teen actor has apparently decided it's not a good idea to bite the hand that feeds him.
[Sambolin:] Millions and millions and millions of dollars.
[Romans:] Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman is on assignment this morning.
[Sambolin:] We're happy to have you, Christine. I'm Zoraida Sambolin. It's 6:00 a.m. here in the East. In just a few hours, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice will be back on Capitol Hill to meet with two more Republican senators. She hopes it goes a lot better than yesterday. Rice met face-to-face with three of her harshest GOP critics who were not satisfied with her answers concerning the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte say they are more troubled now than before they had that meeting and all indications are they are still against the President's nominating Rice for Secretary of State.
[Sen. John Mccain,  Arizona:] We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get.
[Sen. Lindsey Graham,  South Carolina:] Bottom line, I'm more disturbed now than I was before.
[Sen. Kelly Ayotte,  New Hampshire:] Apparently, she misled the American public. I think that she would say that. She'd have to say that.
[Sambolin:] CNN foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott is live in Washington, really nice to see you, Elise. Why are Rice's critics saying they are more concerned now?
[Elise Labott, Cnn Foreign Affairs Reporter:] Well, Zoraida, they're concerned because it turns out that there was some information in classified settings that Ambassador Rice told the senators about that did indicate that al Qaeda possibly was involved, that this could be a terrorist attack. And when she sat down with those senators yesterday, what she said was that there were unclassified talking points provided by the CIA that just talked about this so-called spontaneous protest. But at the same time, Ambassador Rice, as a member of cabinet, she's privy to classified intelligence briefing, and there was some kind of information that indicated this. Now she also said that the CIA and the CIA has come out publicly and said that the CIA took those classified points out about the al Qaeda attack. So what Ambassador Rice was really left with was all this information about the spontaneous attack and nothing about those terrorist elements. Let me read to you a little bit of what Ambassador Rice issued in a statement yesterday. She said we explained that the talking points provided by the intelligence community, the initial assessment upon which they were based, were incorrect in one key respect. There was no protest or demonstration in Benghazi. While we certainly wish that we had perfect information just days after the terrorist attack, as is often the case, the intelligence assessment has evolved. So certainly the senators are saying we have more questions than answers. But they're also saying, in a position such as Secretary of State, which we all know that Ambassador Rice is the leading contender for at this point, given the vociferous defense by the White House. In a job such as Secretary of State, you really have to ask the tough questions, and you can't just have what they're calling blind loyalty to the President Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] So we hear that she's going to have more criticism today, possibly. What about supporters?
[Labott:] Well, she's meeting with Senator Corker, who is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She's also meeting with Senator Collins of Maine who is a top Republican on the Senate Homeland Committee. And they said that they will give her a fair hearing, they do have some concerns. But Senator Joe Lieberman, who is the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Affairs Committee, said he's satisfied with what Ambassador Rice told them in the meeting. Nothing he heard could disqualify her from becoming potentially Secretary of State. Let's take a listen to what Senator Lieberman said yesterday.
[Sen. Joe Lieberman,  Connecticut:] She couldn't have said more clearly than she said to me today that she told the truth to the best of her knowledge. She said what she believed was true, and she was under no political influence from the White House.
[Labott:] So, Zoraida, she certainly has some supporters. Clearly there are a lot of Democratic supporters in the Senate that would support her. The White House is really standing by her at this point. These senators continue to have questions, but they do say they're willing to continue the dialogue. So, certainly, if she can continue to use that diplomacy, that could be potentially good for a job as Secretary of State.
[Sambolin:] And I know you just played Senator Lieberman there. He's retiring, isn't he?
[Labott:] He is retiring. So, even though he is satisfied and nothing would disqualify her, doesn't have a vote.
[Sambolin:] Yes, all right, Elise Labott, live in Washington for us. Thanks so much. Nice to see you.
[Romans:] So what would you do with $500 million? That's tonight's record shattering Powerball jackpot, but climbing higher. Millions of Americans in 42 states trying to parlay two bucks into half a billion. I'm not sure what you could buy for half a billion dollars. You do pay a lot of taxes though. Alison Kosik live from Times Square this morning. What's happening where you are?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] You know, you talk about what would you do with the money? This guy who just left, he bought a newspaper. I asked him what would you do with the money? He said I'm not buying a ticket, I don't know what I'd do with the money, more money, more problems. I don't know if I really agree with that, seeing some people not only buying their coffee, but also plunking down $2 for a Powerball ticket. Yes, that jackpot is huge and you have a lot of dreamers walking in this morning on their way to work and they're thinking, if I win this jackpot, I'm not showing up for work tomorrow. That's what they're saying Christine.
[Romans:] What are the odds? It's still pretty slim, isn't it?
[Kosik:] Yes, the odds are pretty bad. I hate to break the news to you, but the odds are 175 million to one so, yes, your odds aren't good. You have better odds of let's say. I don't know getting stung by a bee, getting attacked by a shark, being struck by lightning. But that's not dissuading everybody from buying these tickets. What's ironic your odds of actually winning are going down as this jackpot goes higher and higher. Yet, we continue to buy, including me. I happen to have the winning ticket right in my back pocket, Christine. Have you bought any tickets yet? Here's the winning ticket by the way.
[Romans:] I have not bought any tickets yet, but I am in the office pool. And we are currently currently electing the pool captain and the potential money manager. We're all discussing who will one the cameras in the next few days.
[Kosik:] The jackpot's been rolling over since October 6th. So it's rolled over 16 times. There's only a 5 percent chance it's going to roll over again. You want to buy your ticket.
[Romans:] All right, Alison Kosik, thank you so much. We talk about this a lot. We make a lot of fun about all the frenzy over the lottery. But seriously, we spend more time worrying about the lottery than we do about saving for college!
[Sambolin:] I made friends with this guy, Barry on Facebook, he said he would retries my foot steps for the last 40 years and help everyone who helped me through so many problems. I want to meet you, Barry. All right, it's 7 minutes past the hour. Now to the fiscal cliff hanger, just 34 days before massive tax hikes and spending cuts kick in and Democrats and Republicans look like they are gridlocked, the sticking point, entitlement reform. Republicans appear willing to budge on higher taxes for the wealthy, but only if programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid face cuts.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell,  Minority Leader:] The reason we're having these negotiations is because Washington Democrats have spent money without any care for the cost or the future. And refuse to do anything to protect long-term spending programs like Medicare, one of the single biggest drivers of our debt.
[Sen. Dick Durbin,  Majority Whip:] One in three people in this country are going to rely on Medicare and Medicaid for their health insurance. So we need to find ways to preserve these programs.
[Sambolin:] Senator Durbin is suggesting the debate over entitlement programs should be waged after the New Year. So what are the chances Democrats and Republicans can strike a deal to fend off the fiscal cliff? Later this hour, we'll ask a member of the House Budget Committee Tennessee Republican Congresswoman Diane Black.
[Romans:] Three midlevel managers at the garment factory that went up in flames in Bangladesh are now under arrest. They are accused of locking the main gate of that garment factory after the inferno broke out on Saturday. This fire killed more than 100 workers and injured more than 150 others. Several thousand people are mourning and protesting near the factory.
[Sambolin:] Twin car bombings in Syria this morning. State TV says at least 34 people were killed in the blasts, which happened just outside the capital Damascus. A Syrian human rights group says the death toll may rise due to the dozens of people injured in the bombing.
[Romans:] Also new this morning, an audit of the Kabul Bank in Afghanistan. The primary depository for U S. taxpayer funded reconstruction dollars. The audit concludes that a handful of people ran a fraudulent lending scheme at the bank where those connected to President Karzai had access of hundreds of millions of dollars.
[Sambolin:] Tragedy on Long Island. A 6-year-old boy was killed when a bus crashed right into his home in Hempstead. This was late last night. Police say the driver tried to avoid hitting a pedestrian, when he swerved, lost control and crashed right into the front bedroom of the house. The victim's 7-year-old brother was also in the bedroom at the time, and he suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Eleven people on the bus escaped with minor injuries.
[Romans:] The Statue of Liberty in Ellis Island and New York Harbor closed for the foreseeable future. Cranes New York Business reports that 400 people have been laid off from their jobs. The popular national monument suffered damage from Superstorm Sandy and are closed at least through the end of the year, possibly much longer. You were just there.
[Sambolin:] I'm actually headed there again tomorrow, so I'll bring you the aftermath of that, as well. All right, so after biting the hand that feeds him, millions upon millions of dollars, the actor, Angus T. Jones, the kid from "Two And A Half Men" is saying sorry, sort of. In an online video, Jones who recently joined an Evangelical Christian Church called the sitcom filth and told viewers not to watch it. Now, he's out with this statement, saying in part, quote, "I apologize if my remarks reflect me showing indifference to and disrespect of my colleagues, and a lack of appreciation of the extraordinary opportunity of which I have been blessed. I never intended that." And now former co-star Charlie Sheen, remember him, who was fired from the show, is weighing in, as well, in a statement through his publicist saying, quote, "It is radically clear to me that the show "Two And A Half Men" is cursed."
[Romans:] All right, 11 minutes after the hour. First the Trayvon Martin case, now another fatal shooting involving a teen in Florida. It could put the state's Stand Your Ground law to the test. That story is coming up.

[Cooper:] We have breaking political news tonight, conflicting reports about former President Bill Clinton and whether he tried to persuade Kendrick Meek, Democratic candidate in Florida's three-way senate race to drop out and endorse Charlie Crist, the independent who would then caucus with Democrats. A spokesman for former President Clinton confirmed the story; a senior Democratic official told CNN the White House was aware that Clinton was trying to broker the deal. Democrats reportedly hoped the strategy would defeat Marco Rubio, but later Mr. Clinton talked to Susan Candiotti, denied asking Meek to drop out of the race. Whatever was said or not said between Clinton and Meek, this much is clear, Meek is not dropping out. He spoke a short time ago at a news conference.
[Kendrick Meek , Florida Senatorial Candidate:] Any rumor or any statement by anyone that says that I made a decision to get out of the race is inaccurate, at best. At best it's inaccurate. I think it's very, very important that everyone understands that.
[Cooper:] All this is happening just five days out from Election Day. Political analyst Roland Martin joins me now, along with senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry and Susan Candiotti by phone. Susan you spoke to former President Clinton tonight, actually a few times tonight. What did he tell you?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, he said that he acknowledged that he had a conversation with Kendrick Meek about this. They go way, way back their friendship does. He said he wanted to talk to me about it because he was concerned about that Meek and Governor Crist would split the progressive votes. And so that's why he said that Meek wanted to discuss it with him. Here's part of what he said, Anderson.
[Bill Clinton, Former President Of The United States:] He's trying to decide what to do, and I talked to him and I told him that we went through everything; we talked about it a couple times. And I said in the end, you know, he would have to do what he thought was right. He'd have to do what he felt best about, felt right about. And I think in terms of what I said to him and what he said to me, since he's my friend and he's the candidate and he wanted us to talk as we always have, I have to let him say whatever he wants to say about our conversation. It would be wrong for me to discuss it.
[Candiotti:] Now, I also asked the former president whose idea was it. He said, well, you know, a lot of people had been discussing it. He sidestepped the answer, but he said he, Meek, wanted to discuss it with me and so we did. You heard him say I don't want to betray my friendship with him and I think he's great, and therefore he should say about it what he wants to. Anderson, I went on to ask President Clinton what he thought about criticism from GOP chair Steele about no one should get involved in asking people to drop out of the race, especially an African- American candidate. And his response was, well, he would say that, he wants Marco Rubio to win and he's just doing his job and that's a bunch of politics. I asked him whether he, President Clinton, had discussed it with the White House. He denied it.
[Cooper:] Ok.
[Candiotti:] Anderson.
[Cooper:] Ed Henry, what did the White House what are we hearing from the White House? What did they know? Do we know I mean where did this come from?
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] I spoke to a senior Democratic Party official who said the White House was aware of this. They did not initiate these talks. They let Bill Clinton do it as well as one of his advisers, Doug Band, and that they were involved in the conversation but I'm told the White House very much aware of this, was hopeful this was going to come through. And in fact, they thought just a few days ago I'm told that there was a deal, that Kendrick Meek was going to get out and there was a feeling inside the White House that as Susan was suggesting with Marco Rubio, the Republican, far ahead, Charlie Crist coming in second and Kendrick Meek a distant third, if Meek got out that maybe many of his supporters would go to the independent, Crist and that would throw this race to him. Even though he's elected as an independent he's likely to caucus with the Democrats next year, support Harry Reid for majority leader, et cetera, and that would essentially give the White House a Democratic seat. Then all of a sudden Kendrick Meek backed out, all of this fell apart.
[Cooper:] So are you hearing thought that this was an idea I mean who came up with this idea to begin with? The DNC? Former President Clinton? The White House? Someone on Clinton's staff? Do we know?
[Henry:] My sense is, as Susan was saying, former president Clinton suggested, it really has been out there for weeks as a possibility because Kendrick Meek has been so far behind. There wasn't one person sort of driving this, per se, it was just sort of obvious that this could happen. It was finally Bill Clinton and his advisers who sort of tried to bring it all together. I think that also the Michael Steele statement is important to note because he kind of injected race here and said, look, if a Republican leader had tried to push out an African-American candidate, Democrats would be howling about this. This is very touchy for this White House, with an African- American president, you remember last year they tried to push out the African-American governor of New York, David Paterson, it got very messy. You also remember back in 2008, Bill Clinton is still steaming about what happened when you had some Obama advisers suggesting that there were racist statements by Bill Clinton. All of this is a very combustible mix.
[Cooper:] No doubt. Roland Martin, I want to play the Michael Steele comment that both Ed and Susan had mentioned. Oh, it's in a graphic, Michael Steele said, "President Clinton's actions to have Kendrick Meek withdraw from the campaign sends a chilling signal to all voters, but especially African-Americans. One can only imagine the response if the Republican leadership tried to force out of the race in the 11th hour a qualified black candidate like Kendrick Meek." What do you make of this? Clearly one of the biggest question marks this year has been African-American voters, whether they're going to show up in the kind of numbers the party needs. What do you make of this?
[Roland Martin, Cnn Political Analyst:] Well, first of all, it's not surprising that Chairman Michael Steele would jump into this because clearly they want to keep the attention on Rubio, and also want to make it clear that there's a schism within the Democratic Party. "The Wall Street Journal" actually came out with a report two or three weeks ago stating that a deal was in the works for Meek to drop out. I talked to Congressman Meek earlier tonight. I just got off the phone with him five minutes ago. He is steaming tonight as a result of this report. He said that, when President Clinton came down to Orlando and St. Petersburg to campaign with him, that they did have a conversation. They talk politics all the time. And he said Clinton that told him, "Hey, what's the deal going on in terms of all this talk about you dropping out? Meek told me that he told former President Bill Clinton, that I'm not the one who should drop out. Charlie Crist should be the one who dropped out. And so you have this back and forth. I also talked to a senior administration official who made it clear that President Barack Obama was not involved in any conversations, was not aware of any conversations, did not give any blessings whatsoever to any discussions with anyone about Meek dropping out. So what you have here, obviously different folks there so you have Meek characterizing a conversation with Bill Clinton, that is far different than what Susan just reported that Bill Clinton is characterizing.
[Cooper:] No doubt about that. Roland Martin, Ed Henry, Susan Candiotti, thanks for continuing to follow this. Up next, breaking news, a verdict in the case against one of the men accused of dressing as a ninja, killing a husband and wife while nine of their kids were home some of the kids special needs kids. Plus, Anna Nicole Smith's lawyer boyfriend and one of her doctors learn that they could go to jail for helping her get drugs. And incredible video of a photographer's close encounter with a shark off the coast of Maine.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello begins right now. We'll see you tomorrow.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Hi, Soledad. Happening now in the NEWSROOM, a standoff, a champion of gun control unveils sweeping new vision that could impact and outrage millions of Americans. On the front lines. Women will finally get to serve in combat areas but not right away. Above the world and well below zero, you think it's cold where you are? The researchers at this observatory say they have the world's worst weather. And soon it will be hard to find a large soda in New York City, but now there's a new argument to keep those giant drinks around. NEWSROOM starts now. Good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for being with us. And in just a couple of hours a strict, new gun control plan will be unveiled and brace for a loud outcry from millions of gun owners and their ultra powerful lobbying group the NRA. The latest push coming from Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who authored the nation's original ban on assault weapons in the 1990s, but this ban would reportedly be much more strict. It would trap current gun owners and outlaw the future sale of some handguns and shotguns. Joe Johns is our crime and justice correspondent. He joins us from Washington. So I understand that Senator Feinstein is going to show up holding a Bushmaster.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Crime And Justice Correspondent:] Well, we don't know if she's going to be holding it but we do know that she is going to have some weapons present that would be banned under her proposal, that would include Bushmaster. As you know, they're fairly well- known. A Bushmaster was, we believe, used by the shooter in Newtown, Connecticut. Now we know the broad outlines of what Feinstein is likely to propose. It's been public for weeks. What we're looking for is the detail, we expect a revised ban, as you said, on the so-called military style assault weapons led to believe that means banning the sale, transfer, importation or manufacturing of about 150 firearms, some rifles, even possibly handguns, shotguns, fitted with, for example, detachable magazines, and having at least one characteristic that the creators of this proposal see as making it suitable for military use. The issue here is going to be what qualifies as an assault weapon. Gun rights advocates say the term is mostly arbitrary and that Feinstein would be banning characteristics that are aesthetic or cosmetic. The important question, Carol, right now is whether any proposal like this could get through the Republican-controlled House. That's a very tough order.
[Costello:] Yes, because we know the NRA has been fighting this and it's the fight I guess only going to get more strident.
[Johns:] I think so. The NRA is against any type of assault weapons ban. They say it wasn't effective back in 1994 when it was put into effect and that it puts dangerous weapons in the hands of criminals who essentially don't follow the law. Something else that could be part of this legislation, of course, is creating a registry for any weapons that were obtained before this ban goes in place. In a speech this week one of the NRA's leader's Wayne LaPierre said that was just totally unacceptable to the NRA Carol.
[Costello:] Joe Johns reporting live from Washington. We'll of course have live coverage for you of Feinstein's news conference. She will unveiled that new gun control plan. That's scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Eastern in just about two hours from now. The military is making a major change to the way its staff combat troops. For the first time in history women will be allowed to serve on the front lines but don't expect to see changes right away. Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence tells us why.
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Army infantry, Marine recon, even Special Ops, on Thursday, they all opened to women for the first time. The Pentagon is eliminating its ban on women in combat, but there's a catch. [On Camera] Did you know today's army would be so different than the one you joined?
[Staff Sgt. Kelly Rodriguez ,u.s. Army Medic:] No.
[Lawrence:] Staff Sergeant Kelly Rodriguez deployed three times to Iraq and Afghanistan and became one of the first female combat medics to work directly with Special Operations Forces.
[Rodriguez:] It worked out because in future deployments that unit has taken several females to do to do that mission.
[Lawrence:] In recent years the Navy opened submarine duty to women and the Marines Female Engagement teams walked foot patrols with combat units. But there's a catch to opening the infantry. All jobs won't open immediately, and the Pentagon left itself some wiggle room. Sources say the services have to assess each job and unit to see if and when it'd be feasible for women to be integrated without losing combat readiness. A senior Defense official says certain Special Ops or infantry units may ask the secretary for an exemption to the rule, and Congress will have to be notified of each job that opens up before it takes effect. It's a stark contrast to how the Pentagon ended the exclusion of gays serving openly or "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." There was no staggered approach that integrated openly gay troops. A Defense official told CNN it's the difference between personal behavior and physical ability. He said gay troops were already in units whereas women will be going into some for the first time. But many in uniform and on Capitol Hill say females on the front lines will hurt not help the military.
[Rep. Tom Cotton , Arkansas:] To have women serving in infantry, though, could impair the mission essential tasks of those units and that's been proven in study after study, just from a matter of, I mean, it's nature, you know, upper body strength and physical movements and speed and endurance and so forth.
[Lawrence:] Sources say Leon Panetta has set a deadline. He wants the assessments completed and women integrated as much as possible by January, 2016 but Panetta is on his way out the door. This is one of his last acts as secretary. Sources tell me the man nominated to replace him, Chuck Hagel, has been briefed on these changes but so far, Hagel has not made any public statements one way or the other. Chris Lawrence, CNN, the Pentagon.
[Costello:] All right. The big story for most of us is just how cold it is and it's and it's not going to get warmer until this weekend. So far three deaths have been reported in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and in North Dakota, winds and snow created whiteout conditions. In Washington, D.C., federal offices are open today but with an inch of snow expected, federal workers have the option of staying home to avoid the mess. In upstate New York, it's the big dig-out with more snow on the way, a band of lake-effect snow stretching 150 miles. It's going to bring more and more snow to cities that have already seen up to two feet of the stuff and this bitter cold means, of course, broken pipes.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. Very busy, no heat calls mostly today, we got a church down in
[Costello:] That's it so far. In Maryland a cell tower worker had to be rescued because of the bitter cold. He was 180 feet up. The wind chill is about 10 degrees when its legs started cramping and its hands went numb. Somehow he managed to call 911 and a co-worker actually scaled the tower, got him to a guideline and was able to rappel down with him. Wow. And check this out in Vermont. These strange mounds are popping up everywhere. They look like giant cinnamon rolls but they're actually called snow rollers, formed as strong winds of roll across wet snow as it's nearing the melting point. One of the coldest places on the plan actually is New Hampshire's Mount Washington observatory. At the summit this morning it is a brisk 23 degrees below zero.
[Brian Fitzgerald, Weather Observer/education Specialist:] Hey, good morning.
[Costello:] I hope you're inside. Oh, you are inside. I can see you now.
[Fitzgerald:] Yes. Yes. Staying inside as much as possible.
[Costello:] What does that kind of weather feel like? I can't imagine that.
[Fitzgerald:] The best way I've heard it described is think of yourself diving into a very, very cold pool of water.
[Costello:] And just staying submerged for a while?
[Fitzgerald:] Yes, it doesn't matter how well you're covered up. The air finds a way in no matter what, so you're going to feel the cold one way or another.
[Costello:] So what do you do for fun when it's 63 degrees below zero or feels like it?
[Fitzgerald:] Mostly indoor activities, though there is a lot of work that goes on outside as well. We're constantly deicing our instruments up here, and if it warms up a bit, yes, we can do a little bit of hiking, maybe a little skiing but not on a day like today.
[Costello:] No kidding. You're a weather expert, that's why you're there. I just wondered for example in Chicago just a couple of days ago it was 47 degrees and then the very next day it plunged to 28 degrees. And it's only gotten worse from there. Why is this happening?
[Fitzgerald:] Well, along with Chicago right here in New Hampshire, we kind of live along a zone where we get influences both arctic air and then also some very warm tropical air, so up here, we actually broke our all-time monthly record for January just two weeks ago at 48 degrees, and here we are and we were minus 35 yesterday so that's the influence of arctic air coming down from Canada whereas just two weeks ago it was lots of tropical moisture coming up from the Gulf and elsewhere.
[Costello:] So last year was sort of a year of weather extremes. Should we expect this kind of thing for 2013, where it's, like, warm for a spell and then it gets frigidly cold?
[Fitzgerald:] That seems to be the trend. Up here we focus a lot more on current some conditions and short-term forecasting, but certainly it's very possible. Last year was certainly a wild year and the past decade has been as well.
[Costello:] Well, thank you, Brian, for joining us this morning and stay warm. But I guess you're used to it.
[Fitzgerald:] Yes, a little bit, although it's still pretty cold.
[Costello:] I bet. Thank you so much.
[Fitzgerald:] Take care.
[Costello:] OK. From the world's worst weather to a tropical paradise, don't you wish you were here in Aruba right now? We just had to show you this picture after showing you one of the coldest places, you know, in America. The temperature in Aruba is supposed to hit 85 degrees today. Let's just look at that for a minute. OK. We have to move on into reality now, sorry. The girlfriend was fake, the heartbreak was real, that's what Manti Te'o is saying as he begins his very public campaign to repair his image and his future career in the NFL. The Notre Dame star says he was a victim of a hoax but he admits he continued with the story of his girlfriend dying even after learning she never actually existed.
[Manti Te'o, Notre Dame Linebacker:] My story, I felt, was a guy who in times of hardship and in times of trial really, you know, held strong to his faith, held strong to his family and I felt that that was my story.
[Katie Couric, Abc News:] Even if that hardship was perhaps exaggerated?
[Te'o:] No, it was what I went through was real, you know, the feelings, the pain, the sorrow, that was all real.
[Costello:] CNN's George Howell is here with more of what Te'o is expected to say later today.
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] This is interesting, isn't it? You know?
[Costello:] It is. It's like it's like a train wreck and you can't stop watching it.
[Howell:] So many twists and turns, so many different characters. You know? So here's what we've got. It's confusing but here's what we've got. It's a relationship between two people online who basically never met. Te'o insists, you know, he had every reason to believe that his girlfriend was real but in September, he got some information, he was led to believe that his girlfriend died of cancer. So, Carol, fast forward to December, this is just before the Heisman Trophy ceremony, two days before that he got a call from someone, claiming to be the girlfriend, maybe I don't know if it was a woman, maybe a man, speaking in a woman's voice, who knows, but basically saying that she was alive, but at the same time when Te'o faced the press that day, he said that his girlfriend was dead, and Katie Couric asked him about that. Take a listen.
[Couric:] You stuck to the script.
[Te'o:] Mm-hmm.
[Couric:] And you knew that something was amiss, Manti.
[Te'o:] Correct.
[Couric:] Why?
[Te'o:] Well, if anybody puts yourself in my situation Katie, put yourself in my situation, this girl who I committed myself to died on September 12th. Now I get a phone call on December 6th saying that she's alive and that I'm going to be put on national TV two days later, and to ask me about the same question, you know, what would you do?
[Howell:] Now, Carol, there was never a Lennay Kekua. That was a fake online I.D. so that's the first thing, and Te'o insists that he had nothing to do with this hoax but Katie Couric asked him for proof that this was a longstanding relationship and he did show her phone records and even gave some insight into what they would talk about, one of their most recent conversations. Let's listen.
[Costello:] OK.
[Couric:] She came out of her coma when she was on the phone with you, that the phone was next to her.
[Te'o:] Mm-hmm.
[Couric:] What did you hear on the other end of the line?
[Te'o:] Obviously it was just breathing at first, and it was one of those where, you know, she was just breathing and then she started to kind of whisper my name, and I jumped for joy. I was like, she's out. You know?
[Howell:] So it will be very interesting to see what he has to say today. You know, was he duped here? You know, was he a victim of this Internet phenomenon called catfishing, you know, where you create an online fake I.D. and people believe it. We'll hear more from him to get his insight, his explanation of what happened here.
[Costello:] So bizarre.
[Howell:] It's interesting.
[Costello:] Yes, it is interesting. George Howell, thanks so much. We're also hearing from the so-called dead girlfriend, the woman whose photo was used to create the fake online identity. Diane O'Meara says she wasn't in on the hoax, she never met Manti Te'o but she said she did hear fro the acquaintance that Te'o blames for the ruse. She said he called and apologized to her.
[Diane O'meara, Identity Stolen On Manti Te'o Hoax:] He reached out to me a day or two days before the story broke and relayed to me that he, in fact, was stalking my profile for five years, taking my photos and he created
[Anderson Cooper, Anchor, Anderson Cooper 360:] For five years he was doing this.
[O'meara:] He created this identity that was not me. It was this Lennay Kekua with my face on it.
[Costello:] O'Meara says she heard from a number of women with similar stories, they say their images were also stolen to create fake online identities. And there is new fallout from Lance Armstrong's doping admission to Oprah. Two California men have filed a class action lawsuit against Armstrong and his publishers alleging fraud. The pair say they bought Armstrong's books "It's Not About the Bike" and "Every Seconds Counts" based on a false belief that the rider's claims in those books were true. Of course, we know Armstrong doped during all seven Tour de France wins. But this isn't the first time that a lawsuit like this has been filed. You might remember, author James Frey was successfully sued by readers over false claims in his memoir "A Million Little Pieces". That happened in 2007. The family of the late Junior Seau is suing the NFL. They say his suicide last year was the result of the brain disease triggered by the violent hits he took touring his 20-year pro career. The family claims the league knew the long term risks of those hits, but sat on the information. The suit accuses the NFL and helmet maker Riddell, Incorporated, of wrongful death. There's a new argument in New York about the big sugary drinks and whether they should be made available to everyone. And it's not because of your health.

[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] What the heck was up with the lights? What caused the power outage at the Super Bowl last night and how did it influence the game?
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] And we find out today if the remains of a king were found in a parking lot in England? King Richard III ruled more than 600 years ago.
[Berman:] A really, really old king.
[Sambolin:] Yes. All right. Thirty minutes past the hour. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
[Berman:] And I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes after the hour right now. Super Bowl XLVII was memorable for a lot of reasons. The nail-biting finish with the Ravens coming this close to blowing a 22-point to 49ers. The 49ers came up just five yards short of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. I mean, they were down 22 points. And then the bizarre 34-minute delay when the lights went out. And it just went out inside the Superdome. They Ravens were on a verge of a blowout before the blackout and it really seemed to throw the Ravens for a loop. It was all enough to distract a little bit for the Super Bowl commercials. I mean, it was that big of a deal that some people stop paying attention to the commercials. CNN's Carlos Diaz was at the game. Hey, Carlos.
[Carlos Diaz, Cnn Correspondent:] How you doing? Yes, basically, CBS missed a gold mine. They could just run commercials for the entire 34-minute delay and made millions of dollars. But what happened last night here at the Superdome was what Intercom, the power company that supplies power to the Superdome, said was basically an abnormality, a power surge, if you will, through a breaker and that's why half of the power went out in the Superdome last night. They are still investigating the cause of the abnormality. But in all honesty, if we're being honest about this, it really wasn't that big of a deal inside the Superdome. Fans said it didn't really throw them off their game it allowed them to actually take a restroom break and refill their beers if they needed to after Beyonce's halftime show. So, there wasn't too much alarm inside the stadium and, of course, people watching at home, although confused really took that 34-minute break as a chance to kind of, you know, get the chips and dips going again. But when you go to the game, it a situation where MVP Joe Flacco, the quarterback for the Ravens, said the blackout is something that will be talked about for years to come.
[Joe Flacco, Super Bowl Xlvii Mvp:] Unbelievable. Just one of the things you have to deal with. You know, I'm sure down the road, it will just make for a little bit better story.
[Diaz:] All right. So, basically, you have that, you know, bizarre blackout. But it did affect the game in a small way, because the San Francisco 49ers did make a valiant comeback after that, and the momentum did definitely shift. But it was not enough for the Ravens to lose the game. If they did lose the game, people in Baltimore would be screaming conspiracy theory this morning. But the Ravens came out on top with the final score of 34-32. Joe Flacco, your game
[Mvp. Berman:] I would have been screaming theory. It felt like a huge momentum shift to me. Let's talk about Ray Lewis, the future Hall of Fame linebacker of the Baltimore Ravens. It will be his last game. It wasn't a great game for him. But he certainly goes out on top. But how does this affect his legacy?
[Diaz:] Yes. John, that's a great comment. You know, he didn't have this amazing game, but he was the center of attention for the Super Bowl, announcing before the Super Bowl that he'd be retiring. There is controversy surrounding Ray Lewis. Thirteen years ago, he was involved in a murder where he pled down to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice. That has basically haunted him for 13 years. But he's done a lot in the NFL to kind of revamp his image and, you know, come out on top of this. After the game, he said it was a storybook ending to a storybook career.
[Berman:] All right, Carlos. Great to see you. Thank you for braving New Orleans for us. For surviving the game and all the festivities surrounding it. Great to see you.
[Diaz:] Thank you.
[Sambolin:] It is 34 minutes past the hour. It's hard to wrap your head around the death of Chris Kyle. The most lethal sniper in U.S. history shot and killed far away from the battlefield, at a gun range south of Ft. Worth, Texas. His alleged killer is said to be one of the fellow veterans that Kyle was trying to help adjust to civilian life. Eddie Routh is charged of killing Kyle and another man Chad Littlefield on Saturday. The motive is unknown. Kyle is a former Navy SEAL who served four combat tours in Iraq. He had 160 confirmed kills. After retiring, Kyle wrote a best-selling memoir called "American Sniper." In 2011, he created a foundation to council other veterans. He described his frustration with the treatment of the veterans in a web series, "Inside the Team Room". This was last year.
[Chris Kyle, Former Navy Seal:] Instead of just going to the airport and saying thank you and shaking a hand take a step farther, why don't you go up, and random act of kindness, show your thanks. You know, you don't have to spend a dime, you can just spend your time.
[Sambolin:] Pat Kilbane is the host and producer of that series for SOFREP TV. And you might recognize him from Mad TV or one of his many other TV and movie credits. Thank you for being with us this morning. We really appreciate it. So, exactly how did you meet Chris? And what went through your mind when you found out he had been killed?
[Pat Kilbane, Host, Sofrep.com's "inside The Team Room":] Well, I met Chris in April of last year. Brandon Webb, the creator and editor of SOFREP.com wanted to do a roundtable series, a roundtable discussion with Navy SEALs and he wanted to bring in Chris and he needed help, he needed a moderator and technical help. And so, he invited me to be part of it, and I was very proud to. So it was during that day, a four-hour long conversation that I got to know Chris. We spent the rest of that evening together as well, hanging out. But I asked him some pretty probing questions, and he answered very candidly, which was exactly what Brandon was looking for out of the program.
[Sambolin:] And
[Kilbane:] It was quite an experience.
[Sambolin:] As we listen to his story, we know that he was very committed to service men and women and the system failing them. What can you tell us about that?
[Kilbane:] Well, you know, when he was in Iraq, a lot of the work he did was called overwatch. As a sniper, he had the high ground, and he had a whole view of the battlefield so he could protect the Marines, who were moving below. And I I feel like a guardian is a good way to describe Chris. He was a guardian of the Marines, when he was deployed. And when he came home, he remained a guardian. He was very concerned about the way that veterans and service members were portrayed in the media. He felt like they need a fair shake. He understood the fog of war and the ambiguities of combat, and he wanted to make sure not only that we gave them the benefit of the doubt, but that we gave them the proper support when they came home. He was very concerned that service members felt discarded when they returned home, and he wanted to facilitate help facilitate their transition from war to productive civilian life. And he knew first hand just how difficult that transition could be.
[Sambolin:] I want to play a moment of that. It was a moment in your interview when Chris talked about Robert Bales. He's an American soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in March of 2012. And what he urged was do not rush to judgment. Let's watch it.
[Kyle:] Don't be judging our boys over there unless you walked a mile in their shoes and you know what happened to 'em a week before, an hour before.
[Kilbane:] Yes.
[Kyle:] What put him in that mindset? Did we fail him, or did he fail us?
[Kilbane:] Right.
[Sambolin:] Is that something he shared with you?
[Kilbane:] Yes. And I think it's very poignant, given the circumstances, that this was a a former marine, that he had decided to help. He was picking up the slack where somebody else had dropped the ball in terms of helping this person transition from a wartime mentality to a civilian mentality. And, yes, I think a lot of people have already rushed to judgment. I think the question: did we fail him or did he fail us, is an important question Chris would want that asked any time
[Sambolin:] That's interesting.
[Kilbane:] a veteran or service member is accused of doing something terrible. When we put people in a situation where they have to see and experience really horrible things, it's very difficult to know what part that had in their behavior. And I think too that Chris encouraged that we recognize the depth of sacrifice that going into combat represents, and that we have that we give help at the other end of the agreement when they get out of the service that is commensurate with the depth of that sacrifice.
[Sambolin:] Pat, I have to tell you you are keeping his memory alive. I would imagine that's precisely what he would be saying right now. I just have one final question for you, and that is did you know if he struggled himself with adjusting back to civilian life?
[Kilbane:] You know, I read his book before the interview and all I learned about Chris and his own combat stress was from the book. When we sat down in the interview, I really wanted to get to that, because he mentioned in the book that he felt electrical buzzing feelings in his body, that he was having trouble sleeping, that he stayed home a lot, he did a lot of drinking. And when I asked him about those things in the interview, he he didn't answer. He didn't seem reticent about answering, but he did change the subject quickly to combat stress in general, and what we should be doing to help our veterans. So, I don't know if he was shy about it. From what I understand, he's not shy at all about talking about it with other veterans. Maybe it was because I'm a civilian that he didn't want to share.
[Sambolin:] All right. Pat Kilbane, I so appreciate you joining us this morning, host of SOFREP.com's "Inside the Team Room" with U.S. Navy SEALs. Thank you very much.
[Kilbane:] You're welcome.
[Berman:] All right. So, 41 minutes after the hour right now, and 600 years later, now now may actually be the winter of our discontent. Scientists think they found King Richard buried in a parking lot. Stay with us.
[Sambolin:] Clever, Berman.

[Blitzer:] It was a remarkable speech, but not only for its setting when President Obama addressed the nation, indeed the world, from the Afghan war zone last night. The details of the new U.S. strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan and the departure of U.S. and NATO forces by the end of 2014, but perhaps just as important as what the president did not say. Let's talk about that and more with Antony Blinken, the national security adviser to the Vice President Joe Biden. Tony, thanks very much for coming in. One thing the president did not discuss with the American people, how many billions, in the tens of billions, hundreds of billions this is going to cost the United States to maintain this connection with Afghanistan. What kind of money are we talking about?
[Antony Blinken, Biden National Security Adviser:] Well, Wolf, what we do know is that it will cost a lot less in what we're spending now to prosecute the war over the better part of the decade to do that. We don't know exactly what we're looking at, that remains to be decided and also we'll be looking to other countries, our NATO allies and our ISAF partners and countries around the world to also pick up their fair share. And indeed we'll be looking to the Afghan government, for example, supporting the Afghan security forces going forward. The Afghan government's committed half a billion on an annual basis to do that. But we don't know what our share will be and we don't know what other countries will be doing, but we do know it is going to be a lot, lot less than we're spending now in the war. Ending the war will result in very, very significant savings to what we are spending now.
[Blitzer:] Because right now the U.S. is spending about $2 billion a week maintaining about 90,000 troops in Afghanistan and that will continue or more less, tens of thousands of troops for another two and a half years. As far as 2014, any troops there in 2015 and beyond through 2024, will those American forces have immunity from Afghan prosecution?
[Blinken:] Well, first of all there's no decision about keeping any U.S. forces in Afghanistan beyond 2014. That remains to be decided by the president. It remains to be negotiated with the Afghans if that's something they want. And any mission beyond 2014 would be very narrowly focus and much, much smaller. We're just focused on advising and assisting the Afghans basically training them and counterterrorism. And if troops were to stay in Afghanistan after 2014, they would have to have the legal protections that troops have around the world.
[Blitzer:] Which would be immunity from Afghan prosecution, otherwise there would be no troops there. Assuming there will be troops there. I read the document very closely, the long U.S.-Afghan partnership agreement. One line jumped out at me. The United States further pledges not to use Afghan territory or facilities as a launching point for attacks against other countries. What does that mean? After 2015 if U.S. troops are there and they find out where the al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahari is hiding out in Pakistan, they could not launch an operation from inside Afghanistan and go after him?
[Blinken:] No, Wolf, as you said, it refers to other country, launching attacks against other countries and not against terrorists and not against terrorist groups. We would have that right indeed. If you look at the document, the basis for our cooperation with Afghanistan beyond 2014 among other very critical things would be dealing with terrorists and counterterrorism and that's what Afghanistan has pledged to cooperate.
[Blitzer:] So just to be precise, after 2014 the U.S. could launch drone strikes into Pakistan from Afghan territory and also launch the Navy SEAL teams from Afghanistan into Pakistan if they have evidence that al Qaeda operatives are there.
[Blinken:] Wolf, the reason we're in Afghanistan to begin with is al Qaeda. That's why we went and that's why we're able to end this war responsibly because we've been so successful in prosecuting the mission. But one thing is for sure, we don't want them to be able to come back and for that matter as we got them on the heels in Pakistan, we don't want them to regain momentum there, either. And anything we do beyond 2014 is to take appropriate action against al Qaeda and against any of its affiliates to make sure that it can't regroup and can't come back.
[Blitzer:] So the answer is presumably yes. They can go after al Qaeda in Pakistan, but when you say countries, they could not use Afghan territory to launch a strike into Iran, a neighbor of Afghanistan. Is that what you're saying?
[Blinken:] The president felt it was very important that we sent a number of very clear messages to the Afghan people, to the Taliban and to the neighbors and that is we're not looking to be in Afghanistan long-term, even after the war is over in terms of the military presence. We won't have permanent military bases and we won't use the country as a platform to attack other countries. It's important that the region understand that, so that they buy in to the efforts that everyone needs to make to stabilize Afghanistan and to help it get on its own two feet.
[Blitzer:] The Taliban, there was a reference that the president made to negotiations, to working a deal out with the Taliban. I'll play the clip. Listen to this.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] They've made it clear that they can be a part of this future if they break with al Qaeda, renounce violence and abide by Afghan laws.
[Blitzer:] Is there any indication, A, that the Taliban is ready to renounce violence or to accept Afghan laws, which allows little girls to go to schools?
[Blinken:] It's a work in progress, Wolf. The Afghans are engaged with some members of the Taliban. We've been trying to facilitate that. We've been having and continue to have our own conversations with the Taliban. We are seeing some signs that some in the Taliban want to reconcile. We also made it very clear exactly what the president said last night. There are red lines and there are conditions and they have to abide by the constitution. They have to renounce violence and they have to separate from al Qaeda. It's a work in progress, but it's an important work in progress and it will be an important part of ending this war responsibly.
[Blitzer:] When I spoke with Leon Panetta, the defense secretary in Brussels the other day. He said, I'm quoting him now, "You have to watch your back whenever you're dealing with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president because he said some awful things about the United States and a lot of U.S. officials simply don't trust him. What do you say about Hamid Karzai living up to this deal?
[Blinken:] I would say that President Karzai has one of the toughest jobs in the world and we worked very closely and very hard with him in recent months to get this strategic partnership agreement concluded. It was 20 months of negotiation. There were agreements before we signed this partnership agreement on things like night raids and detentions all of which was tough, and I think we worked very well with him in getting those agreements. And the president clearly had a good day yesterday with President Karzai signing the strategic partnership agreement. He's our partner and he's the elected president of Afghanistan. We have a stake in his success and he has a stake in our success.
[Blitzer:] One final question on a totally unrelated matter. A lot of media reports coming out of Israel right now that they're mobilizing and activating reserve units, battalions of reservist to go to the Egyptian border with Israel, the Syrian border with Israel and a lot of what's going on. What can you tell us what's going on between Israel and Egypt on and Israel and Syria on the other?
[Blinken:] Wolf, I haven't seen those reports so I can't comment on them. I would say there have been problems as you know with the groups attacking Israel. And that's a problem that has to be dealt with. The Egyptians need to deal with it and we're working with both countries on that, but I haven't seen the reports you're referring to so I don't want to comment on them.
[Blitzer:] Yes, they're just moving in the last couple of hours, Israel television causing some alarm, I suspect in Israel right now. We're going to follow this story and get more as it develops. Tony Blinken, thanks very much for joining us.
[Blinken:] Wolf, thanks for having me.
[Blitzer:] New developments in an international saga. The blind Chinese dissident the center of an incredible escape speaking now to CNN about how it all went down. Standby for that interview. And Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal as a vice presidential hopeful? We'll discuss that and a lot more in our "Strategy Session."

[Tuchman:] Political debates in American talk shows can get heated, but nothing like in Jordan. OK, that's scary stuff. A Jordanian member of parliament threw a shoe and he then pulled out his pistol when a discussion with a former MP got heated and it was all on live television. It seems he was accused of buying his way into Jordan's parliament. The host stepped in to break up the fight. A police report has been filed. Aside from some bruised egos, there were no injuries. Higher humidity and lower winds helping firefighters battle a fast- moving wildfire in Northern California. The blaze has scorched more than 1200 acres and destroyed five homes near the town of Redding. Crews hope to have the fire contained later today. Firefighters in Washington state hope to have a fire line built around this blaze today. The fire broke out in steep terrain east of Seattle. So far there are no reports of injuries or damages. Colorado's monstrous Waldo Canyon fire, the good news, it's now 95 percent contained. The fire, though, was the most destructive in state history and required help from the most specialized fire crews in the United States. This week, I got a firsthand look at how the smoke jumpers train and as I found out, it's not for the faint of heart.
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] In the entire USA, there are only 430 of them. They are among the firefighting elite. They are the "Smokejumpers." And many of them are in Colorado right now marching onto aircraft, which is their transportation to the action. Their job? To fly into the fires just as new ones are starting up and stop them from getting bigger. This is video the smokejumpers just brought back. It's hard to spot the flames from up here 1,500 feet, but the smokejumpers are trained to see them and it's all very clear when they're on the ground. Nowhere near any roads and sometimes quite a distance from any civilization. If they don't get to the blaze quickly, the flames will often spread rapidly. Smokejumpers court disaster every day they're on the job. [on camera]: When you talk to people you know that aren't close family, you tell them what you do, what do they say to you?
[Unidentified Male:] They think I should have my head examined.
[Tuchman:] Part of the reason for that is because of how they get to the fires. [on camera]: Firefighting is not an occupation for the timid particularly in this specialty. Take a look, these guys just don't fight fires, they sky dive into potentially deadly combustible wilderness. [voice-over]: We were invited to watch the smokejumpers train in this canyon near Grand Junction, Colorado. After the smokejumpers land, their equipment is attached to its own parachute.
[Steve Stroud, Smokejumper:] Inside the cargo you find our hand tools for fighting the fires.
[Tuchman:] The smoke jumpers who all work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Interior also have MREs, water and sleeping bags in their cargo boxes. Because they may be in the wilderness for up to 48 hours while hauling gear on their backs.
[Philip Lind, Smokejumper:] It usually weighs between 120 to 140 pounds and will hike out of that situation.
[Tuchman:] The fires in Colorado have been unpredictable and relentless, but there are so many other ways to get hurt including lightning and bad parachute landings. Philip Lind who's once seriously hurt when he missed the target.
[Lind:] I had a branch of a tree puncture me and come through this pelvis and eviscerate me and fortunately, the personnel I was with was a trained paramedic.
[Tuchman:] The smokejumpers put out the fires by clearing fuels with their equipment and digging fire lines. Also building backfires to stop the wildfires in their tracks. They have to get along with each other because their lives depend relying each other. [on camera]: Are there times when you're fearful?
[Lind:] Most certainly. I think all firefighters have moment when they're fearful. We like to say courage is not the absence of fear, but making of action in spite of it.
[Tuchman:] And there has been no shortage of action this fire season. They're not only brave men and women. They're very kind and nice brave men and women too. It's enjoyable spending time with them. The crews know if it's safe to parachute is to fly 150 feet above the terrain, see if there's smoke, rocky terrain, once it's okay fly to 1500 feet and the smokejumpers do their jumping. Well, should convicted prisoners be provided air conditioning? What if the temperature in their cell is over 100 degrees? Our legal guys Richard and Avery will give us their take. It should be very interesting. If you have to go out today, just a reminder, you can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone. You can also watch CNN live from your laptop, just go to CNN.comTV.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed. Washington, now juggling the 2011 and 2012 budgets at the same time today. I want to take them one at a time, starting with 2011. The president had congressional leaders over to the White House today, looking for a deal to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. That would be through September 30th. Without a deal or an extension, parts of the government shut down on Friday. Now, 2012. House Republicans presented a budget blueprint today that cut spending by $6 trillion with a "T" trillion dollars over the next decade. The GOP plan would replace Medicare with a voucher system. Rebels are rejecting a peace plan that's been kicked around by Moammar Gadhafi's aides in recent days. Now, under the proposal, the Libyan leader would hand over power to his son, Saif Al-Islam. The son would pledge to transition Libya to democracy. Well, rebel leaders call the notion ridiculous. Eman al-Obeidy, the woman who frantically told international journalists she had been gang-raped by Libyan soldiers, is telling the latest in her chilling story to CNN. In a rare telephone interview, she spoke from a family member's home in Tripoli, where she says she is now under House arrest.
[Eman All-obeidy, Allegedly Raped By Gadhafi Soldiers:] My feelings were that they had taken my humanity, that I would never leave this place. They told me I would never see the light of day again, that I would never be released or returned home, and that they will kill me. When they are raping me, one man would leave, and another would enter, and he would finish and then another man would come in. Of course, they would untie my hands when they would rape me, and one of them, while my hands were still tied, before he raped me, he sodomized me with his Kalashnikov.
[Malveaux:] The conflict in the Ivory Coast appears close to a resolution today. Incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo is reportedly holed up in a bunker at the presidential residence this hour. He is said to be negotiating his departure. Fighters loyal to the man widely viewed as the winner of November's presidential election say that they are holding their fire, at least for now. Well, a new development at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant. Crews say that they are now making some progress in plugging a leaking concrete shaft. Officials say that water gushing from the shaft into the Pacific is 7.5 million times the legal limit for radiation. Crews are also dumping 11,000 tons of radioactive water that is pooling in basements now. Tokyo Electric says about half of that water has shipped out to sea for disposal. Well, the pilots call their emergency landing at New Orleans a blind landing. The United Airline's cockpit filled with smoke just after takeoff, and then all instruments failed. Well, pilots followed the Mississippi River back to New Orleans. Everybody kept their cool as the tower talked them down.
[Unidentified Male:] 497, we are declaring an emergency, and please roll equipment for our landing, please. A hundred and six souls on board. Fuel remaining at 32,400. 497, we've lost all our instruments right now, and we're going to need just a
[Par. Unidentified Male:] Aircraft is off the runway.
[Malveaux:] The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering new inspections on 80 older Boeing 737s that are based here in the United States. Investigators are going to look for cracks in the plane's skin that may have been hidden by rivets or overlap. A hole opened up in a Southwest plane's roof during flight. That happened on Friday, prompting this FAA order. New York police are on the hunt now for a possible serial killer. Eight bodies now have been found in a Long Island beach, and investigators are searching now for even more victims. Allan Chernoff has the latest with the details. Allan, what do we know about this investigation? This looks as if do they believe that they have a serial killer on their hands?
[Allan Chernoff, Cnn Sr. Correspondent:] That's the one thing that police are quite certain of. They believe that this is a serial killer who preys on prostitutes. Yesterday, the shocking news came of three more bodies discovered in a very desolate area of Long Island, near Gillgo Beach. This is, as you can see, an area where there are very few residents, just a very long strip of 15 or so miles of just straight highway right next to the beach. Now, another body had been found last week. Back in December, there were four other bodies. The total now, eight. The original four bodies were identified as women who had advertised online offering prostitution. Now, what's happened is that the police, when they began this whole search, they were looking for a woman named Shannon Gilbert. She also had advertised online, but her remains have yet to be found. They are hoping that maybe some of the remains that were located either this week or last week will match her DNA. The bodies right now are at the Suffolk Medical Examiner's Office, and the search, Suzanne, is continuing for still more remains by the beach.
[Malveaux:] All right. Allan Chernoff, thank you very much for the latest. Appreciate it. Well, as if one budget battle isn't enough, we actually have two. One, to address spending cuts that are happening now. One for later. And that, of course, leaves us to Carol and the "Talk Back" question today. Carol, I mean, we're looking at long term here. Obviously, a lost people saying, you know, what is the future here? Medicare, Medicaid how is the government going to afford these programs and how are they going to save money?
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent: Costello:] Well, Paul Ryan has an idea for a 2012 budget. And most economists say to rein in the deficit, you have simply got to take on the sacred cows, those expensive entitlement programs. Well, Republicans are doing just that. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's 2012 budget takes a $6.2 trillion bite out of the deficit over the next 10 years by slashing spending levels to 2008 levels and by tackling Medicare and Medicaid.
[Rep. Paul Ryan , Wisconsin:] The facts are very, very clear. For too long Washington has not been honest with the American people. Washington has been making empty promises to Americans from a government that is going broke. The nation's fiscal trajectory is simply not sustainable.
[Costello:] In Ryan's plan, the moment of truth comes in 2022. That's when, instead of getting Medicare, where the government foots the bills, anyone turning 65 will get vouchers for private insurance. The GOP plan also calls for deep cuts in Medicaid, the health care program for the poor. As you might imagine, Democrats are not so pleased. Chris Van Hollen, top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, says this and I quote "It is now clear that the Republican budget is not bold, but the same old ideological agenda that extends tax breaks to millionaires and big oil companies, while cutting our kids' education and health security for seniors." Democrats also playing up the fact that Ryan's plan lowers the corporate tax rate and makes the Bush tax cuts permanent. But hold on. Didn't President Obama extend those tax cuts for the next two years? And the president's proposed 2012 budget, it didn't deal with entitlements like Medicare at all. So, the "Talk Back" question today: Are Republicans serious about reducing the deficit? Facebook.comCarolCNN, and I will read your comments later this hour.
[Malveaux:] All right. Thank you, Carol. Here's what's ahead "On the Rundown." The budget battle, as Carol mentioned a promise from House Republicans to end Medicare as we know it. And a barrier broken. I'm going sit down with a woman who called the shots for the American no-fly zone over Libya. Plus, bloodshed in Ivory Coast, where the self-declared president may be looking for a way out. Looking for a job? Look to Silicon Valley. And finally, the sky rips open. We take you inside a twister that just tore through Kansas.

[Susan Hendricks, Cnn Anchor:] You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Susan Hendricks in today for Fredricka Whitfield. We start with this. An avalanche happens on Mount Manaslu today, the eighth highest mountain in the world. Now a rescue pilot says at least 11 people are dead as a desperate search for more people is happening right now. An entire camp reportedly swept away by that avalanche when it hit at over 21,000 feet in the air. It happened at 5:00 a.m. this morning. Now there are some survivors that have been airlifted to local hospitals. We are told over 204 mountaineers broke up into teams of 25. They were apparently attempting to climb the mountain. At least 38 people are believed to be still missing. We're going to follow that, of course. Libya's militias have 48 hours to leave Tripoli or else. That is the warning from the army. The military says it will use force if needed to push those militants out of bases, public buildings or property belonging to the former regime. Now the threat follows passionate anti-militia protests like this one in Benghazi. Libyans who are determined to show they are not standing for the violence that left four Americans dead. Pakistan is backing away from the bounty on the head of the filmmaker whose movie began this entire crisis. This man, a government minister said he will pay $100,000 for the death of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. He even suggested that the Taliban or al Qaeda may want to take him up on that offer. Nakoula is said to be in hiding, but cooler heads like Egypt's grand mufti hoped to defuse this situation before it grows even worse. Take a listen.
[Ali Gomaa, Grand Mufti Of Egypt:] I come from the corporation of laws and resisting the spread of hatred and to cooperate among each other against violence, against terrorism, against killings and against confrontations.
[Hendricks:] Now Pakistan's government is making it clear that the bounty is not an official position. President Obama arrives in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow. The president speaks to the assembly on Tuesday. Administration officials say that he will likely talk about the worldwide protests over an online film that insults the Islam religion. An official says the president is expected to restate his opposition on the movie and also denounce the violent acts of some protesters. Both President Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney will talk policy and presidential politics during interviews tonight on "60 Minutes." Both candidates are bracing for a busy week on the campaign trail. Here's CNN's political editor, Paul Steinhauser.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] Hi, Susan. Mitt Romney campaigns in the rocky mountain battleground in Colorado tonight and tomorrow. Our new CNN poll of polls indicates it's a close contest between the Republican nominee and President Barack Obama for the state's nine electoral votes. On Tuesday, both Romney and the president speak separately at former President Bill Clinton's Annual Global Initiative gathering in New York City. After that, Romney heads to Ohio for a bus tour through the crucial swing state.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Nominee:] I need Ohio to help me become the next president.
[Steinhauser:] Our poll of polls in Ohio indicates that right now Mr. Obama has the upper hand in the race for the state's 18 electoral votes. Both men have been frequent visitors to Ohio this year, and while Romney rolls through the state on Wednesday, the president stumps there as well.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] It is good to be in Ohio. It is great to be in this beautiful setting.
[Steinhauser:] Also this week, with the first presidential debate closing in, both men will continue their debate preps Susan.
[Hendricks:] All right, Paul, appreciate that. While the president and Mitt Romney are getting ready for the debates, First Lady Michelle Obama is speaking out on voting rights. She spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus gala last night about the importance of protecting the right to vote.
[First Lady Michelle Obama:] We all get a say in our democracy no matter who we are or where we're from or what we look like or who we love. So we cannot let anyone discourage us from casting our ballots. We cannot let anyone make us feel unwelcome in the voting booth.
[Hendricks:] Now, the first lady didn't specifically refer to it, but there is an election battle brewing right now over Americans' access to the voting booth. A lot of states have passed laws that many people say could make it harder to vote. Those laws could be game changers come November. Joe Johns shows us how.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Crime And Justice Correspondent:] In the past two years, almost every state in the country has introduced or passed some type of change or restriction to the voting laws, 41 out of 50 states since the last mid-term election. We're talking about all kinds of changes to the voting laws here, for early voting, for voter registration, for absentee ballots, and some of the most controversial changes of all are to laws requiring voters to show photo identification. Eleven states have already gotten the photo I.D. laws in place. Another six states have photo I.D. laws that have now been challenged in the courts and are under review. This is going on mostly in Republican controlled states. We have to say here, again and again, polling shows voter I.D. laws are very popular and make sense to people. Republicans who tend to support these laws say they're needed to avoid voter fraud, but in previous elections and the primaries this year, we've not seen a significant number of people charged with voter fraud. Democrats who are fighting these laws from state to state say it doesn't have anything to do with fraud. They say it's just a plan to try to keep voters and especially minority voters, including blacks and Latinos, away from the polls on Election Day. As you might imagine, some of the biggest battles over these laws are being waged in some of the most important battleground states namely Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida where many people think the presidential election could be decided if it's a close race. The battle is over early voting in Ohio. The Obama campaign is fighting it out in appeals court with Ohio's Republican secretary of state over whether all voters will be allowed to go to the polls on Saturday, Sunday and Monday before Election Day. In Pennsylvania, we are waiting for a state judge to reconsider a ruling he made allowing a voter I.D. law to stay in place. The State Supreme Court told him he had to make sure there is enough time for voters to get I.D.s. And in Florida, it's been a bruising battle over voting rights for the better part of the year. Democrats won a few parts of this, Republicans have as well. Now it's coming down to a lawsuit filed by Democratic Congresswoman Corinne Brown over how many hours polls will be open for early voting. Why is all this important? Well, it's about electoral votes. Ohio has 18. Pennsylvania has 20 and Florida has 29. The candidate who wins or loses these states has a leg up in the race for the White House. Back to you.
[Hendricks:] Yes, that is key, Joe. Appreciate that. And if you would like to see more on the legal battle over voting rights in Florida, Joe Johns has an hour-long documentary premiering next month. Tune in to "Who Counts" on Sunday, October 14th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You know that jailed Russian punk rock band, they got a piece of word from none other Yoko Ono. You see him there. We're going to talk to the husband of one of the band members just ahead.

[John King:] Thanks, Wolf. And good evening everyone. The sound of artillery fire was a constant in key contested cities across Libya today as the regime of Moammar Gadhafi mounts a determined effort to reassert its grip. Let's take a close look at some of the fighting. The most violent fighting out here along the coast to the east look at this scene playing out in Bin Jawad. Rebel forces trying to hold off the government here and you watch as it plays out and it's just dramatic. Shoulder-held there shoulder-held rocket propelled grenade here. You see that play out there. Now watch as we play this out a bit further. You'll see artillery fire right here off the back of the truck here, surface-to-air missiles going up to shoot. The Libyan government obviously trying to use its air advantage here that in Bin Jawad to the east and look at this scene as well in Ras Lanuf. Again, this is an opposition held town. See those flames. That is a giant fuel storage tanker. It blew up. The Libyan government saying that damage was called by forces loyal to al Qaeda. People on the ground saying it was blown up as part of the gunfire as the opposition forces tried to keep hold of that town under a regime offensive. And with the NATO allies planning a meeting Thursday to discuss military options there is little doubt the regime is rushing, rushing to make the most of its superior firepower. Also no doubt the regime is aggressively targeting opposition leaders. On State TV today, a half million Libyan Dinar bounty that's about $410,000 for the capture of Mustafa Mohammed Abdul-Jalil. He is an opposition leader and in a moment an exclusive CNN interview with Abdul-Jalil who says international help must come now immediately he says before the rebels are overwhelmed. But first the latest on the battle for control of key oil and gas cities all along the northern coast of Libya, these strategic towns right here. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson in Tripoli tonight Nic, if you look at Libyan State TV the regime is suggesting that it has retaken Zawiya. What is the balance of power? Is the regime gaining the upper hand?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] It seems to be. The demonstrations of the pro-government demonstrations we're seeing on the state television tonight did appear to be live. They came at dusk. They were on the outskirts of Zawiya
[King:] And as this plays out and we focus town by town on the situation on the ground, the regime obviously is aware there is a big NATO meeting coming up on Thursday. Do you get any sense from their public statements from what they're saying on Libyan TV what the ministers are telling you about is there any sense of trepidation that the dynamic internationally is about to change or do they think they will be largely as they have been so far left alone?
[Robertson:] Oh, they're hugely worried. One official told me
[King:] And we just talked about Zawiya. When you look at the map where would you look to next in the next 24 to 48 hours beyond Zawiya to get a sense of how aggressive and how successful the regime is being in retaking lost ground?
[Robertson:] If they can retake Mesrata by their own judgment that will be another good fact. I think they feel that time is on their side there, again, because they don't need to use air power there. Where they really need to focus their battle and put their energies in is the places where they need to use air power and that's in the east against the rebels to retake Brega, to retake Ras Lanuf.
[King:] Nic Robertson for us in Tripoli Nic, thanks. And as Nic mentioned
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Yes, what we saw, John today was a massive artillery and rocket barrage from the Libyan forces on to the opposition. It went on for about an hour and a half. It was including air strikes, artillery barrages, rockets and other weapons and, of course, what happened was and we're not quite sure what hit it but an oil storage tank caught on fire. That seemed to spread through the entire refinery area causing this huge plume of black smoke to go into the sky, one of the tanks after another exploded. You saw these huge balls of flames going up and that was really just part of the battle that was going on between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad, which is a town that the Libyan forces currently hold. It does appear that the rebels in Ras Lanuf are under extreme pressure from the government, what we're seeing is that their shortcomings in terms of organization, in terms of military experience, in terms of command and control are becoming blaringly apparent. We have seen they're sending more and more reinforcements to try to bolster the defenses of the town but it appears that that offensive we were reporting on just a few days ago by the opposition forces has come to a halt and now there's the definite possibility that the forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi could start pushing in the opposite direction John.
[King:] And to that point, Ben, you mentioned shortages of weaponry, obviously shortage of training, you have these people just brought together, put together almost ragtag to do this. Is there a sense even among the anti-Gadhafi forces that in a lengthy war of attrition the colonel would have the upper hand?
[Wedeman:] Well, certainly they've met quite readily, that in terms of armaments they are at a distinct disadvantage. We've seen the tanks, the artillery, the aircraft, the helicopters in action from the other side. On this side they say that their biggest weapon, of course, is their determination, their will, their spirit to push on and, of course, many of them say they have Allah, God on their side as well. But when it comes, you know, push comes to shove and those shells start raining in, you start to see the rebels really rushing off in the opposite direction because they realize they are doomed if they keep their positions. Now, this evening as we were leaving Ras Lanuf, we did see significant reinforcements coming to join the opposition forces. Multiple rocket launchers, truck after truck with anti-aircraft guns, heavy machine guns, so I think it does appear that they've come to the realization that this anarchic system of warfare that they followed until now isn't really working that they need to bolster their defenses, organize their defenses, get their men sort of trained to an extent that they can put up a real fight instead of the sort of wild rushes to the front and then wild rushes back as they realize that they've run into sort of a wall of fire John.
[King:] Ben Wedeman for us Ben, thanks. And as it struggles to hold its ground the opposition is also trying to organize itself politically. Former Gadhafi Justice Minister Mustafa Mohammed Abdul-Jalil is the head of what the opposition called its emerging transitional government. He talked exclusively with CNN's Arwa Damon today.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] What happens if the international community is not able to take action, if they deliberate for another week or two?
[Mustafa Abdul-jalil, Head Of Transitional Libyan Govt:] Has to be immediate action. The longer the situation carries on, the more blood is shed. That's the message that we want to send to the international community. They have to live up to their responsibility with regards to this.
[King:] Arwa is with us live now from Benghazi and, Arwa, it is clear the sense of urgency there, the new head, Mr. Abdul-Jalil there of the transitional government seems to be saying our days are numbered if we don't get help.
[Damon:] John that pretty much is the reality here. As we just heard Ben Wedeman there reporting, the opposition is increasingly struggling in the face of this onslaught coming from the air and from the ground by pro-Gadhafi elements. There is the realization that no matter how much will and determination these opposition fighters have realistically speaking, militarily speaking they cannot out-battle, outgun Gadhafi's forces. At this point in time, the opposition firmly believes that the international community has to make a choice. This is not the time to debate whether or not they should be getting involved in Libya. It is not the time to make the point that these are Libyan internal affairs. The international community has to choose which side of this conflict it is going to fall on and by many people's perspective here if they do choose inaction or if they delay their action they're going to have just as much blood on their hands as Gadhafi does John.
[King:] And you're talking there globally about the international community. You also had a very specific conversation about the role of the United States. Let's listen to that exchange.
[Damon:] What sort of communications have you had with the White House?
[Mustafa Abdul-jalil:] We sent a written message to President Obama that reached his office a week ago and we contacted the former ambassador with our requests, but there has been no real result. We received a message that they are working on a United Nations resolution.
[Damon:] Do you think the U.S. is being aggressive enough?
[Mustafa Abdul-jalil:] We expect more. The White House and the international community have the means to put an end to what the Libyan people are going through.
[King:] They have the means without a doubt, I think, Arwa. The question is do they have the will or do they see the national security interest. Again, you get a sense of frustration that not only are they not getting action right away, it doesn't seem like they're even getting communication back as fast as they would like.
[Damon:] Yes, John, and it's been very frustrating for people here who really fail to understand how it is that the U.S. and other global leaders are not putting together some sort of a cohesive plan. It's almost as if the U.S. and the international community is debating its own political interests instead of realizing the fact that we're talking about people's lives being at stake. Libyan opposition leaders, everybody here in the opposition held part of the country feel as if a price tag is being put on their very lives, that what is being debated as the cost of implementing a no-fly zone or as a potential global repercussions there could be. They're very aware of the debate going on in the United States as to whether or not American involvement would be viewed as just another U.S. invasion into an Arab country and they say that this is all irrelevant right now. What we're talking about is the United States global leaders' responsibility on a humanitarian basis they say to put an end to a man who obviously has no qualms about massacring his people and the issue is that the longer this goes on, the stronger it appears Colonel Gadhafi's forces become, the greater at risk the opposition is and this is not a man. Gadhafi is not a man who is known to have shown mercy for his opponents John.
[King:] Fascinating reporting under difficult circumstances, Arwa Damon, thanks so much. We'll keep in touch. And here in Washington Republican Senator John McCain urged the Obama administration to recognize that transitional government led by Abdul- Jalil as Libya's legitimate leadership. Senator McCain also repeated his call for swift U.S. and NATO military steps.
[Sen. John Mccain , Arizona:] If this is our policy that Gadhafi must go, then it seems to me some action needs to be taken, for example, a cutting off their jamming their communications, jamming their television capability.
[King:] The White House though remains reluctant to use military force but Thursday's NATO meeting in Brussels will consider potential options from tightening an arms embargo to imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. And the nuts and bolts and the risk of a U.S. and NATO military intervention that's how it would work and how it could change the balance of power in Libya's civil war.

[Piers Morgan, Cnn:] Tonight breaking news on a foiled terror plot against this country. Plus what Joe Bide said about gay marriage and why it may be a big problem for the president. I'll ask Team Obama's top man, David Axelrod, was this a political misstep. Plus with the candidates neck and neck in a dozen swing states, can Mitt Romney grab the momentum? I'll as his senior adviser, Ed Gillespie. And a lot has changed since Bill Bradley ran for president.
[Bill Bradley, Former Democratic Presidential Candidate:] And my kind words to the Republican Party tonight is forget it, we're on our way to victory.
[Morgan:] Tonight he's here to talk about one of my favorite topics, keeping America great. And the last time Suzanne Sommers is here, things got a little interesting. Suzanne Sommers: Feel my lips. They are quite full.
[Sommers:] Feel my lips.
[Morgan:] They feel real. God knows what will happen tonight but I'm looking forward to it. Suzanne Sommers is back with what she says is the secret to the fountain of youth. Plus "Only in America," why American Airlines grounded two very, very frequent flyers. This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT. Good evening. Breaking news tonight. A foiled terror plot to bomb an American airliner. A senior U.S. official says al Qaeda is responsible and the device was intended for us by a suicide bomber. Also that the would-be bomber is, quote, "not a threat anymore." The bomber was uncovered before any Americans were at risk. Listen to secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta.
[Leon Panetta, Secretary Of Defense:] What this incident makes clear is that this country has to continue to remain vigilante against those that would seek to attack this country. And we will do everything necessary to keep America safe.
[Morgan:] We begin our big story tonight, the campaigns react to the foiled plot and to hot-button issues from gay marriage to the economy. So with six months to go until election day, the president's campaign is in full swing. And joining me now is Obama Campaign senior strategist, David Axelrod. David, welcome.
[David Axelrod, Obama Campaign Senior Strategist:] Piers, thank you. Good to be with you.
[Morgan:] A big story brewing since the weekend over Joe Biden's comments. I think the best way to tee this up is to replay them and then come to you for your reaction.
[David Gregory:] And you're comfortable with same-sex marriage now?
[Joseph Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] I look, I am vice president of the United States of America. The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying men, are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And, quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction beyond that.
[Morgan:] I suppose the obvious question, David, to you, because you Tweeted almost immediately, and I was actually I saw this in real time. You said, "What the vice president said, that all married couples should have exactly the same legal rights, it's precisely POTUS'position." I mean given the benefit of what of hindsight over the last 24 hours, do you still think that everything Joe Biden said is consistent with the president's position?
[Axelrod:] I feel, Piers, that on the policy that the vice president was describing there, that they are in complete accord. That is the president's policy. He believes that couples, heterosexual couples, gay couples should should have have the same legal rights. And, of course, that's why we've stopped appealing the DOMA case, because he believes it's unconstitutional for states not to recognize, the government not to recognize marriages that are legally recognized by the states. So what the vice president was stating there was very much in keeping with that policy.
[Morgan:] Right. But, I mean I suppose what people are saying in the gay community is, look, we know the president has been very supportive of us, you know, from "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to the issue you just mentioned and on various other issues. He's been very proactive and very supportive of gay rights. But there is an inconsistency between saying, I am supportive of all gay rights and gay equality whilst not saying that you believe in gay marriage, particularly when America now has eight states that have legalized gay marriage. So really, you know, given where we were five years ago, is a fast moving issue, where the tide is now with, increasingly, people who support it.
[Axelrod:] Well, in fact, the president supported the rights of those states to take that action. He's opposed he's opposed ballot measures and other devices to try and roll back those rights when they've cropped up. By the way, this is a big distinction between him and Governor Romney, who supported the effort financially in California to roll back their law and who wants a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. So the president is very much in accord with the rights of those states and the people in those states to do it. And he wants to make sure that if people are legally married in those states, that those marriages are recognized just as marriages between men and women are recognized. So the whole country is going through has gone through an evolution. The president has gone through that as well. I'll let him speak to this himself, but you know, I think where he lies in terms of the rights and liberties is very clear by the actions that he's taken.
[Morgan:] I mean I was struck by the fact that Joe Biden is a Roman Catholic, which I think gave his comments even more weight, because a lot of the Catholics feel very I'm a Catholic myself. I happen to support gay marriage. But it does fly in the face of a lot of Catholic teaching. And it takes a brave Catholic, in Joe Biden's case, to go public like this against many of his own religion's teachings. I suppose what people are really saying is the president has been very audacious in many areas, but there are other areas where he hasn't been as audacious as people would like him to be. And this is a classic case where everybody kind of presumes he's going to do this. So why doesn't he just do it now?
[Axelrod:] Well, again, I'm not going to make news for the president here. The president speaks very well for himself, Piers. But again, I think actions speak louder than words. He's taken historic steps over the last 3 12 years to stand up for the rights of gay and lesbian Americans. And to allow them to serve openly and honestly in the military, to to grant them those partnership rights in government, to fight this to repeal this turn back this DOMA law that would have states be able not to not recognize legally sanctioned marriages among gay Americans. So he's I think his actions are speak more loudly than any words. And, you know, we all I I'm proud of him for taking those steps. I think they were, you know, some would say, audacious steps in and of themselves. He painstakingly led us on that path. And, you know, I think there isn't a whole lot of confusion about that.
[Morgan:] Let's move on to the breaking news today, also, about a CIA uncovering a plot to have a more sophisticated form of suicide bomber device, it was foiled successfully, very successful the CIA. What does it tell you about the on-going battle with al Qaeda, particularly in relation to the president and his speech last week, his trip to Afghanistan, saying, look, we're coming out of here. Al Qaeda is pretty much dismantled and so on. How big a danger does al Qaeda remain if we're still uncovering plots like this?
[Axelrod:] Well, Piers, I don't know the I know what you know about the details of this particular case. But it underscores what the president has said, which is that we have to remain vigilant. We have we have scored tremendous blows against the central leadership of al Qaeda located in Pakistan. There are offshoots, and Yemen is a main one, where there is still al Qaeda activity. We just saw that a one of the high ranking members of al Qaeda's leadership was killed in Yemen just the other day. So this is an ongoing fight, both here at home. We have to be vigilant on homeland security and on threats in other parts of the world. And we've been thank God, we've been successful in doing that. But every day you have to wake up and with that same level of vigilance and recognize that the threat still exists.
[Morgan:] The Republicans accuse the president of spiking the football with both the trip to Afghanistan on the anniversary and the ad that starred Bill Clinton.
[Axelrod:] Well, first of all, I hardly think he was spiking the football. And the trip to Afghanistan was necessary. We've got a NATO meeting coming up here in Chicago in a couple of weeks at which Afghanistan is going to be the major issue. So, you know, I think that's nonsense. And one of the things that strikes me about it is, Piers, knowing politics as I do, had the mission gone badly a year ago, had that mission gone badly, you know, the folks on the other side would have been the first to be raising this early and often. I think Mitt Romney would have been one of the first ones out of the gate.
[Morgan:] Let's move on to the campaign. It launched officially, really, this weekend. And you've got a whole ad campaign rolling out. And they said you just spent $25 million on ads this month alone. Let's take a little look at the "Go" campaign, a little clip from this, and I'll come to you after this.
[Axelrod:] OK.
[Unidentified Male:] Instead of losing jobs, we're creating them, over 4.2 million so far. We're not there yet. It's still too hard for too many. But we're coming back, because America's greatness comes from a strong middle class, because you don't quit and neither does he.
[Morgan:] I mean it's an interesting premise, I guess, which is, look, we haven't solved anything, but we are we're beginning to get there. Is that the kind of theme that you'll be looking to press for the campaign?
[Axelrod:] Well, the look, there's no question that we are coming back from the most the most vicious, the deepest recession since the Great Depression. In the six months before the president took office, we lost four million jobs. We lost 800,000 the month that he took office. Now we've had 26 months of private sector job growth, 4.2 million new jobs. But the whole was quite deep, that was dug. And we have to keep being vigilant. There are a lot of headwinds yet. We see what's going on in Europe. There are steps that Congress can take that the president wants them to take, to put teachers back in the classroom, to get our service transportation bill passed so we can unleash that activity all over the country, to help people refinance their loans at lower interest rates, even if their homes are underwater. There are lots of things we can do to get this economy moving even faster, with a little bit of cooperation.
[Morgan:] Well, David, unfortunately, I have to move forward, as well, to speak to your
[Axelrod:] OK.
[Morgan:] Your rival. Ed Gillespie who's now come in to help run the Mitt Romney campaign. But thank you for now, David Axelrod. When we come back, more on our big story, I want to get to the Romney take on gay marriage and on charges that President Obama has been spiking the football on Osama bin Laden. I'll talk to his adviser, Ed Gillespie.

[Malveaux:] Hollywood is mourning the loss of a superstar. Elizabeth Taylor has died at age 79. Taylor's publicist says she died peacefully at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. And over the years, Taylor had suffered a number of health problems. Just six weeks ago, she was in the hospital for congestive heart failure. Our CNN's Brooke Anderson looks back on Taylor's star-studded career and often dramatic personal life.
[Brooke Anderson, Cnn Correspondent:] Elizabeth Taylor was called one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her violet eyes lit up the screen in memorable roles from "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" to "Cleopatra," which made her the first actress to receive $1 million for one part.
[Elizabeth Taylor, Actress:] So much is said with the electricity of eyes, the intensity of a whisper. Less is more.
[Anderson:] Her highly publicized real life sagas were punctuated by eight marriages to seven different men. Richard Burton twice. Taylor's first union took place before she turned 18, to hotelier Nicky Hilton. She married actor Michael Wilding, producer Mike Todd and singer Eddie Fisher. Taylor was blamed for breaking up Fisher's marriage to America's sweetheart Debbie Reynolds. But her often tempestuous marriages to Richard Burton, the first lasting 10 years, became even more sensational fodder for the press.
[Taylor:] I think he's one of the finest actors of sorry.
[Anderson:] Taylor's other marriages included Virginia Senator John Warner and finally construction worker Larry Fortensky, whom she divorced in 1996. Her personal dramas often drew attention away from an accomplished film career. The British borne Taylor rode into moviegoers hearts as a child actress in 1944 with "National Velvet."
[Taylor, "national Velvet":] Oh, you're a pretty one.
[Anderson:] The actress downplayed her abilities.
[Taylor:] I, along with the critics, have never taken myself very seriously. My craft, yes, but as an actress, no.
[Anderson:] Still, Taylor received five Academy Award nominations, twice winning best actress honors for her role as a call girl in "Butterfield 8" in 1960, and as an ornery alcoholic wife in "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf" in 1966.
[Taylor, "who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf":] T-t-touch yourself you old flusey.
[Anderson:] Through the years, Taylor battled a litany of health woes, from her struggle with substance abuse, to a chronic bad back, to respiratory problems, the replacement of both of her hips and removal of a brain tumor. Taylor was recognized for her tireless effort to educate the public about AIDS, a battle prompted in part by the death of close friend Rock Hudson in 1985.
[Taylor:] This is something that is a catastrophe that belongs to all of us. It isn't a thing that belongs to a minority group any longer.
[Anderson:] Taylor helped found AMFAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, established the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Later, she publicly befriended Michael Jackson, appearing with the singer several times and supporting him to an often critical press. She called him wonderful. But that was before his trial and ultimate acquittal on child molestation charges. Through all her hurt, physical and emotional, Liz Taylor will stand as one of Hollywood's most giving and glamorous superstars. Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.
[Malveaux:] She was something else. Superstar actor James Earl Jones, who worked with Taylor and, of course, is the voice of CNN, he joins us now by phone. What do you remember best about Elizabeth Taylor?
[James Earl Jones, Actor:] You know, I've watched Richard and Elizabeth and it just really moved me where she played Kate and he played Petruchio in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew." And it was very clear that he ran docile. His mind so brilliant and his speech was so brilliant. She ran deep, though. So, in contract to each other, they were a perfect match. I had a chance to work with them both and the movie was set in Haiti but we had to film it in Africa, in a former French colony in Africa, it was then called Dahomey, now called Benin. And I had a chance to work with mainly Richard, but they were both starring in it. Their first time starring on equal footing. And the friendship, I think, you know, it began there partly because of my own squareness. I they gave a reception where they were to introduce themselves to the cast, which included Cicely Tyson and Gloria Foster and Raymond St. Jacques and Roscoe Browne and Sir Alec Guinness and a great bunch of world famous actors and actresses. And I was the only sort of novice and dufous in the company and I'm sitting beside this attractive lady, on the sofa, in the hotel lounge, waiting for this reception to start. And I said to someone, so when does Elizabeth Taylor arrive? And I'm sitting right next to her. And she just looks at me and smiles. I guess she thought I was trying to make a funny. I wasn't. I didn't know who I was sitting next to.
[Malveaux:] You were sitting next to Elizabeth Taylor. We
[Jones:] I didn't know I was sitting next to Elizabeth Taylor. I think our friendship probably started then without my really knowing it. She could have slapped the heck out of me.
[Malveaux:] Well, we saw, Mr. Jones, a picture of you at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2002 with Miss Taylor. Can you give us a sense of what that was like to be around her?
[Jones:] It was well, she had to go visit the jewelsman in the lobby. I mean that was Elizabeth. But my wife got to know her then too. And they formed a fast friendship. It was what she called a late friendship. They're very rare in life. And I was happy to reunion with her and which then led to my chance to read with her for her AIDS foundation, her performance in "Love Letters." And I witnessed her and Joey Tillinger directed us and thank God he was there because she leaned on him. She didn't want to do it, but she felt she had to do something to raise funds. And she trusted me, I believe, I hope, to really stand hard by her. And we got through it. But not only got through it, she began to blossom and she felt that audience response. And I don't know how long it had been since she had done a stage production, but she felt the electricity between herself and the audience and it was wonderful to see.
[Malveaux:] Mr. Jones, thank you very much for your recollections. She was truly a special talent.
[Jones:] Thank you.
[Malveaux:] Really appreciate it.
[Jones:] Thank you very much.
[Malveaux:] We're going to take a quick break.

[Blitzer:] The celebration continuing on the streets of Libya, throughout the country. We're following the breaking news this hour, the death of the Libyan dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. I talked about it earlier with Republican senator John McCain, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I asked whether the Obama administration deserves any credit.
[Sen. John Mccain , Arizona:] I congratulate the British and French for their leadership and their effort. And so it's been a significant success and we should celebrate today.
[Blitzer:] But the U.S. played a significant role in the NATO operation, not just the British and the French, Senator McCain, the first few weeks, first two weeks in particular, U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles and U.S. air refueling capabilities. The Obama administration, from your perspective, deserves a lot of credit for this, as well, don't they?
[Mccain:] Oh, I think they deserve credit. The fact is, if we had declared a no-fly zone early on, we would have never had Gadhafi would have fallen at the beginning. The second thing is that if we had used our capabilities, the A10 and the AC130, this would have been over a long time ago. But I think the administration deserves credit, but I especially appreciate the leadership of the British and French in this in carrying out this success.
[Blitzer:] What do you think the U.S. should do with the $30 billion or $33 billion in frozen Libyan assets that have been held over these past several months?
[Mccain:] Well, the Libyans obviously, it's their money. They are going to reimburse us and our allies for the expenditures that were entailed in this operation. They obviously are going to be a very wealthy country. And again, if we send a hospital ship to Tripoli to help them with their wounded they have 30,000 wounded, Wolf. We could send some of their wounded to our hospital in Landstuhl. Right now, this is one of their key requirements. We Senator Rubio and Kirk and Graham and I went to the hospital there in Tripoli. They don't know how to care for these kinds of wounds and people who are harmed in conflict, and we could be of enormous help and generate enormous good will by helping out in that respect.
[Blitzer:] So are you saying that you have, when you were in Libya, received official confirmation from the transitional authority there, the interim government, that they will reimburse U.S. taxpayers the, what, approximately $1 billion that have been already been spent in liberating Libya from Gadhafi??
[Mccain:] They said that they would seriously consider it. They did not make a commitment to me, and nor should they have, but they certainly have showed a willingness to do so-
[Blitzer:] I asked the question-
[Mccain:] Just as the Kuwaitis did after Desert Storm.
[Blitzer:] I remember when the Kuwaitis paid, basically, for the liberation of their country from Saddam Hussein Kuwait, like Libya, a wealthy country. I asked the question because there's been some suggestion, before the U.S. were to transfer back that $33 billion in frozen assets, it deduct a billion dollars for U.S. expenses and deduct other expenses that other NATO allies like France, Britain, Italy, other NATO allies, may have had. Would that be smart? Would that be legal, to simply deduct whatever it cost?
[Mccain:] I don't think it's either legal or smart. They're a sovereign nation. They now have a government that's recognized, basically, throughout the world. And I think it would generate enormous ill will if we carried out such activity. I don't know who would suggest such a thing.
[Blitzer:] Well, there have been those suggestions. Among others, I've written about it myself, but that's just me.
[Mccain:] OK.
[Blitzer:] So for what it's worth, on our blog. But that's just-
[Mccain:] It's not our money, Wolf. It's their money that's been frozen. It's not our money. That's-
[Blitzer:] Right. I know- And the Obama administration by the way, the Obama administration takes exactly the same position as you're taking, that it shouldn't that the U.S. shouldn't simply unilaterally eliminate or deduct some of the funds that have been spent. But let's get out to the bigger picture- Go ahead, Senator.
[Mccain:] Could I just point out very quickly, Libyans right now are very grateful to us and there's enormous good will there. And if we can help them succeed getting these weapons under control, helping them with their organize their government, helping them with their wounded, a lot of things, there'll be a lot of further good will here. And that's important, I think, especially in that part of the world.
[Blitzer:] I think you make an excellent point. And if you look at the sweep of changes, it's breathtaking over these past several months of the Arab spring, in North Africa and the Middle East. You think a year ago what was going on over there and you take a look at how it's changed over these many months now, it's dramatic. And no one has been more closely associated in watching what's going on than you, Senator. Senator McCain, thanks very much. Any final point you want to make before I let you go?
[Mccain:] I think it's a great day. I think the administration deserves great credit. Obviously, I had different ideas on the tactical side. But this is the world is a better place and the Libyan people now have a chance. But this is just the beginning. We know how hard democracy is. They're going to need a lot of assistance not in money, but in other ways, and I think we're should be eager to provide it.
[Blitzer:] All right, we just heard from Senator John McCain. Let's now hear from our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger. Sort of a reluctant bit of praise for the president and for the administration.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] It was. It was. And as the senator pointed out, look, he had different ways of doing this. He wanted us to go in unilaterally. He says we would have gotten him a lot sooner had he done it his way. But still, John McCain was a lot more generous than the other Republicans we've heard from, the presidential candidates, Wolf. Instead, none of them said, I give Barack Obama credit, which John McCain said. Instead, they're talking about what happens in the future in Libya? How do you deal with Gadhafi's remaining stockpiles? How do you make sure that they're on their way to democracy? But it was only John McCain, the president's former opponent in the presidential race, who actually said he deserves credit.
[Blitzer:] Deserves credit indeed. Listen to Joe Biden today because he seemed to suggest that this could be a template for future U.S. and NATO missions.
[Joseph Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] In this terrible beauty, this all changed world, what happened? NATO got it right. NATO got it right. And guess what? Libya Gadhafi, one way or another, is gone. Whether he's alive or dead, he's gone. The people of Libya have gotten rid of a dictator of 40 years who I personally knew. This is one tough not so nice guy. And guess what? They got a chance now. But what happened? In this case, America spent $2 billion total and didn't lose a single life. This is more the prescription for how to deal with the world as we go forward.
[Blitzer:] He's I guess he's taking some credit for this, and implicitly criticizing the previous Bush administration.
[Borger:] Right. It's clearly seen by the administration as a vindication of its strategy. They don't want to come out and brag about it, but they do see that the alliance worked, that the United States provided the strategic support, which was considerable, that it need to provide, and that this is the way you need to think of these actions in the future, Wolf, as we look at the reductions we need to see in the military budget. What's even more interesting, though, Wolf, is the way the Republican Party is split on this. The Democrats are united on this, but it's the Republicans who are split. John McCain, who you just interviewed, really is the last one of the last remaining hawks in the Republican Party. Of the presidential candidates, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann, all of them said we should not have been in Libya in the first place, which is why they're not about congratulating Barack Obama.
[Blitzer:] So the president of the United States, on his watch, bin Laden killed, Anwar al Awlaki, the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in Yemen, killed. On his watch now, Gadhafi killed. Is it going to be politically beneficial for him in his reelection bid?
[Borger:] If it is going to be beneficial, it's going to be at the margin. I think this is a White House that probably wishes that foreign policy is going to be as important in this election as it was in 2008. Take a look at these polls. We asked how the president is handling both foreign affairs and the economy. You see foreign affairs 47 percent, the economy 36 percent. The election is not going to be about foreign policy, even though he rates better on it. So if the president didn't get a substantial bounce out of the killing of Osama bin Laden, he's not going to get a substantial bounce out of this.
[Blitzer:] Gloria, hold on for a minute because we're just getting this report in courtesy of our friends at Reuters. The Libyan prime minister, the acting Libyan prime minister in the transitional government over there, Mahmoud Jibril, citing what he says is a forensic report, now providing details on the death of Moammar Gadhafi. He says this. "Gadhafi was taken out of a sewage pipe. He didn't show any resistance. When we started moving him, he was hit by a bullet in his right arm. And when they put him in a truck, he did not have any other injuries." This is what Jibril is quoted as saying at a news conference, and he's reading from the forensic report. He goes on to say this. He says, "When the car was moving, it was caught in crossfire between the revolutionaries and Gadhafi forces, in which he was hit by a bullet in the head. The forensic doctor could not tell if it came from the revolutionaries or from Gadhafi's forces. Gadhafi was alive when he taken from Sirte" that's his home town "but he died a few minutes before reaching the hospital," this according to the prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril. I suspect we're going to be getting a lot of information.
[Borger:] Right.
[Blitzer:] Some of it will be contradictory. Some of it will be made up. Some of it will be accurate. It's all just the beginning.
[Borger:] But he's clearly making the point that this was not an outright assassination, and that somehow, Gadhafi was caught in the crossfire here. We're not sure who hit him. But I think the key point is here that we didn't assassinate him point-blank. That's what he's saying.
[Blitzer:] That's what the Libyans are saying.
[Borger:] Yes. Exactly. Exactly.
[Blitzer:] There will always be suspicions-
[Borger:] Of course.
[Blitzer:] and I suspect there'll be conspiracies. And we're learning more about the U.S. and NATO role in hitting that convoy, especially with that Predator drone. All right, Gloria, don't go too far away, as well. The Arab spring movement claims the life of a dictator. Two experts on the revolution tell us what's next for Libya, what's next for the Middle East. Stand by.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] OK, so now let's move on to St. Paul, Minnesota, for the hairiest hockey game in history, literally. That's a weird thing to celebrate! Over 1,000 mustached men gathered on the ice rink for the Minnesota Wild, setting a world record there. And onto Idaho now where they lit what officials say is the world's largest tallest living Christmas tree. The tree is twice as tall as the Rockefeller Center tree in New York, if you like checking that out. It takes more than 40,000 lights to spruce up the first tree and it's topped with a 10-foot star. Pretty stuff, getting you into the spirit of things. A terror plot in Oregon foiled. Details just now emerging as to why a Somali born college student is in jail, charged with a bomb plot. Trying to destroy a holiday tree lighting in Portland. The suspect is identified as Muhamed Osmond Mohamud. A 19-year-old student at the Oregon State University. According to an FBI affidavit, Mohamud met with undercover operatives on November 4th and detonated a bomb concealed in a backpack as a trial run. The next day, the affidavit alleges that Mohamud recorded a video in which he explains his reasoning for the bombing the reason why he wanted to bomb a public holiday gathering. And move forward now to the 18th of this month, the undercover operatives say they met with Mohamud to finalize details of the Portland attack. And then last night in Oregon, the FBI arrested Muhammad and charged him with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. CNN's Paul Vercammen is now in Portland. He joins us by phone. So, Paul, this took place over a course of days and weeks. They have been watch thing individual for a long time. And he's just 19 years old, do they believe he was acting alone? PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT
[Whitfield:] And apparently there were conversations, according to this affidavit, between this operative, FBI operative and Mohamud. Mohamud saying that it was the intention to target just innocent bystanders and in Oregon because no one would suspect Oregon as being a targeted place.
[Vercammen:] That's exactly true. He says that nobody thinks about Oregon, and in that affidavit, all sorts of other bone chilling statements made. At one point, one of the undercover operatives says to him, something to the effect that you realize there will be women and children there. He said, "that's OK, I want to go ahead and strike at families in this sort of a holiday setting." Also knowing that Pioneer Square where the tree is lit is in downtown Portland. There are not only 10,000 people viewing the lighting of the tree ceremony last night, but all around Pioneer Square, there are shops in all sorts of other foot traffic. He thought that he was going to be able to, as we talked about, inflict mass casualties and it's the same person that made that remark about the 911 tragedy and said that it was "awesome when he found people jumping out of the skyscrapers."
[Whitfield:] Paul Vercammen, thanks so much out of Portland. Also joining us from Portland now, the mayor from that city, Sam Adams. He is with us now on the phone. So give us an idea, Mr. Mayor, how this incident and this arrest now might impact any other planned public events. MAYOR SAM ADAMS, PORTLAND And did you know about this plan all the while?
[Adams:] No. These kinds of international terror suspect investigations are top secret. Until the individual or individuals are arrested.
[Whitfield:] OK. So back to my original question now, might what happened, this foiled attempt in that it was targeting a public event, might that in way change the city's approach to any kind of public or large public gathering, especially over the course of the holiday season?
[Adams:] Well, we're going to increase police presence in the shopping districts. But the FBI has assured us that this person acted alone. So we just want to be on the lookout for any sort of copy cats. But there is, according to the FBI, no reason for us to be concerned here in the Portland area.
[Whitfield:] Mayor Sam Adams, thanks so much for your time and glad this attempted bombing or this planned bombing was indeed foiled. I know there's a lot of relief in your city. Thanks so much. In San Diego county, California now, authorities have stopped searching the house they describe as a bomb-making factory. They say it was just too dangerous to continue because the explosives are so volatile. The house is owned by a unemployed computer software consultant who is now under arrest. Bomb squads were tipped off earlier this week when a gardener was injured after unwittingly setting off a small blast at that property. And now onto the crisis in Korea. Today in Seoul, the South Korean capital, an angry group of protestors, including South Korean military veterans, clashed with riot police. They are demanding the South Korean government respond more forcefully to North Korea's shelling of an island near the border. Four South Koreans were killed in the shelling earlier this week. Diplomats from several countries working to ease the tension. And in this country, retailers depend on black Friday to kind of kick off the holiday spending season. Well, one man and his band of merry minstrels wants you to actually stop spending or at least if you have to stop spending, then buy locally. Here's Reverend Billy, and he talked with our Randi Kaye.
[Rev. Bill Talen, "the Church Of Life After Shopping":] You don't have to buy a gift to give a gift. If you're going to buy a gift, buy local. Local-leuai, amen.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Correspondent:] OK. What you're talking about is entrepreneurship and the socially responsible spending, you also have a song for us, don't you?
[Talen:] You said it. Hallelujah! We're going to sing a song. This is the life after shopping gospel choir. We got a question we want to ask. What would Jesus buy, amen? What would Jesus buy. What would Jesus buy.
[Whitfield:] OK. He says stop the shopping. Stop the spending. Instead, spend some quality time with people. That's not what retailers want you to do. Did you know, in fact, today is small business Saturday. Well, it's the very first one, so don't feel like you're in the dark if you didn't know about that. It's part of a national campaign to encourage people to shop locally. The goal promote mom and pop shops. All right. Well, folks are out in droves as we understand. They're shopping this Saturday. Just take a look right there. The malls across the country are filled with bargains and people. Sandra Endo is among them. She's in a shopping mall in MacLean, Virginia. What store are you in right now?
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right, Fred. We're in Macy's, and there are a lot of deals. That's why a lot of people are out here today. Take a look at this. $19.99 for a Kenneth Cole shirt, and originally it was $60. So a pretty good deal here. We're seeing a lot of that kind of thing. $39.99 with an extra 20 percent off for these jeans. And take a look at this 65 percent off the original price. Take another extra 20 percent
[Whitfield:] 85 percent off?
[Endo:] Yes, I can help you out here. Take a look, a lot of people are out here and actually opening up their wallets. Yes, a lot of people making their purchases behind me. The National Retail Federation is in fact anticipating that sales will be up 2.3 percent this year. But even though a lot of shoppers here, Fred, are eager to spend, they're also being very cautious. Have a listen.
[Scott Krugman, National Retail Federation:] I think people that shop online tend to rely on the technology for multiple purposes, not just for buying merchandise but for also researching. People going through the store, for them it's really the thrill of the hunt. Finding that great deal or discovering merchandise that they might not have thought they needed. But more and more what retailers are trying to do is mimic that experience via the internet. So if I am buying a television, I might get a pop-up window with some very helpful accessories I never thought of before.
[Endo:] Yes. So two very different types of shopping going on there. That's why shoppers are making sure that they're doing their homework, doing their research. They have a strategy when they come out here to the mall to really get those items that they've comparison shopped with, different stores, on line stores as well, and keep in mind, cyber Monday is coming up in just a couple of days. 88 percent of retailers are going to slash their prices on line. So if a lot of these people aren't finding what they want, they're going to be online on Monday.
[Whitfield:] Well, then you have to wonder how long these retailers are going to have money because they have to ship all those items to people even though they've got the incentives to, you know, slash those prices. It would seem that I don't know.
[Endo:] Actually
[Whitfield:] They're cutting into their profits.
[Endo:] Yes, Fred, they're really smart about it. They have a multi- prong approach. A lot of stores are on Facebook, Twitter, offering special online deals for their followers. So they've got their bases covered.
[Whitfield:] OK. I'm sure they do. All right. Thanks so much. Sandra Endo, there with the crush of shoppers in MacLean, Virginia. So shoppers hitting the malls this weekend in a very big way. They could also be getting fake merchandise without knowing it. Counterfeit goods aren't just sold on the streets, details coming up on what you need to know and what you need to do. All right. So acclaimed author Salman Rushdie said there's one quality that every successful writer must have. He reveals it "Face to Face."

[Chetry:] Shot of Columbus Circle this morning. We have a rainy start to the day right now in New York. It's 41 degrees, a bit warmer than we've seen. A little bit later, it's going to be rainy again, going up to a high of 52. But we're dealing with some windy weather, as well some winds moving in, part of that system that we saw through the South now making its way up the East Coast today.
[Holmes:] All right. And an update now on what has been an ongoing cycle for Charlie Sheen, the star of "Two and a Half Men" on CBS. They have now canceled it after he went on another radio rant. This time, he called Alcoholics Anonymous a cult, said its members are a bunch of sissies. He also talked about the creator of "Two and a Half Men," called him a clown also made some remarks some might see them as anti-Semitic. He also, to let you know here, the production had been shut down earlier. They were on hiatus, but they had planned to possibly, at the end of this month, to start up again, but now, it's been shut down for the rest of the season. They did have, at least, four more episodes they were supposed to shoot following the announcement. Sheen released a statement to the TMZ, and he went off again going off on the creator of the show calling him a maggot who can't handle the truth. So, some unfortunate words, once again, from Charlie Sheen. Not really sure what's going on with him right now. There was a landing where a plane wasn't supposed to land on the street. Independence Street was the name of it. A pilot had to make an emergency landing. This was in Missouri. He has lost 80 percent of his power to the plane. He was about 4,000 feet up. He said he could not make it to an airport. He knew he couldn't. So, he had to land that sucker right there on the road. The pilot doing OK. The road was closed for a couple of hours. Something hit that plane out of that.
[Chetry:] It was raining tens and twenties in Kansas City. A bank robber lost some of the loot trying to get away. Authorities say that a dye pack went off as the suspect fled leaving piles of cash scattered all over the street in front of the bank. They did manage to get a description of the suspect in the get away car, but their best clue may be someone who is, of course, soaked in red dye.
[Holmes:] Parts of California getting hit with some snow right now. Nevada County, this is north of Sacramento. Winter storm warning in effect there. The snow is coming in and causing all kinds of problems as you would imagine right about now.
[Chetry:] So, they're dealing with that system in California right now, and we've got one in the south that's moving up the East Coast. Reynolds Wolf keeping track of all of it for us this morning. Hey, Reynolds.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Hey, guys. If you look at the thing on radar, it really is impressive. I mean, check it out. This thing extends all the way from the U.S.Canadian border clear down to the Gulf of Mexico, and everything is driving off towards the east, and this storm system is going to mean a great deal of different things to millions of people. As we zoom in, especially in parts of the northeast, we see some snowfall up towards the green mountains, also the white mountains of Vermont. By the time the day is over, they could have a foot of snow in that area. Back towards Buffalo to Cleveland, anywhere from three to seven inches of snowfall. Same story in Detroit. But in New York, it's going to be mainly a rain event early, but then, the wind is really going to intensify from New York to Philadelphia to Washington. We're talking wind gusts that could get up to 55 miles an hour. So, delays are all but a certainty. So, just be advised. Meanwhile, in parts of the southeast, what we're dealing with, just some rain. It really has lost quite a bit of intensity. The story system had a very rough history, especially back in Tennessee and the Kentucky and into portions of Missouri with ten tornado reports and, of course, widespread flooding. Now, we're seeing some of the strongest storms developing south of Atlanta and Montgomery at this hour as it gets close to the I-10 corridor. Again, we will see of it's beginning to weaken in the few spots. Valdosta, Augusta, Columbia, get ready, the rain is on the way. But out west, we're seeing a combination of rain, sleet, and snow, and there's also a chance that San Francisco could see its first measurable snowfall in over 30 years. So, we're going to keep an eye on that for you, too, but there's no doubt that snow is going to continue to pile up in portions of the Sierra Nevada. Big story, of course, we're seeing is that storm system out towards the east that's going to give you the headaches up and down the eastern sea board. A nice break, though, for you in parts of the Central Plains. Northern plains, however, a little bit of snowfall, but back in ski country, it is the snow season that will never end. More snow is back in some spots. We're foot of snow fall before the day is over. That's a quick snapshot on your forecast. We have so much more ahead. Let's pitch it back to you in New York.
[Chetry:] All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
[Wolf:] You bet, guys.
[Chetry:] We have something to tell you about. This dog who may have been lost for good if it was not for some dolphins, they say, in Marco Island, Florida. According to the 11-year-old dog's owner, she says that "Turbo" disappeared Sunday night. They couldn't find him. She says it turns out that nearby, a group of dolphins were splashing around and making noise and that neighbors went out to investigate, and there they found "Turbo" stranded in canal water.
[Cindy Burnett, Turbo's Owner:] The lady here who had gotten him out of the canal, she said, no, the dolphins were with him. It's a miracle because if he had to tread water all night long, I know he wouldn't have been able to.
[Chetry:] Fifteen hours, he had to have been propped up by those dolphins. Turbo's owner says, of course, she's glad that he's back home safe and sound.
[Holmes:] Dogs have been getting into a lot of trouble this week, it seems. More of your top stories coming up in just in a moment. And also, something you're going to like to hear. Your paycheck is going up? Is that how it feels to you? But apparently, there's some evidence that some companies may be loosening the belt.
[Chetry:] Also, what's the fastest growing music format, is it mp3s? Is it something else digital and portable CDs? How about going back even further? Think happy days making a comeback. Forty-nine minutes past the hour.

[Whitfield:] Decades ago, in the segregated Jim Crow era, an African- American traveler would want to pack along a certain book, a guide called "The Green Book." This once necessary little book is getting a new modern-day audience. The pictures on his wall are from 50 years ago, but Ernest Green remembers it like yesterday.
[Ernest Green:] Well I think what stands out is the fact that I as a teenager thought that desegregating the schools in Little Rock was an important part of progress for African-Americans.
[Whitfield:] Green was one of the Little Rock nine, a group of African- American students who enrolled in Central High School in the Arkansas capital in 1957. While Green was making history in the schools, his family navigated the segregated roads using a little-known guide for African-American families.
[Green:] The Green Book was a I think an institution in black life. It was one of those unknown survival tools for black people that had to move around the country. I was a teenager, so I knew that the Green Book was a necessity for us to have a place to stay.
[Whitfield:] A place to stay, a place to eat, even a car repair shop that would be friendly to blacks, all pulled together in this directory. Decades later, Green had forgotten about the precious resource until a recent conversation with Calvin Ramsey, a playwright, an author.
[Green:] He mentioned that he was doing a play around this book. And as he described it, I remembered that I had had a personal experience with the Green Book. My aunt and mother mapping out a program for us to travel from Little Rock to Hampton, Virginia, for my sister's graduation.
[Whitfield:] Personal tales like this inspired the playwright, and he learned about the travel guide's 1936 genesis.
[Calvin Ramsey:] Well, Victor Green, an African-American gentleman who had traveled himself and had hardships on the road, embarrassment, embarrassing situations that he didn't want to see his people continue to have. So he said, "If I can do something about this, I will."
[Whitfield:] The idea took off. And year after year, the Green Book grew, providing resources for all 50 states.
[Ramsey:] Everything from lodging to restaurants, to beauty shops, to barber shops, mechanic shops, later on, doctor's offices, dentists, pretty much anything you would need on the open road.
[Whitfield:] As the book gained popularity, it also picked up a major sponsor.
[Ramsey:] Once Standard Oil got involved, they hired professional marketers, they set up an office in New York, they hired men who had training in this type of thing. Then they started training African- American men how to run their own service stations. And from there, they could sell more Green Books.
[Whitfield:] Today, Ramsey takes his children's book, "Ruth and the Green Book," to elementary schools, bringing old tales to a new audience. And in the process, picking up on a dream that the creator of the Green Book held dearly.
[Green:] Travel, exposure, knowledge, all of it is fatal to prejudice. It requires people to think broader to this idea about universality that begins to see people as people.
[Whitfield:] Big lessons from the little guide that history almost forgot. The stage play inspired by the Green Book tells the story of a Holocaust survivor spending the night with a black family after being refused service to stay at a hotel. Arab nation revolution in the air. First Tunisia, then Egypt, this is Yemen today. You know what the question is? Where next?

[Whitfield:] Moammar Gadhafi tightly controlled his image as a common man thrust into leadership in Libya, but the civil war is revealing just how luxuriously he really lived. Here is CNN's Ben Wedeman.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] We're outside Moammar Gadhafi's palace in Sabha, Southern Libya. It's a surprisingly sumptuous palace, given that he was a man who always prided himself for living in a tent. This, however, is no tent. Nonetheless, it does look a bit messy. It was recently redecorated by NATO. Let's go inside and have a look. This is the front door to the palace. Of course, the doors have been knocked off the hinges. It's not clear whether that's the result of the NATO bombing or from the revolutionaries who have made themselves at home here in this palace. Now, if you were Gadhafi, this is where you'd probably meet visiting heads of state in this entranceway, a nice fountain in the middle and, up above, an attractive sun roof; however, now minus almost all its glass. It is blazing hot down here in the Sahara Desert, so what better way to cool off than to go take a dip in your own personal private swimming pool? Moammar Gadhafi always said he's just an ordinary citizen with no official functions and that his personal salary was just a few hundred dollars. Obviously, though, he must have found some money, maybe in his nest egg, to build all of this. But it's not all fun and games, being the Brother Leader of the Libyan Jamahiriya. There's also the serious matters of state to be dealt with, probably discussed here in this conference room. After a long day of grueling statecraft, what better way to relax than to lie in a nice, comfortable Jacuzzi? You wouldn't find this in a Bedouin's tent. This is the master bedroom, and I think what Libyans found most shocking when they were finally able to get into these palaces, is that the man the official media always portrayed as being a man of the desert, shunning the luxuries of life, clearly seemed to enjoy them. This is where one of the bombs hit the palace through the roof, into the basement. Now, we don't know if anybody was killed or injured when this hit took place. We do know, however, that in the last few months, most government facilities and palaces were evacuated in anticipation of exactly this sort of eventuality. The five star lifestyle Moammar Gadhafi enjoyed is probably a thing of the past. We don't know where he is or where he's gone, but it's pretty clear he's not enjoying accommodations like this anymore. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Sabha, Southern Libya.
[Whitfield:] The president of Russia today announced he will not run for re-election next year and named the man that he would like to succeed him. That man, Vladimir Putin. Putin already served two terms as president. The Russian constitution barred him from running for re-election in 2008, so he became prime minister instead. Now, it is legal for him to be president again. The election is set for March. In Eastern Germany, a man is in custody today. Police say he fired an air gun at some guards working security for the Pope's visit to Germany. No one was hurt, and police say the Pope was never in danger. And the CEO of investment giant UBS resigned today. The Swiss bank lost $2.3 billion in a rogue trading scandal. A U.S. Air Force sergeant is recognized for heroism under fire, but he didn't think he'd make it out of Afghanistan alive.
[Staff Sgt. Robert Gutierrez, U.s. Air Force:] I told myself, I'm going to get up, I'm going to fight, I'm going to kill them. I'm going to do what I got to do. If it happens, it if I bleed on and die, it happens, but they're going to go first.
[Whitfield:] Staff Sergeant Robert Gutierrez is nominated for the Air Force's highest war time medal. You'll hear how he earned it and how his entire unit is alive today because of him. That's later this hour. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children three to 14 years old, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. But car seats can go a long way in saving lives. Reynolds Wolf shows us a new car seat design inspired by race cars in this "Technovations."
[Reynolds Wolf, Cnn Correspondent:] The first children's car seat was introduced in 1921, but by today's standards early versions didn't offer much safety. Ninety years later, an Indiana division of Dorel Industries is looking to the Indy 500 for ideas to create what they believe is the safest car seat yet.
[Barry Mahal, Dorel Industries:] Being close to Indianapolis really is what inspired us to try to work with them.
[Wolf:] The answer is in a material similar to the ones used in race car seats. It's a foam called "Air Protect." It reduces the impact by spreading out the force of the collision, and "Air Protect" has been put to the test.
[Mahal:] We've concentrated on side impact crashes, primarily because they are the most dangerous. In all the advances of automotive safety, a lot of that is up in the front of the vehicle. But when you talk about side impact crashes, you basically have about 18 inches of distance between the side of the vehicle and the occupant.
[Wolf:] Developers says the key is protecting the child's head and the upper torso.
[Mahal:] The design of the seat itself, how we have larger wings out the side, so that we're dealing with and addressing the intrusion that happens on a side impact crash.
[Wolf:] "Air Protect" is on the road now, and investors hope crash statistics will be the only thing taking a hit. Reynolds Wolf, CNN.
[Whitfield:] All right, red eyes, runny nose, sneezing, might sound like a cold but these are also symptoms of allergies. Take a look at the top 10 things that trigger allergies. Ten, cockroaches; perfume, number nine; eight, medicine; seven, latex; six, food. The top five when we come right back.

[Max Foster, Cnn Int'l. Anchor, Quest Means Business:] A deal is done. Europe plans to rewrite the rules to save the euro. Finally some good news for Madoff's victims. As a $7-billion promise makes U.S. corporate history. And walking the business tightrope. We'll tell you what to watch out for in 2011. I'm Max Foster in for Richard Quest. This is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Hello to you. Europe's leaders are hailing their new permanent crisis fund saying it will safeguard the euro. But even as the ink dries on the agreement we are seeing fresh signs of distress in the marketplace with Ireland taking another knock from the credit ratings agencies. A long term solution, this maybe, but in the short-term the question is whether Europe is doing enough to stem the crisis. The new permanent crisis mechanism means struggling nations will be able to get help after 2013. That date was when the original temporary trillion-dollar bailout fund was due to expire. Europe's leaders have agreed to tweak the Lisbon treaty. That is no easy feat, requiring the agreement of all 27 members. Leaders did not add any more money to the pot for now. The financial safety net for Europe is still worth around a trillion dollars. And some heads of government want to make sure the EU itself is extra careful with its money. The leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. want to put future EU spending plans on ice. They are pushing for a virtual freeze of the EU budget until 2020. Earlier I spoke to Jose Manuel Barroso, he is president of the European Commission and I asked him whether he was pleased about the new crisis mechanism.
[Jose Manuel Barroso, President, European Commission:] It was a very important decision. For the first time now there is a possibility for a permanent mechanism for the stability of the euro area. And not only we have agreed on the main features of this permanent mechanism for financial stability, we also have agreed on the necessary limited revision of the treaty to allow for that mechanism.
[Foster:] As I understand it, the wording that will go into the treaty includes this sentence: "The granting of any required financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality." What does that conditionality refer to?
[Barroso:] It means that a country may receive some support, financial support, in the form of loans or guarantees, but for that it has to respect some very clear commitments in terms of budgetary policy or some kind of reforms. Of course, this has to be decided on a case by case basis.
[Foster:] And the treaty is being adjusted. That means that national governments will have to approve it still, won't it? So we are some way off this becoming law?
[Barroso:] All the governments have already approved it, now it is important to have the ratification through the parliaments, according to the national procedures. But the 27 governments have accepted this kind of very limited, surgical reform of the treaty to make it possible to have this kind of permanent mechanism for the stability, financial stability in the euro area.
[Foster:] Separately leaders have also agreed to a budget freeze, haven't they?
[Barroso:] To a budget freeze? No, there is no decision at all about that. That was just speculation and some rumors. But in fact the decision regarding the future budget is a decision inviting the commission to present its proposals. And we are going to come with our proposals in June of 2011. So we are preparing proposals and at the end of those proposals there will be afterward a discussion.
[Foster:] You know the leaders of France, Britain, and Germany have agreed between themselves to have effectively a real term freeze, though, between 2014 and 2020. And they'll decide this, won't they?
[Barroso:] I don't know what our decision is, in fact, the decisions of the European Union are taken by the 27 countries based on the proposals of the commission. So, we cannot yet say there is a decision before the proposal is made. They may have some ideas. Of course, it is important that each country has its own idea. But in fact, negotiations have not yet started, because we need the proposal to start negotiations.
[Foster:] OK, so what would you make of a freeze? Because there are certain countries like Poland that wouldn't approve of it at all, would they?
[Barroso:] You know, it think it is not wise to start discussing the budget in terms of freeze or increase, or decrease. It is not wise. But we have to see in a realistic and rational and reasonable manner is where the European funding brings added value. When we can be increasing our competitiveness, making our economy more fit for this globalization age, and what is the contribution a European budget can make to it. So this is the matters where we are now focusing our attention. Afterwards we have to discuss what is the profit level of expenditure or investment. Having of course, to take in consideration the current financial constraints and the economic circumstances.
[Foster:] Is it helpful that the three most powerful leaders in the area are making decisions on their own?
[Barroso:] Of course, it is not helpful if this was the case. I don't know exactly what is the-these decisions that you are referring to. But if this is the case it is decisions that only bind the countries that are responsible for that. We are 27 countries in the European Union. All have the same dignity. All have the same
[Foster:] The president of the European Commission today. Well, European leaders are on their way home from Brussels now, fully agreed on at least a financial safety net, in principle. Our Fred Pleitgen is in snowy Brussels tonight. I asked him if what we have seen over the past 24 hours really is European unity at its best.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, it is probably not a true picture. I think in the whole scheme of things, if you look at this EU summit, there is really one country that go most of what it wanted to get and that was Germany, which, of course, right now is also in the strongest position within the European Union. The Germans said from the beginning they wanted several things from this, what they call permanent crisis mechanism. They said they wanted it to be a matter of last resort. That this would only be tapped into if in fact the whole of the Euro Zone stability were called into question or was in danger. That is certainly something that they got. They said they wanted massive strings attached to any bailout money that would flow to any of the member states. That is another thing that the Germans got. The Germans were the first ones to float the idea of changing the Lisbon treaty to do all that. They got what they wanted in that respect as well. So certainly this does reflect, in many ways, the strength of the German economy within the Euro Zone and also, of course, the strength of Germany's financial discipline that it has been having in the past couple of years. So certainly you can say that while there was some descent that Germany probably did win out on most of the things that it wanted to do, Max.
[Foster:] And Germany needed that role or that sort of PR for its own political reasons, didn't it? So Merkel could go back to the Germans and say, actually, you know, it is not so bad. We got what we wanted so we can stay in the euro and it is a good thing to be there.
[Pleitgen:] Yes, you know, she was in a very difficult role. Because on the one hand there are a lot of Germans right now who are becoming more and more euro skeptical I would say. There are a lot of Germans that believe their country is paying way too much into the European Union and is not getting enough out of the European Union. On the other hand, of course, you do also have the opposition here in Germany, which has said that Angela Merkel is, quote, "un-European". That she is not doing enough to prop up Europe. The Germans have for a very long time and have always really seen the European Union as much as a political entity as they have an economic entity. So certainly this is something that they also take very seriously from a political standpoint, and of course, from the standpoint of keeping the peace in Europe. So she has been taking a lot of shots from either side. And she reflected that throughout the day in her press conference, when she said that, yes, on the one hand there is no way that we are going to let the euro slide. But on the other hand we are going to make it as tough as possible to actually tap into that bailout money to make sure that nations that are in trouble implement their own austerity measures before they try and get money from this European bailout fund.
[Angela Merkel, Chancellor Of Germany:] The size of the fund has to be large enough to make it credible. And the same criteria will apply to the permanent crisis mechanism as with all other measures. We will do whatever it takes to ensure the stability of the euro. It is very hard to say today how large the crisis fund will have to be, but it must be sufficient.
[Foster:] And in terms of the mechanism and how it works, not complete clarity there, yet. But do you think this is enough to convince investors that actually the European Union is there to bailout countries if there are problems, even if there isn't a bailout fund, as we have got right now?
[Pleitgen:] You know the interesting thing about what was said after the summit, and was said by all of these leaders, is that they never put a number on how big they actually want this fund to be, when it comes into effect. Of course, we know that right now the temporary fund for bailing out countries is about 750 billion euros, or $1.1 trillion, which in part is EU money. On the other part, of course, is IMF money. The Germans have always been very reluctant to put any money on top of that. So far no one has been willing to come out and say this is how big this fund is going to be. All they keep saying is we want this fund to be big enough to actually be credible. However, we do also have to say that it is still two years before this is going to get implemented. This is not going to start until the year 2013, so we'll see how things evolve until then. But yes, you are absolutely right, so far they have still bee quite vague on how they want this mechanism to actually look like. And therefore it is doubtful whether or not this is going to calm down the skeptics that, of course, are out there, Max.
[Foster:] Fred, who was in Berlin, in fact, not Brussels. Now it will be a long time before Irish eyes are smile again. The IMF and Moody's cast further doubt on Ireland's debt stricken economy and they question its ability to pay that last month's massive bailout; more on that after the break.

[Lemon:] HIV and AIDS, a punishment from God? That's what Patricia Sawo of Kenya used to believe. But an unexpected revelation about her own health status not only forced her to reevaluate her beliefs, but to launch a crusade to end the stigma of HIV. It's quite a story, and it's why she's this week's CNN's Hero.
[Patricia Sawo, Cnn Hero:] Back in the 1990s, I believed that AIDS was a punishment from God. When I personally tested HIV positive, it was oh, my God, how could this happen to me? I fasted and prayed for years, hoping that I would be healed. When I went public, I lost my job. My husband lost his job. The landlord wanted us out of his house. The stigma was terrible. I realized that I had been wrong. My name is Patricia Sawo. My mission is to change people's attitudes about HIV. All that you need is accurate, correct information. As charity leaders, we need to shepherd the people. HIV is not a moral issue. It is a virus. I do a lot of counseling. When I'm helping somebody else who is HIV positive, I want them to know that you can rise above this. The 48 children at this center, most of them saw their parents dying of AIDS. My HIV status brings some kind of bond. I provide that motherly love and all their basic needs. HIV, it's making me a better person. We want to be there for people. So if we have it, we share it out. It's what I want to do because it's what I'm meant to do. God has his own ways of healing. So for me, I'm healed.
[Lemon:] And remember, every one of this year's CNN Heroes are chosen from people you tell us about. To nominate someone you know who's making a big difference in your community, go to CNNHeroes.com. All right. Time now to check in on some top stories here on CNN. Hundreds of Americans who have been stuck in Libya are headed out by sea right now. This evacuation ferry chartered by the U.S. State Department left Tripoli this morning with about 300 on board. Their destination is the nearby island nation of Malta. They're expected to arrive there very shortly. And I want to tell you, moments ago, this just into CNN. A State Department spokesman tweeted that a U.S. charter aircraft just departed Libya, bound for Istanbul, with additional Americans on board. Meantime, a defiant Moammar Gadhafi has addressed a crowd of people in Tripoli's Green Square. He told them he would defend Libya at all costs. The images were broadcast on state TV today. Earlier, witnesses told CNN that security forces aimed artillery rounds and sniper fire at protesters on the streets there. Back here at home, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says layoffs may start next week if a budget isn't approved. He had set today as a deadline, but the controversial legislation remains in limbo as Senate Democrats continue their standoff over plans to strip state workers of their collective bargaining rights. The bill did pass overnight in the State Assembly. A new dinosaur species is found in Utah, and scientists give it a name Thunder Thighs. We have some incredible pictures of what the dinosaur may have looked like. Thunder Thighs.

[Phillips:] Checking news cross-country now: In Washington, a defiant group of occupiers refuse to pack up their gear. The ban began Monday at noon. Protesters can still stay in the park around the clock, but their tents must be open at all times. In California, the admissions officer accused of inflating college entrance exam scores since 2005 has resigned. The president of Claremont McKenna College says SAT scores were exaggerated by 10 to 20 points. And they're still waiting for winter in parts of Minnesota. In fact, it's been so warm that many local businesses are seeing as much as 30 percent drop in sales. Industries like ice fishing and snow removal have all taken a big hit. Kicked off the ballot for speaking poor English? Not so fast says this city council hopeful. Here's CNN Thelma Gutierrez.
[Thelma Gutierrez, Cnn Correspondent:] In the small border town of San Luis, Arizona, Alejandrina Cabrera is somewhat of a political celebrity, without having to spend a day in office.
[Alejandrina Cabrera, City Council Hopeful:] They're my friend.
[Gutierrez:] The married woman of two made national headlines after her bid for a seat on the San Luis City Council was blocked by the city's mayor.
[Cabrera:] He say I can't speak English, read and write.
[Gutierrez:] At issue, Cabrera's fluency in English. She's a United States citizen. She was born in Arizona. But like many people in this small agricultural town who live and work on both sides of the U.S.Mexican border, Cabrera was raised in Mexico where life is more affordable. When she was 17, she came back to the U.S. to finish high school. But by then, Spanish was her primary language. Cabrera says no one in San Luis, where most people speak Spanish had ever questioned her English skills until she decided to run for public office.
[Mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla, San Luis, Arizona:] She does not understand English.
[Gutierrez:] Juan Carlos Escamilla, the mayor of San Luis, says under Arizona law, elected officials must be proficient in English. He says Cabrera doesn't qualify to run for office. And as a citizen, he filed a lawsuit against her. And she was forced to take an English proficiency test paid for by local taxpayers to stop her candidacy. Cabrera says this is political payback because she spearheaded two recall campaigns against the mayor. [on camera]: Not a personal vendetta against her?
[Escamilla:] Not personal. Not a personal vendetta to get her, absolutely not.
[Gutierrez:] After a lengthy court hearing, Cabrera was disqualified from the race. Her attorney, John Minore, says her civil rights have been violated. [on camera]: She did not pass her proficiency test.
[John Minore, Cabrera's Attorney:] What test is there to pass though? There's no test in the statute. And they're denying her the political process, and let the people of this community decide they want her on the city council or not.
[Gutierrez:] What do you tell those people who say, but you're a citizen, you live here now and you're running for office, you need to speak English?
[Alejandrina Cabrera, Running For City Council:] I will speak English. A little, maybe, but it's enough for the city council.
[Gutierrez:] Cabrera says she's taking her appeal all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court. Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, San Luis, Arizona.
[Phillips:] So what's 21 miles wide and hurling closer to earth by the hour? An asteroid, of course. We'll have the details next.

[Blitzer:] We certainly have learned to expect the unexpected in this, the 2012 Republican presidential race. And as we get closer to the Iowa caucuses a week from tomorrow, a Ron Paul victory is seeming more and more like a very real possibility. Our own Lisa Sylvester is taking a closer look now at this Ron Paul phenomenon. It's pretty amazing. What are you finding?
[Sylvester:] Well, Wolf, you know, Ron Paul was in the middle of the pact candidate, but now, he's leading among likely Republican Iowa caucus goers, and one major reason is his ground game with his loyal enthusiastic followers.
[Unidentified Female:] So many people vote for a flash and style and charisma rather than substance.
[Sylvester:] At the Ron Paul headquarters in Des Moines recently, volunteers work the phones. It's a hub of activity. In contrast to the Iowa campaign offices of Mitt Romney, which on this day, was still closed at mid morning. Paul is leaps and bounds ahead of Romney and Newt Gingrich in the ground game in Iowa, and it's now paying dividends.
[Rep. Ron Paul,  Presidential Candidate:] One thing that is characteristic about our campaign is when people join our campaign, they rarely leave. They're real solid, determined supporters. They understand what the message about and they agree with that. So, I think it's a very good sign. I think, in political terms, it means that we're probably peaking at the right time.
[Sylvester:] The latest polling from the American research group shows Ron Paul leading the Iowa presidential caucus with 21 percent, Romney at 20 percent, Newt Gingrich with 19 percent. Paul supporters are not likely to sway in the political breeze. They eagerly eat up his message, smaller government, fiscal discipline, and strict interpretation of the constitution. Paul support comes from a variety of passionate groups, the youth, Tea Party members and homeschoolers, a group very politically active in Iowa. Conservative radio show host, Steve Deace, says Paul has a very good chance of pulling off an upset in this state.
[Steve Deace, Iowa Radio Talk Show:] Organizationally, he's very well organized, has really a devoted following. He also has several people around the state, people that I know that have done a very good job, for lack of a better word, evangelizing the Ron Paul philosophy of governance.
[Sylvester:] Paul has an authentic folksy style that plays well, not just in Iowa but also with this breakfast crowd in a New Hampshire deli. He also has, though, what some conservatives see as political baggage, particularly, on foreign policy. Paul wants to end all foreign aide, including to key U.S. ally, Israel, and he wants the U.S. to have a much smaller role on the world stage. That might make it tough for Paul to sell his message beyond the Iowa caucuses.
[Cheri Jacobus, Republican Strategist:] He has very passionate followers. His supporters are very passionate and will do anything for him. It is a little bit difficult for Ron Paul to expand his list of supporters. He is not going to take a lot of people who previously were hard core Republicans, a hard core Democrats and become Ron Paul supporters.
[Sylvester:] Now, Ron Paul strategy includes wooing independents in Iowa, but they can take part in the caucuses. If Paul wants to win in Iowa, if he can pull that off, then maybe, perhaps, he can take that momentum to New Hampshire and beyond, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Independents can certainly get involved to the primary in New Hampshire and in other states. How is he doing so far with the independents?
[Sylvester:] Actually, he's doing quite well in Iowa. That same poll, he's ranking about 33 percent. He's actually leading, compare that to Gingrich and Romney. They both have 17 percent, but the challenge for Ron Paul is going to be getting his supporters to participate in the caucus because they're not the bunch that typically will take part in these caucuses. Typically, his supporters are not real a big supporters of government or the government process, and that's going to be the real challenge for Ron Paul going forward next week.
[Blitzer:] Lisa, thanks very much. Let's dig a little bit deeper right now about this Ron Paul phenomenon. Joining us are CNN political contributors, the Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona and Will Cain, he's the columnist for TheBlaze.com. Will, first to you. What would it mean for the GOP if Ron Paul wins in Iowa a week from tomorrow?
[Will Cain, Cnn Political Contributor:] It would mean that Republican voters just can't settle on a candidate, I think, Wolf. I mean, I think it would mean we are no closer to a candidate on January 4th than we are today or that we were yesterday, because I just can't see this support is going to coalesce around Ron Paul and he's going to ride that through New Hampshire, to South Carolina and Florida. It will mean this thing is a fractured field and it's up for grabs still.
[Blitzer:] How would you view it, Maria?
[Maria Cardona, Cnn Political Contributor:] I tend to agree with Will. And I definitely think there's a possibility that Ron Paul can win in Iowa because of everything that was just mentioned, the ground game, the passion of his followers, which can be very contagious. But I also think a critically important thing that Ron Paul has for Iowa voters, for especially those conservatives for whom character is a key ingredient for whoever they want to see as their nominee is that Ron Paul is seen as one who has never changed his political core to go with the political wins. I think that they see him as one of the most honest, the one that has the most principle. He is never seen as flip-flopper. And when you're going up against Romney and Gingrich, who both have baggage, both personal, as well as substantive, in term of issues, I think that's a very powerful thing, especially for Iowa caucus voters.
[Blitzer:] You know, that "Des Moines Register" we'll show the front page a big headline asking the question, "Could Ron Paul Win in Iowa?" There it is right there. But both of you know Andrew Sullivan. He's an influential blogger. He endorsed Ron Paul, but in recent days, as more information has come out once again about those newsletters that Ron Paul supposedly wrote 20 years ago, although he says he never wrote those newsletters, never read those newsletters, by and large, Andrew Sullivan is now writing this, and I will put it on the screen: "If Paul did not write these newsletters, then he has an obligation to say if he knew who did or conduct an investigation. A person who has that kind of bigotry directly printed under his name, without a clear empirical explanation of why he is innocent, cannot be an honorable president of the United States. Will Cain, what do you think?
[Cain:] You know, Wolf, I do think there are some questions left to answer here. Here's the deal. Did Ron Paul write the letters? It's very plausible, possible he did not. Did he ever read them? OK, still plausible. We're stretching a little bit, but still plausible. Did he know about them? Well, listen, I was a small town newspaper publisher in Texas, and if something got published in one of my newspapers, it's very possible it would have happened once. But after that, it would have been drawn to my attention and I would have done something about it. But I still want to say I think this misses the bigger question which we're all really not asking, and that is, is Ron Paul a racist? And by most accounts, for most people's interaction with him, the answer is no. And buy the argument that his libertarian philosophies essentially make that question meaningless. They would have no place in the government anyway. But I do think it raises big questions about his abilities as manager, and more as a leader, and of some of the fringe elements he's aligned himself with.
[Blitzer:] Does he need to do more to explain all of this, Maria?
[Cardona:] Yes. There is no question that he needs to do more, Wolf, especially if he does win Iowa, because what his problem has been all along is that he has never been able to get above the ceiling of those passionate, consumed followers of his, which he will have to do if he is going to be a viable candidate after Iowa. And the only way to do that, if these questions are going to continue, is for him to come out and explain himself. And if Will Cain is right that he actually is not a racist and he doesn't believe in any of these things, then he ought to come out and do a press conference and unequivocally say so, and unequivocally say that he's going to investigation how these newsletters came out, who wrote them, and why his signature is on them. Those are not questions that are going to sit well for voters in the other states that are coming up after the Iowa caucuses.
[Blitzer:] His campaign says it was a robo signature, if you will. It was an automatic signature. He never signed it, but somebody in the office just put it up there. All right. I want to move on and talk about Rick Santorum for a moment, Will. He is out there in Iowa. He's the only candidate campaigning in Iowa today, but he is actually hunting with Congressman Steve King, who is popular in Iowa, hasn't endorsed anyone. Let me play a clip, the two of them getting ready to hunt.
[Rick Santorum , Presidential Candidate:] Christmas, not a particularly great day to go and do a lot of town hall meetings. So I just thought we would do something that was fun, something that I enjoy doing, and I know the folks here in Iowa enjoy doing also and, you know, doing it with some good friends. So it was an opportunity for me to get out and participate in a sport that I know is a popular one here in the state of Iowa, is bird shooting. And we did some bird shooting today.
[Blitzer:] Doing some bird shooting. You see him wearing his NRA, National Rifle Association, cap out there. This is after they went hunting, Will. You know, if Steve King were to endorse Rick Santorum, Will, how big of a deal would that be?
[Cain:] I think it would help. I think there is a potential here for Rick Santorum to be a surprise in Iowa. Look, he is the only candidate at this point who hasn't had his shot at the front of the line. If you put Rick Santorum on paper as well, and lay out his positions, they are pretty in the mainstream of Republican beliefs. I had an analyst one time ask me, "What is the deal? Why hasn't Santorum had his shot? Why are voters not looking to him?" And honestly, I can only come up with one plausible explanation. And that is his personality. He's just not charismatic or likeable enough for the voters to really gravitate towards him.
[Blitzer:] I've been surprised, too. In that recent poll that we showed earlier, he was actually, Maria, in Iowa, below Huntsman, who isn't even really running in Iowa. I simply don't understand that.
[Cardona:] I do think it has a lot to do with personality and dynamism, or lack thereof. But I think the one thing we have to all keep in mind and you've said this many times, Wolf, and it's one of the reasons we are finding this process so fascinating going into the Iowa caucuses, the majority of voters are still undecided. And the majority of voters who said they have chosen a candidate have also said they could very easily change their minds. So, I agree that, at this point, we should not say that anybody is out of this race right now. It has been so volatile up to now, and in the next several days anything can happen.
[Cain:] Absolutely. You can still hang an "undecided" sign.
[Blitzer:] Yes. Will, one thing that is going to happen in these next eight days, these final eight days, maybe too late, maybe too little, but Newt Gingrich is about to go negative. He is already signaling that. He has been hammered by these campaign commercials out there. Is it too late for him to fight back?
[Cain:] You know, it might be too late. Here is a couple facts we know. He knew he had to change his message. We thought he was going to move it to the economy over the next week. He knows he has been pummeled over the last several weeks, he's been bleeding support, and he's being hit with negative ads left and right. But the interesting thing is, I think if he goes negative, after Romney, essentially, the person who has really benefited from all the ads attacking Newt has been Ron Paul. So I don't know what a negative ad for Romney is going to do for Newt in Iowa, but I guess he does need to do something.
[Blitzer:] In general though, Maria and you have worked in these campaigns if someone hits you, shouldn't you hit back?
[Cardona:] Oh, there is no question, Wolf. And you and I had this conversation on your show last week, which is he absolutely needed to hit back immediately. Let's not forget what happened to John Kerry in "04. Because right now, what is happening is that all of those negative attacks have had time to solidify in voters" minds. He should have done this a long time ago. In fact, you said this have a press conference and talk about how Mitt Romney is not a core conservative. Today he put out a statement. That's a good way to go. Do a Web video. Those are very cheap. He can use Mitt Romney's words against himself, and that doesn't even it wouldn't even seem like a negative ad if you are using Mitt Romney's own words. And there is so much there if he needs to.
[Blitzer:] All right.
[Cain:] To Ron Paul's benefit though? To what?
[Cardona:] To Gingrich's own benefit. It will make voters see that he is fighting back and that he is setting the record straight. Voters like candidates who are going to fight back. If they are not going to fight back for themselves, how are they going to fight back for the voters?
[Blitzer:] I'm going to have a chance to speak with Newt Gingrich tomorrow. I'll be in Iowa. He'll be in THE SITUATION ROOM. We'll be broadcasting from Iowa tomorrow. Mitt Romney on Wednesday. Guys, thanks very much.
[Cardona:] Thanks, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] An amazing journey more than a century back in time. Just ahead, you're going to hear yes, you will hear the recordings of Alexander Graham Bell for the first time ever thanks to the power of a brand new technology. And from computer bag to bulletproof vest, the product that may be transforming workplace security.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning. Welcome, everybody. You're watching a special edition of "Starting Point," and we are coming to you live this morning from the French Quarter in New Orleans. Our "Starting Point" this morning is Isaac on the verge of becoming a full blown hurricane right now and taking aim at Louisiana, the biggest threat storm surge and rainfall. CNN forecasters are predicting flood waters up to 12 feet. And with an eye on Isaac, the Republicans press ahead with the national convention in Tampa. We've got a packed show for you this morning. We're going to be talking to New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana senator, Mary Landrieu and David Vitter will join me. Congressman Randy Forbes of Virginia is my guest and columnist, Joel Stein, will join us. It's Tuesday, August 28th, and STARTING POINT begins right now. Good morning. We're coming to you live from the French quarter in New Orleans. Our "STARTING POINT" this morning is tropical storm Isaac, it is gaining strength and has overnight, and it's closing in on the Louisiana coast. The storm is expected to make landfall tonight or early tomorrow morning as a category one hurricane. Storm surge and potential flooding are the biggest concerns right now. Isaac is expected to bring as much as 20 inches of rain when it hits, could create storm surges up to 12 feet. Thousands of people in Louisiana, in Mississippi, and Alabama are evacuating. We've found many though, even here in New Orleans who have decided to hunker down and ride out the storm. Here's a live picture of Jackson square this morning, St. Peter's street, a slight wind. We've had rain on and off as well. The big question for the folks in this city and outside the city, will the updated levees and pumps hold against Isaac? CNN has got coverage for you this morning of tropical storm Isaac. Let's get right to Rob Marciano live this morning at the Port of New Orleans. Hey, Rob.
[Rob Marciano, Meteorologist:] Good morning, Soledad. You're right about the levee and pump situation. That stuff is all beefed up and ready to go. They had a bit of a dry run during hurricane Gustav in 2008 but even more work has been done since then. It is not a hurricane yet but might as well be, 70-mile-per-hour winds and huge moisture field as well. The last couple frames of the satellite picture, the signature is becoming more classic, on the verge of becoming a hurricane officially. It's 150 miles southeast of New Orleans proper and heading directly for the French quarter and crescent city at 12 miles an hour. Forecast track highlights that. But at this stage of the game, the exact track is really of no consequence because so many people are going to be affected from Morgan City all the way up to Biloxi, the Gulfport area there. And the surge, anywhere from six to 12 feet, so they are fairly confident that levees we saw yesterday and I had the opportunity to fly over yesterday afternoon with the coast guard and elaborate system, 133 miles worth of this stuff, flood gates, canal closures and pump systems that are going to be put to the test when hurricane Isaac makes its way onshore. Again, a six to 12-foot storm surge expected. On top of that the rainfall is going to be excessive. This is what we expect for forecast rainfall totals, 10 to 18 inches of rain expected of a long duration event. This is probably going to be a longer duration event than hurricane Katrina. I know we keep making comparisons to Katrina. It is a weaker storm and not as big, but it's going to be moving slower. It's going to be longer duration wind and rain event. The question really Soledad, is we think the levees will hold up but how about the pump systems? They are only designed to pump an inch an hour and during a hurricane you can get three to four inches per hour. I think it's likely we'll see some flooding. The question is, how bad is it going to be?
[O'brien:] That's the big question today. When you talk about making comparisons to Katrina, tomorrow will be the seventh anniversary of hurricane Katrina, something here in the gulf coast area knows very well. The massive storm triggering hurricane warnings along a wide stretch of the gulf coast, including the entire Mississippi coast, some spots very, very familiar with disaster. Katrina storm surge totally smashed homes in places like Waveland and Gulfport and long beach on the eastern side of the storm, killed more than 200 people in the state. Seven years later, those places are in the same dangerous position. Many people are evacuating there. David Mattingly is live in Gulfport with more on what's happening there. Good morning.
[David Mattingly, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Soledad. What we're looking for right now is a lot of rain coming this way. When people look back at Katrina seven years ago, they talk about the storm surge. Storm surge from that storm would have been six to 10 feet over my head where I'm standing right now. They are not expecting anything like that with Isaac as it comes ashore. Instead they are going to be looking at a lot of rain and flooding in low lying areas. But so far two out of the three counties here on coastal Mississippi have declared mandatory evacuations for people living in some low- lying areas. But again, those evacuations are targeted. It's not a massive evacuation across the coast. Everyone, however, watching the storm closely. Over the years since Katrina, there's been a lot of rebuilding going on here all across the Mississippi coast, rebuilding structures and rebuilding infrastructure and roads and bridges and higher, stronger than it was before. And right now people are looking to this storm with more confidence than they would have been prior to Katrina but at the same time still treating this storm with respect. Watching to see what it's going to do now. Soledad?
[O'brien:] David Mattingly for us in Gulfport. Appreciate the update. Time to get the latest. Richard Knabb, the director of the National Hurricane Center. Let's talk with what rob Marciano and David were telling me, storm surge and rain. Has to be the biggest concerns right now.
[Richard Knabb, Director, National Hurricane Center:] People often think of the hurricanes and tropical storms as primarily wind storms but that's just part of the equation. The water components are often the more deadly and sometimes the more damaging and we have two water hazards, the storm surge from the rainfall that could lead to inland flooding. Now, the storm surge still the potential on the Mississippi coast, southeast Louisiana is six to 12 feet in some spots, depending on exactly where the winds are pushing into the coast. That's why folks have been some folks have been told to evacuate from particular areas that are the most vulnerable. It's not just going to be a coast alley vent. As it moves inland, this large tropical storm, we're still anticipating to become a hurricane, is going to move slowly inland. It's the large size combined with the slow motion that's going to contribute to very large rainfall totals as this moves inland. And even outside this cone we could see very heavy rainfall totals. Some spots could see as much as 20 inches. That could lead to significant flooding and river flooding in a few days.
[O'brien:] So let me ask a couple of questions, Richard. You talked about the eye wall forming and not forming. What's the significance of that and the fact it's slow moving, that means all of the rain is going to sit over whatever area that's happening, correct?
[Knabb:] Yes, the last few days Isaac has been struggling to develop a solid inner core and takes baby steps along the way. It's getting closer and closer and even right now, we see a blow-up of thunderstorms near the center the air force reconnaissance plane showing the pressure falling a little more, all indications it's getting there but hasn't getting over the threshold to become a hurricane yet. The other component is driven by the steering current around it and there's going to be a little bit of blocking high pressure ridge that will keep this from moving quickly inland. For any one spot in the area where it's going to be moving ashore, and this whole swath of moisture could drop a lot of rain for a lot of people. And that's the inland flood risk that we're concerned about. Inland flooding historically has been responsible for a lot of fatalities and tropical storms and hurricanes come ashore. So it's not just going to be a coastal event.
[O'brien:] Thank you, Richard. We'll see you at the top of the next hour to get another advisory update from you. Folks living here in New Orleans are hoping that $10 billion in improvements to the levee system will hold during what is now the first real test. Senator David Vitter went out with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He's with us this morning. Nice to see you.
[Sen. David Vitter,  Louisiana:] Good morning.
[O'brien:] You've embedded yourself in the army corps of engineers. What did you want to figure out?
[Vitter:] This is going to be some sort of a test of the post Katrina system so I want to see how we all perform in the test including the corps of engineers in terms of their preparations and processes. I'm going to be with them all through the storm.
[O'brien:] You've been very critical of them in the past. Yesterday we had weather like this, a little bit balmy, doesn't feel, rain on and off. How was yesterday?
[Vitter:] All of preparations seem really strong. We'll see how everything goes. Apparently this won't be a very, very string ent test, knock on wood because it will remain a relatively weak hurricane. We're hoping for that. It will be an important test for the system.
[O'brien:] You've evacuated your family.
[Vitter:] Yes.
[O'brien:] A lot of people are not evacuating.
[Vitter:] Yes. I think that's reasonable given the strength of the storm. I got them out of town so I could do my work and I knew they were safe. Given this nature of this storm, I think it's reasonable that most people would stay.
[O'brien:] What's your biggest concern right now?
[Vitter:] My biggest
[O'brien:] Is it flooding, as we just heard from Richard Knabb?
[Vitter:] My biggest concern is not with the system that's been built since Katrina. It's with all of the areas outside that system. We really built the system for the last storm. There are major populated areas outside of that system, Western St. Charles, lower Jefferson, those are very, very vulnerable areas with significant population in them.
[O'brien:] Many of them have already evacuated in some cases, like Plaquemines had mandatory evacuation. Of course seven years ago, hurricane Katrina, anybody who lived through that or even a reporter who came to cover it, it brings back a lot of bad feelings and anxiety. Is that what you're seeing?
[Vitter:] Yes, but, again, people in this area are very experienced and know this is not Katrina. So I think they are taking the proper precautions and taking things seriously without panicking.
[O'brien:] I know there are some gaps that you found as you've been doing this chore with the Army Corps of Engineers. What are the gaps, and have they been fixed?
[Vitter:] These have been known and identified for quite some time. They are about eight specific discreet small gaps where the corps has to come in with temporary measures when a storm is coming like this. Usually that means one of two things, temporary sheet piling into the ground or big baskets
[O'brien:] Mesh sort of
[Vitter:] With sand bags.
[O'brien:] We'll check in with you again tomorrow morning so we can see how the second day went for you. Nice to have you.
[Vitter:] Good to be with you.
[O'brien:] Good luck today. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, we'll continue our special live coverage here in New Orleans. The storm clouds from Isaac taking center stage at the Republican National Convention taking place in Tampa. What happens if there is a major flooding event here? What would they do with the event? Would they cancel it? We'll talk to Congressman Randy Forbes up next. We have to take a short break and we're back in just a moment coming to you live from New Orleans.

[Rajpal:] Welcome back. I'm Monita Rajpal in Hong Kong and you're watching News Stream. These are your world headlines. Much of the United States will observe a moment of silence today to honor the children and adults gunned down a week ago in Newtown, Connecticut. The tragedy has prompted growing calls for the reform of gun laws. The U.S. gun lobby the National Rifle Association will hold a news conference today. CNN of course will bring you both events as they happen. NATO's secretary-general accuses Syrian government forces of launching Scud type missiles. He called it the act of a desperate regime. Meanwhile, the United Nations warns Syria's civil war is turning into a sectarian battle with the sharpest divide between Alawites and Sunni Muslims. At least 32 people have been killed in southeastern Kenya after a rival community there fought with arrows and machetes. The violence took place in the Tana River district according to the Kenyan Red Cross which said it was a confrontation between the Pokomo and Orma tribes. Dozens were injured in the fighting. British Prime Minister David Cameron has made an unannounced visit to troops in Afghanistan. It comes just one day after Mr. Cameron said the reduction in British forces in the country would accelerate. At British headquarters in Helmand Province, Camp Bastion, Mr. Cameron joined at a carol service and played table football with soldiers. Britain has the second largest force in Afghanistan after the United States. December 21st marks the end of a major cycle on the Mayan calendar, but to some it also marks the end of days, the Apocalypse. Don't ask us why. And according to the many of the doomsday all the doomsayers, it should have happened over two hours ago. So it happens the world is not going to end today. And over the last few days, we have been looking into the science that debunks a variety of theories on the Earth's purported demise. Planetary collisions, polar shifts, and the list goes on. Well, today, we'll tell you another reason why the so-called doomsday is just another day.
[David Morrison, Nasa Atrobiologist:] We know these things because of the NASA Space Guard survey, there is a real long-term concern about possible impacts and that's why for the last almost 20 years we have been scanning the skies specifically looking for asteroids near Earth asteroids and have a catalog of about 10,000 of them now with determined orbits. And I always mention to people that one result of that is there has not been a single object found that's on a collision course with Earth.
[Don Yeomans, Nasa Asteroid Scientist:] The Earth is actually being hit by meteors in a daily basis. I mean, basketball sized objects come in a couple of times a day. They don't do any damage, because they burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. Volkswagon sized objects come in every couple of weeks, but in order for an object to come through the Earth's atmosphere and cause ground damage it has to be about 40 meters in diameter or larger. And those types of objects don't occur about every 500 years. And we know of no objects that are really of concern to Earth either this December or for the next several years.
[Rajpal:] So killer asteroid or not, we know today is not the end of the world, but thousands of people have flocked to the Mayan ruins in Chichen Itza in Mexico. Nick Parker is one of them. He joins us now live. Nick, I'm still here and so are you.
[Nick Parker, Journalist:] It would certain appear that we are, yes indeed. You know, and so are thousands of other people that have flocked, as you say, to Chichen Itza this morning. We were here at first light and it was quite a special moment. There were hundreds of people queuing up inside the hall that sells tickets. And I think we have some video. And you see people just pouring in at about sort of 5:00 in the morning. The site opened especially early for this special day. And you had tourists and some might say New Age people pouring in to take a look at the famous, iconic temple of Chichen Itza at first light. A lot of people gathered and sat down just to take a look at it. So it was really quite a special moment this morning. They're expecting about 25,000 people to come today which is more than five times as much as they normally get. They've had to bus in extra security and there's road blocks coming into the area to kind of streamline the number of people and visitors that they're getting here. A lot of people are coming by somewhat perhaps tantalized by this idea of the end of the world. So we wanted to take a look at perhaps where it all began that particular myth.
[Parker:] At dusk, a Mayan mass begins in the Mexican city of Merida. The ancient ceremony honors the dead. Vladio Cancher is a priest. His people's calendar ends in a matter of days. "It's considered the closure of the great cycle of Mayan time," he says, "but of course the next cycle begins the following day. For the Mayans, it's not the end of the world." Doomsday scenes from movies like 2012 have helped create a different myth. So where does it come from? The Mayan civilization began in several countries from around 2,000 BC. The story behind the infamous date begins in ancient sites like Chichen Itza where Mayans created calendars.
[Alfredo Barrera, Mexican Government Archaeologist:] The Mayas were astronomers. When they go into the tower of the upper part, they can make observations. They relate the astronomical records with the [inaudible] with the economy.
[Parker:] Temples are designed to channel sunlight. And the number of panels corresponds to years. When academics translated inscriptions in the 19th Century, they discovered that Mayans counted 394 year cycles, known as backtuns. And many say the significant 13th backtun expires this winter solstice, December 21st. Other says, it actually ends on the 23rd. This carving, made in 700 AD, ignited furious debate. Monument six, as its known, was discovered at the site of Tortuguero, and predicts a major event at the end of this 13th backtun.
[Barrera:] We don't have prophesy or descriptions related with the finish of the wall or prophesies. It only a mention of a date. But it doesn't mention more about because the sketching is not complete.
[Parker:] He blames online speculation and ignorant writing for the doomsday belief. But the date is certainly open to interpretation. Santiago Pando lives outside Mexico City and is a filmmaker. "There is a big sun which is going to align with the other suns in other galaxies," he says. "This means there will be an enormous quantity of light and this will give us a wider view of reality." Many in Mayan countries will mark the day as a celebration as others around the world fear something more sinister. And I think that's really the point to emphasize here, the thousands of people that are expected here today are not going to be sort of doom watchers, but I think people that are coming here to celebrate and perhaps mark this highly significant merriment in the Mayan calendar.
[Rajpal:] I kind of like the idea of ending one chapter and starting something new. Nick, that was a really great piece. Thank you so much for joining us here on News Stream. Nick Parker there live for us from Chichen Itza. Well, it is officially winter for those of us here in the northern hemisphere. Mari Ramos is at the world weather center with that and many, especially in the U.S., are feeling it Mari.
[Mari Ramos, Cnn Weather Correspondent:] That's right. They certainly are feeling it. You know, I want to mention a couple of things. It is of course the solstice has a lot to do with this whole Mayan calendar thing. You know, the Mayans would watch the skies and they knew that this was the time between December 21 and December 23 when the sun would reach a certain point in the sky and that it would mark a new also they mentioned the shortest daylight hours of the year. And that's what we have right now in the northern hemisphere for today. I want to just talk to you a little bit about Cancun, the closest observation center that we could find to where Nick was reporting. 21 degrees. The wind at 9 kilometers per hour. Later today, we're expecting that wind to pick up maybe as high as 30 or 40 kilometers per hour, that's pretty significant. And they're not only having celebrations of this end of an era or beginning of an era as you said Monita, there in Mexico, this is a picture from earlier this morning in Pical, in the Pical [pH] ruins in Guatemala in Central America and another beautiful crystal clear night here as well. If anything, a little bit on the chilly side. This surprised me a little bit, this is in Spain also celebrating the end of an era or the beginning of the new calendar there for the Mayan culture. And the solstice of course having a lot to do with this, and this is one of the most famous places in the world, Stonehenge, where there were hundreds and hundreds of people on this crystal clear, but chilly morning today there in the UK. But anyway, let's talk a little bit about the solstice today just happened around 11:12 GMT. So it's been a few hours already. The Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, the Southern Hemisphere tilted toward the sun, and because of that, that's when we have the sun's rays go right over the Tropic of Capricorn, that's what marks the solstice, that's what we were marking today, shortest day of the year in the north, longest day of the year for you guys in the Southern Hemisphere. Get the start of your summer. Very quickly, though, that same weather system that you mentioned across the U.S. is also affecting northern parts of Mexico and even now to the south. That's this cloud that you see right here. And that's what's going to bring that's bringing the strong winds across this area including the Yucatan Peninsula. Across the U.S. it's been quite a mess. Let's go ahead and roll the pictures, because there's a lot going on here. This is pretty tragic stuff. This is in Iowa, in the U.S. state of Iowa. At least three people were killed in this car accident here. There were 30 cars that piled up in near zero visibility. Extremely dangerous conditions when you get this kind of weather, blowing snow, pour visibility. And today, the weather there has improved, but authorities are still asking people that if you don't need to go out, you know, what, don't go out because the roadways are still extremely dangerous. Come back over to the weather map over here. These are the winter storm warnings that we still have across the U.S. They are still very windy weather across the south. Big travel delays expected all up and down the eastern third of the U.S. The reason for that is because this weather system is still marching toward the east. And with that we're going to see big travel delays on this one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, right before, of course, Christmas. Very quickly, I want to jump all the way to the other side of the world, Asia. Let's go ahead and look at some of the pictures that we have for you. This is from China. You know what, here, the winter season is also taking quite a toll across the region. We can see right over here quite a bit of snowfall. We are expecting more snow across central and northern parts of China. To the east, I think you'll start to see a little bit drier weather. With that, we're going to take a look at your city by city forecast. Monita, so much to talk about. There's one more thing I want to tell you about Asia. For you guys in the Philippines, I've been getting a lot of questions on this tropical cyclone in the making that is forming to the east of you. It's much too early to tell whether or not it's going to affect you directly. Right now it's still to the east of Guam. You can see it right here. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is saying low possibility of development. We will of course watch it. But you know what, too early to make any kind of a specific forecast for you this far ahead. With my last 30 seconds, we head to Europe. Look at the pictures from Romania. Still so much snowfall happening across the region here. We're still expecting even more snow as we head through the next 24 to 48 hours. This is just one example. Again, those cars getting stuck on the road, seems to be happening everywhere in the world when you start getting these big snowstorms. So please be extra careful when you drive. Check the weather. But I like to tell people, Monita is, be weather aware snow, rain, whatever it is. You know, even the sun sometimes can cause problems. So stay safe. Back to you.
[Rajpal:] Good advice indeed, Mari, be weather aware. Thank you very much for that. Mari Ramos at the world weather center. Just ahead, we've got the latest news from the NBA, including which team stole the Thunder's thunder. Alex Thomas will be here to explain all in just a moment.

[King:] This half-hour: A new judge could take over the Trayvon Martin case, what it means for the neighborhood watchman now accused of murder. New CNN polls just out tonight show Mitt Romney's biggest weaknesses and his greatest strength. We're breaking down the numbers showing where the president might be vulnerable. Plus, the shuttle Discovery mounted on a jumbo jet ready for one last night no, not heading to space this time. The lawyer for the neighborhood watchman who admits to shooting Trayvon Martin wants a new trial judge. Just this afternoon, George Zimmerman's attorney filed papers to get the current judge, Jessica Recksiedler, removed from the case over a possible conflict of interests. It's because her husband's law partner is Mark NeJame, a CNN analyst who himself was approached by Zimmerman to possibly take on the job of defending him. A new judge could have a huge impact on how the second-degree murder case plays out in the courtroom. Let's talk it over with our legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, live in New York. Sunny, why is this a big deal?
[Sunny Hostin, Cnn Legal Analyst:] Well, it's a big deal, because any time you have a judge that's asked to be recused, and you get a new judge, it sort of changes the color of the case. I think we saw that in the Casey Anthony case. It's really about the judge when it comes down to how a case is tried, the track of the case, the timeliness of the case. Everything comes from the top down. So this is actually very, very important. I suspect, John, I suspect that we will see a new judge in this case. If there is a conviction in a high-profile case like this, there's just no question that there will be an appeal. And you don't want sort of this appearance of impropriety in terms of a conflict of interest for the judge. So I suspect that one would want to just avoid that altogether.
[King:] And so let's take a look at the three most likely options from that area: Judge John Galluzo, the Honorable Kenneth Lester, the honorable Debra Steinberg Nelson. Anything different, anything differences among these options that could make a difference?
[Hostin:] Well, they certainly are different from the judge that has been assigned the case. She's a very new judge. She's only been on the bench for a little over a year. These judges are seasoned judges. Judge Galluzo was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2006, about a year after the "stand your ground" law was enacted. Judge Kenneth Lester, 1996. Judge Debra Steinberg Nelson, 1999. Also appointed by Governor Jeb Bush. Why that is important, John, is because we know Mark O'Mara, the defense attorney, has been an attorney for quite some time and may have appeared in front of these judges. So any attorney in any case, but especially a serious high-profile case like this, will want to appear in front of a judge he or she has appeared in front of and has some sort of rapport. So I suspect that also went into the asking for this judge to recuse herself. She's sort of an unknown factor. These judges are more known factors, at least to this defense team.
[King:] This impacted all the planned bond hearing on Friday?
[Hostin:] I think it's very possible. I mean, let's face it. The bond hearing is set for this Friday. And if there's going to be a new judge, that new judge needs to get up to speed on this case. And so I suspect, if there is a new judge, we may not see that bond hearing happen on Friday.
[King:] Sunny Hostin on top of this case. As always, Sunny, thanks. We'll keep in touch.
[Hostin:] Thanks.
[King:] Let's shift to politics now. A new CNN polling out tonight has lots of bad news for Mitt Romney. Not only is he trailing President Obama 52 to 43 percent nationally, but a closer look shows Romney has an especially tough challenge in winning over women voters. He trails the president 49 to 46 percent among men. But here's the big trouble: among women, the president leads 55 percent to 39 percent. You can do the math. That's a 16-point gender gap. Our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, has been digging into the numbers. There's always a Democrat. I can't even speak. There's always a gender gap with the Democrats, but one that big, you can't win.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] No, you can't win, which is why we're seeing the Romney campaign put out Ann Romney so much lately. Why they are going to start appealing to women on the issue of the economy because women, of course, vote on the economy. They take care of their parents. They're involved in the issue of health-care reform, for example. They take care of their children. So those are going to be issues you're going to be hearing over and over again. Not going to be so much the cultural issues but the economic issues.
[King:] If you look beneath that, if you look at the other news, a clear plan for solving the country's problems: Obama 38, Romney 33. Among independents, 3331. Those are slightly better for Romney.
[Borger:] Well...
[King:] It's competitive numbers especially after a bruising primary process where the other guy doesn't have an opponent. That's not bad.
[Borger:] Those are the closest numbers you get for Mitt Romney. So what it shows you there, and it's not rocket science, it shows you that the president's vulnerability is, of course, the economy. If things go well, six months from now, well, you can expect those numbers to be further apart, and Barack Obama will be doing a lot better. But if things start going south, then you'll see independent voters, probably move over to Mitt Romney. So that is their key opportunity: the economy. Again, not a surprise here.
[King:] And the most the most striking thing, if you look at it, is Romney is competitive when you ask the policy questions. It's on the empathy, the humanity questions where you see the gap. Look at these. More likable, Obama 56, Romney 27. More in touch with women, Obama 55, Romney 27. More in touch with the middle class, Obama 51, Romney 33. Strong leader, 50 to 34. Stands up for what he believes in, 50 to 29.
[Borger:] Right.
[King:] On the personal characteristics, understands me, call it humanity, call it empathy, Romney has to change those numbers.
[Borger:] Right. And the likeability number is the number that I always, always look at. Here a 29-point difference. Likeability means that people will give President Obama the benefit of the doubt if he makes a mistake or they think he does something that they don't really like. That matters to people. The benefit of the doubt is important when you're running for the presidency. People want to like you. It's a personal vote they cast. Twenty-nine-point deficit there means that Mitt Romney has to start changing his appeal a little bit and open up to the American public. Let them know who he is.
[King:] The time to do it, but that's a steep hill to climb.
[Borger:] Very hard.
[King:] Two hundred days. It's only April. It's not over yet. But advantage Obama in April. We'll see if the numbers shift as we go. You're shaking your head.
[Borger:] Long time. Yes, it's a long time. Six months, whatever it is.
[King:] Long time.
[Borger:] It's a long time.
[King:] George H.W. Bush can tell you he had really good numbers right now at this time back in 1992.
[Borger:] That's right, that's right.
[King:] We'll see how it goes. Gloria, thanks. The president may have a lead in the polls, but Mitt Romney says he's ready for the fight, challenging critics who say he can't relate to average Americans. Romney says he can fix the economy and pretty tough message for the president.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] Start packing. That's what I'd like to say. Obviously, we have a very different view. The president, I'm sure, wants another four years, but the first years didn't go so well. And I'd say, Mr. President, focus on your policies and ask, did they make it more likely for businesses to start? Did your policies make it more likely for businesses to hire people?
[King:] Will Romney's focus on his economic expertise be enough to help him overcome the president's big early lead? Joining me now, Ralph Reed, a veteran strategist and the founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. Let's get right to it. The poll numbers, the national horse race, pretty tough if you're Governor Romney. The gender gap, very tough if you're Governor Romney right now. I want to look at what I'll call his under 50 problem. Let me show you the numbers. If you make under $50,000 a year, Obama 56, Romney 36. Among those blue-collar, down-skill voters, advantage Obama. If you're under the age of 50, Obama 56, Romney 37. So younger voters a lot of 40-year-olds old there saying, "Thank you, John" the younger voters, big advantage. How do you you can turn numbers around. And it's only April. He's got a lot of numbers he has to turn around.
[Ralph Reed, Founder, Faith And Freedom Coalition:] Well, the dynamic of the race is going to change. I mean, at this point, in 1992, "TIME" magazine had Bill Clinton on its cover as a reverse negative. He was upside down. He was trailing the incumbent president, George Bush, by 15 points. At this point in 1980, Reagan was behind Jimmy Carter by seven points. So, you know, elections aren't held in April. The other thing you have to remember, John, is this was the most contentious, hard-fought, drawn-out nomination battle since 1976. So what the Romney campaign really needs is two things. No. 1, they need what Lee Atwater used to call defining moments in a campaign. Particularly those that are unscripted, that allow people to see the man that those of us who know Mitt Romney see behind the blue curtain. In Bill Clinton's case, it was playing the saxophone on "Arsenio Hall." In George W. Bush's case, it was going on "Oprah." Remember he famously kissed her on the cheek, and people saw a different side. He needs some spontaneity and to show his other side. The second thing that he needs to do is to be able to get this message back on the economy.
[King:] You talked about that. You also talk about how you have to learn from the people you just beat.
[Reed:] Right.
[King:] It's not officially over yet. You write this essay. It's an interesting essay in yesterday's "Washington Post." "Santorum and his supporters may have the last laugh. In our time, losing presidential candidates have previewed the ideological trajectory of their parties and often of the nation. Romney would be wise to remember this in his general election campaign." Now, you made the Reagan example. Reagan lost and then came back and won. He was the future of the party even after losing. What does Romney have to do today and tomorrow to learn that lesson?
[Reed:] Well, the two things that I talked about in the op-ed were, No. 1, Santorum was able to fuse the cultural and the economic messages by pointing out that you can't strengthen the economy without strengthening the family. He often cited a Brookings Institute study which found that, if you had a job, graduated from high school, and waited until you were married to have children, that you only had a 2 percent chance of being in poverty. If you did the opposite of those three things, you had about a 76 percent chance of being in poverty. Romney can make it clear that poverty and being left behind in our economy isn't just a fiscal or economic issue. It's a cultural and a moral issue. The second thing that he needs to do is he needs to flesh out his own biography. I talk about the fact that when the night of the Iowa caucuses, Santorum, I think in the best speech he gave the entire campaign, spoke movingly about his Italian immigrant grandfather. Well, the truth is, Romney's family came from nothing. You know, his grandfather was a carpenter, and his father started from nothing. He needs to flesh out that biography and reintroduce himself.
[King:] I've known you for almost 20 years. And I've known you as an organizer, someone who identifies people, finds them, keeps in touch with them, and then grabs them by the ear and gets them to the polls. Obama, without a challenge, has had a year and a lot of money and resources. This is all they're doing. They are finding voters, registering voters, building their list. Are you convinced that Governor Romney and with help of outside organizations, can they catch up to that huge advantage that team Obama has right now in terms of doing the nuts and bolts of winning a general election?
[Reed:] They can. Now, you know, first of all, you have to remember, this is Obama 2.0. This isn't the '08 version of hope and change and there's no blue states or red states. It's the United States. This is after Obama care, after a stimulus plan that didn't create the number of jobs that he said it would. He's as polarizing a figure as anybody we've had. So there's going to be some intensity. But for Romney to actually win and this was the other point I made in the essay, John people can't just be voting against Obama. They need to be voting for Romney and his running mate. So the running mate will be important. The convention acceptance speech will be important, and the general election messaging will be important.
[King:] Ralph, we'll keep in touch. Appreciate your coming in. Six months to go, 200 days. Coming up, the search is officially on for Governor Romney's running mate. The truth about some potential No. 2s and maybe a wild card. We'll be right back.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] It's 10:00 here on the East Coast. Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight with vital news, good news about a man whose courage is inspiring. His name is Zaidoun Al-Zoabi. And for more than a year on this program, he has raised his voice from deep inside Syria, raised his voice to counter the repeated lies told by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. For more than a year, this man, Zaidoun Al-Zoabi, has defied the dictator, insisting on using his own names in interviews, talking about the crimes he has seen the regime commit. He has done this knowing full well that any moment the regime that has killed and tortured and disappeared so many could simply choose to silence him. Months ago, I asked him why he was risking his life by talking, risking his life by insisting we actually broadcast his name.
[Zaidoun Al-zoabi, Syrian Activist:] When I chant "I want freedom," I can hear my voice for the first time in my life. Now how can I give up this, even if it costs me my life?
[Cooper:] Imagine that, a grown adult hearing his voice for the very first time. Three weeks ago, Syrian secret police arrested him and his brother Sohaib. Today, we got great news. We learned he has been freed. He said he became seriously ill during his detention, close to death, in fact, and was not given medical treatment. He is with family tonight in Syria. His brother Sohaib though remains in custody and Zaidoun and his family fear for his safety. Zaidoun says he last saw his brothers eight days ago and that he was in good spirits. You can go to a Facebook page the family set to get the latest on his brother's condition and find out how to help secure his release. A relative says Zaidoun thanks everyone worldwide, especially this program and our viewers, for keeping their story in the public eye, which we will continue to do as long as it takes. And we hope to speak with Zaidoun as soon as possible. "Keeping Them Honest," the one true thing that we know about the gun debate here at home, that neither side has a monopoly on the truth, or even the facts, because the facts can be so hard to establish. One side has studies linking gun ownership with violent death. But correlation is not causation. The other side has research showing when people are allowed to carry concealed weapons, violent crimes slow down. Yet newer studies cast doubt on that conclusion. The bottom line, finding a way to study the problem and possible solutions to it would be hard enough even if this were not already such a pressing and emotionally charged subject. But it is. So with a shortage of facts but a surplus of victims and anguish and loss, the debate so far has evolved into passionately stated and exclusively competing articles of faith.
[Wayne Lapierre, Executive Vice President, National Rifle Association:] The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
[Cooper:] That one view, more guns in more places. Here is the other.
[Gov. Dan Malloy , Connecticut:] When it comes to preventing future acts of violence in our schools, let me say this, more guns are not the answer.
[Cooper:] That was Connecticut's Governor Dan Malloy. His view and Wayne LaPierre from the NRA, they each ring true to a whole lot of people. That's because each side can point to real-life gun incidents to prove their point. And in a moment, the political state of play. We will talk also General Stanley McChrystal, his view of military- style firearms in civilian hands. But first, Randi Kaye with two very different gun stores. Take a look.
[Randi Kaye, Cnn Correspondent:] If you wonder whether or not good people armed with guns really do help prevent more gun violence, look no further than the shooting in the San Antonio theater in December. And 9:30 p.m., December 17, 19-year-old Jesus Manuel Garcia allegedly opened fire at the China Garden restaurant. Investigators say he was targeting his ex-girlfriend who worked there. Police say when the employees fled, the shooter chased after them in the parking lot, firing at them. In the chaos he also shot at a San Antonio patrol car after the officer shined a light on him.
[Sgt. Raymond Pollard, Sheriff's Department:] He was having a difficult time dealing with the breakup and that's what may have set him off to come over here and commit this act.
[Kaye:] Garcia then followed the employees into the Mayan Palace movie theater next door. The gunman kept shooting as panicked moviegoers poured out the exit doors.
[Megan Roel, Survivor:] I could have died. I'm glad I'm OK and I have another day with my son.
[Kaye:] One of the fleeing patrons was wounded, but so many might have died had it not been for a quick-thinking off-duty sheriff's sergeant who also was armed. Sergeant Lisa Castellano, out of uniform, happened to be working security at the theater and ran toward the sound of the shooting. When Castellano spotted the suspect coming out of the bathroom with his gun drawn, she shot him four times.
[Lisa Castellano, Shot Suspect:] That was really nerve-racking and it was I'm not going to lie it was frightening. But, you know, the training kicks in.
[Kaye:] Garcia, the suspect, is charged with attempted capital murder and has not yet entered a plea. He survived, but more importantly so did everyone else in that movie theater, thanks to one of the good guys with a gun. [on camera]: But as we all know not every shooting incident ends like the one in San Antonio. Those in favor of tighter gun controls might argue that good guy with a gun scenarios can make a bad situation even worse. [voice-over]: Take what happened in Arizona, January 8, 2011, when a loan gunman opened fire on Congresswoman Gabby Giffords at a community event. While Jared Lee Loughner was spraying Giffords and a crowd with bullets, an innocent bystander named Joe Zamudio was in a nearby drugstore buying cigarettes. When he heard the gunfire, Zamudio, who was legally armed with a pistol, ran to the scene. By the time he arrived his safety was off and he was poised to fire. Trouble is he almost shot the wrong man. Zamudio on FOX News
[Joe Zamudio, Witness:] As I approached the people wrestling with him, one of the other gentlemen actually had gotten the gun away from him and that's what I saw first, was him holding the gun. I had my hand on my pistol.
[Kaye:] Zamudio said he was incredibly lucky that he didn't shoot. Listen to what he told
[Msnbc. Zamudio:] I saw another individual holding the firearm. I kind of assumed he was the shooter so I grabbed his wrist and told him to drop it and forced him to drop the gun on the ground. When he did that, everybody said, no, no, it's this guy. I would have shot him. I almost shot the man holding the gun.
[Kaye:] The man Zamudio almost shot was the hero who had tackled the real shooter and wrestled his gun away from him. Two very different shootings, two armed bystanders to the rescue and the debate continues. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
[Cooper:] The debate surely does continue and is growing. Vice President Biden meets tomorrow with the NRA. Gabby Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, both gun owners, by the way, have set up a lobbying group to press for new laws. New York's governor called for his state to enact and I quote "the toughest assault weapons ban in the nation, period," his challenge sparking protests from gun advocacy groups. On Monday, it will be four weeks since the Sandy Hook shooting. Perspective now from our panel, CNN political contributor and Republican consultant Margaret Hoover, Daily Beast senior political writer Peter Beinart and our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Peter, it is interesting just seeing these two different reports and these two different incidents. It is sort of a Rorschach test. It's just a sign of how tough this debate is and how tough as task this task force has.
[Peter Beinart, The Daily Beast:] Yes. But if you notice, the first story was about a police officer. She happened to be not on duty but she was a police officer. No one disagrees that police officers should have guns and she said her training kicked in. I bet you guys went and looked long and hard for a story like that, but the one you found was actually one that I don't think does any damage to the pro-gun control argument because it was a police officer. I don't think anyone's arguing that police officers, perhaps even off-duty police officers shouldn't be armed. The second one seems to be much more like the actual situation you get when you have lots and lots of individuals running around trying to play vigilante.
[Cooper:] It's interesting. We picked that story because there are all these conspiracy theorists who were e-mailing us saying that we were afraid to tell that story because they point to that story as a sign of an indication where people being armed is a good idea. So, just to kind of address the conspiracy theorists. Margaret, you actually say there's more common ground and things that the president could do by executive order that the NRA would actually give a thumbs up to. What do you see?
[Margaret Hoover, Cnn Political Contributor:] It may sound shocking, right, but the truth is I'm much more interested less in the politics of tomorrow than the policies and the common ground that can come from it. The president has taken a lot of flak from people like Mayor Bloomberg for not doing enough on gun control so far in his administration. But there are things like enforcement. For example, 77,000 people have lied on criminal background checks about whether they could legally obtain a gun. They have been identified by the FBI and turned over to the Department of Justice and not prosecuted by the Department of Justice. The administration could say prosecute people who are lying on their gun control on their background checks. There are also the national instant criminal background check mechanism is not fully funded by the federal government but could be and that would prevent people like the shooter at Virginia Tech who had a mental illness in his background would have registered and when he went to go buy his gun it would have sent a red flag that there's a mental illness in this guy's background. Maybe he shouldn't be legally able to buy a guy. There are things the federal government do, fully fund programs that are already in existence that the NRA wouldn't necessarily disagree with.
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] I totally disagree. There is no common ground in this argument.
[Hoover:] What?
[Toobin:] There's zero common ground. The National Rifle Association and most of the United States Congress is against any sort of regulation of guns, period.
[Hoover:] That's simply not true. David Keene on this channel on CNN, has said he's in favor of not letting people who have mental illness be registered in this criminal background check...
[Beinart:] He also wants the gun show loophole which allows 40 percent of people who buy guns not to have go through any background checks.
[Cooper:] ... to actually register then anybody with a mental illness or register people, which is I mean, that's a nonstarter. You can't have a database of people on guns, but you can have a database of anyone who has, what, received psychiatric counseling? Or how is that going to work?
[Hoover:] I don't think that what they'd say. You would have to ask David Keene follow-up questions. But the NRA is favor of things. To say there is absolutely no common ground is defeating the purpose of this exercise. I think the American public wants us to find common ground. The NRA leadership at times defers from NRA membership, but the truth is there are reasonable Americans who are gun owns are like Gabby Giffords and her husband and Republican responsible gun owners who are willing to make reasonable concessions.
[Toobin:] Name one Republican member of Congress who is for any form of gun control today.
[Beinart:] Peter King is.
[Toobin:] He's from the Northeast.
[Hoover:] And Mark Kirk and Susan Collins and you can go through the list. There are a lot of. This is not a DemocraticRepublican issue.
[Beinart:] It is. The biggest obstacle is John Boehner, because John Boehner having been humiliated in this fiscal cliff situation is then going to have to find a situation in which he would allow a vote in the House when most of his Republicans would not support it. And his own stated policy of the majority of the majority seems to me is impossible to imagine that happening.
[Cooper:] What do you think is going to happen?
[Toobin:] There is nothing.
[Beinart:] But the Obama administration is going to tee it up and then do executive action and then bring it to 2014. I think they do believe the politics of this has shifted enough they can make some Republicans pay a price for not even being willing to even hold a vote.
[Toobin:] But, remember, in 1994 the assault weapons ban passed and the Democrats got mauled at the polls afterwards and a lot of people remember that, especially in the West and the South. And you're right, Margaret. A lot of Democrats don't want to touch this issue either. But I'm just saying there's no common ground here because the people who don't want gun control, they don't want gun control and they recognize that they will pay a price politically for supporting gun control and they're not going to...
[Beinart:] ... since 1994. There are not as many Democrats in those conservative districts as there used to be. We have seen some of the conservative Democrats who still exist moving in response to the shooting in Connecticut.
[Hoover:] If you begin with the point that there is no possibility for common ground, we will get exactly nowhere. And the truth is...
[Toobin:] Because I say it, it's going to...
[Cooper:] But, Jeff, what are the guidelines right now on how far the government can go in restricting gun ownership by executive action?
[Toobin:] Very modest. I think Margaret mentioned a couple of areas, but when you talk about the significant things that can be done like banning assault weapons, President Obama can't do that himself. And remember, guns are portable. And this is very much a state issue. Mayor Bloomberg points this out all the time, that New York and Andrew Cuomo can pass all the laws they want. But as long as guns are so easy to get in North Carolina and Virginia, which they are, they come up here and they are used in crimes up here. So unless you have national gun control and unless states also regulate it, you're not going to have any...
[Hoover:] To that point, one of the programs in the Bush administration was called Project Exile. What they did is they prosecuted under federal laws state violations, because they're also violations of federal law. What did they do? They ended up locking up criminals, local criminals in federal courts to get them off the streets and the carry rate diminished by 50 percent. In other words, there are federal things that this administration can do now that would help gun control efforts that don't require passage of Congress.
[Beinart:] But it doesn't have to be either or. Even if we were totally to concede all of that, we could say because 40 percent of the guns are bought at a gun show or other places like that where there's no background check whatsoever, that even all the best enforcement of the current laws would not solve that problem. I think the most important meeting tomorrow is not the NRA, it is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the potential partner. Why? Wal-Mart has an economic incentive to end the gun show loophole so people buy their guns at Wal-Mart, rather than if Wal-Mart gets behind the idea of saying that all guns have to be sold in a place where you can actually have a background check like Wal-Mart, that is a powerful ally for the president.
[Cooper:] Jeff, you actually wrote a piece in "The New Yorker" recently, looking at the Second Amendment, arguing it is not quite what people think.
[Toobin:] It's changed dramatically. For a hundred years the idea that the Second Amendment gave anyone, individual, a right to keep and bear arms was, as Chief Justice Warren Burger said, a fraud, the idea that the Second Amendment gave you any rights at all. But a lot of Republicans and a lot of conservative intellectuals starting making the argument that, no, the Second Amendment does give individuals the right.
[Cooper:] The view it was only the militias.
[Toobin:] That it was only the militias. In 2008 the Supreme Court agreed. The Supreme Court said, yes, you do have an individual right. The extent of that right has not been clarified. Justice Scalia's opinion said individuals can have handguns in the home. But can they have handguns outside the home? Can they have bigger weapons? Can they have concealed carry laws? Those are still up for grabs. Even if Congress manages to pass something, it's not at all clear it will be declared constitutional by the court.
[Hoover:] Justice Scalia also said the Second Amendment does not guarantee anyone who wants a gun the right to have a gun any time, any place anywhere they want it. The most conservative on the Supreme Court has said there are limits to the Second Amendment.
[Cooper:] We will see what comes out of tomorrow, if any. Margaret, thank you. Jeff Toobin, Peter Beinart as well. Let us know what you think. You can follow me on Twitter @AndersonCooper. I'm tweeting about this. We also have a big interview coming up with America's former top commander in Afghanistan, former General Stanley McChrystal, who has strong word about weapons of war in civilian hands. We will talk about gun control with him and also the war in Afghanistan as it now stands. We will be right back.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Tonight, with the birther battle building and Donald Trump escalating his unsubstantiated claims about President Obama, we continue our exclusive investigations into President Obama's birth and the false conspiracy theories surrounding it. You're going to hear more from Donald Trump directly tonight, my interview with him, refuting his claims with facts point by point, "Keeping Them Honest". Trump taking it up yet another notch, telling the Associated Press now he's now suspicious of the President's academic record. As with the birther claims, he's long on insinuation and allegation, short on proof. In fact, he has no proof on this one. We on the other hand have sent a team to Hawaii. They spent five days interviewing and talking with dozens of people, including the former director of Hawaii's Department of Health, a Republican who actually looked at Barack Obama's original 1961 birth certificate in storage at the Health Department. Listen.
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] Did you see Barack Obama's original birth certificate?
[Dr. Chiyome Fukino, Former Director, Hawaii Department Of Health:] Yes.
[Tuchman:] And what did it tell you? Was it authentic? Was he born here in the state of Hawaii?
[Fukino:] It was absolutely authentic. He was absolutely born here in the state of Hawaii.
[Cooper:] Well, she's seen the very document the birthers, Donald Trump included, want President Obama to release, the so-called the long-form birth certificate, which is actually called the certificate of live birth in Hawaii. Now, they say this, the computer generated version, called the certification of live birth, is for some reason not enough, even though it's got an official stamped signature, an official seal and says on the front quote "This copy serves as prima facie evidence of the fact of birth in any court proceeding." In addition, that copy right there gets you a driver's license in Hawaii and most other states; it also gets you a U.S. passport. That is what the state of Hawaii sends to anybody requesting their birth certificate. Now, doubters, though, Donald Trump included, continue to say this certification of live birth doesn't carry the same weight as a copy of the original. What they don't know or maybe refuse to admit is this is the only form of birth certificate Hawaii now recognizes or hands out. We found that out by asking Hawaiian native Stig Vitalic to come with us to the Health Department to get a copy of his birth certificate.
[Tuchman:] I'm Gary Tuchman with CNN. We're here to get a birth certificate for Stig. [voice-over]: We asked Stig because we also saw his birth announcement in the Honolulu newspaper. In the same article, four names down, another newborn, born 13 hours earlier, Barack Obama. [on camera]: Now, do you give him his original three certificate or an electronic copy?
[Unidentified Female:] It's a computerized birth certificate.
[Cooper:] Now, notice the woman behind the counter even refers to the certification of live birth document as a computerized birth certificate. What's more, Gary discovered that Hawaii no longer even uses the old long-form document, the certificate of live birth, which is what they call it, for official purposes. You can still get one, but it involves making a special request through the Freedom of Information Act, and as Gary reported last night, the Health Department in Hawaii has gotten only one such request for that document in the past year. Donald Trump also claims that he's got investigators on the case in Hawaii. We challenged him to give specifics, to name even one person in Hawaii that they have allegedly talked to, he refused. He said it wouldn't be appropriate. In Hawaii, Gary Tuchman and producer Susan Chun asked the people they talked to whether they had also spoken or been approached by Trump investigators. None of them said they had seen or heard from anyone working for Trump.
[Tuchman:] Have you seen any sign of Donald Trump's investigators here in Hawaii trying to find out that there's no that he wasn't born here in Hawaii?
[Unidentified Female:] No, I haven't seen anybody.
[Tuchman:] Have you seen any sign of Donald Trump's investigators here?
[Unidentified Male:] No, I haven't seen them.
[Tuchman:] Have you seen any of Donald Trump's investigators?
[Unidentified Female:] No, not yet.
[Tuchman:] Donald Trump has said he is sending investigators to Hawaii. Have you seen any of the investigators yet?
[Unidentified Male:] Are they investigating his latest bankruptcy?
[Cooper:] Well, some other basics. The birth announcement placed in both Honolulu papers, contrary to birther claims, Gary found out they could not be placed by the family. Each and every birth notice only comes straight from the Health Department in Hawaii. As for why it took two weeks to actually have that birth announcement in, there's no conspiracy there either. The Honolulu advertiser today telling our producer Susan Chun the announcements run every Sunday. The President was born on a Friday and that combined with a backlog of births that week delayed the processing of it. Every other child, by the way, born that Friday also had their birth announcement delayed. That's neither enough for Donald Trump, nor others in the movement. More with Mr. Trump in a moment. We begin, though, with more firsthand facts from 360's Gary Tuchman in Hawaii.
[Tuchman:] "The Honolulu Star Bulletin" newspaper in August 1961 announces not only the birth of Barack Obama, but also where the family lived. [on camera]: The address on the birth announcement is in the eastern part of Honolulu. A half century later, the property is in great shape. There's a yellow house and a bungalow behind it. And they're owned by registered Republicans. [voice-over]: Rick and Nani Smethurst say they voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin in 2008, but were pleased when they found out the history of their home.
[Rick Smethurst, Hawaii:] It gives me a little bit of pride. And as you came in, you can see we were obviously painting and taking care of it and sprucing it up a little bit.
[Tuchman:] Interestingly, though, Rick Smethurst is not ready to say Barack Obama was definitely born in Hawaii. Like many Americans, he's unsure. The only way to be sure he and others say would be to find someone who saw Barack Obama immediately after he was born. So, you saw him when he was an infant?
[Rep. Neil Abercrombie , Hawaii:] Oh, sure, of course.
[Tuchman:] Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie says he met the future president soon after he was born, because he was close to both of Barack Obama's parents. He remembers his mother, Ann Dunham, living in Hawaii and pregnant and remembers celebrating the birth with his friends, the Obamas.
[Abercrombie:] His mom and dad went to school with me here, and with other folks here in Hawaii. And of course, we had no idea at the time that the future president of the United States was that little boy, that little baby, and we were very, very happy, of course, that that took place.
[Tuchman:] At the University of Hawaii, where the Democratic governor and the President's parents went to school, Professor Alice Dewey has taught for almost a half century. She was a faculty adviser to President Obama's mother and met her son as a child, whom she knows as Barry. She remembers Ann Dunham talking about giving birth to her daughter, Maya, Barack's sister, who was indeed born outside the United States.
[Alice Dewey, University Of Hawaii:] She said, you know, when I had Maya, it was we were a lot more difficult, because Indonesia doesn't believe in painkillers while you're giving birth. And of course, in the United States, giving birth to Barry was quite quite different and much more comfortable.
[Tuchman:] Then there is this woman. [on camera]: What's your son's name?
[Unidentified Female:] Stig John Vitalic.
[Tuchman:] Stig was one of the babies listed in the newspaper the same day as Barack Obama. And his mother has a unique memory from 1961, from looking at all the newborns in Honolulu's Kapi'olani Medical Center. [on camera]: Do you think you have seen Barack Obama before in person?
[Unidentified Female:] As a baby, yes.
[Tuchman:] Next to your son in the nursery?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes.
[Tuchman:] You're pretty sure about that?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes. In Hawaii in those days, there were hardly ever any black people.
[Tuchman:] We asked hospital officials about that, but they would not give out any patient records. But back in 1961, Hawaii's African-American population was less than one percent. [on camera]: When was your son born?
[Unidentified Female:] He was born August 5th, 1961.
[Tuchman:] This is the birth certificate of Monica's son. It's the exact same type of document that Barack Obama has made public. It's the same computer-generated version that every Hawaiian now gets when they need a birth certificate. The original long-form documents are kept in a vault in this building and are no longer certified for official usage according to the state Health Department. But the former director of that Health Department felt it was her duty to see Barack Obama's original birth certificate. [on camera]: Do you know, has anyone else looked at the certificate?
[Fukino:] The registrar has actually seen it as well.
[Tuchman:] The registrar is someone in your
[Fukino:] Alvin Onaka, he is the chief registrar for the state, and he has he is the one that took me to see the documents.
[Tuchman:] And you are a registered Republican?
[Fukino:] At the present time, yes, I am.
[Tuchman:] And worked for a Republican governor?
[Fukino:] Yes, I did.
[Tuchman:] And you still say that the birth certificate of this Democratic president is authentic?
[Fukino:] Absolutely.
[Tuchman:] Does it anger you that this has become such a controversy and has taken attention away from issues that are important to you?
[Fukino:] No. I find it a bit amusing, in the sense that it keeps resurfacing and over and over again, despite whatever I say. And it really tells us that the whole conspiracy notion out there that if there's an issue that needs to have a following, it will find one.
[Tuchman:] The current governor agrees.
[Abercrombie:] Obviously, I'm going to do what is legally possible.
[Tuchman:] So much so that when he came into office, the Democrat announced he would release the birth certificate and put the controversy to rest. But he didn't. And that's fueled another part of the conspiracy, that he learned something that would hurt the President and his family, so he kept the original document locked away. But that part of the conspiracy theory is not true either. He didn't release it because he couldn't. Hawaii state law only allows non- family members with a direct and tangible interest to look at birth certificates, which the Health Department director had because she was in charge of the certificates. But the law does not allow any non-family member, not even the governor, to release someone else's birth certificate.
[Abercrombie:] And I would just like to ask people who who have this political orientation towards the President, respect us here in Hawaii. Respect his mother and father. Respect the people that I loved and the people that I knew and the little boy who grew up here in paradise and became president.
[Tuchman:] This is very emotional for you.
[Abercrombie:] Thank you. Yes, it's certainly; sure, it is.
[Tuchman:] It is emotional for many people. But emotions and conspiracy theories aside, facts are facts. And the fact is, according to all the evidence, Barack Obama was born just as the Honolulu newspaper announced it in August 1961. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Honolulu.
[Cooper:] All right. Well, look, part of the problem with conspiracy theories is that believers cling to them in spite of the facts. Or when the weight of the real evidence gets too heavy, they find something else to object to, they change the topic. Donald Trump is now shifting focus from the President's birth certificate to his academic record, telling the Associated Press quote "How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard? I'm thinking about it. I'm certainly looking into it. Let him show his records." The truth is, we don't know what kind of grades Mr. Obama got. College records are private. Schools aren't allowed to release them. And few, if any, modern presidential candidates have released their own grades. George W. Bush didn't, John McCain didn't, and Barack Obama didn't. Some candidates' college grades have been leaked. Now, in his memoir "Dreams from My Father," Mr. Obama admits he used drugs in high school and his grades suffered because of it. However, he worked his way through Occidental College, transferred to Columbia, and was accepted into Harvard Law School, where his fellow students elected him president of "The Law Review". And he graduated magna cum laude, which is a Latin term which means high honors, graduated in the top 10 percent of his class at the Harvard Law School. But Mr. Trump has doubts about the President's grades and especially his birth certificate. Here's part two of my interview with Trump, unedited, about the birth certificate.
[Donald Trump, Chairman & Ceo, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts:] The fact is, a lot of people are troubled with this, just like I am.
[Cooper:] Yes, but a lot of people believe 911 didn't happen, or
[Trump:] The governor says that he saw, the governor, the previous governor, said that he saw the birth certificate. Now they're saying, oh, it wasn't a birth certificate. It was a certificate of live birth. There was supposed to be a birth certificate. I don't think it exists, Anderson. I hope it exists, but I don't think it exists.
[Cooper:] But it wasn't previous the governor. It was the health director for the previous governor, who we've just interviewed on camera, says yes, she has actually seen it. And it doesn't say he's a Muslim. It doesn't say anything
[Trump:] Well, that's fine. Then you know what Obama should do? Instead of spending millions of dollars on lawyers, he should say it's ok to release my birth certificate. No, he should do that.
[Cooper:] You have said this millions in lawyers you have said this idea that he's spending millions of dollars on lawyers to refute this. And in other interviews, you have said he spent $2 million.
[Trump:] I have heard over $2 million.
[Cooper:] Right. All that is according to an FEC filing. But in truth, though, you
[Trump:] Well, that's a pretty big filing. I mean, he's not lying to the SEC or the
[Fec. Cooper:] But you have no idea what that money was spent on. No one does. You can't say he spent $2 million
[Trump:] Well, they say it was spent on lawyers trying to protect him.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Trump:] No, no, they say it was spent on lawyers trying to protect him from showing a birth certificate that may not exist.
[Cooper:] Well, that's not true. The FEC filing is about lawyers. Candidates spend a lot on winding down campaigns. He also has to defend against FEC investigations into campaign financing.
[Trump:] Look, he spent a lot of money, whether it was millions of dollars or hundreds of thousands, but I have a feeling it was millions. He spent a lot of money. Now, why should he waste money? He could do what I did just a month ago. I called in. I said, you're right, it's a private document. Thank you very much. You can release it. It is a private document, Anderson, but he can release it.
[Cooper:] All right. John McCain, has by the way, spent $1.3 million on legal fees according to "Roll Call" since the election. But you you repeatedly, though, in interviews say that there's no serial number on the live on the certificate of live birth.
[Trump:] No, what I say is the following, Anderson. What I say is it's a stamp signature, a stamp.
[Cooper:] Right.
[Trump:] It's not a signature; it's a stamp. Anybody can get a stamp. Anybody can make a stamp. But it's a stamp signature. But much more importantly, if you look at your birth certificate or my birth certificate, it's got details all over it, lots of details that you don't have on a certificate of live birth. A certificate of live birth, you can get over a telephone, Anderson. It's not the same thing.
[Cooper:] Well, we will have the final part of my interview with Donald Trump after the break. We just had to cut right here for time. But we haven't edited this interview at all. I asked him why, if he doesn't trust Hawaii's computerized birth record, he thinks he can trust Hawaii's long-form birth record. His answer ahead. Let us know what you think. We're on Facebook. You can follow me on Twitter @AndersonCooper. And later tonight, the shocking brutality in Syria, witnesses say troops are gunning down civilians and when other civilians try to go to pick up their loved ones' dead bodies, they got shot at as well. You're going to hear from an extraordinarily brave woman speaking out tonight at great risk to herself. She knows she can be arrested, tortured. But she doesn't want her fellow countrymen killed in silence, murdered in silence. Her bravery is inspiring. Let's also check in right now with Isha Sesay. She's in London where I'm heading in a few hours to cover the royal wedding, which is now three days away Isha.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn International Correspondent:] Anderson, preparations really picking up speed here. The VIPs start to arrive. See you right here tomorrow. Coming up tonight, a look at Princess Diana's enduring influence on her eldest son, and how she will have a presence in spirit at the wedding. Also, how Prince Charles gets along with his future daughter-in-law. That and more live from London when 360 continues.

[Malveaux:] Federal regulators are investigating reports of sticking gas pedals. The Highway National Transportation Administration had received reports that could involve more than 700,000 vehicles. The investigators want to know if gas pedals caused one fatal accident and a number others that left people injured. The state of Michigan is getting sued for failing to do their job which is teaching students how to read. The ACLU has filed a first- of-its-kind lawsuit against the state for actually failing to teach students to read at grade level. Kary Moss is executive director of the ACLU of Michigan. She is joining us. Thank you for being here. First, tell why sue the state?
[Kary Moss, Executive: Director, Aclu Of Michigan:] Hi, Suzanne. Thank you for having me. We are suing the state, we are suing the district and the state board of education and the state superintendent for education, anybody who has some role and responsibility for teaching children is named in the case.
[Malveaux:] Well, why do why such a big goal here? Why not focus more specifically on, say, if a teacher has failed a student or a specific school?
[Moss:] Well, we were looking at the schools that are in the bottom 5 percent of testing scores. And in this district in particular, the numbers are just shocking. 90 percent of 11th graders are not reading proficient. 100 percent of 11th graders are not proficient in math or social study. Those are shocking numbers. The conditions in the school are not at all the kind of learning environment that kids need. And so what we are trying to say with this lawsuit is that, it is the obligation, at the end of the day, for the state and the school district and every adult to make sure that, bottom line, kids are learning how to read.
[Malveaux:] I understand that you can sue because the state law is that students have to be taught to read at grade level. The state's response and Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder's spokesperson would not directly comment on the case, but she said that "Everything that we have done and are doing is to ensure that the kids at Highland Park schools get the education they need and deserve." By suing the whole state here, how do you what do you think that is going to accomplish in terms of the very specifics that need to be done when you take a look at the kids and how they need to be taught?
[Moss:] Well, we are representing all of the children in the district. It is less than 1,000, 970-some kids, so we are the voice for these children. What we are saying is that the state and the district have not followed the law, which say when kids are not at reading level, the state is required to provide additional intervention services. That is not happening. The occasional programs that do come in are not effective or implemented properly. So somebody has to speak for the kids, and that is why we are calling this the Right to Read lawsuit.
[Malveaux:] I want you to hear what one mother had to say regarding this.
[Unidentified Parent:] I have an 11th grade daughter in Highland Park High School who is reading on the 3rd and 5th grade reading level on an assessment test. The district is not where it needs to be.
[Malveaux:] It is shocking when you hear that. But there is a line that you have to draw between the schools' responsibility, the state's responsibility, and even the parents' responsibility. How do you determine that the kids are failing the way they are?
[Moss:] Absolutely. Well, we just heard from Mrs. Johnson. That woman is in the school every single day. She goes to every school board meeting and does everything that any parent could reasonably do. Is there blame to go around? Absolutely. But, bottom line, all of the adults in these childrens' lives have failed them. They are not literate or taught to read. These statistics should sound an alarm that we have to think differently and work together differently to make sure that, bottom line, we are graduating a literate generation of children.
[Malveaux:] All right. Kary Moss, of the ACLU. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.
[Moss:] Thank you.
[Malveaux:] A rare look inside the Supreme Court. Tonight, Piers Morgan will talk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. That's at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN. Mitt Romney is stumping for votes in Ohio and speaking to a crowd in the next hour. And rumors are swirling that he is ready to pick the running mate. We look at what Americans think about the V.P. slot and how it might affect their votes.

[Velshi:] Action-packed night on CNN tonight, action-packed day at the New York Stock Exchange. But, first, listen to this number. Look at this number, I supposed you don't listen to it. Look at it, 457,000. That's the number of people who filed for unemployment claims for the first time last week. It's a lot of people. It's also 20,000 more people than the week before. It's also higher than people expected it to be. In fact, economists say that's high enough to signal continued weakness in the job market. I think that's obvious, we need to be gaining jobs, not losing them. Another number you should know about: 2 million. That's the number of people who risk losing unemployment benefits if Congress doesn't extend them past the end of this month. We've been down this road before. Tomorrow, we'll have the government's monthly unemployment report, the monthly labor report, showing us what the unemployment rate is for the country and showing whether we lost or gained jobs in October. But right now, the mood at the New York Stock Exchange is hot. I want to tell you why with my friend, Alison Kosik, who is standing by at the New York Stock Exchange, up 188 points right now. What is driving this? This is a record. If we close anything above where we closed yesterday, this is the highest point the Dow will have closed at in a year, Alison.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Correspondent:] Oh, yes, Ali. I'll tell you what traders here at the New York Stock Exchange are downright giddy. And for people watching, this is important because it means if they're happy, it means you can finally open up those 401 [k] statements and take a look, because I know you haven't been looking for a while.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Kosik:] And better yet, traders think that this rally is going to stick at least until the spring. You know, Ali, the way it's been here at the stock exchange over the past few months, traders were really losing faith that people would really invest in the stock market again. By then, poof, one day the mood changed. Two things happened: Republicans took control of the House; the Fed announces buying up $600 billion worth of U.S. treasuries. These are good things for the market Ali.
[Velshi:] All right. Allison, you'll keep a close eye on this. We'll check back with you to see how this rally continues going on.
[Kosik:] I will.
[Velshi:] Alison just talked about the Fed investing this announcing that they're going to buy bonds worth $600 billion. Let me talk about your money now. The Fed is going to spend the $600 billion in its attempt to give the economy a boost. Now, they can only do a few things to help. They can lower the interest rates. We know they've already done that. That's why mortgage rates are so low. Now, they're doing something called QE2, for short. The "2" is because it's the second time they've done it. The QE stands for quantitative easing, probably the worst word ever invented. It's six syllables and it bores me by the third syllable, but it is really, really important. This is when the Fed buys bonds back from banks. That gives the banks more cash. The banks then use that money to lend to people or to companies. Now, the idea is that these companies will spend it. Basically it's a complicated stimulus package. Not really all that complicated. The real goal here is to drive interest rates down. Banks will have more money to lend. They'll you know, people will start using the economy again. This is going to have some effect, according to traders, it would encourage people to spend. When people spend, that creates demand. And then people get hired. Let's talk to Christine Romans about this to see what sense this makes. Why it's happening. But, Christine, the question that is in most people's minds, you've got this Republican Congress now, this Republican House that's been elected. They're going to pull back any money that hasn't been spent on stimulus. They're going to they might even try and do a U.K. -style thing. But in the U.K., this was a parliamentary government. They could do what they were empowered to do. Here there still be battles about it. But the Federal Reserve has put not billions, not tens of billions, not hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars into this economy in the last three years.
[Romans:] Sure $1.7 trillion at first. And that was the QE1. And I kind of like quantitative easing, Ali. It's six syllables, but I kind of rolls off the tongue. And another 6$600 billion now. And the Fed chief, Ben Bernanke, in a very clear opinion piece in "The Washington Post," he said, look, we understand your concerns that this is something we is kind of untried, but in other financial crises, this has worked. And we've made all kinds of contingency plans and we think this is going to be long-term, good for the economy and this is going to help create jobs and that's the most important thing for us right now. So, he laid this out, lower mortgage rates, he said, are going to be good and they're going to help the housing market. Lower corporate bond rates because of low interest rates will encourage investment, higher stock markets will boost consumer wealth and that is a self- fulfilling kind of virtuous cycle, he said, is something that can come out of this. And that's what they're looking for.
[Velshi:] But it's kind of the opposite.
[Romans:] said to pull it back, right.
[Velshi:] It's kind of the opposite of what a whole bunch of voters brought Republicans into office to do. They said, stop the government spending. This is not the government spending but it's the Fed printing money, and throwing money into the economy.
[Romans:] You're absolutely right. Critics will say, some critics say it's not enough. Some critics say they shouldn't do it because it's going to lead to inflation down the road. Ben Bernanke in his op-ed disagrees and he said he does not think this is going to be some kind of hyperinflationary, super-inflationary move overall. He says it's the right thing to do right now for an economic recovery that is subpar. They are trying to juice the economy here, to give it a kick start, to give it a little help. The economy, as you've pointed out many times, Ali, is recovering. It's going in the right direction, but too slowly. And they want to make sure that they that they add some fire on to that or some fuel on to the fire to get that trajectory to make sure that it doesn't slip back.
[Velshi:] And this does not have to be cleared by anybody. The Federal Reserve does not have to put this before Congress.
[Romans:] No, it doesn't.
[Velshi:] This doesn't have to be debated. This can't be repealed. This is the Fed making its own decisions.
[Romans:] That's right. And earlier this week, I heard of a fund manager who said, look, all this talk in the United States about the midterm elections, the people who can create a job quickest is the Federal Reserve whether they do the right thing and do it correctly in the economy, that's where the jobs are going to come from, not from a Democrat or a Republican.
[Velshi:] OK. This was a recent discussion about it and one hour from now, I'm going to go head-to-head with Richard Quest and do a battle about that.
[Romans:] All right.
[Velshi:] Christine, great to see you as always my good friend Christine Romans in New York. I go to spend more than a week in her company every day. But we do this every week, we do this every day on this show. If you want more of it, "YOUR $$$$$," Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Christine is also the author of a new book called "Smart is the New Rich," which is garnering lots of discussion because she's got some ideas in there about how you can get past complaining about this economy and actually figure out how to make your economy a little bit better. OK. I'm going to bring you up to speed with some of the stories that we're covering here at CNN. Retailers are reporting strong sales ahead of the holiday shopping season. Thompson Reuters reports same-store sales rose 1.6 percent in October. That is a measurement of the stores that have been open for more than a year. Discount stores, like Costco, surpassed expectations. Same store sales have been on the rise for 13 months in a row. That's a good sign. Another delay for Space Shuttle Discovery. NASA scrubbed today's launch because of bad weather in central Florida. They'll give it another try tomorrow if the weather improves. This will be Discovery's final mission to the International Space Station. Rapper Lil Wayne is out of jail. He left New York's Rikers' Island today after serving eight months on a gun possession charge. A welcome-home party is planned for the Grammy-winning artist in Miami this weekend if you happen to be around. Coming up: something that you own that fits in the palm of your hand can save your life. You don't want to miss this. This could save your life. It's right here after the break.

[Morgan:] For years, Jack Abramoff was one of Washington's most influential power brokers, a prominent lobbyist with the friends and cash to help people get what they wanted, until he went too far and took a huge fall, sentenced to four years in prison for fraud, corruption and conspiracy. The once all-powerful lobbyist then helped the Justice Department clean up influence-peddling in the nation's capital. He's now out of prison, has a new book called "Capitol Punishment," and he joins me now. Jack, welcome.
[Jack Abramoff, Author, "capitol Punishment":] Thank you.
[Morgan:] The book's curious, in the sense that there aren't large dollops of contrition, necessarily. It's more a, Look, this is what Washington was like, I got caught. But a lot of it is kind of not vainglorious, but you're certainly pumping up the good times more than I perhaps would have done if I had done a book for you, in the sense that, you know, a lot of it is, Wow, it was great, and we were going on golfing trips and I was meeting all these people. And there are pictures of you with presidents and governors and celebrities, and so on, when actually, at the heart of all this, people will be reading it, going, Well, hang on a second, one of the reasons many people believe America is in the shambles it's in now financially and politically is because of people like you. And I would have expected a bit more mea culpa.
[Abramoff:] I think the book has an extraordinary amount of mea culpa.
[Morgan:] Do you?
[Abramoff:] Yes. I basically what I try to do with the book is tell the story of what happened. Not necessarily to give an editorial but to talk about what I did, what I went through in part as a way to teach people what goes on there. And I didn't intend for the book to be some sort of cheer leading book for lobbying, quite the contrary. Or even for what I did. I made mistakes, I crossed the lines, I did stuff that I shouldn't have done, I stuff I regret immensely and I talk about that and for which I was severely punished and properly so. However, this is going on still and I thought it was important that people should know what does go on, at least in terms of my experience.
[Morgan:] What adjectives would you use it about the Jack Abramoff before you got caught? What was that man really like?
[Abramoff:] He was somebody who didn't know of any boundaries really, that didn't quite clearly see the lines, the lines that all of us need to see in life, the line between right and wrong.
[Morgan:] I mean, the contradictions I guess are that you're clearly a strong family man, that resonates through in the book. You're clearly a very religious man, a good-fearing man. That, too, resonates in the book. What went wrong?
[Abramoff:] Well, I think that with me, a couple things went wrong. I entered the arena to achieve certain things, I didn't set out certainly to break the law or do things that were wrong. I set out to achieve paths and goals that were consistent with my philosophies as a conservative and as a free marketeer and limited government person and eventually participating within the system, having success, having an ability to have power, got to me as it gets to others. And I stopped thinking about, again, where those lines in the sand were. And as a consequence, I, in a tragic sense set myself up for the grand fall and I'm not the first that that's happened to and I won't be the last.
[Morgan:] That's certainly true. I mean, what people said about you at the time was well, he had this coming. He used to strut around the place like he owned it. You know, you're kind of like a Mafioso version of a lobbyist it was sense that it was all about patronage, you'd have these restaurants and the great and good would come pay homage. And in return, out went the cash and out went the freebies and out went the golf trips and so on, and that was how you played that system.
[Abramoff:] I think that's partially accurate. That was in small part how this was played. I think when my career became a headline and when my e-mails were exposed to the press, I sent 850,000 e-mails during the course of the few years that I was a lobbyist. Virtually everything I did was on email. When that first became available to the media, there was a sensation of look what's really going on inside the factory that makes sausages.
[Morgan:] On the emails, what people were more offended by was the contempt you appeared to have for your own clients. I mean, here are people paying you 10 times the going rate for your services and not necessarily getting a bad job, you were certainly helping them but then they were being described as morons in your emails. I mean, that to me was it isn't worse than the corruption, but it certainly left a pretty bad taste when you read that, you know?
[Abramoff:] I'm not going to defend my e-mails. I'm embarrassed about some of the things I wrote on the email. I'm ashamed of some of the things I wrote. I regret them and will regret for the rest of my life. I wound up using my e-mail, my primary communicator. And I was a very emotional and passionate advocate of my causes. My clients I love, and just as I love my children and would give my life for them. At times my wife and I would exchange e-mails talking about our children doing things that were idiotic or things that we disagreed. I sent 850,000 e-mails, a hundred of them were taken that were a little salacious and jocular and stupid and I can't un-ring the bell. They were sent.
[Morgan:] What do you think was the worst thing you did?
[Abramoff:] Well, a number of things. First of all, I entered a system that I think inherently has structural issues. And because of my personality, I'm a hyper-competitive individual. I operated within a system where some of the rules are vague and some of the rules are made purposely vague by the way in terms of the gifts and how a lobbyist can interact with legislatures and I pushed them
[Morgan:] They have now been changed I mean, 2007.
[Abramoff:] In part. There was some tweaking. But the truth is all of the reform efforts to date are effectless. They're not they're not exactly things do we think there's no corruption in the system any longer? Do they think just because Jack Abramoff went to prison and Tom DeLay, who is constantly picked on as the archetype legislator who's is evil is sitting in Houston that corruption is gone? It's not. The system still contains vast, vast amounts of loopholes.
[Morgan:] Did you know as you were doing it you were breaking the law?
[Abramoff:] I didn't consciously feel I was doing that.
[Morgan:] Really? Because you're a smart guy.
[Abramoff:] Well, even brilliant people, not that I am one, but even brilliant people can go over the line. I'm an aggressive person. I'm somebody who wanted to win. I wanted to win for my clients. I felt the greatest dishonor was defeat. So, therefore, when I took client and when I was their advocate, nobody was going to hurt them, nobody was going to beat them. And in doing that, as a consequence, I went over the line.
[Morgan:] H many other people at the time were crossing the line do you really think?
[Abramoff:] Well, there are a lot of lines and a lot of these lines
[Morgan:] I mean breaking the law.
[Abramoff:] I don't know.
[Morgan:] What would you guess from your knowledge of the system?
[Abramoff:] A healthy percentage.
[Morgan:] What kind of percentage?
[Abramoff:] Twenty.
[Morgan:] Twenty percent of every lobbyist was doing the same kind of thing?
[Abramoff:] Yes.
[Morgan:] And how many have actually been held to account?
[Abramoff:] Have been held to account?
[Morgan:] Yes.
[Abramoff:] Well, none. Not a lot yet. There's a difference and I think a lot of people become critical of why aren't more congressmen in prison, why were there
[Morgan:] Only one congressman went to jail.
[Abramoff:] My experience with the Justice Department is they are very careful to not proceed with prosecutions, based on what I know, unless they have actual evidence that somebody's broken the law and it's very difficult to get. They happen to have my emails, every one of my emails, 850,000 e-mails. So, it's not hard to paint a picture
[Morgan:] The crime sheet there was for you.
[Abramoff:] Yes.
[Morgan:] Let's take a short break. I want to come back to you and talk about the moment you were caught.
[Abramoff:] All right.
[Morgan:] How you felt then. And also the moment you knew you were going to prison because that must be pretty much the worse moment of your life I would think.

[Malveaux:] New developments in the John Edwards scandal. The Justice Department now is set to indict the former presidential candidate on charges that he violated campaign finance laws while trying to cover up an extramarital affair. Well, our CNN's Joe Johns, he's joining us live from Washington. Joe, obviously this has been it's a long and messy saga. What is the very latest now? What can we expect?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Suzanne, this is a leak from somebody who is close to the investigation. And the upshot of it is, people are telling CNN, that they'd like to see a felony plea arrangement with John Edwards over allegations that he broke campaign finance laws. The question, of course, is whether John Edwards would want to go for that, because sources are telling CNN that he'd very much like to start a public service law firm, and if he were to plead to a felony, he'd have to give up his law license. So that's something that he has to contemplate over the days and weeks, or however long it takes to try to get to some kind of agreement.
[Malveaux:] And Joe, just remind our viewers how we actually go here, to this point.
[Johns:] Yes. This has been a very ugly story, Suzanne. And certainly people who have followed presidential politics have been watching it very closely. Frankly, it's just been going on for years. John Edwards the politician. Remember him?
[John Edwards , Vice Presidential Candidate:] We have much work to do, because the truth is, we still live in a country where there are two different Americas.
[Johns:] But as it turned out, "Mr. Two Americas" here had two very different faces himself, and one of them wasn't very pretty. People close to him said it was the face of betrayal, betrayal of the people closest to him his late wife, Elizabeth, his supporters, his staffers, his contributors. Granted, Edwards was a promising politician at first, a successful Democratic senator from the South. Telegenic guy, rich trial lawyer, but a spokesman for the poor. Smart, but homegrown. Talked such a good game, he got picked up as John Kerry's running mate in 2004.
[Sen. John Kerry , Presidential Candidate:] I have chosen a man who understands and defends the values of America.
[Johns:] But it didn't work out, so next election cycle, Edwards jumped into the race for the White House once again. And by early 2008
[Edwards:] It's time for me to step aside.
[Johns:] he was out, but not before getting entangled in a messy relationship with a woman named Rielle Hunter. She eventually gave birth to Edward's child. Edwards at first denied having the affair, and then denied being the father. But last year, he finally admitted it. The story reached a sleazy low point when a videotape surfaced that is reported to show Edwards and Hunter having sex. The tape wound up in the hands of former Edwards staffer Andrew Young, who turned it over to a court after Rielle Hunter filed a lawsuit. It took eight months before Edwards' wife Elizabeth, suffering from terminal cancer, learned the extent of the affair. And before she died last year, she went public with her feelings in a book and numerous TV appearances.
[Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards' Wife:] I wrote in this, "Maybe it was that 30-year investment I had in my marriage. Maybe it was that I could not separate the flawed man before me from the boy with whom I fell in love in 1975. It does not matter now."
[Johns:] The death of Elizabeth Edwards might have been the end of the story, except for the fact that there has yet to be a full public accounting. Edwards raised $43.9 million in campaign money in his bid for the White House. Where some of it came from and where it went has been carefully scrutinized. Rielle Hunter worked for the campaign and got paid as a videographer. Questions have been raised whether any of the federal campaign funds donated to support Edwards might have been used improperly, misreported, not reported at all, or used to keep the affair quiet. Andrew Young said he was persuaded to claim Rielle Hunter's child was his own, and that he went to great lengths as Edwards' aide to help conceal the affair.
[Andrew Young, Fmr. Edwards Staffer:] This was John Edwards' idea from the beginning.
[Johns:] Which brings us back to the golden boy, a once rising politician with so much promise. Something like this could never have been part of the plan. So, any prosecutor will tell you the most favorable deal comes before any indictment. And Suzanne, what I think we're seeing here is kind of a negotiation, if you will. Prosecutors, essentially saying, here's what we have, here's where we're going. You can either plead or we'll see you in court.
[Malveaux:] Do we have any idea which way he may go, if he may actually take a deal?
[Johns:] Really not. I mean, I said at the top there is that concern that he has apparently about starting some type of a public interest law firm. If he were to plead to a felony, he'd have to give up his law license. And that's this guy's livelihood. You know, he was a very successful trial lawyer before he entered politics, and would probably very much like to get back to that life, although the question is whether that's in the cards for him.
[Malveaux:] Sure. Joe, keep us posted. Thank you.
[Johns:] You bet.
[Malveaux:] Sometimes the main thing standing between a tornado and certain death is a warning system. Right? Well, we're going to look at the lifesaving technology with meteorologist Chad Myers and our Carl Azuz.

[Amanpour:] Welcome back to the program. The American film director, Oliver Stone, has devoted his career to an alternate take on American history. He's the director of Academy Award-winning movies like, "JFK," "Nixon" and "Platoon." And he's also often faced criticism for what some detractors say is loosely based subjects on the truth. His latest project is a 10-part TV series and companion book. It's called "The Untold History of the United States." It's not the American history that you may have been taught, but Stone says that's precisely the point. The program will be aired outside the U.S. as well. And Stone wants students of all nationalities to know what was left out of American history books. I met with Oliver Stone a short time ago. We sat down to talk along with his co-author, history professor Peter Kuznick. Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, welcome. Thank you for being with us. Your project, a massive project you told me it took four years-plus to do. You are the truth seekers. You said, in your own promos, that you want to reveal a different side of American history, the side that was not the myth that you learnt in school. Give the one myth that you want to bat away.
[Stone:] This is 4 and a half years of work, Christiane. I couldn't put it into one paragraph or one headline. It doesn't it's too much to be in there. This is this is really, if you want to personalize it, I kind of grew up in '40 I was born in 1946 in New York and I lived through this 66 years. And I've seen, from World War II the American story from inside out. I've also traveled abroad and I in Vietnam and all through Europe and Asia, Africa, as you have. And I've seen the world through global eyes and that has changed my perspective. I am not who I was when I was born. I have changed around 1968, I came back from Vietnam, but not until about 1980, when Ronald Reagan was elected, did I start to see a different pattern.
[Amanpour:] We will talk about your Vietnam history, because it is actually fantastic and very, very interesting. I want to ask you, though, Peter, because you're also a World War II historian, Cold War nuclear activities, et cetera, about how you tried and you both tried to put an alternative idea, a narrative about the Soviet Union's contribution to World War II. We're going to play an excerpt.
[Unidentified Male:] Throughout these pivotal years, the Soviets were regularly battling more than 200 German divisions. In contrast, the Americans and British, finding in the Mediterranean rarely confronted more than 10 German divisions. Germany lost over 6 million men fighting the Soviets and approximately 1 million fighting on the Western front. Though the myth lives on that the United States won World War II, serious historians agree that it was the Soviet Union and its entire society, including its brutal dictator, Josef Stalin, who, through sheer desperation and incredibly stoic heroism, forged the great narrative of World War II.
[Amanpour:] Peter, why so important to you to put this in this film and the book?
[Peter Kuznick, Historian:] Because a lot of America's post-war myths start with World War II. And this is what happens during the war is essential for this start of the Cold War. We're showing the roots of the Cold War in World War II and the atomic bombs and the entire post-war period is an attempt for the United States to maintain its hegemony. So we're we have a different message. We're talking about we're countering the idea of American exceptionalism.
[Amanpour:] You talk about American exceptionalism and there are plenty of documentaries and films that have highlighted American exceptionalism. I keep thinking of Steven Spielberg, a fellow director of yours, who has done the heroics of World War II from the American side, whether it's "Saving Private Ryan," whether it's "Band of Brothers." Are you sort of in a kind of a narrative contest, do you think, with Steven Spielberg?
[Stone:] I think he's a great filmmaker, a great narrative spielmaker. But I don't agree
[Amanpour:] Spielmaker?
[Stone:] Spielmaker, yes. He tells a story. But you know, these the "Private Ryan" is a Sgt. Ryan Private Ryan is a part of the 1990 surge of patriotism that we saw the United States it began with somewhat with Tom Brokaw's book, "The Greatest Generation." We see it in Stephen Ambrose. That's brings me back to the origin myth. It's the atomic bomb myth. The atomic bomb had to be dropped apparently to save American lives. And because of that mythology, we live on in this belief that we are right because we have the bomb. Force makes right.
[Amanpour:] So let me ask you about that, because obviously, you know, you call your opus "Untold Stories." But the story you tell about the atomic bomb and dropping it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been told before, including
[Stone:] Told and forgotten.
[Amanpour:] So that's what you're trying to do
[Stone:] We're saying it's ignored history. We're saying it's forgotten or ignored or whatever word you want. It's very hard to come up with a right word.
[Kuznick:] Unlearned, I think it's really unlearned history. But on the bomb question, we're making points that almost nobody else makes and that's that not only was the bomb unnecessary, and the United States knew it was unnecessary and the Russians knew unnecessary even more than the Americans did, but Truman drops it, knowing that he's beginning a process that could end all live on the planet.
[Amanpour:] Listening to you, I feel that you feel a burden of righting the historical ship. You feel that so much of history has been written through the eyes of certain historians and you need to right it a bit. Oliver, let me ask you, though, it is fascinating to concentrate for a moment on the fact that you actually voluntarily went to Vietnam. What changed for you in Vietnam? Or did you go to Vietnam expecting to find precisely what you found?
[Stone:] I wasn't looking for the revelation in the in the on the road to Damascus. It didn't happen that way. It takes years to I saw casual brutality. I saw against civilians and I saw the bombing. And I and, you know, I did our share we were in our share of battles. I was wounded twice; I was decorated. I saw the cynicism and I saw the racism and it was like being a soldier in the Philippine war of 1898. You know, it was a casual racism. That's behind. You know, I go back to the United States and I'm still I haven't become an anti-war protester like Peter was. I don't like these people. But then, over time, I start to learn about more and then by when Central America happens and I go down there with Richard Boyle on "Salvador" to research it, I see the same American young soldiers, out in the streets of Honduras and Tegucigalpa, talking to me about what was apparent in 1984 was that Ronald Reagan was about to really planning something to go into Nicaragua. He was not going not only going to support the contras, but he was going to send troops. And I talked to the kids; I said, "Do you remember Vietnam?" And none of these kids they looked rather embarrassed. They looked away, awkwardly. And they said, "I really don't want to talk about that, sir." You know, and all of a sudden, I saw the repetition pattern in American military. That military pattern continues into Iraq 1 and Iraq 2, both wars and Afghanistan. And it doesn't change. I have not seen any change in American thinking. We did not learn anything from Vietnam.
[Amanpour:] And yet, America has now elected a black president for the first time and reelected a black president.
[Stone:] Yes.
[Amanpour:] This institutional racism that you saw has at least moved.
[Stone:] Yes.
[Amanpour:] A little. You have made films on Nixon, on George W. Bush, on John F. Kennedy; we've talked about Vietnam. Will you do an Obama?
[Stone:] I don't unless he leads us to disaster and we survive it, but frankly, right now, he's enabled, he's managing a wounded empire, and he's I believe he's a very strong and able man.
[Amanpour:] He's not he's not a subject for a film for you?
[Stone:] If I was to do a film a film's a different thing than a documentary.
[Amanpour:] Yes.
[Stone:] If I'm doing a film, it'll be Ronald Reagan, because there's a pivot for us. That's a man who changed the world. He moved America to the Right from 1980. And apparently we're staying on that course. Now I don't believe the people want that. I really believe the people want change and I want they're tired of war. And they want to have they want to inform America. They want to clean it up. They want to build up America.
[Amanpour:] Oliver Stone, Peter Kuznick, thank you so much for being here.
[Stone:] Thank you, Christiane.
[Amanpour:] "Untold History of the United States," airing here and soon in the New Year in parts around the world. And despite its flaws, Abraham Lincoln called America "the last best hope of Earth." And for many strangers to these shores, it has been just that, which makes it all the more painful for one man who can't go home again. His story when we return.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] And at this moment, Hillary Clinton comes face to face with lawmakers who want to know why. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now. New word of warnings that the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was not safe, and they come from one of the Americans killed. Plus
[Hillary Clinton, Secretary Of State:] I put my arms around the mother and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters, and the wives left alone to raise their children.
[Baldwin:] What today means for Hillary Clinton's legacy. Want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Brooke Baldwin at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
[Jake Tapper, Cnn Anchor:] And I'm Jake Tapper in Washington. Any minute inside this room on Capitol Hill, testimony four months in the making. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify before the House Foreign Affairs committee about what happened on September 11th of last year. The day when these four Americans, Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were killed at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
[Baldwin:] Jake, I want to bring you back in and I want to bring in our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash so we can just have this whole conversation as we are watching and awaiting the secretary of state there to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. And, Dana Bash, do we have you seated?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Chief Congressional Correspondent:] I am. Hi, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Hey, Dana, nice to see you.
[Bash:] You too.
[Baldwin:] As we await what will possibly be a little bit more fiery, right, questioning from members of the House as opposed to what we saw with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this morning. First just give me a little bit of a preview. What are you hearing, what are you expecting to come from this, this afternoon?
[Bash:] You know, we're probably going to hear very similar lines of questioning that we heard, especially from Republicans in this Senate. It got maybe a little bit more fiery, a little bit more intense in the Senate than we would have anticipated. We do anticipate that kind of atmosphere in the House. It's just kind of the way the House tends to be. The House is run by Republicans. And even the House Republican chair anticipated it to be that kind of atmosphere because I was told that he mentioned to Republicans on the committee that he wants to make sure that they are respectful. You know, there is widespread respect for Hillary Clinton on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats, it goes without saying, but there also tends to be some showmanship at these hearings. I know that you're really shocked by that, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Not at all.
[Bash:] And the chairman understands that especially from some of the newer members who might want to make some names for themselves.
[Tapper:] I want to bring in Bob Baer, a former Middle East CIA field officer. He spent two decades as a field officer. Bob, are you there? All right, we're waiting for Bob. But, Dana, I want to ask you a question. Based on the Senate hearing this morning, what most surprised you in the two and a half hours of testimony we heard this morning?
[Bash:] You know, what most surprised me was probably what surprised a lot of people out there who has watched Hillary Clinton for decades, like we have, and that is the way she got so emotional. I mean this is a woman who has been through more than any single human being in the public eye. Whether going back to the impeachment trial, Monica Lewinsky, her failed attempt at the presidency in 2008. But clearly this is something that really strikes her at her heart. She felt responsibility for Chris Stevens, who was a close friend, clearly somebody she thought was amazing at his job. And it was really, really difficult for her to get through this. The same kind of reaction we're seeing from John McCain, because he also was close with Chris Stevens, but obviously he's handling it in a very different kind of way because he's he wants he's the question asker and Hillary Clinton is the person who just, you know, again, bears that responsibility. It's clearly weighing very heavily on her.
[Tapper:] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has taken her seat before the House Foreign Relations I'm sorry, Foreign Affairs Committee. But we do now have Bob Baer, the former Middle East CIA field officer with us. And, Bob, I wanted to ask you, what do you make of the fact that it has been almost four months, or it's actually over four months, and we still don't have anybody in custody responsible for the attack in Benghazi. Is this a failure of intelligence gathering, a failure of the government in Libya to cooperate? What exactly are you hearing?
[Bob Baer, Former Middle East Cia Field Officer:] Well, I think it falls on the shoulders of the Libyans to find these people. Libya's a chaotic country right now. The attack on Algeria, Libya played some part not at the state, but groups in Libya. It's hard to find people when there's no central authority. And also for American intelligence, it's a fairly new it's a new scene. And collecting data takes years on this. So I'm not surprised at all. What worries me is the Libyans seem to be making no progress at all. They have nobody of significance in jail and they haven't even named anybody. And it's going to be a long time before we run this to ground, whether we do or not. I don't know.
[Tapper:] All right, we're going to hear more from Bob Baer in a minute and our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash sitting here with me. But the hearing has begun. So let's take a listen at this hearing right now.
[Rep. Ed Royce, R-california:] level below the department's most senior management. This seems to contrast with the recommendation of the 1990 1999 Accountability Review Board on the East Africa bombings which said, that quote, the Secretary of State should take a personal and active role in security issues. This committee is concerned that the department's most senior officials either should have known about the worsening security situation in Benghazi or did know something about that security situation. Either way either way, the point is that security requests were denied. So I'm not sure the board I'm not sure the board here saw the full picture. And if not, it's report is not a complete blueprint for fixing things. The State Department must get this right. Al Qaida and its affiliates will very likely be targeting other diplomats for years to come. Madam Secretary, the committee stands ready to help. I learned this morning that you and the administration have proposed legislation to fix the review board which the committee looks forward to considering. Today's discussion may turn to funding, but when reading the conclusions of the board, one must ask how more money would have made a difference in a bureaucracy plagued by what the board called systemic failures. After all, as the security situation in Libya worsened, the State Department turned away free security assets from the Department of Defense. State Department officials have testified that funding was not an issue, more resources may have been needed in some areas but the tragedy of Benghazi was rooted in bad decisions. Finally, the Benghazi perpetrators must be apprehended or they must be killed. It's troubling that Tunisia recently released a key suspect. Poor Libyan cooperation has hampered the FBI's investigation. Success here is a matter of justice and it's also a matter of signaling to militants that there is no place for them to hide if they attack U.S. personnel. I will now turn to the distinguished Ranking Member, Mr. Engel for his opening remarks.
[Engel:] Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for holding this important meeting. I hope we can use this as an opportunity to seriously examine the steps we need to take to prevent a repeat of the tragedy in Benghazi rather than engaging in got you politics that make it more difficult to achieve this bipartisan goal. Madam Secretary, as the new ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, let me say on behalf of the Democratic members of this committee, we'd like to welcome you back to our committee and we're glad that you're feeling better. This will likely be your final appearance before our committee and I want to take this opportunity to let you know how much we appreciate your outstanding and tireless efforts to represent our country in the international community. I have no doubt that you will continue to serve our nation in some capacity as you have for so many years and I look forward to working with you in the future. And might I add as a New Yorker, I feel especially proud of the wonderful and outstanding job you've done as Secretary of State. I think that when we look at the the outstanding Secretary of States in our in our history of of our country, you will be right up there at the very, very top. The way you've worked, the tireless effort you had, crisscrossing the global so many times, you have just been indispensable to all of us as Americans and I just want to want to thank you personally on behalf of all the Democrats and behalf of all Americans, Democrats and Republicans, we really want to thank you. Mr. Chairman, the committee has no greater responsibility that making sure that the men and women of the State Department and USAID and other public servants who work abroad are provided the security they deserve. We must do that what we can to minimize the threats faced by by our diplomats and aid workers but we must also recognize that some risk is inherent in the practice of effective diplomacy. We cannot advance America's interests around the world if we isolate ourselves behind embassy walls or limit the deployment of our diplomats to low risk environments. Let's not learn the wrong lesson from today's hearing. The Accountability Review Board, or ARB, convened by Secretary Clinton found a number of failures that resulted from the lack of leadership in two State Department bureaus as well as woefully inadequate local security in Benghazi. Clearly mistakes were made. But let's be absolutely clear. Barack Obama was not responsible for the Benghazi attack anymore than George W. Bush was responsible for the 911 attacks, or Ronald Reagan was responsible for the attacks on our Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed over 200 Marines. And frankly, whether it was called a terrorist attack or not in the immediate aftermath, as far as I'm concerned, is irrelevant. We just have to make sure that it never happens again, so that in the future, our people are protected. That's what I want to get out of all of this. So Madam Secretary, we commend you for accepting all of the ARB recommendations, and welcome your commitment to begin implementing them by the time you leave the department. Even before the ARB submitted its conclusions, the department moved to address certain shortcomings through its increased security proposal. The vast majority of the funding for this proposal would come from funds previously appropriated for lower-priority programs. And I hope Congress will move without delay to give the department the transfer authority it needs to start applying these changes. It is important to remember that security is not a worn-off endeavor. Indeed, it's a long-term responsibility and investment. In that context, the members of the ARB, led by Ambassador Pickering and Admiral Mullen highlighted the State Department's struggle to get the resources it needs. The ongoing problem had led to a culture at the department in which some senior managers appeared to be more interested in conserving resources than in achieving specific goals. The ARB report says, quote, "The solution requires a more serious and sustained commitment from Congress to support State Department needs," unquote. Regrettably, it's clear the Congress is still failing to meet this commitment. In the most recent State Department funding bill, approved by the House Appropriations Committee, the administration's request for embassy security, construction and maintenance, was cut by $112 million, and worldwide security protection reduced by $149 million. The Senate, by comparison, did not cut either account. So let me again reiterate what I just said about Congress's responsibility. Over the past two years alone, the administration's request for diplomatic security funding has been slashed by more than half a billion dollars in Congress. This makes it impossible for the State Department to build enough new secure diplomatic facilities, or improve those that already exist. The current appropriations bill for fiscal 2013 continues this negative trend. The measure reported out of the House Appropriations Committee, [inaudible] -based funding for worldwide security protection, and embassy security, construction and maintenance, by more than $260 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee fully funded both requests. So what I'm saying here is that we have much work to do to ourself for ourselves. If we truly want to maintain a global reach, then we need to make the necessary investments in safeguarding our personnel who serve in dangerous environments. Mr. Chairman, you have indicated your intention to work on a State Department authorization bill. And I would like to work with you on a bipartisan manner to craft legislation that improves the department's ability to manage its resources, and provides the funding necessary to secure our people and facilities globally. So I thank you, and I look forward to the secretary's testimony.
[Royce:] Thank you, Mr. Engel. To help us understand the State Department's response to the Benghazi attack, we are joined today by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th Secretary of State. She has had a long career in public service. And for the past four years, Secretary Clinton has served as President Obama's secretary of state. She will soon move on to the next chapter in her distinguished career. Madam Secretary, without objection, your full statement will be made part of the record. And all members here will have five days to submit statements and questions for the record, subject to the limitations of the committee rules. Madam Secretary, please begin.
[Clinton:] Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I thank you, and the ranking member, and members of the committee, both of longstanding tenure, and brand-new members. And I appreciate your patience for me to be able to come to fulfill my commitment to you, actually to the former chairwoman, that I would be here to discuss the attack in Benghazi. I appreciate this opportunity. I will submit my full testimony for the record. I want to make just a few points. First, the terrorist attacks in Benghazi that claimed the lives of four brave Americans Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty are part of a broader strategic challenge to the United States and our partners in North Africa. I think it's important we understand the context for this challenge, as we work together to protect our people and honor our fallen colleagues. Any clear-eyed examination of this matter must begin with this sobering fact: Since 1988, there have been 19 Accountability Review Boards investigating attacks on American diplomats and their facilities. Since 1977, 65 American diplomatic personnel have been killed by terrorists. In addition to those who have been killed, we know what happened in Tehran, with hostages being taken in 1979; our embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983; Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, 1996; our embassies in East Africa, 1998; Consulate staff murdered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2004, the coast attack in Afghanistan in 2009, and too many others. But I also want to stress the list of attacks that were foiled, crises averted, and lives saved, is even longer. We should never forget that the security professionals get it right more than 99 percent of the time against difficult odds, because the terrorists only need to get it right once. That's why, like all my predecessors, I trust the diplomatic security professionals with my life. Let's also remember that, as the chairman and the ranking member pointed out, administrations of both parties, in partnership with Congress, have made concerted and good- faith efforts to learn from the tragedies that have occurred, to implement recommendations from the review boards, to seek the necessary resources to better protect our people in a constantly- evolving threat environment. In fact, Mr. Chairman, of the 19 Accountability Review Boards that have been held since 1988, only two have been made public. I want to stress that, because the two that have been made public, coming out of the East Africa embassy bombings, and this one, our attempts honest attempts by the State Department, by the secretary Secretary Albright and myself to be as transparent and open as possible. We wanted to be sure that whatever these independent, non- partisan boards found, would be made available to the Congress, and to the American people. Because as I have said many times since September 11th, I take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger, and more secure. Now, taking responsibility meant not only moving quickly in those first uncertain hours and days to respond to the immediate crisis, but also to make sure we were protecting our people and posts in high- threat areas across the region and the world. It also meant launching an independent investigation to determine exactly what happened in Benghazi, and to recommend steps for improvement. And it also meant intensifying our efforts to combat terrorism, and support emerging democracies in North Africa and beyond. Let me share briefly the lessons we have learned up until now. First, let's start on the night of September 11th itself, and those difficult early days. I directed our response from the State Department, and stayed in close contact with officials from across our government and the Libyan government. So I did see firsthand what Ambassador Pickering and Chairman Mullen called "timely and exceptional coordination." No delays in decision- making, no denials of support from Washington, or from our military. And I want to echo the review board's praise for the valor and courage of our people on the ground, especially our security professionals in Benghazi and Tripoli. The board said our response saved American lives in real time, and it did. The very next morning, I told the American people, and I quote, "Heavily-armed militants assaulted our compound," and vowed to bring them to justice. And I stood later that day with President Obama as he spoke of an act of terror. Now, you may recall at this same time period, we were also seeing violent attacks on our embassies in Cairo, Sana'a, Tunis and Khartoum, as well as large protests outside many other posts from India to Indonesia, where thousands of our diplomats serve. So I immediately ordered a review of our security posture around the world, with particular scrutiny for high-threat posts. And I asked the Department of Defense to join interagency security assessment teams, and to dispatch hundreds of additional Marine security guards. I named the first deputy assistant secretary of State for high- treat posts, so that missions in dangerous places get the attention they need. And we reached out to Congress, to help address physical vulnerabilities, including risks from fire, and to hire additional diplomatic security personnel, and Marine security guards. Second, even as I took these steps, I quickly moved to appoint the Accountability Review Board, because I wanted them to come forward with their report before I left, because I felt the responsibility, and I wanted to be sure that I was putting in motion the response to whatever they found. What was wrong? How do we fix it? I have accepted every one of their recommendations. Our deputy secretary for management and resources, Deputy Tom Nides who appeared before this committee last month, is leading a task force to ensure that all 29 are implemented quickly, and completely, as well as pursuing additional steps above, and beyond the board. I pledged in my letter to you last month, that implementation has now begun on all 29 recommendations. We've translated them into 64 specific action items. They were all assigned to specific bureaus and offices with clear timelines for completion. Nearly 85 percent are on track to be completed by the end of March, with a number completed already. But, we're also taking a top to bottom look to rethink how we make decisions on where, when and whether our people should operate in high-threat areas, and how we respond. We are initiating an annual high-threat post review, shared for the first time in American history, I suppose, by the secretary of State. And ongoing reviews by the deputy secretaries to ensure that pivotal questions about security reach the highest level. And we will regularize protocols for sharing information with Congress. Now in addition to the immediate action we took, and the review board process, we're moving on a third front; addressing the broader strategic challenge in North Africa, and the wider region. Benghazi did not happen in a vacuum. The Arab revolutions have scrambled power dynamics, and shattered security forces across the region. Instability in Mali has created an expanding safe haven for terrorists, who look to extend their influence and plot further attacks of the kind we just saw last week in Algeria. And let me offer our deepest condolences to the families of the Americans, and all of the people from many nations killed and injured in the Algerian hostage crisis. We remain in close touch with the government of Algeria, ready to provide assistance if needed, and also seeking to gain a fuller understanding of what took place so we can work together to prevent such terrorist attacks in the future. Now concerns about terrorism and instability in North Africa are not new, of course. Indeed they've been a top priority for this entire national security team. But we need to work together to accelerate a diplomatic campaign to increase pressure on al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and other terrorist groups in the region. I have conferred with the president of Libya, the foreign ministers and prime ministers of Tunisia, and Morocco. Two weeks later after the attack, I met with a very large group of regional leaders at the U.N., and was part of a special meeting focused on Mali, and the Sahel. In October, I flew to Algeria to discuss the fight against AQIM. In November I sent Deputy Secretary Bill Burns on an interagency group to Algiers to continue that conversation. And then in my stead, he co- chaired the Global Counterterrorism Forum, that was held in Abu Dabi, and a meeting in Tunis working not only on building new democracies, but on reforming security services. These are just a few of the constant diplomatic engagements that we are having, focused on targeting al-Qaeda's syndicate of terror. Closing safe havens, cutting off finances, countering their extremist ideology, slowing the flow of new recruits. We continue to hunt the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Benghazi, and are determined to bring them to justice. And we're using our diplomatic and economic tools to support the emerging democracies, including Libya in order to give them the strength to provide a path away from extremism. And finally, the United States must continue to lead, in the Middle East, in North Africa, and around the globe. We've come a long way in the past four years, and we cannot afford to retreat now. When America is absent, especially from unstable environments, there are consequences. Extremism takes root, our interests suffer, and our security at home is threatened. That's why Chris Stevens went to Benghazi in the first place. I asked him to go. During the beginning of the revolution against Gadhafi, we needed somebody in Benghazi who could begin to build bridges with the insurgents, and to begin to demonstrate that America would stand against Gadhafi. Nobody knew the dangers, or the opportunities better than Chris. First during the revolution, and then during the transition. A weak Libyan government, marauding militias, even terrorist groups, a bomb exploded in the parking lot of his hotel. He never wavered. He never asked to come home. He never said, let's shut it down, quit and go somewhere else, because he understood it was critical for America to be represented in that place, at that pivotal time. So, Mr. Chairman we do have to work harder, and better to balance the risks and the opportunities. Our men and women who serve overseas understand that we do accept a level of risk to represent, and protect the country we love. They represent the best traditions of a bold, and generous nation. They cannot work in bunkers and do their jobs. But it is our responsibility to make sure they have the resources they need to do those jobs, and to do everything we can to reduce the risks they face. For me, this is not just a matter of policy, it's personal because I've had the great honor to lead the men and women of the State Department and USAID. Nearly 70,000 serving here in Washington, and at more than 275 posts around the world. They get up, and go to work every day, often in difficult, and dangerous circumstances, thousands of miles from home, because they believe the United States is the most extraordinary force for peace, and progress the earth has ever known. And when we suffer tragedies overseas, the number of Americans apply to the Foreign Service actually increases. That tells us everything we know need to know about the kind of patriots I'm talking about. They do ask what they can do for their country, and America is stronger for it. So, today after four years in this job, traveling nearly a million miles, and visiting 112 countries, my faith in our country and our future is stronger than ever. Every time that blue and white airplane carrying the words "United States of America", touches down in some far off capital, I feel again the honor it is to represent the world's indispensable nation. And I am confident that with your help, we will continue to keep the United States safe, strong, and exceptional. And I would be very happy to answer your questions.
[Royce:] Thank you Madam Secretary. I think our State Department personnel do certainly accept a level of risk, and and they do so in order, as you've said quite properly, to continue to lead. But and we recognize I think, that hindsight is 2020. But with regard to the Benghazi attacks, what is probably most disturbing, as the question comes before the committee, and as the media looks at the situation, the dots here were connected ahead of time. The State Department saw this risk coming, and the State Department didn't ask didn't didn't act in order to prevent what what could have been handled, probably, by answering the requests by our personnel. So if we look at the State Department email exchange, on top officials in the bureau, written right after the assassination attempt on the British ambassador in June of 2012, here's the exchange. Quote, "This is very concerning when you start putting events together. The anti-American demonstration, the attack on our compound, and now the U.K. motor motorcade attack." "If the tide is turning and they are now looking for Americans, and westerners to attack, that is a game changer." "We are not staffed, or resourced adequately to protect our people in that type of environment." "We are a soft target.", end quote.

[Blitzer:] Millions of people are infected. It's a leading killer in Latin America and it's very, very tough to treat. So does this scary, parasitic disease pose a growing threat here in the United States? We asked Brian Todd to take a closer look into the story. What are you learning, Brian?
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, there's new concern about this disease because of the number of people infected. There is debate about whether it's a growing threat in the U.S. in some circles it's drawing comparisons to another disease.
[Todd:] AIDS, the scourge of the post-war era killing over 25 million people over the past three decades. Is there a new AIDS on the horizon? Experts worry about a disease now affecting millions in Latin America.
[Dr. Peter Hotez, Baylor College Of Medicine:] I like to call Chagas disease the most important infection you've never heard about. And you've never heard about it because it almost exclusively affects people living in extreme poverty.
[Todd:] Chagas, a parasitic infection prevalent in poor areas of central and south America. Dr. Peter Hotez is lead author of a recent editorial about Chagas in a respected medical journal. Health authorities say roughly 10 million people are infected with Chagas. Hotez estimates it kills at least 20,000 people a year. [on camera]: Is this difficult or impossible to cure?
[Hotez:] There are two medicines available, which if you catch the infection very early on seem to have some beneficial effect on treating the patient. The problem is once the heart symptoms start, which is the most dreaded complication, the chagas cardiomyopathy, the medicines no longer work very well, problem number one. Problem number two, the medicines are extremely toxic.
[Todd:] Also Hotez says Chagas is like AIDS because it's contaminated the blood supply. [on camera]: This is ground zero for Chagas. Experts say the parasite for Chagas lives in its guts and it likes to hide in wall crevices and then at night it drops on to people that is sleeping. It likes to bite you on the face. It's called the kissing bug. When it ingests your blood, it excretes the parasite at the same time. When you wake up and scratch the itch, the parasite moves into the wound and you're infected. You can be infected with Chagas for decades before you actually get the severe symptoms of the disease, but then when you move into the severe stage, you can develop an enlarged heart or intestines that can burst. [voice-over]: Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health says Hotez and others are overstating the danger of Chagas.
[Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute Of Health:] I'm concerned that when people talk about the comparisons with HIV that that comparison would translate into thinking it's transmitted like it is with HIV, which is just not the case.
[Todd:] Fauci says Chagas is transmitted primarily by the bug biting you, by pregnant women infecting their children and by people living in areas where it's prevalent donating blood that's not screened. Dr. Fauci says only about 20 percent of people who get infected will go on to get the life-threatening form of Chagas. Fauci says Chagas does not pose a significant danger to people in the U.S. But that's where some debate creeps in. Dr. Peter Hotez disagrees with them there, saying that there's transmission of this disease in South Texas where those bugs can be found in South Texas and that many dogs in South Texas now have Chagas Wolf.
[Blitzer:] He also has information about the number of women, pregnant women who may have this disease.
[Todd:] That's right. Dr. Hotez says 11 percent of pregnant women in Latin America are infected with Chagas and they can transmit it to their children about 5 percent to 10 percent of the time and you break that down it may not seem like a lot, but it's certainly enough to be concerning at this point.
[Blitzer:] I suspect we're going to be learning a lot more about this disease in the months and years to come. Thanks, Brian. Good information. New information also about the Pakistani doctor who helped the United States find Osama Bin Laden. Lisa Sylvester is monitoring that and some of the other top stories in THE SITUATION ROOM right now. What else is going on, Lisa?
[Sylvester:] Hi, there, Wolf. Well, it appears that Shaquille Afridi's crime is not what we first thought. He's a doctor who set up a fake vaccination program to help find Bin Laden and received 33 years in prison for spying. But a court says the harsh sentence is related to his, quote, "close links to a militant group in Pakistan." Afridi's family says it's false. Afridi has been in jail for the last year. And new signs that Blackberry is in bad shape. The company that makes the mobile device, Research in Motion has hired two big banks to help, quote, "review the company's options," which likely means big job cuts and eliminating sectors all together. Blackberry has fallen behind other smartphone makers like Samsung, Apple and Nokia. And talks about a great day on the job, a waiter in Houston, Texas received a $5,000 tip on only a $27 tab. There's one catch, the couple that tipped him, they have set up specific instructions on what to buy with that money.
[Greg Rubar, Waiter:] He said we'll come in and we're not going to tip you for a while and he said it's enough money to go buy you a nice car.
[Sylvester:] Wow, that was awfully nice. Now the waiter lost his car in a storm several weeks ago and he's been taking cabs or busses to get to work. So somebody, a couple just gave him $5,000 to get a new car. It's nice to know that there are people out there doing great things.
[Blitzer:] I love those stories, a very, very nice story and thank you for bringing a smile to us with that story. Thank you. Meanwhile, a flight makes an emergency landing when parts of the plane start raining down on cars. We have new information on the frightening scene. Stand by for that. And you could be watching this show on an Apple product some time very soon. The notoriously secretive company gives us a little hint to one of its future products.

[Amanpour:] Welcome back to the program. And now turning to the Catholic Church, which recently released a report criticizing nuns here in the United States. It alleges that they stray from church doctrine, and it cites radical feminist themes in their programs. My next guest is a practicing nun and a former president of the group that represents the majority of nuns in the U.S., Sister Joan Chittister, welcome to the program.
[Sister Joan Chittister, Former Pres., Leadership Conference Of Religious Women:] Thank you, Christiane.
[Amanpour:] So this has come out, this document, and it's criticized you. And let me just say a couple of things that it cites. As we said, radical feminist themes: silent on the right to life, confusion about the church's authentic doctrine of faith in other words, straying from the Vatican party line.
[Chittister:] Exactly.
[Amanpour:] How do you respond to that? Those are serious charges.
[Chittister:] Well, I'd like to start with the first one, because I think I really believe it's the pillar upon which they build the rest of the case. They call us radical feminists. Now that's embarrassing. And I'll tell you, it's not embarrassing to me. It ought to be embarrassing to them. And I'll tell you why. The term "radical feminism" is a very precise philosophical term. If you're going to accuse somebody of it, you ought to know what it is. Now radical
[Amanpour:] What is it?
[Chittister:] Well, comes out of the `60s with a bumper sticker. The bumper sticker says, something like this, "A woman needs a man the way a fish needs a bicycle." It is about separatism, in other words, exclusion, exclusion of the sexes. I don't know one woman and no nun who believes that or ever believed that or works in that behalf. The
[Amanpour:] So why are they saying it, then?
[Chittister:] Because
[Amanpour:] Why do they use that term?
[Chittister:] Because the problem is not radical feminism, it's radical patriarchy. That's where exclusion is built right into the DNA. Women are nowhere on any of these commissions, on the writing of any of these documents. So how would they know what a woman's answer is to these things? It's a measure of wanting to make the rest of the world part of your world and real.
[Amanpour:] So you well, the nuns of your organization met with the Vatican, who's in charge now, trying to figure this out. What was the result of that meeting? It seemed like the Vatican basically gave some very strict marching orders. You either stay in line or you get out of Dodge.
[Chittister:] Well, in the first place, let's make it clear. I am not now an official member of the LCWR. I was in the past. So, no, I wasn't part of that elite, and like everybody else, I read the articles and they are clear. But the fact is that in that in that meeting, the women laid out, I'm sure, the plan. More importantly, they laid out the process. They're about to be a model for the whole church. They're saying we aren't going to make this decision. We aren't answering you. We will go back and survey the sisters in the United States, our members, and we'll tell you what our corporate mind. That isn't happening in on the other side of this equation.
[Amanpour:] So let me push you on this, because you say corporate mind, and clearly you have forged where you believe your doctrine and your teaching and your mission and service leads you. But you are part of the Roman Catholic Church. This pope, as well as his predecessor, has made it very clear that they are back to basics, no more Vatican II, no more of the liberal reforms. So if you want to stay a Catholic nun, do you have to toe the line?
[Chittister:] Well, what line are we taking about? What line should the church be talking about? The sisters will tell you that their corporate mind comes out of the Gospel, that they're ministering to people. I believe that that's where this tension is setting up. I think we're seeing the distinction between the ideals and the street, the law and the people. We have here an instance where we're confronted with a difference between the medieval and the modern mind. The medieval mind says there is an answer to everything, only one. It's either right or wrong, and we'll tell you what it is. The modern mind, borne in a scientific age, says there are many answers to many things, and we really have to look at them all to know which one is best.
[Amanpour:] So let me ask you, in that regard, then, how do you respond to the second major charge that they cite, and that is silent on the right to life?
[Chittister:] Oh. That's almost humorous. The sisters live in the life questions. The sisters live beyond the pro-birth issues, to birth and the pro-life issues, from womb to tomb, everything we do is about the value of life. In 1977 or '78, we said then, in an official LCWR document that we believe in what later became known through Cardinal Bernardin, the seamless garment, that all life issues are life issues, and that we didn't want to concentrate on any single ones, as if the rest of them were unimportant.
[Amanpour:] So when you say life issues, you're specifically talking about your ministry, about reaching the poor, about helping the dispossessed, about social justice?
[Chittister:] Well, I won't call it social justice. It is life in this country at this time. When the sisters left the schools, where they had spent 100 years, healing the pain of illiteracy, they saw the pain in all these other places now. The state had taken over the responsibility for literacy. We saw the pain in the streets. We saw the pain in poor families. We saw the pain in the prisons. We saw the pain in health care. Different sisters with different backgrounds went into each of those places, where they minister to the poor. Now they don't just minister to Catholic poor. They don't use ministry as a ground for preaching documents. They use the ministry that they would say comes out of the model of Jesus and the Gospels, and that is whoever is down, we will help rise up. Whoever is dead, we will try to give new life. If that's not a pro-life issue, I don't know where to go.
[Amanpour:] And do you think the Church doesn't want you to do this?
[Chittister:] Well, it's their sentence. They're spending too much time on social justice issues, and not enough time on these issues. It isn't that those issues are unimportant. No sister has ever said they are. But abortion, contraception, homosexuality, those are those are issues of theology and issues of science. Those are living dynamic issues. This society is struggling with them deeply. Nobody has solved them. Nobody can say with a kind of certitude, this is life. We got a we got a clone called Dolly, and none of us know any more. But
[Amanpour:] The sheep, you're talking about.
[Chittister:] The sheep, yes, that we cloned, confused the whole definition of life. And these questions aren't going to go away.
[Amanpour:] I want to go back to what you said before, it's about patriarchy. And of course we've had this amazing picture that we've put up on our screen, and it does show the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the pope and all his men, all his cardinals and archbishops. We also know, and we have a chart to show this, that the number of religious sisters here in the United States, nuns like yourself, is plummeting. And why is that, I want to ask you? You know, from 1965, when there were 180,000 to 2011 when there are 56,000?
[Chittister:] Sure. Well, there are lots of reasons for that; many of them social. The Rotarians will tell you the same thing and so will the Tiresians. The those numbers of entrance into institutions are now playing Nintendo games or something else. But more than that, where women are concerned, up until this period, the options for women to really serve and make a significant difference in this world, were very limited, to mother, nursing and teaching. So what we have now is a very serious, very spiritual group who are concentrating then on the place of Christian ministry on the streets.
[Amanpour:] And when you tell the male hierarchy, the bishops and those who are charged now with investigating the situation, that it hasn't been nuns who've been responsible for the sexual scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church, what do they say, or do they not worry about their own credibility as they're attacking you?
[Chittister:] I have no idea. They simply overlook that topic. They're making no relationship there whatsoever that I know of. But this much I do know: all religions, male-dominated religions, always exalt the place of women and then ignore them entirely, on any major issues. They're not in that picture; they're in none of those pictures. You can look around the globe. We're being led into the fullness of women by you and this business and the businesses around you. The church is not leading on the issue they should be leading on.
[Amanpour:] We will continue to follow your story, Sister Joan Chittister, thank you very much for coming in.
[Chittister:] Thank you, Christiane.
[Amanpour:] And we will be right back.

[Holmes:] Good morning. Gadhafi is turning up the pressure on rebels and launching a brutal attack on a key Libyan city.
[Chetry:] Well, you're supposed to turn off your electronic devices on the plane, but do you? And if you don't, a new report says it could be more dangerous than you think.
[Holmes:] Also, Facebook, do they really need to expand? Well, they are. They're now taking on the movie business on this AMERICAN MORNING. Good morning to you all. Welcome to this AMERICAN MORNING for Wednesday, March 9th. I'm, T.J. Holmes.
[Chetry:] And I'm Kiran Chetry. We're glad you're with us. We're following the latest developments out of Libya where this morning forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are said to be in the midst of a major onslaught against rebels holding a key city. There are reports of fierce fighting today in Zawiya. It's about 30 miles from the capital. And it is the closest that rebel-held that's the closest rebel-held city to Gadhafi's main stronghold in Tripoli. Reuters reporting that the battle has forced the shutdown of Zawiya's oil refinery. Gadhafi also appeared with his entourage last night at a Tripoli hotel. This was a press appearance where he told foreign journalists that youths drugged by Al Qaeda are to blame for his country's civil war. Also last night, former Defense Chief Donald Rumsfeld telling CNN's Piers Morgan the situation in Libya could have been much worse.
[Donald Rumsfeld, Former Defense Chief:] Gadhafi, we you can see what he is about. Now, the plus on Gadhafi was that after he saw what happened to Saddam Hussein, he decided he didn't want to be Saddam Hussein and he gave up his nuclear program. And we would be in a much worse situation today if he had nuclear weapons, which fortunately he does not.
[Chetry:] Rumsfeld also went on to say that he does not support sending U.S. troops into Libya. Of course, there have been increasing calls for more western intervention, enforcement of a no-fly zone. Are these options wise? Coming up at 7:40, former undersecretary of state and former Ambassador Nicholas Burns will be joining us. The pressure is building for the U.S. to get involved in Libya.
[Holmes:] All right. We need to turn right now to our Rob Marciano with an immediate and developing could be a dangerous, Rob, weather situation right now.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, we're looking at several tornado warnings this morning. And a couple of which are right along the I-10 corridor in southwestern Louisiana in the New Orleans area around Lake Pontchartrain. Several there, Saint James Parish, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Saint Tammany Parish, and these include some fairly populated cities like Covington and Hammond. These storms you see highlighted there in the purple polygons, that's where the rotation is detected on the radar and these storms are moving northeasterly at about 30 miles per hour. So if you live in this area around Lake Pontchartrain, you certainly want to take cover, get inside the inner core of your home and wait for these storms to pass. A little bit farther to the north, we also have a couple of tornado warnings across parts of eastern Mississippi and Alabama, in Choctaw County for the next 10 or so minutes. And also with this system, a tremendous amount of rain overnight. Anywhere from four to six inches in some spots. And we have flooding and some rescues happening in parts of central Mississippi. And look at the size of this thing. It is moving slowly off to the east. Tornado watch in effect. And this is going to dump a lot of heavy rain across areas that are already saturated. So much more than just the south, the tornado warnings, guys. We're going to be talking about this for the next couple of days here in the form of heavy, heavy rain that's going to be moving into the northeast. And also some snows behind this system across parts of the upper Midwest. But we'll keep an eye on this dangerous situation across parts of southwest Louisiana. St. James Parish, Saint John the Baptist Parish, and Saint Tammany Parish, if you live in those areas, you certainly want to take cover now and wait for these storms to pass. T.J., Kiran, back up to you.
[Holmes:] All right, Rob. We appreciate you. We'll be checking in with you plenty throughout the morning. Thanks so much.
[Marciano:] OK.
[Holmes:] I want to turn now to tell you about a huge earthquake off the coast of Japan. This one struck off Japan's mainland. And listen to this, 7.2 magnitude earthquake. That is a major quake. It could be felt almost 300 miles away in Tokyo. Take a look at some of the surveillance video we got here. Some surveillance cameras are on skyscrapers. You can see some of the shaking going on. No reports right now of any significant injuries or damage, but still, some of the video we're getting, you could see the rocking going on, including some boats that were parked along the coast. A tsunami warning was at one point issued. It was later canceled, however.
[Chetry:] Also new this morning, a stunning and disturbing sight. Take a look at this. Millions of fish dead in the water at a Southern California marina. Officials say that the large school of sardines this is Redondo Beach, by the way depleted the water of oxygen and because of that and there were so many in such a short amount of time that they literally suffocated. They say there's no environmental cause. There's no pollution. They basically think that they were driven there by larger fish and then, of course, there were too many of them. Of course, very happy for the pelicans who then quickly landed to eat them. But some were called the floating fish a foot deep in parts of that marina.
[Holmes:] Oh, that's a nasty thing like you said of the pelicans there. Well, a familiar name and familiar face to a lot of people is making a comeback. Coming out of retirement, that might not be a big deal unless you're 36 years old and your job is as a running back in the NFL. Tiki Barber retired back in 2006. Now he's the New York Giants' all-time leading rusher. Now most recently a lot of people got familiar with him as a correspondent for the "Today" show and as well as on Sunday night football. Giants right now do own rights to him. That's the team he retired from. He left when he had a contract still in place, but they don't want any part of him. Don't want to pay him so they're expected to release him as soon as possible. Now, even though he is 36 years old and it's hard to be a 36-year-old running back in the league, some hope is that he has a twin brother who is still playing, Ronde Barber, still playing quarterback for the Tampa Bay Bucks right now.
[Chetry:] Yes, it will be his 15th season.
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Chetry:] Well, if the weather conditions are right in just a few hours, space shuttle Discovery will return to earth for the very last time. And on this last day in flight, the astronauts woke up to Gwyneth Paltrow singing "Coming Home."
[Gwyneth Paltrow, "coming Home":] It's a four-letter word. A place you go to heal your hurt.
[Chetry:] Stop laughing, people. She's an actress, but she's a singer. If Discovery lands today, it will have spent a record 365 days in space. There are only two more shuttle launches left for NASA. Coming up at 8:10 Eastern, we're going to be speaking with Colonel Bob Springer. He flew on the shuttle Discovery back in 1989. What does he think about this shuttle being retired and the future of this space program? We're going to talk to him at 8:10 Eastern.
[Holmes:] All right. You folks out there, there's no excuse not to call your grand folks. You need to check in with your grandma every once in a while. And here is one guy who's giving you no excuse not to. Because last week, Gladys Roscoe got a call from her grandson, and where he is? Not 200 miles away. He's 200 miles up. Yes, her grandson is Colonel Eric Boe. He is pilot of the shuttle Discovery and he was aboard the International Space Station when he decided to give his grandmother a call. That's a good grandson. The call was brief. And she talked about the call. But there was one thing she wanted to keep to herself.
[Gladys Roscoe, Grandson In Space:] I worry about him so, and his father said don't tell him that because he's been wanting to do this ever since he was a little boy.
[Holmes:] Even today, she didn't want to say that she was concerned about his safety. Again, it was a short call. Now, this is it wasn't the first time he's done this. But the last time he was in space, he called his grandmother. She wasn't there. She missed the call. Why? What do grandmothers do? They square dance. And she was out square dancing.
[Chetry:] Love it. That's awesome. No, but my husband checks in with his grandparents every day.
[Holmes:] What are they doing?
[Chetry:] And also, she's at bingo. He's working the puzzle, you know, in the group room.
[Holmes:] Down at the bar.
[Chetry:] So, you know, there's stuff to do. Down at the bar. Playing bingo.
[Holmes:] Take a look at these pictures, as well. There were some gray skies, but you don't think that's not going to stop the party in New Orleans, do you? Fat Tuesday, they did what they do there in New Orleans. Parties, parades, all night goings on there to mark the celebration. Today, though, they're waking up with a few hangovers, I'm sure, and things are a little different for a lot of folks. It's Ash Wednesday now, beginning of Lent. Many people as you know, many Christians are fasting or giving up something right now. So good luck with that, folks.
[Chetry:] Good luck, you're going to need it. Myself included. Some Mardi Gras celebrators in Canada take the term "Fat Tuesday" quite literally. They celebrate the day with a 500-calorie treat called a Paczki. Paczki Day is a growing tradition in Windsor, Ontario, where locals line up for the Polish pastry. It's fried, it's stuffed with jelly, and then glossed with sugar ice cream. I mean, icing. But sugar ice cream would be good, too.
[Holmes:] Yes, didn't have enough calories.
[Chetry:] Right.
[Holmes:] Well, coming up here on this AMERICAN MORNING, you've been hearing a lot about these controversial hearings supposed to take place on Capitol Hill tomorrow. They're called hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims. Some say the man behind the proceedings, though, a New York congressman, is putting Islam on trial.
[Chetry:] Also, was the troubled Broadway musical "Spiderman" heading in the wrong direction? Details on what could be a complete overhaul of Broadway's most expensive musical ever.
[Holmes:] And do you really need another reason to spend more of your time on Facebook? Well, here's another one. Soon you're going to be able to watch your favorite movies on the site. It's nine minutes past the hour on this
[American Morning. Chetry:] They're so much

[Jane Velez-mitchell, Host:] Tonight, earth-shattering new testimony in the Casey Anthony hearings. Casey breaks down in tears as her mom takes the stand, and gets testy with prosecutors over what happened when little Caylee went missing. Mind-boggling new details. Tears, heated moments, and what made Casey laugh out loud. You don`t want to miss this. And a knock-down-drag-out battle over what killed three people in an Arizona sweat lodge. Prosecutors trying to hang celebrity self-help guru James Ray with his own words: "You`ll feel like you`re going to die. I guarantee that." Is the defense now claiming rat poison killed the victims and not the heat? Who will the jury believe? Also, fast-breaking new details on the execution of a dad at an Atlanta daycare. Did the suspect gun down his victims to steal his wife? Cops now say the dead man`s wife and the suspect were in continuous communication before and after the carnage. Was she involved in this monstrous plot? Or did the vicious killer act alone? Plus, self-proclaimed winner Charlie Sheen finally loses his kids. His estranged wife, Brooke, yanks the kids out of his house with a restraining order, as she drops bombshell charges of physical abuse against her. Now reports that Charlie`s desperately looking for his twins. Is this act three in the train wreck? ISSUES starts now.
[Cindy Anthony, Casey`s Mother:] Are you asking me a question?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes, I am.
[Cindy Anthony:] What is the question? I`m sorry.
[Unidentified Female:] The question is, when you called the police, they show up in response to your emergency 911 call, is it not your expectation that`s the question part...
[Cindy Anthony:] OK. I`m sorry. I`m sorry. This is very difficult for me.
[Unidentified Female:] I understand.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, high drama as sparks fly during a critical hearing in the Casey Anthony murder case. It was a marathon day for Casey. She cried and she laughed in court. It was also an agonizing day for her parents, Cindy and George, who were in the hot seat. And that means the witness stand. Things got very, very heated when prosecutors cross-examined Cindy and George about the crucial day, July 15, 2008, that they called cops to report that their precious granddaughter, Caylee Marie Anthony, had been missing for a month. Here is Cindy talking about how she says cops treated Casey, her daughter, once cops arrived at the Anthony home. Listen.
[Cindy Anthony:] He sequestered her into a back bedroom and began to ask her questions.
[Unidentified Male:] Do you know how long a period of time he questioned her in the back bedroom?
[Cindy Anthony:] At least an hour.
[Unidentified Male:] Can you describe Mr. Mellich`s tone of voice?
[Cindy Anthony:] He began, you know, in a normal tone of voice, but at times he did get kind of intimidating, I would say, or demanding of her.
[Velez-mitchell:] So what`s the big deal here? Well, I`ll tell you. Cops allegedly initially failed to read Casey her Miranda rights, and so the defense wants all the incriminating things she said thrown out. Meantime, her dad, George, gets a serious scolding from the judge after talking at the same time as a prosecutor, and you could cut the tension between Jose Baez and the prosecutors with a knife. The state would like to hold Baez in contempt of court. What do you think about all of this? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586-7297. Straight out to the one and only Jean Casarez, correspondent for "In Session" on TruTV. Jean, what a day. What incriminating things did Casey tell cops in those crucial early stages when they first questioned her about her daughter being missing? And could those incriminating admissions be kept from the jurors?
[Jean Casarez, Correspondent, Trutv`s "in Session":] They sure could. And this is very important to the prosecution`s chase. No. 1, she said that Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, the baby-sitter, is who actually took Caylee; she kidnapped her, that she left her at the Sawgrass Apartments, and that`s the last time she saw her. That`s one thing she said. No. 2, she said, "I left my baby there because I went to work. I work at Universal Studios." That also wasn`t true. Those are examples, Jane, of things that the jury may not hear if the judge rules in the favor of the defense after this hearing.
[Velez-mitchell:] That is a huge, huge development. Cindy Anthony put on a tough front today, but she also showed her tender side. Listen to this.
[Cindy Anthony:] I just remember, when they placed the cuffs on her, that I started to cry, and I put my head into my husband`s chest.
[Unidentified Male:] Did the deputy have to handcuff her to take her out to a patrol car?
[Cindy Anthony:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] Did you see her being placed in a patrol car?
[Cindy Anthony:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And was she still handcuffed at that time?
[Cindy Anthony:] I would believe so.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK. Superstar defense lawyer Linda Kenney Baden joins us tonight. We`re delighted to have her. Now, she had joined Casey`s team early on but stepped down reportedly because of financial issues last fall. Linda, great to see you.
[Linda Kenney Baden, Criminal Defense Lawyer:] Hi, Jane. Great to see you. I`m great to be here in this capacity to bring some defense common sense.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. Well, we`re fair here on ISSUES.
[Baden:] That`s why I`m here, Jane, because you are. But you know what? I thought today was a fascinating day, you know. I wasn`t in when it came to participating in the deposition or the hearings, but I heard them say, "Wow, somebody lies and gives a story. It`s curious. It`s interesting. It`s odd. But it`s not something I would consider somebody a suspect or suspicious." I mean, that was like Eddie Murphy in the movie dealing with "Beverly Hills Cop." It doesn`t pass the smell test. Come on.
[Velez-mitchell:] Wait a minute. Linda, let me ask you this question: how long did they talk to Casey without reading her Miranda rights? And could they really throw out all that incriminating stuff? When she takes them to the Sawgrass Apartments, they still had not that`s where she claims she had left the little girl with Zanny then, a baby-sitter that cops believe doesn`t even exist. Could that really be thrown out? Could that really be thrown out?
[Baden:] Think of it. Hours upon hours, we could come back tomorrow morning, and they would still have a time to question her. And you know, if you go to a cop lecture, he`ll tell you, if you haven`t heard this, custody, interrogation, Miranda. That`s like the handcuffs. I mean, it`s absolutely ridiculous. Even when that was said to her, "Is everything here you told me the truth? It`s not, is it?" Well, that means he doesn`t believe her. She`s been a suspect, at least on lying to the cops. You have to give her her Miranda rights. You can`t go around it. And if you go around and this judge finds that this was OK, then we`re just all lying to ourselves.
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, but, please, Leonard Papilla, first of all, the cops say when they got there, they were treating her as a victim, someone who had lost their child, someone whose child had been kidnapped. So they say they didn`t read her the Miranda rights, because they didn`t realize that she had anything to do with it. They thought she was looking for her missing baby.
[Leonard Padilla, Bounty Hunter:] They`re flat-out lying. They know exactly why they were there. They were looking for a missing baby. If you go back to the nine 911 calls from Cindy, that was the purpose of them being at the residence. She threw the line in there that she thought somebody dead in the front of the car. There`s no cop going to go to a residence with those statements at 911 and simply not think that the person they were being talked to about is not somehow a suspect. They screwed up, and they know they screwed up, and Baez caught them.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Well, this is this is huge. I mean, this is huge. We can`t if the jury can`t hear that Casey Anthony said, well, Zanny the nanny, who a lot of people think doesn`t exist. Nobody`s ever found hide nor hair of her.
[Padilla:] I found her. I found her.
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, yes, you found her. Oh, yes. Tell me about that.
[Padilla:] I found her. I`ve talked to her over a dozen times.
[Velez-mitchell:] Are you talking about the lady who`s suing because her life was ruined because she happens to have the same name. That lady has nothing to do with that case.
[Padilla:] That`s correct. I know that. Absolutely nothing.
[Velez-mitchell:] The real the real Zanny the nanny that she`s pointing out, this lady is not Zanny the nanny. The cops say there is no Zanny the nanny. This woman just happened to have the same name and said, "Oh, just by the way, you ruined my life, because you pointed to a fictitious person that happens to share my name." But I just do not understand that that all this could be thrown out. I mean...
[Baden:] Jane, can I...
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes.
[Baden:] There was another important part that everyone passed over today. Remember that jail tape when she was in jail and the child missing was found, and the prosecution wanted to get it in? Remember that? Well, the judge, the prosecution today stipulated they`re not going to use that tape. That was a huge win. And I`m proud of that, because I wrote the brief on that.
[Velez-mitchell:] Now we`re you`re you`ve given us a Ph.D. course. We`re undergraduate school at this point. OK. Julie, Kentucky, your question or thought?
[Caller:] Well, my comment is in regards to the detective. I think they should have read her her rights, No. 1. No. 2 is when the detective was at the home, I believe George Anthony said that he smelled something in the car. Why did the detectives not look when he was there then?
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Jean Casarez, take it away.
[Casarez:] We heard that testimony today. Yuri Melich, the detective that was on the scene, lead detective, said George had come to him and said, "No, that car smells human. There`s something dead in that car, has been in that car." He said that he didn`t investigate it at that point, because this was a missing persons case. He was trying to find the little girl.
[Velez-mitchell:] Jean, could this stuff really be thrown out? I just find it hard to believe they could gut the entire...
[Casarez:] Listen, here`s one thought, Jane. Here`s one thought, OK? Here`s how it how it happened. Casey`s at home. The detectives come initially. She originally writes a statement on the kitchen table. After that she is handcuffed for three to four minutes. All right? Then she`s driven around and all that stuff. She`s returned home to sleep with her family. The next day they comes back. She goes to Universal. The judge could split the baby and allow some things in and some things out.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. When we say Universal, we`re talking about how she claimed she worked at Universal Studios, and led cops all around Universal Studios, and she didn`t work there. She was lying. All right. More on the Casey Anthony case in just a bit, and we`re talking more of your calls: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. Later, the sweat lodge defense team firing back. They claim the three people who died. You`re going to see George is also testy on the stand. Hang in there.
[Cindy Anthony:] I just remember when they placed the cuffs on her that I started to cry, and I put my head into my husband`s chest.
[Unidentified Male:] Did the deputy after handcuffing her take her out to a patrol car?
[Cindy Anthony:] Yes.

[A.j. Hammer:] Tonight, Casey Anthony, CSI. Could shows like "CSI" lead to Casey Anthony beating the rap on charges that she killed her two- year-old daughter? I`m A.J. Hammer. This is on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Big news breaking tonight porn again? Disturbing new details tonight about Anthony Weiner`s reported porn star connection. Is Weiner just like Tiger Woods and Jesse James? Plus, Donald Trump`s startling attack on Weiner.
[Donald Trump, Business Tycoon:] The fact is, Anthony Weiner is a bad guy. He`s a psycho.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ breaks news. No Frenchy kiss for "American Idol." Why former contestant Frenchy Davis is telling us her new show, "The Voice," is so much better.
[Frenchy Davis, Former "american Idol" Contestant:] They`re not just judges. They`re coaching us. And so it`s not like, you know, when Simon sits there with his arms crossed and tells you, you suck.
[Hammer:] So what does "Voice" host, Carson Daly, say about that? We`ll ask him tonight in a headline-making SHOWBIZ newsmaker interview. A SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive. Confessions from "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," Adrienne Maloof. Her behind-the-scenes revelations. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now.
[Rep. Anthony Weiner:] This was a very dumb thing to do.
[Hammer:] You can say that again, Weiner.
[Weiner:] A very dumb thing to do.
[Hammer:] If you thought that tweeting a naughty underwear photo of yourself and then lying about it was bad, well, today, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brings you yet another installment of "Stupid Weiner Tricks." "TMZ" reports today it seems Weiner has got a porn star friend, who he may have been counseling in a great big cover-up on the government dime. It`s a connection that he conveniently forgot to mention at his big apologetic press conference.
[Weiner:] I came here to accept full responsibility for what I`ve done.
[Hammer:] Yes, not quite.
[Jo Piazza, Entertainment Journalist:] At the intersection of all of these scandals, there`s a porn star lying in wait.
[Hammer:] Weiner`s reported porn star in wait, the lovely Ginger Lee. Ginger tells "TMZ" that the two exchanged sexually-explicit E-mails and texts for some time.
[Piazza:] Anytime you have porn star, a scandal goes from here to here.
[Hammer:] "TMZ" reports Weiner may have coached his porn friend with some kindly advice.
[Piazza:] He offered advice on how she could lie to the press, evade the press, charm the press. He actually told her to throw in a little bit of a Texan drawl to make herself seem more endearing and I suppose probably less skanky.
[Hammer:] In this online video from "Girls on Machines," Ginger Lee gives an enlightening interview about her now-infamous accent.
[Unidentified Male:] Do you surprise a lot of people out here in California with your accent?
[Ginger Lee, Porn Star:] It confuses a lot of people, especially if we`re at certain
[Unidentified Male:] Like what are yours?
[Lee:] Coke.
[Hammer:] And worst of all, it seems that Weiner may have offered up members of his Congressional staff to help Ginger Lee out of this political pickle. He even reportedly drafted a statement for her. Come on, Weiner. Seriously?
[Piazza:] Frankly, if he`s been using Congressional funds and Congressional staff to try to cover up his kinky behavior, that`s a big problem.
[Hammer:] "TMZ" says that Weiner wrote to his lady in porning, quote, "The key is to have a short, thought-out statement that tackles the top line questions and then refer people back to it. Have a couple of iterations of, `This is silly.`" "Like so many others, I follow Rep. Weiner on Twitter. I don`t know him and have never met him. He briefly followed me and sent me a DM saying, `Thank you for the follow.` That`s it." It`s a pretty bombastic revelation.
[Piazza:] I think we can absolutely say that Weiner is of the same caliber of a lot of the high-profile celebrity men that we`ve seen involved in sex scandals.
[Hammer:] Men like Charlie Sheen, like Jesse James, like Tiger Woods may have a new member of their elite and porn-based club.
[Trump:] Anthony Weiner is a bad guy.
[Hammer:] Yes, even Donald Trump is all aboard the Weiner bashing bandwagon.
[Trump:] He`s a psycho.
[Hammer:] Donald was so outraged. In fact, he grabbed a video camera and taped his own anti-Weiner rant, which was posted today on YouTube.
[Trump:] He`s a liar. He should never, ever be allowed to run for office again.
[Hammer:] So Anthony`s latest shenanigans may have given us all a peek behind the political curtain.
[Piazza:] I think it is absolutely safe to say that we should give the distinguished Congressman the Weiner of the Year Award.
[Hammer:] Congratulations, sir.
[Larry King, Former Host, "larry King Live": A.j. -- Hammer:] This book is amazing. We`ll get to this in a second.
[King:] I`m glad you like it.
[Hammer:] Let`s talk Weiner. I never thought I`d say that to Larry King, but there I go. We learned today Anthony Weiner may have counseled that porn star pal of his on how to lie about their relationship. Here`s the kicker to me there are reports out there he may have offered her access to his own government PR team. Today, "TMZ" reported in an E-mail to her, this is what he wrote. This blows me away, "Do you need to talk to a professional PR person to give you advice? I can have someone from my team call you." Look, we all know it`s a matter of fact sex can make men stupid. But to send an E-mail about how to cover up your sexting affair, send an E- mail, that has got to be one of the dumbest things I`ve heard in a long time. Why do they think that this is OK or that this is not going to get out there, Larry?
[King:] To me, it`s the most
[Hammer:] Clearly
[King:] And he`s a hard-working Congressman. He`s very vibrant. You know, you see him on the House floor. He`s really into it. I think he probably would have been mayor. I think that`s eliminated now and I don`t think I think eventually he will decide to drop out of Congress. They`re starting an ethics investigation. But he could have handled this. Once a story breaks that you know is true now, you`re Anthony Weiner. A story breaks. You know it`s true. You know other things are coming, nip it in the bud.
[Hammer:] Yes.
[King:] You go on television, go here, go there, call a press conference and you say you look at the camera and say, "I have made look, I thought I`d never have to discuss this. For three years have I been having this problem and I`m seeking counsel." "And so, yes, I did do it. I did other things. I regret it. I`ve apologized. I hope my marriage works out. I`m doing my best to straighten it out. And I hope you give me some privacy as I try to work my problems out. Thank you." Now what do you ask him after that?
[Hammer:] Yes. There`s not a whole lot.
[King:] Not a whole take away the whole lot.
[Hammer:] If you don`t mind, I`m going to hold on to that piece of tape in case you ever find yourself in trouble. I`ll just roll that out for you. You give me a call.
[King:] Keep it up, A.J. Keep it up.
[Hammer:] All right. But listen, another one of Weiner`s sexting pals
[King:] I shouldn`t have looked at the camera that way. It wasn`t me.
[Hammer:] I got you now. I got you now, man! Vegas Blackjack dealer, Lisa Weiss has reportedly mailed off an apology letter to Anthony Weiner`s wife. This also really surprised me. Here`s what she wrote, "I want to express my deepest apologies for conversing with your husband, Anthony Weiner. I honestly meant no harm and I can hope that you and Anthony can work through all this. I still remain a huge supporter." Look, I think everybody involved in the scandal, Larry, obviously wants to absolve themselves, purge their guilt. But I don`t think you really want to send a high-profile person like this a letter like that.
[King:] No. I think they`re all caught in a world here. They`re caught in turmoil. I`m embarrassed for them. For example, if he wasn`t an elected official, I`d absolutely think it`s none of our business. But I`ve always felt that way. The personal lives, the private lives of figures I know this would destroy you, A.J. are none of our business, unless you`re elected by people. He`s paid by the people
[Hammer:] Yes.
[King:] Therefore he has a right to judgment.
[Hammer:] But then yes. And what you`re saying
[King:] But a movie actor is not paid by the people.
[Hammer:] Once you start lying repeatedly about it, though, that just, you know, adds fuel to the fire. You are telling the truth and I`m happy about that, Larry, in this amazing book. I was telling you before we got started, I can`t put it down. You spoke with another person among the many in your career that got caught up in perhaps one of the most famous sex scandals of all, Monica Lewinsky. Did she shed any light on why these powerful men do these types of things?
[King:] No, she did not. She was attracted to him. He was attracted to her. I think she was too young to philosophize on this. I don`t think we know. I watch psychologists speak and I`m impressed a little, but they`re all guessing. You have to examine him, find out what drives him. I was talking to somebody today, is this only powerful people who do this? Are only people with power or prestige or influence who do it? Or does a bus driver in Des Moines do it? Does an insurance man in New Haven do it? What do you think?
[Hammer:] Yes.
[King:] I don`t know.
[Hammer:] I think everybody does it, but there is something about that personality type as it repeats itself time after time where people are doing this in these high profile positions and thinking they can get away with it.
[King:] I can`t tell them what to do, but if I were in that boat, I`d resign.
[Hammer:] Well, Larry, no one has covered more high-profile court cases than you. You know, you were there for O.J., Laci Peterson, every other historic murder trial in the last quarter century. Got to get Larry King`s take on the Casey Anthony trial, the biggest one going on right now. So please stay right where you are.
[King:] OK, I`ll stay,
[A.j. Hammer:] And as we move on tonight SHOWBIZ breaks news. No Frenchy kiss for "American Idol." We`re going to tell you why former "Idol" contestant, Frenchy Davis, is telling us her new show, "The Voice," is so much better.
[Davis:] They`re not just judges, but they`re coaching us. And so it`s not like, you know, when Simon sits there with his arms crossed and tells you, you suck.
[Hammer:] So what does the host of "The Voice," Carson Daly, say about that? We will ask him tonight in the headline-making SHOWBIZ newsmaker interview. Plus, Carson on Eminem dissing Lady Gaga. A SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive, confessions of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star, Adrienne Maloof.
[Kareen Wynter, Showbiz Tonight Correspondent:] Beverly Hills housewife, Adrienne Maloof, has it all. Maloof welcomed SHOWBIZ TONIGHT to her exclusive estate. And she`s opening up about family, business and housewife drama.
[Hammer:] And don`t housewives and drama always go together? Adrienne`s behind-the-scenes revelations. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. And now the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news tonight.
[Text:] Alec Baldwin considering run for New York City mayor. Bye-bye, Meredith! Vieira`s last day on "Today."

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We're taking you around the world in 60 minutes. Here's what's happening right now. Things getting pretty desperate on board that cruise ship on the Gulf of Mexico. Forty-two hundred people on board. Passengers say the toilets now are overflowing. There is no air conditioning. Not much food or water. Tugboats, they are towing the ship to Mobile, Alabama, instead of the Port of Mexico. But it's not going to get there until Thursday. Coming up in just a couple of minutes, we're going to talk to a man whose wife is stuck on that ship. North Korea now thumbing its nose at the U.S. and the international community by carrying out a new, more powerful nuclear test. It is the first one under Kim Jong-un. President Obama calls it a threat to U.S. security and world peace. The first indication of the underground test came when seismologists detected a tremor in an area that is not known for earthquakes. In his State of the Union speech tonight, President Obama is going to announce that 34,000 U.S. troops will be home from Afghanistan by this time next year. Our Jake Tapper, he was the first to break the news after talking to sources who know about the president's speech. The move's going to cut the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by more than half. Troop reductions are going to continue through the end of next year. So, more than 4,000 people, if you can imagine this, stuck on this cruise ship. A disabled cruise ship. They are hot. They are hungry. You can believe me, they are holding their noses because toilets now are overflowing. These folks feeling pretty desperate right now. The ship is finally on the move. You have tugboats that are towing it to Mobile, Alabama. It was originally headed to port a port in Progresso, Mexico, but strong currents pushed it about 90 miles north. Want to bring in Brent Nutt. His wife is on the ship. He's been talking to her. We've been talking to Brent. And, Brent, you and I talked yesterday about how Bethany is doing. She the last go-round yesterday about this time you said she was crying. She was very discouraged. How is she doing today? When's the last time you actually had a chance to talk to her?
[Brent Nutt, Wife Stuck On Carnival Cruise Ship:] Well, today I have not actually had a chance to talk to her yet. They can only talk whenever another Carnival ship comes up there to them. But yesterday, I mean, she was very, very distraught and all and everything. And, I mean, I just I don't know. I haven't heard back from her. I do know that we got the news last night that they were going to be bringing them into Mobile, Alabama. So that had to make her feel a whole lot better because she didn't really want to be stuck in Mexico any longer than what she necessarily had to.
[Malveaux:] And, Brent, describe for us the conditions, because I know you had a chance to talk to Bethany yesterday a couple of times. Perhaps one late in the day. How did she describe what was happening there? Because I understand the just the odor alone is really getting to her and many others who are on board.
[Nutt:] Well, the odor is it's so bad that, I mean, it's making them sick. I mean, they're vomiting and stuff on to the boat just I mean just from the odor. She said that they can't hardly sleep at night because of the smell that's in the rooms and all and everything. She said that they've been hanging out onto their balcony just trying to escape all of the odor and I mean, and stuff. There's feces all over the floor and all and everything and water all over the floor. She said it's just horrific.
[Malveaux:] And, Brent, what does she say they're telling her in terms of what time they're going to this nightmare. When is this all it's going to end. What time they're actually going to be able to get in to safety to land sometime on Thursday?
[Nutt:] Just some time on Thursday. But nobody really, really knows anything. And, I mean, Carnival, I mean, you know, they've lied so much through this whole process that I mean you really, really cannot believe what they tell you until that ship actually lands.
[Malveaux:] What have they told her, Brent? What have they told her?
[Nutt:] Well, I mean, they haven't really, really told them anything at all. They keep telling us, well, the tugboats will be here at this time. They'll be here at this other time. And they never, ever arrive whenever that they're supposed to. So, I mean, you know, all of their all of their time frames have not added up at all.
[Malveaux:] Yes. We're going to we're going to make sure we get that side of the story as well. But, Brent, tell us, is she eating anything? Is she drinking anything? Is there any food or water on board?
[Nutt:] I know that yesterday all they had was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bottle of water. And I was told
[Malveaux:] Is that coming from the ship itself, from the cafeteria, or is that stuff just snacks that she happened to bring on board?
[Nutt:] No, that's stuff that the other ships are giving to them to give to other people. But, more or less, it's a first come, first served kind of deal. And, I mean, you know, the first person gets a lot of food. Well, the last person, he might not get quite so much. So people are hoarding food and fighting over it because, I mean, there's kind of a shortage.
[Malveaux:] When you say people are fighting over the food, did Britney, did she give you any sense of like if people are getting along or are they really taking stuff from each other? Is it getting violent?
[Nutt:] She didn't necessarily say if it was getting violent. She said that, you know, that people I mean, you know, they were arguing over food because, I mean, certain people, I mean, you know, they were hoarding as much food as possible. And, I mean, you know, they were I mean it's not being evenly distributed in between all of the other people. So, I mean, and the people at the back of the line, you know, they see other people eating, you know, two or three sandwiches and, well, they only get just the one. So I guess it kind of makes them kind of angry.
[Malveaux:] Is there any way for them to bathe at all?
[Nutt:] No. There's no bathing at all or anything, at least as of yesterday. There was running water. But from what I'm told, the majority of other water was running on the floor and the toilets were overflowing and coming out of the walls. So to my knowledge, no, there's been no bathing.
[Malveaux:] And did she tell you I know there was you said there was another ship that managed to get close, so she was able to get communication. Is she actually able I mean are they able to get off that ship and board another ship if they wanted to?
[Nutt:] To my knowledge, no, they're not allowing them to. There's been two other times that these ships have came up to them to bring them food. But, no, they're not able to leave their ship and get on to the other one.
[Malveaux:] Did she have any idea when she's going to be able to communicate with you again? Because I know the last go-round she ran out of cell phone power and essentially she had to you said she has to charge it or at least get close to another ship to charge the phone. Do you have any sense of if she's going to be able to charge her phone again and get back to you anytime soon?
[Nutt:] Well, I mean, she's only able to call whenever whenever another Carnival ship brings food out there to them. They're getting cell phone service off these other ships that are coming up there. And so then, I mean, whenever they bring them more food, I guess, is when I'll be getting a phone call. Yesterday it was around 12:30 noon whenever I got a call from her, but I have not heard back since.
[Malveaux:] All right. We wish her the very best. And, of course, Brent, we're going to keep up with you to find out what's going on, the very latest. As soon as you reach her and she's able to communicate with you, get back to us. Get us get on the line and we'll talk to you some more about the very latest of that. And, of course, it's a really tough situation that they're in. Thanks again, Brent, for filling us in. Appreciate it.
[Nutt:] Thank you, ma'am.
[Malveaux:] We're going to head to the Korean peninsula. That is where North Korea is now, of course, raising the stakes in its nuclear showdown. This is with the world. Because we are talking about North Korea announcing it set off a new, underground nuclear test. That happened today. The state-run news agency says it was more powerful than the two previous tests that were carried out back in 2006 and 2009. So world leaders, of course, quickly condemning this. Anna Coren, she is live from Seoul, South Korea. Specifically tell us how this test is different than what we have seen before out of North Korea. All right. We
[Coren:] It managed to conduct that
[Malveaux:] You know what? We're going to have we have a bad signal. We're going to have to get back to Anna Coren and the very latest. I want to talk about this because, obviously, who is behind this. It is the leader who is trying to build up his image as a tough guy, as the country's young leader. We're talking about Kim Jong-un. He appears, of course, to be following in his father's footsteps, talking tough against the United States, as well as the west you know, trying to flex his muscle a little bit by building up the country's military and keeping the folks there isolated. So I want to talk to Michael Holmes about this because, Michael, we've seen his father, of course, starved his own people, built up this huge military. Now you've got the son who seems as if he's got something to prove. How significant is it when you look at this kind of test, the underground test, that was done today?
[Michael Holmes, Anchor & Correspondent, Cnn International:] Yes, no, that's actually a very good point. That is partly why he's doing what he's doing is to separate himself from his dad, be his own man if you like. I mean you could call it hubris, you could call it tactical. He wants to be the tough guy in front of his people and in front of the world. The guy whose standing up to the U.S. and the U.N., the evil ones on the outside who want to do in North Korea. The other thing too is, there is a tactical side to it in a military sense. If he does want to build a nuclear weapon that's small enough to fit on a missile, they need to do this kind of testing. And what worries the west is whether it's being done with uranium or plutonium. If it's uranium, then he could have a missile program, a nuclear program that could go on and on and on because he has uranium. He doesn't have a lot of plutonium. He also wants to be seen to be tough to be getting concessions, too, from the west, be it food aid, be it standing in the international community in the neighborhood. But it's backfiring because all he's getting is more sanctions and he's annoying his only good mate in the neighborhood, which is China, who said don't do this. He did it. So, you know, if he annoys them enough, they can turn of the oil. Then he's in trouble.
[Malveaux:] And then tell us about how how is he changing his country? Because his father was pretty eccentric, you know. He wore these platform shoes and the bouffant and all that. He got a lot of attention, but, of course, his own people were starved under his regime.
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] The son now, he's, you know, hanging out. He's got an amusement park. He's the woman the mystery woman now we know who is his wife. Very different when it comes to their own society there. He's trying to, in some ways, be open, right? All right, Michael, thank you.
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Malveaux:] Good to see you. Here's more of what we're working on for NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. You already know, of course, Sarah Silverman, she's the funny foul- mouthed comedian. But you might not know her sister, who is a rabbi, who is standing up for women's rights at one of the most holy places in the Middle East. Well, she was detained for that. We're going to have more on that. And later, it's "Les Mis" like you have never seen. We are talking Korean style. It is a video going hyper viral online right now.

[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] A third accuser Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain trying desperately to keep the focus on his campaign this morning as new allegations of sexual harassment surface.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Chaos in Oakland. Police use tear gas on occupy demonstrators after they shut down one of the country's busiest shipping ports.
[Romans:] Crisis mode, President Obama arriving in France for the G-20, but the big story is Greece. It's gamble with the global economy, and how could it cost the membership in the E.U. on this
[American Morning. Costello:] Good morning to you. It is Thursday, November 3rd. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Ali Velshi is in stormy France. It's bad weather there. We will be talking to him in a few minutes about the G-20 Summit.
[Romans:] Stormy weather and stormy politics. Global politics in France. We'll get to that in a minute, but up first, the scandal dogging Herman Cain's presidential campaign, growing larger this morning. The Associated Press is reporting there is a third woman who accused Cain of unwanted sexual advances when she worked for the National Restaurant Association. The report says she considered filing a complaint but didn't. Cain for his part is trying to stay on message. Here he is facing reporters at an event in Northern Virginia.
[Herman Cain , Presidential Candidate:] Let me say one thing. I'm here with these doctors and that's what I'm going to talk about. So don't even bother asking me all these other questions that you all are curious about. OK? Don't even bother.
[Unidentified Male:] But are you concerned about the fact that these women want to
[Cain:] What did I say?
[Unidentified Male:] Aare you concerned about
[Cain:] Excuse me. Excuse me! What part of "no" don't these people understand?
[Romans:] This morning his campaign maintains the charges are baseless. He's the victim of a political smear campaign even pointing the finger at Texas Governor Rick Perry. We begin our coverage this morning with CNN's Joe Johns. Good morning, Joe.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] Good morning. That's what we know. The Cain campaign has blamed the Perry campaign of leaking the story. The Perry campaign has flatly denied it. And like everything else on the story so far there isn't much proof certainly nothing conclusive. What is interesting here, though, is that while some conservative supporters of Cain originally suggesting the story was a product of some kind of liberal plot to discredit Cain. This is a clear signal that at least from the view point of the Cain campaign, the leading suspect for the leak of this story is the campaign of another contender for the Republican presidential nomination. Cain said at a town hall that they had been able to trace the story back to the Perry camp. Mark Block, Cain's chief of staff, was more accusatory than that saying on Fox, that the actions of the Perry campaign are despicable. Rick Perry and his campaign owe the Herman Cain and his family an apology. The Perry camp fired back saying, nobody at our campaign was involved in this story in any way and any claim contrary is patently false. The first we learned of it was when we read the story in "Politico." So a lot of back and forth and as I said, nothing conclusive.
[Romans:] All right, nothing conclusive. We don't really even know many details, quite frankly, of the allegations because of confidentiality agreements and because now a third seems to be missing according to the AP. What can you tell us about this one?
[Johns:] Well, I mean, what you reported there at the top is just about all you can say about this. And that is that a third woman came forward according to the Associated Press and said she considered filing a complaint. However, it is pretty clear she did not file a complaint. So you put that on top of what we heard about the other two. There really aren't any solid facts on the record and the fact of the matter is this is not a situation where you are going to get some type of a fact finding because it has been so long. So who knows at the end of the day, this could be just a lot of shooting back and forth. More troublesome perhaps for Herman Cain is that a pollster and a former employee of the National Restaurant Association. Where all of this business is said to have occurred in the 1990s has said that whatever Cain was allegedly doing was a topic of conversation back in the day and was pretty much assumed that it would end up out in the open. Can we just listen to that?
[Chris Wilson, Former Pollster, National Restaurant Association:] I was actually around a couple of times when this happened. It was only a matter of time because so many people were aware of what took place. So many people were aware of her situation. The fact she left after this. That it was it was everybody knew at the campaigns, with every campaign, that this would eventually come up.
[Johns:] So there you go. Chris Wilson's take on the whole matter and we are waiting because we'd love to hear a little bit more information. Some indication that the attorney for one of the accusers is actually in a conversation with the National Restaurant Association to try to release some type of statement. But it is also clear that this accuser that attorney represents doesn't want to go out public at least now because she just doesn't want to become another sort of Anita Hill-type figure. So a lot of if you will pieces to the story moving and nothing real clear this morning.
[Romans:] All right, Joe Johns. Thanks, Joe.
[Costello:] You heard Joe say that the Cain campaign claims Rick Perry's camp is behind the sexual harassment story and the Cain camp is demanding an apology from the Texas governor. On "AC 360" Cooper asked "Politico's" editor-in-chief if they were tipped off by a rival campaign.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, Cnn's "ac 360":] Was "Politico" tipped off to the story by one of Cain's rivals? Some including Cain himself now seemed to be suggesting.
[John Harris, Editor In Chief, "politico":] Jonathon was on message last night, Anderson. I will try to stay on message. I will tell why you I think it is important. This is a sensitive story. We haven't been reporting on innuendo or things we think we know. So in our public comment we try to stick closely to what is in our published story. That story was edited pretty extensively and we're comfortable with it. So I'm not trying not to go beyond that. I would say the question of motive to me, Anderson, is pretty secondary to the question of facts. Everybody or anybody rather who speaks to a reporter any time on any subject presumably has some motive for doing so. What's important is not the motive, but the but the facts. "Politico's" two main facts in that initial story, one that there have been complaints and two, those complaints have been settled or agreed agreements reached, to use Mr. Cain's phrase. Both those things have been validated by Mr. Cain himself as true and accurate.
[Romans:] All right, coming up at 8:15 Eastern, we're going to talk live with Kurt Andersen, the Perry campaign adviser, who Herman Cain blames for leaking information about these allegations.
[Costello:] "Politico" says it wasn't him. So it's getting uglier and uglier. As it is in Oakland, California, anger in the streets of Oakland. "Occupy Wall Street" protesters clashing with police overnight. Police in full riot gear shot tear gas into the crowd. Thousands of protesters shut down the city's shipping port, vandalizing banks and a grocery store, several businesses had to close their doors. Officers are trying to get the crowd to disperse right now. They say some demonstrators are throwing rocks at them and setting off fireworks. The city is still reeling from last week's violent clash that put an Iraq war veteran in the hospital with a fractured skull. What you are looking at now is cell phone video from downtown Oakland. A couple of "Occupy Wall Street" protesters hit by a car. Keep your eyes on the Mercedes in the back. See it there? You can see one of the people banging on the car's hood. Then the car runs smack into them. Police say the man and woman were hurt, but their injuries are not life threatening. The driver was questioned, but was allowed to leave the scene.
[Romans:] OK. In France, the G-20 Summit is under way. Greece has been put on notice accept the euro zone bailout package or get out. Prime Minister George Papandreou rattled a lot of world leaders when he announced the bailout plan would be put to a vote by the Greek people. That could happen within a month and now, French President Nicholas Sarkozy is warning Papandreou that pass this plan or else Greece must exit the E.U. Our Ali Velshi is covering the G-20. He's in live in Cannes, France this morning. Ali, didn't take long for the sparks to fly. Even this morning now, we hear the Greek minister is calling an emergency meeting with his cabinet. There's so much uncertainty around all this, every little development and rain, every little development gets so much attention.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Chief Business Correspondent:] Where am I? What is this? Is this Cannes? Is this the south of France? It was a dark and stormy night when the G-20 started. This is probably this is kind of indicative of what is going on. This was supposed to be, you know, relatively stayed meeting. They have these couple of times a year. Christine, you followed them to deal with sort of the global crisis and global growth and things like that. But yes, it was all sparks. Last night, two-and-half-hour meeting between Sarkozy of France, Angela Merkel of Germany and Papandreou of Greece. Basically, they were telling him number one, if there is until the uncertainty is settled not a cent more will go to Greece. They are supposed to receive much more money that's not going to happen. They also said that while it is technically not a referendum on staying in the euro zone, Christine. If Greece votes against this plan that the Europeans came up with on October 27, it will essentially be a referendum on stating the euro zone. Papandreou reinforced that last night saying it is very clear that this is a referendum. It almost, Christine, seems as if he was looking for Sarkozy and Merkel to be tough on the Greeks and tell them that if you go the wrong way on this vote, you may end up leaving the euro zone. Papandreou went back to Greece. He has an emergency cabinet meeting under way right now. Tomorrow morning, there is a confidence vote on his government. He only has a two-seat lead in parliament. Once he passed that they are looking on a referendum on December 4th, which means between now and then about five weeks. We will have continued uncertainty in the euro zone about whether a deal is going to get done and this crisis is going to be averted Christine.
[Romans:] Five weeks or more uncertainty when so many people are hoping the bailout deal would put this all behind them.
[Velshi:] You know what is you know what is certain, Christine? What is certain is I'm not going to get a chance to use these.
[Romans:] My goodness, Ali in a Speedo in the south of France. We had to go there at 6:11. Thank you, my friend. See you soon.
[Costello:] I'm in shock. I can't speak.
[Romans:] Keep the mental picture with you as you go through all of your stories throughout the hour Carol.
[Costello:] My God, my head is going to explode. Let's talk about news now, shall we? Closing arguments begin today in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor. After six weeks of testimony, 49 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence, the jury will soon decide the fate of Dr. Conrad Murray. He faces four years in jail if he is convicted. The big question, did Murray give Jackson the fatal dose of Propofol? Casey Wian joins us live from Los Angeles. Good morning, Casey.
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. That's right. Twenty two separate days of testimony over six weeks in the manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. It is finally nearing an end. Here is what happened so far.
[Unidentified Male:] Now the entire question
[Wian:] Dramatic moments at the Dr. Conrad Murray manslaughter trial including an audiotape of Michael Jackson slurring his words and disturbing pictures of the singer's dead body. In court a procession of Murray's former girlfriends and a constant presence of Jackson family members. Outside supporters of both sides. Several prosecution medical experts testified about the dangers of treating Jackson's insomnia with the powerful anesthetic Propofol, especially outside of a hospital. Murray declined to take the stand. His former patients did.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm alive today because of that man. Do you have an opinion about whether Dr. Murray treats his patients with care and caution?
[Unidentified Female:] I have never had a doctor that was more caring.
[Wian:] Prosecutors clashed with medical experts for the defense who sought to portray Jackson as a drug addict and could have injected himself with Propofol.
[Unidentified Male:] Is there any reason why it is so difficult for to you answer my questions and so easy for to you answer Mr. Chernoff's questions? Objection, argumentative. Sustained.
[Wian:] The judge find defense expert Dr. Paul White, an anesthesiologist for suggesting that Michael Jackson had his own supply of Propofol, allegation not in evidence. Prosecution also extracted a seemingly key concession from Dr. Wyatt that he never would have treated Jackson the way Murray allegedly did.
[Unidentified Male:] If Michael Jackson had come to you, Dr. White, and indicated he would like to hire you to administer Propofol to him, to put him to sleep each night in his bedroom, would you do it? Absolutely not. That would be a job that I would never consider accepting.
[Wian:] Murray faces four years in jail and the loss of his medical license. Now in closing arguments later today, prosecutors are expected to argue that no matter how Michael Jackson received that fatal dose of Propofol, Dr. Murray is still responsible because he was in violation of the standard of care that's required with administering that drug. The defense team is likely to counter with its theory that Michael Jackson was so desperate to get to sleep in preparation for his upcoming world tour that he could have actually injected himself Carol.
[Costello:] Casey Wian reporting live in Los Angeles, California. Thanks so much, Casey. Again, closing arguments do begin today in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. HLN has wall-to-wall coverage that begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern and will be talking to our own court analyst, Paul Callan on why he thinks that the jury will make its decision like in a day.
[Romans:] Wow. Things happen quickly.
[Costello:] Yes.
[Romans:] All right. Good. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, a Texas family court judge, a family court judge admits beating his daughter. We are going to show you the stunning YouTube video that has exploded on the Internet. A million people watching this video and talking about the future of this judge this morning.
[Costello:] It's pretty hard to watch. And visual proof that you should not do everything your GPS tells you to do. The story behind this wreck, coming up. Fifteen minutes past the hour.

[Acosta:] If the front runner wears the bull's eye, then Newt Gingrich will be the target at tonight's CNN Republican presidential debate. A new CNNORC poll shows Gingrich leading the Republican field for the first time with 24 percent. Mitt Romney follows at 20 percent. Herman Cain in third place. Over the years, Gingrich has gotten himself in trouble with just about every segment of voters and CNN's Joe Johns has the latest example.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] There he goes again. Newt Gingrich has long fancied himself one of the Republican Party's biggest new idea guys. His latest big idea: putting poor kids to work as janitors in their own schools.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] They'd be dramatically less expensive than unionized janitors and you begin to re-establish the dignity of work. And in very poor neighborhoods, you have to literally re-establish the dignity of work.
[Johns:] Revising labor laws is a complicated debate, especially when children around the world are forced to work for pennies. This Gingrich idea may have sounded new, but it also sounded very 1990s to some. It is the same sort of things that left Gingrich claiming he was misunderstood almost two decades ago when a cartoon compared him to the Dr. Seuss holiday kill joy known as the Grinch. In 1994, Gingrich suggested that the government ship welfare children to orphanages, and then even said First Lady Hillary Clinton ought to rent the classic old movie "Boys Town" with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney to see how an orphanage is run.
[Unidentified Female:] Four thousand boys have passed through this city of little men.
[Johns:] Like the "Boys Town" controversy, the "kids as janitors" idea probably strikes a chord with some in Gingrich's party.
[Stu Rothenberg, Rothenberg Political Report:] Look, Republicans would like hearing that Newt talks about kids working hard and learning the ethic and pulling themselves up by their boot straps. But a lot of people will guard this as Newt again, one or two or three steps just too far.
[Johns:] No matter what you think of the merits, economist, Peter Morici says it wouldn't exactly reverse the cycle of poverty in the ghetto.
[Peter Morici, Economist:] That's a good idea. But the notion that one master janitor is going to take care of the school for 5,000 children with an army of Mickey Rooneys from "Boys Town" is silly.
[Johns:] As a top tier candidate, the former speaker's tendency to talk too much could be his biggest weakness.
[Rothenberg:] He tends to try to make such a global point, such a big historical conclusion that even if there is a nugget of truth there and some wisdom in there and there's often a bit of wisdom it gets lost in the grandiose plan.
[Acosta:] And Joe Johns joins me from Washington. Joe, you covered Speaker Gingrich in Congress and it's tough to talk about Newt Gingrich because it's sort of like, where do you begin? Joe, what do you make of the fact that the former speaker is doing so well right now despite having so much baggage?
[Johns:] Well, I have to tell you, Jim, you talk to conservative voters obviously, as you know, who are the ones who count most during the primary season, which is now, they like what Newt Gingrich says. They always have liked what Newt Gingrich says. He has a way of crystallizing ideas, making sharp differences between him and the Democrats, particularly the Democrats and the White House. Newt Gingrich's problem has always been with the Democrats, the liberals, and sometimes the people in the middle, the independents, the swing voters, people who aren't so sure about that sharp language and those sharp definitions that always go to the right. So, people who are looking at Newt Gingrich right now have always liked him. There have been a lot of conservatives who have said to me that they're just very concerned about whether a guy like Newt Gingrich is the most electable conservative. And, obviously, that remains to be seen, Jim.
[Acosta:] It sure does, Joe. Thanks so much, Joe. Good to see you. And for more on the new Newt Gingrich, let's turn to Tony Blankley. He served as Gingrich's press secretary for seven years, including some time when Mr. Speaker was the I should say that Newt Gingrich was speaker of the House. Tony Blankley now the executive vice president of Edelman Public Relations. And, Tony, you've seen Newt Gingrich rise and fall and rise and fall and rise again. What's behind the surge now, Tony?
[Tony Blankley, Former Newt Gingrich's Press Secretary:] Well, I think the fundamental intelligence and passion of Newt is being seen again. I was listening to the set-up piece. Washington establishment, both the Republicans and the Democrats, have sneered at Newt for 25 years and some of the pundits you were quoting will continue that. Let me give you one quickly example of I remember, he came back in the early '90s to get laptops to inner city kids, because middle class kids in the suburbs, their parents were getting them computers and he was afraid it would be a gap that would break up. People made fun of him then. A few years later, all the different computer companies recognized the digital divide, and they're flooding the inner city with computers.
[Acosta:] Yes.
[Blankley:] So things that have made fun of because Newt is a little ahead of the curve turned out very often to be very useful.
[Acosta:] He's also been an innovator. That's absolutely true. But, you know, Tony, he's made some controversial statements in the last few days saying poor kids should work as janitors in their schools. You know him well. Is he serious when he makes these statements?
[Blankley:] I think I mean, look, you say it's controversial.
[Acosta:] That's controversial, isn't it, to put kids working as janitors in schools, I would say, right?
[Blankley:] Work study is something that millions of kids in college have done. You work part-time on the campus and you earn money to pay for part of your tuition. To bring that down to the high school level makes a lot of sense for the kids and for the budget of the school. I don't think there's anything controversial. It's innovative, but whether you need one or two master janitors to oversee x number of kids, if that's the only criticism they have, work that out in the operational detail. But to simply reject an idea that makes so much sense both for the school and for the kids is typical Washington cynicism.
[Acosta:] And critics of the former speaker say, you know, he has a tendency to self-destruct. You know this well, Tony, from the way he's conducted his personal life, to the shutdown of the federal government, which a lot of voters have not forgiven him for. More recently, the story over the summer about the Tiffany's credit account, you know, the list goes on and on. Does he learn from these mistakes, do you think? Do you that think we're seeing now is just a politician who's reinvented himself cleverly?
[Blankley:] No, I don't think Newt has reinvented himself. I think it's the same fundamental Newt that I knew when I started working for him in 1990. But it's 20 years later. He's got more experience both on policy and in his personal life. I think he's a better experienced Newt than he was 20 years ago.
[Acosta:] Is he ready to be president, do you think?
[Blankley:] Oh, I think with the first eight months of a Gingrich presidency with the Republican Congress would sort of be like the first eight months of Roosevelt in 1933, except it would be the other direction, back to free markets.
[Acosta:] Let me ask you this last thing, Tony, because one of the I covered him last week on the campaign trail, and the thought occurred to me that he is almost sort of like the new Nixon in many ways, a politician who was left for dead, who is trying to climb back into the highest office of the land, and I'm just curious, you know, is this doable for Newt Gingrich, do you think, realistically speaking? Do you really think he could be elected president?
[Blankley:] Well, we'll see. He is now, as your poll shows for the time being, ahead of the pack on the Republican side. I think if you look at the polls that will come out late December, the notion of head to heads, Newt and Obama, Romney and Obama, if newt is competitive, well, then, you know, seven points, plus or minus of margin of error, then yes, I think it's a very doable thing. We'll see. But he's certainly qualified, more qualified than I think most people otherwise being considered.
[Acosta:] Tony Blankley, good to see you this morning. Thanks for that perspective on the former speaker. We really appreciate it. Good talking touch you.
[Blankley:] Thank you.
[Acosta:] A reminder that the CNN national security debate is tonight. The stage is set for the Republican presidential candidates at Constitution Hall in Washington. Wolf Blitzer moderates tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. "Consumer Reports" is out with its naughty and nice holiday list. It's a breakdown of companies with good and not so good shopping policies. Here are some of the nice ones. Amazon.com made the list for taking a stand against hard-to-open product packaging. I appreciate that one. Costco for automatically extending the product's warranties on TVs and computers. And get this, REI for accepting returns or exchanges at any time for any reason. Now, can you guess the companies that made "Consumer Reports' " naughty list. They might get a lump of coal in their stocking. They're coming up next.

[Kaye:] Welcome back and thanks for starting your morning with us. I'm Randi Kaye. Bottom of the hour now. And here's a look at our top stories this morning. As world leaders scramble to stop the escalating violence, an additional 300 unarmed U.N. monitors are heading to Syria. The U.N. Security Council authorized the move with an unanimous vote on Saturday just hours after a small group of U.N. monitors toured the besieged Syrian city of Homs. The mission is meant to hold Bashar al Assad regime accountable and to push troops to uphold a cease-fire. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, had this warning.
[Susan Rice, U.s. Ambassador To U.n:] In the United States, our patience is exhausted.
[Kaye:] But despite recent efforts, the opposition group says 40 people were killed on Saturday alone. Back at the U.S., John Edwards' trial is set to begin tomorrow, Monday, but the first order of business will be selecting the final 12 jurors and four alternates. The former Democratic presidential candidate is accused of misusing campaign funds to cover up his affair with Rielle Hunter and the child that he fathered. Edwards is charged with six felony and misdemeanor counts. In Peru, environmental experts are investigating a disturbing mystery washing up on its beaches. At least 877 dead dolphins have been found. Peru's deputy environment minister says the dolphins may have died from a virus. Official test results are expected next week. A new controversy for the U.S. military in Afghanistan as a new picture has surfaced showing troops posing with the bodies of suspected insurgents. And I want to warn you that the image is disturbing. The picture was published by "The Los Angeles Times." It's reportedly been taken was taken in 2010. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the picture, quote, "inhumane." "The L.A. Times" says the soldier came forward with 18 pictures, just like that one, to draw attention to the breakdown in leadership and discipline. The military has promised an investigation. Joining me now to talk about this and other incidents is journalist and filmmaker Sebastian Junger and CNN military analyst General Spider Marks. Good morning to both of you. Sebastian, I'd like to start with you. You spent three years with troops in Afghanistan. You've chronicled it in your book "War." What's your impression of what's happened here? I mean did this kind of thing happen with the troops that you were with?
[Sebastian Junger, Journalist And Filmmaker:] I never saw anything like that personally. My impression, in a strange way, is that we've been in two wars for 10 years, hundreds of thousands of troops involved. I think the impulse to sort of gloat over the dead body of an enemy fighter is a very ancient, human impulse. And I'm surprised it hasn't happened more, actually. The fact that the U.S. military has kept that kind of activity to the occasional incident that we hear about, I think is actually pretty amazing.
[Kaye:] You know, we showed the picture once. I don't really want to show it again because it is that disturb. But it seems like they're posing, you know, with trophies. That that's how they're treating these body parts. Why do you think they do that? I mean what's going on up there?
[Junger:] I'm not a psychologist, but I think killing people is psychologically very, very difficult. I think the only way to do it for soldiers is to dehumanize the enemy. Otherwise it's hard not to think of it as murder. Once you've crossed that line, once you take that step into considering the enemy not fully human, I think it's very easy to do things like that. This country has been doing some very questionable things with enemy fighters for about a decade waterboarding, the forceable rendition to countries that torture suspects, so soldiers listen in on that conversation. I think it leaves them very confused about how to consider the people that we're fighting.
[Kaye:] General Marks, I want to ask you, I mean, what kind of role do the commanders play with this kind of behavior?
[Spider Marks, Cnn Military Analyst:] Randi, the commanders' role is absolutely critical. The senior officer and the senior noncommissioned officer, they're the conscience of the unit, and when you think about what your conscience does for you individually is it guides you, and in moments of chaos and when no other guidance is there, you'll make a decision based on that, your learning, your experience, your culture. So the commanders set the tone. That's the climate that exists within that unit and soldiers who'll do what they're told to do, they'll act within the intent, within the bounds established by the commander. So, it's an absolutely critical role and it needs to be reinforced as a matter of routine.
[Kaye:] You know, all this great technology isn't so great on the battlefield when you see something like this happen. I mean, we've seen these pictures taken on camera phones and devices like that, but really, General, can the military stop the troops from carrying them, or are they actually a part of the necessary equipment nowadays on the battlefield?
[Marks:] I think it's the latter. In my personal experience, cell phones were in many cases we told soldiers you have to put those things away, but you can't check that, and so if a soldier feels like he or she wants to take that cell phone with them, they can take them. Now, access to the Internet is something entirely different. Certainly that's established and can be turned on and turned off, but in many cases, these types of very small miniturized camera capabilities are in phones and that they have individually are part of the kit. They do biometrics exams. They can take retina exams, and in fact that's what these soldiers were charged to do is to get fingerprints and to do some retinal pictures of, sadly, these severed parts. So, that is something that is really part of the enviornment and needs to be adjusted, needs to be accommodated, really.
[Kaye:] Yeah, because it can be shared so easily as well, and then here we are. Sebastian, what about the negative publicity? I mean, how do you think that affects the troops there? I mean, you've spent time with them, so how do you think this is affecting the team there?
[Junger:] Well, I mean, anything like this, I think, is horrifying to a lot of soldiers and should be. This is not good behavior. It's interesting in that photo, from what I could see, there were also Afghan security personnel posing along with American soldiers, so I'm not sure that there really is a kind of Afghan-American cultural divide here, at least in this instance. The worst thing you can do as a soldier is do something that increases the risk to yourself and others on the battlefield, and what we saw with the burning of the Korans was a huge sort of backlash in public opinion in Afghanistan that may have helped some young Afghans join up with the Taliban. I'm not sure that that's happening with these pictures. Afghans hate suicide bombers, because they are the primary casualties of them, so it would be interesting, actually, to be in Afghanistan right now to know what the opinion on the street is of this.
[Kaye:] General, I'd like to ask you on this final question we've been reporting about this increased drug use among troops in Afghanistan, heroin and prescription drugs. We've had eight soldiers have died from overdoses in the past two years, apparently, and the Army's also investigating more than 50 soldiers for possessing or distributing heroin and other drugs. Does any of this surprise you?
[Marks:] Frankly, that is surprising, but I think it's important to note that this is a form of abberant behavior. It's illegal. It'll be corrected. None of that kind of surprises me in conditions like this. You'd hope that there would be sufficient discipline within the organizations down to the individual soldier, where this would be eliminated and they'd know not to do that. You can't correct all bad behavior, as Sebastian has indicated, so it is surprising kind of, but you see incidences like this when soldiers are deployed for this type of time, and clearly it's access. I mean, it's available, so you've got to weed those guys out immediately so the entire unit is not affected.
[Kaye:] Spider Marks, Sebastian Junger, thank you so much. It was a great conversation, and we have a lot of troops watching from around the world, so it's an important conversation to have as well. Thank you both.
[Marks:] Thank you.
[Junger:] Thank you.
[Kaye:] And fans of Ted Williams will soon have a chance to own a piece of the baseball legend's personal life. Reynolds Wolf shows us how next.

[Phillips:] Taking news cross country now. In Wisconsin, an effort to get Governor Scott Walker removed from office. Thousands of residents are upset about changes to collective bargaining rights and the state's new voter I.D. law. So they've started a petition to force a recall election, 500,000 signatures are needed. Pop-tarts and Gatorade, that's what kept a 9-year-old North Carolina girl alive for two days while she was pinned upside down in a car after an accident. Her father did not survive that crash, by the way. In Minnesota, three Americans once jailed in Iran on spy charges got a chance to personally thank the friends and strangers who supported them financially and emotionally during their prison time. The event was organized by a support group on Facebook. As you know, this morning, Jerry Sandusky in this interview that he gave to Bob Costas has made headlines. The former Penn State football coach admitted that he showered with young boys, but he insists that he's not a pedophile. He did the interview with ABC News and Bob Costas, adding to the shock in a community that is unaccustomed to scandal. Joining us by phone to discuss the local reaction, Neil Rudel. He's the managing editor of the "Altoona Mirror" newspaper. Neil, let's go ahead and start with some part of Sandusky's interview. Let's take a listen.
[Bob Costas, Anchor, Abc News:] To your knowledge, did Joe Paterno have any information regarding objectionable activities on your part prior to that report in 2002?
[Jerry Sandusky, Charged With Sexually Abusing Children:] My I can't totally answer that question. My answer would be no.
[Costas:] Did Joe Paterno at any time ever speak to you directly about your behavior?
[Sandusky:] No.
[Costas:] Never?
[Sandusky:] No.
[Phillips:] Neil, what do you make of that?
[Neil Rudel, Managing Editor, "the Altoona Mirror":] Well, I think that this is you know, we've said that this is the end of the beginning may have taken place last week. And now we're going to be in another lengthy phase of who's going to say what and what is going to be believable and how many other people, particularly university officials, will be implicated in some sort of testimony. There was the district attorney in 1998, as we know, looked into an allegation against Jerry Sandusky from the mother of an alleged victim, and it was ultimately unfounded. It started with university police and then went to the district attorney. I can't believe that Joe wouldn't have known that or that university officials wouldn't have known that if a district attorney in a very small town is looking into your top assistant coach on that level of a charge. But as Jerry got on there last night and is presenting his perspective, I'm guessing Joe will have that same opportunity as these progresses.
[Phillips:] Well, and you evidently, your web site, once this interview came out, you said has just been flooded with comments. What are people saying in the community?
[Rudel:] Well, every story on this subject has been flooded with comments not only in our paper, but every paper. There are some people that say there's been a rush to judgment. Other people say everybody had to go the minute this story came. So there really is not a lot of middle ground of taking a wait and see. I think the court of public opinion ultimately convicted Paterno, Graham Spannier, and the board of trustees acted, and they have a national crisis on their hands. Whether they're guilty or not, they had to stop the bleeding, in their estimation.
[Phillips:] So Neil, you've had a chance to talk with so many players within this story, and you've talked with friends of Jerry Sandusky. Does he have any supporters left? Does he still have friends there that are saying we're standing by him?
[Rudel:] You know, that's a good question. His home has been vandalized. I can't imagine what it's like to be him right now. Listening to the interview last night and I've interviewed him for many years he clearly sounds totally shaken and even much older than the 67 that he is. I can't imagine. I think his circle is very small. I know that one former Letterman reached out to him and sent him some money and the one former Letterman encouraged other people to do it. I don't know that anybody else has done that. But I know some former teammates are all crushed because nobody none of his former teammates saw this coming.
[Phillips:] Neil Rudel, managing editor of "The Altoona Mirror" newspaper. I know you'll be working this story day and night, Neil. We'll keep reading. Thanks for calling in.
[Rudel:] Thank you.
[Phillips:] You bet. Well, NBA players and owners apparently can't agree at the negotiating table. So it looks like they're going to face each other in court. So will there be an NBA season? It's not looking so good. More on that straight ahead.

[Anjali Rao, Cnn International Correspondent:] He's had Courtney Love pose as Mary Magdalene and pictured the late Michael Jackson as a martyr. Visions that have helped David LaChapelle catapult from struggling artist to world famous photographer. He's also injected his signature style into music videos, directing them for artists such as Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera. Although his flirtatious explorations of pop culture, fashion, and religion haven't pleased everyone. Critics slammed his depiction of Kanye West as a black Jesus and he stirred up controversy with his Lolita-like take on a young Britney Spears. That didn't stop this protege of Andy Warhol shying away from a challenge. In 2002, LaChapelle swapped photographs for videos and financed his own documentary about the dance craze, "krumping" in South-Central Los Angeles. This week on "Talk Asia", we catch up with David LaChapelle at his latest exhibition in Hong Kong and find out why he ditched the glitz and glamour of fashion photography to return to his artistic roots.
[Rao:] Now, this is your latest exhibition showing in Hong Kong and it's the first time that you have shown anything here. It's also the first time that "The Raft" and also "The Bruce Lee Collection" have been shown globally. What was the motivation behind bringing them to an international audience now?
[David Lachapelle, Photographer And Director:] Well, these pictures these Bruce Lee images in particular were made specifically for China. After coming here over a year ago into Beijing, I just started reading the Tao and Confucianism and Buddhism and trying to get a handle on the philosophies that made up this really rich ancient culture.
[Rao:] It's a little bit different to what we know you best for, which is these, you know, crazy full-on, you know, hyper-stylized sex-meets- celebrity portrait shots. Where does your style come from? Because you look at something of yours and it just screams David LaChapelle.
[Lachapelle:] Well, I never really thought about style, you know? It was always more about what I wanted to say and I was attracted to color and style something that really just happened. The concept of things were what interested me most. A story or the narrative behind an image interested me more than just how things looked or the form of things. I just never wanted to get stuck within a sort of idea of what my work should look like, because that can be limiting.
[Rao:] You're a big fan of nudity in your pictures.
[Lachapelle:] The figure is important to me. It represents many, many things. At the present time, for me, it's sort of this idea of rescuing the figure from meaning one thing in photography. Photography, I feel like, we're in this new sort of dark ages. In the Dark Ages, the nude body was looked at as something sinful.
[Rao:] Yes.
[Lachapelle:] Today we look at it as just something to be bought and sold. Some sort of product or some sort of means of sexual gratification. And I wanted to rescue, in my own small way, as a photographer, as an artist, to rescue the figure so that it again will mean something more of what it did in the renaissance. The idea of spiritual clothing. You know, that this is more than just this product you've commodified. And, after years of working in fashion and celebrity was kind of the paradox, you know, to be having these thoughts and these ideas while working in the realm of publications which really sold that notion.
[Rao:] You can certainly see that with, you know, things like the photos that you've done of Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton.
[Lachapelle:] Yes. These are the people that made up our world. These were what America was about for those 18 years that I was photographing. My goal was to really photograph everything like a tourist what America was about. And its choices. And not judgment not with judgment, but with just questioning of all this consumption and all this, like, celebrity worship. And you can see very clearly in some of the pictures how they really are just you know, people just worshiping at the altar of celebrity.
[Rao:] You've said that we live in an unshockable world. Yet, people have frequently been taken aback by the images that you depict. What have you made of the public reaction to your work?
[Lachapelle:] I'm shocked that people are shocked. Honestly, I have never, ever set out to take a picture that shocked anyone. Definitely give them the unexpected. I wanted to stop people in the magazine. That was my goal to get them to stop for a minute while they're flipping through and hopefully tear it out. But, if not, just look at it long enough to take it in.
[Rao:] There is this sort of coming together of sexuality and religion that's really your trademark, I think, these days. And, you know, classic case in point was when you did "Pieta" with Courtney Love. And she's cradling this guy who's a combination of Christ and Kurt Cobain. Tell me about doing that shoot. It must have been really emotional for her, for a start.
[Lachapelle:] Yes, it was. I mean, it was emotional for all of us. And the "Pieta", for me, is a symbol of ultimate loss. There's nothing that symbolizes loss or grief more than a mother losing a child. And so, we died my friend's hair blond, who was to be held by Courtney. And when he walked out on to the set I'll never forget it it's actually on the website, you can watch the filming of it. Because Courtney thought we were shooting the Nativity. She has the Pieta and the Nativity mixed up in her head. You know, she's a very smart girl, I mean, but she just got it mixed up. She thought we were shooting
[Rao:] One is Christ's birth and the other's his death.
[Lachapelle:] I know, exactly, but, I mean, it just if you go to my website, you can see the whole conversation. Someone's filming the they filmed the whole shoot. But anyway, she thought she was holding a baby and she's holding this grown man.
[Rao:] Who looks like her dead husband.
[Lachapelle:] Who was blond and when he came out yes.
[Courtney Love, Singer, Songwriter:] I'm fine. I am fine. I'm just getting, you know, mixed messages to people and whole different thing. And then, you know.
[Lachapelle:] And I said, Courtney, you don't have to do this if you feel I mean, we all felt it as soon as he walked out and I saw the resemblance, because we just bleached Walker's hair blond and glued this, you know, beard on to him this blond beard. And I said, "You don't have to do this", you know, we can stop. And she said, "No, that's OK". So that's the story behind that picture. And she went ahead and did it. And it was emotional. I mean, that photograph. And I admire her for doing it. But it wasn't done with any sense of exploitation or sort of trying to make some sort of spectacle of it. It was really done with the purest intentions.
[Rao:] Coming up, David LaChapelle talks about the pop art pioneer who would jump-start his career.
[Lachapelle:] I purposely pushed the colors in these extra hard and kind of left a little grain, because I wanted them to resemble the movie posters of the 1970s.
[Rao:] Sure.
[Lachapelle:] These are all studies that I made, basically sketches. We're just playing around with photographs and cutting them up and really just never really meant for show, but the gallery wanted to exhibit it, because it is part of, I guess, the process, if you will. I spent 12 years working in dark rooms and now it's working with collages and sketches and doing these little things, so part of these little collages wind up being utilized in the final pieces. This is chapter two. The first was "The Deluge" and then they wind up on the shores of paradise or enlightenment. And we shot those in Hawaii. And I'm beginning those now. This isn't really just about a tsunami or a particular storm or disaster. It's not apocalyptic in that sense. For me, it's about the struggles that we all go through in our lives.
[Rao:] Religion obviously plays a big part in your work. To what extent, though, does it, in your life? I know that you were brought up in a strict Catholic household.
[Lachapelle:] Well, it wasn't really strict.
[Rao:] Your dad was strict.
[Lachapelle:] My dad, you know I was the third kid to come along, so I think I got away with murder compared to my brother and sister. It was a very open, really loving childhood and having grown up with, you know, my mom, who was had an incredible sense of humor and incredible naturalness, we would, you know, swim together naked as a family. Even though, I mean, my father's very Catholic. His brother is a priest. There was a sense of humor about things and I just took that for granted in the sense. Religion's become such a sort of an off-word. You know, it's sort of a very off-putting word. Especially in the world of art. Although, I study all the different religions and right now I'm really into Taoism and I believe that the main religions of the world are rivers that lead to the same ocean.
[Rao:] From what you've described of your childhood just that little snapshot before it sounds idyllic. Yet, you managed to take yourself off to New York at, what, 15?
[Lachapelle:] Yes. Yes.
[Rao:] Why?
[Lachapelle:] Well, at home it was great, but I was different, you know, from the other kids. Sort of the age-old story, we've heard it a million times, of being bullied at school. And it was either, you know, kill myself or move to New York, really. And that was it. I had found my home. New York City. Yes. Started going to Studio 54 when I was 14 and then to the downtown clubs. And at 15 I just left school altogether.
[Rao:] Was Studio 54 as crazy as they make out?
[Lachapelle:] It was magical. I mean, it really I wasn't into the you know, I was very young. I didn't do drugs or drink. I would dance and the music was incredible and the lights and everyone looked so beautiful. It was never crowded, you know. It was never like the clubs say
[Rao:] Yes.
[Lachapelle:] With people all smashed up together. Everyone had room to dance and, you know, it was just the most exciting thing I'd ever seen.
[Rao:] Obviously Andy Warhol saw something in you that he decided to nurture. He gave you your first job at "Interview" magazine. Tell about how instrumental he was in really, in getting you where you are today and what he meant to you.
[Lachapelle:] At 18, although I didn't have a diploma, I had a portfolio of photographs. I had been going to Andy and showing him the pictures. Because I finally had something to talk to him. I said, "Hey, I have some photographs, can I come by and show you?" And Andrew goes like, "Oh, they're great, they're great". And I was like, "Andy said my pics were great". I would be really excited. No, he liked the photos, or he said he did. And, when I had my second show in New York, they came, the staff of "Interview", and they asked me if I would work for the magazine. And that led to working from '84 to '87. And then doing the last portrait of Andy before he died. I put two bibles beside his head and framed it in this very formal kind of way, because I was one of the few people who knew that he went to church every Sunday when he was in New York. I didn't know that would turn out to be the last portrait. And yet, in that working for him, opened up the world of magazines to me. And I couldn't make a living off the galleries. I put my heart and soul into those pictures, but they weren't selling. And I had to survive and that became a really great opportunity.
[Rao:] Yes, you mentioned that you had to do certain things to survive as you're working your way up to be a photographer. I understand that you also had to work for a time as an escort, which, you know, to me sounds like a terribly sad thing to have to resort to.
[Lachapelle:] You know, I was 18 years old. I was pretty street smart, having been on my own since I was 15. I was 17, 18 years old. And the movie "American Gigolo" had just come out with Richard Gere. And it seemed kind of glamorous, but and I couldn't really hold down a job. Photography was really, really expensive. And, yes, there was a time where it was I guess you could look at it as sad. I know that the world's different today and I certainly wouldn't want to give the impression that it was something cool to do or that I would recommend it, because I don't. And the world is such a different place now, with things done over the internet and, God knows, it's much more dangerous. You don't know, really, who you could meet. There was this bar that you could go to in New York City and talk to gentlemen. I always had a good sense and I would talk to them and, thank God, I was never really wrong about what I was getting into. And there was a certain respect. I mean, I got a dinner out of it and sort of have a conversation. But I would talk to these people and see them face to face before going anywhere with them. And it was a really, you know, easy way to make $150, it seemed at the time. You know, though I did it for a short time, it's not something, you know, I'm proud of or really not something I would recommend for anyone to do today. It was a different world. Working with her was always very tense and not pleasant. Some people were very easy and fun, but, on the other extreme, I would have to say she's one of the hardest people to work with.
[Rao:] Let's talk about "Rize", because that was your first full-length movie. And, I think when people knew that you were going to do a movie, they would just have assumed that you would call your fantastic celebrity rolodex into play. But you didn't. You went down to South Central LA to document life down there. Particularly in light of a dance craze that was happening at the time. How come you decided to do that?
[Lachapelle:] Well, it was an art movement. I looked at it more like, you know, that art will come out of even the most oppressive situations. That true art will still find a way to grow between the cracks in the sidewalk. And these are schools and school districts in Los Angeles is one of the poorest in the nation, in America. And they don't have art classes. They don't have African history, they don't have dance. And these kids had developed this art form. They really had this cultural imprint of this movement that they were expressing themselves. Their anger was getting instead of joining a gang the choices they were making were heroic. And I looked at them like I'd look at any other star and I treated them as such.
[Rao:] And they weren't suspicious of you?
[Lachapelle:] No, no. They weren't. They didn't know who I was or anything. They didn't know that I had a name in photography or anything like that. And it wasn't until a few months of filming that they, like, "Hey, the other day I saw you on the red carpet at the MTV awards with Pamela Anderson. What are you doing? Why are you ". And that even gave them once they found out, they were like, even happier that someone who was working in that world of, you know, popular culture was interested in them.
[Rao:] Aside from your still portraits, you then moved into commercials and also music videos. And there's one story that I love and I hope you'll relate to us. In 2005, you were down to do "Hung Up" by Madonna. But you haven't spoken since. What happened?
[Lachapelle:] I always wanted to do a Madonna video. Madonna had a history of great videos and working with great directors. And I liked doing music videos a lot. And it was the first single off the album, which is, you know, a prestigious thing to do. When I met with her, it was so I felt well, she's really changed and it wasn't going to be this tension that there had been on the still shoots. Because working with her was always very tense, very tense. Not pleasant at all.
[Rao:] Why? What's she like?
[Lachapelle:] I don't know, it was just very tense. Some people are very easy and fun and you have fun with them, but on the other, she might have to say she's one of the hardest people to work with in terms of just making everyone very on edge and uneasy. You know, it was really unpleasant experience doing stills with her. So, when we were slated to do the video, I met with her and she was very funny and charming. And I thought, wow, she's really changed. And then I was hired to do to the video and as soon as that happened, she was on the phone. Suddenly just was yelling at me and everything I said was she would yell something at me. And I didn't understand why she was yelling at me. It was just this conversation was just going on and on. And I never really said no to the job. I definitely was a workaholic, I have to say. So I was kind of in this, like, workaholic state where I was 11 months straight, you know. I financed the film "Rize" myself. It cost almost a million dollars. So I was having this phone call with her and she was screaming at me and I finally just got really quiet and didn't say anything and she is just talking, talking. And then said, "David? David? Are you there?"
[Rao:] Faux English accent.
[Lachapelle:] And I said, "Yes, I'm still here". And she said, "Hold on". And I looked down and my hand was shaking. And I hung up the phone and I said I thought to myself, you know, I just did this film in South Central Lost Angeles, one of the most dangerous, you know, marginalized, impoverished neighborhoods in the United States. And I never was shaking. And I'm shaking this woman's making me shake as I'm talking to her. And my music video agent was sitting next to me and she was just like she was like Mcaulay Culkin, you know in
[Rao:] Yes.
[Lachapelle:] "You just hung up on Madonna". And I was like, "Yes, I did". You know? And from that moment on and it was a real turning point I have to really thank Madonna for that. So I don't this isn't a negative thing or something that I'm rehashing. But, since you asked, it really was a turning point. Because once I said no, it really was the first time I said no to
[Rao:] You hung up on "Hung Up".
[Lachapelle:] I hung up on And then it was easy to say no. And that really led just a few short months later, I was in Maui with my phone turned off. When I was a kid, growing up in New York in the East Village and first starting photography, I think I had just this dream. I guess my big goal I used to pray to have a cabin in the woods. You know, being able to afford really good, you know, vegetarian food or having a garden. And being able to live off of what I made as an artist. And that was really three things I wanted in life more than anything.
[Rao:] When you did get back to photography after your retreat in Hawaii, you came back with things like "The Rape of Africa". How much work goes into these opulent pieces that you do?
[Lachapelle:] A lot of work goes into them because I have a lot more time now to think. I can spend a lot more time making these pictures say what I want them to say. And using the vocabulary I learned working for magazines and music videos and all the rest. I can employ those ideas or techniques of communicating.
[Rao:] So, you live this quiet life, now, in Maui. And you don't really say much, do the whole, you know, celebrity shenanigans thing anymore. But do you feel like a different David LaChapelle now than you were back then?
[Lachapelle:] I kind of feel more back to where I was when I was starting out, except with a lot more life experience. But, I think more of it's coming home to myself in a sense. I think that, you know, that art can change things. I think that, through art, we can gain enlightenment. Through art we can learn about ourselves and our culture and the time we live in. And that's always been the role of contemporary art. And, so, I think that I aspire to those ideals.
[Rao:] David, thank you so much indeed for spending time with us today.
[Lachapelle:] You're welcome.
[Rao:] It was great.
[Lachapelle:] Yes. No, thank you for your insightful and well- researched questions.

[Bob Schieffer, Moderator:] Good evening from the campus of Lynn University here in Boca Raton, Florida. This is the fourth and last debate of the 2012 campaign, brought to you by the Commission on Presidential Debates. This one's on foreign policy. I'm Bob Schieffer of CBS News. The questions are mine, and I have not shared them with the candidates or their aides.
[Schieffer:] The audience has taken a vow of silence no applause, no reaction of any kind, except right now when we welcome President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney. The first segment is the challenge of a changing Middle East and the new face of terrorism. I'm going to put this into two segments so you'll have two topic questions within this one segment on the subject. The first question, and it concerns Libya. The controversy over what happened there continues. Four Americans are dead, including an American ambassador. Questions remain. What happened? What caused it? Was it spontaneous? Was it an intelligence failure? Was it a policy failure? Was there an attempt to mislead people about what really happened? Governor Romney, you said this was an example of an American policy in the Middle East that is unraveling before our very eyes. I'd like to hear each of you give your thoughts on that. Governor Romney, you won the toss. You go first.
[Romney:] Thank you, Bob. And thank you for agreeing to moderate this debate this evening. Thank you to Lynn University for welcoming us here. And Mr. President, it's good to be with you again. We were together at a humorous event a little earlier, and it's nice to maybe funny this time, not on purpose. We'll see what happens. This is obviously an area of great concern to the entire world, and to America in particular, which is to see a a complete change in the the structure and the the environment in the Middle East. With the Arab Spring, came a great deal of hope that there would be a change towards more moderation, and opportunity for greater participation on the part of women in public life, and in economic life in the Middle East. But instead, we've seen in nation after nation, a number of disturbing events. Of course we see in Syria, 30,000 civilians having been killed by the military there. We see in in Libya, an attack apparently by, I think we know now, by terrorists of some kind against against our people there, four people dead. Our hearts and and minds go out to them. Mali has been taken over, the northern part of Mali by al-Qaeda type individuals. We have in in Egypt, a Muslim Brotherhood president. And so what we're seeing is a pretty dramatic reversal in the kind of hopes we had for that region. Of course the greatest threat of all is Iran, four years closer to a nuclear weapon. And and we're going to have to recognize that we have to do as the president has done. I congratulate him on on taking out Osama bin Laden and going after the leadership in al-Qaeda. But we can't kill our way out of this mess. We're going to have to put in place a very comprehensive and robust strategy to help the the world of Islam and other parts of the world, reject this radical violent extremism, which is it's certainly not on the run. It's certainly not hiding. This is a group that is now involved in 10 or 12 countries, and it presents an enormous threat to our friends, to the world, to America, long term, and we must have a comprehensive strategy to help reject this kind of extremism.
[Schieffer:] Mr. President?
[Obama:] Well, my first job as commander in chief, Bob, is to keep the American people safe. And that's what we've done over the last four years. We ended the war in Iraq, refocused our attention on those who actually killed us on 911. And as a consequence, Al Qaeda's core leadership has been decimated. In addition, we're now able to transition out of Afghanistan in a responsible way, making sure that Afghans take responsibility for their own security. And that allows us also to rebuild alliances and make friends around the world to combat future threats. Now with respect to Libya, as I indicated in the last debate, when we received that phone call, I immediately made sure that, number one, that we did everything we could to secure those Americans who were still in harm's way; number two, that we would investigate exactly what happened, and number three, most importantly, that we would go after those who killed Americans and we would bring them to justice. And that's exactly what we're going to do. But I think it's important to step back and think about what happened in Libya. Keep in mind that I and Americans took leadership in organizing an international coalition that made sure that we were able to, without putting troops on the ground at the cost of less than what we spent in two weeks in Iraq, liberate a country that had been under the yoke of dictatorship for 40 years. Got rid of a despot who had killed Americans and as a consequence, despite this tragedy, you had tens of thousands of Libyans after the events in Benghazi marching and saying America is our friend. We stand with them. Now that represents the opportunity we have to take advantage of. And, you know, Governor Romney, I'm glad that you agree that we have been successful in going after Al Qaida, but I have to tell you that, you know, your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map and is not designed to keep Americans safe or to build on the opportunities that exist in the Middle East.
[Romney:] Well, my strategy is pretty straightforward, which is to go after the bad guys, to make sure we do our very best to interrupt them, to to kill them, to take them out of the picture. But my strategy is broader than that. That's that's important, of course. But the key that we're going to have to pursue is a is a pathway to get the Muslim world to be able to reject extremism on its own. We don't want another Iraq, we don't want another Afghanistan. That's not the right course for us. The right course for us is to make sure that we go after the the people who are leaders of these various anti-American groups and these these jihadists, but also help the Muslim world. And how do we do that? A group of Arab scholars came together, organized by the U.N., to look at how we can help the the world reject these these terrorists. And the answer they came up with was this: One, more economic development. We should key our foreign aid, our direct foreign investment, and that of our friends, we should coordinate it to make sure that we we push back and give them more economic development. Number two, better education. Number three, gender equality. Number four, the rule of law. We have to help these nations create civil societies. But what's been happening over the last couple of years is, as we've watched this tumult in the Middle East, this rising tide of chaos occur, you see Al Qaida rushing in, you see other jihadist groups rushing in. And and they're throughout many nations in the Middle East. It's wonderful that Libya seems to be making some progress, despite this terrible tragedy. But next door, of course, we have Egypt. Libya's 6 million population; Egypt, 80 million population. We want we want to make sure that we're seeing progress throughout the Middle East. With Mali now having North Mali taken over by Al Qaida; with Syria having Assad continuing to to kill, to murder his own people, this is a region in tumult. And, of course, Iran on the path to a nuclear weapon, we've got real [inaudible].
[Schieffer:] We'll get to that, but let's give the president a chance.
[Obama:] Governor Romney, I'm glad that you recognize that Al Qaida is a threat, because a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not Al Qaida; you said Russia, in the 1980s, they're now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War's been over for 20 years. But Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s. You say that you're not interested in duplicating what happened in Iraq. But just a few weeks ago, you said you think we should have more troops in Iraq right now. And the the challenge we have I know you haven't been in a position to actually execute foreign policy but every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong. You said we should have gone into Iraq, despite that fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction. You said that we should still have troops in Iraq to this day. You indicated that we shouldn't be passing nuclear treaties with Russia despite the fact that 71 senators, Democrats and Republicans, voted for it. You said that, first, we should not have a timeline in Afghanistan. Then you said we should. Now you say maybe or it depends, which means not only were you wrong, but you were also confusing in sending mixed messages both to our troops and our allies. So, what what we need to do with respect to the Middle East is strong, steady leadership, not wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map. And unfortunately, that's the kind of opinions that you've offered throughout this campaign, and it is not a recipe for American strength, or keeping America safe over the long haul.
[Schieffer:] I'm going to add a couple of minutes here to give you a chance to respond.
[Romney:] Well, of course I don't concur with what the president said about my own record and the things that I've said. They don't happen to be accurate. But but I can say this, that we're talking about the Middle East and how to help the Middle East reject the kind of terrorism we're seeing, and the rising tide of tumult and and confusion. And and attacking me is not an agenda. Attacking me is not talking about how we're going to deal with the challenges that exist in the Middle East, and take advantage of the opportunity there, and stem the tide of this violence. But I'll respond to a couple of things that you mentioned. First of all, Russia I indicated is a geopolitical foe. Not... Excuse me. It's a geopolitical foe, and I said in the same in the same paragraph I said, and Iran is the greatest national security threat we face. Russia does continue to battle us in the U.N. time and time again. I have clear eyes on this. I'm not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia, or Mr. Putin. And I'm certainly not going to say to him, I'll give you more flexibility after the election. After the election, he'll get more backbone. Number two, with regards to Iraq, you and I agreed I believe that there should be a status of forces agreement. Oh you didn't? You didn't want a status of...
[Obama:] What I would not have had done was left 10,000 troops in Iraq that would tie us down. And that certainly would not help us in the Middle East.
[Romney:] I'm sorry, you actually there was a there was an effort on the part of the president to have a status of forces agreement, and I concurred in that, and said that we should have some number of troops that stayed on. That was something I concurred with...
[Obama:] Governor...
[Romney:] ...that your posture. That was my posture as well. You thought it should have been 5,000 troops...
[Obama:] Governor?
[Romney:] ... I thought there should have been more troops, but you know what? The answer was we got... ... no troops through whatsoever.
[Obama:] This was just a few weeks ago that you indicated that we should still have troops in Iraq.
[Romney:] No, I... ...I'm sorry that's a...
[Obama:] You you...
[Romney:] ...that's a I indicated...
[Obama:] ...major speech.
[Romney:] ...I indicated that you failed to put in place a status...
[Obama:] Governor?
[Romney:] ...of forces agreement at the end of the conflict that existed.
[Obama:] Governor here here's here's one thing... ...here's one thing I've learned as commander in chief.
[Schieffer:] Let him answer...
[Obama:] You've got to be clear, both to our allies and our enemies, about where you stand and what you mean. You just gave a speech a few weeks ago in which you said we should still have troops in Iraq. That is not a recipe for making sure that we are taking advantage of the opportunities and meeting the challenges of the Middle East. Now, it is absolutely true that we cannot just meet these challenges militarily. And so what I've done throughout my presidency and will continue to do is, number one, make sure that these countries are supporting our counterterrorism efforts. Number two, make sure that they are standing by our interests in Israel's security, because it is a true friend and our greatest ally in the region. Number three, we do have to make sure that we're protecting religious minorities and women because these countries can't develop unless all the population, not just half of it, is developing. Number four, we do have to develop their economic their economic capabilities. But number five, the other thing that we have to do is recognize that we can't continue to do nation building in these regions. Part of American leadership is making sure that we're doing nation building here at home. That will help us maintain the kind of American leadership that we need.
[Schieffer:] Let me interject the second topic question in this segment about the Middle East and so on, and that is, you both mentioned alluded to this, and that is Syria. The war in Syria has now spilled over into Lebanon. We have, what, more than 100 people that were killed there in a bomb. There were demonstrations there, eight people dead. Mr. President, it's been more than a year since you saw you told Assad he had to go. Since then, 30,000 Syrians have died. We've had 300,000 refugees. The war goes on. He's still there. Should we reassess our policy and see if we can find a better way to influence events there? Or is that even possible? And you go first, sir.
[Obama:] What we've done is organize the international community, saying Assad has to go. We've mobilized sanctions against that government. We have made sure that they are isolated. We have provided humanitarian assistance and we are helping the opposition organize, and we're particularly interested in making sure that we're mobilizing the moderate forces inside of Syria. But ultimately, Syrians are going to have to determine their own future. And so everything we're doing, we're doing in consultation with our partners in the region, including Israel which obviously has a huge interest in seeing what happens in Syria; coordinating with Turkey and other countries in the region that have a great interest in this. This what we're seeing taking place in Syria is heartbreaking, and that's why we are going to do everything we can to make sure that we are helping the opposition. But we also have to recognize that, you know, for us to get more entangled militarily in Syria is a serious step, and we have to do so making absolutely certain that we know who we are helping; that we're not putting arms in the hands of folks who eventually could turn them against us or allies in the region. And I am confident that Assad's days are numbered. But what we can't do is to simply suggest that, as Governor Romney at times has suggested, that giving heavy weapons, for example, to the Syrian opposition is a simple proposition that would lead us to be safer over the long term.
[Schieffer:] Governor?
[Romney:] Well, let's step back and talk about what's happening in Syria and how important it is. First of all, 30,000 people being killed by their government is a humanitarian disaster. Secondly, Syria is an opportunity for us because Syria plays an important role in the Middle East, particularly right now. Syria is Iran's only ally in the Arab world. It's their route to the sea. It's the route for them to arm Hezbollah in Lebanon, which threatens, of course, our ally, Israel. And so seeing Syria remove Assad is a very high priority for us. Number two, seeing a a replacement government being responsible people is critical for us. And finally, we don't want to have military involvement there. We don't want to get drawn into a military conflict. And so the right course for us, is working through our partners and with our own resources, to identify responsible parties within Syria, organize them, bring them together in a in a form of if not government, a form of of of council that can take the lead in Syria. And then make sure they have the arms necessary to defend themselves. We do need to make sure that they don't have arms that get into the the wrong hands. Those arms could be used to hurt us down the road. We need to make sure as well that we coordinate this effort with our allies, and particularly with with Israel. But the Saudi's and the Qatari, and and the Turks are all very concerned about this. They're willing to work with us. We need to have a very effective leadership effort in Syria, making sure that the the insurgent there are armed and that the insurgents that become armed, are people who will be the responsible parties. Recognize I believe that Assad must go. I believe he will go. But I believe we want to make sure that we have the relationships of friendship with the people that take his place, steps that in the years to come we see Syria as a as a friend, and Syria as a responsible party in the Middle East. This this is a critical opportunity for America. And what I'm afraid of is we've watched over the past year or so, first the president saying, well we'll let the U.N. deal with it. And Assad excuse me, Kofi Annan came in and said we're going to try to have a ceasefire. That didn't work. Then it went to the Russians and said, let's see if you can do something. We should be playing the leadership role there, not on the ground with military.
[Schieffer:] All right.
[Romney:] ...by the leadership role.
[Obama:] We are playing the leadership role. We organized the Friends of Syria. We are mobilizing humanitarian support, and support for the opposition. And we are making sure that those we help are those who will be friends of ours in the long term and friends of our allies in the region over the long term. But going back to Libya because this is an example of how we make choices. When we went in to Libya, and we were able to immediately stop the massacre there, because of the unique circumstances and the coalition that we had helped to organize. We also had to make sure that Moammar Gadhafi didn't stay there. And to the governor's credit, you supported us going into Libya and the coalition that we organized. But when it came time to making sure that Gadhafi did not stay in power, that he was captured, Governor, your suggestion was that this was mission creep, that this was mission muddle. Imagine if we had pulled out at that point. You know, Moammar Gadhafi had more American blood on his hands than any individual other than Osama bin Laden. And so we were going to make sure that we finished the job. That's part of the reason why the Libyans stand with us. But we did so in a careful, thoughtful way, making certain that we knew who we were dealing with, that those forces of moderation on the ground were ones that we could work with, and we have to take the same kind of steady, thoughtful leadership when it comes to Syria. That's exactly what we're doing.
[Schieffer:] Governor, can I just ask you, would you go beyond what the administration would do, like for example, would you put in no-fly zones over Syria?
[Romney:] I don't want to have our military involved in Syria. I don't think there is a necessity to put our military in Syria at this stage. I don't anticipate that in the future. As I indicated, our objectives are to replace Assad and to have in place a new government which is friendly to us, a responsible government, if possible. And I want to make sure they get armed and they have the arms necessary to defend themselves, but also to remove to remove Assad. But I do not want to see a military involvement on the part of our of our troops.
[Schieffer:] Well
[Romney:] And this isn't this isn't going to be necessary. We we have, with our partners in the region, we have sufficient resources to support those groups. But look, this has been going on for a year. This is a time this should have been a time for American leadership. We should have taken a leading role, not militarily, but a leading role organizationally, governmentally to bring together the parties; to find responsible parties. As you hear from intelligence sources even today, the the insurgents are highly disparate. They haven't come together. They haven't formed a unity group, a council of some kind. That needs to happen. America can help that happen. And we need to make sure they have the arms they need to carry out the very important role which is getting rid of Assad.
[Schieffer:] Can we get a quick response, Mr. President, because I want to...
[Obama:] Well, I'll I'll be very quick. What you just heard Governor Romney said is he doesn't have different ideas. And that's because we're doing exactly what we should be doing to try to promote a moderate Syrian leadership and a an effective transition so that we get Assad out. That's the kind of leadership we've shown. That's the kind of leadership we'll continue to show.
[Schieffer:] May I ask you, you know, during the Egyptian turmoil, there came a point when you said it was time for President Mubarak to go.
[Obama:] Right.
[Schieffer:] Some in your administration thought perhaps we should have waited a while on that. Do you have any regrets about that?
[Obama:] No, I don't, because I think that America has to stand with democracy. The notion that we would have tanks run over those young people who were in Tahrir Square, that is not the kind of American leadership that John F. Kennedy talked about 50 years ago. But what I've also said is that now that you have a democratically elected government in Egypt, that they have to make sure that they take responsibility for protecting religious minorities. And we have put significant pressure on them to make sure they're doing that; to recognize the rights of women, which is critical throughout the region. These countries can't develop if young women are not given the kind of education that they need. They have to abide by their treaty with Israel. That is a red line for us, because not only is Israel's security at stake, but our security is at stake if that unravels. They have to make sure that they're cooperating with us when it comes to counterterrorism. And we will help them with respect to developing their own economy, because ultimately what's going to make the Egyptian revolution successful for the people of Egypt, but also for the world, is if those young people who gathered there are seeing opportunities. Their aspirations are similar to young people's here. They want jobs, they want to be able to make sure their kids are going to a good school. They want to make sure that they have a roof over their heads and that they have the prospects of a better life in the future. And so one of the things that we've been doing is, is, for example, organizing entrepreneurship conferences with these Egyptians to give them a sense of how they can start rebuilding their economy in a way that's noncorrupt, that's transparent. But what is also important for us to understand is, is that for America to be successful in this region there's some things that we're going to have to do here at home as well. You know, one of the challenges over the last decade is we've done experiments in nation building in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and we've neglected, for example, developing our own economy, our own energy sectors, our own education system. And it's very hard for us to project leadership around the world when we're not doing what we need to do...
[Schieffer:] Governor Romney, I want to hear your response to that, but I would just ask you, would you have stuck with Mubarak?
[Romney:] No. I believe, as the president indicated, and said at the time that I supported his his action there. I felt that I wish we'd have had a better vision of the future. I wish that, looking back at the beginning of the president's term and even further back than that, that we'd have recognized that there was a growing energy and passion for freedom in that part of the world, and that we would have worked more aggressively with our friend and with other friends in the region to have them make the transition towards a more representative form of government, such that it didn't explode in the way that it did. But once it exploded, I felt the same as the president did, which is these freedom voices and the streets of Egypt, where the people who were speaking of our principles and the President Mubarak had done things which were unimaginable and the idea of him crushing his people was not something that we could possibly support. Let me step back and talk about what I think our mission has to be in the Middle East and even more broadly, because our purpose is to make sure the world is more is peaceful. We want a peaceful planet. We want people to be able to enjoy their lives and know they're going to have a bright and prosperous future, not be at war. That's our purpose. And the mantle of leadership for the promoting the principles of peace has fallen to America. We didn't ask for it. But it's an honor that we have it. But for us to be able to promote those principles of peace requires us to be strong. And that begins with a strong economy here at home. Unfortunately, the economy is not stronger. When the when the president of Iraq excuse me, of Iran, Ahmadinejad, says that our debt makes us not a great country, that's a frightening thing. Former chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Admiral Mullen said that our debt is the biggest national security threat we face. This we have weakened our economy. We need a strong economy. We need to have as well a strong military. Our military is second to none in the world. We're blessed with terrific soldiers, and extraordinary technology and intelligence. But the idea of a trillion dollar in cuts through sequestration and budget cuts to the military would change that. We need to have strong allies. Our association and connection with our allies is essential to America's strength. We're the great nation that has allies, 42 allies and friends around the world. And, finally, we have to stand by our principles. And if we're strong in each of those things, American influence will grow. But unfortunately, in nowhere in the world is America's influence will grow. But unfortunately, in nowhere in the world is America's influence greater today than it was four years ago.
[Schieffer:] All right.
[Romney:] And that's because we've become weaker in each of those four...
[Schieffer:] ...you're going to get a chance to respond to that, because that's a perfect segue into our next segment, and that is, what is America's role in the world? And that is the question. What do each of you see as our role in the world, and I believe, Governor Romney, it's your chance to go first.
[Romney:] Well I I absolutely believe that America has a a responsibility, and the privilege of helping defend freedom and promote the principles that that make the world more peaceful. And those principles include human rights, human dignity, free enterprise, freedom of expression, elections. Because when there are elections, people tend to vote for peace. They don't vote for war. So we want to promote those principles around the world. We recognize that there are places of conflict in the world. We want to end those conflicts to the extent humanly possible. But in order to be able to fulfill our role in the world, America must be strong. America must lead. And for that to happen, we have to strengthen our economy here at home. You can't have 23 million people struggling to get a job. You can't have an economy that over the last three years keeps slowing down its growth rate. You can't have kids coming out of college, half of them can't find a job today, or a job that's commensurate with their college degree. We have to get our economy going. And our military, we've got to strengthen our military long-term. We don't know what the world is going to throw at us down the road. We we make decisions today in the military that that will confront challenges we can't imagine. In the 2000 debates, there was no mention of terrorism, for instance. And a year later, 911 happened. So, we have to make decisions based upon uncertainty, and that means a strong military. I will not cut our military budget. We have to also stand by our allies. I I think the tension that existed between Israel and the United States was very unfortunate. I think also that pulling our missile defense program out of Poland in the way we did was also unfortunate in terms of, if you will, disrupting the relationship in some ways that existed between us. And then, of course, with regards to standing for our principles, when when the students took to the streets in Tehran and the people there protested, the Green Revolution occurred, for the president to be silent I thought was an enormous mistake. We have to stand for our principles, stand for our allies, stand for a strong military and stand for a stronger economy.
[Schieffer:] Mr. President?
[Obama:] America remains the one indispensable nation. And the world needs a strong America, and it is stronger now than when I came into office. Because we ended the war in Iraq, we were able to refocus our attention on not only the terrorist threat, but also beginning a transition process in Afghanistan. It also allowed us to refocus on alliances and relationships that had been neglected for a decade. And Governor Romney, our alliances have never been stronger, in Asia, in Europe, in Africa, with Israel, where we have unprecedented military and intelligence cooperation, including dealing with the Iranian threat. But what we also have been able to do is position ourselves so we can start rebuilding America, and that's what my plan does. Making sure that we're bringing manufacturing back to our shores so that we're creating jobs here, as we've done with the auto industry, not rewarding companies that are shipping jobs overseas. Making sure that we've got the best education system in the world, including retraining our workers for the jobs of tomorrow. Doing everything we can to control our own energy. We've cut our oil imports to the lowest level in two decades because we've developed oil and natural gas. But we also have to develop clean energy technologies that will allow us to cut our exports in half by 2020. That's the kind of leadership that we need to show. And we've got to make sure that we reduce our deficit. Unfortunately, Governor Romney's plan doesn't do it. We've got to do it in a responsible way by cutting out spending we don't need, but also asking the wealthiest to pay a little bit more. That way we can invest in the research and technology that's always kept us at the cutting edge. Now, Governor Romney has taken a different approach throughout this campaign. Both at home and abroad, he has proposed wrong and reckless policies. He's praised George Bush as a good economic steward and Dick Cheney as somebody who's who shows great wisdom and judgment. And taking us back to those kinds of strategies that got us into this mess are not the way that we are going to maintain leadership in the 21st century.
[Schieffer:] Governor Romney, "wrong and reckless" policies?
[Romney:] I've got a policy for the future and agenda for the future. And when it comes to our economy here at home, I know what it takes to create 12 million new jobs and rising take-home pay. And what we've seen over the last four years is something I don't want to see over the next four years. The president said by now we'd be a 5.4 percent unemployment. We're 9 million jobs short of that. I will get America working again and see rising take-home pay again, and I'll do it with five simple steps. Number one, we are going to have North American energy independence. We're going to do it by taking full advantage of oil, coal, gas, nuclear and our renewables. Number two, we're going to increase our trade. Trade grows about 12 percent year. It doubles about every every five or so years. We can do better than that, particularly in Latin America. The opportunities for us in Latin America we have just not taken advantage of fully. As a matter of fact, Latin America's economy is almost as big as the economy of China. We're all focused on China. Latin America is a huge opportunity for us time zone, language opportunities. Number three, we're going to have to have training programs that work for our workers and schools that finally put the parents and the teachers and the kids first, and the teachers' unions going to have to go behind. And then we're going to have to get to a balanced budget. We can't expect entrepreneurs and businesses large and small to take their life savings or their company's money and invest in America if they think we're headed to the road to Greece. And that's where we're going right now unless we finally get off this spending and borrowing binge. And I'll get us on track to a balanced budget. And finally, number five, we've got to champion small business. Small business is where jobs come from. Two-thirds of our jobs come from small businesses. New business formation is down to the lowest level in 30 years under this administration. I want to bring it back and get back good jobs and rising take-home pay.
[Obama:] Well, let's talk about what we need to compete. First of all, Governor Romney talks about small businesses. But, Governor, when you were in Massachusetts, small businesses development ranked about 48th, I think out of 50 states in Massachusetts, because the policies that you are promoting actually don't help small businesses. And the way you define small businesses includes folks at the very top. And they include you and me. That's not the kind of small business promotion we need. But let's take an example that we know is going to make a difference in the 21st century and that's our education policy. We didn't have a lot of chance to talk about this in the last debate. You know, under my leadership, what we've done is reformed education, working with governors, 46 states. We've seen progress and gains in schools that were having a terrible time. And they're starting to finally make progress. And what I now want to do is to hire more teachers, especially in math and science, because we know that we've fallen behind when it comes to math and science. And those teachers can make a difference. Now, Governor Romney, when you were asked by teachers whether or not this would help the economy grow, you said this isn't going to help the economy grow. When you were asked about reduced class sizes, you said class sizes don't make a difference. But I tell you, if you talk to teachers, they will tell you it does make a difference. And if we've got math teachers who are able to provide the kind of support that they need for our kids, that's what's going to determine whether or not the new businesses are created here. Companies are going to locate here depending on whether we've got the most highly skilled workforce. And the kinds of budget proposals that you've put forward, when we don't ask either you or me to pay a dime more in terms of reducing the deficit, but instead we slash support for education, that's undermining our long-term competitiveness. That is not good for America's position in the world, and the world notices.
[Schieffer:] Let me get back to foreign policy. Can I just get back...
[Romney:] Well well, I need to speak a moment...
[Schieffer:] OK.
[Romney:] ... if you'll let me, Bob, just about education...
[Schieffer:] OK.
[Romney:] ... because I'm I'm so proud of the state that I had the chance to be governor of. We have every two years tests that look at how well our kids are doing. Fourth graders and eighth graders are tested in English and math. While I was governor, I was proud that our fourth graders came out number one of all 50 states in English, and then also in math. And our eighth graders number one in English and also in math. First time one state had been number one in all four measures. How did we do that? Well, Republicans and Democrats came together on a bipartisan basis to put in place education principles that focused on having great teachers in the classroom.
[Obama:] Ten years earlier...
[Romney:] And that was that was that was what allowed us to become the number one state in the nation.
[Obama:] But that was 10 years before you took office.
[Romney:] And then you cut education spending when you came into office. The first the first the first and we kept our schools number one in the nation. They're still number one today.
[Schieffer:] All right.
[Romney:] And the principles that we put in place, we also gave kids not just a graduation exam that determined whether they were up to the skills needed to to be able compete, but also if they graduated the quarter of their class, they got a four-year tuition- free ride at any Massachusetts public institution of higher learning.
[Obama:] That happened before you came into office.
[Schieffer:] Governor...
[Romney:] That was actually mine, actually, Mr. President. You got that fact wrong.
[Schieffer:] Let me get I want to try to shift it, because we have heard some of this in the other debates. Governor, you say you want a bigger military. You want a bigger Navy. You don't want to cut defense spending. What I want to ask you we were talking about financial problems in this country. Where are you going to get the money?
[Romney:] Well, let's come back and talk about the military, but all the way all the way through. First of all, I'm going through from the very beginning we're going to cut about 5 percent of the discretionary budget, excluding military. That's number one.
[Schieffer:] But can you do this without driving deeper...
[Romnehy:] The good news is [inaudible]. I'd be happy to have you take a look. Come on our website. You look at how we get to a balanced budget within eight to 10 years. We do it by getting by reducing spending in a whole series of programs. By the way, number one I get rid of is Obamacare. There are a number of things that sound good, but frankly, we just can't afford them. And that one doesn't sound good and it's not affordable. So I'd get rid of that one from day one. To the extent humanly possible, we get that out. We take program after program that we don't absolutely have to have, and we get rid of them. Number two, we take some programs that we are doing to keep, like Medicaid, which is a program for the poor; we'll take that healthcare program for the poor and we give it to the states to run because states run these programs more efficiently. As a governor, I thought please, give me this program. I can run this more efficiently than the federal government and states, by the way, are proving it. States like Arizona, Rhode Island have taken these these Medicaid dollars; have shown they can run these programs more cost-effectively. I want to do those two things and get this get this to a balanced budget with eight eight to 10 years. But the military let's get back to the military, though.
[Schieffer:] That's what I'm trying...
[Obama:] He should have answered the first question. Look, Governor Romney's called for $5 trillion of tax cuts that he says he's going to pay for by closing deductions. Now, the math doesn't work, but he continues to claim that he's going to do it. He then wants to spend another $2 trillion on military spending that our military is not asking for. Now, keep in mind that our military spending has gone up every single year that I've been in office. We spend more on our military than the next 10 countries combined; China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, you name it. The next 10. And what I did was work with our joint chiefs of staff to think about, what are we going to need in the future to make sure that we are safe? And that's the budget that we've put forward. But, what you can't do is spend $2 trillion in additional military spending that the military is not asking for, $5 trillion on tax cuts. You say that you're going to pay for it by closing loopholes and deductions, without naming what those loopholes and deductions are. And then somehow you're also going to deal with the deficit that we've already got. The math simply doesn't work. But when it comes to our military, what we have to think about is not, you know just budgets, we've got to think about capabilities. We need to be thinking about cyber security. We need to be talking about space. That's exactly what our budget does, but it's driven by strategy. It's not driven by politics. It's not driven by members of Congress, and what they would like to see. It's driven by, what are we going to need to keep the American people safe? That's exactly what our budget does, and it also then allows us to reduce our deficit, which is a significant national security concern. Because we've got to make sure that our economy is strong at home so that we can project military power overseas.
[Romney:] I'm pleased that I've balanced budgets. I was on the world of business for 25 years. If you didn't balance your budget, you went out of business. I went into the Olympics that was out of balance, and we got it on balance, and made a success there. I had the chance to be governor of a state. Four years in a row, Democrats and Republicans came together to balance the budget. We cut taxes 19 times and balanced our budget. The president hasn't balanced a budget yet. I expect to have the opportunity to do so myself.
[Schieffer:] All right.
[Romney:] I'm going to be able to balance the budget. Let's talk about military spending, and that's this.
[Schieffer:] Thirty seconds.
[Romney:] Our Navy is old excuse me, our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We're now at under 285. We're headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That's unacceptable to me. I want to make sure that we have the ships that are required by our Navy. Our Air Force is older and smaller than at any time since it was founded in 1947. We've changed for the first time since FDR since FDR we had the we've always had the strategy of saying we could fight in two conflicts at once. Now we're changing to one conflict. Look, this, in my view, is the highest responsibility of the President of the United States, which is to maintain the safety of the American people. And I will not cut our military budget by a trillion dollars, which is a combination of the budget cuts the president has, as well as the sequestration cuts. That, in my view, is making is making our future less certain and less secure.
[Obama:] Bob, I just need to comment on this. First of all, the sequester is not something that I've proposed. It is something that Congress has proposed. It will not happen. The budget that we are talking about is not reducing our military spending. It is maintaining it. But I think Governor Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting slips. It's what are our capabilities. And so when I sit down with the Secretary of the Navy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we determine how are we going to be best able to meet all of our defense needs in a way that also keeps faith with our troops, that also makes sure that our veterans have the kind of support that they need when they come home. And that is not reflected in the kind of budget that you're putting forward because it just doesn't work.
[Schieffer:] All right.
[Obama:] And, you know, we visited the website quite a bit and it still doesn't work.
[Schieffer:] A lot to cover. I'd like I'd like to move to the next segment: red lines, Israel and Iran. Would either of you and you'll have two minutes and, President Obama, you have the first go at this one would either of you be willing to declare that an attack on Israel is an attack on the United States, which, of course, is the same promise that we give to our close allies like Japan. And if you made such a declaration, would not that deter Iran? It's certainly deterred the Soviet Union for a long, long time when we made that we made we made that promise to our allies. Mr. President?
[Obama:] First of all, Israel is a true friend. It is our greatest ally in the region. And if Israel is attacked, America will stand with Israel. I've made that clear throughout my presidency. And...
[Schieffer:] So you're you're saying we've already made that declaration.
[Obama:] I will stand with Israel if they are attacked. And this is the reason why, working with Israel, we have created the strongest military and intelligence cooperation between our two countries in history. In fact, this week we'll be carrying out the largest military exercise with Israel in history, this very week. But to the issue of Iran, as long as I'm president of the United States Iran will not get a nuclear weapon. I made that clear when I came into office. We then organized the strongest coalition and the strongest sanctions against Iran in history, and it is crippling their economy. Their currency has dropped 80 percent. Their oil production has plunged to the lowest level since they were fighting a war with Iraq 20 years ago. So their economy is in a shambles. And the reason we did this is because a nuclear Iran is a threat to our national security, and it is a threat to Israel's national security. We cannot afford to have a nuclear arms race in the most volatile region of the world. Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. And for them to be able to provide nuclear technology to non-state actors, that's unacceptable. And they have said that they want to see Israel wiped off the map. So the work that we've done with respect to sanctions now offers Iran a choice. They can take the diplomatic route and end their nuclear program or they will have to face a united world and a United States president, me, who said we're not going to take any options off the table. The disagreement I have with Governor Romney is that, during the course of this campaign, he's often talked as if we should take premature military action. I think that would be a mistake, because when I've sent young men and women into harm's way, I always understand that that is the last resort, not the first resort.
[Schieffer:] Two minutes.
[Romney:] Well, first of all, I want to underscore the same point the president mad,e which is that if I'm President of the United States, when I'm President of the United States, we will stand with Israel. And if Israel is attacked, we have their back, not just diplomatically, not just culturally, but militarily. That's number one. Number two, with regards to Iran and the threat of Iran, there's no question but that a nuclear Iran, a nuclear-capable Iran is unacceptable to America. It presents a threat not only to our friends but ultimately a threat to us to have Iran have nuclear material, nuclear weapons that could be used against us or used to be threatening to us. It is also essential for us to understand what our mission is in Iran, and that is to dissuade Iran from having a nuclear weapon through peaceful and diplomatic means. And crippling sanctions are something I called for five years ago, when I was in Israel, speaking at the Herzliya Conference. I laid out seven steps, crippling sanctions were number one. And they do work. You're seeing it right now in the economy. It's absolutely the right thing to do, to have crippling sanctions. I would have put them in place earlier. But it's good that we have them. Number two, something I would add today is I would tighten those sanctions. I would say that ships that carry Iranian oil, can't come into our ports. I imagine the E.U. would agree with us as well. Not only ships couldn't, but I'd say companies that are moving their oil can't, people who are trading in their oil can't. I would tighten those sanctions further. Secondly, I'd take on diplomatic isolation efforts. I'd make sure that Ahmadinejad is indicted under the Genocide Convention. His words amount to genocide incitation. I would indict him for it. I would also make sure that their diplomats are treated like the pariah they are around the world. The same way we treated the apartheid diplomats of South Africa. We need to increase pressure time, and time again on Iran because anything other than a a a solution to this, which says which stops this this nuclear folly of theirs, is unacceptable to America. And of course, a military action is the last resort. It is something one would only only consider if all of the other avenues had been had been tried to their full extent.
[Schieffer:] Let me ask both of you, there as you know, there are reports that Iran and the United States a part of an international group, have agreed in principle to talks about Iran's nuclear program. What is the deal, if there are such talks? What is the deal that you would accept, Mr. President?
[Obama:] Well, first of all those are reports in the newspaper. They are not true. But our goal is to get Iran to recognize it needs to give up its nuclear program and abide by the U.N. resolutions that have been in place. Because they have the opportunity to reenter the community of nations, and we would welcome that. There there are people in Iran who have the same aspirations as people all around the world for a better life. And we hope that their leadership takes the right decision, but the deal we'll accept is they end their nuclear program. It's very straightforward. And I'm glad that Governor Romney agrees with the steps that we're taking. You know, there have been times, Governor, frankly, during the course of this campaign, where it sounded like you thought that you'd do the same things we did, but you'd say them louder and somehow that that would make a difference. And it turns out that the work involved in setting up these crippling sanctions is painstaking. It's meticulous. We started from the day we got into office. And the reason is was so important and this is a testament to how we've restored American credibility and strength around the world is we had to make sure that all the countries participated, even countries like Russia and China. Because if it's just us that are imposing sanctions we've had sanctions in place a long time. It's because we got everybody to agree that Iran is seeing so much pressure. And we've got to maintain that pressure. There is a deal to be had, and that is that they abide by the rules that have already been established. They convince the international community they are not pursuing a nuclear program. There are inspections that are very intrusive. But over time, what they can do is regain credibility. In the meantime, though, we're not going to let up the pressure until we have clear evidence that that takes place. And one last thing just just to make this point. The clock is ticking. We're not going to allow Iran to perpetually engage in negotiations that lead nowhere. And I've been very clear to them. You know, because of the intelligence coordination that we do with a range of countries, including Israel, we have a sense of when they would get breakout capacity, which means that we would not be able to intervene in time to stop their nuclear program. And that clock is ticking. And we're going to make sure that if they do not meet the demands of the international community, then we are going to take all options necessary to make sure they don't have a nuclear weapon.
[Schieffer:] Governor?
[Romney:] I think from the very beginning, one of the challenges we've had with Iran is that they have looked at this administration, and felt that the administration was not as strong as it needed to be. I think they saw weakness where they had expected to find American strength. And I say that because from the very beginning, the president in his campaign four years ago, said he would meet with all the world's worst actors in his first year, he'd sit down with Chavez and Kim Jong-il, with Castro and President Ahmadinejad of Iran. And I think they looked and thought, well, that's an unusual honor to receive from the President of the United States. And then the president began what I have called an apology tour, of going to various nations in the Middle East and criticizing America. I think they looked at that and saw weakness. Then when there were dissidents in the streets of Tehran, a Green Revolution, holding signs saying, is America with us, the president was silent. I think they noticed that as well. And I think that when the president said he was going to create daylight between ourselves and Israel, that they noticed that as well. All of these things suggested, I think, to the Iranian mullahs that, hey, you know, we can keep on pushing along here, we can keep talks going on, we're just going to keep on spinning centrifuges. Now there are some 10,000 centrifuges spinning uranium, preparing to create a nuclear threat to the United States and to the world. That's unacceptable for us, and it's essential for a president to show strength from the very beginning, to make it very clear what is acceptable and not acceptable. And an Iranian nuclear program is not acceptable to us. They must not develop nuclear capability. And the way to make sure they understand that is by having, from the very beginning, the tightest sanctions possible. They need to be tightened. Our diplomatic isolation needs to be tougher. We need to indict Ahmadinejad. We need to put the pressure on them as hard as we possibly can, because if we do that, we won't have to take the military action.
[Obama:] Bob, let me just respond. Nothing Governor Romney just said is true, starting with this notion of me apologizing. This has been probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. And every fact checker and every reporter who's looked at it, Governor, has said this is not true. And when it comes to tightening sanctions, look, as I said before, we've put in the toughest, most crippling sanctions ever. And the fact is, while we were coordinating an international coalition to make sure these sanctions were effective, you were still invested in a Chinese state oil company that was doing business with the Iranian oil sector. So I'll let the American people decide, judge, who's going to be more effective and more credible when it comes to imposing crippling sanctions. And with respect to our attitude about the Iranian revolution, I was very clear about the murderous activities that had taken place and that was contrary to international law and everything that civilized people stand for. And and so the strength that we have shown in Iran is shown by the fact that we've been able to mobilize the world. When I came into office, the world was divided. Iran was resurgent. Iran is at its weakest point, economically, strategically, militarily, then since then in many years. And we are going to continue to keep the pressure on to make sure that they do not get a nuclear weapon. That's in America's national interest and that will be the case so long as I'm president.
[Romney:] We're four years closer to a nuclear Iran. We're four years closer to a nuclear Iran. And and we should not have wasted these four years to the extent they they continue to be able to spin these centrifuges and get that much closer. That's number one. Number two, Mr. President, the reason I call it an apology tour is because you went to the Middle East and you flew to Egypt and to Saudi Arabia and to Turkey and Iraq. And by the way, you skipped Israel, our closest friend in the region, but you went to the other nations. And by the way, they noticed that you skipped Israel. And then in those nations, and on Arabic TV, you said that America had been dismissive and derisive. You said that on occasion America had dictated to other nations. Mr. President, America has not dictated to other nations. We have freed other nations from dictators.
[Obama:] Bob, let me let me respond. If we're going to talk about trips that we've taken when I was a candidate for office, first trip I took was to visit our troops. And when I went to Israel as a candidate, I didn't take donors. I didn't attend fundraisers. I went to Yad Beshef, the Holocaust museum there, to remind myself the nature of evil and why our bond with Israel will be unbreakable. And then I went down to the border towns of Storok, which had experienced missiles raining dowm from Hamas. And I saw families there who showed me there where missiles had come down near their children's bedrooms. And I was reminded of what that would mean if those were my kids. Which is why as president, we funded an Iron Dome program to stop those missiles. So that's how I've used my travels, when I travel to Israel and when I travel to the region. And the the central question at this point is going to be: Who is going to be credible to all parties involved? And they can look at my track record, whether it's Iran sanctions, whether it's dealing with counterterrorism, whether it's supporting democracy, whether it's supporting women's rights, whether it's supporting religious minorities. And they can say that the President of the United States and the United States of America has stood on the right side of history. And that kind of credibility is precisely why we've been able to show leadership on a wide range of issues facing the world right now.
[Schieffer:] What if what if the prime minister of Israel called you on the phone and said, "Our bombers are on the way. We're going to bomb Iran." What do you
[Romney:] Bob, let's not go into hypotheticals of that nature. Our relationship with Israel, my relationship with the prime minister of Israel is such that we would not get a call saying our bombers are on the way, or their fighters are on the way. This is the kind of thing that would have been discussed and thoroughly evaluated well before that kind of
[Schieffer:] So you'd say it just wouldn't happen? That's OK. Let's see what
[Romney:] But let me let me come back we can come back. Let's come back to what the president was speaking about, which is what's happening in the world and the president's statement that things are going so well. Look, I look at what's happening around the world, and i see Iran four years closer to a bomb. I see the Middle East with a rising tide of violence, chaos, tumult. I see jihadists continuing to spread, whether they're rising or just about the same level, hard to precisely measure, but it's clear they're there. They're very strong. I see Syria with 30,000 civilians dead, Assad still in power. I see our trade deficit with China, larger than it's growing larger every year, as a matter of fact. I look around the world and I don't feel that you see North Korea, continuing to export their nuclear technology, Russia said they're not going to follow Nunn-Lugar any more. They're back away from a nuclear proliferation treaty that we had with them. I look around the world, I don't see our influence growing around the world. I see our influence receding, in part because of the failure of the president to deal with our economic challenges at home; in part because of our withdrawal from our commitment to our military in the way I think it ought to be; in part because of the the the turmoil with Israel. I mean, the president received a letter from 38 Democrat senators saying the tensions with Israel were a real problem. They asked him, please repair the tension Democrat senators please repair the tension...
[Schieffer:] All right.
[Romney:] ... the damage in his in his own party.
[Obama:] Governor, the problem is, is that on a whole range of issues, whether it's the Middle East, whether it's Afghanistan, whether it's Iraq, whether it's now Iran, you've been all over the map. I mean, I'm I'm pleased that you now are endorsing our policy of applying diplomatic pressure and potentially having bilateral discussions with the Iranians to end their nuclear program. But just a few years ago you said that's something you'd never do. In the same way that you initially opposed a timetable in Afghanistan, now you're for it, although it depends. In the same way that you say you would have ended the war in Iraq, but recently gave a speech saying that we should have 20,000 more folks in there. The same way that you said that it was mission creep to go after Gadhafi. When it comes to going after Osama bin Laden, you said, well, any president would make that call. But when you were a candidate in 2008, as I was, and I said if I got bin Laden in our sights I would take that shot, you said we shouldn't move heaven and earth to get one man. And you said we should ask Pakistan for permission. And if we had asked Pakistan permission, we would not have gotten him. And it was worth moving heaven and earth to get him. You know, after we killed bin Laden I was at ground zero for a memorial and talked to a young women who was four years old when 911 happened. And the last conversation she had with her father was him calling from the twin towers, saying "Peyton, I love you and I will always watch over you." And for the next decade, she was haunted by that conversation. And she said to me, "You know, by finally getting bin Laden, that brought some closure to me." And when we do things like that when we bring those who have harmed us to justice, that sends a message to the world and it tells Peyton that we did not forget her father. And I make that point because that's the kind of clarity of leadership, and those decisions are not always popular. Those decisions generally generally are not poll-tested. And even some in my own party, including my current vice president, had the same critique as you did. But what the American people understand is that I look at what we need to get done to keep the American people safe and to move our interests forward, and I make those decisions.
[Schieffer:] All right, let's go. And that leads us this takes us right to the next segment, Governor, America's longest war, Afghanistan and Pakistan...
[Romney:] Bob...
[Schieffer:] Governor, you get to go first.
[Romney:] You can't but you can't have the president just lay out a whole series of items without giving me a chance to respond.
[Schieffer:] With respect, sir, you had laid out quite a program...
[Romney:] Well, that's probably true.
[Schieffer:] We'll give you we'll catch up. The United States is scheduled to turn over responsibility for security in Afghanistan to the Afghan government in 2014. At that point, we will withdraw our combat troops, leave a smaller force of Americans, if I understand our policy, in Afghanistan for training purposes. It seems to me the key question here is: What do you do if the deadline arrives and it is obvious the Afghans are unable to handle their security? Do we still leave? And I believe, Governor Romney, you go first?
[Romney:] Well, we're going to be finished by 2014, and when I'm president, we'll make sure we bring our troops out by the end of 2014. The commanders and the generals there are on track to do so. We've seen progress over the past several years. The surge has been successful and the training program is proceeding apace. There are now a large number of Afghan Security Forces, 350,000 that are ready to step in to provide security and we're going to be able to make that transition by the end of 2014. So our troops will come home at that point. I can tell you at the same time, that we will make sure that we look at what's happening in Pakistan, and recognize that what's happening in Pakistan is going to have a major impact on the success in Afghanistan. And I say that because I know a lot of people that feel like we should just brush our hands and walk away. And I don't mean you, Mr. President, but some people in the in our nation feel that Pakistan is being nice to us, and that we should walk away fro mthem. But Pakistan is important to the region, to the world and to us, because Pakistan has 100 nuclear warheads and they're rushing to build a lot more. They'll have more than Great Britain sometime in the in the relatively near future. They also have the Haqqani Network and the Taliban existent within their country. And so a Pakistan that falls apart, becomes a failed state, would be of extraordinary danger to Afghanistan and to us. And so we're going to have to remain helpful in encouraging Pakistan to move towards a more stable government and rebuild the relationship with us. And that means that our aid that we provide to Pakistan is going to have to be conditioned upon certain benchmarks being met. So for me, I look at this as both a need to help move Pakistan in the right direction, and also to get Afghanistan to be ready, and they will be ready by the end of 2014.
[Schieffer:] Mr. President?
[Obama:] When I came into office, we were still bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan had been drifting for a decade. We ended the war in Iraq, refocused our attention on Afghanistan, and we did deliver a surge of troops. That was facilitated in part because we had ended the war in Iraq. And we are now in a position where we have met many of the objectives that got us there in the first place. Part of what had happened is we'd forgotten why we had gone. We went because there were people who were responsible for 3,000 American deaths. And so we decimated Al Qaida's core leadership in the border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We then started to build up Afghan forces. And we're now in a position where we can transition out, because there's no reason why Americans should die when Afghans are perfectly capable of defending their own country. Now, that transition has to take place in a responsible fashion. We've been there a long time, and we've got to make sure that we and our coalition partners are pulling out responsibly and giving Afghans the capabilities that they need. But what I think the American people recognize is after a decade of war it's time to do some nation building here at home. And what we can now do is free up some resources, to, for example, put Americans back to work, especially our veterans, rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our schools, making sure that, you know, our veterans are getting the care that they need when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, making sure that the certifications that they need for good jobs of the future are in place. You know, I was having lunch with some a veteran in Minnesota who had been a medic dealing with the most extreme circumstances. When he came home and he wanted to become a nurse, he had to start from scratch. And what we've said is let's change those certifications. The first lady has done great work with an organization called Joining Forces putting our veterans back to work. And as a consequence, veterans' unemployment is actually now lower than general population. It was higher when I came into office. So those are the kinds of things that we can now do because we're making that transition in Afghanistan.
[Schieffer:] All right. Let me go to Governor Romney because you talked about Pakistan and what needs to be done there. General Allen, our commander in Afghanistan, says that Americans continue to die at the hands of groups who are supported by Pakistan. We know that Pakistan has arrested the doctor who helped us catch Obama [sic] bin Laden. It still provides safe haven for terrorists, yet we continue to give Pakistan billions of dollars. Is it time for us to divorce Pakistan?
[Romney:] No, it's not time to divorce a nation on Earth that has 100 nuclear weapons and is on the way to double that at some point, a nation that has serious threats from terrorist groups within its nation, as I indicated before, the Taliban, Haqqani Network. It's a nation that's not like like others and it does not have a civilian leadership that is calling the shots there. You have the ISI, their intelligence organization, is probably the most powerful of the of three branches there. Then you have the military and then you have the civilian government. This is a nation, which, if it falls apart, if it if it becomes a failed state, there are nuclear weapons there and you've got you've got terrorists there who could grab their their hands onto those nuclear weapons. This is this is an important part of the world for us. Pakistan is is technically an ally, and they're not acting very much like an ally right now. But we have some work to do. And I I don't blame the administration for the fact that the relationship with Pakistan is strained. We we had to go into Pakistan. We had to go in there to get Osama bin Laden. That was the right thing to do. And and that upset them, but obviously there was a great deal of anger even before that. But we're going to have to work with the with the people in Pakistan to try and help them move to a more responsible course than the one that they're on. And it's important for them. It's important for the nuclear weapons. It's important for the success of Afghanistan. Because inside Pakistan, you have a a large group of Pashtun that are that are Taliban. They're going to come rushing back in to Afghanistan when we go. And that's one of the reasons the Afghan Security Forces have so much work to do to be able to fight against that. But it's important for us to recognize that we can't just walk away from Pakistan. But we do need to make sure that as we as we send support for them, that this is tied to them making progress on on matters that would lead them to becoming a civil society.
[Schieffer:] Let let me ask you, Governor because we know President Obama's position on this, what is what is your position on the use of drones?
[Romney:] Well I believe we should use any and all means necessary to take out people who pose a threat to us and our friends around the world. And it's widely reported that drones are being used in drone strikes, and I support that and entirely, and feel the president was right to up the usage of that technology, and believe that we should continue to use it, to continue to go after the people that represent a threat to this nation and to our friends. But let me also note that as I said earlier, we're going to have to do more than just going after leaders and and killing bad guys, important as that is. We're also going to have to have a farm more effective and comprehensive strategy to help move the world away from terror and Islamic extremism. We haven't done that yet. We talk a lot about these things, but you look at the the record, you look at the record. You look at the record of the last four years and say is Iran closer to a bomb? Yes. Is the Middle East in tumult? Yes. Is is al-Qaida on the run, on its heels? No. Is are Israel and the Palestinians closer to reaching a peace agreement? No, they haven't had talks in two years. We have not seen the progress we need to have, and I'm convinced that with strong leadership and an effort to build a strategy based upon helping these nations reject extremism, we can see the kind of peace and prosperity the world demands.
[Obama:] Well, keep in mind our strategy wasn't just going after bin Laden. We created partnerships throughout the region to deal with extremism in Somalia, in Yemen, in Pakistan. And what we've also done is engaged these governments in the kind of reforms that are actually going to make a difference in people's lives day to day, to make sure that their governments aren't corrupt, to make sure that they're treating women with the kind of respect and dignity that every nation that succeeds has shown and to make sure that they've got a free market system that works. So across the board, we are engaging them in building capacity in these countries. And we have stood on the side of democracy. One thing I think Americans should be proud of, when Tunisians began to protest, this nation me, my administration stood with them earlier than just about any country. In Egypt we stood on the side of democracy. In Libya we stood on the side of the people. And as a consequence, there's no doubt that attitudes about Americans have changed. But there are always going to be elements in these countries that potentially threaten the United States. And we want to shrink those groups and those networks and we can do that. But we're always also going to have to maintain vigilance when it comes to terrorist activities. The truth, though, is that Al Qaeda is much weaker than it was when I came into office. And they don't have the same capacities to attack the U.S. homeland and our allies as they did four years ago.
[Schieffer:] Let's let's go to the next segment, because it's a very important one. It is the rise of China and future challenges for America. I want to just begin this by asking both of you, and Mr. President, you you go first this time. What do you believe is the greatest future threat to the national security of this country?
[Obama:] Well, I think it will continue to be terrorist networks. We have to remain vigilant, as I just said. But with respect to China, China is both an adversary, but also a potential partner in the international community if it's following the rules. So my attitude coming into office was that we are going to insist that China plays by the same rules as everybody else. I know Americans had seen jobs being shipped overseas; businesses and workers not getting a level playing field when it came to trade. And that's the reason why I set up a trade task force to go after cheaters when it came to international trade. That's the reason why we have brought more cases against China for violating trade rules than the other the previous administration had done in two terms. And we've won just about every case that we've filed, that has been decided. In fact, just recently steelworkers in Ohio and throughout the Midwest Pennsylvania are in a position now to sell steel to China because we won that case. We had a tire case in which they were flooding us with cheap domestic tires or or cheap Chinese tires. And we put a stop to it and as a consequence saved jobs throughout America. I have to say that Governor Romney criticized me for being too tough in that tire case; said this wouldn't be good for American workers and that it would be protectionist. But I tell you, those workers don't feel that way. They feel as if they had finally an administration who was going to take this issue seriously. Over the long term, in order for us to compete with China, we've also got to make sure, though, that we're taking taking care of business here at home. If we don't have the best education system in the world, if we don't continue to put money into research and technology that will allow us to create great businesses here in the United States, that's how we lose the competition. And, unfortunately, Governor Romney's budget and his proposals would not allow us to make those investments.
[Schieffer:] All right. Governor?
[Romney:] Well, first of all, it's not government that makes business successful. It's not government investments that makes businesses grow and hire people. Let me also note that the greatest threat that the world faces, the greatest national security threat is a nuclear Iran. Let's talk about China. China has an interest that's very much like ours in one respect, and that is they want a stable world. They don't want war. They don't want to see protectionism. They don't want to see the world break out into into various forms of chaos, because they have to they have to manufacture goods and put people to work and they have about 20,000 20 million, rather, people coming out of the farms every year coming into the cities, needing jobs. So they want the economy to work and the world to be free and open. And so we can be a partner with China. We don't have to be an adversary in any way, shape or form. We can work with them, we can collaborate with them, if they're willing to be responsible. Now, they look at us and say, Is it a good idea to be with America? How strong are we going to be? How strong is our economy? They look at the fact that we owe 'em a trillion dollars and owe other people $16 trillion in total, including that. They look at our our decision to to cut back on our military capabilities. A trillion dollars. The secretary of defense called these trillion dollars of cuts to our military devastating. It's not my term, it's the president's own secretary of defense called these trillion dollars of cuts to our military devastating. It's not my term, it's the president's own Secretary of Defense, called them devastating. They look at America's commitments around the world and they see what's happening, and they say, well, OK. Is America going to be strong? And the answer is, yes, if I'm president, America will be very strong. We'll also make sure that we have trade relations with China that work for us. I've watched year in and year out as companies have shut down and people have lost their jobs because China has not played by the same rules, in part by holding down artificially the value of their currency. It holds down the prices of their goods. It means our goods aren't as competitive and we lose jobs. That's got to end. They're making some progress; they need to make more. That's why on day one, i will label them a currency manipulator, which allows us to apply tariffs where they're taking jobs. They're stealing our intellectual property, our patents, our designs, our technology, hacking into our computers, counterfeiting our goods. They have to understand we want to trade with them. We want a world that's stable. We like free enterprise, but you got to play by the rules.
[Schieffer:] Well, Governor, let me just ask you. If you declare them a currency manipulator on day one, some people are say you're just going to start a trade war with China on day one. Is that isn't there a risk that that could happen?
[Romney:] Well, they sell us about this much stuff every year, and we sell them about this much stuff every year. So it's pretty clear who doesn't want a trade war. And there's one going on right now, which we don't know about it. It's a silent one. And they're winning. We have enormous trade imbalance with China, and it's worse this year than last year, and it's worse last year than the year before. And so we have to understand that we can't just surrender and lose jobs year in and year out. We have to say to our friend in China, look, you guys are playing aggressively. We understand it. But this can't keep on going. You can't keep on holding down the value of your currency, stealing our intellectual property, counterfeiting our products, selling them around the world, even to the United States. I was with one company that makes valves and and process industries and they said, look, we were we were having some valves coming in that that were broken and we had to repair them under warranty and we looked them and and they had our serial number on them. And then we noticed that there was more than one with that same serial number. They were counterfeit products being made overseas with the same serial number as a U.S. company, the same packaging, these were being sold into our market and around the world as if they were made by the U.S. competitor. This can't go on. I want a great relationship with China. China can be our partner, but but that doesn't mean they can just roll all over us and steal our jobs on an unfair basis.
[Obama:] Well, Governor Romney's right, you are familiar with jobs being shipped overseas because you invested in companies that were shipping jobs overseas. And, you know, that's you're right. I mean that's how our free market works. But I've made a different bet on American workers. If we had taken your advice Governor Romney about our auto industry, we'd be buying cars from China instead of selling cars to China. If we take your advice with respect to how we change our tax codes so that companies that earn profits overseas don't pay U.S. taxes compared to companies here that are paying taxes. Now that's estimated to create 800,000 jobs, the problem is they won't be here, they'll be in places like China. And if we're not making investments in education and basic research, which is not something that the private sector is doing at a sufficient pace right now and has never done, then we will lose the [inaudible] in things like clean energy technology. Now with respect to what we've done with China already, U.S. exports have doubled since I came into office, to China and actually currencies are at their most advantageous point for U.S. exporters since 1993. We absolutely have to make more progress and that's why we're going to keep on pressing. And when it comes to our military and Chinese security, part of the reason that we were able to pivot to the Asia-Pacific region after having ended the war in Iraq and transitioning out of Afghanistan, is precisely because this is going to be a massive growth area in the future. And we believe China can be a partner, but we're also sending a very clear signal that America is a Pacific power; that we are going to have a presence there. We are working with countries in the region to make sure, for example, that ships can pass through; that commerce continues. And we're organizing trade relations with countries other than China so that China starts feeling more pressure about meeting basic international standards. That's the kind of leadership we've shown in the region. That's the kind of leadership that we'll continue to show.
[Romney:] I just want to take one of those points, again, attacking me as not talking about an agenda for for getting more trade and opening up more jobs in this country. But the president mentioned the auto industry and that somehow I would be in favor of jobs being elsewhere. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm a son of Detroit. I was born in Detroit. My dad was head of a car company. I like American cars. And I would do nothing to hurt the U.S. auto industry. My plan to get the industry on its feet when it was in real trouble was not to start writing checks. It was President Bush that wrote the first checks. I disagree with that. I said they need these companies need to go through a managed bankruptcy. And in that process, they can get government help and government guarantees, but they need to go through bankruptcy to get rid of excess cost and the debt burden that they'd they'd built up. And fortunately...
[Obama:] Governor Romney, that's not what you said... Governor Romney, you did not...
[Romney:] You can take a look at the op-ed...
[Obama:] You did not say that you would provide government help.
[Romney:] I said that we would provide guarantees, and and that was what was able to allow these companies to go through bankruptcy, to come out of bankruptcy. Under no circumstances would I do anything other than to help this industry get on its feet. And the idea that has been suggested that I would liquidate the industry, of course not. Of course not.
[Obama:] Let's check the record.
[Romney:] That's the height of silliness...
[Obama:] Let let let's...
[Romney:] I have never said I would liquidate...
[Obam:] ...at the record.
[Romney:] ...I would liquidate the industry.
[Obama:] Governor, the people in Detroit don't forget.
[Romney:] ...and and that's why I have the kind of commitment to ensure that our industries in this country can compete and be successful. We in this country can can compete successfully with anyone in the world, and we're going to. We're going to have to have a president, however, that doesn't think that somehow the government investing in in car companies like Tesla and and Fisker, making electric battery cars. This is not research, Mr President, these are the government investing in companies. Investing in Solyndra. This is a company, this isn't basic research. I I want to invest in research. Research is great. Providing funding to universities and think tanks is great. But investing in companies? Absolutely not.
[Obama:] Governor?
[Romney:] That's the wrong way to go.
[Obama:] The fact of the matter is...
[Romney:] I'm still speaking. So I want to make sure that we make we make America more competitive.
[Obama:] Yeah.
[Romney:] And that we do those things that make America the most attractive place in the world for entrepreneurs, innovators, businesses to grow. But you're investing in companies doesn't do that. In fact it makes it less likely for them to come here...
[Obama:] Governor?
[Romney:] ...because the private sector's not going to invest in a...
[Obama:] I'm I'm I'm happy.
[Romney:] ...company...
[Obama:] ...to respond to you...
[Romney:] ...if if you're...
[Obama:] ...you've had the floor for a while.
[Romney:] ...get someone else's.
[Obama:] The look, I think anybody out there can check the record. Governor Romney, you keep on trying to, you know airbrush history here. You were very clear that you would not provide, government assistance to the U.S. auto companies, even if they went through bankruptcy. You said that they could get it in the private marketplace. That wasn't true. They would have gone through a...
[Romney:] You're wrong...
[Obama:] ...they would have gone through a...
[Romney:] ...you're wrong.
[Obama:] No, I am not wrong. I am not wrong.
[Romney:] People can look it up, you're right.
[Obama:] People will look it up.
[Romney:] Good.
[Obama:] But more importantly it is true that in order for us to be competitive, we're going to have to make some smart choices right now. Cutting our education budget, that's not a smart choice. That will not help us compete with China. Cutting our investments in research and technology, that's not a smart choice. That will not help us compete with China. Bringing down our deficit by adding $7 trillion of tax cuts and military spending that our military is not asking for, before we even get to the debt that we currently have, that is not going to make us more competitive. Those are the kinds of choices that the American people face right now. Having a tax code that rewards companies that are shipping jobs overseas instead of companies that are investing here in the United States, that will not make us more competitive. And the one thing that I'm absolutely clear about is that after a decade in which we saw drift, jobs being shipped overseas, nobody championing American workers and American businesses, we've now begun to make some real progress. What we can't do is go back to the same policies that got us into such difficulty in the first place. That's why we have to move forward and not go back.
[Romney:] I couldn't agree more about going forward, but I certainly don't want to go back to the policies of the last four years. The policies of the last four years have seen incomes in America decline every year for middle income families, now down $4,300 during your term. Twenty-three million Americans still struggling to find a good job. When you came to office 32 million people on food stamps. Today, 47 million people on food stamps. When you came to office, just over $10 trillion in debt, now $16 trillion in debt. It hasn't worked. You said by now we'd be at 5.4 percent unemployment. We're 9 million jobs short of that. I've met some of those people. I've met them in Appleton, Wisconsin. I met a young woman in in Philadelphia who's coming out of out of college, can't find work. I've been Ann was with someone just the other day that was just weeping about not being able to get work. It's just a tragedy in a nation so prosperous as ours, that the last four years have been so hard. And that's why it's so critical, that we make America once again the most attractive place in the world to start businesses, to build jobs, to grow the economy. And that's not going to happen by just hiring teachers. Look, I love to I love teachers, and I'm happy to have states and communities that want to hire teachers do that. By the way, I don't like to have the federal government start pushing its weight deeper and deeper into our schools. Let the states and localities do that. I was a governor. The federal government didn't hire our teachers.
[Unidentified Male:] Governor?
[Romney:] But I love teachers. But I want to get our private sector growing and I know how to do it.
[Schieffer:] I think we all love teachers. Gentlemen, thank you so much for a very vigorous debate. We have come to the end. It is time for closing statements, I believe you're first, Mr. President.
[Obama:] Well, thank you very much, Bob, Governor Romney, and to Lynn University. You've now heard three debates, months of campaigning and way too many TV commercials. And now you've got a choice. Over the last four years we've made real progress digging our way out of policies that gave us two prolonged wars, record deficits and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. And Governor Romney wants to take us back to those policies, a foreign policy that's wrong and reckless, economic policies that won't create jobs, won't reduce our deficit, but will make sure that folks at the very top don't have to play by the same rules that you do. And I've got a different vision for America. I want to build on our strengths. And I've put forward a plan to make sure that we're bringing manufacturing jobs back to our shores by rewarding companies and small businesses that are investing here, not overseas. I want to make sure we've got the best education system in the world. And we're retaining our workers for the jobs of tomorrow. I want to control our own energy by developing oil and natural gas but also the energy sources of the future. Yes, I want to reduce our deficit by cutting spending that we don't need but also by asking the wealthy to do a little bit more so that we can invest in things like research and technology that are the key to a 21st century economy. As Commander in Chief, I will maintain the strongest military in the world, keep faith with our troops and go after those who would do us harm. but after a decade of war, I think we all recognize we've got to do some nation building here at home, rebuilding our roads, our bridges and especially caring for our Veterans who sacrificed so much for our freedom. And we've been through tough times but we always bounce back because of our character, because we pull together and if I have the privilege of being your president for another four years, I promise you I will always listen to your voices. I will fight for your families and I will work every single day to make sure that America continues to be the greatest nation on earth. Thank you.
[Schieffer:] Governor?
[Romney:] Thank you. Bob, Mr. President, folks at Lynn University, good to be with you. I'm optimistic about the future. I'm excited about our prospects as a nation. I want to see peace. I want to see growing peace in this country. It's our objective. We have an opportunity to have real leadership. America's going to have that kind of leadership and continue to promote principles of peace to make a world a safer place and make people in this country more confident that their future is secure. I also want to make sure that we get this economy going. And there are two very different paths the country can take. One is a path represented by the president, which at the end of four years would mean we'd have $20 trillion in debt heading towards Greece. I'll get us on track to a balanced budget. The president's path will mean continuing declining in take-home pay. I want to make sure our take-home pay turns around and starts to grow. The president's path will mean continuing declining in take-home pay. I want to make sure take-home pay turns around and starts to grow. The president's path means 20 million people out of work struggling for a good job. I'll get people back to work with 12 million new jobs. I'm going to make sure that we get people off of food stamps, not by cutting the program, but by getting them good jobs. America's going to come back, and for that to happen, we're going to have to have a president who can work across the aisle. I was in a state where my legislature was 87 percent Democrat. I learned how to get along on the other side of the aisle. We've got to do that in Washington. Washington is broken. I know what it takes to get this country back, and will work with good Democrats and good Republicans to do that. This nation is the hope of the earth. We've been blessed by having a nation that's free and prosperous thanks to the contributions of the greatest generation. They've held a torch for the world to see the torch of freedom and hope and opportunity. Now, it's our turn to take that torch. I'm convinced we'll do it. We need strong leadership. I'd like to be that leader with your support. I'll work with you. I'll lead you in an open and honest way, and I ask for your vote. I'd like to be the next president of the United States to support and help this great nation and to make sure that we all together remain America as the hope of the earth. Thank you so much.
[Schieffer:] Gentlemen, thank you both so much. That brings an end to this year's debates and we want to thank Lynn University and its students for having us. As I always do at the end of these debates, I leave you with the words of my mom, who said: "Go vote; it'll make you feel big and strong." Good night.

[Pat Cash, Former Tennis Champion:] It's a gold medal edition of Open Court. The biggest names in tennis are back in London to retune their grass court game in time for the Olympics. The all-England club of Wimbledon hosts the tennis event this year, with Roger, Raffa and Serena hoping to add more medals to their Olympic legacy. Coming up on the show, a CNN Exclusive. Andre Agassi and Stephie Graf. The golden couple of tennis tells Open Court what its like to win gold.
[Stephie Graf, Former Tennis Champion:] To me this was bigger than a Grand Slam.
[Andre Agassi, Former Tennis Champion:] It is an out of body experience, it is surreal.
[Cash:] Plus, reining Olympic doubles gold medallist Stan Wawrinka knows how to pick a partner. And we travel to Tunisia to bring you a story of Malek Jazeri who is carrying the hopes of Africa and the Arab World to the Olympic tennis tournament.
[Malek Jazeri, Olympic Tennis Pro:] It is a dream for everyone, so I will be part of the dream.
[Cash:] Tennis and the Olympics have had a hot and cold relationship over the years. It was an event in the first modern Olympics in Athens. But a dispute over amateur status meant that it was excluded for over six decades. Well, the big come back came in Seoul in '88, the same year that Stephie Graf won all four Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold medal. Well, as we know she married the legendary Andre Agassi and they now call Las Vegas home. Patrick got a chance to catch up with the couple in this Open Court exclusive.
[Patrick Snell, World Sports Anchor:] She was known as Fraulein Forehand for her trademark shot. Stephie Graf won twenty two Grand Slams singles titles, second on the all time list. He brought flair, flash and style to the men's game. Andre Agassi won every Slam there was to win. And in 1988 she was grand, winning all four Slams and an Olympic gold medal in Seoul. He followed suit in 1996, winning an Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. I caught up with the pair inside the gym where Agassi trained for that gold. Both of you are so decorated in your field of expertise. Thirty Slam titles between you. How does that stack up against all of those Slam titles?
[Graff:] To me that was bigger than a Grand Slam, this was more special, you know, standing on the podium and listening to the National Anthem, having the medal around your neck, having other athletes there to support you, it is a different feeling, it is very unique and definitely more special.
[Agassi:] I think it puts your life and your hard work and your profession, it puts everything into perspective. When you are stuck in the context of all these amazing athletes who dedicate their lives for this sort of, one moment.
[Graf:] I have a lot of great memories, starting with, I left Frankfurt on that flight with a lot of athletes, and I grew up admiring track and field, that was one of the sports we watched a lot of on television, and I loved track and field myself. There were a lot of track and field athletes on board and it was just, for me, just being part of the Olympics. I stayed in the village for quite a few days but it got too loud and noisy and then I had to move back to the hotel, and just experiencing being among everybody and I was out with some of the boxing I went to see some of the track and field, the swimming competitions, I really was trying to take it all in, but also tried to play and be able to get through the first few rounds and playing for the gold medal, it was extraordinary.
[Agassi:] I remember how much I was so thankful for the preparation I put in, and I remember being on that podium, I remember feeling seeing so many times over the years what someone might be feeling when that gold medal is around their neck and tears came to my eyes. My father in the crowd was an Olympic boxer so I was enjoying it on a lot of levels.
[Snell:] You mentioned your father and his past Olympic experiences, how special was that to actually have him there on that occasion?
[Agassi:] It was a real big deal for me, it was a big deal because tennis is a sport that is so lonely and to be able to play it for someone else, for something else, for something bigger than you, yet still connected to you, it is a great sense of fulfillment. It was an out of body experience. When I was a boy, tennis was not in the Olympics, but it was one of the many things that my father had predicted in my life, that tennis should be in the Olympics, will be in the Olympics and you are going to win a gold medal. So being on that podium was a boyhood dream in many respects.
[Snell:] And nothing like a bit of pressure from Dad to spur you on.
[Agassi:] Well, I guess fear could be a great motivator.
[Snell:] This is my first trip to Las Vegas and I like what I see, but you are born and raised here, your kids are growing up here, how special a place is this?
[Agassi:] Well if you like what you see just arriving, stick around. I love living here. First of all, where you live pails in comparison to who you live with.
[Graf:] Yes, having my mom here and my brother and his kids, having my family and Andre's family around us, on the weekends, even last night, having a barbecue, and having all the kids together, all the cousins together, it is just very comforting and something that we share of importance, a close family.
[Snell:] I noticed something Andre, around your neck, Daddy Rocks! I can guess where that may have come from, talk about that.
[Agassi:] My son made it for me when he was four and a half years old and the only help he asked for was to help him spell it at the time because he wanted to do a necklace and he had all the beads there, and I said what are you going to write? And he said, Daddy Rocks. So I spelled it for him, he put it on and I haven't taken it off in about six years.
[Graf:] And you can barely read the letters.
[Snell:] Is mom getting an equivalent? Tell us a little bit about your kids. How are they?
[Agassi:] Unbelievable. Healthy, strong.
[Graf:] A lot of different interests.
[Agassi:] Yeah.
[Graf:] Very active, they keep us on our toes.
[Agassi:] Ten and eight years old. We are officially professional chauffeurs, we are professional cooks, we are professional babysitters,
[Graf:] The best job in the world.
[Agassi:] Yeah.
[Snell:] Do they ever pick up a racquet?
[Agassi:] A couple times a week.
[Graf:] Jazz will play a little bit, and Jayden is very focused on his baseball. When we go over to grandpa's he will get on the court and play a little bit, he has a lot of talent, but baseball is his sport and Jazz will play a little bit, she is the one that will try everything, a little tennis a little hip hop, a little horseback riding, piano, she hasn't made up her mind which direction she is going.
[Snell:] Just before we go, a bit of trivia for you. I have been doing my homework. I spent hours researching who you beat on route to the '96 Olympic gold, I am not going to ask you specifically to name names, but let me just throw a few at you.
[Agassi:] 7-6, 7-6.
[Snell:] Cadenzi?
[Agassi:] Cadenzi I was down a set at the break and I beat him 6-3 in the third. Quarter finals went forever, he served for the match, 5-4 in the third and I ended up beating him 7-5 in the third. Leander Paes, who I beat in two rough sets, 7-6, 6-4, and then Sergi Bruguera-
[Graf:] You should have just called him, why did you need to do all that research?
[Snell:] I shouldn't have spent all that time doing my research, it is right here.
[Graf:] I cant tell you the results, I can tell you the names.
[Agassi:] She can tell you who won. SNELL; Let me at least have my moment. Leyla Misckey from the Republic and then-
[Graf:] Catherine then Lindsay Savchenko, that was a tough one and then I think it was Zina Garrison and then Gabby Sabatini in the final.
[Snell:] Yes. It has been a real pleasure. Thank you very much.
[Cash:] Still to come on Open Court, Chile has competed in the Olympics since 1896, winning a total of thirteen medals. Almost a quarter of them belong to one man, Fernando Gonzalez. I meet him, after the break. One of Chile's best known sportsman, a legend in Latin America. Fernando Gonzalez has won three Olympic tennis medals, a box set of gold, silver and bronze. In Beijing he shared the podium with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In Athens he won the doubles gold with Countryman Nicolas Massu. I got a chance to catch up with him during a short stop in London. You are very special, we have three cameras. For Pete Sampras we only had two.
[Fernando Gonzalez, Tennis Pro:] I wish to the play the Olympics because in Sydney I couldn't qualify, and then I was very excited to go to Athens and I knew Chile never got so many medals in the history. There is only thirteen in the history and I was very proud of myself.
[Cash:] What was it like going home, having those gold medals? Did you have a party?
[Gonzalez:] Yeah, all the people was on the streets palace and we had breakfast with him and we went on the balcony, a very popular balcony that only a few people went out there and there was a lot of people, a few thousand people. The square was full of people and it was very exciting. I never dreamed that tennis can get the chance to have that experience.
[Cash:] Tell me about this magnificent forehand, how did you develop it?
[Gonzalez:] I grew up on a clay court, I lived right across the street from the tennis club and I was playing against older people, when someone doesn't have somebody to play, they go and knock on the door of my house and I go out and sometimes I didn't want to play, but it was an embarrassment for me to say I don't want to play tennis, so I go anyway. So I hit every single time as hard as I can.
[Cash:] Powered by his trademark forehand, Gonzalez reached number five in the world. He faced Roger Federer in the 2007 Australian Open final. He came up short, but played some of the best tennis of his life. Earlier this year Gonzalez retired from professional tennis to return to Santiago. He is hopeful; that his Olympic success will inspire young Chileans to play tennis. Where are the medals now?
[Gonzalez:] In my house, in a closet.
[Cash:] You know where they are though?
[Gonzalez:] I know exactly, some people go to my house and say, hey show me them. They don't care about the rest, they care about the medals.
[Cash:] One of the players I have long admired is Stan Wawrinka is a great all-around player, one of the best back hands on tour. Stan has also got good taste in doubles partners. He teamed up with his fellow countryman Roger Federer to win a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. And as Stan told me, that was the highlight of his career so far.
[Alex Thomas, Reporter:] There are only a few Olympic gold medallists making their way to London to defend their titles. Stan Wawrinka is one of them. In 2008 he partnered with Roger Federer and won the doubles gold for Switzerland.
[Stan Wawrinka, Tennis Pro:] That was the best moment of my career for sure.
[Thomas:] We all know the Swiss number one, but who is the Swiss number two? Wawrinka started his playing career here and still remembers the first time he practiced with Federer.
[Wawrinka:] I remember I was sixteen and he was practicing for the, he was already I think, sixth in the world and after ten minutes I was completely wrecked, completely dead tired because I was so nervous to play with him.
[Thomas:] The pair became good friends and started playing Davis Cup for Switzerland. IN 2008, the call came in. Federer had chosen Wawrinka to be his Olympic doubles partner.
[Wawrinka:] That day he lost to Blake and he was not in a good mood, it was not easy for him and inside I was like I need to show him that he can trust me and we were playing good he was happy and inside it was like Okay, let's get something going now. At that moment we were both almost crying, so we to make fun joke and then again we were laughing and just enjoying the moment. We have the medal together and for life.
[Thomas:] Now, let's see how our own Pat Cash matches up with an Olympic gold medallist.
[Cash:] You don't see too many beautiful single handed backhands. Oh yey, that is nasty. Stan is known for his big backhand but the rest of his game is incredibly solid. He has got a very big serve, watch him boom these ones down the middle. Great serve. I am giving up rallying with this guy. I am going to serve volley him, it's my only chance. He is in trouble now. I give up, thanks mate and good luck at the Olympics.
[Wawrinka:] Thanks. I will try.
[Cash:] we have heard from previous Olympic winners just what the Olympics means to them. But what about somebody competing for the first time? Well, Tunisia's Malek Jaziri is the only male player from Africa and the Arab World. As Neil Curry reports, his story is a remarkable one.
[Neil Curry, Reporter:] A little more than eighteen months ago Tunisia was in the throws the people's revolution what began what became known as the Arab Spring. The uncertainty of a revolution is far from the ideal preparation for a tennis tournament but it has coincided with a remarkable progression through the rankings from Malek Jaziri. He has risen almost three hundred places to number sixty seven in the world I found Malek relaxing at home watching the Wimbledon Men's final. He was playing in the tournament himself a week earlier when he heard he had made the cut for the Olympics.
[Malek Jaziri, Olympic Tennis Player:] After my match they told me I was going to the Olympics, so like, I was quite happy, I was happy for my win my match, first time in Wimbledon, and to have the chance to play the Olympics, I am very proud to represent Africa and all African Countries. I received a lot of wishes from Africans, and people that support me. This is the city of my dream, my love here. My family is here, it is a very interesting city. [inaudible] of Africa. When I am here and in my city, I am at home.
[Curry:] if you win the Olympics are you going to jump in there?
[Jaziri:] If I win it I will do it.
[Curry:] Malek was just two years old when he got his hands on his first racquet, and it wasn't long before he was spending time at his local tennis club.
[Jaziri:] This is the club, Club de Champion, it means club of the champions. So you are welcome.
[Curry:] Thank you very much. Oh, it is clay court.
[Jazari:] Yes, clay court.
[Curry:] Is that the French influence?
[Jazari:] Yes, this club in 1928, it is a very old club and always has been clay all these years. It is a very nice club.
[Curry:] What is special about this court, Malek, I wonder?
[Jazari:] This court has a lot of memories for me. This court where I started to play, it is a gift for me from the club and from the city to name this court as my name.
[Curry:] [inaudible] has another French connection, the aviator and keen tennis player Roland Garros whose name is given to the French Open was the first pilot to cross the Mediterranean and he landed here.
[Jazari:] This is the place where Roland Garros crashed his plane in my city here in the war, so it is in memory of Roland Garros, they make him a place in my city and so you can see 1888, he died in 1918.
[Curry:] Roland Garros who gives his bane to the French Open. It has a big connection with you and your city. That is amazing. Malek's recent success followed a series of setbacks. Injuries cost him two years of his career. Without sponsorship he has traveled the tennis circuit alone, relying on the support of his family. But since breaking the top one hundred, that is beginning to change. Both coach and fitness strainer are on hand to hello him through a punishing four hour workout with scorching temperatures above 43 degrees.
[Jazari:] I was practicing so it was very very hot to practice and to play and to travel, the airport was closed, we had helicopter shooting so very hard to play.
[Curry:] So Malek, on the 14th of January last year I was standing here surrounded by thousands of people demanding that President Ben Ali leave the country. And by the end of the day, he had done. Things are so different now, aren't they?
[Jazari:] Yes, it's true. A lot of things are changing. The people before they could not say whatever they want so they don't have freedom, now the people in the street they can talk, they aren't afraid, before you had to turn left or right before they said something. Now the people can speak whatever they want, they have more freedom and rights. A lot of tourists come here for the shopping, it is very good.
[Curry:] Whenever Tunisians meet, talk inevitably turns to football. But many will turn to tennis this summer as one of their own represents his country, his continent and the Arab world in pursuit of an Olympic medal. Well, I know that Malek got through five liters of water during that practice session in forty five degree heat. That is all we have for this month's show. I hope you enjoy the Olympics. Next month we will be coming to you from New York and the U.S. Open. So until then, goodbye. For more tennis coverage and web exclusives, visit our website at CNN.comOpencourt. END

[Whitfield:] The death toll rises across Haiti from cholera. It has now killed more than 250 people. Health authorities also say they are very worried after five cases of cholera are confirmed in Haiti's capital. The outbreak is centered about an hour north of Port-au-Prince and St. Marc. Our Paula Newton is there. And the death toll, indeed, is climbing, and there are cases that have reached Port-au-Prince Paula.
[Paula Newton, Cnn International Correspondent:] Alarming for many officials here. I am at St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc's. And behind me, still scenes of chaos, unfortunately, Fred. I can tell you, outside these gates, people continually come every hour. They are hunched over vomiting. They have diarrhea. Some people already have been sick for two or three days. They come here to get care, and every hour that level of care gets better and better. If we go back to those death cases though, you know, I was hearing touring the hospital with members of the CDC back home, and they were saying to me that the death rate for this outbreak is going down. So that is positive. The problem, Fred, is that to try and contain his kind of epidemic, this kind of an outbreak, is going to be very difficult. The sanitary conditions were already not very high. And in Port-au-Prince, where you have upwards of a million people just living in tents in that city, shoulder to shoulder, it will be a huge challenge. And right now the U.S. government, aid groups and the U.N. are mobilizing to try and help the Haitian government really get a handle on this.
[Whitfield:] So, Paula, yesterday, when I spoke with a representative with the U.N., they talked about how many people there don't even know how to identify cholera. So, what kind of word or instruction or list of symptoms is being conveyed to people there in Haiti so that they can identify their symptoms and be able to get the proper help?
[Newton:] The symptoms are, of course, things that are very common here in Haiti, which is diarrhea and vomiting. The point is people need to judge the severity of that. And sometimes when they come to the gates of this hospital, it's been already too late, as you can see, for those 253 people.
[Whitfield:] All right. Clearly, we're having a signal problem there, but you get the gist of it, the problem there with cholera in Haiti. Our Paula Newton reporting there from St. Marc, which is hit the hardest thus far. Now to Israel, where a shocking window display is calling attention to a worldwide problem human trafficking. This is Tel Aviv, where activists are putting women up for sale to draw attention to the growing problem of human trafficking. This is a window display in a shopping mall where the women on sale actually have price tags. Well, human trafficking is not just a problem in Israel. Right here in this country, in Kansas City this month, a man pleaded guilty in a modern day slavery scheme involving foreign laborers. In Miami, a woman was sentenced in a human smuggling case. And then in Tampa, a man was sentenced for advertising a 14-year-old girl for sex on Craigslist. So, back to that Tel Aviv window now. The display is created by lawyer Ori Keidar. He came up with the idea to help raise awareness, at the very least. He's joining us right now on the phone. So, you are trying to raise awareness. At the same time, you're also hoping to help stop the problem. Why was this the method that you wanted to take?
[Ori Keidar, Task Force On Human Trafficking:] Well, the method we are seeking is to say no to clients, to make clients of prostitution considered criminal offense. And in that way, to lower the demand for prostitution and hopefully lower the supply, as well.
[Whitfield:] So, why here, why Tel Aviv, why Israel? Why do you feel that the problem is so pervasive, that people need to see this kind of shock value in this way of displaying public awareness?
[Keidar:] In Israel, in the last decade, there was a huge surge of trafficked women into Israel in the most horrible terms from the former Soviet Union, mostly. And it came to a point where, actually, the Israeli population, or the public, felt that it was OK to take to abuse women, foreign women that were actually being slaves. They were kidnapped and forced to have sex, and then made drug-addicted, and were actually sex slaves for every matter. And so, the public in Israel felt it was it's becoming OK. And we think we have to shock the public to see that this is not OK. So there's the shop.
[Whitfield:] And so, what's the reaction been like?
[Keidar:] The reactions were amazing. People were, you know, just holding their stomachs and saying this is so strong, this is so you know, we can actually feel it, we feel what it's like, because it's all over in the streets, but people look the other way. But now, you know, when you see it in the middle of a shopping mall, beneath all the beautiful stores, and you see those actresses with bruises and, of course, makeup, people just say, whoa, this is not what we thought.
[Whitfield:] And how do you suppose this display will help in the prosecution of people who are actively trafficking other people?
[Keidar:] The problem we're facing is that the government thinks maybe it won't be so popular to go after the clients. And we're trying to show them that the public are with us, that people see this and say, this must be stopped. So, we want to show Israel, we want to show the Israeli government that the public thinks that it is time to do something that is much more extreme than just, you know, saying this is wrong. We have to do go beyond that point.
[Whitfield:] And you're calling attention particularly to women and children because, apparently, 80 percent of those that are trafficked are women and children?
[Keidar:] Yes. Mostly women in Israel in the sex industry, and the numbers were even in global aspect are high in Israel. So, we think this is a problem that people should be aware of. Of course, local prostitution is also a grave problem, because, you know, once the public is starting to demand sex paid sex, there's no stopping. And this will take a lot of education and a lot of enforcing.
[Whitfield:] Ori Keidar, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate that.
[Keidar:] You're welcome. Good evening.
[Whitfield:] All right. Back to this country now. Parts of the U.S. getting ready for a big storm. We'll check in with Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Severe Weather Center up next.

[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Over the past three years, our businesses have created nearly 6.5 million new jobs, but we know we can help them create more. Corporate profits are at an all-time high, but we have to get wages and incomes rising, as well. Our deficits are falling at the fastest pace in years, but we can do more to bring them down in a balanced and responsible way. The point is, our economy is poised for progress as long as Washington doesn't get in the way. Frankly, the American people deserve better than what we've been seeing a shortsighted crisis-driven decision-making like the reckless across-the-board spending cuts that are already hurting a lot of communities out there, cuts that economists predict will cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs during the course of this year. If we want to keep rebuilding our economy on a stronger, more stable foundation, then we've got to get smarter about our priorities as a nation, and that's what the budget I'm sending to Congress today represents, a fiscally responsible blueprint for middle class jobs and growth. For years, the debate in this town has raged between reducing our deficits at all costs and making the investments necessary to grow our economy. This budget answers that argument because we can do both. We can grow our economy and shrink our deficits. In fact, as we saw in the 1990s, nothing shrinks deficits faster than a growing economy. That's been my goal since I took office and that should be our goal going forward. At a time when too many Americans are still looking for work, my budget begins by making targeted investments in areas that will create jobs right now. And prime our economy to keep generating good jobs down the road. As I said in my State of the Union address, we should ask ourselves three questions every day. How do we make America a magnet for new jobs, how do we give our workers skills to do those jobs, and how do we make sure that hard work leads to a different living? To make America a magnet for good jobs, this budget invests in new manufacturing hubs to help turn regions left behind by globalization in the global centers of high-tech jobs. We'll spark new American innovation and industry with cutting edge research like the initiative I announced to map the human brain and cure disease. We'll continue our march towards energy independence and address the threat of climate change. And our Rebuild America partnership will attract private investment to put construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads, our bridges and our schools in terms of attracting manier new business to schools across the country. To help workers to learn the skills to fill those jobs, we'll work with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child in America, and we're going to pay for it by raising taxes on tobacco products that harm our young people. It's the right thing to do. We'll reform our high schools and job training programs to equip more Americans with the skills they need to compete in the 21st century economy. And we'll help more middle class families afford the rising cost of college. To make sure hard work is rewarded, we'll build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class for anybody who is willing to work hard to climb them. We'll partner with 20 of our communities hit hardest by the recession to help them improve housing and education and business investment. And we should make the minimum wage a wage you can live on because no one who works full-time should have to raise his or her family in poverty. My budget also replaces the foolish across-the-board spending cuts that are already hurting our economy, and I have to point out that many of the same members of Congress who supported deep cuts are now the ones complaining about them the loudest as they hit their own communities. Of course, the people I feel for are the people who are directly feeling the pain of these cuts, the people who can least afford it. They're hurting military communities that have already sacrificed enough, they're hurting middle class families, there are children who have had to enter a lottery to determine which of them get to stay in their Head Start program with their friends. There are seniors who depend on programs like Meals on Wheels that they can live independently but who are seeing their services cut. That's what the so-called sequester means. Some people may not have been impacted, but there are a lot of folks who are being increasingly impacted throughout this country. And that's why my budget replaces these cuts with smarter ones, making long-term reforms, eliminating actual waste and programs we don't need anymore. So building new roads and bridges, educating our children from the youngest age, helping more families afford college, making sure that hard work pays. These are things that should not be partisan, should not be controversial. We need to make them happen. My budget makes these investments to grow our economy and create jobs and it does so without adding a dime to our deficits. Now, on the topic of deficits, despite all the noise in Washington, here's a clear and unassailable fact. Our deficits are already falling. Over the past two years, I've signed legislation that will reduce our deficits by more than $2.5 trillion. More than 23 of it through spending cuts and the rest through asking the wealthiest Americans to begin paying their fair share. That doesn't mean we don't have more work to do. But here's how we finish the job. My budget will reduce our deficit by nearly another $2 trillion so that all told we will have surpassed the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that independent economists believe we need to stabilize our finance, but it does so in a balanced and responsible way, a way that most Americans prefer. Both parties, for example, agree that the rising cost of caring for an aging generation is the single biggest driver of our long-term deficits. And the truth is, for those like me who deeply believe in our social insurance programs think it's one of the core things that our government needs to do. If we want to keep Medicare working as well as it has, if we want to preserve the ironclad guarantee that Medicare represents, then we're going to have to make some changes. They don't have to be drastic ones. And instead of making drastic ones later, what we should be doing is making some manageable ones now. The reforms I'm proposing will strengthen Medicare for future generations without undermining that ironclad guarantee that Medicare represents. We'll reduce our government's Medicare bills by finding new ways to reduce the cost of health care, not by shifting the cost to seniors or the poor or families with disabilities. They are reforms that keep the promise we've made to our seniors basic security that is rock solid and dependable and there for you when you need it. That's what my budget represents. My budget does also contain the compromise I offered Speaker Boehner at the end of last year, including reforms championed by leaders in Congress. And I don't believe that all these ideas are optimal, but I'm willing to accept them as part of a compromise, if and only if they contain protections for the most vulnerable Americans. But if we're serious about deficit reduction, then these reforms have to go hand in hand with reforming our tax code to make it more simple and more fair so that the wealthiest individuals and biggest corporations cannot keep taking advantage of loopholes and deductions that most Americans don't get. That's the bottom line. If you're serious about deficit reduction, then there's no excuse to keep these loopholes open. They don't serve an economic purpose, they don't grow our economy, they don't put people back to work. All they do is to allow folks who are already well off and well connected game the system. If anyone thinks I'll finish the job of deficit reduction on the backs of middle class families or through spending cuts alone that actually hurt our economy short-term, they should think again. When it comes to deficit reduction, I've already met Republicans more than half way. So in the coming days and weeks, I hope that Republicans will come forward and demonstrate that there really as serious about the deficits and debt as they claim to be. So growing our economy, creating jobs, shrinking our deficits, keeping our promise to the generation that made us great but also investing in the next generation. The next generation that will make us even greater. These are not conflicting goals. We can do them in concert. That's what my budget does. That's why I'm so grateful for the great work that Jeff and his team have done in shaping this budget. The numbers work. There's not a lot of smoke and mirrors in here. And if we can come together, have a serious, reasoned debate not driven by politics and come together around common sense and compromise, then I'm confident we'll move this country forward and leave behind something better for our children. That's our task. Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] So there he is, the president with the head of the Office of Management of the Office of Management and Budget, Jeffrey Zients, walking back into the Oval Office from the Rose Garden, the president making his proposals public now. And there's a detailed budget that the White House is releasing, hundreds if not thousands of pages going through point by point by point all domestic, all national security, all Social SecurityMedicare, all spending for the fiscal year 2014 budget. Once again, that fiscal year begins October 1st of this year. Our White House correspondent Jessica Yellin is there. Jessica, so the House has already approved Paul Ryan's budget. He's the chairman of the House budget committee. The Senate has approved Patty Murray's budget, a very different budget. She's the chair of the Senate budget committee. Now the president's weighing in with his own budget. So what happens now?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] These are effectively negotiating positions, Wolf, and what the president has done today is laid out what he considers a compromised position to try to restart debt talks with Republicans. The headlines out of this budget are that he's proposing reforms to Social Security and Medicare, a big thing from a Democratic president to do, not well-received by some progressive groups in the president's own party. But even Republicans say it's not enough. So he's managed to, with this budget, anger both folks on the left without winning over people on the right. So you have a bit of a challenge in understanding where this will go next. He's also proposed replacing the sequester cuts, those across-the- board spending cuts, with more reasoned cuts in his view that he thinks will affect people less harshly and with some tax increases and tax changes for millionaires. But the budget also includes some new spending and priorities that the president thinks are important, spending on infrastructure and, for example, universal pre-K education for all kids in America, which we're looking for the dollar figure on that. It's going to come out soon and that's going to be a big price tag. Republicans really dislike all that new spending. So you ask where this goes. It could go nowhere from here. Tonight he sits down with a dozen or so senators, Republican senators, to talk this over, guns, immigration, and see if they can revive any sort of talks. Not a lot of optimism in Washington that a deficit deal will get going from here. But this is the president's offer to restart kick start that discussion, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yeah, at least there's a budget proposal on the table right now from the president, one from the Democrats who have the majority in the Senate, one from the Republicans who have the majority in the House. Gloria Borger, our chief political analyst, is watching what's going on. What is probably is going to be the death of any compromise is the president's adamant position that there have to be additional tax increases on wealthy Americans, on big corporations, as well as an across-the-board tax increase, at least 30 percent tax for wealthy Americans, the so-called "Buffett Rule." I can't imagine the Republicans, especially in the House of Representatives, going along with that since they did go along with averting the fiscal cliff and raising taxes on wealthy Americans at the end of the year.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Yeah, they're already saying, look, we did that. We did we gave you tax increases, and we're not going to do it again. I think what the most interesting thing about the president's budget is the point, as Jess was pointing out earlier, that he did decide to bring Medicare back on the table, to bring Social Security back on the table. Remember, it was part of his so-called "grand bargain" that became a grand failure with House Speaker John Boehner. And the White House is saying, OK, this budget is not the starting point, but it's our sticking point because we're putting these things back on the table. If Republicans and Democrats were serious, they would take a look at entitlement changes as well as tax reform, as the president was just talking about, as a way to do some grand bargain on spending in this country where you did change the tax code so that you could raise revenue and lower rates to a certain degree and attack these entitlements. But again, does the Congress have the will to do that right now? Is there an awful lot on their plate? We've been talking about guns, we've been talking about immigration reform when will they finally get around to doing this or will they just keep patching this, as they've been doing over the last years?
[Blitzer:] Let's get some Republican reaction to what we just heard from the President of the United States. Representative Greg Walden of Oregon is joining us right now. He's the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Congressman, what did you think of the president's remarks?
[Rep. Greg Walden , Chairman, Nrcc:] Well, I thought it very intriguing in that the budget really lays out kind of a shocking attack on seniors, if you will. And we haven't seen all the detail yet, and we'll look at it, but I'll tell you, when you're going after seniors the way he's already done on Obamacare, taking $700 billion out of Medicare to put into Obamacare, and now coming back at seniors again, I think you're crossing that line very quickly here in terms of denying access to seniors for health care in districts like mine, certainly, and around the country. I think he's going to have a lot of pushback from some of the major senior organizations on this and Republicans, as well. And this is a budget that doesn't balance. At the end of the day, you can have all the flowery rhetoric, but I'm a numbers guy and this doesn't add up. It does not balance. We've passed the Ryan budget. It does balance in ten years; it will put us on a path to grow the economy and jobs. And, again, gets us to where we have a balanced budget. This is 65 days late and it doesn't add up.
[Blitzer:] Well, let's talk about these proposed changes that the president is putting forward when it comes to Social Security and Medicare, the shocking proposals that you say the president's putting forward that could affect seniors. What's so shocking about changing that CPI, that consumer price index the way that you would determine how much inflation would go ahead with increases for Social Security recipients, for example?
[Walden:] Well, once again, you're trying to balance this budget on the backs of seniors and I just think it's not the right way to go.
[Blitzer:] But doesn't the doesn't Paul Ryan's budget have major changes as far as Social Security and Medicare concerned, as well?
[Walden:] Look, it doesn't yes, but it doesn't do that. And so I just think there's some you know, it's all about when you get to the specifics. And what does that really mean down on the ground? You know, the president just said that his proposals will reduce the cost of health care. Where did we hear that before? We heard that premiums for a family on for health insurance would go down $2,500 if his plan was adopted and we now see them going up $2,000 in my state to $3,000. So you've got to cut through the rhetoric, Wolf, which, of course, you all and your team will do and get into the real facts and figures and so will we. But I don't see this budget as either on time, adding up, balancing, and, further, I think it really does go right at seniors in a way they're going to be shocked, coming out of the administration.
[Blitzer:] Let's talk about taxes right now. Are you open to what the president calls tax reform, eliminating some of the loopholes, the reductions, for the wealthiest Americans, some of the biggest corporations, in order to pay for some of the infrastructure, education, health care benefits that he's putting forward?
[Walden:] So, Wolf, let's go back as you said, or one of your folks there said it about the fiscal cliff. The president got $600 billion in new revenue. And in part, he also put a little provision into the law, it was in there, the Pease Amendment, which already reduces and trails out how much the wealthy in America can claim for deductions. Tax reform is where you would have the debate about how you can close these loopholes and reduce the rates so we have a competitive code and create jobs in America. What he's proposing, at least at this point and again, we've got to get into the details sounds a lot like the old style of we're going to raise taxes by dividing the country and then we're going to go spend the money on new programs and existing programs and never get around to real tax reform, which is what we need to be competitive in the world to grow private sector jobs in the world. The notion that the federal government is somehow going to be the great creator of jobs in America, I think, is a misnomer, because if we're spending $800 billion more than we took in this year, and the last few years $1 trillion plus more than we take in, we ought to have a robust economy right now. The federal government isn't what's going to do this; it's the private sector. We've got to get out there where the folks on the street aren't having to work two or three jobs in order to make ends meet and now seeing their health insurance costs spike. So I think there's a lot of problem with what he's proposing.
[Blitzer:] What do you think of that so-called Buffett Rule, that individuals making more than $1 million a year are required to pay at least 30 percent income tax?
[Walden:] Well, again, he had the opportunity to put that into law before. He had the opportunity to do that in the fiscal cliff discussions. And I just don't see that catching traction here; it didn't catch traction in the Senate, I don't believe. And so I'm not sure that's even a starter.
[Blitzer:] You oppose that? You would vote against that so-called Buffett Rule?
[Walden:] Yes, again, look, what we've got to do is get back to have a meaningful discussion about overall tax reform, not just, you know, split one group of Americans against the others to the benefit of the growth of the federal government and its deficit. This does not put us on a path toward reducing America's deficit in a meaningful way, and need to have those serious discussions.
[Blitzer:] It's called the Buffett Rule because Warren Buffett himself came up with the notion. Warren Buffett, one of the richest people in the world, saying if he pays 15 percent of his income, which is a lot, to the federal government, 15 percent, that is a lot less and that's legal, from his investments and his earned income or whatever, that's if his secretary is paying 28 percent or 30 percent, he says there's something not fair that his secretary's paying 30 percent of her income in federal taxes and he's paying 15 percent.
[Walden:] Well Wolf, there's a big difference of putting your money at risk in terms of investment strategies, because you can lose that money, as people painfully know from the losses they suffered in the stock market versus a paycheck every month that's guaranteed. Those have always been treated differently because there's a higher risk of putting your money at risk in an investment strategy that can go bad. And remember, you're limited on how much you can deduct when it does go bad. So these are apples and orange comparisons except when it gets spun out there at 30,000 feet in the political world. But they're meaningful differences in the tax code because we want to incent people to take their wealth, and he has giant wealth, and invest it in the private sector to grow companies and jobs. But you could lose that, as well. He's had good years and he's had bad years. His secretary probably has been paid each month, and that's a good thing. He should pay her more. I'm all for that. But you do that because you have companies that are successful and they make money going forward, not because you're suddenly giving the federal government more of your money. And I think that's the confusion here is that building up a bigger, more costly federal government puts a burden of debt on the next generation that's unconscionable and it suppresses our economy. And that's not fair.
[Blitzer:] One final question, Congressman, before I let you go. So now there's a House budget, there's a Senate budget, the president has come up with his proposals today there is a deadline of sorts I suspect at the end of July, early August, when the government's going to have to raise the nation's debt ceiling once again. Are you in favor of raising the debt ceiling even if there's no so-called grand bargain budget agreement between the House and Senate and the president?
[Walden:] You know, I would hope we wouldn't get to where that's the only choice on the table. I've supported increasing the debt ceiling when there's been offsetting reductions in spending because I think at some point here, and we've reached that point, you can't keep borrowing 42 cents of every dollar, sending the next generation the bill. And so we've dealt with the debt ceiling, we'll deal with it again, but it's going to be in the context of overall more broad discussions about how we achieve savings going forward.
[Blitzer:] I think that will be a sort of deadline looking forward. Let's hope everybody can come up with some sort of
[Walden:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] acceptable compromise.
[Walden:] Exactly, let us avoid these...
[Blitzer:] It would be bad news for U.S. credit worthiness around the world, bad news for American workers, bad news for exports, bad news for the U.S. economy, if we once again had to go through that drama of having to see if the nation's debt ceiling is going to be increased.
[Walden:] I couldn't agree more with you, Wolf, and that's certainly not what we're proposing as Republicans. And in fact we already extended the debt ceiling a couple of times here, but we also said it's not a good thing for the country and our jobs and our exports and our economy when you've got the printing press on jet fuel at the Federal Reserve kicking out $85 billion a month in phony money, in effect, and increasing, ballooning our debt out at over $1 trillion a year. That's not good either. So somewhere in here, there's common ground to solve the problem.
[Blitzer:] Let's hope that common ground can be found. Representative Greg Walden of Oregon, hanks very much for coming in.
[Walden:] You bet.
[Blitzer:] All right. So we just heard the president say he plans to cut the deficit, but the new budget adds some new revenues, as well. We're going to break it all down. Our own Christine Romans is standing by. We'll take a quick break. Much more of our special coverage here in the CNN NEWSROOM right after this.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone. Wall Street to Washington, Cannes to California a world of big stories changing by the hour and you'll see them all starting right now. An economic summit aimed at staving off disaster is history.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Chief Business Correspondent:] Well, the clarity we have now yesterday we were thinking there wasn't going to be a referendum, now the Greek finance minister has told the E.U. there will be no referendum. But as you alluded to, within about six hours or so, there is going to be the final step in a confidence vote on the Greek in the Greek parliament. And the prime minister, George Papandreou, who's really behind all of the drama this week, he only has a two-seat lead in parliament. So, it remains to be seen what's going to happen in Greece. But Randi, you and I have talked about this, Greece is a tiny country in the grand scheme of things. It's the 32nd biggest country in the world in terms of its economy. Italy is a much bigger country, and Italy, right now, is in the focus, because right now lenders from around the world, whether they're banks or governments, are looking at Europe and saying, is this a stable organization? Are these 17 countries that use the Euro trustworthy that they'll pay their debts? After what we saw with Greece, they are starting to look at Italy now and say, there might be more risk here than they first thought. So, people are a little more relaxed than they were this time, Randi, but they're still pretty much on edge.
[Kaye:] Yes. I would play for our viewers, Ali, some perspective from the president, a glass half-full perspective, if you will. Let's play that, and then I want to ask you about it.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Make no mistake, there is more hard work ahead and more difficult choices to make. But our European partners have laid a foundation on which to build, and it has all the elements needed for success. A credible fire wall to prevent the crisis from spreading, strengthening European banks, charting a sustainable path for Greece, and confronting the structural issues that are the heart of the current crisis.
[Kaye:] So Ali, you listen to that, but really when I think about it, doesn't a whole lot still ride here on what the Greeks decide?
[Velshi:] I would say president is overstating the case a little bit. What he's saying is what he hopes happens. The reality is there's no fire wall around Europe at the moment. They're talking about beefing up the international monetary fund. Greece is the biggest recipient of money from the international monetary fund right now. It's more hopeful talk. One of the things is that even though we've seen this sort of debt debate in the United States, these kind of debates going on in Greece about government cutbacks versus, you know, less spending, they go on everywhere. But Europe is not a federation, they don't have somebody who makes those decisions. So, the biggest thing that happened this week is on Wednesday, when Sarkozy and Merkel of France and Germany, called Papandreou, who's not a member of the G-20, to Can here and told him, if you guys vote this you do this referendum and it goes the wrong way, you might get kick out of the Euro. That's probably the biggest accomplishment this week. There's finally a rule that says if you do something that fundamentally affects the Euro and the other countries in it, you might actually get kicked out. That's probably the biggest take-away this week.
[Kaye:] Thank you, Ali Velshi, very much. Nice to see you as well. Well, whether it's a G-20 jitters abroad or jobless worries at home, investors are in a funk. The Dow, NASDAQ, S&P; all down more than one percent. Right now blue chips are down 145 points there. The big concern here is a small report from the labor front. We learned this morning that U.S. employers added 80,000 jobs last month which isn't terrible but far less than needed. The jobless rate actually fell one-tenth of a point to nine percent. But almost 14 million Americans who are looking for work still cannot find a job. Deliberations now underway in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray. Over the course of 23 days, the jury heard from 49 witnesses, which included Murray's girlfriend and patients as well as investigators and medical experts for each side. The prosecution argues that the evidence is, quote, "overwhelming," while the defense maintains it was the acts of Jackson himself and not Murray that led to his death. Be sure to stay with CNN, word of a verdict could come at any time. The Herman Cain campaign is said to be mulling a lawsuit against the online news site that first reported sexual harassment allegations from the 1990s. A campaign spokesman tells CNN that nothing's been decided but a suit is being discussed against Politico.com which, for the record, stands by its reporting. We're also waiting to find out whether one of Cain's accusers will be allowed to put out a statement giving her side of events that led to her departure from the National Restaurant Association which Cain at the time headed. The group is going over that statement word for word to see whether it violates the confidentiality clause that came with the woman's severance. The sexual harassment storm surrounding Cain continues. His camp blames Perry's camp, but Rick Perry says no campaign leaks here.
[Gov. Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] No apology needed. We found out about this the same time that I suppose the rest of America found out about it.
[Kaye:] John King joins us live with more on this Republican blame game. But first, I want you to meet today's "Rock Star," Kelly Slater. He may be the greatest athlete you've never heard of. The 39-year-old living legend of surfing just captured his 11th ASP world title in San Francisco giving him bragging rights to being the oldest, and 19 years ago the youngest, to ever hold this title. Pretty amazing work there on those waves. OK, and my producer, Kelly, thinks he's awfully cute smokin'hot I think were her exact words. Kelly Slater, total rock star.

[Blitzer:] Some of Lance Armstrong's former team members are targeted. Lisa Sylvester is monitoring that and some other top stories in THE SITUATION ROOM right now. What's going on, Lisa?
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Wolf. Well, the U.S. Anti- Doping Agency is issuing lifetime bans to two doctors and a team trainer. The agency says it was part of what they called a sophisticated far-reaching doping conspiracy. Armstrong is accused of using performance enhancing drugs. Yesterday, a federal court judge dismissed his lawsuit against the agency. Stocks closed sharply lower today in anticipation of disappointing corporate earnings report. Analysts are expecting earnings to drop off compared to the first quarter. Results from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are due later this week. And for this next story, maybe you better stand up. Researchers say Americans might live up to two years longer if they sat less. The report in the British Medical Journal says we need to reduce sitting to less than three hours a day. Limiting the time in front of the television to two hours a day could also extend our lives. And I know, Wolf, you're standing right now. There you are. So here's to a long life, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] I hope. All of our viewers as well. Thank you, Lisa. Jack Cafferty's here with "The Cafferty File." Jack, I hope for a long life for you as well.
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Anchor:] Yes, but I mean, what's it worth if you have to spend all those extra years standing on your feet.
[Blitzer:] It could be worse.
[Cafferty:] I guess, that's true. The question this hour is what kind of change did President Obama deliver? Todd writes from Arizona, "More illegal immigrants rights, more racial tension, more debt to China, more taxes for his health care fiasco. Shall I continue or were you looking for positive points? None come to mind." Dave in Seattle writes, "The biggest change will not be seen in his lifetime. It's the inspiration he gives young African-Americans to achieve and become great leaders." John writes, "Zero. He promised a new brand of politics based around the people and he delivered politics as usual. Instead of doing what he said he would do in reaching out to experts outside the normal political circles. He reached out to the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Barney Flank and pulled out the same old tired liberal Democrats playbook to try and solve our problems. President Obama has proven himself to be a typical politician, promising everything, delivering nothing." Gerry in Indiana writes, "The change Obama delivered has been a huge increase in our national debt, a huge tax increase and the guise of Obama care and the worst economy in my memory." Larry in Texas writes, "He ended our wasted efforts in Iraq, he got Bin Laden, he kept the tax cuts, he passed the health care law. All things considered over the last two years with the Republicans main goal to destroy everything in order to defeat him, I give him an A plus." And S writes, "Loose change. Most people all over the world are now counting their pennies." If you want to read more on the subject, go to the blog cnn.comcaffertyfile or through our post on THE SITUATION ROOM's Facebook page. That concludes the segment. I'm sitting down.
[Blitzer:] Sit down, please. You are sitting right now.
[Cafferty:] I am.
[Blitzer:] Appreciate it. You're going to stick around. I want you to see this next report though. Her identity is unknown, but many believe her recent appearance besides the new leader of North Korea is rather significant. We have new information. And the miles are piling up. It's a marathon diplomatic mission for the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Is she feeling the strain?

[Anderson:] Tensions are growing in the world's most populous Muslim country after a wave of religious hate crimes. A Catholic school and two churches were seriously damaged after Muslim hard-liners set the buildings on fire in a town in Central Java in Indonesia. And in this shot, police and soldiers are left to clean up the debris. Standing guard outside the Christian churches in the town, the police are on high alert, while in a separate attack on Sunday, Muslim mobs brutally murdered three followers of an Islamic sect in front of the police. This is what's left of the house belonging to the sect's leader. Well, human rights organizations have criticized the president for failing to deal with the recent violence. One of the most dangerous places for Christian is Iraq. They've frequently been the target of violence. In November of last year, 56 people, you may remember, sadly, were killed at a church in Baghdad. Scores were injured and the bloody massacre sparked a new Christian exodus from the Iraqi capital. One group has found refuge in Paris. Jim Bittermann has their story.
[Jim Bittermann, Cnn Correspondent:] At Sunday mass, thousands of miles from home, a handful of Iraqis follow a Catholic ritual that cuts across the language barriers. They are refugees forced out of their homeland by the threat of death. But for most of the 50 or so who are here, it was more than just a threat. They are the widows, brothers, sisters and parents of victims of a bloody massacre of Baghdad Catholics. Father Rafael Katami remembers every detail of that attack last October. He had just finished reading a gospel lesson and was about to start his sermon when the shooting began. It continued for four hours before Iraqi special forces were able to bring the situation under control. Two auxiliary priests were killed, along with 56 others. More than 70 people were injured, including Father Rafael, who was struck by grenade fragments. Just days later, the first of those who had been targeted began arriving in France. Fifty-seven were granted immediate refuge and they may be joined by hundreds more family members. But they're only a small part of the Iraqi Christian community which is being forced to leave. [on camera]: Over the past three years, about 800 Iraqi Christians have found refuge in France. But since last October's attack, the number on the waiting list to come here has exploded to more than 4,000. Slowly, the Iraqi Christian community is disappearing. [voice-over]: An Anglican bishop helping to bring religious refugees to safety says there are now only a third as many Christians in Iraq as there were before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
[Bishop Pierre Whalon, European Anglican Communion:] There have been Christians assassinated every single day since 2003, at least one. You I mean the news reports, you just get tired of it, because what's new? Another Christian or two or 10 murdered today here in Mosul, here in Baghdad, here in Kirkuk or elsewhere.
[Bittermann:] Bishop Whalon says no one wants to see such an ancient community disappear, least of all the refugees themselves. But they have little choice. That's certainly the feeling of Elias, who wants to keep his real name a secret because he's still trying to bring his family out of Iraq. The former government bureaucrat was wounded in church attack and says he heard the gunmen say they want to drive Christian infidels out of the country. The last thing he wanted to do, he says, was to leave his homeland. "
[Elias," Iraqi Christian Refugee:] I'm now in France, not my country. I have no job here. Now we will camp and we will come here for what? We must go outside. And because of that, you see us here.
[Bittermann:] It is, says Elias, lonely and confusing to be in a strange land with a different language and he really does not want to stay. But he also knows he has little choice but to try to start a new life here. "
[Elias":] I am not young, so I have memories. I have lots of feeling in Iraq, exactly in Baghdad. So when I remember some of them, I start to be sad. Sometimes I cry. But what can we do? It's our destiny.
[Bittermann:] A destiny that must now be fulfilled thousands of miles from home. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
[Anderson:] A community under siege in various parts of the world. Well, the Muslim Brotherhood says it wants to participate, not dominate, Egypt's political scene. Brotherhood leaders spoke out in Cairo today, trying to put fears to rest that they are waiting in the wings to take power. We'll speak with one of the group's spokesmen right after this. That and your headlines coming up.

[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] Thumbs up. Wow, just a good musical selection today. That is Dire Straits, "Sultans of Swing." How long has it been since I heard that?
[O'brien:] That's not a bad place to stop then. All right, we've got headlines to get to. Alina Cho has got that. Hey, Alina.
[Cho:] Hey there, Soledad, good morning. Dismissing a threat from the North South Korea conducted live fire military drills near the disputed sea border with North Korea. Pyongyang had promised to respond with a, quote, "merciless attack" if the south went ahead with that. The drills were held in the same area of the Yellow Sea that was the target of a North Korean artillery attack back in 2010 that killed four people. Another human skeleton has turned up in a wooded area on the eastern end of Long Island, New York. Authorities are now trying to determine if the remains are connected to 10 other sets of remains that were found on a remote beach about 40 miles to the west. Police suspect at least some are victims of a serial killer preying on prostitutes. The south sopped with a messy winter storm, tens of thousands losing power across the region. Snow, sleet, and rain also triggered pileups across Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. Celebrating the golden anniversary of America's first orbit of earth exactly 50 years ago today, astronaut John Glenn made the historic journey around our planet, paving the way for future space exploration, including the first moon landing just seven years later. Glenn talked about his groundbreaking voyage earlier in the show with Soledad.
[O'brien:] Does it feel like it's been a long time, 50 years, or do you look at those pictures and say, god, it feels like yesterday?
[John Glenn, Former Astronaut:] It seems to me like about a week or two ago, Soledad, because I guess I am recalled it quite often over the past 50 years and that's kept it fresh. But it was such an impressive thing at the time that it's indelibly imprinted on my memory, and I can recall those days very, very well.
[Cho:] Feels like a week ago, huh? Glenn's flight revived the NASA program, setting the U.S. on a path to cold war victory. An Aspen getaway for first lady Michelle Obama and the kids. Mrs. Obama is treating daughters Sasha and Malia to a private ski trip in Colorado. The first lady's spokesperson says all personal expenses are being paid for by the Obamas. "The Aspen Daily News" says the family is staying with friends who own a chain of ski resorts in the area. And it's must-see TV, maybe not for the GOP, but the Democrats may like this. Instead of "The Cosby Show" it was "The Obama Show" on "Saturday Night Live." Watch.
[Unidentified Male:] I also hereby veto the rice cakes that Michelle said were healthier. I think one of the children must have ate it.
[Cho:] They even got the wardrobe right for Michelle Obama.
[O'brien:] Maya Rudolf is hilarious. She always nails it. Alina, thank you.
[Cho:] You're welcome.
[O'brien:] This morning a story that is just really strange. I'll preface it with that. It gained headlines this is a sheriff gained headlines for a very tough stance on illegal immigration. He is also the co-chair of Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign committee. His name is Sheriff Paul Babeu and he is now stepping down from the Mitt Romney job and also coming out. This happened after allegations were published last week in a newspaper in Phoenix. Those allegations claimed that the sheriff had threatened to deport an ex-boyfriend if he, the sheriff, revealed their relationship. Now the Sheriff Babeu says he is gay. He denies he tried to have his ex-boyfriend deported. He is also running for Congress and he's saying that he's going to stay in the Congressional race. And he says all of these accusations are an attempt to hurt his political career. This is just so complicated, but CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Florence, Arizona. I tried to give the nuts and bolts. It's a little bit unbelievable, isn't it?
[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Correspondent:] Soledad it is one of those stories that if it didn't happen, you would never, ever believe it is true. We talked to Jose, the man at the center of this controversy last night. And he told us in completely explicit terms that he is here legally, that he was a volunteer for the sheriff for several years. And in some ways this is a love story that just went bad. He says he fell in love with Babeu, but Babeu did not fall in love with him, he reluctantly admitted during our interview. And that's when things started to go bad. Jose had run some websites for Babeu. Babeu claimed he hacked into his Twitter account. Jose says that's just not true. And then the lawyers started in. And that's when things really started to heat up. The new "Times" reporter who broke this story described to CNN last night how it is that the threat of deportation came about.
[Monica Alonzo, Reporter:] The evidence comes from the attorney who received those threats from Paul Babeu's attorney as they were discussing this document they wanted Jose to sign. And she made it clear that her client wasn't interested in doing that. That's when they started raising questions about his visa, saying that it had expired, saying that he wasn't in the country legally.
[Marquez:] Now, specifically what that lawyer claims is that the lawyer for Mr. Babeu, a guy named Chris DeRose, called her up and said, I understand he is on an expired student visa. Jose says that is absolutely not true. Babeu denies ever threatening deportation or having his lawyer threaten deportation. Coming up in the hours ahead, we're going to have a lot more with that interview with Jose himself so you guys can see for yourself.
[O'brien:] Wow. This is sort of like the definition of a hot mess, isn't it? Really. Let me ask you a couple of questions. We know that the sheriff has stepped down from the Romney campaign, yes?
[Marquez:] Yes, he has indeed. And he says that the Romney campaign never asked him to step down, that he called them on his own volition, stepped back from that so as not to bring any concern to them or any dark clouds to the Romney campaign here in Arizona. But he's going to continue to run for Congress here in the fourth district. And that's really what he's trying to save now.
[O'brien:] Wow. Well, I tell you, you're right. The way you started, you wouldn't believe it if you didn't if it weren't actually true. And now it's involving lawyers, it must be true. Miguel Marquez for us this morning with an update on what has been a very challenging story. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, Rick Santorum is taking a lead in the polls. He's been targeting President Obama, his tactics changing as he tackles faith and social issues in a must carry state. Plus, it was sort of I don't think it was even a pun. It was just a racial slur, and it made it right into a Jeremy Lin headline, completely inappropriate. Now Jeremy Lin is responding. We'll tell you what he had to say. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in a moment.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. This morning, more fallout in that scathing report that condemned Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp. company. A Washington watchdog group is calling on the FCC to revoke News Corp.'s 27 licenses for its local Fox Broadcasting Stations, saying, quote, "When coupled with its conduct in the United States, it is clear that News Corp. has engaged in a pattern of misbehavior that disqualifies it from holding broadcast licenses." Meanwhile, News Corp. firing back against that British report which said that Rupert Murdoch was "not a fit person," that's a quote, to run a major international company, saying that very conclusion was "unjustified and highly partisan." So what does it mean for the future of Rupert Murdoch and his media empire? Let's get right to Peter Jukes, a contributor for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast." He's also the author of "Bad Press, the Fall of the House of Murdoch." He joins us this morning from London. Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us. I appreciate it. In addition to al we were talking about yesterday happening in parliament, the U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating. So how does what we heard yesterday out of where you are in England affect that investigation here in the United States?
[Peter Jukes, Author, "bad Press, The Fall Of The House Of Murdoch":] Well, phone hacking isn't within the remit of the Department of Justice's investigation. I think you probably know that's probably more likely to be focused on the foreign corrupt practices act, which relates to something that committee yesterday didn't investigate, which is quite extensive allegations of corrupting officials. The other tabloid paper which Murdoch owns, "The Sun," the daily paper isn't accused or being investigated for payments to police. That comes under the foreign corrupt practices acts. And those investigations are still ongoing.
[O'brien:] News Corp. currently has 27 broadcast licenses, local TV stations across the country, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington, D.C., parliament saying that he is unfit to run News Corp. using the words "willful blindness." How much jeopardy is, in fact, Rupert Murdoch in in this particular country with those licenses?
[Jukes:] That's the FCC, and that has strict criteria to analyze in the British case. If it goes beyond Britain, there are other investigations, FBI looking at cases in Russia. There's another case ongoing in Sicily about alleged hacking of rival pay TV channels. So the problem is that there's a pattern of these practices, that that would definitely under U.S. law require some investigation. There's also civil cases pending in the U.S., I believe, which allege phone hacking of British or American citizens on U.S. soil. Now, that could force disclosure from News Corp. That's what happened here. It took 10 years, but the patent of a civil case forcing disclosure from News International led to these revelations. We don't know where it would go in the states.
[O'brien:] It was quite an amazing thing to listen to Tom Watson, a member of the parliament who was just the one of the most damning statements I've ever heard ever on live television talking about Rupert Murdoch. But what kind of weight does it hold? You know, one of the things we heard was an apology might be demanded and might be forthcoming. What would that matter? What would the impact be?
[Jukes:] Well, I noticed that News Corp. Statement was quite apologetic. I think Tom Watson has a particular beef. He claims he was surveyed several times and followed by News Corp., or News International employees. I think there is a sense that was along with an inquiry, a huge blow against Murdoch and may be a sign that his departing the U.K., at least in newspaper terms. But remember, that's only 1 percent of News Corp.'s revenues. The B-sky-B thing is much more lucrative and much more interesting to him. But even still, News Corp. is, you know, vast organization throughout the world. It is shaming him and causes acute problems, but I'm not sure to what extent. With the share points going up because of a buy back he's in jeopardy just yet.
[O'brien:] Peter Dukes, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.
[Jukes:] You're welcome.
[O'brien:] And this into CNN, a brand new photo of human rights activist Chen Gaungcheng. Here is the first photo of Chen since he escaped house arrest and fled to the United States embassy in Beijing, shows him being wheeled by a nurse in a hospital in Beijing. He's been transferred there after six days at the U.S. embassy. U.S. officials negotiated his freedom and we're told he's going to be moving to another part of China where he'll be able to study. We've got to take a short break, but still ahead on STARTING POINT, the Secret Service agents caught up in the Colombian prostitution scandal now say they're not going to cooperate. We'll tell you why. And our "Get Real" this morning, folks in Brooklyn happy about getting the nets, less happy about getting Hooters. What they're going to do about it. This is of Meredith Baxter's play list. It's Santana's "Smooth."

[Announcer:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer coming to you from New York City. We`ve got big news breaking today Charlie iWitness news. Sheen`s "Violent Torpedo of Truth" road show just hit New York City. And of course, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there, front and center, to watch all of his shenanigans up close and personal. We sent eyewitnesses to both Charlie`s shows in New York City, including SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s own phenomenal associate producer, Brittany Kaplan, who was at Friday`s show. Also at Friday`s show, Marlaina Schiavo, who is a senior editorial producer on HLN`s "NANCY GRACE SHOW." And there was an eyewitness for Sunday night`s show as well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s fantastic associate producer, Anisa Husain. Marlaina, I do want to star with you. You were at Charlie`s very first show here in New York City. I`m thinking Charlie Sheen at Radio City Music Hall this can`t go well, and it didn`t. He got booed practically off stage. Was the show an absolute bomb from your perspective?
[Marlaina Schiavo, Senior Editorial Producer, "nancy Grace Show:] It was. It started off really strong, A.J., and I had high hopes for him. We talked to some fans before the show. They were really excited to go in. And once he started, he got a lot of cheers. And then, eventually, it went all downhill. He started talking about tiger blood. And some heckler screamed "Boring!" And at that point, people were heckling him and booing. People were getting up and walking around. They never really settled in their chairs. They were getting beers. It sounded like a really rowdy Friday-night crowd that just really wanted to let Charlie have it.
[Hammer:] So they pretty much got let down.
[Schiavo:] Yes.
[Hammer:] Speaking of the hecklers, I want to throw up this photo, Charles, if you would. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT associate producer, Britney Kaplan, snapped this photo from inside Radio City Music Hall Friday night, a stern warning, as you see, to hecklers, "If you`re going to boo Charlie, you`re out." Now, Brit, you told me earlier today, you just hated this show. You thought Charlie was terrible. Did you see hecklers actually getting escorted out of the building?
[Brittany Kaplan, Associate Producer, Showbiz Tonight:] I did. And A.J., I have to tell you, as you know, I`m a huge Charlie fan.
[Hammer:] Yes.
[Kaplan:] I have to preface it by that. So you know, it hurts me to say that it was the worst show I`ve ever seen. And I wasn`t the only one that felt that way. People were walking out. They were booing. They were getting escorted out. And at some point, it seemed like security just gave up.
[Hammer:] Now, let me ask you this because we happened to pay for the tickets. Would you have asked for your money back? Was it that bad?
[Kaplan:] I absolutely would have.
[Hammer:] Was it that kind of deal?
[Kaplan:] Charlie had to actually ask the crowd to stop booing just so he could finish his little monologue at the end. He couldn`t talk over the boos.
[Hammer:] That`s a New York City crowd. What do you want? But Anisa, you were at the second show on Sunday and you absolutely loved it. I do want to take a look at what was one of, I believe, your favorite moments from the night.
[Unidentified Male:] Charlie, what`s your favorite curse word?
[Charlie Sheen, Actor:] That`s a great
[Hammer:] Now, Anisa, I know you and Brittany have some similar tastes. You both have this love for Charlie Sheen. What made you love this show so much? What was so great about it?
[Anisa Husain, Associated Producer, Showbiz Tonight:] It was just so raw, so real. I love the profanity. That`s what I loved. It`s just it`s everything that I thought it would be. I wasn`t let down at all. It`s really just like I was sitting down hanging out with Charlie Sheen. And I don`t know I just loved it so much.
[Hammer:] So Brittany, you went in with probably the same expectations. You weren`t getting that?
[Kaplan:] No.
[Hammer:] I`m sure there was raw profanity and all of that stuff.
[Kaplan:] Well, I think it`s important to note that Anisa and I saw very different shows.
[Hammer:] Yes.
[Kaplan:] It seems he really put on different shows between the two nights. But when I went in, he was incoherent. He was rambling. And he`s telling stories about an eight-month pregnant
[Hammer:] But isn`t that what you expect from Charlie Sheen?
[Kaplan:] Exactly.
[Hammer:] I mean, you know, that`s what I`m hearing from so many people who are disappointed, right, Anisa?
[Husain:] Yes, that`s what
[Hammer:] I mean, you got pretty much what you think he`s going to do, ramble on about nonsense.
[Husain:] Exactly. Exactly. And look, I understand, you know, you didn`t like what he was talking about. But like I said, it`s Charlie Sheen. What else are you expecting from Charlie Sheen? You know, we`re not going to see like a Celine Dion concert. It`s Charlie Sheen.
[Hammer:] I`ll tell you what. Brittany wanted a sophisticated concert-going experience, knowing her.
[Kaplan:] No, I didn`t
[Hammer:] Hold on a second. I want to get to one highlight I believe you guys told me was from both shows. Charlie told the audience that he wants his "Two and a Half Men" job back. Let`s look at that.
[Sheen:] How do you guys feel about "Two and a Half Men"? Do you want to see me back on it?
[Crowd:] Yes!
[Sheen:] You need to all write to the
[Hammer:] Now, Marlaina, he`s making a point of talking about this at all of his shows. Did he seem desperate to you about wanting to get back on CBS?
[Schiavo:] Well, I mean, it`s kind of a loaded question. He seemed desperate throughout the entire show in general. He threw out a lot of catch phrases, saying "winning" and "tiger blood" just to get applause. But yes, he did say that, you know, "I did not quit my job. I was fired." And you know, "I want to go back." And he even invited Chuck Lorre on stage to have a full-on debate.
[Hammer:] Oh, yes, that will happen. I don`t see that happening. All right, guys. Well, we appreciate your inside eyewitness report to this big "Torpedo of Truth" tour report. Marlaina, Anisa, Brittany, thank you all for being with us tonight. Well, there is more big news breaking right now from my headline- making SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsmaker interview with Pia Toscano. Just days after we were all shocked by Pia getting voted off of "American Idol", I said down with Pia this afternoon. Now, she wouldn`t confirm reports that were floating around today that she`s already signed a record deal. But what about those stories today that she`s now dating one of the stars of "Dancing with the Stars"? And you may be surprised to learn this was actually Pia`s fifth time trying to be named "American Idol." This is just the first time she actually made it on to the show. Pia tells me how this time around has been different.
[Toscano:] I mean, this is I`ve been a fan of the show since season one and I`ve auditioned so many times. And I would get sent home. And I would think, you know, "Why did I get sent home?" And it was all preparing me I`d like to believe at least it was all preparing me for season ten. This is my moment. And you know, I practiced so hard, and, I mean, you cannot give up. You just have to keep going.
[Hammer:] And I know it`s been overwhelming, all of the celebrity reaction to you getting booted off.
[Toscano:] Right.
[Hammer:] They`re outraged, too. You know, you`ve seen the tweets from Tom Hanks and Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson. Of past "Idol" contestants, is there anybody that you`ve heard from? Because Jennifer Hudson has been through the same thing.
[Toscano:] Yes.
[Hammer:] Has anybody reached out to you directly yet.
[Toscano:] Jennifer Hudson tweeted. Katharine McPhee reached out to me, Chris Daughtry
[Hammer:] Did you speak to any of them directly?
[Toscano:] Well, we just, you know, through tweets and stuff like that.
[Hammer:] Just through Twitter?
[Toscano:] Yes. But so sweet and so supportive. And it`s nice to know that they they`ve gone through what I`m going through
[Hammer:] Right.
[Toscano:] And to have them say look at their careers. I mean -
[Hammer:] Any of those guys you look to in particular as either a mentor or an inspiration, "I`m going to try to follow that path"?
[Toscano:] Chris, Jennifer definitely, Katharine McPhee as well. I mean, just to know that they went through what I`m going through right now.
[Hammer:] Got to ask you, because this is where you`re headed now. Are you ready for the fact that OK, here we are talking about your career and all the great thing. But the fact is, you are now a bona fide celebrity in your own right. For better or worse, people are going to want to know about your personal life.
[Toscano:] Right.
[Hammer:] Number one, are you prepared for that? Because, hopefully, you have a good support system in place.
[Toscano:] Yes.
[Hammer:] And to that end, I`ve got to ask you, you know, this is going to be the first thing everybody`s going to be asking you about. Of course, you`ve seen the reports. You and Mark Ballas are an item from "Dancing with the Stars." Can you set the record straight on that?
[Toscano:] Well, we just went out with a bunch of people you know, just friends really. And you know, we had a good time. We went out with a group of people.
[Hammer:] And there you have it. Nothing to the romance. But Pia also told me all those stories about her dating her fellow "Idol" contestants are not true. I did warn Pia, I felt this responsibility, that the possible romances are not going to stop anytime soon. If she goes out to dinner with somebody, they`re going to be dating in some of the magazines. Moving on now to Karina`s big naked mistake? Karina Smirnoff of "Dancing with the Stars" taking it all off for "Playboy." That`s sparking a coast-to-coast SHOWBIZ TONIGHT debate today great move or big mistake? Lindsay Lohan blasts Betty White. Really? Lindsay going after the 89-year-old golden girl. And from a new war to peace. It`s the most heartwarming video I have seen in a long time. You`ve got a cat and a dolphin kissing and hugging. You`ve got to see this, and you will, next. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. Time for the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" these are more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne owe $1.7 million to IRS, IRS places lien on their home. "Facts of Life" cast reunites at TV Land Awards.
[Charlotte Rae, Actress:] I thought our show at the time was very dear and it is. It was very sweet and thoughtful and sensitive and I don`t know. They use a lot of rotten language now in these sitcoms and they`re kind of crass.

[Whitfield:] The world's largest retailer is sharing its sales projections for the coming weeks. Wal-Mart says it expects sales in its American stores to be right where they were one year ago. And it has a whole lot of people wondering what's going on with Wal-Mart's customers. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. So, Alison, you know, Wal-Mart is considered an economic bell weather. So what does this say about the state of the U.S. economy overall?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Correspondent:] It is interesting because, you know, Wal-Mart is the world's biggest retailer and we do look at Wal-Mart as a barometer and then we look at what its earnings report look like. Its most recent one. And some of the comments in there show that the discount shopper did pull back, was a little cautious from the beginning of this year. And not so surprising. It really makes sense because higher gas prices, for one. Gas prices have been high for 35 days in a row. That cuts into how much consumers are willing to spend, let's say, at Wal- Mart. Also, you've got, since the beginning of the year, the end of the payroll tax holiday. And, sure, that affects everybody, but it especially hurts the typical Wal-Mart shopper. And then, of course, finally, the delay in tax refund checks going out because Congress was trying to decide which tax cuts, you know, to keep, which would go. That delay kept that disposable income from going out to places like Wal-Mart. So, yes, all of that hitting those lower income shoppers harder. That took income out of their pockets. Income that would have otherwise gone to Wal-Mart. Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right, got that. And then, meantime, how is the stock market reacting?
[Kosik:] Looking overall well, Wal-Mart, actually, is up more than 2 percent. So the overall market, different story. The Dow down 89 points. You know, it just seems like yesterday we were talking about that elusive record for the Dow. You know, it doesn't look like we're going to be hitting that today or any time soon. A couple things in the works here. The sell-off actually started yesterday when the Federal Reserve indicated in its minutes from last month that it may be looking to pull back its stimulus. That really has propped up the market. Also, a weak manufacturing report weighing on stocks today, as well as unemployment claims from last week. They are up. So, one piece of good news, though. There was a rise in home re-sales, but obviously not enough to keep stocks in the green today. Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right. Got a little encouragement, though. We'll take that. Thanks so much, Alison Kosik.
[Kosik:] Sure.
[Whitfield:] David Weir, you know the name, he's a world record holder and six time gold medal winner. Well, in this week's "Human Factor," Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to this remarkable British athlete who exemplifies courage and determination while competing in a wheelchair.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Correspondent:] Two Olympics, six gold medals, Beijing, London, a handful of world records, world championship titles in six London marathon wins. David Weir is one of the top Paralympian athletes in the world, competing in long distance races. He's also confined to a wheelchair. All of it pure upper body strength.
[David Weir, 6-time Paralympic Gold Medalist:] So I can feel my legs, but they can't move. Well, it's called spinal cord transection, which is it was damage to the nerves in my spine and the doctors don't know how or when or why. So it was a disability from birth really.
[Gupta:] He was just a young boy when he decided not to let his disability keep him from his dreams from being an athlete.
[Weir:] I was into sport very early at school. It was my best subject, P.E. I wasn't very good at anything else. So I knew that I had to get the sport right if I wanted to succeed in life. And I was very lucky and I was talented at an early age and wheelchair racing took over my life.
[Gupta:] He began training in earnest at age eight. Joining Team Great Britain by age 11. And started winning medals at the age of 25.
[Weir:] I found a lot, really, in a short space of time.
[Gupta:] And he's also starting to give back, helping to train the Paralympic athletes of tomorrow.
[Weir:] I just encourage them, really. Give them advice and tactics and the way to push and the way to sit in their racing chair, because I've got a lot of knowledge over the years.
[Gupta:] Weir says for anyone dealing with any disability, whether they're headed for the Olympics or just want to stay fit, exercise is the best medicine.
[Weir:] It makes you forget for a few hours of what's happened and stuff like that. So if it's wheelchair racing, basketball, swimming, anything, just to get out and do something because I think it's just the way of life when your you have to savor it. And another process of healing, I think.
[Gupta:] Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, London.
[Whitfield:] And be sure to watch "Sanjay Gupta MD" on Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time and Sunday 7:30 a.m. Eastern. All right, two young girls forced to fight on camera. The shocking video has now gone viral and now police want to track down the people responsible. We'll show you the video after this.

[Kristie Lu Stout:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. The sound of heavy gunfire during an aerial attack. Pro-Gadhafi forces clash with rebels in Ras Lanuf amid mixed reports that Libya's leader may be trying to broker a way out. This 5-year-old girl toils in the dirt, making bricks to help pay her family's debt. As part of the "CNN Freedom Project," we'll take you inside India's illegal bonded labor trade. And one man's quest for the truth. Meet the reporter making sure the poor and voiceless are heard in China. Now, Libya has entered its fourth week of bloody conflict, but claims have emerged about an offer for Moammar Gadhafi that could prevent a fifth. Opposition figures say that he has agreed to step down if he's guaranteed safe passage out of the country, but the government vehemently denies this. Now, CNN's Arwa Damon reports from rebel-held Benghazi on the efforts of the shadow government in eastern Libya.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] As children scamper around the spoiled war, opposition leaders deliver the latest military and political updates from a small window of the north Benghazi courthouse. [on camera]: Around the corner is a side door to the courthouse, the entrance to what has become the de facto decision-making nerve center. It is here where they decided to form the National Council, a shadow interim government of sorts. [voice-over]: The group faces a monumental task. Amal Bugaigis is a member of what is known as the February 17th Coalition made up of lawyers and intellectuals who are at the forefront of the uprising. And it is they who put together the council.
[Amal Bugaigis, February 17th Coalition Member:] It is the legal body in front of the whole world who represent the revolution.
[Damon:] Most critical at this stage, she says, is international recognition, developing a strategic plan of defense for the fighters on the front line, many of whom do not even have military experience. And they're heavily outgunned by staunch Gadhafi supporters. And how to handle Libya's natural wealth.
[Bugaigis:] The oil, because it's very important to the world and it's very important to Libya, because we cannot continue without money, but agreement with the world.
[Damon:] The council itself meets, we are told, at an undisclosed location in eastern Libya. Within these walls, impromptu encounters morph into debates and arguments. Trying to govern a non-state entity with democratic ambitions is a new experience for most. We came across a group of tribal elders here to pledge their support. Usama has just arrived with news from the front lines, brandishing what he says is the helmet of a downed pilot. He explained that he's here to reassure people that the opposition is winning the battle, that Libyan TV is stating they lost. [on camera]: So, Gadhafi's propaganda campaign though must be pretty powerful if it is able to initially even cause you to worry.
[Bugaigis:] You see, when you see this on the TV, you have some doubts, maybe something happened.
[Damon:] Amid the hallway bus we find Mohammed, here to draw attention to his case. [on camera]: He was a political prisoner. [voice-over]: He was thrown behind bars numerous times since he was 12, jailed, he says, for anti-Gadhafi graffiti. He says he was tortured repeatedly. Half his body is now paralyzed. Like many, he is euphoric at being able to freely speak his mind. But at the same time, he shares the general apprehension that Gadhafi will launch a vicious bombing campaign. The will to win is as strong as ever. Now the National Council has to come up with a cohesive plan to move it from civil war to the creation of a new civil society. Arwa Damon, CNN, Benghazi, Libya.
[Stout:] And Arwa Damon joins us live from Benghazi. And Arwa, the opposition says that Gadhafi is trying to strike a deal. Give us the details and the reaction.
[Damon:] Yes, Kristie. And this is a very fluid situation here as well, especially in terms of information. But we did hear from opposition leaders that their intermediaries Gadhafi was offering to convene the people of congress. In return, he would step down. He wanted guarantees of safe passage for him and his family, guarantees that he would not be prosecuted at a later date. This offer on every single level met with a lot of skepticism as to whether or not it was genuine. In return, the opposition said that it was countering with saying that if Gadhafi in fact did intend to live up to his side of that potential bargain, he would have to come out and say that he was no longer Libya's leader, and he would have to recognize the legitimacy and authority of this newly formed National Council. We did, however, hear from government officials in Libya that this offer was baseless, that it did not exist. When we returned with that response to the opposition leadership here, they said that they were not surprised. They had all along believed, they said, that this was just another one of Gadhafi's tricks Kristie.
[Stout:] Arwa Damon, joining us live from Benghazi. Thank you for that. Now, for three full weeks, the U.N. Security Council has monitored developments in Libya, and three members, namely the U.S., U.K. and France, are working on a possible resolution. Now, one factor that could come into play, a no-fly zone over the troubled nation. Now, that is supported by nations around the Persian Gulf. But lying to the east are two permanent members of the Security Council who could make a no-fly zone a no-go zone. Any kind of military intervention could face criticism from Russia and China, two nations that have veto power. Now, the situation in Libya has now unquestionably turned into all-out civil war. But will a civil war of sorts erupt over U.N. resolution plans? Now, CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins me live. And Barbara, a no-fly zone requires international buy-in. So what is the likelihood it will go ahead?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, you know, it's tough to say at this point, Kristie. Here, in the United States, the Obama administration is making it very clear, that international buy-in is vital. There needs to be a U.N. resolution. It need to happen perhaps under a NATO umbrella, of NATO planes conducting any such operation. And things are long way from that right now, because there is very little call for Western powers to really get involved in Libyan air space, on the ground in Libya. And the Obama administration knows that. So, yesterday, the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, walked a very delicate line between the reality of the situation politically and trying to send a signal to Gadhafi that the U.S. and the international community still has a strong will to act. Have a listen.
[Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary:] We are in consultation with our international partners. A no-fly zone option is certainly one that would be discussed at NATO. In terms of the procedures of getting there, should we want to pursue that option, I'm not going to elaborate on the paths, but only to say that it is being considered. No option has been removed from the table, but ground troops is not sort of top of the list at this point.
[Starr:] So, let's be very clear. No U.S. ground troops in Libya. That is not something that the U.S. administration has the stomach or interest for. As far as a no-fly zone, keep watch on the U.N. Britain, France and the U.S. still trying to work through all of that, getting some support for the general idea of it out in the region there, in the Middle East. But it's a long way from happening, and it's not something that the Pentagon really wants to do. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, for days now, has been warning it would be very tough and essentially amount to a military conflict for U.S. warplanes to try and deal with a no-fly over Libya Kristie.
[Stout:] So a no-fly zone a long way from happening. Barbara Starr, joining us live from the Pentagon. Thank you.
[Starr:] Sure.
[Stout:] Now, this week, CNN is launching our "Freedom Project." Now, we're joining the fight to end modern-day slavery. It's a horror that at least 10 million people face every day in every corner of the world. And throughout the year we'll bring you some of their voices. And through their stories, the "CNN Freedom Project" hopes to unveil the web of criminal organizations trading in human life. Now, today, we're putting the spotlight in rural India where, in some places, entire villages are enslaved by landowners. Now, some people are working to pay off minor debts owed for generations. Sara Sidner reports on this vicious cycle.
[Sara Sidner, Cnn International Correspondent:] An army of brick makers heaving, stacking, balancing bricks and more bricks from sunup to sundown. But these laborers take home no wage. They are working off a debt. They are bonded laborers, bound to those who gave them an advance or a loan. Human rights activists say the practice is legal and call them India's modern slaves. "I cannot leave here unless I pay my debt." Dirgawasi tells me she has no idea when that will be. [on camera]: The workers here tell us, generally, here's how it works. The contractor shows up promising them work and giving them a little advance money. Then, they're tractored in from their far off villages to a place they've never been to, and they're told when they get here that they have to work off their loan and they will not be paid any wages. They're also told they have to live here so the supervisors can keep an eye on them. [voice-over]: It isn't just the adults who are expected to work. Dirgawasi is a mother of three. Her eldest daughter should not be this skilled at brick making. She is only 5 years old. Her mother says she took an advance of 1,000 rupees, the equivalent of about $22. She, her husband and her daughter have been working six days a week for two months now. She says no one has told her when the loan will be paid off. Their small allowance is barely enough to feed the family. Still, they don't dare leave. "They will beat me if I try to leave," Dirgawasi says. We want to ask the supervisor about what seems to be a violation of Indian labor law. [on camera]: Is the supervisor supervisor? [voice-over]: So when a supervisor shows up asking us to leave, we take our opportunity and he agrees to speak to us. [on camera]: Are they having to pay this loan off now? [voice-over]: "Yes, they have to work and repay the loan. They keep working," he says. [on camera]: Is this legal? How is it legal? [voice-over]: "Yes, yes," he says. "We have an agreement." [on camera]: Why are children working here? [voice-over]: "Kids are working here for food. They need food. If they can't fill their stomachs, they need to work," he says, as he's pulled away. Perhaps he has said too much. [on camera]: I'm not going to pay you money.
[Unidentified Male:] Money. Money.
[Sidner:] Why? Why would I pay you money? Why? [voice-over]: Though he won't pay the workers a wage, he has no problem asking us to pay him for the interview. We of course refuse, and everyone goes back to making bricks. Some will stay trapped in debt.
[Supriya Awasthi, Free The Slaves:] They remain in
[Sidner:] Supriya Awasthi works for an international organization called free the slaves. She admits her organization's mission is ambitious. [on camera]: What's the most shocking thing that's happening here in this country?
[Awasthi:] There are 27 million people around the world who are enslaving, and the maximum number of people enslaving live in India.
[Sidner:] Just down the road, in the village of Gomanpur we meet Carbon. "When my father was alive, he took an 8,000 rupee loan from the landowner. Since that time, I have to work day and night for him." His father's debt, the equivalent of $175, changed his life. Carbon says, "No matter who is your family borrowed money, their debt becomes your debt." "Even when I'm hurt or sick, they call me to work," he says. "You won't believe how many atrocities I have to bear each day." Before he was injured on the job, he says he tried to escape several times, but they found him and brought him back from as far away as Mumbai. It's true, there are no physical signs of what this place is about. No chains, no fences, and no armed guards. But these villagers say they are all slaves just the same. [on camera]: What will happen if you just take your family and leave and go somewhere else? [voice-over]: "If I don't work for them, they will beat me and abuse my daughter," she says. "If you don't give in, they'll sell your daughter and son." Lawti borrowed money from a landowner to treat her husband's tuberculosis. [on camera]: How much do you owe? [voice-over]: "I am an illiterate. So how would I know how much we owe and what's left to pay? I don't even know how much we had taken. It's been many years." So she works. These villagers say they all do. There is nowhere to run to and no way to get there. None of them had any idea that Indian law outlawed this practice more than 30 years ago. [on camera]: What does freedom mean to you? [voice-over]: "The day I pay my debt, I will be free. We'll be prosperous," she says. Now, Lawti's dream is to be able to work long enough so her children will be freed from the loan that binds her to this land and this life. Sara Sidner, CNN, Uttar Pradesh, India.
[Stout:] Shocking, isn't it? A cycle so vicious and so heartbreaking. Now, CNN caught up with an Indian magistrate, and he says that until there are improvements in education, the nation will likely continue to fight this kind of poverty.
[Ranvijay Singh, Subdivisional Magistrate:] When, India has three things first of all, 100 percent education, when every parent will be empowered he will understand the value of his child. Nation formation, nation building what is my child's value? They'll begin to understand. And socioeconomic development of every state of the society. Until India progresses in these three factors, we'll just have to continue doing these rescues, and they will just keep sending these kids to work. This is their compulsion. The most important thing for them is food.
[Stout:] And tomorrow on CNN, Sara Sidner brings us another aspect to the story rescuing workers from debt slavery, the power of fear when work is your entire life. That's tomorrow, right here on NEWS STREAM. And still to come this hour in our coverage of those working to end slavery, there's a new million-dollar fund to help the victims of human trafficking. It is the first of its kind. And the U.N.'s goodwill ambassador on human trafficking. The actress Mira Sorvino will be joining us live. Now, Egyptian women, they are demanding equality for all. And activists say it is the only way for the country to move forward. We'll bring you a live report from Cairo. Plus, vaccination investigation. Japan probes the safety of shots that have been given to babies around the world.

[Hendricks:] Welcome back. As we wait to get back that signal of President Obama in Washington, D.C., we have other news for you. The U.S. government believes the killing of a high-level Al Qaeda leader in Yemen could provoke revenge attacks against Americans. A CIA drone attack is credited with killing an American-born cleric, Anwar al- Awlaki and several others too. The FBI and the State Department are warning the killing could incite anti-American attacks inside the U.S., also around the world. A government official says al-Awlaki has been under surveillance in Yemen for two weeks when the opportunity arose to kill him with a missile. Another American who is among those killed in Friday's drone strikes, Samir Khan. He was considered vital to Al Qaeda's efforts and produced an on-line English language magazine called Inspire. Khan used to live in Charlotte, North Carolina. Molly Graham of our affiliate of WBTV spoke to people who knew him and asked this how she was able to track down Khan last November but the federal government could not.
[Molly Graham, Reporter, Wbtv:] We started off by ringing the door bell of Samir Kahn's parents house. No answer. So we talked with Jibril Hough, he is the spokesperson for the family.
[Jibril Hough, Family Friend:] As you can imagine if it was your child, a number of emotions, embarrassed. Frustrated.
[Graham:] he said the ideology that Samir promoted and wrote about was wrong. He said Samir was dangerous but he won't take the next step. [on camera]: Was Samir a terrorist?
[Hough:] That's a good question. He definitely was a terrorist supporter.
[Graham:] But you wouldn't say he was a terrorist?
[Hough:] Did he actually commit an act of terror? You know, I don't think it's ever been proven that he has.
[Graham:] Would propaganda, the words he used against people online, would that not be considered an act of terror?
[Hough:] I don't know, because he was doing the same thing while he was here.
[Graham:] So he was backyard terrorist while he was here.
[Hough:] While he was here, I would say he should have been arrested and tried for that.
[Graham:] The federal government might agree with him on that one. At one point Kahn was listed as the number two guy in Al Qaeda when it came to propaganda. Last year U.S. representative Sue Myrick said she couldn't believe we could track them down yet they couldn't. If he was the number two guy, how did they let him get away, move from Charlotte, hop on a plane, go to Yemen, when I could find him in a parking lot?
[Rep. Sue Myrick:] I know Molly those, it's crazy. And that's the same those are questions I'm asking right now.
[Graham:] Jibril said he tried to council Samir years ago as with other Muslim-Americans in the Charlotte community, including Samir's own father. It didn't work. Even so Jibril says this is not a day to celebrate. [on camera]: There are some Americans who say this is a huge day to rejoice, because he was dangerous, he was a terrorist and now he's taken out along with al-Awlaki.
[Hough:] Yes, but I'm not one who rejoices in the loss of a human life, regardless if they had it coming or not.
[Hendricks:] Our thanks to Molly Graham in Charlotte, North Carolina. Checking some of our top stories, police in New York arrested at least 50 Wall Street protesters as they blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. Hundreds of protesters chanted, "Whose bridge? Our bridge," as they walk on both the pedestrian, vehicle levels. Those arrested were charged with disorderly conduct and blocking traffic. The so-called occupied Wall Street demonstrations are entering their third week. Protesting social inequities resulting from the financial system. Amanda Knox could learn her fate as soon as Monday a couple of days away in a case that has brought international attention. The 24- year-old American is appealing her murder conviction in Italy. She was found guilty two years ago of killing her roommate, Meredith Kercher. She was brutally murdered and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Amanda Knox was. Her lawyers say that she was not guilty. Prosecutors say Knox and her former boyfriend are killers and that their convictions should stand. Her mom she has hope but she is not celebrating just yet. New images of Casey Anthony from the moment she learned that the remains had been found in the search of her two-year-old, Caylee. You can see her on the right there. That is security video from a county jail medical facility. It shows Anthony hunched over and rocking back and forth after seeing the news on TV. About a week later the remains were identified as her daughter, Caylee. Anthony's attorneys had this video sealed for the trial claiming it was inflammatory but a judge overturned that ruling on Friday clearing the way for you to see it. Coming up, a warning from the CDC about a cantaloupe recall. You could be part of a new food-borne bacteria-borne outbreak and you don't even know it. Also, a story that is nothing but a miracle. A man accidentally drives off a cliff and survives six days in a ravine. You won't believe how his own family found him.

[Kaye:] Good morning, welcome back, everyone. Thanks for starting your morning with us. I'm Randi Kaye. It is about half past the hour. National park authorities continue searching for missing climbers on Alaska's Mountain McKinley. Four Japanese men feared dead following a massive avalanche. One climber survived and was able to climb out with only some minor injuries. The climbers were coming down the mountain when the avalanche hit. Tomorrow, the Michigan State lawmaker who was punished after saying "vagina" in a speech will join in a special performance of "The Vagina Monologues" on the Capitol steps in Lansing. "Detroit News" report she'll be joined by the award-winning playwright Eve Entsler and several other female Democratic lawmakers. Lisa Brown was giving an impassioned speech against a bill that would restrict abortions when she shouted the word. Take a listen.
[Lisa Brown, , Michigan State House:] I have not asked you to adopt and adhere to my religious beliefs. Why are you asking me to adopt yours? And finally, Mr. Speaker, I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my vagina, but no means no.
[Kaye:] Michigan Republicans said she wasn't punished for saying "vagina" but for violating House decorum rules and acting unprofessionally. And the U.S. Air Force's unmanned space plane successfully completed its mission Saturday. The plane, which is about a fourth of the size of the space shuttle will allow experts to continue sending up experiments. The 11,000 pounds state of the art vehicle had been in orbit for more than a year. A Primeville, Oregon, man is in critical condition this morning after being diagnosed with the plague. Health officials say the man contracted the rare disease from an infected stray cat that has since died. That cat's body was sent to the Centers for Disease Control so they can test it. In Saudi Arabia, the royal family is preparing for the funeral of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz. His burial is expected Sunday afternoon. President Obama praised the prince's hard line stance against terrorism in his country. The world's eyes are on Greece. The country is voting in a pivotal election that could have huge consequences for the struggling U.S. economy and for debt-ridden Europe. Greek voters are picking a new parliament, but they are also deciding between parties who favor and oppose an international bailout. And if the anti-bailout party wins, well, that could push Greece right out of the Euro zone, sending shockwaves through the financial markets and Wall Street. We'll continue to watch what happens. Another closely watched election is underway in Egypt right now. Voters are heading to the polls for a second straight day to pick a president. CNN's Ivan Watson joining us this morning from Cairo. Ivan, good morning to you. You're seeing everything firsthand on the ground there. So, what's the turnout been, what's the mood like?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Corresondent:] Well, good morning, Randi. In this polling station, as you can see, it's small but it's pretty crowded. People in some cases voting behind this sheet over here, in some cases behind that barrier, filing through despite the [AUDIO GAP] the afternoon heat here. Now, this is day two of this presidential election. Someone saying the first time in thousands of years that Egyptians are getting to choose their leader and they don't know what the outcome of the vote will be. One of the representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is fielding one of the two candidates actually slept outside this polling station last night to ensure that nobody tampered with the votes that had been cast yesterday in this ballot box. I'm going to show you one of the ballots, Randi. There are two candidates here. They're Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force general and handpicked prime minister of the deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak, and Mohamed Morsi, the candidate [AUDIO GAP] from the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood. Many Egyptians I'm talking to feel with this stark choice ahead of them, their vote can help determine the very future of this country. Randi?
[Kaye:] And Ivan, we've been talking about Greece and Egypt this morning. And like Greece, this election is bigger than Egypt, as well. I mean, Egypt's been a critical ally for the U.S. in the Mideast where we've seen so much turmoil. How do you think this election might impact that?
[Watson:] Well, I mean, Egypt is a crucial American Middle Eastern ally. It's on the border with Israel. It was long considered the cultural and political leader of the Arab world. It's a it's a populist country, too, with more than 90 million people. And it's been in turmoil for the past year and a half. The transition from dictatorship has been a messy one and a difficult one, and it's far from over. Just two days ago, the ruling military council here dissolved the recently elected parliament, which was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. That was viewed as one of the big achievement of this difficult and sometimes bloody transition since the revolution. And it's been called by some critics a soft military coup. So, there are a lot of questions ahead for this strategic country in the heart of the Middle East. Randi?
[Kaye:] Ivan Watson reporting for us in Cairo. Ivan, thank you very much. It has been nearly 40 years since the most notorious political scandal in American history began to unfold. We're talking about the Watergate break-in. And now, we are hearing new information that connects President Nixon to the Mafia.

[Anderson:] You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD live from London. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome back. 24 minutes past 9:00 here. We're following developments from the Netherlands for you where three teenagers have now been charged with manslaughter. This, after a volunteer football linesman was brutally attacked on the field by players during an amateur match. Let's bring in my colleague Don Riddell from CNN Center for more on this story. I can't ever remember a story quite like this. This is quite remarkable. What do we know at this point?
[Don Riddell, Cnn Sports Correspondent:] Oh, it's just absolutely awful and really very, very tragic, Becky. One of the reasons it's so tragic, apart from the fact that a 41 year old man who was volunteering and being involved in a game he loved, has actually lost his life, is that his son was playing in this game. And after he was punched and kicked he was taken to hospital a few hours later and sadly lost his life. Here's what we know at this point, three youths, two 15 year old boys and one 16 year old boy will appear in court in Holland on Thursday charged with manslaughter, assault and public violence. The 41 year old man that died was called Richard Nieuvenhuizen and his death has sent shockwaves right throughout the football world and of course throughout the Dutch football community. All amateur games this weekend have been postponed. Professional games will be played, but professional teams will observe a minute silence ahead of their games this weekend. And the players involved in those games will honor and remember Mr. Nieuvenhuizen by wearing black arm bands. This has gone right to the very top, Becky. The FIFA president Sepp Blatter has issued a statement about this today saying, "football is a mirror of society. And sadly the same ills that afflict society, in this case violence, also manifest themselves in our game. Nevertheless, I remain convinced that football through the example set by the tireless efforts of people like Mr. Nieuvenhuizen is a force for good. And we must continue to use its positive example to educate people against these wrongs." You know, Dutch football, Becky, has given us so many amazing things: the Cruyff turn, total football, dozens of great players who have graced the best clubs around the world. And many of those players are now wondering exactly how on earth this could have happened. This is what the Ajax coach Frank De Boer had to say.
[Frank De Boer, Ajax Manager:] You can't imagine it happening, that boys of 15, 16 years old short-circuit like that. You wonder about the parenting. This is too ridiculous for words.
[Riddell:] Too ridiculous for words. And a very good point about the parenting, Becky. Of course, parents have a responsibility in the way they bring up their children and whether or, you know, how they should show respect to their elders, but of course, you know, every country is different, but a lot of times you have kids playing any kind of sport at this kind of age and often it's the parents on the sidelines that are getting more agitated and more excited, more animated giving the officials than a harder time than the players themselves. And of course often that is where the players learn this kind of behavior from.
[Anderson:] Yeah, pause for thought I think. Don, always a pleasure. Don Riddell at CNN Center. Back with World Sport in an hour for you from now. With the final match there of Champion's League group stages being played out as we speak. We'll get the latest for you on World Sport on that. All right, still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, a horrific abuses against civilians in Yemen. A human rights group says an affiliate of al Qaeda isn't the only one to blame. John Irving hits out over sexual intolerance. My interview with the iconic author still to come. All of that proceeded by the headlines at the bottom of the hour. That coming up after this.

[Cho:] Welcome back. Protesters are taking on the North Carolina pastor who told his congregation recently that gays should be put inside an electric fence. Well, a crowd showed up at Catawba County, North Carolina to denounce the inflammatory sermon that Pastor Charles Worley delivered on Mother's Day. His comments came just days after North Carolina voters approved a statewide referendum which essentially outlawed gay marriage. 6 percent unemployment. Well, a couple of years ago that would have sounded horrible. These days it sounds pretty good, doesn't it? And one candidate for president is making a promise he can make it happen. Our Don Lemon spoke with CNN contributors Will Cain and LZ Granderson.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] So, guys, this week Mitt Romney made a prediction about unemployment if he's elected. Take a listen.
[Mitt Romney, Gop Candidate For President:] I can tell you that over a period of four years, by virtue of the policies that we will put in place, we will get the unemployment rate down to 6 percent or perhaps a little lower.
[Lemon:] OK, so, political analysts say if you win the economy, then you win the election. But is that kind of like promising $2.50 a gallon gas prices, which Newt Gingrich did?
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Yes, honestly, it kind of is. I mean, I don't know why you would go on the record and put a specific goal on what your unemployment targets would be should you be elected. He should have learned a lesson from the guy who, I don't know, who's sitting in office right now, who promised below 8 percent unemployment if you passed a stimulus bill. How your policies directly relate to the specific unemployment rate, I don't think that's a wise thing to be doing. By the way, Don, I think here's why you can get away with it. He is saying, look, I'll be there for four years. Surely I'll get it after four years.
[Lemon:] And there are some estimates that show if everything remains as is, regardless of who the president is, then he's pretty much on target. That's what they are expecting. But let's move on, because LZ, Will brings up a good point. In 2009, President Obama said that if I don't turn this economy around, then I don't deserve a second term. Does he deserve a second term?
[Lz Granderson, Cnn Contributor:] Absolutely, because here's the thing that we need to start talking about is that no one is creating jobs without it being affected by the global economy. We need to have that conversation more. In other words, we are no longer in a vacuum. We can't just say we can just fix America. We need to be cognizant of how everything else is happening in Europe and their economy, what's going on with China, what's happening in Japan. All of these are factors in terms of unemployment. And so if he is able to communicate that, and despite navigating those choppy waters still keep us at or lower by 7 percent or 8 percent by the time he gets there in November, I think he definitely deserves a second term based upon the economy.
[Lemon:] We talked about this. I knew it was going to be a big deal. But this Cory Booker thing, he really stepped in it when he talked, when he, you know, denounced the Obama strategy in going against Bain Capital and private equity here. The question is, well, they all get money, all the candidates get money from private equity.
[Cain:] Right.
[Lemon:] So does this really have legs, and does the can the voter distinguish between private equity and Bain Capital, which might be a legitimate place to look to find out Romney's records on jobs? First, LZ, on jobs, first to you,
[Lz. Granderson:] That's like the $5 billion question, right? Can the president take this conversation and move it away from attacking, you know, private equity, which is what it sounds like, and actually addressing his time at Bain. And right now he's struggling to do that. He needs to focus more in, not necessarily on how much money was made, but just on his management style and what was left in his wake. That's what he needs to focus in on. I still agree with Cory Booker. He's right in terms of the tone.
[Lemon:] So you know what, LZ, the thing is, I don't know if the voter gets that nuance. I think that they may be too smart for their own good, because if you're
[Cain:] No, they are too smart, period. They're too smart, period. See, the problem is, truth is not on Barack Obama or anyone making that argument's side. You want to say that Bain Capital is some vulture capitalist out there in society, vampire capitalist, however, whatever negative adjective you want to put on that they load companies up with debt, suck the profits out and lay off employees. You have to answer then why Bain has been in business since 1987? No one would fund an operation like that.
[Granderson:] He's running for president of the United States. He's not running for CEO of the United States. If his goal was to make it like a very clean machine and make as much money as possible, great. But here's the thing, if you're laying off people, you still need to take care of those people who don't have jobs. So on the one hand, you can have a net growth, sure, but you still have to be concerned about the individuals who don't have jobs. That's what the president of the United States does. If he wants to be a CEO, that's fantastic, but he wants to be president. That's why he needs to be cautious of what he's talking about with this.
[Lemon:] All right, we want to move on. It is memorial weekend, so we're going to take it down a little bit. A lot of people are vacationing. I don't want all of this you guys are making them anxious as they are watching. They're like, hey- enjoy my margarita, how dare you. So listen, I have a bit of trivia for you. Don't change horses in midstream was a campaign slogan for which candidate for president? Was it Ronald Reagan, was it FDR, was it Eisenhower? Will, first?
[Cain:] I have honestly I'm going to go with Eisenhower.
[Lemon:] LZ?
[Granderson:] I'm going to go with Reagan.
[Lemon:] You're both wrong. It was FDR. FDR in 1944. 1944.
[Cain:] With all those terms, he had a long stream he was asking nobody to change horses in.
[Lemon:] You guys have to brush up on your trivia. OK. A lot of people traveling by automobile this weekend. It's a big Memorial weekend, a big travel weekend. So, LZ, you were born in 1972.
[Granderson:] Yes, sir.
[Lemon:] What was the average price of gas in 1972? Was it 55 cents, 65 cents or 78 cents?
[Granderson:] I'm going to go with 65 cents.
[Lemon:] You are wrong. It was 55 cents. All right. 55 cents, come on, guys. All right. So here's, Will, you were born in 1975. Average price of gas, 47 cents, 57 cents or 69 cents.
[Cain:] 69 cents. It hiked greatly in those three years between when LZ was born and I was born.
[Lemon:] 57 cents, you're wrong. I'm not going to tell you the year I was born, but the average price of gas was 32 cents, so I'm way longer in the tooth than both of you.
[Cain:] Deduction, deduction. That means you were born
[Lemon:] Thank you, guys. Have a great weekend.
[Granderson:] Thank you.
[Cho:] 32 cents a gallon. Don? Right. Coming up, hitting a major home Major League home run, rather, is challenging enough, but today one player hit one over the fence without holding on to the bat. Now even if you're not a sports fan, you definitely want to see this. Also, each week CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles innovators from all walks of life and all fields of endeavor. The program is called "The Next List," so we want to show you a little preview here. Next Sunday, Sanjay looks at David Peterson, who created a new language for one of TV's most popular shows.
[Unidentified Female:] The Dothraki are a kind of a wandering tribe in this kind of imaginary world that George R.R. Martin and his books have created. They're first and foremost warriors.
[Unidentified Male:] We took the tribe from George Martin's best- selling series, and in George's books the Dothraki speak their own language. And we thought we could create that fictional language for a few lines. And we tried to do that, and it sounded like gobbledygook.
[David Peterson, Linguist:] That's where I came in. I created the language for the Dothraki and worked as a translator on the show.
[Unidentified Male:] I was a little bit skeptical, but once we actually got the Dothraki language that David Peterson created and we saw the actors performing the lines, there was no question. It made a huge difference in those scenes.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Top of the hour, a lot bubbling at this moment. Let's get right to it. First, some exciting pictures coming at us over the course of the next few hours. Live during the show, the president is going to be giving out 13 people, the highest award a civilian can receive, that being the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And by the looks of some of these faces, I know you recognize a couple of them. You have legendary rocker, Bob Dylan. Former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright. Former astronaut and U.S. senator, John Glenn and Tennessee basketball star, Pat Summitt. So we're going to bring all of that to you live. But first, just in to us here, as primary voters in Texas hit the booths, word of a shooting near a polling station. In fact, here's some video just back from the scene. This is San Juan, Texas. Here's what we know. A campaign worker reportedly shot in the leg and the suspect is on the run. This is happening, as I mentioned, in San Juan, Texas. This is in south Texas. If you're familiar, this is very close to the border with Mexico. Want to begin by bringing in Yvonne Ramon, the elections administrator in the county. And, Yvonne, so this happened near a polling station? Can you tell me how near? What happened?
[Yvonne Ramon, Elections Administrator:] Well, allegedly, Brooke, there was a shooting that took place. And some supporter of a candidate was standing in their sight and allegedly a vehicle drove by and the person was shot in the leg. And I called the poll location immediately as soon as I found out and the judge of the poll location had no knowledge that this had taken place because, of course, it didn't happen in the poll location area. It was across the street And a ways away. So there was no ruckus or anything like that, that the polls have remained open and the people have continued to vote. The only details that I have is that the person was taken for medical care.
[Baldwin:] That was my next question, how is that person's injuries. Is this a he or a she?
[Ramon:] It was a man.
[Baldwin:] This was a man. So the man was shot and he was taken to the hospital?
[Ramon:] Yes, he was. He was taken for medical care. And I just got off the phone with San Juan police department and they did say that they do have extra security there now, but that everything is calm and things have continued as they were before.
[Baldwin:] OK. So really the obvious question is why. I know this happened too recently for anyone really to know. Just to be clear. And if you if we can help you, you said this person is now on the run. Do you have any kind of vehicle description? Description of what this individual, this shooter looked like?
[Ramon:] We don't have any information like that, because the officer that I spoke to at the San Juan police department says that no one heard the shot. And so that's why I think it maybe took a while for them to respond. And it wasn't until the alleged victim went ahead and notified that this had happened.
[Baldwin:] I understand. Yvonne Ramon, thank you for calling in. If you do or the authorities in the area finally do find this individual, please let us know. We would love to update it. Meantime, let's talk about Syria here. Syria has hit the point where it is spiraling out of control. They have fighting across the country. We're going to show you some of that here. But we're also getting some new details about that massacre that happened Friday night. We talked about this yesterday, just the sheer numbers, 49 children among the victims, total 108 victims. Today, the United Nations is saying, yes, it is clear beyond a doubt that the Syrian government absolutely played a role here. So let me show you this. Watch this with me. This is newly acquired video. This shows when and where it happened. You hear that? This is Friday evening. This is the Syrian city of Houla. You can hear and see this tank shell exploding, the smoke there filling the streets. But that is not the way most of the victims died. Listen to this, if you would.
[Rupert Colville, Spokesman, U.n. Human Rights Office:] A tiny small number appeared to be killed by shelling, artillery and tank fire, which took place over a period of more than 12 hours, but the majority appear to have been the result of house-to-house summary executions of armed men going into houses and killing men, women and children inside.
[Baldwin:] Going into houses and killing these children inside of them. It's an astonishing charge by the United Nations, which now is saying the Syrian government massacred these women and these children. With me now from Turkey, Syria's neighbor to the north is CNN's Ivan Watson. And, Ivan, the shocking charge, it's pretty shocking, is it not, coming from the U.N.?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Contributor:] Yes, Brooke, if you listen to more of that interview, he goes on to accuse the pro-government militia, who are known as shabiha, which roughly translates into ghosts, directly accuses them of killing these people, saying that they are probably the ones who killed most of the people who died, including some 49 children under the age of 10, some of them who appear to have been hit with axes. And in my nearly 15 months of covering this crisis and this brutal crackdown on the Syrian opposition it began as a peaceful protest movement, calling for democracy I don't think we've ever seen atrocities to this scale. And this is in a country that has seen no shortage of bloodshed with thousands of people killed. Even worse, is talking to eyewitnesses and survivors of of what happened in Houla on Friday night. We talked to a little boy, who's supposed to be around the age of 11, who witnessed shabiha, these pro- government militia, who sometimes wear jeans and sneakers, shoot his mother in front of his own eyes, and at least two of his siblings. They left him for dead, he says. He's now an orphan.
[Baldwin:] In the 15 months you say you've been covering this, this is absolutely the worst of the worst. And we have reports, Ivan, of fighting from all around the country. We just want to show our viewers just some of that. Take a look.
[Unidentified Male:] [Speaking foreign language].
[Baldwin:] So Ivan, my next question, is this: is this beginning to resemble a Bosnia-like situation where it's not just rebels fighting the government, but something much worse, where you have ethnic group fighting and killing another ethnic group within the same country? It's basically everyone for themselves. Is that a proper way of characterizing this?
[Watson:] Well, there's definitely a sectarian and a growing sectarian dimension to the violence. I think it's important to note that there's still a government in Syria that has more weapons than anybody else. The Syrian government has tanks and helicopters and artillery as well as troops and has shown no hesitation about using them, even after signing on to a U.N.-brokered peace plan about two months ago that the U.N. special envoy to Syria is trying to revive today, if you can imagine. Within 24 to 36 hours of this massacre taking place in Houla, we were getting reports that the Syrian artillery were shelling another city, Hama, and killing scores of people there. There's no sign the violence is going to stop. The real reaction that we've seen since the Houla massacre, and these revelations have come out, is that the U.S. and about seven or eight other countries have expelled Syrian ambassadors and senior diplomats from their capitals.
[Baldwin:] So let me jump in, Ivan, because
[Watson:] I don't think that's going to bring an end to yes, sure.
[Baldwin:] That was my question, right? So you have all these countries. They're kicking out these Syrian diplomats, but the question really is, so by doing this, how does that really hurt the Assad regime?
[Watson:] To be honest, is that going to stop the kind of massacre that we saw on Friday? No way. This government has been condemned repeatedly by the international community. It's been accused repeatedly by the United Nations of committing crimes against humanity for the better part of a year and three months. And it has not stopped carrying out this kind of violence. Why would losing its ambassadors and charges d'affaire in a couple of western capitals stop it from continuing what it's doing? And in the meantime, the rebels are arming themselves up dramatically. They're getting access to new weapons. They're not a cohesive armed unit and they're carrying out revenge attacks as we speak right now. One rebel commander I talked to, Brooke, claimed responsibility for torching a police station in a town hall in a northern town just Monday. And these people are calling for the blood of the same sectarian group as the Syrian president, Bashar al Assad, that Alawite minority, which is disproportionately represented in the Syrian security forces and in the government.
[Baldwin:] Ivan Watson, 15 months and counting. It is horrendous and it needs to stop. Ivan, thank you so much, reporting live [inaudible]. We have more news for you here unfolding right. "Rapid Fire," roll it. Tonight the presumed Republican nominee for president will finally earn the numbers to back up that title, Mitt Romney expected to meet to reach that magic number, 1,144 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination with a win in today's Texas primary, and then he will become the official nominee at the Republican Convention in August. And new numbers out today reveal the lowest average home prices since mid-2002, the lowest, major cities like Atlanta, Chicago, New York saw home prices hit new lows in March. Experts say affordable mortgages combined with much lower home prices should help to bolster the housing market now. Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, delivering his very first commencement speech as the head of the Defense Department. He spoke to hundreds of graduates at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
[Leon Panetta, Secretary Of Defense:] Our nation now looks to you, the next generation of military leaders, to confront the challenges I just outlined, to protect our nation and to ensure that America always has the strongest military force in the world.
[Baldwin:] And a witness says a piece of that plane that fell from the sky yesterday was, quote, "so hot you couldn't touch it." Here are pictures of it. It's about the size of a BlackBerry. This happened in Toronto. Canada's Transportation Safety Board confirms pieces of an engine fell from an Air Canada 777 shortly after takeoff.
[Don Enns, Transportation Safety Board, Canada:] It did have a failure in the back end of that engine at the end that produces the power. And this is the debris that came out of a tail pipe of that. Exactly what happened with the initiating event was, as of yet, we haven't gotten into it enough so that we don't really know.
[Baldwin:] Can you imagine having that falling on your car? The plane heading to Tokyo with 344 people onboard, the engine problems forced the plane to turn around. No one was hurt. First lady Michelle Obama making the TV rounds today. She stopped by "Good Morning America," stopped by "The View." She's not talking any heavy politics, though. She's rather talking about growing gardens, raising healthier children. The ladies on "The View" asked she had ever thought about running for office.
[Michelle Obama, First Lady:] There are so many ways to serve, and being president is one of the hardest ways, and that's one of the reasons why I tell Barack I'm a little smarter than him. I've picked the easier job.
[Obama:] But, no, I have no interest in politics. Never have, never will.
[Baldwin:] First lady there just this morning. Got a lot more for you. Watch this. It's known as the Flame, a powerful virus infecting computers and like James Bond, its expertise is spying. Plus, if Donald Trump is still a birther, apparently Mitt Romney isn't bothered, because tonight in Vegas, they're meeting face to face. Plus, radioactive debris, radiation from Japan's nuclear crisis now found in fish off the coast of California.

[Jane Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, as we go back into court, an avalanche of very and I mean very hostile questions from the jury in the Jodi Arias case look at her leaves Jodi near tears. She is seeing her life flash before her, I guarantee you. Remember in Arizona, jurors can ask questions. And these questions don`t seem to show the jury buying Jodi`s claim of being abused by Travis Alexander, the victim. Au contraire. Meantime, breaking news: new artwork reportedly by Jodi on sale online. Should this defendant be allowed to make money selling jailhouse art? And by the way, it`s an hourglass. Does Jodi think her time is running out? Is that why her defense expert tried to put victim Travis Alexander on trial?
[Jennifer Willmott, Jodi`s Defense Attorney:] Did Miss Arias know about his secret life? She caught him masturbating to pictures of a little boy. His behavior and the things that he actually said and the things that he did. Mr. Alexander sent her boy`s underwear. Mr. Alexander liked Jodi to wear pigtails.
[Alyce Laviolette, Domestic Abuse Expert:] You live a life of deception.
[Willmott:] Mr. Alexander liked her to dress like a schoolgirl. Is this the same mouth that lied about his virginity?
[Laviolette:] Yes. There would be so much for Mr. Alexander to lose.
[Willmott:] Lied about his virginity to his church.
[Laviolette:] He was leading a double life.
[Willmott:] Mr. Alexander portrayed himself as a virgin?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Willmott:] Was there a deception there?
[Laviolette:] If his private life came out, I think it would destroy a lot of that. Miss Arias is the safest target.
[Velez-mitchell:] Wow, sounds like they`re ratcheting up their claims against the victim. Jodi, of course, was on the stand for 18 days. Tonight, she`s reportedly found another way to get attention. Twitter. An account run through an apparent supporter. And she appears to be taking aim at prosecutor Juan Martinez. Quote, "Hmm, anger management problems, anyone?" That`s just one of her attacks on the prosecutor. She also takes a low blow at his height. Yes, the prosecutor is on the shorter side. We`re going to reveal her tweets to you tonight. And more of my grilling by two seasoned detectives, where I break down. And yes, I also do a handstand, confess to a fake crime to learn how they grill suspects and how they react to behavior that Jodi exhibited in the interrogation room. OK. We`re going back to the court. Disgraced athletes Lance Armstrong and former president Bill Clinton, by the way, just mentioned in a courtroom shocker as this defense expert, Alyce LaViolette, compared them to Jodi, saying, well, they all have lying in common. Are you kidding me? We`re going to debate that. Now, back into court where Alyce LaViolette, who has called Jodi a victim and Travis, the victim, an abuser is facing some angry questions from the jury. Let`s listen.
[Laviolette:] There was another visit, I think, within three or four I can`t tell you exactly, that I spent another two days and then I came out early, before my daughter`s wedding, and spent part of a day with Jodi. So, it was over, I believe four different visits. There were four different visits or five different visits. I`m not exactly sure; I don`t have my calendar with me. And each visit was either the first time it was eight hours or six or seven hours, and the next time was a couple of six or seven hour days, I believe. There`s one time that was, like, three or four hours. So it was it was spread out a little bit.
[Judge Sherry Stephens, Presiding Over Trial:] "Regarding the argument in the car between Jodi and Travis in March of 2008, you stated that Travis `slapped her across the face,` quote unquote. Is that exactly what Jodi told you?"
[Laviolette:] No, it isn`t exactly what she told me. I think it was on the jaw. But I think about that as the face. So I just I said "slapped across the face." What was most important to me is the slap.
[Juan Martinez, Prosecutor:] Objection.
[Stephens:] Sustained. "Please state how confident you are that Jodi did not lie to you."
[Laviolette:] That Jodi did not lie to me about about what?
[Stephens:] "Did not lie to you."
[Laviolette:] Like ever? I don`t believe she lied to me about significant things. I don`t have reason to believe she lied to me. I don`t have evidence that supports she lied to me. Is it possible she lied to me about some things? It`s possible. When I look at the issue of abuse...
[Martinez:] Objection.
[Stephens:] Overruled, you may continue.
[Laviolette:] What I came in to do was really to look at the issues of domestic violence. And when I look at the the issues of domestic violence, and not this little detail or that detail, but when looking at the issue of domestic violence, I found compelling evidence for domestic violence or I would not be here.
[Martinez:] Objection.
[Stephens:] Sustained. "You denied a vague connection between Mr. Alexander`s childhood and his behavior. Can you describe this connection for us?"
[Laviolette:] I actually don`t think it`s vague at all. The most the most significant factor with people who are abusive in their adult relationships as they`re growing up in abusive relationships. Now, a lot of people have grown up in abusive relationships, and it`s kind of a matter of degree. But the worst kind of childhood abuse is usually associated with the most difficulty in having a successful, intimate relationship and a non- abusive intimate relationship. And Mr. Alexander`s childhood is incredibly abusive. There are situations where his father kicked the door down with him on the other side of it. He was thrown across the room. He talked about being beaten by his mother. He talked about not having food to eat. He talked about living in a camper shell. He talked about his mother being sleeping off a meth high for days and his father being gone. He talked about his father and mother being abusive with each other. He talked about the neglect, of finding a piece of moldy bread to eat and he ate it, about being afraid to wake...
[Martinez:] Objection.
[Stephens:] Sustained.
[Laviolette:] The connection is that, when you are submitted and exposed to that kind of violence, you learn about survival and, in fact, it`s often called by Bruce Perry, called chronic combat readiness. That a child who grows up in that situation can see threat in things that other people don`t see threat in, can be hyper-vigilant, can be in a survival mode. And part of that survival mode is the world as it affects me. So you have to look out for yourself in that kind of situation. There`s a direct link between what you`re exposed to and and how you handle it, especially if there is no intervention, nobody to help you learn to handle it any differently.
[Stephens:] "In the April 2008 incident, you stated Jodi did not fight back because she did not want to hurt Travis. Are you saying she would rather lay there and possibly die than fight back?"
[Laviolette:] Unless somebody believes that they`re going to be hurt or there are a lot of people who don`t fight back. Either they`re afraid...
[Stephens:] "Are you saying that Jodi would rather lay there and possibly die rather than fight back?"
[Laviolette:] I don`t know what she was thinking. She said she didn`t want to hurt him, and she knew she would have to hurt him.
[Stephens:] "Just because a person may appear to be controlling, does that automatically mean they are physically abusive?"
[Laviolette:] No, it doesn`t. You can have somebody who`s controlling and never lays a hand on anybody, but they manipulate and psychologically control.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. We`re going to pause and debate it. There are many, many questions from the jurors in Arizona. They can ask questions. Here are some of them. Most of them quite hostile, it would seem. Did Jodi exaggerate to help her case? Can Jodi be seen as a perpetrator? On and on. It looked like Jodi Arias was almost crying at one point. Let`s debate it. Jordan Rose for the prosecution, should she be seeing her life flash before her eyes?
[Jordan Rose, Attorney:] I think she is. Here now we`ve had the jury ask questions twice. And both times they`re very, very slanted towards the prosecution`s case. She`s got to be worried. I was a little concerned when juror No. 5 was let go that she might be the strongest juror for the prosecution, but it seems... [Sound Effect: Buzzer]
[Rose:] ... that these jurors like Travis.
[Velez-mitchell:] Evangeline Gomez for the defense?
[Evangeline Gomez, Defense Attorney:] Not at all. We can`t generalize, Jane. I mean, this could be the work of one or two jurors, who have in their mind, she`s guilty. We don`t know that it`s every juror who has an issue with her or every juror who questioned her. So we just have to take it for what it is, and that`s it. [Sound Effect: Buzzer]
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. We`ll see what it is at the very end. But it doesn`t look good. It would appear. Look at that crime scene. Did defense attorney Jennifer Willmott take it too far today when she hammered this defense witness about Travis Alexander, the man seen dead there in his own shower and his so-called lies? Did she almost seem to blame the victim for his own violent death?
[Willmott:] Lied about his virginity.
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Willmott:] Lied about his virginity to his church?
[Laviolette:] Correct.
[Willmott:] Is there deception there?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Willmott:] And is that same deception something that went on, with his own friends believing that he was a virgin?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Willmott:] And did that same deception go on with his own family believing that he was a virgin?
[Laviolette:] As far as I know.
[Stephens:] "Do you think that Jodi could have lied to you to help her case?" "Was it possible friends and family may have embellished in an effort to help her?" "Is it possible that Jodi could have also been a perpetrator in her relationship with Travis?" "Is it possible Jodi could be guilty of psychological abuse toward Travis?" "Could it be that Travis` actions be considered defensive rather than abusive?"
[Velez-mitchell:] So many questions that appear hostile toward the defendant. Look at Jodi sitting there in court as these questions are asked. She`s on the verge of tears. You can really tell that she is upset. Let`s go to Beth Karas, correspondent of "In Session." You have just emerged from the courtroom. Give us a sense, because we just debated it. Is this a representation of the jury as a whole or could this be a faction within the jury?
[Beth Karas, Correspondent, Trutv`s "in Session":] Well, it`s at least a fact from within the jury. It is definitely a fact that not all the jurors are submitting questions and that the questions are not a list of, you know, that they`ve come up with by talking among themselves. I mean, they`re at least not supposed to be doing that. They submit questions throughout the cross-examination I didn`t see any questions from them during the direct examination as well as the redirect. So, I think that perhaps all of this is just wearing on everyone. One of Travis Alexander`s sisters cried a lot yesterday. It was just taking its toll on her and then perhaps the same for Jodi Arias. But I must say, LaViolette is answering the questions, like, "It`s possible" to a lot of these questions she`s being asked. "Is it possible Jodi embellished?" "Yes, it`s possible. I didn`t see evidence of it." She has to say that, because if she were to say, "No, it`s not possible," she would lose all credibility.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, thank you for that, Beth Karas. Let`s go back into court to hear more of this testimony, more of these jurors` questions. And then we`re going to talk to somebody who has experienced domestic abuse and is following this case. What does she think? Let`s go back to court.
[Stephens:] Sustained. "Are you aware if any of Travis`s ex- girlfriends besides Jodi has said Travis was physically abusive toward them?"
[Laviolette:] There are no ex-girlfriends that I have read who say that Travis has been physically abusive to them.
[Stephens:] "Is it possible that the instant message between Jodi and Travis on May 10, 2008, regarding his temper was a running joke between the two of them?"
[Laviolette:] It certainly didn`t sound like it.
[Stephens:] "In the May 26, 2008, text messages and instant messages between Travis and Jodi, if Jodi was that upset with what Travis was saying to her, why didn`t she stop talking to him right then?"
[Laviolette:] Well, I don`t know, except that...
[Martinez:] Objection. Foundation, it`s unknown.
[Stephens:] Prosecutor, she was going to explain what she did know. You can follow up with that. Sustained. "Other than Jodi, did you interview anyone else face-to-face?"
[Laviolette:] No, I did not.
[Stephens:] "Are you aware that Jodi`s grandparents` house was broken into on May 28, 2008, only two days after the fight they had through instant messages and text messages?"
[Laviolette:] Yes, I`m aware that the grandparents` house was broken into.
[Stephens:] "We have heard of different females Travis talked to between December 2007 through May of 2008. Wasn`t it a known fact between Jodi and Travis that he was trying to find someone he could marry?"
[Laviolette:] It was a known fact that he was trying to find someone to marry. I just the conversations...
[Stephens:] Overruled. You may finish your response.
[Laviolette:] The conversations would not lead you to believe that these were trying to woo somebody or court somebody to find out if they could marry them. They were very flirtatious from the beginning, sexual from the beginning.
[Stephens:] "You stated one person has more power than the other person. Can that be because the other person gives it, rather than because the one person commands it?"
[Laviolette:] Yes, it can. What I find though, is that if you`re not...
[Martinez:] Objection.
[Stephens:] Overruled.
[Laviolette:] That you don`t have to be abusive because somebody gives you power. Because somebody is less able to take power than the other person. It doesn`t mean the other person has to be abusive. And frankly, if you`re in a relationship that...
[Stephens:] Sustained. "Have any of the women with whom Travis had a relationship other than Jodi stated that Travis abused them psychologically, verbally or physically?"
[Laviolette:] Lisa Andrews talked about him, sort of putting her down, not respecting her values, saying that if she wanted to be a teacher she would be a good teacher, but but it would suck if that`s what she chose to do with her life. So there were women there was another woman who complained that he said nobody would ever...
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. We`re going to take a very short break there. At the heart of this case, was Jodi abused by Travis who, of course, was stabbed numerous times. His throat was slit and he was shot by Jodi Arias. Or was she the aggressor? And that`s what these jurors with their excellent questions are trying to figure out. I wish the prosecutor and the defense attorney had asked some of these questions during their cross and direct. Now on the other side of the break, we`re going to talk to a woman we`re going to show her right now live who has been a victim of domestic violence. She`s also followed this case closely, watching our coverage. And she`s going to weigh in. What does she think, on the other side?
[Willmott:] Given all of these lies that she told after June 4 of 2008, do they define her for you? Do they cause you problems in her believability?
[Laviolette:] No, they don`t.
[Willmott:] Why is that?
[Laviolette:] Because if Miss Arias was a really good liar, she would have planned a really good lie, and she didn`t. He has a significant amount to lose. He has his standing with his profession. His two closest friends are, one of them has his PPL division. And that`s where he earns his money. And he is well thought of there. He`s a motivational speaker there. If his private life came out, I think it would destroy a lot of that. If he would lose his priesthood standing.
[Velez-mitchell:] It`s almost as if the defense, who tried to paint Jodi Arias as justified in killing Travis Alexander, is trying to paint him as having a motive to kill her. What does that have to do with what they claim was Travis lunging at her because she dropped the camera, I don`t know. But they are definitely trashing the victim here. I want to go to one of our very special guests, Angie Ocheta. You have followed this trial very closely. You also were a victim of domestic violence. Tell us your thoughts as a victim, a survivor of domestic violence, what your thoughts are on this case and this whole issue of was he abusive.
[Angie Ocheta, Domestic Violence Survivor:] First of all, I do want to mention that the gentleman that was abusive to me was abusive in every relationship he had and is currently abusive to the woman that he`s with now. Unlike Travis Alexander, he was never abusive to any other woman. So that to me, is a red flag. It was a ten-year relationship where he was mentally, physically and emotionally very abusive. And I finally got the courage to leave. It was very hard.
[Velez-mitchell:] Do you think do you think well, first of all, I applaud you and I`m glad you`re here to be able to talk about it.
[Ocheta:] Thank you.
[Velez-mitchell:] But do you think Jodi Arias is a genuine victim of abuse, or was she taking..?
[Ocheta:] Absolutely not.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tell me why.
[Ocheta:] No. I just first of all, she wasn`t with him more than, what, a year. Really wasn`t a year. I was with this gentleman for over ten years. Just, she`s not genuine able to jump into another man`s bed like nothing? I mean, just the way she portrays herself. How, basically, she thinks she`s above everybody. I don`t see it, personally, me having been a victim myself.
[Velez-mitchell:] Wow. OK. You have heard it from somebody who is a survivor of domestic violence. Stand by, Angie. We may have some more questions as we monitor these questions from the jurors. In Arizona, jurors can ask questions. Let`s go back into the courtroom where the judge is reading juror questions to Alyce LaViolette, the domestic violence expert for the defense.
[Laviolette:] There was another woman who complained that he said nobody would ever...
[Stephens:] Who are you referring to?
[Laviolette:] Nicole. Who said that...
[Martinez:] Objection, foundation.
[Stephens:] Overruled, you may continue.
[Laviolette:] Who said that Mr. Alexander`s...
[Martinez:] Objection.
[Stephens:] Overruled.
[Laviolette:] That Mr. Alexander told her that no one would ever want to date her because she was like her boyfriend, that she was like the man that she ended up being with. And what seems important to me here is that these are not long relationships.
[Martinez:] Objection
[Stephens:] Sustained. "Amid all of the interviews with family and friends of either Travis or Jodi, did anyone mention either concern or suspicion of abuse regarding Travis or Jodi?"
[Laviolette:] Matt McCartney mentioned that he believed that Jodi had confided in him and that he knew there was verbal abuse by talking to Jodi and that he suspected that there was physical abuse, but he didn`t know.
[Stephens:] "You have used the term `survivor` several times during your testimony. Could you please define this term?"
[Laviolette:] We used to use the term "victim" with domestic violence. And what people have started using is the term "survivor," because it has a more positive sound and and because people do survive these relationships and it`s a more powerful word than "victim."
[Stephens:] "Could a survivor also be a perpetrator?"
[Laviolette:] Yes, a survivor could be a perpetrator, but for the most part, when I was answering that question before, there`s a thing called violent resistance where someone who is basically the victim of domestic violence lashes out. There`s also a term that has been coined and is used in California and I`m not sure if it`s used here called dominant aggressor, which is what the police department tries to look at. And that`s to determine who actually is the primary offender in this relationship, who is the person with the most power in the relationship.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. We`re taking a brief break from testimony. We`re going to be back with more. This is not a whodunit. We know that Jodi Arias, the defendant, killed Travis Alexander, slitting his throat, stabbing him 29 times, shooting him in the face. It`s a "why done it?" And this is what the big debate is. Did she plan and carry out this murder because he was taking another woman to Cancun? Or was she there and, ooh, he lunged at her because she dropped the camera, and she accidentally shot him and then goes into a fog and doesn`t remember the rest? That`s what we`re trying to sort out. Juror questions seem very skeptical of her story. We`re going to take a short break and be back with more in a moment.
[Willmott:] Mr. Alexander portrayed himself as a virgin. Based on your information, was he a pretext holder in this church?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Willmott:] He`s really graphic about what he wants to do to Miss Arias. Right?
[Laviolette:] He`s leading a double life.
[Unidentified Female:] Is there deception there?
[Alyce Laviolette, Domestic Violence Expert:] Yes, he is a significant amount to lose. If his private life came out, I think it would destroy a lot of that.
[Unidentified Female:] Is he still dating Miss Andrews?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Unidentified Female:] After Miss Andrews was he pursuing a woman named Mimi Hall?
[Laviolette:] Yes.
[Unidentfieid Female:] An while he`s pursuing Mimi Hall, was he having these sexual conversations with these other women?
[Laviolette:] Yes, it`s a secret for lots of them, and it` something that nobody else would be aware of. He`s leading a double life. Anger and rage is normally directed at the people that you feel the safest with. In this case, Miss Arias is the safest target.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, there you hear it. The defense saying Travis Alexander, the victim, led a double life. And the jury, in their questions, they don`t seem to be buying it. Take a look at Jodi Arias. She looks like she`s crying after she listens to question after question from the jury. In Arizona, jurors can ask questions and they`re asking tough questions. Selin Darkalstanian, you`re our producer, our senior producer, there on the ground. You`ve been in court. What is the mood like?
[Selin Darkalstanian, Sr. Producer, "jane Velez-mitchell":] The jury does not buy Jodi`s story. Jane, every single time a witness gets off the stand and we get to hear the questions, these questions are skeptical of Jodi. And they`re not buying the story, and they`re asking Alyce why she`s buying the argument without hearing the other side of the argument. Travis`s family is sitting in front row. Again, it`s pretty tough for them because there are a few Alyce did go into Travis`s family and his childhood, and how he was abused, how he had to eat moldy bread. She brought up some really tough things today in court and you could tell the family, some of them, again, were shaking their head no. And you could tell it was tough for them hear. Jodi`s mom on the other side of the courtroom writing in her notebook, taking notes. We don`t know what she`s doing with the notes, but she continues to take notes. And just a very tense atmosphere as we`re really beginning to understand what this jury thinks of Alyce LaViolette.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yep, these questions say a lot. Let`s go back into court. More of them for Alyce LaViolette, the defense domestic violence expert.
[Sherry Stephens, Judge:] You stated there was nothing in Jodi`s journals, e-mails, et cetera, indicating she was jealous. Wouldn`t that be consistent with the belief in the law of attraction?
[Laviolette:] It could be, although she listed things about being depressed, about her being a shell of her former self. So although for the most part in her journal, she didn`t try to list negative things, negative things came out in her journal. Negative things, some nonspecific kind of negative things about Mr. Alexander being cruel or
[Juan Martinez, Prosecutor:] Objection.
[Stephens:] Sustained. Could a female abuse, batter or terrorize a man to the point of killing him?
[Laviolette:] Could I`m sorry, I didn`t understand that.
[Stephens:] Could a female abuse, batter or terrorize a man to the point of killing him?
[Laviolette:] Yes. Women can be perpetrators. The percentage
[Martinez:] Objection.
[Stephens:] Overruled. You may continue.
[Laviolette:] When you look at something like the continuum or high end battering, when you look at the national surveys of households and families, which is a non-criminal justice survey, the Violence Against Women that includes 8,000 men and 8,000 women, the emergency room surveys, the FBI unified crime reports, you still see overwhelmingly in violent crimes, where there`s
[Martinez:] Objection.
[Stephnes:] Sustained. We keep hearing him and perpetrator in conjunction with one another but couldn`t a perpetrator be a she?
[Laviolette:] A perpetrator can be a she.
[Stephens:] How many times did you meet with Jodi and on what dates?
[Laviolette:] Well, I tried to answer that before and I can`t tell you the dates without my calendar. Except for the first date, I think it was October of 2011. There was, I know, a time in August because that`s when my daughter got married and there were two other times. In fact, I think when Mr. Martinez interviewed me, I met with her then. That was in November, but I`m not certain of all the dates. I would have to have my calendar.
[Stephens:] During your testimony
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, we`re going to take a brief pause. More testimony in a moment. Meantime, we`ve got breaking news for you. It now appears Jodi Arias is using Twitter as her own personal P.R. agent. In tweets reprotedly done via a supporter, she denies having a boyfriend and tweets in response to rumors, quote, "No, I do not have a girlfriend. After everything I have been through, it`s amazing I`m not gay." And about popping a pill in open court, Jodi tweets, "For crying out loud, it`s
[Rose:] Totally outrageous, but I also have a hard time believing Jodi has anything to do with this. I mean, she`s limited in what she has in jail. She doesn`t have her own ability to tweet. And how much is she talking to a supporter? So I have to believe this is an enthusiastic supporter who just wants to blow up Juan Martinez.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, she has access to a phone and we believe she may be talking to a supporter. Evangeline Gomez?
[Gomez:] This is one time where I may agree with the prosecutor. Listen, I have the same kind of skepticism. I don`t know she`s actually communicating with a person saying, you know what? Put these tweets out. But what is interesting is when you talk about a public relation, one of the concerns I have is these videotapes of these that the prosecutor`s office has perhaps put out?
[Veelz-mitchell:] I have to give Jordan Rose a chance to respond. Is it dirty pool to put out the interrogation tapes of mom and dad? And Jodi?
[Rose:] No! No, no. I wish somehow they would have been admissible in court because then we could see her dad calling her a liar since she was 14 years old. I mean, these things we see here on your show, Jane, it`s unfortunate that some of those aren`t being viewed by the jury because it would certainly strengthen the prosecution`s case.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right, we got to leave it right there. On the other side, more testimony. A very passionate subject. Stay right there.
[Caller:] He`s dead. He`s in the shower.
[Unidentified Male:] He had appeared to be dried blood on his neck. Appeared to be a neck wound from ear to ear. His face was dark purple, almost black. 911
[Operator:] Has he been threatened by anyone recently? 911
[Caller:] Yes, he has. He has an ex-girlfriend that`s been bothering him.
[Unidentified Female:] Jodi Arias killed Travis Alexander. The million dollar question is what would have forced her to do it.
[Jodi Arias, Defendant:] I didn`t.
[Laviolette:] Lance Armstrong lied over many years; Bill Clinton, lied. People lie when they are afraid.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK, so believe it or not, this witness is comparing Jodi Arias, who admits to stabbing Travis Alexander, to a former president and disgraced cyclist. I find that, of all the things I have heard, the most absurd and, yes, outrageous. I want to go back to Ange Ocheita who has followed this trial closely and she is also a survivor of domestic violence. Angie, this witness keeps making the point that, oh well, Travis is afraid of losing something, losing his reputation if the secret of their kinky sex is revealed, and that`s apparently why he fill in the blank does whatever he does that then makes her justified in killing him. Do you buy that argument? And if not, why not?
[Angie Ocheita, In Abusive Relationship For 10 Years:] I personally don`t because I was in that position myself at one point. And I never, ever, ever even ran through my head to do such a horrible, horrific thing.
[Velez-mitchell:] So do you buy that, oh, she grabbed the gun from the closet, even though friends say
[Ocheita:] Oh, no.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK, why not?
[Ocheita:] No. No, I do not. I do not. I feel it was completely premeditated. The fact his best friend, his family never knew he never owned a gun, there were no bullets found. There was no evidence found that he owned a gun. I`m really sure that she stole it from her grandparent`s house and brought it with her.
[Velez-mitchell:] You are almost like a pseudo-juror because you have been following this case from the beginning. You have nothing, you`re not involved in anything. You`re a member of the public. Thank you so much Angie Ocheita. I`m so glad you survived.
[Ocheita:] Thank you for having me.
[Velez-mitchell:] Of course. Keep watching. We have seen so much video of the Jodi Arias` police interrogation tapes. I started to wonder what it`s like to be questioned by cops, to be grilled. I went to Fairfield, Connecticut`s police department to find out. I was grilled by two excellent top flight detectives about a fake crime. We pretended that while walking my dogs. I got into a fight with a woman who threw a plastic bottle into a regular trash can instead of the blue recycle one. Watch what happens when they use the either or tactic on me. How long are they going to leave me in here?
[Unidentified Male:] You`re not happy to be here?
[Velez-mitchell:] Get me out of here. Thank you.
[Unidentified Male:] We know that something happened in Central Park. We know you are involved. We want to get your side of it.
[Unidentified Female:] The story painted to us by the other person makes you look like a monster. Are you a monster?
[Velez-mitchell:] No, I feel like she attacked me. I said lady, this is where you put the plastic bottle.
[Unidentified Female:] Either you are a maniac who goes out and does this regularly and in this one particular incident got caught on camera. You could be a crazy person or this is a situation where someone pushes your buttons. And it happens to every one of us.
[Velez-mitchell:] All I was doing was pointing out here is the responsible thing to do.
[Unidentified Female:] I need you to accept responsibility for what happened.
[Velez-mitchell:] Okay, I did it. I threw that bottle at that lady. I`m not proud of what happened.
[Unidentified Male:] These are a great technique in an interview. Because what you`re doing is you are posing two possible scenarios for the suspect. They`re either a horrible monster or they`re a normal person that made a bad decision. Either one is an admission of guilt.
[Velez-mitchell:] This eitheror tactic was effective. I was confronted with a choice, are you a monster? Of course not. Then did you make a one- time only mistake in choosing the lesser of two evils, I was cajoled into admitting that yes, I did the crime. This is a classic technique they useor. To learn more police interrogation tactics and see more of my somewhat cooky interrogation that mirrors the interrogation we have all come to know and be fascinated by. More testimony on the other side.
[Unidentified Male:] His insistence to others that Jodi stalked him. His insistence to others that Jodi wouldn`t leave him alone. It was always at his demand and his beckoning that Jodi spend time with him.
[Velez-mitchell:] And some things that the jury did not get to see, and that was some of the behavior of Jodi Arias, in the interrogation room when she did for example, the head stand. Now, some may say that goes against her being a battered woman who was emotionally traumatized. If she is being light-hearted and callous, about this horror. Let`s go back into court for more juror questions of Alyce LaViolette, the domestic violence expert for the defense.
[Stephens:] During your testimony, you concurred that many things actually happened, such as when Travis was supposedly caught with photos of young boys. Aren`t you, in fact, only basing this on what Jodi told you?
[Laviolette:] I`m basing yes, I am basing that on what Ms. Arias told me. And on those e-mails or on the sex tape when he talks about corking the pot-
[Stephens:] Overruled, you may follow up with that.
[Laviolette:] Corking the pot Okay.
[Stephens:] You claim that Jodi, not getting medical attention for her finger or other injuries caused by Travis is consistent with other battered women, because they do not want to ruin the perpetrator`s reputation or get them in trouble. What would prevent the battered person from getting medical attention and simply lying about the cause?
[Laviolette:] There are people who get medical attention and lie about the cause. If there is any suspicion and the doctor interviews, you can wind up sort of being stuck.
[Unidentified Male:] Objection, beyond the scope.
[Velez-mitchell:] And wow, what a stressful time, as well, for this defense domestic violence expert who has been on the stand for days now, being grilled. First by the prosecutor in his cross examination, and now by the jurors themselves, a quick break and more testimony on the other side. Criminal defense attorney Evangeline Gomez, what does the defense do given these hostile questions and it is the tail end of the defense`s case?
[Evangeline Gomez, Defense Attorney:] Jean, I think the domestic violence expert is doing an excellent job in responding. She is lending a lot of credibility. The other thing that is going to happen is you will have questions the defense is going to ask that is going to try to reconcile any discrepancy that they think these jurors who may be asking the questions are feeling. Again, I don`t think this is going to destroy the case at all. You do have some jurors who are out there trying to create an image. And I think the defense just needs to continue to do its job in defending her.
[Velez-mitchell:] Got to leave it right there. Thank you for that. We don`t know what is going to happen next, except Nancy Grace, who`s next. END

[Drew Griffin, Cnn Anchor:] It is 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast; 7:00 in the West. I'm Drew Griffin, sitting in for Kyra Phillips this morning. There are several stories that have us talking including the latest comments from the founder of WikiLeaks.
[Julian Assange, Founder Wikileaks:] 3.3 million web pages out of 4.5 million web pages that mention my name also mention the word "rape". That's a serious issue and a seriously successful smear campaign.
[Griffin:] That is Julian Assange this morning. He is out of jail and on the offensive. He says those sex allegations against him, they're bogus. And the U.S. can brace for more embarrassing revelations, he says. A convicted killer put to death with a drug commonly used to euthanize dogs and cats. Officials in Oklahoma say they had little choice. There is a shortage of the sedative normally used for lethal injections. Home for the holidays, America's servicemen and women streaming through U.S. airports and getting a hero's welcome. We're going to go live to one airport that is rolling out the red carpet. But first this morning, millions of Americans waking up to the news that their taxes will not be going up next year. In fact, Uncle Sam will be allowing most of us to hold on to a bit more of our money. Here's a breakdown of the tax deal that cleared Congress just before midnight. Lawmakers approving a two-year extension of the Bush-era tax rates. Unemployment benefits will continue for another 13 months. And there are actual tax cuts, the social security tax rate is going to drop two percent for the next year. And the estate tax, or death rate tax is lower. President Obama scheduled to sign that bill into law possibly this afternoon. Let's look beyond the tax bill though. A number of his priorities are still in limbo. The New Year means the house will be under the control of rival Republicans. Let's take a closer look at the president's rough road ahead. John Avlon, a CNN contributor, senior political columnist for "The Daily Beast" joins us from New York. And John, I've been asking this morning, it's not just a lame-duck Congress right now. But it could it be two years of a lame-duck Obama agenda because of the difficulties he will have dealing with the Republicans in the House?
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] I don't think so. I think that the passage of this bill actually is a harbinger of a potentially constructive divided Congress. It shows that a divided Congress does not necessarily mean gridlock. It's the checks and balances though. It means it comprises on both ends and just with this tax bill, you saw the far left and the far right left unhappy but it was able to move forward. Now there are challenging roads ahead. In particular, in deficit and debt reform. It will be remarkable and a real test of his leadership if the president can forge a coalition and start dealing with that most difficult issue because you know, cutting taxes is a relatively easy game. You're giving tax dollars away, in effect, actually reducing spending. That's a much tougher road to go.
[Griffin:] If unemployment does not drop, is that that should be a very, very hard position for President Obama to be in. So a lot of the hope is, and I mean, the hope of all Americans is that people will be employed over these next two years. But it's really setting up for the election in two years. Everything comes down to that election, and I'm just wondering, will he have as much trouble with Republicans in the House as he does with the very liberal Democrats he's going to have to deal with as well, who want to be elected?
[Avlon:] Oh, sure. This is a complicated field to play. But it has caused a course correction. And recent polls coming out show that the vast majority of the American people support this course correction, moving back to the center. President Obama trying to present himself as the adult in Washington, above the partisan fray and fighting, trying to steal a north star approach to the presidency, which is so far in this initial test served him well. It always comes down to the economy. The economy and the unemployment rate is It's a huge factor in a presidential election. However, if you match President Obama right now with some of his likely competitors, he's doing quite well. Even though his job approval ratings are in the mid-40s, his personal approval rating for Americans is in the low-70s. So there's a lot to suggest that the president is in a relatively strong position heading into 2012. And just like bill Clinton in 1994, sometimes the presence of that divided government is actually very good for the incumbent president. It removes the urgency, people who get concerned that there's a legislative radiological over reach cuts that in half. So I think the president actually is looking relatively good for 2012. It's a long way away, of course, and the economy is a paramount issue but I think there is some sign that the divided government could actually create tangible political benefits for the president going forward.
[Griffin:] You know, it's going to be tough to watch, just as it has been just these past two days. John, thanks for joining us from New York.
[Avlon:] It is.
[Griffin:] for that perspective. Thank you. One presidential goal that has been achieved is the passage of health care reforms but that overhaul is facing a growing challenges in courtrooms across the country. In Florida, attorneys from 20 states appeared in court to argue against the new law. They are challenging two mandates. The first that each state expand Medicaid for the uninsured and the second that individuals should not be forced to purchase health insurance. You may remember a Virginia judge has already ruled individual the individual mandate is unconstitutional. Legal experts say it will ultimately require the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the health reforms are legal. A new warning from North Korea today that's putting the Korean Peninsula on edge. The north says that if South Korea goes forward with live fire drills on Yeongpyong Island, the north is going to launch a military strike. This is the same island that North Korea shelled last month. Joining us on the phone from Seoul to talk about the latest developments is journalist Andrew Salmon. And Andrew, the south says that they are going ahead with these drills and they were telling everybody that they are going to have live fires and that they're guns are going to be aimed away from North Korea. So is North Korea now put into position that they are going to have to fire back?
[Voice Of Andrew Salmon, Journalist:] Well, that's a good question, Drew. I mean, we don't know until the drill actually begins and that could be as early as tomorrow or as late as Tuesday. We don't have an exact date of this thing. My personal guess is that, from the North Koreans at least, this is luster. The South Koreans have made pretty clear that they are going to go ahead with this drill, which is a regular series of drills that they've always held off this island but the North Korean modus operandi since about 1968 is not actually been to attack a prepared enemy, it's always been a surprise attack. So I suspect that we can see lots of rhetorical blasts from North Korea but not actually a military attack. But I've been wrong before. So we'll have to see.
[Griffin:] And is there any discussion in South Korea itself to maybe remove the live-fire part of this drill or is South Korea saying we need to stand up in North Korea and say that we are not going to be bullied?
[Salmon:] Very, very much the latter. Let's put into context the situation. Earlier this year, South Korea lost 46 sailors that killed a North Korean torpedo attack in the same area. That situation remains unresolved. And we've since had the Yeongpyong attack. So there is tremendous anger and considerable pressure on the leadership there to I should say get face down this bully and pretty deadly behavior by North Korea. There's also talk, and this is what worries people, I think, South Koreans saying that if North Korea does retaliate, they will massively retaliate themselves. There is a danger here now of
[Griffin:] Andrew, this is all going to take place on Saturday. You're getting very near to Saturday. How early will we know? Within hours of whether or not? We'll know where the live fire took place and if there is, did they kind of fire back?
[Salmon:] Well, we don't know. It will take place on Saturday, Drew, and it will take place Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. It's a four-day window for the South Koreans to undertake this drill. I'm pretty sure it will take place earlier rather than later, possibly this weekend. Because I think the South Koreans want it to happen while the financial markets are closed. Also, they don't want to leave it until the last minute because if they say we're going to hold it between Saturday and Tuesday and they don't run it until Tuesday, the North Koreans will know exactly when it's going to take place. As for the North Korean are going to know when it's going to take place. As for the North Korean retaliation, who knows? As I said, I suspect that the North Koreans will not retaliate because they will be opening fire on a very, very ready South Korean defense force. But what they may do is retaliate not in the area of the island but somewhere else on the peninsula. So I think it's going to be a pretty tense weekend here in Seoul.
[Griffin:] All right. Andrew Salmon, thanks for joining us, Andrew. Appreciate this. New Mexico's governor Bill Richardson is in North Korea today. He's trying to ease the tensions there. Our own Wolf Blitzer is traveling with Richardson. He is a former U.N. ambassador and someone who has gotten to North Korea before. And Wolf tells us that Richardson met with top Korean officials today, has more meetings tomorrow, and Wolf is calling the current crisis the worst on the Peninsula since 1953. There are concerns that North Korea will see the South Korean military exercise as a provocation and as we've been reporting potentially trigger a more aggressive move by the north. Some people dealing with powerful storms, blanketing states up and down the east coast. Take a look at some of the conditions still plaguing areas. Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland. Are they getting any kind of a warm-up this weekend or another dose of weather? Karen Maginnis tracking all of that in our weather center.
[Karen Maginnis, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, we fortunately across a good portion of the mid south. We did see a pretty warm-up into the northeast, it is bitterly cold all the way, it looks like at least until Christmas eve. Temperatures are only going to hold into the 30s. But the big news is going to be this weekend across the West Coast. Here we got a very powerful weather system that is moving in off the Pacific and this is going to dump heavy amounts of snowfall across the higher peaks of the Sierra-Nevada. Along with spine, we could see three feet or more, very gusty winds out to possibly as much as 90 miles an hour. But in the basin areas significant rainfall over the next three to five days. It could produce mud or landslides. So something to watch there over the next couple of days. And already we're seeing some delays at the San Francisco Airport. Now, our computer models, as we go into the next 48 hours or so, picking up significant rainfall in the L.A. basin. So some of those denuded areas that have seen those fires over the past few years, those are the areas that are most vulnerable to the flooding and the potential from mud and landslides. Where you see those dark purple, that's along the spine of the Sierra Nevada, also into the Siskiyous, the Cascades and into the Wasatch, and the winter mountains right around Utah, and into Idaho and for portions of Montana as well, we'll see lesser amounts across northern Arizona. But we've got another developing system, right across the four corners, and this is going to usher in some snowfall across the pan handle region. Now, I want to show you some of the delays that are taking place. The most significant is San Francisco. Just about two and a half hour delays there. The rain has already started to move in. We're seeing visibility that has been reduced and it looks like this is going to be an on and off again situation, Drew, as we go throughout the weekend. This is just the first in a series of systems that will slam in across the West Coast. So East Coast, maybe a little nor'easter as we head towards the latter part of the weekend. Big story the next few days, West Coast.
[Griffin:] All right. Karen, thanks a lot. A lot of people heading home. That's going to be trouble through San Francisco. Thousands of our servicemen and women are on the road heading home for the holidays. And that means scenes like this, great ones playing out across the country. This is in Burlington, Vermont. National Guard members just back from nine months away in Afghanistan. Many troops making their way home for holiday leave. Our Reynolds Wolf live at the Atlanta Airport. We're expecting 2,000 troops to pass through just today. Reynolds, there's nowhere else in the country that looks like we're a country fighting wars than Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. You always see soldiers there and you always welcome at the
[Uso. Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] Absolutely, no question about it. The doors are always opened for USO, for the fighting men and women that come through. Today we've had about 1,500. We're going to have roughly 2,000 before the day is over. Another 2,000 tomorrow. But Sunday is going to be the big day. We're going to see quite a few of the fighting forces actually come up this escalator and they're going to walk right out. Right now, I've seen just a handful of them come here but we are going to be seeing more into the afternoon. In fact, possibly within the next hour or so we may see a flight come in that's going to bring in about 200 troops coming in from Kuwait. These are men and women that have been fighting over in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We're here with Bob
[Wolf:] Bob, what do you look for? When you see somebody come to the top and they are in uniform, what are some of the key things that you look for?
[Unidentified Male:] Today, we're going to see a lot of slick sleeves, which means they don't have a patch on the right sleeve. Those are trainees that are coming from training posts all of all over the country. And we're going to be sending a lot from our post out here to go home. This is the weekend where all of the training bases are sending troops home for the Christmas holidays. So we see these troops and we are going to help them because they are sort of new to the travel business. If we se a combat patch on the sleeve, we know that they are very well going back to Iraq or Afghanistan after the end of the R and R. So we learn to read them as they come around because we've all been down here a lot and we recognize the signs of the military.
[Griffin:] You've been doing this for a long time but it never does get old, does it?
[Unidentified Male:] I love it. The best day of my month is when I'm down here and I'm down here at least once a month and sometimes three times a month and I love it.
[Wolf:] Thanks so much for your service. I appreciate it. Guys,
[Griffin:] Reynolds, thanks. Great stuff.
[Unidentified Female:] Tony Romo, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys has had some pretty high-profile relationships. Jessica Simpson, Carrie Underwood. And now we learn that he's popped the question to the lady in his life. Details on the bride in today's "Showbiz Update" next.
[Griffin:] The Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo is ready to walk down the aisle. Apparently he's engaged. "Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer is here with details of the pending nuptials and the rest of today's entertainment news. A.J., is this bride to be big enough to have keep in your show?
[A.j. Hammer, Co-host, "showbiz Tonight":] I believe she maybe. I mean, she's going to become one now, Drew. We're talking about former Miss Missouri, Candace Crawford. And this is according to "US Magazine.com as yes, another of Jessica Simpson's ex-es is headed to the altar. Now Tony Romo reportedly proposed to Crawford who happens to be the sister of "Gossip Girl's" Chase Crawford in Dallas yesterday. They've been dating since September of last year. Now, just before he connected with Crawford, Romo dated Jessica Simpson for nearly two years and that ended in an ugly split when he called it quits on their relationship. That was in July of last year. The night before her 29th birthday. Now, no tears for Jessica here. She herself got engaged just last month to Eric Johnson who used to play in the NFL. And if you're keeping score here, Jessica's engagement announcement came just a week after her ex-husband Nick Lachey confirmed his engagement to Vanessa Minnillo, an "Entertainment Tonight" correspondent. So that's two of Jess' exes and Jessica herself, all engaged in the past month. Somehow to me the circle of life now feels complete. Let's move on now to good news about a music icon. Aretha Franklin, she is speaking out for the first time about her mysterious hospital stay. Now she's back at her suburban Detroit home for the holidays, recovering from a surgery she describes being highly successful. In the brand new interview, she tells "Jet" magazine that she feels great and she says the doctors want her to recuperate for eight weeks but she is still not revealing the nature of her ailment. She's not getting specifics on the surgery although she has been reported to have pancreatic cancer. The 68-year-old soul legend promises she will speak out soon on what is ailing her, telling "Jet" this, "I am putting Aretha together first. We will Ree Ree together first. This is Aretha time to do whatever it is that I need to do but I will talk more later. Her doctors tell her she can do anything she feels like, except unfortunately for us, doing concerts right now. And since getting out of the hospital earlier this week, Aretha's been reading and relaxing, just catching up on faxes and, as she puts it, "just fiddling around the house Drew, some concern until she's ready to talk about it, she doesn't have any responsibility to talk about it.
[Hammer:] Yes, she's a strong person, that's for sure.
[Griffin:] I wish her the very best. Thanks,
[A.j. Hammer:] Hey, if you want more information or anything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J's got it. This evening on "Showbiz Tonight," 5:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m. on
[Hln. Griffin:] Well, did you get enough beauty rest last night? f not, your friend's family co-worker may be able to tell. A new study beauty sleep is no myth. We're talking to the researcher.
[Griffin:] Mom was right after all. Beauty rest is real. If you're not getting enough, other people notice. That's according to a new study that found that people who don't get enough sleep look less healthy and less attractive. Researchers say the proof is in the pictures. Check out this guy after a good night's sleep compared to what he looks like after going without sleep. Now, are researchers John Axelsson, associate professor at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, is joining us live via Skype. John, you're saying that if you don't get enough rest, it really shows to people who are interacting with you.
[John Axelsson, Associate Professor, Karolinska Institute:] Guest: Yes, that's true.
[Griffin:] And we're talking about well, why don't you tell me what you did with this study. Because it's very interesting. You took people from ages 18 to 30. You took the identical photographs, the only difference was, one, they are well rested, one they are not rested, and then you just had people look at these pictures and tell you who looks better?
[Axelsson:] No. We rate each picture with respect to how attractive is this person, how healthy does this person look like and also how tired does this person look like. And, of course, they look worse when you sleep deprived, you look worse in all of them.
[Griffin:] And people who took part in the study, surprised?
[Axelsson:] They didn't know because they when you are judging photos, it's one photo at a time. So it was not until a lot later that we could analyze the differences because they were only judging one photograph at a time.
[Griffin:] John, I guess what I'm asking you is, were people surprised to learn that the amount of sleep they got actually contributed to whether or not people thought they were attractive or not?
[Axelsson:] No, I would say some people might think this is a no- brainer but this is actually the first support that sleep is not only important for your physiology, or for how your brain works but also for how you look and for how other people perceive you. And because
[Griffin:] How has this study been received? Have you talked to people who say, "hey, John, thanks. I'm going to budget in two more hours of sleep because I just want to look better?
[Axelsson:] Well, the media coverage has been a lot more than I expected, to be honest. But one of the good things with this study, I think, is we need good arguments for young people and people working to take more sleep. All of this, what we do not know do know now is that there are so many long term effects for cardiovascular disease, metabolic problems Again, people they don't think about this. so, now have another good argument actually because you will look worse tomorrow if you don't have a good night's sleep.
[Griffin:] Yes, that's certainly going to get their attention. John Axelsson, we appreciate it. We appreciate your work on this. Thanks a lot.
[Axelsson:] Thank you.
[Griffin:] Well, Christmas wish lists are pouring in to Santa's helpers at the post office. This year, more kids are passing on high- tech gadgets and hot toys instead, this is what they are asking for clothes, food, even help with bills. See some of those heart wrenching notes. And hear how you may be able to help them. Here's stories that have us talking this morning. Taxes are not going to go up next year. The highly contested tax cut deal passed the House just before midnight. Now it just needs the president's signature. That's expected at 3:50 Eastern, we've just been told. The deal means two more years of Bush-era tax rates and an extra 13 months of unemployment benefits. There is a Social Security tax cut for all Americans and a lower estate tax. North Korea threatening more violent attacks on the South if it goes through with planned live-fire drills. The exercise is supposed to be held on Pyongyang Island, the same border island that the North shelled last month killing two South Korean troops and two civilians. The FDA is calling for the controversial drug Avastin to be phased out. It's a treatment for metastatic breast cancer. The FDA says the drug has not substantially extended the lives of breast cancer victims and has led to potentially dangerous side effects. There's wide disagreement about that drug, though. In Europe, regulators not making are recommendations as there are regulations here in the U.S. You know, Santa Claus gets a lot of letters this time of year. Millions of them, in fact. It can be overwhelming. So, the man in the red turns to the post office to get some help sorting them out. But his post office elves have noticed a change in the wish list this year. A lot of kids are not asking for iPods or X-Boxes. They're not asking for Hot Wheels or Dolls, even. They are asking for winter coats, socks, or even help paying a heating bill. Pete Fontana heads up Operation Santa at New York City's main paw post office. He's there live. Pete, are these letters really different from just last year?
[Pete Fontana, Head, Usps Operation Santa:] Yes. There's a noticeable change in the letters and we say from the needy to the greedy. The letters now in the past, they were asking for laptops, Mac books, LCD televisions. And the theme this year is winter coats, like you were saying, gloves, pay the bills. They can't pay their rent, they don't have any food, they can't buy their medicine. They need assistance, and they are reaching out to Santa.
[Griffin:] Yes, I want to show one of the letters. It's from a woman named Maria, a woman from three. She said blankets, jackets, pants, jeans, T-shirts, sneakers, socks, snow boots. And Tthis is from Christopher, age 11. "If possible, we would like some educational toys and some winter clothes. I would like something to make my mommy happy. She is getting chemotherapy after breast surgery." Pete, hat do you do with letters like these?
[Fontana:] These letters are all put out there for people we call them helpers. The people that come in and sponsor these letter. We call them helpers. They come in here, they sit down, they read these letters. And they decide which ones touch their heart or which ones fits into their budget. Or which ones they believe. You know, some magic at work here. So, they sit down. A letter like that would go to someone who would then sponsor that letter. And we would assign that code to the helper code and they would be able to take that letter home and do what they can do to the family. Then they would bring the package back to the main post office here at the James A. Farley building and mail it from here. And then we would put the address information in on the package and send it to Christopher..
[Griffin:] Well, if you need any encouragement to answer a letter, let me read to you what Alex wrote. He's age 6. "My mother works, but she can't buy us the thing that I want because she don't make a lot of money. Santa, please, please, I want anything that you can send me." I guess that's the kind of letter that somebody would come in, pick up, and then return that gift.
[Fontana:] Absolutely. People are coming in. And these are the letters that they are looking for. They don't like the ones that are on the greedy side of the list or they want the big-end items and the expensive items. These letters with the basic needs that people are asking for touch their hearts. And these are the ones that are getting sponsored in record numbers here. Since this has been on the media and you guys have really you made everyone aware about this, about the Operation Santa, participation has increased.
[Griffin:] How can people from outside New York find you, Pete?
[Fontana:] I'm sorry?
[Griffin:] How can people from outside of New York find you? Where can we find out how perhaps I could answer
[Fontana:] Right. Outside of New York, they would have to contact go online at USPS.com and or call their local post master to see. There's about 20 locations throughout the country that are doing Santa programs. And right here in New York it's mainly for the local folks in New York because they have to come here and deal with me. We don't do anything online. They can't get letters online. They can't get them by telephone. We can't mail the letters to them. They would have to physically come in here.
[Griffin:] OK. All right. Pete Fontana, thanks a lot. I'm told by the staff that we do have a link. CNN.comkyra to get you some information. And also we have the phone number at the bottom of the screen. Pete, thanks for all you do and your group there at New York City's main post office. A lot of families are cutting back this holiday. 15 million Americans jobless. The unemployment rate just under 10 percent. For parents struggling, breaking the bad economic news to kids can be tough, especially right now around Christmastime when a lot of other kids are getting presents. Jeff Gardier, clinical psychologist and contributor to HealthGuru.com. Jeff, I mean, if a parent is strapped for cash, the kids are maybe watching TV and seeing all of these gifts and everything being spent on other children. How do you kind of broach that subject, break the news that, you know, Santa is not going to be that generous this year?
[Jeff Gardere, Clinical Psychologist:] Well, it's the reality, Drew, that the kids understand that in this new economy, in this recovery, things are not the way they once were. And we see in the segment that you just did now, where the kids are not asking for a lot of the electronic items. They're asking for the basics. Basic toys, some things for their parents. So, I think we've learned in the economy, and the kids have learned that what parents need to do is let them know the reality of what's going on. But Drew, minus the fear, minus the anxiety, minus all of those emotional changes as parents we're going through in this economy and I think when our kids start experiencing that anxiety. That's the red flag for us as parents to say, you know what? Maybe we better deal with this recovery in a different way, in a more positive and empowered way.
[Griffin:] Meaning, hey, there's nothing wrong with the situation we're in? It's just a cyclical thing that we're going through?
[Gardere:] Well, meaning that these are very tough times that we're going through. It's our new reality but we're learning from it and as a family, we can persevere. Adversity is part of life. This is what we need to teach our kids. But we can still keep a smile on our faces, happiness in our hearts, and as a unit, as a team, work towards getting through this economy and being a stronger family. It's not about the money, it's not about the items or the material things, it's really about the love. And those kids are learning that we saw that in those letters that were written to the chief of Pete Fontana.
[Griffin:] You know, Jeff, we've been through hard times in this country before. As some would argue, a lot more difficult than the times that we are even going through now. I'm sure these kids have grandparents that have gone through that. Has it been the experience that if you talk to your kids about the economic situation, they can deal with it better than if you're a parent trying to hide the fact that the family is suffering economically?
[Gardere:] Absolutely, Drew. It's important that we be honest with our kids and explain to them what is going on. As I said, minus the fear, minus the anxiety, which is natural for us as parents to experience. But part of raising our children is the idea that we want to make them strong. No matter what the economy is, no matter what is going on at home, no matter the fact that we may not have the money to really splurge on gifts, we want them to grow their character. That's the most important thing. So, therefore, we can use this economy, use this recovery as a way of getting closer to our kids and helping them grow in a much healthier fashion emotionally.
[Griffin:] Jeff, you know what? Just be there for your kids. Sit down and make cookies with them. I guarantee you that will be the best Christmas gift they will get. Jeff, we appreciate it.
[Gardere:] I second that emotion. Thank you, Drew.
[Griffin:] All right! If you want more information about the postal service's Operation Santa that we've talked about, like I've said before, it's on Kyra's blog. Go to CNN.comkyra. You get that information. Hey, maybe you want to pitch in. A mystery Santa has been giving away money to complete strangers. It's happening in Iowa. We spotlight them in today's "Making Their Mark." The secret Santa has been walking the streets of Des Moines, handing out $100 bills to the less fortunate. At first, they can't believe it, wonder what they have to do to keep it. Then they get a little hug. Some even bursting into tears.
[Unidentified Male:] Merry Christmas to you. Thank you. Are you sure this is for real? I'm sure it's real. It's for you.
[Unidentified Female:] You couldn't have picked a better person.
[Unidentified Male:] Really?
[Unidentified Female:] I can show you a picture of my tree that I just took yesterday, and it has not one present under it and my 15- year-old son is wondering what we're going to do for Christmas. [End Video]
[Clip Griffin:] Well, the Secret Santa says he was inspired by another mystery Santa in Kansas City who also helps the needy. Well, this is called CSI for the Internet. Your computers, cell phones and other mobile devices hold a wealth of information for cops trying to track criminals. That's ahead in less than two minutes.
[Griffin:] All this week, we've been focusing on what many are calling the "End of Privacy." Tiday, we look at how law enforcement officers are using the digital trail to track criminals. More from CNN's Amy
[Unidentified Correspondent:] Cops versus criminals. It's an age- old game of cat and mouse where the police aim to stay one step ahead. And one critical area where the battle has spread to is collecting digital evidence on computers, on smartphones, and on the Internet. Or in today's terminology, the cloud.
[Sgt. James Welsh, Westminister Dept. Of Public Safety:] The move to the cloud is one of the biggest challenges facing the computer forensics field right now. It can take digging. One of the axioms in our professional is you can expend 90 percent of your effort on 10 percent of your cases. The field of cell phone forensics or as we refer to it, mobile device forensics, is growing very rapidly. We maintain several different hardware and software tools in our lab to try to give us the broadest possible coverage.
[Unidentified Correspondent:] One of those tools is EnCase, a software program designed by Guided Software that analyzes digital data.
[Brent Botta, Guidance Software:] When you get the drive, you have to see what that computer user's profile is, not a profile like a profile that you log into an e-mail client, but their profile of how they use their computer and where their activities are. Some people are heavy into Facebook. Other ones are very much into LinkedIn. To do a full analysis of somebody's digital media, you're litereally, talking desktops, laptops, network shares, multiple digital devices that they carry with them. And all that has to be pulled back together and analyzed as one big corpus of data. There are artifacts all over the computer when people use it. When you go to a Web browser, we can track your activity. Where you've been, what you've done.
[Unidentified Correspondent:] Yet the cops still have to follow traditional procedures when going after digital information if it's not publicly available on sites like Facebook and Google.
[Welsh:] To get any information from any of the places you just mentioned, it would require a court order. You have to know to know where to send your request to, where to send your subpoena or search warrant to. The judge reserves the right to limit the scope of the search. If you're searching for a specific type of file or evidence of a specific type of crime, you will be restricted in your search.
[Unidentified Correspondent:] And one big boon to digitial forensics is the explosion of smartphones and the wealth of info that they provide compared to traditional mobile phones.
[Welsh:] You can recover call logs, address books, any type of audio files that are on located on the device. Image files, pictures and video. There can be a lot of information of value to an investigator on a mobile device.
[Unidentified Correspondent:] Yet criminals are getting smarter about hiding their digital information, making Sergeant Welsh work even harder to stay ahead of the curve.
[Welsh:] I think it's an arms race. It's constantly evolving. It's a very quick evolution, especially in the area of mobile devices.
[Griffin:] for a king last night. Larry King gets a special day on his final night as host on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
[Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger , California:] We are big fans of yours. So, my announcement is, that the day's officially in California, Larry King Day.
[Griffin:] Sarah Palin has not decided if she's running for the White House in 2012, but that hasn't stopped the pollsters from asking the question. And a new poll may give her some cause for concern. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has the story from the CNNpolitics.com desk.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] That's absolutely right. Drew, check out these brand-new numbers from ABC News and Washington Post out this morning. And they are troubling for Sarah Palin. The question is, if she runs for president in 2012, would you consider voting for her or not? Look at that at the bottom right down there 59 percent on this poll say they definitely would not consider voting for Palin if she runs for president, only eight percent you can see that at the top say they would definitely support her. 31 percent saying maybe support her. I'm going to ask Chris Turner, our cameraman, to zoom right in here. You can see that story on the political ticker. And it comes one day, Drew, after another poll. This one by NBC and Wall Street Journal. Also had some troubling numbers for Palin. A hypothetical match-up between her and Barack obama. Not so favorable numbers for her. Drew?
[Griffin:] Paul, Tthe thing about Sarah Palin is, no matter what the polls say, we can't stop talking about her. Her name is definitely out there. Is she talking about these polls?
[Steinhauer:] She is, in an interview that ran this morning on ABC News. She said about these polls, "A poll like that, it doesn't look too pretty today," she said. That's true. But she says, "listen, 2012 is a long time from now." She was also asked about that timetable about her decision, when she's going to announce, if she does announce she's going to run. She said any kind of decision is many months away. Drew?
[Griffin:] All right. Thanks a lot, Paul. We'll have your next political update in an hour. A reminder, for all the latest political news, go right to that Web site, CNNpolitics.com. It's great. For the past year, our own Jason Carroll has been showing you what it's like to join the military, go through training, even get deployed into a war zone. It's been a remarkable series, and now a special. And Jason joins us live now from New York, focusing on three soldiers that has answered that call for service, Jason, at really great personal sacrifice to themselves.
[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] Absolutely, Drew. I know you've been following along with this series. But for those who haven't, in order to tell a story, "A SOLDIER'S STORY," we wanted to focus on people from different backgrounds to give a better perspective on what it is like to be in the aAmy during a time of war. We've turned their stories and the series into a one-hour documentary. We want to you take a brief look.
[Carroll:] In the fading light of a cold December evening barely one full year ago, the president of the United States forged Marine One, and then Air Force one for a trip to West Point, New York.
[Unidentified Male:] Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.
[Carroll:] The 33-minute speech he is about to deliver will affect the lives of every cadet in Eisenhower Hall.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] And as commander in chief, I have determined to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
[Carroll:] Along with every man and woman serving or about to serve in the United States military. For more than a year, CNN has followed three of these soldiers. Together, they tell a story of how the president's decision, to expand the war in Afghanistan, affects the people most directly in harm's way.
[Unidentified Male:] One, two, three come on, you got it. Come on. You got it.
[Carroll:] Latrisha Rose joins the army, leaving behind a 2- year-old daughter with a husband wondering how he can do it alone.
[Unidentified Male:] Here we go. Almost done.
[Carroll:] Sergeant Randy Shorter is a husband and father of two. Just 32 years old, he's already a veteran of two combat tours. Now, he's about to return to Afghanistan to an area the military calls hell on earth. And then, there's 18-year-old Will McLean who, weeks from tonight, may find himself carrying out the president's mission into the very heart of Afghanistan. Randy Shorter, Latricia Rose and Will McLean. Their stories, Drew, represent the thousands of soldiers who are out there, who have been making sacrifices for years and continue to do so everyday. Drew?
[Griffin:] Jason, you're right. I have been following the series. It's been great. And I'm looking forward to this special documentary that airs this weekend, I guess. You can see "A SOLDIER'S STORY." It's on Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. They were singing that last night to Larry King. Network news anchors to the president of the United States. A night to honor Larry. The host of CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE" signed off for the final time last night. His parting words, simply, a choked up "so long." Here are some of the highlights.
[Katie Couric, Cbs News Anchor:] As you hang up your suspenders on your dressing room door, I speak for us all when I say, we want more. More of the show that we instantly loved. For 25 years couldn't get enough of.
[Fred Armisen, Snl Cast Member:] You know, I've done about 7,000 interviews in my 25 years at CNN, and I've saved my best guest for last. I'm talking to me!
[Larry King, Cnn:] First, Cannon does me. Do me.
[Cannon King, Larry King's Son:] I'm too old for this! I've done this for 50 years!
[Barbara Walters, Co-host, The View:] No one has done more than you. You've been you were my biggest competition. I hate to see you go but a little part of me says, oh, terrific. Now I can get them.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] You say that all you do is ask questions, but for generations of Americans, the answers to those questions have surprised us, they've informed us, and they've opened our eyes to the world beyond our living rooms.
[Bill Clinton, Former President Of The United States:] Thank you, Larry. And thank you for all of the years. You were great.
[Gov. Arnold Scwarznegger , California:] The day is officially in California, Larry King Day.
[King:] That's the staff in Washington. Now we'll switch to the staff right here in Los Angeles. There's the control room, Wendy Walker.
[Tony Bennett, Singer:] The best is yet to come, and babe won't that be fine.
[King:] I don't know what to say to you, except to you, my audience. Thank you. And instead of good-bye, how about so long?
[Griffin:] And that's how it ended. Don Lemon. I thought the best part of the show was his kid doing him.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] You stole my line! His kid, you know we need to reach out to his kid and hire him. That kid's great, right?
[Griffin:] Yes, he's good! Don Lemon takes it over from here.
[Lemon:] All right. You have a great weekend. Thank you very much, Drew Griffin.

[Holmes:] Well, 24 minutes past the hour now. CNN has been looking at the impact of bullying in our schools. We've been taking a look at this all week. And for some children, the torment begins as early as kindergarten. In some cases, it has led some people to contemplate suicide. It has led others, as we know, in some cases to actually take that step and kill themselves. CNN iReporters, victims and former bullies themselves, sharing their stories.
[Josh Levs, Cnn Contributor:] I'm going to start off with an interesting one. This is David Goldthorpe of Astoria, Oregon. He says, as a father, he is learning this starts as early as kindergarten. His daughter has been coming home about what's been happening to her classmates.
[Unidentified Male:] One instance involved a good friend of hers having his pants pulled down by another student. And another student, a friend of hers, was pushed down the slide, and then laughed at while he was on the ground crying. It shocked me when I was told that these things happened already at age five.
[Levs:] Age five. Well, here's someone else. Colin Wynn, of West Palm Beach, Florida, described his experiences with bullying as he's been growing up.
[Unidentified Male:] In elementary school, they would call me Chinese boy. And for some reason, in middle school, they would call me a terrorist.
[Unidentified Female:] How were you bullied physically?
[Unidentified Male:] Well, when I was sitting on my bus in middle school, and they punched me in my private area. And they were throwing stuff in the back of the bus, and they hit me in the head with a glass bottle, and had got minor head trauma.
[Levs:] And he says he was confused. Now, he didn't even know who these kids were that were bullying him, what happened to him. Here's something else: A group of students at a middle in schools in Bryan, Ohio, got together and talked about how they have bullied other kids.
[Unidentified Female:] Everyone has bullied someone at some point in time, whether it's shoving someone in a locker, or calling somebody a name. So yes, I have bullied someone. I bullied someone just walking through the hallways, stepping on people's heels. I've seen kids drop people's books down.
[Levs:] All right. And we have time for one more. This is something a little different here. Jason Donit, who is one of our frequent iReporters, points to the recent suicides of of young gay students, and he says that he once considered suicide, and that he has a message for others out there who are having those thoughts.
[Unidentified Male:] Something went off in my head and said, the pain of me committing suicide would be so much worse than the quote what I thought the pain of me being gay would be. And I just want to share that message, that in my experience, my family was extremely accepting.
[Levs:] Now, we encourage you to share your thoughts, your stories, your videos, your photos, whatever you got, at iReport.com. And I also want you all to know that we have links at my Facebook page and Twitter page there, joshlevscnn. I've provided you with a list of of websites that are there as resources for kids, for teens and for parents. Also teach you to look out for warning signs that your kid might be bullied, or that your kid might be a bully. And those pages have now begun conversation pages, where a lot of the people around the country, you're weighing in, you're saying which sites work out well for you.
[Holmes:] Well, and coming up tonight, a special town hall featuring a block of conversation around what needs to be done to stop bullying and protect children. An "AC 360" special report: "Bullying: No Escape," tonight at 8:00 Eastern time. Now, one of the stories we're keeping a close eye on today, and we told you there would be developments on this those trapped Chilean miners, those 33 miners who have been trapped since August 5. We're told now that the hole that's being drilled, that's going to bring them up, they're going to escape through they're only about 20 feet to drilling through to the area where these miners are. Thirty- three of them. Now, this is a long tunnel, folks. We're talking about a tunnel that is as long as a couple of Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other. These guys are 2,300 feet below ground, but the update we just got is that they're only about 20 feet away from finally drilling the hole completely and breaking through to where these 33 miners are. We are following this story; live updates from the scene coming as well. We're coming up on the bottom of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

[A.j. Hammer, Hln Anchor:] Got big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Tarnished gold? Disturbing news today about the homeless man with the golden voice.
[Ted Williams, "homeless Man With The Golden Voice":] Watch "Family Guy."
[Hammer:] Startling new claims about a fight with his daughter that led to the cops being called. What really happened? Is the shine off Sheen? Explosive reports today about a possible Charlie Sheen showdown with his bosses after a reported Vegas bender with porn stars. The never-herd-before behind-the-scenes story. The Travolta baby miracle. The first picture revealed today. And the emotional, dramatic story behind 48-year-old Kelly Preston giving birth. The unbelievably nasty "Jersey Shore" fight revealed today caught on tape.
[Unidentified Female:] I`ll rip your
[Hammer:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now. Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer coming to you from New York City.
[Brooke Anderson, Hln Anchor:] Hi there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. With big news breaking today. Tarnished gold?
[Hammer:] He has been called the man with the golden voice. The homeless man who became an overnight star after being discovered panhandling on a Columbus, Ohio, street. Now the fear was that it was all happening too soon, too fast. And now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that today there are signs that Ted Williams might already be running into trouble. We learned today that Williams, who had claimed he`s been sober for two years, has been drinking again. And he`s reportedly decided to check himself into rehab. That big news breaking today followed disturbing reports about a confrontation Ted had with his daughter that led to the cops being called. Well, now, Ted Williams is trying to set the record straight about his battle to stay on the straight and narrow. Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice.
[Williams:] You`re listening to Magic 98.9.
[Hammer:] Had a lightning-fast rise to fame. Now his introduction to the dark side of fame seems to be happening almost as quickly.
[Matt Lauer, Today Show:] The homeless man who gained fame last week for his golden voice has hit a little bit of a bump along the road.
[Hammer:] News shows that spent last week on Ted Williams` inspirational rise from homelessness to super stardom focused today on Ted Williams` run- in with the police and an ugly and public new dispute with the daughter he abandoned.
[Janey Williams, Ted Williams` Daughter:] He drank heavily.
[Williams:] She was screaming, I`m going to sell this story.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that Ted Williams` feel-good, rags- to-riches story may be heading into a dark second chapter.
[J. Williams:] I just wanted my dad around.
[Hammer:] That was one of Ted Williams` nine children on "The Dr. Phil Show," where Williams confronted his ex-wife and five of his kids whom he freely admits he neglected during his days of homelessness and drug issues.
[Unidentified Female:] I missed you. It hurts a lot. I don`t care how much money you give me, I just want you. I want you.
[Hammer:] And now his daughter Janey is making explosive claims about Williams. On Dr. Phil`s show this afternoon, she claimed that Williams, a former addict, is drinking again.
[J. Williams:] He has consumed at least a bottle a day. At least.
[Hammer:] But Williams tells "Entertainment Tonight" his daughter is telling lies about him.
[Williams:] Daddy is not sober. I can prove it. How, I have no idea, because that`s not true.
[Hammer:] Today`s ugly verbal war comes two days after Ted and his daughter had a blowup at this Los Angeles hotel Monday.
[Nina Parker, Tmz:] The LAPD was actually called to the hotel room. And he was detained as well as his daughter.
[Hammer:] Police tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT they didn`t arrest anyone in that reported hotel dispute. The father and daughter are blaming each other. Williams` daughter tells Dr. Phil her dad was belittling her.
[J. Williams:] He was like
[Hammer:] But Ted Williams tells "Entertainment Tonight" it was his daughter who got violent.
[Williams:] Her fists got to flying. None of them which were mine. None of which were mine.
[Hammer:] It`s hard to believe that a little more than a week ago Ted Williams was homeless and panhandling in Ohio until a video shot by a reporter for the "Columbus Dispatch" captured his silky smooth radio voice.
[Williams:] And we`ll be back with more right after these words.
[Hammer:] That video went super viral, and Ted Williams spent last week appearing on just about every talk show on TV. And booking new, high- profile gigs, including a nationally televised commercial for Kraft.
[Williams:] Kraft home style macaroni and cheese.
[Hammer:] But now, not only is this homeless recovering addict dealing with the pressures of stardom, he`s also trying to mend his relationship with his large family, something he`s also doing in the public eye.
[Parker:] I don`t know how well this story will end.
[Hammer:] TMZ`s Nina Parker tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT all this attention would be too much for anyone to handle, much less someone with Ted Williams` troubled history.
[Parker:] All of this that fast and that quickly could lead to a lot of drama in his life if it`s not handling right.
[Williams:] Just selling me out on this fame and fortune ticket.
[Hammer:] But as we`re seeing with his new troubles, and his explosive new family feud, the wounds from Ted Williams` old life are nowhere close to healing. And now, Ted`s inspirational story comes with the fear that this fairytale of redemption might turn into a cautionary tale about the dangers of instant fame.
[Anderson:] And there`s late-breaking news today that Dr. Phil has been able to get Ted Williams to commit to rehab. But listen, there is nothing easy about fame. Just look at all the celebrities who have let the pressure get to them at some point. So I`m afraid it could be a challenging road ahead for Ted. Fame is hard enough for a completely stable person. I want to bring in TV journalist and doctor of psychology Wendy Walsh. Wendy, it seems to me that Ted needs a solid support system, every single step of the way, to guide him in the best way possible.
[Wendy Walsh, Tv Journalist And Doctor Of Psychology:] I can`t impress upon you enough, Brooke, how vulnerable this man is right now. He`s not dealing with the demons that started the self-medication, the alcohol and drug use. And he`s instead going out there saying, OK, I`m cool now. I`m cured. He needs therapy, and he needs help.
[Anderson:] And Dr. Phil is trying to help him get that therapy, get what he needs. Listen to what he said today on his show.
[Dr. Phil Mcgraw, "dr. Phil Mcgraw Show":] I got him to commit to doing 90 meetings in 90 days. We`ll see if he does that. He`s an addict.
[Anderson:] OK. Dr. Phil seems a little skeptical that Ted is going to really commit and complete rehab. Wendy, do you think he will complete it, or do you fear that the fame, the attention could present temptation, become too much, potentially cause him to spiral out of control?
[Walsh:] You know I don`t know about what the treatment is, but 90 meetings to 90 in 90 days sounds like outpatient to me. He needs residential treatment and he needs someone to pay for it. This guy needs a job. He needs a home. Doing one Kraft commercial is only one gig. Probably for scale. He needs an agent and head shot and to start like everybody else. Make restitution to his family. Now the cameras are a double-edged sword.
[Anderson:] Right.
[Walsh:] In one sense the cameras can give him access to things he couldn`t afford otherwise, like for instance, maybe therapy, if somebody wants to volunteer to give him therapy, if he can get some residential treatment because it`ll be able to promote their facility.
[Anderson:] It could be a blessing in that way.
[Walsh:] It can be a blessing. I`m sorry, but if that camera is there, helping give him the services he could never afford as a homeless person. On the other hand, it puts a lot of pressure on him.
[Anderson:] Could be potentially destructive.
[Walsh:] Yes.
[Anderson:] Well, there are some signs that Ted is really struggling. Today Ted admitted to Dr. Phil that he actually hasn`t been sober for two and a half years, as he`s been claiming. Watch.
[Mcgraw:] Have you had even a stumble in two and a half years?
[Williams:] With alcohol I did. And I can say honestly, Dr. Phil, it didn`t lead me to my drug of choice, which was crack.
[Mcgraw:] How recently was that?
[Williams:] A year ago. I want to be straight up.
[Anderson:] All right. Let`s bring in Midwin Charles who`s an attorney for Midwin Charles and Associates. Dr. Phil there caught Ted in a big lie. This is really a clear example of how hard it is for addicts. Midwin, very quickly, are you optimistic he can get his life in order?
[Midwin Charles, Attorney, Midwin Charles And Associates:] You know for his sake I am optimistic. You know you always want to hope for the best, even given all the facts that we know of his background, with his ailments and how difficult he has struggled. After all, the alternative is for him to be back on the streets homeless again. So I`m going to hope for the best. But I know it`s difficult. And a long road ahead for him.
[Hammer:] Well, there`s more disturbing news today about Charlie Sheen and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has got to ask, is it curtains for Charlie? Deadline.com is reporting today that CBS wants the "Two and A Half Men" star back in rehab ASAP, following reports that he was on a bender last weekend in Vegas with porn stars. Now Deadline.com just broke a fascinating look at what`s reportedly going on behind the scenes at CBS, including possibly shutting down "Two and A Half Men." Nellie Andreeva is the TV editor for Deadline.com. She wrote the expose on Sheen. She`s our SHOWBIZ Newsmaker today. Nellie, the story goes that Charlie Sheen says he`ll sue if CBS tries to shut down production of the show. He reportedly gets paid nearly 2 million bucks an episode. But from what you`ve uncovered, Nellie, I`m thinking it`s going to be pretty hard for CBS to force Charlie into rehab.
[Nellie Andreeva, Tv Editor, Deadline.com:] It is pretty much impossible at this time if he doesn`t want to do it. They don`t have legal right to do it. And he for now insists that he is functional and he is. He has been showing up for work with the exception of today. Actually, very unexpectedly he called in, and after not showing up for his call time, and said that he needed to see a doctor for reportedly having ear infection. He`s still expected to appear at rehearsal this afternoon. We don`t have information yet whether he will do that. But according to his team, he is going to show up.
[Hammer:] Well, Charlie is certainly well loved by his fans and he`s certainly well loved by the people that he`s been working with. He`s been with essentially the same cast and crew throughout the show`s seven-year run. Nellie, you report that a lot of these people really genuinely are concerned about his well-being. Are these the people who are really pushing for Charlie to get back into rehab?
[Andreeva:] Yes. For everybody he works with, from what I hear, is genuinely concerned. And actually, goes both ways. I also broke a story a couple of weeks ago that for the holidays the actors on the show, obviously led by Charlie Sheen, gifted everybody who works on the show with iPads. So there is some very nice rapport on the set. But it was mostly the decision makers, the executives from the studio and the network, also the producers on the show, who have been trying to make steps and find a way to help Charlie to get help.
[Hammer:] Well, it`s hard to imagine that with all the drama, particularly as has been happening more and more frequently lately, it`s hard to imagine that this won`t eventually spiral out of control for him. Obviously we wish him the best and hope he gets the help he needs if he does need that help. Nellie Andreeva, thank you so much. Right now I want to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive poll. Charlie Sheen`s controversial Vegas weekend. Should CBS fire him from "Two and A Half Men"? Yes, enough already, or no, his work is fine. Let us know, CNN.comshowbiztonight. You can always e-mail, too. Our address is showbiztonight@CNN.com.
[Anderson:] All right. Moving on to some very exciting news. The Travolta baby miracle. The first picture revealed today, and the emotional and dramatic story behind 48-year-old Kelly Preston giving birth.
[Hammer:] Another unbelievably nasty "Jersey Shore" fight revealed today. And yes, it`s caught on tape. Oh, my. With filthy words.
[Anderson:] And a brand-new Kardashian controversy today. Fifteen-year-old Kendall in steamy new ads. Is she just way too young? Or not? This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN, news and views.
[Hammer:] Time for the SHOWBIZ news ticker. More stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Graphics:] Aretha Franklin tells Wendy Williams her health is "superb." Britney Spear`s label denies reports she`ll perform at the Grammy Awards.

[Costello:] Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're following in the NEWSROOM, Egyptian intelligence officers are meeting with the man who kidnapped two Americans and their translator in Egypt. Bedouin Sheeks have said the hostages including Boston Pastor Michel Louis are unharmed and well fed. But an Egyptian official says the hostages seemed to be in a state of shock and fatigue. The kidnapper demanding the release of a jailed uncle. Mitt Romney is steadfast in his pledge to release only two years of his personal income tax returns after Democrats and some Republicans amped up the pressure this weekend. Romney made a point to say previous Republican presidential contender, John McCain released only two years of his returns. Romney also said Democrat John Kerry's wife who has hundreds of millions of dollars never released her tax return during his campaign. London's Heathrow airport bracing for its first big Olympic influx that expects 237,000 people to fly in or out today. That's about 25 percent more than a normal day. The airport said the arrivals will include 335 athletes, the London games begin a week from Friday. A Syrian government insider for 34 years finally says he has had enough. Former Syrian ambassador in Iraq Nawaf Al-Fares worked as one of President Bashar Al-Assad's trusted lieutenants. But in a stunning turn of events, he defected to Qatar because of the unrelenting bloodshed and he blames Assad for the ongoing violence. Ivan Watson is following all of these developments from Istanbul. Ivan, let's begin with the intense fighting in Damascus. The Red Cross just came out and said the violence in Syria amounts to a civil war.
[Ivan Watson, Cnn International Correspondent:] That's right. The ICRS's lawyers basically calling it a, quote, "non-international armed conflict," which is legalese, Carol, for civil war. Now I think many Damascus, many Syrian residents with the death toll at more than 15,000 in the last 16 months would already argue that they already entered civil war stages months ago and there are strong signs that the Syrian government can no longer hold on to the capital Damascus the way it could months ago. I'm going to direct you on a map to the neighborhood in the center of the city Medan. That is where there's been fierce fighting for several days now. We had live streams over the Internet from rebel cameras inside of rebels engaged in what seems like fierce gun battles in that neighborhood of Medan today. Residents telling us there was gunfire yesterday before the electricity went out in central Damascus and also videos emerging of activists actually setting up road blocks on the main highway running in and out of Damascus, blocking traffic, showing just how difficult it is right now for the Syrian central government to even control its capital city now. It does look like the circle is tightening around the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
[Costello:] Ok Ivan let's talk about the man who defected to Qatar. He talked about a link between Bashar al-Assad and al Qaeda. Can you explain for us more?
[Watson:] Well, that's right. Few people might know about this better than this man. Nawaf al-Fares who was Syria's first ambassador to Baghdad in more than 20 years. He took the position in 2008. Now, he says he saw how the Syrian government was basically funneling al Qaeda fighters, Jihadi militants through Syria, across the border to Iraq, during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and we know how terribly that turned out with thousands and thousands of people killed and he is accusing the Syrian central government of basically having an alliance with with al Qaeda. And that totally turns around the Syrian government's claim that the Syrian rebels are al Qaeda militants. I asked him in this exclusive interview with the U.S. news network what he thinks about the mentality right now of the Syrian president and his inner circle. Take a listen.
[Nawaf Al-fares, Former Syrian Ambassador To Iraq:] I serve the Syrian regime for 34 years. I was among those at the top of the Syrian regime. But what happened in the last year during the holy revolution, all of the killing, the massacres, the refugees and the declaration of war by Bashar al Assad against the Syria people stopped any kind of hope towards reform or real change which had been promised previously by Bashar al Assad.
[Watson:] That's right, that's not exactly the excerpt of the interview that we wanted to play for you. Another startling accusation that Nawaf al-Fares made was he claimed that the brother- in-law of Syrian president Bashar al Assad a man named Assef Shawkat actually ran an al Qaeda in Iraq safe haven in a Syrian village right next to the Iraqi border that was hit by U.S. Special Forces and helicopter gunships in October of 2008. In fact, he said he claimed he talked to Assef Shawkat who is in that camp an hour after U.S. Forces hit the camp and killed at least eight people. It was a major diplomatic incident in 2008. And certainly that kind of information will make this man Nawaf al-Fares the highest ranking Syrian defector to publicly break with the regime thus far. That will make him a very desirable asset for Western intelligence agencies to talk to Carol.
[Costello:] Ivan Watson reporting live for us this morning. In France, Madonna she's being threatened with a lawsuit. It involves, oh, politics and a swastika.

[Holmes:] All right. Forty-five minutes past the hour now. Many people in the U.S. grew up on "Sesame Street", love the show. Everybody loves that show. It may be responsible for shaping parts of our vocabulary and our numerical skills, of course. But it may interest you to know that many countries, including some countries in Africa, are adopting the concept as an educational and training tool as well. I'll tell you about "Sesame Square" that's launching in Nigeria and how that's a lot different from what we're used to seeing in "Sesame Street" here. But, also, I want to bring in Nadia Bilchik also, who always takes us around the globe, puts some things in spotlight you may not be not be hearing about a lot, including in London. Nadia, good morning to you.
[Nadia Bilchik, Cnn Editorial Producer:] Good morning,
[T.j. Holmes:] Folks can't afford the rent.
[Bilchik:] Yes. Well, what's happening in London is that because they're increasing prices in rent, some people are choosing to go to tent cities and camping sites to live during the week, and they call them camping commuters. So if you think that the average let's say a very a cheap hotel would be $100 a night
[Holmes:] OK.
[Bilchik:] an expensive camping site would be just $20 a night. So that's an expensive camping site.
[Holmes:] OK.
[Bilchik:] So just much cheaper to stay there than having to rent. But, obviously, the way people are dealing with difficult rent or expensive rent in London is they subletting, sharing, all those things. Although, you know, the property did go in London for $140 million an apartment this year. So just another thought.
[Holmes:] It's just another thought, though. Are they becoming a problem? Is the government trying to shut down these things, necessarily, yet? No?
[Bilchik:] No. They're simply not trying to shut them down. In fact, it's just a push for more affordable housing. Probably like if you think of New York, how expensive it is in the city, imagine if there were trailers in Central Park
[Holmes:] Oh.
[Bilchik:] probably bigger than some of the apartments, right?
[Holmes:] Yes. That's a very good point, Nadia. Now, the other story, which is an interest and certainly got a lot of our attention here and you brought to our attention "Sesame Street" moving to Nigeria.
[Bilchik:] Well, what happens is, Sesame Workshop will come to Nigeria. They've done that this year and actually broadcast in 2011. And they work in partnership with Nigerian educators and puppeteers and they've come up with "Sesame Square, Nigeria". Two unique characters Kami, as you mentioned
[Holmes:] Yes.
[Bilchik:] earlier who's HIV positive and then Kobe, who is not a cookie monster. He's a yam monster because yam, sweet potatoes are much more prolific in Nigeria than let's say cookies, which by the way are called biscuits in Nigeria. But the idea behind this is let's look at what the children in Nigeria having to deal with. Now, pediatric HIVAIDS is a problem. So here they've created this glorious golden character called Kami and she deals with her HIV in a very positive way. They call it the normalization of AIDS and that she's healthy. She talks about her feelings. Some of the other issues that Nigerian children are dealing with is racial acceptance and religious acceptance. So that's one of the things. You know, there's a lot of religious intolerance between Muslims and Christians. So how you do that? Malaria is another issue that they're dealing with. So they've taken what Sesame Workshop done is taking the best of entertainment and brought it to other countries Russia, Nigeria, South Africa, Argentina, and said how can we use our methodology and partner with the country to create "Sesame Square", not Street.
[Holmes:] Not Street.
[Bilchik:] Because squares have a better connotation.
[Holmes:] Well, again, adapting the concept which clearly is entertaining to kids, but also edutainment
[Bilchik:] Edutainment.
[Holmes:] it's now you said it. But one last thing, how was it received initially to, you know, some people might tell, hey, you shouldn't have a character on in here with
[Hiv. Bilchik:] Well, actually well received. They first piloted the HIV positive character in South Africa.
[Holmes:] OK.
[Bilchik:] Nigeria is only 2011. But it's such a different paradigm because it's such an issue there. So and they have collaborated with Nigerians to say how will people receive it, very, very positively.
[Holmes:] Very well.
[Bilchik:] So congratulations to Sesame Workshop and it's fun to buy a United States agency for international development.
[Holmes:] Nadia, thank you so much. As always, we're going to be checking in with you again this morning. Nadia Bilchik, our what's the official title, our editorial producer, is that right?
[Bilchik:] Yes. I like to think I'm multifaceted, right.
[Holmes:] Multifaceted. That's how we're going to start introducing you, the multifaceted Nadia Bilchik. Thank you so much. Well, coming up here, folks at 12 minutes to the top of the hour. It's safe to say some women keep secrets from their husbands. We understand. We don't like it, but we get it. OK? But ladies you can't just do that same thing with your doctor. We'll tell you why. Stay here.

[Berman:] It is debate night in America. You're looking at a live picture of the hall in Denver, Colorado, where the debate will take place tonight, in a little while. I'm actually heading down to Washington to take part in our CNN debate coverage. I'll be part of the fact check team and I have a feeling these guys will keep us somewhat busy with the facts. It's been that type of campaign so far.
[Sambolin:] You've probably been doing a lot of work then.
[Berman:] It's been a busy few days.
[Sambolin:] Very cool.
[Berman:] It is 42 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
[Sambolin:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. Let's get you up-to-date on this morning's top stories.
[Berman:] American Airlines says it's going to inspect 47 of its Boeing 757s after seats came loose in flight on two planes within days of each other. So far, they've checked 36 planes. Six had seats that were not properly secured. American is saying not all of the seats were loose but they potentially could loosen, and they blame improperly installed clamps for the problem.
[Sambolin:] And we're learning more about the border patrol agent killed in a shootout along the ArizonaMexico border. He has been identified as 30-year-old Nicholas Ivie. A second unidentified agent was wounded but his injuries are not life-threatening. The FBI and the county sheriff are now investigating here. Ivie is the third border patrol agent killed in the line of duty this year.
[Berman:] Trying to say that debris floating around in space is becoming a major problem and now Boeing has an idea about how to clean it up. Here's a plan, is to shoot inert gas into space which would slow down fast-moving space junk forcing it to fall toward earth's atmosphere where it would burn up upon entry. Experts say space travel could become difficult by mid-century if something is not done. Who are the guys sitting around coming up with this?
[Sambolin:] Oh my goodness! These are nerds. Thank God we've got them. So if you are traveling today, dense fog could be a major factor for you. It's up and down the East Coast. We have a live look at Columbus Circle, you can barely see there. That's in New York City. Rob Marciano has so much more from Atlanta.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] The good news, guys, is that it's pretty warm out.
[Sambolin:] That's true.
[Marciano:] So, you don't need a winter coat to enjoy the fog. But, you're right. It's up and down the East Coast, a lot of tropical moisture in place, long fall nights, stagnant air and some of the visibilities are down below a quarter of a mile. Teterboro, there's a ground stop there; delays at Philadelphia already and we expect delays to continue. So, dense fog advisories for Tri-State area of New York, stretches down towards D.C., includes the Shenandoah Valley. Even places behind this front, we've got some patchy fogs as well. But this is a very slow-moving front, as well. We expect to see more showers today but it's just going to be kind of be soupy and damp and warm. Temperatures will be well above average across the I-95 corridor. Showers that are popping up on the radar. Again, no big deal. You can get away without the umbrella. But you might want to bring a rain jacket because it's kind of it will be London-esque, I suppose. Down across Florida, they continue their extremely wet fall. And rain in the forecast from Tampa back to Miami. This computer model that shows a forecast for snow, Northern Montana, North Dakota, and not just the upper elevation where we could see five to 10 inches of snow but even some of the local country of the arrowhead of Minnesota, four to six inches possible with winds gusting at 30 miles an hour. There's nearly blizzard conditions, and we're just in the beginning of October. Meanwhile, 83 in Denver for the debate and then cooling down for tomorrow.
[Berman:] It's going to be hot inside that debate hall, though, Rob, no matter what the temperature outside. Thanks very much. Nice to see you this morning. It is 45 minutes after the hour. Soledad O'Brien is here. I understand there will be a debate tonight.
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, apparently. It's going to be hot inside that debate hall and outside, as Rob just said. We're talking all morning about the presidential debate, of course. For the first time, Mitt Romney and President Obama will meet face-to-face. It's going to happen, as you just heard, in Denver tonight. The questions are, what would you ask if had you an opportunity to pose a question to one of the candidates? What should you be watching for, both in content and in body language? Who goes in with an advantage and who has a disadvantage? This morning, we're going to talk to the Obama campaign deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter is going to be our guest. Romney's senior adviser, Barbara Comstock, will join us as well. And top debate coach, Brett O'Donnell, is going to talk us through handicapping this debate. It's happening tonight. All that ahead this morning at 7 a.m. Eastern Time when we kick off "
[Starting Point". Berman:] Excellent.
[Sambolin:] Thank you. Forty-six minutes past the hour. It's must see video. We have been showing this to you all morning long. Cameras are mounted inside a plunging empty jetliner to capture the moment it crashes to the ground. Coming out, find out what was learned about seat location and your chances of survival.
[Berman:] Amazing.

[A.j. Hammer:] Big news breaking tonight on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT showbiz mega-mysteries in the Casey Anthony trial. Startling revelations today that Casey could be melting down. Tonight, is Casey about to cop a plea deal? Does she need to take the stand? And could there be riots if she is acquitted? Explosive Bristol bombshell. Bristol Palin`s remarkable revelations today about sex with her ex, Levi Johnston, and why she says Levi stole her virginity.
[Bristol Palin, Daughter Of Fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin:] I`m not accusing Levi of date rape and I should have never gotten myself into a situation like that.
[Unidentified Female:] Are you happy with the personal area of your life?
[Hammer:] Is this the one for Jen? TV`s most provocative entertainment news show breaks news right now.
[Unidentified Male:] Based upon the reports the court has reviewed, the court will find that the defendant is competent to continue to proceed.
[Hammer:] So that settled that, the judge ruling today that Casey is competent to stand trial and it was seen live right here on HLN bringing the trial to you live every day. But tonight there are other mega-mysteries lurking out there, so let`s me get to our HLN all stars. Right now, Jane Velez-Mitchell is covering the trial in Orlando. Jane, of course, seen every night here on HLN at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on "ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL." With me tonight in New York, Sunny Hostin from "In Session." Sunny is seen throughout the day, every day right here on HLN`s coverage of the Casey Anthony murder trial with her remarkable analysis. All right. Moving to the developments here, I`ve got to tell you we were just floored today when we heard that Casey Anthony was being evaluated on whether or not she was competent to stand trial. That leads to our first big showbiz mega-mystery tonight, is Casey melting down? Jane, what is going on here?
[Jane Velez-mitchell, Host, "issues With Jane Velez-mitchell":] Well, I think it`s a very good possibility that she is having some sort of meltdown. Imagine the pressure she is under the entire world watching, her brother taking the stand on Friday and weeping and she wept as well. And then the prospect of her dad being called up to the stand by her own attorneys and possibly grilled about allegedly molesting her. That would be too much for anybody to take. The other possibilities are, she`s pretending to have a meltdown or did pretend to have a meltdown. Or maybe there`s some big battle in the defense team over whether or not she should testify. Those are the three main possibilities we`ve been debating.
[Hammer:] Yes. And I have to say I agree with you. Regardless of the truth here, there has to be an immense amount of pressure that few of us could actually understand. And in the end, we know that the judge ruled Casey Anthony is in fact competent to stand trial. Let`s watch how he broke that news this morning as seen live right here on HLN.
[Unidentified Male:] The court ordered that the defendant to be examined by three psychologists to determine her competency to proceed. Based upon the reports that the court has reviewed, the court will find that the defendant is competent to continue to proceed.
[Hammer:] All right. Sunny, so you heard what he said there. Three psychologists examined Casey over the weekend. Do you think that perhaps she is starting to crack under the pressure?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session":] I think it`s possible. I think everyone`s theory is that it`s time for her to testify because, remember, in opening statements, they came out with these allegations that George Anthony has been molesting Casey Anthony and that Caylee drowned an accidental death. I think then that the defense attorneys may be rethinking that strategy because the only person that can put that evidence on in my view is Casey Anthony. This happened over the weekend, this alleged meltdown. And the legal standard is whether or not she understands the legal proceedings against her or whether or not she can aid in her own defense. And so I wonder if the competency issue is related to that. Can she aid her attorneys in her own defense? Can she get on the witness stand and tell the same story that they told in opening statements? That I really think is the issue behind this.
[Hammer:] And of course, you said alleged meltdown, because to Jane`s point, who knows?
[Hostin:] She could be malingering. I mean, a lot of people are saying that. She`s a consummate professional liar. They`ve admitted to that, but they said she lies because of the sexual abuse. So who knows if it was factual, being three not two, not one, but three psychologists found that she was completely competent to stand trial.
[Hammer:] Yes. And now that she`s been declared competent to stand trial, everybody is wondering whether she will be convicted or acquitted, of course, now that this thing is going to go on. But here`s another possibility leading to our next showbiz mega- mystery tonight, could Casey cop a plea deal? Jane, give me a reality check on that.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, hypothetically, it`s always possible. We`ve seen, in some cases, plea deals come down even while the jurors are deliberating. But she was offered a plea deal right before jury selection started. She turned it down. So I don`t know if the judge is going to be tickled to have that development this late in the game. One thing I can say with certainty about this crazy case anything can happen.
[Hammer:] Yes. We`ve been seeing that each and every day. And let`s say that Casey doesn`t cop a plea deal. Let`s say she beats the rap. That leads to our next showbiz mega-mystery tonight what happens if Casey is acquitted? Now, Sunny, the "New York Times" actually quoted someone as saying there could be riots if she`s acquitted. Do you actually see it going that far?
[Hostin:] I have to agree. And remember, people standing in line all night to get a golden ticket, one of the 50 seats to get in and all the fights that broke out? I can imagine that something like that could certainly happen if she`s acquitted. My Facebook page blows up every time I say anything like, "Wow, the defense did pretty well today." I get hate mail. I get people saying, "What are talking -"
[Hammer:] So if you`re getting it
[Hostin:] So if I`m getting it if she gets acquitted it, I think is very possible that there`s going to be such outrage.
[Hammer:] Well, Casey`s defense team did call a chemistry professor to the stand today to slam the prosecution`s claim that Casey stuffed her daughter`s body in the trunk of her car. Casey`s own mother said in her 911 call to the police that she smelled death in Casey`s car. Watch what happened today.
[Unidentified Male:] It`s my expert opinion that there`s currently no instrumental method that`s been scientifically validated to the level that it could be used to identify the presence or absence of human remains based on the chemical residues that are present.
[Hammer:] We know that the defense went after this professor`s testimony today. But let`s face it, there is no hard proof that Casey killed her daughter. Emotions running really high in this case. People, as Sunny was just saying, are lining up every day, even fighting over tickets to get a seat in that courtroom. Jane, in your mind, what happens if Casey is acquitted?
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I think there would be tremendous anger, but I don`t know if I would go so far as to say that there`s going to be riots because I`ve been talking to the people, mostly women lined up to go into this trial. They`re very decent people. These are mothers, not the type to riot generally. But I do think there will be tremendous anger and frustration. There could be some protests. There could be some calls for I don`t know something on Facebook. But I don`t see these women that I`ve been seeing every single day lining up here going into a full-fledged riot mode.
[Hostin:] Let`s hope not.
[Hammer:] Let`s hope not for sure. Let me get to another showbiz mega- mystery in this truly dramatic case that has captured the world`s attention. Does Casey need to take the stand? Now, Sunny, you mentioned a moment ago, because, really, the thinking on that can change day it day in this case.
[Hostin:] Yes.
[Hammer:] So as it sits right now, are you actually leaning towards the idea that if they want to have any kind of success here, she needs to take the stand?
[Hostin:] I am and I said it from the very beginning, I think Jose Baez, the defense attorney in this case, put her on the witness stand with his opening statement. He said that Casey Anthony was sexually abused since she was eight years old by her father, George Anthony. He also said she isn`t a murderer because her daughter died accidentally by drowning. Who else is a witness to that? Only Casey Anthony. She has to get on the witness to prove that theory. If she doesn`t get on the witness stand and there is no evidence of this after he basically promised this to the jury, that spells big trouble.
[Hammer:] Wow. It would be certainly riveting and a huge moment in this trial. Jane Velez-Mitchell, Sunny Hostin, I thank you both. Make sure you stay with HLN for continuing coverage of the latest developments in the Casey Anthony murder trial right here on HLN. We have to move on now to big Jennifer Aniston romance revelations today. Jen opening up for the very first time on TV about her new man, Justin Thoreau. I`ve got to wonder could this actually be the one for Jen? There`s absolutely no love between Bristol Palin and her former man, Levi Johnston. Why is she telling the world today that he stole her virginity?
[B. Palin:] I`m not accusing Levi of date rape or rape at all. But I am just looking back with the adult eyes that I have now and just thinking that was a foolish decision.
[Hammer:] It`s Bristol`s bombshells tonight. Levi is not going to like this. Should Bristol really be spilling the beans on Levi though? And SHOWBIZ breaks news about J-Lo and her future on "American Idol." Is Jennifer Lopez coming back? This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. Time now for the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news tonight.
[Text:] Chris Brown wins four BET awards including best R & B artist and video of the year. Stars speak out about Chris Brown getting past his troubles.
[Ne-yo, R & B Singer:] I mean, he`s not perfect, you know. Nobody`s perfect.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. Top U.N. nuclear weapons inspectors are in Tehran today. The International Atomic Energy Agency says the priority is that the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program. Iran is claiming that advances in uranium enrichment and also, of course, tensions are rising as Iran has cut off oil exports to European countries in response to sanctions. Joining us this morning to talk about all of that is former U.N. weapons inspector, David Albright. Nice to see you, sir. Thanks for talking with us. We've talked about specific questions that the IAEA needs to get answers from Iran. So, what are those questions exactly?
[David Albright, Fmr. U.n. Weapons Inspector:] Well, the two most important are, did Iran work on the processes and the research and development to build a nuclear weapon itself? There are a lot of steps in building a nuclear weapon, enriching uranium, but it's also necessary to learn how to make the enriched uranium turn into a nuclear explosive, and that's complicated. Another is, did Iran have a military-controlled program to enrich uranium? Was this chrome site that was discovered by western intelligence in 2009 actually part of a program run by the military to produce weapon grade uranium for a nuclear weapon? And so, those two areas are the key wings that the IAEA has been focusing on. And Iran, so far, has refused to cooperate. It started to cooperate in 2007, and then, in 2008, it broke off all cooperation on these two subjects.
[O'brien:] You have said you don't expect cooperation and you don't expect these issues to be resolved unless there is concessions and major concessions from both sides. Spell out what those concessions you think would have to be to make progress.
[Albright:] Well, it's a very complicated problem. And I think I don't what the IAEA is looking for on this visit is some concrete result that shows that Iran plans to open up. The IAEA can't deliver very much to Iran in terms of concessions. So, Iran is going to be looking to the west, particularly, to the United States, to start to make concessions that get to its security concerns. I mean, will the U.S. be willing to say we're not going to try to overthrow the regime? Will the U.S. accept Iran's enrichment program for peaceful uses? These are all very tough concessions, particularly, now when both countries are entering a political season and the threat of war is increasing.
[Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Editor And Publisher, The Nation:] Mr. Albright, Katrina Vanden Heuvel from "The Nation" magazine. There's a drumbeat for war with Iran in this country in Israel. What is your assessment of the impact of airstrikes on Iran in terms of the viability in terms of dealing with the nuclear program or do you feel that diplomacy has not been adequately used at this stage and there is more to be done, and that the drumbeat should cease while diplomacy continues?
[Albright:] I think diplomacy can work. I think Iran has been put under tremendous pressure, and that pressure is starting to pay off. Iran has agreed that they'll enter negotiations. It's dropped its demands for pre-conditions, so I think the negotiations should be given a chance to work. Now, in terms of the airstrikes, we've looked at this at my organization for years. This is not a case like Syria's reactor, which Israel bombed in 2007. This is a highly dispersed advanced gas centrifuge program that cannot be bombed out of existence. And so, the best you get in these kind of airstrikes that are being talked about is a delay in their program. And I've asked Israeli officials, can you give us five years? And they said, no. So, we're really talking about something that's a couple of years at best, and it may back fire. I mean, if Iran is attacked, it may just decide, look, we're going for the bomb. And they're going to accelerate their effort. And then, they end up with the bomb sooner than if we hadn't attacked at all. And so, I think that it is very important at this time to give negotiations a chance and to give Obama the breathing room to try to make those negotiations successful.
[O'brien:] David Albright is a former U.N. weapons inspector. It's nice to have you. Thank you for talking with us. We appreciate it.
[Albright:] Thank you.
[O'brien:] Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, Newt Gingrich says that President Obama is the most dangerous president in modern American history. We're going to talk about that in just a moment. And our next guess from a Reagan family to marrying a Clinton White House there she is. Ali Wentworth, eating in the room. Finish up. We'll get with you in a moment. Don't rush. You're watching STARTING POINT. We're back in a moment.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] It's 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out West. I'm Kyra Phillips. Thanks for joining us. The scandal deepens for Rupert Murdoch and his media empire rock by shame. Today, talk of new investigations from Washington to London. We're keeping a close eye on Wall Street, too. What could be good news for your investments? Stocks appear ready to rebound. The crew of the space shuttle "Atlantis" wakens to Elton John for singing then delivering a personal message of thanks. We begin this hour with the national debt and a new reason for millions of Americans to worry. President Obama says if the debt ceiling is not raise by the August 2nd deadline, your Social Security check may be put on hold. Some Republicans say the White House is using scare tactics. The GOP's top man in the Senate, Mitch McConnell is offering a plan that would guarantee there's no default. He wants them to streamline the process by empowering President Obama to raise the debt before the congressional vote. Some Democrats and some Republicans that's a copout that only delays the tough decisions. Now back to the Social Security checks. Dan Lothian at the White House. Dan, what do you think? How real of a threat is it?
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Well, the White House certainly says that it's a real threat. You've been hearing this from the Treasury Department talking about the overall impact on the economy if a deal isn't reached, but also on individual Americans. Jay Carney was spelling out how it would not only be just Social Security, but also veterans' benefits, disability benefits. President Obama painted that grim picture during an interview with CBS News yesterday.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.
[Lothian:] So what happens if they can't reach that agreement with all that's at stake here? Well, you're hearing this latest backup plan being floated by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. It's unclear whether or not this is a real viable option, but nonetheless, it would give President Obama the authority to raise that debt ceiling in three different increments before the 2012 election. And as you pointed out earlier, this is something that Senator McConnell is catching some heat for from his own party, conservatives saying that he is essentially caving to pressure from Democrats. As for the White House, White House Spokesman Jay Carney put out a statement that read in part, quote, "Senator McConnell's proposal reaffirmed what leaders of both parties have stated clearly, that defaulting on America's bills are not an option. It is time for our leaders to find common ground and reduce our deficit in a way that will strengthen our economy." So clearly there is a lot of work to be done as lawmakers come back to the White House this afternoon for the fourth straight day in a row. Kyra
[Phillips:] OK, Dan. Thanks. We're just getting word now, three bombs exploding in the congested area of Mumbai. That's India's financial capitol. CNN's sister station, CNN IBN is reporting that at least 15 people were injured there. We're following it now. Once again, three bomb blasts in Mumbai. At least 15 people reported wounded. We're tracking it for you. Rupert Murdoch built a media empire on the power of selling a scandal. And today, it's his mighty News Corporation that's under siege from London to Washington. Now a prominent U.S. senator, Jay Rockefeller, wants to know if U.S. citizens fell victim to sleazy or illegal news gathering as well. He is calling for an investigation amidst reports that victims of the 911 attacks are among the nearly 4,000 people who had their phones hacked. The outrage is crushing. Over the past week, the media giant has lost nearly $7 billion in market value, and the political damage is mounting. Today, Britain's prime minister meets with the family of a murdered little girl. Murdoch's newspaper allegedly hacked her cell phone to gain an edge on that story. One target of the alleged phone hacking, actor Hugh Grant and he explains why all of us should care here in the U.S.
[Hugh Grant, Actor:] Rupert Murdoch does own an enormous amount of your media, you know, with Fox News and Fox station and 20th Century Fox pictures, et cetera, and some of your newspapers. And I think people need to ask themselves, you know, who is this man who owns such a large part of our media? And I think, you know, when you hear some of the new allegations about who the "News of the World" was phone hacking that may include just allegations at this stage some of the 911 victims. I don't know, that may strike a chord with Americans.
[Phillips:] Now the British media scandal involving Murdoch's News Corporation has put Fox News in a bit of a bind, and the network has apparently gone out of its way to avoid reporting on its parent company's troubles. That may have been painfully obvious on the show "Fox News Watch." CNN's Brian Todd joins me with more. Brian
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Kyra, many questions recently about the extent to which Rupert Murdoch's entities have covered the "News of the World" scandal. These are questions fuelled in part by a clip from that program you just mentioned called "Fox News Watch." We're going to show you this clip. It's from this past Sunday. It's streaming video meant for the public, but it's during a commercial and not part of the broadcast. Panelists are talking about a certain news story. Take a listen.
[Unidentified Male:] Anybody want to bring up the subject we're not talking about today for the streamers? Sure. Go ahead. I'm not going to touch it.
[Unidentified Female:] With a 10-foot turban.
[Todd:] Now, it may seem obvious that they're talking about the "News of the World" scandal. We've in fact confirmed that's what they were talking about. We did a search of Fox transcripts to double- check some of this. Now despite the fact that "Fox News Watch" is about the news media, we found no mentions of the "News of the World" scandal on that program, no mention of "News of the World" at all since August of 2006. Now as for the broader Fox News Channel coverage, the "L.A. Times" reports that Fox News stayed mainly silent on the scandal during prime time on Thursday. That's when it broke that Murdoch was shutting down "News of the World." We found about seven mentions of the story on Fox News Channel over the past week, including one reporter piece and that's compared to other major news networks where covered was very extensive. We could not get spokespeople for News Corporation or Fox News Channel to comment on this. We do have to say, though, our colleagues in Britain tell us that Sky News, one of Murdoch's other entities was not holding back in its coverage and in our search of mentions of the story on CNN, we should say, turns up around 100 of them over the past week. So a fair question could be is CNN maybe over covering this, Kyra
[Phillips:] And Brian, I mean, I believe "Wall Street Journal" also owned by Murdoch, it made the front page, right?
[Todd:] It did, and we kind of went on a review of some of his newspaper holdings. That is a mixed bag as far as his major U.S. papers are concerned. Now we looked at it the day after it was announced that "News of the World" was shutting down. That was the Friday papers after he announced it on Thursday. Well, here's "The New York Post," one of his major holdings in the United States. Big Casey Anthony page here, but you don't really see "News of the World" mentioned until page 29 here in a short article. That's compared to the "New York Times" on Friday, a big front- page story on it there, the "Washington Post" on Friday, pretty much the same thing, big front-page story on the right-hand side there. We do have to say, as you mentioned, Kyra, the "Wall Street Journal," to be fair, one of the most distinguished newspapers in the United States. It does have a front-page story here, major story with extensive coverage on the jump page. Also his paper, "The Times of London," in Britain, yesterday and today, has major front-page headlines, major front-page stories on this scandal both yesterday and today so two of his major newspapers and his Sky News Network not shying away from covering this story.
[Phillips:] Brian Todd. Appreciate it. I want to take you now live to the breaking news we told you about moments ago, the three bombs going off in Mumbai. Mallika Kapur on the phone with us right now as we just start to get in these live pictures. Monica, bring us up to date. At least 15 people injured, right?
[Mallika Kapur, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right. That what's he hear that at least 15 people have been injured, and these explosions went off at about 7:00, 7:10 p.m. local time, it's now about 7:40 p.m. local time here in Mumbai, so about a half hour ago. There have been three blasts in various parts of the city, two in the south, one up north and another bizarre area in the upper house, and one thing that's common in all three areas is that they are very extremely crowded, congested areas. It is rush hour in the evening, 7:00 p.m., people on their way home from work. These areas are very, very crowded, and some places the roads are so narrow it's difficult to get cars in. In another area the roads are so narrow. It's just filled with hundreds and hundreds of people in the evening. It's close to a very important railway station so very, very busy commercial areas, all three of them. One thing I do want to point out, Kyra, is that they have been very careful not to call these bombs. They're not saying bombs have gone of yet, because what we do know is there have been explosions that have gone off, but they've been careful not to call them bombs. We do not know what caused these explosions yet. So they are being very careful telling people we don't know if they're bombs yet. They're investigating a meter box on top of an electric pole where there's been an incident could have taken place. One eye witness is talking about a different box saying that there was an explosion next to a different. So it's very early, just about half an hour since the explosions went off, and we are waiting to see whether the government will say that they are indeed bombs, or whether for the moment they are just saying they're explosions.
[Phillips:] Mallika, just real quickly, it's like we're having flashbacks from 2008 in those terrorist attacks in Mumbai killing so many people there. And if you look at the I guess, where these explosions have happened, you could only assume, although we have not obviously confirmed it, that this could be a terrorist attack. It's the drive home from work, it's near the railway station, as you mentioned. This is where, obviously, terrorists would know a lot of people are at a certain time.
[Kapur:] That's absolutely right. As you said, when the three locations, it doesn't seem to be a coincidence and again, as you pointed out, it's very early for us to say what caused this, whether it is a terrorist attack by any chance. They're being very careful not to even call it a bomb blast at the moment. But yes, when you look at the three spots, the one thing that is common in all three locations is that they are very, very busy. And it is rush hour, and anybody would know that these are the three spots in Mumbai at around 7:00 p.m. that would probably be among the three most crowded spots in the entire city. So it could be I mean, it could be that somebody has chosen these spots quite carefully for maximum impact.
[Phillips:] All right. We will continue to follow this breaking news story with our Mallika Kapur joining us on the phone from India. Once again, three explosions in Mumbai, it looks like they're coordinated attacks reminiscent of those 10 coordinated attacks back in 2008 that killed more than 160 people. We're following this story for you to see if, indeed, this was a terrorist attack. More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] Hi there, Suzanne, thank you. Our top story this hour, the final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour now delayed. Endeavour's 25th flight into space was supposed to take off at 3:47 p.m. Eastern time today, but now it looks like it won't get off the ground until at least Sunday. There are three parts to this story now, what caused the delay, what happens to Arizona representative Gabby Giffords, who was at the space center planning to attend the launch, and what about the president? Will he and his family still attend the launch at this point? We have live team coverage on this story. Let's start with John Zarrella, he's live from Kennedy Space Center for us. John, first off, what is this delay about?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] What happened was that they have what's called three auxiliary power units on board the space shuttle, and these are and there are heaters within the auxiliary power units. Two of the heaters in auxiliary power unit number one, those are called APUs, failed, and NASA tried to restart them, tried to do some trouble-shooting, but they were never able to bring them back up online. They are critical because the auxiliary power units are what are used in order for the shuttle in order to use the rudder, in order to use any of the shuttle's steering mechanisms, so and that is powered by what's called hydrazine. Now, the hydrazine will freeze up if those heaters are not on whenever the auxiliary power units are on, so they have to be working. So, without those two working, NASA was forced to go ahead and scrub the launch. And Randi, we're looking right now at a minimum of 72 hours. At first, we thought 48 hours, but it appears now a minimum of 72-hour turn-around time. They have to get all of the half a million gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen drained back out of the giant tank before the engineers can get in there and start trouble-shooting the problem. So, a minimum now of 72 hours, so we're looking at no earlier than Monday, and that would be some time in the 2:00 hour.
[Kaye:] So, they think, possibly, they can still get it done. What about Gabby Giffords? We mentioned that she's there, she got this medical leave from her rehab facility in Houston, I think that's only for about 48 hours, to see her husband launch with the shuttle Endeavour. Any word on whether or not she'll be able to stay there?
[Zarrella:] Well, you know, our medical folks are reaching out to see what kind of a window they're going to allow her. Now that we know it's 72 hours, that would obviously stretch it out a little bit. On the other side of the equation, we just had her folks or she tweeted out, bummer, with that the launch has been scrubbed. But we also know that a couple of doctors her doctors were flying in today to be here with her. So, that may, in fact, allow her to stay an extra day or so. But again, our medical folks are reaching out to see exactly what this means for her.
[Kaye:] All right, John. We'll leave it there with you as we watch this video of Gabby Giffords climbing aboard that airplane, making her way there to Florida. Now let's go to White House Correspondent Dan Lothian. And Dan, what about the president? Any news on whether he'll still stay there and attend the launch, now that it's been delayed for now 72 hours?
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] That part of it we don't know of the president. It's doubtful that he'll actually stay here for that new time and date. What we do know is the president is still planning to come here. He lifted off from Alabama, will be landing here sometime in the 2:00 hour. So, they have not scrubbed the president's trip here. Obviously, this would have been a historic day for President Obama. It would have only been the second president to witness a lift-off of a space shuttle, the last president to do that was President Bill Clinton in 1998. In addition to witnessing the lift-off, the first family was to have taken a tour of a facility here. We presume that that will still take place. It's possible that the president will also get to visit with perhaps the crew and other NASA officials here on the ground, but it's unclear exactly how his schedule will play out. But what we do know is that the trip is still on, at least for the president to come here for a visit, but he will not be witnessing the lift-off of the space shuttle.
[Kaye:] And then Dan, he has to be in Miami tonight, right?
[Lothian:] That's right, Miami-Dade County, where the president Community College, rather, where the president will be delivering a commencement address. So, that is still on. So, it makes sense for the president to still stop here and then make the little jump over to Miami for his remarks tonight. But again, it has to be somewhat of a disappointment for the first family because this is a historic day, as you've been talking to John about all the other things surrounding this with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly going up as the commander of the space shuttle. That great story behind that, also this being the second to the last shuttle launch. So, a lot of historic reasons for wanting to be here for this event. Of course, that part of it won't be happening tonight, but at least the president will still be coming here for the visit.
[Kaye:] All right Dan Lothian for us. Thank you, Dan. All right, so I realize it's now been, oh, about five minutes since we've relived the royal wedding, but you know, here comes the Will and Kate addition of "Sound Effect," the most important 33 seconds of the entire affair.
[Rowan Williams, Archbishop Of Canterbury:] I, William Arthur Philip Louis.
[Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, The Prince Of Wales:] I, William Arthur Philip Louis.
[Williams:] Take thee Catherine Elizabeth.
[Prince William:] Take thee Catherine Elizabeth.
[Williams:] To my wedded wife.
[Prince William:] To my wedded wife.
[Williams:] To have and to hold from this day forward.
[Prince William:] To have and to hold from this day forward.
[Williams:] For better, for worse.
[Prince William:] For better, for worse.
[Williams:] For richer, for poorer.
[Prince William:] For richer, for poorer.
[Williams:] In sickness and in health.
[Catherine Middleton:] In sickness and in health.
[Williams:] To love and to cherish.
[Middleton:] To love and to cherish.
[Williams:] Til death us do part.
[Middleton:] Til death us do part.
[Williams:] According to god's holy law.
[Middleton:] According to god's holy law.
[Kaye:] And we'll have much more on the big day later this hour with CNN's Richard Quest in the heart of the festivities. He was out there with all the fans who came out to see the big day for the royal family, and he'll join us. And I'll tell you what a trouth is, you heard Kate mention it there. In case you don't know what a trouth is, we'll explain that to you as well. Also, still to come, President Obama is visiting Alabama today. He was there joining up with officials there, the governor he's getting a close-up look at the widespread destruction from a powerful tornado. And this just in, this new video. This is the president during his tour. He was in Tuscaloosa, and that is where he was before he's planning to head to watch the shuttle launch now that it's been scrubbed, but that was the original plan. So, let's listen to what he had to say there in Alabama.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Well, Michelle and I want to express, first of all, our deepest condolences to not just the city of Tuscaloosa, but the state of Alabama and all the other states that have been affected by this unbelievable storm. We just took a tour, and I've got to say, I've never seen devastation like this. It is heartbreaking. We were just talking to some residents here who were lucky enough to escape alive but have lost everything. They've mentioned that their neighbors had lost two of their grandchildren in the process. What you're seeing here is the consequence of just a few minutes of this extraordinarily powerful storm sweeping through this community. And as the governor was mentioning, Tuscaloosa typically gets a tornado during the season, but this is something that I don't think anybody's seen before. In addition to keeping all the families who have been affected in our thoughts and prayers, obviously our biggest priority now is to help this community recover. I want to thank Mayor Maddox for his extraordinary leadership, Chief Burgess I know is having to deal with a lot of difficulties. One of the challenges that the mayor was explaining is, is that the assets of the city, a fire station that we passed on the way in, police resources, emergency resources, those, too, have been affected. Fortunately, the governor has done an extraordinary job with his team in making sure that the resources of the state are mobilized and have been brought in here. I'm very pleased that we've got a FEMA director in Craig Fugate who is as experienced as anybody in responding to disasters even of this magnitude. And we've already provided the disaster designations. We've already provided the disaster designations that are required to make sure that the maximum federal help comes here as quickly as possible. Craig is working with the teams on the ground to make sure that we are seamlessly coordinating between the state, local and federal governments, and I want to just make a commitment to the communities here that we are going to do everything we can to help these communities rebuild. We can't bring those who have been lost back. You know, they're alongside god at this point. We can help maybe a little bit with the families dealing with the grief of having a lost a loved one lost, but the property damage, which is obviously extensive, that's something that we can do something about. And so, we're going to do everything we can to partner with you, Mr. Mayor, with you, governor. As the governor's pointing out, this community was hit as bad as any place, but there are communities all across Alabama and all across this region that have been affected, and we're going to be making that same commitment to make sure that we're doing whatever we can to make sure that people are OK. That bee likes you.
[Unidentified Male:] It's on you. You stand still.
[Obama:] OK.
[Unidentified Male:] He got in the way. I got it, I got it off.
[Unidentified Male:  Unidentified Male:] There you go.
[Unidentified Male:] Where's the Secret Service when you need them? Yes.
[Obama:] Finally, let me just say this. As you walk around we were just talking to three young people over there, college students here at the University of Alabama who are volunteering now to help clean up. One of the young ladies there, she actually lived in this apartment. Wasn't here at the time the storm happened. What you're struck by is people's resilience and the way that the community has come together. And obviously, that's a testimony to the leadership of the governor and the mayor, but it's also inherent as part of the American spirit. We go through hard times, but no matter how hard we may be tested, we maintain our faith, and we look to each other to make sure that we're supporting each other and helping each other, and I'm sure that that spirit is going to continue until this city's all the way back. So, Mr. Mayor, he was pointing out that there's a lot of national media down here now, And the mayor expressed the concern that perhaps, you know, the media will move on in a day or a week or a month and that folks will forget what's happened here. And I wanted to assure him that the American people all across the country are with him and his community and we're going to make sure that you're not forgotten and that we do everything we can to make sure that we rebuild. So, with that, governor, would you like to say a few words?
[Gov. Robert Bentley , Alabama:] I would. And Mr. President, I would like to personally thank you and Mrs. Obama for coming and visiting Alabama, because you know, as you fly over this and I did yesterday as you fly over from the air, it does not do it justice until you're here on the ground, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate that. We asked for we mobilized the stat state. We declared a state of emergency early on, and even before the first tornadoes hit, and then we mobilized our National Guard the first day. We then asked the president for aid, and we asked him to expedite that, and they have done that, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate that, Mr. President, because all these people appreciate that so much. We have eight counties across the state that have been hit by major tornadoes. This probably is the worst one, but we have others. As you go across the state, you see this same evidence of tornadoes all across the state. And so, there are people that are hurting. We have now, what, 210 confirmed deaths in Alabama. We have 1,700 injured. We have a number of people missing at the present time. We're going to continue to work in a rescue-type mode, but we're now more in a recovery mode. Thank you, Mr. President. And if you'll keep them off of me
[Obama:] I'm going to keep my eye we're looking out for each other.
[Bentley:] I appreciate that, yes, sir. But I let me say, I am so proud of our first responders in this state, they have done an outstanding job. Our mayors, our county commissioners, our police, our firemen, they have all just don't such a fantastic job. Our EMA people, they have just we have got a great team, they've all worked together. And now, we have the federal government helping us, and you know, that just shows that when locals and state and federal government works together, we can get things accomplished, and that's what we're going to do. And so, Mr. President, welcome to Alabama, but not under these circumstances. We want you to come back and maybe go to a football game over here at a later date and when things are better. But thank you for your help.
[Obama:] I will gladly, gladly come back.
[Bentley:] Thank you, sir.
[Obama:] Mr. Mayor, why don't you say a few words?
[Walt Maddox, Mayor Of Tuscaloosa, Alabama:] Mr. President, governor, miss Obama, thank you for coming today. The last 36 hours have been probably the most trying time in this community's history. But you're going to see a new story being written here in Tuscaloosa. And in years to come, these chapters are going to be filled with hope and opportunity. Since this tragedy began, I've been using Romans 12:12 when Paul wrote under persecution, "rejoice in our confident hope." Well, today, Mr. President, your visit here has brought a confident hope to this community. And in the days, weeks and months to come, we're going to be a story that you're going to be very proud of and you can talk about across this land. Thank you again for coming today.
[Obama:] Well, thank you for your leadership. And two last points I want to make. First of all, we've got our congressional delegation here. And I am absolutely confident that they will make sure that the resources are available to help rebuild. To all the local officials who were here, I know that they've been personally affected, but I know that they're going to provide the leadership in this community, working with the mayor and the governor to do what is need. And finally, I think the mayor said something very profound as we were driving over here. He said, you know, what's amazing is, when something like this happens, folks forget all their petty differences, you know? Politics, differences of religion or race, all that fades away when we are confronted with the awesome power of nature. And we're reminded that all we have is each other. And so hopefully that spirit continues and grows. If nothing else comes out of this tragedy, let's hope that that's one of the things that comes out of it. So, thank you very much, everybody.
[Kaye:] And there you have it. That was the president, along with the governor of Alabama, Governor Robert Bentley, and the mayor of Tuscaloosa, where they were. That is your first look at the president's tour of Tuscaloosa and the state of Alabama, surveying the storm damage there. You heard from the governor, 210 dead in Alabama, 1,700 injured. They have no idea how many are still missing. But also, I just want to point out one thing. As we were listening to the president there, our weather team got this in. We're learning that aerial surveys that were taking place this morning of the twister that slammed Tuscaloosa and Birmingham show a nearly continuous damage path across Alabama from Mississippi to Georgia. And that's according to the National Weather Service. If that's true, that would mean, our weather folks say, the path of destruction this tornado left in its wake was at least 200 miles long or greater. So you can certainly see why the president thought it was important to see exactly what damage has been done there in the state of Alabama. We will take a quick break and be right back.

[Velshi:] Those are the folks making it all happen.
[Romans:] That's the real work in there.
[Velshi:] Legendary TV star Mary Tyler Moore is set to undergo brain surgery. The procedure is elective. She's choosing to do it. Neurosurgeons will be removing a slow-growing tumor known as meningioma. It's something they've been monitoring for some time.
[Romans:] That's right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief medical correspondent, and a neurosurgeon himself, he's going to join us from the CNN center in Atlanta to explain why they decided not to have this removed right away. Hi, Sanjay.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] Hey, good morning. Yes, this is one of those interesting things. Because it is benign, because it is sometimes found as we refer to it incidentally, so someone may be going in for to the doctor for headaches or maybe after a car accident or a fall and they get a CAT scan, and they find that there is no bleeding or anything as a result of the accident. But there's this meningioma, this brain tumor, sitting there as well. It might be small at the time. And at that time usually a discussion takes place between patient and doctor saying look, there's a small thing there, it may not affect you in your entire life, it's not causing any problems. We don't know that we need to do anything except sort of observe this sort of tumor. Let me show you on this model of the brain, if I can, really quickly. As Ali mentioned, these are tumors that are called meningioma. They're typically found on top of the brain. They may be sort of pushing into the brain somewhat. They come from a lining right outside the brain, but they're not sort of in the brain, in the substance or sort of the spongy part of the brain as much. So it's a fairly straightforward operation. But again to your question, a lot of times the decision just as you know, look, if the person may not need the operation at all in their lifetime, let's just watch this.
[Velshi:] Sanjay you know, Christine, Sanjay and I had occasion to discuss this a couple of weeks ago by chance and he explained to me in great detail what these are about. And I ask now, Sanjay, if it is slow growing and it's not it doesn't seem to be presenting any danger, why the decision? Why did Mary Tyler Moore make the decision to operate on it now why does a doctor and a patient ever make that decision?
[Gupta:] Yes. Well, there's really three major reasons. One is that it starts to grow more quickly. So you get this pattern you get these bits of information. You're maybe getting a scan every year and the tumor doesn't seem to be changing much or just very slow rate of growth as mentioned. And then all of a sudden in one year to the next, there's a rapid growth. That could be a sign to operate. That says look, this thing is starting to grow in a different different pace. It could change in its nature. So looking at it, it's got a very distinctive appearance when you look at these. If it starts to look different, you may wonder, is this turning from a benign tumor into a more malignant tumor. Or in the third case, as you might expect, if it starts to present any -cause any problem, if someone starts to have headaches because of it, starts to have blurriness of vision, if it's pushing on areas that cause weakness or loss of sensation in part of the body, those can also be signs, as well. So, you know, it's really a balance, though, between, you know, she's 74. She has this tumor. It may have grown. Putting her it's a big operation to do, although, you know, successfully done every day in this country. Balancing that versus, you know, may she not need this operation for the rest of her life.
[Velshi:] Correct.
[Gupta:] They decided in this case it was time to operate.
[Velshi:] Good information, Sanjay. Thanks very much for that.
[Gupta:] Thank you. You got it.
[Romans:] A programming note for you, too. Be sure to watch CNN this Saturday and Sunday morning at 7:30 Eastern for "
[Sanjay Gupta Reports:] SAVING GABBY GIFFORDS". Sanjay is going to meet the paramedics and doctors credited with saving the life of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, of course, who was shot in the head and survived an attack on her life.
[Velshi:] Not only remarkably inspirational, but I think we all got smarter about the brain thanks to that incident and of course thanks to Sanjay knowing so much about it. So I'm going to be interested to watch that.
[Romans:] Me too.
[Velshi:] Our top stories are coming up right after the break. It's 54 after the hour.

[Erin Burnett:] Thanks, John. Last night, we brought you a shocking picture of what appeared to be U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of Taliban. Tonight we have the full video and audio. We're going to play them for you and we're also finding out the identities of the Marines believed to have been involved. And who's responsible for the murder of a top Iranian nuclear scientist? Does the American government know who did it? And the "Bottom Line", on President Obama's request to Congress to increase the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion, one of the most conservative members of the Senate and the GOP South Carolina kingmaker, Senator Jim DeMint joins us. Let's go OUTFRONT. Well good evening everyone. I'm Erin Burnett and OUTFRONT tonight, this. This is a letter from President Barack Obama. He just sent it to House Speaker John Boehner. It says, quote, "further borrowing is required because the debt is limit to is right now close to, well, it's 11 zeros and a one, $100 billion. And that means we need more money. The president's asking Congress to raise the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion. Now to be fair we all knew this was coming because this is part of the deal Congress and the president signed back in August. OK. That doesn't mean it's going to happen without a lot of noise, fury sound and fury. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina has led the charge against the nation's debt problem. His new book is called "Now Or Never: Saving America From Economic Collapse" and he is OUTFRONT tonight Senator, good to see you.
[Sen. Jim Demint , South Carolina:] Good to see you and we talk a lot about the debt
[Burnett:] Yes, yes, you do. All right, so, this letter comes it's a very short letter "Dr. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section
[Demint:] Like you said, we knew it was coming. It's strange that the so-called deficit reduction bill last August just increased our debt and unfortunately, I didn't I couldn't vote for it because we not only didn't need to raise the debt limit to the degree they were talking about, but we made this a passable with only a third of the votes of House members and a third of the Senate members. Normally, it takes 60 votes to pass this in the Senate, but part of the deal was is we didn't have to vote for it, but it would pass. So I didn't want to be any part of it. We've got to take the debt more seriously than that. We spend all year, Erin, talking about deficit reduction. We just passed a spending bill for this year that spends more than last year.
[Burnett:] Let me ask you, though, because you know then Senator Barack Obama also voted against increasing the debt ceiling. When he became the president
[Demint:] He called it a failure of leadership.
[Burnett:] That's right. Then he became the president he realized something, which is true, which is that when you don't deuce that, you default on the debt. Most people who own U.S. treasuries are Americans. Most people who have promises made to them by the U.S. government in the past are people who get Social Security and wouldn't get paid. He's got a fair point.
[Demint:] Not if you cut spending. You don't have to default on the debt. But we're increasing our spending every year and we have through Bush, through Obama. We can't keep spending more than we're bringing in. Erin, we have to borrow over $120 billion every month just to keep the lights on
[Burnett:] Are you are you inherently against talk about the economic cycle for a second, right.
[Demint:] Sure.
[Burnett:] So when things are good
[Demint:] Yes.
[Burnett:] say you didn't spend all your money, then when things are bad, you have a little bit left over. But also when things are bad by definition a government according to many economists, should borrow money. Then when things get better you pay are you against borrowing in any case?
[Demint:] No, but the scale of borrowing now I mean our debt is bigger than our economy. We're projecting another 10 trillion in additional debt over the next 10 years. There's not that much money in the world to borrow. That's what the whole point of the book is. Wait a minute we've had debt before, but we've never had it on this scale and with the type of projections we have. And we still have a president who says balancing the budget is an extreme idea. So the plan is to keep spending more than we're bringing in until the whole house of cards falls down.
[Burnett:] Let me ask you this what happened in August when you voted against the debt ceiling. Stock market fell 634 points in one day. Our debt got downgraded by Standard and Poor's, which over time
[Demint:] This was after it passed.
[Burnett:] Historically that's right.
[Demint:] Yes.
[Burnett:] Historically it means our interest rates are going to go up. And you know from mortgages, all kinds of things where people borrow money, and the reason that Standard and Poor's gave the downgrade was it "reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened, which makes us pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the administration."
[Demint:] What they're saying
[Burnett:] That finger was pointed at you as well as the president.
[Demint:] They don't see the will to stop the spending. They see a spending addiction and they don't see any plan or intent to ever stop spending more than we're bringing in. And that not only sends a signal to the rating agencies, but to our creditors like China and markets all over the world. The only reason we're doing well right now as far as our dollar is concerned is the euro is doing worse and the Federal Reserve has been buying our debt or a large part of it the last two years.
[Burnett:] S&P; was agnostic though in terms of how we got extra money. Cut spending and increased taxes. Is there any tax increase you'd be OK with?
[Demint:] It doesn't make sense to have to do the wrong thing in order to do the right thing. American businesses and upper income pay a larger portion of the federal taxes of our national taxes than any country in the world. You've got that top three percent the president keeps talking about already pay over half or all our taxes and you've got half of Americans who don't pay any. We need to get rid of all the loopholes, all the corporate subsidies and handouts, have a flat rate that's border adjusted so we can compete with the world, but everyone needs to participate in the whole tax system.
[Burnett:] And handouts.
[Demint:] Handout.
[Burnett:] How do you define handouts?
[Demint:] Well I mean
[Burnett:] Is all welfare a handout to you or no?
[Demint:] No, no. I mean I'm not saying throw out the welfare programs, but I did propose to take welfare spending back to 2008 levels. Now this is in the context of we've increased welfare spending 300 percent since we supposedly reformed it in the '90s and we've made poverty worse. We're not curing it. We're not helping to make people self sufficient. We're subsidizing poverty and trapping people in generational poverty
[Burnett:] So I wanted to read you a quote from your book.
[Demint:] OK.
[Burnett:] And there's a lot of you've got a lot of interesting ideas and a lot of solutions, which I think is fair give you credit for. You don't just say there's a problem. You go through a lot of solutions, but there's one thing you say on page 104 that I have to be honest I think kind of makes a lot of Americans cringe. You say "Democrats exist to beat Republicans, period". Now, that's the kind of talk that really frustrates people.
[Demint:] I'm sure it does. And you know I introduce that chapter explaining that I did a lot of work in organizations team building, teaching cooperation, compromise. I understand how it works, but what I point out is you've got to have a shared vision and unfortunately the day the constituency for the Democratic Party are made up of people who are dependent on the government and want more power at the federal level like the labor unions.
[Burnett:] But they want a better country just like you do.
[Demint:] They do, but they
[Burnett:] And we're getting downgraded because you guys don't compromise.
[Demint:] We're not getting downgraded because we don't compromise. We're getting downgraded because we did compromise. Every compromise since I've been in Congress, Erin, has led to more spending and a bigger government. We can't keep doing that and the Democrats will not compromise with us because they have to keep spending. Now, if we could talk about tax increases. We could talk about cutting spending. But as a Congress and as a country, we have to decide we're going to balance our budget. That needs to be the first thing. In the House of Representatives had a bill to balance our budget or to send a balanced budget amendment to the states to ratify. It didn't say how we were going to do it. It was completely open-ended. And just about every Democrat voted against ever balancing our budget. We can't live that way. And so I think we need to have an honest debate that we have to stop spending more than we're bringing in. If I lose the debate on taxes, so be it, but people need to know the facts.
[Burnett:] And I think it's important you're saying spend more than we're bringing in, although in an economic cycle, you at least left open the door there would be times you would run a deficit. I mean I think that's an important caveat intellectually But also I mean the president said Medicare cuts are on the table. It seemed frustrating every time
[Demint:] He said Erin, he never put anything in writing that he would cut, never. And there's never been a proposal that we could say, OK, let's take that and work with it. And it's just a lot of talk.
[Burnett:] Now, but here's my question and one of the big frustrations people have is nobody on either side of the aisle really wants to cut where the big money is, right? debate it, but cutting where the big money is
[Demint:] Yes.
[Burnett:] that's Medicare. That's Medicaid. That's Social Security. That's whether you're going to cut or you're going to change how benefits are adjusted, index to inflation. That's where the cuts have to come. Are you willing to say that to people, that you're not going to get what you were promised?
[Demint:] We don't need to say that to seniors to fix the problem and no one over 55 should have to change their plans for Social Security or Medicare. They've paid for it. It's not a charity
[Burnett:] But somewhere, you've got to draw the line and say hey you've paid in for 30 years, but you're not going to get it.
[Demint:] I not only agreed to it, I've put proposals on the table. If we could give younger workers 401 [k] style plans and that were cheaper for the government and save money, but I make the point in the book, Erin
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Demint:] the Democrats will not give younger workers a chance to get out of Social Security with alternative plans. Like Paul Ryan suggested, why can't you keep your personal health insurance when you retire and let Medicare help you pay for it? A lot of Americans would opt for that, but the whole point of the book is that there's attention in Washington that's not Republican-Democrat. It's those who want central power and those who want decentralized power, which is what made America great.
[Burnett:] All right. I hear you on your point of view. I know though a lot of Americans are so frustrated about the lack of conversation in Washington, but I want to play a sound bite from you
[Demint:] But let me make one point.
[Burnett:] OK.
[Demint:] You don't get $15 trillion in debt without a lot of compromise and bipartisanship. This idea that there's not
[Burnett:] Do you acknowledge that a lot of that came from George W. Bush
[Demint:] Yes yes yes.
[Burnett:] OK.
[Demint:] And a lot of Republicans are there to bring home the bacon. This is a party with both I mean a problem with both parties have been involved with.
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Demint:] So and if you ask anyone, they'll tell you that I've been at war with some of my Republican colleagues.
[Burnett:] All right. Let me play a sound bite from you just because we're back in 2008, January of 2008, here's what you had to say about Mitt Romney.
[Demint:] This is a man who knows how to run things and if there's one place in the world that needs to be run right, it's Washington, D.C. We need a president like Mitt Romney who knows how the free enterprise system really works. Yes.
[Burnett:] You still think it?
[Demint:] Yes, he knows how to run things and some of the other candidates do, too. I think we've got a good field. I think he'd be a good president. I think Santorum would, Newt Gingrich would, Ron Paul. Anyone in our field would do better than what we've got now.
[Burnett:] "National Journal" out today, South Carolina's Jim DeMint, Romney's silent surrogate.
[Demint:] Every time I say something nice about one of the candidates, and I've been saying things nice about Ron Paul today, I start getting all these tweets and e-mails
[Burnett:] You did say some nice things to the "Daily Caller" about Ron Paul.
[Demint:] Oh, yes
[Burnett:] What's the best thing about Ron Paul?
[Demint:] If we if we don't listen to Ron Paul's there are several things, Erin. The unaccountable out-of-control Federal Reserve is going to destroy our monetary system. The whole concept of individual liberty and limited government, I mean that needs to be not only the core of the Republican Party, but American people need to realize that that's what makes us great. Not this central government collectivism that we've moved towards now, so if Republicans don't listen to Ron Paul, we're going to have a divided party because the other half of the country that wants more from government is united and they're going to elect people who are going to promise more from government.
[Burnett:] You think there's any way you could eventually have a ticket that had Ron Paul on it even if Romney was at the top of it?
[Demint:] We could. I don't know how that's going to end up and I'm not endorsing anyone, so despite what the articles say, I'd feel good about any of them being elected. They all have their good and bad points, but they would all be a lot better than what we've got in the White House right now
[Burnett:] Before we go, did you know Mitt Romney was a Mexican? All right.
[Demint:] Is this a birth certificate question OK.
[Burnett:] But thank you very much for coming on. We appreciate it
[Demint:] Well, Erin, thank you. I enjoyed it a lot.
[Burnett:] All right. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. And Mitt Romney does hope to be the first Mormon president ever, but would he also be the first Mexican president? We will explain. And the latest in the Iranian murder mystery, a third nuclear scientist assassinated, Iran says America did it. And outrage at the governor. More than 200 convicts, rapists and murderers granted clemency by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, why?

[Blitzer:] Of all the drama surrounding the debt ceiling, one of the most dramatic moments was the surprise appearance of Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on the House floor. It has been seven months since she was shot in the head in an assassination attempt in her Arizona district. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more now on Giffords's emotional return to the House. Thelma, how are her colleagues reacting to this dramatic scene?
[Thelma Gutierrez, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, after the tears, they said Gabby's back. Now, you know, one of her colleagues told me that watching a legislator cast a vote is about as exciting as watching someone use an ATM machine. But last night, they say, was an exception, one that literally took their breath away.
[Gutierrez:] It was an unexpected moment from the floor, one that surprised even those closest to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
[Ron Barber, Giffords Staffer:] Oh, my. But to see her on the floor of the House, surrounded by Republicans and Democrats, getting that kind of response, bringing people together as she does here at home, now, and nationally. What an experience.
[Gutierrez:] Ron Barber, Pamela Simon and Daniel Hernandez all share a special bond with Congresswoman Giffords. Staffers who were there with her the day of the mass shootings in Tucson. Barber was shot in the leg and cheek, Simon in the chest. And Hernandez, an intern at the time, tended to Giffords' head wounds right after she was shot.
[Daniel Hernandez, Former Giffords Intern:] She's in my lap. I'm helping her. I'm looking off to my left, and I see Ron. I look ahead of me, and I see David, and I look a few feet ahead of her and I see Pam. So it was just a horrible scene all around.
[Gutierrez:] But just seven months later, this sight. Triumph. That brought tears and smiles as they watched Giffords wave to her colleagues.
[Pamela Simon, Giffords Staff Member:] She'd been following it. She felt like that this was something that was critical to the country.
[Gutierrez:] It was the first time she had appeared on camera in front of a national audience since the shooting back in January, the first time she had returned to work.
[Hernandez:] The fact that we have been having this really tense national discourse on the debt ceiling and then seeing her come in at the last minute and make sure her voice was heard and really taking a lot of the vitriol out at the last minute was really heartwarming.
[Gutierrez:] And in character, they say, for the blue dog Democrat. [on camera] And in the past, she had previously voted twice against raising the debt ceiling.
[Barber:] That that is true.
[Gutierrez:] Gabrielle Giffords's office has been inundated with calls here in Tucson, Arizona, so what's next for the congresswoman? She looked so great last night. Well, Wolf, what we were told is that it's just way too soon to venture a guess, that right now she's not declaring anything. At this point she's just focused on her recovery Wolf.
[Blitzer:] We wish her a speedy recovery. Thelma, thanks very much. Let's get some more now on Congresswoman Giffords's recovery. We're joined by our chief medical respondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's the host of "SANJAY GUPTA M.D." Sanjay, it's remarkable video we all saw. From your perspective as a neurosurgeon, what did you see in that video?
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, you know, as a starting point, first of all, keep in mind this type of injury, a gunshot wound to the head, only about 34 of the people survive at all. And of the people who do survive, half of them, they have some sort of neurological deficit. When you look at this video specifically, there are several things to note. This was a left-sided brain injury, which controls lots of things, including the movement on the right of the body. And Wolf, if you look at that video long enough, you'll see she's not really moving her right arm very well, although she is able to stand on the right leg with some assistance from people around her. That's the first thing. And then also just the amount of expression in terms of speech. She is mouthing, I think, "thank you" to a lot of people, blowing kisses, as you see there. This is obviously a good sign and much improved, I think, from you know, a few months ago. But these are the types of things that you pay attention to and get an assessment of how someone's recovery is going. Very, very impressive, Wolf. I would say I talked to a rehab doctor in Houston, and he said he would put her in the top 1 percent of patients who were going through this type of rehabilitation.
[Blitzer:] You know what it means for a lawmaker to seek reelection. What that means, and it's strenuous and all of that. For your perspective, medically speaking, and based on what you saw here and what you're hearing, and you studied this case now since January, do you think she's going to be able to do that?
[Gupta:] Well, her doctors think so. I asked that same questions of the doctors who cared for her in Arizona as well as the ones in Houston. They all think that she she could if she wanted to. A couple of things I'll point out, Wolf. Obviously, there's lots of demands that go into that sort of job. With regard to speech specifically, you think of speech as sort of two components. First, your ability to receive and comprehend speech, and then the second part is your ability to express yourself. You look at the spoken word, the written word or through gestures. Her ability to understand and comprehend has always seemed to be fine, intact. Even immediately after the injury, she was able to understand things. It's more the expressive, the ability to speak spontaneously, to give speeches, to not have word-finding difficulties. That can take some time to come. And then just the physical. As you pointed out, Wolf, the strength on the right side of the body, something moving around. There's a lot of logistical demands of this job. So that's something they're still focusing on in her outpatient rehab. But Wolf, you know, take a look at a guy like Bob Woodruff. You know, he had a left-sided brain injury, as well. You may remember a devastating one, but now you see him on television and he's able to speak. He looks great. So she is about 7 months now into her rehab. They say 12 to 18 months is usually when you start to see maximal recovery. But you can still continue improvements even after that. She's about halfway through right now, Wolf. So I think it's a little bit early to tell, but again, her doctors, who I asked the same question to, thinks that the you know, they foresee it happening if she chooses to go that route.
[Blitzer:] Because I was impressed that she could stand up. I was certainly impressed she was waving with her left hand. She really wasn't moving her right arm at all, basically, but she clearly knew what was going on. She was smiling broadly. She was saying, "Thank you." She wasn't giving any speeches. But it's a pretty amazing recovery, and as you say, the rehab is only just beginning. She's got months and months of work ahead of her. We're going to hope that the progress she's made since January until now, Sanjay, is going to be doubled over the next seven weeks.
[Gupta:] It's a very good chance. Again, she's about halfway point now. That, you know, 12- to 18-month mark. So she has and you can see changes in terms of overall recovery over the next several months. We'll be keeping an eye on that.
[Blitzer:] We will. Thanks, Sanjay Gupta. Thanks very, very much. To our viewers, an important note: you can watch "SANJAY GUPTA M.D." every Saturday and Sunday mornings right here on
[Cnn, 7:] 30 a.m. Eastern. You can also follow Sanjay as a lot of people do on Twitter: @SanjayGuptaCNN, all one word. Follow him. You'll get a lot of useful information. The night the Navy SEALs got Osama bin Laden.
[Nicholas Schmidle, Writer, "the New Yorker":] So he shoots Amal once in the calf to disable her and then proceeds to grab Amal and the other woman, wrap them in a bear hug and turned his back to the SEALs and sort of pushed them off to the side.
[Blitzer:] So why did a Navy get bin Laden's wives in a bear hug during that raid? Amazing new details on the mission. Brian Todd coming up. And eight years after the Columbia disaster, a part from the space shuttle has been found in a Texas lake. And is Old Blue Eyes back? A New Yorker construction worker channeling Frank Sinatra. Jeannie Moos has been listening.

[Lemon:] How did Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords survive a gunshot to the head? Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explained to me earlier.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] In this case, as you know, Don, she had what's known as a through-and-through injury. So the bullet actually came in and left the skull, and so, you know, there may be some remnants, but the vast majority of the bullet actually left.
[Lemon:] And that's because this bullet this is a smaller bullet so it can go through. But if it's a bigger bullet, it kind of explodes.
[Gupta:] Sometimes explodes or has an explosive effect.
[Lemon:] OK.
[Gupta:] But what we know now even as compared to yesterday when you and I last spoke is that this she was actually the bullet entered the back the left side of the head over here, it was the back, and exited on the same side, left side near the front. It did not cross from left to right. Very important point. They mentioned that a couple of times. It's important because the likelihood of someone doing well or having a more optimistic recovery, that means a lot. If the bullet or the missile crosses over here, it really changes everything here. Also, I just want to show you, Don, real quick, if I can. You know, when you talk about this type of injury, you know, you had the bullet enter, the bones in here as well sort of start to act like little missiles. You know, they get pushed into the brain and then in this case the bullet exited. But as part of the operation, you have to remove a lot of those bone fragments, stop the bleeding and some of the tissues, some of the brain tissues that have been damaged by this bullet, you have to remove that as well. The surgeon also mentioned that because of the concern about swelling. Other parts of the bone were actually taken off. That bone is gone right now for her. It's saved. And so, she will have a depression on that side of her head until that bone is placed back at some point in the future.
[Lemon:] Just what you explained here, can you bring that a little bit. Does this make a difference when you when someone comes in, if you have this sort of shrapnel or whatever, if the bullet is intact, does it make a big difference as to what's left in there?
[Gupta:] You know what's interesting is if it's a through-and-through injury, it does make a difference. In part, if you think it like think of it like this. You have you a significant amount of energy that's coming from this bullet. If that energy passes through the brain and comes out the front, some of the energy is going to dissipate in air as opposed to within the skull cavity. If all of that energy from that bullet is being sort of distributed in the brain, that's a much worse injury. So the fact that it goes through and through in this case is a better sign for her.
[Lemon:] Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The mass shooting in Tucson is not the first incident that's given the state of Arizona negative headlines. Some recent controversies next.

[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] Good Sunday morning to you all on this November 27th. This is a big travel day for you all or a lot of you at least. It is 8:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 7:00 a.m. in Chicago, 5:00 a.m. in L.A. wherever you may be, we are glad are you right here. We do have a business travel day. We'll talk about that plenty. And a big storm system is actually going to cause problems for you. But it's also a big morning in politics. Listen to this. Word we are just getting that could further boost Newt Gingrich's still surging campaign. The influential New Hampshire "Union Leader" newspaper has now endorsed the former speaker. They have thrown their support behind him now for the Republican nomination for president. They have put out their endorsement in today's paper. Let me read you a bit from it. And it says, and I quote, "Republican voters too often make the mistake of preferring an unattainable ideal to the best candidate who is actually running. That candidate is Newt Gingrich." New Hampshire, as you know, holds the first in the nation primary. That's happening a week after the Iowa caucus. So, Gingrich who has seen his campaign surge over the past several weeks actually is now picking up an influential endorsement. He has moved up in the polls in New Hampshire as we know, going up to the double digits. But, still, it has been Mitt Romney who has been surging and had at least 40 percent in a number of the polls. So, he's way ahead in polls but now, Gingrich who has become a front-runner could now really start to surge after this influential endorsement. Our Rachel Streitfeld covers all things New Hampshire for us. She is on the line now. Rachel, I'm trying to give our viewers the best perspective as possible these newspaper endorsements come and go. This one carries some weight.
[Rachel Streitfeld, Cnn Political Producer:] Sure, you are right, T.J. This is the biggest newspaper in New Hampshire. It is closely watched both locally and on a national scale obviously. The paper says Newt Gingrich is not the perfect candidate, but as you said, they said that he is the best candidate to get the job done. And this certainly helps Newt Gingrich solidify some support that we've started to see as an alternative to Mitt Romney. The endorsement is also interesting because Mitt Romney has been a long-time front runner in this state. He was governor of Massachusetts which was nearby, he has a summer home in New Hampshire. So it's also notable to look to who this endorsement does not go to.
[Holmes:] And, Rachel, in their endorsement, it seems they are admitting of course, we know this is not a perfect candidate and we shouldn't be looking for a perfect candidate. What do you make out of some of what they're saying that it almost in some ways sounds like we know we don't have maybe the greatest crop or the perfect candidate that we might all like, but Gingrich is the way to go?
[Streitfeld:] Well, you know, the editorial also takes aim at the media and says that this race has been focused on a lot of bluff and silliness and minor miscues by candidates. But they say Newt Gingrich has the best chance based on both his for a thinking strategy is what they call it, and then the leadership that he showed in Washington in the past which is something we've heard Gingrich talk about when he makes trips here, that he knows Washington. He's the best person to come in and, you know, get to work quickly and change it up.
[Holmes:] And the historical perspective, we're starting to get some. But even though this can be influential and can help a campaign surge, they don't necessarily always pick the person who eventually goes on to become president. So some historical perspective, if you can, here. Last time around, you said they skipped over Romney, so they pick McCain last time. We know how that worked out, but still it helped McCain's campaign. So, again, just historically how big of a deal has this endorsement been for a lot of these candidates?
[Streitfeld:] You're right about what you're saying. This is known as a very conservative editorial page and so sometimes they choose people, you know, based on ideology and electability is not their only number one perspective. So they chose Steve Forbes and he placed third in the primary here. So, you are right to look in the past. They did choose John McCain and he went on to win New Hampshire four years ago. But they're saying that yes, I mean, conservative ideals are an important thing for this paper this editorial page. You are right.
[Holmes:] All right. Rachel Streitfeld, we appreciate you hopping on the line for us. But an important morning once again for Newt Gingrich who has been surging in the polls as we have seen over the past few weeks. He did have that slip-up last week or a lot of people called a slip-up in the CNN debate in which he talk about what some of his fellow Republicans candidates say he was soft on illegal immigrants and even advocated for amnesty. He says, of course, that's not what he was advocating for. Just advocating for treating people humanely who have been in this country a long time and have roots in this country. But still a lot of people looking at that as maybe a way he would possibly slip up. But now, this endorsement, which is a key endorsement that does carry weight locally there in New Hampshire and it will carry weight nationally as well, "The New Hampshire Union Leader," the largest paper in New Hampshire of course, the state with the first primary of this Republican nominating season has now endorsed Newt Gingrich for president. We will be talking about this more throughout the morning again endorsing Gingrich for the Republican nomination. We're five minutes past the hour now. And again, this is a big travel day. We'll get back to that now. You got to grandma's house. Now, you need to get back home tomorrow and today, considered two of the busiest travel days of the year. But just in time for this travel, a big storm in the eastern half of the country. It is and that could complicate it will complicate things for a lot of folks. George Howell is at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. It's probably starting to get a little busier. You can probably notice that. It will get busier. But so far, so good? Is that the word still?
[George Howell, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, T.J., each hour we want to give you a snapshot, a look at what's happening here at the world's busiest airport. And so far, as you mentioned, so good. People getting through the airport with no major problems, though some weather moving through the area shortly and that could change the situation here. However, we want to give you some perspective here. I covered this story Wednesday. At this hour today, things are busier now than they were at the same time Wednesday. So we're seeing more people out here. And also want to give you a look at what passengers are facing inside. Take a look.
[Howell:] First, I want to look at big boards here where you can see that the flights are on time, no major delays to speak of here at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. But take a look at the lines here. The crowds and lines are building here just outside the Delta check-in area. Though we did speak to some people here who say the way to get ahead of these crowds is to check in early. Scott and Maryann Lyle right here. So, tell me, you guys are flying to Baltimore, you say. How has it been so far?
[Unidentified Male:] It's been just great. I had no problems. Of course, we plan ahead, check in early, take the trains to the airport do everything we need to do to ensure that there are no hiccups. So it's been great.
[Howell:] When you see what's around you right now though, are you surprised on a day like this?
[Unidentified Female:] Yes, actually I am. I was expecting the airport to be more crowded. So, this is a pleasant surprise.
[Unidentified Male:] We've been here and it's taken a few hours, OK? So it's been quick at times and other times have been slow. So, hopefully, we can get through this quickly. We're hoping that it is going to be quick and easy.
[Unidentified Female:] I see people moving quickly now. So
[Unidentified Male:] So, we're excited about getting home and getting out of here.
[Howell:] Thank you. Thanks for taking a minute with me.
[Unidentified Female:] Thank you.
[Howell:] And you can see right now for yourself, these security lines definitely growing in the last hour. But people are moving through quite quickly here at the world's busiest airport. No major delays that we can speak of at this hour. But certainly weather moving into the Atlanta area and that situation could change for people who come a little later through the day. Also, to give awful look at what's happening, we took a check at the FAA Web site and didn't find any delays to speak of. Also on Twitter, looking for grumblings of delays no grumblings. But by our own Bonnie Schneider tweeting with a hashtag, airport delays possible in the South and Midwest, hashtag, have patience. So that's a look at what's happening right now. Clearly, weather could change the situation for many travelers today.
[Holmes:] All right. George, thank you. And let me turn to Ms. Hashtag herself right now, Bonnie Schneider is in studio. I don't know. A lot of people are following and keeping up with meteorologists right now because you all are giving them info.
[Bonnie Schneider, Ams Meteorologist:] Just want to keep everybody calm after the crazy Black Friday.
[Holmes:] Everybody calm? Should they be calm now?
[Schneider:] Well, I think so. You know, as George has been reporting, the traffic is building. But so far, we don't have delays according to the FAA. However, it's still very early in the morning across the country. We are likely to see delays due to whether this afternoon in cities like Atlanta, even though the volume is increasing, the clouds will lower and that will lower visibility. We're anticipating that for today. Detroit is already windy and wet out there. So, look for delays to possibly pop up. Chicago, also another trouble spot for today. Incidentally if you are headed to Chicago, if you've been maybe in a warmer destination, the temperatures are really plummeting and have gotten much colder there and it will be even colder there tomorrow. Cincinnati, Memphis, St. Louis and Little Rock and here's something even more interesting I think. Snow showers are in the forecast possibly for Memphis and Little Rock. It is a possibility we may not see it but it is something we are monitoring for tonight on into Monday night and Tuesday. Here's a look at this weather mess. You can see some wintry conditions building in to parts of Arkansas and Missouri. We've been monitoring this very carefully. Here's the reason why. The temperatures are falling. Behind the cold front, it's 44 degrees in Memphis as that cold air starts to surge in. But here in Atlanta, it's already 61. So, we're really seeing a change over as we go through. And the reason why, of course, is not only the cold front but low pressure building in the Ohio Valley will pull down that colder air and as that cold air wraps around, you see all this white for Tuesday morning. Notice how far south it goes, just north of Atlanta. So the mountains of north Georgia may see some snow showers mixing in early Tuesday morning, late on Monday. I think you will see the snowflakes falling likely towards Tennessee but in terms of shoveling out, I don't think this will be a problem. A lot of this will just possibly stick towards grassy areas. Highs today will be nice and warm ahead of the front, in Florida in the 80s. Very mild, incredibly warm as well into cities like Boston, 63 degrees. You know, it's really an incredibly warm month of November so far. Another day like that for today and another one yet for tomorrow for New York and Boston. The rain though is on the way and, of course, that is impacting so many places for those of you that are driving. Another important note to make, as we've been talking about airport delays: Most people travel by car for today. Keep your eyes to the conditions on the roads because in cities like St. Louis and in Memphis you may see that change over at times. It may start off as rain and it may change over to something like freezing rain or sleet. So, just give yourself extra time to get where you are going. I did that hashtag on Twitter: have patience. I think that holds true for drivers as well.
[Holmes:] All right. Bonnie Schneider, thank you so much for the forecast and for tweeting things out as well. We're 11 minutes past the hour. Weather is not going to get in the way, though, for millions of Americans who plan to do their shopping online tomorrow. You know this phenomenon that's come up in the past five years or so, Cyber Monday. It kicks off the online holiday shopping season. Some analysts are predicting $1.2 billion in sales just on Monday. But where are you supposed to be going to find that best deal? Listen to Katie Linendoll.
[Katie Lindendoll, Tech Expert:] I think there is a lot of opportunities out there. Just to give you some of the sites I am keeping my eye on, first off, cybermonday.com. It's a great site to aggregate a number of the ads, a number of the deals. It's a subsidiary of shop.org, a really great site to look at, to make sure that you are staying in touch with everything that's going to be on sale. Also if you are really into a big brand, what I recommend doing is going on to their Facebook page and hitting that "like" button because now more than ever, online retailers are using social media sites to make sure they are rewarding their loyal fans.
[Holmes:] All right. Twelve minutes past the hour now. You heard the story, another developing story this weekend: three U.S. students jailed in Egypt. They are now finally out of jail and finally home. We'll show you the arrival and you will hear from one of them that I talk to.

[Blitzer:] The New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson, is calling his trip to North Korea a success. He's on his way back to New Mexico right now. As you may know, I was the only TV journalist to travel with a former U.N. ambassador on what was described as a private diplomatic mission to the communist nation. I landed here in New York just within the past few hours after an extraordinary journey. The State Department and the White House, I have no doubt, they are eager to debrief Governor Richardson, but I understand our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger, is eager to debrief me as well. Go ahead, Gloria. Ask whatever you want, I'll tell you the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Sr. Political Analyst:] Well, I get the first crack at asking you the questions we've all here in THE SITUATION ROOM have been wanting to ask you while you were gone. And, Wolf, we know what a tense situation this has been on the Korean peninsula. Do you think that the North and the South Koreans, from what you were observing, were really on the brink of war?
[Blitzer:] Yes, I was convinced that it was the worst crisis since 1953 in the Armistice. Once the South Koreans said they were going to go with the live fire exercise and the North Korean military issued a statement saying if they did that, there would be a military response from North Korea with catastrophic consequents, I got very, very nervous. I had a tough time, after all these years as a journalist, getting a visa to get into North Korea.
[Borger:] Right.
[Blitzer:] But immediately, I was afraid I wasn't going to get out because I immediately assumed they would shutdown the airport and I would be stuck in North Korea if there were all out hostilities. For the North Korean military to back down later and say, you know, these exercises weren't worth a military response, that's significant. We'll talk a little bit about that in the next hour. But I will point out, Gloria, that at one point, it looked like we weren't going to get out, and I was thinking about other alternative routes. I know Governor Richardson was as well, maybe even finding a way to drive out of North Korea through China if, in fact, that was possible. But we were pretty worried.
[Borger:] You were worried that they were going to keep you there. I mean, was that a tense moment? What was the tensest moment for you, both as a journalist and somebody who was there accompanying Governor Richardson?
[Blitzer:] Well, I think the tensest moment for me, personally, was when I started watching North Korean television and listening to their radio. As someone who has covered the communist world back in the '70s and '80s during the height of the Cold War, and I began hearing some martial music on North Korean television. You know, very patriotic, very military. And I said to myself, are they preparing the North Korean people for some sort of war, once you hear that kind of music. Normally, they have very patriotic music going on North Korean television, but it's lovely and they've got women dancing and stuff like that. But this suggested to me that maybe there was a change and at that point I said, well, maybe the North Koreans are serious and they're going to start something. Once I heard that music, I began to wonder, am I going to get out of North Korea? On the other hand as a journalist, I said, well, it's probably a good location to be if there's going to be a war, at least I could cover it from one side.
[Borger:] Well, as it turns out, obviously, as well all know, there wasn't. And I guess we have to ask you, from what you were allowed to see, was the reality of life in North Korea, at least in the capital, what you expected? You know, we hear all of these stories about Pyongyang being so economically depressed and such a military case state.
[Blitzer:] You know, I had read about North Korea over so many years and spoken to people who had been there. I had the my little preconceived notions before I left, but I have to tell you, it was a lot different when I was actually in an eye-witness opportunity to see what was going on. I did not get the impression for 60 years or so, people had been predicting it's you know, eventual demise. At some point, this country was going to crumble, it was going to topple, the communist regime would go down. I saw no indications of that. I saw a lot of poverty. I saw a poor country, harsh economic conditions, lack of electricity. You go into a huge building, there may be heat in one room where there's a meeting going on, but in the rest of the rooms, it's cold. You have to wear your coat. You go into schools or the university. I went to the main university in Pyongyang, Kim Il-sung University, and the students, they're are all well dressed, but they're all wearing overcoats and they're all it's cold in there. You have no electricity. You drive outside of Pyongyang, we went into the countryside. You go through a mountain, through a tunnel, it could be a half-a -mile tunnel and you're driving through there. There are no other cars there, you're the only other car there, very few cars outside of Pyongyang. But you go through the tunnel, it is dark. There is electricity in the tunnel, no lights in there. You've got the lights from your headlights from the car, but that is about it. It underscores what's going on. They need power, they need electricity. They that's in part why they say they need these nuclear programs that they're engaged in. Although, the nuclear weapons program, obviously, is their number one priority right now. But it's a lot different when you see it up close. The people are not robotic. They're real people, young kids, sweet kids. And they're human beings, and you get that sense seeing it up close.
[Borger:] But you know, you're someone who's all about technology. I know you, you're tethered to your Blackberry, you work for television. What is it like to be somewhere where the technology is just not as omnipresent as it is here in America?
[Blitzer:] They have the technology, but they don't let you have access. I didn't have access to the Internet, didn't have access to a cell phone. We could see CNN International in our hotel room, but that was about it. I had a hard line phone in my hotel room, I could make calls to the United States at about $10 a minute; I could not receive calls from the United States. And we always had North Korean officials who were with us watching all the time, and I stress, all of the time. So it's a strange environment. But they treated me with respect. They were nice, they spoke English. I never felt intimidated or worried about my personal safety. I was worried about a war erupting, and as a result, I didn't know I was going to get out of there. But they know how to deal with it. They're pretty sophisticated, the North Korean elite, the leadership. I was impressed by that. And as I said, they dealt with me. And we had a reporter from "The New York Times" who was there, our photographer was there. So all of us, you know, we dealt with the situation as it is. It's not a very transparent society, as you know.
[Borger:] Were the elite you were talking to asking you questions about President Obama, the politics in this country? Were they essentially using you as a source?
[Blitzer:] They wanted to know what I thought about all those kinds of things. But I think more importantly, they certainly wanted to convey a message through Governor Richardson. He may have been there on a private visit, they he said he was a private citizen. They didn't think he was a private citizen, they thought he was a representative of the United States government. They certainly wanted to convey messages through him to the U.S., to the Obama administration. But I think they also were also trying to me, "The New York Times" Sharon Lafraniere, who was the other reporter for "The New York Times" they obviously had their own agenda and they tried to convey that. But they were picking my brain. You know, how strong is President Obama? What about Hillary Clinton? What's going on in Washington? Stuff like that, and so, they were curious. But I had a sense they had a pretty good sense of what was going on. They followed these things, the situation very closely. They knew all about CNN and they certainly knew all about "THE SITUATION ROOM." We'll have a clip for you later about well, let me play that clip for you right now.
[Borger:] OK.
[Blitzer:] When I met with Richardson went to meet with the chief nuclear negotiator of North Korea, Kim Kye Gwan, and as he introduced me, this was the exchange that we had. I'll play it for you.
[Gwan:] It's my first time to see you after
[Cnn. Blitzer:] Thank you very much. Thank you for letting me come here with Governor Richardson to North Korea.
[Gwan:] I am personally very happy to be able to meet with you, Mr. Wolf, who I presume to have the same power as the American president.
[Blitzer:] Thank you very much for that compliment. I don't think it's true. But it was very nice to hear from you. We hope that CNN will have an opportunity to come visit North Korea on many occasions.
[Gwan:] I think you're the only one who has THE SITUATION ROOM, except President Obama.
[Blitzer:] Thank you very much. And thank you very much. In the hotel we're staying, we can watch CNN International, which is very nice to be able to see what's happening here in Pyongyang watching
[Cnn. Gwan:] So, this time, you're here with Governor Bill Richardson, and next time I'm inviting you to come to Pyongyang again.
[Blitzer:] Thank you very much. And I hope either this time or the next time, you and I can sit down for a CNN interview. Our viewers in the United States and around the world would be grateful.
[Gwan:] Why not?
[Blitzer:] As you hear, Gloria, he answered in English, "why not?" I took him up on his offer. So they invited me to come back, I'll go back at some point. They're gearing up in 2012 for the 100th anniversary of the birth Kim Il-sung, the founder, the father of North Korea. They're going to have huge events going on. Maybe I'll go for then, maybe I'll go back earlier. I just hope one thing, Gloria, I don't have to go back for a war.
[Borger:] Right.
[Blitzer:] We're going to talk about what's going on the ground right now, whether there's an opportunity to ease this crisis somewhat in the next hour. But it's in short, it's a fascinating, fascinating country. I hope you and a lot of other folks have a chance to visit it at some point down the road.
[Borger:] Somehow, Wolf, I think that was his first press availability. What do you think?
[Blitzer:] Yes. No, he was pretty sophisticated. All of these North Korean leaders that Richardson met with, they knew what was going on. I was sort of impressed with that. But we'll continue the conversation
[Borger:] We will.
[Blitzer:] in next hour.
[Borger:] Sure.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much. We're monitoring other important top stories, including a suspicious odor forcing evacuations at the United Nations. We're going to tell you whether anyone was at serious risk. Also, a long-time senator slamming some Supreme Court justices, why he says and I'm quoting I'm quoting him now, "the court has been eating Congress' lunch." And the government establishes controversial new rules that could impact your Internet access. We'll have the details coming up.

[Malveaux:] Syria now says it will execute so-called terrorists. The announcement on state TV is seen as a direct threat to the anti- government protesters. It comes as two opposition groups accuse government forces of killing 100 people during yesterday's protest. You are looking here at the funeral of the man who was allegedly killed by army and security forces. So, this crowd chants, "We will defend our martyr with our souls and blood!" The U.N. estimates that about 5,000 people have died in political violence in Syria this year alone. In Egypt, demonstrators and security forces clashed at today's "Million Women" march. Now, this march is to call attention to what protesters say is regime violence against female demonstrators. These photos show a woman being beaten and dragged in Tahrir Square, and the protesters say this is not even rarer. Mohammed Jamjoom, he's in Cairo right now. He joins us live. And first of all, I mean, so many people saw that woman being beaten by the Egyptian military, stripped, carried away. What is being done for her? Is there anyone there on the ground who is trying to reach her or protect her?
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn International Correspondent:] Suzanne, many people here, both inside and outside Egypt, trying to find this woman, trying to do more for her case, and trying to urge her to speak publicly. But we've only heard from friends of hers and friends of her family so far. She does not want to go public. She is recuperating. Obviously, you can see the kind of injuries she sustained from that video. It was just horrific. At the moment, she just wants to stay basically away from the press, away from the media, away from the gaze of the Egyptian society. And we are told through friends of hers that she says basically this tape really speaks for itself at the moment Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] What is happening to the women who are there in the "Million Women" march? Has there been violence? Have they shared the same fate of that woman that we see in those photos?
[Jamjoom:] Suzanne, we were out during this march that happened earlier today. It was billed as a "Million Woman" march. At the end of the day, it looked about 2,500, perhaps, women were there. There were also men that were there as well. But it was a big crowd. And they were quite vocal. They were chanting, "Down with the regime!" They were calling the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces here liars. They were very upset with what's happened in these past few days, in these clashes, especially the brutality that women protesters here have been facing by riot police, by members of the security forces. I spoke to one woman who was out there, a human rights activist named Ragia. I asked her why she was there. Here's what she had to say.
[Unidentified Female:] I'm here to violently condemn the attacks on Egyptian men and women by the Egyptian army. We will not be quiet, we will not let this happen again, and we will continue to voice out our anger against this military junta that is killing this country.
[Jamjoom:] The women that were out there today clearly showing some concern about their safety, and the men that were out there today were concerned as well. And, in fact, we saw men forming protective rings around the women as they were marching. They didn't want other men that weren't part of this crowd to get too close, because there is so much concern now about what will happen to these women that are out there Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] OK. Mohammed Jamjoom, thank you. The nation's midsection is getting socked with snow. We're going to get the latest on this massive winter storm.

[Becky Anderson:] Well, live from the Olympic Park, I'm Becky Anderson. And history is being made in the swimming pool as we speak. U.S. sensation Michael Phelps equaling the record for most Olympic medals, one he may in the next half a minute or so become the most decorated Olympian ever.
[Max Foster, Cnn International Correspondent:] I'm Max Foster at CNN London. In other news tonight, hundreds of millions plunged into darkness: how one of the world's worst power outages threatens India's growth. And...
[Watson:] We're in a rebel controlled makeshift prison in a school where they are keeping 112 prisoners. They're going to show us the prisoners conditions right now.
[Foster:] What CNN discovered inside that Syrian classroom.
[Anderson:] Well, it has been a dramatic evening in the pool here at the London Olympics. The aquatic center is just behind me. And I promise you I can hear the roars right now watching Michael Phelps as he attempts to become the most decorated Olympian of all time in the 200 meters men's relay as we speak. About a minute or so to go, I believe if he gets a medal in this, comes first, second, or third with Team USA he will become the most decorated Olympian of all with 19 medals. As we just wait to bring you that, another story that began four days ago and still dominating the news here after setting a new world record on Saturday, China's Ye Shiwen was the focus of everyone's attention in the women's 200 meter individual medley just about 15 minutes ago. Once again, she came out on top, this time setting a new Olympic record. Joining me now is Ian Hanson, an Australian Olympics commentator, former media director for Australian Swim. And perhaps more important this is your eighth Olympics. You've never been the most decorated Olympian yet, but we may just be about to see the man who is. And he is a remarkable fellow, Michael Phelps, isn't it?
[Ian Hanson, Australian Olympics Commentator:] Absolutely, Becky. I remember seeing him for the firs time as a 15-year-old in Sydney in 2000. And hasn't he gone from strength to strength? And there's only one Michael Phelps. And it's a bit of a heartbreaker earlier on, of course, just dipping out on that tournament in his butterfly. But I tell you what, you know, what a swimmer, what the brightest all around Olympian in swimming history. And he really has set himself an amazing target for others to chase.
[Anderson:] And you've had Ian Thorpe who of course was one of the most fantastic swimmers of our generation. And he much be watching this. They just come in. And indeed they've taken the gold in that relay and therefore he does become what a moment in Olympic history. Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time with 19 Olympic records. I can feel that I've got goose bumps on my arm.
[Hanson:] I don't know about you, but I'd be happy with one, let alone 19, you know. It's just other Olympians around the world would be satisfied with that. If they can get just get one medal, whether it be gold, silver, or bronze Phelps look at what he's done through Sydney, Athens, Beijing, and now here in London. An extraordinary athlete. And, you know, what a legacy he will leave for the sport.
[Anderson:] Over a period of 12 years. And this is a sport which is always sort of in the headlines, as it were, at the beginning of the Olympics. And always an incredibly exciting event, isn't it?
[Hanson:] Oh, absolutely. But on Phelps, I mean, you can just imagine the training he's got to do to maintain his ranking and the ability to be able to do that.
[Anderson:] Will you talk us through that? What does he need to do to be like this?
[Hanson:] It's incredible, it really is incredible to train as hard as he does early mornings, late nights, in the gym, doing everything but you've got to hang on there for this Olympics. And it's extraordinary. I know, very similar to our own Elisa Jones who has just hung on for her recordbreaking fourth Olympic games. You just want to try and [inaudible] the line and he's done that for his 19th medal. It's an extraordinary thing.
[Anderson:] What does it feel like to be, for example, an Aussie swimmer in the era of Michael Phelps. I mean, after all the Australians dominated the pool for so long. It's a bit like being a golfer during the era of Tiger Woods as it was.
[Hanson:] Absolutely. And I mean, it's hard. I mean, I know from our own experiences with the likes of Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett, Michael Klim, Geoff Huegill, Matt Welsh, the golden era of Australian swimmer when it was really Australia versus the USA. It was just a it was on in the lead up to Sydney and after Sydney. And it's hard to follow in those footsteps.
[Anderson:] You say you've known and been following Michael Phelps since he was 15 years old. What's he like as a bloke?
[Hanson:] I think he's a terrific guy. I live on the Gulf Coast in Sydney. And he was there at training camp last year. And he actually saw me on the side of the pool, stopped and said "g'day mate." And that's the sort of guy he is. And I've known him like since he was 15. And he's a terrific young guy. And, you know, what he's done for the sport, assuming in the U.S., but around the world, is extraordinary.
[Anderson:] How long does he go on?
[Hanson:] Oh, this is it. I'm sure it I think he's really struggling just to get it out. I mean, I watched him the other night in the 400 medley. The poor man, he was really struggling. But to get himself up and to do what he's done in the relays and that's, that's the key to swimming and the U.S. team is to get yourself up for the relays and they showed that tonight.
[Anderson:] And of course he's been swimming tonight with Ryan Lochte who is his teammate, but nemesis in the pool to a certain extent in some races as well.
[Hanson:] Absolutely. And I mean, Lochte, to have I mean, as an Australian to have to deal with Phelps and now he's off the scene, now we've got to deal with Lochte. But he's but what an athlete, what a great athlete. And all around too, not just freestyle, but backstroke, medley, butterfly, great swimmers. But they're great for the sport.
[Anderson:] All right. Michael Phelps tonight in the past five minutes or so winning gold with the U.S. 200 freestyle team putting himself in the history books, the most decorated Olympian ever with 19 medals. That is remarkable. The pool has absolutely dominated the news here at London '12 in the Olympic Park behind me for all the right reasons as we've just seen, and perhaps all the wrong reasons as well. USA swimming tonight distancing itself from a coach called John Leonard who had made some comments about a Chinese swimmer. This is a story that had legs four days ago. It has still got legs tonight. Today USA Swimming issuing a statement pointing out that John Leonard is neither an employee nor a spokesman for the U.S. team. The reason I tell you this is that Olympic organizers have rallied around in defense of the Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen against growing speculation over doping. Now I'm sure our viewers will have been keeping up with this story over the past couple of days. The story wouldn't have had legs if John Leonard after her race on Saturday when she swam faster in the last leg of an individual medley than Ryan Lochte did in his, said this was disturbing, unbelievable, and when we see unbelievable things in the world of swimming generally, he says, effectively doping is involved. I want to get your response to all of this.
[Hanson:] Yeah, I mean John Leonard has been outspoken for many, many years. I've known John for, you know, for the last two decades. And he's always quick to pounce on that. Listen, I think it's too early to cast dispersions against this young lady and against against China to be quite truthful. I think that the media is always very quick to do that and in the past with good reason. I mean, we've come through the you know, over the decades the East German doping regime and then of course China as well. But I think this and this time, Becky, I've been a bit too quick to jump. And I think we've got to give some benefit in the benefit of the doubt in that area. But listen I just watched the 200 IM before coming on air. And there wasn't that much difference between between the Chinese girl and our girl. Alicia Couuts finishing second. The American girl finished third. It was blanket finish. So, you know, I think it's too soon
[Anderson:] I think it's important for our viewers who may not have heard this story to just get a sense of who Ye Shiwen is, profile piece on you from Max Foster here who has been taking a look at her dramatic rise. Straight after that you're going to hear a comment from the IOC spokesman Mark Adams who I spoke to earlier on today. Have a listen to this.
[Foster:] It may seem like Chinese swim sensation Ye Shiwen has come out of the blue, but the 16 year old has been a dominant force in the individual medal relay for the past two years. The swimmer, who has an Australian coach, entered the 2012 games as the world champion in the 200 meter medley. But it's the 400 meter event in which Ye originally caused a stir in the London pool. She not only won gold and smashed the world record, but swam faster in the last 50 meters than U.S. champion Ryan Lochte. It's a statistical anomaly that's raise allegations of doping, but this young superstar has strongly denied those allegations.
[Mark Adams, Ioc Spokesman:] She gets tested straight after she's won. And I should just say here that the top five finishers in a final, plus two others. So in that race, seven out of eight people were tested for blood and urine tests. That will happen straightaway. And then within a period of 72 hours we will have the results back. I won't hear anything unless there's an abnormal test comes up. I have nothing heard nothing at all. And I think basically for people to talk about this in this way is actually kind of rather sad.
[Anderson:] She was tested in as Mark said there, as all medal winning athletes are. She was tested Sunday, I believe, so the results will be available to Mark at the IOC by Wednesday morning midday. And we will of course hear if there's anything untowards. Do you expect there will be?
[Hanson:] Oh, listen, it's just I mean, it's just a ridiculous situation to [inaudible] Becky, it really is. I mean, you've got to be, you know, innocent until proven guilty. And I think it's you know, I think it's quite ludicrous that this is happening.
[Anderson:] There have been a number of expert and former swimmers who have been on our air and across print and broadcast media over the last couple of days saying it is not impossible to see dramatic improvement in teenage competitors. We saw the 15 year old Lithuanian girl in the pool yesterday winning a gold. We've seen the likes of [inaudible] in the past. Mark Spitz talking on our air to Piers Morgan suggesting that he made huge improvements, leaps and bounds. Have you seen that in the pool, 14, 15, 16 year olds shaving seconds off their times in months?
[Hanson:] Absolutely. I've had a daughter who has done that in her own career who went on to win Olympic silver in Athens. And, you know, it's we judged her and looked at her through 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 without hardly any training. And they just improved from week to week. It just it does happen in teenage in girls in particular. And we've seen a lot of that happening around the world in various things. And this young girl from Lithuania, I mean what a performance. And she's coached here in England, in Plymouth.
[Anderson:] Spoke to her coach earlier on today, remarkable story at that, came over from Lithuania, searched around. He wanted her to swim. Searched around in Portsmouth in the south of England, found a pool. Same pool that the diver Tom Daley goes same school, in fact. And the rest is history there as well. Thank you very much indeed, sir, for joining us this evening. Best of luck with those Aussies. Not doing particularly well, are they?
[Hanson:] Oh, we're getting...
[Anderson:] Cross fingers for them.
[Hanson:] Thank you.
[Anderson:] Still to come tonight on this show, this is a special Connect the World live from the Olympic Park, making royal splash outside of the pool, let's just remind you what happened in the pool tonight. Mark Phelps Mark Phelps, here we go Mark Phelps Mr. Phelps winning a gold with the U.S. team and therefore becoming the most celebrated Olympian ever. The picture's your thing of the Queen's granddaughter getting a medal from her mom. That, plus a roundup of the other Olympic headlines in about 20 minutes here on CNN. All that, let's get back to Max in the studio for all the other big stories of the day Max.
[Foster:] Becky, coming up almost 10 percent of the world's population in the dark. India experiences a colossal power failure for the second straight day. And another moment Mitt Romney could have rather avoided. The latest embarrassment of his overseas tour when Connect the World continues.

[Blitzer:] Connecticut state police confirm today, just a little while ago indeed, that Adam Lanza fired what they call hundreds of bullet, hundreds, at the Sandy Hook Elementary school on Friday and you a number of weapons with him. We are live from the Lanza home, in just a moment with that investigation, standby for that. Also, we are awaiting the arrival of President Obama. He is due here in Newtown shortly. He is going to speak with the families of the 26 people, most of them elementary school children who were shot dead Friday morning. Stay with CNN for that. You will see the president live right here when he arrives. And of course, that interfaith vigil, the entirety, all of it we will bring it to you live. Let's go out to the home where Adam Lanza lived with his mother that home is also right now a crime scene because it appears in Lanza's mother was killed killed in the home before the shooting rampage over at the elementary school. CNN's Alison Kosik is joining us now from the Lanza home. Alison, the state police, Connecticut state police, they just gave us an update. For those of the viewers weren't watching CNN live, tell us the main points that the police made.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Correspondent:] The state police say that Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother, shooting her multiple times inside the house that is in this neighborhood where I'm standing right now. Police still have the street leading up to his house blocked off. You know, there hasn't been much activity since yesterday afternoon, up until about I would say a little over an hour ago, we watched about six police cars drive up several officials got out of their car, talked a built and then got back in the cars and drove off, we assume to Adam Lanza's house. Now, what we did learn throughout the day from state police is that their focus is really was on this school. And what they found was that four weapons were found at the school, three were found in the classroom a shotgun was found in Lanza's car that was parked outside the school. We also learned that Lanza mostly used a semiautomatic weapon called a Bushmaster inside the school to kill those 26 people inside the school. He had, as you said, he shot dozens of bullets and he had hundreds of unused ammunition as well, hundreds of bullets that were not even used. So, it was clear why the medical examiner came out yesterday and explained how Adam Lanza shot those 26 people multiple times, some of them, he shot, said the medical examiner, three to 11 times. It's clear that Lanza carrying that much ammunition on him was looking to cause the most destruction and death Wolf.
[Blitzer:] What a horrific, horrific crime. Alison, thank you so much. So, what happened Friday will make Monday, certainly, a huge challenge for so many families. Let's bring in our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta who is here with us now. Posttraumatic stress disorder that is going to be a huge problem.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] It is. And you know, we are used to talking about this in the context over adults but it can happen in children and it can happen quickly. I think that's two things people don't always realize. And you know, how the children behave now, how a lot of these things are implemented that you've been talking about with people over the last couple of days, is going to make a big difference, if certain conversations had had. If special care is taken to make sure that children are sleeping well, for example. They are going to be able to cope much better in the long runs. So, you can predict, you know, certain likelihood of success in terms of that coping by what's happening the next few days.
[Blitzer:] We think of posttraumatic stress disorder, troops coming home from Afghanistan or Iraq. This is obviously very different than that. But, what are the symptoms? What should we be looking forward to? This is a very serious illness.
[Gupta:] In adults, you know, you think about things like hyper vigilance, difficulty sleeping, very quick and almost hasty reaction. In children, it can be very different. Sometimes don't verbalize it hard late all, changes in how they play. They may, in fact, start playing, you know, toy guns or something like that if they didn't before. They can have regression. So, a 6-year-old can start acting like a younger child, for example. And again, just paying attention to those things and not sort of glossing over, obviously don't want to provide graphic details, make sure you are having conversations. Tomorrow, kids go back to school. They don't know about what happened yet, they probably will by tomorrow.
[Blitzer:] I'm sure they will. And if their parents didn't tell them, teachers might tell them or their classmates would tell them.
[Gupta:] Social media.
[Blitzer:] Yes. They will hear about. And Sanjay is going to be with us throughout the night. We are awaiting the president of the United States. He is coming here to Newtown to bring some comfort to the families, the first responders. Also, he will participate in the interfaith vigil that will be taking place here in Connecticut. Our coverage continues right after this.

[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] All right. It's 10:00 a.m. now on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning besides football. We have an update on the woman who reunited with her biological family after discovering she was stolen as a baby. Police are not naming a suspect in the 1987 abduction but "The New York Post" says the FBI is looking for Ann Pettway. She is the woman who raised Carlina White. This is a mug shot of Pettway from another arrest of an unrelated case. China's president on the last stop of his U.S. visit. Today he is in Chicago, he'll visit Chinese-owned businesses and a Chinese cultural center at a local prep school. And long-time film critic Roger Ebert showing off his new face. It's actually a silicone prosthesis that took two years to make. Ebert lost much of his jaw to cancer. He'll wear that prosthesis on his new PBS show which premieres this weekend. Well, the FBI said it was a very bad day to be a good fella. Agents carried out one of the largest single-day strikes against the mafia in FBI history. Those raids hold in more than 120 people from New Jersey to Italy, names read like an episode of "The Sopranos" Tony Bagels, Vinny Carwash, Junior Lollipops and the charges range from bookmaking to murder. The feds say, don't believe Hollywood, the mafia is as powerful and ruthless as ever.
[Eric Holder, Attorney General:] The reality is, it's an ongoing threat, a major threat to the economic well-being of this country in addition to being the violent organization that it is.
[Phillips:] Our next guest knows just how violent of an organization it is. In fact, Michael Franzese was once called the prince of the mafia. He was considered a rising star of the Colombo crime family before going to prison, he then turned his mob life into a new livelihood. He shares his experiences in print and in person. And he's joining us today by phone. So Michael, it used to be that no one walked away from the mob and lived. Does it say something about today's state of the mafia, just the fact that you're speaking out publicly?
[Michael Franzese, Fmr. Mafia Member:] Well, I don't know. You know, there were so many circumstances involving my walking away and so I don't know if you can judge the strength of the mob based upon my leaving. You know, one of the things that saved me, I did have a rough time for several years when they thought that I was going to be testifying against people. When that didn't happen, things kind of relaxed and, you know, a lot of guys that are either dead or in prison that I ran with during that time. So I just got very fortunate. I don't want you to look at that as any kind of sign of weakness in the life.
[Phillips:] Well, the feds say the mob is as ruthless and powerful as ever. I mean, how ruthless were you?
[Franzese:] Well, you know, I got to tell you this, the feds say that but you know, over the past 25 years they have learned to use the laws that they've been given, the racketeering law, that they'll reform at. They've used these laws very effectively to really develop so many informants on the street. You I tell people back in my day, just before these laws came into effect, if you got 10 or 15 years you made parole in seven or eight, any mob guy can do that. You do that standing on your head. But today when you have a racketeering indictment that can go back to crimes that were committed 20, 25 years ago, you lock a guy up, and you say "hey, get comfortable, you're going to spend the rest of your life here unless you want to cooperate with us." That became a very, very powerful tool. It's really the informants that have hurt the life. It's not so much the work of the feds, it's the laws they've had at their disposal that have really turned this thing around. And you know, no matter how many wiretaps they have or anything else, the way you defeat this life is from within. You got to develop informants from within. The government has been effective in doing that based upon the laws that they have now.
[Phillips:] Interesting. So you're saying the government has become more effective by utilizing the laws, doing well with informants. But when you look at a bust like this, is the mafia getting sloppy?
[Franzese:] Well, you know, it's not a question of getting sloppy. It's just that everywhere they turn there's somebody there. You know, again, I don't think people realized the arsenal of laws that government has at their disposal. For some reason, there's a perception out there that they're not effective or that people get away with these crimes. Organized crime guys don't get away with anything. I mean, they've got everything against them and the government has used it effectively. And I'll tell you this, as ruthless, as powerful as ever, I don't believe so. In the last 25 years the government has taken major control of the unions which was a very big strong point for us. They've really devastated the mob in areas that we really had strength.
[Phillips:] Go ahead, Michael.
[Franzese:] I don't think we'll see its demise in my lifetime but if they keep up this kind of onslaught, they're going to seriously jeopardize the existence of that life.
[Phillips:] Really? Now, there's reports that members of the Colombo family were arrested. Is that your family?
[Franzese:] Yes, that was my family.
[Phillips:] Really? Do you can you give us any specifics, have you been able to talk to any other family members or do you not go there? Are you able to talk to them?
[Franzese:] Well, I've been in touch. Obviously my dad, I don't know if you're aware of it, but my dad at the age of 94 was sentenced to eight years in prison last Friday on a racketeering indictment that he got. As a matter of fact I was joking with people, while my father won't be lonely after today, in prison because I'm sure there will be a lot of guys there. Andrew Russo, who is the acting boss of that family, he was my first captain when I was made and came into the life in '75. I was made around the time that two of his sons were made. So one of them has passed away now. But I know Andrew very well. I know his family very well. And you know, I still have guys there I would say. I'm not active. I don't get involved and I'm certainly away from that life but you know, I grew up there. Some of the people I still know.
[Phillips:] So bottom line, when you talk with your family members and you know who has been arrested now, do they feel, do you feel, that this bust is actually going to make a dent in mafia crime?
[Franzese:] Well, yes, because you know, you've got to understand. There's a big difference today with the people that are running that life. They don't even have time to develop into effective leaders. You know, back in my day we had I don't want to mention Gotti. Because she didn't do a great job, obviously, brought a lot of attention but guys like Joe Colombo and Carlo Gambino and even my dad at that time, Vincent Gigante, these men developed into real strong leaders and they were effective in leading their families in the right direction. Today these younger guys, they don't have experience. They didn't grow up with that tradition and by the time the minute they get in the life they're targeted. They don't have time to develop into effective leaders. And I think that's a major, major problem. You know, to run a crime family and to be as effective as they have been over the past hundred years, because remember the mob, they prospered and they thrived on very difficult conditions, and that's all because of the leadership. You just don't have that today. These young people cannot develop into effective leaders to run a crime family. It's not an easy job.
[Phillips:] Michael Franzese, it's always interesting interviewing you. That's for sure. Appreciate you calling in, Michael.
[Franzese:] OK. Thank you.
[Phillips:] You bet. Young woman, Carlina White solves her own kidnapping, finds the real family she hasn't seen since she was about three weeks old. The focus of this remarkable story now, finding the woman who snatched baby Carlina from a New York hospital in 1987. Here she is. This is the woman the FBI is believed to be looking for right now, Ann Pettway. The woman, Carlina, says raised her. "The New York Post" reporting that Pettway lives in North Carolina. This is a mug shot from another arrest not related to the kidnapping case. We've talked a lot about Carlina's reunion with her shocked and overjoyed birth parents, the one so distraught and so haunted for all these years. What about the other family members and friends, the ones who had no idea, that their niece, their friend wasn't who they thought?
[Kapell Pettway, Thought He Was Carlina's Uncle:] I'm mad and fed up, I'm hurt. I'm disappointed. Simple as that.
[Unidentified Female:] I have mixed emotions. It was shock, it was anger. It was fear that someone could do this and then go on for so many years as if this didn't happen.
[Phillips:] Authorities aren't making any official comments about the investigation at this point. Less than two weeks after suffering a gunshot to the head, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords enters the next phase of her recovery. About an hour from now, she will actually leave her Tucson hospital and travel to Texas. Her first stop will be a new hospital in Houston for more treatment and evaluation. Then she'll be transferred yet again. A rehabilitation center that specializes in severe head injuries. Now, yesterday, another milestone. Her medical team was able to take her outside of the hospital for the first time so she could actually do her physical therapy.
[Mark Kelly, Gabrielle Giffords' Husband:] I'm extremely hopeful that Gabby is going to make a full recovery. I've told her that. She recognizes it. She's a strong person, a fighter. I mean, she is a fighter like you know, nobody else that I know. So I am extremely confident that she's going to be back here and back at work soon.
[Phillips:] Well, doctors say that Giffords is making remarkable progress but they warn of the tough fight ahead. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in Houston. Elizabeth, let's begin with the positive. What signs of progress is Gabby showing?
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] She's really showing pretty incredible signs considering it's less than two weeks, Kyra, since she had that bullet go through her head. For example, doctors say that she's scrolling through an iPad. They say when they give her a sheet with colors and point to blue, that she can, you know, point to the right colors. And a doctor here in Houston told me something really interesting that she did. She reached out and adjusted her husband's tie. Now, Kyra, to you and me that doesn't really sound like much. But think about the cognitive process that goes through that. You have to think oh I see something I want to change. You have to direct your hand to change it. You have to move it. That actually takes a fairly high level of thinking. So doctors are quite excited about the progress they're seeing. Here's her trauma surgeon from Arizona, Dr. Rhee who spoke to reporters yesterday.
[Dr. Peter Rhee, Medical Director, Umc Trauma Center:] We were able to take her to the helicopter pad today, outside, and show her, give her some fresh air and also give her some sunshine. She was able to see the Arizona mountains, so hopefully before she comes back from Houston. But we did the physical activity out there. We did a physical rehab out there where we assisted her in her standing and help her get her balance and so on like that. She's able to stand now with assistance. She's not independent at this stage. She can't walk at this point. But we feel that she'll be able to do some of those activities in the future.
[Cohen:] Now, Dr. Rhee also mentioned, Kyra, that seeing those mountains really lifted Giffords' spirits and talking to neurosurgeons and rehabilitative medicine specialists they say your spirits are so important. That's a crucial part of recovery, if your spirits are high, your chances of making a full recovery go way, way up Kyra.
[Phillips:] I tell you what, her husband is right there telling her every single second she's going to do better and better. It doesn't get much better than that. So when is she actually expected to arrive, Elizabeth?
[Cohen:] She's expected to arrive here local time in Houston at around 1:15. I have to say that her doctors when I talked to them yesterday, they're really quite cautious, they're pretty conservative when they talk about her recovery. For example, her office, Giffords' office said she was going to be brought to the hospital behind me which is a rehabilitation hospital. It's a hospital where you go when basically you're doing OK and what you need to be able to do is learn how to walk and dress yourself again and what not. But then the doctors here said no, that's not true, she's not coming to the rehabilitation hospital. She's actually going to the main hospital because she's got medical issues that need to be addressed. I spoke yesterday with her doctor, Don King.
[Phillips:] Why isn't she going right to the rehabilitation hospital?
[Dr. Dong H. Kim, Chief Of Neurosurgery:] Well, there are concerns about ongoing medical issues. I don't want to be more specific about that. But she's not quite ready for rehabilitation yet. So we're going to be coming here, doing a thorough assessment. Once we then able to do that, we'll be able to tell you more.
[Cohen:] Now Dr. Kim will be her neurosurgeon when she gets to Houston. He really wouldn't specify as you heard what medical issues need to be addressed before she starts rehab. But he said in general, at this stage, they worry about infection and swelling of the brain Kyra.
[Phillips:] Elizabeth Cohen live from Houston. Elizabeth, thanks. President Obama announcing a new effort to get Americans back to work. He's setting on the president's council on jobs and competitiveness. Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO and chairman of General Electric will head up the new board. The council will focus on new ways to attract the best jobs and businesses to the U.S. The council replace the economic recovery advisory board. Well, the Midwest digging out from some more snow. Check out these pictures. Indianapolis got hit pretty hard yesterday. Three inches. It seems more like five inches in some places, blowing snow and frozen roads, causing hundreds of accidents in that area. Also a deep freeze has locked itself in over Chicago and Wisconsin. And then New England is about to get it again. There's another winter storm headed that way. Jacqui Jeras over at the Severe Weather Center with all the details Jacqui.
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] Hey, we got a lot going on out there today. We start out with the shocking. How about that? Which is just the cold that's been out there, across the upper Midwest. These are the low temperatures this morning from places like International Falls, Minnesota, 46 degrees below zero. That was a record for you. The old record was 41 below. Grand Rapids, minus 34, minus 33 in Brainerd, Superior, Wisconsin, 26 degrees below zero. And Duluth at 24 degrees below zero. Now, your skin can freeze in 10 minutes or less in those kind of conditions. And it's still wicked out there, minus 36 in Fargo, as it feels like temperature. And you can see minus 18 there in Chicago and high temperatures today going to be tough to recover. Other weather story is the storm system into the northeast which, you know, was very high impact but short- lived for you in places like Philly, into D.C. as well as New York City. It's done now. But you're getting the heavier snow up towards Providence, Boston and Portland. And snowfall totals here are going to be about four to seven in Boston. We can see more than that as we head into Providence and even up to a foot in east Maine. There you can see how much we've had in the New York City area, about four inches. So travel issues out there because of this storm, Kyra. And you mentioned the other big storm which is going to be headed probably starting in the south, and then moving up the coast, toward the middle of the week. So that is going to be an ugly storm. Everybody enjoy your weekend because things are going to be changing.
[Phillips:] All right. Thanks, Jacqui. Well, a new team show that might be too hot for MTV or heck, it might be too hot for U.S. child porn laws. We're talking about the new show "Skins" in 20 minutes. Keep your shirt on. Well, it isn't exactly Shakespeare but you can add Snook" from that other MTV show, the "Jersey Shore" to the list of, can you believe this, best-selling authors?

[Baldwin:] The president is out logging some serious miles today, and not just for nothing, really, but in very large part to try to energize part of his, talking right now about young people in America. First stop, North Carolina. The president touched down very late this morning in Raleigh-Durham, before the day is over, though, he is hopping from North Carolina to Colorado, and then tomorrow it is on to Iowa. Coincidence? Probably not, as in, he did carry all three states in 2008, yet all three are in play here in 2012 Another non-coincidence I just want to point out, he is talking all day about student loans. Hopes to make this an issue to him or his opponents, such as unnamed Republican Congresswoman he quoted during his speech.
[Barack Obama, President Of The Unites States:] She said, she had very little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with debt, because there's no reason for that. I'm just quoting here. I'm just quoting. She said students who wrack up student loan debt are just sitting on their butts having opportunity dumped in your lap.
[Baldwin:] Want to go to chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin, live at my alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill. Jessica, if they're not treating you well, let me know. I do want to begin quickly here. We're hearing from the president, at issue specifically is the Stafford loans. What's the issue?
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] The issue, Brooke, is that come July first, these federally subsidized loans will double. The interest rates on them will double from current rate of 3.4 percent, 7 million Americans paying about that rate right now. And it will jump to 6.8 percent on July first unless Congress decides to freeze the current rate. So, why would anybody resist doing that? Well, there's a lot of concern about the cost to the federal government. The congressional budget office estimates it will cost the federal government $6 billion for one year to extend that rate at the current rate at the low rate. So on the one hand, a lot of people want to keep the interest rate low, on the other hand, a lot of other people are asking how are you going to pay for it? What is the offset? That's the fight that is being set tup now and that Congress says it's going to take on in the coming weeks and months. Brooke?
[Baldwin:] As we mentioned, North Carolina, Colorado, talking student loans. We talked so much about the importance of women who vote. But what about voters under the age of 30? I know it was an important base for him in 2008. How important will they be for him this November?
[Yellin:] Crucial. I'll tell you why. The youth vote was 66 percent, that's what president Obama won in 2008, 66 percent. It was about a fifth of the electorate. Sounds like important, but maybe not crucial. Here's where it's crucial. In this state, North Carolina, the president won just by one percent. He eked out a victory. How did he do that? He won young voters, for example by 74 percent. He just swept young voters. And he won just by one percent. It's hard to imagine he would have been able to get that 1 percent victory had he not swept among young voters. So this is the kind of victory he's going to have to look for in states like this if he's going to be successful again in 2012. He wants to drum up enthusiasm among young voters. And Brooke, before we go, I'm told you'll know what to do. Tar
[Baldwin:] Heel.
[Yellin:] They said you wouldn't keep me hanging.
[Baldwin:] I've got you, I've got your back, Jessica Yellin. I know that chant. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. And off to Colorado the president goes. Speaking of students, one more thing from the speech that the president made. Actually not the speech itself, but the student who introduced him. Take a listen.
[Unidentified Female:] If interest rates were to double, that would mean that many students who would love to and deserve to take part in extracurricular activities and be a part of the university would have to work or live at home instead of having that college experience because they would be more focused on just being able to pay for their college education.
[Baldwin:] There's the president come into your picture. Wait for it. There it is. A nice hug to Caroline, a senior. Dominique Garland, and she is also live in Chapel Hill. Dominque, so nice to meet you. Talking to a fellow Tar Heel. I'm so proud of you, congrats on almost graduating. And here you are introducing the President of the United States. Were you nervous? How did it go?
[Dominique Garland, Unc Student:] Yes. You know, before I actually got into the corridor, I was really nervous. I was standing with the person who sung the national anthem. And once we actually got in there and the president came out, he was so warm and welcoming that all of my jitters went away and I was able to perform the speech.
[Baldwin:] And so you spoke, and then we saw the quick hug. What did he whisper in your ear? Good job?
[Garland:] Yes, exactly. He said good job. You did wonderful, we can tell you'll be a great teacher. And he went on to announce that. Wonderful.
[Baldwin:] That's a day you're going to remember forever. Let's talk about one of the reasons why, you know, you were probably chosen to be introducing the president as your story is sort of germane to what he's talking about today. So you have congress, ultimately they're the ones to decide whether they'll pass the extension of the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act, or else the interest rates will double. Your personal story, if they don't do that and the rates double, how does that affect you and also your little sister?
[Garland:] Yes. It will affect me drastically. I've had college loans here at UNC Chapel Hill. And although they have definitely accumulated, I feel the effect, coming from Chapel Hill, will not be as bad. However, when I get to Columbia for grad school, I definitely still have student loans. Paying off those will be a task, especially on a teacher's salary. My parents are not able to support me and my finances. As far as my sister is concerned, I also help sometimes with her finances. For her to come in as a first-year, the fist thing on her mind being, will she be able to pay off her debts is sad to me personally because I had such a wonderful experience here, which I'm sure you did. And it would be sad to see her have to work instead.
[Baldwin:] And we should point out, look, Republicans are also saying, GOP rival Mitt Romney saying yes, we agree, you know, these interest rates shouldn't double. Is there anything through that speech, I was listening through the whole thing out of the corner of my eye, and there were a couple of massive applauses. Was there any one particular thing that president Obama said that really struck a chord with you?
[Garland:] Well, you know, I've always seen how my parents and my grandparents have fought to make sure that I was able to get the education that I'm getting right now and to have the opportunities that I'm having right now. When he pointed out the struggle and the fact that our parents did struggle and their sole purpose of struggling was to get us here and now we're having trouble being able to maintain this, that's something that definitely stuck to me. So yes.
[Baldwin:] Good luck on May 13. That's the big day, right? The Carolina blue cap and gown. Mine is still hanging up in my house. And best to you. Best to you at Columbia and, of course, to your young sister. Go heels.
[Garland:] Thank you, same to you.
[Baldwin:] And joining me next hour, we're going to be speaking with education secretary Arnie Duncan. I'm going to ask him about the potential fight in Congress over this issue this summer. Secretary of Education there next hour.

[Holmes:] Well, it may be a surprise to you out there to learn that even terrorists have their own magazine. It's called, perhaps oddly enough, "Inspire."
[Bolduan:] And the man believed to be behind the magazine is an American living in Yemen. "Inspire" is al Qaeda's latest effort aimed at encouraging terrorism against Americans. Colorful, creative imagery promoting a deadly message. Chilling terror tips on how to wage violent jihad. The 74-page second edition of the al Qaeda online magazine called "Inspire" aims to recruit Americans to kill Americans. "The Ultimate Mowing Machine," reads the title of one article, suggesting how to carry out individual attacks. Quote: "The idea is to use a pickup truck as a mowing machine, not to mow grass, but to mow down the enemies of Allah."
[Tom Kean, Fmr. Chairman, 9/11 Commission:] What al Qaeda is looking for right now is not their additional recruits that they used to do in places like Pakistan and other places in the Middle East. And that's a very dangerous figure for us and a very hard figure figure for us to intercept, particularly if they have an American passport.
[Bolduan:] Another article takes direct aim at the nation's capital. Quote: "A random hit at a crowded restaurant in Washington, D.C., at lunch hour, for example, might end up knocking out a few government employees." Intelligence officials believe Samir Khan, an American citizen now living in Yemen, is a driving force behind the publication and pens his own essay in the new edition, "I am Proud to Be a Traitor to America." Fran Townsend, former homeland- security adviser to President Bush, says while the magazine's message isn't new, the way they're getting it across is. [on camera]: So what is different here with this magazine?
[Fran Townsend, Cnn Security Analyst:] These are guys who have either been born here or lived in the United States, who speak idiomatic colloquial English, who can appeal to Americans to join their cause. They know how to persuade them, they know how to speak to them and and they know how to really inspire them to become a part of it.
[Bolduan:] And top U.S. officials like FBI Director Robert Mueller say the Internet acts as an accelerant for terrorist activity.
[Robert Mueller, Fbi Director:] Consider the impact of someone like Anwar Awlaki, the American-born, Yemeni-based extremist. Ten years ago, Awlaki would have operated in relative obscurity. Today, on the Internet, he has unlimited reach to individuals around the world, including those here at home.
[Bolduan:] A U.S. counterterrorism official tells CNN they're aware of the publication, saying it aims to provoke the murder of innocents, and hardly lives up to its name, "Inspire."
[Holmes:] Well, you travelers out there, get on a plane. You know you've got the first class; you've got business class; you've got coach class. How would you like flying in the "cuddle class"? It sounds good, right? You're not going to want to miss this one. Stick around. It's after the break. But first, before we got to the break, this morning's news quiz. A recent poll ranks the popularity of all the first ladies of the past three decades. Which first lady would you say is at the top of the popularity list? Would it be A, Michelle Obama; B, Hillary Clinton; or C, Nancy Reagan? That answer for you after the break. It's 24 minutes past the hour.

[Johns:] It's been two and a half years since Private Bradley Manning was arrested for his alleged involvement with Wikileaks. Since then we've heard virtually nothing from the man accused of betraying his country until yesterday at a hearing in Maryland. Today, military prosecutors are grilling him. CNN's Chris Lawrence is keeping an eye on the proceedings from the Pentagon Chris.
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Yes, Joe. Bradley Manning just wrapped up his time on the stand. And he spent the entire day being cross examined by prosecutors who have been poking holes in the idea that his mistreatment was so bad that he contemplated suicide multiple times when locked up. They basically went back to a key incident in what happened to him while he was at Quantico where he had to stand at parade rest naked. Prosecutors went back and went back to this incident. And Bradley Manning had to admit that he had made a statement, something to the effect of, you know, hanging himself with his underwear. That was the reason they took off his clothes. But then further more he had a blanket over him and that he thought from what the guard said he had to drop that blanket and stand there naked. But he admitted that the guards never actually gave him an order to drop the blanket and that in subsequent days, they brought his clothes with his meal tray and gave him adequate time to get dressed before standing before attention like he was called to do. So all of this, Joe, is really playing out under a bigger picture, which is Bradley Manning's team trying to show that his mistreatment is grounds for getting credit extra credit for the time that he's already been locked up. There was a precedent about 12 years ago in which an airman got three days credit for every day he was locked up because he was mistreated. Bradley Manning's team is attempting to get about ten days credit for everyone. That could work out to up to seven years off his sentence if he's found guilty or if he cops a plea Joe.
[Johns:] So that's huge. That would be a huge difference in the possible sentence he might end up serving, right?
[Lawrence:] Exact well, it depends, Joe, if you're talking about a life sentence, seven years off life is not a big deal. But if you're talking about the plea deal that's been put forth or been talked about so far, which is about 16 years, up to six or seven years off that is pretty significant.
[Johns:] That's for sure. Thanks so much, Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. Heavy fighting is reported in Syria's capital. As much of that country remains cut off from the outside world. Lisa Sylvester's monitoring that and some of the other top stories in THE SITUATION ROOM right now Lisa.
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi there, Joe. Well, the opposition says fierce clashes forced Damascus International Airport to close for a second straight day and that internet access to more than 90 percent of the country remains shut off. These claims follow reports of Syrian government forces trying to seize control of rebel dominated areas of the capital city raising questions about whether the regime is losing control there. And what so many New Yorkers still suffering after Superstorm Sandy, the mayor is on the hot seat for buying hotel rooms intended for storm victims but sit vacant, more than 100 in fact. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the rooms were booked as a precaution but haven't been needed so far. Some displaced victims say they didn't know these rooms were available. OK, and you know you love them. The hit songs from Michael Jackson's "Thriller," well, that album remains the bestselling of all time when the king of pop released it 30 years ago today. Hits such as "Beat It" and "Belly Jean" change the way we look at music videos and influenced a whole generation of artists. Jackson as we all know he died back in 2009 at the age of 50. Imagine that? That album is 30 years old now.
[Johns:] It doesn't even seem possible that's still the bestselling album of all times after all these years.
[Sylvester:] Three decades later so what was your favorite song from there?
[Johns:] "Thriller" I think or "Billy Jean" was on that too.
[Sylvester:] I know. There are a lot. You're like I love "Thriller" and realize there are so many other good ones too. Good stuff.
[Johns:] Thanks, Lisa. Doctors have found a good use for an otherwise illegal drug. Details next.

[Blitzer:] They don't take a lot of gasoline, they are good for the environment and pretty quiet out there on the roads. But now the Transportation Department is saying some electric and hybrid cars are simply too quiet to be safe. Rene Marsh is here in THE SITUATION ROOM working the story for us. So, Rene, what are they proposing to do about this?
[Rene Marsh, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, they are asking that these vehicles have this sound technology placed inside of it, so that people can know that, hey, this vehicle is coming my way. The concern is that these cars are awfully quiet and pedestrians are possibly going to be injured because they don't know that this vehicle is on its way Wolf.
[Marsh:] They're green, fuel efficient, but too quiet and a potential threat to cyclists and pedestrians. That's what the Department of Transportation says about hybrid and electric cars. The federal agency just proposed rules that would require new, green vehicles make sounds, loud enough to alert pedestrians and cyclists, like George Abbott.
[George Abbott, Cyclist:] I have experience going alongside them and not like not realizing that there was one there.
[Marsh:] It's what's under the hood that makes these hybrid and electric cars so quiet on the road. This Nissan Leaf already has technology similar to what the government wants in all electric and hybrid cars. Do you hear that sound? Well, the government believes it could save lives. [Voice-over] Eddie George sells the vehicles at DARCARS in Maryland.
[Eddie George, Darcars Nissan:] The car is very quiet. You cannot hear anything. So I mean, you have some people, when they're coming to test drive the car, is the car on?
[Marsh:] But a flip of a switch, and its pedestrian alert feature turns on. Without the feature, a much quieter drive.
[Unidentified Female:] I think that would help, but I think you know, again, I think people just need to pay more attention.
[Marsh:] DOT says the sounds would need to be loud enough to still be heard, despite other street and ambient noises when the vehicle is traveling under 18 miles per hour. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates the proposal would mean 2800 fewer pedestrian and cyclist injuries per year. All right. Well, each company can actually pick the particular sound that they want their car to make. For example, the vehicle we looked at today, the Nissan Leaf, the technology was developed with the help of students from some of the country's schools for hearing impaired. So they helped them out in trying to get that technology together, so they can pick just the right sound for folks as they're trying to cross those streets.
[Blitzer:] So when they add a little sound, how loud is that car going to be?
[Marsh:] Well, I'll tell you this. Don't expect a blaring sound to come from any of these green vehicles. Actually, it was a lot louder in our piece than it actually is, only because our mics were picking up the sound there. But do expect a softer, a more subtle sound, but still something that is recognizable, that, hey, a vehicle is on its way Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Rene, thanks very much.
[Marsh:] Sure.
[Blitzer:] He's the executive chairman of a company you might use every day, but what is one of Google's top leaders doing in one of the most reclusive nations on earth. Stand by.

[Costello:] Slugfest in Iowa as GOP candidates pick apart each other not just at President Obama. We'll pick the winner through the power of social media on this AMERICAN MORNING. Happy Friday to you. Good morning. It is August 12th. Welcome back to
[American Morning. Velshi:] Wow. It's been like two weeks.
[Romans:] He heard Friday.
[Velshi:] Yes, I needed to be convinced it was Friday. I thought it was Friday on Wednesday.
[Romans:] All right, you've about got a long time to the closing bell, opening bell and closing bell. Top stories this morning, stock futures are up after a nice rebound on Wall Street yesterday, nice, of course, a relative term. The Dow shot up 423 points. The Nasdaq, the S&P; 500 were up more than 4 percent. So if you look at the past week, the Dow is still down by more than 300 points and down by more than a thousand or 1,500 points since July. Overseas Japan's Nikkei was down slightly. Hongkong's Hang Seng closed up and in London where trading is now happening stocks are higher. Rick Perry is getting in it to win it. The Texas governor announcing his plans to run for the Republican presidential nomination. Perry will make it official at an event tomorrow in South Carolina. He'll be in Iowa on Sunday. Meantime the gang of eight GOP candidates who already declared, they shared the stage last night in Iowa. The debate was dominated by two Minnesotans, Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty who didn't play nice.
[Tim Pawlenty , Presidential Candidate:] Her record of accomplishments and results is nonexistent.
[Michele Bachmann , Presidential Candidate:] You said the era of small government was over. That sounds a lot more like Barack Obama if you ask me.
[Pawlenty:] It's not her spine we're worried about. It's her record of results. Please stop because you're killing us.
[Romans:] All of the candidates are trying to impress Iowa voters ahead of the key test vote tomorrow, Carol.
[Costello:] Of course, that would the key test vote, the Ames straw poll, which is arguably the first major vote of the 2012 presidential campaign. It's often described as a cross between a county fair and a political convention with candidates making their case directly to the voters. It's been around since 1979. The poll is not binding, but three out of five times the winner has gone on to win the Iowa caucus and the nomination. But just one candidate George W. Bush won the poll and the presidency. But the process is just as likely to break a presidential campaign as it is to make one. So joining us now is Al DiGuido, CEO of Zeta International. He's been monitoring all of this online, all of this buzz online and I can't wait to talk to you. Also in Des Moines, Iowa, independent pollster, Ann Selzer. Ann, thanks for joining us.
[Unidentified Female:] Great to be here.
[Costello:] OK, Ann, let's start with you because Pawlenty and Bachmann really tore into each other last night. I mean, they were almost obsessed with each other. Let's hear a little more about what Pawlenty said about Bachmann.
[Pawlenty:] She's fighting for these things. She fought for less government spending. We got a lot more. She led the effort against Obamacare. We got Obamacare. She led the effort against TARP, we got TARP. She said she's got a titanium spine. It's not her spine were worried about. It's her record of results. If that's your view of effective leadership with results, please stop because you're killing us.
[Costello:] So, Ann, a lot of political observers out there say no one came out the winner of this because they were fighting over, you know, what many consider were local issues and why weren't they fighting against Mitt Romney who leads the pack right now?
[J. Ann Selzer, Independent Pollster:] Well, they were all fighting against Barack Obama and then you saw them trying to separate themselves a little bit from the pack. Romney just wanted to come out unscathed. That was his job to do. Michele Bachmann came out of the previous debate with a big target on her back. So it was not terribly surprising that Pawlenty who had the most to gain was the most aggressive in going after her.
[Costello:] Al, before we sat down, you said, this was a great debate. People online love this stuff. So what's the buzz online?
[Al Diguido, Ceo, Zeta Interactive, A Digital Marketing Company:] You know, this story, the Iowa straw poll, is actually the third most buzz story in news over the last three days behind only the debt ceiling and the Dow Jones dropping 600 points. So people are really, really animated about this. The big winner we think coming out of this - they're actually the battle between Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann. Both of them were garnering a tremendous amount of the volume of buzz that's out there in the market place today. Their positive rankings on both candidates are very, very strong. So it's really, I think, going to be a two horse race between Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney. Tim Pawlenty was kind of swinging for a major home run, a grand slam. And I think we'll see what happens here in the next day or so as to whether he actually connected or whether it actually get him more harm.
[Costello:] Yes, it will be interesting. Let's talk about Newt Gingrich for just a second because he punched back at the lame stream media last night when he asked about this mass exodus of his staff and campaign spending. Listen to what he said.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] I took seriously Brett's injunction to put aside the talking points and I wish you would put aside the gotcha questions. I would love to see the rest of tonight's debate asking us about what we would do to lead America whose president has failed to lead instead of playing Mickey Mouse games.
[Costello:] Well, Ann, the first question that comes to mind is can a Fox news person ask a gotcha question to a Republican candidate?
[Selzer:] Well, I think Newt Gingrich is doing his best to take a shot at separating himself from the pack. And he's taking on anybody who wants this to be about the small things, the campaign tactics. He wants this to be about the big things, the big ideas, how to fix government, how to get legislation through Congress. That's where he shines.
[Costello:] Newt Gingrich is good at debates. I mean, let's face it. The man has had experience, but he's absolutely nowhere in polling. What about online?
[Diguido:] Online, he's a very, very strong base. He has a tremendous number of Twitter followers and his Facebook likes are very, very high. This is a must-win situation for Newt Gingrich in Iowa. As a matter of fact, the cluster words of people are mentioning most often in their blogs are crucial, critical, must win. So he came out swinging because he knows maybe this is his best shot of gaining some momentum going into the next couple of primaries.
[Costello:] And I want to ask you about Mitt Romney because he's not campaigned in Iowa and he's not taking part in the straw poll. Yet there he was at the Iowa state fair talking to people out there and some might say it didn't go well for him. Let's listen.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] We have to make sure that the promises we make in Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are promises we can keep and there are various ways of doing that. One is we can raise taxes on people.
[Unidentified Male:] Corporations.
[Unidentified Female:] Corporations.
[Romney:] Corporations are people, my friend.
[Unidentified Male:] No, they're not.
[Romney:] Of course, they are. Everything corporations' earned ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?
[Costello:] OK, maybe there were a few Democratic plants there, I don't know, but it was an uncomfortable moment. What I want to ask you, Ann, is will this really hurt him with the Republican base?
[Selzer:] You know, what Mitt Romney's advantage is he actually has two. Number one, he's been in Iowa before. He won the straw poll last time around. He invested a lot. He didn't feel like he got enough of a bounce, so decided not to play here now. But he's got a base here. I think what he wants to do is let the other candidates slug it out against each other and then he stands above that looking more presidential, more looking for the long term. That can help him because there are plenty of Iowan Republicans who are disenchanted with the nastiness among the rest of the candidates.
[Costello:] OK, Al, I'll ask you. How many hits do you think that video clip will get online?
[Diguido:] I think it will be a lot of hits. I think that Mitt Romney as we've watched on a day to day basis was the clear leader going into Iowa. The words that we're hearing in the last couple of days are mistake, no-show. His base has actually dropped four points in the last couple of days in terms of positive ranking. So although he is pulling out - although he will not be in Iowa, the impact of him not being there is having an impact in terms of his overall ranking.
[Costello:] Great conversation. Thank you to you both, Al DiGuido and Ann Selzer. Thank you for being with us this morning.
[Velshi:] Great conversation. No matter who wins the White House in 2012, they are sure to inherit a staggering debt and a stumbling economy and raising taxes will likely be a defining issue in the race. I had a chance to interview Christina Romer yesterday. She's the former chair of the President's Council on Economic Advisors. Now back in 2007 before she joined the administration, she co-wrote a paper on the effects that tax changes have on economic growth. That paper has been used to make the case for raising taxes to lower the deficit and against raising taxes because of the harmful effects that could it have on the economy and jobs. So I asked her to set the record straight.
[Christina Romer, Former Chairman, President's Council Of Economic Advisors:] Even though I very much support racing taxes for dealing with the deficit gradually over time, now is not the time to do it. Because either raising taxes or cutting spending now would absolutely with very hard on the economy, but that doesn't mean you can't legislate it to kick in when the economy is closer back to normal. Then that's when an economy would be much more able to deal with it.
[Velshi:] You can see my entire interview with Christina Romer on "YOUR MONEY" airing Saturday and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. Christine
[Romans:] All right, Ali, how the government manages its books is affecting how you are saving for retirement. As long as world markets worry about America's debt deficits and the political will to fix them, every little news headline about weak growth, Europe's debt crisis, everything, yanking stocks around. So we wanted to give you some perspective this morning. We wanted to show you the Treasury Department's official checkbook register for the month. What comes in and what goes out. In case you're wondering, 9 cents of every dollar the Treasury Department spent last month went to pay interest on the money that we borrowed. Now last month, the government took in about $159 billion. It spent $288 billion. That means we had a deficit of $129 billion. This is the difference of the money that's coming in to the government and the money that's going out to pay the bills. Here's one way to think of it. It's like a family earning, say, $4,200 a month, but spending $7,500 a month. That means the rest of this is put on a credit card to cover the difference. The difference, think of a family spending in that kind of a difference, that's what the American government is doing. But it's a good thing that America's credit card, by the way, has super low interest rates, much lower, I'm sure, than yours. That's one month. This is the whole year. The Treasury over the past fiscal year breaks down how much we're spending as a nation and how much we're bringing in. This is how much we're spending as a nation. This is how much we're bringing in. You see here, the difference is this gap that we have to borrow money to cover up. If you want to see where all the money is going, the Treasury Department every month bring this out. This is where the money is going. Look, you're paying interest on your debt. You're paying national defense. You're paying other nondefense, Social Security and Medicare, that is the biggest chunk of all of the total outgoing money. So there you go. That's the Treasury Department's checkbook for the month and where it stands. And that credit card that we have, it's right up against the limit as you know. They raised the debt limit. So all of that borrowing just moves you right back up to the credit amount on America's credit card. So how does America cover the difference? It borrows it, of course, and who's America's biggest foreign banker, China? So is that country on the verge of becoming the world's next economic super power or did it already happen? It's 41 minutes after the hour.

[Romans:] OK. All this week, CNN is taking an in-depth look at America's job hunt. For decades the message: go to college, get the white collar job that has ruled America. But Mike Rowe, the host of "Dirty Jobs," is working to change that. He's stressing that good jobs are often the ones that built and still build this country. You know him as the host of "Dirty Jobs."
[Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs:] My name is Mike Rowe. That's my job.
[Romans:] Where he catches snakes.
[Rowe:] I'm being bit by a snake.
[Romans:] Cleans up tar.
[Rowe:] Doing some glopping.
[Romans:] And deals with a lot of dirt. And now, Mike's taking on an issue he says he learned from the people who deal with all our dirt.
[Rowe:] We've got this great rift in between blue and white collar. I would just say that our society is waged a sort of cold war on work.
[Romans:] A war on a specific type of work, skilled labor. As our workforce shifted to more white collar jobs and the definition of a good job changed, lucrative skilled labor careers such as plumbers, electricians and machinists have seen their image suffer.
[Rowe:] There's a category of work, though, in our work force that's critical and those jobs have come to feel like, call it vocational consolation prizes, and we are simply not celebrating their contribution. That's why you have a skills gap right now, at the same time as you have unemployment.
[Romans:] According to the Department of Labor, skilled labor like plumbers and steam fitters will see a 16 percent increase in the number of jobs available by the year 2018. Skilled construction workers, a 19 percent bump. The problem: finding workers with the right qualifications to fill the jobs, and an aging work force that will retire soon.
[Rowe:] All my other suits are made out of rubber.
[Romans:] This problem brought Mike all the way to Capitol Hill, where he testified in front of the Senate Commerce Committee about the skilled labor crisis.
[Rowe:] We need a national PR campaign for skilled labor, like a big one, something that addresses the widening skills gap head on and reconnects the country with the most important part of our workforce.
[Romans:] They are the, quote, "dirty jobs." And while not glamorous, they are essential to keep the country running.
[Rowe:] It's not about oh, no, the poor tradesman. They're going to be fine. They're going to be great, in fact. It's the rest of us who rely on their work. We're going to take it in the neck.
[Romans:] And I agree with him on that. And I think these dirty jobs are ladder jobs. It's something that I talked about and write about a lot. A ladder job, you can work an entry level in these or you can own your own business. You can work up the ladder and become a small business owner and employ other people working in the industry. So, it's a very big growth part of the economy. Labor Department report concerned that there's not enough focus on that. We've got this job growth there.
[Chetry:] Right.
[Romans:] But we're not necessarily fitting people into those.
[Chetry:] Right. And the other question is, and they talk a lot about this after the financial downturn, which was: we have to start, you know, retraining workers, we have to start helping people that whose job may never come back, do something else. So, as you talk about in the beginning where the focus has always been on college and white collars, there is a renewed focus on some of these vocations vocational schools.
[Romans:] That's right. You're hearing a lot more about it, making sure that we have more vocational training for our young people, vocational schools, but also vocational training in high schools. But guess what? Budget cuts mean a lot of places are losing vocational training in high schools and a lot of high schools are having trouble just teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, let alone the vocational, too. So, a lot of challenges there. But in terms of the PR campaign, I'd say Mike Rowe is a pretty good
[Chetry:] That is a good one. That is.
[Romans:] This week, again, we're partnering with CNN Money and "TIME" magazine, digging deeper on America's job hunt. We're going to learn where the jobs are, how to get one, how to keep one. Check out the all-new CNNMoney.com. We're back right after this.

[Dr. Drew Pinsky, Host:] Day 17, Jodi Arias on the stand. TV`s newest reality star has an answer for everything.
[Judge:] After all the lies you have told, why should we believe you now?
[Jodi Arias, Murder Defendant:] Lying isn`t typically something I just do.
[Pinsky:] But how does she explain this?
[Travis Alexander, Victim:] And I got this gun against my head.
[Arias:] She was holding the gun at my forehead.
[Pinsky:] Last night, I called her a castrating kitty. But is she a copycat as well? Plus, we have the first ever interview with one of Travis Alexander`s roommate. This young man says Travis confided in him about his concerns regarding Jodi. What were Travis` real feelings for her? What did he tell his roommate? Let`s get started. Good evening. I`m joined by my co-host, Sirius XM Radio host Jenny Hutt this evening. Jenny, we ended the show last night, really interesting program, learned a lot, and hopefully tonight we`ll do the same. You asked me a question at the close of the show. It was provocative. It was interesting.
[Jenny Hutt, Co-host:] Yes, would you like me to ask it again?
[Pinsky:] Sure.
[Hutt:] OK. So, I want to know what it means when a man predominantly wants to have anal sex with his woman.
[Pinsky:] OK. And I said that I thought it had something to do with technicalities about his Mormon faith. We`re going to have some guests on this evening. They`re going to address that issue and then some of our experts will address what it is if it`s not just about the Mormonism.
[Hutt:] OK. Good. Yes, thanks.
[Pinsky:] All right. With us now, attorney Mark Eiglarsh with SpeaktoMark.com, former prosecutor Marcia Clark, author of "Guilt by Degrees", and Janine Driver, author of "You Can`t Lie to Me". I call her the human lie detector. But first, here`s Jodi.
[Judge:] After all the lies you have told, why should we believe you now?
[Arias:] Lying isn`t typically something I just do.
[Judge:] Have you ever had any situations where you have raised your voice?
[Arias:] Yes, probably a million times.
[Judge:] If you were scared of what Travis was capable of doing, why would you ever let him tie you up?
[Arias:] When that occurred, he was in a very good mood. They were loose enough to wiggle out of.
[Judge:] How far away from you was Travis when the gun went off? Not when he lunged but when the gun went off.
[Arias:] The lunging and the gun going off was sort of contemporaneous. As far as distance, maybe as far as Mr. Babakis. In California when I took apart my razor and was going to do that, that was the only serious attempt I made. Other than that it`s just like ideation.
[Judge:] Have you utilized professional help?
[Arias:] I have not had access to professional help, no.
[Pinsky:] But perhaps, honey, you should have availed yourself of such professional help before all of this went down. It`s a good lesson for everybody.
[Hutt:] Yes. Ooh.
[Pinsky:] "In Session" correspondent Beth Karas was there for yet another day of Jodi`s justifications and her answering of the questions. Beth, the question for you is, does in the room, do those questions feel mocking of Jodi?
[Beth Karas, "in Session" Correspondent:] Well, sort of. They seem to be challenging her memory all the time. Sometimes she has really good recall of details, other times she gets foggy and she`s shaking and she`s just kind of all over the place with that. So she`s sort of talking in circles and contradicting herself sometimes. But some had them are really mocking, too, like how could you kiss another man after you did what you did to Travis? And that was a reference to kissing rather aggressively Ryan Burns about 15 hours after she mutilated Travis Alexander.
[Hutt:] I also think she has a very interesting use of the English language.
[Pinsky:] She does.
[Hutt:] I mean
[Pinsky:] Yes, she`s always trying to display her vocabulary. Janine, did that mean anything to you, and what did you see today?
[Janine Driver, Human Lie Detector:] I call this "convince, not convey", Dr. Drew. Truthful people convey information. Liars try to convince us, and we hear that overselling, this overconfidence. However, I`m in the business of predicting patterns and behavior. I`m not a psychic. I`m a bio language expert. I`m a person that looks for patterns of behavior. And it`s here. And what I can predict about Jodi is when these questions are done, we`re going to see her going back to looking down, diverting her eye contact, disappearing, fake crying. We will see that Jodi reappear sooner than later.
[Pinsky:] Why? Why is that? Why did this one that was responding to the questions from the jury seem so much more lively?
[Driver:] This is her pattern of behavior. She`s a "convince, not conveyor", Dr. Drew. So, what she`s trying to do is this is her moment to connect. She knows these questions from the jurors.
[Pinsky:] Right. Got it.
[Driver:] So, it`s almost her way of saying, "Great question, guys. I like that question. Here`s the answer." When she goes back to the attorneys, we`re going to see her diverting eye contact and we`ll see her fake crying once again.
[Pinsky:] Got it. I got it. I get it. Mark, do you agree with that? And is the reason they`re keeping her on the stand so long is simply to try to save her life? I can understand that with the jury being with her so long, it would be hard to give her the death sentence.
[Mark Eiglarsh, Speaktomark.com:] Well, I`m starting to think that these lawyers went to the Helsinki school of law, you know? After a while, they`ll just give in to whatever she wants. Now, I think that`s she`s in it to win it. She still believes that a jury won`t convict her. And by that, she`s looking for at least one juror who hangs this up, who will not agree with the rest. The defense attorneys, I think they know, Drew. When I go through the facts with my clients detail by detail, the day that I go through that, I know whether I got a good shot. These people, when she said, after I shot him, yes, fog. Yes. But, what about the stabbing and the slitting of the throat? Yes, we`re going to go with fog on that? But what about the deleting of the camera, the photo, putting it in the washing machine? Still fog? Yes, fog. Kissing Ryan 15 hours later? I`m going to go with fog on that.
[Eiglarsh:] It`s about saving her life.
[Pinsky:] Now, today, I thought the prosecution got a leg up on her when they were asking her about her feelings around what happened and she talked about being horrified and being well, not really scared. Mind you at first she said he`s such a scary guy. Well, I`m not scared. Oh, no, wait a minute, I was horrified, I was horrified at what I had done and that I thought was a real window of opportunity.
[Hutt:] But, Dr. Drew, I feel like nothing she says is reasonable. At one point, she said I don`t think it`s right to kill another person if they`re about to kill you.
[Pinsky:] Marcia, I agree with Jenny. What about that? She says things like that`s in that sort of general category of, Jodi would never do that.
[Marcia Clark, Former Prosecutor:] Yes. You know, she says a lot of contradictory things, and she`s definitely eating her own tail at this point. Although, Drew, I don`t think I would want to, in the context of this case, talk about anybody getting a leg up on anybody.
[Pinsky:] Thank you.
[Clark:] You`re welcome. So, I had to say it. I`m sorry. I`m sorry. But I`m sorry. But I do agree with Mark. I want to go with the fog on that, the fog on that. And a lot of the jury`s questions did go to that very point. They said, look, you know, your memory fails you here, but what about there? What about here and what about there? She`s really contradicting herself. She has to be nice to the jury. These are the people who decide her fate, her life or death. So, she has to deal with these questions in a very forthcoming way or at least appear to be. But she`s not. I mean, everything is jumbled. It`s contradictory. It makes very little sense. But the story never made sense to begin with.
[Pinsky:] Right.
[Clark:] That you believe that you that you can remember every detail and then suddenly you go into a fog when it comes to the actual murder? It`s really bad.
[Eiglarsh:] Well, hold on. There is one thing we have to give her credit for. She did bring to light a really significant epidemic, and that is you just can`t get a rental car these days without the tag being turned upside down, right? And those pesky teenagers
[Pinsky:] Don`t forget, the nuance of shopping for gas cans.
[Hutt:] The gas cans.
[Pinsky:] The cans you know, this wasn`t the right one, I had to take it back. I had to take that one back. I didn`t like the pattern on it.
[Driver:] Dr. Drew
[Pinsky:] Yes, Janine?
[Driver:] Dr. Drew, when she says murder is wrong, I believe she`s giving an embedded command to the jury saying, don`t kill me, because by you determining if I`m going to get killed, it is the wrong thing.
[Pinsky:] I love that. Janine, my love for Janine. I think you`re absolutely right.
[Hutt:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] OK, we`ll keep this going. Mark, you`ve never used a tactic like that? Is that what you`re saying? Come on now. OK. Next up, Jodi`s interview with "48 Hours." It sounds a lot like Travis` own words from the exclusive interview we aired yesterday. There`s the video you see yesterday. You`ve got to see this. We`re going to compare what he`s saying with the "48 Hours" interview. It`s really well, I went from her being a castrating kitty to a copycat. You`ll see what I`m talking about. And later, did Jodi hide in Travis` closet when he brought other women home? I have a guest who have some shocking insights. Back after this. Time now for what we`re calling my "Behavior Bureau". This is something I was begging my producers we do. And we have now we did it yesterday. You guys seemed to like it. I think it`s an important part of the show. We`re bringing in some of our exquisite experts to discuss the things we`re seeing in the trial today. Back with my co-host for the week, Jenny Hutt, from Sirius XM Radio. Now, remember last night, I asked my behavior panel. Can we see the panel up here, guys? Can we see the panel, guys? We asked them yesterday if you remember where are they? Come on, get them up there. There they are. There`s my panel for tonight. Janine Driver, we got Emily Morse and I have Cheryl Arutt. OK, guys, last night, I asked you to tell me from your gut what you were seeing on that exclusive video we were showing, and you said there was a different person there, she looked very feline, and I said there was a weird castrating quality to what that feline was doing. Well, tonight, we`re going to show you guys, some tape that suggests she`s a copycat. We`re going to show you exclusive video we`ve been showing you of where Travis talks about being robbed at gunpoint and it sounded very familiar to me. So, we start to looking around lo and behold, Jodi Arias` story on "48 Hours" started to look exactly the same to us. Take a look at this, guys.
[Arias:] She was holding the gun to my forehead, and I was on the ground on my knees.
[Alexander:] I`m seeing myself face down. They say your life flashes before your eyes. I can`t say that.
[Arias:] I just remember holding my head and closing my eyes.
[Alexander:] I`m wondering like
[Arias:] He pulled the trigger and nothing happened.
[Pinsky:] Anyone want to react?
[Hutt:] Yes. Where is the fog now, Dr. Drew? Now her memory is crystal clear and she`s copying completely.
[Pinsky:] Well, she has a good memory, she told us. Don`t forget, there was just a fog that came over her.
[Hutt:] Fog, yes.
[Pinsky:] I want to get, first of all, get Cheryl Arutt your gut reaction to the video.
[Cheryl Arutt, Psy.d., Forensic Psychologist:] Well, I guess the cat it out of the bag now, Dr. Drew, now that we`ve got this exclusive video to compare the two stories. I think that her memory and the "48 Hours" interview is so sharp and it really proves the lie about how her memory goes when she gets scared. She must have been scared if it were a true story about the gun to her head, but the memory is crystal clear.
[Pinsky:] And how about Emily? Emily, do you have an opinion about that video?
[Emily Morse, Sex Expert:] Yes. I mean, to me it seems like, yes, she`s a complete copycat. It`s manipulative. We obviously know she`s changed her story so many times. And that we think she`s sleeping on the couch, but yet she retells the exact same story again, it happened to her. It`s amazing you guys caught this.
[Pinsky:] And, Janine, it goes right to what her own defense attorney asked her today in court, which is why should anyone believe her now?
[Driver:] Dr. Drew, I call this the Kaiser Soze, you remember "The Usual Suspects" with Kevin Spacey? This is the Kaiser Soze move. You look around the room. A guy named Mr. Coffee was there. He was from Columbia. And you gather information based on the truth. These tend to be the hardest lies to catch. Why? Because it`s truthful to somebody else, and when you retell it because you`ve heard it so many times, it almost seems believable. But we know it`s Kaiser Soze. It`s her gathering information. We`re looking for this behavior. And I`m in the behavior pattern business, and here I call
[B.s. Hutt:] I`m surprised that Martinez didn`t find this.
[Pinsky:] Well, now, he may.
[Hutt:] Well, now, he will. But up until now?
[Pinsky:] If they`re watching this.
[Hutt:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] Yes. That, and again, he left some stuff sort of dangling in court. Did you notice that today, Janine, that there were some areas he just sort of left out there.
[Driver:] Yes. It`s very interesting, I agree with Mark on this one, and it`s tough because I don`t like it when I agree with Mark. But Mark says it`s kind of like this clown school of being an attorney. I think he`s doing an OK job, the prosecutor, but I think leaving these issues out there very interesting. Again, I can`t stress it enough. We`re going to see the old Jodi Arias where she`s going to stare down, where she`s going to start fake crying. She will reappear. So whether the questions are being asked or not in the next couple days to the next week, we will see the old Jodi coming back.
[Pinsky:] Christine in Michigan with a comment about the video. Christine, go ahead.
[Christine, Caller From Michigan:] Yes, I made this observation last night when Hollie and Jacob first aired the video about the simulation between
[Pinsky:] So, Christine, you saw it right away. You saw his near-death experience he was discussing in front of his friends there as precisely the same as what she encountered in the "48 Hours" interview?
[Caller:] Yes, there`s way too many similarities. And as calculating as she is, I guarantee you she I guarantee you she was listening to every word that he was saying and used it to save her own
[Pinsky:] Well, not only that, though. But, Cheryl, back me up on this. It`s back to something you and I talked about way back about Jodi, this chameleon-like phenomenon, this emptiness that she has. She`s got to collect a lot of data all the time to try to behave the way she thinks people should behave.
[Arutt:] That`s right, Dr. Drew. She draws on information. I thought the Kaiser Soze comment was brilliant because I thought of Kevin Spacey and "The Usual Suspects" also, that same moment. Whether it`s modeling herself after other people, or after other things that she can`t pick up on to try to be, she doesn`t have a core inside. And so, this lends itself to the lies.
[Pinsky:] Jenny, this has been the thing we`ve been discussing with her from way back before she took the stand. We started seeing her sort of take on the characteristics of people around her.
[Hutt:] Right. Or what`s going to work for her, or what she thinks is gong to work of her.
[Pinsky:] That`s the part that`s happening in the courtroom that is so creepy. Now, more with our behavior bureau coming up. And later, what grade you give the jury for the questions they`ve been asking. We`ve got a report card. Stay with us.
[Judge:] Why did you wait for so long to tell the truth?
[Arias:] Again, it took it took a long time. It took a long time for me to get to this point.
[Judge:] Were you ever physical to Travis besides when you killed him?
[Arias:] I think when he was choking me.
[Judge:] How do you explain the blood on your hands and clothes and the bloody palm print on the wall?
[Arias:] Well
[Judge:] Why do three separate transactions?
[Arias:] Well, what I do recall is when I filled the gas cans, it was a gradual process and I began to feel not right about keeping it in instead.
[Judge:] Would you decide to tell the truth if you never got arrested?
[Arias:] I honestly don`t know the answer to that question.
[Judge:] How can you say that you don`t have memory issues when you can`t remember how you stabbed him so many times and slashed his throat?
[Arias:] Well, I think that I have a good memory.
[Pinsky:] Back with my "Behavior Bureau" and my co-host Jenny Hut. There she is, Jenny, just taking her time, omitting, wheeling, hesitating.
[Hutt:] Yes. But, Dr. Drew, we`re talking about a copycat and then it dawned on me who`s the copycat now, today?
[Pinsky:] Oh, there we go. That`s what I`m talking about. So what you`re saying is we need to sort of stay away from you?
[Hutt:] Yes, I don`t know.
[Pinsky:] If I`m going to refer any of my friends to you for dates, I need to be cautious. I`m just saying.
[Hutt:] Yes.
[Unidentified Female:] Good luck.
[Pinsky:] Emily, could you put on a pair of glasses? You`re dressed a little bit like her.
[Morse:] I know, we`re all wearing the red thing. I don`t have any glasses. No, but, you know, I don`t have that.
[Pinsky:] One thing you don`t have, Emily, you do you have a Web site called "Sex with Emily", do sex relationship analysis, and we saw a big old sore on poor Jodi`s lips today.
[Morse:] Yes. We had Jodi and the cold sore on the stand today.
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Morse:] I couldn`t even listen to what she was saying. She wasn`t even saying anything articulately. She has a cold sore. And obviously that`s a sign of stress, if you have a cold sore. But it also be you know, I don`t know what she`s getting up to in prison.
[Pinsky:] Oh, Emily. What?
[Hutt:] This isn`t fair only because I suffer from cold sores. If I don`t
[Pinsky:] Yes, they`re common. They are typically herpes, on the outside of the mouth they are typically herpes viruses. They can be transferred to other parts of the body. There you go. Put that out there. There you go. Emily, now you really scare me. Janine, let`s get right to what we saw in that clip coming into this segment. She was hesitating and gulping and licking her lips. And Jenny had a question, too.
[Hutt:] Janine, what about the squirreling around in her chair?
[Driver:] Yes. So, she`s moving, that`s letting energy. We call this move your body, move your mind. When you move your body, you`re moving your mind. You`re decreasing your stress and anxiety. What I which is a great question, Jenny. My biggest concern here is the "wells". She said "well" several times. I call this the fishing well. Well, this is call the stalling tactic, Jenny and Dr. Drew. It`s saying, I`m buying time, and I`m going to tell the truth, what`s my story? So, we hear the fishing well several times. And when she`s stalling, this is interesting, she pauses a lot. Where we typically se from a typical liar someone who doesn`t have as much power or beauty as her, they will do a lot of um, um, um, um. We`re not hearing a lot of those, but guess who else we didn`t hear a lot of them from? Scott Peterson. When Scott Peterson was telling the truth, he had lots and lots of ums. But when Scott Peterson was lying to us, the ums decreased the ums decreased why? Because he knows ums are considered a sign of deception, so he just simply did what Jodi is doing. He paused. And we see it here with Jodi.
[Pinsky:] Oh, interesting. Also, I got the feeling during those "wells" that she was getting ready she`s like, let me get together with you guys and tell you what happened. Let me just
[Driver:] If you ask your kid, did you make your bed this morning? And he says to you
[Pinsky:] Well
[Driver:] Well, I went to up you say, get up there and make your bed, young man.
[Hutt:] You`re so right, Janine.
[Pinsky:] OK. Thank you to our behavior today. They will be back with us next week. Later, we`re going to get into this conversation that Jenny brought up yesterday about the Mormon faith and this is listen, we are not judging anybody. But the whole issue in these trials has been about the Mormonism
[Hutt:] Right, it keeps coming up in conversation.
[Pinsky:] And the sexual behaviors and the anal sex and what`s off limits. We`ll try to explain this. Stay with us.
[Judge:] Did Travis` closet doors have locks on them?
[Arias:] I don`t remember them having any locks.
[Pinsky:] And that was Jodi speaking about Travis Alexander`s closet. There`s a reason we bring that up. You`ll see that in just a minute. Welcome back. I`m here with my co-host this week, Jenny Hutt. Joining us now is Travis` former roommate, Charlie Ethington and his wife, Autumn. Autumn, I`m going to start with you. You told one of our producers that one of the tactics that Jodi used when stalking Travis and I`m using that word intentionally, I believe that`s your word she would hide in his closet. Can you tell us about that?
[Autumn Ethington, Travis Like An Uncle To Her Kids:] Yes. Thanks for having us on the show, Dr. Drew. I am a little nervous, I`ll be honest. A bunch of friends we were talking about things that had happened, and one of them said that she would hide in his closet and when he get home from a date, he`d open his closet and she`d be standing there and he`s like, what is going on? You need to leave me alone. And other times she`d say that she would fall asleep on his bed while she was cleaning his house and he`d come home and she`ll be laying there, sneak in the middle of the night and be on his couch downstairs and just bug him.
[Jenny Hutt, Sirius Xm Radio:] I mean, if she`s cleaning his house and they`re also having sex, I think it`s OK if she lies down in his bed.
[Pinsky:] But she was they were not together, and reminder, there`s one thing that has not come up in court is the stalking behaviors and the tires that were slashed, all the things that have made people like Autumn and Charlie who knew them both well. You were actually a roommate, Charlie, for a while. And, my understanding is Travis also used to come and babysit your kids. You have four kids, I understand, and he would be around them all the time. Did you ever, either of you, have any concern that Travis had any issues with children as Jodi is alleging?
[Charlie Ethington, Travis Alexander`s Friend:] Not at all. I mean, he watched our son, who`s our first son. He was a couple of years old with some of our other friends within prepaid legal, I know he watched their kids, too, and there was never a sense of any of that stuff going on. I think we would have picked up on that.
[Autumn Ethington:] Yes. If I ever had any type of feeling that he had pedophile or any type of thing like that, I would be out of there so fast. My children are number one.
[Pinsky:] Now, you guys have provided us with new photos that we`re looking alongside of you guys. Thank you for that. And he looks very young in a lot of these photos. How long did you know him, Charlie?
[Charlie Ethington:] Autumn and I actually met him back in 1998. And, so, it`s been a few years.
[Pinsky:] And were you ever part of the chorus of friends that sort of warned him about Jodi?
[Charlie Ethington:] Absolutely, yes.
[Pinsky:] Can you tell us about that, what you told him and how she responded or what maybe she has said to you guys that led you to be so creeped out?
[Charlie Ethington:] Yes. There was a time where I actually went over to Travis` house to pick him up for one of these business meetings we were headed to, and you got to know Travis. He was actually very militant on be on time, being early, never out of character for him not to be ready. So, when I showed up to his house, he was standing at the top of the stairs still in his robe and not even ready. And I asked him what was going on, and you could tell he was very flustered. He told me that he was tired of Jodi, just having some issues with her, threw his phone across the room, and you could tell he was very upset about her. I said, what`s going on, and he said that she was smothering him and too clingy, and that was kind of an odd experience that I experienced firsthand with Travis and with Jodi.
[Pinsky:] We have a call from someone in Massachusetts, Judith, who has a question for Charlie. Judith.
[Judith, Massachusetts:] Hi. Yes, Dr. Drew. It`s a question for friends and anyone on the panel. I realize watching the testimony that there are times when I totally believe Jodi is lying through her teeth, but when she talks about Travis having, quote, "passed away," unquote, I just find myself yelling at the television and saying, you killed him. He didn`t pass away, you idiot. You killed him. I just wondered if other people had the same reaction.
[Pinsky:] Marcia Clark is shaking her head rather vigorously at your comment. And Marcia, you deal with some unsavory types across your career. So, this speaks to you in some way. Tell me about it.
[Marcia Clark, Former Prosecutor:] Oh, absolutely does. And I totally agree with your caller. Yes, it`s disgusting. It`s actually offensive and insulting to hear her say passed away. You killed him. What are you talking about, he passed away? It`s no accident. He didn`t die of a disease, you murdered him. And I think it`s actually going to be something that`s going to be offensive to the jury as well, and I think that some of these questions you`re hearing questioning her credibility, there was some questions I thought, whatever. But there were quite a few
[Clark:] We`ll get into those later, I have a feeling. But there were quite a few questions that went right to the heart of the matter that went to the contradictions she has posed in her answers about the loss of memory and the fog and then she remembers and she doesn`t and the illogic of it all. So, I think so it was the most defensive part of her testimony is the way I think she has deliberately maligned Travis. I don`t believe anything she has said about him, the pedophilia and all of the abusiveness. I don`t buy it, not for one second.
[Hutt:] Well, I also don`t buy it when she said that when they asked her did she feel sad or jealous when he said he was interested in this other woman that he was maybe going to want to marry, and she said, no, it was bittersweet, because even though they weren`t together, she was happy he had found love. And that just is not even kind of true for someone who had loved him so much unconditionally? I mean, the whole thing
[Pinsky:] But Mark, I got to leapfrog over you hit to Janine because I see her she`s loaded up like a gun, herself. Go ahead, Janine.
[Janine Driver, Human Lie Detector:] I`m like, bring it to me after Marcia. This is called minimizing language when she says he passed away. We see this a lot in law enforcement with people who have caused a dramatic harm. They won`t say, I didn`t kill her, they`ll say, I didn`t hurt her. Jerry Sandusky was asked, did you molest these kids? Did you sodomize the boy in the shower? And he said, I love children. I didn`t hurt children. So, this minimizing language is a tool that we use in law enforcement to flip it to get it confession. Is there any reason why, you know, we know that you hurt her by mistake? We know you didn`t mean to hurt her. Why did you force yourself on her instead of saying why did you rape her? So, we used this as a tool in law enforcement to minimize the crime to get you to tell us the truth. I`m in the business of truth fact finding. So, here, when a bad person, which is disgusting when a Jodi Arias minimizes it by saying he passed away, it`s a hot spot.
[Pinsky:] Mark, you want to put a button on that?
[Mark Eiglarsh, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Yes. Like your last caller, I`m not the only one yelling at the TV screen for many reasons. I want to get in there. There are so many moments like the time when she claimed that she didn`t think that the gun was loaded, but nevertheless, went for the gun, risked her life to get to that gun because, apparently, he`s so dangerous, points a gun at him, and the question the jurors ask, well, why would you point a gun at him that you thought might be unloaded? Her response made me laugh out loud, because I`ve learned that when you point a gun at someone, loaded or not, they`ll immediately put their hands up. What? You`d point an unloaded gun at someone who knows his gun is unloaded?
[Pinsky:] Yes.
[Eiglarsh:] Crazy.
[Pinsky:] Right. Thank you to Charlie and Autumn. I do appreciate you come in here and sharing your thoughts and bring us some of those photographs. Again, it`s always, for us, very, very sad to talk to the friends and see those that`s bittersweet to see the pictures of him in happier times. Thank you, guys. Now, we`re going to get to the bottom of all these what should we call them, sexual?
[Hutt:] Anal sex.
[Pinsky:] That`s what the question Jenny, thank you. I had trouble thinking of that word, I guess. No, it was that these exceptions, like this way is OK and that`s not OK, and what`s Mormon and what about a guy that`s into that? What does that say? That`s what you`ve been asking me since last night. We`ll get to that. It is time next for our trial report card. Tonight, we`re grading the jury for their questions. Stay with us.
[Unidentified Female:] Did you enjoy having sex with Travis? You mentioned the pain of sex is one of the reasons you brought K-Y into the relationship? What are the other reasons? What is your understanding of the word skank? Would you decide to tell the truth if you never got arrested? How can you say that you don`t have memory issues when you can`t remember how you stabbed him so many times and slashed his throat?
[Pinsky:] Those were just a few of the jury`s 200 questions for Jodi, and many of them were representative of what we all were thinking. We thought they were pretty good questions, so we`re going to give the jury a report card today. I`m back with my co-host, Jenny Hut. The questions have been described as smart, pointed, and interestingly, mocking. Marcia, what is your take?
[Clark:] Oh, I think they run the gamut from ridiculous from the absurd to the sublime to the ridiculous and back and forth again. The question about, for example, the K-Y jelly, one of the other reasons you brought OK, who cares? Seriously, come on, guys, she cooked with it, you know? I mean, that`s ridiculous, but then, there were very good questions asked, you know what I mean, about the memory, those kinds of questions. And some of the sexual questions were obviously very pertinent, because to the extent, she`s lying about their sexual problems and his abusiveness, she`s lying about self-defense as well. It goes right to the core of the defense. So, I would say that there are it`s a big range, but there were probably more good questions than bad.
[Pinsky:] All right. Well, hold on. Hold on, Marcia, I`m going to get your grade in just a minute. We`ve got a juror question that Janine loves. We actually have a piece of tape on this. Watch this, guys.
[Unidentified Female:] Were you mad at Travis while you were stabbing him
[Jodi Arias, Accused Of Killing Her Ex-boyfriend:] I don`t recall fear being a prominent I mean, sorry, I don`t recall anger being a prominent
[Unidentified Male:] Objection.
[Arias:] I don`t remember being angry that day. I remember being terrified.
[Pinsky:] Janine, to me, that was one of the most telling moments in this entire trial. Do you agree with me?
[Driver:] I do. Sometimes, Dr. Drew, you have to kiss a lot of frogs to get to a prince. So, while some of the questions weren`t great, when you meet that prince, you`re pretty damn happy. And I was happy with this question, because why Jodi Arias gave a Freudian slip. I was not feeling fear while I was stabbing him. It`s a Freudian slip. John Allen Muhammad, the D.C. sniper, he represented himself in court, and he said to the jury, by the grace of God you find me guilty, I mean, innocent. Freudian slips, in my world
[Pinsky:] And let`s be clear. Mark, she didn`t say, I don`t know what you`re talking about, I was in the fog. She says, not only, well, it was fear it was horrible I mean, I was in the fog. I`m sorry. I was in the fog.
[Eiglarsh:] That`s correct. One of many good questions. They asked a lot, and I agree with my dear friend, Marcia Clark who, by the way, did say K-Y jelly on national television.
[Pinsky:] Thank you. Back when I was watching the O.J. trial back in the day, I always dreamed of this moment. So, here we go.
[Clark:] Me, too.
[Eiglarsh:] Maybe it would have fit if he had a little K-Y.
[Driver:] Hey, Dr. Drew, I predicted this moment back in the O.J. days.
[Pinsky:] You did?
[Eiglarsh:] All right. Enough.
[Pinsky:] OK.
[Clark:] Don`t go there. Don`t go there.
[Eiglarsh:] Here`s what one thing I did take exception to if we can get serious for a moment. Some of their questions didn`t say, well, when you claim Travis beat you or when you claim Travis did something, they would say, when Travis did such and such. When Travis hit you, why didn`t you and I wanted to say, well, wait a second. Either that juror didn`t properly write out the question because maybe they`re skeptical about it but wrote it like that, or, is skeptical but then now other jurors think that maybe another juror believes that Travis did do that. These are merely claims by her, they`re not fact.
[Hutt:] I`ve just been entertained by the questions. And frankly, this has been such a serious case and we`ve been watching Jodi Arias go on and on and on that I`ve appreciated just basically the fun and the sensationalism of these questions.
[Pinsky:] Yes, it`s been good. They`ve been of the questions on many of our minds. I`m so however, my self caught up with the idea that Janine predicted Marcia`s K-Y comments a few years later on my show here. So, let`s give the grades, guys. Mark, what is your grade for the jury?
[Eiglarsh:] I`m giving them a "
[B." Pinsky: A "b." Eiglarsh:] Solid B. They`ve been paying attention, they`ve been listening, they`ve been asking good questions. Some very irrelevant, but very good questions.
[Pinsky:] I want to remind my panel that mark is very deeply steeped in grade deflation. Marcia, your grade.
[Clark:] I do. I was going to give him actually B+, but then, I heard the K-Y question. That one that was a curve wrecker, if you will. It was curve wrecker. So, I downgraded to a "
[B." Pinsky:] Originally, you told my producer A- because the little animation said A-. Janine, what do you got?
[Driver:] I give them an
[A+. Pinsky:] A+. Very nice.
[Driver:] Yes. I do, because that question, were you experiencing anger and her slipping out, I experienced no fear at that moment, I mean anger. That is the diamond in the rough.
[A+. Pinsky:] And Jenny, you`re an attorney as well.
[Hutt:] Yes. Although for a different reason from Janine, I gave an
[A. Pinsky:] A. Excellent. So, there`s quite a -quite a variance here, but at least, the jury is doing much better than the attorneys, at least, in your guys` eyes.
[Hutt:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] Their report card looks a lot cleaner. Thank you, guys. Next up, my jurors are back, and one of them is going to help us analyze whether or not Jodi is a bad Mormon. Be right back.
[Unidentified Female:] Does the book of Mormon go into detail regarding the vow of chastity?
[Arias:] It just talks about it uses verbiage such as whoredoms, things like that. Being unclean, and that`s all in reference to sexual sin.
[Unidentified Female:] Why did you feel so uncomfortable about anal sex with Travis when you had previously tried it?
[Arias:] In my previous relationships, it was only something we tried. And with Travis, that was his preference.
[Pinsky:] I am back with my co-host, Jenny Hut. It is time for Drew`s jury. Joining us, and by the way, Jenny, you`ll be happy to know we`re going to finally get to this question you`ve been asking since last night.
[Hutt:] About anal sex, thank goodness.
[Pinsky:] About anal sex and Mormon exceptionalism.
[Hutt:] Yes.
[Pinsky:] Joining us, my jurors Katie wick and Stacey Fairrington. And Katie, I`m going to jump over to you tonight and go right to Stacey because Stacey is a Mormon, a Mormon faith. And, help us understand, is there anything at all about what Jodi is saying that even a small population of Mormons would buy into?
[Stacey Fairrington, Dr. Drew "juror":] Absolutely not. I mean, she tends she has a lot of knowledge about you know, she talks about the book of Mormon, and she writes about different scriptures in her book, but as far as the problem that I`m kind of having with her testimony is when she talks about Travis and his what he taught her were the right ways, or when she had questions she would ask Travis. I just don`t buy into it. I mean, when you`re about to be baptized into the Mormon Church, you do basically baptism is a washing away of your sins. And so, before baptism, you do go meet with your bishop and her bishop would have talked to her about these things before so that when she got baptized, you know, she could kind of start new and fresh. And the fact that I think they keep trying to use this whole, he was this big leader in the church and kind of controlled her through that, I mean, at the end of the day, Mormons are just natural, normal human beings like everybody else. And we all have our different things we struggle with, and you know, a big thing that
[Pinsky:] But Stacey, they don`t get mired in technicalities about whether it`s vaginal sex or anal sex. It`s about chastity, right, not about what plane is being violated. Just saying.
[Fairrington:] Exactly. I mean, it is. It is. It`s staying true and pure until you`re married and saving all those physical aspects no matter what type with your husband, with your spouse. And one form or the other, it doesn`t matter. It really doesn`t.
[Pinsky:] There you go. That`s the answer I was looking for there, Stacey. Katie, when the jury I want to know what their reaction was in the room when the question was asked of Jodi, after all the lies you`ve told, why should we believe you now? That was her own defense attorney asked that. How did the jurors respond to that? And, I heard the jury came to life a little bit when the prosecution stepped back in.
[Katie Wick, Dr. Drew "juror":] Yes, it was incredible. We went out for a little bite to eat after, and we spoke with Travis` family, and everybody just we were almost shaking because of the excitement that finally Jodi has been caught in an outright lie not only on "48 Hours" and the other network she went on, but she`s lying to the jurors, straight to the jury. And the morning started, Dr. Drew, with the jury asking Jodi, as you said, why should we believe you? Juan Martinez ended the day with proving to that jury, you can`t. You can`t trust her. She is lying then, she is lying now, and it`s going to be a long five days for Jodi, because there is more coming, hopefully, next week. It was and you can hear we were discussing this. You could hear when Nurmi because we thought Nurmi was going to drag this on, drag this on, but he didn`t. He stopped, and we thought, whoa, is Martinez going to go? And as I was watching Martinez get all his papers together and I thought, he`s going to go for it. And you could hear it, Dr. Drew, when the judge said, Mr. Martinez? People went yes, and ooh and ah and yay. It was audible. The jury sat up. They started paying attention.
[Pinsky:] Interesting.
[Wick:] You could tell.
[Fairrington:] You could feel it.
[Wick:] Yes.
[Fairrington:] You could feel it.
[Pinsky:] Let`s get a question from Mike in Washington Mike.
[Mike, Washington:] Hi, Dr. Drew.
[Pinsky:] Mike.
[Mike:] Hi.
[Pinsky:] Go right ahead. You`re on.
[Mike:] I just to want comment on the jury again.
[Pinsky:] Yes, go ahead.
[Mike:] And how great of a job they`re doing. It`s like Christmas in the spring, I swear. They`re asking questions and kind of representing everybody everyone at home.
[Pinsky:] Is there a little bit of a community developing in the courtroom as well because the kinds of questions the jury is asking? Are those, the people in the room, wish they could ask?
[Wick:] Yes, because we sit around, right, and we discussed we say - we actually go through our notes. We took a picture of all of our notes tonight and we actually do discuss that and we say, oh, my gosh, I hope that the jury asks this. I hope the jury is making this connection. and when they do, we say yey. I mean, it`s just incredible day.
[Fairrington:] I`ve been so proud of them. I mean, I
[Pinsky:] I`m sorry, Stacey, to step on you. I`ve got to take a break. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for your insights. I haven`t quite answered your question.
[Hutt:] No, you haven`t.
[Pinsky:] I will get to you after the break and some thoughts about, guess who, tan mom. Jenny, I want to thank you for being my co-host this week. To answer your question now, we put to bed this issue about being something about Mormonism. Young males these days are developing that predilection because of pornography, in my opinion.
[Hutt:] OK.
[Pinsky:] There are a lot of sort of predisposition, certain critical ages that we know that this guy saw pornography and had a habit with that, perhaps. Also, guys are kind of aggressive, sort of an aggressive outlet for them, aggression, not necessarily misogynistic, but kind of aggressive.
[Hutt:] OK.
[Pinsky:] Beyond that, it has become far more common than you might imagine these days in young males. So.
[Hutt:] All right.
[Pinsky:] Thank you for being here, my dear. A reminder that tan mom is with us on Monday. That`s right. Good old tan mom. She doesn`t look so tan anymore. There she is then. She got in a lot of trouble for taking her little daughter to the tanning salon, but she`s off the hook legally. She`s going to tell is about that. And she talks to me about whether she intends to tan again and how that would go down if she ever did. She looks great. The interview was, at times, emotional, at times frustrating, at times, funny. You don`t want to miss it. Also, we have an interview with another Travis Alexander`s roommates. He says Jodi and Travis went down what he called a bad path. I`m going to find out what that was all about, what he means by that. Thank you for watching. Thanks again with my co-host, Jenny. Thank you to my guests and calls, thanks you as well. See you next time. Reminder, "Nancy Grace" begins right now. END

[Malveaux:] U.S. Senators propose federal assault weapons ban not sitting well with some gun advocates and some members of law enforcement. We're talking about California Democrat Dianne Feinstein's plan. Yesterday, she introduced a bill that would ban more than 150 types of assault weapons along with certain types of gun magazines. The NRA's response was immediate. The group says, quote, "The American people know gun bans do not work. And we are confident Congress will reject Senator Feinstein's wrong-headed approach." CNN talked to a South Carolina sheriff, who called Senator Feinstein's bill scary, and says he will not enforce any federal gun ban that he sees as unconstitutional.
[Al Cannon, Sheriff, Charleston County Sheriffs Department:] Another element that I strongly disagree with is the idea that, somehow or another, this is going to prevent the kind of violence that that everybody is concerned about. I think there is some practical problems associated with things like the magazine capacity. But I will tell you that I think that much of this is taking advantage of our grief and people's general lack of information and understanding about firearms in general.
[Malveaux:] Senator Feinstein's bill, it is the most ambitious piece of gun violence legislation that has been put forward since December's school massacre in Connecticut. A New Mexico teen is accused of the most horrific crime imaginable, killing his mother, father and three younger siblings in cold blood. Nehemiah Griego was arrested when he went to church later that day. A staff member suspected that something was wrong and alerted police. Our Kyung Lah has that story.
[Kyung Lah, Cnn Correspondent:] The heart-breaking details of what happened at the Griego home start with young Nehemiah arguing with his mother, according to detectives, who say, when she went to sleep, the 15-year-old took his father's.22 caliber rifle and shot her in the head. That woke up his brother. Investigators say Griego lifted his dead mother's head and showed it to the 9-year-old before killing him as well. Investigators say his 5-year-old sister, Jael, and the youngest member of the family, 2-year-old Angelina were next. At this point, the investigators say Griego changed weapons, and waited hours until his father, Greg, came home. Detectives say the one-time gang member and now pastor was shot in the back and killed with his own A.R.-15. [on camera]: Investigators believe the boy wasn't done yet, saying he reloaded the A.R.-15 and the.22 caliber rifle and put them with more ammo into the family minivan. Investigators say he wanted to come to this Wal-Mart. Why? According to the criminal complaint, to murder more people in a populated area, and then die in a gunfight with police. [voice-over]: But for some reason, the teen changed his mind and instead drove to his family's church. Griego left the guns in the van and went inside where he spent the day like an average teenager, hanging out with his girlfriend at the church's skate park, basketball courts and bookstore. The first sign of trouble at the mega-church was when Pastor Justine Marbury was told by a parishioner that something was wrong with Griego's family, so he asked the 15-year-old if he knew anything.
[Justine Marbury, Pastor:] What he was saying was, my family is dead.
[Lah:] Griego told the pastor and Vince Harrison he had actually been home and discovered his dead family, but for some reason did not call police.
[Vince Harrison, Church Member & Former Homicide Policeman:] Just his behavior was real quiet and cold, and a matter of fact. And the red flags started going up.
[Lah:] Harrison and the pastor decided to take Griego to the house to see if the story was true. But a mile from the house, Harrison felt something he hadn't since his days as a homicide cop.
[Harrison:] Something evil was not right. It felt like darkness.
[Lah:] He pulled over and got out of the car so Griego couldn't hear him call 911. Sheriff deputies met them at the house. They used Griego's key and found the bodies. Deputies arrested the teen quietly. Authorities say he eventually confessed and told officers he started his killing spree because he was angry with his mother. Griego seemed disconnected, say officers, only getting excited when he talked about his love of violent video games. A stunning turn for his church community, who saw the youngster grow up as a normal child, until the day of the murders.
[Malveaux:] That was Kyung Lah reporting. Griego is now in jail. He has not entered a formal plea because a grand jury has not yet indicted him. That's it for me. Have a great weekend. Victor Blackwell takes it from here, CNN NEWSROOM. Hey, Victor.
[Victor Blackwell, Cnn Anchor:] Hello and welcome. I am Victor Blackwell thank you, Suzanne in for Brooke Baldwin. Let's get started with what is happening right now. It's claimed three lives, now bitter cold is moving over the southeast. This Arctic air system you see here is expected to bring snow and freezing rain and dangerous amount of ice to the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia

[Velshi:] All right. News happening right now. A 3.4 aftershock has just been reported in Virginia. Let's go straight to Rob Marciano in the weather center. Rob, what are you knowing about this?
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] I'll tell you, we haven't really seen one in a couple of days. And the ones we saw really immediately following the main quake which is over 5.0 magnitude quake were smaller than 3.0. This was a big one and felt by a number of people. About 30 miles or so northwest of Richmond, or about 80, 90 miles southwest of D.C. So, this is certainly enough for people to feel it, especially around the Richmond area. As far as D.C. is concerned, we are getting some reports of folks feeling it around the D.C. area. But the most of the shaking, obviously, just northwest of Richmond. You know, this sort of shaking where there are weakened structures from the main quake will exaggerate some of the weakening and, of course, we have been talking about it all morning the fact that Hurricane Irene may have raised more questions with the Washington Monument having already been weakened by the first quake last week just northwest of Richmond and the winds from Irene. And they found puddles in there. So, no doubt that the officials will be out across Washington and Richmond today, examining already weakened structures from this first quake. But this is a 3.4 magnitude quake. It's about three miles shallow. And that was the main problem with the first quake, is it was shallow and fairly strong. And that's why we see a decent amount of structural problem with that. And it's 36 miles just northwest of Richmond very, very close obviously to the original quake.
[Velshi:] All right, Rob. Keep an eye on that. If you got anything, just get back to us and we will put it on the air immediately. Rob Marciano following the development of that earthquake in Virginia. We've also got some new surveillance video from a Virginia high school that was devastated by last week's earthquake. This is what teachers and students at Louisa County High School faced. Look at that. Ceilings and walls caved in. Everybody is rushing out of the classrooms. They were scrambling to get out. The county says the school buildings suffered $57 million in damage. Louisa High School students will have to double up with middle schoolers while mobile classrooms are being prepared.
[Romans:] All right. The debate over the date of the president's jobs speech given Obama's opponents plenty to run with. The president hoped to talk to a joint session of Congress next Wednesday, the same night as a Republican debate. But House Speaker Boehner pushed back and the president backed down and rescheduled this jobs announcement to Congress until Thursday. Take a listen to presidential candidate Michele Bachmann.
[Bachmann:] Now, does this show maybe a little bit of insecurity on the part of the president? Either A, he wants to distract the American people so they don't watch it or B, he does want the American people to hear what the next president of the United States is going to say about the president's job plan.
[Roamns:] The president's speech will now be up against the NFL's opening night. Joining us now, Maggie Haberman, senior writer for "Politico," and CNN contributor John Avlon. John Avlon, is it insecure, clumsy or all of the above? I mean, we're having press releases any opportunity to send press releases about even scheduling a speech shows we are in this silly time in politics.
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] We are deep in it. I mean, this is the ultimate indicator. Right now, we are going into a joint session, divided government. If you want to do something about jobs, president is unveiling a plan. We can't even get it together, folks, in Washington when to schedule it. I think it was too clever by half on the part of the administration. But at the same time, for the for the Republicans in Congress to be it's literally unprecedented. There's never been a request to hold for a president to hold a joint session of congressional speech and refused in effect by Congress. So, this really is just a new indicator, really a new low, about how dysfunctional the atmosphere in Washington, D.C. is.
[Romans:] And this is a setback to the president. The president lost?
[Maggie Haberman, Politico:] Absolutely. I think the president insecure was a very deliberate word by Michele Bachmann. The fear is that he looks weak now to his own party and to Republicans. I'm not sure what this move got him. He looks like he had to recapitulate to the Republicans. They won a point. You only do this kind of thing if you can win. He didn't have a path to victory with scheduling the speech, as you said. And now, he's in a position where John Boehner looks stronger and he really has to deliver a very strong jobs speech because he's upped the ante, frankly, on what people are paying attention to.
[Romans:] Well, it's interesting. He has to deliver a strong jobs speech. A lot of people are saying, what can the president do? What is he going to do? What's going to be his plan? But there's two brains looking at this. One brain is saying what can he do? The other one is saying, he's got to undo what he has done.
[Avlon:] Right.
[Haberman:] That's right.
[Romans:] There's two completely discordant conversations happening and I don't know how you bridge them.
[Avlon:] Well, there are two fundamental and different philosophies about how you create jobs in the America. I mean, the Tea Party believes that the government creates jobs by getting out of the way. And Democrats believe the government can play a role by getting into the fray and adjusting regulations and creating incentives for investment. That's two fundamentally different philosophical visions and they've got to be able to come together. The only way anything gets done in divided government is if they find some common ground.
[Haberman:] I think that's right. I also don't think that the Democrats feel particularly confident that this plan is going to be a path forward or the White House doesn't, or they would not have scheduled it in such way it is going to get completely deoxygenated by 911, a few days later.
[Romans:] Right.
[Haberman:] They are doing where the attention is going to be totally zapped away.
[Romans:] But we are told the president is going to give policy or is going to give away that Congress can do right now. Things they can do right now. Not up for debate, discussion for think tanks to weigh in on it. It will be things that they can do right now. Does that put it in Congress' court?
[Avlon:] That will be certainly the White House's play. They are going to say, look, here are things we agreed on in the past. Let's not divide because we are on different sides of the aisle. Let's move forward. We can agree on these things today and put the American people back to work. This does become a core part of the president's reelect campaign. He's going to be essentially running against the do-nothing Congress, trying to do a "Give them hell, Barry" approach to things. By trying to say, look, don't let bipartisan stand in the way of jobs progress. That's going to be the core argument.
[Romans:] There's do-nothing Congress and there's undo everything the president has done Congress. That's what we are kind of facing right now. With the moral authority, with Republican Party if you brief it is with the Tea Party.
[Haberman:] That's exactly right. And I think that's what the president discovered with this. You were saying, you know, he e- mailed about the speech immediately last night. It is very much trying to pivot running against Congress. I don't think this is going to win over the people he needs. As you said he is not speaking the language of the other side.
[Romans:] Right.
[Haberman:] Whatever he comes with won't do it.
[Romans:] Ezra Klein, writing for "Bloomberg News," wrote, "Obama's speech will achieve nothing. It can't change the fundamental fact of politics right now, which is that the two parties disagree and most profound question in Washington. It's not how we fix the economy, it is who should win the next election."
[Avlon:] And this is the fundamental problem, right? I mean, we sort of forgotten the horse race is preamble to government and that's not what we're not doing particularly well right now as a country. And I do think people at home, though, folks, independent voters are getting frustrated by the dysfunction of Washington. And as much as they dislike the overspending, they hate the hyperpartisanship even more.
[Haberman:] I think that's exactly right. I think that you are seeing independents are going to decide this election, and they are not hearing from either party what they want to hear. The problem is there's a sitting president who they aren't hearing what they want to hear from.
[Romans:] Meanwhile, the leadership that we've been seeing lately has been governors responding to this crisis. Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey. You wrote a great piece at Daily Beast yesterday.
[Avlon:] Thank you.
[Romans:] Chris Christie who you know, has said I'm not going to run, I'm not going to run. He said it a thousand different ways. But even Democrats and liberals in his state are saying, yes, he's Jersey. He's doing Jersey proud. I mean, the Chris Christie reaction to leadership.
[Avlon:] Well, the Chris Christie phenomenon is fascinating, because it does point to the fact there is still a Chris Christie shaped poll in the Republican Party. There is a hole on the center right, and a lot of fiscal conservatives want someone responsible from the center right to get in with executive experience, and here's the key. Chris Christie is showing that states are governable. And right now, there is a leadership vacuum in Washington. And so, a strong governor unapologetic who can close the $14 billion budget gap without raising taxes, that's
[Haberman:] I think that's right. See, unapologetic thing that matters. It's not just showing that you can move the state. It's the tough message taking the fight. People saw him standing up for his state in terms of aid yesterday, and that's what's making the converse in his state.
[Romans:] All right. Maggie Haberman from Politico, John Avlon, as always, thanks, guy.
[Avlon:] Thank you.
[Haberman:] Thank you.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Just imagine, who would want to get into the fray, though, and run in 2012.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] Yes.
[Costello:] I mean, Chris Christie, maybe I don't know. It would be a tough job. New this morning, only one of the Williams Sisters remains at the U.S. Open. Two-time champion, Venus Williams, has withdrawn from the tournament before playing her second round match. She says she's been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that causes joint pain and fatigue. It's called Sjogren syndrome. Venus says she'll be away from the game while she focuses on getting better. Bad news for the family of a kid who hit a miracle $50,000 hockey shot. Remember this. It happened at a charity hockey event in Minnesota last month. Eleven-year-old Nate Smith nailed an 89-foot shot from center ice through a hole barely big enough for the puck to fit into. The problem was, the boy's twin brother is the one who bought the winning raffle ticket. So, the company that insured the event has decided they won't get anything, but they are going to donate $20,000 to Minnesota Youth Hockey, instead. I wonder if they knew the rules beforehand, the boys.
[Velshi:] I don't know. I can't imagine that they were gaming the system.
[Costello:] They're little boys.
[Velshi:] Yes.
[Costello:] Of course, you never know. It's 47 minutes past the hour. Today's top stories next, including a legal victory for disgraced baseball slugger, Barry Bonds. And the fall of the pajama trail. Two little girls get caught attempting to kidnap a goat. Oh, my gosh.

[Foster:] Well, Cypress could soon be the fifth eurozone state to receive a bailout. Tonight, European officials are working in Brussels to finalize a rescue plan that's likely to include strings such as tax rises and privatizations. The size of the plan won't be anything like what we've seen in Europe's four other bailouts. Cypress accounts for just a fifth of one percent of Europe's GDP. Now, Portugal has been given an extra year to meet the conditions attached to its rescue package. The European Central Bank, European Union, IMF say the prospects for growth are now weaker and Portugal can't keep to the path it set out for it. Portugal now has until 2015 to cut its budget deficit to 3 percent of GDP. And Ireland returned to the ten-year bond markets this week, two and a half years after receiving its bailout. It raised $6.5 billion and turned away almost the same amount. IMF head Christine Lagarde says Ireland is setting standards in terms of success in reforming its public finances. As deputy prime minister, Eamon Gilmore joins us now from CNN Center in Atlanta. Thank you so much for joining us. You've been through a hell of a ride, haven't you, over the last few years? Where would you define where you are right now in terms of the economic recovery?
[Eamon Gilmore, Deputy Prime Minister Of Ireland:] Well, we have been through a very difficult period over the last number of years, and Irish people have certainly endured a lot of hardship. We've seen reductions in income, we've seen new taxes increase. But there's been a determination, both by the government and by the people of Ireland, that we are going to emerge from this crisis, that we are going to emerge from the bailout that we were put in almost three years ago now, and that we were going to succeed. We've done a number of things. We've got down our budget deficit. We're now on target to get that down to 3 percent by 2015. We very quickly decided to recapitalize our banks and to get to the bottom of the problem that there was with our banks and to restructure them. We have dealt with the legacy of the bad bank that we inherited. We've recently liquidated that, and we've secured agreement from the ECB for a longer-term arrangement. And this week, we're back in the bond market for ten-year money. So, we're making progress. We've still a lot to do. We still have a very high level of unemployment, particularly among young people, and that is why we're putting a very big focus at the moment on attracting investment to Ireland to create the jobs that are necessary to make our recovery sustainable. But whereas two years ago people were talking about Ireland needing a second bailout, now we're looking at emerging from the bailout that we were in. We will be out of the EU-IMF program this year.
[Foster:] Yes, you were talking about the bond sales. The bond sale this week, I think 12 billion euros worth of bids. An extraordinary auction, wasn't it, in the end? Where are you in terms of what you need?
[Gilmore:] Well, in terms of money to run the state, we are now in a situation where we will be able to raise that in the normal way in the markets. There is clearly a lot of interest. We're very encouraged by this week's auction. It's showing that there is renewed confidence internationally in Ireland. And that is, we believe, is going to continue. We've met all of the targets in the bailout that was provided for us, and we have taken some very difficult decisions. This has been a difficult two years for us. We've taken difficult decisions in reducing public expenditure and getting our public finances under control and introducing a range of structural reforms. We have a much more competitive economy now. We are a good place in which to do business. We have sorted out the bank problem. We have sorted out the problems in our public finances. Now what we have to do is to press ahead, to get more growth in our economy. We do have growth. This is the third year that we're going to see growth in the Irish economy. It is small growth. I was very encouraged, I must say, by the figures that were published a couple of weeks ago. We show that for the first time since 2008, we've seen an increase in the number of people at work in our country. But we have a lot more to do on that front. We have to increase the number of jobs that are being created and we have to increase the amount of investment in our country.
[Foster:] You took 85 billion euros worth of loans, didn't you? There was a criticism at the time that the conditions attached to that were draconian and that you wouldn't manage it. You clearly have managed it, because you've actually stuck to those draconian terms to the to the very letter. What do we think the other countries going through the bailout process can learn from that? Because again, there's an accusation that these terms coming out from Brussels are just too strict.
[Gilmore:] Well, I think the first thing is that we showed a determination that we were going to get out of the program, that we were going to implement the program. By showing that determination and by meeting the targets that were set for us, we were able to renegotiate a lot of the terms of that original bailout. We did succeed in getting a very significant reduction in the original interest rate, which had additional interest piled onto us. We succeeded also in getting agreement about issues like the sale of state assets. And of course, recently we succeeded in getting agreement about the repayment of what were called the promissory notes. This was a payment of over $3 billion a year that was required to be put into what was essentially a dead bank. We were able to get agreement from our partners on that because they saw that we were serious about making recovery, that we were serious about implementing the terms of the program, and of getting out to it. We set ourselves determinately as a country to recover from the what had happened in our economy, to get back on our feet, to get back into the market, to recover our economic sovereignty. And we are now doing that. It has been a difficult task. It has been a difficult journey for us. It's been a particularly difficult journey for our people, who stuck with this and who understood that it is necessary to make difficult decisions in order to bring about the stability. And the basis on which investors will have confidence to put their money in a country and to invest in a country where they can make a return and where jobs will be created. And that's our we're now entering a new phase of this, and the phase of this now is to press on with the investment
[Foster:] OK.
[Gilmore:] with the job creation that will make our recovery sustainable.
[Foster:] Eamon Gilmore, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. Much of Europe's main stock indices ended Friday's session in the red in the end. Energy shares dropped. Shares in Total and Shell each fell more than 1 percent. Car makers also fell. Volkswagen was the worst performer on the DAX, down by around two and two thirds of one percent. Renault closed 2.4 percent lower. Zurich SMI the only one up. If we look at the figures over the course of the week, it's not as gloomy. The SMI managed gains of more than 1.5 percent. Stocks on Wall Street are heading lower after a record-breaking run for the Dow. So, it's not too bad, Alison Kosik.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Hi, Max. It looks like with 45 minutes left to go before the closing bell, the Dow's winning streak is coming to an end. A weaker than expected report on consumer sentiment from March weighing on stocks a bit, but what a run it's been for the Dow, ten winning sessions in a row. But we are still on S&P; 500 record watch. It is still within striking distance of its record high. So, you know what day it is? It's only a couple days before St. Patrick's Day, and what better way to celebrate than be with Diageo, the world's biggest spirits maker. And with me right now, joining me, are Greg Kryder, he's the CFO of Diageo North America, thanks for joining us, and Sheila Stanziale.
[Sheila Stanziale, President, Diageo-guinness Usa:] Yes.
[Kosik:] Thank you. It's she's Diageo-Guinness USA president. I want to talk about St. Patrick's Day and Diageo. It's an important day, isn't it?
[Stanziale:] Big day, and big weekend, really, Alison. And we've really started celebrating the holiday already. We promote great brands, like Guinness, Bailey's, and Bushmills this weekend like never before. And for all the consumers out there who will enjoy our big brand, Guinness, they really have a chance to do it two ways. First with a pint of Guinness. We'll serve probably 33 million pints this weekend, or even with a Guinness black lager, a light, crisp, refreshing beer. And we know we're going to sell a lot of those this weekend, too.
[Kosik:] Yes, Guinness is sort of expanding into lager. Why now?
[Stanziale:] Why now? Well, it's the Guinness brand is doing very well. There are a lot of lager drinkers, more lager drinkers in the US, actually, than stout drinkers. And we so our strategy really is to bring the Guinness brand into this gigantic pool of lager drinkers and bring some of those drinkers into the Guinness franchise.
[Kosik:] OK, so Greg, I know the share price has certainly been on quite a run, up what? 30 percent over the past 12 months. Up 60 percent over the past two years. Can this kind of growth continue?
[Greg Kryder, Chief Financial Officer, Diageo North America:] Our business at Diageo is thriving right now, and it's really the result of our the strength of our global brands, our leadership in the US spirits market, as well as an increasing presence in the fast-growing emerging markets. So, we have a proven strategy of investing behind our iconic brands, whether that's Johnnie Walker, or Smirnoff, or Crown Royal, or Captain Morgan, or Guinness, or many others. And we're also in vesting behind new products. Sheila talked about Guinness black lager. We also have for St. Patrick's Day, we have Bushmills Irish Honey, which is a great new variant from Bushmills. And Baileys hazelnut, which is a new flavor that tastes great, like Baileys.
[Kosik:] What kind of pressure has been on the company because of the recession in Europe, especially Southern Europe? I understand that sales have a hit as much as 19 percent in Southern Europe. How are you sort of making up for that?
[Kryder:] Our business here in North America is very robust, and we represent about 30 percent of Diageo's sales, and almost 40 percent of the group's profits. So, the success that we're driving here in North America is having a big impact on our group results.
[Kosik:] And with the economy just globally not really operating on all cylinders, do you see any kind of slack in sales for premium brands and more of a run toward the non-premium brands?
[Kryder:] We actually see quite the opposite. Over the last couple of years, we've seen a move from consumers that more premium-priced products. And I think it's around affordable luxury and people treating themselves to a Tanqueray and tonic or a Johnnie Walker Blue Label. But we see that robustness right now. And fortunately for us, our portfolio is premium-based. It's at the higher end of the price point, so we're taking real advantage of that.
[Kosik:] OK, well thanks so much for joining us. With St. Paddy's day just a couple days away, I'm sure lots of people are going to be dabbling in a little Diageo brands. Max, back to you.
[Foster:] Alison, thank you very much, indeed. Just ahead on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, sailing into troubled waters again. A third Carnival cruise runs into problems in just this week alone, actually. We'll cross live to Miami for the very latest.

[Diaz:] That is the lovely Freida Pinto from the Oscar-winning movie, "Slum Dog Millionaire" with her real-life boyfriend, Dev Patel. Freida is now starring in the blockbuster movie, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." But tonight, Freida is calling herself hideous. She tells the U.K. edition of "In Style" magazine she hates Skyping her boyfriend because of her looks, "I also feel it`s this pressure. Oh, my god. He`s seeing me after two weeks. I hope my hair is OK. It`s hideous. I think even the most beautiful person looks stupid on Skype." All right. Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Carlos Diaz, in for A.J. Hammer. Tonight, slamming skinny stars. At first, that kind of sounds crazy, but it`s true. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you there is outrageous backlash in Hollywood today against stars who dramatically drop weight, from Kelly Osbourne to Jennifer Hudson. When curvy stars get slim, the thin-bashing begins. Here we are with a very personal take right now. It`s author and confidence expert, Jess Weiner, who wrote a very, very personal article, an amazing article in September`s "Glamour Magazine" about her own dramatic weight loss journey. Now, you got a major reality check about your weight when your doctor basically said, diet or else. Jess, knowing that your whole platform is about taking on Hollywood`s weight obsession and accepting your body as is, what went through your mind when your doctor said the D-word to you?
[Jess Weiner, Author And Confidence Expert:] Right. And a quick correction on that, Carlos. She actually didn`t say, "Diet or else." She said you are dangerously close to being pre-diabetic. And I had to face the fact as a body image expert and confidence expert for 17 years that I did love my body and I do love my body, but I wasn`t doing enough to take care of my health, and that was the wake-up call. So she was familiar that I don`t endorse diets. I don`t think diets work, but that I was up for a lifestyle change, and that included weight loss as well as looking at a whole other variety of numbers that most women don`t look at blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. So for me, it was quite a provocative wake-up call considering what I do for a living.
[Diaz:] OK. In your piece, you also address stars getting slammed for losing so much weight. Jennifer Hudson confessed to losing 80 pounds and now claims to wear a size zero and that has caused a firestorm on blogs everyhwere. People are think that Jennifer is yet another Hollywood star who claimed to love her curves and now is super thin. So Jess, to our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint, is it surprising that stars are getting bashed for losing weight?
[Weiner:] No, it`s not surprising. And I know we`ve talked about this a lot here on SHOWBIZ. You know, we bash them when they`re thin. We bash them had they`re fat. We bash them when they`re old. We bash them when they`re, you know, young. It`s like Hollywood women, especially, are never allowed to be right where they are. But when it comes to weight, we as a public and especially women in this country, it`s such a sensitive topic. And we love our stars, we love our celebrities and we get very attached to what they look like and what they represent for us. And when they make a health change or a physical change, and we don`t know which it is sometimes because we don`t live in their bodies. But when we see them physically change, we have an emotional reaction to it. And sometimes, people don`t like seeing a heavier person become thinner because it`s challenging. It`s upsetting. It feels like they`re selling out and giving in to a thin ideal. But I know now from personal experience as well that there`s an opportunity to have moderate health transformation that doesn`t have to be obsessive.
[Diaz:] Well, I want to move on to another topic right now, because this just broke today. "Friends with Benefits" star, Mila Kunis, has just talked about losing 20 pounds for her role in "Black Swan." And in an explosive new interview with "Glamour U.K." revealed today, she says if you want to lose weight, you can do it. Mila says, "When people say I can`t lose weight no, no, no, you can. Your body can do everything and anything. You just have to want to do it." All right, Jess. Let me just give you my opinion real quick here. I don`t agree at all, because, OK, you can want to do it, but if you have four kids and you`re scraping by on $22,000 a year and you`re working three jobs, you might want to lose weight, but you can`t because you don`t have time, correct?
[Weiner:] I agree. I think that there are so many women out there probably shaking their heads at this comment. But I do want to kind of come in the middle and have a moderate take on this, which is that actresses and actors are like athletes. They use their body for a particular craft and vehicle. They train. They lose weight. They gain weight. They add muscle. They take away muscle. We can`t compare them on the same national scale as the rest of us out there. And especially to your point when you`re a working mom, when you`re a, you know, dad out there trying to make a good living for your kids. It`s not the most you don`t have the most time to spend on losing weight and thinking about it so easy. It has to be health transformation. It has to be slow and steady. And we can`t hold ourselves to Hollywood`s standards. Hollywood`s reality of beauty is not reality at all.
[Diaz:] We`ve got 30 seconds. I want to add to that. But a star I don`t think a star has anyplace talking about what other people should do when it comes to weight loss because a star`s job is to look a certain way. And they have the means to hire nutritionists, a trainer, anything they want to get to a certain weight.
[Weiner:] Right.
[Diaz:] I want to get your opinion on that. We have 20 seconds.
[Weiner:] Yes. I agree. I think that I don`t know exactly where her comments were intended. But certainly, for the watchers out there of SHOWBIZ, they know losing weight and staying healthy and being fit inside and out is a really important thing in their lives. And I just hope people are doing it for the right reasons and they`re doing it slow and steady and not to match someone else`s ideals.
[Diaz:] Jessica Weiner, great talk. Thank you so much. And check out the entire article about Jess` journey in this month`s "Glamour Magazine." It`s on newsstands now. It`s a great article. All right. Moving on, Matt Damon for president? Why Michael Moore thinks Matt should be in the White House. The new cash king of hip-hop. And Ashton Kutcher`s the cash king of the TV world. More details in "The Buzz Today."
[Text:] Bruce Willis in negotiations to star in "G.I. Joe" movie sequel. Paul Rudd gets movie titan Harvey Weinstein in front of the camera.
[Unidentified Male:] So anyway, I had such a great time and our idiot brother. I`m so proud of the film. I had some marketing ideas. Yes, I know you`re the master of this now, so I don`t want to overstep my bounds, but I think you`re going to like some of these. Is that toilet paper? Yes. Yes, I was on the bus. OK. You know how trailers happen before the movies? What if we put our trailers in the middle of the movie, like, interrupt it,

[Costello:] In today's "Daily Dose" of health news, health regulators have given the ok to a generic version of Boniva. It's one of the world's biggest selling osteoporosis drugs. Generic versions of popular drugs usually hit the market after their patents expire and often cost half as much as the original. The National Institutes of Health says about 40 million Americans have osteoporosis or are at a high risk for it and about 1 in 5 women over 50 actually have the disease. The big NFL news out today coming out of Denver, the Bronco's close to signing [inaudible] free agent Peyton Manning and that's prompting Super Bowl talk in the Mile High City and some sadness over Tim Tebow. Lindsay Jones is the Bronco's beat writer at the Denver Post. Lindsay, welcome.
[Lindsay Jones, Denver Post:] Hi, thanks for having me.
[Costello:] We're delighted you're here because it must be an emotional time in Denver because of Tim Tebow.
[Jones:] Yes, there's a lot of bronco's fans who are really excited about the fact that Peyton Manning is about to be their new starting quarterback but it is a little bittersweet because the ride that Tim Tebow took this fan base on last year was one of the most exciting things that's ever happened in franchise history and certainly the most exciting ride that they have been on since their Super Bowls during the John Elway era. So the fact that Peyton Manning is coming here, it is signaling the end of Tim Tebow's time in Denver, and that is a little bittersweet, but I think more so than anything people are excited about the fact that Peyton Manning, the biggest free agent in the NFL, is coming here and automatically going to make the broncos a legitimate AFC contender.
[Costello:] It's all about winning, winning, winning. But let's face it, Lindsay, Tim Tebow did what they wanted him to. Team made the playoffs. He did it humbly. He never complained. He did what he was supposed to. And now we have Peyton Manning and so let's throw Tim Tebow to the sidelines.
[Jones:] Yes you know what; it was an interesting situation and kind of a dangerous game the Bronco's were playing here when they went all in on the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. Because if Peyton Manning had chosen to go somewhere else, had he gone to Tennessee or San Francisco or Arizona, John Elway would have he showed all his cards there, and, you know, it would have been really difficult I think to go back in to Tim Tebow and say, no, we really do want you to be our guy because they went in so hard on Peyton Manning. Really the only decision they have left is that they have to move Tim Tebow and they're going to start working on that basically as soon as the ink is dry on Peyton Manning's contract here.
[Costello:] It will be interesting. Lindsay Jones, thank you so much for joining us this morning. That does it for me. Let's throw it over to Kyra Phillips because I know you have a busy hour ahead.

[Holmes:] All right. Coming up on the bottom of the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Glad you're here with us. And a live picture of the nation's capital where they're getting back to business today. First order of business is actually trying to take up a repeal of the health care reform bill. They're getting under way with a debate on that today. Expecting a vote tomorrow. And then after that who knows. But they are getting started back to work after taking a week off last week in respect for the victims of the shooting out in Tucson, Arizona. But again, welcome back to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
[Chetry:] I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. A look at the top stories now. And a big boost in the polls. We have a new CNNOpinion Research poll that came out just an hour and a half ago showing 53 percent approve of President Obama's job performance. That's a five-point jump than when we last did this polling back in December. Also an 11-point jump since September. The latest poll was taken just after the Tucson shootings.
[Holmes:] And I know what you're thinking. It doesn't cost you enough for your flight ticket, does it? Well, it's going to cost a little more now. Christine Romans sitting next to me just cringing here. Delta and United are the two that are going to be hiking their fares on their domestic flights. So when it comes to Delta, it's going to increase some $20 for a round trip ticket. United prices are going to up about $10 per round trip.
[Chetry:] Well, you pull in, you plug in and you shop. A growing number of retail outlets across the country are installing charging stations to accommodate owners of electric vehicles. Some charge for the service at the Mall of America. For example, it's three bucks an hour. But at many other locations, it is free. So if you have one of those new cars, they're starting to accommodate you a little bit more in many places.
[Holmes:] We'll turn to Haiti now, where people are still scratching their heads trying to figure out why "Baby Doc" is back. He is the former dictator of Haiti, returned after some 25 years in exile is drawing a lot of criticism. Also drawing some protests from Haitian- Americans in Miami. They remember what life was like under his regime.
[Jean-robert Lafortune, Chair, Haitian-american Justice Coalition:] Those of us who grew up in the era of the dictatorship, we still remember those nights. We still remember those shootings. The presence of "Baby Doc" Duvalier in Haiti doesn't bring good news.
[Holmes:] Everybody waiting for "Baby Doc" to explain his reasons. Supposed to be having another scheduled, at least, press conference after one was canceled already. Our John Zarrella live for us in Port-au-Prince this morning. John, how is he being received and do we think we're actually going to see him come out and address reporters and answer some of these questions?
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] I've been down here enough times over the last 25 years, T.J., that you never know really what to expect. We certainly think that at 10:00 a.m. this morning, there will be a press conference. We believe it will be "Baby Doc" Duvalier who will speak and explain why he came down here. The reason we've been given so far is he finally had seen enough of these horrible images of Haiti after the earthquake and decided that he absolutely had to be here to be with the people here and to see how they were feeling and to talk with them. That's the reason we were given by a close friend of his yesterday. We hope to get answers from him a little later this morning. Now, on another front a lot of things could be moving very fluid here today. There are people apparently a meeting with sources telling us a meeting last night perhaps involving some government officials where they are trying to figure out what they can do or what action can they take against Duvalier. Could they arrest him? Could they file a criminal complaint against him? So we expect that there may be some movement on that front. The question, T.J., is Duvalier says he's only here two or three days. If they do file a criminal complaint and someone does file a criminal complaint against him, will that get filed in time before he takes off and leaves the country again if he leaves the country, T.J..
[Holmes:] All right. A lot of ifs right now. We'll see. 10:00 press conference could be a couple of hours from now. John Zarrella, we appreciate you. We'll check in again.
[Chetry:] Also just in this morning, Facebook appearing to backtrack on its latest plan to give application developers access to your address and phone number. Christine Romans is "Minding your Business" this morning. This news just crossing, again a bit of a black eye, PR wise, for Facebook when it comes to privacy which they've been hammered about for a long time.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] You know, they've been hammered again and again about this ever changing privacy regime over there at Facebook and then these things still happen. So there was a developer blog for Facebook that quietly last week announced it would allow applications to have your phone number and your address, some of these applications when you click allow and it wasn't released in a press release. It wasn't released to Facebook users in a way they could understand the context of how this would be used and it was such an outcry about it that at 2:30 in the morning last night, Facebook said "OK, stop. We're not going to do that for now until we communicate better how this is going to work." But bottom line here is that if you click allow, the little box that says allow, Facebook can share your information with applications. Your information like your phone number and your address. There was a statement you saw for yourself but you know, over the weekend it was such an outcry that Facebook had to stop doing this. But the criticism has been steady and consistent. That you don't know what is being shared. You don't have control over what's being shared of your personal information when you are using these applications on Facebook. Facebook specifically said we have rules. We have the applications
[Chetry:] What this does what this fuels is this feeling among Facebook users that why is it always up to us to discover that our privacy is potentially being breached? Why is always up to us to discover and this just feeds into the whole argument of a little bit of a sneaky bait and switch with some of these sites like Facebook.
[Romans:] I think the take away from us, I mean, if you look at a story like this is that when you click that little button that says allow because you want to do some quiz about your best friend from high school who you haven't talked to in 20 years, you know, be prepared that that application is going to be able to see your phone number and your address and all these other information about you and that application, in some cases, we have seen then that information has been sold to third parties. So there's no such thing as privacy online. I think that's the bottom line here. There's really no such thing as privacy online. You are responsible for protecting yourself. And when you go on these social media social media, by the way is meant to share as much information to widest variety of people there is.
[Chetry:] Some of it now is that your digital imprint or online imprint maybe in some cases do share credit card information with a certain site. But because everything is merging, you are left wondering, OK, because they have my credit card number does this mean Facebook?
[Romans:] Exactly. And that's why we feel as though even when we allow our information to be shared in certain places we're not really confident that that is where it stops
[Chetry:] Right.
[Romans:] That it's out of our control. Facebook really suffering a black eye over this middle of the night, dark of the night changing its policy. I know.
[Holmes:] Christine, we appreciate you as always.
[Chetry:] Thanks, Christine. Well, do you remember this quote, this famous quote? Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.
[Holmes:] Love it.
[Chetry:] Dean Wormer told that to Bluto in "Animal House." A new study now shows that close to half of students are totally wasting their first two years in college. They had to do a study no, I'm kidding. But this is on the front page of "USA Today" this morning. The report says that after two years in college, 45 percent of students showed no significant learning gains either because they spent too much time socializing or sleeping. Perhaps only nine percent of time working and going to class and only seven percent actually studying.
[Romans:] At $24,000 a year in student debt, that's an expensive way to spend two years.
[Chetry:] Well, you're saying you learn important social skills.
[Romans:] At 24 grand a year. Ouch.
[Holmes:] It was cheaper when I went to school. I don't feel so bad.
[Romans:] I went to a state school.
[Holmes:] As well did I. It was cheaper then. It all worked out. All right. It's 35 minutes past the hour. Coming up this morning, another week, another winter storm but this one got a new twist on this one. Our Jacqui Jeras is going to be along to explain what you need to know about this latest system and how it's going to affect you.
[Chetry:] Also, Congressman Giffords said to have smiled at her husband. And why doctors believe that as well as some of the other leaps that she has been making in her recovery are so significant. We're going to talk more about that, coming up.

[Cho:] Whitney Houston, that unmistakable voice. Undeniably a star, with very public problems. A high-profile marriage, then a divorce, drug problems, the list goes on. So, what's she doing now? Our Brooke Anderson has our report.
[Text:] WHERE ARE THEY NOW? [MUSIC "I Will Always Love You"]
[Brooke Anderson, Cnn Entertainment Correspondent:] The year was 1992, and 29-year-old Whitney Houston hit a career high note with ten chart-topping singles and a pair of Grammy awards.
[Rachel Marron, "the Bodyguard":] The only thing I can figure is for you to take me out.
[Anderson:] It was also the year she debuted on the big screen in "The Bodyguard" and tied the knot with R&B; bad boy Bobby Brown. [MUSIC "Humpin Around"]
[Whitney Houston, Singer/actress:] I got married, I was "The Bodyguard," I was pregnant and had a baby, and "The Bodyguard," and "I Will Always Love You" was at its peak, and everything was running so fast. So, I just after "Preacher's Wife," I just stopped the train for a minute. I just stopped it.
[Unidentified Male:] Whitney!
[Anderson:] But the controversy was just beginning. Houston's marriage with Brown was tumultuous as his legal problems constantly made headlines, and she herself battled drug addiction. The couple divorced in 2007.
[Text:] MAY. WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
[Houston:] After all that I've been through
[Anderson:] In 2009, Houston made a comeback, releasing "I Look to You," her first studio album in seven years.
[Houston:] It was really kind of, like, really cool to go to a grocery store, be shopping, and go, "When you coming with your album?" It humbled me, and it kind of like said, OK. I think I want to do this just one more time.
[Anderon:] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, but her spring tour was reportedly plagued with vocal difficulties. Her reps blamed an upper respiratory infection. In September, Houston lent her support to Alicia Keys' Keep a Child Alive benefit in New York. And this month, she took the stage for a surprise duet with singer Kim Burrell at BET's "Celebration of Gospel," which airs in January.
[Houston:] Will always love you
[Anderson:] Whitney Houston may not be the same entertainer she was at 29, but at 47, she's a survivor.
[Houston:] I look to you
[Anderson:] Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
[Houston:] I look to you
[Cho:] As a million people begin to gather in New York's Times Square to ring in 2011, an army of police will be working to make sure the event is safe. There's a live look at Times Square. We're going to look at the precautions that are being taken before one of the biggest celebrations in the world.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone. Just shy of the top of the hour, I'm Don Lemon. Let's get you up to speed right now. Osama bin Laden's sons claim the United States government executed their father and should be held accountable under international law. Omar bin Laden says U.S. commandos assassinated an unarmed man. He writes in a letter his father should have been presumed innocent, arrested, and tried at court. The letter was sent to Jean Sasson, who co-wrote the book "Growing Up Bin Laden." Now, Sasson says to remember Omar is approaching this from an emotional vantage point like any son would.
[Jean Sasson, Co-author, "growing Up Bin Laden":] Omar only knew his father as a big hero after the Afghan War and the Russians leaving. And then, think about this one minute your father's a hero, the next he's the world's biggest enemy. So the whole thing was very painful for him all of these years.
[Lemon:] A senior U.S. official angrily rejects the charges from the bin Ladens. Quoting here, "There is an inherent right of self- defense. This is a man who is a terrorist, who declared war on the United States, killed Americans, and continued to plan operations against the U.S. and its allies."
[Newt Gingrich , Fmr. House Speaker:] At times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard, and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate.
[Lemon:] That was Newt Gingrich back in March trying to explain his adultery and ethics problems that ended his tenure as House Speaker in 1999. Well, today, he launches the ultimate comeback attempt. Gingrich formally announced on Twitter and Facebook he is running for president. The first major Republican to take that step. The Navy does an about-face on same-sex marriages. A memo from the Navy's chief of chaplains last month would have allowed gays to marry on military bases. That's once the Pentagon fully scraps "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Now, a month later, a new memo suspends the guidance until further policy and legal review. California police say a shooting at San Jose State University appears to be a murder-suicide. The gunman shot and killed two people in the campus parking garage, then apparently took his own life. Police haven't said if the dead were San Jose students. Syrian forces are intensifying their crackdown on anti- government protesters today. The BBC reports Syrian army tanks are shelling Homs, Syria's third largest city. The U.N. again pleaded with Syria to embrace reforms and end the violence and mast arrests.
[Unidentified Male:] Just on this 60 acres, I'm looking at you know, I'm not going to say a loss, but a total input that I have got to make up somewhere else of $10,000, $15,000 just off of one field.
[Lemon:] Listen to this. A million acres of farmland, flooded in Arkansas. Just Arkansas, a million acres. The state's farm bureau estimates damage to crops could top half a billion dollars. The Mississippi River flood surge is pushing south into the delta region today. Prime farmland there. Louisiana's governor expects three million acres in his state will go under water. We have more details now on that statement from the sons of Osama bin Laden, accusing the U.S. of executing their father. CNN's Deborah Feyerick joins us now from New York. So, Deb, what more can you tell us about the statement? And how is the U.S. responding now?
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, the White House is going to be having its noon briefing soon, and we do expect to get a response from them. We did get a response from the vice president, Joe Biden, who was in the Situation Room with the president as they watched this mission unfold about 11 days ago. His reaction to the bin Laden letter, "You're kidding?" Now, the sons of Osama bin Laden are not completely convinced that their father is dead. They said that they want conclusive proof like the photos and video that they say exists. They are not sure that he is dead because they didn't see his body before it was buried at sea. The sons, including Osama bin Laden's son, Omar bin Laden, who publicly condemned his father, are calling the U.S. action a violation of international law, saying that they want an investigation specifically "into the fundamental question as to why our father was not arrested and tried, but summarily executed without a court of law." Now, a senior U.S. official reacted angrily to this bin Laden letter. In his words, he says, "There is an inherent right of self- defense enshrined in the U.N. charter within Article 51. This is a man who is a terrorist, who declared war on the United States, killed Americans, and continued to plan operations against the U.S. and its allies." Now, this particular statement came through an American author. The bin Laden statement, the letter, came through an American author who helped Omar bin Laden co-author his biography, "Growing up Bin Laden." She said that the family is reacting as any family would on the death of a father. We spoke to her earlier today.
[Sasson:] Omar only knew his father as a big hero after the Afghan War and the Russians leaving. And then, think about this one minute your father is a hero, the next he's the world's biggest enemy. So the whole thing was very painful for him all of these years. I think they always felt that some even Omar, in the past, has said, well, maybe there can be a meeting and there be a truce like there was with the IRA in England when there had been so much killing. And then they had a truce and the killing was stopped. Omar was an optimistic person about peace and stopping the killing. He's a young man who probably the only person around Osama who was brave enough to actually argue with him about the path he's taken, and that's the reason Omar left Afghanistan.
[Feyerick:] And Omar bin Laden said that his father deserved a trial much like Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian president, both of whom were tried for crimes against humanity. Take a listen to what Omar had to say about his own dad.
[Omar Bin Laden, Osama Bin Laden's Son:] I'd like to say to my father, try to find another way to help or to find your goal, and this is wrong. Or this is weapon
[Unidentified Female:] Weapons.
[Laden:] weapons. It's not good to use it for anybody.
[Feyerick:] And the bin Ladens are asking for a return of any family member who continues to live in Pakistan Don.
[Lemon:] All right, Deborah. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. Very quickly, let's bring in our Carol Costello, because we're going to give you a chance to "Talk Back." The question is, since bin Laden is gone, should the U.S. get out of Afghanistan?
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] It's a good question, isn't it? I mean, have you asked yourself lately, why are we in Afghanistan anyway? What's our mission there? Osama bin Laden is dead, al Qaeda is scattered. The Taliban, those still active, are no longer running the country. Some members of Congress say it's time to reevaluate.
[Sen. Richard Lugar , Indiana:] We're are overstretched in terms of our defense budget and our military. And so we're going to have to think very carefully about our objectives.
[Costello:] President Obama says we need to be there to help Afghans stabilize their country. The Afghan government is still fragile. Women continue to suffer unspeakable atrocities. And it remains to be seen whether any peace deal can or should be brokered with the Taliban. But remember back in 2001 why we went into Afghanistan in the first place? I'll refresh your memory.
[George W. Bush, Former President Of The United States:] These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime.
[Costello:] OK. That was back in October of 2001. Some might say, haven't we done that? Ten years later though, it's still costing the lives of U.S. soldiers, and $10 billion every single month, which Senator Richard Lugar and others say is unsustainable. Lugar says instead of 100,000 troops on the ground, a smaller group, like 15,000 to 20,000, may be enough to fight terror. The administration plans to start withdrawing some troops this summer. The goal, to get most of them out, but by 2014. So, the "Talk Back" question today: Should U.S. troops leave Afghanistan sooner than later? Facebook.comCarolCNN. I'll read some of your comments later this hour.
[Lemon:] My question to you is, can you believe it's been 10 years?
[Costello:] That's crazy.
[Lemon:] Yes. We all remember that very vividly. It doesn't seem like that much time has passed.
[Costello:] And did any of us think we would be in Afghanistan still today, and also in Iraq back in 2001?
[Lemon:] No. Didn't think much about it. Just thought it would be a short mission, as well, as the administration said as well, we weren't going to be there that long. Carol, thank you.
[Costello:] Sure.
[Lemon:] Appreciate it. See you in a bit. Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering over the next hour here on CNN. First, small business owners hurt by the flooding, will they anticipate long-term pain? I'll talk to a restaurant owner in Mississippi coming up. And think manufacturing is dead in America? Well, you better think again. Making cars in the South. Then we take a boat ride to survey the incredible flood damage in one small town. And also, a Memphis high school wins a presidential visit. I'll be talking to a graduating senior. And a 10-year-old caught with a bomb strapped to his body talks about being forced to be a suicide bomber.

[Costello:] People living in the Louisiana Cajun Country know the water is coming they just don't know when and how much. Their homes are in the flood plain created when the Army Corps of Engineer opened a spillway in the hopes of saving more populated areas downstream. Ed Lavandera live in Butte La Rose, Louisiana where people are wondering just how much of their community will be under water, Ed.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, they are trying to figure that out. They were told here in Butte La Rose a few days ago to expect as much as 15 feet of water. But you talk to people around here, not everyone believes it will be that bad. They will take on water, though. Obviously, people around here preparing for the worst. The parish president here in Butte La Rose told me a little while ago, that he believes about 90 percent of this town has already evacuated. In upstream from where we are in St. Landry Parish, there were mandatory evacuation orders that went out yesterday. We saw several hundred people gathering up their homes and collecting everything and heading out. So this is the Chafalaya River. All of the water from the Morganza spillway has been dumped into this river. What happening is as it comes downstream here, it kind of turns the bends and heads into the tributaries and small creeks. And it's that backwater flooding that many residents are worried about here, but this will take a long time to happen. In fact, the parish president here in Butte La Rose says, it is a slow and painful thing to watch this river slowly rise.
[Guy Cormier, President, St. Martin Parish:] I guess, the sentiment of the people here and just the atmosphere is that people just know it's coming. They're nervous about it and they're watching it very closely. And we know that we're going to get the water. It's just a matter of when it's going to be here. I don't know, it's a weird feeling. Here it is, sitting on this beautiful cool morning, watching this beautiful sunrise, we're going to be knee deep in water here before too long.
[Lavandera:] And we'll give everybody a chance to watch the waters here in Butte La Rose rise slowly as well. If you go to cnn.comlive, we hooked up a Louisiana flooding webcam here in the Butte La Rose community. You can see the perspective that we have there. You can see part of the water and the homes that could very well be flooded out by this. We'll see how long we'll be able to watch that as the floodwater start to rise in. The parish president says he will issue mandatory evacuation orders by the end of the week, Carol.
[Costello:] Ed Lavandera live. Thank you so much. Checking stories cross country now. In Minnesota, an airport spokesperson says a captain for Air Tran was removed from a plane for suspicion of being drunk. Police were alerted after a TSA agent said the captain smelled like alcohol at a security checkpoint. Shirley Sherrod it back to work at the USDA. She'll be helping the Department of Agriculture improve its relations with minority farmers and ranchers. Sherrod was fired as director of Rural Development in July after a misleading videotape showed her making racially insensitive remarks. In Connecticut, the senior who got banned from the prom after taping 12-inch letters to the side of the school can now go to the dance. School officials originally said his nighttime stunt was trespassing. Now the headmaster is reversing her decision because of the international notoriety it caused. If baseball fan has a hall of fame, Zack Hample would have his own wing with more baseballs you can count. Hample has made a career out of hanging out at Major League ballparks and snagging baseballs. He caught three foul balls at one Baltimore-Orioles game last week. Three foul balls at one game. Zach's career is far from over, but he's closing in on a milestone, 5,000 baseballs caught. Zach has also written a book "The Baseball," which includes tips on snagging balls at Major League games. Zach joins us from New York to impart some of that wisdom. Welcome, Zach.
[Unidentified Male:] Thanks for having me.
[Costello:] First of all, why do you enjoy catching foul balls so much?
[Zack Hample, Author, "the Baseball":] I just love baseball more than words can describe. And call me spoiled, but even as a fan, I guess I like to be a participant. And baseball more than any other sport allows me to do that. I just I feel really connected to the game when I catch one.
[Costello:] But, I mean, how many do you need to catch?
[Hample:] You know, I just my goal when I was little was just to catch one baseball. I went to a game when I was 6, but I didn't catch one until I was 12. When you're little and you experience something great, you just want to do it more and more. I have an obsessive personality in general so I've stuck with it.
[Costello:] You've done it more than 4,000 times. So, how do you position yourself at the ballpark in the stand to catch a foul ball?
[Hample:] The number one rule is to make sure that you have some room to run left or right. The worst mistake you can make is to be trapped in the middle of a long row of fans. So Camden yards in Baltimore where these are the three foul balls I caught is a great stadium for catching baseballs because there's cross aisle that runs through the seats. And there's also a standing room only section in the right field, which is great for home runs. A lot of new ballparks are being built without standing room and without cross aisles so you don't really have the chance to move around. Beyond that I just try to position myself differently for left- handed and right-handed batters. I look at the pitching match ups and you know, if a guy throws really slow, I'll know that the batters going to pull the ball. If he throws a 96-mile-an-hour fastball in the zone, guys are more likely to foul it back. So you kind of look at the game like that.
[Costello:] Interesting. Do you have to fight off other fans?
[Hample:] You know, there's a misconception that I must have if I've caught over 5,000 balls that I must have knocked down 5,000 kids. I've never knocked down anybody. I've given a lot of baseballs away to kids. Sometimes, isn't the heat of the moment, there's some scuffles that go on. But I always seem to be at the bottom of it and not the one causing the problems.
[Costello:] Well, good luck in catching your 5,000th ball. Somehow, I think you're going to make it. Zack Hample, thanks for joining us this morning.
[Hample:] Thank you.
[Costello:] We have some on-the-field sports highlights ahead. Including the Chicago Bulls taking the lead in their NBA playoff series with Miami. And Jose Bautista, isn't he amazing three home runs in one game? Also coming up, three hot questions in two of the brightest, politically savvy minds on television, actually three. A comedian, that's the third. He's described as a would-be offspring of Will Rogers in Gallagher. Our political buzz is next.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed. You are looking at live pictures at Bittersweet Farm. That is in Stratham, New Hampshire, where Mitt Romney is about to make it official. The former Massachusetts governor will formally announce his 2012 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He will also take some jabs at President Obama. We have live coverage momentarily.
[Unidentified Male:] Let me in! Let me in! Let me in!
[Malveaux:] Terrifying moments in western Massachusetts, where rare tornadoes leave at least four people dead. The governor sent 1,000 National Guard troops to western Massachusetts for search and rescue. Damage is spread across 19 communities. Some homes were flattened.
[Unidentified Female:] The front of the building collapsed, and she would have been dead.
[Unidentified Male:] Big, heavy wind and a lot of banging. Just, you can hear the debris hitting cars, windows. Alarms started going off.
[Unidentified Female:] I'm very horrified. I'm a Springfield native, and I've never seen nothing like this ever.
[Malveaux:] The Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to release huge amounts of water into the upper Missouri River. That's expected to create flooding for the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, and eventually Missouri. Heavy winter snowfall and spring rains have reservoirs on Missouri filled to the brim. In Orlando, day eight of testimony in the murder trial of Casey Anthony, the young mother charged with killing her toddler. Anthony's brother told jurors about an explosive fight between his sister and mother. Lee Anthony says it ended with his sister admitting that daughter Caylee had been missing for a month. He also became the third family member to describe a decaying odor in Casey Anthony's car.
[Unidentified Male:] What do you recall about the smell of the car?
[Lee Anthony, Casey Anthony's Brother:] Just that it was very potent, very strong.
[Unidentified Male:] Was it an offensive smell?
[Anthony:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] Did you approach the car?
[Anthony:] I had to walk by to get to the door, but otherwise not by choice.
[Malveaux:] The husband and wife who kidnapped 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard in 1991 are being sentenced in California today. Phillip and Nancy Garrido pleaded guilty in April. Both have agreed to lengthy prison terms and waived any appeals. Phillip Garrido fathered two children with Dugard during her 18-year captivity. Distant gunfire breaks the night silence in Yemen. Government forces battling tribal fighters for 11 days now. Witnesses say that hundreds, perhaps 1,000, tribesmen are advancing on Sanaa now to join the fight against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. With the anti-government protesters standing their ground on Syria's streets, Syrian troops are said to be shelling Rastan today, an historic town dating to the Roman Empire. Dozens of people have been killed in the latest rounds of protests, and human rights groups say 900 have died since protests erupted in March. Russia today banned all fresh vegetable imports from European Union countries. Officials also ordered supermarkets to clear European produce from their shelves. An E. coli outbreak has killed 16 people in Europe and made 1,000 people sick. Chinese scientists call this particular strain of E. coli bacteria super toxic. Dow Jones stocks are skidding again today, blue chips are down by 89 points or so. The Dow tumbled 280 points Wednesday, the biggest drop we've seen in 2011. Investors worried after economic reports this week indicate the recovery may be now stalling. More now on the political story unfolding right now, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney formally announcing his run for the White House. Many consider Romney the early frontrunner in the race for the GOP nomination. CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley, she's joining us live from Stratham, New Hampshire. That is where Romney is making his announcement. Candy, great to see you. I know it's still a little windy out there for you. Romney plans to, from what we know in some remarks released, really go after President Obama on jobs and the economy. What do you make of that early strategy?
[Candy Crowley, Cnn Chief Political Correspondent:] Well, I make of it that he wants to be seen as the frontrunner, because when you're the frontrunner, you go after who you hope will be your eventual adversary, and that of course is President Obama. So there is that, especially when you have an announcement. You know, you don't take out after your Republican colleagues, you take out after the person who you're actually targeting, so there's that. There's also this place to what the Romney camp believes is their strength, and that is his business acumen. They say this is a guy who has created jobs, this is a guy who understands how to take failing businesses and make them successes. This is a guy who turned the Olympics around in 2002 in Salt Lake City, when everyone thought it would be a financial bust. So they want to play on that resume really heavily and contrast it to President Obama, and say look, you know, we took a chance on this young man and he didn't have that much experience. And now look, he's failed. The economy is a failure and here's what we need to do. So that's what you're going to see today, because this is not a man who particularly wants to talk about the social issues or anything else. He thinks the number one issue when voters go to the poll a year from November is going to be the economy and jobs.
[Malveaux:] Candy, what is it like out there? Can you paint a picture for us? What is the mood?
[Crowley:] Well, you know, actually, what's interesting is that while this is certainly what former governor Romney wants to pivot on, is the economy, that's what everybody here is talking about. I will tell you that. But, you know, it's picnic, it's a gorgeous day. We have the requisite hay bales which work both in New Hampshire and Iowa, by the way. We have the barn. We have the picturesque stuff, and the folks waiting for the candidate who is going to partake of some of the food here, which includes his wife's chili recipe. So it's your basic big-time down-home, you know, sort of feel to it, and this is how campaigns start. What can I tell you?
[Malveaux:] Sure. And what do we think about the last go-round? We know that Romney's Mormon faith was an issue for some voters. Do we think that's going to be an issue this go-round?
[Crowley:] Listen, you know, it was an issue last time, but looking at some of the stats that came in afterwards, it was a marginal issue. So if it's a marginal race, then yes. And where does this hurt him the most, if it does hurt him, his Mormonism? That's with Evangelical Christians. So, if, say, Romney comes through New Hampshire and he wins, but not big, or there's some reason to say, oh, the race is still cloudy, when he goes south, which would be South Carolina, then maybe you have the possibility that he can't have, like, a clean win, a knockout win. But most people that have looked at the last race say, yes, it was a factor, but largely the people who are bothered by the fact that he's a Mormon are bothered by other things, at what they see is his changing positions on gay marriage and on abortion. So he didn't have the voters anyway, at least that's how the theory goes.
[Malveaux:] OK. Candy Crowley, thank you so much. Enjoy the afternoon, perhaps partake in a little chili or something.
[Crowley:] Thanks.
[Malveaux:] All right. We'll check back in with you in a bit. Thanks. Here's a look at what's ahead this hour "On the Rundown." Tornadoes slam Massachusetts. How some people had to run for their lives.
[Unidentified Male:] Let me in!
[Malveaux:] And Congressman Anthony Weiner, his political and personal story. Then, the Casey Anthony trial, her brother taking the stand. And Detroit's public school system, it has been called a national disgrace.
[Unidentified Male:] We've lost over 50 percent of our students. We have got to right-size this school system here.
[Malveaux:] Finally, what does it take to become one of the best spellers in the country? We're going to talk with a former contender.

[Anderson:] Well, she is worshipped by some, she is ridiculed by others. Sarah Palin burst onto the political scene three years ago after former presidential candidate John McCain chose her, you'll remember, as his running mate. Until then, the self-described hockey mum had only served as governor of Alaska for two years. Her previous job was mayor of a small Alaskan town called Wasilla. Sarah Palin has ruled herself out of the 2012 US presidential race, but that doesn't make her any less of a powerful and intriguing political figure. In fact, she's now the focus for filmmaker Nick Broomfield. Earlier this week I spoke to him about his latest documentary out tonight aptly called "Sarah Palin: You Betcha!" I asked him why he decided to make a film about her. This is what he said.
[Nick Broomfield, Director, "sarah Palin: You Betcha!":] She represents an enormous change in the Republican Party, and I think she was also this phenomenon that just swept onto the stage surrounded by lots of kids. And I kind of wondered, along with everybody else, where did she come from and who is she and what was her background and what kind of made Sarah Palin Sarah Palin?
[Anderson:] You began this film by getting Sarah Palin to promise to be interviewed by you.
[Broomfield:] Right.
[Anderson:] You betcha.
[Broomfield:] You betcha.
[Anderson:] What happened?
[Broomfield:] Well, we went along, talked to her at a book signing. She couldn't have been more happy to see us and cooperative and I said, "We're doing a documentary film, would you be in it?" And she batted those wonderful eyelids and said, "You betcha, I could." [Begin Video Clip, "sarah Palin: You Betcha!"]
[Sarah Palin, Former Governor Of Alaska:] Well, I'll betcha I could do that.
[Broomfield:] Could you do that?
[Palin:] Yes.
[Broomfield:] That'd be fantastic!
[Palin:] Yes.
[Broomfield:] But I believed her. I believed her, and we carried on contacting her lawyer and negotiating and stuff. And then, I think after about two months, I started believing that this was going to be very difficult, and it was very frustrating. But then I think, Sarah Palin only really talks on Fox News and only to people who sort of throw her softball questions. She doesn't really want to deal with anything very substantial.
[Anderson:] So, you went off to Wasilla.
[Broomfield:] Went to Wasilla. It was unfortunately in the middle of the winter, so it was already sort of minus 25 by the time we got there. And it's a teeny little community, 5,000 people, 76 churches, extremely evangelical. And at first, very welcoming. And then, as the nights grew darker and they got colder still, there was a kind of you get a sense that the town is split between those who are pro-Sarah Palin and those who are very much against her.
[Anderson:] Did you come up against a lot of resistance from those were pro-Sarah Palin?
[Broomfield:] I think what's happened is that she was enormously powerful, particularly mayor, governor. And I think there's a lot of fear in the town. So, it wasn't just that people were sort of against us making the film, it was more that people who were actually against her and were tempted to speak up were frightened to do so, because it was a small town, and I think people were just genuinely frightened of losing their jobs.
[Anderson:] Do you think she was an easy target for you?
[Broomfield:] Well, she was a really difficult target, because I rarely, rarely managed to even get her into my sights. I think that it's she's complicated, because part of I think to really understand Sarah Palin, I think you need to understand evangelicals really well. And you also need to understand the incredible change that has happened in the Republican Party. And also, I think Sarah Palin is a populist, and she's changed so much. So, she kind of blows with the wind, wherever she thinks the most support is going to be, she'll go there. And of course, she has God on her side. She believes she's God's anointed one, so she just carries on. So, she's actually much more complicated than you would expect. I think there is I think her friends, obviously, like her for her fun side. There is that side. But I think the one that has been the dominant one is her evangelical, black and white view of the world, very much like God and the devil. And if you're an enemy of Sarah Palin's, she will finish you off. She won't just sort of fire you from your job and have a nice going away party, she'll actually make sure you don't get employed again. I think she has just collected so many enemies, particularly I mean, normally, I think, politicians have the most support in their own hometowns and where people know them. Sarah Palin has the least support in Alaska, and probably even less support in Wasilla, where people know here. And she's ended up pretty much in this very isolated house with these enormous iron gates around it, very rarely goes out into the community. There's some wonderful people, and very brave people in Wasilla, who've been standing up to her despite all the death threats and stuff. I think Wasilla had started off as a very beautiful town. A pioneering town, which was, incidentally, Democrat. A small a few small, little, wooden buildings next to the Alaska railroad, surrounded by the most beautiful mountains. And it changed into this community with a super highway going right through it, which Sarah Palin engineered, and all these enormous super stores. You feel it's a lost opportunity of something that could have been fantastic. Wasilla was originally kind of its origins went back to FDR with the New Deal, when he sent pioneers to Alaska to sort of set a new world up. And it's very sad, I think, what's happened there.
[Anderson:] Amazing stuff. Nick Broomfield, talking about his new documentary, which is out tonight, "Sarah Palin: You Betcha!" You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN, and it's a Friday evening in London, 47 minutes past 9:00. When we come back, a European treaty with a global impact. Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers gives us his take on Europe's financial reforms. Do stay with us.

[Carl Azuz, Cnn Anchor:] There are loud cars, there are quiet cars. People are saying, some cars are too quiet, and now the governments getting involved. I`m Carl Azuz. We are hitting the gas on the new edition of CNN STUDENT NEWS. Newtown, Connecticut, Aurora, Colorado, Tucson, Arizona when a mass shooting happens like we`ve seen in those cities, the issue of gun control often comes up. President Obama has said he wants to take action on this, he`s put Vice President Joe Biden in charge of coming up with ideas on how to reduce gun violence. Vice President Biden`s task force is getting input from people with many different view points. Yesterday, I`ve met with gun safety organizations and victims from some of these shootings. Now, they are pushing for stricter gun control. Today, the task force is set to meet with representatives from groups that support gun rights, like the National Rifle Association. That organization says it`s committed to protecting people, but it thinks stricter gun laws aren`t the best way to do that. Retail stores that sell guns are also going to be involved in these meetings. President Obama said he wants some concrete proposals from the task force by the end of this month. 2012 is in the books, and it`s in the record books, too. Last year is officially the hottest year ever for the United States. It was also the second worst for extreme weather: things like hurricanes, droughts or floods. The average temperature across the lower 48 states was 55.3 degrees. That beat the old record by a full degree. Scientists say that when things get warmer, it raises the chances for extreme weather. All 48 of those states had above average temperatures last year, but some set their own superlatives.
[Unidentified Male:] You`ve got to tell me if you don`t feel good.
[Chad Myers, Ams Meteorologist:] The warmest year on record for the United States. Every here, every spot here in the red, a new record for the hottest event for any year ever recorded. And July, 2012 was the hottest year on record of any month we`ve ever recorded since we`ve been here.
[Azuz:] In many U.S. States state legislatures are back in session this week and next. They`ve got different names in different states. They may be called the state house and senate. The legislative assembly, the general assembly, but basically, they are meeting of people elected by the states citizens to make laws. All right, cool, so what well, a lot of the things that affect you every day are determined by state legislatures. They make laws about your schools and the requirements for graduation. They decide who can drive and when, they ensure roads are taken care of and safe. They operate states courts and they decide how much tax you pay when you go out to eat or you buy clothes. These are all responsibilities of the state, so while we spend a lot of time talking about the U.S. Congress on CNN STUDENT NEWS, we want you to keep in mind that your state law makers pass laws that effect you as well. It`s part of what`s called "federalism." It`s a system of government where the same place is controlled by two different authorities, so in this case that would be your state government and the U.S. Federal Government. Each of the 50 states has a governor he or she represents the states executive branch. Your state courts are the states judicial branch and the state legislatures we just talked about make up your states legislative branch.
[Unidentified Female:] See if you can I.D. me. I`m a South American country that`s home to about 28 million people. I border the Caribbean Sea, Colombia and Brazil. I`m one of the world`s largest exporters of oil. My president is Hugo Chavez. I`m Venezuela. And President Chavez has been in charge of my government for nearly 14 years.
[Azuz:] Hugo Chavez is supposed to stay in charge of Venezuela`s government for the next six years. He was reelected to a new term last year. The country`s constitution says his inauguration is today, on January Tenth. There`s a problem, though, Chavez won`t be there. The Venezuelan president has been in Cuba for the past month or so, he`s being treated there for cancer. There was some concern in Venezuela about what might happen if Chavez missed the inauguration. The Constitution there says that if a leader is permanently absent, there would have to be new elections. That`s not going to happen. Yesterday Venezuela`s Supreme Court ruled that President Chavez will start his new term today even if he`s not sworn in.
[Unidentified Female:] Today "Shoutout" goes out to Mr. Breese`s class at Odyssey Charter School inn Palm Bay, Florida. What U.S. State is home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame? You know what to do, is it in New York, Ohio, Texas or California? You`ve got three seconds, go! Baseball`s Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown. So if you said New York, you hit out the park. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.
[Azuz:] That Hall of Fame isn`t getting any new members this year: there were 37 players eligible to get into Cooperstown on the 2013 ballot. But when the votes came in, no one was elected to the Hall of Fame. This isn`t that unusual, it has happened before seven other times since the Hall of Fame voting started in 1936. What`s really interesting about this, this time around is that some of the players who were eligible for the first time have been accused of using performance enhancing drugs. That includes all time home run king Barry Bonds, seven times Cy Young winner Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, one of only eight players to hit more than 600 career home runs. All three have denied using performance enhancing drugs. The Hall of Fame is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers` Association of America. Players need to get support from 75 percent of the voters in order to get into Cooperstown. One voter said, this year`s results are a statement on baseball`s so called "steroid era." He says the concerns about players who were linked to steroids has hurt the Hall of Fame chances for some clean players as well. This is an issue we are talking about in our blog. So, you are welcome to log on to cnnstudent.com, to tell us your opinion. In 2010, Congress passed a law called the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, it laid out new rules for certain vehicles. The Department of Transportation looked at a lot of factors including the extra costs for car companies, now they are planning to put these rules in effect. So why is the government making noise about cars that don`t make enough?
[Rene Marsh, Cnn Correspondent:] They are green, fuel efficient, but too quiet and a potential threat to cyclists and pedestrians. That`s what the Department of Transportation says about hybrid and electric cars. The federal agency just proposed rules that would require new green vehicles make sounds loud enough to alert pedestrians and cyclists like George Abbot.
[George Abbot, Pedestrian, Cyclist:] I have the experience going alongside them and not, like not realizing that there was one there.
[Marsh:] It`s what`s under the hood that makes this hybrid an electric car so quiet on the road. This Nissan Leaf also has technologies similar to what the government wants in all electric and hybrid cars. Do you hear that sound? Well, the government believes it could save lives. Eddie George sells the vehicles at Dart cars in Maryland.
[Eddir George, Darcars Nissan:] The car is very quiet, you cannot hear anything, so I mean you have some people when they are coming to test drive the car, the car is on.
[Marsh:] But a flip of a switch and its pedestrian alert feature turns on. Without the feature, a much quieter drive.
[Unidentified Female:] I didn`t know that would help, but I think, you know, again, I think people would just need to pay more attention.
[Marsh:] DOT says the sounds would need to be loud enough to still be heard despite other street and ambient noises when the vehicle is traveling under 18 miles per hour. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates their proposal would mean 2800 fewer pedestrian and cyclist injuries per year. You shouldn`t expect to hear blaring sounds coming from these green cars, if this is enacted, it was a lot louder in our piece because our mikes picked up the sound. Each company can pick their particular sound they want their cars to make. For example, the vehicle we looked at, the Nissan Leaf, the technology, it was developed with the help of students at some of the country`s schools for the hearing impaired. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
[Azuz:] All right, well, before we go, we`ve got a beastly tail of mistaken identity: reports of a lion on the loose in Norfolk, Virginia, might have given some residents paws look at this thing, it`s kind of cute. There was no need for concern, as you can see. The carousing cat was actually a dog. Easy to understand the mix up, though. This labradoodle`s owner cuts his canine so that he resembles the local university mascot a lion. Still, police called the zoo just to make sure that cats were in their cages. So it seems like this time the main event was just the king of the concrete jungle. CNN STUDENT NEWS returns tomorrow. No lion about that, we look forward to seeing you all then. END

[Johns:] Checking "Top Stories" now, lawmakers in the House return to work in about two hours from now. Their challenge: debating the fiscal cliff compromise measure that overwhelmingly passed the Senate overnight. The Republican-controlled House could approve, reject or amend the measure which keeps tax rates pretty much unchanged for most Americans. The family of Venezuela's cancer-stricken President is asking supporters to ignore rumors that his health is failing. The Reuters News agency, quote "Hugo Chavez's son-in-law is saying the 58-year-old is in stable condition". Chavez has not been seen in weeks and the government has reportedly described his condition as delicate. 2012 saw gas prices hit their highest average ever, according to AAA. The average price last year was $3.60, that's nine cents higher than 2011. Hurricanes, refinery outages, and tensions in the Middle East all contributed to those rising prices. This is a great excuse to watch bowl games today. A storm system moving east bringing rain from Texas through the southeast into the Mid-Atlantic states. There could also be a rainsnow mix from northern Virginia to southern Ohio. And how about this for a New Year's resolution, an Australian couple in their 60s plans to run, get this, a marathon a day for every day of 2013, that works out to more than 9,300 miles. The couple plans to raise money for various charities and promote a healthy lifestyle. They'll be living on raw fruits and vegetables. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is spending New Year's Day in the hospital. The news broke late yesterday. The blood clot she's being treated for is located between her brain and the skull, right behind the right ear. Clinton was hospitalized Sunday for a blood clot that formed after she fell and suffered a concussion a few weeks ago. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us from New York. Sanjay, Happy New Year to you.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] You as well.
[Johns:] Now that we know the details can you walk us through what it means to have a blood clot between her brain and her skull?
[Gupta:] Yes, absolutely, Joe. You know one of the first things you want to ask if someone has a blood clot is where is it located, is it inside a blood vessel or outside a blood vessel and as you point out, Joe, we found out that in fact this blood clot is inside a blood vessel, one of the veins that drains blood away from the brain. Joe I got a model here, let me just show you. This might make it a little bit easier to understand. We know it's on the right side of her head but I'm going to show you the left side for the purpose of this model. Take a look as I remove this part over here of the brain you see this area over here, Joe, in blue, that area these are the veins that are called sinuses, and they drain blood away from the brain. In the Secretary's case there's a clot in one of those veins that sits right around here and that's what they're trying to address, Joe, with these blood thinning medications, these anti-coagulants as they're called. Joe, one thing I should point out if you think about blood going to the brain, blood also has to leave the brain. If it has a hard time leaving the brain because of this clot, the pressure can start to build up inside the brain and that's what they're trying to avoid, Joe.
[Johns:] And so how serious is this medically and how long would it take to recover from something like this in.
[Gupta:] Yes you know it's a good question. I should point out this is a pretty rare occurrence. This isn't something that's common so there's not a lot of, you know, data on these sorts of things but it's one of those things where if it's treated, someone could do very, very well, but if this had not been caught and not been treated, the concern is that pressure inside the brain, because the blood again can't leave the brain could eventually lead to swelling in the brain, could lead to stroke, could lead to some sort of neurological impact. The doctors have said very clearly, Joe, that there's no evidence that any of that has happened, there has been no evidence of stroke, there's been no evidence of neurological complication and they say that they're treating this. They're giving her the blood thinner medications and the reason that she's in the hospital, they've got to sort of tinker with that dose to make sure they get it absolutely right.
[Johns:] So what do you think a week or two for her to recover from something like this? Months?
[Gupta:] Well you know being in the hospital takes, you know, probably a few days or a couple of days, but in terms of how long she's going to be on the medication that is usually months. In terms of how she's doing overall, she may have had headaches you know as a result of the the concussion and now this this blood clot in the brain as well. It's a little bit harder to say how how long that would last but you know I think that put that more in the realm of weeks as opposed of days.
[Johns:] And blood thinners is there anything they can do for something like this?
[Gupta:] Well you know blood thinners is sort of the the first treatment of choice for for a clot like this if it doesn't work, then sometimes there's other things that you know doctors have to think about. Do they actually do something to go and try and fish that clot out directly again to try and open up the blood flow in that vessel? That's more aggressive procedure. And again you try these blood thinners first because that's safer and just a medication.
[Johns:] Sanjay Gupta good to see you. Thanks for that.
[Gupta:] You got it Joe. Happy New Year.
[Johns:] The NFL's Black Monday takes a heavy toll. Seven head coaches are sacked. We'll tell you who is out.

[Sambolin:] Welcome back to EARLY START. It is 43 minutes past the hour. A rape case in a city of Ohio played out on social media. It involves two high school football players, a 16-year-old girl they allegedly assaulted, and a 12-minute video. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti is covering the case for us. What can you tell us, Susan?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, Zoraida, the charges are simply horrific. A 16-year-old girl allegedly raped by two high school football players during end of the summer parties in a small eastern Ohio town of Steubenville. There are reports the girl was drunk and possibly unconscious, and now, two special prosecutors appointed by Ohio's attorney general, Mike DeWine, are just over a month away from trying two teens on rape charges. But what makes this case stand out even more is talk about the alleged attack last August has been playing itself out through social media. Even Ohio's chief law enforcement officer says this case might never have come together a decade ago. That's because police in part found out about the alleged rape by piecing together outrageous tweets, a cell phone video that claims to show the girl at the center of the alleged attack being carried, seemingly limp, by her arms and legs, and at least one online video that shows young people callously laughing about it.
[Unidentified Male:] What if that was your daughter? But it isn't. If it was. If that was my daughter, I wouldn't care. I just let her be dead. Listen to yourself. I'm listening to myself fine. In about ten years, I'm going come back to this video. In ten years, my daughter's going to be raped and dead in ten years.
[Candiotti:] And that continues for about 12 minutes. He goes on to make offensive one-line comments about rape and talks about the girl as if she was dead, which, Zoraida, she is not.
[Sambolin:] No, but she appeared to be in those photos. I went in and took a really close look at this. What are the charges, so far?
[Candiotti:] Here's how it comes out. Two 16-year-old boys are charged with rape. One of the two is also charged with illegal use of a minor in nude material. The attorney general's office says they will be tried by a juvenile court judge without a jury in open court next month. They've been publicly identified by authorities. However, CNN is not yet revealing their names. And because CNN's policy is not to release the name of alleged rape victims, we are also not reporting the name of the girl.
[Sambolin:] And when you do take a look at that tape, there are a lot of voices in the background. There are a lot of faces. Are there any other charges, do you think, that will come out of this?
[Candiotti:] We don't know yet. That's a simple answer. Ohio's attorney general tells me the investigation is not over. Authorities are still conducting interviews. He also says he's well aware of the online video and the photo and postings. Some are online months ago were taken down and some of them are back online again now.
[Sambolin:] We certainly expect that you're going to be following this for us because there will be much more to come. Susan Candiotti, thank you for that. Appreciate it.
[Candiotti:] You're welcome.
[Romans:] All right. Some new numbers in and they are staggering. The number of Americans trying to buy a gun hits a record high, and boy, the rush for all those background checks keeping the FBI quite busy. That's next.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. Taking aim at the gun industry and a sweetheart deal you may not have heard about after it was passed, but one month to the day of the Sandy Hook massacre. And outrage lawmakers say it's time to erase that law from the books. At a young age, he made his mark on the Internet. Aaron Schwartz didn't stop until he took his own life. The Internet pioneer apparently found the online world too full of legal pitfalls. He's known for tackling controversial topics on the big screen, but now a different kind of controversy could be brewing for director, Quinton Tarantino. We'll tell you why. Plus this
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] I'm John Zarrella. Hundreds of hunters have descended on Florida's everglades and they're looking for pythons. That's coming up. CNN NEWSROOM starts now.
[Costello:] Good morning to you. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm Carol Costello. This morning late news from the White House, President Obama will hold a news conference in just a little more than an hour from now. The White House is informally calling it the last news conference of his first term and it will cover a whole range of issues. One topic sure to come up is a debate over gun violence and how to prevent the horror of more bloodshed. Today, Vice President Joe Biden is wrapping up the work of his task force. He presents those recommendations to the president tomorrow. And in the next hour, we'll hear from the local grass roots group, "Sandy Hook Promise." It's unveiling a new initiative and asking the families of shooting victims to attend the news conference in a show of solidarity. That attack one month ago today. And this morning, California Congressman Adam Schiff unveils legislation that challenges the power of the gun industry. His target, a 2005 law that grants wide legal immunity to gun makers and dealers.
[Representative Adam Schiff , California:] The effect has been that when gun sellers or gun manufacturers act negligently, they're immune from any kind of liability so you can have gun dealers turning a blind eye to the sale of hundreds of weapons to purchasers. And when those guns are resold or they are conveyed to people, criminals that used them to kill people then they can't be held liable and that makes no sense. It's a protection not needed by the good actors and not deserved by the bad actors.
[Costello:] Deborah Feyerick is here now to continue our national conversation on guns. Good morning, Deb.
[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn National Correspondent:] Good morning there, Carol. Yes, there's so much going on and as we speak, some at John Hopkins University were a number of policy experts who have gotten together and they're really going over all of many issues related to gun violence. You see Michael Mayor Bloomberg speaking there now. He is head of a broad coalition of mayors trying to stem gun violence and he made a very interesting point. He said that perhaps they cannot prevent another Sandy Hook, but perhaps they can. And that's what all of this momentum is all about right now. The NRA has been instrumental in cutting funding for any sort of scientific research, research that would have ordinarily been done by the CDC and the HHS, the Health and Human Services Department. So right now they're taking a very close look at it as is Joe Biden who is expected to come out with some recommendations in the next 24 hours.
[Feyerick:] Over 30,000 gun deaths in the U.S. every year, the challenge, gun control.
[Unidentified Female:] I lost my husband right before Christmas.
[Feyerick:] If anyone knows the pain of losing someone to gun violence, it is New York Congresswoman Carol Mccarthy. Her husband was killed in 1993 by a deranged gunman in a mass shooting on the Long Island railroad. After years of trying to pass tighter gun laws on Capitol Hill, she said it took the tragedy at Sandy Hook to unite public anger and political will.
[Rep. Carol Mccarthy , New York:] You know, the time is different because there is so much anger, why are we allowing this to continue to happen?
[Feyerick:] On day one of the new Congress, McCarthy and other lawmakers introduced or reintroduced eight bills to ban or control the sale of guns or ammunition. Several Senate bills are on the way, but all are far from a done deal. In his first term, President Obama passed limiting gun use then Sandy Hook happened a day Mr. Obama called the worse of his presidency. Even before he's sworn in again, he's expected to review proposals from his new gun task force.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] This is a team that has a very specific task to pull together real reforms right now.
[Feyerick:] The White House is focused on a white ranging plan involving more than just firearms and ammunition. On the table, reinstate the expired ban on assault weapons and limit magazines that have more than ten rounds, close the so-called gun show loophole to mandate background checks for all gun buyers. Ensure better access to mental health care, improve school security and review the cultural impact of violent movies and video games. Vice President Joe Biden says it's possible the president could also act unilaterally on his own.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] The president is going to act or executive orders, executive action that can be taken.
[Feyerick:] Even the most vocal gun advocates have come to the table. Last week, the NRA met with the gun task force. Wal-Mart the nation's largest firearms seller reversed itself joining other gun retailers in a similar meeting, but tighter gun law also not come without a fight. After Sandy Hook, the NRA said the answer was more guns not less.
[Wayne Lapierre, Ceo, Nra:] I call on Congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation.
[Feyerick:] Meaningful gun control will take time for those who have been fighting for decades. They feel the time is finally right.
[Dan Gross, Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence:] What we are heartened by is a genuine exploration of what are the things that we can do respectful of the second amendment and law abiding gun owners to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
[Feyerick:] Carol, you know, it really is all about meaningful legislation and what can and cannot be done. Remember the National Rifle Association, still a very, very powerful source to be reckoned with Carol.
[Costello:] You're absolutely right, Deborah Feyerick. That's why we are going to talk about it right now. Today, as you said, Joe Biden is hosting 12 congressmen and women. They make up the Democratic Task Force on Guns. They'll be joined by Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Kathleen Sibelius from Health And Human Services. If you think the NRA is worried about sweeping new reforms though, think again.
[David Keene, President, Nra:] When a president takes all the power of his office, if he's willing to expend political capital, you don't want to bet your house on the outcome. But I would say that the likelihood is that they are not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through.
[Costello:] So let's head to Washington and the White House. Dan Lothian is there. So Dan, is the NRA right?
[Dan Lothian, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Well, you know, I'm not going to make any predictions either about what Congress may or may not do. As we have learned over the last few years, things can appear to be going one direction and then make a u-turn. But what I can say is that this assault weapons ban does appear to be facing an uphill effort up on Capitol Hill and I think what's interesting is that the president, right after the mass shooting in Connecticut came out and talked about, you know, putting his support behind efforts to reinstate the assault weapons ban. And this had been, you know, the position of the White House since then, but what was interesting last week, at the end of the week, when the vice president was rolling out what he said were sort of the top tier recommendations that he had been getting after meeting with several groups he did not mention that at all. So there were questions about whether the White House itself may have felt that it was losing steam. There was not support for this on Capitol Hill. But shortly thereafter, a spokesman for the White House saying the president and the vice president are still committed to this effort to reinstating the ban on assault weapons. So if the White House is pushing for this, certainly they will be sort of the momentum for it, but unclear at this point whether or not it will actually get through Congress. I can tell you that, you know, the president will be having a press conference here later this morning. We can expect that these are some of the questions that will be asked of him.
[Costello:] That's right. And just about an hour and 10 minutes, President Obama will speak. We'll bring his remarks to you live. Thank you, Dan Lothian. The uphill battle now under way for President Obama's nominee for Defense Secretary, former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska has not received a warm welcome since the president made the announcement last week. Hagel's comments on Israel, one issue, but a former colleague of Hagel now says he has another problem, his temperament.
[Sen. Bob Corker , Tennessee:] I think there are a number of staffers who are coming forth now just talking about the way he has dealt with them. I have certainly questions about a lot of things.
[Costello:] Hagel has been given a vote of approval from Colin Powell though, a former Secretary of State for President George W. Bush and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush. There are reports that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is considering confessing when he sits down with Oprah Winfrey today. This is Armstrong's first interview since he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. Winfrey will ask Armstrong to address the USADA report, which said there was overwhelming evidence Armstrong was involved in a sophisticated doping program. Oprah's interview with Lance Armstrong will air Thursday night on the Winfrey Network. The flu season means big business for pharmacies and doctors' offices, but it can be bad, bad business for your job and boss. Take a look at this map of the nation's current flu outbreak. Some say the flu is so widespread because so many sick people cannot afford to stay home from work. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. I can certainly understand that.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] We can all relate, right, Carol? Yes, you know, it works out to almost a third of the nation's workers. They're typically part-time workers who don't get those paid sick days. But you know, full-time workers too, about 20 percent of full-time workers, they don't get paid six days either. So either way that you slice it means that many people can't afford to stay home when they're sick. So they're going to work probably getting other people sick too. You know, what's kind of interesting. The U.S. doesn't have a law mandating paid sick leave like other countries do. But regardless flu season has a huge effect on the economy. The CDC says the total cost of flu season to the economy is more than $80 billion. A big chunk of it is direct medical costs. You have to be hospitalized, have tests, medications and also there are those indirect costs, lost productivity for the company, lost earnings for the worker, not to mention feeling lousy when you get the flu Carol.
[Costello:] I'm with you, I'm sorry, I was taking a drink of water, but I was listening intently.
[Kosik:] I'm sure you were.
[Costello:] Thank you, Alison as always. Quinton Tarantino the outspoken director striking back at critics who say the language was in the n-word. Well, you know, people are saying he went too far, he's saying I don't think so.
[Quentin Tarantino, Director:] What they're actually saying is that I should soften it, they're saying I should lie, they're saying I should whitewash, they're saying I should massage. And I never do that when it comes to my characters.
[Costello:] So there, but now Tarantino is finding himself of a hot seat for his own words. A live report from Los Angeles just ahead.

[Baldwin:] Joining me from the debate site in Danville, Kentucky, we are happy to have Congressman Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas. He speaks for the Romney campaign. Congressman, welcome. Good to see you again here.
[Rep. Jeb Hensarling , Texas:] Thanks. Appreciate it.
[Baldwin:] I know you have worked closely with Paul Ryan on debt and deficit matters. Have you ever found yourself debating him, you know, taking opposite sides on something, let's say, and if so, was he a tough debater?
[Hensarling:] Oh, wow. You have me scratching my head on that one. It's it would be a pretty odd day that Paul Ryan and I would disagree on anything. I mean, what I know about Paul, he knows his budget better than just about anybody. He has got a plan along with Governor Romney for economic growth. And although Vice President Biden is a veteran of 18 different presidential and vice presidential debates, he may score well on style, but he's got the Obama record to defend and so it not going to be an easy evening for him on substance. And I think people are going to be very impressed with Paul Ryan. I mean, here's a guy from the heartland of America. He knows the values and challenges of middle-income families. And he's got a plan, along with Governor Romney, to put America back to work and to quit spending money we don't have so our children can have better opportunities than we have had.
[Baldwin:] Let me jump in.
[Hensarling:] So, I'm looking forward to tonight.
[Baldwin:] Let me jump in, Congressman, because on that plan, the question then is, does Paul Ryan need to be more specific tonight in his answers than he was 11 days ago, when he was asked by an interviewer to explain Mitt Romney's tax plan and he said, well, I don't really have time to do that. Does he have can he do better than that?
[Hensarling:] There will be plenty of time. Here's the tax plan, fairer, flatter, simpler, more competitive tax code. We broaden the base by getting rid a lot of these special interest deductions, exclusions. By one estimate, a third of the tax code is what is known as tax expenditures.
[Baldwin:] So, why couldn't Paul Ryan explain that why couldn't he explain that 11 days ago?
[Hensarling:] Well, my guess is he could if he had had time. But we did this in '03. It was done in the Reagan administration. It was done under President Kennedy, under JFK. And guess what? When you follow this recipe, you get more jobs, more economic growth and more tax revenue that actually helps fight the deficit. And that's in contrast to what the president is offering us, which is another tax increase on small businesses, almost a million small businesses, which Ernst & Young said will cost us 700,000 jobs. So it's going to be a real choice election when it comes to the economy, not to mention the debt, not to mention foreign policy.
[Baldwin:] OK. So, Congressman, let's just stay on point with your guy, because one thing we do know is that Romney and Ryan say that they will reduce income taxes. The number is 20 percent they have been giving across the board, 20 percent. But we have this graphic. And so, you know, if you look at recent history, the Reagan tax cuts, the Bush II tax cuts, both coincided with massive growth of the national debt. The debt rose nearly 200 percent under Reagan, nearly doubled under Bush, at least partly because the Reagan and Bush... Hang on, hang on, sir. Let me finish, with all due respect, at least partly because the Reagan and Bush tax cuts reduced government revenues. You are a debt and deficit hawk, Congressman Hensarling. Do you worry talking looking ahead, do you worry about the debt under Romney might explode again similarly?
[Hensarling:] Well, number one, the deficit is the symptom. Spending is the disease. I mean, since World War II, revenues have averaged about 18.5 percent of the economy. Spending is at 20 percent. And now due to the president's policies, we have revenue that's actually gone down due to less economic growth, but it's spending that's skyrocketing. He has it up to almost 25 percent of the economy and it's on automatic pilot to go to 40 percent. That means middle-income families will suffer. It is a spending-driven problem. The deficit again is the symptom. Spending is the disease. You have to take care of it on the spending side. And once again, Brooke, if you go look at IRS data, you will see that revenues actually increased when we brought down rates because we had more economic activity.
[Baldwin:] But, Congressman, why would...
[Hensarling:] So I don't buy into your proposition.
[Baldwin:] Why would the trickle-down theory work this time, when it's produced record debt two times before?
[Hensarling:] Because we haven't controlled spending. The key is controlling spending. Again, I don't know how many times I can repeat it. Look at the data. You may have a theory, but look at the data, and the data is we received more revenues, more revenues from economic growth. You're saying we received less. We didn't. Spending is skyrocketing. You can't have programs that are growing at 6 percent, 7 percent, 8 percent a year, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, federal retirement, which are all going broke, and the president isn't doing anything about it, and then have economic growth at a languishing 1.3 percent. The math doesn't work. Our challenge is on the spending side. And so I don't think the American people believe they're undertaxed. I think they believe that Washington spends too much. And I don't know any economist in America who thinks we're going to create more jobs by increasing taxes on small business. I don't know anybody who believes that their unemployed sister-in-law is going to get a job if they raise taxes on their employer. It just it defies common sense, much less economic science and history.
[Baldwin:] Congressman, let me just move along. I want to ask about Romney and how he seems... Laugh if you will, but I want to move along, because this is such an important point that I know a lot of Americans want an answer to, because he seems to be moving towards center. Right? He's moderating some of his positions. We saw recently that made the headlines yesterday what he said about abortion, for example, on health care reform, parts of which he's embracing, on Wall Street reform, foreign policy, where just yesterday he was emphasizing diplomacy with regard to Syria. Are you hearing worries among the Republican base that he might be going wobbly in this effort to reach voters in the middle?
[Hensarling:] Oh, I think listen, Republicans are very excited at the presentation that Governor Romney had in the last debate. It was the first opportunity for many Americans to see him unfiltered, with all due respect, by the media, unfiltered by the negative campaign ads.
[Baldwin:] But, Congressman, I'm not asking how he did in the last debate. I'm asking, on all these topics in which he's moving to the middle, and I'm just curious what Republicans are saying about that.
[Hensarling:] Republicans are very excited about Governor Romney, very excited. And if anybody has gone a little wobbly, you know, you look at the president, who said essentially all is well, we have got you know, we're more secure nation, and now we have our foreign policy that's literally going up in flames in front of us on our television screens. That's what you know, that's what the American people are wondering about.
[Baldwin:] Congressman Jeb Hensarling, thank you so much for joining me from Danville, Kentucky. Appreciate it. Big debate tonight, 9:00 Eastern time. Joe Biden, Paul Ryan, pressure's on. It's on both on the right, it's on the left in tonight's V.P. debate. So, how can each side make the age gap work for their campaign? My favorite married political power couple here, Margaret Hoover, John Avlon, they weigh on with a little advice for both of these guys next.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] This is CNN NEWSROOM. New details now on the resignation of former CIA director David Petraeus. Since he admitted to having an extramarital affair, we have learned that the FBI was investigating the general's private e-mails months ago. That probe led to his resignation. It all started when Jill Kelly, a friend of general Petraeus, contacted the FBI about threatening e-mails she said she received from another woman. That woman, seen here, was Paula Broadwell. Now, she wrote Petraeus's biography. She said she used to jog with the general when he was leading the war in Afghanistan and now lawmakers are angry. They want to know why they're just finding out about all of this, including Senator Dianne Feinstein who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.
[Sen. Dianne Feinstein , California:] We received no advanced notice. It was like a lightning bolt. The way I found out, I came back to Washington Thursday night, Friday morning the staff director told me there was a number of calls to friends about this. I called David Petraeus and I talked to the director twice. This is very hard stuff.
[Malveaux:] Hard stuff. Like many scandals, many different layers as well. Now, there's a video of Paula Broadwell that has gone viral on YouTube. It is revealing where she's revealing information about the CIA's investigation into the attack on the consulate in Benghazi. Check it out.
[Paula Broadwell, Petraeus Biographer:] I don't know if a lot of you have heard this, but the CIA annex had actually had taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner, and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try on get these prisoners back. So, that it's still being vetted.
[Malveaux:] Still being vetted. Then there is this. From the general's former spokesman, Steven Boylan, who spoke out about the scandal this morning.
[Steven Boylan:] I would say he is embarrassed, but he is keenly aware of the hurt and pain he has caused, and he is concerned that people understand that this one happened after he had retired from the Army. The affair started approximately two months after he was in the CIA, and it ended about four months ago.
[Malveaux:] CNN's got correspondents covering this big story, obviously, including our Intelligence Correspondent Suzanne Kelly covering the Petraeus affair, and its national impact on our security. And White House Correspondent Brianna Keilar, she is covering the shake up in the president's cabinet and the national security team. Suzanne, I want to start off with you, first of all. Tell us a little bit about this video that we are seeing of Broadwell. We know that the FBI says so far that there's no security element that's been compromised. Was there anything in that video that says she knew something that was classified or she was sharing something that wasn't supposed to be shared?
[Suzanne Kelly, Cnn Intelligence Correspondent:] Well, you can almost read into it a little bit by the words she used herself, which were, you know, this is something that hasn't quite yet been vetted. So, you have to look at the information she was sharing on Libya, and the CIA saying they were actually holding prisoners there, and that means that she is sharing something that she heard with a public audience. Now, that's concerning because you have to ask, what's her source? Is the source of all of her information David Petraeus? Given her extraordinary access to the former director of the CIA, it would have been a reasonable assumption, but, again, her access to him was not in any way in an official capacity, though she did tell me this summer that she was working with the general and writing a second book. Now, a senior intelligence official says that the detention claims are categorically not true. That nobody was ever held at that CIA Annex before, during or after the attack. But with something like this, the damage is really done just by the nature of her putting information like that out there Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] How do they conclude now that there's no national security risk?
[Kelly:] Well, that's why the FBA steps in. The FBI is charged with an investigation. They've got to go through the e-mails which we've seen, you know, details of this leaking out all over the place, what was in those e-mails. They need to go through those e-mails to determine whether or not there was a security risk. Now, we know that it's not illegal, according to a senior intelligence official, affairs are not automatically considered a security violation, unless, of course, the affair is going on with a person who's from another country and it hasn't been reported. But you can have affairs, actually, and you can report them and it sort of becomes OK. There are no prohibitions, also interestingly, on private e-mail accounts. So, we've heard that there was this private e-mail account, possibly Gmail account, could be something else that the FBI was looking into where a lot of the exchanges went back and forth. No rules that say, you're not allowed, as director of the CIA or any other government position, to not have a private e-mail account. That's another interesting tidbit in all of this Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And, Suzanne, do we know that if Petraeus is he going to be testifying before members of the Senate Intelligence Committee? Do we know if he will actually go before them?
[Kelly:] Well, you know, a few of them are really pressing for that to happen. It's not going to happen this Thursday at these closed hearings that we're having on Benghazi and Libya. The guy who's going to be sitting in that hot seat that day is going to be Michael Morell. He was asked by the president last Friday when general Petraeus offered his resignation to step up and become the acting director. He is a career veteran. He has been on this Benghazi investigation since day one and feels very passionately about it. I'm sure that he will be able to answer questions just as David Petraeus could.
[Malveaux:] All right, Suzanne Kelly. Thank you, Suzanne, appreciate it. Even before David Petraeus dropped the bombshell and resigned, it was well known that there were several senior officials in the Obama administration looking to leave for the second term. Secretary of state, Hillary Clinton and defense secretary, Leon Panetta both expected to depart. Likewise, the president might have to find replacements for treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and attorney general Eric Holder if they decide that they, too, would like to leave. I want to bring in our White House Correspondent Brianna Keilar to talk about just more on the president's plate here. How does this add to what he needs to get done starting in the next year?
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn White House Correspondent:] It really adds to it. I mean, you've got this issue, obviously, that comes after any re- election, the turnover of the cabinet, Suzanne, but just think of the big plate that this is being added to. First off, the fiscal cliff. That is obviously the biggest issue that President Obama has to deal with. You're looking at tax cuts that expire at the very end of December, and then those spending cuts that are set to kick in on January 2nd. As he works, obviously, figuring out the new faces on his cabinet. He's got his inauguration on January 20th, and February is a big month as well. He needs to summit a budget at the beginning of the month. It's possible the debt the debt ceiling, the treasury department says, could be hit that month that month. And you know how difficult that is for the White House to work out with Congress. And then, in March, the funding for the federal government is set to expire so that could mean a possible government shut down if that if agreement on that isn't found.
[Malveaux:] That's a lot. We're going to take a look at the schedule there, a very busy calendar. Possible replacements for Petraeus. This is, obviously, one of those positions he is going to want to fill rather quickly.
[Keilar:] That's right. You heard Suzanne talking about Michael Morell. He is the acting now CIA director. He was the number two to David Petraeus. He is someone who really has the president's trust. He is also well liked on the Hill so that helps as well. And then John Brennan, the president's top advisor for counterterrorism and homeland security, is also a name that you're hearing a lot of. Now, he's been in the administration for four years. You know, he's pretty probably pretty tired at this point, but he is definitely being discussed as someone who might throw his hat in the ring for this. And then also former Congresswoman Jane Harmon got out of Congress recently. She was the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. But really, especially those first two names, these are really the names that are the most distinguished on what's a rather long list of possible replacements for Petraeus.
[Malveaux:] And Brianna, real quickly, tell us about this gang of eight that's going to start to sit down and try to work on avoiding this big fiscal cliff.
[Keilar:] They are going to try to work on this for Democrats, for Republican senators. What our senior Congressional correspondent Dana Bash has been reporting, though, is that if you talk to leaders, you talk to the White House, I think it's seen more likely that this is a leadership level issue now hashing out a deal. Obviously, the gang of eight trying to work on something, but I think a lot of folks downplaying the expectation that that's really where the solution for the fiscal cliff comes from. You do know, of course, that the top Republican and the top Democrat, in both the House and the Senate, are going to be at the White House on Friday. Congress is back in tomorrow. There's a lot of details to work out. This is really just the beginning of it. Whether, you know, Democrats want to increase taxes on wealthy Americans, the White House wants to do that as well, Suzanne. Republicans are talking about finding a way to increase tax revenue, maybe through closing loopholes. But the fact is all of these details need to be worked out and this is the really tough stuff to work out.
[Malveaux:] It is the tough stuff. I notice, too, no females in that gang of eight there, Brianna. Interesting.
[Keilar:] I know.
[Malveaux:] All right. Thank you. You've got your work cut out for you. Former FBI deputy director and CNN Contributor Tom Fuentes on the security concerns around Petraeus's affair, that up next. Here's what we're also working on for the hour. [voice-over]: Thirteen days after Superstorm Sandy slammed the east coast. The commute is New York is still a mess. A look at the recovery effort that has people still struggling to get to work. Plus, 18 states offer medical marijuana. Now, two states have legalized recreational pot. The health benefits of weed. And scandal on "Sesame Street." This man, the voice of Elmo, is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a teenage boy. He denies it. This is CNN, and it's happening now.

[Malveaux:] Welcome back. The largest bank here in the United States has come clean. Today, JPMorgan revealed the extent of a loss from risky trade investments. We are talking about a whopping $5.8 billion. It is almost three times as much as they had initially predicted. And now this stock, a staple in a lot of mutual funds, nest eggs, Alison Kosik, she's joining us from the New York Stock Exchange to talk a little about how this is impacting all of us.
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] OK. Well, first of all, let's talk about the shares, because the shares are jumping a whopping six percent right now. And that's despite what you just said, Suzanne, that the $5.8 million trading loss is almost triple what the bank originally predicted. And guess what? CEO Jamie Dimon says the losses could get much bigger but the way that Wall Street sees it is investors have heard from Dimon himself, not the speculation that's been coming out over the past several months, and analysts say the way the market sees it, the main reason you're seeing shares of JPMorgan jump is that there is this feeling that the worst is behind them Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] So, is this going to impact a lot of 401Ks?
[Kosik:] Well, here's what's interesting. If you look closely at your portfolio, JP Morgan, most likely, is probably in a lot of your everyday investments. In fact, the total value of JP Morgan shares that mutual funds hold is more than $50 million. One expert we talked to tells us it's kind of tough to quantify what the impact would be, but the trading loss isn't likely to have a big impact on your savings. So even with JP Morgan shares sliding about 16 percent when all of this came to light, shares of JP Morgan are still up about 4.5 percent for the year. So while you may not be where you were, let's say, on May 9th, before we got all this news about what's happening with JP Morgan, you still may be making some money on JP Morgan stock. Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] That's not bad. What about the big banks? Wells Fargo? Bank of America?
[Kosik:] You know what. It definitely puts these other banks under a microscope more. You know, financials, we saw them get hit hard when this trading loss first came to light. There were a lot of questions whether these other big banks may have the same situation and investors didn't know it yet. That we haven't gotten any indications that this is the case. We are going to get a little more insight when some of these banks report their earnings next week. Citigroup on Monday. Goldman Sachs on Tuesday. Bank of America on Wednesday. Now here's one place, Suzanne, where JP Morgan does have a leg up. One analyst tells us that the bank is not as exposed to Europe as some of its rivals who may take a bigger hit from the debt crisis there. Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right. Alison Kosik, thanks. Have a good weekend, Alison.
[Kosik:] You too.
[Malveaux:] They say you should start investing early. Well, now there are 15 school children with a leg up on their future. We are talking about, Warren Buffet awarded them shares in Berkshire Hathaway. So the kids were finalists in Buffet's Grow Your Own Business Challenge. They received 10 Class B shares. At Thursday's close, those shares were worth close to $836 each. Good for them. Serious allegations against the mayor of Washington, D.C. Why some city council members are now calling for Vincent Gray to step down.

[Phillips:] All right. About that mysterious trail of smoke or vapor off the California coast. It's today's "Talker" because people are still talking about it two days later. Sure wish the Pentagon would talk more about it. We're not getting solid answers from there either. The whole thing is taking on sort of an Area 51, Bermuda Triangle, Loch Ness monster kind of vibe. Dr. Michio Kaku is hot on the trail, though. He's a theoretical physicist. My old job, of course. Professor, author and guy who makes very complex scientific stuff easy to understand. Good to see you, Dr. Kaku.
[Dr. Michio Kaku, Theoretical Physicist, City Univ. Of New York:] Glad to be on the show.
[Phillips:] All right. So, OK. We've heard missile launch. We've heard rocket. We've heard optical illusion. We've heard airplane. What are you sticking with at this point?
[Kaku:] Well, it's not Superman. I think that there are two basic reasons for believing that it's an airplane contrail. First of all, the smoking gun is radar sightings and if you analyze the radar images you find no object that is moving like a missile. All you see are just airplanes in the area. But second of all, if you go to a frame by frame analysis of the trail itself, you realize that it's really an airplane. First of all, the object is not accelerating. Booster rockets accelerate up to 15,000 miles per hour. This thing is traveling at a constant velocity. And second of all, it's deviating in its trajectory slightly. Rockets can't do that.
[Phillips:] So it's changing direction.
[Kaku:] Rockets move in a straight line.
[Phillips:] Right.
[Kaku:] So rockets move in a straight line while airplanes, of course, can change maneuver. Also if you're looking at the trajectory head on, edge on, something that looks like it's going vertically up could actually be going horizontally with a very small slope. And, so, it plays tricks on you. And then, contrails expand very rapidly, so the base of the contrail looks like it's very close to you artificially. Actually, that object could be moving toward you rather than away from you, and that would put it in line with other airplanes that were in the area.
[Phillips:] Interesting because you bring up an interesting point. From the way we would see it versus the way a pilot would see it, it would be completely different, right?
[Kaku:] That's right. In fact, pilots who were interviewed said they saw nothing strange in the area. How can that be? Because that trail is staring you in the face. However, looking at it from above, looking down, they would see an ordinary airplane flying horizontally, while we on the ground think that it's a missile flying vertically. So, all of the dots fit. If you assume that it's an airplane, rather than a missile.
[Phillips:] OK. Now, we're getting a number of other obviously, there's a lot of professionals weighing in on this, OK? You are sticking to the airplane thought. Another expert that has been on a number of networks is saying it looks like possibly a test firing from a submarine.
[Kaku:] Well, you have to realize that ICBM launches from Vanderberg usually go east to west. Now, there are polar orbits, but for the most part, we fire east to west with ballistic missiles.
[Phillips:] OK.
[Kaku:] The trajectory of this object is different. The trajectory here seems to be coming toward you. It seems to be going east, which is opposite the direction of polar launches and also launches to Kwajalein in the Pacific Ocean that we fire our missiles at.
[Phillips:] So, Dr. Kaku, if it was an airplane, though, wouldn't there be some sort of record of the fact that it's airborne? It had to launch from somewhere. It had to show up on some sort of a screen.
[Kaku:] Yes. If you look at the blogs, people have been looking at different flights that go over LA from west to east. Opposite the direction that it seems to be flying, because an optical illusion. And there is an airplane that's flying from Hawaii to Phoenix traveling over Los Angeles in the correct direction. So, there are candidates, there are prime candidates for that missing airplane that is causing this trail. And remember, the passengers on that airplane don't even know that it's creating this contrail, and so, we have now, I think, the smoking gun.
[Phillips:] OK. We're going to pin it on you, Dr. Kaku. We're going to see how this holds out. We're going to have to get some answers at some point. Dr. Micho Kaku, so great to see you. It's always fun watching your show, as well. Thanks for joining us.
[Kaku:] Thank you.
[Phillips:] All right. Time for you to weigh in. You don't have to be a theoretical physicist like Dr. Kaku to really have an opinion here. Tell me what you think at cnn.comkyra. What's your theory? All right. Let's travel cross country, shall we? First stop, Boston, Ohio. That's where a deer crashed and then trashed a neighborhood bar and grill. The chaotic scene was caught on tape and is quickly becoming quite the hit online. The nervous buck actually slipped and slid across the barroom door before making its way out the kitchen door left open by a fleeing worker, by the way. Lucky nobody was hurt. Next stop, Plymouth Township, Michigan. Surveillance cameras rolling when a packet of red dye exploded as two robbers made their getaway. That pair held up a bank on Friday and are still on the run. Investigators say that even if they ditched their clothes, you can still recognize them. Finally, Portland, Oregon, talk about life in a fish bowl. Cristin Norine is spending the entire month of November inside this glass encased store front. Her only contact with the outside world is through social networking. Cristin's stay is part of an art and social media experiment called the "Public Isolation Project." The reviews are in on Con Conan's first show, rather. And yes, he still has a job this morning. His computer log-in and security badge should still working. In fact, he actually smoked the competition. We'll have more of that right after the break.

[Wolf Blitzer:] Happening now, breaking news we're following radiation testing and fears spike to a new level in Japan after a third explosion and a fire at a nuclear power plant. A French official now says this crisis is getting almost as bad as Chernobyl, the worst nuclear plant accident ever. Every day, the enormity of the quake and the tsunami destruction becomes more painfully clear. It now seems likely to be the most expensive disaster in history even worse than Katrina. So how will Japan handle this enormous challenge? And more than 10,000 people are dead or missing. Stand by for the dramatic new video coming in and the personal stories of reunions and rescues, survival and loss. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Lots happening here. We're in Egypt today, also in Japan. We're following all the breaking news. CNN's Isha Sesay is joining us, as well, from CNN International. I've got to tell you, there's so much news I've been a reporter for a long time, but I can't remember a time when there have been so many breaking news stories of such enormity happening, Isha, at the same time.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn International Anchor/correspondent:] Absolutely, Wolf. No doubt about it. We are, of course, closely following the events taking place in Japan that are rapidly unfolding. But as you mentioned, you are there in Cairo with the secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, an important visit there. And many in the Arab world watching closely to see, as she meets with Egypt's new leaders Wolf.
[Blitzer:] It's a critically important trip she's having. There's no by no means a done deal here in Egypt that everything is going to work out just fine. Just a little while ago, down in Tahrir Square. And I was I was there. There were gunfire there were gunshots going out, as some Coptic Christian protesters were running. There were hundreds of people running on the streets. It's still tense. We're going to have a lot more on this part of the story. What's happening in Libya right now. Gadhafi is moving quickly and moving, supposedly, even against the rebel forces in Benghazi. We have a lot more on that. But our top story, Isha, is what's happening in Japan right now and the fears of some sort of radiation significant radiation problems developing because four reactors or buildings around them are in trouble right now. Let's bring in Jeanne Meserve. She's following all the latest developments update our viewers, Jeanne, on what we know right now, because this is, potentially, the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
[Jeanne Meserve, Cnn Homeland Security Correspondent:] That's right, Wolf. A top European energy official compares the situation in Japan to the apocalypse. And most workers who have been struggling to control the situation left the plant when radiation outside the gate spiked up to levels that can harm human health. Those levels have now dropped. In addition to evacuating people in a 20 kilometer radius around the plant, the government is now urging people within 30 kilometers to shelter in their homes. Also, a 30 kilometer no fly zone has been put in place around the plant. There are two reactors at the Fukushima plant currently of grave concern. And Reactor Four, where there was a fire, the concern is that spent fuel rods and storage pools have been exposed. The power company is considering dropping water from helicopters to cover them back up. There was also concern that an explosion in Reactor Two on Monday night might have compromised the primary containment vessel. If that happens, that would allow radiation to escape. The U.S. Energy secretary, Steven Chu, was up until 2:30 in the morning, he says, monitoring the situation and the U.S. has experts and equipment en route.
[Steven Chu, Energy Secretary:] A great deal of monitoring equipment that can be used by the Japanese. It includes airborne equipment that can you put in airplanes.
[Unidentified Male:] This is to to monitor the radiation.
[Chu:] The radiation and
[Unidentified Male:] Right.
[Chu:] the radiation release, the type of release. We also have ones that can be deployed on the ground so that we can be sure that whatever does get released, if it begins to go in the direction of major metropolitan areas, that we we can give people fair warning.
[Meserve:] Why all that monitoring equipment? Well, a senior administration official says that at this point in time, there is not a clear picture of how much is being released, where it is and where that is going. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meanwhile, says the steps being taken by the Japanese parallel those that would be made by the U.S. in a similar situation Wolf.
[Blitzer:] All right. We're going to have a lot more on this part of the story coming up. Jeanne, thanks very much Isha, I've got to say, a lot of folks in Japan are very, very nervous right now. We've heard these reports. People are not only wanting to get out of danger zone immediately surrounding these nuclear facilities, a lot of folks simply want to get out of Japan right now.
[Sesay:] Yes, we are, indeed, hearing a lot about that lots of anecdotal tales about people trying desperately to get out of way, as they fear that there is, indeed, an upcoming nuclear disaster. That is a fear that many have. We're waiting to get more information as the situation unfolds. We do have correspondents that there are there on the ground. They're trying to get to as many areas of the disaster zone as possible. CNN's Kyung Lah is right now reporting from Akita in Northern Japan. And she joins us now on the phone Kyung Lah, I know that in has been a massive deployment of military forces there in Japan, as part of the search and rescue operation. What's your sense as to how things are progressing?
[Kyung Lah, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, it's really been tough for the last 24 hours, Isha, primarily because of the weather. It's been very rainy, cold. It's also been heavy snow in certain parts of the coastal area. So that that has really slowed down some of the search and rescue operation. What the what they're also waiting for, those military people that you're talking about, they need to wait for the water to recede. But because it's been raining, they haven't been able to do that. The reason why they need that water to go away is because they do believe that bodies may be under that water. There are so many reports of people who are missing. You mentioned the number of dead, that being around 3,000. Well, that number is certainly expected to climb, because there are so many parts of this coastal area that rescuers
[Sesay:] And, Kyung, to focus in on the situation with those shelters, where it's my understanding that at least 450,000 people are in shelters right now, what do we know of the conditions there? Because we know that people are struggling with dwindling supplies of food, water and fuel.
[Lah:] I do have to tell you that in these shelters that I have been at, they are very clean. They are running pretty well, especially if you consider that these have been set up by community members and the Red Cross. Food has been primarily donated by community members. It is a massive community effort. It is coming from the ground up, not from the top down, as of yet. And so it's been really extraordinary to see. In these classrooms, if you just stepped in there, you truly see all of the goodwill of Japanese culture at work. People are sharing what they have. If there's only enough food to go around for four people, those four people will split it among six to make sure everyone is fed. So the the benefit here is that this disaster has happened in a culture that is egalitarian, that is kind to one another and really truly wants to get back on its feet.
[Sesay:] Kyung Lah reporting there from Akita, Japan. Kyung, appreciate it and, Wolf, to toss it back to you, that is, indeed, a point that's being made over and over again, that it is Japanese culture that largely accounts for this lack of a breakdown in social order that we're seeing Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes, so far. All right, let's let's stay on top of the situation, Isha. I want to go one of the areas hardest hit by this disaster. Our own Brian Todd is traveling with U.S. search and rescue teams as they hunt for survivors.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] We're here in the town of Ofunato, which was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. You see some of the rescue workers there going into that very unstable house. These guy are very courageous. They go into these structures all the time knowing that they could come down at any minute. The devastation here is really kind of hard to put into words, but you can see just endless whole blocks of nothing but rubble. And this is what these guys have to come and try to sift through to find people alive. I'm going to show you one stark contrast. You can see up that hill. That's what high ground down in a tsunami. It can save those structures, save the people in them. But of course, down here, they just almost didn't have a chance. Just on the other side of these buildings is an inlet that comes in from the ocean. So it kind of funneled the tsunami waters in here. And rescue workers tell us that it that it made the waters even stronger just incredible force that game through that funnel, through that inlet and just swept over this entire area. I'm here with Chief Chris Schauf of Virginia Task Force One. Chris, when you come upon a scene like this, how do you guys even get started? How do you not get overwhelmed with all this?
[Chief Chris Schauf, American Rescue Worker:] You know, if you look at it in the big picture, it is easy to get overwhelmed. The way that we break it out by sticking with search teams, groups and breaking it down into small coordinates and small grids, it makes it easier for the guys and girls to focus on their jobs while they're here, so you can move from grid to grid instead of city to city. That would be too much and too much to process.
[Todd:] And you have other teams here helping you. And you're kind of cordoning off parts of the city, right?
[Schauf:] We do. It's been cordoned off, this particular location between us, L.A. and the U.K. are here. We've divided into seven coordinates or seven quadrants. And we're working in the lower three here. And then we've broken that down further by search groups and rescue teams that are working here.
[Todd:] All right, well, Chief, good luck. Thanks for doing this.
[Schauf:] Thank you.
[Todd:] One thing that Chief Schauf has told us is that what they count on a lot in these situations, not only for the canine teams that are just over there they're swarming around here, also, by the way. The dog teams are very impressive. They can find people alive in the rubble, but they also count on friends and relatives kind of waving at them, pointing to people, you know, who may be inside these structures, may be under these rubble piles. But Chief Schauf told me something that was pretty daunting a moment ago. In a situation like this, he said, there may be whole families that have gone missing. So, of course, no one is looking for them.
[Blitzer:] Brian Todd, thanks very much. It's hard to believe what a tsunami can do to a 4,000 pound car until you see Anderson Cooper's report. It's an amazing report Isha.
[Sesay:] And we'll dig deeper on Japan's nuclear emergency, the actual danger and how it compares to past nuclear accidents.

[Sambolin:] Welcome back to EARLY START. It is 51 minutes past the hour. The film "Zero Dark Thirty" about the hunt for Osama bin Laden will be a major Oscar player, but even before it opens, the film is courting controversy with questions about unprecedented and some say inappropriate access to classified information. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, spoke to the filmmakers.
[Unidentified Male:] Don't think she's a little young for the hard stuff? Washington says she's a killer.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] It's a Hollywood spy thriller with as much Oscar buzz as it has controversy. "Zero Dark Thirty," the story of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, from the Oscar-winning powerhouse team of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, recreates how it all happened from the female CIA analyst who finally figured out where he was hiding to the NAVY SEALs who killed him.
[Unidentified Female:] There are two narratives about the location of Osama bin Laden.
[Starr:] The controversy? The Obama administration has faced accusations it gave undeserved access to the filmmakers. In real life, everyone involved in the hunt for bin Laden remains sworn to secrecy. But the filmmakers say they got firsthand accounts. They just won't say exactly how that happened.
[Marl Boal, Writer/producer "zero Dark Thiry":] I think as a reporter, you would understand that we take protecting our sources and sort of the exact methodology of our sourcing pretty seriously, just in the same way if I asked you, how exactly did you source that story.
[Starr:] Kathryn, when you hear Mark talk this way, do you are you a journalist or a filmmaker?
[Kathryn Bigelow, Director/producer "zero Dark Thirty":] That's a good question. Well, I certainly tried to be as faithful to the research as possible and make a good movie and make a film that was timely.
[Starr:] But, how much access they got is the issue.
[Rep. Peter King,  New York:] Obviously, things went wrong here.
[Starr:] Congressman Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, first called for an investigation at both the CIA and the Pentagon.
[King:] There was an event where operatives were involved and they did not know until they got there that the Hollywood people were going to be present. So, which means their identity would have been shown.
[Starr:] King questions whether the military was pressured to cooperate on the film.
[King:] What access they were told to give, some resisted, some acquiesced.
[Starr:] But a senior military official denies the SEALs were pressured. CIA and Pentagon officials say no secrets were given away.
[King:] My understanding is that the Hollywood people got access to CIA operatives, to CIA locations, that they had access to the Navy SEALs which they should not have had. And I can't really go beyond that other than to say that now this investigation has gone on and it's been expanded.
[Starr:] Boal says he and Bigelow were very aware of national security concerns.
[Boal:] We're acutely aware that there are sensitivities around this material. And I think we approached this with a lot of respect for those sensitivities.
[Starr:] Congressman King makes clear the movie makers are free to do as they wish. His concern is whether the government is getting too close to Hollywood at the risk of the nation's secrets. Barbara Starr, CNN, New York.
[Romans:] So interesting.
[Sambolin:] Makes me want to watch it.
[Romans:] Yes.
[Sambolin:] All right. He's an Olympian, he's bobsledder, he was also blind at one point. Up next, we asked Steven Holcomb about the best advice he ever received.

[Quest:] Airbus has warned that its A350 program is challenging, and there's no room left in the schedule for further problems. The Airbus owners, of course, are EADS, and the parent company took a charge of more than $680 million. Two problems that they had to fix. Firstly, the A380 wings, and secondly, the development of the 350. It was the black mark on an otherwise strong earnings report: profits up 19 percent, revenue's gained 15 percent. I asked EADS chief exec Tom Enders if the lack of wiggle room on the 350 was now posing a risk to those numbers.
[Enders:] It's our policy that we are very transparent with risks in the company. Investors this is why we were very blunt about the 350 program. But this is not meant to ring any alarm bell, it's just stating the obvious, where a program of that size, of that magnitude, the technological challenges that we have in this program is inherently risky, and that is what the statement is about.
[Quest:] Fabrice Bregier told me that he was virtually personally overseeing the 350 project, at least from a to make sure it stays on track and doesn't become another fiasco a flight fiasco. I assume you're overseeing Fabrice Bregier to make sure that at some point you don't have to start answering questions about it.
[Enders:] Yes, Fabrice has been overseeing that program, has been very close to that program, since its very start in 2007. And I have to commend him on what he has achieved in terms of risk mitigation on that program, and I have every confidence in him knowing how to steer a program. We're on a good path here.
[Quest:] Look, we've got to talk about the Dreamliner. It's not your plane, of course. You've decided you I love the phrase that you were quite open and honest about you decided to go for Plan B with nickel cadmium. But you must now be also looking very closely at the certification process, because the FAA is questioning how the certification process of the 787 took place. You are about to go through the same process with the 350. It's going to be tougher.
[Enders:] Yes. You're absolutely right. The certification authorities will be more nervous about the certification also of our 350 after what they went through on the 787. So, there is no such thing as schadenfreude on our side. We watch very closely what's happening at Boeing, and we are lucky enough that on that program, we are a good two years behind Boeing so that we have the chance to activate our Plan B, which is simply to protect the entry into service. We spoke about risk just a minute ago. There are plenty of risks if you introduce a new aircraft, but those risks that you can master, that you can mitigate, I think you should, and this is exactly what we've done with our battery decision.
[Quest:] As the CEO now of the parent group, EADS I looked at the numbers. Airbus commercial revenues are twice as much as everything else combined. If you the numbers are it's what? $38 billion, and the rest comes to barely $16 billion. So, if you take that as a starting point, how much is it your priority to rebalance EADS in the future, if you can?
[Enders:] Well, I'll tell you Richard, right now I'm pretty happy with the balance or the ratio that we have. I take note that our dear competitor in Chicago nowadays is advertising its growing dependence on commercial and is playing down the defense side. So, the defense business in North America and Europe has fled. The commercial business is growing quite significantly. Not a bad position to be in, and then again, there's nothing magical about a 5050 balance of something like that. The good thing is, our defense business is rather stable. We have $12 billion revenues. That, by the way, makes us probably the second-largest if not the largest in terms of operations in Europe, European defense company. So, not a small piece of business. We have a well-sorted portfolio in areas that matches the mission requirements of our customers. I'm not unhappy about the situation we're in.
[Quest:] Tom Enders who is the chief executive of EADS. Staying in the air, the European Commission has rejected Ryanair's bid for Aer Lingus. It's the second time this has happened. The competition commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, said he had no choice. In his words, the deal would have directly harmed passengers who would have had to pay higher results as a result, in his words. Ryanair has made three bids for Aer Lingus and says the decision is manifestly unjust, describing it as politically inspired, pandering to the vested interests of the Irish government. Ryanair says it will appeal against the EU's decision. And this is the problem as it relates to Ryanair and Aer Lingus: put simply, Aer Lingus is scratching around for a market, and Ryanair is the largest passenger airline in Europe. It is becoming increasingly more difficult for Aer Lingus to fight off other than by legal means and the protection of the Irish government and, of course, the European Commission. But the Irish government wants out of Aer Lingus. Ryanair knows it only has to wait out and see its time, and Air Lingus is running short of friends. You might be tempted to say it's inevitable that Aer Lingus will eventually fall to Ryanair. Inevitable, perhaps not, but frankly, from whichever way you sit, and whichever way you look, most people in the industry say it's pretty likely. Now to tonight's Currency Conundrum. There's at least one place in the world that still uses coins made from stone for certain transactions. Is it Turkmenistan, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Cameroon. Ooh, I like thins one. The answer later in the program. Italy's bond sale boosted the euro, rising against the dollar. The yen's also higher. The pound flat. Those are the rates, this is the break.

[John King, Cnn Guest Anchor:] The state of Florida drops a bombshell. They're taking new legal action a real shocker, trying to make Casey Anthony pay, details on that. But that's not the only breaking news. We also know why the empty chairs, why the Casey Anthony jury could not face reporters after voting not guilty on each and every serious charge in the death of her daughter, Caylee. We know because tonight two of those jurors are speaking out, talking about why they and the others made that decision and their gut feelings when they did so. Martin Savidge has all the breaking news and joins us now from Orlando. Martin, Casey Anthony possibly new legal challenges tonight, what can you tell us about them?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, good evening, John. The state of Florida tonight has filed a motion to tax Casey Anthony for what it says are special costs that for going after her basically in the prosecution and also the investigation. In other words, it appears what they're looking for is some sort of restitution here. Now, the state says it needs about 60 days to figure out what those costs will be. Well, if it needs that long, that would imply the numbers could be fairly significant. And this, of course, plays into the idea that some fear that with her fame, Casey Anthony may gain a lot of money. Well, the state now may be looking to claim some of that money. It's all going to be worked out we think at sentencing tomorrow. We'll wait and see how that happens John.
[King:] And Martin, as we wait for that to happen, some dramatic new examples tonight; two of the jurors speaking out about why they decided to acquit Casey Anthony of killing her child. Here's what Juror Number Two told "The St. Petersburg Times." "I just swear to God, I wish we had more evidence to put her away. I truly do." Strong stuff, Marty. What else can you tell us about these jurors?
[Savidge:] Well, you have Juror Number Two there. Then Juror Number Three has been speaking out to ABC and Diane Sawyer. And there are a number of interesting quotes coming from her. And we'll show them you as I read them here. She starts off by saying, "I did not say she was innocent." This is Jennifer Ford, by the way. She says, "I just said that there was not enough evidence. If you cannot prove what the crime was, you cannot determine what the punishment should be." Ok. Here's what's interesting about that particular quote. It is as any legal person will say not up to a jury to determine punishment; their job to determine innocent or guilty. So that could be a question as to did the jury really understand their role? And that could be traced back to Judge Belvin Perry. Did he in fact inform them the right way? And then let me read you number two. This is again Juror Number Three, Jennifer Ford. And she says, "Everyone wonders why we didn't speak to the media right away. It was because we were sick to our stomach to get that verdict. We were crying, and not just the women. It was emotional and we weren't ready." Ok. Well, then also speaking to Barbara Walters of ABC, Jose Baez, the lead of the defense team. And he was talking about what the future could be like for Casey Anthony. Here's what was said.
[Barbara Walters, Abc News:] Are you worried about her safety?
[Jose Baez, Attorney For Casey Anthony:] I am. I am. And I'm afraid for her. And I don't think it's fair.
[Walters:] How do you see Casey's future?
[Baez:] I think Casey could have been anything she wanted in this world. And I think there are still plenty of things that Casey can do in life. And I think Casey can be a productive member of society.
[Savidge:] Exactly what Casey does next will be determined by what happens inside the building behind us starting at 9:00 in the morning, the time of her sentencing John.
[King:] Breaking news from Martin Savidge tonight. Martin, thank you. There's a lot more to talk about including what happens next for Casey and whether she'll spend more time behind bars. As Martin Savidge just said, the lawyers back in court tomorrow morning arguing about that. And I'll talk with our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark, and Dr. Drew Pinsky as well. First, though, the crumbling sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the man who still might be the next president of France. Who could forget the headlines? "Pepe Le Pew, "Le Perv" "Le Perv," "French Whine." A hotel maid's lurid account and of course, the suspect's dramatic capture. New York authorities rushing to the airport to arrest him, but "Keeping Them Honest", did they also rush needlessly to indict him, moving too quickly, missing red flags about his accuser's credibility? Today, lawyers for Strauss-Kahn sat down with Manhattan prosecutors. They called it a constructive meeting. The spokeswoman for the DA's office says no decisions have been made about dropping the case, a case that if you believe the sound bites sounded like a slam-dunk.
[Unidentified Male:] Sir, you said the detectives concluded that the victim was a credible victim and that her story had credibility. What is that based on?
[Raymond Kelly, New York City Police Commissioner:] What is that based on?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Kelly:] It's based on the experience of professional victims detectives. Now, this is a this is all they do. They investigate these types of crimes. Obviously, credibility of the complainant is a factor in cases of this nature and one of the things that they're trained to look for.
[Unidentified Male:] Can you say what it was about her story that made it credible?
[Kelly:] No, I can't.
[King:] The police commissioner, Ray Kelly, there four days after Strauss-Kahn was hauled off his flight and a day before the Manhattan DA, Cyrus Vance, sought an indictment and got it. That day, prosecutors were just as confident in their accuser as Commissioner Kelly was.
[John Mcconnell, Assistant District Attorney, New York County:] The complainant in this case has offered a compelling and unwavering story about what occurred in the defendant's room.
[King:] What Assistant DA McConnell did not say, perhaps because he did not know, were facts about the alleged victim's past and questions about her account. In a moment, former prosecutor Sunny Hostin and Jeffrey Toobin on whether they think a rush to prosecute made this case impossible to prosecute. First, though, Tom Foreman lays out the facts.
[Tom Foreman, Cnn Correspondent:] Dominique Strauss- Kahn's New York arrest in mid-May was a sensation, the head of the International Monetary Fund, a potential next president of France snatched from a jet moments before takeoff, accused of attempted rape by a hotel maid. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance put it simply.
[Cyrus Vance, Manhattan District Attorney:] These are extremely serious charges.
[Foreman:] The maid told police she had gone to clean Strauss- Kahn's $3,000-a-night suite and he had jumped her, naked, chasing, grabbing and molesting her. Then, they say, he went running for the airport when she escaped.
[Kelly:] The detectives investigating this case found the complainant to be credible.
[Foreman:] In short order, other women raised accusations of past improprieties, and under fire Strauss-Kahn resigned from the IMF. His attorneys insisted any encounter with the maid was consensual but French pundits proclaimed his political future dead. [on camera]: But while all of this was happening, it now appears prosecutors here in the States were finding serious cracks in the credibility of Strauss-Kahn's accuser. [voice-over]: Authorities now say the woman, who is from Guinea, deceived U.S. immigration officials so she could seek asylum, making false claims about suffering a gang rape. They say she lied to investigators about where she was immediately following the alleged hotel attack. And perhaps most troublesome, officials say she spoke by phone with a man in prison and as a source close to the investigation told CNN, assured him there is money to be made because Strauss-Kahn is rich. [on camera]: Authorities still say there is strong physical evidence of a sexual encounter between Strauss-Kahn and this woman, and her attorney says none of her past deceptions mean she is lying now. Still, it could all make it harder for prosecutors to prove she is telling the truth John.
[King:] Joining me now, two former federal prosecutors, senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and Sunny Hostin of "In Session" on TruTV. Jeff, simple question off the top, did the prosecution blow it and if so what were the mistakes?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] Well, I think there is one very serious mistake. The the the arrest on May 14th was obviously the right thing to do. He was about to get on a plane. They had to stop him from getting on a plane. But they only waited four-and-a-half days until indicting him. Once he's indicted, the prosecutor is completely committed to this story. They certainly could have waited. They could have held onto Strauss-Kahn's passport, but allowed him out on bail and taken the time to investigate it. Where was he going to go? He was not going to disappear. The rush to indict was a serious mistake, and the DA's office is paying for that mistake now.
[King:] As they pay for it, Sunny, we have the questions about the victim, the alleged victim's credibility. Yet prosecutors are saying they're not ready to drop this case. They still think they have strong enough evidence to go forward. Sunny, can't hear me. Jeff, let me come back to you. We'll get Sunny's audio fixed there. So they say essentially, sure, we have credibility issues, but they're not ready to drop the case. Can you prosecute without putting the accuser on the stand?
[Toobin:] Well, you certainly cannot bring a case like this without calling the accuser at all. I mean, the case could not be brought. Now, it is possible to put forth a flawed witness. A lot of the people who are witnesses to crimes are criminals themselves. They are troubled people. They have dark chapters in their past. You could go to a jury and say, "Look, she's not a perfect person, but look at the physical evidence. She was assaulted by this man." That is a perfectly plausible possibility. But it makes the case a lot harder if you have things like a lie about rape, practically the same thing as the accusation here in her past.
[King:] And so, Sunny, come in on that point. You have prosecuted sex cases in the past, sex crime cases. How hard is it when you have her credibility at risk here to have some people say, ok, well, some of her story might not be true, but that doesn't mean a crime didn't take place?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Analyst, "in Session" On Trutv:] Well, that is true. But when you're a prosecutor, John, it's not what really happened. It's what you can prove. I think we've seen this all with the Casey Anthony case. And so with the victim's credibility decimated in a way like this, there's just no way that this case can go forward. The victim would be the star witness, especially in a case where you have sort of this he saidshe said. If they don't believe her, the case goes away. So in my view in looking at the facts of this case, in looking at the Brady material that was sent to the defense, there's just no way that you can prosecute this case.
[King:] And how much would this factor in? And you have the questions about the victim's credibility. You also have the chief of the sex crimes unit in the prosecutor's office, Lisa Friel, reportedly taken off the case very early on. Then she resigns just a day before news of the major problems in the case surfaced. What do you make of that? Couldn't the defense use that as well?
[Hostin:] Well, I don't feel that the defense can use it, but certainly the circumstances are curious. Of course, the DA's office has said that her resignation has nothing to do with this case. She hasn't really made formal comment. But it is certainly odd that the chief of the unit would resign, would be taken off this case just a few days before it started unraveling. So I think that's something that we don't know enough about, but there must be something to it.
[King:] And Jeff, late today the alleged victim's lawyer asked the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance, to recuse himself because of how his office has handled the case; any way to get that to happen?
[Toobin:] I don't think so. I mean, this recusals happen when there are some sort of conflict of interests. I don't see any conflict of interests here. This is a troubled case. It is troubled because that this the accuser didn't tell the truth. So I think it takes a certain amount of gall for her lawyer to ask the DA to recuse himself. Maybe his client should have been more honest from the beginning. So and I just think that's a red herring. I don't think it's going to lead to anything at all.
[King:] And Sunny, any impact beyond this case? Sex crime victims already sometimes reluctant to come forward; with all this scrutiny on the alleged victim here, do you think there'll be a domino effect, a chilling effect?
[Hostin:] You know there very well may be. And I think that is what so many people are concerned about, especially people like myself, who have tried these sex crimes cases because it is so very difficult for a victim to come forward. And because she has really been skewered in the press, her name is just all over the place now, her identity; I think it could have that chilling effect. But again, because she isn't credible does not mean that she was not sexually attacked. The prosecution may not be able to prove this, but it doesn't mean that it didn't happen. And so hopefully we won't see that sort of chilling effect in prosecuting these kinds of cases.
[Toobin:] John John, I had a professor in law school who said, you know, there are some people who think some crimes are so serious that not even innocence is a defense. You know, this is important stuff to look at the victim's background. I mean maybe Dominique Strauss-Kahn is innocent. So sure, I mean, it's you know sure, we don't want to discourage honest, real victims from coming forward.
[Hostin:] That's right.
[Toobin:] But it's important that prosecutors, police, and the defense get to investigate these stories, because some of them simply aren't true.
[King:] Well, we'll keep our eye on all angles. Sunny Hostin, thanks to you tonight. Jeff Toobin, stick around. We're going to talk Casey Anthony shortly. In the meantime, let us know what you think. We're on Facebook or follow me on Twitter @JohnKingCNN. I will be tweeting throughout the program tonight. As mentioned, Jeff's back with Marcia Clark to talk about what comes next for Casey Anthony. Sentencing tomorrow on the lying charges, more on tonight's breaking news and Dr. Drew Pinsky on what Casey's many lies tell us about her future. Next, though, "Raw Politics"; he's threatening to stand alone against what he calls a bad budget deal, even if it leads to the government not being able to pay its bills my conversation with Senator Rand Paul. First, though, let's check in with Isha Sesay.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn International Correspondent:] John, 110 degrees in the shade is usually enough to tell you Phoenix is in the desert. But you have never seen the desert in Phoenix quite like this before. Incredible time-lapse photography, that and much more when 360 continues.

[Jodi Arias, Accused Of Killing Ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander:] Travis wanted to have a threesome with another woman, and I wasn`t I mean I don`t I`m not gay, but it was something I was contemplating going along with.
[A.j. Hammer, Hln:] Tonight in the SHOWBIZ countdown, "Judging Jodi," the sex, drama and web of lies. Well, tonight we are counting down the top three things TV judges would face if they were presiding over the Jodi Arias trial. TV`s best known judges right here and ready to rule. But what will be their number run Arias challenge? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT starts right now.
[Hammer:] Hello. Thanks for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer, and we begin with our first big SHOWBIZ countdown of the night. "Judging Jodi." Tonight, only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is bringing you the judges you watch on TV and we`re asking them to rule on the top three things they would deal with if they were presiding over the Jodi Arias trial. From the lies to the sex, to Jodi`s gruesome killing of her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, stabbing him 27 times and shooting him, all, as she claims, in self defense. With us tonight from Chicago, it`s great having these guys here, Judge Lyn Toler, who was a longtime judge in Cleveland and now hosts TV`s "Divorce Court." In New York tonight, Judge David Young who was judge in Miami and of course hosted the "Judge David Young Show." Thanks for being here, Your Honors.
[David Young, "judge David Young":] Thank you for having us.
[Hammer:] Absolutely. So we`re kicking off our SHOWBIZ countdown tonight with number three. It`s the number three thing that we can`t wait to hear how both of you would deal with. All of this graphic sex talk at the trial. The Jodi Arias case is about a brutal killing. But it`s also about sex.
[Arias:] Give him oral sex, and he wanted
[Hammer:] We know everything we could ever care to know about Jodi and Travis`s sex life, including the what?
[Arias:] We ended up having sex anal sex.
[Hammer:] The where?
[Arias:] He also wanted to have sex on the freeway while driving which we did.
[Hammer:] And the how.
[Arias:] When I do something like that, like masturbating both hands.
[Hammer:] And when it came time to read the juror questions, even the judge joined in the sex talk.
[Judge Sherry Stephens, Superior Court, Maricopa County:] Why did you have sexual relations with Travis?
[Hammer:] Necessary evidence or unnecessary titillation? Jodi Arias` trial is the sexiest trial on TV. And not only is this the sexiest trial on TV but it`s really the most graphic. We have watched Jodi`s testimony for 17 days now. She`s back on the stand tomorrow. And of course we`re going to see it live right here on HLN. Judge Kohler, if Jodi Arias was brought into your TV courtroom, would you allow all of the sex testimony?
[Judge Lynn Toler, "discovery Court":] I think I would have to. A lot of her defense is that she was abused mentally and physically. And that demand and that heavy sexual thing is part of her defense. And you can`t not allow a person to bring up their defense. So although it is graphic, though it is lurid, it`s something I think the jury needs to hear.
[Hammer:] And I think what`s striking all of us is how much of it there has been. Judge Young, would you be allowing all the sex testimony in your courtroom?
[Young:] Well, if it was during sweeps week, absolutely.
[Hammer:] Well, of course, of course.
[Young:] But, you know, I hear what Judge Toler had to say and I kind of agree with it. But then again in my courtroom it doesn`t mean anything. Her talk about the sex was just to titillate herself, probably, and maybe the jurors, but it had no bearing on the fact of whether or not she killed this guy in self-defense. It was absolutely extraneous and the judge should have smacked her down on it. I know I would have.
[Hammer:] Well, we know, you know, whether or not all the sex talk is relevant to the case, it does make for compelling television. So, Judge Young, you made a great point about it during sweep week, but it keeping us engaged. Judge Toler, do you think that perhaps some of this graphic testimony is actually designed by Jodi`s defense team to keep the jurors engaged in this trial?
[Toler:] I think it`s designed to make the jurors feel sorry for her. I think they want her to see as weak and being just humiliated over and over and over again by this guy. And I think she`s making it as humiliating and lurid as she could possibly can in order to bolster her defense that she was just totally taken over in the mind and she was almost Stockholm syndromed by this guy and all of his unusual sexual desires. And also king of making him a bit of a villain. You`re not going to like him as much and it would be easier to let her go so I think that`s why she`s doing all of it.
[Hammer:] Judge Young, do you see it the same way or do you think there`s a chance, hey, look, these jurors are going to pay attention so let`s just keep putting it all out there and really get them siding with her as much as possible because she is willing to talk about all this stuff.
[Young:] Well, it`s all the sex talk that`s making people from around the country get interested in this case. I mean, Casey Anthony had her had her own thing, but it wasn`t as wide and variety of people who are absolutely glued to the TV set. And I think that the defense counsel knows that and I think that the defense counsel, knowing that is hoping that all it takes is one juror to go against the death penalty and her life is saved. And that`s what I think she`s banking on.
[Hammer:] Yes. And certainly the sex talk, a big part of the Jodi Arias trial, but there`s some other stuff going on, too. And that takes us to number two in our SHOWBIZ countdown of things our TV judges would be dealing with if they were presiding over the trial. Jodi`s many, many, many lies. Followers of the Jodi Arias trial are losing track of all the lies she`s told about Travis` murder.
[Unidentified Female:] Did you kill Travis Alexander?
[Arias:] Absolutely not.
[Hammer:] First lie?
[Arias:] Nowhere near Mesa.
[Hammer:] Jodi`s second lie?
[Arias:] I witnessed Travis being attacked by two other individuals.
[Hammer:] Now Jodi is on her third and current story. She killed Travis in self-defense. And yes, she admits to
[Arias:] Anything that relates back to my involvement in Travis`s death, I covered up.
[Hammer:] But now the big question is this, is Jodi still lying? And I have to tell you, and I know you`re right there with me as I have watched her live testimony here on HLN, I am just stunned by how many lies Jodi has been caught telling. Judge Toler, if you were presiding over this trial, how would you deal with the all lies, especially when she got up there and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
[Toler:] You know, it`s interesting, not only did she tell a lot of lies, she tells them so well. That`s what I found so fascinating about her is that she could I mean, she was believable and just with the passion of each different story that she made up. If she was right in it, like she was really there. But as a judge, there`s nothing that I should do or can do about it. The jury will take into consideration every story, everything she said, and they`re the trier of facts. And they can decide whether after three or four tries she finally got to the truth or not.
[Hammer:] OK, well, I`m going to flip that on its side for a second because you both were not just judges on your TV shows, you actually also served as the jury. So, Judge Young, to you, after all of her admitted past lies and yes, boy, could she sell a lie. I mean, holy mackerel. But would you believe anything that Jodi told you including, I`m not guilty of murder?
[Young:] You know, if this was my court, I would have a computer generated Pinocchio, and every time this woman told a lie have the nose grow and grow and grow, and it`d probably take up the states of Texas, Arizona, Florida, and Georgia, and Alabama and Louisiana. No, it boils down to credibility, A.J., and this woman has absolutely no credibility. By the tenor and the tone of the questions that the jurors asked her, it`s clear in my mind that a majority if not all of them think that on the level of one to 10, as far as credibility is concerned, she`s probably negative infinity.
[Hammer:] Yes. It`s it is hard to believe they`re not thinking that negative infinity. I mean, really I I don`t know, and it`s going to be so interesting to see the inside we get into what was going on in their mind, if any of them speak after this is all over. But we now heard how you would deal with the lies with the graphic sex testimony that takes us to number one on our SHOWBIZ countdown of things our TV judges would deal with if they presiding Jodi`s marathon testimony. She keeps testifying.
[Arias:] He lunged at me right around the time the thing went off.
[Hammer:] And testifying.
[Stephens:] Did you enjoy having sex with Travis?
[Arias:] For the most part, yes, I did.
[Hammer:] And testifying.
[Juan Martinez, Prosecutor:] You`re the one that did this, right?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Hammer:] And when the Jodi Arias trial resumes on Wednesday which will be carried live right here on HLN, she`ll be right back in a familiar spot back on the stand.
[Arias:] What happened on June 4th, that was the most traumatic experience of my life.
[Hammer:] Jodi has testified for a total of 17 days so far. That`s longer than it takes to get through most murder trials. So SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has got to ask, when will the Jodi Arias testifying show finally end? And we may have a better idea when it will all end when we watch Jodi Arias again tomorrow on the stand, live right here on HLN. But Judge Toler, if you`re presiding over this trial would you have allowed this amount of testimony?
[Toler:] I think where I would have cut it off was would have been a little bit in the beginning where she went all the way back to how her parents disciplined her. And I know she`s trying to establish, you know, her state of mind, and that she has been abused before. But I think she got to take a little too much time talking about who she was and what she was, way before she ever met Travis Alexander. So I would have curtailed it a little bit in the beginning, but the longer she testifies, the worse she makes it for herself.
[Hammer:] Yes, it couldn`t
[Toler:] If I was her attorney I`d sit her down.
[Hammer:] Yes, it`s surprising. You want to believe they have a game plan here and the judge has let it continue. And we`re going to leave it there. Our judges, your honors, David and Lynn, thank you so much for being here. I appreciate it.
[Young:] Thanks for having us.
[Hammer:] And tomorrow night, at 10 p.m. here on HLN, we are going to premier a new special series. It`s "
[Hln After Dark:] you do not want to miss this. It`s all about the unpredictable trial that has captured the nation`s attention, the Jodi Arias case, of course. It`s "HLN AFTER DARK", a new special series not to be missed, starts tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. Well, there is one question that we may never learn the answer to. What really made Jodi snap? It`s the SHOWBIZ countdown, today`s SHOWBIZ newsmakers and tonight I`m asking Sharon Martin, the producer of the wildly popular show "Snaps," about what may have been going on inside Jodi`s head on the night that she killed her ex-boyfriend. Plus, look at this picture. It`s been a huge newsmaker. That is Kim Kardashian after she got a so-called vampire facial. I can barely look at it. But is Kim nuts or is this the ultimate fountain of youth? Well, we`ve got a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon to the stars right here with us to give us the ugly truth about Kim K`s beauty treatment. But which newsmaker will be number one? This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.

[Lemon:] And new information into CNN. This is coming from CNN's Fran Townsend, our security expert, who is saying that a lid to a pressure cooker much like this one, a six-liter pressure cooker, two of them believed to be what caused that blast. Fashioned with ball bearings and nails inside. But the lid to a pressure cooker found right across the street from the finish line of the Boston Marathon. And this will be used to help figure out exactly who may be behind this. So, again, a lid to a pressure cooker, six-liter pressure cooker much like this one, found across the street from the finish line there at the Boston Marathon, and, again, that's what investigators are going to use to try to put together, piece together exactly what happened. And in the wake of all of this, of this terror attack on Monday in Boston, you know, it has gotten people really nervous around the country. Understandable that many people across the country are anxious and they are attending large events like baseball games and NASCAR races this weekend. I want to go to CNN's Miguel Marquez. He is standing by now to tell us about how they're going to keep crowds secure for other events Miguel.
[Miguel Marquez, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, it's going to be very difficult there, Don. But it's not only people across the U.S. but around the world are watching Boston, hoping to learn lessons.
[Marquez:] When it comes to security at big events, despite the number of people attending, each event presents a different security challenge or nightmare.
[Tom Fuentes, Former Fbi Assistant Director:] If you have something like the Super Bowl football game or World Cup soccer, you have the majority of the crowd confined in a stadium of some sort.
[Marquez:] Places like Dodger Stadium, easier to protect. Vigilance and security increased since Boston. More thorough bag checks, more police presence. But in public venues, mass crowds not separated by stadium walls, security headaches multiplied. [On Camera] Organizers for this weekend's London Marathon are reassessing security plans for its 35,000 runners and tens of thousands of fans lining the route. It's the same problem in Tempe, Arizona, at this weekend's Pat Tillman Run. It's extremely challenging because it's not a secure environment. You know, we can't put fences around it. We can't put an officer every two feet. So we really on every set of eyes out there.
[Marquez:] With so many radicalized groups, or individuals out there, so many large events and soft targets, regardless of the event, the best security is knowing of the threat before the events occur. That means intelligence and lots of cameras, electronic surveillance and more law enforcement.
[Fuentes:] I think for the most part, the public has pretty much sad since 911. We'll live with that. We'll go ahead and accept that that's that's the new world we live in.
[Marquez:] Identifying who carried out the Boston bombing and will help security officials everywhere, but no where will it change the threat to large public events. Now look, Russian officials have also said in Sochi for the winter Olympics, they are watching what happens in Boston. And right now it's music, concert season, so you have Coachella Festival out here. They have a higher vigilance out in the desert here because of Boston and Fourth of July events. They're all swinging it because those are very open events as well. All all authorities looking at Boston, hoping that once they figured out what happened in Boston, it will helm them go forward and make their venues more secured as well Don.
[Lemon:] All right. CNN's Miguel Marquez. Miguel, thank you. It's certainly the season now, it's starting to warm up. More outdoor events, more concerts, more ball games. And again, I just want to give our viewers the information on the breaking news here at CNN. Our security experts security analyst, Fran Townsend, getting the information this morning that right across the street from the finish line to the Boston Marathon, a pressure cooker top was found on the roof of a building. Again two pressure cookers they believe investigators believe that what caused these two particular explosions here. They believe that the bombmaker fashioned the pressure cooker into a bomb by using nails and ball bearings and other explosive material. More information on the breaking news and other stories when we come right back here on CNN.

[Jane Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, a twist in the Casey Anthony case that could have changed everything. Tonight, investigators admit they missed perhaps the most incriminating piece of evidence there was in the case against the most hated woman in America. That`s right, the jury never heard about it at all. Could this smoking gun have changed the outcome? Tonight, I`m talking to a former Casey defense team member and the attorney for the woman suing Casey Anthony, right now.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, secret new evidence in the Casey Anthony case that could have changed it all. How did prosecutors miss the smoking gun that was right there on the Anthony family computer? We`ll debate whether Casey would have been behind bars right now and who is responsible for this colossal oversight. And fists were flying over superstar Halle Berry`s Thanksgiving holiday as her model ex-, Gabriel Aubrey, confronts her actor fiance, Olivier Martinez, in front of her 4-year-old daughter. Both men ended up in the emergency room, and now Gabriel is facing a battery charge. We`ve got the very latest. And how did this become the first sign of the holiday season, mobs and stampedes for deals and flash sales? Is this the true meaning of Christmas? Tonight, famed spiritual author of "A Course in Miracles," Marianne Williamson, helps us have a meaningful holiday.
[Unidentified Female:] The Florida sheriff`s office admits it missed key evidence in the Casey Anthony murder trial.
[Unidentified Male:] They say they failed to spot on a computer in Casey`s home that a Google search was made for, quote, "foolproof suffocation techniques" the day the little girl vanished. The Orange County sheriff`s office failed to notice the evidence in computer records they held for three years.
[Jose Baez, Casey`s Lawyer:] We were waiting for the state to bring it up. And when they didn`t, we were kind of shocked.
[Unidentified Female:] This is disgusting. The baby, what about her? Justice for Caylee, justice for Caylee! Justice for Caylee, justice for Caylee! Justice for Caylee, justice for Caylee! As to the charge of first-degree murder, the verdict as to count one, we the jury find the defendant not guilty, not guilty, not guilty.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, a smoking gun that could have changed everything. Ominous Internet searches, uncovered on Casey`s computer on the very day prosecutors say little Caylee was murdered. Tonight, investigators in the Casey Anthony trial are forced to admit they messed up. Good evening, I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell. And the big question tonight, could this newly-revealed evidence have changed the verdict in the Casey Anthony murder trial? When Casey was found not guilty of the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, the public was outraged.
[Unidentified Female:] Justice for Caylee! She was left in a swamp! Nobody there to defend her. We`re out here to say, Caylee, we remember you. We will stand up for you even when the jury failed you!
[Velez-mitchell:] Have you ever heard anything like that? Crowds running to get a spot in the courtroom to watch Casey`s trial in person. We all got invested. I was there for months covering it. The nation was riveted as Casey Anthony acted out.
[Casey Anthony, Acquitted Of Murder:] Can someone let me come on!
[Cindy Anthony, Casey`s Mother:] Casey, hold on, sweetheart. Settle down.
[Casey Anthony:] Nobody`s letting me speak. You want me to talk, then give me three seconds to say something.
[Cindy Anthony:] All right. Go, sweetheart.
[Casey Anthony:] I`m not in control over any of this, because I don`t know what the hell is going on.
[Velez-mitchell:] And now after all that, more than four years after little Caylee died, we learn a secret, a big secret, that investigators missed an absolutely crucial Google search done from a computer in Casey Anthony`s own home just hours before the child died. Using Casey Anthony`s password-protected account, someone typed the phrase, "foolproof suffication," misspelling the word "suffocation" with an "i." Even Casey`s attorneys knew about the Google search. Listen to this from WKMG, the Atlanta TV station that broke this story.
[Baez:] We were waiting for the state to bring it up, and when they didn`t, we were kind of shocked.
[Velez-mitchell:] Who typed those words? WKMG believes it was Casey, arguing no one else was home at the time. Cindy and George had already left for work. So if prosecutors had known about this incriminating Google search, they would have been able to argue to the jury that Casey Googled "foolproof suffication" hours before she killed her child by suffocation. Straight out to Michelle Suskauer. How big on a scale of 1 to 10 an oversight is this? I mean, in my humble opinion, it`s a monumental mistake. I want to pull out for a second. I want to show you some of the notes that we have on this case. This is just a taste of what we have accumulated. There were 25,000 pages of discovery alone. Hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the investigation, years spent on the investigation. And the smoking gun was on the laptop computer, on the home computer all along Michelle Suskauer.
[Michelle Suskauer:] It was it was and there was so much that they had to go through in terms of law enforcement. But, Jane, the fact that it was there and they didn`t find it and the defense had it it wasn`t the defense`s job to tell the state what to do and how to prove their case. Would this have made a difference, though, to the jury? I don`t know if this would have made a difference, because again, it doesn`t answer those crucial questions as to who exactly typed that into that Google search, because there is no witnesses to that. It is more circumstantial evidence here. And that was not enough for this jury to convict her.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, let`s lay out the facts of the case for our audience. Prosecutors believe Caylee Anthony was killed June 16. Now, let`s look at the Internet activity from June 16 that investigators missed that was found on the computer at Casey`s house ultimately. Records show on June 16, George Anthony left for work at 2:30 in the afternoon. Cindy, she had already gone to work that morning. WKMG reports at 2:49 in the afternoon, the Anthony family`s computer was activated by somebody using Casey`s password-protected account. At 2:51, somebody does a Google search for the term "foolproof suffication," misspelling the last word as "suffication." And then five seconds later, the user clicks on an article that includes advice on foolproof ways to die including, "Poison yourself, follow up with suffocation, place a plastic bag over your head." At 2:52, the browser reports activity on MySpace, a Web site Casey Anthony used and George Anthony did not. Robyn Walensky, you are the author of "Beautiful Life: The CSI Behind the Casey Anthony Trial." Robyn, this is how the child died. These Google searches talk about suffocation, poisoning and putting plastic bags over your head. She, according to prosecutors, was killed by chloroform. She was suffocated with the duct tape over the mouth, and she was put in plastic bags.
[Robyn Walensky, Author, "beautiful Life":] Jane, definitely when I first heard this, there`s definitely the wow factor here. And it`s a super interesting nugget. But I have to tell you, Jane, you were sitting in that trial and so was I. I don`t think it would have made a hill of difference with these jurors. When the trial was over, the jurors wanted to know how that witch`s brew was made, how the chloroform was made. And the prosecutors never told the jurors that nugget. They also never took the jurors on a trip to the swamp scene. And I think that those were the two factors that really would have made a difference in the outcome of the verdict. While this nugget is super interesting, Jane, that they missed this, I still don`t think it would have made, really, at the end of the day, a fabric in the outcome of the not guilty verdict with these particular jurors.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, all right. You`ve got your vote. Susan Constantine, jury consultant, what say you?
[Susan Constantine, Jury Consultant:] Well, I`m not so sure I agree with that. Because yes, it is a little nugget of gold, fool`s gold, maybe, but on the other hand, you know, we`re tying this all together, the duct tape, we`re listening to Cindy Anthony`s testimony about that she`s the one that did those chloroform searches. But here we now have new evidence that could have tied the pieces together and really thrown kind of a wrench into the defense`s alibi here. So I think that actually it would have had an impact on those jurors.
[Velez-mitchell:] Casey`s mom, Cindy, took credit for other incriminating searches on the Internet done on the family computer when prosecutors argue that Cindy was at work. Listen to Cindy`s explanation about a Google search for the phrase "neck-breaking."
[C. Anthony:] I did not search for neck-breaking, but I do recall that there was a pop-up that was showing a YouTube regarding a skateboarder that was skateboarding on rails like if you`re going like a turnstile-type rail if you`re going into some place and the skateboarder and I recall it saying, "a neck-breaking feat."
[Velez-mitchell:] Beth Karas, a lot of people felt that Cindy perjured herself and was making up stories to protect her daughter. But she couldn`t have claimed credit for this one because she was definitely at work on this at this time.
[Beth Karas, Trutv`s "in Session":] That`s right. On June 18 June 16. You know,
[Velez-mitchell:] Absolutely fascinating. We`re going to tell you more about the, quote unquote, "screw-up" on the other side.
[Casey Anthony:] Dad, please...
[George Anthony, Casey`s Father:] I`m not trying to get you upset.
[Casey Anthony:] I am upset now. I`m completely upset. One, the media`s going to have a freaking field day with this. I wasn`t even I wasn`t even supposed to take this. Let me speak for a sec.
[Velez-mitchell:] Casey`s attorney during the trial, Jose Baez, claimed that Casey`s father, George Anthony, could be responsible for little Caylee`s death. Listen to these dramatic comments in Jose Baez`s opening statement.
[Baez:] And shortly thereafter, George began to yell at her, "Look what you`ve done! Your mother will never forgive you, and you will go to jail for child neglect for the rest of your freaking life."
[Velez-mitchell:] And even in his book on the case, Jose Baez points the finger again at George Anthony, saying that George could have typed the Google search for foolproof suffocation. But George was already at work. Jayne Weintraub, criminal defense attorney, you`ve always been sympathetic toward the defense. Would the jury buy that? George went to work. He had a job. And Casey`s cell phone pinged in the neighborhood of the home around the time of this Google search.
[Jayne Weintraub, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, to buy this whole premise, you have to buy the fact that George was absolutely precise about his time line. And I don`t buy anything that George Anthony said. Therefore, I can`t accept the premise that he was already at work, No. 1. No. 2 is, it could have been a daylight savings glitch on the computer, which had happened previously on these forensic analyses. They did not reset it. And No. 3, it doesn`t really matter because double jeopardy is attached, and there cannot be a retrial. You can`t convict the computer. You need the person typing on it. And they would never have that. On other similar instances, this jury rejected this kind of a stretch by the prosecution.
[Velez-mitchell:] I don`t know it`s a stretch to say that somebody does Internet searches on the very day that somebody`s murdered that correlate almost precisely with the way in which the person is murdered: suffocation, chloroform, poison...
[Weintraub:] Jane, chloroform, there were traces of chloroform in the trunk of the car, not the trunk of the body. There was no chloroform.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, listen, we can`t argue the entire case. But let me say this. And you might agree with me and I want to go to Matt Morgan, you`re the attorney for Zenaida Gonzalez, the so-called Zanny the nanny who is suing Casey Anthony, saying that her life was ruined by Casey Anthony claiming initially that she left the child with Zanny the nanny. How, in your opinion, big of a mistake is this, that they failed to find on the home computer because they didn`t check the right Internet search engine [SIC]. Some people use Internet Explorer. She didn`t. That`s they checked Internet explorer. They didn`t check the Internet check search engine [SIC] she used, Mozilla Firefox. How big of a mistake is it, and how much is it going to cost your client, Zenaida Gonzalez?
[Matt Morgan, Attorney For Zenaida Gonzalez:] I think it`s unfortunate they didn`t do their due diligence, because obviously, they should have searched every search engine [SIC] which was uploaded to the computer. For my client in particular, it does not really affect her case in any way because our focus and our concern, when we present the evidence in our case, will be of and relating to the statements made by Casey Anthony in relation to Zenaida Gonzalez and the affects those statements have had on Zenaida Gonzalez`s life. So this revelation, which has come forward with the evidence truly won`t make that dramatic of an impact on Zenaida`s case...
[Velez-mitchell:] But Matt, it would have been it would be far better for your client, had she been convicted, for example, than if she since she was acquitted, that makes your lawsuit against her a little more difficult. You`ll give me that?
[Morgan:] Well, in a sense. But our lawsuit is really focused upon the statements which were made before her criminal trial really got going. So with defamation, as soon as you make that remark, you`ve got the claim for defamation. I mean, you make a statement about a person that causes a defamatory effect. And then it causes harm to somebody. So as soon as that statement is made, as soon as it`s broadcasted to the world, you`ve got a claim. If she was accused of them, then found guilty, then perhaps that, you know, it could have been a benefit. But ultimately she was not.
[Velez-mitchell:] Matt, thank you for joining us. On the other side of the break, we`re going to talk to somebody who was on the defense team for Casey Anthony. Next.
[Unidentified Female:] We the jury find the defendant not guilty, so say we all, Orange County, Florida on this 5th day of July, 2011, signed foreperson.
[Velez-mitchell:] And we are delighted to welcome to our show Linda Kenney Baden, who was a member of the Casey Anthony defense team. Linda, Jose Baez said that they were waiting for this bombshell this really unbelievable smoking gun evidence that never came. Can you put us inside the defense team mindset as this crucial piece of evidence that was in the computer, the home computer, never, never made it into the courtroom?
[Linda Kenney Baden, Former Member Of Casey`s Defense Team:] Well, first of all, good evening, Jane. I hope you and your family are all well.
[Velez-mitchell:] Thank you.
[Baden:] But I`m not going to put you in the mindset of the defense team, because I wasn`t on the defense team at that time. But what I can say to you is that we were very confident at the time I was on the defense team and I`m not revealing any secrets, because Jose Baez already revealed this, that this search actually exonerated Casey Anthony. Quite frankly, I don`t know about the people that did the new evaluation of her computer, but what I do know is that you can`t say that that search at 1:50 and it is 1:50, not 2:50 was done by Casey Anthony. For instance, at 10 p.m. that night, there was activity on Casey Anthony`s Yahoo! account from that computer. No one`s mentioned that. It certainly wasn`t Casey. The next day, there was Facebook activity and MySpace activity on Casey Anthony`s account from that computer. That was the day that Casey Anthony wasn`t even at the house at all. So I think this is not a bombshell. And I think the defense was certainly ready to deal with this and deal with it in the way that they believe would have exonerated Casey Anthony.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I want to give Beth Karas you and I both covered this a chance to put that into perspective.
[Karas:] Well, I hear what Linda is saying, that it was really 1:50 in the afternoon, not 2:50, 2:51, 2:52. And we heard Jane Weintraub say it might have been a Daylight Savings issue where the computer had the wrong time. So there are two different reports coming out about the time. If it`s 2:52 in the afternoon, then Casey had time to come back home after George left if he left at 2:30. But George says that she left at 1 p.m. with her daughter. And so I mean, this is not, I don`t think, a smoking gun that would have been a game changer in the end. And would have caused 12 people to come back with a guilty verdict. There are just too many questions still.
[Velez-mitchell:] Robyn, ten seconds, are you at least a tad surprised that had they didn`t check the other search engine [SIC]?
[Walensky:] Shoddy work, Jane. But at the end of the day, the verdict would have been the same. The jurors wanted to now step by step how little Caylee was killed.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, it`s a fascinating subject. I want to thank Linda Kenney Baden for joining us. You will not want to miss "NANCY GRACE" at the top of the hour. She will have so much more on this case. That`s at 8 p.m. Eastern, right here on HLN. On the other side, we`re talking Halle Berry. And you won`t believe what went on during Thanksgiving.
[Unidentified Female:] Thanksgiving drama at Halle Berry`s house.
[Unidentified Male:] Police were called to her home in L.A. after a brawl broke out.
[Unidentified Female:] That`s when a fight broke out between Gabriel and Olivier Martinez, Halle`s new fiance. We`re all struggling to find love. Gabriel Aubry was dropping off their daughter when police say he got into a fight with Olivier Martinez. This is a lot more serious than what it was, just this ongoing custody battle.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, a holiday face-off between Oscar winner Halle Berry`s French actor fiance and her model ex-boyfriend. Get out your scorecards. It gets complicated. But they`re all
[Jen Hager:] This is an ongoing custody dispute at the heart of this between Halle and her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child, Gabriel Aubry. And remember, just a couple of weeks ago, Halle Berry was told by a judge here in Los Angeles that she could not move to France with her fiance, Olivier Martinez, and take their daughter, Nala. So there could have been some residual feelings left over from that. Sources tell RadarOnline.com that there is security surveillance video of the fight between Olivier and Gabriel Aubry.
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh!
[Heger:] Right. Now, I`m told that there is no sound on the cameras outside in the driveway where this fight took place. However, sources close to Gabriel Aubry are hopeful that this video will exonerate him. But Gabriel Aubry has another big dilemma on his hands because he is a Canadian citizen. He is in the United States on a work visa. Now, ever since 911, the INS, the Immigration Naturalization Services Department, has been cracking down on people that have been arrested for any crime. Now, just this arrest alone for allegedly battery of Olivier Martinez could have his visa revoked and he could be deported back to Canada. It`s a mess.
[Velez-mitchell:] Ok. But Michelle Suskauer, criminal defense attorney, here`s what I don`t understand. Olivier is from France and he was in this fisticuffs with Gabriel. Gabriel was badly beaten. Gabriel`s the one with the black eye. Martinez has scuffs on his hands reportedly. Why is Olivier Martinez not charged with anything?
[Michelle Suskauer, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, you know, certainly they could both be charged with a fray if they`re both involved. And I think that the video
[Velez-mitchell:] But they`re not. It`s only Gabriel who`s charged.
[Suskauer:] That`s right. And so he could not only lose his citizenship but lose custody. And Olivier could very well have started up with him, which really he could, again, we`re not going it`s going to be a he-said, he-said. So it really is a question of what was said and was there something threatening said which caused Gabe to make that first punch, really? Are these charges really going to be filed here is the question and whether this is going to go away? Because this is so high- profile, charges probably will be filed. But it`s going to be a question in terms of a defense here for Gabe which is what was said to him which caused him - was it just some words that he didn`t like or was it threatening in order for him to allegedly protect himself?
[Velez-mitchell:] Interesting. Well, the bottom line is, if there`s surveillance video it would perhaps indicate who threw the first punch and that would be the person in trouble. And if that`s Gabriel after Olivier Martinez allegedly says, we have to move on, and if Gabriel allegedly throws the first punch I`m not saying he did. I wasn`t there. And he`s invited on our show anytime. But would that be yes or no, the defining?
[Suskauer:] No, not necessarily because it depends on also what was said. Was there something that was said as well? Was there something threatening that also caused it I think it`s not just so cut and dry who threw the first punch. I think it`s a little bit bigger than that.
[Velez-mitchell:] Got it. Got it. Yes. And, again, I wasn`t there. Everybody, I would love to have any of these people on our show, frankly. Halle and Olivier met on the set of their movie "Dark Time". Check this out.
[Halle Berry, Actress:] My father once told me to be careful of the things you love most in the world because if you`re not careful, that very thing can also destroy you.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes, well, if I were one of the sharks, I`d be more afraid of them, frankly. Four-year-old Nala, that`s the little girl at the center of this threesome, was allegedly right there when this ugly Thanksgiving Day brawl began between Halle`s ex-fella and current fella. Halle reportedly whisked the child away into the house before it got physical. This is clearly not what any child wants to see. But Jeff Gardere, clinical psychologist, I mean you have to ask Gabriel, Thanksgiving, emotions always run high during the holidays. He`s returning his daughter to the woman he had the child with and he sees her with another man. That`s very combustible stuff, emotional.
[Jeff Gardere, Clinical Psychologist:] It absolutely is. You really do have to ask the question of course, we weren`t there. I wish we were. But it`s an issue of what was Olivier doing there and why did he have words with
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, he`s the fiance. He has every right to be there.
[Gardere:] So here`s the thing, right. I`m a shrink. I work with these divorcing couples all the time. I work with them on healthy divorces. This is between Halle and Gabriel, not between Halle, Gabriel and Olivier. So Olivier, probably a very nice guy, make like a tree and leave. Stay in the house. Do not come out there, especially with this issue that it`s so combustible, so volatile between your girlfriend and the father of their child, her soon-to-be ex.
[Velez-mitchell:] You are right. It`s a triangulation. And that`s always an unstable situation, three-way. This isn`t the first time Halle`s accused Gabriel of having anger issues. She said she has trouble controlling his temper and she even claimed he`s a racist, which is a horrible thing to say about somebody, serious accusation. Let me put it that way.
[Unidentified Female:] She said you made racial slurs. She said you pushed her while she had your daughter in her hands. Nothing to say about this?
[Velez-mitchell:] Jen Heger, let`s talk about Child Protective Services briefly.
[Heger:] Child Protective Services has been contacted again in this case. Child Protective Services was contacted earlier this year after allegations surfaced that Gabriel allegedly pushed Halle Berry`s nanny while she was holding Nala. There were no criminal charges filed in that case. At the time when Gabe was arrested this weekend on Thursday, Child Protective Services was contacted again out of an abundance of caution. Halle Berry did the right thing. She got Nala out of that situation. But CPS has to become involved here, because as your expert guest has said, this is a clearly combustible situation. This little girl has now been around violence and it`s just not a safe environment for her to be in.
[Velez-mitchell:] It is not. And my message to all of you, there is no mess you can`t clean up. Stop now, get peaceful immediately. On the other side, I`m so delighted and excited to have on our show, Marianne Williamson from "A Course in Miracles". And here`s your viral video of the day. Looks like somebody decided to hit the treadmill to work off that Thanksgiving Day dinner. You know, I think he enjoys it. And only if he enjoys it should he be doing it, only if it`s fun for him. But it kind of seems like he`s having a blast. You know he could jump off anytime.
[Unidentified Female:] I literally got squished. Half of my body was in that door. That was insane.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. The zombie apocalypse has the gun. These people are not shoppers. These people are here just like me to witness the madness.
[Velez-mitchell:] That`s what holiday shopping looks like. It`s off to a record start this year with an estimated 247 million shoppers hitting stores and Web sites over the weekend. And with the mass amount of people on Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes what`s fast becoming a new tradition screaming, pushing, fighting, as shoppers try to snag the best deal. Check a little bit more of this out. But is this really what the holidays are supposed to be about? Have we as a culture become over-consumed with the material aspects of this holiday and completely forgotten what the real meaning of the holidays should be? Is it time to just hit the pause button and rewind this whole shopping frenzy? Joining me now, one of the most beloved spiritual leaders in the United States, author of the new book "The Law of Divine Compensation", Marianne Williamson; Marianne, we are delighted to have you here today in the hope that you can make sense of what`s going on culturally with holiday shopping, holiday frenzies, holiday stampedes. I fear I believe we`ve gone off track. Help us.
[Marianne Williamson, "the Law Of Divine Compensation:] Well, we`re not just off track one time of year. I think that what we see in a video like you showed is this extraordinary assault of crass consumerism and materialism that is so obvious right before Christmas. But it`s not like that`s an issue for us just one time of the year. So I think we have to sort of psychically protect ourselves and protect the space in our own hearts so that we can actually experience the meaning of the holiday season. You know, the holidays are about love, they`re about a power inside our hearts that lifts us to a new place and out of that place we relate to other people differently and we can have peace and harmony and justice and brotherhood and love, that`s the season. But at the same time, we don`t want to denigrate shopping in general during holidays because we want to remember how many people in the United States, particularly during an economy like this, make the money that they need to practically for the entire year during this season. So it`s a balance. It`s not eitheror.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I want to talk to you about that because let me read a letter that I wrote to my family and essentially I told my family, I`m not buying gifts this holiday season. This year I would just humbly request, no gifts or cards for me except for e-cards. And I wrote this, "America`s highest levels of overconsumption occur during the holidays. We`re now seeing the environmental wreckage firsthand as the East Coast was devastated by Hurricane Sandy which scientists say without question was made much worse by climate change." And I talked about how my family members are, myself included, close to either the Hudson River or water of some sort. And I said this isn`t theoretical anymore. Marianne, with 40 percent up to 40 percent of retailers` annual income coming from sales made between November and December, we all need, let`s say, cereal, equal amount around the year. But that spike is about gift giving. Is it perhaps time to re- evaluate what it means to give a gift?
[Williamson:] Well, I don`t think you re-evaluate what it means to give a gift by refusing to give one. I think that there`s something here about moderation and balance. The whole concept of giving gifts at a holiday like this is actually very beautiful, even on a spiritual level. But it doesn`t have to be this, "Oh, my God, what am I going to give them?" There are people who give gifts that are very much in keeping with what they can afford, that are appropriate and that are so heartfelt. I mean there`s something beautiful about giving a gift, I believe, at the holidays. And there`s something beautiful about receiving a gift. So I think there`s an issue of proportion and perspective here. And I think we also need to honor, you know, I many years ago was the owner of a bookstore in Houston, Texas. And I remember how much I needed those sales at Christmas. I don`t think anybody was coming at Christmastime and by buying a book, destroying the environment or destroying their credit. I think that if we just go back in all things in our lives to a realization that if we focus too much on the things outside, we forget what`s happening on the inside. And that`s why we have the kinds of tragedies that we have in the world because too often we`re not showing up with deep humanity. And that`s the point of this season. So anything we do to mark the season, including the love we show to each other. You know how sometimes you get gifts from your children or other family members at Christmas that maybe hardly cost anything and that were very, very appropriate. I don`t want to totally get rid of the notion of the beauty gift giving either because that`s a symbol of what happens in the spirit the gifts of the spirit that we then extend to other people. Once again, I think it`s balance. I don`t think it`s eitheror.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, Marianne, I love what you`re saying. And on the other side, we`re going to talk about alternative gift-giving and how we can use that gift concept in a different way to maybe get back into a more peaceful, spiritual outlook towards the holidays. Stay right there. Time for your "Pet o` the Day". Send us your pet pics to hlntv.comJane. Sugar, oh, look at that patch. And Tony Tony is very distinguished well-groomed, well-groomed. And Bella, she`s just hanging. Yes, she says, Bella, hey, fella. My name`s Bella. Wow, so many fights. California mall, three men caught on tape violently fighting in the middle of a store Families watching in horror. What is happening with us? Well, I`ll tell you, there is an alternative. The good news is that our society can break free from the consumerism and the materialism that has really overtaken the holidays. You can give your family and friends gifts, but do it in a different way using alternatives that are good for you, good for the planet, good for your wallet. It can make a difference. For example, instead of buying gifts, try throwing a holiday no-shop swap. You all bring stuff that you don`t need but it`s still good. I threw one here at my place. And everybody brought stuff there was no wrapping paper. We spent time with each other. We had a lot of fun. We traded gifts. Or you can gather some people together to go carolling. Try that ok, it`s fun. And you can certainly decorate your home. There are so many things you can do. And Marianne Williamson, a spiritual leader here in the United States and the author of the fantastic new book "The Law of Divine Compensation", you`re right. I think we need to redefine the word "gift".
[Williamson:] Right, because the gift of the spirit, the external gift at Christmas and Hanukkah is actually a symbol for the internal gift which is in Judaism, it is the gift of the fact that the candles remained lit for as many days as they did. In the Christian tradition, it is the gift of the Christ within us and so the ideas that we extend the gifts of the spirit into the lives of other people. And that is how we experience the gifts of God. That is how we experience the gifts of god by extending them into the lives of others. So the spiritual meaning of gift giving is a beautiful thing. And I think we`ve all had a moment when our hearts were touched, when we opened a package and we thought about you know, there`s an art to gift giving. When it`s something that you know would make the other person happy but also has the stamp of your personality. You know, we have all gotten so as you point out so emphatically here on this program today we have become so assaulted by the crassness of modernity that it actually has deprived us to some extent of the deeper meaning of the very things that the externals are about, such as gift- giving. So I think even when you talk about the craziness that some people are displaying in these stores at Christmas, you and I both know Jane, unfortunately, they`re not just crazy one time during the year. So these are bigger issues than just you know, they`re displayed and they`re reflected and they`re so obvious during the holidays. But there`s something which is across the board an issue for our society that has become so externally focused that the vision of the outer world costs us the vision and the experience of really the things that matter most if we`re not careful.
[Velez-mitchell:] I love the way you put that. And, again, your new book "The Law of Divine Compensation". More on the other side with Marianne Williamson. Perhaps the best way to celebrate the holidays, in my opinion, Marianne, is to give a gift that somebody really needs, like a cleft palate surgery or a donation to a favorite charity in somebody else`s name. What are your thoughts on that?
[Williamson:] Certainly the things you`re talking about giving are extraordinary. Even when you were showing the clip of the people who were swapping, I couldn`t help but think they could also be giving all those things to Salvation Army. So obviously, there are people in need and giving to people in need the things they really need obviously is important. But I also think, Jane, that you know, I travel around the country and really the world sometimes in the work that I do. And sometimes people give me the sweetest little things that no, I don`t need them, but they`re such beautiful little givings, whether it`s a little statue of an angel or a card that they made themselves with some poetry or some spiritual inspiration. So I think that
[Velez-mitchell:] And, Marianne, your gift today is your words.
[Williamson:] Thank you.
[Velez-mitchell:] Thank you.
[Williamson:] Thank you. END

[Phillips:] Just in to the CNN NEWSROOM. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider Arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants. The state had appealed federal court rulings that had blocked key parts of the reforms. The Obama administration has also argued against the measure saying immigration issues are under the exclusive authority of the federal government. Arizona says Washington has failed to control the problems and has a right to protect its residents. Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki is meeting with President Obama this hour. They're talking about how the two nations will cooperate in a new era without U.S. troops. We'll learn more next hour. They're actually holding a news conference. They'll also lay out a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery to honor our war dead. The U.S. is getting ready to pull pretty much all of its forces out of Iraq by the end of the month. About 6,000 men and women are still there. More than 4,000 U.S. troops were killed in the Iraq war. Nearly 32,000 of our men and women wounded. Even those who came home unscathed physically have scars. Many of them still fighting battles. The same battles could await those troops about to close the door on nearly nine years of war. CNN goes in depth on the final days of the conflict I had a chance to talk with a group of vets about how it's changed their lives forever.
[Unidentified Male:] Mission objectives, hit the target.
[Unidentified Female:] Seven aircrafts did drop bombs over Iraq.
[Phillips:] Eight years ago I was there when the Iraq war began, from the air.
[Unidentified Male:] They've got it in their sights.
[Phillips:] Land. [on camera]: The number of threats ground troops are dealing with. And sea. [on camera]: There are five weapon stations on this special operations craft. I met some of the bravest men and women I've ever known. A bravery that came at a physical and mental price. [on camera]: In one word, how would you describe the war in Iraq?
[Unidentified Male:] Sacrifice.
[Unidentified Female:] Bittersweet.
[Unidentified Male:] Mistake.
[Phillips:] These are veterans of "Operation Iraqi Freedom," from the Army, Air Force, Marines. All impacted in some way by this war. [on camera]: Was the war worth it to you?
[Josh Aguilar, Iraq War Veteran:] As an infantryman I was on the ground a lot. I talked to a lot of families and individuals in the Iraqi populous.
[Phillips:] Staff Sergeant Josh Aguilar was on the ground when it began, his first of three deployments.
[Aguilar:] I felt as long as I gave somebody else the opportunity to have the same democracy, same hopes and freedoms that we can have every day, maybe some of those things that I did, some of the sacrifices that my friends made were worth a little bit of something.
[Phillips:] Aguilar retired six months ago and starts school in January. [on camera]: Sarah, how about you? Was it worth it?
[Sarah Oldridge, Iraq War Veteran:] I think I'm on the fence. I know there have been a lot of Iraqi casualties, but how many more would there have been if we weren't there?
[Phillips:] Staff Sergeant Sarah Oldridge is now a paralegal in the Air Force Reserve and works at a private security company. [on camera]: You were a teenager building bombs. How did you process that?
[Oldridge:] You build those bombs. They don't come back. You know that someone's dead and it's hard to be happy about that, but at the same time, I was happy that it wasn't me.
[Phillips:] How did that change you?
[Oldridge:] I think at the time you just kind of become cold and callous to it. It's self-preservation.
[Phillips:] That you went from being a U.S. marine to studying peace and conflict at U.C. Berkeley. Talk about a switch.
[Unidentified Male:] I have say hard time understanding why we went there in the first place, going in under false pretenses for weapons of mass destruction. I etting out of the military took me at least a year to try to negotiate being a civilian again.
[Phillips:] Negotiate being a civilian. What do you mean by that?
[Unidentified Male:] I was very definitely ready to end my five-year enlistment, but when I got out I didn't anticipate the feeling of loss, especially in terms of really strong ties and bonds between me and the guys that I served with.
[Jessi Tseng, Iraq War Veteran:] I struggled with seeing my friends contemplate suicide.
[Phillips:] Jesy Tseng was an Army sergeant in Iraq, an assistant to a brigade commander. Now with a degree in sociology, she's dedicating her life to saving fellow vets.
[Tseng:] Seeing them deal with alcohol abuse, drug abuse, homelessness, that was the most difficult thing for me to see. I witnessed them save someone's life in Iraq and they can't save their own anymore? It hurt me.
[Phillips:] Ramsy Raher was an army specialist, honorably discharged just five months ago. He's now living in a transitional housing facility. [on camera]: You've also struggled quite a bit since you got back. You're two months sober. That's positive.
[Ramsey Raher, Iraq War Veteran:] Yes.
[Phillips:] Why did you turn to alcohol?
[Raher:] I had to see good patriotic Americans with good fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, pay the ultimate sacrifice and that played a heavy emotional toll on myself.
[Phillips:] Ramsey received two purple hearts in less than a year.
[Raher:] There was small arms contact, mortar attacks, interact firearm bases. I mean you're constantly dealing with a barrage of ammunitions. Some of those events still haunt me.
[Phillips:] Do you feel safe now?
[Raher:] Now that I'm sober, yes.
[Phillips:] The war on Iraq, how did it impact your marriages, your families?
[Oldridge:] You know how they say the first year of marriage is tough? Try deploying three months after you get married. You learn a lot about yourself, about your marriage, about your spouse. We had a lot of fights, but we talked it out and I can definitely say that our marriage is much stronger.
[Phillips:] Josh, you've got a bit of a different story.
[Aguilar:] A little bit. I was married six months before I deployed for the first time in Iraq. I very specifically remember writing my wife a letter saying things are different for me. I can feel them. I can tell. So when I came home on top of me dealing with my own issues and on top of her becoming pregnant with our first child, it caused a lot of big gaps in our relationship. By the time I deployed for my second deployment a year and a half later, it was over. As I was walking out the door, I already knew this is the last time we're going to share a home together.
[Phillips:] Our troops are coming home. What's your advice?
[Raher:] My advice is just listen to the command. They do a very good job of giving mandatory briefings that deal with subjects such as suicide, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse and don't diminish the good work that you did.
[Oldridge:] You have to be open. You have to communicate. You have to be willing to talk about what you're feeling. Otherwise, you just going to ball it up and be angry.
[Matt Howard, Iraq War Veteran:] My advice is just listen to the command. They do a very good job of giving mandatory briefings that deal with subjects such as suicide, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse and don't diminish the good work that you did. Realistically, people are not necessarily meant to kill other people. They're going to have a reaction to that.
[Aguilar:] Fighting those emotions and fighting those problems on your own isn't going to help. You fight as a team. You need help as a team.
[Tseng:] Eighteen veterans succeed in committing suicide a day and 32 veterans attempt to commit suicide every day. These are insane statistics and it's real. I always think about everyone that we've lost in Iraq, and I live my life to fulfill what they could have done in the future but they can't now.
[Phillips:] Five voices of survival and sacrifice soon to be joined by the nearly 40,000 troops headed home leaving Iraq for good. Coming up next, the man who led shock and awe, Admiral Timothy Keating. It's his turn to reflect on the Iraq war. I'll ask him what has changed and stayed the same and what advice he has for the thousands of troops coming home for good.

[Banfield:] We got some breaking news into CNN just minutes ago. Word that the two Western journalists, including an American, have been killed in Syria. The American is Marie Colvin, who reported from Syria for us actually, just hours ago, and Frenchmen Remi Ochlik. Syrian activists say they were killed during heavy shelling in the city of Homs. They are the latest to die in this slaughter. There are thousands of people who have killed in this battle. Opposition says 106 killed just yesterday alone. Last night on "A.C. 360," Marie Colvin talked about the murder that was happening in this city that very day.
[Marie Colvin, London Sunday Times:] This is the worst, Anderson, for many reasons. The last one, I think the last time we talked, when I was in Misrata. It's partly personal safety, I guess. There's nowhere to run. The Syrian army is holding the perimeter, and there's just far more ordinance being poured into this city, and there's no way of suggesting where it's going to land.
[Sambolin:] Nick Paton Walsh is live for us in Beirut. Nick, what can you tell us?
[Nick Paton Walsh, Cnn International Correspondent:] There's very little we can tell you about how this very tragic accident happened at the moment. The newspaper, "The Sunday Times," a British newspaper is saying simply that she's been reportedly killed in Homs, according to activists who they've spoken to. I can only say Marie Colvin was when I joined British newspapers 15 years ago, she was a legend then. And since then, she's literally in every major conflict or story, her name has been above some of the most eloquent reporting you could have imagined to have seen. We don't know how this happened. There has been, as you said, consistent shelling of the area where she was for the past 18, 19 days now. And that's really all we can say at this point, Ashleigh.
[Sambolin:] It's Zoraida, Nick. We're taking a look at pictures of her there. She's wearing an eye patch. What can you tell us about that?
[Walsh:] Well, she wore the eye patch since she was injured in Sri Lanka in 2001, again, bravely pursuing reporting, and she wore that eye patch ever since. I mean, she's been to every major conflict, from Kosovo to Chechnya to Iraq to Afghanistan. She's always had been there. We should point out today, also, another Western journalist appeared to have been killed, some others injured, and I'm sure Marie herself would want everybody to know that another nine people were killed in Homs today who were just civilians living there, killed by the shelling, too Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] And do we know if her family has been contacted?
[Walsh:] We understand that is the case. I think that's one of the reasons why the "Sunday Times" trying to be cautious about when they released news of her death to make sure her relatives were informed. So, yes, I believe that has now occurred, Zoraida.
[Sambolin:] All right. Nick Payton Walsh live for us in Beirut thank you for those details. We appreciate it.
[Banfield:] I worked with Marie Colvin overseas. And she's an amazing journalist. She was just an incredible, consummate foreign correspondent. And we are all better for the reporting that she's done. And it underscores what we have been saying on this program, any Western journalist, any journalist at all that tries to make their way into Syria is doing so at great risk to themselves and now, we have seen this borne out.
[Sambolin:] I was looking at reports of her online. They called her fearless, absolutely fearless.
[Banfield:] Yes.
[Sambolin:] All right. We need to move on here. It's 22 minutes past the hour.
[Banfield:] Monica Lewinsky, it was a scandal that made headlines when it broke 14 years ago, and it turns out it's creating another buzz again.
[Sambolin:] It's a two-part PBS documentary on the Clinton presidency that aired this week, and it focused on President Clinton's affair with the White House intern. Alina Cho is here with the details. And they got really mixed reviews also.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Correspondent:] It did. And supporters of Clinton say it was long on Lewinsky and very short on accomplishments. I mean, you know, it is fascinating to watch. You know, this was a four-hour documentary shown in two parts, covers the 42nd president from childhood until his last day in office. In some ways, it was a highlight reel. It showed the rise of then- House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the battle over the budget, and the eventual government shutdown. Also touched on President Clinton's response to crises at home and abroad, from the Oklahoma City bombing to the siege at Sarajevo. But 40 minutes of the documentary did focus on then-President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, the eventual impeachment. Now, one of the most riveting moments in the documentary is the interview with former Clinton advisor Dick Morris, who talks about the very night the scandal broke.
[Dick Morris, Former Clinton Advisor:] When the Lewinsky scandal broke, the president paged me, and I returned the call. And he said, ever since I got here to the White House, I've had to shut my body down, sexually, I mean, but I screwed up with this girl. I didn't do what they said I did, but I may have done so much that I can't prove my innocence. And I said to him the problem the presidents have is not the sin, it's the cover-up. And you should explore it, just telling the American people the truth.
[Cho:] You know what we don't hear in that bit of sound that we hear from Dick Morris is that he goes on to say, you know, let me do a poll. Let me see what the American people feel about this and what he found was that, yes, his hunch was right. The American people will forgive adultery, but they have a harder time forgiving the lying. And so
[Banfield:] Just ask Newt Gingrich, right? Going into South Carolina after that debate. Amazing.
[Cho:] Right.
[Banfield:] So, one of the things I look at those pictures of Dick Morris, and I think, boy, what a difference a decade can make. He's now prominent on FOX News Channel, very critical of Democrats. And I'm sort of curious of the inner workings of the White House staff at this time and how they were trying to come to grips with how they're going to cope with all of this news.
[Cho:] Well, I think it's safe to say now they were all caught off guard. You look at when the scandal broke, the day the day the scandal broke, perhaps the day after, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the time saying, essentially, I believe the allegations are false. The rest of the cabinet essentially saying, I second that. But perhaps most interesting and many people don't know this was the day after President Clinton was forced to answer questions from independent counsel Ken Starr and his speech to America admitting the affair. Remember this, the Clintons were scheduled to leave for their annual summer vacation on Martha's Vineyard, and the White House staff had no idea how to handle the walk. Do you remember this? The first family's very public walk across the White House lawn to the waiting helicopter. Watch.
[Unidentified Male:] They decided they can't do anything. They can't orchestrate it. They can't spin it. They're powerless to affect it. And in the end, it falls to Chelsea Clinton, a teenager, to take both of their hands on her own initiative, take her father's hand in one, her mother's hand in another, and walk across the lawn, literally the bridge between her parents at this moment of crisis between them.
[Cho:] I mean, I think that image is seared in the memory of many.
[Sambolin:] I remember that. They put their daughter in the middle, which makes sense.
[Cho:] One of the most memorable images from that whole scandal. It's that moment that you wondered, are they going to come out? And are Hillary and Bill Clinton going to be hand in hand? It turns out Chelsea was literally and figuratively a buffer at that moment in time.
[Banfield:] I wonder if they put her there or if it happened that way, if it was strategic.
[Cho:] We'll never know.
[Sambolin:] I'd say it was probably strategic.
[Banfield:] I don't know about that.
[Sambolin:] This is a tough time to be president with all of the scandal. How are you able to deal with the duties of being the president?
[Cho:] It obviously goes without saying, huge, huge distraction. Former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers said the affair consumed the president and his staff for nearly three years, from the very time the scandal broke to his impeachment in the Senate. And, of course, now all these years later, 14 years later, this documentary. Now, coming up in the next hour, we're going to hear about one of those events when the White House first confronts, at the time, a very little known Islamic terrorist group called al Qaeda. Of course, all these years later, there are still people who believe that the Lewinsky scandal sort of clouded President Clinton's vision, didn't allow him to focus on al Qaeda and their growing threat of al Qaeda. Remember, this was three years before 911.
[Banfield:] They say legacy takes a long time to foment. It will be interesting.
[Sambolin:] Thank you, Alina.
[Banfield:] Still ahead, just hours before a critical debate, they're tied in the polls. Rick Santorum is facing questions about his thoughts on Satan and the United States. You heard it right, Satan and the United States. What is he saying? You're watching EARLY START. You'll find out.

[Unidentified Female:] Tell me, Erica, how do you think your daughter would feel if she knew she was taking your sloppy seconds?
[Lemon:] All right. It is classic Erica Kane, the slap and then the sting of music, but this week real life drama unfolded on daytime TV when ABC said it was cancelling long-time favorites "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." The network is making time for some reality shows, and we're seeing a true swan song of soaps. That's the question. So to answer now, Tom O'Neil joins me from New York. He's an entertainer writer for the "Los Angeles Times." And, Tom, we know soap operas have been losing their viewers, but this was a big surprise, even to you, I'm sure. And what are we going to do without our Erica Kane?
[Tom O'neil, Former Senior Editor, Touch Weekly:] I know, never mind the princess over in Britain. The queen of daytime is stepping down. This is huge, Don. Let's put this in perspective, because we see fads and TV come and go like game shows, primetime TV come and go, but we're talking about an entire genre, dominant genre of TV dying, and the queen of that genre is now out of work or will be soon, Erica Kane. This is huge.
[Lemon:] It is huge. But, you know, I'm showing my age a little bit. I remember when Erica Kane was an ingenue and it was Katherine Chancellor on the "Young and the Restless" and "The Edge of Night" and "Another World." I mean, my grandmother would sit there and watch soap operas with her all the time. It's kind of hard to believe this is happening. But say, what brought down soap operas? What killed soap operas?
[O'neil:] O.J. Simpson.
[Lemon:] Really?
[O'neil:] It's really where it started, and this is fascinating. In 1969, that was the the height of soap operas. You had 19 of them on at one time in daytime. In the 1990s you were down to like nine or ten of them, but they were still getting great viewers. They were getting about 6 million to 7 million viewers per day. And then the O.J. Simpson trial took place and it dominated daytime TV. It was a real soap opera involving somebody we all know and love. So it was unbelievable. And that shift of viewership from the soaps to the O.J. Simpson trial at a time when there was alternate programming coming up on cable TV was the death of soaps. They went then from this 6 million to 7 million to 8 million viewers down to the 3 and 4 range. They have never recovered.
[Lemon:] You know what, I have never thought about that until now. I remember when the O.J. Simpson trial was going on, and I was working for Fox station in New York. We created programming and shows around that trial. We created a show called "O.J. Today," and took off all the daytime programming. So you're right about that. If "Luke and Laura" had happened during, you know, O.J. Simpson, we probably wouldn't even known about them. So what's going to happen to SOAPNet or the cable channel that focuses on soaps?
[O'neil:] That's gone. ABC has already abandoned it, after these two soaps, "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" are gone, which are both ABC soaps. The only franchise that ABC is going to have in this whole genre will be "General Hospital," and then you have to wonder how long can that hold down. We're down to four soaps, it's all now. We're down to "General Hospital," "Days of Our Lives," and "The Young and The Restless."
[Lemon:] If I can interrupt you, you don't think it will be like the game show channel, because it's fun to see the old game shows like "Tattletales" and all that, again. You know, match, or whatever it is.
[O'neil:] Oh, I know, I know. But ABC has already said they're getting rid of the soap network, which I can't believe either because it's free. I mean, this programming is already done and coming back, but apparently, the ratings are so bad it doesn't justify keeping it around.
[Lemon:] Yes. Give us the four remaining again before I let you go.
[O'neil:] Give the what?
[Lemon:] The four remaining soaps.
[O'neil:] Oh, the four remaining, "Young and The Restless," "Bold and the Beautiful, "Days of Our Lives" and "General Hospital."
[Lemon:] And that's it. The end of an era, we think. Tom O'Neil, thank you. All right, speaking of soap operas, there's a new development in the arrest of Oscar winner Nicolas Cage. Video from TMZ shows Cage Friday night before New Orleans police detained him. I want you to pay attention to the left. You see the left of the screen. That's Cage with his wife, Alice, visiting a tattoo parlor and arguing. TMZ is reporting that. That's before people saw Cage arguing with his wife on a French quarter street about where their house was. Police say he was so unruly that passer-bys alerted them and that's when they charged the 47-year-old actor with public drunkenness, disturbing the peace and domestic abuse, battery. The story of LaShaun Armstrong troubled many of us. He is a 10-year- old boy whose mother intentionally drove the family car into the Hudson River killing everyone in the car except him. LaShaun managed to get out and eventually flagged down a woman to help him. Now later he admitted several cars drove right past him, ignoring distress and our human behavior expert Dr. Wendy Walsh tackled the question of why no one stop to helped this boy.
[Wendy Walsh, Psychologist:] This is racism. And we don't know
[Lemon:] Really?
[Walsh:] I don't know how big this child was, but I happen to have a 12-year-old daughter who's multiracial, who's 5'8. So this child could have been perceived as a young black man at the side of the road. Oh, my gosh, a threat. I mean it's so disturbing. But I can only imagine if a 10-year-old white boy was standing there how many cars would have passed by. I'm sorry, but this really bothers me.
[Lemon:] That's Dr. Wendy Walsh. In Fort Lee, New Jersey, a gas station attendant went on a wild ride when a driver tried to make off with a free tank of gas. The attendant finished pumping and then clung to the car as the driver tried to speed off. The gas station worker was hospitalized in stable condition, we should tell you. The owner of the station blames higher gas prices for a recent rash of thefts. We've got a very special guest on CNN. Cookie Monster joins us. Sure, he's talking about cookies, but wait until you hear his financial advice. You have to see this.

[Kaye:] In case you missed the erratic tell-all interview Charlie Sheen gave Monday to the "Dan Patrick Show," let me jog your memory. Listen to him recap the pep talk he made to the UCLA Basketball team about smoking crack.
[Charlie Sheen, Actor:] I said stay away from the crack, which I think is pretty good advice, unless you can manage it socially, Dan. If you can manage it socially, then go for it. But not a lot of people can, you know?
[Dan Patrick, Radio Talk Show:] Did you think you could?
[Sheen:] Sorry?
[Patrick:] Did you think you could?
[Sheen:] Yes, yes, but that kind of blew up in my face.
[Patrick:] Are you
[Sheen:] Like an exploding crack pipe, Dan. Sorry.
[Kaye:] Yes, just like that. Needless to say, that interview and Charlie Sheen have been trending ever since. I want to bring in Lisa France now. She's a writer and producer at CNN.com. Apparently a lot of fallout from this interview.
[Lisa France, Cnn.com Writer/producer:] A lot of fallout Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, one of his ex-wives, Denise Richards talked to the ladies from "The View" yesterday and she talked about how difficult it is dealing with this in the light of the fact that they have two young daughters who are growing up. Their daughters are five and six, and they're old enough to start hearing about what's going on with daddy. So she talked a little bit about how it's been really hard to talk to try to talk to them on their level and explain what's happening with daddy.
[Kaye:] Yes, because when he goes out there and talks, it really affects the family.
[France:] Yes, absolutely, especially when he says things like if you can manage crack socially, it's all good.
[Kaye:] Right. Imagine his kids Googling him one day.
[France:] Exactly, exactly.
[Kaye:] Oh my. But Sheen isn't the only star who is trending.
[France:] Absolutely not, from the currently troubled to the formerly troubled. Britney Spears just debuted her brand new video on MTV. It's the he video for her debut song on her new album "Hold it Against Me."
[Kaye:] And what do you think of it?
[France:] It's I'm confused. It's very Gaga-esque. Of course, it's Britney back scantily clad. That's how we love Britney and to see her in the little shorty-shorts. And there's lots of product placement. We saw right there a little bit of her new cologne that she had.
[Kaye:] I was just going to say, what is she selling her products while she's dancing?
[France:] Yes, she's selling Sephora make-up. She's selling a little bit of everything. So yes, but I don't really get what the video's supposed to be about. The song is about a man holding his body against her but the video is about her being an alien, it looks like, a hot alien who loves cologne.
[Kaye:] And just real quickly, what's the response to it? Is it doing well?
[France:] People are happy for her. They're happy to see her back and healthy. She was our Lindsay Lohan, not too long ago.
[Kaye:] Right.
[France:] So they're excited that she's back. But they're trying to figure out exactly what the video means.
[Kaye:] Yes, she has made the comeback, but it's interesting to see the product placement, I got to say. Absolutely, but she looks great.
[France:] She looks fabulous. Do your thing, Britney, I say. Go ahead make that money.
[Kaye:] Lisa France, always a pleasure. Good to see you.
[France:] Always a pleasure, good to see you, Randi. And we'll be right back.

[Banfield:] Think about getting screened for prostate cancer? You might want to reconsider, because in a controversial move, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force is recommending men do not undergo regular prostate screening for cancer, saying it does more harm than good. I know it sounds surprising but CNN's Alina Cho has been digging into this one. It sounds reminiscent of the breast cancer issue with mammograms we had a few years ago. It's serious.
[Alina Cho, Cnn Correspondent:] It is serious and I'll tell you something, it's counterintuitive. And we've heard for so long, let's get screened let's get screened for cancer. That's why so many people are surprised about this and it affects at least 44 million American men, Ashleigh. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. You know, if you think about it, it's really something for many people is just hard to understand, why wouldn't you get tested for prostate cancer? Well, an influential federal panel says it's not always best to catch cancer as early as possible. We're going to explain that in just a minute. But that is why essentially the United States Preventative Services Task Force is now recommending against what's commonly referred to as the PSA test. It's a simple blood test. And the task force is saying at best PSA screening may help 1 in 1,000 men avoid death from prostate cancer and may do more harm than good because most prostate cancers found by screening are slow growing and not life-threatening, and will not cause a man any harm at all during his lifetime. What can actually is the treatment. Most men who are in the words of some over-diagnosed will suffer serious side effects from treatment like radiation and surgery, treatment they may not need and the side effects include impotence, incontinence, and possibly even early death.
[Banfield:] This is not the first time the panel has weighed in, in a controversial way with regard to medicine.
[Cho:] That's right. You referred to the mammogram story. We all remember that, women in particular. Right. This is the same panel that waived when it recommended women in their 40s should skip routine mammograms. As for the PSA test which is a simple blood test, while the American Cancer Society has not recommended that routine PSA screenings since the late 1990s should occur, the American Urological Association still recommends that men get baseline screenings at age 40, if they wish to be tested. The bottom line from the task force is the evidence shows that the benefits do not outweigh the risks in this case. It's really interesting, again, counterintuitive.
[Banfield:] Counterintuitive, and when you hear the headline on your morning news program saying don't get this screening, it's going to cause a lot of waves. What has the reaction so far been?
[Cho:] Well, it's interesting. It was swift, as you might imagine and pretty forceful. The Urological Association condemned the finding, no surprise there, standing by the PSA test, and says, quote, "It is inappropriate and irresponsible to issue a blanket statement against PSA testing particularly for at-risk populations." They go on to say that what could happen as a result is many men will no longer get tested because they think they don't need to and prostate cancer a PSA could have caught early may go unnoticed. Obviously, people on the other side have a different point of view and one doctor said it's so interesting, Ashleigh I'm quoting, "We've been told for decades to be terrified of cancer and the only hope is early detection and treatment. The reality is," she said, "you don't need to detect all cancers. We don't want this to be the answer" meaning the PSA. "We want to screen for the ones that are going to be aggressive, manage those early and leave everyone else alone."
[Banfield:] Yes.
[Cho:] She does a point but it is scary.
[Banfield:] No matter how you slice it, probably the best advice is to talk to your doctor and do what's right for you and your doctor will help guide you. Alina, that's weird stuff and I don't think that's the end of it. Thank you. Appreciate it. Zoraida?
[Sambolin:] Soledad O'Brien joins with us a look at what is ahead on "STARTING POINT." Good morning.
[Soledad O'brien:] Oh, so much. Good morning to you, Zoraida. Ahead this morning on "STARTING POINT," taxpayers are picking up roughly $1 million tab for a group of judges to go to a conference in lovely Hawaii. You look at the picture. Don't you wish you were going on the trip? We'll talk with Senator Chuck Grassley, he's outraged about the cost of the trip and why it might be time to end conferences like these all together. Plus, we'll look at what's happening in Joplin, Missouri, a year after a tornado wiped out a third of that town. We'll meet the photographer behind a powerful new project that features photos of survivors who write messages on their bodies, illustrating the struggles and their hopes. Absolutely beautiful work. And the potential threat to America's security how did fake military parts from China get into the hands of our troops? Senator Carl Levin is launching a legislation into counterfeit items. He's going to join us this morning to talk about why every American should be outraged about that. That and much more coming up when we start at 7:00 a.m. Eastern on "STARTING POINT." I'll see you there right at the top of the hour.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being with me. Stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM at 31 minutes past the hour: The fight over the fiscal cliff shows no signs of easing. House Speaker John Boehner is meeting with House Republicans this morning. And a news conference is set to take place in just about 30 minutes. Many Republicans are not happy with Boehner's proposal. That included $800 billion in tax hikes. President Obama says no deal will be reached without higher taxes on the wealthy. You may not know his name. You've certainly seen his face, Jack Brooks, a former congressman from Texas, he died last night. That's him in the background when Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office following President Kennedy's assassination. Brooks was in the motorcade when Kennedy was shot in 1963. Paul Ryan coming out of the shadows, following his failed run for vice president. The Wisconsin Republican with Florida Senator Marco Rubio urged the GOP to unite voters, not divide them.
[Rep. Paul Ryan , Wisconsin:] Both parties tend to divide Americans into our voters and their voters. Let's be really clear: Republicans must steer far clear of that trap. We must speak to the aspirations and anxieties of every American.
[Sen. Marco Rubio . Florida:] I've heard it suggested that the problem is that the American people have changed. That too many people want things from government. But I'm still convinced that the overwhelming majority of our people, they just want what my parents had a chance.
[Costello:] Ryan pointed out that he and Rubio are seen as presidential contenders in 2016 and asked if anyone knew any good diners in Iowa and New Hampshire. The United States taking a stand against people with disabilities? Former Senator Bob Dole took to the Senate floor in his wheelchair to push for support of the United Nations treaty that helps disabled people around the world. Despite that, senators voted against the treaty, something that would presumably have had a wide margin of support.
[Sen. Michael Lee , Utah:] I've heard from advocacy groups consisting of people who hope that this treaty will protect disabled Americans they travel abroad and as they go about their lives. But I've also heard from parents of disabled children who were concerned that this treaty in adherence to the best interest of the child standard in Article VII will threaten their rights as parents.
[Sen. Harry Reid , Nevada:] I sympathize with John Boehner. The Tea Party has a firm grip on the Republican Party and that's obvious, what's happened this morning here in Washington.
[Costello:] In rejecting this treaty, the United States broke from 125 countries that have ratified the treaty, including Syria and Saudi Arabia. Some Senate Republicans actually voted to approve the measure, like Senator John McCain and Kelly Ayotte, to name a few. But members of the Tea Party banded together to also block the measure because they say, if the measure passed, the United Nations would impose its will on disabled people and their families in the United States. Joining me now, Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist and CNN contributor, and Ana Navarro, a Republican strategist and also a CNN contributor. Good morning to both of you.
[Maria Cardona, Cnn Contributor:] Good morning, Carol.
[Ana Navarro, Cnn Contributor:] Good morning, Carol.
[Sambolin:] So, Ana, I want to start with you. Can you explain to us why conservative Republicans are opposed to a treaty that would, in John McCain's words, promote rights for disabled people, including our own veterans overseas?
[Navarro:] Well, you know, first of all, I don't think it was a stand against people with disabilities. It was a stand against this treaty. It was a stand against a United Nations treaty. There were a number of concerns. I read the statements by both, you know, John McCain and also some of the other senators that voted against. They're not Tea Party senators as Senator Reid is describing them. They are thoughtful people who pay attention, people like Lindsey Graham, senators like Rob Portman, senators like Marco Rubio, they are Republicans who give you know, who give a great credence to things like sovereignty and who don't want to give authority to the United Nations. They want the Americans with Disability Act to be the golden standard by which we guide our actions.
[Costello:] But isn't the treaty worded in pretty much exactly the same way as the Americans with Disability Act is?
[Navarro:] Right, which begs the question, why give any power to the United Nations? Now, let me tell you, Carol, I served as ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights. It's a bureaucratic organization with very little teeth, very little fang and ability to enforce anything. So, some people had concerns about not wanting to give authority to the United Nations and rather keep it as a sovereign issue within the United States. I think it's a credible concern.
[Costello:] But, Maria, if the United Nations doesn't have any teeth to impose this treaty in the United States, what difference does it make?
[Cardona:] That's exactly right. And I think that's the problem with the arguments that Republicans are making. I understand that people like Rick Santorum, who does have a disabled child, they feel very strongly about this. Even in the arguments he is making, he contradicts himself, as most Republicans did yesterday, in saying that this treaty has no teeth and it can't be enforced. And at the same time saying by signing it, you give up American sovereignty. Those are two contradicting statements right there. And so, to me, it is a huge perception of the United States and frankly to the chagrin or what should be the chagrin of Republicans that GOP, Republicans Senate Republicans are standing against the rights of the disabled abroad. And so, I think that it was a hugely missed opportunity to really show American leadership in an area that is sorely needed especially across the globe.
[Costello:] I mean, Ana, does it really boil down to Republicans' distrust of the United Nations in general?
[Navarro:] I think it boils down to Republican distrust of the United Nations. I think some people have procedural concerns. They don't want any treaties ratified during a lame duck session. They think this is something that should be fully aired, you know, while the Congress is in full session and they want the focus to be on the fiscal cliff. Some conservatives did have issues and concerns regarding abortion and, you know, what it meant for the rights of the disabled while they were in the womb. So, there were a number of concerns. Look, you know, when I saw Bob Dole get wheeled in by his wife, former Senator Elizabeth Dole, my heart melted. And I think it meant a lot to people like John McCain. But that does not mean that some of these issues that some of these Republicans had were not credible and are not we should just say, OK. You know, there's a lot of treaties that have really pretty sounding name but the devil is in the detail. And I think that's what some of them felt when it came to this treaty.
[Costello:] Ana Navarro and Maria go ahead, Maria, quickly.
[Cardona:] I was just going to say, I mean, I hope Ana is right and if Republicans really want to do this right, they will have another chance in the next Congress and this is something where Americans really need to step up. I think what happened yesterday was GOP fear of the Tea Party, because every single senator that voted against it was most likely up in 2014 except for one.
[Costello:] OK. Ana Navarro, Maria Cardona, thanks so much.
[Navarro:] Thank you.
[Costello:] A new study says people are so frustrated with their banks they consider going to Wal-Mart for a mortgage if they could. Well, maybe they can now.

[Feyerick:] Well, last night CNN aired its fourth annual All-Star Tribute to heroes at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. And after almost two million votes were cast online, Anuradha Koirala was named Hero of the Year for her work rescuing more than 12,000 women and girls from sex slavery. CNN's Anderson Cooper sat down with Anuradha, nicknamed "Terminator," to talk about her great work.
[Anderson Cooper, Host, "ac 360":] You've been named 2010 CNN Hero of the Year. How are you feeling?
[Anuradha Koirala, 2010 Cnn Hero Of The Year:] Well, I feel that there are more responsibilities now on me.
[Cooper:] You feel more people are now looking at you, more people know of you?
[Koirala:] Yes, of course. Now I feel that they will be not only looking at me, but they will know the issue more issue the issue which we have taken up, the sex trafficking.
[Cooper:] You seem like such a quiet lady, but I know your nickname is "The Terminator." Why do they call you "The Terminator"?
[Koirala:] If your daughter or mine it doesn't make whose daughter, everybody's daughter was trafficked, and if you catch hold of a trafficker, do you think then you're going to go, "Oh, how sweet you are, you did such a nice job, you took my daughter"? Or will you start giving him roses? If I have to confront a trafficker, then I can really hit hard.
[Cooper:] When your children see you winning this award tonight, what do you think they will think?
[Koirala:] I've already sent a message and they're all crying. And I know they will be very happy about it, and I know they will be very happy.
[Cooper:] This award comes with $100,000. In total, $125,000. What will that money mean to your work, to your mission? There is only one woman's hospital in all of Nepal. That's in the capital. But what about the other parts of the country where there is poverty, poverty, poverty? So I'm thinking that I will double up women and children's hospitals with this. Have you ever thought about giving up? Have there been days where you thought, I'm going to stop this?
[Koirala:] Never.
[Cooper:] Never?
[Koirala:] Never.
[Cooper:] Well, congratulations. It's such an honor to meet you.
[Koirala:] Thank you so much. Thank you.
[Cooper:] Thank you.
[Feyerick:] Well, really inspiring stuff. And if you missed the CNN Heroes broadcast, you have two more chances to watch, Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

[Anderson:] Big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is Charlie Sheen out of cash? Startling new claims today that Sheen needs more green. We have one guy who is paying Sheen to plug his company in a headline-making SHOWBIZ newsmaker interview right here. Is Donald Trump running for president or what? An interview with somebody who knows Trump well, Melissa Rivers. "Real Housewives" drugged? The frightening tale of "Real Housewives" stars who claim they were roofied. Plus, breaking today from the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker," Oprah`s diaries and Kourtney Kardashian`s acting debut.
[Announcer:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
[Anderson:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m Brooke Anderson in New York with big news breaking today Sheen money shocker. There are stunning new reports today that Charlie Sheen is desperate for cash. Let`s not forget that Charlie was the highest paid actor on TV until he got fired this week. So where did his money go? Charlie was the first to hint that he needs some money. Watch what he told ABC`s Andrea Canning about losing his job on "Two and a Half Men."
[Andrea Canning, Abc Correspondent:] Are you going to sue?
[Sheen:] Well, I mean, wouldn`t you? I don`t have a job. I`ve got a whole family to support and love. And people beyond myself, people a lot more important than me, are relying on that money to fuel the magic.
[Anderson:] All right. Charlie has two kids with his ex-wife, Denise Richards, two kids with his soon to be ex-wife Brooke Mueller and an adult daughter. So clearly, he does have a whole lot of people to support. Atty. Midwin Charles of Midwin Charles and Associates, would it surprise you if Charlie Sheen is broke? I mean, talk about a serious case of money mismanagement.
[Charles:] Well, I don`t know if he`s broke, but it may be he`s looking down the line and saying, "You know what? I have no money coming in. I`d better get it together." After all, the drug, the women that costs money. It`s not cheap. And if he was just living a lifestyle that was perhaps above and beyond his means or at least a lifestyle that anticipated getting $1 million, $2 million per episode, it could be the case that
[Anderson:] Putting a lot of financial pressure on himself
[Charles:] Absolutely.
[Anderson:] Maybe a lifestyle plus all the mouths he has to feed in his family. Well, Charlie even joked in that "2020" interview with Andrea Canning that while he doesn`t see the daughters he shares with Denise Richards much, he keeps the cha-ching rolling in. Watch.
[Sheen:] They`ll wake up one day and realize how cool dad is. You know, he signs all the checks on the front not the back, and that we need him and we need his wisdom and his bitchiness.
[Anderson:] Really? Well, today, we learned that Vivid Entertainment is offering Charlie a chance to direct a porn film. The working title is "Two and a Half Women." I am not making this up. And they have invited Charlie`s two goddesses to participate. Rob Shuter, columnist with "PopEater.com," these are the kinds of offers Charlie Sheen is now getting. I don`t call that winning, but do you think the guy is desperate enough to do something like this? Is he that cash-strapped?
[Rob Shuter, Columnist, "popeater.com":] He`s cash-strapped. He does not have cash. What Charlie does have is several multimillion dollar homes. However, all that cash, all that money, is tied up in property. Charlie needs cash and he needs it now, which is why Charlie is going to talking. He has said that he wants to do a big interview, but it`s going to cost you $1 million.
[Anderson:] He might have to put a home or two on the market soon. We`re just going to have to see.
[Shuter:] He might. But if he does, it`s going to take a while to sell. He needs cash now. He has to pay these lawyers. He has to keep paying his family.
[Anderson:] He needs liquidity.
[Shuter:] He needs money and he doesn`t have it.
[Anderson:] Well, I`ve got to tell you, despite what anyone thinks about what Charlie should and should not be doing right now, one thing is clear today Charlie is cashing in big on some of his tweets to millions of his fans. With me right now in Hollywood, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter. She joins me from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom with the story behind Sheen`s tweets. Kareen?
[Wynter:] Brooke, I don`t know about you, but I am speechless over these numbers. Listen to this. In less than a week, one week, Charlie had more than 2.3 million Twitter followers. And according to Twitter counter, Charlie Sheen is in the top 100 Twitter users. But Charlie you know, he`s not doing this for free, people. He signed a deal with Internships.com to search for an intern using his Twitter account. In a brand-new SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsmaker interview, the CEO of "Internships.com," Robin Richards tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that the success of Sheen`s tweeting is astounding. Watch.
[Robin Richards, Ceo, "internship.com":] I kind of knew we were in un- chartered territory when Charlie Sheen was going to send out this tweet. And so our whole team, which is phenomenal, stood around and said, "What do you think is going to happen?" 10,000 clicks on that tweet in the first 30 seconds. It`s astronomical now. I mean, it`s just astronomical. We don`t have the latest numbers. But think of that 10,000 clicks on that tweet in the first 30 seconds.
[Wynter:] And of course, this is absolutely, hugely, hugely successful here when you`re at this and the numbers that this is reeling in, Brooke. But again, this is someone who is being rewarded for his bad behavior. And this insatiable appetite for, really, all things Charlie Sheen well, it seems to be never ending here.
[Anderson:] No doubt. It`s captivating. But here`s my big question, Kareen. Did Charlie find an intern?
[Wynter:] Can you believe this? He did. He was actually inundated. Listen to what Robin Richards told us about that, Brooke.
[Richards:] In the first two hours, we`ve had over 20,000 applications from around the globe for Charlie Sheen`s internship. I guess that`s why he needed a professional platform to help him sort through this thing.
[Wynter:] I don`t know if this person knows what they signed up for, but that`s neither here nor there. That`s 20,000 applications in the first two hours. And today, Charlie`s inbox we just learning that it broke a record with more than 74,000 applications.
[Anderson:] 74,000 applications.
[Wynter:] Unbelievable.
[Anderson:] Who the heck wants to be Charlie`s intern? I would be scared out of my mind.
[Wynter:] That`s what I was thinking.
[Anderson:] Kareen, I guess Charlie and his team have their work cut out for them in selecting an intern.
[Wynter:] Yes.
[Anderson:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Kareen Wynter, thank you so much. All right. I`m sure that Charlie Sheen is relieved that he`s making a little bit of money after losing his job with "Two and a Half Men." Now, the big buzz is will the show go out without Charlie. And if it does, who should replace the guy? Back with me now, Midwin Charles who is an attorney with Midwin Charles and Associates, and Rob Shuter, who is a columnist for "PopEater.com." All right. When we asked in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive poll who should replace Sheen on "Two and a Half Men," a whopping 57 percent said nobody, cancel the show. Only 20 percent look at this said John Stamos should replace him, 22 percent Robert Downey, Jr. Rob, does it surprise you, the results? I couldn`t believe 57 percent said cancel the show.
[Shuter:] It just shows you how many people love Charlie and the show together. This show is not going to be canceled. The show is so successful they are not going to flush this money away. They are going to give it a chance. Even today, Charlie endorsed Rob Lowe to replace him.
[Anderson:] He did?
[Shuter:] Now, remember, Charlie wants this show to continue because if he does, he can still get a paycheck. So he does not want the show to go away.
[Anderson:] If it continues with a different actor
[Shuter:] Yes.
[Anderson:] He still gets a paycheck?
[Shuter:] When Michael J. Fox left "Spin City," he still participated in the money of that show for the entire life of it. Charlie`s contract
[Anderson:] That`s a heck of an agreement people are making.
[Shuter:] Absolutely.
[Anderson:] Midwin, what do you think? Should he be replaced or not?
[Charles:] I agree with him. I mean, the show is Charlie Sheen. It doesn`t make sense without him. If they get a replacement, I think it`s a good idea. Why not give it a try? It`s such a financially successful show, so why not give it a try?
[Anderson:] OK. Here what I think. Charlie Sheen has been to that show like Kobe Bryant has been to the Lakers, right? But I think the guy is replaceable.
[Shuter:] He is.
[Anderson:] I think there are a number of actors who would do a fantastic job.
[Shuter:] I remember, if they lose him, they don`t have to pay $2 million out a week. So the show could be less successful and more profitable if they hire an actor for that amount money.
[Anderson:] Good point. Rob Shuter, Midwin Charles, thank you so much. I`m sure the actors want $2 million an episode. It doesn`t matter. OK. I`ve got to ask you this. Is Donald Trump trying to pull a fast one? They say he`s talking about running for president just for "Celebrity Apprentice`s" publicity. So what does Melissa Rivers think? We`re asking the former "Celebrity Apprentice" star in a headline-making, SHOWBIZ newsmaker interview. "Real Housewives" drugged? Were "Real Housewives of Orange County" stars roofied at a club? Plus, when home invaders call 911 on themselves.
[Operator:] 911.
[Unidentified Male:] I just broke into a house. And the owners came home. 911
[Operator:] You broke into a house?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Anderson:] This guy might just be the world`s dumbest criminal. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. And now, the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] Oprah shares her personal diaries in upcoming issue of "O" magazine. Gwyneth Paltrow signs a deal with Atlantic Records to release full-length album.

[Cooper:] Breaking news tonight in the Casey Anthony trial, a 360 exclusive. We now know what Casey's parents really believe about their daughter's role in 2-year-old Caylee's death. For that, we go to Gary Tuchman in Orlando. Gary, what did you find out?
[Gary Tuchman, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, Anderson, George and Cindy Anthony say they love their daughter, they're supporting their daughter. At least one of them have been in this courthouse every day of her trial, both of them here today on day 25. But ever since she was charged with murder, it has not been clear. We have not known how they feel about the charges against her. And it's especially relevant now because of the opening statements where George, the father, was raked over the coals by the defense attorneys. So we asked today we said, how do they feel about these charges? And now we have the answer. They feel their daughter is not innocent. The details are intriguing and heartbreaking Anderson.
[Cooper:] Gary thanks very much. We have more we will have more on that later on. More breaking news, though, right now New York could be on the brink of being the sixth and largest state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, the legislation going right down to the wire in New York's Republican-controlled state Senate. The vote of one single GOP senator could make the difference between passage and defeat 29 out of 30 Democrats support the measure. One says he never will. Two Republicans have changed from no to yes. Tonight, New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo says he remains hopeful for passage, but the bill has been on the brink of a vote for days now, while lawmakers have voted on measures to make sweet corn the state vegetable, a bill for refined bingo rules, and legislation to let disabled people hunt big game with crossbows. Our thanks to the Huffington Post for that list. So why the delay? Joining me now, senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and Evan Wolfson executive director of freedomtomarry.org. Evan, why the delay? I mean, why whether or not it passes, but why why not just let it come up to a vote?
[Evan Wolfson, Executive Director, Freedom To Marry:] Well, we're very hopeful that there will be a vote. We're calling on the Senate to move for a vote, because we feel like we have made the case. Thousands and thousands of New Yorkers, Democrats, as well as Republicans, business leaders, as well as labor unions, even professional athletes, as well as individual people and their families and their loved ones, have contacted their legislators, have called the senators, have visited the senators, and have spoken out, and actually 58 percent of New Yorkers support same-sex marriage.
[Cooper:] Do you think you have enough votes among the legislators?
[Wolfson:] We are very hopeful that if the Senate brings it to a vote, which I hope will happen very soon, that we will have a happy day for New York.
[Cooper:] Jeff, as you look at this, why why is it taking so long just to come to a vote one way or another?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] Well, I think this is a hard vote for a lot of the Republicans. The Republican Party institutionally and in New York State has been opposed to same-sex marriage. I mean look at the debate we just saw in New Hampshire. Every candidate was for a constitutional amendment to stop same-sex marriage. New York is different. And the New York's Republicans are different. But it's hard for them to come around. And they they are now concentrating, it seems, on side issues as a way from detract as pushing attention away from the main issue. But the fact that they are so close and it really looks like, if there is a vote, it will pass is a huge, huge change, especially when it failed in the New York State Senate
[Cooper:] Right.
[Toobin:] by a wide margin just two years ago.
[Cooper:] But Evan, I mean, it seems like some the final sticking points have been over religious exemptions or religious concerns. What are the concerns? And and I mean, there are legitimate religious concerns. Some churches don't want to be forced to marry gay people.
[Wolfson:] Well, no church should be forced to marry any couple they don't want to. A church is as free to not marry a gay couple as it is to not marry an interfaith couple. Nobody can force the Catholic Church to marry divorced Catholics. But the Catholic Church, of course, can't tell the city clerk not to issue a license, a marriage license from the government to that divorced Catholic couple. So, everybody agrees that they're this bill, like any bill, has to have a significant balance between non- discrimination on the one hand and religious freedom on the other. And the good news here is that the governor, Majority Leader Skelos and others have been today saying that they actually believe the language looks good, that this is a gap or a question that can really be resolved. And I don't actually think that will prove to be a sticking point.
[Cooper:] But it seems like they're debating stuff behind closed doors that have nothing to do with same-sex marriage. It seems like they are they are focusing on other other issues in the state.
[Toobin:] Well, I think, in terms of the politics, the Republicans are looking for ways to justify their vote for same-sex marriage. And at least a significant number of them are saying, look, I I wasn't going to support this unless we protected the Catholic Church from being sued. Now, in fact, that's a non-issue. It's a red herring. There's been same-sex marriage in Massachusetts for seven years. It's never been any sort of problem like this. But this is giving some Republicans political cover. And it looks like Cuomo and Skelos, the majority leader of the Senate, are going to give it to them.
[Cooper:] Is there a date by which they have to vote or it will go away?
[Wolfson:] No. This is Albany, and they can do what they can do. And what we're watching is them working on not as you said, not just the freedom to marry, but also other important matters to New Yorkers. But Governor Cuomo, who has been a really strong champion when he was a candidate and as governor, has made it clear that he wants to see a vote, and we are really hopeful we're going to see a vote.
[Cooper:] As someone you know, you have been campaigning for for this to happen obviously nationwide. What do you think the impact of this happening in New York would be?
[Wolfson:] I think it will be immense. I mean first of all
[Cooper:] More than other places?
[Wolfson:] Well, first of all, if New York moves to marriage, which we're very hopeful is going to happen very soon, it will more than double the number of Americans who live in a state where gay people share in the freedom to marry. We're going to go from 16 million in this country to 35 million. So, that's, in and of itself, significant to families and loved ones who are eager to celebrate and solidify the love and commitment that bring people into marriage. But beyond that, this is New York. New York is a global face of America. New York sends a message. New York is going to be giving the rest of the country and indeed the world a chance to really see that, when marriage discrimination ends, families are helped and no one's hurt, with all the power that New York brings.
[Cooper:] So your so your hope is, if it happens here, because so many more people will have that that freedom to marry, that right to marry, that those who oppose it currently will see that their marriages aren't affected, their lives aren't affected, nothing really changes?
[Wolfson:] That's exactly right. And, as Jeff said, that's exactly what we have seen in other states. When people see it for real, not just in scary ads, they realize that actually it takes nothing away from my family for the family across the street to be stronger and better off. And that's why actually now six polls have shown that a majority in this country do support the freedom to marry.
[Cooper:] Evan Wolfson, we'll talk to you in the coming days. Thanks so much.
[Wolfson:] Thank you.
[Cooper:] Jeff Toobin as well. Coming up, more on our breaking news in the Casey Anthony trial; as Gary Tuchman told us, Casey Anthony's parents do not think she is innocent. That's according to their lawyer. But George and Cindy Anthony are in the courtroom almost every day. Are they still supporting their daughter? That's ahead, plus, the latest from today's testimony. And Mexican authorities say that's essentially the end of one of the country's most violent drug cartels details of the capture of the leader of La Familia next.

[Blitzer:] In the last few months there has been a dramatic drop in the unemployment rate. It fell to 8.8 percent in March. That's the lowest level in two years, a full percentage point less than it was only in November. The economy gained 216,000 jobs last month. At that rate, experts say it would still take another three-and-a-half years for the jobs market to completely rebound to where it was before the recession. President Obama insists that jobs creation is still very high on his radar.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] I know there's a lot going on in the world right now, and so the news has been captured by the images of the Middle East and what's happening, the tragedy to our friends in Japan. And I'm focused on those issues, but you should know that keeping the economy going and making sure jobs are available is the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and it's the last thing I think about when I go to bed each night. And I will not be satisfied until every American who wants a good job can find one and every American gets a shot at the American dream. That's what we're focused on. That's what we're fighting for.
[Blitzer:] Let's bring in our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger. Gloria, jobs, jobs, jobs. It's always been the economy, from a political perspective, issue number one.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Sr. Political Analyst:] Sure, and what you saw just there was the president trying to get back on message because, of course, he's been dealing with so many other issues. And I spoke with a senior administration official today who said to me that they were actually pleasantly surprised by these jobs numbers. They were quite worried, because obviously they have been facing some very strong headwinds in the last couple of months the increase in energy prices and they are worried about confidence out there, given the fact that we've been dealing with wars, with tsunami, with earthquake. And so when these numbers came out, they were very excited about it. They think it's because the private sector is gaining some momentum, Wolf. There's a lot of money out there, sitting out there, still to be invested. What concerns them is that state and local governments are really lagging behind in terms of reemployment, so they know that's going to be a problem for them. What they'd love to do? There's no magic number heading into the next election, but if they can get below 8 percent, or at 8 percent, they would be thrilled. Remember Ronald Reagan reelect in 1984? He went from over 10 percent to just over 7 percent at the time he was getting reelected.
[Blitzer:] And that's why 1984, as you well remember, is a result in part of that.
[Borger:] Absolutely.
[Blitzer:] How are the Republicans reacting today to these pretty good job numbers?
[Borger:] Well, they are good numbers. And of course, you know, the Republicans are not willing to give President Obama any credit whatsoever on this, as could be expected. Just take a look at what John Boehner said today, the Speaker of the House.
[Rep. John Boehner , House Speaker:] Today's jobs report is welcomed news, but Washington needs to do a lot more to end the uncertainty and get our economy moving again. It's clear that we need to cut spending and we need to stop unnecessary regulations, end the threat of tax hikes, and pass the trade bills that are out there. And these are the pillars of a Republican plan that will actually create jobs in America.
[Borger:] Well, Wolf, cutting spending is going to come up soon enough. You know, you have this question of whether there's going to be $30 billion in cuts on a deficit deal. And then the Republicans next week are going to put out their budget plan, and both the White House and Republicans have to decide how serious they are about entitlement cuts, because that's the long-term issue that's going to take us into the 2012 election and maybe reduce the deficit in this country.
[Blitzer:] They've got to keep the government open.
[Borger:] That's their first problem, right.
[Blitzer:] They've got a week to do that as well. That's a problem as of next Friday. Thanks very much, Gloria. Moammar Gadhafi's regime now rejecting a cease-fire deal from rebel forces. We're going back to Libya for a live report. And hope is fading in the desperate search for the more than 16,000 people missing after Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami. Why they may never be found.

[Sheryl Sandberg, Coo, Facebook:] Because of the position I'm in, I feel I have that responsibility to speak out on behalf of all women. We deserve equal pay, we deserve equal voice, we deserve to sit at any table we want to sit it.
[O'brien:] Go for it, sister. That's the Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, talking about her new book, which is called "Lean In." We want to continue the conversation. We started a little bit earlier today, because the book is also being used to launch a nationwide movement to empower women. And Rachel Thomas is the president of Lean In, the organization, which was created in conjunction with the book. Have you found that this debate and sometimes it's kind of a fierce debate about all of this has increased the number of people who are interested in Lean In, the movement?
[Rachel Thomas, President, Lean In:] So I think this is a really good thing. The more that we're talking about women and women in the workplace and issues that are relevant for us, the better. So we've been very excited about the very active dialog, and what I hope it spurs is more individual conversations between manager and employee, parents and siblings I mean, parents and sons and daughters, and husbands and wives.
[O'brien:] Take a drink of water, because I want to ask you a question about your Lean In moment. I know a little bit about your background. You start went to work in startups in tech and then you'd had one that ended up falling apart, and you didn't lean in, you leaned out?
[Thomas:] I did. So years ago, as a recent grad, I ran a company that had a very kind of difficult end, and I really did feel myself lean back for a point in time and I actually think we all do. We all have moments when we lean back. And it really took some time to get my confidence again. And confidence is an issue for all women.
[O'brien:] Wasn't the leaning back good? I mean, wouldn't you say that it was valuable in that moment to lean back and not lean in?
[Thomas:] So I do think there is a time and a place. I think there is a French phrase, which is kind of leaning back to lean in. And so I do think there are
[O'brien:] [Inaudible]. It does.
[Thomas:] I think there's different moments in time
[O'brien:] Lean back to lean in.
[Thomas:] but I think the fundamental issue is women are actually less confident than men. So we underestimate our ability slightly; men overestimate their ability. Men need to be 100 percent qualified I mean, women have to feel 100 percent qualified to apply for a position. Men don't. They can feel partially qualified and that's enough. So really understanding those issues and having an open dialog about them, we think, can make a material difference.
[O'brien:] A lot of the book is just a lot of stats and research about women in the workplace, the percentages of which they apply for jobs, you know, just all the research. was very fascinating.
[Thomas:] I think one of the great things about the book, is Sheryl has really put herself out there. And I can speak for myself personally, I have felt self-doubt; I have felt a lack of confidence. And knowing
[O'brien:] Because are you a human being.
[Thomas:] Exactly. And knowing that
[Berman:] [Inaudible], too, though, let me say
[Thomas:] I think that's a great point. And lot of men have read the book and say a lot of the message in the book resonate with them as well. We all, as human beings, feel a lack of confidence. Just women in generally underestimate our abilities where men generally overestimate abilities.
[O'brien:] Want to run a little clip of what Sheryl was saying to Katie about talking about children, because I think a lot of this conversation really is rooted in the fact that women have kids and that is sort of where we differ with men and kind of how we think about our jobs. Listen.
[Sandberg:] We don't talk to our bosses and we don't talk to our employees about you might want to have a child one day. I'm here to help you. I think we can change that.
[O'brien:] Do you think that we can change that? You know, the advice I have always given young women is never, ever, ever mention the dreaded "I am going to have a child" phrase because your bosses will absolutely positively not appreciate that.
[Thomas:] But imagine a future state where this is actually part of our national dialog. Women and men are actively talking about this as a topic. I know right now it sounds daunting to go from something we generally don't talk about to make it a very open subject. But we're losing women when they start to have families and we're losing women and they're not making it all the way up to leadership positions. I think really addressing this is very important.
[Katherine Rosman, Reporter, Wall Street Journal:] I think there is often an assumption in workplaces that a woman of a certain age, you know, might potentially have a child and I don't I don't know. I felt it was irrelevant to me personally. I never felt myself held back and I'm a mother and, you know, never I wasn't like running around saying I can't wait to be a mother. But I certainly never hid it. And it's just you do your job and you do it well and work hard.
[O'brien:] I had a lot of conversations where people feel like if you are interesting in being a mother, that what you're saying is I don't really have a commitment to being when I had my wins, which were my fourth third and fourth children, the head of the company said to me, well, you know, you're not going to know how you're going to feel about coming back? I'm like, I have four kids, I have to work. Are you kidding me? I am the only employee here who has to come in, in six weeks when my maternity leave is done. I was joking with him but there was this sort of assumption, like well you know, you may not have to even think about coming in. That person who is responsible for your career is not you know I can tell, not betting on you, if they are thinking
[Alex Mccord, Vh1's Couples Therapy:] Yes well, that's for the executive to have, I mean they are not going to be heralding the best talent.
[O'brien:] I don't think it's unusual. Go ahead.
[Mccord:] Well we have to step in and lean in because if we don't take baby steps, nothing is ever going to change. So yes it's polarizing and yes everyone has got a lot of opinions on it. But if we don't talk about it, we will never get anywhere. I think what she's doing is great. I think we can all take what resonates for us and it's individual. We're not all going to be Sheryl, but let's all take a step forward.
[Thomas:] And I think an important point to make is there is a moment to make that decision in your life right. If you have a child and you want to decide to stay home or want to decide to stay in the workforce, but what Sheryl has seen a lot and I think all of us have seen is very young women starting to worry about that, starting to internalize a decision they don't need to make yet. And if they kept their foot on the gas and they advanced, they're sitting and looking at a different decision the day they make it. Now they're a senior manager, or there are a director, and they moved ahead with all of their peers and then they're making a decision as opposed to have leaned back and have lost opportunities and just not looking at interesting or dynamic a role on that decision day. I think that's a big part of the message.
[O'brien:] It's going to be interesting. I sit down with Sheryl Sandberg tomorrow to talk about all of this. And you know she's kind of put herself now, right in this maelstrom of some people who think that she's a villain for saying. You know some have framed it as she's blaming women for their role in this, which is not what the book says. Other people heralding what she is doing and sort of creating this movement. You know I think as an individual, right, that's always a crazy place to be in the middle of the swirl of a debate. And be front and center your face on it. It will be interesting to chat with her about that. You can catch my interview with her. It's going to be starting next week on Monday on STARTING POINT. Coming up next, so if you want if you like curly fries, you must be smart. If you like science, you might be dissatisfied with life. We're going to tell you what your Facebook likes say about you. Yes, I'm not making this up, John Berman.

[Cho:] The power of social media, it fueled riots in London, sparked protests in Syria, and helped lead a revolution in Egypt. We take a global look now at social media and its impact, starting in San Francisco, where metro transit police blocked online communications to stop a protest. Here's Dan Simon.
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] We're at a BART station in downtown San Francisco. And the saga al began when protestors threatened to disrupt passenger trains and put a wrinkle in the commute for thousands of people who rely on BART on a daily pay sis. That prompted BART to shut down the cell phone communication on several of its platforms. They thwarted the protest but it angered BART critics, including the hacking group Anonymous. It hacked into a BART website and since then they've been on the defensive and said it had to shut down the cell phones because it was a matter of public safety. BART meanwhile has been battling an image problem. There have been a couple of shootings involving its police officers. The most recent one occurred last month when officers shot and killed a homeless man who was allegedly carrying a knife. That's what's prompted a flurry of protests and everything that's followed. Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
[Atika Shubert, Cnn International Correspondent:] Here in Britain, we've already had two people sentenced to four years in prison for inciting a riot very a Facebook. Social media played a critical role. We know that Twitter and blackberry messenger were two of the ways that rioters organized some of the looting online. It was considered such a threat that Prime Minister Cameron told lawmakers he was consulting with police to see whether or not it was appropriate to stop communication on social media if there was any evidence of plotting disorder, violence, or criminality. As you can imagine, a tremendous backlash from critics who said that would be a violation of free speech. I'm Atika Shubert in London.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] The authorities in the U.K. and elsewhere might think that shutting down communications networks is a good way to bring unruly elements back under control. But before they touch that kill switch, a cautionary tale from Egypt. For five days during the revolution here, the former regime shut down the cell phone networks and the Internet for five days, hoping to nip the revolution in the bud. But it was a blunt weapon that hurt friend and foe alike. It damaged the Egyptian economy, damaged its reputation, and for many people who had been sitting on the fence, it convinced them that the regime was willing to do anything, even bring the country to a screeching halt in order to hold on to power, power which, of course, in the end, it lost. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Cairo.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] The Syrian government regularly monitors and tries to regulate communication, taps phone lines. And this is not even something that it necessarily tries to hide. State-run television has broadcast what it said were secret phone calls between activists. Activists for their part, fully aware of this, often will only make a brief phone call on their cell phones or send a quick text message before they remove the battery to make it more difficult to trace them. When it comes to military operations, we've regularly seen the government shut off the internet, land lines, cell phones as well. So activists developed a smuggling network to try to get satellite phones and other technology to various areas under siege to continue to get their message out and post the videos that we keep seeing emerging on YouTube. When it comes to the internet, interestingly, the government unblocked access to social media sites like Facebook. Activists say it's so they can continue to spy on them on-line. Either way, despite the government's effort to try to control communications, activists have always found ways to circumvent the government's various blockades and efforts. And demonstrations most certainly have not let up. Arwa Damon, CNN, Beirut.
[Cho:] That's a look at how social media is perceived around the world. The men convicted of brutally murdering three young boys in a satanic ritual get what they've been fighting for, for 18 years, their freedom. We'll take you live to Arkansas for the latest on the West Memphis Three, next.

[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND.
[Unidentified Female:] First we were going to try to leave, and then we didn't, because we had nowhere to go.
[Kaye:] The storm is over, but the heartache has just begun. Stories of survival in the wake of Hurricane Isaac.
[Mayor Cory Booker , Newark, New Jersey:] We are the party that says America can be America for everyone. And that is what this platform is about.
[Kaye:] All week the spotlight was on the Republicans. Now it's the Democrats' turn. This morning, we're putting the Democratic platform in focus.
[Unidentified Female:] I wanted someone with blonde hair and blue eyes.
[Kaye:] She says she was fired for her looks. And now some say it is corporate policy. We'll look at the ugly side of retail. It is Saturday, September 1st. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Glad you're with us on this Labor Day weekend. We start with Isaac this morning. The storm that continues to drench the Gulf Coast. So far, the storm is being blamed for four deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi. One couple was found in this house in their flooded kitchen. The heavy rains have also caused massive flooding. And it's not done yet. John Zarrella has more on the damage and the lingering effects of Isaac.
[John Zarrella, Cnn Correspondent:] Randi, thousands of people living within half a mile of the banks of the Tangipahoa River here in Louisiana were ordered to evacuate. There was concern after the storm that a dam up north in Mississippi might break. One of the many lingering effects from Hurricane Isaac.
[Zarrella:] Hurricane Isaac descended on Louisiana Tuesday night, nearly seven years to the day that Hurricane Katrina struck. Isaac wasn't such a monster, but it was still a killer, parked on top of Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Alabama. Hundreds had to be rescued.
[Unidentified Male:] What's it like back there now?
[Unidentified Female:] Bad. The water's over the top of the roof. We had to break through the ceiling and come through the attic.
[Zarrella:] Others weren't so lucky. The category one hurricane has claimed at least four lives in the U.S. And some, like Gene Odo, were trapped in their own homes.
[Gene Odo:] Right now, in my attic with my wife and my year-and-a-half-old baby. The local police came around about 2:00 in the morning, told us the levee broke. And within an hour, the water was coming up. It looks like we lost everything.
[Zarrella:] And it's not over yet. The slow moving storm continues to wreak havoc, with heavy rainfall and flooding, which overtopped the levee with water in New Orleans.
[Billy Nungesser, President, Plaquemines Parish:] I have more damage for this storm than I did for Katrina.
[Zarrella:] In Mississippi, there was concern over a potential dam collapse. Now officials say the dam, holding back the Isaac swollen Tangipahoa Lake is not failing, but engineers are working to pump water out to release the pressure. Down river in Louisiana, the parish president ordered thousands to evacuate along the 54 miles it runs through the parish, just in case.
[Gordon Burgess, President, Tangipahoa Parish:] My concern is whether it's one person or 50,000. A life is a life is a life.
[Johnny Womack, Kentwood, Louisiana, Resident:] It's down here. It's like that all time.
[Zarrella:] Not everyone is listening. Johnny Womack sent his family to higher ground, but he's not going anywhere.
[Womack:] I ain't going nowhere, man. I've been here work I built that house myself and I ain't going to leave and let somebody just take it from me. If he take it from me, at least I'm going to see it go.
[Zarrella:] Isaac has left many with unsafe drinking water and more than 800,000 without power. Not just in Louisiana, but Mississippi, Alabama and even Arkansas. And it's not over yet. There's a chance of tornadoes as the region digs out from what Isaac left behind. John Zarrella, CNN, Amite, Louisiana.
[Kaye:] And be sure to stick with us for more on Isaac and what's next. Coming up in about 30 minutes or so, I'll be talking with the Red Cross about their efforts in the area and we'll let you know how you can help. The remnants of Isaac will making for a wet holiday weekend in the Midwest. You can also blame the storm, at least partially, for the rise in gas prices. If you're driving this Labor Day weekend, prepare to pay the highest Labor Day prices in recent memory. $3.83 a gallon is the national average for a gallon of regular. It's up 30 cents from what you paid in July. To politics now and the race for the White House. Mitt Romney moving on from Tampa, Florida. and the Republican Convention. Today he is in Ohio. We'll bring his comments there to you live later this morning. Ohio is just the latest stop on the post convention tour as the campaign looks to build momentum. CNN national political correspondent Jim Acosta has more.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn National Political Correspondent:] Randi, instead of visiting three battleground states, Mitt Romney made a surprise visit to New Orleans to survey storm damage after Tropical Storm Isaac. It's just another reminder that in this two month sprint to the finish, there will be some twists and turns along the way.
[Unidentified Male:] Mitt Romney!
[Acosta:] Just before takeoff from Florida, Mitt Romney picked up where he left off at the convention, returning to his sales pitch to independent voters who chose the president four years ago.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] You listened to the last guy running for president. He laid out what he would do. He was unable to do it. It's time to give someone new a chance. Hold us accountable.
[Acosta:] Joining the GOP nominee to make the case, arguably the star of the convention, Ann Romney.
[Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's Wife:] Give this man a chance and he will not fail.
[Acosta:] And his running mate, Paul Ryan, tried to set the terms for the debate to come.
[Paul Ryan , Vice Presidential Candidate:] This is the chance where we have a choice. Do we want the failed leadership, the stagnant economy, the debt crisis, the welfare state or do we want that opportunity society, that American idea where everybody can make the most of their lives and define happiness for themselves?
[Acosta:] Romney was showing off a newly wrapped campaign plane and mixing up his schedule. He dropped a previously planned trip to Virginia to survey the damage left by Tropical Storm Isaac in Louisiana.
[M. Romney:] And I've got a lot of questions for you, but I'm here to learn and obviously to draw some attention to what's going on here so that people around the country know that folks here need help.
[Acosta:] There was also some cleaning up to do after the convention that had nothing to do with all of those balloons.
[Clint Eastwood, Actor And Director:] What? What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that. He can't do that to himself. You're crazy.
[Acosta:] Clint Eastwood's rambling improm script with an empty chair that was supposed to be President Obama had some on the convention floor cheering. But reporters took note the Romney family was not laughing.
[A. Romney:] We appreciated Clint's support. And he's a unique guy and he did a unique thing last night.
[Acosta:] The campaign seemed to defend the actor in a statement saying, "judging an American icon like Clint Eastwood through a typical, political lens doesn't work. His ad libbing was a break from all the political speeches, and the crowd enjoyed it." But the president's Twitter account took notice, sending out this tweet aimed at Eastwood and Romney that says, "this seat's taken."
[Unidentified Female, Political Ad:] Not a word about his record in Massachusetts where job growth was 47th out of 50.
[Acosta:] In signs of the tough fight to come, the Obama campaign released a web video countering Romney's speech and Joe Biden offered a rebuttal of his own in Ohio.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] We do not think you grow the economy from millionaires down. We know you build it from the middle class out. That's how you build America.
[Acosta:] Romney advisers are downplaying any expectations of a post convention bump in the polls, but the GOP nominee did one up the president in one category, getting to Louisiana first. President Obama arrives here on Monday. Randi.
[Kaye:] Jim Acosta for us this morning. Jim, thank you. He'll be back with the Romney campaign this afternoon in Jacksonville, Florida. And as I said, Romney holds a campaign rally in Ohio. That's later this morning. And we'll bring that event to you live in our 10:00 hour. Paul Ryan, meanwhile, also in Ohio, but on the opposite side of the state than his running mate. The Democrats are preparing for their turn. But before the convention, there is the platform, delivered by the rising star of the Democratic Party. We'll hear from him.

[Sambolin:] Welcome back. Forty-nine minutes past the hour. Let's get you up to date. Christine Romans with the top stories.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Good morning, you two. Thank you. At least two Americans have died in a helicopter crash in Central Peru. Police say seven people in all were on board when this chopper crashed and burned just after takeoff yesterday afternoon. Three of the victims were recovered away from the crash site. Four bodies remain trapped in the wreckage. More trouble for the Dreamliner. A fire broke out yesterday inside a Japan airline 787 Dreamliner at Logan Airport in Boston just minutes after passengers left the plane. A fire official said a battery pack exploded and caught fire. The plane was brand new, was delivered only last month. There've been series of problems with the 787 since Boeing introduced them in 2011. Attorneys for Casey Anthony will be in a Florida courtroom today. Anthony is appealing four convictions for lying to law enforcement after her daughter, Caylee, was first reported missing in 2008. She was acquitted of murdering her two-year-old daughter back in 2011. Casey Anthony is not expected to attend today's hearing. Imagine being a young mother, you wake up in the middle of the night to see a python wrapped around the arm of your two-year-old daughter who is sleeping next to you. It happened to a mother in Australia who woke up from the hissing of her cat. The snake already had sunk its teeth into the child's left hand, but the mom managed to pry it loose.
[Unidentified Female:] After we went to the hospital, and techs came, they found the snake sort of down behind the bedside table and in between the wall. But I don't doubt that he was under the bed for days.
[Romans:] She knew something was wrong because her cat was jumpy and nervous for a few days. It apparently knew the snake was in the house.
[Sambolin:] Oh, my goodness!
[Berman:] I mean, I guess the good news is the snake didn't eat her baby, but the bad news is that, like
[Sambolin:] Or choke the baby to death. Oh, my gosh!
[Berman:] Crazy.
[Romans:] That cat is going to get whatever it wants to eat for however long it wants to eat.
[Sambolin:] For the rest of his nine lives. Wow! That's a crazy story. Imagine that Christine, waking up to that. What would you do?
[Romans:] I hate starting the morning with snake stories.
[Sambolin:] All right. Thank you for that. It is 51 minutes past the hour. It's that time of year, tech companies are showing off their slickest, edgiest, most innovative gadgets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It kicks off today in Silicon Valley. Correspondent Dan Simon, has an early look for us.
[Dan Simon, Cnn Correspondent:] It's a January tradition here in Las Vegas as crews work furiously to get the booths and exhibits ready for the start of the Consumer Electronics Show. More than 150,000 people are expected to roam these vast halls over the next couple of days to get a glimpse of the technologies that might hit the store shelves in the coming year. TVs are always the biggest crowd draw at CES. Last couple of years, the companies were pushing 3D TVs. It didn't really rake off the consumers this year. They're hoping the technology called ultra HD will win over consumers. These are 3Ds that have four times the resolution as a typical HD TV, but they're expensive. Some of these sets cost as much as a car. And speaking of cars, they're becoming a bigger deal every year at CES. This year, you'll hear the term connected car a lot. That means using your smartphone for a lot of different things including using the phone to start the car on those especially cold winter days. Another big theme, home automation. Run your home from wherever you are. This category used to be for people who were really wealthy. Now, these products are a lot more affordable. And it's about being able to control your lights, your thermostat, your appliances while on the go. And of course, look for the latest innovations in PCs, tablets and cameras. More than 3,000 companies are on display here. All of them really vying for one thing, attention. Dan Simon, CNN, Las Vegas.
[Berman:] It's like geek paradise. There's no question about that.
[Sambolin:] It's fantastic. And you can play tricks on people. So, if you have that little device and somebody's staying in your home, you can turn on the music and turn it off without anybody knowing, and then, they start wondering what's going on. Turn on the lights. Turn them off.
[Berman:] You know how to have fun. You really do. You're crazy! So, some of the other cool things we've seen in display, some mini-tablets. We know about them, but what about mega-tablets? Lenovo is introducing this 27-inch tabletop tablet called the Idea Center Horizon 27. CNN says it comes with air hockey paddles, joysticks, and a big six-sided dye. It looks like, you know, the Galaga thing used to play in the pizza shop, you know?
[Sambolin:] That looks like fun. I would love that. All right. Check out this no-frills phone. End the gadget reports Square One Plus promises a 15-year battery life from a single AA battery. Its makers say it isn't meant to replace your smartphone but could be added to a first aid kit, perhaps, or tucked away in your car if you have an emergency.
[Berman:] Fifteen years.
[Sambolin:] That is crazy!
[Berman:] It's fueled by magic.
[Sambolin:] Yes.
[Berman:] All right. We have a packed hour straight ahead on EARLY START, including the first look at a deep sea monster. A giant squid. What a morning. A giant squid alive in its natural habitat 3,000 feet below the surface. We're going to get reaction from the man who wrote the search for the giant squid.
[Sambolin:] Plus, off the fridge and into your living room. Child art getting the 3D printing treatment. And these sculptures do not stay within the lines.
[Berman:] Plus, all the buzz about the Alabama beauty queen. She stole the spotlight from her quarterback boyfriend last night in Miami. We'll have this rather interesting story coming up next.

[Costello:] Serbian police have arrested a man believed to be behind one of the worst massacres in Europe since World War II. Former Serbian military commander Ratko Mladic is accused of leading the Siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of Srebrenica during the Balkan Wars. He's an alleged war criminal and he's been on the run for 16 years until now. CNN's Nic Robertson on the phone with us right now. Nic, I know you have met this man. So give us your thoughts on this.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, it's a huge moment in terms of taking out, if you will, out of commission, the people that have perpetrated the war crimes in Bosnia. He is the last of the big once. It is believed that Serbian nationalists have really been helping him stay hidden and protecting him from being picked up by Serbian authorities for many, many years now. He is seen here with some of these nationalists. But, of course, he is responsible for tens, if not many more thousands of deaths of a quarter of a million people that were killed in Bosnia. It was his forces under his command that stood on the hills around Sarajevo for three years from the spring of 1992 until the end of the summer, 1995, barraging the city with mortars, with tank shells, killing civilians indiscriminately in the streets in Srebrenica. If anything was a worse horror when in the summer of 1995, he and the head of the Bosnian Serb army, swept into the city, rounded up more than 7,000 men and boys, carted them off and mowed them down at gunpoint in nearby field, burying them, hiding the evidence in mass graves. So it is a huge moment for Bosnia that he has now been picked up and will go to the tribunal. And it will bring some closure for some people. But, of course, it will never heal the pain of all those families who did lose loved ones. And we can expect to see these Serbian authorities now following the letter of the law in Serbia to make sure that he has no comeback on them for his extradition to the Haig. And again when he gets to the Haig at the International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslavia, following the letter of the law, cautiously making sure he has no legal loopholes to wriggle out of the charges. Carol?
[Costello:] Nic Robertson reporting live. Many thanks. Checking our top stories now. About an hour and a half from now, officials in Joplin, Missouri, will release a list of people unaccounted for after Sunday's tornado. The death toll stands at 125. The governor has ordered more state troopers to Joplin to help with the search. At this time yesterday, we told you that Joplin was in the danger zone for another tornado. Well, consider this a near miss in scientific circles. The massive funnel cloud you see there appeared about 30 miles from the devastated city. And this just in, jobless numbers are up, 424,000 Americans filed for the first week of benefits last week. It is the seventh straight week that first-time claims have topped 400,000. Did you watch it? Fans who stayed for all of the Reds-Phillies game last night really got their money's worth. The game lasted into 19th innings. And Philadelphia fans went wild when second baseman, Wilton Valdez came in to pitch. Valdez hit one batter. He retired the other three. He even waved off his catcher once like a veteran pitcher. Valdez becomes the first position player to be a winning pitcher in 11 years when Jimmy Rollins scores. You see it there. He scores the winning run in the bottom of the inning. The game goes six hours, 11 minutes, ending after 1:00 a.m. No time for rest, though. The two teams play again this afternoon. If you think 19 innings is long, we have got a 23-inning game to show you. Plus, the Mavs punch their ticket to the NBA finals. We will have more sports in 20 minutes. And coffee gives a kick, but it is not the kind of jolt we would like to see. We are talking about prices and their rising. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. Oh, how much?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Correspondent:] I know, I know. It is true, you know. And some of the biggest names, Carol, they are raising their prices. You know, for one Starbucks, it is raising its prices on the package coffee that it sells at its stores by 17 percent. That's a lot. Folgers and Millstone, they are raising their prices about 11 percent. Dunkin'Donuts coffee, they are also raising prices of the coffee that is sold in the grocery stores. The same thing for Green Mountain. We are seeing this really across the board with so many brands. You know what, Carol, it is not stopping us from drinking coffee, though. Coffee consumption actually hit a record last year. So, a, we got to get our fix no matter what the price.
[Costello:] I know. I have mine right here. It's my fifth cup.
[Kosik:] There you go. Oh, my god. Are you nuts?
[Costello:] Oh, what's behind the increase? I am curious about that. I was just thinking I was just feeling sorry for myself for paying more.
[Kosik:] Well, you know why we are seeing these prices go up. It is because supplies are tight, because we are seeing poor growing conditions. You know, bad weather in South America. But as I said, demand is still strong. Remember, coffee is a commodity. It is traded on the open market, you know, just like gold is, just like crude oil is. So when investors see a supply crunch, they think, hey, good investment. They see, you know, the supply crunch, they see rise in demand, so they buy. So what you get is the price of coffee futures, it is doubled in the past year and that means the price you pay right off the shelf, that retail price is up more than 50 percent. Let me talk about stocks real fast. We've got a flat open. We've got some reports on economic growth in the job market. Unfortunately, they came in weaker than expected. Carol?
[Costello:] OK. Thanks, Allison. OK. I think I need it now. Thank you, Alison. If you have been to a holiday air show, you probably have seen it. Stunt pilots risking their lives with twists and dives that boggle the mind. What are they thinking? We will ask one of America's best pilots after a break.

[Whitfield:] So before the break we mentioned the top three states for business according to CNBC's annual ranking. Now, here's a look at the bottom three on that list. Coming in at number 48, of all places, Hawaii. Number 49 is Alaska. And at number 50, Rhode Island. This is the second year that they came in the bottom three. Perhaps closing shop, riding off into the golden years is what you want to do. If you could, would you retire in five years? It might be as easy as getting your finances in order. Eric Amado is president and CEO at Amado Consulting, and he is joining us live from Dallas. Good to see you, Eric.
[Eric Amado, Ceo, Amado Consulting:] Good to see you. How are you doing?
[Whitfield:] I'm doing pretty good. Folks say maybe in five years or so I want to retire. First you say you've really have to envision what you want retirement to look like before you figure out whether you're financially able to do so?
[Amado:] Absolutely. You want to start thinking about how you and your spouse want to retire, if you want to take vacations, if you want to build a business, if you want to travel around the world, that's what you need to do. You need to think about income, taxes, and health care costs. Right now most retirees will spend about one-fifth of their income on health care costs. And they're going through the roof. These are the thing to think about right now.
[Whitfield:] A lot of people forget, once leave that job, there goes some of the benefits. So when you had your health insurance is different when you retire. Can you afford to take care of yourself? You have to fold that into the equation.
[Amado:] Absolutely, you have to do that. You have to do that.
[Whitfield:] So a lot of folk were thinking, maybe I'll be able to count on my Social Security. Say you will be retiring in five years, maybe even four. Is Social Security going to be your friend?
[Amado:] Absolutely. Social security will be your friend. We all know that you can start taking Social Security between the ages of 62 and 70. But something you want to do is think about probably prolonging taking your Social Security, maybe take it at 65 or even taking it at 70. If you do that, you will get more money down the line. Of course you need to think about your spouse. You need to think about your health and your overall age longevity. If you can do that, it will be a great thing for you and your family.
[Whitfield:] Then you need to review benefits. We talked about this with health insurance. What other benefits do you need to keep in mind and familiarize yourself with?
[Amado:] Great question. You need to sit down with your employer and look at anything you have. You might have a pension plan. You might have a 401 [k] plan. You might have other types of post- retirement benefits. This is the time to sit down and look and see what you have. Look and see what the company will pay you. And also something you need to do is look at creating a post retirement budget. What this is, usually you don't spend as much money in retirement as do you when you're working. So, for example, two or three years out you want to start living on your post retirement budget so when you retire, it won't be such a big shock to you.
[Whitfield:] And then folks think golden years. They don't want to work. They want to make time for all the things that are fun or they've been longing to do but you say you need to work into the equation, will you be working?
[Amado:] Absolutely, a great point. We have to be realistic about what's going on right now. A lot of seniors have lost a lot of money due to the recession we came out of. Many Americans will have to work during their retirement years. Basically the best thing to do before you retire, is to sit down with your company and say I don't want to retire. I want to work two or three or five more years. I continue to add value to this company. If they say no, maybe you can try part time or a consultant basis. You don't want to outlive your money. That's the wrong thing to do. If you need to work, it's OK. There's nothing wrong with continuing to work.
[Whitfield:] Maybe you need a little consultation on how to manage your money.
[Amado:] Absolutely. If you can find yourself a CPA or a financial adviser sometime within the five years before you retire, that's a great thing. They're going to help you to map out a road plan on what you need to do, how to spend your money and what you can actually do as far as being realistic. You don't want to go throughout and start retiring and then you feel like you don't have a game plan.
[Whitfield:] All right, Eric, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Folks love the idea of getting free advice. They got some from you today but maybe they want more. Folks can go to your Web site at AmadoConsultingLLC.com. Have a good holiday weekend.
[Amado:] You too.
[Whitfield:] Not much holiday to celebrate if you're in Minnesota this weekend. The government is shut down, which means a number of agencies and buildings closed up. I'll be asking a Republican lawmaker if social issues are partly to blame, not just economics. And later, face to face with two top NASCAR drivers after I see what it feels like to go 170 miles an hour around a race track.

[Baldwin:] Thanks for tuning in to CNN here on your Memorial Day. Let me bring you up to speed in some of the other top stories including in Libya, an apparent major blow today to leader Moammar Gadhafi. CNN has learned that eight Army generals have defected. They're now in Italy. Gadhafi's military has been battling rebel forces in that country for weeks and weeks now. The opposition has said that there cannot be any sort of peace agreement as long as Gadhafi is still in power. In Serbia, the lawyer for Ratko Mladic wants the former Bosnian Serb general to be re-examined by a team of medical specialists. He says the 69-year-old former commander is not healthy enough to face all of these charges of genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal at The Hague. In the meantime, the chief prosecutor denies that Mladic is in poor health saying he's been, quote, "lively and joking since being taken into custody last week." Remember he is the man accused of overseeing the massacre of nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys back in 1995. Big, big news for Buckeye fans. Ohio State University said Jim Trussel, the head football coach has resigned. The school fined Trussel $250,000 in March and suspended after he failed to report that some of his players may have violated some of those NCAAA rules. So now Assistant Coach Lou Fickel will serve as interim coach come next football season. And very few people in the west have heard of the small town in Pakistan where al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is hiding out. Well, now a month after his death, new details about the place are still hard, if not impossible to come by. CNN's Stan Grant has found that out for himself. Watch this.
[Cnn Stan Grant, Cnn Correspondent:] One month on, killing Osama Bin Laden has not won America too many friends here. The shopkeeper lives less than 200 meters from where Bin Laden lived and died. He has more sympathy for the slain al Qaeda leader than foreigners, wearing at us, calling us pigs. Are Muslims terrorists every way, he says. Actually America is the biggest terrorist. Others though are friendlier. This boy, Zara, approaches us with a story to tell. He and his sister, Aza, befriended Bin Laden's youngest children and grandchildren. They say they were two boys, one girl, 7, 4 and 3- years-olds. Zara relives the cricket games he played with them. That's the white Bin Laden you can see behind us. Contradicting reports that no outsiders have reached the Bin Laden security, Zara says he actually played inside the compound itself, getting a close look at a secret world. Despite being neighbors, the brother and sister, he didn't know the Bin Laden children's names. The children told them their father was the family courier they called Nadeen. Only now that they know who their playmates really were. My grandmother asked in Pashto who is your father, Aza says, they say Nadeen. They always say Nadeen. Through this brother and sister, we get to piece together daily life in the Bin Laden compound. Rather than speaking from local language, the Bin Laden's preferred Pashto, the language of the Afghanistan- Pakistan order. They were normal family, friendly the children say. They never saw Osama Bin Laden. He remained well hidden. They did meet the Bin Laden wives. They were two aunties standing in the house, Zara says. They asked me how was I, where did I live, what did my mother do. I told them my mother was a housewife. They wore ordinary Pakistani clothes. Zara says he noticed the women were different from other mothers in the neighborhood. They spoke in a strange language he says, very poor [inaudible] and then I thought probably they were Arabic and the children were different too. Even in this Muslim community, they were especially devout. They were very religious, Zara says. Whenever I went there to play, they ask me to wait until afternoon prayer and then they would stop playing later for evening prayer. Aza shows us pet rabbits, a gift from the Bin Laden family. After everything she says, she misses her friends. They were young. They were beautiful. I really miss them. They were the only children we played with. Zara and Aza's father is a government official in the Justice Department. Yet, Osama Bin Laden lived right next door and no one knew. The Bin Laden's lived this way for years in the heart of Abbottabad, a military city in the mountains, two hours' drive north from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Now the area is in lockdown. In recent days, it's been open to the CIA to collect material and information, but no such access for us. As we tried to get close, this is what happens. The police say they are under instructions to smash our camera to get us back and we weren't be going in further. [on camera]: Well, this is clearly as far as we're going to go. We're not going to get any closer to the Bin Laden compound. Here life continues as normal. Beyond here though, 200 meters or so away is the Bin Laden house. Still holding in so many of the secrets of his life here in Abbottabad. OK, we're finished. Thank you very much. Thank you. Stan Grant, CNN, Abbottabad, Pakistan.
[Baldwin:] Stan, thank you. On this Memorial Day, it's a fitting day to remind all of you that more than 6,000 U.S. and coalition troops have died in both Afghanistan and Iraq, from all over the world, spanning all ages and on this Memorial Day you can honor them by learning who they were. Just go to cnn.comcasualties.

[Costello:] A New York native who is the co-founder of a radical Islamic group is now facing federal charges, accused of threatening the creators of "South Park." This is Jesse Curtis Morton, aka Unis Abdullah Mohammad, he's a Muslim convert. His group, "Revolution Muslim" tries to recruit followers on the streets of New York and online. He seems to think "South Park" insulted the Prophet Mohammed when the writers portrayed the prophet wearing a bear suit. That episode aired last year. But our own Drew Griffin caught up with him in 2009 and the interview was quoted in an affidavit so here's part of that report.
[Drew Griffin, Cnn Correspondent:] Commanded to terrorize
[Unidentified Male:] The Koran says very clearly in the Arabic language, which means terrorize him. It's a command from Allah.
[Griffin:] So you're commanded to terrorize
[Unidentified Male:] You don't define terrorism as going and killing an innocent civilian. I define it as making them fearful so they think twice before they go rape your mother or kill your brother or go onto your land and try to steal your resources. The Koran commands that you disavow and make hatred between democracy, between nationalism, between secularism, and that you see Obama as the enemy he really is.
[Costello:] Drew Griffin from our Special Investigations Unit is joining me live. So what is the FBI saying about Morton?
[Griffin:] Well, the FBI is saying that when these guys put their warning, quote unquote, "warning" to the "South Park" creators online, on their web site that they actually violated federal law by communicating a threat over interstate commerce, namely over the internet. And they're basing that not only on just what was said on that web site, but on what we now learn is intercepted communications, e- mails, telephone calls that the FBI says it has, which shows the intent. The intent was to communicate a threat.
[Costello:] So is he under arrest?
[Griffin:] He is living in Morocco, not surprisingly, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. At this point he is not under arrest. We'll have to see what the Moroccan government will do. Certainly he is now isolated and will not be able to come back to the U.S. until and unless he faces these charges.
[Costello:] You got a hold of him though, right?
[Griffin:] Yes, late last night, actually early this morning. Unis Mohammad who is Jesse Curtis Morton did sent send us an e-mail response to this, as you can imagine attacking the United States. And in part saying this case is an example of intimidation forcing silence, while the U.S. goes on killing millions of Muslims and defaming the sacred tenets and people of the true religion. That was from Jesse Morton about 4:00 a.m. this morning.
[Costello:] So have the creators of "South Park" responded to this?
[Griffin:] I have not seen a response from them yet. They have kind of laid low. This was a comedy sketch that they did last year, but we'll keep monitoring and see if they have anything to say.
[Costello:] Fascinating. If that guy ever leaves Morocco so he can be placed under arrest. Drew Griffin, many thanks. Checking stories cross country now, years before he was convicted as the so-called Unabomber, the FBI now wonders if Ted Kaczynski had anything to do with the 1982 Tylenol murders that left seven people dead in Chicago. Authorities want Kaczynski's DNA as part of their probe. Actress Rosie Perez is suing the producers of "Law and Orders" claiming she was severely injured while taping an episode in 2009. A spokesman for NBC declined comment. Police in Summerville, South Carolina, say a 38-year-old suspect is accused of assaulting a cop and then stealing his squad car. They say he admits to being high on crack during the chase and the capture. The whole thing caught on tape. Police say the suspect has a long criminal history. The president's speech stirred up a bit a hornet's nest in Israel. His push for Israel to go back to the pre-1967 borders was not something the prime minister wanted to hear. But Jay Leno had some fun with it, don't you know it.
[Jay Leno, Host, "the Tonight Show With Jay Leno":] Earlier today, President Obama gave a speech outlining his vision for peace in the Middle East. He suggested that Israel go back to the pre-1967 borders. And of course, native Americans jumped right on this. They said why stop there? let's go back to the pre-1492 borders.
[Costello:] What a way to set up our Political Buzz, a lightning- fast conversation hitting the hot political topics of the day. Each of our brilliant political observers gets 20 seconds to answer our questions. Dana Loesch is a Tea Party supporter and conservative. Robert Zimmerman is a member of the Democratic National Committee. And comedian Pete Dominick lends his own unique perspective. Okay, first up. President Obama meets up with Israel's prime minister today one day after Obama called on Israel to return to the 1967 border scenario. Benjamin Netanyahu not happy, so describe the atmosphere in that room when President Obama sits down with Benjamin Netanyahu. Dana?
[Dana Loesch, Cnn Contributor:] Oh, I think it's going to be incredibly tense. But I'm hoping that maybe this time Netanyahu can go through the front door and won't be left alone while he's eating his lunch. But still, I think that Netanyahu's going to essentially ask, dude, why did you throw me under the bus like this in your speech. Because even Congress in 2004, House and Senate both concurred with President Bush that there's absolutely no reason whatsoever to go to the '67 borders, period.
[Costello:] Robert?
[Zimmerman:] Look, probably the best rapport in that room is going to be between the U.S. and Israeli food tasters. But the situation simply is this. Prime minister Netanyahu has every reason to demand appear explanation from the president because all of us, both Israelis and Americans who want peace in that process know it can't happen with conditions being imposed upon Israel or with Hamas not being held accountable.
[Costello:] Out of time. Pete! Sorry. Pete.
[Zimmerman:] Just made it.
[Pete Dominick, Comedian:] I'm no Washington insider, but I think this is all political theater. I think domestic politics influences the foreign policy and our relationship on both sides. I think President Obama and the prime minister are Israel are probably laughing and Benjamin Netanyahu is probably saying thanks for not going too hard on me. I really I don't buy any of this personally, but what do I know, Carol.
[Costello:] What do any of us know really? Question two, he was a big Obama supporter during the campaign but now Dr. Cornel West doesn't seem to be feeling the love. In a recent interview, West said, and I quote, "I think my dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men. It's understandable. As a young brother who grows up in a white context, brilliant African father, he's always had to fear being a white man with black skin. All he has known culturally is white. When he meets an independent black brother, it is frightening." What is up with that? Robert?
[Zimmerman:] Cornel West has now replaced the birthers and right- wing demagogues as someone who is trying to really in fact, try to discredit and delegitimate the Obama presidency. And Cornel West's rhetoric on this issue is just as bigoted and just as racist as the right-wing extremists.
[Costello:] Dana.
[Loesch:] I'm trying to where do these crazy people come from? I think it's something that black conservatives like Herman Cain and
[Costello:] Pete?
[Dominick:] Well, I certainly can't speak to the racial aspects of this, and apparently Cornel West, you know, is a little bitter. I guess he was slighted by the president. But listen, Cornel West is a brilliant guy who is respected among the African-American scholar community and many others throughout this country. He teaches, I believe, at Princeton. It's pretty tough rhetoric, but I somebody has got to Oh, really!
[Costello:] Darn it! Final question. According to a radio preacher and his followers, tomorrow is doomsday. So in ten seconds, what are your last plans for the last day on earth? Robert?
[Zimmerman:] Well, just in case, Carol, he's wrong, I'm using Newt Gingrich's credit at tiffany's to be on the safe side.
[Costello:] Dana?
[Loesch:] I would break into the nice scotch that I have and enjoy all of that and throw a big party for my friends. Where do these people come from? They're crazy!
[Costello:] Pete?
[Dominick:] I plan to be left behind with the rest of the heathens. I know what I'll be doing. I'm be performing tonight and tomorrow night at The Stress Factory Comical in New Jersey, and we'll all be raptured together. I did a piece coming up later on in the NEWSROOM just this idea.
[Costello:] Nice plug for yourself, Pete. You almost did it in 10 seconds. Thanks to all of you participating in Political Buzz today. We'll be back on Monday. New accusations of illegal doping are leveled had at a former American cycling champ. Yep, Lance Armstrong. We'll tell you what he's saying about it next.

[Brooke Anderson:] Big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Lindsay Lohan the victim? Lindsay`s startling allegation today that she was attacked by a rehab center staffer. That staffer speaks out for the very first time today. So we are asking in the SHOWBIZ Flashpoint is Lindsay the victim here? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT gets up close and personal with Hollywood`s biggest stars. Explosive plastic surgery confessions. Which stars really regret getting nips and tucks? And Portia`s pain over anorexia. Portia De Rossi`s emotional weight confessions to her wife, Ellen DeGeneres, right on Ellen`s show. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
[Unidentified Actress:] You sit down!
[Anderson:] Today, Lindsay Lohan and the now ex-Betty Ford staffer Lindsay`s accused of roughing up are battling each other once again. Lindsay`s reportedly telling friends today that she`s the victim of violence here and the now ex-rehab employee saying today she was fired unfairly.
[Nina Parker, Producer, Tmz:] This doesn`t seem like it will
[Anderson:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT confirms the Betty Ford Center has fired Dawn Holland for talking to the media about an altercation she says she had with Lindsay the night of December 12th. Lindsay is undergoing court-ordered rehab at Betty Ford after a string of DUI arrests and probation violations.
[Dawn Holland, Former Betty Ford Clinic Employee:] Lindsay and then two other patients were snuck out, went drinking, trying to sneak back in and they got caught.
[Anderson:] In this TMZ interview, Holland says she tangled with Lindsay after the starlet broke curfew and tried to sneak back into Betty Ford.
[Holland:] She`s been defiant and broken almost every rule there is to break since she`s been there. She is very angry and out of control. She pushed me.
[Parker:] Dawn claims that she has to be on workman`s comp because she says Lindsay Lohan pushed her in a way that allowed her to sprain her arm.
[Anderson:] Today, Lindsay`s lawyer told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT they won`t be commenting on the Betty Ford incident. But behind the scenes, Lindsay`s reportedly doing lots of commenting. TMZ reported today Lindsay`s been telling friends and family she`s innocent.
[Parker:] She also says about the alleged assault that the worker that, you know, she never hit this worker, that the woman attacked her.
[Anderson:] And while Lindsay`s reportedly chatting up her friends about this incident, today, Holland is lawyering up and going after the Betty Ford Center. Today, her attorney told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, quote, Ms. Holland was immediately targeted, unmercifully interrogated, intimidated and threatened with her livelihood unless she conformed to the immoral and unethical requests of the clinic. The BFC was exerting every influence they had in attempting to cover up their own unlawful conduct. But this rehab center attorney tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Holland should not have gone to the media.
[Michael Barnes, Attorney For The Betty Ford Center:] The fact this worker has disclosed information related to Ms. Lohan`s treatment is really egregious in addition to being obnoxious.
[Anderson:] Police in Palm Desert, California are investigating the battery allegation against Lindsay. That`s bad news for Lindsay, who has already tested the court`s patience with repeated probation violations.
[Parker:] If she gets into any trouble, she could face 180 days in jail.
[Anderson:] So Lindsay is looking at a possible jail sentence. And her alleged victim andor tormenter is out of a job. We don`t know who started the fight, but we do know one thing both women wound up bruised.
[Pat Lalama, Investigative Journalist:] I don`t see it. Let me just tell you that just a second ago a few seconds ago, I got off the phone with Keith Davidson, who is Ms. Holland`s attorney. And he reinforces one point that`s very important. He says his client is not discussing her treatment at Betty Ford. She is discussing a criminal investigation about which she is involved and perhaps a victim, according to him.
[Anderson:] How about then Holland reportedly saying that she didn`t think, in her opinion, Lindsay was responding well to treatment? How do you make that distinction, like, where do you start talking? Where do you stop talking? How can you make that distinction?
[Lalama:] Well, I think there`s a lot of gray area still at this point. But listen, Brooke, I have to make one really important point about this whole mess. Notwithstanding the incredible work that rehab centers do, including Betty Ford, literally saving lives and we know that, I must tell you in the many, many years, too many to count that I have been covering the criminal justice system in Los Angeles, I know for a fact that this rehab business is big business, that these places are vying for big, big celebrities. They need the money. They want the money. They want the free advertising. They don`t want any black marks. And I have to believe that it`s very possible that this woman, Ms. Holland, could, in fact, be a scapegoat for something Ms. Lohan may have provoked.
[Anderson:] That may be a legitimate point but we don`t know that about the Betty Ford Center.
[Lalama:] Yes. I`m just saying.
[Anderson:] And Carlos, have I to tell you it really saddens me, though, that there are even reports that Lindsay could be going down the same destructive path, even though she reportedly says she did nothing wrong. She was not drinking. This is her fifth time in rehab. To our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint, which side are you buying? Is Lindsay actually the victim here?
[Carlos Diaz, Syndicated Radio:] It all comes down to the tale of the tape, the surveillance tape. We`re talking about gray areas. We don`t know this. We don`t know that. The surveillance tape tells all. And Lindsay`s people are saying there`s a surveillance tape there, and when we see the surveillance tape, which we`ll probably never see, but once Betty Ford`s people see the surveillance tape, which they probably already have, that`s what`s going to be the determination factor right there. That`s the truth because there were no witnesses, according to both sources. It was just Dawn and Lindsay so it`s all coming down to if there is anything significant on the surveillance tape. The bottom line is Lindsay`s in drama. Everyone`s talking about the Lindsay drama. Lindsay does not need being in the middle of drama. This is terrible for her career.
[Anderson:] It`s terrible.
[Diaz:] Yes.
[Anderson:] And Pat, you know, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT spoke with Holland`s lawyer. You spoke with Holland`s lawyer and he is his defense of her is she is speaking out because it`s a criminal case. She was involved in an alleged assault, but that she was not speaking out about her treatment. How can that be his defense though going forward? Because it`s reprehensible any time you talk about the confidential information about a patient in a rehab center. Very quickly.
[Lalama:] This may not hold up in a court of law, but the fact is she probably feels Ms. Holland that she has to defend herself against a huge client with a lot of money and a lot of attention.
[Anderson:] Possibly. All right. We`ve got to now get to more big news breaking today. I`m talking about those outrageous "Jersey Shore" kids. They`re back. And I`ve got your very first look at the wild new season of the show. Paris Hilton has an in-flight scare with
[Michelle Williams, Actress:] In a strange way, I miss that year because all those possibilities that existed then are gone. It didn`t seem unlikely to me that he could walk through a door.
[Anderson:] Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2008. Paris` in-flight shocker. Paris Hilton is tweeting about the scare she got on a Delta airline flight to Hawaii. Paris tweets, "We were about to take off and then security made everyone deplane because they found a big knife on board the plane." Delta tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT they found a, quote, "small catering knife and everyone was able to get to Hawaii." "Jersey Shore" is back for more. Snooki, Ronnie, J-Woww, Pauley D., The Situation and the rest of the crew are back in New Jersey for a third season. MTV just released the preview and it looks wilder than ever.
[Unidentified Female:] Get the
[Anderson:] The new season of "Jersey Shore" premieres January 6th. And now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT gets up close and personal with some big stars today like Madonna. Her unbelievable confessions about being bullied as a kid. You know, super-aggressive paparazzi chasing down stars? That`s kind of a form of bullying, right? You`ve got to hear the amazing story "Entourage" star Adrian Grenier tells me he was hounded by a teenage paparazzo. But then, he became friends with the kid. Also this
[Andrea Mineo, Cnn Producer:] What`s in a beautiful foot?
[De Vito:] Who said it was beautiful? It`s a troll foot. I`m the troll guy.
[Anderson:] We`re getting up close and personal with Danny DeVito`s troll foot. Nothing`s off limits here. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views. And now, the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker" more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.
[Text:] Oprah says that launching her new network, "OWN," is taking a big gamble. "Bedroom Intruder" singer, Antoine Dodson, releases new viral video, "Chimney Intruder."
[Anderson:] We welcome you back to this special edition of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Stars up close and personal." I`m Brooke Anderson with A.J. Hammer in New York. Now, up close with Madonna, her shocking bullying confession.
[Hammer:] Brooke, this is truly an incredible story. Madonna of course one of the strongest, most powerful women in the world, but as a kid, well, she was actually an outsider and she was bullied. Listen to what she tells Ellen DeGeneres.
[Madonna, Singer/songwriter:] I can totally relate to the idea of feeling isolated and alienated. I was incredibly lonely as a child, as a teenager. And have I to say I never felt like I fit in at school. I wasn`t a jock. I wasn`t an intellectual. There was no group I felt a part of. I just felt like a weirdo.
[Hammer:] Well that, weirdo became one of the biggest stars of all time.
[Anderson:] She certainly did. OK, right now I get up close and personal with "Entourage" star Adrian Grenier in a limo. Adrian took me along as part of his entourage for an exclusive ride just hours before the big premiere of his first documentary. It`s about paparazzi. What I learned along the way was really eye opening. Adrian spilled his secrets about the paparazzi, what he`s most passionate about and what he won`t hit the red carpet without. Ready?
[Adrian Grenier, Actor:] I`m ready. I got all my tools for a premiere.
[Anderson:] Banana?
[Grenier:] Banana, a little nourishment.
[Anderson:] A little bit of water.
[Grenier:] Some water. Talking a lot. This is for the after party.
[Anderson:] Dressed to impress in a new suit to premiere his new documentary, "Teenage Paparazzo," Adrian Grenier was ready to roll but realized he forgot one small detail, removing the tag.
[Grenier:] Wait, am I supposed to take that off?
[Anderson:] Is it your suit?
[Grenier:] This is a suit that was loaned to me by boss on a permanent basis.
[Anderson:] Hugo Boss doesn`t do anything halfway.
[Grenier:] Perfection.
[Anderson:] Now, that Adrian was red carpet ready, I was ready for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive during our revealing 45-minute limo ride to the premiere of "Teenage Paparazzo." Tonight is the night for the big, big event.
[Grenier:] I`ve got my banana. What else do I need?
[Anderson:] You`re all set. You`re all set.
[Grenier:] Want a bite? Red carpet walks can be brutal. I mean, an hour of just talking about yourself.
[Anderson:] In his documentary, "Teenage Paparazzo," Adrian goes inside the mysterious world of the paparazzi, picking up the camera himself and staking out stars. [on camera]: You wanted to see what it was like behind the paparazzi`s cameras.
[Grenier:] The most important thing for me was to get to know them as human beings and to discover the humanity behind these lurking, faceless monsters that were always hiding in the bushes and looking to capture, steal a piece of my soul. And I knew that that couldn`t be true.
[Anderson:] A lot of people see you as a film star, a TV star from "Entourage." But is this where your passion lies?
[Grenier:] I try to bring passion into everything I do. I`m a communicator. To me, it`s just different ways to tell stories and communicate ideas, you know, whether it be producing or directing or acting.
[Anderson:] In HBO`s "Entourage ", Adrian`s character, Vinnie Chase, is now struggling with drugs. He spirals out of control and he could potentially head to jail. Sound familiar Lindsay, Paris? [on camera]: This season seems like it was ripped from the headlines.
[Grenier:] Actually it`s surprising how accurate the show is. A lot of things that happen in real life we can`t put in the show because it just wouldn`t be believable.
[Anderson:] Speaking of Vince Chase in "Entourage," is the next season really the last season?
[Grenier:] The word on the street is that season eight will be the last, I`ve heard. However, the word on the street is also that there`s going to be a movie.
[Anderson:] How do you keep yourself out of the negative headline?
[Grenier:] I was lucky to have come into this experience later in life and I had already done my rebellion.
[Anderson:] As I rode with Adrian in this SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive, I had to wonder how he dealt with answering all of those questions he`s gets from reporters on the red carpet.
[Grenier:] There becomes like this psychic split at some point, somewhere in the middle after you`ve already answered the same questions about 14 times where suddenly you literally leave your body. You depart earth, and suddenly, you`re looking at yourself talking. Who do you think you are and why does anybody care about you? What? It`s weird.
[Anderson:] Weird, maybe. But as Adrian knows, it`s all part of the job of being a star and facing the paparazzi.
[Hammer:] Moving on now to Kelly Osbourne`s cancer fear. Kelly totally broke down on live TV after revealing her emotional fears about getting cancer. Kelly`s mom Sharon, Ozzie Osbourne`s wife, was diagnosed with colon cancer back in 2002. Sharon is cancer-free now, but on "The Talk," Kelly bravely admits she gave up her career for a while to take care of her mom.
[Kelly Osbourne, Daughter Of Ozzy Osbourne:] I got a phone call in New York, when I was about to start write my first album. And they said, "You`ve got to come home. Sharon has got terminal cancer." She saved my dad`s life and she almost died, and my mom`s a hero.
[Hammer:] Since Sharon`s cancer diagnosis, Kelly says she actually struggles with anxiety over getting the disease. She says she`s absolutely convinced she`s going to get cancer, and she goes to the doctor every week to get vitamins.
[Anderson:] More shocking star up close and personal confessions coming your way, like Eminem. I had the very rare opportunity to chat one-on-one with Em, and he really opened up to me about his addictions and his dramatic brush with death.
[Hammer:] Also, Portia`s pain over anorexia. Portia De Rossi`s emotional weight confessions to her wife Ellen DeGeneres right on Ellen`s show.
[Anderson:] You think everyone has a price for their secrets? Not Vanessa Williams. We are going to reveal what she says she will never reveal, not even for $500,000.
[Hammer:] Right now star TMI Cynthia Nixon loves her girlfriend because she`s like a short man with boobs. Those are her words, not mine. The "Sex in the City" star says this about her partner Christine in "The Advocate" magazine, "A lot of what I love about her is her butchness. My daughter said one time that if you really had to break this down, it looks like she would be butch and I would be fem, but really once you get to know us, it`s really the opposite." You`re watching a special edition of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Up close and personal" on HLN. Eminem`s shocking brush with death. That`s Eminem`s hit single, "Not Afraid" out of his album, "Recovery" where Eminem reveals his dramatic near death experience and his long and painful road to recovery. Welcome back to the special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Up close and personal." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York with Brooke Anderson. And now, Eminem`s shocking brush with death.
[Anderson:] Yes, and you know, A.J., Eminem doesn`t normally do a whole lot of interviews. But I did get the chance to go one-on-one with him and he really opened up about his past struggles, including the time he overdosed and drugs and almost died. Watch.
[Eminem, Rapper:] Well, it was definitely it was a process. But it was it took me a while to actually admit, you know, that I had a problem. I mean, you know, in the hip-hop world that I live in, I think that it can be mistaken for weakness. The last thing you want to do in hip hop is admit that you`re weak. But if I didn`t admit I was weak with this certain thing, I was going to die, you know, so
[Anderson:] How close did you come?
[Eminem:] I certainly probably a couple hours away from death. Not to make this too tense of a moment but, yes, I overdosed and almost died.
[Anderson:] How did you mentally turn it around? Because, like you say, you are a strong, tough, macho guy. How did you do it?
[Eminem:] Well, I had to admit that I had a problem. I had to I think I had to be ready for myself. Like I had to be ready I don`t mean to make it sound like cliche but you have to do it for yourself. I went through a really rough period after I came home from rehab. And I lost my best friend and kind of
[Hammer:] And now, the SHOWBIZ lineup here`s what`s coming up at the bottom of the hour on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Up close and personal star plastic surgery confessions. Bye-bye, Botox. Regrets about Restylane. Are stars saying no to the knife for good? Jessica Simpson`s yuck mouth? It`s Jessica`s terrible habit. Also this
[Barbara Walters, Co-host, "the View":] You have said cheating is when you lie and are deceitful. It`s not that you when you have sex outside of the marriage. Do you and Sid have sex outside of the marriage?
[Hammer:] It`s Mo`Nique`s open marriage shocker. This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Up Close and Personal" on HLN news and views.
[Heidi Montag, Actress:] Sounds crazy, but once you get a certain size boob, you always want bigger. Bigger is better.
[Hammer:] Right now on this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Stars Up Close and Personal," plastic surgery confessions. From big implants to big regrets explosive plastic surgery confessions. Is Hollywood`s love affair with plastic surgery over for good?
[Anderson:] Portia de Rossi`s scary health revelations. Her emotional battle with anorexia. And how Portia`s wife, Ellen DeGeneres, helped save her life.
[Mineo:] What`s in a beautiful foot?
[De Vito:] Who said it was beautiful? It`s a troll foot, for crying out loud.
[Hammer:] Danny DeVito`s troll foot? Why the "Taxi" star loves to tweet about his funky feet.
[Announcer:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Up Close and Personal." It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer.
[Anderson:] And I`m Brooke Anderson. We`re coming to you from New York City with shocking star plastic surgery confessions.
[Hammer:] Yes. There are a remarkable number of stars who are peeling back the layers and going public to reveal that not only did they have work done, but that the work actually turned into a disaster. I`m talking from bad Botox to bad lips. Stars are admitting that their attempt to reshape their faces turned into a fiasco. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals the plastic surgery secrets that have now gone oh so public.
[Lisa Rinna, Actress:] I had no idea you could reduce it, so I was like, yes, let`s do it!
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that, for years, Lisa`s lips have been a puckered up punch line on celebrity Web sites. Even this online cosmetic forum discusses how to avoid Lisa Rinna`s lips.
[Dawn Yanek, Editor-at-large, "life And Style Weekly":] When you have a star like Lisa Rinna who is talented and beautiful and wonderful but who is known for one very big thing, which is of course, her lips, people are going to speculate about whether or not she had work done.
[Hammer:] Lisa finally admitted last year that, yes, she`d had a silicone injection back in 1986.
[Rinna:] For 24 years, I`ve had this lip and I really didn`t pay any attention. I mean, everybody always guessed it. I just never I never said it was true. And when I came out to say it, it just opened the floodgates.
[Hammer:] Now, after years of getting slammed for not admitting her lip augmentation and months of getting slammed for admitting her lip augmentation, Rinna tells "Today" she decided this August to have her lips reduced and end the chatter once and for all.
[Rinna:] And I do it for me. I do it because I no longer wanted my lips to be what defines me.
[Hammer:] SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you Lisa Rinna is not the only celebrity who`s down on plastic surgery. Fifty-four-year-old TV star, Dana Delaney, reveals that a botched Botox procedure seven years ago permanently damaged her face. She now says she`s sworn off plastic surgery for good, saying, quote, "We are getting to the point that nobody says `That`s a beautiful woman.` Instead they say, `She`s had good work.`"
[Heidi Montag, Reality Tv Star:] I`ve really been wanting big boobs.
[Hammer:] And you know the Hollywood-plastic surgery relationship is in trouble when even Heidi Montag can`t make it work. Late last year, Montag had 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day, including a massive breast augmentation that she documented for "People.com."
[Montag:] Bigger is better.
[Hammer:] Well, maybe not. Montag now says she regrets her breast super- sizing session, which is why SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking today, has the long love affair Hollywood enjoyed with plastic surgery gone the way of Heidi Montag`s original nose?
[Yanek:] I don`t think that plastic surgeons in Hollywood should be worried. The thing is when we have aging celebrities, we are going to have plastic surgery.
[Hammer:] So with stars like Lisa Rinna, Dana Delaney, and Heidi Montag now doing an about-face about work on their face and other body parts? We`ll have to see if this truly marks a new era in the long relationship between Hollywood and plastic surgery.
[Rinna:] I no longer wanted my lip to be what defines me.
[Hammer:] Or if it`s all just lip service.
[Anderson:] Lisa Rinna isn`t the only one to take a stand against plastic surgery. Angelina Jolie also reveals she hasn`t had any work done and doesn`t plan on ever doing it. That brings us to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Flashpoint is Hollywood`s love affair with plastic surgery ending? Right now in New York here with me is Dr. Sharon Giese. She`s a New York plastic surgeon. And in Hollywood is Ramani Durvasula who is a professor of psychology at Cal State L.A. and the psychologist on the Bravo series, "Intervention." OK, ladies, it seems to me there`s more and more backlash against plastic surgery in Hollywood. Heidi Montag, who is famous for all the work that she got done in one day practically, now says it was the biggest mistake of her life. Dr. Giese, to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Flashpoint, is it possible that Hollywood`s love affair with plastic surgery is ending?
[Dr. Sharon Giese, New York Plastic Surgeon:] I don`t think that we`re ready for a divorce in Hollywood yet, and I don`t think there`s ever going to be quite a divorce. But I think that things have started to change somewhat. People are deathly afraid of looking fake. They can see stars who are just doing too much. It`s gotten a little bit too extreme. And once you`ve done too much it`s not positive.
[Anderson:] There`s no going back, really right?
[Giese:] Some things are reversible. Like with Lisa Rinna`s lips she can reverse that. It`s great. Heidi Montag she can reverse her breast implants.
[Anderson:] But some of it once you go a certain extreme, it`s hard to turn back.
[Giese:] In Hollywood, unfortunately, they could lose their career.
[Anderson:] Yes. It`s a fine line. And you know what? It`s not just extreme plastic surgery cases like Heidi Montag that have caught big time attention. Angelina Jolie says that she has never had plastic surgery and she doesn`t plan on it. She tells "The Daily Mail" this, "If it makes somebody happy, then that`s up to them. I`m not in somebody else`s skin to know what makes them feel better about themselves. But I don`t plan to do it myself." Ramani, what do you think? To our SHOWBIZ Flashpoint is it possible Hollywood`s love affair with plastic surgery is ending?
[Ramani Durvasula, Psychologist:] Absolutely not. I mean, Hollywood is about creating illusion. And plastic surgery is part of that illusion. We expect our stars to be eternally young, eternally beautiful. And plastic surgery becomes an essential part of creating this illusion of artificial beauty in this business even when it starts going off the deep end and people start looking a little bit funky.
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Durvasula:] So I think that the love affair is well in place and it`s not going to end anytime soon.
[Anderson:] Take somebody as beautiful as Angelina Jolie. You really do believe her when she says she doesn`t plan on going under the knife. But Dr. Giese, do you think it`s possible 20 years from now, 30 years from now, she may change her mind? Because there is that relentless pressure to look younger and younger and younger.
[Giese:] There`s a lot of pressure to do that. Some people just choose to age gracefully. However, she may wake up one and look in the mirror and say, "I miss those big lips that I have 20 years ago." And she can`t say how she`s going to feel when she sees herself. I mean, everybody`s lips get a little bit smaller, and
[Anderson:] I`m hoping she makes wrinkles en vogue 20 or 30 years from now.
[Giese:] Maybe. I don`t know. Who knows?
[Anderson:] Well, somebody else who has spoken out and said that she really doesn`t want to get plastic surgery is Julia Roberts. She`s a stunning 42- year-old. And she has said no plastic surgery for her. No Botox. She thinks it`s ridiculous. She tells "Elle" magazine "I want my kid to know when I`m P`d, when I`m happy and when I`m confounded. Your face tells a story and it shouldn`t be a story about your drive to the doctor`s office." Ramani, it`s really starting to sound like there`s a revolution maybe brewing of stars speaking out against plastic surgery. And we haven`t heard a lot of this before now so do you believe them?
[Durvasula:] I mean, only believe them to a point. I think folks like Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie who are so iconic are always going to work in this industry. But I think that the modal actress, the modal person trying to get out there, it`s hard. They are supposed to look a certain way for the bulk of their careers. And I do really agree with Dr. Giese in the sense that, you know, how are these woman going to feel in 20 years when they wake up and life is marching across their face and they really want to say, "I don`t want to look like this anymore." The procedures are getting better and better all the time, so I think there is also a way to be more stealthy and more secretive about how you get your work done, and you can grow old gracefully and subtly as long as there are some procedures that are sort of silently happening. So I think a lot of these stars are making strong pronouncements, but I`m not convinced that we`re going to see these. I think they`re going to give in.
[Giese:] Those are excellent points. And I think that when you think about the 40-year-old women in Hollywood today, they`re fabulous. We don`t have women who like look that. Not all of them claim that they haven`t had anything done.
[Anderson:] Yes.
[Giese:] Plastic surgery is not the same. It`s about rejuvenation.
[Anderson:] I understand a lot of times they say think don`t have anything to refresh. Dr. Sharon Giese, Ramani Durvasula, thank you both, ladies.
[Hammer:] Well, there`s one thing the gorgeous Vanessa Williams won`t let anyone get up close and personal about, her love life. Vanessa says she will never expose details about her past marriages. Vanessa tells "Ebony" magazine she turned down a $600,000 book deal because they wanted her to dish the dirt on her ex-husband, Ramon Hervey and former NBA star and "Dancing with the Stars" contestant, Rick Fox. Vanessa says she refuses to throw the fathers of her children under a bus.
[Anderson:] Portia`s pain. Portia de Rossi`s dramatic revelations about anorexia to her wife, Ellen DeGeneres right on Ellen`s show.
[Hammer:] Mo`Nique`s up close confessions about her open marriage. Her incredible personal revelation about what she`ll do if her husband cheats on her.
[Anderson:] Danny DeVito has famous feet. And he just loves showing them off.
[Mineo:] Are you a fan of Anderson Cooper?
[De Vito:] Big fan. Big fan of Anderson Cooper.
[Mineo:] OK. Would you like to go into the office and take a picture of the troll foot on his desk?
[De Vito:] Oh, on his desk? Oh, yes.
[Anderson:] Did Danny put his troll foot on Anderson Cooper`s desk? You`ve got to see this. And right now star TMI. Jessica Simpson`s gross habit. Jess has revealed a very shocking secret she doesn`t believe in brushing her teeth every day. She told Ellen DeGeneres she doesn`t like to brush because it makes her teeth too slippery. But Jess says she does floss and use mouthwash every day. You`re watching a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Up Close and Personal," on HLN news and views.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to this special edition of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Stars Up Close and Personal." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York with Brooke Anderson. And right now we are going way up close and inside Oscar winner Mo`Nique`s bedroom.
[Anderson:] That was pretty up close, A.J. The actress and talk show host revealed surprising details about her open marriage. Yes. On the Barbara Walters Oscar special, Mo`Nique revealed to Barbara that she`s totally OK if her husband cheats.
[Barbara Walters, Executive Producer And Co-host, "the View":] You have said
[Mo`nique, Actress:] Yes.
[Walters:] Cheating is when you lie and are deceitful.
[Mo`nique:] Yes.
[Walters:] Not when you have sex outside of the marriage.
[Mo`nique:] Yes.
[Walter:] Do you and Sid have sex outside of the marriage?
[Mo`nique:] I have not had sex outside of my marriage with Sidney. Could I have sex outside of my marriage with Sidney? Yes. Could Sid have sex outside of his marriage with me? Yes. That`s not a deal breaker. That`s not something we would say, "Oh, my god, because you are attracted to another person, and because you happened to have sex that`s in the marriage.
[Walters:] What if it`s not once? What if it`s
[Mo`nique:] What if it`s 20 times?
[Walters:] Yes. What if?
[Mo`nique:] So what?
[Walters:] You wouldn`t care?
[Mo`nique:] That`s not something that would make us say, "Pack your things" in the marriage because we`ve been best friends for is it over 25 years? And we truly know who we are.
[Anderson:] Well, something must be working for Mo`Nique and her husband, Sidney. They`ve been best friends for over 25 years, and they`ve been happily married for four.
[Hammer:] Different strokes. All right. Moving now to Portia`s incredible personal pain. That is the only way to describe Portia de Rossi`s jaw- dropping revelations to her wife on her wife`s TV show. Portia`s wife of course is Ellen DeGeneres. And wait until you hear Portia`s incredible revelations to Ellen where she`s telling all in such remarkable, emotional, and painful detail about her battles with eating disorders that had her down to 82 pounds. Portia`s reveals this to Ellen with such raw and real emotion, it is something so very up close and personal, we won`t soon forget it.
[Portia De Rossi, Actress:] I don`t think anyone can really understand what it`s like to suffer from an eating disorder unless they`ve actually gone through it themselves.
[Hammer:] Speaking out about her long battle with eating disorders, actress Portia de Rossi definitely chose friendly territory, namely her wife`s talk show.
[Ellen Degeneres, Host, "the Ellen Degeneres Show":] I have to say of course, you know, I`m biased because I love you and I think you`re brilliant and amazing.
[Hammer:] Portia shares her shocking story with Ellen, who Portia has been with for six years. Now, the author of a new book, "Unbearable Lightness," Portia explains why she`s now talking about a weight obsession that at one point whittled her down to almost 80 pounds.
[De Rossi:] I wanted to go back to that dark, horrible time and explain why I thought I was doing the right thing, why I thought I was doing the healthy thing and making good choices for my life.
[Hammer:] And she reveals how her relationship with Ellen helped to make her the healthy person she is today.
[De Rossi:] I don`t think that I`m perfect at all.
[Degeneres:] I do.
[De Rossi:] Aw, come on. The toothpaste I use is really strong. Makes your tongue tingle.
[Hammer:] Portia`s struggle intensified in 1998 when she was cast in her breakout role on hit TV, "Ally McBeal." This was years before she met Ellen DeGeneres, and at the time, no one knew she was gay.
[Suzanne Zuckerman, "people" Magazine:] She felt the need to sort of transform herself into this image of a person that she thought everyone wanted her to be. That included thin, straight, and sexy. She refers to swallowing up to 20 laxatives a day. She even goes into shocking specifics about, you know, binging and purging.
[Hammer:] Portia writes the night after her first day on Ally McBeal she had a huge celebratory dinner. She writes, quote, "Of course I`d have to throw up after but that was OK. I didn`t have work for the next two days so I had time to get rid of the dots above my eyes that were caused by my blood vessels bursting from purging.
[Zuckerman:] At one point, she lowered her calorie intake to 300 calories a day and got as thin as 82 pounds.
[Degeneres:] When I read this book and I read that the self-loathing and how much she hated herself
[Hammer:] In this clip from Thursday`s "Ellen DeGeneres Show" SHOWBIZ TONIGHT obtained today, Ellen says reading about the extent of Portia`s struggles was a real eye-opener.
[Degeneres:] I was shocked and it broke my heart. I had no idea how much she hated herself and I just can only imagine.
[Hammer:] Portia explains that, at the time, people close to her expressed concern, but she didn`t listen.
[De Rossi:] "You`re too thin" to me was more of a compliment than just "You`re thin." You`re too thin? Who can be too thin?
[Hammer:] Pleas from her family finally led Portia to get help in 2001. And by the time she got together with Ellen in 2004, Portia was a much- healthier 168 pounds. She tells Ellen that relationship has changed her life.
[De Rossi:] She`s taught me that who I am is perfectly good enough and that I don`t have to pretend to be anything other than who I am.
[Zuckerman:] Ellen sort of recognized the person within and that really enabled Portia to further accept herself.
[Anderson:] Here`s a question does Halle Berry want more kids? Well, we just got up close and personal with Halle about expanding her family.
[Hammer:] Yes. Of course, Halle has a daughter with her ex, Gabriel Aubry. And Halle has said that motherhood comes naturally to her and has given her life a new perspective. So we just had to ask Halle her thoughts on being a mom again. And you have to hear her very candid and, quite frankly, very funny response.
[Halle Berry, Actress:] Every mom in the world will tell you it`s life changing, you know. It`s profound; it`s given me a greater purpose. I`m like every other mom in the world I think. She`s the love of my life.
[Unidentified Male:] And would there be another one on the way, would you like another one?
[Berry:] If God says so. I think my eggs are on like walking sticks. So, probably not.
[Hammer:] Eggs on walking sticks? I don`t know about that. But Halle, you`ll never know.
[Anderson:] Nothing about her looks like it`s on walking sticks. All right. Danny DeVito is a major TV and movie star. So why are so many people following his feet on Twitter?
[Mineo:] That`s a beautiful foot.
[Devito:] Who says it`s beautiful. I`m a troll foot. I`m a troll guy.
[Anderson:] It`s Danny DeVito`s troll feet. I can honestly tell you, you will not believe where those feet have been.
[Hammer:] Right now, more star TMI. Sharon Osbourne`s sex secrets. In an utterly jaw-dropping moment on "The Talk," Sharon reveals how many times a week she and her husband, rock legend, Ozzy Osbourne, had sex.
[Unidentified Female:] How many times do you and Ozzy have sex a week?
[Sharon Osbourne, Co-host, "the Talk":] Five.
[Unidentified Female:] No, you don`t.
[S. Osbourne:] Hold on here. It`s like brushing your teeth in my house. You have sex. You brush your teeth. We do it before bed.
[Hammer:] This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Up Close and Personal" on HLN news and views. Danny DeVito tweets about his feet. Yes, the star of "Taxi" and "It`s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" loves for everyone to get up close and personal with his self-proclaimed troll feet.
[Anderson:] Yes, A.J. This is something that Danny has been doing for a while. He takes picture of his feet in various places from the interesting to the downright gross and then posts them on Twitter. So when Danny walked into the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom with our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT producer Andrea Mineo, we all wanted to see his famous feet.
[Unidentified Male:] Welcome to
[Cnn. Andrea Mineo, Cnn Producer:] Come on, troll foot. Come with me. When did you drop your dignity and feel like it would be OK to show your troll foot? Do you get pedicures?
[Danny De Vito, Actor:] No. It takes nine months to have a baby. That is not my baby. "It`s Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
[Mineo:] Yes.
[De Vito:] It`s a show on FX at 10:00 on Thursday nights.
[Unidentified Female:] All right. Not bad.
[De Vito:] We did a live show and we took it on the road to six cities. We have a great fan base. We love our fans and they love us. And I play a troll in the show.
[Mineo:] OK.
[De Vito:] I`m the troll guy?
[Unidentified Male:] Who else would be the troll?
[De Vito:] I like that.
[Mineo:] Do you sing?
[De Vito:] We sing
[Mineo:] What do you sing?
[De Vito:] Well, the idea is that you want to know what I sing?
[Mineo:] I do. Do you have a good voice?
[De Vito:] I sing a song called "You`ve Got to Pay the Troll Toll." We gave to benefit for Haiti and we raised in the neighborhood of $300,000. Did you bring the toll?
[Mineo:] Are you a fan of Anderson Cooper?
[De Vito:] Big fan. Big fan of Anderson Cooper.
[Mineo:] OK. Would you like to go into the office and take a picture of the troll foot on his desk?
[De Vito:] Oh, on his desk? Oh, yes. You made me think of that. I`m the troll guy. This is Anderson cooper`s office? I thought he`d have a bigger office.
[Mineo:] What`s in a beautiful foot?
[De Vito:] Who said it was beautiful? It`s a troll foot, for crying out loud. What do you expect it to be? As pretty as your feet?
[Mineo:] This is CNN Money.
[De Vito:] Really?
[Mineo:] Be quiet. This is like a library. Stop tweeting.
[Unidentified Male:] We plan to show your feet on TV. Do you have any problem with that? Ladies and gentlemen, Danny De Vito.
[De Vito:] Thank you so much. Thanks a lot. Which show would that be? "It`s Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Guess who in this room has never seen the show?
[Mineo:] You`re embarrassing me in front of everyone at
[Showbiz Tonight. De Vito:] If you can`t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Troll toe. Just the foot, please. Wait, you`re shadowing it.
[Mineo:] It`s not.
[De Vito:] You could touch it if you want.
[Mineo:] I don`t want to touch it.
[De Vito:] Clean as a whistle.
[Mineo:] Thank you for the offer, but
[De Vito:] You could eat off that foot.
[Hammer:] I love Danny. It gets a little strange.
[Anderson:] He makes a funny troll.
[Hammer:] That is it for this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Stars Up Close and Personal." I`m A.J. Hammer.
[Anderson:] And I`m Brooke Anderson. Take care. END

[Unidentified Male:] This should never have happened, and it must never happen again.
[Costello:] Never again. The attorney general grilled about a botched gun tracking program. What he had to say to the family of a murdered border patrol agent on this AMERICAN MORNING.
[Velshi:] Welcome back. We're just crossing the half hour now. Your top stories and there are lots of them. He hasn't been charged. He's not a target of the investigation. But Penn State football coach Joe Paterno may not survive the child sex scandal involving one of his former top assistants. Supporters rallied outside of Paterno's house look at them amid growing calls for his resignation. Paterno's son calls reports of his father's retirement premature.
[Romans:] Herman Cain said all of the accusations of sexual harassment against him are false and he's even willing to take a lie detector test if he has to. Cain says the Democratic machine is out to get him and he has a message for anyone who thinks he should abandon his bid for the White House: It ain't going to happen.
[Costello:] Mississippi voters defeating the so-called personhood initiative that would have defined life at the start of conception. If passed, the measure would have outlawed abortion and many forms of birth control in the state.
[Velshi:] Republicans grilling Attorney General Eric Holder about the botched Fast and Furious gun-running program, demanding who will be held responsible for an operation that may had led to the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. CNN's Brian Todd has more.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] More than 30 Republicans in Congress are calling on him to resign, over a program that allowed hundreds of AK-47s and other illegally bought guns to stream into Mexico. Attorney General Eric Holder now says this about Operation Fast and Furious.
[Eric Holder, U.s. Attorney General:] This should never have happened.
[Todd:] That doesn't spare Holder from intense grilling by Republicans who are furious over a February letter from Holder's aides at Justice to GOP Senator Chuck Grassley. That letter says, "ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico." In fact, ATF agents were allowing those weapons to be taken into Mexico as part of an operation to trace them.
[Sen. Charles Grassley , Judiciary Ranking Member:] Who will be held accountable for allowing a letter to Congress with a statement that many in the Justice Department knew was false?
[Holder:] Well, again, I have to dispute with due respect. The assertion that people in the Justice Department knew it was false.
[Todd:] Holder says he thought that letter was accurate at the time, but now regrets it was sent. But the most pointed exchange came over the murder of Border Patrol Officer Brian Terry. Guns from Operation Fast and Furious were found near the murder scene.
[Sen. John Cornyn , Texas:] Have you apologized to the family of Brian Terry?
[Holder:] I have not apologized to them, but I certainly regret what happened.
[Cornyn:] Have you even talked to them?
[Holder:] I have not.
[Cornyn:] Would you like to apologize today for this program that went so wrong, that took the life of a United States law enforcement agent?
[Holder:] I certainly regret what happened to agent Brian Terry. I can only imagine the pain that his family has had to deal with, in particular, his mother. I am the father of three children myself. We are not programmed to bury our kids.
[Todd:] Holder said it would be a mistake to tie Terry's death directly to Fast and Furious. I caught up with Holder as he left the hearing. [on camera]: When are your going to speak to Terry's family and apologize?
[Holder:] Thank you very much.
[Todd:] I also caught up with Senator Cornyn who told me that Holder's answers about Brian Terry's family and about the program overall were not acceptable. Cornyn said he's not at the point yet of calling on Holder to resign, but he's heading in that direction. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
[Costello:] It's kind of like that movie "Castaway," except Tom Hanks wasn't around. Seven missing sailors were discovered in a deserted Pacific island somewhere between Hawaii and Australia. A U.S. Coast Guard air crew dropped boxes of food and supplies attached to parachutes until rescue crews could arrive. The men were on their way to Cayman Island last week and somehow got lost. Everybody is A- OK this morning.
[Romans:] No word on whether the professor and Mary Ann was lifted up?
[Costello:] Of course, they made a little face and the soccer ball with some ball.
[Velshi:] All right. It was short but pretty darn sweet. Listen, first. That was supposed to be a 20-minute fireworks show. But it was over in 50 seconds in Scotland on Saturday. Hundreds of fireworks are going off all at once. Organizers say it was a technical error that caused the entire computer operated show to ignite all at the same time.
[Costello:] There was the big finale.
[Romans:] It was awesome but then it was done.
[Velshi:] Costly for 50 seconds.
[Romans:] If you went back to the car to get something out of the trunk, you missed it.
[Velshi:] It was fun to watch. But for the organizers who are hoping for to it go 20 minutes.
[Romans:] Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center. Good morning, Rob.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] You got to get out there by hand, with the flare, old school. And that kind of mistake wouldn't happen.
[Velshi:] That's it.
[Marciano:] Fifty seconds. All right. Good morning, guys. Hey, listen. Some fireworks happening across the mid-section of the country. Early snowfall for parts of Iowa and Wisconsin. Here's the storm that brought the severe weather not only the day before yesterday with that incredible video that one tornado, we had several reports of tornados across the ArkLaTex region yesterday. Once again, thankfully, no injuries. But heavy snow from parts of Iowa up through Wisconsin, already several inches of snow on the ground. This is an area really that doesn't see significant accumulating snow really until the middle of December. So another unusual snowstorm this time for the Midwest and the western Great Lakes, three to six inches in parts of Iowa, maybe six to nine in parts of northern Wisconsin. Winter storm warnings are posted. Thunderstorms down to the South, and ahead of this system, it continues to be very, very mild. Indian summer-like temperatures especially across the Northeast after snowstorms, 66 degrees in New York City. It's a beautiful day yesterday. It will be again today. Seventy-three degrees expected for a high temperature in Atlanta. This is Alaska. This is a huge, huge storm impacting the west coast of Alaska right now from Nome. Farther points north, winds right now are gusting over 80 miles an hour. And we've got huge storm surge with that, and tropical storm Sean with 50 mile-per-hour winds not going to impact the U.S. This didn't impact the U.S. either. That asteroid came mighty close, about 200,000 miles away last night. And, yes, our high powered telescopes got a good glimpse of it, shooting past the earth at 30,000 miles an hour. We'll be extracting
[Costello:] It looks like a big potato, doesn't it?
[Marciano:] Well, it does. It does, you know. But if you were to make an asteroid, I'm now thinking back of the '80s, Atari, it looked very similar that we used to shoot down.
[Velshi:] What kind of a camera gets that? How to you take a picture? Thirty thousand miles that far away?
[Marciano:] Radar telescopes, so basically receiving radiation, radio waves from that thing.
[Velshi:] Incredible.
[Marciano:] Fancy stuff.
[Velshi:] Very interesting.
[Costello:] Rob just took a shot of a potato in dark light.
[Marciano:] That works too.
[Velshi:] Put it through PhotoShop. Rob, you wouldn't do that. Thank you, my friend.
[Costello:] Just ahead on
[American Morning:] can legendary coach Joe Paterno survive the sex abuse allegations that's rocking the Penn State campus and his football program? Many of those are asking, should he survive?
[Velshi:] Plus, putting more cash in your pocket. We'll give you three ways to make your money work four. It's this morning's "How to Speak Money." It's 37 minutes after the hour.

[Howard Kurtz:] The networks were all geared up for that big Washington event, the State of the Union. The pundits all suited up to analyze what Barack Obama was going to say and then
[Chris Matthews, Msnbc:] We're focusing on two people tonight this guy, Christopher Dorner, and the president of the United States. One is giving his State of the Union address and the other is, perhaps, in that burning cabin.
[Kurtz:] Should the cable news channels spent so much time on that fatal California shootout with a cop killer? As for the Republican response the moment everyone was talking about.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] Some are jokingly calling it water, yes, water-gate.
[Matt Lauer, Nbc News:] Seriously, why was the water so far away? It makes no sense.
[Unidentified Female:] At that point, it's better to have no water.
[Kurtz:] Why was the press so upset with Marco Rubio's water bottle? It was a battle of the titans. I head into the no-spin zone for a one-on-one showdown with Bill O'Reilly. I already won this round on points because the other day with Bernie Goldberg, you said, yes, I guess I should have mentioned it. The NBC's scoop was the elephant in the room that kick-started this debate.
[Bill O'reilly, Fox News:] OK. Number one, I said to Goldberg, I should have mentioned it only because it would have avoided all of this nonsense. All right?
[Kurtz:] But who's right about the media coverage of the president's drone warfare? Plus, "Esquire" lands a gripping series of interviews with the former Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama bin Laden. But did the magazine leave out crucial facts? We'll ask the author, Phil Bronstein. I'm Howard Kurtz and this is RELIABLE SOURCES. The murderous rampage of Christopher Dorner had already drawn national coverage in part because of his bizarre manifesto popping of on among other things television pundits and anchors. And the manhunt came to a deadly climax in the hours before President Obama's annual address to Congress. The networks left facing a dilemma, which story to cover and practically until the minute the president started speaking, the one in California won out.
[Matthews:] We're going to go now to probably the biggest story of the night, which is clearly the story we planned on covering on MSNBC and my colleague Rachel Maddow is going to be going picking up in a minute for NBC's coverage of the president's State of the Union address.
[Blitzer:] We're also following breaking news out of California right now. We're going to get back to the president's State of the Union address. But authorities are now telling CNN that the fugitive ex-policeman Christopher Dorner is dead.
[Bret Baier, Fox News:] We'll get ready to hear from the Republican response, Marco Rubio. We want to update you on a story we've been bringing you all night here on FOX News Channel. The fugitive LAPD cop wanted in connection with a shooting spree, is believed to be barricaded inside a burning cabin in Big Bear Lake, California.
[Kurtz:] So, was that the right call, or did important national news get overshadowed by a fleeting tale of crime? Joining us now here in Washington: Jane Hall, associate professor of American University School of Communications, Frank Sesno, director of the school on media and public affairs at the George Washington University and a former CNN Washington bureau chief. And in New York, Paul Farhi, media reporter for "The Washington Post." Frank Sesno, should the cable networks gone virtually wall-to- wall with the Christopher Dorner drama as the president was getting ready to deliver the State of the Union?
[Frank Sesno, George Washington University:] Well, they didn't have a choice actually because the drama was playing out and this is the world of cable.
[Kurtz:] They didn't have a choice?
[Sesno:] When you go wall-to-wall
[Kurtz:] Executives make choices every single hour.
[Sesno:] What they didn't do, they didn't interrupt the speech itself. They didn't split screen the speech itself. So, the speech itself stood there. Now, would I have liked to have seen more about the president and what was going into the State of the Union? Yes. Is there a clash here? Fundamentally right, the Dorner story is a local story, mostly. But it was getting national attention. So, it was both. The presidential story was a global story. This is this is O.J. on steroids. I mean, we've been here before.
[Kurtz:] The reference, of course, made to Bill Clinton's 1997 State of the Union which was split screen with the O.J. Simpson verdict in that civil trial. OK, local story, Jane Hall, national attention. Why is that?
[Jane Hall, American University:] Well, I think some people try to portray him as some sort of Robin Hood. And I think while we're in the midst of a serious debate about gun control, that amount of coverage inevitably glorified this man publishing his manifesto. And then, basically, you know, it's attention. I agree with Frank, you know, newspapers didn't have won't have to choose as much as cable does.
[Kurtz:] They can just split the
[Hall:] They can split the screen. If they had split the screen, they would have been saying Christopher Dorner, a murderer, is equal to the State of the Union address by the president of the United States. That would have been pretty awful.
[Kurtz:] Although in the hours before President Obama spoke, there was a lot of split screen. And, Paul Farhi, let me ask you this is there an argument that the Dorner drama, the shootout and manhunt, the fire, was actual news, whereas the hours before the State of the Union is kind of pregame chatter?
[Paul Farhi, The Washington Post:] I think you could probably argue that there was a public safety issue here. There is a guy running around with a gun who has killed three people. It puts the people of southern California, at least, in jeopardy until we knew exactly where he was. Maybe it expanded the view on that. But, you know, I agree with Frank here. TV news is often about TV more so than it's about the news. And, in this case, you had so many elements that made it such a great TV story. You had car chases and cops and fire and so many elements that were riveting to viewers, even though the news value beyond southern California wasn't great.
[Sesno:] Let me just play on that for just a minute because Paul is absolutely right. And this is CNN learned and this was paved by the O.J. Simpson case. When the famous O.J. Simpson story took shape, CNN went wall-to-wall with it. That was really the first time cable went wall-to-wall like that, with a story like that.
[Kurtz:] With a trial.
[Sesno:] No, no, I'm talking about the car trace, the chase and all of it. And what we saw, because I was anchoring a show here at that time. My show was preemptive every day when we went to trial by the trial.
[Kurtz:] You're still angry about that?
[Sesno:] No, I was fine with that. The ratings for the trial were 20 times what the ratings were for the show that I did ever day. I was a terrible anchor, by the way, which must have been way, but you know?
[Hall:] But, I mean, Frank, I mean, where's the part where we just say no. I mean, it was really bizarre to watch the nightly newscast, you know, with all of their people assembled basically say we're not going to talk about the state what all these people are going to be talking about. We're going to go out here. I mean, it was a local story which was catnip to people. That you know
[Sesno:] That's a conflicts that Paul was just talking about.
[Hall:] Yes.
[Kurtz:] The other note here though is that there wasn't a lot of new information for hours about what was happening with Christopher Dorner and the shootout and another police officer was killed in that shootout, all we have was the static shot of the cabin and a lot of anchors killing time. Let me go to what happened after the president's State of the Union and the next day, in particular, we had a lot of this having to do with the guy who delivered the Republican response, Marco Rubio.
[Sen. Marco Rubio , Florida:] Nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like the one the president laid out tonight.
[George Stephanopoulos, Abc News:] I've got to ask you about that water bottle last night. Twitter went a little bit wild. You tweeted out the water bottle yourself. You got it there, again.
[Kurtz:] Paul Farhi, was the level of attention given to this moment when the senator felt like he had to take a sip. It was played like 155 times on MSNBC. Was that warranted?
[Farhi:] No, but, you know, again, the news is in many ways what's unusual and what's unusual here is exactly what you're showing, again, for the 156th time. It lit up Twitter. Everybody remembers it. It will be the only thing remembered about that speech in four years when Marco Rubio is a presidential candidate. Remember when you gave that response to the State of the Union and you took that drink of water? He'll be asked about it forever.
[Sesno:] Nothing is too trivial to trivialize. And I think that's what we saw here.
[Kurtz:] But we're having fun with it. I mean, there's something about it that's profoundly depressive. Obama gave himself a speech, and it's all about the Poland Spring.
[Sesno:] If you want a mood, it shouldn't be depressed. It should be outraged. I mean, the fact of the matter is that we are having I mean, State of the Union Obama and Rubio engaged
[Hall:] Some ideas.
[Sesno:] the big clash of what government should do and what it should be all about and how it's going to play out, and we're talking about water not how much your government is going to spend on what.
[Hall:] You know, my theory about this politicians are so stage managed, journalists are so glad when something unscripted happens that we focus on it. And you're absolutely right. He's characterizing himself. Rubio talking about his background, this is clearly the rehearsal for what Republicans are going to say about immigration, personal narrative. There was stuff there.
[Sesno:] There was so much time to fill.
[Kurtz:] OK. Talking about how you fill the time and story selection choices, Frank Sesno, there was this calamity on the Carnival cruise ship Triumph this week, where it took several days for the crippled ship to come to port, 4,000 people were affected. CNN covered that heavily than any other news organization everyone covered it renting a helicopter and a boat. Important legitimate story some TV critics saying CNN went overboard.
[Sesno:] Went overboard, no pun intended. I grabbed a life jacket and I watched a lot of it. Yes, CNN went overboard.
[Kurtz:] The ratings as well.
[Sesno:] Most people went overboard. But there is a real good story here. Two percent of Americans, millions of Americans go on these cruises. Carnival, I was reading this, this morning fascinated by this. It's a Panamanian company flying a Bahamian flag with offices in Miami. Who's in charge of this?
[Kurtz:] Right.
[Sesno:] What accountability do they have? What was happening? We watch movies about this stuff. So, it's a very good story. At times it got ridiculous. I mean
[Farhi:] I disagree with Frank.
[Kurtz:] Paul, jump in. Go ahead.
[Farhi:] I disagree completely. It was not a very important story. It was about people being inconvenienced. Again, it was a good TV story. You had CNN's coverage land, sea and air. You had helicopters. You had people on the scene. It made for good
[Tv. Sesno:] Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Paul, wait a minute. 4,000 people
[Farhi:] But the larger implications of it were not great.
[Sesno:] Wait larger but not every story has larger implications.
[Farhi:] That's right.
[Sesno:] You have 4,000 people powerless, adrift at sea, with little food or water.
[Hall:] I didn't have a problem with CNN going wall to wall with it, as long as, you know, they go back to the rest of the world. I did wince when somebody on there said, you know, I feel like I'm in a third world country and I thought, you're getting off the boat. However inconvenienced you are. They even told TV reporters to their credit. Look, this is not a natural disaster. It was riveting and reminded you of the Titanic.
[Kurtz:] Well, not quite the Titanic."
[Hall:] No, but I mean, it was riveting first time.
[Kurtz:] Everybody covered it, but not quite to this extent. I want to touch on one more thing before we go to break, and that is FOX News and contributors such as former Senator Scott Brown, this week hiring Herman Cain. Serious question. I mean, the last time we heard from Herman Cain, he was dropping out of the presidential race in the face of allegation of sexual harassment and long term extramarital affairs alleged by Ginger White, which he denied, but there's a lot of smoke, let's say. And now, FOX is giving him this platform. Does that cause you any hesitation?
[Hall:] Well, at some level, yes. Except that politicians come back to live another day after these sexual scandals. I think he's in a long line of Republican presidential candidates who cool their heels between running for president on FOX News.
[Kurtz:] And what about the women who were involved in these relationships? It's harder for them to be rehabilitated
[Hall:] Well, it is. I felt the same way about Eliot Spitzer, though. I mean, this is not this is not unique to
[Fox. Sesno:] I would call it the "former politicians full employment act", which is going to work for a cable channel or some place else. But in the case of Herman Cain and being serious about it for a minute, what you look for when you bring somebody on board for a commentary like this, is someone who's got something interesting to say, who's a good talker, who has different perspective on life and who can bring something to the conversation. Now, whether that's reality-based or information-based or real, we'll see. But I kind of like Herman Cain. I kind of like the fact that he brings something unpredictable and real world to the conversation.
[Kurtz:] I agree with that. I'm just mentioning the cloudy circumstances in which he departed the presidential race. Let me get a break. When we come back, my FOX News showdown with Bill O'Reilly. We'll look at who is right when it comes to the media, President Obama and the drone warfare program.

[Holmes:] About 14 minutes past the hour. Give you a look at stories making news cross country. In San Francisco, police shut down cell phone service. They did this for a reason, though. They were trying to stop a protest. They got word there would be a repeat of demonstrations at a public transit station just like last month. Those protests kind of shut down the public transit system there for a while, but with all the cell service shut down in that area, police say the commute went off without a hitch. Also, the sister in the so-called Dougherty gang, you see her smiling there, she's it telling the FBI that she deserved to get shot. She was shot in the leg during a shootout with police in Colorado. That was on Wednesday. Lee Dougherty, she was smiling in that picture. These are new pictures. She and her brothers are warranted for armed bank robbery in Georgia and attempted murder in Florida. They're set to be in court again Monday. Also, this is a great story. Let's you know you can help out as well. Kids in Oregon, two Springville, Oregon kids, they are helping to raise money to fight hunger in Somalia. You know what they're doing? What they can. They're selling snow cones and they're selling them for 50 cents apiece. Amia and Jonathan, they're 9 and 6-years-olds after seeing the news reports they just wanted to do something to pitch in. You can, too. Sell snow cones if you want to, but you've got other options as well. You can head over to cnn.comimpact to find out how you can pitch in as well. It's 16 minutes past the hour now. There was a question last night that really kind of disturbed the audience at the presidential debate. It was a question that went to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. She was asked whether or not she would be a submissive wife to her husband if she was elected president. Listen to her answer.
[Unidentified Male:] In 2006 when you were running for Congress, you described a moment in your life when your husband said you should study for a degree in tax law. You said you hated the idea and then you explained, quote, "but the Lord said be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands." As president, would you be submissive to your husband?
[Bachmann:] What submission means to us, if that's what your question is, it means respect. I respect my husband. He's a wonderful, Godly man and a great father and he respects me as his wife. That's how we operate our marriage.
[Holmes:] All right, let me bring in Dr. Alduan Tartt, he's a relationship expert. He's joining me now from Houston. To hear that question, what is your reaction to hear a presidential candidate on stage getting that question?
[Alduan Tartt, Psychologist:] I mean, it it's a question that all women have to answer. They have the balance between being a career woman and also being a wife. If we talk about from at biblical standpoint they kind of have to wear two hats, which makes it extremely difficult because they're two different skill sets.
[Holmes:] Well, Doctor Tartt, help me understand then, help us all understand, what is meant I guess, it may mean different things to different people. But in your estimation, what does it mean to submit to your husband?
[Tartt:] See, that's the thing. We're talking about one side of submission, but in Ephesians in the bible it talks about two sides of submission. That means husbands submit to your wives and wives submit to your husbands. How the question was posed, it sounded like oppression and they started talking about control versus allowing your partner to influence you. That's why it's such a hot button issue. Because when we start talking about marriages, we forget some marriages involve control and domestic violence. So it seems like it's a mixed message in telling women to submit to husbands that don't love their wives. But in reality it's supposed to be a mutual influence.
[Holmes:] Now, I'm reading here, I actually have it pulled up, it says, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ and it also says, wives submit yourselves to your own husbands. It says husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church. Now, is there another place, or is that just interpreted to mean the same thing as submit to your wife?
[Tartt:] Well, you know, it talks about there being conditions under which women should submit to men. A man that does not love you the way Christ loved the church, you should not submit to him. That's where a lot of people get confused. Sometimes people will be taught or they'll be coerced and say, stay with your husband even though he's beating on you or even though he's being controlling. No, that's nowhere in the bible or nowhere within healthy relationships. What we have to do is just make sure that we love one another and we allow each partner to influence the other. You have to yield to win sometimes.
[Holmes:] Well, maybe that's the word because my next question was, you say people kind of misconstrue this and maybe confuse this. So besides submission, what would you say is a better word that people could get their heads around a little better? What would you replace "submit" with?
[Tartt:] I think we have to have compassion for one another or something called binocular vision where we're able to see it the way we do and the way our partner sees it at the same time. Marriage is about a couple. When Bachmann was talking about going back to school, I think what she was referencing was allowing her husband to influence her decision making. At the end of the day, she decided to do that for herself, and I think it came off wrong because of the question. But it's something that women have to balance and it's an amazing thing to be a woman and that they have to go to work but then they come home and have a completely different skill set. And people don't like the word "submit" because it makes us think about oppression, abuse and slavery.
[Holmes:] Well, Dr. Tartt
[Tartt:] Think compassion.
[Holmes:] Think compassion. I am so glad we were able to get you on today because this is certainly a hot topic and it can be an offensive one as you know to a lot of people as well. But thank you for taking the time out. You enjoy the rest of your weekend.
[Tartt:] Thank you. A happy wife is a happy life.
[Holmes:] Don't I know it. All right, 20 minutes past the hour. Coming up, is it Farrah Fawcett as Barbie or Barbie as Farrah? Either way, we've got a hit to show you. Also, we've got a meteor shower expected to hit its peak tonight. Reynolds Wolf, my weekend buddy, joining me in just a minute to tell you exactly the time you need to be looking it at the skies to check it out. Stay with me.

[Whitfield:] A reminder to vote for today's "Choose the News Winner." Text 22360 for the story that you want to see. Text 1 for "Aussie Female Fighters," Australian women will soon be on the front line of battle, but not everyone is happy about that. Text 2 for "World War II Sunken Treasure." We'll take you to an amazing underwater discovery. A shipwreck worth millions. And text 3 for "Liz Taylor's Jewels," a look at the star's jewel collection that's making its way around the world before going off to auction. The winning story airs next hour. All right. Florida will likely push its presidential primary to January 31st leaving candidates not yet in the race even less time to declare their intentions. Speculation is swirling around whether New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will jump into the Republican field of candidates. Jim Acosta, part of the best political team on television, is live from the political desk in Washington. All right. Jim, so Christie, he hasn't said yes.
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Political Correspondent:] Right.
[Whitfield:] He has in the past said no, but he didn't necessarily say that last night in his speech.
[Acosta:] That's right. That is exactly right, Fredricka. Everybody is looking at that speech last night and saying, hmm, maybe Chris Christie hasn't made up his mind yet, even though he has said repeatedly that he is not running for president. He appeared to leave the door open just a crack, ever so slightly, by basically telling a crowd in California last night at the Reagan Library that, you know, that he's very flattered by all of the pleas that he get into this race. He doesn't feel it in his heart in terms of having that fiery passionate jump into the race for president, but there was one woman last night who made this impassioned plea to him, really implored him to run for president, and here's what he had to say.
[Unidentified Female:] Do it for my daughter, do it for our grandchildren. Do it for our sons. Please, sir, don't we need you. Your country needs you to run for president.
[Gov. Chris Christie , New Jersey:] It's extraordinarily flattering, but by the same token, that heartfelt message you gave me is also not a reason for me to do it. That reason has to reside inside me.
[Acosta:] And I talked to a close adviser to Governor Christie yesterday who basically said, look, this is this storm of speculation is incredible, but this is a decision that will come from Chris Christie. Fredricka, it's interesting that that adviser would sort of use that language and yes, we can be guilty of parching these things too much. But, you know, we all thought this decision was played. He wasn't running for president but yet here's his adviser saying, well, the decision will come on his terms when he's ready to make that decision. So make of that what you will.
[Whitfield:] OK. Well, let's try to reflect in a different way now.
[Acosta:] Sure.
[Whitfield:] You know who was leading the polls at this time during the last presidential election?
[Acosta:] Well, you know, it's amazing to look at these polls from four years ago, because it does tell you that at this point four years ago, you know, we were all looking at very different candidates in terms of who might win the nomination. Take a look at September 2007. The Republican choice for nominee in 2008. Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson were on top, they were going neck and neck, and everybody thought it was going to be one of those two guys. It ended up being John McCain. Look at the Democratic field. Hillary Clinton was on top of that field by a healthy margin. Yes, Barack Obama was starting to catch fire and people were talking about that, but Hillary was really Hillary Clinton was really the odds-on favorite to win the nomination there. So, you know, taking this all circling back to Chris Christie, you know, there is a reason why there are all these Republicans saying, well, maybe Chris Christie should get into the race. They know that even though it's late, it's not too late.
[Whitfield:] All right. Jim Acosta, thanks so much.
[Acosta:] You bet.
[Whitfield:] And of course, for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go. CNNPolitics.com. All right. Meantime, we also want to let you know, the president right there. He is beginning his roundtable discussion that will involve D.C. high school as well. We're going to continue to monitor the discussion that he is part of right there out of Washington, and we'll share with you that information as we get it. All right, meantime, both sides lay out their cases in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor. We'll talk with a legal insider about the bombshells so far and what we can expect in the next round at the Conrad Murray trial.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. You're watching our special coverage. We're just about six minutes away from that highly anticipated October employment report. It's the final jobs report before Tuesday's election, just four days from now, and it would definitely have an impact on both President Obama and Mitt Romney's campaigns. I want to welcome Ken Rogoff to our panel. He's joining us live from Boston. He's a Harvard University professor of economics and public policy. We're going to begin, though, and welcome, sir. We're going to begin, though, with Christine Romans. Christine, let's talk a little bit about how they crunch these numbers.
[Romans:] OK, Soledad. So, the jobs report is actually two separate surveys. The unemployment rate comes from a survey of 60,000 households. The job creation number comes from a survey of 141,000 businesses. Now, to get the unemployment rate, 2,200 census workers interview 60,000 households in person and over the phone. Everyone over the age of 16 is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force. From that, then the government extrapolates the unemployment rate. Now, the job creation number comes from another sample. It's the sample of 141,000 businesses. They tell the government how many workers they have on their payroll. Now, like the household survey, the sample is meant to reflect the whole U.S. It includes factories, offices, stores, and various government entities like teachers. Now, both surveys look at a particular week or pay period usually around the 12th day of the month. So, this month, this month, it was the week of October 7th to the October 13th. Households were contacted the following week to find out if they were working or looking for a job from that week of the 7th to the 13th. Now, businesses submitted payroll information for roughly the same period. Soledad, once all of these numbers are in, the labor department and its statisticians and economists boil them down and gives them to the President's council of economic advisers the day before they are released. I'm on the call right now, and in just about four or five minutes, we're going to get the number from the labor department. So, I'm going to listen now. And when I've got it, I'll let you know.
[O'brien:] All right. You go to the call. I'm going to turn to Erin now. Let's talk a little about analysis on this. We all talk talk about this number and that line, the 8.0 percent.
[Burnett:] Right.
[O'brien:] Why is that line so critical?
[Burnett:] It's more of a psychological line than anything else. It's also interesting, as Christine points out, the two different surveys. People tend to pay attention to the unemployment rate, because it makes sense it's always the headline number, but the number that is seemed, you know, sort of by investors, economist is the most accurate reflection of what's really happening is that payroll number, what businesses report. And that, of course, has been anemic for a long time. Although, last month, you know, even though it was anemic, despite that big drop in the unemployment rate, we did see some upward revisions from prior months. So, it does seem that things are getting better, but as you said, I think accurately, sluggish more of that's still the way to describe the labor market. But it is that payroll number to watch.
[O'brien:] What do you think could make the marker less sluggish and less morbid?
[Bair:] I think uncertainty is really weighing on the market right now, uncertainty with the fiscal cliff, regulatory uncertainty. I don't think it's so much the debate isn't, you know, whether you should regulate or not regulate, whether you should have a fiscal responsibility plan or not. I think that, really, the biggest issue is make some decisions, let us know what the future is going to look like. And you know, what is healthcare going to look like? What are payroll taxes going to be? What is the corporate code going to look like? Do we have a long-term plan to get these budget deficits under control? We have very resilient economy. If people just know what the rules are and what the game plan is, they can follow it and react to it. But now, there's a huge amount of uncertainty.
[O'brien:] I'm going to ask you to join us. Do you think that uncertainty, as Sheila is saying, is playing a huge role in all of this? By the way, for everybody, I might interrupt you when these numbers come out. So, carry on. But I'll jump in when the numbers come in to Christine. Go ahead, sir.
[Ken Rogoff, Professor Of Economics & Public Policy, Harvard University:] I think the uncertainty is huge. And you see it in business investment which is very weak. You're sitting there. There's about to be an election, which could mark a huge shift in policy. You don't know which way it's going to go. You're going to wait before you do a big investment, big hiring. And as Sheila said, there are all these uncertainties about how health care is going to be resolved, the fiscal cliff, a lot of uncertainties holding back the economy at the moment. Hopefully, some of it will get resolved soon.
[O'brien:] I'll be asking the question of Grover Norquist, because I'm going to read a quote, Grover, of you to everybody. And you said this, "We have to dramatically reduce the cost of defense whether there's a sequester or not. Maybe the sequester focuses their attention. And to the extent that it does, that's a healthful thing." And I think some people would say, you know, this leads us all to the fiscal cliff and we're playing that game of chicken basically on the highway. Don't you think?
[Norquist:] Well, I think it's important that we reduce government spending across the board, and conservatives need to look at defense spending in the same way we look at other kinds of spending and if it's wasteful, let's do less of it. So, it's very important. We've had an explosion of spending under Obama. Bush spent too much money, but Obama did it on steroids. You know, a trillion dollars of stimulus spending, $5 trillion of debt. He's bankrupting the country. We're talking about these numbers on unemployment, but the damage the long term, permanent damage done to America by Obama's spending spree and the regulatory when you say there's uncertainty, there's a lot of uncertainty, because there are thousands and thousands of pages of regulations that this administration is not putting out before the election because it's going to be so devastating the economy. They don't want people to see it yet. damage from Obamacare doesn't kick in for another year.
[O'brien:] So, let's bring in John Berman.
[Berman:] I just want to talk a little bit about the time when we talk about how this is four days before the election, but it also comes after a very interesting week politically, one in which a lot of people think that President Obama may have stemmed whatever momentum Mitt Romney had. And President Obama may be going into this week, with the hurricane, the way he handled it, and swing state polling which frankly shows him consistently in the lead in most of the important states. A lot of people think President Obama has the wind at his back going into this weekend. This jobs report may be the last opportunity for Mitt Romney to change the momentum yet once again. We've already seen it changed so many times
[O'brien:] Let's go to Candy Crowley, because Candy, of course, when you look at polls, it's Mitt Romney who gets the advantage, when people are asked about what's the thing you care about the most and who would do the better job, it's economy and Mitt Romney.
[Crowley:] It is, but when you ask folks that other question that pollsters always look at, who understands the life or the needs of people like you, President Obama always scores higher on that. So, there's kind of this macro picture. People look at Mitt Romney and they say, oh, I think actually he'd be better fixing the economy as a whole. But then, when you ask them who understands you, who understand what's going on in your life, they say President Obama. So, I think that there is obviously, there's some conflict there. But closer to home you get, I think as a candidate, the better your chance. Now, I can also tell you that the Romney campaign is looking at his own numbers, all the numbers we see, and they still see a clear path, they say, to victory as do both sides. But it's one of those things where, as we all know, it comes down to who's got the biggest who's got the best turnout model in which states. And, that's just something that's not really knowable until Tuesday evening.
[O'brien:] It always comes down to that, right? The poll that really matters is the poll that happens on Tuesday evening. Candy, thank you. Let's get to Ali Velshi. I have to warn you, I may be cutting you off in two seconds. We're waiting to Ali, wait a minute.
[Velshi:] We've got the number right now. It's 7.9 percent.
[Romans:] It's 7.9 percent, 171,000 jobs created, 171,000 jobs created, 7.9 percent is the unemployment rate. So the jobs the jobless rate is exactly as they expected, but the job creation was a little bit better. There are some revisions in these numbers, we're told, from the our producer at the labor department. Revisions in this number that are actually good. So I'm going to toss it back to you with some more details. But this is a number that is exactly in line on the unemployment rate but better in the job creation. As Ali has pointed out, that job creation number is a number that a lot of people really watch because that's from businesses, what businesses say they're doing.
[O'brien:] How do people understand that in some ways? Erin, we'll start with you. You've had eight seconds to analyze these numbers.
[Burnett:] Right. There's a lot of numbers in here you want to look at, earnings and things like that. The 7.9 percent, that's fine. The 171,000 I'll highlight. That's a good number relative to what we've seen in recent months. I don't have the numbers in front of me. It's above the rate you need to actually keep up with population growth and people entering the workforce. We're in a big hole, so we're not anywhere near that. That's a solid number, 171, would be my initial take without the background data.
[O'brien:] Grover Norquist, Erin says solid number. What do you think?
[Norquist:] Well, 7.9 percent unemployment, these are all lousy numbers. When you add in the fact that a lot of people aren't in the workforce, as we've been discussing, two percent of the population has left the workforce. That's why the unemployment numbers aren't at over 10 percent, which is the real unemployment number of over 10 percent of people who want to work and aren't working. This has been a real problem. And it's not only that the economy is weak and had four years of a very poor economy, even the recovery part of Obama's administration has been weaker than any recovery since the 1930s. We spent $5 trillion to get a lousy economy.
[O'brien:] Let me interrupt you for a second. Sheila Bair, do you think he has a point, $5 trillion for a lousy economy or do you say, people will look at that 171,000 and that is in some ways this is about a narrative out of this report?
[Bair:] Right, 171,000 is a good number. We've been averaging 150,000. That is a very good number. The 7.9 percent is probably a slight negative for Mr. Obama because it doesn't suggest continued improvement. That number has a lot of faults, as we'll discuss. And you have to point out the job quality again. But the 171 itself is a good number.
[O'brien:] Robert Gibbs, Mr. Rogoff, called Mr. Norquist Mr. Doom and Gloom would you say he is doom and gloom or a realist that is taking a very clear look at the dire straits of the economy without and how he sees it?
[Rogoff:] There's a forward looking and backward looking component. I think in the backward looking component, I think that when you have a decent cries like this you cannot compare it to 1982. You cannot compare this to Ronald Reagan. You have to look at really deep, systemic financial crisis around the world that the U.S. has had. And then the recovery is still tepid, but not compared to those. It's a little better than average, frankly. It's much better than a lot of countries have been doing since 2007, and it's better than earlier United States recoveries when you look at things unemployment when we've had deep banking crises. That said, nobody is happy with this, and we would like to have a path to faster growth going forward.
[O'brien:] Ken Rogoff. Let's get right to Ali Velshi. I want to ask you a question. Under the establishment survey data, we start break out the actual jobs, nonfarm payment, health care, retail, leisure and hospitality. What is the one you look at most closely?
[Velshi:] In terms at looking at a recovery, and particularly because I'm in Ohio, I'm always interested in the manufacturing numbers. One of the disadvantages of the way out economy is going is we tend to see more in business services and professional work because we're not manufacturing as much. Manufacturing is important. The other thing you want to lock at is health care. It's been a growing area for the entire recession. We've gained health care jobs. Those are key. The other thing we want to look at, Soledad, revisions to August and September. They are much better. Sheila just said over 150 is better. It's not great. It's better. August we thought we gained 142,000 jobs. It's now been revised up to 184,000 jobs. September, we thought we gained 114. It's not a great number. It's now been revised upward to 148,000 jobs.
[O'brien:] Ali, let me stop you for a second. Tell me if I'm wrong for August it was revised from 142,000 to 192,000 non Yes, 192, you're right. You are right. I misread that, to 192. So these are now in the vicinity of strong. Both President Obama and Mitt Romney have talked about 12 million jobs in four years. That would be 3 million a year, 250,000 a month. Now we're edging up to 200,000 in August. We're now getting into the vicinity of real job creation that could actually have an effect on people. And that's what's important here. As you know, I have real problems with the unemployment number being bandied around as a political football, because it's hard to understand. It is actually a moving target. Grover gets stuck on it, but the fact is that this job creation number and wages earned and the type of jobs are all more important, and this is actually quite positive. I don't mean that politically. I mean this is good for America. Let's talk about what you raised. I want to bring in Candy Crowley for this. You know, Ali, Candy, said that manufacturing is what he wants to look at. When I read what they say about manufacturing, manufacturing employment changed little in October. On net, manufacturing employment has shown little change since April. So that has to be a little black cloud in what I think some people are saying are good, decent numbers.
[Crowley:] Well, it is, and especially since the President has always focused on manufacturing, talking about bringing manufacturing jobs back, because, of course, that rings to the good old days. You could have a great middle class life inside manufacturing plants. And that way of living has for decades kind of gone away. However, I think what you're that does take away from one of the President's talking points when you talks about, and we've added good manufacturing jobs. They still have added some, just not since April is what I think you just said. But I think what you have here politically is more fuel for the same fire. I think the President has said we're headed in the right direction but it's not enough. He has been saying that for four years. You'll hear Mitt Romney say they've spent a whole lot of money and we don't have much to show for it. This is a weak recovery. We don't want to stay on this slow road to recovery. I can do this better. He has been saying that for a year and a half. So I think we just have both sides saying yes, here is our latest report and it proves exactly what I was just saying.
[O'brien:] Interesting. Let's go back to Christine Romans. Christine, I want to flag something in this report on the front page, saying that the unemployment for blacks increased to 14.3 percent.
[Romans:] It did. And most of the worker groups were unchanged or fell a little bit unchanged rather. The jobless rate for blacks is 14.3 percent, for adult men, 7.3 percent, for women 7.2 percent, for teenagers almost 24 percent. We've been watching these worker groups. And as you know, for Black American workers, for black Americans the unemployment rate has been about double, even in good times. So there's a structural problem there that many poem have said the recession and recovery since the recession have only made worse. So that's something we're closely watching. Also we'll be looking at factory jobs, a ladder to the middle class, jobs that have been gutted really in the past 20 years, that's something that is a very big not month to month. This is a longer term, multi-president kind of issue that has to be tackled. And the recession, quite frankly, set us back on that. In terms of where we were seeing the job growth, professional and business services tend to be higher paid jobs. Computer systems designers and engineers, those tend to be very god jobs, growth there. Different kinds of technology, information technology, and also retail trade and leisure and hospitality, those are lower-paying jobs. Those tend not to be jobs that you can send a kid to college on. Often they tend to be part-time jobs as well. So, manufacturing incredibly important, Ali is right, especially in those swing states. Health care jobs that have been growing, it's these knowledge jobs that have been growing, there's good demand for. We talk about these numbers, too. When you talk to CEOs, Soledad, the thing they say is we can't find workers with the right skills for our jobs. Politically, we're talking about we need more jobs. But CEOs say we don't have the right workers. We have the jobs, not the right workers. That becomes an education story.
[Berman:] The numbers we've been talking about, the most politically charged numbers here, the labor force participation rate, which rose 578,000 in October and the labor force participation rate edged up to 63.8 percent. So there is movement in that number that you were talking about before. How much is that really?
[Romans:] So that is the number that Grover Norquist has been talking about. We're talking consumer confidence that was strong this week, guys. People are looking at their 401 [k] s. They're a little bit better. Revisions Ali was talking about the last several months. They're hearing all of this and some discouraged workers are saying I'm going to try again. They're going to try to get a job.
[O'brien:] Erin Burnett, when you look at this, everybody at the table is furiously taking notes on their report. What do you look to flag?
[Burnett:] Ali and Christine have pointed out some of it, and John. There are some good things when you look at a participation rate. Obviously still low. You see in row tail and other areas hiring. Long term unemployed, little change. These are people that have not had a job for 27 weeks or more. So you're not seeing a change there yet. Other two things we look at are people working longer weeks. That generally means you'll hire more people. Workweek is unchanged. And in terms of hourly earnings, when we look at income growth that has lagged so significantly over the past decade or more and you saw that edge down a little bit. There are definitely good things in here. I think the headline, no question, is good. Upper revisions for the past two months when you add those together, revisions from 142 to 192, 114 to 148, and 171 that's very good. Overall take will be very good. When you're saying is it really getting stronger, will people start to earn more, will we see an uptick, you're quite seeing that pressure yet.
[O'brien:] Ken Rogoff, as Erin just said, 142 to 192, an August revision. September revised upward from 114,000 to 148,000. Is this a number that people like yourself or economists crunch and say this is interesting or does it really have an impact on those of us who are not crunching these very numbers and looking back to past months for their statement of employment figures?
[Rogoff:] Well, these numbers are so rough, and there's so much uncertainty around them that they do keep getting revised. And we do tend to look at the last few months, not just the current number, what the overall revisions, and overall picture is more positive than it was. Let's be clear, this is still a tepid recovery. This is a good, modest, good report in the context of still this very slow recovery. It doesn't change the overall picture. I think politically, you know, it's probably slightly better for President Obama, obviously, than if it had gone over eight percent, the unemployment rate, or we had seen a big drop in jobs. From an economic point of view, it's modest improvement. But it's not the kind of growth we need to get 12 million jobs over the next four years like both candidates are promising. So it isn't a game changer, not a disaster.
[O'brien:] All right, so back to Candy Crowley, I'm sure everyone is spinning this, trying to figure out the headline that they write. Who I hate to talk about winning when you're talking about people's jobs and people's lives, but in terms of how it's spun, it will be a win and a lose. Who do you think gets the momentum out of this?
[Crowley:] You know, I hate to put a damper on this, but we are at a point where I think you look at the undecideds we're not talking about nationwide undecideds. We're really talking about undecideds inside these swing states. It's such a miniscule number.
[O'brien:] Meaning what? How many?
[Crowley:] It depends on the state. It depends on like two percent, three percent, four percent, around in there. And you get to a point on the weekend before an election where you begin to know that many of those undecideds are really the disgusted, and they may not show up on Tuesday. You're going to see a portion of undecideds not show up. Do people go into the voting booth still not knowing who they're going to vote for? I have talked to people who say that's exactly how they are. So insofar as this shifts them, I would assume that 171,000 sounds like the strongest I've heard in a while in terms of creating new jobs. And you can still see it's a slow recovery. So I thought these numbers and the people's feel for the economy have been baked into their choice for a long time. But if it's going to be an advantage, I'm assuming that it may be a slight advantage for President Obama. But I honestly am not sure that this is going to move those figures in a way that we're going to notice.
[O'brien:] We've got to take a short break. Ahead on STARTING POINT we're going to talk a little bit more about the 7.9 percent unemployment figure, 171,000 jobs created in the month of October. And we'll talk about the ripple effects on the presidential race, on financial markets, on the overall recovery, all that and much more. We're back in just a moment. Stay with us.

[Malveaux:] Imagine this. A family of five living in a grave. That is how one of the members of the family, Kurdeyah family, actually describes this underground bunker where they are hiding. The war is raging above them in the Syrian city of Aleppo and they've been underground now for months. Arwa Damon is taking us down into the dark basement hideout to actually meet this family.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondnet:] Down a steep, stone stairway into the darkness, this is where the Kurdeyah family has been hiding for four months. The strikes were all around us. We just ran out with nothing, 20- year-old Fakma recalls. We just ran and ran down here and the shrapnel was falling all over. Since then they've dared occasionally to go back home to collect belongings. There would be bombing like that and we'd come running back here, Fakma says. Their home is just five doors away, but it's right on one of Aleppo's front lines. It's been hit by artillery fire since they fled. We go home every two weeks to shower, fearful and terrorized, Fakma's mother tells us. We have a weak home. It could crumble any moment. Their makeshift bunker was a workshop, the carpenters intricately carved furniture still lines the walls. The last time the family ventured out was three weeks ago. Fakma and her younger sister want to leave. Anywhere but here. Anywhere they can feel the sun and smell fresh air, but their father refuses. Poor but proud, he says he doesn't want to be at the mercy of others. Here he can send his son to scrape money and buy a little food. It's humbling how amidst all they have lost and suffered, they insist on offering us tea. The girls dream of wounded neighbors. Their mother has nightmares her children are dead and says she feels her heart is going to burst with each explosion. I just tell her it's far away and not to be scared, Fakma says, but sometimes the bombings are so close the family says they choke on the dust. What can we say? We're living in a prison, prisoners in a prison, Fakma says. It's more like a grave, Fahra adds. To give you an idea of just how dark it really is and terrifying with all of the sounds of the gunfire outside, we're going to switch our camera light off. This tiny flame is all the family has as they listen to the sounds of war above. Arwa Damon, CNN, Aleppo.
[Malveaux:] Social media have been critical to getting the word out in Syria. Video like the one posted on-line this one right here shows peaceful demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad that began last year and spiraled into now what is happening. Activists regularly posting these videos and articles about the civil war that is taking place there. Often these are really just only the images we are able to get from the front lines. We see it there. Lara Setrakian is trying to build on the information we get out of Syria. She is co-founder and managing editor of SyriaDeeply.org. Lara, you're a former correspondent with ABC and Bloomberg, as well. You have seen some of the what is taking place there. What do you make of the civil war?
[Lara Setrakian, Co-founder, Syriadeeply.org:] Suzanne, my heart breaks when I watch families like the ones in Arwa's piece. And what we needed to do, what we felt we had to do was to step out of the story for a moment and just look at technology, look at what's coming out from user-generated images, from voices of Syrians trying to tell their stories and just collect it in one place, so we decided to build SyriaDeeply. It's part news-aggregator, part interactive-backgrounder, part original reporting. And what we felt we need do was to give people more background, more indication and engagement on these issues because, months and months into this crisis, so many people just don't understand and don't really have a way to make sense of it. It's so complex and there are so many sophisticated pieces, we just wanted to do the best we could with technology to make it all make sense.
[Malveaux:] And how tough is it to actually get an accurate picture of what is taking place on the ground? We have heard that we know with the Internet being down, some of the phone lines as well, that it is very difficult to actually have people communicate with each other and really get the real story out.
[Setrakian:] Absolutely. We had a kind of lucky break last week. Our reporters in Aleppo were on the Internet using a satellite connection when the whole country was cut of from the worldwide web, so we had information, at least some, coming out. But what we find is that it's a very innovative social media game right now in Syria. The front lines are really on Skype, the conversations, those private chat rooms where we're invited in, where we can listen to these conversations in real-time chronicling battles in different cities and watching people communicate with each other. So Skype is really become the way that we get a lot of that information out then we see what's posted on Facebook and other networks.
[Malveaux:] And, Lara, what we're hearing from world leaders, they're very concerned about Syria's chemical weapons. That Bashar al-Assad might use them against his own people or fall in the hands of those that might terrorize other communities and countries. The people that you talk to, what are they most concerned about?
[Setrakian:] They're really afraid of what happens in this critical period where the Assad regime starts to crumble and the opposition isn't necessarily ready to take over and secure those sites. So, this is really the clutch time where only do we need to worry about what the Assad regime might do, but how that transition is going to be handled and managed. Sources are telling us that there is an active contingency plan under way that the international community is trying to train the opposition in how to secure those sites, everything from 24-hour Skype connections with rebel brigades to try to secure those chemical weapons facilities to train them in how to communicate with the current regime, officials in the regime right now being reached by the opposition who really want to say, you know, help us out here, let's try to insure some continuity for the day after.
[Malveaux:] Laura Setrakian, thank you so much. Excellent reporting. Really appreciate it. More than 200,000 people, they are in shelters right now in the Philippines because of Typhoon Bopha. We'll have the very latest as the death toll now rises.

[Piers Morgan, Cnn:] Tonight a father's pain. He lost his 6- year-old son at Sandy Hook, now his impassioned plea for an assault weapons ban, and the moment he was shouted down by gun advocates.
[Unidentified Male:] The Second Amendment shall not be infringed.
[Morgan:] My exclusive interview with that grieving father, Neil Heslin. Also the Connecticut senator who says the NRA is not as powerful as you think. And he's standing up to them. And lord of all sheriffs says this
[Sheriff David Clarke, Jr., Milwaukee County, Wisconsin:] Calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option. You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed or you can fight back.
[Morgan:] But the mayor says this.
[Unidentified Male:] To have him do that was just so irresponsible.
[Morgan:] They go head-to-head tonight. Plus out of bounds. The controversy surrounding an NFL ref just days before the Super Bowl. This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT. Good evening. We'll get to America's battle over guns in just a few moments. We begin tonight with another item on President Obama's agenda immigration. With more than 11 million undocumented immigrants already in this country, the president says those who want to become citizens should pass background checks, learn English, pay a penalty, and then, in his words, get in the back of the line. He also said if Congress doesn't work fast enough, he'll propose his own immigration bill. Listen to what the president told the crowd of a high school in Las Vegas today.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] The reason I came here today is because of a challenge where the differences are dwindling, where a broad consensus is emerging, and where a call for action can now be heard coming from all across America. I'm here today because the time has come for commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform. The time is now.
[Morgan:] Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has been one of the president's most harsh critics on immigration. She's here to tell me now what she thinks of this development today. Welcome to you. How are you?
[Gov. Jan Brewer , Arizona:] I'm just fine, Piers. Thanks for having me on.
[Morgan:] Always a pleasure. Now we've seen you on tarmacs jabbing your finger at the president in the past over this very contentious issue. What is your verdict on what he announced today?
[Brewer:] Well, you know, I'm just absolutely thrilled that we've got the president talking about solutions and also I'm very grateful that we've got a bipartisan effort in the Senate to try to address the issue that America, the United States has been facing. Bottom line is I'm very, very encouraged with the ideas, particularly with the Senate proposing that we move forward and that we will get our border. We will, you know, have our border secured. Then we could deal with these other issues that have been results of from an unsecure border. So I think that we should all be pleased and claim victory.
[Morgan:] Well, the optimist in me is thrilled at this remarkable display of bipartisanship from Washington's politicians, and we should all celebrate this great moment. The cynic in me says that the reason that so many of the Republicans have softened their position including, dare I say it, your good self, is that you realized after the recent election that the Latino vote was disappearing from the Republicans and may never return. And it was precisely the hard line position over issues like immigration that was to blame. How do you plead to that charge?
[Brewer:] Well, you know, I'm not going to plea to any charge. But I will answer. You know, I know that there have been politicians saying that it was all because of the illegal immigration issue. You know, that's your opinion or other people's opinion. I think that overwhelmingly people understand we have an issue with an insecure border and we want operational control. And once we get that, which now we have bipartisan support for, I'm pleased that the Republicans and the Democrats agree that we need to get our border secure, and then we can deal with those issues. People understand that we have a very porous border, and we are facing a lot of problems with that. But I am very grateful that the discussion is there, that we're seeing movement and, of course, like lots of people have been saying, the devil's in the details, but what they lined out, it looks sounds to me, at least in the Senate, that is very, very promising. I don't think that the president actually went into that kind of detail, but we're talking. The president's talking, the Senate is talking and now we'll see what they come up in a bill and then we can have that debate in the proper setting where the debate takes place in Congress. And hopefully together collectively we can resolve all the issues, but I'm very encouraged that we get our that they're talking about the you know, the border being secure.
[Morgan:] Good, well, I'm encouraged, too. And I think it'd be churlish to be too cynical. So I salute you all for actually getting to a position where you can agree on things. It's a rare occasion in Washington recent history. Let's turn to a more contentious issue, gun control. Arizona has a lot of its own issues in relation to this. What is your position on where we are with the gun control debate, and what do you think may actually be done to try and deal with America's burgeoning gun violence?
[Brewer:] Well, you know, it is terrible, unimaginable tragedy has taken place in the United States in regards to people, I believe, that have mental health issues that have created terrible tragedy. But I'm a strong proponent and supporter of the Second Amendment. And I think we have to look at the mental health situation and how we're delivering those services. And we've done that in Arizona. We are moving forward with expanding funding for that particular population and trying to put resource officers into the schools, and it is something that across the United States that we need to deal with. But I don't believe and I'll make it perfectly clear that taking guns away from law-abiding citizens is the answer.
[Morgan:] Right. But as you know, nobody is suggesting taking a single gun away from anyone. There's not a single proposal that removes a gun. All they're talking about is removing a certain type of weapon from future purchase. So when people say, you want our guns, that's not true.
[Brewer:] Well, you know, Piers, you know, I guess everybody interprets it differently. And of course, there again, there's no legislation written, so we don't really know what they're going to do, but we know that they are classifying certain guns that are used for different types of things, competition, family guns, that you know, that some people find or have discovered that they would like to call them assault weapons, and not all of them in a lot of people's minds are not categorized like that. So again I, you know, I assume
[Morgan:] How did you feel, though, if
[I -- Brewer:] based on a federal level. And if they would come to some kind of
[Morgan:] Yes.
[Brewer:] solution, if there is a solution, but I truly believe it's the mental health issue that we really need to adopt and we need to be sure that we have safe zones. I've always been a proponent of safe zones.
[Morgan:] Let me just ask you one question before I let you go, Governor, if I may.
[Brewer:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] How did you feel on a human level, when you saw the testimony last night of the Sandy Hook father, Neil Heslin, who lost his son Jesse, his only child. And members of the audience who were gun supporters, when he asked them to give him one reason why any civilian needs an assault weapon, an assault rifle of a type that killed his son, they began shouting out, Second Amendment, infringement, and my rights. How did you feel on a human level about that moment?
[Brewer:] Piers, I didn't see that interview. I'm not aware of that show. I can just tell you that I think that any mother, me being one, or a father, that has lost a child and I have lost a child. It's a tragedy. It's a tragedy. Your heart breaks. There is no answer. And there is no answer. Mental illness, if we can get our arms around that, I think that is going to help a whole lot, but you know, children have been lost because of knives, they've been lost because of not protecting them around swimming pools. It's horrible when you lose a child. But you've got to be realistic and you've got to find the solution that addresses the issue. And I think in efforts to try to solve this problem with the terrible gun tragedies that we've seen, that those people, generally speaking, and I think overwhelmingly people agree, that it truly is a mental health problem. And we need to deal with that. We need to be sure that we
[Morgan:] I mean, I do hear that a lot. I don't disagree with you. But
[Brewer:] To those people
[Morgan:] But there are many right. But there are many, many countries around the world that have similar mental health issues and have similar violent video games, similar Hollywood movies. What they don't have is the gun murder rate of America which is 20 times that of any of the other civilized so-called rich countries. Let me just ask you one final question
[Brewer:] Well
[Morgan:] which is well, let me ask you
[Brewer:] Let me can I answer that, though?
[Morgan:] Do you honestly Governor, Governor.
[Brewer:] In Mexico, guns are illegal and they they have all kinds of crimes and murders in Mexico and they're illegal in Mexico. I mean, just take one country for example.
[Morgan:] Right. Let me just ask you one final question which is, do you genuinely not believe
[Brewer:] Sure.
[Morgan:] Because you are, you know, a well-established governor in America. Do you genuinely not believe that America's gun crime rate would fall if you removed guns from circulation rather than increased the volume of guns in circulation?
[Brewer:] I don't. I believe that the bad guys, irresponsible people will always find a way to have guns. And we see that in other countries. We see it happening in places where there is high restrictions on gun ownership. But law-abiding citizens aren't the ones that are committing those crimes.
[Morgan:] Governor Brewer, it was pleasure talking to you again. Thank you very much indeed.
[Brewer:] Thank you. Thank you, Piers. Appreciate it.
[Morgan:] I was talking there about Neil Heslin. He lost his 6- year-old son in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He spoke movingly about it, most recently at a hearing in Hartford, Connecticut, last night where he's interrupted by gun advocates. And he joins me now exclusively along with Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Welcome to you both.
[Sen. Chris Murphy , Connecticut:] Thank you.
[Morgan:] Neil, I want to talk to you first, if I may. We've spoken several times. And I feel like I've got to know you reasonably well and know the appalling impact of losing your only child, and I found the scenes that we watched today from last night's encounter between you and the gun advocates very powerful. And I don't want to put any words in your mouth. I don't want to frame how you felt about this because I know that you've been pretty decent about it. You didn't view what happened as heckling. You respect, I believe, the rights of those advocates to express an opinion. They were answering a question that you put to them. I've got to say, though, from my point of view watching it, I found it repulsive that people would respond to your call for the assault rifle that killed your son by shouting out Second Amendment, infringement, and my rights. Now what was your reaction as it was happening?
[Neil Heslin, 6-year-old, Jesse Lewis, Died In Sandy Hook:] It didn't really faze me and it was no more and no less than I would have expected. It wasn't the answer to my question. It was a response. You know, I'm still in favor of restrictive gun regulations. That hasn't changed my thoughts on that. Federally regulated licensing and background checks and the ban on certain guns and certain weapons with the capacity, the large capacities and the magazines. I don't see a need for them. And certain types of weapons that are categorized as assault weapons or military weapons.
[Morgan:] How did you feel, Neil
[Heslin:] All the massacres and this killing.
[Morgan:] Neil, when you heard fellow Americans when you heard fellow Americans saying that the reason they need the weapon that murdered your son, the AR-15 military style assault rifle, the reason they need it is because of their Second Amendment rights. As an American, what do you feel about the fact that they believe that right supersedes anything else including, you know the rights of your son to not be murdered by that weapon, if you take it to its logical conclusion?
[Heslin:] Well, I want to make it very clear. I'm in favor and I support the Second Amendment, and I'm not in favor of taking anybody's weapons or guns from them. I am in favor, and I do want to push for stricter regulations on certain type of weapons. As I said, like the military style weapons and the assault rifle weapons. So I am in support of the Second Amendment, and I think the people do have a right to bear arms and have the guns. And that wasn't what I'm asking for or pushing for.
[Morgan:] And Neil, that's an it's an right. And I totally get that and I understand that distinction very firmly. It's a distinction I've tried to talk about on this show repeatedly. Let me turn to Senator Murphy, if I may. Senator, this is clearly a highly emotive issue. And, you know, you can see that other families involved in the Sandy Hook tragedy have a different view. Some of them have said they don't see any need for any further gun control. And I respect all the opinions, I really do. I didn't respect the behavior of those who shouted out at Neil Heslin, my rights, infringement, Second Amendment, because I felt it was demeaning, I felt it was insulting to him, and I thought it didn't answer his question. Because the bottom line about Second Amendment is, as he rightly says, you know, you can still honor the Second Amendment, but why can't you remove these killing machines? After all automatic machine guns are all banned and nobody seems to mind that.
[Murphy:] Yes, first of all, I just stand in awe of Neil and frankly of all of the families who had the courage to come out and speak, whether it be in Washington, D.C., or in Hartford. I can't imagine the strength that it takes to do that. And I think you're right. I mean, it just isn't an answer to the question. I'm a supporter of the Second Amendment just like Neil is, just like Governor Brewer is, but Neil and I are supporters of the real Second Amendment, not the imaginary Second Amendment. The Second Amendment has always allowed people through their elected leaders to decide what weapons are reserved for the military and what weapons can be in the hands of private citizens. And the fact is that the gun that was used in Newtown, that was used in Aurora, in other mass shootings is a derivative of a weapon ha was used to kill people. And to me that's kind of a line that we should draw. If the design of a weapon is for sport or for hunting, then put in it private hands, but if the design of a weapon is to kill more people, then maybe we should reserve that for the military.
[Morgan:] I completely agree. Let's take a break. Let's come back and talk about the NRA in particular. Because I know, Senator, you've got strong views about the supposed power that they wield over politicians.

[Phillips:] Just in time for the start of Florida, the fed was supposed to lay down the law on sunscreen labels. New rules won't be taking effect after all. Not until the summer of 2012 is a dim memory. We have Elizabeth Cohen here to shed a little light.
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Senior Medical Correspondent:] The sunscreen industry was told a year ago you have a year to make this happen, and they're saying we can't. They are saying, oh, no, we can't get it done, because the changes required to the label are expensive and involves repackaging and resizing and we can't do it. But I will tell you, Kyra, some members of Congress and advocates are saying, come on, you had years and you knew it was coming from years ago and why couldn't you have gotten yourself together.
[Phillips:] And what changes are eventually coming?
[Cohen:] And you know, these are actually really interesting and I must say as a mom who buys a lot of sunscreen for four very pale bodies
[Phillips:] Me, too.
[Cohen:] And that it will shed some light as you said. Take a look. If it wants to be called broad spectrum, if that is something that the product wants to claim, it has to cover both UVA and UVB, because right now, you can say that and not cover both of those.
[Phillips:] Did you say broad spectrum on the bottles or on the
[Cohen:] Well, sometimes a sunscreen will say we are a broad spectrum.
[Phillips:] Interesting. I never noticed that.
[Cohen:] Now they are saying if you claim that, you have to protect against the UVA and the UVB rays both of which can affect your skin. The second thing it has to do is to is that there has to be a warning on the label if it is under 15, because right now you can sell it under 15 and call it sunscreen and they are saying to put a warning, because it is not high enough. Also, they have banned the use of sun block, waterproof or sweat proof, because let's face it, you can never block the sun 100 percent, and really, what can be sweat or waterproof? I mean, it is those never made sense to me, and you can put the stuff on and spend time in the water and it is still all there.
[Phillips:] How often do you reapply?
[Cohen:] You are supposed to reapply certainly when you get out of the water, but when you see waterproof, you think, I can go in and out of the water, but that not the case and that is why they want to see the change in there.
[Phillips:] So, why the delay?
[Cohen:] They say that the delay is because it is so much work to get these, this packaging changed. You know how drugs have something called a drug facts and it has a label on the ingredients on the back.
[Phillips:] Yes.
[Cohen:] They will have to do that even on things like a lip balm that has a sunscreen, and they say it is a lot of text to get into relatively small packages and it is going to be difficult to do. Again, people have challenged that, and, you know, who knows what will result.
[Phillips:] And so until December?
[Cohen:] Until December when these labels changed, you can be an empowered sunscreen purchaser and keep all of the things in mind, that you want a product that is UVA and UVB that protects against both of the rays. Don't buy one that is one or the other, and it does not make sense. Protect against everything. Look for SPF of 30 or higher. And 30 is perfectly fine, but you don't want below 30, and also, do not spray children. They have the spray.
[Phillips:] I saw that there is a spray and then it says rub it in. Then what is the point, get the lotion.
[Cohen:] They can breathe in the particles and you are better off using a lotion.
[Phillips:] Good point. Or just dress them from head to toe in a big hat and long sleeves.
[Cohen:] Yes on the beach, what fun.
[Phillips:] And they will look like dorks, but that is whole other story. Thank you, Elizabeth Cohen. Don't be just enlightened consumer, but an empowered patient, and check out Elizabeth's blog or, of course, buy her book.

[Blitzer:] The Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is changing his 9-9-9 plan a bit with a backdrop of economically depressed Detroit. Cain said those who fall at or below the poverty level would have a 9-0-9 plan. The 9-9-9 proposal you may recall replaces the current tax code with a 9 percent corporate tax, a 9 percent income tax, and a new 9 percent national sales tax. Opponents have argued that the middle part of the plan would increase taxes on the poor who currently pay little or no federal income tax. Cain says the new 9-0-9 plan would protect those individuals. I had a chance to interview Herman Cain in Las Vegas this week and I asked him what he thought about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, freeing a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the return of one Israeli soldier. Then I asked Herman Cain this. Can you imagine if you were president, we're almost out of time. And there were one American soldier who had been held for years and the demand was al Qaeda or some other terrorist group. You've got to free everyone at Guantanamo Bay, several hundred prisoners at Guantanamo. Could you see himself as president authorizing that kind of transfer?
[Herman Cain , Presidential Candidate:] I could see myself authorizing that kind of transfer. But what I would do is I would make sure that I got all of the information. I got all of the input, considered all of the options and then the president has to be the president and make a judgment call. I can make that call if I had to.
[Blitzer:] Five hours later at the CNN debate, he had a different answer.
[Cain:] Let me say this first. I would have a policy that we do not negotiate with terrorists. We have to lay that principle down first. Now, being you have to look at each individual situation and consider all the facts.
[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] But you're saying, in your words, you said I could see myself authorizing that kind of a transfer. Isn't that negotiating with in this case, al Qaeda?
[Cain:] I don't recall him saying that it was al Qaeda-related.
[Cooper:] Yes, he did.
[Cain:] Well, my policy would be we cannot negotiate with terrorists.
[Blitzer:] Later, he told Anderson Cooper that he had misspoke during his interview with me earlier in the day. Let's discuss what's going on with our senior political analysts, Ron Brownstein. And I guess, the fundamental question, Ron, a lot of folks are asking, he's doing remarkably well not only in the national polls but you look at the poll in Iowa and South Carolina. He looks like he is atop those polls. Can he actually win the Republican presidential nomination?
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Probably not in the end. You know, the paradox of outsider candidates, is what makes they will so attractive on first blush is usually what makes people hesitant over the longer term. Herman Cain is someone who is charismatic and dynamic. But as his answers to your questions and many others that he's faced in the last few weeks suggest, has not really spent a lot of time thinking about running for president or all of the issues that he would face as president. And usually through sustained exposure, that comes out on the outsider candidates who diminish their appeal. Really, he is really part of a larger phenomenon, Wolf, which was the inability of the conservative Tea Party Evangelical half of the Republican Party to find one candidate they can settle on as their alternative to Mitt Romney. We're really seeing them stifling through Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and now Herman Cain. It may roll back to Perry before it is over.
[Blitzer:] Well, let's talk about Mitt Romney and Rick Perry right now at our CNN debate in Las Vegas. It got pretty exciting. They got very personal. Let me play you a little clip.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I'm speaking I'm speaking, I'm speaking, I'm speaking. You get 30 seconds. This is the way the rules work here is that I get 60 second
[Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] No, but the merit
[Romney:] And then you get 30 seconds to respond, right?
[Perry:] And they want to hear you say you
[Romney:] Would you please a wait? Are you going to keep talking? Are you going to let me finish? Look
[Blitzer:] No matter how many times I see that exchange. I don't remember a debate getting as intense. Do you remember a debate
[Brownstein:] Brown and Bill Clinton in 1992 in Illinois. When Brown raced the law firm
[Blitzer:] Were you surprised?
[Brownstein:] I was.
[Blitzer:] That Rick Perry came out swinging?
[Browstein:] Rick Perry needed this debate I think in retrospect. If he does recover and become a factor in the race again after really skidding, this will be seen as the debate where that marked the kind of turning of the tide for him back in to becoming a serious candidate. I mean, part of the, he's really faced two problems. Perry emerged and quickly consolidated a lot of the right and then as quickly lost it mostly for two reasons. One was this criticism on his policy toward instate tuition for illegals, which opened up a vulnerability among conservatives. Made them wonder if he was truly as much one of them as they believe, which by the way is the problem Cain may face on some issues. But the other question was the doubt that he had what it takes to really contest the general election against President Obama because of the weakness of his performance in those early debates. So clearly going into this debate, they were hoping to address both of those issues. You will see them continue to try to reassure conservatives with the flat tax proposal coming out next week bringing back an issue from the 1990s.
[Blitzer:] Going with Steve Forbes on that issue is now apparently an adviser to Rick Perry on that. Let's talk about President Obama for a second. He's got a string of national security victories lately going back to May with the killing of Bin Laden, Anwar Al-Awlaki. This week Gadhafi dies in Libya. We don't exactly know which circumstances. He announces Friday that all U.S. troops are out of Iraq by the end of this year basically declaring victory. The U.S. mission in Iraq is over. Politically speaking, any of this really going to resonate in the general election next year?
[Browstein:] Well, this definitely qualifies, I think you would agree, in the who would have thunk it category. A president only a few years out of the Illinois state Senate running for re-election, and all likelihood foreign policy will be an asset for him in this race. I think most Americans will see most of this record as being strong. The problem is, as you suggest, that the economy is likely to completely overshadow all other issues. So at the margin, yes, this will help him. It will be a calling card. It will be a way for him to seem presidential next to the Republican nominees. But I think his fate will turn on whether voters believe he has a plan to lead us toward better times economically.
[Blitzer:] You have a great article in the new "National Journal," rocky territory about Colorado, right?
[Brownstein:] The entire mountain west, which has become, as you saw in this debate, increasingly contested terrain for both parties. You know, it used to be reliably Republican, but Obama in 2008, when Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. And because of his difficulty with older white voters who are concentrated in the Midwest. Those states are probably even more important for him in 2012 than 2008. The problem is that while they're a demographic trend that bends tornado the Democrats in all of those places. When Democrats be in office, whether it's Bill Clinton in '94 or Barack Obama in 2010, they've had trouble holding support from voters in this region who tend to be suspicious of Washington. So Obama has more need for these states. It used to be a luxury for Democrats. Now it's becoming a necessity, but a little more of an uphill climb on that stony terrain.
[Blitzer:] Ron Brownstein, thanks very much.
[Brownstein:] Thank you, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Dozens of wild animal shot dead after escaping an exotic preserve. Did the authorities do the right thing? We'll take to you a preserve right here in the Washington, D.C. area and try to get some answers.

[Kaye:] Pictures of the Los Angeles Courthouse where a jury is now deciding the fate of Dr. Conrad Murray and powerful closing arguments yesterday. The prosecution and defense had one last chance to make their case. Here's lead prosecutor David Walgren.
[David Walgren, Deputy Los Angeles District Attorney:] Propofol is not utilized in a bedroom. No one had ever heard of propofol being used in a bedroom ever until Conrad Murray did it to Michael Jackson. It's an egregious, extreme deviation from the standard of care. It is gross negligence, and it is a direct cause of Michael Jackson's death.
[Kaye:] Strong words from the prosecutor there. And here's how defense attorney Ed Chernoff followed that up.
[Ed Chernoff, Defense Attorney For Dr. Conrad Murray:] What they're really asking you to do just say it! What they're really asking you to do is to convict Dr. Murray for the actions of Michael Jackson. And I'm going to you know, we've been dancing around this for six weeks, maybe two years. Somebody's got to say it. Somebody's got to tell the truth. Somebody's got to just say it. If it were anybody else but Michael Jackson anybody else would this doctor be here today?
[Kaye:] Joining me now from sister network truTV, "In Session" host Ryan Smith. Ryan, nice to see you again. You watched the closing arguments. What struck you?
[Ryan Smith, Host, Trutv's "in Session":] Oh, so much in this. You know, on the prosecution side, what really struck me was how David Walgren tried to make this human. He focused on the victim, and he talked about the loss of Michael Jackson not just for the world but for his family. Michael Jackson was a dedicated family man. He was a father of three children. And he focused on these three children not having their father around anymore and what that means. He made it real for the jury. Even when he was talking about the evidence, he put them in Michael Jackson's shoes. Would you want this kind of care from your doctor? He was criminally negligent. That's why you have to find him guilty. On the defense side, I think the statement you played was one of the biggest ones, which was the idea of, Would we be here if it wasn't for Michael Jackson? But I think they also harped a lot on the way Michael Jackson died. They very much tried to say that Dr. Murray was a villain here and that the state tried to put together a case, had to find somebody responsible. So I think this jury is going to go back in that jury room and they have a lot to think about. This is not an easy case and it's tough to call at this point which way it might go.
[Kaye:] Do you think the prosecution proved its case? I mean, they certainly spent a lot more time on the floor there in the courtroom, but boy, they had a lot to go through.
[Smith:] Oh, I think they absolutely did, I think in so many ways, because this is a standard of care case. Essentially, what they have to prove is that Dr. Murray did something that was lawful but he did it in a criminally negligent way. That's the propofol set-up. Or they have to agree unanimously that he failed to do something. So for example, abandoning his patient, not calling 911 on time. All of those things happened. And if he failed to do those things and that was criminal negligence, then he could be guilty that way. But they have to be unanimous on either one of these theories. So even though they proved their case, I think that if the jury starts thinking about what caused Michael Jackson's death, and they start thinking, Well, maybe the defense is right, maybe Michael Jackson injected himself with that propofol, you could see a jury that says, yes, maybe that stuff applies, but we can't convict him on that. Sometimes they call that jury nullification. But either way, you could see a jury saying, If I don't see the cause of death clearly, then I can't necessarily convict.
[Kaye:] Well, we'll see if we get a verdict today or if this drags into the weekend. Ryan Smith, thank you very much. Word of a verdict from the jurors could come at any time, of course, so stay tuned to CNN for live updates on the fate of Dr. Conrad Murray. Crisis management that's what Cain seems to be lacking. How his staff couldn't prepare for a storm they probably knew was coming. That is "Fair Game" next. But first, let's talk about a man who almost didn't live long enough to become president. Do you know which president was given last rites three times in his life, including once after spinal surgery before he was elected president? If you know who this president was, send me a tweet @randikayecnn. I'll give you a shout- out if you are the person with the right answer when we come back.

[Phillips:] Sad news topping our look at "Cross Country" this morning. Police in Utah say that Olympic skier Jeret "Speedy" Peterson has taken his own life. You may remember last year in Vancouver, Peterson won the silver medal in the freestyle event. He was just 29. In Memphis, Tennessee, kids will be going to school despite a money car that almost put the school year in limbo. The school board had threatened to delay classes until it got $55 million from the city. But overnight board members decided to let schools start if the city meets a few conditions including a $12 million payment by August 5th. And in Scenic, South Dakota, a saloon, dance hall, train depot and a jail can all be yours for under 800 K. You can probably be the mayor and the sheriff, too. The 12-acre town, about 50 miles east of Rapid City, is for sale on the Buyscenicsd.com. Al Qaeda on the brink of collapse. The headline is pretty catching, and as Americans it's something we love to hear. But how true is it? "The Washington Post" is reporting the CIA and other counterterrorism agencies are convinced that killing Osama bin Laden plus years of drone strikes are soon to make al Qaeda terrorists extinct. This is our Reza Sayah's beat. And Reza, you live in, work in Islamabad. You know we ran this by you this morning. And you said look, this is something that I've been talking about for much longer than today's headline.
[Reza Sayah, Cnn International Correspondent:] Yes, well, Kyra, al Qaeda is, obviously, sensitive issue. It's been enemy number one in America for 10 years and anyone who comes out and says they're no longer a threat would be deemed foolish by some people, especially far right-wing groups in America who think radical Islam is still a threat. But when you look at this "Washington Post" article I think it's accurate and I don't think it's anything new. I've been here for a little less than four years and based on what we've seen here, al Qaeda as we knew it no longer exists and if it still does exist, there is no evidence that it can still carry out a global strategic war against the super power like the U.S. Ever since 911, for the past 10 years, we've been bombarded with messages from Washington that al Qaeda is a global network with tentacles and sleeper cells and scores of countries that are determined to attack the U.S. I don't know about everyone else, but I really haven't seen hard evidence of a widespread army of al Qaeda throughout the country. Even so, we've heard U.S. officials11. But there really hasn't been any evidence to substantiate that. Defense Secretary Robert Gates this year himself came out and said there is less than a hundred al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. I'm not sure how he got that number but a U.S. official is saying al Qaeda's power has diminished.
[Phillips:] So
[Sayah:] But I think the most important evidence the most important evidence, Kyra, is to look back at the past 10 years. Al Qaeda hasn't killed a single American on U.S. soil since 911 and it's such an important reminder for our viewers in America who have been infused with fear about al Qaeda for the past 10 years.
[Phillips:] And you talk about this infused of fear. And and every so often, many a times throughout the year, we hear about chatter. There is chatter out there. There is chatter we should be concerned. What exactly do you think that means? Because we never seem to get a definition on what that so-called "chatter" is.
[Sayah:] Yes, I'm not sure what chatter is. And I think as journalists we've been guilty of not asking the tough questions. We've never asked, what is chatter? We've never asked U.S. counterterrorism officials to show us evidence of chatter. And I think that's because of the impact of 911. This was the greatest American tragedy in recent memory. It had huge impact on America. And I think it's kind of taboo for journalists to ask questions whether al Qaeda is still a fear. And oftentimes11. If you have doubts that al Qaeda is not a threat, all you have to do is look at 911. I don't want to downplay what happened on 911, but we're now 10 years removed and I think it's our responsibility for the sake of our viewers to ask the tough questions about al Qaeda and where they stand right now. And I think the evidence shows, right now, that they are on the verge of collapse and they are weaker than ever.
[Phillips:] Reza, I've always known you to ask the tough questions, that's for sure. Our Reza Sayah there, out of Islamabad this morning. Coming up, a different kind of story from Afghanistan. The country, believe it or not, about to get its own version of the hit TV show "The Office." And get ready, McDonald's, the coffee wars could be heating up as Dunkin Donuts goes public and prepares to expand.

[Richard Quest:] Tonight, we're all the Bs. BlackBerry: it's a new device and it has a new name to boot. Ben Bernanke: the US economy goes backwards. At this hour, the Fed's next move. And Boeing and the batteries: the company beat earnings, the Dreamliners are still on the ground. I'm Richard Quest, another
[B:] I mean business. Good evening. We are minutes away from hearing the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's first meeting of 2013.
[Quest:] Stocks are paring back early losses, and there was a surprise, worrying, some say. Quarterly contraction in US GDP in Q4. Jargon, perhaps. We'll explain what it means later in the program. We'll be looking for clues, not only about what happened in the last quarter of 12, but also QE3. That's the market, so just pulling back ever so slightly. Pretty much even Stevens, as you take it overall. BlackBerry 10 has arrived. It may be a year behind schedule. It still arrived to a heck of a fanfare.
[Unidentified Males And Females:] Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!
[Unidentified Male:] Here you go!
[Quest:] With the global launch in New York, the handsets were unveiled simultaneously in cities around the world. There are two of them. Now, there is the Z10, which is a full touchscreen device, and that's the first to go on sale. And then you have the that's the one on the left of your screen. Then you have the Q10, with the traditional push-button keyboard, the physical keyboard, which comes in a few months' time. With BlackBerry 10 in, Research in Motion is out.
[Thorsten Heins, Ceo, Blackberry:] From this point forward, RIM becomes BlackBerry.
[Heins:] It is one brand. It is one promise. Our customers use BlackBerry. Our employees work for BlackBerry. And our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry.
[Quest:] The popular musician Alicia Keys joined the party. She's been named as BlackBerry's new global creative director. You might remember Polaroid did a similar trick with Lady Gaga. Now, with all this hoopla and hype, shares in BlackBerry are sharply down. They're at $14.71, a loss of 6 percent on the day. The new ticker BBRY soon might be saying TTFN. BlackBerry's global market shares fallen around 20 percent in 09 to 5 percent last year, according to Gartley Gartner. Ali Velshi spoke to the chief executive, who you saw at the unveiling, that's the chief executive, Ali Velshi. Anyway, the chief executive's Thorsten Heins. Before the Research in Motion name was announced, Heins explains what he thinks will bring customers back to BlackBerry.
[Heins:] All these people are hyper-connected, right? They run several social networks, business networks. They want to be quick and fast. I think we will attract them by the flow that we provide. Just go across all your channels and all your applications.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Chief Business Correspondent:] Are there enough of those users in the world, though? Who are you trying to steal from, iPhone users or Android users?
[Heins:] I'm not stealing, I'm winning.
[Velshi:] Who are you trying to win from?
[Heins:] We're not excluding anyone from what the future BlackBerry experience is going to be, so we want to win as many as we can.
[Velshi:] Let's talk about the delay. What was the delay in getting the BlackBerry 10, when you look back at it. I know it was a number of things, but when you look back at it, was it worth it?
[Heins:] We had to do this, because it is a defining milestone in the history of RIM. We had to make sure that we had the quality that everybody expects from a BlackBerry. And there were some quality risks when I looked into the program that we detected, and we needed to make sure that we deliver the quality that people expect from us. Right call, and frankly, we got out of the noise and the holiday season. Would I have loved it to launch it earlier? Sure. But I think now we have a lot of attention, as you can see, and it was the right call.
[Velshi:] Now you've got the basis to build a future. You really have gotten to live another day. What does the future look like?
[Heins:] So, two horizons. What we will do on BlackBerry 10 is we will continue to build a portfolio of product. As for those markets that you referenced to, like Asia-Pac, Africa. We want BlackBerry 10 to also succeed in those markets. So, low debt portfolio in this year. Second, what we did is we built this platform not just with SmartPhones in mind. We think about this on your head is your personal mobile computing power. Now, think about what that does for you in enterprises, in heath care, in automotive. So, we want to go with BB 10 into those verticals. That doesn't mean it's the BB 10 hardware.
[Velshi:] Right.
[Heins:] But it's the BB 10 platform in the cards, the BB 10 platform in a health care element, right? And that's what we're going to explore as the second horizon of RIM. And then we have the devices, we have the services, we have the mobile computing end point management with BES 10. Here you go.
[Quest:] And here you go. That is the BlackBerry Zed 10 Z10. Jim Boulden has given it a go, and he's with us now. Jim?
[Jim Boulden, Cnn International Correspondent:] You know, I like it. I have to say. It is a brand-new BlackBerry. You think of it as like a different, brand-new phone from a different carrier, if you will. Different handset maker. It's got a lot of bells and whistles in this. And the things that I like a lot is Balance, if you know what Balance is. It's the difference you've got the corporate side and you've got the personal side, and I think things like that is what might might might get companies to think again about going back to BlackBerrys if they choose to. And earlier today, I did get a demonstration with the COO, Kristian Tear. Let's have a look at some of the bells and whistles on this.
[Kristian Tear, Coo, Blackberry:] This is the first full-touch BlackBerry that we do, but it also provides a fantastic keyboard. A lot of our users have been sharing BlackBerrys because they have fantastic keyboards. This one also has an absolutely stellar keyboard and the best keyboard experience that you can expect.
[Boulden:] But you've got virtual keyboard, but there will be also one that still has the physical keyboard, right?
[Tear:] There is one coming later on with a physical keyboard as well.
[Boulden:] And when will we see this in stores in Europe?
[Tear:] We will start selling basically in the UK tomorrow, or tomorrow in the UK, and we'll keep on rolling out in different countries throughout the month of February.
[Boulden:] Reliability has become an issue with BlackBerry, and there have been some very well-known failures. Even if it's been a couple days and even if it was a year and a half ago, people haven't forgotten that.
[Tear:] The BlackBerry service is very, very reliable, and we're continuously working on making it even more reliable. And BlackBerry 10 is absolutely supporting that as well, and making it the most secure experience you can have.
[Boulden:] With my current BlackBerry, obviously, if I'm in something, I kind of have to get out of it to go into something else. You've changed all this with this software.
[Tear:] We've changed that. It is a completely new experience, like I said. With one gesture, we'll always get back to the most important site for you, which is the hub. That's where everything comes together, and you don't have to close an application, you don't have to open up another one and then close it and then go deeper down into it. So, with one gesture, you will come back to the hub again, and you can do multitasking and you keep several applications running at the same time.
[Boulden:] So, how can you convince companies in Europe that have migrated away from BlackBerry to come back to BlackBerry?
[Tear:] The Balance feature is definitely one of those. So basically, it provides a good consumer experience, it provides a great enterprise experience. Balance is a feature where basically it allows a consumer and an enterprise to fulfill the needs for both. So, if you're as a consumer, you want to browse the internet, you want to do your things, your IT manager, he would definitely not want you to do certain things. This phone allows you with the feature of Balance to actually have to personas. So, you have one side, which is completely secure behind the firewalls, controlled by the CIO and providing a very, very and the most secure experience.
[Quest:] So, that's what you think or that's what they think. What was your impression?
[Boulden:] Well, I'm sorry that it doesn't have the physical keyboard yet, because that's what so many people want. And of course, I'm addicted to using my thumbs, as they say, so that doesn't come out probably until April. Also, there's some apps missing. There's 70,000 apps at launch. They think 100,000 apps in a few months, but there's no Netflix, no Instagram, a few of the ones that people probably would like to have. And it doesn't connect to the Cloud the way it does in iPhones, so I think that's one of the things that they're going to have to work on as well.
[Quest:] These are the two. I'm showing these are the two of the competitors.
[Boulden:] That's the iPhone, course
[Quest:] Yes.
[Boulden:] the smaller. So, the new one, the new BlackBerry Z10 is bigger. A bit more, to me, like a Samsung. Look, we're talking about third place, here, aren't we? We know, like we said last night, the single-digit market share at the time, can they get corporate customers to come back? Can they get people to be interested in it? They talked a lot more about what the phone can do and they didn't talk a lot about e-mailing, which of course is why a lot of people have them.
[Quest:] Right.
[Boulden:] They wanted to talk more about the whole experience with this new phone.
[Quest:] By the way, while we're talking, I am just tweeting @RichardQuest, why oh why didn't they launch the model with the physical keyboard? Which strikes me as being the extraordinary thing. Why didn't they do that?
[Boulden:] Well, they didn't tell us why, but it is already a year delayed, but it's clear that I would say that they said to us the reason that we're launching tomorrow in London first and then a few countries over the next few weeks, not to the US until for a couple more weeks. They want to make sure they have supplies, they want to make sure they get ready. But people like me are going to probably wait for the physical keyboard.
[Quest:] Yes, you see, I'm a great lover of the physical keyboard, having been a devotee of the original typewriter.
[Boulden:] Right. "Quick brown fox," right?
[Quest:] Sorry?
[Boulden:] "Quick brown fox jumps over the moon?"
[Quest:] "The quick " Yes. "The quick -" Yes. By the way, anybody who doesn't who wants to know why anybody who's maybe under 40 or maybe even to 30 wants to know why the keyboard is QWERTYUIOP, that is the reason why, because under the old keyboard, you risked all the keys getting stuck in the middle. Did you know that, Jim?
[Boulden:] I didn't. But I've used typewriters. I learned how to use a typewriter.
[Quest:] You didn't.
[Boulden:] But there we are. "The quick brown fox jumps over the moon." Five seconds.
[Quest:] No, it wasn't. It was "The quick brown fox jumps over the -" "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
[Boulden:] Well different
[Quest:] Finally on
[Boulden:] different cultures.
[Quest:] One more question on BlackBerry.
[Boulden:] Yes?
[Quest:] In a word, are they betting the ranch on the 10?
[Boulden:] Absolutely. This is it. This has got to work for them.
[Quest:] This has got to work.
[Boulden:] Unlike that.
[Quest:] Don't you mock my "The quick -" When we come back the Fed statement's about to come out. Investors have already had a bit of a shock. Get the smelling salts ready.

[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning. Have a great day. Thanks so much. The Japanese nuclear crisis causing new concerns this morning on both sides of the Pacific. We begin our coverage with the latest from Japan. Two workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant have been rushed to the hospital. A total of three workers at the plant stepped in radioactive water. No word yet on the condition of those workers or why the third worker wasn't hospitalized. Officials say new tests show that Tokyo tap water is again safe for babies. A previous test raised concerns about radioactive material levels. Authorities still plan to distribute bottled water to parents. And more countries are banning or placing a hold on foods imported from the region around that damaged plant. Russia joins the United States, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong in imposing restrictions. Tinny tiny amounts of radiation from Japan have turned up in the western United States. Air monitors in Portland, Oregon, detected trace amounts. Health officials insist the amount is so small, there is no health risk. No need to buy those potassium iodide pills.
[Gail Shibley, Oregon Pacific Health Div:] There continues to be no health concern, no health risk to people in Oregon. I would strongly suggest that people take whatever money they may spend on potassium iodide and send it to a trusted charity to support and provide assistance to the people in Japan.
[Costello:] Air monitoring systems in Colorado also picked up tiny amounts of radiation. Again, health officials say it is harmless. In fact, the EPA says in a typical day Americans get doses of radiation from natural sources like the sun that are about a hundred thousand times higher than what's blown over from Japan. Let's go back to Japan. We want to show you new pictures from inside the Fukushima nuclear plant. They are the first ones we've seen from inside the plant since the earthquake hit two weeks ago. And as you can see, they show the damage. The pictures were taken by officials from the Japanese Nuclear Safety Agency. The pictures are from the control rooms of the number one and number two reactors. And as we told you before, two workers inside that plant were inside that plant were rushed to the hospital this morning. CNN's Martin Savidge is following that part of the story from Tokyo. So, Marty, exactly what happened to these workers?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] Carol, these were workers that are working at reactor number three. Keep in mind there are six reactors out of that nuclear facility. But reactor number three has really been the most problematic and it's the one they're most concerned about primarily because of all six reactors out there it is the only one that has a plutonium mix with its reactor fuel. And as a result of that, it makes it much more dangerous. So the three workers were trying to lay down a new power cable because the idea is, of course, get the power in, get the pumps on, stabilize the circumstance. As they were working, they apparently splashed through a puddle of water that contained a great deal of radioactivity and as a result of that got radiation burns on their legs. As you mentioned, two of them were transported to the hospital. Why the third one wasn't taken to the hospital isn't exactly clear. What we do know is that the exposure to the level of radiation they received would be the equivalent of what they would be allowed to get on the job in an entire year. They apparently got it in just this one single incident. It's not supposed to be life-threatening to have this kind of exposure but they were taken to the hospital as a precaution anyway Carol.
[Costello:] And just another word on the Tokyo tap water. I understand it's safe to drink now. They're saying even pregnant women can drink the tap water now. I'm sure there are many people still loathe to do that, though.
[Savidge:] Right. They are. I mean this is the this is the concern here, of course. You can tell people over and over, look, it's safe to drink. Apparently it wasn't safe to drink yesterday for children under the age of 1 year. But the test today show that the levels had dramatically dropped back down. What's unknown is exactly why you had that sort of 24-hour spike, if it was even that long. The water supplied to the city of Tokyo, which is well over 12 million people comes from three different rivers. So presumably one or all of those rivers have suffered some sort of contamination. But why it would go up and then drop back down isn't clear. One thing certain even if the level has gone down that hasn't stopped the run on bottled water. Just about every store in town had its shelves cleared in a matter of hours because even if they say look, it's OK for adults, many people here are just simply too fearful and they really aren't sure if they can trust what the government is telling them so the water went off the shelves Carol.
[Costello:] Martin Savidge, reporting live from Tokyo. Thanks. For the next hour we'll talk with a radiation expert about the risks in Japan and here in the United States and whether we are painting a fair picture for you. Stay with us for that. It is day six of the coalition strikes on Libya and this morning's explosions echoed across an area east of the capital. Libya's government claims that allied strikes in one Tripoli suburb killed 18 people. State television says civilians are among the dead. Coalition officials say it's unlikely that there were any nonmilitary casualties in the attack and allied officials say that even though the offensive has put rebels in a stronger position, Moammar Gadhafi's forces still have the upper hand in the battle for that country. Yet, President Obama says the United States has an exit strategy that will take effect this week. That has some here scratching their heads. As you know, the president left El Salvador a few years early for a flight home so he could deal with Libya. And when he got to the White House he he tried to get into some French doors and as you see they were locked because he came back early. He did get in of course but it was perhaps an omen of what's to come. The House speaker sent a letter to the president complaining of a fuzzy mission in Libya. And Democrat Nancy Pelosi sent her own letter cautiously supporting the president, cautiously supporting him. So let's go to White House and Ed Henry. Ed, the president has many lawmakers angry over this and voters aren't sure what's up. So what's on the president's agenda today?
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Well, very interesting strategy from this White House, Carol, because the president really is going to stay out of the public eye, at least according to his schedule right now. He's having lunch with Vice President Biden. He's somebody who's a very important foreign policy strategist and adviser for this president. And so we would expect Libya will be a key topic on the menu there obviously. And then in the afternoon the president is going to be meeting with his senior advisers to go over the strategy in Libya a little bit more. But I spoke to a senior aide who said that as of now the president is not planning to come out and address the American people, address the world today, to explain a little bit more and answer some of those questions that both Speaker Boehner as well as some Democrats on the Hill have about exactly what is the endgame in Libya Carol.
[Costello:] So a lot of people say he should come out and address the public on television in primetime. Do you think that he'll be forced to do that by, let's say, those angry lawmakers or those confused voters?
[Henry:] I think it's going to be determined, frankly, by exactly what happens on the Hill over the next few days and, more importantly, perhaps, what happens on the ground in Libya. As you noted, the White House continues to stick to this line that they are going to turn over the key handling of the mission and handling of the no-fly zone to allies in days, not weeks. Well, they started saying that Saturday. So if you start adding it up, days, pretty soon, are going to run out and start becoming weeks. And so if the pressure gets a little bit more intense and they still have not turned this over, you can bet that it's more and more likely the president then would address the nation. I think right now they're going to do a lot of canvassing behind the scenes now that he's back here to take the temperature of lawmakers on the Hill and see if they can sort of assuage some of those concerns they have by answering the questions about exactly what is the endgame. And if they don't come up with those answers there's going to be more pressure to address the nation. There's no doubt about it.
[Costello:] Not only about the endgame, Ed, but about this exit strategy. What exactly does that mean? Does that mean that some of our war planes will leave? Some of our warships will leave? Does it mean that we'll just sit back and do nothing? I mean what does it mean?
[Henry:] Well, I think it's all tied up in an endgame and an exit strategy is we're talking about the same thing. Yes, what does it mean when the U.S. pulls back? NATO allies already saying they don't they don't yet have a plan in place to take over for the U.S. So that's one stumbling block. Secondly, when you talk about an exit strategy what happens with Colonel Gadhafi if he stays in power after all this bombardment, all this pressure, what then does the U.S. do? I mean they've made clear that the U.N. resolution authorizing this in the eyes of the White House does not call for regime change, does not call for directly pushing Gadhafi out. The White House certainly wants him to go. The president has said that over and over. If he doesn't leave, what then, Carol?
[Costello:] So many up unanswered questions. Ed Henry, live at the White House, thanks so much.
[Henry:] Good to see you.
[Costello:] More anti-government protests are taking place throughout the Arab world. And Yemen demonstrators rallied against the president there. Ali Abdullah Saleh has the country's legislature voted in favor of a state of emergency. That vote came despite an appeal from government opponents who say it could lead to a new, quote, "massacre." In Syria, 15 people were killed during protests demanding government reforms. The U.S. State Department says it is deeply troubled by these civilian deaths. Syrian state television says the governor of the province where the protests took place has been fired. The director of a human rights group tells CNN Syrian security forces fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters. The turmoil across much of the Arab world has hit Americans in their back pockets. Here's a look at the fuel prices lately. The national average on gas has held steady overnight. It crept up less than half a penny a gallon, keeping unleaded at $3.55 a gallon. But oil prices keep climbing. The benchmark U.S. contract closed at $105.75 a barrel. Earlier in the day, it passed the $106 threshold and that's the highest level in two and a half years. Right now the U.S. is leading the mission in Libya but President Obama is promising that Washington will hand over the reins within days. We'll find out how tough it will be for the U.S. to take a backseat. General Wesley Clark will join us. And the silence from the control tower at Reagan National Airport. The lone air traffic controller does not respond when pilots ask for help in landing. The FAA is looking into reports he was asleep.

[Johns:] Tough talk from both sides ahead of the coming battle on debt limits and spending.
[Bolduan:] That's for sure. President Obama says when it comes to paying what Congress has already spent, there's no negotiating.
[Obama:] And Republicans in Congress have two choices here. They can act responsibly, and pay America's bills, or they can act irresponsibly and put America through another economic crisis. But they will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy.
[Bolduan:] Let's talk about that and more with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state. She's a member of the Republican leadership in the House. She's chairwoman of the House Republican Conference. Congresswoman, thanks for coming in.
[Rep. Cathy Mcmorris Rodgers , Washington:] Thank you. Good to be with you.
[Bolduan:] Of course. I wanted to get your reaction to what the president said there. His point that he's driving over and over again is that this is not about authorization new spending at all. This is about paying bills that we have already racked up. So how do you counter that?
[Mcmorris Rodgers:] It's the wrong analogy. This is about the credit card being maxed out, and then we're going to the credit card company, and asking to raise that limit even farther. We are talking about future spending. And it is a debate that needs to happen. We need the president to get serious about the out-of-control spending, the record debt that we have accumulated as a country. And we need the federal government to stop spending money that it doesn't have.
[Bolduan:] I understand that it that you are making, and Republicans are making an argument about cutting spending. But when it comes to the debt ceiling, the debt ceiling, by definition, isn't about authorizing new spending. It is about paying the bills that we have already racked up. So are you just trying to say that you want to have this conversation together, at the same time?
[Mcmorris Rodgers:] This is about this is raising the debt ceiling is like raising your credit card limit. And, historically, this has been a debate. You look over the last four presidents in this country, and there's been a debate every time it has come to raising the debt ceiling because there's a recognition, for years now, that the federal government has been spending way more than it should, way beyond its means, much more than it's actually bringing in. And now it is we cannot continue to kick this can down the road. We have come to the end of the road. It is time for us to stop spending money we don't have.
[Johns:] Former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich is not exactly conflict-averse, I think you would agree, and he has warned the House Republicans not to take up this debt ceiling fight. Listen.
[Newt Gingrich , Former Speaker Of The House:] Asking Barack Obama not to be a big-spending, high-taxing liberal is a denial of everything that we have learned about him in his career. It's much better for the House Republicans to say, this is what we're prepared to do. There are dozens of places you can dramatically change spending without having to get involved in a general crisis over the U.S. debt.
[Johns:] Does he have a point? Do you think this is a message from the former speaker that's worth heeding?
[Mcmorris Rodgers:] Well, we definitely want to work with President Obama, and we're at the beginning of the 113th Congress. I would also say that this is our moment, though. The American people know that our economy is struggling right now, partly because of the debt that is impacting American families, hardworking taxpayers all across this country. When President Obama was in the Senate, when he was a U.S. senator, he voted against raising the debt ceiling. And he said it was a lack of leadership that had brought us to this point. And so I would, at the beginning of this Congress, hope that the president would make this a new start, where we could look at this, and that we will actually get a budget in place. The Senate hasn't passed a budget now for four years. The president, unfortunately, yesterday, said that he's going to delay his budget, even though the law says that he's supposed to submit the budget by February 4. That is concerning to me, that we are on autopilot, that the federal government continues to grow, continues to we're continuing to spend more money, and we need the president to join in this effort to get our fiscal house in order.
[Bolduan:] You're quoted in telling Politico that a government shutdown seems surely possible. You said in part that "I think it's possible that we would shut down the government to make sure President Obama understands that we're serious." And the point President Obama is making, and has been making, especially this week, is that House Republicans are holding the American people hostage to prove a political point. I mean, do you see a government shutdown on the horizon? Because it's hard to argue with that point that the president's making, because the American people don't like gridlock, and they surely don't want to see the government shut down.
[Mcmorris Rodgers:] No one wants to see the government shut down. But what we need is for the president to get serious about addressing the out-of-control spending. Under President Obama, we have spent more money he has spent more money than any other president in this history, actually, the combined total from Washington up to George W. Bush. President Obama has racked up more spending, $1 trillion deficits. And it's time that he join us in this effort to get our fiscal house in order. What is a drag on the economy is the spending. That is what is hurting hardworking taxpayer right now. And so we need him to join us in this effort.
[Johns:] At the end of the day, this is going to be a question about public opinion. What makes you think talking about not raising the debt ceiling or shutting down the government, what have you, is a winner in the court of public opinion?
[Mcmorris Rodgers:] Well, again, we don't want to shut down the government, but in the court of public opinion, people also know that the federal government and the out-of-control spending is unsustainable. And large majorities of the American people want us to cut spending, to start making the tough decisions, to balance our budgets, start living within our means. The American people, in their own families, they understand that you have to do that. You have to make the tough decisions. You have to get your budget. You have got to put it in order. And they expect their elected officials and their leaders to do likewise. And that's what needs to happen over the next few weeks, as we approach all of these fiscal debates.
[Johns:] So you think it's possible that there could be a shutdown of the government, but you're saying you don't want to shut down the government?
[Mcmorris Rodgers:] No, we don't want to shut down the government. What we want is for the president to get serious. And, as I mentioned earlier, we don't even have a budget in place. To think that we are running the federal government, this $3.7 trillion enterprise, without a budget, just I think it blows most people's minds. It blows my mind. We need to get a budget in place. We need the Senate to pass a budget. We need the president to at least a propose a budget. That's pretty foundational. And the ways that we leverage and make this happen comes at points like this, where we're raising where we're talking about the raising the debt ceiling, sequestration, and the continuing resolution.
[Bolduan:] Unfortunately, Congresswoman, we're going to have to leave it there. I think everyone would agree it would be great to see a budget pass Congress, but I think, right now, everyone is a little bit more worried about facing the debt ceiling crisis yet again. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, thank you so much. We will definitely be talking with you a lot. Thank you.
[Mcmorris Rodgers:] Thank you.
[Bolduan:] Still ahead, a stolen train goes flying off the tracks and right into a house surprising details of who police say is to blame.

[Lemon:] Checking top stories on CNN, New Hampshire's biggest newspaper is standing by its decision not to publish marriage notices for same-sex couples. The publisher of "The Union Leader" of Manchester says it's not anti-gay, but opposes same-sex marriage. Joe McQuaid wrote, quote, "This newspaper has never published wedding or engagement announcements from homosexual couples. It would be hypocritical of us to do so, given that our belief that marriage is and needs to remain a social and civil structure between men and women." Same-sex marriage advocates say the newspaper is out of step with the times.
[Greg Gould, Same-sex Marriage Supporter:] I was really disappointed because "The Union Leader" is a big voice in the state of New Hampshire and they seem to be so out of touch. To specifically exclude same-sex couples in wedding announcements seems particularly vindictive.
[Lemon:] Another top story tonight, videos of the so-called Osama Bin Laden of the Internet could soon be a thing of the past on YouTube. New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is asking the Web site to remove videos featuring Anwar al-Awlaki removed. He's accused of using the site to find new recruits and promote Islamic extremism and violent jihad against Americans. YouTube hasn't responded yet to that request. An attempted theft ends in death. Police in South Gate, California say a man was electrocuted while trying to steal copper wire from an electrical transformer that exploded. Officers say his accomplice was severely burned when she grabbed her husband trying to save him. Two children believed to belong to the couple were found in a truck near the scene. They were unharmed and taken into protective custody. A huge donation by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to the public schools in Newark, New Jersey drew a lot of attention last month. Now it is creating some controversy. CNN education contributor Steve Perry went to Newark to investigate.
[Steve Perry, Cnn Education Contributor:] The announcement made big news on Oprah.
[Mark Zuckerberg, Ceo, Facebook:] A $100 million challenge grant.
[Perry:] Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg donated $100 million to Newark, New Jersey schools. On stage to accept: a Republican governor and Democratic mayor. But to critics, the gift raises many questions. [on camera]: Do you feel like it could help the school district?
[Bob Braun, "newark Star Ledger" Columnist:] We have no details on that on the gift except that it was $100 million in stock that's going to be given over five years. The $100 million gift helped Chris Christie change the subject from his loss of $400 million in federal race to the top funds which might have would have come to New Jersey. Corey Booker has not come up with an education plan, but shortly before the big rollout on Oprah, lost a very serious political battle.
[Perry:] A battle over budget cuts. Newark public schools are failing. Currently, the state controls the school district. Under the new plan, the governor authorizes Mayor Booker to develop a comprehensive education plan. Democrat state senator Ronald Rice says that's wrong.
[Ronald Rice, New Jersey State Senator:] It's the endowment conditions. One condition is that Mayor Booker must be the person to more or less be in charge here.
[Perry:] We asked Mayor Booker and Governor Christie for answers but they declined. In a statement, Booker said he would take a formal role in running Newark schools. He said he wants to lead full committee engagement in shaping Newark's educational future. Supporters say the Booker-Christie-Zuckerberg deal will help failing schools and for local leaders against the deal, what are you going to do to improve teaching and learning in Newark's public schools?
[Rice:] We're starting to look at how to do legislation to encourage or for parents we can legally mandate, get parents more involved in these school system.
[Perry:] Steve Perry, Newark New Jersey.
[Lemon:] It is a political ad that the candidate herself says she regrets doing. Up next, we'll hear from the man behind the infamous Christine O'Donnell "I'm not a witch" ad. Why he made it and what's he hoping to achieve. Plus, we're just nine days from the midterm elections and the former head of the Democratic committee is calling his party a bunch of wusses. We'll talk about that comment and whether these negative campaign ads we're being bombarded with right now actually do work.

[Baldwin:] Afghans, they are demanding the right to bring an accused murder to justice in their own country. But the U.S. soldier who allegedly massacred these 16 Afghan civilians, including women and children, this person is now out of Afghanistan in the facility that the Pentagon says is much better equipped to hold him. A military source tells CNN the staff sergeant is now in Kuwait.
[Unidentified Male:] The U.S. soldier must be tried in Kandahar City. Why was he taken away from Afghanistan when he murdered innocent people in this country? He is transferred to another place to be freed. Why did he murder 16 people here? For what reason did he massacre them? We want to see him punished here in Afghanistan.
[Baldwin:] The fallout from the deaths of nine children, three women, and four men continues. Afghan President Hamid Karzai told Defense Secretary Leon Panetta today that U.S. troops should leave all villages and return to their bases. We're going to talk about this in terms of this move here to Kuwait with our senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin. But I do want to go first to the Pentagon to Chris Lawrence. And, Chris, how has the Pentagon explained this move, moving the soldier from Afghanistan to Kuwait?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, in terms of just moving the soldier to Kuwait, they say it was based on, one, the legal advice of some of the advisers to General Allen. And, two, the fact that they felt they just did not have the facilities to hold a U.S. service member for any length of time. There was already a probable cause hearing, so to speak. It wasn't a full-blown hearing. It was more like an assessment, where they found that they had reason to detain him longer. But very likely, Brooke, I mean his legal proceedings will probably last beyond his tour of duty. So at some point you knew he was going to leave Afghanistan, if not be brought back here to the United States.
[Baldwin:] And also, Chris, why is it that this particular soldier hasn't been identified yet? Why don't we know his name?
[Lawrence:] Well there's been we've been asking that same question for days now. That, you know, even for minor crimes, if you're stopped in the street and arrested, you get a booking photo. That information is put out publicly almost immediately. Why would such a heinous crime like this, why is the soldier being protected? The Pentagon has pushed back and said he's not being protected. That according to military rules, they do not release his name until charges have actually been brought against him. And that hasn't happened yet.
[Baldwin:] Any idea when that might happen?
[Lawrence:] We don't know. We know that the probable cause to detain him has a finite amount of time. It may be seven days or so. But at some point they would if they haven't charged him by then, they'd have to have another assessment to say, OK, we're legally justified to continue holding him. But yet everybody here at the Pentagon is the reporters at least are finding this very unusual that he's been moved, no charges, no name, very little information about where he's going or even under what authority is sort of handling his case right now.
[Baldwin:] Chris, do me a favor and stand by. Jeff Toobin, I want to bring you in. If you can, just react to Chris's point sort of over, I don't know, the nebulous nature of, you know, the impending charges, the fact that we haven't you know, we don't yet know a name. and also the fact that he is now in Kuwait. What does that tell you? Will he be tried in the U.S.?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] A military diplomatic and legal disaster for the United States. And they are the authorities are trying to improvise some way of mitigating the damage. As for the lack of disclosure of his name, I think it clearly is not normal standard procedure as the Pentagon is implying. But they are worried that there might be some sort of retribution against his family in the United States. Obviously, when he is identified, all of us in the news media will start looking into his background, we'll be talking to his family, we'll be talking about his hometown, where he lives, who his relatives are and those people will be at risk. Now, I don't think the military can delay forever disclosing his name, but this is just one symptom of what a disaster this attack has been for all parts of the United States government.
[Baldwin:] OK, Jeff Toobin, I've got to end that conversation. I appreciate you and I appreciate you, Chris Lawrence, but I've got to go to back to this Dunwoody daycare trial. And let's just let's listen in. Again, we are awaiting this verdict. Let's listen to the judge.
[Unidentified Male:] Read it in its entirety, please. You may proceed.
[Unidentified Female:] In the superior court of Dekalb County, state of Georgia, state of Georgia versus Hemy Neuman, defendant, indictment number 11CR1364-5, verdict form, jury verdict, count one, we, the jury, find the defendant as to count one guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of mentally ill. Count two, we, the jury, find the defendant as to count two, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
[Unidentified Male:] All right. Would you please pass that to Deputy Moore, please? He will show it to the state's lawyer as to form.
[Baldwin:] OK, so you just heard, and it almost sounded like a fairly emotional individual who was reading those two counts. But again, this is the state of Georgia versus Hemy Neuman, who is accused of killing Rusty Schneiderman outside of this daycare in the Atlanta area. Count one, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt but mentally ill. And count two, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, as well. We're going to talk a little bit more about what this means, what happens next. Got to get a quick break in. Be right back.

[Nina Dos Santos, Cnn International:] Howling at the "Sun." A union leader tells me that Rupert Murdoch has thrown his staff to the wolves. Lone Wulff. Germany's president resigns, leaving Merkel in the lurch. And sheep's clothing? Not a chance. We're on the hunt for real growth potential at the London Fashion Week. Hi, there. I'm Nina Dos Santos in for Richard Quest, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Good evening. Rupert Murdoch has told his staff at the "Sun," the boss is on your side. "Sun" journalists had feared a witch hunt against the paper or even plans to close it altogether after several members of staff were arrested. And now, Murdoch says that News Corp will do everything it can to try and help those being questioned over suspected illegal payments. That includes lifting their company suspensions and paying their legal fees, as well. And for those who feared that the "Sun" would go the same was as the "News of the World," well, Rupert Murdoch says that he'll actually be expanding his empire, launching a new "Sun on Sunday," quote, as you can see here, "very, very soon" to replace the tabloid that he cut during last year's phone-hacking scandal. Our senior international correspondent Dan Rivers is actually outside the News International headquarters in Wapping, East London right now. Dan, how palatable has the anger been throughout the course of the day?
[Dan Rivers, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, to be honest, I think there's probably a sense of relief, because the more dire speculation before he turned up was that there was a possibility he may just go, "Look, I'm going to get rid of all my UK newspaper holdings altogether," or possibly close the "Sun." He's not done that. In fact, he's done the exact reverse, which is expand the "Sun" into the Sunday market to replace the "News of the World." So, there will be relief that those jobs will effectively come back into the News International stable. Also, he announced that those journalists that had been arrested who had been suspended by the company pending the police investigation, that suspension is now lifted. He said they're innocent until proven guilty and they can come back to their jobs. And that will go a long way, I am sure, to help those members of staff who feel that they've been sort of hung out to dry by management and that they're not getting the backing they want. What hasn't been addressed, I suppose, in some sense, is the idea or the feeling that they have had their journalistic sources compromised, that sensitive contacts have been handed over to the police by the management at News International. But basically, Rupert Murdoch sets out very clearly in a letter and to staff that we've got to cooperate with the police, we've got to follow this through properly, and that's exactly what we're doing, and we cannot tolerate any kind of illegality at the paper. So, certainly we've been seeing a few of the "Sun" journalists in the pub around the corner, here. They look like they were a bit more relaxed, and we'll have to see how it plays out over the coming week, whether there are any more of these angry columns in the paper criticizing management of News International. But so far, I think everyone is now very firmly focused on a new Sunday edition of the "Sun," which they say will come out soon.
[Dos Santos:] Ah, now Dan, that brings me to our next question, because skeptics would say that he was planning on launching the "Sun on Sunday" anyway.
[Rivers:] Well, they had. I remember being here when the "News of the World" got shut down amid the phone-hacking scandal, and they were already speculating then that they had registered the domain name of the "Sun on Sunday," that they were already planning it. This was all part of a wider strategy that had been put in place by Rupert Murdoch. The key thing with all this, I think, Nina, is that the advertisers have not deserted the "Sun" in the same way that they had deserted the "News of the World." And ultimately what precipitated the decision to shut down the "News of the World" was that the advertisers were walking out in droves and that that brand had become totally toxic for advertisers and it wasn't a commercial proposition anymore. The same has not happened with the "Sun" so far, and they feel that the "Sun" has weathered this storm so far, despite nine journalists being arrested. Therefore, they feel, perhaps, that they can move into that Sunday market without advertisers leaving them in droves.
[Dos Santos:] Dan, even if the advertisers aren't leaving the "Sun" in droves, the sources may well be. It may be just a question of them having compromised their sources too much that they're not going to bring them stories anymore.
[Rivers:] Well, it certainly you certainly, if you were a potential source with a good story to tell, you're going to certainly think twice, aren't you, about talking to a journalist from News International, given what's going on at the moment? Given that the police are coming through three million e-mails looking for evidence of the "Sun" and other papers having paid public officials. The police are putting it like this. They're saying, off the record, this is not a question of buying police officers a lunch or buying them a few drinks. It's a question of systemic bribery involving tens of thousands of dollars, almost like the police and public officials were on retainers with the newspaper. And I think that's the kind of thing that they're trying to target. Of course they're not trying to discourage from going out and doing their job, talking to people and getting genuine stories. But from the police's point of view, what they're trying to do is to stop police officers supplementing their income in a major way from a newspaper and therefore, of course, compromising their position as public servants.
[Dos Santos:] All right, Dan Rivers, our man on then scene outside News International headquarters in East London. Many thanks for that. Now, the head of Britain's biggest journalist union says that Murdoch's announcement will do nothing to calm the staff at News International. Michelle Stanistreet has been speaking to me, and she's been saying that they've been thrown to the wolves by Murdoch to protect his favorites inside News Corp. I asked her earlier today if the situation was now beyond repair.
[Michelle Stanistreet, General Secretary, National Union Of Journalists:] It's hard to see where the company goes from here. I think if Rupert Murdoch had announced today that actually acknowledged that actually they'd made a mistake, that they're handling this situation wrongly, that they've let people down, that he was going to call off the management and standards committee and prevent them from carrying out their business in the manner in which they've been doing so, I think there could've been an opportunity to defuse the anger and the sense of betrayal felt at Wapping. He's deliberately chosen not to do that today. So whilst he's saying he shares their great pain, he's not doing anything about making them feel better, and I think that sends a very strong message in itself.
[Dos Santos:] From a business and employment perspective, though, how comforted are you by the fact that they're going to be opening up the "Sun on Sunday"? Presumably, that'll keep more people in jobs.
[Stanistreet:] Well, the announcement today is obviously, again, very deliberately times and is intended, no doubt, to act as a bit of a sop to journalists on the titles to ensure them that there is a future there for the titles and that there's forthcoming investment into a new edition. But of course, this is no surprise that the "Sun on Sunday" was going to launch. They were planning this in the run-up to the closure of the "News of the World" and even in the immediate days following the closure of that newspaper title. Yet, all of those workers, all of those journalists and members of staff who worked on the "News of the World" were cynically betrayed and offered up, again, another act of corporate and self-preservation. At that time and they lost their jobs and their livelihoods. It will be precious little comfort to them that there's now going to be a new edition of the "Sun" at Wapping.
[Dos Santos:] What's particularly interesting about the way how Rupert Murdoch and his family run his business is that number of the top executives there often treated like family. Is what we're seeing, to a certain extent, a breakdown of that Murdoch family-like management style? And also, where does it take us from here?
[Stanistreet:] Well, I think what we've seen over the last year or so, and certainly since the hacking scandal exploded, is Rupert's put his own immediate family, his son, and those executives who are like children to him foremost in everything that he's done since, and the future, the very future of that family's role with in News Corp and the future of the business. He's made it perfectly clear where is loyalty and his feelings lie, and every action and every step that's been taken in the months since then, he's thrown out thrown the journalists to the wolves. He sought to defend those at the top whatever the means and to try and assuage, whether it's the American investors or whether it's public opinion, with a few scalps of individual journalists. He's tried consistently to pin the blame on those lower down the tree within News International and to try and defend and sustain the reputation and the future of those right at the top. It's been a consistent corporate strategy, and we're seeing it again this week.
[Dos Santos:] Well, from arriving under a cloud of scandal to leaving under a cloud of scandal. We'll be taking a look at why the German president, Christian Wulff, says he can't go on. Stay with us.

[Blitzer:] They started preparing for this Democratic convention here in Charlotte, North Carolina, back in April of 2011. Now, three days next week, this arena, the Time Warner Cable Arena, will be filled with lots and lots of Democrats as the president of the United States and the vice president of the United States accept their party's nomination for president and vice president. We'll be here, we're already here. In fact, these are the first shots you're seeing from inside this arena. Much more on the political story coming up. There's other news we're following as well including flash flood warnings. They are still in effect in three states because of the remnants of hurricane Isaac. This storm devastated small towns in Louisiana. And CNN's Brian Todd spent the day in the town where two people died trapped in their home by rising floodwaters Brian.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, you can see behind me just how devastated this town is. This was once a street. That was a street. And you can see what happened to this building right here. It was in this town where the first reported fatalities from Isaac occurred. We got access to that house only with an airboat. And we realized as soon as we got there the odds were stacked heavily against those who stayed. [voice-over]: It's still almost unapproachable and dangerous. We have to navigate around seeping natural gas and downed power lines just to get near it. This house is where the first two reported fatalities from Isaac occurred. A couple trapped inside. Urban Treuil, the fire chief here, knew them and had to pull their bodies out. [on camera]: Do you think this couple ever had a chance to get out once the water started flowing in here?
[Chief Urban Treuil, Braithwaite, Louisiana Fire Dept:] The water came up so fast, we had a lot of emergency personnel that had a rough time getting out. So an elderly couple needing assistance would have been very, very tough to do.
[Todd:] There may have been one opening, maybe. [on camera]: The couple was found floating in the kitchen of this house. The kitchen is around the other side of the house. We can't access that right now. What we're told is that the water levels at the time rescuers got here were about eight feet higher than they were now up to the attic vent right there. If the couple could have gotten to that, possibly they could have gotten out. [voice-over]: Treuil declined to identify the couple by name. He says emergency officials got word to as many people as possible when the levee near here was overtopped. One of the neighbors tried to get the couple to leave, and they wouldn't. Now, the only creatures that can inhabit this town are either amphibious or have to ride what's floating. As we move around by airboat, we see homes that are flooded, buckled. Chief Treuil says one house floated about a mile from its foundation. Bobby Landry and seven others in his family stayed through the storm too. He lost one house to hurricane Katrina and then moved here and remodeled this one. Now this he and his family had to climb out windows as the water rose toward the second floor.
[Bobby Landry, Braithwaite, Louisiana Resident:] I feel empty. It hurts.
[Todd:] Bobby, do you want to come back and live here?
[Landry:] This is great living right here. On this side of the river right here, the people in this community are all tight, close. Unfortunately, there's not enough of us to be worried about.
[Todd:] An exhausted fire chief is worried about more potential losses.
[Treuil:] It's not something I want to see and I hope that's the last ones we do see. We're still checking a few other residents along that area here. And we're hoping that everybody made it out.
[Todd:] When I asked the Chief Treuil if this town will ever recover from this, he said he thinks so. But he also said since the storm happened, they have talked to several resident who have packed up and never coming back. The chief is also reeling from this. He lost his home and this store and gas station, which was his business Wolf.
[Blitzer:] What a story. What a sad, sad story indeed. Brian Todd on the scene for us -thank you. More on the story coming up later as well. Other news we're following including the stock markets, they're reacting to the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's latest hint that he's ready to take some controversial action to stimulate the U.S. economy.

[Baldwin:] On the case today, the fight over which justices, which U.S. Supreme Court justices should or should not be on the bench for the upcoming Supreme Court battle over health care reform. Two justices in particular are being targeted here. Some on the right say Justice Elena Kagan should sit this one out. Keep in mind she was the Obama administration's top Supreme Court lawyer before joining the nation's highest court. And then some on the left want Justice Clarence Thomas to bow out because his wife has been very active in conservative causes and that could create a conflict of interest. Let's bring in Sunny Hostin. Sunny, what do you think? Should these two justices remove themselves from the health care case?
[Sunny Hostin, Cnn Legal Contributor:] Well, you know, if you look at the history, I don't think that's appropriate or necessary in this case. I mean, when you think about Justice Thomas, they're asking that he recuse himself because his wife Virginia is opposed to the health care law. Judges are allowed to have their own personal opinions and their families and friends are allowed to have their own personal opinions. I don't think that would affect Justice Thomas in any way. I think Elena Kagan's position is a little more tenuous. It's a little it's a closer call in the sense that she was the solicitor general for Obama had when this law was passed. And my understanding is she sent an e-mail to Harvard professor Larry Tribe expressing sort of her excitement over the law, saying, wow, we've got the votes. So when you look at that, that's probably a closer call, but the bottom line is, it's up to Justice Kagan to recuse herself. She has given no indication she is going to recuse herself, and I think we would know already if she weren't going to listen to the five-and-a- half of argument, Brooke. So is she going to recuse herself? I think the answer is no.
[Baldwin:] So does anyone even have power, Sunny Hostin, to remove one of these justices from a case?
[Hostin:] I did a little research on this, and, surprisingly, no. It's really p up to the justices to recuse themselves. I think most justices generally do recuse themselves when there is sort of a conflict of interest or certainly this appearance of impropriety. But, in this case, people's opinions are sort of all over the place, not when it comes to Justice Thomas but sort of when it comes to Justice Lagan. But I don't know it's necessary for her to recuse herself in this case, and I don't believe she's going to, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] OK, we have to talk about this eight-year-old boy who lives in Cleveland, Ohio. He has been taken away from his mother, placed in foster care, because he weighs over 200 pounds. Child welfare workers say the mother wasn't doing enough to maintain or control his weight. Have you ever seen or heard of a case like this, Sunny Hostin?
[Hostin:] I have not. It's remarkable, right? Oftentimes children are removed from homes when they aren't being taken care of, when they aren't being bathed, when they aren't being fed. You see these cases when had children are malnourished and abused. You don't typically see cases where this type of thing happens, when a child is fed too much. But I think it's appropriate, because the standard here is what is in the best interest of the child. And we're talking about a kid that's morbidly obese, Brooke. I mean, 200 pounds at age eight is so far off the scale. And look at the average height and weight for an eight- year-old, a boy four foot, two, 57 pounds, a girl four foot, two, 56 pounds. This child is about four times the average weight for an eight-year-old boy. So there's no question this is not healthy for him.
[Baldwin:] Yes, I was reading about this in the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" this morning. They kept talking about medical neglect here. But he's removed from his mother. Are there any other alternatives than simply foster care for a child in this kind of situation?
[Hostin:] That's the thing. I mean, again, the standard is what is in the best interest of the child. Is it ever in the best interest of a child to be taken away from his mother, the only family he's known. I don't think so. A more appropriate method perhaps would be to find a program for the child and for his mother so that they could learn how to make these healthy choices. Just because you take a child away from his mother and place him in foster care, what if that foster parent isn't equipped to take care of a child that's now morbidly obese, to take care of a child and show the child these healthy choices? So we know the first lady has given us so much information about obesity in this country, especially as it relates to children. But most people just don't know enough about it, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] We'll follow this and see what happens with this eight-year- old boy, if he does get to come back home. Sunny Hostin, thank you. Looking for work far from home, they went missing for days. But one man followed his gut.
[Unidentified Male:] Wait a minute. He owns a 688-acre farm and he doesn't know the exact exit it's at? Something's wrong there.
[Baldwin:] Coming up, we'll talk to that man who did not get the job and lived to tell about it.

[Malveaux:] We are getting new information about warnings that were sent to U.S. Embassies in Egypt and Lebanon. This happened before the attacks. Suzanne Kelly, she is joining us live from Washington with more. What do intelligence officials what did they know before this actually happened?
[Suzanne Kelly, Cnn Intelligence Correspondent:] Well, they're really pushing back on the notion that they had any warning whatsoever that an attack was being planned and, in fact, putting out word now to sort of clarify exactly what they knew and when they knew it. A U.S. official telling me just within the past 30 minutes or so that a cable was sent to the embassy in Cairo, Egypt, 48 hours before the attack in Benghazi, but the cable warned about the existence of the movie and the fact that intelligence officials had noticed that there was an up tick in the people who are clicking on the links on this movie on the internet. So it's really sort of a let everybody know what's out there, let them take their measures that they feel like they need to take. It did not warn of any specific attack in Benghazi. As you know, all of these details, Suzanne, have been so sorted and so different, and there's so much nuance in this story that these distinctions, that they feel are really important in making sure that the intelligence information, what they knew and when they knew it is out there.
[Malveaux:] Do we know why it was sent to the embassies in Libya and Egypt and not, say, Afghanistan or some of the other embassies that is are now under siege?
[Kelly:] I don't even have information that it was sent to the embassy in Libya. It was sent to the embassy in Cairo, which sort of acts like, you know, one of these places in the region where they take the information and they send it out where they feel like it needs to go. So we know that there was a warning that the movie was out there. They knew people had been watching it. There was a seven minute clip or so of the movie that aired on Egyptian TV over the weekend, which obviously highlighted the fact that Egypt might be a place where more people knew about his existence, may protest speculation there. But there was no clear warning in that cable 48 hours before that there was any link to an imminent attack. Or planned attack.
[Malveaux:] Sure. It might be too early to know, too early to tell, but do we know what the intelligence community had any inkling that it was going to spread through social media from being aired on Egyptian television and then spread through social media to other countries so that other communities would actually see this clip?
[Kelly:] I think it's fair to say that they had a very good inkling, which is why they had sent out a cable sort of telling people, hey, you need to be aware that this is out there. They do track this stuff very carefully in social media, especially after last year, the Arab Spring, seeing what happened there. They do kind of keep their finger on the pulse of these things, and when you start to see an increase in traffic and you're looking at where that traffic is coming from, where those people who are clicking on those links are coming from, it kind of gives you an idea of where there might be trouble. But again, you know, it's a guessing game. Intelligence is obviously imperfect.
[Malveaux:] All right. Suzanne Kelly, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. The protests in the Arab world all started with the video that was posted on YouTube, a website owned by Google. Well, in response YouTube said, "What's OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere. This video, which is widely available on the web, is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube." The video has been blocked in both Libya and Egypt. We want to bring in our social media. Of course, it's had a big role in the protests overseas. I want to bring in our expert here. This is Alexis Ohanian and he co-founded the website Reddit back in 2005. He is now working on a book titled "Without Your Permission." Alexis, thank you so much. I mean we've seen how social media can make a huge difference. We saw it in the Arab Spring last year in a very positive way. Now we see social media being used to spread misinformation and even rumor. What's your assessment of what we of what's taken place over the last 48 hours?
[Alexis Ohanian, Reddit Cofounder:] Well, you know, the reality is, we have to be good stewards of this technology. Any communication technology can be used either to spread ideas or real information, as well as misinformation and bad ideas. And so this just happens to be a very powerful medium for spreading things faster and further than ever before. And, you know, given that so many so many here don't have the same level of access that we do in the states where we all carry around our smartphones, a significant portion of the population does at least, you have to still look to things that are very low tech. You know, what an imam says can have a tremendous impact. And good old-fashioned word of mouth spreads ideas very quickly still throughout the entire world. So while the Internet can be a jumping off point, we still see so much the organization happening from and by just people using a lot of low tech means.
[Malveaux:] And, Alexis, what do you think about this? I mean this notion from some folks who say, you know what, we're going to cut off access to YouTube, we're going to cut off access to Twitter because we're afraid that there's a rumor, that there's misinformation that's going to lead to violence.
[Ohanian:] Well, unfortunately, there's no good way. There's no really effective way to monitor this stuff. There's by its own nature, the Internet can't really be effectively censored. And so one of the things that we really need to do is make sure that we have these opportunities for people to be exposed to this to both sides of an issue and to make sure that the best ideas win. Because, unfortunately, you know, sort of as Secretary of State Clinton pointed out, this is reprehensible conduct that got this all started. But the notion of being offended is something that doesn't have to lead to violence. And there are so many Muslims around the world who were offended by this video, but did not resort to violence. And that's the really inexcusable part.
[Malveaux:] And, Alexis, we actually noticed that because there was an outpouring of support for the United States condemning these attacks that were also on social media. And there's also a lot of grief online over the loss of Sean Smith, who was in the consulate in Libya. He was an avid gamer and his friends realized that he was in trouble because he was actually online. He was playing a game at the time this attack happened. Can you tell us a little bit more about it?
[Ohanian:] Yes. He was also actually an avid Redditer, a user of Reddit. And this outpouring of support is something not new really to a lot of us who are active in online communities because the relationships people have online are oftentimes just as strong, in some cases even stronger than some of their offline relationships. But looking at the expressions of support coming from the people of Libya apologizing to the Americans for, you know, our Americans killed, is a sign of what this medium can also do. And the way that we can use it to spread these positive ideas is the kind of thing that we obviously want to see a lot more of. And like I said, you know, whether it was the Arab Spring, something so many of us sort of cheered on, or these sentiments here, we want to try to encourage these things, but know at the end of the day that this is just a technology and it's up to how people use it that really makes the difference.
[Malveaux:] All right, Alexis, good to talk to you. Thank you very much. Really appreciate it. Protests have now spread to Jerusalem. We're going to get a live report next.

[Costello:] Trained to kill a militant group known for its ambush-style tactics take us inside a terror training camp on this
[American Morning. Romans:] And welcome back, everyone. Good morning. It's 28 minutes after the hour. Time for the morning's top stories. Police near Syracuse University say they're looking into claims that the school's assistant associate, rather, men's basketball coach Bernie Fine sexually assaulted at least one boy in the beginning of the 1980s. Fine is now on administrative leave. The university's head basketball coach says Fine has his full support.
[Costello:] Two hundred forty-five people arrested as Occupy Wall Street protesters flooded the streets, packed the Brooklyn Bridge and tried to shut down the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. It was the two-month anniversary of the movement.
[Romans:] President Obama in Bali and meeting with Indonesia's president this morning. The president also making big news during his visit announcing a diplomatic mission to Myanmar. It will be the first visit by the U.S. by a U.S. Secretary of State in more than 50 years.
[Costello:] Disturbing new video of what appears to be the Taliban training, getting ready for one of their most brazen attacks to date. Suicide bombers and gunmen took over Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel in June. Eleven people were killed. And now a Taliban affiliated Web site posted new video showing drills, tactics and planning. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live in Kabul. He has the pictures. Good morning.
[Nick Paton Walsh, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, these are remarkable images showing us really what the insurgency wants us to see a high level of sophistication and preparedness. Now, by much information on the Internet from the insurgency, we can't vouch entirely for its authenticity, but it does seem to show a new level of tactics and preparedness.
[Walsh:] One of the most brazen attacks to hit Kabul. In June, a government conference at the Intercontinental Hotel was attacked by a suicide squad who killed 11 others. It took Special Forces, helicopters and a drone to suppress it six hours later. President Karzai has this week gathered tribal elders near that hotel for a vital meeting about America's presence here. But now, CNN gained a unique inside into how that raid was planned. The Taliban have posted online a lengthy propaganda video they say about the seven men behind that attack. This is a display, what they want us to see of their skills and planning. CNN can't prove it's genuine, only that it shows how sophisticated their message and media are after a decade of war. An ambush somewhere else seems to let insurgents steal military uniforms. One hotel attacker speaks of his wish to die. "My message is life is too short," he says. He will die of cancer or a car accident. If you want God's blessing, be a suicide attacker. The preparations are elaborate. Here, they site, we think only the faces of the dead are visible in front of a model of a hotel discussing tactics. Those viewing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, There is one more important thing about these images. They could be the first we've seen of the Haqqani Network. That's a part of the insurgency here getting increasing attention, accused of having Pakistani backing and sanctuaries across the border, to operate in Afghanistan and behind many of the sophisticated attacks in capital recently here. They're rarely being videoed at all. But they were said to be behind that attack on the hotel. And while these images don't say online that they are of the Haqqanis, they could be the first glimpse you have to date yet of how they appropriate Carol.
[Costello:] Nick Paton Walsh, reporting live for us this morning thanks, Nick. L.A. homicide investigators are taking another look at the mysterious death of Hollywood legend Natalie Wood. It was ruled on November 29th, 1981 that Wood drowned while boating with her husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken. The sheriff's department says it has been contacted with witnesses with new information. A news conference is scheduled for later this morning.
[Romans:] All right. A hostile hearing on Capitol Hill. Energy Secretary Steven Chu putting on a tough front during five hours of grueling testimony yesterday. He did not apologize for the failure of solar company Solyndra and a loss of more than half a billion dollars in taxpayers' money. Jessica Yellin reports.
[Jessica Yellin, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] The topic was green energy, but the tone was fiery. The committee's top Republican
[Rep. Cliff Stearns , Florida:] It is readily apparent that the senior officials in the administration put politics before the stewardship of taxpayers' dollars.
[Yellin:] And top Democrat.
[Rep. Diana Degette , Colorado:] The majority to date as evidenced by my colleague's opening statement has focused on firing partisan broadsides at the Obama administration.
[Yellin:] With a soft-spoken Energy Secretary Steven Chu in the hot seat.
[Steven Chu, Energy Secretary:] The final decisions on Solyndra were mine and I made them with a best interest of the taxpayer in mind. I did not make any decision based on political considerations.
[Yellin:] For Republicans, that was far from satisfying.
[Rep. Fred Upton , Michigan:] Who is to apologize for the half a billion dollars that's been out the door?
[Chu:] Well, it is
[Upton:] DOE?
[Chu:] It is extremely unfortunate of what has happened to Solyndra. But if you go back and look at the time the decision's being made, was there incompetence? Was there undue was there any influence of a political nature? And I would have to say no.
[Upton:] So, no apology?
[Chu:] Well, it is extremely unfortunate what has happened to Solyndra.
[Yellin:] Their charge: the Energy Department did not properly vet Solyndra, a company President Obama later touted as a true engine of economic growth. And once it started to fail, put up more taxpayer dollars, but let private investors get preferential treatment if the company went bankrupt.
[Rep. Michael Burgess , Texas:] Do you feel that you owe people an apology for having subordinated the taxpayer dollar to what now turns out to be a very risky venture?
[Yellin:] Democrats say the people driving the investigation have political motives of their own.
[Rep. Henry Waxman , California:] House Republicans and their coal, and oil industry allies are manufacturing a scandal, trying to discredit you, President Obama, and the clean energy companies. That's a great deal if you are an oil company or a coal executive, but it's unfair to you and a disservice to the American people.
[Yellin:] He was also grilled on the latest charge, that Solyndra officials were asked to withhold news of layoffs until after last year's midterm elections. The energy secretary said he had no knowledge of this until e-mails came to light this week. Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.
[Costello:] The president of Connecticut's largest utility company is stepping down. Jeff Butler was the head of Connecticut Light and Power. He's been under fire since the freak blizzard that slammed into the Northeast last month. The storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of residents in Connecticut. It took nearly a week, in some cases, weeks before power was restored.
[Romans:] All right. Rob Marciano is off today. He's rocking a baby, I think. Brand new baby for the Marcianos.
[Costello:] Do we have the pictures?
[Romans:] I know. We have some great pictures. We're going to bring those up.
[Reynolds Wolf, Ams Meteorologist:] You know, originally, I told everyone, we're going to do some different video first. Let's go to the best picture of all. Let's show you the you see Rob at the top. You see Erin in the bottom there. And, of course, right in the middle, you got Madeleine Grace Marciano. She was born 7.13 pounds, what she weighs. Just an absolute beautiful baby. Rob, I know, is tired, as is Erin. As an experienced father I can tell him, Rob, you think you're tired now, just wait.
[Romans:] I know. He said he said Erin is recovering. Dad is a wreck.
[Wolf:] Absolutely. Understandable. Absolutely.
[Costello:] Erin looks great in that picture.
[Romans:] I know.
[Costello:] She looks beautiful.
[Wolf:] She looks fantastic.
[Romans:] I think after 20 hours of labor, actually, she really she did a great job.
[Costello:] She looks fantastic, though.
[Wolf:] Looks amazing.
[Costello:] She's like superwoman.
[Romans:] She is.
[Wolf:] So, happy times for the Marcianos, no question about it.
[Costello:] Yes.
[Wolf:] But, hey, rough time for travelers. Show you the forecast very quickly. Looks like some of the biggest issues out towards the west. In fact, let's go to the web map if we can. Here you have in San Francisco, some showers. Major delays there. But also, in New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis and Miami, delays just under an hour. The big weather-maker that we have is really out towards the west, just a mammoth storm that's going to rip its way across parts of the coastal range, back into the central Rockies. Heavy snow, strong winds, low visibility. Snow that's already brought some heavy snowfall into parts of Portland, Oregon. And we got some video to show you that's going to basically prove our point that the snow has been pretty significant there. And not just in the valley or downtown Portland. We're going to see that really kick up towards Mt. Rainier, back over towards the Cascades, and, of course, eventually moving into the Rockies where it's going to be a skiers' paradise once this moves out. The problem is, though, it is coupled with strong winds. Some wind gusts are going to be topping, say, 50 miles an hour. So, just keep that in mind. Back to the weather maps we go. Although we got the big storm system out towards the west, in the center of the U.S. and back to the east, it is going to be absolutely beautiful. Plenty of sunshine for the Gulf Coast, mix of sun and cloud for parts of the Northeast. As we wrap things up, your temperatures along the Eastern Seaboard, wrapping it up with 40 degrees in Boston, 46 in New York, 60 in Memphis, 70 in Tampa, 50 in Kansas City, easy for me to say, and 57 in San Francisco. That's your forecast. Again, congratulations to the Marcianos.
[Romans:] I know.
[Wolf:] Just a beautiful thing to see.
[Costello:] Oh, it is. Thanks for sharing. We appreciate it.
[Romans:] Thanks, Reynolds.
[Wolf:] You bet, guys.
[Costello:] Brand new look for Major League Baseball. The Houston Astros will switch from the National League to the American League by 2013. That move will equal out the leagues with 15 teams apiece. Also, MLB.com is reporting that baseball may soon have a second wild card spot in the playoffs.
[Romans:] All right. The Stanford football team is shattering stereotypes. Don't call them dumb jocks. The team is ranked number 10 in the nation. Top 10 in the nation and their school is ranked top 10 in academics. More on why Stanford is winning on and off the field. That's coming up.
[Costello:] And passengers on two jets heading from India to Britain get an ultimatum mid-flight. Pay up for the fuel or get off the plane. We'll explain.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Erin, thanks very much. Good evening, everyone. We're coming to you tonight live from Gaza City, where today, we have seen continued violence in what was day six of this conflict. We begin tonight with breaking news at this hour. New explosions rocking the city of Gaza. Just moments ago off in the distance, in what sounded like rolling thunder, the sound of explosions in somewhere in Gaza, not in the actual area that we can see so it must be on the other side of the building where we are right now. Earlier also in the past hour, we saw a number of rockets being fired from Gaza City toward Israel and we saw Israel's Iron Dome air defense system actually take out some of those rockets in midair. So it doesn't seem like they actually reached across the border into Israel and actually land in Israel. We've seen explosions really over the last several hours, though not as active as we saw last night, but it was a very busy day here in Gaza, a day a deadly day as well. Take a look.
[Cooper:] Day six of the battle between Hamas and Israeli defense forces. Day six of rockets crisscrossing the border, despite efforts to broker a cease-fire, the specter of an Israeli ground invasion is still very real. This strike occurred Monday around 2:00 a.m. when we were live on
[Cnn:] Also two media centers whoa. That was a rather large explosion. That occurred just look out here. I can't actually see where the impact of that was. It's actually set off a number of car alarms but that was probably the largest explosion that we've heard just in the past really in the past hour. [Voice-over] By daylight, the results of that strike were clear. [On Camera] And this is the results of the explosion that we witnessed last night. It's the police station or a police station in Gaza City. Local people say it was still being built so there weren't a lot of police officers or anybody inside. Two people were injured, they say, it's not clear who those people were. But the building is pretty well destroyed. It will take quite awhile to rebuild. [Voice-over] All day and all night, IDF drones fly over Gaza looking for targets but it hasn't stopped the rockets from being fired into Israel. [On Camera] That's a rocket that's just been fired up there. You can see the smoke trail in the sky. That's about the fifth rocket we've seen being fired in the last 20 minutes or so. [Voice-over] CNN's Fred Pleitgen on the Israeli side of the border experiences the terror that's the reality for those living in the rockets' range.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn International Correspondent:] We have an alarm going off right now. I'm going to have to seek cover. We're going to go over here. Let's take the camera off the tripod. All right. Seems like something impacted in the distance. Not sure how far away. There, over in the sky, you probably won't be able to see it here, there's an interceptor missile taking off right now. That is the Iron Dome interceptor right there. If you just saw the flash in the sky, that was a rocket coming out of Gaza that was just intercepted right now.
[Cooper:] Back in Gaza, a targeted strike on the second story of a building that houses various media groups. Two people are killed, one of them an official from Islamic jihad rent an office in the building. Islamic jihad is a group that Israel and the U.S. consider a terrorist organization. [On Camera] Regular life here in Gaza City is pretty much ground to a halt. Stores are closed and shuttered. Streets which would normally be filled with people are largely empty. Most people just try to stay indoors as much as they can, only venturing out when they absolutely need to in order to buy supplies for their families. Otherwise, it's just too dangerous to go out. [Voice-over] These days, for Israelis along the border and residents of Gaza City, there is no such thing as regular life. As the battle enters its seventh day, casualties, rage and grief grow on both sides of the border along with the fear that the worst may be yet to come.
[Cooper:] And I'm joined by Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem, also here with Ben Wedeman and Arwa Damon. Arwa, yesterday you were at the scene of probably what was the most controversial attack, a strike on what Israeli forces said was a building owned by a Hamas official, commander of the of an artillery unit. They say initially he had been killed, then they stepped back from that. A number of members of the family, at least nine members of a family were killed. What was the scene like?
[Arwa Damon, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] It was very intense. There was a lot of anger, there was a lot of frustration and there was also a certain sense of resignation. People here have been through this before and they fully expect to have to go through it once again. People were frantically digging through the rubble, some of them even using their bare hands, screaming for shovels, for anything they could possibly find. They were hoping to find survivors but of course we now know that that was not the case.
[Cooper:] We have some of your report. Let's play that.
[Damon:] The large slab of concrete and mangled metal finally gives way. Buried beneath it, another lifeless body. It's the second child we've seen. There was also a baby. Others in the neighborhood say the blast killed all 10 people who lived here. The rescue efforts are not always so hopeless. Not far from here, just the day before, 11-month-old Ahmed and his 4-year-old sister, Shahata, both survived a multiple missile strike on their home.
[Cooper:] And obviously an attack like that just it accentuates people's anger toward Israel here in Gaza.
[Damon:] Of course it does. It most certainly does. In this other house we went to visit, that family that actually did survive the airstrike, that we were speaking with the mother and she was the last person to be extracted from the building, and she was saying that, you know, yes, on the one hand she does want revenge but at the same time, she was saying that more important than that, she wants peace. People are so exhausted, they have been through this so many times.
[Cooper:] Yes. Ben Wedeman was at the funeral for that family today, that family of nine. Let's play some of his piece.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] The body of 5-year-old Yusef Dallu was held aloft as calls rang out for revenge. In life, Yusef was a child known only to his family and friends. In death, yet another potent symbol for the cameras and the angry crowds. Their bodies were carried through the street to the sound of gunfire, under the banners of Hamas, to the Sheikh Radwan cemetery. When the crowd leaves and the chanting stops, the real mourning begins. Friends and relatives quietly pray for the dead. Quiet tears are shed for the latest to die so suddenly without warning.
[Cooper:] How hardened have the positions come now on both sides of this border?
[Wedeman:] Well, certainly they are harder than I have ever seen before. I mean, in Israel, there really is sort of an exhausted anger at the fact that these rockets have been coming over for so long and now for the first time, this time they're hitting places like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. On this side, there's a real sense of hopelessness that, you know, they've gone through the Camp David Accords, they've watched their leaders go into talks time and time again with Israel. Now they're ruled by Hamas, much more rejectionist than the PLO was years ago. But they feel that, you know, the best they can hope for now is not peace or a solution, but just a period of relative calm.
[Cooper:] Wolf Blitzer, you were in Ashkelon earlier today. And I think we have some of that report. Let's play that. I'm told we don't have that. We'll have that later on. What did you see in Ashkelon? Because obviously that is a town that has been hard hit and people unfortunately have become very used to having to run for cover when some of these rockets are fired into Israel.
[Wolf Blitzer, Anchor, Cnn's The Situation Room:] It was pretty eerie, I got to tell you. It's a city of about 100,000 people, Ashkelon, and it just literally when we got there, we went to a high school where there had been a rocket that was that hit that high school earlier in the day. We wanted to see what it was like as we were pulling into the parking lot for the high school. All of a sudden, these sirens went off and we realized that a rocket or a missile or whatever was heading towards our way, and then these Israeli soldiers came running out and said get in, get in, follow us, 30 seconds, 30 seconds, and we followed them into a shelter where it was crowded inside. Israeli soldiers, civilians. Then we were in for a couple of minutes and then we finally emerged and we did hear these loud these loud thumps in the sky, and then we saw these plumes of cloud. It was one of those Iron Dome anti-missile systems that had destroyed the incoming rocket, coming into Ashkelon. As a result there was nobody hurt. But it was a terrifying scene. A lot of people were scared, especially the young kids were very scared, and this goes on all the time. They get about 1,000 of these rockets that have been launched in the past six days from Gaza into Israel. The Iron Dome has worked pretty successfully, Anderson. About 90 percent of the missiles, the anti-missiles that were launched worked, and they only use it when they sense that one of these rockets or missiles is heading toward a populated area or a strategically important area. If it's just going to a farmland or rural area, they're not going to use it. But it's been pretty successful so far. It's probably saved a bunch of lives but it's a very tense situation here in Israel and I sense even as the Israeli cabinet meets, this thing could go either way, a cease-fire or all-out Israeli ground invasion.
[Cooper:] We're going to talk to a member of a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in just a few moments. Ben, explain how the level of sophistication of these rockets that Hamas and other groups here in Gaza have, has increased and also how are they able to get rockets in?
[Wedeman:] Well, they are much more sophisticated than they were, say, six years ago. I went to a rocket factory here and it's very crude. No guidance systems, made with basically fertilizer propellant. Now they're getting these rockets, some of them through the tunnels in the southern border with Egypt. Some of them, the Fajr-5 is more than one stage. It's a long rocket. Has to be disassembled and brought in, and this has increased the range of the rockets fired by Hamas and the other resistance organizations as far as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. That is real significant change. Really the most significant change we've seen in the conflict between Hamas and Israel for quite some time.
[Cooper:] You and I were also on the scene about four or five blocks from here earlier in the day when three Israeli missiles hit the second floor of the media center. Again, explain what happened there earlier.
[Wedeman:] Well, that was about 3:20 in the afternoon and we saw three rockets hit the building. One hit the front, we saw great big ball of flame coming out. Very quickly, a large crowd of journalists, of course, and first responders, the fire department, the ambulances, showed up. They did bring out a man on a stretcher, his body was completely charred. He appeared lifeless.
[Cooper:] His clothes had been burned off, everything.
[Wedeman:] Completely. Absolutely. And we do believe that he is this member of Islamic jihad who is the leader of their so-called military media office.
[Cooper:] And so the Israelis are saying that he was among one of the targets. They said a number of people from the Islamic jihad was in the building and he was the one that was killed.
[Wedeman:] Yes, that's right. But in addition to him, there was a shop keeper in the building who died of a heart attack as a result of the blasts. So another victim.
[Cooper:] And, Arwa, you've been talking to people, you both are fluent in Arabic, obviously you've been talking to people in the marketplace. For regular life for people here has really and I think we're about to hear it, we just saw the sky light up, just heard another explosion off in the distance there, pretty distant, though, because not a huge not a huge sound. Regular life here has pretty much ground to a halt as it has on the Israeli side of the border in some of these border towns.
[Damon:] It most certainly has. And you walk through the streets here feel as if
[Cooper:] And again, you can hear you probably picked up that one. That was actually a little bit closer. It almost sounds like rolling thunder, kind of echoing in this densely populated city. Go on.
[Damon:] It does. And it is you know, sounds like that. Experiences like this that have effectively driven people indoors because they do believe as if they have no way to keep themselves safe other than try to stay well inside. You drive through the streets here, at any time of day, and they are completely deserted, especially after dark, when people tell us that the that is when strikes are really intensifying. When you drive through here during the day, you feel as if you're almost in any other war zone because it's so deserted, the shops are closed, but the reality is that the people here have not fled. They have nowhere to go. And a lot of the families that we're talking to are saying that the best thing they can do is really sit at home and pray. Tonight we were in a home where 30 members of one family had crowded together, the children were all underfoot because they felt that their own neighborhoods were quite simply too dangerous for them to stay in.
[Cooper:] And again, we hear this on both sides of the border. The regular life for families, for children, for women, very much affected by this, obviously. Appreciate your reporting. We'll continue to have more from Ben and Arwa and also Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. I want to bring in Vigal Palmor who is a spokesman for the Israel Foreign Ministry. Mr. Palmor, appreciate you being with us. There's been a lot of talk, a lot of rumors over the last 24 hours about a possible cease- fire, about some sort of negotiated settlement. I know the Israeli cabinet met earlier this evening. What's the latest on that?
[Vigal Palmor, Israel Foreign Ministry Spokesman:] I can't say because, obviously, while negotiations are going on, we're not going to disclose any details. All I can say is that our contacts, and we are trying to explore diplomatic ways to end this, but as we have stated since the beginning of this operation, the only objective of this operation, the only objective we are trying to achieve is to stop rocket fire on Israeli civilians but not just to obtain a short-term truce that will be broken again and again by Hamas, but to obtain the cessation of rocket fire for a long period, for a very long period. Now we have tried to explore diplomatic ways by alerting the Security Council, by trying to file official complaints with the Security Council and hoping that they will take a stance or do something, and as that didn't work, we had to use the army, we had to launch the operation. Now, if there's a diplomatic possibility to stop rocket fire through some sort of arrangement or agreement or anything of the sort, then of course, we will not shun it. We will try to explore that. Otherwise, if that fails, we will continue to use military means to try and stop rockets.
[Cooper:] Hamas is saying they're insisting not only on cease-fire by Israel, but also opening up of the virtual blockade of Gaza for any kind of peace deal can be made. For Israel, what are the minimum requirements for a deal to be made? You say clearly, obviously, the stopping of firing of rockets by Hamas and other groups here in Gaza. Is there anything else?
[Palmor:] The firing of rockets needs to stop and it needs to stop for a long time and there need to be many guarantees for that. Of course, because we're not going to just take Hamas' word for it or the Islamic jihad's word for it. Nobody would. Now, how exactly to do that, that's a tough question and I'm not going to go into the details of the negotiation. I think that by going out to the media, Hamas officials who are disclosing or apparently disclosing details of the negotiation are trying to influence it so I'm not going to comment on that. I think that we'll have to leave the negotiators to do their business and you know, what happens behind the scenes stays behind the scenes until we see an agreement that we can all come out with, I'd rather not talk about details, about conditions, about requests and so on.
[Cooper:] How concerned are you that Hamas may come out of this stronger than they were before, with greater influence than they had before, particularly over the other group that's in control of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority and group Fatah?
[Palmor:] I think that Palestinians can see for themselves what Hamas has brought them. Ever since Hamas took power over the Gaza Strip, by expelling through blood and fire the representatives of the Palestinian Authority, not Israel, but Palestinians, Gaza has been sinking and has been sinking into a situation of hopelessness. It has become a sort of platform for rocket launching and attacks and bombings on Israelis and of course, its future looks terrible. Ever since Hamas is in power. I think that after this conflict is over and Palestinians in West in the West Bank and in Gaza will think about what has happened, they will understand that none of this would have happened had Hamas not adopted this you called it a rejectionist policy. It's not rejectionist. It's a holy war policy. Their only project is holy war until the bitter end, until they destroy Israel, and this is something the Palestinians need to think about very seriously. Is this what they want for Gaza, for the West Bank, for themselves, or do they want to find a path to negotiate peace with Israel and co-exist peacefully in two separate independent secure states. I think it's for the Palestinians to make that choice and until then, if our security is threatened, if Israeli civilians come under fire, then we will take whatever measures are need to protect them. At the same time, we are still willing to discuss and to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority a peace deal. We are willing to talk any time without preconditions and this situation, this conflict in Gaza has not changed that fundamental position.
[Cooper:] Vigal Palmor, appreciate your time tonight. Thank you very much. When we come back, I want to show you what it was like up close as we went to the scene of the multiple rocket attack on what was a media center, but also a place where Islamic jihad, a number of Islamic jihad officials were congregating, according to Israeli officials, and one of them was killed in the strike. We'll show what it was like up close when we come back.
[Pleitgen:] There, over in the sky, you probably won't be able to see it here, there's an interceptor missile taking off right now. That is the Iron Dome interceptor right there. If you just saw the flash in the sky, that was a rocket coming out of Gaza that was just intercepted right now. So it appears as though at this point in time there is another barrage being fired from Gaza into this part of Israel, close to the Israeli border.
[Cooper:] When those Iron Dome anti-aircraft missiles are fired, you can actually see them in the night sky, even sometimes during the day. A few hours ago we saw a number of rockets being fired from a position just a couple of blocks from here in in the center of Gaza City, and we saw the Iron Dome anti-missiles go up and take them out. So it's a very effective system. The Israelis say about a third of the thousand or so rockets that have been fired into Israel have been intercepted. They also say about more than 100 or so of those rockets have even fallen elsewhere in Gaza, never even made it as far as Israel. And we talked about a little bit earlier on but I wanted to give you kind of an up-close look at the multiple missile attack that we saw earlier today on the media center which is a building about four blocks from here, a building that had been hit on Sunday when Israeli forces said they were targeting a Hamas antenna on the building. Today, the target was very different. Three missiles were fired into the second floor of the building. Take a look, seeing it as we saw it when it happened. From our vantage point, we clearly saw two of three rockets slamming into a nearby building. Seconds later, we were in our vehicle racing to the scene. [On Camera] Two to three rockets hitting a building that's about three or four blocks from our location. Looks like the building is on fire right now. [Voice-over] Emergency personnel had already begun to rope of the area. In Gaza City they have a lot of experience responding to these kind of incidents. [On Camera] Saw two rockets go, one actually from this direction, looked like one on the other side of the building. The building is on fire now. They've gotten ambulances here pretty quickly. They've got a fire truck on the scene as well. [Voice-over] From the damage it's clear the rockets were aimed at a lower floor. [On Camera] This is the building that was hit yesterday and houses various media groups. Israeli defense forces yesterday has said they were aiming for a Hamas antenna that they said they took out. Not sure what they were aiming for today.
[Unidentified Male:] Two injured.
[Cooper:] Two injured?
[Unidentified Male:] Two people injured, yes.
[Cooper:] Local officials say two people were killed. One, an official from Islamic jihad which Israel and the United States considers a terrorist group. He had an office in the building. Within an hour, another location nearby was also hit. Talk about negotiations and cease-fires, today this was the reality on the ground. And I'm joined once again by Ben Wedeman, who was on the scene as well for that attack. Also former CIA officer Bob Baer joins us, he's also a CNN contributor, also Barbara Starr, Pentagon correspondent. Bob, let me start off with you. In terms of the weapons we're seeing Hamas and other groups used here, and increasingly sophisticated rockets that are being used, where are they coming from? Where are they being smuggled in from?
[Robert Baer, Cnn Contributor:] They are coming from Egypt through tunnels under the desert. Most of the components for the rockets for Fajr-5 are from Iran. Iran has been building up Hamas' capabilities for two decades now. They're getting more and more sophisticated. Some of the smaller weapons are being smuggled the same way but they're coming from places like Libya. So there's multiple sources. And I think what we're seeing with the weaponry from Hamas, it's getting better and better.
[Cooper:] Ben, you have spent a lot of time here. You've been to rocket making factories as we discussed at the top of the program. But the technology of how the rockets are being fired has changed.
[Wedeman:] Yes. Before, what they were doing was these quick launches, they had three minutes just to set up the rocket, light it and leave, aiming really didn't come into it. Now they have automated remotely controlled launching systems that are buried under the sand in some of these empty lots just around here, and so they can they've been there for awhile and somebody just presses a button and off they go. And much quicker, much easier, much safer for the Hamas fighters system to use.
[Cooper:] But certainly dangerous for any residents who are living in those areas, living nearby.
[Wedeman:] Definitely. Because oftentimes, there is a return strike from the Israeli Air Force and those are some very big blasts out there in some very crowded parts of town.
[Cooper:] Barbara Starr, we heard earlier from an Israeli official who said that the preparations are pretty much complete for a ground offensive by Israel into Gaza if they decide that's necessary, correct?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, that's right, Anderson. Ambassador Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, told a small group of reporters today that they are done with the planning and the training, that they are in fact ready to go, only awaiting the orders. The ambassador went on to say he hopes it doesn't happen, that somehow a diplomatic solution with Hamas can be found here, but they are now ready. CNN correspondents have seen it with their own eyes across southern Israel, the troops are in place, the equipment's in place. He says they're ready to go.
[Cooper:] Bob, we've seen ground offensives before, 2008, 2009. What would that look like this time?
[Baer:] Well, Anderson, you've been there a lot. And you know invading and holding on to Gaza is a nightmare for Israel. It's a warren of groups, refugee camps, buried weapons caches. The Israelis do not want to go back in with a ground force. There's no benefit from it. But on the other hand, if Hamas is going to continue these rocket attacks, they're going to have to. But I think at the end of the day, what Hamas would like to do is draw sympathy for the Palestinians and draw the support of countries like Egypt. You know, what's left of Syria, Jordan and the rest of it. And I think they're continuing to look for some sort of Arab backing, hoping to get something out of it.
[Cooper:] Ben, I want to ask you, I talked to the Foreign Ministry spokesman earlier and asked him, he sort of demurred on the answer. But does Hamas come out of this stronger than they were before and stronger than the Palestinian group which controls the West Bank?
[Wedeman:] Well, certainly. If you look at the experience of, you know, the last 20 years, yes, it probably will. You look at Hezbollah after the 2006 war, they emerged stronger. Hamas has came out of the operation four years ago with even more power here. What they've done is they've shown the Arab world, the Arab street that they can fight, that their rockets are getting better, that their methods are getting better, and they're winning praise for it. They've got the support of the Egyptian government, not militarily, but they have the sympathy of the Egyptian people. Other Arab capitals have had demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, much more so in fact than four years ago.
[Cooper:] And how does Mahmoud Abbas, who controls the West Bank, part of their territory, come out of this?
[Wedeman:] He's sort of been sidelined by the entire thing. He has been in touch with Hamas leaders here in Gaza, but in a sense, he's not really a player. It's the Egyptians who are really the critical intermediary between Hamas and Israel. Mahmoud Abbas is really on the sideline.
[Cooper:] Bob, is there a military solution to the conflict here? I mean is this something can Israel cut out all the rockets? Can they stop all the rockets just through military means? Doesn't seem like it.
[Baer:] No, absolutely not. You know, if they continue to get better, what Hezbollah's learned to do and the Iranians have is to swarm these batteries. If you fire enough rockets in one direction, the iron dome simply can't take them all down and that's the dilemma for the Israelis. If they just let this go on without a solution, they'll be worse off in two or three more years. They've got to find a diplomatic solution to this. Militarily it's not winnable.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Anderson, if I can actually add something to that. I mean, the iron dome is quite a development technologically, but in a sense, it's a technical remedy for a political solution. Without a political solution, Hamas will change tactics. Don't forget that in the '90s, the early 2000s, they were using suicide bombings. That sort of didn't pay any dividends. They switched to rockets. The rockets don't work. They'll switch to something else. What's needed is a political solution.
[Cooper:] Long term, not just the immediate ceasefire. Ben Wedeman, appreciate it. Bob Baer, Barbara Starr as well. When we come back, more from this region and also more from Israel, what we're seeing on the Israeli side of the border. Our coverage continues. Our live reporting from Gaza city and Israel continues in just a moment. We'll take a look at if a military solution is not possible to resolve the conflict here, the likelihood of a political solution and what the premiers of that might be. We'll talk to David Kirkpatrick of the "New York Times," Anne Marie Slaughter from Princeton University and the Hoover Institution's Fouad Ajami. We'll be right back. Israel continues to hit multiple targets every single day. They say they hit more than 120 targets yesterday alone, according to the Israeli Air Force. But they're finding it harder and harder to hit actual rocket batteries. They're now targeting buildings. This was a government installation that was still being built that was hit yesterday. They are also hitting property owned by Hamas officials. Welcome back to our continuing coverage live from Gaza city. Also from Jerusalem and other points in between, that something I shot earlier today, one of the buildings that was hit yesterday by an Israeli artillery barrage. The situation obviously is very different than it was back in 2008-2009. The Arab spring has changed the geopolitics of the region as many governments, which are more Islamist based are now sympathetic to Hamas in this region, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood led government in Egypt. Back in 2008-2009, Hosni Mubarak was in charge in Egypt and obviously, that situation is radically different. Now with Mubarak gone and more freedom of speech, Egyptians demonstrating in support of Gazans, demanding Egyptian government intervention on behalf of Palestinians. Egypt's prime minister went to Gaza Friday, expressed his support for Gazans. The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is in Cairo asked for a diplomatic solution. Here's what Israeli President Shimon Peres said today to Piers Morgan about Egypt's role.
[President Shimon Peres, Israel:] We have two surprises. The positive is the constructive role that the Egyptian president is playing right now and we appreciate very much his efforts. The unpleasant one is the Iranians. They are trying again to encourage the Hamas to continue the shooting, the bombing. They are trying to send them arms. They are out of their mind.
[Cooper:] And obviously, Piers Morgan will have that complete interview on his show at the top of the hour, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. I'm joined now by "New York Times" Cairo Bureau Chief, David Kirkpatrick, Fouad Ajami of Stanford University's Hoover Institution and also Anne Marie Slaughter of Princeton University, formerly with the U.S. State Department. Fouad, what do you make of what you have seen over the last 24, 48 hours here on the ground and most particularly the possibility of some sort of negotiated settlement?
[Fouad Ajami, Senior Fellow, Stanford University's Hoover Institution:] Well, I think Israeli President Shimon Peres had it right. There are some good words to be said about President Mohamed Morsi. Mohamed Morsi is caught on the horns of a dilemma. He's caught between his own public opinion, which is very, very antagonistic to Israel, and the needs of diplomacy and the needs of his ties to the Americans. So he is trying to do it as best he can. He made this remark when he said, look, Egypt of today is not the Egypt of yesterday. The Arab world of today is not the Arab world of yesterday. But I think there are some real limits as well on the Egyptians. One thing that we have to say since we're really beginning to talk about diplomacy, our president is I think now in Cambodia. He has with him his secretary of state and he has with him his national security advisor. It's a remarkable development. When you ask what is the role of the United States in this crisis you are always told. They're on the phone. So it is phone diplomacy for the United States and that's about all.
[Cooper:] Ann Marie Slaughter, do you agree with that? Should the U.S. be doing more here?
[Anne Marie Slaughter, Former Director Of Policy Planning, U.s. State Department:] Well, at this point, it's not really clear what the U.S. can be doing, because although the Egyptians and the Turks all have a big incentive to see a ceasefire that lasts and I think the U.S. does, too. None of us can want it more than the Israeli and the Palestinians do. You can't create a settlement unless the principles actually want a settlement, then you can work out the details of how you're going to get there. But from where I sit, right now, both Hamas and this Israeli government are gaining more from continuing the conflict than they are than they see that they would get from a settlement. That could change. I don't think Israel wants a ground war, but right now, Hamas is actually, as you heard, Palestinians are saying well, at least Hamas is fighting back. At least we have a government that can fight back. We've had the Israelis invade us plenty, but we are fighting back, and on the Israeli side, you know, Bibi Netanyahu has elections coming up and overwhelmingly, there is support for taking out the rocket launchers.
[Cooper:] I should point out we are also hearing more again distant explosions not here in Central Gaza, but off in the distance. It sounds a bit as I often say like rolling thunder, but not actually seeing any of the impact zones at this point again, another one right then. David Kirkpatrick is joining us on the phone. Your view from Egypt, obviously very changed situation in Egypt. Fouad Ajami saying there is rhetoric in support of Hamas. In the end, Egypt may not come [inaudible] like many here in Gaza would hope. What do you see?
[David Kirkpatrick, Cairo Bureau Chief, "new York Times":] I think that's right. There is only so much that Egypt could do. What they're trying to do is getting more and more complicated. President Mubarak used to hold himself out as a kind of honest broker between Hamas and Israel. He wasn't, really. He was on the Israeli side, more or less, and all the discussions were handled through the intelligence agencies here within the Egyptian government. Now we see the intelligence agencies talking to the Israeli side where they have long-standing contacts. And the office of the president, President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood who of course is a long time fellow Islamist ideological ally of Hamas, handling the other side. So there are all these talks within the Egyptian government to parallel the talks between Hamas and Israel. What we're seeing the Egyptian government begin to do, which is I think really very new is try to speak out on an international stage to public opinion and say look, you know, you're being unfair to the Palestinians here, to defend the Palestinians in various ways. At the same time that they're saying, now that said, all we want is regional stability and we still want to be an honest broker. Our first priority is to end the bloodshed. That's quite a tight rope to walk. To say we are here so to speak as a representative of the Palestinians in the world, to speak for the Palestinians and to defend what Hamas is doing, and then to say that the Israelis, please, sit down, let's talk.
[Cooper:] Fouad Ajami, to Anne Marie Slaughter's point about both sides, Hamas and Bibi Netanyahu's government both keeping this going, if that is in fact the case and even if there is ultimately some sort of ceasefire agreement for this immediate conflict, do you see any real road map or any real commitment to developing a longer term peace agreement?
[Ajami:] You know, Anderson, I really don't see it. Those of us who grew up with the Palestine conflict with look with sorrow and we can see the past again. This is all familiar. When you hear that the Hamas people will come out with a victory, these are the victories that have undone and burdened and scarred the Palestinian people for the last 60 years. There has always been someone, a gunman who tells the Palestinians they can win this one. And all what Hamas has in Gaza is a reign of plunder and a reign of terror. In fact, the Palestinian issue was complicated enough to begin with for so many years then Hamas adds a complication. It conquers Gaza and you have two Palestinian governments, one in Ramallah and one in Gaza. They are dependent on the welfare of the world and the sympathy of the world and this victory, if it is to be had by Hamas, will be a pyrrhic one. There is nothing that Hamas can offer the people of Gaza except sadness.
[Cooper:] Well, Fouad, we have to leave it there. Anne Marie Slaughter as well. David Kirkpatrick, appreciate your time as well. Again, more explosions we're hearing as just Fouad was talking. We got to take a quick break. We'll have more with Arwa Damon, Ben Wedeman, Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. We'll also take a look at President Obama's trip to Burma, officially known as Myanmar. We'll be right back. Welcome back. We're reporting live tonight from Gaza City. I'm not sure if you can hear it very well, but there's still the steady sound as we've heard for these last six days now, going into day seven, of Israeli drones overhead. It's a constant buzzing sound. It sounds almost like a distant lawn mower or swarm of mosquitoes off in the distance. Obviously, it can have far deadlier consequences than any of that. It's a very eerie sound. We're going to have more of the situation from here, but I want to check in with our Susan Hendricks with a "360 News and Business Bulletin" Susan.
[Susan Hendricks, Cnn Correspondent:] Anderson, President Obama is in Cambodia tonight, the last stop on his three-nation tour of Asia. Earlier today, he became the first U.S. president to visit Myanmar. He met with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and with Myanmar's president as well. The U.S. Army is asking an appeals court to deny a request by Major Nidal Hasan that he be allowed to keep his beard. He claims he grew it for religious purposes. Army regulations prevent facial hair on soldiers in uniform. He is accused of murdering 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009. Indianapolis police say a major explosion that destroyed several houses and killed two people is now a homicide investigation. That explosion 10 days ago was so powerful, that more than 30 neighboring homes were severely damaged. It looks like there could be hope for Hostess although the company shut down its baking operations on Friday. A federal bankruptcy court judge will mediate a meeting tomorrow between management and the striking bakery workers union to see if their differences can be ironed out. We'll see. Anderson, back to you.
[Cooper:] Susan, thanks very much. We'll have more from our Ben Wedeman and Arwa Damon and Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem coming up. We'll be right back.
[Sara Sidner, Cnn International Correspondent:] You look to your left, destruction, people picking out things that anything they can find. If you look to your right, destruction, the building next to it blown out, and we are standing on what was the roof of a three-story building.
[Cooper:] That was Sara Sidner reporting from Gaza. I'm back with Arwa Damon, Ben Wedeman, and Wolf Blitzer from Jerusalem. Just for some final thoughts, Wolf, your thoughts, now entering the seventh day of the conflict?
[Wolf Blitzer, Host, Cnn's "the Situation Room":] I think the next day or two we are going to know if the Israelis are going to move into Gaza. I know they don't want to move in on the ground. They don't want to have that burden. It would be a disaster from everyone's perspective, given the dense population there, a lot of civilian casualties. The Israelis don't want to do it. They are threatening to do it. They mobilized already 30,000 troops. Another 40,000 potentially could be on the way. Let's hope, Anderson, there is a ceasefire that stops this bloodshed and then they can begin the really important and necessary work of trying to start from scratch for all practical purposes and see if there can be a diplomatic solution. Israelis and Palestinians living side by side, that is going to take a lot of work, a lot of hard work, and the U.S. is going to have to be strongly involved, unlike the past year or so, where the U.S. has not necessarily gotten involved all that much ever since George Mitchell gave up his job as the special U.S. envoy.
[Cooper:] Yes. Ben Wedeman, Arwa Damon joining me here in Gaza city. I mean, opinions are so hardened on both sides of this border. Hearts are hardened, opinions have been formed, and the lines are so clear. Are you optimistic at all not just for any sort of negotiated ceasefire for this thing, but any kind of long-term solution?
[Wedeman:] Not really. I think what's interesting is that tomorrow, the Arab league secretary general and several Arab foreign ministers are coming here and what we are going to see, whether optimistic or pessimistic, is a different thing all together. But we're going to see now that the Arab countries as opposed to four years ago are much more engaged in this process, and it's a new equation. It's a new equation. We don't know where it's going to lead. But Israel, the United States has to pay much more attention to what Arab leaders are saying because they are in a sense reflecting what their people feel.
[Cooper:] Arwa, you obviously have been covering the region for a long time as well.
[Arwa Damon, Cnn International Correspondent:] I would have to say that I do agree with Ben. I think there are a lot of dynamics in the region that most certainly have significantly changed. Those have had their own impact on this battlefield that exists here that has existed for decades. I do have to say going back to what Wolf was talking about when it goes to the possibility of an Israeli invasion people here are absolutely dreading even the notion of that. They know that the last time the Israelis invaded, it wreaked utter devastation upon them. Over 1,000 Palestinians were killed in that alone and a lot of families we have been talking to tonight saying that they most certainly hope that that is not the direction that this takes right now.
[Cooper:] Ben, a lot of questions I get from people in the United States is how popular is Hamas here. There are some people saying look, they are firing rockets from civilian areas, you would think some civilians would be outraged about that. What do you hear on the streets here?
[Wedeman:] Civilians are outraged. It's not as if there's unanimous support for Hamas. Lot of people here want no part of it. They just pay the price in terms of lost jobs, destroyed homes, dead friends and relatives. They also want it to stop, but they also feel that there's a need for a solution to this problem.
[Cooper:] Day seven of this conflict begins anew. Ben Wedeman, thank you. Arwa Damon, Wolf Blitzer as well. Our coverage continues on CNN. "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" starts right now.

[Kim Kardashian, Reality Tv Star:] I've said before, I mean, kanye and I have been friends for years, and, you know, you never know what the future holds or where my life will take me. So
[Kaye:] Let me bring in actor, entertainment commentator, and all around funny guy Hal Sparks, who is joining us this morning. Hal, good morning to you.
[Hal Sparks, Comedian:] Good morning. I'm sorry. I'm still reeling from the idea that golf may be an old man's sport from your last report. Are you telling me there's man who's 52 years old and still playing golf? Oh, my god.
[Kaye:] Yes, Freddy Couples.
[Sparks:] And I thought the last "Rocky" movie was crap. I have to watch that again. If they can golf, they can box.
[Kaye:] All right, let's talk Kim Kardashian. She didn't really say yes or no whether or not they're dating. Kind of left it open to interpretation, right?
[Sparks:] Well, first of all, when you have an entire empire built on a sex tape, I don't know that the, you know, day-to-day of your relationship should shock anyone in either direction. But let's be clear. Wednesday night, what, they went to see "The Hunger Games" together so they're like a 14-year-old couple and afterward she stayed over his house and left in the same clothes the next morning supposedly. So you can infer from that what you want. The best part is Kanye really dating her I think is the other direction. And Kanye, keep in mind, is sort of the master of the bizarre publicity stunt, you know. Is it good, is it bad. They released one of his singles by accident or by accident on purpose.
[Kaye:] Yes, by accident.
[Sparks:] It's called the "Theraflu." And everyone's making point that in the second verse of the song, he absolutely says he loves Kim and kind of makes nice with his ex and that kind of stuff. The truth is he also mentioned project runway and PETA in the same song.
[Kaye:] Do you think this is all part of the buzz for "Keeping up with the Kardashians," her show?
[Sparks:] Of course it is. This is entirely built on buzz. There's nothing to buy from Kardashians, be it jeans, thongs, or cookbooks if it wasn't for the fact they run on a buzz machine. And it's quite effective. So it works. This is actually almost like an old Hollywood marriage where they go I've got a movie coming out, you've got a movie coming out. Let's hang out for a few weeks and stir up some interests.
[Kaye:] Very quickly I want to talk about photos that were released.
[Sparks:] I don't know knowing about I didn't know anybody who was shooting me at the time.
[Kaye:] Don't worry. You're not in them.
[Sparks:] For once.
[Kaye:] Beyonce has start add personal blog with al these photos. Why would she do this?
[Sparks:] Beyonce has the illusion she's going to live a normal life. She says I want my kids to go to a normal school and drop them off at school and be normal. You can't. There's no rolling up in your mom's escalade and jam as single from one of her nine Grammy- winning records and you have a normal existence. But I think in this she's almost like everybody else who wants to have, you know, a tumbler, a flicker, account. I think it's part her just trying to be normal, poorly. And, again, this might be a midseason drum-up for attention. You don't have an album coming out right away
[Kaye:] But she's going to have one.
[Sparks:] But you do something midway.
[Kaye:] Hal sparks, that was fun. Thank you.
[Sparks:] I know. Thank you. By the way, Charles Manson is getting released is what I predict.
[Kaye:] OK. We'll take your word on that one. Well, are you in the market for a new bride? There's a new car out there. This one believe it or not has wings. Stay with us, CNN Saturday morning where news doesn't take the weekend off.

[Lemon:] Welcome back, everyone. What does the U.S credit downgrade mean for you and your money? We are talking about that with our very own Christine Romans and Richard Quest. Both are in New York tonight. So when people wake up tomorrow, what are they going to discover when the stock markets open in the U.S. for the first time after this downgrade? I mean, Richard, is this the end of the world as we know it? Is the sky falling? RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNN's "
[Quest Means Business":] Don't be ridiculous. Of course not. You may have a you may have a Dow futures that are down slightly. You may even have a market that's off 100, 200 points. But how we start is never how we finish. We've had this whole real bromide about the G7 statement. They are all coming out tonight, just as you'd expect them to. The IMF has come out with a statement that seems pretty meaningless. Putting it all together, this is a slow burning, deeply-seated crisis that is affecting the global financial markets. And the real issue and Christine agrees with me so I'm on safe I'm on safe grounds is what it means for jobs, because if you've got a slowdown in Europe and you've got a slowdown in the United States, and you've got China starting to come off the boil somewhat, you've got to ask yourself, although it may not be a global double dip, but where is the growth going to come from to create the jobs?
[Lemon:] And Christine, when you're out in a pub and you're in a pub or a bar or a restaurant, you're talking to people, no one's really going, oh, I'm concerned about the downgrade. People are going, "Hey, I think I'm going to get laid off" or, "Where's the job? I've been out of a job for a year." That's what people really want to know about this.
[Romans:] Look, the downgrade was humiliating and avoidable. And people are talking about it on the street because they think that it shows their political process is all crazy and they're worries about what's that going to mean for the rest of the year when they have to do more cost-cutting. But you're right. It is about or spending cuts. It is about jobs. What I don't hear is a credible plan, any kind of work any kind of consensus for a plan to get jobs growing. But as Richard will point out, growing jobs takes money and it may take government intervention. And you've got a whole part of Congress now that doesn't want the government involved in your life. And so that means and spending cuts means fewer jobs.
[Lemon:] Hey, Richard, I've got 10 seconds left. I want to ask you this. This is the people think, oh, this is all part of what happened with the downgrade and then the fight over the debt ceiling. This started long before that.
[Quest:] It's been going for decades. This is not we didn't just wake up either in the United States or in Europe and suddenly, oops, my word, there is a global financial crisis, what have we done wrong. This is going back years. I mean, robbing Peter to pay Paul, deficit financing, living beyond our means on both sides of the Atlantic. This is what the problem has been. And now, finally, look, there is a massive shift of economic power from Europe and the United States to Asia, and anybody that doesn't realize that and deal with it is deluding themselves.
[Lemon:] Richard Quest, Christine Romans, thank you.
[Romans:] See you in the morning.
[Lemon:] You know, the Democrats definitely know who they'd like to blame for the credit downgrade. They came out swinging during the Sunday talkers. Take a listen.
[David Axelrod, Obama Campaign Strategist:] This is essentially a Tea Party downgrade. The Tea Party brought us to the brink of a default.
[Sen. John Kerry , Massachusetts:] I believe this is, without question, the Tea Party downgrade.
[Gov. Martin O'malley , Maryland:] The Tea Party obstructionism here in Washington is keeping us from restoring that balanced approach that America has always used.
[Lemon:] Well, Democrats are clearly trying to label this the Tea Party downgrade. Earlier, though, I spoke with Amy Kremer, chairwoman of the Tea Party Express and she fired back.
[Amy Kremer, Chairwoman, Tea Party Express:] Don, we're not backing away from the fact that we stopped the administration and Harry Reid from, you know, pushing through any tax increases.
[Lemon:] I want to move on now and read part of the report from the S&P.; It points fingers at both sides. So, here's a quote. It says, "The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics." But there is a section where S&P; calls out one of the parties directly, Amy. Here it is. It says, "Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts" meaning the Bush tax cuts "due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act," meaning the debt ceiling deal. So, Amy, the Tea Party will not budge on tax cuts. And right here, S&P; is saying that kind of rigid position was a major reason for the downgrade. How do you respond to that?
[Kremer:] Look, the size of our debt is because we're spending too much, not because we don't have enough revenue. We cannot increase taxes enough to spend the way that we do and cover it. That's the bottom line. I've said it over and over again. We have a spending problem. That is what got us into this situation. They did not downgrade our debt because we don't have enough revenue.
[Lemon:] The Tea Party, very proud of it role in the debt ceiling negotiations, but, clearly, nobody wants to be left holding the bag on this historic downgrade. So I want to bring in CNN contributor and political anchor for New York 1, Errol Louis. So, Errol, you heard the Democrats blaming the Tea Party and the Republicans. You heard the Tea Party Express chairwoman throwing it right back at them. I don't know. No one's ever going to take the blame for this, are they?
[Errol Louis, Cnn Contributor:] Well, not willingly. And it's very interesting how the bickering that went on today and it started Friday night, frankly, really perfectly reproduces the very deadlock that led to the downgrade in first place. I mean, you know, it's a serious problem. It has been going on for decades. There are people who feel like you should never raise revenues. There are people who felt genuinely, I think, that when we did have a budget surplus at the end of the Clinton presidency, that it was time to give that money back. That it would be immoral for the government to hold on to it. That it belongs back in the hands of the taxpayers. That's not a radical position. But it is at odds with this notion that we have to get rid of our deficit right now at all costs. And, you know, the bickering really just makes it a difficult argument, a longstanding argument, impossible to resolve.
[Lemon:] It just kind of confirms what S&P; said in their downgrade report. I want to talk now about the treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner. Republicans want him gone after this, but today, the treasury released a statement saying that he is staying in his post. But do you think his days are numbered now? We have heard that before, where they say, I'm standing by this guy, I'm not going anywhere, and then a week or two goes by and all of a sudden they're gone.
[Louis:] Sure. I keep an eye on the presidential approval polls. You know, that's probably your best clue as to whether or not some kind of a shake about the economic team. And it won't necessarily just be limited to Timothy Geithner. There are a number of people, council of economic advisers, there are all kinds of people who are part of the economic strategy team. It looks like they need to be shuffled or reworked in order to make the administration viable. Then that's what will very likely happen.
[Lemon:] Geithner was on the phone with G7 ministers tonight. Damage control? If so, did it help anything at all?
[Louis:] Well, there are a couple of things going on there, Don. I mean, first of all, he had to do that. You have to do that in advance of the market's opening. Even if it's just sort of pro forma, if he hadn't done it, it certainly would have been a negative mark on the administration. And then secondly, just as Christine was saying, this is really right now, today, about Europe in large part, and the G7 is far more concerned about what's happening with, you know, the 6 percent yields on bonds, 10-year bonds. I mean, investors are demanding so much in order to support the economy and the governments of Italy and of Spain that there is a real crisis brewing over there. So the G7 needed to talk about that as well. I think what Geithner did was the only responsible thing he could have done. And we'll look for him to hear more from the administration after markets open, I think. They've got to try and keep this all under control about what's happening here and what's happening in Europe.
[Lemon:] Before we go, I have to ask you a question. If you have a so if you have a few dollars to invest, I'm talking about you, let's say you have $1,000. What are you going to invest it tomorrow stock market, gold, a box in the backyard, a mattress? What would you do with it?
[Louis:] I believe and what I keep hearing over and over again, what many people tell me about my 401 [K], poor, battered 401 [K] which is to sit tight and wait. If you've got more than five or ten years and you don't think the country is going to go under there is no particular reason to start moving stuff around.
[Lemon:] Yes. A lot of people can't wait though. They are nearing the finish line. And they got to use that to live for the rest of their lives. So thank you, Errol. I appreciate it.
[Louis:] That's true. Those are the people who get hurt the worst, actually. Unfortunately, those are the people who get hurt the worst. Thanks, Don.
[Lemon:] Scenes of desperation and tragedy in Somalia to report to you. Famine has left thousands dead. And the survivors doing anything they can just to live another day. But it's not just hunger killing the smallest victims. Our report from the Horn of Africa is next. And she's risking her life and limb to do something no one has ever done before swim all the way from Cuba to Florida. Why? And many of you have been asking about information through social media. We're on Twitter. We're on Facebook. CNN.comDon and FourSquare as well.

[Lemon:] Emotional homecomings across the country as thousands of U.S. troops return home from Iraq. Troops from Ft. Hood, Texas, got a rock star welcome this weekend. There were plenty of smiles and tears as servicemembers were reunited with their family members after a 10- month tour of duty. And here was a scene in the San Mateo, California area, where dozens of members of the California National Guard returned home. Family members gathered at the local Army for the homecoming and cheered when their loved ones arrived. This was the last National Guard unit to leave Iraq. And nearly all 11,000 troops still in Iraq will be pulled out by the end of the year and that's what makes these homecomings so different than the others. This time the soldiers know they won't be sent back. Here's CNN's Catherine Callaway.
[Catherine Callaway, Cnn Correspondent:] A plane just landed here at the Atlanta International Airport. It was full of troops from Afghanistan who were headed home for a couple of weeks of R and R. But it was also full of troops from Iraq who are heading home for good, and we talked with a few of them. Here's what they had to say. How do you all feel about not having to go back to Iraq? I know it's a difficult deployment. You are all smiling. But what are your thoughts about that?
[Unidentified Male Soldier:] It was nice to se trees and grass when we were landing. It is the little things you miss the most, plumbing.
[Callaway:] Plumbing, did you say plumbing?
[Unidentified Male Soldier:] Yes. It will be nice to take a shower in the house instead of walking outside to take a shower. So
[Callaway:] Yes. And, of course, I know you've missed your families. You talked about your children.
[Unidentified Female Soldier:] Yes, my children. My being constantly in touch with them, thank you to the USO that provided free Internet and phone service. And mostly, you appreciate the little stuff at home the freedom, able to just walk down the store and buy whatever you want. Not to have to wait until the
[Callaway:] What's the best thing coming home from Iraq?
[Unidentified Female Soldier:] I hope the last ten years will be worth it. After 911 I was deployed, mobilized right after, the next day. So, hopefully, now we come back and end the mission, and it will be worth it, I hope.
[Callaway:] So, they are well on their way home now. They will be redeployed but they will not be sent to Iraq. This is the scene we're going to see repeated many times between now and the end of the year as the approximately 11,000 U.S. troops that have been in Iraq will be reduced to less than 200 by the end of the year. At the Atlanta International Airport, I'm Catherine Callaway, CNN, Atlanta.
[Lemon:] All right. Catherine, thank you very much for that. Ever wonder what it would be like to have dinner with trend setters, and superstars, taste-makers and Hollywood royalty? Tonight, we'll be sure to check out an excellent Larry King special, "Dinner with the Kings." Larry sits down the dinner with Conan O'Brien, Tyra Banks, Shaquille O'Neal, Seth McFarland, Quincy Jones, Russell Brand and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey for sometimes funny, sometimes serious discussions.
[Tyra Banks, Ceo, Bankable Enteprises:] When I did my show, created my show, whatever, I also created a persona on "Top Model." And it's a character. So, when I'm sitting there and I have all this makeup on and I'm like your pictures
[Conan O'brien, Conan:] One of the girls who must have been 16, 17 years old said to me, how do you get over your insecurity? When does that go away? And I said you never get over it. And she was shocked. And I said she's looking at me and I have been doing this a long time and to her, I may as well be a thousand years old, even though I'm only in my early 30s. And but she said how do you get over your insecurity, and I said it's never going away. If you are any good at what you do, you'll always be afraid and you'll always think you are fooling everyone.
[Lemon:] This will definitely make you see these kings and queens, you saw Tyra there holding court surprise of their professions in a new light. "Dinner with the Kings," it premiers tonight 8 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. That's going to be very interesting to watch. The Herman Cain train, well, it's a cliche, it has derailed. There you go. Now, the big question is, who's going to get his supporters that fell off the train? Michele Bachmann says they are already moving to her side. We'll discuss after the break.

[Nancy Grace:] Breaking news tonight, live Houston. A brunette beauty with covergirl good looks, a mother of two, plans to renew wedding vows with her firefighter husband, gushing on line he`s the, quote, "greatest guy ever." Bombshell tonight. Instead of reenacting those wedding vows, think reenacting the crime. All the while she`s planning that second wedding celebration with tons of friends and family, cops say she`s hiring a hitman to murder the husband. This runaway bride will get a free ride in a paddy wagon!
[Unidentified Male:] When you have this kind of evidence... For one Houston firefighter... Bizarre. You blame the hitman. While police say the real danger to him... The 24-year-old describes herself as a mommy. The notes from her. Role model and friend of the world. "What a guy," she posted. Was right under his own roof. Police say that woman, Brittany Martinez, told the would-be hitman that she didn`t care how her husband of five years was killed... Killed. Killed. Just that she wanted him dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.
[Unidentified Female:] She wanted it to be done at work where it would look like it was work-related. Authorities say she allegedly gave a friend 1,000 bucks to arrange the hit.
[Unidentified Male:] She said her husband had recently noticed some money was missing from the family bank account and suspected she might be up to no good. Even a family picture to make sure the hitman got the right guy.
[Unidentified Female:] "Here`s my husband`s work schedule. I want him killed near the firehouse. Make it look like it`s work-related. Here`s $500. I`ll give you another $1,000 or $2,000 when he`s dead. Here`s the $500 down payment for the murder. If you can`t kill my husband, I`ll find someone who can. I don`t want to meet or come in contact with the person who`s going to kill him. I want my husband dead soon, before he finds out the money I took from the bank to have him killed. Park a block away from the firehouse and kill him in the back parking lot. I don`t care what kind of weapon you use, I just want the job done." "My boobs are bigger and my hips are wider. My husband says he loves my new body."
[Grace:] And tonight, live, Texas. A couple devotes their lives to raising their beloved autistic son, Taylor. At age 19, he makes new friends and moves to a group home. But within days, Taylor has a broken jaw. Mom and dad plead for help from supervisors at Meadow Creek group home. They even call child services after bruises and even burns. Mommy covertly installs a nannycam, and what we saw makes me sick. And tonight, I want justice!
[Unidentified Female:] You promise this child when they`re born that you`re going to love them forever and you`re going to protect them!
[Unidentified Male:] Shocking video, the beating of a 22-year-old autistic man caught on tape. This hidden camera video shows he suffered repeated beatings allegedly at the hands of a caretaker. That`s right, the caretaker! The family documented bruises on Taylor`s ears and legs, as well as burns on his arms. He beats the man with his fist and a toy gun, pounding him.
[Unidentified Female:] My son is being beat and treated horribly!
[Unidentified Male:] The Hartleys secretly installed a hidden camera in Taylor`s room. But no one was prepared for what the video would show.
[Unidentified Female:] And I felt so guilty that I didn`t we didn`t do the camera earlier!
[Grace:] May he rot in hell! Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. Thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. A brunette beauty, covergirl good looks, a mother of two, plans to renew her wedding vows with her firefighter husband, gushing on line he`s the, quote, "greatest guy ever." But all the while, while she`s planning that second wedding celebration, the big blow-out with tons of friends and family there, all the while, cops say she`s hiring a hitman to murder the husband. We are taking your calls. Straight out to Michael Board, WOAI. Michael, what happened?
[Michael Board, Woai:] Brittany Martinez was living a double life, Nancy. On line, she was writing in her blog how much she loved her husband. She was excited, saying, I`m excited about our renewing our vows, and in real life, giving 500 bucks to a middleman to have someone to kill her husband. And total payment Nancy, get this. She was willing to play about $3,000. Is $3,000 it? Is that all she can afford? Is that all his life was worth? What`s amazing about this, Nancy, is Brittany worked as an emergency medical tech, an EMS worker. That obviously means she has some regard for human life.
[Grace:] Exactly.
[Board:] How could someone with who cares about the wellbeing of people pay someone to kill her husband? It doesn`t make sense.
[Grace:] Joining us now, Joe Gomez, joining us live from Texas, senior investigative reporter, KTRH. Joe, this is right in your backyard. What happened?
[Joe Gomez, Ktrh:] That`s right, Nancy. It`s pretty shocking, isn`t it. I mean, one minute she`s posting on her blog saying that she`s excited about renewing her wedding vows, even going so far as to say, quote, "what a guy." But then police say that was all a facade. She went to the manager of a local Mexican restaurant, the Casa Ole, promised this guy $500 up front and another couple of thousand dollars, Nancy, when he got the job done. Just shocking!
[Grace:] You know, to Ellie Jostad, chief editorial producer. Ellie, this is not like the spur of a moment, where she suddenly is impassioned or angry and pulls the gun and shoots. This is a long, drawn-out process. When did it start? And what`s the evidence?
[Ellie Jostad, Nancy Grace Producer:] Right, Nancy. Well, police say that this actually started all the way back on January 17th, that that is the first day that Brittany Martinez approached this guy she knew who managed a Mexican restaurant and complained to him about her marital problems, asked him if he could kill her husband. They say that a couple weeks later, she made a down payment. A month or so after that, she returned with another $500. She continued to talk about this plot for about two-and-a-half months, Nancy.
[Grace:] Take a look. This seems on the outside like a perfect family. Mom is a mother of two, beautiful, married to a firefighter husband. They`re planning to reenact their wedding vows. She goes what does she keeps talking about her body on line, Ellie. What`s that all about?
[Jostad:] Nancy, she was on this mommy blog, where she was talking about the headline was about how a firefighter is going to get fit after pregnancy. She talked about how she was so happy with her sexy new body, how she`d lost all the weight in her firefighter training. And there`s a bunch of pictures of her, you know, posing next to a fire truck, that kind of thing.
[Grace:] Let`s see those shots, Liz. So Ellie, what was the point of all the talking on line about her new body? I don`t get it. What am I missing in this equation?
[Jostad:] Right...
[Grace:] Says she got pregnant and she lost the weight.
[Jostad:] The blog that she was on, Nancy, is one of these blogs where moms go on line to, you know, exchange tips and information about pregnancy and post-pregnancy. So this was like a little personal story about how a woman Brittany Martinez, in this case lost the weight she had gained during her pregnancy.
[Grace:] Everybody, you are taking a look at shots of Brittany Martinez, a beautiful young mom of two, seemingly had everything in the world. Back to Joe Gomez. So how does she manage to end up at, what is it, Casa Ole Mexican restaurant? Now, when I go to a Mexican restaurant, I`m looking for chips and dips. I`m not looking for a hitman. How do you just go to a Mexican restaurant and approach somebody and go, Hey, you look like a good hitman?
[Gomez:] That`s a good question, Nancy. But apparently, she knew the manager of this restaurant. But it still is bizarre that she would go to this guy just out of the blue, ask, Hey, by the way, I`m having marital problems, can you kill my husband for about $500 right now, and I`ll pay you a couple of grand later? Now, apparently apparently, the guy said that he wasn`t going to commit to it, he was going to get some other guy involved. She said, That`s all right. And then afterwards, she she demanded that the hit happen now. This is allegedly, according to police. She demanded the hit happen, and that`s when he turned her over to authorities, Nancy.
[Grace:] So she just knew him from a Mexican restaurant and approaches him to kill her husband?
[Gomez:] No, she apparently, they were friends beforehand, and he had worked in this Mexican restaurant, and she had went there. She had gone there to go inquire about a hit.
[Grace:] All right. Stop right there, Gomez. What do you mean friends? Friends before? Because you`ve got to be extremely close to someone to trust them to murder your husband.
[Gomez:] That`s exactly right. And apparently, this guy I mean, it took a while. It took at least a couple of months until this man, you know, turned over a recording that he had with Brittany to police. So I don`t know exactly went on there. Were they really good friends? Was he thinking about it before he turned her over to cops? What was going through this manager`s mind? That`s what I`m interested in knowing, Nancy.
[Grace:] Joining me right now, Paula Bloom, clinical psychologist. Paula, I don`t get it. You just go up to someone you know casually at a Mexican restaurant and start talking to them about murdering your husband? Yes, I know she knew him before. I don`t get it. And then to be to the point where you`d bring in a third party? I mean, she wanted this guy dead, and we have no history of any domestic abuse, nothing.
[Paula Bloom, Clinical Psychologist:] Right. Right. We have no idea. I mean, on some hand, like you were saying before, Nancy, it has to do with this is a long, drawn-out process of hiring someone and thinking about it. It`s not some instant thing. So you`d think, Oh, that`s pretty reasonable. Well, there`s some logic to it in that she`s doing all of this, but on the other hand, it makes no sense. It`s completely not a good idea, yes.
[Grace:] Well, Paula, I really appreciate the fact that you, as a psychologist, think it doesn`t make sense, but that is not a defense under the law. To C.W. Jensen, retired Portland police captain. C.W., a lot of people don`t know this about you. You`ve actually gone undercover in hitman cases before. Explain to me how cops put this thing together.
[C.w. Jensen, Retired Portland Police Captain:] Well, Nancy, these kind of cases overwhelmingly are very amateur, as you would expect. And people reach out to somebody, and generally, I found that they would get scared and then they would call the police and snitch on the person that wanted them to kill someone. So then they would call us. And like, for instance, I would go undercover. I would meet with the person and say, What do you want done either wired up with a microphone or just, you know, meet them. And that`s these things 99 out of 100 times are just ridiculous and the people end up getting arrested. But there`s a motive behind this, Nancy. Whether it`s romance, money or something, there`s always motive.
[Grace:] Romance, money OK, Joe Gomez, it`s in your back yard. What`s the motive here? Because if you take a look, as I did, on her on- line blogs, she blogs and blogs and blogs I don`t know how she has time to do anything else about how happy she is, how great her husband is, I mean, gushing about him and her new body and how he loves her new body and they`re going to reenact the wedding vows, blah, blah, blah. I don`t get it. What`s the alleged motive?
[Gomez:] That`s a good question, Nancy. I mean, police are still trying to find a motive. I mean, look, you just said she`s blogging on her Web site, saying how she can`t wait to renew her vows, bragging about her kids. Nancy, she`s got two kids, for crying out loud! She`s bragging about her new body. Why is she why does she want to kill her husband? I mean, if she`s taking out large chunks of money like that and her husband, you know, hasn`t caught on yet and I don`t I don`t get it. What`s motivating this woman to commit...
[Grace:] Well, you know what?
[Gomez:] ... an atrocity like this?
[Grace:] Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something, Joe. A lot of guys and a lot of women completely allow the other partner to do all the banking. You know, you get direct deposit and you get automatic debit on your house payment and your car payment, you feel like you don`t really need to look at the bank account sometimes. And apparently, that`s what this firefighter husband was doing, working all day as a firefighter, trying to raise two children, a boy and a girl, got a wife to support. Boom! She`s hiring a hitman with his money! Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Anna Sigga Nicolazzi, prosecutor out of New York, Renee Rockwell, defense attorney, Atlanta, Bradford Cohen, defense attorney, Miami. OK, Renee, undercover cop. You know what that means. That means wiretap. That means he was wired the whole time, Renee!
[Renee Rockwell, Defense Attorney:] Nancy, I don`t know that there was an undercover cop. I`m almost wondering if they didn`t jump the gun. What you have here is purportedly an unindicted co-conspirator, if it goes that far. Did she communicate with the guy at the restaurant? Did he hold onto the tape?
[Unidentified Male:] This is Brittany Martinez. The all-American mom. Her husband, firefighter Adrian Martinez. Her husband of five years. Houston firefighter. They appear to be the picture of happiness. Prosecutors say Martinez has spent the last three months asking a confidential police informant for help hiring a hitman to kill her husband. According to court documents, Stephen Roland, a boxer and mixed martial artist, is the man Martinez allegedly gave a thousand dollars. According to court documents, Martinez told the informant she wanted the killer to park a block away from the fire station. It says she also made it clear she wanted that murder to be committed in the employee`s back parking lot. Even warning him about the location of security cameras.
[Unidentified Female:] She did not want to know specific details. She said she wanted to know when the job was done.
[Grace:] We are taking your calls. Take a look at this young bride and mom, mom of two, married to a firefighter husband. She`s planning their wedding reenactment, to renew their vows. inviting friends and family to a big upscale blow-out celebration. All the while police say she is hiring a hitman, via a friend at a Mexican restaurant, to kill her husband. Back to the lawyers, Renee Rockwell, Bradford Cohen, Anna Sigga Nicolazzi. Anna, explain to me how this state is going to prove this case.
[Anna Sigga Nicolazzi, Prosecutor:] What it looks like so far, I think very easily. They`re going to have the testimony of the friend, the hired hitman. They`re going to be able to easily go into her bank account and get those records that`ll show the thousand dollars that she`s taken out. And then they`re going to have their biggest piece of evidence, that rock-solid recorded call that was set up by police, where they`re not only going to have to trust the words of this so-called friend or hitman, they are going to hear her talking about her husband`s physical description, exactly where she wants it done, that she doesn`t care how, just wants it done. They`re going to have the physical evidence of the document she gave to the guy, which are these photographs of her husband, his work schedule with the circles. And I`m quite sure as we hear more about this, Nancy, we`re going to hear more about motive, whether it is insurance money, whether there`s another guy waiting in the wings or whether it has to do with she just doesn`t want to deal with a custody battle and a divorce. I`m quite sure the state is going to be able to pull this one all together.
[Grace:] OK, Bradford. Weigh in.
[Bradford Cohen, Defense Attorney:] I don`t think that`s true. There`s nothing easy in the world, and especially in criminal cases. You don`t know whether or not this tape is going to come in. You don`t know whether or not the police set it up. In fact...
[Grace:] Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Wait!
[Cohen:] ... just the opposite.
[Grace:] Wait! Wait!
[Cohen:] It sounds like...
[Grace:] Stop!
[Cohen:] Sure.
[Grace:] Stop, stop, stop. Bradford...
[Cohen:] Yes?
[Grace:] ... you can`t just throw something out like that. Like, I don`t think the tape is going to come in. Why?
[Cohen:] I didn`t say that. I said...
[Grace:] Do you have even...
[Cohen:] ... we don`t know if it`s going to come in.
[Grace:] ... a shred of evidence... Well, why wouldn`t it?
[Cohen:] I said we don`t know if it`s coming in. We don`t know...
[Grace:] Yes, my question to you...
[Cohen:] ... the tape quality.
[Grace:] ... is why wouldn`t it?
[Cohen:] We don`t know if it`s complete. Why wouldn`t it? The tape quality...
[Grace:] Yes, I want to see his face!
[Cohen:] ... why it was made, if it`s a complete tape, how it was made. We don`t know any of that.
[Grace:] So tonight, when you go to bed, you`re going to pray, Oh, dear Lord, please don`t let the tape quality be very good. You know what? It is. Plus, juries don`t mind a scratchy little tape!
[Unidentified Male:] One thousand to get it done. It`s a bizarre scenario.
[Unidentified Female:] She gloated about her family on the Internet, especially her firefighter husband. Twenty-four-year-old Brittany Martinez is an EMT and mom of two.
[Unidentified Male:] Charged with putting out a hit on her own husband, a Houston firefighter.
[Unidentified Female:] Police say this woman allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband.
[Unidentified Male:] Well, a good place to carry out the murder, the parking lot behind his fire station.
[Unidentified Female:] She wanted it to be done at work where it would look like it was work-related.
[Grace:] we are taking your calls. Straight out to Catherine in Virginia. Hi, Catherine. What`s your question?
[Unidentified Female:] I was trying to find out, how in the world would you want to kill somebody if you`re planning a reenactment of your wedding vows? I mean, for crying out loud, $3,000? Don`t you think with that money, you can get a dead-on divorce instead of killing the father of your children, if he`s a damn good man?
[Grace:] Tell it, Catherine! Straight out to Wilbur Smith, attorney for Kimberly Alters, his client also accused of hiring a hitman to kill the husband. Wilbur, Ow much does a divorce cost these days, if you can get one on line, you know, the uncontested ones? How much?
[Wilbur Smith, Attorney For Kimberly Alters:] Well, uncontested divorces are probably around $1,500. But divorce lawyers are taking cases pretty cheaply today because of the economy. And you know, she`s married and has a couple of kids and she`s making income, the husband`s making income. Alimony`s probably not going to be an issue. Child support`s not going to be a big issue. So you can get even a contested divorce for $4,000 or $5,000. That`s that`s just not a problem. What every one has said is kind of the common thread here...
[Grace:] Hey, Wilbur?
[Smith:] Yes?
[Grace:] Wilbur, where what`s your jurisdiction? Where are you practicing law?
[Smith:] In south Florida.
[Grace:] South Florida. You know, you sound pretty smart. I`m going to make sure my husband never gets your phone number. So Wilbur Smith, I`ve seen billboards when I`m driving down the interstate that says "Divorce $500."
[Smith:] No, Nancy...
[Grace:] Pretty good deal, huh?
[Smith:] ... it`d cost your husband a lot more than $5,000 [sic]. I`m talking about people like these, are fireman or EMTs or you know, people that are just people with limited income. It`s not expensive to get a divorce, and it`s not difficult. But the common thread that runs through these cases and I`ve heard everyone on the show saying it is it doesn`t make sense. It`s crazy. The officer said it`s amateurish. These cases are amateurish. And they usually are. My case is. In my case, we feel very strongly it was entrapment. Doesn`t look like that in this case. But what you need to look at are two things...
[Grace:] Oh, I bet you do, Wilbur Smith! I`m sure you`re convinced Kimberly Alters had nothing to do with hiring a hitman to kill her husband. Wilbur, not a comment on your client, Kimberly Alters, but how easy is it going to be able to prove this case? Adrian Martinez I mean, she`s making plans to kill her husband in a Mexican restaurant, for Pete`s sake!
[Smith:] Need to look into the alleged hitman.
[Unidentified Female:] Promise this child when they are born that you`ll love them forever, and you are going protect them.?
[Unidentified Male:] Shocking video, the beating of a 22-year-old autistic man caught on tape. This video shows that he suffered repeated beatings allegedly at the hands on of a care taker. That is right, the care taker. It`s a family documented bruises on Taylor`s ears and legs as well as burns on his arms. He beats the man with a fist and toy gun, pounding him.
[Unidentified Female:] My son is being beat and treated horribly.
[Unidentified Male:] They hardly secretly installed a hidden camera in Taylor`s room. But no one was prepared for what the video showed.
[Unidentified Female:] Then I just feel so guilty that we did not do the camera earlier.
[Grace:] I didn`t want to watch this video and I physically turn away from it over and over and over again. Then I made myself watch it. Because I wanted to know the facts. And when I think of one of my children in this position, this autistic young man has a minds of about a four or 5- year-old, that`s the age of my twins. Look at what is happening. I`m going go out to our reporters in just a moment. But first I`m going to go to this young man`s mother, Karen Hartley. This is Taylor`s mother. And Ms. Heartily, I know that you are in preparation to go forward in trial. And I realize that there are going to be some questions, and I don`t know what they will be yet, that you cannot answer because you do not want to jeopardize the trial.
[Karen Hartley, Taylor Hartley`s Mother:] Yes.
[Grace:] But my first question to you is, where is your son tonight? Where is Taylor right now?
[Hartley:] He is in at his day hob center.
[Grace:] So, is he living back at home with you?
[Hartley:] No. He is in a new group home.
[Grace:] A new facility.
[Hartley:] Yes.
[Grace:] Because, you know, a lot of people
[Hartley:] A new provider.
[Grace:] A lot of people understand that you raised Taylor in your home until he was nearly 20 years old.
[Hartley:] Yes.
[Grace:] And then, wanted him to have some degree of independence. Some life outside your home and you look into and a range for him to go a group home. Tell me what happened?
[Hartley:] Mostly the reason he is in a group home is we were in different programs where they are supposed to provide help for me to take care of him and I just could not get a staff together that would be here with what I needed because he has to have one on one supervision and I never could get a staff that would stay, they would call in sick for three days, I could not get backup, I paid them more than they would get paid in a group home situation.
[Grace:] Tell me when you first became suspicious that your son, Taylor, was being beaten?
[Hartley:] January 2010.
[Grace:] What happened?
[Hartley:] His teacher called me and he had looked like belt marks on his back side. She took pictures and called CPS or you know the protective services agency. CPS then, because he was not 21, and then I was contacted by a CPS operator and she asked me if the bruises could have taken place from Taylor scooting down the school bus steps and I said absolutely not.
[Grace:] What is his mental capacity?
[Hartley:] Four to five years.
[Grace:] Joining me right now is JD Miles with CNN`s affiliate KTVT. Also with us, Conner Hammett, reporter with "Allen American" broke the story on the beating. Connor first to you, tell me the timeline, what happened?
[Conner Hammett, Reporter, Allen American:] Well, the police were notified in June of 2011 which I believe is when Ms. Hartley turned over the footage that she had captured to the police.
[Grace:] Joining me now is JD Miles with KTVT. JD, let`s take it from the top. What do we know?
[Jd Miles, Reporter, Cnn Affiliate Ktvt:] Sure. Well, Nancy, we know that that video exists. That the parents captured two weeks of what looks like just repeated abuse at the hands of the care taker and it came after six months in this home. So they obviously think this abuse was going on the entire time that Taylor was there. And it would have kept going on because every time they went to authorities, it seems like there was an excuse from care take or from same authorities, or from whoever was diagnosing Taylor. Finally, the tape and those images, those haunting, disturbing imagines tell the story.
[Grace:] So, explain to me, how the mom finally got the secret camera into the home?
[Miles:] The mother Karen Hartley and her husband, they actually went to the home after getting so many excuses, they would buy those excuses. They finally bought a hidden camera that was disguised in an alarm clock we are told. They distracted the group home owner for a while, installed it in his bedroom and they were able to capture these imagines that show Taylor at times in his room for seven to ten hours without food and going unattended as well being abused.
[Grace:] Take a look at the stunning video images. A mother concerned about her young son realizes the worst. Installs a hidden camera, and this is what she finds. Out to CW Jenson, retired Portland police captain. CW, explain to me how the hidden camera works.
[Cw Jensen, Retired Portland Police Captain:] Well, Nancy. Luckily, as we know, the technology has gotten to the point where you can put a camera in all sorts of different things like a clock or difference appliances that look like they belong there, but you is have the camera. And I think the message to all your viewers should be this. We give our children to different people. Doctors nurses, teachers coaches counselors caretakers, and if you think something is wrong, you have to act on it. You have to act on it.
[Grace:] Back to Karen Hartley, this is Taylor`s mother. Karen, explain to me how you physically went in and placed the hidden camera in the room?
[Hartley:] On a regular we normally pick up Taylor every other weekend and we had been making more visits and picking him up more often because we we suspected abuse and were not getting any answers and authorities were not doing anything either. So, my husband actually goes in Taylor`s room when we bring him home for the weekend and pack his bags and my husband just plugged in the camera on the dresser, that was in their next to the television set that was in his room.
[Unidentified Male:] The beating of a 22-year-old autistic man, caught on tape. He suffered repeated beatings.
[Unidentified Female:] Promise this child when they are born
[Unidentified Male:] Allegedly at the hands of a caretaker. That is right, the caretaker.
[Hartley:] Who is going to protect him
[Unidentified Male:] 39-year-old Michael Reginald Fuller, repeatedly beats the man with his fists and a toy gun. Pounding him. Taylor`s autism and size as he got older made it difficult to stay with his parents so Karen and Michael Hartley moved Taylor to several homes. Taylor Hartley seems cowering from his attacker. For months, the family documented bruises on Taylor`s ears and legs and as well as burns on his arms. Taylor`s parents reportedly get a call from the dentist letting them know that Taylor suffered a compound fracture of had his jaw. The Hartley secretly installed a hidden camera in Taylor`s room. No one was prepared for what the video showed. Two weeks later the family saw the video of Taylor cowering on his bed, just about every time a care taker entered the room.
[Grace:] Straight to special guest, Holly Robinson Peete, founder of Hollyrod foundation. She is an autism advocate. She is the mother of a young son, diagnosed with autism. Holly, I know that this breaks your heart, because you have been through so much with your son. Give me your analysis, Holly.
[Holly Robinson Peete, Founder, Hollyrod Foundation, Autism Advocate:] I had Nancy, like you. I had a visceral reaction when I saw the video. It made me physically ill. I felt like little bugs were crawling over my skin. It was so disgusting. But, you know, what really troubles me most about this, you know, when my son was three years old, and he was diagnosed, I have boy girl twins like little Lucy and John David. I have little Ryan Elizabeth and Rodney. And they are 14 now. But when he was three, my son, who has autism, was they told us, he may not be able to live on his own one day. So, like most parents of a child with autism, my biggest fear is what will my son do when I`m not there or I`m gone? Who is going to keep him from harm? Who is going to know his corps? Who is going to protect his heart? You know, and it just keeps me up at night that you know, this would happen, what sickens me is that this group home was supposed to be caring for him and the issue is unfortunately thousands of these children like, you know, I so feel for Mr. And Mrs. Hartley, thousands of them will age out of their parent`s houses then we are going to hear more and more about the abuse like this. You already suffered a mountain amount of guilt. And she took care of her son for years for even having to put your son in a group home and their need. These punishment with this people who treat people with special needs like this and probation is not going to cut it.
[Grace:] Also, with us, Lawrence Carter-Long, public affairs specialist with the national council on disability. You are all familiar with him. He was literally the poster boy for, handicapped children for many, many years. Lawrence, it`s so great to talk to you and Holly Robinson Peete today. When I saw this video Lawrence, like Holly, I could not watch it for the longest time, and we are only showing you selected portions. It is extremely graphic, extremely upsetting. And Lawrence, I`m going to go back to Holly shortly. This mom and dad did everything that they could, they went to child protective services, got nothing. They went to the people that ran this home, got nothing. And what is the name of the home, JD Miles?
[Miles:] It`s the Meadow Brook Home, it`s actually in a residential neighborhood and their bedrooms, each bedroom is for a separate resident who is either mentally or physically disabled.
[Grace:] So, Lawrence Carter-Long, what do you think?
[Lawrence Carter-long, Public Affairs Specialist, National Council On Disability:] Yes, Nancy, what these parents have uncovered is a culture of abuse. What happens, I cannot speak to this particular home, but over and over again, what we are seeing is people committing abuse at one home, no real action being taken they get fired. They go to another home. They do the same thing over again. We have a national database for sex offenders. We need to have a database of people who work in these care homes. Because what is happening in here is something that most people do not know about and you would not know about it if these parents had not had the ingenuity to put the camera out there. Remember, they were told over and over again, from the home itself, from authorities, that nothing was going on. So they had to take action. That is what we need is that kind of ingenuity and that kind of doggedness to really put this abuse out there. What we have to do also is deny this culture that says, people with disabilities are less than fully human. You know, we can`t we do not have to just throw the book at this guy. We have to throw the bookcase at this guy, we have to put the whole library at this guy and make an example of him and say this is not acceptable in this society.
[Grace:] Out to Kayla. Hi, Kayla, what`s is your question dear?
[Kayla, Caller, Michigan:] My question is, what is going to happen to the person that assaulted the child?
[Grace:] You know, the guy`s name is Michael Fuller, age 39, care taker at the group home. Allegedly, the person in this video repeatedly attacking Taylor Hartley. You know, I want to find out more about him, what do we know, JD?
[Miles:] Well, we know he worked at several of the homes operated by these owners and they claim he had a good record. But when authorities arrested him, they found out he had an outstanding charge for a drug related offense. So he
[Grace:] Whoa, whoa, wait. Wait, wait, wait.
[Miles:] He was a convicted drug offender.
[Grace:] He had a convicted, he is a convicted drug offender? Unleash the lawyers. Ana
[Renee Rockwell, Defense Attorney:] Nancy, not only because they have got a guy that might have a conviction, but once you go to the home and you say, I think something is going on, the home is then on notice. So, this is not going to be a case that will go to a jury trial for the criminal offense, but I see big numbers in a civil case by the parents of this child.
[Grace:] It is Meadow Creek Home. To Dr. Michelle Dupre, medical examiner, forensic pathologist. Dr. Dupre, he gets a fracture compound a compound fractured jaw, covered in bruises, even gets burns. Look, he is beating him with an object Doctor, how do you prove the case, Dr. Dupre?
[Doctor Michelle Dupre, M.d., Medical Examiner, Forensic Pathologist:] This is the case of blunt force trauma, Nancy. And pattern injuries and the history of dating the injuries are the continuity of doing that, should make a substantial case.
[Grace:] A cautionary tale to every mother and father out there and now CNN heroes.
[Unidentified Female:] Take away from us Lord. Take it Lord.
[Unidentified Male:] As the storms tore through the Midwest and south last weekend, taking 40 lives, emergency recovery teams scrambled to respond to devastated communities across ten states. Among the relief workers heading into the destruction zone was CNN hero, Tad Agoglia, and his first response team of America.
[Tad Agoglia, Founder, First Response Team Of America:] Let`s go ahead and get this debris cleared enough so we can get the claw in here. We have here, just a few hours after the tornado struck the community. We have cleared the road, we have provided the light towers, we powered up the grocery store, we powered up the gas station to provide the essentials that this community needs.
[Unidentified Male:] Since 2007, Agoglia`s team has crisscrossing the country providing recovery assistance that thousands of people at 40 disaster sites for free. This week, they`ve worked tirelessly for days, restoring services and clearing tons of debris.
[Agoglia:] See if you can grab the claw, actually cut the roof right in half. It`s very hard for traditional equipment without the claws to actually grab this debris. That`s why you need specialty equipment like this.
[Unidentified Male:] What do you do with it?
[Agoglia:] We remove it from the community. But time is of the essence. There are a lot of people that want to get back in here. They`re looking for anything they can salvage.
[Unidentified Male:] Why do you do this? Why did you choose this road?
[Agoglia:] When I`m watching the super cells go right over the small communities, I want to be there to help.
[Unidentified Male:] I`ll let you get to work. You do good stuff.
[Agoglia:] Thank you.
[Unidentified Male:] Thanks, Tad.
[Grace:] What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and more important the people who touched our lives.
[Unidentified Female:] Court papers say Thomas Joseph Presley lost control beating Blake to death.
[Unidentified Male:] Didn`t quite add up.
[Unidentified Female:] Investigators say Blake was severely beaten.
[Unidentified Male:] Physical injury just wasn`t consistent with the car accident.
[Unidentified Female:] Child abuse severely beaten. Beat to death. The little boy was killed. The cops say Presley tried to cover it up staging a hit-and-run accident.
[Grace:] Anyone that loves children, that cares about what is right and what is wrong, must be heard tonight.
[Unidentified Male:] I just didn`t quite add up.
[Unidentified Female:] Authorities say evidence pointed to murder. Not one, but both of her children were being absolutely, absolutely abused from this guy and what did she do? She didn`t even tell her preacher about this.
[Grace:] Why this woman had to have a man so badly that she would tolerate someone beating her little boy like this. It wasn`t the first time.
[Unidentified Female:] Emergency crews have been called in this clinic as many as 30 times in one month, alone.
[Unidentified Male:] A witness says they actually saw this evil nurse apparently try to get bleach into a syringe, looking around suspiciously to make sure nobody saw her and then she injected, this according to two witnesses, injected it into two dialysis patients.
[Grace:] Why isn`t she behind bars? What`s happening?
[Unidentified Female:] Next to what the jury is going to call the instrument of death. We`re not looking at somebody who`s just a killer, we`re looking at a serial killer.
[Grace:] We are just getting news on the missing family, the Meskger family. Timmy 33, Sabrina 34. Joshua just 4 months.
[Unidentified Female:] The family is fine.
[Grace:] Where are they? Why did they disappear? Let`s stop and remember army sergeant first class Matthew Kahler, 29, Granite Falls, Minnesota. Killed Afghanistan. On a third tour. Two bronze stars. Two purple hearts. Five army commendation medals. Loved camping, canoeing, riding horses, restoring cars. Leaves behind parents, Colleen and Ron, stepfather, Shelley, brothers, Doug, Brian, Jesse, Justin, and Jared. Sister, Patrice. Widow, Vicki. Daughter, Allison. Matthew Kahler. American hero. Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And a special good night tonight from the New York control room. Brett, Liz, hi, gang. And, there`s Bonnie and Liz on the end. Happy anniversary tonight to Fayetteville, Georgia, friends, Ann and Chuck Lynch. They have beat the odds. Married for 55 years. What an inspiration to me. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend. END

[Blitzer:] A dramatic encounter on Capitol Hill today as a top senator called for U.S. action to stop the slaughter in Syria. The Pentagon brass revealed just what steps it might be taking, at least possibly. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has details of various contingency options. What are you learning, Barbara?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Well, Wolf, it all starts with the Syrian opposition, doesn't it? What we learned today is the U.S. believes the opposition is growing deeper and wider across the country. Now the question is what to do about it all?
[Starr:] As Syria continues to unravel, the president says he wants to exhaust diplomatic efforts, but for the first time, signs that President Obama has started discussing options with his military.
[General Martin Dempsey, Joint Chiefs, Chairman:] The president of the United States, through the national security staff, has asked us to begin the commander's estimate, the estimate of the situation.
[Starr:] CNN was first to report military planning was underway. On Wednesday, the nation's top officer told a Senate committee those options include humanitarian relief, a no-fly zone, intervention at sea and air strikes.
[Dempsey:] I want to be clear, we can do anything, the question is not can we do it, should we do it?
[Starr:] Senator John McCain continued to insist the U.S. should.
[Senator John Mccain , Arizona:] Can you tell us how much longer the killing would have to continue? How many additional civilian lives would have to be lost? How many more have to die, 10,000 more, 20,000 more?
[Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary:] Before I recommend that we put our sons and daughters in uniform in harm's way, I've got to make very sure that we know what the mission is. I've got to make very sure if we know whether we can achieve that mission.
[Starr:] Panetta said U.S. ground troops are not being considered. U.S. concerns, however, a fractured opposition with nearly 100 groups. Air strikes could take hundreds of aircraft and weeks of bombing to destroy Syria's air defenses.
[Dempsey:] They have approximately five times more air sophisticated air defense systems than existed in Libya, cover one fifth of the terrain.
[Starr:] Panetta said it wouldn't make sense for the U.S. to act unilaterally, but he set off a firestorm when he said the U.S. would want international permission, but might not seek congressional approval for military action.
[Panetta:] Our goal would be to seek international permission, and we would come to the Congress and inform you.
[Senator Jeff Sessions , Alabama:] I'm almost breathless about that, because what I heard you say is we're going to seek international approval, and then we'll come and tell the Congress what we might do. And we might seek congressional approval.
[Starr:] Now, we just finished talking to Senator Sessions privately a few minutes ago. He remains very concerned, Wolf. His feeling is that time may be running out in Syria, but not for Assad. He thinks time may be running out for the U.S. and the allies to intervene. That Assad actually in recent days and weeks has been gaining momentum on the ground in Syria, and that the administration could be desperately wrong, it may not be inevitable that Assad cease regime will fall. So this is all shaping up to be quite a dire situation for many different reasons Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes, it seems to be going from bad to worse in Syria. All right, thanks very much, Barbara. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations Nuclear Watchdog Agency today said Iran is not telling everything about its nuclear program. As CNN was first to show you, there are signs Iran may be trying to, quote, "clean up evidence of nuclear activities at a critical site before international inspectors can get there." Let's go live to our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance. He's in Vienna, Austria right now. Matthew, you have new information about this reported cleanup. What are you learning?
[Matthew Chance, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Yes, the latest information on that, Wolf, is that, you know, the U.N. inspectors that tried to get into that site, it's called Parchen. It's close to the Iranian capital. It's a military facility where it's suspected that weapons research on the trigger mechanisms for atomic bombs, to be specific, may have been carried out there. They tried to get access to it. They were denied access repeatedly in January and February. What's been reported since then by the IAEA and confirmed by other western diplomats we've been speaking to here as well, is that they're monitoring that site through satellite images. On those images, Iranian vehicles can be seen in the site, earth moving equipment, things like that. And the interpretation being given to us by diplomats here at the IAEA is that the site is being cleared up before inspectors are allowed in to take a look around. So that's what the implication is, according to the diplomats who have seen these satellite images that are Iran is cleaning it up before it allows inspectors to see what's been going on there.
[Blitzer:] Important developments. Matthew, is there anything significant that's expected to happen at this upcoming IAEA meeting, and you're in Vienna, where the IAEA is headquartered, which potentially could slow down Iran's nuclear program?
[Chance:] Potentially there's a big day tomorrow. It's supposed to be the last day of these meetings tomorrow here at the IAEA nuclear headquarters in Vienna. I learned from a western diplomat this evening that the five permanent members of the Security Council. So including the United States, China, France, Britain, have agreed along with Germany a joint statement Russia as well, of course a joint statement to basically underline their serious concerns about Iran's ongoing nuclear program and call on the IAEA to report again on what progress, if any, is made when they go there next time. It doesn't sound like much, but it shows as negotiations get under way against with the Iranians and the P-5 plus one as they're being called, the Security Council members are presenting a united front. Remember, Russia and China have often provided diplomatic cover for Iran and its nuclear activities. On this occasion, it seems they're on the same page as the western countries when it comes to Iran kind of coming into compliance over its nuclear program Wolf.
[Blitzer:] We'll, of course, stay in close touch with you, Matthew. Thanks very much. And as the full extent of the slaughter in Syria becomes known, I'll speak with the former top Middle East envoy, the adviser on the Middle East to President Obama. Dennis Rossi just recently left the National Security Council. He'll update us on what's going on. New developments in the case of a high school valedictorian who was facing deportation to a country she left as a 4-year-old.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, we're focusing on politics, the economy here at home. I want to get right to it. A fallout over a botch gun running sting escalates at a whole new level. We are talking about right in the middle of it, attorney general Eric Holder. The House committee is holding a hearing right now to consider a contempt citation against Holder. Committee chairman, Congressman Darrell Issa demanding more documents related to the failed gun sting known as Operation Fast and Furious. The situation escalated when President Obama invoked executive privilege over these documents that Issa is asking for. Triple digit temperatures expected this week in the Northeast, hottest we have seen all year. Remember, you've got to drink plenty of water, limit your sun exposure, wear some light clothing. Things should cool down by the weekend. More now of the legal and political showdown of the botched gun running sting operation. President Obama and the White House, they are now involved. The House oversight committee is considering a contempt measure against attorney general Eric Holder. Chairman Darrell Issa, he is demanding more documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. It was an attempt to track weapons purchased by Mexican drug cartels, but the Bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms lost track of more than 1,000 weapons that were carried across the border. Two of the guns turned up at the scene where a U.S. border patrol agent was killed. Kate Bolduan is following all developments on Capitol Hill. Kate, first of all, explain to us, why did the White House feel that it needed to get involved?
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] Well, the White House has gotten involved because they believe that some of these documents these documents that are in question, they are sensitive in a deliberative nature, that they fall under kind of the per view of executive privilege. They are important enough to kind of be interworkings of the executive branch and its communication the president's communications with his advisors that they do not think it should be part of this investigation. In this letter, Suzanne, that the deputy attorney general sent to Darrell Issa, the chairman of the committee, just today before the hearing, he lays it out pretty clearly. He says, we regret that we have arrived at this point after the many steps we have taken to address the committee's concerns, and to accommodate the committee's legitimate oversight interests regarding Operation Fast and Furious. But he goes on to say, although we are deeply disappointed that the committee appears intent on proceeding with a contempt vote, the department remains willing to work with the committee to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues. They're trying to say there that they may be leaving room leaving some room there to work out some kind of a resolution there, but make no mistake, they are moving forward with this contempt vote, and the chairman of the committee feels differently about what this contempt what this executive privilege assertion is than the White House does.
[Malveaux:] OK. So, where are we in this hearing process are we? Are they ready to vote?
[Bolduan:] This hearing has gone on very long. It started just after 10:00, about 10:20 this morning, and they've gone with whomever every member of the committee, if they want to, can have their time to talk and they have been taking it. They are going back and forth. Not surprising what you are hearing, very much along the political lines,, Democrats saying that they believe this is a witch hunt against the administration and the attorney general Republican saying this is that the administration and the attorney general has been stonewalling them as they have a legitimate role of oversight and are trying to investigate what happened with this botched operation. They are continuing with going back and forth and taking their time to speak. We are told that they will recess, they'll kind of take a break after everyone wraps up, and then the assumption is they will vote. But in terms of timing, it is anyone's guess.
[Malveaux:] OK. And also, you know, there is lot of discussion here, and people are talking about the constitutional crisis, it could go to the Supreme Court. Do you get the sense that people there want to resolve this thing and not have it get to escalate to that point? They might take a step back?
[Bolduan:] And it really yes. Honestly, it depends who you speak with. I will say that both sides, when I speak with them, they say they want to avoid this it was the chairman of the committee said he wants to avoid this contempt citation. He just wants the documents. If you speak, though, to the top Democrat on his committee, he came out saying that it appears that the chairman, in his view, is going towards this contempt citation no matter what came out of that meeting that they had last night to try to resolve their differences. So, it seems, as is always, up here on Capitol Hill, it depends on who you speak with. But make no mistake, this has gone from a political showdown to a full scale battle between the administration and Congress. And it's this has become a big deal, to say the least though.
[Malveaux:] Big deal indeed. All right. Thank you, Kate, appreciate it. Much awaited fed announcement in that's a big deal, too. After two days of meetings, the fed decision to put $267 billion into a program to swap short-term bonds for longer ones. The idea is, basically, to keep interest rates low. Alison Kosik, she's at the New Stock Exchange to kind of explain what did the fed announce and how folks are reacting?
[Alison Kosik, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Well, here's what's interesting. If you look at the board, you wouldn't really think that a big announcement even happened. Stocks are higher right now. You know, when the fed came out with this announcement that it's extending what it called Operation Twist. You did see the markets plunge, the Dow actually fell within minutes to 92 points lower. And now, it's obviously, it's come back, the Dow is up 17 points. And what it did was once again, it extended this Operation Twist. What essentially that is is when the fed the federal reserve sells the short-term treasures and use the proceeds used the proceeds from that to buy longer term ones. The whole bowl in this is the pushdown long these long-term interest rates and what that does is it makes it cheaper for businesses to get loans and consumers to get mortgages and other credit. But this has been going on since September, October of last year. And one analyst that I just talked with said, you know what part of the problem is with getting the economy going is you can't force borrowers to borrow money, and you can't force the banks to lend. And this is the whole point of Operation Twist by getting these interest rates lower. You know, why borrow? At least businesses feel, why borrow when the economy is slowing? And then there comes the question, Suzanne, how effective has it been so far since it's been in effect since September? But clearly, the market is not too upset about it, really exactly what was expected to come out of the fed today Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And market analysts, what are they making of what's happening?
[Kosik:] Yes. You know, some say you know, some are questioning whether or not the feds should have done more, but then you sort of turn the whole picture around that if the fed did something more dramatic and it makes everybody step back and say, well, wait. You know, is the economy worse off than we thought? You know, is this why the fed is taking such dramatic action? So, by the fed kind of keeping the status quo, because it's going to basically keep things going the way it's been going until the end of the year, it is what is more of a wait and see sort of attitude that you are seeing. And then others say, you know, this could be enough to keep things afloat while the economy tries to recover on its own, while we wait for things in Greece and Spain to kind of level off there as well. You know, because a lot of the people question, Suzanne, whether it is the fed's role to prop up the economy when things are really bad Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] All right, Alison Kosik. Thank you, Alison. Here is what we are working on this hour [voice-over]: Uncertainty and fear in Egypt with reports of Hosni Mubarak's near death. And Egypt's first re-election still up in the air. And would you like your meat without [INAUDIBLE.] One group's push to require all grocery stores to carry antibiotic-free meat.

[Costello:] And just to bring you up to date once again. Moments ago the judge sentenced Jerry Sandusky to not less than 30 years in prison and not more than 60. The judge said he did not sentence him to hundreds of years behind bars because that just wouldn't seem right. Jerry Sandusky is around 68 years old. He will likely die in prison. These are pictures of Jerry Sandusky leaving the courtroom, getting into that police car, he'll be taken to the local jail where he's been being held and later transferred to a federal facility. Much more on this story in the hours to come on CNN. Let's talk about politics now, shall we? Now let's talk about the polls. But is it even worth talking about the polls? So you've heard all about the latest Pew poll and it has a huge post debate bump for Romney and not a single Republican is questioning its accuracy. But hold on, there are two different polls new this morning that show Romney is actually losing momentum. So what's the Obama campaign going to do about it? Unleash Big Bird.
[Ad Narrator:] Bernie Madoff, Ken Lay, Dennis Kozlowski, criminals, glutens of greed and the evil genius who towered over them? One man has the guts to speak his name.
[Mitt Romney,  Presidential Nominee:] Big Bird. Big Bird. Big Bird.
[Big Bird:] It's me, Big Bird.
[Ad Narrator:] Big, yellow, a menace to our economy. Mitt Romney knows it's not Wall Street you have to worry about; it's "Sesame Street".
[Romney:] I'm going to stop the subsidy to
[Pbs. Ad Narrator:] Mitt Romney, taking on our enemies no matter where they nest.
[Costello:] There you have it. So let's talk about everything. Jason Johnson is a political science professor at Hiram College in Ohio and the chief political correspondent for Politics365. John Avlon is an Independent and CNN contributor and he does many, many more things, too long to list. Welcome to you both.
[Jason Johnson, Political Science Professor, Hiram College:] Good morning.
[Costello:] OK.
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] Good to see you, Carol.
[Costello:] So President Obama is arming himself with Big Bird and actually Nickelodeon, too, because apparently defying tradition Mitt Romney refused to answer question from the kids on Nickelodeon's kid pick the President and Mr. Obama did answer questions and that started the war of words. Obama's deputy national press secretary saying quote, "It's no surprise Mr. Romney chose to play hooky. Kids demand details," end quote. Jason, isn't this just silly?
[Johnson:] You know, it isn't silly when you're Mitt Romney because you need to make sure that after you get this post debate boost, that you work it as good as you can and the idea of him looking cold again, the idea of him looking distant again and not connecting with people is not good. Going after Big Bird, going after Elmo and ignoring a bunch of kids on Nickelodeon that is not the way to continue on the crest of your bump. So it is not good for Mitt Romney.
[Costello:] Oh so come on but, John we saw Mitt Romney at an elementary school, he was shaking hands with the kids and he's telling very touching stories on the campaign trail about this 14-year-old for whom he gave the eulogy.
[Avlon:] Yes. Yes, but but continue that momentum. This is an unforced error. I mean if Nickelodeon has a series and asks you to talk to American school kids, you can't say I don't have time for them and still be on the charm offensive. We're trying to show people how human you are. Look, he's a fantastic father by all accounts. This is a unforced scheduling error, you always make time for America's school kids. If you don't, it's going to reflect badly on you.
[Costello:] Really? Come on. Really?
[Johnson:] Yes.
[Avlon:] Yes, no I'm telling you.
[Costello:] Because some people might say, oh my God, why take time out to answer a bunch of kids' questions.
[Johnson:] But the kids matter.
[Avlon:] Because they matter and their parents vote.
[Costello:] OK. You guys know more about politics than I do. It's OK. Let's talk about the polls. There's being a war waged over the polls on Twitter. It goes something like this, my poll is better than your poll, na-na-na-na. So when taken all together, do national polls really matter, Jason?
[Johnson:] They do matter and they matter even when the Republicans were becoming sort of poll truthers just like they were job truthers last week. Look, the thing is this. Barack Obama was never going to win the presidential election by eight points. I always thought the original Pew poll was was a bit too positive Barack Obama. But legitimately look, Mitt Romney has done better after doing well in the debate and then that has receded a bit. And so the national polls matter but more importantly as a state polls when we look at Florida, when we look at Ohio, when we look at Virginia, if any of his success from last week's debate trickles into the states, then this could be a whole new race. But so far we haven't seen that in any of the swing states.
[Costello:] But John, wouldn't you wouldn't you venture to guess that the closer we get to election time, the national polls, I'm not talking about the swing state polls, because I agree with you Jason, the national polls will show a race that's neck and neck?
[Avlon:] Sure absolutely. And remember, I mean Election Day is today in many states there's early voting. This year is different. The only poll that counts isn't just Election Day, it's what people do before. But but Jason is right to the extent that national polls are a broad barometer. What matters is the swing states. If you want to know what's going on, pay attention to them. And I love the way Carol that the professional partisans on both sides whenever they see a poll they don't like, they immediately start, you know, calling foul and going to the sample size. I mean, they are trying to spin their way out of what the polls are showing and nobody thinks that President Obama had a good debate last week. It's not a surprised that Mitt Romney is going to be making ground, pretty serious ground, in the past week.
[Costello:] But there are still two more presidential polls to go.
[Avlon:] Yes.
[Costello:] And you just don't know. That's why I'm saying why even look at the polls right now, Jason?
[Johnson:] Well, because it matters. The horse race coverage matters for partisans, right? Because the Democrats always like to be chicken little and say, oh, my God, the sky is falling, Obama got hammered in the debate last week. And Republicans like to always overestimate how friendly and how nice people actually think Mitt Romney are. So it matters to the people who are the partisans. It also matters for raising money. Look, Mitt Romney raised a lot of money after the debate last week because he finally demonstrated that hey, maybe this is a real race. So the polls do matter internally in the campaigns.
[Costello:] OK so I've learned from this conversation that Big Bird could be the decider. John
[Avlon:] Don't diss Big Bird. That's one of the big take away.
[Costello:] I understand. I will never diss Big Bird. Jason Johnson and John Avlon, thanks so much.
[Johnson:] Thank you.
[Costello:] A reminder for you Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan preparing to debate each other this Thursday night. CNN's live coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

[Foreman:] As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, history teaches us that Democrats and Republicans actually can work together. But what about the Tea Party? Democrats can't seem to stand them, of course. But the more moderate Republicans are also tiring of the Tea Party's influence in these budget battles in particular. Particularly this uncompromising view on raising taxes held by those by presidential candidate Michele Bachmann.
[Rep. Michelle Bachmann,  Presidential Candidate:] I know President Obama does because they embrace the idea of increasing taxes. There is absolutely no appetite anywhere across the United States for increasing taxes.
[Foreman:] Will Cain is a CNN contributor and conservative political analyst. Will, you join us now. Look the Republicans love the Tea Party. First of all, Michele Bachmann's incorrect there. There is an appetite among some people for raising taxes, just not the people that support her. But Republicans like the energy of the Tea Party. They like the fact that the Tea Party got people engaged and involved and saying, come to Washington, let's make things happen. Do they like it still?
[Will Cain, Cnn Contributor:] Some of them. You know Tom; a minute ago you said Republicans and Democrats have a history of working together. And you're right. But that working together, that compromise led to Medicare prescription Part "D," it led to record increases in the Department of Education, interior, agriculture, and virtually every department over the last 12 years. Thus it led to the Tea Party. Now, the Tea Party has a win on their side. Tom, they've redefined the conversation. Obama is talking about major spending cuts. Now it seems like they have an inability to take a win, 3 to 1 spending cuts that is a win. I don't understand that strategy. Why can't you just take yes for an answer?
[Foreman:] It comes down to a question of compromise. Which I have a lot of people in the Tea Party said, look I'm not interested in compromise. We were sent here, remember in Congress we were sent here to do something. We're going to do what we were sent to do.
[Cain:] Yes and that is a noble, noble principle. Guys who are not worried about getting reelected, who are principled individuals, but at the same time, this is a government where you just can't just have my way or the highway. So take a win. It's a 75 percent win.
[Foreman:] All right. Mark Skoda is founder and chairman of the Memphis Tea Party. According to a CNNORC poll, 55 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party right now. Mark do members of the Tea Party concern themselves one way or the other with how the country sees the Republican Party?
[Mark Skoda, Founder & Chairman, Memphis Tea Party:] No, I think we're focused as well said on the fiscal issues. I mean I have to tell you, one of the things and I've talked to a lot of folks lately. The issue isn't about compromise. The issue is about verifiable results. You know Reagan had it best, trust but verify. Even the three to one deal that Will spoke about, I looked at the proposal, there's no legislation, as you know. But it basically takes credit for reducing, as we like to hear, the normal cost curve over time. And the problem, I think, and the reason the Tea Party's being perceived as intransigent in this matter is it's not intransigent at all it's expecting real results. And quite frankly we're not seeing that. The only thing we've seen that actually is legislation proposed and passed is cut, cap and balance. So I think honestly there's not a conflict here. It's just holding people accountable.
[Foreman:] All right. We are going to get back to that in a moment. But first, let's bring in John Avlon; he is a CNN contributor and a senior political columnist for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast." John a Pew Research poll found two-thirds of Tea Party members say it won't be a problem if we go past August 2nd without a debt ceiling deal. Almost any economist and certainly the credit rating agencies strongly disagree with that. So how do Republicans strike a deal and still maintain support among the Tea Party base?
[John Avlon, Cnn Contributor:] Well that's becoming a real problem because with a rise of what I call debt ceiling deniers is a dominant strain among conservative populists. I think the Tea Party best sell is one that was focuses, throughout '09 and '10 and rederic on reducing the deficit and the debt, rightly identifying it as generational theft. But it becomes a question of priorities. Right now the divisions of the Republican Party are between deficit hogs and anti-tax absolutists. Reality check here, tax revenues are the lowest they have been since Harry Truman. And Ronald Reagan presided over 17 rise increases in the debt ceiling. So let's get some you want to talk about accountability and a sense of perspective. To Will's point, take a win. The gang of six deal which reduces tax rates and does entitlement reform, this is something that should be embraced. This "all or nothing" attitude really exposes the fact that some folks who have been elected, the real enemy is bipartisanship. Not because of a history of spending increases, because if we divided government in the past, we've had the inner highway bill, we had the Marshall plan; we had all of Reagan's terms, essentially. The real issue for some of this focus is a fundamental discomfort and dislike and distrust with bipartisanship, which is essential to get anything passed in a divided government. So reality check, folks, we need to raise the debt ceiling and we need to reduce the deficit. And the only way that gets done is with a bipartisan plan.
[Foreman:] Mark, I'm sure you want to jump in on that. Why don't you want to take the win at this point?
[Skoda:] Because it's not a win. Look, I've looked at the numbers. And many of the Tea Party have done so. First of all it's a proposal. There's no legislation we can even put our hands around. So first of all it's a $1 trillion tax increase. And secondly the $3 trillion savings includes
[Cain:] It's not.
[Skoda:] I'm sorry I'm just reading what I read that has been proposed. There's no legislation I can point to. So let me just suggest at this point there's $1 trillion of, quote, unquote, tax increases through closing to proverbial loopholes. And in addition there's roughly the additional $2 trillion of savings on future costs of government.
[Cain:] Mark, do you consider closing the loopholes a tax increase?
[Skoda:] Absolutely. I absolutely do.
[Cain:] It's in the tax code. I thought you were against earmarks.
[Skoda:] Let me be clear. I'm against the current tax code because it's overly complex and it is frankly is deleterious to this economy. There are fundamental issues in terms of closing what loopholes you want, it's a political motivation. We talk about oil companies but we don't talk about windmills. We talk about offshore drilling but we don't talk about aspects of nuclear power. We don't deal with the realities that this economy is facing. So what we as a Tea Party and certainly my own personal views are that we want verifiable reductions in spending. Look if they get to that $3 trillion. That's $300 billion a year, $100 billion of which is taxes.
[Cain:] Mark, let me ask you a question. Mark, this is Will. Here's a guy I believe in small government, constitutional limited government. You can't win me over, and then we've got a problem here. So here is my thing, you've made two different arguments. Are we opposing this gang of six deal or any kind of grand bargain because the spending cuts are unclear or because there's any potential tax increases?
[Skoda:] There are two things. Fundamentally one, the tax reduction, as you said the cost reductions are not clear. It's not evident. We went through that already last year at the end of the year with John Boehner. He was excoriated because of that. We haven't saved a dollar. So lets be very clear if we're going to reduce the actual spending, we have to have verifiable results, number one. That's absolutely required. I think in my context of suggesting to you that a lot of people in the Tea Party aren't maniacs about this, they say, look we're not going to get fooled again. Let's talk about bipartisanship very quickly. In 2009 during the health care there was no partisanship, I was there in Washington, D.C. when they sequestered Congress and made them vote because they didn't want them to come home to hear the constituents. So please don't look at the context of the discussion here around bipartisanship. That's not the question. The question is verifiable results; we want to get cutting in spending.
[Foreman:] Mark, we've had a reduction in time here. So we are going to have to wrap it up here. Same question to you guys, very quickly here. John, very quickly, do we see a debt ceiling deal by the end of next week?
[Avlon:] I hope so. I hope that Obama and Boehner are able put together a grand bargain or the gang of six legislation moves forward.
[Foreman:] OK.
[Avlon:] It raises taxes, it raises the debt ceiling, and it will end up dealing and producing deficit in the debt which is what we need to do as a country.
[Foreman:] Mark, yes or no? Do we get a deal by the end of next week?
[Skoda:] I think we will. We've raised the debt ceiling 100 times since it's been enforced.
[Foreman:] Will.
[Cain:] Yes, I agree we have a debt ceiling deal by next week. We have to.
[Foreman:] All right. Thank you all for being here. We appreciate it. Listen, coming up, why higher wages could actually be good for job growth. That's next.

[Berman:] A big letdown in London. The favored U.S. men's gymnastics team falters.
[Sambolin:] Mitt Romney getting ready to speak in Poland. There's a lot on the line after what has been a tough trip overseas.
[Berman:] And just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, a shark attacks on swimmers off of Cape Cod.
[Sambolin:] The guy's OK, though.
[Berman:] Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
[Sambolin:] And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. It is just about 6:00 a.m. in the east. Also coming up, Penn State students rallying for their embattled football program at this hour.
[Berman:] And also, we're going to be talking about the drought that's hitting the Midwest. Our Christine Romans goes back to her home state of Iowa. She's talking to farmers, small businessmen trying to deal with what is the worst drought in decades. But first, we're talking about the Olympics and a wild day in London. A disappointing one for men's gymnastics and historic one for swimmer, Missy Franklin, a controversial one for a 16-year-old Chinese swimmer who did one lap faster than Ryan Lochte. Maggie Gray who's here with us, she'll join us in a minute with the highlights. But up first, I want to Atika Shubert who is live in London. Let's talk about that U.S. men's gymnastics team and that incredible disappointment just one slip up after the other.
[Atika Shubert, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, I mean, they did so well in the trials. They've placed first and there was a lot of confidence going in, but unfortunately for John Arosco, when he hit the vault and attempted to land, it just didn't work out. And that meant that the entire U.S. men's gymnastic's team was basically out of medal contention. China won the gold, Japan the silver after a little bit of debate there. But it was really disappointing for the men's gymnastics team because they had so much confidence going in. You could see it on Arosco's face, not just after his dismount from the vault, but when he actually sat down, you could see he was really just trying to contain his tears. But having said that, we are looking forward to women's gymnastics today, Jordyn Wieber who was expected to be the star of it didn't qualify. However, which means it will be depending on two of the other gymnast on the U.S. team to try and gain some more medals tonight.
[Berman:] All right, Atika, thank you so much there live in London.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] So upsets and moments of inspiration in the pool as well so let's get right away to Maggie Gray. This is a tough one. We're talking about the Chinese swimmer. She's come under fire because from a U.S. coach who called her performance in the 400 individual medley suspicious. They're talking about the doping now and the possibility of that. What do you know about that?
[Maggie Gray, Anchor, Sports Illustrated Video:] We don't know whether or not she was doping or not at all. She will be tested just like every Olympian at the Olympics is. But I think one of the reasons why this story had legs because of what happened in 2008 in Beijing with the women's gymnastics team. Four of those gymnasts came under scrutiny for being too young. You have to be at least 16 years old to compete in the Olympics in gymnastics, after two investigations, the Chinese team was cleared of any wrong doing, but it does leave a little bit in the back of people's minds that maybe they are doing things that are a little bit unethical. But as far as we know, there's no reason to suspect this swimmer is doping.
[Sambolin:] OK, let's talk about the specifics here with five seconds faster than her record performance. She was also faster than Lochte was. So I want to first listen to what the IOC has to say about that this.
[Unidentified Male:] So the sudden rise in performance or surprise win be primarily suspected for being achieved, sport is a danger for sure because it partially ruins the charm of the competitive sport if a surprise win is surrounded by suspicions and question marks.
[Sambolin:] But there are a lot of suspicions and question marks. And before we get to that, let's also put up a statement that Lochte put out right after this as well. If we have that ready, that would be great. Do we have that?
[Gray:] He essentially was wowed.
[Sambolin:] There it is. It was pretty impressive and it was a female, she's fast. If is she was there with me, I don't know, she might have beat me.
[Gray:] Yes.
[Sambolin:] So, you know, how likely is something like that to happen?
[Gray:] You know, unfortunately in this day and age in sports, everything is suspicious. Any time that you put together a time or a race or performance that's better than anyone expected. People are going to look and maybe raise an eyebrow, shrug their shoulders and say it could be performance enhancing drugs. As of now though, we have no reason to suspect she could have just raced the race of her life.
[Sambolin:] And super duper athlete and beating out the guys as well.
[Berman:] But where there's smoke there's fire so often in sports these days. There's a history in this in Atlanta with an Irish swimmer. I mean, whenever you blow these records open by seconds and we're talking of big chunk, it definitely raises eyebrows.
[Gray:] Yes, and it will. And we'll know as soon as the drug test do come back. And they certainly will be tested along with the American athlete. Everyone is tested in the IOC in the world anti-doping agency does a fantastic job of trying to find out cheaters.
[Sambolin:] Wouldn't it be something if it all came back fine, right?
[Gray:] And that's part of why the Olympics is great because you have can have these amazing, record breaking mind-blowing races and hopefully it will be a good story.
[Sambolin:] OK, before we let you go, we got to talk about Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh, and what is expected of them. Are they just going
[Gray:] They're cruising through the field. I mean, they're going for a repeat in beach volleyball competition. They have not dropped a set. It is just looking like another dominant performance and people thought maybe this year they would not be the favorite. They have proven that teamwork and the chemistry they have together. There's just no match for it.
[Sambolin:] Now we had Misty May here and we told her to bring back the gold and bring it here so that we could see it live and in person.
[Gray:] They looked excited last night. They are doing good things.
[Sambolin:] All right, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.
[Gray:] Thanks for having me.
[Berman:] It would be great if they can retire on such a high note.
[Sambolin:] Absolutely. I think it's only Misty May that's retiring.
[Berman:] OK, well, at least Misty May. We're going to give you an update on the overall medal count right now. The U.S. is tied with China overall, 17 medals but we're trailing in gold 9-5. Japan is now in third with 11 medals.
[Sambolin:] And what to watch for today, Michael Phelps heads back to the pool looking for his first gold medal of this games. That's in the 200-meter butterfly. If he medals, he'll tie the career mark of 18 medals. Missy Franklin wins to her second in the 200-meter freestyle. And in gymnastics, the women try to win gold that is in the teen competition.
[Berman:] And coming up at 6:30 Eastern, we're going to talk to a U.S. gymnast, one on one, he's been there more than anybody. John Rufusberger, a three-time Olympic gymnast will join us and we're going to ask him what went wrong in London.
[Sambolin:] There's so much more ahead. Mitt Romney is in Warsaw, Poland this morning about to wrap up his three-nation tour with a speech about the values of liberty. But the presumptive GOP nominee continues to stumble on the world stage. Palestinian officials are labelling him racist for telling Israeli donors their culture allows them to be more economically successful than the Palestinians. The White House quick to jump on their opponent's latest stumble, senior strategist, David Axelrod, tweeting, is there anything about Romney's rolling ruckus that would inspire confidence in his ability to lead U.S. foreign policy? And in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the former Massachusetts governor is backtracking on comments he made last March about Russia being America's number one foe. Here's what he had to say.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] The number one national security threat, of course, to our nation is a nuclear Iran. Russia is a geopolitical adversary, but it's not an enemy with missiles being fired at one another or things of that nature.
[Sambolin:] Romney also telling Wolf Blitzer that he believes the U.S. should keep a military option available in Iran.
[Berman:] Tens of thousands of people are leaving Syria's largest city this morning. The bloody struggle for control of Aleppo is intensifying overnight. Rebel forces trying to capture the last government checkpoint on the road to the Turkish border. Government troops stepping up their shelling of rebel-held positions with rockets, field artillery and helicopter gunships. CNN's Barbara Starr catching up with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on his five-day four-nation trip in North Africa. In the Middle East, Panetta sounding certain the Assad regime is on its last legs.
[Leon Panetta, Secretary Of Defense:] I'm sure that deep down Assad knows he's in trouble and it's just a matter of time before he has to go.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] What would you say to him?
[Panetta:] I would say if you want to be able to protect yourself and your family, you better get the hell out now.
[Berman:] His travels this week take him to Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and with Syria topping the agenda at each stop.
[Sambolin:] It's 7 minutes past the hour, a shark scare off the coast of Cape Cod. Witnesses say a man swimming off Massachusetts was bitten by a shark yesterday. Sunbathers say they did see a large dorsal fin come out of the water. And this video from the "Cape Cod Times" showing the man being carried off in a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. The man is said to be in stable condition. He had severe cuts on both legs, but the fire chief says he will not lose a limb. Several great white sharks have been spotted off the Cape Cod coast this summer.
[Berman:] These really are so rare, sharks scare, but every time it happens, it scares me.
[Sambolin:] It's always very scary. Aimee Copeland, the Georgia woman who lost parts of all her limbs to flesh eating bacteria has been fitted with three new prosthetics, two hooks for hands and a leg prosthetic. Asked when she might come home from rehab, here's what her father told CNN's Erin Burnett.
[Andy Copeland, Aimee Copeland's Father:] We're saying that she's going to be home by the 22nd. And essentially, I told her, I said great, when you come home, I want to have cameras there. Everybody, you know, seeing Aimee come home. And she goes, no, dad. I don't need that. I need let me come home. She said, I just need to come home. I feel like it was going to be a great big moment that we could record. She doesn't even want me to record it with a home video. And she said, you know, did you record me when I went off to college? I'm like no. She said, OK, when this is the same thing, don't make a big deal out of it.
[Berman:] Her father is so excited to have her back. Her father did say Aimee's injured left foot may require more surgery. Still her recovery is remarkable. Aimee contracted the bacteria after falling from a homemade zip line back in May.
[Sambolin:] Amazing competition that she have.
[Berman:] Her father was so great.
[Sambolin:] It's good moments. Opening statements today in the Drew Peterson case, prosecutors are facing some challenges, that's putting it mildly. A live report coming up.

[Howard Kurtz:] It's New Year's Day. Maybe you were up partying, and anxiously awaiting bowl games. But the presidential campaign doesn't take a holiday, not with the Iowa caucuses just two days away. Of course, maybe the media are wrong, Iowa will be a pivotal, crucial, all important turning point in this campaign. But then, what are so many journalists doing in Des Moines?
[Unidentified Female:] Tonight, the gloves come off. The Iowa caucuses are exactly one week away.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now, we're live from Dubuque Iowa.
[Unidentified Male:] Ken Crawford is in Des Moines.
[Brian Williams, Nbc News:] Chuck Todd and Peter Alexander are in Iowa tonight.
[Unidentified Male:] ABC's Jon Karl is in Iowa for us tonight.
[Kurtz:] We'll turn our critical edge on the coverage with reporters in Iowa and Washington, and especially the surge in negative reporting about Ron Paul.
[Rachel Maddow, Msnbc:] This is the skeleton in Ron Paul's closet. This is from the Ron Paul newsletter.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn:] So, you read them but you didn't do anything about it at the time?
[Rep. Ron Paul , Presidential Candidate:] I never read that stuff.
[Kurtz:] Why did the press take so long to start examining the congressman's sometimes inflammatory record? I'm Howard Kurtz and we're kicking off the 2012 season on RELIABLE SOURCES. Happy New Year to all of you. But it's obviously not a holiday for much of the political press, which is gearing up for the first actual voting of 2012 after a year of prediction and prognostication. And if treating Ron Paul as an entertaining side show, the pundits reacted to his rise in the Iowa polls, the same way they did when Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich shot up in opinion surveys by belatedly examining his record, including those incendiary and racist newsletters that were published under Paul's name for years.
[John King, Cnn:] There are some racy and racist things if you read some of these letters.
[Maddow:] Quote, "It sure burns me to have a national holiday for that pro-communist philanderer Martin Luther King. I voted against this outrage time and time again as a congressman. What an infamy Ronald Reagan approved it. We can thank him for annual hate whitey day.
[Ed Schultz, Msnbc:] "We're constantly told it is evil to be afraid of black men. It is hardly irrational." "Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks."
[Kurtz:] Pretty strong stuff. Joining us now from the state capital in Des Moines to examine the coverage of caucuses, Michael Shear, political correspondent for "The New York Times"; Nia-Malika Henderson, national political reporter for "The Washington Post"; and here in Washington, A.B. Stoddard, columnist for the newspaper, "The Hill." And, Nia-Malika Henderson, the question I asked at the top, why did it take the media so long to seriously begin digging into Ron Paul's record?
[Nia-malika Henderson, The Washington Post:] Well, I think for a while the media we've been focused on the horse race. As you mentioned, everything happened this way. Every time there was a new front- runner, and we've had almost, what, five or six front-runners, the media would then start more dogged scrutiny of their record. So, I think that's what happened. And a lot of this stuff had already been out there. But I think when Ron Paul started to do so well, polling so well in Iowa, doubling a lot of his support from 2008, that that's when the spotlight finally fell on him. I will say, though, in talking to people out of his rallies, very raucous rallies, he's had a lot of people, hundreds of people there they don't seem to mind some of this rhetoric. They feel like it's a little disturbing but not a deal breaker in terms of how they feel about supporting him.
[Kurtz:] And I'm sure some think the press sort of ganging up on Ron Paul now. Michael Shear, this point about this stuff being out there, your newspaper just a week ran its first piece on these newsletters. And it was very frank in saying we're recycling something that was in "The New Republic" back in 2008. So, why wait all year to do that?
[Michael Shear, New York Times:] Well, look, I think there's some legitimate criticism leveled at the press for waiting, for not maybe putting some of this stuff out earlier. But, look, you've covered for years the problem of dwindling resources that the media has, and, you know, a struggling industry. And I think in that context, news organizations have to make some decisions about where they put their resources. And it makes sense to put your resources, your investigative resources, of which we don't have all that many, in the places where it looks like it's going to make the most sense, which is the people that are actually getting traction. So, I think
[Kurtz:] I understand that. But A.B. Stoddard didn't take an investigative team to do a database search to find out it was written about by "The New Republic" four years ago. I have an impression that the press largely gives a pass unless they are high in the polls.
[A.b. Stoddard, The Hill:] Well, I think you're probably right. With dwindling resources, they tend to focus on the frontrunner of the moment. This year was particularly unique and that there was a new flavor every month or so. Sometimes, you didn't even get four weeks. And so, they would focus on the person who was topping the polls. And as Ron Paul continued to gain in Iowa, when we heard more and more about his superior ground game there, people continued to write him off, the other campaigns as well as the press. Once he was really a threat and possibly a third party candidate who could help re-elect President Obama and Newt Gingrich began to fall, then the focus went to Ron Paul. And I agree with Nia, I don't think his supporters care all that much about what they learned in that new scrutiny.
[Kurtz:] Right. Well, let me you know, an interview that's gotten a lot of attention was when CNN's Gloria Borger asked Congressman Ron Paul about those newsletters, others have since asked that as well. Let me play a little of that and we'll ask questions on the other side.
[Paul:] I was probably aware of it 10 years after it was written. And it's been going on 20 years people have pestered me about this. CNN does it every single time. So, when are you going to wear yourself out?
[Borger:] I mean, it's legitimate. It's legitimate. These things are pretty incendiary.
[Paul:] Because of people like you.
[Borger:] No, no, no, no. Come on. Some of this stuff was very incendiary, you know, saying that in 1993, the Israelis were responsible for the bombing of the World Trade Center, that kind of stuff.
[Paul:] Yes. Goodbye.
[Kurtz:] Nia-Malika Henderson, CNN got some criticism for the idea that suggesting the congressman had walked out on the interview. I don't see that. I mean, CNN didn't characterize it that way. You see the guy taking his microphone off during questioning. But my question to you is, when Ron Paul said it's because of people like you that this is seen as incendiary is he engaging in the time honored tactic of blaming the press?
[Henderson:] Yes, that's exactly what he's doing. I have to tell you the people I talked to didn't really blame the press. They felt like, A, maybe it wasn't that important. Or maybe that it was and that he should come out and at least say something about it. And good for Gloria for actually getting an interview with him, because I've got to say, in covering him over the last few days, he just doesn't really answer questions. There we are in a gaggle surrounding him and shouting questions to him and he doesn't really answer. And here's a guy, of course, who was all about the Constitution, all about freedom of the press and then liberty and all of those things, who really in terms of dealing with the press has had a blackout in terms of answering questions over the last couple of days.
[Kurtz:] Right. He does do TV interviews, but isn't very accessible to reporters on the trail. In fact, he's on a number of programs this morning, including "FOX News Sunday" where host Chris Wallace asked Ron Paul about a book he published four years ago and quoted from it. Let's take a look.
[Chris Wallace, Fox News:] In that book you wrote this, "The individual suffering from AIDS certainly is a victim, frequently a victim of his own lifestyle. But this same individual victimizes innocent citizens by forcing them to pay for his care." Question, Congressman, do you still feel that same way?
[Paul:] Well, I don't know how you can change science.
[Kurtz:] Michael Shear, to your point about dwindling resources in newsroom. Again, I don't think it would take an investigative team to buy the book that Ron Paul wrote, "Freedom Under Siege" back in 2007. And again, I wonder why this is being brought up so late in the campaign.
[Shear:] Well, I mean, I think, you know, those kinds of things probably should have been brought up sooner. And I think that, you know, the dynamics of these campaigns are such that, look, we saw the same thing happen with Rick Perry's books where folks as soon as he got in started looking at that. That book had been out for a year. You certainly had instances in which reporters have dug through Mitt Romney's book as well. You know, I think you've got a legitimate point in terms of the criticism. And I think, you know, that this is one of those examples. If Ron Paul wins this caucus, we'll all go back and look at ourselves and say, maybe we should have done it earlier.
[Kurtz:] And if Ron Paul wins this caucus, A.B. Stoddard, I'm already hearing certain commentators saying, and one of them is Rich Lowry, the editor of the conservative "National Review," well, the caucuses will be discredited because it produced a winner who in the view of a lot of people who analyze this game for a living, you know, can't win the nomination, kind of a fringe character. His supporters would certainly take issue with that. But how can you cover caucuses and they say, OK, if this guy wins, then they don't really count?
[Stoddard:] Well, it's interesting because back in August, Ron Paul himself said, if I win the straw poll in Ames, it will be written off as a joke. But if I don't, it will become very important. And so
[Kurtz:] And he came very close to winning.
[Stoddard:] And he came very close. He lost by 152 votes to Michele Bachmann who now is struggling to matter in the caucuses, excuse me. But I think Ron Paul knew all along that he was being ignored by the press, that he was always considered
[Kurtz:] He complained about it.
[Stoddard:] by the press and by the other campaigns. Exactly. He is getting his moment in the spotlight. As I said, I don't think his supporters care all that much. But he is a serious threat to the establishment. They are very worried that he will win in Iowa and get some momentum maybe from some quirky voters in New Hampshire and get a head of steam going. That is why you see the establishment saying that this will be a joke and we can write it off if Ron Paul is the victor there.
[Kurtz:] It is interesting that Paul spent so many months complaining about lack of media coverage. And yet, as Nia says, not very accessible to reporters on the trail. I didn't see him take questions when I was at a Ron Paul event in Iowa a couple of weeks ago. Let's turn now to Newt Gingrich, who certainly can't complain about lack of media coverage. In fact, maybe he gets too much from his point of view, especially this moment just the other day when he had an emotional moment being asked about his mother. He talked about his mother who had bipolar disease and depression, going into a long term facility. Here is what the former congressman had to say.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] And my whole emphasis on brain science comes in directly from dealing see, how you got me emotional of dealing with, you know, the real problems of real people in my family. So it's not a theory. It's, in fact, you know, my mother.
[Kurtz:] And, Nia, the guy tears up talking about his late mother. It seemed like an emotional moment. Why this rush by the press to play it again and again and again and turn it into some sort of viral event which has a potentially huge impact on the campaign?
[Henderson:] Well, I mean, that's a captivating moment. I have to say, I mean, you know, I was looking down at the camera here so I could see it again. And it's moving every time I see it. This whole idea of whether or not it will change the campaign, I think everybody is thinking what happened with Hillary Clinton, what happened with Muskie, I think, in '72 when he cried after there were some things written about his wife. In those instances they definitely did change the course of the campaign. I think for Gingrich because they sort of fed into narratives or changed narratives, at least for Hillary Clinton, who was seen as a little detached, there she was crying, so it made her it humanized her. I think for Newt Gingrich, his problem is he's had millions of ads negative ads dumped on his head, calling up questions about his ethics and his record in Congress. He hasn't had a problem of whether or not he's a real humanized figure. So, I don't think it will necessary matter in terms of that. Again, a real YouTube moment.
[Kurtz:] Maybe it was a humanizing moment, A.B. But I wonder if it dehumanizes us 80 seconds later, we're doing political analysis because the guy choked up talking about his mom.
[Stoddard:] Well, I mean, these people are running for the highest office in the land. They are under intense scrutiny for many for their policy positions, as well as their private life, their personal story. Newt Gingrich has been a tough guy about his divorces, and his adultery. And everything he's been frank he's asked for forgiveness but he doesn't seem to ever get ruffled. It was a very emotional moment. He was actually talking about the subject of mental illness. I think it gets played again because as Nia mentioned with Hillary Clinton not only was it a surprise but they are about to begin the voting process for this huge campaign for the White House. They are kind of breaking down. I mean, they might be tired.
[Kurtz:] Yes.
[Stoddard:] But it is I think it's a newsworthy moment.
[Kurtz:] A peek behind the armor. All right. When we come back: does a blip in the polls really amount to what some are calling a Santorum surge?

[Baldwin:] Internet security pioneer John McAfee is asking for asylum in Guatemala. McAfee is wanted for questioning about the murder of his neighbor in Belize, who was found shot in his head. McAfee was on the run and in hiding until he just surfaced in Guatemala. He promised to hold a news conference today, but the appointed hour came and that hour went. No McAfee. Martin Savidge has been covering the story in Belize. You just got back. You've met him. You have interviewed him. What happened to the news conference today? Where is he?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] You know, we don't know. This is typical John McAfee style in that something gets said and for whatever reason, yet to be revealed, he didn't have the news conference. I have looked on one of his web sites, he has multiple, he said news conference tomorrow 2:00 to 4:00. That's not a guarantee. Something has happened and John McAfee will reveal all.
[Baldwin:] Is he still in Guatemala?
[Savidge:] You can't say that for certain. I would think probably so. Although when I met with him, he did indicate they were going to run. That was pretty clear. And he also said the journey would take about three days, which it did. Went probably on Saturday, resurfaces Monday. And then he said he would probably, wherever he went, stay only a few days and then disappear again so.
[Baldwin:] This is the kind of guy even for you to come find him, he sent you on some bizarre circuitous route to even locate him, correct?
[Savidge:] Right. It's was just out of like an old spy movie where the taxi rolls up and a man says, the password, which in this case was sorry I'm late. And I'm supposed to respond, that's OK, I'm waiting on a co-worker, although I nearly blew it because I was so caught off guard that I stammered out the wrong response. But I went in the cab and then he races through town, then drops me in a parking lot, jump in another vehicle, we roar off again. I mean, it was clearly designed to keep me out of the loop of where we were.
[Baldwin:] You talked to him. CNN Espanol talked to him as well. Let's listen.
[John Mcafee, Internet Antivirus Pioneer:] No one has blamed me for the murder. I have not been charged. I am not a suspect. They merely want to question me about the murder. I am not concerned. I have not been charged with a crime. There is no basis for extradition.
[Baldwin:] Explain that.
[Savidge:] It also seems there is no basis for asylum. That's what he's seeking if the authorities don't want him, and they haven't formally charged him. There is no warrant for his arrest. There is no formal charge against him. In theory, he can go wherever he wants, but he makes it out like he's the number one criminal in all of Belize. He is not. Authorities said we would like him to come in and answer some questions. We are not out actively trying to pull this man in. John McAfee sees something else going and that is that somehow the government of Belize is targeting him for death.
[Baldwin:] We shall see if he appears tomorrow. Martin Savidge, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Rebranding the Republican Party, analysts say it is a must for the survival of the GOP. Coming up next, two of the Republicans most prominent young voices delivering speeches that could signal their future strategy against the Democrats.

[Baldwin:] Mitt Romney's VP pick, Paul Ryan, is a young guy, he's 42. Although some say he looks more like 32. And just as Barack Obama energized the youth vote back in 2008, Republicans could well be hoping Ryan's youthfulness will help them this time around. Ryan, as I mentioned, he's 42, a true jen-xer, and as he walked out last night, look at that crowd to give that acceptance speech in Tampa, the energy truly was palpable. And for anyone counting, which we were, of course, Congressman Ryan used the word "generation" in that speech eight times. Roll it.
[Ryan:] I accept the calling of my generation. In this generation a generation apart from my mom's generation, for my generation the founding generation secured those rights for us. And in every generation since
[Baldwin:] I want to bring in Alex Schriver. And your title is a bit long. So it is national chairman of the College Republican National Committee.
[Alex Schriver, Chairman, College Republican National Committee:] That's right.
[Baldwin:] Welcome. Nice to meet you.
[Schriver:] Good to be here.
[Baldwin:] Let's just begin, obviously, part of your job is energizing the young, the college-aged kids to vote for this ticket. How is that working out for you this year?
[Schriver:] Well, I tell you, Paul Ryan made my job a lot easier last night. Young people are fired up, they're engaged, a lot like we saw in 2008, just for different side of the aisle.
[Baldwin:] Do you think it's the same enthusiasm?
[Schriver:] Absolutely. I think young people young people see the importance of politics. They see how it affects their day to day lives. And they got caught up with hope and change in 2008. And a lot of them feel disenchanted. And what Paul right brought opportunity. He brought optimism to those disenchanted young people saying we can do better. Our generation deserves better. That's what this campaign is about. That's what this ticket is about. That's what young people are voting for this November.
[Baldwin:] I'm with you, Alex. I was in the convention last night and felt the energy as well. Here's my but for you, let me cite a poll. The CNNORC poll asked voters between the age of 18 and 34 who they support for president, 73 percent said Obama. The poll was taken just days before Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan would be on the ticket. Do you think, and I think you already are going to say yes, given his speech last night, do you think that Paul Ryan made the sell to young voters much easier?
[Schriver:] Sure, absolutely. There was a poll taken just the day after Paul Ryan was selected among the same demographic, and it showed Governor Romney with 41 percent of young people voting for him. And obviously, we lost this group, 6632 in 2008, but by staying on the issues that young people care about, jobs and the economy, the number one issue to 74 percent of young people. Talking about student loan debt, talking about getting out of your parents' basementRyan.
[Baldwin:] I want to play a little bit more, from the speech last night where he was teasing Mitt Romney a bit about the music choice.
[Ryan:] We're a full generation apart, Governor Romney and I. And in some ways, we're different. There are the songs on his iPod, which I've heard on the campaign bus and I've heard it on many hotel elevators. I said, look, I hope it's not a deal breaker, Mitt, but my play list, it starts with ACDC and it ends with Zeppelin.
[Baldwin:] Obviously, that got a big laugh last night. ACDC, Zeppelin, "The Rage Against The Machine," Tom Morelo says, you know, he's obviously not a huge fan of the Paul Ryan-Mitt Romney ticket. But for someone sitting here, let's say, Alex, who's truly an Obama voter, whose poster is not faded, what's your lead line in the pitch?
[Schriver:] I'd say are you better off than you were four years ago? The fact is no group of voters have been affected by this policy like young people. The burden of $16 trillion of national debt is on our back. A failing Obama care bill is on our back. A $1 trillion in student loan debt is on our back and we have to pay that. And we need to start having a realistic conversation with young people about the promises our government makes to them. And it really is a generational opportunity. Paul Ryan's acceptance last night, I accept the calling of my generation. What a powerful line to young people. I am one of you. Paul Ryan, 42 years old, closer in age to me than he is to Joe Biden, I think young people see that, appreciate that, and respect it.
[Baldwin:] The question is, do they see it in Mitt Romney and we'll see it. We'll see it in his speech.
[Schriver:] Tonight.
[Baldwin:] Alex, thank you s much. Nice to meet you. Coming up here, we're going to talk more about Tropical Storm Isaac. More than a million people without power and thousands face this massive, massive cleanup job. CNN's Chad Myers says inland flooding is now, just as it was yesterday, still a tremendous, tremendous concern.

[Feyerick:] Well, Saudi Arabia is bringing a new meaning to the phrase girl power. The country's planning to build a city exclusively for women run by women. This new city would prevent women from breaking the country's strict Islamic laws. CNN's Nic Robertson has a preview.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Deb, what the Saudi authorities are trying to do here is put more women into the workplace. Barely 15 percent of women are in the workforce in Saudi Arabia. That compares very poorly with the rest of the region; 60 percent or almost 60 percent, for example, here in the United Arab Emirates. Why aren't they putting women directly into the workplace for men? Because Islamic law says you can't do that and this is the Saudi solution. The agency, the government agency that is funding this project says it's going to cost about $130 million to create this women-only work environment. They're saying that there is space but perhaps up to 50 different businesses that could employ as many as 5,000 women at this one particular site in the east of Saudi Arabia. And they're saying that they will perhaps, if this works, then try and replicate it in as many as 40 other sites across the country. So an effort to sort of redress the balance of the female to male workforce and a recognition as well that while Saudi Arabia puts a lot of money on certain certainly a lot of money into female education, they're over-producing female graduates, if you will, of the unemployed female workforce. 80 percent of them are university graduates. Until now, they've been geared to go very much into the education sector. Many of those not finding jobs are leaving the country. So this business plan, this women-only business city, is hoped to get women working in the pharmaceutical and the textile and in the in the food processing industry. So it's an expansion of wealth for the roles for women but to find more space for all those educated women Saudi Arabia is producing Deb.
[Feyerick:] Nic Robertson. 80 percent of college grads, well, we wish them well. Well, back in the U.S., $100 million in Manhattan and what would you buy? You could buy pretty much anything. We're going to go on a tour of the city's most expensive listing ever. The next hour of NEWSROOM starts after a quick break.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening, everyone, 5:00 a.m. in Cairo Friday morning, a new day, but an old dictator still clings to power. The Mubarak regime would have you believe that he's transferred nearly almost all his power to his vice president. Now, that may be true, but as these protesters in Liberation Square will tell you, his vice president is cut from the same hard stone as Mubarak. And Mubarak himself refuses to step down. At this hour, a dictator and his regime have made clear they do not intend to give up real power. And what has also been made clear is that the peaceful protesters are not willing to give up the small square of freedom they have bought with their blood, the small square of freedom that too many have already died for and others still may 5:00 a.m. in Cairo, and the battle lines are clear. Peaceful protesters are still in Liberation Square. Others are standing outside the state television building. Others are at the presidential palace, though their numbers now are small. Hundreds of thousands came to Liberation Square hours ago believing they were going to witness a dictator resign. The army hinted this morning it would happen. President Obama talked as if it already had happened. Then came the speech, Mubarak handing over power to his vice president and longtime henchman, but not stepping down, instead digging in, claiming credit for resisting foreign pressure, claiming his regime was trying to end chaos help the country's economy, even though he is the one who shut down the banks and shut down the Internet and shut down the trains. The man who has tried to manufacture a crisis so he could be hailed as a hero continues to lie to his own people. In Liberation Square, those people erupted in anger that their president seemed to dismiss them as children. The insults continued a short time later when Vice President Suleiman when on television telling protesters to go home, blaming not the corruption and brutality of his regime for the protests, but satellite news stations, agitators and others. There was rage, but there was not violence, no, not yet. It is 5:00 a.m. Friday, a day off in the Arab world. In the next few hours, we could see the biggest protests yet. Late tonight, the White House weighed in, issuing a statement from President Obama, a direct rebuttal to the lies being spread by Mubarak and Suleiman. "Too many Egyptians," the president said, "remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy. The Egyptian government must put forward a credible, and unequivocal concrete path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity." We're following all the developments in this two-hour edition of 360. Joining us first from Cairo, CNN's Ben Wedeman and Ivan Watson, also protester and actor Khalid Abdalla. Also, you might know him from his lead role in the movie "The Kite Runner." And in Washington, Professor Fouad Ajami of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Ben, just past 5:00 a.m. right now. What is the latest? Where are the protesters now?
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, the protesters, of course, Anderson are still in Tahrir Square, some of them sleeping in their tents under blankets. There are some protesters in front of state TV, not a large number, and, of course, state TV, as you know, is ringed by army tanks. Some of the protesters, at this point not a large number, are near the presidential palace, but they can't get too close to that either because of the large number of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and also the presidential guard that is guarding the president. So, they have spread out a bit, but, by and large, the kind of onslaught against the state TV that we were expecting didn't happen. People bracing basically for the coming hours, possibly after midday prayers. The square behind me could be filled with people. And we're expecting demonstrations, not just here in Cairo, but in all major Egyptian cities Anderson.
[Cooper:] Fouad, as you watched the day unfold, your thoughts?
[Fouad Ajami, Professor Of Middle Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins School Of Advanced International Studies:] I have to tell you, Anderson, are not mine, but they are borrowed from a good friend of mine, one of our country's finest essays. Leon Wieseltier just sent me a note, and I thought I would share it with you and our audience for its remarkable insight. These are not my words again. It's Leon Wieseltier. Mubarak is a truly dangerous and stupid man, and the people in the square seem even more golden. And it's hard for me to shake the feeling that a deadly confrontation is in the works. The angels of the Arab world and the demons of the Arab world are locked into combat. So the angels and the demonstrations are locked into combat. In that square are the people who want freedom. Against them, arrayed them are the forces of this despot who could have given his country the one gift after 30 years, the one gift of a graceful exit, and of an acceptance that his regime has collapsed. He couldn't do this, and he wouldn't do this. And I think the next period is, for me, full of foreboding, and, of course, for the Egyptians who are there, full of peril.
[Cooper:] Was it a grand just misreading of the situation that Mubarak and Suleiman came out and made the announcement today, or can they simply not imagine giving up power?
[Ajami:] Well, you know, I think it was very interesting. I think even look at the White House. It has all at its disposal, this incredible network of information. And they expected Mubarak to step down. Not on the same level of any importance, I sat down and penned a kind of an end, a farewell to the man called the last pharaoh, that Egypt is about to know the world of freedom and be rid of this man. He, of course, disappointed one and all. And I think he did it intentionally. There was a provocative intent in what Mubarak has done. He raised the expectations and then he dashed them. I remain worried that he's preparing for a showdown and he's preparing for a bloodbath. It's really hard to escape that conclusion.
[Cooper:] Ivan, many observers hours ago were saying that they expected the protesters to erupt in violence, to be upset. I think consistently we have seen people, outside observes, miss or underestimate the intelligence and the foresight of these protesters who have defied expectations virtually every single day. They have remained calm and peaceful, Ivan.
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Correspondent:] Anderson, I talked to one of the organizers at the initial protests yesterday. And he said one of the founding philosophies of this movement was passive resistance and peaceful protest. And we're seeing that tonight. Yes, there were outbursts of anger right after Hosni Mubarak's speech, and some people vowed to march towards the palace. But right now, what we're seeing is a massive sleep-in here in Tahrir Square. I see hundreds of men in one stretch of sidewalk that have all pulled out blankets. And they're all piled up next to each other like sardines. There are many people who have never spent the night here before who simply decided after the speech to bed down under little more than a flimsy blanket. This is families, this is men, this is women right on the sidewalks, right on the streets. We already had a tent city here, but it has grown dramatically with the number of people here. And another fascinating change, that even before Mubarak spoke, I saw men bringing in plywood and boards, and they started building shower stalls and latrines. They are digging in. They evidently did not expect, some of these people, for Mubarak to step down, and they're just planning to stay here and make this enclave of revolution much more permanent.
[Cooper:] Right. Khalid, you have been among the protesters. You are one of the protesters. Did you expect Mubarak to step down? What was your reaction during the speech and what do you anticipate in the hours ahead?
[Khalid Abdalla, Actor/activist:] Yes, like everyone else, I was full of the same anticipation. I was flying with delight the idea of him going. And of course there was a massive sense of disappointment when his speech came. I was standing at the time next to a man whose brother had died last week, and he just started screaming about his brother and had to be calmed down this took quite a long time by the people around me. There was a hell of a lot of anger, and you could you did begin to feel the potential of violence in the air. And, I mean, Mubarak's speech I think was a massive provocation. It was a massive provocation, not least because because there is the potential for a bloodbath, or at least that's what it felt like, especially since a lot of people decided that they wanted to go to the presidential palace. It's like, he's asking us to step it up. And we remain a peaceful protests. And there's this question hanging over us, well, hanging over a lot of people here, is, you know, he seems to be completely deaf to the overwhelming will of his people. And, as you say, I think tomorrow is going to be absolutely huge. Today was already avalanching. I mean, it was extraordinary. I went on a little I went on the march which started outside the
[Cooper:] Khalid Abdalla, thank you for joining us. Everyone, stay where you are. Former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley is going to join us after the break, when we turn to what happened today at the White House as well, and how Washington and seemingly the rest of the world was led to believe we would be watching Mubarak depart today. That certainly didn't happen. Also, throughout this next two hours, we continue, as we have every night, revealing the lies of the Mubarak regime. We have heard continued lies today from Vice President Suleiman, continued lies from Mubarak, painting these demonstrators as outside agitators, as agents of Israel or Hamas or Hezbollah or some combination thereof, blaming satellite news channels for everything that is going on. We reveal the lies. Also, the proof of torture and beatings that continue by Egyptian authorities, still happening we are going to talk to one reporter caught up in Hosni Mubarak's campaign of terror, rounded up, blindfolded, held while fellow prisoners were tortured, electrocuted with shocks. He heard it with his own ears. He's not afraid to speak. Fear has been defeated. There is no turning back. Egypt's story continues when we come back.
[Unidentified Male:] I didn't care if I lose something, because I already don't have anything. But, nowadays, I care about Egypt, and, nowadays, I love Egypt.
[Cooper:] People in the square saying that man saying later on he's ready to die for freedom. And someone else quoted, saying, give me liberty or give me death. Coming up on sunrise in Cairo, Egyptians getting ready for perhaps the biggest day of protests yet. After Mubarak defied expectations, said he's not leaving office, to say it took Washington by surprise would be probably understating it, an official telling us late tonight that there were quote "some very real indications that Mubarak would step down," so much so, earlier this afternoon, President Obama was already hinting at a post-Mubarak Egypt.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] We are following today's events in Egypt very closely. And we'll have more to say as this plays out. But what is absolutely clear is that we are witnessing history unfold. It's a moment of transformation that's taking place because the people of Egypt are calling for change.
[Cooper:] Well, it didn't happen, the same official telling us quote "It's entirely impossible to get into the head of one man who seems to be making all the decisions. People like Hosni Mubarak," the official said, "are capable of changing their minds." As we mentioned at the top, the White House is not pleased. The question is, were they played? Joining us now, Stephen Hadley, national security adviser from 2005 through 2009. Currently, he's a senior adviser for international affairs at the United States Institute of Peace. Was this a major miscalculation, you think, by the Mubarak regime?
[Stephen Hadley, Former U.s. National Security Adviser:] I think that's the kindest thing you can say about it. Whether it was a setup, if you will, or a provocation, we don't know. I think the best you can say...
[Cooper:] Do you think it's possible it was, a provocation?
[Hadley:] I really don't know, and we won't know. But I think the core thing is that it's a real misreading of the situation. This is a speech in terms of substance that, if it had been given 10 days ago, it might have been well-received. But to give it now and then to permit expectations to get raised to the level they were was a huge mistake. Something like this, you want low expectations. You want to exceed those expectations and that gets you ahead of the crisis. They did just the reverse, and it put them behind the crisis. And it also narrowed dramatically the options that are available now to the Mubarak administration going forward.
[Cooper:] They also, the vice president, Suleiman, President Mubarak, continue to propagate these lies which they have been spreading for more than two weeks now, saying that these are outside agitators, that these are agents of Israel or Hamas or Hezbollah, that they're being paid, that it's foreign media, it's satellite news channels. And it was interesting, because Vice President Suleiman had talked in previous days about these protesters and the media belittling Egypt. And, today, President Obama in his most recent statement went against that directly, saying that these protesters represent the greatness of the Egyptian people and that they broadly are representative of the Egyptian people. Do you think it seems to me that the people in that square and an increasing number of people who haven't been going to the square are seeing now the lies that they have been told, not just in the last few weeks, but for many years.
[Hadley:] I think that's right. Anyone who has watched the performance of these heroes in the square, and we can only admire their courage as they fight for their freedom, knows that it is not Hezbollah. This is not Hamas. This is an upwelling of the Egyptian people. I think it was positive that President Mubarak said the things he said in the speech. Again, it's about 10 days too late. And, unfortunately, there was also a certain amount of sort of a patronizing tone and also a defiant tone. And I think the tone he needed to strike was something very different, viewing the with admiration what these people are doing. And the narrative needed to be not Mubarak refuses to step down. The narrative needed to be, Mubarak is actually stepping down from power, giving over his authority to a vice president who would then lead a movement for national reconciliation in preparation for elections. That was the that's what needed to come out of that speech today. And, in fact, just the opposite came out and it was a huge setback.
[Cooper:] Obviously, it's going to be critical, the role of the Egyptian military in the hours and days ahead. Do we have an indication of where they are in this thing? Because I know they are still probably the most credible organization left in Egypt, although they have stood by and watched violence erupt and allowed pro-Mubarak protesters to attack anti-Mubarak protesters. But, by and large, they are still viewed with respect by the protesters.
[Hadley:] They have played this actually very shrewdly. The initial reaction and response to the crowd was not by the army, but the central security forces that led the crackdown, the crackdown that was not successful. Then the army came in, basically to, as they began to say protect the protesters and protect the people. Their statement today was interesting, that they were going to safeguard the nation, but they were also supporting the legitimate aspirations of the people. They have played this very smart, in a very smart way today. I think they probably have some foreboding about tomorrow, because I think the last thing the army wants to do would be to have to crack down on the protesters and forfeit all the goodwill that they have accumulated from those people in the square.
[Cooper:] Mr. Hadley, stay with us. We are going to be coming back with you throughout this program. And as I said, we are on until the midnight hour here, until 7:00 a.m. Cairo time. I want to bring back Fouad Ajami now bring in John King, Jill Dougherty and Arwa Damon, who is in Cairo. John, it's staggering to me. You have President Mubarak making that defiant speech, then the Egyptian ambassador to the U.S. calling in to CNN to say that actually Vice President Suleiman is the de facto president. It's remarkable you can have a dictator of a country and his vice president both make speeches, and still people not really understand what they are saying.
[John King, Host, "john King, Usa":] Well, and, Anderson, that is a key point, because, as Steve Hadley just noted, if you look at everything the president said, President Mubarak I'm speaking of, and if you look at the documents sent to the Egyptian parliament, U.S. officials tell you there is some sign of progress in taking power away from President Mubarak, handing it off to the vice president and being in a process. However, at the White House, what they're tonight is because that speech was so vague and because it was so defiant, President Mubarak's tone was so defiant, that nobody on the streets of Cairo trusts him tonight, and I can tell you this, no one at the White House or the State Department trusts him tonight. So what they want him to do is go back on television, to be much more clear, to say, I am stepping aside. And here's one thing in the president's statement that's very important tonight. Number one, he does say he wants the Egyptian president, the government to be more clear. Number two, he makes clear don't blame foreigners. These are your people, young and old from every class of society. They want you to go. The White House statement makes both those points. Then it says they must immediately demonstrate irreversible political change, because what the White House fears is, sure, President Mubarak has given some powers away, but he still has the authority to take them back, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Fouad, it's interesting, because two weeks ago, Mohamed ElBaradei, one opposition figure with an arguable amount of support in the country, but still an opposition figure and a clear voice, was saying, well, there should be this three-member governing body for a transition to democratic rule down the road, and that Omar Suleiman should be one of those people. I'm not sure today whether for the protesters it would be acceptable to have Suleiman involved in this. They now see him clearly as what he is, which is the closest confidant of Mubarak and one of his henchman.
[Ajami:] Well, Anderson, you're absolutely right. I actually in preparing for this broadcast, I sat down and listened to both Omar Suleiman and Hosni Mubarak. And because we know the world is carried in language, because we know that these two men are not speaking in English for us, because we know that people express themselves best in the language of their own land, in Arabic, it's even more chilling than we think in translation. There's an eerie quality to both men, both old men refusing to accept the world. There's something almost Orwellian, you once said. You used that label before. It's almost Kafkaesque. These are men who live in a parallel universe. They really don't know the world around them. And these speeches of theirs, which alternate threats and inducement, acceptance of the new world, but also a warning to people when Omar Suleiman says to the Egyptians, go back to your home, go back to work, it's the autocrat's trick and the autocrat's belief that the world that public's space doesn't belong to these people, that they best scurry to cover to their homes. It really was an unnerving experience.
[Cooper:] It seems to me that they see themselves, Suleiman and Mubarak, as Egypt, that they don't see these protesters as Egypt. These are young people full of exuberance who have maybe bitten off more than they can chew, in their opinion. And they're quite dismissive of them. It seems like these two older men view themselves as Egypt and cannot imagine an Egypt in which they are not at the helm.
[Ajami:] Well, you know, it's the pharaonic culture. And in the case of Mubarak, he even referred to himself as the father of these people. This is an old notion. And so you have and even Suleiman, there is something unnerving about him, because he's a man of the catacombs, of the shadows. And you're now thrusting him into the limelight and the Egyptians are looking and they don't like what they see, and they don't like the man they see as this transitional figure who is supposed to lead them into this new democratic land.
[Cooper:] A man of the catacombs thrust into the light, it's an extraordinary phrase. Jill, you have the director of the CIA today telling Congress that Mubarak was probably going to step down. The Obama administration I mean, it's fascinating clearly thought he was going to resign, correct?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Absolutely. And, you know, they did they say that they got signals to that effect. That is what they expected. And then, all of a sudden, this happened. You know, I think, if you look at the statement that President Obama delivered, that print statement, he is really saying, we don't even know what's going on here. You tell us. And you tell your people and you tell the world, because it's not clear. And that's why I think you're you know, at this point, they probably do not know exactly what is going on in the mind of Hosni Mubarak.
[Cooper:] Yes.
[Dougherty:] As Fouad pointed out, it is a parallel universe. This is the mentality of a person who does, as you say, thinks he's Egypt, thinks he's a father, thinks he knows better. There's a highly paternalistic tone. So, we are way beyond message and staying on message. We are into another type of internal monologue that this leader of Egypt has.
[Cooper:] Arwa, I want to express just some concern for reporters on the ground and obviously for protesters on the ground, because last week, after Mubarak spoke, all of a sudden, there was this big pro- Mubarak party sponsored by the government, no doubt, and then these mobs began to appear in the streets, and then the attacks began, not just on the protesters, but on reporters. We have heard the same messages echoed by Mubarak in the last couple hours and by Suleiman, again blaming satellite news channels, trying to make a wedge between Egyptians who care about the economic lifeblood of the country and stability and the people in the square. Did it seem to you, when you were hearing these speeches, that yet again they were setting it up to give carte blanche, if you will, to people who may be on the fence or may support the regime, to target these demonstrators or to target reporters?
[Arwa Damon, Cnn Correspondent:] Anderson, that's a very real concern for everybody. And it most certainly would appear as if the regime is in some way trying to instigate these types of attacks. And I will just give you the example of what happened to us even before this speech which was very, very disturbing. We were traveling on a shoot outside of Cairo into an area that could be categorized as being anti-Mubarak. Hence, we assumed that it would be fairly safe to film there, since it was the pro-Mubarak thugs that were targeting the media. We arrived and we were being taken around by one of the local leaders. Everybody was very friendly. All of a sudden, a man in beige showed up and, within minutes, amongst a small group of people there, the sentiment against us turned just like that. People began shouting, yelling, throwing their hands into the camera, pushing it down, very agitated. We ended up having to flee. They were banging on the car. They smashed one of the taillights. When we got safely out of town, a doctor and his family had actually followed us out. And he said that the man who showed up was a member of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, that he was something of a spy in the area, and that he had deliberately spread this outrageous lie to try to turn the mobs against us. Listen to what the doctor said.
[Unidentified Male:] This is why he extend rumors in the in the country, or the countryside, that you are American, and you came here to invade our country. And you came as beautiful girlies to re- educate the people, blah, blah, blah, and you came as enemies. I even met with a lady, a lady. She doesn't know anything. She was saying, follow those people, because they are Americans. They come to invade. And they say they will invade our bedrooms. They will send the men to our bedrooms. I mean, within two, three minutes, this is what happened, exactly.
[Cooper:] And this is exactly what we're hearing from the vice president and the president of the country, again trying to set up this narrative that it's foreigners who are somehow behind all this. Arwa, we will continue to check in with you over the next two hours. Everyone, stick around, a lot of coverage still ahead, an important reality check on what is happening. President Mubarak says Egyptians are free to express their opinions. We are going to hear from a journalist who was disappeared by the state security apparatus, detained for 28 hours, handcuffed, blindfolded, and he heard torture. He heard people being shocked with electric shocks while being detained, proof that torture and the beatings continue. Also, some Egyptians have left Liberation Square to protest outside the presidential palace and the state-run television station. Will the next few hours be yet another critical, crucial turning point? Our panel weighs in ahead.
[Unidentified Male:] People there are willing to die, OK? Willing to die for freedom, all right? All these people, all these people you can see, all the millions are looking for freedom, for justice. What will you do now? Well, what I will do now? I'm ready to die.
[Cooper:] A few hours ago, one of the protestors in Liberation Square, speaking to our reporter on the ground. People have already died, more than 300, according to Human Rights Watch, though the exact number, frankly, is not known. If you ask the Egyptian government how many people died, they say I believe their last estimate was 11 people. You can decide the truth for yourself. After Mubarak's speech, some protestors started to move away from Liberation Square to other locations, as we'd mentioned. Thousands headed toward the presidential palace. Some of them are still there. The numbers dwindled overnight. Other protestors have been gathering outside the state-run television station. In the last few days, we've seen protestors by the parliament building, the health ministry. John King, we wanted him to join us tonight live from Washington with kind of a closer look at where all this lays out, just to give you a birds-eye view so you can get a kind of a sense of where things are when you actually see the pictures. John, explain what you got.
[John King, Cnn Anchor:] Will do so, Anderson. And you make an important point about the protests spreading, and that could bring about the moment of choosing for the Egyptian security and the army, as the daybreak comes. Everyone is familiar with this, and Anderson, you're too familiar with this. Tahrir Square, where you were, where you encountered the rough treatment last week. Tahrir Square, of course, where most of the protests have played out. Again, most of them have been peaceful. And today, what a day of mixed emotions. Thousands gathered because they had word their president was going to resign. They thought their wishes were going to be granted. And you see some happy faces at the beginning, but then faces of defiance after President Mubarak spoke and that, the ultimate sign of disgust and disrespect in the Middle East culture, the bottom of the shoe when Mubarak said he was not going anywhere. It was at that point, Anderson, the protests started to move out of the square, down toward the Nile River, toward Egyptian TV. We'll show you this image here. There's no sound with it, but you can see an image taken from one of the overpasses. And again, imagine the crowds are coming from here in the square, and they're making their way down to the roadway, heading down toward Egyptian TV. These crowds moving out. You can see people by the dozens. And you keep adding them up, you can easily get to hundreds. Over here is the Egyptian TV headquarters. Right here this building along the Nile River. Heavily guarded, heavily fortified. The demonstrators are there now. This is the instrument of propaganda in their view, and they are talking about perhaps trying to take over that building. Again, if they do, that would test the military. That's one site where we have seen the protests move. Going to use the map now to boom out, about five miles from Tahrir Square. Follow the red line, you come out here. It's about five or six miles out, a much more affluent neighborhood, a university up here. This is the presidential palace where President Mubarak is believed to still be, where he used the studio to deliver that address to the Egyptian people. Again, this is an older satellite photo. If you were there today, you would see barbed wire, tanks and military all surrounding this. And again, protestors by the hundreds have moved out this way. Another potential confrontation site, Anderson, when you talk to people, obviously, our correspondents on the ground in the square, talking to the protestors when you talk to people in Washington. They believe this is a potential for confrontation tomorrow and that the military may have to make a choice if those protestors decide to try to enter the state TV building or the presidential palace. And John, as I drove out of Cairo heading to the airport last Saturday, there were literally armored personnel carriers, just one right next to the other completely around the front of the presidential palace. You couldn't even see anything past them. I assume those are still in place, and probably more have been added. As you said, concertina wire has been put up, and that wasn't there before. Joining us again live from D.C. is Professor Dr. Fouad Ajami from Johns Hopkins. Also, he's a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Also in Washington, former U.S. national security advisor Steven Hadley. And in Cairo, Ben Wedeman and Ivan Watson. Ben, do we know what role the military plans to play in the hours ahead?
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Correspondent:] No, we don't, actually. And that's really what people are asking. The military has is currently in an odd position. They came out with a so-called communique No. 1, in which they said that this higher military council would be studying the situation very carefully. We also had some recorded pictures from that meeting, and interestingly enough, there was no picture of President Mubarak on the wall. And when that first communique came out, Anderson, some people assumed that this is the beginning of a military government. In the meantime, President Mubarak, when he made his speech, he made no reference to the army. So there appears to be some kind of disconnect between the two. As far as how they're going to deal with Friday's protests, no idea whatsoever. What we've seen is that the army has been protecting Tahrir Square, making sure that there are no repeats of those bloody clashes that took place last week. But what they will do, if the protestors turned violent or tried to take over government buildings, like state TV or, of course, the presidential palace, we just don't know.
[Cooper:] And Ivan, you're in the square and have been for a long time. Among the protestors, is there still as much respect for the military as there has been? I mean, we've heard for weeks now them chanting "The people and the military are one." How is the mood now in terms of as they look at the military?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Correspondent:] You know, I haven't seen those interactions taking place throughout the day that we've been here, except for the fact that you have protestors that have ringed the tanks and the armored personnel carriers that have been parked here. They've set up their bedding there. They've basically made a human chain, a human ring around those tanks to make sure that they cannot move. Another interesting point, Anderson, is the use of the three colors of the Egyptian flag. Red, white and black have been used very effectively and cleverly by the demonstrators, not only with flags but also with these ribbons that they wear around their heads, around their necks. And even with face paint, I'm seeing much more of that now, too. So every time the government comes out and talks about foreign interests, foreign powers, foreign satellite channels, perhaps having a bad intention for this country, the demonstrators come back and show patriotic colors, show that they're out for their color. Fascinating to see how they respond to some of the tricks of the Egyptian government.
[Cooper:] Fouad, one of the playbooks that we have been one of the tricks from their playbook that we have been witnessing over the last two weeks or so is that, when the apparatus of the state didn't work cracking down, using their riot police, they used these sort of mobs of thugs who were allowed to excuse me, allowed to get very close to the protestors and launch attacks against them. We haven't seen those kind of thugs for several days now. Do you they're still out there. Do you imagine that is one weapon still in the regime's arsenal?
[Fouad Ajami, Professor, Johns Hopkins:] Absolutely. These thugs are always in reserve. But before that, I really want to say something about what Ivan Watson has reported from the place. And it's a remarkable development. It shows the love of country, which animates, love of country, love of Egypt, which animates this protest and this rebellion. The Egyptian flag had practically disappeared from Egyptian life. It would only be dragged now and then when there was a soccer competition against other nations. The Egyptian flag is everywhere, because these people are sending a message that there is nothing foreign about them; there's nothing illegitimate about them. There's nothing seditious about them. They're sons and daughters of the land of Egypt, trying to repair and redeem their country from this man of the military and the security and the intelligence who've wrecked the life of Egypt.
[Cooper:] Do you think, though, that message has been seen by the masses of the Egyptian population? Because we have heard a steady drumbeat from Mubarak and from Suleiman, saying that these protestors are belittling Egypt. Literally he used those words, that they were insulting Egypt, in league with foreign satellite news stations. Who who is winning that message?
[Ajami:] Well, that's exactly the question: who really is going to win the loyalty of the fence sitter, the people watching this big drama? And if you listen to the regime and its functionaries, what they're telling the Egyptians is, "Look, all kinds of concessions have been given these people. The president has made all kinds of concessions. They're wrecking the economy of Egypt. They're wrecking the international reputation of Egypt." So, of course, a battle is being waged for the loyalty of the population, the majority of the population. And if I were to just guess from with I didn't do what you did, going there. I'm not with Ben and Ivan and Hala and all this good team. From afar, it would seem that the protestors are holding their ground, and they're staking a claim to their country. And they're not going to be written out of the life of Egypt. They're not being going to be branded as apostates and as rebels and as people who are trying to wreck their country.
[Cooper:] It's also interesting, as more people join the protests, and now that it's been going on so long, I mean, hundreds of thousands, perhaps well, we don't know the full number of people, who have at one time or another, joined these protests. They have seen for themselves who the other protestors are. They know what is in their own heart. And then to hear their government saying, "Well, these are foreigners," they know those things to be lies. If enough people have joined in at one point or another and seen these to be lies for themselves, then a turning point begins. Stephen, as a former national security adviser, what would you be looking for in the next few hours? What are the kind of tea leaves that you would be reading, based on activities on the ground?
[Stephen Hadley, Former National Security Advisor:] One is going to be very interesting to see who shows up tomorrow and what numbers and whether, looking at the crowd, there has actually been a broadening of the people engaged in this uprising.
[Cooper:] And you saw that this week. You did see more more numbers, and that surprised a lot of people, than ever before.
[Hadley:] Right.
[Cooper:] And a broadening: growing strikes, doctors joining, professionals.
[Hadley:] As Fouad Ajami said, there are other groups that are coming off the fence and joining the people in the square. That's one thing you want to watch. Secondly, you want to watch the army. As John King said, if the crowd moves against the presidential palace, the TV media headquarters, that is a dilemma for the army, because those are the kinds of institutions that they probably will be inclined to protect. That's a place where the army does not want to be. Third, I think they would be looking is whether at some point the army really goes to President Mubarak and say, "You blew it in the speech you gave here today. It is time for you to make clear that you are stepping down. Technically, it may be in the form of you handing over power, establishing a transition government. But you've got to change the narrative, and the narrative has to be Mubarak surrenders, Mubarak steps down." And I think the question is going to be when does the army decide they're really going to exert their influence? Those are the things I'd be looking for.
[Cooper:] Fouad, I heard Fareed Zakaria earlier tonight saying he believes the army has made a choice. At least the leadership of the army has made a choice, and they've sided with the Mubarak regime. Do you think that's true?
[Ajami:] I don't really know, to be honest with you. I think I did there there was a point where the military, I was listening to them. And then when they issued what they called military communique No. 1, it took me back to my boyhood in the Arab world in the '50s and the '60s, when the tanks would drive to the palace, seize power, announce a brand-new world and say, This is military communique No. 1." To have 80 million people, modern people yearning for modern life, for a good and decent life, to have them ruled by people who announced military communique No. 1 is a distressing statement on the kind of Egypt the kind of Egypt that Hosni Mubarak has created. And the military, there is its honor is on the line. Maybe the people themselves don't trust the military. But people don't want to live. They don't want to live without some institution they trust. The military would be tested in the day, maybe even just a day or two days to come.
[Cooper:] We continue to follow this. Again, we are live till the midnight hour, until the 7 a.m. in Cairo. Thanks for staying up with us. We're going to be checking back with our panel throughout this special coverage. A lot more to talk about. More than 100 people have reportedly been detained during the Egyptian uprising, although frankly, the real numbers no one knows. There are disturbing accounts of torture being used in some cases, horrifying cases, really. Up next, proof of torture, according to a journalist who was detained for more than 24 hours. You will hear what he heard, what he saw with his own eyes. And later, a look at some of the most compelling sights and sounds from what has been an extraordinary day in Egypt. According to Human Rights Watch, Egyptian army officers and military police have arbitrarily detained at least 119 people since the 20th of January. Some have reported being tortured, beaten, threatened with electricity, or violated with bottles. At least 62 journalists have also been detained, according to Human Rights Watch. Again, these are just the numbers that they have been able to document. One of the journalists is a man named Robert Tait, a correspondent for Radio Free Europe, who was detained last Friday in Cairo. He had just arrived. He was held captive for 28 hours, all the while hearing nearly every manner of brutality around him: beatings, whippings, even electric shock. It's just the kind of thing those masses in the square say they are tired of: abuse at the hands of the state, abuse with no accountability. Robert Tait joins me from Prague via Skype. Ben Wedeman is back with us, as well, from Cairo. Robert, you were held for 28 hours by Egyptian authorities, handcuffed, blindfolded for much of the time. What did you see in terms of abuse?
[Robert Tait, Journalist:] I was blind folded but what I had was I heard the crack, crack cracking of electric shock and these were being used on the prisoners who would share the room with me. And the prisoners would respond t these with cries of agony and then crinkling and sometimes pleading for mercy.
[Cooper:] Were there words being spoken by these interrogators or by these these, I guess, state security personnel?
[Tait:] Yes, there were. They were expressed with the form of angry shouts and implications and insults. And, obviously, I don't speak very much Arabic. I only understand a few words. But an Iraqi born colleague was with me and he later translated some of what was said. And he said that, for example, at one stage, one of the guards shouted at a new batch of prisoners he'd brought in, "I want this group to really suffer." And then he said, "And in this hotel, there are only two items on the menu: electric shocks and rape."
[Cooper:] They were threatening actual rape of men or women?
[Tait:] It was men.
[Cooper:] I want to bring in our Ben Wedeman in Cairo. Ben, it's interesting because a lot of people you talk to among the protestors will say they are tired of this kind of abuse and the kind of corruption, rampant corruption in the security services that they feel is a daily part of life there.
[Wedeman:] Yes. And it is, in fact. This is why what we saw on the night of the 28th of January, when the police pulled out of Cairo, what did the people do? The first thing they did was they ransacked police stations all over Cairo, because the police is really the hard end of the Mubarak regime. They're people that everyone comes in contact on a daily basis, and oftentimes there's just petty corruption to start with. But there is oftentimes just random violence exercised upon people for very little reason whatsoever. There's almost no accountability among the police. There have been a few cases where police have been brought to trial for brutality, but oftentimes they come off with this light sentences and are released and go back to service in the police very soon afterwards. So really, that is one of the main grievances of Egyptians, that the police force is, if anything, a criminal force that's inflicted upon people here on a daily basis.
[Cooper:] And Ben, under the emergency rules, which Mubarak has operated and ruled for some 30 years, can anybody be picked up at any time?
[Wedeman:] Arbitrary arrests; you don't need any reason. And oftentimes, people are brought into prison or under arrest or detention, and there's no process whereby relatives are informed. People simply just disappear into this massive prison system. And what's interesting is, while the Google executive, who has been so critical in this movement against the government, one of his complaints was that, "Fine, investigate, interrogate me, but please inform my family that I have been arrested." And that seems to be the case from so many Egyptians who get arrested. They just disappear into this gulag of detention facilities and prisons, and no one knows what's happened to them.
[Cooper:] And Robert, do you know how many people were being held captive with you?
[Tait:] It's very hard to say. I, at one point, was able to adjust my blindfold, and I could see almost half the room, a semi- panorama. And I could see three men, three young men. I think they were not the only ones in there. I think there may have been at least two other people. So with a total a total including myself, six.
[Cooper:] And the electric shock that was taking place, that was happening even though you couldn't see it that was happening in that room that you were in?
[Tait:] Absolutely, yes, it was happening literally inches a matter of two or three feet away from my face.
[Cooper:] It's extraordinary that what that tells me is just the feeling of impunity that these security services feel they have, that they would actually administer electric shocks to Egyptians sitting around you in the same room, knowing you're a reporter, and not caring about the fact that you may go out and tell people about it.
[Tait:] Well, I think this is a fundamental important point. When all this happened, it happened after I had explained who I was and who I worked for. They knew I worked for a U.S.-funded organization. And they didn't care. It was if they were trying to make a point. And they certainly were doing so. I think that point is, by the way, that they didn't care what the Americans or anybody else thinks. They're convinced they've convinced themselves that this whole movement is something that is being funded and manipulated by foreigners.
[Cooper:] And I know they sent you then to the airport where eventually you left the country. Robert Tait, I appreciate you being with us. Thank you for your reporting. Ben Wedeman, we'll continue to follow with you. We're live all through the next hour. A new day of protests beginning in Egypt, potentially the largest yet. Already, over the last 24 hours, some amazing images to come out of Liberation Square. We'll show you some of them ahead and give you the latest. Again, we're live till the midnight hour. The latest from Cairo just ahead, but first, Isha Sesay is following some other stories in the "360 News & Business Bulletin" Isha.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn Correspondent:] Anderson, at least five people are dead in a suspected natural gas explosion in Allentown, Pennsylvania, including a 4-month-old baby. Eight homes were destroyed in the blast. The second-ranking Republican in the Senate is stepping down. Jon Kyl of Arizona announced today he won't seek a fourth term in 2012. The number of Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits fell to the lowest level in more than 2 12 years. The Labor Department says 383,000 initial claims were filled last week, a decline of 36,000 from the previous week. And a new storm passed over the southeast, dumping up to 6 inches of snow in some areas. Tomorrow, it won't be much better. Hard freeze warnings are in effect for parts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas for tomorrow morning. Anderson, back to you. Our extended coverage continues in just a moment. We're going to take a quick break. Sun rising in Cairo. Possibly the biggest day of protests yet. Details ahead.

[Erin Burnett:] Thanks, John. Newt Gingrich leading in the polls, picking up support, courting the Tea Party, court, court, court, will they ever marry you? He got two key Tea Party endorsements but the movement is not yet behind him. He has got to win them over. Three major Tea Party leaders OUTFRONT tonight. And then disturbing videotape of FBI agent turned security consultant Robert Levinson; he disappeared in Iran. Senator Bill Nelson OUTFRONT to tell us what America is doing to get him back. And the "Bottom Line" on that top secret classified drone seized by Iran earlier this week. Despite the way Iran's ambassador to the U.N. reacted to our question last night, they might be sharing America's top technology with China. Let's go OUTFRONT. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight top secret American technology in the hands of a sworn adversary. At this hour Iran has the CIA's RQ-170 Sentinel drone. Last night the Iranian ambassador to the U.N. told me Iran captured the drone intact and judging by the images on Iranian state TV, of which we have more today this is where the drone is now that seems to be true. Sources at the Pentagon say that this does look like America's top stealth drone, the RQ-170. Our question tonight, what is Iran doing with this drone? The big fear is that they might be sharing its most important technology, the ability to fly undetected by radar, with China. Experts today saying the flights between Beijing and Tehran likely were booked up this week to see the drone. And it might be a case of he who doth protest too much, because here's how Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, reacted when I asked him if Iran was showing the drone to China.
[Mohammad Khazaee, Iranian Ambassador To U.n:] This is a question that I think is already answered by itself. Of course no nation is going to share information with any other nation.
[Burnett:] Really? When I first asked the question he laughed and said why would you ask it? Well recently I interviewed a former Navy SEAL who told OUTFRONT that Pakistan allowed China to photograph the technology in the U.S. helicopter that crashed during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Former defense Secretary of Defense William Cohen is OUTFRONT tonight. And Secretary, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us.
[William Cohen, Former Secretary Of Defense:] Thank you.
[Burnett:] It is interesting that you now have a couple of examples of very sophisticated and important classified American military technology in the hands of countries that do seem willing to share it.
[Cohen:] I don't think there's any question that Iran would be willing to share it NOT ONLY with the Chinese but I suspect with the Russians as well. If you look at the United States has tried to intensify sanctions against Iran because of their pursuit of a nuclear weapons program who are the two countries who have been less eager to join in that effort to prevent them from moving forward has been both China and Russia. So I don't think that the Iranians, to the extent that they have, in fact, the drone, we assume that they do. But if they have it, I don't think that they have the capability of reverse engineering it. So they would want to share that information with those countries who have the sophistication and the desire to be able to gather that information so they can encounter the technology that the United States does have. That's what gives us the edge in any kind of a conflict. The ability to control the air space and the technology is what gives us that ability.
[Burnett:] And obviously, being able to fly undetected by radar is a crucial technology. Where does China stand on this? And my understanding is their J-20 strike fighter that they've developed don't have that technology. They desperately want it and that access to this drone is something they would desperately want to help them leap to U.S. levels.
[Cohen:] Well there's a report that has been given or reported out of the National Defense University that is called it's the buy, build or steal. Every nation tries to gather whatever technology it can through whatever means it can, and I think China and Russia and others are no different than that. Even allies try to get information about technology. So it's not beyond their desire to do this. They're building a stealth capability. Others are pursuing the same. A report just came out that one of our allies, South Korea, is now pursuing the design of a manned stealth drone. It won't be available for some time to come, but other countries are trying to do what we have.
[Burnett:] Right. But isn't this proof that a country like China in trying to and accepting countries like Pakistan and Iran offering them access to this technology is not acting the way a friendly country would act?
[Cohen:] China is a competitor to the United States. They certainly want to pursue their own interests, and to the extent they can gain technology by another country sharing it with them, that's something that you can expect that they're going to do, notwithstanding any public statements to the contrary. And I haven't heard any public statements coming from Chinese officials. So I think it's fair to say they will have access to it, and I think that they will utilize it to try to build their own capability.
[Burnett:] All right, well Secretary Cohen, thank you very much.
[Cohen:] Great to be with you.
[Burnett:] A sobering assessment there of what really could be at risk with this technology and this drone. We also have developments today regarding an American missing in Iran. We have videotape of former FBI agent turned security consultant Robert Levinson. He disappeared in Iran five years ago. We visited Kish, the island where Levinson was last seen. And this is what it looks like. It's a tourist spot for Iranians, nice hotels, water parks, beaches and while Americans are allowed, me and my producer were the only Americans we saw there. We were frankly tourist items ourselves, and we only saw one group of Germans there for business in the airport. So it's not some place that you would go just to hang out. In the video an emotional Levinson looking pale and gaunt pleads for help from the U.S. government to heed the requests of his captors.
[Bob Levinson, Former Fbi Agent:] I've been held here for three and a half years. I'm not in very good health. I am running very quickly out of diabetes medicine. I have been treated well. I need the help of the United States government to answer the requests of the group that has held me for three and a half years.
[Burnett:] Levinson's wife Christine said she received this video a year ago, but she's been so frustrated with the effort from the U.S. government to free her husband that she chose to release it to the public today.
[Christine Levinson, Wife Of Missing Agent:] They are investigating. It's a difficult area of the world to get any kind of information from. I continue to hope that the group holding Bob will get back in touch with us so that we can find out what we need to do to get Bob home.
[Burnett:] One person who has been working hard to win Robert Levinson's freedom is Democratic Senator Bill Nelson from Florida. I spoke with him today and asked him why the family chose to release the tape now.
[Sen. Bill Nelson , Florida:] I think if you read the accounts today, you see that the family is just at its wit's end and so Christine Levinson is trying the only thing she has left in her arsenal, which is let's get this out there. Let's hope that somewhere someone sees this tape and that gives some kind of piece of information that the family can bring their loved one home.
[Burnett:] But you're confident the Iranian government is involved here. Because I know that theoretically he was on the island of Kish, which is a place Americans can go without a visa to Iran. He was there investigating apparently cigarette smuggling. He was a private investigator in Dubai and obviously formerly in his career had worked for the FBI, so given all of that, are you sure the Iranian government is involved?
[Nelson:] The Iranian government has certainly been put on notice over the years by the family's conversations, my conversations with the ambassador, and yet they're not forthcoming. And we're just hoping that something is going to break.
[Burnett:] Now I know that Mr. Levinson has diabetes, also high blood pressure, and in the tape he referred to his diabetes medication running very low. Again, the tape that we're seeing today was released a year ago to the family. Are you confident he's still alive?
[Nelson:] We are hopeful. There's a published report today that there was other evidence of proof of life, which were some photographs, but we don't have a date on those. And you can't be confident of anything, but as long as there is hope in the family and as long as the all the resources of the United States government are going to keep looking for Bob until we find him.
[Burnett:] All right. Well thank you very much, Senator Nelson. We appreciate it and we hope that this will be resolved with him coming home soon.
[Nelson:] Amen to that. Thank you, Erin.
[Burnett:] Thank you, sir. All right and again from sources that we have here at CNN, it appears from where some of this communication has come from with Mr. Levinson that he could be in Pakistan perhaps or even Afghanistan, not necessarily in Iran right now. Well OUTFRONT next the clock ticking. If Congress doesn't reach a deal in just 22 days, Americans lose money from their paychecks. The Republicans have a new plan. They come OUTFRONT next. And we're just hours away from what could be mass protests in Moscow, an unbelievable demonstration due to elections. America should be very concerned about the fate of Vladimir Putin. He has 18,000 nuclear warheads at his disposal at this moment. And the latest developments in the case of Florida's missing mom. Michelle Parker vanished on November 17th. Are we closer to finding her?

[Whitfield:] Some other stories making news now Mitt Romney's six- state bus tour rolls into Ohio today and he isn't alone on this Father's Day. All five of his sons and his wife are with him. Romney will make three stops in the battleground state. He is campaigning with potential VP bets Senator Rob Portman. Later this evening, President Barack Obama heads to Los Cabo, Mexico for the G20 Summit. The group of 20 is made up of the world's biggest economies. The summit comes a day after parliamentary elections in Greece. The financial turmoil in Greece will be on the G20 agenda. In Toronto, one man is dead and four people injured after a stage collapsed before a concert. Alternative rock band "Radiohead" was set to perform. This video from the accident shows metal framing crumpled on to the stage. All right, now to the elections in Greece, a vote with potentially huge economic consequences for Greece, Europe and the U.S. Official results are just starting to come in. Voters are choosing between two parties. One led by 37-year-old leftist politician, Alexis Tsipras, and the other, a 61-year-old conservative, Antonis Samaras, two men with two very different visions for Greece's future. CNN's Matthew chance is live in Athens with the partial results. Matthew, what can you tell us?
[Matthew Chance, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] You can see, Fredricka, behind me there are celebrations under way in this kiosk in the center of the Greek capital, Athens. It is a kiosk that's been set up by the conservative party here called the New Democracy Party. They've emerged according to the latest official figures that have come in after this election as the biggest party. Latest figures say they've got more than 30 percent of the vote. It means they don't get an overall majority. They can't form a government on their own. That doesn't matter to these people. What they're celebrating is that they've got the biggest number of votes that almost certainly means Greece will get some kind of stable government and if it happens, there will be sighs of relief breathed tonight in the United States and in Europe as well. Because these conservative parties is one of the parties that backs the austerity measures it wants Greece to make these economic reforms and stay within the eurozone and within single currency and to receive the bailout fund continually from the international creditors. If this result carries through to a coalition government, there will be big sighs of relief in Europe and in the United States.
[Whitfield:] So it is still early. I know it is noisy there, Matthew. But is there any indication how many hours away we would be from a final or a more definitive tally?
[Chance:] It's been 2-12 hours since the polls closed. Already they've counted 36.9 percent so another five or six hours perhaps. We'll have the final result in. But the indications are this is going to be a pretty big victory for New Democracy, this conservative party. Again, what they're saying, it is a victory not just for them but a victory for Europe as well.
[Whitfield:] Matthew Chance in Athens, thanks so much. Jerry Sandusky's defense team is getting ready to make its case this week. So why is a prosecution psychologist examining the former football coach today? And if you have to go out today, you can continue to watch CNN from your mobile phone. You can also watch CNN live from your laptop, just go to cnn.comtv.

[Max Foster:] In the bank. The U.S. names Jim Yong Kim as its candidate to lead the World Bank. In a flap. BATS'first full day of trading goes badly wrong. And the share price of Etch-a-Sketch is given a big shake. The CEO tells me how a presidential campaign gaffe has put him back in the picture. I'm Max Foster, this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Hello to you. Well, he's got the resume, he's got the backing, and most importantly, he's got the right passport. Jim Yong Kim is the surprise new frontrunner for the World Bank presidency after he was nominated by US president Barack Obama. Traditionally, the American candidate always gets the job. And with nominations closing in just three hours, he only has one other opponent. No one has really mentioned Kim Jong-un [sic] Kim's name in the race, but he's currently the president of Dartmouth College, an Ivy League school in the United States. He was a senior official at the World Health Organization, too. The only other name definitely in the hate is Nigeria's finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Now, Angola, South Africa, and Nigeria are all supporting her, and she used to be the World Bank's managing director. There's still an outside chance of Jose Antonio Ocampo getting involved. He's Colombia's first well, former finance minister, and Brazil wants to nominate him. Colombia apparently says it's not going to happen. He said he joined the race because he thought this time it would be different. Supposing Antonio Ocampo is wrong and things stay true to form, than Jim Yong Kim is the first big favorite right now. Felicia Taylor is in New York. Is it a given that he's going to get it because he's got the American backing?
[Felicia Taylor, Cnn International Correspondent:] Pretty much. The Americans are the largest voting members of the World Bank, and traditionally, as you pointed out, it has always been an American. The interesting part about this story is that this seen as somewhat of a compromise because Dr. Kim was born in South Korea, so that is perceived to be a little bit more appealing to some of the emerging market nations that were looking for a bit of a change in the mix-up here. The other interesting part about Dr. Kim, obviously he is a physician trained at Brown and Harvard. He does not have a financial background, which is traditionally what World Bank presidents have had. And that in particular was interesting for President Obama, who believes that the health care industry should be more of a focus for the World Bank and, therefore, his background in development as having held the top position in HIV and AIDS at the World Health Organization makes him the right candidate, according to the president. Take a listen.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] And ultimately, when a nation goes from poverty to prosperity, it makes the world stronger and more secure for everybody. That's why the World Bank is so important, and that's why the leader of the World Bank should have a deep understanding of both the role that development plays in the world and the importance of creating conditions where assistance is no longer needed. I believe that nobody is more qualified to carry out that mission than Dr. Jim Kim.
[Taylor:] As I mentioned, traditionally the nominees for the World Bank president have had somewhat of a financial background. We had heard names like Senator Hillary Clinton, Larry Summers, Senator John Kerry, and even the CEO of Pepsico, Indra Nooyi as possible candidates. But again, that's why Dr. Kim was a bit of a surprise. He himself has said that setting high standards and goals in his lifetime have paid off. Take a listen.
[Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Presidential Candidate:] I found again and again in my career that when you set bold, ambitious goals, plenty of people will tell you that you're crazy or that it just can't be done. That's what they told us at Partners in Health when we wanted to treat people suffering from multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis in the slums of Lima, Peru. It's what they told us at the World Health Organization when we wanted to treat 3 million people living with HIV in developing countries. I'm happy to say that we didn't listen to the naysayers.
[Taylor:] So, he stands to make a real difference when it comes to world health and development. Policy of the World Bank clearly setting high standards and goals have paid off for Dr. Kim. This is not a done deal, though, Max. There are a number of weeks that will pass as the member organizations will vote on this, and as you mentioned, there is another candidate out there, although there is just a few hours left before anybody can make a nomination. Max?
[Foster:] Felicia, thank you so much, indeed, for that. Well, South Africa's finance minister says Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the best candidate, but he admits with the power of American interest, she might be better off looking to future contests. Pravin Gordhan told Robyn Curnow why he is backing his Nigerian counterpart.
[Pravin Gordhan, South African Finance Minister:] We wish her well, because we think that she is a very competent person, has the right kind of experience and profile, and will be a very able and visionary leader of the World Bank.
[Robyn Curnow, Cnn International Correspondent:] Do you, though, think it's likely that she'll ever get the job?
[Gordhan:] So, we look with optimism, and at the same time have a fair sense of the realities of power within the global situation. But these contests, I think, are an important step towards future milestones that we want to work towards where there's a better balance in the world and there's a better voice representation in the world institutions, as well.
[Curnow:] So, on a pragmatic level, you don't see the Americans saying, there we go, please have this very prestigious post?
[Gordhan:] No, we understand that Americans have important policy interests and self-interest in this position, as well. And as long as we have a mature understanding about our respective interests, and run our campaigns in a mature and constructive way, and the outcome ultimately has legitimacy in the global community, we'll be satisfied.
[Curnow:] So, this is about a message, isn't it? Is this a message the African countries are sending?
[Gordhan:] It's more than just the African countries. I think the developing world as a whole for the past few years has been giving this message, which is that the economic and power balances in the globe are changing, give greater recognition to that. This should be reflected in quota reforms in the IMF and World Bank. And, so this is part of a global transition to a world that we are yet to see, but a world that is giving glimpses to us of what it could look like.
[Curnow:] And with six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world here in Africa, Africa's voice is louder. It packs a bit more punch, doesn't it?
[Gordhan:] For those who understand that the globe doesn't remain static, that history doesn't stand on one step alone, and that it keeps moving, they would understand that Africa 20 years from now is going to be very different. It's going to be a huge set of opportunities between now and then that'll be available both to Africans themselves and, indeed, to the world.
[Foster:] Well, the final decision rests with the executive board of the World Bank, and that's made up of 25 directors. There's one for the US, there's one for the UK, France has one one. Japan has one, and the rest of the world has 20 executive directors. Now, the overall voting rights are almost totally dominated with the US and the EU. It's weighted according to contributions, so the US has 16 percent, there. The EU has a combined 29 percent, and when you add Japan's 9 percent, more than half of all the votes are taken up by just three countries, as you can see. Next, one Millennial's mission to solve youth unemployment. We speak to the driving force behind the Fix Young America campaign.

[Rita Cosby, Guest:] Breaking news tonight. A young mother, her newborn baby just 3 months old, viciously attacked as she walked into her own home, the mother holding the tiny baby in her arms when she`s pushed out of the window, falling three stories to the ground, reportedly landing right on top of her 3-month-old son. In a stunning miracle, both the mother and the baby survive. When the suspect`s allegedly caught on grainy surveillance video making his escape, cops say he heads home for a nap. But when he learns that cops are hot on his trial, he reportedly hides out, get this, in a refrigerator.
[Unidentified Male:] He is 20-year-old Frederico Bruno
[Cosby:] And good evening, everybody. I`m Rita Cosby, and in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for being with us tonight. A young mother and her 3-month-old infant barely survive a three-story fall after Mommy`s pushed out of her home window in a late-night attack. For more on this developing and terrible story, let`s go to Michael Board. He`s a reporter with WOAI radio. Michael, tell us what happened here.
[Michael Board, Woai Radio:] Well, Rita, what I want to know and what the cops will not tell us is what kind of drugs was this guy on when this happened. I can`t wait for the trial to start so we can start hearing about tests of what was in his bloodstream because not only did this guy get in a fight with his ex-girlfriend, who at the time was holding their baby, he pushed them out of their three-story window. And then instead of checking to make sure they were OK, he climbed down three stories and then started, allegedly, according to the police complaint, beating her with a barstool that he found there down on the ground, and then took off running. I mean, who does something like this?
[Cosby:] You know, Michael, it is unbelievable! As you point out, first this attack that he`s accused off, and then when he gets a it`s a metal barstool, he goes down and then goes for more, is that what you`re telling me?
[Board:] That`s right. He you know, most people, when they would see something like this, they would you know, if this were an accident, they would make sure that the other person was OK, you know, maybe, Oh, my God, I didn`t know that was going to happen. Are you OK? Let me get an ambulance. That would be a normal reaction, right? Well, this guy, instead of checking to make sure that his own child is OK, he started beating his ex-girlfriend with a metal barstool, and then maybe figured out what he was doing was wrong. He took off running in this case. Unbelievable!
[Cosby:] Unbelievable and absolutely shameful! Let`s got to Brett Larson, morning anchor with IQ News 106.news 106.9. Brett, I want to ask you, when you hear all of this walk us through sort of the scene where this first initial attack happened. As we just heard, you know, there were two attacks, but and, obviously, two even attacks within the house. But describe this home where the first attack took place. BRETT LARSON, IQ NEWS 106.9: Well, you know, it`s just such an unbelievably crazy thing. I mean, they come home. He`s hiding out in the apartment, apparently letting himself in with keys that he already had. He starts to attack the mother`s friend. When she tries to call 911, she starts screaming, he stabs her in the face multiple times. The mother comes out holding his baby, and he starts stabbing at her and then shoves her as you just mentioned, shoves her so hard with such force against the window that she pushes the air-conditioning unit out the window, along with her and the baby. They fall three stories to the ground. She lands on top of her child. And then as we just said, he goes down there and beats her with a barstool. It`s unbelievable. He takes off. He goes on the lam for a couple days. They find him the cops find him hiding out in an empty apartment. He`s hiding in a refrigerator, after tip from family led cops to him. You know, Brett, you talk about this guy. He`s what? He`s stabbing first, he`s attacking the friend.
[Larson:] Right.
[Cosby:] And then he goes to attack his ex-girlfriend while she`s holding their baby...
[Larson:] Their baby.
[Cosby:] ... a 3-month-old baby boy?
[Larson:] Yes, their baby, which, fortunately, from all reports we`ve gotten, the baby did not suffer any stab wounds. So if there is any any good part of it unfortunately, the baby remains in very critical condition, and the mother is in a medically-induced coma. It`s just it`s all around terrible!
[Cosby:] It is. Michael Conte, crime reporter with "The Jersey Journal" Michael, describe sort of this place, this home where this took place. He knows this because he lived there. He had the key, right?
[Michaelangelo Conte, "jersey Journal":] He did. He let himself in, apparently. Shortly after they came home, the attack began. It`s a tall, five-story building, and the apartment was on the third floor.
[Cosby:] What type of weapons were used? We understand there were weapons within that home that were used. And do we know how many times both of these women were stabbed? And was the baby stabbed?
[Conte:] Police have said that the each woman has been stabbed was stabbed multiple times. The ex-girlfriend`s friend was stabbed numerous times about the face with a kitchen knife and a meat cleaver. They didn`t say what type of weapon was used to attack, the ex-girlfriend, but she was stabbed around the back of her neck, making police suspect that she had the child in her arms and had turned and bent over to protect him.
[Cosby:] So she was trying to protect the baby during this horrible, brutal attack, is that what you understand, Michael?
[Conte:] Police say that`s what the wounds might suggest.
[Cosby:] One of the things, Michael Board we understand that she actually fell on top of the baby, you were saying. That`s incredible. Three stories, right?
[Board:] Three stories out the window. The air-conditioner apparently got pushed out to the side. They both fell down. The mom fell on top of the child, which is why it`s a miracle this child is still alive. And one other thing that we need to mention here in this story and this is this is a very important part of this story the relationship that Frederico and his ex-girlfriend had was a very rocky relationship. We`re told that police were called out to this apartment several times. And get this one, Rita. The ex-girlfriend had a restraining order out on Frederico. He was not even supposed to be near her.
[Cosby:] But he had the key. Do we know why he still had the key? Is it possible that maybe she forgot to change the locks on the place?
[Board:] No idea. I mean, why you know, if you put a restraining order out on a guy and you know he has keys, shouldn`t that be the first thing you do? I don`t know. Apparently, you know, this wasn`t a new thing. It had been out there for a while. And like I said, she had a restraining order on him. It`s just a tragic situation.
[Cosby:] It is. And the other thing, too, Michael Board, there`s that fire escape, as you pointed out. What I think is so horrible about this story the initial attack is bad enough, and then when he climbs down the fire escape and goes after her for more?
[Board:] I don`t know why. Why would someone do that? You know, it`s inconceivable why somebody would continue the attack at that point, why after falling three stories, he would feel the need to, apparently, according to this complaint, beat her several more times with this chair before running off. That`s why I said, you know, I want to know what kind of drugs were in this guy`s bloodstream.
[Cosby:] Yes, and so far, we don`t have any evidence of blood
[Board:] We don`t know. We know that he`s in police custody. He`s in jail right now. So you know, that`s one of the things when you get booked into jail, they take blood samples. That`ll come in trial. And you know, I`ll be very curious to hear as a reporter covering the story, I`ll be very curious to see when this comes around for trial, you know, what sort of evidence they come up what this guy was on.
[Cosby:] Michael Conte, crime reporter with "The Jersey Journal" Mike, when you hear this story, too we understand he pushed her while she`s holding the baby. This is their son, their beautiful little, you know, 3-month-old boy. She`s holding the son. He`s pushing her with such force, not only does the air-conditioner go through the window, they go through the window. Can you describe was the window sort of halfway open? Do we have a sense of, like, how this air-conditioner was positioned?
[Conte:] I don`t know. But I know that when I saw I viewed the building from the rear, the entire window was gone, no air-conditioner no window at all. The cord for the air-conditioner was hanging out the window, and police said the air-conditioner struck an air-conditioner in a window below it, and that was gone, as well. I don`t know how they were set up, but they they just fell right through it.
[Cosby:] Marc Harrold, former officer, Atlanta Police Department and also attorney Marc, when you hear all this it sounds like he must have pushed her very hard. Do you think it was a one-time push? Do you think it was multiple pushes, again, where this air-conditioner was to go through the window, her and her baby?
[Marc Harrold, Former Officer, Atlanta Police Department:] Well, I`m just speculating. I think he did push her hard, obviously. Sounds like she had turned around with the baby in her arms to defend herself. She had absolutely no chance to ward him off either in the apartment or when he followed her down there. She was pretty much defenseless. I`m sure she was basically trying to protect the child, which makes sense why she fell on the child she had turned and he pushed her. How many times he pushed her, I don`t know. It was obviously very intense because he not only pushed her as many times as he had to to get her out the window, he actually follows her down.
[Cosby:] And Dr. William Morrone, medical examiner, forensic pathologist Dr. Morrone, can you tell what kind of injuries were sustained from the fall? It`s a three-story fall holding her baby. She lands on the baby, too, it`s amazing that they both survived. Truly is a miracle. Can you tell the kinds of injuries that were sustained from the fall versus the stabbing? And also, what other injuries may have happened inside that home?
[Dr. William Morrone, Medical Examiner/forensic Pathologist:] Stabbing wounds are going to be very specific. They`re going to be deep and they`re going to be bleeding. Wounds from the fall are going to be like blunt force. They`re going to be fractures. There`s going to be bruises. And if there`s internal bleeding, it`s not going to exit the body. Now, based on how she fell, you usually fall on heavier, more weighted parts of your body. If she fell on her head and her neck, she would have been dead. So she may have fell on her limbs or her buttocks or on top of the baby in a kneeling position. But the wounds from the stabbing are going to be very specific. They`re going to be bleeding and they`re going to be deep. And stab wounds are deeper than they are long.
[Cosby:] Leslie Seppinni, clinical psychologist and author of "Who Is Casey Anthony?" Dr. Seppinni, when you hear all these background stories, someone, to be so angry, to stab the friend first, then goes after his ex-girlfriend while she`s holding his bobby, and then to push her with such force to fall three stories down, then go down again, and according to the accusations, hit her with a metal stool that is incredible anger, correct?
[Dr. Leslie Seppinni, Clinical Psychologist:] It`s an incredible amount of anger. And men generally don`t harm their children unless it`s for revenge. So if there was some type of protective order, if there was some history of domestic violence, then that would seem in line with what men do when they want to get rid of the woman and hurt the baby. However, in this case, I also think there may have been some type of drug like PCP or something else involved because of the amount of energy he had.
[Unidentified Male:] So horrific. With their 3-month-old child in her arms, they say he pushed them both out a three-story window, crashing to the ground below. The 3-month-old son in extremely critical condition. They were still trying to stabilize him.
[Cosby:] And I`m Rita Cosby, in for Nancy Grace. A man brutally stabs his ex-girlfriend while she`s holding his 3-month-old son. And then that`s not bad enough, he also stabs her friend. And then he pushes his girlfriend and the baby through the window. They fall three stories and miraculously survive. So why would somebody do this? Well, let`s go to Brett Larson, morning anchor with IQ News, 106.9. Brett, the other thing that`s so I mean, this whole thing is just so horrible, but one of the things he`s lying in wait. You mentioned he has the key. He goes in, what, he`s hiding out and then suddenly pops out? And this happens in the morning, right, Brett?
[Larson:] It happens early on a Friday morning. He had clearly been in the apartment. We don`t know exactly how long he had been waiting in the apartment. We mentioned he had keys, so he let himself in. He knows where he is. And then he goes on this just horrific attack. And you know, it`s not the first time that he`s had some run-ins with the law. He`s got a little bit of a history there. But after the attack, goes home, takes a nap, and then when he finds out the police are after him, hides in a refrigerator and waits for cops to come and get him. Obviously not waiting, knowing they`re going to come get him, but is just there waiting when they come get him.
[Cosby:] Michael Board, I just think it`s incredible! He goes home and he`s take a sleep. Meanwhile, you know, she`s there clinging for her life, as is the baby and as is her friend. It`s just astounding to me. But Michael Board, let`s talk about this escape that we were just talking with Brett about. He gets out. He goes down. First he hits her again with this metal stool. But he also he`s escaping through a fire escape. There`s some grainy surveillance video that catches him sort of going through you see this sort of figure going down through a fire escape. And then he goes home and sleeps. And then where does he go? Is he is he caught nearby? How far is the distance?
[Board:] It`s pretty close by. It`s the same building. There was a vacant apartment there. Apparently, there was still a refrigerator in that vacant apartment. And he decided that was going to be the best place he could crawl inside. What I`m surprised about is I thought refrigerators were airtight. At least, I know my refrigerator at home you know, sometimes I have a little trouble pulling it open. I thought refrigerators were airtight. Maybe this one was unplugged so it wasn`t airtight. But you know, it`s amazing he didn`t suffocate in that refrigerator hiding from the cops. Maybe that would have been poetic justice in this case.
[Cosby:] Yes, it should would have been. And what, he`s cowering in the refrigerator when they find him? Is that the deal?
[Board:] Yes, he was it was, you know, just a normal refrigerator. This was one of the it just opened from the side. And he had hidden down and sort of crawled inside of it and contorted himself to fit inside and closed the door behind him.
[Cosby:] Michael Conte, crime reporter with "The Jersey Journal" Michael, I understand also it was sort of an all-out look for this guy, needless to say. You`ve got two women clinging to life. You`ve got a 3- month-old baby. And then this guy`s on the loose. How do they actually sort of circle around him? And I understand they also had to pull in the SWAT team, is that right?
[Conte:] Well, the police chief held a press conference hours after the incident, and all the media was there. The pictures went out right away. They declared a manhunt. They said it was priority number one for the department. But apparently, really, the break came when a family member dropped a dime on him from an adjacent apartment to where he was found. And even so, it wasn`t so easy to find him. Police said they searched the building for three hours with dogs until they came upon him. So it was an all-out search, and I guess it took about a dozen hours to find him.
[Cosby:] Sergeant Ed Ciempola with the commander.
[Sgt. Ed Ciempola, Commander, Somerset County Swat:] Well, there`s a lot of reasons why you call a SWAT team out. In this particular situation, just the sheer propensity for violence this individual has I mean, he`s capable of injuring somebody he purportedly loves, a child that he created, and pushes them out a third floor window and stabs the woman multiple times, stabs her friend multiple times. So you already he someone that`s obviously displayed a great deal of violence. That`s one reason to call the SWAT team out...
[Cosby:] And Sergeant, can I ask you a question? What do you make the determination of just using, you know, the regular units versus SWAT? What makes that call? Like, who determines that?
[Ciempola:] Well, the commanders of the police department will determine if the situation fits the criteria for calling out a SWAT Team. This individual is believed to be armed and dangerous and he is barricaded inside some sort of large structure like an apartment building. So that`s why you call out a SWAT team.
[Unidentified Male:] When she came home just about 7:00 o`clock with their 3-month-old son and her friend, they say he attacked. With their 3- month-old child in her arms, they say he pushed them both out a three-story window, crashing to the ground below.
[Cosby:] And I`m Rita Cosby, in for Nancy Grace. A man is accused of brutally stabbing his not just ex-girlfriend while she`s holding his baby, but also a friend. He also pushes the ex-girlfriend through a window. Miraculously, she survives, she and the baby after they fall three stories down. The guy is found not surrendering. No, he goes over and first he beats her more. And then guess what? When cops come, he`s hiding in a refrigerator. Let`s go to Marc Harrold. He is, of course, former officer, Atlanta Police Department, also an attorney. Marc, what do you think, also? They get the tip, first of all, I`m happy to hear, in this case, relatives, which, by the way, obviously, if anyone sees anything questionable, if it`s a family member, you got to turn them in. Thank goodness a family member called in with a tip in this case that led authorities to that refrigerator in this vacant building. But how do you sort of weed through these tips, especially when they come from a relative? How do, you know, authorities sort of weed through and determine if this is a valid tip or not? And what do you think their reaction was, Marc, when they found him in the refrigerator?
[Harrold:] Well, I don`t know how many tips that they had. Obviously, anyone in this proximity who has a relationship, you`re going to take them a little more seriously. He had made statements to other family members. I think he tried to blame her and said she tried to stab him, with the baby in her arms, which makes no sense, of course, at all. But I don`t know how many tips they got. You`d actually go through you`d probably follow up on as many as you could. They said that it was the first priority of the department, and I`m sure that it was, for the duration of time where they were looking for him. As far as finding him in the refrigerator, it does sound like they did a pretty extended search even of that building, and then came back around and found him. So I agree, it it sounds like maybe he laid in wait and had a plan at the beginning, but he certainly didn`t have much of a plan at the end. And I think he was just looking for a place to hide.
[Cosby:] Yes, it sure seems like it. Michael Board, it sounds like he was hiding out there for a bit, and that was the only place, correct?
[Board:] That was the only place you can go and the only place you can hide. You know, Rita, one other thing I`d like to bring up in this case, and you know, what is unbelievable about this, looking forward to this case you know, he`s in jail now. He`s going to go on trial for this. He`s facing charges right now of attempted homicide. He tried to kill these people. That`s what, basically, the charge is. This stunned me. I don`t know if this stuns you or not, but the maximum sentence for attempted homicide is 20 years. So this guy...
[Unidentified Female:] I`m shocked. Like, it`s crazy scary. I feel bad for the baby and for his mom.
[Unidentified Male:] Witnesses say the unidentified former girlfriend was thrown out with her baby boy in her arms. That wasn`t the end of it. He got on the fire escape. He climbed down. And he then viciously beat her again.
[Cosby:] And a brutal attack and the woman holding her 3-month-old baby, miraculously survived. She is brutally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend, who also, by the way, stabbed her friend as well, and she survives. For the very latest, let`s go to Brett Larson, morning anchor with IQ News 106.9. Brett, tell us again, what happened, when he`s lying in wait, and then attacks both these women and this baby is in her arms? BRETT LARSON, MORNING ANCHOR, IQ NEWS 106.0: The baby his baby is in his ex-girlfriend`s arm. He is hiding out in their apartment, letting himself in with keys that he has. And when they come home, he goes on the attack, first attacking the girl`s friends, when she tries to call cops, stabs her multiple times in the face with a with a kitchen cleaver, and then when the when his ex-girlfriend comes into the room with holding their 3-month-old baby, he goes after her, and then pushes her with such crazy force that she ends up getting thrown out the third story window, including knocking the air conditioning unit out the window. And then fall to the ground on top of her baby. Not through the wood not out of the woods yet, he climbs down the fire escape and then beats her with a metal bar stool before he runs away and hides. Cops finding him hiding out in a refrigerator in an abandoned apartment very nearby. Yes, cowering in a refrigerator. Incredible, Brett. Let`s go to the caller, everybody. We are also taking your calls. Also be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Let`s go to Tasha from North Carolina who`s on the line. Tasha, what`s your question tonight?
[Tasha, Caller From North Carolina:] Actually I have three questions.
[Cosby:] OK, make them quick if you could.
[Tasha:] OK, does he have any prior convictions? Has he ever been violent with other girlfriends before? And are they going to do a mental evaluation on him?
[Cosby:] All great questions. Let`s go to Michael Conte. First of all, any violence in his background, prior convictions?
[Michaelangelo Conte, Crime Reporter, Jersey Journal:] Police would only say that he has had run-ins with the law before. They would not they didn`t speak about prior convictions.
[Cosby:] And do we know, Brett Larson, if they`re going to be doing a mental evaluation? I`m sure they will. You also mentioned they`re drug testing him as well, correct?
[Larson:] There`s going to have to be a drug test given the severity of what he`s gone through and certainly, you know, he`s being held now on $300,000 cash bond, so I`m sure he`s going to be run through the gamut of tests.
[Cosby:] Is there any problem with mental history? Do we know anything, Brett, if there was any mental history with him? Any issues?
[Larson:] We don`t know of any mental history. We do know, as we were just mentioning, we do know he has had a few run-ins with the law. We also know she had a temporary restraining order against him so this wasn`t a surprise.
[Cosby:] Michael Board, what I think is unbelievable, he claims to relatives, what happened? What is his side of the story here?
[Michael Board, Reporter, Woai Newsradio:] Well, we know after this incident, according to the criminal complaint, that he went home and according to family members, he either took a nap or crashed out over some drug binge after this because he was crashed out on the couch for the rest of the day after this happened. What we`re told, there was one report out there that he told a family member that this ex-girlfriend attacked him, that while she was holding their basically newborn child, she was swinging a knife at him and he was just trying to defend himself and that`s why he shoved her so hard she felt out the window. You know, of course police investigators
[Board:] You know his criminal
[Cosby:] Unbelievable, Michael. Let me just get this straight. He`s claiming she`s holding their baby, a 3-month-old baby, she`s stabbed right in the back of the neck and she he`s saying she attacked him? And what, did the friend attack him as well? And then, what, she attacked him again when he fell out when she fell out the window, too?
[Board:] And that`s what we know is that the that the stab wounds were to the back of this ex-girlfriend, so she had her back turned to him, obviously, whoever was attacking her she had her back to him. That`s how she got the stab wounds, but yet this guy seems to claim to family members that no, she was she was holding my baby and still swinging a knife at me, and it was all I could do but to push her out the window, which I`m sure will be looked at and I`m sure that`ll be his defense when he goes to trial on this. But, you know, the evidence is the preponderance of evidence in this case shows a completely different story.
[Cosby:] Yes, it certainly does. Let`s go to the attorneys, let`s go to Jennifer Smetters, family law attorney, Dwane Cates, defense attorney, and also Kirby Clements, defense attorney. Jennifer Smetters, you know, this is going to be a leap to say I was defending myself. And by the way, I was defending myself also after she fell out of the window with my baby and then I ran after her with a metal stool. I was defending myself again when I was beating her one more time. Explain that one, Jennifer. This guy`s got a this guy has go a very tough defense.
[Jennifer Smetters, Family Law Attorney:] Without a doubt. I mean, here we`re going to look at the situation in terms of this temporary restraining order or this order of protection. In that order, she would have had to have gone before a judge saying that she most likely fears for her life and the life of her child. She had to give sworn testimony to convince a judge to enter that order. And if it was still in the temporary stages, that tell me that the judge hadn`t heard his side yet. Sometimes, the receiving end of those type of restraining orders, these men can get very, very angry. I don`t know what provoked this absolute unexplainable rage, but people have a very, very difficult time making any jury buy it. That`s for sure.
[Cosby:] You bet. Self-defense, I think, is an enormously Kirby Clements, you explain this to one to me.
[Kirby Clements, Defense Attorney:] You know, at this point, it`s very early on. Number one, as to the knife wounds, we`re not quite we`re not quite sure whether those knife wounds are in the center of her back or are in the upper part of her neck back, like he was in front of her. That`s number one. But I thought the main defense. Secondly, he may have been high on some drugs, we don`t know. And lastly we don`t know whether
[Cosby:] What so, wait, wait, wait, so that`s his excuse, Kirby, to go and do it and then go down and beat her again?
[Clements:] Well, and also I do have a question about this whole beating her with a stool? Who said that? I mean obviously she didn`t say it, so I`m not even sure that`s altogether accurate. He obviously has a tough time, he pushed her out of the window, he stabbed the other the other young lady, and he stabbed this woman.
[Cosby:] And, and also, Kirby, Kirby, the one thing you left out he was lying in wait, too. He`s in the apartment, hiding in the apartment, waiting for her to come home. There`s a restraining order against him. He`s obviously, you know, furious about something. And obviously he`s got a hot head to lead to that restraining order to begin with.
[Clements:] So not true.
[Cosby:] He`s lying wait, Kirby. But let`s talk about the lying in wait in the apartment. Where is the self-defense, Kirby? You haven`t explained any of that to me.
[Clements:] Well, I`m not even saying I want to go with self-defense at this point. It`s early
[Cosby:] I want you I want you to this is what he`s claiming, according to a family member, that he was defending himself. She`s holding a 3-month-old baby, Kirby. You explain this to me. His baby, and then what, she`s going after him? And she`s the one with the stab wounds, not him? You explain this, Kirby.
[Clements:] The only thing I can tell you at this juncture is it`s early on
[Cosby:] Yes, I`m speechless, too, Kirby.
[Clements:] I have to see I have to see where the knife wounds are on her. I`m not saying we`re going to go with that. He could have made those statements in his correct-out, drugged-out mind. I`m not saying he was on crack, but whatever he may have been on may have
[Cosby:] Yes, because you know what, Kirby? No logical person could say that it was self-defense, then he goes and beats her again. He had to have been on something, because I`m telling you, it is you know, uncomprehensible, incomprehensible, incomprehensible.
[Unidentified Reporter:] The details of this attack are so horrific.
[Unidentified Male:] A confrontation stabbing allegedly at the hands of the 6`1" 165-pound Bruno. Stabbing his ex-girlfriend with their 3-month-old child in her arms. The police say he pushed them both out a three-story window.
[Cosby:] And let`s go to the attorneys. Let`s go to Dwane Cates, defense attorney. We just heard Kirby`s reasoning, oh, he was on drugs. So that`s why this happened. So far we don`t know even if he was on drugs. And, Dwane, you explain this. The guy is claiming it was self-defense. She`s holding the baby, and she`s being stabbed, apparently there was a meat cleaver, there was a kitchen knife that he uses first on her friend and her. She falls out of the window and then according to cops, then she`s beaten again. If that`s not bad. And first of all, it`s amazing she`s survived. This is three-story fall which his incredible, Dwane. But then in addition to that, cops say he came out, took a metal stool, and kept beating her. You give me the defense on this one. I can`t wait to hear it, Dwane.
[Dwane Cates, Defense Attorney:] Well, let`s talk about the self-defense first, you know.
[Cosby:] Yes, please. Because that`s just seems that`s like a magical answer. You know?
[Cates:] I got the answer. There are only three people in that apartment and there`s only of them that made a statement about what happened inside that apartment and
[Cosby:] And guess what, guess what? There`s only one who`s able to see. Yes, you know what, Dwane?
[Cates:] Well, that`s right, but he the only one who made
[Cosby:] Because by the way by the way.
[Cates:] He`s the only one who made a statement.
[Cosby:] Well, no, no, no. The other thing, too, by the way, separate than all of this, the amazing news, and I do think it is incredible, everybody, that these three people survived. Of course one is a 3-month-old baby. But then you`ve got two others. The girlfriend in a medically induced coma clinging to her life tonight.
[Cates:] Yes, but the only statement
[Cosby:] Dwane, wait a second.
[Cates:] The only statement that we have Dwane, Dwane, I`m not done. Dwane, I`m not done. And then the second one is in stable condition. By the way, the other thing, Dwane, there are neighbors around, apparently neighbors called the cops, so guess what, maybe neighbors saw some pretty pertinent information like him beating her on the head after she fell through the window. Yes, but the neighbors weren`t in the apartment, they didn`t see what happened. Everybody keeps saying he threw her out the window like he picked her up and threw her out of the window.
[Cosby:] But you know but you know what OK. All right. All right. Dwane, Dwane.
[Cates:] Let me talk a little bit.
[Cosby:] Wait a second, Dwane. Did she want to, like, go through the window? Did she want to go for a fly with her 3-month-old baby? Give me a break.
[Cates:] Well, there`s an air conditioner in the window, they could have been struggling, he pushes her, she falls against the air conditioner, the air conditioner is not attached to it, and then it fell out the window.
[Cosby:] But he is still pushing her. He is still pushing her. He`s still pushing her. And tell me what, did she what, did she go running towards the air conditioning on her own? Is that what you`re going to tell me, Dwane?
[Cates:] No, he pushes but so what? There is a difference between pushing somebody against an air conditioner and throwing somebody out a window.
[Cosby:] Dwane, Dwane. The bottom line is, the bottom line is, she goes through the window, three stories, and the bad thing is, Dwane, not does he go for help at that point, Dwane, no, he doesn`t do say it was accidental. I`ll even give you that one, Dwane, which I find hard to believe after he`s stabbing her upstairs, but he`s first stabbing her, he`s stabbing the friend then she goes through the window, OK, with the baby, and then no he doesn`t call the ambulance, he doesn`t call 911, and say oh, my goodness, my girlfriend and my baby are down there. No. He goes down on the fire escape. There`s video of him going down. And then apparently takes a metal stool and starts beating her again. You tell me that this is a man who wasn`t happy
[Cates:] Again but there`s no video of him beating her with a metal school? We don`t know who said that.
[Cosby:] We don`t know that. By the way, you don`t know that. You don`t know that, Dwane. And by the way, what cops are saying, Dwane, tonight.
[Cates:] We`re all just speculating here.
[Cosby:] Cops are saying tonight they have evidence.
[Cates:] We don`t know anything really.
[Cosby:] Cop are saying they have evidence. You`re saying cops made it up? Is that what you`re telling me, Dwane?
[Cates:] Cops always say they have evidence.
[Cosby:] Give me a break.
[Cates:] We haven`t seen any evidence yet.
[Cosby:] Give me a break. You know what, give me a break. Jennifer, you know what, this is just incredible, what, cops are just making this whole thing up? And this poor helpless man, Jennifer
[Cates:] Well, we haven`t seen any evidence yet.
[Cosby:] and so
[Smetters:] Yes. You know what
[Cosby:] Yes, give me a break.
[Smetters:] Bottom line, I agree, Rita, this man intended to cause bodily harm to the extent that it may lead to loss of life. Whether or not he intended her to go through the window, he sure intended for her to have bodily harm so severe that he followed up with it on the ground. And there is no defense to that. Self-defense, that`s a joke.
[Cates:] There`s psychological defense to that.
[Cosby:] Dwane
[Smetters:] Drugs is not vindication.
[Cates:] Have we had a mental health evaluation? Do we know if he`s got psychosis?
[Smetters:] Psychological
[Cosby:] And OK, and Dwane, and Dwane
[Cates:] Do we know anything?
[Cosby:] And Dwane, is that excuse? Dwane, is that an excuse for this behavior? You`re trying to say, oh, the poor man, he`s got issues. You know what, guess what these are now clinging to their life tonight.
[Cates:] No, not issues. If he can`t tell the difference between right and wrong and he`s had a psychotic break and he`s got schizophrenia, he`s got voices in his head that`s telling him to do this
[Cosby:] You know where he loses it? You know where first of all
[Cates:] Excuse.
[Cosby:] At this point, Dwane, we don`t know if he has any mental issues. And guess what, he was smart enough to know
[Cates:] We don`t.
[Cosby:] I got to run. And guess what, he`s again, he tells his family members what happened, he`s claiming self-defense, he was smart enough at that point, and guess what, he was smart enough to find a hiding spot like a refrigerator. You explain that one, Kirby Clements.
[Clements:] He hid in a refrigerator, that in and of itself is the craziest thing that you can do. That`s proof that something was going wrong with the man.
[Cosby:] He you know what, you know what he`s doing, Kirby, at that point? He`s hiding because he knows everybody`s on to him because he did this horrific crime. Guess what? He knew right from wrong, Kirby.
[Clements:] Just because no, he I just want We don`t know whether he had drug problems and if he was he had a mental breakdown. He hides in a refrigerator, which is indicative of something crazy going on there, so just because he did something that makes sense, doesn`t mean that his that the world according to him at that time was actually making sense. There`s so much more to be uncovered in this case. But I think that you know, and it may end up to his benefit.
[Cosby:] And everybody, we are taking your calls. Be sure also to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Let`s go to Amy from Alabama who is on the line. Amy, what`s your question tonight?
[Amy, Caller From Alabama:] Yes, ma`am, I have two comments and one question.
[Cosby:] Sure.
[Amy:] OK. Comment is, these defense attorneys, I`m a survivor of domestic violence, thank god I`m out alive and well. These defense attorneys, whatever you claim, I mean, drugs, alcohol, mental, what difference does that make? He knew what he was doing when he was climbing out that window. And he knew what he was doing in the apartment with the lady. And I`m praying for the lady. I hope she survives. I hope her friend survives and lord know that this baby survives. But my question is, this looks like an apartment where several people live. I wish I was one of them neighbors, it`s 7:00 in the morning and you got neighbors? Where were all these people that live in this apartment? The young man didn`t look that big.
[Cosby:] You know, and Amy, you bring up some great questions. First of all, obviously, you`re a real hero that you survived domestic abuse and you know how bad and terrible it can be. I`m glad you called in. Michael Board, real quick, I think Amy`s question is a really important one, too, about the neighbors. I bet it sounds like neighbors called the cops in this case, they probably saw a lot and heard a lot probably.
[Board:] I`m sure they did. And I can`t wait for trial because I`m sure the prosecutors in this case will put some of those neighbors on the stand and say, what did you hear that morning, when you started hearing notices and fighting and screams and people screaming for their lives down stairs? What did you hear? Did you look at out your window? Did you see this woman falling three stories down to the ground? And after she fell three stories, what did you see after that? Did you see this person go down and then beat her with a bar stool? That`s going to be some compelling evidence once this goes to trial.
[Unidentified Reporter:] He pushed them both out a three-story window, crashing to the ground below. Bruno climbed down a fire escape, the three stories, picked up a table, he beat his ex-girlfriend again with the table as she lay in critical condition.
[Cosby:] And I`m Rita Cosby in for Nancy Grace. Let`s continue with your calls, everybody. Hayley from Louisiana, you`re on the line. What is your question, Hayley?
[Hayley, Caller From Louisiana:] My question is if the mama and the baby is OK, and I have another question, like
[Cosby:] Real quick, Haley, if you could.
[Hayley:] Wondering like, if it`s we can`t, like, just, like, beat our kids anymore, not beat them but spank them. My son just beat his wife up this weekend and she got, like, life flown to the hospital in Michigan. And I`m also surviving
[Cosby:] Hayley, Hayley
[Hayley:] domestic violence myself and stuff.
[Cosby:] Hayley, let me let me just, because you`re a survivor, I want to make sure I give us some time but and first of all, thank goodness that you are OK because so often, these instances end up in death and are very, very in this case, it came very, very close. Let me go to Michael Board, because, Hayley, you asked a very important question about the health. What is the status of the mother who did miraculously survive, as Hayley did, obviously, domestic abuse, too? But give us a sense of what happened in this case. How is the mother, how is the friend and how is the baby, Michael Board?
[Board:] The mother the mother of the child is in a medically induced coma. She is not doing great. She is alive, but, you know, it is a tough situation right now. The child, amazingly, is in critical condition. The child is alive, like mom, struggling right now, but both of them are alive. The friend, the one that was stabbed, the first person that was stabbed allegedly in this case, they`re doing really good. They should be released any hour now.
[Cosby:] Dr. William Morrone, medical examiner, why a medically induced coma for the ex-girlfriend and the mom?
[Dr. William R. Morrone, Medical Examiner; Forensic Pathologist, Toxicologist:] The most important thing is there may be damage to the airway and to help her heal, when you`re in critical condition, there are four things. Vital signs are not stable, vital signs not normal limits, the patient may be unconscious and indicators are not favorable. Those things may mean she needs her airway to heal and to spend less energy, they medically induce a coma so she can sleep. It`s easier to take care of her that way.
[Cosby:] Well, let`s pray that in this case that she survives and the friend survived and thank goodness the baby has survived, an amazing story. And tonight, let stop to remember Army Private First Class Patrick Fitzgibbon, just 19 years old, from Knoxville, Tennessee, he was killed in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the National Defense Service medal. He loved video games, skateboarding and playing the guitar. He leaves behind his parents, Donnie and Trish, four brothers and one sister. Patrick Fitzgibbon, a true American hero. And I want to thank all of you for your very kind words about the recent passing of my hero, my father, Lt. Richard Cosby. My father was a prisoner of war in World War II, saved by American troops, and in his honor, we are raising money for the USO helping wounded troops and their families. Go to quiethero.org. You`ve got to quick on the words "quiet hero" or click on the USO box and be sure to say, "In memory of Richard Cosby," to help our troops. And also tonight, we want to wish a speedy recovery to Jo in Georgia. Jo, we hope you get well soon. There you are smiling and looking terrific. I am Rita Cosby, I`m in for Nancy Grace. Dr. Drew is coming up next. I hope all of you have a fantastic evening. I will see you tomorrow, everyone. END

[Cho:] Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING for a Friday, our favorite day of the week. It's 31 minutes after the hour. Time for this morning's top stories. Mitt Romney's hunkering down for the home stretch in Iowa. With four days to go until the caucuses, the former Massachusetts governor now plans to spend most of the next 96 hours in the state after a quick trip to New Hampshire. His staff confirming he will be there New Year's Eve as well as caucus night and the morning after.
[Feyerick:] North Korea warning a violent revenge against South Korea. The nation says it is insulted that more South Koreans did not attend the funeral of the late leader Kim Jong-Il. South Korea did allow some citizens to attend, but did not send an official delegation. North Korea responding with a harsh message threatening to, quote, "smash puppet forces," end quote, in the south.
[Cho:] Billed as the biggest New Year's Eve celebration in the world, one million partygoers will pack into New York City's Times Square tomorrow. Right now, big preps are under way, workers are ripping up areas setting up a stage and checking out the famed crystal ball. Later on, we will speak with New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly about the security preparations.
[Feyerick:] Al Qaeda recruiting hundreds of Jihadists in Libya. A source tells CNN that the terrorist group has already mobilized and army of some 200 fighters. Al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri has himself sent in at least one veteran Jihadist to head recruitment efforts. Senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson joins us on the phone from London with more, and, Nic, why Libya? Why not a different country there?
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, al Qaeda had interest in the North of Africa for a long time. They want to be able to use it as a base of operation to strike into Europe and to strike U.S., American interests. Why Libya right now, because the opportunity presents itself. Saudi Arabia is known to produce al Qaeda, has in the past for Iraq, produced quite a large number of Jihadists. They went to Iraq and became suicide bombers targeting American troops inside Iraq. Right now, Ayman Al-Zawahiri has chosen he actually sent two top lieutenants. One who has had a very, very long relationship with Ayman Al Zawahiri, is trusted by him and he sees this as a strategic move to get an al Qaeda strong foothold in the North of Africa and in the eastern part of Libya, where he's determined is the best place to do that. There are other Libyan members, senior figures in the al Qaeda leadership. The two people that he sent, one of them was picked up as he was a Libyan, European national. He was picked up traveling through Europe. The other one has made it there, established a group. This is somebody who was a Jihadist in the 1990s, trained in Mujahadin training camps in Afghanistan, known to be exceptionally radical, was also in jail in Britain for some time about three or four years ago Deb.
[Feyerick:] Nic, are we going to be seeing attacks potentially in Europe? Are they going to be targeted to American interests in Europe? What are the likely target locations?
[Robertson:] Well, the Jihadist who is now heading this al Qaeda group in Libya is known to be very radical. He is known to buy into al Qaeda's global Jihadist ideology and he is known to be particularly interested in U.S. targets. He is less interested in establishing, if you will, an Islamist counter fate in Libya, per se. His agenda, it seems, from what we understand, from our source, is much more of an international agenda, and this is what al Qaeda looks for to establish itself in a much stronger way in North Africa looking to give them a foothold to do that. The south of Libya, there's a desert. Countries to the south of there, Nigeria, they're all places where al Qaeda has had a small number of operatives. The leader of al Qaeda now has clearly set an agenda to establish a stronger base, to further al Qaeda's global Jihadist ideology, which includes European and U.S. targets.
[Feyerick:] All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Obviously, Libya a place where they can act, really, without any sort of surveillance or supervision from the government. Thanks so much, Nic.
[Cho:] New this morning, a massive sinkhole is threatening to swallow a historic cemetery. Officials in Allentown, Pennsylvania, are scrambling to exhume graves that stand in danger. The cemetery holds about 20,000 graves dating back to the 1800s. The sinkhole spans from 50 feet and it's not just threatening the dead. Twenty five people evacuated from their homes.
[Feyerick:] Just call it "Occupy Twitter." Massachusetts prosecutor subpoenaed the Twitter records of an "Occupy Boston" protester and two hashtags yesterday. They're asking for tweets that were sent out during protester-police clashes at Dewey Square earlier in the month. The ACLU is calling this a violation of the first amendment. No comment from prosecutors and no charges yet filed.
[Cho:] China is officially on a mission to send a man to the moon. The plan includes the development of new satellites, spacecraft, even a space station. The Chinese successfully docked two unmanned spacecraft in orbit last month. They hope to have construction of a space lab completed by 2016, but any moon landing not expected until at least 2020.
[Feyerick:] And in Colorado, police have arrested a driver who they say intentionally rammed his SUV into five cars, including this one. A security camera captured it. Police say the driver also tried to run over several people.
[Cho:] Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, some Muslim leaders are boycotting New York City's annual Interfaith Breakfast. Why are they so angry? We'll tell you.
[Feyerick:] And New Year's Eve in New York City, the biggest party of the year. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly joins us to talk about how the NYPD will keep revellers safe during tomorrow's celebration. It is now 38 minutes past the hour.

[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. From supermodel to super-mogul, Tyra Banks was one of the first African-American models to be on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" and top runway shows like Victoria Secret. She went on to create and produce the hugely successful "America's Next Top Model."
[Tyra Banks, Model:] Whenever someone tells me you look so much better in person, that's an insult. You want to look better in your pictures.
[Unidentified Male:] I get that all the time.
[Banks:] Right?
[Unidentified Male:] I'm a model. I should look better in my pictures.
[Banks:] So that's a compliment.
[O'brien:] Tyra has created the TZONE Foundation to empower young women and teach them career developing tools. It gets a permanent new home with a newly constructed girls' club here in New York City. And she is in New York to raise the money for that center with a flawsome ball, which is going to happen on Thursday night.
[Banks:] Yes.
[O'brien:] Flawsome is such a great word. I know this is kind of the message to young women.
[Banks:] Yes.
[O'brien:] What is flawsome?
[Banks:] You, plus your flaws plus awesome equals flawsome so I always say to girls whether it's on "America's Next Top Model" or girls that I'm mentoring just in life that perfect is boring and human is beautiful. I look for things that are interesting and different on a woman's face.
[O'brien:] How do they believe that from you?
[Banks:] Because I got a big forehead. I've got a huge forehead. It's like
[O'brien:] You're right. It's terrible.
[Banks:] It's under there. You guys see it.
[Socarides:] You look fantastic, though. You are so beautiful. You are more beautiful in person than you are even
[Banks:] Thank you for insulting me right now. That's an insult. Did you not watch the video?
[O'brien:] Do girls who looking at a super model really understand the message? You look like perfection personafied. Is it hard to send a message to a young girl that's 12 or 13 that they can somehow turn into you eventually?
[Banks:] Actually, I don't think so because I actually started "America's Next Top Model" because I wanted to emphasize flawsomeness. I wanted to talk about a girl covered in freckles from head to toe that doesn't feel attractive. I wanted to talk and have girls on the show with big, red, frizzy hair and they're like this is bad and we're like, no, we're not straightening that, you know so girls with high foreheads, girls with ebony skin or alabaster skin. So those types of things that people consider to be not so beautiful, we actually highlight and I choose 70 percent of my girls that I call debatable beauty.
[Berman:] Is this just for girls or can boys be flawsome, too?
[Banks:] You can be flawsome. What are you insecure about?
[Berman:] I'm saying in theory, theoretically speaking.
[Banks:] I tend to focus on girls. You have a lovely what I call a five head, big forehead. It's not a forehead it's a five head. You have one, too. Let's see. He's so fine, I don't know.
[O'brien:] There was a great article in "The New York Times," magazine a while back about you and you talked about sort of the future for your life post modelling. You said it won't always be my face, she said, as he finished up her soap. I know that nothing lives forever and I'm prepared for that. But there's no end to producing. I'll still be at the helm. Describe for me what your life is as you move forward as a business woman.
[Banks:] Well, it's interesting. I do a lot more of this behind the scenes, at a board room, at a table, leading me team, creating new projects, new businesses, finished Harvard Business School program to expand my business behind the scenes. And to create like industries and things that have a long life, that I don't have to what I call, tap dance so, you know, that's very important to me and the public only sees a little bit. I like being off camera because I had to wake up at 4:30 this morning and put this thing together.
[O'brien:] Tell me, sister.
[Banks:] You know how it is, right?
[Socarides:] The most beautiful thing about you is your energy and your enthusiasm.
[Banks:] Thank you!
[Socarides:] It's just your whole aura.
[O'brien:] And what a great inspiration for young women. And I'm going to be at the flawsome ball.
[Banks:] Yes and we're auctioning off a day with Soledad O'Brien at CNN where you can be her intern and actually like an anchor in training.
[O'brien:] Or do the show.
[Banks:] Do the show so she can stay in bed.
[O'brien:] Auction off the congressman's job for a day.
[Socarides:] But no voting.
[Banks:] So they can be with you all day.
[O'brien:] Fantastic. I love that. Maybe I'll bid on it. Tyra, always great to have you with us. You are really a true inspiration to young women. We've got to take a short break. Still ahead this morning, 13 hours and counting I can't believe we're doing a countdown for the debate, but it is a countdown. President Obama, Mitt Romney ready for their rematch. We'll preview tonight's high stakes debate when both campaigns will join us coming up at our next hour. Payton back on top, the Broncos dominate the Charges in an incredible victory. We'll bring you the highlights of that as well. Back in a moment.

[Chetry:] Crossing the half hour right now, this "American Morning," and we start with a beautiful shot this morning of Washington, D.C., on this Tuesday, February 8. Rob is going to be here with a full forecast. It is getting cold. D.C., I think going to a high of 38 today. But boy, enjoy it while it lasts. Because a cold front is moving in for much of the country. Good morning, I'm Kiran Chetry.
[Holmes:] And hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes. Here are a couple of the stories we are keeping a close eye on this morning. Newark International Airport back to normal, things were certainly abnormal for a while. Power was knocked out. There was a switching problem that knocked out power to all three terminals there. It caused a ground stop at the airport yesterday afternoon. Also, filmmaker Michael Moore is suing. He wants more money. And he says he deserves it. He is suing for "Fahrenheit 911" profits. He's seeking at least $2.7 million from the film studio saying that the studio heads kept money from him illegally. He says the other side at least say this is just utter rubbish. Also, to Egypt. We're keeping a close eye on things there. And new numbers out this morning from human rights watch claiming that nearly 300 people have died in the fighting and clashes there so far. There are other estimates of death toll that have been much lower than that. Kiran?
[Chetry:] Well, you're right. Well, thousands of protesters continue to form a human chain in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Meanwhile, a Google marketing executive who was abducted nearly two weeks ago by the Egyptian government has been freed and he is now speaking out about his detention and his status among Egyptians as a hero. Fred Pleitgen joins us live from Cairo with all of these developments. First of all, tell us more about the ordeal for this Google exec.
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, horrible ordeal. He was released he was taken by the Egyptian authorities. They finally admitted yesterday that he was taken 11 days ago. And on television when he went on the interview yesterday, he said that he was kept blindfolded the entire time that he was in custody. So 11 days in custody, blindfolded. He gave an absolutely emotional television interview yesterday, Kiran. Let's listen to one of the things that he had to say.
[Wael Ghonim, Marketing Manager, Google, Inc:] I'm not a hero. I slept for 12 days. The heroes were in the streets. The heroes are the ones who went to the demonstrations. The heroes are the ones that sacrificed their lives. The heroes are the ones that were beaten. And the heroes are the ones that were arrested and exposed to dangers. I wasn't a hero.
[Pleitgen:] And Kiran, that interview, as I said, absolutely emotional. He broke out into tears several times. He actually had to leave the room at the end because he was crying so heavily. And it seems like something that really has mesmerized a lot of people here in Egypt. If you look behind me, you see that Tahrir Square is really much fuller than we've seen over the past couple of days. So it does appear as so it does appear as though I mean impossible to verify but it does appear that that television interview and the man's story might have pulled more people and re-energized this movement that's going on here in Egypt. Kiran.
[Chetry:] All right. Frederik Pleitgen for us this morning from Cairo. Thanks so much.
[Holmes:] We have a new band of brothers to tell you about this morning. Five sets of brothers deploying to Afghanistan together. Our Ed Lavandera, live for us in Dallas this morning with the story. Ed, good morning.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, T.J.. Well, this has been a pretty fascinating story. There's a battalion of marines, made up mostly of Texas reservists, that will soon be deploying to Afghanistan. But the unique thing about this unit, it has five sets of brothers. And we brought them all together for the first time.
[Lavandera:] A deep bond runs through this line of Marines. But this is a brotherhood beyond the uniform.
[Lt. Col. Todd Zink, Commanding Officer:] I didn't realize we had five sets of brothers right away.
[Lavandera:] The U.S. Marine Corps's first battalion, 23rd regiment, is a family. An infantry unit made up mostly of Texas reservists and includes five different sets of brothers. All about to deploy to the war in Afghanistan. [on camera]: Have you leaned on each other quite a bit?
[Lcpl. Will Hernandez, U.s. Marine Corps:] Yes, it gives us a sense of home.
[Pfc. Raul Hernandez, U.s. Marine Corps:] I don't think there's anybody better to keep me safe than him.
[Gysgt. Hector Vega Cigarroa:] This will be, you know, one of the biggest struggles we go through together as brothers.
[Cpl. Daniel Beans, U.s. Marine Corps:] Do we worry? Absolutely. You never know what's going to happen out there.
[Unidentified Male:] any brothers are in a situation where they are both able to deploy together.
[Lavandera:] The families of these Marines face an emotional time during their seven-month deployment. Double the fear, twice the stress. [on camera]: How about your folks?
[Lcpl. Jonathon Faseler, U.s. Marine Corps:] They're having a hard time back home knowing that we're here. You know
[Unidentified Male:] But they support us.
[Lavandera:] In the dangerous days ahead, good, old- fashioned sibling rivalry will help lift their spirits.
[Unidentified Male:] I always call my mom and say he's picking on me. He used to beat me up a lot. I didn't do too much beating on him.
[Lavandera:] Who's the better Marine?
[Unidentified Male:] He takes the prize for this one. He is.
[Lavandera:] Really?
[Unidentified Male:] He's the better Marine.
[Lavandera:] Here they're all brothers in arms. And that's where the rivalry ends for this band of brothers. You know it's fascinating, T.J., we spent quite a bit of time with them in Camp Pendleton a few weeks ago, in California, and that's where they're going through their final preparations, getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan later this month and end of march, as well. It was funny. After all the conversations we had with them, that one question that seemed to stump them all was when you asked them to kind of tell which one was the better Marine, the kind of the sibling rivalry stopped right there. T.J..
[Holmes:] Imagine it would. You know, it's something that I bet parents and family members glad they have each other to look after when they go all to Afghanistan. But at the same time, it's probably very sad to see two go instead of just one. Ed, we appreciate that story. Very interesting look this morning. Thanks so much, Ed.
[Lavandera:] You got it.
[Chetry:] Amazing. Well, ahead on "American Morning," wish you could return that iPad and get your money back? A used iPad? Well, you can. Best Buy's launching an electronics buy-back program. We'll tell you what you need to know about it. Also, for all you single ladies out there, it turn out he's just not into being single. A surprising study that's turning some of the gender stereotypes on their heads. 36 minutes past the hour.

[Savidge:] You may be sick of this story, but the flu has spread to 47 states. There is some good news though. The CDC says that the situation seems to be slowly improving. So far, though, 20 children have died. And doctors are encouraging those who haven't got the flu sweat yet to go out and get it. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has details.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] The latest numbers from the CDC tell us that we're now seeing widespread activity in 47 states. In fact only California, Mississippi and Hawaii aren't at that level. Now it's important to note that this tells us about the spread, but not the severity. And while high levels of activity have gone down a bit in five states, they've actually gone up in several others.
[Dr. Joseph Bresee, Cdc Influenza Division:] We're seeing flu in almost every part of the country right now and lots of it. So we do think that the early signs that the southeast may be starting to go down are hopeful. But I think the message to the folks out there is that there are still lots of flu around. We expect it to be around for several more weeks. But it's still not too late to get vaccinated if you haven't already.
[Gupta:] Now it's also important to remember this is just a snapshot of the first week of the New Year. And because flu is so unpredictable, it's hard to tell this early on if flu season has peaked already or not. For now we're basically at the halfway mark of the most intense part of the season. There's still time to get a flu shot. In case you're curious, about 37 percent of people have had a flu shot. Keep this in mind, it takes about two weeks after you get the shot to build up your immunity and your protection. There's also a possibility that even though you've been vaccinated in time. You could still get the flu, but the symptoms may not be as severe because your body has built up some immunity. Back to you.
[Savidge:] Thanks very much, Doctor. Well, it takes a lot to shock New Yorkers at least usually, but it has happened. In Central Park, take a look. Not sure what that is? Here's a hint. It's more than 200 years old and it's loaded.

[Lemon:] Downtown Columbus now. We're back in Ohio, and the biggest prize in next week's election, well, prepare yourselves, everyone. Look at the results of five this is five national polls. All of these poll takers talked to voters just within the last week. Look at this. Look at how close they are. Note that many numbers are similar, are within a point, 48 here, 47 there, this is just more proof that the presidential race looks like it is going to be headed to a photo finish. So when the race is this tight, Election Day this close, I mean, what do the campaigns concentrate on? It really all boils down to, I'm sure Gloria Borger, our chief political analyst, it is a numbers game Gloria.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] You know what I'm going to say, yes.
[Lemon:] She's in Washington. Yes, so it boils down to numbers, right?
[Borger:] It does. It boils it boils down to turnout. I mean, when you look at those national poll matchups, you know this, Don, that's not really what we're looking at. Because national polls include states that are very red and include states that are very blue. What you're looking is battleground states where you're sitting, state of Ohio, and you're looking at campaign organizations and how they get their voters to the polls. It is intensity. It is enthusiasm. It is organization. You also look at early voting because you know in early voting you actually have a certain amount of control over how you get people to the polls and you know you're getting your voters to the polls. So you want to control that as much as you can. Because in a close race, like Ohio, like Florida, like any Colorado, whatever, you know that that could really make the margin of difference. That's why the campaigns are focusing so much on early voting this time around, very important.
[Lemon:] Yes. You're absolutely right. And really that is that is what I've been charged with to do here at CNN is to come here to Ohio and look at the ground game leading up to the election. And that's Mitt Romney's team, President Obama's team, that's what they're doing. It is all about getting people they want them to vote, but they say get there early and almost every bit of literature says what you're saying Gloria.
[Borger:] Right. And the interesting thing is, what they don't want to do and this is the word they use, they don't want to cannibalize, as they call it, their voters that would normally turn out on Election Day, Don. So what they try and do is get what they call low propensity voters meaning voters that otherwise probably would not make it to the polls, but if you can figure out a way to get them out there, make it easier for them to vote. And you know they're going to vote for you, then you get in contact with them and you find out what they need, and you make sure that they vote. So the resources are really focusing on getting out these this other group of voters.
[Lemon:] This is how I know you know what you're talking about, because you didn't we didn't even talk about we haven't talked about this before, but as I went to the number of polling places, I noticed it and so did my producer and photographer. Most of the people who were first time voters because when they come in, they say first time voter, everyone in the room applauds. It wasn't an 18-year-old or 20-year-old or even a 30-year-old, most of the time it is 40, 50, 60, older people who are first time voters who are coming in. And that says a lot about these are people who their targeting who they may not normally get. I want to move on to that nightmare scenario that everyone is talking about on Election Day.
[Borger:] Well
[Lemon:] That we have been which is popular vote versus the Electoral College. Go on.
[Borger:] Sure. I mean, you know, in particular talking to Republicans about this, they think there is a possibility that the popular vote could go for Mitt Romney and yet the Electoral College could go for President Obama. In which case, I would also have to add that the president of the United States would be re-elected because that's how we run elections in this country. But it is it is very clear and it has been clear from day one that the president has had an easier way through the Electoral College given the way the west and the Midwest are these days. So there are some Republicans who believe that there could be that kind of a split. Personally, I also believe that particularly given what you were showing there in the state of Ohio that in these very close battleground states, it may take a lot longer just to count the ballots than we thought. So either we may not know until a long time perfect when the polls close or maybe not for a little bit, you know, days.
[Lemon:] Yes.
[Borges:] We'll have to see. We could be sitting around for a while.
[Lemon:] In Ohio's case, it could be weeks with the whole provisional ballot thing. That is a whole other show that we talk about, two weeks until the 17th you may not know. We'll see much more of that. I'm sure you'll be covering it and we'll bring it to you from Ohio. Gloria, thank you. Appreciate it.
[Borger:] Thank you. Stay warm.
[Lemon:] All right, thank you. You know, the most important mission following Hurricane Sandy, the devastation, the search for survivors by air and also by land. And our Jim Clancy just got back from a ride along with the National Guard, searching for those in need of help, wait until you hear what he saw.

[Feyerick:] One of the big decisions President Obama must make is who will replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The frontrunner seems to be Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice, but Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, well, his name is also floating around. There's even talk of Michael Bloomberg, the New York City mayor or Bill Clinton. Dana Milbank is a "Washington Post" columnist and Dana, the president is standing firm by Rice. We remember the stern words that he gave against the senators who were targeting her. Take a listen.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] For them to go after the U.N. ambassador who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence she had received and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous.
[Feyerick:] Since then a couple of other senators besides McCain and Graham have spoken out saying Rice misled the public on what happened in Benghazi when the American ambassador and three others were killed in the attack in September. The real question here is can she be confirmed? Not just because of Benghazi, but because of her whole body of work as the United Nations ambassador?
[Dana Milbank, Political Columnist, "the Washington Post":] Well, she does have an unusually large number of enemies on Capitol Hill because of things that have happened in the past, certainly John McCain because of the campaign, but others that she has antagonized along the way. But what's interesting here is the more Republicans are pushing back on this, it puts the president in a position of perhaps he wasn't going to nominate her before, but it's almost like he can't back down from the fight now and he needs to spend his political capital on this fight. So the others are probably having the reverse effect of that which they are intending. If the president wants to put up a fight, he can get her confirmed by the Senate. The question is, is that what he wants to spend his political capital on?
[Feyerick:] Absolutely. You know, one of the things I see this play out, some of the senators are really punishing President Obama for winning in part because they believe that Rice lied to make it seem less than it really was leading up to the election. Floating Senator Kerry's name out there, he is supported by a lot of the same people attacking Rice. Is there political gamesmanship going on right here?
[Milbank:] There certainly could be some element of that going on. I think there is some particularly in McCain's position a great deal of history there with Susan Rice. It is interesting that they want to make this stand on again Benghazi because there were, indeed, problems, things to be probed about what actually occurred over there in Libya. But the idea of going after her and disqualifying her for secretary of state because she read out talking points on a Sunday talk show is kind of a difficult argument to make.
[Feyerick:] And I think that's what the majority of the public has sort of trouble reconciling, which is, look, when news is breaking, everybody sort of goes with what they've got and then has to readapt it. Why there's so much anger against her is confusing to a lot of people. All right, Dana Milbank, always nice to have you on with us. Thanks so much.
[Milbank:] My pleasure.
[Feyerick:] Well, in Japan frantic rescue attempts after a tunnel collapsed on several cars. We have the latest details. And tonight it's "CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute." In a few minutes, we'll meet a past winner and hear why he became a national celebrity in his home country after winning the award.

[Hendricks:] Eighteen days that is how long murder defendant Jodi Arias testified on the stand in her own defense. So how did she do as a witness and did she save her own life by testifying? Earlier I asked HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell about it.
[Jane Velez-mitchell, Hln:] A lot of people said, look, she had to take the stand, because first she lied, said she wasn't there, and then she said two ninjas did it, and then she finally said, oh, yes, I killed him but it was self-defense. Well, there is no corroboration for that self- defense except her telling it. But she was so elaborate with some of her well, I think we have all concluded lies, that she may have created so many inconsistencies that it was an opportunity for the prosecutor to really show beyond a reasonable doubt that she is a liar.
[Hendricks:] Speaking of the prosecutor, Juan Martinez, he has really gone after her full force on the stand.
[Juan Martinez, Prosecutor:] Ma'am, were you crying when you were shooting him?
[Jodi Arias, Defendant:] I don't remember.
[Martinez:] Were you crying when you were stabbing him?
[Arias:] I don't remember.
[Martinez:] How about when you cut his throat, were you crying then?
[Arias:] I don't know.
[Hendricks:] Did you think at all that his style may be turning off the jury?
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, it's very, very aggressive. But I have to say, when you are dealing with a pathological liar and I do believe she is a pathological liar you have to be aggressive because you can't nail them down. She is constantly using phrases like "I guess", asking him to define his terms, "well, if you say so, it's possible". So she slides, she slides out of everything she tries to pin her on. So it's frustrating. I think sometimes he's let his frustrations show. But as far as aggressive, you have got to really hone in on a pathological liar and rattle them to shake them off her story. That's how I think he got her to say, oh, there was a holster, which was totally bad news for her, because now she has to take the gun out of the holster, then she says, well, maybe the holster was not there. So it showed the inconsistencies in her story even more. So I think he is a little over the top but he's got to do something.
[Hendricks:] And I think we really got a look into what the jury may be feeling and thinking, with their questions, 200-plus questions. Do you think that rattled Jodi Arias on the stand?
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, I think it had do. I think she would be back in her he cell rocking in a fetal position over that break where she is, the questions, echoing in her mind. Why should we believe you now when you have lied so many times before? How can you remember intimate details of sexual encounters but you can't remember stabbing somebody 29 times? These questions were hostile. They were sarcastic. They were almost rhetorical. And certainly they gave us an insight into the soul of these jurors. They are not buying her act.
[Hendricks:] They were sarcastic, and I remember a couple of them being snide. It does not seem like they like her at all. The next phase in this is the experts. Do you think they will save Jodi's life?
[Velez-mitchell:] Her life is riding on these experts. Clearly the jurors through their questions did not believe the fog. Well, they are going to bring this psychologist on who is going to argue ferociously that yes, this fog does exist. And we've heard battles about this already, that he is saying, well, look, police officers even go into this fog when they shoot somebody, and they are trained to shoot somebody. So if he can prove that this so-called fog, which the prosecutor was so sarcastic about, which the jurors were so sarcastic about it, is real, then maybe, maybe that's the only chance for Jodi Arias not to get the needle.
[Hendricks:] Stay up to speed on the Jodi Arias trial with Jane Velez- Mitchell. You can catch her on our sister network HLN weeknights at 7:00 Eastern. A Maryland man is dead after he contracted rabies. We're going to tell you the strange way he got the deadly virus. And later, a CNN investigation into whether one rural Mississippi County is ignoring hate crimes. But first, Latin Americans make up a fast-growing segment in the American Catholic church. That means changes involving more than just language. Tom Foreman shows us how the selection of a pope from Argentina could have a big impact on this "American Journey".
[Tom Foreman, Cnn Correspondent:] The appearance of the Spanish-speaking pope from across the Atlantic electrified the crowd in Italy and lit up U.S. shores, too.
[Unidentified Male:] How does it feel? Full of joy. And happy, very happy. As we say in Latin America, Vivo il Papa.
[Foreman:] Over the past few decades, American Catholic churches like this one in D.C. have undergone a profound transformation. The number of Hispanic members has been soaring, pushed so fast by immigration and births that they now account for one out of every three Catholics here.
[Greg Smith, Pew Research Center:] And it's a number that's likely to continue to rise because Latino Catholics tend to be younger than Catholics as a whole. Fully one half of all Catholics under the age of 40 today are Hispanics.
[Foreman:] While many white Catholics have been slipping away from the church amid sexual abuse scandals, debates over abortion rights and the role of women, Hispanic arrivals have more than made up for the losses. So much so that Catholics still comprise about a quarter of the country, just as they have for decades. [on camera]: Mind you, that shift in demographics has dramatically changed the religious map. Once a largely northeastern and Midwestern faith, Catholicism is now growing fast in the south and the west. [voice-over]: The new pope has a ready audience coast to coast in this country.
[Anjalai Shahani, Catholic:] So the fact that he can speak our language is very significant. I think he can get the message to us more effectively.
[Foreman:] And what they share maybe more than Spanish is the language of change. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning to you. It is Thursday, November 11th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
[Ali Velshi, Cnn Anchor:] Good morning, Kiran.
[Chetry:] Good to see you.
[Velshi:] And good to be back here. I'm Ali Velshi. John has the morning off. Here are the morning's top stories. What to cut, Social Security, taxes, thousands of federal jobs, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. We are breaking down the dramatic action proposed to slash trillions of dollars from the U.S. deficit.
[Chetry:] The controversial alcoholic energy drink we've been hearing a lot about lately, Four Loko, there are new restrictions this morning. Four states now banning the so-called blackout in a can. It comes after a group of college students got sick from a night of binge drinking. And there are other states who want to put voluntary bans in place at liquor stores.
[Velshi:] And it looks like the White House is backing down on their position on Bush era tax cuts. The president's top advisers suggesting that the administration is now ready to support and across the board extension of those tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year even for the wealthiest Americans. Late breaking details from Dan Lothian who's traveling with the president in South Korea.
[Chetry:] First, though, a lot of people made it clear in this election, one of the things they are really concerned about was government spending, the rising deficit and debts. The question this morning is what would you cut? Well, President Obama's bipartisan commission is out with their list.
[Velshi:] Right. It was supposed to be out December 1st, but they leaked it themselves. And it's not pretty. Here are some of the proposals that touch you and every other American. First, gradually raising the retirement age from 67 to 69. Two years. On taxes, eliminating or scaling back some of the most popular write-offs, including the mortgage interest deduction. The United States is the only developed country that offers this mortgage interest deduction. And the tax increases would be offset by replacing the current tax rates with just three tax rates eight, 14, and 23 at the federal level. It's pretty tough medicine for the American economy and it came with a dire warning.
[Erskine Bowles,  Co-chair, Deficit Commission:] We're clearly on an unsustainable path. We can't grow our way out of this problem. We can't tax our way out of it. We can't cut our way out of it. Every single member of Congress knows that the path we're on today is not sustainable and that if we don't bring the deficits down and eventually get the balance, we are headed for disaster.
[Velshi:] Clearly, this is something that you care about. In our national exit polls taken last Election Day, last Tuesday, 39 percent of Americans who voted say the highest priority for the next Congress is to reduce the deficit. That was followed very closely by people who think the government should actually be spending to create jobs. Cutting taxes was only 19 percent of the population despite of the fact that everybody says everyone wants to cut taxes. Apparently, most people are concerned with cutting the deficit.
[Chetry:] Let's bring in Christine Romans right now to talk more about this. This is a dramatic proposal. And it is just a proposal. How this shakes out in Congress is the story. But highlight some of the changes.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] There are a lot of changes. We're talking about cutting a third of the overseas military bases, cutting military personnel. We're talking about freezing spending on the federal level. You're talking about cutting thousands of federal workers. You're talking overall a huge impact. Everyone would feel this. This, I want to be clear, this is the story of our time. And it's just beginning and these are just proposals, but this is how it all starts. What's the problem? The backdrop here is $14 trillion of national debt. This is a number that is going up with no end in sight. This commission is tasked by trying to figure ought how to stop the rise of red ink. We are spending vastly more as a country than we are taking in. The recession made it worse, but it had already been started before that. And many people on both sides of the aisle think that something has to be done. And all the solutions are dramatic. And this is just a grouping of all of them. Again, $4 trillion over the next decade is what they're hoping to cut in deficits to slow the ascent of the national debt. But already the knives are out. Look, not everyone's going to be happy. From the beginning, we knew no matter what this commission was going to do or say there would be people who would not like the solutions. Among them, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who says it's simply unacceptable. Senator Dick Durbin, "There are things in there that I hate like the devil hates holy water." The things in there that many progressive and liberals don't like is even talking about in touching Social Security the program in terms of balancing our budget and our debt. Republicans are opposed to raising taxes. They do not want to see taxes go up. In this proposal it was actually a set of proposals. It's not even the final proposal from this body. But in this proposal, there are simplified tax rules. But also getting rid of a lot of deductions, $1 trillion in deductions, folks, that frankly, Americans and businesses are addicted to.
[Chetry:] Right. Being able to write up your mortgage interest, that's a huge incentive to buy a home as opposed to rent.
[Velshi:] We're told that incentive wasn't necessarily the best for our economy over the last couple decades. No other country offers that and lots of other countries have the same ownership rates as the
[U.s. Romans:] And one of the proposals in here is actually just cutting the mortgage income tax deduction for loans over $500,000 for second homes and the like.
[Velshi:] So less expensive homes you could still get.
[Romans:] There's something about controlling health care, paying doctors less. Not paying for health care. There's a lot in there.
[Velshi:] Is issue different from than 911 commission where it was all hoopla and blue ribbon everything, and then ultimately it just got brushed under the door?
[Romans:] You hope it's a starting point now that horse trading begins behind closed door. There are 18 people on this commission, and 14 of them have to agree on the proposal to give Congress. A lot of people are thinking maybe this gives the president and Congress political cover.
[Velshi:] Right, saying here's a whole bunch of smart people who came together.
[Romans:] When you look at yesterday, pictures in the U.K. of the students raiding the conservative headquarters and the burning in the streets in France. I'm telling you, this is the story of our lifetime now how we're going to pay for what we've already spent and get things simplified and get them to make sense again.
[Chetry:] The president said before anybody goes commenting, gather the facts.
[Velshi:] The full report is December 1st. Let's understand it. Let's all study it.
[Romans:] These would also phase in. It wouldn't happen right now. If you're generation y, you're the one seeing the big differences in your retirement age. Someone who is a senior right now, nothing is changing for you. Let's make sure the fear-mongering doesn't start on that, that somebody is trying to cut your benefits. This is all phased in, long-term stuff, but things that have to be discussed.
[Chetry:] Christine, thank you.
[Velshi:] "Blackout in a can," that's the nickname. It's been blocked out of Washington state. The liquor control board banned the alcoholic energy drink yesterday after a group of college students got sick from drinking too much Four Loko. That's what it's called. It goes into effect November 18th. Oklahoma, Utah and Michigan have similar measures. The manufacturer says its product has been targeted unfairly.
[Chetry:] People are joking that Google has a lesson for its employees, don't tell the world how well we treat you or you'll be fired. Apparently one person missing out on this 10 percent raise and other goodies is the person who leaked that word of that raise to the media.
[Velshi:] That does puzzle me. The federal government is paying out more and more six-figure salaries. "USA Today" reports the number of federal workers earning $150,000 orders more has jumped to ten times the level it was at just five years ago. The revelation comes as Republican congressman call for a pay freeze or pay cut for federal employees.
[Chetry:] Odds are that there are a couple of students in your kids' class that have ADHD or perhaps your child does as well. The CDC says that nearly one in every ten children is being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It's not clear if the increase is actually to a rise or actual awareness. Two-thirds of the children diagnosed with the disorder are on medication to control it.
[Velshi:] And it looks like Senator Lisa Murkowski's edge is growing in Alaska. The incumbent is battling Tea Party Republican Joe Miller as a write-in candidate. The count could last into the weekend. Apparently Miller trails write-in ballots by about 11,000 votes.
[Chetry:] Well, they're almost home. This morning, passengers on board Carnival's Splendor say they can see the coastline, a welcome sight after being stranded. Five tugboats are towing that ship to shore. A fire in the ships engine room Monday caused it to lose power. CNN producer Paul Vercammen is filing the latest developments for us.
[Paul Vercammen, Cnn Producer:] Executives for Carnival Cruise line say their disabled cruise ship Splendor will be pulled by tugboats into San Diego harbor at some time around midday. That's on Thursday. Carnival also promising the passengers on board the ship that they will get full refunds. They'll be put up in hotels if need to. Some have been shuttled to Long Beach where many parked and many will be flown out of San Diego. In the meantime the USS Ronald Reagan played a big role helping out at sea. That vessel is back on maneuvers today. But as you can imagine, after airlifting some 60 pallets of food, supplies, water, and the rest on to the Carnival cruise ship, this was quite a different mission for many of those pilots who have been supporting U.S. troops in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
[Commander Tamara Graham, Navy Helicopter Pilot:] It's very rewarding. What we do, obviously, there's goods and bads when you're in the middle of warfare and doing your job. But this is all an upside. We're helping out people that are in distress. It's an opportunity, actually, to improve the lives of a lot of folks that were in dire straits. So it's a great opportunity.
[Vercammen:] The aircraft carrier pilots dropped some 60 pallets of water, food, and other supplies on to the carnival ship. Who's going to pay for all of this? Carnival is going to pick up the cost of supplies while the U.S. Navy is going to pay for the fuel, the aircraft and the rest. Paul Vercammen, CNN, Coronado, California.
[Velshi:] And it's 10 minutes after the hour. So much for if you snooze you lose. A new study suggests that night owls have higher IQs than people who get up early. I really would have guessed otherwise. I would think that early risers are hard workers and they are ahead of things. And night owls are people who party a little bit too much. The fact is we offend no one if we talk about how this is wrong that morning people are smarter than night owls because night owls aren't watching us.
[Chetry:] Exactly, they're still snoozing. The news is if you are an early bird, you tend to be more reliable than night owls. You also work harder and get better grades. We both took this quiz and we sort of came up in the middle.
[Velshi:] We both were in the middle. We were separated in the middle. We're both neither night owls or morning. Don't you think when you do this job, you should squarely be in the early morning category?
[Chetry:] Yes.
[Velshi:] The buzz is building. Prince William and Kate
[Chetry:] We love to watch implosions, but this one was botched. The smokestack fell in the wrong direction during that demolition, sending people running for their lives. We're going to have more on how it all turned out. It's 12 minutes after the hour.

[Ted Rowlands, Cnn Correspondent:] What about outbursts? You say reaction but was it an outburst or
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, nothing more than a natural reaction you might expect from someone who was really emotional. I can imagine that the judge before this, the family members were brought in, the supporters were brought in before the media was, before spectators were brought in. I imagine that they were given some sort of an admonition. We didn't hear it, but it's common in these cases to get some sort of an admonition about outbursts. There weren't any that were outrageous or anything that would upset any judge I can imagine.
[Rowlands:] Did the judge warn the courtroom not to to control themselves?
[Wian:] No, no warning at all. There was a big delay that was supposed to start at 1:30 local time. We didn't actually get in the courtroom until about 1:38, 1:40, some times around that. Then then when the verdict was read, it went it all happened very, very quickly. The prosecutor, Juan Martinez, was came in. The defense attorney, Kirk Nurmi, came in. Then they brought in Jodi Arias. The jury came in. And then right away, they handed that verdict to the clerk and it was read. It happened real quick.
[Rowlands:] Any reaction from Juan Martinez? Did he make eye contact with the family? Anything that you noticed?
[Wian:] Honestly, I could not see him from where I was standing, Ted. But, clearly, he is someone that supporters of the prosecution have been very happy with his performance. He's been one of the stars of this trial, if you will.
[Rowlands:] We just saw we just saw one of Travis Alexander's friends leave the courtroom here, or courthouse. And that's why you heard, Ashleigh, the applause there Ashleigh.
[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Correspondent:] Ted, we are over a block away from you. We can hear the eruptions of emotions, the screams. Jeffrey Toobin and I getting breaking news on our BlackBerries about some of the breakdowns of the jury vote. If you're just joining us, I want to reset for you what we're covering here in Phoenix, Arizona, outside of the Maricopa County Superior Courthouse. A jury of eight men and four women has just reached its verdict and delivered that verdict in the courtroom guilty. Jodi Arias is guilty of first degree murder in the killing of Travis Alexander. A brutal, to be sure, a brutal and painful death that that man suffered over four years ago. Jodi Arias could have been found not guilty. She also could have been found guilty of lesser includeds. That did not happen. And now this story will move to another phase, a phase in which the jury needs to decide if their life is worth saving or if her life needs to be taken in the death penalty phase. I also want to just break down for you, inside the courtroom, what the jury decided and how it voted. There were two theories Jeffrey Toobin, on which they could have arrived at a guilty verdict in a first degree murder. One was a premeditated murder and the other was a felony murder. I think our viewers understand what a premeditated murder is. But a felony murder means that the killing, or the death of Travis Alexander, resulted in the commission of a felony. And these prosecutors said the underlying felony would have been a break and enter. I can report to you that as the jurors made their decision, five of them voted that it was premeditated only. Seven voted that it was premeditated and felony. And zero actually voted for the alternative, just a felony murder. Does that speak to you in any way?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] Well, I think the reason why this case is now a death penalty case is that 12 jurors found it premeditated.
[Banfield:] Right.
[Toobin:] The if I were the defense team, I would take a tiny bit of hope from the fact that there was not unanimity on both theories, because that is they have to they have be unanimous when it comes to the death penalty. The focus is really very different now, now that we move to the penalty phase. Jodi Arias is looking for just one juror. That's all it takes. One juror can make this into a life in prison case and not a death penalty case. The jury does not have to be unanimous if it's if it's not going to be the death penalty. It has to be unanimous for the death penalty. But 11-1 for the death penalty is life in prison. And that's where things get very difficult to predict because you never know what was going to move one juror to make it a...
[Banfield:] But critical...
[Toobin:] non-death penalty case.
[Banfield:] critical to remind our viewers that every one of these jurors that was empanelled during voir dire process was asked if they are, I mean, essentially death qualified...
[Toobin:] Right.
[Banfield:] if they could, in fact, render a death verdict. And they had to answer truthfully on the stand under oath that they could, in fact, do so if that was required of them.
[Toobin:] That that's true, but that doesn't mean they will. I mean that's the...
[Banfield:] Very different when you face her.
[Toobin:] see, that's what's really it's very and, you know, one of the things, one of the theories behind the defense putting Jodi Arias on the witness stand for so long was it 17 days, 18 days? I mean it was just I've never seen anyone testify in a criminal case for that long is to make the jury look at her and think, OK, she's guilty, but are we really going to execute this woman? Are we going to look her in the eye and say she has to die at the hands of the state? That's the only issue left in this case. And we'll start to know the answer tomorrow.
[Banfield:] All right. A little bit more technical information, I think, is critical, as well, as we move into the next phase. Our producers are letting us know that the decisions have been made in terms of timing as to how we move forward. The aggravation phase in this case, which will ultimately lead us toward life in prison or death and there are some things in between there begins at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, Eastern time. It could be two days. It could take two days to go through this process. That surprises me.
[Toobin:] I know
[Banfield:] So would
[I. Toobin:] Yes.
[Banfield:] I would have thought it would be longer, but it could be two days at this point. The jury then will deliberate to see if the aggravators are met. This is an unusual process in this jurisdiction. In many other cases that Jeffrey and I have covered we essentially go from a guiltinnocence phase to an aggravators versus mitigators phase all in one big tub.
[Toobin:] Right.
[Banfield:] But this they need this jury needs to deliberate first in the aggravation phase on whether there is an aggravated
[Toobin:] Well, it is and it isn't. I mean that's the thing that the Supreme Court, frankly, has struggled with for all of these years. You know, in 1972, the Supreme Court of the United States said no more death penalty in the United States. In 1976, they let the death penalty back in, but they set up this structure that has now become somewhat familiar to many folks, which is aggravating factors versus mitigating factors. And Wolf Blitzer is going to take it from here.
[Banfield:] Well, before you say to Wolf, it remains to be seen. Jodi Arias could take the stand again to plead for her life, as well. And that's critical here. Wolf Blitzer continuing our coverage from Washington, DC Wolf.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn:] All right, we're going to have a lot more, guys, on the guilty verdict a guilty verdict for Jodi Arias. But let's go to Cleveland right now. A news conference about to begin. The Cleveland Police Department, the city prosecutor's office, they're addressing reporters right now. Let's listen in.
[Martin Flask, Director Of Public Safety, Cleveland:] The Cleveland Federal Bureau of Investigation, our partners from Washington, have completed the search of the Seymour Avenue crime scene and collected those evidentiary items they believe are necessary to successfully proceed through the criminal proceedings. We will not today, however, discuss the results of the search or the evidence that was seized at the crime scene. I'm joined this afternoon by City of Cleveland prosecutor, Victor Perez; special agent in charge of the Cleveland office of the FBI, Steve Anthony; chief of police Michael McGrath; and deputy chief of police, Ed Tomba. Prosecutor Perez will provide a synopsis of his review that was presented to him for consideration and his decision. Following the decision and the comments by Prosecutor Perez, deputy chief of police, Ed Tomba, will respond to those questions for which he can, at this point, answer. The course is I know you've heard this before, but I'd like to share it one last time, at least for today, that this is an ongoing investigation and there is evidence that cannot be disclosed at this time. But I know our law enforcement officials will do the best they can to provide accurate information to the extent possible. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce the City of Cleveland prosecutor, Victor Perez.
[Victor Perez, Chief Assistant Prosecutor:] Thank you, Director Flask. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Victor Perez and I am the chief assistant prosecutor for the City of Cleveland. First and foremost, I believe I speak for everyone in our city that we are happy that Michelle, Gina and Amanda are safe and healthy. Second, I would like to thank the citizens that came to Amanda's immediate assistance when she was trying to escape that led to the eventual discovery of Michelle and Gina. I would also like to commend the members of the Cleveland Division of Police the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, for their dedicated work in conducting the investigation in this case. Regarding this case, I just signed criminal complaints charging Ariel Castro with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. The signed criminal complaints are first degree felonies. The defendant will be arraigned tomorrow morning in Cleveland Municipal Court and his case will be transferred over to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office will then proceed with the prosecution of these criminal cases. This case will proceed to the Cuyahoga County grand jury, at which time I expect will result in indictments on these charges and may result in additional counts. As it relates to Pedro and Onil Castro, no charges will be filed against these two individuals at this time. There is no evidence that these two individuals had any involvement in the commission of the crimes committed against Michelle, Gina, Amanda and the minor child. However, both of them do have outstanding Cleveland Municipal Court warrants for misdemeanor cases. These misdemeanor cases for Pedro and Onil will both be heard tomorrow morning in Cleveland Municipal Court. Finally, as the chief prosecutor for the City of Cleveland, born and raised in Puerto Rico, I want to I want everyone to know that the acts of the defendant in this criminal case are not a reflection of the rest of the Puerto Rican community here or in Puerto Rico. I also want to remind everyone that this is now a pending criminal matter and that we will not be able to provide any more comments at this time. Thank you.
[Flask:] Questions? Tom? Sure. The four kidnap victims are Gina, Amanda, Michelle and the young child. And the victims of the rape are Gina, Amanda and Michelle.
[Unidentified Female:] Sir, Also, make sure that you state your name and what media outlet you're working for.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Brian Todd from CNN. Could you tell us anything about a source that we're finding out about just now of a second residence on Seymour Avenue where apparently officials went in with protective suits, masks, dogs? This is about two doors down from the Castro home. Could you tell us what's going on there, please?
[Flask:] Yes, that is a continuation of the search that we conducted at the home on Seymour Avenue during the course of our investigation over the last couple of days. Information was obtained that provided us enough probable cause to seek another search warrant to go into that house and with an attempt to secure evidence.
[Unidentified Male:] Can you tell us anymore about what's going on in that house? Are any suspects there
[Flask:] No. No suspects are there. And what's going on is that is the FBI's evidence recovery team and that is their crime scene unit. And they do put the protective suits on and they go in there with gloves and they search and photograph very meticulously all the contents of that home.
[Unidentified Male:] What's the connection to the to the Castro home? Could you tell us?
[Flask:] Well, I can't tell you the exact connection, but I can tell you that during the course of our investigation, information that was obtained led us to that address.
[Unidentified Female:] The next question.
[Ainsley Earhardt, Fox News Correspondent:] Good evening. Sir. My name is Ainsley Earhardt. I work for Fox News Channel out of New York City. A lot of our viewers want to know, did these girls, over the course of that 10 year period, 11 year period, ever try to escape? Were there drugs involved? Were these was Ariel Castro drugging these girls to prevent them from escaping? And what what allowed them, what window of opportunity allowed them to escape this time?
[Flask:] Well, number one, we're not positive about any type of drugs, if they were drugged. That's yet to be determined. Number two, the only opportunity, after interviewing those young ladies, to escape was the other day when Amanda escaped. So they were in that home. I don't believe they don't believe that they've been outside of the home for the last 10 years, respectively, so...
[Earhardt:] Were they kept together in one room?
[Flask:] They they were not in one room, but they did know each other and they did know each other was there.
[Earhardt:] And one more question. What's her relationship the child's relationship with the father? What will that be?
[Flask:] That is Amanda's daughter. And as far as the relationship, that hasn't been determined. There's going to be a paternity test taken. There was a search warrant executed on the suspect to obtain his
[Dna. Earhardt:] Great. Thank you.
[Flask:] Yes, he was. He was read his provided his Miranda rights, which he waived. And he did speak with us and provided us, the division of police, FBI and the prosecutor's office, with a detailed statement. And as of right now, we don't see or we don't anticipate any other victims at his than where he's the suspect.
[Unidentified Female:] OK. Can I ask about the reward money? Do we know if anybody will be receiving any reward money, particularly, Mr. Ramsey?
[Tomba:] You know, we don't, but we are actually discussing that. So, that's going to be up to the entities that put up that reward money and what their protocol is, but Mr. Ramsey does deserve something. A lot of credit and he is the true key to this case.
[Unidentified Female:] Thank you.
[Unidentified Male:] Tom Berries with the Channel 3 in Cleveland here. Would it be safe to say that the bulk of your case is based upon the statements of the women? How much of your case is based upon what they told you?
[Tomba:] That's the major part of the case is what they told us and what the other interviews with the suspect told us and what the young ladies told us, without a doubt. I mean, they were the ones that were there. They were the main players in it. And, what they told law enforcement was key and it's going to be a key part in the case.
[Unidentified Male:] Were they able to get into the ten-year narrative here? I mean, the history? So much has transpired. How much detail did you get?
[Tomba:] You know, as far as the history of it, I mean, it was it was a lengthy interview and I don't want to really get into that, but victims of rape, victims of trauma, particularly young victims, they've been known to disclose 10, 15, 20, 30 years later. So as of right now, they did provide us with enough information and enough factual basis that we would seek charges against Ariel Castro.
[Unidentified Male:] Thank you.
[Unidentified Female:] Hi. Alana Samuels with "The Los Angeles Times." Is there any evidence that Mr. Castro or any of these girls could be in any way connected with Ashley Summers or is there any new information that's come to light about her?
[Tomba:] There is no new information that's come to light about her. Ashley Summers is an active, open investigation. And I can assure you that her disappearance was part of our questioning of the three subjects that we brought in. But that's still an open and active investigation.
[Unidentified Female:] And is there any sign that Mr. Castro was interviewed by the Cleveland police or the FBI prior to this date for any reason?
[Tomba:] No. Yesterday was the first time.
[Unidentified Female:] Thank you. Lisa Rantala, WSYX out of Columbus. Wanted to ask, one, about the physical restraints that he allegedly used inside this home to keep the girls there, what verbal threats he may have made, and also, are there pregnancies, possibly miscarriages that the other girls may have had?
[Tomba:] You know, all of that is, you know, evidentiary at this time as far as that hinges quite a bit on the prosecution. I really don't want to get into exactly an answer to those three questions. That's just something that is going to have to be brought out in court. I can't bring that out in a public OK. I know the chief mentioned something earlier about that today, but as far as exactly what that was, we cannot bring it out into the public forum at this time. It's not appropriate.
[Unidentified Male:] Joe Pagonakis News Channel 5, Cleveland. Was a suicide note from Ariel Castro found in his home?
[Tomba:] That is another part of evidence that we recovered that I cannot comment on, on the basis of that. There was over 200 items taken from the home on Seymour Avenue. All those items will be processed. They were all taken into custody of the FBI's evidence response team. They've yet to be processed. Exactly what they are, I don't know. There is a crime scene log, but that is part of the open investigation. But I can tell you there was over 200 items taken out of that home.
[Unidentified Male:] Any questions, Ed, about the citizenship of the Castro brothers? Are they U.S. citizens?
[Tomba:] I don't know. I couldn't tell you.
[Unidentified Male:] Thanks.
[Unidentified Female:] We had a lot of questions earlier regarding extra 911 calls that may have come up and not been responded to.
[Unidentified Male:] I'll try and answer that question the best I can. Immediately after the recovery of the three victims and her daughter from the home on Seymour Avenue, we began a search of our records to determine whether or not there were any other calls for service to that house on Seymour. Our review indicated there were no other calls except one call for service in 2000 and we were able to identify the Cleveland police were at the home once in 2004 for an incident that involved Mr. Castro as part of his employment as a school bus driver here in the city of Cleveland. As a result of the evidence that's been obtained, thus far, the statements from the suspect and the victims there is no evidence to indicate that any of them were ever outside in the yard in chains without clothing or any other manner. In fact, I think the evidence we've obtained, thus far, indicates that in the last decade, they've only known themselves to be outside the home on two separate occasions and that was only briefly. Josh Haskel with Abc News. Deputy chief, can you tell us about Onil and Pedro's relationship with their brother, Ariel? Did they know that there were three women living in the house against their will, any idea about what was going on inside that house?
[Tomba:] As far as a relationship, you know, I couldn't tell you. We focused on their knowledge or lack of knowledge. But absolutely not. There is nothing that leads us to believe that they were involved or they had any knowledge of this. And that comes from statements of our victims and their statements and their brother's statements. So, as far as what their relationship was, Ariel kept everybody at a distance. And, Joe, they are from Puerto Rico, so to answer that question about their citizenship.
[Unidentified Female:] Jennifer Lundgren Channel 3 News. Can you clarify then why Pedro and Onil Castro were taken into custody in relation to this case?
[Tomba:] They were with their brother and it was an investigative stop. And as you know, early on, you can only imagine the chaos and the relief that we had finding these three girls, so we had enough probable cause to bring them into custody. They were brought into custody as many suspects are. We continued our investigation. We found no facts to link them to the crime. And we do what we usually do is we consult with the prosecutor for charges or for them to be released. So, that's the reason.
[Unidentified Female:] Can you tell us when their arraignment will be for their outstanding warrants and when they'll be able to go home?
[Tomba:] They should be in court tomorrow and it's up to the judge if he credits them with time served or whatever but it's up to the judge, but they'll be in court tomorrow morning.
[Unidentified Female:] Thank you.
[Tomba:] Hi, Bill.
[Unidentified Male:] Hi. Bill Shield with Channel 8. I don't know if this is for you or maybe the head of the FBI. I don't know if it's a joint task force or not, but we had a story yesterday where a gentleman who was, I believe, initially a suspect in Gina Dejesus' disappearance and a private investigator indicated to us that this gentleman said he had pointed authorities in the direction of Ariel Castro back in like 2004. Yet, I don't know who the appropriate person to respond is, but is that true and what was done with that if it is true?
[Tomba:] You want to address it, Steve?
[Unidentified Male:] Just very quickly, we have obviously heard that same statement, and with due diligence we have scrubbed our entire investigative file and have no reason to believe that he made the comments that he's purporting to the media. So, just so I have it right, there was a conversation with him but you have no reason to believe that he made the statements to you that he made to us, is that correct? It's part of this long-term joint task force investigation. He was interviewed at some point. And that's that must be what he's referring to when he said that he told us that. Again, we have no information to believe based upon our investigative file that that's, indeed, correct. OK. Thank you very much.
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Correspondent:] Pamela Brown with CNN. It was mentioned earlier that the only opportunity to escape for the victims was on Monday when Amanda escaped. Can you let us know what the circumstances were that gave her the opening on Monday?
[Tomba:] Well, she explained some things in her statement that are privileged that I can't disclose, but for whatever reason, like I said the other day, something must have clicked and she saw an opportunity and she took that opportunity and I said it the other day and I'll say it today that, you know, she is the true hero. She's the one that started this, but as far as what the circumstances were inside that home, and the control that he may have had over those girls, we don't know that yet. I think that's going to be take us a long time to figure that out.
[Brown:] But this was the first time they attempted to escape, that's correct?
[Tomba:] Yes.
[Brown:] OK.
[Tomba:] Yes.
[Brown:] Quickly, can you let us know how the alleged abductions happened years ago? Can you provide any details?
[Tomba:] No. No, I can't at this time. I'm sorry. That's part that was part of our investigation.
[Unidentified Female:] Hi. Donna Leinwand Leger from "USA Today." Can you give us a general description of the conditions under which these women were living? And well, I'll save my second question.
[Tomba:] OK. If you want a general description it was the house was in disarray, but without going into any, you know, with any specifics, I did not go into the home. That was an active crime scene. I did not enter the home so that is, you know, we have a protocol about who enters that home. But just from what the guys were saying that it was in quite a bit of disarray.
[Unidentified Female:] Can you tell me what you mean by disarray? I mean
[Tomba:] I guess, everybody's definition of that would be different so, you know, that's just an integral part of our criminal investigation that I really don't want to go any further into exactly what they found or what was in that home.
[Unidentified Female:] OK. And then, looking back over the years as you investigated the women's disappearance, are there any areas that you see that you think to yourself, gosh, that was a missed opportunity, for example, some of these domestic violence incidents where his partner or wife or whatever she was asked for protection?
[Tomba:] You know, I have, you know, been part of this for quite a long time and, no. The investigators and, you know, the agents and everybody that worked on it and we've asked ourselves that question numerous times over the last ten years. Are we missing anything? Is there something, is there a sign? Is there an assignment or is there something that we missed? And I'm just very, very confident in the ability of those investigators and those law enforcement officers that they checked every single lead and if there was one bit of evidence, one shred of a tip no matter how minute it was, they followed it up very, very aggressively. So, I'd have to say, no. In hindsight, we may find out that maybe we did, but that's going to be in hindsight and after this criminal case is completed.
[Unidentified Female:] Thank you.
[Unidentified Male:] Sir, can you tell us about the young child who was rescued along with Amanda Berry? Was she born in that house? Is she Ariel Castro's biological child? Were there other pregnancies among those women?
[Tomba:] OK. The answer to that is no, I definitely can't tell you about her. She's, you know, a minor and I can't discuss her, you know, her status at all. Because it's a criminal investigation, and out of respect for the three young girls that were in that house. I think that information will come out eventually, but it's not going to come out here today.
[Unidentified Male:] Were any of the other three impregnated?
[Tomba:] That's not going to come out here today. That's part of our investigation. We're not going to discuss that.
[Unidentified Female:] Layla Atasi with "The Plain Dealer." You mentioned that the women left the house twice in ten years. What were the circumstances of those instances? And also, did the women know Castro through his daughters before their abduction?
[Tomba:] Well, I'll answer the second one. There's nothing that leads us to believe that they knew that there was knowledge between the two or a friendship or that they knew each other. And that was as far as them leaving the house twice, when you get a chance to see where the house is situated and the garage is situated, we were told that they left the house and went into the garage in disguise so those are the two times that were mentioned or that they can recall.
[Unidentified Female:] So, they never left the property.
[Tomba:] No.
[Unidentified Female:] OK. And there's no connection between Castro and the girls pre-abduction is what you're saying, that there's no evidence if that's true.
[Tomba:] No. We don't see that right now. You know, if that comes out later, but no. Not at all.
[Unidentified Female:] Thank you.
[Unidentified Male:] this concludes the media briefing. We'd like to thank everyone for coming out and everyone have a nice day.
[Blitzer:] All right. So, there you have the latest information from the Cleveland prosecutors and the Cleveland Police Department. That was Ed Tomba, the deputy chief of police of the Cleveland Police Department saying that Ariel Castro, he's the younger brother. He is now being charged with four counts of kidnapping, three counts of rape. They don't anticipate other victims in this case right now, but they do believe that the victims include the three women, Michele Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus as well as the young child, the six-year-old child who were held in that home. The two other brothers are not being charged at this time according to the police department and the prosecutors in Cleveland. Pedro Castro and Onil Castro, no charges at this time. They are being held on other misdemeanor allegations that were filed earlier but they the police chief and the deputy police chief says they don't believe that these two other brothers knew about what Ariel Castro was allegedly doing, had no involvement with these three women in the home. There will be a hearing tomorrow. We'll see what happens to Pedro Castro and Onil Castro. And we're also showing some pictures of what's going on over at the house there in Cleveland. Let's bring in Sunny Hostin, one of our CNN legal analysts to give us a little analysis of what we just heard. Pretty surprising development. Only Ariel Castro being charged with these felony charges, four counts of kidnapping, three counts of rape. Two other brothers not being charged at this time.
[Sunny Hostin, Cnn Legal Analyst:] Certainly that was surprising. I think many of us wanted to know what really was going on in that home and who knew what was going on. I suppose now that this attorney is saying, the city attorney is saying they are not involved. It means perhaps these women, Wolf, were kept somewhere where no one else could see them. We know that evidence has been taken out of that home, evidence of padlocks and ropes and chains. And so they may have been detained in an area that the brothers may not have seen or had access to. But I will say this. We're talking about four counts of kidnapping, three counts of rape. First-degree felonies. He is certainly looking at a maximum term of life in prison. And so these are very, very serious charges, and this is just the beginning of this investigation. So the bottom line is even though he is going to be arraigned tomorrow, a grand jury then will be convened, and it is likely other charges will be set, additional charges perhaps will come down from the grand jury. We are hearing some evidence of perhaps a sexually violent predator, and that would be an additional charge. So I just want to remind our viewers that this is really the very beginning, even though we know four counts of kidnapping, three counts of rape. There could be additional charges coming down in this case.
[Blitzer:] Yes. The deputy police chief made that point that this could be only the beginning, that there could be more charges down the road. Jeff Toobin, you were listening carefully when we heard these charges being enunciated and explained. They said that the Pedro Castro and Onil Castro are not being charged at this time. That is based on statements from Ariel Castro that were made as well as the victims, the three women in this case. So it looks like the two other brothers, at least if you believe what the deputy police chief had to say, had no knowledge of what Ariel Castro was allegedly doing.
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] That's true, and that's where things stands today. We do have to recognize what an early stage of the criminal investigation this is, how much more there is to know. I am certainly interested in something that wasn't really addressed at that press conference, which is the competence of the Cleveland Police Department, and why these girls were not found for ten years when they were right there for all this time. I mean it was all well and good to hear the Cleveland police department say we did fine. We did a wonderful job. I think this case may well call for an outside investigation into whether that is in fact the case and could these girls have been discovered much, much earlier in this nightmarish kidnapping?
[Blitzer:] Yes, were there signs the police failed to follow up on, which is I'm sure going to be investigated down the road. Right now, Brooke Baldwin is on the scene for us in Cleveland. Brooke, tell our viewers where you are and what's going on.
[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, so Wolf, we're standing here on Seymour Avenue. You heard Brian Todd as part of that police briefing asking specifically about you see the sheriff's cars behind me and also the FBI has been here for the better part of this afternoon. Brian Todd asked the folks in that news briefing, tell us about the search that's been under way. I've been here for a couple hours. What we've seen, Wolf, in addition to this home that is clearly the focus of the whole investigation in which the three girls and that one daughter sprung free two days ago, now we've learned that this unit, that the FBI recovery team, these individuals in white suits, protective gear, we've seen shovels, we've seen cameras, they are they've been going in and out of this home, the home closest to me here on Seymour Avenue so two doors down from Ariel Castro's home. And then so you heard what was interesting, the question is, well, why did they go in this home and they answered it sort of in a roundabout way saying that there has been information obtained, sort of nebulous, but information obtained potentially from talking to, the interrogating of Ariel Castro. And from this information, they were able to get probable cause. Probable cause, then comes a search warrant, and they've looked with dogs and have taken photos from inside the house. Also you heard them say they had gotten some 200 items out of the Seymour Avenue address where Ariel Castro lived and where those three young women were kept prisoner. So now they have to process all of those pieces of evidence. And one other item, Wolf, that jumped out at me. They were asked about the three women. Keep in mind these three women, they were total strangers ten years ago. I walked back through where each of them were abducted today, and they all were taken along this same avenue. It was a couple miles from where I am. And they mentioned that they were kept in separate rooms of the house. But of course, over the course of time, they did come to know. They were aware of one another's existence and again they, through this news briefing, explained they had only been outside two times in 10 years according to police, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes. They were just taken to the garage in the back there on those two occasions, according to what the police just said. Paul Callan is a CNN legal analyst also joining us, a criminal defense attorney former prosecutor. You did hear them say that the suspect Ariel Castro, Paul, had been read his Miranda rights. I didn't hear whether or not he has an attorney, a court-appointed attorney. Did you hear anything along the lines of whether he has a lawyer already?
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Analyst:] I did not hear any mention of a lawyer at this point. It may very well be that he doesn't and it won't be until his first court appearance that an attorney would stand up on the case. That tends to be the way these things usually play out. When the defendant arrives in court, they appoint the lawyer and that's the first appearance of the attorney.
[Blitzer:] So whatever he said, as long as they read him his Miranda rights and told him he has a right to remain silent, and he has a right to an attorney, whatever he said, that can be used as evidence potentially against him?
[Callan:] Oh, absolutely. And what people have to understand is that simply because you're advised of your right to counsel, that doesn't mean you're going to exercise it. As a matter of fact, more often than not, defendants in criminal cases hear those Miranda warnings, and then they just keep talking to the police. So that doesn't necessarily mean an attorney is in the case yet.
[Blitzer:] For two days now, we've been led to believe at least the suspicion was that all three of these brothers were involved, Paul. Now we're told two of them were not involved. What do you make of that?
[Callan:] I find it very, very strange, Wolf. Bear in mind a couple of things. First of all a lot of people are going to be very shocked by this. But in criminal law, it's generally not an offense to do nothing in the face of seeing a crime committed. You don't have to, for instance, intervene to protect somebody from being robbed on the street. You can't be charged if you do nothing. If you don't call the police or report it or intervene. So the other two brothers, I suppose there is a scenario here where they had no active involvement, but maybe they were just aware that it was going on. My feeling, though, is that the police it's premature I think for them to make this statement because even if they've interviewed all of the girls and they say the brothers had nothing to do with it, Ariel was the only one we ever saw, they would have no way of knowing whether the brothers aided and abetted in the captivity. Maybe they went out and bought food to enable. Maybe they bought the ropes. Maybe they assisted in some way in keeping the girls prisoners. So, I really think it's premature to say that there won't be other charges coming down as the case proceeds.
[Blitzer:] And the police chief, deputy police chief was specific in saying no charges would be filed and he used the words at this time as far as Onil and Pedro Castro are concerned. I want everyone to stand by for a moment. Gina DeJesus, one of the three women, was welcomed back home today with her family by a huge, cheering crowd. And her parents spoke to reporters just a little while ago.
[Nancy Dejesus, Gina Dejesus' Mother:] I want everybody to know that the three of them are doing great.
[Unidentified Male:] Thank God.
[Dejesus:] Yes. I do thank the Lord a lot. Because those were miracles.
[Felix Dejesus, Gina Dejesus' Father:] My name is Felix DeJesus. I am Gina's father. I am the one that kept this family together. I'm the one that had the heart and soul to fight to see this day because I knew my daughter was out there alive.
[Felix Dejesus:] I knew she needed me, and I never gave up. Never gave up searching for her. But I have one, one God high and mighty to give me the strength to fight to see this day. And also the reporters, the media
[Nancy Dejesus:] Yes. We have to thank them.
[Felix Dejesus:] From everywhere, this is global. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. So that way everybody knows that we have a problem in the United States and everywhere across this great nation. We have a big problem, and it's going to take all of us to fix this problem.
[Blitzer:] Parents of Gina DeJesus very, very happy their daughter is now home. She is 23 years old. She has been missing since the age of 14 back in 2004. She was kidnapped. The other two women, Amanda Berry, is now home. Michele knight, we don't exactly know where she is. But all three of the women according to the mother of Gina DeJesus are fine right now. The word fine being relatively speaking. We're going to continue to watch the reaction in Cleveland to the news that Ariel Castro, one of the three brothers who has been picked up, will be charged with four counts of kidnapping, three counts of rape. The other two brothers Pedro Castro, Onil Castro, no charges will be filed at this time against these two other brothers. We'll see what happens down the road. The other big story we're following is the guilty verdict for Jodi Arias. She was convicted, first-degree murder for killing Travis Alexander back in 2008. This was a unanimous decision by the jury. Casey Wian one of our reporters was inside the courtroom. He's joining us right now. Casey, tell our viewers how that went down. What was the mood when they got the guilty verdict, first-degree murder?
[Casey Wian, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, the mood in anticipation of that verdict was very, very tense as you can imagine, Wolf. Not a sound in that courtroom. But once the verdict was announced, members of Travis Alexander's family and his supporters gasped and some of them started sobbing. Many of them had been praying before I don't want to say many a couple had been praying before the verdict. They just had an outpouring of what was relief, tears, thanking God, so happy that it was over. Clearly, a big sense of relief on that side. Jodi Arias's side was further away from me. I couldn't see much of their reaction. There wasn't much at all. And viewers on television probably got a better view of her face than I did, and you can see her reaction coming up.
[Blitzer:] You know, Casey, as we watch this, I want to bring Jeffrey Toobin in for a moment. This next phase, Jeffrey, they're going to determine basically whether she is going to get the death penalty or life in prison. Those are basically the only two options right now, is that right?
[Toobin:] There is a possibility that if she doesn't get the death penalty she could get 25 years. As I understand the Arizona law, the judge would have an option of giving her life in prison, life without parole, or 25 years if she doesn't get the death penalty. But obviously, the key task in front of the jury now is to deal with the question of whether she should be executed.
[Blitzer:] Ashleigh, is there, as well, Ashleigh, this has been a dramatic moment. What, three-and-a-half months this trial has been going on? Now it's going to be several more days before we know what the penalty will be.
[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Correspondent:] And a very unusual set of circumstances in this jurisdiction. In fact, Jeffrey and I were just discussing it. We hadn't seen this before. That in this second phase, it's a two-prong approach to assessing whether aggravators are met in this case, and the judge laid out very early on in the case that the particular aggravator of interest was the cruelty Travis Alexander suffered in this murder. If they agree cruelty was in fact an aggravator that existed in this murder, then they will move on to the penalty phase. And that's where the aggravators and mitigators would be presented in possibly many days. I can't tell you how many days it would take. There's been a mitigation specialist Jeffrey and I were just talking about that's been working with Jodi Arias for months and months and visiting her in jail. She's been in jail for four-and-a-half years, so plenty of time to assess just what quality she is as a person and how much and I hate to say it, it really comes down to the qualities of Jodi as a person. Whether she is worth saving, or the essential evils of this woman and whether she is worth putting to death. So two more phases.
[Toobin:] And, Wolf, just to make clear, Jodi Arias, herself, has the option of testifying in both of these proceedings. This first proceeding which is about cruelty and then in the broader penalty phase Jodi Arias, who is a very familiar person to this jury, she testified for almost three weeks. She has the option of going back on the witness stand and essentially to plea for her life.
[Blitzer:] Arizona jury, we just saw a little while ago, convicted Jodi Arias of first-degree murder and now we're going to find out what her fate will be. Twenty-five years, life, or the death sentence. We'll have much more on this story coming up. We're also going to go back to Cleveland. You heard the police in Cleveland say that Ariel Castro has been charged with four counts of kidnapping, kidnapping Michele Knight, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and the young child, the young child of Amanda Berry, and three counts of rape, of raping Michele Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus. We're going to go back to Cleveland momentarily, see get some more reaction and what is next in this awful, awful situation. Our continuing coverage of both of these stories and more right after this.

[Lemon:] I want one of these things. Tonight, you know, we are talking about the spies in the sky. Drones over neighborhoods being used to hunt down suspects and go where officers and regular helicopters can't go. So joining me now is William Robinson who is still here. He has been demonstrating this UAV for us. Drone, as we call it. But Ben is in Colorado. So Ben, thank you so much for joining us. Benn, you managed the unmanned aircraft program for the Mesa County, Colorado, sheriff's office.
[Ben Miller, Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Program:] Yes.
[Lemon:] Let me think. What do you think about this argument that these drones pose a threat to a person's personal privacy? I personally, I would like to have one but I wouldn't want this thing flying over my house.
[Miller:] Well, you know, do they present a threat to privacy? Part of that answer is yes and part of that answer is no, that's pretty over exaggerated.
[Lemon:] Well good. What do you mean by that? Tell me.
[Miller:] What I mean by that is, you know, from a law enforcement perspective I've been watching the show so far, you know, as we come up to this. And I'm thinking about it and thinking if I think you made a couple of comments spying on an ex-wife and that kind of thing. That was the situation for me. I would lose my job and shame my family and, you know, I'd be kind of the black sheep of my professional community.
[Lemon:] But the reason I was asking that is because private citizens can buy these and if you're even private investigators, you don't have to be with, you know, a police department to get one of these things. And the concern that I've heard about people spying on their neighbors, spying on their husbands or their wives with their significant others, or having someone check into their personal privacy and they don't have to be a law enforcement agency. That's the reason I ask that.
[Miller:] And yes, that was kind of the second half of my answer was, yes, I would agree with you, that, you know, the general public really doesn't have any kind of administrative management to the use of these things. And you know, there would be some concern.
[Lemon:] Yes. OK well said. But let me ask you this. So, police departments around the country dealing with budget deficits, filing for bankruptcy protection, some of them, do you think he said this was like $50,000. Do you think this is a cost protective pressure for departments? All right. We lost his audio there because he's on Skype. William, what do you think? $50,000, I'm sure the number of police officers that they might have on the street can be doing other things with this and they actually don't have to pay a salary over a long-term and so it may actually be cheaper.
[Robinson:] The point of this is we're not to eliminate jobs if that is where that's going. The point this is you're looking at millions of dollars and that requires a crew, it requires fuel and it requires maintenance. And of course, it requires a very small amount of maintenance but does not require the several hundred dollars in fuel and multimillion dollar investment in an aircraft and this annual salary.
[Lemon:] Listen. He is doing this from a remote control here and it's almost like the helicopter you see the people in the park using, but you can also do this from a computer and from hundreds, if not thousands of miles away.
[Robinson:] This vehicle here is completely capable of 100 percent automated flight. Right now we are controlling it via radio control in the studio because your frequency bands are jam-packed and very busy so we didn't want to risk anything inside the studio here. But this vehicle if we were to take it outdoors or we have more space inside the studio with less frequency and a current, we can flip into a GPS denied mode and still operate upon this thing.
[Lemon:] So, if I'm sitting at home right now, and I'm watching this, how can you this probably is a better question for Ben, but we can't get in touch with Ben because of his audio. I don't know. Maybe it's because of this thing. But how am I going how would you assure me that my privacy not going to be invaded by someone with one of these things?
[Robinson:] That is the measures that are put in place by our laws. Right now, if the warrant is put on an individual, you can watch them from the air via a manned vehicle. So why not do that cheaper and save the taxpayers' money with a smaller vehicle? This is not intended for illegal use.
[Lemon:] Yes. I can't take my eyes off of this. Sorry. I am listening to you but I can't take my eyes off of this UAV as you call it. We call it drones. And these are the ones that are being used and been a bit controversial around the country about police departments using them, whether or not it's OK to go over your home and look into your backyard. And of course, they can do infrared as well but that's not legal. They can actually look in your home. Is that legal now?
[Robinson:] No, no, no. They can't look into a home with an infrared camera.
[Lemon:] Wanted to make sure. All right. Thank you, William. Very cool stuff here, very cool stuff and thanks to Ben as well. So it is the size of an SUV. It weighs nearly a ton and gone 35 million miles and will soon be barreling toward mars at 13,000 miles an hour through the punishing mars atmosphere. We got all kind of gadgets tonight. Details about the incredible rover mission, that's next.

[Kaye:] Welcome back. In a few minutes, we'll hear President Obama's plan the for reducing the nation's debt and trimming the federal budget. The president will also talk about strengthening Medicare, Medicaid, along with Social Security. These three entitlement programs make up a big part of the federal budget, but cuts to these programs could cost you some big bucks. So, Don Lemon is here to fill us in on exactly what this all means.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Correspondent:] A big part of the federal budget, and if you look at, Randi, over the next 11, 12 years, $40 trillion. Imagine having to deal with that. But it makes up a big part of the budget, as I said, 40 percent of the budget 40 percent of the budget comes from entitlements like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Look at this, 24.4 percent, that comes straight from Medicare 12.8 percent from Medicaid excuse, 12.8 percent for Medicare, 7.2 percent for Medicaid, 20.4 from Social Security, pardon me. So, that's a big, big chunk of the budget.
[Kaye:] Sure.
[Lemon:] And then when these are places where changes can be made, but people in Washington are reluctant to it. They're hesitant to do it, because people paid into these and they want them, right? So these so-called entitlements. If you look at this, this is what happened in 2010, just about now, we're in 2011. You've got three workers to support every retiree, that's what you have now. But by the time those baby boomers start at the height of their retirement in 2035, Randi, you'll only have two workers in the workforce to support one retiree and that's because all those people will have left the work force and you won't have
[Kaye:] That's why it's running out of money.
[Lemon:] And that's why it is running out of money. And, look, 1975, 24 million people were enrolled in Medicare. 2010, last year, 47 million. That's almost double that. And then by 2040, look at that, 88 million people. And here's what they're paying. 1975 here, 24 million, they were paying about $2,800. That's what the government was paying per person. Here, 2010, about $12,000 per person and you've got 47 million. It jumps here to $44,000 that the government is paying in per person. And if you're looking at that at 88 million, you do the math. That is a lot of money.
[Kaye:] So more and more people need the program and there just isn't enough people
[Lemon:] More and more people
[Kaye:] There are not enough people contributing.
[Lemon:] Not enough people contributing. So they're going to have to do something that they can't really they can't cut that much from it because they need the money, but they're going to have to re- jigger and change somehow and let's see if the president's going to talk about it. Who knows. But, of course, Republicans will have their rebuttal and they'll say, hey, that Paul Ryan budget, it was all in there and it will be back and forth. But that's a lot of money.
[Kaye:] Is that your prediction? Can we write make that official?
[Lemon:] oh, of course. Oh, you mean there's going to be consternation in Washington about
[Kaye:] You heard it here.
[Lemon:] Oh, the Democrats said this and the Republicans said that.
[Kay:] I never would have expected that.
[Lemon:] Who would have thought. Yes, I will predict that.
[Kaye:] All right, Don, thank you. And thank you for this explainer as well. Appreciate it.
[Lemon:] Thank you, Randi.
[Kaye:] We're a little more than 15 minutes away from President Obama's speech to lay out his blueprint for dealing with the nation's $14 trillion debt. Wolf Blitzer will be joining me shortly. So keep it right here for the speech and analysis from the best political team on television. Up next, is your bank pulling a fast one on you? A new study finds banks may be hiding fees from you. We'll tell you what these fees are and how to avoid them in "Your Money." Keep it here.

[Lemon:] We're talking about school education and how to handle challenging high school kids. Well, there may be no better person to turn to than CNN education contributor Steve Perry. His latest book is called "Push Has Come to Shove: Getting our kids the education they deserve". Earlier, I asked him about a troubling video out of Chicago that has gotten a whole lot of attention. I'm not sure if you've seen this video. I think I'm pretty sure you have seen it. It's out of Chicago, I'm talking about. I want to take a quick look at this. Let's put it up now. These teenagers, they gang up on this kid, it is a kid and the kid there's a kid that's been charged, one is in jail now. He's charged as an adult, right? Eight kids have been charged, I should say. This video is amazing. Does this sort of thing surprise you?
[Steve Perry, Cnn Education Contributor:] No.
[Lemon:] Really?
[Perry:] Not at all. In fact, unfortunately, it becomes too common. What happens is the typical bullying has gone to a whole different level. You get any kid with a phone and no good sense and they begin to videotape these things. What you see, really, is that this is an indication, not just of the child who is being hurt, but the hurt children who are around them, because in order for you to cause such harm to someone else, you can't love yourself. That's what we're seeing.
[Lemon:] As you're talking, I'm looking at this video and they are kicking this kid. You can see, kicking him in the face and in the head. I don't I don't understand it. I don't understand it.
[Perry:] People don't understand things in our schools are so much worse than I think most people realize. It's really bad in many schools because so many children feel so broken inside.
[Lemon:] So what do you do? I mean we always say, ok, you here's the thing that I know. I'm not a parent but I know this.
[Perry:] Sure.
[Lemon:] There's only so much that you can do at a school. Home training, it starts in the home. But what can you do to make kids feel safe when they're
[Perry:] We're the professionals. We're the ones who are trained to make children feel better. We can create a lot. Of course home needs to play a role but we have your children for six and a half to sometimes eight, nine hours a day. We should play a very vital role in that. It's not one or the other. However, we as educators, I see it as my responsibility. When someone says in Hartford that some kid in a blazer, because our kids wear blazers, is having a fight downtown, we get in the car and we go down there to make sure it's not one of ours. Because if it is, then there's going to be a whole problem; there will be two fights then.
[Lemon:] There's going to be two fights if he finds out it's one of his kids. Never shy with his words. That is CNN's education contributor Steve Perry. Steve, thank you very much. Coming up, your personal finances. Are you sticking to your new year's resolutions? We'll talk with personal finance expert Nicole Lapin to get answers to your questions.

[Blackwell:] Two well-known executives are heading to North Korea. Google chairman Eric Schmidt is going to visit the country.
[Kaye:] Yes. And he's going with former Governor Bill Richardson.
[Blackwell:] Yes.
[Kaye:] So it's kind of interesting and [inaudible] Google, I mean a guy from Google is going because it's so strict about the Internet there.
[Blackwell:] Yes. And the U.S. has sanctions against them. Bill Richardson has been there before. There are concerns from the state department, though, and they're sharing those. Let's listen. We have sound from the State Department? No, ok.
[Kaye:] I guess not. I'm too busy trying to get my stool in order up here. But I guess we don't have sound from the State Department.
[Blackwell:] There we go.
[Kaye:] Adjust me.
[Blackwell:] Yes.
[Kaye:] We are you know, they're a little wobbly. But I guess they're not so happy about it because, you know, it's dangerous and it's just a bad time to be there. We had had the rocket launch recently so they don't want them there. But another story that we've been talking about this morning is this whole case of Starbucks. They're not I know you're not into this.
[Blackwell:] I'm not at all.
[Kaye:] It's actually good for the environment. The coffee chain is going to be selling these $1 reusable mugs. So I guess you bring it in, you get a ten-cent discount. They wash it for you.
[Blackwell:] Yes, you just have to keep this one I guess people who drink coffee keep this cup in their car or keep it at their job or something. I'm just not into this reusable cup thing. Keep taking it in. I don't know.
[Kaye:] If you look at the numbers, though, four billion cups worth of waste generated every year.
[Blackwell:] That is true. That is true.
[Kaye:] You can bring it home. You wash it. You know, you can wash it yourself at home, I guess.
[Blackwell:] That's true. I mean we'll see. They've tried this before, though.
[Kaye:] Yes.
[Blackwell:] They've tried this reusable cup before and I don't see many reusable cups. Maybe with the incentive now of, you know, getting ten cents off per $4 cup of gingerbread latte, it will be a deal.
[Kaye:] At least there's an effort.
[Blackwell:] Yes.
[Kaye:] I'll give them an A for effort.
[Blackwell:] You've got to try.
[Kaye:] All right. You've got to try it once. Well, if you couldn't stay up during the week we'll show you some of the best from the late night talk shows. And the FDA is setting new rules to keep you and the food you eat much safer.
[Blackwell:] But first, when traveling to other cities and countries, the best way to get a real taste of the place is through the local food. CNN iReport has teamed up with "Travel and Leisure Magazine" to create a global list of the 100 places to eat like a local. Here is CNN's Jim Spellman in Denver with a sample.
[Jim Spellman, Cnn Correspondent:] It's a damp, chilly morning in Denver, Colorado. We're going to try to warm up at the Denver Biscuit Company. Just a few years ago, this was really just a bar. People came here to drink at night time. And now there's high chairs, kids in here.
[Drew Shader, Denver Biscuit Company:] Yes. It was a big question of whether people would come into a drinking place to eat breakfast. And I think that's a testament to our food.
[Spellman:] Should we head into the kitchen?
[Shader:] Sure. Absolutely.
[Spellman:] That is a serious rolling pin.
[Unidentified Male:] Stainless steel.
[Spellman:] Can I check that out?
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, absolutely.
[Spellman:] All right.
[Unidentified Male:] You'll get better through the day.
[Spellman:] We must pause for the obligatory Twitter photo.
[Shader:] Yes, for sure.
[Spellman:] All right. I'm going to start with the Franklin, you start with one of those and we'll switch.
[Shader:] All right. Definitely.
[Spellman:] Oh, my God, this is so good. It's ridiculous. The biscuits at the Denver Biscuit Company are seriously amazing. So good we have to take a box of them with us. Thanks so much, Drew. Thank you.
[Blackwell:] Yes. That's what I'm going to do after the show. Have a biscuit.
[Kaye:] Oh, yes.
[Blackwell:] It looks so good. IReporters, here is your chance to help us create a map of the food lovers world. Let's go to iReport.com100 places. Here it is. Send us a photo of your favorite restaurant and dish and tell us why it's special and how you discovered the place. The definitive list of 100 places to eat like a local will be revealed in March and some iReporters will be on that list. So be sure to stay tuned to see if you're one of them.

[Quest:] Dell shares are soaring on the talk the computer firm's looking to go private. Maggie is in New York. I was just saying to you, Maggie, in the break, this came out of it just shows you; you start your average Monday and the next thing you know, Dell shares are up 12 percent and trading's halted or was for five minutes.
[Maggie Lake, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right. It was briefly halted, Richard. And you're right. The Dell's specific news is a surprise. But I have to tell you, this is part of a trend that we talked about at the end of last year and that is the fact that PCs are in decline as more and more people move on to tablets and phones. Last year was the first year that PCs declined for the year, purchases declined for the year in over a decade. And Richard, before we get into it, I just want to tell you, I talked to Michael Dell just a couple of months ago when Microsoft launched Windows 8 and I asked him specifically about those who were saying that the PC's dead. Have a listen to what he said.
[Michael Dell, Ceo, Dell Computers:] Now this year there will be about 400 million PCs sold. I remember hearing that when there were 100 million PCs sold a year. So they've been doing this for a while. So you know, that's been going there's been discussion of that for a long time. But there seem to be more and more PCs being sold. There are about a billion and a half PCs in the world and so, you know, if you go out in the real world and look at how business is done, how people get, you know, productive work done, you see a lot of PCs. It's not to say there's not a role for smartphones and tablets. What really interesting is interesting, of course, about this announcement is now we have tablets that are also full PCs.
[Lake:] Right. And this clearly is geared, this overhaul is geared to work across that, right Steve, I mean, what is your response to is the PC dead?
[Steve Ballmer, Ceo, Microsoft:] I'd say the PC's never been dead, it never will die. [Inaudible]. It moves on. We started with desktops, for gosh sakes. And then, boom, PC gets reimagined in the big [inaudible]. And then laptops and then light notebooks and then ultrabooks. And now we have PCs as tablets. And the number of form factors.
[Quest:] That was an announcement, of course, from earlier in the year, Maggie. And it's [inaudible] Ballmer when they announced the tablets. But, Maggie, fundamentally, why would why would Michael Dell, as owning 15 percent or so of the company, why would he want to take it private?
[Lake:] Because he wants to redirect the company, despite those words. He understands the business is going someplace else. He has already been focusing more on services, on enterprise, kind of trying to redefine and in a similar way that IBM did. But maybe he wants to do it off the radar of Wall Street. Investors want quarter on quarter profits. Stocks Dell's stock lost a third of its value last year. So it may be that he just wants more time to execute. He doesn't want to have to do it with the short-term pressures of being a public company. But we'll have to see. Again, this is not confirmed; it is just speculation at this point, Richard.
[Quest:] Speculation and of course there's no guarantee it will happen. Maggie is in New York for us this evening. While we're talking technology, whether it be Dell, Microsoft or Apple, Java has a bug and a patch isn't good enough. Well, when I heard about this you know me I almost I started to wonder what on Earth was happening. Anyway, join me in the superscreen, the nerve center. Let's start with the basics. You all know, of course, many of you, that Java is the programming language. It's widely used. And it is used particularly because it is ambidextrous. It can be used it has a billion uses across multiple platforms, Windows, Mac and Linux, all can use it as well. It's in everything from DVD players, mechanical medicinal machines, you name it, it's in all of them. But the problem is the problem is that one doesn't want to work. So the problem is that a flaw has been found. Users are advised have been advised to disable the software because apparently the flow in Java allows hackers into your computer and we all know what can happen after that. Apparently this is in all versions according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and they say disable the Java. But Oracle has issued a patch and the patch can be found at Java.com. You can download it and it - use it from the Oracle website. Well, that should all be good enough and all nice, hunky-dory. Not so fast, young man, because Java says it will actually work, we don't well, rather, one expert says, "We don't dare to tell users that it's safe to enable Java again." So putting it simply, you have to decide whether to elect disable, take the risk or wait. "Profitable Moment" next.

[Whitfield:] A look at our top stories. Bank of America customers are furious. Many say they will switch if the bank starts charging a $5 fee for using their debit cards. The outrage may actually benefit Bank of America. Analysts say even angry customers are reluctant to change banks. If they switch to credit cards, the bank can make even more money. Read all about it on cnnmoney.com. A former CIA contractor who went to prison in Pakistan was arrested in Colorado yesterday. Witnesses say Raymond Davis fought with another man over a parking spot at a shopping center. Davis was released from prison in Pakistan earlier this year. He was charged with killing two men when he worked for the CIA there. And "60 Minutes" commentator, Andy Rooney, is calling it quits. The 92-year-old delivers his final regular broadcast tonight. Rooney has been a staple with CBS News for more than 60 years. In that time, he has delivered 1,096 essays, bringing ordinary grievances to a national platform. Now, he has just one more left, tonight. Here is a glorious site over Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the twilight, hundreds of brightly colored and some oddly-shaped balloons. The weekend weather has been perfect for the launch of this annual fiesta. It takes place every day through next Sunday. Jacqui Jeras with us now. We were really marvelling at these pictures yesterday, clear skies, blue skies and then a chance to do it in the evening as well. This is amazing.
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologits:] The nighttime glow is so beautiful.
[Whitfield:] I like it too. Yes, apparently, they will have like a race and some of the balloons can go as far as 1,000 miles. Whoever can go the farthest is the champion of that race.
[Jeras:] Wow. Wonder how long that takes? 1,000 miles, that's quite the distance. I think the record is like 2,000 something. I have some cool pictures. This is from California, from one of our I- Reporters. This is sunset, but it looks very how gorgeous is this. This is from Julie Elderton from Malibu, California. She took these pictures at sunset on Friday evening. They were just so beautiful. She said there were a few storms out there. She was able to catch that nice sunset with the clouds. There, you can see the beach. Take a look at that water. All right, well, California is going to get some weather that is not quite as relaxing as those pictures. That we've got a huge storm system out here in the Pacific. Take a look at there. You can really see the curl there associated with our area of low pressure. And this is the first in a series of storms that are going to beimpacting the west coast in the week ahead. Some places that haven't seen rain in literally months will get some this time around. So the wet weather, not out there too much right now. But we could be seeing as much as 4, 5 inches of rain especially in the higher elevations. This is going to be coming in tomorrow. Our second front comes in late Tuesday and into Wednesday. That's going to move all the way down into southern California. Even San Diego could be getting some rain with this latest system. Now we also have our upper low that's still sitting there lingering into the northeast. So low cloudiness here along with rain showers. We have seen a little snow, the first snow of the season in some of the higher elevations in West Virginia, and the Carolinas. We have some airport delays as a result of those low clouds, ground stop in Philly and some delays in Toronto. Otherwise, the nation's mid-section looking real nice, comfortable temperatures, warmer than they should be.
[Whitfield:] Enjoy it now.
[Jeras:] Yes.
[Whitfield:] All right, thank you, Jacqui.
[Jeras:] Sure.
[Whitfield:] All right, on to New York now where protesters known as "Occupy Wall Street" are gathering again for another day of protest. This is what it looked like yesterday in New York as the group shut down one side of the Brooklyn Bridge in a protest of what they call corporate greed. Seven hundred were arrested. The losing organized demonstrations enter the third week of protest today. CNN's Susan Candiotti is in New York where the protesters are gathering. So Susan, first of all, help us all understand. What are all the grievances that people are airing?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Well, it depends on how long you have, Fred, because there are so many of them. That's because there are all kinds of people who are represented here today. You have people who are employed. You have people who have lost their jobs. Some people who are part time. People who are students. People who are have a number of different grievances for example, broadly based, corporate greed, as you mentioned. People who are protesting the decline of civil liberties. And in fact, you even have one group of people over here, these are teachers who are sitting here grading papers. They are saying they are here to illustrate all the budget cuts that they have to deal with. There is so much work to do and fewer teachers to do that work. So a lot of different ideas are represented here this day. So it's really hard to focus on just one theme. Certainly, it is hard to focus on any solution. Take a look.
[Candiotti:] Their message, "end corporate greed" they say is killing America's economy. But will they be heard in Washington?
[Eddie Mahoney, Protester:] Politicians can be bought. Political influence can be bought through political donations. This needs to be addressed.
[Candiotti:] But organizing isn't easy. Admittedly, most of the time is spent trying to figure out what they are trying to say and how to organize. No one is in charge. That's the way they like it.
[Robert Segal, Protester:] We are gathered here in this place to join with that mission's statement, to shape a statement of what it is we want and how we are going to get to it.
[Candiotti:] This New Jersey mother used a school holiday to take her 4 and 5-year-old to join a peaceful protest for a day.
[Andrea, Protester:] We are 99 percent. The rich and powerful are 1 percent. We need to be a lot more equal than that.
[Candiotti:] Is it hard to put together a solution?
[Andrea:] Very hard, very hard. That's why I am skimping on my words here. There are so many ways you could come to the end, to a solution. But you know, in the meantime, it is just kind of awakening people up to know what's going on out there.
[Candiotti:] The New York group insists it is staying put with no exit strategy. Police say they have no plan to move them out. Every afternoon, there is a daily march. Nothing major planned today. Organizers say that probably won't happen until midweek when they announce support from major unions who will be marching with them. In fact, Fred, you even have tourists walking by and snapping a lot of pictures. They are also interested in taking all this in. Back to you.
[Whitfield:] All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks so much for helping us understand why so many have converged there in lower Manhattan. Let's take a look at the week ahead now. Britain's Prince Harry is heading back to the U.S. for some advanced training on Apache helicopters. The young royal will take part in Crimson Eagle, which is an eight-week military exercise in Arizona and California. Completion of the training could help the prince who is a captain in Britain's Army Air Core return to the front lines in Afghanistan. The Nobel Peace prize winner is expected to be announced in Oslo on Friday. Last year's winner was imprisoned Chinese prodemocracy activist, Lou Shaibou. The buzz this year is that winner could come from the uprisings, which swept across Arab countries in North Africa and the Middle East. After more than 25 years, the Chicago Bears are finally getting their day at the White House. The 1985 Super Bowl champs original visit was cancelled in January of 1986 because of the "Challenger" space shuttle explosion. "Forbes" magazine released the list of the top ten highest paid TV actresses in Hollywood. Any guesses on who's on that list? They earned a combined of $94 million between May 2010 and May 2011. Let's start at the bottom, shall we? Juliana Marguiles from the "Good Wife" earned $6 million, next Ellen Pompeo from "Gray's Anatomy with $7 million. Also with $7 million, Courtney Cox, from "Cougar Town" and tying for fifth place are two "Desperate Housewives," Felicity Huffman and Terry Hatcher, both who earned $9 million. So what television actresses came out on top with the most money made. The answer right after this.

[Gupta:] "Chasing Life" today, one of my favorite parts of the show, with a woman who knows a thing or two about love, light, and truth. At age 93, Tao Porchon-Lynch has been certified by the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the oldest living yoga instructor. Thanks for joining us. Like I said, this is one of my favorite parts of the show. The segment is called "Chasing Life." So, let me just ask as a starting point, do you have a secret for long life?
[Tao Porchon-lynch, World's Oldest Living Yoga Teacher At 93:] Laugh at the world.
[Gupta:] Laugh at the world.
[Porchon-lynch:] Wake up early in the morning and know that this is going to be a good day and have no fear. I don't believe in fear. I believe nothing is impossible. And when we tune into our inner self and into the energy within us and everything comes to the best way possible.
[Gupta:] I love that. And the idea of waking up with some sort of sense of purpose I think, you know, know what your purpose is.
[Porchon-lynch:] Absolutely.
[Gupta:] How did you become interested in yoga?
[Porchon-lynch:] That comes from when I was young in France, I started in yoga only because I saw boys doing it. And I thought if they can do it I can do it although my aunt said it's not lady-like.
[Gupta:] Is that what they said that yoga was not lady like?
[Porchon-lynch:] Yes, not for women. It wasn't lady-like.
[Gupta:] We're watching you on the screen and it is phenomenal what you're able to do. I mean, you're literally balancing your whole body there. How hard is that? I mean, as you watch that is that very difficult?
[Porchon-lynch:] Sanjay, it's what you call the creed of Asaunas. All day long really all the blood is going down into our legs and we need to bring it back here even when we go to sleep. It helps you go to bed, get rid of all your thoughts and all of your problems and bring the blood back up again.
[Gupta:] I love it. I don't know if I can do what you're demonstrating there. But you're going to turn 94 in August. You've been married twice. You have no children, yet you say you really have 400 some children.
[Porchon-lynch:] Yes.
[Gupta:] What do you mean by that?
[Porchon-lynch:] Because I feel that all of my students, no matter what their age, I am there to train and help them. That's when they can do something they think they've never been able to do and a smile comes over their face, that's the joy of that.
[Gupta:] Pretty gratifying.
[Porchon-lynch:] It is. It's a joy.
[Gupta:] As you may know I'm very interested in diet and I try and take good care of myself. Any tips? I mean, how does your diet how has it contributed to your longevity?
[Porchon-lynch:] I've never eaten meat.
[Gupta:] Don't eat meat at all.
[Porchon-lynch:] No.
[Gupta:] Never have.
[Porchon-lynch:] No, not at all. I like fruit. I have a grapefruit every morning and fruit juice and I don't drink water.
[Gupta:] You don't drink water?
[Porchon-lynch:] No, I drink fruit juice. I drink water in tea, for instance. But, no, I don't drink water.
[Gupta:] So, no meat. No water. Lots of fruit juice. Yogurt. Nuts.
[Porchon-lynch:] And vegetables. But I'm not a fanatic. Because I'm really not interested in eating except when I'm with people.
[Gupta:] Well, what about sweets? Any sweets, coffee, things like that?
[Porchon-lynch:] Yes. Milk chocolate.
[Gupta:] Milk chocolate.
[Porchon-lynch:] Yes.
[Gupta:] I love it. I wish I had some for you. You are so adorable. It's a real pleasure to meet you.
[Porchon-lynch:] Bless you.
[Gupta:] I'm going to live much longer now because of this interview. Thank you very much.
[Porchon-lynch:] Thank you.
[Gupta:] Unfortunately, that's going to wrap things up for us at SGMD today. But stay connected at CNN.comSanjay. Also, let's keep the conversation going on Twitter @SanjayGuptaCNN. Time now, though, to get a check of your top stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM".

[Romans:] Good morning, Washington, D.C. You know, it's still a little dark there, but it's 68, mostly cloudy. Later, though, it will be 87 and partly cloudy in the nation's capital. Welcome back to
[Early Start. 55:] 41 in the east. Forty-one minutes past the hour. I'm Christine Romans.
[Berman:] And I'm John Berman. And a storm is growing in the Atlantic, and you better believe it's one that Florida is keeping an eye on. Tropical storm Isaac could become a Category 1 hurricane by Thursday, and it could turn north toward the Sunshine State. If that happens, this could be a serious issue for the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week. Fifty thousand people are expected in that city during the event. So, organizers are keeping a close watch. So, we want to get the latest on this storm. Let's go straight to Rob Marciano in Atlanta. Rob, where did it
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Well, this far out, John, to get to Tampa, that would be day six or seven. Odds are minuscule for it to make a direct hit, but if it were to, I mean, that city is as vulnerable as New Orleans when it comes to getting a storm surge. So, very concerned about that, but we're talking about odds of about one percent at this point this far out, but there is a chance. Westerly movement at 18 miles an hour right now. It's just to the east of the Leeward Islands. Tropical storm warnings have been posted for the Northern Leeward Islands. U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the island of Hispaniola have hurricane watches out now, because this is gaining strength, and we do anticipate it becoming a hurricane over the next couple of days. It is going to likely interact with the Northern Caribbean Islands. That will knock down the intensity. Not good news, obviously, for Hispaniola and Eastern Cuba. The way of heavy rains here, potentially, even some mud slides, but notice the last day of the forecast period here, South Florida under the gun, including Miami. But note the cone of uncertainty or the margin of vary here, either side of this, a couple of hundred miles. So, could get into the Gulf of Mexico. Some of our computer models say that. That would make Tampa in play, but it also could miss Florida and head up to east coast towards the Carolinas. So, this is a tough forecast. No doubt about that. Here are some of our computer models. Each one of these lines indicates one computer, and this is just a handful. We have several others as well. But you notice, they're in pretty good agreement to bring it across these islands. So, that'll keep the intensity of the wind down. Obviously, the rain is going to be a factor here. But, at the very least, Tampa may get some rain out of this. Forecast warnings and watches that are posted for the islands that I mentioned. And also, we've got another system out here that has a 90 percent chance of becoming our next tropical storm. And it's almost doing that, but it's way out there. By the way, Florida has been getting hammered with rainfall the past couple of days, and it will do it again today. Stalled front down there. And then an ongoing flow off the ocean is going to keep things rather moist. So, in preparations for the convention, they'll be getting a decent amount of rain right now. So, we'll keep an eye on Isaac as well.
[Romans:] All right, Rob. Thanks so much, Rob. A look now at the top stories. Missouri Senate candidate, Todd Akin, says he's pressing on alone if necessary after rejecting numerous calls from Republicans to drop out of that race. Akin believes he can still unseat Democratic incumbent, Claire McCaskill, despite the political firestorm over his comments about legitimate rape and abortion.
[Berman:] A lost piece of history uncovered in a dusty attic in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A reel to reel tape containing an interview with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was recorded in December of 1960, three years before Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech. Listen as he talks about the progress of the civil rights movement.
[Unidentified Male:] What effect are the sit-ins having on the progress of the southern Negro and his struggle for equality? I think a tremendous effect. I am convinced that when the history books are written in future years, historians will have to record this movement as one of the greatest epics of our heritage.
[Berman:] Wow! That is crystal clear audio. The man who discovered the King interview says his father had interviewed Dr. King for a book on racism, but the book was never finished. A controlled blast at the site of a New York subway demolition project goes wrong, jolting nerves, shattering windows, and sending smoke and debris up into the street. No injuries reported. City officials are now inspecting surrounding buildings for structural issues. A source told a local station a protective covering meant to trap debris that wasn't positioned properly.
[Romans:] Our big other story today, Prince Harry learning that what happens in Vegas ends up on the web. Clarence House now confirming to CNN that photos posted on TMZ of a nude Prince Harry are, indeed, Prince Harry. TMZ said they show Harry naked, playing a game of drunk strip pool with an unidentified naked woman in a Vegas hotel suite, a private hotel suite, and he's covering up in one of the photos. Dan rivers is live in London with the latest. Certainly embarrassing, I would assume, for what is the reaction from the royal family this morning, shall I ask?
[Dan Rivers, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, there's been no reaction from Clarence House, which speaks on behalf of the princes other than to confirm it is Prince Harry. There was a lot of kind of speculation this morning on Twitter here that these may have been spoof, fake photos with a look-alike, but Clarence House telling us that they are genuine but making no further comments. It's clearly pretty embarrassing for the royal family. Just the contrast between Prince Harry's behavior and his brother, Prince William, who's a search and rescue pilot who's on duty in Wales and Anglesey. Reports that he was just last week out saving a young girl in trouble in Wales, and then his brother pictured naked in L.A, clearly, having a bit of a party. Prince Harry had his first kind of outing, really, taking place with the queen at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, and he looked kind of slightly shell shocked there. Very nervous looking Prince Harry appearing at the closing ceremony. Now, obviously, he's gone away with his friends, letting off some steam by the looks of things. There's been also stories around of him having a kind of, you know, playful swimming race with Ryan Lochte as well. So, having some fun. But looks like this may have just gone a bit too far.
[Romans:] He was wearing slightly more clothing in that swimming race with Ryan Lochte. That made all of the American tabloids as well. And, you know, while we're having a little fun with the headline this morning, some of us, you know, it does say something about the security, of course, of the third in line to the throne, I would say.
[Rivers:] It does, yes. I mean, you know, how these pictures were allowed to get out, there's been a sort of convention when he's been out socially that, you know, phones will be checked or taken off people if they're worried that they can't be trusted.
[Romans:] Clearly, someone had a pocket. Someone was still clothed, because there was a phone in someone's pocket.
[Rivers:] Right. Exactly. There's also a serious point here as well. The British papers here haven't really haven't well, they've talked about it, but they haven't published the photos, because they're all very worried in the wake of all the phone hacking scandal here. You know, this is the last thing they want to be seen to be doing is to be going out on a limb and publishing these photos. They were taken, we gather, in a private hotel suite. And the agreement here is that, you know, that they're not allowed to publish photos of the royals in this manner when they're clearly in private circumstances. So, none of the UK papers have published them whereas they've gone round the world on the internet, of course.
[Romans:] It's interesting that Harry seems so private in his public duties, but so, I guess,
[Berman:] I didn't realize what Dan was saying. The British papers haven't published the photos yet.
[Romans:] Right.
[Berman:] Very interesting.
[Romans:] That is interesting, and the hacking scandal all right. Think gotten so much. Shame, shame, Fido. If your dog choose your shoes,

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] You're in the CNN NEWSROOM this Sunday, April 8th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin with the passing of a TV legend, with a seven-decades-long career. At 93, the man CBS called its "60 Minutes" pit bull reporter, Mike Wallace, passed away last night in Connecticut. His name is synonymous with tireless reporting, interviews that pulled no punches, and a nearly 40-year run on the program, "60 Minutes." Joining me by phone now from New York, Tom Johnson, former chairman and CEO of CNN, he was also a good friend of Wallace for 30 years. Tom, first of all, of course, many of us are sorry about the loss, but what an incredible life, what an incredible career. Did I understand that he passed away in a care facility. Did you and many others know that his condition or his ailment was, you know, he was waning?
[Tom Johnson, Friend Of Mike Wallace:] Yes, we knew that Mike was not doing well in recent years. But he had fought a very gallant battle for some time as much as he had been an extraordinary force throughout much of his professional and personal career.
[Whitfield:] So many remember him for these kind of dogged interviews, but at the same time, they remember the kind of softness, the gentler side. We saw early this morning his good friend, Morely Safer gave a beautiful tribute to him on "Face the Nation" this morning, and he talked about how for Mike Wallace. One of his most famous interviews actually was of a pianist, Vladimi Horowitz. What was it about that softer side of Mike Wallace that most people didn't seem to be as accustomed to seeing?
[Johnson:] There was a major, just decency about Mike. I got to know him in several ways, one of which was that he and I battled depression during our lives, along with others, including Bill Styron. That really had been something that he had battled, as I have, and he showed tremendous interest in those who were confronting that illness, but it didn't keep him from continuing with his career and doing uncommonly well.
[Whitfield:] Well, that is extraordinary, because even Morely Safer, you know, talked about, did an interview with him many years ago and talked to him in a very candid manner about that depression, about how he kept it inside for so long, and how Mike Wallace actually considered killing himself. Did you all share kind of those parallels of experience together, in a way that you felt, perhaps, other people wouldn't be able to understand or connect with you on?
[Johnson:] Well, we shared it usually each summer at Martha's Vineyard, where four of us, Art Buckwald, Mike Wallace, Bill Styron and I had the same experiences. Yes, it got so tough for Mike, as it did for all four of us, at some deep, deep point in our battle, we did think about it. Mike always reminded me that, really, it's one decision in life. If you were to take it, that you can't reconsider and also that, you really if you got the right medication, the right physicians, that most of us who deal with it, could come out of it. And all four of us did.
[Whitfield:] And through it all, you know, how does one try to kind of wrap their arms around the notion of this is a man who had a seven- decades-long career. He did commercials, he was once a reporter for "The Chicago Sun Times," and then he would come to epitomize this television magazine reporting. How did he make those turns in his career and become such a mainstay for "60 Minutes" for so long?
[Johnson:] Well, first of all, he was very competitive. Second, he was very professional. Third, he surrounded himself with producers and with talent of the very highest caliber. And then he really drove them toward excellence and everything. I mean, Mike had a very low tolerance for mediocrity. He expected the best of the show and everybody concerned with it.
[Whitfield:] Do you feel like he was kind of the leader of the pack in the "60 Minutes" family, particularly among the reporters?
[Johnson:] He was the leader of the pack and yet he always realized that it was a team effort. That he needed to be one of the most senior reporters on the show. And of course, I also dealt with him as a competitor during my years at CNN. So I saw up front and personal, just what a tremendous guy he was in securing the interviews and often breaking major news.
[Whitfield:] What an incredible range of interviews. We're looking at a picture right now where it shows a good number of the other "60 Minutes" reporters. You know, Mike Wallace took a break from "60 Minutes" back in 2006. The late Andy Rooney and the late Ed Bradley, they seemed to work right up until their dying days. All of their dedication really speaks to the kind of commitment, you know, to the real honor of being part of that "60 Minutes" family, doesn't it?
[Johnson:] Well, it does. It was a terrific family. He also just believed that in our free society that the public had a right to really look at what its government was doing, at what business was doing, what institutions were doing? And, you know, perhaps he earned the reputation of somewhat of an attack dog during that, but I've always thought of Mike as a great watchdog. It was good to have Mike out there, looking out for us.
[Whitfield:] That's so great. A nice watchdog. And you know, CBS itself is calling him the pit bull reporter, you know, for that "60 Minutes" team. Tom Johnson, thanks so much for helping to shed light on the memory and the legacy of Mike Wallace.
[Johnson:] Thank you. Thank you, Fredricka. All right, it is Easter Sunday, and the Obama family walked to church on a sunny Washington, D.C., morning. The president, first lady, Sasha, and Malia all attending Easter services at St. John's Episcopal Church just across Lafayette Park from the White House there. And at about the at the same time, half a world away, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his annual Easter mass in Vatican City. The pope prayed for a renewed peace effort in the Middle East, specifically an end to the violence in Syria. And he's not drawing a Vatican mass numbers, but NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow, is delivering an Easter message to a crowd near Austin, Texas. The New York Jets quarterback is known as much for his religious devotion as for his performance on the football field. A big crowd turned out to hear Tebow speak at the outdoor Easter gathering. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says campaign frontrunner Mitt Romney has the nomination all but locked up. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Gingrich said Romney is, quote, "far and away the most likely Republican nominee." Gingrich vowed to support Romney if he is nominated, but says he's staying in the race to push for his personal platforms. And join me today at 4:00 Eastern Time for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election. All right, disturbing new developments surfacing in just the last few hours concerning the shooting spree in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two men are now under arrest for the shootings of five African-American men. Three of those victims died. Both suspects are white and today Tulsa authorities are sorting through the suspect's Facebook pages, where they are finding racist comments and a personal anniversary. Let's bring in Susan Candiotti. She's following the story in Tulsa. So, what you have you learned about the suspects and what was going on in their lives?
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] Fredricka, some very interesting, and as you indicated, disturbing information about his background. Family and friends of one of the two suspects in this case, 19-year- old Jacob England, tells us that he has been undergoing psychiatric counseling and taking medications ever since his father was murdered, was killed, almost two years ago to the day of these shootings that happened here in Tulsa. We understand, CNN has learned from police and according to documents as well, and from relatives, that a couple of years ago, England's father was responding to his daughter, who was asking for help when her house was being broken into. He went after the suspect in this case, he, the father. The two had a fight. Mr. England's father was not armed, but the other man was. Turned around and shot him. That man, evidently, according to court documents that we have found, indicate that he was not prosecuted for that crime. Now, this, according to relatives, has troubled him ever since and CNN has also discovered what police have. There was a Facebook posting made just the other day, written by the suspect in this case, that police are examining. And it reads like this, "Today is two years that my dad has been gone, shot by" and please excuse the language, it's very sensitive, "shot by a nigger." It's hard not to go off between that and Charon." Charon is a, we have to pause and say is England's girlfriend who according to family members committed suicide in front of the suspect in this case just last December in front of him and in front of their baby. The Facebook posting goes on to say, I'm gone in the head. Dad and Charon, his girlfriend, I love and miss you, I think about you both every second of the day. Now we have learned that this is something that police are taking a very close look at, to see whether this might be a motive in this case Fred.
[Whitfield:] OK and then, what happened, Susan, when trying to reach out to those who know these gentlemen? Did any neighbors have anything to say about them?
[Candiotti:] Well, there yes, everyone is trying to make some sense of this. A woman who lives across the street who has known the family since they were children said that she can't get over what happened. She said that she heard some gunshots fired there at the night of the shootings over at the house where he was living, and heard some disturbances the other night, but says she finds it hard to fathom this arrest. Listen.
[Synita Bowers, Suspect's Neighbor:] He's just a nice young man. I can't even imagine him in this, now drugs, yes, but a killing? I can't imagine it. Not Jake.
[Candiotti:] Now, again, police are trying to figure out more about the suspect in this case. Certainly, the community is very relieved that two people have been arrested and we expect a news conference in just a couple of hours Fred.
[Whitfield:] All right, Susan Candiotti in Tulsa. We apologize to our viewers for such profanity being used on our air. And we'll be right back with much more in the NEWSROOM.

[Holmes:] Well, 21 past the hour. Let's give you a look at some of the stories that are making headlines this morning. Alaska's Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski is attempting to do what's only been done once before in U.S. history, and that is, win a U.S. Senate seat as a write-in candidate. Murkowski is the incumbent; she's forced to take now this unlikely route for re-election after she lost in the state's GOP primary to a Tea Party backed candidate. Also, two California families have reached a settlement with Toyota following a crash that killed four family members. The victims died when the Lexus sedan they were riding in accelerated uncontrollably and crashed in San Diego, this was last year. An investigation revealed the accelerator pedal probably became trapped by an incorrectly installed floor mat. The amount of the settlement no revealed. The family attorney did say Toyota did not admit liability. Also, recently freed American hiker, Sarah Shourd, is expected to speak in a few moments before she gets on a plane in imam headed back to the U.S. What you are looking at here is a gathering of reporters at the airport, a lounge there. This is a live look. We are expecting her to speak in just a short time. Of course, she was freed after being held in Iran for over a year. She is expected to come out, be introduced by a family member and make a short statement but not expected to take any questions just yet. We will keep a close eye on this. When that happens, we will bring that to you live. Well, the voting is over. The counting now needs to begin in Afghanistan's fourth national election. Afghans cast ballots for hundreds of parliamentary seats under the threat of attack by Taliban militants. I want to head now live to CNN's Ivan Watson; he's live for us in Kabul. Ivan, always good to have you. The Taliban said they wanted to keep people away with the threat of violence. Did that work?
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, we did see here in Kabul lines, long lines of women and men going to the polls to cast their ballots. I have to say, these people braved an earthquake that struck this city before dawn this morning 6.3 magnitude. They braved threats from the Taliban, a series of grenade and rocket attacks across the country and widespread allegations coming from some of the 2,500 plus candidates for parliament themselves that there was fraud at the polls. We did see a number of arguments breaking out at some of the polling stations here between people accusing each other of cheating, of using false documents to vote. More disturbingly, there were a number of security incidents, at least 160, according to the United Nations, across the country. At least 12 civilians killed in what Afghan officials say were Taliban-related clashes. I asked one candidate whether he thought this was a good day for democracy. Take a listen to what he had to say, T.J.
[Abdul Qader Zazai Watandost, Parliamentary Candidate:] Yes, it is a good day for democracy. But unfortunately, in Afghanistan, it is not a good democratic
[Watson:] And T.J., despite the fact that many Afghans admitted, yes, our elections are not perfect, many said they were going to go to the polls despite that to try to vote for people that they trust in hopes that maybe this country could get a little more peaceful and certainly a lot more prosperous
[T.j. Holmes:] Did you know that was going to be my follow-up. You kind of hit on there remind us all what's at stake in these elections.
[Watson:] Well, I mean this is a country that's faced 30 years of war. It is being supported by 150,000 international troops. The raging Taliban insurgency is worse now than ever since it was overthrown some nine years ago. The people here are voting for 249 parliament members in the Afghan parliament and for many of these people, the parliament members are their only real chance to reach out to the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. Many observers I talk to here say he and his government, their credibility is at an all-time low here in Afghanistan
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Ivan Watson for us in Kabul. Ivan always good to have you. Thank you so much. For the first time in nearly 100 years, Virginia may put a woman to death. We'll tell you about her crime and why her lawyers say she needs to be spared. It's 26 minutes past the hour.

[O'brien:] Don't you really want to know what men are thinking? Our next guests claim they can reveal the inner thoughts of a man's mind and help women and I guess, men, too, in their relationships. This book is from R&B; singer Tyrese Gibson and Reverend Run. It's called "Manology: The Secret Of A Man's Mind Revealed." It's nice to have you guys with us. You know, when I first saw the two of you on the cover of this book. This is interesting. How did you get together? You're so different in so many ways especially on the issue of women.
[Tyrese Gibson, Co-author, "manology":] Well, I'd like to say that we appear to be very different, but he's just in a different season in his life, and you know, he's after rap. He's, not everybody's going to
[Rev Run, Co-auther, "manology":] I'm the after rap, good one, Tyrese.
[Gibson:] But you're still rapping.
[Run:] I get that point. I know what you're trying to say.
[O'brien:] But you're a man of the cloth, you've got six kids, love your wife, the whole show you did was all about the devotion and dedication. Chapter one of the book is like a long list of women you have been with, Tyrese.
[Gibson:] Well, I believe in getting things out of your system before you finally settle down and land don't be laughing at me. I think before you could see the value in one, you must get things out of your system with whatever you feel like, whatever.
[O'brien:] All right, let's get to the advice section. What do you think is the biggest mistake that women make? If you would give one piece of advice to a woman who would like to be in a relationship with a man?
[Run:] Many women are trying to pull a man into their life before they have their own life. The self-love is what you need to have. Once you create the solve love then you can go out and find love. Many women get lonely or needy and I like to tell them that just because you're boyless doesn't mean you have to be joyless. Once you create that life it's attractive. That's how Beyonce got Jay-Z, he was like whoa, look at her. She was like being busy and being feminine when she was with Jay, the book of rules.
[O'brien:] Be someone who somebody else would want as opposed to being someone who is trying to grab someone in their clutches. You write a lot about
[Run:] The book is the same thing.
[O'brien:] You write a lot about people who over share, in trying to get a new man exercise extreme discipline in controlling the amount of information you give them.
[Gibson:] It may sound harsh but to the ladies, love you to death but when you first meet a man, shut up, stop spilling your guts, overexposing too much information about things you went through in the past.
[O'brien:] Why?
[Gibson:] Because I thought of you as A plus, and you going into the details about the dysfunction, the infidelity or love child or whatever your situation may be and this is our first dinner. You stayed with him for seven years and caught him cheating 12 times you've devalued yourself because you feel the need to over talk and I just met you. I thought of you as an A plus. Now you are D negative, too much information.
[O'brien:] The book is called "Manology." It has great advice for women who are looking to get a man in their life and good advice for men in understanding if they want a great woman what they could be doing.
[Gibson:] It's out there now, just came out yesterday, definitely want you all's support. Here's something I want you all to know. Me and Rev have been best friends and he's my mentor, changed my life literally. You can't be this close to a man that is doing it the right way and not be influenced to do it better. And we wrote the book because we had a problem with what women don't know, for the things that you do know, congratulations, but we want to be able to tell you what's around the corner before you get to and we worked really hard. And last thing, if you have a weak stomach and you're uncomfortable with knowing the truth, this might not be for you because I go all the way.
[Run:] Listen, everybody get the book. Please don't buy the book. Please don't buy the book. Come on, man. The only thing we got in common is we got the same barber.
[O'brien:] Time for a short break. As we get to our next hour, gentlemen, work with me here.
[Gibson:] Sorry, Soledad, I love you.
[O'brien:] Thank you. Appreciate it. Boy Scouts decision day, whether or not they'll continue with the ban on gay scouts and leaders or if it will be lifted. Jennifer Tyrell dismissed for being a lesbian as a cup scout leader. That's in the next hour.

[Blitzer:] A cold war icon is now weighing in on the situation in Libya as well. Lisa Sylvester is here. She's monitoring that and some of the other top stories in the SITUATION ROOM. Lisa, what's the latest?
[Lisa Sylvester, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi, Wolf. Well, start bending to the will of the people or they might run you out of the country. That is the message today from former soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev to Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. In Moscow, the Nobel Piece Prize winner called Gaddafi's violent reaction to the Libyan uprising ruthless. Gorbachev warned that people are trying to get people who are trying to get out of poverty have nothing to lose. An upcoming and unflattering tell-all book leaked over the weekend described Sarah Palin as the governor who hated her job and allegedly broke campaign election laws. "The Anchorage Daily News" says the manuscript was written by former Palin aide, Frank Bailey. The book alleges Palin violated campaign law by collaborating with the Republican Governor's Association on a political ad back in 2006. The former Alaskan governor isn't expected to respond. And it will be an intimate little gathering of more or less 1,000 family members and friends. Invitations are in the mail for the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton. Reportedly on the guest list, we have it here, soccer star, David Beckham and his wife, ex-Spice Girl, Victoria, the king of Bahrain, singer Elton John, and rapper, Kanye West. Reportedly not invited, President Obama and Aunt Sarah Ferguson who says that she has not received an invitation. The royal wedding will be held at Westminster Abbey, April 29th, and I haven't gotten that invitation. I'm guessing, Wolf, you haven't gotten the invitation, but you did get an invitation to the all-star game.
[Blitzer:] I was at the NBA All-Star Game. I was happy about that. I'm wondering if our own Piers Morgan has an I'm sure he's going to be invited to the wedding. I have no doubt about that. Let's see if he gets if he shares the actual invitation with all of our viewers. I'm looking forward to seeing the actual copy of the invi you have no doubt that Piers is going to be invited to the wedding, right?
[Sylvester:] You know, they have something like more than 1,000 people. I think I saw the number 1,800 people invited to this wedding. So, it's possible that he, you know, we'll have to watch and see if he tweets about it, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] You can follow him at @PiersMorgan, all one word or you can follow me @WolfBlitzerCNN, all one word as well. We'll see who gets that invitation. I'm not going I'm sure I'm not going to get one. I suspect he will. He probably has it already. Well, watch his show tonight to see if he shows the invitation to all of our viewers here on CNN. All right. Thanks very much, Lisa, for that. We're following on a very, very serious note the breaking news out of Libya right now and the unrest across the region. Muammar Gaddafi, will he fall? Is he on the brink right now? And will Iran be next? What could it all mean for the United States? Fouad Ajami, the Middle East scholar standing by. And four Americans seized by pirates. The U.S. navy is now on the trail.

[Whitfield:] And then there were eight, the elite eight in the NCAA tournament. Last night take a look at the game between the perennial power houses Ohio State and Kentucky. It came down to the last shot. Look at that one right there. Ohio State missing it and with it a shot at the national title. Kentucky won in an upset, 62- 60. The Buckeyes were ranked number one in the nation, were, past tense. Joining that select group is Kansas. The Jayhawks knocked the spiders out of the NCAA tournament. One of our producers is sad. Final is Kansas 77 and Richmond 57. They play the commonwealth for a chance to go to the final four. And from basketball, now let's talk politics. Conservative activists are converging on the capital of Iowa to hear from several Republicans who may run for president. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is speaking right now. Let's listen in.
[Rep. Michele Bachmann,  Minnesota:] It is at risk today. It is at risk today. What happens between now and November 6, 2012, especially here in Iowa, will forge the difference with what happens in 2012. Do you think you are up to it? I know you are up to it.
[Whitfield:] All right, Michele Bachmann there, and there are many others who will take to the microphones. Might they declare whether they will be in a run for the White House? We shall see. Our senior political editor Mark Preston is at the conservative principles conference in Des Moines. Mark, the other big names there is who, and why is this such a pivotal appearance to make?
[Mark Preston, Cnn Senior Political Editor:] Michele Bachmann really sounds like a presidential candidate there, doesn't she. She is really playing to her strengths. And these are hardcore conservatives, folks who will go out in January of 2012 or February of 2012 and appear at the caucuses. Michele Bachmann is speaking now. We also heard from Haley Barbour, and we heard from Newt Gingrich. We have Herman Cain, a businessman from Georgia, as well as John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Right now, we are hearing, Fred, the idea of ideals and social ideals and the economy and national security, three main themes that they are tying together. These are candidates that are hoping to appeal to the folks that have given up their Saturday in Des Moines to hear about politics.
[Whitfield:] Already, Mark, this is a giant horse race. There is a gigantic field of candidates. We are talking a year and a half before the 2012 presidential elections. At what point this year? This spring or this summer, will we hear these potential candidates say yes, I am in for sure.
[Preston:] We heard from a couple of them. Tim Pawlenty is all in. Newt Gingrich is all but in. He will make it official in the next couple of weeks. We are waiting to hear from Mitt Romney. When will he make that announcement? The big question, is Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, the 2008 vice presidential nominee, will she get in? And then Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, is still mulling a bid. So this time, back in 2007, Fred, the field was pretty much set. People were off to the races. Right now, they are going in slower. I have spoken to a lot of the voters here and they are frustrated. They want to see the candidates out here. They want to touch them and feel them. Iowa voters and New Hampshire voters, they are very much involved and play an important role in picking presidential nominees.
[Whitfield:] Maybe next time we talk, what is the logic behind waiting so late. There is a real reason. I cannot wait to talk to you more about that, why so many wait so late before they throw their hat in the ring. Mark Preston, thank you so much. And for the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com. All right, this is the place to be if you want to talk about with money. It is affecting homeowners across the country, talking about mortgages underwater, people who owe more on their home than it is actually worth. It means it is hard to make the mortgage payments and sell the homes. Joining us right now is financial planner Karen Lee. She is the author of "It's just money, so why does it cost so many problems?" Thank you for letting me get a preview of that one. Karen, let's talk about this. I thought and many thought we were out of the woods on the big foreclosure crisis, that we were on the mend and we were getting there in terms of the real estate market, getting a chance to rebound. No. So it is a problem still.
[Karen Lee, Financial Planner:] I think our economy is in a recovery, but the real estate market is facing more foreclosures. I think up to three million more is expected this year. It is a backlog.
[Whitfield:] What do you do? You find out I owe more than your home is worth. How do I save my home? How do I save my finances?
[Lee:] The first thing is assuming you are not having trouble making your payments, just make your payments. Your home is your shelter. One day, you will not be underwater, and one day, hopefully you will pay it off and you will live rent free. So as long as you are not having problems, stay in your home and keep making payments. But if you see trouble on the horizon, maybe you are worried you will get laid off or a slowdown in the business, look for a mortgage modification. You might call your lender and ask them if there is anything they can do.
[Whitfield:] Because they want you to stay in the home.
[Lee:] They do, Fred. Many people said they called a year ago they have not done anything. Try again.
[Whitfield:] What about for some homeowners who are saying maybe I should walk away?
[Lee:] First let's quickly talk about the short sale. That is an option. What you do, you try to find a willing buyer for your house. You go to your bank. Let's say you owe $150,000. You find a buyer for $130,000. You go to the lender and ask if they will accept this. If not they're going to foreclose. The one caveat there is the difference, that loan forgiveness goes away, but it will be taxable income to you next year. Talk with a tax person before you do that. Now let's talk about the people who are just walking away.
[Whitfield:] It sounds unbelievable. It seems so farfetched, but so many people are having dialogue about that. They say I can't make these payments. So I'm out.
[Lee:] Let's first talk about the people who are not yet in that situation. They are thinking my home is underwater. I bought it as an investment. I will walk. Think real hard before you do it. It will trash your credit for seven to ten years. And proliferate the problem of bringing the home prices around you lower.
[Whitfield:] People are thinking the immediate.
[Lee:] If you are drowning and there is no other choice, talk to a bankruptcy attorney. Get a consultation. If you are going to foreclose, you may want to consider bankruptcy as well.
[Whitfield:] Karen Lee, I hope we get to talk about something uplifting next time. Thank you so much, Karen.
[Lee:] Here is an escape for you. The Black-Eyed Peas are dedicating their latest video, "Just can't get enough" to the people of Japan. They were in Tokyo a week before the deadly earthquake and tsunami hit. Now they are asking fans to help in this "Impact your World."
[Unidentified Male:] I was blown away because we were just there. We were just with friends there in Japan walking around with our video on the streets of Tokyo. This was 1999, the first time we went. We fell in love with it.
[Unidentified Female:] Let's take care of the family members. This video is dedicated to Japan and all of the beauty and all of its beauty and all of its people.
[Whitfield:] So for more ways to help, CNN is launching a new high-tech way for smart phone users to take action immediately. Scan this image with your smart phone to load our web site. You will find links to charities to help disaster victims in Japan.

[Lemon:] Right now in Washington, the taping of the annual "Christmas in Washington" show is taking place. It airs Friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on our sister network, TNT. Friday, 8:00 p.m. eastern on TNT. Actor Matthew Morrison, star of "Glee," he is among the performers, and I spoke with him about the show. So, Matthew Morrison, every time I get a magazine, you're on the cover. I turn on one of the entertainment shows, you are there. It's just a sensation. I don't know if I can call it overnight, because you had a long career before this. What do you make of what's happened with you and being asked to perform at "Christmas in Washington"? Amazing.
[Matthew Morrison, Actor:] It's pretty amazing to be here. This is my second weekend in a row to be here. I performed at the Kennedy Center honors last weekend. Whenever the president calls you to come and sing, it's like, yes, I'll pack my bags and get on a plane and hope out here. Because I'd do anything for the Obamas. It's a great family we have in the White House.
[Lemon:] I was talking to you before we started rolling tape. And you said you were on two-hours sleep. Annie Lenox sang for me. You said don't ask me to do it. I had two hours of sleep.
[Morrison:] Yes. And yesterday actually, I filmed all day and then did Leno at night and took the red eye here. I got two hours of sleep this morning in the hotel, and don't I look great?
[Lemon:] What are you going to perform? Do you know?
[Morrison:] Yes, I'm going to be I decided to use one of my talents playing the ukulele, and parlay it into something special. I don't know when the next time we're going to have a president from Hawaii in office.
[Lemon:] Who are you, Don Ho? I mean, come on.
[Morrison:] I am Don Ho, come back to life.
[Lemon:] Listen, let's talk
[Morrison:] And I'm also singing
[Lemon:] Go ahead. I'm sorry.
[Morrison:] I'm also singing "Oh Holy Night."
[Lemon:] Oh, well. Very nice. Again, you won't sing for us, I know, because you said you had two-hours sleep. Talk to me though.
[Morrison:] Thank you.
[Lemon:] We hit on it a little bit before, earlier in the interview, but this "Glee," this sort of just behemoth, just mega hit, are you floored by the success of this show?
[Morrison:] Absolutely. You know, when we started this show, when we did the pilot, we all felt like we were a part of something special, but I don't think any of us ever expected it to reach these kinds of heights. I thought it was big in the United States, but I recently traveled to the U.K and Australia and it's like the biggest thing. It's like the Beatles over there. I'm blown away by the success of it. But at the same time, I get it. It's such a fresh show that really is doing new things that haven't been seen on television before. And you know, I think music is the universal language that we all speak. And I think people are just really loving it on many different levels.
[Lemon:] I'm sure you're going to be counting your blessings this Christmas for the success of "Glee." What else will you be thinking about for the holiday season and thanking Santa Claus or God or whomever for?
[Morrison:] I will be thankful for my friends, my health, and hopefully for my Steelers doing well.
[Lemon:] You're a Steelers fan?
[Morrison:] I'm getting looks from people. I don't know. Another Steelers fan here. Sorry.
[Lemon:] Matthew Morrison, we look forward to your performance. And you're such a good sport. Thank you for coming on. Good luck and merry Christmas.
[Morrison:] Thank you so much.
[Lemon:] Actor Matthew Morrison and a host of other celebrities, including singer and activist, Annie Lenox, appear in "Christmas in Washington," Friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on TNT. And you'll hear from Annie Lenox. She sings Christmas carols to me next on CNN.

[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon. Let's start with your headlines at this hour. A nightclub suddenly catches fire in Brazil and a staggering number of people are dead tonight. This is a club in daytime. Witnesses say it was packed with people during a pyrotechnics show and at least 233 people died when they couldn't get out. Stay right there, CNN crew is on the scene, a full report in just a minute. Attention credit card shoppers. A brand new credit card fee kicked in on Sunday, stores in 40 states can now charge you a checkout fee worth up to three percent of your total purchase. This stems from a legal settlement that allows stores to pass along processing fees charged by credit card companies, many retailers strongly oppose a credit card fee, you can avoid the fee using your debit it card instead or paying cash. Chuck Hagel got the nod today to be the next secretary of defense. Retired army general Stanley McChrystal and former CIA director and retired air force General Michael Hayden. Both say Hagel is a fine choice. Hagel earned two purple hearts in the Vietnam War. His confirmation hearing is set to begin Thursday. Japan has launched two surveillance satellites to help keep an eye on North Korea. Defense officials are threatening to carry out a nuclear test and more long range rocket launches. The U.S. Security Council expanded sanctions against North Korea this week and condemned the country for last month's launch. It is a sickening number, 233 people killed in a nightclub fire in southeast Brazil. Some burned to death, some were trampled, some overcome by smoke. It happened when the jam packed nightclub suddenly caught fire and many of these victims didn't stand a chance. On the scene right now, where rescuers are still picking through the burned rubble, is CNN's Shasta Darlington.
[Shasta Darlington, Cnn International Correspondent:] Smoke filled the air when the first firefighters entered the nightclub where shirtless men were already trying to rescue some of the injured. Emergency vehicles arrived not realizing the extent of the tragedy they faced. Chaos and terror among survivors and the bodies of victims all around. The fire broke out at about 2:00 in the morning at a nightclub called Kiss in Santa Maria in Brazil's southernmost state. The club was packed with some 2,000 people, twice its legal capacity according to officials.
[Guido De Melo, State Fire Official:] People who were inside the facility, informed us that when they came out, that security guards blocked the exit to prevent people from leaving, and that's when the crowd started panicking, and the tragedy grew worse.
[Darlington:] People inside told us when they came out, security guards blocked exits to prevent people from leaving, he says. That's when the crowds started panicking. This is Santa Maria's local gymnasium. But, it's been turned into a makeshift morgue. There are more than 100 bodies here, hundreds of families have come together trying to locate and identify the relatives who were, of course, young people in their late teens, early 20s, they died of asphyxiation and some of them were trampled to death. As the confidence for the many victims were lined up, investigators searched for the cause of the fire, which tore through the sound proofing insulation in the roof. Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff cut short her appearance at a summit in Chile and headed to Santa Maria to personally oversee the government's response to the tragedy.
[Dilma Rousseff, President Of Brazil:] To the Brazilian people, and the people of Santa Maria, we stand together at this time. And that even though there's a lot of sadness we will pull through.
[Darlington:] By daylight, hospitals in Santa Maria were full of people looking for relatives among the survivors.
[Unidentified Female:] There are a lot of people scattered around the hospital's different departments as well as in the intensive care units who have not been identified yet. It isn't a big number, that the people waiting outside for news are desperate.
[Darlington:] It was the end of the summer holiday season in Brazil, the last chance to party for many young people due back at school or work on Monday. Shasta Darlington, CNN. Santa Maria, Brazil.
[Lemon:] You may remember, we had a similar tragedy here in the U.S. A fire started at an overcrowded nightclub in Rhode Island and 100 died. And if you can believe it, that was 10 years ago. Our Susan Candiotti has been looking back at some of that awful nightclub fires in recent American history.
[Susan Candiotti, Cnn National Correspondent:] In 2003, 100 people died at the station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, where the band Great White was performing. Pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing material. Smoke filled the room. In 1990, arson was the cause of the Happy Land fire in New York. It killed 87 people. Authorities said the Bronx Club was operating illegally. Two years after it was ordered closed because of safety violations. In 1977, fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, killed 165 people. Among 2,400 waiting for entertainer John Davidson to perform, which believed to be an electrical fire went undetected at first. There were no fire detectors or sprinklers. At the time, they weren't required. The deadliest nightclub blaze happened in 1942 at the Cocoanut Grove club in Boston. Four hundred ninety two people were killed. The cause of the blaze, to this day, remains unknown.
[Lemon:] CNN's Susan Candiotti reporting tonight. Very cold weather is expected this week in the United States. We will head to the middle of the country for that. And then, across the world, this desperate attempt to rescue two women and a baby trapped in dangerous floodwaters. That's up next.

[Yellin:] A group of U.S. military veterans is now taking the Pentagon to task for allegedly ignoring what the veterans say were incidents of sexual assaults that occurred during their service. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is here with the details. Barbara, a remarkable story.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Jessica, the accounts are very disturbing. And, equally disturbing, the allegations that the Pentagon knew and did nothing about it.
[Starr:] For these veterans, it's now a search for justice. In a 42-page lawsuit filled with graphic sexual detail, 15 women and two men spell out alleged assaults and rapes by those they served with. Myla Haider says she was raped while serving in Korea with the army's Criminal Investigation Division, the very unit charged with investigating rapes and assaults.
[Myla Haider, Plaintiff:] The people who commit these offenses are sexual predators who are very good at selecting their victims and tend to offend again and again, and that is a fact that is not recognized within the DOD system.
[Starr:] The lawsuit against Defense Secretary Robert Gates and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld alleges the Pentagon failed to prevent the attacks, prosecute offenders and provide an adequate justice system. Sarah Albertson says that while in the Marine Corps she was raped and then made to work alongside her attacker. She acknowledges drinking the night of the assault, but says the military failed her.
[Sarah Albertson, Plaintiff:] Nobody wants to say that there's been a rape in their command. It just looks bad on paper. I know from my case, even I'm not trying to get into specifics, but people who did believe me and who had my back and were supportive of me were still telling me don't tell anybody about this. Don't go to the public.
[Starr:] Some of the women reported their attackers broke into their rooms. One says she was assaulted in a bathroom. Anu Bhagwati is consulting on the lawsuit.
[Anu Bhagwati, Executive Director, Service Women's Action Network:] The DOD has had decades to prove you know, to fix the system, and they've proven that they can't. They haven't done anything to change it so far. That culture of intimidation prevails.
[Starr:] Last year, more than 2,400 military women openly reported sexual assault. Commanders were notified, investigations began. That's a four percent decline from the previous year, but there were nearly 900 additional assault reports filed confidentially by women so traumatized they want their identities kept secret, an increase of five percent. The Pentagon wouldn't comment on the lawsuit. Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told CNN the department is doing all it can, adding, quote, "This is now a command priority, but we clearly still have more work to do." And there are two men who are also party to this lawsuit. They say they were sexually, viciously assaulted while they were on duty. They detailed those incidents, and commanders who they say failed to respond to them Jessica.
[Yellin:] And Barbara, bottom line, they're doing this outside the military chain of command because they're veterans now?
[Starr:] Well, right. Except for one person involved in all of this, they are all outside of the U.S. Military. But even inside the U.S. Military, I can tell you that there are people who say this still goes on, still a problem
[Yellin:] And the claim isn't
[Starr:] Jessica.
[Yellin:] And the claim is not just that they're assaulted but that the military does nothing about it?
[Starr:] That the military fails on on a unit level, on a commander level and at the Pentagon to really address these issues.
[Yellin:] Thanks so much, Barbara. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. President Obama says it is time to have an adult conversation in Washington, but are both sides is either side ready to be a grownup? Plus, Wal-Mart employees fired for disarming an alleged gunman? Ahead, the surprising outcome of a heroic act.

[Ashleigh Banfield, Cnn Anchor:] A very good morning to you, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] I'm Zoraida Sambolin. We are bringing you the news from A to Z. It's 6:00 a.m. in the east. So let's get started here.
[Banfield:] It is final few days before the big showdown in Florida and the fireworks were on last night at the debate. CNN debate things got real heated. It is a very tight race. So which one of these four scored the knockout. We'll tell you.
[Sambolin:] There is new outrage in Mississippi. The governor files for 10 pardoned criminals including the four murderers in there. Well, they have gone suddenly missing. How convenient, strange, or accidental? Not sure which.
[Banfield:] Or all of the above. And talk about being a top banana, John Goodman running the hot streak everybody.
[Sambolin:] A kumquat.
[Banfield:] A top kumquat. You know, it's just Friday. It's the Friday word of the day, what do you know? He's in two movies that are nominated for best picture. How would you like to be in two movies nominated best picture? He's going to stop by and talk to us about that.
[Sambolin:] He's actually in London. Here's a video that you've got to see. A snowmobiler falls 120 feet at the ice games. We're showing it to you so you know that he's OK. Wait until you hear what he did right after that crash. EARLY START starts right now.
[Banfield:] I still can't breathe because it looks like he lands right on his head. Spoiler alert, he's OK otherwise we wouldn't be having this much fun. All right, so up first, the GOP debate last night. How much fun can you have watching TV, folks? If you're watching that a lot, the fighting started from the get go. Everything from immigration, Mexican border, moon colonies. It was CNN's big Florida debate last night. It's just four days to go before until they go to the polls and actually vote in that primary. And you know what? These two are in dead even heat. So, right of the bat, they went at each other. Romney responding to Gingrich's claim that he is the most anti-immigration candidate.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] I'm not anti-immigrant. My father was born in Mexico. My wife's father was born in Wales. They came to this country. The idea that I'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. Don't use a term like that. You can say we disagree on certain policies. But to say that enforcing the U.S. law to protect our borders, to welcome people here legally, to expand legal immigration as I approve that that is somehow anti-immigrant is simply the kind of over the top rhetoric that is characterized American politics too long. I'm glad that Marco Rubio called you out on it. I'm glad you withdrew it. I think you should apologize for it and I think recognize that having differences of opinions on issues does not justify labelling people with highly charged epitaphs.
[Sambolin:] So live in Jacksonville, CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser. That was pretty rapid fire and you wrote to me, Romney had game.
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Political Editor:] Yes, Romney definitely brought his game last night. Listen, Zoraida, he had a good debate on Monday, but this I think was maybe his strongest debate of all 19 maybe. I don't know that's that far to reach there. And you know that? In the spin room afterwards, of course they're going to say great things about their candidate, but the Romney camp, the top advisers were really, really happy. Here's an interesting moment. Wolf Blitzer, the moderator, our Wolf Blitzer, you know, "THE SITUATION ROOM." You've seen that show. Romney was able to respond pretty quickly. Yes, it was about this ad that during the immigration debate Romney didn't know anything about. It was a Romney ad in which the Romney campaign calls Gingrich uses Gingrich language as calling maybe Spanish a ghetto language. Take a listen how it played out. Romney really responded well.
[Wolf Blitzer, Host, Cnn's "the Situation Room":] We just double- checked. It was one of your ads. It's running here in Florida, on the radio and at the end you say I'm Mitt Romney and I approve this ad, so it is here.
[Romney:] Let me ask you a question. Let me let me ask the speaker a question. Did you say what the ad says or not, I don't know?
[Gingrich:] It's taken totally out of context.
[Romney:] He said it.
[Gingrich:] No, I did not say it about Spanish. I said in general about all languages we are better for children to learn English in general, period.
[Steinhauser:] You know that could have been a tough moment for Romney, but he was able to turn the tables. Zoraida, you know, listen, Latinos, Hispanics so crucial here in Florida. About one out of every 10 Republican voters are Latinos and Hispanics. If it's a close contest, they could be the determining factor.
[Sambolin:] You know, we talk about immigration a lot and whether or not that's really important issue. It's number six on the agenda for Latinos according to the Pew Hispanic Research. But when you talk about the language and the language you speak at home, that maybe a bigger issue so we'll see how that plays out. We appreciate you having you there. Thank you so much. At 7:00 a.m. Eastern, on "STARTING POINT" with Soledad O'Brien, Republican Congressman David Rivera, the only Latino member of Congress in Florida who is endorsing Newt Gingrich. Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lihtinen of Florida, foreign policy adviser to the Romney presidential campaign will join Soledad. Join Wolf, Erin, Anderson, Candy and John for live coverage of the Florida primary Tuesday night at 6:00 Eastern right here on
[Cnn. Banfield:] We're keeping a pretty close eye on this story out of Mississippi, the developments here now with those convicted killers who were pardoned by that state's Governor Haley Barbour on his way out of office. Well, he may be out of office, but he may have still some more explaining to do about what is going on. The files on these four killers and a couple other ex-cons just happen to be missing now. The state attorney general says they were supposed to be turned over by the governor's office, but they're not. Of course, this is an issue because the state A.G. wants to take this whole issue to task and maybe reverse all these decisions. Our CNN's Ed Lavandera is on the phone now from Tupelo, Mississippi. All right, Ed, how important are these files to start with, and then I'll get you to weigh in on where the heck they are?
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Right, what I think the state attorney general's office was hoping for is that there some sort of explanation or a smoking gun in there that might explain how these pardons came to be. There are 10 files out of 203 files that they say were missing, weren't turned over when they were subpoenaed by the AG's office. The governor's office had filed in a brief in court we read the explanation was that these files included four of the murderers' files that these guys were the ones we've been focusing so much on, worked as trustees on the governor's mansion grounds. The governor's office said, look, they weren't necessarily filed. There weren't any pardoned files that we kept on these guys and to quote the court filings, they were living files. These were people that they saw up close every day for a year and that spoke much more clearly and loudly than any pardon files.
[Banfield:] Let me go back and for the on that, Ed. They may go back and forth on whether there were or not files that existed on these pardons and on their behavior. What could be in those files that could make a difference because the AG says he wants to fight these pardons, take it to court, may be find a loophole that they announced that they were being pardoned in the newspaper? Can't you just go ahead in that case without these files?
[Lavandera:] I think that's exactly watts going to end up happening here. This is all pointing towards next week when everyone ends up back to court in front of the judge who will decide whether or not these pardons will stand. Everyone here fully expects and all this will eventually, regardless of which way the judge rules. All of this will somehow end up before the Supreme Court here in the state of Mississippi. I think people here anticipating regardless of what's in his files, it's going to take several more weeks to resolve.
[Banfield:] So listen, normally these files contain things like letters of support. Things that would help parole officers decide on paroles or perhaps even pardons. Back-up documents to tell us what kind of guy this is that we're about to let go. Is there some suggestion other than from the AG who is a Democratic, Haley Barbour is a Republican and they not get on. Is there any suggestion that these files are missing because there might have been something might be in them to suggest that these people who were let go should never have been let go?
[Lavandera:] Exactly, some information that perhaps Haley Barbour went against the recommendations of the parole board. If there were files that said, look, under no circumstances should these guys have been pardoned. Obviously that would be and Haley Barbour had the right or the prerogative to do that if he wanted to. As former governor, the pardon power gives the governor the ability to do, but it would definitely be one of those situations that would leave even more people scratching their heads. If Haley Barbour was told in these file or somewhere along the line, don't pardon these guys no matter what you do, be aware of that and Haley Barbour went against that, yes, that would be one of those situation where's people would look at it and continue to scratch their heads even more as to why he reached this decision.
[Banfield:] Or, Ed, could be one of those legacy breakers. Who is to say. Ed Lavandera, great work. Thanks very much for that from Mississippi. See you.
[Sambolin:] It's 6:09 in the east. Still to come, Poppy Harlow talks to AOL CEO, Tim Armstrong. She is live at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
[Banfield:] Make no mistake. It's no vacation for her.
[Sambolin:] Maybe she got a little skiing in, maybe.
[Banfield:] It may be beautiful, but she's hard at work breaking news for us. And you know who else is breaking news for us is our friend, Soledad O'Brien. She's talking to Mark Kelly, the husband of Gabrielle Giffords about Gabrielle's recovery and the possible return down the road to public service.
[Sambolin:] But first, rob has the quick check of today's travel forecast. Hi, Rob.
[Rob Marciano, Ams Meteorologist:] Good morning, guys. The severe weather from yesterday is rolling into Florida. No severe right now, but could be later on today. Some of the rains stretching into Tampa, Fort Myers maybe getting to the space coast as well and this is stretching up across the east coast into the northeast where some of it is turning into the wintry precip. Northern New England could see a few inches of wet snow with some ice up there especially near the Canadian border, four to eight inches in parts. There's your storm number one getting out of here. Major cities stay warm. Next system coming into Chicago. This one will have snow with it. It will bring some cold air for a couple of days until we warm up yet again. Speaking of warm or at least windy, temperatures are going to be a little bit warmer than normal. But the winds are going to be kicking up across Southern California. Santa Anas the next several days. That's a quick check on weather. EARLY START is coming right back.

[Phillips:] Let's check some stories making news later today, shall we? 1:50 eastern, the president is going to make his pitch for the jobs plan in Pittsburgh after meeting with union leaders in less than one hour later. First lady, Michelle Obama, launching a record-breaking promotion for fitness. Get this, more than 20,000 people performing jumping jacks for one minute each in order to set a 24-hour record. And tonight, eight eastern, eight Republican candidates will take part in the latest presidential debate. It will be the first one focus right on the economy. All right. The Tea Party patriots have a few words for the "Occupy Wall Street" protestors. Mark Preston, do tell.
[Mark Preston, Cnn Senior Political Editor:] Hey, Kyra, good morning. Yes. You know, the Tea Party is trying to distance themselves from the Occupy Wall Street movement that we've seen really come into full force in last week or so. The Tea Party patriots put on a very sharp statement this morning saying that the Tea Party is all about less government while Occupy Wall Street is all about more government. In fact, let's take a quick look as you see that statement up on there. Let me just summarize it very quickly. Tea Party patriots note that they can find no reports of tea parties ever being arrested. Just to say that the Tea Party folks are not lawbreakers. They don't hate police. They don't even litter. So, the quick points at the TV reveals that sharp contrast post by the Wall Street occupiers. What we're seeing here, Kyra, is obviously two movements from the opposite ends of the political spectrum who are fighting for some relevancy right now as we head into the 2012 election Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. And Mark, the big GOP debate tonight in New Hampshire, and usually, what they're saying beware of the polls.
[Preston:] Yes. No doubt. And this is actually a very timely editorial. As you said, there'll be a debate up there tonight where the candidates will take stage. We'll talk about the economy, but the influential newspaper, the New Hampshire union leader is saying, you know what, we've seen all these polls that have come out over the past couple months and they show that Mitt Romney is in the lead. Fact of the matter is, we haven't seen any votes cast up there yet, and they're going to some historical perspective, and they note that these polls are not always indicative of what we're going to see happen on Election Day. So, New Hampshire union leader is saying to the national media folks like ourselves, don't always buy into the polls. New Hampshire voters have actually got to take a vote Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right. Mark, thanks. Well, your next political update is just about an hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can always go to our website, CNNPolitics.com. That does it for us. We'll be back here bright and early, 9:00 a.m. eastern time. Suzanne Malveaux
[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] You're ending a minute early, Kyra.
[Phillips:] Do you want to chit-chat for 60 seconds? I don't know. We don't want people to switch the channel.
[Malveaux:] No. All right. Thank, Kyra.
[Phillips:] You bet.

[Anderson:] You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. some of the other stories that we are following for you this hour. And the Taliban are claiming responsibility for what is another high profile assassination in Southern Afghanistan. A suicide bombing killed Kandahar's mayor, a close ally of President Hamid Karzai. Now, the president's brother was assassinated, you may remember, in Kandahar just two weeks ago. And authorities say a man approached Mayor Ghulam Haidar Hamidi at a city hall meeting then set up explosives in his turban earlier. The new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan says he is not convinced the Taliban are responsible, although he did add this.
[Ryan Crocker, U.s. Ambassador To Afghanistan:] I would judge that the Taliban is now damaged to the point where they can no longer conduct large scale operations. They have had to kind of regroup and figure out what they can do and and in some cases, that has been assassination.
[Anderson:] Well, the New York maid who accuses former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her has met with prosecutors. The meeting at the Manhattan district attorney's office was expected to focus on whether the case will go ahead and the doubts over Nafissatou Diallo's credibility. Earlier this week, she gave interviews to "Newsweek" magazine and to the television network, ABC. Strauss-Kahn has denied seven charges of attempted rape and sexual assault. Well, at least 39 people are dead across South Korea as the country gets pounded by heavy rains that are causing mudslides. Rising water levels have cut off many parts of the country. From there, Paula Hancocks reports.
[Paula Hancocks, Cnn International Correspondent:] The death toll has been steady rising here in South Korea as torrential rain continues to pummel the peninsula. Now, this is the rainy season. We're used to rain here, but not to this extent. This is the Han River, which cuts through the middle of Seoul. And usually you'd have the banks up to about 150 meters until you come to the water. And cars have been stranded. Homes have been flooded. As you can see, the Han River is flooding pretty significantly. And over the past 24 hours alone, there's been 400 millimeters, or 15.3 inches of rain, just in Seoul alone. Also, there have been a number of deadly landslides that have been triggered by this heavy rain. There was a deadly landslide near the city of Chuncheon, just two hours east of Seoul. And it's claimed the lives of more than a dozen people. Many of them are college students who were doing volunteer work in the area. They were staying a local inn when the landslide caused the roof to collapse. The local media is referring to this weather as "water bombs," showing that the sheer volume of torrential rain isn't usual. And it's not over yet. The Korean Meteorological Agency has issued a special heavy rainfall alert in the center of the country. One official tells CNN that three quarters of the rain that has fallen during this rainy season has fallen in just the last 24 hours. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
[Anderson:] Well, doctors gave the Lockerbie bomber about three months to live, so Scotland let him go in 2009. Well, two years later, Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi appeared on Libyan television at a rally to support Moammar Gadhafi. The man responsible for 270 deaths is in a wheelchair and does look frail. Britain's foreign secretary says the appearance proves the release was a big mistake. So, Colonel Gadhafi has the support of the Lockerbie bomber, but the British government is recognizing the rebels today. We'll be live in Tripoli in about 20 minutes time for you. Up next, we'll be, though, live in Trafalgar Square, where London is celebrating with just a year to go until the opening of the 2012 Olympic Games. Stay with us for that.

[Bolduan:] It is not just the battle for the White House that has turned into the war of presidential campaign ads. The other day it was Romney-Hood and Obama-loney, and then an attack over welfare for Obama, and Romney for his time at Bain. And the rhetoric and finger pointing is everywhere on the airwaves and online. Watch this latest spot from a conservative group unaffiliated with the Romney group in Nevada that targets the Latino vote.
[Ad Announcer:] Don't be fooled by President Obama's words. He is not committed to the immigrants. Obama has deported more people than any other president in this country's history.
[Bolduan:] Some pretty tough stuff. So let's bring in Rafael Romo who has been digging into the ad. Rafael, this ad really goes after President Obama raising doubts about the stance on immigration. And give us a fact-check, true or false? Has President Obama deported more people than ever before?
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Senior Latin American Correspondent:] It is actually true, Kate. We took at look as some numbers by the Department of Homeland security, and, yes, it is in fact true. If you look at the numbers for the deportations for the last three years, you will see that the president's administration has deported shy of 400,000 people every year. And if you go back to 2007, the last year of the Bush administration, there was about 80,000 less deportations under the last year of Bush as compared to the first year of Obama. But it is true. However, the administration will tell you that what they have done is focused on criminals, and focused on felons and really expelling from the country, the undesirable characters Kate?
[Bolduan:] And so, when it comes down to it, we know that President Obama supports the dream, act which is a big issue and has been in the headlines, and also has made that announcement, and kind of changing the immigration policies slightly and allowing the preferred deportation for many young immigrants and how does the Romney campaign then respond to that and what are they doing or saying that they are doing to give the Hispanic voters confidence that a Romney administration would do better?
[Romo:] Well, that is one of the attacks that appeared in the ad. The reason that President Obama preferred deportations for young people here in the country undocumented is because he is desperate for votes, but when the president addressed the issue at the national association of Latino elected officials conference in June, he said that if Romney were the president, he wouldn't even do something like that. He, in fact, would block any attempt to help these young people. Let's hear what the president had to say back then.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] In a speech he said that he makes a promise to you that he will keep it. Well, he has promised to veto the Dream Act. And we should take him at his word.
[Romo:] Now, the other aspect is that candidate Romney has also surrounded himself with people, like the architect of the immigration laws, the laws cracking down on immigration, Kris Kobach, from Kansas, and laws like in Arizona and Alabama, and a lot of people in the Hispanic community, many immigrants really resent that Kate?
[Bolduan:] Well, Rafael, something that we need to continue to track in the last three months of the race. Thank you, Rafael Romo. Hispanic voters, if you need to be reminded, will be an important factor throughout the presidential race, but also an important factor in swing states like Colorado, New Mexico, Florida and Nevada, where this particular ad is airing.

[Anderson:] You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. I'm Becky Anderson in London for you. Now, as his country bleeds, Yemen's president may be coming to the end of his 33 year rule. Two Yemeni officials tell CNN that the U.S. is now helping to mediate a transition for Ali Abdullah Saleh. We're going to have the full details on that in just a moment. Well, it comes as protesters who want to be rid of Saleh's regime clashed with security forces on Monday in several Yemen cities. Medical sources say at least 14 people have been killed and hundreds have been injured. Witnesses say 90,000 demonstrators took to the streets. Well, I'm joined right now by CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom at CNN in Abu Dhabi. I know you've spent much of the last three months in and out of Yemen. You know the story on the ground as well as anybody else. The picture, it seems, is very volatile still.
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, that's right, Becky. Another bloody, grizzly day in Yemen today. Eyewitnesses, activities, protesters and medics telling us that in Taiz, where there have been protests the last several weeks, that today at least 15 people killed, hundreds injured. Yesterday, there were at least three killed, hundreds injured, as well. Also in the city of Hudaida, protests anti-government protests today. Eyewitnesses and medics on the scene say that snipers dressed in civilian clothing fired on crowds of protesters, killing them, that there were tens of people wounded in the street waiting for emergency care. Meanwhile, in Sanaa, where, also, anti-government protesters were out in the tens of thousands, later in the day, tens of thousands of them, we're told, were marching toward the Republican Palace to show their defiance toward President Ali Abdullah Saleh and to show their solidarity with all those killed in Taiz and Hudaida yesterday and today. The situation really worsening there, not just because the anti-government protests and protesters keep growing and that that movement has really gained momentum in the last several weeks. Also because military commanders that used to be close to Saleh have defected from his ranks. They have put their troops in the streets there to defend the anti- government demonstrators whom they're trying to protect. There are rival factions of the military in different parts of Yemen. And the worry now by Yemeni officials is that if something sparks, some kind of confrontation between these different military units, that they could spark an all-out civil war in that country Becky.
[Anderson:] Mohammed, thank you for that. One of the longest running, perhaps more surprising revolts across the region. World affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is standing by in Washington with more now on what CNN has learned about a possible transition for Yemen's president Jill, a man once much courted by U.S. authorities. Why the change?
[Jill Dougherty, Cnn Foreign Affairs Correspondent:] Well, the problem is right now, what you're seeing on the streets, Becky, you know, the demonstrators, the what they are pushing for right now. And the U.S. knows, of course, that President Saleh has said he will step down by the end of the year, after constitutional reform and after elections. But the opposition is saying he has to step down right now. So the U.S. is now in the middle, trying to mediate, bring both sides together. They're talking, certainly, to both sides. And a senior administration official saying today that they are trying to get President Saleh to move more quickly to answer the demands of the opposition. Now in public, they're being a lot more circumspect. Here's what they said at the State Department today.
[Mark Toner, U.s. State Department Spokesman:] There's a gap between what President Saleh said and what the people have have asked for and certainly in our discussions, both in both with the government and with the opposition, that, you know, we're helping or we're talking about bridging that gap. Again, our goal here is to see a peaceful solution to the to the violence and to the crisis, one that meets the realizes the Yemeni people's aspirations that that need to be addressed.
[Dougherty:] And some of the concerns are, of course, that right now, they want to stabilize the situation, not have it get worse, Becky. And also remember that President Saleh has been a loyal ally of the United States in the fight against terror. In fact, specifically against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, that version in Yemen. And at the White House today, they warned that al Qaeda is trying, potentially, to take advantage of this situation.
[Anderson:] A fascinating developing story. You'll get it here on CNN as we learn how things change. Jill, thank you for that. Well, the world also watching Syria, of course. A human rights lawyer says that Damascus is playing a game with activists. Attorney Razan Zeitouneh gave CNN a list, showing us some activities have been freed, while hundreds of others have been arrested. She says it's a back and forth bid to placate anti-government protesters and to crush dissent at the same time. And elsewhere, Iran getting involved. Tehran pushing regional rival, Saudi Arabia, to get its troops out of Bahrain. You're up to date on the region. When we come back, the rush to stop a leak Japan's nuclear crisis takes another turn, with what authorities call an unavoidable action. We'll tell you more about this desperate move after this.

[Malveaux:] You've got love this kid. He's the world's newest multi- millionaire. His name is Nick D'Aloisio. He just sold his Smartphone app to Yahoo! He's still in high school. Zain Asher is joining us New York. He built an app that makes it easier to study. He might not have to study again.
[Zain Asher, Cnn Correspondent:] I know. I know.
[Nick D'aloisio, Sold App For Millions:] I was fortunate to have had a few conversations with Marissa. The thing that excites me and the reason I want to join Yahoo!, there's such scale and opportunity there. Yahoo! has hundreds of millions of people visiting content every month. For a technology like ours or any others, it's a big platform to leverage. With the focus on mobile and beautiful design, I think there's a ton of consumers who are going to love these products.
[Asher:] Very mature for his age. He's on a first-name basis with Marissa Mayer. I'm sure his life is about to change Suzanne?
[Malveaux:] Is it true they paid him $30 million for the app? Really?
[Asher:] Reportedly, yes, a lot of money. You've got to look at it in context, right. Yahoo! has been losing market share to Google. They want to increase their relevance in the mobile world. Mobile is the key to Yahoo!'s lagging fortunes up. One analyst in the "Wall Street Journal" says, it was $30 million, a huge amount, he doesn't think that Yahoo! paid too much and that this is clearly a strategic purchase for them. The app had been downloaded, by the way, one million times before Yahoo!'s deal with the teenage. Plus it has deals with over 250 online publishers. Let's hope it pays off Suzanne?
[Malveaux:] Zain, you and I have got to come up with an app.
[Asher:] I know. I know. I have to think of something.
[Malveaux:] We have to think of something. All right. Work on that.
[Unc Student:] She told me rape is like football. And if you look back on the game, what would you have done differently in that situation?
[Malveaux:] An investigation is now under way into how the university handled that and other sexual assault cases. Our David Mattingly talked to the chancellor to get his side of the story.

[Blitzer:] Lisa Sylvester is monitoring some of the other stories in the SITUATION ROOM right now. Lisa, President Obama telling Iran, give the U.S. back that drone.
[Sylvester:] That's right, Wolf. President Obama actually confirmed that the Iranians do have the drone that went down on Iran's side of the boarder. Iran's state news agency is showing video of what it says is the American drone and saying experts in the country are planning to copy its technology using reverse engineering. Secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, also commented on the drone today saying, she does not expect the Iranians to give the equipment back. Home improvement retailer, Lowe's, is being hammered by critics after it pulls spots from TLC's all-American Muslim show. The company said after getting strong feedback, it decided to pull advertising saying the program had become a lightning rod. A California state senator has asked Lowes to apologize and reinstate those ads. Services were held this afternoon for the Virginia Tech police officer shot and killed on campus last week. Officer Derek Crouse was an army veteran and married, father of five. Family, friends, students, and Virginia governor, Bob McDonnell, attended the service along with a large contingent of local officers. And check out this new video. An Ohio prosecutor will consider filing criminal charges after an on-court brawl between Xavier and the University of Cincinnati basketball player. Look at this video. The fight began in the final minutes of Saturday night's game. Each school suspended four athletes over this incident. Brawl is definitely the word to describe that. Geez.
[Blitzer:] Not a good thing at all.
[Sylvester:] Yes, not good.
[Blitzer:] Not good for the universities, not good for the players, not good for the fans.
[Sylvester:] Just shouldn't happen, Wolf. Shouldn't happen.
[Blitzer:] Thanks very much. Republican, Newt Gingrich, claims that Palestinians are, quote, "an invented people." We're going to discuss the backlash for his campaign and for his foreign policy if he's elected president. And find out who would even consider building towers that look like the ones destroyed on 911.

[Whitfield:] All right, top stories are straight ahead, including fuel prices fueling outrage. We'll take you to Nigeria, where high gas prices are sparking protests there. Joran van der Sloot wants more time to think about how he'll plead in his murder trial. Van der Sloot is charged with killing 21-year-old Stephany Flores in Lima, Peru nearly two years ago, but you also know him from the Natalee Holloway case. He was considered the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of the Alabama teen but was never charged in that case. So at his trial in Peru yesterday, he asked for more time to reflect.
[Unidentified Female:] So you do not plead or you don't deem yourself guilty according to what the prosecution has stated?
[Van Der Sloot:] Do do I have time to think this further?
[Whitfield:] So I want to bring in Jean Casarez from "In Session" on our sister network, truTV, who interviewed van der Sloot's lawyer. And so Jean, you know, earlier yesterday there were reports that van der Sloot planned to plead guilty to all the charges. So now he's reconsidering. Why?
[Jean Casarez, Correspondent, "in Session" On Trutv:] Well, Luis Jimenez told us personally yesterday morning, before the trial began, that he was going to plead guilty to the charges the prosecutor had brought, which is qualified murder, which is akin to maybe second degree murder, and he would offer a sincere confession. Well, then we get in the trial and you just heard what he did, and it's either that he wanted to stop this trial in its tracks, which he did, or he didn't understand the question from the judge because he doesn't want to plead guilty to cruelty and and that he was just so, so horrific with Stephany Flores when he killed her, so brutal. He doesn't want to admit that, but that's part of the charges and so he wouldn't didn't want to answer the question, and so he halted the whole thing.
[Whitfield:] And then there's something about this posttraumatic stress that he's experiencing?
[Casarez:] Now, this is very interesting. You know, we spoke with his attorney, as you said, and it was the fifth year anniversary of Natalee Holloway's disappearance, and when Joran confessed to this, and that's going to come into this trial, he said that he had gotten an e-mail on his computer that called him a mongoloid because it was the five-year anniversary of Natalee's disappearance. That caused the big issue between he and Stephany. Well, now the defense is going to turn that around to try help them. Take a listen to this.
[Luis Jimenez, Joran Van Der Sloot's Attorney:] We are sure that with the support from the corresponding experts it will be determined that Joran was living in a posttraumatic state during the attack. Let's remember that the fatal morning was the five-year anniversary of the disappearance of the American citizen, Natalee Holloway, and he's a young man, 22 years old, who has practically lived persecuted for a crime he says he didn't commit or for a disappearance that he cannot explain.
[Casarez:] So, Fredricka, what the what the defense is trying to do here is to mitigate so that he'll serve a lesser term. That's what they're trying to do all around, to get him to serve the least amount of time possible in Castro Castro.
[Whitfield:] This is really fascinating. And so meantime, you know, the judge talked to van der Sloot two different times yesterday, asking him to act appropriately. In what way? What was going on?
[Casarez:] It was amazing. He gets into the courtroom, everybody stands up out of respect to the court. He doesn't, and so the judge has to admonish him to stand up. And then, it even got worse. He started to close his eyes, he started to sleep, he started to repeatedly yawn. He even looked at his watch, and he wasn't wearing a watch. He just looked at his wrist. So
[Whitfield:] So he's not taking this seriously or he's mocking the court, the system?
[Casarez:] It appeared as though he was mocking the court. That's exactly right. Now, let's play devil's advocate. Was he so nervous that it just came about that that's how he reacted? Because this is the first time he's been in a courtroom and this was his murder trial that was beginning. But the three judges watched every single bit of it.
[Whitfield:] Wow, he's acting as though he doesn't want to see the light of day, I guess, right? Jean Casarez, thanks so much. Keep us posted on all that follows in this trial. Thanks so much.
[Casarez:] I will.
[Whitfield:] All right, meantime, another trial that all seems to be enamored by was the Casey Anthony case. Well, she's been out of the headlines for months now, but now she has resurfaced. In online videos earlier this week, she was seen in a four-minute video diary posted on YouTube and on Facebook, but her lawyer says she did not release it. This is the first we've heard from Anthony since a jury acquitted her of killing her daughter, Caylee. Here she's talking about how much things have changed for her.
[Casey Anthony, Acquitted From Murdering Her Daughter:] It's just a little surreal how much things have changed since July and how many things haven't changed. But the good thing is that things are starting to look up and things are starting to change in a good way.
[Whitfield:] Anthony is currently serving a one-year probation sentence for a 2010 conviction on check fraud charges. A bullied teen takes matters into his own hands and stabs his classmate to death. Our legal experts will weigh in on this case in just a few minutes.

[Sambolin:] Welcome back to STARTING POINT. I'm Zoraida Sambolin. Some stories we're watching for you this morning. Even as police search for his killer, an honor flag will be raised today for murdered Kaufman County D.A. Mike McLelland. Organizers say it will fly at the top of the pole because McLelland would not want it at half-staff. And more than 200 people who had dessert at a New York City restaurant are now receiving vaccines for Hepatitis A. The city's Department of Health says as many as 450 patrons of the restaurant, Alta, may have been exposed to the virus by a worker. So far there are no reported cases of the illness. And Beyonce and Jay-Z's Cuban holiday to celebrate their fifth anniversary has raised some eyebrows in Congress. Most travel for Americans to the communist island has been banned unless there is a religious, cultural or academic reason. Now Republicans Eliana Ross Litman and Mario Diaz Ballart want to know who approved the trip and for what reason. They have written a joint letter to the government agency responsible for the ban. A little bit of trouble. You can go for cultural reasons but
[Romans:] Cultural fifth wedding anniversary? I don't know. We'll see what they come up with there. Thanks, Zoraida. All right, fans have come to know Jeremy Wade and his scary fish tails on the popular Animal Planet series "River Monsters."
[Berman:] Now back for a fifth season, Wade is upping the ante in his mission to find the world's most mysterious and dangerous fish. This includes a search for a mutant fish in Chernobyl's nuclear waste lands. Take a look.
[Unidentified Male:] Suddenly I'm hooking something and it was big and pulling me closer and closer to the radioactive water, came off the hook.
[Berman:] All right, so that was just a little crazy. Jeremy Wade joins us. It's nice to see you. Thanks for coming in. Jeremy, I think I heard the radiation detector going off there as you were fishing. That's Chernobyl. God knows what's in it. How concerned were you about the radiation?
[Jeremy Wade, Host, "river Monsters":] Very concerned, which is why we can't go in to it blindly. We consulted radiation experts beforehand. There was a total limit that we mustn't exceed. We were limited to five consecutive days there. I had a thing on my belt that I wore all the time, the radiation is quite patchy, so there are some places where if I had an alarm that told me if it was particularly high. Some places if I stood there for an hour, I would have exceeded my dose. I'll have to go out. So can't see radiation. That's the thing.
[Romans:] Let me quickly ask you about you went in with Ukrainian scientists. Thirty years on, this is still kind of a scientific mystery, isn't? Tell us a little bit about the region and what you expected to find there.
[Wade:] Well, it's still an excluded zone. You have to get permission to get in. So it was unlike anywhere that I'd ever been. In terms of a backdrop, I'm normally fishing jungles. So scientists wanted a fish that key study because it hasn't been done and it's very important in the likes of Fukushima, what effect does it have to underwater life.
[Berman:] This is season five coming up. What's in store? I understand you're tackling kind of like the biggest fish story of them all, the lockness monster.
[Wade:] Absolutely. That's the season finale.
[Berman:] Did you find it?
[Wade:] We found something. We have a very dramatic ending to the program. I obviously can't say too much.
[Romans:] Are you surprised at the popularity of the series and are you surprised that the range of viewers that you're getting?
[Wade:] Absolutely. I think children like the fact that a lot of the creatures look ugly, they're strange, they are potentially dangerous to people, but they're sort of misunderstood. Normally they don't know it's somebody's foot they're grabbing. They just see a splash in the water and think it's a small fish. So I show them and generally put them back is very important.
[Berman:] All right, Jeremy Wade, the host of "River Monsters," now entering your fifth season. Congratulations. Thanks so much for being here. We really appreciate it.
[Romans:] All right, we're following some breaking news for you right now. We've confirmed that Margaret Thatcher has died.
[Berman:] Lady Thatcher, of course, the leader of Great Britain, the prime minister for so long, the iron lady as she was called, led that nation through a very difficult period. She was in charge when the economy had a big turnaround there and also through Falk Islands War. Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister, Lady Thatcher had died. We are getting our reporters up ready to talk to us and we will bring you that information when we come back. Stay with us.

[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] John, thanks very much. Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight "Keeping Them Honest" with a fresh and frankly horrible new development in a story that already breaks your heart. It is reminder that teen bullying doesn't stop, doesn't die even after the victim does. Jamey Rodemeyer took his own life a little more than a week ago. He was taunted in death by bullies at a homecoming dance the night of his wake. Kids shouting he was better off dead and, "We're glad you're dead." His sister who left the wake to attend the dance had to listen to this. I spoke with her earlier tonight. You're going to hear from her in a moment. She's a remarkable young woman, as you'll see for yourself. So was her brother Jamey. And millions got to know him through his online presence. Months ago he posted a message on YouTube as part of the "It Gets Better" project, a program to spread messages of hope to lesbian, gay and bisexual kids who are bullied because of their sexuality. Even in his sadness, Jamey was reaching out to help others.
[Jamey Rodemeyer, Bullied Teenager:] Hi, this is Jamey from Buffalo, New York. And I'm just here to tell you that it does get better. Here's a little bit of my story. December 2010, I thought I was bi, and then I always got made fun of because I virtually have no guy friends. And I only have friends that are girls. And it bothered me because we would be like faggot and they'd taunt me in the hallways and then I felt like I could never escape it. And I made a formspring which I shouldn't have done. And people would just constantly send me hate telling me that gay people go to hell.
[Cooper:] Jamey said he constantly got messages, hate messages on the social networking site Formspring which is a site that allows kids to post anonymous comments about each other and to each other. But back then, as you hear, he said he rose above the negativity.
[Rodemeyer:] I promise you it will get better. I have so much support from people I don't even know online. I know that sounds creepy, but they're so nice and caring and they don't ever want me to die.
[Cooper:] Two weekends ago after saying good night to his sister, Jamey Rodemeyer took his own life. He was only 14 years old. His school in Williamsville, New York, does have a bullying prevention program. You'll hear a bit from the local superintendent shortly. A lot of schools now have similar programs and more states are enacting new anti-bullying laws. Some, though, face resistance from conservative groups who say that bullying and tolerance programs encourage homosexuality. That they're actually part of a so-called gay agenda. But Jamey was above all of that for a while and seemed to have pushed past the prejudice and past the hate.
[Rodemeyer:] And I just want to tell you that it does get better. Because when I came out for being bi I got so much support from my friends, and it made me feel so secure, and then if your friends or family is even there for you, I look up to one of the most supporting people of the gay community that I think of that I know, Lady Gaga. She makes me so happy. And she lets me know that I was born this way. And that's my advice to you from her. We were born this way. All you have to do is hold your head up and you'll go far because that's all you have to do. Just love yourself and you're set.
[Cooper:] He tried. And whether he knew it or not, Jamey Rodemeyer left friends and fans behind. This weekend the performer he called Mother Monster, Lady Gaga, paid tribute to him.
[Lady Gaga, Singer:] So tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us. And you're not a victim. You're a lesson to all of us. And tonight I know it's a bit of a downer but sometimes the right thing is more important than the music, isn't it? Let's do this one for Jamey.
[Cooper:] Jamey was a high school freshman. He'd only been in high school for nine days. His sister Alyssa is a high school junior. Earlier tonight I talked with her about what she witnessed, what she heard and what's done to her at a homecoming dance the same day of Jamey's wake. A slice of what Jamey had gone through. What would people over the years, what were people calling him?
[Alyssa Rodemeyer, Sister Of Jamey Rodemeyer:] You know they were making fun of him for having so many girl friends. And you know, they were calling him a girl. They were they were just calling him names and saying harsh things about him and just ridiculous things.
[Cooper:] The you actually found him?
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes.
[Cooper:] I mean, I can't imagine what that was like.
[A. Rodemeyer:] It was it was rough, but like, I don't know. It just kind of I didn't really have time to soak it all in because I was in a state of shock and I was trying to do everything to, you know, call 911, get my parents, you know, try to save him. And I don't know. It didn't all fully register at the time, I guess.
[Cooper:] Yes. It was a hanging in the backyard?
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes.
[Cooper:] You went it was important for your parents that you go to the homecoming dance the first day of Jamey's wake, the first day of the wake.
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes. They let me leave early from the wake until 8:00 and then the dance was at 7:00. And they wanted me they didn't want me to miss out on any homecoming things and they wanted me to try to get my mind off stuff. And so they told me I could go. And I went with a whole group of friends from the wake and we all went together.
[Cooper:] And I mean what was that like?
[A. Rodemeyer:] The beginning of the dance, it was really great. Like we were all having a good time, and we you know, we were dancing around. Some kids were just like some kids were just kind of sitting there, like, you know, I don't think I should be having fun. You know, and we're just like, you just got to just this time just let yourself be happy and just imagine he's with us just dancing along with us, and you just can't like let yourself be in pain for just like these two hours. And just try to enjoy yourself because I don't want to see his friends in so much pain that they're going through. And I just I was trying to encourage people to have fun. And then, you know, things just started going bad.
[Cooper:] They played a Lady Gaga song.
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes. And we all started chanting for him.
[Cooper:] You started chanting Jamey's name?
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes, and we had so many people chanting it and we were all jumping around and we were singing to it. And it was it was it started off great.
[Cooper:] And then what happened?
[A. Rodemeyer:] Then a little group of like three of his prior bullies, as we were chanting, they started yelling stuff back at us. They were saying that they were glad he was dead and just basically that, and like some obscenities and things.
[Cooper:] So they were actually saying that? They were
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes.
[Cooper:] You know the kids who were saying this, as they were saying they were glad your brother's dead.
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes. Like we later, like, after the dance, I found out that some kid was videotaping the dance, and he actually got it on tape. And it was it was so cruel.
[Cooper:] Was that one of the kids who was one of the bullies who was videotaping?
[A. Rodemeyer:] No, he's actually a really nice guy.
[Cooper:] When you heard I mean did you actually hear them saying this?
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes.
[Cooper:] I can't imagine what that's like.
[A. Rodemeyer:] I just I honestly didn't know what to do about it. I was just kind of struck in awe. And I we all kind of stopped. And like everyone started like breaking down and crying, and we all just kind of got in a little group and we were all crying. And the teachers came and tried to like comfort us. And then administration came. And we tried to tell them what happened. And I actually ended up having a really nice talk with one of our vice principals who is actually really trying to do something about this. And I give him so much credit for that.
[Cooper:] But in terms of what happened at the dance, I mean, do those kids did the teacher tell them to stop or they just stopped naturally?
[A. Rodemeyer:] No, they they stopped after a while just because eventually chanting has to stop. And they basically ran from the dance and because they knew they were going to get in trouble.
[Cooper:] You went home. And I talked to your mom before on my show earlier and she was very upset. She was angry.
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes. How could you not be angry at this?
[Cooper:] Yes.
[A. Rodemeyer:] Like, I don't understand who would have the heart to disrespect someone even after they're dead. It's mind blowing.
[Cooper:] It's been important for your folks and for you to speak about Jamey, even though it's only been, I mean what, nine days now?
[A. Rodemeyer:] Yes, nine days.
[Cooper:] Why is that so important for you to speak?
[A. Rodemeyer:] It's important because Jamey, while he was alive, was trying to get out this message of everyone should be treated equally and no one should have to be bullied for any kind of way that they're different. And to me, that's a really important message, too, because no one deserves to be bullied. Everyone's different and that's what's great about everyone is everyone's uniqueness. And we just want to keep that message going because we don't want to see another teen that comes to this decision because they're being bullied because no one deserves to feel like they're worthless, because no one's worthless. Everyone's worth the life they're living.
[Cooper:] What do you want people to know about Jamey, to remember about him?
[A. Rodemeyer:] I want them to remember his smile and his caring heart and his love for Lady Gaga and just he was such a sweet, sweet kid.
[Cooper:] You're incredibly strong.
[A. Rodemeyer:] Thanks.
[Cooper:] And I hope you find peace in the days ahead. Thank you. Thanks for being here.
[A. Rodemeyer:] Thanks so much.
[Cooper:] Jamey's sister. Digging deeper now Rosalind Wiseman who's an expert on teens and bullying, joins me. She's the author of "Queen Bees and Wannabees: Helping Your Daughters Survive Clicks, Gossip, Boyfriends and the New Realities of Girl World." It's extraordinary to me, I mean I've heard other stories of this where kids are taunted in death, but the kids would, in front of Jamey's sister Alyssa, say stuff about him at a school dance is I just find unbelievable. How do you explain that?
[Rosalind Wiseman, Author, "queen Bees And Wannabees":] Well, and I know that so many people are looking at this and saying, what is wrong with these kids, what's wrong with society, what's wrong with those people? And I really want to say, even though people probably don't want to hear this, that this could happen in any community. And I'm so transfixed by Alyssa's words, that really they're just so incredible. But I really think what's so important here is that we really think about as adults is that we have a sacred responsibility to take ownership, not when our kids are doing things that make us proud, like winning a game or bringing home trophies, but when they do things that are shameful, when they do things that are hateful, and when they do things like what you're talking about, where they celebrate somebody's death. I mean those kids did not only failed themselves and their school they and Jamey and their family, they failed themselves, their community. And what I think is so important is that adults realize that. And that we say we have to take responsibility and we have to hold these kids accountable in ways that don't degrade them. But hold them accountable. Make them responsible. And at the same time say this is part of us. And kids can do unbelievably bad things in groups. And we are going to address it in ways that they will not forget and that we are going to take responsibility so that Jamey's death is really not in vain and that it is celebrated in the way that his sister is talking about. This is really the test for the community, to stand up for what it really you know what it really wants to believe in.
[Cooper:] We talked to the superintendent of Jamey's school earlier. Listen to a little bit of what he said.
[Dr. Scott Martzloff, Supt., Williamsville Central School District:] Certainly we have now turned our attention to the huge societal issue of bullying in our schools. And we are reviewing all of our procedures around that, how we handle bullying issues, the training for all of our teachers, all of our adults who work with children, reviewing our disciplinary protocols to make sure that we are taking appropriate action in bullying cases and taking a number of steps to educate our children and our parents in regards to bullying and how we can all work together to prevent it.
[Cooper:] Is that enough?
[Wiseman:] Well, I mean, one of the things that really strikes me is that those three kids who by Alyssa's you know what she's saying, that they were his tormentors before. And they believe, for whatever reason, that they could get away with being with doing what they were doing, with screaming that he should die or that they were happy he was dead in a public forum and of a dance, there is no more public forum in school, in a high school than at a dance. And they thought they could get away with that. And what we're hearing also is that, yes, the teachers got involved, it sounds, pretty late to me. And so the second you would hear something like that, as the teachers, you would move and you would silence those kids. So I've got to wonder really what went on that those kids felt that they could get away with it. And that there must have been some children who might have been absolutely stunned but could not figure out a way to speak and to stop them. And that's really the important thing that we've got to do. Because we've got to look at ourselves and not society. Because when we talk about society, then we stop taking responsibility for our own behavior and the behavior that goes on in our communities. It's about what we can do with the kids that we know in our own families. And honestly, if people are going to say well, those were some bad kids. If you're watching this and you're part of that community, there are kids talk to your children even if they weren't involved. Even if they sat there and they were stunned. Even if they sat there and they wanted to do something and they couldn't because those are the conversations that matter to kids so that things like this do not continue in the future.
[Cooper:] Rosalind, I appreciate your expertise. Thanks for being on. We're going to continue to follow this issue here on 360. In fact we recently teamed up with Cartoon Network and Facebook to try to look at this from all angles. There's an app on Facebook, you can pledge to do everything you can to stop this bullying epidemic. To find the app, go to Facebook.comstopbullyingspeakup. Againstopbullyingspeakup. You can join us for a series of special reports, "Bullying: It Stops Here." That starts October 9th on CNN. Let us know what you think, we're on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @andersoncooper. I'll be tweeting tonight as well. A lot more ahead in the program. Up next, "Raw Politics." A stunning admission from the man in charge of getting President Obama re-elected about how tough his job is going to be. And the GOP presidential possibilities. New word that Sarah Palin could be getting ready to make the big announcement. And late word from Chris Christie about his possible presidential plans are, if any. Also tonight, "Crime & Punishment," day one of the Michael Jackson trial. A remarkable disturbing picture of Jackson never seen before shown today in court. That and an audio tape of him unlike anything you've ever heard before from him.
[Michael Jackson, Singer:] When people leave my show, I want them to say, I've never seen nothing like this in my life.
[Cooper:] You will hear more of that ahead. First, let's check in Isha Sesay Isha.
[Isha Sesay, Cnn Anchor:] Anderson, we'll have the latest from Italy's own trial of the century. American Amanda Knox appealing her murder conviction. Closing arguments Thursday. Striking new testimony today. That and much more when 360 continues.

[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're going to look at the 2012 presidential contenders in this political hour. But first, an update on some of today's top stories. Occupy Portland protesters appear to be clearing out today. Although many demonstrators initially defied a midnight deadline to leave two city parks. They started drifting away as the day wore on. Portland officials say they will build fences around the parks to block demonstrators from returning. And the president of Italy has nominated an economist to be the next prime minister. Mario Monti is a former European Union commissioner. If approved by Parliament, he will replace Silvio Berlusconi who resigned last night because of Italy's debt crisis. And for first time since the tsunami last March, we can take you inside Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. A team of journalists was allowed within the last 24 hours. There are still levels of radiation around the plant, but the reading is within safe levels. The tsunami followed a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, 15,000 people lost their lives. Boxer Manny Pacquiao defended his World Boxing Organization welterweight title in a nail biter. He beat Juan Manuel Marquez by majority decision in Las Vegas last night. They went toe to toe for all 12 rounds. After the decision, Marquez left the ring apparently upset. His fans were upset as well. They, in fact, launched bottles and cans into the ring in response to the ruling. We're about seven weeks now from the first presidential contest. Talking about the Iowa caucuses. So either the Republican hopefuls or all of them in fact are trying to kick it into high gear, explaining what they would do if elected. At last night's debate in South Carolina, here is how the top three contenders said they would handle Iran's nuclear threat.
[Herman Cain , Presidential Candidate:] So I do believe they have a nuclear weapons program and they're closer to having nuclear weapons, stopping them, the only way to stop them is through economic means. And there is one other thing we can do. We can deploy our ballistic missile defense capable aegis warships strategically in that part of the world. We have the biggest fleet of those war ships in the world and we can use them strategically in the event that they were able to fire a ballistic missile.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] The president should build credible threat of military action and made it very clear that the United States of America is willing, in the final analysis, if necessary, to take military action to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Look, one thing you can know, and that is if we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. And if we elect Mitt Romney, if you elect me as the next president, they will not have a nuclear weapon.
[Newt Gingrich , Presidential Candidate:] Maximum covert operations to block and disrupt the Iranian program, including taking out their scientists, including breaking up their systems, all of it covertly, all of it deniable. Second, maximum coordination with the Israelis in a way which allows them to maximize their impact in Iran.
[Whitfield:] Eight republican candidates on stage there. CNN political producer Shawna Shepherd was at that debate. She's joining us right now from Columbia, South Carolina. So Shawna, the candidates are really pushing their platforms and ideas pretty hard. It didn't seem, however, like the kind of debate where the candidates had gloves on fighting each other on foreign policy and national security. So was it Jon Huntsman, perhaps, the one with the most foreign policy experience as a former U.S. ambassador who kind of made the biggest impression?
[Shawna Shepherd, Cnn Political Producer:] Governor Huntsman did well, but he didn't get called on as often as the other candidates. What stood out for me was how well prepared all the candidates were for this first debate, focused solely on foreign policy. All eyes were on Texas Governor Rick Perry, who after his embarrassing mental lapse at the last debate, Perry held his own, discussing nuclear weapons, terrorism, and foreign aid. Listen.
[Rick Perry , Presidential Candidate:] The foreign aid budget in my administration for every country is going to start at zero dollars. Zero dollars. And then we'll have a conversation. Then we'll have a conversation in this country about whether or not a penny of our taxpayer dollars needs to go into those countries.
[Shepherd:] Zeroing out foreign aid to Pakistan, which receives billions of dollars from the U.S. in foreign aid, is popular among the Tea Party fiscal conservatives that make up the most active slice of conservative Republicans in South Carolina. Now, several of the candidates seem to agree with Governor Perry, even former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said that aid to Pakistan should be re-evaluated. And so not only did Perry escape Spartanburg without another debate gaffe, he also helped drive news in the debate. Fredricka?
[Whitfield:] OK. And so Shawna, Herman Cain, he had been rising in the polls for quite the distance, for quite a while, but he doesn't have a whole lot of foreign policy experience. So how well did he have command of the topics last night?
[Shepherd:] You're right, he does have very little foreign policy experience as a business executive, as a former pizza CEO. But he he seemed to he had a lot to prove last night. And it became clear that he read his briefing book and he made all the right made all the right points, he just appeared nervous at times, wading into territory that is beyond his catchy 9-9-9economic plan. Cain said that he supports the use of waterboarding as an intense enhanced interrogation technique and opposes military action to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons if other strategies failed. That's a position supported by Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, he survived this debate unscathed. He's yet to suffer a kind of campaign altering blunder that national televised debates like these tend to encourage. So he seems steadily on top of the pack and is showing promise in in early states like South Carolina but certainly a number of the other candidates are trying to make their way to the top as well.
[Whitfield:] All right. Shawna Shepherd, thank you so much coming to us from Columbia, South Carolina. So while the Republican candidates take swipes at President Obama, the president is talking trade and jobs right now. He's at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Hawaii. And Mr. Obama is pushing for a new free trade agreement, the trans-Pacific partnership. It would include the U.S. and nine other countries and cover about one-third of the global economy. President Obama says it would create jobs in the U.S..
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] This is where the action is going to be. If we're going to not just double our exports but make sure that good jobs are created here in the United States, then we're going to have to continue to expand our trade opportunities and economic integration with the fastest growing region in the world. And that means, you know, in some cases some hard negotiations and some tough work as we went through in South Korea. I think that was a great model of prioritizing trade with a key partner. It wasn't easy. I said at the outset that I wanted I had no problem with seeing Hyundais and Kias here in the United States, but I wanted to see some Chevrolets and Fords in Seoul. And after a lot of work and some dedicated attention from President Lee, we were able to get a deal that for the first time was endorsed not just by the business community, but also was endorsed by the United Autoworkers and a number of labor unions. And that shows how we can build a bipartisan support for job creation in the United States and trade agreements that make sense.
[Whitfield:] China is an Asian powerhouse. It is the world's second biggest economy after the United States. And it was part of the focus of last night's Republican debate in South Carolina. GOP front-runner Mitt Romney accuses China of unfair trade practices, and that drew a response from rival Jon Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to China. Here is what they said.
[Romney:] We need to make sure that we let them understand that in order for them to continue to have free and open access to the thing they want so badly, our markets, they have to play by the rules. They can't hack into our computer systems and steal from our government. They can't steal from corporations. They can't take patents and designs and intellectual property and duplicate them and counterfeit them and sell them around the world. And they also can't manipulate their currency in such a way to make their prices well below what they otherwise would be.
[Unidentified Male:] You talk about all the things that China should be doing. How do you affect that as commander in chief? How do you make China do these things?
[Romney:] Well, number one, day one, is acknowledging something which everyone knows. They're a currency manipulator. On that basis, we also go before the WTO and bring an action against them as a currency manipulator and that allows us to apply selectively tariffs where we believe they are stealing our intellectual property, hacking into our computers, or artificially lowering their prices and killing American jobs. We can't just sit back and let China run all over us. People say, "Well, you'll start a trade war." There is one going on right now, folks. They're stealing our jobs and we're going to stand up to China.
[Unidentified Male:] Governor Huntsman. Governor Romney just said we're in the middle of a war that we're not even declared or we're not even aware of and Governor Perry said China will end up on the ash heap of history. You've been in China. You were the ambassador for our nation there under President Obama. What is your reaction?
[Huntsman:] Well, he reality is a little different, as it usually is when you're on the ground. And I tried to figure this out for 30 years of my career. First of all, I don't think, Mitt, you can take China to the WTO on currency related issues. Second, I don't know that this country needs a trade war with China. Who does it hurt? Our small businesses in South Carolina, our exporters, our agriculture producers. We don't need that at a time when China is about to embark on a generational transition. What should we be doing? We should be reaching out to our allies and constituencies within China. They're called the young people, they're called the internet generation. There are 500 million internet users in China.
[Unidentified Male:] We're going to have to
[Huntsman:] Eighty million bloggers and they're bringing about change, the likes of which is going to take China down.
[Unidentified Male:] We're going to have to leave it there, governor.
[Huntsman:] We have an opportunity to go up and win back our economic manufacturing muscle. That's all I want to do as president.
[Unidentified Male:] I thank you very much.
[Whitfield:] All right. CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein with us now from New York and he's also the "National Journal's" editor and director. Ron, most of the Republican candidates bashing President Obama over his China policies, particularly on trade. You heard that exchange taking place too. Is this going to be an effective fight?
[Ron Brownstein, Cnn Senior Political Analyst:] Well it a fascinating argument that you both of those clips to hear and a kind of a sweep of history here. One thing that is consistent in presidential campaigns, the outs always accuse the in president of being insufficiently tough on China. I remember Bill Clinton making similar arguments in 1992 and ultimately achieving a permanent most favored nations status with China. So that is on the one sense a very common line of argument that we're not doing enough to stand up to China. When you get in, you usually find that the relationship has so many irons in the fire, it is hard to take any one aspect of it like trade and make it a breaking point. But in a broader sense, Fredricka, look at what you saw. Barack Obama who in 2008 as a candidate was talking about renegotiating NAFTA. Now not only is finished free trade agreements in South Korea, Panama, and Colombia but is talking about a vast expansion of free trade across the Atlantic while you have a Republican nominee basically saying he's willing to nominate a candidate willing to risk a trade war with China to declare them a currency manipulator. It's a sign at the center of gravity each party is shifting. We used to think of the Democrats as the party most skeptical of free trade because of the influence of organized labor, but now there are a lot of blue collar voters in the Republican Party and you see the pull of that, the skepticism about trade reflected in Romney who is probably talking a tougher line on China than really any Republican serious candidate that I can remember.
[Whitfield:] Well, I wonder, because there seems to be kind of a contagion on certain points of view. I wonder if that will end up being the contagion for the Republican candidates making China out to be the bad guy.
[Brownstein:] Well, you know, in fact, China is a powerful symbol of something much larger. I mean there is a broad concern if you look at polling in the public, not surprisingly given the economy we're living through, that the U.S. is facing kind of a structural decline economically and that we're being passed by rising powers like China. That is very clear in polling, much as it was the concerns about Japan in the 1980s. So in argument that China is not playing fair with its currency and there are many serious economists who believe it is not, there is a big push in the Senate to have them declare a currency manipulator that has bipartisan support. So I mean there is an audience for that argument. And of course, the administration, which is in power and as I said is dealing with all the totality of his very complex and difficult challenging relationship has not taken the step that Romney says he would on day one. It's not clear that if Mitt Romney was elected, that those same considerations might not still his hand a little more than he's suggesting right now as well.
[Whitfield:] So Ron, there is a trend in polling that concerns trade protectionism and party affiliation. And what is unusual here.?
[Brownstein:] Yes, right. Well, like you said, I mean I think historically we think of the democratic party as the party that is more skeptical of free trade because of the influence of organized labor. But when you look at polling in the last couple of years, there is a big portion of the Democratic Party now that is much more open and supportive of free trade. They're winning a lot more upper middle class suburban voters who tend to have an internationalist orientation. Whereas the Republican Party, the center of gravity is moving toward greater skepticism of free trade because they have been doing better among those blue collar working class voters who believe in many cases correctly that the loss of jobs overseas is a big part of the economic distress they face. So the center of gravity is shifting actually I think in some polling, there is more protectionist sentiment now among Republican core voters and among democratic core voters. That's a big change in our politics, part of an overall what I call a class inversion in the coalition that each party really brings to bear on elections now.
[Whitfield:] All right. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much. We'll check back with you a little bit later on in this hour, several times as a matter of fact. Thanks, Ron. A week of gaffes and laughs from Rick Perry. We'll see how he handled that debate and that brain freeze.

[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] I also want to get you up to speed. Defiant words from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi as smoke rises from his compound in Tripoli. In an audio message played just moments ago, Gadhafi said, "We will not surrender. We will not give up." The message follows reports by Libyan state television of intense bombardment of Gadhafi's compound by NATO forces. In Yemen, more than 400 tribal fighters stormed the southwestern city of Taiz. Just another major setback for that government. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was injured on Friday when a bomb exploded inside his compound. He is now in Saudi Arabia, where U.S. officials say he is being treated for burns and a collapsed lung. Congressman Anthony Weiner says he's not resigning, but his political future may be in jeopardy. Weiner admitted posting a lewd picture on his Twitter account and lying to cover it up. But he says he did not break the law.
[Rep. Anthony Weiner , New York:] I engaged in inappropriate online conversations with people that included photographs. And it was a mistake to do that. But I didn't I don't believe that I did anything that violates any law or any rule.
[Malveaux:] House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says she'll call for an ethics investigation. Pelosi issued a statement saying, "I am deeply disappointed and saddened about this situation for Anthony's wife, Huma, his family, his staff, and his constituents." A red flag fire alert is out for Tucson, Arizona, this hour. And smoke from one of the state's largest wildfires in history is drifting into New Mexico now. That has triggered air quality alerts. More than 230,000 acres now have burned. More than 3,000 people have been evacuated.
[John York, Fire Evacuee:] We packed up everything that we could
[Unidentified Female:] Memories.
[York:] memories and clothes.
[Ruth Blakeslee, Fire Evacuee:] When they tell us to leave, we have to leave. We don't want to leave. I'm going to cry. We don't want to leave, but we know for safety's sake, we have to.
[Malveaux:] Here's what's ahead "On the Rundown." Fans call him "The Dude." Jeff Bridges joins me live to talk about ending child hunger. Plus, computing on a cloud. Apple unveils its next generation software. Then, hope for cancer patients. Dr. Oz tells us about new treatments for skin and breast cancer. And a volcano lights up the skies above Chile.

[Holmes:] Eighteen minutes after the hour now. Asleep on the job. Have you been there before? You certainly don't want to be sleeping on the job if you're an air traffic controller. That's what reportedly happened early Wednesday morning when two pilots were unable to get a response from the tower at Washington's Reagan National Airport forcing both flights to land without clearance, had to wing it on their own, if you will. The Federal Transportation officials say controller was a 20-year veteran who had working his fourth consecutive overnight shift. One of the pilots was able to contact a radar-controlled center some 40 miles away.
[Tracon Traffic Controller:] American 1900, so you're aware the tower is apparently not manned. We've made a few phone calls. Nobody's answering. So two airplanes went in the past 10-15 minutes, so you can expect to go in as an uncontrolled airport.
[Pilot:] Is there a reason it's not manned?
[Tracon Controller:] Well, I'm going to take a guess and say that the controller got locked out. I've heard of this happening before.
[Pilot:] That's the first time I've heard of it.
[Tracon Controller:] Fortunately, it's not very often. It happened about a year ago. I'm not sure that's what happened now, but, anyway, there's nobody in the tower.
[Pilot:] That's interesting.
[Tracon Controller:] It is.
[Holmes:] That air traffic controller there we're speaking of, well, you see him here. He has been suspended indefinitely, didn't want to make any comment when news cameras caught up with him. Meanwhile, the Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood issued a statement and it says quote, it is not acceptable to have just one controller in the tower managing air traffic in this critical air space. He has now ordered the FAA to schedule two controllers on the overnight shift. Joining us now, from Charleston, South Carolina is a woman who's well known for advocacy for tougher aviation standards, Mary Schiavo. She's also a former inspector for the U.S. Department of Transportation. We appreciate you hopping on the line with us this morning. Is there ever a case where it's OK, whether it's critical air space where it was in D.C. or not to just have one controller in the tower?
[Mary Schiavo, Former Inspector General, Department Of Transportation:] Well, unfortunately that is the system throughout many if not most of the passenger use air traffic control towers throughout the country. We have 468 of them. Reagan National has very strategic importance, both for national security as well as our nation's capital, that is the way we do it. But to answer the question in the U.S., no, it's not acceptable for Washington, DC because the controller has other duties. The controller does have national security duties to keep a lookout as well as just make sure the plane knows where they are in the lineup to land.
[Holmes:] You said it is what we do, if not what we should do. So why do we do it?
[Schiavo:] Money. The bottom line is, it comes down to money. We have about 13,000 air traffic controllers and the FAA saves money by on these graveyard shifts just having one controller on duty. And apparently, as here, there always has to be a supervisor but the FAA just makes the controller the supervisor. Therefore, you don't have a second set of eyes. We do have air traffic controller shortages coming up. Everybody remembers when the air traffic controllers got fired by Reagan for striking. Al those 12,000 air traffic controllers are now just about ready for retirement.
[Holmes:] Is this going to be enough to change the process now and to get the money that's necessary? Everything costs money, but we have this well-publicized incident here. Will this be enough and give us enough of a will to get the money to make sure there's not just one controller in a tower?
[Schiavo:] No. I can tell you what probably will happen, is they will look at the staffing at the major airports, what they call the major international airports. Reagan is not one but obviously it's right next to our nation's capital. What will probably happen is for the key strategic airports and Reagan National, it's not a category X, like the big ones are, they probably will not have just one person staffing that tower. What they will say is that for most of the rest of the airports, one person will remain because they usually only have, three or four, five flights in the midnight to 3:00 to 4:00 a.m. hour. So we will get the staffing at the major airports. The rest, probably not.
[Holmes:] Do you buy I mean he was asleep. We heard them say that, yes, he had worked these consecutive overnight shifts. I can tell you a lot of people in my business didn't have a lot of sympathy. That's just the shift you oftentimes work unfortunately. We don't know his particular situation. Do we have these controllers falling asleep left and right and do you think the work load is an issue?
[Schiavo:] Work load is not an issue but we do have controllers falling asleep for a couple reasons. One a lot of times, they either bid for or they get stuck on the midnight shift but also they have to come to work prepared to do the job. When I was inspector general, we had many cases where we investigated, some of them even left the tower and took a nap in their car. That's even worse than this. Sadly, what usually happens is they do not get fired. They usually get disciplined and the FAA tries to rehabilitate them because they say they invested a lot in training the controller and by the way, there's a shortage. So the fellow probably will get disciplined and retrained, probably not fired. But it happens, I'd say, not every week, but probably every month and certainly every year, because I investigated a number of them.
[Holmes:] Do you think he should be fired?
[Schiavo:] I do, because, you know, it's a situation where if it happened somewhere else and wasn't caught, he probably wouldn't have been fired. But it sets an example and the FAA has to turn this around. Everybody remembers the air traffic controller at Teterboro when the Hudson River mid-air happened about a year and a half ago. He was talking to a friend about a dead cat and then two planes collided and everyone died and they haven't fired those persons either, I don't believe.
[Holmes:] Mary Schiavo, we appreciate you, as always, appreciate you hopping on the line this morning but some scary stuff to hear the reality of what happens sometimes in those towers. Thank you so much. You enjoy the rest of your Saturday.
[Schiavo:] Thank you.
[Holmes:] If Congress does not get it together on the budget when they convene next week, we could be looking at a possible government shutdown. Does that sound familiar? Is it any different this time around, though, or will we just see another continuing resolution? We'll give you the latest there. Plus, entering a world in 3-D with no glasses. Come on now.

[Becky Anderson:] Gadhafi's supporters in Tripoli, brought to you by Libyan state TV. But our eyewitness tonight tells a very different story. Gadhafi may have control of the capital, but a growing number of cities in the east are joining the uprising. Later, CNN reveals a Kenyan hospital you wouldn't imagine in your worst nightmares. And time is running out for trapped survivors in New Zealand. We're going to head there live for you this hour. All that and more tonight, as we connect the world. First up, town by town, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is losing his grip on power, despite an all-out war on the opposition. But the popular uprising that succeeded in parts of the east has so far been extinguished in the capital. State TV broadcast these pictures of pro-government demonstrations today, trying to give the appearance that Gadhafi remains popular in Tripoli. The regime isn't allowing any other news coverage, but we are getting reports from residents that tell a very different story. They say protests have left the streets simply because it's too dangerous for them to be there, saying mercenaries are around every corner. have a listen to this. You won't hear it anywhere else.
[Anderson:] Well, the phones are still down in Tripoli, but we've been able to get through to our unnamed source. We've spoken to her a number of times now by Skype. Let's see what she's got to say today. Hello, there. What can you tell us, at this point?
[Unidentified Female:] All today, all Central Tripoli has been empty. There is no police cars. There is no protesters, no anti-protester anti- Gadhafi protesters. There is no one. It's it's it's empty.
[Anderson:] Why is that?
[Unidentified Female:] I don't know. What I do know is that the system is preparing something massive for its public. And Gadhafi's speech had proven that yesterday on his speech.
[Anderson:] So explain to me what life is like in Tripoli at present. I mean have you been out of your house recently?
[Unidentified Female:] I haven't been out anywhere. But what's been happening today, since three hours ago, the mobile companies have been texting its customers to encourage them to go out. And I have a reliable source that's been saying that there is an operation room ran by one of the closest people of the Gadhafi and they're trying to make people feel safe enough to go to the streets so they can start shooting again.
[Anderson:] Is anybody you know prepared to go out into the streets at this point?
[Unidentified Female:] Everybody is scared. And some of them are losing hope, especially that there are rumors that Gadhafi is cleaning the street for CNN to come in and he's trying to prove especially your channel, he's trying to prove that there is nothing happening in Tripoli right now.
[Anderson:] How how are you coping as far as food, money, drinking water, is concerned?
[Unidentified Female:] Actually, we are relying for what we saved. We're trying to use as less as possible, because nobody knows when they're going to get out. Everybody is having a hard time getting any kind of medication. A lot of people, and I myself, have been sick for the last couple of days and we couldn't get access to any medication.
[Anderson:] Our unnamed source speaking to me by Skype earlier on today. The phone lines are very, very, very difficult to access in Libya. So that's the story on the ground in Tripoli. We've had next to no access to the capital, apart from eyewitness accounts like the one that you just heard. We do, though, have views from key players to bring you this hour. Israel has not been saying very much on the unrest in the Middle East, but their defense minister spoke to CNN earlier today. Ehud Barak, coming up. And the view from Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak runs a modern, secular state. He is in Turkey to promote the view that Islam and democracy are absolutely compatible, despite anything that you may hear to the contrary. My interview the him in just a few minutes. For now, though, let's get more on the situation on the ground in Libya. You saw what's happening in Tripoli. Let's show you the eastern part of the country now, where people in many towns are celebrating their liberation from the Gadhafi regime. Our Ben Wedeman reports many soldiers in this region have switched sides to join the revolution, while others appear to be hedging their bets.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] "Are you with the regime or with the people's revolution?" Saif, a Libyan Army officer who defected to the anti-Gadhafi forces, is addressing a group of prisoners. They respond in unison, "With the people's revolution." All but one of these men are soldiers captured in the uprising in eastern Libya, now held in a nondescript house. Many were severely beaten by angry crowds after their surrender, saved from a far worse fate by community leaders. The men insist they didn't want to fire upon the anti-Gadhafi protesters and tried to avoid carrying out their officers' orders. "We were shooting randomly in the air," said this soldier. "All the guys there were firing up." But the officer, Saif, isn't convinced. "Innocent people died. Innocent people," he says, "your Libyan brothers." Local activist Shukri al-Hasi suspects they may still be loyal to the regime. "Some units of the army gave themselves up," he says, "but you didn't." We had come here looking for the much talked about foreign mercenaries used by the regime to suppress anti-government protests. But the only person who might fit that description was Issa Adam, originally from Chad, but a Libyan citizen since the age of five. He tells an unlikely story of being compelled to board a military plane to the east and suddenly finding himself in the middle of a demonstration. He insists no one paid him to fight the protesters. And as I finish the interview with Issa, Saif, the army officer, turned to the camera, addressing his fellow officers still siding with the regime. "I appeal to you to join the people's revolt. Join the people's revolt" an appeal that might be heeded in an army divided. Ben Wedeman, CNN, eastern Libya.
[Anderson:] Well, many heads of state are criticizing Gadhafi's brutal crackdown on dissent. But one leader that we haven't heard from yet, on camera, anyway, is U.S. President Barack Obama. He's expected to make his first public remarks on Libya within hours. Now, the U.S. State Department says that Washington will hold the Libyan government accountable for the bloodshed.
[P.j. Crowley, State Department Spokesman:] We're looking at a full range of tools and options that are available to us to achieve our goals of seeing an end to the violence in Libya and respect for the rights of the Libyan people. That certainly includes looking at sanctions that could be op imposed, either bilaterally or multilaterally. We believe it's important to coordinate our efforts with the national community, our European allies, the United Nations and organizations like the Arab League. We will be consulting broadly about these issues in the coming days.
[Anderson:] OK. So that's the view from Washington ahead of Barack Obama making a statement in the next coming hours. Israel also watching the developments in Libya closely. According to the Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned his parliament today that instability in the Middle East could last for years and that Israel must prepare for, quote, "every possible outcome." Well, CNN's Hala Gorani got more reaction on the regional unrest from the Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak.
[Ehud Barak, Israeli Defense Minister:] I think it's something totally new. It's an earthquake in the Arab world, probably all around the street from Marrakesh, too, Bangladesh. And Egypt is a cornerstone of the Middle East stability for a generation now. The period of Mubarak is over. We are entering into a new era. I hope and believe that the armed forces, which are extremely popular in Egypt, can deliver a coherent and determined delivery of a more open society and that it will not fall as a prey into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.
[Hala Gorani, Cnn Correspondent:] And if elections are held and the Muslim Brotherhood registers big gains, then will Israel say that democracy shouldn't have come to Egypt, that Egyptians should have waited for their resol
[Barak:] No, no, no.
[Gorani:] revolution because they're not happy with the outcome?
[Barak:] You know, I do not hide. I believe that many of us wouldn't be happy if the Muslim Brotherhood would take over in Egypt. But it's up to the Egyptian people. It's not up to us. It's their constitution. It's their future. I believe the Egyptian people is a mature people. They they I hope they will they are of course, they are a traditional society. Many people feel religion. But it doesn't mean, necessarily, that many will vote for the Muslim Brotherhood. And probably they will get the share which reflects their relative powers in the society. I don't think that it's our role. But, of course we should be open-eyed and be be watching what what will follow. I hope that the the civil society in Egypt, the two generations of exposure to the free world, that the role of the armed forces will suffice to balance it according to a mod a line of moderation.
[Anderson:] OK. Well, we've heard very little from Israel, but you've heard it here on CNN, Ehud Barak, the defense minister, addressing the regional unrest. Well, our next guest says the world shouldn't fear Muslim nations gaining their freedom, saying Islam can work hand in hand with a democratic system of government. Advocates of Islamic pluralism often point to Malaysia. Well, that government or that country's prime minister, Najib Razak, is in Turkey to promote that very idea. He sees those two countries as being role models for political and economic reform in the Muslim world. Well, I spoke with him a short time ago, asking him first for his assessment of the situation in Libya, as he sees it today. This is what he said.
[Najib Razak, Malaysian Prime Minister:] There's a lot of concern, especially after Moammar Gadhafi's speech last night, that it appears that the two sides are heading toward a major confrontation. This is obviously of great concern to the world. And what we need to do is now to ensure that there is going to be a peaceful transition and reforms that will be based on what the people want for Libya. And I think that should be through the ballot box, that should be through a system that allows them to decide their own destiny.
[Anderson:] What is your perspective about what is happening across the Middle East region as a whole?
[Razak:] I think the key element is that people want change, people want reform. So it is incumbent upon the governments to ensure that there is a system in place that can lead toward good and effective governance. At the same time, it is also crucial to be able to feel the pulse of the people, especially the young people. And this is why it's so important that a system that will be put into place as part of the constitutional and political reform in those countries will ensure that the people will participate as stakeholders stakeholders in a in a very meaningful way.
[Anderson:] The fear for many in the West is that Islam and democracy are incompatible or not compatible. I know that you are making a call for a movement for moderacy. What do you mean by that?
[Razak:] Being moderate is fundamental to Islam, because in Islam, the Koran talks about being choosing the middle path, the concept of wasatiyyah, which is being a moderate and taking the middle road. What is important about that is to realize that it is not a conflict between Islam and Christian, Islam and the Jews or the Jews and the Christians or Hindus. It is about the moderates and the extremists. If the moderates speak up, the moderates are willing to reassert themselves and I'm more confident that this will lead to a more harmonious and peaceful world.
[Anderson:] How do you reassure those, then, in the West, who are worried?
[Razak:] Well, I think they have to allow this, you know, process of change to take place. I think the West must insist that it is a peaceful transition. We must try to educate in a way that it is important for the people to accept the good values and and for us to try to promote those ideal values and to make the system work, because, clearly, what is in place today, the system and the governance are totally rejected by the people in those countries.
[Anderson:] How has Barack Obama handled this situation, to your mind?
[Razak:] Well, he has, in a sense, given the right signal in the case of Egypt. He has said that there must be the will of the people must take precedence, that there must be a peaceful transition and and people should not use violence. I think it's it's a kind of messaging that must apply to the other countries, as well. I think there's a lot of concern what's happening in Libya. And I think Obama, President Obama and the other leaders around the world must send the same message, perhaps in a more assertive manner.
[Anderson:] And stand by. We expect to hear from Barack Obama in the coming hours, a couple of hours from now. That, the Malaysian prime minister, well versed in running a democracy hand in hand with Islam. Well, stay with CONNECT THE WORLD for more on the unrest that we are seeing across an entire region, including the scramble to evacuate people from Libya. That coming up. Plus, pulled out alive after being trapped for 24 hours one story of survival as New Zealand mourns its dead. And
[Unidentified Male:] Some of you guys stay at night, somebody died here.
[Anderson:] Uncovering a horrifying reality which is hard to believe actually is happening today Kenya's mentally ill, a powerful report, just ahead here on CNN. Don't go away.

[Sambolin:] It is 47 minutes past the hour. A couple of quick headlines. The U.S. Marine who bashed President Obama on Facebook has been discharged. Sergeant Gary Stein called the president a liar and suggested he would not follow some orders. A military board said he broke the rules of limiting political conduct. He was given an other than honorable discharge. TSA screeners busted in a bribery and drug scheme. Four former and current screeners at Los Angeles International Airport are charged with allowing large amounts of cocaine, meth and marijuana to pass through x-ray machine at security in exchange for cash payoffs. One drug courier is already in custody and another is expected to turn himself in at some point today. Christine, back to you.
[Romans:] Thank you, Zoraida. From the White House to the governor's mansion, this time legally. Infamous White House party crasher Tareq Salahi is running for governor in his home state of Virginia. But is anybody buying it? Tareq Salahi joins us now from Washington D.C. Welcome to the program. We understand you're interested or you say you filed to run for governor of Virginia. There are a lot of people are saying, look, this could be the next step in a long list of publicity-seeking endeavors. The White House party, for example, appearing on the "Real House Wives of D.C., a $50 million lawsuit against your soon-to-be ex- wife, who left and took up with a journey rocker. Why should the public assume this isn't just another publicity stunt?
[Tareq Salahi, Plans To Run For Virginia Governor:] Good morning, Christine. Well, you know, it's not. A lot of people think it might be part of a TV show. It's not. I love Virginia. I'm taking it very seriously. I have passion for Virginia. I've been living there my whole life. I'm excited about this. You know, currently, the Virginia attorney general has been making personal attacks against me and I said enough is enough.
[Romans:] You mentioned the attorney general. You say you would like to be governor of the state where the attorney general has actually filed suit against you with regard to your business dealings of your winery, which raise a whole lot of questions as well if you're about to be in legal battle with the state of which you want to run.
[Salahi:] Well, it's really against him. I mean, this person is this person can who's the Virginia of AG has been doing these personal attacks against me. This is the second time. He's doing this to grandstand. He is doing this because he's going to be running for governor. And he's really doing this for all the wrong reasons and, frankly, is wasting taxpayer dollars. So I'm going to not only run against him, but I'm taking this very seriously. I'm in it to win it.
[Fugelsang:] Sir, good morning. There are those who would consider it grand standing when you filed the $50 million against your ex-wife.
[Romans:] Soon to be ex-wife.
[Fugelsang:] I beg your pardon. How do you respond to those allegations when you hear them?
[Salahi:] Well, I filed against Journey and [inaudible] and against the entertainment company because there are a lot of money involved in that from agencies that owe us significant dollars. You know, there's money that needs to be sorted and distributed and that's part of the divorce. There's a lot of money because of the marriage and because of the divorce that has to be divided now.
[Romans:] I'm going to be honest with you. You have a real sloppy personal history here. It's all over the public airwaves. You called your soon to be ex-wife I think a groupie slut or something. It's not often you see someone running for the highest seat in their state, only 50 of these jobs exist, with sort of that kind of real baggage.
[Salahi:] Those were her actions that she did what she did. When she started her cheating affair with the founder of Journey, that's something she did. So I'm reacting to her.
[Romans:] So you are only known for these things. What makes you qualified to be the governor of a state?
[Salahi:] You know, I have a number of political things that I've been doing in Virginia for the last 15 years. I've been appointed by Governor Gilmore in 2000. I was appointed by Mark Warner who was governor at the time and now senator and I was reappointed by Tim Kaine. In fact, you know, I've done things on both sides, both the Democratic side and the Republican side. I was on steering committee for DNC. I've been very active
[Romans:] You would be running as a Republican this time?
[Salahi:] Yes.
[Romans:] The application that your spokesman sent to CNN listed November 6th, 2013 as the election day, but the election day is November 5th. Are you aware of that error?
[Salahi:] You know, this was filled out by some of our attorneys. So if there may be a date error. It doesn't get submitted until after January 1st. So these types of materials including signatures can't be submitted until January. So all we're doing now is exploratory work and a lot of meetings with attorneys and our committees.
[Romans:] The statement we got from Virginia State Board of Elections regarding your application is nothing has been filed with the state board of elections yet. The candidate
[Salahi:] It can't be filed until January.
[Romans:] So you also have to have 10,000 registered voters from Virginia and a minimum of 400 from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts. Will you get all that support?
[Salahi:] Yes, there's no question. We've had several thousand new fans come on our Facebook page over the last 12 hours. So clearly, there's a huge amount of momentum. We have hundreds of messages of support. People who know me prior to my wife know how serious and how much I love Virginia and how much I've been involved in Virginia community and Virginia politics. So those who knew me before I got married and before we did Hollywood things and television and TV shows and reality TV, know how serious I am.
[Romans:] Don't you think that has tarnished it?
[Salahi:] Absolutely not.
[Romans:] People think reality TV is garbage.
[Salahi:] I disagree. It's really the opposite. The social media and those people that associated me with television or reality TV, it opens up a whole new audience. Frankly, the younger audience is very important in winning this governor race.
[Huntsman:] I would argue that one of the biggest issues today for voters is the trust deficit especially as there is to government institutions. Here you are where you recently snuck into a White House dinner and dealing with issues with your winery, I want to know how you are going to prove
[Romans:] Here we go.
[Salahi:] We're going back into the White House. Do you really think you can sneak into the White House? Come on seriously. That was put to rest a long time ago. Matt Lauer broke that story almost two years ago and then it just became entertainment. Went to "Saturday Night Live" and then David Letterman and then it just transitioned, but no, nobody can break into the White House. Come on, please. That's impossible.
[Huntsman:] So how are you going to convince the people of Virginia to really trust you? Do you have a big vision you feel will real appeal to the people in Virginia?
[Salahi:] You know, again, it goes back to who I was and who I am. The real me is back. The real me is what you see what I'm doing and what I have done in the past. I've done a tremendous amount of policy writing and authoring bills in the general assembly supporting the Virginia wine industry.
[Romans:] You were asked to step down from the tourism industry from the board after that whole White House thing you said isn't really a problem. But you were asked to step down and had to leave that post.
[Salahi:] Why bring noise to the Virginia tourism authority when it's not necessary. I did the right thing there. Now it's time to
[Cain:] I have some questions for you. I want to go back to the point that the reality show didn't tarnish your ability to run for governor, but in fact enhanced it and exposed you to a new perspective voters so would you suggest that Mitt Romney or maybe even Barack Obama in his re-election campaign look at a reality show on Bravo?
[Salahi:] You know, worse things could happen.
[Romans:] All right, Tareq Salahi, thank you so much. Planning to run for Virginia governor. Nice to see you this morning. Focus on 15 minutes of fame, but focus on all of the years before that, I guess. All right, so ahead on STARTING POINT, a Catholic school teacher who says she was fired for receiving fertility treatments. They called her a sinner. Now she's suing. The details of that story ahead. Plus, it's been one year after the double tap that killed Osama Bin Laden. This morning exhilarating brand new details of that raid and the Wikileaks that could have tipped Bin Laden off. You're watching STARTING POINT.

[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] And with that, here we go, top of the hour. Want to welcome to the men and the women watching us right now on American Forces Network all around the world. We're going to hit you fast this hour. So let's go. First here, scary weather situation in all of the Southeast today. You have tornado warnings. Watches have been scattered across Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, spawning huge backups at the nation's busiest airports. And even if you're not in the path of these storms, folks this could impact you. Why? This is part of the same storm system that hit the Midwest yesterday with those 10 10 confirmed tornadoes.
[Justin Schroeder, Resident Of Indiana:] All of a sudden, the wind kicked up.
[Baldwin:] Obviously, we're all over this story here at CNN, as is Chad Myers. He will have an update for you out here momentarily, some of those trouble spots out there. Meantime, next, a Virginia man under arrest for an alleged attempted terror plot, the FBI coming out today and saying the plan involved attacks targeting Metro stations in the D.C. area, four of them. The suspect is a naturalized citizen named Farooque Ahmed. He was born in Pakistan. And he's accused of plotting to assist people he believed were affiliated with al Qaeda. And if he's convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison. Next, French authorities taking very, very seriously the new warning allegedly from the head al Qaeda. A male voice on this audiotape broadcast on Al-Jazeera TV claims to be this man, Osama bin Laden. The man threatens to kill French troops if they don't get out of Afghanistan, withdraw. France has more than 370 troops currently stationed there. CNN has not been able to confirm if in fact that voice is bin Laden's. Next, flags are half-staff across Argentina today, the country mourning the loss of Argentina's former President Nestor Kirchner. He died today of an apparent heart attack. He served as president from 2003 until 2007. He is the husband of the Argentina's current president, Cristina Fernandez. The 60-years-old Kirchner was expected to run for president again in 2011, when his wife's term ends. Next, a former TV celebrity chef pleads no contest in that murder plot against his wife, murder-for-hire plot. California prosecutors say Juan-Carlos Cruz tried to hire homeless men to kill his wife. The homeless men then alerted police. Police then set up this whole sting operation, videotaped Cruz plotting with these homeless guys. The 48-year-old Cruz faces up to nine years in prison when he's sentenced in December. Next, New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie officially pulling the plug on that multibillion-dollar tunnel project. After what he is calling a careful review, Christie says the project would be too big a burden to taxpayers in his state. The Trans Hudson ARC project, which stands for Access to the Region's Core, an acronym, would have created a tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City. It would have been the nation's largest infrastructure project and could have created 6,000 jobs. Next, former first lady Laura Bush describing life beyond the White House. She told audiences there at the women's conference in Long Beach, California, that the former president is adjusting and that she doesn't cut him any slack if he doesn't pick up his socks or those wet towels. You know we want to move those off of the floor. She also showed off a memento from her days at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
[Laura Bush, Former First Lady:] And as for me, it's come to this. This is the Laura Bush bobblehead doll.
[Bush:] I got this from a friend of mine who found it in the gift shop of the Constitutional Center in Philadelphia a few weeks after the election. It was on the clearance shelf.
[Baldwin:] Oh, the clearance shelf. Now to a developing story here out of Washington. Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence joining me now with some story involving problems at a site where U.S. nuclear missiles are controlled. Chris, what can you tell me?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] Yes, Brooke, this is Warren Air Force Base. It's out there in Wyoming. And basically what happened was, There was a problem on Saturday that disrupted communication to about 50 nuclear missiles. To put that in some perspective, this Air Force base has about 450. So you're talking roughly a little over 10 percent of the nuclear stockpile there had some problems for over an hour now, we're told. Here's what happened, basically. A computer at one of the launch control centers continuously tried to keep talking to the missiles out in the silos when it wasn't supposed to. The Air Force put it to us sort of like think of five people with a walkie-talkie, except one guy keeps his hand on the button, which doesn't allow any of the other four to communicate. That's what happened. Once the Air Force was able to isolate that one launch control center with that computer, the other four were able to kick in and take control. We're told that the president never lost the capacity to order a launch, if he had to do it. But we're also told this is a problem that cropped up about 12 years ago at a couple of other nuclear sites. So, it's something that the engineers are on site now, they're looking at. When you're talking about this kind of weapon, even a small problem has to be thoroughly, thoroughly investigated, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] Absolutely. Chris Lawrence, thank you for bringing that to our attention. Chris, thank you. Meantime, take a look at this.
[Unidentified Female:] Nine million voters vote on a machine just like this.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Unidentified Female:] And yet you programmed it to play Pac-Man?
[Unidentified Male:] That's right.
[Baldwin:] You heard her right, Pac-Man. Are hackers hijacking your vote? You need to hear this. This most definitely affects next week's midterm elections. That's ahead. Also, urgent warnings here as monster storms sweep across several states. We're going to tell you where they are, where they're going, and what they're leaving behind. Stay there.

[Costello:] Ok. I told you before new information on the Bush era tax cuts. There is some movement on Capitol Hill so let's head there now and check in with our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash. What's up, Dana?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] Well, Carol, earlier in the hour we talked about some votes that are going to happen in the Senate today. I reported that we expected that they would need a 60-vote threshold to pass and therefore they wouldn't. Guess what? Since then things have changed and the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell just went to the Senate floor and said Republicans have changed their strategy. What they're going to do now is allow a vote, actually a couple of votes on extending the Bush era tax cuts but with just simple majorities. The fact that this is news is maybe sad, maybe interesting, unclear. Because usually things need 60 votes. But the Republican leader said that they're not going to put up procedural hurdles. What they are going to do is allow a vote to extend the Bush era tax cuts for families making $250,000 and less. That's the President's plan. That's the Democrats' plan. And just need actually 50 votes to pass. Democrats actually think that they might have that. I just talked to a Democratic aide who said that they believe that that could pass. The second vote that they're going to have is the Republican plan which is to extend all Bush era tax cuts for those making up to millions of dollars and those making $250,000 and less but do that for just one year. Unclear if that Republican plan will pass. So this is going to be some movement and it'll be real senators will really be on the record. That is the goal the Republican leader said today to get senators on the record, remove all the procedural hurdles. I think an obvious question you'll probably going to ask me is does that mean that this is going to become law? The answer to that question is, no. This is these are still political votes. There are procedural reasons which I won't get into right now why that won't ultimately become law at least in the short term. But at least we will see real votes on the Senate floor on this major discussion that's been going on in the campaign trails.
[Costello:] Dana Bash, many thanks. Dramatic pictures. A woman trapped in raging flood. How she got out of this alive.

[Jane Velez-mitchell:] Breaking news. A blockbuster new piece of information in the Jodi Arias case. What was she doing? Who was she calling right after killing Travis Alexander? We will talk to somebody live who says he`s got the blockbuster answer. The news next.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, a stunning new development in the Jodi Arias trial. A friend of Jodi`s now saying Jodi did something extraordinary that we`ve never heard about before the very night she killed Travis Alexander. Tonight, I will speak to this friend, Gus Searcy, about his new revelation. Could it turn this trial upside-down? Plus, Travis and Jodi`s filthy, X-rated calls and texts played by the defense in court. We`ll replay them and debate with our expert panel: Is all this dirty talk a game changer or does it simply cement her motive for murder?
[Jodi Arias, Murder Defendant:] I woke up, and he was on top of me.
[Kirk Nurmi, Jodi Arias`s Defense Attorney:] How did you feel wearing these boy`s underwear?
[Arias:] They were erotic, and we were they made me feel sexy and feel attractive. So I
[Unidentified Male:] This, of course, is the world according to Jodi Arias.
[Jennifer Willmott, Jodi Arias`s Defense Attorney:] He learned how to deal with his temper by being humble, compliant, and agreeable.
[Unidentified Male:] Jodi was Travis` drug. He said things and did things and put things in type that was not the normal Travis we knew.
[Arias:] He body-slammed me and kicked me in the ribs.
[Unidentified Male:] Keep in mind: these were two consenting adults. She not only encouraged it. She loved it. She talked dirty back to him. She said, "OH, you`re so bad, but I love it."
[Arias:] I like being handled. But yes, I totally want to handle you.
[Travis Alexander, Murder Victim:] Mercy, mercy.
[Velez-mitchell:] Tonight, breaking news in the Jodi Arias case. Never-before-heard information about the very night Jodi Arias killed Travis Alexander. Did Jodi make a chilling phone call to a friend just a few hours after killing Travis and reveal a secret? Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live. The stunning 32-year-old photographer admits she stabbed her ex- boyfriend 29 times, slitting Travis Alexander`s throat ear to ear, and shooting him in the head. But she says she did it all in self-defense. Jodi claims Travis was a sexual deviant who sexually degraded and abused her for months leading up to the killing. Listen to this phone sex call she recorded between her and Travis. We have to warn you: The language is graphic, but this was played in open court. This is the now- deceased victim`s voice.
[Alexander:] I`m going to tie you to a tree and put it in your
[Arias:] Oh, my gosh. That is so debasing. I like it.
[Alexander:] I`m going to tie your arms around a tree and blindfold you and put the camera on a timer while I`m
[Arias:] Oh, my gosh. You are full of ideas.
[Alexander:] It takes creativity to top ourselves.
[Arias:] I know it does. We`ve gotten way creative in the past. I have to give you most of the credit, though, as far as the creativity ideas goes. I`m game for, like, almost everything you come up with.
[Velez-mitchell:] She said she`s game: "Oh, my gosh. What ideas." But now Jodi`s claiming she was in fear for her life. She was the one, however, who caused these injuries and others like them to Travis Alexander. Look at these autopsy photos. Do you buy her self-defense claim? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297. Straight out to Jodi and Travis` friend and co-worker, my very special guest, Gus Searcy. Gus, great to have you on. You have this blockbuster new information about the night Travis Alexander was killed. Tell us. Tell us about the call you got: from whom, what time, what was said.
[Gus Searcy, Friend/co-worker Of Jodi And Travis:] Yes, this is the thing that I originally called the D.A. on when I first found out she was arrested. It was about 3:30 in the morning I got a call from Jodi. When I answered the phone, she said she was crying hysterically, saying that Travis was dead. And I asked her, "Do you know what happened?" She said, "I`m not sure." I said, "Are you OK?" She said, "Yes." And I asked her where she was, if she needed a ride, things like that.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Well, let me go through the timeline. Then I have another question for you. So Travis was brutally killed on June 4, 2008. Jodi wasn`t arrested until July 15. Cops interrogated her for two straight days at the time they arrested her. Listen to some of that interrogation.
[Unidentified Male:] This is absolutely some of the best evidence I`ve ever had in a case. And I`ve convicted a few people on less than this.
[Arias:] Well, so I`m as good as done?
[Unidentified Male:] That is not for me to say. But eventually those photos will come out. Jodi?
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Let`s run through the calendar. Jodi kills Travis on June 4 at about 5:30 in the evening. Gus, you say Jodi called you, hysterical, at about 3:30 in the morning on June 5, about ten hours after she killed him. His body is discovered a few days later, on June 4, but Jodi is not arrested until July 15, OK? Now, you waited until July 15, more than a month, to contact police or try to call prosecutors? Why not dial 911 immediately after you hang up with Jodi?
[Searcy:] Well, when I called her, I didn`t realize what had happened. All I knew is she said he was dead. And I said, "Do you know what happened?" She said, "No." And I said, "Are you OK?" And she said yes. I said, "Do you need a ride or anything?" And she said, "No, I`m going to rent a car." I said, "Well, let me know what happens." And...
[Velez-mitchell:] Whoa, whoa. Did she call you or did you call her?
[Searcy:] She called me. It was 3:30 in the morning.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK.
[Searcy:] And the phone records will verify that.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. So now the body is not found until several days later. You`re a colleague of this victim, Travis Alexander. Obviously, everybody is going to know he`s missing. And then when they find his body, stabbed repeatedly, they`ve got to know somebody killed him. Why not call, like when they find the body and they`re looking actively looking for a killer?
[Searcy:] Well, first off, you have to understand what was happening. If you recall, Travis was leaving the next day to go on a trip to Cancun. So was I. I actually left on that trip to go to Cancun. I was in Cancun for about a week. I came back, and I wasn`t really following all of this. It wasn`t until I heard she was arrested is when I then called the D.A. Because before that, I didn`t know that I didn`t know anything. I knew she knew she had died. I didn`t know why. I hadn`t followed the case. And then when I heard she was arrested is when I called the D.A. and left a message. I didn`t say why I called. I said, "I have some information." And he never called they never called me back.
[Velez-mitchell:] And why do you think he never called you back?
[Searcy:] I have no idea. You know, I have a saying, you should know what you`re saying "no" to. And he didn`t have a clue.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Listen, I want to bring...
[Searcy:] So no one asked.
[Velez-mitchell:] I want to bring in our attorneys, our legal panel. Stand by, Gus, because we will have more questions for you. Fascinating. Let`s bring in our expert panel: Jordan Rose; prosecutor Wendy Murphy, former prosecutor Gia Longarzo, defense; Jayne Weintraub, defense; Brian Silver, defense. So we`ve got a potpourri. Wendy Murphy, you`re hearing that, like everything in this case, it cuts both ways. She calls this guy reportedly, Gus, hysterical about ten hours after she kills Travis Alexander. The significance?
[Wendy Murphy, Former Prosecutor:] Well, look, I would have probably at least sent a cop to speak to Gus to see what he knew. But you have to remember, they probably by that point in time felt that they had a very good case based on the forensic evidence, based on whatever else they were developing. And you can`t respond to every nut who calls you when there`s a profound murder case and says, "Call me. I know some stuff you might want to know." I mean, Gus should have said Gus should have said, "Here`s what I have. I have information because the accused..."
[Gina Longarzo, Defense Attorney:] Can I jump in here?
[Murphy:] ... called me.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK. Gina, your thoughts?
[Longarzo:] Gus Searcy is one of the first witnesses for the defense. He also testified that she dressed conservatively and femininely at work, and that she was a good employee, OK? And now you have police officers interrogating a young woman who I believe at that time was temporarily insane, taking advantage of her, making her waive her Fifth Amendment right to silence and questioning her when she did not have an attorney at the time. In my world...
[Murphy:] That is you should be on the "Twilight Zone" channel. What are you talking about?
[Longarzo:] You should see in the courtroom...
[Murphy:] What are you talking about? Why don`t you say they coerced her confession? That`s outrageous. That`s not even an issue. No one is even accusing them of coercing her.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, I want to give somebody else a chance here. Jordan Rose, you`re out there in Phoenix. What do you think about this and the significance and the fact that the D.A. didn`t call him back?
[Jordan Rose, Attorney:] I guess what I would first say is, Gus, my man, were you worried about contempt of court? No disrespect. I don`t know Gus, but I don`t really understand how this wouldn`t have come out, why he wouldn`t have brought it out on the stand. And to really to believe that this is what occurred is very difficult for me. I`m having a very hard time. And again, no disrespect, Gus, but I just am having a very hard time with this. If a woman calls you and says, the guy is dead. You know the guy. You might ask some questions, just thinking you would. And you might follow up before you go to Cancun, and while you`re in Cancun. He works for your goodness sake, he works for your company. I just don`t get that. So I`m just having a fundamental problem with this information now when your testimony sounded like an infomercial for Prepaid Legal services.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Gus, I want to give you a chance to respond.
[Searcy:] OK. Well, first off the infomercial, that`s what I was told to do, so that`s what I did. I called the D.A., and if you recall the prosecutorial misconduct hearing, he the attorney even admits that I contacted him twice and that he never called me back. I can`t control what he does. I called two times, and I sent a message a third time...
[Velez-mitchell:] Gus, I guess the point is, after you hear after you hear at 3:30 in the morning, oh, my colleague is dead and you hear this girl calling hysterically, and she says, "I don`t know what happened," were you curious whether he died of a heart attack because he went to the whatever that place is in Las Vegas where they serve those burgers? Or were you curious maybe that he had had an accident or maybe it was a kill - I mean, where is the curiosity there as to how he died?
[Searcy:] OK, first off, he was not a close friend. He was an acquaintance of someone I met a few times. And unfortunately I`ve had several people die in that I know that have been in the business: from cancer, car accidents, from things. She was hysterical. I said, "Do you know what happened?" She said, "No." I asked if she needed a ride. She said, "No." I said, "Let me know what happens." And then I left to go on the trip that I was already scheduled to go on. I was gone. I never got much information back about that. Then I found out she was arrested, and that`s when I called the D.A.
[Velez-mitchell:] I buy it. I buy it in the sense that I`m thinking putting myself in your shoes. If I`m not really close I mean, we work in these organizations that have many, many people. You hear about that, and then it`s interesting and then you move on if you`re not really personally connected to that person. However, Gus has been a very good sport to take some of these tough questions from our legal panel. Thank you, Gus. On the other side of the break, Gus, I know you have some more information you want to give us. So we`re going to learn about a couple of things that you saw between Travis and Jodi that are fascinating. So thanks for sticking with us. And we`re going to get to you right on the other side of the break. And we`re taking your calls.
[Arias:] Eventually we are both going to marry people, and I just get the feeling that there aren`t a lot of Mormon guys like that. And there may or may not I`m sure there are a lot of freaky Mormon girls, but are they the marrying type? I shouldn`t say that. I`m just saying, are they the type that you`d want to marry, or are the guys out there the type that I`d want to marry? I went into the bathroom and it`s a motor home, so it`s a very small, cramped bathroom. And he wanted a photo, and I just leaned forward and did the best I could.
[Nurmi:] What did he want a photo of?
[Arias:] My butt.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. And she`s saying she took photos of her buttocks and sent them to Travis at his insistence in the motor home of Gus Searcy, who`s our very special guest tonight. I want to warn you: the material you`re about to hear from court, very explicit. Jodi covered her face in her hands as her attorney read aloud text messages from Travis to her. Keep in mind, her parents were right there in the front row. Listen to this.
[Nurmi:] He also says, "You`ll rejoice in being a whore that`s sole purpose in life is to be mine to have animal sex with, and to please me in any way I desire."
[Velez-mitchell:] Gus Searcy, our very special guest, a friend of Jodi Arias and knew Travis Alexander, as well. A lot of people are saying this defense of degradation is a crock. You spent time with Jodi and Travis. Did you ever see anything with your own eyes at all that would indicate that Travis had a temper? That Travis could have possibly been abusive or not?
[Searcy:] Yes. What happened was, I happened to be coincidentally in Las Vegas. I was speaking at a briefing in the local market there, and I got a call from Jodi, and she was very upset. She had had a fight with Travis. He had threatened her in some way; didn`t get into detail of what. And she didn`t know what to do. And I said, "Look, I`m only a couple hours away. Why don`t you come to Las Vegas? You can spend a couple of days in the motor home and calm down," and so she came. And when she was there in the motor home, we had been talking about stuff, and the phone rang and you could see on the phone I actually bought her this phone, ironically, because it`s the phone that did the recording. And Helios had the ability to record calls. And it was Travis on the line. And when she was talking to him, she was trying to kind of get off the phone with him and he you could hear him yell. He goes, "Damn it, Jodi," and when he yelled at her like that, she like ducked like she was ducking a bullet. And then she looked at me and she got embarrassed. And that`s when she went outside and talked with him for about a half an hour. And then she came back in, and she was crying and shaking.
[Velez-mitchell:] She was shaking and crying. And she has testified that she would often shake like a Chihuahua, and I have a couple of Chihuahuas. So people always say, "Oh, I think of you" when we hear that sound bite. I don`t know. She would say that she was shaking like a Chihuahua, and as this relationship kept deteriorating, she seemed to almost be on the verge of some kind of mental breakdown. Let`s hear that sound, and then we`re going to debate it. Is this a bunch of nonsense or is there some validity to it? Listen to this.
[Nurmi:] If he would get mad at you, you would shake?
[Arias:] Yes, it was like my nerves, like kind of like how a Chihuahua shakes. You know, I would just kind of tremble a little bit.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Expert panel, we`ll start with Jayne Weintraub. I mean, some people are saying this is a crock, that you heard that they had an argument that Gus overheard. But anybody here who hasn`t had an argument with the person they`re dating, please raise their hand. OK. Nobody is raising their hand. Start with Jayne Weintraub.
[Jayne Weintraub, Criminal Defense Attorney:] I`m not going to answer that question. As far I`ll take the Fifth. But as far as whether or not he was Travis was witnessed being abusive, you know, Jane, the battered wife syndrome is around because people don`t do that in front of other people. We don`t know, unless Jodi tells us, how she was feeling, how she was controlled. You know, it`s easy for us to sit back on the other side of a lens and say, "Why didn`t you walk out? Why didn`t you just leave him?" But the truth is, it is a valid defense based on evidence. And we have not heard all of the evidence. What we do know is that Travis was obviously leading a double life. We`re not sitting here to be disparaging to Travis. This is her life.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right.
[Weintraub:] This is what she`s told her lawyers. She is on trial for murder. something happened there, and we don`t know yet what it was. But we do know...
[Velez-mitchell:] It`s interesting, Wendy Murphy, is that Jayne Weintraub started out as being on the prosecution side of these panels, and she flipped. Could jurors be flipping, Wendy Murphy?
[Murphy:] Well, I`ve got to take Jayne out for a drink. I`m going to fix her up good. No, they`re not going to flip. Look, they`re being distracted, titillated. It`s a big fat red herring, all this sex talk. It gets people it gets people unfocused. And that is the purpose of the defense. When the case is really strong, the defense needs a big distraction. But make no mistake about it, when the prosecution has its turn and by the way, they`re not objecting to all the leading questions; 90 percent of the defense questions are leading. It`s so objectionable, but they`re letting it go, because they want this to end. They can`t wait to get up and play the other parts of the tapes, where Jodi will be the sexual aggressor, where it will be clear that Jodi is the one making this guy feel these things, do these things.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right.
[Murphy:] She`s the seductress, not him.
[Velez-mitchell:] Brian.
[Murphy:] We haven`t heard the rest of the tapes yet.
[Velez-mitchell:] OK, Brian, I want to give you a chance.
[Brian Silver, Attorney:] You`re not going to believe this, but I actually agree with Wendy in part. Here`s my issue. I do believe that there`s a valid defense here, and I do believe that there is a question, there is a possible reasonable doubt about whether or not she was upset and abused, et cetera, et cetera. But what`s going wrong here is the delivery. They can`t drag this out for seven days. They`ve got to hit their points like dropping bombs. Boom, boom, boom. They can`t go over every little detail, talk about every little thing. Because that`s where you lose your jury. They`ve got to stick to the point, delivery it, get in and get out, and tell their story.
[Velez-mitchell:] I disagree with you. I think they`re mesmerizing the jury into some kind of hypnotic state. Sometimes I`ve got to say, "Oh, you know." This is like a one-woman show. I`ve been calling it "The Vagina Monologues," because it`s going on and on. And is she mesmerizing and hypnotizing the jury, as she has so many men? More on the other side.
[Unidentified Female:] Nine-one-one emergency. My friend is dead in his bedroom. State of Arizona versus Jodi M. Arias... A lot of blood. ... count one, first-degree murder, premeditated murder.
[Willmott:] Jodi was Travis`s dirty little secret.
[Unidentified Female:] Has he been threatened by anyone lately? Yes, he has.
[Arias:] I wouldn`t use "obsession." It was a two-way street.
[Unidentified Female:] Caused the death of Travis V. Alexander.
[Arias:] I need to be honest, the evidence is very compelling, but none of it proves that I committed a murder.
[Alexander:] The way you moan, baby, it sounds like it sounds like you are this 12-year-old girl having her first orgasm. It`s so hot.
[Arias:] It sounds like what?
[Alexander:] A 12-year-old girl having her first orgasm.
[Arias:] You`re bad. You make me feel so dirty.
[Velez-mitchell:] So one thing we can establish for sure, Jodi and Travis had a very kinky, sexual relationship. But was it consensual, two- sided, her an eager participant, or did it cross the line into abuse, therefore, allowing her to argue "I`m a victim of domestic violence, a battered woman, and I killed him in self-defense"? Jean Casarez, when she finally gets off the stand, what will they do with their domestic violence expert to connect the dots?
[Jean Casarez, Trutv`s "in Session":] You know, I think that they will use everything. And I think that`s why the defense is going through everything. And I think they will make it the cycle of violence. They`ll look at the power and control. And when you listen to those phone calls and read those text messages, they will conclude there was power and control over Jodi, and then they will go into the domestic violence and how one thing spirals to another. And they`ll also use his, they say, affinity for young little boys to say that she then knew his dirty little secret, and that made her at risk for his violence.
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes. And by the way, good job there getting Gus. That new information first came from your interview. So well done. Wendy Walsh, author of "The 30-Day Love Detox," psychologist, what`s fascinating here excuse me is that you have this kinky relationship. All right. Many, many millions of American women and women around the world are reading "50 Shades of Gray," and we had a debate last night whether this phone sex talk is kinkier than "50 Shades of Gray" or it isn`t. So with all these women first of all, why are women intrigued with these kinds of relationships? Why do women want to be dominated and degraded in some cases and consider it fun?
[Wendy Walsh, Author, "the 30-day Love Detox":] Well, I`ll tell you one reason, because in an S&M; relationship, the power actually lies with the bottom. Because remember, the top is doing all the serving. The bottom is the one who`s being served to and getting their needs met. So if they`re women wanting to be a bottom, it`s because they want to be able to have that sexual power that men have. But I think in this case, this isn`t a classic S&M; relationship where two people made a contract with each other, they had code words so if they went did something that felt uncomfortable, they knew that a code word meant you would stop. None of that. This is more what I would call a traumatic bond, where these people, unconsciously, made a hand shake with each other to key into each other`s deepest pathologies, if you will. In other words, she wanted to please a man, wanted to get him to love her, would do anything, morph into anything to make him love her. And of course, he`s acting out this kind of chaotic side of his interior from his past life before he became born again, if you will. Does this mean that it`s OK to murder? No, because this isn`t part of the law. This is psychology. And I think that...
[Velez-mitchell:] What does this have to do with when you say because obviously, he has taken a vow of chastity, and so had she. They weren`t supposed to have sex outside of marriage, and they could not live up to that high ideal or that ideal. So sex outside of marriage, therefore, is dirty, is wrong, is morally wrong. So therefore, they make it dirty and wrong. Is there a certain logic there?
[Walsh:] Absolutely. That`s a really great way to think about it. Because remember, so now there are lots of wonderful people who have who are upstanding and moral and ethical naturally who follow certain religions. But there are also people who are attracted to really strict religions, because they`re searching for boundaries. They want to think of God as a big cop in the sky. They`re looking for rules and regulations to help stop themselves. Because both of these two had somewhat chaotic interiors. And, you know, pretty traumatic childhoods, I think.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Much more here with Jodi and Travis` friend, Gus Searcy, Jodi`s mentor, on the other side. Then top of the hour, Nancy Grace talking to a friend and co-worker of Jodi`s. That`s 8 p.m. Eastern. But we`re going to debate this phone sex and the sexting on the other side and play you more of the most outrageous testimony in evidence in this incredible trial, next.
[Nurmi:] If he would get mad at you, you would shake?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Nurmi:] Did this shaking, did that begin before or after the beatings began?
[Arias:] Before. I walked in and Travis was on the bed
[Velez-mitchell:] Jodi has regaled us on the stand for several days now with phone sex and sexting and the story of catching Travis, she alleges, pleasuring himself to photos of young boys. If this photo about Travis and this story about Travis is true and let`s remember we only have Jodi`s word for it, does it now set up Jodi to, when she gets to the day of killing in her testimony, claim that Travis actually wanted to kill her because she knew his secret desire for young boys, almost like giving him a motive for murder and turning the tables. This is what I kind of predict the defense is going to do as they get closer to the actual moment of the killing. Let`s debate it with our expert panel starting with let`s see we`ll start with the defense now. How about Gina Longarzo?
[Gina Mendola Longarzo, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Thank you Jane. I have to agree with what Wendy Walsh had just said about her and him. And I have to say, they both kind of had rough childhoods, especially she did. And this whole issue of "Shades of Gray" and women, I think she was just looking for someone to kind of reel her in. He seemed like this cool guy, although he really wasn`t. He was a Mormon who told her that it was ok to have anal sex because that doesn`t count as premarital sex. And I think she just really had this very crazy relationship where she was truly a sexually, emotionally, psychologically battered woman. And so now all these texts, all these messages are coming out. I think these texts are going to help her at the end of the day. Because remember, 12 jurors all have to agree beyond a reasonable doubt that she should get the death penalty. I don`t think that`s going to happen.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. Let me jump in here and say Jordan Rose, one thing is to say oh, I`m a battered woman. Another is to say that Travis Alexander actually plotted to rub her out two totally different things. They`re reaching a fork in the road here. Maybe that`s why they`re stalling because they have to make a decision. What exactly are they going to say happened on the day that Jodi killed Travis Alexander Jordan.
[Jayne Weintraub, Criminal Defense Attorney:] They`re not stalling, Jane.
[Jordan Rose, Attorney:] That`s right. She`s almost taking a page out of the
[Weintraub:] The jury is listening to her and looking at her.
[Velez-mitchell:] Hold on. Let me give Jordan a chance.
[Rose:] She`s almost taking a page Jane out of the crazy person handbook and she`s going, well, what kind of a defense do I do here? It`s self-defense. Ok. So now we do not have one person who has seen him abuse her, hit her. What we have is Gus saying that she cried on the telephone. They had arguments.
[Weintraub:] Oh my God, is there no one saying that?
[Rose:] We`ve all raised our hand we don`t have arguments. I believe that this is quite insulting to real victims of domestic violence. I mean it is just ridiculous.
[Velez-mitchell:] Jayne I still
[Jordan:] I want one witness that says that he says
[Longarzo:] But batterers do not tell people
[Velez-mitchell:] Listen, no interrupting people. One at a time, I`ll make you raise your hand. No, but seriously. I`m trying to get to the fork in the road here. Is she going to claim that she was just a battered woman or is she going to claim that he targeted her? He wanted to rub her out and his motive was that she knew his dirty little secret of alleged desire for young boys? Which one are they going to do? Jayne Weintraub?
[Weintraub:] Jane, they are number one, they`re letting this all be told. They are letting her tell what happened to her as a process. The jury is looking at her every single day, and they`re having to listen to her. They see her cry. They see her laugh. They see her as a human being not as a quote, "serial killermurderer". And they have humanized Jodi in front of the jury. That`s number one that the defense has done. By letting this all come out so that it builds up until you point where you see what it led to. And I don`t think that you`re going to hear Jodi Arias say he was plotting to kill her. I think that something happened that she was frightened and that she felt she was in imminent fear. He had such control over her. And as far as
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. I`ll give Wendy Murphy a second to respond. Yes, let`s give Wendy a chance to respond. We want to be fair here.
[Wendy Murphy, Former Prosecutor:] There`s no doubt they`re going to say she`s going to say he raped me, he threatened to kill me, he, you know, ejaculated on my face. She`s going to say as many disgusting things as she can as the [inaudible] and therefore I had to kill him, slice him 30 times, cut his head off, shoot him in the here`s why it`s not going to work and the jury will laugh out loud. She drove there from California to Arizona with the weapons in the car. Gas cans in her car so she wouldn`t have to stop and be caught on video filling up the tank. It was a planned execution because of a very typical motive that if the gender roles were reversed, we would understand. He was going away with another woman. This is a woman who said "If I can`t have you, no one can." We know it when it`s a guy, we need to get it when it`s a woman.
[Velez-mitchell:] On the other side, we`ll take your calls. More debate. Wow.
[Unidentified Male:] Is this a checked conversation we heard in evidence earlier where he calls you a
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And a slut?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] And a whore?
[Arias:] Yes, and many other things.
[Unidentified Male:] What other things do you recall him calling you during that conversation?
[Arias:] He called me a
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, my gosh, we`ve been waiting for Jodi Arias to get to the day that she admittedly killed Travis Alexander. And we keep waiting, she keeps telling stories, she`s saying she reads poetry. It`s like a one-woman show. When will we get to the moment of truth?
[Unidentified Male:] He also says in this message, "You are the ultimate slut in bed." What did that mean to you? Is there some history behind that?
[Arias:] Yes.
[Unidentified Male:] What`s that history?
[Arias:] Sometimes he would call me that when we were having sex.
[Velez-mitchell:] So the text messages purportedly from Travis Alexander to Jodi. A demeaning text that the defense is presenting to show that he degraded her sexually and that they had this S&M; abusive relationship. Let`s go out to the phone lines, Kim, Utah, your question, Kim?
[Kim, Utah:] Hi, Jane. Thanks for taking my call.
[Velez-mitchell:] Sure.
[Kim:] I love what you do for animals. I`m an ASPCA guardian and I own two rescue dogs myself.
[Velez-mitchell:] Good for you. Thank you.
[Kim:] My thought on this whole case is we still don`t know yet who initiated all this kinky stuff. You know, it could have been her. Travis isn`t here anymore. All the sex tapes or telephone calls and the texts and everything, in my opinion, I think the defense is trying to make the jury hate Travis. But even with the domestic violence and all that, I agree it`s still going to come down to the fact that she traveled there and made all those preparations to kill him.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, Kim, thank you for what you do for animals and thank you for your very interesting observation. Gus Searcy, again, our very special guest, you testified in the trial. You`re a friend of Jodi Arias. You also knew Travis Alexander. Now, he was 30 years old considered old by Mormon standards to be single. In fact, somebody referred to him as the old guy in the ward or the old man in the ward, which is a the ward is a Mormon phrase. Did he have a reputation? You worked with him in prepaid legal. Does any of this ring true as far as what you knew about him? Did he have a reputation? Did he seem like somebody who had a double life whatsoever?
[Gus Searcy, Friend Of Jodi Arias:] Well, what I knew is that he was going out with Jodi on one hand, but on the other side he was throwing it in her face all the time as he was going out with other good Mormon girls. That`s when I talked about she was being used because on one side he`s out there dating these other women but keeping her on the side. So that`s the only thing that I actually experienced with him.
[Velez-mitchell:] Well, wait a second Gus. You`re saying that you had a talk with Jodi that she was being used? Tell us about that.
[Searcy:] Yes, because like I said, when I work with people, I find out what`s going on with them. And it was very evident to me because they kept you know I talked with her, "How are you doing?" We talked a couple times a week. And, you know, one moment they`re fine, the next moment they`re breaking up, the next moment he`s got a new girlfriend. The next moment they`ve back together. And I`m going, you know, this is not a good thing for you to be in. You need to get out of something like that. That`s why I had her come to the motor home that day when she was upset to get way trying to get her away from everything.
[Velez-mitchell:] Do you think she was a battered woman or do you think that she`s basically a kinky girl who was engaged in consensual kinky sex?
[Searcy:] No, there was definitely an unusual addiction of some sort going on there. I can`t I`m not a psychologist. I don`t know that kind of thing. But he could you know, he could command her to do things. She was trying to get off the phone. He cusses at her and all of a sudden she goes out and talking to him for half an hour. So there was some kind of a control there of some sort.
[Velez-mitchell:] Wendy Walsh, author of "30-Day Love Detox", we`ve all been in situations, I think, where we know that we have an unhealthy relationship with somebody romantically. We`re not standing up for ourselves and we might be acting like a doormat a little bit. I think that resonates with a lot of people. Not just women, but men. There are, by the way, erotic humiliation scenarios where men are erotically humiliated by women that happens all the time or same sex. I mean it`s a part of the human condition. But do you think that this would resonate given these T-shirts, "Travis Alexander`s", et cetera, et cetera with some women who might feel resentful about some guy in their past that walked all over them and say subconsciously this is my chance to even the score?
[Wendy Walsh, Author, "30-day Love Detox":] Yes, but there are more men on the jury than women. And I do agree with what you`re describing, Jane, is what I call an anxious attachment disorder, where they become attached, they become intertwined but in a way that`s filled with lots of anxiety about being abandoned or being taken advantage of, and sort of this trying to get away from it. It`s very, very difficult emotionally. But the makeup, the gender makeup of the jury is going to be at issue here. Are the men, the 11 men and 7 women, are the 11 men being drawn in and seduced by her. Or are they imagining, as many of them are fathers, that she this could happen to their daughter and this is a terrible thing? I think the women may more resonate with her emotional experience than the men that`s for sure.
[Velez-mitchell:] Very good analysis. And we`ll have more analysis on the other side.
[Unidentified Male:] How about feeling like you had been raped but you enjoyed every delightful moment of it. Did you want to feel like you were raped?
[Arias:] No.
[Velez-mitchell:] Time for "Pet o` the Day". Send your pet pics to hlntv.comjane. Bijoux, I love you. And happy Valentine`s Day, Marie Antoinette. I hope they all eat cake for St. Valentine`s Day. Piper, you are stunning. And look at Popcorn and Dexter what a happy couple. Happy Valentine`s Day to all the animals on earth.
[Unidentified Male:] But how about feeling like you`ve been raped, but you enjoyed every delightful moment of it? Did you want to feel like you were raped?
[Arias:] No.
[Velez-mitchell:] Another text purportedly from Travis Alexander. Selin Darkalstanian, our senior producer, you`ve been in court. You`re very objective; you play it right down the middle. Do you feel as a human being, as a woman, have you been swayed in any way shape, or form by these days and days and days of her testimony?
[Selin Darkalstanian, Hln Senior Producer:] No, Jane, I haven`t. In fact, I have to tell you because it`s going on for six or seven days and we`re not even getting to the actual day of the murder, it`s almost like her voice is becoming it`s like you`re draining her out. She`s giving too much detail. She put the plants in the u-haul and then on the day she was moving out, she put a seat belt over the plants so the plants wouldn`t fall out. And the judge is letting all this testimony in. And you`re starting to lose track of what she`s actually saying because there`s almost too much detail coming out. And I was talking to some of the public sitting in the courtroom yesterday. There was one girl who drove there from California to Arizona and I asked her what is she waiting for? She said she`s just there to see Juan cross examine her Jodi next week. She can`t wait for that.
[Velez-mitchell:] Oh, shades of the Casey Anthony case with people driving cross country to get in the courtroom. And boy, that cross- examination is going to be something else. On the other side, a theory about premeditation.
[Arias:] I fell asleep on your chair next to your bed and you just like woke me up by pulling my pants up and totally licking my
[Velez-mitchell:] Gus Searcy, a friend of Jodi Arias`. You have a theory about premeditation. What is it?
[Searcy:] Well, I know there`s a lot of talk about all of this, she drove the car all those miles. I think what happened is he got on the phone, told her to come. She came and if you can say premeditation that`s fine. But he`s big enough to beat the crap out of her. Excuse the French. But that`s the truth. If she was really going to kill him premeditated, why not kill him when he opened the door or after they made love when he was sleeping? Shoot him in his sleep. Why fight with him? That would make no sense whatsoever.
[Velez-mitchell:] All right. That is your theory. We have only a couple of seconds. Let`s go to our panel and my question, is the death penalty off the table in terms of a decision that the jury might make? Starting with Brian Silber.
[Brian Silber, Criminal Defense Attorney:] Well, I think they absolutely raise a very important question, and that`s what this is about. If they can raise one issue, one question
[Velez-mitchell:] Yes or no.
[Silber:] not to impose it, I would say no, she may not get the death penalty. But I do think they`ll find her guilty.
[Velez-mitchell:] Wendy, he used up all the it`s ok Brian. Yes or no, Wendy?
[Murphy:] I think she`s going to get the death penalty and they`re going to give it to her with a vengeance once they figure out what a lying piece of crap she is on cross-examination.
[Velez-mitchell:] Gina. Gina, yes or no.
[Longarzo:] She`s so not getting the death penalty and I would bet you money on that. I`ve actually worked with real battered women.
[Velez-mitchell:] We`re out of time. Thank you, fantastic panel. Nancy is next. END

[Rosemary Church, Cnn Anchor:] It is 1:00 p.m. in Tokyo right now. I'm Rosemary Church at CNN Center. We do want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world to our special coverage of the disaster in Japan. And now, let's bring you up-to-date on the very latest developments, which include a new explosion of one of Japan's nuclear reactors and new discovery of at least 2,000 bodies in northeast Japan. Japanese officials reported moments ago an explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's number three reactor building of the number one plant. I know it sounds confusing but it's very important we make those specifications. Now, white smoke, we're hearing, could be seen rising from that facility, the same facility officials are working on the assumption of at least one partial meltdown and one of the reactors. Now, Daiichi is a plant where authorities have recorded higher than normal radiation levels and officials are they're trying to contain any potential radioactive leak by flooding any troubled reactors with sea water. Now, the confirmed death toll, as we mentioned, from Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami off just northeast Japan is about 1,600. But there's just been a report of another 2,000 bodies found in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture. Now, the overall death toll is expected to grow much higher, of course and possibly in the tens of thousands. That is the fear. Now, because rescuers say they're finding some survivors of the tsunami, that has offered comfort to many people. But the effort is becoming increasingly difficult, of course. And they fear thousands may have been swept away by the giant waves. Now, for more on this explosion and immediate repercussions, our Stan Grant joins us now from Tokyo with the latest on the crisis. Stan, there has been a number of conflicting reports on this. We just want to get an idea on exactly what has happened here because a lot of clarifications coming in to exactly what occurred. What are you learning?
[Stan Grant, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] What exactly has happened is still unsure, Rosemary. But we just had a news conference from the cabinet secretary from the nuclear safety agency and he is assuming that it was the hydrogen that has exploded there in the building housing the reactor. Now, the assumption is based on their projections. This was expected. They've been warning of another potential explosion there for the last couple of days now. Cast your mind back, there was an earlier explosion in reactor number one. That was also because of the buildup of hydrogen that damaged an outer wall of the building housing the reactor. The same thing is assumed to have happened here build-up of hydrogen as a result of the pressure that has come about because of the overheating of the reactor and attempts to cool the reactor. And now, that hydrogen has exploded, damaging the outside of the building. Now, they're also assuming similar damage to the structure, that some of the wall could have been could have been blown away in this explosion. But we're seeing the smoke into the air and the investigation is continuing in that situation. So, we're waiting to get the latest on that before we have full clarification. You talk there about radiation levels. Of course, there was concern about those levels being higher than normal. They're now reporting that those levels don't appear to be getting any higher. And, of course, officials here have always stressed that those radiation levels have not been to an extent where they can cause harm to people. We also understand there are still 600 residents within that 20- kilometer exclusion zone; around 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, but 600 remaining there for various reasons. They have been told to stay inside within that exclusion zone. But an investigation is under way into the exact cause. But the assumption is that it was a hydrogen explosion in the outer building that houses the reactor Rosemary.
[Church:] And, Stan, as we were talking, I do want to explain the vision we have to the air to right of everybody's screen. This is not live, not live pictures. It comes from NHK television. It was taken about 90 minutes ago and, of course, that camera has been trained on that Fukushima nuclear power plant facility for some time watching exactly what's been going on and we've been watching and monitoring here and in our other bureaus what is being said at NHK TV, how they've been reporting this and trying to relay that to our global audience. Stan, just going back to these fears, of course, the important clarification, I guess here, is because it's damaged to the outside of the building, rather than the reactor, that is the message that authorities really want to get across to people, isn't it?
[Grant:] Yes. It has been the message they're getting out for some days now. When they had the initial explosion in reactor number one, of course, there were concerns because the reactor has been overheating and attempts to try to cool it were failing. There was concern that there could have been damage to the reactor or the structure surrounding the reactor, the casing of the reactor. There have been attempts to refute that saying it is just a hydrogen explosion not related to the reactor but in the outer building that houses the reactor. They're assuming here the same thing again. And those assumptions are based on projections because of the build-up of hydrogen as a result of trying to deal with the heating of the reactor. As far as the reactor, so far, Rosemary, they're continuing to pump seawater in there. Now, seawater is seen very much as a last resort in this situation, but that's what was necessary to try to keep the levels to an extent that they can cool the reactor. And they say that has been stabilized the situation, that the sea water has continued to be pumped in there. So, at least they're able to still get water in there and be able to stabilize the situation. And this outer building being destroyed because of the hydrogen build-up and once again stressing that it was not the reactor itself. But investigations, of course, are still underway and this could always change, Rosemary.
[Church:] And, Stan, again, as we talk, I do want just to mention these pictures again we're seeing on the right side of our screen I wonder if we could make those full-screen, there we go just so people can get an idea this again on NHK. And you can see that before and after picture. Of course, the building there for reactor three at the bottom of your screen and then at the top, that circled area, you see the damage of the outer structure of that building. But, of course, we're hearing from authorities there that the reactor has not been damaged in that explosion. Going back to Stan, just wanted to explain those pictures to our global audience, Stan. And just go back to trying to let the people of Japan feel some sense of comfort and presumably that is a message that authorities there in Japan are trying to get out to the people there. Is there good reason to feel that as far as radiation levels go? They are trying to say that they're not a health issue at this point.
[Grant:] Yes. They have stressed that all along. They stressed the levels were not at the point they would be harmful but higher than normal. And I suppose when you hear words like that, when you hear about radiation levels being higher than normal, when you hear about potential meltdown or partial meltdown of the reactor, it creates this sense of uncertainty and even fear when you also see a 20 kilometer exclusion zone set up, 200,000 people evacuated from their homes. These images are all alarming. But the government has been very quick to respond to things. There's been a constant flow of information and they have been stressing all along that the radiation levels were not at such an extent where they could create harm. In fact, there was one analogy just yesterday saying that the level of the radiation was not all that much higher that you would get from having an X-ray. And that was a level just outside the plant itself never mind being outside the 20 kilometer exclusion zone. So, they had been very, very vigilant about that, and trying to get the message out that the damage wasn't there, the reactor remains intact, there has been no damage to the structure of the reactor and the explosions which add to that sense of uncertainty, hydrogen-based and in the buildings and not the reactor itself. But, yes, your point is a valid, this uncertainty builds when there are so many images and things are moving so quickly, Rosemary.
[Church:] All right. Thanks so much Stan Grant reporting from Tokyo, Japan. Appreciate that. And, of course, any time there's a crisis involving nuclear power, a lot of ominous words get tossed about. But as James Action from the Carnegie Endowment for Peace points out, words like "meltdown," well, they can be misleading.
[James Action, Carnegie Endowment For Int'l Peace:] A meltdown is an extreme of one end where the entire core melts. Actually, what we've seen at the moment is some partial melting of some of the small parts of the core. Now, that's serious, because any time you have melting, you increase the possibility of radiation being released into the environment. But the term "meltdown" is a very emotive term and is really only appropriate to one extreme scenario. Now, it's the situation we're in at the moment, it's possible but unlikely that a full meltdown could happen. But I don't want to unnecessarily worry people by using that term. I think it's more helpful to speak about core melting line along a spectrum of options.
[Church:] And, of course, at this hour, we don't know how extreme that outcome will be. As Japan's nuclear crisis continues to play out, we asked Dr. Ira Helfand what effects radioactive material could have on nearby on people nearby. Let's listen.
[Dr. Ira Helfand, Physicians For Social Responsibility:] After Chernobyl, there were several thousand cases of thyroid cancer in children exposed to radioactive
[Church:] And for more on what the earthquake has done to Japan's nuclear reactor, you can go to CNN Web site, CNN's Dillon Reynolds has posted answers to a number of your questions. That's at CNN.com. Well, more than 3,000 people have been rescued so far in this disaster. Numerous U.S. rescue and assistance teams arrived in Japan Sunday. The Japanese prime minister says this is his country's worst crisis since World War II.
[Naoto Kan, Japanese Prime Minister:] Please, I ask each one of you, please have such determination and to deepen your bond with your family members, neighbors, and the people in your community, to overcome this crisis, so that Japan can be a better place. We can build together. This is the message I'd like to emphasize to the Japanese people.
[Church:] Japan's prime minister speaking there. And we have been seeing images from northeast Japan for a number of days now. But we continue receiving new video from different perspectives and it continues to shock us. Japanese media say hundreds of people were swept out to sea in Sendai. I want you to take a look at these remarkable images as the alarm sounded and the tsunami hit. Simply terrifying moments for those people on the ground there. And amid the devastation, an incredible story of survival and tragedy. Rescuers spotted this 60-year-old man signaling for help 15 kilometers offshore. He was actually clinging to the roof of his home two days after the tsunami carried him out to sea. And the man says he and his wife fled their house during the earthquake. He returned to get some belongings when the tsunami struck. His wife was lost at sea. Well, Sendai was near the epicenter of the earthquake, as you know. And it took a direct hit from the tsunami. Martin Savidge is there and as he shows us, while rescuers continue searching for survivors, shell-shocked residents have been dealing with frequent tremors and new tsunami warnings.
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] How do you begin to search what looks like the end of the world? In the seaside city of Sendai, emergency teams carefully pick their way through the devastation. Dwarfed by the size of the tsunami's impact, often the teams are trailed by anxious civilians looking for any signs of missing loved ones. I wanted to ask this man who he was looking for, but I never got the chance. [on camera]: So, we were starting to follow this what appears to be a search crew. But now, the problem is that apparently there's been another tsunami warning. So, the crew and everyone else here is being told to get away which is what they're doing. [voice-over]: It's hard to tell how real the threat may be. Nerves in Sendai are very much still on edge. Officials shout their warnings, load up, and head for higher ground. We go in the opposite direction, heading toward the coast, and the closer we get, the more unreal the scenery. The tidal surge rushed inland in some places six miles. Getting around is difficult. Many roads here are impassable. Adding to the apocalyptic scenes, huge fires continue to burn unchecked. Thick black smoke and flames boiled from a refinery. As we videoed the scene, we notice something else. [on camera]: Up until now, we've heard the sirens, we've heard the announcements another tsunami coming, but nobody really seemed to be that anxious. Then, all of a sudden, we notice the water here it's racing out. We're leaving. [voice-over]: Fortunately, the threat never materializes, which is a good thing because Sendai has already seen more than its share of hell and high water. Martin Savidge, CNN, Sendai, Japan.
[Church:] And, of course, the magnitude of Japan's human disaster is simply enormous. But there's also a massive financial impact. The Tokyo Stock Exchange has been quite volatile on this first trading day since Friday's quake and tsunami. Leading Japanese stock index has now recovered a little after skidding nearly 6 percent in early trading. A bit later, we're going to get the very latest on the financial from our Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. Well, as we've been noting, whole towns have been washed away by the tsunami that followed the massive quake. When we return: the story of one such unfortunate town. Do stay with us.

[Jay Leno, Host, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno:] Doctors in Canada were shocked after pulling a three-inch knife blade from the back of a 32-year-old man. The knife had been in there for three years. Imagine that. Guy had a knife in his back for three years. He must have work at NBC, too. I couldn't believe that.
[Lemon:] Jay Leno firing fresh jabs at his employer. The rumor mill is cranked up with reports about NBC possibly replacing Leno with Jimmy Fallon next year. Fallon's camp is staying very quiet these days. Rumor has it that "the Tonight Show" could even move back to New York if Fallon takes the helm. Fallon has gone a long way. He has gone a long way very fast. Comedian Dean Obeidallah is back. He is the co-host of new CNN.com weekly podcast, "the big three." And you worked with Jimmy Fallon for years on "Saturday Night Live," Dean. So, give us your take on Fallon.
[Obeidallah:] Sure. I remember Jimmy vividly when he was auditioning, he was 23-years-old. That was the first time I met him, the nervous guy in the whole right before going to 8H studio to audition for "Lauren Michaels." And the producers I could remember him nervously holding his guitar. We talked for a minute or two. And I saw this whole trajectory of a guy who went from unknown, becoming a star on the show, now to about to take the seat of basically the king of comedy. I mean, you dream as a comedian just to be on "the Tonight Show" let alone to host of "the tonight show." So, it is great. You know what, Jimmy is a truly nice guy and unbelievably talented. And I think it will be a great fit for him. I think it's actually going to work out. I think mid America is going to like it as much as people in the cities which is a rare combination. He's like a young Johnny Carson.
[Lemon:] You can talk more about Fallon. What I don't understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, the ratings for Jay Leno are still very strong. He's number one. He beats all of them. So, why change horses in midstream if he's still doing OK?
[Obeidallah:] He's number one when you see the ratings. But in advertising sales, it's gone down a lot from the last few years because it's not doing as well. He's beating Letterman. They're really concerned about the future. They're concerned a lot about Jimmy Kimmel, frankly. That's the biggest concern from
[Nbc. Lemon:] I love Kimmel.
[Obeidallah:] That Jimmy is going to take Jimmy Kimmel is going to take the young people. So, it's now, you know, you can wait a few more years for Jay or do it now. And I reached out to people, I know at Jimmy Fallon's show and no one would respond to me. But, if it is true, he is going to leave. And then, guess what, they're going to need a replacement for Jimmy Fallon's show.
[Lemon:] Yes. Who is that going to be?
[Obeidallah:] Bingo!
[Lemon:] Seth Myers, may be.
[Obeidallah:] No, I'm ready. Don, I'm ready.
[Lemon:] No, no, seriously. Who's that going to be? Seth Myers.
[Obeidallah:] I'll go to network. You're a basic cable guy. I think Seth Myers. From everything I read because under Lauren Michaels, per view and Seth's had a great job. I worked with Seth for years. There's another guy I met who was unknown and became very famous. Great writer. I think he would do an excellent job. He's a different personality than Jimmy. Jimmy's playful like a little puppy dog. So much enthusiasm. It's contagious. Seth is a little bit more serious but fabulous writer.
[Lemon:] We haven't seen a woman in there since Joan Rivers. And I think Tina Fey would be terrific. And you know, I love Joan Rivers. And I would like to see her come back.
[Obeidallah:] I don't think, but I think Tina would be great or Amy Poehler. But, I'm not sure if they would it this time in her life. They have kids and they're doing movies and stuff. So, it's different.
[Lemon:] I just moved you along because, I mean, come on, it's never going to happen. You're never going to do that.
[Obeidallah:] Don, you never know. I mean, first, I've got a podcast now on CNN. That's step one. Next thing, you tube. After that, you know, basic some public access.
[Lemon:] Don't be downing basic cable if you're working for a basic cable company. That's your gate. Chill out.
[Obeidallah:] I'm not making this is joke. This is comedy. This is comedy, Don.
[Lemon:] Coming up thank you, Dean.
[Obeidallah:] Good bye, Don.
[Lemon:] Coming up. What could possibly make me do this on national TV?

[Costello:] The college admissions test known as the S.A.T. is getting a makeover. The College Board says the new test will focus more on knowledge and skills high schoolers need to succeed in college. No word on when students will begin taking the brand-new test. And it's a move that's sparking controversy in and outside of Silicon Valley. Tech giant Yahoo! banning employees from working at home. Ok. I'm going to interrupt that story for just a second. And take you back to Capitol Hill, Chuck Hagel now speaking, America's new Defense Secretary.
[Chuck Hagel, U.s. Defense Secretary:] Thank you. I am honored to be [inaudible]
[Costello:] All right. Well, actually they're having audio problems on their end, not on our end, so when we get this all worked out with them, we'll go back to Chuck Hagel as he makes his remarks as America's new Defense Secretary. So ok. We're going back to the Yahoo! piece now. As you know Yahoo! executives said in order for the company to be the best it can be, workers must no longer telecommute. They have to come into the office physically. Critics say a successful workplace though needs flexibility. CNN personal finance correspondent Zain Asher has more for you.
[Zain Usher, Cnn Personal Finance Correspondent:] You might say PR consultant and new mom Menka Lamba pulls a Marissa Mayer late last year.
[Menka Lamba, Works For Home:] I was actually able to get a job when I was seven months' pregnant and continue working right to the moment I gave birth and even after I had a baby two weeks after I was on the phone.
[Asher:] But Lamba definitely disagrees with the Yahoo! CEO's latest moves to put an end to its flexible work policy and make everyone come to the office.
[Lamba:] I don't know exactly what she's thinking and I'm sure she's got the best interest of the company and her employees in mind, but in my experience having that flexibility is helpful and you're able to continue to contribute and be productive.
[Asher:] The online backlash against Yahoo! has been less polite and decidedly one-sided on Twitter. The consensus, Marissa Mayer has it all wrong.
[Jennifer Owens, Editorial Director, Working Mother Media:] I think it's incredibly disappointing, I think it's incredibly backward- thinking and I think they're shooting themselves in the foot as they limp themselves into the future.
[Asher:] Yahoo!'s ban will put the company in the clear minority. While only about 10 percent of employees work from home on a regular basis, 98 percent of companies today offer employees at least one type of tele-work option. A 2012 analysis found a flexible work policies led to increased work productivity, higher attention rates and better overall job performance.
[Owens:] I once worked with a guy who played solitaire for four hours a day in my Newsroom. So it doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter where people are working. It matters how they're working.
[Lamba:] I was planning on going back to work anyway so this isn't a full time excursion for me. It's more allowing the flexibility to continue and not disrupt my work or disrupt my life. 1040
[Asher:] Zain Asher, CNN, New York.
[Costello:] Ok. In a statement Yahoo! says "We don't discuss internal matters. This isn't a broad industry view on working from home. This is about what's right for Yahoo! right now." Ok. I'm going to take you back to the Pentagon now because they figure it out at Pentagon Chuck Hagel's microphone was not on. It's turned on right now. He's addressing his new employees at the Pentagon as the new Defense Secretary. Let's listen.
[Chuck Hagel, Secretary Of Defense:] we've got the Chief of Staff of the Army. He makes me shake a little being an old Army Sergeant but the Sergeant Major of the Army scares the hell out of me, so I think he does the general, too, actually. And all of you who are so important to our country, thank you. I a couple of hours ago took the Oath of Office to become the 24th Secretary of defense. It's a great honor. It's a privilege. Yes. For me, my family, but to be part of your team who you are is the honor. That's the great privilege. You're not joining my team. I'm joining your team. And I want you to know how proud I am of the opportunity the President of the United States has given me and the Congress of the United States has given me. And I would tell you that as I had told the President, as I told the Congress, that I will do everything in my power to be the kind of leader that you expect and you deserve. Also the kind of leader the country expects and deserves. We are living in a very defining time in the world. You all know that. It's a difficult time. It's it's a time of tremendous challenge. But there are opportunities. And I think it's important that we all stay focused obviously on our jobs, on our responsibilities which are immense, but not lose sight of the possibilities for a better world. If there's one thing America has stood for more than any one thing is that we we are a force for good. We make mistakes. We've made mistakes. We'll continue to make mistakes. But we are a force for good.
[Costello:] Ok we're going to jump out of this. Chuck Hagel, former senator and now new Defense Secretary of the United States of America. He's addressing his new employees at the Pentagon. He's a Vietnam War veteran, won two Purple Hearts so he has a special bond with many of the military personnel sitting in that audience today. Another look at our "Talk Back" question this morning. Should the Republicans embrace Chris Christie. Your responses and our panel discussions coming up.